#Guardian salt

[danmei-action]

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[kookies2000]

Me *crying hard in the theater chair in a fetus position during THAT scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3*

Brother *leans towards me* How does a kiss between a raccoon and an otter even work-

Me: SHUT UP!!!!

Can't you see I'm falling apart right now!!!!

[swagging-back-to]

worst trope is found family separating as soon as the antagonist is dealt with.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Tbh I don't see the point of Luka learning mirakungfu while Adrien and Marinette don't, even more so if the reason why Suhan teach that to him is because he knew LB and CN identity. Then shouldn't those two learn it also since they basically holding the miraculous that the villain want most? But then again it feels like "adult is useless except for some" seems to be one of the rule in this show.

I kind of despise the concept of mirakungfu because it makes no sense and because it feels disrespectful. I am by no means an expert on Chinese culture, so I don't know if it's actually offensive, but when all the writers are white, the name for the made up martial art is a parody of a real martial art, the box of magic items has nothing to do with the culture it's supposedly from, and the main character is completely removed from her heritage, it's just not a good look, especially since the monks are Tibetan and everything about the miraculous themselves is pretty explicitly Chinese. It just gives me uncomfortable vibes of Asian cultures being treated as both window dressing and an interchangeable monolith, but I don't have the expertise to really discuss that issue beyond "this feels like a bad idea and you probably want to talk to an expert on these topics to make sure you're not doing something offensive."

On the other hand, I love the concept of Guardian Luka! I have actually always wished that he had been given the miracle box instead of Marinette simply because I don't think that Marinette's personality is well suited to the role of Guardian and because I wanted her to have an actual team. Meanwhile, Luka freaking shines when they have him in a mentor role (Wishmaker & Migration) and I am of the firm belief that the Guardian should be a mentor to the other holders. It's why I said Marinette isn't suited to the role. As written, she just kind of hands out miraculous and orders people about. That's perfectly fine for a team leader! It's not so great for what I expect when I hear "guardian who chooses the holders of the ancient and powerful artifacts."

But that's not what they did with Luka. He isn't the holder of the miracle box. He just knows how to fight off miraculous wielders because reasons, so I have no idea what they're trying to do with him. Especially since his existence is straight up breaking their lore. In this case, it's the lore established back in Furious Fu, Su-Han's intro:

Su-Han: Let me remind you about some of the Perfect Precepts that you have broken. (flips pages) Precept 14: Kwamis must not live outside the box. (flips pages) Precept 52: Guardians must never lose a Miraculous. (flips pages) Precept 133: A guardian cannot, under any circumstances, wear a Miraculous. (closes the book)

Su-Han accepting Marinette as Guardian because what's done is done makes sense because of the memory BS (why is there no other way to hand off the box?), but that whole "Guardians don't wear Miraculous" rule is there for a reason! I think it may go a step too far, but the general principle does make a lot of sense. The Guardians should be in more of a support role simply from a security standpoint.

It's another reason I'm iffy on Marinette being the Guardian. The Guardian knows everyone's identities and - in the context of canon - has a direct line to the miracle box that any rando can access by capturing them. This makes it a really bad idea to have them fighting on the front lines as they know too much and are something of a security risk. Meanwhile the snake feels like a perfect miraculous for the Guardian to wield since the snake is meant to watch the battle from the sidelines.

It's all very confusing to me because I'm getting a thing I wanted, but in the most confusing and least interesting way. Instead of this feeling like a big plot point, it just feels like something they did because it's cool. I fear this is going to be like Luka learning the secret identities: a thing that should lead to something big plot-wise, but that ends up mostly ignored because it would complicate things too much. If anything, I expect this to mean that he's left out of big moments because the writers very clearly don't know how to write him now. Like he should have been involved in the Risk/Strikeback fight! His powers made more sense than anyone else's! But he couldn't be because then the Felix thing couldn't happen.

I do very much agree that Luka leaning mirakungfu is a big WTF because, if holders are randomly allowed to learn it now, then Marinette should be learning it too! She's actively fighting against a rouge holder, she knows all of the other holders' identities, and she is the guardian! Why is Su-Han mentoring Luka and not the actual guardian? It's all very annoying and I do not like it. It would honestly make more sense if Jagged and Penny were trained, but Luka was not, because Jagged and Penny are not holders, but they are acting as Luka's bodyguards of a sort. Instead, the writers have once again shat all over their lore in the name of doing something cool for a season finale and I would bet you that they're now going to have no idea how to handle the consequences of that in the coming season because they keep doing that. See: season three ending with a mass reveal and the writers subsequently ignoring the identity rules.

[endlessskymaster]

KH3 Manga: Chapter O: Prologue:

[mousebitecel]

man i love supernatural

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Another great quote from Gunn (x):

I: People are talking about super-hero fatigue. What are your thoughts on the subject?

James Gunn: "I think it's real! The reason is that there are just not many good movies. Spectacle and bringing new super-heroes to the fold are prioritized over the narrative and the characters, which is what actually matters.

"I hope that the Guardians of the Galaxy movies work because I really love the characters and care about their stories. I didn't want to make yet another movie about saving the universe. We all know that the universe won't be destroyed by the end. It never is. I wanted to make a movie about characters whose fates you don't know until the movie ends. As with every genre, when you depend on the genre itself instead of using good stories to support the genre, it's not gonna work out."

[fixaidea]

Right, come along with me for another useless thought experiment. I'm gonna rank the characters of my latest fandoms by how they would react to Woland and Co.

Old-timey Chinese novels:

No need to go into too much detail here, since no matter the individual character's reaction (ranging from none at all to unease to realising they're dealing with *some* sort of an underworld entity) nothing would really come of the encounter. They all fall outside of Woland's jurisdiction, he's not out to get them.

The TGCF cast would see an annoying neighbour who's trespassing on their turf.

Modern-timey Chinese novels:

Wu Xie is seriously alarmed, but can't explain why. He does see the large black cat walking on his hind legs that lurks around the Professor, but he explains it away as some sort of a mutant with a weird camouflaging ability, since most people's gaze seems to kinda slide off him.

Xiaoge, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan all know exactly who they're looking at. Xiaoge is respectful but unconcerned (he's none of his business), Lord Kunlun and the Ghost Slayer are unbothered and unimpressed.

The Locked Tomb

You'd think that in a book so full of necromancers at least half a cast would clock him but nope. Most don't.

Camilla gets the creeps but wouldn't know why.

Palamedes, Harrow and Augustine can tell he's different and worse than anything they've ever seen, but can't tell who he is.

Abigail Knows.

So does Jod. He tries to convince himself he's not in trouble. He is.

Wizard of the Crow

Most of the people of Eldares wouldn't know who they're looking at any more than the good folks of Moscow did and the encounter would play out pretty similarly too.

Nyawĩra would notice something is wrong but she's too grounded in material reality to recognise him.

Kamĩtĩ Knows.

A Sweet Sting of Salt

Muirin and her family would be able to tell they are dealing with some sort of dangerous supernatural being, but would not recognise him

The rest of the cast would be none the wiser.

Beyond Evil

Han Joowon would not know who he's looking at but he WOULD spot the giant black cat and he WOULD believe his eyes. Whether he's personally any of Woland's business is unclear.

Lee Dongsik Knows.

[wampabampa]

not my photos but this is when i fell for him chat ngl (i didnt ss at the time cause i was uncool and ungamer

[bdor1995]

am i crazy for thinking baby clothes are an unnecessary expense. babies are going to outgrow their clothes in less than a year. they wont remember being dressed in cute clothes and i would think they just care about being warm most of the time. like if an infant shows signs of preferring a certain material or color i would try my best to comply to their whims but i think baby clothes are unnecessary. it should be socially acceptable to take your baby around in a blanket appropriate for the outside weather/occasion/etc

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Actually, Luka being a Guardian now makes perfect sense.

The only requirements are faith in authority and a willingness to betray your friends' trust.

No wonder Adrien wasn't Guardian material.

[danmei-action]

Danmei Gotcha for Gaza: Contributor Sign-ups Open!

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[selfieignite]

[EVENT] Karen Gillan will be attending FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention in Salt Lake City, UT on Sept. 21-22 (Thurs-Fri). Tickets/autographs/photo ops sold separately. 

https://fanxsaltlake.com/guest/karen-gillan/

[firedragon1321]

This is what Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind is like.

Playing it years after beating the base game and forgetting everything is the best way because the main campaign is just the Keyblade Graveyard boss gauntlet, a few bells and whistles with Scala ad Caelum, a handful of new cutscenes (mostly old) and an alternative/parallel defeat for Xehanort. It's really just the boss gauntlet plus, though it does clear up stuff like how Roxas was able to return.

There is a segment with an exhausted Mickey that's like the best gameplay-story integration I have ever seen. The way buttons are pressed, the slow movement that doesn't seem like you're making progress- it's just amazing imo.

(I know the DLC is old but I was scared of Yozora. Luckily it's fragmented in a way that he's easily avoidable. I don't want to fight a boss who can steal Kupo Coins and my Keyblade. Fuck that noise.)

[imthepunchlord]

Hey, I'm sorry. I know you're not part of the miraculous fandom anymore, but I've wanted to ask this question for a really long time. Were there ever moments when designing your own miracle box, kwamis, or powers did you ever feel the urge to just throw out the idea of the miraculous being tied to a specific culture and just having them be generic fantasy? Or just throw out the idea of the guardians and miracle boxes in general and just have the kwamis be free roamers that pick their own holders based on their personalities? (There is also the idea of just throwing out the idea of the kwamis embodying concept and just being beings of magic)

Oh plenty of times.

In hindsight, and in the grand scheme of things, that's honestly how they should've handled the Miraculous, not tie them to any one specific culture or region. Just let them be open to the world. Let them be magical.

It would've opened them up to work with a variety of myths and cultures or pick what they want to work with power wise instead of just tying it to one specific region. It would've allowed them to be flexible with what animals could appear and they didn't have to limit themselves to iconic groups of animals of that region or bring in a huge number like the freak Chinese Zodiac that they clearly couldn't handle or scale evenly.

I can't say for others cause it just may be me, but I definitely wouldn't be raising a brow or be put off at some of the choices made with powers and some of the clear inspirations for the Miraculous and kwamis. Like, Rabbit I would've only be bothered by the time traveling power and not just it also being tied to a European novel when it's supposed to be tied to China (and the Moon Rabbit IS RIGHT THERE but I guess we can't have a 2nd healing Miraculous to help shoulder the burden for LB but we can have multiple that generate items).

I also wouldn't be so bothered about how Tikki and Plagg are portrayed and their very European/Christian inspirations (especially them becoming those over designed biblical angels, if anyone knows for sure please do correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think those have a place in Taoism and to me just screams they should've been Europe based, especially as Thomas still works off the European good and bad luck themes more than creation and destruction (like there was a whole series of tweets from Thomas insisting that Cataclysm doesn't DESTROY but causes bad things to happen), even though this is a power from what should be Destruction... and they're the most iconic animal symbols for good and bad luck in Europe specifically).

Honestly, the only issue that could've arose if they let them loose in origins is the two that's very European/Christian based being established as "most powerful", and you don't really want that, but if you just remove the idea of tiers and just roll with that some have an edge over others (like Ladybug always has an edge over Butterfly), then that fixes that.

But, in doing so, that does lead down a path of changes and questions to consider: Miraculous wise what should exist, what should be cut, how do Miraculous work off each other, what's the system of control in the face of misuse, should Ladybug and Cat be the ONLY wish granting duo, should there be others, if so how is Ladybug and Cat more desirable than any other wish granting duo, could it be that every pair can grant a unique sort of wish, or could it be that by a specific year a specific duo grants the wish and it's the year of LB and Cat, ect..

I admit that it's all probably over complicating things, but it's questions like those that come to mind when I think of tossing away Miraculous tied to a specific region and culture, and it's just apart of the ongoing issue of trying to think of how to fix the show cause it's just endless possibilities and potential to pick from and consider. Like, take Adrien as an example, his character could have roughly 10 possible paths to take as a character. If they wanted to do something with him, the options are there. Could done him as a starting hero who starts it for freedom and fun and then becomes serious later. Could do him learning friendship lessons. Could do him learning that he can find happiness outside the need for romantic love. If not as a starting hero, could've given the Ladyblog to him to run and he wants to expose his crush and just not consider what that could mean for her and not everyone likes that public attention that he's used to (and for angst, Gabriel is supportive of Adrien doing this), heck, if you wanted sentiAdrien, could do him growing into his own, becoming his own person and breaking free of Gabriel's control.

Another big factor is that you change so much of ML's set up and the little lore that's given, well, it becomes less ML and more your take on the concept, and at that point, maybe it's best just to do your own thing cause it's not ML anymore.

Either way, for Guardians, the Order, and the Miracle Box, I honestly don't mind them existing, but they were mishandled. If Miraculous popped up enough, then there will be a good number of people who will know about them, and there will be people who will think it's a good idea to make an organization designed to work with them, secure they don't fall into wrong hands, and handle any big crisis that arises. And I like the idea that the Miracle Box was designed to house the jewelry, but also offered kwamis their own safe pocket dimension, which could open up to more so they can have their own rooms but also a core space for all to hang out in. The big issue of the Order is that what we get is just incredibly incompetent that they shouldn't have bothered. And the big shame is that they could've been an antagonistic force or the next villains to face post HM, cause hey, it is human nature to be controlling and have a say in how things should be and it could it started with good intentions and turned south, could've done humans could look down on kwamis and their views and think they know better, or it could be that kwamis can't be fully trusted in their views. It just could've been complex and interesting.

And lastly concepts, I go back and forth on that, cause on one hand, that can be limiting in terms of powers, cause animals can be so much more than one theme. Like, time does work well for snakes, but they're also tied to dragons, water, healing, death, duality, cunning/intelligence, ect.. But if you're doing a single power or a few, that can give you some idea on what to work with, especially if you can have a single power that is just right. If Dog was the Miraculous of Recollection, and you expanded upon what Fetch could Fetch, it's a perfect match, you could recollect a lost object or person (can work off search and rescue dogs), you could recollect a recently passed soul and revive someone who recently passed (works off hellhounds and guarding the underworld), it could even be done to bring forth a memory or be used as a means to bring forth the truth when it's denied (which is another term of recollection).

Gosh this became such a long rant, but yeah, I have thought of those things when I was trying to figure out how to rework stuff. I do think in the grand scheme of it all, it'd be better if Miraculous weren't tied to China and just allowed to dabble in a variety of cultures and be very traveled, especially as they clearly didn't want to really represent that culture and just used it because foreign = exotic and magical. Not to say there wouldn't be any issues but there'd be less to raise a brow at, and it would've given them more flexibility in powers and what Miraculous could appear. Now the Order and concepts, that's a give or take depending on how they're handled and what's done, but I'd say with the current show they're not worth the inclusion.

[lifblogs]

Can people stop using “sociopath” incorrectly? Not winning any fucking gold stars from me about that ableism.

Also now unfollowing a pretty active Good Omens blog I mostly like (aside from some odd opinions) for reblogging a post with that word. Ableism isn’t cute.