Miraculous Saltybug

I have a bit of a mixed take on that.

Don’t get me wrong, I 100% agree that you need more than spite when writing a long, on-going story. If that is your only motivator as a writer, you’re going to burn out pretty quickly. For most of TOtMiS, the chapters mostly focused on being an AU version of season 3 episodes to accommodate for the ship and story beats that were present due to the changes. That made outlining for those parts of the story much easier.

But later parts, like “Horror Head” were much more difficult. And that’s because at that point, I couldn’t just pick a season 3 episode to draw from and write in response to it. I had to write in response to what I set up, which ended up being a lot more than I realized. (Note: yes, you should be writing in response to what you set up in general, but that’s beside the point).

It also didn’t help that I hadn’t planned on writing a long series - “Silence Can Be Beautiful” was originally a one shot written because I loved “Silencer” so much and just wanted more of it. And then the rest of season 3 started to happen, and the rest is history.

That being said, I don’t want to discount the value of venting frustrations via fanfic (to an extent). Certainly, I’d rather people vent their frustrations that way over more toxic means, like harassing people for not agreeing with their opinions. And if someone stumbled upon their fic, doesn’t like or agree with it? They can just block or drop it and move on.

I would have scrapped it, shredded it, loaded it up into one of Mayor Borgueois’s garbage can rockets, and sent it straight into the sun.

Assuming you're referring to canon? Well, keep in mind I haven't seriously watched the show since Season 3, so my opinion pretty much stems from his debut episode, and the few things I know after that.

CW: Discussions of sexual harassment/assault

Uh, so here’s the thing.

On the one hand, I truthfully want to move on and do other things. Like MAYBE more Psyche and Bewitched? Or like… original projects that I haven’t touched in so long… Not to mention I haven’t really been watching Miraculous or been super active in the fandom for super long so…

On the OTHER hand… I would still like to make the series into one complete story, so it could be read in its intended order instead of needing to skip around. And if I end up doing that, I’m pretty certain I’d probably change a few things here and there so…

Don’t take this as a promise or anything, just a glance into my thought process.

I’ve gone back and forth on how I would write “Nice Guy Adrien: The Musical” if I were to do it now, like making Gabriel more influential on Adrien’s downfall (making it more clear that’s where he got his behavior from), whether or not to keep Felix, whether to keep Chloe’s redemption, etc. It’s definitely the pettiest take I’ve done on Adrien, and like I said, I don’t think I’d ever go that far again.

At the same time though, I don’t have regrets about it either. I enjoyed contributing my take to @lenoreofraven ‘s AU, building the playlist from what was suggested, and writing the scenes with those songs in mind. I have some theater background (not a lot, but even the little you get sticks with you), so it was fun trying something that let me play with that.

TL;DR: I don’t regret “Nice Guy Adrien” but I def have some ideas that would take it in a different direction, especially Adrien.

Ooh, there’s been a few things on my mind:

-I’d try to better balance Adrien and Alya’s arcs. It was harder at the beginning of the fic because I was so annoyed with how the show was handling them at the time, and wanted them to be held accountable for their actions. There are times where, in hindsight, I felt Adrien’s depiction went too far, and would have either dialed it back or balance him out a bit better. He would still need to face consequences (because he was too shielded from them at the time), but looking at spoilers going forward, I’d also try to give him moments of emotional agency. I do think there was one point where I was going to write him as he ended up in “Nice Guy Adrien the Musical” but I’m glad that I didn’t go that far. I think there was also a point that I considered having Marinette and Alya call off their friendship, but it’s been a while so I don’t remember.

-Intersplice the “Paper Sky” chapters into the story. I’m still considering uploading the story as one full thing so there’s no jumping between parts, and it flows better.

-Fleshed out Ivan, Juleka, and Rose more. I wanted to do more with them, but the story was taking me in other directions. I’m at least glad I got their POVs and the dream chapters.

-I wouldn’t have announced Marinette not forgiving Adrien by the end. Not because I think she’s obligated to or because he deserves it, but because I now feel compelled to write it that way rather than letting it happen organically. Truthfully, I’m undecided now if she will or won’t. She’s the last chapter of the epilogue so I have some time, but still.

Those are the ones that come to mind, but others might hit me later.

Thank you so much for coming along for the ride! It’s been almost four years at this point since it started, and I’m always glad to hear people still enjoy it!

There are still a few oneshots I’d like to do for the anniversary collection, but I am glad that the main story will be complete. The story started during an era of the Miraculous fandom that I think we’ve moved past for the most part. Sure, there’s still salt, but it’s not quite the same as it was, and that’s fine. I haven’t been quite as involved, mostly because I’ve stopped watching and real life commitments have held my attention, but it was fun while it lasted.

This story will always remind me that it’s okay to take matters into your own hands, and write what you wish could have happened. It doesn’t matter if canon says Luka and Marinette won’t get back together. Because for me, I have my own takes about the ways they end up as endgame, as well as the wonderful works of so many other writers.

Thank you again for reading!

Well anon, you've essentially summed up the reason why I quit watching this show.

Like any in particular? I can't think of any off the top of my head, but there are some I know I don't remember or haven't heard yet.

They probably could meet somewhere in the middle, and just have them in middle school, and then age characters up or down so they’re isn’t as large a gap. Kukai can still be a year older, so when he leaves, he’s entering high school instead of middle school. Ikuto and Utau (who I’m now making twins) could be a year above Kukai. (I’m pretty sure that Ikuto starts the manga at 15/16 anyway, and Utau is supposed to be a year younger?) And Kairi and Yaya can just be in the same grade for the sake of simplicity. Pretty much all of the other guardians (Amu, Tadase, Rima, and Nagihiko) are the same grade, so we’d just have to age them up (Nikaidou arc would have them as 2nd year Middle schoolers, Dia arc onwards would be 3rd years).

Not sure how student council would work out - I would imagine that they would be more influential than in an elementary school but without robbing everyone else of the chance to score that sweet college credit.

The stress of getting into a good college would then turn into the stress of getting into their high school of choice, which I’m pretty sure is a big deal in Japan. This could easily play a role for Amu during the Dia arc and beyond (in this version of the story, she would be in her final year of middle school, getting ready to enter high school).

From what I understand, in Japan, crosses in fashion are generally just used as an accent to look cool. I don’t really think it’s meant to be religious in this context (pretty sure Mello from Death Note also wore crosses for similar reasons).

I absolutely agree about how the series was more mature in approaching certain topics. I first got into SC when I was in middle school myself, and I was in high school when it ended, and other than like, Shugo Chara Party, I never felt alienated by the series for being an older viewer. The Dia arc really spoke to me when I was going through some stuff in my second year of college (someday I’m going to write an analysis of it because it’s soooo good!) and this was YEARS after the story ended. It’s one of the reasons it’s stuck with me, probably even more so than like Sailor Moon.

I understood you perfectly, anon!

But I can guarantee you they threw it in for the reasons you would expect - to keep people invested in the show. I’m not even entirely sure how much of it was the creators/show runners themselves who wanted to write this in, and how much it was executive meddling. When the inevitable “behind-the-scenes” commentary documentaries come out regarding the show, I’m sure we’ll have a better idea of what really went wrong.

To steer the question off course for just a second, I’d actually like to see more interactions among the Kitty Section members in general. I know they get along and all, but I want to see them hang out again and have more subplots.

Anyway, it’s a dynamic I’d like to see.

Absolutely behind it 100%, platonic or romantic. Luka is always so good to Mari and without Adrien in the picture, I could see Kagami and Mari getting much closer. Kagami and Luka is a dynamic I’ve wanted to see unfold on screen for the longest time.