The zodiac signs

According to the French dub of Ikari Gozen, Marinette is Leo and Kagami is Scorpio (my sign, yay!)

According to the compability site I searched, their compability is low, given that Leo is a fire sign and Scorpio a water sign (which could be reflected on the show by the fact that Ryuko hasn’t used her Fire Dragon yet), but they have a strong attraction. But they have a personality clash, as well.

This is actually very interesting when you compare it to their relationship in the show:

Kagami and Marinette are very different, yet similar at the same time. They are both of Asian heritage, girls Adrien is attracted to, and have a strong moral compass. Not to mention Riposte’s trailer made many of us think Adrien would fall for Kagami because of how similar she is to Ladybug…

But, at the same time, Marinette has far less controling parents, far more experience at friendship, and a puts friendship and doing the right thing before romance; unlike Kagami.

Although Kagami is, deep down, as kind and hospitable as Marinette is, her upbringing has made her more stoic than the pigtailed girl. Furthermore, if the Battle of the Miraculous is anything to go by, Kagami is someone who puts her personal romantic relationships with people above her platonic ones. Unlike Marinette.

Now, I’m not criticising Kagami for it. I’m just using that fact to further explain my anlysis.

Like I stated earlier, Leo and Scorpio, though strongly attracted to one another; once Kagami and Marinette had solved their issues, they hang out together as if they’d been friends for a long time; their personalities clash. 

In Frozer and Ikari Gozen, we got a glimpse of the girls’ point of view on the other: Kagami saw Marinette as someone hesitant (something she’s not a fan of) and weird, and Marinette thought the fencer was too cold. However, in Frozer and Heart Hunter, we saw that, just like Adrien and Luka, they have opposite views on love. Marinette believes in letting the object of her affections go if it means they’ll be happy, whereas Kagami actually prefers to wait for the other person and be their special someone, rather than putting someone else’s happiness before her own.

I originally just wanted to point out the extra information that comes with different dubs, but it appears I’ve managed to add my two cents on the girls’ relationship and the possible meaning behind scenes. Ooops, I did it again.

My Hope/Prediction for Chloe’s Redemption Arc

Note: This post discussing possible events after the season 3 finale. Spoilers for ‘Love Eater’ and ‘Miracle Queen’.

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After discussing the progression of Chloe’s Akumatizations (click here for the post) it got me thinking about how her true redemption arc would get started. 

But first, let’s talk about how her first redemption arc

So how did her first attempt of redemption start off? By wanting to be more like her idol and stand by her side. And who would that idol be?

Ladybug. 

It was set up that Chloe would go from braty classmate > hero or so we thought. We were given the idea that because she admired Ladybug and became Queen Bee, in turn, will help her on her path of redemption.

But she was admiring Ladybug because that’s what you are supposed to do with a hero. Heroes protect and serve therefore you admire them. And Ladybug had massive popularity so naturally, Chloe would wanna be associated with her because of this. It is true that Chloe’s deep admiration for her began to sink past the surface level and she actually did care about her opinions and approval. But Chloe still kept her self-centered mindset despite Ladybug giving her the chance she was asking for.

Being given a miraculous doesn’t make you a hero. Your motives do. Chloe’s motives were still focused on public image and reception. From the start of her journey as Queen Bee, she would constantly remind people that she was Queen Bee. Even when she was currently wielding the miraculous she would assure people that she was the hero, Queen Bee. 

But being a miraculous holder isn’t for glory or recognition. I mean you aren’t even supposed to give away your secret identity. But Chloe did as soon as Queen Bee was introduced to Paris. Even though she wanted to help in times of need, even though she wanted to help for genuine reasons at times, she couldn’t push aside her own ego. 

A redemption arc for Chloe because she was Queen Bee would’ve been weak considering she technically didn’t earn the position, Ladybug decided to trust her with the position after Chloe screwed up. And even then Chloe behavior towards others didn’t change. Like I mentioned in my ‘progression of Chloe’s Akumatizations’ post, Chloe felt her actions as Queen Bee made up for her actions as Chloe Bourgeois therefore, she could suffer no consequences. 

Although Ladybug was a great candidate to help develop Chloe, she failed to understand what a hero’s true intentions were supposed to be from a hero. Ladybug’s status and importance clouded Chloe’s perception.   

So my predictions for Chloe’s TRUE redemption arc 

Chloe is going to have to seek out guidance and a new role model in order to develop the change she needs. Someone who doesn’t just help people out because it’s their duty as a hero. 

This isn’t going to come from her home life; her mother is far too harsh and self-centered and her father is far to weak-willed and cowardly. 

It won’t be from her friends. Sabrina is Chloe’s personalized ‘yes woman’. She won’t be able to reshape Chloe’s behavior but I’m sure once Sabrina reaches a breaking point and stands up for herself Chloe would learn some lessons to her destructive behavior. 

Adrien is a childhood friend and her ‘crush’. She is also Adrien’s first friend. Adrien has a habit of putting up with her behavior but there have been times where he would be stern with her given the severity of the situation. However, her teaming up with Hawkmoth willingly is going to put a wrench in their friendship especailly considering Adrien is actively fighting against Hawkmoth and his akumas. Even after all those years of friendship, we will probably begin to see turmoil between the two which will once again result in Chloe learning a lesson. 

And I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing her seek guidance from any of her other classmates…well maybe except for one.  

Marinette. 

The girl who has been putting up with Chloe for many years and calls her out on her behavior. The girl who Chloe sees as a rival. The girl unknownst to Chloe gave her a chance despite their rough past. 

Marinette is the perfect person to help Chloe with her true redemption arc. Even if Chloe can’t stand her she would be blind to not notice Marinette’s good deeds. Marinette, an ‘everyday Ladybug’ who helps those in her life without asking for compensation or praise. Sometimes her helpfulness goes unrecognized.  

Marinette has no status attached to her and yet she continuously does good deeds and acts heroically. 

I truly think once Chloe hits rock bottom and realizes she needs to change she will look onto Marinette as inspiration. Marinette is a hero without the fame. A person who is always willing to put others before herself not because it’s her duty but because she believes its the right thing to do. Marinette’s selflessness is something Chloe could learn from. 

Marinette might even once again try to get through to Chloe but not as Ladybug but as Marinette. Just like she tried to do in Miraculer when Lila was making Chloe feel self-conscious about her status or lack thereof with Ladybug. But this time with Chloe accepting her help. 

Chloe will start her redemption by fulfilling acts of kindness without asking for anything in return. She won’t brag or remind people what she did, she will do her good deed and go onto the next. This is what Chloe needs for a redemption arc. To push past her own ego and work on being a selflessness person. 

Marinette will probably be the only one willing to give Chloe a new chance at fixing her past mistakes. Once Chloe dissolves her self-centeredness and learns that putting on a costume and having superpowers doesn’t make you a hero she will reach her true redemption. She might even be rewarded by getting the chance to be Queen Bee again, or she might not. But that wouldn’t matter to Chloe anymore because she would understand that her actions have consequences and she will accept whatever they would be. 

In short,

Chloe first redemption arc was through Queen Bee

She did not work on her destructive behavior. She was still rude, bossy, self-centered and egotistic. She thought being Queen Bee made up for her bad behavior/actions. 

Her true redemption arc will be through Chloe Bourgeois

She won’t have a facade of Queen Bee to hide behind. She will learn to help others without acknowledgment. She will be kinder and help/care for others not because she thinks she has to but because she wants to. 

If you think that my darling boy Luka doesn’t have flaws, you aren’t looking hard enough! 

Be warned, my fellow Luka stans. This is about to be a flaw highlight, and it literally doesn’t erase any of the good that this beautiful boy does. I just want to show how he isn’t entirely one-dimensional. 

- We’re looking at a boy who can’t socialise directly or well, to the point where he might come across as insensitive at first. (hi, his first line was literally poking fun of Marinette’s stutter, which is, if you know anybody with or who has a stutter, is a very bad thing to do). 

- He’s chill. …But chill to the point where he was literally late to his band session because he was meditating- and then took his time in coming up to join them because he got caught up talking to a girl. 

- And we’re not even going to go into the soft disregard for the law, considering he played his music so loud that he literally flipped people in their cars.

TWO WORDS: /POLICE. TROUBLE./ 

- A textbook introvert (which isn’t a bad thing), means that he’s easily drained by social interactions, prefers small groups of friends. A quiet boy, too. 

-He /fell in love/ with a girl after meeting her one time! (a narrative, which sadly, a lot of people on the show seem to play to)

- Speaking of, he never directly communicates those feelings. He speaks in convoluted metaphors. He’s dumb-cheesy, even if it comes across as smooth-talking, at the end of the day, he’s talking in prose like a loserbaby. I love him, though. 

- Okay, he’s also very touchy. Grabbing the shoulders, grabbing waists, hands, wrists. He likes to hold onto people when he talks to them, oh BOY. 

Check the scene in Frozer when Marinette trips on her shoelaces. He helps her up, takes his hands OFF her once she’s up, and then puts them BACK DOWN on her waist, afterwards. 

- He fires up like his mother does. Even though it’s a noble argument, and it’s for the sake of Marinette, the guy literally rips XY’s mask OFF his face without giving a single shit about hurting him. Like XY is actually rubbing his face in pain after that happens. 

And the SURPRISE on his face when Marinette says that she only wants Kitty Section to be able to have a chance on TV? Yeah. 

Clearly he didn’t think that there was reason to be had, anymore. At least not until Marinette tries. He literally vibe checks himself and then goes ‘oh’. 

Even though he was fairly okay stepping up to XY, he doesn’t go and confront Bob Roth, himself. People are Akumatized when they think that there are no other solutions to their problems. He can’t do anything but stand there and be angry, because he hasn’t got the nerve to go over there and get those hands off his friend. (Also XY looks so babey here). (someone’s going to disagree with this point, and to that, I partially agree this might not be the case. I also raise the possibility of him just being stunned into not doing anything)

WEIRDLY ENOUGH, THOUGH, he seems to have developed in this area a bit TOO much, because the next time we see him, in Desperada, he’s literally throwing himself in front of danger

To the point where Ladybug actually needs to REPRIMAND him on it. He does it again in Miracle Queen. (Also, I love him, he was doing well, but his tactic wasn’t very smart, given he accidentally ended up holding her in place, you know, where the danger was making a BEELINE (HAHA… funny…))

- I mean. Come on. The guy brings a GUITAR (it’s actually a 5 string bass guitar that sounds like a normal guitar for some reason, but I did a whole other post about that) with him to his JOB for Gods sake. He’s a big ass nerd punk. 

And my final point for now stands. The fact that you might find him boring, or bland? THAT’S A FLAW WITHIN ITSELF. People ARE like that. People don’t always have colourful personalities, and within a character, that’s literally a PART of what makes them unique. That’s a source of insecurity in a lot of people! 

I think anybody who doesn’t take the time to look at the insinuations that come with his character is looking through a very black-and-white lens. There are definitely plenty of things to study about his character if you look hard enough. 

Sure, it might be nice to SEE MORE OF IT on the screen, and I get that, but at the end of the day, please don’t let this be your fallback argument, and don’t be afraid to open your heart to new characters! 

I understand that part of the misunderstanding might be stemming from subtitles, but I also think part of the misunderstanding is coming from a refusal to pay real thought and attention to Kagami and her character, so I just want to spell this out real quick:

Kagami was NOT pressuring Adrien into a relationship in “Miracle Queen”. She was pushing him to GIVE HER A STRAIGHT ANSWER.

Of course, we don’t have the English dub yet, but let’s take a look at the high quality subs of the Ukranian version that we do have, shall we?

Kagami gives Adrien not one, but two chances to reject her here. When he first pushes away from the kiss, despite his flip-flopping on whether he actually wanted the kiss or not (”no, I mean, yes! I mean—”) she asks him flat out if he likes her or not. He could have said no! He could have apologized and said he didn’t have feelings for her! She would have been hurt, but she asked him, so she would have accepted that! Instead, he denies it, and says that the real reason is that he’s not ready. So she asks him when he will be, and to that he dodges the question and looks away, at which point she tells him that his indecision is hurting her, i.e., if he rejected her, at least he’d be making a choice, and she could then move on. 

In other words, Kagami would rather be rejected outright than strung along and played with.

Because, unintentionally or not (and I do believe it’s unintentional), that is what Adrien’s doing, and it is painful, especially for someone like Kagami who isn’t confident in her ability to read other people to begin with (she had to look up a Wikihow to try to befriend Marinette, ffs), and who, as proven by her own words and her actions time and again in the show, doesn’t hesitate and doesn’t appreciate others beating around the bush either.

But let’s look at all the ways Adrien has sent Kagami mixed signals, shall we? We’ll take it episode by episode. (As a note, I’m starting with “Frozer” instead of “Riposte” since it was “Frozer” where their interactions started to be coded as romantic, versus “Riposte” where they only became friends at the end of the episode.)

Seguir leyendo

.・゜-: ✧ :- dragonbug & snake noir -: ✧ :-゜・．

“Peach pink like his lips and mint blue like his eyes.”

The colors of Marinette’s ice cream changed from Adrien’s characteristic colors to Luka’s.