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licorice-lips · 3 months

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Oooookayyyyy, but I have so much to say about Poseidon from the 2 minute scene he participated in already and I need to vent so here it goes:

I went through an emotional rollercoaster when it came to Poseidon this first season and I think I have made my mind after episode seven. To be honest, I was ready for him to disappoint percy and making peace with the fact that I would be obligated to defend capitalism and make the oceans so polluted this f*cker would die and I'd avenge Percy because at this point, this boy is my little brother.

But back to the point: maybe this didn't come across to some people like it did to me, but as someone who suffered a lot with my parents' divorce bc my father wouldn't respect my mother either as a person and as a mom, I absolutely loved how respectful of Sally's position Poseidon was.

I mean, Sally is all Percy has: she's the mother, the father, sole provider and only family this kid has in one of the most expensive cities in the world with a child SHE KNOWS will suffer just because he was BORN and she's f*ing TRYING (Also, I love that even though she really loves Percy and tries to be kind with him, she's also a burnt out solo parent, it makes her so human).

But my point is: Poseidon KNOWS this and much more than that, he RESPECTS this. He doesn't go and try to parent Percy because he knows he has no right whatsoever because he'll never be able to be there for Percy as a full-time parent, he relegates the decisions to Sally because she's his MOTHER and she's the most important person his son has.

I mean, at first, his really respectful as a former lover: when Sally is crying because she thinks she's falling as a mother, he reassures her. But then, Poseidon asks her why she doesn't want Percy to go to camp and Sally says he doesn't want to know because she'll be insulting his family — I felt that deeply and personally too — and that's when he shows respect for Sally as a mother: he recognizes he might not agree or like it, but she's alone and it's unfair, and he's here for her in the only way he can, because she's the one calling the shots, so it doesn't really matter what he thinks.

That really got to me because more than anything else, I can see Poseidon has a deep respect for the woman who was his lover, and that is SO HARD to come by with most men. Most men just treat their exes and/or their baby mamas as annoyances, or gold-diggers because of child support, or as someone who "trapped them" with a child. At best, they are civilized, but it's hard to find men who really see and recognize the struggle a solo mom goes through with a kid, who understands that, it doesn't matter how much they do, SHE is the one getting the brunt of it.

And that's just the truth: most divorced/estranged men who are considered good fathers don't do half of the effort as parents as the mothers. For example, most kids whose parents are divorced have their mother's home as their primary home, so if they need to go to the doctor, or have a wardrobe renewal, or dentist — the mother is the one they call/ask or she's the one to notice, and take the responsibility for it.

And Poseidon is so respectful of it, he's not trying to call the shots, he doesn't judge Sally even when she voices her opinions about his family, he offers her support and kindness even when he's direct about what'll happen when she does what she thinks she has, and I'm pretty sure he would've been the same had she decided anything else.

And at the same time, it feels that Sally is really "praying" to a God AND talking to her son's father. AND Poseidon's TORTURED look as he looks at Percy for the first time had me ON MY KNEES, I 100% understand Sally Jackson, I too would have a son with this man and I don't even want kids rn.

In conclusion, this scene was amazing, all my love to Sally Jackson, she's THE WOMAN, and Ricky, when I catch you Ricky...

#percy jackson and the olympians #pjo tv #pjo spoilers #pjo series #pjo tv show #pjo #percy jackson #sally jackson #poseidon #poseidon pjo #percy jackson is like my little brother by now #greek mythology #greek gods

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mdhwrites · 7 months

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Ever think Polly felt like a bit of an afterthought at times in Amphibia? Like among the main cast, she's probably the one who adds the least. Among them, we have Sprig being the younger frog sibling who guides Anne into outgrowing her bad traits and being a better friend, Hop Pop being the well meaning authority figure for Anne in Amphibia, Sasha/Marcy being indications of how toxic things were for Anne before Amphibia and Anne learning to forgive, and Anne's parents show what Anne's life on Earth was like, but what does Polly add to Anne that no one else provides? Heck it's telling how she probably has less episodes that actually make her the main lead than even Sasha (despite appearing more than Sasha). Sure you got Frobo, but I doubt it'd make much a difference if Sprig had been the one to befriend and be close with Frobo in a world where Polly didn't exist considering he has similar reckless younger sibling traits like she does. It's even more obvious in season 3 where after Fixing Frobo, Polly barely does anything on the show with virtually no individual focus after that (Sprig and Hop Pop still got focus episodes in season 3B, while Polly's more or less in the background until All In) until All In and even then, it only really amounts to Frobo helping the group escape from Andrias' castle at the start and that's it. The moment where she helps tame the herons doesn't even hit the same impact it does for Sprig and Hop Pop considering she never quite talked about how the herons affect her. We see Sprig talking about how he misses his parents that he lost to the herons in Hopping Mall (and also likely fuels his behavior in Thai Feud to be seen as family by Anne's mom, and gives a touching moment in Sprig's Birthday) and how the heron attack is why Hop Pop buried the music box and acts overprotective. Polly on the other hand never even thinks or talks about it until All In so she doesn't quite hit the same emotional beats as Sprig and Hop Pop do with the taming herons. Like it makes me think the show probably wouldn't change much if Polly didn't exist or simply just merged her and Sprig instead.

So again: Long and unformatted so I'll sum up the main thesis of the statement: Did Polly need to exist? And does she feel sidelined?

And you know... Not really to the first and a bit to the second but I actually chalk that up more to her archtype/role than I do her being bad conceptually, especially since she's actually a good example of her trope and executed her role well. Polly isn't as important as Hop Pop or Sprig though. Hop Pop isn't even as important as Sprig which is usually why when I mention main character status, I include all three and sometimes mention Sprig alone as a true main character away from the Plantars as a unit.

But none of this is really all that surprising with Polly to me. Comic relief are almost never main characters. They can be main supporting cast like Polly is but- "Weh?"

Oh, hey King, wish I could say it's shocking to see you here. Unfortunately... I almost can't personally talk about this without bringing up King because Polly and him are almost identical at the starts of their shows and how they split off as their series go on are emblematic of the shows themselves. They're both meant to be extremely violent children where their role as comedic relief is derived from how they're so small and yet are either so bloodthirsty or so adult. This isn't a new trope, just like Miss Croaker being a tough, badass granny isn't, and King leans more into the adult side of the trope's humor while Polly leans more into the violent side of it.

Both characters suffer from being a part of this trope though and a main character. There are actually a couple tropes I consider almost taboo for me because of this one effect: The trope IS their character. They spend so much time obsessing over the silly juxtaposition of their nature that they don't really get to escape it. Polly actually doubles down on this with her sudden intelligence which just made her comedy stick out more than anything else to me, even if I'm happy she got to find a more interesting outlet for her desires and violent tendencies as a mechanic. It still feels awkwardly grafted onto the character which can happen a lot when you try to go from using someone as a trope to using them as a character. It's why Polly's best episodes are ones that embrace her tomboy or adventurous nature (including Fixing Frobo) because they keep her in character. In fact, adding super intelligence is just doubling down and being irreverent about the juxtaposition. It's admitting it's a children's comedy so why not go all in?

That's not a position The Owl House can accept though for itself, not when it so badly wants to claim it's not like other kids shows, and this is why in S2, King effectively inverts the balance of his character. He becomes his trope 10% of the time and now daddy issues and a proper child 90% of the time. It causes him to commonly feel out of character with what came before and him gaining wisdom at the end isn't doubling down for comedy like with Polly's intelligence, it's just making the eight year old suddenly a damn near Buddha compared to effectively anyone else in the series. With how little time is spent getting him to that place, it's hard to say it feels earned, especially when his character didn't make the change from S1 to 2 with any real grace honestly.

It's also part of why I like Polly more. Is she fairly one note and could have potentially been cut? Maybe. But at least she's consistent for the most part and while her jokes are a bit cheaper than a lot of jokes in the show, they keep them varied enough to keep them somewhat fresh and know to tuck her away when she's not needed. They also remember her age, like with the herons (since the ask did bring this up) as she wouldn't have the same reaction as Sprig or Hop Pop because she was barely alive at the time. She doesn't remember anything about her parents and so she just accepts Hop Pop as her parent and moves on rather than trying to give her the same angst of a character five years older than her (or however many years older Sprig is). Instead, her angst, the few times she has any, is a lot more about being taken seriously and proving herself which absolutely happens to children as young as her. Not in a supernatural way or the like, not because she sees herself as grown up, but because she's finally starting to figure out the start of her identity and what matters to her beyond play.

Side note: I LIKE that she doesn't angst about her parents. Not only is her being accepting of Hop Pop as her sole parent and okay with that befitting the found family and community themes of the show, it's also nice to adopted kids. Yes, Hop Pop is still blood related but he still didn't have to take her in and is still not her biological parent. He had no obligation and if Polly acted like that mattered, it could have been seen as a kind of middle finger to any adopted kids out there who never knew their parents and don't care either because whoever adopted them IS their parent. Not everyone has to have mommy or daddy issues, let alone if the never knew them and while I think Polly once or twice does admit to wishing she at least knew what they look like, she never acts like her family is lesser without them or that she's lesser for not having known them, something I actually like.

Meanwhile, King is hamstrung by the fact that TOH is a MUCH worse comedy and so the comedic relief is going to suffer from it. He has maybe three jokes repeated ad nauseam throughout the first season and while he gets one episode that's okay dedicated to him, Really Small Problems feels like an entirely different character. Then when he drops the mantle of comic relief, he almost vanishes from the show and his heritage becomes not only his whole character but also the whole point of his character. So he goes from an almost one note comic relief character to a one note side character who's almost more a plot device than a character and the transition isn't exactly graceful, especially since some of the retcons in S2 are just straight up incompatible with parts of S1.

And just while I'm talking about this trope, you do have the middle ground between these two with Spike from My Little Pony where his shtick never gets old, or takes a long time to get really old, and his episodes are definitely extensions of his character... It's just a problem that neither element is written great in the first place. Spike wasn't a terrible character but you NEVER wanted it to be a Spike episode and the more Spike was playing into his jokes instead of being just a helpful friend, the more hit or miss he could be. He never damaged the show by his existence like King but he never added a nice flavor and different angle on characterization like Polly does, all while still being constrained by being the child amongst older characters. I will also admit that Spike arguably doesn't entirely fit into this trope because he actually stays fairly age appropriate when it comes to violence and adventure, not that he couldn't have his moments where he felt a little older than he should have.

So yeah, in conclusion I think Polly could have been way worse and that honestly she's used as much as she needs to be. Do I love her writing? Not really, I don't think Amphibia needed a strictly comic relief character when Wartwood has so many that work for that, but she works well enough and they do still very effectively use her to explore additional family dynamics as she gets at least one episode as granddaughter to Hop Pop, little sister to Sprig and baby sister to Anne. She also is consistent with the sillier tone Amphibia goes for 99% of the time and frankly I love the little gremlin too often to think that she failed in her role.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#the owl house criticism #amphibia critical #pollywood #polly #king clawthorne

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lovecolibri · 1 year

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SaL anon here bestie and *deep sigh* here we are...again. Not to get off topic but have you ever seem The Green Mile?? I have a complicated relationship with that movie but I the thing from it permanently imprinted on my brain is when the warden comes in demands "What in the Blue Fuck was That!?" It a whole ass mood right now after watching that clip and I highly recommend just watching that line to get the full effect.

Why, for the love of God, are we bringing up Shannon again??!! She didn't even really come up during Eddie's PTSD arc but we're just gonna randomly insert her in a episode sort of about death?? Of course we are because KR has literally no new ideas. Oh except for this season where she's like "You know what hasn't been done yet?? We haven't emphasized importance of family by blood so we'll redeem all the horrible parents with zero effort to let everyone know your grudges are petty and just hurt you." You know why that hasn't been done Kristen??!! Because this is a show about FOUND family, realizing your importance and worth in a space that's safe for you to do that, and having the support you need when the bad times come!! She has actually forgotten the very foundation of this show and I'd scream but I'm also so, so tired. You know what time it is then 🍸🍸🍸. Gonna read comfort fic and find a comfort show to put on when that gets hard. Cheers friend!!

Bestieeeee! What. The fuck. Is happening?! I didn't answer this Friday and I should have because yesterday was a WHOLE other mess! I feel so bad for dragging you into this show just in time for it to all go to shit. We survived RNM, we don't deserve to suffer like this again! 😩😩😩

Your "KR has literally no new ideas" line is SO apt after that clip yesterday literally recycling the eddieana meeting. Parallels can be used and be effective but after she literally just re-did Buck's fight with Bobby over returning to work with Eddie (only to not show their apology or Eddie's decision to return to work on screen), and re-did Eddie's "it's time to get back out there after Shannon and figure out what you want") s4 arc last week, this "Buck meets a girl on a call in the exact same way Eddie met Ana" just looks...so so so lazy. Not to mention Buck and Eddie are only ever with women after they meet them on calls, AND we are reverting Buck back to season 1 "a relationship with THIS women must be able to fix me" which is just...gross. Buck was always one of my favorite characters but GOD I dread his personal scenes now because KR just doesn't know what to do with him unless it's trying to get into his pants in some way and she doesn't understand any of the motivations or what drives him as a character. Stop ruining my boy!! GOD I need her off this show like, YESTERDAY.

ANYWAY

This whole Shannon thing has me so 🙄🙄🙄 because as good as Ryan and Gavin are and Eddie/Chris scenes always are because they play so well off each other, this is like, the LEAST interesting thing they could have done and it's clearly not about Chris or Eddie or their complicated history with Shannon, it's just being used to push the "Eddie choosing someone to date for himself" idea. They could have given something deep and emotional this season like Chris now being old enough to start asking harder questions about Shannon leaving and Eddie trying to navigate that with him, or having a talk about Chris starting to be interested in dating and asking Eddie some hard questions about why Eddie isn't dating again since Ana has been gone for so long. But nope! It's "let's pretend this parent never did anything awful and there are zero complex feelings about them" hours once again. Thanks, I HATE it. And for me it ruins the nuance of Shannon's character because she WAS just a person who was struggling. But where Eddie thought his son didn't need *him* so much as he needed Eddie to provide for him and once he found out Chris just wanted to spend time WITH him he fought tooth and nail to make it work no matter how hard, Shannon decided it was too much and cut off all contact because keeping in touch with her son and making sure he knew he was loved wasn't as important as her not wanting to be put in an awkward position. And that's life! And Chris and Eddie should be allowed to acknowledge that they loved her at some point, Chris should be allowed to have good memories of his mom, and still be allowed to acknowledge that she abandoned them and hurt them deeply and there are complex feelings around that!

These complex parental relationships leading to the found family of the 118 has ALWAYS been at the heart of the show and you're right that KR has NEVER understood that and has spent this season undermining that bond across the whole team and any time the story tries to emphasize the found family it's also still pushing the blood family importance so the storytelling comes out confused and in opposition to itself giving the audience emotional whiplash. I'm just so very very tired of this. I'm positive it's too much to hope for but with audiences tuning out and the constant complaints at how the show is handling arcs and pacing and KR's choices, and even now articles by people who often write about 911 calling out the inconsistencies, maybe the negotiations for renewal will come with some stipulations on who gets to be in charge. Even if I didn't love EVERY storyline choice in the early seasons, the episodes themselves were ALWAYS enjoyable overall and there was so much good stuff going on it was easy to let the stuff I didn't like as much roll past, so it would be good to get back to that sort of vibe again and KR has proved over several seasons that she is NOT up to that task. With the Tarlos wedding wrapped up, we might get...I don't want to say "lucky" because I don't think Tim is the greatest thing ever, but we might get some bit of pacing and consistency and flow back in the show (I know LS has some pacing issues as well but that feels to me more like them having to work around RL's insistence on centricity than anything else)

Oof. Lets see if we can make it through these last few episodes with this dating nonsense, the sperm donor arc and L coming back, and maybe even a Tay Kay jumpscare. Can't wait 🙄 At least Ravi is back home and the finale emergency looks like it will be good and we're getting injured Chim so we're going to get *some* crumbs out of this mess. And then it will be summer and I've got a fic idea started soooo, we'll see if I can get anywhere with my astronaut!Buck, NASA medic!Eddie Countdowns inspired thingy. Cheers my friend, we are going to NEED IT. (But hey, if we survived RNM, we can do ANYTHING. But also we shouldn't have to and I need this show to STOP IT.) 🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #911 spoilers #anti shannon diaz #for blacklisting purposes #*oh ariana we're really in it now.gif*#brb gotta go scream into the woods for an hour #and then binge more fic until i stop wanting to pull my hair out #why can't normal things make my brain produce the good chemicals? this is bullshit

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raayllum · 2 years

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How would Callum and Ezran’s relationship be different if Rayla never left?

Aah good question nonnie! So just like how Ezran helps smooth out Callum and Rayla's bumps (whether by his actual presence in s1 or just their bonds with him like in s2) Rayla also provides a very important counter for Callum and Ezran, which is to say: she's a Friend and a Peer.

In some ways, she's more of a true sibling to Ezran than Callum, because Callum is also a parent to Ezran, so he's more likely to be doubtful / overprotective (see basically any episode in S1) whereas Rayla is more likely to extend faith (1x06 and 1x09). She's also, currently, the only character Ezran has that he's not on equal (Zym) or above (everyone else) ranking with, re: pulling rank with Corvus in 2x08, being able to pull rank or try with Callum, vs Rayla's "You're not my king, but you are my friend." Rayla sees Ezran in terms of needing help but not necessarily Protective, she'd never coddle him, and she's prone to taking his side against Callum when the need arises.

For Callum, Rayla's most important role is that she's a Peer. She's not his baby brother, or adjacent to his baby brother (Soren, Opeli, Corvus). She's his best friend, someone he can rely on, someone he can confide in. I've touched on this before but one of the reasons Callum blows up at Ezran in 1x01 is because he has no one to confide in. Soren offers zero reassurance, he doesn't go to Claudia / she doesn't go to check in on him, and he's trying to keep up a front for Ez, but he also envies that ignorance and his frustration has to go somewhere. Meanwhile think of how often he talks through his feelings with Rayla particularly in S2, and look what happens? No blowups. The closest he comes is in 2x07 about "I can't do anything!" but Rayla doesn't retreat and doesn't let him retreat from it. Then we see his terseness/anger when she's gone that probably would've exploded if he hadn't found a way to help and if Ezran had kept pushing.

None of that is to say Callum has been blowing up and/or taking his anger out at Ezran during the timeskip (I actually think that would more so fall on poor Soren's shoulders but more on that later) on a regular basis, but Callum is going to be experiencing more emotional dysregulation, because his counter-balance isn't there anymore.

I could see Callum absolutely internalizing that need to be Useful — that Rayla always dissuaded him from (2x04, 2x07) because she believed he had worth Regardless of anything — as well as using it as a distraction of "I need to hold it together, I need to treat Ez like my king, I need to be a Good High Mage for him" and it manifesting in a similar manner to Claudia's general anxiety-fixer tendencies (that Callum already had, but again, not to the same degree because he had Rayla as a balancer in ways Claudia didn't have with Soren and especially not once Soren left).

TLDR; I don't think Callum and Ezran's relationship in S4 is going to be unhealthy, but I do think it'll be more strained because Callum as a person is working with a severely gutted support system, and he can't confide in the one person he grew used to having — which might mean he's ripe for confiding in the one person he shouldn't (Aaravos).

#tdp callum #broyals #two pillars #brotp: it's super annoying #analysis series #requests #mini meta #analysis #arc 2 #s4 #again could also see callum just translating the mirror and then popping over to xadia to look for aaravos clues there #rather than them having any sort of conversations but #we'll have to see ooh #canon divergence #slightly

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prosopagn0sis-a · 9 months

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raging daddy issues and where do they come from

let me preface by saying: erik hahn aka wulf stalker is not a character that belongs to me, but i do write him ocassionally as a part of fate's threads, and he is deeply connected both to fate's and prometheus' backstory in their original lore. he was created and developed by my friend and became an adoptive father of the silly little blorbo you see me writing today. erik was based on a clone lore from eve online and his first ever appearance was in a ttrpg based on fallout (we later switched to neuroshima and then adapted our characters to other systems). i have the permission for writing him and developing his story.

erik had a hive mind with all other eriks up to the point of the cloning machine breaking. they shared views, opinions and memories — their most important one being meeting the fate and taking care of her since she was seven years old. the original and very first wulf stalker was collecting teddy bears alongside heads of his enemies... and had a ghoul-ish body due to fallout-inspired radiation, but later on another wulf killed him and took care of fate. essentially, they were the same person, but they knew they couldn't coexist in the same universe. wulfs hunted other wulfs, basically, and the whole character started as a psychopath.

so now you see: erik hahn is not a good father by default.

through the years of taking care of his daughter he tried the best to his abilities to be a decent parent, but failed on so many levels that at the age of fifteen fate sees their relationship as a transaction more than anything even remotely familial, progressively losing the sense of being a family but still believing they're allies. it's easy, he provides for her, and she takes care of everything else. but she wasn't taught to do everything else by erik, no; she had to learn every skill all by herself (except for strictly military-related abilities like combat or marksmanship).

so we have a seven year old freshly rescued from abusive household and an adult who cannot make himself an espresso without burning the whole kitchen. the seven year old is a genius and picks up on the adult's inability to function and starts taking care of every chore possible — cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, budgeting, planning, everything. it started simple, then became more and more advanced. erik starting off as mercenary was traveling a lot, so fate lacked any socializing with people her age, but also claimed she doesn't need it and wulf believed her and let her chose to be a loner as much as she wanted to. he gave her free hand on most subjects and topics, only deepening the psychopathy of her as a whole.

wulf stalker did fund face blindness research and provided money and housing during his travels, but that was it. literally. everything else was in fate's hands and she gladly took care of it.

i don't know if you understand, so let me summarize. a grown ass man is unable of taking care of himself, so a seven yeard old girl starts doing this for him and continues that for at least ten more years.

but fate's also a genius, so erik utilizes her intelligence during his missions and operations, desensitizing her to themes of violence, gore and murder while continously training her to eventually do what he does best. a child, and then a teenager, raised around mercenaries and military because wulf stalker didn't know better. but that is not an excuse.

erik never provided much emotional support nor physical contact. never taught fate actually useful life skills that aren't connected to killing, like driving a car for example. erik brought a child to military bases so the only socialization fate has ever gotten were grown men ready to take a bullet and feed lead whoever was on the opposite side of the battlefield. these were her only companions. this is why her relationship with men is so complicated and based on sexualizing herself.

after fate's kidnapping episode, wulf literally caged her inside safehouses and military bases and never left her unsupervised, but he's almost never present, so she's left without the only person she truly trusts with her safety in armed strangers' hands. in all verses except for the resident evil one, her abduction was random and not tied to erik's line of work.

to sum it all up: erik had no idea how to raise a child, never put effort into educating himself on that matter and oftentimes avoided his responsibilities by leaving fate under stragers' supervision in secluded and well guarded areas while also continously training her in his line of work to have a cunning and intelligent helper filling in the gaps in his skillset, at the same time being completely dependent on the girl's general life abilities and expecting for her to take care of everything besides making money.

#fate: character study #fate: past #i didn't trim the post on purpose #GO AND READ IT #will write some more about erik later on :3

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primrose-path-of-dalliance · 3 years

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jester began falling in love with caleb in episode 103.

not any earlier in my opinion, and not later, either.

there's two elements to why i believe e103 is the turning point.

(1) the first is caleb's actions and jester's responses to them during the night they all sleep by the waterfall—his support of her idea to sleep underwater, his conversation with her after her commune with artagan, and his casting of programmed illusion in the dome.

(2) the second is the way her behavior toward caleb pivots around e103. before e103 is a noticeably different beast to how she begins to treat him after e103—the attention she pays him, her efforts to hold more standout interactions with him, and a dramatic swell of emotion and thematic meaning in these scenes’ respective subtext.

the rumblecusp arc is the point in which jester’s character growth, and caleb’s efforts to unconditionally support her, really begin to shine. throughout the complex growing pains that jester and artagan's relationship was experiencing, the one person who truly takes a moment to offer her support without any agenda or judgment is caleb.

(e103, 1:22:55, bold mine)

CALEB: You okay over there?

JESTER: (tearful) Yeah, I'm fine. Just—I'm just drawing.

CALEB: Maybe didn't go as well as you were hoping?

JESTER: Um... In some ways it went better. But no.

CALEB: I can't speak for him. But you do have us.

JESTER: I know.

CALEB: So whatever you land on, Jester, we'll make it happen.

JESTER: (shaky laugh) I have to figure out what I want to land on.

CALEB: That is the, uh—sticky wicket, isn't it?

JESTER: Yeah. Everything's confusing.

CALEB: Maybe... Maybe we sleep on it, it'll make more sense in the morning.

JESTER: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Caleb.

CALEB: I didn't do anything.

jester confesses that her commune with artagan didn’t provide the answers she was hoping for—that he knew about the curse on the island—and caleb doesn’t remark on what that seems like. he deliberately avoids speculating on why artagan is doing these things because “he can’t speak for him.” he doesn’t assume anything about what she might choose to do and explicitly leaves that choice up to her. jester vents briefly about how difficult the choice is, and caleb offers her reassurance, a reminder that some time will make things clearer. he doesn’t suggest solutions.

unlike fjord or beau, caleb doesn’t ask her to voice outright whether artagan is being a good friend. he doesn’t continually question his character and imply any personal opinions to her or what he thinks she should do. instead, he asks whether she’s okay. he listens. and he offers unconditional support.

this is consistently the stance caleb takes in the rumblecusp arc. and it’s not discussed much, i think, exactly how monumental that was to jester.

(hold on, this is a long one.)

jester is a young woman who grew up sheltered and wants to define herself outside of that shelter. for her, this campaign has essentially been a coming-of-age journey (talks for e76-77, 14:12). she is deeply sensitive to whether or not she’s respected because she’s aware of how her personality and general lack of experience makes others think she’s naive, immature, or incapable (talks for e79, 31:51).

it’s also incredibly evident that her relationship with artagan is unique. in e105 (1:15:01), jester tells the m9, “he really got me through a lot when i was younger, you know? and he was all i had, really.” he was her best friend from childhood in a home where she spent most of her time hidden in a single room. when she was younger, the few times she left the chateau, she was bullied by other girls (e110, 3:34:59). her best friend, though? her best friend was a god. a god with an incredible sense of humor, an aggrandizing attitude, and adoring respect for a young girl in a difficult situation who had as wonderful a personality as him. in every way that matters, artagan’s friendship undoubtedly saved jester’s life.

and she is so, so aware of this. she cares for him deeply, trusts him unconditionally, and is determined to be there for the one person who had been there for her when no one else was, not even her mother.

the renegotiation of this friendship after artagan revealed his full identity was clearly extraordinarily difficult for jester. she was having to reevaluate her entire relationship with the being that pulled her through a childhood of isolation and misery, question his intentions with her and whether they could even remain friends at all. and this was amidst her arrival at a dangerous island with her other friends to help him clean up his mistakes.

asking her to make a judgment on artagan before she’s ready to do it on her own, while managing some high expectations at the same time—not only is it a lot of pressure, it’s frustrating and painful. jester did not want to judge artagan without giving him his fair due and a proper conversation. knowing that her new friends dislike her old friend, besides being hurt by it, distracted her. she had to both defend him outwardly and interrogate him internally. and if she tried to explain how important artagan is to her, a lot of vulnerability would’ve been necessary when she was trying to be a leader and seem competent and capable, instead of a child who needs patronizing guidance.

this latter point is exceptional. because jester lavorre is so vulnerable when it comes to how much she thinks her loved ones respect her and consider her a valuable, equal, and trustworthy individual. and it’s difficult to feel like you’re being valued and trusted when people are repeatedly questioning you about a person and a relationship that they don’t understand in a way that, despite genuine concern, comes across as them doubting your own judgment of one of the most intimate parts of your life.

in this precise moment in e103, caleb is the only person who acknowledges—to her in person, even—that he doesn't have any place in judging her relationship with artagan. that it’s not what she needs from him or anyone else. that he’s content waiting for her to reach a decision. that he will respect that decision.

and jester can believe him. caleb’s done nothing but remain consistent on this stance. he repeatedly supports her choices to run travelercon, trust artagan, and come to his aid.

when other party members question artagan's legitimacy, caleb is the one who almost always speaks up to support jester (some examples: e61, 30:43 / e77, 49:17 / e95, 1:09:17 and 1:15:24).

he actively and enthusiastically offers his magical talents to her to provide for the event preparations. he has a whole conversation with her in e91 (beginning 1:53:41) where he expresses his immense respect for her and her personality, explicitly validates her faith in artagan, and shows her a tangible example of how he wants to help her during the upcoming travelercon. when she suggests some ideas, despite their arguable silliness, caleb takes them at face value and openly admits his lack of expertise in this area (e91, 1:58:35).

when they first arrive at rumblecusp, he directly reassures jester about the ‘travelercon 3000’ banner she leaves on the wrong beach by mentioning that he can make her a new banner (e101, 48:18). once preparations begin in earnest, caleb expends spells very freely, including ones of higher-level, to produce whatever jester requests.

in e103, he hears out her idea of sleeping underwater and gives it equal consideration in spite of other party members trying to shoot it down. the first time she suggests it (36:23), caduceus comments against it and no other party member acknowledges her except for caleb, who agrees with her quietly while the others move on. the second time jester suggests it (46:08), veth comments against it and caleb steps in to openly agree that it’s a good idea, even after fjord and beau join veth in being dubious.

compare these active, consistent moments of support and validation from caleb to similarly active and consistent examples of the other attitudes that manifest during the rumblecusp arc, in contradiction to people’s apparent claims of trust (one such claim of trust: e95, 1:00:21).

plainly insulting artagan to jester as if it’s a given, such as fjord’s “he’s generally full of shit, right?” (e107, 49:42);

fjord, beau, and caduceus’s conversation about “not ruining jester’s big day,” yet distrusting artagan to the extent of planning to keep her from being alone with him, preparing to attack him should he try to sacrifice 200 people for some speculated unknown ritual and/or hurt jester, and discussing all of this behind jester’s back (e108, beginning 15:41);

caduceus’s said shift to distrust of artagan because of a semi-disturbing conversation that jester was equally a part of (e107, beginning 20:40);

and the discussion right before jester’s commune with artagan where beau questions if artagan sent them to rumblecusp knowing of the memory problems, without regard for their well-being (e103, 29:40).

the unfortunate assumption being made by these party members’ repeated questioning and protectiveness of jester is that she cannot be trusted to have good judgment. despite their familiarity with some of the context of her relationship with artagan (especially after e105), they disregard her repeatedly-expressed support of him. they indirectly disrespect her ability to judge for herself whether someone is dangerous to her or her friends. they don’t acknowledge jester’s own role in creating dubious situations and instead direct all their negative feelings and sense of fault to artagan, minimizing her agency.

the e108 conversation is a dense microcosm of how the party perpetrates these assumptions throughout the rumblecusp arc as a whole. without qualm, they discuss deliberately controlling jester’s time with artagan to ‘protect’ her and their willingness to kill the evil image they’ve constructed of him, and dodge jester directly asking them what they’re talking about—even though it is a known given that the m9 would defend her with their lives with or without any prior discussion. the purpose of holding this conversation isn’t to make sure that jester is safe. like caduceus near-explicitly says, it’s to “feel better knowing” that “anybody else was on board with this” (20:26 and 18:57)—to validate their unacknowledged distrust of jester’s judgment with each other, behind her back.

and as laura has said: jester, with her very high wisdom, tends to know what’s going on even if she acts like she doesn’t (talks for e79, 32:39).

in e103, when jester is crying because she’s found out that artagan did know about the island’s memory problems, caleb doesn’t show any sign of taking this as proof of artagan's ill intent. what he does instead: he offers compassion for her pain with zero judgment. he promises to support her, no matter what she ultimately decides to make of this information. these are offers of safety and trust, ones that jester desperately needed.

then—caleb creates a programmed illusion of the m9’s lives. and it’s beautiful.

in comparison to all the analysis prior, this moment is straightforward. jester is an artist. she paints, draws, and creates, and she loves doing it. moreover, she loves making art for other people. though she doesn’t get many chances to do so, the mural of a flowery meadow that she paints for yasha’s room in the xhorhaus is a perfect example. similarly, she enjoys the art she makes when defacing other people’s property—altered signage or statue of the platinum dragon painted in rainbow—in part because they’re gifts to the traveler. she loves making those she loves happy.

happiness and love to jester is overwhelmingly about emotional intimacy. i’ve talked about this to some degree in a previous post about jester’s jealousy. please refer there for in-depth explanation. in brief, though, she puts value on how deeply she knows a person; how often she’s been able to be there for them. this is the love she learned from her mother and from artagan, and how she continues to love once she’s older.

caleb’s arcane rendition of the m9′s lives floating around the inside of the dome is a display of exactly this kind of love. not only is it art crafted from his magic and imagination and love—it’s blatant evidence of how much he cares for every member of the party and where they’ve come from. he remembers their stories and hangs them in the air in hopes that it’ll help them resist the memory erasing. he moves the memory of yasha and zuala in a meadow over to yasha’s pillow-side so she can watch it until she falls asleep. he creates a memory for vilya of her, her husband, and her daughter, listening to and respecting the emotional gravity of what she’s confiding in them.

only a few minutes after jester’s disappointing commune with artagan and her conversation with caleb, she walks into the dome and sees this art. she laughs and stares in wonder at all the memories (e103, 1:46:08). when beau points out the humorous memories of fjord being attacked by turtles so they can all laugh, she tells caleb with equal awe and joy, “wow. this is amazing, caleb” (e103, 1:47:04).

...of course, as lovely and meaningful as these back-to-back moments were for jester, it's not quite evidence of her starting to fall in love with caleb around this time.

that’s where the following episodes come in.

[id: three screenshots of messages sent in a discord channel by the user “prim” (the op). all are timestamped to friday, august 28, 2020, the day after the live premiere of e107. the first has an additional timestamp of 12:53 PM, the second 1:03 PM, and the third 1:30 PM. they read:

honest to god though i don't know if it's just the shipper brain that is making me think laura is trying to roleplay jester beginning to reciprocate caleb's feelings [...]

like........ the golden dick hunt teasing is definitely on par with jester's past shenanigans, but the compliments have been Catching My Attention bc it's honestly not normal for jester to compliment caleb of her own volition like that, just as a one-on-one "i appreciate you" reassurance

and i'm thinking less about the spells from last night's episode (although how much jester was emphasizing the compliments made me go "awwwww") and more of the moments like jester telling caleb "that was impressive" after getting cad out of the tunnel with beau's help

but laura is absolutely a shipping troll with jester this campaign so i'm here like "I'M MAYBE 80% SURE I'M BEING FUCKED WITH BUT IT MAYBE HOLDS UP????" [...]

basically laura keeps doing things that make the alarm in my brain go off and i don't know if i'm picking up something legit or if i'm projecting my hopes, like the recent pattern of compliments from jester LOL

/end id.]

i’m not going to lie, if i try to list every single receipt like i otherwise prefer to do in these metas, i think we (and especially i) would all lose our minds. so while i’m about to provide a lot of citations, they genuinely are just a few possible examples that will mostly be within the dozen episodes after e103.

the more important detail that can be observed from this is that e103 is a turning point.

prior to e103, jester does not particularly go out of her way to interact with caleb. by and large, most of their direct interactions are either initiated by caleb or prompted by the context of a general party conversation. the majority of other moments that could be referred to as ‘widojest’ are of caleb’s evident feelings. beyond early campaign days, jester rarely teases caleb about sexual topics while insinuating things about her own sexual life at the same time.

after e103, laura and jester begin to go out of their way to interact with and intertwine jester’s time with caleb.

the rate of jester’s compliments and enthusiastic gratitude to caleb skyrocket (some examples: e104, 30:36 / e107, 16:49 and 1:11:28 and 1:12:15 and 3:10:39 / e110, 15:58 and 3:37:24 / e111, 36:15 and 38:41 and 50:58);

several mature jokes/flirtations she makes involve both caleb and herself (examples: e107, 1:16:17 / e110, 1:18:07 / e115, 1:52:53);

she deliberately and specifically engages caleb in full-blown interactions, such as the conversations during the tour of her childhood bedroom (e110, beginning 1:11:38), hanging out with him on the icebreaker ship (e112, beginning 3:45:29), and the reading of der katzenprinz (e115, beginning 1:52:43);

as well as the expansion of more extended ‘conversations’ like their motif of dancing (e108, 13:39 / e109, 2:54:14), their parental relationships (e110, 20:44 and 3:38:41 / e115′s der katzenprinz / e121, beginning 1:52:12), and polymorph shenanigans (examples: e107, beginning 2:58:41 / e117, beginning 1:13:55 / e118, 43:57).

thrown in are additional background details that further tie jester to caleb, such as her determination to recover caleb’s amulet after their defeat of vokodo (e106, 25:33), the knowing comments on his purchasing of paper (e109, 22:32 / e111, 1:25:49), her deliberate choice to ride whaleb during the avantika chase (e113, 2:32:28), her retrieval of caleb’s coat when he’s attempting to remove the necromantic emerald (e115, 1:30:56), and her deliberate reference to der katzenprinz to iver (e120, 3:05:14);

and simply everything about the tower. it’s another example of the art and creativity caleb produces with his magic to make his loved ones happy, which jester acknowledges at least twice (refer to the e111 compliments). contrarily, jester also makes note of the signs that this tower shows less love to caleb than she thinks he deserves, in keeping with her value of emotional intimacy (e115’s der katzenprinz / e122’s floor 8, room 1).

the reading of der katzenprinz in e115 is arguably the pinnacle of these examples. it’s intentionally initiated by jester. she both takes the step to visit caleb's room and indirectly requests him to read the story to her. laura’s implication that she remembered this subplot because of beau’s reading of a very romantic letter from yasha is particularly suggestive. the story itself incorporates many similar characters and themes that are present in jester’s backstory: the lonely, sheltered boy and his single working mom as jester and marion; the dubious cat prince who ultimately gives the boy freedom and confidence as artagan; and the deep love between the boy and his mother because of how they only have each other, which compels a powerful being to have compassion and thus set the boy free so that they can be together. very similar to both jester’s depth of relationship with her mother and her pleas on artagan’s behalf to the moonweaver’s celestial servant.

and the post-story conversation—caleb’s confiding of its importance to him because of his mother. jester’s open willingness to compare the cat prince to artagan, knowing that caleb respects their friendship and has treated artagan fairly. jester’s lingering, repeated looks toward caleb while smiling and holding her copy of der katzenprinz to her heart.

with all this dramatic expansion of the emotional and thematic intimacy between jester and caleb beginning to roll down the hill after e103—in brilliant contrast to their more muted, less reciprocal dynamic before this episode—e103 is more than likely the turning point of jester’s feelings. and based on the events and context, it was caused by the combined emotional appeal of caleb’s offer of unconditional support and his display of love for his family in the programmed illusion of memories.

#cr #critical role #cr meta #widojest #jester lavorre #caleb widogast #by popular demand #inb4 the wrap-up #prim post #prim says some things #readmore #long post

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dragonbugsuperior · 3 years

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Adrien's Manipulation and How He Manipulates

As you can see, I have spoken about the things the ml writers have done and attempted to get away with however I never dug deep into how manipulative Adrien is and how he has manipulated people. I have provided real transcripts from the episodes. You can look it up yourself they're there for everyone to see.

In Malediktator (season 2, episode 24) Chloe threatens to leave Paris, Mr. Bourgeois gets akumatized into Maledikator; invested with absolute power, he wants to make his daughter's dreams come true so that she stays with him. In the episode, Chloe announces that she's leaving Paris to the entire school and the students are thrilled. They were celebrating the fact that their school bully was leaving Paris. Including Marinette, who was also relieved to know her bully/tormentor was leaving Paris. The same girl who's been bullying Marinette for years.

Here's some real transcripts from the actual episodes

Chloé: (from the helicopter, through megaphone) Hey there, losers! I'm headed to New York with my mom. (throws flyers) I'm leaving you all behind in your pathetic little school and your pathetic little city. Adieu!

(Marinette picks up a flyer showing Chloé in front of the Statue of Liberty.)

Nino: Chloé's leaving?

Nathaniel: Forever?

Marinette: Looks like it.

Alya: Yeah.

(Everyone jumps in the air out of happiness; confetti appears out of thin air and there are fireworks for no reason at all. Everyone, including Mr. Damocles, dances and parties.)

Marinette: Without Chloé around, Paris will be filled with a lot less negative emotion!

Tikki: And less akumatizations.

(Adrien walks up to Marinette from behind.)

Adrien: Hey, what’s going on here? What are we celebrating?

Marinette: Chloé’s gone! She’s moving to New York!

Adrien: Chloé left…? For good?

Marinette: (still excited, not realizing that Adrien is not sharing everyone else’s enthusiasm) Yeah! Isn’t it great?

Adrien: Uh… no. I think it’s terrible! How can you celebrate a thing like that?

There

There's the manipulation. Adrien guilts Marinette for being happy that her tormentor is gone. He guilts her for being relieved to know that her school bully is leaving Paris. Not only did he make Marinette feel guilty for feeling the way that she did. But the episode also deems Marinette as if she's selfish for feeling glad that Chloe is gone. While Adrien completely invalidates Marinette's feelings, and does not take into consideration that Chloe has bullied and made Marinette's life a living hell for years. Adrien knows Chloe has been bullying Marinette for years and instead of letting her feel happy that her bully is gone he guilts her and shames her saying that she shouldn't be celebrating something like that. Not contemplating the fact that Marinette has been bullied, shamed, taunted, and tormented for years. All because Chloe's his childhood friend and she was his only friend. He continues to support Chloe, and guit-trips Marinette for being happy that her life-long bully is finally leaving, because he doesn’t care about how Chloe torments everyone in the class or how she’s literally abusing Sabrina, all he cares about is how her leaving affects him.

In Glaciator Chat Noir imposes a date with Ladybug.

Transcript

Cat Noir: So, uh, Ladybug? What would you say if you and I met up tonight for a little dinner? Rooftop style?

Ladybug: For dinner? As superheroes?

Cat Noir: Well, uh, yeah. That's right. We're only together when we're saving Paris. I mean, wouldn't you actually like to get to know one another?

Ladybug: I... That's so thoughtful of you, but I can't. I have to, uh, I already have plans with some friends.

Bus driver: (steps out of the bus and shakes hands with Cat Noir) Thank you. (shakes Ladybug's hand) Thank you, Ladybug.

Cat Noir: Well, if your plans end early, come and join me.

Ladybug: We'll see.

Cat Noir: I'll be waiting, my lady.

(Ladybug uses her yo-yo and leaves. Cat Noir smiles at her for a moment before he leaves too)

Ladybug tells Chat Noir that she has plans with friends, Chat Noir still insists that she comes if her plans end early. Ladybug never says yes to him nor does she confirm she will show up while he says he'll be waiting.

Alya, Nino, Marinette, and Adrien were planning on having a date together, Adrien lies to his friends and tells them that his father said he couldn't go. Actively upsetting them and ruining their date, because 'Oh! Poor Adrien couldn't make it!. The thing is-

Adrien could have made it.

He himself, chose not to.

He didn't even inform his father about going out with friends.

Adrien never mentions going out with friends to Gabriel. He never tells Nathalie nor the Gorilla anything just so he could prepare a date with Ladybug, who also never confirmed she was going on the date.

[Next transcript is very important to read]

(Adrien sighs before he takes out his phone to text Nino. He then checks the time)

Nathalie: There's no point in waiting for your father, Adrien. He'll be eating in his office.

Adrien: (stands up from his chair, quietly angry) Then what's the point of keeping me here if he's never gonna show up, Nathalie? (walks away to go to his room)

Nathalie: Don't forget to practice your piano before you go to bed.

He doesn't tell Nathalie or Gabriel. He tells Nino that he won't be able to make it because his father wouldn't allow him to, yet Adrien didn't even see Gabriel because he was in his office the entire time.

Scene: Adrien's room.

Plagg: You could've at least grabbed the piece of Camembert on that platter!

Adrien: (tosses a piece of Camembert to Plagg and he catches it) Fuel up, Plagg. (He turns on some piano music from his phone. He then places the phone on top of the real piano) Adrien may not be allowed out of the house, but Cat Noir is!

Adrien's off to his date with Ladybug, which she never agreed that she would come, lying to his friends and telling them that his father wouldn't let him go out with them.

Plagg: You seem in a hurry to get stood up.

Adrien: She didn't say she wasn't coming.

Plagg: But she didn't say she was either!

This is also important to take in mind, it doesn't matter if she didn't say wasn't coming, she also didn't say she was coming like Plagg said. She told him she had plans with her friends.

Scene: Trocadéro. Marinette meets up with her friends

Marinette: Hey, Alya!

Alya: Hey, Marinette! (Both she and Marinette kisses each other's cheeks)

Marinette: Where's Adrien?

Alya: Don't get upset, okay? But Nino just got a text. Adrien's dad isn't letting him go out.

Again, Adrien tells Nino his dad won't let him go out. Lying and upsetting his friends, which automatically makes them feel bad because they're poor friend can't come out with them.

Marinette: Once again...

Nino: Yo, Marinette!

Ivan: What's up, M?

Mylène: How are you, Marinette?

Marinette: I'm fine. Thanks. Hehe. So, do you know where André is today?

Later in the episode, they have patrol

And this is what Chat Noir says to Ladybug

Ladybug: Hello, Kitty. Did the bad guys leave you cold?

Cat Noir: (harsh and enraged) How was your amazing evening with your "friends"?

(Ladybug looks confused at Cat Noir, shocked by her partner's harsh words. But she gasps when she hears Glaciator's voice.)

He gets passive aggressive and sarcastic with her. He's angry because she didn't show up to a date she never agreed to going on.

[Transcript]

Ladybug: Are you mad at me because I didn't show up?

Cat Noir: (furious) What do you think?

Ladybug: I didn't mean to hurt you.

(Glaciator jumps over them and continues walking. Ladybug and Cat Noir take shelter behind a car)

Cat Noir: And I also had a surprise for you, too!

Ladybug: I really am sorry.

Cat Noir: No... I'm the one who's sorry. Maybe another time.

Ladybug feels bad for not showing up. Ladybug shouldn't have to apologize for not showing up. She never agreed to going on the date and Chat Noir knows that. He knows she had plans with her friends and guilts her because apparently she didn't show up to a date she never intended on going on. While he was the one who gave her the cold shoulder the entire time they were fighting off Glaciator and acted like a 5 year old child.

The blatant manipulation

Chat Noir guilts Ladybug because she didn't show up to a date she never agreed that she would go on. Resulting in her feeling bad and apologizing to him as if she said she'll go. She never confirms she'll make it. She tells him she has plans with friends and they'll see. That doesn't equate to yes. Adrien lies to his friends and tells them he won't be able to make it because his father wouldn't let him go out, meanwhile Adrien never tells Gabriel anything about going out with friends.

In Syren

Adrien gets tired of all the secrets Ladybug had to keep from him and threatens to quit. Blackmailing Plagg threatening to quit as a superhero if Plagg doesn't tell him what secret Ladybug's been hiding from him.

[Transcript]

Adrien: (imitating Ladybug) Hey, Cat Noir, do you trust me? (as himself) Sure, Ladybug; do you trust me, too? (as Ladybug) Are you kidding? I will never trust you! Ha ha ha ha! (normally, to Plagg) You must know what Ladybug's hiding from me, Plagg.

Plagg: I'm just a kwami, Adrien, and we kwamis have a right to remain silent.

Adrien: Pity. (gets out his phone) Just when I was about to order you some very tasty cheese. Have you ever sampled La Trappe d'Échourgnac? It says here it tastes like walnuts.

Plagg: (swallows some Camembert) I can't be swayed, sorry.

He bribes Plagg with cheese to get information out of him about Ladybug

Cat Noir: Wait! Where're you going?

Ladybug: (hesitantly) I can't.

Cat Noir: (disappointedly) Say anything. Yeah, I know. But we are a team, aren't we? (turns away from Ladybug) I'm tired of all these secrets.

Ladybug: I'm sorry. It's not exactly easy for me either, trust me. (she leaps away while Cat Noir turns to see her leaving him)

(Cat Noir sits down on the roof to wait for Ladybug to return.)

He himself admits that he knows she can't tell him anything. He knows she's under restrictions and he pulls this.

Cat Noir: This is so dumb! (stands up) Claws in. (detransforms)

Plagg: (groans) What's taking her so long? (Adrien holds up his hands to Plagg, and starts to pull off his ring a little bit) Whoa, easy! W-What are you doing?!

Adrien: (grimly) If you don't tell me what Ladybug is hiding from me, I'm done!

Plagg: You can't do that!

Adrien: (bitterly) Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care!

Plagg: I will!

He blackmails Plagg, and threatens to let millions of people drown just because he wants to know a secret he isn't worthy of knowing.

[Transcript for Frozer]

In Frozer he gets rejected for the hundredth time

Ladyice: Cat Noir. We need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink. (throws yo-yo)

Icecat: (bitterly) My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack. You go your way, I'll go mine.

Ladyice: Please don't tell me you're mad at me about the rose.

Icecat: There may be a certain chill now between us.

Ladyice: I get it, but we should really focus on saving Paris

Icecat: We don't always have to do everything together, after all. It's not like we're a couple. (skates away)

Ladyice: Cat Noir, don't get all pouty on me! (groans and takes off on her yo-yo)

(Ladyice and Icecat separately search for Frozer)

Icecat: (notices Frozer's skate marks on the ice) This way.

Ladyice: I need to set a trap, but what could I use as bait? (while Ladyice thinks, Frozer prepares to sneak up behind her, but Icecat spots him attempting to do so and pulls Ladyice out of harm's way)

Ladyice: Thanks, Kitty.

(Icecat winks)

Once again, he makes her feel guilty for turning him down for the millionth time in a row as if he doesn't know she's in love with someone else. Acting like an asshole the entire time they fight off Frozer.

In Copyat, Chat Noir arrives at a ceremony.

Scene: The Place des Vosges. The ceremony has just ended.

Cat Noir: These statues are amazing. One thing's slightly off though— I'm actually taller than Ladybug.

Théo: Ladybug didn't show up. I just wanted to express my adoration for her. Let her know that everything I had went into her statue. I'm sure if she took a little time to get to know me, she would see how much we have in common. Our devotion to the things we love.

Cat Noir: Hey, don't mean to burst your bubble, but you know, Ladybug and me, we're a thing, you know?

Théo: Really?

Cat Noir: Yeah, we're like this. (crosses his fingers)

Théo: (growls; walks away angrily) What does Ladybug see in him?

He lies to Theo about the relationship he has with Ladybug leaving Theo angry causing him to become akumatized.

Cat Noir: Better help the fellow out. His crush just got crushed. (under his breath, as he leaves) That makes two of us.

Théo: Ugh... What am I doing here? Ladybug?

Ladybug: I'm sorry I couldn't make it this morning, Théo.

Théo: Can you autograph it for me?

Ladybug: Of course I can! You've got some real artistry here. You've really captured my essence.

Théo: Thank you, Ladybug. And don't worry. I know about you and Cat Noir. It's okay.

Ladybug: Huh?

Ladybug is left to apologize to Theo and deal with the rest. Theo tells her not to worry, he knows about her and Chat Noir to which she reacts with utter confusion. Chat Noir lied to Theo, causing his akumatization not even facing consequences at the end nor apologizing to Theo, instead Marinette does all the work while being left confused.

Adrien is a lying, manipulative, and conniving person. He has manipulated his friends, Plagg, and Marinette. This is not okay

And the writers portray it to be while making Marinette look bad

#marinette dupain cheng #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette deserves better #miraculous plagg #stop defending him #manipulators #adrien salt #cancelmiraculous #canceladrienagreste #predatory cis straight white boy billionaire

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

Text

National Examiner, April 19

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Tony Bennett's brave last days

Page 2: Stars with Mad Skills -- they became fast experts for plum roles -- Daniel Day-Lewis, Timothee Chalamet, Natalie Portman, Ryan Gosling, Jamie Foxx

Page 3: Adrien Brody, Margot Robbie, Bryan Cranston, Shia LaBeouf, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise

Page 4: Susan Sarandon's roles and costumes

Page 7: Be Prepared for the Worst -- know these lifesaving tips before a crisis happens

Page 8: Lonely Stefanie Powers never wants to date because she still has gotten over lover William Holden's sudden death, even though it'll be 40 years ago this November -- the former star of '80s TV classic Hart to Hart, who's now 78, considers Holden the one true love of her life, even though she's been married twice to others and had a long-term relationship after the Hollywood legend's tragic death and she can't imagine being with anyone else at this stage in her life when Bill's memory is so sacred in her mind and his death still haunts her to this day, and it will only get worse as the anniversary approaches -- Holden, then 63, died at home in Santa Monica on November 12, 1981, of massive bleeding after falling and striking his head on a piece of furniture while heavily intoxicated -- it rips her apart to this day thinking how he must have suffered all alone in his apartment, bleeding to death -- the pair had a decade-long, passionate affair that lasted until his demise, which led her to carry on their mutual passion for wildlife conservation and Stefanie founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and is still the director -- she's tried being in other relationships, but it's been more about companionship than anything else and she doesn't have the motivation to date when the best man has already come and gone

Page 9: Vax Hacks -- avoid scammers who prey on fears of COVID-19

Page 10: His first day on the job as an honorary cop, Jeremiah met the other guys in blue and was the proud guest of honor at a special swearing-in ceremony just for him, and he's only five years old

Page 11: Important minerals for your body -- why you need zinc and potassium and how to get them

Page 12: Rude Awakening -- stars who don't mind their manners -- Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christian Bale, Rachael Ray

Page 13: Sean Penn, Ashton Kutcher, Robert Pattinson, Russell Crowe, Cameron Diaz, Bruce Willis

Page 14: Dear Tony -- America's Top Psychic Healer Tony Leggett -- useful lessons learned from the pandemic

Page 15: Get well soon wishes go out to Chevy Chase, who just came out of the hospital after a five-week stay for heart issues -- in 2018, the star was diagnosed with alcohol cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle caused by excessive drinking; he had dealt with his drinking back in 2016, when he entered the Hazelden Clinic to receive treatment for alcoholism

Page 16: Even though the century mark looms just around the corner, Betty White still radiates joy -- calling herself the luckiest broad on two feet, the 99-year-old Hollywood legend shares her advice for living a long and peaceful life -- she says her life is divided absolutely in half: half animals and half show business and you can't ask for better than two things you love the most

Page 18: When a California man won $145,000 on Wheel of Fortune, it turned out to be good fortune for a lot of people as he donated his entire winnings to the charity Uplift Family Services and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, whose services support thousands of families

Page 19: These seniors are literally beating the coronavirus -- with 99 percent of them vaccinated, the 700 elderly residents of the Westminster-Canterbury on the Chesapeake Bay senior living community in Virginia Beach held a party and they had a lot to celebrate

Page 20: Cover Story -- Tony Bennett is facing his brave last days as he battles Alzheimer's disease at the age of 94 -- the singer was diagnosed in 2016, but kept the terrible illness secret until recently and has not yet experienced common Alzheimer's symptoms like episodes of terror, rage or depression but the disease has progressed -- for now, wife Susan Crow and the oldest of Tony's four kids, 67-year-old Danny from his first marriage, are caring for him while he lives in the couple's New York City apartment

Page 22: Recycle your baubles, bangles and beads -- bored with your beaded necklaces? Blase abut those old bangles? If your costume jewelry collection no longer inspires, there are many brilliant ways to give it new life or earn you some cash

Page 24: The internet's newest fitness star is 102-year-old Julia Fulkerson, who had a ball participating in her great-grandson Brody's virtual gym class

Page 25: Young Darius Brown has a mission in life: to make shelter dogs look as spiffy as he can so they'll get adopted and to do that, he provides the canines with slews of adorable bowties that he sews himself -- five years ago, when Darius was eight, his sister Dazhai taught him to sew and the passion was good for him because he'd been diagnosed with speech and fine-motor skills that the craft improved over time -- he says he saw how happy the people at the shelter were to get the bowties and how much the dogs liked them, and he decided to make more and he came up with a goal to give bowties to an animal shelter in every state -- so far, he's sewn a whopping 600 of the canine accessories himself, and helped dozens of pooches find forever homes and he especially likes to focus his attention on older animals and pets with disabilities, since they're the toughest to find homes for and the shelter directors say Darius' efforts have made a huge difference in the life of hundreds of pups

Page 26: Summer Horoscope 2021

Page 28: It's not just for the birds -- tips for watching our fine feathered friends

Page 32: Reverse Gear -- walking backward is good for you -- here's something new to try the next time you go out for a walk: do it backward -- it may sound silly, but health experts say there are mental and physical benefits to the practice, but go slowly at first to avoid injuries

* If you're always putting the needs of others before your own, you could be at risk for compassion fatigue, a condition that can physically and mentally drain you of time and energy -- compassion fatigue is a state of emotional overwhelm that is constant and persistent, once in this state of emotional exhaustion, it becomes difficult to empathize with those they help and essentially, it's empathy burnout

Page 34: Grandads Before 50! No rocking chairs for these grandpas -- take a look at these celebs who had their grandchildren before their first gray hair -- Jim Carrey, James Brolin, Donny Osmond, Mick Jagger, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Sheen

Page 40: The Element of Earth -- earth is the second of the four elements: fire, earth, air and water

Page 42: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Drew Barrymore

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Dakota Johnson and her parents Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (picture), Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the film Spencer (picture), Tina Turner admits she instantly fell for husband Erwin Bach in 1986 when they first met at an airport in Germany, Bindi Irwin gave birth to daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, Michael Douglas is still going strong after 5 decades as an actor and loves what he does for a living, George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery, Jessica Walter died in her sleep

Page 45: Eddie Murphy is inducted into NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame (picture), Diana Ross performs at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California (picture), Mario Lopez helps christen the tables at Mohegan Sun Casino in Las Vegas (picture), Ann-Margret and Julianne Hough attend the Family Film Awards where the redhead received a lifetime achievement award (picture), James Middleton who is the brother of Duchess Kate says he and fiancee Alizee Thevenet are done with city living, Justin Bieber's mom didn't like his newest tattoo saying Don't you have enough yet?, Zac Efron was spotted flying to Sydney with Aussie girlfriend Vanessa Valladares, Taraji P. Henson asked fans for prayers for her pet pooch that was suffering from post-surgery complications but he unfortunately died

Page 46: A lottery winner in Tennessee was feeling like a million bucks, until he realized he'd lost his precious ticket but he didn't give up: he retraced his steps until he found the ticket again

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ipurpleyou1993 · 4 years

Text

My thoughts on:

Put Your Head On My Shoulder

Starring: Lin Yi/Xing Fei

- It's okay not to know everything. Just because you don't know it today, doesn't mean you'll never learn it. There's always time to learn new things. ✅😊😉

We are all beginners. Our years give us experience. And from these experiences, we learn. 💯😊😉

- Often times, we miss out on opportunities bigger than what we have in mind because we are too fixated on things and people we think are good for us.

Trust in the Lord's plan and everything will eventually work out. 😉👍🏻💯

- It's always good to pursue something you are passionate about. In this day and age, we are pushed to pick courses which will, you know, pay the bills. Hahahaha!

When we do something we love, work becomes play - you learn and enjoy at the same time. And excelling is easier since you are eager to learn. 😊

Do what makes you happy - be it on the sidelines, spare time, or whatnot. 😎👍🏻😊

The Gist:

The story revolves around 2 individuals - Situ Mo and Gu Weiyi. It's a coming of age type of story that takes us to the mature romantic journey of the couple.

Situ Mo, played by Xing Fei, is the female lead in the series. She is outspoken, quirky, and very independent. She knows what she wants and works hard for it.

As for her passion, she loves advertising. But her parents insisted she takes up accountancy, instead (happens to many of us, doesn't it?). This is one of the early struggles of her character in the series. She's a graduate of accountancy but she wishes to pursue an advertising career.

For the longest time, she's been waiting for her best friend, Fu Pei, to pick up his courage and confess his feelings to her.

- SPOILER ALERT -

Sadly though, it didn't happen. But she stood up and accepted what needed to be accepted. Strong girl, isn't she?

Gu Weiyi, played by Lin Yi, is the male lead in the series. He's the awkward one. Everything is new for him in terms of relationships. He's got it all figured out in books. But he's quite terrible at it in the emotional side of things. Hahaha! 😅🤣🤭

Apart from being the school genius, he's also the university's heartthrob. Well, who wouldn't crush on someone with this face? ❤️😍😊 Such a BB. ❤️💯😍

Their journey begins with a bag switch and the incident of having to live in the same house. 😅

What I liked about the series:

- The series is soooo fun to watch. It's light and simple. It's a feel good, chinese drama. I hardly noticed that I finished watching 15 episodes in one day. 🙈🤣👍🏻 This is crazy considering that one episode is almost an hour long. For me, this is a good sign. Hahahaha! Don't you think so too? 😊

- I liked Gu Weiyi's awkwardness. It was fit for his cold and clueless character. 💯😊👍🏻 His stiffness really worked as Gu Weiyi making it look natural. 👌🏻😍✅

I also admired his acting. Being clueless when it comes to relationships can hardly be seen in men. 😊 (Is this considered stereotyping? I hope not. Hihi! 🙈) But his projection of the clueless image was so on point and hilarious. Hahahaha! 🤣

And I also appreciate how a guy, despite it being the personality of his character, takes time and effort to study and research about the things a guy should do for a girl during courtship, dates, etc. Do guys really do this? Such a sweet gesture. Kakakilig lalo. UWU. ☺️🙈😍❤️

- I liked how Situ Mo is not your ordinary type of girl. She isn't shy. Instead, she's very outspoken and quirky. 😊💯👍🏻 You'll want to wish you had her personality when you were her age (At least in my case, for that matter. 😅)

I honestly think Situ Mo is the definition of a strong independent woman. Hahaha! I love how she's so cool with anything - waiting, confession, voicing out her opinion, etc.

Her character is so strong that I am actually jealous. Hahaha! I wish I had the courage to stand up for my thoughts, tell people I am angry, confess my feelings to the one I like, confront my first love, hahahaha! And so much mooooooore! I want Situ Mo to be my spirit animal. Hahahaha! 🙋🏻‍♀️✅💯😊

- FRIENDSHIP APPRECIATION POST: I love how Situ Mo's friendship with her bff did not falter because of some guy coming between them. I really like watching friendships overcome issues like this. Don't ya wish you have this kind of support system? Hahahaha! Good job girls for not letting men come between your relationship! 💯✅👌🏻👍🏻😊

- I love the chemistry of the main characters. It seems very realistic! The push and pull of the emotions projected by the actors really come across. Nakakagigil! ❤️😍😊 I got butterflies coming and going all through out the series. ❤️💯👍🏻🙈

I enjoyed the series a lot because I can see myself in them when I was trying things about relationships for the first time. I giggled so much as well because while watching, in my mind I am saying, Situ Mo is me/I am Gu Weiyi. Hahahahaha! I can totally relate to their awkwardness. 💯🙋🏻‍♀️😅

Well, we are all beginners at some point in our lives, aren't we?

- I love how the series shows you the character growth without being too hasty. It's satisfying to watch since you get to see how each of the characters grow and mature slowly but surely without being draggy. Hahaha! Good job to the team! ❤️😊✅💯

- The series is full of comedy stints. Especially on scenes with the nerd squad. Since all of them are clueless - even the professor, it's funny how they try to understand the female mind using scientific equations (which, we all know will be a total failure considering the complexity/simplicity of a woman's thoughts. Hahahahaha!) 😅💯🤣

- I think it's somewhat unrealistic to have very supportive parents in terms of relationships - especially having their children, who are of different genders, live in the same house without ADULT supervision (at least for my family, that is. 😉🤣). Hahahahaha! But, wouldn't it be nice if this was the case? Hihihi! Freedom! LOL! SANA ALL!

- I love how the conflicts in the series are very relatable. These are issues we've gone through during our younger years. (Speaking based on personal experiences, friends. Haha!😂)

I think it's important when the story creates a connection with its audience thru things like these. Since for the young ones who are watching, how these issues get resolved can help them overslcome what they are going through this time as well. 😉

- The OST is sooooooo nice! It's so refreshing and fun. And the entrances are all on point! Such an eargasm! 🙈💯👍🏻✅❤️ Will be providing a soundtrack link below. 😉

Cons:

- I think the character conflicts were pretty light. Or, maybe, there were big issues tackled but was not discussed and focused deeply - intentionally. It somehow makes the series feel shallow. Hihi. 🙈😊

Although, I honestly think that the series lacking depth matches the feel good intention of the writer. So, it's still a job well-done. 😉

Soundtrack:

Put Your Head On My Shoulder OST Playlist

I like everything in here. Hihi! Ni personal favorites. I can put this playslist on repeat for yhe entire day and not get tired of it. Hihi! 💜💜💜

ctto Photos/GIFs/Music

#Put Your Head On My Shoulder #Gu Weiyi #Situ Mo #Lin Yi #Xing Fei #cdrama #Chinese #Chinese Drama #cdrama review #review

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