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It occurs to me
Jan. 29th, 2019 08:54 pmFanon: Chat Noir gets a lot of hate from the fans and is regarded as Ladybug's sidekick more than her partner. (I'm currently rereading ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Freedom_Shamrock's "Bobbin Bug", but I've seen this a lot.)
Canon: not sure supports this interpretation.
Real world: Misogyny exists. So does racism; I am not sure how apparent it is to random Parisians that Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace are people of color and Chat Noir and Queen Bee are white, if only because I really like the idea that identity scramble magic means our Miraculous wielders are recognizable but hell if anyone can describe them, but let us suppose that this is known.
Proposed alternate interpretation: Ladybug gets top billing because everyone knows she, not Chat Noir or any of the others, can purify akumas and restore the physical damage they do. This is not in contention. What is in contention is whether this is how it should be. A lot of fans—well, "fans"; I can't imagine any of our heroes except maybe Queen Bee having any patience with this line of thinking—think this is or should be Chat Noir's show. Ladybug having the superior powers is an offense against nature generally and Chat Noir specifically, and also he deserves more credit than he gets.
Also, a lot of "fans" plagiarize Alya Césaire. People know the Ladyblog is the best source, but they know it the way people know what Watson and Crick discovered was mostly Franklin's notes, and the way people know Elvis had musical inspiration, y'know, out there somewhere. Which is to say, a lot of people don't know it, and are happy to attribute Alya's work to the whiter, maler people who stole it from her.
Discuss.
Canon: not sure supports this interpretation.
Real world: Misogyny exists. So does racism; I am not sure how apparent it is to random Parisians that Ladybug, Rena Rouge, and Carapace are people of color and Chat Noir and Queen Bee are white, if only because I really like the idea that identity scramble magic means our Miraculous wielders are recognizable but hell if anyone can describe them, but let us suppose that this is known.
Proposed alternate interpretation: Ladybug gets top billing because everyone knows she, not Chat Noir or any of the others, can purify akumas and restore the physical damage they do. This is not in contention. What is in contention is whether this is how it should be. A lot of fans—well, "fans"; I can't imagine any of our heroes except maybe Queen Bee having any patience with this line of thinking—think this is or should be Chat Noir's show. Ladybug having the superior powers is an offense against nature generally and Chat Noir specifically, and also he deserves more credit than he gets.
Also, a lot of "fans" plagiarize Alya Césaire. People know the Ladyblog is the best source, but they know it the way people know what Watson and Crick discovered was mostly Franklin's notes, and the way people know Elvis had musical inspiration, y'know, out there somewhere. Which is to say, a lot of people don't know it, and are happy to attribute Alya's work to the whiter, maler people who stole it from her.
Discuss.