#but a rewatch mind change my opinion once i have a better grasp how the plot twist influenced the story/theme before

[littlebigmouse]

I saw Fight Club for the first time yesterday and to the best of my memory, this was the second time I consciously noticed Edward Norton in a movie (I have a bad memory for actor's names and faces, I may have seen him around but wouldn't know).

The first time was Primal Fear.

This makes Edward Norton the second most specific type cast in hollywood in my book (right after the actress who played cinderella's evil stepsister in like, three different adaptations).

[tigerdrop]

i have a lot of trouble writing benrey in my fics— how did you experiment with his characterization until you were satisfied with it, and what other benny interpretations do u enjoy from other fic writers? i love the way you write him, his dialogue feels so authentic and believable.

AW thank u......it always makes my day to hear something nice about the way i characterize ppl......there were a lot of things i did to try to nail how he talks and thinks. thank u for asking this b/c i have a Lot to say about this subject

the first thing is, obv, watching the series. i have to include this one b/c i feel like quite a few ppl in this fandom.....like.....havent. there is a certain way of characterizing him as an Epic Mischievous Gamer that is, uhhh, very much a fanon thing that ppl see on tumblr and imitate and flanderize all to hell. but, like, im an obsessive little weirdo who will rewatch things over and over again to take notes on characters’ behavior and dialogue and i really gotta recommend just sitting back and listening to how benrey talks.

hes not dropping gamer references constantly. hes not making every single sentence out of his mouth some obnoxious quip. hes slow on the uptake and drops conversations entirely if he doesnt care about them. he has never once said “cringe” before and whenever i see a fic that has him doing it multiple times i feel minutes shaved off of my lifespan. the #1 tip i can give here is to not have benrey talking in fucking 2010s gamer lingo every time he opens his mouth. please

(i feel partially responsible for the spread of this kind of characterization. my first 2 fics have him doing stuff like that every once in awhile. sometimes i debate going back and changing them, but like, benrey saying “poggers” one time aside, i think they hold up pretty good. so i havent. something something historical accuracy)

the more i wrote about him, the more i tried digging into the aspects of his character that i found the most appealing. some people are really into his polite side. i am really into his bullying side. so i would watch the bits where benrey really has his “gordon bullying” mode cranked up to 11 and make note of how he acts, how he talks. trying to replicate it. “benrey saying epic random shit to piss gordon off” is much less his vibe than, like, demeaning gordon, and i feel like the bathroom skit is the ultimate manifestation of this. it is genuinely my favorite bit in the whole series b/c its so ideally representative of their weird-ass dynamic. this fuckin high school bullying LARP in the middle of a public restroom. god in heaven

the less you lean on the crutches of “gamer lingo” and “wacky non-sequitur”, the more it forces you to think about how he behaves. what motivates him. and generally, like, he operates on his own wavelength. he doesnt fully understand everything thats going on around him and selectively chooses what he tunes into. and, most importantly, he just wants to play games, man. benrey likes goofing off with the science crew and playing mind games with gordon. he fails to understand the gravity of his actions a lot of the time b/c hes not human, and hes not operating under the same social guidelines.

(this is the part where people like to speculate exactly what kind of non-human he is, and i think this can be helpful for setting up his motivations! me, personally, i am of the opinion that hes just a video game guy made real. kind of like a live-action cartoon character. so hes operating on video game logic a lot of the time, and doesnt grasp that consequences for actions are different for normal people who cant noclip or respawn. a kind of lack of empathy that manifests in him being capricious, indifferent, detached......purely oriented around “getting his job done” and “chilling” and, naturally, “fucking with gordon freeman“.)

ultimately it boils down to distilling just what i like out of their interactions and trying to Manifest it repeatedly. i go crazy about their actual canon interactions and i want to write things that hit the notes i like: two guys who are mutually kind of obsessed with one another, for better or worse, and engage in a lot of play fighting (and, you know, genuine fighting, too) as a sublimation of it. best frenemies, if you will.

i think that a lot of the problems people have in writing benrey is that they kinda just project whatever attributes they want in a lover onto him. like, man, i like cute shit as much as the next guy, but do you really think that the dude who bullies gordon freeman while hes having a panic attack is gonna tenderly stroke gordons hair and wipe his tears and tell him that everythings gonna be okay? no, dude. even when benrey expresses any kind of concern, he does it in a way that communicates that he doesnt understand the gravity of whats going on and he doesnt “get” why gordons lying on the ground yelling, or why gordons howling in pain after getting his arm cut off. he is not an empathetic guy. hes actually kind of a creep!!! a lil freakjob! the weirdness and the lack of humanity are what make him hot!!!!

and this is what makes it own so hard on the rare occasions he does show empathy! its the same reason why its so cute when gordon stops bitching for 0.5 seconds and tries to be nice! theyre earned moments, not character defaults. and cutesy/lovey-dovey shit with these two is definitely doable, but i would love to see more of it take into account the fact that these are two dudes who fucking suck and who especially suck at being emotionally open with each other.

as far as characterizations that i really like........okay. full disclosure. the biggest reason ive been losing my shit over the catmaid freemind fic is b/c the author is one of the few people who really taps in to what i like about benrey, and what i like about his relationship with gordon. hes teasing. he likes to use his perceived authority to bully people. hes weirdly protective of gordon. but hes also just, like, a chill dude who wants to play video games. and he legit likes gordon and expresses affection for him in some of the most in-character ways ive ever seen

like. deliberately spilling milk on the couch and flatly going like “oops.” b/c he wants gordon to sleep in his room......playing nurse by doing fuck-all apart from giving gordon powerade while hes sick and keeping the volume on his video games low......kicking barmey under the table for making fun of gordon being dogboyed.......it is all exceptionally cute shit and its delightfully in-character. i feel so bad for the author b/c im a frenrey head and i am primarily reading it for those two. but god they do it so well.......im hooked. im obsessed

thank u again for asking this and for the lovely compliment ^q^ i hope this answered your question......i have spent entirely too much of my life thinking about my favorite half life funny guy

[cherrysha]

If You Let Me

my stupid ass laptop crashed while writing this so i think that meant i should post it asap. Anyway i rewatched the chimera ant arc and Shoot’s transformation inspired me to make sad smut because yall kno i cant stay away from angst. i hope this hurts in a good way! feel free to tell me ur thoughts and opinions!

Summary: After surviving the Chimera Ants, Shoot comes back into your life after years of being gone, claiming to be a changed man. But you’re tired of being his only when he needs you.

Word count: 2,848

My requests are open atm

Warnings: dubcon, angst, fingering, oral sex

18+ crowd here. No minors should be reading this

You see him there. Standing in front of the store window. He doesn’t do anything, just stares until you notice him before disappearing into the crowded city streets. You can’t help but be shocked. He’d been gone for years, leaving you to wallow in your misery and self doubt.

Four hours left in your shift and you didn’t have to guess where you’d find him. Probably in the same place he always was when he decided to show up again. Every minute you stood there, greeting customers and cleaning up after them you couldn’t help but the think of what you’d actually say to him.

What you wanted was to yell, to scream until your voice left you. Maybe you’d quietly tell him to leave and never come back. But you’d done all of that before. No matter what you had to put your foot down. You shouldn’t have let it continue for so long anyway.

-

Four hours later and your hunch was correct. Door still locked, he sat right at your kitchen table nonchalantly leaning back as if he belonged there. At one point he did, but the memory of it alone is enough to make your chest ache.

“What is it Shoot?” You sigh, dropping your bag and keys on the table. You follow suit, dropping into a chair to sit across from him.

He’s quiet as you sit down, hand fiddling with the material of his shirt. Nervous habit, you knew all too well how hard they were to break.

“Why are you so upset?” And he asks it as if there’s nothing wrong. Like it was normal for him to be here. Your irritation was only growing as you stared at the man in front of you.

“What a stupid question.” You mumble, pulling a cigarette out of the pack in your pocket. Before you have time to react he’s crushing it between his fingers, eyes trained on you while he speaks

“I thought you stopped smoking.” It’s almost a question and his eyes are full of concern.

“Believe it or not, a lot changes when you’re not here. My life keeps moving without you.”

“Ah” he says, as if he’s finally realizing it.

“Do you think I might’ve changed since we last met?” You give him a once over, shaking your head ‘no’ before he continues.

“Maybe you can’t see it.” His eyes are guarded as he waits for your reaction. You know what this is before he even has time to finish. He was trying to sway you, make you believe he was different and let him stay for the night. And in the morning you’d be alone again.

“Ah..” you sigh, mimicking him. With a nod of your head, you pretend to play along.

“How many hours are you going to be a changed man?” You cross your arms “One? Two? Are you going to at least wait until I fall asleep this time?”

He lets out an exasperated sigh, finally letting an emotion play across his face. Irritation. How ironic. “Why do you have to be so -“

“You’re the one who decided to leave, Shoot.”

“And you always let me come back.” he says calmly. “How do you think I feel?” There’s guilt in his eyes, as if he means to say that  he knows the pain he’s caused and that it’s eating him alive. But the way it sounds when it hits your ears is that because you accepted him over and over again, you’ve caused him unnecessary grief. His words are enough to make you overlook the sad expression lingering on his face.

“Oh no... don’t you sit there and try to blame this on me! You left. I didn’t. Don’t make yourself out to be the victim here Shoot! I didn’t fuck up your emotions. That was all you!” There’s a pause as he stares at you. That’s how he always was. Always so composed but you could tell what he was thinking nonetheless.

“That’s not what I was trying to do” and there’s this resolve in his voice, as if he’s accepted the fact that this isn’t going in the direction he wanted it to.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, closing your eyes before responding. “Well, what were you trying to do then?”

And you know the your next words are harsh, but after years of holding your tongue you don’t care to mince your words for his benefit. He pauses to consider your question and that’s when you say it “Or do you not want to talk about it like usual? It’s just too fucking difficult you’re gunna have to run away like you always do, right?”

All he does is grit his teeth. But it’s that reaction alone tells you the most. Like the flip of a switch, anger swallowed any sadness that was left on his face, and that was enough to prove him right. He wasn’t the person who left you all those years ago. You lean back in your chair with a sigh, choosing to ignore the tension in the room and his piercing gaze. No, this wasn’t the same Shoot. he should’ve left by now. But you know old dogs rarely learn new tricks. Just because he learned a new one didn’t mean he was the type of man to stay. He’d proven that time and time again.

“The doors open, Shoot.”

You rub your temples. This exchange has already dragged on far too long and the exhaustion you felt earlier from work was slowly returning to you.

He chuckles, it’s something dark and it makes your eyes snap open to look at him. He looks relaxed, like he’d finally gotten what he came for. But there’s tension hidden in his body. The loose fabric of his clothes couldn’t hide that.

“You always liked to hear yourself talk.”

And he says it as if he hasn’t been gone for years. Says it like you’re willing to concede if he just pushes hard enough. If he pressed the right buttons. It makes your stomach turn. Not again. You were done with this game.

“Yeah and look what good that did me.” You counter his laugh with a smile that doesn’t reach your eyes. “All that begging and I still ended up alone.”

You get up before you have time to see his reaction. it’s over, you shouldn’t care about the sting your words would leave him with. Slowly you move behind him to the balcony, letting your arms hold you tight, as if to keep yourself from falling apart.

You were too tired to be angry, too exhausted to bicker with him much longer. Yes, you loved him. Loved him since you were kids and that’s why you knew better than anyone that his word meant nothing. He was a man of inaction, it was in his nature to flee at the first sign of a fight. And after all these years, you loved him even though he was nothing but a coward.

You could give in tonight and wake up with an empty bed in the morning, or save yourself the heartache and make him leave right now.

The view on the balcony wasn’t bad for how cheap this place was. City stretched before you, lights and people converging as if it was just one giant organism. The sun was setting but, in a place like this there was rarely any peace. People scurried like ants, darting around as they quickly made their way home, to work, to restaurants and clubs. This big city with all these people and he still managed to find the one he was looking for. All so he could satisfy his guilt while paying no mind to how you felt. Yeah, It was time.

“The door, Shoot. It was nice catching up but I have work in the morning.” It’s quiet but you know he’s heard you.

There’s some shuffling as he gets up and you don’t let yourself turn around to see him leave again. You know what it looks like and you know the emotion that would climb it’s way out of your chest if you saw it one more time.

What you don’t expect is the feeling of his chest pressing against your back. The warmth there enough to make you release a quiet gasp. You were almost positive he would’ve taken the opportunity to leave. His arm pulls you closer as the words leave his lips.

“I’m sorry”

“I’ve heard it.” You snap, willing the anger and frustration back down your throat. “I’ve heard the ‘I love you’s and the promises to change before, Shoot. I’ve heard it all.” You can’t help it when your voice cracks, or the tears that start sliding down your face.

“Just save it and leave. Don’t make it even harder for me.”

He turns you around and he’s wearing this expression you haven’t seen on him before. You’d call it determination, that was the only thing you could describe it as, but there was something else there too.

His movements are slow and you can already tell where this is headed. In a few moments his lips are on yours, fingers tight against your chin holding you in place. You try to fight it, try to pull away but he can tell that the effort is half hearted and it only spurs him on even more. If you truly didn’t want it you would’ve stopped him earlier.

After a few seconds you give in to the taste of his mouth mixed with tears. It’s warm, it’s familiar and you can’t help but lean into it. You know it’s wrong but it’s too late to stop. When he finally lets you go you’ve shattered in his grasp. Resolve broken, there’s nothing left to hold back the flood of emotion that’s built up inside of you for years.

“I hate you!” You scream. And you hope beyond anything that the same man who would leave is still in there. You could pick up the pieces later but if he stayed it’d only be worse once he was gone. You try to push him away, tears soaking your shirt as you shove against his unforgiving chest.

“I hate you.. I hate you.” The words slowly fizzle into sobs that wrack through your body. Shoot only pulls you closer, arm coming to fit snug against your waist.

“I’m not leaving, y/n. Huh? Look at me. I’m not leaving.”

You can barely see through the tears flooding your eyes but it’s there. That resoluteness etched deep within the lines of his face. You prayed it was deep enough for him to have changed, you prayed it was shallow enough for him to leave for the final time and spare the ache in your heart. You prayed to be free of this cycle.

You lean into his chest, immediately soaking the fabric there. Your voice is a whisper when you finally speak again.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t have to.” He whispers, ”Just give me a chance to prove it.”

You don’t speak, don’t react as he lifts you up and carries you inside. How long has it been since he was here? In your apartment? Your bedroom? You don’t remember, but it feels like a thousand lifetimes ago.

Soft kisses litter your pliant body as soon as he lays you on the bed. It’s different than the usual way he’s done it. Something tender flows through him and into you with each press of his mouth. Maybe he can sense that you’ve given up. It didn’t matter how hard you tried to fight it, you always ended up underneath him.

But there’s something so guilt free about the way he undresses you, lays you before him and gives a kiss to your mound. his touch is far sweeter than what you’ve come to expect. Before, he’d rush quickly through the act to outrun the guilt that slowly built up inside of him. But now, he takes his time, savoring every minute he can as his mouth sucks bruises into your hips. your thighs. There’s a tender moment before he buries his face between your them, quickly licking a stripe up your center before stopping to suck on your sensitive clit. Once he has a taste he can’t stop himself from taking what he came for. He doesn’t have the patience to.

Whimpers mix with the sobs that leave your throat. You could never help the way your body responded to his touch, couldn’t help the way slick dripped down your thighs at the mere thought of his mouth on you. And he doesn’t let any of it go to waste, lapping up everything you have to offer him. He’s starved, and now was his chance to have as much as he wanted.

He had been selfish, he knew that. But as much as he was giving right now he was aware of how much he was taking. This was no different. Your body underneath his. Legs tight around him as he ate his fill and then some, not stopping when you arched against him. A broken wail leaves your throat. No, he was still selfish. He needed all of you, every last drop.

There’s no break, no rest as he pushes you over the edge. You can tell he’s not trying to make up for lost time. He couldn’t change the past or the mistakes he’d made along the way. It wasn’t guilt either. No sadness in his face or in his movements against you. It was a desperate need that drove him, nothing more. You’d never seen this much of him. Still fully clothed, he left his heart lying naked on the sheets for you to see. It’s so overwhelming that it makes your head spin. Coupled with the orgasm still rushing through your body, it was enough to make you go limp beneath him. Before you know it, he’s lifting his mouth off of you, giving you respite from the pleasure for only a few seconds. Shoot kneels between your open legs as he deftly pushes two fingers deep within your cunt.

It’s indescribable. You hadn’t felt this good in such a long time, the pleasure of your last orgasm still so fresh that his thumb moving against your clit bordered on painful.

“I love you” and he says it like it’s not a mere feeling, but an absolute fact. His eyes bore into you, stern expression on his face as he fucks his digits in and out of your soaked core. He feels it. The clench around him as he says it. There’s no denying what his words are doing.

“Stop it Shoot.” The tears come back again with a vengeance as you cover your face with your arm. He speeds up, thumb brushing quicker at the bud hidden between your folds.

“I love you y/n”  and there’s this conviction in his voice you can’t ignore. But you know better. Sobs shake your body as you clench tight around him again. If he kept it up you weren’t going to last very long.

He’s moving, determined expression still on his face as he kisses his way up your stomach to your chest, nipping at a pert nipple before giving the same attention to the other. His lips are on your neck, sucking and biting dark bruises into your sensitive skin.

“You don’t have to say it. You’ve done enough for me sweetheart.”

His warm mouth presses against the hollow of your neck before continuing.

“Just come for me okay?”

You can’t help but to obey. You whine as your body tightens around him before it suddenly lets go. All the pain, the hurt, the betrayal is forgotten as he works his tongue into your mouth, taking every noise you make for himself. It’s mind numbing and the wind is knocked from you at the sheer force of it. You move your arm to fist the sheets underneath you, an electric current still pulsing through your veins as he stills his digits inside and switches to just lazily rubbing your clit in circles.

Shoot watches with rapture at the pleasure on your face, eyes red with tears and lips swollen from his mouth. He wanted more. Wanted to take everything you could give him and then some. To make you cry with pleasure as he pushed your body to it’s limits. But this night wasn’t for him and he was aware that you had given everything you could. It wasn’t about what he wanted. So he pulls his fingers out and undresses, shushing you when you start to tell him you can’t, your too tired. “I don’t want that” he whispers.

He crawls in bed next to you, holding your naked body close as he places kisses to your neck. your breathing evens out and you fall asleep much quicker than he expected. but it was okay. In the morning he’d be there. He’d prove himself to you and would take whatever you were willing to give afterwards

[kisilinramblings]

There's a lot of talking about Adrien's abused life as people pointed it over and over. But I've never really see an opinion about Adrien failures in Desperada (the 25k second chances also him hearing lb herserf told him that they don't need cn just to retract back on the other timeline) and Reflekdoll (failed to solve his lucky charm and "I'm can't be ladybug" thing) that not salty. Do you mind if I ask for your opinion for those? Thank you!

I had to rewatch the two episodes in question since it has been a while. I can tell you both cases aren’t the same because the stakes in for Adrien are in no way similar.

Basically, Adrien was way more impacted by his failure as Aspik than as Mister Bug. Because, as Aspik, he was on his own. Ladybug in Desperada had no way of remembering anything unlike Aspik. And because he was trying to reach his dream of having Ladybug fall for him along with his fearing Ladybug would not love him if he failed her, he pressured himself greatly to perform and excel. There wasn’t anything of the sort in Reflekdoll.

Mister Bug struggled, yes, but he wasn’t pressured because there was Lady Noire to back him up. When he was in a pickle, he had no shame admitting he needed help. He didn’t fail thanks to Lady Noire. He was able to capture both the Akuma and the Amok because he could rely on her. And he wasn’t disappointed to not have the responsabilities of the Ladybug Miraculous  anymore and much  more prefer focus on assisting Ladybug instead.

Keep reading if you want a more detailed analysis

In Desparada, Adrien was desperate to try impress Ladybug as Aspik instead of fighting the villain. He didn’t want to be Chat Noir, but wanted to be the one Ladybug needed.

Ladybug wanted to give Adrien -- him -- a Miraculous. From Adrien’s perspective, Ladybug barely knows his civilian self, but it meant she has noticed him and trust him enough to give him a Miraculous. Better, she thinks he is perfect for the job. 

Adrien : Plagg, Ladybug needs me! She needs Adrien! Plagg : If you ask me, this whole idea is worst than cheese in a can. Adrien : She thinks I’m the perfect guy for this mission. Plagg : You can’t be Chat Noir AND another superhero at the same time which means you are NOT the perfect guy for this mission. Adrien : The Lucky Charm told her I am.  Plagg : That’s not how it works. *sigh* Why am I bothering? You’re not even listening. Adrien : This is my chance to get her to love me as myself, Adrien. I don’t care what costume it comes with, but I have to try. Ladybug chose me.

Adrien saw this as the occasion to have Ladybug fall in love with him. He was ready to give his all and be anyone Ladybug wanted him to be . At all cost, so long he could have Ladybug fall in love with him.

I found it interesting Adrien mentions the costume, drawing attention he doesn’t know which Miraculous it is nor the power he will have and it isn’t important for him. He simply wanted to have another chance at having Ladybug love him romantically and ironically ended up with a power that allowed him to retry as many times as he wanted. 

See, the personal stake is incredibly high for Adrien. Ladybug falling in love with him is his biggest dream. As Chat Noir, it is already established he is her partner and friend. Although he is fine with how things are, a part of him still longed for something more. For Adrien, being Aspik is a fresh start and he has to make a solid impression in order for it to work. Or so he believes.

At first, he tries to charm her. He gave her flowers, try to confess to her, revealing he is Chat Noir, etc. The fact that, in the first loop, LB initially said “We don’t need Chat Noir”, he was a bit hurt, yes, but on further attempts, he is the one who convinces her (and himself) they can make it as Aspik and Ladybug only. That they are the perfect couple team. But we see his convictions crumbling slowly away.

Aspik : No time to wait for Chat Noir. We’re fine without him. You’ll see, We’re going to make an awesome team.

(Later, in another loop)

Aspik : Trust me. We’ve been through this before. Ladybug : Shouldn’t we wait for Chat Noir? Aspik : No need. Let’s try a different exit this time. Ladybug : So, you saved my life several times already? I knew-- Aspik :We’d make an awesome team? I hope you’re right. 

Each time though, LB gets captured. Each times, he fails to protect her. Each time, he loses her.

After trying everything he could think of -- after 25 913 attempts -- he finally gives up. He comes to the realization it will never work out. That he is not the perfect guy Ladybug wanted him to be. He is failing her, disappointing her. And that takes courage to accept that. 

No one likes to disappoint. However, this can become a serious issue if one’s previous experiences of disappointing someone or at failing something had lead them to be punished. And in Adrien’s case, this is not uncommon. His father abuses of his parental authority. Adrien does a false note during an evaluative recital? Okay, you cannot go see your friends like I had promised you because this performance was unsatisfactory. You need to stay here and practice instead of having fun. 

Combine that with Adrien’s fear to be unloved by those he cares about and there you have his persistence in Desperada. When Adrien holds himself and turns his back to Ladybug, it feel like he was scared of what her reaction would be. He was so surprised when -- despite failing her -- Ladybug thanks him anyway for his humongous efforts and gives him a cheek kiss.

I also would like to point out the development there. When Chat Noir has learned who Ladybug intended to give the Miraculous to, Chat Noir hides away Luka, so Ladybug wouldn’t consider to give him the Miraculous instead of Adrien. So when Luka shows up later, Adrien is fine with being replaced and suggests Luka to be the Snake Holder instead. 

Anyway, that personal stake and conflict Adrien had during Desperada isn’t there during Reflekdoll.

For one, the situation of the Kwami Swap is improvised. They didn’t purposefully switch their Miraculous to prove something to the other. It simply happened like that and they roll with it. There were no personal motives and gain for any of them to switch their Miraculous. They needed to act and went with the option that appeared to them.

Secondly, Lady Noire asked Mister Bug which option he was prefering early on once they were re-united and they both had a grasp of what they were fighting. She offered him to switch back if he prefered. So, from the beginning, she takes no issue with the reversed role so long the job gets done and Paris is saved. And Mister Bug agreed to that. He saw her in action a hundred times. Surely he can manage, right?

Thirdly, the conflict in Reflekdoll was that Chat Noir didn’t understand why Ladybug was so serious when they are fighting Akumas. She made a valid reproach at Chat Noir at the very begining of the episode, that his little joke almost ruined her Lucky Charm back there. His response? Basically, that she has no sense of humor. With the switch, Chat Noir better understand that it is not that Ladybug doesn’t want to joke and have fun, she doesn’t have the luxury to joke around because she is always analyzing things in battle and have to stay focused. 

Also, from the beginning, Lady Noire supervised Mister Bug. She explained the situation at hand, that they are fighting two opponents : an akumatized and a sentimonster. She stopped him from summoning his Lucky Charm or fixing the damages too early, again explaining herself each time. Lady Noire reminded Mister Bug what the Lucky Charm is about. It is not just an item to defeat the supervillain, you have to exactly figure out how to use it. She supported him, though not without mocking him back using some of his previous comments he made last time they saw each other against him. Nevertheless, Lady Noire protected Mister Bug because she is well aware the Ladybug Holder is the one who has to stay until the end. Plus, by being Lady Noire instead of Ladybug, her workload was lighten, so she had time to coach him, help him out and buying him time to solve his Lucky Charm. 

Mister Bug never refused Lady Noire’s assistance and advices. In fact, Lady Noire’s help was more than welcomed throughout the battle. What actually annoyed Mister Bug was when Lady Noire made fun of him instead of giving him an hand. That’s why he had no issue asking her to help him out figure the Lucky Charm. He had try but couldn’t find the solution AND they were running out of time. 

Again, in Reflekdoll, their goal is to defeat Reflekta and her sentimonster under an exceptional circumstance where their role got accidentally reversed. It was not about proving who had the most difficult job in the team, nor was it to show they other could do their job better. There was no ego at stake. Neither had anything to prove to the other. No one expected Mister Bug to be perfect or perform better than LB like it was the case with Aspik in Desperada. 

Since there was no expectations, there couldn’t have been disappointed. LB and CN are used to work as a team and they still worked as a team despite the Kwami Swap. The only change is it allowed Ladybug to have some fun while Chat Noir understood why Ladybug is so serious during battle. 

This experience made him realize the Ladybug Holder needs someone, not to distract them, but to assist them during battle so the Ladybug Holder can focused and accomplished their mission. And it was only by being in LB’s shoes CN could fully grasp this. Plus, it is not as if Chat Noir was desiring to be the head of their team or be the leader. Sure, he always dreamed of capturing the Akuma for fun, not because he wanted to be the star of the day. And again, Mister Bug had no issue in accepting Lady Noire to help him out. As Chat Noir, he had always been fine following LB’s lead and cues. That didn’t change in Reflekdoll. Because he is aware he couldn’t purify the Akuma or the Amok if they can’t even reach and break the object where they are hidden in. 

The fact Adrien admits he is not cutout to be the Ladybug Holder isn’t a defeat. If anything, he taught him how to be a better partner to Ladybug from now on. 

[ladyorigami]

I totally agree with you about how poorly they dealt with Five’s ptsd. Here’s to hoping season 3 has more slow moments between the siblings. How would you rewrite season 2 to improve upon what’s already been established? 👀

I’m going to get back to you on this. I need to rewatch the season to get a better grasp on what I want to say. But I think I’ll give a general summary on the siblings in general and how I felt they were represented/what I would like to have seen.

Loved Luther’s story because he is essentially back to his old way of living but in a more healthy way. It’s like he still can’t let go of what he’s known. He’s working under someone with power, but they treat him very well. It’s a healthier dynamic, a look into what sort of relationship he had/desired with Reginald back in the day. I feel like Luther got some great growth even if they didn’t outright show it. I’d appreciate if they didn’t always make him comedic relief though where his intelligence is concerned. I was also lowkey appalled that he considered killing Five. Like it was so easy for him to consider it and he just ‘felt a little bad’ for him. To me that’s just a level too far of comedy when it’s apparently so easy to for it to consider. He at least knows the little Five! He has no idea who the older Five is an yet....Also they need to make up their mind about the whole incest thing.

Allison obviously did great for herself. In such an era she was a keystone for change and this time she chose to not use her powers. She worked for everything she got, earned it all by her efforts. She got some of the best growth for sure. Had so many moments of character depth and struggle, if only all the other siblings were treated so well!

Vanya I’m iffy about because they gave her amnesia so it’s almost like they retconned her trauma AGAIN and that’s honestly annoying. But, her life on the farm is interesting and genuine. We all been knew she was bi so thank you for confirming. The side plot with Sissy’s kid was eh....it felt unnecessary. I would have loved to see some more time of her actually exploring and practicing with her powers. She seemed so confident in showing off her example to Reginald but we saw her use her powers like...twice before that lol It’s brand new. And of course the..no memories thing I dont know man, it’s annoying to see her repeat her story again. I want her to address her pain and to grow with it.

Ben also had some great depth and yet I still felt like he should have had more. Anytime he was genuinely angry/frustrated with Klaus’ lack of competence, they turned it into a ‘ohoho silly sibling fighting’ moment. I’ve mentioned this several times but TUA doesn’t seem to like characters to just feel out the moment. They always rush it or turn it into comedy. If they had kept Ben’s actual frustration and event resentment at times that he couldn’t be the one walking around, his ending with Vanya would have felt much more cathartic I think. That is such a beautiful scene, so he needed more time.

Klaus is Klaus. I don’t know. I love him but I don’t know what to say. Him talking to Dave when younger is so awkward and his cult plot point was eh. It’s Klaus. It feels like sometimes the show treats him like the siblings do. He’s funny, he’s quirky and can be in any situation but he has a lot of depth hidden in there. More than just ‘I want to save my dead bf’.

Diego got the short end of the stick in my personal opinion. I hate that they pawned the new girl onto him before we even got to see him alone. yes he has a gigantic hero complex, we know, but watching his heart get ripped out and stomped on AGAIN is an annoying trend that I didn’t think I’d be seeing. He legit had two modes the entire show: Save the President and Lila. 

Five is in limbo. I was happy about very specific scenes while dissatisfied at his growth as a whole. We had that fANTASTIC  potential of a scene, where he admits he can’t do it anymore, he’s done with killing and then they didn’t do anything with it. They took away any signs of his PTSD from the apocalypse from season 1 which is INFURIATING. He’s clearly exhausted from doing things he is basically forced into for his siblings but is also always treated as the accused. The scene with Reginald was great too but ONCE AGAIN they never just let the moment be. I think I’m so frustrated with his stuff because he’s my fav character and his killing scenes are iconic but every time there was a really deep scene it was never explored.

As a whole I feel some side plots, like Sissy’s child gaining powers or spending too much time watching Klaus’ cult was wasted time that could have been focused on more dynamics/better pacing. Once again we still know like, nothing about Reginald and the brief times we see him are no less enigmatic than the first season. Lila also needed a better introduction into the fray in my personal opinion, I was already so exasperated with her five minutes in and Diego falling for her in such a way I felt was so frustrating.

this is a pointless ramble but I maybe I’ll have more proper notes after another rewatch haha