#Chaos Will Reign Today is very good | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pucksandpower · 8 months

Note

hiii! with the chaos that was today’s career, could I request one with driver reader that she started telling her team that she wasn’t feeling good but still wanted to continue but the next moment she isn’t answering her radio because she fainted in the car and the car goes out, the marshals take her out of the car and she doesn’t wake up, maybe she has extreme dehydration and is hot to touch, etc.

How the other drivers react when they found out, her team, etc.

Thank you

Too Hot To Handle

Max Verstappen x Red Bull driver!Reader

Summary: the Qatar Grand Prix pushed every driver to the limit … and some past the limit

Warnings: heat stroke, dehydration, crash, medical conditions

The Lusail International Circuit hums with electric anticipation, its asphalt ribbon shimmering under the floodlights. The roar of the crowd fills the night but the oppressive heat weighs on everyone, creating a contrasting atmosphere of excitement and cautious apprehension.

Standing alongside your Red Bull Racing car, you wipe a bead of sweat from your brow. In only your first year with the reigning double champions, you already have a record that has quickly become the talk of the paddock. But for all the praise and whispers, there is one voice that stands out.

“Remember, liefje, it’s not just about speed tonight. Keep hydrated, alright?” Max’s voice is full of warmth and concern. His hand rests gently on your arm.

You flash him a confident smile even though you’re battling your nerves internally. “I’ve raced in heat before, Maxie. I won in Singapore. I’ll be fine.”

He pulls you into a quick embrace, the temperature doing little to dampen the spark between you. “It’s different here. This heat ... it’s like nothing I’ve ever raced in before.”

Pulling back, you raise an eyebrow teasingly. “You worried about me, Verstappen?”

He laughs but there’s a hint of steely seriousness in his blue eyes. “Always. Just ... promise me you’ll be careful out there. For both our sakes.”

You nod, touching your helmet to his. “Promise.”

The intercom in your ear crackles to life. “Drivers, to your cars!”

You both exchange a final glance. Racing is in your blood, it’s what brought you together, but it also keeps you apart, if only for the few hours you’re no longer partners in life but competitors on track.

Sliding into your car, you secure your helmet and gloves. The world outside becomes a bit muffled but your focus sharpens. The engine’s purr is a familiar comfort, but tonight, it’s edged with the unease Max’s words left behind.

Your race engineer, Hugh Bird, checks in over the radio, “Everything good, Y/N?”

You take a deep breath, “As good as it’ll ever be. Let’s light up this track.”

“Give them a show.”

Lights out and away we go.

***

The Qatar Grand Prix unfolds with its usual mix of intensity and skill, drivers navigating tight turns and overtaking with precision. But beneath the spectacle, a subtle tension mounts. The oppressive heat, the stark floodlights, and the weight of expectation — all of it seems to be building to something.

In the garage and on the pit wall, your team closely monitors the race and your performance. Hugh occasionally chimes in with updates, “You’re doing great, Y/N. Remember to hydrate whenever you need to.”

You nod even though he can’t see it, “Understood. The heat’s something else in here.”

A pause. Then, “Just keep stead. And Max told GP to tell me to tell you to remember what he said.”

A smile touches your lips, “I always do.”

***

The track is a blur as you push your car to its limits, feeling the adrenaline surge in tandem with the roar of the engines. It’s as if the heat has seeped into your very core, burning with intensity. Each lap feels slightly longer, every turn a tad sharper, as the humid air takes its toll.

“Y/N,” Hugh radioes through, sounding distant and slightly distorted by the pounding in your head, “you’re P2. Great pace. Remember to sip some water.”

A trickle of sweat runs down the side of your face, stinging your eye. Blinking rapidly, you reach for the button that activates your hydration system.

“Got it,” your voice sounds foreign even to your own ears. The water is lukewarm and tastes metallic, not as refreshing as you had hoped.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing,” he urges.

With every lap, the world outside your visor seems to grow brighter, the floodlights shimmering like mirages in a desert. The race has become a battle, not just against other drivers but against the environment and, increasingly, against yourself.

“You’re dropping pace. Is everything alright?” Hugh’s concerned voice crackles through.

A knot tightens in your stomach. “I don’t know. I ...” You trail off, the words catching in your throat as a wave of overwhelming dizziness hits.

You can hear the alarm in your engineer’s voice becoming more pronounced. “Y/N, talk to me. Do we need to pit?”

The heat wraps around you, constricting, making it difficult to breathe. Your hands, slick with sweat, struggle to grip the wheel even through your gloves. “Guys ... I don’t ... feel ...” The world spins and your words falters.

“Y/N? Y/N, talk to me!”

But before you can respond, before you can even finish your sentence, the world tilts and blurs into an incomprehensible whirlwind. The sweltering heat, the relentless pursuit of victory, and the weight of expectation converge into a maelstrom that engulfs you entirely.

Your hands, once deftly steering the RB19, now hang limply by your sides. The car veers off the track, careening towards the barriers. Panic rises in you but it’s too late. Your body refuses to act.

The deafening sound of metal against metal fills your ears, followed by the nauseating sensation of impact. The world outside your cockpit twists and spins, a kaleidoscope of colors and chaos. Then, abruptly, it all goes dark.

In the garage, your team watches in horror as the monitors show the violent crash. The radio falls silent, the connection severed. In that heartbeat, the world goes eerily quiet, punctuated only by the distant echoes of screeching tires and the blaring alarms.

Moments pass like hours and finally the static on the radio clears, replaced by your frantic race engineer, “—please respond. Y/N? Are you okay?”

But there’s no response. Your world remains shrouded in darkness as the circuit comes to a standstill, gripped by an eerie silence that drowns out even the most deafening of cheers.

The track is plunged into chaos. Red flags wave fervently, signaling danger. Marshals rush towards your wrecked car, their fluorescent jackets contrasting brightly against the night.

“Get her out! Get her out!” One of the marshals shouts as they reach your car. Your limp form is carefully extracted and they begin immediate first aid. The severity of the situation is clear — the heat, the dehydration, it’s all taken its toll.

The crowd watches, a collective gasp filling the air soon replaced by a thick, heavy silence. As your unconscious form is stretchered away, the weight of all those warnings crashes down.

Back on the pit wall, four words whispered into the radio are the first of many about to turn your boyfriend’s world upside down.

“Safety car, safety car.”

***

“Max, we’re pitting this lap. Box, box,” the calm, steady voice of Gianpiero Lambiase, Max’s race engineer, instructs over the radio.

Max’s voice is curt, his mind still on the race. “Why? Tires feel fine.”

“Non-negotiable. Safety car is out. We need you to pit now.”

The urgency in GP’s voice is not lost on Max and he immediately senses that something is wrong. “What happened? Why is there a safety car?”

Silence follows for a heartbeat too long. “There was an incident. Just focus on your race.”

An icy dread seeps into Max’s bones. The circuit is massive yet his world feels terribly small at this moment. “Who was it? Who crashed?”

His engineer hesitates, and in that pause, the weight of a thousand possibilities presses on Max.

“Who. Was. It?”

GP wavers, “It’s … Y/N.”

Max’s breathing becomes ragged. Panic and fear flood his system. “Why the hell wasn’t I told immediately?”

“It was team orders. The decision was made to keep you focused on the race.”

Max laughs but it lacks any humor. “Team orders? You’re saying Christian decided not to tell me that Y/N ... my Y/N is hurt?”

“Yes,” the reply is uncharacteristically soft, “It was believed to be in everyone’s best interest for you to be fully focused on the race.”

Max has never felt such white-hot rage. He spits into the radio, seething with fury and pain. “You tell Christian that if he ever makes a decision like that again about someone I love, I’ll cut his balls off with a rusty spoon.”

“Max, I understand you’re upset. But right now, we need you to stay focused.”

Stay focused? When the love of his life is in potential danger? The weight of what that means presses down, threatening to crush him. “I need to see her,” he finally rasps out, voice breaking.

The plea hangs in the air, met by another long silence. Finally, the radio clicks on again, softer than ever. “Y/N would want you to finish. You know that. Win this for her.”

Tears blur Max’s vision, mixing with the sweat already pooling in his helmet, but he nods, a silent assent. The roaring engine now sounds distant, the glinting lights a backdrop to the storm that rages within him. Every second is an eternity, every turn a test of his resolve to keep racing. But Max drives on, pushing his limits for you.

Every fiber of his being silently screams your name, a prayer or a promise or both, Max doesn’t know. All he knows is that the faster he crosses the finish line, the sooner he can be with you.

For the world watching, the race continues, cars whizzing by. But for Max Verstappen, each lap, each second, is a race against his own heart, torn between duty and desperate love.

***

“Her pulse is erratic! Get the defibrillator ready!” A medic shouts as the emergency team frantically works around you, the ambulance parked haphazardly nearby.

Another voice, calmer but filled with urgency, counters, “Wait, give her a moment. She might come around.”

“Come on, Y/N,” A young medic mutters, pressing an oxygen mask to your face. “Don’t do this.”

The ambulance door opens again, the head medic speaking into a radio, “We need an airlift, now. The situation’s deteriorating rapidly.”

Another voice, muffled, replies, “The helicopter’s on its way! Clear the area.”

As the medics continue to administer aid, working desperately to stabilize you, the chief medic tries to maintain order, “Every second counts. This heat stroke is severe, coupled with dehydration ... it’s a nightmare scenario.”

“We should have had more cooling stations,” the younger medic mutters. “The humidity coupled with the heat ... it’s brutal tonight. And we’re not even the ones out there driving.”

The older medic takes a deep breath. “That is on the organizations. We can’t fix there mistakes but we can focus on what happening now and do everything we can to get her through this.”

The thrum of helicopter blades soon overwhelms the noise of the circuit, growing louder as it approaches. Soon, the bright light from its landing spotlight punctuates the night. “The helicopter’s here!” Someone shouts.

“Alright, team, on three,” the chief medic commands. They work in perfect sync, lifting you carefully but quickly, your body still unresponsive.

As they approach the helicopter, the pilot shouts over the roar, “We’ve got the best onboard. She’s in good hands.”

“She’s one of our best,” the younger medic shouts back. “She has to be okay.”

The chief medic, securing you inside, murmurs more to himself than anyone else, “Come on, Y/N. The race isn’t over. Keep fighting.”

***

“You expect me to smile and stand on that podium knowing she’s been airlifted to a hospital?” Max’s voice trembles with rage as he confronts the FIA officials blocking his way.

“Mr. Verstappen, there are rules, procedures,” an official replies stiffly.

“Rules? Y/N might be fighting for her life right now and you want to talk to me about rules?” Max’s hands clench and unclench as he physically holds himself back from throwing a punch.

Another official steps forward, trying to mediate, “Max, we understand your feelings but millions of viewers are watching. The podium is an essential part of the race.”

Max’s eyes flash with anger. “You think I care about a trophy when my girlfriend is in a hospital? Do you really think that piece of metal means anything to me right now?”

“We sympathize— ” the first official begins but is cut off by Max’s heated response.

“You sympathize? Do you even know what that word means?” He’s on the verge of breaking, voice barely above a whisper as he continues, “She is everything to me. Everything. And you want me to smile and wave for the cameras?”

The air grows thick with tension. The two drivers from McLaren waiting for their cue to go to the podium are silent, their eyes darting between Max and the officials.

A new voice interjects , “Let him go.”

It’s Lewis Hamilton, who despite DNFing early in the race, made his way across the paddock after seeing the distress on his rival’s face. “There are things more important than a ceremony.”

The officials exchange glances, clearly not expecting this intervention. But before they can reply, Max levels them with a final scathing look. “Fine me if you must! Penalize me! Suspend me for all I care! But I am going to her.”

And off he goes.

***

A nurse at the desk recognizes Max immediately when he runs into the hospital. “Mr. Verstappen,” she begins hesitantly, “Miss Y/L/N is in the ICU. Room 302.”

He doesn’t need any further prompting to sprint down the hall. Reaching the room, he stops dead in his tracks. You’re there, surrounded by machines that beep and whirr, tubes running to and from you, an oxygen mask on your face. The sight of you, once so full of life, now frail and vulnerable, breaks him.

His voice, when he finally managed to finds it, is a choked whisper, “Y/N ...”

Approaching the bedside, Max gently takes your hand, feeling its clamminess. “Hey, liefje ... it’s me,” he murmurs, pressing a tender kiss to your knuckles. His tears fall freely, wetting the back of your hand.

“Come on, love,” his voice cracks as he continues, “You’ve got to pull through this. For us.”

He brushes a strand of hair from your face, tracing the familiar curves and lines he’s come to adore. “Remember that time in Monaco? When we snuck out for that secret dinner that our trainers would have killed us for? We promised each other forever that night. You can’t leave me now. Not when we’ve got so many more memories left to make.”

The room’s silence is punctuated only by the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor in a cruel reminder of the fragility of the moment.

“I love you so much,” he murmurs. “Please ... please come back to me.”

Leaning in, he rests his forehead against yours, allowing the weight of his anguish, love, and hope to flow between the two of you in the sterile room.

***

Nothing has changed. The steady beep of the heart monitor still punctuates the silence of the hospital room. Max sits vigilantly at your bedside, his hand gently clasping yours.

It’s been three days since the crash and you still have not woken up. The doctors say your condition is stable but uncertain.

Max leans in close and presses a kiss to your forehead. “Morning, liefje. I’m still here. Not going anywhere.”

He brushes a strand of hair from your face, his touch impossibly gentle as if you might break. In the stark hospital lighting, the dark circles under his eyes are visible. Sleep hasn’t come easy to him, not with you lying here.

A soft knock at the door draws Max’s attention. Hugh pokes his head in hesitantly. “Hey, Max. Any change?”

Max shakes his head, swallowing hard. “Nothing yet. But she’s fighting. I know she is.”

Your race engineer steps further into the room, his expression solemn. “I should have seen the signs earlier. Pushed her to hydrate more. Slowed her pace.” His voice catches, “It was my job to look out for her.”

“This wasn’t your fault,” Max says firmly. “Y/N is stubborn. We both know that. She wanted to prove herself.” A ghost of a smile touches his lips. “It’s what makes her brilliant.”

Hugh pulls up a chair on the opposite side of the bed. For a moment, the two men sit in pensive silence. Then your race engineer speaks again, softer this time. “Has she ... has she responded at all? Squeezed your hand or anything?”

Max clenches his jaw and stares past Hugh at the blank wall. “No. Nothing yet. But I know she can hear me. I tell her about training, the team ... I update her on everything. She’ll want to jump right back in when she wakes up.”

Footsteps approach and a nurse enters, checking the equipment and your vitals. After making some notes on a chart, she offers an encouraging smile. “No change but she seems stable. Just keep talking to her. Familiar voices help.”

After she departs, Hugh leans forward, clasping your still hand. “Hear that, Y/N? You’ve got to wake up. The team needs you. Your fans are all rooting for you. And ...” His voice cracks. “I need my driver back.”

Max looks at him gratefully. “We all need her back.” Reaching out, he gives your race engineer’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Another knock sounds. This time, it’s Christian. His face is etched with guilt and worry. “Max. Any improvement today?”

Max’s expression hardens. He hasn’t forgotten Christian’s decision to withhold news of your crash. But his voice remains even as he responds to the team principal. “Nothing new.”

Christian pulls up a chair next to Hugh. He chooses his next words carefully. “Max, I need to apologize. I made the wrong call that night. You deserved to know immediately about Y/N. My priorities were skewed.” His voice shakes slightly. “Seeing her like this ... I would give anything to go back and change what I did.”

Max studies him for a long moment and some of the hardness leaves his eyes. “I appreciate that. But right now, the past doesn’t matter. All that matters is her getting better.”

Christian nods. Reaching out, he gently smoothes your hair. “You hear that, Y/N? We’re all here for you. Your whole team. Now you need to come back to us.”

A heavy silence settles on the room once more. The three of them remain clustered around the bed … keeping vigil … willing you to show any small sign of recovery.

After some time passes, the ringing of Hugh’s phone snaps the three men out of their thoughts. “Sorry to interrupt,” your press officer’s voice filters through the speaker, “but the team’s on the line. They want to send their well wishes to Y/N.”

Hugh glances at Max questioningly who nods, “Patch them through. Let the whole team remind her why she needs to wake up.”

A smile tugs at your race engineer’s lips. “You got it. Go ahead, team. She can hear you.”

A chorus of voices floods the room. Your mechanics, pit crew, strategists, PR team … everyone chimes in with encouraging messages.

“Come on, Y/N! We need our star girl back on the grid.”

“You can do this, kid. You’re the toughest one out there!”

“We all believe in you. Keep fighting!”

Max grips your hand tighter, emotions threatening to spill over. Even Christian and Hugh have sheens of tears in their eyes.

“Alright,” your race engineer says after the team signs off. “You heard them. Time to wake up.”

And that’s when Max feels it. A short, weak squeeze of his hand.

Then your eyelids begin to flutter.

“Y/N?” Max leaps to his feet, leaning over you anxiously. “Can you hear me?”

Slowly, painfully, your eyes open, taking in the scene around you. Confusion clouds your expression. “M-Max?” You rasp.

A brilliant smile breaks across Max’s face. Relief floods through him so powerful that his knees nearly buckle as he chokes out, “Yes, yes it’s me! You’re back, liefje. You’re really back.”

Hugh lets out a shaky laugh, scrubbing a hand across his face. “Welcome back, superstar.”

You try to speak again but Max hushes you gently. “Save your strength. We’ve got all the time in the world to talk.”

Christian grins, looking years younger. “Oh thank god. I need to tell the team. They’ll be thrilled. Welcome back, Y/N.” He hurries from the room, phone already in hand.

Your race engineer squeezes your shoulder. “Get some rest. We’ll all be here when you wake up.”

As he and the nurse move discreetly out of the room, you gaze up at Max. “You ... you stayed.”

Max lifts your hand to his lips, blinking back tears. “Of course I stayed. I’ll always stay by your side.”

He leans down, pressing his lips against your chapped ones. All the fear, the uncertainty, the heartache of the past few days melts away.

You’re back. You’re really back. And Max knows, without a shred of doubt, that your lives from this day on will be greater and more meaningful than all your wildest dreams.

***

In the following days, drivers from across the grid make the pilgrimage to your hospital room. They come bearing gifts — flowers, balloons, even a nearly life-size plush race car. But more importantly, they come bearing a message.

“That race should never have happened,” Lewis says solemnly, handing you a get-well card covered in signatures. “The heat was dangerous. We should have acted sooner.”

Esteban grips your hand tightly. “I’m sorry, Y/N. We should have spoken up about the conditions sooner. We all suffered but you suffered most.”

“Your crash woke us all up,” Lance adds. “No trophy is worth risking drivers’ safety even more than we already do each race.”

You’re moved by their solidarity but sigh knowingly. “The FIA would never have listened to just one driver saying something. But maybe they’ll listen to all of us.”

Max’s jaw clenches, residual anger simmering beneath the surface. “They have to listen. We won’t race in unsafe conditions again.”

The other drivers nod, They know the power that you all wield together and for the first time in a long time, you are going to use it.

In a show of outspoken unity, the GPDA drafts a strongly worded letter condemning the lack of caution around extreme heat and demanding tangible changes to make sure drivers aren’t put in avoidable jeopardy.

All twenty of you threaten to strike.

To your surprise, the FIA not only apologizes for the oversight but pledges to implement the requested changes immediately.

“Your crash was a wake-up call,” the FIA president says solemnly during a visit to your hospital room. “We should have protected you better. That will never happen again.”

When he departs, you let out a long breath, leaning back against the pillows. The anger and hurt from that night haven’t disappeared entirely but you feel a sense of hope, that some good has come from the experience.

Max clasps your hand between both of his. “What you went through is unacceptable but you used that to make the sport safer for every driver out there. I’m so proud of you.”

You give him a tired smile. “We did this together. All of us.”

He presses a kiss to your forehead. “Get some rest. When you’re better, we’ve got plenty more checkered flags to take. Side by side.”

The long road to full recovery still lies ahead. But with Max by your side, and all the drivers behind you, you know everything will be okay.

The race goes on but it will be a safer race thanks to you.

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mask131 · 5 months

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I have a question about Zeus and Kronos. SEVERAL actually. Their relationship gets more confusing the far you dig into it.

How did the ancient Greeks see their relationship? How did they see the whole conflict between the Gods and the Titans?

In modern works, Kronos and the Titans are almost always portrayed as evil, monstrous tyrants, and Zeus and the Olympians as the young heroes that bring them down.

However, in Greek Mythology, Kronos' reign was the Golden Age, an utopic and paradisiac time of peace, happiness and prosperity, and Zeus is the main responsible for bringing pain, disease, and death to humankind through Pandora.

And to make matters more confusing, patricide was a huge sin in ancient Greek culture.

Was Zeus and Kronos' story a heroic tale of order overcoming chaos, or a tragic "Paradise Lost" type of scenario? Is Zeus a hero for deposing his father, or fallen hero that only escaped divine retribution because he himself is a god? Who was in the right in the conflict between Olympians and Titans? How am I supposed to interpret Hesiod's Theogony?

This is a very complex question that opens the door to many, many possibilities. But long story short: in the Olympians vs Titans conflict, the Titans were definitively in the wrong, and yes we are supposed to root for the Olympians.

Remember, the Olympians are supposed to be the "big goods" of Greek mythology - or at least, mostly positive figures. The enemies of the Olympians are by extension our enemies because the Olympians represent order and civilization. The Gigantomachy is the best representation of that, as the Giants were literaly designed to kill and destroy and nothing else. Same thing with Typhon, chaos and terror embodied.

Now what was the problem with the Titans? Long story short, many things. But what we have to understand is that the Titans are being supposed to represent... yes chaos in a way, but also a more brutal, primitive form of the universe. Yes the Titans are gods like the Olympians - but they are not the same kind of gods. Older, rougher. For example take the Olympians - they are kings and queens over the principles they control. Poseidon rules over the sea but is not the sea ; Zeus' decisions control the weather but he is not the weather. When we go by the Titans, however, we have beings such as Helios who was the literal sun or Oceanos who was the literal ocean. The Titans reflect the primal forces of nature, the rough and brutal, less humanized elements, more personifications and embodiments than deities as we understand them today. So what was the object and purpose of the Titanomachy? The "taming" and ordering of the world. Some Titans sided with the Olympians, and thus became more human and more "ordered" and found a place for themselves within an organized world. Themis for example, who as the embodiment of the Law and of Justice, would of course choose the Olympians' side. Also note that, outside of Themis, none of the Titans reflected any concept or principle part of a civilization. The Titans were violence (Iapetos whose name means "piercer", and Kronos who castrated his own father), the Titans were animals (many are the titans with strong animal motifs), the Titans were the sea and the moon and the sun and the light and the earth... They were literaly born out of the sky and earth. But what came with the Olympians? When Zeus got onto the throne, he started creating new gods through his many marriages and alliances: he brought forth Apollo of the art, Athena of wisdom and peace, Artemis of the hunt of the wild, Hermes of all the sciences, and the Horai, and the Muses, and sometimes even the Moirai themselves. Zeus organized the world and brought many of the concepts we cherish so much today.

Not only was the problem with the Titans that they were primordial and brutal forces of nature, but the problem with the specific Titans that went at war against the gods is that they literaly refused to let fate be and time pass. Kronos' flaw and fault is the most common of all mythology: fighting an oracle, trying to destroy a prediction, trying to avoid his fate. He was foretold he would be overthrown by his son. Not destroyed, not mutilated, certainly not killed (because gods cannot die, they are immortal), but just overthrown. And he refused this. He refused to have his throne taken away from him - he refused to let generations change, to let youth come. He had obtained his throne for right reasons (he punished the sins of his father) and yet through bad means (mutilating his own father). As such he got the throne but was fated to let it go, and know a "lesser" version of what he had inflicted upon his father. But he refused this.

Not only that, but he actually ended up repeating the mistakes and crimes of his father Ouranos. By not just bringing a stasis, but by literaly causing a regression. Imprisoning back the Cyclops and Hekatoncheires he had set free ; and then swallowing back into his belly the children he brought forth, literaly reversing the natural cycle of time. So Zeus' war against Cronos was justified to allow the world to continue its own maturation, and evolve further. And from a world of brutality, barbary and regression, we reached an age of order and civilization.

Now let's take the second side of the problem - the whole "Ages of Mankind".

It should be recalled that the Ages of Mankind story comes from Hesiod's "Of Works and Days", not from his "Theogony". And "Of Works and Days" is not supposed to just be a cosmogony like the Theogony, but rather a didactic work. It isn't about mythology per se, as the true topic of the work is agriculture, and all sorts of advices on how to take care of your field, woven with philosophical and moralist lessons about the importance of hard work. The mythological story woven in the work is meant to be an illustration of why humanity has to work, and is tied to all sorts of socio-philosophico messages, making it closer to a fable in many ways. It should also be taken into account that the "Ages of Man" story is tied in "Of Works and Days" to the legend of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Pandora. A legend also told in "Theogony"... but with slightly different details. For example, in the Theogony the story is very misogynistic as the curse of Zeus is... literaly women. As in, women are evil, and that's it. The version of "Of Works and Days", slightly less misogynistic, is the one with the famous Pandora jar later turn Pandora 's box, and there the evil is contained within the jar and is all a convoluted plan to force the "clan" of Prometheus to end up cursing the humanity they favored. Hesiod was never afraid of contradicting himself - even within the Theogony you have opposite stories, such as how in one part the Moirai are aughters of Zeus and Themis, in another daughters of Nyx that predated Zeus.

Anyway, all of that being said, I want to point out something important: in the Ages of Man storyline by Hesiod, Zeus is not supposed to be the one that caused the misery of mankind. At least not directly. It is true that the Golden Age and the first humanity is said to have existed/been formed under the rule of Cronos, while the Silver Age, which was a downgrade, occured when Zeus arrived on the throne. But the text does not say that Zeus was the one who caused the downgrade of humanity. There is definitively a change, an evolution, but it doesn't mean it is Zeus that "corrupted" humanity. In fact, the text does say that Zeus kept around the first humanity as powerful spirits to help, guide and enrich the following humanity. And Zeus' "rule" is not all bad, as there is a mention of one of the humanities brought forth under him being the Heroic Age, which is considered one of the best humanities after the Golden Age. The legend isn't actually about Zeus "ruining" humanity in any way, as the message Hesiod tries to give here is rather that humanity is living through a sort of natural decline... Yes, Hesiod was quite pessimistic, and honestly you can hear a bit of the old as time rant "Young people are doing everything bad, the world is getting worst and worst, wasn't it better before?". You can literaly hear Hesiod doing his youth-hating-grandpa-rant through his tale.

Afterward, we have to consider the whole Prometheus-Pandora-Zeus triangle... And this is where things get tricky and dual. Now I can't possibly embrace the full scope of the implications of the Prometheus legend. There is a reason he is such an inspiring and powerful figure even today - and Prometheus is one of the most complicated entities of all of Greek mythology. But here is the thing I wanted to say... Yes Hesiod does say and explain that Zeus created all sorts of evil he inflicted upon humanity because he was unhappy with being deceived by Prometheus. In "Of Works and Days" it is an especially strong point because the entire text is about explaining why humanity has to work so hard, and why labor is needed by humanity, and why if we have benevolent deities we must still be burdened by chores and toil. And in general this is an answer to the very same problem that the Genesis of the Bible poses: Why would a benevolent god inflict us a life of suffering? Why do we have to work to eat and why isn't the superior power providing us, if they love us so much?

In the Biblical text, this is explained by the original sin, and by all this being a punishment for humanity's original flaw. But in the Greek texts we have something very different - as it is inflicted... to punish Prometheus? That's what Hesiod's text tells us and/or implies, by making the equation "Zeus got tricked by Prometheus, he got mad, and as a result he unleashed evils on humanity". This is what led to so many readings of Zeus as some sort of petty tyrant who wounded humanity to just get back at Prometheus. And this is partially true in Hesiod's myth... But not the whole truth. Because Hesiod insists on a very important fact: he stands as both a human speaking to other humans, and thus he cries over the misfortune of humanity and our suffering, and he explains it comes from Zeus and thus it is why it is unescapable... But he also stands as a devout Greek, as a herald of the gods' words, as someone inspired by the Muse - meaning he also has to point out that Zeus was in the right. This is why, when you compile the dual legends in "The Theogony" and "Of Works and Days", you get a very ambiguous Prometheus, more of a anti-villain by Ancient Greeks standards.

For example, the idea that Zeus got mad upon discovering he had been cheated by Prometheus is a misconception when it comes to the Hesiodic text. When you read Hesiod's text in the Theogony, what does it say? It says that Zeus was not fooled by Prometheus' trick, during the partition of the cow (when it was time to decide which part of food ent to the gods, which part went to humanity). No, Zeus, as king of the gods and superior god, is all-knowing and all-seeing, and the text does say he did knew of Prometheus' trick as soon as he laid eyes on the divided cow. He did play along with Prometheus' trick, but he got massively angry - not at being cheated, no... he got angry at the idea that Prometheus had rigged the game, and had tried to deceive him. See this as some sort of betrayal - he entrusted Prometheus with doing a fair share, and he discovers the Titan had rigged the game. Similarly, when Prometheus stole the fire, Zeus got angry because it was a theft - a theft opposing his law and decisions, an act of rebellion against his position as a king - and yes he would dislike humanity, because now they literaly had a stolen good that they were not supposed to have. Remember that Zeus is a god of justice whose deal was punishing criminals and enacting the law - so of course, a cheater, a scammer and thief like Prometheus would displease him, especially when he is not just a rebel that opposes Zeus' very rule... but also who threatens the cosmic order.

I said it before - in Ancient Greece everything was about balance ad harmony. Humanity had to be "balanced". And the actions of Prometheus literaly placed humanity out of balance. When the partiton of food came, Prometheus rigged the game so that humanity would have the best part. As a result, Zeus had to inflict an "handicap", a "flaw" to humanity so that they wouldn't be too overpowered. This was the removal of the fire. But then Prometheus stole the fire back, making humanity over-powered again. And so Zeus decided to bring the ultimate "handicap", the ultimate "flaw", the ultimate "evil" that would never go away... Because that's another thing with this legend. Zeus never takes away what had been given by the gods. When the partition of food was done, Zeus did not fight it. Zeus removed the fire yes, but when Prometheus gave it back, he did not remove it again. Once something is gifted, it cannot just be snatched back - again, Zeus respects the laws, the promises, the customs. A choice is a choice, a gift is a gift. Which is why, to weaken humanity, Zeus had to GIVE something instead of remove it. And this gift was A) in Theogony, Pandora. Because the Theogony's misogynistic take on the Pandora myth is that SHE was evil because women are by nature evil and ruin humanity. B) in Of Works and Days, the gift of the jar containing all the evils and misfortunes. Which, as I said, was a clever plan to have Prometheus' own family balance his over-powering of humanity by having THEM bring upon humanity something bad. As a way to even things out. When Hesiod evokes the person that brought misfortune upon humanity, when he describes the source of all the evils mankind has to suffer through, he doesn't speak of Zeus... He speaks of Epimetheus. Or of Pandora. But not Zeus. Zeus isn't the "culprit" in Hesiod's texts - rather it is either Pandora (for, misogynistic time, women are inherently curious and curiosity - and women in general - is evil), or Epimetheus (for being a dummy who gets seduced by pretty appearances, doesn't think of anything before acting, accepts any shining gift and is too naive for his own good, trusting both his enemies and the people he doesn't know). Oh yes, the human in Hesiod will cry and lament that Zeus is persecuting humanity... But he will make it clear it was the fault of Prometheus and Epimetheus (Pandora doesn't get much of the "culprit" treatment" because she is either seen as A, the evil Epimetheus brought into the world, B, just a tool and extension of Zeus' own will, and so not an actual "culprit").

The final piece of the puzzle that allows us to understand a bit more the tale of Hesiod is that we have to recall what was the worst crime ever in Ancient Greece. Hubris: for humanity to believe itself equal or above the gods. This was the manifestation of the Greeks' immense fear of unbalance and disharmony, when the low humans tried and believed themselves to be above their natural condition, about to rival with the immortals who were perfect in body and mind (well... absolutely perfect in the religion, much more flawed in the myths and literary works). And all the actions of Prometheus worked on bringing forward humanity close to hubris. By giving them a food better than the gods', by leaving them the full mastery of fire - especially since at the time it was the early humanity, the "golden age", those long-lived, happy, careless, ageless humans that were basically Tolkien's elves - Prometheus was literaly building rivals for the gods. Remember that what Prometheus did was seen as an act of rebellion and disobediance towards Zeus' order, ruling and position... Betrayal of his king, so to speak. Zeus had to inflict on humanity something so that they wouldn't get too overpowered or too similar to gods - he had to inflict on them something that would remind them that they were mortals, not gods, and that the world did not belong to them.

And THIS is where the "Silver Age" problems come from. As I said before, when Hesiod uses Cronos and Zeus to evoke the Golden and Silver Age, he uses them more as chronological markings than anything. By making the Golden Age Cronus' era, Hesiod places this humanity in the far, far, far away distant past, in a time beyond what is mythical - in a time before the actual organized time of the gods people knew, before what humans understood of humanity. And Hesiod insists in his texts that the ills and the worries brought by either Pandora's presence among humanity (Thegony) or by the jar of Pandora (Of Works and Days) are what caused humanity's downfall as they started aging, and falling sick, and losing their happiness, and living shorter... So long story short, it isn't because Zeus became king of the gods that the Golden Age became the Silver Age. It is rather because of the chain of events started by Prometheus - it is because of all the punishments Zeus had to took against the rebellious and cheating Prometheus that the original humanity became another. So... while yes, Zeus did send the evil, the texts of Hesiod also make it clear it is kind of Prometheus' fault. Hence the anti-villain status: yes he tried to favorite and help humanity, and thus is our hero... But he also tried to destroy the order of the world and is the reason we were cursed in the first place, so he is still a villain. Mind you, in the times after Hesiod the Greeks would come to gain a much more positive view of Prometheus - but I am focusing here only on Hesiod since it is what the question is about.

The best metaphor I would have would be : all those incidents we have today when we favorize and protect one species in an ecosystem because it is "cute"... and by doing so, we ruin the entire ecosystem. This is literaly what Prometheus did, as the trickster-rebel, and what Zeus had to fight as the god of order and balance. (And again, we have an Hesiod that is literaly doing grandpa rants about how the "good ol' times" were better and the "youth today is crap", so of course he would offer us a myth where the established order and ruling monarchy is praised, while the rebellious opposition is demonized... with the nuance that the rebellious opposition protected us humans, and thus we have this very ambiguous territory.) It is no wonder that in modern fiction dealing with Prometheus, a question arises that was first brought forward by commentators of Greek myths: did Prometheus act out of excessive love for humanity, or more to get at Zeus? Both options are possible: in "The God Beneath the Sea" for example Prometheus is this tragic figure of someone who loved too much humanity and tried to protect it at all costs... But in the French novel "Prometheus the revolted" by Janine Teisson, he is more presented as a cunning, exploitative schemer that uses humanity as a tool to discreetly try to get back at Zeus, because while he sided with him, he could never fully accept his new king due to his older Titan alliegeance. Which interpret is correct? We can't tell, because the older record is just very ambiguous...

As a final, final note, we have to bring in more "outside-the-text" context to the whole situation. Because these stories were told within a society that had an established hierarchy, an established religion and established morals differing from our own, hence why we can lack some key information to get the nuance. For example, in "Of Works and Days", Hesiod cries and laments about one of the punishments of Zeus against humanity - hiding the grain of plants below the earth, and forcing humans to work to grow their crops and their food. A punishment which is nuanced when you remember something from Greek religion that the text does not speak about: Zeus was one of the favorite gods of farmers and crop-growers, and seen as their ally, because he was a god of fertility and agriculture. Zeus was the god of weather - but of good, fertile, helpful weather. Zeus sent the fertile rain that made the plants grow and the earth alive ; and he also sent all the sunlight needed for fruits to mature and plants to be healthy. This was in fact part of his dicotomy with Hades - Hades kept the grain under the earth to protect it, and then Zeus helped it grow into a plant above the soil. (And yes, this is tied to the Persephone legend in some ways). When you know that, you realize that Zeus might have cursed humans with having to work hard and search hard for their food... But he also clearly helps them to do so by sending the weather needed for the crop to grow well.

Just like how he is said to destroy the various humanities of the Ages of Man one by one to punish them or due to other incidents... But he then grants them some pretty sweet things. Like how the Golden Age humans became Greek-equivalent of guardian angels, benevolent semi-divine entities, or how the men of the Silver Age were said to be among the "Blessed" in the afterlife, and supposedly to dwell in some sort of paradise...

Of course the issue is infinitely more complex, and there's entire books written about this, so this is just a fragment of synthesis. But to return to the original question... Cronos, and the other Titans, were not at fault for oppressing humanity or being tyrants, no. From what Hesiod gives us to read, the Titans in fact had nothing to do or didn't care about humanity in the first place - since before Zeus' time we have no record of any god mingling with humans. We'd have to wait for the Olympians for humanity to become "interestng" or even "desirable" in the yes of the gods. No, Kronos' true crime was a cosmic one. The Titans had to be overthrown because they refused the natural flow of time and the natural evolution of the world, because they repeated the same oppression they had delivered the world from (Ouranos'), because they had enforced a stagnation and even a regression, perfectly symbolized by the image of the father swallowing the babies as soon as they are out of their mother's belly. The gods do grow - but they grow trapped within their father's stomach in a perverse, reverse pregnancy, and in a mirror of how Ouranos' lust also prevented life from spreading forth into the world. And we'd have to wait for Zeus to force a new "birth", through making his father vomit, for the gods to finally be able to accomplish their purpose in life - change the world and make the universe go forward...

As a final note, and I think this is something Jean-Pierre Vernant said (but a lot of what I said above comes from Jean-Pierre Vernant): Zeus overthrowing Cronos is a symbol of the rule of brute strength and violent tyranny being stopped. How did Cronos reached the throne? By castrating his father. How did he maintain his rule? By imprisoning his siblings and devouring his own children. What happened when he was challenged? A cosmic war. And Cronos ruled alone as sole king over the universe. But when Zeus came into the world... He was first of the gods, yes, but he still shared the world with his brothers, so that there were three "kings of the world". His first instinct was to ave sex once he was king, yes, but he didn't just "have sex". He symbolically or officially married the most important goddesses (Themis, the Law/Justice, Mnemosyne, Memory, Metis, Prudence/Wisdom) to bring forth the embodiments of order and peace: the Horai, the Charites, the Muses, the Moirai, Athena... And, unlike Cronos who had imprisoned his siblings as soon as he was king, Zeus accepted and rewarded his allies among the Titans, making entities such as Themis, Helios or Hecate first-rank deities in the new pantheon. AND, while he did overthrow his father, it was in the result of a long war, without any brutal mutilation, and what he merely did was imprison him - and perhaps even latter forgave him and released him according to some stories. So we are definitively into a much better rule than the predecessor.

#greek mythology #greek gods #titans #hesiod #zeus #prometheus #pandora #the ages of man #the ages of humanity #the golden age #greek myths #kronos #cronus

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marymary-diva17 · 14 days

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Hi! Could I possibly request a Star Wars story where reader is Anakin's sister and she is a caretaker and instructor for the temple younglings! In the story say Anakin, Obi-wan, and Ahsoka are all at the temple for a like a family day. Ahsoka, along with several younglings all keep interrupting Anakin, oniwan, and reader from spending time together because they all want to spend time with their surrogate mom. Anakin gets pouty and teased for acting like a youngling. Reader and Anakin exchange gifts and have a day to themselves where Obi-wan gets to watch the younglings and it's like that chaotic scene from hotel transylvania 2 in the daycare where the kids essentially reign chaos upon everything and everyone.

Even due the Jedi order had forbidden and looked down on attachments, when it came to relationships there was times when that rule had been pushed aside. There had been many relationships formed within the Jedi order that were beneficial in the end. Sometime there was relationships that are very special and important to everyone around.

y/n " ......" you are walking down the halls of temple where the youngling of Jedi order are raised and care for as well. That was your job as care taker for the Jedi order youngling to padawans. As you did have the same abilities like your brother, but Quin gon jinn and Yoda could sense there was something special about you. It will be good for you and anakin to still be each other lives after all that happened.

????? " y/n" you soon heard your name getting called as you passed the entrance leading to the courtyard, you had spotted the youngling and padawans. You soon made your way into the courtyard and looked at them.

y/n " hello everyone how are you doing on this wonderful day" today was a day to have time to have a good time or relax, it sometime matter on the Jedi who wish to spend this day.

padwan " we are doing well we have been spending most of the day out here"

youngling 2 " yeah the older kids have been showing us some cool moves as well"

y/n " that sound wonderful I hope you are all being safe about it, we don't need anyone getting hurt"

kids " yes y/n"

y/n " good"

padawan 3 " y/n will you join us out here today if you don't, have any duties that need to be attend to"

y/n " yes I can join you kids as I don't have that much duties it attend to for today"

kids " yeah" you had started helping the kids with their skills holding their lightsabers, along with starting games for them to play as well. The younglings and padawans always love spending time with you and as group, but to them you are like a mom to them. Taking care of them and being there for them when they need advice, along with teach them how to use their lightsabers at time and understand the force.

???? " y/n" you had soon looked and saw Ashoka she soon hugged you, when she reached you.

y/n " hello ashoka you are looking wonderful and I'm happy to see you here"

ashoka " it good to see you as well and were were flying past this planet, and we came to see you"

????? " well I was coming to see you but she tagged along and so did obi wan"

y/n " hello big brother" a

anakin " hello baby sister it seems like caretaker life is going well for you" you soon hugged anakin as he had hugged you back, the two of you had a strong sibling bond. That still stayed the same even after the two of you had become adults and went down different paths in life.

y/n " it this and being a Jedi knight is looking well on you, I have been hearing reports and stories about you"

Obi wan " yes and he still getting in trouble after all these years, I'm surprised that you are the youngest and not him"

y/n " hello obi wan" you soon hugged obi wan and he gives you a hug as well, you were not looking at the trio.

y/n " I'm happy to see you three are looking well I have heard of your, lastly missions for the order and the republic I was worried"

anakain " sorry about that sis but you know it hard to communicate when your on duty"

y/n " I understand"

ashoka " I'm so happy you are still a care taker here"

y/n " yes I love my work and duty here helping the children here, have been good and it good to see them grown and form their own paths in life"

obi wan " the council has been notice the children in your care have been doing well, even if they become knights like us or different paths"

y/n " I always make sure to help them in the path they wish to take"

ashoka " hey I was shocked to see sky guy here is your older brother, you are so not like him"

anakin " watch it snips I still can;t believe my sister was one care taker for you and your friends"

y/n " I see master yoda was right about you two become a pair"

anakain " wait you knew"

y/n " he told me after ashoka had left and he is always right, now that you three are here why don't you join us on this wonderful day we are having"

ashoka " yes" ashoka had smiled brightly she enjoyed spending time with you. She and the children had beens spending a good amount of time with you, making your brother jealous as he now had to share you attention and time with more people.

obi wan " hey children why don't I show you some nice moves with the help of ashoka"

ashoka " really master"

obi wan " yes"

children " can we care taker y/n"

y/n " yes it good to learn from a master like obi wan and padawan like ashoka" the kids had ran off towards obi wan and ashoka, you soon spotted anakin standing alone on balcony. You soon walked towards him.

y/n " it has been so long since we had been those kids living on tatoonie"

anakin " yes it has we have been through alot in life"

y/n " yes and I think our mom will be happy and proud of us, we have been able to live our lives and no longer trapped in the same place for the rest of our lives"

anakin " you are think baby sister and I'm happy you are still in my life"

y/n " I will always be here for you no matter what happens" anakin soon smiled and brought you into a hug as the two siblings, look out on planet.

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standreamy · 10 months

Text

Miraculous The Movie Review: An admirable, imperfect attempt

PREMISE

It's not a masterpiece, it's not groundbreaking and it has flaws that limited the result quite a lot, which I'll point out. Yet it's also a very good product that I think should be praised for its efforts.

I watched this movie both with people who have followed the whole series, and with those who have seen it partially. I also watched it by myself and with people who have never seen the series and knew nothing about it.

I have therefore tried to keep my view as unbiased and objective as possible.

I will divide this analysis/review into various sections. I tried to leave comparisons with the series only in the last one, though inevitably, it wasn’t possible to never mention the differences. For this reason, I decided to leave a final vote that will be split into what I grade the movie by itself and what I grade it as part of the Miraculous brand.

However, I want to clarify that with this post I do not intend to discredit those who prefer the show, nor do I intend to encourage those who prefer the movie to behave arrogantly and attack Astruc.

The final part is where I will directly compare movie and show and where I will explain my preferences. You are perfectly free to skip, as it’s the last part before my grades.

With that said, let's get started!

ANIMATION

I've seen little contrast of opinion on this topic. Indeed, it is undeniable that it is of the highest quality. I'm a big fan of 2D, and as for animation I prefer it to 3D by a long mile, but the choice of quality for the movie is impressive. You can’t just help but admire and it surely deserved a worldwide release in theaters.

The backgrounds, the characters, the details, the textures and the focus on expressions… Nowadays, Disney movies spend almost double the budget and offer equal or almost inferior graphic quality.

I also want to clarify that the focus on expressions is very important because by following the "show and don't tell" rule, it allows you to receive information on what the characters are feeling and therefore enriches their profile. You never see a stiff character, even in the background or from a distance there are characters expressing emotions or doing something, which is actually stunning for the eyes. One of the best 3D graphics I’ve seen personally.

MUSIC

The number of songs is a judgment that can only be subjective, as not everyone likes musicals. But for being a musical indeed, I personally find the number acceptable, especially for the role that the songs played.

I find that composition wise (I study music professionally) they are all very high quality. The harmonies chosen, the orchestration that Zag has composed are of a very high standard not generally seen often in modern animated movies.

This can also be seen in the background music, which is extremely impactful and recognizable. None goes unnoticed, embrace the scenes in harmony. The soundtrack in a movie is fundamental, it enriches the feeling that the scene can evoke. It is after all not an unknown factor that, for example, by removing the soundtrack of a horror movie, you remove much of the effect of fear and unsettlement it creates.

Returning to the songs, however, I particularly appreciated their usefulness for the plot and the characters. I have seen very opposite opinions on this matter, from people praising them and people thinking they were totally unrelated or repetitive. Personally, I think every single song expressed a well-defined concept that carried forward the intended messages.

Speaking from a purely personal point of view, on a melodic and interpretative level my favorite songs were "Courage in me" and "Stronger Together". However, I find the most important to be “If I believed in me”, “Chaos will reign today” and “Alone again”. A song for each of the film's main characters; Marinette, Adrien and Hawkmoth.

And I also found the most well executed “Reaching out”.

But for this analysis, I'm going to touch on each song.

“If I believed in me” This song is the perfect introduction and presentation of the character. It tells us all the key details to know about Marinette at first glance. She is very shy, awkward and introverted to the point of having social anxiety. This has led her to willingly shut people out, even though people who know her a bit more seem to like her, and even if deep down inside she wants to fit in and her creativity is a way for her to channel that. She has a dream as a fashion designer and takes all the inspiration from the world around her. However, this inner conflict leads her to self-sabotage and behave in a bizarre way. This is a classic and basic step that most of the best musical animated movies follow and in this one it was quite appropriate. Putting a song right at the start may seem unsettling for people who dislike musicals or found it unnecessary, however, it was a very right and basic rule to follow.

“Alone Again” Another very important song that expresses not only Adrien's pain for the loss of his mother, but also for his father's neglect. The text is universal enough to show that Adrien may want to reconnect with both Emilie and Gabriel. Not having enough minutes in the movie to properly focus on the Agreste family dynamic, this was key to fix that. Because of this, I think that removing it in non-French versions was a very big mistake.

"You are Ladybug" While it’s not one of the most fundamental, it’s a song very well handled, because it not only explains part of the lore, but actually shows that in this movie the Kwami are much more sentient. Tikki demonstrates her knowledge of years of experience. She knows how it works, she knows which carriers are best for her and she also knows it might help Marinette to improve her confidence as she outright states while singing. On a musical level, the use of the show's original opening is also very effective. It's not easy to readapt a motif several times without getting bored of it, even building a new song on top of it, and in this case Zag did an excellent job.

"Ma Lady" Similar to "Alone Again", this song is also very important to show one of the new motivations for Adrien to open up. Chat Noir is Adrien's way of bringing out his inner self, and even though it didn't do it the best way at first because of his attitude, this is the beginning of his change. It’s a crucial song to a crucial improvement.

“Chaos will reign today” This song has a strong Disney villain vibe that fits very well with the model they followed for Hawk Moth in this movie. Another classic to express the desire of the villains is to convey it with a song that gives the right tone to the character, who can be more or less evil. In the case of Gabriel it is very smart to show him with a theater man attitude, given that his wife performed in the theater in the world of the movie. It fits well with the character they chose for Gabriel. This song is also the very moment Gabriel is sure about his path and finally decides to go on being a villain.

“Courage in me” This song, in addition to having excellent musicality and a change of tone that is always and gradually more triumphant, is very well represented. It begins with Marinette grappling with anxiety and her instincts and desperation growing stronger until they become a call to the mission. Marinette embraces her role after much hesitation and from this moment a change begins for her as well as for Chat in "Ma Lady". From here on Marinette will try to open up slowly and improve.

“Miraculous theme remix” Nothing in particular to say about this. It's a pretty good adaptation and perfect for a montage, even if I'll explain later on why I would have substituted it with something else (“The wall between us”).

“Stronger together” Perhaps the most representative song of the movie. In addition to the impressive presentation, the portrayal of the relationship of the two protagonists under these forms is enhanced to the max. Both open their hearts, finding the pinnacle of their relationship and communicating it openly. Especially for Chat Noir, this is the quintessential moment where he finally opens up and reaches out to someone. He makes himself vulnerable for the first time in a long while, demonstrating the improvement in him as a person. Sadly, it doesn't end the way he hoped.

“Reaching out” Perhaps one of the best-performing songs in the movie. Marinette, similar to Chat, has improved and opened up, hoping to be able to find a mutual feeling that however, apparently, wasn’t reciprocated. This moment naturally creates a lot of doubt and insecurity in her and the song represents this difficulty and duality. By now she's grown up, she's learned to be herself and she can't just go back to zero point, however now her doubts and insecurity are growing because her efforts didn’t seem to work.

"Now I see" The song played during the end credits. An alternative version to "Stronger Together", with the same main melody, but different words, much more appropriate for the resolution of the movie and the now realized reveal. Their feelings were revealed in totality and they managed to connect. Their eyes and hearts can finally see.

"Careless Whisper" Yes. I will put it in the list because while its purpose is silly, it has one. Putting it in the moment Chat falls for Ladybug makes sense because those feelings are still incomplete and needs to grow and mature. It's understandable to make it a comedic moment. Just like it was a good idea to use it again later on as it's a break up song.

PLOT

Simple but functional plot, which follows a perhaps predictable path but also manages to exploit as much as possible in such a small time frame.

Compared to the series, at least the arc of Hawk Moth, everything is very simplified, but I think it's a good choice.

Not having too complex bases and having to fix everything in a limited time, but also needing to address important themes, the movie was able to focus better on the chosen details.

There are some cuts that unfortunately, however necessary, demonstrate that the movie’s potential would have been better expressed in a trilogy totally focused on Gabriel, rather than with a change of villain, thus allowing for more in-depth development.

However, it is understandable that with the Covid crisis and with the movie's few certainties of success a few years ago, Zag chose a safer path for the first and possible only installment, given the great uncertainty of possible sequels. The only thing that can be blamed then, is the possible fear of daring.

Beyond these elements, the film is certainly well studied in its three acts. Reinterpreting an existing story that spans several seasons and containing it in a movie is not for everyone and I find that as much as possible has been done and that it achieves the goal.

I also appreciated that many aspects of the PV have been restored for this version.

STRUCTURE AND RHYTHM

One of the main flaws of this movie, maybe the most critical, is the pacing.

Given the large number of characters, messages and plot twists, as well as the necessary gradual developments to be made and the relationships to be highlighted, everything happened very quickly and sometimes felt rushed. From the second act, it gallops towards the finale.

At my first viewing in French, this feeling was clear as water, but it improved on subsequent viewings in other languages as well.

It was an aspect I find impossible to prevent, but perhaps could have been lessed in some ways.

This problem goes hand in hand with the impetuous scene changes, even if mostly softened in the Italian version I watched afterwards.

Often there are sharp cuts that can be noticed between one scene and another, given the many perspectives to follow. It is clear that the time frame was limited and this detail would have been significantly improved with just a few more minutes.

In its favor it can be said that despite the short time frame, the many things to say and the too fast pace, the substance is clear. Characters are defined in who they are and what they want. The story is too, touching all the stages and completing itself, but still leaving room for the sequel. All reading levels are readable despite the flaws.

It’s a real shame though, that many aspects had to be rushed where instead they could have hugely benefited with more playing time or even splitting this arc into 3 movies.

DIALOGUES

Another mixed point of this movie are the dialogues. In some moments, for example the beginning with the conversation between Marinette and her mother Sabine, they fall into unnaturalness. They feel a bit out of place.

However, there are many other dialogues that are opposite to this; they are well thought out and excellent for explaining messages that cannot always be shown for playing time.

One such example is the dialogues between Tikki and Marinette when they get to know each other. “Exciting! You discovered electricity!”, “Girls can wear pants? Finally!”: these are dialogues that together with Tikki’s sung story not only make us understand the authority of the Kwami but also the historical context of the story and guess the time that has passed since there was enough chaos to call the Miraculous into action.

Also much of the characters' banter and comedic gags (with the exception of Plagg farting, which I find unnecessary as that kind of humor nowadays can be considered "outdated" for children and as the movie already had other comic reliefs) help to define the various contexts. Nothing the characters do or say really seems pointless.

DUBBING

On this aspect, I decided not to focus much because for each language there are positive and negative aspects. I have seen the movie in French, English and Italian (my native language) numerous times. In French and English, the known problem is that Marinette's voice is too deep in the singing and I agree that at least in English they should have let Cristina Vee sing. However, even here I don't feel like judging enormously because I also watched the movie in Italian and there these problems are completely absent. Indeed, the Italian version is probably the best in my opinion. Excellent acting and intonation, Marinette's chosen singing voice is very similar to speech as well as impressive in the expressiveness, and Adrien's is the same in both speaking and singing and is intoned and expressive.

The only voice that is out of place in Italian in the singing is Tikki, the same as in speech, a little out of rhythm and intonation.

However, I appreciated the different depth given to the characters compared to the show. Deeper and more expressive.

LORE

Starting from a purely introductory point of view, we can say that we have had a fairly complete one that immediately informs us of the basics; The miraculous of the cat and the ladybug contain enormous power and are balanced, they are called only in times of chaos and that of the butterfly is the most dangerous in case of incorrect use.

We are then informed in the movie that the Miraculous have been used since ancient times, that the Kwami are related to jewels and bestow powers but that they are also wise and skillful in their choices. They probably go dormiant when use is not needed.

We still don't know how the Miraculous were created, how Fu lost them (if he lost them in this version in the first place) and how much the Kwami have to obey their bearers. Furthermore, perhaps one of the defects is the absence of an explanation on how actually the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir could help Emilie. Would they bring her back to life? Would there be a sacrifice to be made?

Another aspect that I would have introduced in advance is the explanation of the powers of the Cataclysm and the Cure.

From a usage point of view, I think an excellent job has been done. Great idea to leave them at only the last drastic case, also for a matter of scenic effect. The idea of eliminating all of Ladybug's other powers to truly balance the two heroes is also excellent. Destruction and creation, Ladybug forced only to use her wits with what she has around, without extra help, and Chat engaged in a more physical role.

In this aspect, I think the movie did a better job of never making Ladybug and her Miraculous feel more important than her counterpart ever.

However, as mentioned, the lack of an explanation of these powers and introduction is a shortcoming of the film.

Even a mention of their danger and the fear of using them in any casual fight would have been of great help to better serve the surprise effect. Or propose that you need to reach a certain level of maturity or experience to unlock certain powers, even just inner acceptance.

The transformation limits have been removed, as well as that of only one Akuma at a time and a self-akumization of Hawk Moth while he was still transformed. All these changes in my opinion are not harmful and with the time limit it is a more than necessary cut.

It is also implied that the incorrect use of the miraculous can have negative effects on the bearer, as seen by Gabriel, increasingly destroyed and unkempt, as well as victim of fainting episodes. I found it a very ingenious choice, like making the enhancement of the powers of the two main miraculous literal when coordinated.

CHARACTERS

There are characters more or less different from the series, but regardless of whether they are good changes or not, the fact that they exist is not a mistake. It's a reboot, the characters don't have to be the same as their counterparts. They do not have the same roles, priorities or main characteristics. They are not supposed to be anything the show portrays them as.

The most remarkable thing is throughout the duration of the film the two protagonists have balanced roles.

Marinette/Ladybug

In this version, Marinette is a very different character from the series. Introverted and shy, and it is precisely this factor that makes her clumsy and awkward, even going as far as to assume bizarre attitudes in public, withdrawing into herself (as demonstrated with the teens who had tried to greet her and with Alya, whom she advises to stay away) and making mistakes that she apparently wouldn't make with more confidence in herself.

This leads not only others to avoid and mock her, but also to increase her anxiety.

A fairly predictable path for a protagonist where the superhero theme is concerned, but functional and excellent for counterbalancing Chat Noir and his readiness for the role.

From these points of view, Marinette is a character who is a victim of the situation, but also a victim of herself. She is flawed on purpose in the right ways. Her attitudes have a clear cause understood from setting, but realistically it’s still an unhealthy behavior for herself (hiding behind a car on first greeting, risking getting hurt repeatedly, loneliness).

Marinette is "chosen" by Master Fu and Tikki, for her instinctive and rapid heroic gesture, which almost failed. She doesn't hesitate for a moment to risk her life and almost throw it away, there are zero second thoughts. However, Tikki also chooses her because of her experience with past wearers of hers. Indeed, the call to become a hero, a very common theme in the stories of superheroes who are called to service in case they have the opportunity to help, even if perhaps they don’t wish to or never had an option to choose.

It can be said that Marinette is actually "the exception" for a girl of her age. Many would jump at the opportunity to have superpowers, like Adrien.

Indeed, Marinette keeps doubting clearly until "Courage in me", where fear is transformed into the need to act. Marinette has no choice, but she embraces the task and from that moment she begins to change.

She will begin to open up more to Chat's company, she will begin to open up to her friends and Adrien, to communicate with him, to get to know him.

And we see her blossoming into the same but also a new person, which leads her to a better life. However, the message given isn't that you have to change yourself to be accepted. But that effort must start from you. If you harm yourself and wait for others to step forward (even if the help of others is useful, as demonstrated in the movie) you will not be able to get back on your feet.

Marinette finds the confidence not to change herself, but to BE herself. To open up, to try courageously and relax, arriving at beneficial results for herself and this consequently leads to acceptance by others.

Marinette is already a fantastic person, but she has to let others see it and her experience as Ladybug, then leading to opening up first with Chat, with Alya and then with Nino and Adrien allows her to reflect what she has inside.

After rejecting Chat Noir with regret and inner doubts and after the rejection by Adrien, Marinette doubts again. After all, she made the effort, she got better… and it wasn't enough.

She doesn't know if it was worth it or not... yet she proves that the Marinette she once was is now different. She rushes into action to help when Hawk Moth strikes and after a moment of crisis she remembers the words from Chat and Tikki, during the very moment she hits rock bottom. She gets up in the form she believed most vulnerable, which she had already exposed once failing, she throws herself forwards and saves Chat Noir.

And finally, with the herself that she built, she rebuilds the city and steps forward to connect to Chat/Adrien. Difficult step because there will always be the slightest doubt of being rejected, but she embraces it and this time it brings her to a happy ending.

She no longer has to worry about having her parents drive her to school, she no longer has to worry about being watched, because now she can let her inner light shine and she knows that if she falls, she will rise again.

Adrien/Chat Noir

In this version the male protagonist is much more introverted as a civilian. Similarly to Marinette, he too has difficulty opening up and from a certain point of view he too by personal choice. Also demonstrated by the symbolism of the earbuds that he always wears in moments of insecurity. Indeed, in his case it is mainly a self-isolation that is imposed due to the trauma suffered by the death of the mother and the distancing that the father has placed in the relationship with his son.

Unlike the Adrien of the show, this Adrien grew up without particular restrictions, he can go where he wants and also had a good relationship with his father, who was present and affectionate. It's not hard to think that in this version Adrien was even encouraged by his father to go to school as a way to push him away, given Gabriel's confirmation in the finale that he couldn't bring himself to see his son's sad gaze.

As a consequence of this, we see an Adrien who, while kind and helpful, is not the same ray of sunshine of the show, whose main trait is kindness. But in this case, it doesn't HAVE to be.

This Adrien has trouble opening up and is afraid of becoming attached, which is why despite going along with Nino proposals of hanging out and helping out Marinette, he doesn't feel like being around them too much.

On the other hand, as Chat Noir, he is extremely stuck up and arrogant, proving that Chat is really an escape for the boy, who however exaggerates in letting this side out and ends up behaving in a quite negative way (albeit in moderation). A guy who probably really took on a few traits of the snotty rich kid.

This reading shows us a clearly flawed Chat Noir.

We don't see his meeting with Plagg or transformation, but from the get-go Chat is the one willing to wear the role, so while it would have been nice to see it, I don’t blame the cut. It was Marinette the one that needed more focus in this case.

Chat's attitude changes from the moment the boy develops a crush on Ladybug. This drives him to improve and gradually moderate his attitudes. Unlike the show's Chat he doesn't flirt and while it’s gradual, his banter with Ladybug becomes more playful and affectionate in nature and starts trusting her capacities. He becomes more humble and approachable, admitting that he doesn't see himself as the boss of the duo and offering to play sidekick. He collaborates with the girl during the fights, listens to her, begins to see her merits... and in civilian life he begins to go out with Nino, Alya and Marinette, to the point of opening up about his mother with the latter, an extremely personal topic for him. He no longer wears earbuds, no longer isolates himself from the outside world.

We see him again in class finally, when he didn't show up at the other lessons and we see him go back to a normal life.

His feelings for Ladybug in this case have improved him and come to a head when he also confides in Ladybug about his mother in his special place, confessing his feelings in a song and showing his vulnerability. Unfortunately, it does not end up as he would like and it leads him in the same situation Marinette will be into shortly after, doubting how good it was opening up. At the proposal to go to the gala with his friend, he will reject her with regret and what appears to be repentance and guilt.

This passage can be read both as insecurity about his feelings towards Marinette, and as insecurity about him opening up to others, given the hard blow immediately after finally opening up for the first time.

But even Adrien can't go back to zero point, and after a momentary moment of grudge, once he realizes that Ladybug is in danger, he runs to help.

Adrien throws himself into the fight against his father, which lands him in trouble. Thanks to his father's guilt, the villain stops and the two talk. Here Adrien's growth finally shines, who finally incites his father to let Emilie go, which he too had to learn to do and did, and forgives him.

That is a moment of acceptance and unfortunately, however, it is also a probable farewell, with the father who has presumably ended up in prison. Adrien thus remains alone and returns to isolate himself again due to the new trauma, even if not completely (he went to the dance, he doesn’t wear earbuds and Nino says he will join them). It's hard for him to go back to normal and heal, but he's learned and the step Marinette takes to reach his heart finally pays off and Adrien can start healing.

Gabriel/Hawk Moth

Perhaps the most human character in the movie. Gabriel, contrary to the show, is a man who shows constant crisis towards the loss of his wife. In the presence of others he proves to be composed, engaged in his working life (which we finally see more of), but in the private sphere he does not hesitate to show us all his desperation, also visible in his appearance which becomes increasingly scruffy as he continues with his hunt for the Miraculous.

We arrive at the end of the fight that he is a man destroyed by pain, by his own obsession that has taken over and by repentance.

As a character, although he comes across as cold and distant, he doesn't seem to abuse his son. Rather than an abusive parent, he is very neglectful and he pushes Adrien away for a matter of grief, not for his own standards of the family. He doesn't harshly reject Nathalie's proposal to eat with Adrien because he really doesn’t find it necessary, rather the reminder seems to hurt him because he knows he is wrong to not want his son around, which is why he acts so stern right after.

Thanks to the song and the revelation of his role, we discover that he is slowly descending further and further into madness, overwhelmed by his feelings. His own song, while not excusing his actions, treats him almost sympathetically and is the very moment he made the choice for his path. Up until then he was unsure which way to go, but the more his desperation and impatience grew, the more he lost control. And as Adrien freed himself from the chains of mourning, Gabriel became more and more engulfed in them.

Gabriel shows us that he cares about his son, while trying to detach himself emotionally to the point of believing he no longer has "Nothing to lose". To the point of believing that their relationship cannot be saved and that really the only way is to return Emilie to Adrien, even if that could mean losing his son's affection.

Still, Gabriel worries about his son's health and safety at all times, between making sure he's not at the scene of his attacks and wondering where he's been during the night. All this, while we see him more and more unkempt.

Gabriel, however, has been a loving man in the past and has all the bases for a possible redemption. It is precisely so that when he recognizes his son in Chat he decides to stop, realizing how far he has gone.

It doesn't excuse him from his actions, for which he will likely pay, but it does make him a villain we can sympathize with. He finally lets go of his wife, accepts the pain, and receives acceptance from his son who acknowledges that Gabriel too needed help. And then he hugs Adrien for the last time, in what seems like a desperate gesture that he's wanted to do for a long time. Heal the wounds of loss with the love of the one he still had, but who probably couldn't raise anymore.

However, a negative detail of Hawk Moth, perhaps the only one, is the fact that his costume does not fit with the character. In the series, his mask is understandable because at the beginning you don't want to immediately reveal his identity. However, this element is not introduced in the movie, so a redesign would have been appropriate.

For the post-credits scene, it is very unlikely that Gabriel left to Nathalie the duty of carrying on the plan, especially AFTER he surrendered, evidenced by the dialogue she recalls, implying that at the time of the confession no one else knew of his identity. After his surrender, all Paris was aware and it would have made no sense to talk about it as if it were a secret (although Emilie's body still was). Nor would the authorities let Gabriel loose after his surrender.

The kwamis

In this version we generally know little about the origins of the Kwamis as we do in the show. However we are aware of how much more sentient they are. Their authority is significantly greater and they are more difficult to manage. Theirs is not an attitude of chaotic innocence, but rather a "We do as we want because we have the right to", because they have enough years and experience behind them to be able to decide for themselves.

They impose themselves on their bearers and although they act as advisors, especially Tikki, they do not hesitate to reiterate several times that they are very expert beings in their job, to the point that they know how to recognize a pattern in all their bearers and also use it for choosing them. They are Gods, and as Zag wanted, they manage to prove it despite their cuteness.

We also know that Tikki and Plagg don't get along very well, but having not seen them interact we cannot yet define their relationship. Let's hope that in the sequel we’ll see this element, given the new relationship of their carriers.

Tikki is much more in-depth than Plagg in terms of screentime. Often advising Marinette to follow her feelings but also advising against it if needed, always following her own experience and gut.

Plagg on the other hand, unfortunately has much less screentime and another weak point of the movie is the fact that he was into the comic relief, in a somewhat avoidable way. Too bad, because despite his tough exterior he hides a soft heart, as demonstrated when he consoles Adrien over Ladybug's rejection.

Master Fu

Master Fu in this version appears more like a real guardian than a mentor. A person who looks at the Kwamis and makes sure they don't take too many liberties and then takes care of choosing new bearers together with their approval.

He does not approach the two heroes to instruct them except at the beginning, approaching both of them and at the end to recover the miraculous of the butterfly.

More than his absence as a master, the lack of his backstory and the missing miraculous can be seen as a flaw, although it is possible that it will be addressed as a theme in the sequels.

Fu in the movie is much weirder, ending up taking on a secondary comic relief role which in my opinion would have worked a lot more in this case, rather than on Plagg.

Secondary characters

Given the short time, many of them could not receive much space, but they were still able to show their usefulness.

First, Alya. The girl has a very charismatic personality and this leads her to approach Marinette and be the perfect person to match the girl, given the social problems she has and her tendency to push others away. This is one of the elements that helps Marinette open up, leading her from being drawn into a friendship to making friends of her own free will. Very important is that we are told early on about her dream of being a reporter and that it is used to motivate her attitude, which is never explicitly said on the show, even though it is part of her character.

Another character that I would like to mention is Chloé. The girl, contrary to the show, falls more into the kind of bully that cares about their reputation. She doesn't want to be seen doing bad things to Marinette, as shown more than once, especially in the scene where Alya purposely starts filming her to make her stop. She is bratty and bad-mannered, yet her refusal to be caught mistreating others is a sign that she recognizes her actions as wrong, which is a huge differentiator from the show. While it doesn't excuse her, this sets the stage for possible redemption in the sequels.

I also find the use of Nino and Marinette's parents positive, who are an excellent side element and help the characters move through the plot and in their development.

The akumatized

For a short movie, the handling of the akumatized people was excellent. The first showed us how transformation and its lore works in this universe, also showing us that a negative feeling is not just simple anger and sadness, but even intentions alone count.

The first clash serves us as an introduction and unleashes the story from every point of view, both for the roles and relationship of the protagonists, and for Gabriel's journey and the reaction of civilians. Each clash changes things and a notable contribution is made by the second. The two heroes learn to work together and are finally seen in a positive light by the still hesitant civilians.

The second clash also shows us action scenes during which Chat Noir and Ladybug strengthen their relationship, their powers and show the basis of their individual qualities, or the physical clash for one and creativity for the other.

Then we have a montage of villains, which saves minutes and despite everything allows the collaboration of the two heroes and the opinion of civilians to flourish.

The background characters/Civilians

Another element already mentioned are civilians. As I already talked about in the animation section, one notable aspect is how no character is standing still and everyone has their own reaction. I really appreciated the naturalness with which we see them trying to control the anxiety on a roller coaster, despair despite the worst was over after the final showdown and the slow acceptance towards the new heroes.

An aspect often overlooked in the series is the perception of civilians towards the heroes, almost completely enthusiastic right from the start if not for the competent authorities.

In the movie, we see them hesitant and intrigued, slowly in the process of opening up and trusting the two vigilantes, always not completely sure, given their mysteriousness. Contrary to the series, the two heroes seem much more unreachable at the beginning and it is visible and understandable that the inhabitants of Paris do not know whether to trust two strangers that hold powers as strange as those who started to haunt them.

RELATIONSHIPS

One of the obviously most important sides to analyze is the relationship aspect, especially the main couple… (as I already talked a lot already about Gabriel and Adrien’s relationship in the characters analysis, I will focus more on the romantic aspect in this section)

From a lovesquare point of view, it can be said that this movie has a total absence of Ladrien and almost total absence of Marichat, leaving room for a parallel path with the Adrienette and the Ladynoir. However, it is also clearly visible that the movie's main couple is Ladynoir.

Starting back…

Marinette and Adrien in this reboot are two characters both very introverted in civilian life, opposite to the show. The two have a similar problem of mostly self-imposed isolation, which is broken when wearing the mask, which seems to improve them and allow them to let go more of their inner self. From this point of view, the lack of the Adrienette seems less problematic, as their deepest parts come to the surface with the masks and they are shown to fall in love with them.

However, it remains a pity the little playing time given to the development of Adrien's feelings towards Marinette.

While it is made clear that Marinette is undecided between Chat Noir and Adrien, on the other hand, Adrien's indecision between Ladybug and Marinette is very hidden.

It is not totally absent of course, we can clearly see the regret mixed with guilt and frustration when he is forced to refuse Marinette's invitation to the gala. He seems mortified, at the verge of tears. And you can see it also in the happiness and simplicity with which he accepts Marinette after she reveals herself, as if it made perfect sense and reassured him.

We also see him open up to the girl about his mother, which is extremely personal, and we see him support her in the montage. All of this would have been better exalted if spoken dialogue had been kept in the definitive version (for example, in the book version of the movie Adrien loses his locket and Marinette helps search and finds it), or, if there had been the inclusion of "The wall between us" .

Unfortunately, this is one of the points on which I have to dwell in a negative way. The removal of this song was probably the movie's biggest mistake. Just replacing the remix theme song with this song, which accompanies the scenes and shows us Adrien's conflicting feelings, would have greatly improved the situation.

Like all the other songs in the movie, which have a very specific purpose, "The wall between us" also had one, perhaps one of the most important ones that would have balanced "Stronger Together". They are songs to pair, not replace on with each other, and the removal of one has affected the entire movie.

I want to say again that I don't think there is a total absence of Adrien's feelings towards Marinette, underneath, and that the damage doesn't mar the movie enormously, but it is still one of the major flaws, which could easily have been fixed with an extra song or a simple replacement.

I also found out that in the book version of the movie Adrien was indeed showing thoughts of being conflicted between Marinette and Ladybug and before the ball he retrieved the papillon she made for him, besides refusing to dance with Chloé because he only wanted to dance with Marinette.

Sooo yeah, I wonder if the timespan of the movie was really such a big issue, as they cut something important that they still had pretty much figured out.

Speaking on the other hand from the point of view of analyzing the feelings themselves, let’s first focus on Marinette.

Marinette's feelings for Adrien blossom when he helps her up and worries about her, which has never happened to her before. Sure, Alya had rescued her and was her first friend, but it was a different attitude. Adrien worried about her several times and patiently helped her and that gesture, for her who was always teased or ignored, was fundamental. Her slow realization and her desire to get to know him better slowly pushed her to solidify that feeling and to be able to develop their friendship, although this element unfortunately had little space.

The depiction of Marinette's feelings was excellent despite everything, starting from a gradual shy crush, growing towards friendship and then becoming a conflict with the feeling directed towards two different boys.

As for Adrien's feelings, as already mentioned, we're sadly pretty short on the Adrienette front from his perspective. However, we can still note that although he finds Marinette "strange" for her behavior, he does not make fun of her in her face or behind her back with other people. He is not saying it with ill intentions, it’s just a very true observation. He helps her gently and slowly opens up, supporting her in her needs and allowing her to support him back.

On the Chat Noir front, again as already mentioned, we can clearly see that his feelings for Ladybug were born as a crush, almost comically, just when the girl saved him. Initially, his feelings are quite confused, guided by the idea he has of her. However, already from the second mission, their attitude towards each other changes and Chat begins to discover the most creative sides of the partner. The boy is aware of Ladybug's fears, because she herself tells him about it and we can see in the timeskip that they have fought together for a long time and have also dedicated time simply to get to know each other. He knows she is scared but she is still trying and his feelings grow. Ladybug too clearly starts falling for him.

We can say the partnership of the two heroes in this version is very interesting, because it doesn't start in a positive way at all. The two argue, as their Kwamis apparently do. They are really in conflict, because they are opposites. However, their bickering slowly turns thanks to the acceptance into affectionate banter and retort, no offense.

Their partnership throughout the film demonstrates the need for a balance, between a Chat expert in physical combat that shows him easily beating Ladybug, and a more creative and flexible Ladybug in exchanging strategy.

We see them engaged in fighting schemes, in coordination, to the point where it is no longer just a saying "stronger together" but a real rule. Their miraculous actually strengthen when they are in sync, like the Ying and Yang, two figures that complement each other.

And the sidekick figure that switches from Ladybug to Chat, then disappears. Their simple partnership, their collaboration and support in an unknown situation, leads them to improve their character from every point of view, to the point of reflecting on their lives as civilians.

For the timeframe available, an excellent job has been done on these aspects.

The only flaw remains Adrien's conflict and the consequent lack of "The Wall Between Us".

It was also excellent how the natural conflict was moved to Ladynoir and all the relationships were treated in a very natural and realistic way. Adrien and Marinette’s initial conflict in the series lasted very short and was quite forced, while Ladynoir has all the reasons to have it for how their personalities were presented and for their roles. Them growing in their civilians and heroic parts was done very beautifully.

Speaking less of objectivity and more of personal taste, I would have liked them to use the Marichat route more than the parallel love of Adrinette and Ladynoir, always insertable.

Furthermore, I would have appreciated that the reveal came more for the fulfillment of the heart and less for events that forced it. That is, that falling in love led the heart to understand that the two loved ones were the same person.

However, these elements are pure personal taste, and I don't find their absence a real fault of the movie.

Another element that I greatly appreciated is the fact that we saw a montage of Alya, Nino, Marinette and Adrien coming out as friends and forming a tight group.

It is a very important detail for the development of the characters.

COMPARISON TO THE SERIES

*CRACKS KNUCKLES*

Ok, as said at the beginning of this post, you are free to skip this part. If you decide to read it, know that I don't expect you to agree with me or that I’m not judging who didn't like the movie and who loves the series more.

This is just my personal opinion and I apologize if at times it can come across as quite intense. That is totally not my intention!

It is no surprise that I liked the movie and that I enjoyed it more than the series.

I am aware that one is a movie, with limited time, and one is a series. And I am also aware that they are products written in different conditions.

However, with one being the original source, I feel it is impossible to avoid a comparison.

One thing I'd also like to point out is that it's not about what I like best as a trope. Because if that were the case, I wouldn't have liked the movie at all; Marichat is my favorite ship as a concept and I think it's the best development for the story, and as you well know it's totally absent from the movie and with the reveal already done there can't be any pre-reveal development in the sequel.

I also like the idea that they realize their identities with their hearts after they meet.

The show has tropes that I might like, some even more than the movie. However, it was the way things were handled that led me to the conclusion that the movie did a better job in the writing.

It's a common thing I've heard in the fandom that the movie in an hour and a half has done more than the series in 5 seasons.

And well, I think that's true, although I also think it's crucial to explain why and what was done better.

First of all…

I don't think a more confident Marinette is a problem. What I think has been the mistake in the way she's been handled on the show is to have her act so… extreme. Her weird behavior is a manageable element, but it's one thing to be weird cute that can embarrass you, it's another to make it so over the top that it becomes all of her character, especially while implying that those attitudes are a normal thing. Especially if when she makes a mistake she either doesn’t pay for it, or she does but goes back to stage 0 from the following episode. Or even if it’s portrayed as nothing is wrong at all.

I don't think it's a good move to have her act like this for 4 out of 5 seasons of the first arc, rendering her unable to hold a conversation with Adrien and form a natural friendship with him BEFORE entering a relationship with him.

We barely saw the group of friends (Alya, Nino, Mari and Adrien) hang out, perhaps justifiable by Gabriel’s choice to keep Adrien locked up. But there was never an attempt to get around it and still allow the characters to interact for an adequate period of time except in very rare cases that lasted very little, when the series had all the time to do it.

Most of Adrien and Marinette's conversations were cut short and we can count on our fingers how many times the two had a heart-to-heart before getting together. It got to the point that Marinette admitted that she didn't know Adrien at all at the beginning of the fifth season and not recognizing Chat in Adrien in the fourth, which is very grave.

The movie, with its limited time frame, not only managed, albeit largely in a montage, to show us the group of friends that was forming, but also showed how Marinette attempted to get closer to her crush, to get to know him, and have formed a real bond of friendship!

I don't think adding trauma last minute in season 5 to explain Marinette's behavior fixes that. It doesn't work, as she's never had those problems in alternate realities or with other guys she had crushes on and her attitude has never been portrayed as a bad thing.

I much prefer the movie's approach to her feelings and her character, because from the beginning we know that she has problems, we know that what she does is not healthy for herself, but it gets better with time.

Just as I appreciate, as already mentioned, the removal of the initial conflict between Adrien and Marinette, as it was one-sided and basically short-lived. I think the intention of the series was to show that Marinette didn't fall in love at first sight with a pretty face or the boy's fame. However, for 4 seasons it never came out why Marinette liked Adrien, nor were those feelings deepened by the characters as they got to know each other more and more. Marinette has portrayed Adrien as the perfect boyfriend material for a long time in the series, which contradicts the purpose of their initial conflict.

Same goes for Show!Adrien, that barely shows his personal interests and thoughts that aren't Ladybug related (first) or Marinette (later).

The conflict in the movie however was given to Ladynoir, which makes a lot of sense as they are opposites anyway who have to learn to work together. It also brings a whole new development to their relationship which I appreciate.

Chat Noir and Ladybug are treated as equals in a way the series never has. Their powers are balanced, so are their roles in the story, screentime and in combat. Their relationship is never “subordinate and leader” and we watched them explore this aspect until they came to the conclusion that they were equal partners. Even Fu approaches them together Tikki calls them "guardians".

The series dealt with the topic by always leaving Chat Noir in the dark and creating an entire subplot that was never resolved and just showed us a still insistent Chat Noir and a Ladybug who treated her partner badly, with no guilt on the way and with no final apology.

Using misunderstanding tropes is good if you can handle them.

If we are to believe that Chat and Ladybug are partners, that the characters are equal in roles and relationships, it is not only necessary to say it, but to prove it.

And surely the season 5 finale didn't help in that aspect…

I have delved into these topics in other analyzes that I have done. You can find the analysis of the Ladynoir subplot here.

While here you can find the analysis of the season 5 finale.

Characters with flaws are important, but these aspects must be addressed as such and corrected in an adequate amount of time.

While not as much as Marinette towards Adrien, Chat has also been too insistent on his feelings for too long and I appreciate that with his character change in the movie, we had a natural conflict that turned into respect later on.

Just like I appreciate that their relationship improves in the long run and gives them the courage to improve themselves.

As for the change of personalities itself, I think it's pretty subjective here. It's not wrong to choose a more open Marinette and the same goes for a sunny and innocent Adrien.

These are different interpretations of the characters. I just think with what it has at hand, the movie has managed its version with more skill.

I also much prefer the approach to the character of Gabriel, because while I like the abusive parent road to the core more, I also think it's something to be treated with a lot of care, which is not the case in the show. Gabriel in the movie is a very human character, who, although in conflict, never contradicts himself, unlike Gabriel in the show.

One thing I immediately explained about the movie is that the pacing is poorly managed. True, this is a big flaw. But it's also understandable given the playing time available and the amount of information and relationships they had to readjust.

The series has terrible pacing too. And it has had plenty of time to deal with its elements and most of the changes have occurred in the last season of the first arc, with more elements being dragged further and further and most of which have not been resolved.

It's even missing a lot of lore, when there was so much time to put it in! Even to delve into it in detail.

Or the management of the secondary characters, rightly cut a lot in the movie with limited playing time, but completely incorrect in the series which has every opportunity to make them stand out.

Marinette's falling in love with Chat lasted for a few episodes where she was constantly being told that she was just projecting her crush on Adrien. Adrien falling for Marinette only happened in the last season and that becoming again all he thinks about.

There isn't enough attention to the characters' passions, their lifestyles and they often don't react naturally to things that happen to them. They don't ask themselves out loud things they would naturally think in their situation. The characters don't get to know each other, they don't spend time together normally even just like anime would in their fillers.

This is something we lack in both what they say and what they do.

I would also like to mention that it doesn't matter how many seasons they add. The fact remains that we have had 5 seasons already badly managed. You can add as many seasons as you like afterwards, but you can't fix the issues you've had over 100 episodes with them.

The path is as important, if not more important than the final goal.

In the movie, however, we saw the characters open up about personal issues that they could reveal without worry, even with the masks. We've seen the characters spend time together, have natural conflicts due to their personalities and conditions then resolve still in a natural way. We have always seen a sometimes comical but realistic representation of the feelings of the characters.

What was cut and simplified, allowed for better management of what they had in their hands. That these elements correspond to the vision of many fans is no surprise because Miraculous in its structure is a very predictable series. A series that can have thousands of different developments, but all of which can be foreseen in a certain sense, at least the basic ones.

This however is not a bad thing. The use of clichés or predictable structure is not wrong if well managed. It is much better than the constant pretense of unpredictability which however leads to the distortion of the entire product, making it unnatural and giving unclear or negative messages.

If the movie was just fanservice, we would have had Marichat, the fan-favorite ship.

We would have had the most thorough Adrienette.

In the time available, the movie has proposed a development of relationships and characters that are not perfect, they are flawed but healthier.

We had a semi-conclusion which, however, leaves room for further development into the sequels, for example for the post-reveal relationship of the protagonists.

One never expects the perfect relationship, or the perfect character, but something coherent in its construction and treated for what it is and not pretending it managed something it never really had done.

The movie managed to make the heroes lose but also to make them win, to make love win, which was the message of the film.

Whether it's a non-abusive Gabriel who ends up face to face with his son, whether it's a Chloé with a chance of redemption, whether it's a reveal… all these elements have also been set up in a different way.

Chloé does not go beyond certain limits, the characters got to know each other enough to instantly accept each other at the reveal and react with extreme joy to the point of crying, Gabriel has always shown that he loves his son…

Choosing that Chloé doesn't redeem itself is fine, but it's how it was introduced, managed and set up that is wrong. Gabriel remaining bad through and until the end is fine, as long as the purpose of the villain fathering the male protagonist holds a sense writing wise, confrontations are allowed and no wrong messages are passed across.

Choosing to set character crushes as unhealthy in the beginning is fine, as long as getting to know each other leads them to develop those feelings in a more positive way.

Adding love rivals is fine, if they’re properly handled and they have a purpose that leads the character to learn something and then to a better endgame.

Adding new villains is okay too if they’re realistic enough to not go outside the suspension of disbelief and they are slowly and constantly built up. Adding conflict and angst is fine, as long as it's natural, leads to an equally good resolution, and has a purpose.

A movie with so many limitations and with its visible flaws, has succeeded in an impressive feat and served up a great product.

Yes, it would have been better if it was the start of a trilogy for the first arc as a whole. It would have been better if it hadn't cut “The Wall Between Us”. It would have been better with a slower pace. It would have been better without the fart jokes!

This movie had the potential to do even more, to be something spectacular.

It did not make it.

But it still managed to be a great movie.

The movie has accomplished a lot in a sea of restrictions.

The series has accomplished very little in a sea of opportunities.

FINAL VOTE

Movie as a product by itself: 8- / 10

Great messages, great developments and comedy often well managed. High level animations and music. Extremely poor pace management.

Movie as a product of Miraculous: 9.5 / 10

Clearly more successful than the series, although it has strong limitations due to the vast content and the limited playing time. Aspects much better managed from every point of view. The only flaw is the Adrienette content they cut out or the lack of "The wall Between Us"

#miraculous #ml movie spoilers #miraculous movie #miraculous awakening #mlb spoilers #ml spoilers

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bookishtheaterlover7 · 2 months

Text

Her Reign

a/n: Hello, my Fabulous Readers! Would you like to take a trip down Memory Lane with me? Boy, do I have a treat for y'all...

When I was just starting to write my fanfics 8 - 9 years ago, before I fell into major Writer's Block, and went on my forced Hiatus, I wrote this fic for a good friend. Because back then, she drew Steve fanart for me, and I wrote Loki fics for her.

Fast forward to this year, I'm looking through my old notes in my notes apps, low and behold I find a handful of fic ideas and half-written, unfinished fics. And honestly, young me literally had the best fic ideas 😆 I realize that they're basically my very own Vaults! They couldn't have came on a better time, when I want to connect to my younger self, and remember what it was like, when life wasn't as complicated.

Ofcourse, it's not completely the original story, present me needed to polish the rough patches in the story, because specific timeline when this was written, was roughly somewhere before Endgame after Infinity War...😅 And I also need to make sure, it's semi-accurate to the current MCU, for my own sake.

But still, I hope y'all will enjoy reading this one, all the same.

Loki Odinson x Y/n Y/L/N's Daughter, Lucy Laufeyson

Requested: No

WARNINGS: Loki's Death(seriously doesn't need to be a question😆), Abusive, cliché Evil Step-parent, Allusion to the abuse Y/n goes through, Lucy imagining and enacting revenge(and justice) on Evil Step-Parent, Lucy goes ape-shit, Loki would be proud. Story goes way dark(not GOT Dark, but still, pretty dark). Written by me, when I was still fairly new to writing, so sorry for the errors present Me isn't able to fix.

DNI Divider by @firefly-graphics

Enjoy!

Loki looking at Lucy from Valhalla...

It was a typical day for the Avengers in the Avenger Compound. Agents of every kind, rushed here and there, to finish their duties. In one of the lower floors underground, lived the Avengers. Each had their own apartment. But they liked to spend time together, in the common room. And today was no exception.

The room was full of chaos. From the sounds of a certain Captain's daughter crying, because she fell down while attempting to walk, with her doting mother and older brother trying to calm her down, to Peter Parker, Bruce Banner and Dr. Stephen Strange devising a way to make their tactical suits more durable, and more accommodating to the various shapes and sizes each individual, human, alien or super, has.

Lucy Laufeyson is among the chaotic bunch. Born and raised together with James Anthony Rogers, making her pretty much used to everything that happens around here, around her considered-extended family. She'd been living with the Avengers and her Uncle Thor Odinson, in an effort to avoid her Step-Father, Grey Wallace. Well, specifically to avoid hurting, said man.

From the moment her grandmother, from her mother, Y/n Y/L/N's side, had told her that she was to have a Step-Father, she knew that it would take a lot of strength and maturity. For she knew Gray wasn't a good man. He abused her mother and basically, forced her to have his child. Luckily, Lucy could never hate her younger Brother, Greyson. She hated his sperm donor.

Before Loki died, he had written a note to every member of his family. For Thor, Y/n, and especially Lucy. The one for her, specified that he wanted Thor to take his family to New Asgard, where he hoped to be laid to rest.

Once his request was fulfilled, she decided to take her father's name and use it to make a legacy of her own in her new home. Despite this, it didn't stop her from imagining enacting her revenge on Grey. She hated everything he did to her mother, and today is living proof of that.

"Hey James. Nice shield." Lucy smirked, it looks uncannily like her Father's.

"Oh, Lucy... Hi... I-I-I was just borrowing this from Dad." James answered, turning pinker by the minute.

"Calm down, Rogers. I was just teasing." Lucy said, playfully boxing his arm.

"Besides, I'm not here as often as I used to. Just for old times sake."

"Sometimes I wonder how we've been friends, since birth." James sighed.

"Come on... you know you love me, Cap Jr." Lucy smirked again, living for the reaction she gets, from her dear sweet James.

"Excuse me, Ms. Laufeyson, but Ms. Alexa is here." Tony's AI, JAKASTA, said.

"Thanks, JAKASTA." Lucy replied.

"See you later, Rogers." She added, patting the side of his pink face on her way out.

Lucy walked from the training room, through endless hallways, with Agents working and training, as well as the scientist conducting tests and experiments, of all kinds, to the elevator, that will take her down to the Lobby. Her heart leapt with excitement. She always loved seeing her Mother, and her younger Brother, whenever they came for a visit. Preferably without her infamous Step-Father, who in her opinion, descended straight from Hell.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the Lobby, where she knew the people her Family, would be waiting. She pushed open the only door, separating her from the Lobby, and saw her mother for the first time in months. Beautiful but bruised and slightly battered. Loki would hate Grey.

"Mom!" Lucy called.

"Hello Lucy." Y/n replied, looking up from talking to Y/O/N Rogers, her best friend since before meeting the loves of their lives.

Lucy walked a little faster and went to give her mother a gentle but firm hug.

"What am I? A chameleon? Where's my hug?!" Lucy's younger brother, Greyson, asked/exclaimed.

"Hello to you, too, Baby Brother." Lucy smirked, going in to hug her sibling.

"It's always a gem, to see you both together like this!" Alexa cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"We really need to catch up." Greyson said with a smile, taking Lucy's hand.

Sometime later, the family sat in a restaurant downtown, enjoying the food and coffee, while catching up and sharing stories with one another.

"And he just ran and ran and BOOM! Homerun!" Alexa finished, with pride in her eyes as she looked at her son.

"It was nothing, really. Honest." Greyson said, blushing at the attention.

"Changing the subject, how are you and your so-called 'childhood bestfriend, not potential lover', Dear Sister." Greyson teased.

"I told you the last time, Greyson. We're just friends. Nothing more. Nothing less." Lucy replied, as a matter of factly.

"Now, why don't I believe that?" Greyson muttered, under his breath.

"Shut up." Lucy replied, with a playful shove towards him.

"It's so nice to see you both getting along." Alexa said, wistful.

"I would be happier if that lousy excuse of a Step-Father is six feet under and never ever coming back." Lucy commented, scooping up some of her food into her mouth.

"Lucy-" Alexa started, wiping her eyes, before opening her arms towards her daughter.

"I mean it, Mom. He's hurt you enough." Lucy replied.

"Dad wouldn't want this for you..." She added, taking her Mother's hand, and rolling up the sleeve a little to reveal the marks hidden underneath.

"Sorry, Mom. But I agree with Lucy. If he hadn't hurt you, and continued to hurt you, things might've been different." Greyson replied, as Y/n pulled her hand away, and pulled her sleeves down, even further than before.

"I know three days ago wasn't the best wedding anniversary..." She started to explain.

"WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO THIS TIME?!" Lucy exclaimed, her anger boiling up to the surface.

"It's nothing, Lucy." Alexa sighed.

"It isn't just nothing, Mom! It's always something." Lucy raised her voice. Her eyes being drawn to the sleeve that her Mother, so desperately, was using to try to hide the marks from her, earlier.

"This is the last straw! He's been doing this ever since you married him. It needs to stop." Lucy announced, with finality and determination.

"Lucy, no. It's fine. I'm used to it." Alexa replied, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"I told you, Mom. He's hurt you enough." Lucy repeated, before standing up.

"I've had enough." She growled, before walking away with purpose and determination, with Y/n's and Greyson's voices calling behind her. Falling on deaf ears.

Grey Wallace was walking from his office building to his car. It had been a long day, and he was looking forward to having a beer when he got home. He was practically skipping down the road, until he felt like someone was watching him, from the shadows. Shrugging it off as paranoia, he continued walking.

He finally arrived at his car, ready to unlock it when he was forcefully, pushed against his car. His arms painfully pinned against his back.

"Who are you? What do you want? If you want my money, take it. I-It's yours." Grey said in a panic, words coming out in quick succession.

"I don't want, nor do I need your money." The figure, behind him, replied.

"Then, w-what do you want?" Grey asked again, shaking to the bone.

"I want justice for my Mother." The figure replied, a sinister smile slowly beginning to form on her face.

"I-I don't even know y-your Mother." Grey cried, before being turned around, and pinned to the side of his car.

"Oh, don't act coy, now... You know my Mother... In fact you know her very well, that you've taken to hurting her for about 5 years, now. Isn't that right, Step-Father?" The figure said, her face coming into the light.

"Lu-Lucy..." Grey gasped, not believing his eyes.

"That's right. And I have come to make sure you'll never lay another hand on my Mother, ever again." Lucy said, before turning into her Jotun form and punching her Step-Father.

Grey's world turned black.

His eyes burst open, and he quickly looked around in a panic. Remembering the terrifying sight of his Step-Daughter, before she knocked him unconscious. He sighed in relief, when he found that he's all alone in his Hospital Room.

"Think you're safe, Step-Father?" Lucy said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Lucy... Lucy... Whatever I've done to you and Y/n, I'm sorry." Grey pleaded.

"You think that's enough?! You think that sorry will take away all you've done to her?! To the both of us?!" Lucy exclaimed, her bright green eyes turning red.

"You're lucky, I only left you with a concussion, and a punctured lung. I would have killed you on the spot, had I not made myself promise Mom not to hurt you too badly." She added.

"Lucy, please I beg you..." Grey begged.

"Oh, now you're begging me." Lucy cackled.

"Like how Mom begged you to let her go, every single hellish night..." She continued, her features slowly changing.

"Lucy, you need help. Y-you don't look well. Y-you're blue!" Grey exclaimed.

"Oh, don't pretend like you care. You never did." Lucy snapped.

"Why are you turning blue?!" Grey shrieked, panicked, his monitor blaring at his increasing heartrate.

"Let me answer your question with this question: Have you ever wondered why we never told you about my birth Father? Why no one ever spoke of him?" Lucy said, lightly caressing the tube that re-inflated his lung.

"Well, the answer is quite simple actually. I'm the daughter of Loki of Asgard." Lucy said, turning full Jotun, and staring right into Grey's eyes.

"Y-You-You're the daughter of Loki Laufeyson, the one who invaded the planet?" Grey asked, trying to scurry away but couldn't. bound to the bed by the very tubes and wires that are helping him.

"Yes. So, if I were you... I'd be glad, that I spared your life. I may seem all sweet and innocent, but trust me when I say this..." Lucy added, slightly squeezing the tube. Blocking it from keeping his lung inflated.

Grey started to feel a tightness in his chest. Unable to catch his breath, from fear, and distress.

"I'm so much worse than my Father. So much worse." Lucy growled. Releasing her grip on the tube.

Allowing Grey to finally able to relax and breathe better and regularly, now.

"You're just lucky I made a promise to my Mother. Had I not, I would have done so much worse." Lucy added, getting up and leaving.

"Leave my Mother alone, or a collapsed lung and concussion won't be the most excruciating thing you'll ever experience." Lucy said, turning back to look at him.

"I give you my word, Step-Father." She added, turning into back her human form, her eyes glowing red for a second before going back to green.

Grey shook with fear, causing Lucy to smirk. And with that, she turned and left.

Lucy walked through the hospital doors and out, before opening a portal in the middle of the driveway and walking through it. Taking her home to New Asgard.

When she stepped out of the portal, her red leather jacket, stripped sleeveless blouse, leggings and boots, instantly turned into a long, green, mermaid style dress with a shimmering light green cape, connected in the back.

Her raven black hair curled, pulled back, half up, half down, and a complicated gold head piece with it. She walked to the kingdom, where everyone who saw her, bowed respectfully.

She made her way into the Palace, where her Keeper eagerly greeted her at the entrance. For a man, who was about 1,000 years old, give or take, he definitely could keep up with Lucy's long strides.

"Your Ladyship! The King has gone to Wakanda on business, but there are some matters of great importance to attend to." The man explained, pointing to the long list of matters, needing her immediate attention.

"I shall deal with all the problems one by one. I want to make sure everything is dealt with, accordingly." Lucy announced, taking a seat on the throne.

"Lady Loki, the people are waiting for you." The court announcer told her.

"Send them in." She answered, as the guards allowed the people to come inside. Which little by little, she solved all of them. Loki's Daughter, Y/n and Greyson's fiercest protector, Asgard's warrior, and Valkyrie's Right Hand, Lady Lucy.

a/n: I hope you all enjoyed it! Despite the errors, and the dark stuff... Maybe this'll lead me to upload other, more worthy fics in the Future.

We'll see.

Until next time!

❤ Booky

Taglist: @nescavaneck @jiyascepter @royalwriteroftheuniverse @femefetalelevelingup

#tom hiddleston #loki imagines #loki x y/n #tom hiddleston fandom #tom hiddelston loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #loki laufeson imagines #loki fanfic #loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki odinson imagines #tom hiddlston imagines #booky's written works #booky's trip dowm memory lane

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multi-fandom-of-madness · 11 months

Text

Darkness At The Heart Of My Love

Pairings: Papa Emeritus IV/Copia X GN!Reader

Type: Fluff that turns to angst w/ no comfort

Summary: Copia had just begun his reign as Papa, and was overworked. He needed to get away from the ministry and all of it. He found someone along the way. Someone who showed him love and happiness. It was perfect, until things changed, and then things descended into chaos.

Warnings: Mentions of character death, heartbreak, use of Y/N, google translated Italian

Word Count: 3,619

Notes: I’m debating on whether I want to make this into a short series. I already have the second part written, but I don’t know how I feel about the plot I previously had for the third part. I originally did this as a self insert, so if there are pronouns that don't correlate with a gender neutral reader, please let me know I will fix it asap. Also I'm sorry for the way the song lyrics copied over, you're just gonna have to deal with it (unfortunately).

Read on AO3

When the summer dies

Severing the ties

I'm with you always, always

Will you walk the line?

My path serpentine

Remember always

That love is all you need

Tell me who you wanna be

And I will set you free

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

For you

It was a September afternoon. The leaves were just starting to change and the air had just started to relieve itself of its hellish temperatures. Summer finally started saying its goodbye.

The Clergy had been on Copia’s back recently due to his most recent accomplishment of being in talks to become the new Papa. He knew that they just wanted everything perfect, but he was struggling to believe he could live up to their practically impossible standards. It had been an impossibly long day, and he knew that he needed a break before he snapped, inflicting the wrath of Sister Imperator.

He drove around, just trying to clear his head until he found a café. A small little thing that looked very simple. He didn’t bother to check the name or the reviews before walking inside.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you today?” A chipper voice called out to him. His head snapped up from his phone as he set his eyes on them.

“Oh, hello. I-I’m good. How are you today?” He responded, his cheeks reddening slightly as he stumbled over his words.

“Well, it would be better if it were time to go home, but honestly I can’t complain too much,” the cashier responded. “What can I get for you today?”

Copia looked over the menu for just a moment. “Could I just get a black coffee and a blueberry scone?”

“Sure thing!” They smiled as they told him the total and grabbed his scone. They handed him the bag, and his hand lingered for a moment. He held his breath once he realized what he was doing, and grabbed the bag.

“Grazie,” he mumbled as he walked over to the other end of the counter to wait on his coffee. He watched as they poured the coffee, entranced by their every move.

“Here’s your coffee, sir,” they called as if he wasn’t jumping at the chance to talk to them again.

“Thank you,” he said, taking it and finding a seat. He was the only person actually sitting down, everyone else who came in got their orders and left. Copia knew that wouldn’t do for him. If he left, he didn’t know what would have happened.

He sat for a while, eating his scone and sipping his coffee. It was peaceful in the little café. Soft music played over the speakers, and the scent of freshly baked treats filled the air. It was nice.

“I’m heading out now! I’ll see you guys later!” He heard them call, apron off and bag in their hand. He watched them walk towards the door, and jumped up, not really knowing what he was doing.

“Excuse me, but I was just wondering if you-if you had any plans today. It’s been a long day, and you seem like you would be nice to talk to. Only, if you want to of course! I just thought you were gorgeous-I mean you seemed nice. Not that you aren’t gorgeous of course! I’m sorry, I don’t really talk to people outside of my work,” he rushed his words. He was slightly shaking, scared of what they would say.

“I don’t have any plans,” they smiled. “There’s a park right down the road, I could take you if you wanted.”

A look of relief washed over his tired face. “Really? I-well, I would like that actually.”

“My name is Y/N,” they said, holding out their arm.

He looped his arm in theirs, internally smacking himself for not asking their name earlier. “Copia.”

“Well, Copia, it’s nice to meet you.” They squeezed his arm lightly as they left the café. He smiled and looked at the ground.

The park wasn’t far at all, just about a ten minute walk. It was pretty, especially now that the leaves were changing their colors, shedding their summertime glow. There was a winding path that had trees scattered along with a few bushes surrounding them. The flowers on the ground were already wilting, but the scene was still beautiful nonetheless.

“So, Copia, what brought you to my little café?” They asked, their head tilting as they continued to walk arm in arm. Copia found it refreshing to not have his title used to address him for once. It seemed to be all he heard now.

“Well, work has been getting to me. Sis-My boss likes everything to be perfect. It’s just the way that the company is run. I’m beginning to take on a new…new mantle, and in order to properly take it on, I have to be perfect. It is a lot of stress for one man.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure it is stressful. May I ask where you work? I might be able to help, or at least provide some comfort with a little more context.”

He was hoping they wouldn’t ask that question, terrified of scaring them off. “Well, it’s a, uh, ministry of sorts.”

“Oh, so you’re going to become a priest. I guess that could be difficult. Not living a life of sin and being perfect for God and all of his followers.”

“Well, not exactly,” he admitted to them. “Are you religious?”

“I’m not entirely religious. I’m sure there’s a source of something out there, but if it is, I haven’t found it. I don’t judge religions though.”

“Well, that’s comforting,” he sighed. They gave him an odd look. “Our ministry isn’t exactly…Christian.”

“Now I'm a little bit confused.”

He laughed lightly at their response. “It’s a Satanic church. We preach about the word of Satan, and it’s a fun little gig we have going. We use a band to spread the word. Maybe you have heard of it?”

“That's interesting. What is your band called? I’m not sure whether I would have heard of it or not.”

“It’s called Ghost, we are pretty popular,” he teased. He wouldn’t be sure whether they’d heard of it or not, and was surprised by their reaction to saying he was with a satanic church.

“No, I don’t think I have heard of it actually.”

“Well, what kind of music do you like? I can help be a good judge of whether it would provide entertainment. It’s, eh, not really your basic music.”

“I’ll listen to almost anything, honestly. I’m always down for a good tune.”

Copia was taken aback by this a bit, a pleasantly shocked look on his face. “Well, it’s a rock band. A pretty good one if I do say so myself.”

“Maybe I’ll give it a listen later.”

They continued to walk for a minute in silence before Copia piped up. “So, what do you do for fun?”

“I don’t really know. I like to read, watch TV, listen to music, and all the basic things.”

“What about video games? Any of that interest you?”

“Not really. I never got into gaming.”

“Interesting.”

“What about you, Copia?”

“I play a game or two here and there, but with the Ministry, I don’t get much time to myself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that sucks. You can always call me up, if you want some company. I don’t really do much other than work. Here,” they said, sticking their phone out to him, “put your number in, and then you can text me whenever you get too stressed and need an outside source for comfort.” Copia took the phone, put his number in, and sent himself a message to make sure he didn’t put it in wrong, then they continued on their first walk of many.

And that is what they did for months.

They texted back and forth often, called, and even went on quite a few dates. Copia had yet another long day, and knew that he could trust the person he now proudly called his partner. He called, asking if he could spend the night at their apartment, and of course they said yes.

Copia made his way to their apartment, using his key to get inside. “Dolcezza? I’m here, amore.”

“I’m in the bathroom! Just got out of the shower!” They called, and he walked that way. He still had on his paints, which still shocked them sometimes, but they were beginning to grow used to it. “Well don’t you look handsome?” They teased, noting that he was in a hoodie and sweatpants.

“What? Oh, heh, yeah I guess I am a beauty. But you, amore mio, look stunning.” He grabbed their hips, pulling them into a kiss. They had on a plain black t-shirt and a pair of black shorts to match. Their hair was wet, and before the kiss they were drying it with a towel. As they kissed, they dropped the towel in favor of wrapping their arms around his shoulders while his arms crossed around their back to pull them in.

“Well, someone missed me,” they said as they pulled away, leaving their arms around him.

“I always miss you,” he said, pressing a lighter kiss to their forehead.

“You’re so sweet, Copia,” they hummed, staring up into his mismatched eyes, nothing else but adoration showing.

“I love you, tesoro.”

“I love you too. What brings you tonight? Anything special?”

“No, just a long day. Needed a way to relax,” he hummed, looking at them.

“What do you want to do?” They asked, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“What do you say I treat you to a dance?”

“What do yo-” before they finished, Copia removed them from where they leaned on the counter, dancing with them out to the living room. They laughed as he spun the both of them around, one hand holding theirs while the other rested on their waist, kissing them while he dipped them.

They were absolutely in love, and that was easy to see. They had only been to the Abbey a few times, but any sibling of sin, ghoul, or anyone who crossed their paths could see the love on their faces.

Soon, the rings on their left ring fingers became evidence enough. Copia, being the romantic he was, proposed to them about a year and a half later.

The air was warm, spring just beginning to settle in, as they walked through the park they first walked at. They walked there often now, finding comfort in the atmosphere. Little did Y/N know that Copia had a surprise waiting for them. It wasn’t uncommon for them to go on picnics, especially not if they were sunrise or sunset picnics.

They walked the winding trail, arms linked together, as Copia nervously led them to their destination. In the other hand, Y/N held a picnic basket that had all of their favorite things, as Copia’s hand nervously fiddled with the small box containing the second most precious gem. The first being his beloved.

The sky was a gorgeous pale blue, the clouds outlined with pink and orange as the sun began to sink past the horizon. Their normal picnic spot had been set up to look very different.

Copia had to pull a few strings, but the trees were decorated with lights, and all of their favorite flowers formed to make a walkway that led to a small platform that was covered in more flowers.

He walked them towards the destination while one sibling of sin hid in the bushes to capture it on video and get the most perfect photos.

Y/N was in absolute awe. It looked like something out of a movie. “Is that for me, Copia?” They asked innocently, unsure of whether this was just for them or someone else.

“Yes, carissima. This is all for you.” He walked up to the platform, letting them take the first step. He steps up next, bending down on one knee. “I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on you that I wanted to be the one you loved. I have cherished every moment, every laugh, even the fights, all because I got to spend that time with you. You are the love and the light of my life. I love you beyond words, Y/N. So please, will you marry me?”

Crying, Y/N lowers themself to be level with him. “Yes,” they cry, holding his face in their hands and kissing him. “A thousand times, yes.”

Copia’s face lights up as he takes their left hand off his face, slipping the ring on, then pulling them into the closest hug they will ever feel in their lives.

Will you spill the wine

To summon the divine?

I'm with you always, always

Now paint a pair of eyes

And let's watch as it dries

Remember always, that love is all you need

Tell me who you wanna be

And I will set you free

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

So bold, so sweet

The big day was here. The day where Y/N and Copia would pledge their love in front of everyone.

Marrying a Papa was a big deal. Everyone in the Clergy would gather to watch the occasion. The reception, however, was for close friends and family members only.

“Are you ready?” A voice called from behind Y/N . It was their father. He wasn’t entirely on board with the concept of marrying a satanic pope, but once he realized just how wonderful Copia made them feel, he accepted the relationship, and welcomed Copia with open arms.

“I believe so,” they said, using one hand to hold the bouquet of flowers, the other smoothing down their outfit.

“Then I believe it’s time,” he said, taking their arm in his as the doors opened. They looked up to where Copia was standing in awe. He had on a gorgeous suit and his paints were on. Tradition is that they wear full regalia, but he didn’t want to remember this moment as Papa, just as Copia. He finally was able to compromise with just using his paints, so he took what he could get.

They could tell that there were tears in his eyes. He was always the sentimental type. They smiled as tears welled in their eyes as well.

As they reached the altar, their father smiled at them and kissed their cheek before sitting down. Copia reached a hand out to them as they walked up the stairs, handing a bridesmaid the bouquet of flowers.

“Hi, you look gorgeous,” he whispered excitedly.

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” they said, giving him a wink. The officiant began speaking, signaling the ceremony had begun. There was a bottle of wine, two chalices, and their rings on a small table next to the officiant.

A little while into the wedding, both of them poured wine into the other’s chalice, crossing their arms as they sip. It wasn’t the most necessary part of the ceremony, but it was something that they decided to do. A symbol of their joining together.

They slipped their rings on after, officially combined as one.

They walked back down the aisle, arm in arm, smiling like children, so happy that they found their perfect match. Neither of them wanted to get their outfits messed up, so as their chosen guests filed into the reception room, they changed into simpler, yet still formal, outfits.

“I am so happy that I have you now,” Copia said, coming behind Y/N to wrap them in a hug and leaned his head on their shoulders.

“Until death do us part,” Y/N responded in a joking tone.

“Not even death could keep us from each other,” he said, kissing their neck. Y/N turned around, wrapping their arms around his shoulders, kissing him.

“I would never let that happen,” they smiled.

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

For you

“Are you excited? It’s your last concert of this tour. I’m so proud of you,” Y/N said, kissing his cheek as they helped fix his robes.

“It has been a blast. I’m sad to see it come to an end, but that just means we can start new journeys now,” he smiled.

“You’re going to do amazing.” They both walked to the side of the stage, waiting for the cue that they were good to go. “Do you hear that? Copia, they love you.” A smile rested on their face, their head leaning on their husband's shoulder.

“No one could love me the way you do, dolcezza. They may love me, and I may entice them, but my eyes are only for you. I am only for you. I will be with you always,” he said, listening to the crowd’s chanting.

“It’s time. I’ll see you after the show, my love.”

“I love you,” Copia said, kissing them lovingly before walking on stage, the crowd screaming their heads off.

Y/N made their way to their designated spot above the crowd. There was always one section where they would stand and watch, no one else to bother them. The crowd was extremely reactive tonight, everyone having the best time. Even the ghouls looked to be having the greatest night of their lives.

They smiled, singing along to every song. Occasionally, Copia would look up to where they stood, and they waved each time.

He bounced around the stage, everyone enchanted by his every move, but now the concert was coming to an end. He looked so content and happy performing that neither of them wanted this to end.

“Now this song is very special to me. I used to sing this song, worried about the pain another would cause me, or a pain that I would cause another if I let anyone near me, close to my heart. I said no! No relationships!” He paused, looking around the crowd then looking up to them. “Now, I know that I was wrong. I wish I could have figured this out sooner, but when I stepped into that little coffee shop, I’m glad it took all the time that it did. For the past few years, my love, my beautiful, my angel, my partner has been by my side. So now, I sing a new song of love. Love for the one I am so glad to be able to call my partner. For my Y/N.” He pointed at them as the crowd cheered at the mention of their name, causing them to grin and blush. "This is Darkness At The Heart of My Love!” The crowd cheered some more as the opening notes played.

He sang beautifully. His voice was perfect, and his movements bewitching. Everything about this performance proved Copia was a masterpiece. Y/N leaned onto the railing, singing and watching as their lover made his way through the song.

“Remember always that love is all you need. Tell me who you wanna be, and I will set you free,” he sang as the song drew near its end, looking up to Y/N as he did.

There's a darkness at the heart of my love

That runs cold, runs deep

The darkness at the heart of my love

So bold, so sweet

There's a darkness at the heart of my love (my love)

That runs cold (runs cold), runs deep (runs deep)

The darkness at the heart of my love (my love)

So bold (so bold), so sweet (so sweet)

Y/N didn’t notice the security coming behind them, but they recognized similar strange figures standing on either side of the stage, stalking towards Copia.

Panic flooded them as they turned to run to try and save him, though it was a waste of effort. The security guards behind them grabbed them, forcing them to watch the events unfold.

“And all this time you knew that I would put you through the darkness at the heart of my love for you!” Copia sang, unaware of the men behind him while Y/N struggled.

When the summer dies

Severing the ties

I'm with you always, always

The men came behind Copia, grabbing his arms and legs, pulling him away from the microphone. A look of fear filled his face.

Paint a pair of eyes

Let's watch as it dries

I'm with you always, always

“No!” They screamed out, watching him get dragged off stage, struggling in the same way they were. “Copia! Please! No!” People in the few rows below them turned, watching the tears streaming down their face as they continued to scream.

Sister Imperator walked out on stage, beginning to say some words, but Y/N couldn’t make it out. The guards let them go, and they crumpled to the ground, shaking and sobbing, feeling utterly broken. “No,” they cried quieter. The crowd was painfully silent as they watched Sister. “This can’t be happening. No. Please.” A few siblings of sin walked toward them, lifting them off the ground, walking them back to a car.

They took them back to the ministry, and they cried the whole way there. They brought them to bed, changing their clothes and making them comfortable. They listened to their cries, sad looks on their faces.

They said nothing now, laying in the bed them and Copia would never share again. They held his pillow close, crying into it.

He was gone, and they wouldn’t get him back.

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thankskenpenders · 2 years

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Today’s new Frontiers article from IGN is the one I’d most been hoping for - an interview with Ian that clears up his role working on this game

As I’ve said many times before, the job of “writer” can mean many different things in the world of video games. Sometimes they’re creatively responsible at a high level, but other times they’re just charged with filling in the dialogue for an adventure that already exists. Even in recent years on the Sonic series, Pontac and Graff have had more involvement in some stories than others, despite being credited as the writers for all of them. So the big question was always how much input Ian would have on Frontiers. Well, now we have an answer:

“With the other tie-in media, I’m the one to pitch the story, the characters, the themes, etc. With Sonic Frontiers, SEGA provided the story, backstory, plot beats, usable characters, and so on. So it was a very different approach to telling a Sonic story than what I’m used to.

“All that aside, it was a dream come true to work on a major Sonic titles like this, and an incredible learning experience. I hope everyone enjoys what I was able to bring to the table.”

This has me slightly disappointed on some level, as I really would like to see what Ian could do when given the reigns, but I get it. Video games have a ton of moving parts, and they need to budget out things like level art and character models ahead of time. You can’t always just let the writer come in and say they want to add more characters or plot beats, because that means more work for everyone else. And in a series like Sonic, the gameplay is going to come first, with a story conceived to fit the desired mechanics

That being said, other things in this interview do have me excited:

“Sonic, Tails and Amy embark for the Starfall Islands to investigate the disappearance of the Chaos Emeralds. Things take a turn for the dramatic immediately, and Sonic is left alone with a lot of questions. The story is his journey to uncover all the mysteries of the islands, rescue his friends, and discover how everything ties together.”

"’Melancholy’ is a good word for the story overall. Sonic’s indomitable spirit carries him throughout the adventure, and it’s what allows him to help each of his friends as they tackle their own personal challenges. Someone else you encounter will have their very identity shaped by their interactions with Sonic, which isn’t always a comfortable process. Then there’s the secrets of the Starfall Islands themselves and how the tragedies of the past have led to the adventure today. Sonic’s ‘never say die’ attitude is certainly put to the test.”

“For new players, I hope they enjoy their time with Sonic, get to know his friends, and are satisfied with the journey to uncover all the mysteries of the game. For veteran players, I hope they enjoy the individual character arcs and the threads I tried to weave between Sonic Frontiers and the rest of the Sonic Series.”

While it might not be a plot Ian came up with, it sounds like he may very well be the right man for the job with this one. We’ve known for a bit that the story would be more serious than what we got in the 2010s, with Ian comparing it to the games of the ‘00s and the IDW comics on the BumbleKast, but I’m very excited for Sonic Team to try telling a story like this again, and for Ian to be the one steering the characterization and writing the dialogue. (I do wonder if they decided to reach out to Ian specifically because of the tone shift.) He just gets the characters, being able to do both hard-hitting character drama and genuinely funny comedy with them, and it sounds like he has decent leeway on that front

(He also makes it sound like he had some involvement in figuring out the pacing of the story as development progressed, so it definitely doesn’t sound like he was just hired to translate an existing Japanese script. He has input, even if most of the big picture was decided on by other people.)

Like, I’d love to see Ian conceive a whole Sonic game story from scratch. But one of my favorite things he’s ever done, Archie Mega Man, is largely just Ian fleshing out the character work in a storyline that already existed. And that’s my favorite take on the Mega Man story! We’re not at the finish line yet with Frontiers, but Ian’s involvement here and the type of story they’re telling - one that seems to skew much more sincere than cynical - has me excited for the possibilities. Between this and the many hands-on previews saying the game is genuinely fun when it’s in your hands, I’d say I’m officially allowing myself to be excited for this

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zafirosreverie · 1 year

Text

You belong to us (Proxima x Reader)

a/n: I did this in a hurry, but I hope you still like it!

for @1ntr0v3rt3dsna1l

_______________________

You sighed as you tried to keep your eyes open and hold back a yawn, praying you wouldn't fall asleep in class, you didn't need another strike just months away from finishing your master's degree.

It had been a long time since you had stopped paying attention, you would simply wait for one of your classmates to lend you their notes later, although from their faces, you doubted that any of them were understanding something. That was what happened when you go to the same school where Crabbles taught, that man could make anything sound insufferably boring.

"Psst, Y/N" someone tapped your shoulder

You turned to look at Miranda with a tired look. You liked her, she was a good friend and the only one you really got along with in the whole school. But she was also a bit... quirky. Her mind was always off the charts and she couldn't go anywhere without her comics. You assumed it was nice, to be able to live in a world where heroes were real and life was a little more fun.

"Did you see the news this morning?" Miranda whispered, almost as if she was conspiring.

"You know I don't watch the news, Mir" you answered "nothing interesting ever happens anyway"

"Oh, but today it did happen!"

"What? Is the president's cat missing again?" you said sarcastically

"A ring appeared in the sky" Miranda replied, not bothered by your tone.

"A what?" you frowned

"A ring! The police say it was just some tank residue from an airplane and the refraction of light made the cameras pick it up a different color, but people are saying it was a portal!"

She seemed strangely happy for someone who was talking about an event that was totally impossible for science and that if it were true, the whole world should probably start to worry.

"Maybe you should stop reading so many comics" you said

"Oh come on, you can't tell me it wouldn't be cool to witness an alien invasion"

"Yeah, sure, except in that case, we'd probably be very, very dead."

"At least we'd leave in a cool way"

"Sometimes you worry me, Mir" you smiled

Your friend just playfully stuck her tongue out at you and turned her attention back to her phone, probably looking for more news about that supposed portal. You envied her being able to distract herself from the world so easily.

You looked out the window, imagining what that "residue of an airplane tank" would have been like, perhaps you would have seen it if you had left home a little earlier.

Without realizing it, your mind began to imagine people in iron armor coming out of the portal, or men turning into big green monsters, sorcerers with weird necklaces that controlled time, and many other things.

"I have to stop watching movies with Mir" you thought

However, you did not have time to lose yourself in your thoughts again. At that moment, the ground began to shake, the walls moved and the ceiling lamps almost fell on three of your classmates. It was a matter of seconds before chaos reigned.

The professor, to his credit, tried to calm everyone down and enforce earthquake protocols, but the truth was, no one was listening. You turned to reach Miranda and pull her under one of the desks.

"great way to die isn't it?" you said upset

"I preferred the aliens" she replied

Right at that moment, a blue light blinded you for a few seconds, before a huge portal opened in the middle of the room. Miranda gasped and tightened her grip on your hand, swallowing back a cry.

"Did you have to say it, Mir?" you whispered, but still clung closer to her as well.

A tall woman with blue hair walked out of the portal and...were those horns?! She was terrifying, imposing and... strangely familiar? You didn't know why, but you felt like you knew her from somewhere, maybe in a dream?

The woman's red eyes scanned the room, as if she was searching for something…or someone. You swallowed hard as her gaze locked on you and she smirked.

"Y/N" she said "get up" she ordered

How did she know your name?! Miranda looked at you fearfully and the way she clung to your arm didn't seem to please the woman at all, so you did as she ordered, not wanting to risk your friend's life.

"You're just like her" the woman said, taking your chin and examining you from head to toe "...you'll do."

You were uncomfortably aware of the stares from your classmates, but you didn't have time to pay attention to them. The words of this terrifyingly pretty woman made no sense to you.

"W-what do you want from me?" you whispered, feeling like you were walking a tightrope

"Y/N...the one from my world, my Y/N...died" she said dryly, but you could catch a glimmer of sadness in her voice "And our daughter, Renma, needs a new mom. You're coming with me"

"W-what?!" you opened your eyes wide

She just grabbed your wrist tightly and started pulling you into the portal. You could hear Miranda calling you, but the woman's grip was too strong for you to break free, besides, your mind was trying to catch up with everything.

"Y/N!!!"

As soon as you passed through the portal, Miranda's voice disappeared, just like your only way to return to your universe. It took you a moment to react and to realize that you were in some kind of strange ship and your heart skipped a beat. You had to be dreaming, this had to be a nightmare.

"Renma will be here any minute" the woman told you "I suggest you put a smile on your face and act like you are a loving mother if you don't want to get in trouble"

"Where am I?" you asked

"In your new home"

"I need to go back" you said "I don't belong here, I don't even know who you are"

The woman looked at you with an impassive face, but in her eyes shone the same sadness that you had heard in her voice a few moments before. At that point it first occurred to you that maybe the daughter she was talking about wasn't the only one who needed a new Y/N.

"You're not coming back" she told you coldly "this is your new home and you'd better get used to it"

Her tone really said that there was no room for negotiations. And to be honest, what did you know about ships, space or aliens? Anything! That was Miranda's specialty, so it's not like you had much hope of escaping either.

But on second thought. Would you want to do it? Sure, you would miss your house, your plants, your city but... what did you really have? No family or friends besides Mir and you weren't going to drag her into this madness.

Deciding that your best option at that moment was to humor her and do as you were told while you found a way to return to or wake up from the nightmare, you worked up the courage to speak again.

"...at least tell me your name" you said "I-it would be ridiculous not to know who you are if we're supposed to have a daughter together" you clarified when she looked at you suspiciously.

The woman studied you again, sweeping her gaze over your entire body, more carefully than when she did it the first time. She at least seemed to find something that she liked because she smiled slightly before looking back at you.

"Proxima Midnight" she said "You're my wife, you were training when the Nova attacked so we'll have to train harder... I hope you're in good physical condition because I'm not going to lose another Y/N"

You opened your mouth to ask but just at that moment the doors of the room you were in opened and a little girl ran in. You didn't even have to ask who she was, because she was the very image of the woman in front of you.

"Mom!" she smiled when she saw you and immediately ran to hug your legs.

Feeling Proxima's penetrating gaze on you, you bent down to take her and let her hide her face in your neck, even though her little horns bothered you a little.

"Hello little dragon" you said, not knowing where you got the nickname from, it just felt natural.

However, Proxima seemed to like it, so you didn't think much of it. The woman moved closer to you and put a hand on your shoulder so she could whisper in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine.

"You belong to us now"

#reader insert #x reader #proxima midnight #proxima midnight x reader #proxima midnight imagine #MCU #mcu x reader #proxima x reader #black order #black order x reader

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anemoi-i · 8 months

Text

Rain Towards Dawn - The First Day -

Diluven | Rated M | No Reposts.

In which a So-Called-God seeks the approval of a mortal, like that has not gone wrong.

Warnings: Depictions of graphic violence, religious references and imagery, canon divergent. Some formatting may be different from the aO3 version.

Part One | Part Two [Here] | Part Three | Part Four

– The First Day –

Woe be to the So-Called-God.

There was commotion in the walls of Mondstadt City.

There was an effort by the people to clean up a mess that made it’s way into the city without any warning. The people could not explain it. How did a storm come to pass with no one being knowledgeable abou t it? Why didn’t it awaken anyone else? The whole shopping area of the city was in chaos. When Venti entered the city and he saw the Ordo helping with the cleanup, he sighed, looking around. I couldn’t even ask myself if I did this. I know that I did it. The damage wasn’t significant but it was still there. I felt guilty. This is why I didn’t like to get angry.

Without hesitation, Venti grabbed a bag and began to place broken wood into into it, ignoring the glances directed his way. Why was it so surprising for them to see him helping out? He resisted saying anything aloud and directed his attention to the pile of garbage at his feet. He worked quicker than even the Ordo which made some of them annoyed enough to go and find other tasks to do. I’ll tell you this, Diluc and I are alike in the sense that the Ordo annoys us. He distrusts them for suitable reasons. I dislike them for the very reason that I had to sink to my knees and heal Acting Grandmaster Jean after she collapsed at her desk, shouldering their burdens they could have taken care of themselves. They always left tasks a child could do to her. No God would be able to help them should there be an intervention. I am that God and I am not happy.

Within an hour’s time, the debris was cleared and Mondstadt City returned to being the bustling street Venti loved so much. The people went about their day as if nothing happened and the carefree atmosphere returned. Passing by Good Hunter, Venti was handed a Mondstadt Hash Brown in exchange for a song, to which he sang with beauty. Those that had their breakfast there would marvel at his voice. He left afterwards, eating the food he were given. Venti chose to eat later in the afternoon, either hunting for his own food or travelling to the Springvale Hunter’s Guild to buy some with the mora he kept on reserve. He smiled, for songs could still be payment for certain things.

Being a bard, after all, was a job. One he did well.

The true rise of bards came after the fall of Old Mondstadt. Those that lived created the songs about the new land free from Decarabian’s reign and the Ascension of the Anemo Archon. They shaped the first songs that would be sung at taverns and the streets and everywhere else. Venti’s beloved bard also contributed to this, but he died before he could make his songs known. He could not see the fruits of his labor. He did not see the clear sky and for this, Venti wept. There is not a single song from him I cannot remember. I carved each word in my mind and stitched the notes into my fingers so that my body would play his songs even if I were a corpse mangled on the ground.

Exchanging a song for a meal or drink was considered a beggar’s tactic these days. Now, it’s important to note that the exchange existed for as long as Mondstadt has been around after Decarabian’s fall, but very little wanted to remember the roots today. He was happy when Sara remembered it. Even Margaret was knowledgeable, offering a drink to Venti once a week in exchange for his best songs sung at The Cat’s Tail. He didn’t bother try to see if that tradition could have held up at Angel’s Share (and he was no longer welcome, anyways) so instead, Venti sang for coin and then used that coin to get his drinks. He'd accumulated enough for a reserve, and then only went into it when he wanted to drink or if he did not want to hunt for food.

There were times when he gained mora in less than a noble way.

There was a stupid Treasure Hoarder camp stationed near Falcon Coast on a hot night. The fishermen came here because of the serenity of the coast, which allowed them an easier catch while others came to dip their feet in the lake. At this time, Venti cordoned off the Golden Apple Archipelago with storms, not wishing to deal with another mirage or other foolishness that happened the last year that was out of his control. As such, the people would have to use the lake here to cool their bodies. A perfect opportunity to steal valuables from them. Forseeing what would happen, Venti pretended to be an oblivious traveler, allowed one of the Treasure Hoarders to approach him, and—

—Leaped upon him for I had nothing left to lose.

He took his fingers and scratched up the Hoarder’s face repeatedly. The Hoarder screamed, clutching his bloodied face in agony, with new scratches beginning to form and bleed even as he was doing that. Venti fought much like taverngoers about to get into a nasty brawl. Not pretty, messy and brutal and not for the weak-hearted. When the Hoarder tried to fight back, going for his face, Venti grabbed the offending hand and twisted it, causing a horrifying snap of bone. And then I balled my hand into a fist and punched that Hoarder until his face was bloody and he was crying for whichever God would be stupid enough to listen to him, because it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me. I dragged him back to the camp and placed my foot on his face and dug my heel into his cheek which threatened to break skin and ordered the other two Hoarders to give me the mora they stole, threatening their friend’s life and after it was given to me, threw their beat up friend at them and told them the Sisters healed for free.

Venti is not uncaring or greedy. He tried to trace back the mora to whoever the Hoarders stole it from, was able to anonymously return half of it, and then kept the rest for himself in his reserve. He drunk heavy that night, attempting to wash down the guilt. It didn’t work. It never works. His drinking became minimal, when he actually wanted to enjoy it.

He doesn’t like remembering that night.

Venti makes his way to the square where his statue stood tall. He took out his lyre and played for the small crowd that gathered upon seeing him. He could always draw crowds. They began to place mora at his feet though he didn’t even place his cap down and began to ask him to sing various songs he was accustomed to. He performed every one, beginning to dance as he played, feeling enjoyment. The previous memories lay unforgotten as he performed. The crowd kept cheering for him and left mora at his feet and some taverngoers who knew him also gave him the apples they had on their person, knowing how much he loved the fruit.

When he finished with a final applause from the crowd and began to walk away, a boy tugged his cape, stopping him Venti looked down and saw a familiar face.

This is the boy with the pigeons, Timmie.

“Hi,” he smiled brightly, continuing to tug on Venti’s cape. “I really like your song!”

“Thank you. Did you want to hear another one before I go?”

“Well, not really,” he responded honestly. “You see, I always go to the Church, every time! But... some of the things I don’t understand. So…”

Venti already knew what he was alluding to. You see, the beauty of being a God that pretended to be human is that this would happen. You would have someone approach you and ask you about yourself. Morax is humble in the sense that he corrects any misunderstandings and discrepancies about himself. He would not overglorify his contributions, but still give himself credit when credit was due.

“You want to know about our God,” Venti nodded. “Everyone does, but He likes to keep His secrets.”

In his mind, Venti calls on a single Thread, these Threads looking much like himself when he were a mere Wind Spirit. This Thread weaved several memories into one, imparting him with the memories of Timmie. A smiling boy that holds sadness inside. He recently found out a cruel truth—his father is dead. That truth remained hidden in order to preserve his childhood. To give him wonderful memories to live for—but is it not a child’s nature to be curious? Is it not a child’s nature to want their family, to be loved and nurtured? Is that not which is juxtaposed with having a good childhood? The Thread sensed how annoyed I was. It quickly took it’s leave with reverence to me.

“My father is gone…”

He spoke, as if solidifying what the Thread already imparted onto Venti. He closed his eyes, his heart breaking in an instant.

“I thought he was very busy,” Timmie continued. “That’s what they all told me, but then…”

“They couldn’t hide it anymore,” Venti responded softly. “They were guilty, little one. They were scared for you. They didn’t want you to be sad, they wanted you to be happy. You shouldn’t blame them.”

Though Venti himself did in fact, blame them, he would not try to make Timmie do the same thing and make him experience the same negative emotions he held—no, that wasn’t wise and not the kind of person he was. This, and Timmie did not seem convinced. His eyes remained melancholy, he fiddled with his hands and did not respond.

“Did you know that our Archon can guide anyone back here, regardless of where they are? Those who are living, those who have died. He can bring them back here. For those who are living, it is to remind them that they always have a place here. To those that have died, it is so they can rest freely in the land they were born to.”

“N-No,” Timmie sniffled, wiping away tears. “What do you mean?”

Venti closed his eyes.

“When you feel the wind blow in Mondstadt, it is never harsh. You pick Windwheel Asters that still spin in your hands because the wind gives it life. You can always smell dandelions, the wind is crisp and welcoming. Storms are rare. Why do you think this is?”

“Because of… Lord Barbatos?”

Venti sighed. “Yes.”

Timmie did not sense his discomfort. Most of, if not all the reason why I chose to live “as a human” is so I do not embellish my own importance. I am still “me” when I want to be “me.” I was only a mere spirit when I was at my beloved bard’s side when Decarabian’s Tower fell. He would hold the title of Anemo Archon if he were alive today, and I would have not minded being mere decoration, resting my head on his lap. Anyway, I am used to telling everyone lies about “me.” Tall tales, never anything harmful. This is the reason why the Sisters do not like me all too much, likening me to just a drunkard with little intelligence. Having to tell my actual feats feels wrong.

“Then, my dad…”

“Is home. He has always been home, watching over you within the Winds where he will find peace knowing you can grow up happily and lead a good life.”

“Really?” Timmie’s eyes lit up, his sadness disappearing.

“Yes. I am sure of it.”

Venti smiled, feeling comforted himself.

Yet, all good things came to an end as he saw one of the Sisters glaring at him, soon coming towards him.

“What are you saying to that boy this time?” Sister Victoria approached him. “Your views on Lord Barbatos are not correct!”

Venti had little room to spare for any kindness or logical rebuttal. Timmie ran away. Of course, the boy would, with that fright in his eyes. The children loved his songs and tales. This should not be happening, but it was and if it continued, he’d draw a crowd for all the wrong reasons. He could not—should not give rise to this, yet he could not help himself.

“You have only lived on Teyvat for a fraction of how long it took Lord Barbatos to draw His first breath, yet you would call yourself a Lady of His Word by leaning on to words He did not bequeath?”

“I—I—” She was taken aback, not expecting such words from the bard. Quickly recovering herself, she continued with, “Don’t need my faith questioned by—”

“A drunkard like me?”

Livid, his eyes began to glow against his will and he crossed his arms. The wind converged around him, making the breeze suddenly grow in intensity.

Venti hissed, “You should be more concerned about finding that boy and consoling him as I was.”

He needed to leave before he couldn’t control himself and the connection between the mess from the morning and the winds changing now became obvious. Sister Victoria was smart enough to see the anger in his face and in his words and was unnerved. She took a step back.

“I will go and do that.”

She turned on her heel.

“Children of the Anemo Archon, heed these words: from the winds we have come, and with the winds we shall go. Never, ever grieve for me. ‘Tis but my flesh and bones which rest in the soil: my soul has become one with the Thousand Winds. When flowers bloom, when leaves sway, that is me who sings the songs of freedom, of the winds.”

While she did not turn around, Venti could sense her shock from her controlled flinch and slight pause. He was calmer. The Winds returned to normal.

He found amusement at The Cat’s Tail not so long after that.

Uncaring about the odd allergy he had towards cats, Venti asked Margaret for a private room where he would not be disturbed and ordered the tavern’s best drinks to consume. It was the only thing that was calming. Yet, he couldn’t lie to himself. He did miss the taste of Dandelion Wine though it wasn’t too long since he’d previously had it. At some point, he’d have to bribe one of the Angel’s Share regulars to buy him a couple of bottles he could preserve.

He closed his eyes after drinking his last glass. It wouldn’t be the first time he slept for a couple of hours in a tavern. Except this time, when he awoke later the sun was going down and a single Thread was nudging his cheek in desperation, the latter never happening unless something required his intervention. Venti rubbed his eyes and sat up from the couch.

“Speak.”

“My Lord,” The Thread responded. “There is trouble at the Goth Grand Hotel. New members of the Fatui unrecognized by ourselves have stepped into that place with urgency.”

Those idiots want to actually do something now?

“Go spy on them and learn their secrets, then report back to me.”

The Thread disappears. Venti stands and paces back and forth until the Thread returns nearly a hour later.

“The situation is dire, My Lord. I have found out that the Fatui have cruel intentions.”

“Elaborate.”

The Thread looked nervous.

“There—There is a mole. There will be a mole—They wish to assassinate the Master of Dawn Winery.”

Venti sat dawn slowly, looking at the Thread in disbelief.

“You are sure?”

The Thread nodded.

“Absolutely?”

Another nod.

And in true fashion, the Anemo Archon ordered another drink.

He was too sober for this.

#genshin impact #venti #diluc ragnvindr #diluven #venluc #my fics #krisposting

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butterpony100 · 11 months

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Hi this is a very late submission to @ninjago-oc-appreciation oc swap!

My blog to write for was @the-painted-siren and their characters!

(This is so late I’m so sorry ahhh)

——————

Where fools roam, Chaos reigns.

——————

The day started off slow. Dragging himself out from the comfort of his bed, Calem’s thoughts were muddled as he got dressed for the day. He wasn’t sure what, but he felt as though he was forgetting something important.

The feeling nagged at him long after the fog in his mind cleared, an answer just on the tip of his tongue that he couldn’t quite place. Sitting down to eat breakfast was when an answer arrived for him, knocking at his door.

Opening it, he was somewhat surprised to be met with two familiar faces. One a full head shorter than him with platinum blond hair and thick brown roots, emerald cat like eyes sparkled with energy. The other slightly taller, with a split dye of silver and black hair braided off to the side, a set of ruby contacts glimmering.

“Lloyd? Lyra? What are you guys doing here?”

Lyra scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I told you he would forget.” She commented to Lloyd, as the blond huffed while passing her a five dollar bill.

The two let themselves in, scooting past Calem, and Lloyd not so subtly snatched up a slice of toast from the ready made plate on the table.

“Hey! If you're gonna steal my food, at least give me a straight answer as to why you guys showed up at…” he looks at the clock on the wall “7 in the morning?? Neither of you two are up this early, even on a good day.”

He raised his eyebrow at the two as they both shared chuckles and hushed whispers. Finally, Lyra decided to have mercy on him.

“Don’t you know what today is?”

“Uhhhh….” So what if he was a master of time? That didn’t magically make him better at remembering dates.

His hesitation spoke volume as Lloyd dramatically slumped over in mock devastation. “How could you, Cal! You would forget such a momentous occasion!?”

The gears in his head were stuttering like they were rusted shut until it finally clicked.

“Ohhhh…. It’s anniversary day, isn’t it?”

The other two standing in front of him burst into laughter, clearly taking much enjoyment in his suffering.

“About time! A full year of dating and somehow your memory is still garbage.” Lloyd jokes.

“I’m not even sure I have any tea on hand that would fix that.” Lyra adds on.

“Ok ok-“ Calem interrupts, face flushed with embarrassment. “Now that you’ve had your laugh, do we have any plans for today?”

At that question, Lloyds face shifted into a devious smirk. “Oh nothing much. But it just so happens that the rest of the team is staying at the monastery for the whole day, completely relaxed and not expecting any mischief whatsoever.”

Calem briefly gawked at his partner, turning to Lyra in confusion. “Arnt you supposed to be the smart one among the three of us? How did he get you to do this?”

At that, his other partner shrugged. “What can I say, he’s pretty convincing.”

“Cmon, Calem!” Lloyd pushes his shoulder. “We have the whole day to ourselves, but it’s nothing but yuck outside.” He gestures over to the window, where gray clouds gathered densely above the city.

“If we can’t go out, we might as well have some fun indoors!”

“I dunno..”

“Kai will be perfectly unsuspecting-“ Lloyd teases.

“I’m in.” Calem immediately agrees. After all, he has made it his life mission to annoy the fire ninja to his grave.

“Wow, you were right, it really was that easy.” Lyra comments.

—————

It was a quiet afternoon at the monastery.

Too quiet in Kai’s opinion.

Maybe it was just his paranoia acting up, but he swears that there was something about today that he forgot.

He’d brought it up to Nya, but she had dismissed him, saying something like “your just wound up too tight. Go blow off some steam.” Before returning to her workbench and tinkering away at some sort of mechanism.

Lloyd had plans out in the city for the day, and the other three ninja were all in the living room watching the new star fairer spinoff. Maybe he was being overly cautious.

Kai sighed and entered the kitchen, intending to grab a bag of chips before joining the others.

Of course, that's assuming he could get into the kitchen.

Distracted, he didn’t see the plastic wrap encasing the door frame until he smacked face first into it. He sputtered in disbelief, moving to try and tear down the ridiculous prank.

The plastic gave way easily as he stomped into the kitchen, now wary of any other tricks in hidden corners. From what he could see, there wasn’t anything else obvious.

Looks like some of the guys have been practicing their crappy senses of humor. He thought. Prepared to meet the others in the living room and give them a piece of his mind, Kai quickly flipped open the pantry to retrieve a bag of tortilla chips.

That was a mistake.

A small bottle of a foul smelling liquid tipped over into another bottle, the contents dyed green and suspiciously smelling of soap.

Kai had a split second to remember some obscure trend that Lloyd had shown him with something called “elephant toothpaste” before the result literally exploded in his face.

————

Jay, Cole, and Zane were just in the middle of criticizing the quality of the latest starfairer spinoff when’s loud shout came from the kitchen.

“Was that Kai?” Zane asked as Jay and Cole were already on their feet, rushing to the hallway. Jay made it out the doorway first, which might have been a poor choice.

The moment his foot made contact with the hallway floor, he knew something was wrong. His theory quickly proved to be correct as the spot where his foot landed quickly became the only spot he could stand, stuck firmly in place.

A noise of confusion came from behind him as he turned to Cole and Zane, seemingly not stuck and looking down at the floor with stupor.

“What is it-?” Jay was in the middle of asking before turning his own gaze to the ground to see…

Fly traps. Dozens of bright yellow fly traps were laid out on the floor. Jay just so happened to be standing directly ontop of one.

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me-“

—————

“What the heck is going on???” Nya shouted, emerging from her room to several commotions occurring in the halls. She turned to her left to see Cole race past her, a neon yellow piece of paper trailed behind him from the cuff of his pants.

She looked further down the hall to see Zane precariously tiptoeing through what looked like a minefield of the same paper, Jay even further behind him trying desperately to unstick himself from some invisible force.

She quickly turned to the direction Cole was running to see him meet Kai at the doorway to the kitchen, though you could barely tell who it was underneath the mountain of green foam that covered him from head to toe.

Silently, her mind clicked together the pieces and realized what was happening when another shout drew her attention. She quickly raced past a snickering Cole and a grumpy Kai trying desperately to remove the soapy substance.

Nya finally turned the corner of the monastery to see green eyes furrowed in frustration. Under a mountain of rainbow glitter was Pixal, her girlfriend.

“Pix! Are you ok?” Nya approached, stifling a few chuckles at the cute huffs the nindroid was releasing. “There is a reason why I feared to frequent the monastery on this day of all days.”

“Yeah, sorry for calling you out here. I just remembered myself.” Nya apologized.

“Wait, what’s today?” She heard her brothers voice question. Turning around, she could see the remains of several pranks on the four other ninja.

Kai and Coke were both covered in remains of the green soap, seeping into their clothes and probably leaving permanent stains. Zane, while making it through the glue trap unscathed, seemed to have run into a separate trap on his way through the halls, now covered in what distinctly smelt of soy sauce. Jay seemed to have the worst of it, covered in several sheets of neon yellow fly traps from head to toe.

Three sets of laughs drew the groups attentions as they looked to the side, towards a door that led into the monastery courtyard. From the doorframe, three figures stood cackling and shaking with laughter.

“It’s your anniversary, isn’t it?” Nya asked matter o factly to the trio of Lloyd, Calem, and Lyra.

“Mayybeeee” Lloyd teased in between giggles.

Kai was inches away from launching himself at the three before Nya strode across the hall and grabbed him by the arm.

“Pix, I trust you know what to do from here.” She gave her most menacing smile to the three in the doorway, their laughter suddenly cut short and replaced by looks of horror. Her lovely robot girlfriend mirrored her smile, also turning to the three. “Of course I do.”

Dragging her brother off in her iron grip away from the whails of teenage agony as the pranksters were assigned their various clean up duties, Nya pulled Kai into the laundry room.

Before Kai could sputter off a word of indignation, Nya threw a pair of clean clothes at him. “You’d better change. Master of fire or not, those ‘elephant toothpaste’ experiments generate a lot of chemical heat, and it’ll leave nasty burns if you keep those on.”

Kai muttered under his breath as he tossed off his sullied garments. “Why didn’t you let me give them a piece of my mind! Little pranks are one thing, but those guys could have endangered themselves and us if an emergency happened.”

As Kai prattled on, Nya set a hand on his shoulder. “But nothing did happen. Plus, how often can you say you’ve seen Lloyd smile like that.”

That got the brunette to shut up, turmoil clear on his face. Nya sighed. “Look, I know you have some issues with Calem, and maybe you think those three are getting themselves into trouble more often than not, but they’re all practically adults. They deserve to make their own decisions.”

Nya chuckled “And if they get in over their heads, that’s when we can swoop in and give them a piece of our minds.” At that, Kai chuckled along.

“I- I guess your right. I haven’t see Lloyd this happy since Sensei Garmadon.”

Nya nudged him on the shoulder. “When am I not right? Anyway, get your stuff together so you can come watch those brats clean up the mess they made. I know I’m making popcorn.”

Kai laughed out loud. “Ok ok. Now scram so I can find some actual clothes instead of the pair of pajamas you just handed me.”

Nya just shrugged “thought you’d want to lay down after all that excitement, old man.”

She laughed as Kai pelted his shirt toward her playfully.

In the hallway, Nya watched fondly as Lloyd and his partners in crime jokes and laughed with eachother, peeling the remaining glue traps off of the floor.

——————

#ninjagoocsecretsummer2023 #ninjago #samuraishipping #just a lil bit

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lobotoboy · 10 months

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Today I ascended from this mortal plane and remembered why I love movies and want to pursue filmmaking.

For context, I watched Barbie, and the Miraculous Ladybug movie today.

So, I saw Barbie with my mom, in a theater full of women. The first five minutes, I was sat there like "Did the internet lie to me again?" cause I was genuinely confused about what the hell was happening onscreen. But once I managed to get into the groove of things, I really enjoyed myself. I didn't play with Barbies growing up, and it was still enjoyable to me. It was so campy and funny(thank you Kate McKinnon and Michael Cera for being a big source of that), but it had some pretty deep themes, such as criticism against both a patriarchy and a matriarchy, the struggles of women in society, existentialism, and mother-daughter relationships. Definitely a movie for the girlies, but I think it's enjoyable for everyone.

I think the music was great. My mom hates musicals, despises them with her whole heart, but she told me after the movie that she loved I'm Just Ken. And yeah, it was so much. My favorite bit was the fast paced "Can you feel the Kenergy" moments. I've been playing Identity V, and I use that to hype me up for matches. It gives 80s power ballad, and it's super fun to listen to over and over again. Ryan Gosling did a very good job with it. I can see I'm Just Ken and Peaces battling it out for Best Original Song. Push was great as well, despite being underused in the movie, the full version(which is a cover of an existing song) is very interesting, and lyrically fits the movie so well.

I'm not typically a fan of bright colors in movies, catch me watching The Batman any day, but Barbie is the exception, as it just made certain scenes feel so much more important. Mattel offices being cold and gray, really sold that corporate vibes, and the soft white at the ending with Ruth definitely made it feel like Barbie was reaching a life-changing conclusion. It's a wonderful use of color.

Now the themes are the big draw of the movie. Regarding the patriarchy, matriarchy, and daily struggles of women, those themes are definitely hard to miss, but they do so much good with them. Showing Ken being essentially brainwashed by the idea of the patriarchy is interesting, and definitely rings home for anyone who grew up with boys as friends. I've seen a few guy friends of mine turn from sweet guys, into womanizers as they grew older. And it also shows that a matriarchy isn't good either, by showing how the Kens feel less than in BarbieLand. The Ken's situation is a muted version of women's situations in the real world. The Kens aren't sexualized or hated, but they're ignored. In the real world, both in the movie and real life, women have it worse than the Kens, and feel in a similar position. Makes it easy to enjoy both perspectives. Barbie focusing on thoughts of death and change as a whole hits with me on a personal level, as I have a lot of issues with existentialism, and any movie with death as a major theme usually brings me close to tears(such as Puss in Boots 2, curse you good movies). Seeing Barbie meet her creator in Ruth was so sweet, and was incredibly heartwarming.

Special mention to the line "We mother stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they've come". It made me want to give my mom the biggest hug, and I'm in no way a hugger.

Then I went home, and watched the Miraculous Ladybug movie because I had nothing else to do. I've been with the show since 2020, which isn't as long as other fans, but the show still sticks in my brain the same. I knew the animation was going to be great, and that the art direction would make up for any shortcomings in the story. And while yes, the plot was rushed (duh, like, how many years has it taken to get to this point in the show? its gonna feel rushed) but the art was absolutely stunning. My favorite moment was from Hawkmoth's villain song, Chaos Will Reign(available on Spotify) when they pulled out the Disney Villain lime green color. I love that color, and seeing Hawkmoth with it made me ascend. I really love the ending battle as well, the use of colors, lightning effects, butterfly textures, was just perfect. The animation was also really smooth, down to the small details of hair movements, such as when Nino and Alya are on the roller coaster, or when Chat Noir's hair gets wet.

The music was probably my least favorite part, just because I think Cristina Vee could've slayed it, and that the songs sounded kind of generic. But Oh My God, Chaos Will Reign had me bopping and replaying it. In fact, I'm listening to Chaos Will Reign and I'm Just Ken while writing this. It definitely gave me old Disney villain song vibes, mixed with the slightest hint of a Danny Elfman soundtrack. It just sounded so evil, but in a way that I can get behind. Keith Silverstein can actually sing, and that note at the end was wonderful. The vibrato gave me life. I was lowkey hoping Nooroo would stop talking so I could hear more. The chanting was awesome, and gave Friends on the Other Side vibes. I was (and still am) a big fan of villain songs, and this is a throwback to my theater kid days when I exclusively played villains and enjoyed it. Definitely overthrew the Hawkmoth Rap as my favorite Miraculous Ladybug song, but the Hawkmoth Rap is like, second place still. The only crime this song had was being too short. Release the ten hour cut.

Finally, aside from the glory that is Chaos Will Reign, I want to say that the two identity reveal scenes were amazing. I'll start off with Adrien and Marinette's, just because I care about that one the least. I think it was a creative way to go about it, with the masquerade masks. Fanfiction wins again. But I have so much to squeal about when it comes to the Adrien and Gabriel reveal. This version of Gabriel was definitely way more sympathetic than his show counterpart, despite committing atrocious acts. I actually wanted this Gabriel to get some redemption, and I think that bit of forgiveness from Adrien is just that. Let them have a good bond, PLEASE! The whole battle scene was just amazing, the fact that Hawkmoth was willing to do literally anything, and very nearly came close to winning. I knew he wasn't going to win, it's a kid's movie, but I was still on the edge of my seat and biting my nails.

I need both of these movies injected into my bloodstream ASAP.

Do I recommend them? Depends on your preferences. For Barbie, I can see why people wouldn't like it, it's campy(in a fun way), and it's anti-patriarchy and anti-matriarchy, which would make the misogynists and misandrists mad. But I think if you're open to a goofy time that will make you appreciate the women in your life, then give it a watch. It's definitely worth it.

For Miraculous Ladybug, it's a kid's movie, based on a show with a big following spanning years. I think it's something to watch if you're a fan, former or current, of the show. If you're just starting to watch Miraculous, it'll be a better watch if you sit through the show. But, it's a good movie, and still enjoyable for novice Miraculers.

I'm definitely watching these over and over again.

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tawakkull · 3 months

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ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 194

Chaos and the mystical world of faith

Today, everyone breathes resentment, swallows hatred, curses all that is deemed to be an enemy with a fixed and determined passion, as if programmed for fury. The ink that flows on the pages of newspapers, the pictures that are broadcasted over the television, the electromagnetic waves that resonate on the radio scratch our ears like illomened screams emitting from a variety of places—in the mountains or on the water, in the valleys or up in the hills; they strike our eyes like photographs that make us shudder and they open wounds in our hearts. These epics of hate that we hear of day and night and that startle us, all these illomened screams, make us sick at heart, and yet the people who seek a cure for these ills are few indeed. Their thoughts go in different directions, but they always seem to arrive at the same point: money, financial prosperity, and success.

… emotions base, desire consuming The meaning that flows over from the gaze is full of contempt for the subject of God. Akif

Very few are exempt from such a turbulent point of view; no difference remains between what is collective and what is not, between capitalism and communism and no difference remains between these and liberalism. The distance in nature—between those who attach their lives to the considerations of eating and drinking, resting, and earning money, having a good time in general, and, other beings who are obliged due to the unchanging character of their nature—becomes smaller day by day. The basic differences between the two sides vanish into thin air one by one, and humanity seeks new directions, despite its own nature.

Religion, piety, morals, free thought, our own perceptions of art are thought little of; power has become so ulcerated as to be unrecognizable, fantasy has taken on the image of ideas and these disagreeable ideas are being forced upon others. Indeed, I have to say that I have a hard time understanding the inner drama of such a terrible fanaticism. Nowadays, when enlightenment has become widespread, when intellectualism is at its apex, the fact that science and ignorance should meet at the same spot, contrary to the distance that one would expect to exist between them, suggests a dark complicity and makes the existence of a serious problem obvious. Such a contradiction gives us the impression that the emotional will of some people is miles ahead of their intellectual and logical will.

I believe that in such a dark period, when opposites have become intertwined, when in different sections of society chaos is heaped upon chaos, when dark acts of different origins have darkened the face of the Earth, when what is underground reigns over what is above, when polemics and dialectics have become so popular with so many, when hearsay, especially through the use of media, is welcomed as acceptable merchandise, when the lives of others has begun to be the sustenance of our existence, when the soul of unity has been shaken and different groups are scattered everywhere, when hopes are shattered and wills are paralyzed, when souls give up the fight against desire, there is a burning need to turn toward our own spiritual sphere and listen to our own inner world, to tear ourselves from the dark atmosphere of the bodily realm and sail into the magical atmosphere of a hearty and spiritual life. Those who do not fall into lethargy and return to themselves as soon as possible will feel the magic and charm of their own inner world; the unfortunate who fail to return and remain in between, or who remain on the other side, continue to resent, hate, slander, lie, and feel contempt, they continue in the dissolution and obstinate disagreement which they have practiced until this day, and even in climates where the sun continues to shine they will dream of dark things, they will mutter dark thoughts, always seeking dark places in which to hide and dark corners in which to live.

One hopes that they would be able to feel the joy of the blessed days and nights that we experience, when showers of light reach everywhere. One hopes they too would abandon the heresy, atheism, dissension, and sedition in their hearts and that they would be able to respect the chosen understanding and stance of every single soul! Maybe one day these wishes will be fulfilled, but the selfproclaimed enemies of God, the prophets, religion and piety—once having breathed nothing but materialism, having gone into a frenzy denying divinity, and having plunged into the quicksand of anarchy and nihilism—will never be able to breathe this reviving air. Oh dear Lord, had you only made yourself known to them and released the chains from their hearts!

In every community and society there are people who are inclined to abandon their faith and there have been many times when such people have spun out of control; other communities and societies do not have such powerful places to seek refuge when faced by these abysses and weaknesses as we have. Indeed, they have thoughts which soothe, beliefs which reconcile, days and nights which tremble with joy, festivals and carnivals; but, these days, these nights, these festivals, these carnivals are devoid of any holiness. They are like fireworks, shining for a moment and then are gone, giving only instantaneous pleasure; they are ephemeral and physical, not promising anything in the way of spiritual joy. Indeed, in their worlds you cannot feel the greatness of faith to God, nor can you feel that souls are free from the boundaries of time and space; everything starts with a false and transitory happiness, and takes place in a delirium of flesh. All is then transformed into painful memories, regrettable dreams, and disappointed hopes, and finally everything simply disappears.

In this spiritual atmosphere where we are closely bound to God, every sound, every word, every action is felt like a nursery rhyme and listened to like a melody. These shower down upon us like the rain; we soak up the bounties of these showers. The moon changes its form every night, as if signaling particular times and happy hours, the sun moves to a new spot on the horizon at every dawn, awakening our feelings and thoughts in a new period of time, causing our dreams to follow it, presenting memories to us that resemble the river Kawthar, promised to us in Heaven. The past becomes like a veil of many colors draped before our eyes, the happy future is the apex of our dreams, waiting for us with open arms and we, who have been freed from the narrow confines of time, live the multiplicity of yesterdaytodaytomorrow simultaneously and, like the angels, feel all the joys of surpassing time. It is impossible for those who are not fed from the same source as we, those who do not share the same feelings and thoughts as us, to feel and understand the holy depths in which we lose ourselves or the happiness and joy that we sip like the rivers of Paradise.

Our faith, our horizons of thought, and our manner—characteristics of the fortunate, but at the same time belonging to a littlewronged nation of this part of the world—have become, through being formed and reformed in the mold of the collective personality, greatly refined and adorned with universal values; this is a situation that exists in no other community; this is so much so that those who spend time with us need not stay long to be aware of this difference. The truth is that in these differences, the holy sadness of our hearts and the enthusiasm of our souls, like water running between the rocks, is felt and heard. Indeed, those who listen to what we have to say always hear the melodies of the pain of separation voiced along with hope; they hear the notes of reunion, of the sweet and eternal search for home in our intonation and manner. Indeed, while on the one hand we murmur “Oh, cup bearer, I have burnt in the flames of love, give me a cup of water,” on the other we say “I have dipped my finger in and tasted the honey of love, give me a cup of water,” and thus we are able to turn our grief into smiles. Our tongues speak sometimes of love and sometimes of weariness; though love and weariness cause pain to others, in them we always hear, like Rumi, the poem of longing for the realm that we have left to come here. Love and weariness to us are like a plea from the tongue of the soul, stemming from a sorrowful desire for eternity. Since our beliefs and feelings take us to the magical worlds of beyond, we almost always feel sadness and joy intertwined; we hear the sounds of crying and laughing as different notes of the same melody. We respond to the troubled heaving of our breasts with smiles on our faces, as our eyes overflow with tears, our conscience takes upon a red hue with the roses of the Iram[1] gardens.

Even though it may not be easy for every individual, our connection to God is the most natural attitude that we can adopt; our relation with Him is like a spell that transforms all the moments of our life into enthusiasm and joy. Our hearts that beat with feelings toward Him fill and refill with the dream of this gaze; we are able to live through the bitterest autumns in our hearts because we have the joy of spring. Our souls adopt the most enviable attitudes with instincts of particular feelings and joy that are the result of our connection with the AllGlorious One; thus transformed, they make us feel a refreshed enthusiasm, a new opening and revelation, even at moments when we are filled with sadness and grief. Pleasure or sadness, revelation or sorrow, all these emotions undergo metamorphoses in our hearts that beat with faith and speak to us of the most natural pleasures and the most realistic expectations. It is a fact that we, too, experience interconnected moments of ease and hardship, sweet weeks and bitter days, light and darkness which come and pass, like day and night. However, we sip the unsurpassable benevolence and joys from the hands of all these tribulations, because we have our beliefs, our connection to the Just One and our hopes! Those who do not recognize the trials and pleasures to be the product of the same will writhe in neverending agony, while in our own atmosphere we see clearly that everything will be transformed into deep compassion. Taste a whole life, with its bitter and sweet facets like Kawthar, in everything that we eat and drink, at every place that we inhabit, with all the beautifully divine discoveries of our own inner world, with all of their different wavelengths, feel our sorrows shrink in the face of happiness, feel our pain melt away in pleasure and feel how our lives flow into glazed cisterns in a spectrum of colors. Our mortality is transformed into eternity; we exude smiles even when we cry.

In our world, the beliefs and the expectations that emerge from the heart of those beliefs are so intertwined with our lives that each chapter of our lives lends us the wings of the station of prayer and takes us to the gate of the Hereafter. It takes us there and lets our hearts drink of the beauties of heaven. In this way, we feel as if we are inhaling the scents of heaven. Even if we should let ourselves be swept along by our daily lives, the calls for prayer, songs that exalt God, the various sounds of prayer, the recitation of the names of God, those who give Him thanks, calling out His Uniqueness, letting this spill from the windows of the mosques, all draw us to their climate; they paint our souls with their hues, they give a tambourlike voice to our hearts, they make them sigh like a flute and excite them with the happiness of music. These sounds excite our souls and we are charmed by the mysteries pertaining to God, the charm of these mysteries which comes galloping from the depths of our inner world and which spreads to all our senses, this charm which tints the gardens of heaven in our thoughts and which flows past our lips like cascades of inspiration. Thus charmed, we stand awestruck.

This charm, this recognition of the mysteries pertaining to God, reaches a higher level on the blessed days and nights when limitless abundance and bounty are showered upon us. This is true to such an extent that everything around us ascends in a state of joy, every corner takes on a spiritual hue and the excitement of our souls, aiming at metaphysical destinations, reaches its apex, or in Sufi terms, our souls reach the highest heaven of maturity. To the degree that we can hear and listen to what is all around us, we too, rejoice like children who feel as if they are in the fair grounds of joy; thus we experience the happiness and joy of a feast day.

In such a world, the dawn flows into our houses from the doors and windows like an awaited guest; the evening comes into our private chambers like a lover and sits by us; the night clings to us with its associations of reunion with the Confidant; and in every valley hands are raised up toward Him in prayer, ready to receive the gifts that will come from Him, assuming a state of metaphysical tension with the power of the soul, sighing, saying “Hold my hand dear Confidant, hold it, for I cannot do without You.”

In such a world, the prayer roars like the booming voices of Gulbang hymns[2] and echo like the voice and breath of the divine depths; the warm solitude of the night envelopes our souls like silk; our pulses beat with the excitement of one who has received good tidings. Perhaps some of us keep singing His praises, come rain or shine, like the nightingale that breaks its heart in an effort to express the ideal rhythm for its emotions with the most touching of sounds. In a word, everyone is humming a melody with neverending agony and joy, neverfading love and excitement, listening to the shivering of their souls and letting others hear it too. Everyone sighs with the fever of love and makes other people feel it too. Yes, as they reflect on the excitement in their souls and the inspiration of their hearts, expressing themselves one last time, they become the mouthpiece for the feelings shared by all and they are able to speak of the hidden meanings that they want to speak of but fail to verbalize.

The horizon of living yesterdaytodaytomorrow at the same time with such a degree of faith and hope, of love and recognition of the mysteries that pertain to God gives such a depth to life that each heart in the orbit of the hereafter finds itself wrapped up in the melodious harmony of emotions and ideas and is freed from the limiting, stifling effects of matter. I believe that the strongest basis of all human relations, the purest source of all pleasures, and the fountain of all love, longing, attraction, and gravity is this faith and hope. Every disciple of the heart who attains this faith and hope can experience and feel the state of being outside of time, with the ability to sense all of its depths.

Indeed, to the extent that one can attain this view, one can feel existence in a different manner, evaluate things in a different way and melt in on oneself with the color, taste, aroma and accent of manifestations from the Eternal; these attributes pervade everything and people can reach a second existence with a new “birth after death.”[3] During such joyful hours, when the internal gaze is focused on that which is behind the visual scene of existence, one feels all the joys of being. One feels as if one has taken a shower in wisdom, as if one is freed from the weight of all things that are alien to one. The distant heavens shower blessings down upon these hearts, hearts thirsty for love and galloping with longing and affection; all hearts that live in fear of drying up are quenched. Celestial flowers flourish in these showers adorned with dreams!

Some of us may not be able to comprehend the state—a state which becomes a succession of struggle (to come over the darkness with its all connotation) and dawn—of these people of faith and horizon; but all these are phenomena of the heart, soul and emotions. Living through the countless revelations of life, no one but the active heroes of the dawn and of the great strife can understand this love, enthusiasm, poetry, and music poured into our souls by the Eternal One. Those who do not understand this will not be able to understand us, either. Those who remain distant to this fine and delicate life live in the darkness of this distance, while the comprehension of those who have found a position from where they can view the truth in such a way that it appears as obvious as it really is always feel this gift in all its wavelengths, sip it like the rivers of Paradise and live their earthly lives as if in Heaven.

Who knows how many more times we will speak of this neverending pleasure and joy, in the delight of a festival, of a feast day! How ever many more times we may speak of it—the faults of the speaker’s mode of expression aside—we will still listen with pleasure and try to share it with others.

[1] A place mentioned in the Qur’an (al Fajr 89:7-8), “… the city of Iram, with lofty pillars; the like of which were not produced in all the land.” [2] Hymns sung in the mosque in unison by the congregation. [3] The change communicated along these lines is not to be related to reincarnational notions.

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