Ever Since Rocketear, When I See People Talking About The Ladynoir Conflict, I Dont See Enough People

Ever since Rocketear, when I see people talking about the Ladynoir conflict, I don’t see enough people pointing out that Rena Furtive’s existence would be basically impossible for Ladybug to explain to Chat Noir without it coming across as “I just don’t trust you”

The thing is, the Gang of Secrets reveal would already hurt him enough— especially knowing how he reacted to the fact Rena Rouge and Carapace know each other’s identities. We know it hurts him to realize that identities weren’t as important as everyone was making them out to be, and that he was really the only person really beholden to the rule. It sucks. It feels like he was lied to. 

However, Ladybug can try to explain that! When Chat Noir discovers that someone knows her identity, she could, theoretically, explain clearly to Chat Noir that “I was having breakdowns every day, Chat. I wasn’t doing well. I was scared and I was losing all my civilian friends. I was crying and my best friend was there. I was crying and I broke down and it wasn’t planned. I blurted out my identity. She’s been helping me give excuses in my civilian life for why I’m so flaky with being Ladybug and the Guardian. It never came up and it was never relevant to what was going on, so I didn’t tell you because I was scared to, because I knew it’d hurt you. I’m really sorry.” And you know what? I think it’d still hurt him. Maybe a lot. But if Ladybug chooses her words carefully, I think Chat Noir can understand that Ladybug was scared and stressed, and he can understand that she needed someone specifically from her civilian life for that. And I think he would forgive her.

But…. guys. Guys. How on earth would she explain Rena Furtive to him in a way that sounds reasonable? That she not only gave a miraculous to someone else permanently, but that she didn’t tell him? That this person is secretly acting as their third partner for every battle and patrol, and that she actively hides it from him? That the reason for his poor performance in future battles might be because she is literally Hiding what the plan is from him so he doesn’t notice the illusions?

There’s no coming back from that. You can make the argument that who Ladybug tells her identity to isn’t necessarily Chat Noir’s business…. but you can’t make the argument that someone secretly watching them and joining them in battle and patrols isn’t his business, or that it’s not his business to know that there are illusions on the battlefield that he’s fighting in. That’s absolutely his business. And while Ladybug can say “It was a private matter, so that’s why I didn’t tell you that I told someone my identity”, she can’t say the same about Rena Furtive. Because that’s not a private matter. And it’s not something she just chose to omit— it’s something she chose to actively hide from him.

Now, we know the reason she’s doing this. She’s doing it because of Chat Blanc, because she’s literally traumatized by visions of herself and all the citizens of Paris turned to ash. She’s doing it because she’s afraid of a timeline that has long since passed, of an endgame that she never really learned the trigger to. All she knows about Chat Blanc was that Chat Noir found out more about her and then the world ended. We don’t know exactly her reasoning for keeping Rena Furtive from Chat Noir, but I think it’s because she knows it’ll hurt him, and she knows a hurt Chat Noir could become an akumatized Chat Noir. 

…. However. “I kept this secret from you because I was afraid it’d upset you and akumatize you” doesn’t sound like a great excuse. It really doesn’t. It sounds like an excuse, and there’s an underlying admission of distrust there with “I don’t think you’d be able to resist akumatization”. And that… sucks. The best she could do to explain herself in a way he’d forgive her is to explain the whole Chat Blanc scenario in detail to him, but that would hurt him even more! Chat Noir already gave up his miraculous when he accidentally killed an android— how is he gonna feel if he finds out that, if he has a bad day, he could kill everyone on earth?

When people treat the Ladynoir conflict like “if Chat Noir just told Ladybug that he was upset, she’d explain everything and then it’d be okay!” I think they’re missing a substantial part of the conflict. Because Chat Noir can’t tell Ladybug that Rena Furtive upsets him when he doesn’t know about it. And if he DID find out and confront Ladybug about it, there’s nothing she could say to make him feel trusted as a partner.

All of these are very interesting and good points, but I just wanted to add the reason I always assumed why they have a rule against sharing their secret identities.

I always thought that the reason why ladybug and chat noir never shared their secret identities with each other is because if one of them was revealed/caught, nobody would be able to force the information of the other's identity out of them because they would genuinely lack that knowledge and thus the other's identity would remain safe.

I imagine this rule would have much more emphasis onto ladybug and chat noir since they are in possession of the 2 miraculouses shadow moth wants most.

Also because in the show they are in possession of the 2 powerful miraculouses.

… why? 

… why?? 

… why??? 

WHY?!

Are you going to make a part 2?

Missed Connection

Author’s note: This is set in @buggachat’s bakery enemies au. If you’ve never heard of it before, check the bottom of this fic for a brief summary. (You’ll need it for context.)

Based off buggachat’s comment about Adrien’s wardrobe in her au: “He owns a lot of black. Something about… increasing the chances of being recognized in a crowd. By someone. Perhaps.”

–

It had been years, but Marinette’s grief still hit her at odd times. With the smell of hot coffee or the plinking of rain on a metal roof, she’d be fifteen again, overlooking the city with him on a misty Saturday morning. Or the shriek of children playing would jolt her dusty battle nerves back to life and she would suddenly miss the feel of him at her back. Or she would see someone with a smile that was just close enough to his that it made her heart hurt.

Today, it was a glimpse of blond hair.

The crowd was thick as she waited at the crosswalk next to the bakery. It was a fleeting glance through a sea of people. The exact right color. The same style, like he’d kept it the same all these years so she would recognize it. The perfect length to run her fingers through. Pushing on her tiptoes for a better view, Marinette could barely see his shoulders. Black cloth over the right build. The same hair. She could practically see where cat ears would have sat.

The light changed. Strangers brushed past her as she stood there, transfixed. Was it possible? In a city of two million, had she finally found the one she’d been searching for? Marinette blinked, and he disappeared in the stream of people.

Her voice came out in a whisper. “Wait.” And then a shout. “Wait!”

That was him. She’d found him! And she wasn’t going to let him get away again! She scrambled through the crowd, pushing past elbows and skirting around glares.

She reached for him when she saw him, stomach swooping, heart beating.

He turned. Green eyes, warm and trusting.

“Marinette?” he said.

She blinked.

Adrien. It was only Adrien. It hadn’t been- He wasn’t- Marinette’s heart collapsed back in on itself.

He put a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked in the same concerned tone her partner would have used.

Her former partner.

“I’m fine,” Marinette lied. She brushed her cheek, surprised to find it dry.

–

Author’s other note: This is based on buggachat’s bakery enemies au here on tumblr (which you seriously need to check out if you haven’t seen yet). For those who are unaware, here’s the gist: Adrien and Marinette never met. Ladynoir was kinda sorta canon-ish. They never traded identities, took Hawk Moth down, and in the final battle the kwamis all went into hibernation. Ladybug and Chat Noir never saw each other again. Fast forward a couple years. Marinette has just moved back to Paris to find out that her parents have hired someone to help out in the bakery: the son of Hawk Moth himself! And Marinette’s sure he must have been in on Hawk Moth’s plans.

Now, go check out the au! It’s one of my most favoritest things to ever come out of this or any other fandom.

"DID I HEAR -INATOR?!?"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz has entered the chat

domestic Roxanne and Megamind beloved

All this is a LARGE part of the reason why I prefer to watch Miraculous Ladybug in the original French dub with accurately translated English subtitles.

Dialogue can mean one thing in a language but carry a slightly different meaning in another if the words are changed enough or if they decide to go with another meaning of the dialogue that essentially means the same thing but can lose the original dialogue's subtlety/subtext.

(Of course this is all dependant on what the message of the og dialogue was trying to convey and the language its being translated into)

It is what the characters were originally meant to be saying (the most canon dub imo) and it sounds REALLY good (best dub w/best dialogue imo).

I originally started watching the show in English and though I like it a lot, I would personally like to first watch the episodes in French first with accurate translations in the subtitles (like translating it word for word & keeping the integrity of the dialogue).

I could go on (and I kind if had) but this is the general gist of my opinion.

Can I just… talk for a moment… about how much I love how, if you know them well, words don’t have synonyms?

English, for example, is a fantastic disaster. It has so many words for things that are basically the same, and I find there’s few joys in writing like finding the right word for a sentence. Hunting down that peculiar word with particular meaning that fits in seamlessly in a structure, so the story flows on by without any bumps or leaks.

Like how a shout is typically about volume, while a yell carries an angry edge and a holler carries a mocking one. A scream has shrillness, a roar has ferocity, and a screech has outrage. 

This is not to say that a yell cannot be happy or a holler cannot be complimentary, or that they cannot share these traits, but they are different words with different connotations. I love choosing the right one for a sentence, not only for its meanings but for how it sounds when read aloud. (Do I want sounds that slide together, peaceful and seamless, or something that jolts the reader with its contrast? Snap!)

I love how many words for human habitats there are. I love how cottage sounds quaint and cabin sounds rustic. I love steadiness of house, the elegance of residence, the stateliness of manor, and tired stubbornness of shack. I love how a dwelling is different to a den.

And I love how none of them can really touch the possessive warmness of all the connotations of home.

Words are great.

losing my mind over this thread at r/neverbrokeabone