#but i was originally thinking he'd be gabriel

[zoe-oneesama]

Why does the fandom think Nathalie cares about Adrien? She's always all monotone indifference and "this is what your father says/wants". Yet the fandom likes leaving Adrien in her care post-hawkmoth sometimes? If you're really gonna read into things like that let's praise the one adult who DOES care about him- his bodyguard! Remember how the mere sight of him was enough to calm him down enough to thwart Hawkmoth's intentions in the gigantitan episode?

But no seriously I'm so bad at noticing these things- why do people think she cares about more than Gabriel?

Welp, she is the reason Gabriel let Adrien go to school according to Origins Part 2, and then we got the Great Hiatus to let that one tiny moment of feelings sit and fester in the fandom brain.

And Season 5 definitely did it's hardest to frame Nathalie as Here For Adrien, so it's like the whole series is bookended by That version of Nathalie.

But I get the confusion, Nathalie's been all over the damn place. Different Seasons characterize her almost like adjacent sister versions of herself? Like not a TOTALLY different person, but different enough that I'm worried about body snatchers lol. I pretty much compartmentalize Nathalie according to the season:

Season 1 - Belligerent Assistant who's job description does not and should not include taking care of her boss's son yet here she freaking is.

Season 2 - Reveal that she's totally In-The-Know, her indifference has reached knew levels of being just outright negligent, she is officially culpable.

Season 3 - Team Rocket era where she is fully into the evil dramatics. Also the gross fun addition of her officially being In Love™️with her boss and being angsty about it despite her bringing it upon herself. Also girl he's so crusty get some standards.

Season 4 - Bedridden bionic woman. Was it worth it? WAS IT WORTH IT?!

Season 5 - Pissed off divorcee era. She is actively picking fights and weaponizing the children at her not-ex, and while I'm side eyeing the last 4 seasons, I am here for this level of sass while she scoffs at Gabriel being his Worst Self™️. Too bad about the whole Dying thing but hey. You gotta make up for...all of that other stuff, right?

She's just kinda doomed to not be a cohesive character. I do like her heel turn in Season 5, especially because she was RIGHT, Gabriel had THE OPPORTUNITY to save not only Emilie but also Nathalie and threw it away because he wants to throw hands with teenagers. I too would walk away after that spectacular display of failure. I kinda wish she had someone to talk to, like even Duusu, just to explain that the only reason she hasn't exposed Gabriel altogether is because he'd definitely expose her as well and then Adrien'd be left alone. Like it's easy to infer that, but in a kids show, stuff like motivations kinda need to be laid out neatly.

Cuz otherwise it leaves it open ended - is she covering to spare Adrien from being essentially orphaned, or is she covering to save her own ass? After the 5ish versions of her, either interpretation is fair.

[catsteinbooks]

The Thin Dark Duke of Hell

Haven't actually written a meta before, but I've been mulling this around in my head, so here's my take on why I think Crowley is likely to be a Duke of Hell in season 3.

Reason 1: it makes narrative sense

From a story-telling perspective, it's the logical starting place for season 3. Especially if we consider how the original idea was developed as a sequel to the book.

There's no body-swap in the book. Neither Aziraphale nor Crowley has heard from "their sides" at the end, so technically they're still connected to Heaven and Hell. They haven't been punished or kicked out. They even speculate that maybe everyone will just pretend it didn't happen.

And now we're approaching the Second Coming. The Big One. "All of us against all of them." Where are our heroes? Well, time has passed, things have happened. It's reasonable to think that maybe they've both been promoted. (Crowley, in particular, is often getting promotions, usually for things he didn't do.) And story-wise, they're set up as opposite numbers, so it makes sense that their positions as the sequel story begins will be of similar status.

Applying this concept to the screen version, we know Aziraphale has been offered the Supreme Archangel position. Therefore, if Crowley is to be his counterpart, he has to have a high rank in Hell. And there's a Duke of Hell opening to be filled. (Sorry, Shax, I think Crowley's going to snatch it out from under you.)

Reason 2: it fits Crowley's character

"What?!" you shout. "Crowley hates Hell! He turned them down! He doesn't want to go back!"

Correct. He doesn't. But he will if he thinks he needs to. Because he and Aziraphale have a huge, defining commonality: they love Earth and Humanity and don't want it to be destroyed.

Yeah, Crowley will probably wallow for a while. He deserves some time to get insanely drunk and cry. Sort of like he did when he thought Aziraphale was dead in season 1. But the thing is, Crowley always comes back. He's always ready to run. He always threatens to run. He hops in his car and drives somewhere. But he never actually leaves. Because there's no point in going away somewhere without Aziraphale. And that hasn't changed. If Crowley ran away now, he'd still be miserable, but without any music or whisky or his Bentley. It would be... pointless.

So what's a heartbroken, grieving, furious demon to do? Vent his pain in the best possible way: thwarting everyone and everything who hurt him and took away the angel he adores. He knows what Heaven is planning, because he saw it in Gabriel's file. He doesn't want Earth destroyed, he doesn't want Heaven or Hell to win. And he has an opportunity to sabotage the whole thing from the inside.

Which leads us to...

Reason 3: Crowley has a way into Hell already

There is a great meta here about Crowley's conversation with Beelzebub in Hell and its potential season 3 impact. The TL;DR version is: Crowley DID technically find Gabriel, and Beelzebub promised him anything he wanted (including being a Duke of Hell) in return.

Is it a somewhat dubious contract? Sure. Would that stop Crowley? *snort laugh* The demon who makes up legal clauses on the spot to save humans is well-equipped to argue his way into Hell's highest position in order to save the entire world. It's probably much easier than driving a flaming Bentley all the way to Tadfield.

So where does this leave us?

Aziraphale is up in Heaven, ready to burn it to the ground. You saw him when the Metatron mentioned the Second Coming. That was not a happy angel ready to do what he's told. And, frankly, Aziraphale is not actually capable of doing what he's told IMO. No matter how much he tries to follow the good/evil dynamic, he ultimately ends up choosing what is Right over what is Good.

Crowley in Hell would be doing the same kind of thing, albeit in a more subtle, sneaky way. After all, he spent 6000 years thwarting Hell all over the place and getting away with it the vast majority of the time. He knows how to mess with them. (And can you just imagine what would happen when demons like Eric asked him questions and he answered them?! He could gather his own little army with one Suggestion Box.)

So when shit hits the fan, as it inevitably will, we'll be left with both our ineffable heroes (gn) poised to do the exact same thing: destroy the machine from the inside.

Even if some of the other fan speculations prove true (memory wipes, for instance), I think it still makes narrative sense to have them both in equal-but-opposite positions. Because no matter how much the enemies are trying to mess with them, if you take a certain angel with an opportunity to fuck up Heaven and a certain demon with an opportunity to fuck up Hell and you bring them together (which, let's be honest, has to happen no matter what the storyline is), it's going to be pretty darn epic.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

If I were writing the show, I would make it so only Adrien and Felix were sentis, and the peacock miraculous broke from Emilie misusing it to create them. She created two beings at one time, outside of the traditional way sentis are made, without an amok, so she and Amelie could get pregnant. It doesn't make sense to me that the two of them were pregnant and have amoks for their children, since all other sentis were fully formed, and it would explain how the miraculous broke, which canon fails to answer.

If you have to keep the senti BS, then I think that's a good way to do it. It still blows my mind that canon really said, "Emilie and Gabriel had no idea that using the broken peacock would hurt her! They were so oblivious that they even gave it to Colt to use a second time! (And some random third person since Kagami exists.)"

I don't believe that nonsense for a second because the miraculous aren't just inanimate magical objects that people wield based on external training. They're magical objects that connect you to a magical creature who trains and guides you and that magical creature should know this shit!

The idea that the kwamis wouldn't warn them about the danger of using a broken miraculous only works if Nooroo wasn't around because Duusu was kinda out of it, so I could possibly buy that he wasn't able to warn them. But that fix would imply that Nooroo and Duusu were found at separate times which is nonsense. Why would Gabriel think to go back and look for another miraculous months or even years later? How would he even learn that he'd missed one? He basically had to know that there were two of them right from the start and - if he knew that there were two of them - then why would he grab them one at a time? It's not like archaeological digs or getting to Tibet are simple tasks! And how did they even learn about the miraculous or know where to look? Why use the peacock to make a senti and not the butterfly to heal infertility? I need answers!

This shit is why I'm so annoyed by the play. If you're going to give us backstory that doesn't move the plot forward, then give us backstory that explains all of the plot holes that you keep introducing!!! Don't waste my time with your completely unbelievable humble origins story. I don't love the movie, but it gets full credit for ignoring that nonsense and making Gabriel come from a wealthy family, too.

Anyway, back to the senti stuff.

If you go with the idea that creating real life broke the peacock and also do a variant where the amok was just a womb so the kids are real humans, then that would allow the peacock breaking idea to work without the pesky free will issue. You could also have one of the boys be a real human and the other be a senti. Maybe Adrien is a senti because Emilie didn't want to ruin her figure and Felix is real because Colt didn't care or vise versa with Colt wanting his wife to stay hott and Emilie wanting to experience the magic of childbirth. (I still can't believe that Emilie and Amilie were actually pregnant. If you're going to make a magic baby, then why not skip the life-threatening, body-destroying part?)

I also fully agree that Kagami being a senti only makes sense if they were going to do some big conspiracy plot with all the rich families being involved. Her being a random third senti without some major plot to back it up raises so many questions such as: how did Tomoe get involved with the Agrestes? Why did they break off contact and then reestablish it years later? Was the arranged marriage thing always the plan? If so, then why were Adrien and Kagami raised on different continents? Why did free spirited Emilie agree to this after seeing how unhappy her sister's marriage was? Why didn't Gabriel just use the ring to order Adrien to fall in love with Kagami? Was Adrien supposed to be programmed to love Kagami, but Marinette was similar enough to kick off the programing, making him imprint on the wrong girl? Was Kagami similarly programmed and that's why she latched onto Felix out of nowhere?

Hopefully it's obvious that those final two questions are jokes, but at the same time, I don't think I'd be shocked if they were somehow canon. They make about as much sense as everything else involved with the senti plot.

[ilyasorokinn]

thank the donkey , ross macdonald

note, okay, originally, there was going to be a big halloween series, but i couldn't think of anything that really spoke to me and i wasn't inspired, but i was inspired to write for ross. so, this is my contribution to the holiday. this is my new personality trait, get used to it. also, lmk if you like this little family because i do and would like to write more if you'd want to see it :) another note, i tried to find photos of the costumes but couldn't so please just use your imagination :) last note, dedicating this to vee (@abiiors)! i was inspired by your dad!ross, so in my world, ross is also a girl dad and names his daughters after flowers lol love ya <3 pair, ross macdonald x reader summary, poppy macdonald is upset her dad is working on halloween. her dad is even more upset he has to work. so, he does the best he can to make the night special for her. warnings, kids/children word count, 1240 words (a little short, i know. but i promise it's sweet!)

(gif not mine)

Halloween, no matter how old you were, was your favorite holiday. When you were growing up, most of the other kid's favorite holiday was Christmas, not you. Maybe it was that your parents went all out, or maybe it was that they let you eat all the candy you wanted, but it left a lasting mark on you.

So, when you had your first daughter, her second Halloween (the first you really celebrated with her), you went all out. You and Ross dressed up as poppies and Poppy was a gardener. She had no idea what was going on but she found it hilarious that her parents were wearing weird big flower things on their heads.

Now, Poppy was four, and her little sister, Willow, was 10 months old. Poppy had inherited your love for Halloween and by August had her Halloween costume planned. She wanted to match with you and Ross which made you a little sad, knowing that Ross would have to work on Halloween.

When you did tell her he was working, she was sad but her mood brightened a little when you told her she could still dress up for the show.

She was very adamant about being Donkey from Shrek, so you did your best to make that happen. The band loved the idea of Shrek, so they each decided to follow in your daughter's footsteps and dress up as a different character and assigned themself different characters.

Poppy was Donkey, Willow would be Puss in Boots, Gabbriette would be the Fiona to your Shrek, Matty would be Lord Farquaad while George, Adam, and Ross would be the Three Blind Mice. John would be the Dragon, Jamie would be Pinocchio, Polly would be the Big Bad Wolf and Gabrielle would be the Fairy Godmother.

Poppy was completely oblivious to everyone's costumes and was just excited to get to dress up and eat candy all night.

On the day, you walked around Detroit and got her some candy from a couple of stores that were handing it out before you headed over to the arena for soundcheck, one of Poppy's favorite parts of the concerts. She got to go on stage and dance around with her uncle and dad.

Before the show, after Ross helped you dress the girls, and after he'd left to get himself ready, Gabbriette came in and watched the girls briefly while you got ready, and took pictures of you and the girls before Willow started to cry. You soothed her then slipped headphones onto both her and Poppy. Poppy's headphones had a pair of donkey ears glued on and Willow's had a pair of cat ears.

You heard the intro to the opening song and held Poppy's hand as you walked to the side of the stage where you watched the show. Willow sat in the baby Bjorn comfortably and watched from the stage with wide eyes.

"Mommy." Poppy gasped when she saw the band dressed up as the characters from her favorite movie.

"I know." You gasped with the same enthusiasm as you bent down to her level, "Look at Uncle Matty." You giggled with her when she saw what he was wearing.

Ross looked over to the side of the stage and waved at Poppy, who giggled and waved back shyly. Poppy couldn't stop smiling as she looked at the band's costumes.

Somewhere in the middle of the set, Matty finally addressed the crowd and addressed their crazy costumes, "Now, I know we look a little crazy right because we're missing our main characters, but I'll have you know this idea was formed because of my little goddaughter. She loves Shrek, and I mean, who doesn't?" The crowd cheered at that.

"So, the littlest MacDonald is Donkey and her mom is Shrek. Strange, I don't know how we got there, but here we are." He shrugged, keeping everything about your daughter vague because he knew you and Ross didn't want people knowing too much about Poppy or Willow, "So, anyways, everyone thank Donkey for this genius idea." Matty and Ross looked over to the side of the stage where Poppy was beaming at the sound of the cheers.

The rest of the show went on as normal and right before Ross turned off the lights, Poppy ran onto the stage and over to her dad, which sent the crowd into a frenzy because Little MacDonald, Donkey herself, was on stage. The lights were strobing so there wasn't a clear image of her face which was why she was on the stage in the first place.

Ross picked her up and carried her over to the giant light switch that would turn off the lights on the stage. He waited a few seconds before he gave her a nod and she pulled the lever, shutting the lights off on the stage.

He carried her offstage and once she was in the safety wings, she was off and running to greet her uncles and godfather. Ross removed Willow from the Bjorn, surprised that she was still awake because it was way past her bedtime.

Now baby-free, you gladly accepted the drink Gabbriette was handing you, "She's gonna be up a while, isn't she?" Ross asked.

"I'm hoping for a sugar crash," You smiled, watching George pick up Poppy and run around with her like an airplane, "You did amazing tonight, by the way." You nudged him.

"Yeah, I had a donkey and an ogre to impress." He teased.

"I'm gonna save the smack in the head for later because you're holding my baby." You narrowed your eyes at him.

"I love you, too." He wrapped an arm around your shoulder as you followed everyone else into whichever room would be used as the afterparty room.

You rolled your eyes, "I love you, too, even if you're mean to me sometimes." In response, he placed a kiss on your head.

When you made it to the room, Matty was standing outside with Poppy, who was pouting, "Why can't I go in?" She whined.

"It'll ruin the surprise, Pop." He explained, tapping her on the head, "You like surprises, don't you?" She nodded her head enthusiastically, "Then just wait a second." Poppy turned to you and frowned.

"Listen to your uncle, flower," Ross told her. She frowned and crossed her arms, "Just wait a second." He laughed.

A few seconds later, Matty opened the door and nodded over to Poppy, "Cmere." She skipped over to him, gasping when she saw what was in the room.

The best part of Halloween, in any kid's eyes, was trick-or-treating, and everyone knew that Poppy was a little upset she was missing it, so in the biggest room in the arena, everyone spread out with little bags of candy, creating a makeshift version trick-or-treating.

"Here's your bag." Matty handed her a big bag before tapping her on the head once more. She didn't need to be told twice before she was running into the room from person to person, gathering candy.

You looked over at Ross, who was smiling with pride, "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Halloween's her favorite." He shrugged, before producing your favorite candy bar from his pocket, "Like her mother's." He kissed your head again, smiling as Poppy giggled.

"You're amazing, Ross MacDonald, you know that?" You smiled up at him.

"Says you." He nudged you, smiling equally as big and squeezing your shoulder.

-

my taglist: @romanticingheroin @sadqn1 @befrwime @mattymybeloved @zzzhealy @fanaticalfantasist @thefrontofmymind @scooby-doodoo @because-she-goes @imogennjordan

add yourself to my taglist!

[denimbex1986]

'...In season 2, Gaiman and his co-writer John Finnemore takes us beyond the pages of the original book and focuses on the millennia-lasting connection between the book-loving angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant), who cares more about saving humanity than he'd care to admit.

While fans are certainly eager to see more of Aziraphale and Crowley, actors Sheen and Tennant were also more than happy to reprise their roles. "It was very pleasing to slip back into those slightly too-tight trousers," Tennant joked to me about donning Crowley's wardrobe once more. I talked to him about "Good Omens 2" before the SAG-AFTRA strike, and we touched on how season 2 even came to be, what it was like to have Jon Hamm's amnesiac Gabriel throw a wrench into Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship, and — for a brief moment — about fan fiction.

With the first season, there was the source material from the book, but season 2 is new territory. How did Neil [Gaiman] pitch season 2 to you, and when did he pitch it to you in the process?

It gradually came into focus over a couple of years, probably. I mean, from the initial idea that there might be more story to tell, which probably had its genesis way, way back as a sort of fantasy idea, really, where we were shooting [season] 1.

And then [season] 1 came out, and I think from that point, there was a slow realization that actually there might be more to come. Neil was clearly excited at the idea, and I think Amazon were keen to do it. And Michael and I were thrilled that we would get to return to [these] characters. We always thought it was a one-off. That was how it was pitched. That's what we were contracted for. When we started off on that journey, there was never a sense to go further, but what a treat that it was going to. And I think Neil would drop us little nuggets down the months and years, really.

Then there was a point, now when would it have been? I was in Romania filming "Around the World in 80 Days." Michael was, I can't remember where he was, but we had a Zoom call together where Neil read us the first scene, the opening scene, which is, if you've seen it, you'll know we meet a very youthful Crowley and Aziraphale, very much way back at the beginning of time. And Neil read that out to us over a Zoom call and then gave us a quick sketch of what the rest of the series was going to be. He told us some of the other writers that he was working with, and some of the early ideas, and he told us how it ended. That was all worked out, and it just felt delicious, really. I mean from that moment on, it just felt like it was always meant to be. It felt like it was such a perfectly formed idea. I think it's fair to say that Michael and I didn't need much persuading.

One thing I love about both seasons is that Aziraphale and Crowley are definitely an odd couple, but in "Good Omens 2," they're an odd couple who gets a toddler — at least in the first few episodes with Gabriel.

Yes, yes. That's a very good logline. Yes. The odd couple with a toddler.

I have a toddler, and some of the lines, I was like, "Is Neil in my house taking audio of my child?" Because you had the established dynamic with Michael for Crowley and Aziraphale in the first season, how did the dynamic change in those scenes with the two of you and with Gabriel when he's in that toddler state?

Well, I suppose it's Gabriel's very presence that changes it, isn't it? I mean, he's the grit in the oyster there, because I think they've just about managed to figure out a way of existing separately and together without their head offices ruling their lives. They're living with existence in the shadows on Earth and actually having probably quite a reasonable time. I mean, Crowley's living in the back of his car, which isn't ideal, but they're bumping along, and they can spend time together with less of the threat of being told off for it.

The absence of heaven and hell has actually been quite a good thing for them on the whole. So to have Gabriel revisiting is a bit of a disaster. Especially — I mean, he did try to discorporate Aziraphale and that Aziraphale was actually Crowley at the time, and that's not something Crowley's wanting to forgive. So to have Gabriel back in their midst and inexplicably amnesiac at the same time, it's not really what they needed and it's not helping them to keep their heads down. So it's brilliant in terms of setting these characters off on a new story and taking them to places they didn't imagine they would ever have to go. It's a fantastic device and like you say, yes, it's a bit like the odd couple with a kid, or two supernaturals and a baby, something like that. And I think that's the joy, isn't it? If there's characters that you know and love, you just want to spin them into a situation that they've not been in before and sit back and enjoy it.

Another thing in season 2, and I'm going to keep this spoiler-free, but there are a lot of flashbacks to other points in time, which you got a little bit of in the first season. But I think we get more of it here, and one of the things with those flashbacks is that you, especially as Crowley, get to wear the most magnificent costumes. What was that like for you, to embody these clothes and portray Crowley through all those different points in time?

Who wouldn't get a kick out of being able to reimagine what that version of Crowley would've been? Because unlike Aziraphale, who tends to be a bit more conservative in the way that he addresses whatever period he's living through and in some ways sort of changes very little, Crowley leans into wherever he is and tries to find the zeitgeist of the moment and chew it up and spit it out a little bit. So from a design point of view, that's great fun. Obviously, Kate Carin, our costume designer, was allowed to run riot, because you get to design a period look and then add another 25% on top of it. And Stevie Smith, who designs my makeup on it, gets to find new ways of sticking facial hair on me. And it's hugely fun to play, and hugely fun for everyone to create.

And those little stories — the stories within the story — to get to see those characters at different points in their existence, it's a treat. It was always Michael and I's favorite bit of the first [season], that sequence — episode 3 where you saw them traipsing through history. And so it was delicious that there was more of that in season 2, and they're very much crafted at specific points in the story to illustrate an element of how Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship has developed over the millennia and why they are where they are now. So they're not just indulgences for us all. They're very specific plot points to tell.

I'm sure there's fanfic out there that's similar to what we see of Crowley and Aziraphale, and it's interesting to see the official version of it.

Yes. I mean, I've experienced some fanfic in my time. I think it's best, probably not for me [to read]. Sometimes you find yourself doing some very, very extraordinary things. So perhaps I'll leave that ....

No, I think that's wise on your part. And then for my last question, it just looks like you're having fun when you're playing Crowley —

I wouldn't want you to imagine anything other than very, very hard work. Very difficult, very dull, very boring. I'm never enjoying myself at all.

Yeah, no, of course not! But for Crowley, is there anything you do to get into that mindset?

It was interesting going back for series 2, because there's been quite a gap between filming 1 and 2, and I was a little bit concerned that the voice or the walk or whatever else it might be have slightly left me. But once I was staring at Michael Sheen's bleached white hair and his ... oh, I could be rude. I'm not going to be rude. So no, it all sort of seemed to come back fairly easily, to be honest. I felt, there's certainly, it's a very pleasing character to inhabit and all that full cynicism that he splashes around himself, which actually hides, I would say, a heart of gold, although Crowley would never admit that himself. It was very pleasing to slip back into those slightly too-tight trousers. It really was a pleasure. It was great fun.'

[uhavebeengalaxyd]

This might be my first real like, original thought. Like, this may be entirely new to tumblr. IDK. idk if anyone else in the miraculous ladybug fandom on here has ever put any thought into it. if they have i NEED to see it. I was thinking about which characters would and wouldn't shave their armpits, and I think I have a faairly comprehensive list? Marinette: No. She doesn't have the time, and does not care enough to. Adrien: I fear he may be contractually obligated to. Perhaps S6+ he won't because oops his dad is dead, but he CERTAINLY has to s1-s5. Alya: She does, but she isn't super picky about it. She just shaves when she feels like it. Nino: He wouldn't even think to shave his armpits. Kagami: She does. Probably on scheduled days in the week. Felix: He could go either way, I fear. If he does, it's probably only when he's gearing up for some sort of theatre thing. Luka: He doesn't, and goes out of his way to make it clear that he doesn't care if anyone does or does not. Juleka: She doesn't, but used to pretty religiously when it started growing out. Rose: She does, but only for special occasions. Alix: If someone told her to shave her armpits, she'd get PISSED! I imagine her older brother teases her about it enough at home. (She doesn't shave her armpits as a STATEMENT. And because she is lazy.) Max: no.... Kim: oK SO. Here's the thing. He's a swimmer, and swimmers tend to shave for like, swimming reasons (??) but he's also the most dudebro person I've ever seen, and I feel like he'd think that shaving was gay (and that it was a bad thing). lmk what you think. Marc: Yes, but it really depends on how they're feeling that week. Nathaniel: No, but it's more of a sensory thing than anything else. Ivan: Ivan trims his armpit hair when it gets too long, but doesn't shave it. Mylene: No, she doesn't really like using disposable razors and environmentally friendly shaving creams/soaps are more expensive.. Sabrina: Yes, and it's fairly regularly maintained. Chloe: She's a little obsessive about her whole routine in my head, so she is VERY on top of shaving her armpits. Zoe: She did, but upon coming to France, she mostly stopped. When her mom comes to visit, on those ever rare occasions, she picks it back up. Lila: Yes, because of ~presentation~ BONUS ROUND: Fu: I don't know why anyone would think he would. Natalie: Yes. Now that she's an assistant to a millionaire and in her 40s at least, I imagine that's kinda protocol. Gabriel: LOL. no <3

if anyone has anything else, PLEASE post them. idk. this may be too out there even for me.

[salternateunreality2]

How would our beautiful idiots name their children?

Lololol thanks for the ask!

For the sake of the exercise, let us assume that they don't have partners to tame their crazier instincts.

Cloud:

* Sky

* Claudia

* Fenrir (or any Norse god/goddess)

* (before Crazyroth) Sephora/Seraphina/Seifer

Our lovely chocobo is many things, but given his mother's choices...maybe creative names aren't his strongest suit. He names his sword "sword".

Zack:

* Kiddo (haha just kidding!)

* Spike v2.0 (haha just kidding!)

* Pupperoni (haha jus- ZACK STOP JOKING AND NAME THE DANG BABY)

* Jack

* Angeal

* Henry/Henrietta (after his dad who I HC as going by Hank)

* something normal and cute ❤️

He's a smart lad and a good pupper. He'd want to do right by his kids.

Sephiroth:

* (incomprehensible screaming)

* (deathly silence)

Then, once he's come to terms with the fact that he is now a father/mother to real children:

* Jenova

* Jenovo

* Gast

* Glenn, Matt, Lucia

* Sephora/Seraphina/Seifer

The guy named his sword after a guy who made swords. He is about as talented and creative as I think Cloud would be in this particular instance.

Lazard:

* He would name at least one of his kids after his mother.

* Very sensible names for the universe they're in. None of them would have the surname "Shinra".

* Olivia, Noah, Liam, Gabriel, Jade, etc.

(picked from common given names with similar origins to Lazard)

Genesis:

* Send help to his poor children. Please.

* Gabriel, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Castiel, Raziel, Evangeline, Angelica, Seraphina (NOT BECAUSE OF SEPHIROTH, he shall scream, which is a lie)

Basically anything with 3 or more syllables, bonus points for being biblical, angelic, or from Loveless or classical literature.

He is going to be LIVID when Zack points out how many of his favorite names are teenage mutant ninja turtles.

Angeal:

* Very sensible, wholesome given names, with fun and fancy middle names.

* Emma Consuela Hewley

* Johnathan Reynaldo Hewley, but he goes by Jack

He wants them to have an easy time in school and life, but he dearly loves fancy names, partly due to his beloved friends.

Kunsel and the Turks:

* None of your business and you will never know.

Reeve:

* Exclusively Irish/Scottish/Welsh/etc. names, the more difficult to spell, the better.

* Sinead, Saoirse, Pwyll, Gwawl

Roche:

* Same style as Genesis, poor babies.

[celestialtitania]

thinking about the collector and how gabriel was collecting all these things in his book for his meaningless collection. its the same way he went digging for the miraculous, originally pre canon i mean. i highly doubt his inital goal was ever to use the miraculous for anything let alone for a child.

no, i think he found out they existed and he, emile, and nathalie went searching for them on a whim...and then found them. and after finding them gabriel was more than happy to leave it all in his vault until he needed. so long as he was the one who "owned" them.

its very clear to see that he treats adrien the same way. making him take all those lessons, using him as the face of the company or for the alliance rings and otherwise ignoring him. but not ignoring enough to let adrien do his own thing, no, ignoring him by making stay in his room. making sure no matter what gabriel is still in control.

and clearly, he doesn't shy away from using the rings to give adrien commands either. when felix first took the ring i thought he wore emilie's as some form of obsessive romanticism to show he'd never get over her, but now i get that he needed it to immediately ensure his control over adrien didn't slip for a second.

and you know who else gabriel has complete control over? that's right, nooroo. i just think it would be so *healing* for adrien and nooroo to talk about their shared treatment and learn to move past it, since they're the only two who can truly understand what it was like. just something i like to think about, nooroo and adrien having long chats post them retrieving the butterfly.

adddd bonus, kwamis aren't technically human either, so forcing adrien to think of it that way would really help his sentibeing angst.

[nemaliwrites]

For the directors cut ask game, I would absolutely love to here about ‘none of this is real’ it’s so surreal yet so painfully grounded.

ahhh i love None of This Is Real! i actually wrote this one so fast that i forgot all about it - i got a comment that was like 'i love this passage!' and i was like wait that passage slaps and i reread the fic and went :0

this fic was originally supposed to be for an AU-gust challenge! the prompt was 'case fic' and in the end, i decided not to post it for that bc the trope felt...kind of loose to me. the original idea for this fic was actually much different! it was supposed to be more of a case fic in the traditional sense: once Adrien is trapped in his own head, there's some kind of murder that he needs to solve before he can leave, but why is everyone treating him like he's the murderer?

in the end, i abandoned that idea mostly because it felt kind of wrong. if the point of the fic is that adrien's in his own head, the people he loves can't outwardly treat him like he's done something wrong - also having only ladybug be in that world with him i think made the vibe more like what i was going for. my initial idea was for the victim to be gabriel ofc, but then i realized that i didn't know how to make the monarch identity reveal play into that in a way that wasn't contrived, so i scrapped it.

another initial idea was for ladybug to lead adrien to the eiffel tower and they would find monarch's body underneath, kind of reminiscent of the eiffel tower being 'ground zero' in chat blanc's world. but then i was like...there's no suspence there. it's just a dude on the ground. and it also kind of takes away from the whole 'adrien and ladybug alone in a world of his making' thing if he just...sees monarch.

so that's when the gravedigging idea came along - and i think it definitely aligned more with my vision! then it felt like adrien making an active choice to find the truth rather than...randomly stumbling upon it lol

writing not!ladybug was actually surprisingly fun! she's kind of uncanny valley-ish i think - looks like ladybug and talks like ladybug but acts absolutely Nothing like her. but she still cares about adrien, because she's a part of him! fighting to protect his own mind!

there's a couple lil things i threw in this fic that i can highlight too!

The hand in Ladybug's is bare — he's detransformed, ring on his finger. He's alone with Ladybug, who knows his name. Who still takes his hand. -> the way he thinks the only way Ladybug could take his hand as Adrien is if none of this is real....as though she could never possibly want to otherwise

"I'm real to you," not-Ladybug says, and she sounds hurt. -> just a lil insight into adrien's pov of ladybug....she's always Real to him. she's always a Hero to him.

She smiles, then, and she looks so much like his lady that it makes his chest squeeze. "Not you. Us. Together." We're not together, Adrien wants to say to her. You're not really here. It's still me, alone, just like it's always been. -> more of his pov of ladybug! proof of how deeply her abandonment hurt him, even when his brain is actively fighting against it!

Why, he wonders, does a man like Monarch have such a beautiful coffin? A man who no one even bothered to give an epitaph? Did he pick it out for himself? Did Adrien pick it out for him, from the depths of his subconscious? -> yes. he did. and the fact that adrien never saw his mother's coffin....i like to think he'd think it's beautiful. he'd want his parents in matching coffins :')

There’s something odd about seeing him like this. The villain they’ve spent so long at war with, the most hated man in Paris is still just that: only a man. He can be buried. He can die. -> i think i push this concept a lot in my Hawk Moth reveal fics - i think i did the same thing back in Parable too? but i love the idea of the realization that this villain who has always seemed larger than life is just...a guy. just a dude. someone you could pass on the street. knowing that most of his strength is because you built him up in your head.

A world with no pain and no sadness and no hurt, and this is the requirement. Adrien must have no father. That is the trade the universe demands. -> in a way, exactly what happened in the S5 finale.

“Isn’t the world a better place without Monarch? Without your father?” “He’s my father,” Adrien says quietly. “How can you ask me that question? He’s my father.” -> and this is what it all comes down to.

He would laugh if he weren’t crying. Free? What does it mean to be free? Is it freedom to be a murderer, to know you’re a murderer? To know you’ve killed your own father, just as you’ve so often dreamed of doing — he, who is your worst enemy? He, whose love you desire above all else? Whose love you will never get, because he will die? Because of you? -> this is the passage a lovely commentator highlighted!! made me go damn and reread the whole fic. and this fic doesn't even go into the whole senti!adrien thing but again....what is freedom? is adrien truly free now with his rings in his own hands?

The momentum sends him flying forward and then he's falling, falling. A hand on his back, a clawed finger against his neck, and nothing in his vision but eyes so red he can hardly stand to look at them. So he doesn't. When he finally opens his eyes, he's flat on his stomach, cheek against the concrete. It's quiet. Feet in his vision, then: spotted, familiar. Ladybug.

The sensation of falling; his eyes are screwed shut, his father’s hand is slipping from his own, and then he's falling, falling. A hand on his forearm, ashes in his lungs, and nothing in his vision but eyes so violet he can hardly stand to look at them. So he doesn't. When he finally opens his eyes, he's flat on his stomach, cheek against the concrete. It's quiet. Feet in his vision, then: spotted, familiar. Ladybug. -> i like mirrors in writing.....the same prose to travel in and out of his head....ladybug and not!ladybug's actions mirroring each other.....images of monarch contrasting with the akuma...

“Ladybug,” he says quietly. “I know who Monarch is.” -> this final line was actually the first one i wrote! i was like 'i have NO idea what the fic will be like but this has to be the ending'

thank you for the ask! and for letting me ramble abt this fic! <333

[liesramblings]

The ghosts of the TID gang

We talk about the ghosts of Gabriel and Cecily giving Robert and Maryse a piece of their minds for how they originally treated Alec, but I think we also need to consider the ghost of Will Herondale materializing and giving Stephen a piece of his mind for joining the Circle- he'd be like "How DARE you upset your great-great-grandmother! After all we went through!"

[duchezss]

Once in four years mcsm hyperfixation is back baby, and on this most recent rewatch some interesting patterns popped up for me. Honestly this might not be a new conversation, but I had no idea the fandom was still so lively. I've loved this game since it first came out and I really love that so many people still talk about it. Anyways, disregarding S2 for a moment (my opp), I think it's so intriguing the way the writers set up S1 and the art of history repeating itself.

The Order of the Stone were (supposedly) the greatest group of heroes that every lived, but they started out as something so much simpler. They were just friends who wanted to go on adventures and maybe make a difference in the world. Of course their trajectory and outcomes were much different from the modern crew, but in many ways they're still similar. I'll get to the in a sec, but I wanna talk about the originals first.

The original Order kinda breaks my heart, because frankly I think their intentions were good, they just lost their way and got caught up in the glory, not the adventure. They all make it seem like they've known each other for a lifetime, so it's easy to assume that even if they hadn't seen each other in like a decade, they had still known one another for practically twenty years. Soren describes their first adventure like a shot in the dark, and how they were so young. So my guess is they met in their late teens/early twenties, the same age I assume the modern crew is when their story starts. Yes they're all bitter in the main story, but their history seeps into every interaction. Magnus called Ellegaard, Ellie, and it might feel malicious at first, but he still uses it after she dies, which leads me to believe it started out with affection. Then there's Soren and Ivor, who were constantly fighting and at each other's throat. This makes me feel like there might've been a point when they were the closest. Magnus and Ellegaard seem almost relieved to see Ivor, even after they know what he'd done. The command block had led them to great success, but it also ruined the one real thing they had, their friendship with each other. Honestly I think the most heartbreaking thing is they were so close to reuniting again, but Magnus or Ellegaard dies, and Gabriel doesn’t have his memory. Then when the dust finally settles, Soren is gone. Ugh just tragic friend group save me, they are the ones that made me realize how much I love the niche trope of a friend group "haunting the narrative". Their friendship and fallout is what causes the events of the entire story, and thus thrusts Jesse into action. If they had never been friends there would've been no Wither storm, their actions led the modern crew to where they are now. Anyway mini rant over my fault, but how does that effect the crew? Well honestly it felt like they were doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

There's Jesse, the fearless leader who always has the answers and a plan for that matter. Caring, direct, and motivated, she begins the story feeling like she is destined for more. She would do anything for her friends and she's a quick learner in a life she doesn't fully understand yet. Soren was likely the same, he was trying to herd three maniacs and a genius together, and something tells me the leader role wasn't his original goal. He thought the command block was helping, when he was really just fighting his friends battles for them. Soren's life became one of solitude and guilt, one I think Jesse was perhaps destined to as well. The courageous leader doomed to isolation and doubt, unable to comprehend the road that led to their downfall.

Petra's pessimistic and sarcastic nature defines her a first, but it's clear that she's so much more than meets the eye. She's determined, chivalrous, and sometimes (overly) reckless too. Above all she strives to be a protector, of people, of her friends, and of her ideals. That's what keeps her from laying down her sword even though she longs for a life without battle. History says Gabriel was the same protector, even if we truly know him to be different, but this isn't about reality right now. Regardless of this they were seen as the fighters, with the only enemy too strong to beat lying in their imagination. The brave warrior doomed to die and lose their self in battle, interpreting life as nothing more than a fight to be won or forever lost.

It's hard to say what else describes Axel but bluntness. He's an out of the box thinker who can perhaps be slow at times, but he makes up for it when it really counts. He holds his friends close, and views others in a hostile matter (for better or for worse), and at the end of the day his hard exterior is easy to see right through to those who matter. Magnus is spunky and edgy, and rolls his eyes at the mere mention of the others, yet like Axel, it's simple to see right through him. His love for the others is something he shields, and it's clear he does this by pretending his life is perfect the way it is. The maverick doomed to surround themselves with a false sense of community and leadership, forever unaware of all that lies out of their reach

Olivia is intelligent, innovative, and practical. She usually prefers a simple solution but that's not to say she can't also have fun. She's compassionate and curious, and enjoys going through hypotheticals just to be extra prepared (or simply for a easy pass time). She's amiable and while her skills aren't exactly adept, it's clear she has a desire to learn. Ellegaard is a similar, and although she's jaded and has far more of an attitude, it's not hard to believe she used to be similar in her youth. It's also very likely they would have the same coping methods, focusing on red stone is far easier than focusing on others. The brilliant engineer doomed to surround themselves with their machines and inventions, who instead distance themselves from any real connections.

And finally there's Lukas. Selfless, kind, and impeccably loyal, in some ways he's the glue that held them all together. His intense desire to meditate got them out of a few fights, even if his presence initially caused them. He's the resident worrier of the group, and his only goal is to make sure his friends are safe and sound. Glory and adventure are the furthest thing from his mind, they're just a welcome bonus. Ivor clearly cared very deeply for the group, because he was the most hurt by Soren's secret. Even after his anger at them, it's evident they were never far from his mind. He tried so much to get them to see reason, but it was all for nothing. The permanent outcast, doomed to try the best they can to save the group, but who will inevitably be the one to ruin them all.

Of course those fates didn't really fall on the old order, that was just what people expected of them. Soren understood very well what he did wrong, Gabriel lived on, Magnus or Ellegaard died, and Ivor didn't ruin them, he just exposed them (even if his wither storm did kill one of them, but that wasn't really the point). Yet what truly happens in history, versus what we've been told or come to expect are quite different. I just think it could've been interesting for the writers to play into this predetermined fate the group already had, perhaps they would accept it, or maybe they would run from it so fiercely that they end up right where they feared. Or maybe their friendship was enough, and they never got wrapped up in the greed or the glory. Obviously that's not where S2 went at all, but it's was just something interesting to think about.

[generalluxun]

Based on their season 1 (Primarily) and season 2/3 (if you desire it) characterization. How do you think the characters and story of ML would develop had Marinette developed a crush on Chat & Adrien a crush on Marinette?

My thinking, taking out any given issues with the shows handling of the characters and just what I think makes sense for them based on extrapolation feels:

Ladybug is definitely a bit more overtly "Adorkable" in the publics eye, but the danger of the situation does stop her from stumbling over herself as much as Marinette did with Adrien. She is far more likely to be pushing for secret ID reveals, but probably through hints over overt action.

Adrien is not as forward with Marinette as he is as Chat with Ladybug. Even ignoring the Chat persona being an exaggeration, he also has his reputation and ingrained habits to think of. But Nino did ask him for date advice so I think he'd make more overt attempts at wooing her & probably push harder on Chloe to be nicer.

Gabriel probably hates this and may be stumping harder to yang Adrien out of school, which could force Adrien to be more quiet about his interest as well.

Chloe is... Not having a good time. Regardless of whether her feelings for Adrien are romantic, platonic, confused cos of sexuality or the like. He matters to her a lot but right after arriving at school is not only putting a lot of distance between them but seemingly holding their friendship for ransom to earn the approval of a girl Chloe has issue with.

Okay so thought about this:

Ladybug falls for Chat in Origins when he rushes in to defend her during one of her initial panic/what is happening moments. She's reminded of being protected by Socqueline (Derision is not canon, ever, but we can repurpose bits of it) She had resigned herself to being 'on her own' after her friend graduated (not expelled) now, here is someone else making her feel *safe* even in mortal peril.

She's still Ladybug, she's still the leader. She is very focused on 'protecting her protector' though. He's *her* kitty. If only he could be in more ways than are allowed...

She'll push Fu to include him more, she'll pay more attention and push to be her best self. Her plans will be a little less effective, like in Kuro Neko she's focusing too much on her partner. It won't be crippling though, but it hints at what she needs to work on.

Now on the second day when Adrien shows up, things go differently. Let's give the Limo a flat so he shows up without Chloé. The world is a bit spookier, are monsters common? He's nervous. He drops his books, and someone stoops to help him pick them up and their heads bump.

'oh ouch sorry. Here let me...' sure hands ruffle through hos hair, checking for an injury. Adrien looks up and *cue music* Marinette.

She's already set on being her 'best self' to live up to her Perfect Pawtner. So helping the new kid around? That's just what she should do!

On Adrien's end though he can't help but marvel at how much she reminds him of his mother(hear me out) He's been adrift since her disappearance. His father is distant, Nathalie is cold, and even though Chloé cares she's a hurricane in a ponytail. Marinette;leading him to the classroom, showing him his seat, and giving him tips, makes him feel *safe*. (Woo parallels!) He falls hard and fast.

He becomes a Marinette stan, furst to support her. First to go the extra mile. Talking her up and excited to see what she will do next. Every step she takes to be the 'everyday Ladybug' only males him fall harder. The 'weakspot' he has to work on is how completely uncritical he is, after all his mother could do no wrong! He doesn't make the conscious connection, but he treats Marinette the same. She's not a memory of a mother though, she's a living breathing 14yr old. She will and should make mistakes. Adrien discounts them too much, excusing/rationalizing/redirecting her shortcomings which actually inhibits her growth. 'I was wrong' is something everyone needs as a part of their life.

Chloé is in fact having a bad time(maybe?) she can't bully or daddy her way out of this. Adrien gushes about Marinette and Chloé's initial 'ewww' turns him instantly cold (only briefly though) but it is a warning. If she wants to win she has to *beat* Marinette. She needs to be better, smarter, stronger, she can't fake it. She has to compete and win! Hijinks/rivalry ensues (Marinette isn't competing for Adrien, but the chance to show up Chloé is cathartic as heck!)

What's fascinating is how various other things will shake out. Chloé's 'daddy' goes unused, most people get ignored. She can't push and shove her way out of this. Alya has to listen to Marinette gushing about Cat Noir (she knitted herself a pawprint sweater that she sleeps in, but she has to keep fangirling on the down low in public so she doesn't clue in whoever CN really is!) Nino's crush on Marinette is DoA. Do he and Alya still get together? Adrien's in Nino's ear about Mari every day.

Does Alya pull Chloé aside and say 'wtf are you even doing?' emboldened by the blonde's shift from dominance to competition. Foes Sabrina branch out, being Chloé's 'trainer' for a myriad competitions. She(they) could come into contact with a lot more people.

It's a whole AU in the making.

[ladykatibeth]

ok, I know ppl think the singing to each other was cringe but like!!!!! i don't care because the!!!! implications of it!!!!! like!!!!! I've posted about this before but!!! for an Angel who originally couldn't tell the difference between noise and music until Beelzebub pointed it out, Gabriel sure does Sing their song a lot-- something something, singing being inherenrly a behavior, not an art; something something, human beings sing when they are happy, even if they sing like shit and they know they sing like shit, they will sing, because happiness always begets singing. Something something, Gabriel being so happy with Beelzebub, he not only learns what music is, but learns to make it-- to SING it, as well!!

and then. singing as an indication that he'd fallen in love!! he never used to sing-- that's obvious from how surprised aziraphale was to hear him do it as jim. it's just noise, usually! but suddenly he's going around, humming under his breath, memorizing lyrics, smiling to himself as he does it. and he does it often enough that beelzebub knows how to harmonize with him!! like!!!!!! excuse you, you two, i need you to tell me when this lil habit started pls

but also!! there isn't always a juke box. or a radio. or a speaker. and it's weird to suddenly miracle the song to play from thin air, so gabriel sings it when they don't have anything to play it on. the song is always going to be there. in the juke box. and in gabriel. even when he wipes his mind, even if he can't remember a face or a name, something something his body keeps the score of their love. his mouth forms shapes around the sound of Them.

and then the song and the singing being the thing that graces their exit? lmao. bye. that is the most romantic shit i've come across. bravo.

No right like I adore these two’s ability to toe the line of sort of cringe but also 100% adorable. I saw another person say they were acting like 13 year olds, and that’s exactly it!

This is their very first love! Of course they’re being like that about it! How were you about your first love? I can guarantee for most people it was silly and awkward and cute.

And I just adore that. These people who have never had anyone else before—finally getting the opportunity to just be emotional and silly about everything.

And like—frankly Angels and Demons are just naturally a little socially inept, but also….this is the first time they’ve had a just positive relationship with someone else, they have no pre-conceived notions, it’s like love concentrated.

They’re doing love instinctively! And I’ve heard people say the difference is them being celestial, but actually it’s so so human.

Human’s sing to each other as a form of romance, but it’s also private. Like….that’s a romantic trope, humans have they’re own songs, specially for they’re special Romance—(cue our song by Taylor Swift)

But it’s also such young love to, adult humans have specific things they give each other than mean romance, pretty rocks and metal on chains, flowers, chocolate—

Meanwhile an Elementary schooler withe a crush with give them whatever they have that they think is cool on hand—like a fly in a match box for example.

I’m sorry it’s just—-awnbdhdjnd.

These ancient celestial beings, being able to be young and in love…..

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

How do you feel about Felix?

Canon hasn't given Felix enough consistency or core elements for me to have feelings about him. Every time he shows up, he's basically a new character, meaning that I have no idea who he's supposed to be which makes it pretty hard to summon any feelings beyond confusion and occasionally annoyance.

I'm not the sort of person who delights in taking a drop of potential and shaping it into a full character in the context of fandom. I save that stuff for my original fiction. While I do a lot of fix it content, my main draw to fandom is still playing with the established characters/lore/world and so on. I want to create stories and takes on these characters that feel genuine to other fans. That's the fun and the writing challenge. I can't really do that with Felix. Canon has given me nothing solid to work with.

Let's quickly contrast him to Nino since I recently discussed how badly canon has handled Nino and how I had to do a lot of redesigning to make Nino work in my stuff. The core of my Nino redesign comes from canon because it's all firmly rooted in the fact that this guy is supposed to be Carapace, The Protector. Add in the fact that he's Adrien's best friend and Alya's boyfriend - two characters with pretty strong core characterizations - and I'm good to go. Those are strong anchors to work with!

If you removed those elements and Nino was just Adrien's best friend, then I'd probably have no idea what to do with Nino because that's a pretty nebulous role. This is Felix's problem. You can go almost anywhere with his character because nothing about him gives him a clear role in the narrative!

Does Felix care about Adrien? No idea! He's done nothing to help Adrien or make his life better, so my guess is no, but Felix is a good guy now so maybe???

Does Felix actually love Kagami? No clue, their romance is based on nothing of substance. As best I can tell, he just decided that all humans save for his mom were worthless and the show is heavily heteronormative, so he obviously wants a girlfriend and Kagami is kind of his only option unless he makes himself a sentigirlfriend. It's a very weird way to write their relationship. If I were writing this, he'd contact Kagami for some greater plan and fall in love as they worked together, but nope! We get deeply confusing insta love that starts with stalking leading to a kidnapping and ending with them together because this show is incapable of showing healthy romance!

Side note, but with how poorly they've handled Marinette and Adrien's crushes, can you imagine theses writers trying to write a setup where the male lead was actively trying to trick the female lead into loving him (which was the set-up when Felix was the lead)? I think that PV Felix would come across even worse than our current heroes do!

Is Felix okay with people using the peacock? I thought that the answer was "no," but he's happy to use the peacock for pretty mundane things, so who knows? I seriously can't tell you what Felix's attitude towards sentimonsters is. I thought that he was a freedom fighter after that moment in Strikeback where he apologized because I thought that he was apologizing to Strikeback, but now I'm thinking that he may have been apologizing to Ladybug because he was about to betray her??? I don't know, my new best guess is that he only wanted the peacock for protection and that he cares about no one outside himself and those he's deemed worthy. Most sentimonsters are just tools to him. He's basically lost all depth in this area because that would mean treating the sentimonster thing seriously and the show isn't going to do that.

Did Felix care if Gabriel destroyed the world? I don't think so. He didn't really help with Gabriel's "defeat". Felix spent the entire season knowing everything, but didn't tell anyone until it would personally benefit him. That benefit had nothing to do with a fear of Gabriel or even a desire to be a hero like one might expect since he's apparently part of the team now. We didn't even get Kagami making Felix want to be a hero who defends the world or even just a hero who helps his cousin. It was Kagami and Felix wanting to be together more openly and nothing else. Who cares about protecting the world or helping friends? We just wanna be able to go on dates and make out a bit, so can you fix that for us, LB? It's not like you've got anything else on your plate right now!

What a deeply selfish and unheroic motivation for both of our supposed heroes. Remind me, what has Kagami done to earn her miraculous? Because - as far as I can tell - she's really not suited to being a hero anymore. Season five made her look like a selfish, gullible fool.

While we're on the topic of how "heroic" Felix is, I'll also point out that, after this big reveal, Felix disappears. He doesn't help with the final fight or anything like that even though he has all the information on what was going on and a god-tier power set that could be used to free the people being controlled by the rings. Not sure if this is supposed to read as him not caring or just the writers pretending that Felix doesn't exist because letting him fight would undermine Marinette's role since Felix's powers are so much stronger than hers.

Is Felix some sort of genius mastermind? The show seems to want me to say, "yes" to this, but they've never actually written him as all that clever. Much like Lila, his plans really only work because the plot makes them work. For example, he didn't get the miraculous due to clever plotting. He got them because of shear dumb luck. Ladybug could have wielded the dog herself and he'd have been screwed. Same goes for her taking the dog back after he was done using it since he was by no means needed after they took down Risk. I still don't understand how Gabriel was able to open her summoned yo-yo or why Felix waited until the train to check if he had the real miraculous. Basically, the writers really had to warp the show's logic to make Felix's win work.

So who is Felix? No idea! The only thing I can say for certain is that he loves his mom and that's really not enough for me to work with if I want to write a Felix that feels true to canon. Almost any take on him feels true to canon at this point because he's a nothing burger. He has all of the substance of unset jello.

I was briefly excited about his character when I thought that his season four role was setting him up for something big in season five, but then he showed up in Emotion and my excitement died. What even was that episode? It's written like a mental breakdown, but it was foreshadowed in Destruction, so was it a mental breakdown or was this seriously the best plan that Felix could come up with after several weeks of plotting?

To put this in perspective, Gabriel came up with and created the Alliance rings faster than Felix came up with and created with Red Moon, a sentimonster that took him all of two seconds to create. I am unimpressed.

[rafaelsilvasource]

The 9-1-1: Lone Star team initially envisioned a different path for Rafael Silva's Carlos Reyes.

At the start of the show, the Austin police officer was meant to head down the detective path, says co-showrunner Rashad Raisani. But then, as the character's relationship with his father, Gabriel (Benito Martinez), evolved, it became clear that he was destined to follow in his dad's footsteps as a Texas Ranger — even if that decision is a little controversial.

Being from Texas, Raisani is well aware the Texas Rangers have a "complicated history" filled with racism and violence. "We've always approached the Rangers acknowledging they do not have a spotless record," the executive producer tells Entertainment Weekly. "And, in many ways, I wanted to distance the show from the Rangers at first. But then I also see now the value that it has in the modern era, what it's evolved into."

"In a weird way, it really reflected how Carlos felt about his dad: that his dad was this guy who he had seen as this force of not being accepted [because he is gay]. And then, as their relationship progressed, he ended up having this very beautiful relationship with his father. And so we thought what Gabriel Reyes represented was the transformation, we hope, of where the Texas Rangers are going — which is to become a much more egalitarian, social justice-conscious organization. And who epitomizes that better than Carlos?"

That plan fully solidified after the writers decided to kill off Gabriel in the season 4 finale. "Once we had that," says Raisani, "we definitely started thinking Carlos's end game is Texas Ranger."

The season 5 premiere introduced Carlos' new gig, with the greenhorn Ranger helping solve a series of bank heists, begrudgingly working alongside Ranger Campbell (Parker Young).

Raisani says they knew Ranger Campbell "was going to be a major character from day one" but he was originally envisioned "as more of a Woody Harrelson, True Detective" vibe, "a little bit more old-timer, seen it all, done that. A little rye Texas guy who kind of busts Carlos' balls." But then Raisani thought of Young, who had starred on a pilot he'd worked on years ago. "I just thought he was wonderful," says Raisani. "He was actually going to do a pilot, or he was going to do some other show. But then, for whatever reason, he suddenly became available to us at the last minute, and so I begged him to come and join us for this arc."

"He had this sort of Glen Powell energy of being funny and wry and Texan," Raisani says of Young. "And I also thought his chemistry would be really interesting to watch with Rafael — because just like their characters, Parker is a little older than Rafael, he's more experienced. Rafael is a younger actor, and they've infused that into the way they play. They start as rivals, sort of big brother and little brother. They're fighting for daddy's love, right? That's what the first episode is about. Big brother doesn't like that little brother has an in with the boss because they were friends with Gabriel."

But they won't stay rivals, Raisani promises. "I won't get into everything you're going to see because it goes to lots of interesting places," he says. "They don't like each other at first, but you see them form this beautiful partnership as we go forward. I promised Parker that we would go lots of places with his arc, and I feel like he would say we honored that promise."

Raisani also teases that Carlos will continue to investigate his father's murder as he continues to grow as a Ranger. "It goes deeper and darker in some later episodes, where [Rafael is] really carrying these stories like a leading man, with emotional complexity. The Rangers deal with ... It's not just 911, someone broke into my house. It's drug trafficking and it's counter-terrorism, it's just a much darker world for him, and he does it beautifully."

But he also takes work home with him to new husband TK (Ronen Rubinstein): "It affects their relationship, and TK helps him," says Raisani. "I hope you'll see that being a Ranger doesn't just deepen his character, but it also enriches TK and allows TK to enrich him."

[bengerm]

sorry for the bombardment of gabe stuff but...I have more..and lore!

He is dyslexic! And forgot his kill count! He's convinced it was only 16 but it is in fact 19! He originally planned to take out 20 but unfortunately couldn't get to them on time...

He had a wife, her name was Judy; she was unfortunately killed in a nasty hit and run after her grocery bag broke while crossing the street. The man who hit her was let free by a biased trial, in which Gabriel was present.

This caused him to pretty much go out for vengeance! Taking out all but 1 of the people who produced an unfair trial. His last victim was a widower who lived in Button House where he took his own life to escape police, thinking he'd finally join his wife in the paradise upstairs...

He didn’t.