#I'll let you know if i get around to research this my speciality is american forests anyway

[aisling-saoirse]

Forests of Killarney, Ireland - June 12th 2019

[hanquokkasgirl]

Will We Last?

Chapter 3

    It was that tall guy from the airport again. What was he doing here. He wasn't alone this time, but surrounded by people talking in their phones, or just texting. Most of them looking really stylish, but wearing masks to cover themselves up.

Before we could say anything else to each other, he was shoved into the elevator and I was pushed out. Did he work here too? No, that can't be possible, there has to be another reason on why he's here. I started walking towards the door once the initial shock of all of this wore off, and Mr. Kim was already waiting for me there.

"Ms. Hart, ready to go?" He said while holding the car door open. "We're just waiting for Ms. Han and I'll take you both to your apartment." Ms.Han huh? I guess she will be my roommate.

We waited for around 15 minutes until a rushed girl, no more than 21 years old appears through the door. "OMG... I'm so sorry." She was dressed like a harajuku girl. Me being from a world where people judge you from the simplest thing that you wear even if you're a complete stranger, this was a complete cultural shock. "I thought I had more time to get here but gosh knows i'm a late person, lol. Hi! I'm Soo-Jin." She said while reaching her hand... I think for me to shake it.

"I'm Y/N. It's nice to meet you Soo-Jin." Please don't let this girl be a blabbermouth that won't shut up ever. I need my silence from time to time.

Mr. Kim started driving us to our apartment, meanwhile Soo-Jin and I started to get to know each other a little bit. "Oh, don't mind this. It's just a costume. I was helping out a friend with a photoshoot for his photography class." She said chuckling and taking her wig off. Thank goodness, not to be all judgy but, I can't with that vibe.

"It's okay, I just found it... interesting." I said while looking at my phone. I still couldn't text Clarissa since I had to get an internet connection and a new phone number that will work here. Hopefully our place is close enough to a convenience store where I can purchase a sim card. "How long have you been here?" I just tried making conversation, I was never good at making small talk.

"Oh, I'm from here, but I did study in the US for a few years. I'm in college at Yeonsei University, I'm studying a fashion major with a international relationship minor." Wow this girl is smart. From what I've researched about South Korea is that Yonsei is like the Yale or Harvard of here.

"Oh wow, that's amazing. I graduated from NYU back in the states. Fashion major and Make Up and Special Effects minor. So, you're going to be studying and working?" I said I wasn't good at the small talk.

"Yeah, this is more like a paid internship? I think that's how Americans call it. Well, anyway, it's just a stepping stone into what I want to accomplish. My own fashion line" She said that so passionately that it actually made me wonder. Do I want something like that too? I've always saw fashion as something that came to me easily, but not something that I would've pursued as a long term thing. But it is something that makes me passionate. Have my own fashion and makeup line, maybe my own store that gets to be a worldwide hit someday. I don't know why it never ocurred to me before.

"That sounds amazing. Actually, it's something that I kinda want to do as well, my own fashion and make-up line." I said smiling nostalgically. Clarissa always told me that I could be doing that with what I studied and with her help of knowing her business major,  maybe one day it could become a reality.

"Ladies, we have arrived." Mr. Kim said from the driver's seat. It was a 20 minute drive... I think. "This building is only 15 minutes away from the company or 5 subway stops." I was right more or less.

Mr. Kim opened the door for us, leading us to the building. It looks like we were underground, the parking garage. "Wow, this place is stunning! I can't believe we're going to be living so close to Hongdae." She said excitedely.

"We're in the Ichon neighborhood. This are the Park Tower Apartments. Yours is apartment 2013, floor 20. All your belonging are already there." He said once the elevator came. He bowed and left, meanwhile we were being lifted to floor number 20.

"So... is this Hongdae thing really popular?"

"O-M-G. I completely forgot that you're not from here. So Hongdae is like Party Town, all the best clubs are there. You can even see some idols there from time to time." We got off the elevator on the 20th floor, now searching for apartment 2013. "I once went and saw this one idol from BigBang, a kpop group, that well now he's off to jail so I guess that's not a glory story. Nevermind then, that was a long time ago. A-ha here we are." She put the code in and opened the door for the both of us. This apartment was huge! Like two times the size of what Clarissa and I had back in New York. Each bedroom had their own bathroom, a necessity at this point.

    "wow, this place is so..."

    "incredible." Soo-Jin finished the sentence for me. We looked at each other and chuckled.

    As soon as we each claimed our rooms, I saw that in the kitchen there was a piece of paper with the wifi password and everything we would need for our stay here. Soo-Jin decided to go grab takeout since she obviously was more familiar with the area than I was, and in the meantime I put the wifi into my phone and called Clarissa. At this point it was already 3PM here in Korea, but with the time difference it would have been around 10pm or 11pm of the day before in New York... will I ever get used to this time difference? I hope so.

    "Yelloup?" The voice on the other side sounded a bit muffled and with music in the back.

    "I am gone for less than 24 hours and you're already eating pizza and listening to your emo music, aren't you?" I said smiling into the phone. She always did that whenever one of us left town for a day or two, but this time it was going to be longer than that. Oh gosh, how am I gonna live without this... specimen of a human.

    "hey! I am not gonna pause my life just because you're gone. Also I am BLASTING some Pierce The Veil right now... so fuck you" ah I miss that sailor mouth of hers already.

    "Even though I'm thousands of miles away, put that dollar in the jar. Well, anyway, you won't believe the apartment I got. It's so big and I got my own bathroom. Also a new roommate and even tho..." she cut me off mid sentence

    "New roommate? I was never nothing about this roommate thing, I am your one and only best friend."

    "Don't worry" I said chuckling in the phone. "She's still in college so I don't think we'll even spend that much time together. Plus yes, you're my one and only. Jealous much?" I threw myself in the bed, I just made it but who cares at this point.

    "Not jealous... just cautious. So, anything interesting happening over there yet?" I heard how she was grabbing another slice of pizza. I need to cut her off right now, or else she's capable of eating the entire thing herself and regret it tomorrow. Like a hangover, but with food.

    "Well, kind of. But first go put away that pizza, or you'll regret it tomorrow."

    "Okay, done. Now tell me, tell me." She made herself comfortable in her bed with MooMoo. Oh MooMoo...

    "Well, there was this incident at the airport. When I was getting out, I kind of crushed into this guy and I fell flat on my ass. He did help me up but he was surrounded by bodyguards. And there were a ton of girls screaming for him, with camera people and the flashes made me all dizzy..."

"Oh gosh, you didn't catch epilepsy or something right?" I swear to... how did this girl got two majors, I will never know.

"Uhm... honey, you can't catch epilepsy. That's a neurological disorder." And while I was saying that sentence I heard Soo-Jin arriving with something that smelled incredible. "Well anyway, as I was saying. He helped me up but he was surrounded. Anyway, I found the person picking me up from the airport, and he brought me straight to the company to finalize some of the contracts. And who was there when I was about to leave to come to the apartment? Airport boy!" I say turning around in my bed, now facing the ceiling. I should buy some fake vines as some decorations.

"No way! Does he work there too?"

"That's the thing, I have no idea. He was pushed into the elevator while I was being pushed out once we made eye contact and he was gone again. I don't know to which floor."

"You've been gone less than 24 hours and your love life has already improved. I mean, after what happened with..." I had to cut her off this time. I wanted no memory of said person. Not even his name mentioned. He caused enough pain already close to me, I don't need him causing any more pain from afar.

"You should know better than mentioning his name right now." A single tear managed to escape from my eye. "Well anyway Issa, I gotta go, Soo-Jin brought lunch and I'm starving. I'll call you later." And with that I hung up.

My ex-boyfriend shouldn't have been a topic of conversation at all, not even after... what happened. I've been trying to leave that behind me and not think about it in the past nine months, I'm not going to let it invade my mind now.

"Food's ready!" Soo-Jin had prepared everything over here in the dining table.

"Oh my god, how are we gonna eat all of this?" There were a bunch of small little dishes around the table, and two main plates I suppose is where each of us will be seating.

"Oh! You've never eaten korean food before?" I move my head from side to side. Truth was, I was more a person of habit, that why Clarissa always knew what dishes to get me from which place and exactly the amount of spicyness I needed for each. "Well... this little dishes are called banchans, they are more like side dishes that you add to your plate. This, the main dish..."

"Entree" I said when I saw that she was struggling to find the word.

"Thanks. This is Bibimbap. Basically is rice with some meat and veggies, not spicy because I don't know how spicy you like. And all the banchans are spicy." She explained everything very well.

"I will try everything. I like a little spice on my food just not too much." And we had a nice lunch together. The first of many together I hope.

"Sorry if I was listening before but were you talking about a boy you found in the elevator in the company?" She said after finishing her plate, I was barely halfway done.

"Oh yeah. It was nothing, I had just seen him at the airport and then we crashed into each other again at the company. But it was nothing, really." I truly believed that this was going to be nothing.

"Well, he wasn't nothing. He's part of your assignment. He is part of one of the most successful groups of the entire company. That was Song Min-Gi, from Ateez." She said almost... fangirling?

Please let that not be true, I can't feel attracted to someone I will work for.

[krenenbaker]

A selection of topics from papers I wrote

As inspired by the brilliant @dove-da-birb, I thought I might share some of the topics of a few papers and projects I wrote over the course of my degree. That is, my first degree, since there's a high chance I'll get a masters or other certification in the future and write more. Or I may just write research papers for fun! Who knows? Below are the titles and small abstracts of some of my favourites, most of which centre around a couple common themes (as you'll see).

ACTUALLY, let's make this a little game. One of these papers I have NOT actually written... yet. :) Which do you think it is?

Linguistics

Lesbian Gender Presentation

A sociolinguistic analysis of how lesbian genders (specifically butch and femme) are formed through physical, social, and linguistic means in a primarily North American context. (Yes, this was a linguistics project, not a gender studies project! I actually made a Tumblr as the final presentation, but I'm, uh, not going to share that publically...)

The Sociolinguistic Power of Names and Naming Practices

A consideration of the social, cultural, linguistic, and political power of names. What - and how - people are named reveals various aspects of one's identity, relationships, and place in society. Using an intercultural and diachronic perspective across various in-person and online communities, the significance of naming practices is explored.

Gender Studies

Madness and Transness : Medicalization and Stigma of Non-Normative Gender in Psychiatry

A discussion of the past and current gendered power imbalances within the field of psychiatry, focussing on the unique position of trans- identifying people. Along with the historical and current medicalization of trans identities, the treatment of trans people is explored in the context of transphobia within the medical community.

Transphobia in the Lesbian Community

An analysis of the roots of transphobic sentiments found within the lesbian community, centring around Elliot Page's coming out post in December 2020. The reactions to his post are discussed alongside the history of uniquely lesbian transphobia from the late 1980s to the present day, with a special focus on feminist and activist lesbian spaces.

Erotic Truths: Queer Temporality in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home

An analysis of how Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home combines the past with the present, queering and playing with time throughout the narrative. Through various elements including literary allusions, recursive storytelling, and the comic format itself, the fluidity of time and the lives of non-normative people are explored and deconstructed.

Human Anatomy

Pathway of a Red Blood Cell: From the Heart and Back to the Heart

A multimedia presentation of the basics of the circulatory system, including the anatomical structures and their functions. Information included ranges from hematopoeisis, to the structure of the heart, to the various forms of circulation in the human body (systemic, pulmonary, and coronary).

Film

Cultural Histories as Reflected in French Impressionism and German Expressionism

French Impressionism and German Expressionism are two different, yet similar, film movements, each reflecting a distinct cultural and historical worldview. Through comparisons of the Mise-en-Scène, characterization, and major themes of films such as Jean Epstein's The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) and Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), the sociocultural beliefs and current social anxieties of the filmmakers and general populations are revealed.

Friends on the Other Side: Queer Villainy in Disney Animation

Though Disney animated villains are often queered or Othered in an attempt to impart mainstream norms on the viewing audience, the same process of "Othering" may instead result in the empowerment of a marginalized viewer through a process José Muñoz calls disidentification. Drawing on the normative expectations of gendered social roles, as well as the increased commercialization of villainy by the Disney corporation in the last three decades, the social power - and acceptance - of queerness in Disney's animated villains is explored.

P.S. I HIGHLY recommend Fun Home; it's a wonderful book. At times, a bit harrowing, but incredibly poignant and beautiful. There's also a Broadway musical version of the story!

[littlewestern]

On Hank

(This one goes out to the anon in my askbox who requested Hank for the bingo meme. I'll do you one better <3)

So to preface this I think some context is required. I’ll be brief.

When I started this train misadventure with @greatwesternway, I personally had no plans to watch beyond Season 6, which was the last season that I remembered watching as a child and so the last season I had any personal attachment to. Once that had been done, however, and I still wanted more trains, I skipped directly to season 17 (to see Duck) and then proceeded to watch the rest of the CGI (backtracking to season 13) and then all the movies and specials.

This watch order left a gap, Seasons 7-12. I was not looking forward to watching Seasons 7-12. I had no special memories associated with them, and knew from prior research that the characterization and writing was… shall we say, less than stellar. I also knew that these seasons added many one-off characters that the CGI would not end up carrying over, and which I had basically zero interest in. Who cares about Flora the steam tram? Not me, certainly.

Imagine my surprise, then, when Season 12 (of Steady Eddie infamy) delivered perhaps my favorite one-off character of the entire show, and a pretty good all-around episode in general.

Let’s talk about Hank and his episode, Heave Ho, Thomas.

Despite appearing in only one episode, we know a lot about Hank’s character. We know that he’s big, strong, gregarious, friendly, quick to compliment others, and– perhaps most importantly– American!

Yes, the engine whose color scheme is red, white, and blue and who has a Texan accent (which Michael Angelis is attempting so, so bravely) is American. Shocker!

I’m pointing this out primarily because it’s interesting on its own: the show never directly states that he is from America, but it’s made very clear to the audience that that is the case.

There are many American engines on Sodor (Rosie, Caitlin, Connor, Porter, Timothy, Victor) but Hank is the only one (aside from Victor, who I would consider a special case) who is shown to be Culturally American. Most of these other engines are given British (or in the case of Caitlin and Connor, Irish for some reason) accents and their status as transplants isn’t really commented on in the canon.

I’m not bringing this up in relation to Hank because I have a problem with this from a technical perspective, but because Hank being American is– I would argue– actually the crux of the whole episode and what makes it work.

(Hank actually gets a model face as opposed to a CGI one for this shot! This episode might have been planned for before the decision to switch to CGI faces had been finalized.)

The episode proper starts with Hank arriving on Sodor. Thomas and Percy are both excited to meet this new special and strong engine, but Thomas expresses some doubt that he could be stronger than any of the engines on Sodor. Already we’re seeing some hometown pride from Thomas, indicating both that Hank is an outsider and that wherever he’s from, Thomas thinks Sodor is better. Sir Topham Hatt gives Thomas his 3 strikes jobs for the day, which he instructs Thomas to do while showing Hank around the island.

Hank arrives and immediately sets Thomas off by calling him “one of the finest little engines [he’s] ever seen”. Thomas, being as he is, takes offense at being called “little”, disregarding of course that to Hank, the big fuckoff PRR K4 Pacific, every engine on Sodor is little. And of course, Hank doesn’t mean “little” as an insult either. He means… cute! But Thomas, being as he is, gets buttmad about it.

Hank sees the load of freight cars Thomas is set to haul to the factory and offers, quite magnanimously, to take them instead, setting Thomas off even more. And perhaps Hank is underestimating Thomas here, but on the other hand, to Hank it would be like offering to carry a child’s backpack. The narration even tells us that Hank is merely trying to be helpful. He’s got that Southern Hospitality thing goin’ on!

As these seasons adhere to a specific formula it doesn’t take a genius to see where this episode is going. Thomas doesn’t exchange his current train for the next as he was instructed and instead tries to do all of them together as Hank watches, offering each time to pull the train instead and getting turned down. Part of that aforementioned Southern Hospitality, though, is taking people at their word, and so Thomas struggles on in a valiant attempt to win the Cutting Off Your Nose To Spite Your Face Award.

(Thomas, all out of Puff and Pull.)

It’s here that he gets called "Handsome Hank" in the episode by the narrator in passing. This is fun, because I love when one of the stereotypes Americans are given outside this country is that they're attractive. I suspect this comes from our only cultural export being film for 100 years, and so the impression that people who don't live here got was that Americans all look like movie stars.

Hank being called this is interesting though, in that sense, it characterizes him as American again without outright stating the fact, but it's also interesting because 'handsome' is not an adjective that gets ascribed to engines in canon. For this reason, I suspect it is a title in the vein of "Duck The Great Western Engine" or "James the Red Engine". It's a name given by humans to the engines as a form of address.

Because if it isn't... Well, how-dy Hank! Thomas (or the Narrator at least) thinks you look handsome! Add that to the list of things Thomas just can't stand about this guy! He swanks in here, disrespects Thomas, belittles him, and has the gall to look good while doing it. What a Hospitable asshole!

(Handsome Hank! I absolutely love these pieces of concept art and I'm so glad we have them.)

Hank is so Hospitable in fact, that when Thomas is completely out of steam and can’t whistle at the stations because of the heavy train, Hank announces in front of God and everybody that because Thomas is out of puff: he, Hank, will whistle for him! To Hank, this is just common courtesy. If he can’t pull the train, the very least he can do is whistle for his new friend.

Of course, this is about the worst thing you could say in front of an engine like Thomas. Thomas, who thinks everything is a competition, every offhand comment a slight against him personally, and every action he can’t do a knock against his own Usefulness. It’s not his fault, really. When you come up on a British railway with engines like Gordon and James, you expect to be belittled and patronized. But Hank isn’t being passive-aggressive here, he’s just being American!

Well of course, as it goes with these seasons, Thomas cracks a cylinder and learns a lesson about asking for help or somesuch, Hank has a party thrown for him and is promptly forgotten about for the rest of time forever, The End. It’s not a very satisfying conclusion or a particularly good episode when taken at face value, but I think it works if you look at it as a Cultural Differences sort of episode, where the sensibilities of two different railways come into contact and are, at least initially, at odds with each other.

And actually, doing some research for this episode, I found out that Heave Ho, Thomas was never shown in Japan on tv or released for home media. Maybe they thought an episode like this wouldn’t translate well for a Japanese audience? Interesting, either way!

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E3; Chapter Three, Holly, Jolly - [Pt. 3]

A Will Byers x Male!Reader Series

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘠/𝘯, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘶𝘴����𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

|| 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

Hopper pulls up to the library, thankful to get a spot up front. He steps out of the vehicle and makes his way inside, Powell behind him.

Hopper takes off his hat as he enters the building, making sure to send a big smile to the librarian.

"Hey, Marissa. How you doin'?"

The disapproving look on Marissa's face never left as she spoke.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here."

"What?"

"You could have at least called, said, 'Marissa! Hey, it's not gonna work out. Sorry, I wasted your time. I'm a dick.'"

Powell was unsure of what to do; he looked from Marissa to Hopper, waiting.

Hopper only stares ahead for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, with a subtle smirk, he mutters,

"Yep."

She looks to him, shaking her head expectantly. He seemed at a loss for words again as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Uh... Maybe we could go out again next week?" He offers, hoping for the best. She slowly turns her head to Powell and gives him a 'is he for real?' look. In turn, Powell slowly looks over to Hopper awkwardly. Hopper, already knowing he chose his words poorly, visibly cringed, and was eager to change the subject.

"Newspapers? You guys got newspapers around here?"

Marissa had shown them over to the filing cabinet and started pulling out drawers, naming the selections.

"We have the New York Times, the Post, all the big ones. Organized by year and topic. You can find the corresponding microfiche in the reading room." She briefly gestures behind her.

"Okay, we're looking for anything on the Hawkins National Laboratory."

"Well, shouldn't you be looking for that missing kid?"

"Yeah." He states as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We are."

She nods her head, suspicious.

"Uh, so, why don't you start with the Times, and we'll check out the Post."

Marissa scoffs and looks behind her to Powell, unsure if he's serious. She turns back to Hopper and lets out a soft 'hmph!' before strutting away. Powell steps forward and lowers his voice in a questioning tone.

"The librarian?"

Hopper shrugs wildly before diving into the drawers of files.

The two men had gathered a handful of files and set to work in the other room. Each at their own microfiche, reading every column.

Hopper scanned another column that caught his attention.

'ALLEGED EXPERIMENTS, ABUSE' by T. Bridges.

"Terry Ives' legal case against embattled research scientist Dr. Martin Brenner suffered another setback today when the district attorney's office formally refused to press criminal charges against Brenner, his fellow researchers, assistants, or the project's sponsors, citing lack of evidence. Local law enforcement executed a search..."

Next column.

'MKULTRA EXPOSED' by T. Bridges

"The trust of the American people has been shaken to its core as a special inquiry into a covert CIA operation, code-named MK ULTRA, has exposed the extensive details about that which has been haunting the nation for the past decade. Six subjects have come forward..."

This particular column was accompanied by a negative of seven people. Five of which were slightly disheveled, in hospital gowns. A man in a turtleneck and blazer stood obediently in the back. A man in a fancy suit and tie, holding a clipboard stood front and center. A man with whom Hopper guessed to be Brenner.

Next slide.

'DR. MARTIN BRENNER NAMED IN LAWSUIT' by A. Ward - Staff Writer

"Senior researcher Doctor Martin Brenner and seven other staff researchers have been named in a new lawsuit filed today on behalf of former federal research study participant, Terry Ives. Dr. Brenner's attorney in conjunction with the Department of Energy has asked the circuit court to seal the details of the lawsuit until the attorney general's office can determine that no federal..."

Hopper found himself more engrossed and confused as he read.

"...her newborn daughter for scientific research. Following an investigation, the district attorney has already declined to press criminal kidnapping charges against the research facility and staff, citing lack of evidence. Dr. Brenner's attorney called Ms. Ives' allegations baseless and tragic, citing Dr. Brenner's excellent reputation, his twenty recent peer-reviewed scientific papers..."

The next slide was a short column with another accompanying photo. Although the picture was small and blurry, it wasn't hard to see the grief-stricken features on the young woman.

TERRY IVES SUING - 'They took my daughter' by Benjamin Buck

"After the district attorney's office declined to press criminal charges citing lack of evidence, local resident Terry Ives is not giving up her search for justice for herself and her daughter, and this morning filed a lawsuit against research scientist Dr. Martin Brenner and his staff.

Ms. Ives' suit seeks unspecified damages against Dr. Brenner and his facility, alleging physical abuse, sleep deprivation, malnourishment, and multiple allegations of kidnapping; both attempted and successful..."

Hopper sighed, trying his best to swallow all of this new information.

'What the hell has been happening in this damn town?'

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Three. One. Five. The numbers on the strange new bracelet read three one five.

Thankfully, El was able to find her way back outside by the large telephone pole where Mike told her to meet them. But El was still nervous. She just hoped no one had spotted her.

El couldn't find it in her ability to stay still. She couldn't stop pacing and she was subconsciously shaking out her hands, her nerves shot.

'What if someone saw her?'

She eagerly checked the bracelet, muttering aloud to herself.

"Three-one-five. Three-one-five. Three-one-five..." her voice turned soft as her confidence wavered. The only thing that was able to take her attention away from the bracelet was the familiar sound of meowing next to her.

Shocked, she looked over to see a scrawny orange cat staring at her from the other side of the fence. It began to meow again and panic and guilt crashed over her as once again another terrible memory resurfaced.

- 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

The white cat in the cage before Eleven let out a terrible hiss at her. Her head began to shake as she strained her ability. The combination of the cat growling and hissing and the frantic beeping of the machines was enough to push her even further.

She didn't want to. She never wanted to hurt this poor creature. But she knew that if she didn't, she would have to face the consequences. She would have to go back there. The cat gave out another deep growl and Eleven tried to the best of her ability not to cry. Not to break.

The cat began snarling, and it quickly turned to whimpers of pain. Eleven was freely crying now as she looked between the frightened cat and Papa. She gave one final look at the cat before yanking the wires off her head in defeat.

No. She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

She looked at Papa defeated. She shook her head in defiance, though her sobbing gave away her true feelings. He only stared at her in disapproval.

"No! No!" She struggled and kicked. She fought back with all her might while Papa stood at the end of the hallway. Doing nothing.

"Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa!" She screamed her throat raw as the men dragged her away, yet as always Papa only watched it happen.

"No!" Her shrieks grew more violent as she neared the room.

She couldn't go back in there.

She couldn't.

The men tossed her inside and began closing the door.

She wouldn't.

Eleven stood to her feet and before they could close the steel door, she threw it open in a fit of rage, her attention quickly shifting to one of the men doing this her. In the very next instant, his back was thrown into the ceramic just behind him. His limp body slipped to the floor, leaving a large hole in the tile.

The second man spared a second to look before turning to her to try and restrain her.

Before he could even step foot in the room, he was dead on the floor, his neck snapped. All with the flick of her head.

Overwhelmed with exhaustion, she collapsed against the wall, her nose and ears bleeding.

Papa appeared. He took one look at the cracked wall, to the collapsed man, and then at Eleven. Yet she couldn't move. She was completely drained, all she could do was stare at him. He slowly stepped towards her, staring at her.

She looked up at him in fear of what would happen next, and what did was not something she could have anticipated. He slowly reached his hands out, cupping her face. Sobs wracked her body, and he stared at her in awe.

"Incredible."

He reached down, hooking an arm under her legs, th arried her like an infant. He carried her out of the room and down the hallway, staring at her sobbing form as if he hadn't been the one to cause it.

- 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

"El!"

El turned her head to see Mike, Y/n, Lucas and Dustin. They were walking their bikes across the muddy grass in her direction.

Mike looked to her concerned as he, as well as the others, turned their bikes around.

"You okay?"

Relieved to see her friends, she nodded her head.

Mike gave the seat of his bike a few pats.

"Hop on. We only have a few hours."

Hesitantly, she walked forward. But she complied nonetheless and got on Mike's bike, and the five of them peddled off.

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

The five us were walking our bikes through the woods. Dustin and Lucas were in the back, while Mike and El were just a few steps in front of me. El was looking around as she walked and suddenly I felt her eyes on me. I suddenly became very self-conscious of my cut.

I got it to stop bleeding eventually, but I don't know how I will ever explain this to Mom. She worries so easily. And, I don't think I have ever had a cut this big but I'll survive. My thoughts are cut short when I become very aware of the fact that El had fallen back next to me and was now looking at me with concern.

"Why did they hurt you?" Her voice came out very soft but was laced with concern.

"Huh?" I asked surprised.

El extended her arm out and pointed to my chin. I looked down, upset with how things went today.

"Oh, that. I uh, well... I was tripped. By this mouth breather, Troy."

Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"'Mouth breather?'"

"Yeah. You know, a dumb person,"

I suddenly grew quiet, and El noticed.

"Y/n, are you okay?"

I paused. "Yeah. Yeah, it'll be ok." I said.

I knew what she meant but I didn't think it was noteworthy to bring up how I was feeling.

"Y/n." I turn to look at her and she is giving me a knowing look. "Friends tell the truth."

I began to fight tears that were stinging my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall.

"I just... I just miss him. Will, I mean. And the things Troy was saying..." I began feeling myself get worked up again at the mere thought of it. "They were awful. Truly awful, and I just... I'm tired. And worried. And I just want to find my friend."

There was suddenly a somber silence over the group that was quickly broken by El's soothing tone.

"Y/n," she said sternly, pulling my eyes to her. There was a soft demand behind her eyes, willing my gaurd down. "I understand."

I looked at her, a grateful smile on my features and my voice came out in a weak whisper.

"Thank you, El."

She gave me a warm smile in return. It very much resembled the one I gave her the first night we met. It was at this moment I knew. I had just found myself a very unique and powerful friendship; one that stood out from my friendship with the party.

El and I have a lot more in common than I thought.

[maybeimamuppet]

little miss perfect

howdy my muppets!! happy day!! i'm not gonna get specific bc idk when you're reading this but i hope it's a great one!!

as you can probably tell by the title, this is a little miss perfect au based on the song by joriah kwamé (yes, i finally went for the little miss perfect fic. but with a twist bc i am so goddamn sick of these having sad endings!!) also if the lyrics are incorrect at any point, that is not my doing!! i honestly just googled them and then copy and pasted them into my notes ://

tw for:

bullying

internalized homophobia

toxic friendships

alcohol

low self esteem

burnout

and as always if i've missed something, please let me know so i can add it (also a note: if you've read my old stuff and noticed a warning i've missed, please let me know anyway!! it doesn't have to be for the most recent fics. anyway.)

enjoy!!

—————

Straight hair, straight A's, straightforward

Cady’s hair has always been naturally curly.

She used to love matching her lions in Africa and just letting her hair have its own way.

When she moves to the US, on her very first day of school, she loses track of how many people make fun of her wild hair by the time she makes it to homeroom.

She goes home and begs her mom to buy her a hair straightener.

Straight path, I don't cut corners

Cady’s life has always been laid out for her. There have been a few small wrenches thrown in things along the way, but the gist remains the same. Graduate, study math or science in college, get a job that pays a decent salary. Marry a nice, wealthy man, have 2.3 perfect children.

She’s fine with that.

I make a point to be on time

Being late has always stressed her out. Missing out on something important is the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Becoming Plastic makes it worse. If she arrives a second too late to a party or lunch, she risks complete and utter catastrophe. Being ostracized now would ruin her. Her image is all she has.

Head out the student council

Joining the Mathletes is a risk.

But so is everything she does. Studying and Mathletes practices give her a productive outlet for some of that stress. And nobody has to know. The Plastics would never be caught dead around the Mathletes. Cady wears her polo under her pink dresses and hides the collar with uncomfortable denim vests. It works for a while.

I don't black out at parties

Alcohol and drugs have always terrified Cady. She has a family history of addiction, and the effects don’t sound… desirable.

But the thing she’s most afraid of is losing control.

It happened once at a party. Regina talked her into doing shots. Cady decided she liked the burn of vodka and downed seven in ten minutes. The regret kicked in as the last was sliding down her throat. One hospital trip for alcohol poisoning and being banished from the lunch table for a week was enough to confirm the fact that alcohol is not to be trifled with.

I jam to Paul McCartney

Cady doesn’t understand American music. It all seems to be about drugs, sex, or… cows, given the bit of country music she’s been exposed to. Damian shows her some show tunes, and she likes those. She can actually understand what they’re saying, which is nice.

But her favorites will always be the ones she listened to with her dad in Kenya. Learning the words to the Beatles songs over the radio while spending late nights up past bedtime with her dad, cleaning research equipment or driving around in the Jeep to observe the night habits of the animals.

Those will forever have a special place in her heart.

If you ask me how I'm doing, I'll say

Well, hmm…

Cady knows she’s losing it. Burning the candle at both ends, fraying her rope, running on empty, whatever you want to call it. The grip on popularity she’s working so hard to hold is slipping out of her grasp like grains of sand.

It was nice while it lasted.

I was adopted when I was two

Cady was adopted a year before her family moved to Kenya. They love her more than anything.

My parents spoiled me rotten

She never wanted for anything as a child.

Even in Kenya, her parents found ways to give her all the toys and books and cool things she could ever want.

Often I ask myself, what did I do

Except a friend. Someone to talk to.

To get as far as I've gotten?

But does she really deserve everything she has now?

A pretty girl walks by my locker

Janis Sarkisian is an issue.

My heart gives a flutter, but I don't dare utter a word

They’re friends. Of course they are.

But every time they touch, it burns in the best way. Every time they look at each other, there’s some undertone to it thrumming inside the both of them.

'Cause that would be absurd behaviour for Little Miss Perfect

Neither of them acknowledge it.

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

No, I can't risk falling off my throne

Because it isn’t safe.

Cady can’t risk losing her status and everything she’s worked so hard for.

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Love is something I don't even know

Janis can’t risk putting her heart on the line again.

Straight hair, straight A's

So Cady focuses even harder on her schoolwork.

Sure, the Plastics make fun of her. But the alternative is worse.

She turns her straightening iron a little hotter.

Straightforward, straight girl

She wishes they made one for people.

But she’s not gay, of course.

Little Miss Perfect, that's me

Now, bisexual is another story altogether.

One night, my friend stayed over

Cady invites Janis over for a sleepover about a week after the Queen Bee gets her spine rearranged by a bus. Change is on the horizon, one way or another.

But a sleepover is still a dangerous move given the thoughts she’s been desperately stamping down, lately.

We laughed, and drink and ordered

Janis shows her Disney movies she’s missed and introduces her to the wondrous world of Vine. They dance around Cady’s bedroom in their pajamas like crazy people in between bites of pizza and sips of soda with the occasional shot. Another dangerous move.

Something about her drew me in

There’s always been something about Janis that Cady has found intriguing. Maybe it’s the half dyed hair, or the makeup, or the boots, or the painted jackets, or the fishnet tights. Or maybe it’s how soft those lips buried under all that lipstick must be, how silky those blonde ends must feel, how much Cady wants to steal those jackets or feel those fishnets beneath her fingertips.

What? It's totally platonic

Yeah, right, Cady.

That night was so exciting

Cady’s never felt like this before. They’ve been friends from the day she moved to America, but somehow they also weren’t before this. They get to know each other on a personal level as they hang upside down off of Cady’s bed and stare at her white walls covered in black and white photos.

Her smirks were so enticing

Something in the way Janis looks at her makes Cady feel dangerous, somehow. Like she’s willing to risk it all for that cheesy smirk. She could stare at the mischievous glint that’s somehow ever present in those chocolate brown eyes for hours.

Hours speed by like seconds

Maybe she did. It’s nine o’ clock before either of them are really aware of it. They’ve been lying side by side on Cady’s bed for two hours straight, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. What happened?

Then, what happens is iconic

There’s something building, between the two of them.

They can both feel it.

She takes a sip, I bite my lip

Cady can’t bring herself to look away from Janis’ lips as she takes a swig of her sugary sweet soda.

She tells a joke, I nearly choke

The joke is maybe the stupidest she’s ever heard.

“Which side of a chicken has more feathers?”

“What?”

“The outside.”

But Cady loses it regardless. Coming from anyone else she would have scoffed, maybe even rolled her eyes. But from Janis it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. Janis watches in amusement as Cady laughs so hard she nearly rolls off her bed and falls to the ground, barely catching herself before a very unfortunate end to the giggles. What’s happening?

She braids my hair, I sit there

“Your hair is so soft.”

“Thanks. I have to use a pretty good conditioner.”

“Smells good, too.”

“That’s a little creepy.”

Blacking out for the first time

Cady sits on her hands to stop them shaking, digs her nails into her palms to stop herself listing as she’s made dizzy by Janis’ gentle hands weaving her hair around itself in a delicate style.

Next thing I know, I lose control

Cady can’t take this anymore. When Janis finally ties the elastic band around the end of the braid, she turns around and…

I finally kiss her

Finally presses her lips against Janis’. She keeps her eyes open for the briefest of moments and can just see Janis’ go wide in shock before she feels a callused hand cup her jaw and tug her ever so slightly closer.

But, oh, no. I see a face in my window

Cady opens her eyes again.

She looks to her bedroom window. And sees a face.

Then my brain starts to go

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

It’s her.

No, you can't risk falling off your throne

It’s just her reflection. But she doesn’t recognize the girl staring back at her.

She hasn’t for a long time. How could she, through the mask of makeup that covers her freckles and heat-damaged hair from being forced straight against its will? Beneath the armor of pink polyester and high heels doing permanent damage to her feet?

Who is she underneath?

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Love is something you don't even know

What is she doing?

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

You can't risk falling off your throne

Who has she become?

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, love

You don't even know

Janis whines under her breath when Cady pulls away, tries to bring her back in.

Cady resists.

Rewind, induce amnesia

Deny the truth, that's easier

“That-that didn’t happen. Nothing happened.”

You're just confused, believe her

“It did, though.”

When she says there's nothing there

Janis follows Cady’s hollow blue eyes to the window she’s been staring at for a while.

“There’s nothing out there, Caddy. It’s just us.”

Cady bursts into tears.

It's never worth it

Janis pulls her close.

“What’s the matter?”

“I can’t-I can’t live like this anymore! I don’t-don’t even know who I am, anymore! I’m-I’m so goddamn sick of pretending everything’s okay when it’s not!”

When you're Little Miss Perfect

Janis hushes her, pulls her into a tight hug and kisses her hair.

“You don’t have to be Little Miss Perfect for me. I want to know you for you. I love you. I don’t love this character you’ve made. I love that sweet little redhead eating her sandwich in that revolting bathroom that I met in September. You can let your mask down, now.”

Cady kisses her again. On Monday, her hair is curly.

—————

ta daa! i'm gonna be honest and say i wrote this in one go at like 2am so i'm not totally sure what this was?? but i hope you enjoyed it regardless!

requests are open!! in case you missed that!! it also absolutely does not have to be cadnis, i have a whole pinned post here that details everything you need to know :)

i shall see you next week and i hope you have a lovely one!!

lots of love,

ezzy

[your-brilliant-lady-m]

Part 5 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Guardians

Helloooo! Did you think I was done? No!

My PhD thesis chapters were approved last week, so have some celebratory meta. I haven't seen the latest Season 4 episodes, so do forgive me for not being up to date.

Welcome to the next part of my analysis of the basic concepts of Miraculous Ladybug. Today we are talking about Master Fu, Order of the Guardians and how little everything here makes sense. I highly recommend reading previous parts to fully understand this one, but I'll try to quote most parts of earlier posts.

Order of the Guardians

Order is an international and ancient organisation (New York Special showed us the guardian from North America and he was dressed like Su Han). Presumably, Miraculous jewels were created by these people. Guardians are responsible for the preservation of jewels and knowledge about them. They also distribute Miraculouses to worthy people around the world to combat mostly magical threats, but sometimes jewels are used against normal threats too. It's implied that Master Fu used Miraculouses during WW2 when he was in Paris. Perhaps he performed some spywork with Marianne, but the magical nature of his interferences was discovered and he was forced to flee, before returning to France many decades later.

Why does the Order need so many people to take care of a 3 Miracle Boxes? If its only purpose is to preserve knowledge, keep magical secrets and distribute Miraculous jewels then wouldn't it be more logical to have Master-Apprentice system? It's much easier to keep magic knowledge a secret and train a few people in martial arts than doing the same in the self-sufficient temple full of people, keeping in mind that a good part of them are teenagers and children, who are bad at keeping secrets. Also a single person can travel around the world much easier to give out Miraculouses. Imagine that we have a few active guardians traveling the world with Boxes. What do other people at the temple do in the meantime? They teach the next generation about the powers of each Miraculous and Mirakung Fu, but besides that?

Master-Apprentice system gives us more personal conflict between Fu and his mentor and makes his relationship with Marinette and Adrien more nuanced. In this scenario Fu accidentally caused the death of his Master at 14 because he wasn't careful. It makes sense for him to take on only 1 or 2 students if this is how things were done with Miraculous Guardians. This Wang Fu is very cautious and protective, he spent the majority of his life afraid of hurting someone else and never took an apprentice as a result. But now he is ready to try again, since he is not getting any younger and he likes these 2 kids. He wants them to succeed. Maybe Master Fu, becomes the father figure for Adrien in this situation and a guide for Marinette. Just think about it. This way writers avoid the need to develop all these extra characters (Su Han) and traditions related to the Order. All inconsistencies I mentioned before and later in this post are gone now! Hell, even memory loss and the changing of the Miracle Box shape could make more sense. We also raise the stakes post-amnesia, if it happens of course (the whole Season 3 finale didn't make sense, so stay tuned for my next meta). Marinette and Adrien are on their own now, there's no one who can give them answers. It's very fun scenario, which has potential to be brilliant. Any thoughts on that?

The existence of Order of the Guardians is not quite a secret, at least it wasn't in XIX century China. Master Fu in "Feast" says that guardianship was considered "a great honor". It implies that people who lived close to the temple of the Order knew about Miraculouses and what exactly guardians did for the greater good.

The existence of other Miracle Boxes around the world makes sense from a real-life perspective. Writers have the ability to create many stories set in the same universe and use them for merchandise and an almost unlimited amount of content. Judging by the unholy amount of specials in production, this is exactly what the creators are going to do. It probably won't go down well, but who knows?

However, it doesn't work in our main story. The main conflict is Paris-centred. Gabriel's motivations revolve around Emilie's resurrection and Season 4 gives us more reasons to suspect that Adrien's mom wasn't as wonderful as everyone says. Hawkmoth still remains the main villain of the show and most likely it's going to stay that way. There's no point in moving the main story to different places for the sake of introducing more Miracle Boxes from around the world. Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't needed to fight something halfway across the world unless Hawkmoth also changes locations.

LB and CN are centrepieces of this franchise. They brought success and money to ZAG. Creators constantly need to remind the audience that this new piece of media with new characters who will never be mentioned again is connected to Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Writers have to come up with reasons to include our heroic duo into the story even if makes no sense.

New York Special had to introduce American Heroes whose names rarely come up in the fandom because people stopped caring about them or their stories shortly after the release of the Special. I barely saw any content dedicated to them. In order to bring LB and CN into the story, you have to include Hawkmoth too. Gabriel suddenly needs to get his hands on the Eagle Miraculous and goes to USA. Marinette and Adrien suddenly have a class trip to New York. Unfortunately, their presence in this story is required only to expand the world of Miraculous and attract fans of the show, so that they could keep an eye on new content related to newly introduced characters.

In the end, it's not their story. Events of the special don't affect main story of the show and the development of the love square is merely an illusion, because Adrien and Marinette are no closer than before. In season 4 LB and CN are growing apart and their test of trust in NY Special doesn't matter. Perhaps, some people don't see it that way and it's their right, but I find it hard to see NYS as a valid contribution to canon. I mean, even people in large portion of the fandom state in the tags on AO3 that "specials are not canon", "specials didn't happen" or "ignores both specials". It speaks volumes about continuity and preferences of your fandom.

Shanghai Special didn't give us more information about the Order, which is located in China, history of Miraculous jewels. We still don't know much about how Gabriel and Emilie found Peacock and Butterfly. Maybe, Marinette's family had connections to Miraculous jewels. Maybe, Adrien does some snooping and discovers research his parents made while Gabriel is away. All of these are relevant to the main story. However, we got something much different in the end.

Marinette chases Adrien across the globe and they make new friends. Fey becomes Ladydragon and now has a direct contact with Marinette through her uncle. Gabriel's desire to get his hands on the Prodigious comes out of nowhere. Apparently, he had been planning this trip for years, presumably even before Adrien was born. It probably happened at the same time as Agrestes found 2 Miraculouses. He bought bracelet-key (which is also a Miraculous apparently, but its Kwami is a Guardian of the Prodigious and they existed separately for a very long time - and let us not dwell on this mess) from some shady mafia boss, who can easily find out just who Gabriel really is (fashion designer billionaire) and use this information to blackmail him. This Special didn't answer important questions, but it gave us a new superhero character.

The real question is whether Miraculous as a project will survive long enough for writers to create content for every minor character they introduced in all specials. This is only a beginning after all.

Miraculous is not a global show and it can't be globalised in a way that makes sense, at least with Ladybug and Chat Noir in the centre of action. Case closed.

Mirakung Fu

I liked the idea of Mirakung Fu introduced in "Furious Fu". It makes sense and things rarely do in this show. Miraculous grants its holder superhuman strength, stamina, endurance and ability to fight. This means that essentially transformed heroes are guided by magic in combat. There's nothing personal in the way Miraculous holders fight. You can predict their moves and learn how to fight this magic guidance, which is what Su Han does.

However, if the holder has any special training, skills or knows any martial art in their civilian life then they become more dangerous opponents during transformation because now their fighting is a mix of magical moves and their personal knowledge, tricks and style. Therefore, Adrien and Kagami as skilful fencers have more chances of winning against someone who knows Mirakung Fu than Marinette, for example.

Memory loss

At the end of season 3, we find out several things:

apparently, now Miracle Box can change appearance to suit its guardian;

when Guardian passes down the Miracle Box to someone else, they lose memories not only about everything related to Miraculous, but also about pretty much everything in their life (Fu doesn't recognise Marianne, instead he experiences the love at first sight)

Master Fu trains Marinette to be the proper holder and next Guardian off-screen. He says that her training as the holder is complete in "Feast" and wants her to become the next Guardian. Fu told her lots of things, and yet, he never mentioned the fact that he would lose his memory after relinquishing the box, nor the fact that Marinette would lose her memory afterwards. She finds out about this from Wayzz after the battle with Miracle Queen and the letter that Master Fu gave her. That's not proper training! How on Earth do you forget to mention this memory loss? How?

Master Fu's amnesia is a convenient plot device that removes him from the narrative almost completely. That's mostly all there is to it. Why? Because it doesn't make sense.

Fu was around 7 or 8 when he started his training. The disaster at the temple happened when he was 14. He stated that his training was never complete, which means that he never passed any magical ritual, never swore an oath or was bound by some kind of spell that made him subjected to the rule of memory loss.

Miracle Boxes belonged to the order, not Fu. Their design reflected their country of origin because these Miraculous were made and kept in China. They were just standing there on the shelves not magically bound to anyone in particular. When Feast attacked, monks just tossed Wang Fu the miracle box and grimoire. No one at the temple lost their memory after Fu took the box with him (Su Han is the proof). Su Han not only remembers Fu and his mistake but everything that happened that fateful day as well. In "Furious Fu" Marinette explains Su Han that Master Fu lost his memory in the very first conversation they have. However, after Ladybug and Chat Noir fight Su Han on the roof and escape with the Miracle Box, the latter searches for Fu and attempts to take his staff from him. In this scene, Su Han acts like Fu knows very well what is going on and who he is.

Su Han should be aware of the memory loss rule as the Celestial Guardian. He remarks on the different shape of the Mother Miracle Box and calls her "incorrect", which means that Su Han should have been able to easily tell that previous Guardian lost his memory and the Miracle Box is now bound to someone else. But he doesn't say anything. Moreover, since Su Han is supposed to know about amnesia, he seemed awfully chill about forcing this 14-year-old girl in front of him to give up the box and her memories. Hell, Chat Noir wasn't on board with this. But we get zero reaction from Su Han.

During the first conversation between Marinette and Su Han, he doesn't ignore what she is trying to say, instead he actively comments on every word. Even if Su Han didn't listen when Marinette told him about Fu's memory loss, than he still should be able to understand that Fu doesn't recognise him, because of common sense and the "incorrect" shape of the box. But nothing of the sort happens. Because writers apparently forgot that "memory loss" is supposed to be known to everyone in the Order. On-screen it looks like Su Han is not aware of the "amnesia rule".

"Furious Fu" makes the concept of memory loss a plothole no matter how you look at it. Just like "Timetagger" and "Chat Blanc", as well as "Kwamibuster" this episode is not consistent within itself. It does not surprise me, however.

Grimoire and Guardian Staffs

Let's talk about the Miraculous Grimoire. Good things first.

There are no illustrations of Miraculouses in camouflage. Kwami can't read its contents, only guardians can. Certain elements are written in riddles as an additional precaution. The book contains only the information people have learned so far, which means that Miraculouses have more unexplored potential ("Mr. Pigeon 72"). It describes powers of each Miraculous, provides information about weapons, has instructions for potions that don't make sense (see previous parts).

Unfortunately, everything is about to go downhill from here.

Guardians are taught how to read the writing in this book. They can read it just like people learn to read texts in a different language. This means that one can read Grimoire like any other book (you don't need to consult some guide to decode each letter or word). Master Fu proclaimed Marinette an almost fully trained Guardian. He should have taught her how to read the Grimoire then (he doesn't know the code very well, but he knew enough to understand the general meaning and content of the book according to "Collector"). He didn't. We don't know why. He shows her powers of every Miraculous but doesn't teach her the code.

Master Fu knows that Grimoire now belongs to Gabriel Agreste. He knows that it's dangerous for someone else to have it. If they knew how to read the Grimoire, they could discover all secrets of Miraculouses and harm Ladybug, Chat Noir and other heroes. It's very important to keep the information about the code top secret because Fu is not the only one with the source material.

What does he do then? Master Fu proceeds to write a French translation of Grimoire for Marinette, a translation that he doesn't even need. He carries it with him at all times on a tablet (without any precautions) just like the Miracle box after "Feast". Naturally, it means that in "Miracle Queen", Gabriel and Nathalie easily managed to get their hands on the tablet and Miracle Box. It allows the plot to happen, sure. But it doesn't make any sense.

"Furious Fu" created another curious plot hole. It will probably be ignored, of course. Su Han has a staff with a magical compass that allows him to find any Miracle box, but not the Miraculous jewels for some reason. How does the staff work? Can it locate the box without the Miraculous? If yes, then it seems useless. What's the point in the ability to locate an empty box? If it can locate the box only with the Miraculous jewels inside, it implies that the staff can track the location of every Miraculous too. So, Su Han could just locate the Butterfly and Peacock without any problem. But he talks about reassigning Ladybug and Black Cat to adults and defeating Hawkmoth like locating the Butterfly is not possible. This situation makes the Guardian Staff a simple plot device that creates plot holes and its only purpose is to explain how Su Han found Marinette.

Also, I have a few more words to say about this. Master Fu had a Guardian Staff that was never mentioned before. I wonder why? That's because the staff didn't exist before "Furious Fu" was written. Writers just went: "Do you know what would be cool? If Fu's cane was really a secret Guardian Staff with a compass all along that he decided to keep even after he lost his memory? It would make people wonder whether Master Fu is faking amnesia, and everyone will definitely call him an awful mentor after this even though we kind of tried to make him a good and responsible person."

Fu didn't give it to Marinette and didn't mention it to her. Why? When he gave up his memory, he should have written about this in his letter at least. Why did he decide to keep it? He can't use it anyway now.

Please note how in the flashbacks Fu didn't take any staff with him when he escaped the temple. Su Han seemed to know how Fu's staff looked like. It means that Master Fu didn't make this staff himself, because it belonged to the Order.

Su Han wasn't even surprised that Marinette didn't have the staff as the current Guardian. Was she not supposed to have it? He never questioned the fact that the former Guardian without memories has the staff. Su Han actually returns this staff to Fu after he is deakumatized and Fu acts like they have never met before. Why did Su Han gave the staff back when he knows what it is and to whom it should belong (to him or to Marinette as the current Guardian)? The staff is useless in the hands of the civilian. Does Marianne know about its secret? We'll probably never find out, unfortunately.

Guardian Staff of Master Fu has a compass too and therefore this also makes it a plot device, just like Su Han's staff.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E3; Chapter Three, Holly, Jolly - [Pt. 3]

A Will Byers x Gender Neutral!Reader Series

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘠/𝘯, 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳.

||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

Hopper pulls up to the library, thankful to get a spot up front. He steps out of the vehicle and makes his way inside, Powell behind him.

Hopper takes off his hat as he enters the building, making sure to send a big smile to the librarian.

"Hey, Marissa. How you doin'?"

The disapproving look on Marissa's face never left as she spoke.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here."

"What?"

"You could have at least called, said, 'Marissa! Hey, it's not gonna work out. Sorry, I wasted your time. I'm a dick.'"

Powell was unsure of what to do; he looked from Marissa to Hopper, waiting.

Hopper only stares ahead for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, with a subtle smirk, he mutters,

"Yep."

She looks to him, shaking her head expectantly. He seemed at a loss for words again as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Uh... Maybe we could go out again next week?" He offers, hoping for the best. She slowly turns her head to Powell and gives him a 'is he for real?' look. In turn, Powell slowly looks over to Hopper awkwardly. Hopper, already knowing he chose his words poorly, visibly cringed, and was eager to change the subject.

"Newspapers? You guys got newspapers around here?"

Marissa had shown them over to the filing cabinet and started pulling out drawers, naming the selections.

"We have the New York Times, the Post, all the big ones. Organized by year and topic. You can find the corresponding microfiche in the reading room." She briefly gestures behind her.

"Okay, we're looking for anything on the Hawkins National Laboratory."

"Well, shouldn't you be looking for that missing kid?"

"Yeah." He states as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We are."

She nods her head, suspicious.

"Uh, so, why don't you start with the Times, and we'll check out the Post."

Marissa scoffs and looks behind her to Powell, unsure if he's serious. She turns back to Hopper and lets out a soft 'hmph!' before strutting away. Powell steps forward and lowers his voice in a questioning tone.

"The librarian?"

Hopper shrugs wildly before diving into the drawers of files.

The two men had gathered a handful of files and set to work in the other room. Each at their own microfiche, reading every column.

Hopper scanned another column that caught his attention.

'ALLEGED EXPERIMENTS, ABUSE' by T. Bridges.

"Terry Ives' legal case against embattled research scientist Dr. Martin Brenner suffered another setback today when the district attorney's office formally refused to press criminal charges against Brenner, his fellow researchers, assistants, or the project's sponsors, citing lack of evidence. Local law enforcement executed a search..."

Next column.

'MKULTRA EXPOSED' by T. Bridges

"The trust of the American people has been shaken to its core as a special inquiry into a covert CIA operation, code-named MK ULTRA, has exposed the extensive details about that which has been haunting the nation for the past decade. Six subjects have come forward..."

This particular column was accompanied by a negative of seven people. Five of which were slightly disheveled, in hospital gowns. A man in a turtleneck and blazer stood obediently in the back. A man in a fancy suit and tie, holding a clipboard stood front and center. A man with whom Hopper guessed to be Brenner.

Next slide.

'DR. MARTIN BRENNER NAMED IN LAWSUIT' by A. Ward - Staff Writer

"Senior researcher Doctor Martin Brenner and seven other staff researchers have been named in a new lawsuit filed today on behalf of former federal research study participant, Terry Ives. Dr. Brenner's attorney in conjunction with the Department of Energy has asked the circuit court to seal the details of the lawsuit until the attorney general's office can determine that no federal..."

Hopper found himself more engrossed and confused as he read.

"...her newborn daughter for scientific research. Following an investigation, the district attorney has already declined to press criminal kidnapping charges against the research facility and staff, citing lack of evidence. Dr. Brenner's attorney called Ms. Ives' allegations baseless and tragic, citing Dr. Brenner's excellent reputation, his twenty recent peer-reviewed scientific papers..."

The next slide was a short column with another accompanying photo. Although the picture was small and blurry, it wasn't hard to see the grief-stricken features on the young woman.

TERRY IVES SUING - 'They took my daughter' by Benjamin Buck

"After the district attorney's office declined to press criminal charges citing lack of evidence, local resident Terry Ives is not giving up her search for justice for herself and her daughter, and this morning filed a lawsuit against research scientist Dr. Martin Brenner and his staff.

Ms. Ives' suit seeks unspecified damages against Dr. Brenner and his facility, alleging physical abuse, sleep deprivation, malnourishment, and multiple allegations of kidnapping; both attempted and successful..."

Hopper sighed, trying his best to swallow all of this new information.

'What the hell has been happening in this damn town?'

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Three. One. Five. The numbers on the strange new bracelet read three one five.

Thankfully, El was able to find her way back outside by the large telephone pole where Mike told her to meet them. But El was still nervous. She just hoped no one had spotted her.

El couldn't find it in her ability to stay still. She couldn't stop pacing and she was subconsciously shaking out her hands, her nerves shot.

'What if someone saw her?'

She eagerly checked the bracelet, muttering aloud to herself.

"Three-one-five. Three-one-five. Three-one-five..." her voice turned soft as her confidence wavered. The only thing that was able to take her attention away from the bracelet was the familiar sound of meowing next to her.

Shocked, she looked over to see a scrawny orange cat staring at her from the other side of the fence. It began to meow again and panic and guilt crashed over her as once again another terrible memory resurfaced.

- 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

The white cat in the cage before Eleven let out a terrible hiss at her. Her head began to shake as she strained her ability. The combination of the cat growling and hissing and the frantic beeping of the machines was enough to push her even further.

She didn't want to. She never wanted to hurt this poor creature. But she knew that if she didn't, she would have to face the consequences. She would have to go back there. The cat gave out another deep growl and Eleven tried to the best of her ability not to cry. Not to break.

The cat began snarling, and it quickly turned to whimpers of pain. Eleven was freely crying now as she looked between the frightened cat and Papa. She gave one final look at the cat before yanking the wires off her head in defeat.

No. She couldn't.

She wouldn't.

She looked at Papa defeated. She shook her head in defiance, though her sobbing gave away her true feelings. He only stared at her in disapproval.

"No! No!" She struggled and kicked. She fought back with all her might while Papa stood at the end of the hallway. Doing nothing.

"Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa!" She screamed her throat raw as the men dragged her away, yet as always Papa only watched it happen.

"No!" Her shrieks grew more violent as she neared the room.

She couldn't go back in there.

She couldn't.

The men tossed her inside and began closing the door.

She wouldn't.

Eleven stood to her feet and before they could close the steel door, she threw it open in a fit of rage, her attention quickly shifting to one of the men doing this her. In the very next instant, his back was thrown into the ceramic just behind him. His limp body slipped to the floor, leaving a large hole in the tile.

The second man spared a second to look before turning to her to try and restrain her.

Before he could even step foot in the room, he was dead on the floor, his neck snapped. All with the flick of her head.

Overwhelmed with exhaustion, she collapsed against the wall, her nose and ears bleeding.

Papa appeared. He took one look at the cracked wall, to the collapsed man, and then at Eleven. Yet she couldn't move. She was completely drained, all she could do was stare at him. He slowly stepped towards her, staring at her.

She looked up at him in fear of what would happen next, and what did was not something she could have anticipated. He slowly reached his hands out, cupping her face. Sobs wracked her body, and he stared at her in awe.

"Incredible."

He reached down, scooping her into his arms. He carried her out of the room and down the hallway, staring at her sobbing form as if he hadn't been the one to cause it.

- 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 -

"El!"

El turned her head to see Mike, Y/n, Lucas and Dustin. They were walking their bikes across the muddy grass in her direction.

Mike looked to her concerned as he, as well as the others, turned their bikes around.

"You okay?"

Relieved to see her friends, she nodded her head.

Mike gave the seat of his bike a few pats.

"Hop on. We only have a few hours."

Hesitantly, she walked forward. But she complied nonetheless and got on Mike's bike, and the five of them peddled off.

||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

The five us were walking our bikes through the woods. Dustin and Lucas were in the back, while Mike and El were just a few steps in front of me. El was looking around as she walked and suddenly I felt her eyes on me. I suddenly became very self-conscious of my cut.

I got it to stop bleeding eventually, but I don't know how I will ever explain this to Mom. She worries so easily. And, I don't think I have ever had a cut this big but I'll survive. My thoughts are cut short when I become very aware of the fact that El had fallen back next to me and was now looking at me with concern.

"Why did they hurt you?" Her voice came out very soft but was laced with concern.

"Huh?" I asked surprised.

El extended her arm out and pointed to my chin. I looked down, upset with how things went today.

"Oh, that. I uh, well... I was tripped. By this mouth breather, Troy."

Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"'Mouth breather?'"

"Yeah. You know, a dumb person,"

I suddenly grew quiet, and El noticed.

"Y/n, are you okay?"

I paused. "Yeah. Yeah, it'll be ok." I said.

I knew what she meant but I didn't think it was noteworthy to bring up how I was feeling.

"Y/n." I turn to look at her and she is giving me a knowing look. "Friends tell the truth."

I began to fight tears that were stinging my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall.

"I just... I just miss him. Will, I mean. And the things Troy was saying..." I began feeling myself get worked up again at the mere thought of it. "They were awful. Truly awful, and I just... I'm tired. And worried. And I just want to find my friend."

There was suddenly a somber silence over the group that was quickly broken by El's soothing tone.

"Y/n," she said sternly, pulling my eyes to her. There was a soft demand behind her eyes, willing my gaurd down. "I understand."

I looked at her, a grateful smile on my features and my voice came out in a weak whisper.

"Thank you, El."

She gave me a warm smile in return. It very much resembled the one I gave her the first night we met. It was at this moment I knew. I had just found myself a very unique and powerful friendship; one that stood out from my friendship with the party.

El and I have a lot more in common than I thought.