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mrs-stans · 13 days ago

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The Actors Roundtable: The fear factor behind great art

By Elena Nelson Howe

Photography by Christina House

Once an actor finds his name popping up in Oscar conversations, he’s pretty much arrived in the industry, right? Actually, no, not necessarily, says Jeremy Strong, who plays unscrupulous lawyer and Donald Trump mentor Roy Cohn to much acclaim in “The Apprentice.”

“There’s a thing called ‘arrival fallacy,’ which is that the horizon is just always receding. You don’t arrive. I mean, I’ve never felt like I’ve arrived. It’s just a search, and you’re on the frontier of uncertainty and doubt, and taking risks.”

“And then the bottom falls out, and you keep looking,” adds Adrien Brody, who plays the Holocaust survivor and visionary architect at the heart of Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.”

“That frontier just keeps moving,” Strong agrees.

Even now, with this season’s breakout performances and glowing reviews, a conversation among several actors shows they share the same fears and doubts as the rest of us.

Tune in to Spectrum News 1, where this conversation will air on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. and will repeat throughout the month.

“I don’t think I ever looked at the next job and went, ‘All right, it’s coming and here we go.’ I think it’s always just the terror of, ‘OK, I got the job. Am I going to ruin it?’ The fear of, ‘I’m wrong for it,’” says Kieran Culkin, who stars in the affecting “A Real Pain” with the film’s writer-director, Jesse Eisenberg.

These three actors — along with Peter Sarsgaard, who stars in “September 5,” about the terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics; Colman Domingo, who plays an incarcerated man who discovers the transformative power of art in “Sing Sing”; and Sebastian Stan, who not only plays the future president in “The Apprentice” with Strong but also stars in “A Different Man,” a cautionary story of inner discovery — got together last month for The Envelope Actors Roundtable moderated by Spectrum News 1 host Kelvin Washington. They shared their thoughts on auditioning, responding to fear and the hard truths of the world around us.

Actors Colman Domingo, from left, Peter Sarsgaard, Adrien Brody, seated, Kieran Culkin, Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong.

These excerpts from that conversation have been edited for length and clarity.

It’s a journey. It’s a process. So how do you approach auditions?

Sebastian Stan: The best advice I ever got was from Israel Hicks, who was the theater head at Rutgers, where I went to school. And he always said, “You’ve got to just bring the day with you to the audition.” Whatever’s happening up to walking in that door just ... like maybe you spilled coffee on you, or you got a bad phone call, or whatever. You just bring in the truth of that day.

Peter Sarsgaard: But for me, every day that I had an audition that I cared about was a day of high anxiety. And so I only did well in the auditions where it was extremely high stakes. I couldn’t deny what I was feeling. I would’ve looked like a psychopath. I had to let it out. And so the jobs ... I remember doing auditions sometimes where I would be bizarrely emotional in a scene that was not emotional. Because I f— wanted it.

Jeremy Strong: I had a manager once who told me, “You know, you seem desperate. That’s why you’re not getting it: You seem desperate.” And I said, “I am desperate.” This is like we’re fighting for our lives trying to do this thing.

Sarsgaard: It feels like that sometimes.

Strong: ... and you really want to work. It does feel miraculous when you get the chance to work.

Adrien Brody: I booked a movie when I was 14, which was one of the first things I went out for. And my dad took me to the audition, and he told me, “Go in there like you already have it. You’re just showing them how you’re going to do it. Don’t go in there asking for the job.”

Kieran Culkin: I think I was told in my first audition almost the opposite, which was like —

Brody: Go and beg them.

Culkin: — It was like, “You’re going into something that’s not yours so you don’t have to feel, so [acts stressed].” You said your first audition was something you booked?

Brody: And then it was 17 years of not getting work.

I knew I had to invite in tenderness and a grace that he maintained while he was on the inside.

— Colman Domingo

From auditions to current performances, Colman, you play John “Divine G” Whitfield, a man who was wrongfully incarcerated in “Sing Sing,” and the real guy is also executive producer. What’s that experience like, trying to showcase his journey while he��s there and a part of this film?

Colman Domingo: You have to honor the spirit of the person but also liberate yourself from a portrayal of them. I feel like even when I met him, I downloaded information. I didn’t ask him anything, because I’m not that person who wants to pry into someone’s life or say, “How was it for you in the inside?,” all that stuff. We just got to know each other like we get to know anyone, you know what I mean? The most banal, simple things.

And there were two things about him: when I found out that he considered himself sort of a jailhouse lawyer and how he was always in the law library, and he was advocating for others for good food, for his own liberation eventually, but also even — when he founded this theater company there — Rehabilitation Through the Arts. And all these inmates were finding that thing that was so sorely needed in this dangerous place: a place to unpack, to be tender, to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Grown men going to places that they may have never been allowed to experience or be, especially Black and brown men in particular. I knew I had to invite in tenderness and a grace that he maintained while he was on the inside.

“I can see how past suffering informs insight and informs a kind of creative fervor and the need to leave something indelible behind,” Adrien Brody says of “The Brutalist” and his own family history.

Kieran, you were working with Jesse Eisenberg, who’s also the screenwriter and director. Which version was easier to work with, Jesse the actor or Jesse the director?

Culkin: He was great at all of those things. I mean, going into it, he wrote a beautiful script. And I knew him to be a great actor. I didn’t know what he was going to be like as a director. But that was the first time I’ve worked with an actor that also directed. Have you guys done that yet? It’s tough. That is like, Day 1, him doing a scene with you as your partner, and then they go, “Cut,” and then go, “Here’s how you can do it better.” And I’m sitting here going like, “Oh, you’re going to judge me? Because I got f— notes for you too. I know how you can do it better too.” And then the defenses go up and all that. But he was fantastic. And it was only his second film [as writer-director].

“I felt like I understood him right away and understood this dynamic right away,” Kieran Culkin says of his “A Real Pain” character’s relationship to his cousin, played by Jesse Eisenberg. (Searchlight Pictures)

I think we can all relate to your character, Benji. It’s almost one of those, “I love him because he’s crazy. But he also drives me crazy because he’s crazy.” What part of that resonated with you?

Culkin: When I read it, I found the guy to be really surprising and really just ... I felt like I understood him right away and understood this dynamic right away. But then 20 pages in, he would say something completely surprising. And I went, “Oh, this guy, almost in spite of you, if you asked him a question, he’s going to give you something you’re not going to expect.”

And I loved it. So I just went, “I’m not going to prepare at all.” I didn’t read it again for a year. And then right before we did it, I read it once. I would not want to know what the scene we were doing was until I was walking to set that day, which would give Jesse a lot of anxiety. I’d be like, “What are we shooting today?” And he’s like, “You’re kidding. You have a whole speech.”

Brody: You should work with Ken Loach. I did a movie with him, and he would give us half the scene. And so you wouldn’t know what the end of that scene was because he was working with predominantly nonactors. And then so whoever the catalyst was in the scene got that section. And this person would fall down, and you didn’t know if that person just —

Culkin: Tripped or that was the scene? I want to do that. I want to work with that person.

Sarsgaard: I auditioned for him, and it was like, “All right, let’s just improvise.” And I’m like, “Well, give me a ... Where do I begin?” “Just do something.” And I found it incredibly difficult. For me, the reason I do it is the story. So I don’t need to know what I’m going to do in the scene, but I’m driving the story?

“It’s like game day. They’re just in it. They just went 22 straight hours of just doing it,” Peter Sarsgaard says of the team covering the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics, the story of his film, “September 5.”

Strong: Peter and I had to do a thing yesterday called Fearless Performances. And we didn’t have time to say it, but I woke up this morning thinking it’s such a misnomer because there’s so much fear involved, at least for me. [To Culkin] I was thinking about a conversation we had when you were thinking about doing Jesse’s movie. You were on the precipice of it. It felt like a big risk and something you hadn’t done. And what I love about what we all get to do is attempt to do something that you don’t know that you can do. I’m working in sort of Bruce Springsteen world right now, and he said something in his autobiography, that “the experience that you have, the exhilaration of it and the depth of it is directly proportional to the void that you’re dancing over.” And so I find that that equation works.

Stan: I think all of it is fear now. For me, literally, if I’m thinking I can’t do it, [it] is maybe the biggest sign that I should be trying to do something. It’s so easy to fall into these little tricks, what’s worked before, and you just do it again. So, especially with these last two for me, it was so paralyzing at times that I was almost driven by it.

I think all of it is fear now. For me, literally, if I’m thinking I can’t do it, [it] is maybe the biggest sign that I should be trying to do something.

— Sebastian Stan

Playing Donald Trump, was that fear? He’s been the president, he’s going to be the president again. What were the challenges or your mind-set going into that?

Stan: Well, I mean, this is such a collaboration. It’s the director, it’s who are your partners. It’s this whole thing about trust and being able to go there with somebody. But then, there’s something about when you get older and you want to feel like you’re part of a meaningful work. You’re adding to a conversation, reflecting these times that we’re in no matter how uncomfortable they are.

“The movie is sort of about this relationship in a sense, a love story,” Jeremy Strong says of Roy Cohn and Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.” (Pief Weyman/Apprentice Productions)

Strong: The movie is sort of about this relationship in a sense, a love story. This sort of dark chrysalis that created the Donald Trump that we know today. What joined them together, I think, were kind of dark affinities. They were both these outsiders from the boroughs with tremendous life force and ambition with a shared, I think, lack of scruple or ethical core, for whom winning was the only moral measure.

It’s been strange to talk about this movie as a movie right now, because it’s about a very living danger, and I look at what’s happening in this country right now, and I think you can trace so much of it back to the influence of Roy Cohn and his ideology, and his nihilism, and his sort of gospel of hatred and divisiveness. That’s the political side. The creative side was really fulfilling. Roles like this are kind of a holy grail for an actor, where there’s a degree of difficulty, and you want to try to transform, and you want it also to be alive and not just mimetic and all those things.

“You have to honor the spirit of the person but also liberate yourself from a portrayal of them,” Colman Domingo says of playing a real person in “Sing Sing.”

Some of these films, there is a historical gravity to them. Adrien, with “The Brutalist,” your character comes to America after the genocide but then realizes it’s difficult to succeed here. Where did you go to channel this character?

Brody: Well, my mother is a Hungarian immigrant and an artist, a New York photographer. And she’s also someone who has kind of guided me in my understanding of art and the yearning to leave behind something that is meaningful and brings more light than darkness to this world. She and her parents fled war-torn Budapest in 1956 on the back of a truck, under a bed of corn, as they were shooting flares and trying to basically shoot down people fleeing the Soviet occupation.

I witnessed how hard it was for [my grandfather], because his English-language skills were not up to par, it prevented him from getting work. And so that’s a layer of connection, a feeling of knowing the journey and very different from [character László Tóth’s] journey, but there are very many parallels. And his journey of fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe and surviving concentration camps. I can see how past suffering informs insight and informs a kind of creative fervor and the need to leave something indelible behind.

Strong: There’s an intersectionality with these films as stories with real things in our world. I feel like the world is on fire. And there’s a role for storytelling that is so essential in our world right now. And I don’t think there’s another art form that has that connective power, arguably.

Stan: And the idea that in a system like Sing Sing, there’s a level of acceptance of self that’s happening on such a deeper, more profound level than it’s actually happening in the real world. Because I feel like “The Apprentice” and “A Different Man” are so much about identity and self-truth, and the loss of self, and the denial of reality, which is a very real thing that’s happening now. I don’t know if people are interested in the truth or confronting themselves, or wanting to accept themselves. People are more interested in inventing their own version of things.

Peter, talking about the gravity of world events: “September 5” does this in such detail, what was happening there in Munich. What it’s like having to deal with something of that magnitude?

Sarsgaard: Just by talking to the guys involved, I mean, they don’t think about the fact they’re involved in something of that magnitude, because it’s like game day. They’re just in it. They just went 22 straight hours of just doing it, and doing it, and doing it. They pointed a live camera at a balcony, and 700 million people watched that image. It’s a balcony, but it is the potential for violence that is really keeping them there. For some of them, their hearts are pounding because they’re hoping for the survival of the people that are in there. And I think that’s a good many people. But we have to acknowledge this other part of humanity that’s a kind of schadenfreude where we’re lusting for some violence.

The way that at any given moment in our lives, right now, we could pick up our phone, and the most horrendous thing imaginable is going on in the world, and then we can sit and joke with each other, and eat popcorn, and go watch a comedy. I mean, I don’t really have the answer. I think one of the lovely things that my movie does is ask a lot of questions about the way that we consume media, about, “Does a camera tell the truth anymore?” This idea that these guys had new technology, which was a live camera, and the minute the hostage crisis happened, they pointed it.

Well, now why do we have to watch a live crisis situation? Is that news? Is that going to help us understand our society better? Could we learn about it tomorrow? Is it going to help the hostages get freed? Now, obviously with police brutality, stuff like that, I would say wonderful. But to get our daily news, when everyone has a camera in their pocket — first of all, there’s point of view. This frame is not the

truth. The truth is all of it, right? And there’s also AI. There’s a million different reasons why we can’t trust an image anymore.

“It was a very powerless experience ... a terrifying experience. How people pretend you’re totally nonexistent,” Sebastian Stan says of walking in New York City wearing the makeup for the disfigured man he plays in “A Different Man.”

Sebastian, in “A Different Man,” there’s a self-reflection in your character, who has an opportunity to present himself differently. What did you learn about how we view ourselves versus how others view us? And talk about working with Adam Pearson, who has some of these same physical challenges in the film.

Stan: Adam Pearson, who’s a great actor from “Under the Skin,” and he’s got neurofibromatosis, which are these tumors that develop at around 3 or 4 years old. And the biggest gift I was able to receive working on that movie was his mother coming up to me and saying afterward, “I’ve always wished for someone to walk in his shoes. And you were able to do that.” And I was lucky. We had a great prosthetics artist, Mike Marino. And I was able to walk around the city in that, and no one recognized me. And it was a very powerless experience ... a terrifying experience. How people pretend you’re totally nonexistent.

Well, part of why the movie’s special, and I wanted so deeply to be involved with it, is that it talks about this curiosity that we all have. But we haven’t learned about the regular person out there. The regular person has to fight against these narratives that we’ve grown up with in terms of not knowing how to handle that moment. So two things happen: ignorance or judgment. And the filmmaker, who’s disfigured himself, really wanted to bring it out in the open. And for us to go on this journey and get more in touch with how can we approach that in a different way. But on a more relatable basis, it really is about lying to yourself. And once the lie happens, what you have to keep doing to maintain the lie and suppress the truth.

Brody: And they’re so hard to undo.

Stan: And how far we can go to not face that painful moment with ourselves. And that’s what the character endures. By the time [he sees it] it’s too late, his life’s been taken away from him.

Thanks for being here, gentlemen ...

Brody: This has been kind of special. I didn’t know what to anticipate. We’re all kind of really and thematically talking about what’s propelling each of us. And with the exception of you needing f— panic and —

Culkin: I was going to say, we’re all a little bit different.

Brody: But I love that too though. You know what it is? You’re super honest. You are honest with your work.

Culkin: Yeah, thanks.

Brody: Your comedic sensibilities.

Culkin: [To camera] You still rolling on this? Let’s get a nice sound bite.

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jadewolf22 · 8 months ago

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Agent Outcast Pt. 1

Fem!OC (Arania Northfire) x Larissa Weems

Warnings: none for this part

Word Count: 999

A/n: This is an old series I wrote over a year ago on my old account. Figured I'd repost what I have done so far and if people seem to like it I'll try to finish it.

Two weeks . . .

That’s how long you had to choose a subject for Dr. Snow before Adrien gave him Larissa. Everyday you began to regret your decision more; your decision to agree to take this job, your decision to act upon your feelings for Larissa, your decision to join the Night Wolves those seventeen years ago, all of it. You didn’t know what to do. You couldn’t tell anyone; if Adrien had managed to find out what you were doing with Larissa he would certainly know if you told anyone. The only way to keep Adrien away from Larissa was to choose a student, but you couldn’t bring yourself to give a child to a sadistic man like Dr. Snow; You were stuck. Man, did karma love being a bitch to you.

As the days grew fewer and fewer your stress was beginning to show. You were temperamental and jumpy, even violent at times, your magic doing nothing to help as it reacted with your emotions. Larissa knew something was wrong and Adrien knew you were stalling, neither of which was a good thing. If you told Larissa she would throw you out of the school and Adrien would kill you, if you ran Adrien would harm Larissa; to say that you were screwed would be an understatement.

“Ari?” a soft, angelic voice called, pulling you from your thoughts. You turned from the window to find Larissa watching you from her spot on the couch, “Are you alright?” “I’m fine,” you said, shrugging your shoulders, “just a little tired.” “We both know this isn’t exhaustion, Ari,” Larissa said, standing, “You’ve been acting odd lately.”

“I’m just stressed.” you said, looking out the window again as Larissa walked over to you.

“Stressed about what?” Larissa pressed, gently grabbing your shoulder and turning you so that you could look at her.

“Nothing.” you lied. Larissa narrowed her eyes, raising an eyebrow at you, indicating she didn’t believe you, so you added, “Nothing you need to worry about . . . Just some personal stuff. I can handle it.”

This seemed to satisfy Larissa as she smiled, planting a gentle kiss on your forehead before returning to the couch and continuing her book. You silently released a breath you’d been holding, grabbing your jacket off of her desk.

“I’m going into town. Have an errand to run.” you said, kissing the top of Larissa’s head as you walked towards the door, “Do you want anything?” “Just a coffee if you stop by the Weathervane.” Larissa smirked.

“Double shot of espresso, two pumps of chocolate, right?” you asked, slipping your jacket on.

Larissa nodded and you smiled, blowing her a kiss goodbye before stepping out of her office, walking down to tha main floor and out to your car.

The ten minute drive to Jericho was, normally, very calming, but it seemed as if nothing could soothe the bundle of nerves forming in your stomach. Adrien and Dr. Snow were growing restless and, with only a week left, you were out of options. You drove straight through Jerico until you came to the abandoned warehouse just outside of town. You saw Adrien waiting for you so you parked, pocketing your switchblade before stepping out of your car.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show, Ari!” Adrien called as you walked up to him, “You had me worried!”

“My bad.” you said flatly, your face void of emotion, “I don’t have a name, Adrien; I’m going to need this final week.”

“The doc’s getting impatient,” Adrien warned in a soft tone, “He’s beginning to wonder if it would’ve been better for us to send Cassie . . . And I’m beginning to agree with him–” “I can do this job,” you insisted coldly, “There’s just too many options–” “More like, you don’t like any of the options.” Adrein growled, stepping forward so the two of you were nose to nose. Your body froze as he leaned forward, whispering in your ear, “Don’t forget . . . if you don’t give me a name by next Sunday the doc’ll be taking that pretty blonde of yours–”

“Touch her and it’ll be the last thing you ever do!” you snarled, shoving Adrien away from you, “After this job, I’m out; you and the Night Wolves are out of my life.” “We’ll see,” Adrien hissed, rubbing his chest where you’d shoved him, “You’d best get going, Ari; you clock’s ticking.”

“It’s Arania,” you growled, turning, slipping back into your car and driving off at an unsafe speed.

You drove back into town and stopped at the Weathervane, deciding coffee would do you some good.

“Evening, Miss. Northfire!” the barista shouted as you walked in, “Chie frappuccino, no whip, add caramel?”

“Yes, please . . . As well as a double shot of espresso with two pumps of chocolate and two pumpkin spice muffins; to go, please.” you said, returning the barista's friendly smile. “$18.92, please.”

You paid, stepping over to the pick up counter, talking with the barista as he worked.

“So, what brought you into town? I saw you drive by earlier.”

“ . . . Had to drop something off for a friend.” you lied as the barista handed you your coffee, “He lives just outside of town . . .”

“So, how’s it going with the Nevermore Principal?” the barista asked with a snarky smile.

You didn’t answer immediately, choking on your coffee as you processed what he’d just asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” you said dumbly as the barista handed you Larissa’s coffee.

“Everyone in town knows the two of you are a thing,” the barista chuckled, “Plus, a double shot of espresso add two pumps of chocolate is her regular drink.”

“Okay, okay, you got me–” you said, suddenly remembering the barista's first statement, “The whole town knows?! How?!”

“People see you together all the time. The way you two act around each other makes it kinda obvious.” the barista said, handing you a small brown bag before turning to help the next customer.

#wednesday #gwendoline christie #gwendolineuniverse #larissa weems

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ilikekidsshows · 5 months ago

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Do you think there's anything prior to s4 that foreshadowing Adrien status as senti?

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To put it simply, Anon: fuck no. I think there are a couple of coincidences the people who liked the theory latched onto and that they used to retroactively justify the writers’ lies that it was the intention all along. All of this stuff has another explanation. Adrien is allergic to feathers? No other Sentimonster is. Adrien and Sentibug both get called “perfect”? “Perfect” is a perfectly common word that suits a lot of situations perfectly. Adrien ads use a lot of feathers? They’re fucking white, Adrien has a recurring angel motif and anyone claiming otherwise is blind to patterns. Adrien does what Gabriel tells him to even when he doesn’t want to? HE’S BEING ABUSED BY THAT MAN. Why else would Emilie use the Peacock Miraculous when it killed her? Because she's an entitled rich asshole who thought she was above consequences. If Miraculous wanted to make “eat the rich” commentary, that's what they should have done. SentiAdrien also required reworking the Sentimonster lore to make the heroes killing them en masse okay.

What is far more compelling than the defenses of SentiAdrien is the fact that, after the long hiatus between seasons 3 and 4, Gabriel's body language changed completely, just like if something about his character had been changed. Gabriel used to hold tightly clenched fists behind his back, symbolizing his tight grasp on things he wants to control, especially his emotions. From the first episode of season four onward, almost like the writers couldn't contain themselves from including a new, fresh idea they’d had, Gabriel is suddenly constantly toying with this wedding ring, twisting it around like he's a neurodivergent kid and that ring is his favorite fidget toy.

Look, I know Miraculous gets a lot of flack for inconsistencies, but, like, some stuff is consistent. All the main characters used to have their own ways of moving. Adrien would pat people's shoulders, Marinette would wave her arms around, Gabriel would very rarely sit if he could get away with standing and he would clench his fists. These were simple, easy to remember ticks that strengthened the characterization. Adrien longs for human connections, Marinette is anxious and hyperactive and Gabriel never lets down his guard. In season 4, Gabriel's body language is suddenly: “Is Adrien a Sentimonster controlled by this ring? Come on, theorists, post about the theory a lot and do our marketing for us!”

The only explanation for Gabriel’s sudden change in body language is one of the writers had a tumblr when the theory got popular and got super excited to include this new idea as quickly and obviously as possible.

There’s also the fact to consider that the Miraculous crew has a very particular way of writing mysteries: they don’t. A mystery is a compelling question and “is” is not a compelling question. Basically the same rules apply as when picking a driving question for your essay: who, what, how, why and when are all good questions that will give you plenty to chew over while building your thesis. Yes or no questions, on the other hand, should be avoided at all costs, because the act of asking a yes or no question often already reveals the answer and ignores anything actually interesting about the phenomenon being studied.

I’m gonna be honest: when I first watched Miraculous, I had no idea Hawk Moth’s identity was supposed to be a mystery. I thought the answer was obvious on purpose because we were meant to wonder about the how and why. But, no, the why gets revealed as soon as the show confirms Gabriel is, indeed, Hawk Moth, because there’s so much focus on Emilie. There is only one possible thing Gabriel could want with the Miraculous, with no other options being presented to keep things interesting. Similarly, the show never asks: “Who is Hawk Moth?” because only one option is ever seriously presented with no other options being presented to keep things interesting. The question is: “Is Gabriel Hawk Moth?” and the answer is: “Yes, of course, because it couldn’t be anyone else.”

When you look at it in hindsight, this is also how the “Sentipeople” mystery gets presented to us. The only question the show asks about Sentimonsters and it asks it instantly at the start of season 4 is: “Is Adrien a Sentimonster?” and, like, the only answer is yes, because otherwise it wouldn’t get asked. However, the question is presented in a way that's only grasped by people already thinking along those lines, like Gabriel playing with his ring because it's now all of a sudden an Amok, which is why many people who weren't already convinced by the fan theory dismissed it. There are also no red herrings in this “mystery”, because every character to get any hint at them being a Sentimonster is revealed to be one. The Miraculous crew can’t write mysteries, so the existence of human Sentimonsters became obvious for the people already thinking along those lines as soon as they decided to include it.

This means, that, if this plotline was written for people who already thought SentiAdrien was a thing, the writers knew there were people thinking SentiAdrien was a thing. I'm saying the idea totally got taken from the fandom. And it's not surprising that the idea is stolen; Astruc's main character is a poor man's copy of the protagonist of the Dork Diaries book series, after all.

#ml salt #ml critical #ml writers salt

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gale-gentlepenguin · 1 year ago

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So I have been seeing interesting discussion on the endings of Gabriel. The miraculous movie vs The season 5 finale ending.

-And the criticisms for the movie ending are valid, Marinette/Ladybug’s conflict is a lot less personal (cause time constraints)

-Gabriel technically defeated himself

-There wasn’t enough build up for the climax to feel satisfying unless you knew the show.

-Marinette’s personal involvement felt minimal to nonexistent. (She never met Gabriel)

-The powers are inconsistent

The wrap up was too quick

And these are legitimate criticism, especially because we never have Marinette interact with Gabriel once. Something that should have happened.

I can understand how that ending could feel unsatisfying.

Then we have the season 5 finale, which has the opposite problem

-It involves Marinette so much that Adrien is completely sidelined as a response.

-Gabriel ‘Wins’ but according to the writers he lost. (I saw the commentary. I vehemently disagree with there interpretation)

-Adrien never finds out about any of this

-Lila feels shoehorned in as the season 6 badguy

So I thought about both sides more, rewatched the S5 finale and the ending with these new perspectives and… I still prefer the movie ending more than the finale.

But why is that? Objectively speaking The movie is much more flawed and has very littler personal investment of Ladybug vs Hawkmoth. Something that movies don’t often do.

While The show has built up this personal conflict between Gabriel/monarch and Marinette/ladybug

By all logic I Should prefer the show ending.

But I don’t, and it’s precisely BECAUSE of the reasons I listed.

Movie! Marinette’s lack of personal connection to fighting Gabriel allowed me to focus on Gabriel’s motive and his interaction with his son. His genuine care of his son being his downfall MADE sense. Marinette was focused on saving her partner than fighting a villain, which the movie showed to be more of the core of the movie. Even foreshadowing the “Save one Life, save the world” line. And it even fits the fairy tale theme ML tries to go for.

Meanwhile the Show’s ending had a really good fight at the core with Marinette and Gabriel clashing. The fight between Monarch and Bug noire is one of the best in the series… BUT it’s because of this conflict that the ending feels so GUT WRENCHINGLY awful. Because it’s just another case of Marinette failing to stop Gabriel from doing what he wanted. Gabriel may have changed his initial wish, but he still basically did what he always did, cease power and leave Marinette to clean up the mess.

Even taking Adrien out of the equation doesn’t help fix the ending. Because Gabriel still did what he wanted. Gabriel gets a statue, he gets to die seen as a hero that he never was. He is seen as a good man. And it leaves Marinette having to let Paris think that. We don’t see Marinette doubting this, we don’t see opposition or even a question on it. It’s Marinette once again doing what she always does, taking on the burden.

Ah but the difference is that ML still has more seasons. This could all be subject to change. People could find out the truth. The wish has consequences.

And that is correct. There are consequences. And do you know who will face those consequences? Marinette. Because she always does. That’s what the show Always does.

The movie ending also has a potential sequel, but at least there, Marinette and Adrien don’t have secrets, Fu is still there, and the weight of reality doesn’t hang on Movie Marinette’s shoulders only.

And I think that’s what it comes down to.

It’s because I love Marinette that I hate how she has to fail after all her efforts and would rather have an ending that has less personal stakes for her if it means she can be better off as opposed to this drama bomb that basically left her back as the one with the weight of reality on her shoulders.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ml spoilers #ml critical #ml movie #ml show #miraculous movie #marinette dupain cheng

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darklydeliciousdesires · 9 months ago

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Sky Full of Stars - An Adrien Brody/Jade Burton (OC) Story.

Lord help me, besties. We're starting this, and we're starting it now because I cannot wait to reveal it to you! I did say I wouldn't write RPF again as it feels too personal a line to cross, so please bear in mind that while I have tried to remain true to who Adrien appears to be, he is a little fictionalised, too. The same goes for his family and friends as well. I have created them as OC's because it feels much too intrusive to his life to write them otherwise.

Well, the first chapter is mammoth, so please do make sure you're sitting comfortably with a drink and some snacky snacks before you embark. I cannot wait to hear your thoughts!

A huge thank you again to my beautiful @jemmalynette for the lovely photo manip she created for me, and to Angelina Jolie for serving as Jade's face claim! If you want to know Jade's voice claim a little better, here. This is the scream she hit Adrien with upon first meeting him! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a98LI-arNS4

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 5,614

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

“Tell us something about your wife that people would find surprising.”

He mulls it over for a few seconds, looking to his side at her, laughing as he takes in her raised eyebrows. “She’s actually quite introverted, unless she knows the people she’s with well. Then her volume and mischief amp up considerably,” he begins, which I must say is perhaps the last thing I expected him to reply with. “No, no. It’s completely true, she is. She’s often quiet, an extreme juxtapose for how she appears up on stage with a microphone in her hand, but yeah. The Jade you see performing live is a completely different entity to the woman she is away from it, and I found that out pretty quickly after we first met.”

It is a stark contrast to the public persona of Jade Burton-Brody, a woman known for rarely shying away from being outspoken and controversial, whether it be her fiercely penned lyrics, or her opinions on the subject matters she holds dear. She was, after all, the woman who advised legions of young female rock fans to, and I quote, “Burn the patriarchy to the goddamned ground.”

Before me today, though, I do see a much softer side to the screaming hurricane of a woman I familiarised myself with through the scouring of YouTube videos, a woman more than happy to let her husband lead in the questions, always looking to him to reply first. She has spoken in the past of him being her unequivocal strength and support, and I take her back to that, the moment she first met the man she would marry just six months after their first meeting.

“Jade, you’ve spoken about your first meeting a couple of times in the past, but for the record, would you care to share it again?”

She laughs loudly at my question, leaning into her husband a little, combing her fingers through her hair as she remembers fifteen years into the past. “I screamed in his face, he liked it, and the rest is history.”

Indeed, such a meeting did seal itself into history, the moment the iconic pair met captured by a photographer pointing his camera in the right direction at exactly the right time, immortalising the moment where the formidable first lady of metal took to the barriers at the Rock and Iron festival, grabbed the hand of the Hollywood heavyweight, and proceeded to scream like a harpy about an inch from his face. “She blew my eardrums out,” Adrien speaks of the moment, “I had never heard anything that loud in the whole of my life!”

Indeed, like it he did, the first stages of their fledgling relationship captured on film while a documentary team were following her and the band, shooting the footage for the 2010 documentary, “The Devil you Don’t Know.” As the footage shows, the actor found himself with a rare two week break between projects, one of those weeks spent living on a tour bus with the band, unwilling to be parted from the woman he’d struck up such an immediate connection with.

“I called my manager and told her to shift all my interviews to telephone, rearranged everything for the following week before I flew out to Hawaii to begin shooting Predators, and yeah, lived on a bus with five insane, but adorable women for seven days.” He smiles a little shyly, his eyes warm as he views her. “Didn’t want to let her go.”

When asked if it was love at first sight, he elaborates a little further. “I’ve never believed in that. Too many components have to fall into place for love to bloom, so I don’t think it can be so spontaneous as to simply view somebody and feel such a powerful emotion right off the bat. After that week I spent with her, though. Yeah. I departed from the tour knowing I’d left behind the girl I was going to marry someday.”

And for Jade? “I knew. He was my person. Still is fifteen years on, too.”

Just viewing the natural ease the couple have around one another cements that, after battling with so much over their years together. They both freely admit they rarely saw one another for the first two years of their marriage, their relationship plagued by media scrutiny, storms of paparazzi, accusations of their romance serving purely as a manufactured PR pairing for publicity, others stating that it was to give Jade greater leverage as she further embarked upon her acting career away from the world of music. One only has to watch the woman on screen to see that she carries enough weight from her own talents to not need the bolstering of her husband’s surname to snare her hard-earned successes.

Indeed, the pair have weathered many storms and come through them stronger, standing as one of Hollywood’s most illimitable power couples, yet the term is somewhat lost on them both. “We’re complete dorks,” Jade laughs, “we really are. We set one another off all the time being absolutely ridiculous.”

“It’s true,” her husband confirms, beginning to chuckle right on cue. “Nobody makes me laugh like her. It’s so corny, but truly, she’s my best friend. Deciding to get on that bus fifteen years ago was one of the greatest decisions I ever made.”

It can be witnessed quite easily, too. It takes only a few glimpses into their respective social media accounts to see the humorous ease they tease one another with, but always with incredible affection. ‘Baby love! <3 Love you too, Morticia!’ Adrien commented on a heartfelt post his wife recently shared to Instagram, a throwback picture of the pair kissing at the 2016 Oscar’s ceremony, where his beloved won best supporting actress for her role across from Robert De Niro in the 2016 blockbuster, Five Marked Men.

“It took him about a month to get over me with black hair instead of blonde, so I was Morticia for four straight weeks instead of Jade!” she laughs, obviously taking his teasing with good humour.

“I was so damned proud of her, even though I couldn’t get used to the black hair,” he laughs taking her hand in his. “Always have been. She’s incredible.”

And truly? Adrien wasn’t wrong in what he stated about boarding that tour bus in the interview for a very well-known media outlet, who had come to their home for a rare glimpse into their private life together. Yet for Jade, it began much earlier than that, at a time when perhaps she was least willing to hear what her future had in store for her.

San Luis Obispo, CA, 2007.

“Come on, Skippy. No dragging those feet.”

Jade did nothing to conceal the force of her huff, pulling back from the beachfront steps of the home she was being dragged to by the enthusiastic, blonde whirlwind that was her closest friend and drummer in their band. Jen had always put a lot of faith in psychics, Jade not so much at all, living in a world of regret at agreeing from sheer relentless nagging only to go and have her tealeaves read.

“You have to stop calling me Skippy. One day, this day, actually. Enough!”

Jen grinned, a flash of bright white teeth widening her mouth. “Maybe when you don’t make clicking noises like the little kangaroo in your sleep, I might.” Skippy or Skip, it had been her much-begrudged nickname since they’d struck up a friendship as teenagers upon Jade’s arrival from the UK to America.

Entering the home, they were greeted warmly by Cerise, the lady of the tealeaves, tarot cards and all things mystic, Jade politely giving her a little hug before they seated themselves at the large, round table. All around, large canvasses ode to the divine and spiritual covered the walls, candles flickering, incense burning, casting strong plumes of eastern fragrance into the air.

“Her first!” Jen spoke enthusiastically as the tea was poured, drumming her hands rapidly off the table.

Cerise jerked her head to the left, viewing Jade with a warm smile. “She’s always tapping, this one, isn’t she?”

“Typical drummer,” she confirmed, winking at her as Cerise went about her tea preparation, the women making pleasant chit chat as the brew was drank.

“Now, you don’t have to tell me anything, darling. I’m not one of those charlatans who cold reads situations to feed it back to you. What I see, I see it without being told anything from the person I’m reading from.” She truly doubted the validity of that, but nodded politely, passing her cup into Cerise’s outstretched hand. “I sometimes get extra information from my spirits as well, so if they have anything, they’ll pipe up. They usually do.” Staring into the cup, she began studying the pattern of the grainy tea, humming to herself. “The man you’re with right now? He isn’t the one. It’ll be the one after him.”

Immediately, Jade found herself feeling prickled on the inside, mildly incensed that anyone would say that the man she’d spent three years with happily would not end up as the one she would stay so blissfully in love with. How dare she even suggest!

She wouldn’t unleash that indignance, though. “How can you tell?”

“Trust me, darling. I can tell. Oh, my spirits are in good voice, hold on.” Closing her eyes, she appeared as if she was listening, shaking her head and waving her hands. “One at a time, for the love of...” Jade’s face of utter disbelief earned her a soft foot to the shin beneath the table, Jen tightening her lips and widening her eyes. Cerise nodded, humming in confirmation before casting her eyes back to the cup. “Okay, I have more information. The man you’ll end up with, well you’ll know for sure when you meet him, sweetheart. You’ll scream at him. He also has the same name as your dog.”

“I beg your pardon?” Jade coughed, her beloved Great Dane appearing in her mind’s eye. “I’m meeting someone called Brodie, who I’ll scream at? Right. Okay.”

“He’ll spell it differently, darling. Oh, and his eyes. You’ll love his eyes, because you will never have seen green like them before. Yes, most certainly, he is the man who will come into your life and never leave it.”

She had to bite her cheek to prevent herself from laughing. “Alright. Thank you.”

While a much more willing Jen had her tealeaves read, Jade went outside for a cigarette, calling her boyfriend to relay the ridiculous message she’d just been given.

“Um, she said what?” Ivan snorted, his laugh booming down the phone. “Uh-uh, no fucking way. Like I’d ever let you go.”

The Russian born, but American raised Ivan Kuznetsov had been her absolute everything since meeting him three years previously, watching him win his bout at a UFC fight in Las Vegas. Because of their schedules, Jade and her seemingly endless long hauls of touring, also parlaying her talents into the acting world, and Ivan locked in rigorous training, they didn’t see as much of one another as they’d have liked, but they made it work.

Until they didn’t. Until it broke, or rather, until he and his famously ferocious temper broke it completely, almost twelve months on from the tealeaves message she’d received, and quickly forgotten all about. She’d have been lying if she’d claimed she hadn’t seen the red flags, Ivan’s steroid use growing completely out of control, cheating urine tests in order to keep juicing, growing ever bigger through the use of the banned substance. It wasn’t just his muscles and performance that had dramatically grown. So had his temper.

Roid rage, they called it. It was never something she thought she would bear witness to, until she found herself on his kitchen floor, being throttled and punched, her only saviour her dog, the Great Dane bitch jumping on his back and sinking her teeth into the meat of his trapezius at seeing her human being so viciously beaten.

The combined effort of a valiant rescue dog and a woman determined not to die at her fiancé's hands got him off of her, Jade grabbing Brodie’s collar and her bag as she ran from the house, dived into her car and drove away as quickly as she could.

She never returned.

Ivan was arrested and subsequently charged for the sickening assault that disgraced his name in the sporting world, discharged from the UFC and sent away to serve a five-year prison sentence. It was a pitiful excuse for justice, especially when he’d probably be freed after three if he behaved himself. Jade knew the outcome likely wouldn’t see him put away for any longer, as she’d been advised by her legal team prior to giving evidence at the trial. Domestic violence victims rarely did receive the adequate recompense where the punishment of their abuser was concerned.

A victim. It was a role she’d sworn never to play, speaking on the event many months afterwards. “I am not his victim. I’m the one who had the sense to get away as soon as he raised a hand to me. There’s nothing that correlates to victimhood there.”

Some doubted her stance, thinking her to be in denial over it, claiming she needed to seek therapy to get herself through her ordeal. In Jade’s mind, her therapy was her music, one of the tracks from her band’s seventh album, entitled Nomad, serving as cathartic release over the attack. It also got her through the passing of her beloved Brodie, the dog dying at the grand old age of eleven six months after she’d parted ways with Ivan. It was almost unheard of for the breed to reach such an age, and if Jade was thankful for anything, it was having an extra three unexpected years with her faithful old girl.

She felt lonely if she let herself sit still for long enough, so kept busy through the machine that was her life, driving her from movie set to stage to recording studio, long hours and hard work elevating her status in both worlds, her band, Seventh Gate releasing Nomad to a huge success and taking to the road in early two thousand and nine, complete with a stint moving from one summer festival to the next.

One such date upon that stint was the Rock and Iron show, something all the girls in the band had been looking forward to playing. It had been a longstanding one-day festival held in California for the past eleven years, the band playing it a couple of times before on the smaller stage.

This time, though, playing the prime afternoon spot of 3pm-4pm, they walked out on the main stage at the open-air show to eighty thousand screaming rock fans, Jade feeling sick with nerves, as usual. It didn’t matter an ounce that the rock press hailed her as the first lady of metal, who praised her huge vocal range and coined her as one of the first to combine both powerful, clean vocals and blistering, guttural roars. She still felt like her legs were about to give way every time she climbed the steps and walked across the stage, ready to view her kingdom.

Or queendom, as it was. Because to the thousands of people who cheered at the sight of her, she was their monarch. Some viewed her a little differently.

“Oh man, there she is!” Lewis piped up, clapping his hands above his head. “There’s god!”

Adrien turned to view him with mild incredulity, shaking his head. “Man, you’re something else with this fanboy thing you have going on.” Whatever he might have followed that with was obliterated by the noise that came from the speakers, the roar of guitars, drums like canons, and a scream that sounded like something he could only liken to a creature being spat up from hell for being too aggressive. “Damn. She’s got some pipes.”

Lewis didn’t reply, too busy getting into the first song of their set, Adrien feeling himself furtherly crushed right up against the barrier. He was trying to have a good time, he truly was, but metal wasn’t really where it was at for him. A die-hard hip-hop connoisseur, being dragged to an open-air rock and metal festival hadn’t been his idea, but Lewis’s girlfriend had bailed on him, quite literally, ending their relationship just one month prior. Conveniently, he had a rare two weeks off work, so had allowed his friend to talk him into it.

As his chest was shunted hard against the barrier for what felt like the four hundredth time that afternoon, he once again sorely regretted it. However, looking up at the stage, he couldn’t help but view the women performing upon it with genuine curiosity. They were perhaps the tightest in sound of anyone he’d seen that day, their energy enigmatic, especially the swagger exuded from their front woman.

She was like a supernova personified, commanding a crowd of thousands, her presence much larger than the tall, yet slight frame it inhabited. Although the music wasn’t to his taste, he had to admit she impressed him, having the vocal range that allowed her to sing powerfully delivered harmonies one minute, and roars that sounded not of his earth the next. Her talent completely blew him away.

Also, her adoration for her fans was clear, sending the security into a frenzy when she jumped down off the stage between songs, embracing a few people reaching for her on the front row as the next song began to filter through the wall of speakers. The crowd screamed along with the opening lyrics, Adrien watching as suddenly, the blonde whirlwind strode in his direction at speed, jumping onto the barrier, grabbing his hand, and bellowing out a scream a mere inch from his face. He laughed, Lewis nearly fainted, and Jade winked at him before she was gone again in a blink, returning to the stage.

“Do you know how goddamned lucky you are? Dude!” Lewis yelled, mouth hanging open. “Dude! God just screamed right in your face!”

Adrien continued to chuckle, looking up at the stage. “Yeah,” he spoke, his heart fluttering, “guess she did.” While her music mightn't have been to his taste, seeing her so close up, he had to admit the way she looked definitely was. God, she was sexy. Very, very sexy “I think she blew my fucking eardrums out!”

Lewis was in fits at his assertion, clapping him on the back before continuing to enjoy the show. At the next break between songs, Jade found herself beckoned for by Katie, their lead guitarist, her eyes wide as she jumped up and down with her usual zany energy. “Bro! You just screamed in Adrien Brody’s face!”

“Who?”

“Adrien fucking Brody! The actor!”

Jade was still none the wiser. “The hot guy with the dark hair?”

“Yes!”

“What’s he been in?”

Katie could have slapped her. “Um, only your mom’s favourite movie.”

Finally, the penny dropped. “Oh shit, the guy from The Pianist?”

“Yes!”

“That’s him?”

“Yes, you massively blind douche! God damnit, you never know who anybody is!”

Her eyes almost came out on stalks for not actually recognising him.

“Oh my god!” Having a very large crowd to entertain, she couldn’t say anything further on the subject, but she kept her eye on him for the rest of their set, calling over one of their roadies a couple of songs later as she ran to the side of the stage to grab her flask of herbal tea. “I take it you know who Adrien Brody is, right?” she asked, letting the herbal brew sink down her throat and coat it in an effort to not feel like she’d swallowed a chainsaw.

Sunni smirked, stroking his beard. “Yeah, boss. The guy whose face you screamed in.”

“Give him and whoever he’s with backstage passes. I wanna meet him.” She watched as Sunni scuttled off to go and locate a few of the prized lanyards that gave people access to the coveted backstage area, before launching into the next song. Out of the corner of her eye, she was able to see Adrien and the guy with the blonde hair he was with jump the barrier, being escorted stage right to watch the remainder of their set from the wings, along with the rest of the Seventh Gate road crew.

While there, they were approached by a woman who introduced herself as Hazel Bernstein, the tour manager for the band, asking since they were currently being filmed for a documentary about Jade’s life and career if they minded being on camera. They confirmed that no, they didn’t mind at all, Hazel having them sign a couple of release forms before another member of the crew ushered them backstage.

The area was made up of large tents dotted around for each band to reside in before and after their performances, the guys shown in and furnished with beers as they sat down on one of the couches provided.

Adrien looked to his side, watching Lewis as his eyes darted around. “You look edgy, man.”

“I’m about to meet one of my favourite bands, and I don’t even have a fucking clue what the hell to say to them!” he exclaimed, gulping back his beer.

He couldn’t help himself. “Hello might be a good place to start.”

“Noted, Captain Sarcastic.” Looking at him, he burst into a snorting fit of laughter, wishing he had a fraction of his very famous friend’s effortless cool. Alas, he did not. The first of the women through the tent made his mouth drop open, Katie going to the cooler and pulling herself out a bottle of bourbon, emptying an eye watering amount into an ice-filled red solo cup before she came right on over.

“Hi guys! How you doing, you having a good time? Damn, it’s fucking hot, right?” She talked rapidly, like a machine gun going off, shaking their hands with the exact same enthusiasm she spoke with, Lewis looking like he was about to burst.

“Katie Gilmore, just coming over, shaking my hand, asking how I am, like I’m fucking anyone at all,” he spoke in a daze of disbelief, Adrien shaking his head.

“Ignore him, he’s a little... yeah.”

She chuckled, lifting her cup to him. “And you’re one helluva actor, my guy. I could be obvious and praise you to hell for The Pianist, because damn, that movie was outstanding, but I fucking adored you in Summer of Sam! You make a cute punk, bro!”

“Thank you,” he smiled graciously, “and in turn, you’re a hell of a guitarist. I don’t know much about rock or metal, but you make what I guess is real difficult look incredibly easy.”

They were then joined by the force of nature that was Jen, the band’s drummer, the tall, rail thin blonde approaching, pointing at Adrien. “Can I sit on your lap and get a picture with you, dude?”

He smiled, patting his black denim covered thighs. “Sure, hop on.”

“Billy!” she roared, moving to throw herself down, “get over here and do the clicky, clicky!” A man holding a professional camera ambled over, Jen smiling as she wrapped her arms around him, and then promptly licked his cheek. “Man, you taste delicious!” she shouted, Adrien laughing, a little taken aback at her brash behaviour, but somehow quite charmed all the same. “What is that?”

“Sweat and beer,” he confirmed, Jen throwing her head back and roaring before she got up.

“My favourite things! See you guys later, I gotta go see some other people!” Sweat and beer, also cocaine, if her eyes were anything to go by. He knew high as hell when he saw it.

“Hey, you boys like tequila? I got a load in the cooler, let’s get some shots in, huh?” Katie spoke, grabbing a hand a piece and hauling them up. There, they were introduced to rhythm guitarist Charlotte, who was much, much quieter than the other members of the band they’d met so far, very reserved and polite. Still, Lewis was firmly stuck in starstruck mode, trying hard to find some semblance of cool, but losing it completely.

And then she walked on over.

“Hi,” she chirped in a voice that sounded much too sweet ever be able to conjure the ferocious roars she was famous for, Lewis looking like he was about to pass out. Jade wasn’t looking at him for long, though. “How are you?”

“A little deaf,” Adrien admitted.

“Sorry about that,” she cringed, laughing softly. “One hearing test owed to Adrien Brody. Noted.” Oh, she was witty. He liked witty.

“Yeah, that’s one hell of a set of lungs you have,” he complimented, Jade moving past where her girls stood, pulling herself a bottle of water from the cooler, sinking a shot Katie thrust in her direction.

“Mm, yeah,” she hummed quietly, unscrewing the bottle cap, cocking her head as a confident smile shined through. “I like to think so.” God, the man had the most gorgeous green eyes she’d ever seen in her life, Jade feeling herself pulled in by them, trying not to feel awkward at the fact that she was standing there talking to a man whose fame eclipsed her own in shades. She could feel her internal monologue beginning to flounder at what to say to him next, relieved when Adrien pointed to her t shirt.

“Rough Trade, that’s about my favourite record store in all of New York. Spent entirely too much time and money in there during my youth,” he noted, Jade gesturing to the couch.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” she spoke as they sat down, sipping her water. “I used to work there on a weekend before the band blew up and took off.”

“Yeah? What part of New York did you live in? I take it from the accent that you moved over, right?” Of course, she did. Duh. He could have kicked himself, but she didn’t react in any way other than to politely answer.

“I did. I’m from Tottenham, London, but moved over with my parents when I was thirteen. I lived in Harlem. What about you? You sound New York born and bred, and apologies if you think I might be one of those people who knows everything about you already, but I really don’t!”

He watched the embarrassment crease her face as she cringed, reaching to gently squeeze her wrist. “No, you’re fine! God, it’s refreshing, actually, to talk to somebody who doesn’t know anything about me already!” he began, very much enjoying that she truly was a little clueless over him. It made weeding out those with a genuine interest in who he was away from his famous persona much easier. “And yeah, Queens born and bred.”

“Do you still live there?”

“In New York, yeah, but further north. I’ve a house in Oswego County, right out in the middle of nowhere. It’s a mess still, long term restoration project, but I like it. I like not being bothered while I’m not working. I have a place here, too, but only a rental. How about you?”

“Couple of places,” she began, noticing the documentary guys hovering, pointing at them discreetly. “Don’t mind, do you?”

“I don’t. Your tour manager already came and asked us.”

She nodded, continuing. “So yeah, I have a house out in California and an apartment in the West Village. I just bought a property over in England as well, gorgeous estate in Buckinghamshire that the Laurel Canyon house is shortly being rented out to afford.”

Rock music was lucrative, it seemed, for her to own three homes. “That’s smart, renting. You’ll get more for it long term, too. Especially with the association of living in a rock star’s house.”

“Certain would-be renters’ll probably think I have cocaine stashed all over or something,” she snorted, “which is hilarious as I don’t do hard drugs. Used to, but it messed with my ability to perform, so I knocked it on the head.”

He loved how candid she was, not hiding anything for appearances sake. She was also entirely too beautiful for her own good, with the prettiest, bluest eyes he’d ever seen in his life, eyes he couldn’t look away from for a second. A parade of naked women could have walked into the tent right at that moment, and he wouldn’t even have turned his head.

They continued their talk, seemingly oblivious to the merriment going on around them, finding out tentative bits of information about one another, their families, their interests and passions. They had one in particular that surprised the hell out of him.

“Get the fuck out of here! You’re into hip-hop?”

“No, you get the fuck out,” she teased, gently pinching his arm as she laughed. “Yeah, I am! I’m into so much music, but growing up in the areas that I did, it was such an ingrained staple. I was the only white girl amongst all my friends and just absorbed the hip-hop culture like a sponge. I got to listen to so much in the store too. It had its perks, working at Rough Trade.

“I still nearly died on the spot when Method Man came strolling in one day. Wu Tang had released thirty-six chambers the year before, and I couldn’t stop playing it, so yeah, I was completely dumbstruck. He walks up to the counter and I’m just like, “no way, you’re Method Man,” to which he smiled, looked at my name tag and said, “no way, you’re Jade. Whassup, girl?" We became friends, he’s such a cool guy. Comes by my place whenever he can when we’re both back in New York. I cook him pasta and he plays me new stuff he’s been working on. I got a lot of time for Clifford, he’s real straight up.”

“Yeah, I know him a little, too. I’m more friends with RZA, though. I got into making beats in my teens and he’s acted as a mentor to me. Cool guy,” he replied casually, Jade grasping his arms and giving them a little shake.

“You make beats?” she cried, her eyes widening, “play me something! Do you have anything on your phone?”

He shook his head. “Nope, it’s all at home on my laptop. But I will one day, though.” She made a sad face, Adrien pulling his arms from her soft grip, linking his fingers through hers. Oh... too forward, he suddenly panicked. When her fingers squeezed his hands, he realised it wasn’t. Her lit-up face told him it wasn’t, too. God, it was like a thunderbolt had just cut through the tent and hit him square atop his head. “You’re too cute, you know that? I definitely will let you listen to some of it. I plan for us to meet up at the same time in the same place again, for sure.”

“Not many people call me cute,” she admitted, stroking her thumbs in circles over his palms. “Lots of other things. Loud mouthed bitch, profane whore, evil cock tease, but rarely cute.”

The way she looked at him, licking her lip, oh fuck. Yep. He sensed something quite predatory lurking beneath the surface of the quiet, charming woman he was enjoying the hell out of getting to know. What was more? He liked it. “I think the latter is probably fairly apt, isn’t it?”

She leaned forward, her lips tickling the lobe of his ear. “Might show you one day.” His face must have said it all, betrayed the barrier he tried to rapidly build to conceal the fire she’d stoked, licking his insides in a blaze.

Holding eye contact with her, he lifted his chin slightly, his smile growing. “Might let you.” They held each other’s gaze, almost defying the other to look away first, Jade playing with his hands, running her nails up and down his long fingers, licking her lips. Oh, she was so, so sexy. “Might just tease you back twice as bad.”

He winked, and her stomach exploded with butterflies, dropping her gaze for a moment, her internal monologue stuck on excited screaming mode. “It’s so loud in here. Do you want to go someplace quieter?”

“That’d be good. Is my boy gonna be alright, or are your girls gonna eat him alive?” he spoke, nodding over her shoulder, seeing Lewis looking very well settled, drinking and laughing with Katie and Charlotte.

“Yeah, the lesbians will look after him well. They’re together, if you didn’t know. Most don’t unless you’re a fan of the band,” she spoke, Adrien only noticing it then, the understated way they had their pinky fingers linked together. Cute.

“Ahh, he’ll know, then. Save himself the embarrassment of trying to give his usual awkward advances toward two girls who don’t bat for his team.” They got up, exiting the tent without being noticed, although Jade was called out to by a few peers and industry folks as they walked down towards where all the busses were parked a short way from the entrance to the backstage compound.

As he walked, Adrien couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so excited to spend time with someone who wasn’t a friend or family member, the people much missed as his hectic life whirled around him. He had no idea how much time he’d have with this utterly charming woman who turned to smile at him, but god, he hoped the minutes began to tick backwards with every step he took.

#adrien brody fanfiction #adrien brody x ofc #adrien brody fanfic #adrien brody fic #adrien brody smut #adrien brody #sky full of stars #adrien and jade

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miraculousladybugconfessionbox · 13 days ago

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(Asker warns in advance for poor english, and also it being a long winded submission.)

Transcript: i’m going to explain how gabriel agreste’s character was purposefully dehumanized, contradicting, how it serves as plot armor, and, ultimately, how much potential he had and what i would change about him. (i love him)

things that don’t make sense in the show

i. dumbness as plot armor

let’s start by noticing how this grown man is beaten every single episode by a supposedly clumsy girl. no matter how much time he or them (with nathalie) planned their next attack, how much effort they put into getting the miraculous, he either fell into ladybug’s oh-so-wise trap or there was something stupidly obvious that he missed and she didn’t. it’s pretty enraging how he passed 5 seasons, which add up to 2~3.5 years approximately, akumatizing someone every single day, which adds up to ~600 times assuming the average was 5 days a week, he somehow screwed up no less than 600 times. in a row. catch me? and let’s not think about how félix also outsmarted him at every chance he got or how even knowing the holders’ identities he couldn’t make his wish, because that’d be plain sad.

ii. contradictions (very related to previous point)

how is it possible that this man, a celebrity, a famous, wealthy designer that built his company on his own from poverty, said to be brilliant and very smart, blunders the same (and very easy) thing over and over again up to 600 times in a row against a girl who is, also, said to be clumsy and dumb, but suddenly turns stupidly wise the moment she needs to? (this isn’t hate towards marinette, just an observation). the show contradicts itself: if we took everything he is from what we know (resilient, cold, calculating, clever, and more), he shouldn’t have to try more than, what? 5 times? until he got a literal pair of earrings and a ring. from his own son.

another contradiction aside from the supposedly-brilliant-but-stupid, is his relationship with adrien. given that he’s his miracle child (literally), not only should he have stopped around the third/fourth season (with also nathalie’s 💗influence💗), but he shouldn’t knowingly put his son at risk. i don’t mean gorizilla or the audrey one (he’d get adrien back either from the wish or the “miraculous ladybug!” at the end), but particularly chat blanc. that episode was a very forced try from the writers to depict gabriel as a monter, because, knowing what we know, is it really believable that he threw his son like a baseball across paris from the mansion to the eiffel tower with a petty grin, and not only that but gaslights (and traumatizes) him and his girlfriend into that he’s a piece of shit for not wanting to make his mom come back to life (also with a petty grin)? the expected outcome, in my opinion, would have been a forced realization that he couldn’t do that. like very dramatic and such. but being this evil? please tell me i’m not the only one who thinks it’s out of his character.

iii. dehumanization

this is the most obvious one. we just get that he’s evil, heartless, and downright insane. he talks to his dead wife, is up to sacrifice his own son and the only other person that loves and helps him (nathalie), and terrorizes the city without any guilt or anything. the problem, though, is that we don’t see his side of things. and before you get at me, i don’t mean that these things could be “justifiable”, we just don’t get the side of him that regrets, double takes, thinks twice or genuinely cares about his son. it’s almost implied that he doesn’t, which ultimately implies he’s a psychopath or lacks basic empathy, ethic and moral. it’s pretty dehumanizing, isn’t it? the thing that characterizes humans is that we’re social creatures, and that comes with empathy and feelings and a sense of good and bad. he doesn’t constantly appear to have so, it’s more like fleeting moments that last two minutes and then back to a monster. if we got shown that he regrets his actions, that he feels bad for something, or even just having a human quality (like marinette’s clumsiness or adrien’s cutesy and being loving), something that makes him relatable, his character would have been much more complex and nuanced rather than just the evil, heartless, mysantropist parent that hates his son and is abusive and neglectful. we could’ve gotten a father that does these bad things but also makes sure his son is always safe and sound. a father that does these bad things but cooks dinner with his son. it could’ve been an interesting arch that could’ve ultimately ended up in him getting together with nathalie and handing over the miraculous because he loves his son and wants the best for him. the fact that he chose to betray marinette and die is the most selfish thing he has ever done, a deal breaker, something i will not forgive the writers for. like, everything just for what? adrien is an orphan when he could have gotten a loving family again where gabriel survived and nathalie survived too and they married and happily ever after. damn.

things i’d change about him

i. his backstory

i will olympically ignore the backstory of punk gabi grassette, thank you very much. mainly because, what the fuck, and then because i don’t find correlation between that and his current self. what do i mean? i mean that it doesn’t look like his personality and character could have been forged from... that.....

SO, what do i propose? i propose a poor, strictly religious household with an unloving, abusive priest as a father that believes that by punishing gabriel for being unruly and sinful will correct him, a mother that loves him but is too scared of husband to act up, and like 4 siblings, so they’re 5 in total. gabriel was either the oldest or second oldest.

i won’t explain further because it’ll otherwise be too long, but i can make another post if you want to :)

ii. the way he expresses things

just what i said in section “dehumanization”: show vulnerable moments where he regrets his actions, is affectionate with adrien, etc.

iii. his arch’s ending, chat blanc, and other questionable episodes

can we get just him married to nathalie and my happily ever after :( that’s all i yearn for. please.

anyway thank you for coming to my ted talk. bye

#ask #ask blog #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ml ladybug #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #tales of ladybug and cat noir #ladybug and chat noir #ladybug #miraculous lb #gabriel #gabriel agreste #confession box #confession

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kittysuicoffee · 5 months ago

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Being in the miraculous ladybug fandom for a long while makes me wonder why Chloe doesn’t get as much hate as Lila… I mean think I had seen people wanting Chloe to be redeemed while Chloe hadn’t done anything to get that redemption key. The few times she does something nice is when she wants something from others. Sabrina and Adrien are good examples of this Chloe did something mean to Sabrina which caused her to be akumatized in that same episode Sabrina forgave her because Chloe gave her something to show her “friendship” same thing with Adrien! Adrien ended the friendship Chloe not wanting to lose Adrien act being nice to show she being nice and when the friendship was reconnected she went back to the way she was! There a problem with that Chloe does something horrible and mean she never gets calls out for it when she doesn’t she does something to make the person forgave her and she back to what she’s doing before. I don’t think people in this fandom realize that they are being played like a fool Thomas had clearly no intention on redeeming Chloe if he did had that intention he’s doing it wrong. I don’t know or like the man but still Chloe was never made to be redeemed. This I am calling is a false redemption when you are a writer you have to show a character progressing or deprogressingin a show book comic or whatever Chloe character never went through development she stay as she is to beginning middle and end she never changed. (I had never written a show before but you get the point) also the writing is bad this is just my opinion it’s not an attack on Chloe fan girls and boys I am just saying it’s crazy Lila get a lot of hate while Chloe doesn’t get much of it… Gabriel is also shit too but his a villain so who’s cares he was made to be disliked. Mme. Bustier is a shit teacher that let Chloe get away with anything… this woman should had never been a teacher in the first place…

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #lila rossi #miraculous fandom #chloe bourgeois #gabriel agreste #miraculous ladybug salt #miraculous fandom salt #chloe salt

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celestiall0tus · 5 months ago

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Calm Before the Storm - Chapter 5 - Deadly Sins

Beginning || Previous || Next

Wayhem sighed as he scrolled through the latest from the Agreste brand. He smiled seeing Adrien as radiant and dazing as ever. Though a pang of sorrow hit him as he wished he could have seen Adrien outside of the lovely photos. He had been able to get peeks at Adrien whenever he saw Adrien around, but never had the chance to speak with him like before. It was like Adrien couldn’t see him anymore.

“Do you want that to change?” Adrien’s voice asked.

Wayhem gasped and looked around his room. Chills ran up his spine as the air chilled around him. He moved to stand when an imitation Adrien manifested in his room. He screamed and fell back.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a friend that can give you exactly what you desire most, and the power to achieve it.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, Wayhem, I can see right into your heart. You long for him. The boy with hair of sunshine gold, fair and beautiful skin, a voice of angels, all wrapped up nicely with those piercing, hypnotic eyes. But it doesn’t just stop there. Oh, no. You want to know his touch, his embrace, his everything. I can see it. I can feel it.”

Wayhem blushed. “N-no. No! I don’t want all of that. Well, maybe a little, but… he’s just… just a friend.”

“Aww, poor thing. Why deny yourself when you could have so much more? Especially when he needs your help.”

“He… he needs me?”

“Oh, yes. Adrien has lost his way as he chases that which is lost to him. Would you not want to help save him from himself? Would you not want to show him something better? Something newer?”

“I… I suppose? And you could help me with that?”

The imitation Adrien smirked and held out its hand. A belt chain materialized in its palm.

“What’s that?”

“A special jewel. With it, a covenant is forged, and a bargain made. Will you accept?”

Wayhem considered, then took the belt chain and put it on.

“Good. Shall we get started?”

“Uh, how do we get started?”

“Simple. You need only utter the phrase, ‘Libidine, lust.’ Only then will everything be sealed and I yours to use as you wish.”

Wayhem hesitated. “I… are you sure this will help Adrien?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have any reason to lie to you.”

Wayhem gulped. “Alright. Libidine, lust.”

Su-Han stopped to rest. He and the remaining Guardians were almost back to Paris. He hoped that they were not too late and they would be able to assist in stopping Hawkmoth. He lamented his missed opportunity when Hawkmoth, or rather Shadowmoth, seized all the miraculous from the temple while he was away. He would be sure to set things right this time. It was his duty as the Celestial Guardian.

“Your guardianship means nothing anymore, old man,” a man’s voice hissed.

Su-Han jumped to his feet. “Who’s there? Show yourself, coward!”

A moment passed before a purple demon kwami materialized.

“What the-? What kwami are you? Why are you roaming freely? Who was your Guardian?”

Superbia laughed. “I belonged to no one. Your precious Mage felt it too dangerous to allow me and my fellow sins, and even loathsome virtues, to be created. At least, not without figuring out how to tamper with what we are.”

“If that is all true, then how do you exist now?”

“Why, because of Velze. Dear Daddy was brought back. He stripped all mortals of their dominion over us kwamis while giving all kwamis a physical form to inhabit.”

“What? You lie!”

“Lying is for the weak, and I am not weak. Everything I say is true. Anything that you once were is a mere memory. You are nothing. Even those teens could beat your sorry butts now. Granted, they all have our favored siblings. Shame. Daddy wasn’t supposed to have any favorites, but we know better.”

“But… what about Hawkmoth?”

“Oh, handled almost a year ago. See, you took too long and left everything to a bunch of teenagers that allowed your powers and rights to be stripped away. Now all kwamis are free to roam around and cause all sorts of mayhem as they please. Including little Plagg. My, I wonder what he’d get up to first now that he can use his powers without consequence.”

Su-Han’s jaw dropped. “What? They didn’t! They wouldn’t!”

“Oh, but they did. All kwamis are free and you have nothing. Now the world will fall to ruin and there’s nothing you can do about it. Unless.”

“Unless what?”

Superbia’s eyes lit up. “Let’s make a deal. You can become my holder, and you’d get access to the greatest of all powers.”

“But… a Guardian is never meant to use a miraculous,” Su-Han argued.

Superbia shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m sure the others will understand.”

“What others?”

Superbia didn’t answer, but clapped their hands. Su-Han watched as the remaining four Guardians emerged from the shadow, transformed into demons.

“What did you do to them?” Su-Han demanded.

“I didn’t do anything. They made the choice. They choose power and a return to the true order. You can join them. You can gain the power of a kwami and return everything to how it is meant to be. That is, if you’re not scared.”

Su-Han considered. “This is wrong.”

“Oh, please. You mortals have such polarizing views. There is no true right or wrong. You allow such ideas to keep you from doing what you feel is good. So, what do you feel is good, Celestial Guardian?”

“I… I want to keep Order. That is my job.”

“Then what do you feel you should do?”

Su-Han reconsidered. “Where is your jewel?”

Superbia held out his hand as a pair of earrings materialized. Su-Han took a deep breath and put them on.

“What is your phrase to transform?”

“Utter the phrase, ‘Superbia, Pride,’ and this covenant will be sealed.”

“Superbia, Pride.”

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#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous au #au #alternate universe #all that remained au #calm before the storm au #su-han #wayhem #deadly sins kwamis #kwamis #kwami oc #superbia #libidine #hellish shadows

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depressed-teacup-inc · 2 years ago

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At this point, I am literally just trying to see this season to an end

Hi hello, yes I’m late, time to review Revolution! Let’s go because at this point I’m getting tired of this show.

So basically the entire episode is Adrien’s trying to tell Marinette that he’s leaving Paris and trying to stop it, but Marinette doesn’t really listen, and is focused on stopping Chloe, who’s now mayor/dictator??? Yeah trust me the logic of this show is gone, somehow people are ok with the super demonized caricature Chloe being mayor like everyone didn’t hate her already (my guess is that this is supposed to be alluding to the current state of world and politics and lack of trust people hold in the government)? Love the lack of consistency and logic.

Now. I don’t want to criticize Marinette too much, because technically, yes, she was busy trying to handle the Chloe situation (which in itself makes absolutely no sense and by all accounts shouldn’t be possible) but I will note that despite Adrien clearly telling her something was wrong multiple times, she never seems to care or understand? Like he told her multiple times that there’s something wrong, but she never seems to care or do anything about it until it actually affects her (which is unfortunately in character)

But apparently people are criticizing Adrien?! Saying how he’s awful for lying to marinette about having to leave and left it for the last minute? And frankly, the show kinda does it too (in the next episode, many of Adrien’s classmates discuss how awful it is Adrien didn’t say anything and how could he keep this from them like that)

LIKE??? BITCH??? Two points:

1. Adrien’s dad is Gabriel fucking Agreste?!

Like wow what a shocker the child of a man that has proven to abuse and isolate his son on multiple occasions has a fear of asking others for help in his situation because he worries nothing can truly beat this actual billionaire who’s also his legal guardian? And also is implied to have legit magic control powers over him, sentimonster style?

2. This really isn’t that of a big fucking deal

Like I do not get why this show keeps saying how “Adrien lied to marinette!!! He didn’t tell her he’s moving away!!!! How could he!!!” And how literally everyone and their mom is seeing this as an awful situation for marinette, when in actuality, all she knows is that Adrien will now be living a couple of hours away from her (due to the bullet train between Paris and London) and that he won’t literally be with her every second of the day.

Like I get it for a 14 year old yes this might be a huge fucking deal, but Alya even says so herself! Adrien is in London, they’ll just get a couple of tickets for the train and figure it out from their! And even in the worst case scenario where Adrien stays in London, there’s the option of a long distance relationship (that’s just as valid a relationship as any and would be a refreshing take on how not every relationship is super conventional and in person)

I just really don’t understand why the show shows Adrien genuinely going through some horrible shit from his father (like full on white room torture in the episode after) and then all the show focuses on is how this affects marinette and how sad she must be rather then the genuine psychological damage this must be doing for the kid! Like no one in this show remembers the amount of control Gabriel has on Adrien or something.

Anyways rant aside, before the entire going to London thing happens (btw congrats adrienette shippers for the kiss) there’s a whole thing where Chloe makes a deal to be akumatized by Monarch so she can send people to detention (it’s painted as a torture chamber but it’s literally people walking around with a video of Chloe saying they’re ridiculous, so basically P.E. Class), and then there’s a big fight where Ladybug and Chat Noir almost detransform because they used up their lucky charm and cataclysm and are trapped (btw the lucky charm had no fucking point to the story, why was it underwear? Frankly it was kinda creepy if the writers to have panties as the lucky charm for nothing but a weird joke, and not even connecting to the messages of unity and everyone taking action but ok)

But like… they just don’t?! Like I swear to god this show makes no sense anymore, Ladybug and Chat Noir just say they’ll never give up and fully transform and recharge again, and now they have no time limit and full powers?!

Like, the entire principal (just like Gabriel said) of the miraculous time limit, is that Kwamis need to recharge after one use, and that adults can lend some of their energy and power to Kwamis and therefore have them last longer to the point they don’t need to detransform, hence “only adults don’t need to detransform”

But now it’s apparently a purely emotional thing and not physical? Ladybug and Chat Noir somehow grew up by saying they’ll never detransform again (I do not at all see how this is a moment of growth to them) and now they just don’t detransform, despite the fact they are physically still kids?

Like by the shows logic of emotional maturity, Gabriel shouldn’t be able to hold a transformation at all then, because he’s the farthest thing from emotionally mature.

And also, it kinda makes all the stakes in fights now null and void? The biggest stake and challenge in each fight from day one of miraculous was “there’s this bad guy, you guys have one chance to use your special powers to beat them, think smart and solve this puzzle” but now it’s just gone??? It would have worked if the akumas overtime became more intense and hard to beat but clearly that’s not the case as even akumas powered up with actual miraculouses can be beat by a normal ladybug and chat noir.

The best thing the show could have done here is rather then make the becoming adult thing emotional maturity, have Ladybug and Chat Noir notice their transformation seems ti be slowly lasting longer as they age (have it be a metaphor for puberty and growing up or something) and then actually make the fights and villains more difficult and compelling so by the time Ladybug and Chat Noir no longer transform back, the priority isn’t for them to keep their secret identity (which sucks and anyways doesn’t matter) but to stay alive!

But anyways I digress, when has this show ever pulled a logical move?

Which speaking of…

I have no fucking clue what they’re doing with Chloe anymore.

They spent. Entire SEASONS! PLURAL! SEASONS! After the introduction of Audrey Bourgeois, telling us how “no Chloe is irredeemable her actions are never justifiable she’s just evil and bad and she has no other reason for doing anything and she’s so bad she’s cooperating with monarch and Lila look how evil she is hate her so marinette looks better in comparison”

To now… suddenly pulling this scene?!

Like. WHY??? Why would you purposely demonize Chloe despite the very real opportunity she had to get better and be complex, only to now pull a “whoops wait look guys deep compelling character!”

And while I heard people say this is the show maybe finally making Chloe get her redemption arc after hitting rock bottom, I can’t agree? The show is known for its repetitive nature, and if the show is to redeem Chloe and suddenly make her a good person or give her a compelling reason for acting the way she did, marinette looks bad in comparison, for not having as compelling reasons to do just as bad things:

Example? Marinette and Chloe in season 3’s Animaestro, trying to sabotage Lagami and publicly humiliate her in front of Adrien so she won’t “win him over”.

If Chloe has an explanation for this behavior (she’s taught to be cruel and mean from a young age by an abusive and neglectful mother, and because of her equally neglectful father, she learned the only way she’s heard and anyone cares for her is if she lashes out, and someone will just throw money on the problem) what reason does marinette have? She was raised by perfectly loving and doting (maybe too doting) parents, who from day one have taught her to be kind to others, and to do good.

Both characters did an awful thing, just one character has a genuinely compelling explanation for said behavior, while the other is pure jealousy and wanting the guy for herself by all costs.

So no, I don’t think the show will redeem Chloe for that reason: because it would force marinette to admit her wrongdoings and therefore force the plot to develop!

So this just makes no sense? It feels like a case of the show wanting to have its cake and eat it too, wanting the show to remain the same, Chloe to remain awful for no reason, and for marinette to stay the hero by comparison, but also have the bragging rights to say “we write complex character you guys!”

It makes no sense is my point.

Anyways besides these huge inconsistencies, leaps in logic, and bad writing, I don’t really have anything else about this episode to say? This show has officially come to the point for me where I genuinely think nothing will ever change or be able to fix how wrong everything is (from characterization of everyone except for marinette, the plot, the rules of miraculouses, the LOVE SQUARE)

#miraculous ladybug #mlb fandom #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #chloe bourgeois #ml rants #ml season 5 #every time I saw Chloe/Lila/Gabriel be super unrealistically evil for no reason #I was like that meme of mermaid man from SpongeBob going “Evil!!!!

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iamwritingsanders · 7 months ago

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Inherited Mess Pt. 10

First: Link Previous: Link Next: [TBA]

Carry Me

Logan made sure the hallway was clear before slipping into Remus’ bedroom, locking the door behind him, and watching Remus pacing the room. He’s learned most of Remus’ anxious habits by this point. Chewing on his fingers was common, but he also fidgeted a lot with random items whenever there was too much going on in his head. Right now he was rearranging the collection of figurines on top of his dresser. There was never a method to how they were displayed, just whatever felt right in that moment so the way he kept going showed that a right feeling just wasn’t happening.

“Remus?” Logan spoke softly, not wanting to accidentally spook him in case he hadn’t registered his presence yet. His point was proven when Remus continued his arranging and talking to himself under his breath. “Remus?” Logan tried again, placing a hand on Remus’ wrist. Remus tensed up, looked at the hand, and relaxed the second he recognized who was with him.

“Hey, LoLo. Did you finish eating?” Remus seemed to be trying to shove down whatever emotions he was feeling before. Logan hated when he did that, it never ended well and he knew it hurt Remus more than it did any good.

“What did Adrien talk to you about?” Logan ignored Remus’ question and asked his own instead, still remembering the earlier anger toward the older man. He saw the remnant of that anger flash in Remus’ eyes before he shook his head in an attempt to make himself forget it.

“It’s nothing.” Remus tried to slip away but Logan caught his hand.

“Remus. What did he talk to you about? It must have been something very upsetting for you to be like this. Let me help.” Logan waited as Remus paused and had that previous conversation replay in his mind, jaw clenching and he deeply inhaled through his nose.

“Adrien…” Remus blew a raspberry as he tried to find the words. “Adrien basically suggested having you and Patton leave.” Saying that out loud brought all of that rage back. “He blamed me for Remy getting shot and said that I lack focus and having you two around is what’s causing that problem. Fucking prick wouldn’t know friendship or love if it bit him in the ass.” Remus spat the last part. “I know I shouldn’t get so worked up over this, it’s stupid but I just…” He ran his hands through his hair. “God, I want to just break something every time I think of his stupid face saying his stupid words. Just the idea of losing you has me wanting to set the world on fire.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Logan adored Remus’ passion and he knew he meant it when he said he’d set things aflame for him. He placed his hands on Remus’ shoulders, pulling him close. “You’re never going to lose me, you know that. It would be illogical for me to leave.” Logan chuckled when his comment got Remus to smile.

“That’s a fair point.” Remus sighed. “I might go to the gym real quick and get this stuff out of me.”

“I have another idea.” Logan took Remus’ hands and guided him to hold his waist. He then wrapped one of his own arms across Remus’ shoulders and placed a hand on his chest, leaning in close. “Use me.”

“Use you?” Remus echoed. “You mean-hold on, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t or at least you won’t in a way I don’t want.” Logan was feeling confident and Remus felt his heart flutter.

“I love you,” Remus said before catching Logan in a kiss.

x~x~x The next morning for Patton and Janus was disrupted by heavy knocks on the door, the knocking insisting until Janus finally reached it, hair a mess, shirt missing, and looking pissed at being woken up. It was a rarity for him to sleep in but whenever he did everyone knew to leave him alone.

“What?” Janus practically hissed.

“If you are all insisting on having Patton be in the kitchen, the least he can do is keep it clean,” Adrien stated, unaffected by Janus’ annoyance.

“Is everything okay?” Patton came to the door, wearing Janus’ missing shirt.

“Glad to see where your priorities are, Janus.” Adrien huffed while Patton shrunk away to hide most of himself behind Janus. “The kitchen is a mess.” He stated to Patton.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get right on it.” Patton looked down at the ground as he spoke.

“Feel good about yourself? We’ll take care of it, you can go.” Janus wanted to slap Adrien for upsetting Patton but neither of them had been awake long enough for that much drama.

“If there is a job, it is to be done properly.” Were Adrien’s parting words as he went away.

“‘It is to be done properly’,” Remy repeated in a mocking tone, taking Adrien’s place in the next few seconds, uncaring if he could be heard or not.

“Remy?” Patton perked back up. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“Doc told me to walk about to get the blood flowing,” Remy answered with a grin and apart from his arm being in a sling, he looked like his usual self.

“Remington Bomen, what do you think you’re doing?” A stern voice soon followed.

“You told me to walk around, Ems,” Remy said with a laugh as Dr. Emile Picani, a man with endless nicknames but mostly known as Picani, stormed over to him.

“Don’t you ‘Ems’ me, you know I was talking about walking around the room. I am still examining you.” Picani took hold of Remy’s uninjured arm. “Good morning, Janus. Good morning, Patton.” He greeted the other two men with a cheery smile before tugging Remy away. “I still need to make sure you’re fine to go off on your own.” Picani scolded Remy as they went away.

“Have you noticed that Picani is only ever stern with Remy?” Janus commented.

“I think it’s cute.” Patton giggled.

“You think everything is cute.” Janus teased.

“Including you~” Patton sang as Janus chuckled and closed the door.

Several minutes passed before the door to Remus’ bedroom opened and Remus peeked his head into the hall, checking it was clear before slipping back in, Logan’s voice coming out from behind it.

“I don’t need to be carried.”

“You said you were sore.” Remus’s voice was followed by the shuffling of feet.

“I am, but I’ll just take some medicine when I get to my office. You already wouldn’t let me get dressed on my own, I can walk down the-” The last part of Logan’s comment became a light yelp of shock and when the door opened, Logan was up in Remus’ arms. “This is ridiculous.” Logan huffed.

“It’s called being a caring boyfriend.” Remus chuckled, patting Logan’s rear as he walked.

“It’s called being overprotective.” Logan had a grin with his comment.

“Are you complaining?” Remus winked and Logan smiled as he rolled his eyes.

“I’ll give you twenty dollars and a back rub if they end up-” Janus stopped what he was saying as he and Patton left his room and ran into Remus and Logan. There was a long pause as the four of them looked at each other.

“I can ex-"

“You two are terrible at hiding your relationship.” Janus cut Remus off.

“Our what? No-we’re not-I don’t know-what?” Remus sputtered out while Logan just turned his head away.

“Oh, please. I’ve known for a long time about this.” Janus vaguely gestured at them with a finger.

“How long?”

“When did you tell Patton?”

“Pat!” Remus turned to Patton.

“How could I not tell Jan?” Patton protested. “But I swear I only told him and no one else knows. He promised not to tell and you know he never breaks a promise to me.”

“Have you told him everything I’ve talked to you about?” Remus asked.

“Yes,” Janus answered for Patton with a smirk.

“I do not want to know what that all implies.” Logan sighed. “Now can we-” He stopped at the sound of music coming down the hall, a genre of music they recognized as Virgil’s. It told all of them that he was coming and that he was alone.

“Ah, shit.” Remus cursed and before he could have his next thought, Janus threw Patton over his shoulder right as Virgil came into view.

“Um…do I want to know?” Virgil turned his music off and raised a brow.

“Remus is trying to prove he’s faster than me.” Janus’ lie came out easily and he shrugged.

“You could go get Roman and join the race.” Remus quickly caught on.

“I’m good. Although, if he doesn’t get out of bed, I might be doing it regardless.” Virgil softly chuckled. “Any word on Remy?”

“He’s doing really well!” Patton pushed himself up a bit as he spoke.

“He was walking around a bit ago, Picani dragged him back to the infirmary,” Janus added.

“That’s a good sign.” Remus laughed.

“You guys enjoy your race, I have a Princey to bother.” Virgil gestured with his thumb. “Coffee’s made up and Adrien is in a mood.” He added the first part to Janus and said the second half with a roll of his eyes as he turned and walked away.

“You owe me,” Janus said as soon as Virgil was gone, putting Patton back down.

“Wait.” Patton wrapped his arms around Janus’ neck and jumped, making him catch him. “You started this and I want you to finish it.” He said with a giggle.

“I can do that.” Janus smiled as Patton rested his head on his chest. “I’ll give you more hell later.” He winked at Remus and Logan and walked away as well.

“Now, can you put me down?” Logan asked.

“I’ll put you in your seat in your office.” Remus continued his own walking.

“I have no choice, do I?”

“Nope~”

“Fine.” Logan played up his tone and kissed Remus’ temple. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“The luckiest man in the world.”

----------

@bookwormscififan

#sanders sides #assassin!au #intrulogical #moceit #prinxiety #sandy writes

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kasienda · 8 months ago

Text

Celebrity Status: Ch 7 - Hiding

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Read on Ao3

Chapter 7: Hiding

I can’t believe Ladybug dropped someone!

Omg! Ladybug dropped an actual person!

Adrien wanted to reach through his screen and shake these people! They clearly weren’t watching the same video he was. She hadn’t dropped him. He had fought her, and when he won because she wasn’t actually trying to fight back, he fell.

Not her fault.

She probably wouldn’t see it that way though.

He had tried to look for her after the akuma, but she had bolted without even their usual fist bump.

And now the internet was exploding in condemnation.

He glanced towards his open window, but there was still no sign of her.

He thought that she would come. She had for the other for every other PR mishap.

But another hour went by and she didn’t show.

He transformed and took to the rooftops. Once he was a few blocks away from the mansion he tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. He didn’t even know if she was transformed.

Just when he was about to give up, the little Ladybug showed up on his map. She wanted him to find her.

He found her sitting alone, her legs curled into her chest behind a brick chimney. He sat next to her without saying anything. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. A second later she was shaking as she cried.

He wrapped his arms around her. “It wasn’t your fault,” he whispered.

She shook her head, trying to wipe away her own tears, but they just kept falling.

“He didn’t trust me,” she sobs.

He was an idiot, but Chat Noir knew saying that wouldn’t help.

“I thought it didn’t matter what anyone thought of me,” she says, her voice smaller than he had ever heard it.

“We’ll fix it,” he promised.

“How? Everything I say makes it worse.”

That was more his fault than hers, though she didn’t know that. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”

She nodded, but fell into silence once again.

“How can I make you feel better?” he asked.

“You’re doing just fine,” she said.

“No,” he disagreed. She might have stopped crying, but she had yet to smile. “What’s something dumb we could talk about?”

Her chin jutted forward and to the side. “How about that billboard right there?”

He followed her gaze, and found himself looking at his own photo-shopped image.

He groaned. He hated that ad.

Ladybug laughed, so mission successful he supposed. “Jealous, Chaton?”

He blinked for a second. “Should I be?”

“Oh, definitely. He’s like the whole deal.”

He grinned. If only she knew. “Am I sensing a celebrity crush, M’lady?” he teased.

He didn’t expect her to turn red.

His heart took off without his permission.

“Oh my god! You totally have a celebrity crush on Adrien Agreste!”

How in hell had that happened?

“No! It’s not a celebrity crush!”

He knew that it was probably more. They had hung out a few times after all.

"I mean, he's a celebrity, and you have a crush on him. Isn't that the definition of a celebrity crush?"

"But it makes it sound so superficial," she whined. "I do actually know him, you know."

"I've seen the pictures. Riposte, wasn't it?"

Adrien had obsessed over the pictures of Ladybug holding him in her arms princess style more than once.

She bit her lower lip. “Y-yeah. Riposte.”

He almost laughed at her attempt to keep a straight face. “Aw man! You agreed too easily. Now, I’m gonna have to assume that you know him personally.”

She had spent multiple evenings in his bedroom just in the last two weeks.

He still expected her to scoff.

She did not.

Could that would mean—

“You know Adrien Agreste, teenage supermodel? Like in person as yourself?"

She laughed nervously. "Forget I said anything."

He couldn’t forget it. This was one fact too many.

Because she didn’t deny it.

"You should confess,” he blurted.

Was that good advice? Or was he just being self-serving here?

She shook her head. "Ha! Do you have any idea how many confessions Adrien gets in just a month?! He has a script for rejecting them.”

He wished that was true. He never knew what to say when a stranger confessed to him. But if he knew her, it wasn’t the same thing.

Not even close.

"But didn't you say you were his friend?"

"Exactly! He gets a thousand love confessions, but only has a handful of friends. His friends are actually really important to him. Probably more important than anything else. I don't want to ruin something so rare and precious to him."

Adrien grew quiet. Ladybug saw him. Like, she truly saw him. And for the first time ever, it didn’t matter that he didn’t know who she was.

She knew him.

And he was more in love with her than ever.

“I think he’d be lucky to have someone like you in his life,” he said.

Her cheeks turned pink. “Oh my god. That’s so cheesy.”

“It’s also true.”

She shook her head, smiling.

He returned the expression.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“Making me feel like I have something to offer? Like my problems aren’t the end of the world? For making me feel better in general.”

He bumped her shoulder. “What are friends for?”

Her arms wrapped around his neck. “I am so lucky that out of everyone in Paris, you were chosen as my partner.”

He hugged her back. “Me too, bug. Me too.”

…

Marinette stayed out way too late with Chat Noir, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret it even as she trudged up the stairs to her front door.

He just had this way of making everything feel possible. Like her problems weren’t so gargantuan.

She took a deep breath and swung open the door.

"Marinette! Where have you been?! I’ve been calling you all day!” her maman demanded.

Marinette pulled out her phone. Sure enough, she had over dozen missed calls.

“Sorry. I missed that. I didn’t mean to make you worry.” The words felt hollow even to her own ears. She had used them so many times they had lost all meaning.

Her maman sighed, and yanked her into a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay. Will you please tell me where you were?”

“I wasn’t anywhere in particular. I was just roaming the city. Trying to get out of my own head.”

That much was true.

Her mother pulled away and searched her face. Marinette didn’t know what she was looking for.

“Will you please tell me what’s going on?” Sabine begged.

Marientte’s shoulders slumped. “I don’t… I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Her mother’s hand stroked her arm from her shoulder to her wrist.

“You could never!” her maman insisted.

Marinette pulled away from her mother’s hold. It wasn’t true. She was already disappointing them. She wished she could tell them the truth.

But at least now, she had a believable lie. Or at least she hoped it was believable.

Marinette stared at her hands.

"Umm... I've been having panic attacks. They’ve— they’ve gotten really bad.”

Sabine covered her mouth with her hands.

Marinette made herself continue. “I try to go to class anyway, but sometimes, it's too much and I just have to hide. Especially during akuma attacks. I—I've been researching. I think I might have PTSD."

"Why didn't you tell us?" The question was barely louder than a whisper.

"It's just… my anxiety had been so much better this year, and you were so proud. I didn't want to disappoint either of you."

“Marinette.”

“So I lied. And then later you were so upset and I wanted to take it back, but it seemed too late. So I just dug in.”

Sabine wrapped her in a hug. "Oh honey! We would never be disappointed in you over something like this. We want to know about these things, so that we can help you."

"You’re right,” Marientte mumbled into her mother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Sabine kissed the top of her head, and pulled her into another hug. “Marinette, thank you for telling me. I’m so proud of you for telling me. We can look into getting you a psychiatrist.”

Marinette winced. That wouldn’t help her. She couldn’t talk about most of the things that she struggled with. All her secrets were off the table. And she definitely didn’t want to take meds for panic attacks that weren’t happening, but that was a problem for another day. For now, Marinette just let herself relax in her mother’s hold.

“Please remember next time, you can’t hide from things that are hard. It only makes them worse.”

But her mother was right. She couldn’t keep hiding from things that were hard.

And Chat Noir was right. Her PR problem didn’t have to be the end of the world.

She just needed to be more proactive. Adrien would certainly have some ideas.

…

#miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #ladrien #ladrien with marichat tropes #romance #speed write #only write the fun parts #celebrity status #my own content

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