#saltfics

[saltfics]

If I wrote an AU of the villain AU that's 100% pure whump for whumptober would anyone be interested? Lmao

Just a separate what if storyline where Alex finds out about Henry in a much different way.

[flightfoot]

I saw someone refer to the fics that came out where Chat finds out about Ladybug telling Alya her identity in Gang of Secrets and gets upset about it as "saltfics" and... I guess? You could consider any of the "Adrien finds out that Ladybug lied about how Gabriel died and/or that he's a sentimonster and she didn't tell him and gets upset about it" fics to be saltfics as well, if you're defining saltfics to mean "any fic that criticizes a character's actions." Which WAS what it was taken to mean when it first started being used.

Thing is, when I use it, that's not what I mean? Just to be clear, criticizing and analyzing a character's actions, and even being negative towards them as a result, is generally okay in my book. When I say that I hate saltfics, I'm more talking about Ron the Death Eater stuff.

Like for me, what I have a problem with is more fics that

A. Criticize characters for shit they never did. Like having Alya ostracize Marinette, outright try to bully her, fics that make Adrien tell Marinette not to make a scene even when Lila's clearly maliciously, intentionally hurting Marinette right in front of him (as opposed to that possibly being just collateral damage of a non-malicious lie), stuff that didn't canonically happen, you know?

B. Inflict disproportionate retribution for things the characters did, whether it's canonical or not. A fic may only be criticizing Alya for asking for evidence that Lila's a liar or is at fault for something before jumping to conclusions, but if Marinette's response to that reasonable request is to cut off her friendship and revoke her miraculous, then that's still very salty.

But yeah. The vast majority of "Adrien gets upset with Ladybug for hiding things from him" fics don't qualify as saltfics by my own personal metric, because most of them are only faulting Ladybug for things she actually canonically did, and usually have a pretty proportionate response - especially for season 5 aftermath fics. Lying about to your boyfriend about how his father died, what kind of person he was, and not telling him he's a sentimonster IS fair reason to be angry.

I generally like fics to still have them make up, but I don't like putting those fics on the same level as the "Alya leads the class in beating up Marinette and yelling insults at her while Adrien just ignores her cries for help even while she's being physically hurt" fics, they're on such WILDLY different levels that it's comical.

[glitterpensupremacy]

What she says: “I’m fine.”

What she means: There is a whole subsection of the Miraculous Ladybug fandom who thinks one character having to sit by herself in the back of the class for a single episode (literally gets her seat back by the end) is worse than another character getting abused by his dad for five seasons.

[saltytothecore]

Rating: M

Relationship: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, Fjord/Jester Lavorre

Tags: Whump, POV Second Person, Post-Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Magical Exhaustion, Essek Whump, Temporary Character Death

Summary:  Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast. By simply speaking aloud, you can alter the very foundations of reality in accord with your desires. They find him. They kill him. This is the first wish you make.

[winxanity-ii]

REVELATION'S EDGE

ship: simon x fem!sister!reader warnings: non-explicit word count: 2.8k a/n: Had to dive deep into the emotional turmoil for this one! Simon's story really hits a nerve for me and wholeheartedly believe Daphne should have had consequences for what she did, but I digress. Can't wait to hear what y'all think!.

★·.·´🇧‌🇷‌🇮‌🇩‌🇬‌🇪‌🇷‌🇹‌🇴‌🇳‌ 🇲‌🇦‌🇸‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌🇱‌🇮‌🇸‌🇹‌`·.·★

You've lived in luxury your entire life, born into a world where opulence is as common as the air you breathe. Your family, known for its ancient lineage and vast wealth, has always moved in the highest circles of society.

The grand estate you call home is a testament to generations of prosperity, its sprawling gardens and ornate architecture speaking of a legacy carefully cultivated over centuries.

From the moment of your birth, your life was set against a backdrop of gilded halls and whispered secrets. Your childhood was a tapestry of private tutors, elegant parties, and summers spent in villas overlooking the sea.

Yet, amidst this world of privilege, you always sought something more genuine, something real beyond the facades of high society.

Your father, understanding your thirst for knowledge and your disdain for superficialities, had a special room created just for you.

It was designed to be a haven, a place where you could escape the endless politicking and shallow conversations that dominated the rest of the house.

Now, as you sit in this very room, the memory of its creation still vivid in your mind, you're surrounded by the comfort it provides. It's spacious, with high ceilings and a warm, inviting ambiance. The walls are lined with rows upon rows of bookshelves, each filled with volumes collected throughout your life.

From classic literature to modern tales, every book holds a story of its own, not just within its pages, but in the memories of when and why it was added to your collection. Some were gifts from distant lands, others were discoveries from your own adventures, each one handpicked and cherished.

In the corner of the room, large bay windows stretch from floor to ceiling, framing a picturesque view of the estate's lush gardens.

The windows are designed to capture the day's natural light, casting a soft, serene glow across the room, perfect for reading. Sheer curtains dance gently with the breeze, adding a touch of elegance.

Your rocking chair, an oversized, plush piece, sits in the middle of the room. It's heaped with soft blankets and pillows, creating a nest of comfort. Here, you spend countless hours lost in the worlds within your books, the chair gently swaying to the rhythm of your imagination.

To your left, Kira, your personal maid, is a constant presence. Her Blasian heritage gives her a unique beauty, with reddish-dark auburn hair that cascades in gentle waves down her back. Her light brown eyes are expressive, often reflecting her mood before she even speaks. Her skin is a rich dark brown, sprinkled with freckles that add to her distinctive appearance. Tall and slender, she moves with a grace that belies her underlying strength, and her voice, airy yet slightly scratchy, fills the room with a comforting familiarity.

As she knits you a pair of winter gloves, Kira speaks up, her tone carrying her characteristic brashness mixed with a hint of humor. "You wouldn't believe the latest rumor I heard from the market," she says, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Apparently, Lady Edith was caught in a rather compromising situation with the Duchess of Wohrmans. It seems high society isn't as prim and proper as they pretend to be."

You can't help but chuckle at her comment, appreciating her candidness and the way she always manages to bring a slice of the outside world into your sheltered life.

"Kira, you do realize that half of these rumors are probably just wild tales, right?" you reply, amused.

Kira looks up from her knitting, a sly smile on her face. "Oh, of course. But it's always fun to speculate, isn't it? Besides, it's the only entertainment we get around here, given how these snobby lords and ladies turn their noses up at everything."

Her brash temperament, so carefully controlled yet so openly shared with you behind closed doors, is a refreshing contrast to the often stifling decorum of high society. Her rants about the various characters you both encounter are a source of much-needed levity in your life. But in truth, Kira is more than just a maid; she's a confidant, fiercely loyal, and the only one who hears your true thoughts about the high society you navigate.

The tranquility is shattered when the doors slam open. You look up, startled, to see Simon, your older brother.

Simon's visits are always a highlight for you, especially given the circumstances of your life. Your father's dying wish was that you reside in the family home until you are eligible to wed. At nearly 19 years old, you are yet to experience the onset of your period, a traditional marker of marriage eligibility in your society. This delay has kept you bound to the family estate, a situation made more bearable by Simon's infrequent but cherished visits.

Ten years your senior, you and Simon share the same father but a different mother. The tragic fate that befell your mother during childbirth mirrored the loss Simon experienced with his own mother, creating a unique bond of understanding and shared loss between you two.

As Simon steps into the room, you can't help but feel a surge of excitement, curious about the latest news and gossip from town. The last you heard, he had attended the 1813 social season hosted by Lady Danbury, a significant event in high society. Simon's experiences in these social whirlwinds often provide you with much-needed connection to the outside world and the intrigues of the upper class.

"Simon!" you exclaim, rising from your chair. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. Tell me everything. How was the social season? Any interesting gossip, brother?"

Simon always had a commanding presence, his handsome features often drawing admiring glances. His skin is a deep, rich brown, a perfect complement to his neatly styled black hair. His eyes, usually bright and full of life, are a striking contrast to his dark complexion. But today, those eyes are different. They're dim, lacking their usual spark, and you notice a wetness behind them that others might miss. This ability to read him so well comes from a lifetime of shared experiences and secrets.

The smile on your face drops as you take in his state. His face is stony, but his eyes betray the turmoil within. Quickly, you gesture for Kira to leave, understanding that whatever Simon is about to share requires privacy. As he approaches, you can't help but feel a knot of worry forming in your stomach, bracing yourself for what's to come.

As she exits, Simon shuffles over, his posture a stark contrast to his usual confident stride.

In almost a whisper, laden with concern, you call out, "Simon… are you alright?"

Suddenly, he breaks down, his sobs echoing through the room. Gently, you pull him into an embrace, offering silent support and feeling his body shake with each sob. "It's okay, Simon. I'm here," you whisper, trying to soothe his anguish.

Tears fill your own eyes as you feel your brother's pain. You've never seen him like this, so vulnerable and broken; a mix of protectiveness and sorrow envelopes your heart.

As his sobs subside, you gently lift his face to meet yours. With a soft handkerchief, you carefully wipe away his tears. "Simon, what's wrong? Did something happen? You're scaring me."

Simon looks at you, a storm of emotions playing across his face as his eyes fill with sorrow. "Before I say anything… please promise me you won't do anything rash."

Perplexed but concerned, you slowly nod. "I promise."

He takes a deep breath. "It's… Daphne." he finally admits, his voice a fragile whisper.

"Daphne?" Your heart skips a beat. "What about her?"

Simon looks away in shame. "She… forced me into… into having a child with her."

Your body goes rigid, your mind racing with shock and anger. "Daphne… she… she what?"

"Y/N…" Simon grips your hands, seeking to ground you, his own trembling. "You promised. Please, just listen."

"Promised!?" Your voice rises in disbelief. "How dare you ask for calm when I've just learned that… that she…"

Simon interjects urgently, "Y/N, please…"

"…raped my brother!?" The words are like venom, filled with fury and disbelief.

Simon flinches at the word, a silent plea in his eyes as tries to calm you, but you're incensed. "It's sickening, Simon! She knew you didn't want children. You told her, and she still…"

"Y/N, I know, I know," Simon's voice cracks. "But please, don't do anything… don't make it worse."

You finally quiet down, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "She doesn't deserve you, Simon. She never did."

Through his tears, Simon begs again, "Please, don't do anything rash."

You give a non-committal response, your mind already racing with thoughts of retribution. Your heart aches at his vulnerability, but your anger towards Daphne burns fiercely. "How can she live with herself after doing this to you?"

Simon shakes his head, lost in his own turmoil. "I don't know. I just… I need some time to think."

Realizing he needs comfort more than anything, you soften. "Alright, Simon. Let's just… let's just sit for a while."

You call for Kira, giving her a specific look that she immediately understands. "Bring us the Night's Whisper tea, please."

Kira nods, aware of the tea's purpose. Night's Whisper is a special blend you created for your insomnia, known only to you and Kira. As she leaves to prepare the tea, you turn to Simon, who sits beside you, his frame shaking slightly from the weight of his emotions.

"Simon," you begin softly, your voice barely above a whisper. "It's always been you comforting me… It feels strange, being on this side."

Simon offers a weak smile, a ghost of his usual charm. "Yeah, roles reversed, huh?"

You sit together in silence, the weight of the moment pressing down on you. When Kira returns with the tea, the delicate aroma of Night's Whisper fills the room, offering a brief respite from the heaviness of your conversation.

As you both sip the tea, you gently probe, "Simon, tell me… how did it all start? That night with Daphne?"

He takes a deep breath, his voice a wistful whisper. "It was a normal night, just like any other. We were both getting ready for bed, the house quiet around us…"

Simon's words transport you to that night, his narrative painting a vivid picture. "I remember the coolness of the sheets, the dim light from the hallway spilling into the room. We talked a bit, just mundane things… nothing out of the ordinary…" The story unfolds, each word heavy with regret and betrayal. Simon's normally animated face is now a mask of sorrow. You reach out, placing a comforting hand over his.

The tea works its subtle magic, and Simon's eyelids begin to droop, offering him the peace and safety he so desperately needs. You need more to feel drowsy, but for Simon, it's enough to gently lull him into a peaceful sleep in the comfort of your chair. You sit with him, a silent guardian, as he drifts into a much-needed sleep.

As Simon rests, you sit beside him, a mix of emotions swirling within you. Your mind is set on protecting your brother, no matter the cost. Sitting up, you press a tender kiss on his forehead. Turning to Kira, your voice is firm, "Get my horse ready. I need to go."

As you ride your favorite horse, the wind whips through your unraveling braids, your focus laser-sharp on reaching Simon's home. You care little for the dirt staining your clothes or the disarray of your hair; all that matters is confronting Daphne.

Arriving at the house, you bypass the maid, your steps resolute and swift. Daphne is in the common room, surrounded by her friend, Penelope, and another highborn lady. She's elegantly dressed, her light skin contrasting with her strawberry-blonde hair, styled impeccably. Her face, usually composed and serene, is animated as she speaks of a hopeful pregnancy.

You've only heard of Daphne through gossip and Simon's reluctant admissions of their arrangement. An arrangement that now reveals its ugly truth.

With swift strides, you approach her and, without a word, call her a "harlot," your hand connecting sharply with her cheek. The sound echoes in the room, drawing gasps.

Daphne recoils, her hand flying to her face in shock. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she exclaims, her voice a mixture of anger and confusion.

"You know exactly why I'm here, Daphne," you say coldly, your voice laced with barely contained rage.

Her confusion deepens. "I have no idea what you're talking about. How dare you assault me in my own home?"

"You've done far worse in this very house," you retort sharply. "What you did to Simon…"

Daphne's expression shifts as realization dawns. "Oh, this is about Simon?" she says with a sneer. "He lied to me. He said he couldn't have children."

You can't believe what you're hearing. "He never said he couldn't. He said he wouldn't. There's a difference, Daphne. Still, a misunderstanding on your part doesn't justify what you did."

Her defiance is palpable. "I did what was right. He needed to continue his lineage. It's what anyone in our position would do."

"Please! Don't lump me with the likes of you!" You hiss out in distaste, your anger boiling over. "You had no right to take advantage of him! If you were confused, you should have talked to him, not… not violate his trust and his body!"

Penelope and the other woman watch in stunned silence, the tension in the room thick enough to cut with a knife.

"You're twisting the situation," Daphne argues, attempting to regain her composure. "Simon is my husband. It's my duty to—"

"Duty?" you cut her off, stepping closer, towering over her. "Your duty doesn't include rape, Daphne."

She tries to meet your gaze, but there's a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. "R-Rape? You're overreacting. It's not like...not like—"

"Not like what?" you snap, grabbing her chin firmly, forcing her to look into your eyes. "Not like betrayal? Not like a violation of the deepest kind?"

Daphne's eyes widen as she gazes into yours, and for a moment, she sees Simon in you—the same eyes, the same intensity. The resemblance is uncanny, and it shakes her, the reality of her actions hitting her.

"Stay away from my brother," you command, your voice low and dangerous. "I'm serious, Daphne. If you ever try to come near him, or even attempt to justify your heinous crime one more time, you'll have to deal with me. And to the gods above, that's a threat you don't want to test."

Releasing Daphne's chin, you straighten up, your gaze sharp and unyielding. The room, once filled with the light-hearted chatter of high society, is now heavy with the weight of unsaid truths and unveiled secrets.

Daphne sits there, her face a mix of shock and realization, finally understanding the depth of her transgressions.

You quickly smooth out your dress, restoring some semblance of poise to your disheveled appearance.

Turning towards the other women in the room, you lock eyes with Penelope Featherington, her face a picture of shock and fascination. Beside her sits Lady Clarissa, a minor yet prominent figure in your social circle, known for her penchant for gossip and extravagant hats.

With a flourish of mock politeness, you offer them a sweet, yet blatantly sarcastic smile. "Ladies," you say, your voice laced with faux cheerfulness, echoing with underlying scorn.

Executing a curtsey with exaggerated grace, the irony of the gesture hangs heavy in the air.

Penelope, the voice behind Lady Whistledown, seems at a loss for words, her usual knack for capturing society's secrets momentarily stilled. Lady Clarissa, on the other hand, looks utterly bewildered, her eyes darting between you and Daphne, trying to grasp the full scope of the scandal unfolding before her.

Straightening up, you hold their stunned gazes for a moment, letting the impact of your actions resonate. Then, without another word, you turn on your heel and stride out of the room. Each step is measured and deliberate, echoing with the resolve of someone who has just fiercely defended a loved one.

As you leave, the room remains in stunned silence, the ladies left to ponder the events that just unfolded. Your heart is heavy with the burden of what you had to do, but it's buoyed by the knowledge that you've done what was necessary to protect Simon.

The walls of the grand house seem to close in on you as you make your way out, the echoes of high society's hollow pretenses fading behind you.

A/N: lololo i hope you guys enjoyed, my bby simon deserved more frfr 🥹❤️❤️

[flowerchildasriel]

something I love to see is like. How fandoms treat villains differently and I think you can really see it in miraculous ladybug and the villains of Lila vs Hawkmoth

(cw HP) like it’s analogous to Harry Potter and how the fandom treats the villains of Umbridge and Voldemort. I’ve seen others say that Voldemort is such a far away and cartoony evil that it’s hard to relate to and feel threatened by… but Umbridge? She is every single teacher that hurt us, the uncaring and actively malicious authority figure in our school or work life, and the bigotry in the education system and legal system given a face. So she represents a much more close evil than the end of book villain, which is why fandom fixates on her and projects everything on here

And that’s what I think is happening with Lila in salt fics. Why she’s so demonized in comparison to Hawkmoth in those fics. (This is not to relate it to the canon because the canon isn’t supposed to be projection fuel) but really, most of us aren’t haunted by a distant evil man in a tower, we’re just not going to relate to that part. But most people have had that middle school bully who seemed to have it out for us. We’ve had friends with lying sides who made rumors about us or hurt us with fake sweet words, and Lila is just a stand in for everyone that did those things. We can project all of our anger and hurt on her, making her a demon because that’s how we felt about our bullies. And genuinely, no one really got justice or closure. Zero tolerance policy hurt the bullied kids just as much as the bullies, if not more in how it never really put a stop to bullying.

Maybe that’s why Lila can be so over the top in fics, her comeuppance so grand, and Marinette so willing and able to cut ties with toxic friendships. It’s wish fulfillment. We wish our bullies got what was coming to them, we wish we were able to walk away from things that we once loved but now was hurting us.

Idk, I just love it.

[dizzying-faust]

*Sees an ml crossover*

🙂

*OP is a salter*

😑

*Sighs and blocks*

[princess-of-the-corner]

After cyberstalking Marinette, Lila learns how close she is to Chat Noir. And she's known about Adrien's fanboy crush on Ladybug for ages. As Adrienette gets together, Lila hatches a plan to drive a wedge between them and, if she's lucky, get one or both of them akumatized. Manipulating rumors through their classmates so neither suspects her involvement, she manages to convince Marinette that Adrien is only with her because he thinks she's Ladybug, and make Adrien believe she's only with him because she thinks he's Chat Noir. Fortunately Lila has no idea how close to home she's hitting and would never in a million years believe either of them is capable of being Paris' beloved heroic duo. And much to her frustration this ploy only seems to bring them closer together. But now we have Adrienette both interacting under the assumption the other has figured out their identity without actually admitting anything out loud. Both of them are much more relaxed around each other and keep making jokes or references, including in Marichat or Ladrien moments, that should be tipping them off if they were paying attention. Tikki and Plagg are making bets about who will accidentally make a reveal happen first, and both are surprised about how long it's taking their oblivious kids.

They're morons I love them

[plumsaffron]

The ML Crossover Methfics seriously are a whole different breed of insanity. Lmfao gotta love that insult of yours.

For people who claim to be Marinette stans they sure wrote a tonne of nonsensical fics making her out to be an abuse victim. A “poor me” or “woe is me” story.

I don’t really like Lila but I honestly hate the ML salt community even more. Especially what happened to that poor Lila fan… I mean she’s just a fictional character, they didn’t have to be that explosive about her. Miracucunts really do ruin everything they touch… and unable to see themselves for what they’ve done on the online spaces. Absolutely disgusting that they’d hate on an emotionally abused victim using the excuse that he wasn’t physically abused and that he’s just a spoiled rich white boy.

Yea, the DP phandom is usually chill even after I stopped following their users and tags to this day. For a mediocre show, they surprisingly came out with a civilized community. Even with the Sam Manson critique to hatred, I don’t see these people harassing anyone who likes her. It’s the Stans that sometimes do it despite the evidence showing that Sam is better off with someone else similar to her. Even with several crossover fics, they’re still quite bearable and civilized. Because some people actually did their fucking research. Or even if they didn’t do much in-depth research, their “OOC” fics are sometimes more “in character” than the ML saltfics.

Though I totally understand why some people are anti-crossover fanfic thanks to the miracubitches and other fandom twats ruining things with extreme character hate and assassinations.

This is my assumption but I think the TVTropes staff and their fans are lowkey control freaks not just oversensitive idiots. Maybe that’s why my scathing review was a “little too cruel” for their liking on the rated E franchise. Maybe only long time active users on their side are allowed to edit and add content. Yet mature dark canon stuff is allowed to stay on their site while opposing actual harmless criticism, opinions and reviews are silenced. Or users being suspended… I clicked on anti TVTropes here and saw a decade old post saying that the site doesn’t allow people to have different opinions. And I thought to myself, “Damn, I shouldn’t have signed up back then, should’ve listened to other people’s experiences on that wasted potential site.”

AO3 is literally the few places where you can get away with a controversial but still harmless opinion in your profile and fic notes/summary. And the chances of being dogpiled are very low but never zero if your work is inspired by a “controversial” person who did say something many years ago and/or didn’t handle a touchy subject matter that well in their works. But now ppl are bringing it up even though that “controversial” person isn’t really bad just had different views back then due to their upbringing or smth. Or the fic just seen as very disturbing despite the warning labels.

heh heh thanks.

Yeah lotta Marinette Dupain Cheng stans making or drinking them fics are oxymorons.

I don’t mind you not liking Lila but yeah the Miraculous Ladysalt community is deplorable (and a better thing to hate), along with their death driving charade. Still, despite that demise of that fan of hers, it just wasn’t enough to make them rethink how far they've gone.

Plaguedom’s plaguing dementality flourishes and there’s pretty much nothing that can be done to stop it. So many unfortunately may blindy eat their tumors, while next to none are there to warn them to not consume the plaque.

Ah these miracushits don’t know that his life sucks. Heck even in Miraculous Rise Of The Sphinx game, Max Kante told him exactly how little time he has during the day commonly. These miraculous roaches love jigsawing what happens to fit things into their own unfittable puzzle they believe fits now. They don’t know that that’s Gabriel’s money? Any decision he makes is if his father allows it or if it follows his father’s interests. Otherwise it’s gonna be a no or his father will find a way to make Adrien feel bad about it. They don’t know that he determines and pretty much controls his future or fate (yeah yeah currently it’s Nathalie, his other fugly controller now, but whatever).

How do these fools jump into the conclusion of reducing him to he’s spoiled rich white boy? Perhaps I should say, why do they do this to him and why are they like this to Adrien? Dude ain’t even someone to be truly or really triggered upon. Adrien, despite his sucky, and still currently sucky life, he’s not spoiled. And even if he was spoiled, why is that treated as an awful thing? Heck I’m still pretty spoiled. Is this really the best they can come up with? This the best Miracucks can do to someone that’s pretty much good to others and not a problem causers or not a person seeking to be in a realm of ramifications of future conflicts? Like hello, he is made to do a lot of crap he doesn’t like, and to be next to flawless. He doesn’t like being trapped in the mansion, he likes hanging out with his friends. Sigh miracuscabs always gotta find a way to reduce and arrange anything for putdown purposes to leech over. Man… I just searched him earlier on here and one of the results on the feed was a salt prompt for Adrien blog. *Sighs*

MMM research, ML Salt fics usually never never never never never

Yep and Miracubitches and them other fandung beetles like ruination while also not just harboring legendary levels of character loathing and assassinating, these buttwipes mastered the art of sniping their own character without even knowing.

Yeah it’s possible and unfortunate of them TVTropes Staff Members and their purposeful pathetic pickiness. Sometimes searching "anti something," can show something unordinary or a different perspective compared to the masses (or casuals that might be lucky). Maybe showing that you aren’t completely alone with such experiences or feelings of stuff. You live and learn.

Well at least A03 is safe sort of for now. But that is disgusting when people use someone’s past takes and rally up some virus to attack one in the present because they can’t handle it or maybe the current time in society sees this thing in the past as unacceptable. Or they just want to. It’s just sigh. Finding worth to cause problems on what was never worth it to begin with because ignoring is inconceivable.

Like ugh… Imagine someone calls a person a scrub 5 years ago in a story or whatever. Then someone 5 years later took offense and felt personally attacked cause of that word cause they see it as an offense to their self or their gender or whatever group of collective gender or whatever. And so the triggered one condemns this person that said scrub from the past and ganders a cult of clowns using the past against the present. Context don’t matter, the triggered ones feel victimized while ironically going out their way to victimize the one of the present. All cause they were offended so badly over a minor inconvenience. Bonus, these scabies treat who they attack as if that was always who they are or were or will be.

[ilikekidsshows]

I'm just so annoyed that one can't even voice their frustrations with Canon anymore without being written off as a salter. Especially when it comes to Marinette. But at the same time, I know exactly that if anyone had said earlier that Marinette would pull all these things that season 4 and 5 have her do, the person would have been insulted and ripped apart as a salter and hater. But the moment Canon has Marinette actually DO it her fans turn around and claim that her having done it is either totally fine, not her fault, or must be tolerated cause it's part of the good and pure messages "they totally predicted this way all along with their totally unbiased Master-minds"

It is so obvious that this is what's happening in the Fandom. In season 4, everyone yelled that people are being too harsh on poor Marinette cause season 5 will totally have her fix for example her insanely negligent, dehumanizing, and self centered behavior towards Cat Noir

And yet, the moment season 5 showed that non of that will happen, they turn around and started talking about these hypocritical nonsense philosophies that it's totally fine that feeling sorry, taking accountability and improving one's shortcomings doesn't actually include feeling sorry, taking accountability and improving one's real shortcomings, cause poor Marinette needs to have servants and be pampered for her hurtful behavior, validated and excused in it, and crowned the queen of the world first and "you just hate WOMEN wah wah wah".

That they totally understand how canon works and Marinette will TOTALLY have this groundbreaking journey til season 10, and everyone is so unfair and horrible for being sexist and having expected so much of her as early as THE END OF SEASON 5. Whne she straight up isn't doing her best to make up for her mistakes, she barely even tries and instead sweeps everything under the rug, takes every excuse she gets and continues taking advantage of Cat Noir in particular so she doesn't have to feel uncomfortable for 10 damn seconds

Where was that energy in season 4, Marinette stans? You said something entirely else back then! What changed? The fact that canon didn't deliver on your endless excuses for Marinette, so you decided to continue adapting your excuses to whatever Canon has her do? Sounds about right.

I wished Marinette stans and even just her Fans would do us all a solid and just admit already that the morality of Marinette's canon actions and behavior doesn't truly matter to them. There is literally nothing they wouldn't excuse that much is obvious by now. No matter how much they themselves qualified her current behavior as "offensive salt" one damn season earlier.

---

I did comment at one point that Miraculous was starting to resemble a saltfic when it started lifting plotpoints straight from them (like Adrien apologizing for his really solid advice that instantly helped Marinette in Chameleon). But now it seems that canon has also lifted Marinette's new role from saltfics, except that the people she disregards haven't done any of the stuff they do in saltfics that makes them “deserve” Marinette's retribution. Unless Adrien totally did rip Marinette's sketchbook and I just missed it.

But, yeah, it's absolutely ridiculous that, if we traveled back in time a couple of years and simply described to people what happens in seasons 4 and 5, we’d get labeled a bunch of salters. Even now they call us salters just because we don't praise Marinette for doing this stuff, like it's our fault the main heroine of this series is an utter failure who never worked up the courage to ask the guy she likes out and whose response to being told her nemesis’ identity was to ignore it until he jumped her when she was digging for info on her boyfriend. And then she lost the fight. Marinette had two jobs as a protagonist, and she failed at them both. That’s not the fault of the fans who are disappointed by this; it’s the fault of the writers who think doing what will get them the most attention is more important than having their supposed role model, hero and protagonist actually accomplish anything on her own merit.

Because the writers claim that they had this “planned all along”, when they had a French historical hero walk on screen and call Marinette the best Ladybug ever, while they were planning on having her fail at accomplishing all of her goals. I used to think that the writers think Marinette should be praised for simply existing, but no, they think she should be praised for explicitly failing. And pointing out this utter failure of writing and heroism is salt. That's how low the fans of this trainwreck have brought the bar for what they consider good television, it's practically nonexistent.

[flightfoot]

For the record, I still think Alya telling Nino that she was still working with Ladybug in Rocketear, but just undercover, was something she had the right to do. Whether it was wise is debatable, given that Nino's not the best at keeping secrets, but that was primarily Alya's secret, and it was Alya and her family who would be in the most danger if it got out.

I was kind of happy when it happened, actually, because it showed that while Marinette mattered a lot to her, Alya DID have other priorities, other relationships she was balancing, and would make decisions for herself instead of just blindly following orders. I like it when Alya gets to be her own person, to take action based off of her own principles and convictions.

[miraculous-magicalconnections]

My biggest pet peeves in the Miraculous fandom

For the record this isn't directed at anyone or anything in particular, just things I dislike that I've seen over the years in the fandom

When people use "Noir" instead of "Noire" when referring to Lady Noire or Kitty Noire

People not using the accented "e" for Chloé, Félix, Zoé, and Mylène (Also for Alya and Max's last names Césaire and Kanté)

When people don't use the proper naming conventions for Kim's full name, it's Lê Chiến Kim not anything else (I know in the English dub his name was changed but that's stupid)

Calling him "Cat" Noir instead of "Chat" Noir (His name is French and changing it to English feels weird)

When people claim Marinette isn't a bad person when she's committed ACTUAL crimes throughout the show (Theft, abuse of power, stalking, and invasion of privacy)

People spelling Nathalie and Nadja's name wrong

The super random hatred for Mylène?? (I've never seen a single valid reason for people's dislike of her)

Adrien bashing, specifically whenever he does something irrational and people insult him (He didn't have a proper childhood, of course he won't always react "correctly" in certain situations)

The Kagami/Luka bashing (specifically when they were first introduced because they "ruined" Adrienette)

People getting mad at Saltfics for bashing characters even though... they clicked on it (Seriously, if you don't like bashing why do you read them?)

[saltytothecore]

Rating: M

Relationship: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast

Tags: POV Outsider, Possessive Essek Thelyss, Protective Essek Thelyss, Character Study, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Whump Near Miss, Neutral Evil Essek Thelyss, He's better but he's not Good

Summary:  

Power Word Kill: You utter a word of power that can compel one creature you can see within range to die instantly. Beau knows Essek can be ruthless, and she knows he loves Caleb. The point where these facts meet still manages to surprise her, and she never has been able to let anything lie.

[royal-ruin]

red, white, and royal blue fanfic rec (part 3)

other rwrb fic recs here personal favorites are starred, by the way. everything is complete unless stated otherwise.

the too much that you aren't by DemonPoxHerondale (~2k)

Henry has always been an introvert. High energy situations can get overwhelming, and as much as he loves his boyfriend, it's impossible to deny that he's high energy. Back when they were sneaking around to see each other, the short bursts of interaction meant that they never really clashed. But now that they're living together, well, it's another story.

as an introvert, i get it

champagne problems by alec_rhee (~3k)

Henry’s eyes are otherwise occupied as he closes them, planting a kiss to Alex’s head, but Alex sees Benjamin’s eyes move to Henry’s lap. Where they stay for at least five seconds.  Alex knows; he’s counted. “Look, Benjamin,” Alex begins. “I know we just met but if you look at my man like that one more time I will not hesitate to punch you in your fucking face.” “Alex!” Henry yelps, withdrawing his lips from Alex’s curls. “What on God’s earth are you doing?” “Look,” He says again, his attention still focused on Benjamin. “He’s damn gorgeous. I don’t blame you for looking. I truly don’t, but he’s taken. Happily.” OR Jealous!Alex

jealous/protective alex made my entire day

don't go where i can't follow by coffeecatsme (~4k

Henry turns away, hair silvery under the moonlight. He doesn’t even bother to look at Alex, and something like anger flashes in Alex’s gut when he sees him reach for his backpack, like it’s that easy to abandon Alex, like Alex didn’t bare his heart to him just a day ago. “You could’ve fucking said goodbye,” he whispers before he can think about it; his voice is quiet through the knot in his throat, yet it echoes in the room like a gunshot, stopping Henry in his tracks. Alex wakes up at the lakehouse before Henry leaves.

angsty, but i swear it gets better

in violent symphonies by saltfics (~16k) part 2 of a series (doesn't need to be read)

“So that’ll be a fun surprise. Any chance your brother’s friends are actually… you know… any fun?” Henry halts to a stop halfway out the door, his mind screeching like a shaken record. He can feel the pull of his memory towards things he doesn’t want to think of, feels the heavy weight of it as he forces himself to focus on something else, fast so he won't acknowledge towards which twice locked door his thoughts are wandering.  Sequel to In White (but could potentially be read without it).  When Henry and Alex return to England for the christening of the new baby prince, Henry finds out his nephew's new godfather might be a terribly familiar face.  Sometimes it doesn't matter how deep you lock away a memory if it insists on showing up at your door. (But maybe you can ask for help to keep it out.)

i love henry angst :)

those markings on your skin by saltfics (~62k) incomplete

Originally a collection of one-shots based on Tumblr Prompts, but now a series of interconnected prompt-based chapters regarding a series of assassination attempts towards HRH Prince Henry, and the effect on their relationships with each other that comes with it, featuring most of the main cast. (Plus a few standalones in between).

fair warning, i haven't read it all, so i don't know everything it contains. please beware of the tags.

Home Safe by HMS_Chill (~2k)

Alex is out later than normal, and Henry is left home to worry.

as you can see, after i read God Save the Blessed American President Mom by zipadeea i got just a little obsessed. no mcd here though.

*lifelines by indomitablelove (~27k

Shaan is told by a woman from the press office. Zahra is asleep when he calls her. She calls Ellen. Liam is in the library. Oscar finds out from Twitter. Catherine hears it from her equerry when she gets the morning papers. It's Leo who tells June. --- or, the emails. From everyone else's point of view.

Lockdown by bibliosoph (~4k)

Alex and Henry have a fight before Henry leaves to go to England for a bit. While in England, there is an attempted assassination and Alex loses his mind because he can't get in touch with anyone and he left things with Henry up in the air.

don't worry, there's no mcd, just alex angst.

*Soon You'll Get Better (Because You Have To) by wafflesandkruge  (~4k)

Two nights after the shooting, Henry receives an email with a pre-recorded video from Alex. He gets one every night, and although it breaks his heart to see Alex happy and alive, he's terrified of when they'll stop coming.

i wasn't lying when i said i was obsessed. no mcd.

[pythagoras180]

Canon is Better than Scarlet Lady

I while ago I read a post where someone said that they don't like fanfiction because "Why would you take someone else's story and butcher it?" When I read that, I thought "Isn't that harsh? Most fanfics are made out of people's love for the source material." Well, I think the Scarlet Lady AU by Zoe-Oneesama is exactly the kind of fic this person was imagining when they said that. "Scarlet Lady" is a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic/saltfic/fixfic that fundamentally misses the point of pretty much every character and major plot point in it. And since it recently ended, it's time for my comprehensive review of it.

Just a few things before we begin. I'm going to assume that everyone reading this has read "Scarlet Lady", so I'm not going to recap the story. I was originally planning to write this on the day of the last page, but the final page was honestly such a nothing burger that I thought it wasn't the final page initially.

Some people may have a problem with the very concept of this review, saying its not fair for me to criticize a non-professional fanfic with this much scrutiny. I think that's an opinion Zoe herself holds. First, I think nothing is above criticism, especially not something that is claiming to be better than the professional product. People didn't hold back against "Spiderman: Lotus", did they? Even within this fanbase, people had some pretty harsh words for "Karma of Lies". Second, I think any discussion of non-professionalism went out the window the moment Zoe stated her intention to sell hardcopies of "Scarlet Lady". This arguably is professional. Third, I wouldn't be making this review if I this was a fanfic made out of genuine love and passion, and simply missed the mark. No, "Scarlet Lady" is in fact created out of nothing but spite and contempt, and I feel that makes it pretty fair game for criticism. So, without further ado, let's begin.

Why is Canon Better than Scarlet Lady?

In "Scarlet Lady", Emilie Agreste was woken up with no consequences, no buildup, no emotion, and no meaningful consequences. In canon, Emilie's loss was accepted by the characters and she died. I'm pretty sure that automatically makes canon better than "Scarlet Lady", so you don't even need to read the rest of this review! In all seriousness, this is genuinely some of the worst writing I have ever seen, and it is what made me decide that "Scarlet Lady" was a bad story, so I decided to just mention it on its own.

To be clear, I think Miraculous Ladybug is a poorly written show. "Scarlet Lady" is just worse. And since I used to enjoy Miraculous Ladybug, I'm in a good position to compare the two. When I read the ending of Scarlet Lady, what I though about canon was

I think that writing the middle part of a story is relatively easy. The audience is already hooked from the beginning, and they are intrigued for what might happen, so they'll keep reading even if not everything is great. I think the beginning and ending is the hard part. "Scarlet Lady" didn't have to worry about the beginning and getting people interested because it's piggybacking off of an already successful show. And since the ending of "Scarlet Lady" was so awful, it's clear to me that it was always badly written.

I'll now be analyzing "Scarlet Lady" in terms of its tone, its various characters, and more.

Tone

Every single potentially powerful moment in "Scarlet Lady" is played off as a joke. This may be in part because of the format, with it being released 8 panels at a time, so the audience has to be given something to be entertained by in every page. The thing is, I don't think that's true. I have seen plenty of webcomics where a situation is spread across multiple pages, and the audience doesn't instantly lose interest when one page is for setup purposes.

The consequence of this unserious tone is that the entire story is an emotional flatline. There's no moments that make you sad, no moments that make you happy, nothing that makes you scared or invested. Nothing feels like anything, because everything is a joke.

The season 2 finale of canon is actually really good, it feels like a real challenge with both sides giving it their all. In SL however, the same battle feels about as challenging as a stroll through the park.

I've seen a lot of comedies, and most of them still have a strong emotional core that isn't made into a joke at every turn. So arguing that SL is a comedy doesn't really help.

The problems with this unserious tone run deep, and you will see that as I explore the various characters.

Characters

I don't even like most of the characters in ML, but I could see the absolute downgrade they are in SL.

In general, I just wanted to say this: almost every character in this story is a sarcastic smartass. This makes them rather monotonous and uninteresting. Also very generic considering how common this archetype is these days.

Wait a second. Every serious moment is undermined by a joke, and all the characters are sarcastic smartasses. Was Zoe secretly an MCU writer this entire time?!

Chloé

I figure we should start with the titular Scarlet Lady. I actually think that the idea of a superhero duo where one of them is extremely lazy and unhelpful, but still necessary, is an extremely interesting idea for a dynamic. The problem is, there is no dynamic. Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir have no relationship, they just talk at each other constantly. And the result of this is that basically every interaction is the same: Scar does something selfish, Chat gets mad, rinse and repeat. It could have been interesting to explore different scenarios and ideas with these two, but no they just do the same thing over and over.

There is a pretty big plot hole here once Marigold is introduced. Why don't the heroes just take the Ladybug Miraculous back? It would be rather easy. Well, the explanation is that since Scar is still popular with the public, its best to keep her around for public cooperation and morale. Okay, I can accept that. Except, only a few episodes after this explanation we get "Zombizou", an episode where Scar straight up attacks Marinette in the middle of a battle, which causes Chat to get infected and them to very nearly lose. After that, there is no excuse anymore. Scar is clearly too dangerous to keep around, take her Miraculous now. But no, they actually don't even talk about what happened at all.

One particular episode where I have a problem with how Chloé is treated by the writer is "Silencer". In this episode, Chloé helps Bob Roth and XY with their plagiarism scheme. In canon, she had nothing to do with that. Now, yes, this is a different story and the writer can do whatever she wants. And this also gets Chloé more involved in the story. However, doing this just gives me a feeling that Zoe is blaming Chloé for something she didn't do. I don't know, it's just a vibe.

Anyway, throughout the story Chloé gets worse and worse until it culminates in her working with Hawk Moth and betraying everyone. And what are her consequences for this?

I mean, except for her father making her apologize (offscreen). So ultimately this plot feels like such a letdown. Chloé is the titular character that this fic's whole concept was started by, and yet it ends with her character just fading away with a whimper. What a letdown.

Marinette

This one will be quick. Zoe says that Marinette is her favorite character in ML, but I don't think she understands her at all. Remember what I said about every character being a sarcastic smartass? Well that is most prevalent with Marinette, and that is just fundamentally not who she is as a character. Marinette is someone whose is unabashed in her kindness and compassion. That's why plenty of people like her. If Marinette was in canon like she was in SL, she would be an extremely generic protagonist with almost no fans at all. The only reason anyone likes her in SL is because they relate her to the canon version.

I will say, I do like the idea of her being such a hero at heart that she'll run into danger even without powers. But this is completely diminished by her basically being invincible and having plot armor in her civilian form.

Adrien

Adrien in canon is one of my least favorite characters of all time. And yet, Adrien in SL is even worse. I'd go as far to say he's an anti-character. He has no growth, no arc, and no real personality.

The reason people like Adrien in canon is because they perceive him as someone who is treated very badly by his father and by others, but is still a kind person regardless. Well, in SL it's hard to perceive any poor treatment considering how he's only ever seen disobeying his father. And he's really never done anything kind throughout the entire comic.

Do you know the only reason people like Adrien in SL? Because they see him as who they wanted canon Adrien to become. Someone who can stand up to his father, who is useful in battle, and who doesn't put up with Chloé. But since SL Adrien was that way the entire time, there is no growth at all. Again he piggybacks off of his canon counterpart. If canon Adrien didn't exist, nobody would give a single crap about SL Adrien. None of the traits people liked about him in canon are present, and there is nothing new added to replace it. He is nothing.

Speaking of Adrien and Chloé, isn't it kind of weird that Adrien ended his friendship with her twice? In "Despair Bear" he ends his friendship with her and this is played as a big moment, even though he already basically ended their friendship all the way back in the pilot. There is not a single moment in the entire comic where Adrien treats Chloé like a friend.

As I mentioned earlier, Adrien has no emotional reaction to his mother coming back. In fact, I think it's fair to say that Adrien never loved his parents. And the reason for this is because Zoe hates his parents and she just imposed her feelings onto him, just like most bad fanfic writers do.

In terms of Adrien having no arc, there is one moment I wanted to talk about. During the final battle, he gets a power upgrade when he's talking about how he doesn't understand Hawk Moth's perspective, and he doesn't want to because Hawk Moth is so awful. This moment is played as if it's character growth for Adrien, but I want to ask, in what way? Well, I guess it does make sense because Adrien always gave his father the benefit of the doubt, stuck by Chloé even though she's cruel, and defended Lila. All those things could be considered him trying to understand a bad person. Too bad that none of that happened in SL. Adrien always hated his father, he ended his friendship with Chloé day 1, and he never defended Lila. Zoe was so focused on removing all of Adrien's flaws that she left him with no starting point for this supposed arc. In general, flawed characters are more interesting than perfect ones. Again, the only reason people liked this scene was because they subconsciously associated SL Adrien with canon.

Also, Zoé adds in her headcanon that Emilie was a bad parent. This headcanon only exists because people are incapable of imagining Adrien being anything other than a victim. I call it my "Perpetual Victim Theory". Anyway Zoé just makes up a bunch of random crap that has no basis in canon just to make Adrien more of a victim.

Gabriel

At first, "Scarlet Lady" looks like a Chloé saltfic. Well, that's only partially true. It's actually mainly a Gabriel saltfic. It honestly seems like Zoe hates Gabriel so much that she can barely think when he's involved. Gabriel is always portrayed as a complete moron with absolutely no humanity at all. He honestly seems more like a caricature in a political cartoon rather than an actual character. I actually find it hard to believe that his motivation is to bring back his wife considering how devoid of human emotion he is. Because the main villain of the series is a buffoon who can't be taken seriously, there is never any actual threat or tension. People criticize canon Gabriel for all his bad decisions, which is absolutely fair, but there are at least a few moments where he is genuinely menacing, and some moments where he is human. But writing him that way would require Zoe to let go of her hatred for a few minutes, so that's clearly not an option.

Nathalie

To put it simply Nathalie is a Mary Sue. She's a "girlboss" that does a bunch of horrible things she's not punished for. She can create a sentimonster to solve all the show's problems, she can decode an ancient book without a reference (Some people have defended this by claiming that the book was decoded IRL. IRL it was written in Engish in a different alphabet. That's not true in-universe). She's so much smarter and cooler than everyone else. Mary Sue, plain and simple. Oh, and she hates Gabriel because of course she does. She's a character written by Zoe after all.

In canon, Nathalie has some complexities. She's not great, but she's certainly better than this.

The Male Classmates

I'm just going to say it. Almost every male classmate was character assassinated in "Party Crasher". In canon, Nino lists his female friends to Gorilla and tells him to not let them in the mansion. This is because he assumes that if they find out that they ditched tree planting, they'll stop the boys from hanging out with Adrien. Is it a jerk move to ditch their plans in order to spend time with Adrien and not tell the girls? Yes, but it's understandable and they have limited time with Adrien. In SL, Nino tells Gorilla to keep all girls out of the house, which instantly imposes a sense of underlying misogyny to the situation. Oh, and they let Marc in even though Marc is nonbinary in this story, which implies that the boys went full Royce Du Pont, which is unintentionally hilarious.

I have no idea what motivated Zoe to change the boys from regular flakers to misogynists, maybe she just misunderstood the original episode, but it's still bad. Also, the SL episode goes out of its way to say that Adrien isn't at fault. No, he was completely complicit in the blatant sexism as well. So yeah, pretty much all the boys are instantly made worse by this one episode.

Zoé

In these previous cases, I have been making comparisons to and defending canon characters that I don't even like anymore. But Zoé Lee is my absolute favorite character in Miraculous Ladybug, and I was not happy with how SL handled her.

So a pretty important question right off the bat, how does SL Zoé exist? Zoe said that since canon didn't explain Zoé's existence, neither will she. But the thing is, what is there to explain? Chloé's parents have been married 20 years. Chloé's mother lives in New York, away from her family in Paris. Chloé's mother also has a daughter in New York with another man, much younger than 20-years-old. I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what happened there. But I'll spell it out anyway: extramarital affair. In fact, I think the whole reason the writers of canon made Zoé Chloé's half-sister was to hint why she hadn't been mentioned before: because Audrey was ashamed of her, and Chloé didn't know abut her.

On the other hand, "Scarlet Lady" never mentions Zoé's father, has her refer to Andre as her parent, says Zoé lived in New York, and never implies that Audrey is ashamed of her in any way. How does this make sense? Well, maybe Zoé is the older sibling in SL, and Audrey and Andre met and got married after Audrey was already pregnant, and Zoé's biological father isn't involved in her life. It still seems weird that Zoé was living in New York instead of Paris (why not live with her stepdad that she's close enough to call a parent, and how did they form such a strong relationship long distance?), but this does make most of the situation make sense. Except for one little detail: Why on Earth are Chloé and Zoé only now meeting for the first time? It makes absolutely no sense that their parents would not even tell these two about each other. How was Zoé so close to Andre to call him her parent, but didn't meet her sister until she was a teenager? None of this adds up. And honestly, it seems like after a certain period of time Zoe just straight up forgot that Zoé only arrived recently. In the therapy scenes, she acts like they were always one family. When canon gave Chloé a sister, they gave a reason why nobody knew about her until now. When SL gave Chloé a sister, she just suddenly has one who isn't explained and they act like she was always around. In fact, the only part where they acknowledge her showing up suddenly is when Adrien hasn't heard of her, but SL actually just implies that this is because he was never actually close with Chloé.

Putting all that aside, SL also sucks out everything interesting about Zoé. Gone is her cleverness or willingness to lie for the right reason. In fact, the defining characteristic that SL gives Zoé is that she has no personality. I've seen some people claim that SL had Chloé and Zoé having more of a sisterly bond, but I actually don't believe that Zoé actually loves Chloé. During the final battle, Hawk Moth has basically poisoned Chloé, and for all Zoé knows, it could be fatal. If I were in Zoé's shoes in this situation, I would be furious with Gabriel. But is she? No, she just has the same jokey, ironic disgust towards him that all the characters do. Yeah, this is one of the moments when the comic's insistence to turn everything into a joke hit critical mass. Doing that ends up damaging the characters.

One last thing. In canon, Zoé was pretty cool as Vesperia. She helped out a bunch of times, and she was one of the only heroes to demonstrate unique skills in how she taunted Queen Banana into anger. Not in SL though. Vesperia achieves nothing, she could have been cut out entirely and nothing would change. That actually transitions nicely into my next point.

Because Canon Did It Too

Zoe has said that she wants to keep the lore consistent with the show. Even though she didn't like the name "Venom" for that power, she kept it for consistency purposes. I can respect this idea, but there are multiple parts of this story that would have just been better if it diverged.

For one thing, having 19 Miraculouses and as many superpowered characters. I can understand why canon did this: because they clearly want the show to go on forever and they want as many characters as possible to fill that time. SL on the other hand was only planned to last a certain number of episodes, and yet Zoe crammed in as many heroes as the original did. This leads to a lot of time setting up these characters that leads to nothing, because they're all barely in the finale and contribute basically nothing. It would have been so much better to simply limit it to the 7 main Miraculouses, that's so much more manageable.

Another thing is the Rabbit Miraculous and time travel. Zoe acknowledged how OP it is and how it can instantly solve the conflict. She might not want to change its power because of her lore rule, but if she had just ignored its existence entirely, that would have been totally acceptable. But no, the final battle has Master Fu using the Rabbit Miraculous, which instantly makes the stakes even lower than they already were. It wasn't even necessary, Master Fu is shown to be faster than he looks, he could have just delivered the Miraculouses the normal way. Oh, and there's also the fact that Zoe looked at the insanely OP Rabbit Miraculous and said "That's not OP enough." She also gave it the power to teleport to other universes. To be clear, this completely contradicts canon. ML is not the MCU, alternate universes are not alternate timelines. Changes to the timeline just overwrite the old one, and you can use the Rooster Miraculous, not the Rabbit, to visit other universes. So yeah, despite Zoe saying she wants lore consistency, SL actually doesn't fit into the Miraculous multiverse that canon established.

Also, let's talk about the romance. Like canon, there's a love square that doesn't get together until way later. But it seems like Zoe forgot about an important rule of romance: if the characters aren't together yet, why not? In SL Marinette and Chat clearly like each other, and unlike canon's Ladrien, they talk quite a bit. So why don't they get together? Canon actually has a really great episode "Elation" where Adrien decides that he can't date a civilain as a superhero if she doesn't know his identity. But nothing even like this is remotely acknowledged in SL (Sidenote: The writing of "Elation" is better than the entirety of SL). Also, Adrien doesn't confess for most of SL, I assume because Marinette didn't confess in canon, but this is just so out of character for Adrien. He's not the kind of person to hold his feelings back. In canon, he confessed to Marinette only a few episodes after he started liking her. He claims that he doesn't want to date until Hawk Moth is defeated, but then he starts dating her before he's defeated, so this is a BS excuse.

When Chloé snaps away her sentimonster, Zoe copies the line "How could you?!" from "Ladybug" in canon. This is a completely soulless copy though, because that episode made it clear that Sentibug was sentient, and Chat Noir was genuinely angry in this moment. None of that same substance applies to SL, it's just a meaningless copy of a better scene.

In canon "Reflekdoll", Adrien and Marinette are modeling her designs, and they take their Miraculouses off in order to wear the earrings and ring she made. When Reflekdoll attacks, they try to get their Miraculouses back but end up switching them. In SL "Reflekdoll", Marinette and Adrien are wearing each other's Miraculouses during the photoshoot for no discernable reason. Both versions have a Miraculous swap, but the original earned it and SL absolutely did not.

Zoe and Thomas Astruc are on the Same Wavelength

Zoe has made it clear that she's not a fan of ML's creator, Thomas Astruc. And yet many of her ideas ended up being the same as his.

In both Canon and SL, Chloé publicly commits a bunch of serious crimes, but faces no legal consequences. Instead, she is taken to another country where she can resume her life as a rich brat because she's learned absolutely nothing. Yeah, Chloé's ending in both is basically the same.

In the season 5 finale of canon, there's this huge fight between the side characters and an evil army. This fight has absolutely nothing to do with the actual important fight between Bug Noire and Monarch, so the side characters are completely wasted. In the final battle of SL, the other superheroes contribute nothing and are completely wasted. Chat Noir basically took care of Hawk Moth all by himself. So both finales involve wasted side characters that should have just stayed home. Less time would have been wasted.

Zoe actually says that she added Marinette calling out Gabriel in response to the canon finale. This is absolutely hilarious considering it's still Marinette calling out Gabriel, which basically did happen in the canon finale. Adrien still just stood there and didn't say a word!

Conclusion

"Scarlet Lady" is absolutely worse than canon Miraculous Ladybug. And I think there are a lot of lessons to learn here.

First, don't be so angry and hateful. Zoe basically ruined any possibility of a decent ending simply because her hatred of Gabriel made it impossible to write him like an actual person or a good villain.

Second, any story written in bitterness or spite will be bad. That might not be totally true, I haven't read every story. But I feel that every fanfic I read where the author clearly hates a character has everyone behaving OOC and the story being meanspirited and bad.

Third, don't be arrogant. Just because you can recognize flaws in a story doesn't mean you can do better. Maybe just make some posts calling out those flaws.

Fourth, the way to fix a bad character is not to simply remove all their flaws. Acknowledge those flaws and do something with them.

Fifth, while fanfics do often build off of the original, they can't depend on elements from the original when they contradict those elements. Again, the only reason people like SL Marinette and Adrien is because they associate them with the originals, even though their personalities do no match up.

All in all, I think the world and characters of "Scarlet Lady" will be forgotten only a week after its over. There is no actual substance to them. The only purpose of this fic was to bash somebody else's story, and yet it ended up being so much worse than canon in almost every way.

[dizzying-faust]

The "character gets blamed for something they didn't do" trope is my most hated trope that I hope dies off.

But Chameleon is one exception where I'm more annoyed with the backlash against the trope in the show rather than the trope itself.