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familyagrestefanblog · 6 months

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Clarification I definitely should have done ever since season 4 and the Ladynoir conflict started escalating, but hey, let's just get it out:

There are reasons why I'm harping down so badly on Miraculous' Girlboss feminism and defend Adrien as much as I do.

To get the feminist (in-universe) explaination out of the way first:

I would be lying if I said that I like the direction the show has taken Marinette's character and the story in general. But regarding her specifically I simply have to say that most of my problems with her are how she is written as Ladybug, Guardian, and especially leader & partner. Not in her civilian self. Hence why you won't find that alot on my blog, only when it contributes to the overarching double standards problem from s4 I take issue with.

I simply cant deny it, Ladybug is a kind of leader I just came to not be able to respect alot anymore in how she operates most things bc she doesn't really ever look passed how things look & stand for herself, and what SHE needs & wants. Marinette is a very low empathy person in the sense that she struggles putting herself in other people's positions, or remembers considering that at all.

But that's not the reason why I can't respect her as leader. I have ADD, that would be really hypocritical of me.

What leaves me unable to respect her as leader though (& honestly kinda even wanting Alya to take her position) is the fact that the show doesn't see much wrong with Maribug doing that.

They don't properly depict this as flawed leadership she actually NEEDS to grow out of by making up for her shortcomings by, for example, making other people her official co-leaders. Instead the show since s4 (& kinda s3) will proceed to put it's feminist foot down if Maribug isn't actually in the end 100% correct and "totally girlboss justified" in any given case - with CN & authorities specifically - no matter the context. Ergo she's barely ever truly improving her weakpoints in partnership skills for example & continues doing the same mistakes over n over.

like she genuinely would benefit from having Chat Noir as her co-leader too, not just Rena Rouge. But no. The neurodivergend low-empathy girl can't have a high-empathy boy co-leader bc apparently thats misogynistic now, huh ?

Again, I have ADD and I'm also a woman. In fact, I actually have alot in common with Maribug (hence why it hurt so much once s4 took her away from me), so forgive me when I still say: I am NOT going to lower my standards of my believe that neither of those aspects get to be an excuse on everyone else's expense regarding LEADERSHIP (which I do also am in the position of in my life).

And I repeat: LEADERSHIP. Not Marinette herself as a person necessarily & esp not her civilian life.

People always say that her critics wouldn't be so hard on her if she were a man, but I strongly disagree. In my experience, if Marinette were a boy people would actually draw a line nowadays and call out that Mariano is too stuck in his own head to be a good leader (& partner). And maybe even demand that he shouldn't be in that position anymore either at all or until he's in a better head space.

Bc with male characters people are actually drawing lines now in important factors when it comes to power & the accountability coming with it, bc in the end being in change means it ain't about you

Hence why e. g. Steve Rogers (Captain America) was then a fucking fugitive from the law when shit got real in the MCU. They had to do that bc of his leadership morality not being able to exist well within a corrupted & complex law system under fire and attack. My man's an amazing battle leader, but the MCU did VERY well leaving taking care of all kinds of social & political matters to Tony Stark. This kind of nuance ain't Steve's strength. Marinette & Steve are actually a EXTREMELY similar type of leader and it's interesting that I don't exactly vibe with him too much either in that regard, but like him as person the way I did Marinette. So for me it's definitely an issue with their type of leadership.

But the mainstream female leader characters are often still "too female" to get held to the same regular standards bc telling a female leader character in a complicated and not entirely beneficial situation & position 'yeah, it's sucks but you're not the center of the universe'' is now more often than not still "too mean/ sexist"

again, Steve was made an outlaw for a reason and you can bet if he had been a Stephanie people would have made all her struggles about sexism & called the 'outlaw leader' route after Civil War misogyny, merely bc "society doesnt respect women". This is whats happening with Maribug & it clashes with her leadership style.

Hence why there AREN'T ALOT of mainstream female leader characters. And if we get some, most of them are narratively defined by how powerful & in control they are for THEIR OWN BENEFIT and it being depicted as 100% right & just in general (like with Marinette) which goes against what a normal leader should be, so alot of people don't like them (ignoring the actual sexist people for a sec)

The first Wonder Woman movie for example was so well-received for a reason. They did it RIGHT (& may I please also recommend Wakanda Forever? Fuck, that movie was GOOD)

But yes, it's notably how Maribug treats Chat, who is supposed to be her partner and friend, that I take alot of issues with.

And yes, I would say the same if LB were male and CN female. Ladynoir is so rooted in toxic femininity that this "partnership" (or just the entire LS) the way it is could NOT exist today in gender bend. S4 and the s5 finale in particular are unthinkable in gender bend and they sold it as "justified female empowerment" & "unparalleled loving treatment" from Ladybug's side Chat Noir needed to learn to be GRATEFUL for.

All while, and I will never stop stressing this: the show has never stopped writing Marinette to treat Chat Noir as if he basically just spawns into existence once he puts on the mask. He's HALF a human being. Even once she falls in love with him in s5.

This is the fundamental and deep seeded problem of where my issues come from here. It never stands in question if Adrien views Marinette and Ladybug as full human beings, but the other way around that very much is the case. In whatever way it's depicted. Yes this is a line I draw, especially because of the whole Sentihuman thing.

I personally am alot more like Adrien regarding Friendship and partnership (or what his character initially started out). They are heavy & meaningful topics for me. So seeing Marinette being utilized to girlboss all that into the ground with Chat Noir, esp in s4, while she apparently barely ever even noticed anything wrong with how she treats him in the first place as she literally replaced him with Alya/ Rena in everything but name

cause buring him under a wall of secrets & lies meant she can still 100% benefit from his eternal devotion by letting him believe she's too alone to be a partner anymore AT ALL. (Kuro Neko onwards and then NEVER stopped letting him think she's just as alone as he is. NEVER. She's still doing it in s5 while leaving him 100% isolated which was then his demise in the s5 finale.)

and gives Alya the deluxe partnership entirely on his expense, while barely ever sparing him even the most basic thought in anything; & by "Risk" then literally having them switch status. Rena is her actual partner she fully treats that way and he's merely her favorite temp hero with no rights, which Rena was previously.

And the only reason why Chat was treated with something resembling to fairness or dignity again in season 5 (& finally wasn't a rag doll for her every little mood anymore...) was because Maribug plainly had no other choice and had her team & position of power taken away by force while Alya renounced for her own safety. And yet she's still treating him as half a human being even by the end of S5. AFTER her character development. He's Chat Noir and that's where his existence ends in her leadership & friendship. CN and Alya in s5 are literally 2 halves of ONE PARTNER.

All that was painful to watch to say the least. Bc it's imo honestly a disgrace to friendship and partnership. I can't put into words how ashamed I would be of myself if I treated someone the way Marinette treats Chat Noir (again, HALF A HUMAN BEING).

Much less a friend I claim to love dearly and don't want to loose (another thing the MCU did better regarding Steve's fall-out with Tony over Bucky... I should really make that comparison post why Steve works for me & Marinette doesnt)

Just the mere fact that Marinette in "Elation" even told Chat "It doesn't matter who's underneath your mask" is honestly outrageous.

Because thats simply what it is for me. If s4 & 5 Marinette were portrayed from a similar morality angle to Emonette in the Paris special I would have much less issues with her. Cause thats ironically an angle female characters barely get & is mostly used to redeem the broken bad boys with a hidden heart of gold™.

Double irony: s1-s3 actually DID put civilian Marinette often into that angle, hence why I really liked her, but then s4 suddenly said "well, her methods & actions really dont matter. She's wrong, but actually not really; ergo she should get rewarded in the end. Always. But with a few exceptions. Here n there she loses to claim otherwise. But actually the world just needs to learn how right & amazing she is."

She makes countless mistakes but often either doesn't really learn from them anymore or they just don't "count" bc that's 'what makes her quirky & loveable', so having any issues with her now means you hate women. And she's a very flawed leader but actually never did anything wrong. Ever. You can't have your cake and eat it too.

I will be VERY blunt now: The moment you put a female character into the leader role the FEMALE aspect is supposed to be of secondary importance. And a leader, by the nature of the position, ALWAYS has to be questioned morally wise in my opinion bc of the fatal blindspots that will automatically occur in every leadership.

And it happened here too: Chat Noir's treatment. But they demanded that her being the (female) leader means she's OWED to treat him badly & gets to keep him as blindspot on HIS expense bc she doesn't like thinking about him existing as civilian person.

A leader is ALWAYS somebody who is NOT going to sit well with everybody regarding their approach. That's a normal instinct, and in fact it would be highly dangerous if that wouldnt happen at all. So if I, or other people, don't respect her as one that simply means she has an opposition the way every leader has & is being held to normal standards a leader should be held to, regardless of gender.

Sorry if you think thats sexist, but in my opinion that's a YOU problem. I personally respect female leaders too much to not acknowledge them as anything else but the potential threats they are. The same way I do with male leaders.

You're leader first, woman second. If you can't handle that get out of the leadership position (yes, oc that also applies the other way around). Feminism was about making sure that women cant be excluded from e. g. position of power just bc we're female. The goal wasn't to have yet another group of people stomp their foots, now claiming that they are OWED power once they wanna have it to feel powerful. But that's what Marinette was used to teach an entire generation of children, especially girls.

The last thing you will EVER get me to do is accept that I should be holding women - specifically for equality, female empowerment and leadership - to LOWER (moral) standards as I would the men in her position.

Buddy, I am NOT gonna fucking do that. Just the thought is pissing me tf off, and has ever since s4, cause it directly plays into the misogynistic thinking of:

"Women can't be given power, status or even too much focus as human beings because they're too irrational and immature to be able to then lay proper priorities & take rightful accountability for their shit like a man in power could; and not just scream and cry while playing the oppressed victim card the moment things don't work out & they aren't being given the special female treatment to let them mostly off the hook consequences wise.

Leading to everyone around them, especially the MEN, having to step up, do the work & basically babysit the women like children - while still having to give her the credit as person in charge - turning the women more or less into toddlers wearing a queen's crown"

Which, by all means, Adrichat in every dynamic of the love square by season 5, Gabriel at the end of "Recreation" and even Luka & Félix (& "thankfully" Alya too since s4) had to do for Maribug in alot of ways.

Pick up all of her slack in several major areas & catering to her while simultaneously having to still give most of the credit to HER or else they would be "mean to the female lead" (it's also telling that Alya is treated the best here, & goodness dont get me started on Su-Han...).

And with that out of the way, a few more meta reasons:

1) I'm NOT watching a damn documentary. Marinette is NOT a 14 year old, she doesnt exist & isnt based on a real person or story. She's a fictional main character and narrative tool, so forgive me for approaching this differently than a real life case.

and 2) in everything I watch I automatically look out for the narrative's blind spots and victims of the writings' favorites. I take it this seriously because this is career related for me.

Hence why I have barely ever liked a main character and ironically Marinette/ Ladybug was once one of the few exceptions (alongside Korra from Legend of Korra and Blitz from Helluva Boss)

Look, when I for example watch Helluva Boss or a Yugioh show I will automatically pay extra attention to how the female characters are being treated bc they are obviously treated worse by the writing and much more neglected and scapegoated than the male characters.

Meanwhile when I watch Miraculous and She-Ra, I do the opposite and pay attention to how the male characters are treated bc now they have the gender-biase against them.

And when I for example watch Avatar the last Airbender or Legend of Korra [and She-Ra, that show is great], then I actually get to be mostly fucking happy for once in my life jfc

I'm not going to elaborate too much more on this because I already named by my main point in the beginning: Chat Noir's - not even Adrien's, I mean CHAT NOIR - sometimes honestly awful treatment being the biggest moral and narrative blind spot of the entire show, and honestly where most of Maribug's problems then are also rooted in. Hence why I started focusing so much on Chat Noir since season 4. I look at the overall narrative and circumstances and look for the blind spots that needs to be solved to get to the core of the problem of this whole mess, to get effective results.

And that was and even by the end remained the fact that Adrichat is treated so badly, scapegoated in every possible way in the name of "feminism" and kicked out of the story where HE is at the core of most everything going on, just so the show can force Maribug into everything, make things about her that have no business being about her

Just so she can then be made to constandly turn around and scream, cry and stress about problems - and go about them in the least effective way - that wouldnt be there in the first place if she wasnt the main character of a story that isnt hers.

Mate, I dont know what to tell you here, but the fact that we are following Marinette Dupain-Cheng ,who has nothing to do with anything besides being the cool action girl, is and will always remain of the of core problems of this show. I WISHED that wasnt the case. But for the love of everything, Kagami would have made so much more sense as the female lead, but no.

Anyway, I will leave it at that now cause I already elaborate much further than I initially wanted to, I just wanted to finally have all this stated.

This Blog is not a full representation of how I lay priorities in (feminist) media in general, my view adjusts to the piece of media I'm watching.

And unfortunately, ever since season 4 Miraculous turned into a full blown extreme case and has only gotten better somewhat recently. So I will continue doing what I always do: focus on the fucking VICTIM whose bad treatment pulls down the whole show's quality, and here that's plain obviously Adrien Agreste/ Chat Noir.

And with all due respect: Die mad about it.

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oceanwithouthermoon · 7 months

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ehh um ummm.. hairo+kuboyasu+saiki polycule..

saiki being really into muscular guys is just so silly to me.. i think he would just enjoy knowing that even though he's technically the stronger one, his partner is very much capable of taking care of him even if he doesnt need it

all three of them have very low self preservation skills and a very high need to protect others before themselves(yea yea saiki too, he refuses to admit it but literally reread it if you dont think its true), so their dynamic would be really fun and silly and theyd be really protective of each other..

#let them ALL carry each other interchangeably #you could honestly add anyone to this polycule and itd work #teruhashi ? these r the three guys that r the most respectful toward her #nendo ? haisai is already popular and practically canon and nensai is well-liked too! and he would fit very well with the dynamic #aiura ? she loves strong men too lmao #mera ? i think she has some of her best interactions with aren+kusuo #kaido ? they would literally become his protection squad and let him pretend like hes the leader #yumehara ? also probably shockingly strong and also i just think she deserves to have caring loving boyfriends #saiko ? i dont know why but i like this one a lot lmao youve got the two big hunks and their two tsunderes #i think i named literally everyone but toristuka but i cant think of how he would fit into this dynamic #these are the three people who would totally reel tori in though.. that could work #saiki k #tdlosk #the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki kusuo #hairo kineshi #kuboyasu aren #haisai #kubosai #do aren and kineshi even have a ship name #definitely not #what would it be ? haiyasu ? kinaren ? no.#meows post

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cnnccndkaz · 7 months

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i find it so funny how if anyone besides tav talks to the companions they literally insult the selected chara and said to bring in the boss, EVEN THE EMPEROR

#bg3 #tav #durge #dark urge #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate 3 #after i beat up orpheus’s guards #it swapped to karlach and she talked to the emperor #n he was like ‘thanks for ur help #but id rather talk to your leader’ LIKE DJDNSM #altho its very cute how everyone respects tav #even if they would never say it to them #tsunderes

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bonefall · 7 months

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naruto as a whole is a fucking mess and i say thisas somebody whos read the entireseries 3 times over. “naruto is going to change the system! haha teehee never mind hes not doing anytning about the child soldiers and slave castes and the genocides.” “sasuke can be upset at his brother for committing a genocide but actually genocide against an oppressed bloodline is good if theyre getting uppity and its sanctioned by the government and also have a genetic predisposition to be evil so he should just get over it and be okay with it” “sakura needs to stop obsessing over a guy whos not even interested and become strong for her own sake. actually shes a housewife now”

kishimoto im going to blow you up with my mind

YOU GET IT

For real though I think what they did with Sasuke's arc was one of the most baffling fucking things I've ever seen. "Actually. Your brother who carried out a genocide loved you :( he only put you in the Torment Nexus for several days because uhhh he wanted you to hate him and not find out about the government who ordered it. Everything he ever did was actually to protect you. And Uchihas are actually kinda rotten anyway so it's good an entire GROUP OF PEOPLE died. Don't think about any babies or children who were also slaughtered btw uhh nope all of them were bad."

Sasuke: "Yes I understand. I will now rule the world through fear. Actually nvm Naruto won our fight so, my philosophy is gone now."

Thank goodness that Evil Sasuke killed the three Bad Government Officials before that point, though. We had this whole theme going about toxic structures, cycles of abuse, and how oppressive regimes can propagate themselves even when a leader is well-meaning... but, like, Naruto REALLY wants to be Hokage, so actually if you just kill these Three Bad Governors it's gonna be fine.

There is no need for systemic change. Slave castes and child soldiers are fine. It's ok as long as the president is blonde :)

#It also bothers me unreasonably. And HAS bothered me since I was like 15. That in the final--#--scene where sasuke finally lets Naruto Into His Heart he goes off about how they were both just Lonely Children Looking for Love #Like... no!! No actually! Sasuke's WHOLE THING was that EVERYONE was praising him as a prodigy #But that he was pushing away everyone around him because his brother put him in the fucjing torment nexus #It would have been more appropriate to talk about how THEYVE BOTH BEEN MADE INTO WEAPONS #For Naruto to realize (now that he is Useful to his war-obsessed society) that Sasuke was also undergoing a sort of dehumanization #It should be through THEIR GROWTH AS PEOPLE that they finally have a deeper understanding of each other #THEY DID NOT HAVE A COMMON ORIGIN #THATS THE POINT. THEY BECAME FRIENDS IN SPITE OF IT #iM FLIPPING TABLES #They had the opposite problem as each other but through self-imposed ostracization and proving one's 'worth' *NOW* THEY GET IT #But we cant do that bc you'd have to admit that Sasuke hada fucking point and wasnt just wrong the whole time #And that this system is ROTTEN and that Naruto shouldn't become Hokage but DESTROY THE POSITION #because dictators choosing dictators IS BAD.#They should have changed the government to democracy and then Sakura wins the first free election #Because she's actually deeply connected with the people of the fire nation especially outside of the capital city #For like her humanitarian work during the timeskip #And for being the disciple of Tsunade who was a respected leader #And then have a cute moment where Naruto and her banter about it. That she fulfilled HIS dream lmaoo #And also let the three of them be friends im beggign OTL #She gets over her crush on him and theyre just friends #Animeposting #I shouldn't have mentioned sakura now im yelling about naruto on the cat blog

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heterophobiclanwangji · 2 years

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AU where Su Xiyan kills the Palace Master and rules Huan Hua alongside her demonic boytoy

#scum villain #sv #svss #svsss #su xiyan #tianlang jun #uhhh i know there's a ship name for them but i can never remember it #my posts #listen im just saying that su xiyan deserves respect and tianlang jun deserves to lounge around handfeeding her fruit #i almost said something about lbh getting a gaggle of siblings but i feel like it's more likely that he's an only child #maybe one younger sibling #having a child is HARD sxy pushed him out of her BODY she is a SECT LEADER now #if tlj wants more kids he'll have to find a way around childbirth or figure out how to carry the kid himself #god sorry the sheer gomez and morticia addams energy that they have #lbh would be more well adjusted but thoroughly grossed out (up until he falls for sy and becomes equally sappy)#there aren't that many fics where lbh is raised my his biological parents but i appreciate it every time #anyway death to the palace master you were a shitty creep #tianxi #tags updated because someone told me the correct ship name 🙏

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whippedcloudsofcream · 15 days

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Finding Bo-Katan fans that despise Satine is so ???? Bo-Katan would hate your ass 😭

#bo katan kryze #satine kryze #like the entire point of bo katan’s character is she realizes how badly she fucked up and was brainwashed by a shitty fascist guy #She Helped Ruin Mandalore At It’s Peak and Helped Kill Her Sister #wanting her to stay some one dimensional villain is crazy #Pre Viszla wasnt a good leader or a good man?? He was violent and foolish and made deals with sith genociders #Bo Katan and Pre Viszla didn’t help metropolize Mandalore or make it a respectable planet/put on the galactic map #Satine did that #and she was The Only One to do that out of thousands of years for the Mandalorians #the only other person that accomplished this was fucking Tarre Viszla #that’s why Pre wanted to take her kingdom #because he Knew he would never be able to do that on his own and he knows it and it infuriates him

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spacedlexi · 1 year

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sooo glad we live in the universe where twdgs4 was rewritten to be about saving the school instead of the original lis2-esque on the road each-episode-is-a-new-location plot. really dodged a bullet there

dont know if it was due to the cuts and collapsing work environment (no budget for all the assets needed) or what but the school plot is just like the perfect setting for her to end her story. and we really almost got a plot about her.... just trying to make it back to her original house? oof

#my biggest problem with lis2 is that being on the road made a lot of your choices essentially meaningless #like wheres the threat of consequence when you know youll be gone by the next episode anyway?#the kids were originally gonna kick them out permanently.......Nightmare Scenario #the plot of her trying to get back 'home' is so silly honestly like its Just nostalgia/fan bait. convince me otherwise you cant #it makes no sense....she lived right outside a major city... that place is Not safe anymore #it wasnt even safe when she left it 8 years ago girl why would you go back #her finding a place to MAKE a new home and having to fight for it? with a community of her peers who love and respect her? so much better #shes a community leader now :) of a bunch of kids living secretly in the woods just trying to make a safe home for themselves #in a hostile world that wants them dead #love that for her #shes been managing adults since she was 11 and even before that tried to be a voice of reason. at 8 years old. community leader makes sense #s4 is just so narratively sound to me for clems character that i cant believe there was ever any other direction they wanted to go in #every time im thinking about how good s4 is i remember what it almost was......... and i am so grateful we got what we did #not only do we live in the universe where s4 is about the school but we Also live in the universe where s4 was un-cancelled :) yay #shit makes me so happy man. i remember clem is living happily at ericsons and my day is Immediately improved #these little fictional bitches in my head giving me free serotonin on command #it speaks #twdg

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yutaslaugh · 8 months

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decided i will be resigning next month just in time for when i leave for overseas 😊😊😊

#in our team meeting this morning the team leader spoke to us all about how the office has not been great at doing case notes #and scolded us for being unprofessional. then said now that someone has left (ie been bullied out by her)#that these negative conversations will end and that she can already feel more positivity in the office this week #lol bye!!!#ive lost all respect for her as a person a therapist a leader etc i refuse to work with her #and i get the feeling the company will not fire her but just educate her instead #im not going to be that bitch who asks the company to fire her so im going to leave myself :)#im the only person in my role in this office so you know what? suffer.

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yuridovewing · 10 months

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Sorry to be like that but I’m noticing the parallels between Billystorm and Sandstorm’s deaths. They’re both the leader’s mate and died a tragic completely avoidable death far away from their families and are buried in a random unmarked grave where no one will be able to visit them. And how Billystorm is treated with significantly more respect than Sandstorm was.

#billys fine but. biting through the drywall rn #he gets to die an actual dignified death that drives the emotional stakes high for the cats #its noted that hes very important to the clan bc he was the leaders mate and ‘’all his family will miss him’’ and they hammer it home #hawkwing even says ‘’how can leafstar go on when her mate is in an unmarked grave she may never find #and yet!!! who gives a fuck about sandstorm amiright #shes only the cat who united skyclan and was firestars mate and was an extremely important character #but nah we only care abt stupid alderpaw feeling mildly guilty and everyone moving on in less than a chapter #one singular mention of squilf being upset and then pushing forwards #alderpaw even passes by her grave iirc and is like ‘’oh shit oops!’’#why is billystorm this less important character to the whole series getting a more respectful death than her #wait ik why lol #we dont even see leaf and squilfs reaction to sandstorm being dead #hwj liveread

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lauranthalasah · 10 months

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Orym had to tell Keyleth about Imogen... he had!

The only other option he had was to tell her in secret, but he chose open honesty.

Notice he didn't say anything at first when Liliana was mentioned, but then Imogen starts talking about maybe Liliana saving them IN FRONT of Keyleth... and Keyleth was watching! (Matt did that check that Liam and Marisha clocked) Now, maybe Imogen was just stating a doubt (she might even be right) but Keyleth has no context for this and she could think Imogen was making excuses for Liliana.

Orym has known Keyleth all his life, she has always been just. Unless Imogen does something to betray them, he has no reason to fear for her, and all the reason to tell the truth, explain the situation, and vouch for Imogen in Keyleth's eyes... which would help to maintain the trust Keyleth has on him.

Look at the table at that moment, no one was surprised. Laura thought Liam was gonna talk about Vax instead of Imogen's connection with Liliana, but she was not surprised by Orym sharing that information.

Right afterward he does that, we find out Keyleth was suspecting already. Orym made the right move! The smart one! He, and Bell's Hells too, can't afford misstrust from their allies! At that moment, the best option was honesty.

The only alternative was Imogen explaining on her own, but she suggested to Orym a change of theme instead of coming clean, the chance was right there, and she didn't take it. Orym hasn't talked with Imogen since their reunion. Before the fight with Ludinus, Fearne and him were planning what to do in case Imogen got tempted by her mother and Ruidus and all that. Let's be honest, Imogen herself has admitted she has felt tempted by the power, and we don't know how much control she has over all of this... Orym has reasons to be concerned, and Imogen trying to change the topic of the conversation instead of saying what it's kinda obvious (she and Liliana look alike), don't assure those concerns, hid best move... in every direction, was to be honest. Putting all the cards in the table.

Keyleth tells Orym what to do in case of betrayal in front of the whole group, so everyone knows where everyone stands. Like, if Imogen has no intentions of betraying them, then she has nothing to fear at all. If she has that intention, she now knows that she'll have to fight everyone else except maybe for Laudna (if she attacks Orym, she'll have to fight Fearne, if she attacks Fearne she'll have to fight Chet and Ashton, is she attacks Ashton and go against the gods she'll have to fight FGC*), and I say "maybe Laudna" because I've noticed a trend of them been tempted by power and the darkness on their own... but not wanting that path for the other, in fact Imogen made an interesting change the time they were apart, she is the one trying to fight the temptation now and keeping herself and Laudna away from the darker path.

* I know that maybe others would jump to protect Orym and start this domino, but the one person I have no doubts it would do it, is Fearne.

#critical role spoilers #bells hells #Orym #i know that some are going to assume my posts are only cause Orym is my favorite #but to be honest... I'm starting to get frustrated over how the people “defending” Imogen (and Laudna with the Bor'Dor shit)#they are taking away their agency!#Imogen and Laudna decided to do the things that made other people take decisions of their own #Imogen starts kinda maybe trying to defend Liliana in front of the leader of Orym!#of course he had to come clean!!#Laudna does not regret killing Bor'Dor!#she regrets the prize she might have to pay for doing that the way she did!#Orym and Ashton were... and are... perfectly ok with Bor'Dor's death #Liam said Orym would have done it if Laudna hadn't gotten to him first #I think both of them also regret what is costing Laudna #but to be fair... they respected her choices then and now too #these two women are adults and capable #they have a right to make the choices they want to make #but every single character has to deal with the consequences #like... Imogen is compromised... SHE IS!#the same way Orym is!#he has admitted he can not be objective about the philosophical discussion #these people killed his family #he doesn't care if they have a point... he is gonna killed them if he can #by admitting to this he allows the rest to know that they will need A LOT to change his mind... which may never happen #I think Imogen has changed a lot in their time apart #i think the only thing remaining in her is a hope that her mother could/would choose her (understandable)#and a slight temptation over power... that she is fully seeing as dangerous and wrong now #Imogen and Laudna are far more interesting characters than some people made them by making them victims at every single turn!

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inamindfarfaraway · 2 years

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Sonic the Hedgehog movies AU where the times Knuckles and Sonic respectively arrive on Earth are reversed. Five-year-old Knuckles, searching his village for useful supplies after realizing that nobody is coming back, discovers the distant planet Earth marked as important on a map of likely locations the Owl Tribe may have hidden the Master Emerald. With nothing left for him in his homeland, he takes his father’s bag of portal rings and steps through. He is taken in by the Wachowskis first. Four-year-old Sonic meanwhile grows up alone, travels the galaxy and initially appears as an antagonist.

Right now I can think of two main plot divergences beyond that. Firstly, complicated but interesting: Knuckles doesn’t stay hidden, as he’s trying to find the Master Emerald and also with his code can’t resist rushing in to help when sees Tom in need, so he gets unofficially adopted practically right off the bat. He then grows up the best kept secret of Green Hills. His parents adore him, but he’s still kinda an outcast from the rest of human society, because he’s just so different and potentially dangerous - he struggles to take the necessary care with his strength and suffers from the same loss of control of his Chaos energy when deeply upset that canon Sonic used to. The townspeople see that he’s a good kid and they can’t speak ill of their upstanding sheriff and vet, but they don’t exactly trust Knuckles either. Not feeling like he’ll ever fully belong, afraid of causing more damage and not having processed his grief for his birth father and people and everything he knew before nearly enough, he develops strong tendencies to isolate himself and bottle things up in shame. And, oh yes, he still hasn’t completed his mission to retrieve and protect the incredibly powerful most sacred object to his lost culture. He fears that at this rate he never will. He feels very guilty about all of this.

Repairing his strained relationships with Tom and Maddie is a key part of his arc in the first movie, alongside learning to accept, forgive, trust and be kinder to himself. He ultimately decides that the Master Emerald is evidently safe enough for now and his mission can wait until he’s older and wiser. His current focus shall instead be being a normal teenager who Has Fun and Likes Himself.

Secondly, Sonic’s antivillain personality would not be a dutiful, honourable warrior genuinely believing he’s in the right. No. How does his literal theme song go again? “Long as the voice inside drives me to run and fight/It doesn’t matter who is wrong and who is right”. This Sonic, pre-second movie, is a cynical, untethered pragmatist who cares only about his own survival, benefit and freedom; a notorious thief and swindler sly and swift enough to get away with anything. They call him the Blue Devil. Where Knuckles had an excessive sense of responsibility, Sonic has all but suppressed his. The only person who mattered was Longclaw and she’s gone. What’s the point of getting attached to other people? They’ll all leave too. But that won’t need to hurt him - he won’t hurt them - if he follows his mother’s advice and never stops running. Yes, deep down he blames himself for Longclaw’s death. He has better social skills than Knuckles, but not his principles. Is Robotnik mean and shady? Absolutely. Is that Sonic’s problem, when he’s confident that he can either stay on the doctor’s good side or outrun his bad one? Nope! Getting to kick an echidna in the nuts with super speed is a nice bonus.

But beneath that arrogant, apathetic facade he does have a conscience. His character development starts with it slowly dawning on him how much worse than him Robotnik and big of a deal the Master Emerald are and he begins to take the stakes seriously. If Robotnik wins, innocent people will die. This entire (admittedly very beautiful) planet could be in danger. None of his crimes have risked going this far before. Does he really want to be an accessory to the rise of an actual tyrant and supervillain who wants to murder a teenager? So he begins to hesitate about aiding Robotnik. Next Knuckles notices that they’re about the same age and empathizes with him, knowing from the previous film what it’s like to be a traumatized, terrified, self-loathing fifteen-year-old in over your head; that they lost everything on the same day just draws more attention to their similarities. Tails curtails that conversation, but it remains the first taste of empathy and connection Sonic’s had since he was four. That’s pretty enticing. He saves Knuckles’s life to not be in his debt (ostensibly at least), and the rest is history.

Knuckles’s arc in the second movie is learning what it really means to be a hero and leader, after idealizing the concepts - and his parents, who are his heroes - his whole life. He’s internalized that he’s a kid and is allowed to make mistakes, but can’t reconcile that with now being responsible for an innocent and younger friend, Tails, and having to complete his Heroic Quest for the Chaos Emerald much sooner than anticipated. Surely a Hero has to be perfect and a leader has always know what to do. His birth father seemed that way, after all. When his moment comes, he can’t afford to fail. Learning that his beloved dad, and generally the echidnas, were responsible for Longclaw’s death and Sonic’s trauma shatters that idea. He eventually resolves that he can be a hero and his imperfect self simultaneously and his team are his equals and able to cover his weaknesses.

Also, Knuckles still speaks the same while Sonic absorbs modern slang and speech patterns like a sponge. This is crucial. When Knuckles calls his parents Mum and Dad at the end of the first movie instead of Mother and Father, it’s a huge affirmation of intimacy.

Now I just need a name for this AU. Any ideas?

#knuckles has one of his father’s quills as a keepsake #sonic seeing the owl statues and remembering longclaw and how she wouldn’t want him to be helping robotnik #is another factor #in his ‘i might have done a bad decision here - ACH NO FEELINGS’ arc #okay but knuckles and tails’s relationship getting more screentime #i feel like this knuckles would work really well as the team leader #and the echidnas were big on teamwork and organization and respect so it would tie into him wanting to uphold his old culture’s values #like he’s coming up with the strategy to take down the death egg and leading the charge #and sonic and tails exchange a look that says ‘oh yeah we’ve got an ECHNIDNA on our side’#maybe sonic says ‘dis is how I roll’ the first time too #robotnik: (leaves stone behind)#sonic: that was pretty dishonourable #r: do you have a problem with that?#s: (smirking) pfft. as if! dis is how i roll #r: ha! i like your style blue devil #s: of course - you have good taste #and then later #r: disloyal!#s: (deadly serious) dis is how i roll.#sonic movies #sonic cinematic universe #scu #sonic movie au #scu au #sonic au #knuckles wachowski #knuckles the echidna #sonic wachowski #sonic the hedgehog #sonic

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wackachewbacca · 1 year

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The moment when Keyleth heard her mother speak to her, letting go of her doubts and accepted that she wielded the fire and not the other way round then became the fire and sealed the fire plane portal all by herself that’s when I saw the Tempest in her. She’s going to be so amazing

#I have a lot of feelings about Keyleth’s episode altogether but I was so proud of her for realizing how badass she is #like I knew all along she does amazing things and she’s gonna become an amazing leader #but there’s one thing knowing and one thing seeing and I’m so much more confident in Kiki then before #and to all keyleth haters: EAT YOUR RESPECT KEYLETH SOUP #keyleth #tlovm spoilers #cr spoilers #critical role #vox machina

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themyscirah · 2 months

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Started thinking about the Amanda Waller + Ben Turner relationship again.... fuck, I'm gonna need a minute

#I JUST- SHDIAUDJSHDSHEYEYRYRYRY guys. guys #i know none of you see my vision and thats okay. i will make you see my vision. i will force you to see my vision. i will-#like jesus fucking christ oh my god. its so interesting and gives me so many emotions and just!!!#i know im not making sense bc none of my moots are sui sq fans and also like half of the content fucking me up specifically here is in my #head because i cant stop thinking about my absolute power fix it au but like!!!!!!!#also the fact i have a fix it for a comic that isnt out yet is so funny to me. its literally fucking real though. god knows we need it #may my own content carry me through the dark times (extreme villain waller arc)#anyways this fucks me up so bad you dont even know. someday ill actually explain it #dc hire me to write a suicide squad ongoing PLEASE. i could do it so good it would be so fucking good dc PLEASE 😭😭😭😭😭😭#also like this isnt me shipping them btw. like 110% not that. just to clarify.#i wouldnt even call it a friendship bc like. theyre not friends really. he has the most equal dynamic with her i would say but it still isnt #equal. shes v much his boss even though they have an understanding and respect there #like she believes and trusts in him much more than anybody really even himself. like she sees the good man and the leader even when he #doesnt. but she isnt nice about it. and there is a lot of conflict between them when there needs to be #like as much as ben is “wallers man”--the team leader she wanted from the beginning before rick flagg pushed his way in #ben i would say is still a very moral person even when lost and unsure of himself and his goodness (which is like one of his main things)#like i feel like while amanda can lean very into a “the ends justify the means” mindset in her worse moments and do bad things to get #herself out of a corner ben has like a deep and meaningful understanding of how the choices of your methods and how you act can weigh on you #like even though he was brainwashed and whatnot (thats still the story right? i cant remember) he holds a lot of guilt and baggage over his #actions and i think is able to temper amanda's worse tendencies in terms of that by calling her out when he recognizes that behavior #idk. i just really think that amanda waller and the suicide squad as a whole has lost its way without a more moral authority presence there.#like someone who can call her out and keep them more on track. which i really thing ben is and could be #i just very much am interested in their dynamic and how that would look like as equals and how i think they could help each other.#which ofc is what my wip is about and revolves around #blah #sui sq

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izzysarchivedblogs · 9 months

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So what are Clint's thoughts on the various members of his thunderbolts team?

ANONYMOUSLY ASK ANYTHING -> Accepting All Anons, Asks, & Memes

So this needs a little preface that I personally thing that T-Bolts / the writers fundamentally misunderstand Clint's character, as well as I think T-Bolts is a poor follow up on the Freefall storyline, which I do think was an interesting turn for Clint's character and than there was no continuation or pay-off, or more there should have been more.

There should have been a longer run for Freefall, or a Hawkeye book or run that explores how exactly Clint goes from end of Freefall, to making his way back to being included in greater superhero society.

I just think it's a poor handling, or there could have been a lot more. There's also the fact that it doesn't acknowledge that Clint is a good leader to most degrees; that he had for the most part done well with the WCA and than the original Thunderbolts? It's good, I'm reading that right now, and I feel like the very short T-Bolts run sucks for content, because it's just too short and not building up anything, besides the next big world ending arc event.

That and when I say it misunderstands Clint's character, they needed to show more of the aftermath of Freefall and see Clint having perhaps legal struggles, or see that something happened in those years between, to explain why he wouldn't be riding on Luke Cage a lot harder, cause Clint hates PR, hates marketing, and Tbolts feels corporate, like Clint made it clear if he had been alive during Civil War 1, than he'd have stopped the Superhero Registration act with A BULLET, and even in Civil War 2, he was again removed from that action; and he's the one who gave Carol this unknown to the readers deux ex machina to end the second one; like Clint to his core, would be against what is happening in the current canon of NYC in Marvel comics; like everything that we have based on this character that builds his personality, would be against this, like his last major character arc; we literally see him go against these laws, and be ronin, and like. . .

at the core, when he is presented with everything by Luke and the "PR" manager of the Thunderbolts "project", he should have been more against it based on what we have decades on his character; and he just agrees so quickly. like it just. made no sense. should have been handled differently. like clint was literally thinking about leaving new york, to start a team, because outside new york there weren't legally sanctioned teams / all these extra laws on superheroes, it's just in NYC. LIKE. he was going to leave, start somewhere else, where he wouldn't have these rules and things.

So just to preface, the mun's own bias about the 2022 run, and that will affect how i respond to this and what clint's thoughts are; and to be honest, I did not know most of the characters (i know one of them is new/created for this comic) before literally they appeared in thunderbolts.

like i don't know a lot about the others, so some of this is affected by the fact, that i know nothing of the others beyodn their tbolts appearance and my feelings of 2022 run is very poor.

But to preface a well, that I don't think there is anyone that Clint dislikes on the team. He likes the team, sees that roaster is good, but there's again in the really the issues lie with the fact that I don't think this Tbolts run understands Clint, or goes into the depth of why he would take on this team; like it doesn't recall on the fact that Clint was part of the original Tbolts team, as their leader in their attempt redeem themselve and turn their lives around.

LIKE I'm giving all this preface, cause like, I am a bias human, and thus this colors how I react and view things, and that to go into how Clint feels, which is generally he likes them, and respects them. wee gotta go into why i don't have much of an opinion or more to say there.

also just the way that no one really respects or listens to clint's lead or orders, as the leader. and like they do have moments where they allow him to be written as competent and doing a good job.

it's also why for my blog canon to explain why clint is not super good in this, or why he kind of seems to be a doofus that fumbles (which have we not established that's a bit of an act for clint), is the alcoholism and that he is an alcoholic ("functional") and that perhaps that's playing on clint more and affecting him

ANYWAYS TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION UNDER THE CUT

MONICA RAMBEAU

This is who Clint knows the most about; they have been on teams together and been in the same sphere of each other plenty of times before as superheroes. Monica was on the East Coast Avengers team for a team, when Clint was running the West Coast Avengers; and worked together due to WCA Annual #1 (read it im not going into the plot of that).

He knows Monica, likes Monica, and trusts her. Clint knows what she was capable of, and is glad to have her on the team because they go years back at this point, before any of the other team members.

Clint has a great deal of respect for her and has known her from all her alias, from her being Captain Marvel, to Photon, to Pulsar, and now Spectrum. He is definitely glad to have her on the team, because he's old guard and she's old guard; and there's solidarity and understanding found there.

AMERICA CHAVEZ

This is the next person that Clint knows, personally knows. That's Kate's best friend, so he knows about her. Knows her deal, and has personal opinion formed on her. He likes her, he finds her dependable and knows she's a good kid, a good person. Why wouldn't she be?

They've worked together, were both there for Kate's West Coast team, and there's enough a history there to know how she operates and how to work with her. He respects her and he's glad that she's on his team.

VICTOR ALVAREZ

The new Power Man. Clint would know Victor from the Avengers Academy, although he was not a teacher there for long; but he would know at the least that he's a good kid, and than he would have known from through the extension that he was on the Young Avengers, which was Kate's original team.

He also gets that this is the personal tie in for Luke, because Luke's the original Power Man, and now Victor bears that title. SO Clint comes from Luke's side of view, in knowing what it's like to have a legacy and share a title. So he knows that there is some pressure on his shoulders, and tries to really give Victor some slack on that.

KARA KILLGRAVE

Clint knows that she has been around, may as well be counted as old guard as well, but he's never ran much over lap with her. He knows of her, doesn't have too much of an opinion, besides knowing what its like to be worried about being their own father, about being in their fathers' shadow. He knows to give her the benefit of the doubt. There's respect there, knows that she's got to live up to and redeem herself against.

He's still getting to know who she is, since Clint's rarely ran in the same circles as Alpha flight, even if he did run in the same circles as Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau.

Terrible taste in sports team though.

GUTSEN GLORY & EEGRO

Who the fuck are these guys? What the fuck are their deals? What's Gutsen's powers?

Clint's gives people the benefit of the doubt; and he doesn't really get the say on who is on his team or not. So he can't say anything more on that, would he have these two on his team if he had control of that?

Probably not, because Clint would need to know them a little better; he would need someone to vouch for them. and that someone, sure can't be the government to vouch for them. The government's word can mean shit-all to Clint. Just look at US Agent coming into the West Coast Avengers.

He doesn't like unknown entities or trust government-vouched for individuals.

NOW He doesn't dislike either of these two; but he doesn't have a good enough read on them. He'll trust them, cause he has to; give them the benefit of thde doubt and extend trust first before judging them harshly (if earned or deserved).

#i know this was suppose to be able the teammates and it will be under the cut. BUT I JUS HAVE MY ISSUES. like please marvel. show us #show us how FUCKED things for clint were after freefall. that when presented with tbolts and all the RULES #he agrees because of desperation because of... JUST ITS MY BIGGEST FRUSTRATION.#tbolts 2022 makes me angry. like that's not to go into the way it disrespects clint as a leader.#and like why not just have monica be leader. she doesnt have it in her. with the media circus. OK. i think she should have. been like.#instead of her being luke's top pick. adn the kindof joke to the readers. that she should have been th true leader.#if they wrent gonna respect clint as a leader. than UGH. i. like shoul #and just FUCK I HATE THIS RUN FOR CLINT SO MUCH .#like it's like every other page. is good and then bad. and not cohesive in how clint is acting.#about; clint barton #all headcanons tag #about; blog canon

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