#a dash of salt

[writer-rider-flirty-thirties]

The special was surprisingly good after what we got in season 5. Yeah, some of the beats felt off and rushed and a few of the designs were... interesting, but it was a net positive overall.

[avidbeader]

Heh, just saw the new round for that AO3 ships poll, and this one made me stop and wish for a third option to eject them both out of the poll and into hell:

[avidbeader]

Oh, I need to remember this the next time klantis on Twitter try tossing Krolia's line at us over and over like it somehow proves something. It's obvious that Krolia means that Shiro was there to help Keith and give him a solid example to follow. Shiro did not "raise" Keith anymore than Krolia did - she was only there for about a year at the beginning and Shiro was there for at most five of Keith's teenage years.

(Reminds me that I still need to make myself watch "The Grudge" from S8 again and see if the Spanish dub still refers to Ezor as dead instead of gone like it did back in 2018. Because it's harder to edit voice lines compared to subs.)

I’m tired of the totes desperate brogane/dadgane rhetoric going around about this season. So here’s the french version of the “raising him” scene, just in case anyone needed further clarification that Krolia wasn’t saying “thanks for adopting my son”. 

In dialogue she says, “He’s the man he is today because of you.” The captions offer a slightly less profound, “Thanks for making him the man he is today”.

And if anyone had any doubts that Shiro was speaking to Keith and Keith alone during this scene, since “you” can be singular or plural in English, in French it’s definitely singular. (He says “you brought me back”, subs say “you found me”).

and for what it’s worth…

Shiro stammers in this scene in English, Japanese, Spanish, and German

And singles Keith’s name out with a smile in every language. 

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

In Defense of Marinette

I like Marinette. While there are many valid criticisms of her writing, the same can be said for literally every other character and she's actually doing pretty well given that she's the main character. After all, in a show where consistent characterization is an ongoing issue, the one with the most screen time will probably be the one who's the biggest victim of the issue.

This is heavily exacerbated by the rule that supposedly governs Miraculous. Namely that, in each story, Marinette must make a mistake. Or, at least, so says the head writer:

I really do not care what this guy says on Twitter or anywhere else. I only care about what's in the show because, if you have to go outside the text to understand the text, then you have no idea how to tell a good story.

However, unlike many of the tweets that I've seen, this one isn't some BS bit of lore. It's a writing rule and it has substantial backing in the text. It's extremely rare to have an episode where Marinette comes out smelling like roses and that's a problem because Miraculous has over 100 episodes. In other words, to follow this rule, the writers have to come up with over 100 ways for Marinette to be wrong so of course she's going to come across poorly. Why would you do this to your main character?

It's extremely common for kids shows to have a "lesson of the day" element to them. Someone always needs to learn something, but I've never seen a show misunderstand the assignment so badly. Learning a lesson is not the same as doing something wrong.

It's been a while since I watched the 2010 version of My Little Pony, but it really leaned into that whole "lesson of the day" thing and it actually knew what it was doing, so I'm going to talk about it briefly to discuss things that Miraculous should have done.

The first thing to note is that MLP had an unambiguous main character - Twilight Sparkle - but Twilight was not the one who learned all of the lessons. She had a pet dragon and a crew of five friends who would, occasionally, be the ones to learn the lesson because there were lots of lessons that simply didn't fit Twilight's character. Instead of warping Twilight to make the idea work (cough cough Ikari Gozen cough), the writers just let someone else have the spotlight for a bit.

This is an excellent way to build out your cast and Miraculous had plenty of opportunities to do it. For example, Lila should not have been Marinette's issue. The fact that Lila hates Marinette could have certainly stuck around, but the one who takes her down and learns to investigate her sources? That should have been Alya. A liar is the perfect enemy for an investigative journalist, but a poor enemy for someone who shines as a battlefield commander and overthinks when she's given too much time.

Another way that MLP would teach lessons was to have someone other than Twilight or the main crew cause the issue that they then had to deal with. This leads to one of the best moments in children's television:

And, frankly? Marinette deserves a moment like this. That poor girl has been through hell and is never allowed to make the right call when it really matters. The show will even completely rewrite its lore to make her fail (see: Strike Back). That is such an awful thing to do to your lead! Shows about female empowerment should include women feeling powerful and, no, Lila and Chloe don't count!

Also, the show is literally about Gabriel taking advantage of people who are upset. You don't need to have Marinette make a mistake to shoehorn in a life lesson. Akumas are life lesson fodder and season 1 actually seemed to get this. I'm not sure why they switched gears to "Marinette is the star and, therefore, must always be wrong."

The final way that MLP taught lessons was to have Twilight do something wrong because having your main character do something wrong is a totally valid way to teach lessons. It just shouldn't be your only way because you know who is always wrong in children's media?

Villains.

They wrote Marinette like a villain.

And a large part of the fandom hates her for it because of course they do.

You're not supposed to like villains.

[starscelly]

it's that time of year again... new fans! old fans! general inquiring minds!!! i present to you this year's dallas stars primer!! as always, based more on Vibes and Personality than the cold hard facts (but there are cold hard facts). slides last updated as of April 3rd, 2024 (:

huge huge huge thank you to @oetter @saltandpepperbox and @stickypucky for constantly reading over my work and helping add to this <3 <3

as always if there's any further questions do not hesitate to send me an ask or message!! enjoy!!!! slides below + small blurb about starsblr community for those curious/interested

(click to make the images larger/easier to read)

AS OF APRIL 5th 2024: MAVRIK BOURQUE HAS BEEN CALLED UP FROM THE AHL, LIKELY DUE TO AN ON-AND-OFF INJURY SUSTAINED BY TYLER SEGUIN. CURRENT AHL LEADING SCORER (SINCE STANK HAS BEEN CALLED UP) AND VERY FUN AND FRENCH CANADIAN (:

If after reading all of this, you're interested in becoming more involved with the stars and stars community, please know on starsblr we are sooo insanely welcoming!!!! the lb tag is extremely active and has some of the funniest, nicest people you'll ever meet. we also have such a blessedly large gifmaking community, some great artists, and of course phenomenal fic writers, so there's no shortage of silliness and vibes. I really encourage you to scroll the tags and consume all of this work because it is truly SUCH a fun, lively place here!!

and again, as always, my dms and inbox are always open <3

[dendroculus]

WE ARE NOT COOKED. DO NOT SAY IT'S JOEVER WHEN IT'S REALLY JUST KAMENCING. HOPE AND TRUST FOR 1000 YEARS

[avidbeader]

All of this. It kept happening so much that it was ridiculous. Hints that Keith might be half-Galra? So many people assumed that Lance would be the one to find out and show his support to Keith in the face of the rest of the team's distrust. Keith joining the Blade? Lance would be the one to try and make him stay/wish him well and then spend time worrying about him. Keith meets his mom? Oh, Lance will meet her and she will love him for being such a good friend to Keith. And every time it would lead to KL becoming a canon romantic relationship. And Every. Single. Time. It. Was. Shiro.

And suddenly, these clearly romantic tropes and arcs weren't romantic anymore.

The hypocrisy is so blatant.

this is kinda salty but I know it's come up before-- I think it's funny that once again, these moments fandom imagined would go to keith's love interest (excited/emotional reaction to keith's return, special reaction from Krolia, garrison/origin flashbacks)... ended up going to shiro. again. it's like the half-galra reveal 2.0.

Not for anything, but you’re absolutely right–just like the galra reveal and the presumed support that would come after, fans ascribed all of these scenes to k/l before season 6 dropped. Comics, metas, art, fics–you couldn’t go anywhere without fans bringing up these very specific, clearly romantic tropes and insisting they would manifest in canon k/l. 

Even with things like people analyzing reviews and never endingly insisting that the whole line “one of the friendships that has, ultimately, been a focus of Voltron since the first season goes through its biggest conflicts and challenges yet” was somehow in reference to k/l and the??? Neglected bonding moment from season 1?? It’s fine to love k/l and all and ship it, but that was a clear reference to Shiro and Keith and people still didn’t want to see it. There is just this spiteful, willful ignorance in the fandom where people refuse to acknowledge Shiro and Keith’s relationship in canon at even a platonic level. 

Why is it every single time klantis claim a future romantic plotpoint will have k/l–their bond being the main “focus of Voltron,” a love interest being introduced to Keith’s mom and she just adores them, a meaningful reunion where the other person is just so thrilled to have Keith back, copiloting, a meaningful backstory, one of them literally being portrayed as the other’s weakness becuase they love each other so much, one sacrificing themselves for the sake of the other, a literal love confession–how interesting that, when fans presumed these plotlines were going to k/l, they were explicitly romantic. But now that sheith got every bit of that development instead?? Suddenly everyone’s backtracking and calling it familial. 

I hate seeing klantis continually cheapen sheith’s bond at every single turn, I hate seeing them turn around and complain that plot points they deemed as the height of romance are now only for a familial context. I hate the way they blatantly ignore this beautiful storyline between these two characters and try to pass that exact dynamic off to Keith and Lance every chance they get. Becuase their dynamic isn’t sheith, and that’s okay. It shouldn’t be. I just wish klantis would stop being so incredibly hypocritical and dismissive of sheith’s bond at every turn. For once, just let us have this.

[avidbeader]

This was a response to one of those “what ships do you hate” questions that I don’t give direct traffic to because there’s enough negativity to go around. But I had to laugh that this person hates both Sheith (a ship that is the quintessential friends-to-lovers trope between a pair of characters that show profound loyalty to and trust in one another) AND Ron with Hermione, which is definitely a sibling-like bicker-ship if there ever was one, in my opinion. And I’m just like, if you hate both of these, what’s your ship taste? If you hate Sheith and Allurance, then that points to you being a fan of Keith and Lance. Do you actually think Keith and Lance work as a couple when they’re just like Ron and Hermione in taking ages to even start to respect one another, much less work together on a team?

No offense is intended to my VLD folks who do like Ron and Hermione, but as they are written in canon, I cannot see the appeal at all. Harry and Hermione make much more sense to me.

[carlyraejepsans]

ok i was gonna take a pic like look at my sad pathetic noodles boy but i took one bite and inhaled them so fast it completely slipped my mind. this is the best textured thing i have ever tried it's like ricecakes but long and potatoie

[ck2k18]

hey guys. how about we don't call sentimonsters slaves and refer to their plight as slavery. how about we don't do that. because here's the thing. you can argue that according to the actual definition of slavery, this is true! sentimonsters are controlled by something and therefore are 'slaves' to their 'master'. but slave doesn't mean just that anymore.

there's a lot of context behind words, behind the meanings of words. I'm talking about chattel slavery in America. about how Black people were stolen, tortured, beaten, turned into furniture and clothing, experimented on, bred, raped, bought, sold, dehumanized, and forced to work in terrible conditions with no pay for the profit of their masters. the aftereffects of which still affect people to this day.

and then there's slavery that occurs right now. the people of the Congo, for example. men women and young children forced to work in cobalt mines without protective gear, who are subject to sexual violence, who are suffering to this day, so the west can profit.

and if you feel compelled to argue that I shouldn't minimize the plight of sentimonsters just because there are worse forms of slavery out there, then I am compelled to remind you that sentimonsters are not real. I'll say it again: sentimonsters are not real. let's not take a serious issue and language and apply it to a children's TV show for the sake of discourse that, at the end of the day, means nothing. because the problem isn't offhanded comments that sentimonsters are basically slaves or anything; it's that people are using words like slave and slavery to add a sort of gravity or seriousness to the situation that does not need to be there. it's unnecessary. its insensitive. let's remember where we are and what we are talking about. thank you

[window-weather]

I hate Hunters future design with such a passion because he’s literally just fuckin Caleb now

-Exact same eye colour (I’ve hated that since TTT)

-Extremely similar hairstyle + it’s the exact same one Belos forced on him

-Same job/passion (wouldn’t care at all about that if it weren’t for the fact that 1. Caleb is shown to be carving something in Belos’s memories and 2. Everything else)

-oh Flapjack died? Let’s give him another bird palisman who looks exactly like Flapjack except make it blue.

Like Waffle is honestly the last thing I care about regarding the design but when put next to everything else, no

He is literally just Caleb now.

If they wanted him to look like someone else, they could’ve gone for literally anyone who isn’t the guy he had a panic attack for looking too much like him over

Darius could’ve worked (a hair bun, coloured hair, a little more abomination/ purple themed or something)

Eda could’ve worked (long hair, bird themed, etc)

They could’ve had him working in a tailor shop or something related to sewing and having the palisman thing as a side job or something

It’s just idk. It felt like they threw his character arc about being his own person out the window for whatever was going on there

[shinyvibrava]

I just had the best bowl of swiss chard for dinner, my god

[avidbeader]

This should end any debate about so-called "power imbalance", which was cut off at the knees back in S3 with Keith taking on the role of the Black Paladin.

My partner mentioned this when he saw an earlier reblog of this which compared this scene to a very similar one from Korrasami’s story

I really loved his point, so I wanted to post it here too: “Okay, so a nerdy observation: oftentimes putting a line between two characters implies division, but look at this. It’s right down the middle and there is a balance on both sides. It’s meant to evoke scales. They are in balance with one another: viewed as equals. “ And that’s something that’s been really important to me with Sheith. They need each other just as much as the other. They have both rescued each other, they have both uplifted the other. They have both supported the other when they have faltered. They are equal in their commitment and their affection. They are equals

[deermouth]

Making pasta sauce with tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, sage, and parsley from my garden ^_^

[peppertaemint]

Since I'm sick and stuck in bed, here are my favourite Taemin gossip rumours:

He loves big titties and has loads of big titty manga to the point he'd bring it to work with him

Taemin had a gay love affair/relationship with Jonghyun which was outed by Korean media

As soon as Taemin was of age, Key brought him to loads of gay bars and the two were known to party hard/hook up with people from the club

Taemin's "We Got Married" with Son Naeun was real and they're still together to this day

2Min are real and they've been seen cuddling, kissing and canoodling backstage and on planes since they were young (this is like 10 rumours rolled into one)

When Minho broke his leg and they were doing a broadcast during that time, Taemin went back stage to give him special attention and Jonghyun said he didn't want to interrupt them

Taemin had some sort fling with Jimin, which led to the loser pool hall photo and the backstage photo, and this made Jungkook so jealous he showed his anger toward Taemin even during broadcasts

Taemin and Kai have been lovers for a long time and the two just tried to laugh it off when Dispatch caught them

Taemin and Noze, the dancer, are dating and she's been dropping hints by posting pictures of plants and wallpaper, which has angered his Chinese fan base to no end

Taemin gave Minho a blowie for his last birthday and that's why Minho's pants were undone on live AND that's what Taemin meant when he said 1 hr before this "I'm going to go and give him a gift"

These are all hilarious rumours that certain people will swear to you are true. Maybe they're all true and he's the busiest man in Korea.

[as-above-rp]

Kairi has appeared! What to do?

"That first option is VERY rude. Just because I have Oni ancestry, doesn't mean you can banish me with salt! That's highly presumptuous and frankly, ignorant. >:T"