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pateredere · 11 months ago

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ayo what's poppin it's gemma here ( s/h, 21+ ) & i am so beyond excited for opening day! i'll be writing for the park i canon, park jeongho, the mayor's son & current chairman of the urban construction committee! i've got a ton more info under the cut ( mild tw for abuse ) cause as usual i haven't learnt to shut my trap but if you're at all keen to plot with me please hit that LIKE button! would definitely prefer d*scord but i can do tumblr ims too ( just afraid of the shadowban ya kno )! but yes tysm mwah!

speaking directly to my sisters in the church of astrology he's a scorpio sun ( mysterious n evil coded basically ) / taurus moon ( craves stability ) / cap rising ( hardworking & efficient lil bastard ) so yeah he's a bit mad to say the least

only child of park jeongwon, the current mayor! to understand jeongho you need to understand a little bit about the parks, but essentially every way in which they move comes with a political agenda so it's no surprise that his parents' marriage is fully a political arrangement! the point of the marriage was to sire an heir and once jeongho was born his mom peaced the fuck out of parenting and went on her merry way living as the jobless wife of the wealthiest man in town! she probably had intended to care for jeongho to some degree but she peaced out honestly for survival ( more on that in the next dot point )

that said jeongho was brought up almost entirely by his father and what i mean by that is he was brought up by the help and criticised often by his father. jeongwon in a nutshell is a smart man honestly prodigy level smart ( think one of those kids who don't study and gets 100% on a test cause the answer is just "common sense" ) with zero empathy so what you get is a grating narcissist who thinks they're better than einstein and he expects no less of his son! most of jeongho's childhood was his father asking for jeongho's test scores and when it's not up to par he just gets smacked and berated and called an idiot kid and honestly he's not much nicer to his wife which is why she made herself scarce

that was essentially the entirety of jeongho's childhood and it lends to his ocpd which he developed at a relatively young age! most people mistake it for ocd but it's really not that he just has an extreme obsession with perfectionism, order and control so he gets irrationally upset when things are not absolutely perfect like everything in his wardrobe is colour-coded and organised by attire type and everyone needs to wash their hands before interacting with him and the help must clean the parts of the house that any human walks through so yeah it's honestly pretty bad but in typical ocpd style he sees no issue with this and thinks other people are just lazy and unclean

anyway as per usual after high school he fucks off to the army and serves in the navy! he chose the navy mostly because jeongho had found goero's ocean to be really calming and had spent a lot of his youth swimming there when he needed to escape his dad! it's when he's in the army that he finds out his cousin passes which honestly is a shame because he liked jeongbin but at the end of the day jeongho wasn't really super close to him so it was kind of whatever

...which explains why he decides it's a good idea to scoop the late jeongbin's girlfriend and attempt to marry her!? as i said everything the parks do is politically motivated and there is no better political move frankly than to marry a yang to combine the park and yang assets so like sorry jeongbin but yeah! outside of those positives jeongho also frankly wanted to marry yang to "win" over his father in terms of choosing a spouse cause obviously his father did not marry a yang ( now's a good time to slip in that this father and son duo are constantly in competition ) and this was really his first ever rebel moment against his dad ( which if you think about it is pretty pathetic )

until his fiance jilted his ass at the altar so now he's the laughing stock of the town and his father is the striking image of mother gothel! after this whole bout jeongho finally and painfully admits that he's lost in this competition with his dad and he is most definitely dumber than his dad and so from here on out he just does everything his control freak of a dad says

father says go to uni so he fucks off to get an undergrad polsci degree then his dad tells him to marry one of his lackey's daughters so he can maintain control over jeongho AND his wife so he fucks off and proposes to shin and now with the land developers coming into goero his dad tells him to run for chairman of the urban construction committee so jeongwon can fully wash his hands of this land developer business ( importantly, he wants jeongho to put a stop to it and make sure no one sells ) so off he goes and that's the reason why he's currently chairman of said committee

cho jiyeon. as said, jeongwon is a really grating man who puts a lot of pressure on his son and constantly berates and belittles him whenever he doesn't get things done and what his father simply cannot understand is how the land developers are still in goero and chalks it up to how useless jeongho is. jiyeon continually bothers the parks and reminds jeongwon that she's still here and jeongho gets yelled at like he's fifteen again and at some point while jiyeon's talking her head off and says something mildly condescending to a "country boy" like him he realises that things would be so much easier if she just... disappeared. anger gets the best of him and you know how the rest of that story goes

anyway yeah jeongho is an absolute asshole sure but he's genuinely not a psychopath so what happened with jiyeon haunts him heaps but he tries his very best to move past it and live life as though she genuinely skipped town but yeah! few years pass and it becomes easier and now we're all caught up!

ok this was so long like you can stop here if you want below is just a bit about his personality / what to expect in interactions with him! also i don't have any plot ideas mostly because it's a skeleton rp and i feel like his relationship with each canon is unique given the political scene and stuff so generic plot ideas are kinda hard but yeah!

ok so personality-wise i would say that given his dad has drilled into him how useless and stupid he is jeongho is very aware that he is not the sharpest tool in the shed so he honestly is willing to hear people out when they talk to him! don't get me wrong he's definitely proud but he's not proud enough to think that he doesn't need anyone's help because he knows all kings have their advisors and he needs them! no shame in the game! ( also to clarify he's not actually stupid he's probably more just the type of person that gets good grades because he works hard and is organised and does all his assignments before it's due and not the type that gets up the day of the assignment due date and does it within an hour and gets a high distinction for it )

his father is also a really grating man to everyone else because he is smart so he thinks he doesn't need anyone cause everyone's suggestions are always dumb compared to him and his father often burns bridges but! because jeongho is aware of his weaknesses he is not that type of person so while he may feel a certain way about you he definitely is the sort to put on a polite enough facade! one thing he tends to do is the compliment sandwich where he can say something insulting in a not-totally-aggressive way and with a smile then sandwich it between normal conversation to make you think wait... did he just insult me or did i hallucinate it? maybe he just doesn't realise how he's coming across because of his upbringing? yeah

also to tack onto all this he is a very efficient guy and a proud workaholic ( also thanks to his ocpd ) so you'll see in interactions with him that he tends to move rather fast and speak rather direct and just operates at practically 2x speed! very much a say something useful or don't say anything at all type of person and he can be rather dismissive if he feels the conversation is not going to be fruitful within the first few sentences

also re: his ocpd things have to exist in a certain order and he expects a level of perfectionism always and there's a certain set of rules that you may need to learn especially if you're interacting with him frequently ( applies more to people who live and work with him )

all of this is about work but of course jeongho does lighten up from time to time! he has a group of friends who honestly it's questionable if they like him or his status but i imagine jeongho's life is something like the truman show where you have so much power that people are often pandering to you and you just think everyone is like that cause you're great when in reality they want something from you! but point is he does hang out and drink and fuck a lot and he's uhm certainly not loyal to his wife so there's that! will say though that he is very picky about the company he keeps and the people who know the "real" him

#𝐢𝐯. OUT OF CHARACTER.#eldrtch:int

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solardee · 1 year ago

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UTEV Drabble - Brand New Star

The day had been chaotic, even by Sans’ standards. It wasn’t everyday that your small town got treated to a fight between two inter-dimensional… deities? Spirits? Whatever they were, they looked like skeleton monsters, albeit very strange ones. The taller of the two, an angelic skeleton of some sort, had briefly introduced himself as Dawn before heralding off to do battle with his brother(?) in the distance.

A battle between positivity and negativity is what it was called. How strange. Of course, those two hadn’t been the only two that had come through. There had been a collection of other skeletons that looked eerily similar to him! Even if they seemed to take his lazy brother’s approach to clothing (he hoped they didn’t also leave socks lying around, what a nightmare!) they still looked and spoke just like him.

The same could not be said for the short paint covered skeleton standing beside him spouting exposition.

“So yeah! In a nutshell, that’s how the Multiverse works. Technically you don’t have a creator overseeing your AU since your world isn’t original, but that’s why I’m here and-” “LOOK,” Sans said as patiently as he could, cutting off the confusing tirade he had honestly tuned out about twenty minutes ago, “AS MUCH AS I APPRECIATE THE EXPLANATION, THAT’S NOT REALLY ANSWERING MY QUESTION HERE.”

He fiddled with the first aid kit in his hands as he spoke, hoping he didn’t come off as rude, “I NEED TO FIND THOSE PEOPLE THAT WENT OFF WITH YOUR FRIEND, HIS NAME WAS DAWN RIGHT? EVERYONE ELSE IS HEALED, BUT THEY STILL HAVEN’T COME BACK.”

“Oh, right!” the painted skeleton who still had not yet introduced himself shouted, before he laughed, “They’re not coming back, so don’t worry about them!”

Sans blinked, “THEY’RE NOT? WHY NOT? WHERE HAVE THEY GONE?”

“Oh, Dawn’s taking care of them, that’s all. Something about their intentions- Oooooh, is that a echo flower variation?” the skeleton veered from the topic, despite Sans’ flustered attempts to keep their attention.

“WAIT -! OH STARS THEY’RE GONE…” Sans sighed to himself. What a day this was, and now he had even more questions!

He had been warned, when helping the strange skeleton named Dawn evacuate people, that his main goal was to keep 'Dusk' from harming people or kidnapping them. The people who had vanished had been some of the first ones he’d evacuated, not having been anywhere near the strange goopy skeleton and his posse of doppelgangers. Sure, Sans hadn’t appreciated when they had shoved him in the way of a dangerous blast in an attempt to use him as a shield while escaping, but Dawn had gotten in the way before he was harmed so he figured he shouldn’t complain.

That being said… it was odd. Dawn had moved faster than he did at any other point of the fight at that moment. It had been a significant speed change. Even stranger still… None of the injuries he had treated had come from the opposition. He had expected to find knife wounds or patches of that strange blackened substance, but the majority of the wounds he treated were purely environmental. Otherwise, it was mostly burn wounds…

Sans shook his head, something just wasn’t lining up.

“Well well well, don’t you look lost in thought!” a voice came from right behind him, causing Sans to jump almost comidically off the ground.

“Whoa now, don’t fall!” the voice continued, a gloved hand on his shoulder steadying him enough to turn around and face the other, “goodness, you’re not too shell shocked are you? I know that blast was rough but I didn’t think it had reached you…” Dawn hummed as he checked Sans over, seemingly looking for wounds with that star-like gaze.

“WHERE ARE THE TWO MONSTERS THAT WERE WITH YOU?” Sans asked immediately, ignoring the other’s concern and brushing the hand off of his shoulder, “YOUR FRIEND SAID YOU TOOK THEM.”

“Ah? Two monsters? Sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Dawn shrugged his shoulders a bit too casually, hand now on his hip bone, “You shouldn’t listen to Acrylic too much anyways, they don't always have the best perception of things-”

“I KNOW SOMETHING HAD TO HAVE BEEN DONE, THEY WERE THE FIRST ONES I GOT OUT OF THE CROSSFIRE! WHERE ARE THEY? I HAVEN’T TREATED THEM YET," Sans interrupted. It was rude, he knew! But he was nothing if not a dedicated healer, and he wouldn’t be distracted with idle chit chat.

Dawn gave him a look up and down, eyes boring into his soul, “Hmm. Observant, aren’t you?” the winged skeleton answered with a smirk, “They don’t need any treatment anymore, don’t worry about them.”

“WHAT? THAT ISN’T HOW THIS WORKS, ANYONE WHO IS IN THAT FIGHT NEEDS AT LEAST A PHYSICAL CHECK UP, WHO KNOWS IF THERE’S SOMETHING UNDERLYING INJURY THAT WASN’T NOTICED WITH ALL THE ADRENALIN-”

“I said don’t worry about them,” Dawn cut him off, smile still fixed upon his face but now far too sharp and predatory, “focus on your other patients.”

Sans hesitated a moment, staring up at this clearly very powerful creature. Sans had never been a good fighter, working his best to be Snowdin’s go to healer for the Royal Guard rather than joining the group himself (speaking of which, both strange entities had looked surprised at that notion, he’d have to ask why-). Even if he wasn’t stuck with a single hit point of health, it was clear Dawn could crush him in a heartbeat if he so wanted. In fact, he could’ve crushed all of those strange doppelgangers too now that he thought about it...

Sans crossed his arms in front of him, back straight as he glared up at Dawn’s towering figure, “NOT A CHANCE! I WOULDN’T HAVE SO MANY PATIENTS IF YOU HADN’T BEEN SO RECKLESS WITH YOUR FIRE ANYWAYS,” he scolded, hoping he came across as more confident than he felt.

“Are you accusing me of something?” sweet malice was dripping from his words like honey, barely hidden behind the other’s uncanny smile.

“WELL I DIDN’T TREAT ANY WOUNDS FROM THAT BROTHER OF YOURS IF THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE ASKING!” Sans reiterated, jutting his chin out as he tried not to falter at the dangerous heat radiating from Dawn, “IN FACT, I DIDN’T NOTICE HIM DOING ANYTHING WRONG OF THE SORT!”

Dawn froze at his the mention of his brother, and Sans wasn’t sure if that was really a good thing or not. The angelic skeleton took a step closer to him, circling him like a bird of prey as he looked Sans up and down. The manic grin on his face widened a tad.

“Is that so~?” Dawn practically purred.

“YES, IT IS SO! NOW TELL ME WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON, BECAUSE I’M NOT PUTTING ANYONE IN DANGER FOR YOU!”

“Ooooh, I like you!”

“I- WHAT?”

“Yes, you’ll do nicely I think, plenty observant, good healing capabilities, a good amount of patience and bravery, though those aren’t in your soul traits-” “WAIT HOLD ON- WHAT ARE YOU GOING ON ABOUT!? I STILL NEED THOSE TWO- HEY-!!! HEY PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!!!!” Sans didn’t even have time to react before Dawn scooped him up over his shoulder, medical bag abandoned on the ground behind him.

“Dusk is going to be so excited~! Come along then, you’re mine now~” Dawn sing-songed as he opened up a portal, a place he didn’t recognize at all.

“WAIT- WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME- I DIDN’T AGREE TO THIS!! PAPYRUS!” Sans shouted as he struggled, kicking at the skeleton to no avail as he was dragged through the portal like a sack of potatoes.

The portal snapped shut, leaving Sans to stare out over… a surprisingly idyllic countryside. He didn’t have any time to process the change in scenery before Dawn slipped him off his shoulder and back onto the ground, facing-

“Another one? Dawn, we talked about this,” the goopy skeleton Sans had been helping evacuate people from drawled on monotonously in front of him. No longer was he shrouded in black, or even as goopy as Sans remembered.

“I found us a new healer! He’ll do great I’m su-”

“I’M SORRY YOU WANT ME TO BE WHAT?”

In the future, Star would suppose there are worse ways to be introduced to your best friend and his brother. He certainly got a great clinic office out of it.

#UT Equiverse #UTEV #Dreamtale AU #UTMV AU #UTEV Writing #Dawn!Dream #Dusk!Nightmare #Star!Swap Sans #Acrylic!Ink #Dee Drabbles #Dawn and Star's relationship is a really fun one to write honestly #Best of buddies who have absolutely no problem talking shit to one another #Also if you're worried about Star's brother in this don't be #Dawn steals him too #But ye enjoy another lil drabble of the worlds most melodramatic dorks #Also let me know what you think of the colored dialogue?#I made it colorful to make it easier to differentiate when someone is talking #But part of me thinks it also looks rather distracting

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cornfields-td-nonsense · 10 months ago

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TELL US MORE CXG SONGS THAT ARE TDN CODED

my pleasure! because I have a LOT of them lol

remember Eve's older brother Felipe? yeah, Don't Be A Lawyer is him (running on like 2 hours of sleep) urging his three younger siblings not to go to law school like he did. Which is funny bc one of them is a college dropout, one is aspiring to be a veterinarian with a side gig in geology, and one isn't even a teenager yet

I'm A Good Person is Greta, approximately halfway through her redemption arc. And the lyric "I'm a good person, better than you" is 100% aimed at Hans. He does not care.

I Hate Everything But You is season 2 Lloyd and Rod in a nutshell. Our dear friend Tarantino is having a minor crisis because he's realising he never got to do anything he likes, so he's never truly liked anything or anyone before Rod.

I've been trying to place Hey West Covina (or What'll It Be) as a TDN character, and I've just now realised. Harper. Pre-show Harper - lost two parents for the price of one, stuck basically looking after herself, took a position working for a sadistic asshole just to get away from it all, and going absolutely nowhere in life. Stuck in the same shitty cycle for the past five years. The voice doesn't remotely fit but GOD the song does. now I'm sad. (could also apply to pre-show Isla now I'm thinking about it)

Friendtopia could be any trio of Nautilus women but methinks Greta, Alisha and Carmen should take over the world together and force everyone to watch Hocus Pocus under threat of death. it would be fun!

We'll Never Have Problems Again is Lloyd and Eve because I enjoy ✨️dramatic irony✨️

Thought Bubbles could be a lot of them, but I'm going to go with Rod. Turns out when you live in a Toxic Positivity household, you never really learn how to process or deal with bad thoughts. (also OK GO reference!)

and that's all I've got :P

#total drama #total drama nautilus #tdn ensemble #crazy ex girlfriend

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definitely-mothman · 1 year ago

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The Reflection of a Prince Ch 2

Summary in a Nutshell: Jade Overblot fic, mostly just a story fic but Jade/Azul is somewhat present, due to some shared childhood experiences/conflicts.

AO3 Link

Part 1

“Attention, everyone! Your Housewarden has an announcement for you!”

“You don’t have to yell at them Claude, now this is really awkward, god..”

Within the light reds and greens of Coralliadom’s central hall, the dorm’s body had been gathered before the small performance stage. At the mic was the awkwardly tapping Housewarden, a boy about 18 with waved hair tied back in a bow, a vibrant red that cradled his head like a firey bonnet. He lightly tapped the mic, which let out a piercing sound before eventually quieting and letting him speak.

“..Hey! So you guys already know for the most part, but for the freshmen who don’t, NRC and RSA always host this cross-campus kinda event. Most of it happens this following Friday but pretty much the whole week is shut down for people to visit the campuses…and all that.”

Rielle nervously shot a glance to Claude for a moment, a darker ginger with antennae jutting out from in between his eyebrows, curving and sitting above his ears. It was a glance of wanting reassurement, greeted with the slightest side eye and a small scooping motion with his right hand. The awkwardness of it all seemed to make time stand still.

“…so! Last year our cousin dorm, Octanivelle, hosted our lovely little group in their walls for the festivities, everyone who isn’t a freshman should remember that.” Each word seemed to stumble a little, like a tadpole trying to walk. “Because they hosted last year, now… we have the honor to host their entourage in our own dormitory!”

Students exchanged glances on the floor, hinting many emotions, but none positive. Claude turned, Rielle handing over his microphone.

“Hey. It’s an obligation, I’m not necessarily jumping for joy either. But we’re still going to perform our absolute best here. Octanivelle runs a tight ship, and me and Rielle intend to as well. The last thing any of you would want is for any of them to have something to mock you for.”

As opposed to Rielle’s shifting stance, his Vice Housewarden held an almost militaristic stance, and most of the dorm held a respect for his air of authority. The straight-lacedness of it made Rielle want to cringe.

“We’ll be starting preparations tomorrow, seeing as we have a week to put together decorations and also adorn the dorm with them. That isn’t including having everything wiped down, the group of you tasked with the musical performance and respective rehearsals, some cleaning up of landscaping, and what the principle has already asked of us. I know I seem to be starting way in advance, but it’d be great to get to ease up Friday when we have guests, instead of scrambling at the last minute.”

“Aye.” A collective sound of agreement came from the student body.

Rielle took the microphone back.

“Uh, everyone in the rehearsal group is good for tomorrow, right?”

Claude murmured over to him. “I sent that out 2 days ago”

“Oh! Uh, nevermind, sorry guys, you’re good.”

Claude winced.

“So that's the meeting adjourned, right- I don’t think we have anything else to go over.”

“Yeah, we’re good-“

“Meeting adjourned! Make sure to check your emails tonight so we all stay on schedule!”

Rielle felt a buzz in his right pocket. He instinctively went to pull it out, but before he could do that Claude already was escorting him off stage.

“Rie, you know what your schedule is for tomorrow?”

“Pft, yeah. I have like. A million reminders set.”

“Ok. I just ask since you tend to forget stuff like this.”

“I know, it’s reasonable, I’m good though!”

“Ok.” Claude spoke with a sense of not really believing him, which made Rielle huff a little bit. Rielle broke off, moving towards the residential side of the dormitory.

“Are you heading up to your room?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing, just a text from dad.”

“Oh, ok- just let me know if there’s something I need to talk to the Principal about-“

Rielle was already out of earshot by the time Claude had begun speaking.

• • •

“When are you going back through the mirror? Me and mom need to know so we can meet you there.”

Rielle was typing away, stumbling on the stairs trying to text with both hands and keep an eye on if he was heading the right direction to his room.

“Uh I think Sunday? Sorry I’ve just been trying to make sure everything’s good with Claude before I head out for the week.”

“No worries, we just wanna make sure you’re there sweetie. It’s important that Grandfather gets to see the darling young prince you’re growing into.”

Ugh, it was so embarrassing when dad texted like that.

“Ok, yeah I’ll be good Sunday night, will confirm tomorrow, just in case anything comes up.”

“Alright, mom will be texting you tomorrow just in case.”

“Ok.”

Rielle slipped his phone back into his pants pocket, opening his room’s door with the key stored in his RSA jacket. Shutting the door behind him, he fell back onto the plush canopy bed, and groaned loudly to nothing and no one.

Ughhhh…there was really no winning here, was there?

Downstairs he could hear the underclassmen scrambling around and Claude directing. Why couldn’t his Vice sit still for literally 3 seconds, didn’t he just say they were going to start tomorrow? Claude expected him to be there, the underclassmen definitely expected him to be there. I mean, he was the Housewarden. Not Rielle’s first choice, but where he ended up.

And then on the other end there was dad, and this big family reunion thing he’d been hyping up for the past few days. The festival had been set in before the reunion date was set, but it’s not like he could just tell him that he couldn’t show up.

He could see it now. A call to the principal from King Pelagaeus, saying that he would not have the Coral Sea’s heir held up by “small scale school activities.” The entire festival could get rescheduled if he whined enough, and the other Housewardens would be no less than pissed at him for making them redo everything. And I mean, it would be on Rielle, wouldn’t it? For telling “daddy dearest” about it and said person throwing a hissy fit. He kinda had his hands tied on attendance.

But on the other hand, him dipping out wouldn’t sit well with the Principal, Claude, anyone in his dorm, and no one at NRC would like it either. I mean, it’s kinda rude to see people you went to elementary school with as a kid like, once a year and then not even show up right? He cared more about the dorm than he did some family members he hasn’t seen since he could form memories. But also, again, dad, hissy fit, dorm ends up mad anyways.

Ugh! This was all so stupid! There wasn’t a good decision, so the lesser was probably fulfilling familial duties over the Housewarden ones. But he couldn’t sit still with the thought of Coralliadom not having their Housewarden for the whole week, not to mention what Octanivelle would probably be saying when he didn’t show up for the event…

His phone buzzed, with the default ringtone. That was weird, Rielle thought he had set one for everyone in his contacts list. It was a DM on magicam.

“Hey, Rielle! We shared some classes in middle school together, although idk if you remember. I was just checking your story and decided to ask if everything’s alright?”

Rielle raised an eyebrow a bit. The student in the profile picture wasn’t one he had a particular memory of, but then again middle school was kind of a blur, wasn’t it? The account was legit, it was some NRC sophomore, run of the mill stuff. Rielle flipped back to the DM.

“Yeah, everything is chill rn! Is there something you wanted to ask?”

Immediate response.

“Yeah, I just saw that there’s some gala thing your family’s hosting on like, Friday right?”

“Yeah, how did you know about that?”

“Mom’s been telling me about it, since they’re decorating the Atlantica Castle already for it. She’s sent me a few photos of what they’ve gotten done already.”

“Oh. Yeah, there’s a family gala thing coming up. I’m still a bit conflicted about it, but I think I’ll be going.”

“But isn’t the Sage Island Celebration that day? Our Housewarden said that we’re all heading over to you guys’ dorm for that day. Are you just like, not going to be there?”

“Probably, although I’d like to avoid being absent for it. There’s not really a winning option right now.”

There was a period of pause, little ellipsis fading in and out for about a minute.

“That kinda sucks. Could I do anything to help with it? Literally anything, this sounds like a huge pain LOL.”

Rielle looked at the message. Something felt…off about it. But he shook it. The account was legit, he’d gotten too many spam messages to not check at this point. The account even had a legitimate phone number and email attached to it. He typed back.

“Lmao, unless you can make it to where I can be two places at once I don’t think you’ll be able to help.”

Again, an immediate response.

“Actually, I think I could maybe help with that. I’ve been practicing some potion stuff recently for finals and I’ve been waiting to try it practically.”

“What, like an illusion potion? Those only last a couple of hours at most, I’d need a stand in for at least 5 days lol.”

“No it’s not an illusion potion. I’ve been working with using potions to enchant objects to imbed them with properties. It’s cool as hell.”

“…so you're going to make an illusion potion and imbed it into a book or something to keep it up the whole week?”

“No, it’s a piece of jewelry. Really small, nobody’s even noticed I have this thing in my dorm lol. I just keep it in a small desk drawer, and redip to change what the cast properties on it are when worn. I can show you in person if you want, I’m serious about this.”

Rielle’s hands flashed a little faster over the keys.

“You’re Octanivelle, right? That’s what your profile looks like. Wouldn’t Azul notice you’re like, gone?”

“Nah, I’m just one Sophomore lol. There’s like 600 of us here. At least, it’d be less noticeable than you not being there.”

“True.”

“If you want, we can meet up tomorrow and I can switch out w you. Unless you’re heading out a different day.”

His finger hung above the screen for about a minute before answering.

“What are you wanting in return for this? I know you guys don’t do this kinda stuff for free.”

“I just need you to give me the stuff for the potion honestly, I’m partway looking for some street cred with the other sophomores yk.”

“…street cred?”

“Yeah, yk, it’s like the Benevolence dorm. So this gives me some bragging rights. That’s the only real thing I can think of rn. Everything else is just stuff I need so the fill-in works.”

“Alright. Lmao I won’t knock you for wanting to climb the pecking order ig. What is it that you’d need me to bring? Illusion potions for people have to do with things like, personal items right?”

More pausing waiting for a response.

“Yeah, illusion potions need personal items to represent parts of your appearance. So like, a strand of hair for obvious, some fingernail clippings, some spit, a song in a bottle for voice. I probably will have to borrow smthn else tho.”

“Oh, so just some gross hair and shit LOL, thank goodness it’s a necklace bc drinking that potion sounds awful. Are you needing to borrow my magic pen for the week or smthn?”

“No, I can just paint my magestone and click it in your dorm staff. I’m probably gonna need to borrow your UM for the days I’m acting as you. Idk how often you use it, but I imagine it’d be really sus if you just suddenly couldn’t use it for the whole week, yk?

“My UM? How would you transfer that over? I know your dorm got knocked for that kinda stuff a while back, but I thought it was a unique magic.”

“The Housewarden has some blanks lying around for his convenience, so I just planned to snag a paper and bring the thing up prewritten. You can hold onto the contract if you want tbh, carrying it around is just weird if I’m you.”

“Wait, you can just write yourself as the recipient like that? That’s nuts, I’m surprised I haven’t heard abt incidents with that stuff.”

“Yeah, most people are just too scared to snatch things from the Housewarden like that lol, but I have a good enough rapport to know when I’ll be good enough to grab one. It’s just a single blank, dude can just make a new one.”

“Lmao we’re both being sneaky ig.”

“LMAOOO true. So we have an agreement right? We meet up tomorrow, exchange stuff, I’ll slip and redo the necklace and slip off in your place. Just like, go on a walk near RSA and send a PM with the location attached.”

Rielle sat up in his bed, and crossed his legs. He looked across his room, seeing the large vanity in his room, a spiraling pink coral going up towards the top. He looked back down at the message. Again, a slightly weird feeling. Like, a slight nausea in his stomach.

No, he was probably just kinda nervous. I mean, he got that same kinda feeling when he walked out of the water the first time, right? Besides. Claude was a micromanager. If the kid got caught by Claude, he would already be gone and just have to deal with it when he came back. At the worst case. Best case? No one would know. It’s not like his friends would pry into him taking a walk tomorrow, and he was used to meandering a bit when he went out and did things.

And beyond that, did he really have a better choice?

“Yeah. See you tomorrow, I’ll keep the hair and stuff in a box so I don’t lose it. I’ll even brief you on some of the celebration stuff so you can flow right.”

“Coolio! Pleasure talking.”

• • •

“…hey Jade, why’s like, your burner phone out on your desk. I thought you never used that thing lol.”

It sure was. Huh. Must have forgotten to put it back in his desk drawer.

“I was looking through some of my alternate accounts and seeing if there was anything I could gather about Coralliadom’s planning schedule. Rielle’s Vice has my normal accounts blocked, and as far as I’m aware he’s the one who’ll post updates of their process.”

“Uh…ok. You know that sounds like, hella creepy right?”

“I’m…conscious of it. My name isn’t attached for that very reason. I didn’t find anything though, so I’ll probably have to check tomorrow. Saddening.”

“Ok, whatever, it’s still creepy that you even have a burner phone.”

“‘Burner phone’ is a strong word, Floyd. I’m merely making use of an old phone. It still works, but I have better, so it’s just been relegated to side activities.”

“Can you just put that thing away, I was trying to text you earlier, and not checking your main phone was getting mad annoying.”

Jade sighed. “Ok. I have errands I need to run anyways.”

He took up the burner phone, and went into his wardrobe, opening the drawer at the bottom. In the back corner of it, a small wooden box with a latch lid, wrapped in a blanket. He unwound it, opening the box. Putting in the burner phone, there were only two items in the box. He shut the lid, rewrapped the blanket, and slipped it back into its corner.

The nautilus shell had lost some of its luster from the last time he had used it, and he would have to replace the string. But that hardly mattered.

It would work as well as ever.

#twisted wonderland #Twst #disney twst #twisted wonderland jade #twst jade #jade leech #twst jade leech #twisted wonderland fanfic #twst fanfic #twst fanfiction #twisted wonderland fanfiction #archive of our own #ao3 stuff #twst fic #twisted wonderland fic

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storyoutofblue · 18 days ago

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2024

How to say, if you were to ask me about 2024, I would say that it has been rough.

Because if you to ask me on a deeper level then .....

I would say that I have had the most roller coaster riding year of my life. I have been pushed further than I have ever been, especially with work and my personal development.

I lost people who I used to call friends because of some huge fallout, but because they never really saw you. They made judgments, jumped to conclusions, and blamed you for things they never cared to ask about. It hurts when someone assumes the worst about you, when they decide who you are without giving you the space to explain. And then, when they cross the line, they don’t even acknowledge it. No apology, no reflection—just distance.

I had to battle inner demons whilst pretending to be happy on the outside, pretending to be okay but your family just didn't want to know and pretended that you were lavish enough while I needed to spend millions for your moving opportunity.

I have put so much pressure and efforts in the last few years, it all caught up with me. And the truth is… I feel empty. Looking back, I see how much of myself I gave to things that didn’t truly deserve it. Time and energy spent chasing validation, productivity, or goals that didn’t even align with who I really am. And now I’m left asking, “Was it worth it?”

I decided to chase new opportunity in this year too. Moving to a new country feels like stepping into a blank canvas—exciting, yet lonely. Despite the thrill of new opportunities, the ache of leaving my comfort zone lingers. No familiar faces, no close friends, just me against the unknown. Starting over is hard, and the struggle of building a life from scratch is something unseen by others. It’s a quiet battle, but I’m learning to embrace the discomfort and trust that, in time, connections will grow.

In a nutshell, 2024 was a year of goodbyes, personal growth, and lessons I didn’t ask for. The big lessons that I learnt is that everyone is going through something so try and give each other respect and compassion. But here I am, breathing, standing and moving forward again.

But yeah, that was the 2024 stories back. I am going to leave this year feeling positive about 2025 and I am thankful for the people I still have and who have come to my life recently.

#lifelessons #mature #quoteoftheday #2024

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elegyofthemoon · 1 year ago

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4, 5, 6, and 15 for the ask game :)

HELLO HELLO ANN !! thanks for the ask :> this ...also got pretty long sooo

female character asks

4. A heroine you love?

I need to stop bringing FF13 in here all the time but I !!!! LOVE!!!! VANILLE!!!!! SO MUCH

With the way FF13 is written, it makes it seem as though Lightning is the true protagonist, but really the protagonist of the story is Vanille and her whole story is all about running away from the wrongs she had done and eventually facing it head on with the power of emotional support and friendship. She's the one who provides all the narration in the game, even if she isn't present in the scene itself, and she is the very cause of all things gone wrong in the story as well.

AND THE THING IS she also sits as one of my fave character types "bubbly front to mask how absolutely anxious she is deep inside". She tries to be super positive and keeps trying to solve things with 'let's run away!' but running away doesn't get her too far and all things of the past come back to get her in the end. Her story -- just as everyone else's is here -- is all about growing from that self-hatred, leaning more into 'how do you forgive yourself?' and it's just sO good and I love this liar so much. She deserves so much good

Also she's wlw so that's also my plus on that.

5. A female villain you love?

It took me a while because I had to sort out between villain and antagonist BUT I finally remembered Delilah Briarwood from Legend of Vox Machina :]

You know that trope of a guy goes nuts after his wife dies? okay thats her :) Except she takes death and chokes it by becoming a necromancer to bring her husband back and now she has a hot vampire husband. She also fucks up one of the protagonist's lives (my fave character from the series LOL) by taking his whole estate and killing his family and keeping his sister captive all these years and terrorizing the entire city.

But also shes happy with her dead husband being alive. Power couple but the absolute worse (I love them anyways)

6. A female character who got done dirty by the narrative?

SIGNORAAAAAAA. I'm still pissed about it tbh and I miss her everyday my wife :(

The thing is I knew her story as the Crimson Witch beforehand, and I knew her story with Rostam as well (one of my fave stories actually heheh)! So I knew a lot of her background and just.... her death was so.... sooooo done dirty. Or just her general treatment altogether was just a mess. It really sucks that you don't get to know her unless you really dig, and she got built up to be such a ruthless character only to perish in an instant ;; It makes me so sad...

...I'm still lowkey pleading they maybe. idk. somehow. give us. playable.... signora....? I mean, I don't play anymore, but god, the power of Fatui Harbingers have a hold on me can bring me back

15. Female character you would defend with your life?

I was trying to think about this because I just knoooow there's a character out there that I didn't care for until the fans made it my business and then now I love aggressively... I think if there's any character that kinda fits that bill... I tuink it might be Lightning (ANOTHER FF13 CHARACTER HAHAHA-)

Maybe this is just extended from the fact that people didn't like FF13 as well back in the day and I came into the series very very late with this actually being my first FF13? So maybe because of how special it is for me, I defend the game and the characters like my life depends on it lmao But Lightning is just a great character. I love that she eventually learns that 'fighting is not therapy' (that meme thats like 'fight therapy im becoming a knight wait what do you mean thats unhealthy?' yeah thats her whole character arc in a nutshell). I'l never forget how she was like 'You just have to fight your way through it' to a 14 year old kid and then nearly got her sister's fiance killed as a result of the very very bad lesson she learned and you can see the instant regret on her face like 'oh.....i fucked up bad.'

She's a very very awkward dad character. But damn does she try her best and damn does she love her sister so much she's just ass at showing it because she's too worried about trying to be the strong and reliable older sibling after the two got orphaned.

Anyways. I love FF13 so much I think more people should discover the game (and talk to me about it)

#two out of two of these asks i brought up ff13 characters 🧍🏼ill try my best not to do that again ALSKDJFASDLFJH #answered #sieglinde freud

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superfallingstars · 6 months ago

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Oooh I’ve been trying to find a good reason to bring up this (quite critical, but very interesting) blog post I read awhile ago about how the series “grows down with Harry” – meaning, how the overall tone of the series gets darker as the books go on and Harry gets older – and how this tonal shift unintentionally recontextualizes some of the elements of the earlier books. The author focuses on the differences between how Fred and George are framed in the earlier books vs. how the Marauders are framed by OotP to prove this, and points out how some of the twins' behavior is pretty dark:

The Twins do too many horrible things for me to list them all, but they are consistently depicted picking on those younger and smaller than themselves, usually, but not always, members of their own family. The most persistent victim is Ron. The Twins start with childhood ‘pranks’ (they give him an Acid Pop that burns a hole through his tongue, and try to get him to make an Unbreakable Vow that would probably have killed him) and continue into adolescence; they destroy his confidence when he becomes part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team so thoroughly that he can’t play properly until they’ve left the school. Their position as classic bullies who always ‘punch down’ is summed up by a conversation in book six, where Ron admits anxiously that ‘I’d better pass my [Apparition] test first time… Fred and George did.’ His older brother Charlie failed, but ‘Charlie’s bigger than me… so Fred and George didn’t go on about it much.’

Within the framing of the earlier books, these seem like harmless fantasy violence and classic sibling fights. But when violence is treated so seriously in the later books, these actions take on a more sinister tone. Though as we'll get to, not everyone's violence in the later books is treated seriously...

Like @neverenoughmarauders points out, that passage about Harry trying to rationalize James's behavior by comparing him to Fred and George is really interesting, and it speaks to why discussing morality in this series is so fraught (hello, never-ending Snape vs. Marauders discourse):

Reflecting on Snape’s worst memory, Harry compares his father’s behaviour to that of the Twins, and thinks that he ‘could not imagine Fred and George dangling someone upside-down for the fun of it.’ This positions the Twins as harmless pranksters and James as an exceptional bully. However, even though the intention of this paragraph is clearly meant to underline how bad James’s behaviour is, Rowling can’t quite stop there; Harry goes on to think, ‘not unless [the Twins] really loathed them… perhaps Malfoy, or somebody who really deserved it…’ Here, in a nutshell, is the moral sinkhole at the heart of the Harry Potter series. We know, by book five, that the Twins do things that are this bad all the time. As it happens, they bully people that Harry knows and likes, so even this doesn’t quite work out, but Harry admits here that this behaviour would be OK as long as it’s directed towards somebody who really deserved it. Unfortunately, in the world of Harry Potter, you ‘deserve it’ if you are Bad, and you are Bad because you deserve it. The Twins are Good, so they can’t be bullies, no matter how they treat other people. (emphasis mine)

I think this Good vs. Bad dichotomy explains so much about these damn books, lol (hello, never-ending Snape vs. Marauders discourse!). I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with writing a story like this – it's pretty much a staple of children's media – but when you start determining some characters' morality on the basis of their actions, and others' morality by the Side They Were Assigned To When You Introduced Them, then yeah, things start to get messy.

But why make James so complicated in the first place?

As an aside: I’ve been thinking about why Snape’s worst memory shows James as so cruel, when it sits so uneasily with the rest of the text, and when Rowling clearly isn’t interested in exploring the long-term ramifications of Harry’s discovery. By book six, James is Good again. The answer, I think, is that Rowling is, as ever, focused on plotting. Snape’s worst memory exists in the text as a clue, as something we can go back to when we discover, in book seven, that Snape Loved Lily. It’s not really meant to upturn everything Harry knows about his father. Snape’s worst memory is Snape’s worst memory because he argued with Lily and lost her friendship, not because of James’s bullying. Of course, what we also have to take away is that, for Snape, being humiliated, hexed and stripped in front of the school wasn’t the worst of his memories, because it simply happened too often.

So the author says that this chapter is so messy because JKR is unconcerned with the moral questions that her own text raises. James's behavior is simply not the point. But if that's true, then this scene poses a massive problem for those of us who are actually interested in the Marauders as characters and are trying to come up with Watsonian explanations for why they act the way they do!!!!

...Which I suppose was the whole point of the original post that I massively derailed. On that note, let me briefly address that:

I agree that Fred and George seem a bit more careless and showy than (how I imagine) the Marauders, if only because the Marauders had loftier, more specific goals (make a magic map of the school, become Animagi, etc.) and were likely more secretive about their biggest transgressions (as previously mentioned: the map, the invisibility cloak, Remus being a werewolf).

As for their, er, darker behavior, I think they likely saw themselves the way Harry saw Fred and George – as just having a bit of harmless fun. Maybe it was a nice way to blow off steam from working on their more complicated endeavors (!). I imagine their behavior was also shaped by rising political tensions and the looming war, with everyone becoming more entrenched in their respective beliefs and quicker to jump into a fight. Finally, there is one other element to the bullying that has no equivalent in the twins' story – James's romantic rivalry with Snape. (Come on, it's a coming of age story, they were both aware of the other's feelings toward Lily, and were 100% competing to demonstrate their masculinity.) So I think that overall, even when the Marauders engaged in petty pranks like the Weasley twins, they did that for different – and decidedly darker – reasons.

Anyway, that went in a thousand different directions, only to land on "JKR is a bad writer sometimes," which is basically the ultimate cop out, but also kind of true.

I'm so relieved we share similar opinions on The Marauders vs Fred and George! Every time I read an elaborate multi-step plan to dye Slytherin's robes red or something, I'd think "this feels off!". I try to find a middle ground in my imagination, because being a magic school, every day bog-standard mischief has got to look at least a little bit whimsical - and James and Sirius earned themselves a reputation of troublemakers somehow. But imagine they'd be more likely to get into trouble exploring the limits of the castle and its magic (not sure if you consider Cursed Child as semi canon, but trying to get out of a moving Hogwarts Express is a good example), and they'd be really smug about knowing how to get around the forest or the best spot to swim in the lake, but not that interested in cheering and applause from the great hall tables for doing some spectacular display of magic. The fact that the most advanced magic they achieved for their age (becoming animagus!) was a well kept secret has got to say something about their type of showmanship. But much like Fred and George (maybe even better), they'd 100% be in charge of throwing parties.

Yeah!! I agree, I definitely think they were darker in tone than Fred and George. Their public stunts seemed to be centred around hexing random students and they were definitely willing to be fairly vicious about it-- they were to Snape, and Bertram Aubrey's head swelling sounds comical but it probably wasn't for Aubrey-- so I don't see why they'd restrict themselves to silly harmless pranks of the sort F&G would pull. I never like reading fics where they have pranking wars or whatever haha.

And you're right that their greatest achievements were kept secret from everyone. They were defined by their secrets! The password-protected Marauders Map, the Invisibility Cloak, their Animagi status. Even their inside knowledge of Remus's condition is what I feel brought them together in a new way.

I almost feel like the times they got into trouble was out of carelessness or cockiness. They obviously didn't mind getting in trouble for attacking other students and the times they got caught sneaking around they were probably being reckless. Nobody ever figured out the map, the cloak, or that they were Animagi while they were at school, so they were careful when it counted.

#sorry this was SO LONG but i've been holding onto this blog post foreverrrr and i've had so much to say about it (obviously)#just had to wait for the right moment / when i finally had enough energy and clarity of mind to write something semi comprehensible #meta #the marauders #james #snape #fred and george

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weaver-z · 3 years ago

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I think a lot of the hostility in the discourse surrounding The Q-Slur™ is bc of the conflation between social spaces and political movements

for instance, I initially had a bad reaction to your take on the issue (although I took some time to think about it bc I'm not an animal tyvm) bc I value The Q-Slur™ as effective political rhetoric--a rejection of respectability politics, inclusive to everyone in a way that an unwieldy acronym can't be, simple and concise, etc.

however, I would never call someone The Q-Slur™ if they didn't want to be called that, bc that's rude? like really fucking rude? I'm even avoiding saying it here bc I don't want to stir shit for no good reason

there's a very big difference between how a movement should behave and how a social group should behave. a social group is made up of individuals with individual histories and feelings, but an effective movement can't be made up of individuals; it can only be statistics and icons, because it has to cover as many people as possible

imo, both things are true: it's not okay to demand people use it for themselves, and it's not okay to demand activists stop using it. the pain that The Q-Slur™ brings that makes it so inappropriate for so many social spaces is the exact reason why it's such a good political tool: it's confrontational and unyielding. it makes it clear (1) what we are, (2) what we want, and (3) what we will not concede ("our otherness is based actually" in a single-syllable word!) without making anything softer or cleaner

here's an example of how I personally approach stuff like this: I don't like the lesbian flag all that much (specifically the more-orange one made to replace the lipstick lesbian flag). I think it could be a lot more rooted in lesbian history/symbols instead of just being a pretty collection of colors that looks nice next to the other flags. but, no matter my personal feelings, I would never try to get people to replace it, bc dear lord we need some flag to unite under

(that obviously isn't the same exact situation, I just like allegories)

the Pride+ thing actually felt like a really good compromise to me. as it's a blog on an already p pro-LGBT website, it's a mix of both interpersonal connection and online activism, and wanting it to be as comfy for as many people as possible is entirely valid! go staff go!!

ig my main point in a nutshell is that it's v important to have manners in the vast majority of situations, with one of the main exceptions being when you're fighting for human rights. yeah I think that's it

anyway, I need to log off for a while. go lay down in a field and feel the rain soaking through my clothing. cleanse myself of the internet brainworms. remember that I'm human. hope you have a good one!

Thanks! This is probably the last ask I'll answer about this issue, because for a bunch of people claiming to be super trans-positive and inclusive, some of the people in my inbox really want me to play in traffic.

I also think that the political origins of the reclamation of "queer" are a good point to bring up. "We're here, we're queer" was deliberately chosen because it was a startling, incendiary declaration in the 70s and 80s. And it still is! It's a great rallying cry and wake-up call.

That being said, in a more personal space, yeah, I avoid being called queer for... well, basically every reason I've outlined in these ask answers. Having "THE QUEEREST PLACE ON THE NET" plastered on my blog was, while not triggering, rather uncomfortable for me last pride due to my associations with the word. There is nothing wrong with renaming the blog to "Pride" and using "LGBTQ+" instead of "queer" to describe the userbase, as it includes both queer (Q) people and people who might not identify with that word (LGBT*).

Thanks for taking the time to consider my position! Have a good day.

#ask #cotyledonal #q slur #q word

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raifenlf · 3 years ago

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Why Loki’s Sylvie Is A Mary Sue

So I am firmly in the camp that Sylvie on the Loki series was/is a Mary Sue. The last episode made me feel better and like maybe the show was doing a thing where they were faking you out that she was a Mary Sue only to show she was actually sort of a bad guy and I liked that. But all the recent interviews make me think the show wants to go back to her being a Mary Sue.

But I feel like when I call her out for being a Mary Sue people tell me what are you talking about, she’s not a Mary Sue, bad things happen to her, etc. But that doesn’t actually make her not a Mary Sue.

Also, before we start, I know some people find Mary Sue sexist. But I personally use the term for guys and girls. I don’t use the term to belittle women. I use the term to criticize a poorly written character.

And I know Mary Sue is often used to describe fanfic characters. But to me, this series is kind of like a fanfic because the writers took a character who had been in canon MCU material for ten years and then created characters around that character. So, I kind of review it like I would a fanfic. It’s very different than if the writers had created a brand new show with all of their own new characters.

Anyway, if you are not totally familiar with the Mary Sue term, then check this out:

I know the term Mary Sue probably means different things to different people. But I have always used these guidelines when I write my own fanfic to make sure my characters never come off as a Mary Sue.

This article really gives you a full scale of what a Mary Sue is. If you start reading it, you’ll immediately see why Sylvie is. But I’m going to take out the parts that most fit Sylvie just to highlight why I believe she is a Mary Sue. I apologize for this being so long.

Mary Sue Character Traits

Personality

Erm... what personality? The typical Mary Sue doesn't have one per se, because she isn't meant to be a character; rather, she's an entity by which the author makes cool stuff happen.

I feel like that is Sylvie in a nutshell. She doesn’t have a personality. I feel like even though she ate screentime, I still don’t really know her at all. The writers love to say she’s badass. That’s not a personality.

Sometimes when I am writing stories for fun and creating new characters, I like to take surveys as my fictional characters. Like the kind of surveys you’d see in a magazine, like personality types, what’s your dating style, etc. I figure if I don’t know what my character would do in any of those situations, then I need to keep working on my character. And if I was trying to fill out a survey pretending I was Sylvie I would have no idea what to answer because she doesn’t have a personality. She’s just “cool”.

What little personality a Mary Sue has isn't as important as how other characters react to it. No matter how shy or socially awkward Mary Sue is supposed to be, other characters will be inexplicably drawn to her

This is so Sylvie. Loki falls in love with her...why, exactly? He falls in love with her in the big Nexus event moment...why? Because she had a tough childhood? Mobius spends like two seconds with her in a car and goes from hating her to saying she’s his favorite Loki. For. No. Particular. Reason.

She's extremely persuasive; everyone finds her opinions to be better than their own

She enchants Hunter B-15 and then immediately Hunter B-15 makes it her whole entire life mission to back Sylvie up.

And occasionally she'll be a complete asshole...This can manifest itself in several ways...The author wants to write a badass but doesn't know how. This leads to a character who mistreats everyone around her and is never called out on her abrasive, casually abusive behavior.

Sylvie talked down to Loki and treated him like garbage for all of episode three, but it was never portrayed as a bad thing and we never got any impression Sylvie later felt bad for the way she treated Loki

The author doesn't know how to hold back the character, meaning that she will succeed at practically everything. This means that when she encounters rules or authority figures who would otherwise prevent her from doing what she wants to do, she rolls right through them (and they praise her for her "boldness" in defying regulations). If a bad guy is violent and aggressive, she can beat him by being more violent and aggressive (with all that entails). It's impossible for her to go overboard because she's protected by Protagonist-Centered Morality.

Sylvie is shown as a kid to immediately be able to grab a Tempad and run away. And she can kick ass way better than Loki, for no known reason. She is always able to fight back against the TVA when they attack her. And she can kill lots of innocent TVA agents but it’s okay because TVA bad, Sylvie good.

Skills

She will always be superior to the canon characters, regardless of what canon has established they can do or whether it makes any sense.

Whose skill was needed to defeat Alioth? Sylvie’s. Of course. Sylvie needed to teach Loki her skills in order for him to succeed (!). And again, she is literally called the superior Loki.

Relatedly, there's no effort to her skills. She never actually trains or learns anything to become more powerful; she just wins the Super Power Lottery, or is a freakish natural learner, or is just Inexplicably Awesome

We’re told Sylvie literally taught herself magic. She literally taught herself to enchant people. That. Makes. No. Sense. Like, I have so many questions. Like, why would it even occur to her to teach herself that? And how???????????? This is really lazy writing.

Canon Character Relationships

Mary Sue is often designed to hook up with another character, often as a form of Wish Fulfillment. This isn't that bad in and of itself (okay, it is kinda weird), but Mary Sue accomplishes this without any sense of realism. She just grabs her lover's attention straight away, and their relationship will never face any obstacles or tension; it's true love from the start and nothing else. The biggest giveaway is if the love interest is explicitly the author's favorite character, and she essentially "cures" him of all the angst that ails him (at the expense of his characterization).

Yeah, so...this one should be pretty obvious to anyone who watched the show. Loki literally falls in love with Sylvie immediately, and then he suddenly turns from “villain” to “hero” just because of loving her. And this was definitely at the expense of his characterization. And Loki just knows he falls in love with her. There’s not even any moments of hmm what do I feel for this person? It’s just true love, immediately.

She will be related to a canon character in some way. This (marginally) helps explain such phenomena as her being a Copy Cat Sue and other characters accepting her so easily.

Sylvie is a Loki variant. They use this to help explain why Loki is drawn to her and why their falling in love immediately “makes sense”.

Most characters give her more heed than they normally would. The good guys never stop praising her

Seriously, it was so over the top and OOC for Loki to gush over her. He literally tells her she’s amazing. They don’t even make it subtle.

Characters' previously established personalities change in reaction to her. Proud, arrogant gimps suddenly acknowledge her superiority in everything. Reckless youths will listen to all her advice. Responsible leaders will defer to her instead. Villains will obsess with her to the detriment of all else. Extremely competent characters will become stumbling buffoons who require her help to do anything. Sweet, mild-mannered characters whom the author doesn't like turn evil and insult her. They all become unnaturally focused on her in some way.

Again, Loki’s whole personality changed in reaction to her. He became a buffoon who needed her help to enchant the Alioth because of course he couldn’t do anything without her! Hunter B-15 goes from doing whatever the TVA said to fighting the TVA just because of Sylvie.

Story Elements

Mary Sue is without exception a single-person Spotlight-Stealing Squad. The entire story hinges on her existence; if you removed her, there would be no story.

Sylvie undoubtedly drove the whole story this season. It all became about HER meeting the TVA heads because of HER trauma. Loki’s life was only saved at the beginning because the TVA was trying to capture HER. And SHE was the one who started the whole multiverse (!).

Mary Sue is The Chosen One, even if the setting already has one. There are many ways she can accomplish this: she can be a Sailor Earth type who "shares" the position with the canon hero; she may be vaguely "destined to help the destined one fulfill their destiny" (i.e. do all the work except the final blow so that the prophecy is still technically correct); or the canon hero may be revealed to be a Fake Ultimate Hero all along. Being the Chosen One doesn't necessarily involve her being a God-Mode Sue, especially as authors become aware of the phenomenon and try to avoid it, but it does make her critically important to the world and allows her to continue stealing the spotlight without the "god mode" label.

HWR wanted Sylvie to come with Loki in the end, like she was chosen all along right alongside Loki. Like one of the most important characters in the entire MCU is now this character who we only met a few episodes ago.

Most Sues have an unusually Dark and Troubled Past. It's often used to create a Sympathetic Sue, but any type of Sue can have one

They tell us, over and over, how hard Sylvie’s life was because she was kidnapped by the TVA in order to create sympathy for her.

She almost never does anything wrong. In the rare instance that she does, it's usually; (a) a way for the author to disclaim her being a Mary Sue by introducing a single imperfection (that has no bearing on anything anyway), and (b) designed to show her smarts by making her feel instant remorse, and she'll be Easily Forgiven anyway:

So this one hopefully will not come true, as a lot can change between now and when the show is taped. But if the show goes on the way the behind the scenes team is talking, Sylvie immediately felt remorse for betraying Loki, and Loki has already forgiven her and is desperately looking for her. Ugh.

Alternatively, she is more than capable of doing something wrong, be it in general moral terms or something that goes against whatever code she abides by, and she maybe even frequently does so, but don't expect the other characters or the narrative to ever acknowledge or comment on it in any real capacity. If the other characters do call her out, expect them to be treated like they're the problem for daring to criticize her at all.

Mobius calls her out for killing people, but Sylvie immediately says he’s a bad person and then Mobius agrees, because, of course.

She will often suffer from Special Snowflake Syndrome; i.e., she has a trait or backstory that sets her apart from her group or race.

She is the only female Loki, thus making her the special one among all the Lokis in episode five.

Presentation

In visual media, the camera just can't stop staring at her.

The camera would follow her in fight scenes rather than Loki.

Mary Sue Tropes

Okay, so there are specific Mary Sue tropes that Sylvie is. One of those is Copy Cat Sue, which I think was referenced before.

Copy Cat Sue

A lot of fanfic writers...start to write something because of their passion for this character, but they find something about the character that doesn't mesh well. Maybe they're the wrong gender or are otherwise not close enough to the author's expectations...In any case, rather than put them through the Possession Sue process, they just get a Clone-O-Matic™ and out pops a Copy Cat Sue...the character might be intended as a replacement for the canon character, but without whatever icky traits the author hates. They'll then rob the spotlight, prove the canon character to be unworthy of his/her position, and either relegate the character to obsolescence or, perhaps, even remove them entirely.

Sylvie is basically a clone of Loki, she is a variant. But she absolutely robbed the spotlight of Loki’s, and they literally call her the superior Loki. I mean, they are literally not even being subtle about this. And there was a feeling by myself (and a lot of other viewers) that Sylvie might ultimately replace Loki in the MCU.

Black Hole Sue

Much like a black hole, this is a Mary Sue who "sucks in" the plot and characters to her. Characters will behave outside their personalities, logic will be defied, and rules will be broken for her sake.

Sylvie really does suck up all the plot and Loki definitely behaves outside of his personality just to fit the Sylvie show.

Jerk Sue

A Mary Sue who is mean or maybe even cruel, but are still treated as an ideal person.

Once again, Sylvie is basically a jerk all of episode three, but you’ve got Loki falling over himself to call her amazing in just the next episode.

Relationship Sue

A Mary Sue who exists to be the perfect mate for a specific character...this character has everything in the plot conspiring to enforce this One True Pairing...in Fanfiction, they are the perfect beloved of a canon character.

They literally have Mobius speculate that Loki falling in love with Sylvie is so extraordinary that it causes an entire Nexus event, that’s how huge this One True Pairing is (!). And Sylvie is the love interest of Loki, the only character who had been around before the beginning of the series

TLDR: Sylvie has all the tropes of a classic Mary Sue character. So calling Sylvie a Mary Sue isn’t being sexist or just randomly hating on the character. If you use common Mary Sue characteristics to examine the character, she just has too many of these characteristics to ignore.

#loki negativity #antisylvie #loki critical #loki criticism #antisylkie

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miraculouscontent · 4 years ago

Photo

*rubs hands together*

The first thing to talk about with this episode is the pacing, and I think this might contribute to why people think it’s the best/least bad of Season 4 (personally, I’d rather watch “Furious Fu” but that’s just me; also, this isn’t the only contributing factor as to why I think people might feel this way, but I’ll get there later).

The episode has a very serious pacing issue, particularly with its more intense scenes. There’s only one minute of time dedicated to Ladybug landing on her bed, de-transforming, and her snapping at her friends plus them leaving. More time was spent on Chat Noir and Ladybug in the movie theater and Ladybug storming out.

I particularly remember watching the episode and getting eighteen minutes in, at which point I had the realization of, “It feels like nothing’s happened?”

This episode is supposed to be a big gut punch, but the season has been going by at the speed of sound, like they’re trying desperately to play all their cards at once (Lukanette break-up, Adrimi break-up, then Alya is told Marinette’s secret identity). Instead of letting things build and play out for a while in the interest of suspense, the show just throws whatever will get a big reaction out of the fandom (whether positive or negative) and it doesn’t care how shoddily put together everything is. The first two episodes feel like hastily put together drafts, and while this one is technically more put together, it still feels like a draft.

Let’s just start with Chat Noir, who feels completely out of place in the episode. Not only does he imply that he intentionally calls Ladybug “Bugaboo” (which she has told him to stop doing) in order to get a reaction out of her, but when Ladybug insists that she doesn’t want to talk, he tricks her into thinking that he has a good location to do so (and my heart breaks a little at how readily she trusts him) only to then take her to a romantic movie, then shush her when she calls him out for it because she “said she didn’t want to talk.”

Gee, and people wonder why she didn’t tell him her secret (even outside of “Chat Blanc” existing)?

And... look, I know it’s a joke, but I do not find it funny. The “joke” is basically that Chat Noir is taking advantage of the situation to flirt with Ladybug, and though I find it at least mildly cathartic that Ladybug is unaffected by all the people staring at them while Chat Noir is embarrassed, this episode is coming right after the one where Kagami broke up with Adrien, and here Chat Noir is getting his flirt game on. I already talked about all my problems with “Lies” so I won’t do it again, but I’ll just say that it’s not a mystery why Ladybug doesn’t want to talk to him and would rather avoid her problems.

(Not to mention that Ladybug knows that Chat Noir likes her, so talking about her romantic problems with him is awkward to say the least and would come off as insensitive.)

Honestly, at this point I feel like they must be building to something with Chat, like Ladybug finally going off of him with no mercy and that forces him to give up/fall out of love for her because reverse love square, but if that’s what they intend to go for, then that means Marinette is going to fall for this guy who’s repeatedly disrespected her feelings for multiple seasons, almost abandoned her and let Paris drown because she wouldn’t tell him a secret that wasn’t hers to tell, and just generally all the other things he did????

Ugh, I don’t wanna think about it. Let’s just move on.

Talking about Ladybug and her rant next, it basically summarizes the whole show in a nutshell, but simultaneously casts a shadow of sorts over “Truth” for people who maybe missed the episode entirely (which is also sort of the show in a nutshell). I mean, Ladybug confirming to the audience that she was genuinely in love and happy with Luka (you can’t watch how depressed she was over the break-up and not think that) was great, but Ladybug’s dialog implies that Luka “hated secrets” and that’s why they broke up, when Luka was more just... hurt that she couldn’t be honest with him, and he didn’t actively hate secrets. Marinette broke up with him because she felt like she had to; because she had to keep ditching and lie to him.

In addition, what she says also hints to the audience that they’ve both held and kissed each other, which not only indicates cowardice on the part of the staff (”yeah this happened but--um--off-screen; we’d still like credit tho plz”), but may perhaps go back to the theory I had about how Adrimi and Lukanette were supposed to last longer in Season 4 but their arcs got cut (based on the Adrimi kiss having supposed to have gone off). This could mean that Ladybug’s statement was originally accurate to canon but the scenes got cut and the scriptwriters just awkwardly left it in, which is made more awkward by the cinema scene in “Truth” that felt like Luka and Marinette were kissing for the first time (again, alluding to the whole, “this entire season has been a draft” thing).

Also, if you think about what that actually means - that Luka and Marinette did have successful dates and kisses but they were off-screen - then all it adds up to is that showing Marinette happy and comfortable was something that the series didn’t deem as “interesting/fun enough” to show, because Marinette being happy isn’t something they want to see; only watching her be miserable, which is exactly what Ladybug says, along with how everything was “almost too simple, too easy,” because Marinette isn’t allowed to have nice things without being jammed through the wringer first.

And... sure, let’s say that Chat Noir thought the movie was genuinely a good idea; let’s assume that it could be a joke, him wanting to flirt, and him believing that it’d make her feel better somehow.

If that’s the case, then where’s the apology when it fails miserably? Ladybug goes from her semi-anxious state at the start of the episode (a little scatterbrained but ultimately just looking for a distraction), to outright enraged by the movie, and then to this upon leaving the cinema.

She just got her heart broken from being forced to break up with a boy she genuinely wanted to be with and there’s not a single, “Okay, maybe coming here was a bad idea, I’m sorry,” (which could’ve been seen as another joke with the audience like “lol no duh Chat Noir” so there’s no excuse not to have it) or, “My bad, that was insensitive of me. I really thought this would’ve helped but I wasn’t thinking about what you would’ve wanted.”

No. The only people Chat apologizes to are the other people at the theater because he’s embarrassed by Ladybug’s reactions, yet he himself feels no remorse for taking her there and has the gall to go on now about how he’s “there for her if she wants to talk.”

Again, it’s no wonder Ladybug doesn’t want to open up to him.

And I’m sorry, I just don’t buy that Marinette suddenly has all this free time. It’s one thing for her to have a little more time now that she’s broken up with her boyfriend (likely avoiding spending time with him altogether now), but “Truth” went out of its way to talk about all of the emergencies she had to deal with and how she doesn’t have any spare time. which is causing her to become forgetful and lose track of certain events (patrols with Chat, dates with Luka, etcetera), yet Marinette spends most of “Gang of Secrets” simply sulking on her bed. It’s so jarring to go from “Truth” where she was doing “too much” (which I called them out on for not describing what the “too much” she was doing was) and now “Gang of Secrets” where she’s not doing anything.

It’s almost like they invented that plot point to break Lukanette up and it served no purpose outside of it.

Furthermore, the scenes of her finally talking to Tikki and then deciding to live as Ladybug does nothing outside of making the plot more predictable, the latter because of the “Alya almost sees Ladybug” moment (an obvious indicator that Marinette is losing control and is struggling to maintain her secret identity due to her emotionally breaking down) and the former because of Tikki herself and what she doesn’t say.

Because, really, think about what actually goes on in the scene. Marinette (eyes rimmed red and filled with unshed tears, as she is for a good chunk of the episode) is venting to Tikki about - yes - her love life, but also that she has to lie to everyone in order to keep her identity a secret. The fact that Tikki focuses solely on the note of Marinette’s love life and not say a word about the identity/lying issue or even consider telling Marinette, “hey, this is clearly too much for you, you should tell someone, I think the benefits outweigh the risks right now,” really proves that the episode tried to avoid the topic altogether to try and make the ending more shocking (which ironically made it more predictable).

So yeah, not only does Tikki’s dialog with Marinette provide nothing except for a line about how she can’t help Marinette with love issues due to kwami not falling in love (alright, I guess aros can’t give good love advice then or have any input whatsoever), but Marinette’s line about lying to everyone being why she can’t pursue Adrien nor Luka is repeated in the very last scene of the episode. The only reason that scene and the scene after exist is because the writers needed Marinette to be emotionally devastated enough to leave for her balcony as Ladybug for the almost-reveal to Alya and so Rose would get close enough to the dollhouse to have an almost-reveal with the Miracle Box, making the scene feel further contrived because the emotional punch of Marinette wanting to live as Ladybug lasts for barely any time at all.

And it could’ve served a purpose, like if Ladybug had genuinely left and Alya finds her goggles and towel, recognizing them from a news story about how Ladybug had gone to the swimming pool after losing her temper at the cinema, which could’ve led to Shadow Moth making the girls believe that Ladybug was no longer heroic and had kidnapped Marinette, or... heck, Ladybug coming back inside would’ve been so much less jarring if she came back because she heard the girls’ voices talking about the dollhouse and had to hurry (but of course, then they’d have to point out the ridiculousness of Ladybug not hearing Alya calling her and the girls not hearing Ladybug literally shouting for Shadow Moth to come fight her, even though the kwami heard the girls calling for Marinette from the balcony).

But instead, the entire scene feels off and unnatural, forcing every part of it in order to get to where Marinette has to snap at the girls to make them leave.

(Oh, by the way, just a little detail to add to the annoyance: they bothered putting Tom and Sabine in the episode when the girls are leaving, clearly saddened by something that happened, and neither parent even bothers to go and check on Marinette to see if she’s upset or just to see what might’ve happened. They’re such a “blink-and-you’ll-miss it” moment in the episode and it’s not like I’m surprised because they’ve done this multiple times by now but really?)

As for the girls themselves... oof, where do I even begin?

Alright, first off is the annoyance that they assume Marinette’s problems relate only to lovesickness. Marinette has been an anxiety-prone mess throughout the entire series, and suddenly now the girls care about Marinette’s love problems on an emotional level rather than “we’ll meddle sometimes unless we don’t feel like it and be wholly inconsistent on how much we push for it.”? It’s not that I don’t see how they came to the conclusion (hearing that Luka and Marinette broke up and now seeing Marinette is depressed, it checks out), but considering they bothered noting that Marinette hadn’t told them anything, one would think they’d come to the conclusion of, “okay, we haven’t talked to her, we have no idea of what’s going on, maybe we don’t know her as well as we thought then and shouldn’t make guesses.”

Secondly is the “eternal friendship bracelet,” which comes off as a copy of the “Secrets” game from “Syren” extremely manipulative. Mylene goes on to explain that one is supposed to give a secret to the pearl “mentally,” yet when the girls actually show up to see Marinette, they expect to be told the secret directly. I’ve already talked at length about peer pressure and the mental stress Marinette goes through when they mock her and/or meddle for her, but this idea of, “well we all used this friendship bracelet after we mutually agreed to it so now it’s your turn because we said so!” just comes off really bad. I know the episode is going for this idea that their hearts are in the right place, but they’re really not. It feels like they’re the ones in denial and are trying to compensate by forcing Marinette to prove that they’re friends, unable to handle the idea that they might not be as close to her as they thought.

Thirdly, the show acts as if the girl squad are her only friends when we know that’s not true because we’ve seen episodes like “Befana” (the guys in the class), “Reverser” (Marc), “Ikari Gozen” (Kagami), and “Silencer” (Ivan) that all established Marinette having more friends than just them, but for the sake of “drama” and the depressing line of, “at least I don’t have any more friends to lie to,” the episode just pretends like Marinette’s friends are limited to Luka (who she had to break up with) and the girl squad (who she forced to leave and refuse the friendship of).

Fourthly is the actual set-up and the sheer grossness of it all. The girls call Marinette and leave a message about how they much they love her and how she can talk to them “where and when” she wants, and then - immediately afterwards - decide that they’re going to go straight to Marinette’s house completely unannounced, go into her room completely unannounced (not even knocking, by the way), and when Marinette begs them to leave, Alya basically tells her that she’s overreacting. When Marinette demands that they leave, Alya refuses and makes demands right back that they won’t leave until she tells them what’s wrong.

So much for “where and when” she wanted, right? It’s already one thing for the girls to invade Marinette’s privacy and demand/guilt-trip answers out of her, but it’s another thing to give the illusion of respecting her feelings and personal space only to actively plan to go back on it. I can’t tell if it’s a bad draft that they didn’t catch in quality check (you know, the quality check that they definitely don’t have) or just an intentional way to make them seem more sympathetic so Marinette looks worse for driving them out, but either way, it’s awful and I hate it. I would’ve rather had them be all in on invading Marinette’s privacy and learn a lesson in the end than outright contradict themselves.

There are also little nitpicks I could make (like Juleka’s constant mumbling despite Luka’s crush on Marinette playing a role in the episode, Horrificator getting sidelined due to being mute, and the girls’ akumatization ultimately being for spectacle and nothing else, serving no purpose to the plot and being furthered by the fact that Timebreaker goes after Marinette despite it being a bad idea and Reflekta’s power clearly not lining up with any sort of plan), but the real issue issue here comes down to the fact that these are Marinette’s so-called “friends” and the episode refuses to address their actual issues.

Alix, who is known for making rude comments at Marinette (”Gigantitan,” “Chat Blanc,” “Miraculous New York”) and then gives mixed messages by going along with meddling anyway.

Mylene, who is the closest thing to a background character in the girl squad but nevertheless finds her way into being definite voice against Marinette in “Chameleon.”

Juleka, who blamed Marinette for things she didn’t do in “Reflekdoll” and got huffy with her until Marinette apologized for said things.

Rose, who outright screamed at Marinette in “Chat Blanc” over a freaking stuffed animal, which pressured Marinette enough that she snuck into Adrien’s room to deliver her gift which nearly led to the end of the world.

And, of course, Alya; freaking Alya. I don’t even have to go into every single thing she’s ever done because I have a history of giving her absolutely no mercy.

...But let’s go through some anyway because I want to.

“Copycat” - Alya gives Marinette a script and tells her to memorize it, then immediately pushes the “call” button when Marinette hesitates after Marinette had just told Alya that she’s awful at improv.

“Darkblade” - Alya takes a jab at Marinette when Marinette says that she’s too busy to be class representative, implying that Alya thinks that Marinette does absolutely nothing with her time.

“Gamer” - Alya is busy recording the gaming competition when she and Marinette were supposed to be researching for a term paper. Alya then scolds Marinette for wanting to use the competition to get close to Adrien only to do a 180 and put up a fight about it when Marinette decides to quit.

“Animan” and how “The Puppeteer 2″ follows up on it - oh, I’m not going to touch that particular point right now, but keep those in the back of your mind, because I am going to absolutely go off later

“Simon Says” - Similarly to Marinette’s parents, Alya gives zero damns about whatever might be going on in Marinette’s life that's causing her to miss classes.

"Despair Bear” - Alya laughs at Marinette being forced to kiss Chloe’s cheek and then outright compares Marinette to Chloe after knocking Chloe multiple times during the episode (sure, just compare your “best friend” to her multi-year bully, how "hilarious” of you).

“Gigantitan” - Alya has no qualms about mocking Marinette’s over her failures, even if it embarrasses her and she’s been through enough already.

“Frozer” - Alya tries to find ways for Marinette to prevent herself from third-wheeling for Adrien, but when Marinette tries to show character growth by wanting to go, Alya gets into a shouting match with the other girls over how Marinette has “liked Adrien forever and isn’t going to give up now”.

“Catalyst” - Alya claims that Marinette is only salty over Lila out of jealousy when “Frozer” exists and literally is the prime evidence of Adrien liking another girl and Marinette telling Alya outright and very genuinely that she’s not jealous.

“Chameleon” - Alya doesn’t care about her best friend sitting in the back by herself while Alya herself get to sit next to her boyfriend and everyone else in general gets to sit where they want (Alya even acting confused at the mere suggestion that she’d tried to engineer things to let Marinette sit next to Adrien), then not only believes Lila over Marinette but contradicts herself twice (asking Marinette for proof when she has none herself, then claiming that she wouldn’t let her best friend sit by herself).

“Christmaster” - Alya leaves Marinette to babysit so she and Nino can go out on a date.

“Desperada” - Alya suddenly is for Lukanette for literally one episode and doesn’t know how/doesn’t even try to cover for Marinette’s Adrien blindness despite mocking her for multiple seasons over it.

“Reflekdoll” - Alya invites Adrien to something that’s crucial for Marinette to focus on after Marinette has already told her not to and continues meddling to the point where it gets Juleka akumatized (she also doesn’t get punished for it and the blame gets thrown onto Marinette).

“The Puppeteer 2″ - Alya pushes her luck with Nathalie to try and get Marinette to come with her, Nino, Adrien, and Manon to the museum, then traps Marinette in a room with Adrien to force her to spent alone time with him, even abandoning and forgetting about the child that she offered to watch for Marinette so she and her boyfriend can go off alone.

“Miraculous New York” - Alya is told directly by Marinette that she needs help seeing Adrien as a friend, which leads Alya to do the exact opposite throughout the entire special, at one point shouting at Marinette and pressuring her to chase after a car, in the rain, while there’s a supervillain rampaging through Paris, and all of this right after the scheme that Alya had set up caused both Marinette and Adrien to go missing.

And just saying, as Marinette’s supposed “best friend,” Alya sure doesn’t know how to handle her. It was acceptable back in “The Bubbler” when she asked Marinette about signing the gift too late and the same goes for “Dark Cupid,” but by the time we get to late Season 2/3 and Alya refuses to learn Marinette’s weak spots (unless it’s to mock her) and adjust accordingly (like if she’d already made sure the gift was signed in “Chat Blanc,” which would’ve prevented Adrien seeing Ladybug at all due to the time difference), it starts getting infuriating.

A best friend is supposed to cover for their friend’s weaknesses. Alya doesn’t do that; she meddles and often drives Marinette’s anxiety even further up a wall with absolutely no consideration for Marinette’s feelings (”Dark Cupid,” “The Puppeteer 2,” “Reflekdoll,” “Miraculous New York”).

And here, she and the other girls are rewarded for it. Luka actively resisted his akumatization whereas the girls gave in immediately, yet Marinette still opens up to them in the end, likely because they had pressured her and made her feel bad for the secrets she was keeping while Luka was willing to actually wait for her to be ready to talk to him. I can’t put into words how frustrating it is watching these girls trample all over Marinette’s feelings, not have their worst actions called out, and then jump cut post-deakumatization to Marinette telling them exactly what they wanted to know about her love life.

You know what this entire episode is really missing, outside of a coherent plot, properly-paced development, and a basic understanding of rewarding a character for things they’ve held firmly to?

It’s missing the apology. Chat Noir apologizes to a bunch of moviegoers and Rose apologizes for the broken dollhouse, but no one apologizes to Marinette for how they treated her, especially not the “friends” who got rewarded in the end.

“Sorry, we shouldn’t have told you that we’d respect your feelings and then showed up unannounced to make you talk about them.”

“We’re sorry we came into your room and invaded your privacy. You were right to be mad at us.”

“Oh my gosh, Marinette, we got akumatized and we’re so sorry for literally all five of us going after you and probably scaring the living daylights out of you.”

And as if that wasn’t enough, guess what else this is missing? It’s kind of important and brought up directly in the episode, yet the episode simultaneously goes out of its way not to bring it up again.

It’s the reason why Marinette didn’t tell the girls about her relationship with Luka. It’s not there - it’s missing - and the girls never try to pursue the subject. They talk about how Marinette didn’t tell them but don’t think for a second that maybe it’s them who have failed as friends. Instead, they don’t guess anything about why Marinette wouldn’t tell them (which is already strange considering how much they already assume about her) and jump straight to, “well clearly we just need to push for her to talk to us.”

Gonna just go out on a limb here and say that maybe - just maybe - Marinette didn’t tell them because they are habitually pushy in everything they do.

Because they would’ve teased her relentlessly about, “ohhhh you’ve got eyes for Luka? what about Aaaaaadrien~? aren’t you sooo tooorn between both of these cute guys?”

Because they would’ve meddled to force her and Luka together and gotten on her case when/if she ever had to bail on him.

Because their intrusion on her feelings for Adrien had caused her nothing but problems and she just wanted to be with Luka in peace without them forcing their way into things.

Because--hey, wild thought--maybe they’re not really friends???

But the episode completely avoids it, because that would’ve meant addressing it; it would’ve meant acknowledging that they messed up, which - fun fact - they actually don’t do in the episode.

They invaded Marinette’s privacy, insisted that she tell them how she feels (not about them of course because that would imply that they felt like they screwed up), and in the end it’s Marinette who gives them exactly what they asked of her, and the closest thing we get to acknowledging anything is Alix telling her/joking with her that they’ll help her confess to whoever she likes as soon as she tells them she’s ready.

That’s not an apology. That’s not an acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Even when the five of them are about to get akumatized, it’s not a circle of them saying, “here’s how I screwed up, I could’ve done better but I didn’t and I lost Marinette because of it.”

No. It’s just them talking about how sad the situation is. Mylene has the closest thing to remorse in saying, “I hoped it would work,” but where does it go? A grand total of nowhere, especially because Marinette still takes the bracelet in the end instead of the girls mutually deciding, “okay, maybe the bracelet was a bad idea; how about we all agree on making something together instead, no requirements attached?”

And then the episode has the gall to act as if Alya has gone through character growth when all they did was put Alya through the same thing that Chloe did. I’ll explain that last bit momentarily, but first let’s talk about the whole “growth” thing.

Because there’s no apology or acknowledgement of wrongdoing, all Alya does when she’s finally alone with Marinette is do a 180 from where she was at the start of the episode, going from, “friends have to tell each other everything,” to, “hey, if you don’t want to tell me, then that’s your right.”

The crucial part that’s supposed to go in the middle is missing. Instead of acknowledging her failures, Alya just cuts straight to “””being a better friend,”““ but storytelling doesn’t work that way.

It literally would have taken zero effort to fit an acknowledgement into that scene. “You don’t have to tell me everything, I get that now. All my meddling’s done is hurt you and I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me.”

In a world where Marinette has to apologize for everything, has to learn lessons and suffer because the narrative says so, I will not accept anything less from other characters who are trying to develop and improve. That’s not fair to Marinette, nor has it ever been.

Instead of properly developing Alya, the show does whatever it can to get its audience to root for her as Marinette’s “best friend” (ugh) without having to put in the effort of admitting that Alya hasn’t been Marinette’s “best” friend.

Remember when I brought up Chloe? Yeah, “Malediktator” did a similar thing, showing Chloe doing something awful, then being sad (while not actually acknowledging the thing she did wrong), and in the end she was rewarded with a miraculous prematurely.

One show of character from Chloe and Marinette gave her a miraculous. One show of character from Alya and Marinette told her that she was Ladybug.

(Also, for the record, I think Chloe is far worse than Alya character-wise and I’m not comparing their characters; this is just the simplest comparison I can draw here from a narrative standpoint.)

“Miraculer” is another apt comparison, perhaps even more so. Chloe got Hawk Moth in her head after an akuma landed in her photo of her and Ladybug, but Chloe resisted and fought back, ultimately forcing the akuma out of her and freeing herself from Hawk Moth’s control.

But it wasn’t to develop her character; no, it was to convince the audience of Chloe and Sabrina’s friendship so they’d feel something during Sabrina’s happy flashbacks, then lay the foundation of tricking viewers into believing that Chloe might not go to Hawk Moth’s side.

At the end of the day, it was doing something that’s “never been done before” in order for the character to earn brownie points for something that the writers can just have them do because willpower is an easy thing to just write in. “Gang of Secrets” does the exact same thing when Lady Wifi breaks free from Shadow Moth, with Ladybug even hammering it home by talking about how no one’s ever done it before.

And the pacing is - again - awful. Not only is Ladybug banking on this working when she herself says that it’s never been done, but the conversation between her and Lady Wifi where Ladybug tries to convince her doesn’t even take a minute.

It also has nothing to do with Marinette herself; Ladybug relies on Alya’s adoration/friendship with her as Ladybug (you know, after Alya took a photo of LadyNoir kissing and posted it online without Ladybug’s consent, betrayed her by putting information on the LadyBlog that Hawk Moth was able to take advantage of, and is the only hero outside of Chloe to resist returning a miraculous) in order to break from Hawk Moth’s control, because talking about Marinette with Lady Wifi didn’t even work.

(Ladybug also uses her yoyo as a portal to the Miracle Box when this has never been pre-established to be a thing despite Ladybug acting as if she knew it was; further proof that this episode was rushed.)

And of course talking about Marinette didn’t work, because that would’ve meant convincing Alya that her reason for getting akumatized was “wrong” and the episode didn’t want to do that. It didn’t want someone else actually learning something and feeling bad; surely, this is just Alya being manipulated by Shadow Moth and having the power to break free because Ladybug “needs Rena Rouge” and not because Lady Wifi and her friends are chasing after their supposed best friend and that’s--you know--wrong???

Rena Rouge’s reappearance is also yet another thing the episode refuses to address because it avoids the topic of “but my identity--”. At least “Heart Hunter” had the tact to have Kagami question why Ladybug was giving her the dragon again, but “Gang of Secrets” treads as lightly as possible on any discussion of identities outside of Marinette saying that she can’t, as if it were Marinette who made the choice of concealing her identity and not the basic idea of heroing that has been stressed over and over for the whole show.

Even Plagg of all kwami stated back in “Origins” that no one is supposed to know about secret identities, a rule that continues becoming flaky and muddled with each passing season, almost like they kept attempting to retcon and make the audience dulled to the idea so that the reveal in “Gang of Secrets” would be more acceptable.

But now, with the way they did it and how they don’t even have Tikki comment on the matter, it once again has it look like they’re making it - say it with me, everyone - Marinette’s fault.

Alya says that Marinette has a choice in telling her secret, Marinette insists that she doesn’t and goes on and on about how it’ll change everything, and then just... tells Alya her secret in the end.

And remember all the way back in Season 2? “Sapotis”?

Alya: What were you saying about her secret identity?

Marinette: Ladybug needs it to protect her family and friends. Otherwise the villains could use them to get to her.

Alya: Well, if I knew who Ladybug really was, I'd keep it a secret. I would even help her! Like say, if you were Ladybug, I'd cover for you — when you needed to transform in school, go fight the "baddies", you know?

Marinette: Oh yeah? Well, if I was Ladybug I wouldn't even tell you, to protect you from the "baddies", you know?

Alya: You serious? If I was Ladybug, I'd totally tell you! Because I tell my best friend everything.

And now here we are in “Gang of Secrets,” as if the narrative is saying, “See, Marinette? Alya was right all along, you were just being ridiculous and making yourself suffer for no reason!”

Yet Marinette had a right to keep her secrets. When Alya and Nino learned each other’s identities, Alya took a hit for Nino in “Catalyst” and both of them fell to Scarlet Moth’s akumas. Chloe was a mess and a half because of Hawk Moth knowing her identity. Fu had told Marinette that her miraculous would get taken if she and Chat Noir learned each other’s identities.

The only ones who received no consequences due to someone knowing their identity were Pegase (who Chat Noir and Markov knew), Ryuko (who Chat Noir, Ikari Gozen, and Hawk Moth knew), and Viperion (who Adrien knew). “Chat Blanc” also exists where Marinette got the impression that people discovering her identity would be a disaster, and even all the way back in “Lady Wifi” insisted that not telling anyone her identity was “listening to her head and not her heart,” and the narrative has relentlessly humiliated her for going with her heart, so yeah, probably for the best.

I hate that the episode avoids talking about anything identity-related outside of what comes out of Marinette’s mouth to make it appear like it was her choice all along. I hate that they had Tikki fixate on Marinette’s love problems instead of having her actually support Marinette and admit that Marinette should tell someone before she has a mental breakdown. I hate that the episode inserts Rena Rouge into the plot as if to brush all identity issues away so as to make Marinette’s identity reveal seem less jarring.

Now, of course I’m glad Marinette told someone. Of course I want her to get love and support from someone. Of course I think the benefits outweigh the risks, or I wouldn’t have written multiple fix-its where her identity gets revealed in some way or someone already knows.

But I didn’t want it to be Alya, because I knew how they’d do it. I knew they’d do it wrong and I knew that they wouldn’t have the courage to address Alya’s issues properly.

Those familiar with my blog will know that I’d been taking negative predictions for future seasons for a while and adding them to cards whenever they were proven right. Does anyone remember the Season 4 predictions that were proven correct for “Gang of Secrets,” specifically these ones?

- “Alya will suddenly be portrayed as a good/worthy friend to Marinette in/if there's an episode where Marinette tells her that she's Ladybug”

- “Alya resisting Shadow Moth/fighting back against him will be used to excuse telling Alya Marinette's secret identity“

- “Alya will know that Marinette is Ladybug first because "BFFs" despite being one of the worst candidates for it“

- “The secret that broke Lukanette up will be resolved in episode 3 when Marinette tells Alya“

Each and every one of those were mine, because I knew that whether Season 4 had a proper chronological order or not, the writers would not have the guts to develop Alya first and then have Marinette tell her in a future episode after Alya has properly earned it.

I knew that they wouldn’t take time to develop Alya. I knew that they would have Alya resist Shadow Moth to make Alya look “worthy” of the secret. I knew that Alya would swoop in during the last minute and a half of an episode, insisting that Marinette “didn’t have to tell her anything” when Alya had been pushy and insistent for the entire rest of the episode and the whole series in general, and would ultimately be rewarded with the big secret simply because she’s “the best friend” and that’s it.

The Alya at the end of the episode isn’t the Alya I’ve known for the entire rest of the series before this, or at the very least they turned her into an Alya I don’t recognize.

Alya claims during the ending scene that she knows that Marinette is hiding something beyond her love problems because she - as a reporter and “her best friend” - can sense such things, and all I’m left wondering is

w h e r e ?

Where and when has Alya been suspicious or worried about Marinette keeping a secret from her? What, back in “The Pharoah” where she didn’t immediately disregard Marinette for the role of Ladybug, or “Simon Says” where she vaguely teased Marinette about having a double life, both Season 1 episodes?

Where was Alya in “Truth” saying that she didn’t know Marinette’s secret but knew that she was keeping one? Where was Alya anywhere in Season 3 being concerned that Marinette hasn’t told her something? Where was this “supposedly very observant” Alya when Marinette needed her to out Lila because Lila got her expelled--oh wait, Alya “observed” that Lila did nothing and Marinette was just jealous.

What, is it only now that Alya suddenly “knows” that Marinette is hiding something else? Now, after Alya has already not known that Marinette was literally dating someone, even when Alya had multiples pictures of Marinette and said someone giving each other heart eyes and saw Marinette leaving school with said someone riding on the same bike together, you know, like normal, typical, average friends would?

Where’s the line where Alya acknowledges the problem? Where’s Alya sitting down with Marinette and admitting, “hey, I’m sorry I haven’t noticed this stuff, but I promise I’ll do better starting right now, and that’s how I know now that you’re hiding something else, and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that it’s been hurting you”?

I can’t tell you where it is, but I can say that it’s certainly not in this episode. 60% of the episode features the Alya we knew from the rest of the series and then switches her out the second she’s de-akumatized for another Alya who hasn’t done anything that the old one has because she pretends like it didn’t happen.

You know how I know? Because of this absolute gut punch of a line that showed that the series wanted to handwave everything away.

“I know how to keep a secret.”

...Really? Does she now? Well, I hope everyone remembered my point about “Animan” and “The Puppeteer 2,” because I’m bringing it right back.

Considering that “Truth” has been burned into all of our memories, we all definitely remember when Truth shoots Alya and questions her on Marinette’s secret, to which Alya states that Marinette’s secret is, “She’s in love with Adrien Agreste.” Now, at the time of Season 4′s airing, this is very much not a secret, as most characters already knew about Marinette’s crush, to the point where it’d been broadcast on television during Season 2.

But do you know when it was actually a secret? Back in Season 1, specifically in the episode “Animan” where Alya told Nino.

And not only did she tell Nino, but she lied to Marinette by claiming that she didn’t, acting as if Nino knew that Marinette had a crush but didn’t know who she was crushing on, which is then directly proven false as Nino accidentally implies that he does know who it is. This is also after Alya had gotten on Marinette’s case for trying to set her up with Nino, and then she had the gall to say that she wouldn’t spill Marinette’s secret because she, and I quote, “doesn't go around making decisions for other people,“ a statement that is directly contradicted by this little thing known as everything Alya has ever said and done in the entire series.

And while Marinette meddling in Alya’s love life actually ended up working out for Alya, Alya meddling in Marinette’s by telling Nino who Marinette is crushing on comes back to bite Marinette - not Alya (because of course) - in the infamous episode of “The Puppeteer 2,” where Marinette realizes that Alya really did tell Nino that she was crushing on Adrien.

Marinette: You told me you wouldn't tell Nino!

Alya: I haven't told him. Right, Nino? I didn't tell you anything. (elbows him)

Nino: She didn't tell me. And besides, I told her I wouldn't tell.

Then, when she’s called out on it, Alya lies again, and shamelessly so.

Marinette: Why did you tell Nino everything? You promised you wouldn't!

Alya: I didn't, I swear! Besides, even if I had told him everything, he would still be clueless. Ugh, who cares anyway? I've set everything up with Nino, who doesn't know a thing, so you can finally pour your heart out to Adrien, girl!

And now, here we are one season later - and not even half of a season if you go by production code order - and Alya claims that she knows how to keep a secret.

No. No, she does not. In fact, she does even worse because she won’t even admit when she’s spilled said secret. I absolutely refuse to accept that Alya is “worthy” or “deserving” of learning that Marinette is Ladybug when she couldn’t even keep a basic secret like who her friend was crushing on.

And no, it didn’t matter that Nino was her boyfriend, or that maybe she thought it would work out because Nino was friends with Adrien. By that logic, Alya would tell Adrien that Marinette is Ladybug if she heard that Ladybug is who Adrien was crushing on and we all know how that would’ve gone.

Marinette has a right to tell her secret to whoever she wants and I’m glad that a burden has been lifted from her, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy that it’s Alya. That doesn’t mean I have to be happy that, after so many moments of Alya disrespecting Marinette’s feelings, she is the one who gets to hear the big secret that the fandom has been waiting for someone to find out about since the very start of the series.

Luka said it best in “Truth” that the truth is meant to be shared, not taken by force, but Marinette was forced to tell Alya by the narrative because Alya is her supposed “best friend.” It pushed Marinette to her breaking point, forced her to break up with the guy who has respected her agency and feelings since the day they met, and gave her a version of her “best friend” with the same name and face but with none of the responsibility from previous events so that said version was there at the right time and the right place to hear what had to be heard.

And in the end, I end up feeling nothing. Marinette doesn’t even have a “Marinette” reaction to saying it as one would expect; for her to blurt it out and then immediately start panicking until Alya hugs her to calm her down. Instead, Marinette just says it and stares silently at Alya - after blabbing this huge, very big deal of a secret - until Alya goes in for a hug (the “happy/hopeful” ending of which is why I feel like this episode also gets less flak, as the previous two ended off rather depressing/upsetting).

It’s off. Everything is off. The pacing, the delivery, and the logic that the episode uses. The emotion in Marinette’s voice when she’s rambling about how hard it is to keep her secret is so powerful, but then the ending hits and she just says it, breaking the momentum they had going. They pulled the card of Alya walking away too soon when they could’ve saved it, having Marinette go quiet and letting Alya take a few steps away in order to let the moment build before Marinette finally blurts out the secret she’s been painfully holding in.

But they didn’t, and I’m so many levels of dissatisfied. I wasn’t against the idea of Alya learning Marinette’s secret at some point (though honestly, Alix would’ve been a better pick considering that Bunnyx will know eventually anyway, and I say that not even liking Alix!), but not now; not when Alya had so much to work towards.

And now what? What happens now? Now Alya will turn against Lila, not because she learned to have faith and believe in Marinette, but because Marinette is Ladybug, which disproves Lila’s ultimate lie that got Alya’s attention in the first place? Now Alya will be supportive and less teasing/mocking whenever Marinette will be late, not because she understands that Marinette isn’t perfect and has so many other things on her mind, but because she’s Ladybug and has “hero stuff” to take care of? Now Alya will be careful about what she puts on the LadyBlog, not because she respected Ladybug and what Ladybug would want, but because Ladybug is now her best friend and that changes everything?

Because now, Alya has a free pass to all of that, the show making her spontaneously “developed” now so they won’t have to develop her later, and disappointing doesn’t even begin to describe it.

#category: salt #episode: Gang of Secrets #other: ml spoilers #category: long post #word count: over 7000 #other: ask and answer #((I know this is long so I did what I did in ''The Puppeteer 2'' where I had pictures to break it up.))

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