#only in the first 5 seasons what

[whoisspence]

spencer reid seasons 1-5 ✧.*

╰┈➤ season 1

╰┈➤ season 2

╰┈➤ season 3

╰┈➤ season 4

╰┈➤ season 5

[killjoy-prince]

House M.D. but it's when Wilson says House's name

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for an incredible 500 days of love and support. I offer you: answers to questions that no one has asked.

(As always, more can be found in the tags <3)

[apocalyptic-byler]

and if i said byler’s first kiss deserves as much passion as jancy’s first kiss then what

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I wouldn't really agree that boys are just arm candy in magical girl shows and only there to look cute. Yeah, sure the girls' friendships are the focus, but the boys are usually very much involved in the plot and most shows do explore their feelings about the odd things that happen due to magical shenanigans even if they aren't in the know (It's why ML baffles me even more with how they screwed up Adren's arc when he's the deuteragonist, when all these boys are supporting cast and get well rounded arcs)

I'm not much of a winx fan, but the specialists were very much not arm candy. Did the girls talk about them being cute? Yes, it's what teenage girls do. Did the narrative suggest they were good looking? Yes, but that's standard for most love interests in any genre. But we still got scenes with them talking amongst themselves about how they themselves feel and they got a fair share of badass fight scenes even if they wield no magic. A large amount of episodes actually included the boys and girls working as a team solving a mystery or fighting a villain. The girls might deal the finishing blow but the boys were still integral to the plot.

I hope this doesn't come across as hate, it definitely wasn't my intention. I'm just a bit too passionate about the magical girl genre.

I do think you have a good point with ML having a problem choosing a genre or blending two genres successfully.

For the CCS fans, I will add though that Cardcaptor Sakura had both Tomoyo and Syaoran serve as sources of motivation for Sakura. And both Sakura and Syaoran collecting cards even if Sakura is the only one who could seal them and yet never made you question whether Syaoran was even necessary for the job the way ml does with Chat.

I wasn't trying to say that boys have no part to play in magical girl team shows or that they're always treated as having no lives beyond the girls, that's why I mentioned that the Winx Club boys - aka, the Specialists - have their own (mostly off screen) lives and occasionally show up help the girls:

the boys are usually off doing their own thing and only occasionally show up for a date or to give the girls a ride on their cool bikes or magical spaceship

Even then, this is certainly a simplification of the roles that they play in the story, but I kind of had to simplify their roles down to their base components for the original post's discussion as I was talking in broad strokes of how these stories are written.

In terms of those broad strokes, the Specialists are absolutely only there for shipping fodder. That's why each one is assigned to a girl from the start and why their main role in the narrative is supporting their assigned love interest or causing relationship-based drama for their assigned love interest. If it weren't for shipping, then the Specialists would not exist.

While the Specialists do have fleshed out characters and may even effect the plot, the execution of those elements is designed around the girls. A really obvious example of this is the character Timmy, who has character development as the boy's tech guy. Why is he into technology? Because he's the designated love interest for the fairy of Technology and we have to show why they're a good match. Along similar lines, the boys don't really get plots that are removed from the girls because this is the girl's show. Every episode features one or more of the Winx, but the boys are optional and often don't appear.

This is because, narratively speaking, the boys are just love interests and that brings us back to Miraculous' big problem. You can't have a show where Adrien is written like a Specialist while also being part of the Winx Club and where Alya is written like she's part of the Winx Club while technically being more of a Specialist in terms of power set and actual narrative role.

I'm was thinking back to my memories of various Winx Club plots to find one that really highlighted what I mean here and I remembered that one of the big dramas in season one was the reveal that Bloom's love interest - Sky - was in an arranged marriage and had just never told her. As it turns out, that's a great example of what I'm talking about re Adrien!

Is that plot line technically based around Sky and letting his life effect the plot? Sure, but the fallout of that reveal revolves around Bloom, not Sky. The story doesn't really care how Sky's feeling as the conflict progresses. Instead, it focuses on how it affects Bloom and her friends because of course it does! She's the main character. It would be really weird if that plot suddenly focused on her side character love interest and his friends during one of her darkest hours/biggest moments.

Think of that and then consider how the ending of season five is written. Notice any similarities? Sure, this is Adrien's family drama, but because he's just a Specialist, the focus isn't on him. It's on Winx Club member Marinette and Adrien only shows up at the end for a kiss. That is the problem. That is what I'm talking about when I say that Miraculous will randomly write him as if we're watching a magical girl team show where Adrien is just the love interest.

In fact, let's really dig into this example because it's a good one.

You can have a look at the transcript for the finale episode of Miraculous season five here and see for yourself that Adrien doesn't even show up on screen until the final scenes when the big drama is over. The Winx Club wiki also has episode transcripts, so I took a look to see what happened in Winx land during the arranged marriage reveal plot (I love that this is a thing. It's so useful for fact checking myself!) This is the script for the episode after Bloom learns the truth. Sky does not appear even though his lies and family drama are the fuel for this episode's events, which are a major part of the season's arc. Note how perfectly that matches Adrien's writing?

Similarly, Sky's dialogue in the reveal episode is all about Bloom. He's worried about her learning the truth and thinking less of him. To match that, here's Adrien's only real dialogue in the penultimate episode of season five (full transcript):

Adrien:(Covers his ears.) I cannot transform... (Looks at his ring and tries taking it off.) Plagg: What are you doing?! Adrien: I'm not in my right mind. I'm too angry — at myself for falling short of Marinette's love, at my father for sending me here in London, at this stupid app and these rings that use my image... it makes me sick! This nightmare is giving me the horrible feeling that, if I transform, I'll get akumatized and destroy everything with my Cataclysm — Marinette, Ladybug... (Takes off the ring and hands it to Plagg.)

Switching back to Winx. After Bloom learns the truth about Sky, bad things happen because she's depressed. This results in her and the Winx going off on a journey to learn the truth of who Bloom is. After the girls share this big plot moment and Bloom gets her mojo back, the boys show up to be their ride home and to give Bloom her romance moment where Sky wins her back by declaring that he broke off the arranged married because he loves her.

Sky notably doesn't get an arc about choosing between his arranged marriage and his true love. We don't even know that the marriage is broken off until he tells Bloom because that was never really a conflict as far as the narrative was concerned. Of course he's going to pick Bloom! He's her designated side character love interest! He only exists to be with her. We don't need to treat this as a serious thing for him. The arranged marriage plot was never about him anyway. It was about giving Bloom a reason to have a darkest hour moment that moves the plot forward. Similarly, Sky calling off the marriage is nowhere near as important as him telling Bloom that he's called off the marriage to be with her in a grand romantic gesture.

This perfectly mirrors Miraculous' season five ending where Adrien doesn't appear until after Marinette is done fighting her big girl power fight against his father. As far as the writing is concerned, that fight isn't about him. His connection to the villain only really matters in terms of how it affects Marinette's actions during the final battle. Then, when the battle is over, Adrien shows up to give Marinette her big romance moment because, while the plot may be driven by Adrien's family, he is not a Winx club member. He's just a Specialist. Or, in the words of the head writer:

[image text: She's Barbie, he's Ken. You don't like it. I get it. It won't change. Anything else?] (The full, even more damning context of this tweet can be found here.)

What else can I say other than, "I rest my case."

Oh, and also that I didn't take this as an attack. I just thought it was a good opportunity to really dig into the nuances of this and what I was talking about in that original post as I never know how obvious this stuff is if you don't closely study story telling. As this case study hopefully shows, if a show is about a group of girl friends using the power of friendship, then their love interests may have important roles, but the boys are never going to be more important than the girls and most of the boy's screen time will be focused on romance and how their existence effects the girls because it's ultimately the girls' world. Without them, the show wouldn't exist. Without the boys? Well, then we just wouldn't have a romance plot.

[chirpsythismorning]

S5 opener REAL

[cottoncandysprite]

Honestly the best part of wwdits is that, after seeing all the bajillion spoilers in the reviews, I feel even less confident predicting whats gonna happen this season. I'm so terrified

[raayllum]

Callum and Rayla in Book Five: Ocean

To love is to simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep.

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

Can we all take a moment to appreciate that this scene, at most, takes place a couple of weeks after they officially got together, and already Adrinette have a wedding vision board?!?!

And like, sure, Marinette has been planning their future together since day one, but does anyone really think that Marinette would allow Gabriel to so much as view this, without first receiving Adrien's approval?!? She even went so far as to put this in the sketchbook she brings along with her, so really anyone could see it. The logical explanation is that Adrien has not only seen these designs but has put his seal of approval on them.

Also, just wanted to point out the little hamsters on the page

[rist-ix]

https://www.tumblr.com/rist-ix/749015401700229120 not you reblogging this when you ship bloom with the man who murdered her family 😭

Bloom's into ppl who slay! Hope this helps :3

[wheel-of-misfortune]

something really funny about the s5 finale was the narrative making a point to show nandor's jelousy and strong dislike of derek (someone who he never even spared a second thought before). i was giggling everytime he clenched his teeth at the mere mention of derek's name.

bc yeah the vampire code talks about how it's a big transgression and the ultimate betrayal for a familiar to ask a vampire other than their master to turn them, but it doesn't really say anything about the vampire who did it, after all VAMPIRES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO KILL OTHER VAMPIRES. but nandor didn't give a fuck. he put up that whole show and didn't even let guillermo think twice just so he could have the satisfaction of taking his anger out on derek.

it's a classic case of the age-old argument "you shouldn't blame the girl, your partner was the one who owned you loyalty!!!" "yes but maybe THAT BITCH SHOULDN'T BE MESSING WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S BOYFRIENDS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!"

my man broke vampiric law and risked jail just to fuck up the other woman lol

[sskk-manifesto]

Rabid wet dog vampire man

[arabian-batboy]

Endeavor from BNHA is a prime example of how fandom trying to shield characters from (rightful) hate will only generate more hate toward the said characters.

Because I binge-watched the show before stepping foot in the fandom and even though I began this show hating Endeavor, he was actually starting to grow on me since his plot-line was one of the most interesting parts of the show and at certain points I even thought his “awkward dad” moments were kinda endearing? Then I looked around and saw an army of people who are so damn eager to swiftly forgive Endeavor for everything wrong he has ever done and shield him from any type of criticism, which includes shifting all the blame to his own wife & children and suddenly what little affection I had for this character is gone and now I’m back to hating him again.

Like you do realize that this is a grown middle aged man who has been emotionally and physically abusing his wife (who’s really more of a stay-at-home surrogate) and children for 25 years straight and has only turned a new leaf in-universe for only half a year max? It doesn’t matter how much you like his character, LET PEOPLE GO OFF ON HIM IF THEY WANT TO!!! You trying so hard to victimize him or to victim-blame his family for all his abuse will just make people hate him even more.

[radioves]

its quite shrimple actually

[skitskatdacat63]

Please save me, I'm reading a reddit thread about Seb vs Max(bcs Tost said he thought Seb would win out), and none of these people know how good Seb was in his prime

[bottombaron]

while doing research for another theory I came across a completely mundane detail that I can’t imagine holding any actual significance but at the same time I couldn’t pass up sharing it

so, during the scene that I am calling the Pepsi Challenge, we have this moment:

Nandor gives Guillermo, as he says, a “flat Pepsi”

except Guillermo doesn’t drink Pepsi…

my boy is a Coke-Cola drinker as the lord intended.

normally this isn’t even worth mentioning. maybe the line was ad-libed or read wrong, or it’s just a joke that wasn’t thought about very long and that’s all good! i’m cool with all that. what would this inconsistency even mean in the long run anyway right? how would Nandor even know the difference between Coke and Pepsi???

really what gets me is that in the scene the bottle is set and reset two or more times, almost always keeping the label visible.

now, it’s been a while since i’ve been thru this issue on a set, but my understanding was that no labels could be used without paying a licensing fee. which is why you usually see fake labels on products in tv and film or more likely, they just turn a product at an angle so the label can’t be read and nobody has to pay anything to use it. but here the label is not only clearly visible but it maintains visibility at almost all cuts. which means the bottle was purposefully realigned in order for audiences to see that Guillermo is undoubtably drinking Coke-Cola. wwdits paying a licensing fee for this seems a little odd considering it’s not like Guillermo drinking Coke is important in anyway. it doesn't give significant product-placement either. but then Nandor brings up the flat Pepsi and i’m like ??? and if anyone says that Guillermo drinks both, shut your goddamn mouth and jump in a lake and when you climb out find the nearest convenience store and drink one or both of them because obviously you never had before and have no idea what you’re talking about. the two drinks are notorious for, if one is liked, the person would find the other absolutely disgusting.

also, yes, Guillermo didn’t just have it for show. he actually drunk it.

again, i’m not saying this means anything. i just think it’s interesting. 🤷‍♂️