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redlazuly · 5 months

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so i've just joined the pjo series discourse on sm (i've read all the books) so maybe people might have already said this but i feel like the monster fights are kinda underwhelming ?? the fights themselves but the atmosphere around them too. i'm just going to say it point by point to be clearer :

Mrs. Dodds: she's the first monster and threat of the show. i was waiting for something scary and surprising, that would have terrified percy or something. but instead the "reveal" was slow, and there wasn't even a fight, he just kind of opened the sword (even tho we don't even see him doing it) and she just. dies like that ?? it was really easy and i get that they can't just kill percy in the first ep but there wasn't even a bit of struggle or anything. tbh this first fight really dissapointed me. there was mystery that creates an intrigue but she just wasn't scary or a menace imo (EDIT : I HAVE NOW REREAD THE SCENE AND IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THIS IS EXACTLY HOW THE FIGHT PLAYS OUT IN THE BOOK (extract down below) so forget everything i said in this part, i'm sorry. )

2. The minotaur : i liked this one much more than the first one, the car chase was thrilling and the atmosphere of the scene was really cool. i've only got one little thing to say about it, but i think it's just a me thing and i'm nitpicking (idk how to make gifs so i hope you can picture it in your head) :

when sally takes percy's jacket to lure the minotaur away from the boys and uses it as a red cape like in a corrida, i think it kinds of take the attention away from the fear of the monster in itself by being comedic. AGAIN i know i'm nitpicking here but why not say it.

(also i regret that the last scene was so far away from the camera and from the camp border. i know it's bc it's percy's pov but i loved percy's desperation in the movie (I KNOW IT'S BAD) when he's failing to save his mother and finally sees her (and her emotions) when she is gets taken away from him.)

3. Medusa : i LOVED what they tried to do with medusa and how they tried to make us sympathise with her. however, the fight was REALLY dissapointing to me. it kind of happened from nowhere. it's implied that it's annabeth plan but it really happened way too fast and did not give enought time for the viewer to appreciate the threat that medusa can be. it felt way to easy for them to beat MEDUSA. the fight lasted 5 seconds max and it felt shy in a way, like as if they didn't not want to fuck it up.

+ special mention : 4. Clarisse: I'M NOT SAYING SHE'S A MONSTER, I'M JUST PUTTING HER HERE BC TECHNICALLY SHE WAS A THREAT TO PERCY. i like dior's acting, idk anything about her outside of the show but i'm going to be honest : not knowing the cast at all, at first i immediately thought she was drew 😭. she IS a really pretty girl but for me she doesn't emanate clarisse's ares' daughter vibe. when her spear broke she was so GOOD, but appart from that she's just really chill i think ? like she's not menacing, she just kind of a mean girl bully (which clarisse is ig but she's not a menace enough imo) and tbh i think she's just not as "rough" as i think she could have been.

tldr : i think the fights were not scary enough and did not set a good tone for the series. they were also too easy and fast for them to be enjoyable.

of course i still enjoy this show a lot so i will be watching the next episodes and the rest of it so maybe there will be improvements. please yell what you guys think !!

it's the first time i ever talk so much on tumblr, so i hope it was readable. if there was any mistakes please tell me, english is not my first language.

#pjo series #pjo fandom #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #the minotaur #mrs dodds #clarisse la rue #pjo tv show #pjo spoilers

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snowddeong · 4 months

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Already had an idk how long hour rant session with Sarah about this shit but I'm still so annoyed so part 2 lmao

It's so profoundly frustrating and discouraging how itzy continues to be mistreated in every fucking facet you can imagine for the sin of literally being successful, talented women.

They're literally div 2's bottom line but the company acts like they're doing the girls a favour by even posting about their cbs on the accs that were literally made to promote itzy. We are just now getting some semblance of tiktok freedom 5 years into their career meanwhile idols that debuted after them have their own instagrams and their juniors in the same company have more freedom on all sorts of socials. We've confirmed that div 2 flubs so many of their opportunities for who knows what fucking reason after what happened with the CK Yeji event. And most importantly everything to do with Jisu — never fucking protecting her in any way, overwork, stifling her and the other girls' creativity, not utilising her voice well and every other fucking stupid thing they've done that's definitely made what she's going through so much worse. The girls are a cash grab to that fucking company (to the point we literally first learned about the cb and tour in the same post that was announcing Jisu's diagnosis) and they're not even allowed to express any frustration or sadness over that because "that's not professional" and they'd probably lose everything they've worked so hard for.

If they look sad you're not supposed to acknowledge to it or sympathise with it or treat them as human beings because it's "funny" to joke about how they want to get off work and anyway they're idols who gives af about idols anyway right? So called midzys are more concerned about making unfunny jokes than actually getting to know these girls. Every mf will say "ot5" then turn around and straight up hating certain members. Dehumanisation has become so fucking normalised in midzyville but then mfs will act surprised that the company gets away with this very obvious exploitation and mistreatment. If you view these human beings as a product that you can say whatever tf you want about on sites that you know they frequent because "it's just a joke lol" ofc the mfs presenting them as a product are going to benefit from it 😭

Then you have fuckass bitchass shitstain mnet and their hate boner for itzy. The largest number of most viewed videos on choom, the first choom performance to get more than 50 million views that's still consistently gaining more and more views, the first mix and max vid to get 50 million that's also still gaining views and gagged the kpop space so hard that Bebe Rexah released a korean specific version of break my heart myself and performed at fucking kcon because of Ryujin and Yeji, and their MAMA 2021 being the most iconic performance of that night (to the point that mnet decided to call back to it again last year mind you). You'd think wow hey these guys get us views let's be nice to them and keep them around.... but nah, deleted their iconic fucking performance that gave their boring award show relevance, deleted their debut stage, don't invite them to choom anymore, didn't even send ryeji their trophy or record something for Yeji when she got hers and then the bullshit that went on today lmao. Like it's so fucking obvious and you have to wonder WHY ffs

I have nothing against the group that won even though some of their stans are the most disgusting scum of the earth but like surely.... the numbers did not make sense. Even if you say itzy's digital points were too high okay fine that's just affirming that mnet isn't very honest with their numbers. They deleted itzy's untouchable stage for who knows what fucking reason then uploaded it later with reset views. How tf am I supposed to believe all this was above board when we've been beating that fandom in voting CONSISTENTLY even if they mobilised fandoms to help okay fine but did they enlist the whole of stantwt or something lmao how tf was the difference that great? Why were the sns scores so fucking weird when itzy untouchable shorts have consistently more views? Why is it "cope" or being a sore loser to call foul play when there's so much pointing to it being that AND mnet has a history of rigging??? The only real answer is it's because this happened to a girl group and specifically because this happened to itzy. They released one song people didn't like and suddenly deserve every terrible that happens to them is deserved and just "midzys complaining about nothing". And when it gets to a point where even the girls seem visibly frustrated and dissapointed? "Nah they just want to go home early lol don't read too much into it don't care"

This is so long and I feel like I could go on forever but tldr I just wish better for them man 🫠 every group is unique and important in their own way but itzy are really once in a lifetime performers. I know there's no such thing as a perfect world where everything goes smoothly especially for girl groups but fuck is it too much to ask for a little respect on their names and for everyone to leave them tf alone at the bare minumum 😭 itzy is the only group under div 2 just fucking do your jobs lmaooo

#snowdd.txt #big ol rant lmao

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batri-jopa · 1 year

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I'm digging through my drafts lately so now the time has come to speak about movies that are like milestones for me:

Collateral (2004) dir.Michael Mann

I watched it for the first time in June 2021 and it became my hyperfixation, something I've been obsessed so much that... well, I literally LIVED that movie for about 4 months and I consider it changed my life's goals' perception❤️‍🔥 I've been reading all possible reviews, comments, interpretative theories... I wanted to wrote my own review and interpretation of the film.

(Just for those freaking abt actors: ppl who hate movies with Tom Cruise in it - usually make exception for the Collateral - and if THAT'S not convincing to you I don't know what is!)

Who would have guessed that the story about heartless hitman interacting with that poor random taxi driver has a potential to change a live perspective of a 35 years old person? Vincent is so inhumane I'm not even sure he deserves to be called a "character" (not more than a killer-cyborg probably) and what he says to Max about his attitude toward the world and his life and his dreams is so provocative and cruel but... it's all so freaking true. You are over 30 already and the time to act and to change your life and to fulfill your dreams is NOW! Now or never! *

Not to mention every next victim feels like another lesson in personal developement of Max (or any viewer sympathising with him), just like those lessons given to Scrooge by ghosts in A Christmas Carol. Yes, there are five of them instead of three but it's like the first case is: "wake up!" - the next: "this happens for Real!" - then "and there's nearly nothing you can do about it..." - and "...but you got to try anyway..." - followed by: "...because it's all about you right from the start!"

(One night you may need to turn your whole life upside down)

And I know some people see the last case as lame, cliche, unbelieveble, predictible or whatever - but jeez, ppl, that's how it works in a theater play! Of course it could have been predicted and so what?! It's the story about Max's character and in my opinion: that when he gets to know about his key role in all this - in a way similar to Bastian in The Neverending Story.

And I dare to say at this point it is not about any "love" or any such thing (here, take my AroAce filter): it's about a dream, that still is to be fulfilled, about a life, that could have been, about the right to be yourself and freedom to choose your way. About an urge to fight for something so important that you simply can't turn away from it anymore. About a need to defend something that feel so close and dear to you like it's your core, like it's yourself - like it was all about your life from the very beggining!

(And what if: maybe it all would never had happened if not for Max symbolic giving away his dream "island"?🤔)

I love how the provocative speech of Vincent to Max and all the uneasy questions he gives to him are meant to get him out of his comfort zone: your job is to take the client from point A to B, never before have you cared what they gonna do there, maybe all of them where going to kill or hurt somebody, so why did you not care about it ever before? Why would you care about it now? What the difference if the bad thing is happening close to you or far away from you? What's the difference if you do or do not know about it? And what actually changed in your case now - anything other than that now you know? In all this you are irrelevant, COLLATERAL, you are only a fucking meaningless, powerless cab driver! Look at you, you're not even the one to decide your own route! And if you decided to only always do your job without the second thought - then why don't you just do your fucking job right now?!

And then it's like: you can run from your problems and avoid hard decisions for just so long - there's literally no more place left to run and hide, and you got to face your greatest fear... To save a life.

Not your life though.

You'll be reminded it's NOT about you. That it's not your business. So you can simply step back and live. Just keep on being nobody, not having anything to say, not having any power over bad things happening around you. You'll be reminded that you're weak and you can keep the safe distance and remain comfortably numb just as you always used to be...

You could remain COLLATERAL

Only would you be able to live with knowing you haven't even tried?

As much as I hate guns IRL - I loved to learn about the "mozambique drill" (some fans probably breaking new record of rewatching "yo, hommies" scene over and over again) and reading other viewers' interpretations of what actually happen in the final shooting... and of why he could not or would not reload... (as a neurologist I'd vote it's bc of his brachial plexus) and finally thinking about the spontaneous act of previously non-spontanous character - winning over cold routine of the one always talking about "adapting to enviroment"... Like Max've won over him by actually learning his lessons!

This movie is filled with symbols and allegories. Starting with the silver gray Vincent: I like to compare him to a heartless cyborg T1000 from Terminator 2: The Judgement Day, or see him as an angel of death, or even - as mirror giving a dark reflection, like an evil alter-ego of the main character! (there's the allusion of policemen that a taxi driver might get rampage and kill ppl around the town - followed by Max's mother asking "Who?" like not noticing Vincent - to the point Max actually "acts" Vincent - all these priceless little hints that Vincent might not even exist in a first place...)

My own favorite interpretation is that Vincent is personification of a coyote - the spirit animal meant to teach you life lessons that are many times very uneasy but really rewarding

(And don't listen to director talking about Vincent, it seems to me that Michael Mann did not himself get any deeper meaning of this guy at all!😑 Like treating his past history seriously? Oh please, have mercy...🙄 Vincent's power derives from the fact he's so perfectly inhumane he barely touches the earth! Or at least he's the perfectly neutral transparent everyman... who's empty of emotions. And you can treat as a symbol of anything you want!😋)

The story takes place in the middle of the night - with the broad streets of the great town being almost empty - and it's such an unusual view it gives an almost dreamlike mood. Perfect time and place for a life-changing story about changing your life.

All in all this story is so brilliant someone definitely should have made a movie about it!

😆

PS. And I love the soundtrack.

_______

* What I mean by changing the life perspective: I can imagine it does not feel like this for everyone, if you have a partner, kids, a family - you may not have any thoughts like this. But I speak as a single person who was spending a lot time at work, many times for many years... Way too many times working much more than my married workmates were. I've been constantly staying later or replacing someone - because I could, because of not having children, because of not being in a hurry... Well, I guess everyone presumed I probably was not having any life on my own anyway, right? So I could and should always be the one to sacrifice and set prorities of others over mine... I've been told for all my life what I should be doing, what I must not be doing and so I tried all my life to live due to these expectations simply hoping to be resepected accepted. And still I feel like I never managed the higher level of acceptance just because I'm different, my interests are different, the way I'm spending my free time is different, I feel and think differently - so yeah, it's not even worth to ask me about my feelings or interests anymore, or to ask me to go out together, rather keep on looking down at me and treat me like a dumb kid... And so I gradually learned that no matter my struggle I always will be treated differently by that "heteronormative majority" of couples and families with kids...

And then came the COLLATERAL like katharsis, set my emotions free and gave me the sudden realisation: it's the fine time to think about myself! To quit living due to expectation of others, supressing what I love to do for so long, pushing all my creative passion for the forever "maybe later". Only because everyone tells me it's not the right time for that... So when the "righter" time will be?!

"Someday? Someday my dream will come? One night you will wake up and discover it never happened. It's all turned around on you. It never will. Suddenly you are old. Didn't happen, and it never will, because you were never going to do it anyway. You'll push it into memory and then zone out in your barco lounger, being hypnotized by daytime TV for the rest of your life."

Vincent, Collateral (2004)

#I'm serious about a movie should be made about it #I'd see it as a fantasy road movie with a mission and some magic and with a dragon...#fantasy version Collateral AU😆#collateral #collateral 2004 #michael mann #vincent collateral #max Collateral #(finally no mentioning ATWD!)#(though I could have said I hate guns while loving Collateral just as much as I hate cigarettes while loving ATWD😉)#tom cruise #jamie foxx #digging through my drafts #cinemaniac off the leash #movie recommendation

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introverted-author · 16 days

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Questions 11, 12, 16, 20, 23, 26, 29, 31, 38, 39, 42, 45?(sorry if it's too much)

Haha don't worry about it, I'm bored and need something to do :D

11. Which season had the best ending?

I love the ending of S2 with the Snow Ball!! It was nice to see the party and a few of the older kids just enjoying normal life to some degree (plus it was the first time I thought Jopper might be a possibility!!)

I also really love the end of S3 though, even if it makes me sob lol

12. Favourite quote?

I can't really think of any of the top of my head anamskdkmfnt but I think when Nancy and her mother are talking after she gets fired in S3 and Karen tells her that she's a fighter and always has been. Basically that whole discussion is AMAZING!!

16. Favourite deceased character?

Alexie!!! I loved him so much and he did not deserve that ending!! He was so happy at the fair 🥺

20. Favourite emotional moment?

How could I not say Robin's coming out scene?? To see lesbian representation done SO WELL in a show I love was just so validating and made me so happy!! I also love that Steve didn't make a big deal of it and just carried on teasing Robin as he always does. I really hope Robin will come out to some more people next season, especially Nance!!

23. Who has the best hairstyle throughout all the seasons?

Well I would say Nancy, but I really didn't like her hair in S3 😭

So instead I'm gonna say El!! I particularly love her hair in S2 and I was kinda upset when it all got cut off in S4.

26. Favourite icecream flavour?

Cookies and cream, although I also really like vanilla!!

29. Opinion on Jopper?

I LOVE THEM!!! I didn't ship it at first in S2 when I started to sense something was up but when we got to S3 and 4 I was shipping them so hard!!! And I freaked out when they actually finally kissed!!! They better get their date at Enzo's next season...

31. When was the first time you watched Stranger Things and how long have you been an fan?

I started watching it in early March. I had been to hospital the previous night and I was EXHAUSTED and my parents had watched it and my best friend likes it, so I decided to spend the day watching it. Obviously, I loved it haha!!

38. Top five favourite songs in the soundtrack?

Ohmigosh I love 80s music now haha thanks Stranger Things!! My favourites are probably (in no particular order):

1. Running Up That Hill

2. Every Breath You Take

3. Seperate Ways (Worlds Apart)

4. (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight (I did love this song before the show though)

5. California Dreaming

39. Opinion on Billy?

I think Billy's character is really interesting. I hated him at first but came to sympathise with him (although his trauma does not excuse his behaviour). I was quite upset when he died.

42. Opinion on the Wheeler family?

NANCY IS THE BEST AND I WANT HER TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND!!!

All that aside though, I find the dynamic between Karen and Ted really interesting and I also love how Nancy starts to be more open with Karen over time. Holly should be protected at all costs!! And I don't really like Mike, I find his character annoying, but I often like the Mike written in fanfic lol

45. Have you read any of the additional content?

I finished reading Rebel Robin the other day!! I loved it so much, I really saw myself and my journey with my sexuality represented in a way I hadn't seen before. I was laughing a lot cause (beside it being an entertaining book) I had experienced a lot of the same thoughts and confusion as Robin when trying to figure myself out. I'm now waiting to get Runaway Max from the library!!

#thanks for the ask #i hope i didnt miss any!!#stranger things

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beeseverywhen · 2 years

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A few years ago a family moved in to the apartment above mine and they unleashed something within me that had me worried

I went from being unbelievably chill about any noise 'Oh that's just part of living in a shared building' 'I actually like it, the noise of humans around me just living reminds me I'm not alone in this world' 'kids will be kids' to like a hare trigger. This time last year, the slightest noise from above just made me fall in to deep deep rage. Id go from going about my day to somewhere in my head i never want to be. Seeing red. At one point I was ill and I actually stormed out of bed and thundered on the door to ask them incredibly politely to turn down the TV (the level of rage I had to reach to actually leave my house and say something was immense but even then, with them actually in front of me I wasn't about to be anything but deadly nice. I may be bolshy OK but I'm not about to yell at my neighbours man I'm not an idiot, we've gotta share a bin cupboard).

By the end any noise i heard from them made me so angry I was actually scared this was like a sign of things to come. I'm becoming that shitty single middle aged neighbour who hates anything you do. Have I always been that person. I hate who I've become, who I'm ever increasingly becoming more of.

It was a single dad and his kid but it turned out like he had like 5 other children and they were on a constant relay. There was never not a child in his house and it was a 2 bed flat. Oftentimes I could hear even more children than he could possibly be responsible for. It was like I had a middle school above my bedroom. He also didn't seem to have given any of them bedtimes. Every night, non stop preteen arguments, chasing each other, the worst TV possible on max. And even worse! The guy was really fucking nice. So I couldn't say shit and felt terrible for being so angry at him all the time.

And then!!!! Like it couldn't get any worse something goes wrong with his heating system and this dumbo this complete eejit of a guy fucking doesn't tell our mother fucking landlord. His radiators have me thinking this guy is systematically killing elephants at 3pm, 6pm and 1am on the dot every single day. And it gets louder as time goes on. I didn't actually realise what it was for months and was like desperate for answers. By month 4 I was sure he was on a juice diet and kept his blender on the floor. When I finally finally realise its the water, I'm like ah I see. Just gotta get it sorted. That's fine. I just gotta wait it out, something so much easier now I know its a simple fix and the end is in sight. Then a few more months pass and I'm thinking, this is becoming frustrating again.

I thought maybe it was a tricky fix you know. I check in when I see him and it seems to me things aren't running too smoothly with the fix, you know, gotta chase them a bit. I can sympathise. Then. Month 9. I see a tradesperson. I get excited. I call out to the guy 'hey are you fixing flat 4? I'm so happy' turns out he's an electrician. Disappointing. Then! Electrician is so entertained by my tale of sorrow, he shares it with the neighbour when he comes out. And then. This is the worst bit OK. This motherfucker. I thought he'd been telling me these past months he'd chase the fix. No. No. He hasn't even fucking logged it. Here he is cheerful as fucking Larry going oh yeah I really need to get to that. Not get to chasing it. No. He needs to get to telling them there's even a problem. Now when I tell you I wanted to throttle the man.

So for his sins: too many children and a lax approach to bedtime, terrible taste in TV and a prenatural ability to ignore his radiators sounding like a foghorn every single day paired with a frustrating inability to hold those responsible fucking responsible and tell the landlord there's a problem so they can fix it

I was worried cause not any one of those faults seemed great enough to fuel this rage and yet, there was a fire burning within me so hot it seemed it'd never burn out. I'm honestly thinking this is my slide in to terrible, boring, whiny, middle aged sad sack

And then, dude buys a house. I get a new neighbour. Another single dad but the kids a bit older. He apologises in advance they're a family of musicians.

And you know what. These last few months have been the most comforting in my life. This dude right, he's an insomniac. I hear his TV at all hours of the morning. I don't care. His daughter sings constantly, her favourite time to record guitar tracks is 1am. It's pretty nice actually. Sometimes I hear his water system complaining. No skin off my back. His daughter always has friends over, they are very loud. I'm just soaking in the happy atmosphere of humans laughing and singing and being so very alive. It's great.

Not one noise that comes from above is annoying to me.

This is fantastic news. This is a sign of great things. I'm fine as it turns out! I'm not slowly aging in to the spoilsport i apparently always was all along. I'm patient again. Not only that, but I'm back to being good natured about things that'd piss off anyone else. This guy keeps apologising and I'm just like 'Thursday night was particularly good.' He's like I'm so sorry she decided to practice at 2am yesterday I'm like, get her to do wild horses again, I like that one. He's like oh my god how can you hear whole songs I didn't realise the soundproofing was that bad and I'm just 'Yeah it is. However, I don't actually care, I listen to music when I can't sleep anyway, may as well be whatever you're playing'

So, there it is. Turns out I'm not slowly aging in to a miserable git, I'd just reached my very upper limit of tolerance, as is human. Very reassuring. I'm incredibly pleased.

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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years

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Part 4 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Glamour

You can call it however you want: kid's show logic, superhero disguise logic, magical girl show logic, cartoon laws, suspension of disbelief, etc. But the fact that nobody recognises Marinette, Adrien and others when they are suited up IS NOT BAD WRITING. It's one of the main laws of this genre. That's not because characters are stupid, okay? So, being frustrated that everyone in the show acts stupid about this "wearing a mask that covers only eyes" trope is strange. This criticism is not valid or fair.

But, this trope has to make sense in-universe as a worldbuilding and narrative element.

Miraculous doesn't give us much direct information on how glamour works. And in this case, I think we need both SHOW and TELL. Because if you don't establish the glamour rules clearly, you are going to run into problems and create unfortunate implications with your storytelling choices.

Appearance

Miraculous obviously gives our heroes magical glamour. In "Lady WiFi" we find out that masks can't be taken off. It's magic. No other explanation is needed.

Miraculous can slightly change the appearance of users (eyes, face shape, height and hairstyles). People can identify and notice the hairstyles of heroes (numerous Ladybug wigs, statue in Copycat). Jagged Stone points out the change of hair when he mistakes Chloe for Ladybug ("Antibug"). But it's just a costume. There is no magic that prevents Jagged from understanding that Chloe isn't Ladybug. So, how does it work? But it's forgivable because it's cartoon logic. Suspension of disbelief works here, I suppose. I won't judge this too harshly.

Glamour also obviously prevents people from making a connection that Marinette and Ladybug have identical hairstyles. So people know that Ladybug wears her hair in pigtails, but magic does not allow them to notice similarities.

Another important question. Does glamour work on Kwamis? Can they see who is behind the mask?

New York Special makes it clear that magic does not affect robots and they can see through glamour. Does that mean that Markov, AI built by Max, knows the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir? And it's never addressed.

Plagg in "Frightningale" says that holders can subconsciously choose their superhero appearance. This is actually pretty interesting and I like this idea a lot. Except the show is not consistent with this. The transformation of Master Fu looks identical to Nathalie's. And we have seen how different from each other Ladybug and Black Cat holders looked in the past. At the same time, Master Fu and Nino have different takes on Turtle superhero suit.

Age Glamour

Does age glamour exist? Do people see Ladybug, Chat Noir and other heroes as adults even when they look like teenagers to the audience (their height and build are smaller even when they are transformed)? Is that why no one ever questions the fact that children nearly die on a daily basis?

I mentioned unfortunate implications earlier. Well, this is where they come into play. Let's talk about "Copycat". A lot of people discussed it before me, so I won't bore you with details.

When I watched "Copycat" for the first time Theo's crush on Ladybug didn't bother me, because I thought that he sees Ladybug as his peer, a girl who is about 20-23 years old. Theo is an artist, his character design is that of an adult. He has his own studio, its appearance indicates that he did serious commissions in the past. The guy has no idea that Ladybug is like 13.

But then we get "Heroes' Day" and "Ladybug". And Hawkmoth calls them "kids", which means that there is no age glamour. Others see Ladybug and Chat Noir as teenagers. Perhaps, other Miraculous users aren't affected by age glamour. Therefore regular people see all heroes as adults but other heroes are able to guess their age more or less correctly. But you must spell this thing out because the audience can interpret "Copycat" differently. If there is no age glamour, then Theo is crushing on a teenage girl and he is fully aware of this fact. And this doesn't look good for your show.

The "No Age Glamour" theory is further confirmed in "Sapotis" where Alya just straight up analyses voice recordings and says that Ladybug is a girl their age. If glamour exists then it should also cover technology. Kwami can't be photographed. Face and voice recognition software shouldn't be able to analyse transformed superheroes and detect their identities in any way.

Besides, after "Sapotis" Alya should definitely be sure that Ladybug is not 5000 years old (also not an adult), especially after she wore Miraculous herself and was one door away from detransformed Ladybug.

SEASON 4 UPDATE! There's no age glamour after all.

In "Furious Fu" Su Han calls Chat Noir a child without knowing his identity. It means that everyone knows their superheroes are teenagers. "Copycat" can't be saved from that, uh, subtext anymore. No one questions the danger of their job or the balance of their lives outside of the mask. No one doubts their competence after "Origins" ever again. No one becomes annoyed after being bossed around by two teenagers in spandex. You had many opportunities to drop these details into the narrative. Someone could have been akumatized over this (I will not be ordered around by some magical kids!).

I don't know why writers decided not to use at least this idea and slightly adjust "Copycat" if they got rid of the age glamour completely. It can be explained as kid's show logic, but unfortunately, I'm reluctant to do it. If many characters sympathise with akuma victims on-screen, why not with the teenage superheroes who must fight them?

New York Special had this weird focus on collateral damage out of nowhere (the damage done by sentimonster Robostus) and yet it has 0 effect on the main story. No one in Paris is pissed that their 2 teenage protectors weren't there.

Ironically, "Furious Fu" and that one remark made by Su Han also created unfortunate implications for other moments in the show. Just hear me out. Apparently, Jagged Stone wrote a "thank you" song for Ladybug knowing that she is 13-15 year old child back in "Pixelator". Fandom is more than happy to roast Lila for lying about saving Jagged Stone's cat and him writing her a "thank you" song. Fandom claims that Lila's tale could harm Jagged's reputation, when he wrote a song for teenage Ladybug several weeks prior. Meanwhile, in-universe this lie is 100% believable.

If we put on "realism glasses", then both this whole song situation and Theo's crush in "Copycat" have uncomfortable implications. However, the show's canon can't be viewed and criticised through "realism glasses". I admit that bits and pieces of my criticisms are affected by these "glasses", but, ultimately, I'm trying to be fair and concentrate only on things that can't be justified by "cartoon logic and worldbuilding".

Could the existence of age glamour solve this problem of unfortunate implications and other concerns mentioned above? YES. Is it better for the narrative? YES. Is essential for the story? NOT QUITE. Could the absence of age glamour be called an irredeemable storytelling flaw? NO.

Disclaimer: On a side note, only older audience can notice these implications. Children, the target audience, most likely won't understand this subtext simply because they don't have enough experience. So, perhaps, this criticism is unfair, because these moments only look weird to me as an adult. It's like an adult joke in a cartoon that you don't get until you reach a certain age.

There's nothing technically wrong with adult writing a "thank you" song for a teenager. It's just an expression of gratitude. However, unfortunately, we live in a world, where adults normally wouldn't write songs for teens to express gratitude only. In real life similar actions would imply pedophilia and would be actively scorned by the public. No one would risk their reputation like that even if their intentions were genuinely pure and sincere. But this show can't be viewed through "realism glasses", because it's a cartoon and in certain cases we as the audience must use suspension of disbelief and pretend that certain things are possible for plot to happen.

Su Han also wants to give Ladybug and Black Cat to adults. Why didn't Master Fu do this then? Writers don't give us any explanation. Throughout the show we never question this up until the moment it's revealed that adults don't have time-limited powers. Then comes "Furious Fu". Story suddenly becomes self-aware here. Because apparently nothing prevented Fu from giving the most powerful Miraculous to adults who won't have time limit and will be more effective against Hawkmoth (see part 3 for more details).

I have a very good example of Age Glamour done right. It works in the story. There is no confusion or unfortunate implications. There is like one plothole connected to the glamour (it's been years and I still can't forgive them for Cornelia and Caleb) but otherwise, it's a pretty solid example of both show and tell. Clearly, writers wanted to avoid uncomfortable implications which are present in "Copycat". I am talking about W.I.T.C.H. comic books and animated series.

If you are not familiar with it, I'll give you a brief explanation. The story follows 5 girls, the Guardians of Kandrakar who are chosen to protect their world and parallel ones from evil. They receive magical powers from the amulet known as the Heart of Kandrakar. Their powers are based on elements: fire, water, earth, air and energy. Our main characters are about 13-15 years old. In the animated series they are younger and they attend middle school, making them 12-14 years old. But the transformation makes them look 18-20. They look like young women to each other and to other people. At the same time, people can recognise them, their looks and voice don't change. Most people don't know that they are really teenagers when they are not transformed and these people don't know that magic can make them look older. That's why everyone treats Guardians like adults when they are transformed. Comics establish this fact in the very beginning. In first issues characters state that they look older, we are also shown this multiple times.

In fact, one of the first side plots revolves around the fact that Irma uses her powers to sneak into the disco club to meet up with her crush. Irma is 13 at the beginning of the series, she is a high school freshman. Her crush, Andrew Hornby is a senior guy 17-18 years old. Irma has liked him for a long time and wants to impress him, so she decides to be clever about this. She transforms into her Guardian form of the 18-year-old girl, hides her wings, sneaks out to the club after her parents are asleep without any problem, and meets Andrew, who obviously doesn't recognise Irma in this girl who looks about his age. Smitten Andrew offers her a ride and 13-year-old Irma doesn't understand the implication of that offer, so she accepts. And, obviously, he decides that she is interested in more than just a ride home, since she agreed, and the comic implies that he fully intended for them to have sex in the backseat of his car. But Irma understands the implication only when Andrew tries to kiss her. She panics and turns him into a frog. And she actually pulls this "I need to look mature" trick more than once over the course of the series.

It's not the only situation where this age difference is handled well and makes sense. People who know the main characters in everyday life remark on their older appearance during transformation. Sometimes people flirt with Guardians when they are transformed. In one of the side-novels centred around Cornelia, she is worried that the prince of the realm they helped to save from famine would try to marry her. That never happens, but Cornelia actually brainstorms with her friends about how to tell the prince that she is really 15.

There are many other plot points where this happens, but I think that you got the idea. I really like how "Age Glamour" was handled in W.I.T.C.H.

How do we fix this? Create the situations where people offhandedly mention "Age Glamour" in the presence of Marinette or Adrien, use Kwami for this.

"Don't worry, dear. Chat Noir and Ladybug are adults, who know what they are doing. I am sure that they will handle this. "

Theo could say: "Oh, I wonder which university Ladybug goes to?"

"So, does that mean that other people see us as grown-ups, Tikki?"

A few words and boom, problem solved. Then allow the "show don't tell" rule do the rest.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous transformations #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculous glamour #superhero glamour #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir

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titsuya · 3 years

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HEY SAR! Congratulations on hitting 1K! proud of you! I would love to participate in your event hehe. I would like a Haikyuu matchup

Here are my details for the matchup:

Hello! I go by the name Ray on social platforms. I'm plus sized and 18 years old. I'm pansexual and female. My pronouns are She/They. I'm a Capricorn sun,Cancer Moon and Rising. My personality type is INTP- A 5w4

okay so I'm actually a very emotionally closed off person. I wasn't like this before but since a few months I find it a bit hard to sympathise with people who listen to their heart instead of their head? I'm also not very social. I'm pretty impatient but not all the time. My love language is physical touch but I'm literally touch starved lol. I'm kinda clingy if I'm close to someone and very jealous and insecure too ig(thanks to trauma).I don't really care what other people think of me. I'm cool about most of the things. I barely react to stuff. I'm very very very sarcastic. I kinda like my sense of humour too. I've been told that I have a dark humour. I enjoy scrolling on my phone most of the damn time actually and writing too if I'm in the mood. But when I'm not on my phone I'm either drawing or working out or watching anime or literally daydreaming.I absolutely hate parties until and unless it only involves 3 people. I have many favourite colours actually lol but I think Red tops it all. My ideal date is definitely an amusement park or a festival(food preferably). I like keeping hamsters/rabbits as pets but I've Never been allowed to lmao.

So yeah that's it! Thank you!

hi baby 🥰 thank you so much that means a lot i hope u like ur matchup :) <3

I MATCH YOU WITH

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI

you guys are actually so good for each other. you have enough in common to where you can get along, but you have a lot of things you could disagree on. there’s a perfect balance between you two. you’ve taught him so much throughout the course of your relationship and now you can both make your dark humor jokes with each other :)))) <3

YOUR TROPE: i’m thinking… strangers but more like acquaintances to lovers (a little bit of angst right just because you both are kind of emotionally closed off— ur trope is complicated im sorry)

you only ever knew of him, really. he was a regular at your coffee shop, and you knew his as mr. “large black coffee, no cream, no sugar” ushijima. he didn’t really talk much to you and you the same. one morning, though, you had fell sick so couldnt go in for your normal morning shift. you didn’t think anyone would miss you much since you’d probably only be gone 2-3 days max. but unbeknownst to you, ushijima wakatoshi very much did notice. he didn’t say anything the first day, but when he got no, “bye ushijima! have a nice day,” with a smile and a sweet coffee instead of his regular, he was unhappy. he asked for you the next day and the day after that, but the day after he sees you and is like, “ray, where have you been?” you’re obviously confused bc you didn’t even know he knew your name and why he was even asking for you… but you explain that you’ve been sick and he says, “well, i missed you and your coffee,” completely deadpanned and you’re kinda nervous now, “i-it’s just black coffee…?” and he’s like, “yeah, but no one can make it like you can,” and you guys kinda just bloom from there (u know after u open up to each other) :) (im so sorry this is so long)

YOUR SONG: I THINK — tyler, the creator

i chose this song for you to elaborate on the angst of your trope. vulnerability is so hard for both of you but you both have such strong feelings for each other. you both have some things that are holding you back like people taking advantage of you or just past trauma, etc. hence the “i think im falling in love, this time i think its forreal” you get together in the end and realize you’re both worth more than you think <3

moodboard !!!

DRABBLE (the drabble is short omg im so sorry)

he was grasping your hand so tight you felt as if it may fall off. there was so much fear in his eyes, but you couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh.

“toshi, relax!” you yell over the creaking gears of the roller coaster you were currently on. “it’s fine, just keep holding my hand!”

it was kind of a mistake for you to say that because now you can’t even feel your hand. the pros of having one of the most powerful pro volleyball players as your boyfriend.

“if i die, just know i love you,” he says, bluntly. “and this is your fau—“ he’s cut off by his own gasp, the cart going down the steep hill.

you scream all filled with joy and adrenaline and look at wakatoshi to see that he looks like he’s about to pass out, but then you see the corner of his lips tug up… like he’s actually enjoying it.

“i love you more!” you scream, hoping he can hear you with the strong winds. he does, looking at you with a big grin, squeezing your hand once more.

#— sar’s 1k event >.< !#— luvray #I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED WRITING THIS PLS #I HOPE U LIKE IT #IK ITS ALL OVER THE PLACE !!!;)2):!#— mooooties 🐄#I ALSO KNOW ITS THE LONGEST ONE IVE DONE IM SORRY

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