#Should have been a moth (Hawkmoth musings) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

itsmeevie01 · 4 years ago

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A Moment in Time- Ch 14

MASTERPOST

OH HI THERE LOOK AT THAT IT'S ALREADY JUNE. HOW COULD THAT HAVE HAPPENED???

yes, I know. I disappeared off the face of the earth. forgive me?

important housekeeping- Orthrus is the name of Cerbrus' brother from Greek Mythology. Asclepius is a snake. and doctor dude. so I pulled on that a lil. ok, on with the chapter!

Chloé had been surprised to see the text from Marinette after her friend had gone off to meet an obscure friend earlier that day. Yet, there, blinking on her phone, was a text from her best friend there was only one word, but it was enough. There, blinking up at her was the word TONIGHT. Marinette really wanted to take Gabriel Agreste down on a school night, right before finals week.

Of course she did.

Fuck.

With one last, woeful glance at her open notes, Chloé called her transformation and flew to the Eiffel tower.

When she got there, the blonde was met with both Apate and Lady Tyche.

There, sitting at their feet, was Asclepius. The snake was leaning back, taking in the night air. His dark eyes glittered behind his mask, and the lyre at his side was almost unnoticeable in the darkness. As Princess Meli landed, Apate and Tyche sent her smiles, while Asclepius nodded. Meli gave a weak smile in response.

“Hey A, did you have to choose right before finals? I have to study!” Apate snorted at her best friend’s indignation.

“Sorry, Meli. I just…we can’t let this flaming bastard ruin our lives anymore. He tried to Akumatize me tonight, and I won’t have it.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Apate winced before turning to face her friend.

“I almost got akumatized. It didn’t go well. I am going to take down Hawkmoth one way or another. It is up to you if you want to join me. It has to be now before he can do any more damage. I for one don’t want to spend one more minute in a city where Hawkmoth rules our lives.” As the two newer heroes listened, the sound of someone landing behind them could be heard.

The group turned to find another miraculous wielder there, his long brown hair held back in a low ponytail, and the dark brown suit barely noticeable against the night sky. “ah, good Orthrus, you made it!” the teen nodded to the vigilante, before giving his fellow miraculous wielders a dramatic bow.

“omg. Really? That’s why you wanted me to dye your hair!” Princess Meli’s squeal was met with a dead-eyed stare by her best friend.

“well, why else, but to be completely unrecognizable.” The familiar voice that drawled from the dog vigilante’s mouth had the others quickly connecting the dots and laughing in recognition of Adrien Agreste, now named Orthrus, the vigilante of Loyalty. He strode over, his steps near silent on the tower beam. “now, what are we going to do about my father, Apate? Lady Tyche?” the two smiled at him, before turning back to the group.

“This is a stealth operation. As you all know, the Moth Miracle stone is one of the more flexible jewels. This means that the only identifying part about it is that it will glow when a strong emotion emerges. This means that we will be splitting up into two groups.” Here, Apate paused. Tyche was obviously well informed about what the operation was going to entail. Meli, while not in the loop, was more familiar with their plans and was obviously connecting the dots. The newest two were looking back and forth in confusion. “Meli, you and Tyche will be pulling the public's attention to yourselves. While you two pretend to fight an Akuma, courtesy of Bunnix, the rest of us will be slipping into the Agreste Mansion. Asclepius, you will be on Mayora duty. Keep her contained and be prepared to use your power, remember, it can only go back 15 minutes. Orthrus and I will try to corner Hawkmoth while he is distracted. It is imperative that Meli and Tyche keep the battle going against Bunnix until we are sure that Hawkmoth and Mayora are out of commission.” Tyche nodded.

“Meli and I will keep people distracted, but we need you to be fast, Apate. That means,” she turned to Orthrus and Asclepius, “you two need to get your plan straightened out before you enter the Agreste mansion. If there is anything that goes wrong you inform Apate immediately. Keep your com lines open. I know that you haven’t had as much practice, but Apate has been doing this for years. Rely on her and watch her back. Most importantly though, everyone goes in, everyone goes out. No one is left behind. And kick Hawkmoth’s ass.” The newer miraculous holders were listening with wider and wider eyes as Lady Tyche laid out her instructions. Apate may be the one with the (little known) reputation of being blunt and violent, but Lady Tyche was obviously used to giving instructions and being obeyed, immediately. As the weight of the situation made itself truly known to the newer section of the team, Bunnix alighted on the tower beam with a wild grin.

“ready when you are, Lady. We should be able to mess around for a few hours before things have to get serious.” Here, Bunnix turned her gaze on Apate. “if you need anything, give a shout.” Apate nodded solemnly at her friend, before turning to her team.

“We move now. once we get in position, Tyche and Bunnix will start the battle.” With one last backward glance, Apate led her team off to the lair of Hawkmoth.

“how long do you think this will take, A?”

“Ty, I wish I could give you an answer. Right now I really just want to get this done so I can sleep.”

“A, as much as I agree with that statement, please don’t rush.”

“I’ll be careful, Ty. I always am.”

“Bullshit.”

“rude.”

“but true.”

“I mean…maybe.” A pause, “ok Tyche, we��re in position in Adrien’s room. Whenever you’re ready.”

“see you on the other side, Apate.”

“Stay safe.”

“you too.”

Tim was expecting a quiet night, curled up on his bed with a book Dick had asked him to read ages ago when the screaming started. He bolted up and flung open his door. With shaking fingers, the teen CEO darted across the great room of the hotel room. As he shoved the balcony doors open, Tim’s eyes widened. There, on the street, were two heroes. They were…flying. They were actually flying? He thought Marinette had given him a basic rundown of the situation here in Paris, but as he watched the two flying girls, Tim Drake knew in his gut that tonight was going to get a lot worse before it got better for them. Edging back along the wall of the balcony, the out of costume vigilante watched with wide eyes as the heroes darted in and out of the fog that was at the center of the screaming.

Apate really hated Gabriel Agreste. As she followed Orthrus through the halls of the manor, Asclepius stayed at her back. When they arrived at the library, Orthrus guided Asclepius to the hidden window that would give him a vantage point t look down on the upcoming battle. “wait.” As Apate halted the group's movement, the two others turned to look at her. “Asclepius, once you see Mayora enter the grotto, only then do you start your entry.” He looked at her in confusion. With a small smile, Apate gestured to the window. “this is your entry point. When you find Mayora, you enter here. Keep her contained, and keep her distracted. Orthrus and I will handle the rest.” When the Snake holder had nodded, Apate smiled. “this is it, I know that you both have worked hard recently to take on these roles. That said, we proceed with the utmost caution. Keep your coms in and keep them on. I want constant communication. I know that this is the long game. We are all in. now we need to make sure that we all leave. Understood?”

“understood.”

“Copy”

“good. Now, we enter silence now. Orthrus and I are going to get in position, Asclepius be careful. Now is not the time to show our hand.”

Lady Tyche hadn’t had this much fun in years. As Bunnix sat in the middle of the column of fog rolling down Parisian streets, Lady Luck giggled slightly at Princess Meli’s look of shock. The rabbit holder had placed fog machines in the vicinity of the Grande Paris Hotel. With their careful plotting, Bunnix and Tyche had made sure that the square would be filled with synthetic fog. As it spread, the few pedestrians on Paris’ streets started to scream. The midnight air took on the feeling that only ever came when there was an Akuma attack. With a shout of glee, Bunnix continued to spin herself around on her motorbike. “are we going to attack?” Meli’s question broke Tyche out her musings. It wasn’t uncommon for the hero to stay back and observe the Akumas, and she had been taking advantage of that up till that point. With a sigh, Tyche tore her gaze away from the fog.

“I guess we have to, don’t we?” Meli giggled at her friend’s reluctance."

“only if you want this to work.” Tyche snorted at the Bee’s sarcasm.

“go ahead and ‘sneak’ over to the other end of the square. Once you get there, I’ll dive in and do a few spins with Bunnix. When I come flying out, wait a few seconds and then go into the exact center. Knowing Bun, that’s exactly where she’ll be.” Meli nodded in understanding and started to make her way across the square.

As Lady Tyche watched the other blonde slip away, she took a deep breath. They needed to stretch this out for as long as they could. Apate needed as much time as she could buy.

Apate and Orthrus were settled against a shadowed part of the wall in the grotto when Gabriel Agreste strode in. the blonde man was clutching at this shirt where he had a purple jewel pined there. “is that?” Orthrus’ question mirrored her own thoughts.

“I…I think so.” Tensing slightly, Apate settled further into her perch. Asclepius’ voice came quietly in her ear.

“Apate, you need to take the stone now. once he is Hawkmoth, Gabriel will have a sword. We don’t want to do more damage than necessary.”

“Ascle-“

“Apate you have to trust me. Please.”

“Are you sure?”

“There is no other way, this has to happen before i can take out Mayora.” Apate sucked in a sharp breath.

“how many times?”

“so far? six. It’s about to be seven if you don’t get a move on. Your window is closing.” Before Asclepius had finished his sentence, Apate has risen.

As she lept to one of the beams above the grotto, Orthrus slunk across the ground until he was behind Gabriel. As Apate started her descent towards the villain, Orthrus sprung up, and incapacitated him. in one single move, Apate, Guardian of the Miracle Box, had reclaimed the Butterfly stone of Transmission.

In her ear a moment later, Apate could hear the sounds of Mayora being taken down by Asclepius.

Lady Tyche and Princess Meli were in their fifth rotation through Bunnix’s merry fog funhouse when Apate’s voice cut through their line. “we have reclaimed both miraculous, and the police have been called. It’s finished. Hawkmoth is gone.”

The three heroes let up a cheer and set about putting the square to rights. Once Bunnix had shut off the fog machines, Lady Tyche looked around and smiled. Lifting into the air, Lady Luck threw her yoyo up and called “Miraculous!” as the Ladybugs flew through the night, things started to turn themselves back to what they had been a mere hour ago. When the square had returned to normal, the two heroes took off into the air. It was time to celebrate. Hawkmoth had been defeated at last.

Poor Tim! i wonder what the poor boy thought of THAT show? (also, i keep imagining Alix dressed in her bunnix suit speeding off into the night with that fog machine going... i bet she had a blast!)

TAGLIST

@moonlitceleste @redscarlet95 @ultimatetornshipper @mochegato @liquid-luck-00 @maskedpainter @trippingovermyfeet @nathleigh @m0chick0furan @susiej1118 @t1dwarrior-of-earth @sassakitty @remy-289 @solangelo252 @corporeal-terrestrial @woe-is-me0 @toodaloo-kangaroo @sizzling-fairy-oil

#a moment in time fic #maribat #Timari #Sibling!jasonette #my writing #ahhhh #chaotic marinette #chaotic mari #Marinette as Black Cat

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mcheang · 5 years ago

Note

Alya+Adrien Redemption Plot: Good news-Alya finds out Lila’s a liar. Bad news-she also finds out Adrien knew all along but not that he knew about the bullying. Now she’s out for Adrien’s blood. She proves it to everyone & and they all turn on Adrien. It’s all resolved in the end, but both A’s learn their lesson. Alya learns to wait & think instead of acting on first impulse, & Adrien learns lies can have harmful consequences

So much information, so little time

Happens during the Ladybug episode

When Lila claims Marinette pushed her on purpose and stole her necklace, Alya knew she was a liar.

Ok, maybe the thieving was credible but Marinette would never push someone she disliked. Even Chloe never got that treatment!

As Alya sought to prove Marinette’s innocence, the other students just sat back in shock over the day’s incident. All the while, Lila soaked up the attention from other students. It made Alya grit her teeth so hard she was surprised she didn’t crack a tooth.

Marinette was relieved to hear Alya finally knows the truth but Alya sadly told her Lila left no evidence behind and one human testimony isn’t enough. Marinette then informed Alya that Adrien knew.

Alya was enraged and incredulous. Is that the same Adrien who did not bother to help Alya clear Marinette’s name?

Seeing the hurt look on Marinette’s face, Alya quickly said maybe Adrien decided to confront Lila alone.

Marinette: I shouldn’t be surprised about everyone’s reaction.

Alya: Girl, they’re just stunned

Marinette: no, you don’t get it. Lila said she would turn everyone against me. And now look what happened?

Alya paused. “She did keep putting you down whenever we asked her to babysit.”

Marinette: I’m surprised you still believe in me

Alya: I’m your Best Friend, Marinette. Besides, I know it’s not fair to ask you to take over babysitting all the time. At the time, I had just thought Lila was being overly generous and wanted you to be the same. Now, I just want to give the old me a smack on the head.

That said, after Marinette got back to school because Lila apparently had a lying disorder (Alya can’t ever believe she was that gullible.) Alya finally managed to track Adrien down. She had been looking for him ever since her phone call before getting distracted by Sentibug.

Alya called Adrien out for knowing Lila was a liar and not telling them.

Adrien admits his high road was not the best idea in hindsight, but now that Marinette was back, things were right again.

Alya: and that makes it ok?! We have to expose Lila!

Adrien remembers the deal he had made. Be Lila’s ‘friend’ and Marinette gets to go back to school. “No, we don’t. Lila got Marinette back to school. She’ll leave her alone.”

Alya: how gullible are you? You know Lila’s had it out for Marinette, and you just did nothing!

To be fair, this is the first time Adrien saw Lila target Marinette. He thought she sought to get rid of Marinette because she kept calling Lila out on her lies. As for the seat changing incident, he didn’t think Marinette would mind seating with her other friends in the back. He just thought Lila manipulated the seat exchange to be closer to him.

He does not know about Lila’s threat, or how she has been poisoning the class against Marinette.

And while Alya was searching in her free time, Adrien had to go home for his scheduled lunch. He returned just in time to hear Alya call Marinette about her failed investigation.

Adrien: Lila made a mistake and she fixed it.

Alya: she probably didn’t want to deal with an akumatized Marinette! Ugh, why do I even bother with you? This is like your handling on Chloe. You always look the other way. I can excuse your actions because you were childhood friends. But you are actually working with Lila on photoshoots and enabling her actions, and you call yourself Marinette’s Friend.

Adrien reminded himself that his deal with Lila was supposed to be a secret. He walked away.

Nino was confused when Alya told him to ignore Adrien. He didn’t listen and asked Adrien what he did to upset his Girlfriend.

Knowing she needed proof, Alya got the evidence she needed to expose Lila. But that wasn’t enough. She needed to expose Adrien for the fraud Friend he really is.

Alya cornered Adrien again and privately recorded their conversation as she demands he back her up in exposing Lila or their friendship is off. Adrien sadly declines. Before Alya storms off, she quietly asks how had he known that Lila was lying to all of them, how long had he let her believe the liar was best friends with Ladybug, and let her ruin her blog credibility.

Adrien looks down in shame. “Ever since her first day.”

Alya opens up a private chat group for their class, excluding Lila and Adrien. She sends them all the proof she has gathered.

As expected, everyone is hurt and outraged that they had been deceived and Adrien stood by and let it happen.

Marinette is hurt that Adrien did not care about her feelings after Lila accused her.

The class decides to expose Lila to the staff, but how to do it when the adults will believe that lying compulsion excuse?

Alix: we can inform her mom.

Markov: I can send you Mrs Rossi’s email and phone numbers.

Alya: um...why are there 2 of each?

Markov: I sent you the information from Lila’s parent contact information in the school files and Mrs Rossi’s contact information in the embassy files.

Max: I assume this is how Lila got away with her truancy.

For once, Chloe offers to help contact Mrs Rossi. She is angry Lila made a fool of her and wants revenge. As for Adrien...Chloe is disappointed he didn’t tell her the truth, knowing she had idolized Ladybug. But does she honestly want to help Adrien fix his friendship with these losers? Um...she’ll think on it.

Anyway, Chloe uses her father’s influence to drag Mrs Rossi to the principal’s office, where she tells Mrs Rossi Lila’s stories and slams all the evidence on the table.

Mrs Rossi is humiliated and enraged. In her mood, she lashes out at the principal for believing such faulty evidence and excuses!

Faced with an angry parent and vengeful Chloe, the principal apologised but also has to expel Lila for all her crimes and truancy.

Mrs Rossi honestly feels Lila deserves that. But what she wants right now is to drag her Daughter out of this stupid school so she can rant at her in the privacy of her own home.

Mrs Rossi drags Lila in disgrace from the classroom. Lila tries to protest her innocence but notices the class all glaring at her. She glares at Adrien, assuming he had gone back on his word.

Adrien wisely does not defend Lila.

The principal makes a public apology to Marinette via the speakers and exposes Lila. He also credits Chloe for this.

The class are annoyed but let this go.

Adrien notices the class giving him the cold shoulder and Nino acting silent beside him.

Fearing he knows the answer, Adrien asks what’s wrong?

Nino: how could you let her lie to us like that?

Rose: how could you abandon Marinette like that?

Ivan: we trusted you!

Adrien: I...I

Adrien can’t tell them what he did. They wouldn’t believe him.

Then Chloe speaks up.

Chloe: give Adrien a break. He’s totally inept in these situations. The only lies he deals with are tabloids. And you are supposed to ignore those and let them blow away.

Kim: he let us be lied to, he let you be deceived, too, Chloe

Chloe: yes, and I am angry about that too. But aren’t we supposed to be a better example and whatever?

Max: how could he let Marinette stay expelled and do nothing?

At this Chloe could not help him. Adrien found the courage to speak up. “I did do something. I made a deal with Lila that I would be her “Friend” if she would let Marinette go back to school.

Marinette: you really do care about me.

Adrien: of course I care. You’re one of my first friends. And I’m sorry for my part in enabling Lila.

Alya: you should be!

Marinette nudges Alya. She sighs.

Alya: but since I was also rash to believe Lila’s tales, and the worst in you, I am also sorry, to Marinette, and you, Adrien.

Adrien: apology accepted. Still friends?

Alya: of course.

Nino: so, in the future, maybe my bro can actually tell us the truth instead of letting us stay in the dark. And maybe my Girlfriend will check her facts thoroughly before proclaiming to the world. Agreed?

This may sound harsh, but Nino is going through emotional turmoil of Friend betrayals and being caught in the middle.

Alya and Adrien blush: definitely.

Meanwhile, between the class, Damocles’ guilt, Lila’s hatred; and Mrs Rossi’s rage, Hawkmoth is overwhelmed with emotion and doesn’t know who to pick. He wants to become scarlet moth again but Nathalie needs him now. He regretfully does not transform and tells Nathalie to rest while he cuts off ties with his muse.

#miraculous ladybug fanfic #miraculous ladybug fic #ml fanfic #ml fanfiction #ml fic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #lila gets exposed #lila is exposed #ladybug episode fic #episode ladybug fic #adrien salt

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flightfoot · 4 years ago

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Ladycat Ch. 9

AO3

…

Wha-?

What-?

What am I?

You’re here to help, something whispered inside her. To be the missing linchpin your creator so desperately craves. To allow him to regain what he has lost.

Snippets of memories played.

Her creator laughing, joking with a girl in a red-and-black-spotted suit.

Them fighting side by side, again and again and again.

A curious cat - the same girl, though she wasn’t sure how she knew that - purring, comforting her creator.

Her creator facing off against his father.

The cat - the girl - saving him.

And being twisted, tainted, turned into something she was not.

Her being shuddered.

She could feel it.

Her creator’s happiness, his contentment, his peace around the girl - around Ladybug.

His betrayal, his fear, his anger towards his father, the man who he and Ladybug had been fighting for so long.

And his fear tinged with despair as Ladycat was akumatized.

She had to help him.

She was created to help him.

And… and she wanted to help.

She wanted to see him smile.

Something changed.

A heaviness spread through her, making her feel solid.

Real.

Part of the world.

She opened her eyes.

------

“Dude, did you mean to do that?”

Adrien shook his head, eyes still locked on… on…

“I- I guess when I was asking for someone to help us, someone that could fill the gaping hole in our team from Ladybug’s absence, the Miraculous took it literally.”

In front of him stood a girl in a red suit with black spots, sporting two black pigtails.

She looked exactly like Ladybug.

The girl opened her eyes, looking at them.

A beat passed.

Then another.

Until a full minute had passed.

Alya broke the awkward silence. “Um… hi?”

The girl looked over at her. Her brow - or rather, her mask - furrowed. “You - I don’t know you but… I feel like I should…?” She seemed to mutter that last bit to herself.

Alya glanced at Adrien. He shrugged.

Alya frowned. “Well… you SHOULDN’T know any of us, I mean, you didn’t even exist before this - wait.”

Looking quickly at her friends, her mind churned. “Am I the only one you don’t know?”

The girl shook her head. “I don’t know the boy in the baseball cap either.”

“But you DO know who Adrien is,” Alya stated.

The girl tilted her head to one side. “My creator?”

“Errrrrr…” Adrien said.

“Wait… you’re this girl’s creator…” Alya mused. “So that means… Adrien, I think you just became a father.”

“I’m… a father…?” Adrien muttered to himself. He stared into the distance, as if trying to solve a complicated algebra problem in his head, one that had a lot of different parts that he needed to keep track of.

“He’s not like him!” the girl snapped.

Huh?

“Adrien’s not like who?” Alya asked.

“He’s not like his father!” the girl hissed.

Alya shivered. She hadn’t seen that kind of anger on Ladybug’s face since - well, since the last time Chat Noir was seriously hurt in battle.

“That… that man… he HURT my creator. Adrien. He- he hurt the girl my creator loves. He does NOT deserve to be compared to his father.”

“How do you know all that?” Alya asked, even more confused.

“It’s why I was created. It’s what I’m here for,” the girl said, standing up straight, exuding authority in a way that eerily reminded Alya of the actual Ladybug. “To help my creator against the fight with his father, to help save the girl he loves.”

----

Adrien stared at the sentimonster he created.

At the girl he made.

At his…

He- he was way too young to be a father!

And she looked the same age as him. Hell, she looked like the love of his life!

He’d assumed that he’d create some sort of monster to help him, like that moth sentimonster from Heroes Day. Like a pokemon maybe?

But… but this wasn’t some creature. Certainly not one like the moth, which only seemed to exist to blow them away, which didn’t appear to have much in the way of intelligence or will of its own

This was - okay maybe not a human, but close enough at least.

This sentimonster was a person.

“To help my creator against the fight with his father, to help save the girl he loves.”

What?

Mentally Adrien reviewed the past minute, what she’d said.

That she’d been created to help him.

That it was why she was there.

It was true. That was why she’d been created. He’d made sure of that.

But he hadn’t expected an actual person.

He glanced down at the amok - at Marinette’s Lucky Charm.

He could command her to go into battle with them. She already seemed willing to at any rate - no surprise there, he’d created her for that purpose. It would be the safer option, especially after the “hypothetical” scenario Fu had laid out of what could happen if a sentimonster went rogue.

But would that make him that much better than Hawkmoth?

Than his father?

Hawkmoth took advantage of people’s weaknesses, of their desires in order to make them fight for him. It wasn’t usually explicitly against their will - they still had to agree to it - but as the Butterfly wielder, he could put enough pressure on them, speak enough honey into their ears that they’d go along with it. So far only Ms. Bustier had been able to resist him, and not for very long.

This sentimonster - this person - on the surface wanted to help him.

But did she have any more choice in the matter than Hawkmoth’s akumas?

They were willing to help him too.

But they were vulnerable when he akumatized them. It was difficult to fight him off.

He may not have experienced it himself (and now he had an idea of why that was), but he’d heard from others what it was like. How Hawkmoth pressed into their heads, twisting their desires so that it seemed like him ‘helping’ them was the only solution to their problems, the trouble with remembering why they SHOULD refuse Hawkmoth.

Amoks were used to control sentimonsters.

With how similar the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses were, he had a sinking feeling on *how* that control was enacted.

The sentimonster - the girl - whatever she was called (they’d have to figure out a proper name for her) had said that he wasn’t like his father.

She was right.

He held out the amok in front of him. “You know what this is, right?” he asked her.

She nodded, looking a little confused. “It’s the thing that lets me exist, right? I- I might be over here, but…” She seemed transfixed by the bracelet, her eyes unable to leave its beads. “I can feel myself in there as well. Like… like this is my body, but that- that’s where *I* really am? Somehow?” She seemed to mutter that last bit to herself.

Good. So she knew how important it was, how vital.

Walking up to her, he gently placed it in her hand, closing her fingers over the charm. She looked up at him, amazed and slightly confused, a smile dawning on her face as she hugged it to herself, holding it where her heart would be.

“I don’t want to control you or decide things for you,” Adrien told her. “Even accidentally. I’d love your help, but only if you choose to help - not because you’re forced to or feel obligated to. You exist now, and what you do with your existence is up to you.”

----

Up to her?

Well… she did still want to help Adrien. The pressure on her being, on her… on her soul, a pressure she hadn’t even known was there, lifted as soon as his fingers withdrew from her amok. So she didn’t feel compelled the way she was before.

But what she’d seen and felt while she was being created? Still held true.

And Adrien handing her the amok just made her want to help him more.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the charm, on the magic inside, the magic that allowed her to exist.

He’d handed her soul to her, to ensure that others couldn’t force her to do anything - even if that someone was himself.

She made her decision. The first major one of her life.

“Thank you, Adrien. I will help you.”

----

“WHAT?!”

Panther looked up, startled.

Hawkmoth glared at a nearby TV.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news!” the lady on the TV said. “I know we’ve all been worried with Hawkmoth running loose and Ladybug going missing, but it seems that our worries are at an end!”

The camera panned to several colorful moving dots, zooming in and-

Wait-

One of those was Her Boy.

Another was the girl she’d seen before in Hawkmoth’s cavern, the one she’d ignored because…

...why DID she ignore her before anyway? It’d seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but why…?

She shook her head. Something told her that she shouldn’t dwell too hard on the matter.

There was another boy she vaguely recognized dressed as a turtle, and lastly-!

That… that fourth figure…

The pit dropped out of her stomach.

That was her.

Her as she used to be at least, before.

He replaced me. He doesn’t need me.

Of course, why WOULD he want her?

Her tail curled around her body as she retreated into herself.

She- she’d FAILED him.

She meant to protect him, to make him feel happy again! That’s why she’d fought against him, so that she could take his Miraculous and let Hawkmoth restore Her Boy’s mother, restore his happiness.

Her eyes narrowed at the replacement.

The interloper.

That- that copy was fooling him, wasn’t she?! Was taking on her form so she could take him for herself.

She was NOT going to let that stand.

She’d protect Her Boy, no matter what.

Someone stroked her head.

Her ears flattened instinctively as she looked up at Hawkmoth.

“Don’t worry, my pet,” he told her.

For some reason she couldn’t fathom, she suddenly wanted to bite his hand off.

“They’re out in the open now. And if they really HAVE managed to get a version of you - somehow - that just gives me another chance to get the Ladybug Miraculous and fulfill my wish - and with it, yours as well.”

She yowled in agreement. If Hawkmoth noticed that Panther used the opportunity to shy away from him, he didn’t say anything.

#ladycat #ml fanfic #miraculous ladybug #sentibug #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng

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nomolosk · 5 years ago

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Snapshots (AU Yeah August 2020)

read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655623/chapters/62283055

Day 10- Reverse Crush

Mayura jumped and flipped over rooftops which were entirely unfamiliar. Not for the first time, she wished she could borrow Chat Noir’s endlessly telescoping baton. She had a suspicion that Paris was now one enormous University campus, with all the buildings morphed into classrooms, cafeterias, dormitories, and parking garages. There would also be maintenance buildings and administrative offices, and the police force had probably simply morphed into campus security. The point was, she wondered how different it would look from above.

She could still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, so at least one famous landmark was still present- after all, everyone currently thought they were either going to school in Paris, or working for a university in Paris, and no doubt that idea needed reinforcing the longer this went on. She wasn’t sure how long Universal could keep up a single alternate reality. Did it depend on her stamina, like it had with Animan? Or did it depend on how well people accepted the new reality? Surely there would be a few each time for whom the shift was too stark, too different from their normal life. Perhaps if enough people began to question it, it would shatter again.

Or perhaps it simply depended on when Universal herself got bored. She’d shifted between several different universes by now, and hadn’t seemed to spend much time with any of them. Perhaps they were not so compelling once she made it reality. Mayura frankly found it all annoying. Hawkmoth didn’t usually create akumas with powers to affect reality itself, and now that she was experiencing it first hand, she was beginning to have doubts about using the Wish, even if it would save Emilie.

But currently she was trying to keep herself oriented, while also visible enough to draw out the heroes. She would obviously need to find her way back to the administrative office where she currently worked after the battle.

----

Adrien Agreste beamed at the pretty design student who had actually succeeded in sending Lila off without a scene for once.

“What’s your name?” he asked earnestly. She blinked in surprise.

“Uh, M-Marinette,” she stuttered slightly. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, watching her flush adorably.

“Thank you,” he continued. “It’s nice to know the name of the woman I’m going to marry.”

She laughed and he caught the nervous note to it. “Well, thank you for the compliment, but it’s really not that big of a deal. I knew someone like her back in college and lycee, so I’ve got some experience in dealing with it.”

Adrien’s interest was genuinely piqued. “Oh yeah? I actually had to go to school with Lila, and that was an experience I really wish had ended with graduation. Not only do I still have to model with her sometimes, now she’s followed me to University.”

“That sucks,” Marinette said. Then her face flamed again. “I’m so sorry, by the way! You must get girls doing this all the time, and I didn’t- I mean, I kind of implied that you and I are together, but it was just to get her to back off, you know? I didn’t- I don’t want to force you into a relationship,” she finished with a soft, sweet smile. “You should be able to make your own choices.”

Adrien could have sworn his heart literally melted at that moment. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, there was a little voice reminding him of the existence of Ladybug, but she’d suddenly become a lot less important to his personal happiness. She was a great partner, but… well, perhaps that was all she’d ever be. And he was… okay with that. More than okay! After all, without the guilt of harboring feelings for his unattainable partner, he could pursue sweet, feisty, wonderful Marinette instead.

“About that… actually, would you mind having lunch with me? I’d really like to get to know you better,” he said, trying for a balance between his usual Chat Noir flair and his model reserve. When he saw her hesitate, he quickly added, “Anyone who can handle Lila like that would be a great friend to have!”

----

Marinette hesitated. She didn’t really know why, but as hot as this boy was, he was still freakin’ Adrien Agreste! She couldn’t go around dating the son of the Dean, not when she was a design student herself! Besides, she couldn’t get that kiss between her future self and future Chat Noir out of her mind. It had been so simple, so loving… so full of trust and tenderness, even for as quick as it had been. And she wanted that. Something had changed, and she could admit that to herself now- perhaps for the first time.

It had been so long since Chat Blanc… perhaps the danger was over, the peculiar circumstances that had allowed or caused that future no longer existed, surely. She could finally stop fighting herself and allow herself to fall for her partner. Right?

“Um, well, I guess,” she finally said. “Sure! That’d be nice.”

She saw the look of adoration on Adrien’s face and convinced herself that he was a model and used to looking adoringly at women. He probably didn’t mean anything by it, like that over the top exclamation about marrying her a few moments ago. He couldn’t really mean it, they hardly knew each other! And besides, it was probably just an exaggerated way of showing his appreciation.

----

Adrien could have danced on air. “Great! So, how about that new place that just opened up-”

The akuma alert suddenly went off on both their phones and his heart sank like a stone. Here he was, finally getting somewhere with the girl of his dreams, and stupid Hawkmoth had to interfere.

He cursed, already scanning the area for the best route to a place where he could transform. “I’m really sorry, Marinette. I… have to go.”

“Oh, that’s fine!” she reassured him, “I, um, I get really nervous during these things, so… I’m just gonna go this way. See you!”

She was already hurrying off, and Adrien was halfway to his own exit before he remembered that, like an idiot, he forgot to get her phone number. Well, at least now he knew her name.

----

Marinette checked the LadyBlog on her way to a place where she could transform. Alya had posted a video someone had taken of Mayura jumping from rooftop to rooftop, with the disclaimer that no one had yet seen an akuma, but the presence of the villainess could indicate that there was one out there somewhere, or would be soon.

“Alright Tikki,” Marinette said, stopping in a secluded area of campus and opening her purse. “Any more hints as to what’s going on? First you were sure something was up last night, and now Mayura is hopping around rooftops all by herself. Any ideas?”

Lately, Marinette had taken to consulting with Tikki before transforming, unless the akuma in question seemed really straightforward. Ever since she and Chat had cleared the threshold of maturity needed to use their powers more than once a battle, the akumas had gotten more devious and harder to beat.

“I’m beginning to get an inkling, Marinette,” Tikki said encouragingly. “You know how I’m the kwami of creation?”

Marinette nodded.

“Well, there’s something in the air that reminds me of what creation feels like.”

“Something in the air? Like, the physical air, or are you using a metaphor for the feel of a place, like a vibe?”

“I don’t know what a vibe is-”

“It’s like a feeling you get sometimes, from people or places. You have an instinct about them, and it can be either bad or good. I remember feeling really good about Alya when I first met her- she gave off good vibes. And we’ve been best friends ever since! Does that makes sense?”

“Yes it does! Thank you, Marinette! And yes, a ‘vibe’ is exactly what I’m talking about. Although,” Tikki paused, putting a nub up to her chin, “I supposed it could also be in the physical air. Creation can leave things behind, you know. And if this is coming from an akuma, it might well be connected to the physical air.”

“That would be a new direction for Hawkmoth,” Marinette mused. “His akumas have been getting a lot harder to beat lately, but the only time I can remember him going so subtle was with Sabrina that one time, and then the time he was Scarlet Moth and had that whole secondary attack planned that took us by surprise.”

Tikki shrugged. “Well, this definitely feels like creation magic to me, Marinette. You should be careful! And try to make sure you don’t forget anything important. You know akumas can affect memories sometimes.”

Marinette sighed at that rather useless bit of advice. How she was supposed to guard against forgetting things when they were dealing with an akuma that shared Tikki’s power and could possibly affect memory?

“Alright, Tikki. I’ll try to be careful and not forget anything, and I’ll make sure to warn Chat as well. Are you ready to transform?”

“Go for it!”

Marinette spoke the words, and shortly thereafter Ladybug was swinging away over the familiar rooftops of the great University of Paris.

----

Chat Noir was annoyed. He’d rushed away from Marinette for no reason apparently- there was no sign of an akuma anywhere, and while Mayura had triggered the alert, she was nowhere to be found either. He moved swiftly and quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself, but he couldn’t find her. A few minutes after he decided it had been nothing more than a feint or a distraction, Ladybug showed up, swinging up to his current rooftop.

“H-hey Chat,” she said, her tone oddly breathless. She started to walk over to his vantage point and tripped over thin air, recovering quickly, but still blushing in embarrassment. A few years ago this greeting would have had Chat over the moon with the possibility she was finally falling for him, but now…

“You okay there, Bug?” he asked. “Getting enough sleep? I know you said your schedule was pretty packed this semester.”

Ladybug smiled widely. “Sure! I’m slapping- sleeping! Fine. Just fine.”

Chat raised both eyebrows, but looked back out at the campus. Then he noticed it- it was slow, but inexorable.

“Ladybug,” he breathed. “Look!”

Ladybug joined him at the edge of the roof and together they watched as a circle of change spread slowly across the campus, leaving other buildings and streets in it’s wake.

“Chat, take us up,” Ladybug said, and this time there was nothing in her tone but command.

Without hesitation, Chat grabbed her around the waist and extended his baton with them at the top until they were in danger of being hit by low flying aircraft. They watched as the change engulfed the city and… there was something familiar about it.

“This has happened before, hasn’t it?” Ladybug murmured.

“I think so,” Chat said.

Ladybug let out a shaky breath. “Do you remember it?”

“No,” Chat admitted. “But I think… I think I’ve noticed it before. And then forgot.”

“Me, too. Tikki says she can feel something like the power of Creation in the air,” Ladybug said. Her arm around his shoulder tightened, as she got her yo-yo out again. She opened it to map-mode and Chat could see the spreading change on it as well, the magic of their miraculous somehow picking up that of another. She quickly tapped a few commands, and the screen zoomed out until there was a flashing dot in what could be the center of the circle. “That’s where it started,” Ladybug said.

“I don’t think we can get there before we forget again,” Chat said, feeling hollow.

“Maybe,” Ladybug replied, and he took heart at the strength of her voice. “But I’ve got the location saved in the yo-yo now, so even if we forget what we’re doing right now, we’ll have a clue. I frankly doubt the akuma will stick around to be found like that, but it will at least give us a starting point, right?”

“Right.”

The circle of change had reached where they would be if they were still on the roofs now, and Chat braced himself for… something. Ladybug tensed, too. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he started to relax… only to feel the change wash over him a breath later.

@auyeahaugust

#mlauyeahaugust #auyeah2020 #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #reverse crush

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dfcfanfics · 5 years ago

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Career Planning Prompt of the Day

For The Man Who Has Everything...

Emilie Agreste awoke in her own bed; a seemingly familiar experience for her, but one that she had not enjoyed in over a year. As her eyes opened, she saw her husband sitting on the other side of the bed, still in his pajamas, his own eyes riveted upon her.

"Darling," she smiled, "I promise you that I will not melt away like a soap bubble. This is not a dream... unless it is I who is the dreamer."

"You are a dream that never left my mind once, all the while that you were away," Gabriel smiled back. His pleasant expression faded abruptly, however, which did not escape his wife's notice.

"You are troubled. What is it?" Emilie asked him. "Are you all right? Did the... 'wish' take more out of you than you had admitted?"

"Surprisingly," Gabriel mused, "the Wish itself was not nearly as taxing as I had suspected. These," he said, showing off a ring and pair of earrings held loosely in one hand, "are most definitely not toys. I feared that restoring you to health might drain my own life... or that of Adrien... or someone else close to us. Outside of the strain of the ritual itself, though, I have noticed nothing amiss."

"Who did pay the price, then? If what we had been told about such magic was true?" worried Emilie.

"I do not know. We may never know," Gabriel sighed. "A karmic debt added to my already lengthy ledger."

Emilie sat up, looking quite concerned. "What you have told me about what you had to do... the damage done, the lives impacted, those poor children who opposed you!" she whimpered. "You do not suppose that the Wish targeted them, do you?"

"Again, I do not know," shrugged Gabriel. "My final villain did not slay them; he seized their Miraculous under cover of a deep and paralyzing darkness that he created. Once he had them, he came straight to me, and I do not know what became of the two of them after that."

He squirmed slightly at his wife's penetrating stare. "What?" he asked. "This was not a personal vendetta. I needed their Miraculous, not their lives or even their identities. I did not wish them harm beyond my aggravation at their persistence."

"Hmmph," grunted Emilie, clearly not satisfied.

"Emilie, my dear, I have something of far greater import weighing upon my mind at the moment." Gabriel opened his hand and allowed the two Miraculous to spill upon the silken bedsheets. "You do realize what we possess, what lies between us right now, do you not?" he asked her.

"...Of course I do," she nodded. "Had I not experienced what they are capable of firsthand, I doubt that I would believe it..."

"We are not the only people who understand," intoned Gabriel. "The children... I suspect that they are no longer any sort of threat. They are powerless, their mentor has been neutralized... but, consider. Who was that mentor, really? Where did he come from, carrying with him such astounding artifacts? Whom does he answer to? Who else knows the true power that these represent?"

"No one knows that you were Hawkmoth... correct?" reasoned Emilie. "So no one should know to look for us in particular."

"A teenage girl in magical Spandex nearly figured me out," snorted Gabriel. "I have appeared in public in costume, and my disguise as Hawkmoth is hardly elaborate. With such carelessness on my part, I am mildly surprised that no one else has come seeking the Moth."

"And now Hawkmoth is triumphant... and, a short time later, I return as mysteriously as I had disappeared," Emilie agreed. "A bit more than a coincidence for those already suspicious. We must remain on guard."

"Or must we?"

A slight smile returned to his face as he continued. "We have in our possession three of the most powerful magic items ever created, do we not?" he asked. "Creation at its most elemental. A force of primal destruction that could crack continents. And a tiny purple genie whose powers of transformation I have only begun to properly consider."

"While that is true..." Emilie worried.

"It is true. With that kind of raw power, we could live like a king and queen, anywhere we wished. We could command armies, topple governments, wipe away opposition with our very thoughts. We could change the world in so many ways, and not just for our own personal benefit, either!" His eyes shone brightly, an intensity returning to his face. "Imagine ending world hunger, homelessness, unnecessary conflict. Being the puppetmasters responsible for a brighter future for all... whether or not we remain in the shadows ourselves."

"Or tuck them away in the safe and pretend as if nothing had ever happened," Emilie countered. "Having them at our fingertips should we ever need to use them... but avoiding drawing further attention to ourselves. If we can."

"Also an option. And so, my dear, I must ask you a most pertinent question..."

Gabriel leaned in close to his wife's face and reduced his voice to a near-whisper.

"What would you like to do today?"

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #prompt #if someone asks you if you want to be a god... you say YES!#fanfic

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quicksilversquared · 6 years ago

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Lost Heart Ch. 5

Gabriel Part 3

Magic can be a dangerous thing to play around with, particularly when that magic is tangled up in a curse. When Nathalie Sancoeur experiments with magic that she doesn’t fully understand, it sends her on a path to become Paris’ most dangerous supervillain and tips the balance between superheroes and supervillain.

But which way will the balance fall?

links in the reblog

(Tumblr give me my page breaks back already wtf)

-----------------------------------------

Having Nathalie supervising and directing his every action once Nooroo had recovered enough to transform again was not fun. She moved a series of monitors up to the lair, so that they could get as much information as possible while shut up in the space. A whiteboard had a series of potential powers, arranged in a flowchart for maximum speed. She stood behind him, giving him instructions to pass on to his akumas, and she gave a lot more direction than he did. His previously light direction turned heavy-handed, micromanaging akumas and using remote pain to keep them from wandering off to do their own thing.

Those were the good changes.

Not all of Nathalie's ideas were ones that Gabriel was comfortable with, because even if he wasn't the most cuddly person in the world at the best of times (and even he knew that that was a big understatement), he still had a semblance of a heart. He still had lines that he didn't want to cross, even if they perhaps didn't make sense to an outside perspective. He had managed to hold out, more or less, but with every no that he gave Nathalie, the colder she got.

And there was no real way to say no to her most recent idea, one that was a serious break from his normal operating pattern. One that would land them in some serious trouble if it went sideways.

Nathalie wanted him to attack Chloe Bourgeois in an attempt to steal the Bee Miraculous. She was the only superhero whose superhero identity was publically known, and thus far, they hadn't taken full advantage of that. It had been a way to target her for akumatization during both of their Scarlet Moth attempts, but nothing more than that.

Originally, he could justify not going after Chloe because there was no way that she was keeping her Miraculous between battles. But the last few times that Queen Bee had joined the fight, she had appeared fast, as though she kept her Miraculous on her now so she could help right away when she was called.

(It was, admittedly, a little strange that Queen Bee didn't show up at every attack if Nathalie was right and she did keep the Miraculous, but Ladybug was crafty. Once again, she was no doubt trying to mislead him.)

Hawkmoth had to admit that Nathalie's plan made sense, even if he was a bit uncomfortable with it. The plan would require him to venture out as Hawkmoth, after all, and that was dangerous enough. Mayura would be active and ready in case something went wrong, but Nathalie was confident that nothing would go wrong, not unless Gabriel seriously bungled the attack and Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up.

And if he seriously bungled the attack... well, everything could be lost.

That was how Hawkmoth found himself crouched on the Bourgeois brat's balcony one cloudy evening, having used the cover of another akuma attack to get from the mansion to the Grand Paris unnoticed. He shifted from foot to foot, watching as she waved off her butler after accepting a red folder from him. He nodded and left, and Chloe leafed through the folder as though checking to make sure that everything was there before tucking it into her backpack with a satisfied smile. Hawkmoth waited for a few minutes more- he didn't need Chloe's butler bursting back in at her first scream- before straightening up and striding straight up to the balcony door, yanking it open with a squeal and a clatter.

Ugh. Clearly the mayor needed to get some better-quality doors on his hotel. This was trash.

Chloe jumped in the air as she turned, phone in hand, and then she staggered backwards, her face draining of blood almost immediately. "Ha- Hawkmoth? Go away! Go away!"

The spike of fear was lovely. Never mind his other akuma, he should have brought a butterfly to corrupt her. But Hawkmoth didn't let that distract him. What-ifs never helped. "Chloe Bourgeois. Queen Bee. Give me your Miraculous."

"The- give you my-"

"The Miraculous," Hawkmoth pressed, his hand out as he took one large step closer. "We can do this the easy way, no need for any trouble needed. Or we could do this the hard way."

Chloe burst into tears. "I don't have it! I never get to keep it after a fight is over, and you know that! Leave me alone!"

Hawkmoth took a moment to assess her feelings. Chloe was scared, and that was the overwhelming mood. But she was angry, too, and there was no trace of deceit there.

Well. That made things harder. Apparently Nathalie's theory about Chloe keeping her Miraculous was incorrect.

"Where do you get it, then?" Hawkmoth demanded, determined to keep it from being a wasted trip. Maybe Chloe knew who the Guardian was. "Who gives your Miraculous to you?"

"Ladybug or Chat Noir, obviously." Chloe sniffed, trying her best to put on a brave face. It was pointless, of course, since he could feel her terror, but admirable all the same. "Duh."

"And where do they get it?"

Chloe's snort wasn't fake this time. "Why would they tell me that? That would be dumb."

Hawkmoth struggled for a second, trying to find a new line of questioning that wouldn't make him look like an incompetent idiot in front of a fourteen-year-old. "And you summon them how?"

"With my Bee-light, but they only come when they want to come. Or else you would see me at every single fight that's not during the school day, duh." Chloe scowled at Hawkmoth. Then her eyes flicked to the side and she smirked, smugness suddenly taking over from the fear. "You can always ask them yourself, if you don't believe me."

Hawkmoth only had a second's warning to duck out of the way before a yo-yo sliced through the air where his head had been. Swearing, Hawkmoth fled, smashing his way through a window instead of trying to go out the balcony.

He wasn't going to fight, not now. He was going to be overwhelmed, and quickly.

Unsurprisingly, the superheroes followed him. Hawkmoth ran faster, wishing that he had a weapon that let him move faster. He was getting run down, and unless Mayura appeared, he was going to get caught.

The purple feather floating towards him was, for once, welcome. He accepted it and welcomed the giant purple moth that appeared above his head. It pushed the superheroes back, giving him an opening to escape down to the Seine, where it was easy enough to find a sewer opening and work his ways into the catacombs under the city and back home.

It wasn't pleasant, but at least he still had his Miraculous.

-----------------------------------------

Nathalie wasn't willing to give up on her idea so easily. Clearly she didn't believe his assessment of Chloe's feelings.

Which was annoying.

"Send out another akuma, then stake her out," Nathalie directed. "The superheroes took you by surprise last time. Take them by surprise this time. And if they're dropping off a Miraculous, they're probably only doing it one at a time. Ambush, take the Bee, and take their Miraculous. Once the city is down to one experienced superhero, it'll be child's play to take them down."

Gabriel tried not to look too doubtful. After all, Ladybug had fought akumas by herself before, and, well…

Chat Noir might have the claws, but when push came to shove, Ladybug's fighting was terrifying. She could and would use anything to tangle up his akumas and defeat them. Where everyone else saw a desk chair or a garbage can, Ladybug saw a potential trap.

"Or we could kidnap her," Nathalie mused. "Demand a Miraculous to guarantee her safe return. Drop off a lock of her hair at City Hall every day that they wait. Our buffoon of a mayor would demand that they comply then."

Gabriel couldn't deny the shiver of terror that ran down his spine at the suggestion. Kidnapping? That was going too far. Way too far. Nathalie was right, it would probably be effective, but it was too much.

And it was dangerous. The mayor would put pressure on the superheroes to do something and fast, but he would also call on the entire police force to search for Chloe. And once she got returned, they would use anything and everything that she said to try to track him down.

Considering that Chloe was actually close to the family- well, really familiar with them, at least- it was too much of a risk to take.

Nathalie didn't look impressed when he brought all that up- well, everything except for his personal feelings about kidnapping, at least. "With great risk comes great reward."

"Or great failure," Gabriel reminded her. "I'd prefer to keep exploring our current improvements-" well, at least to a point- "and see where they lead."

Nathalie scowled. "Emilie is declining by the day. You need to act quickly, and this would be quick."

"Yes, but-"

"You hesitate, and you lose," Nathalie snapped, her voice dripping with ice. "I have weighed the risk, and it is in our favor to kidnap her. We have access to the catacombs. We can store her there, not even in the house."

"I would prefer to try staking out her balcony and trying to steal her Miraculous at the point of delivery," Hawkmoth said quickly. "If we could work in tandem, perhaps, and have one of the Peacock's creatures to distract the superhero while I overwhelm Chloe, that would work well. Then it would be two against one for me taking either Ladybug or Chat Noir's Miraculous, while the akuma keeps the other one distracted."

Nathalie's lips curved up in the first smile that he had seen on her in a while. Still, it made him uneasy. It wasn't a warm smile, not in the slightest. "That is the first decent suggestion that I've heard from you in a while. It will no doubt take some time, since Ladybug goes to the other temps first, but- hmm." She frowned in thought. "If you try to re-akumatize some of the akumas that Queen Bee was called out for before, or try to mimic some of the powers that made Ladybug and Chat Noir go for the Bee, then our chances of success are higher."

"I can do that."

Nathalie's nod was sharp. "See that you do. We don't need more of your ineptitude screwing up a perfectly good opportunity."

Gabriel winced at her razor-sharp tone. It held promises of punishment if he failed again. He suspected that the only reason that she hadn't already taken him out of the fight herself was that he had more seniority with his Miraculous and had figured out how to increase its power (and how to not be forced to detransform after five minutes) but hadn't told her yet. What little patience she had left was wearing thin, though, and it wasn't hard to imagine that she might snap if he made another mistake or kept turning down her ideas. The ideas that, well...

The worst part of all of this (well, besides having to navigate the minefield that Nathalie had become) was that-well, finding out that he wouldn't do anything for his wife. Some of the ideas that Nathalie was pushing were logical in that they would almost certainly produce positive results for him-

-but Gabriel just couldn't.

Never mind that all of this would get erased when he got his hands on the Miraculous and made his wish, he just couldn't. Maybe he could have when he was fresh off an experimental Peacock transformation- maybe he wouldn't have seen anything wrong then- but not now. Not when he still had most of his humanity intact.

"We'll start in two days, barring the appearance of any fantastic opportunities," Nathalie decided. "After yesterday's events, they'll likely be nervous about what else we have planned, if they're at all intelligent." She shot him a sharp look. "If they're more intelligent than you are, at least, and that's hardly a high bar to meet."

Gabriel did his best not to sigh. "That's a plan, then."

-----------------------------------------

Despite their best efforts and the toughest akumas they could think of, Ladybug and Chat Noir had yet to tap Chloe again to join them. Carapace had come out once, and Rena Rouge twice, and the original duo had handled all of the other akumas by themselves.

They were getting better. They were getting better, and Hawkmoth's legs were starting to feel cramped from spending so much time crouching on the top of the Grand Paris, waiting for any sign that Ladybug and Chat Noir might be coming over.

Thankfully he could generally figure out when they weren't, and he could sneak back to the house before the battle ended. There were a few close calls- either guests noticing someone in the bushes or a civilian glancing upwards as though they had noticed him leaping from hotel to the mansion- but nothing ever came of it.

Unfortunately, Nathalie's patience with making no progress was wearing out only a week and a half in. She wanted Gabriel to try something else on top of the staking out the Grand Paris. Her first suggestion (if it could be called a suggestion and not a command) was that he make his akuma more dangerous, going back to her suggestion about catching civilians on the Eiffel Tower where they couldn't escape but this time not bothering with akumas that would simply freeze or trap them.

Gabriel frowned. "There could be deaths- scratch that, there will be deaths if we do that. They'll vanish, of course, with either the Cure or changing the timeline, but-"

"It doesn't matter then, does it?" Nathalie demanded, her expression turning dark. "I thought you said that you would do anything for Emilie. Once you succeed, it'll all be erased."

"It's something that's important for me. A few accidental temporary deaths is… fine. Deliberately causing them…." Gabriel struggled to find the words to express what he wanted to say. Nothing came. Sure, he had long since accepted that there would sometimes be a few accidental, temporary deaths from the fights when people got too close, but deliberately causing deaths? He couldn't do that, but he couldn't put the why fully into words. "It's different. It makes me feel like I'm actually a supervillain instead of someone trying to save my wife. It- it just crosses that line. It makes me an actual bad guy."

"As though all of Paris doesn't already consider you a bad guy."

"It makes a difference to me." Gabriel persisted, knowing that Nathalie wouldn't like that. Sure enough, there was a deep frown on her face.

"That's not logical."

Gabriel considered her for a moment before pulling out his best argument, one that had been floating in the back of his mind since Nathalie's descent into true heartlessness. "It's very likely that the more damage we do now- the more that has to be changed in the timeline- that the larger the cost of using the Ultimate Power will be."

Nathalie had no argument there. She turned away with a scoff, but Gabriel knew that she wasn't likely to just leave things be. No doubt she would brainstorm more plots and come back to him soon enough.

He wasn't wrong. The very next day, Nathalie had a new idea that he had to carry out, or else.

"Go out and fight," Hawkmoth repeated blankly, staring at the plant in front of his face but not really seeing it. "What do you mean…?"

"I mean quit hiding, get out there, and fight," Mayura snapped through his earpiece. "This is a hard akuma. It's taking enough of Ladybug and Chat Noir's attention that they can't get away, at least not at the moment. If you go, they'll be overwhelmed."

Hawkmoth's mind flashed back to Heroes Day, the first time he had gone out to do a bit of fighting on his own. He had nearly been defeated then…. but only after the three extra superheroes joined Ladybug and Chat Noir. Before that, he had nearly defeated them. And he would have, if not for his need to be smug first.

But then there was the second time when he had used Scarlet Moth. He hadn't even managed to land a hit on the superheroes- he hadn't even gotten close to them- before they took him out and Stormy Weather had had to rescue him. But that had only happened because he hadn't been aware that there was another Miraculous out and he hadn't been watching his back. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

...he still couldn't shake the feeling of terror that everything was about to end for him.

"Go," Mayura insisted, enough ice in her voice that there was no denying that it was not a request. It was an order. "Go, fight them, come back with the Miraculous. Now."

Hawkmoth went.

By the time he got to the akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir had vanished and the akuma was going after his original target, terrorizing some rude customer. Hawkmoth resisted the urge to swear and turn tail.

They were going to get backup, he just knew it.

"What part of do not let the superheroes out of your sight did you not understand?" he snapped at the akuma. "You should have kept them occupied."

"I spotted this asshatand decided to take my revenge before Ladybug and Chat Noir could defeat me," the akuma shot back. "Who cares where they went? You promised that I could teach him for once and for all what happens when he's rude to customer service!"

Hawkmoth was strongly considering cracking this akuma over the head. It had been doing so well, better than most of his other recent akumas, and now?

Now he was in danger.

"Problem, Mayura," Hawkmoth said, turning away from the akuma as he pressed the talk button on his earpiece. "The akuma let Ladybug and Chat Noir out of his sight and now they're gone to get another person, maybe I should come back-"

"Don't even think about it. Hide, wait for them to return, and launch a surprise attack. Get the newbie on their own and take them out so that we can have access to more powers and they don't have as many people to assist them. Ladybug and Chat Noir never get out more than one of the extras at a time for a single akuma attack, after all."

….well, the one upside of Nathalie being cold, calculating, and heartless was that she didn't let panic cloud her head. That was a very good suggestion, and it would mean that once again, the fight would be on his terms, not the superheroes'. He could pick them off one by one, until he was left with three more Miraculous in his hand.

Then everything would go back to normal. The old normal, the normal from over a year ago, not the more recent normal.

It wasn't a long wait before Hawkmoth spotted movement over the rooftops again. He hunkered down, making sure that no one on the street could see him and tip off the superheroes- not that there was anyone out anyway. There hadn't been anywhere near as many people hanging around near akuma fights lately, which could be a blessing or a pain depending an akuma's powers.

There were only two of them. Hawkmoth frowned, puzzled- and then his jaw dropped.

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked different, like they had two different costumes combined. It only took Hawkmoth a second to realize what was going on.

They were both wearing two Miraculous.

Four Miraculous, four sets of powers. Hawkmoth couldn't recognize the other Miraculous at this distance, not that it really mattered that much. He hadn't been able to translate the grimoire, so while he knew that other Miraculous existed, he had no clue what their powers might be.

...well. he knew what he would be asking Nooroo tonight. Hawkmoth needed to know every detail of every Miraculous, and how being combined would affect them.

Ladybug charged into the fight first, and Hawkmoth nearly choked when he noticed the sword in her hand. She wielded it with confidence, knocking away the akuma's blows. Chat Noir hung back, plucking away at something round and green that he held in his hands.

The buzzing of his cane in his hand snapped Hawkmoth out of his shocked state. He looked down and winced almost immediately when he noticed Mayura's symbol on his communicator screen. Apparently she was getting impatient- and apparently he had accidentally been ignoring her attempts to get a hold of him via the earpiece.

"Are you moving into position now?"

"There's no newbie," Hawkmoth told her. "It's just the two of them, but they have extra powers on hand now."

"And the holdup is what, exactly? New powers don't matter if you catch them by surprise."

Hawkmoth's stomach dropped. He had hoped that Nathalie would see the sense in waiting, but clearly not. "If they've practiced…"

"They're not that smart."

….Hawkmoth frankly begged to differ, but he wasn't going to say that.

"Can I get a Peacock backup first?" Hawkmoth asked. "To improve the odds?"

"It will take too long to do that. Ladybug and Chat Noir will have defeated the akuma by then if you don't get in there and do something! I can send something, but you can't wait around for it."

Hawkmoth swallowed, straightening and pulling out his sword. "Of course. I'm going in now."

As he ran down the rooftop and jumped into the fray, immediately coming face-to-face with a fierce-looking Ladybug armed with a sword, only one thought could run through Hawkmoth's mind.

He really, really hoped that this wasn't going to become the new norm.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #Lost Heart #Gabriel Agreste #nathalie sancoeur

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thebigpapilio · 6 years ago

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A Mother’s Love: The Fourth “Parisona!”

You know, after learning the history of this fic's new Persona, this title seems like a really dirty pun. Yikes...

Let’s see if you can figure it out without opening the doc. Put the name of the character in the Notes, and if you’re right, you might decide the next Parisona...

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19993702

Sabine was livid.

Oh, she wasn’t angered because Marinette was Ladybug, nor that she didn’t tell her parents - there was an obvious need for secrecy, and she was doing good for the city, but it was worrying - but she was incredibly angry at the pain that Hawkmoth had caused her.

She had only told Tom, because they didn’t keep secrets too often in their relationship (exceptions included birthday surprises & things that were only temporarily hidden), but other than him no one else had the information.

She started digging around the city, and it wasn’t long before she figured out Hawkmoth had to live somewhat nearby. The only family in the radius who could afford to hide from the world easily was Adrien’s, which made things even worse. She knew Adrien couldn’t possibly be Hawkmoth or Mayura, so it was quite likely he didn’t even know Hawkmoth was living with him. It wasn’t too hard to pinpoint the identities from there.

She sat Marinette down and explained everything. Her knowledge of Marinette’s secret identity and the ones of Hawkmoth & Mayura, all the information Marinette needed to bust the villains was now in her hands. She promised to keep all of the information secret.

Marinette had needed to wait before taking action, however - not only was her crush’s father & fashion idol the supervillain she’d been seeking, but her mother had apparently figured her out!

Things were going to be okay, though. Everything was moving smoothly!

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Hawkmoth, who had sensed Marinette’s worry about her mother getting hurt by him, was suspicious.

It was then that he realized the truth behind it. It made so much sense now! The raven hair, the maturity and refusal to date Chat Noir, and the fear of him finding her…

Mme. Cheng must be Ladybug!

Her daughter could be a pawn, he mused. Wasn’t she into fashion? No, there had been accusations of him being Hawkmoth before, and while his time as the Collector had thrown things off, Gabriel had suffered a bit.

Maybe it was time for a second Heroes’ Day, but with more… “Mayuran” influence than last.

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Sabine had been working the register when the storm of moths and feathers showed up. Many previous akuma had been returned to their other forms; Tom was now hiding in order to avoid becoming Weredad again.

Ladybug & Chat, with no other heroes - all of them were akumatized - were on the scene quickly, but this time Mayura was there instead of Hawkmoth. She was not powered up, but her fan was empty of feathers.

“So where’s your boss?” Chat taunted her. Mayura just grinned.

“Off getting our hostage. Ladybug, your daughter’s at home, isn’t she?”

Utter silence filled the area for a second, followed by Ladybug guffawing, nearly doubling over in laughter.

“Sorry Mayura, but I don’t have any kids.”

Mayura looked confused, but then her communicator rang with Hawkmoth’s name on it.

“So it’s not Sabine - she is merely at their home; however, Marinette might be Ladybug.”

“Well, now we have a hostage.”

As they couldn’t hear the conversation, Ladybug and Chat decided to use Mayura’s distracted state to their advantage and swept into action. Akuma after akuma and amok after amok - all of them fell in record time, and Mayura ended the call just in time to notice them land on the tower with each and every akuma & amok downed.

Their slow advance on the Peafowl wielder was interrupted by the landing of Hawkmoth, a rope-bound Sabine in tow. Tom had hidden himself well, it seemed. Ladybug blanched, and it was all the villains needed to know.

“So it’s her daughter, I see… interesting. Well then, Ladybug, if you don’t want to end up like your friend Adrien - that is, motherless…” his voice turned somber for an unnoticed moment, “you will take both you and Chat’s Miraculouses and hand them to us!”

Sabine would never stop struggling to escape the ties holding her in place on her own volition, but when a voice appeared in her head, she stilled momentarily.

“My, my… this is a bad situation.”

She had been about to resume writhing her way out when a mind-wrecking pain appeared in her forehead. She wanted to scream out in pain, but she could not risk gathering either of the villains’ attentions.

“You wish to save yourself so your daughter does not have to, correct? If so, do not stray from your true path.”

A mask appeared on her face, similar to that of the front of a Roman warrior’s helmet. Why Sabine felt the urgent need to remove it, she didn’t know, but the feeling was there, so she grabbed on…

“How about we make a deal, then? I am thou, thou art I… fate has called us to convene for what is right. Let your existence serve as a warning flag redder than blood!”

…and pulled.

The four Miraculous wielders nearly jumped out of their suits when a splatter of blood came out from the face of Sabine, whose entire body and surrounding area proceeded to burst into giant blue flames.

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Just as quickly as the flames had risen, the flames died down, revealing Sabine & a mysterious new figure.

It seemed to be a she, but the body was far more tall and about as muscular - if not more so - than the beefiest of men. Atop her mostly-shaved head rested a mohawk-like crest, and while her left hand was covered by a gauntlet, her right arm had a giant liuyedao where a hand should be.

Eyes still closed, Sabine began to speak. “You are the power that rests inside me, correct? Impressive…”

Hawkmoth could not deny the power he felt exuding from Ms. Cheng. Even if she had no Miraculous, she could be a useful-

“Don’t waste your time, Hawkmoth.”

Hawkmoth shut up, having realized he’d been saying those previous thoughts out loud. Her eyes opened wide, eyelids stopping early to stare Hawkmoth down.

“You are not in any need of more power than you have, and given how you’ve used said strengths, I don’t think you deserve your powers to begin with.”

“You should have stayed away from my city, because by extension not doing so means scum like you didn’t stay away from my family. Don’t think I forgot what you did to Tom.”

While saying this, Sabine and the newcomer had been slowly advancing, the giant woman grinning a silent but maniacal grin that grew the closer they got.

“You should have hoped Ladybug found you and took you down, Hawkmoth, because now, you are in big trouble… plunge, Ching Shih!”

With this, she extended a hand, and wielding a magically-formed ji lian, she and her Persona charged into battle, and for what would be the first and last time, Ladybug and Chat Noir ended up sitting a battle out.

Valete,

TheBigPapilio

#thebigpapilio #wrath month #parisona au #persona #miraculous ladybug #ching shih #miraculous ladybug crossover #miraculous ladybug au #marinette dupain-cheng #ladybug & chat noir #tom dupain #hawkmoth #mayura #weredad #persona 5 #original persona #pirates #world's best pirate

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perditaalottachocolate-blog · 7 years ago

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“I Am Alive” - 1. Discovery

Adrien Appreciation Week @wearemiraculous , Day 4: Fashion

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

AO3 / fanfiction

Summary: Adrien’s life took an unexpected turn on the day he learned Gabriel’s greatest secret. It seemed like the end of the world, but it soon turned out that knowing Hawkmoth’s identity was the least of his problems. In fact it might have been a stroke of luck just when he needed it the most. Adrien Appreciation Week connected story. Inspired by the song “I am alive” by JJ Lin feat. Jason Mraz,

On the day his life took an unexpected turn Adrien caught sight of his father heading to the underground levels of the mansion with a disturbingly dull look in his eyes. It was exactly three years since Adrien’s mother disappeared and as each anniversary rolled by he observed Gabriel going through the same cycle. Isolating himself even more than usual, shutting everything and everyone including Adrien out, and wallowing in grief all by himself. The anniversary marked the apex of this process when his father disappeared for a whole day, rescheduling or cancelling the world. That was the one day of the year when Gabriel openly declared there were more important things than fashion.

But this year Adrien had been more concerned than before. The annual depression hit earlier than ever, with Gabriel slowly withdrawing from all activities, which as the boy suspected included eating. His father gradually started to resemble a ghost, with paper skin, bags under his eyes and sunken cheeks. His usual ensemble of red pants and cream jackets had been replaced by greys and blacks at least a size smaller, which increased the impression of Gabriel turning into a living dead.

Funny thing, Adrien thought to himself after his discovery. He had described his father as a living dead while the term turned out to better fit another member of his family, someone he had lost hopes of seeing ever again. And he could swear his own heart stopped for a moment too, when he glimpsed the scene in whatever this place under his house was.

Adrien followed his father only because he didn’t like the anguish and desolation he saw in the man’s eyes. He slipped into the basement without making a sound and tiptoed to the metal door that was usually secured with bars and padlocks. Not this time. The air had a metallic and humid taste to it when he peeked inside the dark corridor. There was water at the other end; he could not only smell it, but hear the soft hum of waves splashing against the walls.

Fascinated, he entered the passage. And then he heard his father’s voice.

‘Nothing makes sense anymore,’ Gabriel whispered, but the space he occupied must have acted as a giant amplifier because Adrien could hear him as if he was standing next to the man. ‘I can’t design. I think I’ve finally lost the little joy fashion brought me.’

In the pause the boy heard a sigh, a sniff and an unfamiliar sound of something rubbing against glass.

‘I’m doing everything I can, dear, but it’s not enough. It’s never enough,’ Gabriel continued. ‘Everytime I’m close, the miraculous slip out of my reach and I have to start again.’

Adrien shook his head. Did he hear “miraculous”? He felt Plagg stirring in his pocket. The kwami poked his head out and pointed his ears in the direction of the sound, focusing on Gabriel’s voice. The kwami shot him a worried look. Apparently he hadn’t misheard after all.

‘But I will get them, dear, I promise,’ now his father’s voice broke and a sob escaped him. ‘I’ve learned more about the powers of Ladybug and Black Cat’s miraculouses, and I’ve managed to decode some of the Moth miraculous pages, too. I am getting closer.’

Adrien felt the sudden rush of blood going straight into his head. He leaned on the brick wall of the corridor to steady himself. Plagg flew out of his hideout and to the exit of the passage, leaving the boy alone. This must have been important.

‘I will get you back, love,’ Gabriel babbled, his speech now peppered with sniffs and sighs. ‘I just need a bit more time. Those new powers will help, I’m sure. I just…’ he paused again, ‘I just miss you so much, Emilie! I keep coming here though it’s a torture to see you like this, but I have to. I would probably have gone crazy without seeing you all this time.’

There was a sound of body slipping to the ground, clothes scrubbing over the bricks. Adrien realised it was him. His knees wobbled and bent, unable to sustain his weight. He saw Plagg turning to him and he made a calming gesture, showing that he was fine, or as fine as he could considering the circumstances. He got to all fours and slowly started to move towards the kwami and the end of the corridor, doing his best to focus on here and now.

‘I don’t care if I have to akumatize the whole city, dear,’ his father mumbled as the boy advanced in his crawl, ‘as long as I can fix this mistake, it doesn’t matter.’

There would be time to digest everything he just heard and was about to see. Now he needed to stay calm, needed to gain as much knowledge as possible. He wasn’t stupid, the most important facts had already registered and Plagg’s behavior clearly indicated this wasn’t a dream or illusion. As one half of the superduo protecting Paris, Adrien had his responsibilities. But there was also a sort of sick fascination at the back of his head, urging him to see with his own eyes, that his ears hadn’t lied to him. So he edged to the mouth of the passage and with a nod of agreement from Plagg, risked a look outside.

The space was huge, much larger than he expected based on the echo. Metal platforms ran from wall to wall and in the middle, with greenish water sloshing underneath. The opposite end of this underground cavern was covered in plants, lit by the fading sunlight coming from a huge butterfly-shaped window near the top of the chamber.

His father was standing by a human-sized glass cylinder, his hands and forehead pressed to the surface. He was shaking and whispering things Adrien couldn’t make out without the funnelling effect of the passageway. His breathing hitched when Gabriel finally moved away from the glass and wiped it with a cloth.

It was ridiculous, but Adrien immediately thought about Snow White and her coffin. That’s how pale his mother’s skin seemed under the glass. Blonde ringlets reached her the waist - they were much longer than he remembered. She looked as if she’d been sleeping, with eyes closed, features relaxed and hands crossed over her chest. His gaze travelled to the cylinder and various tubes connected to it and disappearing among the leaves. What the hell was this place? A mausoleum? A crypt? A repository?

He couldn’t muse over this much longer as he heard his father’s steps over the metal platform. Plagg tugged at his shirt urging him to retreat. Adrien jumped to his feet and withdrew from the corridor as fast as he could, leaving the door closed as he had found it. He sneaked out of the basement level and then ran to his room. He didn’t even stop to call his transformation. Adrien entered the room and few seconds later Chat left via bathroom window and vaulted himself over the rooftops and into the falling darkness of the Parisian evening.

Only when he finally got to the top of the Palais de Chaillot he let out a shaky breath and sagged to his knees. He knew he should release his transformation and speak to Plagg about what they had just witnessed. He knew he should get to Ladybug or Master Fu and tell them everything. But right now he needed some time to compose himself, to be left alone and think. To mourn the loss of his obliviousness and innocence.

His head was reeling. He felt as if someone suckerpunched him and then kicked for a better measure. In the span of just a few minutes he lost his family all over again. But somehow this was a hundred times worse. The mother he missed and had been trying to let go of for so long was apparently still alive. The father who had made himself scarce in fact had abandoned him to pursue an insane plan of acquiring magical artifacts in order to fix an unknown mistake. Adrien suddenly felt as if the last three years of his life had been a mistake too.

Three years ago he had a family, a home, a normal life. Now he was a part time superhero fighting a super villain who turned out to be his own kin. He shared a house and last name with his enemy. This thought seemed to be too big to fit into his head. He felt angry, despaired, scared and abandoned. How did one deal with something like that? It was utterly ridiculous. Like some sort of sick joke, like a fantasy story. Like a freaking Star Wars episode.

Finally giving up on reigning in his thoughts, Chat Noir scooted to the edge of the roof, pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Home was the last place he wanted to be right now, so he just sat there like a cat-themed gargoyle and watched the sunset, doing his best to clear his mind and brace himself for whatever the next day held.

He didn’t notice the light stomp of feet landing on the roof behind him, nor the soft voice calling his name, until a hand squeezed his shoulder.

‘Chat Noir?’ Ladybug asked, taking a seat next to him. ‘Are you alright?’

All it took was one look and she was already pulling him into a warm embrace. He shivered and melted into her with a quiet whimper. Nothing was ever going to be alright, he thought, but in her arms he could pretend for a while that it would be.

#Adrien Appreciation Week #We Are Miraculous #Day 4: Fashion #perdita writes #I Am Alive #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Plagg #Gabriel Agreste #Hawkmoth #Emilie Agreste #hurt/comfort #romance #reveal

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chasing-posts · 4 years ago

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That's a good explanation but this was about 2 episodes in season 3 actually. Specifically "Cat Blanc" and "Ladybug."

I saw Chat blanc before, but rewatching it really made me wish it would slow down and take it's time with the premise. Because so many moments were really good, but it really needed to slow down, take a breath, and really explore this alternate reality properly to get the full range of emotions.

And in the episode Ladybug, they juggled multiple big plot points in one episode. Lila got Marinette expelled (and her plan was AMAZING), we saw a sentimonster become a sentient being AS Ladybug before being wiped from existence in one cruel second (That should have been REALLY explored), Hawkmoth almost won as Scarlet Moth and almost got Marinette's Miraculous and she was saved BY LUCK, Adrian threatened Lila, AND Lila got Marinette back in school by the end of the episode whilst becoming Gabriel's muse, and everything was put back to normal.

....THAT'S A LOT. Any ONE of these plot points could have been an episode to itself! But instead it was like, half a season of plot crammed into one episode!

Miraculous Ladybug needs to learn how to either do two parter episodes, or get rid of the filler so the plot episodes have some time to breath/ be expanded on.

There are such good ideas in some of these episodes, but they don't give them the time they need to make them reach their full potential.

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segalia · 8 years ago

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You’re everything I ever dreamed and more

Note: this exists in a post season 1 universe where they have discovered each other’s identities and they know the other knows, but they haven’t had a lot of time to process/discuss it with each other yet. Hopefully pure fluff.

The first akuma fight after they had discovered each other’s identities happened on a Thursday. It wasn’t awkward, per se, but it was not the smooth coordinated attack Paris had come to expect from its heroes. Chat Noir would turn to suggest a strategy and find Ladybug already scrutinizing him with an awed, yet disbelieving look on her face. Chat in turn would be distracted by the fact that his Lady had been his classmate (Marinette!) this whole time, just a few meters away. The akuma would take advantage of their distraction and suddenly the whole fight was taking twice as long as it should have.

As soon as the glow from the Miraculous HealingTM had faded and they had their celebratory fistbump, Ladybug smiled and threw out her yo-yo to dash home.

“Wait—” Chat started at the same time as it hit Ladybug for the 64th time that day. “Oh,” her yo-yo fell clattering against the side of the building, “right.”

The only sound that followed was the whir of her yo-yo as it wound up. A blush crept onto Ladybug’s cheeks and Chat’s hand found the back of his neck.

Her earrings beeped and her hand jerked protectively before descending. She smiled and only his years of knowing her (in costume and out!) told him that it was a brave face for show. “Well, there’s no need to hide I guess. Want to sit?”

Something inside him fell for her all over again, and he grinned. “Anything for you, My Lady. But, perhaps, this” he gestured widely, “might not be the best rooftop to be unmasked for the first time.” As she took in their visible surroundings from their one-story vantage point, he added, “Not that I mind you knowing, of course, but I’m not sure I’m ready for the rest of Paris to find out, too.”

“Really?” a sly grin slid onto her face and he felt the ground solidify beneath him even as it dropped out from under him. “You’re not ready for Paris to find out that her beloved, innocent heartthrob,” her voice dropped to a stage whisper, “Adrien Agreste is the same person as her equally beloved roguish flirt superhero Chat Noir?”

He felt his cheeks warm, but instead he snatched up her hand. “My secret is for your ears and your ears only, buginette.” He mused on how close the nickname aligned with her real name. How had he never seen it before?

Despite the fact that they had been through this hundreds of times before, this time his kiss left her staring at her hand, jaw dropped.

Awkwardly, he cleared his throat. Maybe he wasn’t allowed to do that in their new dynamic. Maybe it was something Ladybug tolerated from Chat Noir, but Marinette would never stand from Adrien. “Um, should we head to the Eiffel Tower?”

“Uh, yeah! Yep, yep, Tower Eiffel we go should! I mean, we Tower Eiffel go! I mean—” she sighed deeply and ran her hand down her face.

A laugh escaped him, and he clapped his hands over his mouth at her stunned glare. “I’m sorry, it’s just if I had any doubts before…”

“They’ve all disa-purred?” she grinned wryly before frowning. “Not my best work.”

“No,” he grinned, his heart swelling within him, “you’ve got a ways to go to catch up with the true pun master.”

“The true champun-ion?”

They both cocked their heads considering before he said, “mushroom?”

“Never mind, I’ll get one soon enough.”

His ring beeped followed shortly after by her earrings. “We should go.”

“Right, Eiffel Tower.” He wasn’t sure whether he jumped or soared off the roof as he pursued his laughing lady. She wasn’t speeding off after the fight. They had time. More time than he ever thought possible.

When he landed on the platform, a different—but the same!—familiar black-haired girl stood with her back to him. Even while she rummaged through her purse for a cookie for her kwami, a red blob zoomed over to him.

“Tikki? I have a cookie…oh.” Marinette trailed off as she turned to face him.

Chat Noir smiled and turned to the red bug-shaped blob. “You must be Tikki, my Lady’s kwami.”

“Why yes, Chat Noir!” Tikki giggled as he bowed. “Plagg made a good choice with you.”

Chat paused coming up. “You know Plagg?” he asked at the same time as Marinette asking “Who’s Plagg?”

“Of course I do! We’ve been close for thousands of years.”

Chat felt his transformation drop forcibly in a flash of green light. When he opened his eyes, he saw the black blur of his kwami tackling a very happy Tikki.

He smiled at Marinette. “I guess we should let them catch up.”

“Yeah,” her thoughtful look turned crimson as they faced each other without their masks.

Wondering how to put her at ease but wary of the physical limits of their new dynamic, he gestured dramatically to the edge of the platform. “After you, my Lady?”

She laughed as she strode confidently to take a seat. “I was having trouble seeing it at first, but that helps.”

They fell into silence as they stared over Paris, enjoying the sounds and sights that filtered up to them in the afternoon light. It wasn’t awkward so much as unsure; now that the three-dimensional people they knew had blended into six-dimensional people, it was hard to know which dimensions overlapped, and how to collapse each other back into three dimensions. Six dimensions was beautiful, but blinding, mind-blowing, yet devastatingly complex. Until the six dimensions formed an iridescent three, there would be a lot of unsureness.

“So,” Adrien offered, “have you done the history homework yet?”

“The history homework?” Marinette bolted upward from her lounging position. “What history homework?”

“You know the homework where we were supposed to write a page about a historical figure in preparation for our next research project?”

Her eyebrows dropped as the panic faded from her eyes. “Oh yeah, I did that on Tuesday with Alya. We’ve had so much to do recently between akumas and homework, that I’ve been trying to get ahead whenever possible.”

“Good thinking, Marinette. I only have a paragraph left which I think I can squeeze in tonight.”

She frowned. “But you don’t have fencing or basketball tonight.”

“Usually, but M. D’Argencourt wants to squeeze in another practice before our tournament this weekend.”

“Makes sense. Unfortunate timing though.”

He groaned and fell backwards, flopping an arm over his face. “Isn’t Hawkmoth aware it’s nearly midterms? It’s like he’s trying to make our life difficult.”

“It’s like he’s a supervillain or something.” She grinned and lay back as well. “I know what you mean though. There’s a fashion contest coming up, so I’ve been working on a piece. In between school and this, it’s like there’s no time to sleep or see friends!”

“I’m pretty sure Nino thinks I’ve died.”

She looked at him. “Are you sure you haven’t? Your extracurriculars are insane! I have no idea how you manage this on top of them.”

He paused, looking up at the steel structure above them before studying her. “This helps actually. It’s…freeing.”

She considered him carefully in return. “I guess that makes sense. I’ve always thought of it more as a job.”

Grinning, he painted an imaginary banner across their view. “Wanted: a hero for a job with no pay except maybe the love of the Parisian people.”

“Except when they criticize everything you do,” she muttered, and he wasn’t sure if the “you” was meant generally or specifically. She raised her hand in imitation, and he marveled at the hand he’d kissed laid bare in its pale, nail-bitten state. “The hours are inconsistent. Hero must be prepared at all times with an excuse.”

He laughed. “I’m sure our teachers must think we have the worst bathroom problems by now.”

“Oh!” she bolted upright. “We can totally cover for each other now! Back each other up and come up with excuses together!”

“That’s a great idea.” He smiled lazily up at her, pretty sure his heart was glowing through his chest. “You know, I tried to come up with a list of excuses once, but I always forgot them, and the bathroom was the first thing that came to mind.”

She laughed and settled back down, a little closer, he noted, to him than she’d been before. “What’d you come up with?”

“I mostly just tried to figure out how many times I could get away with ‘emergency photoshoot’ before they got suspicious and called my dad.”

“That would be bad. My parents already grounded me once for being late and missing all the time.” She turned, smiling. “Remember when we faced Jackady?”

He nodded.

“That was when.” A beat passed. “Oh my goodness!” She shot up again and stared at him, mouth dropping and finger pointing.

“Yes?” Slowly, he sat up, wondering what was wrong.

She facepalmed. “How did I not see it before? You and Chat were never together! I mean you and you! I mean—And all the showers!”

“Yeah,” his hand sheepishly reached for the back of his neck before he paused. “That was your secret mission when we faced Le Dessinateur!”

She smiled. “Guilty as charged.”

“That makes so much more sense.” He stared into space, possibilities whirring across his mind’s eye. “This is great. Now we don’t have to lie to each other about that stuff either.”

When he turned back to her, arms wide, he saw that she’d tucked her arms into herself, bent her knees, and was staring intently at her toes. Oh. “Marinette, are you—” he searched for the right words to say, “okay with me knowing? I know you didn’t want us to know and I didn’t mean to find out and I’d never breach your trust—”

He cut off as her hand found his arm. “I know, Chat.”

Chat not Adrien. She still wasn’t looking at him, and he waited for her to speak, wondering if it would hurt or help to cover her hand with his own. She sighed. “It’s not your fault. Of course, I’m still worried about what happens if Hawk Moth finds out, but, like you said, it’s not all bad that we know and we can help each other out as civilians, too.” She rested her cheek on her knees and looked at him, brow furrowed, mouth scrunched. “As long as I’m still your Lady and you’re my minou, we’ll survive.” She tried for a smile but worry lingered in her eyes.

Something broke a little inside him because the look in her eyes mirrored the fear of rejection he felt every time he faced his father. “Oh, Marinette.” Was a hug too forward? He put his hands on her shoulders. “You will always be my lady, no matter what.” Gingerly, allowing for her to escape if he was pushing too far, he found her hand and raised it to his mouth for a kiss. She watched him intently, blush spreading rapidly across her face, but she didn’t snatch back her hand.

Her skin was warm against his lips.

Something shorted within him. Abort abort. This was a mistake. Ladybug’s skin—no Marinette’s skin— was touching his and it was warm and soft but calloused and more real than he had ever dared imagine.

He forced himself to focus on the task at hand. Bad pun, he scolded himself. Lowering her hand, he smiled softly, letting just a few of his deeper feelings for her, Ladybug, the girl behind the mask, Marinette!, all of her, spill through. “I’m happy it was you.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad it was you, too…Adrien.” A grin grew out of her soft expression. “Though I never thought it’d be you. Alya even suggested it once, and I was adamant that there was no way.”

He opened his mouth in shocked offense, but a grin slipped through anyway. “I’m wounded. I’m definitely the same. How could you say such things?”

Laughing, she gently shoved him, and he was struck at how right it felt for Marinette to be laughing at him, shoving him like Ladybug, as Ladybug. “You’re a lot more flirtatious as Chat and you know it. Not as sweet as Adrien.” Her eyes sparkled with challenge and he rose to meet it.

“At least I tried to be different Mademoiselle ‘I’ll fight Chloe, I’ll fight HawkMoth, I’ll fight anyone!’” He ran a hand through his hair with a chuckle. “I guess the only reason I didn’t see it before was you don’t trip as much when you’re Ladybug.” His full teeth grin was pure Chat.

She stopped her mocking hand movements and gave him a look. “Come on, I’m sure you remember what a mess I was my first day as Ladybug.”

“Yeah,” he could feel his smile turning too gooey, exposing too many of his emotions, but he couldn’t rein it in. “I do.”

To his surprise, her smile was different, too. It took him a few seconds to realize it, so concerned was he with his own visible emotions, but she had never looked at him that way before. At least, Ladybug had never looked at Chat Noir that way before. This was new territory.

“Anyway,” Marinette shook her head briskly, jerking them both from their reveries. “This will be good. We’ll figure it out together.”

“Always a team.”

Smiling determinedly, she stood and stretched before helping him up. “We should probably get going.”

The two kwamis came over from the corner where they’d been busily chatting. Marinette greeted Plagg who, Adrien noticed, seemed almost charming, less belligerent. After Plagg and Tikki said goodbye, the two teens called out their words of power and two flashes of light left Ladybug and Chat Noir standing in their place.

“Yeah, I need to spend some time at the house before practice.” He sighed gently. “It was nice to have a break, though.”

“It was.” She nodded. “We should do this more often.”

He couldn’t help himself. The cool breeze, the warm afternoon light, the power coursing through him now that he was back in the suit…it just came out. “Are you asking me out on a date, my Lady?” He leaned in less far than he would have before they knew, but closer than he would have before this afternoon.

Only a bit of pink brushed her cheeks as she tilted her head and stuck a hand on her hip. “Do you want it to be, mon minou?”

What. He sputtered, no words swimming to the surface of the whirlwind mayday situation that was now his mind.

She laughed at his expression and gently pushed away with a finger on his nose. “See you at school tomorrow, Adrien.”

As she threw out her yo-yo, movement returned to his limbs and he spun to her. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“We’ll see. A je t’aime,” she winked and flew out of sight.

He stumbled and took a moment to brace himself on the metal before sighing deeply and staring at her disappearing figure. For an unlucky cat, he sure was lucky.

This is my first time writing Miraculous Ladybug fic so I appreciate all constructive criticism! Hope you enjoyed 2.5k of navigating new dynamics feat. Adrien being the besotted cinnamon roll he always is. I apologize for the puns

#miraculous ladybug #Seg's stuff #Seg #my writing #ladynoir #adrienette #I guess #marichat #ladrien #all the ships

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