Expanded Miraculous Changes to Canon Miraculous
So with this post, it sent me down a little rabbit hole just thinking about Chinese Miraculous and how they're set up, and this want to just, try and make them work. Make them make sense.
As one of the big major issues for Miraculous is that, they just exist. And that's it. Only thing we truly know is that they, for sure, are meant to be used for good, and were used to help humanity.
But we don't have anything on why. Why are certain Miraculous grouped together? Why are Ladybug and Cat yin-yang? Why are the 5 specifically based on Wu Xing? Why are the Seven grouped together? Why are the Zodiac grouped together? Did they come before or did they inspire the Legend of the Zodiac Race? What is the role of all Miraculous? What do these groups do that's different from each other?
We just don't have these answers.
So the idea behind this post is to just, delve into plausible lore and given some idea. Some of which will just work off what I've thought about before.
The Zodiac I think would've best served working off individual growth. Tying them to virtues could be great as there are a lot of virtues out there, but there's also a lot that are similar in meaning. And it can work off the Zodiac tied to personality traits and certain animals embody certain virtues, like Dog can be tied to Loyalty, Rooster to Honesty, Pig to Wisdom, Ox to Determination, Goat to Creativity, ect..
It can nicely add to what Zodiac should go to who, who needs to learn these virtues.
Since The Shanghai Special brought up the Prodigious tied to Bagua, which is apart of Taoism and tied to Wu Xing and yin-yang, and it was a prior concept plan for Miraculous; Bagua did feel fitting to be Miraculous and apart of the Chinese Miracle Box. It does expand the numbers, bumping the 19 to 27/28, but there is also solid background to work off of that can make it plausible to exist. Additionally, there are a few animals that should exist as Miraculous when tied to China that have yet to appear (like Bear, Crane, Deer, Lion, Mantis, and Eagle).
Core idea is that these Miraculous would bring forth what Bagua represents, covering what people may want or what they need.
Bear represents family, ancestry, and foundation. It comes to assist those who feel isolated.
Fish is tied to wealth, prosperity, and opportunity. Coming to those who are in need of financial aid.
Songbird is tied to reputation, expression, and fame. Coming to those who desire to be known or to change perspective.
Crane is tied to romantic love, union, and kinship; seeking to be the matchmaker and to help those desire love find love.
Deer is tied to creativity, inspiration, and projects; to help boost productivity, find inspiration, and inspire creation (it does technically stand for children and the future, but it's not easy to do a Miraculous power related to that).
Eagle is tied to travel, community, and guidance. Working off those in need of freedom, connection, or a change of pace.
Lion is tied to purpose, change, and ambition; helping those find their calling.
Mantis is tied to knowledge, learning, and wisdom; seeking to help those expand their perspective.
The maybe bonus, Snake (with Sass made to be a Cobra instead), the possible unofficial 9th member of the Bagua, reflecting balance, duality, vitality, and energy. Comes to those in need of harmony or energy. Partly incorporated Snake as it's one of those animals that has a lot to it and you could do a lot with, so might be nice to have more for it. It's a reason I dabble in the snake renling yesterday. And given the 9th slot of Bagua represents yin-yang, I thought of a possible additional unique role this could play...
The Seven I'm thinking should have the role tied to being THE defenders and preservers of humanity, fighting for the greater good and keeping balance. Typically, the focus is fighting for the greater good, and individual growth and needs aren't as prioritized (you can still learn and grow with them, it's just not a kwami priority in contrast to the Zodiac and Bagua kwamis).
And to play off yin-yang exists everywhere, and Wu Xing is heavily tied to the concept and goes through cycles, the idea is that, as a safeguard against the wish, who are the wish granting duo will alternate by lunar year, and all would have themes to work off recreating reality:
Ladybug and Cat are Creation and Destruction.
Butterfly and Bee are Chaos and Order.
Fox and Peafowl are Deception and Truth.
Turtle doesn't have a set counterpart in the Seven, and instead is meant to be the mediator and peacekeeper between conflicting pairs.
Potentially, Turtle could also be a key in undoing a wish, and if there's the unofficial 9th member of Bagua that is the Snake, that could be Turtle's counterpart and help undo a wish made.
If this Snake was more Ouroborus themed (and Sass was more music based), given power ideas I had in mind for Turtle, these two could echo Time and Space. Which can be big enough concepts you can get them being split into two different groups, but you can also get them having the ability to undo a recreate reality.
Extra bonus that Turtle and Snake are a pair in Chinese mythology, commonly counted together in the Four Symbols.
And both are tied to creation myths in China, which has another turtle and snake mentioned together with Nuwa (creator goddess who is a human headed snake) and Ao (world turtle); though their relation isn't so pleasant in contrast to the Black Turtle.
To those who stopped to read, thanks for reading. Hopes this helps give something more to Miraculous and the groups that exist/can exist. As I feel all Miraculous are lacking in individuality and it wouldn't hurt to have defined rolls or purpose to them.
