#fu being a bad guardian? yes

[physalian]

The Hero with Dead Parents is not Cliché, it’s Necessary

The staggering number of protagonists in sci-fi and fantasy with dead parents grows every single year. Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker (before the retcon in ESB), almost every Disney Prince and Princess, the Baudelaire children. Beyond the realm of fantasy into action, thriller, romance, mystery, slice-of-life, and bildungsromans.

Dead parents, or parent, is the curse of being the hero of the story and for a very good reason:

Parents are inconvenient as f*ck.

Unless the mom and/or dad is the villain of the story or the entire story is about the relationship with the parent/parents, the “dead parent” trope serves many purposes and while it may be “cliché” that doesn’t mean this trope is bad or, in my opinion, overused.

It’s one less liability the hero has to worry about protecting

It’s one less obstacle in the hero’s path to their adventure

It’s one (or two) less characters to find excuses to stay relevant in the story

It’s a juicy backstory a lot of people can relate to

Trauma. Is. Compelling.

It’s an excellent motivation

And their murder is an excellent inciting incident

Living parents and guardians get killed off both for internal plot reasons, and meta writing reasons: Living parents are a pain in the ass to keep up with. You’re stuck with a character your hero should still keep caring about, keep thinking about, keep acting in relation to how their actions will be seen and judged by that parent. That parent becomes an obvious liability by any villain who notices or cares.

Living parents can of course be done well, unless they’re the villain, but they just kind of sit there on the fringes of the plot, waiting around to be relevant again and they kind of come in four flavors:

There when the plot demands for pie and forehead kisses (Sally from Percy Jackson)

A suffocating but well-meaning obstacle in between the character and their independence trying to do right (Abby from The 100, Katniss’ mom from Hunger Games, Spirit from Soul Eater)

A mentor figure (Valka from HTTYD 2, Hakoda from ATLA)

The only rock this character has left (Ping from Kung Fu Panda)

*Notice how many of my examples lost their partners shortly before or during the plot, thus still giving the hero the “dead parent” label.

Most of these are self-explanatory so I’ll say this:  I think this trope gets exhausting when the parents are written out without enough emotional impact on the hero. These are their parents and a lot of the time, the emotional toll of losing them isn’t there, like just slapping a “dead parents” sticker is all you need to justify a character’s tragic backstory and any behavioral issues they might have.

Like, yes, the hero has dead parents, but you still have to tell me what that means to them beyond obligate angst and sadness. When the “dead parents” trope reads as very by-the-numbers, usually the rest of the story is, too.

How present the parents were in the character’s life should be proportional to the death’s impact on the narrative (as with any character you kill off). If they were virtually nonexistent? No need to waste a ton of time. If they didn’t matter to the character before, they don’t need to matter now unless the plot revolves around some knowledge or secret their parent never shared.

Sometimes, the hero’s dead parents are a non issue. Frodo being raised by Bilbo doesn’t impact his character at all. It’s a detail given and tossed away. On the other hand, sometimes the entire centerpiece of the work is revenge/justice/catharsis surrounding the parent’s death—Edward and Alphonse Elric’s entire story is defined by the consequences of trying to bring their mother back from the dead.

As someone who kept one of my protagonist’s parents alive and didn’t make them villains just to spite the trope, I have all the more respect for this enduring legacy of fiction. You can of course keep the parents alive, but I don't think it's seen as lazy or cheating or taking a shortcut just killing them off, so long as you remember that your hero is human and should react to losing them like a real person.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Do you think the show would’ve been better if, instead of being based around a tangible Miracle Box and being watched over by Guardians who pick holders for them, the kwami were able to travel the world, pick their own humans and summon their own Miraculous? Why or why not? I got this idea after rewatching Origins and noticing how open Nooroo was about his abilities with Gabriel before he revealed that he was going to use the Locket Brooch to create villains, which in this scenario would mean that kwami could still become misused if they’re manipulated or tricked into giving a human their Miraculous without knowing the human’s true/full intentions.

I've previously discussed that I actually really like the concept of the miracle box and that post addressed a lot of your questions, so I'll keep this one short. I wouldn't get rid of the miracle box. I would, however, change the Kwamis' involvement in the selection process. I think it should ultimately be up to them if they accept a given Chosen and not just a call that the guardian makes, so I would land somewhere between your change and what we got in canon. A version where the guardian or even the current Chosen offers candidates and the Kwami decides if it's a yes or no.

I don't think this would have vastly improved the show, I just don't like the way that the current writing implies that the kwamis are basically slaves who are only as free as their holders let them be. That adds a pretty nasty undercurrent to the show. In some ways, this change would actually mess with the show because season five wouldn't work if the Kwamis weren't slaves unless Gabriel came up with a way to control them beyond just snagging their miraculous. But I would have preferred that to them always being slaves and we have the alliance rings which make no sense, so that fix could have been a thing without lessening the quality of the writing.

The other minor element that this chamge could improve is the guardian order issue. A full order of guardians was a bad call since we don't really use them for anything. Why add that complexity for no reason? Make Fu the only guardian or him and an apprentice and/or a former master guardian to keep things interesting. That's basically what we got in canon anyway! The Tibetan temple isn't actually used for anything, so I don't think it should exist. Everything about how Gabriel got the peacock and the butterfly is ridiculous nonsense.

[afsosville]

Shen Jiu, if he was actually a competent shizun

My HC for how Shen Jiu is like with kids without trauma/healed trauma and shit: Honestly with a person like Shen Jiu, I can only see his interactions with kids going one of two ways, him being so very fond of them, and ofc, how he's like in canon. Ok look, in the third book under Shen Jiu's character description, it said that Shen Jiu definitely had more reasons to relate to Luo Binghe than to hate him yet he still chose violence for some fucked up reason. So yes, I for one headcanon that when he's in a better place mentally, he would choose to be doting and fiercely protective. We've seen that he's capable of being like that with Ning Yingying (and Qiu Haitang), and it's not outwardly obvious, but we can see it with the way she behaves around Shen Yuan when she thinks that's still Shen Jiu. She definitely acts like a spoiled younger sister/daughter who looks up to her guardian and shows a great amount of trust in him. So just imagine if that was extended to all of his disciples.

No coz if he was spared enough kindness for him to actually want to do better, he would choose the first option and emphasize with LBH instead BECAUSE smn gave HIM a chance and emphasized with HIM. LBH and SJ are parallels, and so whatever happens to SJ, it would be reflected onto LBH.

I am dead. I am so dead. I'm bleeding out so fast and goddammit it HURTS- SJ and LBH's whole story hurts sm.

Anyways-

I kinda like to imagine that when Shen Jiu's heart settles on the fact that maybe, just maybe, bleeding on ppl who didn't cut him and taking his hurt out on LBH is a no good very bad idea, he's going to end up over compensating for his whole fucking childhood and the way he projects on him is completely flipped.

"I'm going to treat you the way I wanted to be treated and ur going to feel loved and safe do you hear me?!?"

"Yes shizun (*＾v＾*)"

Here's the thing, he may be fond of his disciples, but he is still shit at taking care of them. He was robbed of his own childhood, so he doesn't know what normal kids act like in the first place. And he has no idea what the typical stages of development are and he would totally underestimate how dumb kids who didn't grow up like him would be. So yeah, shit at babysitting but loves them anyhow, for the same reason he would hate them in canon. (They remind him too much of himself). Idk, him being bad with kids regardless of trauma is so funny to me.

That moment when it clicks for him that he may not hate them after all: "oh gods these brats actually like…me? Me? Fuck what the hell do I do?! This is why no one should trust me with kids Aghhhhh!! Still think they're brats tho :( but they're my brats >:) "

He'd be like Shifu from Kung Fu Panda as a shizun. He's strict, harsh as hell and shows no mercy when training, coz becoming a cultivator/martial artist is fucking hard and requires alot of discipline anyway. So he really is doing his best to make sure his disciples come out on top. Shen Jiu is a prideful person by nature, it's just that his disciples are his pride. He's always there for them when they need him, and he will make sure that none of his disciples will ever have to go through anything he has. He wants to be the reliable adult that his disciples seek out. (He will never let it be known that he seeks his disciples' approval and validation as much as they seek his.)

Really fucking specific but idgaf. My social teacher brought chocolate bars to class and gave them out one time. After a few moments she asked if everyone was enjoying themselves. After she heard us agree she went on a lesson about slave labour and the production of goods in underdeveloped countries. Shen Jiu. Would do this. Because he’s a madman.

And Binghe. He would still end up a little unhinged. Like sure being under a master that abuses you will fuck you up one way but if you had a guardian who will start genocides and watch cities burn for you… It does things.

Shen Jiu is morally ambiguous as fuck and that rubs off onto his disciples. He is still a terrible role model, but his kids wouldn't trade him for the world:)

Would be the type that gives 5 yr olds knives for birthdays, bc he had a shit ton of them hidden away on his person when he was that age and knew how to use them when he was on the streets.

“What? It's an appropriate gift! The kid needs to have smt to protect herself! Yeah I know she didn’t grow up on the streets so what? No need to rub it in. Ok fine! I’ll teach her then just shut up. Let’s go Yan-er, some people just don’t appreciate the value of giving practical gifts WAIT PUT THAT DOWN-”

Is this lowkey self indulgent? Yes. Do I particularly care? No. I just want my favourite blorbos to be happy, is that too much to ask for? My Roman Empire is that SJ probably could've been a crazy good shizun if he had a chance to heal. If you've read The Hidden Flower, then you know exactly what I mean.

I already made a post with all of the soft BingJiu fics ik. I could literally make another one rn where they're just chilling platonically, or even as an adoptive family bc I have no chill like that and read all the SJ fics there is to read.

It's already summer and all I have going for me is my job rn and I am sooooo close to going through all nearly 400 pages under the SJ tag coz I simply can.

[marauderundercover]

Jasonette July ch. 1

AO3

Chapter 1: If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago, I might be here with you

Glancing at the email again, Marinette can’t help but feel sort of bittersweet. She’d used to think that when she finally went to Gotham, that her best friend would be there waiting for her. She’d thought that by the time she finally was able to visit Gotham, that they would have revealed their actual identities. Instead, she was just past the three year mark of losing her best friend. Taking in a deep breath, she pushes her negative feelings aside. She should be excited for her new opportunity. She should- She sighs as her phone starts blaring. Grabbing it, she glances at the caller ID and smiles before answering.

“Hey,” She says, relieved at the chance to get away from her own thoughts.

“Hey, kiddo! How’re you doing? Hear back from any colleges yet?” Dick Grayson asks. The man had found her back when Robin passed away, but he’d found her as Nightwing. Apparently he’d worked with Batman and Robin before, and had helped Batman go through Robin’s comm logs and history to see if there was anything important. He apparently hadn’t been aiming to actually make contact with her in Paris, but she was really glad that he had. He’d saved her. He’d found her at the darkest time of her life, and been there for her like no one else could. He’d also mentored her as a hero, which was amazing since she hadn’t really had any help on that front since Master Fu had given her the role of Guardian.

“As a matter of fact, I just heard back from Gotham U,” She says, having to yank the phone away from her ear as Dick whoops.

“I knew you could do it!” He cheers, and Marinette snorts.

“I didn’t say yes, yet,” She points out.

“But you didn’t say no, right?” Dick asks, and Marinette sighs. He cheers again, and she can’t help but smile a bit. Dick was a great mentor. He cared about her outside of the mask, which is one of the reasons she’d applied for Gotham U despite not being able to go with her best friend anymore. Dick had insisted that Gotham was still a place she’d enjoy. So she was willing to try.

“Course not. Are you sure it’s safe, though? Weren’t you just complaining about that new Crime Lord like, three months ago?” She asks. Sure, she knew that Gotham had an insane amount of villains (or Rogues, as Dick called them), but apparently Red Hood was different from the rest of them.

“I actually don’t think I’ve complained about Hood for like six months,” Dick corrects her. “Besides, he’s…well, he’s not as bad as we’d originally thought.” Marinette chokes on the coffee she had tried to sip, eyebrows raised.

“I’m sorry, Mr. ‘heads in a duffle bag’ isn’t as bad as you originally thought?” She asks. Dick’s silent for a minute.

“Yeah, yeah he’s not as bad as we thought, kid.”

It had been a couple months since Marinette had been accepted into Gotham U, and she was finally moving into an apartment in Gotham. Dick had originally said that he would help her, but something had come up and he’d had to go do Nightwing stuff. Which was fine. She was just in a city she didn’t know in a country she hadn’t grown up in. Everything was fine. Walking out of her building, she starts heading towards the convenience store that she’d seen on her way to her building earlier. She figured she’d go shopping for actual groceries later, and just grab something quick for tonight and tomorrow morning now. Before she can make it to the store, something grabs her wrist and she inhales sharply. She tries to tug back, but whoever had her wrist yanked her into the alleway.

“Just gimme your wallet,” A gruff voice demands. Marinette tries to pull her wrist away, but the man’s grip just tightens.

“Let go,” She says, unable to stop her voice from shaking. She was cursing herself internally for leaving after dark. Robin had told her so many stories of Gotham, so many different ways it wasn’t safe, and yet she hadn’t listened. And now she was being mugged on her first night. Joy. The man tugs her closer, and Marinette feels her heart stop as he looks down at her.

“C’mon, Sugar, just gimme the wallet and then you and I can have a little fun,” He says, and her stomach drops.

“Please, just let go,” She pleads, pulling harder to try and get out of his grip. The man snarls at her, but before he can do anything an unfamiliar voice rings throughout the alley.

“I believe the lady asked you to let go,” The voice calls. Marinette twists as much as she can, eyes widening as Red Hood stalks further into the alley. Almost immediately, the mugger lets go of her and pushes her away from him. She stumbles as he runs, obviously scared of the (former?) crime lord.

“You’re not gonna stick my head in a duffle bag, right?” She asks instantly. Red Hood snorts, shaking his helmet-covered head.

“Uh, no. That’s uh, I’m not-” He stops, letting out a long exhale. “I don’t do that anymore. I was just making sure you were okay.” Marinette nods, giving him a half hearted smile.

“Yeah, I know, sorry. I don’t always have the best filter,” She apologizes, laughing awkwardly.

“Do you need an escort home?” Red Hood asks. Marinette shakes her head.

“No, thanks. I’ve got to stop by the store-”

“Seriously? You were just almost mugged and you’re going to the store?” Red Hood asks incredulously. Marinette raises an eyebrow.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I just moved in,” She says simply. Red Hood crosses his arms.

“I’ll walk you to the store and then home,” He says. Marinette snorts, but Red Hood doesn’t move.

“Oh, you’re serious?” She asks. He nods. “Mon dieu. Okay, let’s uh, let’s go, I guess.” Gotham was sure to be interesting.

Jason sighs as he drops onto his couch. It’d been a long week. Somehow, Dick had managed to convince him to sign up for classes at Gotham U. He wasn’t exactly sure how it worked, especially given the fact that he’d been dead for the last two years of high school, but it was done. So on top of keeping Crime Alley running smoothly and going on his normal patrols, he’d spent the days this week going through registration and getting his school supplies. Stuff he hadn’t expected to ever really matter for him again. Just as his eyes start to flutter close, his front door is thrown open. He immediately jumps, one hand on his holster.

“Chill out Jay, it’s just me,” Dickhead says, walking in with a bag of takeout. Jason huffs, flopping back down onto the couch.

“Why the hell are you here?” He asks, eyes narrowed. Dick just grins.

“I brought food,” He says. Jason just blinks. “Okay, fine. I just wanted to see how you are. I know this has been a hard week for you.” Jason snorts, shaking his head.

“Definitely not the worst I’ve ever had,” He points out, feeling a little bad when he sees Dick wince. “I’m fine, Dick. The most interesting part of the week was when I helped some French girl who was getting mugged.” Dick’s eyes widen a fraction before he frowns.

“A French girl?” He asks. Jason nods.

“Yeah, said she came for Gotham U. Though why anyone would come to Gotham just for college, I’ll never understand.” Dick laughs nervously, and Jason raises an eyebrow. “Is she some secret girlfriend of yours or something?”

“Of course not,” Dick scowls. Jason just laughs, grabbing the food Dick holds out for him.

“Don’t suppose you’re gonna tell me why you reacted that way?” He asks, and Dick shakes his head.

“It was nothing, Jay. Just…interesting that someone would come here for college is all,” He says. And look, Jason is not stupid. He knows that Dick’s lying, but he also knows that if Dick doesn’t want to tell him, he’s not gonna tell him. They’ll just go in circles all night. And honestly, Jason’s too tired for that. So instead, he’ll just eat the food his brother brought, and try to forget all about the French girl and the fact that she’s obviously connected with his brother somehow.

@maribat-calendar-events

[lunameimei]

Well, considering that I obviously won’t finish this, I think I can post here my work on a small fan comic. The story takes place in an alternate scenario in episode 4x06 ("Furious Fu").

There are quite a few pages, so I'll hide them below. Some of them look very bad, and some of them I am still proud of… In general, for anyone who is interested, read below!

and yes, there was supposed to be bubble-text, but I stopped at the "line"

as you can see further, halfway through I was tired and we only had a storyboard

So what happened here?

The scenario is: Ladybug, under pressure from the Grand Master Su-Han and the burden of being a Guardian, chooses to abandon her role and hand over the miraculous box. Because of this, Marinette forgets everything since she became Ladybug.

The comic begins with Adrien stuck on the roof with Marinette, but Marinette has absolutely no memory of him. As a result, the girl contacts her parents and while they are waiting for the family to arrive, Adrien tells Marinette about the heroes of Paris. And also that Marinette most likely lost her memory due to Akuma's attack. At first, Marinette was very wary of Adrien, but in the end she finds him very cute (and that for some reason his photo is on the wallpaper of her phone) and even assumes that he is her boyfriend… but no. (Since the episode was the first of the fourth season, Luka and Marinette are still dating here) In the end, Marinette meets with her parents, and Adrien goes home alone.

This was the first part, which obviously doesn’t tell much and the story moves very slowly

Next, in Part 2, we would get some explanation from Adrien's nightmare/memory of what happened. Before Ladybug and Chat Noir had to give up their miraculous (and Ladybug would forget everything forever), Chat asked them to reveal their identities to each other. Ladybug said that she was giving up her role as a guardian and both teenagers detransformed. Marinette was horrified and shocked, but nothing could be changed; her memories slowly but surely left her head.

Marinette only managed to ask Adrien not to forget her.

Having lost everything at once: Ladybug, Marinette and Plagg, Adrien becomes very depressed. He understands why Ladybug gave the miraculous box in the first place and he cannot afford to drag Marinette into this “heroic nightmare” again by telling her the truth. Meanwhile, at school, people begin to worry why the heroes have not yet appeared and the “miraculous ladybug” has not returned Marinette’s memories. And in general, no one has seen the heroes for a long time (luckily, Hawk Moth hasn't shown himself again yet either).

The rest of the story was not very well thought out and I only had some “outlines”. Because of Hawk Moth’s new attack, Su-Han asks Adrien for help, since finding new heroes is not easy in the modern world, and going to the Temple would be too long and far away (and Hawk Moth likes to attack a lot and often). Adrien would be furious at the Master's behavior, but would agree to become a "temporary hero" (not Chat or Mister Bug) solely for the duration of the attack on Paris. Because, besides Adrien , no one could be entrusted with this (in the finale of the third season, the identities of all the heroes were revealed), and Adrien feels responsible to Ladybug. And of course he wants to protect Marinette.

But of course we wouldn't have any more heroic fun adventure. Adrien would be just depressed, and his "heroic form" would be dry and furrios.

And also Adrien would definitely lost all his shit on Chloe, since he would blame her for everything that happened. (After all, if she had not helped Hawk Moth, he would not have found Master Fu and Ladybug would not have had to become a new Guardian)

In the end Adrien would generally have a whole bunch of guilt and anger and confused thoughts and emotions about the whole situation.

And… that's all I had time to think through :D I started this comic in 2021 and continued it gradually for a whole year. Until I realized halfway through (creating lines in the first chapter) that I don’t really understand what the meaning of everything I’ve drawn is… and where it goes… I love doing detailed and large work too much, which is difficult for a beginner to handle. Maybe it's good that I froze the project. Maybe not very much. But in any case, why not share what I have been collecting dust on my computer for years.

I hope the text was not too complicated (after all, I use Google translator), and the story was not too boring. In any case, thanks to everyone who watched, read or simply paid attention!

P.S. And also a bonus - the very first developments, where I chose what style and color to create the work in order to be as fast as possible. (the 4th option won as you can see) + the final version from the comic itself!

[ilikelookingatthings]

Thoughts on Miraculous Ladybug : A Comment from YouTube I'm proud of about themes and Gabriel

and don't get me STARTED on Gabriel. the undercut and sabotaged any nuance this man had for 5 freaking seasons. every time he showed nuance or good feelings, they undercut it by forcing him to do something worse to snuff out any sense of sympathy or complexity, so we know who the bad guy and good guy is. yet they try to ham fist a last-minute redemption?!

don't get me wrong I actually DO want a redeemable complex Gabriel but its VERY confusing and just BAD how they handled it. at the very least they could have made it better if they literally said he was good and genuinely had good intentions to save his wife. after all she was 'missing' which means the plan was to use the wish to wake her up and she could come back using going missing as a cover. He wasn't raising the dead as she was in a magical coma.

he has a fix it as he knew if he lost that the ladybug miraculous would fix things and if he won, he could use the ladybug miraculous to fix any damage he did. by making 'hawkmoth' the villain it means people would have a target outside of the victims and the victims technically have to agree to the powers, so Gabe has the illusion of consent. and his plan to make a villain was to lure the ladybug and chat miraculous out of hiding by forcing them to activate to fix the problem since he couldn't track it down otherwise.

Overall, yes, it's not 'good' but his plan made sense in a way of minimizing damage for just wanting to save his wife. play up the fact they had no one to ask for help since the guardians were gone...from his view he was 'acting' as a villain. he had no training and didn't even have a properly translated book and wasn't chosen for his role.

just point to the fact Gabe has been using his miraculous of emotions wrong. he has been amplifying his own negative emotions to feel others negative emotions and forcing a fixation on the miraculous to get his victims to try to steal them. we have literally seen how even being a little emotionally off can have consequences.

Feast with fu was a rouge Senti-monster that sensed Fu's negative emotions, negative emotions that weren't even a part of why he made the Senti-being (which was to get him some snacks, Marinette's miraculous immediately timing down when she used it to separate Adrien and Chloe instead of attacking bubbler due to her jealousy, how Tikki's snack attack affected Mari when Mari transformed. and how Akuma Victims are prone to making dumb mistakes and you literally can't reason with them properly and act more fixated and aggressive.

they could have fixed the situation by just pointing out as a side effect from using his miraculous the way he was...his personality was literally getting twisted like his Akumas due to using mis miraculous in a way it wasn't supposed to be intended. Even more with how they mention using multiple ones can cause a strain on you and literally make you insane.

that way it would validate the times Gabe was reasonable or genuinely cared as the real him while also validating and explaining all the times he became SO much worse and cartoonishly evil.

while I would have preferred Adrien actually being there in the final battle with hawkmoth..... if they just played up that Mari being more willing to sympathize and see the villians genuinely needed help and weren't just evil was due to adrien's/chat's influence because that is adrien's strength in the show. his sympathy and ability to think deeper on motivations and not just punish and how he helped teach mari to not take things entirely at face value and be more patient.

heck the final battle could have worked if they played up the Mari and gabe are actually genuinely VERY similar. they have LOTS of parallels in the show...

like I think they were going for a parallel to collector/the end of collector when mari went to him to give him the book she took(even if lila took it first) where gabe surprised us by him admiring ehr stepping forward and not being mad at her, even answering her questions and agreeing not to tell adrien when she asked him to keep silent. and a reminder about how gabe did give a genuine apology to adrien at the end of collector when he could have gotten away with not doing so since adrien DID steal the book from his locker...Gabe genuinely apologized in depth.

but because the show had spent most of the season undercutting any goodness in Gabriel again with no explanation to cover it like saying it was the influence of him going insane like his victims due to how he had been using his miraculous....it just feels unearned and messed up. even more if he was going to use the wish...why couldn't he had used it so Nathalie and the mom would be okay? if his plan had always been to use himself in case there was a price how would Mari have reacted?

like I still don't get why she trusted him at all. and because they never mentioned Gabe going insane or his behavior was due to how he handled the miraculous (like Akuma victims)

...it just comes across as Gabe just being genuinely terrible and abusive as him as a default for most of the show which makes the redemption/him fighting his choice WEIRD.

like please for the love of GOD WHY did they not just make it a side effect of using his brooch the way he did literally! it would have used the fact they primed us to sympathize/not judge what people do under the Akuma influence/in the deepest throes of their negative feelings because its prompted by them being twisted by the magic to at least give Gabe a BUFFER(for the audience).

It would make him 'fighting' so to speak, literally him fighting how he had twisted himself literally with the way he used the miraculous...like how people can fight drugs or the fought akums before. and the tragedy that Nathalie thought Gabe was just bad...not realizing her enabling him using the brooch the way he did twists someone she genuinely cared about.

like, it is easy to notice at judge the physical effects of the peacock broach, but the mental effect of the butterfly is HONESTLY terrifying/scary and has so many implications if their plan was to hint that original Gabe was more similar to Betterfly.

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I think it works even more because it would also explain why Gabe seemed different in this specific fight because he didn't know Adrien was chat noir. people often use Gabe's reaction to Adrien being Chat Noir to validate seeing Gabe as just an abusive horrible person...but what I've also seen is if Gabe actually talks or is around Adrien for enough time Gabe WILL soften to some degree...pointing to how Gabe does care for Adrien and that it grounds him more in his original motive/personality.

So, the change might be because Gabe has been amplifying his negative feelings so 'hawkmoth' is more focused and fixated on the miraculous and defeating ladybug and chat...finding out Adrien is chat makes the 'hawkmoth' affects take over more.

like how we saw Nate and others relax at times around certain people that breakthrough the delusion (like when Nate was actually convinced to leave Chloe alone to go hang with Marinette) but he snapped back into his villain mindset when Mari's actions echoed Chloe.

I think what's worse is it's not even a rewrite since all the blocks are THERE but the show just never acknowledges it.

[theyanderespecialist]

NEW RULES AND LINKS: REQUESTS OPEN

[Okay I am going to adress some serious things here, yes, I wrote some stuff I am not proud of. It was at a time I was going through my repressed memories of sexual abuse/forced sex/etc from when I was a child. Now yes some of the stuff was with characters that are 15 years old with adults. I am not proud of these works, they are not what I value as a minor should never be with a child ever. Same with a lot if not all the incest stuff. I will not be writing that stuff in the future. For obvious reasons, I also been fazing out a lot of stuff like that and agining up characters to 18 or older. 

My request to all of you if you find something like this tell me about it, I will completely remove it. 

I was in a bad place when I wrote it, dealing with repressed memories of my sexual abuse my father did to me. Does it make it right no. But I do have the responsibilty to delete it. So if you see any of it, send it my way and I will delete it.

I am sorry for anyone these things may have hurt or made feel ill. I will do better.]

(Okay as the years have gone on rules have changed so here are the new links/rules/and more, please enjoy!) 

FANDOMS I KNOW AND AM ABLE TO DO (I WILL DO AGED UP CHARACTERS)

Anime

.One Piece (not very far in!)

.Bleach (Up to Aizen’s Defeat)

.Ouran Highschool Host Club (Read all the mangas as well as watched the anime)

.Demon Slayer (Watched All Current Seasons)

.Naruto (Watched the full series)

.Hetalia

.

VIDEO GAMES

.FNAF

.Poppy Playtime

.TF2

.Overwatch

.Resident Evil

.Your Boyfriend

.Dream Daddy

.Outlast

.A Hat In TV

.Wolf Among Us

.Tales From The Borderlands

.Borderlands

.

Movies

.MCU/Marvel

.Xmen

.Deadpool

.DC Universe

.Psycho

.Nightmare Before Christmas

.Nightmare on elm street

.Texas Chainsaw Massacre

.House Of Wax

.The Boy

.Friday The Birthday 13th

.Silence of The Lambs

.Disney Animated Films (The Classics mainly)

.Alien

.IT

.Predator

.The Shining

.Star Wars

.Halloween

.Split/Glass

.Kung Fu Panda

.Rise Of The Guardians

.Five Nights At Freddy’s (Movie Verse)

.Harry Potter (Yes, TRANS Inclusive 🏳️‍⚧️ FUCK JK ROWLING)

TV Shows

.True Blood

.Supernatural (only a little bit)

.Hazbin Hotel

.Helluva Boss

.Good Omens

. Avatar The Last Airbender

.Hannibal

.The Walking Dead

.The Cuphead Show

.Adventure Time

.Bates Motel

OTHERS

.Creepypasta

.SCP

.Greek Mythology

.Norse Mythology

.REALLY ALL THE WORLD’s MYTHOLOGIES

.Spooky Month

Links

My youtube: 

My New Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/user/TheYandereSpecialist

My Archive Of Our Own: 

My Twitter aka My X: 

My co author Tumblr: 

https://www.tumblr.com/mamamaries

Yanderes are not ideal partners to have in real life, Simping for them and shipping characters with characters is fine. As long as your separate fiction from reality. And Do not be gross or illegal about it. If you break these rules I will most likely delete your requests. I will give you chances to correct it of course. 

This is just for fun and not to be taken seriously. 

Also please respect what IS Canon. These are fanfiction such, so it is NOT Canon! 

1: NO INCEST (I know I used to do it and I may still do it in some regards but it will not be the norm at all) AGAIN INCEST IS NOT OKAY IN REAL LIFE 

2: No yanderes under the age of 18, that means the following! 

2.A: Some Characters can be under 18 (If they are like Gods/Demons/And so on) BUT They look like adults and are mentally mature and are actually over decades old (Like Hetalia Characters, being like Italy who is physically like 17 but is HUNDREDS Of years old. And Has been potrayed as an adult like going to war and having jobs and so on) 

2.B: Character that look or act under 18 (Such as Latvia or Seland from Hetalia) but are decades old... (They are way to sus and that is not okay Latvia acts like a 15 year old at most. Sealand has mental state of like a 11 year old so no) but they are physically over 18 (like hundreds of year old and still look ten GAGS) 

2.C: And then stuff like the baby greek god (who has a physical body of a baby but acts and thinks like an adult man and has sex even tho his body is a baby! NO STOP IT) and other stuff. Just ew

3: I am doing a LOT Less smut scenes for various reasons, so NSFW I may do, but a lot of it will be turned down

4: Some monsters and aliens are okay (RULE IS THEY CREATURE OR MONSTER HAS TO BE SENTIENT) 

5: No Bigotry or Phobia Or MAPS NO FUCKING MAPS

6: No real life people, from history, actots, yourubers, minecraft, vtuburs, NO REAL LIFE PEOPLE

7: Almost NONE small time creations or fandoms, As those are by small creators and I respect them for what they do. 

8: BE SPECIFIC WITH WHAT YOU  WANT If you are not I will not do it. 

9: Any gender/Identity is welcome

10: Almost any sexuality is allowed (AGAIN MAPS YOU ARE NOT A SEXUALITY STAY AWAY FROM THE LGBTQIA+) 

11: You can have Genderbent Characters (Aka change their female in the request) 

12: NO OC 

13: This is fiction so we can do almost anything with characters make the gay make them a different gender. 

14: Yes canon characters can be yandere for other canon characters (NOT OC) 

15: I do many fandoms new and old, it does not hurt to ask if I do a fandom you don’t know if I do or not 

I think that is it thank you! 

[franki-lew-yo]

I kinda hate Dreamworks-stans (

No, not Dreamworks films persay, especially the ones I haven’t seen that everyone is so hyped that I do see (The Last Wish, Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda 2-3). It’s just...

The attitude -some- Dreamworks fans have about these franchises is a real turn off for me. They mostly say only good things about these movies but...they're kinda...snooty? I don’t want another Paranorman situation, is all. Before I go any further I will say, I definitely think Dreamworks films objectively look better than Disney’s modern movies-.Dreamworks’ artists are more at home with cgi where Disney’s fantasy films don’t look or feel right in that medium, compared to How to Train Your Dragon, that is. And yet...

I’ve really never liked Kung Fu Panda as a series. I disliked the first and didn’t feel anything for it all, so I've never watched the second even though everyone assures me it's better. Yeah. I'm sure it is. Part of this is all because of inner-fandom petty nonsense; baby-faced KFP stans were saying Skunk Fu! is a ripoff of KFP. Objectively YES, KFP is a better moviestory but what if I just straight up don't like it or feel obligated to like it ((this debate was always stupid regardless of what franchise was 'better' or 'worse' than the other. The idea of furries doing martial arts is a popular trope in animation cuz different styles or martial arts are even NAMED after animals sometimes.)). Either way, despite it looking cool and having a peacock as the main villain I have no desire to give KFP any attention kind of BECAUSE you all are so obsessed with it being "JUST SO GOOD".

But the thing that really irks me about Dreamworks fans is how obsessed they are with design and aesthitics >> character development and appeal.

While I liked How to Train Your Dragon a lot, I really didn’t like the second movie. That film had WAY too much going on in it. It was overstuffed and gave me a headache. It had no room to develop itself properly and sns I hate the character of Valka. I hate how she’s written to be this actually a loving mother to Hiccup and really loved Stoic deep down. To me, that cheapens her character and her son’s uniqueness for bonding with Toothless if it’s really just that his mom is just like him. I read somewhere that she was actually supposed to be a distant, kind of “wild” character who was more interested in dragons and didn’t feel that natural maternal instinct because not all women are motherly and that’s fine, and now with Stoic changed (and then dead) and Hiccup needing her she’s got to face her past and connect her dragonrider side with her family. No idea if any of that's true but WOW. I would have like that way more. But instead- I found Valka really bland and kind of awfully written, just like the rest of her movie. Oh, but everyone just "LOVED" that movie because Stoic died or whatever. I didn’t feel anything for Stoic’s death despite me liking him in the first film. I thought the second movie was a good story in theory, BUT the execution was so bad I'm sorry. It all went by so fast and so clunk that I didn't actually feel anything for this shocking and dramatic character from the first film at the hand of his son's hypnotized dragon. Believe me, I GET where people are coming from about this scene. Again I get what the emotions were supposed to be. I’m saying I found the storytelling and pacing horrid and it, by virtue, ruined the character(s). Just to add salt in my wound, everyone and their mom seems to love Valka cuz she doesn’t have same-face syndrome like the modern Disney women all have. Again, objectively Dreamworks has a better eye for style. BUT YA KNOW WHAT? I really think some of you are way too locked into this “looks generic/basic pretty woman = bad character” philosophy which kinda makes me want to scream.

Sns Moana, Maribel and Elsa > characters than Valka and that girl from the Croods.

You don’t have to love or even like them or those movies, but I mean objectively I think they’re better written story-wise. To better explain it’s the same logic that badfaith reviewers apply to Illumination: people hate the characters for their made-to-be-appealing designs and grafted personalities as opposed to their actual shortcomings as characters in the writing. Same face syndrome, manic pixie dream protagonists and EVERY Disney movie being about a man and a woman going on a wacky three-day long adventure is annoying, but if the blowback from Wish is any kind of indication, people are not going to love it “no matter what” and Disney-adults aren't sheeple.

I’ll believe fans when they tell me How to Train your Dragon 3 is awful. Yeah, I don't doubt that. Bu,t can you all kindly eff off with the implication that everything wrong with that movie stems from how Toothless’s mate is a pretty girl whitedragon version of him? Can you all shut up about how the 'Light Fury' (stupid name) ruined your life?

I too hate the trope of “girl = lighter and pretty”, but of what I’ve read that’s not the problem with her, character wise. Frankly, given how some of you act, I’m not convinced you would have any of these hang ups about her had she been better designed and not just white-Toothless. From the way some of you sound, it kinda feels like if her design was actually good, you would be stanning her character even after her movie/character turned out to be bad. It's why I also don't trust ya'll when it comes to that Elsa-looking fox girl in the new KFP 4 movie and how 'bad' she looks. Yeah, she DOES look bad...but I don't know by what margin you're talking about.

In the end, where Disney adults are their own kind of hivemind of shallow - believe me, I know - I kinda hate the unself-awareness of Dreamworks fans. They remind me of that side character in Mean Girls who gets the main character to spy on the Plastics because she hates them. They’re their own kind of shallow and mean. I wish they would at least be aware of that. 

Also, Jeffry Katzenberg is NOT your friend. He's an AI-advocate and it's his fault Disney made Pocahontas.

[flightfoot]

So, that one ask about Luka got me curious: Do you have fic recs for Luka being an actual, fleshed out person? I know you read a lot of fic and you mentioned it specifically, so I thought you might? I'd be interested in really getting into his head. Bonus points if there's Lukagami involved (since that's my preference), but stuff about Wishmaker or Desperada or any other episode were he was particularly relevant should be the most interesting? Or Couffaine/Jagged family stuff. If you do, thanks!

Sorry it took me nearly a week to answer this, but there was a fanfic one my radar I needed to read first, since I suspected it would be perfect for this list. And I was right!

In The Shadows by @19thsentry-blog is the best Luka fic I've ever read. I just finished binging it today, and am looking forward to reading its sequels!

On one side is Luka, 140-year-old Snake Miraculous holder and keeper of the Guardian's secrets, on the other is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a relatively newly minted hero of Paris and Guardian of the Miracle Box. Each is looking to fulfill their promises to their now gone mentors to reunite the Kwamis and keep them safe. Sounds simple--until you throw in a rocky start, the Atlantic Ocean, Félix Graham de Vanily, and a whole host of secrets…and suddenly simple becomes complicated (story of Marinette's life, right?).

Yes, this is a Lukanette fic. I don't normally read those since I've had enough bad experiences during my early days in this fandom (particularly while season 3 was airing) with Adrien, Alya, the class, etc getting demonized in those sorts of fics, that it put me off of the pairing as a whole, even though the pairing itself is fine (I happily read poly fics that include Lukanette so long as Adrien's in there too, since those have historically been pretty nice to all the characters).

This one I decided to take a chance on, since I read one of 19thsentry's more recent works (See This Chance, a FeLuka fic where Luka's a ghost, it's under 4000 words so if you want something bite-sized it's a good read), was impressed, and decided to give "In the Shadows" a shot since it had an interesting premise and the sequels sounded like they were nice to Adrien and Alya, with the second fic featuring Alya as Scarabella and the third fic going into Adrien adjusting to adult life post Hawkmoth-defeat.

I wasn't disappointed. I adore how fair it was to all of the characters, From Luka to Adrien to Marinette to Felix, and even though it's tagged as having slight Master Fu bashing, it's fair to him as well. Felix received some of the most interesting characterization in fact. He's not exactly the greatest guy, and he's not super well-liked for good reason, but he is intriguing and I found myself enjoying watching his machinations, as well as him very obviously getting a crush on Viperion that he resolutely tried to ignore. 19thSentry's love for FeLuka shown through here quite a bit.

Luka's a little different since he has a very different backstory in this fic than in canon, but he's still recognizably himself. We get to see a lot of his thoughts, feelings, concerns, and baggage, and while his feelings for Marinette are an important part of the fic, they're not the driving force behind his entire character, he's got a lot of other things going on.

Honestly even if you're normally put off by Lukanette, I'd still recommend this fic, just for the plot and characterization alone, it's really solid and deserves FAR more attention than it's gotten.

---

Now as for other Luka fics, ones that build out his characterization while still being recognizably him, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up this next fic, though it's not Luka-centric by any stretch of the imagination.

one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus

All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace.

Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most.

Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.

I adore this fic for so many reasons, but as far as Luka goes, this is the fic that gave me the best insight into why Luka might have lied to Ladybug in Wishmaker about not discovering hers and Chat's identities, and didn't bring up that he knew them in Ephemeral, when it was relevant. One of my biggest issues with Luka has been my inability to get into his head, to see what he could reasonably have been thinking and feeling that makes his actions and characterization in the show make sense. Wackus delivered here, really showcasing what he might have been thinking in those cases, with Luka not wanting to rock the boat, afraid of causing harm, until a catalyst came along and spurred him to action. Luka's characterization in one does not love breathing may not be the focus of the fic, but it's one of the parts of it that stands out the most for how unique and exceptional it is.

---

When Feelings Are Too Big For Words by ClockworkCaptain

When Luka takes a gig playing for a drag show he's falls hard and fast for the drag queen Buttercup who uses her performances to work through her own emotions. Meanwhile Adrien's been using drag to work through his own emotions and thinks maybe Luka coming back into his life and showing interest might mean a second chance.

Made for @mlsecretsanta 2022

I greatly enjoyed this one-shot, seeing Luka's feelings about "Buttercup", and him getting to know Adrien a bit better. It's a fun read!

---

Come Take My Hand by @carelisswriting

Luka heard his soulmate for the first time when he was ten. All he knows about her is that she likes fencing. It's just a coincidence that Kagami likes fencing, right?

(Lukagami Soulmate AU, written for the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa Exchange!)

You specifically mentioned liking Lukagami, so I recommend giving this one-shot a shot! I loved seeing Luka figure out that Kagami was his soulmate especially, with Kagami having figured it out first.

---

Forced Perspective by @emmalylis

A bodyswap akuma hits Ryūko and Viperion, then promptly vanishes. While Ladybug and Chat Noir track down the akuma, Luka and Kagami must live each other’s lives. Along the way, they discover some things about each other.

Another Lukagami one-shot here that I think you might enjoy! They both have to live with each other's families, which is interesting.

---

Transparency by kopycat_101

Luka and Juleka come out of the closet.

(An apparently very thin, very transparent closet, but a closet nonetheless.)

A story about two siblings, the complications of family, standing strong in the face of hardship, bonding, and supporting one another no matter what life throws at you. Told in three parts/three days.

You asked for some Couffaine family stuff, and this is some of the best I've seen, with it mostly focusing on Luka's, Juleka's, and Anarka's family dynamic. Jagged isn't their father in this, partially because it wasn't revealed as canon yet, and partially because the author didn't feel like using that (at the time) popular headcanon.

---

I hope these help satisfy your craving anon!

[celestiall0tus]

Kuro Neko Half Notes - All That Remained

I can't do it! I fucking hate this episode! The writing is so fucking garbage! I know fucking 12 year-olds smarter than these 14-15 year olds.

Prepare for the utmost salt since, what was it? Migration! That one!

I will preface this saying that yes, I do know the main conflict of season 4. Lady is Guardian and Chat is getting shafted. But holy fuck is it so fucking bad.

First off, the role of Guardian should never have fallen on Ladybug. Master Fu was an irresponsible, horrible mother fucking adult for pulling that stunt. Marinette is still a fucking child and shouldn't have all that responsibility thrust on her shoulders. I don't care how special a ladybug she is, absolutely awful. Shame. Shame on all y'all!

Adrien, buddy, read the room!! And again, another instance where I can see the trauma peeking through but it still doesn't feel right. I can give it to him that his first thought would be to overreact, thinking he wasn't needed and have that absolutely crush him. That I get, but not that reaction. For the abuse he suffers as per the writers of the show, you'd expect a more taken aback, heartbroken response. Him not letting her see him break down, renouncing his kwami without a hint of what he was doing, and running off. With his reaction in the episode, I was honestly waiting for him to throw the ring in a dumpster. Enjoy dumpster diving, m'lady.

Then there is the conflict of Plagg not knowing how to fucking just say things plainly to a fucking child. And darling Marinette just assuming that Chat being in love with her was the entire problem. That was part of the problem, but again, a double edged sword. On one hand, Marinette, for all her "maturity" should have had some inkling to Chat as a partner and friend, but feels like she disregarded him. Then ol Chat. We need to working on timing, response, and a level of emotional maturity that is sorely lacking. Again, he feels more like an entitled little bitch ass white boy than an abuse victim. Maybe Daddy dearest doesn't love or spend enough time with him, but not how Gabriel is supposedly treating him.

Oh! And let's not forget the absolute best part of the damn episode. Seeing that Ladybug's "ideal man" is just Adrien. Ultimately proving at this point that she really doesn't love Chat Noir or his antics and is utterly obsessed with Adrien that you're only perfect if you are him. Fuck you, Astruc. You hear me? Fuck you.

I hate Kuro Neko. I fucking hate it so fucking much.

[greentrickster]

CorreaCelestePriscila: puedo ver a adrien inverso sorprendido al ver que cannon adrien tiene tantas clases, debe hacer modelaje tantas horas y no poder salir cuando quiera y tenga que pedirle permiso a su padre quien no lo deja salir casi nunca y solo cedió a qué entrara a la escuela cuando se escapó para asistir a clase

y el grupo se sorprendería o horroriza al saber cómo es la actitud o personalidad del canon Gabriel comparado a hesperia/inverso!Gabriel/ su figura paterna....

(Google translate: I can see Adrien in reverse surprised to see that Cannon Adrien has so many classes, he must model so many hours and not be able to go out whenever he wants and he has to ask permission from his father who almost never lets him go out and only gave in to him entering school. when he ran away to attend class     and the group would be surprised or horrified to know what canon Gabriel's attitude or personality is compared to hesperia/inverse!Gabriel/ his father figure....)

GreenTrickster: (considers all this) Chat tends to see the best in people where I assume Claw tends to see the worst in them. This means that Adrien will often extend trust and faith too far in those who don’t have good intentions and wind up taken advantage of, whereas Claw is so skeptical that it causes him to reject aid and support made with genuinely good intentions. However, at the same time this means that Chat’s good at helping people who need a second chance or extended hand (like Claw), and Claw’s good at spotting and escaping bad situations (like the one Chat’s in). It’s less a simple ‘one has a good father and the other has a trash fire’ and more a ‘they have different skillsets that cause them to struggle with different situations.’

I think it’d be interesting for a Claw who’s been working more on his relationship with his dad to visit Chat, see how canon!Gabriel treats him, and, instead of just getting angry, take him aside to explain that this isn’t okay to him. To tell him that Chat’s advice did help him with his own father, but that the way the Gabriels behave in the two different universes is wildly different and (quoting Hesperia) that it’s not their job as kids to fix that. Chat helped Claw get closer to his Gabriel and learn that the distance between them was mostly miscommunication and grief manifesting in different ways. I think it would be great to see Claw, with his stronger sense of independence, help Chat recognize that he’s in a genuinely abusive relationship and help him start to distance himself from his Gabriel.

It'd also be neat if, remembering what Shadybug has mentioned about Ladybug having a nice mom, he encouraged Chat to spend more time with Ladybug’s family, and those of his other friends, not just to get away from his toxic homelife but to observe and learn what a healthy homelife looks like.

Most interesting of all I think would be to see the Gabriels meet and clash. I think Hawkmoth, beyond anything else, would be the one person most able to get Hesperia really, truly angry.

(And yes, I’m sticking with Hawkmoth instead of Monarch, just- just erase so much canon whenever I talk, Fu’s still around and the Guardian, Ladybug’s taken more responsibilities and Hawkmoth’s managed to steal a few more Miraculous, but he doesn’t have all of them. In fact, I’m going to say that currently in canon he has the butterfly, repaired peacock, bee, and dragon, the last two he got at the end of season 3 (which is the point in the show where I really start to get annoyed at canon anyway, so why not?). So:

Nathalie is on the mend due to the peacock being fixed and having used it infrequently, but Emilie, having used it far more often, remains unchanged. Chloe’s going through a rough patch in her redemption arc, where she’s hurt and angry that Ladybug called on another hero with a known identity for help and in the process left Chloe at the mercy of Hawkmoth. Marinette’s own rough patch and self-doubt she’s going through when she meets Hesperia is caused because she made a bad call that not only didn’t manage to get the bee miraculous back, but also lost them the dragon in the process. And, heck, the peacock is just officially the miraculous of Observation in both universes in this fic, because fighting an enemy with perfect awareness of their surroundings would be a fascinating challenge, especially since you’d have to keep coming up with new ideas with each new battle.)

Anyway, Hesperia vs Hawkmoth would also be a truly fascinating fight, because while Hawkmoth has four miraculous and maybe an akuma, Hesperia has multiple allies and the ability to dispel any akuma Hawkmoth creates. So it would be a matter of fighting one strong opponent with multiple abilities they can use as much as they like versus several relatively weaker opponents with one ability each that they need to recharge after using. That could be such an exciting battle, especially with Heserpia and Hawkmoth arguing morality at its heart!

[soap-lady]

Late chapter...again

Hey guys,

I’m on vacation, but that’s not actually why I’m late. I am also under the weather and getting weird headaches. But I wanted to get Chapter 23 out before the end of the month so here is me fulfilling a promise.

Thanks as always, @arylace

I left my taglist in America so I can’t tag anyone. Sorry.

Chapter 23

Ladybug paced as she waited at the Pont des Arts for the new/old hero. What if Luka decided he didn’t want to be a hero any more? What if he wanted to train with Chat Noir instead?

She felt so inadequate. Master Fu hadn’t trained her enough, she hadn’t had time to learn how to be a good hero, much less a leader or the Guardian. She was going to fail. She was-

She crammed all of her doubts and inadequacies back into her subconscious where they belonged and tried to focus on her purpose. This wasn’t a date, this was training. She should be friendly and patient, but still professional. Sure, Luka was sweet, handsome, kind, generous and one of the coolest people she’d ever met but he was here tonight in a hero capacity and not a potential love interest.

Ladybug was so busy spiraling she didn’t hear Wyvern’s footfall as he landed on the bridge.

“Am I late?”

The hero started, then turned around and looked at her trainee. She had forgotten his new costume and oh, kwami did he look good in leather. She blinked a few times and took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Not at all!” her voice came out high and squeaky, more Marinette than The Hero of Paris. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m paranoid about being late so I came as early as I could. Have you been talking to your kwami? I’m sure Longg could explain her abilities better than I.”

“Yes. She and I have talked about it.” Luka missed Sass’ laidback and chill personality but Longg had a certain charm and dignity of her own. She was a bit formal and probably felt more comfortable around someone aristocratic like Ryuuko but she didn’t complain. Longg reminded him a little of one of Mom’s school friends, Mme. Radloff; stuffy but kind.

“Good. I’m glad you’re familiar with your new powers.” She hesitated and then said, “Listen. I know you’re used to hanging back and assessing the situation. It’s what made you such a great hero. But!” She raised a finger before he could speak. “The Dragon has active powers. Wind, lighting, water…you’ll have to go out of your um…comfort zone? You’ll have to be willing to jump in and fight.”

Her tone became more confident as she continued to speak. This was familiar ground; powers and duty and taking care of Paris. Her possible blooming feelings for Luka could wait until after patrolling was done. Even if he looked hot as hell and all she wanted to do was run her hands over the leather and stand on the tips of her toes and kiss his lips to see what he tasted like.

“So…more offense than defense, right?” Luka was saying as she zoned back in. He chuckled and said, “I’m sure I can just channel my mom. She’s pretty aggressive.”

Ladybug’s laugh was awkward yet relieved. “Yeah. I remember Captain Hardrock. She was at a Ten. I need you to be closer to a Five. Okay?”

He nodded. “Okay.” He looked her in the face. “Ladybug? You okay?”

No, not really. I’m becoming more and more aware of how attractive and wonderful you are and realized I wasted too much time on Adrien. I don’t know if I’m just moving too fast but I’ve read the script and I have to kiss you. I want to try that so bad. Without cameras and people watching….but I can’t bring myself to ask; and if Marinette can’t ask that. Ladybug sure as hell can’t.

“More or less.” She cleared her throat and decided to give him most of the truth. “I…having to change all of my temporary heroes has been stressful, even with Hawk Moth taking most of the summer off.” She sighed, glad to be able to say something out loud. She cared about Chat, but he wasn’t always good at serious conversation. “Because I allowed myself to get…distracted by my personal life…I lost my entire team. Now I’m having to build mostly from scratch and I don’t know who to trust with what because real life keeps intruding and I’m-”

“Feeling overwhelmed.” Luka understood. “I know what that’s like. I’m filming a movie and helping to create the music and…it’s a lot. Being organized and sticking to a schedule doesn’t come naturally. But I’m learning. Luckily I have my friend Marinette to help me learn. She’s incredible.” He smiled dreamily as he remembered filming with Marinette or learning how to dance.

She couldn’t help but smile. She wished she could see herself through his eyes. His version of her was capable and talented; confident and brave. She wanted to meet that Marinette herself.

“But I’m sure you can find someone who would be glad to teach you how to deal with everything.” His smile showed his confidence in Ladybug too and her face fell.

“Or, you’ll learn,” he gently wrapped an arm around Ladybug’s shoulder. “There’s always more we can learn. You’ll figure it out. And if you need anyone to talk to, you have me and Chat Noir.”

“And Mamushi.” She grinned at the surprised look on his face. “You’ll meet her later.”

He grinned back and she opened her mouth to tell him where they were going to patrol when they heard the explosion.

“That sounded like it came from near the Mabillon Metro station. Let’s go!”

Doubts set aside, Ladybug threw out her yo-yo and leapt away, Wyvern close behind her.

                                                                        *****

The fire now engulfed the building and was out of the firefighters’ control.  Ladybug and Wyvern assisted in getting the victims and the emergency away from the building.

Ladybug looked frantically at the fire. Nothing was pinging; she couldn’t think of a solution to the problem until Luka lit up and she cursed herself for her stupidity. Of course.

“Wyvern?” She turned her head a little in his direction. “If you wouldn't mind?”

He nodded and then grabbed his wrist where the Snake bracelet used to be. “Second Chance!”

Both of the heroes froze. There was too much shouting and panic going on around them for anyone to have heard Wyvern’s screw up. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Sorry. It’s my first time.”

“Performance anxiety. It happens to everyone.” She shrugged, not noticing the shocked look on Wyvern’s face. She clearly had no idea what she said had sounded like. “Try again. You can do it.”

“Water dragon!” he cried and instead of dissolving into Ryuuko’s overpowering flood, he became a gentle but heavy rain over the fire. The blaze was doused and the remaining personnel cheered.

Ladybug and Wyvern approached the person who appeared to be in charge; the same firefighter she frequently saw around Paris. “Is there anyone still trapped in the building?” she asked.

The man shook his head. “No, Ladybug. As far as we know, everyone was evacuated, even the cafe owners’ children from the second floor.” He chuckled a little. “The boy was babbling about being saved by a winged knight who swooped in and saved him just before the building exploded. Of course, that could have been carbon monoxide poisoning, but I’m sure the hospital staff will treat him for that and he’ll be fine.”

He touched his hand to the brim of his helmet and said, “Thanks again for your service to Paris, Ladybug. And…” he glanced at Luka. “Who’s your new friend?”

“Oh,” she blinked in confusion as she processed what he’d just said about the knight. “This is Wyvern.  He’s taking over as the new Dragon when Ryuuko had to retire.” She tried to make it sound as if he were a new recruit.

Luka waved obediently and smiled. “Glad to do my part to help Paris. Thanks for all you and your team do.”

“Nice to meet you, Wyvern.” The man smiled. “We’re sorry to see Ryuuko go. My daughters are big fans. But welcome to the team!”

Wyvern nodded. “I’ll do my best to live up to her.”

As they were talking Ladybug noticed something on one of the neighboring buildings. “Well, we’ll let you get back to work and we’ll continue our patrol. Bug out!”

She leapt away with Wyvern close behind her. She landed on the fire escape and pointed something out on the way to her trainee. “Are you seeing that too?” she asked.

He nodded and then reached up to run his hand over the  deep grooves someone or something had left there. “Yeah. It looks like-”

“Claw marks?” She looked at Wyvern then took her yo-yo out to take a picture of what they saw. “What could be strong enough to leave claw marks in solid brick?”

                                                                              *****            

Chat Noir and his trainee soon made short work of the robbers.  Mamushi hadn’t used her Second Chance more than once. They were congratulating themselves and pushing the tied up prisoners into the street so they could call the police.

“Great work on your first night as Mamushi,” Chat praised. He gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry I was so rude to you earlier.”

“Quite right,” the new Snake was feeling good about her success and only a tiny bit smug. “You should trust my judgment and abilities by…now...”

She broke off and started as she saw a police vehicle securing an unmarked van. Beside the van were two more people dressed similarly to the robbers. They seemed to recognize the other prisoners and opened their mouths to yell at them before being glared at by the arresting officers.

One of the police, a slim, tan skinned woman waved to them.

“Thanks for catching the rest of the gang,” she told them with a grin. “We’ve been after this group of thieves for months and think they’re part of a larger theft ring. She looked from her prisoners to Chat Noir’s and chuckled. “You should have been here a few minutes ago,” she said to the two heroes. She nudged one of the prisoners, a young woman in her twenties. “They claimed they’d been caught by a bird carrying a lion knight.” She laughed and glanced at Mamushi. “Is Team Miraculous recruiting? Or are there a bunch of costume players in town?”

“Cosplayers?” Chat and Mamushi said together and then stopped.

Chat Noir had no idea if his la-his partner had been doing more recruitment on the side. She hadn’t mentioned it to him but he had no intention of telling anyone he didn’t know what was going on.

“Well, we’ve had to make a few changes lately,” he gave the officer his best model smile and indicated his trainee. “This is Mamushi. She’s taking over since Viperion had to retire.”

The woman sighed. “That’s a shame. He was cute. My son had a crush on him.” She grinned at Mamushi. “Thanks for doing your part to protect Paris.”

Kagami bowed. “I am proud to serve.”

Chat really wanted to get away and contact Ladybug. “We’ll leave these guys in your capable hands, Officer.” Mamushi pushed the captives towards the police car and they stumbled before being caught by two other officers. “Good night!”

When they were two blocks away Mamushi looked at Chat. “You don’t know what’s going on either, do you?”

He shook his head. “Either Ladybug is recruiting Arthurian knights, or some good citizens decided to help save Paris while wearing armor.”

*                                                              ******

The following is a partial transcript from the “Uncovering Lights Podcast”

Uncovering Lights, Episode 93: The figure of Green, a glimpse of red and blue. [Written transcript of podcast]

Who are you? Who's out there? Who's listening? We know you're out there. We've been expecting you. We hope your wait wasn't long...[musical interlude]

Hello City of Lights, where the brighter the lights the deeper the shadows. As always the Paris Muses join together and tell you the goings o n that no one really wants to talk about; although tonight you have only one host. This is your humble host Mneme, the Muse of Memory. Whose memory? Why the memory of Paris herself of course. This podcast and its blog are the memories of Paris. The uncovering of the light, the dark, and the gray in between of our beloved city.

This just in, Paris, there's something strange going on in Paris lately. Sightings of strange movements in Paris's night sky have been reported by our lovely listeners. The clearest images we've managed to capture show wings, streaks of red and blue. Of course to any other city it wouldn't be seen as something odd. Birds do come in a multitude of colors including red and blue; surely Mneme, someone asks, not even you are that far in conspiracies. [chuckle]

You'd be wrong. Paris we live in a city where we're monitored by a madman in lavender. Where the wings of once innocent and precious butterflies have brought terror to our city. Continue bringing terror to our city. Skepticism has escaped us long ago, years ago to be exact.

So what is the importance of the red and blue wings? I thought you'd never ask, dear listener. You see my dear listeners, the silhouette's we've captured look more humanoid in size. That is what's worrying.

Who is the figure of red and blue wings? What do they want? Why have they come here? Why Paris? Why only at night have they flown? Why are they hiding in the dark? Curious and curiouser I have become as we've tried researching anything concerning the wings.

The winged being did not enter our city alone. No. It's joined by another figure; an emerald and brown clad person. A crown on their head, emerald glass covering most of their face, deer antlers, and a dashing smile. Or so your humble host has been told by accounts of those who met the new person.

Princely, they claim themselves to be a protector. We've heard from people who were saved by the person in green. They weren't saved from an akuma. It was from mugging, from the criminal filth who  takes advantage of the lavender's silence into creating a vacuum of unsuspecting people. Paris has needed to adapt to be more worrisome of their inside than out. Regulate their emotions than check their surroundings. Criminals like that, and they exploit it.

But the man in green stopped one such crime from happening; using, of all things, a bow and arrows to hit criminals and then tying them up ready for police involvement. When prompted by the victims the green clad figure stated that they are a knight and it was their duty to save people.

How quaint, [chuckles].

A so-called knight is gracing our city; we have another figure that claims to be a knight. The destructive black cat of Paris, self proclaimed knight in shining leather, Chat Noir. We Muses and the audience thought it was a throw away line from the young...exterminator of lavender minions.

Yet this 'knight' seems to have come doing acts that have no involvement of the lavender and his minions. More quaint is the title claimed: Sir Tristan. After the Arthurian myths and stories. I wonder if they're aficionados of literature. [hmm]

I'm sure that like many you've tried to figure out the speculations of the LadyBlog but since it's primary focus is on the Lavender, the Black, and Spotted fighting very much publicly. It seems they haven't gotten any information on the green clad knight. Who knows, are they like the aforementioned...heroes? Or is this a vigilante?

Either way this Sir Knight had done some good in our city and for that we thank you. If you are listening, do know that Paris remembers these moments and kindness and pays them in kind. We need not your announcements or fanfare if you wish not to give it; our listeners enjoy truth and theory in tandem. However if you wish to provide more information; drop a letter in our Box, we are all equally anonymous.

This has been the Muse Mneme. Remember to be vigilant within and of our surroundings. Sleep well if you can, or enjoy peace if awake. The city of lights endures, no matter what.

Good Night, Paris; good night, Sir Knight, good night to the hidden wings of red and blue. Good night to you, my dear listeners; this is Mneme signing off.]

                                                                  *-*-*-*-*

Uncovering Lights, Episode 94: A knight in tarnished gold. [Written transcript of podcast]

[Mneme] Who are you? Who's out there? Who's listening? We know you're out there. We've been expecting you. We hope your wait wasn't long... [musical interlude]

[Aoide] Hello City of Lights, where the brighter the lights the deeper the shadows. As always, the Paris Muses join together and tell you the goings on that no one really wants to talk about; although tonight you have only one host. Your host tonight is me, Aoide, the muse of voice and song. Who's voice? Yours, the Parisian collective is amplified by me tonight.  

This just in,Paris, there's something strange going on in Paris lately. Well, isn't it always? [giggles]. We have heard whispers going around Paris. So loud that the cacophonous echo can even reach my ears. Which is why I'm the host tonight. Someone needs to spread the news, don't we?

Before I forget. I'd like to start by thanking Mneme for running last week's episode all by themselves, it was grand. Going back on track, a lot happened last week. The development of the mysterious Sir Tristan and a figure of red-blue wings. Two colors when fused create purple. Can it be Lavender's influence?

Initially I thought so as well; but they are well behaved and keeping mostly to themselves. Only flying in the darkness, patrolling the city.

Or, maybe surveilling for Lavender.

Those are the worthy theories to take on the mysterious figure; I and your other muses Mneme and Melete have thought of. But if you have a different opinion. Chime in, dear listeners, is the winged one independent or a new henchman for Lavender? We would love to know your opinion.

The green and brown clad Sir Tristan has been scarce since his first view last week, as far as our ears have heard. Could they have been a one-time fling? Or a superhero that decided to visit Paris on holiday and saw something that sprung them to action? We're not sure, and the elusive Sir Tristan probably either doesn't want us to know, or hasn't heard about us yet to write out.

Now red, blue, and green have not been the only new colors we've seen as of late. The rich tones of sable and tarnished gold have been making a splash as of late. Like a beloved antique which lost its shine, there's a new figure in town. If Sir Tristan is princely, our account is that the tarnished gold entity is all warrior. [hmmmm]

Usually our masked aficionados take great lengths to conserve their anonymity. Wearing masks that obscure parts of their face. Goldie here takes it to a whole new level. He's covered head to toe so that you cannot see any identifying markers. A helmet that is akin to a lion, with a fitting brown and black mane framing his helmet and some of their back. Dull armor that sports dings of it being well used. Along with a long pike; that's what some wonderful listeners told us about.

Sir Percival, [chuckles], that's the moniker tied to the lion influenced warrior. Mneme mentioned that the previously uncovered one, Sir Tristan, was a member of Arthurian mythos and their legends. Percival is one too; in particular regarding a holy item. Percival, a French name meaning 'pierce the veil', given that this Percival is wielding a pike one can only applaud such dedication. Did you know listeners, word on the grape vine is that Percival can *growl* like the beast his armor is influenced by? A very agreeable accessory if I do say so myself. I would love to have an interview if you are willing Sir Percival, with only the request you do one growl for our listeners as well.

                                                                        *-*-*-*-*

Uncovering Lights, Episode 98: A Lady of Violet [Written transcript of podcast]

[Mneme] Who are you? Who's out there? Who's listening? We know you're out there. We've been expecting you. We hope your wait wasn't long... [musical interlude]

[Melete] This just in, my dearest listeners, where new colors are brewing in the distant spectrum. So pretty one might wonder why we haven't seen them in so long. Now obviously we are very well-versed with the primary three as I like to call them. Red, Black, and Purple why primaries until now we've been the only ones we've seen with any degree of regularity. Sad to say violet has not been seen. It has been a long time since we saw the first directions to the Aura color spectrum. Red and blue slide together in one beautiful combination, the figure still very shy. Bar any glimpse of wings may be a weird silhouette. We haven't really been able to see this person.

They haven't done anything but fly around our city. Hidden amongst the Shadows at night. Are you friend or Foe?  I hope they're friends because with their arrival came a couple of others. A Princely archer and a tarnished gold warrior. I know that some of you are with me; provided would most likely be my Musely thought. We saw carmine with our ladybug, black with our cat, and sadly lavender colors the butterflies. That was our constant, and now we're graced with new hints. Rich emerald with our princely deer, it is giving a prince of the forest ideal. I wonder if our Bambi is enjoying the fruits of our city? Antique gold in the visage of a powerful lion. The confusion of red and blue.

I've heard amongst the wings that some of our newer listeners had questions about our method of referring to certain individuals. Melete, they've asked, why call them by color? Well, our darlings, I will tell you. We muses refuse to call Lavender by name, to put attention to that represented by the butterfly that terrorizes our home. You know, don’t call upon things lest they decide to listen…and worse be curious about you.

That’s why we assign colors to those we speak of. As you know some other podcasts have their own system of naming things. Colors are ours, but affectionately we can call them other things. Those under influence we call butterflies; our newest knight in green has been referred to as Bambi. Our knight in gold can be called Simba, or maybe Aslan after a lion in fiction. We don’t know much of the winged red and blue so that’s a mystery all of itself. Overall, we go by color, and we have a new color for our arsenal. The newest edition is a lovely maiden donned in a particular hue: purples. Purple is mostly known as an expensive and luxurious color; the color of royalty. Before Lavender purple gave idea of power and authority, and then it was tarnished because of a man who decides to wear a cowl and terrorize our city. Anyone who likes purple was annoyed at the entrance of Lavender, and even had to quiet their love of said color. For a period of time anyone associated with purple hues was said to be in cahoots with Lavender. As someone who’s favorite color is purple, I don't even wear it due to that man who decided he will terrorize our city.

It seems that our wishes of saving purple have been answered; for there’s a new hero clad in shades of purple. Particularly lilac and violet shades, both harmonious and elevated by silver hues. How do we know? Why, my darlings, in what way do we know anything? News travels fast, and the words of our listeners buzz in our ears. Our newest maiden, calls herself Isolde. We are keeping the Arthurian theme as we anticipated. Now for the unaware Isolde was a damsel of Celtic legend, known for being the princess archetype and in a lovely romantic relationship with her first knight, Tristan. A love story for the ages, which makes me wonder if our green clad Tristan and violet hued Isolde are an item. I mean, it would be stressful to claim the moniker after lovers and not be such a thing. It would be tiresome to correct anyone who thought otherwise.

Our accounts of our Lady Violet are ones of girl power. A heroine helping some lovely ladies who were being unfortunately harassed. Dropping from the shadows like all the heroes before her until it was too late. Accounts were of a violet ribbon like whip snatching the offender and tying them up before alerting authorities and staying with the girls. While we thank Lady Violet for caring so much for us women, I do want to remind our more feminine presenting listeners that safety in numbers is important. If we can stay in groups, and always be willing to help out one another we can keep our sisters safe. We have resources on our websites for local classes who teach self defense and the like for more information.

Speaking with Mneme recently had something pop into our minds that we decided to share. These new Knights are warriors of a different class. Our Lady Red and Sir Black are equipped simply, with what seems to be a total coverage suit but no other form of anything we would call protection. No armor or padding in sight. However, the knights are donned in armor with good coverage. It also shows that their weapons are different as well. Whereas our local team seem to lean to the fantastical weaponry consisting of toys with a yo-yo and a baton. The Knights hold weapons: a longbow, a spike, and a whip even if the material seems like ribbons.

I’m curious as to why. Are our local heroes more fantastical in nature? Or does it come with age? We all remember when our spotted lady and black knight began their battle under the tyranny of Lavender. Are their weapons and clothing a reflection of that youth? Or is it that these new knights are of a different credential of heroes and as such affirm to a different set of rules?  I would love to hopefully speak with a representative of either team and uncover if purposeful or coincidental happenstance.

This has been the muse Melete. Remember to be vigilant within and of our surroundings. Sleep well if you can, or enjoy peace if awake. The city of lights endures, no matter what.

Good Night, Paris; good night, knight maiden, good night to the hidden wings of red and blue. Good night to you my dear listeners; this is Melete signing off.]

                                                                 *-*-*-*-*

Uncovering Lights, Episode 104: Frequent fliers of both red and blue. [Written transcript of podcast]

Who are you? Who's out there? Who's listening? We know you're out there. We've been expecting you. We hope your wait wasn't long...[musical interlude]

[Aoide] Hello City of Lights, where the brighter the lights the deeper the shadows. It’s your most melodic host Aoide tonight. With some exciting things to talk about. Our little podcast and blog have gotten a lot of engagement and traction recently and for that we thank you. It’s nice to know that people are interested in the goings on of our now infamous city. Things that were obscured have been found, and I am the lucky muse to reveal that information.

This just in, Paris, new developments have been showing up lately. There’s not one figure of red and blue wings but two separate figures. One in blue wings, and one in bronze and red wings. I believe after weeks of wishing and watching the skies we were finally uncovering answers. There are two new heroes adding to the three we already have totaled the new group to a total of 5. Let’s do a quick recap:

First in the order is our green archer, the charming Tristan who like all has an animal motif. His is the noble stag. Tristan has been of great help capturing criminals that were leading the proper authorities on a merry chase. His arrows have captured many criminals pinning them in place. They have also been said to be great with children and helping people who were spooked. With wit and charm some of our listeners said that it would be easy to curtail a butterfly with this hero around.

Our second valiant knight is Percival. Our lion of tarnished gold. Quiet, and the most reserved hero we have to date; clad from head to toe in black and antique gold armor that has seen battle with its dents and scratches being any idea. Percival has been a wonderful guardian stalking the streets and helping anyone who is in need. Whether helping due to fighting off assailants, or escorting someone to a safe location per our accounts. Percival is a fierce defender and fits the noble lion.

Our first lady has been a breath of fresh air. Magical in all terms of the word, Lady Isolde, or as we call her our Lady Violet. Her enthusiasm of helping not only the everyday citizen because of crime; but also, to be a kind ear to listen to those who have had no voice and demand that even our police officers have done their due diligence and protect our citizens. Multiple accounts have been said that Lady Violet has confronted officers for misogyny or ignoring our youth with their valid concerns. Unicorn indeed.

Now it pleases me to speak of our two newly confirmed heroes. Sir Galahad, referred to as Paladin by Sir Tristan; and Morrigan.

Now we have kept to the Arthurian theme as far as Sir Galahad goes. He is said to be the son of sir Lancelot, and this son has even bested his father who was known to be the best knight. Galahad is also renowned as the knight who found the holy grail and is the best of all the Round Table knights. Galahad apparently lifted a sword stuck in a magic stone that had an inscription reading: "Never shall man take me hence but only he by whose side I ought to hang; and he shall be the best knight of the world."  This and being called as Paladin as a hype by Tristan, one of the legendary knights of Charlemagne’s court leaves an impressionable idea on our new hero in blue.

Accounts state that Galahad is usually never alone, but always watching over the others and even giving orders which makes us think that Galahad may be the leader of these new knights. We’ve also been informed that the hero helped local authorities by rescuing civilians trapped in a burning building and flying them to the medics so they could get proper care quickly. Wearing knightly armor including a twin cape of blue that has sprouted into wings, a helmet that seemed to be shaped like a beak would make one think of a bird. Yet the griffon shown proudly on his golden breastplate makes it more narrowed down. Our second mythical beast of the new heroic team. Also he has a wonderful sword that seems to sometimes glow which makes him my personal favorite.

Then there’s our final member, the red winged Morrigan. She is the one we’re surprised by the most, personally. To begin with, the moniker is not Arthurian in nature; Melete claims it could be from Morgan Le Fey but Mneme and I both agree it could be from Irish mythology. A goddess of war and fate who foretold doom, death, or victory in battle. Usually appearing as a bird, and our Morrigan has a very aquiline or eagle like motif. Bronze armor that looked fit for an archer, as she is our second archer of this team paired with Tristan. She’s also clad with no mask, but instead sporting wrap-around sunglasses that are shaped like wings; and like Galahad a red cape that would turn to wings allowing her to fly. Morrigan has been the hardest one to get a lot of accounts from, more secretive than the others preferring to either fly above and provide assistance or keep to rooftops and high places than personally talk with people. From what little we’ve gathered; Morrigan is somewhat sassy with how she talks to others. Yet she’s the first to swoop in if things need speed. Having swooped in to save someone who while drunk fell into the Seine River one night and dropped him off at the authorities so they could escort the tourist to their hotel safely.

Well, dear listeners, how satisfying is it to finally uncover a mystery? We the Muses will be keeping our eyes and ears open to learn more of this strange knight filled team and what they want to do in our city. If you're listening I'd like to both welcome you all to our city and thank you for your service in helping us. It's OK if you'd like to keep your anonymity. However if you wish to provide more information; drop a letter in our Box, we are all equally anonymous.

This has been the Muse of Song, Aoide. Remember to be vigilant within and of our surroundings. Sleep well if you can, or enjoy peace if awake. The city of lights endures, no matter what.

Good Night Paris; good night to our knights. Good night to you my dear listeners; this is Aoide on behalf of the Muses signing off.]

                                                                         *-*-*-*-*

Have you had your own encounter with the Knights? Tell your story on our blog using the hashtag: #knightsofParis

Romantic-coffee-hog: My girlfriend and I were out near Rue de Charolais when someone jumped out at us and demanded money.  Then Sir Tristan showed up and pinned the guy to the wall with arrows and left him for the police to find. He then recommended a good restaurant nearby. Saved our date #knightsofParis

That-Weirdo-12 replied: I wasn't in a good place mental health wise. I was struggling with a lot of things so I decided to take a walk. It was late, and I was watching the Seine contemplating the water. I heard flapping wings and a girl was talking to me. It was dark and hard to see, but she offered to listen and keep an eye out for lavender. I started to vent about everything and she listened, even interjected a few times so I didn't feel completely alone. She even offered me jerky, apparently she made it herself. I felt a lot better and was escorted home in style, flying over Paris seeing all the pretty lights. Thanks Morrigan, you're bitchy but thanks. #knightsofParis

Dead-Lifting says: I'm a pretty big guy, around 1.8 meters and 113 kg. I felt like a damsel with Percival hoisting me up his shoulder like I was air as he got me out of my wrecked car and passed me off to Galahad who flew me over to the hospital. Sir Tristan was already there talking with the paramedics. I was bleeding a lot and the air lift helped me get treated faster. As soon as I get better I'm going to pay forward my luck and volunteer. Thanks #knightsofParis

Real-life-Cinderella replied: I was on my way for an audition for "Paris Has Talent" (too poor for a taxi) when some assholes from my lycee thought it would be funny to throw coffee and who knows what else on my dress. Well, out of nowhere this beautiful girl in silver armor and a horn coming from a crown jumps in and scares them off. Then she takes me to a cafe and tells me to wait. Then she comes back with this incredible lilac dress, loans me a few euros, and wishes me the best. This song is for you, Lady Isolde! #knightsofParis

Help-Im-Crushing: So I found out my fiance cheated on me. How? I was walking my dog and saw the bastard proposing marriage to another girl! He said they've known each other for a year! We've been together 4! I was so mad! So I started yelling at him and threw his ring to his face. Apparently he didn't expect to get caught, or be humiliated in public so we started screaming at each other and he hit me. Next thing I know my ex-fiance was on the floor with a bruise and Galahad was standing over him. I was saved by a knight in shining armor who gave my ex the talking-to he deserved. Also stayed while the police came and he was charged with assault. Ex got arrested and dumped by me and the other girl. Then Galahad took us for coffee. I'm in love #knightsofParis #crushingonGalahad

Not-a-furry: I just wanted to eat my lunch outside for once. I picked the day the panthers escaped from the zoo. Fortunately, Percival was nearby and after corralling the kitties sat with me  and talked about music until the EMTs gave me a shock blanket. King of Beasts indeed! #knightsofParis

                                                        *****

The following is a partial transcript from the “Coccinella Magnifica” podcast. This podcast contains material some might find controversial. Reader/listener discretion is advised.

Coccinella Magnifica Episode 56: Making sense of the so-called “knights”. [Written transcript of the podcast].

Are you still faithful to the Beetle and Cat? Do you reject the false heroes and fake narrative? I sure hope so. [Show theme plays].

Hello, and welcome back again, my Polyphaga! It’s been two weeks and I’m sorry for the delay. Real life concerns strike again. This is your host, Calvia, making a triumphant return to the airwaves! [Laughs]

[Clears throat] Well, all sorts of strange happenings went on while I was indisposed. Apparently there have been a group of who-knows-what gallivanting around our fair city and claiming to be knights. Sure, they’ve helped a few people but Ladybug has done that on a Tuesday. Yet even our beloved anchorwoman Nadja Chamack has ignored Our Lady Scarlet to sing the praises of the alleged Knights of Paris like a medieval troubadour.

And I, dear listeners, have to ask: what is the big deal? Do they remind us of our distant history of chivalry and courtly love? Are we growing bored of the young woman who has fought tirelessly, almost alone, to protect our home? I would be ashamed, my good people, my Polyphaga, if even one of you turned your back on our hardworking Ladybug.

Long term listeners know this but I pride myself on being a rational human being and would never make assumptions based on emotion alone. I have poured over every video uploaded online or sent to me via email, sometimes frame by frame. I’ll put a few links in the show notes so you can judge for yourselves.

As much as I would love to believe these newcomers are benevolent and only seek to aid us as much as I can, my analytical brain won’t let me. Are they helping our heroes fight akuma? Does Morrigan or Galahad catch Chat Noir before he slams into a building? Does Percival aid Ladybug when she’s trying to come up with a strategy to stop Mister Pigeon (yes, again) from covering Paris with feathers and feces? [noise of disgust] Sorry, that was beneath me.

But no and no. They do little to nothing to help our beloved duo. To their credit they help evacuate civilians when akuma attack. They’ve been known to capture bank robbers and rescue kittens from trees and yes, stopped someone from jumping off Pont du Lac. All very nice and useful.

None of them have ever been interviewed and seem to hide from Mme. Chamack or even the innocuous Ladyblogger, who seems to have finally returned after taking the summer off. Morrigan even threatened to feed someone their own camera. Hrm, hiding or hostility seems to be their official reaction to the press.

I have heard they are just humble and don’t want to get in Ladybug’s way when she’s fighting akuma. That they prefer to be heroes of the common people. What high ideals. What garbage!

[Takes a deep breath] Again, sorry. Don’t be fooled by the shiny armor or fancy wings, Paris! Support Team Miraculous, who has always been there for us. These knights pretend to help the little guy but that’s all it is; pretend.

You know I will always speak the truth to you and I say these so-called chevaliers are trying to muscle their way into the hearts of Parisians and supplant our Lady and her feline cohort. There! I said it! They’re trying to start a superhero turf war and our heroes and our city will be their casualties!

Don’t believe the knights. Don’t accept their help. They don’t have your best interests at heart, they just want to fool us and take focus off Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Let’s think about this for a minute. Where were these knights three years ago when Hawkmoth first showed up? Why didn’t they help us then? I’ll tell you why. They saw all the attention and love our wonderful Chat and Lady received and got jealous. They’re not helping with akuma but they want our city to worship them while they leave the real heroes to do all the hard work. They’d rather fly around and look pretty while gaining our trust. Once they have it the claws will come out.

You might laugh at me for being hostile towards people who look like they’re helping but it’s all for show. And if they’re so benevolent, why the weapons? Do they need swords and bows and arrows to defend Paris? Where did they come from?

What are they hiding?

And oh, yes, they are hiding something. Their true intentions for Paris. Everyone has secrets and they refuse to step into the light.

Believe me, I’d love for these knights to be on the side of right and good but anyone who claims to be a hero yet refuses to join forces with Ladybug or even talk to her can’t be truly good. Look at those links if you doubt me. There’s one where Ladybug is holding out her hand to Galahad but all he does is look at her and fly away. Not my idea of a hero, especially if he thinks he’s too good to be Ladybug’s ally.

The price of freedom is vigilance and so I say to everyone who can hear my voice. Stay vigilant. Take photos. Document everything. If you can, send it to me.

I love Paris. I love our heroes. I love all of you. Good night. This is Calvia, signing off. Be sure to leave a comment down below. Please include the hashtag #ibelieveinLB

[Program ends]

Um-actually: It’s pretty telling to me that all of these “Knights” take their names from things like Arthurian Legend or Celtic Mythology. They’re clearly from Great Britain or Ireland. If they were French heroes, like our Ladybug and Chat, there would be a Lancelot among them. Why aren’t they protecting their homeland? Were they exiled? Disgraced? Is the French government secretly contracting heroes from other nations? #ibelieveinLB

TERFs-must-die: I know, right? We don’t need to outsource heroism. Ladybug has recruited temporary heroes before. She could easily make them permanently part of the team. These faux heroes should be deported!  #ibelieveinLB

To-be-fair: The temporary heroes disappeared after Miracle Queen. Rumor has it Hawkmoth found out who they were and their families had to leave France. I saw LB swinging around with some guy with a dragon motif so maybe they’re slowly rebuilding the team.  #ibelieveinLB #LadyNoirForever

Whatever: Hawkbutt has been scarce over the summer. Maybe the heroes are on vacation? #ibelieveinLB #LBisAce

[tornrose24]

Could any of the Dreamworks Animation films that I’ve seen work as a live action film?

In light of the news of How to train your Dragon getting a live action remake, I decided to do this list for fun. Keep in mind that these are the films that I HAVE seen from start to finish, in case your favorite is not on here. (Madagascar and Trolls are such examples of not being on the list).

Prince of Egypt-Absolutely yes. As long as you cast the right ethnicities for the roles (who are also good singers if you want to take the musical approach), and hire a crew that is good at doing their research, then yes this could work.

Road to El Dorado–Also yes for the same reasons as Prince of Egypt.

Spirit–The best thing about this is that you could use real horses and not rely on CGI for this one. Though some people (and we know who they are) would be ticked off because ‘oh the Americans are the bad guys.’

Chicken Run–Nah, I’d leave this alone. It’d be interesting as a stage play, but I don’t think a live action film would work. Plus I feel that would make a lot of the darker elements even worse. Alternatively, you could screw this up by having it be human focused and have OCs be the ones to save the chickens like in Dumbo, and no one wants that.

Shrek (any of the films)–Eh…. If they did 80’s style practical effects and saved the CGI for specific things, it could work. Otherwise half the characters would be in CGI as well as almost the entire scenery if you went with the lazy route, in which case it won’t work. Also, given how things have changed, someone would have Lord Farquaad be played by a regular sized man, which would not be taken well by some fans. If they mess with Fiona’s character, it wouldn’t be well received either.

Puss in Boots–same as Shrek. If they go with the CGI route for the entire cast, it won’t work, unless you go with a theater approach (which would be the better choice).

Kung Fu Panda (any of them)–Absolutely not. They’d go with the CGI route for this one and it’d be crap. Also my understanding is that Chinese audiences love the Kung Fu Panda films and I don’t think you’d want to anger them if you were trying to appeal to them for money like with the live action Mulan. The ONLY way you could do this is to have the actors in costumes (not cheesy costumes, but good costumes that incorporate the animal elements as well as Chinese culture) and take nods to Eastern theater/cinema for this to work. Knowing Hollywood, it’s doubtful the second option would come into play.

Monsters vs Aliens–It’d be neat to see this with cheesy old school effects, but I can’t see this being a live action film given how the original didn’t do well enough with most people.

How to train your Dragon (what started this whole thing)–A puppet version of Toothless would be cool. However we all know the dragons are most likely going to be CGI, so… yeah, this might not be well liked.

Megamind–given how popular Marvel is, they could pull this off (but probably try to have Megmind be in disguise for longer chunks of the film to avoid having the actor be in make up so much). Though expect certain people to throw a fit because the whole thing with Hal being more than just a creep towards Roxane is STILL relevant in this day and age.

Rise of the Guardians–Same with Shrek. In the right hands the costumes and make up would be amazing. But they’d likely go for CGI for Bunnymund and the fairies, as well as most of the scenery, in which case it might not work.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman–Could you learn from the mistakes the first live action Sonic film almost made? It all depends on how Mr. Peabody is done, but either way I don’t think this adaption could work. Then again a lot of those ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle and friends’ cartoons have had several live action films, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this film also got that treatment.

Home–Nah. I know what route they’d take with this film (given that most of the cast are aliens, and they wouldn’t use a live action cat for Pig, not to mention all the alien stuff), so no.

Boss Baby–OH HELL NO! NO! NO! NO! Not only is this a terrible idea, but it’s already been proven that CGI babies are terrible. You know damn well they’ll go with the CGI baby route if they do this. I don’t want to see a CGI baby in live action talk with an adult’s voice. We will have entered an apocalypse if this ever happens.

Captain Underpants–Honestly I’d be curious to see this and I think it could be pulled off. The catch is that there’s some things that’d have to be CGI (unless you keep the books’ more creative approaches to certain scenes and moments), you’d have the same Farquaad issue and have to have a regular sized person play the bad guy, you’d need to find the right crew who wouldn’t treat the story or characters as complete jokes, and you’d need to find a pretty well rounded actor who shares physical similarities to CU/Krupp, has enough energy to play both roles, and is willing to… well, you know… be running around in his underwear for all to see.

The Bad Guys–this would be hard to do if you made the wrong creative choices. You could do the Sonic approach with the main characters, but if you just made them all humans with animal characteristics/are just regular humans with code names then its probably not going to work (I mean, that’s interesting, but not everyone would be all for that). Also, I don’t know if just having the actors in make up and costume would work.

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Reviews Episode 4-6: Furious Fu

Let's see Fu get Furious. Let's see Su Han. Is he someone who helps out our struggling teenage heroes or is he just an ass?

Several people are typing...

Why not just explain that if all of them came, where would they hide? Up Marinette's butt? And how does Marinette know they'll behave and not indirectly dox her to Hawkmoth?

Thank you Barkk for having the brains. Also I forgot about the backpack.

That was unexpectedly hilarious. Bro's in the trash like that and shuffling around.

Okay that's even funnier. Does bro have space magic or something?

Thief

That's because you took him away as a child. He was never meant to be a guardian.

Is this jackass seriously not aware of the supervillain with two Miraculouses terrorizing Paris!?

Yes, she is way too young to be in all of this, but you're just being a jackass.

Actually, Su Han is kinda cooking. Although Ladybug and Chat Noir have befriended their kwamis, two teens really shouldn't be involved in all of this.

How the hell does Mirakung-fu even work? There isn't a real Martial art to Miraculous Wielders. They kinda just use their weapon.

Futbol

pffft soccer kids

I honestly really liked that defeat! A stalemate ended by Marianne being called in by Ladybug.

Wait, the charms are personalized. Interesting.

Yippee! Character development!

Eh. He wasn't that bad. Also note to self: When aiding the guardian of the Miraculous, if they're unorthodox try to create magical failsafes.

[uptoolateart]

‘No more adults...’

Thinking back to that line in ‘The Bubbler’ - ‘no more adults means total freedom.’

I like to think that in real life there are plenty of kind parents, teachers and other such authority figures out there. However, most of the adults in Miraculous Land are overbearing, overreactive, or downright corrupt.

It’s not just the parents. It’s Sabrina’s father as the police officer. It’s the teachers sending everyone to the office immediately, for minor offences or even things that are clearly no one’s fault - my favourite being Ms Mendeleev sending Chloe up to the head office for being...attacked?? I mean...what did she really do, to deserve that?

What we are seeing is this theme of bad authority figures, which crops up again and again in the show.

I always say that being an adult does not mean you get to do whatever you want. It means being the one to choose to do all those annoying little things you were forced to do as a kid, e.g. waking up on time for work, not eating ten slices of chocolate cake, etc. It means being the one to set the rules, and this comes with its own form of pressure.

This is highlighted best through Marinette becoming the Guardian. When the show began, she really was ‘just a kid’, with rules doled out to her and Cat Noir. When Fu renounced Guardianship, he renounced his authority and handed the baton to Marinette. She is now the authority figure, and this means it’s up to her to make the rules. It’s up to her to make the decision to do things as Fu did or dare to set her own boundaries.

Yes, she has Su-Han in the background. But he is so useless that I feel like: what, really, could he do? We have seen him threaten to take away their miraculous...but could he?? He has no powers. He just puts out his hand, expecting Ladybug and Cat Noir to hand over the jewels, no questions asked. We saw in Transmission that they’re willing to do this for Tikki and Plagg, but they stood up to Su-Han. So, the kwamis earn more respect than the Order of the Guardians, the rest of whom we haven’t even seen.

And on the subject of the Order of the Guardians, Su-Han criticised Fu for using a miraculous himself. Apparently, the Guardian is not meant to be a holder, which implies that the Guardians use others to do the fighting for them...basically like Gabriel. I do not think these Guardians are worthy of respect.

So, without Fu, and without any viable replacement through Su-Han, Ladybug and Cat Noir have effectively been left without adults to guide and protect them in their superhero forms. Does this mean ‘total freedom’? Only inasmuch as Ladybug has the freedom to set the rules, now...though she hasn’t fully embraced this yet.

But that’s pretty scary. You can’t pass the responsibility to someone else to deal with. Every decision rests with you. It’s your head on the chopping block, when things go wrong. You’re the one who has to look at yourself in the mirror, after each choice and action.

Also, I think Marinette and the others are going through a classic period of disillusionment, when you realise adults don’t always have all the answers and don’t always keep you safe.

Being an adult definitely does not mean total freedom. I think many of the adults in the show behave as if it does, by taking liberties (which in itself means ‘freedom’) - but they are bad adults. There are plenty out there in the real world, but we can all work to fill the world with good adults, the way Marinette and Adrien are learning to do.

[jacquesthepigeon]

Hey it's me the not-anon Mary sue(in case folks care I don't post anon)

To agress your response first(trying to clarify my point)

Marinette doesn't face consequences, she gets punished.(I ended up using a mega-kuma example latwr too)

A made up example: Say Marinette is nervous about talking to Luka so she uses the snake to reset time repeatedly, checking each of his responses until she finds the right words to get the response she wants.

What the show would not do is have Luka discover her use and get mad that she was manipulating hom, not allowing him a response to her 'true' self's first thoughts.

What it would do is have Su-Han who had never appeared before show up, explain he had tracked her use of the snake and how her use of the snake at this exact moment had caused a celestial conjunction that released a demon which has possessed Adrien and all her friends.

Like one of these things is interesting, narrative, and connected. The other is just abuse.

As for the Fu/Queen thing:

I misspoke about his Identity. I meant location.

The timeline is: Love Eater shows up, Mari confronts it sans Cat Noir. Her Lucky charm is: goto Fu.

On the way to Fu she sees Adrien and Kagami cozey and is distracted. Instead of her usual routine of sneak somewhere and detransform then go see Fu she just heads right to him. Thus giving him away. (Yes Mayura was following her but I feel it is safe to think a Marinette with her head in the game would slip Mayura just as part of her usual care)

Then she reaches for the Bee and think of Chloé. This also fits Ladybug's MO of having people help their family. It lines up perfectly, but then she instead grabs the dragon and we see her literally yoink Kagami away from Adrien by yo-yo (which was admittedly funny)

None of this is calling Mari a bad person, just a person. It's totally fair storytelling. It just gets bottled up with happy Fu and Always Evil Chloé instead of being addressed.

As for the Guardianship. Two points:

1)Consequences need to be contemporary in a narrative. The Narrative hit the end of the sentence with the end of the season finalé. further complications 'later' don't always track back.

2)The Good/Bad of the changeover is muddled anyway. You could argue she would have lost several episodes of S4 without being the Guardian. I don't really want to dissect that, it just isn't a good barometer.

The mega-Kuma is an example of punishment vs consequences.

Consequences would have been Marianne blaming Ladybug(justified or not) or having to admit to Chloé that even though siding with Hawkmoth was wrong, she had made mistakes too in not addressing Chloé clear misunderstanding better(as a hero)

Punishment is Hawkmoth gaining new powers, none of which were forseeable/clear products of her choices.

The discussion is interesting and all but can y’all make throwaway accounts and talk directly to each other?