#ml deflegration

[ijustliketoreadstuff]

Why were Tikki and Plagg’s goodbyes different?

In "Transmission", after Plagg and Tikki take back the miraculous and free Marinette and Adrien from the burden of their hero lives, their goodbyes to their now former holders are noted to be similar yet different to one another.  In short, their goodbyes were different because what they experienced with their holders was different. Tikki said she will never forget Marinette as she was by far the most amazing holder she had grown to understand and connect with. 

Leaving Marinette was hard for Tikki not only because she grew attached to her, but because Tikki herself had realized Marinette helped her do something she never thought she could do, learn. Since the moment Tikki came into Marinette's life, Tikki took her duty as a kwami very seriously and ensured that Marinette could be properly informed of her duties as a hero.

If Marinette had questions, Tikki was always there to answer to the best of her years upon years of knowledge . When Marinette was nervous and unwilling to accept her new duty as a hero, she would always be there to try and lead Marinette in the right direction and help her take a chance to try and save the day, each and every time something shocking came her way. 

When Marinette fell prey to her own confusion and began to act out in ways that made her attempt to solve problems which did not need solving, Tikki acted as the one who ensured Marinette could hear the reality of her situation when no one else was around to tell her so.

 It was normal for Tikki to be a mature Kwami and act as the voice of reason to ensure her holders would learn and develop the confidence they needed, but in all her years, Tikki never knew she could learn from Marinette as well. In "Dearest Family", Tikki learned the power of self control from Marinette to not allow her cravings for sweets take the better of her and lead her to lose control of herself and her powers. 

When it came to love, Tikki learned that despite not being capable of experiencing such an emotion (since kwamis can’t fall in love), watching Marinette struggle to accomplish success in her love life made Tikki realize that love was genuinely something other living beings valued deeply, but that love could very easily empower or destroy a person.  

(In “Elation”, Tikki watches Marinette break down as she struggles to find a solution to her presumably unattainable love life)

In “Furious Fu”, when Su-Han demanded Marinette give back the box and the miraculous, Tikki agreed to follow Su-Hans every word without question, why?, because abiding by the guardians authoritative ways was all she ever knew she should follow. However, thanks to Marinette standing up to Su Han so many times, Tikki learned you do not need to abide by the book, change was a good thing, and learning to adapt and stray away from what was traditional was often times necessary and better for the changing times.

(Su-Han explains that Kwamis have been managed with extreme authority due to the nature of their powers)

However, unlike Tikki, when Plagg says his goodbye, he instead says that Adrien will never forget him, it was a peculiar goodbye, but looking back on the series, its understandably why Plagg said such words. A large part of Plagg and Adrien's relationship revolved around the two of them obtaining a sense of freedom from each other, a freedom which was restricted to them as a result of who they were viewed as.

Plagg had always been accustomed to causing destruction on his own, eventually, his rebellious nature prompted the order of the guardians to consider him as the only kwami to never be left alone in fear of what destruction he could cause next should he ever accomplish to evade not only them, but whatever holder he was entrusted to.

(Master Fu’s reaction to Plagg wanting to go off alone to help Ladybug in “Style Queen”, as well as Su Hans alarmed and concerned reaction to Plagg not being present with the other kwamis in “Furious Fu”, reveals that Plagg had a complicated reputation among the guardians if and whenever he obtained a moment of freedom.)

Even when he became Adrien’s kwami, Plagg’s experience with others trying to keep him within a close proximity, had prompted Plagg to believe Adrien was still someone he would need to evade if needed. In “Sandboy”, Plagg could not accept the possibility that Adrien would trust him enough to leave his side for the night to attend the kwamis gathering. As a result, Plagg created a sock version of himself in order to fool Adrien so he could have the chance to slip away and return undetected.

However, seeing just how much trust Marinette was willing to give Tikki, regardless of her mistakes, made Plagg realize that their standing with their new holders was much different than those of the past. Plagg had grown attached to Adrien the more he realized how alike they were, but more than that, unlike the guardians, Plagg appreciated that Adrien was more than willing to allow him to do whatever he wanted. 

There were of course some boundaries Plagg had to abide by to not cause a potential disaster like in "Rogercop", but regardless, not once had Adrien made him feel as the kwami who needed to be locked away. Adrien explained to Plagg that he knows what its like to have ones freedom be taken away since he is viewed by his father, and many others, as someone who should be constantly sheltered and restrained from the outside world, preventing him from experiencing the wonders of being free to explore the world and his own life. As a result, and just like with Tikki and Marinette, Plagg had become loyal to Adrien and ensured he could learn to express and act out on his own rebellious nature rather than just sit idly by and continue to be someone else’s well behaved puppet. 

(In “Party Crasher”, Plagg once again tries to persuade Adrien to consider himself by inviting Friends over while his father is out of town)

Adrien’s rebellious nature was something he could not easily express in his civilian form due to the high expectations his father, and everyone else, had of him. His fears of disappointing and potentially hurting others who were willing to love him, restrained him from properly speaking his mind, but ever since Plagg came into his life, Adrien gradually learned to be just as sneaky and mischievous in order to try and accomplish what he wanted for once.  

Some attempts succeeded, such as in "Party Crasher", when Adrien decided to take the risk and have friends over, while others led to consequences, such as in "Megaleech" when his father showed disapproval and anger for Adrien's willingness to join the protest against "Project Oxygen". However, although Plagg is greatly known for being reckless, rebellious and oftentimes arrogant, given the consequences Adrien faced in the past from Gabriel, even Plagg understood Adrien would need to tread carefully if he were to ever defy his father directly.

(In “Risk”, Plagg was worried of  the situation Adrien was about to start with his father. Confronting his father would be no easy matter given how difficult he was to talk to in previous situations)

But regardless of the outcomes Adrien faced, both good or bad, those moments made Adrien learn more about himself none the less, and made him realize that many peoples (mainly his father) demands and expectations of him  were unfair and unjust. These emotions of his gradually built up over time until finally, they surfaced all at once in “Risk”. 

Plagg understood Adrien's way of life was unfair, and even though Adrien knew this as well, such talks would often be kept between just the two of them in fear that no one else would truly understand him, just like how he felt no one would understand his complaining in “Risk” about not wanting to go on the world trip his father arranged. 

However, thanks to Marinette, Adrien understood it was perfectly healthy for him to have feelings which would otherwise break the image of perfection others had of him. Those like Marinette, who knew and loved him, would be willing to understand his circumstances if he took the chance to speak out.

And so, when Plagg said that Adrien will never forget him, Plagg had expressed that although he will no longer be a part of Adrien’s life, he knew Adrien would never forget the time they spent, the trouble they made, the freedom he obtained from being Cat Noir, and the impact he had being with someone like Plagg who wasn’t afraid to take his own happiness into consideration. Plagg showed Adrien he always had it in him to stray from the line that was drawn for him by those who believed knew him, all he needed to finally stray from his original way of life was a push from Risk and the right motivation to keep him going and not go back to the way things were, that motivation being of course, Marinette.

[jadenerd]

FINALLY THEM AGAIN AAAAAAAAH