#It's genuinely a really interesting mode!

[miraclechatbug]

The way Marinette and Adrien consciously and unconsciously choose to portray themselves as Ladybug and Chat Noir respectively is fascinating to me. We can take just the first two released episodes S6 and see the differences and similarities.

Marinette is clumsy, forgettable, scatter-brained, and constantly in anxious, worst-case scenario mode all the time. She's frazzled, speaks faster than her brain can keep up with, fidgets constantly, and is always doing something or the other. She always over-prepares and has a plan for everything. Her mannerisms as Marinette resemble her dad (Tom Dupain) and when she is Ladybug, I think she unconsciously channels her mom's (Sabine Cheng) confidence.

It's clear that as soon as she transforms, she carries herself with more composure and certainty, something she only occasionally manages as Marinette.

As Ladybug, she moves with more certainty, effortlessly taking charge and trusting her instincts. But at the same time, she carries the weight of responsibility, bound by the pressure of being the leading face as the savior of Paris and the expectation to always have a solution. Even though she’s more confident in her abilities, she isn’t necessarily more free— if anything, she’s more constrained. Every decision matters, every mistake has consequences, and she has to think about the bigger picture at all times. As Marinette, she doesn’t have that same overwhelming burden. She’s anxious, scattered, and often lost in her own thoughts, but she has the space to obsess over the little things, whether it's an overly detailed plan, a small interaction with her crush, or a passing worry that spirals into something bigger. While Ladybug has to act, Marinette has the luxury of hesitation, of focusing on minutiae instead of the weight of the world.

And then in contrast there’s Adrien, in how he navigates his dual identity. As Chat Noir, he thrives in the freedom his mask gives him, in being playful, loud, and entirely unrestrained. He takes up space without hesitation, making himself seen and heard in a way he never does as Adrien.

As his civilian self, he fades into the background, careful and composed. He rarely draws attention to himself, moving through the world with quiet politeness rather than asserting himself wherever and anywhere he wants as Chat Noir. He’s considerate, always attuned to the needs of those around him, and I think he very much consciously and unconsciously he holds himself back. Where Marinette over-prepares and overthinks and often falls into spirals, Adrien is overly polite, often depressed even though he hides it very well, repressed, avoidant, and non confrontational. It’s only as Chat Noir that he allows himself to be messy, make mistakes, rambunctious, and completely unfiltered.

That’s why their conversation about being the best versions of themselves in Sublimation is so interesting to me. They both genuinely believe that they are better, be it more capable, more confident, more themselves when they’re transformed and fighting side by side. It’s not necessarily true, and in many ways, they underestimate their own strength as civilians, but it’s what they feel, and that belief shapes how they carry themselves once transformed.

What makes this so fascinating is that, whether they intended to or not, their masks have now became more than disguises. Over time, they’ve unconsciously crafted personas around Ladybug and Chat Noir, leaning into traits they suppress in their civilian lives. Marinette channels a confidence and decisiveness that she struggles to access as herself, while Adrien embraces a level of freedom and self-expression that he never allows when he's de-transformed. It's like when they are Ladybug and Chat Noir, they give them permission to be the versions of themselves they think they should be.

I’m really excited to see how they keep changing, how the lines between themselves keep blurring. And honestly, their best selves were never just one or the other. It’s not Marinette or Ladybug, Adrien or Chat Noir— it’s all of it, all at once. They just need to learn to find the balance in that.

[nonogram-hell]

so... i'm going to take back what I said about this year's NoTP... I love the upgrade to the Phantom Dungeons so much!! I also feel really silly about complaining about Darkseeds being scarce, since my best guess is that the Dungeons might've been the actual main source for them outside of Trick or Treating. I just forgot that the main attraction of NoTP doesn't actually release until a week into October, usually 😭

Regardless, I very much appreciate Darkseeds being more available! No complaints about that.

The implications of the upgraded Dungeons are also very interesting as well.... gonna put spoilers for it under the cut!

Well! About the final boss....

Damn!! I wonder, has Greely actually been corrupted from being in the Dungeons too long (+ its collapse) or is Dark Greely simply a copy of him, like how players fight dark copies of themselves?

Then again, seeing as how Peck isn't exactly "corrupted", at least in the same manner as the final boss + the corrupted phantoms, perhaps he's still out there... I just hope we get to see Greely (safe!) again soon.

Also, I think it's really funny how the old boss of the caverns is now a mini boss, guess they're just small fry in the grand scheme of things... I do appreciate the nerf (?) to the damage it deals though, supercharge + sneaky leg can't exactly wipe out a full team as easily anymore haha

Oof, I should quit my rambling now, but if anyone has anything else to say about the new Dungeons/NoTP 2024 so far please lmk!! I'd love to talk about it more with other people!

[bluehairperson]

Sometimes I see posts about how "I, Strahd" Tatyana has the personality of a cardboard but I don't think I agree honestly.

We only see her in very few scenes (all from Strahd's POV) and she's always very gentle and soft spoken.

Which makes completely sense since she was a lowborn orphan trying to make a good impression on her future brother in law, who is not only the ruler of the valley but also a feared war criminal. Of course she would try to be as nice as possible in front of him.

I also think that Strahd was extremely genuine in thinking he was in love with Tatyana, it's just that he never really knew her the way Sergei did. He only knew a facet.

[local-redhead-bookworm]

One of the few solid critiques I’ve seen of Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel is that the shows pick and choose which moral failings to depict as bad or as just funny.

Essay-length rant under the cut, also Hellaverse-typical TWs for abuse, SA, and general lack of morals

Disclaimers:

I’m not hating on these shows. I love both of these shows, but I’m an English major so I think it’s important for me to be able to analyze what exactly I think is not working. I’m interested in a discussion, but if all you’re here to do is spew hate with no good-faith criticisms, I will block you.

These shows do not need to teach morals. These pieces of media are both intended for adult audiences, and adults should be able to understand that a depiction does not equal support. My criticism is that this moral inconsistency is sometimes to the overall tone’s detriment.

These two shows are both set in hell. Following the usual rules of hell, you wind up there regardless of what you did, so all sins should be considered equal in that regard. Of course, we as people tend to think of some sins as less forgivable than others—namely abuse, SA, and murder. I’m making broad generalizations here, but please roll with me.

The biggest problem with Hellaverse writing is that the writers aren’t consistent on what is considered morally bad in the show. These shows both center around complex, deeply flawed people, and I find that really enjoyable from a storytelling perspective because I love nuanced, flawed characters.

There are a few notable instances where this moral ambiguity works in the storytelling’s favor. Stella screaming and throwing things at Stolas (Loo Loo Land) is something the audience is primed to see as a joke, but it is used to set up the later reveal that she is in fact highly abusive (The Circus) and attempted to have him killed (Harvest Moon, Western Energy). Stolas being casually condescending to Moxxie and Millie (Loo Loo Land) and his imp servants (Seeing Stars, Full Moon) is not heavily remarked upon, but it is later used to set up his classism being a point of contention between him and Blitzø.

However, the protagonists often exhibit similar behaviors to the villains and this isn’t treated as morally wrong, or sometimes an incident is treated as minor. This problem is most glaring in cases of sexual harassment or SA. Blitzø’s repeated stalking of Moxxie and Millie, including watching them have sex without their knowledge or consent, is treated as a joke. Moxxie being kissed by the incubi and succubi (Spring Broken) is treated as a joke. Likewise Sir Pentious being dragged into the sex room in Welcome to Heaven is also treated as a joke, in spite of the episode’s b-plot being Angel Dust confronting Valentino, who is primarily shown to be bad through his sexual abuse of Angel Dust. Angel Dust harasses Husk at the bar from episodes 1-4, and while this is connected to Angel’s porn star persona and I do seem to recall it stopping after “Loser, Baby”, it’s still not treated as a problem, just as Angel Dust being Angel Dust. Other incidents of note are the running so-called joke of Loona fat-shaming Moxxie not being a problem, whereas when Mammon fat-shames Fizzarolli it is used to signify Mammon as a bad person.

I would also like to highlight the nature of Blitzø’s and Stolas’ full moon deal. In my opinion it is a running problem of dubious consent and poor kink negotiation. Let’s cover this in chronological order for sake of ease. In The Circus, Stolas starts out describing a sexual fantasy of Blitzø, his former childhood friend and first love, sneaking into his house to “ravish” Stolas. However, when Blitzø reciprocates and feeds into the fantasy, Stolas becomes hesitant. I believe this is intended to read as him being flustered, but he is extremely hesitant until Blitzø bites him. Stolas later forges the Full Moon deal with Blitzø while Blitzø is, to keep things to the point, under duress (Murder Family). Neither of these circumstances show both parties giving full consent. Hence, dub-con. Furthermore, as per The Circus and “we don’t do words, we do sex” (Apology Tour), Stolas and Blitzø have a strong precedent for poorly negotiated BDSM and lack of proper kink safety. However, the show’s inconsistency with how it handles sexual harassment and power imbalances weakens the impact of the Full Moon deal’s transactional nature on the relationship.

I greatly enjoy Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, as I enjoy flawed and complex characters. I do not expect the show to address every issue raised here with the care that should be used in real life, as this is a fictional story set in hell. However, the writers’ inconsistency, particularly when it comes to depicting power imbalances and sexual harassment/SA, leads to a muddled tone which confuses the audience to a point where it is not beneficial to telling the story.

Because I’m a nerd but can’t be bothered to format 100%, here’s my works cited:

Danny Motta. “I Was WRONG About Blitz | Blitz Vs Stolas Debate.” YouTube.

Sarcastic Chorus. “STOLAS DID EVERYTHING WRONG - Stolitz Analysis.” YouTube.

Vivziepop’s Helluva Boss playlist. YouTube.

[sunset-of-the-void]

I think its very neat how emil's "birthday" and zodiac sign fall on the date that he escaped from the asylum. Symbolic of him being reborn i suppose. He is haunted by a past that i infer his body and mind blocked out so he could keep moving forward and was given another chance at living a better life

[statementlou]

Hello, do you think is possible that we will get a FITF live album? Louis and the band sound so good on tour.

they doooo! I love Steve's arrangements and additions to the songs so much! Honestly I have no idea; on the one hand it seems like Louis might be more focused on moving towards new stuff, like we are still in FITF mode but by the time it came out he had had it forever and now he's well into LT3 and probably feeling more excited about those new songs and sounds; on the other hand he is very good at working the industry stuff and all the angles and it's basically free money, right? He has said FITF was a further step towards the sound he wants most rather than the finish line, so it's possible that as happened with Walls as he works more on the new one he is getting less enthused about sharing the old stuff; but I think adding Steve's arrangements and just moving away from some of the songs seems to have lessened that this time around, so maybe that isn't a factor. Here's the thing though: the only way it would happen or make sense I think would be if it was recorded pretty recently, like one of the UK shows; the show was still being tweaked and gelled and cooking until then. But if they wanted to make vinyl (and surely they would? fancy double vinyl of live albums is SUCH a thing), that is very very long process of waiting around these days. First you have to get lacquers made (this is the physical thing that the recording is cut into that all the records are duplicates of- if you want quality it has to be more or less handmade by an artisan) but one of the two places left in the world that made those burnt to the ground in 2020 so there's a super long wait time on that. Then it just has to get made; but there are basically ten large scale factories left (again, in the WORLD) that press records so that also has a very long wait time... so it would take forever and the thing is I think we're getting LT3 in the late fall/ early winter (I bet he's using this month to finish it up so it can begin this lengthy process). So I kind of don't think so, like I guess they could do a CD/ cassette/ digital only in late spring and make so much money, and it would be fun, but who knows. Either way, I just hope Louis has Steve do some production work on LT3, I like his sounds and ideas a lot, and that he keeps him around to do his tours forever!

[batsplat]

love all the archival work! one question, sometimes (indeed most times) when i google certain quotes to find the source article, google cannot find anything. this quote from vale for example:

"In 2014, I and the others were "bombarded" with questions about Marquez. So I understood even more what my opponents must have felt in the past, because a rider never wants to talk about his rivals. It's also true, However, this is how the world of sport goes: people want to hear about the number one. Marquez now has the same media pressure that I had in the past."

the screenshot you provided is very clear and yet i cannot trace the words to anything whatsoever! and unfortunately this has happened enough times that i kind of have to ask… should i use a different search engine? or are there journal archives your frequent? and no hurries whatsoever i know this is a big ask… but i would appreciate any help!

oh this one's quick to answer haha I didn't even need to consult my notes - the article's here! the reason it doesn't come up immediately in search engines is that the original article was in italian, so I just threw the first sentence into google translate and. voila

I try to stick to the habit of providing sources and if I made that ranch post now, I would have properly put a list of sources at the bottom of the post lol. if you can't find a quote through a search engine, it's going to generally be for one of the following reasons:

the quote is from an article in a different language, typically italian or spanish (the german publication speedweek also gets used semi-regularly)

the quote is from a book, which I DO try to be extra diligent in providing a citation for that reason

the quote is from an article that is no longer available on the internet. it might be in my notes because I copied it there and, if I'm smart, I will have made sure I can still access the article using the wayback machine (which is sometimes what I use to find things in the first place). if I'm not smart, then my doc becomes the last reservoir of lost knowledge I suppose

the quote is transcribed from a video/podcast

I should also say that my notes aren't perfect since... well, most of them have existed a lot longer than me starting to blog on tumblr about motogp. there is just stuff I'll quickly pull from my lil mind maps or whatever when I post, which is where the 'being too lazy to give a source' thing sometimes comes in. when it's english language articles I'm not too bothered because I know people can find it pretty quickly with the use of a search engine if they are thus inclined; with the other stuff I'm trying to be more diligent. but yeah, unfortunately for three of those there's no great fix - the language one is the only one I can recommend. which, btw, if you're looking to do your own motogp research, this one is absolutely invaluable. there is a lot of stuff I've only found because I started searching for stuff using italian and spanish keywords. hope that helps!

[scentofpines]

in class today i felt so incredibly out of place again, why does it have to be so hard for me? and, i like this girl, but every single time we have class she mentions her "autism" while happily chatting with 3+ ppl at a time, completely effortless, while im sitting there, staring and trying to focus enough to even understand the conversation bc there is so much noise around me that i feel like i'm about to either explode or shut down completely and i feel like an alien trying my best to somehow socialize and understand what is going on and really to just get through this.

[celestial-moths]

It's driving me crazy because, in my current endeavor to learn musical modulation, I've started my exploration of the Locrian mode and found that, in C Locrian, a Cº chord, specifically second inversion (Cº/G♭; G♭-C♮-E♭) sounded really cool and familiar to me and I realized: It's the main riff to Sex Bob-Omb's Threshold from Scott Pilgrim.

Only thing is, the resolution to that riff must be in C minor because it used a D♮, which isn't in C Locrian, but IS in C minor. Which, I think, means the song is in C Locrian, but modulates to C minor SPECIFICALLY for the cadence. (Unless something else is happening here, which could, of course, be any number of things. I will point out that I have pretty good relative pitch, but not perfect pitch.)

Which, for non-music nerds, translates to "this song fucks in a rare, not-frequently-seen-in-modern-music kind of way."

[bas-rouge]

Pain. Agony

[ninas-gf]

the time in between hyperfixations is so boring…

[orcelito]

i think the fact that persona series & fire emblem series are two of my longest lasting interests that i still actively engage with. says something about me.

[gender-euphowrya]

been playing this free shooter game because i'm still trying to find something to scratch the overwatch itch that isn't overwatch and it's desperately trying to be genshin waifubait but nobody cares

[neverendingford]

.

[anakinh]

i should be allowed to hunt moogles for sport