#miraculous commentary

[nixthelapin]

Am I tripping, or did Lila not show up for almost the entirety of season 2, only showing up in the 2-part finale (Catalyst and Mayura)? Because I thought she had more of a role than that, but when I went though the episode list, I realized I was misremembering stuff that actually happened in season 3 instead (where she does have a much more promenant role).

Here’s the episode list:

(Side note: I think it’s weird that Santa Claws is at the end of season 2 since it came out almost a whole year before The Collector lol but whatever)

I haven’t watched most of these in a while tbh, so I could just have a faulty memory, but I don’t remember Lila being in any of these pre-finale episodes. Honestly, the only reason I even remembered she was in the finales was because of that thumbnail in Catalyst- I’m pretty sure that scene is when the class is having a video call with Lila where she’s making up a story to excuse why she’s not in class, which let me remember her part in the Heroes’ Day thing with the illusion of Ladybug killing Chat (I think I keep mixing that up with season 3 because Natalie does briefly become Catalyst to make Gabriel Scarlet Moth again, even though that plan didn’t work out).

But if I’m not wrong about that being her only appearance, does anyone else find that to be super strange? Her first appearance at the end of s1 hyped up an important role, but then she just vanishes? Then after being gone so long she suddenly has an important role again? I don’t mind her being important, I think her role in Catalyst was clever and interesting, but it feels a bit jarring to suddenly have her back after almost a whole season without her. Then to have her with an even more promenant role in season 3. Maybe that has something to do with why her character feels so weird to me. Idk in still thinking over this information.

Unless I’m forgetting she had other appearances. In which case, please correct me lol.

[sakuratwilight]

so the miraculous ladybug can just fix whatever damage a 'villain' causes now, i guess? that's intriguing

[wiitchkins]

hi I went a little nuts about the new marinette design and came up with like 15 alternatives.

my initial goal was to come up with a. “””better”””” design, while still adhering to what seem to be the show’s limitations.

*Core Idea* Try to keep her design recognizably “Marinette” as depicted in the show. Anyway lemme know what your favs are thanks

some vague guidelines I made for myself below.

1. Black outerwear, white shirt, pink shorts/pants. (Color palette revolves around the black/pink/white palette, the new design shows her with tights of some kind so we can play with that a bit more. Shoes we can be a bit creative with.)

2. Keep it “age appropriate” per the G rating / 8-13 intended audience. This is vague but mostly just avoiding things that are too trendy or showing “too much” skin- to be clear I don’t have a personal problem with that but we’re playing by the shows rules for teens. Pretending I have an exec to pitch these to.

3. It seems like the show has pretty limited fabric sim - keeping the silhouette close to the model, can’t really have loose fabric, boxy/oversized fits or super unique/specific textures (knit vs leather can probably be implied but don’t expect too much accurate detail)

Please ignore that I drew 3 purse designs. I don't have strong feelings about them.

Some of these designs I think are pretty basic and mid, a couple I really like, and some I think are a bit unrealistic. fun exercise nonetheless.

[wisteriasymphony]

"-Look, Ladybug, I think you're a smart guy. I respect you."

"You do?"

"…No. But let's pretend I do for a moment!" The stranger exclaimed, a fanged smile on their face. "You're a superhero—The superhero of Paris, might I add. I think you deserve better than just busting whatever pickpocket you find on the street. The city should get to see you take down superhero level threats!"

Ladybug looked off for a second, imagining just that, as the stranger walked over to place their hands on Ladybug's shoulders and spun her to face the open expanse of the city. "When you think of yourself saving the day—J-just picture it in your mind for a second, really let it marinate—what do you see?"

"I see myself defeating Hawkmoth, I suppose."

"Exactly! Little insignificant petty criminals like me aren't even in the picture! Frankly," the stranger added, giving Ladybug a pat on the shoulder, "going after us is below you! You deserve bigger, better things!"

Ladybug nearly caught herself nodding for a moment before their words actually hit her. "…Real funny," she sneered. "But the fact of the matter is that I caught you, and I'm going to take your miraculous."

The stranger's face fell for a moment, and where they were once all too eager to act chummy with Ladybug they suddenly slunk back.

"Now that seems like cruel and unusual punishment."

"You're operating a miraculous without expressed consent of a Guardian. I think that's pretty fair."

The stranger stepped back a few more paces, only to be snared by the ankle in the string of Ladybug's yo-yo. Their gold eyes flashed with panic for a split second, and their grin seemed to change context from that of a deliberate smugness to a panicked front.

"I-I didn't take you for a tyrant, Buginette," the stranger wheezed. "This one isn't even part of your little set, I don't think. You don't have a compartment for it in your little magic jewelry box."

Ladybug tightened her hold around the stranger's ankle. "Maybe I do. You don't know that."

"Aw, princess, this just seems like a waste of time! You should be off looking for akumas to stop, not worrying about me! If you let me go, you won't even know I'm here ever again!"

Ladybug noticed the stranger shift all of their weight onto their other leg, their trapped ankle growing unusually slack as if it no longer had any bones to hold it up.

"Besides, if we're really so worried here about stolen miraculouses," they added, pointing off into the distance, "You should be worried about him."

Ladybug wasn't sure what she expected to see when she followed the stranger's finger. Hawkmoth, most likely. If she had to stretch, maybe she would've accepted seeing another holder she recognized.

Of course, the correct answer was that the stranger was pointing to absolutely nobody at all, and Ladybug found herself quite irritated when she looked back to find her captive missing without a trace.

[miraculousdoodle]

[azulca]

I forget how much Marinette sparks my social anxiety at the first glance.

[nemaliwrites]

Chapters: 1/6 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Additional Tags: Kwami Swap (Miraculous Ladybug), Misternoire | Adrien Agreste as Mister Bug/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Lady Noire, Adrien Agreste as Mister Bug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Lady Noire, Reverse Crush (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Timelines, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Esteem Issues, Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Summary:

"Adrien," she says, not surprised in the slightest to see him. The way she says his name, the way it falls from her lips — it's as though she's said it a thousand times before. As though it's the easiest thing in the world for her to see Mister Bug and know he's Adrien. As though his being here is something to be expected.

As though she knew he would come for her.

--

Five times Adrien does not save Lady Blanche, and one time he does.

all my love to @rosekasa for betaing! <3 i have also recently discovered how fun it is to ramble, so some Thoughts about my writing/process under the cut:

i think the reason i had some trouble with this chapter is because it's always hard for me to write something that's technically a rehash of canon. it's a balancing act - you gotta gloss over the stuff that's explained thoroughly in canon while spending time unpacking the stuff that isn't. and there's always the fear that you aren't really....saying anything? you aren't adding anything to the discussion. there's nothing more your fic is doing that canon didn't.

anyway, you guys have seen some of my thoughts about kwami swap, but i'm going to say it again. i know a lot of kwami swaps also come with personality swaps, but i don't think that's entirely fair - is it really a personality swap, or is it just a focus on different aspects of adrien's and marinette's personalities?

i think letting myself come to terms with that was one of the hardest things about this chapter - getting over the feeling that i was writing them ooc or something when it's really just a matter of perspective. it helps too i think that canon has also done a reverse of the love square, so it kind of shows that it isn't so unreasonable a scenario.

i like leaning into mister bug's feelings of insecurity regarding his hero role, because i think that's something i've focused on a lot for maribug before - the constant feeling like you aren't doing enough, like you aren't enough. and i think adrichat has that in canon regarding his feelings for maribug, but i think it's interesting to push that further into his role as a hero as well. because now he's the one purifying the akumas, now he's the one who the rest of paris looks up to. now he's the one with the most responsibility on his shoulders.

lady noire helps him, of course, but i think it's undeniable that there's such a big power/responsibility divide between the ladybug and the black cat, regardless of the fact that they're always portrayed as equals.

it's also interesting to lean into those feelings in their civilian lives i think. the whole 'adrien thinks marinette hates him because of the gum thing'. it really leaves him in that kind of 'pining but unable to do anything about it' state - which i think i put adrien in a lot LOL

but yeah the whole 'adrien leaves the gift in marinette's room' scene....i think it really didn't add anything, but it's necessary for the whole chat blanc/lady blanche destroying the world thing. it's funny, too, because the episode 'chat blanc' shows us what happens in both worlds - with ladybug going to save chat blanc and the adrien and marinette of that world dating and stuff. but with only showing one world at a time, we don't get any of that back story in this fic. which...i don't actually think is super necessary? because whatever, you guys already know what happened lol

adrien and tikki is a combo that i really don't write very often, but i think this fic will be a good chance to practice? i have written marinette and plagg, most notably in A Body Without Spirit and In Pursuit of the Uneatable...i'm sorry for neglecting you adrien and tikki it won't happen again :') they ARE interesting, though, i think! adrien having someone in his life who so openly supports him [plagg does too of course, but i think it's different without his snark lol], i wonder how that would affect him differently.

it was a lil bit of a stylistic choice to not have adrien think of marinette's name until he finally lets himself do so in her room. something about him trying to repress his feelings for her and failing? idk lol you get it.

and yeah if you guys haven't seen my thoughts on the whole 'max being the rabbit holder' thing, it's mostly because i think adrien would choose different people to hold each miraculous than marinette did. not necessary that different, but i think the miraculouses would get a lil swapped around. i touched on it a lil in this post if you're curious. the name Coney is an older term for an adult rabbit used until the 18th century - derived ultimately from the Latin cuniculus, which Wikipedia was kind enough to show me.

lady blanche....her characterization was actually a lot of fun to think about. in a way, chat blanc has a lot of hope, i think. he's really feral and stuff ofc, but he still genuinely believes that getting ladybug's earrings will let him set everything right. i wanted to take a bit of a different direction with lady blanche - i think, in a way, she shows a different side of destruction than chat blanc does. she's not as feral, she's not as angry. instead, she's empty. she's hopeless. the earrings are her last chance, but i don't know if she genuinely believes it'll work. and if she does make the wish, won't she still be living with the knowledge of what she once did? what she's capable of? every time she looks at her adrien, will she see fear on his face? will she wonder if he remembers?

and the thing with him untying her braid...that mainly came about because i wanted an equivalent to chat blanc singing the same song that adrien does, but marinette doesn't really strike me as the singing type LOL. you get it. it's symbolism or whatever.

and lady blanche wondering if the ladybug miraculous was always meant to be hers.....hehe i love lil nods to other worlds. and like...after literally killing everyone and destroying the world, i don't think it's unreasonable to think her relationship to destruction and to her miraculous changes a LOT.

i was rewatching parts of 'chat blanc' and...god i'm so obsessed with the fact that everyone else is turned away from him in fear - even his own FATHER - but ladybug is the only one reaching out to him. calling out to him. in this fic, obviously hawk moth turning away doesn't have as much impact considering lady blanche isn't his daughter, but i think it was still necessary to include, if only to reinforce how angry at hawk moth adrien is.

this fic, too, i think really leans into a certain aspect of adrien's personality. he wants to save everyone, he wants things to be the way they always were - but is he really making a difference? or is he just putting a band aid over the situation and hoping that everything is fine? because like....obviously lady blanche didn't find peace. no offense adrien but you were kind of an idiot for that. she's not akumatized anymore, sure, but...she's literally alone in her world. knowing that she killed everyone. and she doesn't even have the cover of akumatization to hide behind, not anymore.

but it's okay, we know he'll actually save her eventually! might just take some time.....for both him and me. this was supposed to be a short lil fic that i could knock out in like a week. why is the first chapter almost 8k words. i have no idea.

[yeet-noir]

People stop adding comments to people who are posting about currently released episodes with you alluding or teasing leaks. If it sounds like the original poster is oblivious to them chances are they are and are purposely avoiding them.

Yes this means OP speculating about the future episodes. Doesn’t mean they are asking for people to confirm or deny what they are saying. You may think it’s funny but it’s not keep it to yourself or the an inner circle who is also in the known.

You made a choice to read leaks, but not everybody so stop it’s getting annoying at this point. I know some people have no malicious intent with this, but you need to understand leaks are stuff people may want to avoid because they want to watch the show as intended.

[sakuratwilight]

okay who the heck is this disney princess. did i miss something like am i SUPPOSED to know who this is or are we all getting blindsided today

[the-cicatrixee-guild]

Seeing how quickly a DPS text post gained traction, compared to my MLB nathmarc art's slow gain in likes was such a jumpscare oml

But at least being in a popular fandom means more fanworks to enjoy- RIP landduo/foolhalo, I could read all the fics in two nights and there's a handful of artists with the fandom on their backs.

Why have I interacted with Doctor Who fanwork or community only once or twice before tho- i guess it's wayy bigger and more intimidating, or it could be because the show already satisfies me and I don't ship anyone much, and I consider Doctor Who to be the AU, rather than their characters being in an AU.

Everything I read tends to be not entirely canon but based on the characters instead, and the art is usually of ships that aren't canon.

[ct-multifandom]

Hey so there was this theory with the pic of Emilie and Gabriel looking at lil Adrien and I just wanted to ask you if you could explain it a bit more clearly cuz this theory sounds absolutely insanely fantastic and id like to understand it properly,thanks sm

Hi! Sorry for the very late response. I’m still not caught up on the show, so I’m probably missing many details, and for that reason I’d like to open this post up to other people to discuss because I think the things I noticed in prior seasons have become more relevant with the s5 finale.

the Amelie vs Emilie “theory”

For the new people, about a year ago I made two posts in response to the s4 episodes Wishmaker and Gabriel Agreste pointing out things that caught my eye regarding the twins.

All in all I don’t have much of a solid conclusion for the “theory” which is why it’s so confusing. It’s mostly a compilation of details I thought were strange and potentially foreshadowing a future plot twist. I’ll list some below.

In Wishmaker, Adrien’s baby memory depicts his mother with blue eyes and his father with green eyes. Astruc claims this was an error, which might be true.

Many depictions of Emilie have her in black and white. For example, the movie she starred in was B&W, and Felix and Kagami’s award winning indie film was all B&W, plus their eye colors didn’t change anyway under the masks

When Gabriel made the wish, Emilie didn’t open her eyes, she stayed dead

In the first post I pointed out that Emilie and Amelie are wearing different colored blazers, although I believe Astruc has since also said that’s insignificant. Once again dk if that’s true or not. In Andre’s dream box, he has headshots of supposedly young Tomoe and either Emilie or Amelie, but she’s wearing Amelie’s blazer.

Of course, since I’ve made those posts, we’ve seen actual scenes of Gabriel and his wife where she clearly has green eyes

I want to put emphasis on this because I’ve never seen anyone except me mention it: in the episode Gabriel Agreste, Gabriel’s tablet falls and breaks due to Marino’s antics. Amelie and Felix are the only guests to arrive AFTER this and NOT get their finger prints scanned.

Most recently, the writers commented on the finale. They said that Emilie has not come back to life, but intentionally avoided specifying who was at the pool party in the big sunhat. This would lead us to just say it’s Amelie then, but the vagueness makes me wonder.

The writers also suggested they left the contents of Gabriel’s wish vague on purpose to pull some twist. They said you’d think it just healed Nathalie’s illness, but that’s not all, and there’s a trick to it.

Minor note, but the whole reason people were confused about the swimsuit woman’s identity is because the leaked texture reference page for her character model was labeled Emilie. Either they changed the story, had a spelling mixup, or [insert conspiracy]

Adding on, after the first post I made, someone sent me old concept art of Adrien’s mom simply labeled “Adrien’s mother”. Either they didn’t come up with her name yet back then, or [insert conspiracy]

So at the end of the day, I have some level of confidence that they’re planning something with these GDV twins, but every explanation I can come up with for it sounds kinda crazy. Perhaps the most straightforward thing I can suggest is that the two swapped places early on in the overall plot? Idk. I’d love to hear other people’s ideas no matter how crazy. Maybe Gabriel wished for Emilie’s ghost to possess Amelie, awaken in the dead of night, and carry on his legacy of throwing plastic trash directly into the river. Who even is Emilie? Who’s Amelie? I’m excited to see where it all goes.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Do you have a translation of the season five finale commentary?

Sadly I only had that post I reblogged a while back

[desnoot]

Bugtober day 5: Ladybug

So I know the ladybug fandom is really active over here. I actually put this one on the prompt list cause there was this bakery (enemies to friends?) au that I was really into that made me want to watch the series, might start it at some point.

[amozon28]

ok as truly messed up as this is for our boy Adrien, theres something just narratively satisfying about how the the people closest to Adrien and Gabriel are the ones that hurt them the most. Chat Noir was the one to cataclysm Shadow Moth (unknowingly his own father) and left with the with the lucky charm, the only thing that could save him. now Gabriel is slowly dying by a wound inflicted by his own son

and here Gabriel used a nightmare torture on Chat Noir (unknowingly his own son) and this fight was concluded without a luckycharm to undue the damage, leaving his son with possibly permanent psychological attacks

Father and son, unknowingly fighting each others as enemies, have now both dealt serious damage to each other, all with the other ignorant of the others true identity.

im hoping that with both Rose and Juleka also hit with the nightmare gun ladybug will find a way to reverse the affect, however is she only does it on an individual level instead of a mass magic affect, then Adrien still wont be healed unless he reveals his identity to ladybug.

hmmmmmmmmm im so invested in this new development

[water-means-baptism]

I am absolutely fascinated to see where this new South Park special goes 😶

Because like. The topic of changing the race of characters in modern adaptations is uh. Very interesting? But I'm not sure that I trust South Park to treat it with much nuance? Not even treat it kindly, just like, with nuance.

I'm very pro-modernization/diversifying media but there are definitely arguments to be made on the other side. So I'm excited about the topic, but. Tentatively excited I guess

Regardless of whether I agree with whatever point it makes it's gonna be funny though so I'm hyped for that

Also replacement Kenny is hot

[nemaliwrites]

For the directors cut ask game, I would absolutely love to here about ‘none of this is real’ it’s so surreal yet so painfully grounded.

ahhh i love None of This Is Real! i actually wrote this one so fast that i forgot all about it - i got a comment that was like 'i love this passage!' and i was like wait that passage slaps and i reread the fic and went :0

this fic was originally supposed to be for an AU-gust challenge! the prompt was 'case fic' and in the end, i decided not to post it for that bc the trope felt...kind of loose to me. the original idea for this fic was actually much different! it was supposed to be more of a case fic in the traditional sense: once Adrien is trapped in his own head, there's some kind of murder that he needs to solve before he can leave, but why is everyone treating him like he's the murderer?

in the end, i abandoned that idea mostly because it felt kind of wrong. if the point of the fic is that adrien's in his own head, the people he loves can't outwardly treat him like he's done something wrong - also having only ladybug be in that world with him i think made the vibe more like what i was going for. my initial idea was for the victim to be gabriel ofc, but then i realized that i didn't know how to make the monarch identity reveal play into that in a way that wasn't contrived, so i scrapped it.

another initial idea was for ladybug to lead adrien to the eiffel tower and they would find monarch's body underneath, kind of reminiscent of the eiffel tower being 'ground zero' in chat blanc's world. but then i was like...there's no suspence there. it's just a dude on the ground. and it also kind of takes away from the whole 'adrien and ladybug alone in a world of his making' thing if he just...sees monarch.

so that's when the gravedigging idea came along - and i think it definitely aligned more with my vision! then it felt like adrien making an active choice to find the truth rather than...randomly stumbling upon it lol

writing not!ladybug was actually surprisingly fun! she's kind of uncanny valley-ish i think - looks like ladybug and talks like ladybug but acts absolutely Nothing like her. but she still cares about adrien, because she's a part of him! fighting to protect his own mind!

there's a couple lil things i threw in this fic that i can highlight too!

The hand in Ladybug's is bare — he's detransformed, ring on his finger. He's alone with Ladybug, who knows his name. Who still takes his hand. -> the way he thinks the only way Ladybug could take his hand as Adrien is if none of this is real....as though she could never possibly want to otherwise

"I'm real to you," not-Ladybug says, and she sounds hurt. -> just a lil insight into adrien's pov of ladybug....she's always Real to him. she's always a Hero to him.

She smiles, then, and she looks so much like his lady that it makes his chest squeeze. "Not you. Us. Together." We're not together, Adrien wants to say to her. You're not really here. It's still me, alone, just like it's always been. -> more of his pov of ladybug! proof of how deeply her abandonment hurt him, even when his brain is actively fighting against it!

Why, he wonders, does a man like Monarch have such a beautiful coffin? A man who no one even bothered to give an epitaph? Did he pick it out for himself? Did Adrien pick it out for him, from the depths of his subconscious? -> yes. he did. and the fact that adrien never saw his mother's coffin....i like to think he'd think it's beautiful. he'd want his parents in matching coffins :')

There’s something odd about seeing him like this. The villain they’ve spent so long at war with, the most hated man in Paris is still just that: only a man. He can be buried. He can die. -> i think i push this concept a lot in my Hawk Moth reveal fics - i think i did the same thing back in Parable too? but i love the idea of the realization that this villain who has always seemed larger than life is just...a guy. just a dude. someone you could pass on the street. knowing that most of his strength is because you built him up in your head.

A world with no pain and no sadness and no hurt, and this is the requirement. Adrien must have no father. That is the trade the universe demands. -> in a way, exactly what happened in the S5 finale.

“Isn’t the world a better place without Monarch? Without your father?” “He’s my father,” Adrien says quietly. “How can you ask me that question? He’s my father.” -> and this is what it all comes down to.

He would laugh if he weren’t crying. Free? What does it mean to be free? Is it freedom to be a murderer, to know you’re a murderer? To know you’ve killed your own father, just as you’ve so often dreamed of doing — he, who is your worst enemy? He, whose love you desire above all else? Whose love you will never get, because he will die? Because of you? -> this is the passage a lovely commentator highlighted!! made me go damn and reread the whole fic. and this fic doesn't even go into the whole senti!adrien thing but again....what is freedom? is adrien truly free now with his rings in his own hands?

The momentum sends him flying forward and then he's falling, falling. A hand on his back, a clawed finger against his neck, and nothing in his vision but eyes so red he can hardly stand to look at them. So he doesn't. When he finally opens his eyes, he's flat on his stomach, cheek against the concrete. It's quiet. Feet in his vision, then: spotted, familiar. Ladybug.

The sensation of falling; his eyes are screwed shut, his father’s hand is slipping from his own, and then he's falling, falling. A hand on his forearm, ashes in his lungs, and nothing in his vision but eyes so violet he can hardly stand to look at them. So he doesn't. When he finally opens his eyes, he's flat on his stomach, cheek against the concrete. It's quiet. Feet in his vision, then: spotted, familiar. Ladybug. -> i like mirrors in writing.....the same prose to travel in and out of his head....ladybug and not!ladybug's actions mirroring each other.....images of monarch contrasting with the akuma...

“Ladybug,” he says quietly. “I know who Monarch is.” -> this final line was actually the first one i wrote! i was like 'i have NO idea what the fic will be like but this has to be the ending'

thank you for the ask! and for letting me ramble abt this fic! <333