#comparing adrien and zuko

[actually-factually-anonymous]

The unnecessary lack of personal stakes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng in the Agreste Arc

Inspired by a recent post by @starguardianniom, with half pinched again from my own reblog:

Marinette has zero personal stakes in the main conflict of her show, except that she happened to be the first girl who helped Fu across the road, and was thus chosen to wear the earrings. She doesn't even really seem to have any reason to be Ladybug aside from the basic "I can't sit back and do nothing" she stated in Origins. So a sense of responsibility conferred by being the bearer of the earrings, and an ostensible general desire to do good.

This would be fine, except that Adrien very much did have a reason to continue being Chat Noir. Plagg's Miraculous is the source of his freedom, and a new identity of his own making separate from the carefully curated child of Gabriel Agreste. Most importantly he had so much personal connection to the core plot that his narrative potential dwarfed Marinette's beyond compare.

His mere existence is the very axis of the plot, putting it in motion by the apparent desire for a designer child seeming being the very reason Gabriel and Emile sought the Miraculous all those years ago, and the consequences of his creation being the very reason that Gabriel devolves into magical terrorism. Hawkmoth being his father whom Adrien clearly cares for and whose goal of restoring his much mourned mother setup a truly impressive case for split loyalties for when Adrien (seemingly) inevitably learnt of his father's identity and true goal:

I made a comparison before between Avatar and Miraculous where Avatar won without question. Allow me to balance the scales here: the setup for Adrien potentially turning on Ladybug, or having to sacrifice his familial bonds for the sake of justice outweighed Zuko's own setup for choosing his ''honour"/loyalty to his family over his burgeoning sense of justice.

In potential at least. Rest assured that Zuko's character arc still far eclipses anything Adrien was ever allowed.

But the point I'm trying to make here is that in the very story that bears her name, Ladybug's only reason to be involved comes from the fact that she happens to have Tikki's Miraculous. She has no personal investment in the fate of Hawkmoth than other citizen of Paris, she certainly has no conflicting loyalties.

She doesn't even have a personal reason to continue being Ladybug. You can draw a parallel if you like with one of her ostensible inspirations Peter Parker, who learnt the price of personal inaction in a harsh and unforgiving manner that selflessly drives him to protect others. You can say that the Stoneheart incident fulfills a similar role.

But here's the thing: Peter Parker is Spiderman thanks to his radioactive blood. Ladybug is whoever wears Tikki's Miraculous. If Peter retires, he takes his powers away from the protection of New York. If Marinette gives up her Miraculous, a new Ladybug will arise in her place within a day. There's no need for her to be Ladybug, to take on that responsibility, and until the season three finale there's no personal stake for her to be the girl under the mask any more than any other Parisian citizen.

And that means that Marinette isn't the heart of her own story. In Avatar, it's Aang's quest to defeat the Fire Lord because it has to be him that restores balance. In Star Wars, it's Luke whose connection with Vader that has to restore Anakin's better nature. In just about any series there is a pressing need and personal stakes for the protagonist to be that The Protagonist of that story, that make that story their story.

But the setup here has all the pathos and personal stakes placed upon Adrien. Marinette is the centerpiece of the show, but Adrien's handed all of the narrative potential even as the writers let it go to waste.

It's like preparing a finely seasoned meal, then leaving it to rot as you serve plain vegetables. There's just no reason to have the vegetables when the fine meal is ready for consumption: and if that's a problem? If the plain vegetables were always meant to be the centrepiece? Then you should have seasoned the vegetables and made something delectable with them.

Because the saddest apart about Marinette having or actual ties or pathos to the Agreste Arc is that once upon a time that was not the case.

In previous Miraculous proposals, before the PV, Marinette Cheng was at least as part of the main story as Felix/Adrien was. There were various versions of how the story would go, with one echoing Cardcaptor's plot, and the later proposals looking more like what we got in the final product.

But all had Marinette having a personal stake in the story. In the Cardcaptor-esque plot, Marinette was Fu's granddaughter (or granddaughter figure), and Fu was the caretaker of the The Orb. A crystal that contained all the "fairies" (beings that served both the roles Kwamis and Akumas would later take). The story kicked off because Marinette brought her crush Felix into her Grandfather's store and accidentally broke The Orb, shattering it and allowing the Fairies to escape across Paris and empower countless people- heroes and villains both.

It was her mission to retrieve the Fairies, because she was the one who had released them. She was Fu's granddaughter and it was her responsibility to clean up her mess. It was her story, and Felix/Adrien was the one with less direct connection.

Later proposals ditched The Orb as the Kwamis were developed, but up until the most recent and final versions of the story Marinette retained Fu as either her blood Grandfather outright or at least a mentor so close from her childhood that she thought of him as a Grandfather. She also was usually being trained to be a Guardian or something like it herself from childhood.

She wasn't just a girl Fu found on the side of the road. She had as much connection to the Guardians and their world as Felix/Adrien did to Papillion. It even added a certain Montague-Capulet tragic element to the romance, since if Felix/Adrien and Marinette ever got together it would mean one having to choose between their partner and their family.

But for some reason, in the final product Marinette was stripped of all pre-series personal connections to the Miraculous.

The question is why? Was there really so great a need for Martinette to be "a girl like any other" that all of the plot relevance needed to be stripped out of her and added to Adrien, only to then completely ignore all that potential pathos by sidelining Adrien at every turn?

Because if you weren't going to do anything with Adrien, then all you've done is needlessly undermine Marinette's potential as a character.

Seriously, if you had given me the backstory of these two characters and asked which one was the main character: there would have been no chance I would have selected Marinette. Because all the writers have given her backstory is side-character material, whereas Adrien's very existence, as well as his relationship to his family and the Miraculous is at the heart of the story.

And I doubt there would be many others who would think otherwise.

[allgremlinart]

mee when Zuko is compared to random cartoon character with only vaguely similar character archetype

me when Zuko is compared to random cartoon character with only vaguely similar archetype but its Adrien Agreste

[coralcatsea]

Random thoughts regarding different fandoms:

(I've seen/read these, I just don't engage with the fandoms that much. These are just thoughts based on what I have seen of the fandoms.).

Death Note: Endless memes. Constant poking fun at all the overthinking going on. Putting these dramatic characters in goofy scenes about cake and friendship. The jokes never get old for me. I don't see much discourse, maybe an occasional conversation about whether or not Kira was right. 😆

ATLA: Zuko getting teased. Kataang and Zutara battling it out while Zukka laughs and slowly rises higher, taking more and more people as it goes. I'm not that interested in the ships, but Sokka ships are the best. NATLA wins the "not as bad as you could've been award" and "the effects were decent". Lots of fun analysation.

Percy Jackson: I feel Nico is a fan favourite. The main discourse I've seen for the fandom as a whole is whether or not Annabeth treats Percy well and whether or not Piper is annoying. A lot of people compare Percy Jackson and Harry Potter (the characters), and those who have read both seem to agree Percy is better. Like ATLA, there's a new live-action series that is a mixed bag, but much better than the old, horrible live-action movie (and sequel) in the past.

Zelda: DOWN WITH KOROKS vs STOP KOROK ABUSE. Everyone loves Sidon senpai. Glory to Master KOHGA. Most of the stuff I see right now is BotW/TotK related, but there's still some good stuff for other games, as well as the AUs people do with different Links meeting. Midna is the best sidekick.

Hazbin Hotel: I'm wary since there's LOOOOTS of discourse in this one. The fans can be pretty funny, though. I love the song edits and that there's a whole ship tag for Vox's unrequited obsession with Alastor. I also like watching people analyse the characters and writing.

Helluva Boss: Well...I once again like watching people discuss the writing. But I am hesitant to engage with any fans because I have a weird relationship with this show and don't think I really qualify as a fan. 😅 I watch it because it's so bizarre to me I can't look away. One time I gave characters different colour schemes for fun, and I got a bunch of annoyed asks from someone taking it too seriously. 😆

She-Ra: Catra Applesauce Meowmeow is a poor little meowmeow. Cat. I like the cat memes. I also love the comparisons between Scorpia and Kronk. Entrapdak is probably one of the better ships, yet has haters for some reason. The accusations have the same vibes as Beauty and the Beast accusations.

Owl House: Tons of Lumity. Personally, I'm more invested in Eda and her relationships with the other characters. Belos and Hunter get compared to Ozai and Zuko. Hunter is very popular. Everyone side eyes Disney for what they did. HOOTY SUPREMACY HOOT HOOT.

Miraculous: The Adrien vs Marinette discourse makes my brain hurt, but I'm glad we all pretty much agree Astruc does everyone dirty. Canon? What's canon? Usually I like and try to follow canon. Not here. Who tries to follow canon in Miraculous? The fans write the show better than he does. Love all the fan comics I see for this show. Chloe could've been more interesting. We all make fun of Smooth-Brain Gabe. We came for the Love Square and then started to hate it. Then Emonette and Emodrien came and reignited our interest.

[havendance]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag Game

Thanks to @androxys for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

81! A fair number of those are drabbles, but still. Writing fic for (checks notes) 8 years really adds up.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

335,515

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I am very invested in writing for DC comics and not doing much else, but in the past I've flitted from fandom to fandom, writing for various cartoons/tv shows and video games mainly.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

v) #Justice4Gotham -- My NML epistulary/blog fic. I think this one has the advantage of being a social media AU of sorts, but I really am quite happy that one of my No Man's Land fics made it into the top five. I still think this one is very fun.

vi) You Can't Spell Kuzon without Zuko -- My Zuko and Aang are childhood friends fic. I do like this fic and I'm glad that I was finally able to finish it after sitting blocked on it for nearly two years, but I honestly don't consider it one of my top fics in terms of response. It clearly has picked up a good number of kudos, but it felt like commenters were more interested what potentially happened next rather than the Aang and Zuko of what I'd put on the page that was what compelled me to write it in the first place.

iii) One Scar to Find Them -- This was my AtlA platonic soulmate AU where the entire gaang shares scars. I really liked soulmate AUs when I was younger, mainly because I liked all the various mechanics and I think this was the last hurrah of that. And also I thought it would be wild if everyone had Zuko's scar. I remember writing this all out in my notebook in bright pink pen and then letting it sit there for ages before I finally cleaned it up.

ii) Let's Steal a Fire Prince -- My Leverage x AtLA crossover. This was the first multi-chapter fic I actually finished so I am proud of it for that, even if looking back I can see some of my growing pains. I was really glad that other people loved this crossover idea as much as I did and I would've loved to come back to this universe more if I a) could actually write heists and b) didn't get sucked into other fandoms 😅

i) Former Hopes and Future Scars -- Another AtLA fic. I'm not surprised that this is my top fic since it's a) focused on Zuko, b) features Time Travel, and c) is a contained one-shot under 2k .

All but one of these are for Avatar: the Last Airbender which I think is a reflection of me writing during the pandemic-era AtLA renaissance and it also just being more broadly approachable compared to my comics stuff.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yep! I wasn't always super consistent with it, but I try and respond to every comment now.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh, this one's a hard one, there are so many good contenders! Probably You Will Live Forever (the dragonslayer!Willow fic I co-wrote with my bro Baz for the Owl House), but I would also like to give an honorable mention to I just keep falling now that you're gone the angsty next generation Miraculous Ladybug fic I wrote early in my fanfic writing career in which Adrien becomes the next Hawkmoth and his and Marinette's kids have to go up against him.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably some supremely fluffy fic I wrote for a ship event back when I was doing those. Other than that, maybe Robins Don't Make Great Roommates or Top 10 Secret Identity Fails? I don't think I really write super fluffy/happy endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've never really gotten hate per se on the fics themselves. I did get a review on a fic I posted to fanfiction.net once that was complaining that I had rated it K but used like, a single swear word I think. I also got a couple of anons on tumblr that were really didn't like the premise of one of my fics, but I just thought it was kind of silly that they were that upset about it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not my thing.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yes. I have written so many crossovers. I'm honestly a little surprised the crossover bug hasn't bitten me for my comics fic more. I've done a couple Batman/Sandman crossover fics, but it feels different with them both being comics and also both published by DC.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of fortunately!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have written several Owl House fics with my beloved bro and co-conspirator @horatiocomehome. I'd love to cowrite something with him again some time but we are sadly currently obsessed with different fandoms. I'm also not opposed to trying co-writing with someone new!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I'm not super into shipping so this one's kind of tricky. If I had to choose maybe Ireneides from the Queen's Thief series or Celes/Locke from FFVI. I was also deeply committed to Sakura/Kaze from Fire Emblem: Fates, when I was younger, but the secret super AU version with a ton of lore from the elaborate AUs I daydreamed up.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

For wips I have published, I'm either confident in my ability to finish them, or else have just excepted that I won't. In terms of wips that haven't made it to the light of day: Black Queen. I started writing this and got stuck but oh, it would be so fun.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think coming up with AUs. I like playing with all the pieces and figuring out how things ripple and change.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't think I've done much with this, but if I did I'd probably use dialogue tags so like "'My name is john," John said in Chinese' if the narrator knew the language and "John said something in Chinese' if they didn't.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Fire Emblem: Fates, baby

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Picking favorites is so hard ;; It would be a lie to say I love all my fics equally, but I do think I can say that I do love them all, even the very first ones I wrote. I guess for purposes of this game, I'll go with World Gone MAD because I am still very satisfied with how it turned out, but because I can't just pick one, I'd also like to give a shout out to Neither Heir nor Spare (The Sole Survivor) for being the fic that I think is pretty up there in terms of ones I reread the most and Turnabout Traitor! for being a very fun She Ra x Ace Attorney crossover.

Tagging, uhhh, @horatiocomehome, @acediscowlng, @dustorange and if anyone else is interested, consider yourselves tagged in spirit!

[critical-thinking-is-mandatory]

i feel like i’ve seen this comparison made before but i’m gonna do it again anyways.

adrien agreste = a bad version of zuko (atla)

they’re both the fandoms’ most-popular character, both are subject to abuse from their dad, both have mysteriously missing mothers, both have great privilege and power and both are woobified by the fandom. 

the difference is one character has a story and arc and characterisation that makes sense, and the other is adrien.

lets go through everything one by one hmm?

abusive dad:

so zuko’s entire arc basically centres around him overcoming the abuse of his father, which is also given thematic significance in that zuko’s abuse parallels the way the firelord/s have abused their people and the world and is a powerful narrative for any child trying to reconcile the love and fear they have for abusive parents. (there are a million and one essays about this out there but still. i feel like i’ve made my point)

adrien’s abuse is almost always a tangential thing. it seems to only exist as something to make adrien sad for pity points. adrien’s abuse doesn’t seem to have any bearing on his actions, or motivations as a person or character. his exposure to people who actually care about him isn’t building some kind of internal conflict or realisation that even though adrien loves his dad, he’s not healthy or safe to be around. we’re 3 seasons in to the show and the only thing adrien’s said or done or thought about his relationship with his dad is ‘sometimes i’m sad but sometimes i’m happy’.

mysteriously missing mothers:

so we see in some really poignant scenes that the disappearance of zuko’s mum was extremely traumatic for him and something he’s still dealing with and broken over years later.

adrien has also got a missing mum, and like from what i can tell from the show she’s been missing like about 9 months? maybe slightly more. and conveniently, we very, very rarely see adrien act or react in any way that could be related to his mother. the episode where he sneaks out to see his mum’s movie is possibly the only time we see adrien acting out of grief.

what we see with adrien most of the time is someone who’s already grieved. someone who’s already accepted and moved on, not someone who’s holding on to the hope that his beloved mother is actually safe and well and on her way home rn (because, again, as far as adrien’s aware emelie just disappeared one day. sounds like kidnapping to me). adrien’s acting like he never even knew or cared about his mum, like she died of natural causes when he was a baby or something. that he’s got fondness for her simply because she’s his mum, but no personal relationship to deal with.

great privilege and power:

at the moment, adrien’s actually pretty similar to zuko’s early use of his power. zuko was desperate to get what he wanted (his dad’s love) and was willing to enact violence and terrify innocent people to get it. eventually though he learned that he had a duty to use his power (as a fighter and prince) for good.

adrien’s still kinda in the first stage and i honestly don’t know if he’ll get better. adrien wants marinette/ladybug to love him and he wants to have fun, it’s just convenient that fighting a supervillain is ‘fun’ for him and being a ‘hero’ keeps him close to marinette. we’ve already seen adrien’s willing to use his position as a superhero to try and keep marinette to himself (copycat, frozer, glaciator, ladybug and so on) and takes advantage of the fact that he has a miraculous to ignore marinette’s boundaries almost every episode. and no, it’s not on the same scale as the prince of an imperial power setting villages on fire, but the fact remains that adrien is still not the great paragon of virtue and kindness the show pretends he is.

i’ve gotten shit for this before and i’ll get shit for it again: but adrien is badly written. he’s constantly set up as the ultimate hero and a saint and a virtuous angel even though virtually every single one of his actions is wrong and morally disgusting and it’s to the point that if anyone says ‘hey maybe don’t worship this animated child’ his stans will come for your throat foaming at the mouth and demanding you instead criticise any of the other characters that’s already criticised fairly.

i just. it shouldn’t be too much to ask for a show that makes a show of bringing up traumatic events like emotional abuse and missing parents and a supervillain that takes advantage of people’s negative emotions to actually have a bearing on the characters and plot. 

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

https://immaturityofthomasastruc.tumblr.com/post/687627635130564608/does-it-frustate-you-when-people-accuse-you-of

It does promot me to think incidentally that Astruc might look favorably on the guys more (Adrien and Hawkmoth in this case).

To take another example of iffy oversight outside of Miraculous, I see one viewer of The Owl House who thinks that regardless of her attempts to change, that Amity is comparable to Pre-Redemption Zuko.

I like both mind you and I appreciate bullying being recognized more and more as problematic, but yeah suggesting that Amity’s offense are exactly up there with burning a village and aiding in conquering another country?  Ouch.

So really it boils down to how boys are permitted to be boys, where as girls getting away with something is worse.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let’s be glad we don’t know what that view thinks of Hunter, someone who actually has done bad stuff before turning a new leaf that isn’t just crushing someone’s cupcake.

[ilikekidsshows]

Do you think there’s any chance Emilie will wake up? Not necessarily as a consequence of Gabriel winning and using The Wish, but waking up somehow, perhaps even without his help. Many fans seem to consider her as 100% dead, period, but she’s actually in a sort of magical coma, which to me is a very important detail. I mean, if the writers weren’t planning to bring her back, then she could just be actually dead. Perhaps even in the Season 4 finale, The Last Attack of Shadow Moth? In the very last moment of the very last episode? Imagine: it shows Emilie opening her eyes, and then... the season ends! The chaos it would bring to the fandom, lmao. (They could even use her as villain or as the next HawkMoth, if they didn’t already have Lila.)

To be fair, Magical Coma in a show where we have never seen the characters as much as put a bandaid on a small injury is the closest we will ever get to actual death that sticks. Like, it's all in how Miraculous frames the loss and how it deals with other losses. Adrien grieves his mother like she's dead, Gabriel is very much being framed as a Single Parent. It doesn't matter that she isn't dead-dead, she is as good as.

I'll give some examples to illustrate what I mean about how Miraculous handles loss. Chloé and Lila have both tried to ruin other characters and have made some at least partially successful plays to do so (Chloé in 'Rogercop', 'Lady Wifi' and 'Despair Bear', Lila in 'Ladybug') yet none of the heroic characters have suffered any real repercussions for getting literally framed for crimes. Similarly, the characters are never truly shown in a state of injury; in 'Miraculer', when Cat Noir gets hit by a Cataclysm, he just groans and holds his middle a few times while he still contributes the most physically to the fight and is never shown getting treated for the injury. The injury just goes away with the ladybugs and was a minor inconvenience before then. This is also how Sentimonster deaths are treated, they're just a little side effect of Sentimonsters not being real. If an actual person died, it would have to be reversible.

Compare this to Avatar: the Last Airbender, where we get literally told: "Gyatso was killed by Firebenders" in episode three, and Zuko walks around with a massive burn scar on his face, which gets confirmed without any doubt to be caused by his father disfiguring him with his flame. AtLA is a show where death is explicit and even recurring characters might die. Miraculous is the show where the characters get slight boo-boos that get magicked away. A good clue to see early if a kids’ show might go into death and maiming territory: check if the characters have/get scars or other visible, lasting injuries.

If Emilie did get brought back, it would be emphasized as bringing her back (from the dead). Her son has grieved her and started to move on, the world has moved on without her, she isn't as necessary as she used to be. She would feel out of touch and out of place. And this emotional Othering could very well be used as a jumping off point to making her the new main villain. While I agree that Lila has potential, Emilie just has more of it due to her being an adult potential threat, which gives a lot of space to build up a backstory and motivations.

So, yes, a season finale that closes on Emilie opening her eyes would be exciting no matter if she ends up being a good or bad person, and her being comatose rather than dead-dead does mean that we might not need as many superhero hoops to justify her resurrection. Many superhero deaths have been undone as “faked my death for secret reasons” or “was replaced by an evil impostor right before that impostor died in my place.” Of course, there is that one line in the season three finale that implies Emilie’s sickness is in her soul and not her body so that might make things harder to fix, although a soul injury would also work as a way to make her temporarily a villain.

[centrumlumina]

As part of the AO3 Ship Stats project, this list shows the 100 most-posted pairing tags on Archive Of Our Own in the period 24 July 2019 - 2 August 2020. This list was created by comparing the current number of fics with data gathered for the 2019 AO3 Ship Stats.

There are 71 M/M pairings on the list, 15 F/M, 3 F/F, 8 Gen and 3 Other. (Please note that on AO3, ‘Name & Name’ indicates platonic or familial ‘Gen’ relationships, while ‘Name/Name’ is used for romantic and sexual pairings.)

Of the 200 names on the list, 23 are women and 3 are characters of ambiguous gender, down from 28 and 3 in the 2019 list. 92 are POC, and 7 are racially ambiguous, compared with 64 and 11 two years ago.

For more information about the AO3 Ship Stats project, please check out the accompanying FAQs. You might also be interested in the All-Time Top 100 Pairings and the Femslash Top 100 list. These stats are also available on AO3.

ETA: Fixed the Change value for Merlin/Arthur Pendragon.

ETA 2: Fixed Race categorisation for Michael Guerin/Alex Manes.

A text-only version of this data is given below the cut.

Rank   Change   Pairing   Fandom   New Works   Total   Type   Race 1   15   Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   20298   28726   M/M   White 2   72   Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   10671   13130   M/M   POC 3   8   Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   9076   21306   F/M   White 4   28   Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   8441   12227   M/M   White 5   N   Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion   The Witcher (TV)   7573   7573   M/M   White 6   1   Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   7239   40312   M/M   White 7   5   Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   7070   16824   M/M   POC 8   0   Peter Parker & Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   6807   17366   Gen   White 9   -7   James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers   Captain America (Movies)   6262   49659   M/M   White 10   4   Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   6141   15375   M/M   POC 11   -5   Steve Rogers/Tony Stark   The Avengers (Marvel Movies)   5613   36264   M/M   White 12   68   Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens)   Good Omens (TV)   5503   7928   Gen   White 13   -8   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V   Bangtan Boys | BTS   5254   23339   M/M   POC 14   5   Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug   Miraculous Ladybug   5183   19631   F/M   Whi/POC 15   5   Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   5001   14073   M/M   POC 16   -13   Castiel/Dean Winchester   Supernatural   4927   84563   M/M   White 17   1   Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   4596   17867   M/M   POC 18   N   Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)   9-1-1 (TV)   3716   3716   M/M   Whi/POC 19   5   Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor   Supergirl (TV 2015)   3614   13048   F/F   White 20   -16   Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood   Shadowhunters (TV)   3599   24787   M/M   Whi/POC 21   2   Pepper Potts/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   3569   17384   F/M   White 22   14   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   3565   7325   M/M   POC 23   N   Adora/Catra (She-Ra)   She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)   3538   4919   F/F   Whi/POC 24   15   Dazai Osamu/Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs)   文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs   3512   8768   M/M   POC 25   N   Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan   陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF   3446   3446   M/M   POC 26   -12   Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski   Teen Wolf (TV)   3249   59286   M/M   White 27   10   Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)   Merlin (TV)   3157   18688   M/M   White 28   -11   Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3155   16682   M/M   POC 29   66   Ayanga/Zhèng Yúnlóng   声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)   3111   5285   M/M   POC 30   -21   Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   3026   19851   M/M   POC 31   -3   Sirius Black/Remus Lupin   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2958   17686   M/M   White 32   N   Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist   The Magnus Archives (Podcast)   2917   3367   M/M   Ambig 33   60   Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2672   5023   Gen   POC 34   12   Peter Parker/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   2623   6160   M/M   White 35   N   Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio   Haikyuu!!   2601   10485   M/M   POC 36   22   Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2583   10171   F/M   Whi/Amb 37   -8   Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2507   9891   M/M   POC 38   -37   Keith/Lance (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   2480   30317   M/M   Amb/POC 39   20   Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington   Stranger Things (TV 2016)   2438   5338   M/M   White 40   N   Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou   Haikyuu!!   2387   7629   M/M   POC 41   N   Patrick Brewer/David Rose   Schitt's Creek   2363   3150   M/M   White 42   5   Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee   NCT (Band)   2331   5854   M/M   POC 43   8   Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   2304   6506   Gen   White 44   N   Dabi/Takami Keigo | Hawks   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2294   2930   M/M   POC 45   N   Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru   Haikyuu!!   2272   11155   M/M   POC 46   -24   Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2259   12668   M/M   POC 47   N   Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   2218   2218   M/M   White 48   28   Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth   Game of Thrones (TV)   2186   7063   F/M   White 49   19   Bakugou Katsuki/Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   2169   4991   M/M   POC 50   N   Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh   IT (Movies – Muschietti)   2163   3116   F/M   White 51   3   Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2128   11699   F/M   Whi/Amb 52   -31   Sherlock Holmes/John Watson   Sherlock (TV)   2121   61544   M/M   White 53   -5   James Potter/Lily Evans Potter   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   2110   10125   F/M   White 54   -28   Jeon Jungkook/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   2074   9498   M/M   POC 55   N   Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén   魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù   2073   2494   M/M   POC 56   -25   Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter   Hannibal (TV)   2064   17257   M/M   White 57   N   Kakyoin Noriaki/Kujo Jotaro   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1964   3580   M/M   POC 58   N   Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1896   3983   F/M   POC 59   -46   Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov   Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)   1843   24332   M/M   Whi/POC 60   15   Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1838   9269   F/M   White 61   N   Poe Dameron/Finn   Star Wars Sequel Trilogy   1806   7238   M/M   POC 62   N   Kaminari Denki/Shinsou Hitoshi   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1791   2732   M/M   POC 63   -38   Dan Howell/Phil Lester   Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)   1782   17316   M/M   White 64   -54   Keith/Shiro (Voltron)   Voltron: Legendary Defender   1764   13925   M/M   Amb/POC 65   31   Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1720   3917   M/M   White 66   N   Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow   Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell   1707   4803   M/M   Whi/POC 67=   -33   Kim Taehyung | V/Min Yoongi | Suga   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1651   7176   M/M   POC 67=   N   Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1651   1651   Other   White 69   N   Michelle Jones/Peter Parker   Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)   1639   3692   F/M   Whi/POC 70   N   Michael Guerin/Alex Manes   Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)   1635   2746   M/M   Whi/POC 71   28   Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto   Naruto   1625   7705   M/M   POC 72   N   Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1617   3776   F/M   POC 73   -30   James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1559   7456   M/M   White 74   -39   James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1544   7724   Other   Whi/Amb 75   9   Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed   Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)   1534   3921   M/M   White 76   N   Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort   Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling   1511   6308   M/M   White 77   N   Jeon Jungkook/Kim Namjoon | RM   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1505   3911   M/M   POC 78   N   Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson   Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan   1501   6017   F/M   White 79   N   Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth   Fire Emblem: Three Houses   1495   1495   Other   White 80   N   Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1493   8791   Gen   White 81   N   Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1487   2200   Gen   POC 82   -37   Tony Stark/Stephen Strange   Marvel Cinematic Universe   1460   4912   M/M   White 83   N   Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist   Persona 5   1447   3285   M/M   POC 84   N   Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou   Haikyuu!!   1444   4932   M/M   POC 85   N   Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know   Stray Kids (Band)   1440   3091   M/M   POC 86   -33   Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol   EXO (Band)   1431   6629   M/M   POC 87   -45   Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester   Supernatural   1416   27696   M/M   White 88   N   Leone Abbacchio/Bruno Buccellati   JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure   1415   2237   M/M   White 89   N   Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar   Lucifer (TV)   1413   4165   F/M   White 90   N   Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier   IT - Stephen King   1396   2268   Gen   White 91   N   Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard   All For The Game - Nora Sakavic   1392   4681   M/M   White 92   N   Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long   RWBY   1390   4358   F/F   POC 93   N   Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto   Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia   1378   2887   Gen   POC 94   N   Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader   Star Wars - All Media Types   1369   4112   F/M   White 95=   -8   Kim Namjoon | RM/Park Jimin   Bangtan Boys | BTS   1365   4728   M/M   POC 95=   N   Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)   Avatar: The Last Airbender   1365   1828   M/M   POC 97   N   Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin   NCT (Band)   1360   3266   M/M   POC 98   N   Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier   X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)   1333   14736   M/M   White 99   -72   Loki/Thor (Marvel)   Thor (Movies)   1330   12863   M/M   White 100   N   Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders   Sanders Sides (Web Series)   1327   3132   M/M   White

[miraculouscontent]

Anonymous said:

I adore Chloe. She's my favourite character and I can relate to her issues so hard, as well as her flaws. HOWEVER. Adrien and Ms. Bustier were SO out of line telling Marinette how to feel about Chloe's actions. I genuinely don't understand how people can look at those two and say "hey, those are great people!" Guilt-tripping someone for feeling upset their bully is leaving is so damn scummy. Why is this behaviour even allowed to be shown positively in the show??

My only guess is that plot kept overriding morality to the point where the writers stopped caring about it altogether.

Like, at first it was just, “okay, so this thing is a little questionable, but the payoff will be good/it’ll make for a good episode/this is how we get where we want to go,” and the bar for what they’d allow kept getting lower and lower until they’d just do anything to force their plot through. Does that make sense?

Anonymous said:

I saw someone try to compare Chloe's arc to Zuko's from avatar and I am seriously wondering what kind of show they're watching? How is "spoiled brat makes everyone miserable and indirectly/somewhat directly helps the villain reach more people to corrupt" in any way like Zuko's arc?!

On behalf of Zuko, I’m offended.

Anonymous said:

You know, I'm all for a new character as long as Marinette isn't tortured in the aftermath. But why is it that Zoe is finally appearing now and hasn't been mentioned at all by Chloe or Audrey in the entirety of the show. I mean they're bother prideful and care more about themselves then a burning bus of puppies. It's like they're developing new ways to get Chloe akumatized.

I’m more distracted by “how convenient that the really sweet girl - who we presume may become a solid friend of Marinette’s - got shelved until a way later seasons.”

lol, maybe the idea was that Chloe and Audrey are so in their own heads that they forget Zoe exists; too busy thinking about themselves.

[thelovesquareisheartshaped]

Might delete this later ... but I need to rant

I really love this show but it honestly feels like it's just... the shenanigans and angst keep escalating and there doesn't seem to be any hope of even smaller plot lines being tied up along the way...

Like sure, if there's one, two maybe even three major plot lines that's fine but give us small victories along the way? Give us a Chloe redemption arc, let Marinette get over her stutter, just give us something

No I don't count Alya finding out because it once again added more problems than it solved.

Maybe I shouldn't be comparing but once all the Adrien!sentimonster stuff (which honestly I thought was some crazy headcannon that i didn't hate just didn't think it would work with the show) started to show up in cannon... it gave me the strongest flash backs to teen me reading the Mazerunner and Divergent book series' and never finishing them because?? They just took such wild and sudden turns that it really put me off?

Don't get me wrong, if sent!Adrien is legit so be it but I feel like it could be worked in better... the weight of such a development looming on the horizon would be really interesting if we knew that Adrien knew he had a support team (ladybug/Marinette) who would understand and support Adrien through that.

Idk maybe I can't call it "bad writing", maybe its just personal preference. But my opinion is that a story should give and take.

Where's the identity reveal that makes Marinette realise that them dating in previous timelines is what resulted in catastrophe so they can know but not date... we get a bigger support for both of them, a closer team built on trust but it leads to mutual pining and constant emotional restraint.

Where's the result of all Chloe's set up for character development? She got on my nerves so bad but I saw the potential for a Zuko-style redemption arc and I was holding out for that (heck even let her claw her way to redemption only to plummet back down and become a villain in her own right) but instead it feels like the show forgot about her. (Even if there's a plan to combine all these loose threads in one fell swoop.. its gotten too much now. Start. Wrapping. Up. Arcs.)

The Lila stuff, the Guardian stuff, Alya knowing before Chat Noir, all the drama around Kagami and Luka, Chloe and Zoe, Felix??, Natalie's entire character, role and motivation in all this, the backstory around Emilie... so many things getting dangled in front of the audience, so much build up only to be yanked away and fade out of focus.

It's getting to a point where I don't know if or how the build up will be resolved in any nice meaningful way. I could see Adrien getting through his fathers identity reveal because he also found out Ladybug's identity but now his entire existence may hang in the balance plus he doesn't even feel like he can trust Ladybug anymore... its too much. I don't see how the characters can come back unscathed by all this... sure some scarring is expected but its getting to a point where it feels unrealistic that they'd be able to just bounce back from this.

The chance for a believable resolution to everything is getting smaller and smaller and I honestly.. it's making it harder to stay invested...

[theluckiestlb]

What do you think of Lila?

I find it interesting how her character elicits more vitriol from the fandom than Gabriel does at times. I suspect this is due to bullying being a more universal experience than child abuse. I only have experience with the latter—so Adrien’s plight is more relatable (and it’s easier for me to notice the nuances and depth of Gabriel’s insidious behavior).

Lila may be a pathological liar—but it’s important to bare in mind that she’s still a young teenager being manipulated by grown adults.

I hope the writers flesh out her motivations beyond ‘hating Ladybug’ and the lust for absolute power. What led to where she is today? Was it a lack autonomy/power growing up? Was she wronged in a fundamental way? What lies behind her decision-making?

Let’s examine a character like Azula as an example—she seeks to obtain power and ascend to the the throne as Firelord—but there’s more to it than that. Since birth, she had been compared to her brother and conditioned to strive for excellence. Azula resented the attention Zuko received from their mother. To compensate for Ursa’s absence, she relied on Ozai as a source for parental validation—which ironically caused more friction and worsened Zuko’s abuse, causing Ursa to focus more attention onto him. As such, the need for validation was the source behind Azula’s quest for power throughout ATLA.

Lila will likely usurp Gabriel and take up the mantel as Hawkmoth after season five. We have yet to understand the reason—but it’s a great opportunity to add more complexity to her character.

previous lila asks/headcanons : i. ii.

[unacaritafeliz]

fic writer review

tagged by (one of my absolute favourite authors) @dameferre!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

94! I am slowly creeping closer to that 100!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

360, 929.

3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

technically nine, but only seven for ao3 - check please, avatar the last airbender, miraculous ladybug, haikyuu, yuri on ice, 2gether the series & cherry magic

(more questions + tags under the cut!)

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A slap to the face. (viktuuri)

Here in Your Arms (nurseydex)

Re-dib-flip (nurseydex)

It's (not) You (nurseydex)

New York at Christmastime (nurseydex)

anyone else miss the days when the check please fandom was active? i mean... i don't miss the racism i had to see every second of my life, but i do miss writing fic for the boys to combat that racism. and not hating canon!dex. i miss that too.

5. do you respond to comments, why or why not?

listen, why did ao3 make it so that author comments count towards the comment total? I always used to think it was cheating by artificially inflating your own comments now and I can't start now because how will i compare my fic if some of them have double comment counts? i know there are comment threads in statistics but consider - i don't care.

anyway i feel bad because i do feel as if more people would engage with me if i did respond but alas. maths brain won't shut up.

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

the only fic i've written with a sad ending is Goodbye (nurseydex) where Dex confesses to Nursey and gets rejected (rip). It was a prequel to another fic i was writing where they met 5 years after college and managed to get together but i... never wrote the follow up (which i started writing first)

7. do you write crossovers? if so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i write crossovers in that they are inspired by other media but not that characters from both media are present. I have 2 chapters of Checks, Chirps & Cellys (zukki set in the check please universe) up (and yes I am working on chapter three for the anniversary) and I have a Haikyuu x Cherry Magic crossover (kuroken!) ready to go up as soon as I have a free week to post.

8. have you ever received hate on a fic?

yeah so in New York at Christmastime someone told me that it was "abuse" for Nursey's sister to threaten to leave Dex on the side of the road if he was mean to Nursey when the Nurse siblings offered to take Dex home for Christmas since he didn't wanna go to his own family (even though he had been a dick to nursey previously, as per canon). This person left me this comment on CHRISTMAS DAY which makes it better.

also it's not hate but i get a lot of "wow i love this fic which is weird because bi zuko seems so wrong!" which isn't hate but i do take it as hate <3. bi zuko rights but more than that just leave people alone if they ship something you don't. you don't need to tell them you don't ship their ships or disagree with their headcanons.

also also this wasn't on a fic but do y'all remember when the parse stan told me I was drinking the "cool-aid"? Truly my favourite fandom interaction.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

bitch please can you imagine?

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

lmao who would steal my rubbish

11. have you ever had a fic translated?

i have! Because I love Adrien too (Alya & Adrien) was translated into Russian! I also have two fics that have been podficced! It's Chow Time!! (Chowder-centric) and Adam J. Birkholtz and the case of the missing clothes (links to translations and podfics at the end of the work)

12. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Anne and I worked together on 2gether 4ever (sarawatine).

13. what’s your all-time fave ship?

y'all are picking favourite ships?

14. what’s a fic you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

okay so the 5+1 fic The long way home (zukki) won't get finished. I don't think I'll ever go back but I loved it so much. It was such a fun concept. It was basically sokka and suki being like "okay can we love you know?" and zuko being like "no! you can't! honour!" and sokka and suki being like "okay! how about now?"

i still want to work on Checks, Chirps & Cellys (zukki) and am trying my best to get chapter three chugging along but i think if we're being realistic... its been eleven months since chapter one and i'm only just starting on chapter three. i don't think we're gonna get to the end on this one gang (unless y'all wanna hang around until 2024)

15. what are your writing strengths?

i don't know what i'm doing i just write a bunch of words and sometimes they're good.

16. what are your writing weaknesses?

i don't know what i'm doing i just write a bunch of words and sometimes they're not good.

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages on a fic?

i think it can be confusing to understand but i do occasionally throw in some better known words into my fic.

18. what was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

if we're counting unpublished, then pirates of the caribbean self-insert when i was ten. the first fandom i actually count is Miraculous Ladybug.

19. what is your favorite fic ever written?

I can't pick a favourite from my own fics so I'm interpreting this as my favourite fic by someone else and it is without a doubt A Mile Away by @dameferre. I remember reading it, a beacon of light in the messy racism that was the nurseydex fandom and just... everything felt right in the world for once.

tagging: @creativityobsessed, @admiralsushishin, @toriftw, @literalchineseperson, @hoenursey and @ambykinns

[firelxdykatara]

I need to hear more about this Zutara ml love square au. It’s everything I didn’t know I needed in my life.

LISTEN YALL DONT KNOW THE CAN OF WORMS YOU’RE OPENING W THIS IM GONNA

-cough- i mean i’ve thought about this a little maybe in the past >.>

NO BUT LIKE OK.

(sidenote: please check out the design @becasart made of painted lady!katara bc it’s gorgeous)

so i outlined my vision of the love square a bit already here, but there’s so many places it could GO, and i personally am a slut for the square shifting (see: my desire to see marinette slowly falling for chat while adrien is falling for marinette and suddenly the script is flipped), and it’s beautiful because you have four different relationship arcs, right??? zutara and paintedblue are both one-sided, with lots of pining, but vastly different dynamics. you get the angst and antagonism of katara hating zuko while he’s desperate to prove himself to her--but has no idea how, because keeping up his facade as the crown prince is the only thing that might protect him from his father’s wrath (and yeah, he still has the scar--the common story is that it was a training accident; no one knows the truth, except zuko, his sister, his uncle, and ozai), which is why he accepted the deal with the blue spirit in the first place, so that he had a means of protecting his people. and then you have the painted lady in love with the blue spirit, but she knows his heart lies elsewhere and every time they’re fighting soldiers back to back, or saving people, working together--there will be moments where she just melts, where their eyes meet and she thinks maybe he feels the same, but then reality sets back in, he looks away, pulls his hand back, and she desperately fights back her own jealousy because above all else she wants him to be happy, even if it’s not her.

and then you have blutara, which is basically ladrien--he loves katara, and she loves him, but they both think it’s unrequited; zuko knows that she hates the real him, because he hasn’t realized yet that his identity as blue is the real him, in every way that matters. he can never bring himself to take advantage of the fact that she doesn’t know his real identity, no matter how much he wants to--how desperately he wants to kiss her, spin her until she laughs, until the fire in her eyes smolder to embers with a heat that is all for him. and for katara, she’s so intensely conflicted because she doesn’t believe it’s remotely possible that the person he loves is her. part if it is because she met zuko before she ever met blue in either form--so how could she be the one blue loves, when he hadn’t known her before she met him as the painted lady??? so then there’s the dramatic irony in them being in love with each other but convinced it’s unrequited.

AND THEN, WE COME TO THE HEART OF IT ALL--the painted lady and zuko, neither of them in love with the other (or so they think) but in a way this allows them to be even more real with each other. their truest selves, because there’s nothing for them to hide. no feelings--because of course there couldn’t be feelings, she hates him, it doesn’t matter how much her insides clenched unpleasantly when she thought he’d been hurt, he’s still the spirits-damned prince of the nation that had destroyed her people and overrun the world--and the painted lady just can’t compare to the fire that burns at katara’s center, no matter how often zuko thinks he sees flickers of it in the lady’s eyes, beneath that inscrutable mask of hers.

but that’s just at the start. because then things start to change.

the painted lady saves zuko’s life. again and again. somehow, he always manages to get himself in dangerous situations, and sometimes, she almost thinks there’s more to him than she gave him credit for. and the painted lady is always there when things go bad--when people need her, she’s the first to dive into danger to help them--when he can’t get away in time to transform, she’s there, pulling his ass out of the metaphorical (or sometimes literal) fire. and they get closer. they get trapped together, and they have to learn to work together to get out of whatever spirit-trap it is, they have to connect--and they start seeing the other pieces of each other’s puzzled souls. zuko’s compassion for his people peaks through his arrogant, princely facade, and katara can never keep her fire tamped down for long--and then there’s guilt, because how can they possibly be falling in love with each other when they already love other people?????

there’s like four or five different layers to this slow burn and i just. would love to sink my teeth into it dfkgjhdkfhgdfg

[worldsendroleplay]

Friday, January 1st, 2021

Greetings, dear reader. 

Some of you may have noticed my absence, but I have been hard at work. Either way, my comings and goings are none of your business. If you were to make a report of my work this past month, it would be longer than every past one of yours combined. I hope you all enjoy your holiday gifts. They were all chosen with great care and it took great effort to acquire some of them. 

It seems your present to me was enough material for a longer report. I commend you for not being boring in my absence and while I know I should not criticize a gift, it would have been far better if you’d gifted me content for the entire year. Whatever; there’s always my birthday.

Many people have come and gone since we last spoke, too many for me to keep track of, but I regret to inform you that among the people that have left the world was Alastor, the Radio Demon. Where am I supposed to get my entertainment from now that all the world’s resident killers are gone? Unless Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, or James Potter make good on their threats to kill Peter Pettigrew, I suppose that I will have to watch and listen to your silly conversations and arguments instead. 

There were a few Thanksgiving get-togethers, though not as many as for the next big holiday that we will cover. Bucky Barnes invited his sister Rebecca Barnes and her boyfriend, Hugo Granger-Weasley, to spend Thanksgiving with himself, his son Leonard “Leo” Barnes, and his girlfriend Angie Martinelli. They had to explain the holiday to Madge Undersee, who grew up in a world where there was no Thanksgiving and for whom a cornucopia was used for more than just food. 

Christmas has arrived for the inhabitants of Worlds’ End, and many people have celebrated it in their own ways. I’d tell you about my holiday plans, but I doubt you would approve. Merlin and Morgana, on the other hand, hosted a lunch and dinner for their friends and family and spent the next day sleeping it off. Malachai Atherton explained Christmas to his girlfriend Ty Lee, who had never heard of the holiday but received a present from her boyfriend; she gave him one in return despite not knowing of the holiday, as she was aware this time of year was special somehow.

But not everyone has had a happy holiday. Regulus Black discovered that his daughter, Lyra, had joined one of the many happy ghost-like people living in the portal version of his beloved Hogwarts. I must say, that is a terrible idea of a Christmas gift on someone’s part. I do happily encourage murder, but even I must draw the line somewhere. Sirius Black, after being told by his brother that Lyra had left the world, assumed that either Peter Pettigrew or Narcissa Malfoy were involved as they were aligned with a certain Dark Lord back home. Sirius then grew infuriated at the idea of Narcissa being Lyra’s godmother, and things blew up between the two brothers when he accused Regulus of never changing his ways. Pardon my language, but what an asshole. 

For un-holiday-related conversations, look no further than Aviana Pendragon. We have watched her grow up, but it wasn’t that long ago when her younger brother Gaven Pendragon was born. Avi has since felt like her family wants her to be just like her brother, though hopefully a few conversations with her parents and uncle would have made her feel better. If she is reading this, or if anyone needs to hear this—it is always okay to be yourself, whether you are rash and arrogant, quiet and sweet, or just a plain murderer. For example, I know I can be bold and that it can be intimidating to speak with me. I still do not shy away from this. 

Meanwhile, there have been quite a few confessions made since people have only been able to speak the truth, both for the better and for the worse. For example, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste had a fight over a certain little secret (that I know and you don’t), but things have been cleared up between the two now and they are still happily in love. Sir Leon learned a little something about his good friend Sir Gwaine, but they did not fight at all and instead laughed it off. Compared to Marinette and Adrien, it was a rather boring conversation, but it was a conversation a long time coming. Then there was a conversation between Mordred and Merlin about a certain destiny and a certain set of fake memories, but that is all in the past. Now it is time to look to the future, and I can’t wait to see what will happen next. Even if the past did bring along enough drama to warrant several stab wounds. 

And where there are confessions, there are also actions. Gorlois has been training the Druid Kara in how to fight and then extended his offer to Callan. After a few days of consideration, she decided to take the former knight up on his offer, and she joined the two in the gym. An anger-prone Druid, a feisty orphan, and a Knight who has renounced his knighthood… What can go wrong? For my sake, I hope several things do.

It has been weeks since his birth, but it is my honor and my duty to announce the arrival of young Micah Aspen Fisher Odair on Finnick Odair’s doorstep. While the victor was talking with his roommate, Rue Gardner, in the kitchen, they heard the soft cries of a baby outside. They brought the young boy inside, and Finnick has been raising him as his son since then. I cannot wait to write his mouthful of a name in future reports.

Finally, let’s move onto the exciting topic of relationships, whether they are familial, romantic, or platonic. Mariah Hunter and Daniel Jackson have been increasingly spending time together, be it watching movies, nursing small cuts on fingers, or preparing for dinners for the two of them to share. For now the two are just friends, but they are a pair to watch for anyone that knows them. 

There is a new relationship in town for anyone who cares to read about it. Lu Ten may have been thinking about his feelings for Reagan Reyes for a while now, but staying silent about them was no longer possible. With the truth now being his only option, Lu Ten had no other choice but to say something, which may have been prompted by her painting of him. Thankfully, she reciprocated his feelings, and the two lovebirds kissed and decided to begin a relationship with each other. Now, let us just hope that their families approve. Since Lu Ten’s current family in the world consists of a single firebending cousin who is never happy, they should be fine. 

On the topic of budding relationships, young Gaven Pendragon extended the hand of friendship to Kara, someone who has in the past tried to kill his father Arthur Pendragon as well as all the knights that he calls uncles. Of course, Gaven doesn’t know about that, and he likes seeing the best in everyone. I will address Gaven now as I did Aviana earlier—if you are reading this, perhaps it may be best to ask your parents about it. Or better yet, send in a question to me! 

Gaven may not be the only tether between the two sides, though. Mordred and Kara, since their (seemingly inevitable) break up, have discussed the possibility of getting back together. As of the writing of this report, nothing has happened yet. 

What is more certain is that Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala have gotten back together. Things had grown complicated between them both since she knew what her secret husband had done and what he would come to do, but they’d never stopped loving each other. It was—is—Padmé’s hope that they can find a way to move past whatever he will do in the future and perhaps stop it from ever happening at all. In a heartfelt moment, she exchanged wedding rings with him after not being able to wear them at home. It’s unlikely that change in course of action will happen, but it’s fun to watch everyone try to stop the inevitable, especially in a world like this where you already know what will happen. 

Something else we already know for sure is that Jet has moved on from only telling lies to only telling the truth, which made Katara feel uncertain now that she knows that the lying buffer is gone. However, she has still chosen to be with him, and has expressed her happiness to Zuko, who is still happily in love with his girlfriend from the Earth Kingdom, Jin. What made the firebender less happy was the constant ice and snow outside, but maybe he’ll cheer up in the future. Hopefully, he got a winter coat for Christmas.

If you are Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, it may be a bit hard to be cheery right now. They had to deal with a question of trust once again when Mercury went to wish his Semblance back from the genies of the Genies’ Cave. Back home, this had been stolen by his father to ‘make him stronger’. Emerald insisted on joining him in the caves so that he didn’t get himself killed, and the wish was made. If he had gotten killed, it would have made for such an interesting story. I do love a good death. There was no death, though, leaving us to see what happens in the aftermath of this wish. I hope it’s something exciting. 

For the sake of my future reports, I hope the coming year is full of excitement for you.

That is all for my report this week.

Go on, dear reader, and do not forget to share this with your friends!

Your Editor thanks you.

[critical-thinking-is-mandatory]

"You know, that Adrien from Chat Blanc was totally a d*ck. Glad I'm not him and am completely perfect. Oh, when did I change? Just now." (Season 5 Adrien)

LITERALLY. like it is one thing to have a character change suddenly and drastically, perhaps even by surprise, but it's another thing entirely for that character to state how much they've changed because of personal reflection...and that personal reflection just...doesn't exist.

like i haven't actually watched season 5 (not subjecting myself to that lol) but going off of every other "brilliant" writing move the creators have pulled in the past, i'm certain they've pulled this "pivotal character moment" out of their asses. in fact, i am willing to bet my brand new pet baby chickens on it. Not once in the 4 seasons prior has Adrien shown a shred of guilt, regret or remorse for the way he mistreats people, especially Maribug.

now, i'm not saying characters can't change from bullies/harassers/Nice Guys (TM) to legitimately good people, it's been done plenty. but this kind of thing doesn't just happen. there's gotta be some kind of...prompt, a build up. something that sets the change in motion.

it can be over the long-haul, such as with Zuko in the Last Airbender. His change had been set in motion when he was branded a traitor, a whole season and a half before he made his final decision.

or it can be much shorter, less serious, such as with Jaune, in RWBY. Actually, Jaune is a pretty handy case because his issues were quite similar to Adrien's.

Jaune was also harassing a girl he liked. and, while it could have been handled better, he did stop and at least attempt to make amends. in a way. my memory of the scenario is a bit fuzzy after all this time, but i'm pretty sure he realised the girl he liked was interested in a different guy, and after a small kerfuffle between said girl and her fella, Jaune more or less shook some sense into the guy and moved on.

obviously, the whole thing could've been done a bit better, but for what it's worth, it's an effective character moment.

From what I've gathered? Adrien didn't really have a moment. he's just like: "damn, that was crazy. Anyway." it's so soo frustrating because they literally had all the material they needed!

Adrien has spent the whole show being fawned over and pawed at by the likes of Chloe and Lila. Adrien has also spent most of the show pawing at and fawning over Ladybug. This right here! That is all you needed! Just one single moment of "hang on, I don't like it when Chloe does this to me. Maybe Ladybug doesn't like it either". Just ONCE! One single tiny itty bitty thought comparing his feelings to Maribug's. That is all we needed!

Just a teensy weensy bit of introspection and compassion. But no! That's too hard for a team of professional writers to manage *rolls eyes so hard i fall over* I am honestly blown away by how pathetic this whole situation is.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Adrien agreste and Zuko

Adrien Agreste < Zuko

(Both of these boy’s need better fathers. But comparing these two doesn't seem fair.)

Send me 2 things, shows, actors, characters and I will say which one I prefer