#i personally don’t think that adrien’s gonna find out anything in future seasons | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miraculouscontent · 3 years

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Ask Explo--

...you know what, you’re right. Name change effective immediately.

Askplosion #10:

(unrelated to everything by the way but I DEMAND THE ANON WHO MENTIONED “REMARRIED EMPRESS” A WHILE BACK COME FORTH AND ANSWER FOR THEIR CRIMES. IT’S SO GOOD BUT IT’S UNFINISHED AND I’M HOOKED, HOW DARE YOU)

Asks responding to previous posts:

It’s okay! I figured that was what it was but it’s been so loooong.

Ah, wow.

Um, that’s definitely not a part 2; I think that’s more like a four-parter/five-parter or something.

Sorry! No can do!

That’s totally fair!

I think the reason I so quickly agreed with it is like--

I’ve been watching the Inuyasha sequel and it’s not like I don’t think the narrative’s apparent punching bag Moroha (who is fourteen years old) shouldn’t be punished when she does something wrong/sneaky/manipulative, but they punish her as if she’s Miroku (who was eighteen years old).

Basically, I want the punishment to take the age into account, or at least only affect Marinette on a more personal level and not be “Heart Hunter” where they take totally understandable feelings of heartache (remember, it wouldn’t have mattered which miraculous she took because Hawk Moth got the Miracle Box and Fu regardless; even beyond her emotions, I feel like she chose the best option available to her considering which temps she knew the location of) and then punish her for them by memory wiping Fu and taking away all of her temps and giving Hawk Moth the grimoire translation.

Yes!! I really wanted to respond to this one, thank you! (It’s this one and then there was another one talking about Luka and Adrien, then talked to me about how I refer to Luka as “soft” but not in a bad way; I unfortunately don’t remember the whole thing.)

Ahaha, and yeah, I feel you. Anti-salters are a very strange conundrum I still haven’t figured out; like, I get not liking salt, but...

I mean, when I don’t like certain content, I just blacklist it. If I end up seeing it anyway due to cross-tagging or a lack of tagging, then I just blacklist the person themself. You won’t see me going after people for that very reason; I only see what people send/ask me if it’s content I don’t like.

I’m glad you’ve found some peace in this blog! Hopefully it continues to be that way for you in the future!

(and yay, a fellow INTJ!!)

New Asks:

There are female writers? ;P I just assumed they were all locked in a closet until the male ones were like, “okay, pretend to help us here, we need one female writer to claim girl power.”

As for Ladybug all like, “Cute, isn’t she?” I think it was rhetorical (she could also be messing with him but “Glaciator” tells us that she didn’t know he crushed on her so who knows). The writers do this thing where Marinette is all panic-y and occasionally self-conscious as herself, but then as Ladybug, she suddenly gets a bit of an ego. I think it’s meant to be there in order to make Chat Noir look less... idk, “obnoxious” when he starts boosting his own ego; trying to balance the two by giving them both big heads, so to speak.

Honestly, I feel like Adrien needs less screen time. :|

Even when he’s not on-screen, characters are usually talking about him, or you see his face in Marinette’s room/somewhere in Paris. I’m become so jaded by the guy that I don’t even think it’d matter if they remade the series and gave it a “totally good and interesting Adrien.” That’s how badly the show has made him out for me; “Adrien Agreste” the character is just... sigh, I’m so done with him.

And yeah, this whole idea about, “Marinette is [x], we need more AAAAAADRIEN!” comes off really bad, lol, especially when Adrien has very little going for him.

(this ask ends off like there should be a part 2 but there isn’t one in my inbox, so sorry if there’s meant to be something else!)

The exact lyrics according to the wiki:

My wish for a cat who's in love, with our own Ladybug. Is that he'll get what he's always wanted! She doesn't know she loves him, only sees Adrien, But Christmas miracles always happen!

Yeah, especially nowadays, those lines bothers me. Not only does it imply “true selves,” but that it’s Chat who should be getting what he always wanted and Ladybug is the one with a problem.

Like, excuse me?

Probably Stormy Weather, even in the first episode. Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t even touch her until they arrived on top of the TV station.

+ With all those effects and shots, it made it feel more action-y than typical episodes.

Marinette, Aurore, Luka, Anarka, Jagged...

basically any name that I haven’t really heard before (”Luka” makes me think of Vocaloid but the Luka there was female), or a name that relates a lot to the character (like “Aurore” for “aurora” since she loves weather things).

dfjbghfkdgfdgnjfdg this anon really like, “I NEED ANSWERS!!!”

It’s as if these characters hit 18 or something and just grow overnight, I swear. I’m hypothetically fine with some more variety in character height (it’s not like the show tries to be realistic, after all), but maybe don’t give us official heights if they’re gonna be this weird/inaccurate.

Especially when they change it just for the sake of a shot anyway. If you watch “Simon Says” when Ladybug and Adrien stand next to each other while looking at the picture of Adrien’s mother, the very next close-up has an obvious difference in their heights from what you just saw.

They’re 3D models!!! This shouldn’t happen!

I... honestly never thought of the “less threatening” thing! Dang!

And yeah, Marinette isn’t helpless or incompetent, but because of the Adrien crush, it makes her that way at times since she’s always falling on him and--

...ugh, actually, yeah, don’t wanna think about those implications. Hard pass.

Gross.

I’m not familiar with that one, though Astruc deletes his tweets all the time (there was one tweet where he confirmed that Luka was poor and it only exists in screenshots now because it didn’t get archived and he deleted it almost like he realized that he was pointing out the blatant classism in the show, oops).

Yeah though, I haven’t seen anything like what you’re describing. Sorry!

It’s okay! Sorry for having you clarify but him choosing and Marinette deciding to never give it back are very different things.

I don’t recall Chat Noir having much purpose in the final fight (in terms of both contributing and actual fighting; I know Cataclysm broke the object to release the akuma but was it needed?) so Marinette might either go cat-less or get a temp. Plagg could also be helpful in his own right because he’s small and blends in with the night, so he could hypothetically sneak up on the bad guy.

Afterwards, there’d need to be a new cat, but Adrien would also have to reconsider his actions and really think about what happened. I could also see Plagg going to Adrien’s house, half to apologize for giving the idea to Adrien that Adrien leave without telling Ladybug, but also half to call him out for giving up without consulting anyone. Adrien is a lot of conflicting things (see Adrien’s passivity compared to Chat Noir’s recklessness) so he’d have to find a middle ground within himself.

Marinette might carry Plagg around in her purse for a while and let Plagg have a say in who he goes to. Plagg might grieve for a bit over not having Adrien around (even if Adrien was flawed, Plagg didn’t ask for any of this so Marinette is doing her best here).

O-oh.

That’s always the rough patch with “endgame ships.” Once it’s obvious to the audience that they’re endgame, no more effort needs to be put into them.

The other thing too is how Kagami, for example, is friends with Marinette. Even once Adrimi sinks, she’ll presumably stay friends with her. Luka, meanwhile, is Juleka’s brother.

They have lives outside of their love interests. Adrien is so into Ladybug that he doesn’t have that; I mean, Nino is Adrien’s best friend like once in a blue moon.

The entire class is just watching an episode and then calling on raised hands to answer what was wrong with what they just watched.

“Everything?”

“I mean, yes, but I’m sorry, you have to be more specific to get credit.”

I think Aeon herself is fine. It’s mostly just her transformed and that transformed name that I have a problem with (she doesn’t even look uncanny so I don’t get it). I heard there was something wrong with the name “Aeon” but searching the name doesn’t give me anything I would qualify as such so I have no idea. I just wish she was given a little less “I’m programmed to--” (makes her seem less sentient) and more “[anything that doesn’t have to do with pushing the love square]” because I feel like they might’ve done the latter to make her more “likable”? I think fans of anything usually like the “matchmaker” character provided it’s for a ship they like. Also strange that they make her a robot but Max and Markov don’t extensively interact with her, but that’s a nitpick and not a criticism of her character.

...I’m rambling, my bad lol.

(Ohhh, she was supposed to be a mummy? Like, foreshadowing her “dying”?? That went right over my head but I guess that’d be where the name Uncanny Valley came from? No clue.)

Best case scenario is probably the middle or the end of Season 4.

And yeah, it really doesn’t matter to me what they do with the love square. Marinette had gone through too much suffering and the show goes out of its way to show how much stress Marinette is being put under (and also keeping Luka away during episodes like “Gamer 2.0″ even when it makes sense for them to be there, as if trying to make sure Marinette doesn’t have enough moments with him to forget Adrien).

Like, ah, yes, I totally believe that Marinette is in a position where she can make reasonable decisions about her love life while all circles of her life are on fire.

If the Sonic movie of all things can have an interracial couple, there’s no reason why this show can’t, just saying.

And, even with Marinette, she’s white-passing (according to what basically everyone says, I’m really awful about recognizing race so this isn’t my field; I wasn’t aware that Ondine was Asian, for example).

Does Nadja count? Manon’s dark-skinned (I’m still not over the fact that all the kids in this show are dark-skinned; it’s not like it’s a problem from a representation standpoint - though all the kids are also all generically bratty/whiny so there’s that - but the percentages in this show are weird) while Nadja is really light-skinned, meaning either a dark-skinned husband or Manon is adopted.

Though I guess the problem then is that we don’t know, so there’s no established couple there.

Non-Miraculous Asks:

w-who gave you the right to say such things????

Uhhhh, that might be too broad of a question, I’m sorry!

I know this isn’t satisfactory, but I will say that my favorite genre is Fantasy/Romance (it’s why I adore Red Shoes so much; by the way, an anon asked for my opinion on that a while back and I will get to it! I’d need to watch it again to get screenshots) and my least favorite is probably Tragedy/Horror.

I don’t think I’ve watched enough to really be able to say? I’ve kind of been all over but I’ve never fully gone through any of them outside of Miraculous. I’ve seen bits of Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Star VS the Forces of Evil (don’t know if that counts), and I meant to watch Yuki Yuna is a Hero but never got around to it. I saw the entirety of Puella Magi Madoka Magica but you guys know how I feel about that one.

Maybe Cardcaptor Sakura by default then? It was definitely not perfect but I liked some of the character dynamics (I also have a clipcut of it - basically where I go through a series/movie and cut out parts I don’t like so it’s only good stuff - so I’m cheating a little) and the male love interest was a tsundere type that I actually ended up liking, which is really rare.

!!! That sounds sweet~ I know Sailor Moon is popular so I’ll definitely take your word for it on that one.

I would also accept a “reincarnated”/”destined lovers” trope if maybe the ship themselves are the one who set it up in the first place. I have a Lukanette AU, for example, where they basically got together and then prayed to the shrine of the renewal god that they’d “always be together,” which ended up allowing them to reincarnate over and over (as if they set up their own soulmate AU ;P) and continuously find each other.

Though I guess that’s not technically a “meant to be trope,” but still, it’s a form of it but where it was totally consensual on both sides.

Also, I finally thought of a show that ended with the ship I wanted: Gargoyles. I didn’t see the entire series, mind you, but I saw most of it and Goliath and Elisa were just... quality, I adored them.

+ With Beauty and the Beast being my favorite Disney movie, they fit right in with my tastes.

I forget that AangToph (I think the “official” name for the ship is Taang, but don’t quote me on that) exists sometimes, maybe because I’ve never shipped Aang with anyone; I’ve got no problems with the ship though.

Ugh, and this is what I mean when I talk about people who set up these reasons behind people shipping something based on what they saw a few people do. It’s like, “you only ship Adrimi/Lukanette to spite Adrienette!!”

Meanwhile, me having shipped all three at one point and then dropped off the love square.

Also, me shipping Zutara has nothing to do with it being dark/edgy because I’ve never seen it that way (intriguing, sure but dark and edgy? lol) and also avoid dark/edgy ships like the plague.

I still laugh at people who are like, “you can’t ship it because it’s not endgaaaaame!” as if shows can dictate how and why I enjoy something. Like sure, if you want to let a show/movie spoonfeed you how you’re supposed to feel, then by all means, go ahead.

I suppose people may be theoretically happier that way, but it doesn’t make for an analytic mind.

I legitimately thought that “AssClass” must’ve been the actual name for something until it registered with me what it actually meant.

And eh, I guess it depends on the comparison and how accurate the comparison actually is? Like, comparing Puella Magic Madoka Magica to Miraculous... they’re not really close at all, but comparing... idk, Bunnyx to Homura or the concept behind “backfiring wishes”... maybe?

(note that the rest of this post is more Puella Magi Madoka Magica salt so you can stop reading here if you’re not interested in that; I’m not sure if this is all the same anon but I don’t mind letting people vent so I let them go off~)

why can’t we just have nice things

I agree, and I give a little eyeroll every time it’s like, “oh, this person had [miraculous]”

+ even just in general, I feel weird about any show that mentions/implies that real world famous people are [x] or [y] in their show. It breaks my immersion; real world locations are one thing but when it’s specific people (unless they’re made up characters like Santa Claus) or games just--break me.

I also don’t know what to think when there aren’t magical boys but you have these magical girls in this frilly outfits/skirts. The demographic is girls so I presume the reason must be like, “you can look pretty and still beat people up” (;P) but having so many magical girl shows without a hint of a magical boy makes me suspicious that it’s for fanservice. Sailor Moon has Tuxedo Mask but I also don’t know what that guy did outside of the meme of him doing nothing so I’ve got no clue.

(edit: I should correct myself that I’m not talking about Sailor Moon specifically; I don’t know magical girls that well, though I do know there are ones clearly intended for fanservice (you could say that for anything, to be fair, but still). It’s just that I see things like super short skirts or very “questionable” shots and I’m just like, “hm”)

Hmmm, good question. I feel like there has to be a lot but I’m also the type who doesn’t watch a lot of TV lol. I’m just familiar with cliches and tropes and such.

The reason I try not to use “ism”s of any kind is mostly because it’s too broad. Like, you know how the English language only has one way of saying, “I love you,” but other languages like Spanish have multiple?

It’s like that, and sometimes I think it’s too easy to throw those words out there. A “small” (possibly completely unintentional/misunderstood) offense is sexism, and then a “large” offense is called the exact same thing. I’d rather go into why something is sexist than just call it that, y’know? The only exception I make is “classism” because I feel like that’s not as... I dunno, divisive?

Anyway, for that same reason, I can’t answer firmly that, “Madoka Magica is sexist.” I will however say that it makes me uncomfortable with how the show makes out the girls being emotional because they’re young and female and then proceeds to make their life a living hell before they’re old enough to properly answer to it (I know that’s the point but that kind of makes it worse?). It doesn’t help with how all the girls have different personalities, so it’s not like you have only “crybaby girls” who are being taken advantage of; it’s basically like... all girls.

Not helped is the fact that their soul gem not only deteriorates naturally, but it can also do so faster if the girl falls into despair, which then turns them into a monster (and I know it’s kind of like an akuma thing, but the fact that it’s only girls is... I dunno, it comes off wrong?). It seems cheap that the soul gem deteriorates no matter what so it constantly needs fed even if the girl is consistently happy.

I would probably opt for the show being centered more around Kyubey being new to this or something - like, magical girls are a new thing - and then have Kyubey being surprised because they presumed that the soul gem would deteriorate naturally since “emotions are powerful but destructive to the person having them,” but then all the girls team up and help each other work out their problems. Maybe the reason magical girls are usually alone isn’t even because of the grief seed (I think that’s what it’s called?) thing not being able to be shared, but because Kyubey intentionally separates magical girls so they can’t do what the main group is doing, but Madoka is so into the idea that, “We shouldn’t have to be alone,” and so she’s constantly pulling all the girls together, which keeps them healthy.

Maybe Homura’s backstory could be that Madoka originally was more sheepish and more afraid to put herself out there, especially since she was a magical girl (who are encouraged to go it alone), which is why their soul gems were both deteriorating; they were friends but kept more of a distance, or maybe they were a team but that’s all they were. Then Madoka gives Homura the last grief seed to save her and that’s what inspires Homura and makes her see Madoka as something more than a teammate, which is why Homura actively tries to save Madoka specifically (which then encourages Madoka to want to keep everyone together as friends).

In the case that Kyubey doesn’t separate them out of concern of fRiEnDsHiP, but for another reason altogether, and then it’s ultimately their own downfall when they allow the girls to hang out and realize that it’s doing a lot of good for them.

“cute and innocent”

That was exactly it. It’s on Kyubey’s trivia section on the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Wiki.

Before the anime's first dark plot twist aired, head writer Gen Urobuchi said on his Twitter account that the "Kyu" in Kyubey's name comes from the English word "cute". This was a lie meant to further mislead fans into thinking that Madoka Magica is an innocent happy show. In a later episode, it was revealed that "Kyubey" is, in fact, short for "incubator".

In my personal opinion, a spoiled plot can’t be “ruined” if it’s a good plot. If you told me that Kagome was trapped in the Modern era for three years and then decided to stay with Inuyasha at the end of Inuyasha, it wouldn’t/shouldn’t decrease the value when I finally see it for myself because it’s good. That’s not to say that everything should just be spoiled right out of the gate, but it’s saying that maybe your plot isn’t good if you have to rely on shock value to make it work??

I FEEL THAT “ASSIGNING IT TO THE WHOLE GENDER” THING SO BAD. It just adds to my “the girls all have varying personalities so it’s not like Kyubey’s only after emotional crybabies or anything” salt.

I have no idea about any of the stuff about the writers so I can’t confirm or deny them. I will very much agree on the target audience thing though, especially with the whole “keeping the dark plot a secret” because really? Who is this for then? Like, the first two and a half episodes are for one demographic and then the others are--???

I dunno. Me personally, I just like feel good stories. I do like some good conflict and drama (for context, Remarried Empress is basically a webtoon that gives you things to feel salty about and then makes its own salt fic as its plot, allowing for endless streams of feels and catharsis, so I’m definitely not against drama), but there are other times where I just want to feel good watching something.

I feel like the show expects the characters to be selfless/perfect and then punishes them even though it’s their writing that’s causing them to act out. I can’t really talking about “out-of-character” but sometimes it’s just obvious where “we did this because we needed a plot/conflict.”

Like, hello? We don’t need the main characters screwing up; why can’t we just have some feel good thing where they take the day for themselves (seriously, imagine a Miraculous episode where Chat Noir actually tells Ladybug to take a couple days for herself, like maybe someone else gets the earrings for a few days as a temp while Marinette gets to breathe; IMAGINE IT). Not everything needs to be high-stakes to be interesting and you need those calmer moments so that the action-packed ones feel more intense.

SAYAKA DESERVES BETTER.

I feel like the magical girl genre as a whole can be way more complex than it’s made out to be. I think people hear the word “magical girl” and think “cute girls in short skirts talk about girl problems and fight evil with the power of friendship and accessories.”

Ugh, just the mention of Rebellion makes me sigh internally.

Congrats on working on your own magical girl story! I hope it goes well for you!

I know it’s not technically a magical girl show, but there was also Totally Spies that Astruc worked on to some degree (I think there was some characters who were based on/a loose reference to the mains from that show but I don’t remember exactly).

The thing about the female characters suffering is that they could make for good lessons on positively directing one’s emotions (like Usagi from Sailor Moon, for example, maybe having a problem with taking her anger out on her friends, but learns that she can save that rage for the bad guys; “Gamer 2.0″ from Miraculous could’ve done that, honestly, by having Ladybug absolutely WRECK all of her gaming opponents in “violent” (cartoon violence obviously) fashion). It’s just a shame that it’s not taken advantage of.

Sayaka??? Selfish???????

*does not compute*

(Also, I wasn’t tired of them, don’t worry! It was a little overwhelming in my inbox but it’s me who’s allowing all the asks to flow in so the blame isn’t on you lol.)

I’m not sure where this obsession came from with, “you have to be selfless and you’re not allowed to use your powers for yourself.” It’s like the world’s going to end if a character leaves to go Self-Care or something. I think what happened is that shows got this idea that promoting only the giving of others is great and it’s not important to take time for yourself (even with “Gamer 2.0,” it was still Marinette playing games with everyone else, and they treated her dedication and seriousness like a bad thing when she literally did not have time to waste and they didn’t give a reason why it was good for her to take a break, only that she should).

This usually leads to the “demonization” of characters who sport a lot of self-confidence or any sort of ego. It works on both sides; Marinette is a punching bag because of her anxiety and occasional lack of confidence, but if she had an ego as Ladybug, there are parts of the fandom who deem her “obnoxious” (i.e: “Reflekdoll”). There’s a delicate balance between “be confident” and “be humble” and it’s a tightrope act.

#((Yes! This strategy works for not losing asks.))#((In other news--))#((I gotta test out this new microphone so I wanna do a ''Voiced Askplosion'' where I record my answers instead of writing them))#((Anyone who sends me a 🎤 alongside their asks will get a voiced response next time!))#((I probably can't answer everything but you know how it is~))#(((i swear that someone is going to do it just to see if they can get me to swear when I read out their asks)))#((or... like--))#((''ok i don't actually have a question''))#((''but plz say the words 'adrien and marinette are meant to be' because i want to hear how much u struggle to say it''))#category: salt #other: non ml talk #category: ramble #character: Marinette Dupain Cheng #category: fandom #episode: Evillustrator #character: Chat Noir #character: Ladybug #character: Adrien Agreste #character: Stormy Weather #category: me myself and i #category: staff #relationship: Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain Cheng #character: Aeon #character: Uncanny Valley #relationship: love square #MC's Renders #render: persona

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bbwoulfc · 4 years

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ML NY Special Review

Finally finished my review on the ML NY Special and it’s going to be a long review, I won’t lie. I will be breaking this down in two sections. First section will be focused through the perspective as a professional (animation industry) and the second section through the perspective as a viewer and ML fan.

I won’t deny, I will be criticizing a few things and really give large opinionated thoughts; I’m sure it will piss people off, but I’m gonna be honest and I don’t give a damn. I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m gonna go all out. It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed people off.

Again, keep in mind these are my views/opinions as a professional and as a viewer/fan. If you can’t handle some of the strong opinions that will come from this review, then keep moving on. Don’t waste your time if you can’t handle certain characters or subjects being discussed in a different light.

If you wish to continue, then click the “keep reading” option.

As an animator, this is one of my favorite things to do with animated shows or movies. I absolutely love breaking things down and giving opinions on the whys, whats, and hows. Never do I aim to prove my opinions right. My goal is to simply make you think and consider. And if you don’t agree then that’s completely fine. That’s how it works.

Now, the NY Special has definitely exceeded the quality than what I expected. I absolutely love SAMG as a company. I think this is by far one of the best that SAMG has produced for Miraculous as a whole. Even better than the origin episodes. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a 3D animated tv series, by far. It was stunning and gorgeous and worked well with the given mood that was set throughout the hour of the special. I would say there are two scenes in particular that I felt were the best lit scenes.

The first scene is definitely near the beginning when the class landed in NY and where traveling in the bus. They stopped either at the hotel or museum and the shot was the buses in front of the large building where you have the other city buildings around it. That shot was gorgeous; the orange hues falling on top of the buildings and gaining that purple and blue shadows was great. It’s honestly one of my favorite complementary color schemes to use when lighting most scenes in animation. It helps achieve a nice balance when setting mood but also to get a nice glance at the shapes of the models in the scene. Perfection.

As for the second scene, I would have to say it was the moment Adrien left and Marinette was biking to chase after him and she fell. That moment the scene focused on Marinette on the ground and in the rain spoke many volumes. The color tone of the scene was perfect and captured the common traits used in many shows and films to further drive the sense of sadness and overall emotional effect; using the traditional trait of rain made the scene work and stand out during the struggles that Marinette was dealing with.

The rain in general was outstanding on it’s own. Liquids in animation are tough, not an easy thing to do. The way the rain was animated was probably the best rain I’ve seen in most 3D animated tv series. I will even say it beats the rain from the origin episodes which is amazing because it shows the growth alone that SAMG has come from since the first season of the series.

They create stunning quality work and by far are the best of the best from all the companies that ZAG uses or had used for the show. I won’t lie, I still can’t fathom how Jeremy/ZAG could let such a company go but Jeremy isn’t the greatest with the money, so it’s not a shocker. It definitely shows that man doesn’t know how to properly run a company and treat a show. I honestly blame him for pretty much the entire outcome of the series and that’s my god honest opinionated truth as a professional.

The pacing of the special I felt was good, though I do think it would have been nice to have had an extra 30 minutes to help flow areas a bit better or more, but I can understand the time constraints, especially after hearing about how Thomas stated that the special was going to be two hours originally. And I will be honest, I wouldn’t have minded that. I think it would have been fantastic to have had a longer span episode special, but I understand a lot of the struggles that no doubt the team had endured.

Overall, some issues, but 10 out of 10 on animation and quality output.

Now the second section; viewing through the eyes as a viewer and fan.

As a fan of ML, I will not beat around the bush, I truly believe this special was disappointing plot wise. And I don’t blame Thomas and his team for the issue. As stated previously, my anger and frustration is more on Jeremy/ZAG for everything that has come from ML as a show and especially the result of the NY special.

My biggest issue with the special was the focal point: Adrinette.

How many damn times must I hear, “they’re meant for each other” or “aren’t they perfect together” and so forth. I get it. You can adore Adrientte but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every five minutes. I don’t give an ounce of care that Adrien and Marinette are endgame and that they’re “soulmates”. The romance between those two means absolutely nothing to me. It was cute and fun in the beginning when the series first started, but I’m tired of it. I don’t care about the love square. I don’t care about the “soulmate” trope when in reality anyone can be someone’s soulmate with the right care. That was no doubt the biggest issue for me in the entire special.

In my opinion, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t Adrinette centric. This was the best moment to show Marinette is improving herself but it had to become fan service because god forbid it felt like they needed to please the Adrinette shippers that their ship is still valid. If we’re judging this based off the season 3 finale, I won’t lie, this special fit better as a season 2 finale or mid season 3 than the end of season 3.

I’m seriously more disappointed that the special wasn’t more on Marinette and herself as a character. They were in New York, another strong hub for fashion. This was a perfect opportunity to explore more of her interests as a fashion designer and maybe meeting some new people. Who knows, maybe even Jagged Stone as an international rock star. But overall it was a lost opportunity to expand more on her for the sake of shipping.

I think it would have also been cool to see her and Chat Noir maybe learn some methods/training from the US heroes and get a glimpse into a world of heroism that is different in cultures and circumstances. Which honestly made sense to me how US heroes didn’t care about identity because Ladybug and Chat Noir have magical based items that are no doubt more powerful and outside sources that I’m sure would be willing to destroy to obtain it.

Another problem I had was how I felt we were robbed without having Kagami and Luka go to New York. Or if anything, more with Luka than Kagami. I love Kagami with all my being, but I doubt her mother would let her go to New York. But imagine Luka being there. We could have had a flipping jam session between Luka and Jess. I felt we were cheated, it would have been amazing to see two incredible guitarists jam it out and two people who have a passion for music find a friend in each other. I would have given anything to have had that moment.

Though in general I would have enjoyed anything else if it just wasn’t Adrinette centric. I’m positive everyone in the fandom is on the same page that they’re “soulmates” but there’s more that can be done than a damn ship that has followers that attack and annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them. Because, god forbid, Adrien and Marinette apparently aren’t allowed to be happy with others. I swear, half the fandom (hardcore adrinette shippers) treat Adrien more as an object than the ML characters themselves.

Nothing against the ship, but it’s just not for me and that’s okay. I simply can’t relate to Adrien as a romantic choice of a character. When Luka came into existence, I was in awe. I found a character I could relate too because I was as close to similarity than any other character in a show before. And that’s something I’ve noticed with this fandom, hating characters because to them they’re nothing but boring.

Fans need to understand that one will not understand everything in a show, especially characters. Just because you hate a character and find them boring doesn’t mean they’re terribly written. You as a viewer simply can’t relate to them and that’s completely fine. There will always be some who can relate and understand while others don’t, but that shouldn’t be a reason to argue against people who love a certain character.

And I’m being serious, I enjoyed the 30 seconds of Kagami and Luka with their love interests more than the hour of Adrinette. It’s just overall sad. There is so much potential that could have been the special focus wise but felt it was there to show why Adrinette is “superior” when it’s really not. They’re only one of many ships that are equally good. It comes down to how it’s portrayed and done.

However, since I know we’re stuck with Adrinette no matter what, I’m going to end this review with this as a food for thought but again, this is a simple opinion.

There was one thing that stood out and caught myself and some of my friends in a ML server attention. In the NY special there were strong moments that revolved around bikes. So, out of curiosity, I searched for symbolism meanings about bikes during the server’s conversation and it might hint to what might happen or what might come in the future of the show.

The bike symbolizes the moving circle of life.

Seeing a bicycle is a hint that you will reach somewhere. This could either be your motivation or your future plan. Cycling refers to the different moods that a person feels. Bicycles are also related to the ups and downs of life. For instance, riding a bicycle gives you both smooth edges and rough pebbles on your journey. The smooth edges are related to the happy times of your life and the rough pebbles denote the challenges of life.

So, if we want to use this to break down ML, this in a way, represents Lukanette and Adrinette. Luka are the smooth edges in Marinette’s journey. He’s the one that calms her, helps her think things through, focuses on what Marinette wants to do rather tell her what she should do. Never once does he tell her to do this or do that, but simply asks her what it is she wants. Luka, is pretty much her guide. The happy times as Marinette where she appears happiest without the burdens and overwhelming stress of her other life. Whereas Adrien is the rough pebbles in her journey, the challenges to properly talk with the one she views as a love interest or simply to build that perfect friendship/relationship. Yes, they’re friends, but they’re not as strong as friends like Marinette and Alya or Adrien and Nino. Adrien is a challenge in her life and always will be until she learns to let go and mature.

The other moment that stood out with the bike was the moment Marinette was pressured to chase after Adrien to get him to stay. She chases after him on a bike but falls off in the end.

Falling off the Bicycle: This indicates that you are losing your self-confidence.

Spend time with your loved ones and take suggestions from the experienced people. Join a course on building your personality and motivation. Do things that interest you the most and this will surely help to bring back your confidence level. This indicates a frenzied lifestyle and the need to slow down.

This here makes me believe that Luka is the “experienced people” in Marinette’s life. Other than Kagami, Luka is the only mature one in Marinette’s life in her friend group. He’s one of the biggest motivators in Marinette’s life as of recent. Putting her interests at heart that have helped her build her confidence. We know Marinette has a frenzied lifestyle with everything that she has on her shoulders as well as her passions. And Luka is one of the very few, if not, only one in her friend group that can calm Marinette and help her slow down and simply relax.

I know Adrinette is endgame, but I won’t deny when I say if there was anything that ML could do, is that they make Adrigami and Lukanette endgame. So many shows always pair the two main characters, always. If there is any message that I would have loved to see come from a show like ML, it would simply be “Your first love/crush will not always be the one and that’s okay. That your first crush/love could be the greatest friendship you ever have. And the second chances in your life are just as valuable as the first and may be even better for you.”

Fans might hate Kagami and Luka, but as far as I’m concerned from everything I’ve watched since the beginning, the only reason you’re getting your Adrinette in the end is all because of Luka. If it weren’t for him majority of the time, y’all wouldn’t have half of your love square moments. So, Luka is the true MVP in my book. Because unlike many of the others, he doesn’t put pressure on Marinette and that’s what Marinette doesn’t need right now, more pressure.

Adrien and Marinette might be endgame, but those two need people outside of their classmates because everyone is too tunnel vision. Luka and Kagami are the only ones that will help Adrien and Marinette mature, cause those two will not be able to do it themselves. So, if you want your Adrinette, you’re gonna have to suffer through Lukanette and Adrigami.

#ml #ml spoilers #ml ny special #ml ny special spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #kagami tsuguri #adrinette #adrienette #lukanette #adrigami #bbwoulf opinions #bbwoulf's review

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heizerux · 5 years

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Battle of the Miraculous (Love Eater and Miracle Queen) Analysis (Few Translations included)

“Some people may have their problems, but at the end everything will be okay.”

—Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miracle Queen Monologue)

(Disclaimer: Budgets and animation production play a huge part in how episodes are made and released . . . but this time it was straight up the network’s choice and a bad one :| Also I’m fully aware Chat Blanc and Felix may answer a few extra things, but for now I’ll just talk about what I’ve seen.)

I’ll be going over the finale in the Topics:

Hesitations

Relationships

Beginning of the End

The Future? (Season 4 Talk)

I rewatched the episode with subs I could fully read and understand so I’m ready to talk about it now. Let's go. . .

FYI: I’m gonna be mainly dissecting Miracle Queen because A LOT happened here that I HAVE TO let out.

Hesitations

In Heart Hunter/ Love Eater we got a good consensus of how every character is doing. To summarize, we know Luka has deeply fallen for Marinette and constantly thinks about the song that is her. Kagami is much closer to Adrien and is open about her feelings to him. Luka and Kagami are also now officially good friends with their supposed love rival. Really everyone is getting along PERFECTLY. . . . But then Kagami and Adrien get much closer and all Marinette can do is just let the one she loves go.

In Miracle Queen, Marinette cries to Luka and admits in her monologue that nothing is going and if anything things are painful. . . but that it’s nice to have someone that’s there for her when she need it. . . this someone being Luka. Before the bees attack, Marinette makes a move to move on by wanting to hear his finalized song, but Luka questions an important question:

“You’re still thinking about Adrien?”

Meanwhile, Adrien breaks away from the kiss with an “Oh! Uh, it’s my first time, I’m not ready!” excuse even though it’s clear he’s unsure about advancing things with Kagami. But then her version of the important question is:

“But when will you be ready, Adrien? . . Your hesitation hurts.”

*queue the bees* So as of this point, Adrien and Marinette have finally faced their actual obstacle in terms of romance: Their HESITATIONS.

This entire season, we’ve had instances in which Adrienette has had the thought of wanting to be something more (either through a crush or Plagg’s perseuations), but there was always the thought of “But there’s Luka/Kagami. . .” Ikari Gozen shed this for Marinette, Stormy Weather 2.0 shed this for Adrien. . .

Anyways Chloe calls forward people who have held a miraculous and exposes them (both in identity and diss lol) btw she did say Luka looked “kinda cute”

Ladybug and Chat Noir find each other confused as to how things went south so fast and Chat just asks “What did Fu tell you?”, to which Ladybug basically answers “Nothing” and has break down admitting she accidentally lead Hawkmoth to Fu.

Relationships

This moment right here. . . it's IMPORTANT.

Chat sees Ladybug vulnerable and consoles her letting her know to focus on saving Fu and not to worry more on the rest mistakes. Ladybug thanks him and the two hug. . . but like ACTUALLY hug.

I’m not talking someone hugging the other in attempt to save the other from harm, but an actual genuine friendly hug. Chat Noir isn’t being flirty or making advances, and Ladybug isn't annoyed or pushing Chat away. Their relationship as heroes is no longer just partners. . . but officially CLOSE FRIENDS.

Moving on, they kick ass, get the likely to be former wielders’ miraculous back and face off with Chloe. To summarize, she tells Ladybug that she’s the real enemy because she doesn’t trust her and goes on to equip all the miraculous. She tries to use them all but all the kwamis basically told her to go fuck herself in the form of “You don’t even know our commands.”

Oh, but what’s this? ANOTHER advancement in the Ladynoir relationship. Ladybug turns to Chat all vulnerable once more, and he picks her back up. This is the first time in a WHILE (since Origins) that Ladybug had confided in Chat with her vulnerability and fears of failure TWICE in ONE day. Don’t forget about this for next season.

The Beginning of the End

After telling Ladybug that she now has all the keys and knowledge about the miraculous, Fu then decides its time. No not the grim kind of time, but the time to finally pass on the torch to Ladybug. He officially denounces his role as guardian, which renders all inactive miraculous useless. (I’m actually not certain but it IS what I noticed considering the active miraculous were still working but the inactive ones became empty jewelry shells as the kwamis got transferred into a brand new box for Ladybug. I’m sure S4 will have the answers here.) Hawkmoth is literally disappointed and leaves with a weaker Mayura.

Chloe angrily tells Ladybug she just wants to be Queen Bee and be the REAL MAIN HERO, to which Ladybug simply answers “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that, Chloe.” Chloe then throws a tantrum saying “FINE! I am not your fan anymore. I will go live with my mom because you don’t even deserve to breath the same air as ME.” and runs away.

Oh yeah, Chat lost Hawkmoth and Mayura :D. . . . *high five*

ANYWAYS, Ladybug and Chat Noir go to vibe check on Fu while Gabriel vibe checks Nathalie. One is alive and well and the other is alive and. . . yeah.

KEEP IN MIND, NATHALIE NOW HAS ACQUIRED THE INFO SHE NEEDED FROM FU’S BELONGINGS TO REPAIR THE PEACOCK MIRACULOUS. DO NOT FORGET THIS FOR NEXT SEASON.

Back to Fu, he wakes up but. . . ya GUESSED IT (or didn't) . . . lost his memory along with his duties as guardian and this marks the END of an era. . .

ML LORE: THE GUARDIAN RULE IS THAT YOU ERASE YOUR MEMORIES OF KNOWING ABOUT THE TRUE POWER OF THE MIRACULOUS ONCE YOU DENOUNCE YOUR ROLE IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE IDENTITY OF THE current? WIELDERS. EVEN THE USE “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG” DOES NOT UNDO THIS.

DEFINITELY DO NOT FORGET THIS MOVING FORWARD IN THE SERIES (but mainly if you really like lore or just want to use this as a fic tool :3)

Techincally, someone did die this episode, but it was the person we all once knew as Master Fu. Now it is just Wang Fu. He returns Ladybug’s “lost key” thinking she dropped it? and then marks the a new beginning.

Chloe returns to expect her mom to be getting ready to leave, but finds her parents finally happy and in love. . . I’m actually really happy this happened. Chloe needs a loving home and if this helps her in anyways, ABOUT TIME.

“As you start to get older, you start to understand that life doesn’t always give you what you thought it would. I wanted to tell you this in person, Marinette, but if you are reading this it is because I’ve already lost all my memories. Do not be afraid, you haven’t lost all of me completely. Like I told you in the beginning of the letter, losses are a part of life, but this isn’t important. The only thing that’s important is if you’ve won (?) or not. That is the key to be able to accept changes as they come on your own. To be able to accept everything as a whole even when you feel life hasn’t given you enough. The real gift, is life itself.” —Fu

no I’m not crying, you are

After retrieving Master Fu’s leftover gifts for Marinette, she takes him to see Marianne to their new home (assuming), to whom Wang Fu has met for the first time but is already fully in love with. Marinette gives them a final parting gift, to where his last words to her are:

“Thank you, young lady. I’ll never forget you.”

okay, okay, maybe a TINY tear has left my eye. . .

Now to our final scene of the season. Adrien and Marinette are closer friends and nothing is distant between the two, They’re even so comfortable small talk is like second nature to them . . . they’ve also both finally faced their own hesitations and decided to give the person in front of them a shot for and for all: Luka and Kagami.

“The real gift, is life itself.”

okay okay I’m SOBBING aghhhHHHHHHHH--

Oh and Gabriel seems to have repaired the peacock miraculous 👀

The Future (?)

Okay, so THAT’S how Season 3 ended. It feels bittersweet, I cried about it when I got home and watched it with real subtitles, but now lets talk about what we can expect to come in Season 4. It’s all guess and theories but I guess here’s mine:

Marinette now fully changed and matured with her new role as guardian, will probably be a lot more calmer with her approaches. The relationships will likely be that Lukanette and Adrigami will try to flourish further as both Adrien and Marinette decided to stop hesitating and going for what’s in front of them. . . but so will Ladynoir.

I’m, for the time being, jumping ship on the theory that Ladybug will fall more in love with Chat, and Chat still being loyal to his lady will equally return the feelings as this happens further. . . but of course their civilian relationships will interfere. . . and idk about you guys but that department looks like it’s going to be interesting.

I may add more later on, but I just needed to get all this out in one post for the finale. I’ll still watch Felix and Chat Blanc cause I’m in denial that yes, this was basically it already . . . But the wounds are still fresh in my soul for this show and it still hurts. . .

So yeah . . . Lila Rossi who?

Don’t know her. . .

and neither did Hawkmoth in that finale 👀 *sips tea*

#ml love eater #ml loveater #ml miracle queen #ml season 3 finale #ml analysis #ml thoughts #ml #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #ml spoilers #ml season 3 #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste

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familyagrestefanblog · 4 years

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Identity theory to the Black Cat knight in “Feast”- Part 1

There is one detail in “Feast” that has me almost upset because of my own short coming. Not because it’s badly written, out of nowhere or anything, quite the opposite, its brilliant! It’s the detail of the former cat miraculous holder, the knight

You know why this has me almost upset? I had this as serious theory since one evening I rewatched “Darkblade” and researched the historical background given there, since miraculous takes real life history and changes it to fit into their universe. The people and events are more or less accurate (as we know from episodes like “the pharaoh”). But I never completed the research nor did I made my theory into a post.

Well anyway. I guess it’s never to late to present my theory to who this former cat was.

This is Part 1, here I will cover: Who is the black knight? And the entire basis for the theory

Part 2 is about: The flag comparison is “Darkblade” and “Feast”

And part 3: Are the Cat Miraculous holder knight and Darkblade the same people?

Alright guys buckel up, it’s history time and these are gonna get LONG

Part 1 - Who is the Black knight?

I was and am pretty sure this Black cat knight we are being presented here is Edward of Woodstock.

Prince of Wales, born 1330 and known through history as the “Black Prince”. Why he’s called that is not known for sure. One theory is that he’s called the “Black” prince because of the color of his battle amour (which would fit the miraculous painting above) and badge but frankly no one can say with any certainty at all that he ever wore black amour.

Theory two is much more likely in my opinion. Edward was the first born son of Eduard lll, one of the most significant rulers of England in medieval times. And my GOD, Prince Edward was a game changer in the beginning of the hundred years war between Britain and France for the right to wear the French crown. He was one heck of a great (read: BRUTAL) medieval military leader, archiving his very first grand victory for England against the French at the incredibly young age of 16 (an age fitting to the trend in Miraculous giving powers to minors). This victory brought the 16 years old Edward a lifetime of glory as a formidable knight and army leader. Meaning: in my opinion he is most likely called the “Black Prince” because of his brutal and deadly campaigns through France.

Concidering that Miraculous is a French show also taking place in France, I think it’s completely fine depicting him with the Cats miraculous, the power to destroy everything and kill anyone with a single touch. From a French point of view, yeah that’s fine (he wasn’t nicknamed “le terrible Prince/ Homme Noir” (The terrible/gruesome black prince/man) by 1400s France for no reason I may say) I’m completely down with that and think myself that he would be a very fitting Cat who used his miraculous’ power more to its brutal limits (Not every Cat in the past was a pacifist like our present Chat Noir, Adrien, mostly is).

Cuz in general, through his status as Prince, army leader and knight of the order of the garter, an order of charity founded by his father, Edwards life mostly prioritized fighting and waging war. Dude was down with some serious slaughter. Still one has to say that even though he basically was raised and encouraged to become a killing beast, one can’t say he was outright a monster or something.

To keep this shorter, he genuinely showed respect and mercy to fallen and captured royalty. One example for this was after the victorious battle of Crécy (were he was 16) he walked across the battle field and found the fallen king John of Bohemia. King John was blind but always fought alongside his army (very successful if my may add) and when Edward found his corpse he honored him by adopting John’s motto “Ich diene” (“I serve”) and used and honored it for the rest of his life on his badge. Every prince of Wales after him used it too, keeping this legacy alive.

My reason for believing its Edward of Woodstock who the miraculous crew chose as this former Cat miraculous holder in the painting come down to four mayor factors.

1. One of the most famous objects Edward owned that is still available to the public today is this piece of jewelry

Would you look at that it’s his ring. I’m gonna spare you with the details to it because the only thing really of importance is the fact that HE HAD A RING.

But you know what else? Take a guess where this ring is located today

Jup, in the capital city of France, our very own miraculous Paris. In the freaking Louvre.Giving us not only a perfect reallife history, material match with the Cat ring but also a connection back to France, Paris, where the show takes place.

2. Through “Startrain”/the train we have a straight connection to England the show can and definitely will use in the future. At the end of “Startrain” we got this:

Meaning England/London is not only acknowledged in a side sentence in the Miraculous universe, the Miraculous crew already remodelled the city in CGI and believe me, CGI is hard work. They wouldn’t just put all this work into recreating London (yes even for a small shot like this they would have to recreate much more) if they didn’t had bigger plans coming. And that means, England/London is gonna be a future Location, this makes finding out the origins of a former English miraculous holder quite a possibility. It was also said by Thomas Astruc that in the movie to season 5 we will find out more about former holders, so even if the Show doesn’t include many of the actual historical identities, there is still the promising movie which can go more in detail with them. Especially if the movie picks the miraculous history as one of its main themes which imo is actually very likely.

3. The fact that, well, we are still watching a Tv show here. Imagine you were the creator of a Show like Miraculous were characters get magical jewellery to turn into superheroes and now your task is it to choose historical figures you can include into your show as former holders. You most likely wouldn’t use unknown people. That’s the point where you drop at least two or three recognisable names on significance to make the history of your show more interesting. Here you choose the myths, the legends, the people who went down in history as heroes of their countries. Or at very least you choose the figures with interesting names.

Edward of Woodstock may not be a myth or a legend but he sure counts as a national hero of English history and also a well known figure in France and in French history (giving him once again significance in a French show) and lets be real here, “The black Prince” is just too much of an awesome title of a historical person to pass by for story writing purposes like the ones we are looking for right now. Plus with (well) known names your audience already has a connection to go on with and you don’t have to start from scratch.

4. And this is my favourite reason! Lets talk about: The Black Princes connection with Jeanne de Arc. Oh yes guys, I’m going there. I went nuts on the research and I found a very interesting detail.

As most probably know by now, Thomas Astruc himself declared Jeanne de Arc as a former Ladybug. Jeanne de Arc is a French national heroin and martyr so him honoring her as a Ladybug is of no surprise and makes sense.

While Edward of Woodstock and Jeanne de Arc never lived in the same time (she was born in 1412 while he died in 1376) these two historical figures have a downright fascinating connection.

Their game changing roles in the hundred years war between England and France.

As I said before, Edward basically run into France with his army and won battle after battle. If you were to ask me which people influenced and started the beginning of the hundred years war, Edwards name would definitely fall as one of the first even if he was “only” a prince. Through the immense damage and loss France suffered through him, France was quite… down even after the black prince died (of course France like England had ups as well as downs but the whole war was so complex I’ll not explain it here and keep things really simple, I don’t wanna misinform).

In the time around 1412 where the 18 year old (once again just like Edward very young) peasant girl just a normal girl with a normal life Jeanne de arc lived, France was pretty much hold at gun point and at loss of their hope. History says that she, through unknown (miraculous) ways, was able to convince the french King Charles VII to let her join the battle and support him. The battles with her included were widely successful which paved the way for France’s future victory. In 1430 she was captured and was burned at the stake after being declared guilty of several charges. And to quote Nationalgeographic.com here (because I literally couldn’t put this any better)

“Once her ashes had been scattered in the Seine River, Jeanne’s detractors hoped her name would be erased from history, but her name has burned more brightly in the hearts and minds of the French ever since then. The humble farm girl turned the tide for the French in the closing years of the Hundred Years’ War.”

So while the black prince Edward of Woodstock (the cat) brought great destruction and a war to France around 1346 for a hundred years, for his homeland England and father, the king

Jeanne de Arc (the Ladybug) was the one who gave her defeated homeland France back their hope and strength to end and win the war in 1453

Confirming Names and Miraculous for former Holders + Change of title for the Black Prince

Alright last point of the basics.

But now you may ask yourself why the show refers to him as “Black Knight” and not the “Black Prince” if he really were Edward of Woodstock. To this I would say that there two huge factors that come into play here.

1. The show up to this point doesn’t want to out right say actual names or identities, expect for a few. There are a few more paintings and sculptures Alya goes through while pointing out the former miraculous holder in this episode and frankly, the fact that Alya never mentions names (beside Hercules) stuck out kinda odd to me considering that they are in a museum and she should be able to figure out some names from some of them, bringing a bit more of historical knowledge and facts into the show. But Alya and the show focus solely on the hero identities.This I think is happening because giving us the appearance, the typ of Miraculous AND a definite Identity/name would be too much to just throw at the audience without a proper pay off in near future.

I mean imagine if all these Miraculous holders from “Feast” the Grimoire, the little hero montage in the beginning of Origins part 1 or in this shot from “Le Befana”

had been given an official name, identity and the Miraculous type right of the bat. Don’t get me wrong it would have been NEAT no doubt, but BOAH…dude…too much information, TOO MUCH INFORMATION. What am I supposed to DO with these information’s now while the show is still in the “introductory” state and we will be dealing with the former Miraculous holder on a much later point?? Frankly, nothing. So yeah, its good that the show is being vaguer about the former holders while introducing them. That’s the right way to go.

Interestingly enough though, like I mentioned above, Hercules for example is confirmed to us not only by name, but also that he was the LION miraculous holder. He is the very first holder of the past of whom we have EVERYTHING confirmed. But I don’t think hes the only past holder we have gotten the canon name from already. I’m also 100% convinced that Akhenaton (in the English dub Tutankhamun for some reason???Oh no nononononono xD) and Nefertiti from “the Pharaoh” are former Ladybug and Cat miraculous holders too. This is a theory worthy or it’s own post with quite some points to explain so I’ll not digress here. Just know that they fit into the pattern I theorize with the past and current Cat and Ladybug miraculous holders.

Without too much digressing (I know its to late for that but shhhhhhhhhh) if we do take Akhenaton as Cat, Nefertiti as Ladybug and Hercules as Lion then we actually can pin point a difference down why these three holders were already introduced with names and others (like Knight Noir) aren’t.

Hercules for one is a legend and a myth, a figure you definitely connect more with stories than actual history. And while, yes, we acknowledge Nefertiti and Akhenaton/Tutankhamun as historical figures, they are so, SO so far away in the past that once again we don’t really see them as people who have once lived. Theyre more… concepts of people of the past with names. The fact that they are often used and portrayed in pop culture, Tv shows, movies, books ect in various inaccurate portrayals even furthers the “dehumanization”.

While historical figures like Edward of Woodstock or the Three Musketeer Ladybug above for example are not too far away from us today. We can still identify with them, their lifestyle and their environment in some sorts and as I stated above, in why I think Edward is the former Cat, the influence and meaning these people have to their national history is still great, which brings me to the second factor

2. I’m not sure if Miraculous would even be allowed to call the Black Knight the “Black Prince/Prince Noir (in French)” because as best depicted in the point of his connection with Jeanne de Arc, in a french show taking place in France he would and probably SHOULD not be portrayed in a 100% positive light. Considering what he has done to the French in real life, what his canon actions were in past in the ml universe (more to this in Part 3) I think anything but at least problematic anti-hero with good heart deep down would be historically and canonly… inappropriate. And this is where the problem lies.

Because yes, this is a french show taking place in France made by a french creator but they still cant just take an important ENGLISH historical figure pair him with an important FRENCH hero, let them both (like in real life) influence the same gigantic real life war between two real life nations and then just say: “Your legit english national hero is the bad guy and our legit french national heroin is good.” That’s just nothing they can pull.

With Jeanne de Arc yes, because she is and will undoubtedly be portrait in a good and heroic light (reflecting her real-life actions and influence on the hundred years war) but calling Edward of Woodstock out with his name, in circumstances like these while portraying him as the bad guy of the two (which he was, don’t get me wrong) is just.. it’s in bad taste and would probably offend quite some english people. And that is not something they can risk.

So what I think what they are doing here is that they changed his title from “Black Prince” to “Black Knight” because even though history remembers him as Prince, calling him a Knight is frankly anything but wrong. As I mentioned right in the beginning where I introduced Edward to you, he was one of the original Knights of the order of the garter, an order of charity founded by his father, the king. And man, he was one HELL of a Knight. So yeah, if you cant depict Edward of Woodstock as Prince then you are really not wrong off honouring his Knighthood (which the show does, like DAMN). This way, even though he isn’t called Black Prince he’s still recognisable to the people and historians who know him without much cheating considering his title or outright pointing at him and calling him a butthole (still, kudos to the show for basically doing it in “Darkblade” xD)

Puh Alright, the basics are out of th way.

Next is Part 2:The flag comparison is “Darkblade” and “Feast”

and Part 3: Are the Cat Miraculous holder knight and Darkblade the same people?

#Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #ml theory #past miraculous holders #former Chat Noir #ml feast #ml season 3 #ml season 1 #ml Darkblade #Cat miraculous holder in feast #Cat Noir #Chat Noir #guardians of the miraculous #ml spoilers

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megatraven · 7 years

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Once Upon an Allergy

The Spring Exchange fic authors have been revealed, so I can post this here now!

This was my exchange fic for @baneismydragon! I hope you enjoy(ed) it, you gave a really good prompt! Shout out to @reyxa for lending me her soulmates au where the sneezes of soulmates sync up.

Summary: "After pouring two packs of chocolate powder in each mug, she felt a sudden sensation in her sinuses thanks to the powder that remained in the air. Quickly, she put her finger below her nose, pleased when the sneeze stopped. After that, it was quick work to pour the water and stir the mix in, and just as she was about to bring them out-

She sneezed.

Or, a soulmate au where the sneezes of soulmates sync up after you meet them.

AO3

"Alright, class, we've got two new students joining us this semester. Please, introduce yourselves for us," their teacher, Madame Bustier, said.

Standing in front of the rest of the class were two students, one that looked excited and fiery, and another that looked shy and awkward. To the class' surprise, the shy one spoke first.

"Hi, my name's Adrien, and I look forward to working with all of you in the future." He punctuated his statement with a quick little wave and a sweet smile.

After he finished speaking, the other spoke. "I'm Alya, and I just moved nearby from across the city."

Madame Bustier gave them both a smile and gestured for them to find their seats. Alya moved instantly, spotting an empty seat in the second row, next to a girl she'd actually ran into before school started. Adrien rubbed his arm, his eyes sweeping across the room. He saw a childhood friend of his waving for him to sit by her, but he cringed when he saw her trying to push her seatmate out for him. In the hopes of letting the poor girl keep her seat, Adrien sat as close as he could by taking the empty seat in front, next to a student that looks uninterested in what was going on.

While the two settled in, their teacher was about to continue speaking when two synchronized sneezes sounded from the back of the room. Adrien and Alya both turned to look, eyes wide at actually having a pair of soulmates in their classroom. They saw a couple sitting next to each other in the row behind Alya, both of them blushing a tiny bit as their hands intertwined.

Patient though she may be, when Adrien and Alya didn't look away, Madame Bustier cleared her throat and brought their attention back to her. It was only then that the two noticed nobody else had turned to gawk, which could only mean they all knew already.

"I understand that soulmates are an interesting topic to talk about, let alone see in person, but we do have class to tend to, Monsieur Agreste and Mademoiselle Césaire." With that, she turned around and started writing on the board. Adrien looked sheepish and stared down at his desk while Alya turned to the girl beside her and started whispering.

"So girl, mind spilling the beans on those two behind us?" she asked, not quiet enough to keep Adrien and his seatmate from hearing. "Are they really… you know?"

The other girl glanced up at their teacher before responding. "Yeah, they found out last semester. Believe it or not, but they actually knew each other for over a year before finding out. They just never happened to sneeze around one another. They only found out when Ivan got a head cold and couldn't stop sneezing through class. That meant she couldn't stop either, and it was… really something. I don't think anyone got work done that day," she laughed.

"Huh. That's pretty cool. Thanks for the deets, uh…"

"Marinette," she said, holding her hand out to shake. "I live above the bakery next door."

"Awesome! Good to meet you, Marinette," Alya said, grabbing her new friend's hand.

"It's nice to meet you t-"

"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, please keep your attention on the board." Madame Bustier shot her a look, and Marinette gave an apologetic smile. The rest of the lesson droned on, and soon enough, their lunch hour was upon them.

Most of the class filed out, leaving just five people in the room. Alya and Marinette were talking to each other rather enthusiastically. The boy beside Adrien was packing up his bag, and Adrien sat awkwardly next to him, unsure of what to do. Chloe sauntered up to Adrien, smiling widely.

"Oh, Adrihoney, I'm so glad you're finally attending school with me! We can spend a lot more time together and finally find out that we are soulmates!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto his arm. The girls behind him went silent as they watched, and even his seatmate stopped packing to watch the exchange.

"Chlo, you know that's not gonna happen," he said softly. "None of our sneezes have ever synced up, not even that time we found out I was allergic to your feather pillows and I sneezed up a storm."

She waved his words off. "Please, nobody really knows a lot about this soulmate stuff, so maybe it's an age thing. In any case, I'm sure we're soulmates. C'mon, daddy would love to know you and I ate lunch together!"

Adrien winced. "I'd love to, but, uh…"

"He's already got plans with us," a voice behind him chimed. He turned around and stared wide-eyed at Marinette, who looked past him to Chloe. "Yeah, we already planned to get lunch as a group, isn't that right guys?"

"Yep, we sure did!" Alya said with a grin.

"Oh, totally. All bumped into each other this morning and decided then," Adrien's seatmate pitched in.

"Yeah, so see, Chloe? Nino, Alya, Adrien, and I have plans so… maybe next time. Bye," she said, waving goodbye at her.

Chloe scowled and turned on Adrien. "Do you even know who that is, Adrikins? I won't believe you have plans unless you can tell me her name." She pointed at Marinette.

"Oh, uh that's… Marinette!" he said, suddenly thankful that the girls hadn't been very quiet before.

"Ugh! Whatever! We'll get lunch another time then," Chloe huffed, walking away with an angry swish of her hips.

Adrien slumped in relief and turned to the other three. "I don't know how to thank you guys, but I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all. I guess you heard me and Alya talking earlier, but a proper introduction would be nice. So, hi, my name's Marinette."

"It's really nice to meet you. I'm Adrien, but, uh, I guess I kind of already told the class that."

"It's cool, dude. Sorry I didn't really say anything when you sat next to me. Morning classes and allergy season, you know? Anyways, I'm Nino."

"And I'm Alya!"

"Do you guys want to actually get lunch together?" Marinette asked. "I mostly said it because you-" he gestured to Adrien- "looked uncomfortable, but I wouldn't mind actually getting something with you guys."

"Well, I was gonna hopefully get lunch with you anyways, so…" Alya trailed off.

"Didn't really have plans anyways." Nino shrugged.

They turned their attention to Adrien, who wore a small frown. "I'm not sure. I mean, I want to, but I don't know… Can I make a call first?"

"Yeah, no worries! We can wait outside the room for you…?"

"That would be great," he said, giving a relieved smile. The three stepped outside of the room, and Adrien pulled out his phone. He tapped on the name 'Nathalie' in his contacts and held it to his ear.

The call went through, and he heard a voice on the line. "Adrien, I take it you're ready to be picked up for lunch?"

"Uh, well… about that. I, uh, kind of found a group of people from class that asked if I wanted to get lunch with them. I wanted to call and ask if it was okay for me to go?" Silence. "If it helps any, one of the girls lives in the house above the bakery right next door!" he added on quickly.

He heard a sigh, and he could pretty much see the way Nathalie was pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can go with them, but I will need you to text me your location. Send it to your driver too, just to be safe."

"Thanks, Nathalie, you the best! I'll message you guys when I find out!" Not waiting for a response, he hung up and slid his phone back into his bag and rushed out of the room. He hadn't exactly expected the three other students to leave him, but he felt his heart skip a beat at how they were still there, waiting for him. "I can go!" he announced, drawing forth cheers from his new acquaintances.

"You okay with going to Marinette's parents' bakery, dude?" Nino asked. "It's right next door and her parents make like, the raddest food."

"Oh. If everyone else doesn't mind going there, then I don't mind either."

"Great!" Alya clapped her hands together and adjusted her bag's strap. "Let's go then!"

The small group walked out of the school's courtyard, chattering amongst themselves. As it turned out, Alya was a fan of superheroes and comics, Nino loved music and the scores within hero movies, Marinette loved the fashion side of it all, and Adrien was intrigued by the switch from civilian to hero. Their conversation flowed smoothly from one topic to another, and each found themselves able to pitch in a good amount. Despite the short walk over to the bakery, they were already deep into their talk.

"-and anyways, the whole secret identity thing always backfires!" Alya shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

"No, no, it totally makes sense to have one! You can't endanger your friends and family-" Adrien started.

"But if you let them in on it, then they won't be helpless and won't be shocked when your identity is bound to slip!" Marinette exclaimed.

"They won't be in danger in the first place if your identity stays secret though," Nino commented. "And it's not like-"

"Okay, okay, hold on," Marinette interrupted. "Let's order first, and then we can argue about secret identities." She stepped up to the counter and waved at the woman manning the register just then. "Hi, maman! Can we get something for lunch?"

Her mother looked at the three kids behind her daughter, one of whom was on his phone sending a message. "Of course, love. You kids have whatever you'd like, on the house."

All their eyes lit up at that, but Adrien's especially. They picked out several macarons, croissants, and a few pastries before settling in at a table. Their conversation instantly picked back up as if it'd never stopped, and it carried on well past the end of their lunch hour. When they were back in class, they passed notes around, being incredibly careful so as not to get caught. At the end of the school day, they each bid each other farewell, making quick promises to hang out the next day.

Marinette arrived home first, and pulling her phone out of her pocket made her realize she'd forgotten to grab any of her new friends' numbers. With a sigh, she walked up the stairs and to her room, almost missing the tiny box that sat upon her desk. About the same time, Adrien arrived at his own place, and found a similar box laying on his bed.

Both reached to open them, one flinching back and the other watching in awe as tiny balls of light shot forth and floated in front of them.

As the weeks passed, and as news of Paris' new superheroes began to calm down, the group of four became closer. They almost always ate lunch together, save for the times Adrien couldn't get out of having lunch with Chloe. When Adrien announced that his father was allowing him even more freedoms- such as more time to hang out after school- Marinette, Alya, and Nino cheered for him, and Marinette invited them all over for dinner.

"It probably won't be ready for a little while, though. The bakery's usually busy after school, so my parents won't be able to make anything yet. Maybe we can just hang out at the park or go to my place."

"I'm down for hanging at the park! It's really nice out, and you never know, maybe we'll see Ladybug fly overhead, eh?" Alya said with a wink.

"The park sounds great! But I hear it might rain today," Adrien pitched in.

"Ah, Marinette's place isn't far, so if it starts, we can just head over there, y'know?" Nino told them.

"Exactly, so let's go!" Marinette exclaimed, reaching her arms to be touching all of their backs. "To the park, away!" The other three snorted and chuckled at her antics, but played along.

Together, they all made their way to the park, where they discussed homework, the heroes, Marinette's latest designs, Adrien's latest modelling gigs, Alya's new blog, and Nino's music. They were so enthralled with their conversation that they didn't notice when the sky became grey, and only realized it when the first few drops of water hit them.

"Aw, man," Adrien groaned. "Guess we gotta head inside now, huh?" As he said that, the rain started to fall harder, and by the time they all gathered their things, they were already well on their way to being soaked.

Running in the rain proved to be more fun than any of them anticipated, especially in their little group. Splashing through the puddles and fighting over the single umbrella Adrien had brought evolved into a game of tag that involved stealing the umbrella and running away. Each of them were soaked to the bone when their game was forced to end thanks to the umbrella snapping over Marinette's head and refusing to open again. Everyone laughed and leaned on one another to avoid falling over, and they had to support each other all the way to the bakery.

When they stepped through the door, the bell couldn't be heard over the squeals and guffaws of the teens. It took Marinette a few minutes to catch her breath and greet her parents.

"Maman, Papa, is it okay if we head upstairs to dry off?" she asked, a giggle still in her voice even as she sniffled.

Her parents waved her by as they discussed an order with a customer, and she quickly kissed both of them on the cheek before gesturing for her friends to follow her into their house.

"Oh man, this place looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was here," Nino said, letting out a low whistle. "It's been, what? Three years?"

Marinette nodded. "Yep, that sounds about right. We're not big on redecorating the living room."

Alya wiped at her nose and took in the area; Adrien did the same. "Really nice place, Mari," she said.

"Yeah, it's so… homey and warm."

"Thanks!" She grinned. "You guys can hang your jackets up over there, and I can make us some hot chocolate if you all want." When she got a general sound of agreement, she made her way to the kitchen before calling out, "Oh, and you guys can take a seat! Make yourselves at home!"

She heard them all chattering while she prepared the hot chocolate. After pouring two packs of chocolate powder in each mug, she felt a sudden sensation in her sinuses thanks to the powder that remained in the air. Quickly, she put her finger below her nose, pleased when the sneeze stopped. After that, it was quick work to pour the water and stir the mix in, and just as she was about to bring them out-

She sneezed.

She stared at the mugs of hot chocolate, her eyes impossibly wide. There was no way. She had to be dreaming. She did not just hear three consecutive sneezes come from her friends in the living room. Maybe it was just a coincidence, she thought. After all, they were all out in the rain and had sniffling, red noses when they came in.

Determined to believe what was an obvious excuse, even to her, Marinette grabbed the mugs and walked out, only to find her friends staring at one another and then her.

"So, I, uh… I guess it wasn't just a coincidence, huh?" she asked.

Adrien, struck speechless, only shook his head no.

Alya looked thrilled as she rubbed her own nose.

Nino looked perplexed. "I don't understand. You and I have sneezed in front of one another before, but nothing ever happened. Why did it happen now?"

At this, Adrien managed to speak. "I used to read about soulmates a lot, so, um… it's kind of believed that it only happens when soulmates meet each other, right?" They all nodded; they knew that much. "But if you have more than one soulmate, it would make sense, then, that all of them have to meet each other."

"And Adrien and I are new," Alya finished for him.

"That's-"

"Awesome!" Marinette shouted, cutting Nino off and almost throwing the mugs into the air. "I didn't even know it was possible to have more than one!"

"I've actually heard of it before, but it's supposedly a pretty rare thing… Actually that might be the reason why some people never find their soulmate? Because they didn't meet all of them?"

"That kind of makes sense, sunshine," Alya commented, nodding. She looked lost in thought for a minute before her eyes wandered and focused in on the hot chocolate Marinette was holding. "Yo girl, you gonna hoard all of that, or…?"

"Oh! Sorry, I guess the whole thing distracted me," she said, passing a mug to each of them and taking the last for herself. "Do you think we should tell anyone? I don't think I'd be able to hide it from my Maman and Papa very long, if at all. They always have this way of snooping at just the right time."

As if to prove her point, Tom came up and shot each teen a smile that made him seem like he knew too much. He didn't comment on it, though, and said a quick, "Hello!" before going into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Marinette groaned into her hand. "He definitely heard everything, I just know it."

Alya patted her arm. "Girl, it's cool. It's not exactly something we have to hide or can hide. Let's just roll with whatever happens, agreed?" She directed her question to all of them.

"Yeah, man. That's kind of how I live life anyways," Nino said, shooting her a finger gun.

"I think that's fine, too. I've always wanted to know my soulmate, I can't even think about hiding it!" Adrien admitted, though the smile he wore had the smallest hint of sadness in it.

Just as easily as always, their conversations drifted to a different topic, and everything was relatively normal throughout dinner. The only difference any of them really noticed is that their casual touches tended to linger a bit more, but none of them had a problem with it. In fact, they all quite liked the change.

When it was time for all of them to leave, they exchanged hugs all around, and Marinette watched them through the windows until she couldn't see them any longer. Wistfully, she sighed as the rain pounded down on the glass. She had no idea how long she stood there, looking out the window and thinking about everything that had happened that day. The only thing that dragged her attention away from it was a poke to her side. Glancing down, she saw her kwami peeking out of her jacket.

"Hey, Tikki," Marinette whispered, a small smile on her face. "Sorry you had to stay out in the rain so long; you won't get sick again, will you?"

"I should be fine, but I think it'd be a good idea if we had something warm before leaving for patrol tonight." Tikki saw her charge's eyes widen, though she wasn't sure if it was from guilt or shame at having seemingly forgotten.

"Chat Noir…" Marinette breathed, looking back out the window. "How am I supposed to tell him I found my soulmate- er, soulmates?"

"How you deliver the news is up to you, Marinette. But being gentle about it may be best."

She sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go eat some of the cookies Maman made earlier, then I can transform and go out to meet him. Guess I can't shirk my duties just because of this, huh?"

"Nope! But don't worry, you'll do just fine," Tikki chirped.

"Hopefully, anyways."

Holding her jacket open for Tikki, Marinette headed back up the stairs, skillfully avoided the gazes of her parents, and grabbed a few cookies before going to her room. They ate their cookies in comfortable silence, and when the finished, it was time for Ladybug and Chat Noir to meet.

"Maman, Papa, I'll be working on a big project! Good night!" she called to them. After hearing a muffled response, she looked at Tikki. "Alright, Tikki! Spots on!" And like that, her kwami whizzed through the air, flew into the earrings, and Marinette's outfit became that of Ladybug's. She climbed up through the ceiling and stood on her terrace, shivering at the cool rain.

"Hopefully Chat won't mind a shortened patrol tonight," she muttered to herself as she detached her yoyo and flicked it forward. She flew through the air easily, having had a lot of practice since she became Ladybug. There hadn't been many akumas thus far, so she and Chat had a lot of time to practice and learn their ways around the city and around their abilities. Their large amount of practice even gave them the opportunity to find a few different locations to meet up, which they changed up every couple of patrols. They were meeting near the Louvre, and Ladybug saw him already standing there when she swung by. He looked content, the rain sliding down his face and over his suit, although his tail whipped back and forth in an agitated manner.

"Hey, kitty cat," Ladybug said, smiling his way when she landed.

A large grin split his face. "My lady, you're here! I was starting to think you forgot this little old alleycat," he sighed, dramatically leaning into her.

"Please, like I could forget my favorite purr machine," she teased. "I was thinking we could have a shorter patrol tonight, and then maybe chat before separating?"

Chat considered it. "It is getting cold, huh? A shorter patrol would probably be best."

"Great!" She clapped her hands together. "I bet I can beat you back here!"

"Oh, you're so on, 'Bug!" he shouted with glee.

Both launched themselves from the roof, allowing the pounding rain and angry winds to distract them from the conversation they needed to have. Unfortunately, their patrol didn't last very long, and all too soon Ladybug landed on the initial rooftop, Chat Noir just behind her.

"Nice job, my lady," he told her, sincerity clear in his voice.

Her own expression softened when she looked at him. "Thanks, Chaton." She took a deep breath. "I… this next part is kind of hard. I don't want to hurt you by what I'm about to say."

He watched her fingers dance across her legs in a nervous sort of way. He had a feeling he knew what she wanted to talk about, and though his heart ached, he couldn't let her feel so guilty over something that was out of their control.

"I-"

"I found my soulmate today," he interrupted, looking at the ground. "They're really nice, and they care a lot for me. I care a lot for them too." He felt guilty about lying in regards to the number of his soulmates, but have three of them wasn't a common occurrence, and he couldn't risk his identity when his lady's kwami advised against a reveal.

"Y-you did?" she asked, looking up at him. When he nodded, she did too. "Okay. Alright, that makes… me saying the same thing easier. I found mine too."

"And how are they?" he questioned, genuinely curious.

"They're the best. Really nice. We support each other and hang out a lot," she answered, the tiniest and warmest of smiles appearing on her face. Looking at her partner made it drop. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted for us to… you know. If it helps at all, you'll always be one of my best friends."

"Thanks, my lady. And it's alright. Whoever's lucky enough to be paired with you… well, I hope they'll make sure to always appreciate you. You deserve the best, Ladybug."

She stepped forward and hugged him, to is surprise. "I really appreciate it, Chat. You deserve the best too. And thank you, for saying it first. I don't know if I'd have been able to get it out otherwise."

"No problem at all," he murmured, hugging her back. He relaxed into the hug, savoring it before he pulled away, separating them both. "The rain's getting worse. We should both head home."

"Yeah… yeah, we should. Bye, Chat." With a quick wave goodbye, she grappled away, leaving Chat to run back to his own home.

When he dropped his transformation, he immediately pulled out a piece of camembert, knowing his kwami would be asking for it. Said kwami went for it instantly, eating it in a single bite.

"Hey Plagg?"

"What's up, kid?"

"Is it… wrong to still have feelings for someone when they're… when they're not your soulmate?"

Sensing the seriousness of the conversation, Plagg refrained from any unhelpful remarks. "Look, Adrien. We both know you love Ladybug, no point in dancing around it. But you love your friends too. The way I see it, you've just got so much love shoved into your heart that you just want to share it with as many people as you can, and there's nothing wrong with that! If Tikki- that's Ladybug's kwami, by the way- if she were here, she'd say something like, 'Love is a limitless resource, and if the connections of the soul don't reach, try making them reach further.' And that basically means that you should be free to love whoever you want. So keep loving Ladybug. If you want it to be, then it can be- if she reciprocates. Despite popular human belief, soulmates are not a solid, unchanging thing."

"That's… a lot to take in. But thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. You can thank me with more cheese, if you're really grateful," the kwami said, waving off any chance of there being some mushy moment between himself and his charge.

Adrien smiled. "Sure thing, buddy. I'll get you a whole wheel of it."

"That's more like it!" he responded, lazily floating over to Adrien's bed.

Rolling his eyes, Adrien left his room to retrieve the cheese, and used the opportunity to think more on Plagg's words. His heart ached a little less.

As the spring dragged on, Adrien, Marinette, Alya, and Nino only grew closer. Where they simply clapped shoulders or elbowed ribs before, they now laid down over knees and leaned into each other. They were almost constantly touching when they could, and cuddle sessions became a common thing amongst them, just as their happenstances became well-known amongst the other students. Marinette always brought some treat to share, and Nino had a bunch of tracks for their ears only. Alya likes to edit sappy videos and send memes in their group chats to make them smile. Adrien practically exuded love, and he was always providing comfort and attention. They shared their secrets and their dreams, and provided reassurances when Adrien admitted that he didn't really have one.

When akumas appeared, Alya rushed out to meet them and the heroes. Nino was never far behind. They sometimes questioned why Marinette and Adrien never came, but accepted it when the two said they were too scared to get involved.

They all worked well together, and even through their arguments, they never said things they couldn't take back. If Alya and Marinette got in a spat, Adrien and Nino helped them work it out, and vice versa. On the rare occasion that they all argued a different point, they always did their best to give each other space and think it over before convening and working the problem out.

Then, there were the days one or more of them were sick. As it so happened, being out in the rain both as Marinette and as Ladybug the day she found her soulmates had taken its toll on her immune system, and she came down with a cold. In addition to that, her allergies grew worse as spring progressed, and so it became a very distracting to the three not sick.

Every time Marinette sneezed in bed, the other three sneezed in class, and by the end of a single class period, their noses were as red as Marinette's probably was. The other students in class were somewhat annoyed by it (and Chloe was outraged), but they were moreso fascinated by the four soulmates. Alya took on the job of answering their questions and ushered the other two to visit Marinette. With a promise to be there soon, she pushed them out the door and turned to her classmates, armed with the knowledge Adrien had shared with them and the information she'd looked up herself.

Over at Marinette's house, Adrien and Nino went straight up without even knocking, her parents having insisted they didn't need to. They did, however, knock on Marinette's bedroom hatch before entering. When they didn't hear a response, they opened the hatch and quietly entered her room. Despite going over to her house often, they didn't really go into her room much, finding the space in the living room more suited to their needs.

Both Nino's and Adrien's eyes were drawn to Marinette's walls instantly. She had to have had a hundred photos at least plastered to her walls, the majority of Alya, Nino, and Adrien. Many appeared to be candid, taken from her phone. Others were group pictures of them, and a few group selfies littered the walls. On some of the pictures, she wrote little notes, or doodles stars and hearts.

What drew most of their attention, though, was the picture deliberately placed in the center of all of them, one that was larger than the others and framed. It was a tiny bit blurry, but looking at it, they could just feel the pure joy that radiated from it. They both remember the moment it was taken fondly. Marinette had climbed up a tree in the park, and crawled out on one of the branches. Alya, Adrien, and Nino were all perplexed, but watched her go. She reached a little further than the middle of the branch and carefully gripped it before adjusting herself into a sloth-like position.

"Selfie time!" she had yelled, pulling out her phone and holding it out. Alya had burst out laughing, and the others followed suit. Adrien was in stitches, cracking up over how extra Marinette was being. Nino wheezed uncontrollably, and could barely manage to look at the camera. Marinette smiled widely, and looked at her friends with a fond expression as she took the picture. Shortly thereafter, she fell from the branch, and found her friends there to catch her despite their laughter.

Both of the boys sighed at the memory. Nino nudged Adrien and nodded towards the stairs that led to Marinette's bed.

They made their way over, and while they walked up, Adrien whispered, "I wish she was in more of those photos."

Nino agreed wholeheartedly. "Same, man. Maybe we should start taking them, then we can share with her."

"That's a pretty good idea. We gotta get Alya in on it."

"Als will be on top of it, dude."

Adrien cracked a smile. "I don't doubt that," he said as he climbed the last step, moving over to make room for Nino in the limited space at the foot of her bed.

In front of them laid Marinette, who was covered in several blankets and had an ice pack next to her. She slept quietly, her gentle breaths only sometimes hindered by the roughness that came with a cold. She looked pale as she shivered beneath her covers.

Nino frowned and eased himself onto the bed so he could lean over and feel her forehead. "She's really warm, but she's shivering… And there's the sneezing… She also sounded really tired on the phone this morning. I think she's got the flu, dude."

"The flu?" The corners of Adrien's mouth turned down. "She said it was just a cold though."

"She probably tried downplaying it," Alya's voice said from below. The boys looked over the railing and saw her climbing in through the hatch. Her eyes briefly flickered to all the photos before focusing on Adrien, Nino, and the lump of Marinette that she could see. "Make some room, boys, I'm comin' up."

Adrien and Nino scrambled to the side, and when Alya climbed up, she unabashedly plopped herself right on Marinette's bed.

"Poor girl, probably didn't want us to worry, huh? I swear she's too sweet for this world." Alya reached over her and picked up the ice pack, placing it back on Marinette's forehead.

"Well, I can second that. She's pretty much got a wall of proof down there," Adrien commented, looking back over the railing to see the photos.

"Proof of us, maybe. She's hardly in any of them," Alya muttered.

"You noticed that in just a glance? Dude, you gotta help me and Adrien change that by taking pictures ourselves."

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty much a reporter, Nino. Gotta notice details as fast as I can, you know? And that sounds like a great plan; I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Silence fell over them, and when they figured Marinette wouldn't be waking up, they all got up to leave.

"Sleep well, girl," Alya said, blowing her a kiss. The other two did the same, and they left to go back to school.

Their day was relatively calm since Marinette was asleep, and the three fretted over whether they should visit her again or not if she was asleep. At least, they did until they all started sneezing every few minutes again. Class ended shortly after, and they found themselves back in Marinette's room, this time with a sleepy-eyed and coughing Marinette.

"Hey, Mari," Nino said softly. "How ya feelin'?"

The girl groaned in response. "Feelin' like you guys shouldn't be here. You'll get sick too," she mumbled from beneath her covers.

"Seeing you is worth the risk," Adrien told her. That made her smile a bit.

"And besides, there's no way we could leave you alone! You're probably bored out of your mind, aren't ya?" Alya asked.

"Mmm, kinda. Nothin' I really can or want to do though. 'Side from talkin' to you guys, anyways." The sincerity in her voice made all of them feel warm.

They stayed and talked with her long into the evening until dinner finished and they had to go to their own homes. A few days of visits later, and Marinette was feeling much better.

She was thankful for that, because now she needed to help Adrien and Alya take care of Nino, who'd caught the very same flu.

While Adrien's, Marinette's, Alya's, and Nino's relationship grew, the relationship between Chat Noir and Ladybug had gone back to normal, for the most part. Chat Noir still flirted shamelessly with her, and she played back from time to time. His puns were still horrid, and her own were just as bad. Really, the only thing that changed between them following the soulmate talk was that they sometimes gushed about said soulmates.

Ladybug had been praising her own for helping her with a contest when a disruption in the form of swarms of pigeons came up. Her and Chat Noir watched as flocks formed all around them, lifting police officers into the air and flying away with them.

"Well… feather we want to or not, I guess we'll have to abandon our current conbirdsation, my lady."

"Those were awful, and you know it, Chat," Ladybug groaned. "C'mon, let's just find the akuma."

Chat Noir hugged Ladybug around the waist with one arm, and with his other, he lengthened his staff so that they had a good view to find the akuma. While they looked for the akuma, Chat had a thought. "You know, my lady-" he smiled- "bird's eye views are always great for finding akumas!"

Ladybug shook her head fondly at him. "Let's just find the villain, kitty."

"Oh, but I did find them! They're right… there!" he said, pointed down to a man squawking and flapping his arms in the park near the Dupain-Cheng's bakery.

"You can't be serious," she said with a giggle. "That cannot be the akuma we have to face."

Chat Noir smirked. "But it is. How do you think we should handle them?"

Ladybug's giggles petered out, and she grew serious once more. "Hmm… well, we don't really know what he actually does yet. Let's get closer for now. Maybe some civilians have learned what he can do- that'd make our job a whole lot easier."

"Good plan, Bugginette. Here we go!" He tipped forward on his staff, and the heroes fell forward. They switched positions, Ladybug grabbing onto Chat Noir as she launched her yoyo across th sky. The two swung close to where the pigeon akuma was, and were somewhat disappointed to find him flying away by flock of pigeons.

"Any chance you can put a tracker on one of those birds, Chat?" she asked. Her eyes looked around the area, happy when she spotted a familiar camera phone with two familiar people behind it.

"I'd love to, 'Bug, but I-"

"Awesome, thanks Chat," she said, cutting him off thanks to her distraction. " While you do that, I'll talk to these two civilians and see if they can tell us anything, okay?"

He sighed, watching the pigeons getting steadily further away. "Yeah, alright. Good luck."

"You too."

With that, Chat used his staff and went after the flock of birds while Ladybug approached Nino and Alya.

"Hey, I saw that you were recording, so I was wondering if there's anything you could tell us about this akuma?" Ladybug asked kindly.

"Oh man, we sure do, don't we Nino?"

"Yeah, dude! That guy can like, control pigeons- really weird, by the way- and they can do whatever he wants them to, pretty much. I saw them making plane formations earlier."

"They can also lift him and other people; I saw a flock lift Officer Roger into the air and cart him away. They didn't really care about bystanders, though."

"That's great info you guys, I really appreciate it. Is there any chance you aw an object that could be his akumatized one?"

The two thought for a moment, and Alya tapped her chin. "The… only thing I can think of was this… bird whistle thing that he was carrying. I didn't really see anything else on his person that could be it."

"Thank you so m-" Ladybug had began to say.

Her words were cut off by Chat Noir slamming into the ground nearby and rolling closer to them. He groaned and tried to sit up, dislodging feathers from his hair as Ladybug rushed over to him.

"Chat! Are you alright?" she asked, worry prominent in her voice.

"I will be, once I get away from all these birds," he sniffed. "I'm allergic to feathers, LB. On the bright side, though, I managed to get a tracker on one of the birds! I guess you could say now's the perfect time for bird-watch-" he sneezed, which stopped him from finishing his sentence.

His sneeze was echoed by three other sneezes, and he froze. Ladybug seemed to be in a similar state.

"Dude."

Another sneeze.

"Oh my god."

And another.

"Are you guys-"

"Adrien and Mari?"

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked between themselves, panic in their expressions, alongside a sliver of hope.

"I, um…" Ladybug tried, unsure of what to actually say.

"Wh-what would make you say that?" Chat asked, giving a laugh that was obviously fake.

"Uh, how about when you sneezed, we did too?" Alya said, narrowing her eyes.

"Or the fact that Adrien's also allergic to feathers," Nino said, a slightly amused grin on his face.

Ladybug sighed, and slumped. "Sorry. For not telling you."

"We're not mad or anything, don't worry. I just can't believe you told each other and not us. For shame!" Alya teased, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Oh, uh… about that. We. Had no idea who the other was," Chat said. "Ladybug's kwami- that's what helps us transform- advised us against revealing our identities for as long as we could."

Nodding, Ladybug added, "This is as much a shock to us as it is to you."

"Okay, but in hindsight… it's actually really obvious. You two are like the bravest little toasters on this side of the Seine, of course you wouldn't be scared of akumas. That also explains how you give us interviews most often."

"What can I say? I love you guys more than all the random, snotty reporters that try shoving their cameras in my face. Plus you're both prettier," Ladybug said, crossing her arms.

"Gotta agree with her there, you're both definitely prettier than the other reporters."

Nino grinned. "Well, obviously. The camera loves us, dude."

"Yep, yep, no denying that one," Alya agreed. "Anyways, are we all just gonna sit here and ignore like, the biggest thing?"

"What's that?" Ladybug asked.

"Um, the fact that on the first day we all met, we were legit talking about secret identities and heroes! Like, that's such a cool coincidence, don't you think?"

"Well, when you put it like that, that's pretty interesting."

"I know, I know. Everything I say is interesting-" the others snorted-" but anyways. Don't you two have a bird to cage?"

Chat's eyes lit up and Ladybug facepalmed. "We sure do!" He turned to Ladybug and held an rm out. "Would the lady care to accompany me on this quest?"

"You dork," she said, taking his arm with her own. "Let's go. We'll see you guys later!"

Ladybug's yoyo whisked the two heroes away. Over the wind, Chat spoke. "I'm very glad you're my lady, Mari!"

"Same, but about you, Chaton. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in stopping crime than my very own soulmate."

Needless to say, the heroes won quickly that day, having been brought closer together.

That evening, all four of them got permission to hold a sleepover at Marinette's house. They all figured that was the best course of action, all things considered. Marinette was just finishing her prep for the sleepover when her phone chimed.

[From: Peaches]

hey girllll, imma be over there in like 2 minutes k?

Nino's gonna be with me

hear from Adrien yet?

[To: Peaches]

no not yet, but he did say he was gonna tke a nap at his place. akuma battle took a toll on him nd our noses :'^(

also i hope u guys brought pillows

and blankets

i refuse to share my warmth

because both of you have cold hands and im not gonna deal w that

[From: Peaches]

our hands may be cold

but ur heart is colder for not wanting to share ur blankets with us smh

anyways ya we brought our own stuff

what do u take us for? heathens?

[To: Peaches]

not sre u want me to answer that question

brb imma text adirn and ee if hes up

[From: Peaches]

lol kk girl

c u soon

wink wink

Marinette snorted at the text and rolled her eyes. She considered texting back real quick, but decided against it when she received several messages from Adrien.

[From: ya boi chat noir]

mmmmmmaaaaaarrrrrriiiii!

im gonna be late!!

nathalie just woke m up

and i hve to talk to my father first

something about

birds and bees??

ik its spring but like why now

anyways

after that ill b there

[To: ya boi chat noir]

omg

oh honey

o sweet heart

oh dear one

you

are too innocent and pure for this world

doesnt even know what the brids and the bees are,,,,

*wipes away tear*

such innocence

much purity

wow

amaze

[From: ya boi chat noir]

whar

what

whats the birds and the bees

mari

...

maei ik ur there mari

what is it

should i b scared

im going to ask alya

cause u have me worried now :-(((

As much as Marinette tried to type a response, she couldn't bring herself to type a good one through her laughter and tears. "Oh my god," she chortled, "Oh my god, he doesn't even know... Thar's. Wow. Oh my god." She tried to catch her breath, and when she was finally able to calm herself down most of the way, her phone chimed with another text.

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

M AR I N E T T E

WHAT DID YOU TELL ADIRNE

aDRIEN

ADRIEN

HE TEXTED ALS

SHES HOWLING WIH LAUGHTER WHAT DDI YU DO

SHE WONT LET ME SEE HER PHONE

[To: Ni-no u didnt]

its not what i did

its what his father is going to do

:'^))))))

rip 'adirne's innocnence

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

what does that mean?????

[To: Ni-no u didnt]

......

the birds

and

the

bees

hahahahahaha

[From: Ni-no u didnt]

omg no

our poor boy

hes gonna die before te sleepover

rip in pieces...

also als and i are at ur front foor were gonna come up

Without responding to his messages, Marinette laughed her way downstairs to greet Alya and Nino. They were already standing inside, and Marinette could hear Alya's loud cackling as she came down.

"Peaches! Nino!" Marinette shouted, throwing herself at them from the steps. They barely managed to catch her and keep themselves standing. "We have to hold a funeral for our dearest Adrien, sad face emoji."

Nino took is hat off and held it over his heart, bowing his head. "He was a great dude. Best little ball of sunshine to ever grace this earth. He didn't mind our cold hands." He looked up at Marinette and shot her a wink.

She scoffed and playfully smacked Alya's arm. "I can't believe you told him that, but wouldn't tell him what Adrien texted you." Alya only laughed harder, which proved contagious when Nino and Marinette joined her. They stayed down by the door so long laughing over what happened, that Adrien texted Marinette again. All three gathered around her phone to read.

[From: ya boi chat noir]

u and alya are dead to me

that ws the worst hting ive ever experienced in my life

and we just fought a pigeon man today

a pigeon man!!

this was worse

so unprepared

my innocence is shattered

also im coing over

be like three minutes

[To: ya boi chat noir]

love u <3

and kk! were all wating by the door

hurry hurry we want to see u

Nino shook his head at Marinette.

"Dude, why is that your contact name for him?"

"Yeah, didn't you just find out he was Chat today alongside us?"

"Obviously. But I changed it to match my newfound knowledge. His old contact name was 'sunshine on my shoulders.'"

Alya snorted. "Seriously? Girl, you need better contact names. And speaking of them... what's your contact names for us?"

"Easy! Yours is 'Peaches' and Nino's is 'Ni-no u didnt.' I personally think they're really great," She said with a dramatic flip of her hair.

"Sure, sure. We'll help you come up with better contact names some other time, but I think I just heard Adrien's town car pull up."

"Awesome, let's go greet him!"

The three opened the door and walked outside, right up to Adrien's car. When he opened the door, he didn't even have the chance to get out himself before Marinette tugged his arm and pulled him into a group hug, which honestly made the whole 'birds and the bees' thing worth it to him. He eagerly hugged back, basking in the warmth that radiated from them. One of them grabbed the bag he was carrying, and then like a group of penguins, they managed to waddle their group hug inside the house.

"So," Marinette started, a mischievous grin on her face. "How'd the talk with your dad go?" Alya and Nino snicked at the groan Adrien emitted.

"He was so awkward and it just made everything like, ten times worse. And he was so blunt! I know he had good intentions, but I quite honestly could have gone my entire life without that talk."

Marinette patted his head. "There, there. Why don't we all go eat some nice macarons and get off this topic?"

"Please, let's."

They split from their hug and walked upstairs, issuing a quick, 'Hi!' to Tom when they passed him. Marinette waved them up to her room and grabbed a box of macarons she'd set aside just for the sleepover before heading up herself.

"Hey Mari?" Alya asked when she arrived. She noticed all three of them were looking at her wall of photos.

"Yeah?"

"When'd you take that one?" She pointed to a photo near the top, one that had the three of them laying in the grass with their eyes closed and Marinette's head in the bottom corner. The sunlight in the photo shone off of Nino's and Alya's glasses, but also created a feathery effect in everyone's hair. There were a few butterflies caught in the picture, and one of them rested in Alya's hair. A couple ladybugs, though small, could also be seen, a couple each on Adrien and Nino. The grass was green and framed them all. It was a pretty nice photo, one of her favorites.

"That was about two weeks ago. We had that little picnic, and I had gotten up to run to my house for the bathroom. When I came back, you guys were laying like that, and you looked so comfortable and content and happy that I couldn't help but take a picture. It probably makes my top five photos. I keep it towards the top so that when I get in bed, I can roll over to the railing and see it."

"Aww, Nette, that's so sweet," Nino said, giving her a quick side hug. Adrien and Alya made sounds of agreement, and Marinette's cheeks turned pink.

"A-anyways, um... do you guys want to help me set up a sleeping and hanging out area? I figured we could just make like, a big nest of our blankets and pillows."

"Oh, but Mari! My cold hands! Are you sure you want to share a 'nest' with me and my cold, cold hands?" Alya asked teasingly.

Marinette scowled and crossed her arms. "My warm and loving nature will warm them," Marinette said simply.

Alya chuckled. "If you say so. I brought three blankets and a pillow and no clothes because I needed to make room for said blankets and pillow, so Mari I need to borrow pajamas from you and also I'm gonna use your toothbrush."

"What? Ew, no, I'm not sharing my toothbrush, you park bench!"

"You can share mine," Adrien said kindly. "I brought one blanket and one pillow."

"Thanks, sunshine. At least Adrien is nice to me."

Nino scoffed at that. "And what am I, chopped liver? I brought an extra toothbrush just for you when you told me what you were bringing, dude."

"Awwwww, you did? You're the best, DJ."

"But how many blankets did you bring?"

"Two. And two pillows. Gotta sleep elevated, ya know?"

"Oh yeah, I totally get it." Marinette clapped her hands together and looked at each of them. "So... shall we get set up?" she asked, reaching for a pillow she'd set nearby earlier.

They all agreed, but somewhere along the way, setting up their area turned into a pillow fight. Marinette was a monster in it, and Adrien, Alya, and Nino teamed up against her. Even the three of them together couldn't defeat her though. Her pillows flew in faces and knocked glasses askew, and her smaller size allowed her to avoid most hits aimed at her. The one time they managed to pull together as a team and pin her with their assault of pillows was short-lived when she grabbed onto one and hit all three of them with it. By the end of their fight, they were all breathing heavily and laughing as Marinette planted her foot on a pillow and claimed herself as the victor. Her opponents bowed before her in an overly goofy manner, and she ended up falling to her knees in an attempt to keep in the laughter.

Not long after that, her parents called for dinner, and they recounted their pillow fight in a long, dramatic speech for her parents, who smiled and laughed along with them. When dinner was finished, they all headed back to her room.

"Ugh, I can't eat another bite," Alya muttered as she flopped forward and landed face-first on her pillow.

"Me either," Nino said, sitting down beside her.

Adrien yawned. "I'm kinda tired now, honestly."

"Same. We should just put on a movie and chill the rest of the night," Marinette suggested. "We can talk about today's revelations during it and just relax and start getting settled for bed."

"That sounds nice," Alya said, trying to muffle her own yawn.

"Then it's decided!" Marinette also yawned, and Nino was the last to do so, following hers.

Marinette brought out her laptop and stuck a movie they had all wanted to see in it. They all settled back into the pillows and blankets, the laptop set on Marinette's legs and angled so they all could see and hear well. Disney music began to play, and soon the movie was underway. Nobody talked for a little while, but finally Alya's curiosity got the best of her.

"So how did you guys become superheroes?" she asked, looking away from the movie.

"Well..." Marinette and Adrien both started. They shared a glance, and Marinette began speaking first.

"It all started with a little box..."

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