Hello, have a good day. Would you like to listen to me ramble about ships and headcanons I made within the Stellar Force team already before their show even premiered?
YES!
I want all the details!
Very well then.
For the record, as I alluded to in my ask, what I'm writing here is made up of my own assumptions and ideas, and there's no guarantee I'd come anywhere close to what the actual show has in mind. I also engaged more so in monoships rather than multiships, as since we're given so little to work with, with me doing plenty of heavy lifting, I ultimately managed to only make a handful of ships that work best as otherwise I have no other basis to connect those characters together yet or guess what's their dynamic beyond "they're a large friend group going sextuple date together". So while I'm not against multiships and other pairings, so far I have nothing on other pairings than the one I'm presenting here.
Fun fact - My reasoning also heavily refers to my other post on Stellar Force about them being associated with sub-elements as a means for further symbolism when it comes to shipping the pairs I made (I will elaborate on them in individual pairings).
But without further ado, let's get into the pairings:
First things first, I will give you the list of pairings before dissecting them further
First, we have our confirmed canon pairing, Miki and Kazuno (TheShiningArmorPairing) ♀♂
Then we have Yu Lu and Mayotte (LifeAndDeathPairing) ♀♀
Then we have Kiss and Jéola (SoulStonePairing) ♂♀
Then we follow with Pili and Ryo (HeavenAndHellPairing) ♂♂
Then we have Anglia and Nikko (PunkRockPairing) ♀♀
And finally, we have Bulgan and Karelia (TheDessertPairing) ♂♀
As you may have noticed, I gave each ship a name that relates to its powers that I described in the previous post. This is effectively trademarked (and I would love to copyright it too lol) by me for the explicit dynamic I'm putting here that may not end up coming true in the actual show, so those are explicitly my creations (I'm open to further interpretations, of course), it also helps that since most of those characters have multi-ethnic names, which are proven to be at times difficult to work with when it comes to shipping names, I explicitly used the "commonthreadpairing" as template, to match how Pokemon for example makes shipping, but I used the word pairing so there wouldn't be that much of a confusion.
So those are the pairings we will be working with. Now, let's dissect each one of them.
Miki and Kazuno a.k.a. TheShiningArmorPairing
Now, those two are a canonical pairing rather than the one I made up in my head. However, I am willing to add more onto what we already have with them, as frankly, my impression of how people received these pairings is that they're pretty misunderstood, which is fair, as even Marinette herself acknowledges that their dynamic is a bit confusing, but once you give it a thought and headcanons you and other people provided, it becomes clear what their deal is. First thing we need to acknowledge that Miki and Kazuno both love each other and both seem to be aware of each other's feelings (there can be a debate on whether or not Kazuno realises Miki IS crushing on him as Miki did state that she keeps her feelings a secret from him for the most part, but with how Kazuno is capable to see right through Miki as portrayed in his conversation with Kagami when she questions how can he like someone like her, I think Kazuno is in fact aware that she may like him more than just friends) and what's stopping them appears to be Kazuno's shyness rather than uncertainty if there's anything between them.
Both Kazuno and Miki think highly of each other, while also seeing each other for what they are, which is a good basis for a relationship, but what they're lacking is proper commitment. Now technically Miki is the kind of girl that wouldn't in fact be afraid to ask someone out as she knows what she wants, however, she prefers to wait for Kazuno to confess his feelings rather than do it herself because, as she said: "you need to earn your victory". Miki absolutely can earn her victory, so to speak, but she does want Kazuno to also earn his own victory, which could be related to Miki's attachment issues, caused by her relocation stress syndrome, as @sunburstonfire user pointed out when thinking about Miki's background. Particularly I think that since Miki operates on an impression that none of her relationships will last due to her not having any real time to root herself in any place, she constantly puts plenty of effort on her part to make her relationships matter in the end, however this in turn can come with a drawback that Miki gives way more than she can receive in the end, which can be very bleak when taken in the context of a romantic relationship, especially a romantic relationship with Kazuno. We know that those two are childhood friends and have been in love with each other since basically forever, so of course, it would hurt Miki if their romance were incredibly one-sided on her part, because she would always initiate everything. In Miraculous, we actually had a perfect example of "all take no give' relationship dynamic in the form of Adrigami, where Kagami was the one to initiate everything with Adrien, making her relationship with Adrien one-sided as he only ended up receiving affection from Kagami rather than giving it back properly. I can imagine that, with how intelligent Miki is, she'd realistically not want to fall into the same trap, especially with a guy that has her heart, as the hurt would be just too big to handle when an unsustainable one-sided relationship finally comes crashing down. Miki wants Kazuno to initiate a relationship with her because she wants to be genuinely sure that he and Miki can truly work anything out, along with the relationship feeling equal. It shouldn't just be Miki and her random malewife, it should be Miki and Kazuno, so of course Miki wants Kazuno to put an effort into it.
Meanwhile, Kazuno, while most likely recognising that Miki may like him, may not realise why she's waiting to confess, and with how insecure Kazuno tends to be, I can imagine that he himelf holds him back because he thinks that even if Miki does like him, she doesn't consider him worthy of a relationship with her or simply just isn't ready for such commitement, so Kazuno in his own self-pity restrains himself from asking her out thinking he's not good enough for her yet. So yeah, there's a bit of drama and angst, but at least we moved past the idea of "whether they like me or not" because they both know they absolutely do like each other, but the struggle comes from Miki waiting for Kazuno to esnure her that what they have is real, while Kazuno is unsure if Miki believes in him to be a good match for her. Ultimately, what Miki is doing is a self-defence mechanism where she protects herself from disappointment (if Kazuno never asks her out, then they were never meant to be to begin with, because clearly only she can commit, and that's not a relationship she wants to be in) while Kazuno is just paralysed in fear. Those two need help.
Ok but enough of this background check, let's also establish what their dynamic is about: hey're of course malewife x girlboss dynamic, as I can imagine that even if Kazuno will have the guts to confess to Miki at long last, their relationship in the future could still be with Kazuno being stay-at-home dad and Miki being the main breadwinner of the family for example - otherwise they'd both initiate different couple activities respectively. Miki is also the one from "he asked for no pickles meme"... so far I have this for the most part, but as you can see, I already produced plenty of stuff, so date ideas or couple charts like who confesses first, who initiates touch, etc. I will leave it to someone else, as those are fun stuff for other fans to do too; I'm merely spitballing ideas and explaining why they came to be. It's also already pretty long by now, and I have like 5 other couples to dissect
On a final note, I also want to add a bit more symbolism to their pairing: their name is shining armor, as both of their elements are light and metal, which, of course, brings me the idea of "a knight in shining armor" as an example of a fusion between such elements. In this context, Miki does expect Kazuno to become such a knight in shining armor as he has what it takes to become one, but Miki herself isn't above acting as one too. Their elements also help reflect their dynamic as metals are naturally reflective of light (though they aren't perfect mirror meaning they won't always get the perfect picture on EVERYTHING, they still reflect the most important parts, and the light their reflect is comparitively not nearly as harsh as the light source itself - like looking at the sun directly will make your eyes burn, but looking at sun reflection in the metal will be at worst annoying - this reflects how Kazuno while aware of Miki's flaws, is also not above explaining and justifying them, which helps them become less of a glaring issue as proven in his conversation with Kagami where he defends Miki to an extent). Their light colors, along with their elements, also symbolize sun/day and moon/night, respectively.
Yu Lu and Mayotte a.k.a. LifeAndDeathPairing
Now this is actually a pretty obvious pairing for most of the viewers of Stellar Force, and I'm following the mold too. Yu Lu and Mayotte are effectively always together, attached by the hip in the special, so it only makes sense to ship them together, as they already demonstrated they're pretty close. What also works in their favor are complementary color schemes (pink and blue with gold and baby blue accessories) and a striking resemblance to Alyanette, which is kind of my idea of what their relationship would be like. Granted, what specifically differentiates them from Alyanette is that Yu Lu, who, despite having a huge resemblance to Marinette, ultimately proves to be more grounded and down-to-earth out of the two, as usually it's Alya who is the voice of reason while Marinette catastrophizes, overthinks stuff, and is often all over the place. Yu Lu is calm, patient, and nurturing in nature. Mayotte, comparatively, despite having huge resemblance and similarities to Alya, is a highly energetic individual. Much like Marinette, she's quick on her feet, imaginative, and knowledgeable. Between the two, it's Mayotte who will jump to conclusions, initiate plans without at times thinking them through, and be all over the place, with Yu Lu grounding her. However, despite that, Mayotte also proved to have her head in the game as she was the one to call out Miki for being reckless (which also fits, as Marinette still is, for what it's worth, a voice of reason when it needs to be). In general, tweaking the dynamic this way helps balance it more, as in the show, Alya is just Marinette's supportive BFF, while Marinette herself hardly gets the opportunity to return the favor because more often than not, it's her going through things due to her being the lead. Comparitively Mayotte and Yu Lu are not exactly as balanced individuals as Alya and Marinette but it helps them complement one another when they're together.
I imagine that they have already been dating for quite a while now, so there's no necessary build-up to this relationship; they already are together. I imagine they're probably roommates if their school has dorms, and that's what started their casual romance, and I say casual because compared to how dramatic Miki and Kazuno are waiting for each other, Mayotte and Yu Lu just liked each other, asked each other out, became a couple, and just act on it like it's not a big deal. They're the Sapphics that figured out their shit, though I can imagine they do at times either clash because of how different they are or get nervous or excited over their dates' ideas, as they're still teenagers; they may be the most mature members of the cast, but they too have their moments (though it's usually framed as a calamity to other members comparitively as it doesn't happen as often and the consequences can affect the entire team due to them being the team leaders).
Their shipping name came from both Yu Lu's sub-element she wields and Mayotte's name meaning. Mayotte is explicitly named after a small island near Madagascar that is dubbed the "Island of Death" due to coral reefs surrounding the island, making it highly difficult to reach without potential casualties. This works in tandem with Mayotte's element, which is lightning, which can be pretty deadly in huge amounts of voltage, and Mayotte's sign being Sagittarius, who is an archer that can send a deadly arrow; it effectively creates this dichotomy where Yu Lu represents life, and Mayotte represents death in the name. There's something to be said though about how Yu Lu is in general pretty calm and lowkey while Mayotte comparitively lives her life to absolute fullest which is rather a switched personality dynamics as it's usual the deities associated with death that are nurturing, gentle and composed (which matches Yu Lu's characterisation, as far as we can tell) while life deities are explicitly full of life (which reflects Mayotte being all over the place). However, Mayotte is also full of life also means the life may end at any moment (and I sincerely hope Mayotte does not have any real death flags as I don't want to bury my gay and black women), while Yu Lu being nurturing and composed reflects quite a maternal nature and the idea of supporting and creating life, which is what her subelement is about.
Kiss and Jéola a.k.a SoulStonePairing
Now this is a ship I actually gave a lot of thought into it and the one that strictly affirmed me in Monoships as Jéola in particular strikes me as an individual that would make establishing romance difficult, with other characters either being turned off by her irritable demeanor, respect her boundaries too much to the point that no connection is establish, or them genuinely seeing no reason why should anyone connect with her to begin with. No shade towards her, she's a queen like that, but I figured Kiss is effectively the only one who could realistically respect her boundaries enough to not step on her toes, while still trying to make a connection with her and showing visible interest in her. In other words, only he can handle her, and she will only open up to him.
Jéola, representing her Virgo constellation, which stands for maiden and Virgin, along with her outfit not being particularly revealing or flattering for her body while still making an impeccable fashion statement, which isn't tied to explicit femininity, I imagine her actively fighting women's objectification. Like Jéola is pretty, she knows that, but she doesn't want a relationship with someone because they find her physically attractive. Both because it's shallow and also because I can imagine her either dealing with or fearing perverts, catcallers, and misogynists actively trying to objectify her by her looks, which were never a priority to her. Hence, her style explicitly covers her face, breasts, hips, with the only thing indicating her attractiveness is her sweater crop top barely flattering her midriff that is still covered with a black shirt, so while Jéola is ultimately comfortable in her skin and doesn't have an actual body dysphoria, she also deadass said "you don't get any privileges staring at me, you can only imagine, but you'll never get it" and I think it would be pretty based of her.
Kiss, on the other hand, represents a bit of the opposite attitude of this spectrum about dealing with objectification based on attractiveness. Unlike Jéola, Kiss does showcase his good looks (both his fashion sense and physical attractiveness) and acts on them, so to speak. He's not afraid to flirt and charm people, and he knows what effect he can have on them, and he can take advantage of it, while still being a gentleman about it. I can imagine that he also resents how objectification doesn't allow him to engage with people on a deeper level, but he ultimately engages in those shallow dynamics out of spite, so to speak. Despite this, he's not really a mean person; he's very sweet and respectful, but he just doesn't shy away from being popular. He is a "debonair" after all.
I guess the best point of reference behind their dynamic is Fiyeraba from Wicked (I'm mostly thinking about the movies with Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey portrayals of them, as no shade towards Broadway, but since they're theatrical production, they will be compartively over the top at times to showcase emotion to the audience, whereas the movie made them pretty lowkey overall in comparison, which would match the vibe better as I don't see as either of them as particularly overdramatic individuals) with the difference is that their story is not nearly as depressing and short (as no I don't think Kiss is going through a crisis in his life that decides to "dance through" and act as brainless and shallow and no Jéola does not consider herself ugly along with being shunted away because she has a different skin color - though there are shades to this as Kiss can be intelligent and carefree like Fiyero while Jéola deals with alienation as she's a Jewish woman in Japan, which certainly stands out).
Ultimately, their dynamic comes to Jéola being very much not interested in Kiss at first, which impresses him, so he decides to connect with her on a deeper level. So, whereas he's casual with his friends and charming with his fangirls (and fanboys), with Jéola, he's respectful, insightful, honest, and tactful. He effectively works his way to break through her walls without overstepping. Of course it's not as if they won't clash but I can imagine that Kiss is patient with Jéola and she herself slowly realises that there's more to Kiss than his pretty face and that her methods of fighting objectification aren't foolproof and she herself is also not immune to propaganda by judging the book by its cover so to speak, so they eventually establish a very deep, supportive and intimate relationship with one another, where they see each other in a way no one else does.
Their shipping name is comparatively a bit basic as it merely refers to their element, with Kiss being all about mind and soul, while Jéola is all about gemstones. There is a symbolism between the two elements as gemstones and crystals certainly stimulate minds in the best way possible, as we admire gemstones, give them high value and worth, along with given a way deeper meaning behind them (like how some gemstones have healing or calming abilities, for example). Gemstones are important thanks to the thought that is put into them, which is certainly appreciated, and Kiss being a fashionable lad means he would highly value gemstones as part of his style and expression (so while there is a shallow reading to all of this, there's also much more depth when given a chance, which also reflects what their growth as a couple is about).
Pili and Ryo a.k.a. HeavenAndHellPairing
Behold the only men-loving-men pairing in this team because there are way more women than men on this team, but I still managed to pull this off. This was technically the LAST pairing I came up with, and it was a bit of "pair the spare" situation as I did to around whether or not I should ship Jéola with Pili, for example, but the idea I'm proposing in question proved why shipping Jéola with anyone but Kiss is just a recipe for disaster (my girl is an acquired taste /pos), so Pili and Ryo it was I decided, and boy did I make them insufferable.
Like their name Heaven and Hell, besides referring to their powers of Pili having domain over lava and Ryo having domain over weather, which is reflective of heaven and hell landscapes, it's also genuinely how one must feel when shipping these two. On one hand, you're in heaven because finally, an MLM relationship is portrayed in an animated show, right? It's wonderful. But then you realise it's an actual hell because Ryo is stuck yearning while Pili is dense as fuck. Like infuriatingly oblivious. He adopts a lot of Adrien's "blind jokes" (he may not be as dumb as Kim, who he is based on, but he's still a himbo, and he will drag us through hell over this).
Pili, as I said, is an absolute himbo, thick of muscle, heart of gold, dumb of ass. That's Ryo's taste in men, and he has to humbly live with it every day. Pili in this show briefly showcased being interested in Miki as he flirted with her and tried to ask her out competitively during the mission (which may or may not add to Kazuno's stress over whether or not Miki is emotionally available, whether it's because other guys are hitting on her, or she keeps rejecting all the advances), so while I stand by and say Pili is bisexual, I do imagine that his relationship with Miki is lowkey comphet in nature. Like Miki is a competent, capable, pretty, popular girl, so of course, Pili thinks this is the girl he wants, as this is his type, all things considered. Frankly, he isn't actually as invested in Miki as he believes he is (it's Glinda and Fiyero's situation), and it only proves to be a distraction to his almost repressed feelings over Ryo, as Pili genuinely doesn't notice either his own feelings for the boy or Ryo's feelings for him.
The rest of the Stellar Force honestly just pity Ryo at this point; however, Ryo isn't ultimately all too pressed about it. Ry is the kind of individual who would put his goal and mission over his relationship, as Ryo, as an environmentalist, is way more concerned about the state of the world he currently lives in, so he doesn't mind a romantic relationship not working out at the moment, as he genuinely has more pressing issues on his mind. It doesn't stop him from hopelessly yearning for Pili, and being honest about the fact that the reason why he won't bring his feelings to Pili's attention is ultimately fear of rejection, which can feel extra worse for gay men. Though there's something to be said about Ryo taking in stride the idea that things may not work out between him and Pili, whereas Pili will be left catatonic if Ryo ignores him (and it's before, and after he realises his feelings, like nothing changed, Pili just learned why he acts this way - he's suffering too with us).
I can imagine that the reason why Ryo likes Pili, besides him being a pretty boy, is that Pili, for what it's worth, is actually pretty open-minded and compassionate. He may not necessarily be as overwhelmed over the environment as Ryo is, but he absolutely has no issues accommodating an eco-friendly life, which Ryo highly appreciates. Pili being also motivated to be a role model to his younger siblings (have you noticed how many headcanons I'm giving at this point?) while trying to live up to his expectation of his older sibling (Alya situation basically) also helps showcase Pili's caring, sweet, and funny nature, Ryo just can't think about. Pili on the other hand loves how Ryo is understanding, composed, and a considerate indivudal that still has a passion and drive to do the right thing, even when things are hopeless and how he will also always look out for others and be sweet (which is why the idea of Ryo not paying him any mind is so soul-crushing to him, because he might as wlel just jump into volcano if that were to happen).
So anyway, this relationship is explicitly for those who are mentally unwell (maybe not as bad as Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper, but way more insufferable).
Anglia and Nikko a.k.a. PunkRockPairing
Now this is one of those pairings that are at this point completely in the background because both are at this point filler background characters of the team. Anglia explicitly has one line, and Nikko is random. I did come up with something for them, though. It should be noted they're effectively the only pairing that does not in fact refer their elements whatsoever, or at least not in an obvious sense as I don't think punk should be associated with poison and rock as music genre while can refer to sound, it can become highly counterintuitive when elementals are involved because you could question if we're talking about rocks as in minerals or rock as in lifestyle and music genre - in case of Nikko and Anglia it's the latter.
The best point of reference for their relationship would be Zoemira from Kpop Demon Hunters, but a bit more toxic, as I can imagine them clashing or getting on each other's nerves for fun. Like those 2 aren't enemies to lovers, they're enemies and lovers. Nikko will say "party rockers in the house", Anglia will say "party rock is in the house," and then, after venomously glaring at each other for 10 seconds, they proceed to make out. That's their relationship in a nutshell. This is for those who enjoy bad romance.
But anyway, Nikko can be described as a hyper, energetic, sunny girl who's highly imaginative even in disturbing ways, while Anglia is a chill, nonchalant, confrontational bad bitch. They're effectively stuck to a hip where Anglia will at times indulge Nikko, with Nikko appreciating it, but at times she will be smug and aloof just to get a rise out of Nikko. Nikko, comparatively, will range from sweet to whiny depending on whether or not she wants to get a raise out of Anglia to confront her "I act like I don't care, but I secretly do" attitude. For what it's worth, when chips are down, they're still at each other's corner and mean a world to each other. They're just difficult individuals being difficult together. They certainly bonded over their shared tastes and the solidarity they bring them. This is technically all I have for them for now, as I do have genuinely very little to work with, but I think it's still enough to build further from.
Bulgan and Karelia a.k.a. TheDessertPairing
Last but not least on this list (though ironically, where like the actual first couple to come to my mind when coming up with the ideas of shipping) are those two sweet giants I decided to pair together. Much like PunkRockPairing, this one was about looking for similarities between those 2 individuals, and Bulgan and Karelia are both known as large but gentle and sweet people who deserve the world if you ask me. The idea is that while they don't date each other yet, they're absolutely interested in one another, and they're both working up the courage to ask each other out while being sweet and awkward. Just the good vibes tied to this ship. I imagine its appeal being all about also seeing each other for what they are and accepting each other wholly.
The name I picked for their pairing is where I think I peaked the most when it comes to making them. Dessert in this context refers to sweet treats, obviously, as Bulgan's significant line in Tokyo special was if Kagami would feed them treats, so of course, a pairing involving Bulgan should have something sweet in it, along with the ship's priorities being all about niceness and wholesomeness of it all (and Karelia brings my mind to ice cream too). They're here to give you diabetes with nothing but pure acceptance, tenderness, adoration, and appreciation.
However, another meaning refers to their elemental powers. I considered adding the word Polar to them (and perhaps I still may do) because a common thread between the subelements of sand and snow is that both can create domains that are basically deserts. Polar deserts are deserts covered in nothing but ice and snow, which is Karelia's domain, while Bulgan obviously has domain over sandy deserts like the Sahara, for example. So there's a reference to their powers, but there's also this darker undertone that their ship name references places that are in general, empty and lonely. When you're in the middle of nowhere, you feel alone, and this also ties to the theme of acceptance for this pairing. I imagine both Karelia and Bulgan would think of themselves as not worthy of love because of how they're not conveniently attractive. Karelia is a large, muscular woman who may intimidate other guys - lowkey play on the tall girl movie, which of course was stupid, but had some merit to the idea, it's just Netflix executed it poorly if you ask me. Meanwhile, Bulgan is a plus-sized man who likes eating sweets, so of course, I can imagine him dealing with potential fatphobia. My point is that those 2 aren't necessarily known for their high self-esteem, which is why their relationship is mutually healing because they both see each other for what they are and love each other unconditionally.
Because of their insecurities, though, they'd obviously not feel confident to make their relationship official, so it would be a slow burn, but the point is that they're there for each other always and forever, and making each other feel beautiful as they are.
Ok, so that was all I had to say, for now at least. I have been ruminating on all of this for quite some time now, but this is what I finally cooked, so Bon apetit.
