What If Sam Went Ghost in Memory Blank (Danny Phantom)
During Memory Blank, I can't be the only one who didn't even consider Sam making Danny re-die, instead thinking that she'd just go into the portal herself, right?
(If you don't remember this is the episode where Desiree grants Sam's wish that she never met Danny, which undoes the portal accident.)
Like when the third movie monster attacks Sam says "Danny you gotta- no, I gotta!" Which in context only applied to that battle, but I took it to mean that Sam was taking responsibility for pushing Danny to turn on the portal in the original timeline, and that she recognized the need for a half ghost to defend humanity, and that she'd take on that responsibility herself. Like I don't blame her for sending Danny in the first time because she didn't know. But even knowing he'd get ghost powers, putting the responsibility on your friend to die to protect others feels shitty. This version of Danny hadn't fought any ghosts, while this Sam had experienced so much. I don't think he knew what he was signing up for.
This isn't a Sam hate post btw. I think it would've been cool to see Sam step up and a really interesting status quo shift. Or if you want to reset things, she could get into the portal accident, then wish it back to normal afterwards.
one of my favorite this american life segments of late is about the people who played orchestra pit for phantom of the opera on broadway and how, like, a sizeable majority of them had literally been playing the show since it opened in 1988 (on broadway. I know it opened in 86 on the west end, you random pedants, but I am specifically talking about broadway musicians) because their contracts stipulated that they'd have jobs throughout the show's entire run... but nobody anticipated that phantom would become the longest-running broadway show of all time.
and none of these people wanted to walk away from a guaranteed job, so very few of them ever quit. they just kept doing the same show eight nights a week... for twenty or thirty years... and by the time it finally closed last year most of these musicians (who had been working together for DECADES) hated each other and really really fucking loathed phantom. I can't stop thinking about it. it's indescribably hellish to imagine but also the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life.
[ID: excerpt from an article reading: One of my favorite stories, which should drive anyone who has every played in a band crazy-- there’s this bassoon player who has sat next to the same clarinet player since 1988. She’s convinced he plays half a note4 flat on every note he’s every played. He denies this. /]
Fuck it, do you know what I want? Long rambling full of crack coming:
I want Felix to come back to Paris because Duusu told him about the other miraculous being imprissioned and well he isn't going to let that happend. And he isn't going to let Ladybug take the miraculous like did you see how she treated the sentimonsters? How he just gives the miraculous to everyone without asking the kwami what they want? Nope he doesn't really like Ladybug and he is going to fix it.
So he comes back to Paris like "hey I'm going to study here for some time" and you got Adrien wanting to fistfight his cousin every fucking day.
And Gabriel. GABRIEL.
He's in panic because what is Felix doing here?
But anyway evil plans are evil plans so he keeps his routine of talking in his empty attic but the problem is: Ladybug gets back one of the miraculous? HOW!?
Plot twist: Ladybug doesn't have it. She thinks Hawkmoth has it. Because that's Felix plan: get the miraculous without the other two knowing.
And what's the miraculous he gets? The bee miraculous.
Felix: well, I need help to get the rest of the miraculous so do you have a holder in mind?
Pollen: Chloe Burgeois
Felix:
Felix: WHY!?
But well he has to get Chloe so he's like: this kwami wants you for some reason so get in the car loser we're going to destroy Hawkmoth.
(Pollen chooses Chloe because she thinks that Chloe can be better with a little but of help. Also they aren't searching for good people they're choosing anyone they want).
It's a miracle but Chloe and Felix got two more miraculous: Sazz and Trixx.
Felix: ok, what holders do you want?
Sazz: I'm fine with Luka!
Felix: Luka? The guitar boy who's so nice that no one can say something bad about him and doesn't have a personality appart from that and one of Ladybug followers? That Luka for a plan about tricking and sneaking and lying, including to Ladybug!?
Sazz: yes
Felix: *beaths hevealy* can't you choose another?
Sazz: I want Luka. You promised I could choose!
Chloe: he's got a point
Felix: FINE I GUESS I'LL GET THE GUITAR BOY! What about you Trixx? Pls tell me you choose an easier holder.
Trixx: well, my old holder rejected me, so I can't choose her again, not unless she wants me back
Felix: oh, that must be-
Trix: I want Lila Rossi
Chloe: whAT!?
Felix:
So now you have Felix trying to convince Luka and Lila to join his emo band. The worst part? They join him. The best part? They're the worst squad ever.
Like, they do the job, but you have rich kids bickering, Lila probably adding more fire and Luka in the midele asking himself why is he doing that?
But you know what? Maybe they're clowns, but for once they have a support group (Luka has people, but all his friend's are Juleka's classmates) and surprise! They can grow, because for once they have someone who loves them and laughs with them.
Luka can have a breakdown and stop being the nice chill guy for a moment to just be tired teen who's trying so hard but he has too many responsabilities. He's the moral compass (that and "the villains have the best songs" is the motive why he join them), but the others see him taking responsabilities and they're like: no fuck no luka stop let thay guitar down you're not going to serenate us fuck just rest and lidten to Surface Pressure on loop until you feel better but YOU'RE NOT WORKING TODAY!
Chloe has a squad telling her that no her mom is terrible she shouldn't try to be in her good side. Pollen helps her and they go shopping together. Also I have the hc of Chloe liking the idea of being a director (she did some videos of her being queen bee and I know it was a joke in the show but Chloe liking to make videos like his father? Yes that's my idea).
Lila is still lying at the begining because is what she does, and that's why she's a great fox holder. But then we can have an episode when she kind of breaks. Were Trixx looks at her and says something like: You tell great lies, but you're the greatest, most perfect lie of all. Lila being honest for once, Lila not having a motive for lying but she want people to like her. Also, another hc: Lila being aroace, and all the show she puts with Adrien is because yeah, who wouldn't be in love with him? But that's just another Lie.
And Felix, Felix has his plans and his motives but you know what? He can rest and take a nap and learns to trust the other three. He's not alone anymore, he doesn't have to do everything by himself.
So my crack hc is these four characters being the worst and at the same time the most efficient group who fucks with Hawkmoth and Ladybug but neither of them knowing.
They're just there while Paris burns helping sometimes like the group of chaotic neutral they are.
Hey just so we can get some stats on this... Miraculous show or movie?
I prefer the show but like the movie
I prefer the movie but like the show
I like them equally
I dislike the show but like the movie
I dislike the movie but like the show
I have only seen the movie
I have only seen the show
Voting ended onJul 30, 2023
Feel free to discuss in my notes, but remember we all already have our opinions. You're not changing minds, just talking about a story you like. I have my thought in another post.
With so many elections coming up worldwide it's probably a good time to remind everyone that tumblr once got infested with agents trying to convince everyone not to vote, or not to vote left because the candidates weren't morally pure enough.
Also a reminder that they were better at tumblr than most of us, comrade interloper was great at memeing. Like, the talent!
Anyway don't fall for it. There is no morally pure option.
Vote for whoever can move you one inch closer to your goals. This is a long game. If there's a candidate who wants to move you a mile closer to your goals but they do not stand a chance in the general election, you vote for whoever can move you one inch closer to your goals. The time to vote for the "one mile" candidate in the primaries. Once you get to the general, you vote for the one who has a chance in hell of winning, or you're actively working against progress. 100% of the time, voting in a general for a "can't win" candidate because their beliefs align more with your beliefs is actively working for the opposition. There is no situation in which this is not true.
One side is addressing climate change and raising the minimum wage and forgiving student debt. The other side are GODDAMN TRAITORS AND INSURRECTIONISTS and are openly removing women's rights, LGBTQ people's rights and VOTING access. But DO tell me again that Both Sides Are Just As Bad As Each Other.
Voting is not like taking a taxi cab; you should not expect door-to-door service. Voting is like taking a bus - you take the one that gets you closest to your destination. And for the love of Pete, THIS IS NOT A TRIP YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SIT OUT. Find the candidate closest to your own views and get out and vote.
In the words of Robert Heinlein, “if you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for, but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against.” As @gardnerhill points out above, one side in the current battle is composed of FASCISTS, TRAITORS, AND INSURRECTIONISTS. if you can’t see your way clear to voting against them, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.
I like the new characterization of Tikki, she has more of a fire to her. Like yeah she wants justice, but she's no saint. She's just likes the action.
Kinda goes without saying if you have also seen the movie but the visuals are absolutely STUNNING. The lighting, the movement, just wow.
Francious Dupont feels bigger, like an actual school instead of one class.
Hawkmoth's villain song was pretty sick tbh, and the magician villains design.
The gargoyle fight in the museum with the stained glass windows was pretty cinematic. The fair was also just so lively. The THEATRE? You can tell how much love was put into the backgrounds.
The class (but mostly Alya and Nino) are normal about Adrienette. They don't say they're in love and scheme to get them together, they're just friendly teasing at maximum. That really bothers me in the show so, cool.
HM doesn't give his villains goofy names which reduces any intimidation factor.
TIKKI SPOTS ON. When Marinette finally says the things and actively chooses to be a hero it's an iconic moment.
When they're play fighting and Chat has LB up against a wall. The tense pause. The I should go, while she doesn't really want to. The don't, while moving out of her way. Wow.
I liked how they had the beloved supporting cast just chilling in the background. I love them, but trying to fit them all in and give them all their arcs would feel pretty disjointed.
"Quiet Chloe, the adults are having a conversation"
Disheveled Gabriel Agreste 😳 in HD movie quality 😳
Idk what to say except it was really cool when Chat cataclysmed the Eiffel Tower. The entire climax is just cool tbh.
"He's too strong. I need Ladybug. I'm nothing without her." Yesss. Introspection about characters and how they feel about their alter egos? I live for that.
Damn. Gabe's breakdown over his son was really something. The instrumentals under it, extra disheveled Gabe 😏, the voice acting, wow just wow.
The teaser with Nathalie at the end.
Things I Disliked:
My biggest thing is they made Gabe love his son :(. Like I love to hate him why are you trying to make him more sympathetic. Like I liked how in the show his og goal is to bring back his dead wife to complete their family, but over time we realize how fucked up he is. Like he's bad at fashion and he's manipulative to anyone and everyone when it serves him. He treats his son like an object because he he's a senti. He wants the perfect family without having to change to care for the living breathing people around him. I'm not sure I'm putting it into words the best, but I like him complicated and we don't really get that in the movie.
Gabe doesn't talk to the Akuma Villains before they transform. It's an important part of the akumatization, if done well it shows how manipulative HM can be and could show that akumatization alters the villains state of mind so they're not really villains, just pawns.
The abilities of Akuma villains and everyone super tbh are less well defined. Without limitations problems don't matter you can just make up solutions on the spot and characters don't have to struggle. We kinda got this in the show with the astro-cat power ups and LB's anti-akuma charms, but at least we had some rules like five minutes after lucky charm you detransform. At least they're depowered for the movie.
I CAN'T with the songs. I'm sorry but it's so jarring whenever the songs start. It's partially because of how short and far apart they are, I keep forgetting it's a musical and partially it's not Marinette's voice actress singing. The instrumentals also feel kinda bland and the lyrics are worse. They sound like they were made for radio and not a cartoon musical. Lean into your genre people.
Wow they really managed to make all sides of the love square have no chemistry huh.
Sorry my toxic trait is that I'm a Chloe redemption truther. They're making her a generic mean girl like they did in the show before and after they abandoned her redemption. Baseless girl hate is so unnecessary. Like she can be mean. She can be in the wrong. She can have motivations that don't justify her actions. But please make her a character and not a caricature.
"SIncE i LoST mY MOm I DonT Let aNYone gEt cLOsE aNyMoRE" bro we saw the montage of you hanging out with Nino Alya and Mari, don't lie. Even in the series we don't really go deeper than aw it sucks my mom is dead. Events that happen to a character doesn't make them developed, it's their thoughts feelings and actions about events that make them develop. It's changes. What's different for Adrien after Emilie died? Only external things, like how his dad acts.
Lesser grievance, but ew no, no no no, don't make Adrien canonically sing to his love interest right in front of her that's so awkward where do you look while he does that how long do you have to stand there quietly it's not even a good song no.
The Adrien Gabe fight after that is so weird. Like Adrien talking back should've been a Moment but they hadn't interacted at all before that scene so it felt weak and out of place. We don't have a feel for what their relationship is or was before Emilie died in this new cannon.
Silly but, you cannot use Careless Whisper unironically in the modern age lol.
The fact that Gabe never tells his Akuma Villains to get the miraculous in order to obtain the "power greater than death" it makes what he's doing for most the movie make no sense. Like just causing chaos is not going to bring your dead wife back.
And the power of the combined cat and ladybug miraculous being love...? I'd really rather there be none at all. It makes it seem like Adrien and Marinette are destined to be together because of the whims of outside forces, not that they fell in love because of who they are as people and to each other.
LB's speech at the end was just kinda lame tbh. Not my thing.
Things I'm Confused/Mixed/Neutral About:
It seems like Tikki is guiding Marinette through the yo-yo which I'm here for. Kwami's shouldn't completely lose their agency when transformed. But also Nuroo was outside their miraculous completely while HM was transformed?
The earrings came back Trollhunter Amulet style, which takes away Marinette's agency in being a hero which I dislike. It also raises the question of if the miraculous can even be taken.
I liked that the kwami's chose their holders, but I felt like their needed to be more of a reason why they chose who they chose, it doesn't feel very compelling.
Adrien's not a model. [More]
Marinette has no friends [More]
Motives aren't established for the Mime or the Magician. Do they have a goal with their akuma powers or does HM control them completely?
"I dreamed of calling Paris home" so did Marinette grow up in Paris or no? Marinette seems to have a reputation for being a disaster and there's no indication of her having moved recently, but she doesn't seem to have a pre-established relationship with Chloe like she does in the series.
Their costumes can be damaged with magic so they don't need to take their miraculous off to have their identities revealed?
So is Gabe in jail for being HM?
Is lucky charm a thing? Does miraculous ladybug have to be manually controlled now? I don't think they de-evilized the gargoyles akuma, do they need to do that?
Final thoughts, the movie wasn't for me but it was fun to watch and dissect. I think new and young fans will appreciate it more than pre-existing ones. I'm interested to see how the lore of this version unfolds further.
the cartoon SheZow was a nonbinary awakening for me for sure. honestly just a queer and genderqueer awakening in general. maybe odd cause there are no actual trans characters in SheZow but something abt Guy (and Gal, the DudePow masculine counterpart) being a boy and a girl and also transcending gender?? yeah. i also cant believe that aired in 2012. even a decade later, transphobes are very much protesting any childrens media with trans and gnc characters. again, Guy and Gal were not trans, i don’t even know if either of them would count as gnc necessarily - it was more like drag or something altogether different - but transphobes hate drag a whole lot too, and anyone whose gender identity or appearance is complex or outside societal norms. so how did a show about a boy who fights crime dressed up as a very feminine girl manage to get on tv? i imagine there was backlash.
anyway. it was the first time i saw a boy in a dress who liked it (sometimes). a gnc kid who was still laughed at, but not always. a queer coded character who wasn’t the villain. a person dressing “as the opposite gender" who wasn’t called gross or inappropriate (and shit, this was and is a major issue, even recently when drag has been compared to gr00ming by conservatives). that was a pretty massive change from all the tv and movies i’d seen as a kid. i guess the bar was kinda on the floor but damn, at least this one vaguely jumped. i was about seven years old in 2012 and i didn’t know what gay was, i didn’t know what trans was, but i saw SheZow and something clicked. idk. i don’t remember much of it and i highly, highly doubt it was in any way intended to support trans or gnc people, but us greedy lgbtqs are always forcing representation, aren’t we? (/s). i’m stealing this and making it my rep. it’s 3am on a monday and i’m 18 now but i’m just thinking about how that was a weirdly important part of my queer awakening as a kid lol, likely unintentional on the creators behalf but it sure transed my gender!
I'm writing a bit of Shezow fic (I'm not posting it till it's totally done, don't hold your breath) so I was thinking about what makes up the characterization of each of the characters imo. Cannon is flexible. Here you go.
Guy:
That one post "He's a cis man. He's transfem. He's nonbinary...I didn't say his name but he popped into your head didn't he" . Any gender headcannon works.
He's selfish, he's constantly chasing wealth and fame. In cannon he's literally chill having to go into hiding on the moon just for the world to know Guy Hamdon is saving them. The want of fame comes from a desire to be liked and to be rewarded for good actions.
He loves his friends and family SO much. He considers them part of him in a way, by making their lives better, he's making his life better. He'd do almost anything for them.
He initially feels weird about being Shezow for how others will see him, but he doesn't actually mind the costume.
If he knew the responsibilities of the ring before he put it on, he wouldn't have done it. But after being Shezow, if he got the chance to quit he wouldn't. Couldn't.
So much sass. Very overdramatic.
He has very obvious vices, so he considers himself a 'bad' person in the grand scheme of things. This doesn't upset him much. He sees himself as Shezow different from himself as Guy. Identity shenanigans.
This allows him to empathize quicker with villains, especially after his She-sp comes in
He's generally pretty easy going
Shezow:
Who am I talking about? Guy? Agnes? None of the above!
The ring has some form of sentience, judging from how it can shrink the wearer for stealing and so on and so forth. Like it's scolding them.
Some of that sentience is in the ring, but I like to think some of it blends with the wearer. Like the wearer gains bits of thoughts and personality traits from whoever the ring used to be.
The ring values justice and equality above all else.
Shezap:
Another character with much gender potential.
She wants to be her own person, hence the whole 'evil' shtick. And destroying Shezow thing. Massive identity issues.
She's not really evil, just a disregard-er of the law. She vandalizes, jumps Shezow, and did arson that one time- but she never really sets out to hurt people (sans Zowwy). She's just trying to entertain herself.
She likes the power of being a supervillain. She feels a certain lack of control from looking like Zow no matter what she does with her look, or having some of her personality traits. The power gives her agency over that.
Very selfish, except she doesn't have the loved ones to dilute it.
Chaotic. She doesn't have school or any sort of imposed routine, so she does what she wants whenever the mood strikes.
Sincere, but in a mean way. Like she's usually not sarcastic, she just insults you outright.
Generally either aloof or excited. She doesn't really get angry about plots going wrong, the unexpected is just more entertainment.
She sees Shezow as a sibling. Zow sees her as one of her rogues. This could change through the course of a fic.
She longs for human connection and hates herself for it. The power of love is a hero thing and the Hamdon family is a Shezow thing, so she shouldn't want it.
A little doomed by the narrative.
She's curious.
She has Shezow (Guy)'s looks, opinions and personality as a base when she was 'born', but doesn't have any of their memories. As she gains her own experiences and thoughts, she grows into more of a separate person, but she can't erase where she came from.
Her ring doesn't have any sentience, so there's no superimposed morality on her.
Kelly:
Not very good with people, can be irritable, has few friends
After having to assist Shezow, the gang becomes more insular but even before that Kelly was friends with Maz
He just spent so much time at the Hamdon house, they sort of grew around each other ya know?
Values consistency, order, and justice
Strives to be the best to overcompensate for not feeling like enough
Like she was definitely a 'gifted kid' and was used to constant praise for intelligence when she was little, but eventually smart became the expectation for her so she stopped receiving all that validation that she craved
Add to that not being Shezow, and having a 'stupid/lazy' sibling who IS praised when he does well because different expectations
Ya girl has issues
She sometimes feels like she's only worth what she can do for others.
But Guy and Maz are two people who will always show up for her expecting nothing.
Easily swept up in momentary situations/ emotions. Little patience.
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