#also ladybug with heart eyes in the background

[tawus]

offensive. illegal. criminal. embargoed. plain unjust

[bleekay]

i started this waaaaay back when i first binged miraculous ladybug. couldn't get over the dynamic of superhero duo who don't know each other's secret identities but do also know each other in their normal lives, and they're in love but they aren't but they are they just don't know it.

you know, i originally was spending so much time trying to think of sokka's alter ego, and i put grey wolf in as a filler but then i realized how Sokka it was. like this other dude in a costume introduces himself like "hey, I'm the Blue Spirit" and sokka who hasn't had time to process yet that he's a superhero and is indeed the worst at naming things, goes, "oh, Blue Spirit? Hi. I'm..... Grey.... Wolf." and then zuko would be like "You just used my name as a template! You just changed the color and the creature!!!" and sokka's like "Whaaaaat! Nooooo. No. I actually had this idea before you even said anything, which means actually you are the one copying me!" and zuko demands he change his name, think of something better, but the news is there so it's already circulating and people are saying what a nice pair they make

[id: digital fanart of Sokka and Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender, split into two sections. The top section is a 4-panel comic, from an interview-style perspective asking questions individually of Sokka and Zuko, both wearing modern clothes. Panel 1 asks Sokka, “What do you think about Zuko?” He shrugs and looks away thoughtfully, answering, “Zuko? Hm. I don’t know him too well. I guess he’s pretty cool.” Panel 2 asks Zuko, “What do you think about Sokka?” He scratches at the back of his neck and looks away, blushing with a sheepish grin, and answers, ”Ah… He’s… he’s nice.” A little heart indicates his true feelings. Panel 3 asks Sokka, “What about the Blue Spirit?” Sokka clasps his face between his hands, eyes shiny and half-lidded, cheeks red, a squiggly smile on his face and hearts all around, and answers, “… LOML.” Panel 4 asks Zuko, “What about Grey Wolf?” Zuko’s face is stern, his hand balled in a fist, and he answers, “Annoying.” There’s two small captions on the bottom that read (he’s kidding) (… maybe). The bottom section is a depiction of Sokka and Zuko together as their alter egos, Grey Wolf and the Blue Spirit respectively. Grey Wolf has a wolf mask that covers the top half of his face, a skintight blue, grey, and white suit, with leather straps to hold weapons and white fur on his shoulders and wrists, as well as a fluffy tail. The Blue Spirit is in the canon mask, plus a skintight blue and black suit, with a sword strapped to his back. Grey Wolf has one arm around Blue Spirit’s back grabbing his shoulder, and his other hand is gently poking at the Blue Spirit’s cheek. Grey Wolf is grinning and has a little heart indicating he’s enjoying this. The Blue Spirit is standing with his arms crossed and a scribble indicating he’s annoyed. The background is a vague cityscape at sunset. end id]

[onomatopagu-et-cie]

HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY & some other notes on DGM!

I'm a little late but HAPPY 19TH DGM ANNIVERSARY!!!! Time flies fast and this series accompanied my thoughts and heart for almost two decades now!

This first preface will stay a long time in my thoughts. Thank you for letting us join in on your wonderful journey, Hoshino ⋆｡°✩

I recently listened again to Blue Moon sung by Ella Fitzgerald and ... it's giving me Mana, Allen and Neah (or the whole cast haha) feelings ;;

I had some other notes I wanted to share since the previous post, so here it goes!

(SPOILERS UP TO CH247!!!!)

▶ Innocence & Akuma and Timcampy Innocence is attracted by Akuma, as though they once formed a whole together:

(the imagery here haunts me, especially with a heart in the background and the cross in the middle!!)

-> the story insists on informing us Innocence and Akuma balance each other and hold equal power over each other -> at the Asian branch, Allen’s Innocence reactivates only once he saw an Akuma ; the 3rd generations arm and Allen’s Innocence activated on their own when they were close -> the Innocence takes the shape of a bust deprived of head, arms and legs, but it has wings (and the recent chapters mainly represent Innocence with wings eg. Mugen, Apocryphos and Allen) ; the Akuma egg is a head in itself -> the Innocence’s mark on the exorcists looks like a cross but also the stigma on the Noah’s forehead -> both evolve in the same fashion. However, Akuma seem to me visually more ‘complete’ than the Innocence (eg. in Phantom G ark, even the children, the Prioress and Emilia thought a Level 4 was an angel): some are seen with more defined human features, wings, halo, tail, horns altogether. It’s curious how Level 4 Akuma (and Alma also) are designed with a halo, which is generally a symbol of holiness in art.

-> Skull use what looks like ladybug to create their barriers (which can prevent anyone except Akuma from entering, nullify Allen’s left eye power and his ability to summon the Ark).

In some cultures and languages, ladybugs are often seen as a good-luck charm and are linked to heaven and God. For example, in french, we call them ‘bêtes à bon Dieu’ (something like God’s creature) since the Middle Age. Its name can even be associated with the Virgin Mary (ladybug/bird or in german, Marienkäfer means Mary’s beetle). In japanese, the word for ladybug is 天道虫, ‘tentou-mushi’ which literally means 'Heaven Path bug'. It can also be written with the kanji for 'red' and 'girl' respectively, 紅娘.

Now, this is a wild reach which might lead nowhere (surely like the others 8D), but the Crows are the only ones described by their red silhouettes (you would expect their costumes to be jet black, by their title) and the two red dots on their forehead. There are also many black ladybug species with two red spots on their wings eg. the twice-stabbed lady beetle.

-> Just another wild speculation but if the song heard when the Dark Boots crystallized itself around Lenalee was the lullaby (the only song mentioned in the story along with Lala’s and Maria’s), what to make of it?

While the Innocence only affected non-exorcists (supposedly because its will is overwhelming to them, according to Bookman), Level 4 Akuma seem to have the same head-crushing cry and it incapacitates exorcists, to the point that they struggle to synchronize.

Only the dead like Maria seems to remain unaffected. However, in ch147, Link was still able to move to save Allen from the collapse.

-> The only instances Akuma and Innocence use each other’s attributes are Akuma 4 (wings) and Fallen Ones’ (halo) designs.

-> The Earl is determined to keep the Akuma’s true nature hidden from the Heart, because there’s something in there it could use as an advantage. It suggests something could directly be done by the Heart if it knew that piece of information eg. control both Innocence and Akuma or turn Akuma into Innocence or vice versa? Idek anymore haha

-> Timcampy is the only character to have both the Innocence and the Akuma/Earl attributes, wings and horns. And we also had THIS cover (the second picture, I never saw it colored before I re-read DGM and idk if this was established it was Timcampy):

Not to mention Timcampy’s weird deus ex machina entrance to motivate Allen again in ch53 (when he was giving up on saving Suman)?

▶ The Chang, Akuma, Skulls and Link A detail I forgot to mention in the first post was that Link’s tattoo, as expected, share the same motif with the ones inked on the Chang to link them to Fō as it’s shown in volume 21. Similar tattoos were on Alma’s arms and belly since that magic was also used on him.

Level 4 Akuma and Skulls also share the same marks?????

Fô’s head ‘accessory’ looks like the Akuma egg’s design:

Skulls (the katakana highlighted in green on the screenshots), like the Chang family, are also sorcerers. The manga introduces them in japanese with the title 守化縷 (the kanji highlighted in yellow on the screenshots), which literally can be translated as ‘guard(ian) of the thread’.

Now what's a synonym of thread?

… It’s Link!!!! The coincidence goes even further with Link’s last name, Howard. According to wikipedia’s entry:

????????? I don’t know what to make of this, but this sure isn’t pure coincidence. This and the way Apocryphos and Lavi called Link ‘watchdog’ as well as Kanda ‘Luberrier’s dog’ insists on his role as a guard. But whose? Allen’s? Luberrier’s? Somebody/thing else?

-> According to his profile in volume 20, Edgar Chang Martin, part of a secondary Chang branch, was related to a great sorcerer involved with the Order. The sorcerer was german. Link is also german (like Kiredori, Tewaku, Goushi, Madarao and Tokusa), I don’t believe we have other german profiles in the story nor blondes like him, Bak’s father and Bak himself (oh, and I forgot ofc our girl Miranda!!). Link could be related to that great german sorcerer and thus be an heir of Atuuda, unbeknownst to Zuu (but I wonder how that would be groundbreaking for the story?)

-> the spells the Chang use could be related to/even originate from the Skull’s (given how the manga hints at how ancient Skull’s sorcery is). The operation to bestow the power to cast magic to the Crows could be similar to how the Skull tinkered with the scientists’ head in volume 15.

-> heck, dude could even be linked to Timcampy, they’re both gold (I’m half-joking at this point idek anymore 8D) and Timcampy uses the same sanskrit-inspired magic as the Skulls (eg. when Tim destroys the barrier to save Allen during his battle against Alma and Kanda). Hoshino also emphasizes the importance of the gold color in the manga (the Noah’s eyes, Timcampy, Allen getting hungry over this color, the Campbell mansion’s landscape, …) just as the silver/gray color, so there might be something? Also, Cornelia’s wood can destroy Timcampy. Cornelia derivates from the latin cornix, which means crow…………… Please e x p l a i n

Also, what is this ‘thread’ the Skulls have the duty to protect? Their main duty is to protect the Akuma egg?

Now three things will keep bothering me until we get answers in the manga:

1)

2) These pages following each other (and the last two are literally back to back, it’s more visible when you read the physical copy + it’s Link’s right hand and Allen’s left):

(Of course I know Atuuda acted up once Link subconsciously shook when he thought of Apocryphos and this is a smooth way to have a transition to Neah’s pov, but the panelling is still interesting here)

3) What Zuu really meant to say to Link before he was interrupted by Luberrier (and I don’t think it was the whole ’becoming the 14th’s ally’ because Luberrier was clear on that in front of Link only some pages later)?????

▶ Cross and his mask Hoshino hinted that both Lavi’s eyepatch and Cross’s mask are mysteries to be unveiled. The mark on his mask looks like the Innocence and the Noah’s stigma. It also looks like Mana’s Pierrot makeup, or even the Pillar mentioned in volume 27:

The shape of his mask looks like a coffin? (It could also be a visual recall of Grave of Maria, but who knows!)

It reminds me of the "La" + "Vi" cover and the 'box' protecting the egg also looks like a coffin:

▶ Road We now know Road was even able to manipulate Allen/Neah’s dreams without even interacting with them (unlike with Lavi). She even invited Cross’ dreamy-whatever-consciousness in it (because I’m sure Cross himself was conscious of it to some extent and was able to give some hints to Allen even though he was used by Road), which persuaded Allen to go to the Campbell mansion. Could it be that she also tampered with Lenalee and Allen’s nightmares after she met them (or at the very least Allen, since the manga shows how the dream strongly motivated him to reactivate his Innocence)?

I find it even more curious she’s named like that when one of Allen’s elements of crisis over his identity is following a road already traced by somebody else.

Road might have something to do with the Heart (that and also the fact her iconic door is heart-shaped, with a checked pattern and a crown on top?)?

▶ Apocryphos Ch247 finally established the link between the Cube’s prophecies and Apocryphos: the Cube is regarded by the Order as the official « text » on the Innocence and the three days of doom, the Heart is mentioned but there is no trace of Apocryphos in there. Just as the truth on the 3 days of doom the Noah claim to exist. Also just as the Heart is capable to create dupes to escape the Earl. Apocryphos is a literal reference to the apocrypha, texts deemed unauthentic by religious authorities. According to the Cambridge dictionary, « an apocryphal story is probably not true although it is often told and believed by some people to have happened. » The one the most tricked so far in the story seems to be the Order.

▶ Cross in volume 17

In volume 17, Cross asks Allen « What if I told you that when you become the 14th you will have to kill the people (or someone) you care about? ». To which Allen answers: « What do you mean I have to kill the people (or someone) I care about?! »

In the original version, Cross uses « daijina ningen (人間) » for ‘the people (or someone) you care about’ ; Allen uses « daijina hito (人) ».

Which is curious for Cross because hito (人) would generally be used here: both mean human, but while 人 refers to ‘human’ as a person, 人間 refers to ‘human’ as the species in a taxonomic classification. Is it to highlight the true nature of Neah as a Noah apart from the humans Allen came to care about along his way? Does Cross also set himself apart from the humanity as a 3rd party?

▶ Funny how Link and Mana can be associated in the manga: -> ch137, « Orphan and Clown », introduces Link to Allen when he’s still trying to figure out why the Ark’s partition uses the signs Mana taught him and is questioned by Link about it. It is later revealed in the manga Link was an orphan before joining the Crow. -> in ch183, Allen inadvertently voices his memories of Mana to Link -> in ch212, « Searching for A.W.: Calling You », as Allen loses consciousness, fighting Neah’s awakening, he calls out to Link but instead is greeted by a vision of a young Mana, calling out to Neah. This chapter also introduces the importance of Allen’s name to save him from Neah’s dreams. The original version for ‘Calling You’ is ‘’君を呼ぶ ‘ (kimi wo yobu). ‘Kimi’ is the pronoun both Mana and Link use in the manga ; past!Allen also seemed to use it with Neah. Johnny and Kanda both use omae for Allen.

EDIT: Allen also uses 'kimi' so the chapter's title works both ways (in French, the title was translated as "Écoute ma voix" which is "Listen to my voice", I like the way the calling works interchangeably!)!

-> in ch213, Link faces a mirror shirtless like Mana does later in volume 25:

-> in ch220, « Searching for A.W.: He Closes His Eyes Tighter in a Vortex », Neah recalls the Earl he’s Mana but remains in denial and Link admits being conflicted over Allen and Neah

Link, Neah and Cross share similar positions and the panelling adds to this parallel:

-> Link was given the order to aid Neah but hopes that Allen overcomes his fate as his host.

-> Neah awakens years later and faces the Earl, struggling with Mana’s memory ; he’s determined to destroy him even if he holds him dear.

-> Cross had to witness Mana's struggle against the Earl. Yet he still had to carry on his mission even when the Earl possessed Mana. Then he had to watch Allen being slowly taken over by Neah. Cross's message in ch173 hits even harder given his link with Mana and Neah: "You may not want to listen to someone like me who carries the will of the Fourteenth… But if you think either of us is forcing you to walk a certain path… I want you to know that’s not true. A path forms behind you as you walk. The earth you step on is compressed, leaving a print. You’re the only one who can make your path. So stop wearing Mana’s mask. Walk in your own if you haven’t given up." Perhaps he even said similar words to an anguished Mana (or he wished to have said them). He had to watch them go, one after the other, helplessly.

▶ The moon, D. and C.

Are the D and the C just stylized in Mana and Luberrier’s names? At least for Mana’s and Neah’s, the D. could hold some meaning since it even was ch218’s title. Hoshino dreamed to become an astronaut, loves the moon and the stars (they’re even part of her name and her own mascot) and used it a lot in her previous works.

In DGM, the moon is seen in its different phases at important moments. It mainly signals the passing of time (eg. how long has Allen been on the run) or gives atmospheric context to the scenes, but sometimes it holds a symbolic meaning:

-> The first Noah reunion shows the moon phases on each chair

-> It is part of the Musician's Score's lyrics (from the french official translation): « Tu étincelles, toi, l’enfant né sous une tremblante lune d’argent. » which could be « You shine, the child born underneath a trembling silver moon ».

-> It frames a romantic scene between Crowley and Eliade:

-> The moon and the stars are used in chapter titles eg. ch129, « Black and white, 0° » (a reference to the new moon) and ch144 « Black star, red star »

-> It’s foreboding in Lenalee & Allen’s nightmares and Allen’s prophecy as the Destroyer of time:

-> The full moon appears when two characters reunite: in astronomy, a syzygy is a « situation that occurs when the sun, the moon (or a planet), and the earth are in a straight line. This occurs when the moon (or planet) is at conjunction (new moon) or opposition (full moon) ». Syzygy comes from the ancient greek συζυγία which means junction, reunion.

Mana and Red’s first meeting, as Mana sings the lullaby:

Allen and the Earl’s ‘first’ meeting:

Allen and Link reunite:

As for the D and the C, when the moon waxes it is shaped like a D, and when wanes it appears as a C. Could this be a coincidence? The C in Luberrier could also be Campbell, but for now the mystery surrounding his family is far from being revealed.

▶ Timothy and Allen In ch183, « Wash your face and you’ll be alright », Timothy and the Prioress face the sunset the same way Mana and Red did as later revealed in ch238:

Have a nice week!

[heidi891]

Adrien’s crush on Marinette

I’ve seen some claims that Adrien’s crush on Marinette in season 5 is sudden and poorly developed. I don’t agree with those opinions.

Firstly I’d like to point out that romantic love isn’t something that acts like an on/off switch. Romantic feelings are usually developing over some time (slower or faster, depending on a situation and people involved), like a spectrum that goes from slight attraction to full blown love. So it’s really hard to tell when exactly the love does begin. And it’s worth noticing that such feelings don’t usually grow in a linear, steady way, but rather in a logarythmic way—more slowly at the beginning and faster as the time goes by.

Adrien has some trouble with his feelings, because he used to be very lonely but at the same time he was followed by fans with their shallow feelings. His mother died and unfortunately his father’s love is conditional. Adrien is desperate for normal relationships, but also he doesn’t have a great point of reference what love and friendship truly are. He falls so easily for Ladybug because she’s the first person he meets after a long time of loneliness and isolation and who can see him as an equal, not a model to admire. It isn’t easy to let go of such a relationship. It’s no wonder Adrien struggles with his feelings. Not to mention an obvious fact that he’s just 14 yo.

In season 1 Adrien sees Marinette as an adorable classmate and slowly his feelings are growing. He’s attracted to her—she’s the only girl besides Ladybug that he seems to find attractive—but it isn’t a full blown crush yet, not even a fully conscious attraction. He also wants to be her friend, but their relation isn’t so close yet.

In season 2 their relationship turns into friendship. He trusts her and admires her. It isn’t just attraction and wish to be closer anymore, there’s also adoration and trust.

By the end of season 3 his feelings become more romantic in nature. In Puppeteer 2 he can hear Marinette confessing her love in a joking manner and for the first time he’s confronted with a more clear possibility that she’s romantically interested in him as her friend, not as a model. The physical sensation of the kiss is also much harder to ignore than simply emotions, especially that, though brief, it’s the first kiss he can remember.

In Chat Blanc he admits he always felt there was something more between them—him and Marinette, not him and Ladybug.

In Heart Hunter he admires Marinette’s appearance twice, staring at her with heart eyes, he takes her hand (only her hand, not both her and Kagami’s) when running away from the hotel and is sad and disappointed when Marinette has left them. But he doesn’t have such moments with Kagami (he admires her and finds her somewhat attractive, but those feelings are less pronounced than those that he has for Marinette, especially in this episode), yet when Kagami makes her feelings for him clear, he starts dating her. I’m quite positive that if it was Marinette instead of Kagami, he wouldn’t reject her. What’s more, their relationship would be much happier than the short one he had with Kagami. However, it would be far less satisfying for the audience. Starting a relationship just to see if it’ll work, without very strong feelings, happens in real life, but seeing him actively pursuing Marinette in season 5 is much more satisfying.

In season 4 he’s still not aware that he’s in love with Marinette, but he seems a bit more aware of his attraction to her and his unconscious crush keeps growing. He looks at her with heart eyes several times. In Mr Pigeon 72 he’s so focused on Marinette that he hits his head on the car. In Guiltrip there’s a pink background when he catches her after she has tripped—it’s not just Marinette’s feeling but both of them, judging by how the scene is framed. By the end of the season his feelings are quite developed and he considers her trustworthy enough to tell her more about his attitude towards modelling and his life in general.

What’s more, in season 4 he slowly explores his feelings for Ladybug and his role in the superhero team. By the end of the season he better understands Ladybug’s struggle, is more set on supporting her and is less desperate for her attention since he feels more secure in his everyday friendships and his role as a superhero. So his feelings for Ladybug aren’t so overwhelming anymore and he can move on.

[restlesssinner]

Things I noticed watching Bullet Train a second time at home so my family could see the movie too (spoilers):

Tangerine tells lemon to wear a vest to protect his chest and lemon says it gives people a false security cause you can still get shot in the neck; lemon gets shot in the chest and lives BUT LATER tangerine gets shot in the neck and dies

The first time I watched it my heart was shredded by Dominic Lewis’ cover of bubbles that plays when lemon finds tangerine’s “corpse” (I’m DL’s #1 Spotify listener, he also worked on OSTs for violent night and spirited this year) but the song also plays when the brothers are counting their kills in its original form and in a rock cover when they slow-no walk to find the thief

Ladybug has bad luck but not only does little prince constantly talk about good luck but her father does too, seeing how he keeps forcing and winning Russian roulette on his enemies

Ladybug has long hair and a beard, looks homeless and is forced to face all the misfortunes of the world so that others can rest in peace, and for once it’s nice to see a Jesus allegory that isn’t shoved in our faces by the movie

The elder and the white death both worked under the same boss, both lost their wives, both have two descendants one of which is affiliated with crime and another which is kidnapped to get to their parent; the prior spent most of the movie in the same scenes

“He shot my brother” “you shot my son” both of these where also caused by little prince manipulating the shooter into thinking they’re the victim

The nurse that kills the child’s assassin is in the background of every shot showing the assassin

Almost no one in the movie is known by their real names but by symbolic nicknames: even agent carver alludes to an assassin with butcher-like instincts

In the bottle flashback you can see lemon and tangerine changing clothes from their countdown scene to the ones they wear on the bullet train

First ladybug pretends to be tangerine’s twin and later lemon taunts him as not being a replacement to his brother

Lemon says Logan Lerman’s character looks like a “Percy” alluding to his famous PJO role

The wolf’s envelope is shown earlier when ladybug searches his coat for a gun and has to exes to represent cartoon dead eyes and two suspects that were at the wedding undercover: ladybug and hornet. The contrast between these two is shown by how one kills the conductor to steal their clothing whilst the other pays bisexual icon Channing Tatum to exchange clothes

I might be dumb but I realized that the Wild West stand off between hornet and ladybug was also her waiting to see if he succumbs to the poison in thirty seconds

Lemon tells an old lady she is fucking excused and ladybug later tells the same lady to eat a bag of dicks

Tangerine is at first suspicious of little prince because he knows all the seats were sold out by the white death but that knowledge dies with him

I still don’t know how the elder psychically knows his son is fine can someone please tell me if they know

I swear this is my favorite movie after EEAAO there’s so much rich detail even it has to remind the audiences by re-showing earlier scenes it literally made me forgive Brad Pitt for straight washing Troy I watched it in cinemas just cause I didn’t feel like waiting for the movie I went to watch without planning it and I hope this artistic masterpiece is never forgotten in the corridors of cinema history if there’s anything more you can think off feel free to add your thoughts

[uptoolateart]

Unbreakable Bonds

The thing I love about the Adrinette dynamic is that, despite coming from superficially different backgrounds, they actually have so much in common, at a deeper level. This is what a lot of people around them fail to see, or failed to see until recently. I think Alya is seeing it, now.

One of these things is the way both Adrien and Marinette are pressured to be something they never asked to be. In Adrien’s case, this is the whole Adrien Agreste brand image. For Marinette, this is being the Guardian.

In Transmission, when Marinette tells Adrien that before anything else, she's.... She may have been about to say Ladybug. But more than this, she's the Guardian. Because even after her miraculous is taken...she's still the Guardian. And before anything else, Adrien is always Adrien Agreste.

(Hmm…AdrIEN…GuardIAN…. I mean…no. I’m just amusing myself, here.)

These bear similarities – the pressure of always having to put on a face for the public, unable to share what’s really going on inside. Adrien was groomed by his father, but Marinette kinda got this from Master Fu…albeit in a much nicer way.

Thinking on it, maybe Master Fu didn’t bother so much with Adrien because he knew the boy already had enough pressures in his life. I mean, did he really need another person telling him what to do and who to become?

We could list other commonalities between them. The point is: this shared experience, especially at a formative age, is the kind of thing that bonds people, even if they don’t like the same books or music or TV or whatever. My two oldest and best friends from childhood – sure, we have some interests in common, but also quite a lot of differences, and we always have. What has held us together for so many years is something that goes beyond all that stuff.

Because people grow up and change. We all evolve at every moment and go through all kinds of phases as we discover ourselves over and over again. It’s easy to grow apart from someone, in that process. What makes you grow together is that commonality at the heart of everything, that thing that means you speak from the same place and see the world through similar eyes. Then, it doesn’t matter if one of you decides to dress all in black and read nothing but Dostoevsky for a year, while the other has a ‘sensible’ desk job and wears navy pencil skirts – especially when you might switch roles the following year! There’s a connection that none of that external stuff can break.

[winxrus]

Miraculous Awakening Movie - Review

WARNING

There are big spoilers in the text below and its author sucks at expressing her opinion which, guess what, absolutely no one asked for!!!

When this movie was announced, not only I struggled to welcome it as it was hard to understand how this would fit with the universe of the show, but also the character design was just odd. We adore the one from the series so why alter what is loved?

All this to say that I was never particularly hyped about the movie, but as a miraculer and a person who wanted to experience something that involved so many fans celebrating this show we all love, I just had to go.

I was square punched in the face by the visuals. This movie is a MUST to see on the big screen. Despite my hesitation towards the character design (which eventually grew on me), the musical numbers, particularly the romantic ones taking place in the sky brought me to tears. The colours, the low lights, the quality of the animation, the detail, the intensity of the characters (namely in the eyes)...*chef kiss* absolutely hit the spot.

Plot wise? I mean, it is literally if you wanted to compile the first 3 seasons of miraculous (no senti theories, lukanette, adrigami or,zoe though, more like season 1 plus Chat Blanc because we do get a WARNING SPOILER ALERT

"Chat Noir is Adrien, my son?" but with a Gabe completely out of character (based on his previous reactions to this in the series) and we get another reveal scenario which was very sweet but I felt like they could have played it differently ~SPOILER AHEAD~ I really loved Marinette putting his mask on and saying you can also call me ladybug but this doesn´t really prove she is who she claims to be right? I think she could have ended the one-sided reveal by using my favourite quote from the movie

Chat Noir "To everyone you´re the girl with the mask that saves the world, but to me, you are the girl who saved my heart" DUDE I sobbed (screaming internally because Marinette could have played with this quote as Chat Noir told this to her in private).

I sobbed with the romantic scenes in this film. Despite having to rush the romantic development between Adrinette and Ladynoir, it still felt very natural to my eyes which I was really happy with. Plus miraculous ladybug always knows how to play with my heartstrings regarding the love side of the story. It completely made me swoon (a big personal factor to have enjoyed it).

Nevertheless, the character development of Marinette, namely her overcoming her fears and believing in herself - exaclty what made me fall in love with her in the show and admire this charcter- instead of balancing out the romance, it became repetive and a bit exhausting. We are in the last 10 minutes of the film and Tikki is still preaching the same thing (don´t get me wrong, it is important to emphasise such message to the audience but I think they saturated it a bit).

Anywho, I think the fact that I went with no expectations for the film and accept whatever might come made me actually enjoy it more than I thought. A great part was also due to the atmosphere, which was so much fun. The audience was super vocal with their reactions, bringing a sense of community despite each of us being in our own little groups. We laughed (a lot, I completely forgot to highlight the humour of the movie *looks at careless whisper playing in the background everytime Adrien thinks of Ladybug*), screamed, cried and gasped together. So much fun.

I left the theatres quite elated but frustrated with the bloody teasing "almost kiss* scene at the very end. I actually believed I was gonna see Adrinette´s first kiss on the big screen but :)))))) JDNDJESINVIFESN. I also left incredibly confused because as I said, the movie doesn´t match whatsoever the series, and ended on a vague note - HEADSUP - After Gabriel is revealed to be Hawkmoth to both Chat Noir aka his son and Marinette/Ladybug, the dude just disappeared and we don´t get a reaction from Adrien?? It immediately skips to Adrinette (no complaints LOL) and then you hear Gabriel narrating a message to Nathalie to protect Adrien and never let him know that he hides Emelie´s body in the basement? The dad´s a bloody terrorist what difference doesa another crime make? Does this mean there will be a second movie? Will we forever live with God knows how many miraculous ladybug universes? "AMERICA EXPLAINNNN"

I have heard people who didn´t like it beacause it was purely fanfiction and didn´t make sense, I personally advise you to go with an open mind, chilled and with the intention to have a good time. I sure did! I will carry this experience with me forever <3 all this to say that my score may be also highly biased by that hahah. Byeee!

P.S - I did not comment on the music because I was a bit disappointed that the original French voices (warning the French dub is my favourite) were not the singing ones. They used Lou and Lenni-Kim which despite them being talented I didn´t feel like it suited them. So...I´m gonna wait for the English soundtrack to formulate an opinion. I liked the lyrics of the new song though (Last Dance soundtrack)

[suna1suna1]

Hello! It's WIP Wednesday again!

Same rules and selection as last week!

All Our Love (one-shot compilation) | Sonic, Sonshadamy

Angels and Demons (Hedgehogs and Privateers AU) | Sonic, Sonshadamy

Sonadowtober 2022 (one-shot compilation) | Sonic, Sonadow

Sweets and Secrets (Canon-compliant fic) | Sonic, Shadamy

The Heart of the Ark (Canon-divergent AU) | Sonic, Shadamy

L'histoire d'une Ladybug à Paris (PV AU) | Miraculous, Felinette

Here's a link to my AO3 page. Feel free to browse through anything that catches your eye listed here! You can reply, reblog, or send me an ask with the numbers/titles of the fics you want me to make some progress on, and I will set a 25-minute timer and work on them! This means about 300-500 words of progress depending on how well I focus (which I will try to be better this week. I think I figured out something that helps XD)

Also, I want to say thank you to everyone who's been interacting with these posts. I'm glad that I can engage with you guys and get feedback on what you guys like and I'm happy to work on these while I work on background stuff. Thank you so much for playing the game! ^^

[sizzleissues]

masquerade au nonsense

Had an adventure trying to finish it, backgrounds are for schmucks

Now, a little writing that surrounds the scene (Summary: The Black Cat (Chat Noir) approaches Marinette with a deal);

Marinette had never been one for the opera. It was too childish for her taste. Princesses willing to give all of themselves to strangers, handsome rogues playing tricks and jokes on poor bystanders. It was maddeningly predictable.

It was not on purpose that she then sat watching it, barely propping up her head. The Black Cat would be in attendance, the devious scoundrel that had been running rings around the royal courts of France.

And it was sponsored by her parents. Their royal majesties.

Less important, of course.

There was certain benefits to being crown Princess. Her booth overlooked the entire theatre, allowing her to survey the crowd below. If he even so tried to approach the stage, she'd see him. If not by her eyes but by the guards she'd stationed around the theatre. The Black Cat would be brought to justice tonight.

“A pleasant show, is it not?” A voice said in her right ear. She jolted, shivers running down her skin. She could feel the heat of a body she hadn’t even noticed until he spoke.

“Don’t turn around. You wouldn’t want to miss my show.” A finger graced the peak of her cheek, guiding her eyes back to the performer on the stage. Her heart squirmed in her chest.

“Did you hurt them?” The question felt cold in her mouth.

“Who?”

“The guards. They’re good people.”

“Oh.” She heard him shift on his feet. “Can the French even be hurt?”

“This isn’t time for games, Chat.”

“Then no. They’re having a nice nap outside.”

“Good.” She took a breath to try slow her racing mind, but it did little. Why had he come for her? Did he know she was Ladybug? Was he here to kill her?

“You’re perfectly safe Princess. I simply want to talk.” A claw tipped hand twirled a lock of her hair in her peripheral. He was trying to tease her. “Remove your mask.”

“What?”

“It’s in the way. Hides your pretty pretty face.”

A muscle in her body twitched, responding to the low growl that wrapped his voice. He was too close, too warm, too much. He was one thing when she was Ladybug. Ladybug was wise and had conquered her weak desires. Marinette was a lady. She was fallible.

His hand moved from her hair to her chin, lifting it gently. She could imagine him behind her, clinging to the shadow. Eyes glowing and resting intently on her head.

She removed her mask.

"There, much better." She could hear his smile. Smug kitty.

"Chat, why are you here?

"Chat? Is that a cute nickname? I didn't know we knew each other that well." He rested his chin on her head. Every word she felt in her soul.

"English idiot." The Black Cat made a purr like sound, more annoyed than happy, that scratched her brain. "It is French for cat. I am speaking English for your benefit."

"And you speak it so well. What a good studious Princess you are. Brings me to why I'm here."

"Not to 'talk' then."

"I do love our conversations, Princess. No, I need your help to uncover a conspiracy to overthrow the English monarchy."

"It is not my place to handle foreign affairs. I also shouldn't be helping the man responsible for so many 'accidents'."

She felt him stand back. A weak part of her missed the warmth.

"I just need you to translate some documents. No one will ever know you helped me."

"Couldn't you find a qualified translator?"

There was a silence and Marinette worried he'd walked off. She didn't even get to see him.

"It has to be you."

A loud bang and flash of light went off on stage. It almost covers the sound of him slipping out the door. Someone has set fireworks to erupt in the shape of a winking cat.

"Silly cat."

[glamourzombie]

I’m going through an unpredicted depth year. My deck collection has grown a lot over the past years, and I have reached a point where I just want to spend long, quality time with those decks I already know and love. That is why the additions to my collection (and hence, reviews for you) have slowed down: I’m being extremely selective of what comes into my shelf. One of those newer additions is a deck I’ve been working with for a while now: The Meraki Tarot, by Kerri Snook at Bouchette Design.

This deck, which speaks directly to my heart chakra, features the classic 78 tatot cards plus one extra major called The Meraki. On top of that, we find 8 extra oracle cards with concepts like yes, no, apathy or aspiration.  Aside from those, and since it doesn't come with an included traditional booklet, it has 14 extra guide cards that work as a condensed guidebook. One of them is an introductory & thank you card, followed by astrological signs, solar system associations, crystal and tarot associations, astrological and elemental major arcana associations, and keywords for all of the cards - including the oracle cards. So, while not in booklet format, you get tons of information in your deck box.

This is clearly an animal deck, but it also contains a lot of other natural elements (like plants) that may be missing in other animal decks. Besides, the crystals tie in each card theme. There are a few instances of humans or human-made elements, such as a hot-air balloon, or the hands in the aces. Even if it can be logically thought as an earthy deck, it feels very airy to me. This is due to the artwork, which is very spacious, giving you a lot of room to feel, think intuitively, and find a spot for yourself in each cards. There is a combination of light colours (usually in the background) and darker shades that create contrast to draw your eyes in.

Though airy, there is a strong sense of texture (and here I have to mention the wonderful clouds!). The animals in the cards have their own strength and presence, but at the same time, they all feel very soft in their way of conveying messages. Even in more challenging cards, like the eight of swords (with a ladybug trapped in an orb weaver spider web), there is a balance – so that even in the darkest situations there is a sense of connection and natural flow to be found. The cards are beautifully designed, featuring a botanical back, and gorgeous matte green edges. The cards are borderless, and have a soft rose petal finish. It comes in a sturdy two-piece box done with a matte finish and spot-gloss designs.

Aside from the deck, Kerri has created the Meraki Workbook for tarot and crystal work. This is a juicy softcover book, standing at 225 pages, an excellent tool for exploring this deck in depth. It starts with a letter from Kerri, and follows up with the sections: working with the Meraki tarot, working with crystals and tarot, how to use the workbook, layouts, tarot keywords, crystal keywords, numerology, symbology, astrology, elemental insights, defining divination, defining crystal work; and in page 40 it starts with the tarot cards themselves, with an introduction to the major arcana and a two-page spread for each card. This spread features the number and title of the card, associations, light and dark keywords and extended messages, and a section to take notes on your own interpretations, reflections, and tarot and crystal notes, finishing with an affirmation. What I really like is that this whole spread is repeated for the minors and oracle cards, and not something exclusive of the majors. This book is an engaging tool for beginners, but it’s also fantastic for those who want to introduce crystal associations into their practice, adding another layer to their knowledge. The book is exquisite in its production, including matching green edges like those on the cards.

The Meraki Tarot is a fun and enchanting deck that reminds us of the flow of nature, its gentleness and its power. The illustrations feel comforting to the eyes and to the heart, and they do a great job at conveying their messages. It can be described as an animal and crystal deck, but one in which cards you can easily find a place to accommodate yourself. Though the book is not a necessity to work with the deck (as the text cards feature a lot of information) it is a fantastic tool to both learn or explore more about the cards themselves, but also how they engage with the energy of crystals. If you want to know more, head over Bouchette Designs to learn more about Kerri Snook’s work!

[campbells-content]

Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift but make it Miraculous.

This will not be like most of my 'but make it' series because 1 its been awhile and 2 this makes more sense for my tired brain. In this one I am literally going stanza by stanza to explain whats going down. So kinda like the time I imagined a pmv but a different fandom.

Things in this format will be my take, normal font is the lyrics. Also, why did they make it so hard to format on mobil with the past update?

Anything with (Fb) kinda has blurry or darker/faded edges

You booked the night train for a reason

So you could sit there in this hurt

Adrien is alone on a train in the middle of the night, just staring out the window.

Bustling crowds or silent sleepers

You're not sure which is worse

Chat Noir is his reflection but theres no miraculous on the his finger as he leans into his fist.

Because I dropped your hand while dancing

Left you out there standing

Crestfallen on the landing

Champagne problems

(Fb) Chat Noir on the ground in the middle of a fight, reaching for LB but she's distracted by the fight.

(Fb) The fights over and he's standing in solitude as LB, already on her way, waves goodbye.

(Fb) Chat holding his ribs as memories of the pain bring him to the brink of throwing up.

Your mom's ring in your pocket

My picture in your wallet

Your heart was glass, I dropped it

Champagne problems

Adrien, on the train, on his phone but fiddling with his amok ring.

Adrien's phone with a tinted screenshot of Ladybug and a pop up asking "Are you sure you want to delete 214 images?"

(Fb) Marinette and Adrien, forehead to forehead with Marinette's hands on the back of his neck.

(Fb) Marinette running away from their moment to go transform.

You told your family for a reason

You couldn't keep it in

Your sister splashed out on the bottle

Now no one's celebrating

Adrien moving into a new apartment with Natalie and Felix in the background helping

Chloe, with a less preppy look, carrying a box in the background as Adrien came to see what Felix was doing.

(Fb) Chloe confronting Marinette as Adrien turns away.

Dom Pérignon, you brought it

No crowd of friends applauded

Your hometown skeptics called it

Champagne problems

Adrien trying to open a can with a manual opener. His phone is on the counter w/ a screen showing his newly purchased electronic can opener.

Adrien, celebrating alone with an opened can of ravioli.

Natalie in a meeting, glaring at two people who are whispering and pointing at her and then Gabriel's empty chair.

Natalie alone in the meeting room, sadly looking at Gabe's chair.

You had a speech, you're speechless

Love slipped beyond your reaches

And I couldn't give a reason

Champagne problems

(Fb) Ladybug power posing as she tried to encourage her teamates to keep fighting

(Fb) Marinette, frozen like she wants to say something in response to Chloe confronting her.

(Fb) Marinette w/ tears in her eyes and Adrien in silent shock as she tries to let him down easy. "It isn't working"

(Fb) Adrien asking why with a bruised Chat Noir in the reflection of the window with the same expression and question.

(Fb) Marinette running away with tears but her Ladybug reflection forces a smile as she runs into the darkness.

Your Midas touch on the Chevy door

November flush and your flannel cure

"This dorm was once a madhouse"

I made a joke, "Well, it's made for me"

Chloe and Kagami showing up with a couch to fill the empty room in his apartment.

The three watching movies on the couch as Felix moves around in the background.

Felix jumpscares them, only Adrien and Chloe react.

Kagami smiling and pulling Felix to join them on the couch.

How evergreen, our group of friends

Don't think we'll say that word again

And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls

That we once walked through

Adrien looking up the paris heros on his phone.

After scrolling a little there is an image of the miracu team but w/o a cat or dragon user. Next to it a a blown up screenshot of Ladybug's hand with an unactivated Cat miraculous.

He opened the article attached to the ring pic and in big text it says "still no sign of chat noir" with a picture of him as cn in a fighting stance.

(Fb) Him in the same stance but at a different angle with ladybug at his side.

One for the money, two for the show

I never was ready, so I watch you go

Sometimes you just don't know the answer

'Til someone's on their knees and asks you

Lb fighting a frequent akuma alone

(Fb) Lb and Cn fighting that same akuma

(Fb) Marinette in the same fit as when she broke up with Adrien, no longer crying but her eyes are still puffy and she's looking at an article of the villain that that has been making her life living hell.

(Fb) Ladybug swinging toward the train station and landing on a lightpost as the small image of Adrien on a train speeds away.

Ladybug looking down at the ring as she sits alone on a rooftop at night.

(Fb) Ladybug's perspective of the fight that hurt Chat's ribs, her eyes are on her downed partner reaching out but she's powerless to do anything as she's attack by the akuma.

"She would've made such a lovely bride

What a shame she's fucked in the head, " they said

But you'll find the real thing instead

She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred

Adrien looking down at his amok ring .

For a second his hand looks like chat noirs, ring and all.

Marinette in her bed room stressing over the villain.

Adrien looking back up at the screen, back to watching movies with his friends

And hold your hand while dancing

Never leave you standing

Crestfallen on the landing

With champagne problems

Ladybug beaten and fallen on the ground

(Fb) Chat offering her a hand to stand up

Ladybug, standing on her own, and getting in a fighting position

The end of the fight, Lb holding her ribs and leaning against the wall.

Your mom's ring in your pocket

Her picture in your wallet

You won't remember all my

Champagne problems

The cat miraculous and ladybug miraculous abandoned on a dresser.

A picture collage of Adrien, Chat Noir, Ladybug, Marinette, Chloe, Queen Bee, Felix, Kagami, and Ryuko

Alya and Nino hanging out with the collage in the background.

Natalie sitting in Gabriel's conference chair as hers remains empty.

You won't remember all my

Champagne problems

No one is in either Natalie's or Gabe's conference chair but the rest are filled.

Adrien's apartment but its completely empty.

(Did all of this make sense?)

[iwasbored777]

You know, I've been thinking and if you ask me, the only reason Adrien ever considered Kagami as girlfriend material in the first place was because she, as Oni-chan, was allowed to indirectly confess her feelings to him. A luxury the writers keep refusing to grant Marinette with.

Up until then it was pretty obvious Adrien's pursuit of Kagami wasn't really serious, as opposed to her interest in him. Sure, she got a bubble background in Riposte, but that was more of a "Wow, she's cute" moment than an immediate crush.

In fact, even if episodes where Adrien was supposed to move on from Ladybug because she had rejected him (Glaciator, Frozer), he ended the episode with his resolve to win her over strengthened, never mind half of Frozer was an Adrigami date.

It wasn't until Kagami herself expressed romantic interest in him that Adrien began to take her advances seriously. And what does this mean?

If the writers weren't such cowards and just let Marinette confess, or even just confide in Chat Noir instead of insisting in using codenames like "Buttercup", Adrien would have realised his feelings for her forever ago.

I don't like it that they turned it like that, making it seem like you will get everything you want if you're not insecure, which isn't something Marinette could just give up on easily because that is who she is. Even if you tell your crush how you feel, he might not feel the same way and Kagami learned that lesson the harder way. Also, he made it look to Marinette that he is in love with Kagami so many times, asked Marinette for advice to go out with her and talked about that girl he loves milion times in front of her, she knew it was pointless to even try. That's why I didn't like how Miracle Queen ended, and I never will, for the whole thing and how it's written like "oh she was faster and you were slower so she won" because Adrien didn't even make a decision if he likes Kagami or not, he only came to his senses in Lies, the whole episode MQ was just for the cliffhanger and for the infamous "Marinette lost" ending, it wasn't to start a love rivals era and it was clear as a day. They just had to end the episode with Marinette losing everything so they went like "ok so we have a reason why Chloé and Fu left and for Adrien we'll just make him not care about Marinette whom he looked with heart eyes during the entire episode and showed more interest for in one (literally any) episode than for Kagami in the entire season but we have to end this somehow right". I mean I can understand why so many Love Square fans gave up cuz I gave up for a while too, you don't have to hurt to plot just because you don't want to make them canon yet. Luckily they fixed it but it was painful to watch. Just like the continuity error in Strikeback when her yo-yo didn't disappear when she detransformed because they needed Marinette to lose everything somehow so just ditch plot relevance and hope no one notices.

[seizerofdarkness]

Gathered up some content from the writers' commentary on "Evolution".

Soooo, they apparently considered in a fit of madness to make the entirety of season 5 happen all on the same "day".

They also were brainstorming impossible names for all the Monarch power fusions.

The moment where Rabbit Noir and Monarch were fighting, falling from the top of the Eiffel Tower (with past-Ladybug and Cat Noir also falling but not noticing them), was from "Bubbler".

One day, we'll see the whole Animan "falling in love" scene between Alya and Nino animated.

Ladybug and Rabbit Noir apparently wounded up some time back in 1939-1940.

Marianne (Master Fu's lover) was based on Frédéric/que Engel Lenoir's great-grandmother (their mother's grandma), who was a militant during WWII.

Master Fu didn't really trust Ladybug upon seeing her come from the future, but her saying the same words as he does upon showing her the Miraculouses in spite of the great risk it meant convinced him that as it is something he would say, he can trust her.

Alix leaving to become Bunnix makes the writers cry every time.

They spent 4 hours deciding on the Lucky Charm before realizing they could just reuse the Heroes' Day mini-Miracle Box.

The moment where Monarch decides to follow Ladybug and Rabbit Noir back to that day solidifies when Gabriel finally goes over to pure insanity, abandoning the option of a second chance at life and instead pursuing his dark side and obsession.

In Ladybug's eyes, she and Cat Noir had a very special bond while back in season 4, he felt like he was "demoted" and just one member of the team left in the background.

The "heart" of the show is the "superpower of the heart", and that includes its ability to mess everything up (for Ladybug for example).

The argument between Nathalie and Gabriel was essentially a "separation", a breakup of sorts over whatever they've had previous seasons.

Lila overheard the argument between them (though how much isn't said) and is acting innocent in front of Nathalie.

The end of episodes endcards are named "Post Poster Paints".

[ecofinisher]

My little analysis about Sunset Valley's McIrish family because I have never seen one of them.

As a pre-teen I read almost all Sims' bios about a thousand times xD As an adult now, I understood most of them, what exactly they meant, and recently.....a year ago or two, I don't know, I did read Fiona's bio, which is the following....

Fiona is focusing on raising her teenager, and living a healthy life now that the past is behind her.

As a child, I didn't really see through the sentence. I just thought "eh just a normal bio" But when I see the sentence as an adult the part "now that the past is behind her".....That threw me a few questions into my head.

Most players probably assume the "man of the household" left to "get milk" or they had a divorce for a specific reason. Others assume, that due to Fiona and River be slightly different, that she might be adopted or as on the Wikia stated "found" she could have been abandoned by the original parents and Fiona came across her. (This actually would give River a meaningful name, if in one case she was found by the water, as we know Sunset Valley is by the coast. Just an example)

I personally believe that Fiona and River are indeed blood-related. They share few similar facial details, at least it highly resembles one another to my eye.

Their faces are pretty similarly shaped. The only exception here are their noses. They share the same eye color (Green). Perhaps, if we had a better knowledge of their ancestry (And ofc. if the game was that advanced here) we could analyze the past Sims' eyes as well.

I did change Fiona's age and River's hair-do to facilitate my sight. (I will let you know as well I noticed their similarity, when I one time dressed River as Ladybug and accidentally clicked on Fiona's hair xD. It's a long story, which didn't even work with CC.....)

I zoomed in by curiosity to make sure, if their eyes were the same, but Fiona's green is clearer, while River's slightly darker.

Personality-wise they're a bit different, not the opposite but not the same. Fiona is very intelligent and knows how to talk with people. She's also handy with a lot of things, capable of fixing and creating stuff around her house. She's both useful with hands and brain, to be wording it straight.

River I think she's more of a heart person. She's got the good trait. She's a talented artist and as her bio states, she is interested to become an artist someday. She's also a neat and a perfectionist. If anyone has ever paid attention to her, when you leave her alone, she will be often cleaning everything around the house and run from corner to corner. (This isn't only my game, right? She does this quite often in my game. Other neats like the Langerak women or Cornelia Goth don't do that) The trait combo feels a little.....bland. Like she's somehow portrayed as a Mary Sue or a typical Y/N character. Good is eventually her only social trait she own and that's it. Or perhaps this isn't actually wrong. She's described as an artist, right? Perhaps she's has grown into an introvert, eventually?

During the game and RL, Offsprings usually become their own person, when growing up, but tend to get certain traits from their ancestors. River, in this case, doesn't get anything from her mom. Her only possibility is her past family members or current occurrences. (In RL eventually)

There can still be the possibility, that River is adopted, but the little details I found, gave me a different impression. Sadly you can only find helpful hints with Fiona, without further details of a background story. River's biography is the most simplest and uninformative one there is. (Me, who doesn't have English as my mother tongue goggled the word "epitome" thinking it would be important, but only figured out, I mispronounce it the entire time wrong....)

The bio itself isn't bad in relation to herself. it's bad, just for what I need. 😂 We just know, she's seen as "the girl-next door"

WHAT DOES THE GIRL NEXT DOOR MEAN? (According to dictionary.com)

"The girl next door is a term used to describe a female archetype and fashion aesthetic which can range in terms of personal definition, but usually denotes a girl or woman who appeals to traditional or “all-American” gender norms with the allure of purity, simplicity, and charm, with a natural, modest, or effortless beauty."

River indeed is a basic-looking girl. She's pretty, not in the level of a Dina Caliente or a Bella Goth, but pretty enough for everyone's eye. She doesn't wear a lot of make-up. The only exception is, she does wear blush on her cheeks and that's all. Basically, everything's right from the explanation, with maybe the exception of the American part.

This is what I have picked up. As we do have not many clues of, why exactly these two women live alone. (Used to live alone, before the French household got invited to join)

What happened to Mr. McIrish?

Ok, I want to talk about the current relationships of the McIrish women. Before as you see, Fiona and River have been living for a long while all on their own. Only, when Fiona's best friend was troubled, the household changed. The home "Asilomar" the name, the house is blessed with, has been the McIrish's residence ever since. So they've been there for a pretty long while. Then there's another interesting fact......the women don't really know many Sims from their town. Major Sims, that live longer in SV, should know at least a quarter to a half of the town, depending on who are the other families. Like they could know older families, like the Goths, the Landgraabs or even the Hart's. It would even be perfect if they knew the Bunches, the Langerak's or even the Harts. As they seem like a long-standing familly with at least one teenager of River's age, they could have at least a relationship. When we look at River's list of known people, she doesn't know anyone around her age to be her friend. She's only good friend's with a woman named Claire Ursine, who lives by the ocean.

Her mother's best friend Molly is also her good friend as both live in the same household or know each other from the past as well. Sandi is Molly's child, so you don't need to know a lot about it. Agnes is their only neighbor from a large manor across the street and she's basically the only person around their range to live there. Fiona knows Claire and Agnes as well, but she's in a neutral state with them. Weirdly she knows a teenage girl named Lisa Bunch and the last person is her boss at her journalism career, which changed at each game restart. It is really strange, that they don't know a lot of people. Not having many friends is alright, but to have a low knowledge? That's mysterious to me.

Could it be possible, that Fiona and River did live a dark past throughout the years? Do they really not know many people by purpose? I do believe, that this theory could be true. Fiona's bio sounds, like she didn't have quite a happy past and eventually escaped with River from it?

Who could have Mr. McIrish been?

From the family tree, we only have Fiona and River's existence. No spurt of any father or previous family members. But from going with the clue, that Fiona and River are blood-related there's a "rooster", that had the role as a father and husband to both women. The question is, did this man really follow his role well to decent enough?

Let's assume if Fiona's past really wasn't a cakewalk, we could imagine, that Mr. McIrish wasn't such a pleasant person. It is possible, that he might have been an actual bad-spirited person. Perhaps a narcissist, an abusive person or a simple person, whose life changed for the worst through his own choices. (Example drug consumption, alcohol, behavior......) He could as well have hiding his true self from the family and depending on current scenes he would hide it or it wasn't known to the women 'til sometime. The women could have been victim of domestic violence or simple manipulation tactics, for a longer period, which didn't allow them to interact often with the outside world.

Could River have been aware of all that as well? Shouldn't it have affected her?

As River doesn't seem to have any trait, that is considered as "bad", it's most likely, that River was very young to understand her surroundings or she wasn't around to witness anything, that could traumatize her. She could have witnessed the issues as well, but she was cleared out of the parental issues and made it through life just fine. Perhaps she found help in making artwork and grew to love it, making it part of herself.

When did Mr. McIrish disappear from their lives? What happened?

Idea 1: There's Claire Ursine, who's actually a criminal and could have specific connections to make people "vanish" Actually, that would be pretty dark, but I wouldn't understand, if it would make sense, that she would be good friends with River. Perhaps it would work out anyway, hence she and Fiona have a neutral relationship, that could be connected with Mr. McIrish's disappearance.

Idea 2: River, being a child or younger was taken by Fiona to leave the house without the man's knowledge. They were spotted and ran away, encountering Claire Ursine on the way and Fiona handed River out to the woman. Realizing the issue, she informed the police, who caught Mr. McIrish.

Idea 3: Just as number 2, but Claire hides the girls in her house and informs the police about it.

Idea 3.1: Claire befriends River as she was very confused and young to understand the situation.

Idea 4: Mr. McIrish is under the influence of drugs/alcohol and loses his life, because of it.

Idea 5: On the night Fiona ran away, he consumed too much and got out to look for them in a bad state. During the run, he caught up with the women and tried to pull them home. It ended in a fight, where Mr. McIrish fell down on the ground or off a cliff. (In their quarter there is one near actually)

Idea 5.1: He dies from the fall of the cliff

Idea 5.2: He is left on the ground unconscious and he suffocates due to the stomach's release of the consumption stuff. (A.k.a he puked)

Idea 6: Claire Ursine could have been part of this story and understood Fiona's problem as she eventually had a similar story with her neighbor Jared Frio. She could have been present during the situation and helped out with civil courage.

End Note:

I have no idea how accurate this is. I do have a feeling, that this is a very plausible theory to be canon or at least logical to this. I don't know what other people see behind this, similar, the same or something else.

BONUS PICTURE, Because it came random in the game once. 🤯

[sunshine-sparkle]

Sunshineverse Next Gen - Alexandrite Belle

Name: Alexandrite Belle

Nicknames: Alex

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Species: Earth Pony

Backstory: The third child of Applejack and Rarity, and much closer in age to AD than he is to Gala or Stitch. From a young age, Alex was much less interested in the great outdoors or farm work than his two elder siblings. What he took to most was flower arranging, and he got his mark pretty early making a particularly lovely bouquet.

Alex was always closest with Rarity, as he was the only one of his siblings who enjoyed fashion shows and non stop attention just as much as she did. Though Stitch's talent is in sewing, they always preferred to be in the background. As such, if Rarity is going to a fancy party, she tends to bring Alex more than anyone else, something even Applejack was grateful for.

Busy as her moms were, though, both made sure to make ample time for her and her siblings. Though Rarity did have to be away from home on occasion, they did they best to see her off to school in the morning, tuck in her at night, and take care of her when she got sick. With Applejack, she learned to love farm life and take pride in caring for apples. With Rarity, she honed her talent (getting taken along to many a gem cave) and got to get in touch with the arts, as well as speaking her mind far more than she did.

Still, despite not loving farm work (and sometimes complaining about it) Alex will do his part around the farm when called upon. Secretly, he does love that this is when he gets to spend the most time with just him and Applejack. Alex will absolutely talk her ear off, and she doesn't much mind.

Traits: There are few who are more self confident than Alex. Always willing to state his opinion, Alex loves looking fabulous and is always after his sister Gala to take better care of herself. He also tends to be terribly snarky, especially under his breath or when he knows the other party will not understand him. Though he and Gala are just about opposites, they do get along well.

Alex is pretty much always talking, trying to be amusing, and trying to keep the attention on them. As he grows, he learns to let other people have their say. Much like Momma Applejack, Alex is honest, sometimes to the point of brutally honest. Applejack has done her best to steer him away from that path.

Though truly a good pony at heart, Alex can be an absolute diva. His very best trait is advocating for others, and making them shine.

Appearance: Alex has a tan coat with one white foot, a white muzzle, and a light brown mane and tail. His eyes are pink and his hooves are cloven and orange. He always wears a rose in his mane and a thick green gem wrapped around his tail.

Cutiemark: A red rose with a dark green ribbon. His talent is flower arranging, but also making others look their very best, whether than means physically or bringing out their inner charms.

Parents: Rarity Belle and Applejack

Siblings: Gala Apple, Sparkling Stitch, Apple Dazzle, Filigree Belle, Leota Belle, Heat Blaze

Cousins: Autumn Glory, Candy Apple, Ever Crisp

Close Friends: Even Beat, Filigree and Leota Belle, Ladybug Sparkle

(Tolerates Heat Blaze)

[astronova-00]

*Not HP related

Does anyone know this god awful show called Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir? No? Well good. Because you never never never want to be sucked into a hole of watching this cringe worthy, heart burning show. Trust me, I would know. I’ve been watching this show for almost ten years of my fucking life.

See seasons 1 through 3 are garbage. Basically episodes that are there for plot points and background. Just for you to have the lore of everything and get a ‘feel’ for the side (and main) characters. (Also there a bunch of funny moments in the show, that are awful-in a good way!)

Okay, now you may be asking- Astro wtf is the point of this post if you aren’t going to explain what the show is about. Well, I’m glad you asked-because frankly I’m still trying to figure that out myself (not really). Basically there are two main characters named: Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste. See now, Adrien and Marinette have alter egos? basically where they are superheroes. They gain these powers from these little floating creatures called Kwamis, which are named Tikki (for Marinette) and Plagg (for Adrien).

Tikki and Plagg were given to Marinette and Adrien from this old man named Master Fu. He was the guardian of the miraculous! Now Miraculous are these pieces of jewelry (each one is different/similar) which hold the different kwamis that possess different abilities/powers. Throughout season one and two, we see that the miraculous are kept with Master Fu, except for the earrings (Ladybug) and the ring (Chat Noir).

The whole show follows Marinette and Adrien around highschool and shows how Marinette has an obsessive crush on Adrien (yes this includes stalking as well). Adrien being the clueless dummy has no idea but only has his eyes set on Ladybug. YES GUYS THERE IS A LOVE SQUARE!! And it goes like this:

Chat Noir loves Ladybug who loves Adrien who loves Ladybug but Marinette loves Adrien.

And the best part? Adrien and Marinette don’t know their identities as Ladybug and Chat Noir to each other! Fantastic!!!

I could go on about this show (I cannot type it well enough to explain it, but honestly if you are in to watch a show about highschool lovers that’s a little cringe and the episodes have plot then a fighting scene and then ending plot, this is right up your alley).

I won’t get into season four and five as those are still new and people are still watching them, but it’s very worth it to want season 5, the newest episode (Protection? I think it was?) it’s actually really good!!

K. Imma go follow a bunch of miraculous accounts and become even more obsessed again!