Was idly playing with the concept of Camillo Pista as a character (my job is to sit and do fuckall with no distractions, it's killing me) and I thought - well, the Wheat is an odd symbol... and then it hit me.
I made a post ages ago about Nathalie actually adoring Camillo and thinking that he's justified and whatnot, but now I'm gonna take that further. Camillo Pista is a scientist whose home overnight turns into a warzone, and a devastating famine ensues. His wife dies of starvation. His daughter is frightened and in constant danger. She's his world. She's all he has left, and she's only four years old and has been through so much pain. 'Little soldier' starts out as an endearment, and then it becomes literal.
Camillo Pista, who turns his daughter into a soldier genuinely to protect her. For whom, at first, this seems the best option for her. There are soldiers all around who will not hesitate to slaughter them if they are not quick and strong and clever enough. Little Nathalie learns very quickly. She's whip-smart. She's able to function in dire conditions, accustomed to hunger. Both of them are fighting for a good cause. To survive.
They learn about the Miraculous, magical jewels that could solve all their problems, end this war - save Nathalie's mother. And then...
The war ends. Camillo becomes more and more ruthless. He works his way to the top, developing crops that are resistant to poor weather and that can sustain through the harshest of conditions. He's a genius. His motivation goes from wanting to prevent his daughter ever feeling hungry and frightened again to the endless pursuit of power, the pursuit of the Miraculous. And his daughter follows him wherever he goes, does everything he tells her to.
Of course she does - she's convinced that this is all to end the war. To stop it happening again. To save Maman. She doesn't see Camillo's descent into madness over these jewels as they study and search. He's her Papa, who kept her safe during the war. Who made her strong enough to protect herself, even when he lost his wife. She adores him. She'd do anything for him. Even follow him into a cult and be trained formally, a whole new set of skills, honed into the perfect weapon. He knows what's best. Even when he starts to act strangely. Even when he becomes cold and distant. In fact, she's so relieved when he does turn affectionate again, it doesn't even occur to her that he's manipulating her.
Then, one day, when Nathalie is grown up, she meets a man whose sole, driving determination is to save his wife...
