#ml review
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Watched the movie and honestly it was fine. No groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece. No disasturous dumpster fire. Just an ok movie that felt like a fanfiction from s1
Here's some more thoughts I have. There's no structure it's a little chaotic. Also spoilers (duh)
The stuff I liked:
The music was good
THE ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS. The lighting in every scene is perfect, the city actually feels populated and the colors overall are so much prettier than in the show
I loved the akuma designs
They do a good job of establishing how Marinette, in the beginning, is very anxious, affected by Chloe's bullying and how she doesn't have friends. That works better than what the show tried to establish, about how Marinette had no friends but still being popular for some reason
Alya being a good friend
The way Adrien deals with the loss of his mother and how playing the piano brings him comfort and makes him feel close to her. Imo the show went overboard with how literally everything Adrien does is dictated by his dad and never something he might genuinely enjoy doing. The fact that he had this hobby made him feel like he was more than just a sad boi
Adrien also seems to struggle with not having many friends outside Nino. Works pretty well with the characterization that he's socially awkward after being homeschooled for most of his life
Generally this Adrien has more PV vibes? Iām digging it ngl
Marinette's dad is the best
Fu's introduction to Marinette sure was something xD
Gabriel was a good villain character. The show version is just some weird ass goof who is a huge ass to his son and everyone, yet the show wants you to feel for him without giving us a reason to care. This version actually has complexity. Heās still an ass, but now the pain over loosing Emilie feels real. You also have him hesitating to use the butterfly but ultimately spiraling completely into an actually threatening villain.
the fight scenes looked great
Marinette is still clumsy and awkward towards Adrien but without being too cringe about it and doing stupid shit. Itās just heart eyes and day dreams and some stuttering. Sheās still nervous but I never felt like Adrien brought oit her worst side like in the show. She was simply a girl in love. This was wholesome to watch and so much better than... whatever the fuck the show did with the fucking dating trauma to use for """comedy""" bc the show runners have zero respect for her seriously I'll never get over how fucking stupid that was Marinette honey you deserve so much better
I honestly think this is a better version of the square. Still heavily flawed, but their dynamic feels so much more natural. Ladynoir stuff was sweet
The end where Marinette looses the earrings and then saves Chat without the costume was a good scene
Most of their moments were just quiet moments between just the two without any outside forces and characters constantly pushing them together. This bothers me in the show so much and is another major reason I cant get behind the ship, but for the most part the movie has some gentle pushing here and there but no convoluted and stupid cringy plans. In that regard movie love square is superior
Nino had a thing for Alya from the start pretty much, unlike in the show where he was crushing on Mari five minutes before getting with Alya. I like them in both the show and the movie, but the way they got together in the show was a little meh
Nino getting screentime in general
The stuff I don't know how to feel about:
Careless whisper. It was silly goofy but especially the second time when Paris is on fire and we skip to Adrien's room where he sulks... yeah that tome switch really threw me off
Two different voice actors for singing an talking. The difference was very jarring and while good for Bryce, Cristina has the voice of an angel like cmon I need her to do at least a cover from one song
Gabriel's redemption. Ok so I'm a little torn because the way they did it ties in very well with the the "power of love" theme that his love for Adrien makes him realize his mistakes bla bla, but he still terrorized a city and yet faces zero consequences, and Adrien forgives him, which are all thing that really rub me the wrong way. Idk the franchise is so obsessed with painting this man in a sympathetic light and in order for this to feel truly satisfying Gabriel shouldn't have tried to destroy Paris like 5 minutes earlier. I see what they went for and thematically it worked but I just need Gabriel to be put in prison
Speaking of Gabriel, the Adrien Gabe relationship isn't as abusive as in the show. This isn't good or bad, but I still think (very unpopular opinion) the show doesn't handle abuse well at all bc the only point of the abuse is pity points in oder to get the fans to care about the characters. So taking that out of the movie where you have limited time to wrap this whole thing up might've been a smart decision
With the ending they sort of hinted at a sequel
The cut off kiss at the end. They still act like a love square kiss is something sacred that they canāt just give their fans. Commit to it already
The stuff I didn't like:
The dialogue wasā¦ something. Marinette just asking her mom over breakfast how to make her dreams come true. Babe just just woke up, that deep convos are for late nights
Generally the dialogue in both the movie and the show is a little weird
Lika Alyaās āpeople try really hard to fail as hard as youā Marinette spilled some coffee itās not that hard
Even though I liked the portrayel of Marinetteās anxiety, at times the went overboard with it
Going back to the Gabriel redemption, just let Adrien have negative feeling about Gabriel already. The s5 finale have him idolize him and here he just instantly forgives and forget
So the butterfly is a villainous tool by default? They could've fixed their messy lore but noooo
The scene where Marinette gets her miraculous feels rushed.
The way Adrien receives his miraculous. He was chilling in his room and suddenly a black cat shows up. He doesn't even have to proove himself like Mari when she almost got hit by a truck. The moment in the show was already weak but this is just fucking stupid
the first akuma was just some random dude. They should've used someone the main duo has a connection to
Chat being a lil bitch about Ladybug rejecting him. Hated it in the show, hate it here. They could've used the movie to fix Adrien and they didn't. Other than that being a dick move as so many people have explained millions of times now, I find this such a boring source of conflict for the climax of the movie? They worked well before and they both know they care for each other as partners and even if being rejected hurts, Chat acts like LB just threw their friendship away or something with how strongly he reacts to it. In the show it felt blown out of proportion and it does here as well. I think they should've had a different kind of conflict which actively hurt their partnership or Chat stops treating LB unfairly just because to her heās not a romantic partner.
The fart jokes. Though tbf this is a kids movie
The way Marinette falls for Adrien was extremely underwhelming. Adrien smiles at her and helps her get up and then just walks out of the library all like āsheās so weirdā. Couldāve been fixed if he and Mari stayed in the library and had a little conversation
Also Adrienās introduction in general? He just chills in the library andā¦ yeah thatās it. I blame this on the writers of the movie cutting character introductions short because they assume the audience already knows the characters and therefore doesnāt have to introduce them. I donāt think that was a good choice
The Adrienette stuff was just a montage. Would've been nice to actually see them connect (though that was probably a time issue)
Also they didn't give any spotlight to Marinette's good qualities like selflessness and intelligence. Would've been nice to see her be more willing to be there for people and help them out with things as a result of her gaining more confidence
Seriously the montage was a big mistake and takes away a lot from what could've made the movie stand out
The reveal felt a lot like Adrien only loving Marinette because she's LB, which was a big reason for me to not ship Adrienette prior to the flip (not that I did after). Something like this wouldāve been believable in a setting where they didnāt know each other as civilians I guess, but that doesnāt work for the square. Had they actually shown Adrienette develop outside of a montage this would'be been way more believable and touching.
I think a reverse love square from the beginning would've worked better here, or they should've made the Ladynoir side canon
Adrien tells Marinette about his dead mom. Chat noir tells Ladybug about his dead mom. How does she not make the connection?
The "power of love" theme fell flat with Marinette. she doesn't have her moment of "oh I have to protect the people I love" like Tikki's dialogue suggests. There were multiple people at the theme park she could've spotted being in danger and that should've made her want to save them. Tom being there was literally the perfect set-up. The show does this with Alya being trapped under a car or something and Marinette seeing her
I also think the jump from anxious Mari to brave Mari didn't work. In both the show and the movie it just feels like she just decides to be confident now without really getting there through hard work. The motivation was there in the show (see previous point) but in both instances it just happened too fast. Let Marinette have time to really adjust to her new role
This would've worked if the movie didn't try to keep the show's formula of "villain of the week". Why are we getting a montage about that when there's already a whole ass show with five seasons where we already see that? This montage took up time that could've been used more effectively. The movie should've tried to be more of it's own thing, really shoud've tried to flesh out the characters more in a way the show doesn't. They didn't need LB and CN immediately competent and loved by the public after the theme park fiasco. Just use the run time of the movie to get adjusted to fighting crime on a weekly basis, have them fail to then fix their mistakes and learn from them. Why not do a training montage with the point of becoming better instead of flirting? The movie tries too hard to keep up the show formula and it takes away the quality the story could've had
Also in Marinette's case it felt like the only "power of love" that mattered was her partnership with Chat. Her family and friends weren't completely unimportant but definetely underutilized in that regard. Romantic love is not the only important love you know
Their powers of cataclysm and miraculous ladybug only came in at the very end. The built up could've worked if they spent more time showing how they become good and experienced heroes over time
Generally the climax was underwhelming. Gabriel learns Chatās identity and the damage is made undone like 10 seconds later
Adrien being like "yeah I didn't really get close to people after my mom died" what's with the Nino erasure smh
Luka wasn't important
Kagami wasn't even there
I think the end scene hinted at the sentimonster stuff and I wished they would've just not include that
Final thoughts
There are things the movie did better than the show and some things it didn't. They don't waste much time on establishing who the characters are because they expect viewers to already know that from watching the show. But like the show, they fail to use the concepts they've set up in an effective way. The movie not only tries to stay true to the show but is almost dependent on the audience knowing the series.
But yeah, the movie atmosphere was nice. Nothing extraordinary but also not super bad. It had s1 vibes and despite the problems I listed, I had a good time for the most part. Not a must watch but still fine
4/10
16 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
AHHHHHH!!! my website is finally up! Bug Out! is where I'll be doing in-depth reviews of every episode starting from season one, episode one, salt-free! Please go check it out, subscribe, and I can't wait to go on this amazing journey with all of you :'DDD
5 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
The school of friendship was the worst thing to happen to mlp
#rewarching for my review. and wow. what a honk schnoo mimimi fest#never realized how boring later ml pis to me until this rewatch. the school of friendship is so boring#the cutiemap was an ok idea even if i dont like how they habdled it. but the school is sooo sooooooo boring#like yeah this is what was missing. lets watch the mane 6 make lesson plans. fun
407 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
MY BEST FRIEND MADE ME A COPY OF CALL IT EVEN FOR MY BIRTHDAYššš
#itās so insane i feel so crazy about it#shout out to whoever made the reviews list on the backšššš#i canāt believe she did this i canāt believe this is real#WHAT#call it even#anna rambles#ml#the foreword is also the cutest thing ever of my life.#oh i love you kate i love you forever#ITS SO PRETTY I CANT BELIEVE IT
554 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
it's in my head that for school work experience or for an internship Adrien gets a job at a cute local family owned coffee shop and the owners try to adopt him like a son
#man would ask for your order and all the customers would stare jaws DROPPED#he'd get them 5 star reviews in a week#theyd beat out the corporate chain shops nearby#miraculous ladybug#miraculous fanart#miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir#adrien agreste#cat noir#chat noir#ml fanart#mlb fanart#mlb chat noir#westy doodles#he would 100% ask marinette for help on the regular pasteries they make every morning#theyd make cute little weekly drinks and adrien would get so shocked that they name one after him and it sells so well :o
390 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
My review about Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time
I publish my second review about a Miraculous episode. It's Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time.
The Paris review here
This post contains spoilers.
And now, time to read:
Plot:
This happens during the ellipse from Re-creation (5.26) between the Gabriel's suicide wish and before the Pool party scene.
It begins in the Lila/Cerise's lair (the Plage in the Catacombs). Cerise, who made an auto-akumatization into Time Stalker, comes back to the place in front of a worried and afraid Nooroo (still captive). She travels to the past (some hours ago) in the moment of the final battle (Bug Noire VS Monarch) for finding out who Ladybug is. She removes her akuma (making her lose her memories from her former akumatization) and reads her book where the Ladybug's identity is written (despite the Noiroo's objection). She reakumatizes herself into a ghost super-vilain named Spectral Looter for steal the Ladybug and Cat miraculouses (+the configured miraculouses) to Marinette. The wish Cerise makes affects the Reality AND the Time itself.
Three Bunnyx (Teen Alix, Adult Alix and Grandma Alix) are playing together a futuristic version of Chess in the Burrow when suddenly the two Future Alix disappear and the portals around Teen Bunnyx disappear too. She discovers someone is making a wish with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses (at the Marinette's horrification from this corrupted timeline).
I've learned about new elements in the Miraculous lore by watching the special:
This Special is both the Season 5 real finale and the Season 6 prologue.
The main protagonists are in fact Ladybug and (Teen/Present) Bunnyx (Cat Noir only appears in the ending scene).
Cerise/"Iris" is akumatized herself into Time Stalker. She used her phone for insert her akuma. Her superpowers are: to teleport herself some hours ago in the past and return to the moment when she begun her travel. She has been very silent (nearly no Clara Soares' lines šØšµ under this character until the end part).
Nathalie knows Marinette is Ladybug. Teen Alix already knows Matinette is Ladybug, Adrien is Cat Noir and Gabriel was Hawk Moth/Monarch. Ladybug/Bug Noire is aware Kagami knows her friend's identity (Representation retcon).
Bug Noire (thanks to a revived Nathalie's words) knows Gabriel and Tomoe had planned together the Operation: Perfect Alliance (planned on Representation, launched in Conformation/Re-creation) when nearly everybody in the world was turned into a Miraculized army for track down Ladybug and Cat Noir.
When the wish is finished, the living beings still exist (except Gabriel and Ćmilie who are definitely dead) and Nathalie is healed (I think Gimmi's reality rewrite power is a bad joke from Thomas Astruc). The wish has revived ex-Mayura but there are two people who disappeared in exchange (there must be another person who is revived).
Marinette is remorseful about Gabriel's self-erasure.
Bug Noire lies to Adrien by telling him: "Gabriel, Nathalie and Tomoe were Monarch's hostages. The Butterfly villain forced them to create Alliance rings, to configurate the stolen Miraculouses and finally to launch the Miraculized worldwide crisis. Bug Noire wasn't able to defeat Monarch but Gabriel had ultimately confronted the villain and made the Wish to heal the superheroin and Nathalie in exchange of his and Monarch's lives"
Kagami knows Tomoe is Monarch's accomplice. But she doesn't denounce her. Bug Noire could expose Tomoe but she doesn't too. It looks like Tomoe is the Kagami's only family link. Kagami must clear the things with her in her own way (I guess the better explanations will come on the next Special: Tokyo)
When Cerise akumatizes herself into Time Stalker (off-screen), it means Cerise has been initially unable to find Ladybug was Marinette when the living chameleon girl took the Butterfly miraculous (which was fallen to the water).
Cerise's second (auto-)akumatization is Spectral Looter. Her superpower is: the intangibility. She can pass through the walls and Chronobug doesn't manage to hit her. Under this form, she is still mute. (If the two akumatized forms spoke, Chronobug could recognizes her voice's enemy as "Lila Rossi"'s)
Both Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (the two future Bunnyx) disappear because of the Cerise's wish from the corrupted timeline. They don't spoil to their mini-her how the Teen Bunnyx will save the Time.
Teen Bunnyx saves Marinette from her erasure because of the evil wish.
Marinette takes the earrings in the moment of Origins (1.22-1.23) and becomes Chronobug.
During the Time crisis, Chronobug, from the Burrow, figures out Time Stalker, Spectral Looter (Cerise's second akumatized form) and the new Butterfly holder are the same person.
In the Burrow, Chronobug thought about take the Butterfly miraculous before her adversary can find it and/or prevent Gabriel to make his wish (for save him and Nathalie in her own way) but Teen Bunnyx reasons her to not do that. Because it can alterate the future (for the worst). If Marinette did that, it's possible we could have a timeline when Gabriel and Nathalie are both dead without the wish and Adrien is definitively an orphan (Amelie and FĆ©lix as the last remaining family for him).
When Chronobug and Present/Teen Bunnyx manage to take the supervillain's book, yellow Ladybug erases her name and writes "Gabriel Agreste" instead of the former's. The two superheroines give the book back to the villainess.
The Burrow is restored, due to Cerise evil plan's failure.
Marinette/Chronobug is still uncomfortable about lying to Adrien and everyone about Gabriel's fate. But the Three Bunnyx give advices to her about her choices and her future she must decide.
The Chronobug's Lucky Charm brings back Marinette to the present and the past Tikki and the earrings from Origins back to her initial moment. She has erased the Spectral Looter part.
The Time Stalker time incident is the main reason why Marinette decides to bring all the kwamis and their Miraculouses to their respective holders (and the holders become permanent holders as we see that in the epilogue of Re-creation (5.26)).
Cerise/Iris becomes feral š”š¤¬šæ after deakumatizing herself and discovering her book has been falsified (Ladybug = Gabriel Agreste). š¤£ She realizes Ladybug (helped by Bunnyx) has sabotaged her plan across the time. Of course, the crazy girl remembers Gabriel is Monarch (she had already double-crossed him when she was Hoaxer (watch Revelation (5.20)). š¤£
If Gabriel silents Nooroo by the will of seal his kwami's mouth, Cerise, as the actual Butterfly miraculous holder, fully immobilizes him (like a statue) with a finger snap. She doesn't let him to have more time for celebrate her plan's failure in the actual timeline. That means Cerise treats the kwami worst than Gabriel. Cerise is not just an evil girl, she is an egotic master manipulator, she is insane, mentally unstable, impulsive, narcissistic pervert and a psychopath too. š Nooroo moves again only to the moment when Cerise orders him to transform her.
When Ladybug and Cat Noir are reunited together, they talk about the Butterfly miraculous disappearance. Ladybug warns her partner about the new Butterfly supervillain. So they prepare themselves together to stop "him/her".
And despite her (first) defeat (as Chrysalis(?)), Cerise still seeks revenge against Ladybug. So it's a Cat-Mouse fame who begins (Road to Season 6).
It's the last time the SAMG animation is used in this episode.
What I liked:
The moment at the train station when Marinette and Adrien are reunified after the Gabriel's suicide wish. ā¤
The Cerise anger crisis due to the fact she failed to discover the Ladybug = Marinette Dupain-Cheng thing.
The moment when the Marinette's name is replaced by "Gabriel Agreste'"s in Cerise's book. Get Trolled.
And Nooroo when he jubilates (before Cerise immobilizes him).
Chronobug's design.
Spectral Looter's design (Cerise's second auto-akumatization from the corrupted timeline).
Cerise's new civilian disguise as a blong girl with blue eye lenses. I guess it's Iris Verdi form.
The moment when Spectral Looter roasts Chronobug in the Miraculous Grand Theft in Marinette's room was so funny.
Placide I.T. (Adrien's bodyguard)'s moment. Sounds badass.
When Adrien repels Bug Noire after the "revelation" about his father's death. We can understand Adrien is saddened and angry toward his own dad.
The fact there are three (3) Bunnyx who simultaneously coexist in the Burrow: Teen Bunnyx, Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (I called the older Alix like that).
Marinette says her adventures happen like 10 years (4th wall). Miraculous has begun in 2015 and we are in 2024. It's 9 years.
The final scene with the new animation.
What I disliked:
The Felix/Argos' absence. He lives in London. He sees Kagami for secret dates. He was normally in London during the Miraculized crisis. I understand he and his mother must be hidden because Monarch and Tomoe knew Felix has the Peacock miraculous. And if he intervened, the boy could lose the Peacock brooch because of the Miraculized people.
The Time Travel explanations (modifying the chronology, time paradoxes) are too complicated for me.
Bug Noire is supposed to search the Butterfly miraculous in the water below the Crypt. She even told to Alya and Su-Han she transformed into Aquabug for that. But it's off-screen.
Cerise transforms with the Butterfly miraculous happens off-screen (We will see her form in Season 6).
The weird fact for me is Cerise doesn't remember what she have done during her auto-akumatization as Time Stalker (even deakumatizing herself). But Alya, Nino, Marinette and Kagami (when they rejected Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch's akumas and removed Betterfly's kamikos) had kept her memories. Is it because Cerise is a teenage girl and Gabriel was an adult ?
What I want to know for the future:
How Cerise has managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? Her future self (as Time Stalker) hasn't done nothing but stalking Bug Noire and write the Marinette's name in her book.
Cerise/Iris Butterfly miraculous full transformation (and her full form)
In this Special, Cerise (who is wearing a new disguise) akumatizes herself into Time Stalker in the evening (just some hours after Gabriel/Monarch's disappearance). Meanwhile, In the Re-Creation last scene, Cerise is surprised by a supernatural light in her lair (it happens AFTER the Time Stalker incident). What is it ?
ML Theory:
It's possible Re-creation Cerise has picked up the brooch when Bug Noire and Nathalie were in the room where the kwamis were imprisoned. She has possibly deactivated the system cameras with Tomoe's laptop for preventing to be caught ans for infiltratring the Crypt (before Bug Noire cataclysms everything). It happened before her first (auto-)akumatization as Time Stalker.
I even think Cerise can transforms into the Butterfly supervillainess (while she keeps her civilian form intact)
My personal aggregation on the London Special:
I think this special episode is good. It's the transition from season 5 to season 6. Meanwhile, it lets some questions without answers: How Cerise has really managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? When Adrien will be ready to accept the truth if he finds out ?
Let's waiting the Season 6.
Result: 7/10
The salting moment:
The annoying detail I heard about from the fandom is: the fact Marinette/Bug Noire decides to lie to Adrien about "Gabriel is dead as a hero".
Some of you has been pissed off about that. But I think ONE thing: An Adrien who knows his dad was Monarch will be shocked, mentally devastated and outraged. He would hate his dad AND Ladybug. And Butterfly Cerise would have good reasons for use him as her own advantage for destroy Ladybug and take revenge against Marinette.
It's too easy to blame Marinette for this detail but there is this fact:
Nathalie, Tomoe, Kagami, FĆ©lix, Marinette, Alix and Cerise know Gabriel is Monarch.
So the all of them can tell to Adrien. But Tomoe (as Monarch's accomplice) should be jailed.
Nathalie should be jailed.
Marinette, Felix and Kagami keep the truth secret from Adrien.
Alix could tell to Adrien, but her older selves adviced her to not do that for the Time's safety.
Cerise is the only perfect candidate to reveal to everyone (and especially to Adrien) the Monarch's real identity. But instead to expose Ladybug's lie, Cerise preferred to make an evil, sneaky and dangerous plan to stalk Ladybug by time travel and directly stealing to her the Miraculouses for make her own wish (just some hours after the final battle).
Adrien will knows the "Monarch = Gabriel Agreste" thing in another time. Thomas Astruc and the writers will continue to surprise us/you.
#miraculous ladybug#ml spoilers#miraculous review#ml london special#ladybug#chronobug#bunnyx#nooroo#tikki#alix kubdel#nathalie sancoeur#cat noir#ml london spoilers#time stalker#cerise bianca#iris verdi#lila rossi/cerise#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#gabriel agreste#monarch#aggregation
62 notes
Ā·
View notes
Note
I was totally talking about the "no, this was good and I'm gonna make more of it because you're wrong and I'm right." type of spite in regards to the statue scene and Adrien saying that's when he fell in love with Marinette.
I feel the same way towards what they did with Bustier in Season 5, having her new akumatized form be this awesome revolutionary who wanted to dethrone the mayor, have her eventually become the mayor and showing how downright utopic Paris became after she took the job, revealing that she's a LGBT character by giving her a girlfriend and have them share a kiss oncreen while the other LGBT couples still get little to nothing, it just feels like like they saw how people were hating on her because of how she kept fumbling the bag in regards to Chloe, and this was their attempts at forcing the audience to like her.
(Post this ask is referring to)
Disclaimer
Before we get into the topic at hand, I want to give a quick disclaimer: when I write these posts explaining the writers' most likely point of view or industry standards, it's never to defend the writing. I clearly don't like the writing and want it to change, too! The reason I get real and explain what's probably going on and why things aren't going to change is to give my readers a bit of a reality check about realistic expectations.
In the past, I have been in the position of being deeply emotionally invested in a show only for the writers to destroy it. Or, at least, I thought it was destroyed. It took about two seasons for the general public to agree with me. I remember the desperation of "why would they do this to us?" and "Why didn't anyone stop them?" and "How does no one else see how terrible this is?"
That was a deeply unhealthy mindset for younger me, so I'm never going to feed others who seem to be going down that path as it feels irresponsible. Instead, I give the kind of answers I'd give my younger self. I try to validate your very real feelings that the writing is bad and then give my best guess as to how it's happening and why it's unlikely to change. I don't like those "truths", but it's important to remember them if you want to have a healthy relationship with media that you have no control over outside of choosing how you'll interact with it.
Queer Stuff
Until it's universally cool to be queer, Miraculous is never going to give us quality rep for a few reasons. The first one is that it can get the show banned in certain countries. Banned shows make less money and the goal is to make money so it's just not going to happen. At best, you will get throwaway lines that can be changed to be "acceptable" in other languages or minor scenes that are easily cut. That's the most likely reason why Bustier is the one confirmed to be in a sapphic relationship along with Knight Owl and Majestia. These characters are all minor enough to have their sexuality very subtly included in canon*. Rose and Juleka are way too prominent for the same treatment. The most likely reason for Bustier being with a woman is that the writers wanted to risk some rep and went with what they could get away with without rocking the boat. I doubt it was done to make fans like her more as that assumes that most fans care about the sexuality of a minor character. It also assumes most fans would find this a likeable trait as opposed to something neutral or negative.
There's also the issue of parental appeal. If a show becomes known for having queer rep, there are lots of parents who will steer clear of it and keep it from their kids. That means less toy sales and so on and that's not good for business. If you want solid queer rep, you need to look to less mainstream productions. It is highly unlikely to come from something associated with Disney.
*Do any of the sapphic couples even kiss? I don't think they do. It's like ZoƩ's confession to Marinette, clearly implied but never actually given voice. A young viewer could easily miss the implications if they've been sheltered from the idea that a girl could like a girl. I could see a kid being told/thinking that this was just Marinette being honored that ZoƩ trusted her with the truth:
Marinette: Oh? Who is it, then? (ZoĆ© simply looks at Marinette and smiles, with no words needed to answer her question. With her reflection in ZoĆ©'s eyes, Marinette realizes that the person ZoĆ© likes... is her.) Marinette: Oh... Oh! Oh.Ā (ZoĆ© keeps her tender, loving smile and gaze at Marinette as the two share an embrace moments after)Ā I amĀ truly, very honored. I mean it, ZoĆ©. ZoĆ©: Thanks, Marinette.Ā (they let go of their embrace)Ā You're right! It's such a relief to get these things off your chest. You should try it, too!
Listening to Criticism
This wasn't directly stated in this ask, so I'm going to pull in a quote from the original ask for context:
he saw how much people hated that scene but instead of addressing the criticisms he instead just point blank tries to force us to like the scene
This was said in context of criticisms about the statue scene. Anon is annoyed that the writers doubled down instead of fixing the writing issues. I fully understand why anon feels that way, but unfortunately, this isn't a simple issue of the writers needing to listen to what the fans are telling them. It's a lot more complicated than that.
There was actually a recent Tumblr poll asking people their thoughts on that scene. A thousand people responded. We have no idea if those people were a representative sample of the fandom, but that's a reasonably large sample size and the responses were diverse enough for me to think that the poll has value in this discussion as it shows us something interesting: people like the statue scene. It's not everyone. In fact, "I hate it" won! But about 35% of the people who voted were neutral to positive about the scene. Only 38% actually hated it outright.
A poll about the season five ending got over 1,700 replies and the end result was that there's a pretty even split between people liking it and hating it.
Based on these polls and the fact that some people clearly still like the show, I can easily assemble a committee to give critical feedback who would praise the things you and I hate just like I can easily assemble a team who generally shares the same opinions as us. That's the problem with blithely stating "listen to criticism" when what you really mean is, "listen to my criticism and ignore anyone who doesn't agree." What we see as fixes others would label as ruination!
Miraculous' Current Feedback Process
Miraculous isn't one man's fever dream. There is some level of critical feedback process in place. We know from the bible leaks that people at Disney and TF1 give some level of approval to the bibles before the more detailed writing can begin.
We also know that the writers have had scripts rejected before. Chat Blanc was supposed to be in season two, but was "was rejected by broadcasters [for being] too dark and too sad." There's even a rumor that Gabriel was killed because of a mandate that he couldn't go to jail to avoid upsetting Brazilian audiences (if anyone can confirm that, please let me know!) In other words, the writers do get push-back! They aren't allowed to write whatever they want! There is a feedback process!
None of this is meant to say that I think the show is good. I clearly think it's bad, too! I only bring all of this up because this is what you need to keep in mind when you're wondering what the hell canon is doing. We may not get it and view it as terrible, but there is a whole host of people who think it's good or, at the very least, good enough. Industry professionals are signing off on this shit. While I think they're all insane, the best takeaway from these facts is that the team working on this project has wildly different tastes from us and we should either stop watching or watch with the knowledge that we're probably going to hate the final product.
Counterexample
Let's pivot slightly to a relevant counterexample. Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors and a book podcast I follow read one of his books about a year ago. Two of the members weren't fans while the third loved it, leading to a really interesting disclaimer at the start of the episode. I'll post a link after this in case you want to hear the exact quote, but the general gist is that the show's host - Maria - was talking about ways the book could be improved with two fans of the book and, to her surprise, they were both adamant that the proposed changes would ruin the book for them.
youtube
I don't bring up this example to imply that Miraculous is secretly good and we just don't get it. I stand by pretty much every criticism I've ever made. I bring it up because this shows that even a story that I will defend isn't universally appealing. I generally agree with Maria and Will's thoughts on stories, I mostly disagree with them here. Is the book perfect? No, but most of their suggested changes aren't ones I'd make. At the same time, I understand why the story didn't click with them. Many of their issues are valid. I just think that most of those valid issues are subjective issues and not true flaws. It's also worth noting that the Mistborn series is wildly successful. The author is a multi-millionaire. People clearly like it as-is, which is why critical feedback is impossible to get "right."
Annoying Truth About Critical Feedback
There is no universally good version of a story. No one standard every work can strive to meet. There's not even such a thing as a universally right critic! You can think a person's feedback is good 95% of the time and still be totally fine rejecting the other 5%.
Part of the editing process is getting feedback and deciding if you agree with it or not. You don't have to make every suggested change which is good because, if you have more than one person giving feedback, then you'll probably get conflicting feedback! I can think of one story where beta reader A found a section confusing and beta reader B said it was perfectly clear. I had to talk to A to see what was confusing them and decide if I cared to rewrite that section to cater better to people like her knowing it could lead to the section being less clear for people who weren't like her. I can think of another story where a random commenter took the time to tell me they didn't like the way I wrote Adrien, leading several others to comment saying that I got him perfect.
This is why I'm so hesitant to blame Miraculous' writers for not "listening to criticism" because what does that even mean? Without an objective standard, who decides what criticism is good? What happens when there are dissenting opinions on a topic as there almost always are?
Anyone who wants to create has to decide whose opinions they value and ignore basically everyone else otherwise they'd never create anything. If the Miraculous writers have a team AND the team likes what the writers are creating AND there's an audience happy to consume what show in its current state? I don't know how you fix that. I don't even know if you can. Can anyone give a tried and true way to avoid creating an echo chamber while also ignoring unhelpful "haters"? It's an incredibly complicated topic and is why the trend I mentioned in the linked post exists.
For those who don't want to click back and read that post, there's a pretty common trend where a series gets popular, but then the writing starts to get "bad" or people start to realize that the series is never going to live up to the potential that they saw in it. Less forgiving fans begin to stop watching, but enough fans stick around that the money keeps coming in and so the writers have no reason to course correct. By the time the majority of fans have given up hope, the writing is so bad that there's no saving the property. You'll probably never reach a point where everyone hates the series, but you do reach a point where they're no longer able to make the property commercial successful. That or the series reaches its ending and it's so bad that people basically stop talking about the series or only remember how poorly it ended when it used to be a beloved, pop-culture zeitgeist. This trend is basically the media's version of enshittification. My partner and I talked about various series that came to mind for this trend and these are just a few of the properties that we were able to name: RWBY, Zack Snyder's DC Stuff, BBC's Sherlock, Game of Thrones, and How I Met Your Mother.
If the more critical fans are right and Miraculous is a mess that's just getting worse and worse, then this decaying process is Miraculous' most likely fate. More and more people will turn their backs on it until it fails or the writers run out of ideas and give a lackluster ending that is pretty universally hated. It will probably be slightly gratifying to people like us to see one of those things happen, but not gratifying enough to make the loss of a potentially good story worth it. Having gone through this cycle before, it really is a hollow victory and that sucks, but there's nothing you or I can do about it which is why I take the stances I do. It's fun to dunk on canon, but don't let canon's bad writing drag you down into dark places. That won't benefit anyone. It will just hurt you.
Final Thoughts
All of the above is why this blog isn't aimed at the writers. I don't expect them to fix anything. Canon is what it is and it will continue to be what it is because this is what the creative teams considers good. I don't agree, but I also highly doubt that I'd ever be able to change their minds. Even if they read my feedback, I doubt they'd agree with it even though I will stand by every point I've made and think canon has inexcusable issues.
This blog is aimed at sharing my thoughts on the writing with fellow former fans or somewhat-critical current fans. I want us to have fun thinking about writing and alternate takes on Miraculous for our own amusement. I will be a happy woman if this blog helps any of my followers improve in their own writing or critical analysis skills or even just gives them an outlet to flex those mental muscles.
It's the same reason I like the podcast I linked above. I enjoy listening to the three hosts and their occasional guests dig into the technical elements of writing and why a thing did or didn't work for them because I find discussion of those things interesting and useful for honing my own writing. It's not about fixing the source material. The books they talk about are finished products that are what they are. Chances of an edited edition being released are extremely low. It's not even about being right. I have no idea how you decide who is right in matters of taste! There are multiple extremely popular series that have me scratching my head at how people like them! There are also popular series that I greatly enjoy.
With this vast array of tastes and no true standard for anyone to meet, all you can do is state your opinions on a work logically and clearly and let whoever is listening decide for themselves if they agree with you or not. It can be frustrating when they don't, but it is something you just kind of learn to accept so you don't go mad. "Let people be wrong" is, unfortunately, the best way to protect your mental health, especially when it comes to something as unimportant as Miraculous.
I'll finish by imploring anyone reading this to never force your opinion on a fan! That's just rude. Let them have their fun! Just don't take recommendations from them. Whenever I meet someone who likes a thing I hate, I just say it wasn't for me and leave it at that unless they truly want to hear why I didn't like it. Most people don't. Most people just want to enjoy the things they enjoy which is completely fine and normal. Let people be wrong.
#anon ask#ml writing salt#ml writing critical#nuance#Made one friend cry over my complete takedown of Fourth Wing#And it's like babe don't read my one star reviews for books you love!!!#I wrote that to vent not hurt you!!!#I still love you even if you have trash taste in romance
32 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
"Handsome?" Luka questioned, leaning back slightly. "Why?"
"He was a model. Almost every 14-year-old French girl was fawning over him a decade ago," she explained, her grin widening as she finished entering the name.
"Then who's the hotshot for French girls nowadays?" Luka asked, also grinning.
"Hmm, probably you," Marinette said with a teasing smile, knowing it would fluster him, "being the most famous French singer of all time, and in my opinion, also the most talented."
As she expected, his cheeks went red, and he chuckled nervously, running a hand through his hair. He glanced away briefly before meeting her gaze again with a shy smile.
This was nice.
Snippet & art from the new chapter of Set to Love (Read here on Ao3) coming soon!
#the chapter is being reviewed by my beta#I promise adrienette is endgame just let me have fun#lmao lets not talk about the hands leave me alone#had to repost to fix mistakes#ml fic#miraculous ladybug#miraculous#mlb#mlb fanfic#mlb fandom#my fic#fanfic#ml fanfiction#ml fanfic#archive of our own#ao3 fanfic#adrienette#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#miraculous fandom#luka couffaine#lukanette#miraculous art#miraculous comic#miraculous fanart#miraculous au#mlb art#mlb fanart#fanart#ebiarticsfic
66 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
booktok refugee
hi guys :)
my secret dream has always been to have a blog. ive always been better in words than talking, so it's kind of the ideal situation.
i grew up on tumblr when i was younger, but had nothing to say. now that i'm older, i do, yet i find i have no one to tell. i found that community in booktok, but quickly lost it due to the ban.
so here i am starting all over, trying not to lose the desire to find community.
my name is erin, and i've read fantasy books my whole life. a recent favorite of mine that shook up my world was Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang.
if you have similar taste in books, or even if you don't, maybe we can be friends :)
#booklr#books#books and reading#fantasy#harry potter#booktok#arc reader#ml wang#blood over bright haven#new to tumblr#book review#introduction#bookworm#reading
24 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
My Review of the Miraculous London Special, Part 2
Writing my review is going a little bit slower than I expected, but anyways here is the second part.
What this part contains:
Kagami to Marinette - "You are blinded by love, Marinette."
The Lie - This was an unexpected turn of event for me.
"Ladybug knows. Ladybug holds the truth. The whole world will know only what Ladybug will tell it. Her words will be the truth." - A negative character development.
Nathalie - The badass knows the best.
Back to the Lie - Fight fire with fire.
Let's go!
Spoilers ahead ->
Kagami to Marinette
"You are blinded by love, Marinette."
It's very ironic for Kagami to say, considering how she was akumatized two times because of her love for Adrine, once in āOni-chanā and once in āProtectionā. And I also wouldn't say that her love for Felix is perceptive either. But maybe thatās why it's important that she said that, because she understands what it's like to be blinded by love.
I highly doubt that Kagami will be able to get through to her mother, Tomoe. We still donāt know what her goal is and she doesnāt seem like the type of person who would just give up after she was that close to get what she wants. Well, At least there is one single thing that Marinette doesnāt have to handle on her own, Kagami confronting her mother is something Iād really like to see in the upcoming season.
Kagami adores Marinetteās friendship and Iād like to believe that what happened will strengthen said friendship. If it's not, well, that's another angst to add to the list.
The Lie
I saw people say that Marinette cooked up the lie on the spot but I think itās not the case, she had at least one and a half an hour (probably a bit less than that) to think about what she would say to Adrien and to the whole World.
I didnāt expect that the whole lie, that I thought will be Tomoeās plan to cover up her crimes, is Marinetteās idea to try and protect Adrien from the greater harm. But, honestly this just further confirms that Marinette is in fact a flawed main character. She needed reassurance whether it was the right decision or not to lie and it shows how uncertain she is about her choice. I think thatās a very relatable situation, Iām sure a lot of us were in a position before where we werenāt sure about ourselves and doubted whether we made the right choice or not and tried to seek reassurance from someone else. Personally, I am usually upset if someone doesnāt give me a clear answer, Marinette handled that so much better than I would.
I also love how none of the characters who know Marinette were lying tried to lecture her about it. Sure, Kagami and Nathalie voiced their opinions and doubts but neither of them have a better moral compass and judgment than Marinette has. Looks like Kagami really wants to believe her mother can change and Nathalie helped Gabriel as Mayura and in civil a lot, she might like to listen to the hero this time even though she wanted to turn herself in at first.
Bug Noir said that she wanted to tell Adrien before he finds out some other way. This could be Marinette speaking as his girlfriend because she is concerned about him or Ladybug who wants to lead the narrative. If she waited for even just a moment it would be Tomoe or the press the first one to talk to him and say whatever they want, with this it's possible to avoid Adrien believing othersās words over Ladybugās. And this leads to my next point.
āLadybug knows. Ladybug holds the truth. The whole world will know only what Ladybug will tell it. Her words will be the truth.ā
Others already made posts about how this quote means that Marinette is coping through dissociation, that after what happened with Gabriel she completely separates Marinette and Ladybug and that how is this a stepping back from where she headed during the 5 seasons. A negative character development.
Just as I wrote above Marinette is leading the narrative, the story. She takes the initiative, probably for the first time. Someone pointed out that how Marinette is controlling the World with her lies is the same as Gabriel controlled his son and also the World with his fashion (āPretensionā). Marinette can be controlling, especially as Ladybug, and overcoming this behavior will lead her to become the great leader older Bunnyx mentioned in "Timetagger", I think. And how would she overcome it?
Nathalie
Nathalie being alive and kicking and not in prison, is not just good for Adrien's sake but also for Marinetteās. I think she saw the parallel between Marinette and Gabriel and that's one of the reasons why she didn't oppose to stay.Ā
We don't know exactly how long she knew Gabriel but I'll dare to say she knew him even before he met Emilie. She not just saw Gabriel turning evil but also helped him, fortunately she changed her ways for the better and now is ready to help for the greater good.Ā
If Marinetteās behavior slowly started to resemble Gabriel's, Nathalie would be the first one to notice it. She could be there for her and possibly guide her to not turn out like him.
Back to the lie
This lie not just emphasized Marinette's controlling tendencies more but she also resorted to do something that she actually despises. Didn't she say something like she hates liars more than anything when Lila first appeared? While Marinette is being paralleled with Gabriel she seems like becoming the type of person she hates the most as well. I wonder how this will play out in the future. But I think this could turn out to be a benefit against Lilamoth. Remember the saying: fight fire with fire.
part 1 | part 3 | part 4
#miraculous ladybug#ml#miraculous london#ml london special#ml london special spoilers#ml london spoilers#ml spoilers#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#kagami tsurugi#gabriel agreste#tomoe tsurugi#lila rossi#cerise bianca#My Review of the Miraculous London Special#Part 2
31 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
Gale Reviews: Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time
(Spoilers for those that havent seen it. and yes this will be my sort of Live reaction, with my thoughts at the end)
-Okay so Nooroo be sad and trying to appeal to this person's morality.
-Okay so I was wrong about them being Adrien, but they are... Blond Lila?
-Okay, so She was actually BOTH akumatized Villains. Not gonna lie, That is so expected I assumed one of them would be adrien. Damn
-Intro be dope though
-So they are playing some weird variant of chess.
-If I was kid Alix, Id be salty, I would never. win since the other versions of me KNOW all my moves.
-OH DAMN GRANNY BUNNYX! 70, damn she looks good for 70
-Oh they be fading, and they arent even phased. Because they know what will happen. Wow... kind of takes the drama out of this
-Oh cool, recap
-They dont even bother saying he was originally called monarch.
-Alix is so valid for that comment about them kissing
-"Gabriel makes his wish, history is still on course." Yep they are playing the Miguel O' Hara is right canon event bit unironically.
-Portals start vanishing. But the drama is gone because YOU KNOW Alix will fix it
-Oh there is a depressed Bugnoire. Confirmed that merge miraculous can still use powerups.
-She goes to London. Damn this is depressing, and sterile
-Bugnoire casual destroys the cell to free Kagami made me chuckle
-Marinette reflecting on what happened. talking with Gabriel
-"Adrien cannot find out."
TO THE SURPISE OF F***ING NOBODY!
-Kagami calling her out but then saying she will oblige her
-Oh they actually talking about Tomoe.
-Kagami wants to try and talk to her mom, which Marinette honors because... at least she isnt being a hypocrite here.
-Okay I know I am a bit nasty, but I do appreciate the time the scene is taking. its really building up the tension to this.
-Gorilla out of nowhere just like "Let me unlock it first." that made me chuckle
-I feel VERY CONFLICTED. Because on one hand, LOVE THE ANGST. Absolutely just perfection. Really milk that drama. But f*** do I HATE how this came about.
-Oh the Lie is actually pretty convincing. Oh look at how absolutely distraught Adrien is. Boy is f***ing wrecked.
-OH DAMN ADRIEN OUTBURST
-That Adrigami comforting.
-I want to love this absolutely heartshattering scene. Its beautiful, its angsty.
-Okay, you know what. I will hold my reservations until I actually finish.
-You can just see the absolute distraught face of Marinette. SHE HATES THIS. SHE ABSOLUTELY HATES WHAT SHE IS DOING. OH THAT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ANGSTY THING. Its slowly warming me up a bit, the finale was missing this.
-Oh damn, Nathalie knows Marinette is Ladybug. WELP, just another person that knows thats not Adrien.
-Oh damn, Ladybug monologue, while she destroys everything related to Hawkmoth, monarch, and his scheme. In a way, becoming his greatest accomplice.
-The press conference is full of a lies. Wow its starting to feel just like real life.
-Nathalie comforting Adrien, such a soft scene. Meanwhile Tomoe and Kagami are cold to eachother
-Marinette is at the train station
-That adrinette hug.... yea, thats the good stuff
-Im happy the kwami are safe.
-There is a lot of not talking in these moments. letting the music set the tone.
-And day becomes night, Marinette sleeps with Plagg and tikki by her side. Now she asks if what she did was right
-Is there a kwami of truth? Because if there is, I wonder what animal it is
-WAIT, She lied to Alya too? THAT I didnt see coming.
-And right there, we see when the special ACTUALLY Starts
-Okay the vest is funny
-The burrow has a slowed down time aspect, makes sense because of the whole time travel thing.
-So they have to take Marinette's Miraculous from when she renounced it. For a split second, I thought she was talking about the Kwami choice, but it was actually Origins. Which makes more sense
-So thats why Tikki becomes so sure of Marinette.
-She changed colors? Why thoough?! Granted I do prefer it to the original costume, but not as much as the lucky charm form.
-"There is no such thing as ghost." GHOST FORCE WOULD LIKE A WORD MARINETTe
-Basically she can phase through things like Kitty pride. And be invisible. So like a Ghost.
-Ladybug verses the Ghost akuma
-She cant touch them
-Calender. it means you have to go to a different time
-This special really likes hammering in that Ladybug's lie is wrong, yet at the same time NO ONE is offering her an alternative. So it feels like the special isnt really committing to the "Marinette is right" or "Marinette is wrong."
-"Sorry, you cant take the butterfly miraculous cause Canon Event." Yea this is getting repetitive
-So Time Stalker was there. Saw Ladybug was Marinette
-Yea, not gonna lie. All the clips showing the finale only remind me how much I HATE it.
-Gabriel f***s off to leave his son an orphan but gets to be with his wife. Thus getitng his wish forever and now Ladybug has to basically let it happen because F*** her in particular
-NATHALIE WITH A CROSSBOW!
-Nathalie telling the small crying teen who was willing to sacrifice HERSELF, that she didnt have to go that far. People often forget Marinette is a TEENAGER going through s***. Nathalie should have stopped Gabriel earlier
-That aside, all this special reinforced is that Gabriel is an idiot. He really could have won so much easier
-And thats how Time stalker found out
-Marinette figured out they were the same person, clever writing
-Super ghost and Super Spy dumb names
-I love Barkk. She is like "Dont be so sure"
-Man this special really retreads a lot of old ground a lot
-Miraculous Bug Noire
-So Bugnoire saying until they get the butterfly miraculous back. She cant tell him the truth.... Yea no. Thats dumb. I still find this very dumb.
-But the whole mini portal thing was funny to me. Why not just make a portal under them to pull them in.
-There we go.
-SHE HAS MORE OF THEM? Okay thats pretty clever
-"He or She?" if it wasnt present bunnyx Id assume she knew.
-The explanation on why Nathalie cant tell Adrien is also bulls**t.
-A wiseman once said, the "Truth hurts but once, but a Lie will ache forever" Marinette is basically setting up for worse
-I will say, the Choreography in these encounters is pretty cool.
-Okay the plan was clever
-Ladybug is apparently REALLY good at forging signatures. Are we sure Marinette isnt a future villainess?
-The Ladybug monologue with that funky beat was fun
-HEHEHE Lila Temper tantrum
-Poor Nooroo
-Well the plan worked.
-Bunnyx not being sad about having to stay as Bunnyx.
-Wait, so how come they can go ride dinosaurs if they cant mess with time?
-So bunnyx says "Hey its cool to lie as long as you own up to it eventually." Thats a fucking terrible lesson for kids to learn. I hope everyone reading this knows that
-Wait... is Chronobug dead?
-Nope, she is still alive
-Plagg is confused. But Tikki knows. Okay thats cute
-Marinette fixing the miraculous and upgrading them. Thats neat
-Marinette's logic for spreading it out makes sense at least. And the new hawkmoth doesnt know the heroes identities. Tomoe might though
-Okay, Plagg is cute.
-Ah yes, the Ladynoir
-There is that Hug. Thats that good stuff
-Chat noir's guilt and Ladybug's Guilt
-And then Lila's monologue at the end
___________________________________________________________
Now... How do I feel about this special?
I am torn.
On one hand, it did show that Marinette is feeling the effects of the secrets she is keeping. She is clearly feeling guilty about it. And the special does a LOT to justify what she is doing and never outright gives her a pass for it. I also LOVED that sweet succulent ANGST. Good stuff.
on the Other hand, some of the explanations are not good (like Adrien not finding out until after the butterfly is found? It makes no sense), and it hand waves a LOT of things. Not to mention, it does basically have Marinette, Kagami and Nathalie in this secret Cabal of secrets. Tomoe is basically not held accountable. And the whole Canon event thing and time travel basically means there is never any real danger. So it really takes the wind out of this.
But BUT, This special does at least imply that this secret will be the cause of tension, now the question is IF the show will actually deliver on this angst.
I dont hate this special as it does illuminate a LOT of what was missing from the Season 5 finale... that being said, I still hate the season 5 finale.
so its 6/10.
#miraculous ladybug#ml spoilers#gale reviews#ml critical#ml london special#ml london spoilers#miraculous world
48 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
some people dislike Maribug because they interpret the creator's "girl power" schtick as her being a Mary Sue, and hence, a badly written character. They also think Adrien should be more of a main character and having him written out of important moments like the s5 finale showdown was a mistake, because he deserves better.
Well obviously, Adrien deserves better, he lives in an abusive household. But A. he's more of a deuteragonist and B. his absence was from the final fight wasn't Maribug's fault. Marinette (the main character!!!) going head to head with Monarch on her own (which was super badass idc) made all the narrative sense. Chat Noir was AWOL, she had to step up.
Plus, it's not like the plot rewarded her for fighting alone. She literally lost. So somehow, the issue becomes that the plot is bad because the villain won when he didn't deserve to, and he wouldn't have if Chat Noir was written in. But that argument goes nowhere bc Chat Noir was never going to be in the final fight.
He's a victim first and foremost, which people may not like, but thems are the facts. There was no way for him to escape from his prison in London without revealing his identity, thanks to his father.
The only bad guy here is Monarch, not Maribug, who knows she made a mistake and has to deal with the consequences. You know, like a well-written character.
#I promise my whole thing isn't arguing about why ml is good#I just prefer to make posts like this instead of starting wars on the bird app#anyway long review of the special coming out soon#miraculous ladybug season 5#mlb s5
78 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
115
5/5
I am on a book buying ban- have been on one since Septemberā¦but my friend surprised me with this on release day. We said we could surprise each other with books during the ban; just not buy books for ourselves.
I loved this. I loved If We Were Villians; and I knew this was gonna be it for me as well. ML Rio has such an amazing writing style; and this is a short novella so I donāt want to say much.
This is about a group who are on a non-smoking campus and they end up meeting in the graveyard in the middle of the night, and it becomes a tradition.
This was so good and I love the cover, the characters were just as fleshed out as If We Were Villains- and it was multiple POV. I really loved it and was so perfect for Spooky Season. So maybe next year or Summerween or the Winterween; put this on the TBR.
#booktok#booklr#reading#reading challenge#horrorbooks#2024 reading#2024 goodreads#2024 reading challenge#book blog#bookblr#book review#2024 book release#2024 reads#2024 books#graveyard shift#ml rio#spooky season
15 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
Book reviewe
| If We Were Villains āŖļø
| M. L. Rio āŖļø
| 10/10 āŖļø
The review may contain slight spoilers (almost none at all)
"If we were villains" by M.L. Rio is a book that may evoke a lot of extreme emotions, but that's what good literature is all about - They don't have to be just subjectively perfect. I must admit that at the very beginning the book did not captivate me. I read it with some reluctance, even though its concept itself seemed extremely interesting to me. The number of characters seemed burdensome at first, but over time you get used to it. The inserts from Shakespeare's works may be just a headache for some, but I was absolutely charmed by them, and without them the composition seems soullessly empty.
Intrigue, beautiful surroundings and stage drama. The author introduces the reader to the world of actors whose roles on stage are reflected in reality in which art intertwines with brutal truth. The whole action is narrated by Oliver as a memory from the old days, he is a character you can simply like. The text, which is divided into acts, only adds a mood that perfectly complements the story about the tragedy that took place among acting students. Someone dies, someone is guilty. Can you guess who the murderer is? You can, but it's not obvious at all. The plot twist that appears at the end is breathtaking, regardless of the reader's suspicions. Dear people who have read this book, I hope you know which line in the final act tore my heart to shreds. The feelings that the characters have for each other are so incredibly vivid and true - Full of drama and suffering and many unspoken words.
Many people consider this work to be superior in its inspiration to Donna Tartt's "The Secret History". Well, I personally don't think so. However, this book is absolutely not bad. After getting through the arduous first few chapters, I was left in tears at the very end and with a storm of emotions in my head. I recommend reading it, it's a really great text. Initial reluctance turned into my tears at the end, and books that evoke emotions are the most beautiful.
#book blog#book review#books and reading#bookworm#books#ml rio#if we were villains#dark academia#academia aesthetic#aesthetic#literature#bookish#writing#reading#bookinfluencer#william sheakespeare#sheakspeare#actor#theatre#drama
11 notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
what a shame, i can see it all now that weāre through
- firearm by lizzy mcalpine
(chapter 5 of call it even is making me feel bonkers insane. thank u @sha-nwa)
#my art#ml#call it even#miraculous ladybug#mlb#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#adrinette#(i. guess. )#adrienette#ml fic rec#ml fic#the way abby writes is literally so delicious to me#the dialogueā¦the visceral descriptionsā¦..#my friend who doesnāt watch ml has been reading and sending me detailed reviews of every chapter#and with this one she said she loved the female rage. which. real !#chapter 5 marinette is. well. sheās here for blood. as she should be honestly#anyway the song firearm has been wrecking my life about this story#itās SO#what a joke was it all just an act i hate that it took me so long to react you had me convinced that you loved me!!!!!!!#thank you everyone readjng and commenting itās really truly making my life#hang on tight adrienās back on friday:)#donāt worry i wonāt put him in situations. i would never#xoxo
1K notes
Ā·
View notes
Text
The truth isnāt that Gabriel hates Marinette, itās actually that heās a Marichat stan and thinks that Adrinette is getting in the way of his ship
I mean can you see the excitement on this guy?!?!
#clearly a shipping war is what is happening here#not anything else#this is clearly the most logical explanation#to gabe's behavior#hes the one who has been writing all the marichat balcony fics#and he has been leaving anonymous hate reviews online for andre#who is clearly an adrinette and ladynoir stan#and gabe cant stand it#gabriel agreste's a+ parenting#gabriel agreste is a shipper first and a parent second#ml elation#ml season 5 spoilers#ml season 5#adrinette#marichat#gabriel agreste#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#ml#mlb#miraculous ladybug#miraculous#miraculeakless#ml leak free
205 notes
Ā·
View notes