#this show and this otp delivers

[sincerelystesichorus]

let's talk about that one scene in oops

(and fizzarolli in general bc me and my autism r obsessed with this scene and haven't seen someone break it down. also ft. blitz lmao)

just a general scene and vague character breakdown/analysis!

i first of all want to admire the perfect representation of best friends to enemies with blitz & fizz because ugh.

And like Blitz tells everyone this but the way it's so malicious here. Just the perfect simple dig and Fizz's little shit eating grin because it delivered how he knew it would sdfkjsdkf. Shoves Blitz to the side because really that's all he cares to say. Fuck you and what you did to me, bye bye <3 Fizz is so for talking shit and dipping (House of Asmodeus) I love how messy it is but also shows how he really doesn't hold malice for Blitz otherwise. Obviously we see this front and center later in the episode once they start reconnecting, but I like the subtlety and how he's so willing to snap at Blitz despite his usual anxiety with confrontation.

Blitz also knowing exactly what to say to really piss Fizz off once things escalate <3

(Fizz literally so smug and content with himself lmfao)

(smirk wiped off bc hey that's the thing i'm sensitive about!!)

But Fizz keeps his composure. And if you'll let me be alarmingly gay for a second, I love how his version of keeping his cool as a messy gay is managing to basically recreate this drag race confrontation in what is probably my favorite set of Fizzie lines.

eat him up babes. also it's so important that that shitty coffee and fizz were on this side of the street for framing i'll talk about it more in a sec jfskjdfksf.

and now my personal favorite exchange of this entire scene that is criminally underrated imo:

love his face after this line. I SUPPORT DISABLED PEOPLES WRONGS sfjdlkfsdd. literally so fucking nasty with his clown wit but also so justifiable because yeah blitz did just pull this nightmare and dip in fizz's pov. i cannot wait for that to get touched on more likeeee why were they kept apart ugh.

and finally!!

this cut to blitz,, specifically the scarred side of his face is sooo good.

the face of a man who just achieved critical vicious mockery vs. the face of a man that knows he can only win this interaction one way now

Blitz does deserve a little violence maybe <3 Fizz underestimated his ass jjdkfsdlk.

Idk I just love how indicative this whole interaction is for their characters but especially Fizz, it's a perfect build-up for him. Fizz has major imposter syndrome with dual layers because of general haters but especially because of Mammon and Asmodeus. Not on any fault of Ozzie's,, we just see Fizz obviously thinks he isn't fully deserving of their relationship/his situation and the healthy dynamics of it and so do most major news outlets apparently askjfsk.

(full fizzy meme post & also i like how this is a special also like damn do u think they were also apart of the crossword??)

It'll be really interesting to see how his character develops in future episodes because I feel like a lot of what I've rambled about here has come to a resolution after 2 Minutes Notice in the musical special lmao. I really like how here when he goes to compose himself, this is how he does it.

Makes me wonder how many times him and Ozzie have had the self-worth and imposter syndrome conversation before it finally stuck in the Mammon Musical Special. I just love their relationship and how they compliment one another,, and how it projects into Fizz's other relationships because they're healthy for one another. Love my OTP love Blitz & especially love Fizzie. Obviously.

[ineffably-human]

I'm honestly pissed at the reviewers who were claiming this season is all fanservice with not enough action or whatever the hell it is they said.

Good Omens s2 was fanservice, it was huge fun but 90% of it was everyone spinning their wheels while learning maybe one or two pieces of new information. Everyone is largely the same, flaws and all, and until that ending happens it's mostly meant to make us enjoy watching our OTP and have comforting feels about them.

This season of Our Flag is about Ed and Stede (and, I'd argue, Izzy) deciding the kind of people they want to be. That's happened since minute one and every episode has moved that forward. We see that in their fantasies, in their hallucinations, in who they are separately and together, in every single person they meet.

It's not a coincidence that Ricky is a noble fascinated by pirates until his playing around gets him hurt, and then his reaction is to burn it all down. (Unlike Stede, who thinks he's lost the man he loves and his immediate reaction is to forgive his crew and get them to safety before he even thinks about mourning.)

Or that Ned Lowe is mannered and loves music but is a sadistic snob who thinks everyone is disposable, and that's who Stede kills in cold blood.

It's not a coincidence that Zheng is a brilliant pirate with a broader vision but a people-focused kind of leadership, who is actively trying to build a force that ends pirating by giving everyone pay and security just when Ed is thinking about retirement again.

Even the way some of the crew find their bliss and leave or start considering it, the way they operate as individuals but also as a sort of unified force demonstrating community and safety and open easy queerness and how they're all transformed by it (sometimes literally). The contrasting images of piracy as encroaching death and perfect freedom.

It all hangs together so well, it's so smart and has such clear things to say. To call that 'fanservice' is such an insult to it. To deliver more of what made the show gather a fanbase by understanding its own arc and message is just good, strong writing. Because writing that understands the audience it built doesn't feel mindless. It feels like a thesis.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Transmission and Deflagration (The Kwamis' Choice)

Well, it only took until almost halfway through the fifth season, but we're finally getting a two-part episode that isn't a season finale. There have been a few episodes I think could have benefited from having an extra part, like “Cat Blanc”. So obviously, after all this time, there has to be a reason for putting a two-parter here. The story told here has to be big. It has to be huge. It has to be something that will alter the very way we see the plot and these characters, and—it's more Love Square stuff. God dammit...

Let's get into the tenth and eleventh episodes of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Transmission and Deflagration

“Transmission” starts with Marinette having another depressive episode, which seems to be worse than usual, with her offering her Miraculous to Tikki so she can choose someone else. While Tikki tries to remind her of all the good she's done as Ladybug as footage from earlier episodes plays, Marinette points out how she's a terrible Ladybug, once again referencing how she lost the Miraculous because of her feelings for Adrien.

Tikki: You’re overreacting, Marinette!

Marinette: Really? Then, how come I lost the Miraculous I was entrusted with all because of love? Love only ever causes problems. I’ll never fall in love again! Love is weak! And I can’t be sad about it; otherwise, I might get akumatized!

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. We're ten episodes into the season, and whenever Marinette brings up her failure at the end of the last season, it's the same song and dance: She feels guilty about it, she needs someone to try and make her feel better, and she doesn't change anything about the way she and Cat Noir operate. If it isn't that, it's a complete strawman or character who we know already hates Ladybug like Chloe or Lila calling out Marinette for her failure specifically so any negative feedback she gets can be easily brushed aside. The whole point of a hero having to comprehend a major failure is to see how they deal with the consequences to their actions and find a way to improve to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. If Marinette came up with new ways to strategize with Cat Noir, or seriously reevaluate the way she sees Adrien that isn't just brushed aside, I'd get it. Instead, all she does is whine about how much her life sucks over and over, which is the same problem I've had with Adrien for the past few seasons.

And once again, for a show with the lyrics “The power of love always so strong” in its opening, it seems like the writers want to make a bigger point in favor of showing how love can only ruin things. Yes, getting emotional can cause someone to make more impulsive decisions, but at the same time, feelings of love and kindness can get good results, like Ellen Ripley's maternal instincts motivating her to save Newt in Aliens. The problem is that we never get a lot of arguments as to how love can benefit the heroes, not only when we see how much it screws up Ladybug and Cat Noir's partnership, but once again, how Marinette's romantic feelings for someone led to her greatest failure. The closest we get to an argument in favor of love is whenever Marinette and Adrien's friends try to make their OTP come together without considering if it would actually make things better or not.

Speaking of which, after the episode's obligatory pointless Chloe line that's only there so Selah Victor can pay her rent that week, Ms. Bustier asks Alya to deliver Marinette's homework to her, only for Nino to convince her to have Adrien do it instead. Somehow, she thinks this minor favor will help Marinette and Adrien realize their true feelings for each other. Because it's not like Alya learned that she shouldn't choose who she thinks Marinette would be best with last episode, right?

Marinette and Adrien talk and it seems like they're starting to grow a little closer, but Tikki and Plagg panic, trying to intervene so they don't know each other's identities. The attempt fails, but Marinette kicks Adrien out anyway. It's a pretty somber scene, so let's cut to something stupid instead, like Marinette and Adrien's classmates throwing a party under the assumption that Adrien simply delivering something to Marinette means they'll get together now.

All of you are really gunning for the Biggest Idiot Award today, aren't you?

Of course, even though she went along with one of these weird “force Marinette to do something she doesn't want to” schemes before in “Crocoduel”, Zoe seems to be the only one with a smidgen of common sense.

Zoe: Alya, did you hear Marinette’s voicemail message?

Alya: Yeah, but that was before, Zoe.

Zoe: “Before”? Before what?

Alya: Before when Marinette was a complete wreck.

Nino: But Alya sends her the perfect mechanic.

Alya: Adrien!

Nino: He’s fixing her up as we speak.

Rose: Wow! When they come back to school, they’ll finally be an item!

Marc: A perfect plan!

Zoe: But... you guys don’t actually know for sure.

Alya: Trust me. This is it this time!

I'm starting to think that maybe Marinette should reconsider who she chooses to be temp heroes once she gets the Miraculous back.

Adrien starts crying as he leaves Marinette's place, which attracts the attention of Monarch... who then immediately backs out as soon as he senses him, transforming back into Gabriel. Meanwhile, Tikki and Plagg discuss Marinette and Adrien's situation.

Plagg: Sugarcube! Having to force them to choose between love and their mission is just awful! Maybe Master Fu was wrong to choose them.

Tikki: No, they’re made for each other. Love is what gives them their strength.

Plagg: But the impossible part of that love is destroying them, and I know a thing or two about destruction.

Tikki: (sighs heavily) What can we do?

Plagg: We must free them of that impossible choice. We must... free them of us.

Yep. This is the titular Kwamis' choice. They seriously think that Marinette and Adrien's romantic problems are more important than them being superheroes, so their best option is to just take away their Miraculous even though Monarch still has fifteen more of them. I'd be more forgiving if this was towards the beginning of Marinette and Adrien's superhero careers, but this is Season 5, where the stakes have never been higher thanks to Monarch's arsenal. Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that MARINETTE IS STILL THE FUCKING GUARDIAN, AND TAKING AWAY HER MIRACULOUS DOESN'T CHANGE A THING! IT'S NEVER EVEN MENTIONED IN EITHER EPISODE, SO HOW THE HELL DO YOU FORGET SOMETING THAT IMPORTANT?!?!

It doesn't even make sense that only now are Tikki and Plagg against Marinette and Adrien actually getting together when they were never shown to have any problems with it in earlier seasons, and just last episode, Plagg encouraged Adrien to go after Marinette after doing so as Cat Noir didn't work out. It comes across as the writers struggling to come up with new ways to have opposition to the Love Square, even if this idea somehow leads to a minuscule amount of progress in that department. Yeah, you figure that out...

Also, it's pretty weird how after four and a half seasons of Marinette suffering from the burden of being Ladybug, only now does Tikki decide to relieve her of that responsibility, but only because of how it affects her love life.

We get another scene showing how stupid Marinette and Adrien's friends are as they talk about how happy Marinette and Adrien must be now, interspersed with scenes of Marinette and Adrien crying their eyes out. Just like that one scene in “Evolution”, I don't get the setup. Is this meant to be a joke, or a serious moment? After Nathalie takes a call for Adrien telling Nino that he can't be bothered at the moment, Gabriel comes into the room to comfort him, giving him an Alliance ring in the process.

Tikki and Plagg talk to their respective holders and tell them how they feel that the burden of being heroes is crushing them. Marinette and Adrien obviously bring up the situation with Monarch, but as soon as their Kwamis mention that not being superheroes means that they can pursue their love lives with no stress, they immediately take off their Miraculous and give them back. After five seasons that this episode confirmed happened just under a year, and this is what causes them to give up their Miraculous: a bad case of heartache. We're supposed to see this as the breaking point that causes the two to not want to be superheroes ever again? They don't consider the innocent lives that could be in danger, or the fact that this heavy burden will most likely be forced on two new and inexperienced schmucks who will struggle even more than they did thanks to Monarch possessing powers of the other fifteen Miraculous.

I'm sorry, but I don't see this as an emotional scene. All I see is what I saw with Adrien in “Kuro Neko”: these characters simply giving up because of how much they're prioritizing their personal feelings over the lives of others. If this was something Marinette and Adrien came up with and made an agreement to quit at the same time (even choosing their own replacements), I'd sort of get it, as they'd at least be on the same terms, but neither of them ever learn the other quit until later on in the episode.

After Adrien breaks down even more, we learn that the whole reason Gabriel hesitated to akumatize Adrien the last time was because he didn't have an Alliance ring on, so now that he does, he's taking a mulligan. However, the Akuma is stopped at the last minute when Adrien sees the homework he was supposed to give Marinette, so he runs off as his negative emotions fade. Instead, Monarch chooses to akumatize someone else with five different Alliance rings.

Monarch: Rejoice, dear Kwamis! Five Alliances enables as many Miraculous powers to transfer at the same time! This villain promises to be exceptional! (laughs manically)

Pretty sure you hyped up Style Queen the same way three seasons ago, yet you still didn't get the Miraculous then, so I wouldn't gloat too soon.

The next scene with Marinette and Adrien is actually a really nice one. Marinette starts stuttering as usual when she tries to talk, but Adrien comes up with another idea: He'll ask a series of yes or no questions, and Marinette can raise her right or left hand to answer them. Adrien asks Marinette about her feelings for him, and Marinette accidentally answers no before changing her mind. Before Adrien leaves, he asks Marinette if she wants to spend more time with him in the future, to which she accepts. This scene was handled really well, and nothing really felt forced here.

Back with Alya, she and the others are once again coming up with a plan to get Marinette and Adrien together (because none of them have lives outside of the Love Square, I guess), when Nora suddenly calls.

Nora: Geez, sis! You never pick up the phone when I like, actually need your advice!

Alya: I couldn’t pick up. I’m at school!

Nora: Yeah, right. So, you see, I had no choice but to deal with it myself.

Alya: Oh, no... Nora. I told you before, you gotta talk before you act!

Nora: Yeah, but I did talk, like, I said stuff in front of Kouki's bros.

Alya: Nora! Not “talk” like that!

Yeah, outside of a few references to Nora trying to call Alya earlier in the episode, I didn't skip anything here. We're just thrown into this plot with little to no explanation as to what's going. What Nora and this Kouki guy were arguing about, much less what Nora said to his friends is never explained. I don't even known if they're supposed to be in a relationship or not. It's not like in “Sandboy” or “Oblivio” where the motivation for how the person got akumatized was only explained near the end of the episode. The episode acts like we're supposed to know who Kouki is and why he and Nora are fighting when this is the first time Kouki has ever appeared on this show.

As the conversation goes on, Tikki chooses Alya to be the new wielder of the Ladybug Miraculous and Plagg chooses Zoe to be the new wielder of the Cat Miraculous. Okay, outside of Zoe being the only one in this episode who isn't a complete idiot, I can see why Plagg would choose her, since she has experience as a superhero, and her identity wasn't exposed. As for Tikki choosing Alya? Yeah, Alya did a good job as Scarabella in “Hack-San”, but she doesn't mention that A) She and Cat Noir still needed Marinette's help to stop Robustus, and B) Alya's already had her identity exposed twice, to the point where she was the one to suggest she not be trusted with one before Marinette lost the other fifteen Miraculous at the end of the last season. Alya's not a bad hero, but these factors don't exactly make her an ideal successor to Ladybug. Also, it's pretty dumb how the whole reason Marinette and Adrien quit was for romantic reasons, yet the whole reason Alya blew her cover last season was for romantic reasons (Rocketear).

Back with Adrien and Marinette, the former plans to leave, but is interrupted by the akumatized form of Kouki, named Kikou.

Kikou's design is... I mean, it's not terrible, I guess? Putting aside the fact that this is the second Akuma in the series to go with the “black boxer” stereotype (who is also a dumb brute like Anansi was), the gold jewelry is a decent touch, and it makes sense that he has the five Alliance rings to show off his wealth. As for his powers, because he has five rings, he has five different powers, the Tiger Miraculous' Clout to power his Gum-Gum Pistol-esque punches, the Turtle Miraculous' Shelter to protect his head where the Akuma is obviously hiding, the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to move around quickly and make up for his size hindering his speed, the Ox Miraculous' Resistance to protect the aforementioned Shelter, and the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude to clone himself with. This is the Akuma that really made me realize that the gimmick of every Akuma this season having the powers of whatever Miraculous Monarch gives them is just an excuse to half-ass writing any new Akuma powers in favor of the same fifteen abilities the other Miraculous have.

Kikou attacks the city, but Alya transforms into Scarabella, soon being joined by Zoe, AKA, Kitty Noire.

Kitty Noire's design is... pretty weird, all things considered. The green lipsick just doesn't look that good, I don't get the green hair extensions, and why are they eyes like that when even Lady Noire's eyes stayed green? At the very least, the hair looks marginally better than Catwalker's, and I like the detailing on the suit itself.

While Scarabella and Kitty Noire quickly get to know each other, Marinette and Adrien get used to being civilians again pretty quickly as they watch them fight off Kikou, the two new heroes struggling to keep up with Kikou's five Miraculous powers. Of course, Marinette and Adrien only look mildly concerned, not even regretting their choices in the slightest.

Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen.

Scarabella uses her Lucky Charm, getting a parachute, which is totally different from the kind used in the final episode of the first episode. Scarabella and Kitty Noire taunt Kikou, Scarabella drawing Kikou's fire while Kitty Noire recruits a bunch of firefighters, who then get some paint from the art store Socqueline runs. The firefighters then load the paint into their truck's hose, which is then used to fill up the parachute. Kitty Noire cuts the rope, and the paint blinds Kikou, and as soon as he deactivates his shield, Scarabella breaks his headgear, freeing the Akuma.

Scarabella de-evilizes the Akuma, sort of helps Kouki and Nora make up, uses Miraculous Scarabella to fix all the damage, while Marinette and Adrien compliment the new heroes from afar before promising to meet up at school tomorrow.

The first episode ends with Gabriel's Alliance recording the unusual data in two Alliances, meaning that Scarabella and Kitty Noire's identities have already been exposed... even though Tikki should have known this since “Jubiliation”. Yeah, you all know where this is going.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... TIKKI

While the competition was tough, Tikki was able to get the win for going along with this asinine plan in the first place that prioritized the personal feelings of two people over the fact that Monarch was at his most dangerous. Not only that, she forgot Marinette was still the Guardian, she forgot that Alya's identity was already exposed twice, and that even if she didn't know the Alliance rings were a front for Monarch's plan, forgot that these hi-tech rings track the everyday movements of its users, not even telling Plagg this before he chose Zoe.

The second part, “Deflagration”, immediately starts off with Kitty Noire saying that Ladybug and Cat Noir have nothing to feel guilty about even though they essentially abandoned Paris when Ladybug was shown to be getting backlash for her failure, but of course, that isn't mentioned here.

Kitty Noire: We’ll accomplish our mission just like they did, because the goal we all share is to defeat Monarch, isn't it?

News Reporter: Or perhaps Ladybug and Cat Noir renounced their mission so they could finally live their love story?

Scarabella: They were never in love or in a relationship, and neither are we.

Kitty Noire: (in a flirtatious tone) So far anyway!

I'd make a “The Ambiguously Gay Duo” joke here, but we all know Alya is already in a relationship.

Alya and Marinette meet up, the former congratulating her successor on another great job. The two talk about Adrien, and Alya once again encourages Marinette to focus more on pursuing a relationship with him, no doubt planning another stupid party in her mind.

We then get a scene that actually reminds the audience that Chloe and Zoe are supposed to be sisters. I understand if you might have forgotten, but don't worry. I'm pretty sure the writers did too. Of course, I think the writers might be running out of new ways to make Chloe mean to someone, because this time, she just yells at Zoe for being near her and not being in the “half-of-a-sister zone”. In order to appease her sister and make sure she doesn't call their mom, Zoe offers to wash all of Chloe's shoes. Plagg talks to Zoe about possibly standing up to her sister.

Plagg: How about I Catacylsm that sister of yours instead?

Zoe: It’s pointless, Plagg.

Plagg: Zoe, you can't let them treat you that way; no one speaks to me like that! Just ask the T-rexes... That is, if you can find one! Because they're not so smug anymore now, are they?

Zoe: It’s best to stay out of trouble in this family if I'm going to protect my secret identity.

Plagg: You start by giving up cheese, and then you end up giving up on dignity, freedom, and justice!

Zoe: I feel like you like to blow things out of proportion, don't you?

Plagg: Yes... especially when I’m starving.

Talking about standing up to your mean sister, contemplating murder while casually discussing genocide. Same thing, right?

We cut to Gabriel, who's over the moon about the recent revelation regarding Scarabella and Kitty Noire, even dancing a little. He tells Nathalie and heads to his lair to plan his next scheme, but not before chatting with Emilie's body once again. Gabriel transforms into Monarch and gives himself the powers of the Bee, Mouse, Rooster, Ox, and Horse Miraculous, traveling to the school himself.

Meanwhile, we cut to the Resistance, where we see Max has set up a system where, through the use of the Alliance rings and their phones, the members can alert the school to whenever there's an active Akuma... even though one of the features included in the Alliance includes an Akuma alert (Multiplication), and there's also been an Akuma alarm since Season 2 (Riposte). So once again, this brave and totally important Resistance has contributed absolutely nothing. Okay, there are some other parts, like some of the members planning to fight off the Akuma with paintball guns if there's no other option. You know, this is proof that this show takes place in France, because if this was America, they would most likely have actual guns.

At lunch, Marinette and Adrien get closer, to which Lila uses as an opportunity to manipulate Chloe into trying to break up the moment, but not before we get a joke where Chloe needs Alliance to define the word “generous”. Okay, I'm not sure if the joke was that Chloe is so selfish, she doesn't know the meaning of the word, or if the writers are now resorting to using “dumb blonde” jokes for Chloe now, which totally isn't a cliche that was overused twenty years ago to the point where there was an entire movie starring Reese Witherspoon made to subvert it. Either way, NOT FUNNY, DIDN'T LAUGH.

Chloe tries to ruin the moment by telling Adrien Marinette is in love with him, but he's not having any of that. She tries telling jokes that are supposed to be unfunny, they're funny, but it lacks the charm of something like Hank Hill attempting to tell “yo mama” jokes. Zoe stands up to Chloe, which pisses her off so much, she willingly accepts an Akuma from Monarch (currently invisible thanks to the Rooster Miraculous), turning into Sole Destroyer.

Sole Destroyer is... wow... Just... WOW... they didn't even try with this one. At least Miracle Queen made sense as an upgrade to Queen Wasp, but this? They literally just took Sole Crusher, whose design resembling Chloe made sense thematically in that episode, gave her a new pair of sunglasses, some more gemstones and spikes, and made her eyes glow as if she was a character in an episode of The Nostalgia Critic. Why go to this effort to make a new Akuma when so little is done with the new design? Wouldn't it make sense to bring back Antibug, given Chloe has been against Ladybug since the end of Season 3? As for Sole Destroyer's powers, it's just Sole Crusher's magic kicks, only instead of growing bigger in size after absorbing each victim and making her more of a threat, they transform into singing shoes. You know, guys, it just dawned on me how... how weird this show is. Kinda goofy...

Alya and Zoe attempt to transform, but Monarch, using a combination of the Mouse, Bee, and Rooster Miraculous' powers, stuns the two and steals the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous from them. Plagg attempts to Cataclysm Monarch, but Monarch uses Resistance to block it, immediately going to unify. Before the process can be completed, both Tikki and Plagg use Lucky Charm and Cataclysm respectively, Tikki summoning a trash can with the side effect of creating a new Eiffel Tower, and Plagg destroying the Cat Miraculous. Doing so ends up creating an endless cycle of things being created and destroyed, and unlike in “Dearest Family”, they don't reuse footage from “Style Queen”.

Marinette gets the trash can, and realizes what's happening, and while Adrien and Nino plan to have the Resistance try and stop Sole Destroyer, Marinette works on making her own Ladybug costume. Monarch orders Tikki to tell him what the hell's going on, Tikki explains that since Plagg destroyed the Cat Miraculous, he lost his only method of communicating with the physical plane, and all Monarch needs to do to get what he needs is to take back the Lucky Charm Tikki created. Just then, Marinette arrives, dressed up as Ladybug, and seemingly having the Lucky Charm in her hands, only for Monarch to steal it, unifying into Monarbug.

Given how stupid he looked as Shadow Noir last season, it's not exactly surprising to learn that Gabriel looks just as stupid unified with the Ladybug. The red and black polka dots just don't go with the black and purple. The one thing I'll give them credit for is that the eyes look kind of cool.

The Lucky Charm turns out to be a fake, and Nino jumps in to save Marinette from being hit with Venom. The rest of the Resistance also arrives, somehow having beaten up Sole Destroyer off-screen and turning her into a battering ram. Monarbug undoes the Akumatization, but Rose, Ivan, and Kim dogpile Monarbug, leaving Adrien to steal back the Ladybug Miraculous for Marinette.

Marinette transforms back into Ladybug, and uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage and fix the Cat Miraculous. While Ladybug fights Monarch, she learns that he reforged the Miraculous before Monarch uses Multitude and Voyage to make his escape, swearing that he'll beat Ladybug someday, “We'll meet again, Spider-Man”, yadda yadda yadda.

Tikki and Marinette talk about finding new holders, only for Marinette to choose to take back the Miraculous, figuring that since Monarch doesn't know their identities (once again forgetting what the Alliance rings can do), that's the best option. Plagg takes back the Cat Miraculous and goes to say goodbye to Zoe, reassuring her that she was still brave enough to stand up to Chloe, because I guess to hell with the people who somehow managed to restrain Chloe while she was Sole Destroyer. And so this episode, and by extension, this two-parter, ends with Ladybug and Cat Noir talking about how their Kwamis saved the day... even though they were the reason Monarch almost won in the first place.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... CHLOE

In addition to somehow not knowing the definition of the word “generous”, she failed to come up with a good comeback against Marinette, chose to get akumatized to get revenge, failed at that, betrayed Sabrina and Lila, her only allies, for no good reason, and somehow got defeated off-screen by a bunch of civilians with no superpowers, not even getting to fight either of the new heroes, including her sister.

But yeah, in case you can't tell, these episodes were pretty bad. The entire premise of Tikki and Plagg deciding that Marinette and Adrien's love lives were more important than stopping Monarch was a hard pill to swallow, especially since their replacements didn't get to do anything outside of a single Akuma fight. You'd think that with the buildup Zoe got standing up to Chloe, she'd at least play a role in stopping Sole Destroyer, but instead, she and Alya are benched for almost the entirety of “Deflagration”. It's also really dumb that the ending tried to make them out to be the MVP's of the fight, when their idea was what caused Monarch to almost get the Miraculous.

Even Marinette and Adrien didn't really make a lot of progress here. All they did was talk a little, but even after “Deflagration”, not much else happened. Yeah, Adrien stood up for Marinette, but they still haven't officially started dating yet, even when they had every reason to after giving up their Miraculous. It's still better than nothing, but after four and a half seasons, I think we're allowed to want a little more development with the Love Square Wouldn't it have been interesting to see Marinette and Adrien try to start a relationship during their brief retirement, only to struggle to maintain it after becoming superheroes again? We're almost halfway through the season, and the Love Square is still progressing at a snail's pace. Then again, I guess it's better than nothing at this point.

“Transmission” was pretty boring, all things considered. Other than the first act, nothing really happened. The Akuma fight was like the others, just with two new heroes, and Marinette and Adrien got to bond for a few minutes. Nora and Kouki's drama wasn't interesting, and it wasn't even properly explained like the motivations of other Akumas.

I will say that “Deflagration” was the better of the two, if only because Marinette, Adrien, and Gabriel made some smart choices here. Unlike in “Evolution” and “Destruction”, there's no gloating or wasting time. Monarch cuts straight to the chase, and Marinette comes up with a quick plan to trick him with. Also, while I still don't really care about the Resistance, I like the idea of the civilians standing up to Monarch, and think it was executed better than it was in “Heroes' Day”. Even Sole Destroyer got a few reactions out of me for how exaggerated her facial expressions were. I don't know why they decided to give her One Piece levels of weird faces, but kudos to the animators on that front. Of course, Sole Destroyer was still one of the most pointless Akumas in the show's history, as you could take her out of the episode and nothing would have changed.

Overall, while I appreciate the effort to try and tell bigger stories, this was a really weird choice of an episode to make a two-parter.

[limesandcoconuts]

THIS SCENE, THIS SCENE is one of the greatest Hiccstrid scenes, in fact for me it's one of the greatest romantic scenes. Firstly, it is just so adorable, their little hug at the end is so cute.

But the EMOTION?? Like, the way Astrid is about to tear up when she says she didn't know what to get and the way Hiccup says "but you did" is the sweetest thing ever, and then he just keeps going with (a maybe cliché) but beautiful little speech about him only needing her.

Props to Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera, I know RTTE will never get recognized for it's acting because it's a "kids" show but damn, they delivered. Like I said, the "but you did" line is the softest thing I've ever seen.

This scene actually makes me tear up, it's so emotional and loving. Hiccstrid is the OTP.

[birdmitosis]

oh, you doin' this too? (referring to the ask game) Tell me your Contra thoughts :3

[ask game here]

Ohoho, a total surprise that you would ask about the blorbo... >:3

First impression

OHHH I LOVE HIM IMMEDIATELY. FUNNY GUY MESSING WITH THE NARRATOR 💕 (Paranoid is the voice I love most, but I think Contrarian was the one I most quickly loved...)

Impression now

I still absolutely love them, honestly even more now! Unlike with Paranoid, where I was a little worried about her shtick getting old, I unexpectedly did start finding Contrarian's shtick a little old on occasion (okay, mostly in the Wild chapter going the Networked route, where I felt like Connie was messing with the tone of things a bit too much, and I was a bit more eh on them in Fury than some people seem to be though I've come around on that!). But with the full context of the Stranger versions of the endings and even seeing the Wounded Wild version of things with them... Oof, I adore them and they just completely fascinate me, that they have so much character development in this little visual novel where they're basically a side character... And I just adore jesters in all fiction and so I 1000% agree with all the Jester Contrarian people out there! Love them so much!!!!

Favorite moment

I mean, the Stranger version of the ending, honestly. Though to be more specific, I love the way that throwing the blade out the window comes back around in the Stranger ending -- especially if you choose to do it, giving Contrarian their unexpected third beat and them finding it funny that you did it even though this time they discouraged it.

Honorable mention to the little moment they have when you meet the Wounded Wild properly, though. While they discourage you from slaying her by saying it's going against what the Narrator wants, their voice just sounds so shaken that it's obvious that's a justification. Connie really doesn't like seeing the state the Wild is in and doesn't like thinking about hurting her further like this. It goes to show that he can get that Stranger ending development even if you don't go for the Stranger ending, and I love that!

(Also honorable mention to the way they deliver two of their lines in No Way Out: "Too late, because we already did it, didn't we?" and "You're not the only one who can figure out how to do things" are just such fuckin funny lines mostly on the strength of their delivery!)

Idea for a story

I NEED TO CONTINUE [Wear whatever feathers you choose.] I REALLY DO...

But okay, other ideas!

I love the possibility that I believe you brought up at one point, of Contrarian and Cold hanging out and egging each other on to do reckless shit but Cold straight-up getting hurt from it and Contrarian panicking because they hadn't wanted that and hadn't quite expected Cold to go that far.

I could also really love an exploration of how to get, or what it might be like to get, Contrarian in either version of Wraith or in Thorn... Or even a theoretical Stranger Chapter III (likely with Cheated)!

Unpopular opinion

I'm not really sure I have any, honestly! I think a lot of people have similar but different takes on Contrarian and nothing I could say is that unpopular... I guess maybe that pre-development, they were more of an asshole in-game than some people seem to think, but also less of one than others seem to think? (They did reassure Hero multiple times in the Stranger chapter, after all!)

Favorite relationship

Oh, absolutely, romance-wise ContraHero is my secondary OTP for this game! Platonically, though (...and okay in some cases romantically), I am really into Contrarian's dynamic and (potential) relationships with Broken, Cheated, Cold, Opportunist, Fury, Stranger, Thorn, Wounded Wild, and the Narrator.

Favorite headcanon

Contrarian being nonbinary is my absolute favorite thing! Some runners-up though: Human!Contrarian (or if Contrarian had to give a human name) would be Connie, Contrarian would absolutely get along great with Cold, and Contrarian would learn how to beatbox and get super good at it.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

yeah well, this cold heart of mine melted a little with this:

such a cute baby!! The casting director delivering, as always lol

I do love a happy ending (seriously I'm a sucker for them) and those can easily soften my opinion on a drama, especially one as a wild as this one. Doesn't matter that I thought HaeIn's sickness had an easy resolution, doesn't matter that it had the amnesia plot (my most hated trope in dramas and basically in any form of storytelling), in the end the OTP was all in for each other, willing to go the extra mile, with HyunWoo literally putting his life on the line to rescue the wife who didn't remember him while sustaining life-threatening injuries.

It doesn't matter! They started dating again, married and had their very much wanted daughter. And tbh I kinda liked the fact that HaeIn never fully recovered her memories, and Hyunwoo had to work for her love again. That's karma for the first four eps of the show lol And I love that started communicating, so they don't repeat their past mistakes.

Anyway, it was certainly a wild ride. No one can deny it. I'm just gonna say this, I don't mind a good makjang, but I still feel a bit conflicted about Queen Of Tears turning out to be one, because it wasn't exactly advertised as such. Then again, it had all the plot elements of a weekend family drama: chaebol family meets countryside family due to their children marrying, a ton of characters (and a bunch of subplots I wasn't interested in), mysterious villain (did they ever said who was his dad?) and plot to take over the family business, lot of cliches and tropes from earlier kdramas... Etc. I mean the writing was on the wall and maybe I didn't want to see it lol

Crazily, I would recommend this drama on the following conditions: I definitely think it'd be great for a weekend binge when there's nothing to watch or to do or when you're having a cold so bad you're on bed and under medication lol that'd make the plot twists even more fascinating.

I commend Kim SooHyun and Kim JiWon for their wonderful acting and chemistry, as well as the rest of the main cast and no, wait, THE WHOLE cast. Even the cameos were on point. And I sure hope the writer knows this was a hit because of the acting and not her writing.

P.S.: One thing I didn't get was the mention of who died first and when. Like ??? why for? Lmao even in the happiest ending the writer has done she had to put some element of bittersweetness, because why the hell not?

[highlordofkrypton]

Lucien

YESSSS LUCIEN THE KING LET ME RAMBLE ABOUT HIMMMM DISCLAIMER I DID NOT FINISH READING THE SERIES SO!!

How I feel about this character

Lucien is the real star of the show. I think he was written so strongly in the first book that even though I knew Tamlin was the main love interest, a part of me hoped that the book would swerve to Lucien. I hadn't read any spoilers, but I knew this book was HIGHLY recommended, so I expected something exceptionally good like... polyamory? Did that finally take the world by storm and were the girlies losing their shit over not one, but two book husbands? I was wrong, oops.

I think he has the most depth, all things considered, and it's a shame that SJM decided to cut Lucien down in favour of her favourites. As a writer, I believe that there will always be a character who steals the show unexpectedly, and when that happens, it should be nurtured, not destroyed.

He's definitely one of those characters who deserves the spotlight and can turn a story on its head if she just followed the muse.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

For Lucien, I look at his ships in different ways.

In canon, I think that Lucien and Feyre in the first book could've done amazing things. I DNF'd at ACOWAR so I have no business in the ship wars. I did write one Lucien x Elain fic, but that's mostly because I liked the prompt. I don't mind the ship, but I don't actively participate in Elucien things otherwise.

In my own fanfiction, I don't have Lucien shipped with anyone. The nature of the story doesn't leave room for Lucien to have a romance yet, and I tend to let these things happen organically than plan them.

In the Twitter AU, I do joke around with Tamcien or an OT3 with Tamlin, Lucien and Andras.

Lastly, I do have some oneshots planned for Cassian week and DO NOT ASK ME WHY my brain went this way, but Lucien x Cassian is on the list. Again, I don't really follow canon, so it's my himbo Cassian with Lucien. It'll be soft, loving things, which he deserves.

I'm generally open-minded to any ship, tbh. Someone just has to point me in the right direction.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

It has to be Tamlin and Andras. I dedicated the latter third of my fic to establishing their dynamic, and I really believe that the three of them balance each other out in a healthy way. Losing Andras upset that balance, and now everything is out of whack. I also had Andras w/ some Winter blood in him, so it was a nice balance between the fire of Autumn, the bloom of Spring and the cool winter (except Andras was not cold at all!).

My unpopular opinion about this character

Lucien's characterizations suffers at the hands of narrative that keeps putting him at the mercy of the 'main characters'. It's very possible to have charming and charismatic side characters, but there seems to be an inherent insecurity in the writing itself whenever another character other than the main couples starts to shine. I'm not faulting any of the other characters, I just really feel like after the first book, SJM seems to be forcing things rather than letting the story unfold organically. Not sure if this opinion is unpopular at all!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

This may still happen, but I wish that we would have adventured with him when he disappeared for most of the narrative in ACOWAR. Where did he go? What did he do? How did he feel when he was apart from his mate? So much has happened to Lucien at that point, and he's such a clever character, I would love to hear more of his voice/see more of him. Not sure if SJM can deliver!

AHHH I HOPE THIS WAS OK!!

[co-mixed]

Why Boom Still Can’t Get Buffy Right

My love for the Buffyverse is concrete but it has its limits. Yesterday I had a very unpleasant experience finishing yet another unimpressive Buffy run, courtesy of Boom Comics. It’s always disappointing to me because Buffyverse has so much potential and untold stories. It’s a goldmine that is constantly held back and simply can’t find its footing in the comics medium. Why is that? 

Boom’s been rather relentless in trying to make Buffy work. Several years and runs later, there’s still no big WOW story that can attract readers and viewers alike. Not just that, but even seasoned buffy fans don’t seem very interested in continuous attempts at rebooting the Slayer tale. You can blame the word reboot (it does tend to scare people) but the real reason is still Boom’s inability to deliver a good captivating story.

Boom had tried reinventing Buffy, sending her back to school, developing alternate realities and futures. But in every iteration, Buffy and the Scooby Gang were plagued with the same mistakes over and over again. 

Hey, I’m not sure what I am, so bear with me here 

The characters from Buffy are some of the most well-developed characters out there. Each one has a point of origin, a story, and a final form. We love them because we know them. And we know them extremely well. 

Let’s take the fan-favorite, Spike. We’ve seen his whole afterlife and even bits of his life. We know how he became William the Bloody, then Spike, a neutered vampire, and finally, an ensouled champion. We know how, and more importantly, we know why. 

I’d hate to throw in one more why but there is a reason Spike exists in the show, and we know it. 

When you read Boom comics, it feels like writers stick him into every arc just because they like him. He brings nothing to the story, he has no soul or chip yet chooses to join the scoobies. That does not look like the Spike we know. That guy was in s2-s4, not s5-s7. That’s the guy from School Hard or the one who got the Gem of Amara and happily marched to kill Buffy. 

But there’s nothing stronger than the author’s desire to make things ‘right’. Hence this spike lookalike joining the team every time. 

The funny part is, I can very well imagine a soulless chipless Spike who’s not a monster. If Dru sires him and never sees him again, if she never introduces him to Angelus, if he keeps on writing his bloody awful poetry only forever. He probably would’ve turned out like that poor librarian guy whose glasses Dru broke or like Harmony who still tried to be decent. But it’s the writer’s job to explain it, to write it into the story, not just throw a character into a book and see whether they swim or go down. They will always go down. 

Spike is only one of the issues here. In the show, both Kendra and Faith exist to show us the perfect (according to the council) and the fallen slayer. Two possible realities for Buffy. They have their own arcs (well, Faith does) but the show is strong because supporting characters serve a purpose. Just like the people we meet in real life always serve a purpose for us. You might believe that one character pushing the development of another is cruel, but that’s still how good stories are made. That’s still why Buffy is popular 20 years after the show’s finale. 

Kendra and Faith did that for Buffy in the show. In the Boom comics they just exist. They show up for no reason and they just hang around. You can take them out of the story and nothing will change. At one point in the initial reboot there were three slayers at the same time, and that felt more like a fix-it fanfic than a quality comic book. Unfortunately, some slayers have to die and some have to turn evil. Besides, without her rebellious personality, Faith is meaningless.

I have one more bone to pick. I know that Buffy and Angel (still the OTP of the show!) are a complicated matter to many modern writers. And readers, and viewers. There’s no place to hide from the creep factor and even though I will defend this ship till the day everyone finally agrees with me, I can’t deny its presence. But that doesn’t mean you get to discard this ship and separate Buffy and Angel into different books. One doesn’t exist or grow without the other. There is no Buffy in love with a vampire without Angel. There is only Vampire. Slayer. Dead vampire. 

Without Buffy, Angel is not in LA helping the helpless. He’s in New York eating low rats. Before trying to launch two separate books, how about Boom launches one good one, that provides background, even if revised and adapted to the modern days? 

I always worried what would happen when that b*tch got some funding

All this chaotic mess with the characters determines the stories Boom puts out. They tend to have an interesting start but by the time issue 3 comes out, it’s either Camazotz flying around Sunnydale, a giant crab taking over the main street, or whatever the hell Silas was (a soul eater?) Didn’t care for him much. Not even when we were evil. 

More often than not Boom writers suffer from the same disease that plagued Dark Horse comics – scale. Just because you can do anything doesn’t mean you should. Comics allow you to draw literally any kind of baddie but you are playing within a specific world, and suspense of disbelief only goes so far. Besides, in the show, it all grows gradually. You go from the Master to the First evil. In the comics… seriously, what the hell was Silas? 

From what I’ve read so far, Boom knows how to ask interesting questions: 

What if Buffy went to school today?

What if Willow took over as the slayer? 

What if Buffy was older? 

Those are all good what ifs but Boom has a problem following through. They don’t know the answer to this question and it feels like they’re making it up as they go along. If I’m being honest, it even feels like they wrote random ideas on pieces of paper, through them in a hat, and started pulling each time they hit a wall. 

Characters show up for now reason (hi, Tara from the latest run), they don’t feel like themselves, and the saddest part – none of it feels like you are getting your favorite show back. 

These characters deserve better than that. 

And there’s not a one who can say this ended well

At this point, I don’t know if Boom wants Buffy comics to succeed. I don’t mean to be this dramatic but every time someone mentions comics, fans think Dark Horse. Not because they are still considered canon, but because they had a connection to the beloved show. Boom comics don’t give you that, so you can’t look the other way when writers don’t deliver. It’s just how it works. 

I keep thinking what Boom can do to get out of this vicious circle. And I do believe there If they want to successfully play in the Buffyverse, they have to seriously up their game. It’s not impossible either. I mean, Something is Killing the Children is being released by the same studio. And what is that if not a more gruesome version of Buffy? So it’s not exactly magic. It’s doable. 

Personally, I still hold out hope that someone would dare explore the terrifying bloody past of the Whirlwind. Wouldn’t that be fun and gory? I’d like to see deep well-thought-through stories of past slayers. I’d happily read a well-illustrated comic run based on In Every Generation. And if we have to go back to Buffy variants, why not reinvent her story? But before we get to that, we’d have to work through every step of every character. Get them to where we want them, and start with a story that we want to tell, from start to finish. From her first day as a slayer to her last one (she didn’t have to empower the potentials after all).

That, of course, requires a lot of work. And if Boom isn’t ready to put in that kinda effort, they could just move from season 5, introduce a new slayer, and watch how her adventures unravel.  

Buffyverse is a hell of a property and there are too many stories waiting to be written. I’m probably still gonna give it a shot whenever Boom comes up with something new. I just hope I won’t have to write yet another long read complaining about it. 

[outrunningthedark]

Japril!!! I will forever be grateful for Jesse Williams fighting for April to be the one Jackson went to Boston with and not allowing what was originally planned to happen (apparently Krista was going to have April pregnant with Matthew's baby and Jackson was going to deliver it? Ugh)

Nonnie, I apologize in advance because I'm about to yell at everyone. In a good way, though. I have to laugh whenever people act like Ryan and Oliver are fighting for Buddie behind the scenes because I've (we've) SEEN what fighting looks like thanks to Jesse and Sarah. (all caps for emphasis) SARAH DREW WROTE A LETTER TO KRISTA ASKING HER TO CHANGE APRIL'S EXIT BECAUSE IF SHE COULDN'T BE WITH JACKSON SHE'D RATHER HER CHARACTER BE SINGLE: "I always, always wanted her to end up with Jackson, especially after they had their baby."

April's marriage to Matthew, in the end, felt "rushed" and adds that she and Williams, who left Grey's last season, had "great chemistry."

"I just didn't believe it, because we hadn't seen anything on-screen between [April and] Matthew in that final season," Drew says in the book.

She also reveals she went so far as to pen a letter to showrunner Krista Vernoff asking her to change the ending.

"I even wrote a very passionate letter to Krista after I read that final episode saying 'Can she just walk off? Like maybe kiss him and walk off into the distance doing something as an independent woman? Like, why does she need a man?' [x]

JESSE WILLIAMS WOULD GO TO SET WITH NOTES IN HIS SCRIPTS FOR HOW HE THOUGHT THE EARLY JAPRIL SCENES SHOULD GO: While most TV couples come together because of dialogue written on the page, Japril's beginning is in the margins. And from the second the "Grey's Anatomy" writers decided to give Jackson and April a shot, Williams and Drew told Insider the two of them were fully committed to the story — maybe even a little too much. 

"I remember you showed up with a whole marked-up script with script ideas," Drew laughed, recalling Williams' eagerness to get their first intimate scenes together during the medical boards on season eight right. 

THEY WERE PITCHING A SERIES BASED ON THE WEDDING: Their love was genuine but their choice to get married was impulsive. So their newlywed phase was marred with fights where TV couples are usually allowed a bit of romance. Drew said that she and Williams worked hard to try and fill in gaps for the audience, some of which never came to fruition. 

"We had a whole pitch for an entire series based on that road trip," Drew said of the few scenes we see of Japril traveling together to get married after April runs away from her wedding to Matthew. Williams confirmed that their series pitch is why "Unbreak My Heart" exists. 

AND THEN WHEN JESSE WAS LEAVING AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO REUNITE JAPRIL CAME UP, SARAH DREW WASN'T LETTING ANYBODY FUCK AROUND:

"The pitch that was given to me was April was super pregnant with Matthew's baby and Matthew wasn't home when Jackson came to the house to pitch April on the idea of going to Boston with him," Drew wrote of the original plot for April's return episode. "There was a storm outside and Jackson had to deliver April's baby at the house, and through this whole experience, April decided to bring her whole family to Boston with Jackson." 

"Jesse and I talked about it and thought it would be more satisfying to the audience if they were left with some hope for Japril reuniting," Drew wrote to Insider. "Jesse pitched that to the writers and the writers agreed — and then the story shifted."

[all three quotes can be found here] Who needs an instagram like when you have actors writing LETTERS expressing disappointment??? Not caring who they piss off in the process??? (And if you know Grey's, you KNOW they pissed off KV just by watching how it went.) WHEN WILL YOUR OTP EVERRR????? (OURS DID 😁)

[owchie-wowchie]

do ella ashmore for the ask game

favorite thing about them: I love how her quest for revenge isn't portrayed as a negative. She wants revenge and in the narrative, that isn't a bad thing. Her rage is justified and I love it. I love angry women!!!!!

least favorite thing about them: She does no wrong <3

favorite line: "Step one: crush frog with big fucking rock" The way that Bryce Charles delivers that line is staying my head forever

brOTP: Her and Tadius's qpr for the win!

OTP: I believe in aroace Ella, you can pry that from my cold dead hands

nOTP: Ella and the prince

random headcanon: The starlight gave her slight fire powers. It's not like Spitfire levels but she can make small flames that glitter in a rainbow pattern. I just think she deserves rainbow fire

unpopular opinion: Again, I don't think I have a consensus on what opinions are and aren't popular

song i associate with them: Is it cheating if I just say a song from the show?

favorite picture of them: Her in that dress of starlight <333333

[horizon-verizon]

Daemyra stans on Twitter are so misogynistic, illiterate, and racists. They missed the entire point of Rhaenyra’s story. It’s scary how they refuse to admit that people have several loves in their lives. I hope they never met a remarried widow/widower irl.

*EDITED POST* (10/8/23)

Please refer to this post to get a more in-depth answer.

A)

It's pretty clear that in both the show and the original story these two would have preferred to marry each other from the beginning. I am not totally sure if book!Daemon would have actually pursued, developed a relationship, or "looked" at Laena while married to Rhaenyra like I suspect he did "when developed a romance/had sex with/pursued/"looked" at Rhaenyra when she arrived at Driftmark and visited during the duration of her friendship with Laena.

Repeating myself, which is most likely? IF Rhaenyra was not okay with an open marriage nor in love with/attracted to Laena herself: Book!Daemyra marry from the jump and Daemon has a relationship with Laena or acting on the attraction I think he'd still have & pursuing a relationship with her? Or Daemon and Laena being married & later Rhaenyra shows up and he pursues/looks/develops a relationship with her while married to Laena?

I do not think he stopped loving or caring for Rhaenyra in their unique way after he married Laena. However, in the original story it is more than obvious he loved & cared for Laena.

B)

Here's the thing, I was/am a Daemyra Stan before and after HotD existed and I love their story. I read them as intentionally the OTP of the narrative. But I also don't really get how book!Daemon was seen as uncaring didn't love or wasn't at least emotionally as well as physically attracted to Laena in the beginning and came to lover her more beyond that.

I as a reader/audience/consumer of stories do prefer soulmate and one-true-love stories over many other types of love stories, but it's not enough for me to measure a person or character's worthiness based on how many people they've been with. And in real life, it's just a fact that people fall in love (and I still don't know what that's supposed to mean myself, what "love" is) more than once in their lives. Doesn't seem fair to be so repressive and deny the possibility for DaemonxLaena to have more respect, affection, or care in a TV adaptation, which is what some do. The show we do have barely delivered and made it seem that Daemon cares but is much more distant than even what the original text shows.

So I don't begrudge people for saying show!Daemon should have been genuinely in love with or loved and cared for Laena, even while also in love with Rhaenyra. One, the text supports that possibility, and two, love could be different without being less or "more" or "less" as in quantity, whatever that is supposed to mean.

Outside of narrative, yes I do think it's possible for a person to want to be with one person more than another person, and the original story gives enough for us to believe that there was real love and caring between Laena & Daemon. In canon, they marry they married in 115. In 116 A.C., he took it upon himself to write a letter to Viserys un-flashingly (as is his way) to get him and his family to stay at Driftmark so their daughters could grow up in one of their ancestral homes. Before that, they lived together touring several Essosi cities before settling in Pentos so Laena could birth the dragon twins 116. Only a few months pass before they move to Driftmark so the girls can grow up there. So they had been married for a year or so, alone, for a year. At some point in 117, Rhaenyra becomes friends with Laena. Laena died in 120 A.C., so Laena-Daemon-Rhaenyra was a unit of some kind longer than Daemon and Laena were but Daemon was obviously still sleeping with Laena for her to be pregnant and die of her labors in 120 A.C. The man also grieved heavily after she died.

Meanwhile, he spent a few months with Rhaenyra after he came back from the Stepstones in 111 A.C. and before his next exile. Still, Rhaenyra admired him familially/platonically before Mysaria's exit and for years. I do not think he ignored her or did not spend some time with her before he went to the Stepstones, and he was not responsive to that, even if not to the same degree. There was a bond made there that facilitated/informed their later bonding after he returned and began to court/"court" her.

This is what I think DaemonxLaena's pre-marriage relationship was like and why he chose her/she chose him in the first place.

I don't think he loved her exactly like how he loved Rhaenyra nor that they immediately built a relationship like the one he does with Rhaenyra, but these women are two different people and the circumstances of their getting together are very different. And I am not sure if Laena thought of him as her great love so much as her partner because it likely wasn't that type of relationship, as: the text centers Daemyra more; we do not get a clue as to Laena's feelings for Daemon as much as we have considerations for how he felt for her besides her wanting to marry him (and not likely not wanting to marry a freeloading poor Braavosi boy-man); and the text emphasizes how much Laena loved dragon-riding and her bonding with Vhagar at 12 over any romantic feelings for Daemon while they were married. Her relationship & feelings of love (of any kind) for Rhaenyra also seem evidently stronger than her feelings for Daemon to me during the actual marriage. (But IDK, bc we don't have actual details!)

Is this because Laena had a smaller role to play in the story and did not do any political act besides marry Daemon have his kids and betroth her kids to Rhaenyra's and therefore there was less attention paid to her and her feelings for Daemon? Is this because those who could have brought more insight for us were at the Essosi cities the couple spent more time in than in Driftmark? Or is this because she just actually didn't express affection with Daemon in their time at Driftmark? IDK.

Conclusion(?)

It's also safe to say that he really did love/care about Laena when we know how he treated Rhea Royce. But, I can see how Daemon would love Rhaenyra more...intensely, I guess? There's a je-nais-se-quois to it.

Because it is without a doubt true that he spent with Rhaenyra not very long after Laena's death if he hadn't already been doing so before she died. Pretty sure that post-death sex was for intimacy and to "consummate" something interrupted and thus longed for.

Like I said in an earlier post, it's better to say that book!Rhaenyra was Daemon's first, enduring, and most intense(?) love. It's hard to impossible to quantify the unquantifiable.

NOTE

IN THE COMMENT SECTION OF THIS POST, PLEASE SET IT "Newest first" TO SEE A VERY IMPORTANT REVELATION!!!!

[elysabeththequeene]

satine/christian for the fandom asks?

buckle up and get ready cause this is gonna be a long way down 😎

• when I started shipping it if I did: i insantly felt their chemistry the moment they started dancing together at the rouge, and clearly she thought he was the duke at first because of some misunderstanding that she saw with tolouse when zidler was talking to her about it. and obviously when we first see christian at the elephant and satine thinks he’s up there to go sleep with her, their banter from the getgo is really hilarious too cause christian is sort of clueless and awkward at first and she's just doing her job and tries to get off at his "poetry" but then he starts to belt into song, his voice and his words light up the city, and her world too.

the elephant love medley is definitely when i think i truly started to feel their connection, it's literally a conversation told through song about their own perceptions of love and what they think could become of them once they give in, and when they finally kiss, it's one that sparks up and sends fireworks blasting up the night sky (i mean literally speaking! lol) .

BUT i will say, it was this moment right here that i felt something in my heart twinged in what i think i can describe as a state of melting away, cause gosh just look at them...........

AND THIS OTHER TINY MOMENT LIKE THAT FOREHEAD KISS IS EVERYTHING TO ME

• my thoughts: honest to god i am being real when i say the very last time i found myself feeling this certain level AMOUNT OF CRAZY towards a ship was eight years ago, and it was with mulder/scully (the x files). admittedly i haven't been too shippy with things in recent times unless they're one of my older recurring fixations that i love going back to, and before i got totally into christian/satine, it was jamie & claire (outlander) when i watched the show two years ago that started bringing back this kind of energy in which i realised i can definitely still find and enjoy certain pairings that definitely meet my own personal preferences of what i consider are OTP levels of qualifications to me. and good lord don't even get me started on how fantastic, unbeatable, and palpable the chemistry is between nicole kidman and ewan mcgregor, it's through their performances and how they deliver it that makes you feel all sorts of emotions from the giddiest of them all to the most heartwrenching.

• What makes me happy about them: the fact that for both christian and satine, it's actually the first time they've both fallen in love. christian early in the movie says he's never been in love, despite wanting to write about it, and for satine, she admits that she can't fall in love and it's due to the means of what she does with her job, but eventually she breaks this rule, and ultimately finds herself caught and drowning in a love she never knew she could ever experience and for christian, he gets the sense that wow this is how loving someone and being in love is like. he is incredibly enamoured by her, and we see satine at one of her most vulnerable instances when she's with him, they enjoy being in each other's company, and they see the good in each other. satine knew what christian's talents were capable of, and christian saw how satine was worthy of shining in the spotlight and her dreams of wanting to be an actress. with him writing the play and her being the lead, it gives them both chances to show what they're great at as individuals too!

and from what i know, there's a part where christian has a poem for satine that didn't make it to the movie's final cut and it goes something like "my heart aches every hour of every day / and only when i'm with you does the pain go away" ❤️

• What makes me sad about them: it's how they almost had it all. they were very close, towards the end when the duke was finally out of the picture, and they were able to reconcile and proclaim their undying love for one another despite what they had to put themselves under because of things that were getting in the way, the show was successful and it did so well and they were happy about it, until one inevitable force (her illness) destroyed any hope of finally running away and spending the rest of their lives together.

• things done in fanfic that annoys me: i think the only thing that annoys me pertaining to this is how you can no longer view or access a lot of the fics about them that were written during the early 2000's cause i know there were definitely some gems written that time especially when the movie had just come out and i would have loved to see what these people wrote before!

• things I look for in fanfic: anything that depicts them in domestic bliss (i am a sucker for these things), or situations where they comfort one another. literally anything that shows how they are so utterly filled with love and the happiness that surrounds them both because it's genuinely what they deserved.

• Who l'd be comfortable them ending up with, if not each: NO ONE IT WILL ALWAYS BE THEM IN THE END ONLY EACH OTHER !!!!

• My happily ever after for them: satine is completely cured from consumption, she's able to fly away, and makes it big time as an actress and christian is a successful playwright. they both end up married, living in london and through the course of several years have three daughters and two cats (girldad! christian is something so personal to me, he'd be the dad who'd tell endless bedtime stories and satine would be the mom who loves dressing her girls up and taking them to parks), and the greatest thing about this is their children would grow up in a household that's filled with many music, laughs, kindness, and most importantly love.

• who is the big spoon/little spoon: christian is definitely a hugger, they're just so comfortable around each other that she can slip into his arms during a lazy afternoon or he can wrap her around his waist whilst joking around during a walk. plus whenever he's got something to write on his typewriter he doesn't mind when she wants to sit in his lap and they'd squeeze in whatever space they have in a chair.

• what is their favorite non-sexual activity: singing and dancing together (obviously) <3 practicing and reciting lines from plays, leaving each other notes when one has to go somewhere or gets up earlier than the other but also cuddling by the balcony.

[belphegor1982]

Top 5 OTPs (Shows, movies, books etc) and why. GO!

OH OKAY UM

The thing is that I rarely ship romantically. Like, at all. There's a small number of ships that I'll always ship (and/or have been for decades) and the rest is tiers of "yeah, that's nice" to "eh, apathetic" to notps. So... I guess?? In vaguely order of current rotation in my brain, kebab-style??

Pike Trickfoot/Scanlan Shorthalt (Critical Role, Vox Machina campaign/The Legend of Vox Machina) My heart, my soul, my liver. I love them with a determination inversely proportional to the small place they seem to have in the fandom. It's a relationship that evolves over time (slow burn? do you slow burn?) because the individuals evolve over time. Character development first, relationship development second! And there's hesitation, and Fucking Up, and so much love and hand-holding/taking before both seriously consider the other as a romantic partner/equal (as opposed to on a pedestal). Also they're pure chaos separately as well as together and I respect that.

Evelyn Carnahan/Rick O'Connell (The Mummy films) Speaking of chaos! And love! And respect and growth! I've loved them since 1999 and even more since 2001's The Mummy Returns gave us battle marrieds who support each other and clearly can't keep their hands off each other. They perfectly complement one another, they build up each other's strength, they have inside jokes, and they love one another so much they constantly annoy their brother(-in-law) and kid. Those films are my comfort food. Also very pretty and nice/fun to draw.

Reginald Jeeves/Bertram Wooster (P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves short stories/Jeeves & Wooster) We're leaving canon and entering fanon and what a fanon, ladies and gentlefolk. Over 100 years old and in love with rapier wit, art deco, and smart men and their (not quite) idiots. The thing with this ship is that it should be entirely unbalanced: Bertie is Jeeves' employer and above him in social status. Bertie should have all the power, and Jeeves none. But Wodehouse excels at showing us how much that isn't true, because Jeeves is very, very smart, and Bertie, while the smartest of his social circle (...yes, really) and as pure of heart as he is dumb of ass, relies on him 100% (and is basically the Jack Black pointing meme. He loves his manservant SO MUCH). I love a loveable idiot with a dose of self-awareness and self-esteem issues and an unflappable brain going "...ah. yes. unfortunately that is my idiot."

Chel/Tulio/Miguel (The Road to El Dorado) Come on, I HAD to sneak in an OT3 :3 I shipped them before I even really knew what shipping was. I love me an OT3, and this is a perfect example. You start with a dreamer with Determination (all open heart and sunshine) and an insecure flamboyant conman who is very good at lying (especially to himself) who would die for each other a thousand times, and you add a jaded cynic stifled by her environment who sleeps with (and catches feelings for) one and gets on well with the other and BAM, perfect recipe! Because Tulio and Miguel are ride or die for each other and I don't see that changing with Chel in the picture! ANYWAY. Love them and only want good for them.

Scrooge McDuck/"Glittering" Goldie O'Gilt (Carl Barks and Don Rosa Disney Ducks comics) Ooooh them. I have a soft spot for asshole pairings, and they deliver. Reading The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (and other comics) really bring into focus all the might have beens and the missed opportunities either by way of fate or one or both of them being dumbasses. They can't live with each other, they are 100% incompatible, but also they carry each other's heart and they will probably never love anyone else That way. Will they get a happy ending? I don't know! Do I want them to? I have no idea!! I just love them in a "Le Tourbillon" (the French song) way: people who find each other, lose sight of each other, find each other again, and the whole cycle starts once more. Sometimes it's not about having, it's about wanting and yearning and reminiscing <3

Thank you for the opportunity to ramble, dear anon 💜

[maple-rose]

I went to see Gundam SEED Freedom tonight.

I don't ever talk about it here, but before I fell into the Fire Emblem hole, Gundam SEED was my obsession throughout highschool and university (if you ever find my deviantART or livejournal account, uh.... the proof is all there, embarrassingly...).

Anyway I've been waiting for this movie for like 15 years. It's kinda surreal that it even exists, amidst rumors of it being cancelled and all.

I wore my Murrue cosplay jacket I made 15 years ago (it still kinda fits, lol), brought a Haro plush and a Lacus plush.

The movie itself, it was fun! Lots of fanservice (both in terms of people and mechs). The pacing felt too fast in the 1st half, and most of the new characters aren't very well developed but that's kinda expected given the run time. Other than that, as a long time fan, it was a good movie!

Also it looks really nice! SEED/Destiny always had inconsistency in art and animation so it's good to see more good animation.

Some specific thoughts under the cut (spoiler warning):

Mu x Murrue scenes! screams Have I mentioned they were my OTP throughout highschool and university? Mu cut his hair and it looks way better! The new ORB uniforms look good, though kinda wish to see Mu in casual outfits more

RIP Archangel T__T You went through and survived so much…

Mu said his line lol (actually 2 of them, Shinn called him an Ossan and he said he's not an Ossan (callback to same exchange with Dearka))

Kira's pinboard has some nostalgic photos on it! Including the shot of the Archangel crew from the 3rd Destiny ending <3

Lacus got so many new outfits! I'm not sure if I like her role in this but she is more interesting than in Destiny

I got new respect for Athrun now. I was hoping someone would slap Kira out of his slump and he delivered!

I actually like Shinn more now too, when he's not being an angsty teen and instead a simpleton kid/the comic relief

Kira.. I think this Kira is an improvement from Destiny at least; he was really boring in Destiny… so it's good to see some emotion and see him crack. But also be more honest with his feelings

New girl Agnes is Flay 2.0? but if Flay could actually pilot a mech?

I was expecting more new mechs (to sell kits), so I'm really surprised they brought back so many existing ones (even the Buster and Duel… but not Aegis)

Though when Freedom deployed and they played Meteor, it was very nostalgic! (Meteor is basically Freedom's theme song, it first played when Freedom was first shown SEED)

New songs by TMR, Nami Tamaki, and See-Saw (who broke up pretty much after Destiny ended, came back for another song)! Also some nostalgic BGM came back

The new antagonists aren't really redeemable or sympathetic, which is a shame 'cause that's one of the things I liked about SEED; but with the runtime I get it, they're supposed to be the "bad guys" so the main crew can come together

It's kinda funny how that guy keeps calling Kira a failure, 'cause Kira is literally the Ultimate Coordinator

Lacus's pilot suit is really funny. This is actually the first time she's been sexualized like that; usually she's the pure one

The final scene is.. what I expected from a SEED climax, but a lot more hammy lol. Power of love!

They did end up confirming AsuCaga, but funny thing is Athrun and Cagalli never actually talked to each other or were in the same room even.. Meyrin is the one with Athrun (not sure if I like her new hair...)

Who is that kid with Cagalli?? He called her "Nee-san". He looks like Mu... it can't be Mu's kid, he looks too old for that. Another clone of Mu's dad? Some new guy who happens to look alike?

I saw a lot more cameos than I thought I would. The whole Archangel crew, Miriallia and Sai, Erika (ORB's head of tech, the one who gave them all Gundams), Arthur (Minerva's 2nd in command guy), Andrew Waltfeld (why didn't he have a bigger role?! He was just shown in 1 passing shot). Even some dead people were shown in flashbacks. Actually I think the flashback at the end showed all the major characters who died.

[jcs-singular-slut-strand]

jin guangyao or xue yang for the ask game!! :D

I will do Xue Yang for you bbg

Favourite thing about them: he never pretends to be something he's not (lmao except for when he pretened to be someone else and lied via omission) cause we know he's evil and insane, the other characters know he's evil and insane, and he knows that he's evil and insane. Self-aware Queen 👑

Least favourite thing about them: What he did to Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing, it was genuinely horrifying and heartbreaking reading that part of the novel.

Favourite line: I'm not going to quote it because it's really long, but when bro starts talking about all those people that beat up the "child" (him) over the desert and delivering the message and stuff right in the middle of family dinner in the novel

brOTP: Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang having those weird ass periods of suspicious eye contact in The Untamed made me laugh so hard 😭😭 people that Kinslay together together, stay together

OTP: No one, he doesn't deserve it

nOTP: Xue Yang x Xiao Xingchen (I forgot the ship name), I can understand it for angst reasons and darkfics but like...

Random headcanon: There is no way he paid for those sweets he always had and gave to A-Qing

Unpopular opinion: That man was not in his "Redemption Era" nor did he want to be, he knew exactly what he was doing and exactly what he wanted out of out. It wasn't just Song Lan showing up that made him do what he did

Song I associate with them: I don't want to think too hard about this so I'm just going to say "She's So Nice" by Pink Guy

Favourite picture of them: This one makes me giggle

[augment-techs]

Hope this isn’t being rude but you don’t like Tomberly? Or rather the fans of the ship? Is it okay to ask why? Genuinely asking.

....Well, I'm gonna get eaten alive for answering this, but I'm so bored right now I also do not care. How to put this.... It's not necessarily that I find Tomberly to be an inherently bad pairing, or find that the people who have this for their OTP to be especially unpleasant in every facet of their being. No, it's more like...a very specific type of Tomberly shipper that can--and HAS--ruined my day because they cannot FATHOM these two characters, SPECIFICALLY, being in a relationship outside of each other and making it the entire rest of the fandom's problem. Like, in the 90s, I could understand it. I was in kindergarten, but it was literally one of the first ever kid show pairings that delivered a kiss and felt like they were perfect. Fine, great, awesome. But it is 2023. They are now the ONLY Rangers LIVE that have kissed, and a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of these shippers feels like that's destiny, it is written in the stars: They were Meant to Be. They Are The Best. There Will Never Be Another True Pairing. They are the LOUDEST and MOST ANNOYING about this when literally anything in media shows the characters in another, different romantic relationship (Tommy) or perfectly happy and fulfilled being on their own (Kim). And I am stuck with that one scene from the Birds of Prey/Harley Quinn movie just BLASTING in my brain every time one of these fans crosses my dash with a snide remark about Tommy/Kat in ANY narrative, or making heart eyes at Kim just standing next to Drakkon in the comics in any dimension ever:

And this is not even bringing up how they are generally dismissive of other characters outside of these two, because where one goes, the other follows. (Examples: Trini, Zack, Jason, Kat, Tanya, J.J., Hayley, Bulk and Skull--not getting into it with these two, but it is a PROBLEM--and on and on and on.) Not to mention they have a tendency to dismiss any flaws (Kim being selfish, a little manipulative, dismissive of other people's feelings, too into her looks, sometimes being too one-track minded vs Tommy's lack of any personality outside of being a Ranger, being secretive and dramatic in the early days, constantly picking fights, making everything a big deal, being a doormat, being too submissive, being jealous) as just bad writing/bad acting, instead of just... Understanding that maybe there is a POINT to this? These are the inconvenient shippers mind you. These exist in every fandom, it's just a little harder to avoid them when you're in a SMALL fandom. And I have my own biases; as a consummate multishipper I see characters are beneficial only if they can branch out into BETTER characters, with better options and plots ahead of them than just Good Girl Meets Rugged Guy, They Kick Ass, They Fall in Love, They Live Happily Ever After blah blah blah blah. Also, and I cannot stress this enough: I am almost exclusively a fan of the PR COMICS. And the comics are doing their best to make all their characters multidimensional and slightly different from what we had in the 90s. Which means I can look back at the live action MMPR series and say, "Both Kim and Tommy Were a Dumpster Fire, I Don't Think I Like Them Very Much," and happily skitter back to their current comic selves and say, "You're a dumpster fire, too. But that's okay~ You're teenagers who make mistakes and are still growing into yourselves and can make new choices. Nothing is set in stone and the multiverse exists. What are you going to do about it?" * * * tldr; I don't HATE Tomberly. I don't HATE their fans. I am a multishipper who believes in options and not dunking on any other possible relationships they might have outside of each other. I like Kat Hillard, I like Matt Cook, I like Tommy, I like Kim. These are not mutually exclusive and I am okay with anyone as long as they're not needlessly cruel to other fans and what they like. I might find Tomberly boring, but so what; I also thought every relationship in FRIENDS (outside of the basic Chandler/Monica), Beverly Hills 90210, the Superman Animated Series, and the ENTIRETY of GLEE (that wasn't roasting Rachel Berry) was boring. I don't like it, I skip it and move on. If I happen to be a little snide myself in posts about them...