#like- 3 people know the full contex

[helsensm]

everyone loves Raiden..?

[arlakos]

The High Road: A counterpoint to one of the most commonly used Salt Takes for Adrien.

This isn't really a salt fic idea, but since we are on the topic of salt on this blog, I'd like to take a moment to talk about a scene that has largely been used out of contex ever since Chameleon came out, and that is the infamous high road scene that has since been used to death for every Adrien salt story

For those who are unaware of this scene (or perhaps are unfamiliar with the canon version), in the episode Chameleon of Sesason 3, Marinette is about to go expose a plot hole in one of Lila's many fabrications, only for Adrien to stop her by stating that it won't change Lila for the better (Full Transcript Below). Keep this transcript in mind because I'll be referencing it a lot.

Now, this scene doesn't seem like something to be mad over, but the the whole episode of Chameleon has twisted a lot of people's perceptions of certain characters for the worse. This particular scene just happens to be one that changed people's pereceptions of Adrien.

However, I think its actually somewhat unjustified. I feel that in many ways, Chameleon as a whole has been misrepresented for what changes it has actually brought into the show, and I feel that it's easy to take a lot of moments in the episode out of context, especially when emotions come into play. The episode transcript actually happened to be leaked before it was supposed to be relased, so a lot of people already made up their minds about what this episode was about before it was released. It's easy to hate on this episode when you're friends in discord have watched it before you and have started to shout buzzwords such as "The class betrayed Marinette!" or "Adrien is a monster!", etc etc. I would know, since that was how I found out about the episode in the first place, and watching it for the first time didn't change my initial perceptions.

Today, I would like to take a moment to take the infamous high road scene and talk about what it meant for the salty portion of the fandom, before taking a metaphoically sledgehammer and slamming some misconceptions about Adrien from the perspective of salty people. Sure, they're other scenes that could be looked at, but since every salt fic tends to reuse this plot point, I feel it deserves its own deconstruction.

1. The High-Road scene is proof that Adrien is an asshole!

Now this statement is a bit of a buzzword since the actual reasons for people disliking this scene can vary, but to be fair, the reaction to this scene is also more nuanced as well.

In truth, a lot of people already had issues with Adrien/Chat Noir as a whole (for reasons that I won't elaborate here since it would be worth its own post), but this scene seemed to open the floodgates with hatred for our secondary protagonist out of his percieved inaction, since many people now had dislike for Adrien, while those who hated him prior were more than happy to provide fuel for the fire. After the episode was released, these ideas began to merge together, resulting in this belief that Adrien has always been an asshole, and that the Chameleon scene was simply the final straw, and that if the show was written by a good writer (read: anyone who hated the episode), Marinette would actually ditch his ass!

Now, its debatable on whether Adrien had writing issues prior to this point, but I feel that using this scene to justify hatred for him is outright slander for several reasons:

First of all, Adrien never suggested for Marinette to take the high road if we are being logistical about it. He only complimented her on that regard, telling her she did a good job for "taking the high road", and that was after he sat next to her to show he was by her side.

His actual message to Marinette was that it wasn't worth it to try expose Lila at that moment (and to be fair, it wouldn't have worked, more on that later though) because all it would do is make her double down on her behavior. Plus, trying to expose her in front of everyone would just hurt Lila more than help everyone else, which is, if anything, not untrue.

Overall, the advice Adrien gave to Marinette was not meant out of a desire to hurt anyone (least of all Marinette), but was out of a genuine desire to help resolve a situation and prevent Marinette from doing something that would not have helped the situation. Even if he does have other character flaws, this situation was by no means a reason to villainize him for it.

2. Adrien prefers Lila over Marinette, thats why he told the latter to take the high road!

Again, another idea that is found in fanfics, but is ultimately untrue in canon.

While Adrien doesn't believe Lila at all from the beginning of the episode, he isn't exactly just letting Lila's actions slide either; his stance comes from that of believing that Lila being decietful will do nothing to actually help her make friends. However, rather than confronting her angrily like Marinette does, Adrien instead tries to be friendly with her and try offer Lila some advice to try and change, albiet to no avail.

Now, some people might argue that Lila doesn't deserve kindness considering her threat to Marinette just moments ago, but it should be also stated that Adrien knows NOTHING about this: as far as he's aware, Lila is a transfer student looking to make friends, but has a wrong way of doing so (so in a way, she's not unlike him, from his POV at least), so he's just trying to help her, rather than attempt to force her out in the open.

(Quick tibit though, if Adrien knew what Lila did to Marinette, he would probably be more inclined to help her and protect his friends, given that he was willing to 'sacrifice' himself to get Marinette un-expelled in the Ladybug episode)

By the end of the episode Adrien is obviously dissapointed in Lila continuing to act the way that she is, but ultimately refuses to sink to Lila's level in order to teach her a lesson. As childish as it is (and it should be considering Adrien is a TEEN) Adrien believes that Lila's deceptions will ultimately come back to bite her (Adrien even tells her this himself, see below.), but trying to expose her in front of everyone else will do more harm to Lila than it will help others, hence his methods of speaking to her privately about it.

3. Adrien's reasoning is horrible and stupid! He deserves to pay for it!

This reasoning is the one I find the most dissapointing, partly because it inspired The Karma of Lies story (Written by CartoonAddict564), and also because while Adrien's reasoning can come off as naive, it is by no means stupid, nor should he have to suffer for having a different viewpoint for Marinette. But to understand, you need to think of Adrien in terms of his character.

Adrien is not just a celebrity, but also a child with a very controlling father, who pretty much controls and manages his day to day life with the help of his secretary. As a result of his popularity, Adrien has to be very careful with what he says or does, not only because it would reflect poorly onto his father's company, but it would also force his father to step in. As the Collector has shown, Adrien being able to even LEAVE the home is something that could easily be revoked at any time, and being Cat Noir has only loosened the bars on his cell, not remove them completely. Adrien has very little to gain by confronting Lila, but everything to lose, which is in direct contrast to Marinette having everything to lose by letting Lila walk by.

So in the face of all that, plus the situation he is in now, why would he not act passive and provide advice to try mitigate conflict rather than escalate it?

Now whether or not that should be seen as selfish is debatable, it's ultimately not out of character for Adrien to try and provide more passive options to deal with Lila rather than go for the most violent option. You could even argue that Adrien's actions are also out kindness to Marinette, since (in his eyes at least) it could get her in trouble with her own parents if they try and confront Lila violently.

At worst, Adrien's passiveness is a result of his controlled upbringing. At best? He was just trying to help without causing conflict.

4. Adrien shouldn't have stopped Marinette from confronting Lila!

.... im sorry to say this, but yes he absolutely should have.

Marinette was about to confront Lila over which ear her supposed tinnitus was in. Aside from the fact trying to expose her on this alone would not have worked, this would have just resulted in Marinette becoming more estranged from her classmates in this situation. If Marinette should have confronted Lila about her lying, this was DEFINTELY NOT the way to do it.

This isn't to say that Marinette could not have confronted Lila, but this moment simply was not it. There were better alternatives to Marinette that she could employ in the future had she thought of doing so (such as coming to Alya as Ladybug and revealing that her frienship with Lila is a lie), or carrying a voice recorder to record any threats made by Lila.

As uncathartic as the situation was, from a writing standpoint Adrien's inteference ultimately helped Marinette keep her friendships in the long run, while avoiding making a fool of herself with a battle she simply could not win.

5. It's Adrien's fault that Marinette didn't go after Lila! Marinette would have been better if she brushed him off!

This sounds crazy, but this is a genuine point that people seem to mention when it comes to their reasons for writing salt fics. Even if Adrien's attempts to dissaude Marinette were out of concern rather than malice, people still condemn Adrien for pushing Marinette off that path of going after Lila. In their eyes, Marinette didn't get her immediate revenge for what Lila did, and Lila herself was allowed to continue manipulating the class. All of this becomes Adrien's fault by virtue of being the one to deny this from happening, denying the fans their catharsis.

However, the question I ask it that for all the blame they give to Adrien in this situation ... how come nobody blames Marinette at all for the same thing?

See, despite people argue that Adrien manipulated Marinette into not going after Lila, Marinette isn't necassarily gullible or stupid. If Marinette really thought that Lila was a threat worth going after, she could and would have easily found a way to take Lila down and get her removed, with or without Adrien's support (given she made a similar plan in season 5 for when Gabriel tried to get the Kwamis to lead him to Marinette). She wouldn't even need a miraculous to do so given she can make plans without transforming, and most of Lila's lies aren't particularly smart, they just can't be immediately discredited without proof.

And it can't even be argued that Adrien took advantage of Marinette's love for him (whether intentionally or not). Marinette has shown that even though she does value her friends, she doesn't need to rely on the validation of others to do whatever she feels is right (given that she argued against Alya and others in Risk when it came to their belief that Adrien was fine, even though she was partly amped by an akuma at the time). And if Marinette did think that Adrien was wrong, she probably wouldn't have continued to crush on him anymore.

Also its kind of lowkey sexist? Like, Marinette can probably make her own decisions, she doesn't need someone to dictate her own actions given she's the leader of a superhero team?

Ultimately, Marinette made the choice not to go after Lila. Perhaps she thought that Lila wasn't worth it. Maybe she thought that taking down Lila wasn't worth the time and stress. Maybe she ended up agreeing with Adrien and thought that Lila would expose herself sooner rather than later with her own deceptions. Either way, Marinette can make her own decisions, and she ultimately thought that going after Lila was not a good idea, for whatever reason.

Now, some people might be upset about this idea that Marinette is to blame, but people can't just play the blame game and expect their target to lose. It would honestly be preferrable to say that both Adrien and Marinette made a decision that (for better or worse) thought was good at the time and that neither should be judged for it, but the fandom doesn't seem to care for that because that means their salt fics would be invalid.

Thus, since people want to blame Adrien for apparently "manipulating" Marinette, Marinette should get equal blame for allowing herself to be manipulated by Adrien. Sucks to hear it, but since nobody calls out Marinette on her shit, I might as well be the first. Sorry if it triggers you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

So ... what does this all mean?

It means that my boy Adrien is innocent.

He meant no harm by suggesting that Marinette not go after Lila, nor did he do it because he took Lila's side over Marinette's. At best, he was unaware of how evil Lila was and thought she was misunderstood, and at worse he defaulted to using the same ideas that he uses to protect what limited freedoms he had, and offered it to Marinette as geunine advice. Marinette isn't a pushover either, meaning that not only did she also think what Adrien said was a good idea, but the fandom is inadvertently being sexist by implying she can't be independent and can't make her own decisions, given that she's shown her own independence multiple times. At best, both characters made a dumb decision that they thought was good, but neither can be soley responsible.

Ultimately, Chameleon was an episode that gave Adrien (and whoever else was targeted) a bad rep due to the kneejerk reaction everyone had to the episode due to Lila's lies, myself included. In truth, nothing of what happened in the episode had any actual long term effects, since Marinette still kept her friends and Lila didn't end up playing any major role for nearly 2 seasons, at least until season 5 finally got rid of 'Lila' and set up 'Cerise' to be the new Butterfly villain.

It took me a long while to put this belief into words, and it may be 2 seasons too late, but at least I can upload it now knowing that this truth could possible be shared with the world. Maybe it will stop the excess of salt fics in the world, and allow for new salt free works to be made. Who knows?

Anyways, I hope you found this to be an interesting read as I had writing it!

[ftmtransthings]

Greyson’s Guide to Binding

i get a lot of questions about binding, and what methods are best. i used a lot of diy binding methods before getting a real binder, and since getting one i’ve tried a lot of brands. hopefully, this post will give you some insight into what will work for you, based on your needs.

for contex, i have a bigger chest. what works for me might not work for you, and it’s all about experimentation. that being said, i have a friend with a smaller chest, and she was kind enough to try chest binding for the sake of experimentation and different perspectives (thank you talia)

this does not encompass every brand of chest binder out there, or every method. these are popular ones and/or ones i myself have tried

disclaimer: do your own research, read reviews, and be very conscious of healthy binding

diy methods

swimsuit binding

this is a method of chest binding in which you take a smaller, one-piece girl’s swimsuit and use it to compress your chest, we tried athletic grade swimsuits.

talia: her chest wasn’t very compressed with the swimsuit. it was a little flatter, but if she were trying to pass for male it would not work.

me: my chest was honestly more pronounced with the swimsuit, and it didn’t do anything to help me bind. after about an hour of wearing it around my apartment, i also noticed that i had harsh red lines where the swimsuit dug into my skin. it also generally triggered my dysphoria

comfort: 7/10

effectiveness: 1/10

cost: 4/10

safety: 7/10

would you pass: no

would i recommend: no

tank top binding

for tank top binding, you take a tight camisole with a built-in bra and wear it backwards. you position yourself in the camisole, and then fold it up once or twice to form a binder.

talia: talia actually got really flat with this method. if she were trying to pass as a male, this binding method would get her flat enough. 

me: this wasn’t terrible. i had a little trouble securing myself at first, but once i did, it was decent. i wouldn’t trust it with a t-shirt or something, but if i was in a pinch i would probably leave the house in a big hoodie. i also didn’t notice any pain, discomfort, reddening, etc. while wearing this for about 8 hours around the house

notes: the binder was REALLY visible under my clothes, and it liked to try and unfold throughout the day

comfort: 10/10

effectiveness: 5/10

cost: 10/10

safety: 9/10

would you pass: maybe

would i recommend: probably, yeah

double bra binding

this is a super popular makeshift binding method. with the double bra method, you wear a compressing sports bra, and then a second sports bra backwards over top of it

talia: she was completely flat with the sports bra method. for someone with a small chest, this would work for passing

me: this was my go-to method before i got a binder. it was fairly effective, but if you don’t position yourself right then you have a weird lump in the front of your chest. my chest also shifted a lot in this. after a couple hours i felt kind of overheated and short of breath, and i vividly remember that i used to get really severe bruising on my ribs doing this.

comfort: 4/10

effectiveness: 7/10

cost: 4/10

safety: 5/10

would you pass: mostly

would i recommend: if you’re careful about how long you bind.

ace bandages

this is a method of binding that is proven to be dangerous, and you shouldn’t do it. you wrap ace sports bandages around your breasts to compress them

me: i struggled to even wrap my chest. it immediately dug into my ribs and restricted my breathing

notes: this method is extremely dangerous and can damage the breast tissue and may make you ineligible for top surgery.

comfort: 0/10

effectiveness: 0/10

cost: 7/10

safety: 0/10

would you pass: yeah, you’d pass out

would i recommend: no. do not do this.

legging binder

in this method, you take a pair of leggings and cut the legs off to make them into shorts. you cut out the crotch and you cut and resew the legs to be straps. you can google tutorials

me: this really didn’t work for me. altering the tights was a challenge, and there was essentially no compression. after wearing it for a few hours, i will admit that there was no physical discomfort

comfort: 10/10

effectiveness: 0/10

cost: 6/10

safety: 7/10

would you pass: doubtful

would i recommend: no

actual binding

kt tape - $10.99 USD for 20 strips

this method uses kt tape to pull your chest back and flatten it

talia: talia was perfectly flat using kt tape, and she found it reasonably comfortable

me: i had a little trouble figuring out how to use the tape, but once i got myself taped, i was surprisingly flat. the feeling was a little weird, but certainly not uncomfortable

notes: you have to keep buying the tape, it’s not a one-time purchase, if you use it every day, then it adds up very quickly

comfort: 8/10

effectiveness: 9/10

cost: 4/10

safety: 8/10

would you pass: probably

would i recommend: yes

amazon binder - $10 USD

the binder i bought was a jarazin clasp binder, but this is more a general review of clasped binders from amazon

me: i wasn’t very flat with this binder, and after a few hours of wearing it, i was extremely out of breath and in a lot of pain

notes: clasp and ziper binders are restricting on your lungs and not safe to use. i would not personally recommend anything with clasps or zippers to bind

comfort: 2/10

effectiveness: 3/10

cost: 7/10

safety: 2/10

quality: 4/10

would you pass: i doubt it

would i recommend: no

gc2b half tank - $33 USD

gc2b half tank binders stop at the bottom of your ribs. they’re a spandex type of material, and the front is a canvas panel

me: i’m not super font of the half tank binders. i know people with smaller chests really like them, but i always find myself unable to get super flat with them because the lack of support makes my chest shift to much. these are, however, what i use for swimming (under a swim shirt, over a one piece). i was fine after a day of wearing it, but when i used to wear one every day i would feel a lot of pain

notes: the material in the back of the binder will stretch out over time. you also can’t put this binder in a dryer really, or it will shorten its life. the stitching also tends to fray and unravel in places. the canvas is nice though, because it can’t stretch or move

comfort: 6/10

effectiveness: 5/10

cost: 7/10

safety: 9/10

quality: 8/10

would you pass: probably

would i recommend: yes

gc2b full tank - $35 USD

this is the same as a half tank, but it goes all the way to your waist. the canvas in the front still stops at the bottom of your ribs

me: this was my go-to binder for a long time. i like the full tank because i can roll up the bottom and place it under my breasts, and that support keeps me from shifting too much during the day. i do get a little breathless eventually, but other than that they’re usually fine

notes: the material in the back of the binder will stretch out over time. you also can’t put this binder in a dryer really, or it will shorten its life. the stitching also tends to fray and unravel in places. the canvas is nice though, because it can’t stretch or move

comfort: 7//10

effectiveness: 8/10

cost: 7/10

safety: 9/10

quality: 8/10

would you pass: probably

would i recommend: yes

underworks tri-top - $29.99 USD

this binder is a sports mesh with a compressing cotton panel in the front

me: i was really surprised by this binder. it didn’t seem like it’d be effective when i took it out of the packaging, but it made me very flat. i feel a little winded, but there’s no pain and it’s really breathable fabric

notes: the back of the binder is a really thin mesh, and the front is a soft, flexible cotton. i didn’t think it would work, but it’s actually my favourite method here and the mesh makes it really breathable and cool

comfort: 8/10

effectiveness: 9/10

cost: 7/10

safety: 9/10

quality: 9/10

would you pass: probably

would i recommend: yes

summary

least favourite diy: ace bandages

favourite diy: double bra

least favourite binder: amazon

favourite binder: underworks

[madameocotillo]

I do Actually want an actual answer and im glad to know your views are more complex than just "yeah everything is fine always, fiction =/= reality <3" and honestly this isn't just a "tell ME what you want" but also you being able to let other followers know your ACTUAL views so people dont assume the worst n bail thinking you're into The Ultra Fucky Shit. Bc I was legitly scared you were full on "ship what u want nothing hurts anyone <3" kinda person.

It's good practice to think critically about what kinds of people you allow to put stuff in front of you, especially in this age of the internet, but also please understand that this follow-up addresses zero of my original concerns.

It's still an anonymous ask with very little added contex, and does not compel me to answer on any time line other than if/when I feel motivated to compose and type out the novella-length text that would allow me to cover all the stuff that I feel is relevant to the subject.

Maybe I will at some point, because I love soapboxing! However, I will never do it out of (what I consider) a misguided responsibility to provide my followers with a detailed guide to my opinions on controversial subject matter. That's a slippery slope towards misery, because where would it end? Must I devote myself to writing only about difficult and sometimes painful things, because I feel obligated to render my psyche into easily consumable chunks? All for the benefit of strangers that likely don't even know my favorite color or what my cats are named? If I had the energy to spare for that kind of thing I wouldn't be doomscrolling on this webbed site as often as I am