Behind the Scenes - The Stoneheart Arc
On the subject of the story:
Q: What's the changes from the mainline Ladybug and Cat Noir all about?
A: To put it this way, it's an overhaul on what the show is all about. Instead of the light and soft merchandise driven show we all know about with not having the best writing on the planet, I decided to go for the darker tone of the Ladybug PV route that could've been.
Q: Why start at the Origins two part episode?
A: To start anew for the story, I make it that this is not going to be like the show from the first chapter. Even the prologue made it very clear on this.
Q: Why is there a prologue at the beginning?
A: The prologue is a nod to manuals for the classic Doom games, especially the very first installment, which lays out the story, main character and what Doom is all about. In spirit, I did the same as well.
Q: What's the change for Adrien and Marrinette's relationship?
A: For starters, the 'Love Square' is done away altogether by making them honorary cousins. I did it so both of the characters can work together better than their main show counterparts. It would be like operating an F-14 Tomcat without having the Radar Intercept Officer, the pilot would simply have his work cut out by having to fly the plane and operate the complex radar system for that plane. Similar scenario with both sets of kwamis, one can't work without the other, same with Ladybug and Cat Noir.
Q: Why are Gabriel and Hawk Moth two separate characters?
A: Story wise, if Gabriel was my version of the character, there would be no sympathy for him. If you are following the series throughout, the redeeming or sympathetic qualities are overshadowed by his atrocities. For this story, my Hawk Moth is the most evil version of the character. He was born evil before even becoming the Dark Lord of Hell.
Q: What's the deal with Marinette and Adrien being like cousins?
A: Here's a little story for you; once upon a time, both Tom and Gabriel (Who was Gabi Grassette at the time.) attended the same school. There, they became bffs as they came from similar backgrounds. Both have similar goals in life as well; starting their own businesses. The subtle difference is that Gabriel wanted to be a fashion designer while Tom wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps. Hence, their career paths are pretty different. With Gabi connecting to famous people as clients and using his talent to fulfill their contracts, Tom busted tail and learned the ropes from his Dad. They also back each other up with notes, experience and some manly activities.
In the 1990's with Gabriel's money built up from his newly founded and successful brand, they went to mainland China in Shanghai for two weeks to learn more about Chinese culture. While Tom was chasing Sabine's tail, Gabriel and his then fiancé Emilie made their discovery of the existence of the Order of the Guardians, kwamis and their miraculouses, the Doom Slayer and the Night Sentinels via Miraculous spell-book and sparse Argenta texts, likely from the Ligria Sultagenta (Book of Kings). Emilie didn't know about the Night Sentinels before but she's been around members of the Blinded Order, their enemies during the Unholy Wars. Wang Cheng was also aware of the existence of them as well but he kept quiet conversation with Emile and Gabriel about it to not alert the Chinese Government. But that is a different story for another time.
When Tom set off on his own, Gabriel loaned both Tom and Sabine money to start their bakery. Needless to say, their bakery became very successful and iconic. Both of the men are at each other's weddings as their best men and they were there when both Adrien and Marinette were born in 2001 and 2002 respectively. In 2004, Gabriel and Tom helped Paris recover after the Duke Brothers attacked and ransacked their homes by giving them hope and a chance for the citizens to start anew. As of 2015 in the story's timeline, both the Agreste and Dupain-Cheng families are still tightly-knit as both men were back when they first met each other.
Q: Why did Gabriel make the decision to dig out the Doom Slayer on Mars?
A: In the immediate aftermath of the Duke Brothers' rampage, both he and Tom spearheaded the relief effort as private citizens. Along the two that I mentioned, the Union Aerospace Corporation, the United Heroez and the Justice League pitched in. What Gabriel didn't expect is that most of the members of the United Heroez happened to be the superhero equivalent of dirty cops. When he told the Justice League about it, infighting between both organizations ensued, leaving the UAC the only group Gabriel can rely on. With that along with the Duke Brothers not getting put down, he stopped having any faith in superheroes. Between a meeting with Mr. Agreste and Dr. Hayden, they shared their discoveries and notes on a very similar subject from the 1990's.
Dr. Hayden wanted to improve mankind by doing an expedition for the planet Mars and in return, Gabriel gets knowledge of said subject. Gabriel helped fund the UAC expedition to the planet for 2008 and a year later, struck gold with Argent Energy and a ton of knowledge with the existence of Hell and the Night Sentinels. More knowledge and projects came out throughout his investment on Mars at a very rapid pace, but Gabriel got very concerned with human sacrifices and the hell portals. Luckily, the Helix Stone provided answers to both of the men to where the Doom Slayer is buried at. With no faith in superheroes, the corruption of the institutions of his home planet, the increase of funding from the United Nations for Olivia Pierce's experiments, and with nothing to lose, Dr. Hayden and Gabriel pulled the trigger on an unauthorized expedition to the Kadingir Sanctum. Despite being dangerously close to getting torn to shreds by the demons, they succeeded in finding and recovering the sarcophagus of the Doom Slayer.
Q: What went down on Mars in May 2015 and how come Olivia Pierce didn't turn into the Spider Mastermind yet?
A: If you haven't played Doom 2016, it played very similarly. One of the key differences is that Darkseid took the wiseass decision to take advantage of the incident by gathering as many samples of Argent Energy as possible for another run against the Justice League. What he didn't expect is the Doom Slayer shutting down The Well altogether, trapping the warlord of Apokolips in Hell with him. While Darkseid's abilities are formidable, the Doom Slayer is simply overwhelming in terms of amplified weaponry, speed, and raw power. Thus, with the warlord beaten to a pulp and eyes gouged out, the Doom Slayer used the tethering device he modified to pull him and his prey to the Fortress of Doom to execute Darkseid permanently before sending a message to Dr. Samuel Hayden. For Olivia Pierce, as Hawk Moth watched from the sidelines as the fight with Doom Slayer and Darkseid wrapped up, the Dark Lord decided to save the Spider Mastermind as one of his trump cards for later.
Q: Is the Doom Slayer in the story the one from the mainline ID software games?
A: He isn't. It is more of a different interpretation of the character. The best comparison would be, let's say, Godzilla. When you look into it, the Heisei version of the character is vastly different to the Showa version, as well as the millennium and not to mention, the more recent Reiwa and Monsterverse interpretations of the character. No two versions of Godzilla are the same in terms of backstories, looks, or abilities and yet, they are very powerful in their own way (the 1998 one doesn't count as it isn't actually Godzilla). All in all, he isn't the Doomguy we know and love since 1993, but my interpretation is still very deadly against anything Hell will throw at him, if not, even more so.
Q: What are Gabriel Agreste's initial thoughts on the Doom Slayer.
A: Gabriel Agreste: I still remember it as it was yesterday. It was three years. It was like finding King Tut's tomb after more than 2,000 years. The major difference is the sense of power felt around the sarcophagus. It felt like a different lifetime after we opened it, the first time anyone laid eyes on him since Argent D'Nur fell. We tried awakening him but none succeeded. We ran test after test on the Praetor Suit, from small arms to a 2 Megakelvin laser, but none did any lasting damage. Many times, I had wondered how powerful this being could get. The two closest people I can think of on top of my head who are as powerful would be Majestia and Superman, but in my gut, they wouldn't hold a cradle to this Doom Marine.
It was only in near two and a half years time when he reawakened from his slumber. In hours, he did what he does best, kill everything Hell could conjure at him. From my live feed from his point of view during the Hellas Planitia incident, a quick turn of events with Darkseid had me rooting for the warrior in my office. The warlord threw everything at him, from physical hits to omega beams, but almost none of them worked as the Ruler of Apokolips turns from arrogant to furious to terrified as he gets beaten to a pulp minute by minute. From his unexpectedly high morals when he looked at the corpse of the UAC employee when he used the elevator in disgust to his methods of dealing with my business partner when things spiraled out of control, that is when I knew he is the answer to the rot of Planet Earth. To those who stand in the path of the Doom Slayer will meet a dire end, as he is divine punishment. May the blood on his sword never dry, and we may never need him again. Rip and Tear, until it is done.
Q: What is the Doom Slayer wearing and which weapons is he currently using.
A: The Doom Slayer is wearing his Praetor Suit from the 2016 game. Almost all of his weaponry are from Doom Eternal except for two, the rocket launcher and the BFG 9000 are aesthetically from the 2016 game. Most of his weapons are gathered during the Hellas Planitia incident, the ballista replaced the gauss cannon in the Fortress of Doom due to reliability issues while his Super Shotgun was reclaimed from a museum in New York City. These are the following skins used for the Doom Eternal weapons:
Combat Shotgun: Classic Shotgun
Super Shotgun : Default
Heavy Cannon : Carbon Fiber
Minigun (Chaingun is a separate kind of weapon) : Circuit Board
Plasma Rifle : Deep Space
Ballista : Rune-Scarred
Q: What variants of the monsters from Doom did you use and why?
A: For starters, I'm starting off on the iconic cacodemon, I used the classic version because I love the twisted evil grin on this one. From Doom 3, Hell Knights scream terrifying and badass but I spruce up the agility to Doom 2016 standards while keeping their ability to throw green fireballs. The Revenant from Doom 2016 is just a perfect look for the monster. Imps use the looks from Doom Eternal as I see it as a perfect blend between the classic and 2016 forms.
Q: What made you showcase the BFG 9000 in chapter 6?
A: Mainly to let the reader know I'm not going to get the gun itself wrong. The BFG 9000 is easily one of the most iconic guns in video game history and the two movie adaptations got it wrong. The one from 2005 shots blue acidic goo that didn't hit anything but walls and ceilings while annihilation is really wimpy compared to its namesake. In contrast, both the classic and 2016 versions shoot big green plasma balls that can kill anything short of a cyberdemon in one shot. Even Doom 3's rendition is a better representation of the weapon despite being significantly weaker. To me, the showdown at the Eiffel Tower is a perfect spot to showcase how powerful the BFG is by turning the demons on the tower into chunks of meat at the expense of one difficult to acquire round for it (BFG rounds and plasma cells are separate ammunition types). The BFG 9000 will return in later chapters when the situation calls for it.
Q: Why is Majestia and a handful of superheroes in the story?
A: A bunch of reasons. In the miraculous universe, it is established that superheroes are quite common in the United States. Naturally, the Doom Slayer's attacks drew their attention despite not being able to see him. On the topic of Majestia, the New York special simply isn't enough for me. For my interpretation, she is basically a knight in shining armor in a world where knights are starting to be frowned upon. In-story, Gabriel called her out during the humanitarian relief when the United Heroez did a bunch of things the people of Paris didn't approve of before reporting it to the Justice League. That and her inability to stop the corruption in the United Heroez due to the federal government protecting them. As such, Majestia quit the organization and joined the Justice League. Now in-story, the future of the Justice League is in question despite performing better as superheroes than the corrupt United Heroez overall, due to the situation the Doom Slayer put their nation in. Not that they can do anything about the Doom Slayer as they're going to find out in the very hardest way possible due to the fact that Gabriel calls him 'Divine Punishment' for a very good reason. And yes, Doon Slayer's weapons can hurt the more durable superheroes like can openers to tin cans. Basically, I'm dragging Majestia to rock bottom. How far will I drag her? You'll find out in the next arc.
Q: Can you tell us about the next arc?
A: Doom Slayer starts training Ladybug and Cat Noir to fight better than they did in the first two rounds, while going after the demons, the Duke Brothers, and superheroes. That is the premise of the next arc named 'New Blood' after the first episode of Walking with Dinosaurs.
Inbox Questions:
Question from Ezxwt-wrnb3: Hello, I'm a fan of Harry Potter and this is my first time here to read fanfiction. Do you know any good ones?
Answer: Well, I'm not really a Harry Potter person myself. But I am willing to give you a very simple piece of advice: go with your gut. There are tons of stories you wouldn't expect you would like. For me, despite not watching the Naruto series all the way through, I enjoyed the entirety of Son of the Sannin by Ander Arias. To me, the story is a more refined version of the show itself while changing more than a few things here and there. That is all I can say to help you out on the Harry Potter search.
Question from just about everyone who read the first arc: Why is the grammar and spelling all screwed up?
Answer: I first typed the story on libreoffice, which I would never recommend due to the buggy nature of the program. As such, I'm going to fix a bunch of chapters to a higher standard of writing.
Giving shoutouts to: Asperger Hero, EzioIsReading, No se que ponerme de nombre, and last but not least, sim. peters. Thank you for the support, and the next chapter will be out during Quakecon 2024.