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#Mrs cesaire
awakefor48hours · 1 year
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Started watching a lot of old and new Miraculous episodes and got inspired to make in-universe memes again
Also, I'm tagging these differently. The old way was annoying and took too long.
Part 10/???
[First]/[Prev]/[Next]
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I forgot how much I loved making these. Here's hoping that I'll keep making more.
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poppyrocky · 10 months
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Why does Kim look like the chad meme pic lol
Mr. Damocles looks deeply upset by the cats🤣
Imagine Someone who’s never seen the show trying to figure out what's even going on😅
these pics are sending me
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starsfic · 6 months
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Imagine when Lilia comes to the boiling isles, it's cause she's running from a bus supposed to correct her while Marinette and Adrien are trying to get her on there
(Vee will still pose as Luz, Camilia's finance are stable again but she's deeply troubled by Lilia's self-centered personality
The battle against Shadowmoth had been long and hard.
But, at the end, good triumphed over evil.
Gabriel Agreste was arrested with his accomplices Nathalie Sancoeur, Chloé Bourgeois, and Lila Rossi. The latter was why Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves in the police station with Gina Rossi, an Italian diplomat, and Alya. (Ladybug wasn’t sure how the latter got in here (based on her face, neither did she) but she was willing to let Alya get a look.)
“Based on her records, this seems…” Roger hissed through his teeth as he flipped through the file. “Not a surprise.” he finally settled on.
Gina looked ready to faint. “This isn’t new behavior?”
Roger looked up from the file with a raised brow. “Ma’am, did you not look at the record of the girl you were adopting?” Ladybug opened her mouth, only barely managing to get ahold of herself to clap her hands over Chat and Alya’s mouths before the questions could come out. She had no idea Lila had even been adopted. Poor Mrs. Rossi looked ready to faint already. “According to her file, starting at a young age, Lila has shown a history of lying.”
“That can’t- I didn’t-” Gina snatched the file and started scanning it, her face slowly getting more and more pale. “...this can’t…” Ladybug released her partner and her best friend’s mouths so they could step closer and peek over. Alya whistled.
Lila’s file was long.
The first recorded incident was when Lila was five. She accused a daycare worker of giving her food she was allergic to. The new manager had fired the poor girl on the spot, not even giving her a chance to explain until Lila’s bio mom, one Ms. Camila Noceda, had come to pick the twins up from daycare.
“Lila doesn’t have allergies.”
The daycare worker, as it turned out, had said no to Lila taking a doll from Luz. She had been restated with much higher pay soon after. The Nocedas had given her money for the lost wages.
The second had been aimed at a family friend of the Nocedas. Six-year-old Lila, with a new black eye, had accused the boy of hitting her at a party. The entire family had been outraged until they learned the boy wasn’t there…by him returning from his part time job. As it turned out, Lila had just tripped.
The pattern continued. Lila would lie, only to have her lie revealed. As time continued, the lies grew bigger and closer together. Soon, Lila was lying all the time. In the notes that Gina flipped through, Ladybug made a note.
Most of the lies were revealed by Lila’s twin, Luz, or the girl’s bio parents. Distance began to appear. The last incident happened…
Her blood ran cold.
There had been an accident on a family boating trip. Luz Noceda had fallen overboard while apparently not wearing her life vest. Lila had never been solidly accused, but it was noted that she was the last one to see Luz alive. The little girl’s body had never been found.
Now, Marinette knew Lila was bad. Who got a kick out of lying to people? But she was starting to learn, more and more, how evil she was.
Luz had been like her. A weird girl who still spoke the truth and disrupted Lila’s lies. Unlike her, she had been listened to. And for that, Lila had possibly killed her.
(For a second, she felt smug. Adrien could take the high road and shove it.)
“We actually called Camila Noceda in to ask her questions,” Roger said, wreaking the silence. “She’s on her way in now.”
“Does she need someone to pick her up?” Chat Noir asked.
Roger shook his head. “You misunderstand. She’s walking into the building now.”
The door opened. “Right this way, madame,” an officer said in English. “Camila Noceda is here, sir.”
Camila Noceda was a woman with dark bags under her eyes and a soft frown. She wore a yellow sweater that seemed to have been hastily pulled over a medical uniform. She was a pretty older woman with grey starting to soften the dark curls in her hair. Ladybug couldn’t see any resemblance to Lila from just one look.
“What did she do?”
Roger blinked. “What?”
“Lila. What did she do this time?” Chat and Alya both winced at the harshness. Camila sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry. It’s a surprise to get a call about your biological daughter so late in the evening.”
“It’s nothing to be offended about, madame,” Ladybug couldn’t help but take a step forward and grip Camila’s hand. Exhaustion lined the poor woman’s voice, and this whole experience, based on the last incident, must’ve been making her flashback. “I’m sorry to have to drag you in like this. We just have some questions about Lila Rossi’s lying habit.”
A warm smile bloomed to life. “Thank you, sweetheart,” Camila reached up and patted her cheek. Maternal warmth seemed to seep off her now. Ladybug couldn’t help but lean into the warm touch, suddenly reminded of her own mother. “I’m happy to answer any questions, but what did Lila do?”
Oh boy. Ladybug glanced around. Roger, Chat, and Alya didn’t meet her eyes. It seemed like-
“It was my fault.” Gina stood up straight, shoulders clenched. “I’m Gina Rossi, Lila’s m…” She paused and shook her head. “Lila’s adoptive mother. I think we spoke on the phone when I adopted her.”
Camila nodded. “We did. You were so excited to welcome Lila into your family.” Her smile turned sadder. “I hated giving up on Lila, but I couldn’t…” She sighed. “I couldn’t give her the help she needed.”
Gina nodded. “Neither could I,” she whispered. Camila cocked her head. “I didn’t look at her file closely. I didn’t read about all the incidents, the lying, everything. I let her manipulate me.” Gina reached up and rubbed her forehead. “She helped a terrorist attack Paris because I enabled her.”
Camila’s eyes went wide. “She did what?!”
“She also skipped over a year of school!” Gina’s voice choked into a sob. “She’s getting me in trouble with the embassy because she made up stories about traveling everywhere, she’s getting into legal trouble, and she almost ruined one poor girl’s life!”
Camila clearly flinched. “She did?”
“Yes!” Alya stepped forward. “My best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Ladybug blinked. “I…I also helped enable her. Without knowing! But I still helped her.” She presented the phone to Camila, who looked ready to faint. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Noceda.”
Camila took the phone, allowing Ladybug to see that Alya had pulled up the Ladyblog. Specifically, on the video of Volpina helping Shadowmoth.
The woman was eerily quiet, staring at the screen. Her eyes were wide as the video first played. They narrowed as the video replayed a second time. A third time.
“...I…I can’t believe this.” Camila passed the phone back to Alya. Her hands were shaking, as though she was ready to throw the phone. “No. You know what? I can believe Lila would do that.”
Roger stepped forward. “Your answers will help us make sure, madame.”
“Ask away,” Camila said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. “And then I want to talk to her. Luz has some questions of her own.” 
The door opened, revealing a girl. She was pretty, with golden hairclips pushing back hair to reveal golden eyes.
“Where’s my sister?”
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toxinellebug · 2 months
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HESPERIA/BETTERFLY kamikotized heroes Headcanons PART 3
Warning, this may make animal lovers uneasy for a bit.
This one is going to take place during the day, around Adrien and Marinette’s 2nd week of school, so they are still toying around with their Miraculous’ at night for their own personal gains, and have not yet suffered the consequences and been instructed to hunt down the Butterfly-man in order to save themselves. 
            Promise that the next one will show our fav villains in action, but for now I hope there are fans of Mr. Pigeon reading this because-
Xavier Ramier becomes……
Sauvaquateur!
(This is my attempt at combining the French words for “Savior” and “Aquatic”, into a new, superhero name. Fun fact: In 1979, the U.S. Coast Guard trained pigeons to locate people lost at sea and they had a 90% success rate!
Also remember S4, ep 4, “Mr. Pigeon 72”)
As mentioned in my post “Shadybug’s Paris Headcanons”, in this universe, pigeons are far less welcome in Paris than they are in the Good/Prime universe, so there is no need for a Pigeon-Tamer.
There IS a need for Environmental technicians though… a DIRE need.
(In this Universe, imagine the world under The Supreme’s control as slightly less extreme than North Korea under Kim Jong-un, and about as polluted as Gaya, India.)
Luckily, construction plans for “Project Oxygen”, endorsed by M. Bertrand King, have been submitted and are awaiting approval from The Supreme. In theory, once they’ve built enough towers, it should take care of the awful smog problem in Paris.
But that won’t help with toxicity in the soil and water.
Which is why M. Ramier is outside on a particularly gloomy day, in full yellow hazmat gear and neon orange rubber galoshes, attempting to collect water samples from the Saint-Martin canal.
Trash aside, people just didn’t realize how much of the poison they put out for rats (and those poor, adorable, misunderstood pigeons) ended up in the Seine, resulting in its present, disgustingly polluted state. 
Xavier can’t help but daydream of simpler times he has never known, like the ones depicted in old photographs and paintings.
In his personal collection, he has a precious family keepsake, a postcard to his great-grandfather sent by his great-uncle in 1912;
     It depicted such a happy scene of blue skies and even bluer water, and people gathered to merrily feed the pigeons with smiling faces near the Seine.
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Not for the first time, he can’t help but wonder if perhaps he was simply born in the wrong decade…
Instead, here he is, collecting vial after vial of what is closer to sludge than water at different points along the canal for chemical analysis and comparison. 
It’s dull and dreary.
Or, at least it’s dreary… 
     The dullness comes to a rather abrupt end when a low bellowing sound draws his attention to a large, sludge covered something twitching near the bank beneath The Pont des Arts, (or as we know it, The Love Lock bridge, though in this universe there are no locks) a mere 4 meters away from him.
Mon Dieu!
He thought the rumors were merely that; rumors dreamt up to keep children away from the filthy water.
But blessed be; that really is a crocodile!
Where on earth did he come from?? 
(Somewhere in a shoddy apartment, Jagged, or rather, Jared, sneezes and feels a strange pang of guilt.)
The poor fellow doesn’t look too well; not that M. Ramier claimed to have any expertise in crocodilian health, but he was almost certain that the creature’s spine was not meant to be quite so prominent.
          He also could not recall ever seeing a crocodile lay on its side like that, half floating in the water, half… Hold on, was it tethered to something????
Merciful heavens! Discarded plastic Enforcer barrier tape had found its way into the canal and gotten tangled up around this poor beast’s jowls and caught upon who knows what kind of garbage submerged near the bank.
Sloshing his way over, M. Ramier had only intended to get close enough to attempt to at least cut the plastic tape where it was tethered closest to the bank in hopes the lack of tension would loosen it enough that the crocodile could free himself.
But the croc sensed his approach and grew frightened, letting out a warning growl and weakly thrashing his too thin tail, before jerking wildly and tightening the noose in the process.
     At this rate the beast would strangle himself!
This was terrible!
    Oh, that poor creature….
But, what could he do?  He was merely an Environmental Technician, trained to collect and study water samples.
      He supposed he could try contacting the ‘Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes’ (the zoo), but  by the time they decided to send someone over, if they decided to send anyone over, it might be too late!
If only he could help… He became an Environmental Technician due to his love of animals and a desire to make the world a better place for them, and now there was a creature in desperate need of aid right in front of him and he was completely powerless…
He does not see the glowing butterfly perch upon the sample vial in his gloved hand, nor does he notice it vanish.
He’s far too preoccupied with the sudden voice in his head:
       The voice introduces himself as Betterfly, and claims that he too shares a love of animals. 
           The voice offers him the power he needs to save this suffering creature, and asks if he will accept this gift for the greater good.
M. Ramier accepts, though, he’s not really Xavier Ramier anymore…
The stained yellow of his suit melts away to a pristine white, and the neon orange of his rubber boots has given way to a striking cyan and become more fin-like in appearance.
        His rubber gloves share the same shade of blue, as does the “star of life” symbol overlaying the outline of a rescue bird on his chest.
               Somehow, his sample vial has inexplicably transformed into a rather impressive hand operated bilge pump.
       He feels stronger, more confident, more daring.
                  He is now Sauvaquateur!
Holstering the pump at his waist, he dives into the water with the grace of a tropical clawed frog, Sauvaquateur swims with amphibious ease thanks to his new, webbed gloves, and is able to take a firm hold of the weakened crocodile and bring him the the bank of the canal.
   (Another fun fact: The Seine is 9.5 metres or 31 ft. deep and you should absolutely NOT swim in it without superpowers.)
With his newfound strength, he makes quick work of tearing that horrid plastic off the poor creature, and feels satisfied that he has successfully rescued his new, scaly friend!
…..Except, the crocodiles eyes do not seem to be open.
      He’s also rather still, perhaps too still-
                       He’s not breathing!
Panic takes hold as Sauvaquateur fears he was too late after all, but the voice returns to him;
     Betterfly urges him to remain calm, hope is not lost yet, but he must come to his senses!
….That’s right, he mustn’t give up!
Sauvaquateur presses his head against the crocodile’s rough back near where he thinks a heart should be.
          Perhaps it is due to Betterfly’s “gift”, but even through his suit’s protective helmet, Sauvaquateur swears he can hear a weak thumping sound.
There is a heartbeat but no breath; what should he do? How does one go about performing rescue breathing on a crocodile?! Would that even help????
    Again, Betterfly’s soothing voice echoed in his mind, urging him to look closer…
Looking closely, the crocodile seemed to have an awfully bloated stomach yet such a thin looking back… Could it be-?
Eyeing the bilge pump holstered at his side, Sauvaquateur knew he had to try!
Using incredible strength he now unfathomably possessed, he did what should not have been humanly possible; he pried the crocodile’s mouth open and placed the hose of the pump inside.
It only takes 5 good thrusts of the plunger rod before a burst of toxic brown water and wads of plastic come spewing out of the pump’s outlet.
         Sauvaquateur shudders at the thought of all that rubbish inside that poor animal.
              It’s a feeling that Betterfly shares.
Its stomach noticeably deflated, and its scales a shade less pale than they were only a few moments prior, the crocodile takes a deep, relieving breath.
       Sauvaquateur does the same.
With the croc out of immediate danger, and now fast asleep, Betterfly praises Sauvaquateur for his valiant efforts, and suggests that now would be a good time to let someone more experienced take over.
Sauvaquateur agrees.
He can feel the “gift” leave him- like the sensation of color being gently stripped away.
    He is left in his muddy, yellow suit, and his plain orange rubber boots. His water sample vial, now empty, rests at his feet.
M. Ramier is not sure what just happened exactly; it’s a bit fuzzy, like waking up from a peculiar dream.  
      He could’ve sworn he was talking to someone just now….
             But the loud snoring from the large, slumbering reptile beside him reminds him that there are far more pressing matters at hand.
Moving to a more comfortable distance, Xavier unzips his outer suit in order to pull out his mobile phone and place a call.
He is placed on hold for frustrating amount of time before a M. Césaire answers and M. Ramier informs him of his predicament.
It’s not long after that when Enforcer sirens sound along the banks, forming a protective barrier and trying to hold back inquiring news photographers eager to get a shot of “Saint Martin’s Beast.”
M. Césaire is there as well, and he expertly secures the crocodile’s jaws shut before he and an assistant lift and haul the creature into the back of a van to transport to the zoo for examination.
M. Ramier is harshly admonished for getting so close to such a dangerous animal and is informed that it is a miracle he is unharmed.
A miracle?
Is there such a thing anymore?
….Perhaps.
PART 2    
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billiejean485 · 1 year
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I'm sCREAMING
Also, Tikki's expession XD
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kna-knut · 5 months
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Staaay PEACHYyyy!!!
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But what I love most of all - is creating.
Marinette designing for @panvampirething!
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festering-bacteria · 2 years
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A couple more kwami designs, a few doodles and some marigami :))
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natedogx15 · 3 months
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Miraculous Descendent Chapter 51: Show and Tell
Previous Chapter
The next day, Marinette and Nate are peacefully resting in their beds before there's a knock at Marinette's door. Marinette doesn't react to the sound, causing Sabine to open the door and walk toward her daughter.
"Marinette, we have to get up. It's time for school. We're going to be late if you don't get up." Sabine shakes her daughter awake.
Finally, Marinette opens her eyes and sees Sabine's smiling face.
"*yawn* What are you doing here, Mom?" Marinette asks in confusion while trying to wake up.
"Can't a mother wake her daughter up instead of their butler? You never had a problem with it before." Sabine says with a giggle at her daughter's reaction.
Finally starting to wake up and have her mind catch up with her, Marinette's eyes widen as she realizes what today is and immediately sits up.
"Ah, school." Marinette panics as she gets out of bed to get ready.
Sabine smiles and shakes her head at her daughter's antics as she rushes toward her closet to get ready for school.
She quickly leaves the room to let her daughter get ready and heads toward Nate's room. She knocks on the door. Luckily, Nate comes to the door in his video game pajamas.
"Morning. Time for school, I'm guessing." Nate says while rubbing the sleep from one of his eyes as he looks at Sabine.
"Yes. I'll be walking to school with you two." Sabine tells him with a smile.
"Alright." Nate nods before closing the door to get ready.
After that, Sabine heads toward the hotel lobby to wait for the teens. After a few minutes, Nate is the first to come down in a dark blue hoodie with blue jeans and his usual sneakers while carrying his school bag.
"Good morning, Sabine." He says with a smile as he walks toward the waiting woman.
"Good morning, Nate. I see you're the first one down." Sabine says with a smile.
Nate says nothing and shrugs before sitting in one of the lobby seating areas to wait for Marinette. It takes a few minutes, but she finally comes down with her signature ladybug-themed jacket over a pink short-sleeve shirt with white pants. It's a reversal of her usual outfit. She even has a bracelet with a sunflower-shaped ornament on her wrist.
"Sorry, it took me so long. I wanted to try out a different outfit." Marinette apologizes as she does a little twirl to show off her clothes.
"It looks lovely, sweetie," Sabine says with a smile as she looks over Marinette's outfit.
"Thanks." Marinette beams at her mother's approval.
The trio leave the hotel and walk toward school. The walk there is silent for a while before Sabine looks toward Marinette.
"So, how is getting Ladybug to talk to us going?" Sabine asks Marinette.
That question causes Marinette to freeze and awkwardly stare at her mother as she tries to say something.
"W-well. S-she usually comes to me for information. I don't really have a way to talk to her." Marinette awkwardly tells her mother.
"I see." Sabine hums while keeping a close eye on her daughter.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Nate looks for a way to change it and notices they're near Agreste Manor.
"Hey, Sabine. Do you know the stories around Agreste Manor?" Nate asks his new aunt while hoping it'll be enough to steer the conversation away.
Sabine blinks in confusion before looking at Adrien's house.
"No, I don't think I have. Why? What are the stories?" Sabine asks him with a raised eyebrow.
"They say the place is haunted. That something walks through the halls in search of something. They also say that Gabriel is studying black magic to find a way to bring his missing wife back." Nate explains as he walks backward while talking to Sabine.
"Really?" Sabine asks in surprise, not expecting those kinds of rumors.
"Yeah, I told this to Marinette at the beginning of the school year. Apparently, the stories started from some cleaners or other employees that worked in the mansion." Nate explains with a smile as he makes spooky movements with his hands for emphasis.
"Well, those are some interesting rumors. I'm sure they're just that, though. People will make up all sorts of different rumors." Sabine tells him while rolling her eyes at how people can blow things out of proportion.
"True. But it's pretty interesting to think about. I mean, we know magic is real. So, it's not like it's something impossible." Nate says with a shrug.
"I suppose that's true. But it's rude to say those things about someone who misses their other half. Losing your partner can be a painful experience, and it can take a long time to get over it. People also grieve in different ways. I'm sure Mr. Agreste is just trying to get over his wife in solitude." Sabine explains while looking toward Agreste Mansion as they walk past it.
The two teens don't say anything and look at the mansion with some looks of pity.
"So... how's it feel to be married to Uncle Tom?" Nate finally asks to change topics again.
Sabine gives him a good-natured smile before saying.
"It's wonderful. He's so charming. I wish I could do more to help him, though." Sabine says while putting a hand to her cheek as she worriedly thinks about Tom.
"Yeah, Uncle Tom hasn't been looking the best lately. Hawkmoth is putting him through the wringer with everything he's doing." Nate sighs as he thinks about the times he's seen Uncle Tom. Quite a few times, Tom didn't look like he got a lot of sleep.
"Yes. I'm worried about his health." Sabine sighs.
"I'm sure Uncle Tom will be okay," Nate says optimistically.
"I hope so." Sabine nods.
Marinette listens to their conversation and bites her lip.
"Hopefully, we'll find Hawkmoth soon to help Tom." Marinette thinks as she follows the two.
"Are you okay, Marinette? You've been quiet." Sabine says as she looks toward her daughter in worry.
"O-oh, I'm fine, Mom. I'm just thinking about what you guys said." Marinette says while nervously waving her arms toward her mother.
"Sorry if we're worrying you, Marinette." Sabine quickly apologizes when she sees her daughter's state.
"Oh, no. It's fine. I'm worried about Tom, too. I was trying to figure out how I can help Ladybug figure out who Hawkmoth is quicker before you said something." Marinette explains to calm her mother's worries.
"Alright then. Hopefully, you'll come up with something." Sabine tells her daughter.
The trio later arrives at the school and enters to see a couple of different pairs of students and parents heading toward Miss Bustier's class. Following them, the trio enters the room. After getting in the room, Marinette and Nate take their seats while Sabine stands on the side of the room next to Marline, Alya's mother and the head chef of Samuel's hotel.
As time goes by, more parent and child pairs enter the room until the room is eventually filled up. A few students' parents are missing, such as Juleka, Nathaniel, and Kim. However, there are still a fair amount of parents for today.
While everyone in Miss Bustier's class is preparing for their career talks, Mr. Damocles is in his office, taking a few deep breaths, hoping nothing goes wrong today.
"Albert, open up my email." Mr. Damocles orders his computer A.I.
"Please repeat. I was unable to understand." Albert requests.
"Open my email, Albert." Mr. Damocles says in a louder, more forceful tone.
"Please repeat. I was unable to understand." Albert requests again.
"Open my emails, Albert!" Mr. Damocles shouts at the A.I.
"Pl-please re-repeat-" Albert begins before his icon glitches, and his speech breaks apart.
"Oh, not again." Mr. Damocles groans as he realizes Albert is malfunctioning.
With a heavy sigh, Mr. Damocles shuts Albert down and peaks at his programming to try and figure out what went wrong.
"The comics make creating an artificial intelligence look so easy." Mr. Damocles sighs as he looks at the programming.
As he does this, he daydreams about a fully functioning Albert backing him up as he helps Ladybug and Cat Noir fight an Akuma in an Owlman costume, giving him information and activating equipment in his suit.
Somewhere else within the school, Aurore sits quietly in class in the corner of the room. Ever since she got hired as Mireille's co-host, her old haughty attitude has returned somewhat. But she still feels uncomfortable about being in school while everyone knows she's been turned into a villain by Hawkmoth. So, she usually keeps to herself or talks to friends during school.
However, today is going to be different from her usual school routine. In Hawkmoth's secret base, he is watching the girl through the glass bulb on the top of his cane.
"We'll see how today goes for you, Damocles. Especially since one of my butterflies is more than ready to possess one of your students without a catalyst." Hawkmoth says as he observes Aurore taking notes.
He's decided to wait before doing anything to the school and let events play out.
Later that day, the class watches as Chloe's father walks up to the front of the room with a cloth-covered tray.
"Chloe, please pass these out to your classmates and their parents. They're freshly baked croissants. I made them this morning for you all." André tells the class kindly as he gives Chloe the tray and unveils it for everyone in the room to see over two dozen croissants and some tongs.
Chloe doesn't look happy with having to give her classmates her father's food but doesn't say anything against her father. Reluctantly, she begins passing her classmates and their parents the food.
Some of the more abrasive students give Chloe smug and amused looks as she does this to irritate her. She finally hesitates when she reaches Marinette and Nate's desk. With a scowl, Chloe is about to refuse before.
"Chloe, is everything okay?" André asks her daughter worriedly, not wanting her to cause any trouble.
With a huff, Chloe gives Marinette, Nate, and Sabine their croissants but doesn't hesitate to whisper something to Marinette as she walks by the girl after handing a croissant to her mom.
"Enjoy your food." She aggressively whispers to the girl.
"Thanks, I will," Marinette says in faux happiness as she looks at Chloe with a closed-eye smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Bougeois." Miss Bustier thanks the man.
"No problem, Miss Bustier. I'm happy to give them some of my bakery's treats. Maybe I'll get a few loyal customers out of today." André jokes with a good-natured smile, getting a few chuckles from the adults around the room.
"I'm sure you will. Now, let's move on to Alya's mom, the head chef at the Le Grand Paris, owned by the father of our very own Nathanial Dupain and brother of our mayor, Samuel Dupain." Miss Bustier says as she motions toward the woman standing next to Sabine.
The students and parents clap toward the woman as she pushes past Sabine and takes André's place in front of the room.
"Hello, I'm Marlena Césaire. It's a pleasure to meet my daughter's classmates and their parents." Marlena says kindly with a welcoming smile.
"Unfortunately, I didn't bring you any treats like Mr. Bourgeois. Did you, Sabine?" Marlena asks the other woman jokingly.
"No, I'm afraid I didn't." Sabine shakes her head.
"I guess I'll just have to talk about what I do instead." Marlena fake sighs before looking toward the class.
"My job is to make sure everything in the kitchen of Le Grand Paris runs smoothly. I have to go over our menus and control the food preparations. I also have to deal with complaints from customers sometimes." Marlena explains.
"It's a rather difficult job. But luckily I have the help of a capable staff. Such as Sabine over there." Marlena says as she motions toward Sabine, who smiles toward the class.
"It feels like things have been going a lot smoother ever since she started helping in the kitchen, and I'm happy to call her a co-worker and friend," Marlena explains while smiling at Sabine.
"Happy to take some of the stress off, Marlena," Sabine tells her with an equally radiant smile.
"How nice. It must have been awkward to work with the wife of your boss' brother, though." Miss Bustier says while looking between the two women.
"It was a bit awkward, but she soon proved she was just as capable as my other chefs. In fact, she's come up with quite a few new sweets for our hotel's menu." Marlena nods.
"Wonderful." Miss Bustier claps happily upon hearing Marlena's words.
"Well, thank you for your time, Mrs. Césaire. Let's move on to our next parent, Mr. Roger Raincomprix." Miss Bustier says before motioning for Roger to come on stage
As the class continues their career day, Hawkmoth decides that now is the time to strike.
"It's time for round three. You know what to do, my little one."  Hawkmoth says as a butterfly forms in his glass bulb before flying out of it and through the stained glass window.
"We'll see how the heroes handle this next set of Akumas," Hawkmoth says with a smile as he can feel the butterfly heading toward Aurore.
Not knowing what's to come, Aurore is taking notes in her class with an umbrella-shaped pen. Eventually, the butterfly arrives and phases through the window toward her. It flies toward her writing tool, and Aurore only has a second to notice it before it possesses her pen.
"Hello, Stormy Weather," Hawkmoth says as the butterfly outline appears on Aurore's face.
After this happens, Miss Mendeleiev and her eyes widen in shock.
"Everyone out! I want you all out of this classroom now! It's an Akuma emergency! Evacuate the classroom immediately! Leave your things and leave!" Miss Mendeleiev orders as she desperately tries to get her students out of the room and to safety, while Aurore has a look of fear and horror on her face as she converses with Hawkmoth.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me? How are you getting to me? I'm not feeling negative about today?" Aurore asks in fear as she tries to figure out why Hawkmoth keeps going after her.
"Unfortunately, I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve and am not completely limited by who's feeling negative today. As for why you, you just drew the unlucky card." Hawkmoth explains as Aurore's mind starts to go blank while she's forcibly transformed.
"Hahahaha." Soon, Stormy Weather's cackling can be heard within the classroom as her transformation is complete.
Meanwhile, Roger is finishing his talk about his job as a police officer.
"And that's the basic idea of my job. It's quite dangerous, especially with Hawkmoth running around." Roger finishes as he looks at the room with a smile.
The students and adults clap their hands after his talk while Sabrina has a proud smile while standing next to him. After the applause, Kim raises his hand toward Roger.
"Yes?" Roger asks.
"Do you have an idea who Hawkmoth might be?" Kim asks curiously.
Roger blinks in slight surprise but not too much since he expected someone to ask that question.
"Well, I'm not allowed to talk about that publicly right now. Rest assured, though. The police are doing their best to figure out who Hawkmoth is with our limited information to put you and the rest of Paris at ease. He's our highest priority target right now." Roger tells Kim with a kind and comforting smile to try and put everyone in the room at ease.
After he says that, though, he and the rest of Miss Bustier's class can see Miss Mendeleiev's class running through the halls in a panic.
"What's going on?" Miss Bustier asks in worry when she sees the students running toward the stairway.
Right as she says that, Miss Mendeleiev opens the door toward her classroom and shouts.
"Aurore was turned into a villain again in the middle of my class! Quickly follow the school procedures!" She orders as she looks at the people in the room before exiting the room to try and help her class get to safety.
Everyone's eyes widen in shock and horror when they hear this, and Roger quickly takes action.
"Alright, everyone, please listen to Miss Bustier's directions. " Roger orders before grabbing his radio.
"This is Officer Roger. We have an Akuma at Lycée Françoise Dupont. I need backup." Roger says as he heads toward one of the classroom doors to get a better look at what's going on.
He rests a hand on his taser while peaking out the door to see what's happening outside. When he does, he sees a cackling Stormy Weather fly out of her classroom and into the sky above the school.
"It's time for round three, heroes! Let's see how you do this time!" Stormy Weather cackles while holding an umbrella.
It seems Aurore's umbrella pen changed with her and became an umbrella that matches her color scheme.
After she says that, Roger sees Hawkmoth's butterfly outline appearing over her face. After a few seconds, Stormy Weather's smile turns even more malicious.
"Good point, Hawkmoth. I should make a spectacle to get the heroes' attention." Stormy Weather says before aiming her umbrella toward the ground.
Roger's eyes widen, and he quickly shuts the classroom door while turning toward the room's occupants.
"Everybody take cover!" Roger orders as he tries to get away from the door.
As soon as he says that, a giant glacier appears in the middle of the school's courtyard, and ice starts to run along the entire school, freezing the doors and windows facing the glacier. The ice also slid under the door into the classroom, trapping Roger's leg slightly.
"Dad!" Sabrina shouts in worry as she sees her father's foot frozen in ice.
She quickly runs toward her father to see if he's okay.
"I'll be fine, Sabrina. We need everyone to evacuate, though. It seems like she plans on making this a battleground against the heroes." Roger tells everyone.
Everyone looks either anxious or excited when they hear this, Marinette, Adrien, Nate, and Sabrina especially so, as they glance around, or in Nate's case, glance at Marinette in worry.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Marlena asks as she looks at the children worriedly.
Roger points toward the outer windows of the room that haven't been frozen.
"Evacuate through the windows. Everyone needs to climb down and get to safety." Roger orders.
Hearing this, André and Miss Bustier head toward the windows and see if they can open them.
While the class is trying to figure out how to get out of the room and to safety, Mr. Damocles is trying to get his office door to open. But it's frozen over.
"Come on. Open up already." Mr. Damocles desperately says as he tries harder to get the door open.
Unfortunately, his desperate attempts to open the door cause the doorknob to break off and send him tumbling to the ground. He winches as he holds his hip while lying there, having landed funny.
"*Groans* It's on days like these when I wish I was secretly a superhero." Mr. Damocles groans as he rubs his hip, feeling a growing sense of helplessness and worry.
Unfortunately for Mr. Damocles, he forgets the phrase, 'Be careful what you wish for.' when he mutters this.
"There's the emotion I was looking for, Damocles. You'll be perfect for me to make a new villain." Hawkmoth says as he senses Mr. Damocles' emotions.
He quickly creates another butterfly and sends it after Mr. Damocles. It soon arrives at the school and heads toward Mr. Damocles as he sits at his desk while frantically typing something on his computer.
"Come on, how do you get out of a locked room?" Mr. Damocles asks as he types into the computer.
Due to being so focused on what he's typing, he doesn't notice the butterfly heading toward him and into his computer.
"Hello, Dark Owl," Hawkmoth says as his butterfly outline appears over Mr. Damocles' face.
Mr. Damocles' eyes widen in shock before he grabs his head.
"Get out of my head! You won't have me hurting anyone! While you're at it, release my student!" Mr. Damocles shouts as he tries to get Hawkmoth out of his head.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. But don't worry, I won't make you hurt anyone other than the real villains." Hawkmoth promises.
"Real villains?" Mr. Damocles asks in confusion as he holds his head in pain from the mental connection between them.
"Yes, Ladybug and Cat Noir. I simply wish to use their Miraculous to save someone important to me. I am desperate, and that's why I'm doing this. I have tried to get them to give me their Miraculous, but they refuse and have tied my hands." Hawkmoth explains in a faux sad and regretful tone.
"That doesn't give you the right to harm the children like this." Mr. Damocles says as he starts to feel his vision blackout.
"Don't worry; you'll be allowed to make sure your student doesn't hurt anyone else. I'm giving you the power to be the hero you dreamed of. You can get your students and staff to safety while ending my reign of terror. Won't you be the hero Paris deserves and put an end to those fakes?" Hawkmoth questions as Mr. Damocles finally succumbs to his will.
"Yes Hawkmoth." Mr. Damocles says with a malicious smile as his body is covered in black smoke.
Back in Miss Bustier's classroom, some teens are climbing out the windows down toward waiting adults, ready to catch them if the teens fall. As Rose climbs down, she slips and falls. Sabine rushes toward her to try and save her but doesn't have to. Someone else swoops in and snatches the teen before letting her down gently.
"Hoo, hoo, are you alright, young lady?" The person asks in a somewhat baritone voice.
"Yes, thank y-" Rose starts to thank the person until she gets a good look at them.
The person who saves her is the Akumatized Mr. Damocles, whose Akuma form seems to take the form of a darker version of his secret Owlman costume.
The costume consists of a black and dark brown full-body costume with metal stub areas on his chest, shoulders, elbows, and inner thighs and a golden owl symbol on the center of the chest. He also has pale brown padded gloves that stop before his elbows and matching boots with black soles and an orange stub at the tip. Around his neck is a black cape with a similar metallic design on the inside of it. Around his waist is a matching utility belt with different owl-themed equipment in pouches. Over his face is a half mask that covers the entire upper part of his face with tuft-like orange extensions going from above his eyes like eyebrows and extending toward the sides of his head while pointing backward. His physical appearance has also changed. He's become more muscular with a long orange mustache that matches the tuft-like extensions. His beard also changes to a defined brown one with two black marks. His eyes are yellow and owl-like with orange outlines around them.
"No problem, young lady. Now, let's get the rest of you to safety." Dark Owl announces as he looks toward the teens trying to climb down and those looking out the windows.
He pulls out four owl-themed boomerangs and throws them toward the ground under the students. The boomerangs expand to reveal tarps inside. The four corners stick into the floor and extend to create trampolines for the students.
"Use those to evacuate your class while I help others evacuate." Dark Owl orders the group before saying.
"Albert, activate flight mode."
Mr. Damocles' office was dark, and various computer monitors were hanging from the ceiling by their wires. On the screens are yellow pixels with Albert in the center of them. His appearance has also been changed by the Akumatization, with a more defined and human-like face that is a man with a black mustache.
"Of course, Dark Owl," Albert says calmly in a slight nasally tone.
Dark Owl's cape suddenly turns into a winged jetpack, and he flies off.
"Was that an Akuma?" Nate asks, baffled by what just transpired.
"I think so." Sabrina agrees, equally confused.
"We can figure that out later, everyone down." Roger orders while motioning for the others to get down.
Those left in the classroom or on the walls quickly use the trampolines to jump down until everyone is safely on the ground. Different parents then start taking their kids away from the school to safety.
"Uh, Mom. I've really got to stay." Marinette tries to excuse herself as Sabine pushes her and Nate away from the school.
"Nathalie, I want to make sure Nino gets home safely," Adrien begs the woman while motioning towards a running Nino.
Sabrina looks toward her father worriedly, but Roger gives her a hesitant nod to go ahead. Sabine and Nathalie are putting up more resistance, though.
"Absolutely not! I am not allowing you to stay here with two villains around." Sabine tells her daughter in an authoritative tone.
"He'll be fine, Adrien. It looks like Stormy Weather is keeping to the school. Right now, we need to worry about getting you to safety." Nathalie tells him while she leads him away from the school hurriedly.
"But/But-" The two say before being cut off.
"No buts/No Adrien, Nino will be fine." The two women cut them off.
Both heroes look nervous while hoping the other can handle the two until they get away from their guardian. Not knowing the other is in the same situation or that someone else will be fighting the villains in their stead.
Sabrina runs between a gap between two villains, and Barkk appears in front of her.
"Looks like it's time for your debut, Pup. Let's show them the ferocity of a pack of wolves." Barkk tells her with an excited grin, happy to be back in the action after so long.
"Right. Barkk, let the hunt begin." Sabrina commands, causing Barkk to fly into her collar, causing it to lose its camouflage mode and reveal its true form as she transforms.
Hawkmoth and the heroes are in for a surprise.
Finally, I have debuted all the abilities of the Butterfly Miraculous' second Akuma ability. Now, I can talk about it.
Hawkmoth's ability is called Lepidopterarium. How it works is that it puts a fragment of the magic used to create an Akuma into the glass bulb of Hawkmoth's cane so that Hawkmoth can create a second Akuma. Unlike his regular power, this one is limited to the ones he's already created and can make it more difficult for him to use.
While Hawkmoth doesn't need negative emotions as a catalyst to create Akumas, he needs them to make strong villains. This is more true for Lepidopterarium unless it manages to escape. Every time one of these butterflies returns to Hawkmoth after controlling someone, their magic will grow slightly stronger. It's basically a superficial version of Hawkmoth's regular Akumatization power. It has the same mechanics but on a much weaker scale.
Also, when Hawkmoth loses the butterfly made from the fragment of magic, he's unable to use that Akuma with Lepidopterarium again until he recreates that Akuma with his regular ability.
Also, Dog Sabrina, my readers. I'm excited about introducing her to the story. I plan to have this story focus on more than just Marinette and Adrien from the get-go. So, be excited about who else appears and gets a Miraculous.
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their-destinys-writer · 3 months
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Akuma Flashpoint - Chapter 4
Rated: M
Chapters: 4/?
Chapter Summary: Marinette and Alya finally get to talk.
Info: Canon compliant up to Season 3, Episode 'Ladybug'. Miracle Queen never happened. Canon divergent from that point forward, but might borrow a few details from later seasons. Very loosely inspired by DC's Flashpoint Paradox (the animated movie). Updates on the last Monday of every month.
Ao3 | Wattpad
A/N: Merry Christmas! Have a new chapter as a gift.
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The Recruit
It had been a long morning and midday, and yet Marinette still felt lost. To figure out the right thing to say for the now dreaded breakfast, she had to ask about her history with Adrien in this timeline. And it sure was… interesting. Starting with the fact that they got together when they were fourteen, instead of sixteen. Apparently, since he never fell in love with Ladybug, it opened the door for him to instantly fall for her civilian identity instead.
That was one what-if scenario she never knew she would get the answer to. Not that she had ever actually wanted to know. But it also meant Lila was Adrien’s second girlfriend, meaning she shouldn’t underestimate the importance Lila had acquired for him in this timeline.
Another awful revelation was that he was the one to break things off. According to Tikki, their communication suffered greatly after Nino passed away, and this timeline’s Marinette didn’t want to fight for the relationship, blaming herself for what happened. After that, she distanced herself from everyone, resulting in Adrien giving up in the relationship.
But every now and then, she would drunk-dial Adrien to tell him how much she cared about him and that she was glad he was alive. Among other things Tikki wouldn’t divulge. As for his relationship with Lila, that was a more recent development. Something that started between four to five months prior. And apparently, Marinette did not take it well at all, ending up at his doorstep, drunk and sobbing.
“That’s so embarrassing,” Marinette whined, dragging her hands down her face. “No wonder he’s pissed. I’m a total disaster.”
“More like cripplingly depressed,” Tikki said with a cringe.
“And borderline alcoholic,” Marinette pointed out, as she checked her phone again. “I have so many calls made to Adrien in this phone. At least three times a week. Why was I drunk three times a week?!”
“Well—”
“You know what? I don’t need to know,” Marinette intervened. “On the bright side, that gives me a few ideas of what I can say to them.”
“Really? Already?”
“It’s obvious I had a drinking problem before I got here, so what do alcoholics do when they’re finally ready to get their life back together?” Tikki shrugged. “They admit they have a problem and, somewhere along the line, they make amends. I can start by jumping to those amends. I just have to convince them that this was something I had already been thinking about for a while.”
“Oh!” Tikki said excitedly. “Simple!”
“Mhm,” Marinette nodded. “So, now that that’s settled, I just have to make sure I don’t mess it up. And in the meantime, I can try to figure out how to fix everything.”
“May I ask, how will you know when something or someone was responsible for changing everything?”
“Unfortunately, I think that’s something I’ll figure out along the way,” Marinette admitted.
“Is that why you still made a plan for tomorrow? Even though you hope to find the akuma before then?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Because I have absolutely no idea who The Genie could be, and I’m not even sure she knows I’m here. There’s a chance this might not have been part of her plan. And if that’s the case, she has no reason to suddenly show up.”
“Wouldn’t we have noticed someone walking around in blue skin, though?”
“That’s the part that I least understand.” Marinette started pacing in the small room. “Surely someone like that would’ve stood out by now. And I also don’t think she would’ve gone through all the trouble of time travel if this timeline didn’t end up benefiting her in some way. She did say something about getting her wish. Maybe Adrien not being Chat Noir triggered a better life for her.”
“That implies that she’s been here the whole time since he lost his miraculous.”
“She could have.” Marinette tapped her lip. “She was able to become somewhat invisible during our fight. Maybe she can change her appearance and make herself look normal.”
“But that would mean she could be anybody!” Tikki gasped.
“It would explain how no one has ever seen her. Or even suspected that she’s akumatized.”
“Did you ever figure out her akumatized object?”
Marinette stopped on her tracks, thinking back to that last fight. She wracked her brain, searching for a clue, but she couldn’t remember. Genie didn’t ever seem to use anything to make her wishes true, or even her movements possible. She just willed everything. Like a cartoon genie.
“I didn’t,” she sighed. “All I remember is her tacky and culturally insensitive costume, and a bright light before I woke up here. Nothing really stood out from her. It happens sometimes with willing akumas. They’re always harder to beat. But this one really takes the cake in difficulty.”
“Is that why you’re looking for a pattern?” Tikki asked.
“Exactly. Well, not necessarily a pattern, but any clue—”
Marinette’s phone vibrated. A quick look into it revealed an unknown name.
“Who’s Mrs. Boche?”
“Oh no, your work,” Tikki slowly placed her paws on her cheeks.
“Ah. I’m guessing she’s my boss?” Marinette asked, to which Tikki nodded. “That’s fine, I’ll just tell her I’m not feeling well.”
“She might chew you out for that,” the kwami warned.
Marinette let out a long sigh. It sounded like she had already used that excuse too many times. Nevertheless, if she got fired, so be it. She was hoping to not spend enough time in this reality that finances would become a problem.
“Hello?” she responded to the call.
“What happened to you today?” a woman with a demanding—and slightly intimidating—voice said from the speaker.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Boche, I’m not feeling well today,” Marinette excused herself.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I cannot keep accepting your excuses anymore,” Mrs. Boche said. “It’s the fifth time this month already. If you’re not willing to do something about it, I’m afraid I can’t keep you in our team. And you know that would mean termination. You understand that?”
Marinette gulped. She may have never worked for this person, but that tone made her feel ashamed for something she didn’t even do.
“I understand,” she responded in a small voice. “I promise not to let it happen again.”
“I’m tired of your excuses,” Mrs. Boche huffed. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t send you a letter of termination right this second.”
Marinette opened her mouth to give another plausible excuse, but immediately closed it. Considering how she had managed to balance work and being a superhero in her reality, she had a feeling her absences had nothing to do with that. This universe’s Marinette was clearly going through a lot, meaning what was really wrong was a health issue, and not a superhero one.
“I have no good reason to give, Mrs. Boche,” she responded as professionally as she could with missing context. “I clearly haven’t been well for some time, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. The best I can do is say that I will be seeking the help I need, and that if I were to continue under your employment, I would do my best to not slip up again. However, if you understand I have exhausted my chances, I will respectfully accept your decision and wish the company the best.”
There was silence from the other side of the line. Marinette exchanged a look with Tikki, wondering if she said something she shouldn’t have. Or maybe she had already given a similar excuse in the past. But Tikki’s expression was hard to read.
“You better walk through that door tomorrow,” Mrs. Boche finally said. “I hope you feel better.”
The call ended. Marinette let out a breath, glad that if it took longer than expected, she would at least not die of starvation. However, it had the downside of cutting into the time she would need to find The Genie.
“Is she a bad boss?” she asked Tikki.
“I don’t think she is,” Tikki responded. “I think it’s more that you’re a bad employee.”
“Sounds about right,” Marinette muttered. “Ugh, this is starting to become more complicated than I expected. Now I need to catch up on anything that has to do with work. Though, it can’t be that different from the job in my reality, right?”
“You didn’t know who Mrs. Boche is,” Tikki pointed out.
Marinette let out a drawn-out groan, as she dragged her hands down her face. The miraculous, Adrien, Alya, work, it was a lot she had to figure out and come up with solutions in order to maximize her time to find The Genie. And the more things continued to pile up, the more it was starting to look like she might be stuck for several days.
“I need help, fast,” she admitted. “I can’t do this on my own. I need to find a way to convince Alya to help me as soon as possible. Does she patrol often?”
“She does,” Tikki said. “I know I said we can try to convince her, but after this morning, I don’t see her helping you very soon. She might need time before you ask her.”
“I have to try.” Marinette turned back to the corkboard, already interrupted several times from being continued. Without another word, she added Gabriel’s and Nathalie’s pictures on the upper-right corner of the board, plus the miraculouses they owned. “Any miraculous we do know who has them?”
“I know Mayura has the mouse miraculous. Hawkmoth definitely has the dragon and pig miraculous. The rest, I don’t know who has which.”
With a hum, Marinette placed the mentioned miraculous under its respective thieves. Slightly lower, she placed the rest of the drawings and added the word ‘stolen’ over them, merely to identify them as not in her possession.
“Did I ever make a proper investigation about these?” she asked, to which Tikki nodded. At least that was one thing she did right in this reality. “Okay then. That’s as much as I can do with that.” As she looked at what she had so far, her brows furrowed. “You said we lost the box. What… What happened to Master Fu?”
There was silence. Marinette turned slightly towards Tikki, only to find her looking away, eyes becoming glassy.
“No,” Marinette breathed.
“It happened two months before Nino passed,” Tikki said quietly. “He didn’t even get the chance to relinquish his guardianship before he…”
Before he died, Marinette finished internally, feeling her eyes well up once again. Her gaze turned down to the desk, mindlessly landing on Master Fu’s picture and a piece of paper with the word Deceased on it.
“Who did it?” she asked.
“The sentimonster active at the time,” Tikki explained. “Or at least, that’s what we think. There was also an akuma, and Hawkmoth and Mayura weren’t very far from him. It could have been any of them, but the sentimonster was closest.”
“Was it the same with Nino?” Tikki nodded. Marinette let out a shuddered breath as she proceeded to add Master Fu on the corkboard, close to Nino’s picture. “I really hate it here.” As she looked back at the desk, she realized there was one miraculous left. “Whatever happened to the black cat miraculous is still a mystery, right?”
Tikki nodded again. So, Marinette proceeded to place the picture of the ring isolated in its own corner, with the word Lost. Further right to it, she added pictures of Adrien and Lila, making a face of disgust as she did. Underneath their pictures she added: Untrustworthy.
“I’ve never in my life thought of Adrien as someone I can’t trust,” she said quietly. “I can’t believe I just associated that word with him. It feels so surreal.”
“But he did lose his miraculous,” Tikki reminded her.
“I know, I know.” Marinette swallowed, her stomach making a nasty lurch at the thought of him with Lila. “I think I’m going to need a break.”
“Are you okay?”
Marinette shook her head, as she sat at a nearby chaise. In fact, it seemed to be the same chaise that had been in her room at her parents’ apartment. She must’ve salvaged it from the destruction. Yet she couldn’t salvage her relationship with Adrien? The thought made her nauseous. Just imagining those nasty claws of Lila caressing his arms, it sent a cold shudder through her body.
“What’s wrong?” Tikki asked.
“I just need to remind myself that this reality will cease to exist,” Marinette whispered. “And everything that’s happened here will fade like a bad dream. All of you won’t even remember it. Please distract me, Tikki.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know, um… The rest of the core team. Chloé, Kagami and Luka. Where are they?”
“Oh.” Tikki tilted her head. “Well, Chloé and Kagami are not in Paris.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re with their mothers. Chloé in New York and Kagami in Japan.”
“Why? Their mothers are awful.”
“Maybe so. But you weren’t exactly close to them to—OH! Marinette, look!”
Tikki grabbed Marinette’s cheek, pushing her to see through the window. A speck of orange was visible over the city’s rooftops. Marinette sprang to her feet, ready to transform.
“Any advice on getting her to my side quickly?”
“Just blurt out whatever you think might get her attention,” Tikki said.
Marinette looked back at the corkboard. “I think I have just the thing. Tikki, transform me!”
The light had barely finished washing through her body, when Ladybug was jumping out the window, swinging her way across the city as fast as she could. Although it was only an hour after midday, the sky was dark with heavy rain clouds. Nevertheless, Ladybug wasn’t letting the opportunity slip through her fingers.
She landed on the edge of a tall apartment building to survey the area she had seen the speck of orange. But it was like it vanished into thin air.
“Dammit,” Ladybug cussed. “Where are you? I just saw you.”
“You’re unbelievable,” a voice said behind her. Turning around, she saw the very person she had been looking for. “What part of ‘fuck you, Marinette’ do you not understand?”
“Hey, Alya. Um, Rena Rouge.” Ladybug held her hands together.
“You go looking for me one more time, and those earrings are coming off,” Rena Rouge threatened.
“I’m sorry,” Ladybug loudly said, taking Rena Rouge aback. “I’m very sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“Oh, save it,” Rena Rouge spat. “I don’t care for your pity. I just need you to stay the hell away from me. I thought that I had made myself clear.”
“Yes, and I understand that. But—”
“But nothing,” Rena Rouge growled. “You don’t get to decide what I need. Much less after the display you pulled today. Just get out of my life!”
She turned around, about to leave, so Ladybug made a last desperate attempt at retaining her.
“Nino’s alive!” Ladybug shouted. And to her relief, it had the desired effect, for Rena Rouge stopped dead on her tracks.
“What did you just say?” She turned her head to the side.
“I-In my timeline,” Ladybug continued, hoping Rena wouldn’t change her mind. “This reality, it’s not what it’s supposed to be. I’m not who you think I am, I’m not the Marinette you’ve known, I’m from a reality where Nino is alive and we won. But an akuma caused this and I need your help setting it right.”
Ladybug could see Rena’s breathing accelerated. She wondered if it was enough, or if the damage had been too much. Rena Rouge opened her mouth slightly, but no words came from it. Perhaps it was time to push her luck.
“I know you don’t have many reasons to believe me, but don’t you think I was too oblivious this morning for it to just be a hangover?” She continued. “As awful as I’m sure I’ve been in this timeline, I doubt I’d go as far as being cruel. So there would have been no reason for me to bring up Nino, unless I had no idea he passed away. And trust me, that’s something I would never forget. I know it’s hard to believe me, but please give me a chance to explain everything.”
“How can I know if you’re telling the truth?”
Ladybug pressed her lips together. “You don’t,” she said. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I need you to trust me.”
“That’s not good enough,” Rena interrupted. “Unless you can provide proof, I can’t get my hopes up by your word alone. I also don’t understand why it has to be me. Seems convenient.”
“You’re the only one of my team left with a miraculous and not dating one of my enemies.”
The wind blew past them, the smell of approaching rain filling Ladybug’s nostrils as she waited for a response. When Rena Rouge turned back ahead, she said at last: “I don’t buy it.”
A mournful breath left Ladybug’s lips, just as her transformation collapsed without warning.
“SHE’S TELLING THE TRUTH!” Tikki screamed. The fox hero turned on her heels, eyes bulging out of their sockets. Marinette attempted to call her back, but was ignored by the kwami. “Please believe me. She’s not our Marinette. There’s a reality out there where I still get to see Plagg. But we need to beat the akuma for it to come back, for our lives to be out of this awful place without the ones we love. Please, I’m begging you, Rena Rouge, please help us!”
Marinette could feel her eyes well up for the hundredth time that day. After eight years as a team, she had never seen Tikki in so much anguish. She couldn’t help but reach out and hold the small goddess as she sobbed.
“Tell me everything,” the voice of Rena Rouge demanded.
* * *
The rain was falling hard against the windows of the café, as Marinette finished telling Alya everything about her arrival to this reality. She waited with bated breath, as her best friend removed her hands from her temples.
“So,” Alya said after catching her breath, “you’re saying that Chat Noir not being around as your partner derailed our entire existence?”
“Pretty much,” Marinette sighed, as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Damn,” Alya scoffed. “I would say you’re full of shit, but I had never seen Tikki vouch for you like that.”
“Yeah, I noticed how unhappy people are with me,” Marinette said quietly. “I’m sorry this timeline’s version of me made you guys go through such hard times.”
“Hmm.” Alya brought the tea to her lips, hesitant. “I mean,” she started, “I guess, to be fair, you were going through a hard time yourself, you know, having literally no one to lean on. If I had known about your parents…”
“It’s still not an excuse to act unkind,” Marinette insisted.
“Look, what matters is what’s happening now,” Alya interjected, landing the cup of tea on the table. “You said you can fix this. Now tell me how.”
“Okay, so you know how I have to defeat a villain in order to fix all the damage they made, right?”
“The thing I learned today, yes.”
Marinette winced. “Right. I need to find The Genie in this timeline and defeat her. Once I free her of her akuma, I can purify it and revert this reality she created.”
“Even if you do purify the akuma, how are you so sure the Miraculous Cure can bring back an entire reality that’s currently lost.”
“I once brought back a temple that had been lost for over a hundred years by purifying an amok,” Marinette stated. “If I can do that, I can bring back a lost reality. Which I’m sure is not a hundred percent lost. I just need to find that akuma.”
“And you said you don’t think she looks like an akuma currently,” Alya added skeptically.
“Right,” Marinette sighed. “Considering she can change an entire reality, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume she can also change her appearance. Otherwise, someone would’ve seen her by now.”
“Good point,” Alya muttered, before raising her voice slightly. “So, what’s the plan? If you have one.”
“I started making a board to figure out everything that’s different in this timeline and where the heroes and villains are. Obviously, I know exactly where Gabriel is, but I don’t know much about Ms. Sancoeur. And I can’t take their miraculouses yet, or The Genie will figure out I have my old memories.”
“Good call. Okay, so, that’s the villains. Does that mean you know who Chat Noir is and where to find him?”
Marinette pressed her lips. “I do. But… Ugh, I can’t trust him here,” she admitted. “I already bumped into him, and he was so hateful towards me. Well, Marinette me, at least. I think he wouldn’t believe me if I tell him everything, so right now, he’ll be staying in the dark.”
“So you know who he is!” Alya said, edging her seat. Marinette nodded. “I would love to know the identity of the coward who abandoned you.”
“If you want to know just to kick his ass, I’m afraid that information is currently off-limits.”
“Come on—”
“And like I said before,” Marinette interrupted, “whatever the reason that he’s no longer Chat Noir, I know it wasn’t his choice. He loves being Chat Noir more than anything, and I know he would never give it up unless he thought it was a matter of life or death.”
“If you say so,” Alya sighed, sitting back while drinking some more of her tea. “What about the other heroes you mentioned?”
“Well, I got you, so that is my biggest relief,” Marinette said. “I know now what happened to Carapace. What I don’t know is about his miraculous—”
“I have it,” Alya responded.
“Oh. Good then,” Marinette let out a breath of relief. “So that’s another miraculous Gabriel and Ms. Sancoeur don’t have. Anyway, the bee holder is not in France, and neither is the dragon holder. So that leaves the holder of the snake miraculous, but that was where I left off.”
“You thinking of bringing them in?”
“I’ve considered it, yes,” Marinette confirmed. “Out of the entire team, he was always the most levelheaded one. Of course, I don’t have the snake miraculous, so the bee will have to do. But I have no idea where to find him, and I don’t have his number in my phone, for some reason. So I need you to help me make contact.”
“Why me? Wait, do I know him?”
“Yes, Luka.”
“Luka?!”
“Yeah, I thought about calling Juleka or Rose, but I don’t wanna come off a bit weird, since I don’t know—”
“Waitwait, time-out.” Alya made the gesture she said. “You’re telling me, of all the people in the entire city, you choose Luka? Luka?”
“He’s basically part of the core team,” Marinette argued. “He was one of the firsts I trusted with my identity, he recognizes the importance of teamwork, has the most patience out of all the holders, and even had to wear the black cat miraculous once. I know he can do—”
“He’s in rehab,” Alya interjected.
The coffee cup landed loudly on the table. Marinette’s mouth hung open, right where she left off her sentence.
“He’s… WHAT?!”
“Ow,” Alya winced, covering one of her ears.
“What do you mean he’s in rehab?!”
“I mean,” Alya said, pointedly lowering her voice, “he decided to get clean after Juleka woke up from her coma.”
“Juleka was in a—God, why do I even question anything in this timeline.” Marinette dragged her hands down her face, attempting to get her tone several octanes lower, yet failing miserably. “This is literally my worst nightmare. And everyone else’s it seems!” Marinette grabbed at her hair. “I-I… I don’t have a team. I literally have zero core members available outside of you. I mean, unless… How long has Luka been in rehab?”
Alya blinked. “Don’t even think about it.”
“He’s our best shot.”
“He’s an addict. The last thing he needs is stress.”
“Or maybe he needs to be trusted. And a support system.”
“No, he can’t be around you,” Tikki interjected, poking out of Marinette’s purse that was sitting on the table.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Marinette groaned.
“You two have a history together,” Tikki explained.
Marinette raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like a big deal. He’s my ex-boyfriend in my timeline, too.”
“Wow, your timeline sounds fascinating,” Alya said, resting her chin on both her hands. “So you actually dated Luka in your timeline.”
“I—Wait, I’m confused.” Marinette said. “Tikki just said we have a history, but you’re acting like this is new information.”
“Alya doesn’t know,” Tikki cleared up.
“Know what?” Marinette and Alya said in unison, the former concerned while the latter excited.
“Before Luka went to rehab, you two had a… I think what you call a fling?”
“Okay?”
“Oooh.”
Marinette and Alya said in unison.
“It didn’t end very well,” Tikki finished, tucking back into the purse.
“Of course it didn’t,” Marinette deadpanned. “Though, to be fair, things could’ve gone better in my timeline, too.”
“What happened in your timeline?” Alya asked, sitting back while sipping her tea again.
“My secret identity is what happened,” Marinette said with a tired sigh. “Eventually, it wasn’t sustainable.”
“And yet, you’re still with Adrien in that other reality?” The reporter arched a brow.
“Things are different with Adrien,” Marinette reasoned, careful not to let slip his identity. “We found a way to make it work. But that doesn’t matter, Adrien’s not part of the plan, nor is he getting a miraculous.”
“Why not?”
Marinette shifted in her seat. “I just see no reason to bring him in. The only thing I need to do with him is make sure he doesn’t get in my way. Which I’ll be doing tomorrow.”
“Whatta you mean?” Alya pried. To which Marinette explained part of her encounter with him that morning. “So, you could be delayed in your investigation because of a potential court order.”
“Yup,” her lips made a popping sound at the last letter. “If I want to reverse this mess as quickly as possible, the last thing I need is to worry about going to jail, or something of the likes. So, I will convince him and… ugh, Lila, that I’m done and that I’ll be leaving him alone.”
“You seem to dislike Lila,” Alya said, eyes squinting.
“Let’s just say she’s very different in my timeline,” Marinette limited herself to say. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I do that tomorrow so I can focus more on finding The Genie. And to do that, I need to know everything there’s to know about this timeline.”
“Does that include…” Alya gulped, “Does that include Nino’s death?”
Marinette’s gaze lowered to the already cold cup of coffee in her hands.
“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready,” she whispered. From the corner of her eye, she saw Alya’s tea land on the small plate.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Alya said quietly. “But not here.”
Marinette slowly looked back up, finding a solemn expression on Alya’s face.
“Okay,” she agreed. “We can go to my place.”
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4 notes · View notes
kingkuru · 2 years
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When Marinette ends up making a mess of the gym, she and her friend Alya end up having to help one another endure a harsh and thorough caning from Mr. Stern.
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plumsaffron · 8 months
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BRUH that Marinette walking to class angry while Adrien is like you okay. Lila proceeds trolling. Can you Seethenette's grr.
2 weeks left nothing to lose with an offer that's sounds too good to be true but maybe...
"TOGETHERNESS MAKES ANYTHING EFFORTLESS"
yes I watch Bugbo lol.
Then Marinette proceeds calling Lila an idiot without saying she is.
The class minus Lila Chloe & Adrien are like sheesh.
And that's how she fell into Rossi's trap and lost.
ALSO FUNNY CRY RUN
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secondtreetotheleft · 2 years
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My Miraculous headcanon is that Mr. Pigeon is canonically #builtlikethat because he lifts like a gymbro to be able to protect the pigeons manually.
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aahhhhh seeing marinette as ladybug hanging out with alya so casually makes me happy!!!
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Lila: I just ended a four year relationship. Alya: Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Lila: Hm? Oh yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t my relationship. *Adrien and Mr Banana fighting from across the room*
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flightfoot · 2 years
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Damn now I’ve got Alya brainrot :/ No thoughts, just the Rouge
Rena Rouge rules.
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Side note, apparently Marinette took a picture of Adrien wearing her scarf at some point? It's in the bottom left-hand corner of the pic, by the big brown bag.
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