#i'm pretty sure they had one and yet proving something that doesn't exist is complicated

[thedaythatwas]

don't mind me, I'm just thinking about how much akechi would probably hate the fact that people defend his actions with some form of the argument "he was so young when he first started killing, he was taken advantage of and groomed by shido, etc."

this is going to be a long one, so let me add a page break real quick:

let me be clear: he was! the last thing I want to do is diminish akechi's agency, but when you are a young teenager there is absolutely no reason an adult in your life should be encouraging you to commit murder for their political gain. that feels... self evident? we know that akechi was young when he killed wakaba isshiki. shido saw an opportunity, and he took advantage of it. he's scummy. absolutely zero argument there.

still, it is integral to understanding akechi's character to remember that he viewed himself as taking advantage of shido throughout their relationship. he was aware that shido was using him, but he viewed himself as using shido right back. in his head, he had complete control of the situation, and his actions therein. for all accounts and purposes, he did! we all have control over our actions. akechi didn't need to do anything. we also know that he was eager to follow shido's orders, not for the sake of the orders themselves, but for his belief that his plan would end with shido utterly defeated and betrayed, groveling and desperate and recognizing akechi for everything he was. valuable. someone who maybe, shido shouldn't have abandoned.

so he was meticulous. perfect, and beyond reproach. we can see it in the interrogation room, when he shoots "akira." it's clear that he's still playing their game (asking akira if he's "figured it out yet"), but when he goes in for the kill, akechi is cold. we know that he cares about akira, but he puts any feelings that he might have aside for the sake of his ultimate goal. nothing is more important than ingratiating himself to shido and subsequently ruining him.

akechi's desire for revenge is complicated. yes, he wants to hurt shido, but more than that, he just wants to prove he's worth something to the man that ruined his life. he hates shido, and he needs him to see that he should have done better by him. he needs to be loved, even if that desire ends up twisted. we've all been there, yeah? it makes a lot of sense, all things considered. this in mind, it's pretty clear that akechi did not have nearly as much control over his relationship with shido as he thought he did. but I digress.

so, back to akechi defense. akechi sees himself as the sole perpetrator of his actions. technically, he was. but he was still taken advantage of. those truths can coexist.

that doesn't mean their coexistence is easy to digest. in the third semester, akechi acknowledges that he was manipulated by shido. arguably, his defining characteristic during the third semester is his refusal to be under someone else's control again, even at the cost of his own existence. still, he regrets the fact that he let himself be manipulated more than he regrets his own actions. for those, he seems unapologetic.

the crux of the issue here is akechi's acknowledgement that he let himself be controlled. that itself is a form of agency. allowing himself to be influenced was his own fault. at least, that's how I suspect he sees it. he can't allow it to not be his fault. that would be too hopeless for him to process.

akechi is angry, and sure as hell, he lets everyone know it. third semester akechi is absolutely awful in a completely different way from base game akechi (and I say this in the most affectionate way possible). as much as goro akechi hates the world, he hates goro akechi. anger internalized is rarely solely internal, likewise, anger externalized is rarely solely external. anger is also often a mask. the black mask is angry in the same way that the detective prince is polite to a tee. neither persona (no pun intended) is complete.

(after all, we know that akechi has feelings other than anger, even if he tries to downplay them. he turns himself into the police in akira's stead. he may not harbor affection for the rest of the thieves, but he certainly feels something for akira. call it respect. call it a need to be seen. call it love. I think that those are all pretty similar in the mind of our guy in question.)

the way I read it, akechi is his own worst enemy, and consciously or not, it seems that he sees himself that way as well.

to claim that akechi isn't accountable for his actions under shido would grate at him because, well, it just isn't true! at least not entirely. the argument that he was manipulated? it wouldn't work either, because akechi sees himself as at fault for that too.

the guy has issues. and isn't that what makes him compelling?

anyway! that's enough for today. perhaps I'll continue this later. believe it or not, I still have things to say!

[twistedyanposts]

I'm an enabler, so let's say that in the yan self-aware verse, the characters aren't aware of how their chapter ends.

Which means the moment you're popped in there instead of Yuu, Riddle establishes a new Heartslabyl cast rule: The player is not to be left on their own.

Whether they know they were designed to be your first dorm dealt with or not doesn't matter to them in the slightest. If they don't know, then they believe that you chose them! If they do, then whatever highest power there is in the world picked them to watch over you! Either way, it was meant to be!

The regular NPCs of the world don't see you as who you really are. To them, there's no difference between you and Yuu. Tragic, really. But it helps them keep your existence in their world under the radar.

Ace and Deuce are the only ones in your class, and after that you get passed off to either Cater or Trey for club time. Trey knows they couldn't hide you from Rook if they tried, and Cater has a feeling Lilia already knows...meanwhile, Kalim is pretty oblivious. You aren't meant to know him yet, so while he feels something is off about you, something that makes him so much happier whenever Cater brings you to their club meetings, he can't quite put his finger on it.

When Ruggie is supposed to use his Unique Magic to steal Grim's sandwich, he ends up distracted and going back empty-handed. Not that Leona's too upset, because the news he carries with him is so much more interesting.

Plans have changed a little bit. The Magift tournament is tossed out the window, due to a much more appealing prize. The NPCs of Savanaclaw are pretty confused as to why they're specifically targeting members of Heartslabyl now, but to hell with it. Boss' orders, right?

In fact, Magift is supposed to be a no-holds barred game, ain't it? Well, now they've got a bone to pick with a specific dorm. Why not cripple them in advance, and prepare themselves for the hunt?

Ruggie is more than happy with the change of plan. Or at least, he is eventually. Because the more time he spends stalking after their newest prey, the oblivious first years you're always hanging around with, the more time he spends in your presence. Even if it is further away than he'd like...

Maybe it's because they drew power from you behind the screen before your appearance in this world, but for the folks who know who you really are, you're like a beacon of energy. For the hyena who's been starved for just about everything his whole life, living off of scraps, having you in front of him is a buffet that replenishes itself faster than he can eat it. His heart has never felt so full!

Jack was never on board with his dorm leader's original plan, no matter how much respect he used to have for him. As for the new one...it's a bit more complicated.

Sure, he resents Heartslabyl for keeping you away from the rest of them. What the hell! They didn't honestly think they could keep it up forever, did they? And it wasn't fair, either! It wasn't like they were the only people who had your attention. Main Story or no Main Story, you gave yourself to more than just their dorm, so to keep you all to themselves was just...agggh!

On the other hand, you had chosen on your own not to go to the other dorms, either...not that that was a bad choice. The other dorms weren't exactly full of trustworthy people. His own included. The path Leona is trying to lead them down has got to be the wrong choice. If you thought they were the best option, you would have gone with them! Riddle was able to see the error of his ways before...but so can Jack! So he'll prove to you that he can be trusted on his own, without the rest of his dorm! Then he can also protect you!

Last but certainly not least, Leona. He's less subtle once their goals have changed. Let Riddle show up, so long as he brings you with him. Hell, he'll take on the whole dorm at once as long as you're the honored guest. After the stunt they pulled, they deserve to all be turned to sand.

Something in the air had been off for a while, not quite putting him on edge, but more than enough to grab his attention. It was honestly kind of irritating, the way it kept him from being able to drift off like usual.

Looking back on it, he should've gotten off his ass and went looking for the source. Would've saved him a lot of trouble. At least now he gets to kill two birds with one stone. He won't make the same mistake those pesky herbivores did.

Once he's put them in their place, you won't be leaving. Ever.

After all, it's hard to be second place when you're the only one competing.

[billerak]

Chapter 24 mesh (part 1)

There's too much gay at the end so no way a single post is gonna do it.

Ok so the whole setup for Minori's confession happens and she does it, and yeah, it's what you'd expect.

But... Is it really what you'd expect?

Think about it. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to confess to Taiga here? Maybe. Maybe coming out of the closet is not in the table right now. She probably doesn't even know she's in there.

Regardless, she says she's in love with Ryuji. She says she's been in love with him from the start which is... Probably bullshit? Like, she definitely started seeing him better in episode 9/10, but prior to that she had not much of a reason to like him as far as we understand.

I fucking hate(love) this because it perfectly encapsulates how much of a hypocrite she still is.

WHY ARE YOU STILL GIVING RYUJI TO TAIGA, THEN. WHY NOT MAKE YOUR MOVE. The reason is clear, though. She alreayd knows Ryuji likes Taiga so there's little point in complicating matters further.

But I think it just goes to show her resolve is nowhere near as strong as she makes it out to be. She's, once again, wearing a mask for Taiga's sake.

And she says this to Ryuji. Basically being like "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and like, she's not exactly wrong, but it's this very thinking that later leads to her meltdown.

So she just makes sure, one last time, putting all cards on the table. And she tells Ryuji to go after what he can see. Love. Something only he can see, right now. Something Minori can't, so she doesn't want to focus on it...

But that's fucking bullshit.

She doesn't want to give up romance or stop chasing after it. Look at her, taking this secondary prize in this hellhole of a relationship. I've said this before, but Minori is the only character that doesn't really get closure. I'll prove it later anyways but jesus, poor girl.

What follows is some Taiga/Ryuji things with their mothers but, in all honesty, there's not really much for me to unpack there. Like... what's happening is pretty straightforward and I have nothing to say about it.

And then, we have Ami having a similar exchange.

But whereas Minori was just making sure, Ami doesn't need to make sure of anything. Yet, here she is, insisting.

Why? Well, because she values honesty. The most consisten character trait for Ami, through all the show, is her need for others to be honest with her. She hates it when they lie, when she asks simple questions and they avoid them.

Here, as it's all coming to a close, she wants that confirmation. She wants, for once, for Ryuji to be honest with her.

Just once.

And maybe, then, that'll give her closure too.

So he relents.

And finally, she's satisfied.

Then Minori, bi disaster that she is, GOES COMPLETELY AGAINST HER WORD AND GIVES UP ON HER FUCKING LIFE SAVINGS FOR HER TWO CRUSHES.

WHAT THE FUCK.

Of course, this just goes to show she was bullshitting earlier. Putting on an act for her crushes to stop worrying about her. And the worst part is that she fucking succeeds, for once.

So Ami's like "Alright here let me give you my beach house." Her sacrifice is lesser than that of Minori, but... I wonder if she's doing it because she doesn't want them to waste Minori's savings in hotels.

Of course it coudl just be because she's being nice. Which she is. I'm overanalyzing and using my shipping brain here. Which I don't need because some gay shit is about to follow.

Also Yusaku is here. He exists. He is definitely a character of Toradora.

ON TO GAYNESS

Minori self-invites, and Ami enters Bi Panic mode. BUT TAIGA COMES IN TO SAVE THE DAY. SHE'S SUCH AN ALLY FR FR

Seriously, how am I meant to read it as anything other than romantic subtext...

WHEN AMI REACTS BY BLUSHING LIKE THIS

And she's like "i'm not gay, leave my house"

but this was just for funsies let's get to the meat of this scene

in part 2

[randomnameless]

In other words, Lonato should've been a red flag. 3h was a mistake, I miss the Fates day when the discourse was how the story was structured. Nobody said Garon had a point... God I wondered what would've happened if the villains were moe like Edel-chan.

Yes!

Coming from elincia's arc from radiant dawn, everyone knows Lonato is doing shit and must be erased.

But apparently some found a way to discourse around him, because Rhea bad and the devs loved their red herring. So when she goes with her version of "let everybody know that if they try to hurt my family or my people I will terminate them" it is worded in an ominous way, and Lonato might not have been bad, lizards bad etc etc.

Browsing redshit, I found this in the archive :

“They just want to get rid of the Church influence because of the wrongful execution of the Lord’s son”

They just happened to have weapons, to expressely want to get rid of the leader of the church with said weapons, to be willing to use said weapons and never rallied behind the “Christophe did nothing wrong”, they rallied because “Christophe was executed”. You do not raise an army “to get rid of someone’s influence” unless you intend to do so by eliminating that someone.

Also, this is not an assassination - force is used and targets a certain someone, but the main goal of this usage of force isn’t to kill Lonato, it is to stop his militia from marching on GM and chopping everyone in sight/people from the church/Rhea.

Or, we were all wrong, and Elincia assassinated Ludveck.

The only point that could be made is about the Church sending knights in Faerghus to stop the rebellion in Castle Gaspar - maybe they should have waited until they were at the border with GM’s territory. While Lonato was raising his army? If politics were more fleshed out in FE16, we could have Seteth rant because he contacted Rufus, Lonato’s lord, to ask what the fuck this was about, and either Rufus said he didn’t know or he said he has not enough knights/forces to prevent Lonato from attacking the Church.

Maybe House Charon would have intervened, because Christophe was killed for regicide, the reason why Cassandra isn’t a wanted criminal anymore so if Lonato starts to pretend Christophe was unjustly killed, he is actually saying Cassandra isn’t guiltless in Lambert’s death.

Maybe we could see Rodrigue (even if he is very far) warn GM, or send a letter to the CoS warning them about the situation, and have a joint effort/army between the Kingdom and the Knights to stop Lonato’s rebellion. If Lonato attacks GM, he puts Dimitri in danger, and Dimitri is the future King, so that is a big no-no. Plus, the Church of Seiros is the Kingdom’s ally, if the Kingdom allows one of their minor nobles to raise an army against them, are they truly reliable allies or not?

Or in the following explore section - when Rodrigue is here to explain the Gautier incident and why he is here to ask for Rhea’s help in dealing with it - he could mention Rufus feeling bad about letting Lonato raise his army and not dealing with him sooner, or just, complain about the current state of Faerghus as they are unable to deal with bandits and war-mongering vassals.

Ultimately, if Fodlan was really a feudal state - Ashe and his siblings would be stripped of their titles, and sent to the sewers.

[your-brilliant-lady-m]

Part 1 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Miraculous Jewels

Alright! I promised you meta and now I deliver!

I feel like people mostly watch Miraculous for the romance these days. Shipping is all everyone cares about. I wonder why? Probably because writers themselves don't take their worldbuilding very seriously and because they don't put much effort into making the audience care about something other than Love Square, like the mythology behind the Miraculous, or motivations of the main villain, or some pretty heavy topics for a kid's show that they bring up and then refuse to touch again. You know, all the good things. And this is coming from someone who is a passionate multishipper. I have lived through several shipping wars in different fandoms and came out victorious after all.

I am probably the only person out there who cares about the big picture, the overall storyline and the worldbuilding of Miraculous in addition to all details and implications that could develop into fascinating plotlines relevant to the main story. It is a rather lonely fandom experience, I must confess. But, hey? Who cares? I am here to have fun and bring to the table discussions no one wants to have.

So, let's talk about the basics.

If you, as the writing team, are capable of keeping only 1 thing consistent, then please, I beg you, let it be the basic concepts of your universe. Because in this case, one has to actively put effort into writing characters and conflict resolutions badly. And also because nothing can save bad worldbuilding.

I don't have high worldbuilding standards for Miraculous. They certainly aren't as high as the ones I had for Legend of Korra (which was a badly written trainwreck, that ATLA doesn't deserve as a sequel) or the ones I currently have for Dragon Prince. Therefore I won't be too harsh in my criticisms. Granted, I think that Miraculous has better worldbuilding and lore consistency than Winx Club for example (I haven't seen the reboot yet, so writers might have fixed their worldbuilding at least a little bit). Even though I enjoyed Winx when I was younger and some elements of this story still attract me.

Both serialised and episodic shows as well as movies to the lesser extent must have some flexibility in worldbuilding and plot because you can never be 100% sure where your story is going. Maybe, you'll get money for more seasons, maybe not. However, you must never lose sight of your basic concepts. They have to stay the same no matter what, because rewriting lore and retconning major developments every new season is not and never will be called good writing.

Forgive me for using architectural metaphors, but you need a solid foundation to build any kind of structure. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

I like to apply this logic to writing as well. When designing a world where your story takes place, you must lay a few ground rules. It's especially important if you have a magic system. What kind of ideas absolutely must exist? What kind of conclusion do you want your story to have? Does your magic system has limitations? Where is the grey area? Could you introduce new elements later on?

And I feel like the writing team of Miraculous Ladybug did not ask these questions. This may feel like I am nit-picking canon material and looking for problems that simply aren't there, but I promise that I am not. You see, things that I am about to point out only seem small at first glance. But these details are actually the source of the largest plotholes in the series. And their presence negatively affects character development, conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts.

That doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the magic system of the show and its elements. There are a lot of great ideas and concepts. And some of them have the potential to contribute to the delightful story.

Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Camouflage

I have to give credit where it's due because the idea of camouflage and shapeshifting for Miraculouses is brilliant. It seems like Miraculous can't fundamentally change its type of jewellery or accessory. The ring will always be the ring but with a different ornament, colour or shape. This is true most of the time (Monkey Miraculous is an exception since it transformed into earplugs/headphones/headband/circlet) It makes sense and avoids plotholes. Grimoire doesn't have the pictures of each Miraculous in disguise for identity protection. That was very neat too. I have no comments. This concept was very good.

Also, since Marinette wore a nose ring of the Ox in "Kwamibuster" without any problem and Adrien wore Ladybug's earrings in "Reflekdoll", we can assume that you don't need to have piercings to wear a Miraculous. Miraculous just magically passes through your skin.

I'm interested to know the following. Can Kwamis recognise a camouflaged Miraculous on a person? Can the holder order them to confess the identity of this person? This shouldn't be possible for identity protection just like with Kwamis sensing each other. But more on that in later posts.

Power Levels

For a long time, we assume that there are only 7 Miraculouses. Turtle belongs to Master Fu, Gabriel has Butterfly and Peacock, Marinette and Adrien have Ladybug and Black Cat. Everything is pretty straightforward. Then it's revealed that there are more jewels and more boxes. It makes the worldbuilding interesting, but it also majorly complicates things, making them inconsistent.

Their position in the Miracle Box implies their power levels. Creation and destruction are the most powerful forces in existence, therefore they are at the top. Moreover, it makes this Box the most important, the most powerful out of all others. Su Han in "Furious Fu" calls it "Mother Miracle Box". Fox, Turtle, Bee, Butterfly and Peacock have less power than the main pair, but more than the Miraculous of the lower Zodiac tier (since they correspond with animals of the Chinese Zodiac).

1. Ladybug can create anything out of nothing (Lucky Charm, which gives what you need the most at the moment). This Miraculous can resurrect the dead, reverse the effects of the Cataclysm. The power of Miraculous Cure or Miraculous Ladybug can work in several ways:

it simply repairs the damage (puts stuff back together, heals injuries and so on)

it reverses time for the matter, restoring things back to the state they were before the destruction occurred (however, the Cure doesn't erase people's memories of everything that happened unless they were mind-controlled, frozen in place or transformed by Akuma into something else - this is an important point that I'll discuss some other time)

How does Miraculous Cure work when there are no supervillians? In NY Special Marinette just says this.

Excuse me, what? What was that? You can't do anything when the villain is gone? What the hell?

*insert here every scene where Ladybug fixed Paris after destroying akumatized/amokized object (this action causes the Akuma victim to detransform/sentimonster to disappear - villain is gone) and purifying butterfly and feather*

It was such cheap angst. I couldn't even be upset when Adrien gave up his Miraculous, because that whole situation is just stupid. But, never mind. We aren't talking about that today.

Apparently, Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure only work when summoned to battle a specific villain. What is the point then? Huh? You can't tell me that Ladybug has the power of unlimited creation and then say that she can't repair the damage without a special Lucky Charm that was magically synchronised with specific big bad of the week.

Ladybug also can purify Akumas. It makes sense for Ladybug to have the ability to reverse the magic of less powerful Miraculous. But this power can't be applied universally. How does this power of reversal apply to different situations where there is no evil Butterfly holder? Can Ladybug reverse the magic of any Miraculous?

The unlimited power of creation introduced in season 4 ("Mr. Pidgeon 72") is another fascinating thing. On one hand, it's logical and proves the status of this Miraculous as the most powerful. On the other hand, by introducing this power, you have created a plothole. Look, Marinette can create the charm which repels Akumas. If Ladybug can create anything then what stops her from creating a tool for finding Hawkmoth (like special glasses for discovering identities or a compass)? I mean, the show says that the power of creation is unlimited, it means that the creation of such tool is possible.

2. Black Cat can destroy anything with Cataclysm, even other Miraculous. He can kill living things and turn them into ash, but not himself. This Miraculous is supposed to have other special abilities that we don't see. And they should be equal to powers of Ladybug, both in number and in potency. Unfortunately, after 3 seasons writers didn't give us anything. It makes laughable the idea of balance between Ladybug and Black Cat.

Now, to the second tier. These Miraculouses have a singular ability, but they need a second one to keep the power balanced between Zodiac and the main pair.

3. Butterfly creates champions with different superpowers. But how does the time limit of children work for Butterfly? In theory, the countdown should start right after the creation of the Akuma since for Ladybug and Chat Noir countdown starts after activation of their powers even if they don't use them. However, if the countdown of the Butterfly begins after Akuma creation then there's no point because the holder has to stay transformed to guide their champion. The charged butterfly won't have time to even grant powers before the transformation of the child-holder drops. This issue is never explored because Gabriel doesn't have a time limit. However, I feel like it should be addressed in flashbacks of past Butterfly holders for example.

This Miraculous should be less powerful than Ladybug and Black Cat. It's often not. Some Akumas are too overpowered. Stormy Weather can move the Earth away from the Sun, Timetagger can send people through time and jump through time as well, Chat Blanc destroyed the world with a single energy blast, Miraculer could steal powers of those more powerful than her by default. These are the most notable examples. One could argue that Chat Blanc was a different case. Hawkmoth simply gave the most powerful Miraculous a boost. However, we know that even without a holder (the wildest and the most powerful form of uncontrolled Miraculous magic) Plagg's Cataclysm can't destroy the universe just like that (he presumably wiped out dinosaurs and sunk Atlantis on his own without a holder). I think that the less powerful Miraculous (Butterfly) shouldn't be able to increase the power of destruction to such a degree and give Black Cat the power to destroy celestial bodies and galaxies.

Writers want us to see Hawkmoth as the formidable villain. But it's not easy because he is less powerful than your main heroes by default of your worldbuilding. Sometimes writers make the Butterfly more powerful than creation and destruction to raise the stakes, breaking the laws of their magic system. So, how do you solve this? Let Ladybug and Black Cat keep their status as the most powerful and instead of giving Hawkmoth more magical power, make him smarter, more cunning, inventive. Gabriel is a fashion designer, whose creativity makes him a very good Butterfly holder. He has a life full of experience, he knows much more about things than the main teenage characters. Catalyst was very interesting for this very reason. Gabriel sort of discovered a cheat code to boost his powers. Show us how he experiments with his powers, how he analyses his past Akumas and tries to find the most effective ones. Maybe Gabriel tries to design Akumas that can specifically neutralise Ladybug and Chat Noir. This exploration could also give writers an opportunity to explain how the powers of Butterfly work. Can he control the type of powers he grants? Can he control the appearance of Akumas? There are many things to be explored.

4. Peacock creates sentimonsters. I remember that fans were very disappointed when the power of the Peacock was revealed at the end of season 2. I was one of them. The concept of Amoks is far too similar to akumatized butterflies. Other Miraculouses have unique abilities and keywords for their powers, while Peacock just looks like Butterfly 2.0. That glowing mask effect just adds insult to injury.

You have to start by figuring out the powers of the Peacock in a normal situation. If a holder is a good person, then how does their power work? For example, make them related to sight (because of the "eye" pattern on feathers). Maybe, Peacock grants the ability to see the several possibilities of the future, but only a few minutes ahead. Maybe, this Miraculous gives you the ability to see through someone's eyes for a few minutes (and the victim is completely unaware of the intrusion). Perhaps, Peacock allows the holder to use feathers (or tiny peacocks) as cameras one at a time and be all-seeing. These feather-spies can be destroyed by the holder or disappear on their own after some time. Such power could be devastating when used against heroes in canon.

5. Bee can paralyze. This power is pretty straightforward. Once I read a fanfiction focused on very vell done Chloe Redemption, where she fights alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, she grows and becomes a better person. This fic ends with an Akuma battle, where LB and CN are trapped and Akuma is ready to kill them. But Chloe uses a second power of the Bee on the villain - Miraculous Stinger. It's deadly both for the holder and for the victim (because bees die when they sting someone). Chloe kills the Akuma with a Stinger before it can get LB and CN, but she too dies making the ultimate irreversible sacrifice. I will add a link if I find it again.

6. Turtle can create a shield. I don't have much to say on this either. It feels underpowered compared to others in the second tier. Maybe Turtle can also slow down opponents (because turtles aren't the fasters animals out there).

7. Fox creates illusions and acts as their puppeteer. In order to create a balance between other powers, these illusions must hold for as long as the holder needs them to. I propose this mostly because we see that Venom of the Bee lasts very long, the shield of the Turtle lasts either until it's destroyed or the holder wants to remove it, same goes for Akumas and sentimonsters who disappear only when the holder wants them to or their affected object is destroyed.

Let's talk about Zodiac tier. Miraculous of the third tier shouldn't have the second ability like more powerful ones. These powers are the most inconsistent. Even if we haven't seen all of them yet.

8. Mouse can create many small clones of the holder. It is unclear how these clones communicate with each other and how many of them this Miraculous can create. The holder can control the number of clones. This power was very convenient in "Kwamibuster" and it makes sense symbolically for the mouse. What activates the time-limit for children? Marinette didn't have any problems with it when she became Multimouse.

9. Snake can create a 5-minute time loop and has the ability to come back in time. This Miraculous feels a bit overpowered for the Miraculous of the Zodiac Tier. The holder can reset the time as many times as he/she needs to. It's was a good source of drama and trauma in "Desperada". I was honestly surprised that Adrien was capable of fighting after spending months in a loop. But this doesn't change the fact that Snake is overpowered. You can give this Miraculous the power to hypnotise or keep the time ability but place a limit on the number of resets. How does the lyre work as a weapon? Who knows? No one!

10. Dragon can shapeshift into elements: water, wind and lightning. It has the coolest transformation words hands down (Bring the Storm and Open Sky). Apparently this Miraculous doesn't have the time limit.

11. Rabbit can time travel or jump through alternative realities, even writers aren't sure. Time-travel in this show is so badly written it gives me a headache. This Miraculous shouldn't exist just like its powers. Snake belongs to the same tier, but 5 minutes and whole centuries of time jumps aren't comparable in power levels. They are not and this is the hill I will die on. Give the Rabbit powers related to its symbolism in China like an ability to de-age people, heal them or give them a speed boost in contrast with Turtle who might have the ability to slow down.

This Miraculous is so special that its Kwami - Fluff can live separately from his Miraculous in a Miracle Box for millennia (Fluff lives in the Box in "Sandboy", but his Miraculous, pocket watch, was passed down for generations in Alix's family). This is a discussion for a separate post, however. There's a lot to unpack. We'll do that some other time. You will suffer with me but at a later date.

12. Horse can create portals. They could lead anywhere, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, this power is not very useful in direct combat, especially when it's used by a child since we can have only one portal per transformation.

13. Monkey can cause a malfunction in powers of other people. What is the point of this? This power was specifically created by writers to defeat Akuma in "Party Crasher". That's it. What if your target is not magical? How does this Miraculous work in different circumstances?

14. Pig shows people their greatest desire. Both the holder and the recipient of this power can see this desire. Chat Noir wasn't impressed in "Guiltrip" and neither was I. It's underpowered compared to other Miraculous in this tier. Also, why does the tambourine can shoot energy beams? Why?

That's all I have to say on the matter. I'll update the power analysis as needed.

[nightswithkookmin]

WHAT WILL JIMIN POST ON JK'S BIRTHDAY 2020?

Interesting question. I get why my Askbox is flooded with it. May thirteen was a disappointment. Most Jikookers were looking forward to a reinforcement of a long established Jikook tradition- well everyone except me and a couple others I think. Y'all don't be paying attention. Lol

Jikook are complex beings and like any complex organism they learn to adapt to situations and surroundings. They are predictable in that way but also they are not. It's paradoxical, I know.

If you paid any attention to what was going on from late March through to June you'd have known there was little to no likelihood May 13 was gonna happen.

And if it had happened, it would have taken on a whole new meaning at least to some of us. But hey, 5/8 right? Sure. Jimin smart. We stan a Bigbrain.

Anywho, tomorrow is not about Jimin or Jikook or any ship. It's about JK. It's about celebrating the gift of life that he is. For all the times he's been hated on, this is the only day out of 365 days that we as a fandom get to put our differences aside and come together to show our love and appreciation for him- I hope.

I don't see why Jimin wouldn't do the same for him. Especially since it's been a long established tradition not just for Jikook but for all the members.

They all celebrate eachother's birthday to varying degrees but at the bare minimum they wish each other a happy birthday. That's the norm.

All the other members will wish JK a happy birthday and that includes Jimim. If you understand why people celebrate others birthday you'll understand this is not complicated at all. So it's not a question of will Jimin post tomorrow.

Jimin is a very kind, thoughtful and a loving person. It would be weird of him not to wish his fellow bandmate a happy birthday on his birthday. He would. He should. Rest assured.

But I understand that what y'all are asking me as far as Jikook is concerned and shipping goes is whether Jimin would do something extraordinary for JK this year like he did last year, what he would do and whether he would post about it.

Even though I am certain he will post, I can't tell you what that post is going to be, I'm an alien not Jesus you know?

What I can speculate on is whether or not Jimin would make another grand gesture like that of last year. Which is what this post is going to be about.

The answer to that question is not as simple as yes he would or no he wouldn't. Personally, I expect him to do something a little bit out of the ordinary or coded this year. I'll explain in a bit.

To be clear, I don't expect a repeat of last year or anything of the magnitude of last year at all as much as that would make me uWu so hard. Although... what if he pulls a 360 on us and propose to Jk on his birthday?what? I'm speaking it into existence!

What Jimin did last year was an exception not the norm. You don't fly half way across the world just because. To me that was a grand grand gesture in the history of JK's birthdays and I don't expect a repeat of it unless the circumstances that lead to that moment repeats its self.

The circumstances being that they were broke up and he was trying to fix things. Cough, cough.

JK's birthday last year was an Echo of Manila. A general consensus among Jikookers, is that JK had been mad because Jimin was choosing to spend time with Taemin on the eve of his birthday hence why he had had posted that song knowing full well Jimin would see it as a way to guilt trip Jimin.

If that is right, then Jimin flying over to be with Jk would be a huge statement.

2015 and 2019 are the years that have stood out to me most, birthday wise: Jimin saying he wanted to give JK a kiss on his 18th birthday and him flying from Paris to South K to be with JK on his birthday.

If you've ever heard Jimin talk about money, he is prudent and wise about money. I mean rather than spend millions on a luxury apartment he chose to buy an investment property instead. He is a Libra, I wouldn't expect anything less.

On his vacation trips, he's known to share cost of expenses with the friends he travels with if he's traveling with them. I won't call him frugal though, thoughtful and selective is more like it.

So when he does something of this nature, it's not nothing. He was making a statement period. He was proving something to someone- if you say Army I'll smack the back of your head. Lol

JK. He was proving something to JK. It's always been JK- so help me lord if you say it's Fanservice! It is not. It wasn't for Fanservice.

I've seen people around corners of the internet saying he didn't have to post his Paris video if he was going to go see JK anyway to celebrate with him. That the whole video message thing on Twitter seemed very much private.

I agree with the part about the video seeming private. It seemed personal to me. But it also seemed like the point of that video was to let JK know his location at the time to perhaps throw him off the surprise he had planned for later.

People have argued JM was just pulling a 'prank' on JK with that whole Paris trip to begin with. They were on a hiatus, they had been together prior to JM leaving for France a few days to JK's birthday so it doesn't make sense that they would be broken up at that time period and it doesn't make sense that Jimin will leave for Paris and fly back home only to leave again so it must be a prank.

... Sure. Valid point. However, I don't see Jimin being reckless with money or honestly that shallow. If that was a prank that was an expensive one.

And yes, Jimin didn't have to go on the trip. It wasn't business. It was leisure. I can see how that would be confusing to JK especially when it seemed JM was choosing to spend time with someone, be somewhere else rather than with him on his birthday- yet again. Coughing in Manila.

But sure, I can see how that would be the best 'prank' surprise for JK. Shaking my head. I don't think that was all that was happening with Jikook around that time as I have hinted at several times across my blog posts.

Jikook were broke up around that time, that trip was a grand gesture, Jimin's way to make up with Jk let him know he's learned his lessons. His friends are important but JK comes first. The lightning struck twice for JM and he got a second chance to redeem himself- the definition of GRAND gesture.

If you are a Kpop enthusiast you would also know about the political climate in S.K around that time frame and how it was impacting the Kpop world in general. Certain Boy Bands were under investigation for certain 'offences' I don't want to get into.

On August 11th, one member of such said boy band was arrested- allegedly. I don't know what it had to do with BTS or whether it had anything to do with them at all and I'm not insinuating anything but I just found that impromptu hiatus in August a bit suspicious giving everything else that was going on in S.K.

If 'people' were looking into Kpop boybands then I am certain BTS was on top of that list just because they are the biggest boyband and have been a target of haters for years.

Needless to say, I do not think they were gonna find anything at all on the boys if in deed they had looked but if the boys had a secret- like say two of their members being in the LGBTQ plus community then I assume that secret was bound to be found out?

It is why I believe the boys were asked to lay low in August and that Jikook specifically had been asked by BigHit to tone things down while they navigated the muddy mess of public scrutiny- in my opinion.

I also find it a bit interesting that both of Jikook later that same month and period would be involved in a scandal involving women- But feel free to draw your own conclusions on that however you please. This is just mine: I think that move was straight out of the PR books. Classic Olivia Pope-esque move. Lol

I know some people think it is in the best interest of Jikook to hide their relationship if they are real and that Jikook want to hide their relationship: I disagree.

Just based on my own observation, I don't think they enjoy hiding at all. Especially JK. Well, he did say he didn't want to hide anymore in GCF Saipan didn't he? Can't argue with that.

But also, out of the two, JK is the one who seems the most grounded and sure about their relationship. This is seen best in moments where they've almost been caught. JK's been the least bothered or throw off. Almost as if he doesn't mind if people find out about them.

For instance, when BTS exposed JK for sneaking into Jimin's bed Jimin looked terrified as fuck. He pointed to JK, almost throwing him under the bus but for someone behind the camera asking him to chill, Jimin would have freaked out of his mind.

Then we have that infamous moment when Jimin and JK walked into JK's room and spotted the camera. The look on JM's face said it all. But JK seemed pretty chill about it to me.

Now these moments are relevant because JM was caught unaware. They were both caught off guard and so their reactions were instinctive. By instinct Jimin freaked out which says to me he is afraid to be exposed or outed perhaps because he isn't ready to come out- yet. While JK's reaction on the other says to me he doesn't mind at all if people found out about them which could be because he is ready to come out.

I know what you are thinking and no. That time in the track when they were caught taking photos- JK looked more like he didn't appreciate the invasion of his privacy rather then terrified he was caught. They were on set and so they knew there were cameras roaming around and anyone could stumble on them. They were both consciously self aware of their environment which is why JM was able to make a quick comeback.

I can go on and on about this about this topic but the post is already getting too long.

My point is, Jikook don't like to hide. When you are in love you want the whole world to know. And so often, they fluctuate between wanting to keep their relationship a secret for the sake of their careers and wanting to declare and openly claim eachother.

Keeping their relationship a secret is bound to be stressful on them physically and emotionally. Just because they don't like to be outed don't mean they enjoy hiding.

Their secret is not theirs alone to tell. They have people whose careers depend on them. Their secret is inextricably linked with five other people. People whose careers could end instantly if their secret so much as came out accidentally or even by design.

I don't think either of them is selfish enough to risk that. Not even in the name of love. And this is especially true for Jimin the way I see it. As for JK..... I don't think he gives a shit. Bless him.

This doesn't mean, however, that they don't enjoy teetering the line. It's part of the thrill that fuels their passions- when they get to play at being caught and exposed or just the mere thought they are out smarting the public- fucking exhibitionist!

Jokes aside, I believe there is a sense of comfort and security they get from knowing there are thousands of people out there who enjoy and celebrate their love as openly as they would want to and they live openly vicariously through us.

Our support and acceptance means so much to them. Which is why often you find them reaching out to us.

Being told to lay low even if it's for their own interests would get on their nerves especially for a rebel like JK and Jimin knew this hence why that public display of his affection for Jk on Twitter.

Thus, I do I think JM would make another gesture similar to what he did last year but whatever gesture of he does make one would be unique in it's own way from last year's and would be more of an assurance of his love for JK and a prove to Army that they are fine just because i think they have both been through a lot this year just as he said in the dynamite MV reaction VLive which was rudely sabotaged by Tae.

Jimin seemed like he wanted to have a 'public' moment with JK as explained in my previous post on the Dynamite Reaction Vlive. And given as that moment was interrupted, I expect him to try that again. Whatever message he wanted to deliver it seemed more intended for JK as much as us their supporters.

He has been pretty active on social media lately in the days leading up to JK's birthday. He seems to be gearing up for something. He ain't slick.

So yea, part of me hopes and expect him to do something nice, to make a statement similar to last year's but I cannot ignore also that there's been a lot of eyes and attention on Jikook a lot lately. More so than usual.

Posting something of that nature would single them out and only escalate the situation especially if it is something that makes them both stand out from the others.

For context, I am talking about the heat they recieved as a result of the Dynamite MV. That heat is drenched in homophobia and they and BigHit could care shit about that as I explained in my previous post but you have to understand it can have a negative impact on their mental health.

I mean, NamJoon is constantly being paired with JK a lot lately. It's almost as if he is keeping an eye on Him constantly if you know what I mean. Tae has also been keeping an eye on Jikook, outing Jikook's schemes and shenanigans before they happen like in that Dynamite MV Reaction VLive where he asked JK not to look into the camera during Jimin's solo commentary.

It's understandable. Their interest is as stake too. If Jikook go down, they are going down too. It's daisy.

What I'm saying is, Jikook is being monitored and it would be daring of Jimin to do something as grand for JK openly like that.

But who knows. If it's gonna make JK happy because they've both been through a lot this half of the year then JM would definitely definitely do it. He is defiant like that and he can be a bit of a dare devil when it comes to proving his stance to Jk. He wouldn't hesitate for a second. I love that about him.

Mad respect for him if he does. Mad mad respect for him if he does. But if he doesn't you'd all know why.

In conclusion, I'm saying I'm expecting something more than a happy birthday text from Jimin this year. I'm expecting something more meaningful, deep, coded and uniquely Jikook.

If it happens to be a proposal Ayla you can have all my shmoney! Lol

Signed,

GOLDY