Latest Posts by starryarchitect - Page 3

@carpisuns Heard you wanted Ladrien sugar so here you go

I love Ladrien because, though it's often called boring (and I used to think it was too), it has the potential for some of the most complex conflicts in the love square.

First of all, it seems like the side of the love square most likely to happen, but it's actually the least sustainable. Ladybug and Adrien are each in their least free states with Ladrien: Adrien is micromanaged by his father, Ladybug has duty she has to focus on. (Not to mention they're both hunted by the paparazzi.) That's not to say they can't be real or truly in love; but a Ladrien relationship is the hardest to maintain, even though it's the easiest to begin.

It's been mentioned that Ladrien tension can be drawn out, since Mari doesn't know Adrien likes Ladybug, and Adrien doesn't know Ladybug likes him. They don't necessarily have to get together immediately. And yeah, that has a lot of potential. But also, Ladrien has potential if they do get together immediately. Established relationships can still have complex, interesting, or even conflicting and tense dynamics. Most fiction only shows the buildup to a relationship, but in the real world, most relationships are . . . you know. Relationships. Not endless will-they-won't-they nonsense. Even if Ladrien got together immediately, that doesn't make their relarionship boring. In reality, it could make their relationship interesting in a very unique way; interesting, because it actually shows what real relationships are like, instead of just the buildup.

Also, Ladrien has insane angst potential. First of all, both of them could easily think the other just has a celebrity crush, since Ladybug doesn't know Adrien knows her as Chat, and Adrien doesn't know she knows him as Marinette. It would hurt so much to think the person you love only likes you on the shallow surface level. They could also pull out a "well I have concrete evidence that you don't love me when you see my flirty/awkward/reckless/clumsy side. No, I can't tell you what that evidence is, but I promise it's definitely real and very conclusive," which could be very painful for either party.

Finally, even ignoring this complexity, Ladrien is a good ship because it's good. The shameless love is heartwarming; it's sweet, it's cute, it can range anywhere from awkward and blushy "strangers" to best-friends/old-married-couple vibes. (And let me tell you, anything on that spectrum is perfect.) Their selfless support of each other through Ladybug's duty and stress as the protector of Paris and Adrien's exhaustion and pain from being Gabriel's son is so calming and comforting. When I'm feeling down, I read or write Ladrien. It's just that good.

TL;DR: Ladrien isn't boring. It has so much potential for complexity, conflict, and depth. And even if it didn't (which it totally does) . . . so what? It's such a soft, cute, comforting, feel-good ship. I absolutely love it. And this is why.

When Adrien gets out from under Gabriel's thumb, I imagine he's going to wear a bunch of disgustingly unstylish clothes. I don't mean he'll start wearing styles that Gabriel objects to; I mean he'll start wearing styles that everyone objects to.

If you think this looks bad . . . thank you, that's the point

Honestly? Agreed. I'm trying to write a recovery sequel to the fic I wrote last night where Adrien actually loses his arm, and . . . I don't know, a prosthetic just doesn't seem right. I hesitate to call it a cop-out or anything, but losing an arm is not the kind of problem a character should "solve," it's the kind of problem a character should "overcome."

Actually, I went on a rant about this to my sister one time while we were discussing character arcs, so I think I can explain why a prsothetic is a bad idea narratively. It sort of is a cop-out, in terms of story. Adrien losing his arm presents a challenge he has to overcome as a character; through overcoming it, he will grow. But if his problem is solved quickly, it's easier for him to pretend he didn't lose his arm. No, obviously it's not like all the challenges are gone—I don't know anything about prosthetics, but I doubt they're perfect replacements for original limbs yet—but the issue has in part been "solved" before he could grow. In terms of character development and story, giving Adrien a prosthetic would be a bad move.

And it's also just bad disability representation, I think? I mean, I hesitate to discuss that aspect of it because I'm not disabled and I don't know anyone who's disabled. (So if I'm misrepresenting anything, please tell me.) But I think it's similar to trying to "fix" an autistic person by making them not autistic—it's toxic, damaging, unjustified, and helps no one.

waitwaitwait i just had an idea

what if plagg can give adrien some kind of substitute for his arm?? like one of those prosthetics but magical? and so to all the civilians, chat noir never lost an arm, because it's covered by the suit.

but if adrien just suddenly lost an arm, no explanation, what would he do?? marinette and gabriel probably know his identity, but what about everyone else?? further cause for identity shenanigans?

tbh!! Despite all of the other “blonde boys that fuck up their right arms and have dead moms and are child soldiers/heroes” having magical or high-tech robotic arms, I actually prefer that Adrien never gets one! I saw someone mention that Max could theoretically build him one, and other people have mentioned miraculous wiz biz, but I think it’s still interesting to have a disabled character whose disability isn’t solved fictitiously.

As for his identity, I imagine that whatever event involving Hawkmoth removing Adrien’s arm landed Gabriel Agreste in prison or death lol. So with no more supervillain to fight, it might not be as much of a concern if people figure out his identity.

fheskekkvrjkckec okay so the all left AU (courtesy of @sabertoothwalrus) would not leave me alone, so I wrote this fic.

I told myself that the first story I'd link to on here would be one I was confident in and proud of, but then this happened, and (as is becoming a trend in this AU) I had to get it out and share it.

It's so late where I live, I'm so tired, I have no idea how bad this is, but I wrote it and I'm sharing it and uh . . . yeah.

Edit: If you liked this, here's the "sequel"

Somebody described Marichat as the dramatic irony ship, and I've never heard anything more true in my life

They're both such liars.

Here's a version with no dialogue:

I saw the all left AU by @sabertoothwalrus and I had to draw something for it.

It was frantic and rushed and desperate because I had to get it out, I used exactly two brushes and two colors and it looks terrible but I HAD TO GET IT OUT

Take my art and let me cry

Here's the uncolored version, because I tried a different process this time and I think the in-between actually looks cool:

I have headcanons

They truly are a lion pride!

Vivenna!

(WIPs and alt. versions under the cut, because this went through a thousand different iterations and I have a burning desire to show you them all)

And whatever this is, just for fun:

This is a magic system that was made to be drawn.

I heard that Ladrien can be called Sunspot and this is the image that came to mind:

Huh.

Huh.

I can't decide whether or not Optygami lived up to my hopes.

On the one hand, we definitely saw the negative consequences of the Miracle Queen reveal. Optygami was the closest Ladybug has come to being found out, and it was a tense and frustrating episode. There were definitely at least moderately disastrous consequences.

But on the other hand, none of those disastrous consequences were permanent. Ladybug and Chat Noir were not outed, no one lost a miraculous, no one was hurt or injured. Causing lasting harm to plot or character is difficult with a show as episodic as ML, but we have seen lasting damage done in one specific area: relationships. Friendships, and romantic ships, have been injured in this show before--when you get down to it, those are our stakes. And no relationships were damaged irreparably in Optygami.

So the writers probably upped the sense of stakes with this episode. But they also gave Alya her miraculous, permanently. I'm overjoyed at this in terms of Alya and Mari's friendship, as well as both of their character arcs, but it seems like a . . . questionable decision narratively.

I don't know. We'll see. In conclusion, my thoughts on Optygami are as ambiguous as the episode was. It definitely showed some negative consequences of reveals, but showed a lot more positives and took the Alyanette reveal arc even further into risky territory.

Hopes for Optygami

Miraculous Ladybug set up a good stakes system in the first three seasons with this simple rule: identities must not be revealed. If they are, there will be dire consequences. Hence, while we don't really believe that our main characters are ever at risk of dying, we can accept that they might someday lose their masks, and that that would be bad. It's a risk that adds real weight to the action and plot. It also justifies the endless identity dance between Marinette and Adrien. But then Miracle Queen happened, and all the heroes except for our main two were outed. We saw no consequences in that episode. We saw no consequences in the NY special, and we've seen no consequences in season four yet, either. This makes the entire narrative feel far less convincing and lowers the tension immensely. Not to mention that it almost completely invalidates how Adrien and Marinette continue to hide their identities from each other. (It doesn't invalidate their secrets completely because we're not going to forget Chat Blanc any time soon, but it still lowers the stakes considerably.) Not only are almost all the superheroes out, but Alya still sometimes runs around as Rena Rouge, despite her identity being publicized. And she knows Ladybug's identity, which we've been told is dangerous, but we haven't seen anything that convinces us it's dangerous. The thing is, we have seen negative consequences of identity reveals. Chloe being akumatized is one instance, and another is Chat Blanc. But the show has done nothing with the biggest large-scale identity reveal so far (the one at the end of season three), which makes the "we must keep our identites a secret" spiel very hard to swallow, and makes the entire plot feel almost risk-free. I hope that Optygami shows us the negative consequences of this large-scale identity reveal, and returns strength to the narrative by doing so. TL;DR: With a few rare exceptions, we haven't seen much to back up the story's constant claim that identity reveals are dangerous. I hope that Optygami will finally show us some of the disastrous consequences of identity reveals, thus adding more weight and stakes to the narrative and justifying Marinette and Adrien's continued secrecy.

I was 100% expecting Chat to say "yes, m'lady, I'm well aware" when Ladybug pulled this in Optigami

The amazing @aerequets already did something like this, but I had more than half of this drawn when that went up, so I'll just . . . post this anyway. Go read hers, though, it's hilarious!

So, we can all agree that this is what actually happened?

Hopes for Optygami

Miraculous Ladybug set up a good stakes system in the first three seasons with this simple rule: identities must not be revealed. If they are, there will be dire consequences. Hence, while we don't really believe that our main characters are ever at risk of dying, we can accept that they might someday lose their masks, and that that would be bad. It's a risk that adds real weight to the action and plot. It also justifies the endless identity dance between Marinette and Adrien. But then Miracle Queen happened, and all the heroes except for our main two were outed. We saw no consequences in that episode. We saw no consequences in the NY special, and we've seen no consequences in season four yet, either. This makes the entire narrative feel far less convincing and lowers the tension immensely. Not to mention that it almost completely invalidates how Adrien and Marinette continue to hide their identities from each other. (It doesn't invalidate their secrets completely because we're not going to forget Chat Blanc any time soon, but it still lowers the stakes considerably.) Not only are almost all the superheroes out, but Alya still sometimes runs around as Rena Rouge, despite her identity being publicized. And she knows Ladybug's identity, which we've been told is dangerous, but we haven't seen anything that convinces us it's dangerous. The thing is, we have seen negative consequences of identity reveals. Chloe being akumatized is one instance, and another is Chat Blanc. But the show has done nothing with the biggest large-scale identity reveal so far (the one at the end of season three), which makes the "we must keep our identites a secret" spiel very hard to swallow, and makes the entire plot feel almost risk-free. I hope that Optygami shows us the negative consequences of this large-scale identity reveal, and returns strength to the narrative by doing so. TL;DR: With a few rare exceptions, we haven't seen much to back up the story's constant claim that identity reveals are dangerous. I hope that Optygami will finally show us some of the disastrous consequences of identity reveals, thus adding more weight and stakes to the narrative and justifying Marinette and Adrien's continued secrecy.

Marinette Duapin-Cheng, future clothing designer and current helper of rich kids with family issues!

So this is (partly) their dynamic now

I love it

Simon's even more sympathetic if you over analyze because he clearly has a mental illness making him afraid of abandonment, resistant to change, emotionally unstable and having immense difficulty relating to others. Like he gets worried about Hazel in the cabin when the Cat gets near her, its clearly foreshadowing the next episode.

Agreed! And actually, I pulled put the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to research your suggestion that Simon has some mental disorder, and . . . you're right! He almost definitely has a mental disorder.

The criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder are: (not quoted, but paraphrased directly from the DSM-5)

Instability in personal relationships and self-image, impulsivity, indicated by five or more of the following:

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. - check, this is kinda Simon's shtick.

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, fluctuating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. - there's not much potential for a "pattern" here, but his relationship with Grace definitely fits this.

Markedly and persistently unstable/fluctuating self-image or sense of self. - Simon does not qualify—if anything, his inability to paradigm shift indicates the exact opposite.

Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging. - violence, aggression, murder, all may or may not qualify. Simon ticks this box.

Recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behavior or threats. - Simon does not qualify for this.

Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood. - In other words, subject responds intensely to swings in interpersonal relationships. Which sounds a heck of a lot like episodes eight through ten. Check.

Chronic feelings of emptiness. - We can't know whether or not this is true, because we can't really get inside a cartoon character's head. So . . . maybe?

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. - This is definitely present in him. He has a temper, he shouts, he gets angry, and it gets more extreme as the show progresses.

Transient, stress-related paranoia or severe dissociative symptoms. - Simon displays this too—lines like "everyone always lies to me" come to mind as evidence. (No dissociative tendencies, but the paranoia is present, so he meets this criterion.)

Now, the subject of a diagnosis needs to meet at least five of these criteria to qualify for BPD. Simon definitely meets five of these criteria (specifically, criteria one, four, six, eight, and nine), possibly even a few more (two, perhaps seven). In other words, Simon Laurent has Borderline Personality Disorder.

I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from this discovery that Simon is provably mentally ill. Does it mean calling him "evil" is deeply problematic? Does it mean he could've been saved? Does it mean he can't be blamed? Or is it just as toxic to argue that people with mental disorders are not responsible for their own actions as it is to argue that people with personality disorders are inherently irredeemable? (Not that anyone's argued either of those points—I'm mostly thinking in frantic hypotheticals at the moment.)

And of course these questions raise other questions (well, one other question) that has been on my mind since I first heard Simon called "irredeemable." What do people mean by "he's irredeemable"? Do they mean he couldn't improve and grow after the events of episode ten? Do they mean that his actions were unforgivable? Do they mean he was predestined to be a murderer from episode one, unlike the redeemable Grace? "Irredeemable" has become Simon's buzzword, but no one's ever really defined it. And until I get a concrete definition, I can't slap that label on him and throw him in the garbage with the rest of the characters I hate. (To be clear, I'm not saying anyone's wrong that he's irredeemable, I'm just asking what people mean when they say he's irredeemable.)

However, one thing is clear: as Anon pointed out, Simon is easy to relate to, easy to sympathize with, and easy to pity because of this. We may not all have personality disorders, but we all have flaws that make our brains work differently from how we'd like them to, whether those flaws are anger, laziness, or selfishness, or a mental illness, or something else. Yes, few of us are driven to be murderers because of this, but it still means that we can feel bad for Simon, even as we condemn his actions.

Every time I post something about Simon and it's not ten thousand words long, I'm showing enormous self-restraint and deserve a few claps. Also, sorry, Anon, for using your ask as an excuse to rant about Simon. You made a good point and I wanted to explore it!

I drew some angsty Adrien Agreste and couldn’t decide which version I prefered, so I’ll just post both.

Honestly I have an incredible amount of respect for the ML writing team. It takes so much creativity to come up with all those ridiculous akuma ideas, not to mention the lucky charms (holy crap, speaking as an ML fanfic writer, lucky charms are SO hard to come up with, it's insane that they've invented nearly a hundred lucky charms)

did Gilmore Girls invent the coffee shop AU

Nobody told me it was Marichat May!

Finally watched Guiltrip, it was a very cute episode

My main takeaways from the episode were that my support network isn't nearly as good as I thought, and I should probably look into those headaches I get all the time

Pidge: Are you seeing somebody?

Lance: *screaming internally*

Lance: Why? Are you interested?

Pidge: No, I just think it would help if you saw a therapist or something

Why is this how it always goes

Do you ever start writing something that you’re excited about and that seems like it’s turning out well and that you’re getting eager to share, and then you start typing it up or doing an edit pass and it’s just awful it’s awful its premise is fundamentally flawed and it’s out of character and the prose is clunky and the plot is badly paced and ludicrous and the whole thing is embarrassing, how could you have done this, how could you have sunk so much time into this, you can’t even look at it, how is this that shining thing you were so excited about, how could you even have considered finishing it let alone sharing it with anyone, you’re crying, your mother is crying, nuns are spontaneously exploding in the streets,