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nullsleepy · 3 months ago

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The Strike of A Villainess

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Chapter 14: Mamma Mia! Yeah here we go again…

——///———-///————-

Rin and Marinette quickly split after going through the door, with Marinette running to the library. The smell of the musty and old books tickled her nose as she entered, her mind racing. Her mother’s portrait being in here had to be meaningful, so perhaps one of the letters would be found here.

Something glowing in the corner of her eyes caught her attention, making her stop walking. She turned to the light, glancing past the other bookshelves. On the most furthest away wall, was a small table that had the blue glowing light underneath it.

“This feels… a bit too easy…” Marinette mumbled as she slowly walked towards the desk, pressing her hand to the bottom of the wood. Her fingers scraped against the dark oak, trailing along it before feeling the softness of a worn envelope. Carefully, she pulled it off the wood and brought it closer to her. The ink was a bit smudged, but her mother’s loopy handwriting undeniably spelled out her father’s name.

With that, Marinette let out a small sigh of relief. One letter found, just two more to go. Hopefully, her clones would have just as good luck as she did.

—————

Everywhere Rin looked, all she could see was gaudy jewelry and vases that would cost more than her life. There was even a sculpture of her(Marinette’s) father’s head, making her grimace. She was a sporty clone, if a tad bit clumsy, meaning she should never have been put in a room with priceless valuables. Any sort of fight in here or even a sudden fall would make it where she would just have to run away and hide for the rest of her life. Or however long Marinette kept her out.

“Oh my.” A soft voice whispered, making Rin whip her head around to see if the person. A shiver ran down her spine as she saw nothing but a couple paintings and antiques on display— nothing that would create a sound that resembled a voice.

“Poor dear.” Another voice sounded beside her, making Rin step back, knocking over a pillar with something on display. Her heart raced as she spun around in place, trying to figure out where the voices were coming from.

“Well, it seems a little mouse has found herself lost. Should I help her, my ladies?” A low voice, akin to a wolf’s growl, sounded throughout the room, making Rin hold her chest, trying to focus in on where the voice was coming from.

Her hands curled into fists as she walked over to the fallen pillar, eyes shadowed by her hair.

“Over here, mousy.” The voice taunted, making Rin look beside the fallen pillar, noticing a mirror. It was a simple hand mirror, albeit a bit fancy. It was a pure white with a couple of roses molded into it. Still, nothing fancy. And yet, as she looked at her reflection, she felt as if something was watching her, too.

Picking up the mirror, she flinched as she spotted dark green eyes staring back at her, where her eyes would be. She immediately dropped the mirror, the glass shattering and spilling across the ground. She felt herself backing away as something akin to goo started coming out of the broken shards.

“Come on mousy! I haven’t had a good fight in a long time.” The voice roared as the goo pounced at her. Rin barely had a moment to react, adrenaline fueling her reaction as she jumped into the air, summoning her fluffy blanket. It was a comfort, having been with her since she was… ‘born’ into this world. It was also her own weapon.

The creature mumbled as the goo continued growing, coating the entire floor with its disgusting, now bubbling, body. She wrapped her blanket into a (somewhat) lasso rope, throwing it at the chandelier and climbing up to it as she felt gravity fight against her. As she slowly found balance on the chandelier, she reached up and grabbed its hanging chain. Her blanket was in her other hand.

The chandelier swung back and forth as she continued hanging from it, some of the candles falling out of its holder and landing in the goo. Some small parts solidified as the flame and wax touched it, but the rest of the goo bubbled up, exploding. The excess of goo tried to reach her and she could have sworn that the green eyes were still watching her.

All the valuables around her were long gone aside from paintings, having been consumed by the goo creature that suddenly came to life. Fear funneled her every movement as she tried to think of any plan that would result in her living. She didn’t know if defeating the creature would even give her a letter and…

And she was scared. Deathly scared.

Even with knowledge of her being a clone, she didn’t want to die. She could feel pain and fear just fine, thank you very much. And Rin, well Rin was the clone of Marinette’s liveliness— Of course she feared death.

The chandelier swung again as Rin avoided the goo spraying at her, holding tightly onto the chain. She watched as more and more candles fell into the abyss off the goo, solidifying it. Perhaps, that was what she needed.

She looked up, staring at her blanket and then back down at the candles. Was it the wax of the candle being consumed that solidified it? Or was it the flame reaching a heat where it solidified? No matter, she had a plan that would hopefully work. If she had enough candles.

Marinette began swinging the chandelier around by its chain before flapping the candle’s wax into the goo, trying to get enough of it to become immobile. It was a plan that would take time— time she didn’t have. But she tried to make it work the best she could. Only, she could only take out about half the goo before losing all but one, half burned out candle. The wax continued to drip down and Marinette could feel the time escaping her.

What could she do now? What SHOULD she do now? She felt panic continue to drive her body as the goo began to climb on top of the solid bits of goo, which made it where the creature was uncomfortably close.

As she saw the goo slowly come together, she knew what it was going to do and what was going to happen. She was going to die. She— she was going to die, in a few moments.

She couldn’t stop the tears from leaking as she went to grab the last candle. It burned her hand, but she could care less. If she was going to die, it would be on her own terms. She shoved the candle into her mouth, feeling her body burst to life. It was weird— feeling her body become that of a candle’s keeper. She didn’t think this was going to happen. But still. She was going to die.

But as she looked down at the goo once more, she felt a sudden burst of energy. If she would die in a few more seconds, so would it.

Her body began melting like a candle and flames came out of her mouth like a dragon, as she threw herself at the goo monster. She was angry, full of boiling rage. Wax spewed from every crevice where her body hadn’t already become wax, and the flames felt like they were coming from her stomach. She was a monster— she wasn’t Rin anymore. No, the moment she consumed that candle, she died.

All that was left of her was rage, and as she felt her body fuse with the goo when it came in contact, she felt a sudden breeze and the smell of the flowers. Her body burst into flames, but here she was, dancing in a field of daisies.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The scream ripped itself from her lips as her tears were burned out of her.

She could only hope that a letter would remain out of the mess of the explosion.

————-

Ettie felt her body shake with fear as she wandered through the hall, shouting at small dust bunnies when they came closer to her. As she took in the peeling wallpaper and the obnoxious amount of dust, she felt as if she entered somewhere she shouldn’t be. Oh, why couldn’t she have been the clone with Marinette’s bravery? No, she just had to be her more sympathetic clone with the daddy issues. And she couldn’t even stay angry!

She came to a sudden pause as she felt a pair of eyes on her. It felt like hundreds of people were staring at her, actually. Like she was a fancy plate of steak or something. Her breath quickened as she looked around, trying to see if anything was hidden behind objects. She even looked the creepy painting to her left in the eyes to see if that was looking at her.

“Eyo, missy. Ima over here.” A squeaky voice, of which sounded suspiciously like it had a Boston accent, pierced her ears. She looked down at her feet, noticing a rat in front of her shoe. Before she could even do anything, more rats gathered. There was a genuine army of rats in front of her and she was terrified. She didn’t even have boots to shake in.

A guttural scream ripped out of her mouth as she backed away, falling over herself as tried to get as far away from the rats as she could. Closing her eyes, she tried to count sheep and steady herself as she ran towards the door at the end of hallway.

“Missy! There ain’t no need to yell. We just some rats, ya see? Nothing too scary.” The rats suddenly came together to form a surprisingly handsome man with a fedora and suit. He grinned at her, creepily, eyes closed.

“GET AWAY FROM ME YOU CREEP!” Nettie screamed as she cried, unable to move out of fear.

“Awe, Missy, you’re hurtin’ our feelings. Why can’t you just be a doll and calm down.” The man, voice low but a bit squeaky, bent down towards her, holding out a large hand. His fingernails were akin to claws, but Nettie tried to calm herself. Maybe, it was just some REALLY WEIRD butler. Yeah. Just that.

She slowly got herself off the ground, accepting his hand to help her up. She bit her bottom lip as the creature continued to hold her hand, still smiling at her with closed eyes. His suit was black and grey stripes, like his hat that had a pink feather seamed into it. It made him look sketchy as hell and Nettie wanted no part of it. But she couldn’t just tug her hand away— that was RUDE! Her maman didn’t teach her to be rude. Especially when she wasn’t even certain she could get him to let go of her hand if she tried.

Staring at his outfit some more, she noticed that the breast pocket didn’t have a handkerchief, but instead a plain envelope with her mama’s handwriting on it(could she even call her HER mama? When she was just a clone? Nope, not going down that road).

The rat man, noticing her stares, looked down at things envelope before smiling larger. He seemed a bit more relaxed and self assured of himself as he bent down to her height. “Do you want this, Missy?”

Ettie slowly nodded her head, clutching the ends of her dress. She watched as the man fully stood up, his hat now covering his eyes, which she swore she saw and that it was beady black rat eye. He had a creepy aura about him before, but now it was as if that had tripled. He seemed as if he was assured in his plan of eating her or something.

“Fortunately for you, I’m willin’ to give it to ya. For a price.” He taunted, tightening his hold of her hand. “You just have to cook for me, okay? I’m really hungry and mama never taught me to use a stove.”

Ettie just nodded again, not that it mattered. He immediately began tugging her down the hall, whistling a tune.

“I’ll even show ya where the kitchen is. Ain’t that nice of me?” He grinned, teeth sharp as he continued to look away, not letting her see his smile. His teeth.

———

Marinette felt a shiver go down her spine as a letter hit her square in the chest, coming from where Rin was. Memories of pain and fire came to her head suddenly before disappearing.

Rin was dead.

Oh my kwami gods, Rin was..

Dead.

—————

Ettie could barely even breathe as she felt the rat man huff behind her as she continued to cut carrots. The stove top has a large pot of boiling water on it, steam slowly rising from it. From the reflection of the pot, she could make out the rat man licking his lips. A shiver ran down her spine as notice that it wasn’t the food he was looking at but— but her.

The knife in her hand became unsteady as she continued to cut the carrots, not even thinking about it. What could she do? She was making an Ettie soup right now. She was basically seasoning himself for her with the way she would clumsily dump salt or pepper onto herself.

Oh kwami gods, she didn’t want this. She didn’t want to be eaten. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to prepare her own funeral— aka a soup that he’d eat her in! The hand with the knife was now completely trembling and she couldn’t cut straight anymore.

“Are ya alright Missy?” She noticed his disgusting sharp teeth from the reflection in her knife this time. His eyes were all green and disgusting and that of a monster’s. Would he dice her up nicely at least, if she were to accept dying and being a soup? NO ETTIE SNAP OUT OF IT.

She gulped before grabbing a non diced carrot and smiling at him, before heading over to the pot. She watched him come closer, as if he was about to push her in. Instantly, she dropped to the ground and swung her knife at his legs, throwing the carrot into his face.

He hissed, stepping back before she could hit him. He bent down on all fours, grinning that sharp grin at her as she stood defiantly in front of the pot, knife in hand.

Suddenly, the world went white as he threw a bag of flour at her, causing her to wheeze and tears to come to her eyes. “Oh Missy, why couldn’t you have just behaved? Would’ve made thing so much easier for us.”

He gripped her hair, pulling her off her feet as he started to push her head into the pot. She cried, thrusting her knife backwards, hoping to kwami gods she would hit him.

“NOOOOOOO!”

———

Another letter, smelling distinctly of spices and cheese, hit her square in the chest just as she felt an extreme pain in her face. Everything felt like it was burning— again.

Hell, kwami gods, she didn’t want to die here. But she had. Her clones had and she had their memories. There wasn’t a magical cure with her ladybug miraculous here— as she didn’t have one. She could actually die here. Without returning home. Or would she just repeat everything from the beginning like in those silly books? She couldn’t remember a thing that the random kwami told her. Nettie, was it? Or was it Pixie? Or was it Barbara? She didn’t know or cared.

Was this all worth it? Would fixing this girl’s fate return her? Why couldn’t she have just stayed in her room. Truly, she didn’t need a loving relationship with her papa when it seemed like he hated her here. She didn’t need it if it would result in her dying.

——

She couldn't believe anything as she stood there for what felt like hours, just trying to steady her breathing. The letters were clutched in her clenched fist, wrinkled beyond what aging could do. Where should she even go now? Her room? The library? …the throne room? None of it really mattered to Marinette as she came to the realization that death here would be permanent.

Slowly, her legs began to move forward, towards the room she thinks she first remembered meeting her father. She hoped it was the throne room. Her memories felt so jumbled and she didn’t think they would ever truly come back to her. Too much had happened.

Wasn’t this supposed to be some lighthearted romance game? With some adventuring mixed in. She hadn’t even experienced romance yet, though, to be fair, she was just a child(11, to be exact). Which made it worse. She was just a child and now she was on her own, all confused. But as she began to feel despair and panic feel her lungs again, she found that her legs had stopped.

As she looked up at the large door, Marinette felt her breath completely stop. Better now than never, she told herself as she raised her letter-filled fist into the air.

——-

“Papa— father. It’s me, Marinette.” The girl spoke in an almost uncertain tone, as if she was unsure of who she was. The door opened slightly upon her knock, guards watching her between the door-crack. She couldn’t make out their face, but their glowing green eyes made it obvious who—what— they were.

Slowly, carefully, she pushed the door wide open, exposing a circle of knights around her father’s throne. All of them had vicious, vibrant green eyes that made Marinette shiver. She didn’t want to fight anymore. She didn’t want to die like her clones had, all for a chance to better her father. And yet, that seemed to not be what fate had in store for her.

“Speak, child. Why have you disturbed me?” His low voice was more suffocating than usual, feeling as if the sound was choking her. Some knights readied their swords or spears, as if she was an enemy they must vanquish. All of them must have been doppelgängers, she guessed. She could only hope her father wasn’t.

“I have come to deliver something to you, father. It is of great importance that you read them.” Marinette bowed, holding out the letters. A doppelgänger knight took them, handing them over to her father without question.

“And why should I read.. these have your mother’s handwriting. Where did you get this?” The man sounded angry, though Marinette still couldn’t see him. But she could feel his overwhelming glare.

“I found them.” She said, not explaining. As if knowing his daughter wouldn’t continue, he opened them. Or, at least, Marinette thought he did based on the sound of paper ripping. Which was hopefully just the envelopes.

Silence settled in the room, with the ends of Marinette’s hair raised. All she could hear was the crinkling of paper. She could only hope that her mother wrote something that would get her father to see how he was acting and how wrong it was.

The guards in front of her were glaring at her with hostility, with their weapons still raised in a way that meant they were ready to attack. Marinette clutched the ends of her dress. After a moment, she heard the sound of feet hitting the floor and paper being crunched.

“Grab her and bring her to her room, now.” Her father’s voice was akin to demon’s, commanding the knights in a way only Satan could. The guards rushed at her while Marinenette took a step back.

“Father!” Marinette jumped backwards, pulling out her blanket. She narrowed her eyes at the guards running at her, plans running around her head. She looked up for a moment to look at her dad, noticing his green eyes.

Her papa was a doppelgänger.

She gripped her blanket and leaped into the air before landing on the nearest guard's head, smashing him into the ground. She looked at the others with a snarl.

“PLAYER 001, REGISTERED USER PIXIE DUST, INITIATE BOSS BATTLE: BRING DADDY HOME? YES/NO”

She clicked on the screen without thinking, immediately agreeing. Suddenly, more guards started to appear, coming out of any corner or do they could.

Marinette didn’t care to think about it, running around and jumping on their heads. But as more appeared, she knew she couldn’t continue with that method.

Letting the guards corner her after she jumped into a corner, Marinette took a deep breath. Maybe a spell from the book would help? What was the one she used last time?

“Estelle. Lights out.” She muttered, letting the building shake as a beam of light blinded the guards before turning into rope and tying them out. Marinette watched as they all fell to the ground, unable to fight the purification magic.

She kept her eyes narrowed, staring at her father as she weaved through the fallen bodies, stepping up to him. She stood before the stairs that lead up to his throne.

“Little one, why have you not returned to your bedroom?” The doppelgänger tilted its head unnaturally, eyes wide as it looked at her. Everything in her told her the person standing before her was her father, but her gut steamed danger. The doppelgänger must have been using magic to try to manipulate her.

“Give me back my father.” Marinette raised her hand, about to chant the spell again, when dark vines wrapped around her body and held her in place. Vines were around her arms, legs, other limbs, and one even was around her mouth to prevent her from speaking.

“But I am your father. You’ll remember that very soon.” Similar to what she just did, the monster raised his hand, palm facing her. So she was going to die. She would die in vain and her clones' deaths would be for nothing.

“Diethe mar-“ The monster was cut off by a beam of purple hitting his side. His eyes closed and his body fell over in an instant. The vines disappeared.

Marinette fell to the ground, heaving. The vines had also been around her stomach and ribs, making it hard to breathe. But she was out now. Who had saved her?

As if to answer her question, a bird—a raven— flew down towards her before transforming into the person who had given her the miracle she was using. It was Raven.

Marinette looked up at her, tears in her eyes. She thought she was alone. She thought… she thought she would die here. She thought she would be forgotten forever.

Raven said nothing as she scooped the girl into her arms, holding her close. The older girl whispered a few words and Marinette felt her eyes grow heavy. She couldn’t make out what Raven said. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was so, so sleepy.

“Papa” she mumbled in her sleep as she felt big strong arms wrap around her body, as if she was being moved around.

She missed her papa.

——////———-///———

Taglist: Taglist: @fangirlingfanatic (who forever has my heart and thanks with their comments), @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

Notes: I hate hospitals and I hate IVs. The ao3 curse has been haunting me since I first ever posted on there 😭 and wont stop. Currently have a scar from an IV gone wrong, discoloration from an IV also gone wrong, both from 6 months ago, and fresh purple almost black bruise from one from a couple days ago. Ugh. Thank you to the Timari Coven Mafia & the Maribat Menagerie discord servers, for helping beta read and motivate me to finish this chapter. And an obligatory thank you to @ fangirlingfanatic because I probably would’ve given up on this story if it wasn’t for their comments!

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x batman #fanfic #villainess marinette au #otome game au #villainess au #strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess #mlb x dc

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nullsleepy · 3 months ago

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Next chapter coming soon!!! Also made a Canva so I can write out what happens each chapters and review stuff easier.

#strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess #chapter planning #writing a fic #writing

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nullsleepy · 4 months ago

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TWENTY THOUSAND WORDS WITHOUT A HINT OF ROMANCE. NOT A SINGLE HINT. This is crazy, I have like 4 acts planned for this and I haven’t even got to enjoy Marinette romancing any of the love interests. What have I done.

Strike of a Villainess WILL be getting an update at least on Sunday, but man does my heart ache at how little romance I’ve been able to write. IVE WROTE FIGHTING SCENES. I NEVER WRITE FIGHTING SCENES WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME.

But fr, I’ll see yall in a bit less than a week for the next update. Which I will hopefully have the next chapter after that written too.

#damn bro I need a break #already took one so it’s time to write #I’m writing instead of sleeping #i should be sleeping

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nullsleepy · 4 months ago

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The Strike of A Villainess

Back Chapter 1

Chapter 13: Progress Is To Be Expected

A soft, small finger traced over the mark, rustling the fabric of her nightgown. She could feel an intense warmth come from the mark as the pain began to fade. She could make out the delicate outlines of the feathers, along with noticing that the red eyes seemed to have been shaded like it was a ruby.

Questions raced around her mind as she focused in on the mark. The texture was still unknown to her, since she had only touched it through the fabric, but it seemed like normal skin? Would it feel that way? Or would it have a different texture? Also— would it remain so warm, to the point she’d only be able to touch it when using fabric of cloth to prevent her fingers from being burned? And if the warmth faded, would it still be sensitive to temperature like the rest of her skin? Would she be able to feel the coldness of winter or the painful heat of summer?

Which, does this world even have seasons?? She thinks so but— that's beside the point. And what was she even doing?

Marinette glanced up at Raven, who too seemed entranced with the mark. She let her gaze fall to the ground, hands forming fists. Her nails dug into the wounds and scratches that had already formed onto her body, though Marinette didn’t even notice the pain.

How could she allow herself to be so vulnerable, lost in her head, when someone was in front of her?

Marinette took in a deep breath, allowing the tension, of which seemed to have slowly built while she was thinking, fade from her body. She didn’t have time to question these kinds of things— to get lost in her head again. She needed to find her way out of this room, collect the letters her mother left for her father, and then give them to him so he would hopefully learn the faults of his actions.

After all of the tension seemed to have left her body, Marinette allowed her gaze to flicker back up to Raven. The girl’s eyes went a bit wide as she noticed that the woman was already staring down at her, too. Raven’s gaze was intense, lacking any emotion at all. Her purple irises almost seemed black in the lighting of the room.

Marinette blinked and the woman’s gaze had returned to normal— mostly emotionless still, but now with a bit of care and nonchalance.

“So… what now?” The words left Marinette’s mouth before she could stop them. Instead of letting herself panic, though, she continued to relax her body.

Raven looked around the room, before sending what seemed to be a glare at the mirror her mom had been in, before looking back down at Marinette.

The silence was louder than anything the blue haired girl had ever heard.

“…Hold out your hands.” Marinette didn’t even question the order, immediately holding out her hands like they were a small bowl.

For a moment, nothing happened, until Raven let her hand reach out of her cloak and drop something in her hand. Marinette barely got to see the pink and silver of the item before Raven covered it with her own hand.

Her gaze was, once again, intense. A bit less than earlier— but still.

The silence echoed around the room once more.

“What is it?” Marinette whispered, voice soft as if she didn’t want to startle Raven from her constant staring.

“A puzzle.”

“A puzzle?”

Raven nodded.

“It’s an artifact from the time of King Arthur. Even though it looks like a simple necklace,” Raven sighed as she picked up the necklace from the chain, holding it up. “I can detect ancient magic inside of it. The metal was definitely forged during the Golden ages, but the magic it has is older than this world. I haven’t been able to open it or figure out its powers, but… it won’t harm you.”

Marinette wasn’t even listening as she stared at the silver necklace. The delicate silver chain, the center gem that subtly reminded her of a mouse— it called to her.

A gleam of pink passed through the girl’s eyes, making Raven smirk, though Marinette didn’t notice.

“Good luck.” Marinette closed her eyes as something warm and slightly heavy pressed against the top of her head. The warmth was comforting, reminding her of the times her mother would pat her head. Now, though, Raven was doing that instead.

As Marinette went to open her eyes, the weight disappeared and cold winds harshly struck her skin. Raising her hand to cover her face, she noticed that there was a cold yet hot object in her hand— a large one at that.

“Mullo, let’s get squeaky.”

There was a voice taunting her, repeating that phrase over and over again. She didn’t understand what was happening anymore.

The winds suddenly disappeared and as she opened her eyes, she noticed Raven had disappeared. Marinette opened her hands to look at what was inside it and let out a soft gasp as she noticed the necklace.

The gem did oddly resemble a mouse’s head, didn’t it? Maybe… It was stupid to hope, but…

“Mullo, let’s get squeaky?” Marinette whispered and a pink light full of warmth and the feeling of fond memories enveloped her. She felt her body stretch in vaguely familiar poses as the light covered her clothes and face.

She found herself leaning backwards, her leg out as if to kick someone— her head tilted upwards. Then the light went from her feet to her torso, her shoes turning to boots and she crouched down on the ground. Her eyes closed as a mask covered her face that resembled a plain cloth. As she sprang back to stand up, her clothes changed into a Lolita like dress, with a fluffy white underskirt and tank top like sleeves that sprang out in ruffles. Her bottom skirt had a design similar to a corset and had two smaller skirts above it. She also had a corset-like object on her waist that resembled the coat of a nutcracker. And then she had an sleeveless undershirt that went up to her neck.

Her hand unconsciously reached out and grabbed the pink light just as mouse ears and a mouse tail popped out of her body and her hair turned into low buns. The light turned into a somewhat long fluffy blanket that rested on her arms and went down to her calves.

She gained the pose of an “elegant noble lady” as she ended and the light disappeared.

Immediately, Marinette slammed into the ground, gasping for air. All she could see was darkness but she could imagine the space around her in her head. Gods, it had been so long since she had a transformation like that— not since-

What?

She reached for head, hurting as she tried to imagine the creature but failed. Something was wrong, again.

A sigh flew out of her mouth as she stood up.

“Mullo, are you there?” She asked internally, feeling a bright presence in the corner of her mind.

“Master!” A voice squeaked and tears rushed to Marinette’s masked eyes. She held the necklace that was resting on her neck and squeezed it, feeling the warmth of the kwami.

“How- how are you here?” Marinette was trembling overjoyed but a bit scared.

“I don’t know. When you disappeared from our sight, all of us started disappearing right after each other. Well, our consciousness did. I can still feel my body back in the other world— but it’s like it’s paused!” The necklace warmed up more with every word the Kwami spoke in Marinette’s mind.

“That must mean— are the others here too?!”

“Maybe? No, they definitely are. I can sense Wayzz here too. And another kwami though their presence is very light.”

“Oh kwami…” Tears dampened Marinette’s mask as she clutched her fluffy skirt. “I missed you, Mullo.”

“Hehee! I missed you too, Master Marinette!”

Marinette took a deep breath in(wow, she had been doing that a lot lately, huh?) before letting the necklace fall back down onto her chest and a sense of power ran through her body. She felt calmer and more ready to fight than she ever had since entering this world.

“Okay, so I need to locate maman’s letters for father, defeat anything that may be hiding them, and then bring them to father! I got this.” Marinette grinned as she turned to the door. With Mullo’s transformation, she could easily escape from this room.

But first, she should gather things that could help her.

——

The only thing useful she found after raiding the room was a book that was DEFINITELY not on the desk before. It had a dark leather cover and the purple and red mark of a bird— a raven, to be precise. Maybe Raven left this with her to help her?

She grabbed the cover of the book and tried to lift it open but it refused to budge. She tried a couple more things that she was too embarrassed to even let this fanfic author write(ehem, ABRA KADABRA, OPEN SESAME), before just shoving the book on top of her necklace, letting it disappear into her magic storage thing.

With that settled, Marinette turned to the door.

“Multitude!” Marinette raced at the door, turning into a genuine hoard of mini her’s and went under the door.

————-

The small army of Marinettes huddled around each other, shivering a bit as a sudden burst of wind ran down the empty hallway. They held together to keep themselves from drifting away down the hall.

Marinette held the hand of one of the clones, glaring at the place in suspicion, noticing how clean and empty it was.

“Eeek!” One of them squeaked, pointing at the underneath of a nearby cabinet. As if to contradict Marinette’s thoughts, a dust bunny peaked out.

“Hey, Mes! Over here!” Marinette shouted at the top of her voice, running towards the underneath of a table. The clones near her paused before following her quickly.

They all hid behind one of the table’s legs before looking at each other.

“Eeek?” A smaller clone squeaked, holding the skirt of Marinette.

“It’ll be okay, little me.” Marinette patted her head. “We just need a game plan. We’ll get through this, I promise.”

The small clone wiped away her own tears before hugging Marinette and joining the line in front of her.

“Okay, so first plan of action, we need to defeat those dust bunnies! Any ideas?” Marinette leaned against the door leg, arms crossed over her torso.

“EEEEEK!” One of them raised it’s hands, gaining Marinette’s attention. It grinned before taking the hands a couple of other clones nearby. Suddenly a smoke of white covered Marinette’s eyes before being blown away. In front of her was a toddler size clone. It still had her proportions but the clone was the size of a toddler.

“…I guess that works.” Marinette blinked, and the other clones rushed together to make another toddler sized version of her.

Marinette stared up at the larger versions of her with wide eyes.

“Okay. So I don’t think the dust bunnies will be a threat anymore. But, um, perchance… Do you know how I can become about your size?”

The twin clones looked at each other before looking back down at Marinette and nodding. One of them bit its thumb and other mimed blowing out a lot of air.

Marinette blinked.

“I understood about none of that but..” Marinette gave them a thumbs up before looking at the two of them again. She put her thumb in her mouth, biting down lightly on it.

Absolutely nothing happened.

And so she looked at the other clone that was blowing out a lot of air.

‘These are my clones. I should be able to understand them. Oh kwami this is weird.’

Marinette continued biting her thumb before blowing out a lot of air.

Suddenly, she fell backwards, another white cloud hindering her vision. She felt the table leg push back against her before it took the table down with it.

“Owww..” Marinette rubbed the back of her head before noticing that the clones were in front of her and DIDN’T look like giant toddler sized versions of her.

“A little too much is going on right now for me to understand it properly, but kwami, we did it!” Marinette grinned, standing up and almost tripping as she got off the table leg.

The other two clones grabbed both of her arms and steadied her.

“Thank you, mes!” Marinette smiled, before taking a deep breath in. Oh dear kwami it was getting a bit confusing just calling them mes. And should she be thinking that right now? They are supposed to be clones of her so how do they know more than her?

Marinette’s mind was racing as she felt a sudden burst of pain coming from her head.

“So annoying…” A squeaky voice rang through her head before the pain disappeared along with her previous thoughts.

What was that voice-?

She blinked. Whatever. Not the time to think about that. First, she needed to get out of here and get those letters.

“Call me Rin!” The slightly taller clone spoke, grinning. Their outfit had a bit more of a red tone than Marinette’s.

“I’ll be… um… uh… Mari? No… Net? No… I’m…uhh…” the other one spoke with a subdued manner, spacing out each of it’s words. It had a more blue toned outfit.

“She’ll be Ettie!” Rin spoke up. Ettie nodded, unclenching her hands from her skirt.

“Okay, Rin, Ettie, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Marinette crossed her arms. Both of them nodded before racing down different sides of the corridor. Marinette ran after Rin with a smile.

——————

Taglist: @fangirlingfanatic(who forever has my heart and thanks with their comments), @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

Notes: I can never allow myself to take a break from writing again, my gosh. Sorry, my body is actively trying to put me in the hospital and life thinks I’m a trashcan apparently. Doing my best to persevere and just do the things I love. Like writing. I want to get to the next act of this already but writing the between chapters and finishing the main point of this act is necessary(and will hopefully become more enjoyable). I hope that this wasn’t boring to read! Anyways I love you all!!! And thanks to fangirlingfanatic and the Timari Coven Mafia Discord members or else I definitely wouldn’t have the inspiration or motivation to continue this story. I also might start another fanfic that’s a bit simpler so I can switch between writing this and that one, so yay!

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #mlb x batman #villainess au #villainess marinette au #otome game au #strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess

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nullsleepy · 6 months ago

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Maribat Menagerie Medallions Results Announcement

Welcome everyone to the end of the trial year of our Menagerie Medallions!

As has been included in the past couple posts, the small number of votes we got for this event make it impossible to properly convey the fandom's thoughts on the categories, so this year is being considered a trial year.

What does that mean?

All the results gathered from the past month are being shared

This will be done via regular text showing off the placements

All nominations will be included

Feedback is going to be a big focus to improve for next year

Results Category Links

AUthentic Particular Pairings Terrific Tags Uniquely Underrated Surprise Statistics

Final Words

Biggest Thanks to the two that stepped up to help as mods, Asha and Jay. Without you both, this would have been a lot to check alone so all the hearts.

Thank you to everyone who checked out the Medallions and participated in any way, shape or form!

Please consider leaving feedback to be used to improve so we can have our first proper year in 2025!

~ Medallions Feedback Form ~

For any other fun or random rarity-based MLB x DC things, consider checking out the two events we did earlier in the year of Adribat October and Malachite Milestones.

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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Status Update!

The Strike of a Villainess will be on a VERY TEMPORARY HOLD! I’m currently in the process of making character sheets, planning arcs for the like 4 acts this story will have, and some other stuff(all of which I should have finished way before I ever posted chapter 1 of this fic, but yk). Life is also kicking me in the butt and I need to catch up on that, unfortunately.

Under no circumstances of my choosing will I EVER discontinue this fic, though. It’s basically my test run at seeing if I will be able to actually write a book in the future. And even if I decide I can’t write a book or want to be an author, I have a promise to myself and my past self to finish this. It’s very dear to me and I don’t plan on keeping this “hold” for long.

I want to have all of this done before Sunday(my usual update day) so I can post the next chapter, but we’ll just see how it goes.

Thank you for reading this! I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions you have for this fic or see your questions(even if I can’t answer them without spoiling this fic!). I love y’all!!!

Also I got to help with a maribat event being run by @maribat-menagerie so make sure to check them out!!! Vote for your favorite fics(this one is on there!)

Taglist: (special thanks to @fangirlingfanatic as always!!!) @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

ALSO, also, I used the taglist this time, but I won’t be for any status updates in the future so no one has to get spammed with them and stuff. If you want to be put on the taglist for updates and stuff, be sure to tell me! Bye for now!

#strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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AUthentic

Return to Main Post here

Favorite Bio-Parent AU

Puns and Partners by Nory_Gail

Teleporting Into Your Life by Izanae

Teenagers by QueenKaiju

Hero to None, Savior to All by nullsleepy (SleepyNov)

Favorite Adoption AU

A Beginner's Guide to Being a Pod Mate by newdog14

Punky Pixie by oxicleanonyagirl

Lament of a Kent by Catthhay

Adopting a neighbor (not exactly in the legal way) by Lady_on_Paper

Favorite Platonic/Gen Piece

You have Questions (and I have a Story) by Ladybird_with_a_pen

Remembering by Nory_Gail

Le Rouge-Gorge is French for the Robin by Me_aGlorifiedPigeon

Favorite Soulmate AU

Soulmates (Why would you say that?) by Ms_Starflower

Til Death Do Us Not Swap by SilverWhiteRaven

Heirs by otome_wandering

The last thing she lost by Ppm

Favorite Alternative Location AU

Scared to Death by Nory_Gail

Quadruple Flip by GoldenSilverTrees

Favorite Villain/Rogue AU

My resolution by PL_Panda

Unlucky by chaotic_immortal

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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Psssssss, look at “Canon? I Don’t Know Them?”!!!! It me(my ao3 account for easier access to the fic, but still. It me.)

🙏🙏🙏

Terrific Tags

Return to the Main Post

Most Enjoyable "Crack"

Trials and Defibrillations by oliviaandersonisntmyrealnamelol

The Batarang Thief by dragonbug

A Beginner's Guide to Befriending Humans by newdog14

Most Enjoyable "Enemies to Lovers"

Just Fine and Dandelions by oliviaandersonisntmyrealnamelol

In The Wrong Bed? by San_fics

The last thing she lost by Ppm

Most Enjoyable "Hurt/Comfort"

Words Are Hard by mochegato

The Weight of Regret by otome_wandering

Mistakes Were Made by mochegato

Most Enjoyable "Meet Cute"

In An Apron by dreamsof_moonlight

hot guy by SnappleSnapSnake

A Red String of Fate by TheNumberFairy

Most Enjoyable "Canon? I Don't Know Them?"

The Rightful Anger by WaterTheFern

The Strike Of A Villainess by SleepyNov

The Bug, Son of the Bat by GummyLover15

Most Enjoyable "The Wish Happened"

Speedy Rebound From Uncertainty by ScarletImpulse

Maintaining Balance by SuperPsychoNutcase

Cursed Soul Bond by boldlyanxious

Most Enjoyable "Miraculous Swap"

Silver Fox by Nory_Gail

That's why you flirt?! by AshBrea381

A Blue Bird and a Black Cat by skhwriter

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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Voting Time is Upon Us!

The nominations closed and the fandom gave us 75 unique pieces to our event. It is upon the fandom to now vote on the ones you think are most fitting in each of the categories.

Before sections and categories are laid out, huge thank you on this Thanksgiving Day to our mods of this event. Asha and Jay for helping verify submissions as well as help double check the voting form. Credits to Jay as well for the banner art!

Without further ado, here is the master post of the Medallions this year. Every section has a link that lists out its category's pieces.

AUthentic

Favorite Bio-Parent AU

Favorite Adoption AU

Favorite Platonic/Gen Piece

Favorite Soulmate AU

Favorite Alternative AU

Favorite Rogue/Villain AU

Particular Pairings

Favorite Maribat Rare Pair Piece

Favorite F/F Piece

Favorite Adribat Piece

Favorite M/M Piece

Favorite Poly Piece

Favorite MLB x DC Piece

Terrific Tags

Most Enjoyable "Crack"

Most Enjoyable "Enemies to Lovers"

Most Enjoyable "Hurt/Comfort"

Most Enjoyable "Meet Cute"

Most Enjoyable "Canon? I Don't Know Them"

Most Enjoyable "The Wish Happened"

Most Enjoyable "Miraculous Swap"

Uniquely Underrated

Fandom Soup: Added a Fandom

Hidden Gem: Between 1-300 Hits

Rock Bottom: Between 301-800 HIts

Translation Please: Non-English

Dang, I Ran Out of Ink: Non-Fic Media Type

What The Fanfiction: Craziest Concept

~ Menagerie Medallions Voting Form ~

Happy Form Completing Everyone! Feel free to reach out via dms, the ask box, replies below or on discord with any questions you have!

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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The Strike of a Villainess

Chapter 1 Ao3

Chapter 12: What I’d Give…

———-

Blood crusted underneath her fingernails, hands pressed against the door. Claw marks could barely be seen on the wood under her palms. Empty eyes stared forward, not even seeing the wood in front of her. Not a single thought could be heard in her head, aside from a small, weak voice that told her she needed to escape.

Escape?

Ha…

Hahaha…

What a funny word.

———-

She shakily breathed in, eyes wide. Her pupils retracted in fear, her blue eyes almost seemed to tremble. Her fingers scraped against the floor as she tried to form fists— a protective response for when she was scared. Only her upper body was up, though her chest faced the floor. Her neck had to extend more than usual to face the man above her.

She was barely able to hold up her body with her arms, as they shook under her weight. Her legs were collapsed underneath her, knees bent as she was spread out in a topical anime pose.

The moment between them— prey and predator— seemed to last forever until Marinette gave the main the weakest, most fearful smile in all of existence. “Father?”

She couldn’t even make out his eyes, covered by the shadows of his bangs. Kwami. All she could make out was that terrifying frown that screamed of disappointment and a promise of pain. Were these feelings a response from the previous owner of this body? She had faced worst enemies but this one that had her papa’s face…

Could she face him?

Before Marinette could let out another breath, or even blink, the man— monster— in front of her seemed to just appear on the ground, assuming to have bent down. He was just… so fast. Faster than any human should be.

Marinette choked on her spit as a hand was suddenly gripping her jaw. Her gasps were shaky as she trembled the most she had ever done in her life. “F-father.”

His head tilted to the side to show off a sickening green eye, a dark contrast to the chocolate brown she was used to when looking at her Papa. Before she could even think about, figure out what could possibly be happening, she was being dragged forward by her jaw.

Her fingers wrapped around his arm in an instant, feeling as if he was going to rip her face apart. She wasn’t even standing, knees still bent as she tried to keep up with his pace.

Paintings of different kinds were blurred as she passed them, as she only focused on the arm of the man that was taking her somewhere. Her fingernails tried to dig into his skin to get him to let go, but he only held her jaw tighter. She didn’t even have to question if there would be bruises. Maybe even blood.

As her eyes closed, as she was finally able to blink again, she felt wind being thrusted all around her. And then her body hit a wooden floor.

She let out a loud breath as she tried to scramble up to get her bearings, looking around her. It took her more seconds than she would like to admit to figure out that it was her bedroom.

The sounds of a door creaking caught her attention, making her snap in it’s direction.

Her father, bangs once again blocking his eyes, making shadows that only brought out his frown even more, stood there. Stood there with the doorknobs in his hands. As he closed the doors.

With some sort of key in his hand.

That was the same gold as her doorknobs.

Marinette reached out a hand as her face contorted in fear, trying to reach the doors before it shut. The tips of her middle finger barely brushed against the wood before the doors snapped shut and an immediate locking noise rang around the room.

Marinette threw herself again the ornate doors, banging her fists against them.

“Let me out! LET ME OUT!” She didn’t plan for this— she didn’t plan for any of this. She… she didn’t know what was happening. Whether he was locking her in her room for a couple hours or a couple days or, or, or a couple years! Maybe for the rest of her life.

Her breath was caught in her throat as she began to claw at the door, not even make a mark. Her voice trembled as it could only make noises and not words. Fuck, let her out! Let her OUT!

Anyone please…

Just let her out..

——————

Weak, pathetic noises barely made their way out of Marinette’s throat as she leaned against the door. Paris’ precious ladybug, turned into an useless girl in the face of a locked door. She couldn’t even pick it or force it open. She tried everything. She had looked under even dust particles to find something, anything, to help her escape.

When the fuck had she become so… so disgustingly pathetic? Weak? Useless?

If only Chat Noir could see her now, he’d never want her as a partner.

Even Nettie probably regrets choosing her, and they had put their trust in her even though they didn’t know her. At all.

She disappointed even a stranger.

Just as her fingers began to remake the crescents into her arms, a voice sounded out.

“Nette.” Oh she was going insane now. Cool.

“Marinette, baby!” Man, who knew insanity sounded like her maman? At least she’s not alone now.

“Baby, please come to the mirror. Come look at me, my baby.” Smoke filled her lungs again, dreadfully black as it flew out of her mouth. She could hear something like a notification before she felt her body relax.

Yeah, she’s not questioning what just happened. But she doesn’t feel depressed anymore and she was not going to question it.

“Baby?” Marinette’s eyes spotted a mirror covered by a cloth— she’s not questioning where it came from— from the corner of the eye. It seemed to be where the voice of her maman was coming from.

“Maman!” Marinette’s legs still trembled as she rushed forward, but she ignored it this time. She fisted the soft, silky material in her hands. It was softer and smoother than anything she had ever touched, feathers and milk included. She could barely whisper an apology to the poor fabric before she threw it to the ground.

In front of her, there stood a large, marble mirror, covered in gold accents. The designs of it all reminded her of Greek architecture. But what stood in the mirror is what truly caught her attention— her mother, in a white robe with long hair pulled back. She had golden leaves decorating her dark locks. She looked like what Marinette imagined a goddess would look like.

“My baby, it’s been so long.” Her voice was softer than before and it felt like Marinette’s body began to force itself to relax even further. She began to fight off some sudden tiredness. It was as melodic as a sweet lullaby.

“Maman.” Marinette whispered, reaching out a hand to touch the glass. She mourned when she only felt glass and not the smooth hand of her mother.

“My baby, I’m so sorry. I saw what happened… I can’t… I can’t believe he would do this to you.” Tears formed in her maman’s eyes, though they seemed to be tinted green instead of blue. Maybe it was because she was a ghost? She analyzed things too much. “He wasn’t… I didn’t think he was this bad!”

“It’s not that bad maman! I’ve only been locked up here for maybe a couple hours.”

“Baby, it’s been days. You haven’t even eaten or slept! Oh, my baby.” Strangely, Marinette didn’t feel any hunger. And even her tiredness from before felt weird compared to how it usually did. But her maman had seen everything and Marinette was never good with time.

They looked into each other’s eyes, one with pity and the other with shock.

“I- We will fix this honey. Check your drawers, I saw someone appear and put something in your desk. I think… I think it will help you. I- Gods, I wish I could stay longer but I have to go, baby. I love you.”

“Maman? …Maman!” Marinette watched as her mother’s reflection disappeared and all that could be seen was her own face. Damn it. Why’d she have to be alone again?

Was life always so lonely? …Her body began to re-tense itself. Something was wrong— she was forgetting something. Something important.

But something else in her gut told her it could wait, that everything would be revealed in time. Marinette listened to her gut.

Her legs lead her straight to her desk, mostly empty with a few papers on top of it. She shoved open the drawers, checking through them, before slamming them closed again. Where was that damn thing her maman saw?

Looking back up onto her desk, Marinette saw something that contrasted deeply with the usual wood. A dark purple and red.

In front of her eyes, there was a dark purple envelope decorated with black lace designs. And in the center of it, keeping it closed, was red wax that formed a perfect circle with a flying raven in the center.

Someone magically appearing from out of nowhere without getting caught— of course it’d be Raven!

Marinette tried to open the envelope without getting any of her blood on it, since her hands were still covered in scratches from trying to take down the door, but nothing worked. Sighing, she tried to dig her blood crested fingernail underneath it and the envelope suddenly began to float.

The sounds of ravens enraged through her ears as the room grew darker and all she could see was the now glowing envelope. Purple light burned itself into Marinette’s eyes as she kept her gaze on it.

She reached out a hand to touch it before a strong wind blew all around her, somehow not touching anything but her hair and clothes. She could see black smoke fill the ground before she turned around to see a red light. She ignored the envelope that was now behind her.

“Raven.” Marinette whispered, amazed as she saw the woman take shape in the light.

“Are you ready for your first lesson, little girl?” The voice came from right beside her ears, but nothing was there. Marinette couldn’t even be startled when she felt the woman’s freezing cold finger tilt her chin up so Marinette would look into the purple eyes. She hadn’t even noticed her move but now she was only a step or two from her.

Magic was a little too cool.

——-

“Raven— Sir Raven. I— um, I don’t think this is a good time for our first lesson.” Marinette clenched the skirt of her white, thin nightgown(when had she changed?). “You see, my father just locked me in my room and it’s been a couple days. I need to escape before I do anything.”

A low, soft chuckle tickled Marinette’s ears.

“Girl, do you think I don’t know what’s been happening in this palace?”

“…I didn’t mean that!” Marinette shrieked, but she was unable to lower her face since the woman’s finger still held her chin up. “I just meant that uh-”

“Marinette.” Her gaze softened for a moment. “Calm down.”

“Yes, ma’am- sir. Knight. Raven. Sir Raven.” She stammered.

Raven sighed.

“Just call me Raven. Look, I know what’s going on and what I’m going to teach you will help you out of here, okay? You just have to listen to me… and I need to sort out the payment before anything, first.” Raven let both of her hands fall into her coat. She had her hood down so Marinette could see her mostly expressionless face.

Marinette nodded. She did NOT understand what was happening at all. But she learned that it’s usually best to just agree in these situations. So she nodded.

Raven raised a brow before rolling her eyes. “I don’t know if you learned any history yet, but I’ll ask you anyways. Who am I?”

“You are Sir Raven, a hero—”

“Better question: what am I?”

“…a demon.” Raven grinned for the briefest as she heard Marinette’s hesitant response.

“And what do demons want when making deals?”

“…Souls.”

“So what do you think I want as payment for these lessons I am giving you? Don’t be naive now, Marinette. I was born a demon even if I live among mortals.”

“…do you want my soul?” Marinette didn’t even stutter as she said this. She knew the importance of a soul but she also knew Raven’s character by heart. Plus… this world IS a game, right? So like… no real world consequences? And… Marinette didn’t want to be trapped here until she died.

“I do.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

Raven looked uncomfortable with her answer before she regained her expressionless face. She reached out a hand that had claw like nails, letting her cloak fall off her arm. “Deal?”

“In exchange for my lessons, of which will give me success in learning and using magic,” Marinette was careful with her words, “I will let you own my soul. Is this a deal?”

Not give— own. Marinette was being picky about her wording.

Raven smiled again.

“Deal.” Marinette’s hand slipped into Raven’s and she felt a sudden pain above her heart, on her chest. She looked down at it, wanting to clutch at it but Raven held onto her hand tightly, before seeing something dark underneath her white nightgown.

On her chest, there now was a black drawing of a raven in flight, with beady red eyes in the shape of a diamond.

The same mark as the symbol on the wax of the purple envelope.

The mark of Raven.

———————-

Taglist(open): (special thanks to @fangirlingfanatic as always!!!) @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

Notes: <3

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x batman #damianette #villainess au #otome game au #mlb x dc #villainess marinette au #strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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Mm.

I promise I’ve been working on my fics 🙏

Life has just been shitty lately 😔

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nullsleepy · 7 months ago

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The Strike of a Villainess

Chapter 1 Ao3

Chapter 11: Painting? Freaky Ghost Painting.

The frigid paper under her fingers seemed to tremble under her finger as she stared down at the mostly empty page. Her plans seemed to begin to slowly crumble in her mind. What the hell was this? How was it that…

There wasn’t a single mention on how one gains or uses dark magic? Not in the guide book— and not even in the magic book. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing!

Marinette slammed shut the book in front of her, tilting her head back, sighing. She was the type to flourish with information. She collected it as if it was what fed her life force. Without even a single hint— a single clue— how would she be able to make a plan?

…maybe Raven could teach it to her?

Marinette’s mind went blank as she stared off into the distance, unable to form any clear plans. Damn it…

Well, if she couldn’t learn dark magic right now, it would probably be best to look at the other types, right? Maybe they had something in common that she could figure out to teach herself how to use dark magic.

That was her best plan so far, anyways.

Letting her mind chase away the dark clouds in her brain, she opened her book again. She needed to learn what “magic” is, anyways. That’s what Raven had asked her to do.

—————

“Father.” Marinette curtsied, eyes closed with her head up. The past few days had been spent studying magic, but also learning a small bit of manners. Something her father ordered, apparently. And while she said it was a ‘small bit’— Marinette could barely feel her legs anymore. Or move her head. Or do much of anything. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Tom’s eyes seemed to look above her, at the doors. It was as if he couldn’t stand to look her in the eyes.

The silence was pungent in the room, flavored on everyone’s tongues as the scene played out in front of them— a scene where no one moved or acknowledged each other.

Her father cleared his throat after a few minutes and gestured for a man that held a scroll to speak.

“…On the orders of King Bruce, Princess Marinette of the Eden Dukedom shall prepare herself to meet with young Prince Damian in three days. The two shall meet under the assumption of a future engagement.”

….

“That is all.” He closed the scroll and stepped back, head bowed.

The king cleared his throat once again before finally looking down at Marinette. “Is that to be understood, child?”

“Yes, father. I shall prepare in earnest.” Marinette let the words flow out of her mouth before she could even understand the order. Was this good? Bad? There were too many factors to consider and such little time. She couldn’t even take a steadying breath before she was rushed out of the room, Eloise waiting outside for her.

Eloise bent down and picked her up, cradling the girl to her chest. It was as if she weighed nothing. Marinette had bit back a squeak when this happened before relaxing and letting the woman bring her back to the library— where she was before being summoned.

“Thank you.” Marinette mumbled as she was set down in front of the library doors, letting go of the woman’s dress. Eloise just smiled at her before watching her disappear behind the doors.

Marinette finally took in a deep breath before looking around, letting herself truly relax. “Paris?”

“I’m right here!” The bat flew out from inside her mini purse, grinning. He snuggled into Marinette’s cheek— something cute he learned to do. Something that reminded her of Tikki and the other kwamis.

Marinette patted him on the head as he floated in front of her, causing the two to giggle. “Come on, I want to go look at some new books.”

Marinette began walking over to the bookshelf(a different one than her usual one she borrowed from) before hearing a voice.

“Help me…”

Marinette stopped in her tracks before turning around, towards the hidden portrait of her mother. She waited a moment before it called out again.

“Help me dear.”

Marinette felt herself growing paler as her feet led her to painting without her willing them to. Still unable to control her body, her hand moved the curtain away and slowly reached towards the painting.

“Marinette?” Paris flew over to her, watching as her fingers were pulled into the painting, as if the paint was water. “Marinette!”

Paris saw her empty eyes before he began to pull on her hair. But nothing was helping. Her entire arm was now inside the painting.

Unable to do anything, Paris clung to her hair before slowly entering the painting with her.

—————

Marinette felt the warm fingers brushing through her hair before she even felt herself breathe. It felt just like how her maman would comfort her when she was sick. She didn’t want to open her eyes.

“My dear.” She could almost hear her mother’s voice talk to her, could almost feel the smile beaming down at her. “I need you to wake up.”

A soft giggle could be heard as Marinette groaned, leaning into the warm hands as she nuzzled herself into her mother’s lap.

“Please?” Marinette slowly began to open her eyes before looking up, seeing her mother looking down at her, in a white dress and wings.

“Maman?” The girl mumbled before her eyes widened. What kind of dream was she in? What happened when I heard that voice call for her.

“I missed you, my dear.” The woman’s hands swept underneath her head and hugged her close.

“Maman…” Marinette could feel the tears in her eyes before she heard the whine in her voice. It wasn’t even her mom, but still… She missed her maman so much.

“I can’t keep you here for long so I need to be quick about this, okay?” Her maman helped her sit up in front of her, their hands holding each other.

Marinette just nodded, unable to will herself to speak.

“Your father… he wasn’t always like that. He only became that way after I died. He used to be so sweet, like a big teddy bear. I guarantee you that if his pads self saw him, he’d yell at him for treating you this way. So I need your help to get him back to his past self— not this shell he’s created. Are you willing to help me, love?”

“…yes.” Marinette tightened her hold on her mother’s hands. “Of course, maman.”

Sabine smiled softly at her, rubbing her thumb on the back of Marinette’s hand.

“I left a couple letters for him, something that I hope will help him realize what he’s become. I just need you to deliver them to him, okay?”

Marinette nodded again.

“Good girl.” Sabine pulled her close for a hug. “My precious baby.”

Marinette felt all the tension leave her body as she slumped into the hug with a cheesy smile. She loved her maman’s hugs.

———————-

Time moved slowly as Marinette let out a yawn, curled up with her head resting on her mom’s lap. A soft hum kept hitting her ear, relaxing her.

“My sweet baby.” Sabine brushed out the girl’s hair with her fingers, before bending down and kissing her forehead. “It’s time to go.”

Marinette looked up at the woman with soft, wide eyes, pleading. No one in that house treated her like this— with this type of love and adoration… the kind of love her parents gave her. Her real parents.

“I know baby, but your father needs my help.” Sabine rubbed Marinette’s cheeks with her thumb, smiling. “And you’ll help your momma help him, won’t you?”

The blue haired girl looked up at her mother, reaching up before letting her hand fall to the floor.

Silence premanited around the room as the two stared at each other, one with a pure love only a parent could— and the other? With the love only a desperate person could have. One who saw her real mom in place of the woman in front of her.

“Yes. I will.” Marinette sat up after a few minutes, before Sabine waved her hand and a door appeared in front of her.

“Go, my baby. Help your father then you can come back to me.”

Marinette nodded one last time before staring at the door. She took a deep breath in before opening it and slipping out.

She fell straight on her face, as usual—

On the floor of the library—

Right in front of her father.

———————

Taglist(open): (special thanks to @fangirlingfanatic for always commenting and making my day/night way better every time! This chapter is dedicated to them, as will the other chapters be as long as they are fine with it. Idk if I would have had the courage to continue this fic if it wasn’t for them!💞) @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

Notes: Oh my gosh. You wouldn’t believe what I have planned for the next chapter(which I might have to split into parts because it’s gonna be so long)! Also, it’s my birthday :) So here’s my gift to y’all!!!

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x batman #damianette #mlb x dc #villainess au #villainess marinette au #otome game au #strike of a villainess #the strike of a villainess

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