#and it’s not like i don’t have sympathy for the fact that she’s clearly manipulating him but

[akkpipitphattana]

i think kids should have way more of a say in custody battles btw

[adickaboutspoons]

Tea Soup and Sympathy

There’s already been plenty going around fandom about the significance of soup this season, so I’ll just condense soup discourse down and summarize that it’s about love and nourishment. But sometimes, soup is not real soup.

When we first meet Zheng Yi Sao, she is posing as Susan the Soup Merchant. But before the end of the episode, it’s revealed that her soup-slinging ways are all artifice.

And just as soup is love, this Yi Sao’s soup-slinging pretense is indicative of the fact that she uses the semblance of sympathy to manipulate people to her own ends. Let’s look at the case study of her interaction with John Bartholomew: Having successfully sacked his ship, she gets news that he wants to shoot himself, but only with the captain that bested him watching. Yi Sao attends the cabin of of the clearly panicking John with Stede and Olu in tow, and lets John show his ass with his inground racist and misogynistic assumptions; with him first identifying the white guy as the captain, then the MOC, and finally the WOC. In spite of the insult, Yi Sao meets him with the contrivance of compassion to give validation his heightened emotionally volatile state, acknowledgement of the cultural assumptions that are making this a particularly difficult defeat for him to accept, but also plays INTO his misogyny by suggesting that if he follows through with killing himself that his final deed in life with be the (implicitly shameful) act of surrendering to a woman.

Once she has gotten him to a place where he feels like someone is listening to him AND understanding where he’s coming from, and shamed out of taking his own life, she applies the social lubricant to foster that warm, fuzzy feeling of camaraderie by suggesting they have drinks.

Pay close attention to the language she’s using when she’s talking John around. After John complains that he’s just trying to feed his crew, and maybe make a little extra money on the side, Yi Sao jumps in with more affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands and appreciates the obstacles he’s facing in obtaining his goals, and concludes with a restatement of his thesis:

“Sure, but they won’t let you. The Spanish, the Dutch, the fucking English! Everyone is cracking down on the little guy! Like, hello! How’s a pirate supposed to make a living?”

Having established that she understands where he’s coming from, she starts the bridge-building portion of her agenda; inviting him to identify with her because of common interests, but simultaneously downplaying her authority, AND using a rhetorical question to which he can easily agree in order to prime him to continue agreeing with her further down the line:

“I don’t speak for everyone, but I didn’t get into this business to fight other pirates, did you?”

She’s also using neurolinguistic programming: all the while that she’s talking to him, she’s reaching her hand out to him - a gesture that mimics the way she is metaphorically reaching out to him, and inviting him to reach back. She then floats a hypothetical that ALSO is easy to say “yes” to, but posing it as a question rather than an order to encourage him to buy into the idea rather than just submit to it:

“What if we could all work together, support each other?”

From here, she plays coy - feigning reticence to float an idea as though it’s TOO audacious, and employing a little false modesty, suggesting her idea is stupid, to not only, once again, play into John’s misogynistic zeitgeist, but to allow him to feel that, when she DOES give voice to her ultimate plan, he can feel like HE won one over on HER by enticing it out of her.

“I don’t know… be, um…Oh! Forget it! It’s stupid. What if… What if we could be partners?”

And that, ladies, gentlemen, and those betwixt and beyond, is how you get someone to cheerfully buy into their own subjugation in the coming invasion.

And make no mistake - invading and conquering the Caribbean IS what Yi Sao is after. She's not looking for partners - she's looking for subordinates. She’s very clear about that with Stede back aboard the Red Flag.

Her soupy subterfuge in the Republic of Pirates was a reconnaissance mission to scope and get info on the local talent in order to try and get them to either join her or die. But she’s not picky either way. Her red flag fleet is already making its way over land at the isthmus of Panama. This IS going to happen. So are you on-board or not?

“Okay,” I hear you say (or not. I don’t know you well enough to put words in your mouth), “but she’s really nice to her crew, providing them with gentle exercise and kind words and soup that, according to all the Caribbean pirates who taste it, is so good it might be the best thing they’ve ever tasted. What makes you think it’s manipulation and artifice, and not the real thing. Maybe she’s just actually compassionate, but her compassion has its limits - the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, as it were?”

Because we’ve already seen this behavior before. Using alcohol to lower inhibitions, using both shame and sympathy to motivate participation, using neurolinguistic programming to let the other party think that THEY’RE the one driving the action, and even being calculatedly withholding to make people think they’ve won something when they extract it from you:

That’s right. It’s Calico Jack, the master manipulator (RIP, asshole) all over again. But whereas Jack leaned further on the typically masculine end of the shame-to-sympathy scale with bullying and establishing himself as a subject matter expert, Yi Sao is coming at it from a decidedly more typically feminine place, encouraging self-identification and downplaying her strengths and contributions. But Yi Sao also ups the game transforming into what the other person needs her to be to close the deal. With Jackie the bossbitch businesswoman, Yi Sao is the Money Bitch. With John Bartholomew the prototypical pirate drowning in toxic masculinity, she’s a feminine fount of sympathy and understanding who, gosh, just CAN’T be sure that her silly little ideas are any good unless a big, strong man affirms that for her. And with Stede, she’s a girl-friend who has BEEN THERE and wants to dish about his toxic ex and all the complicated feelings about that.

So when we hear:

It should immediately throw red flags, both for us AND Stede. He was THERE when she used this voice with John Bartholomew. There might not be any liquor, but she KNOWS that Stede has said that he encourages this kind of “talking it through” behavior, so she doesn’t need to get him to buy into it first. Instead, she launches directly into the same kind of tactics she employed before. She hears Stede say “[The crew] couldn’t keep living like that. Ed can be quite troubled.” Out come the affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands where he’s coming from, and restatement of his thesis: “You must feel so weird. Like you’re glad he’s alive, but then he did all this evil shit to your friends?”

Then on to bridge-building (literally and figuratively - look how she reaches out to clasp him on the shoulder) to invite identifying with her: “I’ve dated my fair share of guys on ‘Wanted’ posters.They’re hot.”

She doesn’t bother with downplaying her authority, because Stede has just confessed to being a novice in terms of romance, but she is so calculated with her wording, floating a scenario that invites Stede to come up with a solution for: “But it always ends in a massacre and then the wrong people get hurt.”

So when she “caves” to his suggestion of “Maybe we could avoid that happening here?” with “I AM feeling a little merciful today,” it begs the question:

What, exactly, was going to be the price of this “mercy” if Auntie hadn’t interrupted?

So Roach isn’t wrong when he praises the soup they get aboard the Red Flag as “Beautiful, complicated, and balanced.” It IS a complicated act, an artfully balanced deception, and beautiful in its artifice. It HAS to look better and more enticing than the real thing. Because it will never give you the actual nourishment you need.

[catihere]

I hope I'm not distracting you from some important things, but I have some questions for you :)

I will be glad if you answer.

1. What songs do you associate with Kore?

2. What do you think of her friendship with Ethan?

3. Do you have any other headcanons about her?

4. Who do you think her second love could be?

5. What would they say about her in the camp if they found out that Kronos has an oracle and an adviser? [given that they know very little about her, she is most likely a girl and she sees the future. I don't think the camp will even know her name.]

6. What do you think she thinks about her brother Hal Green and how does she feel about him?

7. How would the Apollo cabin treat her if she could still meet them?

@kore-pythia-hayashi

OMGGG!! Thank you so much for the ask. I really love your character and I’m glad you’re interested in my opinions on her. So, let’s see…

1. There are a good bunch of songs that remind me of Kore. In fact, I was working on a playlist for her, and some songs I included are Class of 2013 by Mitski (her, Ethan’s and Alabaster’s song I think), Astronomy by Conan Gray, Family Line by Conan Gray, Army Dreamers by Kate Bush, Two birds by Regina Spektor, Goodbye my danish sweetheart by Mitski, Second child, restless child by the Oh Hellos. There might be more, but I can’t remember them at the moment.

2. Kore’s and Ethan’s friendship is my Roman Empire you don’t even know. They understand each other in a very special way, they have a certain complicity and closeness established by their similar (and deeply unfortunate) fates. They both bear the knowledge of their final martyrdom, but manage to find a bit of solace in each other, knowing that they’ll end up in similar ways. Kore tries to act as a beacon to Ethan, to advise him and pull him from some of his distorted views, sometimes not realizing that she’s on a similar track as him… Ethan sympathizes with her, attemps to help her however he can, sometimes feeling guilty for burdening her with his own struggles. To sum it up, yes, they’re both sad, angry and tragic, and they bond over this. (Oh, I also like the detail of their shared Japanese heritage. A lot of cute things that could spring from that)

3. Hmmm…A lot of headcanons I’ve already highlighted in my art. But I have to mention that she’s clearly a big animal lover and has helped Chris and Alabaster sneak some pets onto the ship before… yes, it’s a long story. I have an unposted fic about it…

I also have a feeling that her eyes would be particularly eerie, beautiful, but strange at the same time. I imagine her irises being a bit larger than a mortal’s, with pupils that fade into the rest of her eye. And her eyes are a striking, icy blue, contrasting with the warmth of her body.

Also! She stima by braiding and unbraiding her hair. Just a little thought :>

4. I’ll have to restrain myself from speculating on this. I feel like it would be a very big part of her arc to gain the courage to love somebody after the tragedy of Callum, and only you, her creator, are in measure to decide who.

5. Word would pass very quickly around camp. There would be a certain distain against her, as “traitors” are not quite aprecciated among the campers. But there would also be sympathy, and interest. Who is this girl? Who made her join the Army? Did Luke manipulate her, too? And why is she one of the extremely few demigods with prophetic abilities? She’d be quickly tracked back to the Apollo cabin, as they’re the only ones known to have a slight foreseeing of the future. And some people might try to gain information about her from the other children of Apollo, but obviously with no success.

6. I’m sure that she’s compassionate of Hal Green and his fate, admirative of his sacrifice and extremely close to her brother despite never meeting him. But there’s also a sense of uncertainty surrounding Halcyon… Could have he done anything differently, to prevent the death of so many children? No, no is the most realistic answer, but there’s still something about the wicked game of fate that defined his life that unsettles Kore. In any way, Halcyon deserved better, so much better, and knowing his story might have been one of the aspects that started Kore’s fury at the god’s unfairness.

7. Well… it depends what moment they would have met her. Most likely a mix of empathy for her situation and lack of trust due to her history with Kronos. How could she go against her own siblings?

Wow, this post got really long… I really hope you enjoy my answers and that they were worth the wait 💛

[jor-elsemissary]

Don’t get me wrong, Lionel would still have been a manipulative control-freak toward Lex if he had known the truth about Julian’s death from day one. The difference would be that Lionel would still have loved his son and not seen him as a little monster like he ended up doing. But Lex would still have come to hate Lionel in the end and Lionel would have still died betrayed.

There is a reason he was scripted to say that there was a darkness in Lex and it goes back to the truth he was led to believe. He says that because he believes Lex is a killer. Now whether his manipulations and lessons is to try and curb that instinct or not is debatable, but he still was, regardless of whether he knew or not, trying to raise a successor that would not burn down his empire like so many other successors have done to other empires (I believe Lex still ended up burning it down anyway).

Lex lied because he believed Lionel would hurt Lillian. Lionel became cold to Lex because of that lie. When confronted with the truth years later, you can see the change in emotions running through Lionel. Denial. Anger. Grief. Relief. You can see he was genuinely relieved that Lex had not killed Julian and upset over the fact that Lex was right about what he would have done had he known. He clearly still loved Lillian despite his failing marriage, so being faced with the truth that his wife murdered their youngest had to have hurt.

Still didn’t stop the two from going at each others throats later on though.

Luthors can’t handle truths and emotions very well.

But yeah. Lionel would have treated Lex differently if he had known it was Lillian. Not better. Just differently. Maybe more trusting. After all if Lex outed his mother whom he had loved, Lionel would see it as loyalty to him and perhaps trusted Lex more.

But Lex would not love him anymore if Lionel did something to Lillian. I don’t think Lionel would have murdered her. Having a 6 month old baby suddenly die and then the mother disappear soon after too? That would bring too much attention and heat that Lionel wouldn’t have wanted.

No, I think Lionel would have had her committed to a sanitarium and forget about her for long periods. Lillian was already depressed and refused to acknowledge her son, Lionel could easily say she had a breakdown that inadvertently caused Julian’s death. A small scandal he could milk and gain from if he played the sympathy card right.

Lex would have ended up hating Lionel sooner. Especially if he’s denied visitation rights, which Lionel would no doubt do. He’s not going to have a murderess anywhere near his remaining son or continue to influence him.

These two would have had their falling out long before season 2. Lex probably would have let him die in the tornado. And Lionel would have died betrayed by a hateful son he had trusted.

So Lex lying delayed the inevitable outcome. Sure the truth might have made his childhood a little less harrowing, but he’d still end up killing his father. Cause Lionel would still be a manipulative control freak. Also you don’t mess with a son’s mother.

Truth or lie, the difference wouldn’t be significant enough to make the Luthors into a less dysfunctional family.

[buddyhollyscurls]

I love you ysblf opinions so much. The ones about Marcela’s attitude are always just *chefs kiss* it seems like nowadays she gets a lot sympathy for being cheated on which is terrible, but for some reason people are obsessed with portraying her as The Only and Only Victim when she had very questionable behaviors: hated and sabotaged Betty since the beginning, didn’t even view her as a woman just because she was ugly and had an inferior financial status ( I have gotten jumped by so many people for pointing this out on YouTube comments 😂) Not saying she was the villain either as Betty clearly was no saint herself, in this story all the characters are flawed which makes them very human. It doesn’t help that the actress who plays her has this very same mindset that Marcela is the victim and Betty the real villain, the fact that Mario rarely, if ever, gets this treatment is bonkers to me since he is the one who concocted everything.

Also, it’s not a bad thing that your character didn’t keep a man who didn’t respect nor love her ( he couldn’t even stand her) way before Betty even came along, I don’t see the big loss about this, it’s actually the best thing that could happen to Marcela. It’s sad that she had to leave her own company, but she’s still getting her monthly checks, she’s still one of the rightful owners and didn’t seem like she wanted to be the president at all. There was even talk that maybe she went to Miami to be in charge of the franchise over there which I think would be a great way for her to remain involved in Ecomoda without having to run into Betty and Armando all the time.

Anyway, this already got so long, but wanted to say again that I live for all your ysblf content and you have a very interesting blog overall.

THIS MESSAGE MADE MY ENTIRE DAY THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! It always boggles my mind when ppl tell me they like or even read my opinions on things I watch/ read/ whatever looool to me it feels like I'm just screaming into the void (not that i mind i have tons of fun doing it lol) and it absolutely makes me so hype when I can interact with others about the same media.

Now on to Marcela! I'm not going to say that she was not hurt or a victim AT ALL in the story, there are times I genuinely feel for her especially in the end when she realizes that Armando had the affair with Betty and she STILL wants to be with him anyway. That's why she gets me more upset as the story progresses bc I'm like GIRL U DO NOT DESERVE THIS YOU ARE SMART BEAUTIFUL SUCCESSFUL A SUPPOSEDLY STRONG WOMAN U DONT NEED TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS FOR A MAN WHO DOES NOT WANT U U SHOULDN’T NEED TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL TO HANG ON TO A MAN. But unfortunately Marcela is her own worst enemy and more than anything I think her character shows that even a rich, beautiful, successful woman can be doomed in love. It's not only "ugly" girls who suffer when finding partners. But yes the few times I feel sorry for her and the manipulation she goes through with Armando are almost swept away by her own choices and the person she is. Classist, Elitist, a bully. I think that's something even Armando sees and even when he wasn't in love with Betty or even dating her Marcelas treatment of her since she got the secretary position was what lifted away the last mist of love he felt for her and u can see that in his interactions with her. Overall, Marcela while I do not particularly like her, is such a complex dimensional character

[anachronistic-falsehood]

While you personally don’t want to write an essay in the tags of my post, vis-a-vis Cronus Dynamics, how about writing one here?

Genuinely really interested in hearing your thoughts!

-Nekropsii

I accidentally deleted this ask from my inbox somehow but I saved the post to my drafts beforehand, so hopefully this still posts the way it should! @nekropsii

Everybody sit down because I’m gonna learn you a thing about Cronus Ampora.

Basically, when looking at Cronus and his dynamic within the dancestors, we're need to start by taking a long gander at our first interaction with him and pick apart his character in general.

First thing he does is try to flirt with Meenah, and badly. Which at first glance is just... fine. He's a parallel to Eridan's failed love life, but he's much more overconfident with it. He's arrogant; this is the very first character trait of his we're introduced to. And Meenah's reaction to him sounds like she's used to it. This is NOT the first time Cronus has tried to make a move on her, and it will NOT be the last.

He hammers in this idea that he's royalty but he's still this "cool, progressivwe, easy going dude." However, by trying to push the point that he doesn't care that he's royalty, he just keeps bringing it up. He puts himself on such a high pedestal for just being, and he thinks everyone else holds him up on that same pedestal, while denying that he put himself on the pedestal in the first place. He believes he deserves something for just existing. He calls everyone else "8ROKEN," "freaks," "rejects," which pushes forward the idea that he's somehow better than them. He claims that he listens to people and cares about them, but that is directly contradicted in the things he says about everyone else. He's entitled and a huge hypocrite.

He insists that he's "sensitivwe" and deserves someone to pity him for that, but it's a straight up lie. Cronus is NOT as sensitive as he claims. He tries to open up to Meenah about feeling like a human, but even during that conversation, he keeps making passes at her. He's not sensitive; he uses his "sensitive artistic nice guy" persona to attempt to manipulate people. He's without a doubt, manipulative, even though he's not that good at it when it comes to Meenah.

When interacting with Meenah, Cronus is a nuisance at worst. Meenah is above him on the hemospectrum and doesn't display any obvious disabilities that would make her easy to mess with. She's nearly invincible to him. His demeanour changes, however, when he interacts with Mituna.

Mituna is a) lower on the hemospectrum, and b) displays clear symptoms of disabilities, making him vulnerable. And the first thing Cronus does is make fun of him.

Cronus mocks Mituna, and then immediately launches into what could easily be interpreted as sexual harassment. Cronus claims that he listens to people, but he doesn't do that with Mituna. We can't see what's physically going on, but Mituna keeps telling Cronus to stop touching him and he gets no reaction. Cronus compliments and insults Mituna in the same breath, under the assumption that Mituna can't understand what's being said but he still tries to flirt with him regardless. He keeps trying to push himself into some sort of quadrant with Mituna despite the fact that Mituna very clearly does not want that. Cronus even convinces Mituna that the "weird touching" is just a friendly thing.

When talking to Mituna after Meenah leaves, Cronus even admits that he only says "sorry" and acts pitiable in order to get girls to like him more. He calls Mituna a "mustardblood," insults his relationship with Latula, and even says that he would have killed Mituna himself if Beforus had the same culling system as Alternia. As soon as Meenah, someone of a higher caste, isn't around, the mask comes off. After she's back and his "pitiable soft boy" act has been revealed, Cronus threatens to spread word that he's going to off himself for sympathy points. Yikes.

Cronus shows his true colours around Mituna, which begs the question: how the fuck does this man interact with the other trolls of his group?

We more or less know how he acts around Kankri. Kankri validates whatever feelings Cronus has, so of course Cronus isn't going to get that pissed off at him. We also don't get much mention of Kurloz, aside from the fact that Kurloz doesn't pay him much attention.

Cronus' dynamic within his group of trolls and the Sgrub session they played is widely up to interpretation. I could probably get into Cronus' classpect, blood caste, etc. and the Amporas' foils againt Jake English as Hope-bound players, but I feel like that would deserve its own post, so I'm going to get right into his dynamic within the dancestors, and why the fandom's erasure of his negative traits does his character a disservice.

The dancestors are... an interesting group of people. Their interests and traits vary wildly. In the Ministrife is the only place where we really get to see more of them interact in the same conversation, and even then it's a clusterfuck.

In my opinion, the most antagonistic characters in their group are Damara, Meenah, and Cronus. I won't talk much about Damara, because I don't feel qualified to talk about her at length, but in short, Meenah provoked everyone until Damara went off the handle, leading to Meenah's own death and a number of other things. Everyone else was so caught up in their own personal problems that playing the game was far from first priority. Meenah and Damara caused most of the problems in the game itself, but most of the personal issues were caused by simple conflicts of interest and misunderstandings. However, despite how little we actually know about how Cronus was during their session, there's ample reason to believe he caused a lot of interpersonal conflicts, which in turn contributed to the overall dysfunctionality of their session.

Cronus has absolutely no boundaries. He will flirt with anything that moves, shown in the Ministrife when he makes a pass at Tavros and even asks Eridan out (gross). The two characters Cronus seems to be the most hooked on are Meenah and Mituna, although there could be others; these are just the only two we've seen him have extended conversations with. Cronus alludes to interfering with Mituna's moirallegiance with Kurloz in order to attempt to jam himself into one of Mituna's quadrants. He also shows himself to be slightly jealous of Mituna concerning his relationship with Latula, as Cronus claims she could do better and implies that he would be a better option than Mituna, or even that he could fill Mituna's flushed quadrant instead. Cronus is hypocritical, entitled, arrogant, and manipulative, and when we group those traits in with the people he seems to be involved with the most, it's safe to assume a few things regarding his dynamic with the others during their session.

a) He likely flirted with Meenah all throughout their game, despite her repeated rejection.

b) He possibly tried to wedge himself between Latula and Mituna to get with either one of them (maybe both), and maybe even tried to do the same between Mituna and Kurloz.

c) He was not well liked.

Along with the Damra/Rufioh/Horuss situation and the Kurloz/Meulin situation, Cronus' godawful flirting towards Meenah, Mituna, and possibly Latula and Kurloz made the entire session a romantic mess and kept a large focus on everyone's complicated relationship problems with one another. Cronus is a perfect catalyst to mess with the only functional relationships within the session, being Mituna/Latula and Mituna/Kurloz.

Cronus is a shit-stirrer who ignores boundaries and pushes people, especially Mituna and Meenah, to their limits. He could very well be part of the reason why no one was focused on playing the game and was instead fixated on their own relationships. Maybe things would have turned out differently for Mituna in particular if Cronus wasn't constantly on him about his matespritship with Latula or his moirallegiance with Kurloz. Maybe they could have figured out a way to win if he hadn't distracted some of the only people who were in stable enough relationships to play the game well. Cronus alludes to him and Mituna being friends before Mituna's accident, which might be why he's so bitter and angry about his relationship status with Mituna now. Cronus is obsessed with Mituna's quadrants and is desperate to be in one of them because he sees Mituna as an easy catch; they were friends once, so he should theoretically be able to get back to that point in their relationship, and now Mituna is disabled which makes it easier for Cronus to manipulate and take advantage of him.

There are perhaps some sympathetic traits to Cronus, if you've got a shovel and you're ready to dig for them. His flirting could be a desperate cry for help due to his crippling loneliness. His humankin issues could be him reworking his shattered dreams of being a wizard and a hero into something he understands better, now that he's met some of the humans and seen how powerful they are with their god tier powers. His hope for being something greater than what he is has long since been destroyed, so he's likely projecting onto them in order to gain some sense of belonging in a group where he's alienated and lonely. The greaser persona could be a wall of false confidence to cover up the insecurities he holds. He could be verbally bullying the others in order to try making himself feel better in comparison.

But... that's no excuse for his actions. He straight up admits that he abuses Mituna. He violates people's boundaries with no care for how they might feel.

That's also why it puts me off when people put Cronus and Mituna in a kismesissitude. Cronus is obsessed with Mituna to an unsettling degree. Despite how lowly he thinks of Mituna, he is set on being in one of his quadrants, and it's not healthy. A kismesissitude is built off of mutual respect, competition, and rivalry, not disdain, abuse, and obsession. It's entirely possible that when they were friends, Cronus thought their relationship was headed towards a quadrant, then Mituna filled both quadrants that Cronus was potentially aiming for, leaving Cronus bitter and fixating on Mituna as a whole. That could very well be what happened; it's not canon, but judging from context clues, it's a very big possibility. But even if that's true, this shouldn't frame Cronus as some sad angtsy heartbroken man; he's obsessive and arrogant. Even if he did end up in a quadrant with Mituna, it would not go how he wants it to go.

We'll never know exactly how Cronus interacted with everyone in his group and exactly how his actions contributed to the fate of their session. But that's why I like speculating about it! Cronus is such an interesting character, which is why I hate it when people try to erase his negative aspects in order to make him seem more likeable. He's not supposed to be likeable; he's supposed to be an asshole! He's an antagonistic, bitchy, desperate guy who's got a lot of issues he's unwilling to work through in order to actually improve as a person. He adds something interesting to the alpha trolls' session if you're willing to dive deep and explore his dynamics.

I'm not saying people can't like Cronus. I fucking love Cronus. He's a toxic person who's incapable of change because he won't let himself change. He is a bitch and I love to hate him. When people erase his negative traits, they just create a whole new character and slap Cronus' name and face on it. It erases the abuse Mituna goes through and a lot of the interesting (but unhealthy) dynamics he has with others. People take away the interesting parts of his character and leave him as a woobified angtsy sad boy who's pitch-pining for Mituna and flushed-pining for Kankri, when that's not at all who Cronus is. The fandom does his character a disservice by mischaracterizing him this way.

TLDR: Cronus is a bitch and I love him so much (derogatory)

[divinefireangel]

They Just Don't Know You

Soft Yandere! Seo Moon-Jo x F! Reader

Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction. If this piece of fan fiction is offensive to any celebrity, fandom or culture please let me know so I can take it down. Also note that this is my version of a character or celeb, which will vary from person to person.

Author's Note: A 2nd longer fic for our lovely cannibalistic psychopath. I hate that I'm attracted to him. Someone please be my therapist. Or psychiatrist. Honestly doesn't matter. My brain is fucked anyway.

Copyright: Please note that this is my work and if you want to publish this on any other platform, take my permission before doing so. Taking an author's work and posting it somewhere else without any intimation is just disrespectful. I readily welcome suggestions and criticisms. That being said, Happy reading! 🤍

Warnings: 16+ and written for female reader, but all can read. (nothing specified with respect to appearance, etc of reader). Except that I've mentioned reader is short, cuz LDW is tall 🥰. There is a brief mention of sex, but no actual smut. Reader kinda highkey hates on her parents and younger sister. Read it to know. Age gap between reader and Moon-Jo. Slight obsessive thoughts. Manipulative words. I tried to put plot twist in the end, probably you won't notice it 💀. Please please tell me if I need to add more warnings. Do not read if you start to feel uncomfortable. I apologize in advance 🥺

❗❗PLEASE READ WARNINGS ❗❗

Pre-Requisite / Summary: Just a fic based on the song They Just Don't Know You by Little Mix. After watching Strangers from hell I related this song to him for some reason. Reader and Moon-Jo are in an established relationship. And reader's loved ones don't approve.

2.3k ish words My longest fic till date 🥳

" You know that he's too old for you. You can settle for younger, much younger guys for your age sweetheart. If you can't find anyone eligible enough, we will find one for you. And you don't even know if he has intentions of marrying you. What if all he wants is just a fling or some time pass relationship. Hmm? What are you going to do then? "

Sipping her tea silently, Y/N sat next to her dad on the porch swing, listening to all the criticisms he had about Moon-Jo. All his words did was boil her blood. But what could she do when they don't walk in her shoes? They don't know how safe and content she feels when he kisses her like she's the only girl for him in the entire universe. And no point in explaining that to her father anyway. She's tried. And failed. Multiple times.

"Are you done with your tea?" She asks her dad, in desperate attempt to try and get away from him and his words because she knows, and even he knows that it's going to end up in a fight if they continue to speak on the same topic.

Humming yes, he hands her his tea cup which she takes to the kitchen so she can help her mom with dinner. Placing them in the sink upon entering the kitchen, Y/N drags her palms down her face in frustration.

" I could hear what he said you know. Your dad. He's not wrong. Seo Moon-Jo seems like he'll break your heart in three. And we're only looking out for you Y/N. You don't have to go through heartbreak when you can very well avoid it." Her mom finished slowly.

" Why. Why is it so difficult for you to accept the fact that I'm actually in a happy relationship for once in my life. So what if he's much older than I am? He's a dentist. A doctor. A very good profession and he's known and well respected in his neighbourhood too. " Y/N said loud enough for her dad also to hear.

Huffing in annoyance she left the kitchen to go upstairs to her room. Or rather the room she shares with her sister. Of course the door is wide open. The younger rascal is always here for the drama.

Ever since Y/N came out to her family about her relationship with Moon-Jo, her sister has become the favourite child, for obvious reasons. And now eavesdropping with the door wide open? That's a new low. But what else can Y/N expect from such a low life who is literally thriving off her own sister's pain and suffering.

When entering the room, Y/N realizes how big a mistake it was to visit her family. And she did not need such snark from a younger, less experienced child.

"Are you that blinded by " Love " that you don't even see how weird his hair is? A man who isn't an idol or actor doesn't need such long hair. He's clearly a fuckboy. Or man whore. Whichever is right. " She said with disgust.

'She's just jealous. She's just a jealous bitch. They all are.' Y/N thinks to herself.

" At least one of us gets laid regularly. And just so you know, it's absolutely heavenly when he makes me cum over and over on his fingers and his dick-" Y/N said as her tone slowly got lower and darker and her emotion angrier.

Screaming and covering her ears, the younger girl ran downstairs to her mother, no doubt to tattle on her older sister. Rolling her eyes, Y/N started packing her things, all of them, in a bag she took down from the top shelf of the wardrobe.

It's really difficult to leave one's family, but it is clearly getting more and more tiresome to love them nowadays. If it's so wrong to date him, why does Y/N herself not see it? She's a logical and smart young lady. Does her family hate that man so much that they don't even want her to be happy? No matter who she's with. And is it so bad to date a man who's older? Richer? And cares more about her than all of her family members combined?

Wiping the fallen tear stains from her cheek, she just thinks to herself ' They just don't know him. They just don't know him like I do. '

Sending a text to her lover, saying that she misses him and that she's coming back home sooner than planned, Y/N carries her bag through the front door, her parents and sister ignoring her as she leaves and walks out that door one final time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once reaching their shared apartment, Y/N collapsed into her lover's arms the moment he opens the door, crying her eyes out. Seeing his lover in turmoil, shedding a tear or two of his own, Moon-Jo carries her to the living room couch to cradle her like a child who needs attention.

" They- They said -"

" Shh my darling. I know. " Moon-Jo said, shushing his girlfriend and giving her a shoulder to cry on. Once she's calmed a little, her sobs turning to sniffs, she lifts her head to meet his gaze.

Seeing her sad, tear stained eyes always upset him. More than anything in the world. Running his long slender fingers across her cheeks and jaw, he removes her hair from her ponytail with his free hand and rests it on her thigh.

" Tell me. Please tell me that you won't break my heart like them. That you won't try to tear my world apart like them. " Y/N looked desperately at him, wanting so badly to know that he's not just using her.

Those words, that slipped out her mouth, shocked Moon-Jo, to say the least. What did he do wrong? What did her family fill her head with?

Tilting his head to a little, he looks into her red eyes, trying to read her mind for a moment, all the while she just looked at him with the same desperate expression.

"Please tell me that you will be there when I need you the most. " Y/N whispered so softly, she herself barely heard it. But the end of the sentence, she started crying all over again.

Taking her head to his neck, he stroked her hair and her sides, trying to calm her down.

" Darling. I promise with my everything, that I will never leave you, I will never ever let you go. That I will do anything, anything necessary to prove my love to you. "

"No, oh dear no. That's not, you don't have- have to do anything at all to make me believe you love me. I'm sorry I asked such a stupid question. " She sobbed out.

Shushing her softly again, he rocks their bodies back and forth, till she's calmed and fallen asleep there, in his arms. Knowing that his arms are her only safe place for her from now on, he takes her delicate figure to the bedroom.

Placing her on her side of the bed, he lays down on his. Staring at her stunning face, he feather touches her face with his fingertips, memorizing every curve, every little detail on her, like a sculptor admiring his work and giving it the finishing touches.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" So, I did a little digging on your sugar daddy. "

" Why?! And he's not my sugar daddy. " Y/N said in disbelief. No. Not her dear best friend too.

" I know you said not to and I'm sorry. But I am worried about you. He made you leave your family Y/N. " They stated with worry and sympathy.

" No. He didn't make me leave them. I left them by choice. They don't see him like I do. And clearly, they hate that I'm happy with him. " Y/N finished as they sat down at the lunch table.

" Y/N..... "

" What? Even you don't want me to be happy? " She questioned her friend in disbelief. Laughing sarcastically Y/N shook her head.

" I've heard rumours! Okay? He was in the orphanage that had that severe fire explosion. And most of the culprits from that incident are MIA. What if he's one of the people who caused it?! " They said in a whisper, worried that the neighbouring people can hear their conversation.

" Do you really think that? All of that is just a rumour. And he's told me about it. He's told me everything. Unlike my parents who so desperately tried to tie me down to an arranged marriage. "

" He's not good for you. I know you deserve better. Okay he may make happy and all but what if he leaves? What if he just uses you and drops you like you were nothing? We're just trying to make sure you don't get hurt Y/N. Physically and emotionally. " They finished.

" This, all what you said, is cheap talk. But it'll eventually wear down because when we get married and have kids and all that in the future, you're all going to look like fools. And I will proudly say ' I told you so '. "

" If that's the case then I am the happiest person for you. Hopefully I won't have to be the one to say ' I told you so'. "

" Wow. I, just- hah. Wow. Just wow. " She paused.

" You know, I really hoped you would be more supportive or at least tolerant enough to have patience and support me with my decision for my love. " Y/N said loud enough for eavesdroppers to hear audibly.

Of all the people she would have to drop, never even in her nightmares had she fathomed that her best friend would be one.

Getting up from the table, she picks up her bag and leaves without another word, and goes to the only place that has love for her and that accepts her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Reaching home, Y/N notices the place empty. Maybe he's at the clinic?

Shrugging off her bag and jacket she sits on the couch for a moment, before her restlessness takes over and she begins pacing in the living room.

Why are people being like this? Do they hate her so much? They barely know him. Why are they treating and accusing him to be such a criminal! He's not. He takes care of Y/N so much. He loves her so much. He provides for her. He's affectionate with her, more than he's told he thought capable. He's become her ride or die. And she, his.

They don't know him like I do. They will never love me like he does.

They don't know about the love they have. The just see what they want to see. Bloody society dictating whom to love and whom to not. Is it so hard to see the love they have for each other? Can't they just let it be. They don't know the turmoil she's gone through recently; they don't know how well he's taken care of her, kept her happy and same enough to not let her intrusive thoughts get the best of her.

Her thoughts interrupted by the door clicking open. Smiling, Moon-Jo enters with a box, surely containing sweets from her favourite bakery. How can you not love someone so considerate, who does things for you without even having to ask.

Seeing the sad look upon his lover's face, Moon-Jo's smile fades into a frown.

" What's wrong my dear? "

Smiling sadly Y/N just shakes her head, conveying that she doesn't want to talk about it.

Placing the box of sweets on the coffee table, the two hug each other, feeling of comfort taking over them both. She can just stay here, forever, in his arms till the world ends.

" Babe. What's wrong? You can tell me anything. Anything at all. I'll take care of the problem. " Delicately Moon-Jo cradles Y/N's head in his palms, making her face up to him, their height difference evident.

Sighing, she moves to sit on the couch, motioning him to do the same. " It's just people. And what they say. My family was one thing, but my best friend, the person I chose as my family " Pausing Y/N breathers the tears back in, " They were doubtful of you today. How can I live knowing that no one will approve of us? " Y/N questioned looking at him.

" Does their opinion really matter that much? So much so that you are skeptical of my affection to you? " Coldly, he moved back from his seat on the couch.

" No! No. Gosh that is not what I mean. Not at all. I love you and I know that you love me. So much. So much so I would die for you. But there are other people whom I care about. Who's opinions matter to me. And I don't want to let them go. As happy as I am with you, I need them too. They give me joy in a different way, that is important. "

" Do I not make you happy? Are you not content with the love I give you? Is it not enough? " He asks carefully.

" That's not what I meant! You love me more than anyone I've known. "

"Then what's the problem? You don't need those people who don't love you. You have me. You will have me forever and ever. I will never leave you. And you will never leave me either. We'll be with each other till the end of the world darling. "

Nodding with a small smile you looked down at your feet.

Unhappy with your action, Moon-Jo pulls your face up by your chin to look at him with such force, it scared you a little, making your heart skip a beat in fear.

" Do you not love me, babe? " He asked tilting his head to a side, his expression mildly offended.

" I do! I love you. So much. " You finished with a soft tone, cupping his face with your hands.

Grinning like a Cheshire Cat, Moon-Jo leaned down to capture your lips with his. Reacting immediately, you kissed him with as much energy and sincerity you could muster, as you head filled with thoughts of doubt.

Had your parents been right? Had for friend been right? Had they all been right all along and you too blind to see?

No. It can't be. He loves you. He's said that so many times. And you love him.

You love him.

You.

Love.

Him.

...

Do you love him, or have you been illusioned into loving him?

[gregrulzok]

The Danganronpa fandom is really gross for treating Korekiyo as creepy or disgusting, and it shows how little sympathy people have for male victims of abuse. 

More under the cut, spoilers for DRV3 (just Kiyo’s story)

TW: Mentions/Non-graphic discussion of Abuse, SA/Child SA, Inc*st, Murder

To put it plainly: Korekiyo was abused and assaulted by his older sister. 

This is never directly stated... But it doesn’t take a lot to figure out, either. 

Korekiyo talks about his now-deceased older sister in a state of almost feverish adoration. He clearly holds her in high regard, but the way he reminisces about her is clearly meant to be romantic or even sexual, which is something that the fans quickly picked up on. Justifiably enough, this was universally seen as gross and creepy. 

What the fans apparently DIDN’T pick up on is the context to the story. While the ages of V3 characters are ambiguous, the implication is the Kiyo was a child when his sister died, and therefore was a child when their relationship started. She, meanwhile, was an adult, or at least close to one, as evidenced by the fact that it’s said their parents weren’t there and she had to raise him.

It’s ALSO implied that their relationship was, physically or verbally, abusive. In Kiyo’s execution, his spirit excitedly reaches towards her, only for her to put salt on him (this is probably supposed to be an exorcism), clearly hurting him and laughing in the process. This, in an of itself, could be a fabrication by Monokuma, but the way Korekiyo himself talks about and “to” his sister implies to me that she at least was controlling and overbearing, as he always defers to her. 

Either way, what we’re seeing is a grown/near grown woman entering a sexual and romantic relationship with her younger brother, someone who had no choice but to rely on her for protection and care in the absence of parents. She took advantage of his reliance on her and her own power over him - she could color his worldview however she saw fit, and she clearly used it to make him feel like their relationship was normal and beautiful. 

Korekiyo loves his sister, yes, but he also never had a choice. She was the only one who was ever there for him, she raised him, she taught him how to look at the world. 

So, again: Korekiyo was abused and assaulted by his older sister. 

And the fact that the fandom has the audacity to turn around and call Korekiyo a freak, a weirdo, creepy and gross for the way he talks about her disgusts me. 

A victim of abuse and assault from the other person he trusted is seen as the gross one.

Kotoko gets sympathy from the fandom. Akane gets sympathy from the fandom (albeit less, since she isn’t very popular in the first place). Mikan gets sympathy from the fandom. Tenko gets sympathy for assault that was never even canonized, same with Miu. 

What makes Korekiyo different?

Don’t answer that, you know as well as I do. 

A man can be a victim. A man can be abused, and assaulted, and manipulated, and hurt. A man can be a victim to a woman, abused and assaulted and manipulated and hurt by a woman. 

And the fact that the entire fandom decides to sweep that under the rug in favour of seeing HIM as the disgusting weido, a pervert, a freak, is trully and utterly repulsive to me. 

...

And don’t even try to give me the “But he’s a murderer” spiel. Don’t even try. So is Syo, and she’s generally loved. So are Junko and Mukuro, who aren’t looked at with disdain. So is Maki, and she’s generally well-liked. Fuyuhiko and Peko are in the yakuza, are any of you concerned about that?

Korekiyo’s murdering is so swept under the rug that there is literally no chance in hell that anyone in the fandom would care if that was all there was to him. 

You don’t care that he’s a murder, I don’t care that he’s a murderer, no one cares that he’s a murderer. 

People hate him because they can’t be bothered to feel sympathy for a male victim. 

[mountain-man-cumeth]

What Went Wrong: An In-Depth Analysis of Muriel's Route

*Youtuber voice*

Below are the opinions of an uneducated individual on what could’ve left the majority of The Arcana audience dissatisfied. I will explore the plot, tropes, themes and morals of the Muriel route and try to explain what may have gone wrong. I will be treating the game as a novel since it's advertised as one.

1. Consistency. If you are unfamiliar with the chekhov's gun; it's a story writing principle that dictates each element you introduce should come into play (foreshadowing). Now let's start with a few story beats that were later abandoned or concluded in an underwhelming manner:

Muriel's blanket

Muriel's magic mark (on his back)

Forest spirit (spirits in general)

Lucio's upbringing

Circumstances of MC's death

Figurines/whittling/charms

Muriel's blanket is teased to be a tapestry, which would tie in with his later fascination with them later on, as it had been the only thing he had left from his past. MC neither sees nor comments on the blanket, we only know it exists thanks to other playthroughs and short stories.

Magic marks are an important point in the game. Every main route emphasises on how it affects the chosen LI. It's reveal is important in a way that it serves as a passage to a new act where the reader explores magic and Arcana pantheon as they are a monumental part of the overall worldbuilding. This exact point applies to the Heart of the Forest and how spirits interact with the world around them as well.

Whittling and Charm making are the only hobbies we get from Muriel's isolated life, their introduction helps the reader humanise the character by giving us a crumb of his everyday life. It's never mentioned again after the scene where MC asks him what he does. He doesn't idly whittle during their journey and charms only come to play in an offhanded reference during reversed ending.

The other two are also ignored but I will touch on Lucio later on.

Why do these matter? A few abandoned plot points don't make or break the story but on a grander level it hinders the audience investment. When we read, we like to think the details we notice will come to play eventually, we like recognizing references that were introduced earlier. I'm sure I don't need to give examples on this one, I don't think anyone will disagree.

2. Themes. Thematic influences this story utilized are all over the place, and it seems to me like it stems from the improper application of certain tropes;

The Hero's Journey

Home Sweet Home

Shell-Shocked Vet

Last of His Kind

etc.

Some of these tropes tackle themes such as;

Slavery

PTSD

Survivor's Guilt

Genocide

I'm not going to try to explain How to Write any of these topics. I'm not remotely qualified. I think it's better if I just give examples from popular media because whether you know how to write it or not, you can still understand when it's written well;

AtLA deals with genocide and survivor's guilt. It's in the name; The Last Airbender. Aang is the sole survivor of a culture he'd only had an opportunity to engage in for a handful of years. He left them with a childish tantrum and now they're gone forever. I can't think of another mainstream series that shows the gruesome reality of war and genocide better than this one.

When Muriel realizes his true heritage and loses Khamgalai is the point of the story where Luke sees his family's farm burned down, Aang goes back to the air temple, Treebeard walks in on the demolished part of the forest. (The inciting incident)

(Could also have been forest spirit’s death but it was too early in the story so I don’t consider it a missed opportunity.)

Up until this point the hero has their doubts, they're going through the motions but they are either underestimating the enemy or they're a passive protagonist. Either way, this is the point where the hero has to take the reins of the story. What purpose does this serve in Muriel's route instead? It simply validates Muriel's beliefs. He's useless, he isn't strong enough. We as the reader need a point to see where the hero takes a step to drive the story forward or whoever takes that step will steal the spotlight, it will be their story. As it is, this is the point where it ceases to be Muriel’s story.

PTSD got the worst end of the deal. Since Dragon Age fandom has a huge overlap with the Arcana I will use Fenris as an example; for those who are unfamiliar with the character, Fenris is an escaped slave. After the sex scene he vividly describes an experience that most people can easily identify as a flashback. The game never tells us that he was abused, it doesn’t show us him having a panic attack but it shows us that whatever transpired between him and the player character clearly triggered an unpleasant memory.

Arcana tries and initially succeeds to do something similar. We see that the character is untrustworthy, sensitive to touch, easily agitated, can’t sleep outside of his perceived safe environment… It introduces us the cause later on and the story has two options, each will drastically change the moral of the story:

Remember these as they will be important later on

Portray Muriel fighting as a bad thing; You can’t fight violence with violence angle or the fact that the villain’s forcing him into a situation where he’ll have to fight again makes the villain all the more intimidating.

Portray Muriel fighting as a good thing; He has the means to defeat the villain and he just needs encouragement. With great power comes great responsibility. By not fighting he willingly condemns everyone to an awful fate and that he is selfish.

I’d like to take a second to explore the 1. Option, I feel like the game may have intended to implement that idea but failed because of the implementation of Morga and choices presented for the player character: Morga is an Old-Soldier, these characters are often push the hero out of their comfort zone in an aggressive way towards complacency, they are a narrative foil to the mentor. For the first option to work the story had to show Khamgalai acting as a mentor and having the protagonists challenge Morga’s teachings(see Ozai-Iroh). As it is, Morga’s actions are never put under scrutiny (narratively) and her death feels hollow as a result. She didn’t sacrifice herself for the heroes due to her guilt, she died because she felt a moment of sympathy for her son which wasn’t explored before, she showed no intention to change nor any doubt.

It is clear the game choose 2. Option, it is a controversial choice given Muriel’s mental condition and the game is acutely aware of this, which is likely why Muriel’s PTSD will get carefully scraped from the story from here on out. (I won’t address other instances where his trauma wasn’t taken into account, I feel like this explanation should cover them as well.)

3. Morals. Every story, whether the author intends it or not, has a moral. The Villain most often acts against that moral and in turn can change the hero's perspective. Morals are not ideals; the morality of Killmonger isn’t that marginalised people should fight for their rights, it is that vengeance is just. Whether it’s right or wrong can be debated but what makes an ideal the moral of the story is in the portrayal. How the narrator depicts the events, how people around the heroes react... all are a part of portrayal.

The story choosing “Muriel fighting is a good thing” earlier puts in the foundation of a moral. The story tells us Muriel has to fight, it’s the right thing to do. He has to be brave for the people he loves.

This choice affects how his past actions will be perceived; now, him escaping the arena to save himself is cowardly, abandoning Morga is cowardly.

The story tells us it wasn’t, but shows us that it was. This is the end of the midpoint of the story, at this point we need to have a good grasp on what we should perceive as wrong or right for us to feel invested. If we zig-zag between the morals we won’t know which actions we should root for. But more than that, the conclusion will not feel cathartic as it will inevitably demonstrate the opposing ideals clashing at its climax.

Villain doesn't necessarily have to be sympathetic and Muriel's route makes no effort to make him as such, but they need to be understandable. What danger does Lucio pose to the status quo, what makes him a compelling villain? Whether he conquers Vesuvia or not doesn’t drastically affect Muriel’s way of life, he’s been in hiding for years. He doesn’t threaten to steal MC’s body, Muriel is not compelled to pick up arms to save his beloved. He wants to protect the people from going through what he’s been through, right? That is what the story wants us to think. But what has he been through? Fighting was his choice, Lucio tricked him into it. Lucio later tricked Morga, his own mother, to save his own hide. This tells us that Lucio is a manipulator, but he doesn’t manipulate his way into Vesuvia, he barges in with deus ex machina monsters. He doesn’t demonstrate his skills as a tactician by making deals with neighbouring kingdoms to get their armies. We don’t know his strengths therefore we don’t know his weaknesses. If he seems to be losing he can just conjure a giant dragon to burn everything down, we just can’t know. That is why the application of deus ex machina is highly taboo, the victories don’t feel earned and defeats feel unfair.

4. Tone. Playing with the genre is not uncommon and a game such as Arcana has many opportunities to do so. It is a romance story, everything else is the back-drop. The tone works best when its overall consistent but tonal changes act as shock for the audience to keep them engaged and keeping one tone indefinitely gets us desensitized. We can’t feel constant misery if we are not made to feel tinges of hope in between. Good examples of dramatic tonal change (that I can think of): Mulan - arriving at the decimated village, La Vita e Bella - the father’s death, M*A*S*H - death of Hawkeye’s friend. Two of these examples are mostly comedy which is why this tonal shift affects us so, it was all fun and games until we are slapped in the face with the war going on. There are no one liners in those scenes, the story takes a moment to show appropriate respect to the dead, it gives its characters time to digest and come to terms with loss. Bad examples are the majority of Marvel movies.

In Muriel’s route there’s never such a thing, Muriel has a panic attack and MC kisses him. This unintentionally tells us, the genre being romance, that the panic attack only served to further MC’s advances. It tells us that he’s never had the control of his life and it’s yet again stripped from him by the decisions of player character. This is not the only instance this happens. The story shoe-horns in multiple cuddle sessions between important plot beats. And it does the exact opposite during a moment where he is having a heart-to-heart with the person he loves by having the ghost of Morga appear to give an ominous warning/advice.

When he runs off during masquerade it’s built up to be an important plot point. Muriel will finally face his past, he’s been running away from it all along, and he will have an opportunity to be accepted back in. MC is supportive but ultimately, it’s meant to be Muriel's moment. But as I mentioned above this is not his story anymore so he’s not given any time to address his problems, instead a ghost appears to tell him what he needs to do, again. Because we need to wrap the story up, we don’t have time.

Remember how I said the 2 Options will be important later on, well here we are at the very end. Upright and reversed.

“Portray Muriel fighting as a bad thing”

This suggests that the triumph of Muriel won’t be through violence. Maybe he will outsmart Lucio in a different way, he won’t play his games anymore. This option suggests that Lucio will not be beaten by his own terms.

“Portray Muriel fighting as a good thing”

This option concludes with Muriel finally overcoming his reservations on violence and doing what's right to save the people he loves. And bringing justice to people who Lucio hurt.

If you are wondering why the upright ending feels random, this is likely why. The ending plays out as if the story was building on the 1st option while we spent chapters upon chapters playing out the 2nd one. It is unearned.

(The reversed ending, being reversed, also uses Option 1 path but in which Muriel can’t achieve his narrative conclusion)

The Coliseum is filled with people who are on their side against Lucio’s shadow goons. Because we can’t have people being on Lucio’s side without addressing the duality of human nature, even though it’s an important part of Muriel’s story. The people who watched and enjoyed Lucio’s bloodsport are no more, they are all new and enlightened offscreen. We completely skipped the part where Vesuvia comes to terms with its own complacency and Muriel simply feels at ease because the crowd is cheering on him now. This is what happens when you give the character a chance to challenge those who have been complicit in his abuse (masquerade scene) and completely skip it to move the story along.

Muriel doesn't get justice, ever. The people only love him now because he's fighting for them instead of his own survival. Morga or her clan doesn't answer for the massacre of Kokhuri, Vesuvia doesn't answer for the sick entertainment they indulged in and Lucio doesn't answer for Muriel's enslavement. It is not even acknowledged, nowhere in the story (except the very end of reversed ending, and even then it almost gets him killed so its clearly the wrong thing to do on his part) is a choice presented where Muriel has an opportunity to get any sort of compensation where he instead chooses to move on.

I don’t intend to straw man anyone but this is a sentiment I’ve seen a lot; “It’s a short story, a dating-sim, what do you expect?”

I expect nothing, I’m simply explaining why some people feel how they feel. It is a short dating-sim but it seems to me like it was aiming to be something more by borrowing elements that were clearly far above their weight range to tease something more and under deliver. It is okay to feel content with the story, and it’s okay to feel let down. If we had a unanimous decision on literature we would never be inclined to write our own stories.

[solardragun]

Oz salt? Please spare Oz salt. 🥺

rubs hands. let's do this again because tumblr crashed.

first things first: I want everyone who has ever called him a liar to pay me $20 and then turn in a 40 page essay on how he's a liar, MLA format, sources cited.

now, onto that. everyone harps on ozpin for lying. keyword: lying. they call him a liar, they say they can't trust him, etc. let's talk about this. keeping secrets is not lying. lying is intentionally FALSE statements / information.

so, with that, let's count the number of times ozpin has GENUINELY LIED. that'll be a total of one (1) time. what lie was this? the relic having questions.

this ENTIRE time, everyone has been dragging this poor man by the ankles and punching at him while he's down when he's lied... once.

he's kept secrets, he's kept information to himself. that, by definition, is not lying. keeping secrets is not giving false statements. to keep calling him a liar is inaccurate.

now, let's move onto the way the narrative paints him.

"he forced pyrrha to be the maiden. he didn't give her a choice. he told her to pick or everyone would die. he guilt tripped her." — to that I say, no he didn't. he explained the gravity of the situation. if he didn't tell her the heavy parts, everyone would've ripped him to shreds because he "didn't warn her". he explained what he felt she needed to know: they needed someone to take the other half of amber's power. it's a big decision to make and it will change your life. there are people out there who want their hands on this power and we don't want the wrong person to have it, like cinder. you can take your time to choose. if you don't, we will consider another option.

he gave her the information she needed and he gave her time to think about it. when she accepted, he continuously asks her for consent and if she truly wants this. she said yes multiple times.

on that note, he is not responsible for her death. he told her to LEAVE when cinder attacked. he told her to go get qrow, james and glynda, and then get to safety with the rest of the students. SHE chose to come back and fight cinder all on her own. jaune even begged her not to do it before she shoved him in a locker and launched him away. ozpin is not responsible for her death.

"he's evil because he tried to leave salem and take their kids" — okay so clearly male abuse victims don't exist to you or the narrative. ozma was MANIPULATED by salem. jinn says as much: "the hearts of men are easily swayed." this is said over salem goading ozma into being a false god with her. he continuously questioned their choices, he was consumed with guilt, his host even asked him wtf was going on.

when their daughter came into her power, ozma decided to lay the truth out, and with it came the horror of salem wanting to USE their daughters to start a new generation of magic-users. she SAID it, right to his face. he BACKS AWAY IN DISGUST AND HORROR. his logical thought then was to LEAVE. wouldn't you if your spouse decided they wanted to use your children??

it astounds me because if the roles were reversed, ozma would be the villain and salem would be justified in leaving. interesting, isn't it?

next, we have the girls ripping his past away from him and then blasting him for hiding information. this... look, I don't care how "urgent" it was, there is NO excuse for doing this. if this had happened to blake when she was keeping secrets about being in the white fang or being with adam, the characters and audience would be livid, especially when the white fang were written as dangerous terrorists and adam was written as an abuser. they're dangerous, they posed threats. if this had happened to blake, if someone forced her trauma out into the open, they would be in the wrong. but because it's ozpin, it's fine.

moving on. "lying about lionheart." — this is just ridiculous. telling the world "hey, the headmaster of haven, who was a faunus by the way, was actually the one behind huntsmen dying and the attack on the school as well as contributing to the fall of beacon." it sends a BAD message and sets the human-faunus relationship back even further. ozpin chose not to tell the people about lionheart betraying them because not only would it cause issues, he also says that he would rather people believe in all the good leo had previously done. your mistakes don't define you, that kind of logic.

"oz lied about the lamp attracting grimm" — no he didn't. he didn't SAY that it did. that's not a lie. he kept it a secret so the students wouldn't worry and actually attract grimm. which, by the way, interesting how that "attraction" seemed to have disappeared by the time v7 and 8 dropped. never once saw grimm following them around because of the lamp. the only grimm that actively attacked were the ones coming through the hole in the wall. weird, huh? almost like the story NEEDED something for the characters to be mad at oz about.

anyway, I'm gonna move on. the fact that ozpin received ZERO apologies and / or sympathy, especially from those we'd expect it from (ruby, weiss, blake) is infuriating. EMERALD was forgiven in a heartbeat, and she actively helped cause the fall of beacon, she helped kill penny, she killed a faunus in vale to prove a point to cinder (who got mad at her for, btw), she helped frame yang into "attacking" mercury so she'd look violent, she worked for salem by proxy of cinder. emerald did way much worse than ozpin, and she was forgiven !! in that same episode, ozpin is given dirty looks and "hm, idk if we can still trust you." hell, HE apologized. he had NOTHING to apologize for. these kids were in the wrong, especially when they lied throughout all of volume seven and then were justified for it. "you're not like oz, you're trusting people to prove themselves first." uh. you mean like ozpin was doing???? these students actively lied to ironwood for most of v7 until it finally caught up to them, and then they were STILL in the right. yet they got on ozpin and still reprimand him.

idunno man, I'm so tired. this isn't even the half of it but I'm angry all over again.

in any case, ozpin isn't perfect, he has made some really stupid mistakes (CCT towers that cause global disconnection when one tower falls, etc.), but like, he's not the devil either.

[tim-hoe-wan]

I’ve waited a day later so I people would calm down and think it over. Do you think there’s any redemption for Olivia? I will always be warry canceling a woman over a video after the Taylor snakegate and since Olivia is a clear victim of misogyny as well. Can you tell us how your colleagues in the industry feel? I just feel so conflicted so it’s all coming from Shia. Why did Olivia even take a video instead of simply texting wtf

I think major parts of this question have already been answered in a previous ask, but I’ll reiterate.

I’ll start with the last question. Olivia is a narcissist. You could simply smell it in the air cause she doesn’t know how to hide it. The problem is, she’s also dumb af. She doesn’t think she’ll get caught that’s why she’s leaving these crumbs of evidence. High likely she thinks as Shia is hated by everyone, he’ll never retaliate. But the problem is, Shia is also a huge narcissist, but a smart one. The email he sent will always be creepy but shows that this man is eloquent and knows how to control a narrative without sounding like they ate a thesaurus. A man as manipulative as that will never go down without brining other people with him. Moreover, this man really has nothing to lose and is known for his theatrics. It’s stupid to think he’ll be one who’ll silently let his narcissistic ass be trifled like that by an enabler. The man clearly waited until his redemption tour and the perfect time to strike. That said, it needs to be said a thousand times that Shia is the worst one in all of this and does not deserve redemption or sympathy. The woman was just outplayed at her own game.

I don’t know about redemption, Olivia could release a video later to show she did fire Shia or whatever. But again, why did she even give Shia a platform and even beg for him to come back!? He had a very public violent outburst with Mia Goth. That was years before FKA Twigs released her statement. Shia is not someone who hid the fact that he’s a POS. I cannot give Olivia the benefit of the doubt because someone of her tenure and status would already know about this. She is the same as every other celebrity, a clear enabler as long as it benefits them. The worst is that she’s a complete hypocrite by masquerading herself as a feminist and someone who stands against abuse. No matter the reason for her making sending that video statement to Shia, if she really stood against abuse she would not have given an abusive coworker a job and moreover, beg him to come back.

Her infantilizing Flo and the clear condescending tone does not strike well and is the main emotional outburst of the gc. My friends always look at their tenured female coworkers as someone who will protect them. Maybe it’s the idea that these women could not be as worst as the men as they are after all, victims as well. Maybe it’s the comfort we look for in mother or older sister figures. But a lot of their experience include two faced cunts, enablers or women with clear generational gap believing since they sucked it you should too. It’s one thing when a woman is clearly vile, but some of their worst experience are with women who present themself as their friends only to double cross you when it benefits them. This is true for any industry, the difference is in hollywood they get the benefit of fame and accolades for being hypocrites. Flo is very clearly a woman of her generation and ScarJo pointed it out well. Whatever excuse Olivia has, Flo’s silence and backing out of the promo speak volume, especially knowing Flo can’t help but respond to every false tabloid drama involving her.

Olivia IS a victim of misogyny by Harry stans. This does not change any of that. Shia is still an abusive POS. However, Olivia could have avoided all this by just not lying to up herself and profiting off of another woman’s abuse. She got outplayed by someone clearly smarter and more despicable than her. No one, not even the harries, told her to lie to tmz and variety. That was her own doing right there.

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

Welp initially I held back for Mack's sake, but not anymore.

@Yooniesim Bitch, leave my name out your mouth if you don't have the fucking balls to unblock me before you tag me, you fucking pussy. Imagine being on such a high horse when you don't allow those you lie about to to respond.

Let's air your dirty laundry, shall we? You fucking had the audacity to put my personal situation in your mouth as a way of showing fake sympathy that you clearly didn't fucking mean as you went on to tell Mack to drop me as a friend. Because yeah, for someone who "sympathizes with my plite" you have a real funny way of showing it by under that same breath telling people to completely isolate me. That's definitely what you should do to someone who's presently experiencing trauma. Nah bitch. You're a manipulative, gaslighting cunt. The fact that you had the audacity to put my situation in your mouth and try and hold a dick measuring contest of suffering is fucking yikes from me my guy. You don't know shit about me, you've literally never talked to me, and you don’t know my situation, so sit the fuck down and shut up. Literally, you don't have to fake caring about my problems, my guy, because quite frankly I don't give a shit about yours, and unlike you, I'm not afraid to tell it to your face. You're a gaslighting, manipulative bitch, and I genuinely feel bad for any friends or family who call you their friend because you're an awful person. Imagine being all Virgina George and shit, and telling someone who respected you, who viewed you as a friend "I don't like this person, therefor you should drop them or I'll drop you." Mack doesn't have to address me because I'm a grown ass adult, capable of making my own decisions and owning my shit. Mack isn't my mommy, she's not responsible for me. "Tex misgendered someone!" Bitch has fucking it/she/he in their bio.

Oh, but I'm misgendering people. Yall are so fucking stupid. Funny how a little bit of research can prove how much of lunatic gyaru is. The only way I could have possibly migendered them is by calling them they/them, and it's a gender neutral term, so I now care even less. "B-BUT TEX WAS ALSO ABLEIST!" By doing what? Shouting "REEEEEEEEEE!"? I said that before I even knew they were autistic. Why? Because it's also used to mock people who are triggered, as I clarified in several posts that I thought was the case. I'm also Nurodivergant myself, so like. Fuck you. Even if It was somehow ableist, which it isn't. I don't have to answer to you as to what ways I choose to fucking speak. Maybe stay in your own lane. The only other thing I can think of is me calling them a lunatic, and I mean they are. They literally think myself and Mack are the same person, and they've been bitching about me when literally anytime I've fucked with them was because they'll cry and whine about me for a fuckin week after I stop interacting with them, so I'll jab back because it's fuckin funny. Sorry yall don't have a sense of fucking humor. Maybe get one.

Speaking of~ can we just point out the fact that Yoonie couldn't be arsed to do basic fucking research or reach out to anyone in this situation? Like fucking hell. You're quick to point out the shit I do, and take anything Gyaru says seriously, but you'll ignore their unhinged tirades, spewing tin foil hat conspiracy theories about how myself and Mack are the same person, something you know damn well isn't true, something I made a post about disproving and one I've known you've seen because you commented on the fact when talking with Mack about my personal shit, you dumb fucking broad. You also believed claims of ableism from a fucking lunatic who tried to bait me into calling them an r-word and FAILED, so they had to look for something else to get me at, and like the gullible little moron you are, you bought it hook line and sinker! Won't lie! That's some funny shit! Guys, I literally made a post about how gullible the fucking Sims 4 anti paywall community was, and Yoonie is a prime example of who that post was directed at. Because yall don't do basic fucking research. You just go with it to boost your fucking egos. Literally Yoonie, if you gave a shit about half the shit you claim to give a shit about (racism, transphobia, ableism, etc.) You'd actually take the time to fact check yourself and not direct people to false allegations that makes it to where shit like that doesn't get taken seriously when it actually does happen. Call it what it really is. You don't give a shit about those who are oppressed. It's literally just an ego boost for you. I can see now why you defended Saurine's stupidity. Because you're just as guilty of it. Literally, all you needed to do was fucking message me about it and I would have had a civil conversation with you and explained the situation, but no. Instead, you didn't bother to fact check any of the stupid shit you said and then you went to bitch to Mack because I indirectly hurt your fee fees. Fucking go cry about it you baby back bitch. I've literally never seen someone so fucking spineless.

The rest of her tirade is about the Trump vote thing, and I literally couldn't care any less than I do now. It's old shit that was addressed months ago by Mack, and it's sure as hell not my problem. Plus I really don't give a shit about the political opinions of the people who voted for the man who is currently destroying our economy worse than it has been in a long fucking time. No one's better than everyone else. Yall are just as much bigoted, spineless losers with skeletons in the closet that you claim me to be. The question is who's going to be the next big sensational bigot to bitch about. It could be you next, and I honestly have to sit and laugh, because that's the shit there that is the reason why the exclusive creators will continue to use yall as fucking door matts. Yall have no priorities and literally bitch about stupid shit just to bitch.

Oh, and before anyone wants to cry to Mack about how Im a big ol meanie and she needs to disavow me. She already has. I'm blocked and she disavowed me privately. As to rather or not she decides to do it publicly is her choice, and I wouldn't have it any other way, because I'm sick and tired of having to walk on egg shells because of it back firing on her because yall seem to think people can't take responsibility for their own shit, so everyone else has to do it for them. Like fuck off with that nonsense. I'm not gonna sugar coat shit to please yall. You either like what I have to say or you don't. Unlike half this community, I don’t give a shit about my reputation. It's more stress than one realistically needs. I like speaking my mind and that's pretty much it. Don't like it, then bitch about it, or block and move on. Yoonie can go fuck themself. They want to cry and bitch about how I hurt their feefees, they can have fun with that. Considering they're an awful person, It low key gives me life. Anyways. I'm done. Originally I was going to write a doc about this and then leave the community, but nah. Fuck it. By the end of this, I'm going to be known as the community shit stirrer, and I live for it! Anyways! That offer for the Beverly Hills Mansion still stands. Sksksksksksksksk.

-Texasthegreatdestroyer mother fuckin signing off!

Oh, and P.S. If Yoonie tries to claim she never had me blocked, well uh. I'm not dumb unlike her. I grab screenshots of shit automatically. It's been this way for awhile now, as I've tried to respond to posts from mutuals only to find that that I can't because they're a reblog of hers, so I have to find the source. Also it duped screenshots in the post. Oh well.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Oh man I was scrambling trough tumblr tag and I saw this LB quote about Aleksander: "The Darkling is beautiful, I wanted to create a leader who was charismatic, appealing, a dictator you could imagine yourself following, an antagonist you couldn't just dismiss. [...] The Darkling is beautiful and broken and had a rough childhood, but he's also a brutal, manipulative monster with no regard for human life. He's dangerous because he's seductive, because he evokes sympathy.

…I just don’t even know when to start with this? Can she come off as anymore ignorant and offensive by trying to sound so woke. I mean “beautiful and broken”?! Are you kidding me?!

(Book Spoilers. Trigger Warning: Trauma and Mental Health)

Hmm well I'm not sure you could really sum it up as a 'rough childhood' more like a rough life filled with alot of trauma that has left him isolated and struggling to form human connections. Also I'm not sure I like the term monster for someone who is made the way they are through trauma and also the line about him having no regard for human life is just false he has lines he wont cross which is why he didn't harm the grisha children in book 3 and he was never going to because he values their lives. To be honest though I had some issues with the way LB dealt with trauma and mental health in the books. Not just with Aleks either but with Sergei too, actually I found the way she treated Sergei and his mental health in the last book rather appalling. Sergei is established as being severely traumatised by losing Marie to the point where he struggles to function properly. I think out of all the characters in the trilogy he's depicted as having the worst trauma, all the other characters have bad dreams and what not but Sergei really does find it debilitating and he struggles with day to day tasks like eating, sleeping and even just walking/travelling takes its toll on him. But Alina's attitude towards Sergei at times was troubling. To be clear though I'm not blaming the character for this as it was just the way she was written but she seems to consider Sergei weak and his mental health a hindrance. Here are some extracts from R&R the first is right after Sergei accidently revealed Genya's real name to Nikolai:

I shot to my feet. “What happened?”

“Sergei let her real name slip. He seems to be taking to heights about as well as he took to caves.” I released a growl of frustration. Genya had played a key role in the Darkling’s plot to depose the King. I’d tried to be patient with Sergei, but now he’d put her in danger and jeopardised our position with Nikolai.

Sergei was nowhere to be found. Probably a good thing, since I didn’t have time to give him the pummelling he deserved.

And like I understand that this must have been a frustrating situation but Alina knows that Sergei is struggling with his trauma and that he didn't mean to cause anyone any harm. I can understand her frustration but I really don't like the line about the 'pummelling he deserves'. I just don't like the suggestion that a person who is clearly suffering from a mental health issue deserves to be punished for making a mistake because of his trauma. Here's another instance where Alina is annoyed at Sergei:

Sergei had slowed us during our fight with the militia. He was unstable. I could apologise, offer useless words, but I didn’t know how to help him, and it didn’t change the fact that we were at war. Sergei had become a liability.

Again I get the frustration but again I have issues with the suggestion that because they are at war Sergei should just pull it together. Or even this image that's being painted that people who have mental health issues are just a burden on those around them. People in real life who suffer with similar mental health issues like depression and anxiety often worry about feeling like a burden to their loved ones so this could be really triggering for them. Then there is this from Baghra:

“We came to find you. What’s the matter with that boy?”

“He’s had a hard time of it,” I said, leading them away from the tank room.

“Who hasn’t?”

“He saw the girl he loved gutted by your son and held her while she died.”

“Suffering is cheap as clay and twice as common. What matters is what each man makes of it."

This one really troubled me because its like LB is saying that you can control your own trauma or decide how the trauma is going to effect you. It's again this suggestion that Sergei is weak because he struggled with his trauma more than others did. But the part that actually kind of disgusted me when I read it and I actually had to stop reading the book for a bit because of how much it upset me is how the characters talk about Sergei after his death. Alina had sent Sergei away because she felt he had become a liability and he then went back to the darkling and told them all the information he had on Alina and co. This move was obviously one born of his trauma and was made out of desperation. On several occasions Sergei has said he is struggling with feeling safe and no matter how hard he tries he never feels safe. Alina even tells us that Sergei had gone back to the darkling looking for reassurance and safety which really makes sense, this man grew up at the LP the one place where grisha could be safe, he grew up under the protection of the darkling. Then he chose to stand with Alina and went through the trauma and grief of losing the woman he loved horrifically in an attack against the LP which was his original safe place. He then never feels safe again so it would make sense for him to go back to what previously had made him feel safe, the LP and the Darkling. But this is what the other characters say about Sergei after he is killed by the darkling:

I sat beside him, unsure what to say. I remembered sitting like this with Sergei in the tank room, searching for words of comfort and failing. Had he been scheming then, manipulating me? His fear had certainly seemed real.

Abruptly, Zoya said, “I should have known Sergei couldn’t be trusted. He was always a weakling.”

Though that seemed unfair, I let it pass.

“Oncat never liked him,” Harshaw added.

Genya fed a branch to the fire. “Do you think he was planning it all along?”

“I’ve been wondering that,” I admitted. “I thought he’d be better once we got out of the White Cathedral and the tunnels, but he almost seemed worse, more anxious.”

Abruptly, Adrik snarled, “I’m glad Sergei’s dead. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to wring his neck myself.”

Steel is earned. Adrik had that steel, and so did Nadia. She’d proven it again in our flight from the Elbjen. A part of me had wondered what Tamar saw in her. But Nadia had been in some of the worst fighting at the Little Palace. She’d lost her best friend and the life she’d always known. Yet she hadn’t fallen apart like Sergei or chosen life underground like Maxim. Through all of it, she’d stayed steady.

And yes again I understand why they feel betrayed but they knew that Sergei was struggling and instead of understanding that Alina is accusing him of manipulating her and Zoya is saying he couldn't be trusted and that he was a weakling. To be honest it kind of reminds me of the way people talk about the darkling. Instead of recognising their trauma and trying to understand they jump straight to well they were a bad, untrustworthy person who was manipulating me.

Then there is the last part where Alina is thinking about how Adrik and Nadia are strong because although they faced trauma they were able to keep going and keep fighting but not Sergei, Sergei was crippled by his grief and his trauma and this means he was weak. Maybe its because I have struggled with crippling mental health issues myself where I couldn't even get out of bed let alone do anything else but I just found this implication that Sergei was weak really offensive to those who do struggle that way. People deal with trauma in different ways and whilst some people can fight through it and will just have a keep calm and carry on attitude others can't, others just fall apart, but that doesn't make them weak. I also don't think this 'just carry on and push through it' attitude towards mental health issues is necessarily a healthy message. If you need help then you should ask for it and be able to have access to it. LB could have used this as an opportunity to show a character who is severely traumatised getting support and help to work through his trauma and heal. But I feel like nobody really helped Sergei and any comfort or support he got seemed to be grudgingly given and there was more of an attitude of I'll try to help you because your issues are a hindrance to me than because any of the characters actually cared about him and wanted to help him.

Sergei and the Darkling were both characters that were 'beautiful and broken' but neither one of them was given the support or help they needed. Instead they were painted as either weak or as a monster. So what kind of message does this send to readers who also struggle with trauma and mental health conditions?

[shit-scfandom-did]

so i have a few questions

1)i cannot understand how you ship k*ramel. their relationship was FILLED with toxicity. from mon-el failing over and over again to listen to what kara had to say to him basically telling her to give up being kara danvers. convincing her that "being supergirl and having you is enough” was absolutely horrible. karamel had their moments but overall it was toxic. then in s3 mon el was married and the whole point of season 3 was allowing them to move on. accepting the toxicity from s2 and pushing past that romanticized time. mon el was a better person by 3b but he was still married. even if mon el and imra did break up in the finale there’s no future for karamel. even during 5x13 kara went to ask on advice about lena. and when winn came to visit from the future not a word about him. she’s moved on and it just wouldn’t make sense for kara to end up with him.

2) how can you hate lena so so so much?? it’s been said over and over again that all she’s ever wanted to do is good. though she’s designed to be this morally grey character. she has FLAWS but that’s what makes her so good. she’s a victim of abuse and you can see her struggle with that especially in seasons 4 and 5. in 5 she definitely goes down a questionable path but how can you expect her not too? after being emotionally abused by her brother, betrayed by her family, andrea (this did happen before kara), and then eve. finding out that kara and EVERYONE she loves has betrayed her as well. I mean how could you not go mad?? and even when she “went mad” she was trying to rid humanity of PAIN. something she later realized was a necessary part of life. her hurt blinded her from reality and lex’s manipulation pushed her down further. she’s been hurt and broken so many times and while that’s not an excuse for what she’s done you have no sympathy for her and that I find appalling. lena has realized what she’s done is wrong, that she’s made mistakes, what she did to kara, and she will have to live with that isn’t that punishment enough? she’s apologized and is trying to make up for everything she’s done by saving the world (again). your unnecessary hate towards her infuriates me. cant you take a step back and see the whole picture?

3) why DONT you ship supercorp or accept the queerbaiting? (watch this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C2w2GBXd_Pg) They are the core relationship of the show while the danvers sisters are the heart. they’ve gone through so so much together and practically dated in early season 2. they love each other it’s just oh so apparent. i like to believe one of the reasons lena reacted so strongly in s5 is because she was in love with kara and she couldn’t handle the person she was in love with lying to her. and kara flew around the world to get lena’s favorite food!! if that’s not romantic idk what is. I feel like you’ve developed such a clouded view of supercorp that you need to take a step back and understand what lena is the love of kara’s life.

wow what a long message. im not here to hate. im here to inform & undertand. i get it. karamel had their moments and even MY perception of them might be a little cloudy. im not going to hate you for liking them. hell I even shipped them for a little! my brother thinks 3b mon el and kara would’ve been perfect but he understands that supercorp is just where the show is leading and he wants them to be endgame. but what I will hate is your hate. what’s the point of all this? this thread, this account is going to do NOTHING. so why bother? I debated sending this and I hope I’m not too harsh at times but I really wanna see what you say. I hope you can open your eyes to lena and supercorp. maybe even become a supercorp shipper yourself!

- thanks and supercorp endgame 💙❤️

First of all, if you want to discuss ships in the future send this type of anons to facepalming-since-chernobyl, this blog is not for this, but for gathering receipts.

1.I just ship it, I don’t get why you have to understand it. It’s shipping. But if you insist:

No, it was not filled with toxicity. Count me when he failed to listen to her when they were in a relationship. Secondly, he is not a dog, he has his brain, he is his own person. People don’t always do what others asked them to do. It’s not slavery.

He has NEVER said to her to give up being Kara Danvers. How did he exactly convince her? How can you read the scene that he convinced her that being supergirl and having him is erasing Kara Danvers? In this scene he supports anything SHE WANTS to do. Also, Kara Danvers doesn’t equal Kara being a reporter in CatCo. On that moment she had her blog. She change people’s live with it like a real reporter. She took the risk and met consequences of her actions aka being fired by Snapper. Also, remind me who told her to create a blog? With your logic Lena was erasing Kara Danvers too.

Friendly reminder that he was forced to the marriage to keep peace. Also, friendly reminder Imra and the Legion out him in this situation without telling him about her plans. She and Brainiac put him there, knowing exactly how much he loved Kara and how much she meant to him. Imra knew that, that’s why she asked him to stay and solve his feelings. She said if he had come back, she would have known he had no doubts. But he wanted to stay, that’s why they broke up. He came back because once again he sacrificed himself for the greater good, like a real hero. Maybe watch the Argo eps because they clearly show that no, it was no about moving on.

It was not accepting about so called toxicity. First of all, she already forgave him that he lied. Secondly, all of she was screaming in that scene, when she was infected with M’rynn’s powers, happened before they got together and it was already approached in the musical ep. Aka, this scene had no point.

There is no future for karamel because you say so?

Kara went to asked him, because she truly believed and trusted him and his judgment. And yes, she asked about Lena and what did he said? That Kara deserved the same compassion she gives others, something Lena never gave her. And sorry, I know all scs scream the 100 ep was about sc, but it was about Kara fully realizing she is not responsible for Lena’s horrible choices. That’s it. And friendly reminder she called her a villain in the last scene. Also, the ep showed than no matter what, Lena always ends screwing something, because she has too big ego, always knows better, doesn’t stand criticism and doesn’t trust anyone.

It doesn’t make sense for you. Suit yourself.

2.Her fans made me hate her :) Thanks to them and how they excuse her every horrible action, how they treat her as a victim, while she abuse everyone etc. I started to watch her more carefully. And well, she is a horrible, white, privileged capitalist, who plays god, judge, jury, has mommy issues and acts like typical Luthor while crying she is not one, while still using Luthors money and resources.

Yeah, many people want to make good and end doing evil things. Common people pay for their sins, she has never. Since allowing hostile Daxamite army to invade the Earth (also, her portal affected the other aliens who destroyed the NC), producing a device that could recofnize aliens without their consent (and it was used by Children of Liberty,)producing and lying about Kryptonite, trying to make people superpowered without any supervision, killing Adam during illegal experiment, supporting openly alienphobic president and in a way Agent Liberty, killing Lex and then blaming Kara and finally manipulating Kara for months, lying, gaslighting, yelling, making her steal Lex journal, trying to lobotomize her and tortured with kryptonite, hurting every way possible, physically and mentally. Working with mass murderer, enslaving 3 people (kidnapping Eve, without her consent putting AI into her mind, basically RAPING her brain and making her a puppet in her own body; enslaving end experimenting on Malefic and Russel – threatening to kill him to steal Andrea’s necklace) – none of it are flaws. It was horrible abuse and violating every human right and the fact some people excuse it is disgusting.

First of all, being victim of abuse doesn’t give you the rights to HURT other people. The fact I have to explain pains me. Secondly, what abuse exactly? Lillian didn’t love her? Lex kidnapped her? Said he was going to kill her? You know what? Winn HAD HORRIBLE past and he didn’t turn into a murderer. Mon-El was abused by his mother and never tortured Kara with Kryptonite. J’onn killed a lot of white martians but last time I checked he doesn’t feel good about it. Also, never said the things he has done were GOOD. See a difference?

Yeah, and all of it, still doesn’t give her the rights to torture people. Also, friendly reminder she lied to Supergirl about Kryptonite in s3, much before the whole drama. Remember how she destroyed the life of a girl that stole boyfriend in middle school? It clearly shows she always had THAT in her. Plus, sorry not sorry, if she wanted different life, outside her family she could have easily done that. She was in Star City, with Jack, doing her researches, making her career. And she threw it all away, because she WANTED to be a Luthor.

Plus, sorry not sorry, if you feel betrayed and hurt because your friend didn’t tell you something she didn’t OWE you, you go to therapy, not trying to lobotomize entire planet.

Mate, she wanted to lobotomizer entire humanity, without ANYONE’S consent, because SHE, one single Lena, felt hurt. This is playing a GOD. Nothing explains it.

Planning a cold ass revenge for months is not being blinded by feelings.

Once again, even if could argue about how many times she was broken, most of that was a white privileged life she chose herself but whatever, it still doesn’t excuse her. All of she has done should meet consequences. Paying for shit you have done, accepting it, fully realizing what you have done is a part of redemption. Still in s5 she didn’t even apologize to Kara. Because she still didn’t understand what she has done and doesn’t feel sorry about it.

Feel appalled as much as you want, because I’m not going to feel sorry for a white, privileged woman who has never paid for her actions and is basically a living avatar of the worst Karen you can imagine.

She realized Lex was using her horrible experiments (remember? She experimented on puppies too) to his own agenda, that’s why she went to Kara. That’s not grasping a thing. Mhm, if you call that an apology then suit yourself. She is not saving the world, she is helping once again other people fixing the shit she created.

Feel infuriated as much as you want, because I don’t care? Especially when it comes from a person who tells others to take a step back while being totally narrow minded about Mon-El and karamel.

3.Because actors, prodcuers, writers call SC a female friendship. Mel did that in her last interview. See whatever you want but maybe stop forcing people to ship a horribly abusive ship.

Well… no. Kara is the heart and soul of the Supergirl. Alex is her most important relationship. Lena is an important friend, who doesn’t deserve it yet, but we all know Kara is the Paragon of Hope so of course she is going to forgive her.

I know you people think sc dated because they breathed in one room, but in s2 Kara dated, had sex, kissed, cuddled and enjoyed her time with Mon-El.

Yeah, they love each other as friends. It was said more than once.

That’s your delusion, you are free to do it.

Kara done that to Alex too, so you are saying she is romantically in love with her sister or something? If bringing people food is romantic and damn, most of the people I know loves me, god.

No, lena is not Kara’s love of her life.

Cool, you are not going to hate me because I ship karamel, I’m touched.

Sorry that you are going to be super disappointed in the end of the show I guess.

You will hate my hate – what’s the point of it?

Once again, because I don’t think you understand the point of this blog or read the description – it’s gathering receipts of assholes who cross tag and hate on the actors. Maybe go and search #gross hate or #cast hate on this blog so you can see how amazing your fandom is. Have fun.

I would rather eat my own shit than starting shipping the victim of abuse with her abuser.

Thanks and no :)

[goggles-mcgee]

Okay, So I need to Ask Um, Got any salt on Marinette's Parents? Because as much As I love them in the show, They are almost never around to do anything.

Oh yeah definitely.

The show shows them to be loving supportive parents and I think a lot of us like to latch onto that when writing but when you take a step back, you realize they are almost never around and why? Because of their business. They are neglectful. Now it very well could be they don't mean to be, but the fact of the matter is, they are and as a result of that Marinette is very mature and always feels pressure to do things on her own or to make things perfect. That's a lot to put on a child.

Anyways mini rant over! There are 3 ideas on my Dead Sea Salt List that include Tom and Sabine salt and I shall tell them to you and the ways they are salted!

Idea 3. Marinette, The Rolling Stone:

This one is obvious here as this whole story is about Jagged and Penny adopting Marinette. Tom and Sabine like to think they know their daughter but the truth is they aren't around a lot. They don't even notice that she doesn't hang out with the girls in class anymore and hasn't done so in months for crying out loud! They don't even notice that she hasn't gone out to hang out with her friends either.

But then Marinette's friends come in and start telling them that Marinette is bullying the new girl, they don't even recognize Lila from when she almost got Marinette expelled, and Lila herself creates a sob story and well Tom and Sabine notice then and there just how often Marinette has been at home by herself. They fall for the lies.

And well, this is a blessing in disguise for them, they were getting busier with the bakery and thinking of opening up another location and doing that while juggling a teenager would be so difficult, especially a problem child. They decide to kick Marinette out, but they aren't "malicious" or "cold-hearted" they decide to emancipate her. They purely do it because they think they are protecting their family members by not letting Marinette manipulate them into thinking she's the sweet person they thought she was, and they want to protect their image. They don't want their family members to think ill of them.

Then Jagged Stone pops up wanting to commission Marinette, but Tom and Sabine tell them they grounded Marinette from designing and took away her sewing machine. He's livid and demands the reason why, they tell him and he just looks at them like they lost their heads, even asks if they did, because he knows there's no way Marinette would bully someone. They insist she has and she's changed and she's this horrible little liar and manipulator and that's why they are getting rid of her. It takes a lot for him not to get akumatized then and there but Jagged firmly says he'll adopt Marinette.

They try their best to talk him out of it but he's set. So they let him, they just know hope he knows he can't return her when he finds out they were right.

Life is good for them after they get rid of Marinette, that is until the interview. Nadja gets an exclusive interview with Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling and their new adoptive daughter that they have been raving about on social media. Nadja does nothing to hold back her disgust when she recounts what Marinette and her new parents had told her about Tom and Sabine kicking her out all because of a liar. The interview is an hour special where they debunk each and every single one of Lila's lies. And Tom and Sabine watch and the pits in their stomachs grow the more they watch.

After all that. Paris erupts. Gabriel literally passes out from all the anger and sadness he feels from his Miraculous and has to take sleeping medication and just sleep the day away. Everyone who had ever met Marinette was furious, not only at her school and friends, but at her parents too. Regulars who used to come in stopped. Which is a kind of a big deal in France, you pick a bakery and basically stick to it. Despite their products being good, people are hesitant to go to Tom and Sabine's, because how can they go to a place and expect to be treated well when the owners treated their own daughter so awfully and for what? For lies?

They can't even get a second location anymore, the owner of the place they were going to buy from refused their offer. They wanted someone who treasured baking and family to buy their place and they can see that Tom and Sabine don't treasure those ideals. They still get business, but it's not as good as it had been. Some people come in and buy something small but they always have something to say about Marinette, like how it's a shame she's not there, or how her cupcakes were always decorated the best, or how her smile always made their day. Little jabs that just made Tom and Sabine hurt more.

They tried to get Marinette back but to no luck. They tried to say the adoption wasn't legal because of the lies but that got slammed down pretty fast. They tried to talk with her anyway they could think of till she changed her number and Jagged and Penny threatened to take legal action against them.

Everytime they went out, it felt like they were being judged. Like people didn't even want to look at them.

Gina and Roland basically disowned them

Idea 6. Wish Me Away

Not a lot of salt but Tom and Sabine were getting more and more distant with Marinette the closer the big battle got. She tried to pretend she didn't notice but she did, they seemed to only be around ling enough to give her good mornings, obligatory 'I love you's', even when they had dinner together it felt like when they asked her how her day was they were only doing it because it was what parents did, not because they were genuinely interested. Everyday that got closer to the fight she had wanted to be honest and just tell them that she was being crushed under all the weight of her responsibilities but she knew if she did she would be met with disappointment and fake sympathy.

She knew it wasn't healthy, she knew it wasn't right, but Marinette figured she was better off than most kids so she never complained. Then the battle happened and the wish happened and honestly, her parents didn't notice she didn't come home. They figured she was at a friend's house. The second night it was a Sunday so they just figured she was still at a friend's. The third day it was Monday, a school day and nothing, she never came home for lunch which she always did, they remembered that at least. So they called the school to ask if she had been in that day but the school told them, very politely, that no one by the name Marinette Dupain Cheng ever went to their school.

Of course they freak out and assume this must be the work of an Akuma. But days pass by and they really start to get worried and try to get Nadja to help them but even she looks at them like they're crazy and calmly tells them they don't have a daughter. That's when they finally go up to Marinette's room and see it's just a normal attic. Then Marinette's classmates come by and her teacher and they ask where she is and they nearly weep because somebody else remembers her and they tell them what has been going on. They too think it's an Akuma.

Then Adrien comes by with a woman they've never met and he looks like he'll but they refrain from saying anything, they still keep their business going because they figure if it is an Akuma then Ladybug and Chat Noir will defeat it any day now and Marinette will come back. There are days when they forget that Marinette is missing and doesn't that just say something? But they have to tell Adrien that only a few people remember Marinette and they suspect it's an Akuma. They don't notice how pale the boy gets or the cold face his mother makes at the mention of an Akuma but they give them a couple discounted treats and send them on their way.

Then Ladybug makes an appearance on Nadja's network and says it's to give an announcement. She looks different, older, and her suit is also different but everyone is paying attention. She tells of the battle with Hawkmoth, Gabriel Agreste, that was the first big shock, she tells them that she was betrayed by Chat Noir, but she would not give out his name as he was already living out his punishments, she tells them that Hawkmoth made his wish and the world was paying for it, that Gabriel and Chat were paying for it, they lost someone dear to them, for Gabriel it was Nathalie, for Chat it was the previous Ladybug, Marinette Dupain Cheng...their existences had been erased from the universe but those who had wronged them or failed them would be punished with the memories of them.

Tomnand Sabine froze at that because it made sense, and at the same time didn't. How did they fail Marinette? They just couldn't understand it. Gina didn't remember having a granddaughter but she remembered Tom and Sabine calling and asking about a Marinette, and in a rare moment she had been in Paris during the announcement and had heard what Ladybug had said. She cried for the little girl she didn't know but she was angry at her son and his wife because they clearly remembered her so they were being punished, and she could imagine why. Their bakery was always their top priority, it was their baby, everything else came second. They never wanted a baby, they never said it out loud but she knew, so she could only imagine what this Marinette had to go through and she cried for the girl.

Roland remembered being helped by the heroes but he doesn't remember why but when he watched the announcement he thinks it may be because of the granddaughter he can't remember, he didn't want to see his son or wife, it had been that way for awhile, but he felt his heart wrench for the granddaughter he couldn't remember and would never get to know. Roland was even more disappointed in his son when he got a call asking if he remembered this Marinette, because it meant he had failed his own daughter and their protector. He knew he wasn't the best father but he felt outraged on behalf of the granddaughter he lost.

People found out that Tom and Sabine remembered and so they found out they were being punished, which made people a bit wary of them.

[The "new" Ladybug is literally just Tikki using Trixx's illusions, Tikki is hella petty in this fic, also okay that was more salt that I thought]

Idea 9. Ivy's Sapling:

This one definitely doesn't have a lot of salt towards them but there is some. They do care about Marinette and they see her as a niece more than a daughter. So they aren't really as involved in her life as maybe they should be but she understands that they didn't ask for her. When the problems with Lila start up they want to believe in her and they do at the beginning but they start to question of they could be true because of her background. From what her and Gina said, she was from the bad part of Gotham and so was her mother, they never told them she was Poison Ivy's kid, they just know that Marinette's mother goes by Pamela when she talks with Marinette on the phone.

So they don't fully turn on Marinette but they do start to be wary and more questioning, they don't trust her as much as they did before which does hurt her but they don't fully believe Lila and her classmates, or more like they don't want to believe.

[miraculouscontent]

You’re getting one reply, my dude.

Chat Noir did NOT fall in love with Ladybug on first sight. It was kinda the same way as with Luka; she was little awkward and anxious at first, but later showed how amazing she is. This is what made BOTH Luka AND Chat fall in love with her. So I don't understand why you see Luka positively and Chat negatively.

“First sight” is referring to “first episode,” so “Origins” for love square and “Captain Hardrock” for Lukanette. That’s not even the issue

Also, no. Luka was charmed by Marinette before he saw how “amazing” she was (at best, he heard about the photo curse breakage from Juleka given that the “Reflekta” picture is hanging where Luka can clearly see it from his bed), and then he fell deeper with the whole, “that girl is incredibly brave” line, whereas Chat Noir only got big heart eyes and started being interested in Ladybug when she was doing “amazing things.”

Marinette disliked Adrien at first. That was due to the situation.

...Yeah? A very dumb situation and misunderstanding that led to needless drama and the briefest one-sided “Enemy to Friend to Crush” subplot that I have ever seen and still made the jump all the more jarring? Lukanette’s “problem” revolves around the love square existing, not misunderstandings that hold no weight or value (even Adrimi is guilty of this because Kagami thinks that Adrien loves Marinette; Lukanette is the only ship free of misunderstandings), which is why it’s so ridiculous to me when people say “you can’t ship Lukanette because Adrien/love square,” because shipping Lukanette (as with any other Marinette ship) would usually imply that the love square isn’t a problem anymore..

And he din't lie. Adrien said that he's never had any friends BESIDE CHLOE.

Ohohooookay, now you are literally lying about what is said in the actual “Origins” episode, or just not telling the full truth.

Because yes, Adrien did say that he’s never had any friends besides Chloe... to Nino.

Adrien: I've known Chloé since I was a little kid. I know she's not perfect, but I can't throw her under the bus. She's like my only friend.

But what does he say when it’s time to clear the air with Marinette?

Adrien: Hey. I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat, I swear. I've never been to school before. I've never had friends.

He tells her that he’s never had friends, yet he tells Nino that Chloe is “like his only friend” and will go on later in “Malediktator” to explicitly say that Chloe is his friend.

Adrien being Chloe’s friend in “Origins” was a huge dealbreaker for both Alya and Marinette, then Adrien lied to her and said that he’s never had any friends (which, I get it, a lot of people miss because I fully admit that the atmosphere in the umbrella scene is really good and you will miss it if you’re a heavy shipper not focusing on the details; you can say it a nicer way by going, “he worded it poorly” or “the writers are bad at dialog,” but the fact is that he told her something that wasn’t true), which started their relationship on false pretenses. It’s just like in “Gamer” where he exaggerates (whether intentionally or otherwise) to fish for someone’s pity/sympathy/forgiveness.

Adrien has tried and actually confessed his love to Ladybug. Ladybug knows that Chat loves her. Marinette has never gotten the chance to do that. She's also sending mixed signals when she panics.

So when Marinette would have the chance to confess, she doesn't and instead denies it. This isn't her fault, but it does mean that Adrien can't be sure. She's told him that she's not in love with him. So you can't really compare Chat and Marinette.

Yes I absolutely can and I absolutely will, because Adrien not being sure about how she feels sure didn’t stop him when Ladybug has repeatedly pushed him away when he’s leaned close to her/tried to kiss her hand. Like, wow that’s sure interesting how “Marinette might love someone else, maybe these hearts are friendly” (because yes, he would absolutely be dense enough for that) didn’t stop him from confessing to her in “Chat Blanc” the instant he thought she was Ladybug.

Same with “Stormy Weather 2,” he doesn’t even consider the what ifs of if she were in love with him and what his reaction would be, and “Weredad” is basically a full confirmation that he’s not interested in her. He’s basically like, “Meh, she doesn’t love me, so it doesn’t matter.”

Ladybug also hasn't said ,,I don't feel about you that way". She kind of talked around it because she doesn't want to hurt him.

My dude, my bro, my guy, don’t be in my inbox to come at me with arguments unless you’re ready for me to pull out the transcripts.

Ladybug in “Glaciator“: Listen, I don't wanna play around with your feelings. It would be the same as lying to you. I don't wanna do that. You're more than a partner, Cat Noir. You're my friend. And I'd never wanna lie to a friend.

Cat Noir: Why do you think it'd be lying?

Ladybug: Because there's this boy I...

Adrien later, a direct confirmation to the audience that he’s aware that Ladybug doesn’t feel that way for him: Perhaps Ladybug will love me someday. I mean, like I love her.

Ladybug in “Frozer” because clearly that message didn’t get through anyway: I can't accept this rose from you. I told you already. I'm in love with someone else. (after which he asks about “what if this guy didn’t exist” which means literally nothing and is just him reaching unless he’s planning to enact a murder which he obviously isn’t)

Ladybug in “Ladybug” because he’s still hoping for no reason: But the real Ladybug's heart still belongs to someone else.

Ladybug again in “Miracle Queen”: I can't be in love with you Cat Noir, you know that.

Seems pretty clear to me.

Besides, it wasn't the fact that Marinette confessed nor the fact they knew their identities that the world ended. It was because Gabriel was still Hawkmoth, so he manipulated the situation to his advantage.

Yes? And then Chat Blanc told her that “our love did this,” which puts blame on Marinette. That’s my point (though I’ll let Chat Blanc off the hook for that one since he’s akumatized... however it still doesn’t make much sense as to how he knows that Gabriel saw him transform unless he knew that Gabriel was watching from somewhere (it was Nathalie and Gorilla actually); he could’ve just presumed that Gabriel had known for a while, there was no evidence he saw that told him it was him transforming into Chat Noir in front of Nathalie and Gorilla that tipped Gabriel off and it’s also super unfair to blame Marinette for it anyway when it was Gabriel behind this whole thing but sure, just make Marinette feel at fault for the world almost ending).

Because that’s what the love square is all about; making Marinette feel bad about liking a boy, Marinette being humiliated for trying to confess to said boy, the universe constantly sabotaging her whenever she manages to do something right, having Marinette reconsider her feelings for Chat Noir AND blush at his cheek kiss after he ditched her as Adrien (presumably; we never saw Gabriel tell Adrien he couldn’t go and Chat Noir made plans with Ladybug as if he planned to ditch them even if Gabriel didn’t do anything) to go prepare a date with Ladybug (wow that sure is interesting how we don’t get an equivalent moment for Marinette from Adrien in “Chat Blanc” at the end, almost like they only care about making Chat Noir feel good about himself and not Marinette), then get mad when Ladybug doesn’t show up even after she tells him that she has prior plans, throwing a tantrum mid-battle and forcing her to apologize first before he’s finally like, “no... I’m sorry,” and then has the gall to add, “Maybe another time.”

Adrimi didn’t need to exist to torment Marinette. The love square already does a good enough job of that and I despise its very existence in all aspects of the writing.

Chat Noir got his damn closure, he just refuses to give up on the very first girl he saw when he went out heroing (I thought he just wanted to make friends but I guess he decided that wasn’t enough for him and “making friends” was immediately sidelined in favor of chasing after “his lady” (ugh)), who he doesn’t know the likes/dislikes of, who he can’t know the identity of, and who he can’t see all parts of because she has to maintain a professional attitude or everyone in Paris is going to die.

Marinette still hasn’t gotten her closure, so it’s no wonder to me why she’s still pining and struggling, especially when people like Alya keep pushing for the love square even when she asks her for help seeing Adrien as a friend.