#i want so badly for this to be a good series

[matrioshka]

There’s a moment I really like early on in the series that I think ends up being a wonderful microcosm of the coming tension between these two characters: Vi is talking alone with Mylo about Powder, and Powder, hearing half the conversation, gets upset when she thinks Vi is speaking badly about her and runs away. 

I think when most people watch this episode they’re going to think ‘oh, it’s one of those scenes, I know what this is.’ But only a few minutes later Powder and Vi are talking and Powder hints at the fact that she overheard them talking, and Vi is like, okay I see what’s going on, and so she reassures her and reminds her she’s valued. And the scene ends with them both happy and content.

So, you’re like, oh I guess the problem is resolved. They talked it out! But because Arcane has stupid good writing you don’t realize what’s really going on - the problem wasn’t that Powder misheard Vi, it’s that Powder is insecure *and so* she misheard Vi and got upset. It’s this insecurity that ends up leading her to taking it really personally when Vi tells her she has to stay home and is the reason why she makes the monkey bomb. 

This encapsulates so much of the conflict they’ll have for the rest of the show - talking isn’t enough. It’s not a matter of mishearing things or mismatched information that needs to be cleared up, but rather Vi and Jinx’s fundamental understanding of each other and themselves. 

At the end of Season 1, Vi calls out to Jinx saying 'I know you're in there'! As though Jinx is, like, a mind virus puppetting Powder like a zombie and Vi just needs to reach her to knock her out of it. These two sisters desperately want to be in each other's lives, but that's not really something that can be cleared up with a conversation!

Ultimately, they have to become enemies in order to fully reset their expectations for what the other person is supposed to be before they can finally understand eachother. That's cool! I love that.

[generalluxun]

Ahh this makes it more clear. Ranting is valid. The rant just sounded close enough to what some consider reasoned discourse that several of us newbs were fooled.

I think two of the reasons so many fandom folks still cling are

1)Sunk costs. It's been 10yrs of this.

2)As of S4, none of this really bad stuff had metastisized.

Sure Mari was making some questionable moves in S4, but it still felt like it could lead somewhere. It could have been the one in a one-two punch.

But it wasn't.

S5 Marinette is... I don't know what the plan was. It seems insane. Writer commentary seems to indicate the legitimately thought this was a good/wholesome direction and just.... Wow.

Many people just cling to that pre-S5 Marinette as *Marinette*. They're too invested in the girl-they-knew to let her go that easy. Heck, I'm one of them. Is she gone? S6 will kind of bear this out one way or another.

Calling it the writing is important for context though to a point. Even if they were to shake out Marinette's character and scrub her down until she's the girl you used to love, nothing will *fix* S5. Marinette can be a good person again, but S5 will still be a badly written season. You'll still talk about the series to new watchers by saying 'Yeah and then S5 happens. Here's the cliff notes. Watch it only if you really want to. Here's a couple high points for fun.'

The reason I say even an expertly crafted turnaround that restores Marinette can't save S5 is that- You don't put a multi year damnation/redemption arc into your programing aimed at kids. Kids age out. Kids move on. A 3-5 yr arc is just not responsible in a showrunner. Kids will be left with half the message.

It's important to have NaCl in your diet. But straight Cl is pure poison. 😅

I do get the visceral emotional response though, and I haven't even been here half the time some people have. The Marinette who stood in front of the world and declared Gabriel Agreste a hero betrayed a lot of people, and I don't mean characters in the show.

I get that alot of people go with the approach of "every Miraculous character is deeply screwed by the writers, so it's a writing problem" but at this point this feels like deflecting from the real problem

No shit stories and their characters are written by writers, but so many blogs I see now that go with that approach imo keep on dismissing the point of the problems people are pissed about because "well the characters aren't real, so I'm superior for saying it's the writers fault"

Guys, we KNOW they are fictional characters, you're not unique. But what is happening is that I get less and less out of the analysis posts from these blogs because they're beating around the damn bush especially when it comes to Marinette.

Yes, every character is screwed by the writing but Marinette has been retooled into the self-serving center of the universe who gets by though damn technicalities. This writing pattern is 2 disastrous seasons in, SHE IS THE PROBLEM.

You can try and sugarcoat that however you like by saying that Marinette is a fictional character so its the writers fault, but that doesn't change that Marinette's CHARACTER & WRITING is still the source of all the problems and that stories are being told to get emotional reactions. That's the entire purpose of a story.

No, I don't think people are doing it right by approaching all of Miraculous on a mere meta level. That's not how a story is supposed to be read. The meta level is an additional one on top of the emotional one, not the "rational way" to consume media.

And imo the analysis blogs I see around so much deliver less and less analysis posts I can do anything with. They are so caught up in explaining that the characters aren't to blame but the writers that they sideline why people are feeling the way they do.

There is this persistent dissonance in their posts about how apparently no amount of bad writing can change a character when that's just... objectively incorrect. Marinette for example is SUPPOSED to be compassionate and a thoughtful hero and partner/ leader to Cat Noir. Marinette in Canon though by this point is straight up NOT anymore.

But in their posts it's basically said that if people say that, then that makes them irrational because on a meta level the execution and effect of the writing is apparently irrelevant. Distant meta is king and the only rational way to engage with this story.

And I just don't see the point in that.

The outcome and the emotional effect of the writing is what actually matters. Not the intention behind it (no wonder people are using that excuse to defend Marinette's character. It's another variant of "but she MEANT well"). If Marinette is by now a toxic and even abusive partner and leader to be suck with, then that's the fucking damage the writing did. And said damage is DONE. That's her character NOW. Talk about the theory behind it however you like, the character CONCEPT is not Canon compliant anymore, and nothing is gonna change that besides facing the deeply rooted damage that has been done, analysing those on an EMOTIONAL level so you can then course correct the CANON character through the necessary development into becoming what the character was initially supposed to be.

Call me a dick, but just saying "the characters aren't real" is not a productive way of going about this dumpster fire anymore.

---

Another thing to take into account about the “it’s just bad writing” approach is that, like, it’s not like the way Marinette herself is being written has changed that much. What changed is how the narrative and other characters react to her and her behavior. Marinette has always been self-important, self-serving and self-obsessed, but these used to be treated as character flaws, signs of her immaturity and naivete she’d need to grow out of. Now we’re being told she’s flawless, actually, and has never done anything wrong ever and none of her mistakes were her fault. 

Like, I’ve recently been familiarizing myself more with the “my dear diary” teen drama genre, and it really is more of a dramedy genre if anything. Most of these series will have a self-important, self-serving and self-obsessed protagonist and the entire narrative is filtered through their self-centered world-view, because we’re basically reading their diary where they vent about things that annoy or excite them. Now comes the kicker: the “comedy” of the dramedy comes from how comically over the top these protagonists are when they clearly and obviously misrepresent their lives and themselves to the audience. Miraculous is leaning very heavily into this downright selfish protagonist archetype, but actually wants you to agree with the protagonist when you can see, with your own eyes, because this is a different medium, that the world isn’t nearly as unfair to our protagonist as she claims.

Here’s another kicker: if you aren’t laughing at the joke or projecting yourself onto the protagonist, you’re most likely gonna hate the protagonist of most “my dear diary” books. They tend to be the most opinion-splitting characters in their own fandoms, with readers either loving them or outright despising them.

Dismissing these kinds of fandom reactions only when they veer into the negative direction showcases the real motivation of the “it’s all just the writing” crowd. I need to dissociate from the show’s story in order to discuss why Marinette is still so beloved by the fandom, because I just can’t feel that way about her anymore. Similarly, the people dissociating from the story in order to explain why fans are disappointed and outraged by the story, can’t see anything worth getting upset about in the show. They think it’s all okay. They’re not approaching the show purely logically, they are still emotionally invested, they still like the show. Of course the seemingly logical approach to fandom unrest seems to just be defending Marinette and the show, because it is.

It’s basically a way to retreat from the criticism. Like, the accusations of Marinette being a stalker used to be easily sidelined with “it’s just a joke you don’t like” until they made it a sign of canonical mental instability. It was a way to say: "this is a silly thing to be upset about". Now we’re sidelining the abuse apologia with “it’s just bad writing, that’s not what Marinette’s character is”. What these people are actually saying is: “she’s made up, so my made up version of Marinette in my head didn’t do that.” Like, when you have to deny canon exists, your analysis isn’t analysis anymore; it’s headcanons at the very least, completely made up at most.

[alpenglw]

i wish the locked tomb was a well written series and didnt have the most unbearable writing style ever so i could enjoy it

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I like about Leo is that he’s honestly really chill? It’s easy to remember the moments where he’s being obnoxious or excitable but I feel like most of the time he’s incredibly “go with the flow” and has an overall affable demeanor.

[respectthepetty]

Episode five and six of Happy of the End dealt with the aftermath of the death of Keito's Haoran's mother, so this Black Brooder is completely dark now.

He sits in the dark contemplating his life and how much he hates it.

And even though Chihiro brings light to his life (as well as food), Haoran remains dark.

However, Chihiro is the perfect person to lift Haoran out of this darkness because no matter how shitty Chihiro's life is, he continues to be colorful.

His family has disowned him. He gets fired from his job. Yet he is still light.

Kaji, who he considers a friend, is rude to him and belittles his relationship with Haoran, yet he stays light.

And that's why when he gets the slightest indication that Haoran needs his help, he quickly reaches out to him.

He takes Haoran from the dark into the light as they walk around the city from the night into the morning.

He gives him a gift, not only of warmth in his moment of coldness.

But also the gift of color.

And because of this one moment of warmth in Haoran's cold existence, this moment of light in Haoran's dark life, this moment of color in Haoran's black world, he believes he can die now. Is it because he has finally had a moment of joy? Is it because he thinks he will never experience it again?

It isn't clear, which isn't a problem because either way Haoran has settled into the idea that death is a suitable outcome, but Chihiro is more than willing to die right next to him, which is a problem.

Because Haoran doesn't want Chihiro to die. He doesn't want to dim Chihiro's light. He wants Chihiro to live.

And that's what gives Haoran the will to live.

Haoran isn't living for himself anymore because he isn't alone anymore.

He still has the darkness.

But he doesn't seem to be afraid of the light the way he was before. He tells Chihiro he likes him. He tells Kaji they are boyfriends.

He cries because he realizes he has something to lose, but that also means he has something worth keeping.

So even though his darkness pops up when he argues with Chihiro because he hasn't revealed his past,

Once Chihiro appears next to him in his confrontation with Maya, that color reemerges.

And he finally bares his soul and body to Chihiro and tells Chihiro how truly dark his past was.

And a shift happens.

For the first time since Haoran was a child, he is light.

Even as he is forced to run away from Maya again, he has someone to run with him. Even though his world is still dark, he sees the light.

So it's no surprise that Maya decides the easiest way to bring Haoran back into the darkness is to kill the light.

[sideblog-usernametaken]

- She and Moxxie may have discussed having kids and already decided not to/to put it off for a while

- She could have a hereditary condition that makes being pregnant more dangerous for her

- She and Moxxie might not be financially stable enough for a kid

- She might want an abortion and knows Moxxie won't or vice versa

- Maybe she's had a miscarriage before

- Maybe she's worried about the very heavy hit to the stomach she took earlier and that might complicate things

- Her side of the family might make a big deal of things no matter what she does and force her to quit

- Maybe she's thinking of how badly her mood swing earlier in the episode could've turned out and is worried she's going to accidentally hurt the people close to her if she keeps the pregnancy

- Maybe after seeing Stolas' daughter reject him she's worried what her kids will think of her and Moxxie

- Maybe she's worried about if Blitzø and Moxxie will be ok without her on missions if she takes time off

- Maybe there's something about Imp pregnancies that we find out about later that makes it so no pregnancy announcement is a good one

Do I think any of these scenarios are likely? Maybe a few. But the point is they're all plausible reasons why she'd be upset here. There's no reason anyone should immediately jump to "What if she cheated?!" Millie and Moxxie are the healthiest couple in the show, if there's going to be drama in their relationship it's not going to be from cheating because neither of them would do that.

Also why would the story jump from a "Here's a scenario where cheating is kinda justified but still has consequences" plotline to a very common "She cheated and now she's pregnant!" plotline. It just doesn't mesh well with the rest of the series.

Y’all, it hasn’t even been a day yet and some people are already theorizing that Millie cheated on Moxxie and that the baby isn’t his

You guys do realize that married couples can experience unplanned pregnancies, right?

Or, that maybe Millie is worried about how having a baby could affect her job?

Shit, maybe she’s worried that she won’t be a good parent if she does decide to keep it because of her own family issues

I could even go as far to say that maybe she’s worried if she does decide to keep the baby, something could go wrong and the baby ends dying during the pregnancy

And I’m just saying all of this without knowing what Moxxie’s point of view is going to be like

[dredgesnails]

i really wanted more gem and mumbo interactions this series because they were so fun in secret life but i really didn't think it would culminate in mumbo spending the better half of his series desperately trying to kill gem to the point of begging and pleading only to end up dying multiple times himself. and yet it was still everything i wanted and more

[luck-of-the-drawings]

smth smth about 'the thing that the character did that you thought was rly rly funny in the moment is actually linked to a terrible trauma that lies within said character.' or wahtever.

[kooldewd123]

i can't stop thinking about book 32. i feel so conflicted on it. because on an analytical level, i absolutely adore it. it is such a strong rachel deconstruction (pun not intended), breaking her down into her core character traits - compassionate yet violent, impulsive yet deliberate - showing off why each one of those elements is important to the whole, bringing them together to play off one another in a quite literal way, and finally rebuilding a brand new rachel with a newfound appreciation for who she is. it is, on paper, i think possibly the best rachel story of the series. the one problem i have with it is simply the fact that i can't stand reading nice rachel's narration. like sure, i can accept the two rachels both being fairly simple and repetitive characters. splitting her traits up like this will ultimately create flatter characters by necessity of what the plot requires. but did they really need to give nice rachel that annoying valley girl talk? i want to love this book so badly but oh my god it is the only book in the entire series i genuinely struggle to get through.

[welcometogrouchland]

Finally saw Wicked today. I fear it is, in fact, actually all that and a bag of chips. Like it is genuinely that good

[kennyomegasweave]

I know Ai and Oom's grandma is currently the most stressed ever cause Oom is kinda sorta maybe dying, so I do actually give her a little pass for being absolutely godawful in all the hospital scenes, but there is NO excuse for every other scene before the crash. Including all the flashbacks.

Like I know she's not going to ever apologize and Ai will forgive her regardless because filial piety, so I just really hope she starts treating Ai better now that she knows she's made her own granddaughter feel so worthless she truly thought her own grandma would rather her potentially die than her sister.

[theladysherlock]

Dr. Barlow looked at Alek. "Bella gerant alli?"

Alek nodded again. "This isn't my war to wage."

...

"You understood what she said?" Dylan asked. "That bit in boffin-speak?"

Alek rolled his eyes. "It's called Latin, you simpleton. 'Bella gerant alli' means 'let others wage war.' She was saying we don't have to fight each other."

"You know Latin?" Dylan laughed. "You're barking posh, aren't you?"

Alek frowned, realizing his mistake. "What I am is stupid."

1. I don't even blame Alek for immediately responding to the Latin. This is a classic Trivia Blunder called "Oh Shit I Know This One" where your brain turns off everything except for the answer and you end up accidentally shouting it out at the wrong time so the other team gets the points. It happens to the best of us.

2. Another character trait that I like to point out when I can is that when Alek is upset, he gets mean. Right now he doesn't know Dylan well enough to say anything too hurtful (calling him an idiot, stupid, simpleton, etc), or at least nothing that Dylan is going to take personally. Fast forward to the fight in Goliath, and he knows Dylan well enough to know his emotional weak points. That fight didn't come out of nowhere, he's always been a bit of a bitch.

[zetsubobu]

anyone else have those fandoms that you spent time in but create no content for even though you want to?

There are so many shows that I like but literally no one knows that I like them because I don't talk about it or draw for it

[stuworbutwithchipmunks]

I think we should talk more about how CGI Brittany has the career 80's Brittany always wanted.

[unspuncreature]

i miss reva……….. o|–<

[delusionalblfan]

i need to talk about this. i watched pit babe's finale on the 9th and was so ready to talk about it the next day…the same day i waited for the sign finale and the same day i discovered it would be available only on the 24th. so i was so down and depressed that my mind ended up being shut and unable to make me react to pit babe. i am so sorry. pit babe deserves people to talk about it and i have been so out of this world. i hope that now this is over i can fully speak about it