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[jesuis-melodrama]

A Comprehensive Review of the Additional Tracks on Sabrina Carpenter's Short 'n' Sweet Deluxe Album

15 Minutes:

Sick guitar intro

Although it has the same sexy overtone and the bubblegum pop melody as the rest of the album, the lyrics are bitter and almost hostile: "When you're hot it's just a matter of time." "Lots of pretty boys" (poking fun at herself and her new sweetly promiscuous image which fans have equally embraced and criticised; as is a rite of passage for former Disney stars). "When did you bitches all get so nice?...hoping there's no brain between my eyes." I wonder if this is referring to record executives who failed to uplift her career in the last decade – or to her friends.

The final stanza summarises Sabrina's concern for the future and generally the short-lived fame that most stars enjoy. She mourns for her fade into irrelevancy while she's still at the peak of her career, a cheerful melancholy that betrays her new couldn't-care-less image rebrand.

Real-life Barbie behaviour indeed: do you guys ever think about waning?

Please Please Please ft. Dolly Parton:

I watched both the music video and listened to the song by itself, and I like the music video. It has the sweet simple cinematography, shooting angles, low budget, yet red-blooded storylines of black-and-white films. I couldn't hear it when I watched the music video, but I picked up a lot more of the instruments change when I wore earphones. In acknowledge of Dolly Parton's major pre-computer music career, a lot of the synthetic pop beats have been replaced with real instruments, with a jaunty country twang. I could hear a banjo and a violin wailing in the backbeat. I could also hear more of Dolly's vocals.

Great appreciation for the fact that Sabrina made this version a clean version.

Shade on Barry Keoghan by not only releasing this song a year later on Valentine's Day, but murdering him in the MV. We may not know what caused their break-up, but it's clear to see it was not a happy one.

I still wished Dolly had her own stanza, she's a singer-songwriter, she could've really boosted this song with an injection of her own spirit.

Couldn't Make It Any Harder:

The beginning of the song sounds like the intro to Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley. Coincidence?

The melody: romantic, gentle, soothing.

Is this song about Barry Keoghan?

A self-reflective song on the failures of maintaining a relationship.

Busy Woman:

My favourite song on the deluxe album is I am pressured to pick.

Plucky 1990s girlband beat à la Spice Girls.

I can imagine the music video for this song quite evocatively, it's that visually powerful. After the self-criticism of the previous track, we're going back to sexual arrogance, the undertone of the Short 'n' Sweet album.

Bad Reviews:

The tone of the deluxe track has been going ↗️↘️↗️↘️ It's happy and arrogant at one moment, sad and self-effacing at the next. Bad Reviews, the final song of the deluxe add-on, concludes the album on a melancholy tune.

The lyrics "Your red flags are blue" is a strange one. Blue represents peace, calm, and aristocracy?

Loving the fiddle instrumental towards the end. ToddintheShadows was right when he said that Short 'n' Sweet had some of the best riffs in 2024 pop. It must've been composed by a real musician because it's awfully hard to fall into the natural flow of a melody when all you have before you is a keyboard.

I thought this song was going to be about Sabrina's reaction to all the criticism of her rebrand and majorly successful album (hence the title Bad Reviews) but it's about love. Is this song about Barry Keoghan? I'm just looking for a song to be about Barry Keoghan, but the original album had been full of gushing and praise about their relationship – and after they broken up, what appears to be a bad break judging by his dead body in the Please Please Please ft. Dolly Parton music video, surely one of these songs is Sabrina's criticism and retrospective of their relationship?

[jesuis-melodrama]

Comprehensive Retort on Shakespeare in the Original Klingon: Star Trek and the End of History by Professor Paul A. Cantor

The article criticised can be found here.

Professor Cantor is a racist, a white supremacist, religious and most likely a Christian, and possibly goes around proudly telling his dinner party guests that he's descended from this or that European king. Cantor argues for aristocracy and theocracy. He argues for the natural Order of Things. He argues that slavery and war should be an accepted alternative to life. He hates that democracy means he can't beat his wife (this article does not mention feminism in the slightest but I'm going to go out on a limb here and deduce that he's also a misogynist and categorises women below himself due to his conservative beliefs). He started watching Star Trek because he approved of what he thought Kirk would've been as a hero, the wrong representation of a noble American man, an imperialistic, domineering, colonising, and sexually abusive white man. When he realised that Kirk is not only kind, good, anti-tyranny, anti-slavery, and feminist, Professor Cantor decided to get nasty and write the most ridiculous and self-serving academic argument for slavery that I have ever read.

Professor Cantor starts off his article with a rather innocuous and almost tragic point: that the beginning of peace would mean the end of the adventures of the crew of the USS Enterprise as they would be degraded to antiques of a time previous, obsolete. What he fails to realise, and what proves his misinterpretation of Star Trek, is that he has transformed the Enterprise into a crew of soldiers, whose job is to forcibly spread human, democratic values. The Enterprise is a team of scientists and explorers first and foremost, while they have been show to enforce law and order and, on occasion, raised their phasers at signs of violence and the suggestions of a threat, their mission is to explore the galaxy. In his imperialistic mind, Cantor takes 'exploration' to mean forcibly spreading values. The Enterprise has not once, in the episodes I viewed, taken over another planet and aggressively spread their ideals.

Cantor also decided to be smug and superior and uses Shakespeare as a metaphor for the end of peace. He called Shakespeare 'high art', and argued that the end of the age of heroes (tyrants like Julius Caesar and self-crowning monarchs such as Napoléon) would be an end to 'necessary' heroic literature. This is a smokescreen for his racism, as like most white supremacists believe, only the Anglo-Saxon race is capable of crafting quality art and the adoption of Shakespeare by the Klingons is acceptable to Cantor only because the Klingons' warmongering and oppressive values correlate with his own expectations on how human society should be governed. He did not comprehend even for a second – despite explicitly referring to himself as a professor of literature in the article – that Shakespeare did not represent a point of contention but a summit of peace between the two races. Both humans' and Klingons' enjoyment of Shakespeare signify that they are equally intelligent, sentient, and aesthetically-appreciative people, able to find enjoyment in each other's creations.

Cantor is right to say that the only direction that history moves in is one that legitimises and amplifies the power of liberty. He opposes this greatly, which is why he is sub-textually wagging his finger at Captain Kirk's actions throughout his article. 

"Communism froze...progress until its failure became too much for even its defenders to bear." First of all, what was happening in the Soviet Union was not communism, it was totalitarianism masquerading as communism. What halted human progress was not the idea that production should be the property of those who produced it, but the restriction and ban of human rights and autonomy. Professor Cantor may be an English professor but he certainly had not brushed up on his history. He did not understand what he was talking about and does not bother to expand his knowledge beyond what supported his eugenics values.

Similarly, former President Bush was not a Hegelian. Perhaps he superficially supported Hegelianism in order to remain popular and appeal to the universal ideals held by the (voting) American population, but after his wonderful speech about the triumph of democracy, he immediately brought up a Cuban dictator as an enemy of such democracy and fed the idea that using this man as a convenient enemy would be beneficial for the state. A year after this article was published, he presided over 9/11 and used the act of terrorism as an excuse to invade Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, along with several other Middle Eastern countries under the guise of spreading democracy when in reality he simply wanted geographical control of the area (we're not even going to venture into the landmine of circumstantial yet strong evidence that suggested President Bush supported and allowed 9/11 to happen to validate his invasion). President Bush is a tyrant, a racist, and an imperialist. When he said he wanted democracy and freedom, he meant the people who lived on the same land as him and looked like him. Not those with brown skin an ocean away whom he can simply turn the other way and pretend they didn't exist.

There may be a well-established principle of the separation of Church and State, but there certainly isn't a well-established practice, not when God is in the American Parliament. Not when each trial starts with a mandatory swear upon the Bible. Not when God is the symbol of authority literally every single American senator pledge to. 

"Democracy claims to be intolerant and to welcome diversity, but it has always had difficulty tolerating anti-democratic principles and forces." This is the first line that made me realise something was off about Professor Cantor. I laughed when I came across this line, sure that it's a tongue-in-cheek remark, but the further I read into this article the more I realised Professor Cantor is not joking. This is genuinely an argument that he presented, that democracy is 'intolerant' to anti-democratic values. Cantor personalised democracy as if it's a solid institution with set definitions and values which could be attacked. It couldn't be further from the truth, democracy is an invisible concept whose clauses and definitions can be taken, smudged, erased, redefined by anyone who claims it. What kind of 'undemocratic values' was Professor Cantor talking about even? According to the rest of the article, he mourns the fact that democracy is intolerant of slavery.

"How do you encourage democratic values without encouraging a particular form of government, namely democracy?" Cantor accuses Captain Kirk of being an imperialist, the very selfsame thing that he is guilty of, except that he turns the spotlight on Captain Kirk because Captain Kirk's freedom-loving values intrude on his right to oppress minority populations. Is it possible that so-called democratic values are capable of standing on their own and does not need an institution of government to support them? Is it possible that liberty and justice and freedom exist beyond the confines of a form of government and exceed humanity as a whole? Is it possible that freedom and liberty are even non-human and applies to non-sentient concepts such as spirit and environment? Not according to Professor Cantor who is adamant that the very idea of spreading the right to self-determination and self-authority is tyrannical. Professor Cantor is the type of person who would happily take half-cast children away from their Indigenous parents under the idea of security. Professor Cantor is the type of person who would vote for the criminalisation of the homeless on the foundation that their uselessness as employees is personally affrontive to him and their existence could be more productive by serving as slaves.

Several times throughout the article, Professor Cantor used the excuse of multiculturalism and diversity to mask his antagonistic, supremacist ideals. He uses the alien species that Captain Kirk subdued to submission as proof that he is unaccepting of difference. He conveniently forgoes mentioning that these alien species that Captain Kirk cannot tolerate also happened to be raising slaves, mind-controlling populations, or affecting cruelty. To turn a blind eye to such atrocities is to willingly become a by-standing villain, the most mundane and common type of evil.

Here's a list of all the things democracy is intolerant of: the binary of genders, unlawful oppression of minorities, the removal of the right to vote, the eradication of choice. By arguing that democracy is intolerant of these things, Cantor has inexplicably admitted that he is for all of those possibilities. Arguing that democracy is intolerant of 'undemocratic' ideals is similar to the argument that 'love is love. So why can't a 34 years old be in a romantic relationship with a 12 years old?' It's such a juvenile, foolish, and ridiculously elementary argument that it doesn't need to be defended. We all know why such a thing isn't allow. Cantor is like a brash, private school boy, pointing out unfairness that only he sees. That only restrict his ability to rule. Captain Kirk's refusal to grant genocidal maniacs a second chance, his refusal to ignore the plight of enslaved people, counts as intolerance and interference to Professor Cantor. This is because Captain Kirk is uncomfortably reminding Professor Cantor that should he have existed as the tyrant he wishes to be in the universe of Star Trek, he would not have gotten away with it, because heroic Captain Kirk would ensure that he would never escape rightful punishment for his crimes. 

"If anyone claims a natural or divine right to rule over anyone else in the galaxy, Kirk automatically reaches for his phaser." This is problematic for Professor Cantor only, he believes in a natural or divine right to true. He believes that some people are more superior than others. He believes in eugenics and slavery. Professor Cantor has this deranged line: "Deep bias against the notion of aristocracy." He says this to imply that aristocracy is a legitimate form of rule and anyone who rebels against it is 'imposing'. Aristocracy and monarchy, at its heart, is a form of government that relies on terrorising and the oppression of the major 'peasant' population. Saying Captain Kirk has a deep bias against aristocracy is like saying a slave has 'deep bias' against being enslaved.

Giving people the right to choose what they should or should not do is an immeasurable offence against Professor Cantor's sensibilities, enough that he had brought it up multiple times in his article as among Captain Kirk's graver offences. "Through he [Captain Kirk] claims to be peace-loving, he behaves violently when peace seem to require any surrender of autonomy." Professor Cantor would happily be a resident of Omelas. Professor Cantor would tut and shake his head about the 'violence' of BLM protestors. Professor Cantor would be the idiot who asks why the French are so aggressive in their uproar against President Macron. Professor Cantor never understood what it's like to have a basic dignity taken away from him for the convenience and comfort of a 'superior' race. I do not want this man anywhere near my children.

Through his extensive review of the episode Who Mourns For Adonais?, Professor Cantor has proven that he is in favour of theocracy, autocracy, and racial supremacy. He believes that those with 'superior genetics' should be given the right to rule and what Captain Kirk should've done when encountering Apollo is bowed his head and accepted chains of enslavement. Professor Cantor has placed God above himself but himself above all other Earth citizens. I cannot emphasis this enough, according to this article, Professor Cantor genuinely seems to believe some people are genetically superior than others. "This episode teaches a basic truth about Kirk, as it does Star Trek IV. He is willing to save whales but he feels compelled to kill gods." Translation: how could Captain Kirk, a comfortable white man like me, be willing to save lower races but reject the existence of superior races? Perhaps because Captain Kirk does not share your imperialistic, supremacist values, Professor Cantor. Cantor argues that whales should not be saved. Professor Cantor argues in favour of Nazism and Nordicism.

"Kirk does not wait to face the implications of Apollo's claim: There's an order of things in the universe. Your species has denied it." On the contrary, Professor Cantor, I believe it is you who is cowardly and ignorant. I believe that Captain Kirk has throughly considered Apollo's claim for the Divine Right of Kings as it is in his accepting and compassionate character to greet new beings as his equal and receive their perspectives without judgement. Except that Apollo's opinion is that Kirk and his crew are destined to be nothing more than his worshippers, shallow footnotes in the great tome of his existence, and he should be proud and happily to be reduced to such a role. Kirk rejected Apollo's claim with great disgust and revulsion. Kirk then mourned Apollo, not because he is remorseful of his decision but because he has slain a magnificent and illustrious living being. 

War is not a cultural identity, motherf**ker.

When Captain Kirk says to Spock: "Everyone is human", he does not mean that humans are the highest being of the universe as Professor Cantor continues to misinterpret in his desperate struggle to paint Captain Kirk as a dim, aggressive villain. He means that he considers every race as his kin, his family, and will fight for them as strongly as he would for any human. He means that all races possess sentiment, sentience, and intelligence, and he will not stand for the reduction of any race to any second-class citizens. When Spock replies: "I take offence to that", Spock is attempting a joke. Spock is reaching out to meet Captain Kirk, an alien not of his species, half-way. Professor Cantor seizes onto Spock as a vessel for his supremacist ideals, like Ben Shapiro arrogantly and obnoxiously pronounces facts as "more important than your feelings".

Furthermore, as I previously argued, there is nothing uniquely human about the right to self-determination. Animals have the right to be free and unencumbered from the burden of human employment and enslavement. The only reason why pets are acceptable is due to the wide-spread and popular belief that the only pets legally permitted are those whose every need is catered to and whose body and mind are well looked after. Freedom is not an artificial made-up human institution. It is a truth of the universe and applies to cosmic bodies as well as it does land. As Indigenous people have tried and tried to tell their colonisers throughout history, lands are alive and should be treated with the honour and the respect they deserve. And despite Elon Musk's repeated attempts, space does not belong to him. Mars is free in a way he never will be of his own self-sabotaging, desperate need to be liked by the people whose rights he deny and mock. 

In the same manner where Professor Cantor paints all of Kirk's perspective in a villainising, poor light, he has claimed Spock as his voice of reason, repeatedly presenting him as the sole source of ration among the more base Enterprise members. He fails to realise that Dr McCoy's argument for the right to self-determine is the mother of Spock's argument, that the people have a right to choose a system that works for them. Professor Cantor thought that Spock is arguing for the right of people to be slaves. Spock is not f**king doing that. 

"...however contented creatures such as the Klingon may appear to be with their non-democratic way of life"??? First of all, the idea that contentment is a measure of peace is dangerous. So many Confederates have argued that enslaved black people were very happy serving under the benign patronage of their white masters. Second of all, the Klingons are explicitly democratic. Professor Cantor seems to forget that they were represented by an elected official, and that their military command posts are assigned on the virtues of experience and relevancy, not primogeniture or blue blood. The Klingons had a court, where even criminals such as Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy suspected of the high-profile and barbaric assassination of a major political figure, were given adequate, if underwhelming, legal representation. This adds further proof that Professor Cantor is a horrible English professor despite his pride in his career as he continually fails to interpret Star Trek in any manner that does not serve his own agenda.

"What if another culture has a different attitude towards life? What if it is willing to enslave or even exterminate other beings?" What the f**k is your argument here? That we should let them, Cantor? That it should be permitted without interference? I find it very curious that those who argue in favour of slavery never imagine themselves as the slaves, only the masters. And, of course, this is because in a right and true world, people like Professional Cantor – with his DNA, skin colour, and race of origin – would never be slaves. They are genetically superior. They would always only be the masters. 

Captain Hikaru Sulu's segment is the most ominous remark in the article: "Does it mean anything that the last person we see in charge of a commissioned starship is Captain Sulu, the one Japanese character? Sulu was once subordinate to Kirk, but now he commands his own starship, a technologically more advanced one. The film seems to be making a strange suggestion: If the Klingons are Russians and the Federation is the United States, have the two fought each other for years only to leave the world in the hands of the Japanese?" It's handled by Professor Cantor in a nearly hostile, off-hand reference to the influence of Asian people. This is because Professor Cantor is furious that Captain Sulu was given command of his own ship and a crew of white crewmen to rule over. Such an occurrence would never be tolerated or aired in Professor Cantor's dream view of what Star Trek should've looked like. The Russians may be the enemies of the American people, but at least they are white. Sulu's Asian representation suggests an impossible future to Professor Cantor, one where the Caucasian race is not at the pinnacle of the human pyramid.

I am repulsed that such blatant support of white supremacy and slavery had been published in an academic journal.

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Yes, this is the kind of stuff Lila would wear! I'm so glad you've managed to pinpoint Lila's style down so well, I always imagined her wearing these kind of bustier tops too. Lila's style draws heavily on Y2K influences, I've always envisioned her as a Bratz doll come to life! While she dabbles in luxury brands, such as Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, she also thrives on fast fashion and thrift store finds! Her style is a combination of luxury baddie/bimbocore/Y2K. Think a lot of bedazzled fabrics, platform sandals, low-waisted skirts, personalised denim, slouchy leather (fake or real) bags, and big hoop earrings!

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This is ridiculous. I’m taking a break from Tumblr because I want to watch Season 6 in order and don’t need any spoilers. I don’t under how - when Miraculous is finally made on a single continent with a local animation company - Zagtoons is still struggling to release the episodes in order.

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STAPLES IN MY MIRACULOUS FANFICS

I write a lot of Miraculous fanfics and have consistent elements in each story that I've changed from canon. This is because I either do not think canon is logical enough or that these ideas fit better within the narrative. If you read many of my stories, it'll be good to read through these points and remember them, because they will be how things work in my tales.

Everyone is aged up to an appropriate age where I don't feel predatory for writing scenes of sexual nature. Teenagers are not interesting to write about, young adults who are still navigating life but maintains their autonomy are far more intriguing. But I have to keep the kids in Françoise Dupont, so I've made them as old as I can. Lila and Chloé are eighteen. Félix is twenty-one, three years older than nineteen years old Adrien (just as how the Miraculous PV came out three years before Miraculous's debut); they share a birthday. Marinette is seventeen.

The Ladybug Miraculous is now the Insect Miraculous. This is a bid to make the world of Miraculous less Euro-centric as while ladybugs are symbols of luck in Europe, insects of all kinds are viewed as good omens throughout the world. The Chinese trusted crickets and spiders, the Baganda valued Bees, the Egyptian adored scarab beetles. The Black Cat is ambiguous in what cat it really represents. To make it truly equal, the Insect Miraculous should do the same.

"But it doesn't make sense! There's already a Miraculous of the Bee and the Butterfly!" And there's also a Tiger Miraculous.

The Kwami are not slaves to the Miraculous. This part is the most illogical aspect of the canon show. Why are the physical representations of abstract concepts subservient to humans? The Miraculous are canonically man-made artefacts made to channel the power of a Kwami through to a human so it can be used safely on Earth. The unleashed power of a Kwami can destroy the planet. If that's the case, why would the Kwami bow down to the Order of the Guardianship? A mortal organisation?

Tikki created the Order of the Guardianship to organise her brethren, and the other Kwami all complied (although there are notable exceptions like Plagg who resist both her and the Order's control) because she is one of the most powerful Kwami out there.

Some Kawmi can be bullied into submission, they may have timid and meek personalities (Daizzi, Pollen). Others are chaotic and cares little for justice, only seeking fun (Trixx, Duusu). Other Kwami are entirely apathetic, they don't care if they're being 'used' (Nooroo, who lets Gabriel use his Miraculous however Gabriel wants because the power of Communication is the entitlement of every human).

Owning a Miraculous will not give the Holder the ability to wipe away the mouth of their Kwami or any other ridiculous dominance over their bodies.

It is the Holders who need to recharge, not that Kwami. That part doesn't make sense either. Why are age-old beings who have been around since the beginning of the universe exhausted by the singular use of their power being borrowed by teenagers? A Holder is the one who needs to de-transformed and eat and drink to regain the energy to fight again. Some Kwami choose to eat for fun, others for the taste, but it is not necessary. They're metaphysical concepts, they do not need human food to survive.

Plagg is simply a glutton, he's not being starved because no human should have the ability to starve him. "He was being abused by previous Holders which is why he loves Adrien." Are you kidding me? Some random human managed to abuse the concept of destruction. Are you serious?

When a Holder transforms, all the cells in their bodies are re-arranged into supernatural DNA, granting them the ability to jump off skyscrapers or lift up cars. When they de-transform, their DNA are rearranged back. The longer a Holder wears their Miraculous, the more they transform, the more this barrier between their hero self and civilian self is broken down, until some of their supernatural DNA stays within their bodies even when they transform back. This may result in civilian heroes having superpowers, enhanced vision, or other traits unique to their Miraculous. Once a Miraculous is removed from them, however, this supernatural DNA will fade from their body bit-by-bit, with no Miraculous to maintain it, until they become normal people again. A Holder in harmony with their Kwami and Miraculous will break down this barrier faster, and they will retain their supernatural DNA for longer should they lose their Miraculous. A Holder in disharmony may struggle to use their powers in their transformed state and may never hold any supernatural traits in their civilian mode. Like many things, it all depends on the person.

Nooroo, the Butterfly, is the Miraculous of Communication, as mentioned earlier. Transmission does not make sense, the writers, Astruc, made that up because they didn't look before they leap and now they hastily fill in the gaps of their basic world-building when their show is already on air. Using the powers of Communication, Gabriel is a powerful telepath who is able to read the thoughts of the people. How well he can read them depends on their and his own mentality. Feeble-minded and weak people are easy to break through. Strong-willed people are harder to hear, although Gabriel may break through if he's determined enough. As Gabriel grows stronger, his telepathic abilities become more potent, allowing him to hear from further away and break into minds easier. This accelerates Gabriel's paranoia as he's currently surrounded by voices, till the point he can no longer tell which voice is his and which are strangers, and whether or not they're real mental thoughts or if his mind if making up uncanny dialogue.

The Miraculous of the Snake remains the Miraculous of Intuition, but its powers have been changed from creating a never-ending loop to VISION, a fore-seeing ability that grants Viperion glimpses into the future. When he's starting out, these glimpse are randomised, but as he grows stronger, he can focus his sight on particular people, events, or outcomes. Ladybug can ask him What will happen if I do this? and Viperion will be able to answer her. Again, how clearly he sees into an enemy's future depends on how strong their willpower is compared to his. While VISION isn't a very physically-intimidating power, it is nonetheless powerful and something a leader would keep at her side.

The Rabbit is no longer the Watcher of Time. Her Miraculous is a single tooth grill as opposed to a stopwatch and her weapons are heavy boots, perfect for stomping (or thumping). Alix wears her boots with roller skate wheels. The Rabbit is the Miraculous of Excavation and her BURROW special power allows her to dig tunnels underground. This gives Alix the ability to sneak up on her enemies undetected, or she could pull injured teammates down and allow them to rest and recuperate in safety,

The Pig's weapon is a rake, and its nose stud is the Miraculous of Consumption. A greedy animal, the ability of the Pig is to unhinge her jaws and suck in objects, pulling Akumatized items or targets straight out of the enemy's hand, Rose's rake assists her in this task. Whether or not Rose can end battles pre-emptively in such a manner will depend on whether or not her adversary can counter her aerokinesis. MINE represents the darker aspects of Rose's personality that she makes in her civilian life. A gluttonous girl, she has a fancy for the finer things in life and an obsession with celebrities. Prince Ali is not the only public figure Rose had been Akumatised over and chased after. Rose has a secret infatuation with Adrien that she hides from Marinette.

Sabina strongly desires to be adored. While most of the world interprets her as a meek, exploited girl suffering under Chloé's iron stiletto, in actuality, Sabrina is exactly where she longs to be: close to the object of her affections and in a perfect position to play the victim while free to unleash her inner cruelty upon Chloé's bullied. When called out, Sabrina can easily deflect, blubbering about the trauma of being Chloé's lady-in-waiting. The Miraculous of Adoration is a leather dog collar, and its special power, LOVE ME is a telepathic charm that forces anyone who gazes upon Sabrina's puppy-eyes to fall in love with her. Later in the narrative, Sabrina will grow jealous enough of Chloé's relationship with Lila and growing distance with her to try to use LOVE ME in her civilian state on Chloé. Other boys and girls around the school had been placed under Sabrina's control in such a manner. While Chloé is unaware that her former henchwoman is relying and abusing a Miraculous, her own experience as the Bee Holder grants her stronger resistance. She never finds out that Sabrina is the Dog, but she realises Sabrina's maliciousness and ditches her.

What is a tiger's most striking feature? Its fierce orange-and-black stripes used for camouflage. What does Juleka like to do? Disappear into the background. The Tiger is the Miraculous of Imperception, and its special power STRIPES, allows Juleka to turn invisible. How well she remains invisible – whether her body literally vanish or if she simply turns the colour of her environment – and how long she can hold her power for will depend on her strength. Her weapon is a single gauntlet on her right hand which is also her Miraculous, a panja bracelet, representing a tiger's claws. She does not carry an extra bolas.

Now, the Goat is the Miraculous of Collision. What are goats most well know more? Head-butting. RAM functions very much the same way as CLOUT did, a massive propulsion of power that'll send the enemy flying. Nathaniel's weapons are two boxing sticks.

The Rooster is the Miraculous of Sublimation, and its power, SUNRISE, acts like a health station in a video game. Within a certain distance of Marc, much like how the noble rooster galvanised the Gauls against the invading Romans, the heroes would feel feelings of elation, support, and strength. Their exhaustion and injuries would slowly cure, like their HP bar is slowly filling up, and their attitudes would improve, they would feel more optimistic about themselves and the state of the battle. As Marc grows stronger, SUNRISE would increase in potency and range. It might grow large enough to cover all of Paris. The power is a double-edged sword however, as it may send heroes galloping merrily into their deaths, fill them with delirium or hysteria with too much exposure. The drop in endorphins they experience once SUNRISE is released can also plummet them into depressions that require many days to heal from. Marc themselves might suffer from consequences, they could feel drained from the exertion of sustaining SUNRISE and need long recovery periods.

All heroes bear the animal traits of their symbols. e.g. Chat Noir and Tigresse Pourpre have claws. Chat Noir and Traquemoiselle are both good sniffers. And all airborne animal heroes have wings and are capable of flight. Argos and Cog Courage both have feather built into their suits and can glide; just as how real peafowls and roosters glide. Ladybug and Queen Bee have gossamer insect wings that are much more sophisticated and allow them to soar to greater heights and perform acrobatic manoeuvres.

The Miraculous of the Peafowl (gender neutral) is the Miraculous of Emotion, and its powers are to create Sentibeings in a similar manner to how Stands from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure work. They are manifestations of the root person's soul or fighting spirit. A single person can have many Sentibeings created from different aspects of their person. Sentibeings may be sentient or not. Some may be disagreeable to being vanquished, but most are completely comfortable with it as they are an extension of the root person. The idea that the Peafowl Miraculous can create complete original sentient life forms is freaking stupid. How does that even happen? I thought the Ladybug Miraculous was the Miraculous of Creation. What do you mean that there's a secret conspiracy between the elite where they're all investing in magical designer babies? Miraculous is vastly overestimating itself to believe it can conceive and satisfactorily close a storyline like that.

Thus, Félix and Adrien are not Sentibeings, none of the rich kids are.

Lila does not have three mothers. I'm convinced that that narrative was made up when the writers realised, once again, that they placed their foot into their mouth by proclaiming that Lila will be a greater threat that Papillon ever was. Because Lila was introduced as an attention-seeking little girl. How is she supposed to rival a wealthy fashion magnate with decades of experience in handling the Miraculous? Oh, because she's apparently from the future? She's a master manipulator who convinced three separate women they're her mother? She's Marinette's arch-nemesis from an alternate dimensions seeking revenge? Are you kidding me? Lila is a normal girl. She's sly, coquettish, and ambitious, but she's not supernatural. Her mother is Alessandra Anguissola, an ambassador of the Italian Embassy residing in Paris who doesn't have much time to spend with her daughter, thus, she throws too much money and not enough supervision at Lila.

[jesuis-melodrama]

Thoughts on The Virgin Suicides (1993) by Jeffrey Eugenides

There's a shot in Alfred Hitchcock's Pyscho (1960) where the character Norman Bates peers through a hidey-hole at the first on-screen victim of his serial murders, Marion Crane. It's an incredible cinematic shot embodying the phenomenon known as the 'male gaze' where the female body is objectified for the pleasure and purpose of the voyeur. Never one to let technical limitations to restrict his craft, Hitchcock makes incredible usage of lighting in this black-and-white film. The tiny circle of white light, representing the pure and angelic Marion (even if she did steal money from her employer and is now escaping by car) illuminates the scope of Bates' eye, symbolising the only organ that he uses to digest Marion. He does not use his brain to think of her objectively nor his mouth to communicate with her. Instead, all he sees is her physical appearance, which he takes from her without her knowing and without her consent. The rest of Bates' body is shrouded in darkness and shadow. This could allude to his second nature, the deviant personality of his deceased mother who now occupies half of his mind, but Bates in this scene is very much himself, not his mother, and his actions are his own. The darkness in this case symbolises Bates' masculinity and voyeuristic desires. Objectively, he does not harm Marion, but neither is he seeing her as a person, only as a fantasy and as a doll.

The entire narrative of The Virgin Suicides seems to be an extension of this screen-cap. The younger ages of the characters and the decreased violence (depending on your definition of violence) does not subtract from the gross self-indulgence of the boys. While the unnamed narrator takes painstaking effort of introducing the identity and history of each male character - Paul Baldino and his Italian mafia family, Dominic Palazzolo and his ill-fated love for Diana Porter - the boys are always described as a group, used by the inclusive pronoun 'we'. No matter their individual differences, no matter their personal aspirations, in the end, all the boys are exactly alike one another in their fanatic and self-gratifying obsession with the Lisbon girls. The circular, peeping Tom light shines on their singular eye(s), their brains, faces, pasts, and future does not matter.

This is further emphasised by the lack of description on which adult stayed and which adult committed what activity in their extensive interviews, investigations, and research they conduct as grown men. As boys, full of life and possibilities, there was still hope for them. But as sad, encumbered men, their obsession had warped them to the point where there are no other defining characteristic of their persons. Do they have jobs? Wives? Children and family of their own? Daughters who yearn for a fraction of the care their fathers devote to girls who had long vanished from the world? It does not matter; the boys are not people, they are a representation of the teeming mass of self-righteous eyes fixated on the Lisbon girls, at once fathers: "Bonnie should eat that mac 'n' cheese, she's getting too thin", lovers: "those girls drive me crazy, if only I can feel one of them up", and Puritan condemners: "We wonder how could she [Lux] do such a thing on her own house, with her parents sleeping nearby."

They mask their voyeurism with the disguise of concern, the illusion of helplessness and compassion, the very same manner rapists blame the unavoidable allure and beauty of their victims, when in reality, their empathy is superficial and narcisstic. See how the boys scorn the reporters for mixing the girls up but were unable to recognise them as individuals themselves, see how Trip Fontaine abandoned Lux in the fields after he got what he wanted from her.

It is the point of the book and we will never know, but I would love to read an alternate version of the The Virgin Suicides from the girls' perspective, not to understand why they killed themselves (I think that is obvious and mystifying at the same time) but to give them their voices and autonomy and the space to behave like the simple, conscious, adolescent persons they were.

Something Mary said to her date at the Homecoming Dance (I do not remember the boy's name, but the point is that it doesn't matter who he was) sticks with me strongly: "So why did you ask us out? Did you guys feel sorry for us?"

The girls have no idea of their fame and scrutiny. The boys took their observation with relish, believing that the Lisbons were as obsessed with them as they were with them. But the simple truth is the girls possess eyes and absorb the world as any other human would. And like any decent person, they were curious about investigative prods in their direction. They were full-bloodied beings, living in their own world, until that little American suburbia made it their mission to steal their diaries, their coronary reports, and ultimately, their lives.

[jesuis-melodrama]

Megatron gives off insane mother energy – he has the vibe of a hysterical woman who'll come into your bedroom late at night, suddenly flick on the lights, and rant about your father for a full half-hour, before turning the lights back off and leaving before you're even properly awake.

Optimus has the energy of a father who'll drive you to a sport meet on a weekend morning in absolute silence, watch you practice with no expression, than buy you and your friends burgers at the nearest drive-thru after.

[jesuis-melodrama]

This is not to be taken as criticism but where are you getting your discourse from ? I’ve only seen genuinely positive and pretty sane discourse regarding s6 — and criticism ofc. Yes there’s some weird takes here and there but mostly nothing too bad. + there’s at least a few good things to take from this episode . Like all the small details ; like Adrien’s shirt being extremely wrinkled , which I took as a sign of his mental state and Lila’s drink after she walks out . There’s a post about it, something about it symbolizing something I can’t recall right now . And the background characters look so much more detailed and diverse . But my feed is most probably due to the ml accounts I follow and the stuff I’ve blocked

I watched Season 6 yet!

I want to watch it from episode 1 till 26 like you're supposed to, and I'm not sure why Zagtoon can't manage a linear release this time 'round since they're using the same animation company in their native country instead of outscoring to six different studios on five different continents.

I'm a little disappointed that it's still being released out of order which is why I'm avoiding any spoilers and waiting for Episode 1 before I start watching it.

I have seen the Season 6 trailer through, and I really like it.

My discourse is taken from previous seasons, especially three, four, and five where matters really become ??? in terms of plot, characterisation, and world-buildings.

Lila's drink?? That sounds super exciting. I'm glad Lila is shown in the season so early, because I was sure that she was going to be pushed to the finale like in Season 2.

I do require a more specific explanation of what discourse you're talking about if you want a more detailed explanation of what I find issue with. I'm happy to chat about them if you're happy to listen.

[jesuis-melodrama]

For the first time since 2015, Chloé has not appeared on Miraculous' opening.

I hope this doesn't mean we won't see Chloé again.

[jesuis-melodrama]

Did the writers changes Félix’s last name to make it an alliteration as well? Adrien Agreste? Félix Fathom?

[jesuis-melodrama]

I am fully convinced that if Adrien gets run over by a truck, Marinette's fans would raise protest about how traumatic it must've been for her to witness and exactly how this proves the writers are racist and sexist for subjecting a bi-racial female teenager to such a sight. The arc of the official episode would be Marinette coming to terms with her fear of Adrien mortality and the conclusion would be her finally gathering up the courage to visit Adrien in the hospital.

[jesuis-melodrama]

Lila, Cerise, Iris.

[jesuis-melodrama]

Thoughts on Rupi Kaur

Rapi Kaur's poetry – her book Milk and Honey – is absolutely atrocious. I thought critics were joking and harsh as critics always are about female authors about how prosaic she is, but the Foremother of Instapoetry deserve all her negativity and more.

I completely believe that the illustrations are all her own and that she grew and write the entire collection while in university.

I found a spelling mistakes on one page. The lines do not make sense even in the abstract, lyrical manner of poetry. She has two poems about not wanting to shave her body hair a couple of pages from each other which are so essentially similar, I am convinced she turned everything to the publishers without a single moment devoted to editing. Her lover speaks like a Wattpad boyfriend. In Act I, she complains about how her father oppresses her mother by denying her her voice. In Act II, she talks about how hot it is that her boyfriend wants to use her mouth for everything but talking because she talks too much.

My favourite poem is Sadness. "You have sadness growing in place sadness shouldn't grow". What does that mean? Sadness, in the traditional belief, is either birthed in the mind or cultivated in the heart. Does Rupi Kaur have sadness marinating in her foot? Climbing up her spine? What?

Rapi Kaur's sexual traumas and negative dating experiences does not mean that her writing is automatically renounced. Writing about controversial topics does not make a person brave or spectacular, and, in fact, it harder to write about mundane experience than it is about tragic woes. Depraved Wattpad dialogue. I cannot believe both Oxford and Cambridge agreed that Rupi Kaur is the woman to present their poetry anthology.

[jesuis-melodrama]

I strongly believe that listening to the Swan Lake soundtrack would make a person more beautiful. Daily listening would transpire Tchaikovsky's endless elegancy and timeless grace into a person's personality like osmosis.

[jesuis-melodrama]

It's never going to happen in canon, but Season 5's finale set up the perfect villain arc for Marinette.

After everything goes down, Marinette still can't get used to the idea of peace. Gabriel's statue haunts her, all her friends seem to betray her with their happiness.

So she takes Adrien's Amok and wears it, at first to reassure herself that Adrien is safe. Then, because she doesn't think it's too much of an ethical violation – "Adrien loves me already" – she starts giving him little commands that curtails him to her. Marinette notices that this means that Adrien spends less time with other people and does what she wants, and this gives her a rush of exhilaration as she is seduced by the intoxication of control.

She's doing the right thing, as the leader, as the only sensible person who knows that this serenity is not going to last, the best defence is an offence. So, she starts restricting the Miraculous, the Kwami, re-writing the rules of the Guardianship – eventually leading to her becoming a despot of Paris.

No one can stand up to her. Chat Noir is indisposed (no one knows where he is), the civilian population is, of course, helpless against Ladybug's might, and if Su-Han achieved the rank of a Celestial Guardian, it's pretty clear that any other Celestial Guardian dispatched against Ladybug will crumble before her.

This leads to Félix becoming a vigilante, the only Holder of the Miracle Box who never trusted her Miraculous with Marinette in the first place. He teams up with Lila and Chloé, both of them who bears an agenda against Ladybug. They're not battling her for virtuous reasons, but because they're her only serious opponents, thus they gain the support and love of the city.

Realising quickly that Adrien is her emotion crutch and that lifting him from Marinette's control will cause her sanity to spiral (BIG plus: Félix wants to free his cousin from another human who tries to shackle him to their hand), their first major success is wrestling Adrien's Amok from Ladybug's hand and spiriting him from her stronghold.

It is then,that the three of them realises that Adrien has been Chat Noir all this time.

And he is not happy.

(I know that Luka knows who Adrien is, but, my man, I have nothing against you but you have been consistently useless throughout the entire series and I have no doubt that sentiment will carry through even when Marinette morphs into a monstrous locomotive puffing down the road to Hell that is paved with good intentions.)

[jesuis-melodrama]

Love being the only person in my relatively-young workforce who doesn't swear. My colleagues can live exclusively off four-letter words while I have to abide by the prose of full sentences.

"She's a b***h." ❌

"She's a pretty unpleasant person because of her self-centred actions." ⭕️

No, this does not make me a better communicator; turns out people stop listening to you if you say more than eight words at once.