#isn't it cool seeing the diversity of our writing styles. i love DID

[foxwitchaine]

How would you rank the seasons of Miraculous Ladybug?

Buckle up, everyone. Let's do this:

Season 1 - 8/10

I won't lie. The show actually started out pretty good in Season 1. We had unique ideas, a fresh take on the typical love interests you see in these shows, and a whole range of diverse and interesting characters who got their own spotlight episodes. It was where the show shined the best with what it had, so to speak. It did fumble toward the end with Lila's rather messy entrance. But again, I can't blame Ladybug for blowing up like she did.

Could she have handled it better? Of course. Heck, this could have been a plot line where Ladybug has to address the issue of lying through someone who doesn't have any problem lying through her teeth.

Unfortunately, that's not what we got.

Season 2 - 7.5/10

One less half-point for underdelivering on their promises. In our defense, we had no idea what we were in for past Season 2. We got new characters like Luka, who gave characters like Juleka more beyond their archetype. The reveal that Gabriel was Hawk Moth was something we all saw coming, but it set up an amazing conflict for later down the road.

It was also the season where the earliest red flags were being flown.

To be fair, since the show was still, in a sense, "starting out", we gave it the benefit of the doubt. The biggest contention was, naturally, how they handled Chloé Bourgeois.

Put simply, Chloé had potential for an incredible Zuko-style redemption story. Between her mother Audrey abandoning her to pursue her career, along with virtually every adult figure in her life failing her, we could have had an amazing drama where the school bully was forced to confront her worst self and aim to become better. To deserve the Bee Miraculous.

What we got instead was the showrunners sabotaging themselves with how they handled her.

Season 3 - 5/10

The season where it all started to go downhill, starting with the infamous opening episode Chameleon.

There's... no polite way to put it. Season 3 of the show was where the entire foundation, whatever little there was, started falling apart. Marinette suffered so much for so little in this season, it wasn't funny. Add onto other infamous episodes like Ladybug, Chat Blanc, Puppeteer 2, Reflekdoll, and Miracle Queen, it's become crystal clear the show is nothing more than a vanity project for the creator. And that was before we got the news they were underpaying their staff (take this with a grain of salt, it's been a while since I read that article).

It was also the season where we started to see the faults in the writing show. From Adrien/Chat Noir refusing to see anything past his nose to the frankly rather illegal handling of Marinette's expulsion to the Lila-centric episodes requiring brain-bending leaps of nonexistent logic. Aside from some rare cool moments (Nathalie fighting three akumas, anyone?), this season was more painful to watch.

Especially with that season finale where Marinette lost Fu.

Seasons 4 & 5 - 2/10

I'm just gonna say it. I stopped watching anything from Miraculous Ladybug when I heard they were gonna akumatize Master Fu in Season 4. So my rating here is based mostly on hearsay from what happened in these two seasons lumped together.

Yes. These seasons pissed me off so much I just lumped them together and called it a day. The writing here is just painful to hear about. Who proofreads the scripts before sending it to the animation team? We have these things called quality checks for a reason.

Ranting aside, we've got more infamous episodes like Gang of Secrets and Derision. I've stated before that I will forever hate that first mentioned episode for how entitled everyone was towards Marinette's secrets. And Derision has to be one of the biggest cases of character assassination by the writing team I've ever seen. Kim isn't one of my favorites, I will admit. But even he didn't deserve the frankly awful backstory ruining what was once a fun (if something of a feather-brained bully) jock character.

Back on the topic of the first mentioned episode, Gang of Secrets was also the point of no return for me regarding Alya's character. Which is a huge shame since Marinette is in dire need of an actual support system instead of shouldering everything on her own. Anyone with half a brain after that would have figured out on their own the lying liar who lies was a lying liar who lies, pardon the repetition. Everything she did afterwards, such as her stint as Rena Furtive, just killed any chances of her undergoing redemption.

Phew, that ended up being more longwinded than I intended. Hope that answers your question.

[detrasystem]

Thread The Needle and Fantasy Romcom Buddy Trip 👀

OOGH ok so Thread the Needle is Linkaan's old baby from NaNoWriMo 2020. she didn't quite make it to 50k words but the first draft is basically finished and tbh it's pretty decent all things considered. we've gone back and forth with whether or not to salvage it but i think with enough polish and passion we can really turn it into something good. here's an excerpt (blows a kiss up to the sky for Linkaan and her little journalist writing):

Orlando unlocked a drawer in the side of his desk, producing a ball of yarn. It was mostly blue, with silvery threads interwoven throughout the strands. He handled it like it was alive, gently setting it down on the desk before him. “This is a universe,” he said. “Or…it’s going to be one. If everything goes well.” Trin squinted at it. It was pretty, for yarn. But you can’t just throw around phrases like “this is a universe” and expect it to make sense. She turned her squinting glare to the scientist before her. “So…how has it been going? Well?” “So far, it hasn’t been going at all,” Orlando said. “I’m stumped. But that’s why I invited you here. Because you…you see the world differently.”

Fantasy Romcom Buddy Trip is...exactly what it sounds like. so far it's a short story that Dimitri is working on because he likes writing swoony romance stuff. the premise is that these two friends are tasked with delivering a peace treaty to the country they're at war with, and along the way they fall in love :) and also the peace treaty isn't everything it seems. anyway. here's some sap

The ship bobbed over the icy waves, all creaking wood and straining ropes as the water lapped against the sand. The night was quiet, the breath of the ocean slow and constant in its endless slumber, and Lin’s head was tipped up, the northern lights shifting and reflecting on the lenses of his glasses. By all accounts, Émeric should have been cold. The sea breeze was no more willing to relent despite the winter chill; it would have been smart of them to stay belowdecks, where at least the wind was not a factor, but Lin was right—the sky was beautiful. Though, Émeric would be lying if he said he was looking at the sky.

[rosireads]

Review of Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices #1) by Cassandra Clare

Lady Midnight has to unexpectedly be one of the most wholesome stories I've come to read in a while. Still, the mystery and drama and angst were without the shadow of a doubt *insert chef's kiss*. The characters were such an incredible surprise! I found them to be so real and interesting. I loved to notice how far Cassandra Clare's writing style has come, letting us understand each character and their deepnesses better. I think it's necessary that I state how much I loved Emma Carstairs, she was beautiful! I loved how she was like the best fighter and the warrior and like a fantastic badass girl who still had a heart of gold for all those she loved. I loved her! Then, there was Julian, who earned my heart and respect. My poor baby, he deserved so much better, but at the same time I was so happy to see that he wasn't anyone's fool, and how clever and cunning he was when it was needed. The Blackthorns deserve happiness as a whole, I just wanna protect them; all the time I read I could feel the love they had for each other. For me, it's pretty obvious that the main theme of TDA is the importance of family. The representation and diversity made me so happy. I smiled when I read the nods and references to the other sagas, like when Emma said that parabatais should be ready to throw their hands into the fire for each other, aka my pure Will! And Jem & Tessa! Everytime I read their names I just smiled. The plot was simple but still allowed space to whimsical stories, fun moments packed with action, cool locations and a surprisingly strong villain, which I did not see coming. Political speaking, it was what our generation needed. The Clave isn't fair, its politics aren't fair, it is corrupt and most of the time to do the right thing you have to go against it and I loved how the characters in this book didn't even blink and were aware of this all the damn time! Like "Lex malla, lex nulla". Lady Midnight somehow managed to be funny, cute, wholesome, full of mystery and everything I didn't know I wanted, all at once.

[hlmowrer]

Week 11: A day with Grandpa

Hey everybody!  I'm sorry for not writing to you last week...it was a very overfilled day and I simply ran out of both time and energy.  It was a really cool week this week though!  Over the weekend was General Conference, which is a big biannual televised event that the Church airs in which leaders of the Church provide counsel, spiritual thoughts, and other interesting messages.  We spent much of the week inviting people to watch, which presented some fun diversity in the way we approach people.  The conference is always something I enjoy, and this time was no different.  I especially enjoyed the address from the prophet President Nelson, who spoke about the need to eliminate contention in ourselves and our relationships.  We were able to watch some of the conference with our friend Andrew, and it sparked some really interesting conversations!  Andrew is rapidly working towards baptism and is also presently bedridden, so we've been seeing a lot of him.  He's a really nice guy, and seeing him is a nice boost every day.  

A headline event of the week was our other friend Dennis deciding to work towards a baptismal date!  We've been meeting with him the last couple weeks, and his faith and commitment has grown far faster than I anticipated, which is an awesome miracle!  Helping Dennis through his faith challenges is a bit more difficult than Andrew, but it's always an interesting challenge and his growth has brought much joy for both him and us.

An interesting challenge for my personal growth came on Thursday, when I had an exchange with my Zone Leader, Elder Stoner.  (Yes, that is his real name.)  Elder Stoner is also my "grandfather", as he trained Elder Wilchek, who is currently training me.  Elder Stoner normally works in Saginaw, which is a MUCH faster paced place in terms of missionary work, so it was a little rough having him come over to my area because right off the bat he wanted to keep a very tight schedule and cram as much as possible into the day, which really isn't my style and frankly isn't necessary in Midland.  But once we got past planning, I had a good time with him.  Observing how he works was good for me, and we bonded over our suffering as the service project we did that day involved cutting several bags of onions...pictures are below for your entertainment.

I'm sure much more happened, but once again I find myself out of time to tell you about it.  I also forgot to bring my journal to the computer lab, so I'm probably forgetting a lot.  Perhaps one of these weeks I'll do a "deleted/forgotten scenes" letter.  Until then though, my love goes out to you all.

-Elder Beren Mowrer