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pearl-star · 9 months ago

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It's Not My Job

I had written and had this story finished back in August of last year, but just never got around to posting it. I revisited it again yesterday and decided to just go ahead and post it. It's crossed posted to my AO3 if if you would prefer reading it there, here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54107548. (Also, fair warning, this fic is 10K words long. I didn't feel like dividing it up into different chapters so here it is in its entirely.

Summary: After becoming too stressed out from her class rep duties, Marinette talks to the other class reps about the work she’s been doing, hoping for some help. In a few moments, she discovers that none of the work she’s been assigned to do is what she should be doing as class rep. And when she goes to Miss Bustier only for her teacher to threaten her, her friends and family finally decide that enough is enough and take the issue to the higher ups.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette was on her last legs. The swell of akumas over the past month was bad enough, but the extra work that came with it just made her life so much harder. On top of her regular school work and make-up work from missed classes, she had to handle her class rep duties as well. She had to be an example, help her classmates when Chloe acted up, check essays and homework, and do her other general class rep tasks.

Not only that, but she had to hatch out a whole plan for the class trip. Not just a general idea but the specifics of where they would stay, the exact activities they would do, how they would get there and travel around, and so on. She also had to plan out the fundraising activities, and had to do enough of them otherwise she would have to put in the rest of the money herself. Chloe had no issues with that in the past, but she was also rich. Marinette couldn’t exactly use her parent’s credit card to get it all situated.

Alya, by her sense of duty as both her friend and class deputy, tried helping her out but for some reason wasn’t allowed. She could help instruct people once the plans were made, but she couldn’t be a part of the planning process. Otherwise, according to Miss Bustier, the plans would have to be redone completely. The blogger had suggested working on it together secretly, but Marinette was hesitant. She didn’t want to risk Miss Bustier finding out and for her to demand that the plans had to be redone. So for now, the bluenette was working on her own.

Everyone in class had noticed the toll the extra work was doing on her. She barely made it to class on time and was always the last to leave. Her bookbag was stuffed with papers with notes and plans. She always had her shoulders slumped, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and her eye bags were barely being covered by her makeup. She never smiled unless Miss Bustier told her to be a better example, in which case she would stitch on a mechanical smile similar to that of Adrien’s model smile.

The model, for his part, was freaking out over the fact that the sweetest and most happy girl in class (besides Rose, who is just a sparkling ball of pink, glittery sunshine) was struggling. He went so far as to get her coffee order from Alya and made sure to bring one in daily, as well as leave a thermos of heavily sugared black tea on her desk after lunch. The fact that Marinette wasn’t reacting to Adrien’s actions with anything more than a thank you, with no stuttering or blush in sight, proved how tired she really was.

Marinette’s sole goal was to catch up with all of this work as fast as she could, otherwise she would get behind again and be stuck in this loop forever. So when she was asked to attend a lunch out with the other class reps, she hesitated. She didn’t really have time to do much of anything. Even patrols had been cut down, something her partner had insisted on when she almost fell off a building when she zoned out mid jump. Still, maybe they could help her.

Miss Bustier had said that planning the class trip and all that was only the job of the class rep, so her getting advice from the other class reps shouldn’t be against the rules. So Marinette found herself that Friday walking to the cafe where Aurora said to meet. Once she got there, the weather girl waved her over to an open chair next to her.

As she walked over, she looked at the group. Marinette knew who most of the class reps were, but never got the chance to talk to any of them. Some were in the art club with her, but they tended not to discuss class rep duties there.

��Sorry I’m late.” The bluenette apologized, sliding into the empty chair. “I had to show Miss Bustier my progress for the class trip.”

There was silence, and then.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, my plans for the class trip. I’ve narrowed it down to a place and found a hotel that we could stay at, but I still need to figure out travel plans and the exact activities.” Marinette looked at the confused faces around her. Then a thought came to mind. “Am I late on this too?! Miss Bustier only brought it up to me at the end of last month, so I thought that I had plenty of time still but-”

“No it’s not that.” Kimberly said, cutting Marinette off from her panic. “It’s just that… class reps don’t plan out their class trips.”

Marinette blinked at the news. She had been class rep for the past two years. The first year, she didn’t have to be as in depth with the class trip. She proposed a general trip idea, fundraising ideas, and helped coordinate the fundraisers, but this year Miss Bustier said that class reps had to be more hands-on with the trip. The teacher had even given her a packet on the new rules.

“What do you mean? Yes they do. It’s in the newest handbook.”

“What handbook?”

Marinette dug in her book bag before pulling out the packet and handing it to Claude. He flipped through the pages, scanning them while a few other class reps looked over his shoulders. As he read, his frown deepened.

“This isn’t right. The handbook has been updated last year, but not in this way. It actually had deputies taking on more of the load to help lessen the stress of class reps, as well as a newly added duty to help plan out relaxation days throughout the year to try and lessen the chance of akumas during testing weeks. Where did you get this from?”

“Miss Bustier gave it to me and explained it all. She did say how class reps were now responsible for helping to lower the class’s stress.”

All of the class reps looked at each other, before Aurora finally spoke up.

“Marinette… I don’t know why Miss Bustier gave this to you, but it isn’t right. I don’t have the handbook on me right now but there is one in Ms. Meedeveli’s classroom that I can show you once we get back to the school.”

Marinette paused, before nodding and thanking the weather girl. Slowly the conservation changed to something else, but the bluenette’s mind couldn’t stop from drifting. Why would Miss Bustier give her the wrong packet? Maybe the school had made this version and then changed it, but didn’t inform the teacher of the change. Marinette did become class rep for the first time last year, so it is possible that Miss Bustier went and asked for the newest handbook early so that she could have it at the start of her role.

The pigtailed girl was finally able to relax. That had to be it. Miss Bustier thought that this was the correct version and just didn’t know. Once she gets the new copy, they can figure out how planning for the school trip should really go.

After lunch she walked back to school with all of the reps, and then split off from the group as she followed Aurora to Ms. Meedeveli’s room. The science teacher was already in the room, working on writing something on the board for the lesson later on.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Meedeveli. Do you have a copy of the class rep handbook?”

“Good afternoon to you too, and yes I do. It’s over on the wall next to the classroom rules.”

“Do you think Marinette can borrow it for the afternoon? There was a bit of a mix-up with the handbook in her homeroom.”

The teacher stiffened at that, and Marinette was worried that she would say no. Instead, once the woman realized the bluenette’s eyes on her, she shook her head.

“Go ahead. And feel free to keep it in your homeroom, Marinette. I can pick up another copy later. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

Once Aurora handed her a packet, a by far smaller one than the previous one, Marinette nodded.

“Thank you so much, Ms. Meedeveli. I’ll see you later in class.”

She gave her thanks to the blonde as well before walking out of the room, looking over the packet. She was in such a rush that she didn’t notice the usually strict teacher give her a look of pity.

As Marinette read through the packet, she felt less and less stressed already. It was definitely much different than the one she was given, and would absolutely help her catch up on all her other activities. Without having to plan the class trip, she would have so much more freetime. All she would have to do is tell Miss Bustier of the mix up and then she’ll be good.

She decided to wait until after school though, since class was about to start and she didn’t want to be the reason they had more makeup work. However, once class was over and she talked to Miss Bustier, she got a rude surprise.

“What do you mean this packet is wrong? I got this from Ms. Meedeveli’s room. All the other class reps said that the handbook you gave me was the wrong one.”

“Yes, the other class reps have a different handbook, but you need to follow the one I gave you. You’re my star student, Marinette. You can handle more work.”

“I can’t though.” Marinette nearly cried, before composing herself. “I’m really struggling with just homework with all the akumas interrupting class time. And the handbook you gave me said that Alya can’t even help me with all of these extra duties. I’m gonna fall behind at this rate.”

“Now Marinette, that would be your own fault. You need to manage your time better. Also you do need to help prevent akumas. That thing in the other handbook we can include in ours. I want you to plan a destressing activity for the class to do by the end of next week. We can do a different one every week to keep things different.”

Upon hearing that more work was being put onto her, she opened her mouth to refuse before being silenced.

“I really wouldn’t want to have a talk with your parents about you becoming a problem to our classroom, so make sure to keep up your good job as class rep okay?”

Miss Bustier was… threatening her? The bluenette was so shocked that she could only nod, numbly leaving the classroom. As soon as she turned the corner, she bumped into Alya.

“Oh. Hi, Alya.”

“Marinette… did Miss Bustier really say that?”

It was then that Marinette realized how shaken up her friend was.

“What do you mean?”

“She really-” Alya started, before looking at the direction to the classroom door in contemplation. It seemed like she made a decision, as she pulled Marinette away.

“We’re telling your parents. I can’t believe she said that to you.”

The bluenette got a sense of dread with Alya’s suggestion, realizing that Alya had heard some if not all of the conversation she just had. The reminder of Miss Bustier’s earlier threat rang in her mind.

“No. Miss Bustier-”

“She’s forcing you to do more work. Quite frankly, I was about to ‘accidentally’ hide some of the work I’ve been doing for the class trip in with your notes so that you’d actually be able to get some sleep. But now? I can’t just sit by and let this happen to my best friend.”

“But my parents won’t believe me.”

“Don’t you have both packets? Show that to your parents. Besides, it's the entire class’s words against Miss Bustier. Your parents will believe us.”

Marinette still didn’t like the sound of it. She’d never gone against her teacher before. But Alya was hard to stop once she got an idea in her head, so the bluenette was dragged to the bakery.

Her mom was handling the counter, and was finishing up checking out a customer. Once they left, she finally noticed them.

“Good afternoon girls. Feel free to take a pastry on your way up.”

“Actually Mlle. Cheng, we need to speak to you about something.”

“What is it?”

Alya nudged Marinette forward, but when it was clear that she wasn’t going to talk, Alya took charge. She grabbed the two different class rep handbooks, walking forward and giving them to the women.

“Miss Bustier has been forcing Marinette to take on more work as class rep. When Marinette asked her about it, she threatened to call you two up and tell you that she’s causing issues.”

Sabine blinked at Alya’s words, before her confusion was swapped for a blank stare. Her eyes shifted from the packets in her hands to her daughter.

“Marinette, is this true?”

“We-Well I mean, I’m sure Miss Bustier didn’t really mean-”

“Marinette. Please tell me the truth.”

Yep. Her mom was definitely mad at her. She sighed and decided to just take the bullet.

“It’s true, but I-”

“What has she been making you do?”

Marinette flinched at the anger sounding clearly in her mother’s tone. She looked down at her hands. Alya kept a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her. When it was clear that the bluenette had no intention of speaking, the blogger took over.

“She’s been forced to plan the whole class trip by herself. Where we’re going, the hotel we’re staying in, activities we’re doing, the exact travel plans, fundraising, all of that. I wasn’t even allowed to do any of the planning process with her.”

“Anything else?”

“I had to help with grading some things.” Marinette finally added, sighing in defeat. “I also had to help when Chloe acted up.” She leaned back into Alya’s touch, causing the redhead to wrap her arm around her and give her a tight squeeze.

Sabine looked between the two girls and then back at the packets in her hands. She frowned in thought at the clear size difference between the two.

“I’d take it that this is the real one?” She asked, holding up the smaller packet.

“That’s the one that the other class reps use. I got it from Ms. Meedevelei this afternoon.”

“I’m gonna look these over during my break. That will be in… thirty minutes. For now I think you two should grab a treat and relax upstairs. Would you two be okay staying here in case I need to ask you something else?”

The two girls nodded, grabbing a pastry and heading back and up to the apartment. Marinette fiddled with the hem of her jacket, thinking about what had just happened. Alya sighed and pulled her towards the chaise.

“Don’t worry, let your parents handle this.”

“But what if I get in trouble in school? Miss Bustier could do to Principal Damcoles and say that I’m not cooperating and-”

“And then everyone will tell him off if he tries to punish you. Miss Bustier threatened you. That’s a whole other thing to consider, above her dumping a bunch of work onto you and making you do it by yourself.” Alya scowled. “I don’t understand that part. Why did she not want me to help with anything?”

Marinette didn’t have an answer to that. If Miss Bustier truly wanted her to do all of these things, then having Alya help her would have made life so much easier. Why not let someone else who was willing to help take some work off her shoulders do it? The redhead shrugged and reached in her bookbag.

“I guess it doesn’t matter right now. I know your mom said to relax, but I also know you can’t do physics for the life of you so let me help you out while I can.”

The bluenette felt tears prick up at the offer of receiving help, but she quickly wiped those away before her friend could notice. They were so distracted with the work that they didn’t hear the muffled shouts from below.

“That woman did what?!”

“She threatened our daughter. All because Marinette asked her why the manual she was given as class rep was different from every other class reps’ handbook.”

The two adults were hard to anger. Their life was full of simple joys, being able to live peaceful lives despite running a business and being in a time when a magical terrorist was in their city. But let it not be said that they could never get angry. Because right now, the only other thought in their minds besides concern for their daughter was the anger towards the girl’s teacher.

“I want to talk to Miss Bustier today. I know that Alya can be dramatic sometimes, but Marinette would never lie. Especially with something like this.”

“We can close the bakery. I want to be there as well.”

Sabine thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.

“No. I’m just gonna do a phone call for now. Besides, we can’t just close the bakery today. I’ll update you once I’m done talking to her.”

She thought that it would be a fifteen minute phone call max. Just her asking to confirm things and then asking for them to be changed to how they should be. She didn’t expect Miss Bustier to try and defend herself. Yes, Marinette was a bright kid and an excellent student, but that didn’t mean that she should be doing the work of her teacher. The more she tried to defend her daughter, the more the teacher defended her own actions. Sabine ended the call more frustrated than before, and she decided to instead talk to Mr. Damocles. Because surely he would be able to correct the teacher? After all, what Ms. Bustier was doing was an abuse of her power.

Alas, Sabine ended her night early. Both adults saw it best to just close the bakery early. Heaven forbid if that principal or teacher decided to pay them a visit. The cup of chamomile tea was not helping her to calm down in the slightest, and her husband paced around as he ranted. The woman herself, while not outwardly expressing her thoughts, did silently stew on the issue.

How dare those people do this to her child. It wasn’t a big deal? It absolutely was. Neither parent had missed the way Marinette was getting more sluggish and tired. It was part of the reason why they had stopped making her work in the bakery as of late. All that extra work was affecting her studies and normal life, and neither of those adults cared? It was an outrage! But who else could she turn to?

It was then that an idea struck her. Sabine grinned, leaving her half finished tea on the table and walking off.

“Calling them back is not going to do anything. I think we need to go in person and demand that they stop this.”

“Oh, I’m not calling them. I have a better idea.”

If those two wouldn’t listen to her, then she would have to get someone who would make them see the error of their ways. Sabine sat down at the computer, typing out a very detailed email before sending it off. She continued to check her inbox throughout the weekend, waiting for a response, but there wasn’t one. Not until Sunday afternoon.

Dear Madame Cheng,

We have reviewed your complaints regarding Madame Bustier and Mister Damocles, and have officially filed for an investigation to take place. We will begin the investigation starting tomorrow, Monday XX/XXXX, and will inform you of any updates as well as the results. If you are worried about any misaction towards your daughter by Madame Bustier because of this investigation, please let us know. We will be happy to make arrangements for her to be situated in a different homeroom both during and after the course of this investigation.

We ask that you and your husband be available during some point this week for a meeting to discuss the problem more in depth. We will try our best to be courteous and inform you ahead of time when we will be paying you a visit. If you have anything urgent to report before our meeting, please do not hesitate to reach out either through email or using the phone number listed below. We promise you that your concerns will be taken seriously, and the investigation will not end until a solution is made.

Jon Garnier, Dupont School Board Member

Sabine smiled at the email once she finished reading it. It was done. With the school board involved, Miss Bustier would be forced to take off the workload from her daughter. She sent a response email to him, thanking him and informing him that he could come to the bakery at any time and she would be sure to be available to talk to him.

There were some other things, some very concerning things, that Alya had filled her and Tom in on Friday before the girl went home, but Sabine didn’t add those in. As awful as they were, they could wait to be discussed once she was face to face with someone.

Marinette was told that things were being handled, but the girl still seemed worried. She was given a choice to switch homerooms temporarily or even just stay home for a day or two, but she rejected both. Not only was Marinette behind on classwork, but she still needed to continue her class rep duties, even if her parents didn’t seem happy when she said that. Reluctantly, her parents sent her off to school on Monday.

Alya made sure to pick her up, trying to offer her support and then try to distract her with little success. It was very clear to anyone that Marinette had not gotten any rest, despite the reassurance from her parents and Alya. She was told not to do any of the class rep work and instead just relax and focus on her other school work, but she wasn’t able to feel calm. Her anxiety at what would happen now that her parents had talked to Miss Bustier and Mr. Damcoles kept her from sleeping. So she worked on not just all the extra class work, but also her guardian work. Tikki was not happy with her, but there was only so much that the kwami could do to stop her.

The two girls slowed down a bit as they approached their friends by the steps. Both boys eyed the bluenette with great concern with one of them being… a bit more dramatic about it.

“Marientte! What happened? Why do you look more tired now?”

The blond fretted, handing the cup of coffee he had to Nino to hold as he examined the girl, holding onto her face with one hand as he lightly touched the bags until her eyes with his finger.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Couldn’t sleep? You look more tired than I do when I have a night and morning shoot back to back. Maybe you should go home and rest for the day?”

“I can’t. I’m already behind on all my work. Besides, as class president it’s my duty to show up.”

The pigtailed girl couldn’t say it with as much conviction as she once might have, due to how much energy that would have taken. Even talking was just wearing her out. How she would be able to handle Chole’s inevitable fits, she didn’t know, or really care about right now. None of the trio were happy to hear that, and even the students who fluttered around looked at the girl with a mix of concern and pity.

Adrien had always wanted to be able to have a straight conversation with the budding designer. One where she wouldn’t be so flustered that she would have to run off. But if she would have to be like this for him to get that? He would have never wished for it. For now he turned and took the coffee cup back from Nino to hand it to the girl.

“Here you go. If you refuse to go home then at least have this.”

The small smile she gave him was genuine, and Adrien only wished that it had come at a time when she wasn’t so tired.

“Thank you. I need to get some things done before class starts.” Before anyone could stop her, Marinette started her walk up the stairs. Alya was immediately on her trail.

“She’s wearing herself out. I want to be able to help her more but…” The blond murmured, wishing that he knew what was happening to her. He knew that she was stressed out, but surely there had to be something else he could do besides keeping her caffeinated. Nino patted his shoulder, still looking at where the girls disappeared off to.

“You’re doing what you can. Besides, Alya’s figured things out.”

“Figured what out? Marinette is still… like that.”

“She didn’t tell you? With the way Alya went off in the group chat and then to me, I thought for sure you would have known.”

Alya did what? Adrien had been on his phone, and he hadn’t noticed any messages coming in at all. Checking his texts, the last message from the class chat had been someone commenting on Marinette’s behavior, but it was just a message of concern from Rose. Nothing from Alya. Nino looked over his shoulder and let out an oh.

“You must not have been added to the chat. Here, let me do that real quick.”

In a few seconds, a request to join a group chat came in. Clicking accept, he quickly scrolled to the top of the conversation before pausing. He blinked once, twice, then screamed.

“She did WHAT to Marinette?!”

“Yeah, it happened on Friday. Alya overheard it and went to Marinette’s parents. They-” Nino went on, but Adrien drowned him out.

He couldn’t believe it. He knew that Marinette was stressed out about her class rep position and he saw how Miss Bustier treated Marinette sometimes, but this? That woman just decided to threaten her? A growl sounded out, and it barely registered in his mind that it came from him.

“That’s it. I don’t care what I have to do, I’m-”

“Adrien.” Nino said, grabbing onto his shoulders and snapping him out of his thoughts. “You need to calm down. Trust me, everyone is upset about this, but you can’t get akumatized.”

He tried to calm himself, but it was hard. This whole time this was happening without him knowing. He was a failure to his princess, his everyday Ladybug. Did his partner have something like this happening in her life and he was failing her too? He knew that she was more tired lately, due to having more work in her civilian life on top of guardian work but she didn’t give specifics. He had tried offering to do some of the guardian work too, but she had declined citing how it would be too dangerous to do it in the open and they had nowhere private to go. Maybe he should have pushed more?

“Dude, calm down.” He instructed again, once again jostling him from his thoughts. “Alya already told Marinette’s parents. They have things covered.”

The question of “how” popped into his mind, but before he could voice it he spotted two adults walking up the steps. Adults who he did not recognize, but felt like they held an air of authority to them.

“Trust me,” Nino said, and it was then that the blonde noticed his friend’s knowing look. “They have things covered.”

Adrien knew that there was something else to Nino’s words, but decided against asking exactly what. For now he would simply keep a closer eye on both Marinette and Miss Bustier. No one would be allowed to hurt his princess on his watch.

Inside the school, whispers had already begun. There had already been some talk about the bluenette before. With her being one of the only two people in the akuma class who hasn’t gotten akumatized yet, they figured that the noticeable stress she was under would due her in.

But now the whispers were revolving around the reason for the two adults who entered the building. A man and a woman, both dressed in business attire and wearing the same stern expression. They came in to get answers, and they would get just that.

Walking straight to Mr. Damocles' office, they gave a sharp knock before letting themselves in. The man, for his part, seemed confused by someone bursting into his office. His confusion quickly turned to concern as he recognized the people standing before him.

“We’re here from the school board. There’s been a recent complaint filed and we will be investigating it.” The woman’s tone left no room for an argument. “I’ll be discussing this issue with you while Mr. Garnier does an observation in one of your classrooms. Depending on what happens, we may have to pull some students out of class to ask them a few questions.”

Mr. Damocles only had enough time to realize what the recent complaint was before the man walked out. The woman sat down in the chair across his desk, setting a file in front of him.

“So, tell me about your response to the mistreatment of one Miss Marinette Dupain Cheng?”

There would be no use lying. As required with all staff members, their school issued phones recorded every phone call that took place on them. It was meant to protect them if a parent tries to deny something that they said over the call, but in this case it would be used against him. He cleared his throat, trying to figure out a way to save himself. He remembered that last time these people came in they said that then was his final warning, but surely he would be fine. He was an excellent principal, and this issue wasn’t big enough for him to be fired, surely. So he began his defense.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Gariner walked through the hallway, trusting that Mrs. Monet would be able to handle things. She was slightly biased in this case, as she had a soft spot for the victims in cases like this, but she was a professional above all else so she should be able to prove well into finding out exactly what Mr. Damocles’ thoughts were.

Truthfully, they should have done an investigation at this school sooner. They had seen the news reports about the students in this class, but since Hawkmoth was a new thing they had waited. He took his victims by using their emotions against them, and since uncontrolled emotions tended to run higher among adolescents they didn’t push investigating directly as their top priority.

They had simply decided to send an email and request that something was done within the classrooms to allow for some form of relaxation or meditation to be done. That had gotten accepted without any issues, and they foolishly had allowed their attention to relax from the school. But now they noticed the repeated pattern of akumas forming from one specific class, and something had to be done.

Even without Madame Cheng’s email, they would have been investigating Miss Bustier and her class anyways. Of course, what was said in that email worried them. From what it sounded like, it seemed like Miss Bustier was fostering her work onto a student. That would be bad enough, but threatening said student to continue doing the work was an extra layer that they would have to address.

For now he tried to clear his thoughts, knocking once on the classroom door before walking in. The students were all whispering to themselves, but stopped once they saw his presence. He simply ignored them, turning to the confused teacher.

“My apologies for interrupting your classroom, Madame. The school board sent me to do your regular classroom observation.” It wasn’t true, but it would at least help to make her not mask her true behavior as much. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be showing off her real behavior though. She seemed a bit flustered, but nodded nonetheless. “I’ll just be sitting in the back. Please just go on with your lessons as you normally would.”

Without another word, he walked up the stairs and took a seat in the very back. The woman eyed him wearily, but called the class to attention anyways. Throughout the morning, he noticed all the students at some point or another looking back at him.

The one that caught his attention though was one blonde student in the front. Not because he was looking at him, but because he was turning around to look at another student. Marinette Dupain Cheng, he had to presume. He did see her photo when looking into her file, but even without that he could tell that she was the student whose parents had made the complaint. The amount of papers that were on her desk, as well as how the other students occasionally looked over to her in concern was enough of an indicator.

There were no major issues that had popped up, but there were a few times when he noticed Miss Bustier looking at Marinette. The first came when another student (Chloe Bourgeois, he remembered her from numerous reports before) made an insult to the girl. Instead of calling the student out, Miss Bustier looked over to Marinette and waited. When nothing happened, she opened her mouth before looking back at him and closing it again. Whatever she was going to say was instead replaced with her continuing the lesson as if nothing had happened.

There were a few other times, when she mentioned the graded homework and a quiz and she looked over to the girl, only to quickly say that she would be passing them back tomorrow. He caught her looking back at him then too. It happened several other times, one notable one being when she mentioned the class’s end of the year trip. The way Marinette’s body stiffened when the teacher commented that all plans would be finished and presented on Friday was noticeable to everyone but the teacher.

Another thing he noticed was the same blonde boy from before making to stand up, only for his desk mate to pull him back down and shake his head. It was easy enough to tell why he did that when they both looked back at him. He didn’t know if it was out of fear that they would be punished or if they were hoping he would do something.

He was going to do something, of course, Mr. Gariner would never allow for this kind of treatment to continue past today, but he was required to wait until the students left before talking to Miss Bustier directly about these issues. Of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t doing anything right now.

A few quick emails and texts got sent out and exchanged. Another member of the school board would be coming to help with asking the students and other teachers some questions regarding both Miss Bustier and Mr. Damocles. The principal had been warned not even a few months ago that he needed to have better control on his students and staff members.

Those issues had all stemmed from one Miss Bourgeois who had caused issues and hurt students all while never facing any consequences. He was warned to not let a student get out of trouble by threatening to call her father. He was even told that if the mayor tried to actually follow through on the threats his daughter made, that he would be abusing his power and would be kicked out of his position.

They hadn’t received any complaints since then, but it was a wonder if students had been making them and they never got received. That thought was also troubling. Not all people would consider turning to the school board for issues, not at first anyways. Contacting the teacher or principal was what families were encouraged to do. The issue needed to first be, or at least, attempted to be, dealt with at the school level before going up to the school board after all.

It was meant to stop unneeded cases from clogging up and stopping them from being able to work on more pressing issues, but it could be possible that people didn’t bother trying to contact them. It could be that they were promised that everything would be settled, or even that the school board wouldn’t be able to help out anyways. Another thought was that they could have been threatened as well. If Miss Bustier made a threat to her one student without a second thought, was it possible that other students were coerced into keeping quiet?

Once the bell rang for lunch, all the students were packing up and Miss Bustier said one final thing.

“Marinette, please stay behind for a few minutes.”

Those words caused everyone in the class to stop what they were doing and look between the two. The tension was noticeable, and Mr. Gariner decided to settle things. Walking down the steps and towards the front, he addressed the teacher, not even having to raise his voice to be heard by the rest of the students in the pressing silence.

“Actually, Miss Bustier, I need to discuss some things with you.” When she opened her mouth to refute, he pressed on. “You can discuss whatever it is with your student later on.”

Seeing how he wasn’t going to budge, Miss Bustier nodded. Marinette quickly walked out, the rest of the students following right behind her. Closing the door after the last student walked out he waited a few moments just to make sure that no one else was going to come in before turning to address the teacher.

“Please take a seat. This will be a long discussion.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette was freaking out. Not only did she not get the chance to hand Miss Bustier the homework and quizzes she helped to grade and would be getting in trouble for that, but she also would need to finalize everything for the class trip before Friday. Even with all the work she did over the weekend, she still wasn’t close to done.

She hadn’t been able to book anything since she wasn’t an adult, and even if she could bug her parents to help she wouldn’t be able to since they wouldn’t be going on the trip and whoever booked things had to be in attendance.

That left the only choice being Miss Bustier. She debated sending her an email, but Tikki had actually been able to stop her from doing that, unplugging the computer and causing enough commotion that her parents came up and brought her downstairs to get away from the work laid out on her desk. Her hope was to ask the teacher before class but then she didn’t come into class until the start time. And she wasn’t able to meet with Miss Bustier during lunch since then the man from the school board needed to talk to her, so she would have to put it off until after school.

Right now Alya was dragging her off outside the school and towards her house. She didn’t register the conversation that Nino and Adrien were having behind them. It was when she almost stumbled and felt arms wrapping around her body to keep her upright, while she could see Alya bending down to pick up her dropped items, that she realized they were outside the bakery’s doors.

“Okay. You’re eating lunch and then you’re gonna relax. Maybe you should take a nap too.”

“Adrien?” She tried to turn to look at him, but his arms pulling her back to be flushed with his chest prevented her from being able to do more than glance at him from the corner of her vision.

“You need to let her go dude. Unless you want to carry her inside.”

There was a pause, and it seemed for a second like he was actually going to do it. As he was adjusting his arms, Alya stopped him.

“Let’s just let Marinette walk. We’re here anyway.”

Adrien did let her go enough for her to walk forward, but kept his hand ghosting her back. The four walked in and headed up into the main part of the house. Marinette was sat down on the couch, held down by Adrien when she tried to grab the papers Alya was still holding.

“I need to work on the rest of the arrangements for the class trip.”

“Nope. That’s not your job.” Alya said, leaving no room for argument. Before Marinette could try though, the blogger walked out of the room with Nino in tow.

“Everything will be okay.” She turned and blinked at Adrien, who was still holding her. “I won’t let Miss Bustier hurt you again. I promise.”

“What do you-”

“I heard about Miss Bustier threatening you. I don’t care how I do it, I promise you I won’t let her get away with that.”

Marinette turned to better face him. Half of her brain was trying to mentally arrange things for the class trip while the other half was too tired to fully comprehend what all was happening. It still hadn’t even processed the fact that Adrien was going to carry her earlier. Before she could even attempt to understand what he was telling her now and how he knew, Alya and Nino walked back in with a bunch of food.

“You’re going to eat then you’re gonna take a nap until lunch is over.”

“But I need to get back to school before lunch is over.” If she was lucky, Miss Bustier would be done talking to the man from the school board. Then she could try and get things figured out in time for Friday.

“Eat. Then sleep.”

Alya pushed the plate of food onto her lap. Deciding that she could just sneak out after she got done eating, Marinette began to eat the sandwich Alya had made. During the whole time they ate, their eyes kept drifting back to Marinette. As soon as she was done eating and made to stand, they acted.

Marinette’s brain was able to conjure up the question of if all her friends were physic or if they had discussed this plan in front of her and she just didn’t realize it, because they all acted in sync. Nino grabbed her plate and cup from her hands, moving out of the way while Adrien pulled her down to lay on the couch. Alya threw a blanket over her body and adjusted it as a pillow got placed under her head.

“Nap time.”

“But-”

“You will be stuck here until the end of lunch either way. You might as well just sleep.”

Marinette let out a huff, making to move only for a hand to press her down. She looked up at Adrien’s face as he loomed over her.

“I will lay on you if you try to resist Marinette.”

That reminded her of Chat Noir. Even though he had canceled group patrols, and he took over her solo ones, she had decided to go out for one last weekend. She couldn’t help herself. She was anxious and just wanted to go out for a little bit. Still, once he realized she was out and hadn’t slept at all, he ran off before returning with a pillow and blankets. Somehow she ended up wrapped up in what she could only refer to as a blanket burrito with a pillow under her head and Chat Noir laying on top of her. She had fallen asleep to the sound of his purring.

Of course there was no way that Adrien would do that. But he did. As soon as she tried to sit up again, he laid his chest on top of her’s. He was still kneeling on the ground, so it wasn’t all of his body on top of her, but it was enough weight that it kept her from moving.

“Sleep.” He said, turning his head to look at her. His breathing began to slow, and her body mimicked it without thinking. Soon she was out like a light. He didn’t want to move, but slowly lifted himself off her.

“How did you do that?” Nino asked, his voice in a whisper to keep the girl asleep.

“I read that if you are with someone you both subconsciously match your breathing to theirs.”

He didn’t say it, but he had specifically looked it up on the off chance that he would have to help Ladybug fall asleep without being transformed. His purring only happened in suit, after all. Before anything else could be said, Madame Cheng walked into the room. Adrien quickly leaned back, hoping that she didn’t notice him laying on top of her daughter. She opened her mouth to speak, but the three teens shushed her and waved her off. The woman smiled to see her daughter asleep, but the expression slowly dropped.

“You three are wanted downstairs.”

“For what?”

Adrien resisted the urge to lay back down on top of Marinette and hold onto her. She was finally sleeping, and he wasn’t about to let her have any chance of waking up from her nap too soon.

“There’s someone from the school board who is interviewing the students in your class. She was interviewing me and Tom, but when I mentioned the four of you being here she said she wanted to interview you all now.”

“At the same time?”

“No. Tom and I went separately, so I imagine it would be the same for you three.”

“You two go down. I’ll wait here until one of you gets done.”

Even if Adrien wasn’t the one to watch over Marinette the whole time, he could at least make sure she stayed asleep while Alya and Nino got interviewed. They nodded, and soon Adrien was left alone. He waited a few seconds before laying his head back onto the girl’s chest, smiling as he closed his eyes.

“Oh Plagg, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Marinette is just a very good friend.”

Adrien let out a huff before looking up and glaring at his kwami. He really didn’t want to argue today, so he tried to close his eyes and ignore the god.

“If you think that will stop me, kid, you’re wrong. I-” Whatever Plagg was about to say was cut off. Adrien opened his eyes and looked up, to see him sporting a look of worry. Slowly lifting his head off Marinette’s chest and turned to look off where the kwami was starring. Nothing was there.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, turning back around. What Adrien did not realize was that Tikki was floating right behind him, giving Plagg her signature death glare.

My bug has had no rest at all. Her eyes said. If you stop her from being able to sleep because you’re too busy teasing your kitten and wake her up then I won’t hesitate to end you.

“Nothing.” Plagg said out loud, not wanting to unleash Tikki’s wrath. He was concerned for her bug too, which was why he was trying to get his oblivious holder to realize his feelings so that she would be cared for on both sides of the mask. Of course, he could do that later when he wasn’t at risk of being destroyed.

Confused, but deciding not to question it, Adrien laid his head back down and shut his eyes, falling asleep to the sounds of her gentle breaths.

~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing that Marinette noticed when she woke up, was the voices drifting into the room. She sat up and looked around, confused as to what she was doing in her living room. She turned around and looked over the couch in time to see her papa coming into the room with another woman.

“I guess she woke up.” Her papa said, before addressing her. “Marinette, this is Mrs. Blanchet. She’s from the school board and is here to ask you some questions.”

Marinette was immediately confused and also worried. She noticed the woman’s professional attire and immediately went to smooth out her messy hair. Mrs. Blanchet didn’t seem to care though, as she walked over and took a seat on the chair across from the couch, not once giving any judgemental looks.

“Sorry about my appearance.” Marinette muttered.

“It’s quite alright. I’ve heard from your friends that you haven’t been able to rest, so it’s good that you got some sleep at least.”

She had spoken to her friends? The questions continued to build up. She knew that there was a man from the school board who was speaking to Miss Bustier, but that didn’t explain why there was this woman here and why she would speak to her friends. The answer finally snapped into place with the next thing she said.

“So, Ms. Dupain Cheng, please tell me about your experience with Mlle. Bustier. And please, be honest.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is she okay?”

“Relax, dude, her parents are with her.”

“But she should have been done by now.”

The trio had long finished their interviews with Mrs. Blanchet and were sent back to school. Miss Bustier wasn’t in class, but a sub was brought in to cover for her. Mr. Fournier was allowing them to work quietly together on the assignment, or really was just letting them have some time to discuss what was going on.

He knew that there would be whispering and notes being passed anyways, so it was better to simply let them go ahead with it so they could not feel so anxious about things. Besides, a few students were still out doing their interviews. It wouldn’t be fair to teach with several students missing due to the investigation.

“Should we call her?”

“Adrien, she is fine. We asked her parents to call us if something bad happens, remember?”

It was the only way they were able to get Adrien to leave the bakery. Even telling him that his father would be upset to find him skipping out on class didn’t get him moving. The two bespeckled teens tried to keep Adrien distracted with the worksheet they were giving, but his eyes kept snapping to the door each time it opened.

More students returned, none of them being Marinette, and Adrien was at the point of considering if he could run out of the room and to the bakery without being pulled back by Nino. So far the only three students out of the room were the bluenette, Chloe, and Sabrina.

But then Sabrina came back, and quietly explained to Mr. Fournier that Chloe wouldn’t be returning to class today. Adrien assumed that it was because Chloe didn’t want to bother returning to class, but if he was paying attention he might have noticed Sabrina’s wide eyes and flustered tone. As if she was just exposed to some harsh truth and still trying to comprehend it.

By the time the door came open again, Adrien was standing up to run to the bakery. As soon as he spotted the familiar pigtails, he got in front of the girl and hugged her as quickly as he could.

“Is everything okay? Are you feeling a bit better now?”

Marinette, for her part, did get enough rest to comprehend some things. Not enough for her to be flustered around Adrien yet, but enough to realize how he got to her so quickly.

“Did you just… jump over your desk?”

“Dude.” Nino muttered, head in his hands.

“Um… no?” It was more of a question, because Adrien truly didn’t know if he did that or not.

“Please sit down. I need to make an announcement to the class.”

It was then that Adrien realized that Marinette wasn’t walking in alone. Behind her was another woman, one who he hadn’t seen before. It also registered in his mind that if he really did jump over a desk, not only did this woman see it but the rest of the class also did. He quietly went back to his seat, but not before making sure Marinette got seated in hers.

“My name is Mrs. Monet and I am a member of the school board. As you know, we have been asking you questions regarding your teacher and your time here at Francoise Dupont. The school board doesn’t like to make rushed decisions, but we feel like this decision will be best for the students and other members of this school’s safety.” She took a pause before continuing. “Miss Bustier will no longer be your teacher.”

Before, if someone were to say that to the class, they would all be devastated and demand answers. However they had seen how she’s been to Marinette over the past couple weeks. Not just that, but once they heard about her threatening Marinette a lot of the love and respect they felt towards the teacher was burned out. Mrs. Monet had been expecting them not to be upset, and continued on with her speech.

“I am sure you might be confused as to what is happening, but I assure you that the school board makes all of its decisions with the school’s wellbeing in mind. We will be ensuring that this choice doesn’t harmfully impact your education. Mr. Fournier will be taking over as your sub for the rest of the school year. I do ask you to please be patient with getting answers to the questions that I’m sure all of you have.

“We cannot give out full details of an investigation without permission from several people, and that only can happen after the investigation is fully finished. Of course, if you do have questions you need answered you may contact me and any of the other two school board members who you’ve seen today with the emails we’ve provided you. We will be happy to answer your questions if we are able to.

“It is also decided that since the decision to remove Miss Bustier as a teacher here is affecting multiple classes, that tomorrow will be an optional school day. Students may come in to work on school work or just hang out. However you will be required to come within the first hour of school and stay the whole day if you do wish to come here. It is to ensure all of your safety. Your parents have already been notified and told that they will receive a call just to confirm that you aren’t coming to school. If you have any more questions regarding that, you can ask Mr. Fournier for more details.

“Another change that is taking place is that your principal is also being removed.” This caused whispers of confusion to sprout up, but they quickly died down when the woman raised her hand. “We unfortunately cannot say much about this other than he was breaking some rules and had to be terminated. An official announcement regarding that will be made once the investigation is finished. I wish you all a good rest of your day, and if you have anything else you need to ask or have to tell us please reach out to any of the members you have seen today.”

With that, Mrs. Monet walked out and allowed the class to finally speak what was on everyone’s mind.

“This is my fault.”

Well, clearly one student didn’t share the same thoughts as everyone else. All eyes immediately turned towards Marinette, who looked very upset at the current news. Which didn’t make sense given what had happened to her just last week.

“Marinette, no it’s not.”

“But, Miss Bustier-”

“Did you ask to have all that work dumped on you? To be threatened?” Adrien said, eye flashing with rage. A pat from within his pocket, unknown to anyone else in class, reminded him to take a deep breath and calm down.

“But what about the class trip? I still needed to get things booked.”

“Don’t worry, Miss Dupain Cheng. As your current homeroom teacher, I’ll be handling things. Everything will be fine. As for you, I think that it would be a good idea for you to take a break being class representative so that you can focus on your school work and your other activities. Your class deputy can take over for a few weeks, and can appoint someone to help her temporarily as well.”

In the back of her mind, Marinette knew that what the man was saying was supposed to lift a burden off her shoulders. After all, she had been wanting a break for weeks now. But right now it felt like all the work she had done up to this point was all for nothing.

“But, what about the plans I’ve already made? All that was left was to book things and get them approved?”

Mr. Fournier paused in consideration. It would be wrong to use work that a child was forced to do, but it was clear that it could cause the bluenette more distress if all of her work was for not.

“See me on Wednesday. I’ll have to reach out to the school board to ensure that it is okay, but if you wish we can take your plans and implement them without you having to do all of the work. For now you all can just finish up on the worksheet I gave you and then have quiet conversations. If you need anything feel free to ask.”

Alya handed Marinetted a worksheet but less for the reason of working on it and more just so she wouldn’t forget about grabbing one later. Right now she wanted to check in on her.

“Miss Bustier had this coming to her.” Alya didn’t let Marinette try and defend that woman. “She was the one who purposely dumped her work onto you. Not just that, but she refused to let anyone else help you out. Then she decided to threaten you whenever you were politely trying to figure out the truth. Whatever happens to her is on her.”

Adrien and Nino nodded, and the rest of the class would have agreed but were pretending that they weren’t eavesdropping to try and give her some privacy. Marinette didn’t seem so sure, and the rest of the class all came to the silent collective decision that they would make sure Marinette wasn’t hurt from this.

~~~~~~~~~~

Before the end of the week they found out that Chloe got expelled. Turns out all the threats she gave to both staff and students alike was enough to seal her fate. Her father tried to fight it, but there wasn’t a lot that could be done with all the evidence. In fact, he was too busy trying to save himself from being exposed of him abusing his power at the school to worry about abusing it even more.

Another two weeks passed before they found out why Mr. Damocles was fired. Besides just ignoring Chloe’s behavior and Miss Bustier’s abuse, he had also been stealing the school’s money. Turns out the pay of being a principal alone couldn’t afford him all the comic books and fancy gadgets he wanted to become The Owl.

It took a few weeks for Marinette to feel okay about things. Tikki adamantly went through, relaying out what responsibility meant for her to ensure that Marinette would take care of herself. Adrien, Alya, and Nino all distracted her when she got doubt that it was her fault more than Miss Bustier’s, and all made sure that she got plenty of rest.

With all the rest she was getting she was finally able to go on patrols again with Chat’s approval. That still didn’t mean that he didn’t wrap her up in a blanket and make her take a nap instead of patrolling some days, but Marinette found that falling asleep to his purrs made her feel more relaxed so she was okay with it.

It was two months after the whole debacle, when Marinette was made to nap before a study session with her three friends only to wake up to the purring coming from a different blonde boy, that she realized something else. A quick freak out, the two hiding in the bathroom whilst Alya and Nino looked at each other confused from their spots in the living room, and Adrien decided that he really wasn’t going to let Marinette go. Like, literally.

“Adrien.”

“No.”

Marinette sighed, deciding to just lean back into him. He immediately burrowed his face into the crook of her neck, and it was only due to her slowly slipping out her exhausted mindstate and being able to be calm around him during that time that she wasn’t a completely flustered mess. Oh, she was still blushing hardcore, but at least she wasn’t squealing like a kettle.

Alya and Nino could only stare at the two, who had emerged from the bathroom with Adrien carrying Marinette before the blond sat her down between his legs. After a few moments, Alya was able to speak.

“So… are you two dating now or?”

“Engaged, actually.”

“I don’t remember you proposing.”

“I would say married, but just because we act like a married couple doesn’t mean that we are legally married yet.”

“We’re fourteen.”

“... I can wait.”

#miraculous fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fanfic #mlb marinette #marinette dupain cheng #Ms. Bustier Salt #mlb salt #Alya sugar #protective adrien agreste

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lemonjamdraws · 1 month ago

Text

LILANETTE WEEK DAY 6 - INJURY

friday is the PAIN TRAIN

cw: blood/severe injury/very mild emetophobia

Despite being the symbol of good luck, fortune is very clearly not on Ladybug’s side. Lila never thought she’d see the day the superheroine gets absolutely demolished. Having used her Lucky Charm about four minutes ago, she’s in danger of detransforming at any moment, but the akuma present has been doing a stellar job of not letting Ladybug escape, no thanks to the compromised Chat Noir that is comatose some streets away.

Good riddance , was all she thought as she watched the livestream on her phone, of a powerful punch sending Ladybug flying across the park. She’d never been able to enact revenge for the events of Volpina, so this is enough to give her satisfaction.

Wait, what? Her next thought comes as in real life , a spotted blur flies by her face and she whips around to watch incredulously as mid-flight, sparkles flicker off and away a limp Ladybug at high velocity, the red suit dissolving.

Wham!

A cloud of dust rises at the sight of impact, Lila’s jaw dropping. Sure, she’d wished bad omens upon Ladybug, but if she transformed back before hitting the wall, she wouldn’t have had her supernatural resilience and was as fragile as any normal human. And that supervillain hit hard . She never wanted the superheroine to die!

Steeling herself, she approaches.

“Ow, fuck, fuck,” a voice mutters, strained. As the particles fade, there’s none other than a bruised Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sprawled in a growing pool of red, and not the kind of red that her super identity is usually associated with. Some of her limbs don’t seem to be bending in the right way. Cracks dig into the ground and wall around her, having been hit with unnatural force.

Holy shit.

Her girlfriend was Ladybug, all along, and now she’s crumpled in a bloody heap before her.

“What the hell?” She says, practically in shock. Her beloved Marinette is here before her and gravely injured, and she’d normally be running over immediately but for the fact that she just saw Ladybug. Marinette was Ladybug a l l a l o n g . The hero she’d badmouthed with gusto, directly to Marinette multiple times.

“B-babe? That you?” Marinette says weakly, clutching at her side. A small red creature flutters around her frantically.

“Marinette! You’re seriously hurt!” The creature says in a high-pitched voice before turning around. “Oh, no. Lila?”

Lila finally steps closer, dropping to a knee numbly.

“What the hell is this?” She repeats tightly, unable to look away from the bent leg and the dark red staining through Marinette’s clothes. Lila tries to remember the basic steps to first aid, trying to push aside her shock at the reveal of Ladybug's identity. She’ll have plenty of time to yell at Marinette about that later , assuming that the girl will still be alive to hear it.

Marinette can’t die .

“I took a little fall,” Marinette coughs, “I’ll be okay.”

“What are you talking about?!” Lila cries, finding too many different injuries to focus on just one. Her eyes blur and the red intensifies. Red.

Right. Stopping the bleeding first is the most important thing. Marinette can survive broken bones but she’ll die of blood loss before anything else, that’s for sure.

“Do you have- ugh- do you have a snack in your bag?” The wounded girl asks next, wincing with pain.

“A snack? That's not important, Marinette! We need to stop the bleeding, you’re going to bleed out!” Lila bites her lip as she tries to find the main source, but there seems to be multiple sources, on Marinette’s side and even back, so she’d need to roll her over. She has no gloves, but she has no choice. Lila places hands on the wound on Marinette’s side, at least that she can apply pressure to, but this is all far beyond her meager knowledge. “Wait, wait, I need to call the police, you need an ambulance-”

“No, no,” Marinette says, shaking her head, “I just need a snack. To feed Tikki-agh, to recharge. Defeating the akuma- I can repair everything- I’ll heal .”

Lila stares, blood slicking her fingers as she presses on Marinette’s side, who grunts in pain as she shifts in the rubble around her. The red creature lands on Marinette’s shoulder, nodding to Lila.

“You’re in absolutely no shape to be doing any fighting at all!” Lila says, shocked. “What’s wrong with you?” Tears prick at her eyes, feeling lost. Marinette’s going to die here, in front of her, babbling nonsense about risking her life again.

“Transforming will suppress the injuries,” the creature says, voice also fatigued, “that’s the fastest way to help her, Lila.”

“Fuck,” she say, eyes closing for a moment, “okay, okay.” Why not listen to the strange supernatural fairy? Lila starts digging through pockets and her bag, praying there’s something, anything that can help. She finds a loose wrapped truffle that accompanied a love letter from the prior day. Bloodstained, she holds it out to the creature even if everything in her body is screaming to grab her phone and call for emergency services; she can hardly carry the girl safely herself.

It’s a blur as the creature unwraps the chocolate, Lila noticing how the pool of red has expanded enough to seep into her leggings. Her hands are smeared with Marinette’s– Ladybug’s –blood. This can’t be happening. Her heart thumps in her ears as she returns to applying pressure, wound up and terrified.

A hand caresses her cheek as Marinette looks at her with a weak smile.

“Thanks babe,” she says, “I owe you one. It's gonna be fine. This is nothing.”

How can she say that? What’s wrong with her? Lila presses harder, but the blood seems to have no end, and this is awful, so awful, and she doesn’t know why it’s happening.

“Nothing?! How can this be nothing? Your leg’s broken , you probably have a concussion, you’re coughing up blood- you could die -”

“I’m not gonna die,” Marinette returns as blood rolls down her cheek, “Ladybug can be never be defeated.”

It doesn’t make any sense. She’s incomprehensible. Lila can’t make her see reason.

“I’m ready, Marinette, hurry!” Tikki says.

“Great, yes. Tikki–agh–spots on .” It comes out a pained whisper more than anything else, and Lila stares, feeling empty as a swirl of light encompasses the girl before her. It’s only for a few seconds, and then Ladybug is standing before her, wearing only the red of a spotted suit.

She doesn’t look hurt at all, but Lila knows better. Of course, she still kneels in the remnants of Marinette’s fall, hands dipped in red from her attempts to staunch the flow of blood.

Behind the fierce determination in the heroine’s eyes, there’s a broken, broken girl, and Lila realizes how that girl hardly cares if she shatters into pieces as long as she can still wear the mask and save the day.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Ladybug says, looking down, “that wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

Lila stares up at her, words lost in her throat.

“I’ll be back soon,” the heroine says, fingers tightening into fists, “I’ll finish this as quickly as I can. Get somewhere safe.” Her expression intensifies, brows drawing together. “Sorry,” she repeats, “and thanks.”

With that, she zips up and out of the alleyway, leaving Lila sitting there amidst the debris. Unsteadily, she draws herself to her feet after a minute passes, feeling cold, but she has to lean on the wall to stay upright.

“What the hell,” she says again, throat tight, her eyes burning as emotion thrashes inside of her, but becoming another akumatized victim is the thing she wants least , and she has to shove it away, shove it all away. Lila takes a few steps before she drops again, sliding down the wall as she tries to focus on anything else.

She only knows things are finally over when a swirl of pink rushes past, leaving her hands devoid of any red at all. After all, the miraculous ladybugs always fix everything, never leaving any signs of the damage that occurred.

It’s as if nothing happened in the first place.

Lila feels sick, and she throws up.

#lilanette #miraculous ladybug #lilanetteweek #lila rossi #marinette dupain cheng

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princess-of-the-corner · 18 days ago

Note

I know we discussed it before but Akuma really are depressing/horrifying when viewed from Chloe's perspective cos like.

Off the cuff, her Akuma are among the more self aware and self possessed variety. Anti-Bug is basically just Chloe hopped up on magic juice and extra pissed off. She's not even utterly dominated by some irrational fixation like Dark Cupid, let alone having been rendered barely sapient like Horrificator does to Mylene.

In this regard, Nathanial being so... Well Nathanial, would also reinforce this stance to her as far as personal agency goes.

But then you add in that people can resist them, that she resisted and every Akuma suddenly comes off more like an intentional choice. Which puts the students who tried to kill her, which puts the mother who did kill her her, and the father that tried to render her a brain dead sycophantic toy into a stark and horrifying context.

How do you cope with that?

Especially as someone who is feeling increasingly isolated, like vulnerability is a huge issue and struggles to communicate in general. Treating Akuma like no big deal and Akumatizing over stuff like soccer becomes a lot more logical in that context. Because if you treated Akuma seriously, you'd have to face something far worse.

Yeah like.

I think her view on the whole 'resisting Akumas' thing is also one of the things that stems from pre-existing Trauma™ in that

This was something that she did struggle with initially until she kinda gave up on truly ressting if that made sense? Like she failed to resist Antibug or Queen Wasp, but she overcame it with Miraculer and then after that she's compartmentalized the trauma and all Akumatizations after were a 'choice' to give in.

And there's two things at play:

1.) the 'this trauma is going to happen whether I want it to or not, so my choosing to engage in it it's my choice therefore I'm not a 'victim' thing.

and

2.) According to everyone around me, things that should be simple are things I struggle with because I'm so fucking Unexceptional™ and it's easy for everyone I'm just a moron making things difficult for myself. So clearly since she /can/ resist but it was a struggle, that means it's probably easy for everyone else and they choose not to.

tbh I really need someone to say 'hey even if you think you're willing, you're very much not, but also it's super hard to resist Akumatization /especially/ when you're still mid-despair'

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ilikekidsshows · 6 months ago

Note

Rate the drip of Queen Mayor.

Rate the Drip ask game

THIS IS JUST CHLOÉ WITH A JACKET STOLEN FROM HER MOM'S CLOSET AND A SASH STOLEN FROM HER DAD'S.

At first I thought I was being pranked when I read this was an actual Akuma. Then I realized and confirmed that this is basically an Akuma Chloé masquerading as regular Chloé to take advantage of her Akuma powers to wreak havoc.

Man, how lame.

This show did the secret villain thing a lot better with its Sentimonsters, so this is just a waste of an Akuma. I guess the point is that Chloé doesn't even need to turn into a villain to do her heinous schemes. The girl being irredeemable is wearing her parents' symbols of power but that's just coincidental and her wickedness is just naturally occurring and her own fault while her parents are just more of her victims, we should feel sorry for the grownup billionaires.

#ml salt #ask game #rate the drip

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mc-lukanette · 1 year ago

Text

Luka had always felt like there was something missing from his life. It wasn't something he could put into words, but it was undeniably there. As if he were a guitar without strings, he grew into a teenager without being able to express it to anyone.

When the news of Hawk Moth attacking Paris came, Luka wanted to do... something. It was like an instinct stirring inside him telling him to go, to go do it, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He stood up when he heard the news of danger and looked for someone who wasn't around, or he'd rub at his wrist as if there was something meant to be there.

Things became better yet more confusing when he finally met Marinette. He'd seen her in pictures before but never in person, and he felt a little more whole just at the sight of her. Ladybug added a bit more as well when he got to meet her up close. It felt right and he couldn't help seeing the similarities between her and Marinette.

There was even something deeper - something sad that made his chest feel tight - but he couldn't place it.

Then, the day came when Hawk Moth's latest akuma, Desperada, arrived on the Liberty. It was also the day where everything finally clicked into place.

——

Luka was wandering the sewers, looking out for any sign of Adrien when he heard voices. Following them to their source, he walked until he spotted them from around a corner, though he stood back just in case he was interrupting something important.

Ladybug and Adrien stood there, still mid-discussion. While Luka couldn't see Ladybug's face nor what she was holding in her hands, he could tell that neither seemed particularly happy.

"And..." Ladybug began, "you really don't remember anything?"

Adrien shook his head, desperate to cheer her back up. "No, I do! I remember all the timelines I reset!"

"That's not—" She sighed heavily. "Never mind. Thanks for trying, Adrien."

He looked a mix between utterly dejected and confused, but she didn't clarify and turned around instead.

"...Oh—" She stopped in surprise. "Luka?"

Luka took that as his cue to step out fully, rubbing at the spot his guitar strap would be if he had it on. "Sorry. I didn't want to intrude."

Her reassuring smile was bittersweet. "It's okay. I'm glad you came along, and we were just—" She turned her head to gesture at Adrien, but he'd already run off somewhere. Looking back at Luka, she insisted, "Anyway, it was nothing important."

He decided not to pry, noting how disappointed she looked as if her world had come crashing down. There was still an akuma on the loose and he opted to focus on that instead. "You said you're glad I'm here?"

"Mhm." She held something to her chest, hidden in her fist, and closed her eyes. "I... I need a temporary hero to help me against Desperada."

He eagerly stepped forward, putting a hand to his heart. "Whatever you need, Ladybug, I'm here to help. Anything to protect my family and friends."

She nodded approvingly, perking up. "That's what I like to hear."

Then, she presented the object in her hand to him, and all of Luka's other thoughts ceased. He was certain she was still talking to him - his mind faintly registering what sounded like a rehearsed speech she might give to any temporary hero - but his focus was locked on the bangle in her hand.

Marinette, Ladybug, and now the bangle: the snake miraculous. It felt like everything had been building to that very moment, like the "something missing" in his life was finally about to be filled in.

He didn't hesitate to accept her offer, the bangle feeling smooth and natural in his grip. Taking a breath to steel himself up, he raised his other hand and slipped it through the bangle.

Almost instantly, he was hit with an intense way of dizziness. His vision blurred as he staggered, but he could still make out Ladybug's concerned face.

"Luka?!" she called in alarm, gripping his shoulders to help keep him upright.

Memories flashed in his mind, ones that weren't his own and yet were. Fighting evil, donning the snake miraculous, and the partner who was always by his side all replayed in his mind like a movie set to fast-forward, yet he somehow comprehended all of it.

He'd live a different life, and not just one life but many before his current one. While Sass was known as the kwami of Intuition, the snake represented so much more than that and the miraculous's design showed as much.

Renewal - a cycle that never ends - and with help from Tikki it was all complete: the creation of lives and a cycle of reincarnation. It was an arrangement that he'd had with his ladybug partner with the express permission of their kwami, to essentially go on forever with their undefined but undeniably strong relationship.

It hadn't been perfect. Things weren't nearly as nice in the past before the world had truly advanced, and the most heartbreaking part about it was that they didn't always make it through together. He'd die, or she'd die and then it was just a matter of waiting until they reincarnated again. Luka vividly remembered times where he'd won the battle but wished he'd lost if it meant they could've gone together, even if they would've inevitably seen each other again anyway.

Yet, even that was far preferable to what had happened in his last life, because the biggest difference between his last life and this one compared to all others was time. It was far too long of a distance even though he knew it wasn't the same for Ladybug.

She'd cut him off from the cycle. He recalled his last moments of laying on her lap as she stared down at him with tears in her eyes. She'd grabbed his wrist, hand wrapping around the bangle as she told him not to reincarnate again, or at least not until the world was safer for them to live together freely in. It would have sounded like an order too if her voice hadn't been so faint and sad.

However, he knew it would be enough to make a dent in their agreement. He opened his mouth to beg her to take it back or let him plead his case, but it was too late. His consciousness had been failing him and he closed his eyes for the last time.

And now, in the present, he opened them back up again to see her once more, different yet the same person he'd loved through multiple lifetimes. At some point, she had moved him to sit while he recovered, but he hadn't been able to pay attention due to the sheer rush the return of his memories caused.

"Are you okay?" she asked, cupping his cheek worriedly.

"I—" Luka took a deep, shaky breath, trying to gather his bearings after the intensity he'd been through. There were too many mixed emotions and he still knew better than to throw all of that on Ladybug when there was still an akuma going around. Instead, he told her simply, "I remember."

"You..." Her eyes lit up in recognition, then became glossy with unshed tears. "Y-you remember? You remember!"

She threw her arms around him, pulling Luka into a tight hug while she buried her face into his shoulder. She kept mumbling incoherently against him, but he still picked up a few "I missed you"s and comments about how glad she was to have him back. He felt torn, finding it hard to resist his partner's hug but unable to help thinking about all the time he'd lost with her because of what she did.

After a moment, he relented to his body's almost instinctive reaction to her, placing his hands on her back and focusing on the tightness of her hug. Gently but urgently, he said, "We should take care of the akuma. It's not safe here."

She slowly pulled back, sniffling but nodded in agreement with him. As conflicted as he was about things, he couldn't sit still at her tears either and reached out to wipe a trail of tears away.

The knowledge that they could talk later kept him going.

——

Ladybug had let him keep the miraculous even after the battle was over, agreeing with Sass that the snake miraculous was "back where it was meant to be." Once they'd safely recharged, they took off for Marinette's house to recuperate.

She hadn't even pretended to hide her identity from him anymore. Not only did she already know his, but they knew from multiple reincarnations that trying to keep their identities secret from each other was a losing game.

While Luka laid back on Marinette's chaise lounge, she fled the room to get them drinks and give him and Sass a moment to themselves.

"I've already talked to her," Sass spoke up from Luka's shoulder, having not left it since the detransformation.

"What?"

"About what she did." His tail flicked back and forth almost anxiously and it was difficult to place the exact expression on his face. "A long time ago, over multiple lifetimes, but it's your own choice for how to handle it."

Luka could only nod, though he was more than happy to be filled in on anything that happened while he was gone.

Roughly a minute later, Marinette returned with two ice cold cups of water in hand. She passed one to him and kept one for herself, pulling her computer chair near the chaise lounge to sit close to him.

Even though he'd thought over exactly what he wanted to say ever since he got the memories of his past lives back, Luka's mind was drawing a blank. Undeniably, it was a complicated situation, because although they were still themselves whenever they reincarnated, it didn't stop them from changing as time went on.

Marinette had changed. She was more fidget-y - more anxious - than he remembered in any of his past lives, and he wondered if it was due to not having him around for so many of her own. He didn't want to assume, but he knew that he at least would've grown restless as well had her cycle been cut off and he'd been left without her. They might not have needed each other to win battles or be heroes, but they wanted each other.

"...I'm sorry about Adrien," Marinette suddenly said, breaking the silence.

Luka stared, both surprised to hear that be the first thing addressed and confused because he'd already forgotten about Adrien's involvement in all of this.

She continued, looking away and elaborating, "I-I didn't think we'd be apart for so long, and I wanted you back so badly. I thought that he was the snake." She paused, then shook her head, smiling bitterly. "That's not true. I didn't really think it, I just wanted to believe it. I fooled myself with the idea that having your cycle broken for so long might've changed you, and since you have green eyes as Viperion..." She shrugged for lack of any excuse for herself. "I almost gave up hope before you remembered."

The reasoning sounded crazy even to her, only further showing her desperation on the matter. He looked down at his drink, taking a long sip while he attempted to collect his thoughts.

"Then why'd you do it?" he asked. It was the only thing he could ask. "Why'd you break my cycle?"

She squinted at him like the answer was obvious. It didn't matter if it was or not, he just wanted to hear her tell him in her own words.

"B-because I didn't want to see you get killed anymore?" she replied. The hold on her glass of water shook and she threw her other hand outwards. "And you didn't like seeing me killed!"

"So you thought you should suffer alone," he finished disapprovingly. Already anticipating her potential replies, he added, "I never blamed you, Marinette, or thought it was your fault when something bad happened."

She hunched in her chair with a wobbly frown, staring silently at her cup. Luka felt Sass's weight leave his chest and looked to see that his kwami had flown off, just barely catching the teal and red lights phasing through the floor to give them privacy. Marinette didn't even notice.

"...Maybe some of them were my fault—"

"Marinette," he sighed, not in exasperation at her but at the kind of people who gave her that kind of mindset. He sat up straighter on the chaise lounge, reaching out to take her hand. "You're so smart, but you can't be perfect. I never expected you to predict everything, and I never wanted either of us to stop reincarnating either."

He was sure that Sass had given her an earful of that already, but still felt it important to say it himself.

"Even when we...?" Marinette pressed, still determined to make her point.

The answer came easily to him. "Yeah, unless you didn't want to keep going. Whenever I died, I knew I'd get to see you again next time." He tried to smile despite the heavy topic. "I always got to look forward to seeing how you'd change."

She blushed, her free hand tightly gripping the fabric of her pants. She opened her mouth, stopped, then stood up from her seat without another word. Seeing what she was doing, Luka offered his cup of water and let her take both glasses away to set them on the table, giving them both an excuse to take a breather in the conversation.

Marinette paused at the table, idly moving the glasses back and forth without any real intent to put them in a particular position. There was the small sound of the glass rubbing against the table as she did so, filling the silence.

Finally, she said, "I'm sorry. I figured it'd be worth it to just—scrape by; that knowing you were safe would let me keep going until we met again." She whimpered, her hands resting on the table to support her and curling into fists. "B-but I kept thinking about you. I kept missing you. I kept wishing I didn't do what I did so you'd still be with me, and then I'd feel guilty about it because I was so sure I did the right thing."

Luka pushed himself up, hurriedly crossing the room to be near her. "You're not selfish for wanting me, Marinette, not when I wanted to be with you just as badly." He reached out to grab her shoulder in a gesture all too familiar to them, when—

"I-I was going to confess."

He froze, his hand moving no closer to her as he repeated her words in his head, making sure he'd heard correctly.

She continued, unaware of his struggle, "That day you died - your last reincarnation - I was gonna do it, but everything went wrong." She bent down, shaking at the memory that was so long ago for her yet so recent to him. "I thought... i-it must've been telling me something, like I was bad luck, o-or that it was horrible for you to be around me."

Luka could hear his heart pounding in his head, slotting in her confession with the context of his last reincarnation's final moments. It took all he had to not stand in shock, forcing his body forward so he could touch her. She flinched when he covered the hand closest to him with his own, her teary eyes darting up to his as his other hand found its home on her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, voice pained. His chest ached despite the requited feelings.

"W-why are you sorry?" She blinked rapidly from the tears in her eyes. "I thought y-you were upset."

"I am," he began, gripping her hand tighter, "that you were alone for so long, that I missed so many of your lives—" He breathed up, finally saying what he hadn't for multiple lifetimes. "—and that I never told you how much you meant to me."

She gasped inaudibly. "L-Luka?"

"Your pain's my pain." He caressed her cheek, then leaned in to press their foreheads together. "I love you so much, and that won't change no matter how many lives we go through."

Marinette's tears flowed faster, though he knew they were a different variety this time. She tried to reply with what he was sure was an, "I love you too," but it was more noises than coherent words. When that failed, her brows furrowed in determination and she launched herself at him, pressing her lips against his.

Luka staggered backwards, just barely managing to grasp the edge of the table to keep himself from falling over. Marinette's warmth was overwhelming him and all he could do was kiss her back to make up for all the lost time.

He'd never dared to imagine what kissing her could actually be like. There was so much at stake and he didn't want to push her boundaries, so he'd loved her silently. Now, in addition to being her best friend and eternal partner, he was also her boyfriend.

He didn't have the words to describe it, but maybe one day the world would come up with them.

Even when she broke the kiss to breathe again, Marinette clung to him tighter to keep him against her. She inhaled his scent, muttering into his shoulder, "Y-you're back. You're really here. Luka..."

Feeling his own eyes get misty, he ran his hand through her hair to soothe the both of them from the sheer intensity of emotions. "You've always had me, Marinette."

He meant it. His heart had been hers from their first life, their current life, everything in between, and everything that would come in the future. The only thing he hadn't known until this very moment was that it was mutual.

#queuekanette #lukaneventte: No Context November #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette

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galahadwilder · 2 years ago

Text

The Time I Got Reincarnated as an Evil Version of Myself

Chapter 1: Honey Sweet

My AO3 is linked in my bio.

After Catalyst, Chloé’s life only got better. Now a full-time superhero, she managed to finally make new friends, forging bonds with the other members of her team. She’d repaired her relationships with her father and Sabrina, fallen in love, and welcomed a surprise sister with open arms.

Then she wakes up in a world where none of that happened. Where, after Catalyst, she only got worse, and lonelier, and more and more bitter.

The canon timeline, in fact. Or something close to it.

Chloé is the only one who remembers the other world. Her friends hate her, her relationships are destroyed, even her girlfriend has barely ever spoken to her. But that’s okay. Whether good or evil, Chloé Bourgeois has never—and WILL never—let anything stop her.

Honeybee claws her way back to consciousness with a splitting headache.

"Urgh," she groans, feeling her throat seize mid-noise as she tries to fight down a vomit. Might be a concussion. "Anyone..." She winces as the word sends pain spiking through her skull. "Anyone get the license on that Akuma?"

Wow. She really has been spending a lot of time with Adrien lately.

She tries to roll onto her hands, to stand up, when she realizes that something's wrong. The ground—the ground is soft. If she got hit hard enough to get knocked down, she should be either on roof or on the street. Neither of which are soft.

Actually, it feels like she's on a bed.

She shoots upright, then immediately regrets it as her brain hammers on the inside of her eyeballs. "Augh!" she yelps, clutching at her forehead.

Then she realizes that what she's feeling is flesh on flesh. There's no spandex. She's ungloved.

She's not transformed.

Her eyes shoot open, and she once again immediately regrets it as beams of light stab between her fingers straight into her optic nerves. She shrieks, covering her head with her forearms.

Yes, that is definitely a concussion.

She carefully cracks her eyes, trying to regulate the stabbing light as slowly as she can. Still hurts, but less, so she's taking the time to adjust. "Pollen?" she croaks.

There's no response.

Immediately, Chloé throws her eyes open, heedless of the pain. Pollen's not with her? Was she—did—did Hawkmoth get her?

It takes her a moment to adjust, before she realizes that she's in her room. Which, okay, that's not great, because she doesn't remember getting her so she must've blacked out, or maybe died, during the Akuma fight, but on the other hand Zoé probably has Pollen right now so at least the Kwami is safe.

Chloé rolls herself out of bed, groaning again at the throbbing in her head. If the Cure went off, why does she still hurt? It usually knits her back together by now.

She stumbles toward her closet, opens the door, and pulls out her favorite fluffy terrycloth robe. She hopes Zoé is back. She wants to check and make sure her sister—and the Kwami they share—are okay.

She makes her way toward the door to her suite, walking as much with her hands on the wall as with her feet on the floor. Her balance is really gone right now. She should probably get back to bed, rest, but she has to check on Zoé. She's not sure why, but she's starting to get the sinking feeling that something is very, very wrong.

Creeping into hallway is easy enough, at least. Her balance is coming back, the vertigo is retreating. She crosses, light-footed, to her sister's door and knocks. Gently, because ow. Sounds are ow.

For a moment, there's no response, and Chloé feels her heart leap into her throat. Then, finally, she hears Zoé's voice: "Who is it?"

"Chloé," Chloé calls back, her throat rasping.

"...Oh," Zoé says. "What do you want?"

"Just checking on you," Chloé says. "Is—" She swallows. "Is Pollen with you? She wasn't in my room when I woke up."

She hears absolute silence from the room, then the sound of her sister's feet padding across the floor. Zoé throws the door open, wearing her favorite yellow-trimmed black silk pajamas—but the glare on her face is significantly less familiar.

"That's not funny, Chlo," Zoé snaps.

Chloé blinks. "I... wasn't... trying to be?" she says.

"Well, good, 'cause you failed," Zoé says. "I can't even tell what you were trying to do." She crosses her arms and leans against the doorway, scowling. "Why in God's name would I have—like, were you accusing me of working with Monarch? Because I have tried to be a good sister, but there's some things—"

"What?" Chloé says. "I just—" She blinks, swallows. "I just wanted to know if you two were okay."

Zoé straightens, stares at her, confusion written in her wide eyes. "I—what?"

Chloé starts to feel her neck heat. "Did... did I say something wrong?" she says.

"You never ask if I'm okay," Zoé says. She reaches out her palm, placing it on Chloé's forehead. "Are you feeling sick or something?"

Chloé leans into her hand, her eyes fluttering closed. "I think I have a concussion," she mutters.

"...How?" Zoe asks, pulling her hand back (causing Chloé to whine at the loss of contact). "Did you fall off the bed or something?"

Chloé shakes her head. "Took an Akuma to the face," she says. "I just wanted to make sure you picked up Pollen after I detransformed."

Zoé's face grows clouded with concern. "Chloé," she says, "you... haven't been Queen Bee for, like, a year."

"I mean, duh?" Chloé says. "I told you, I had to change my hero name to protect my identity." She's starting to wonder if Zoé is okay, now. Does she not remember?

Zoé's face twists back into a scowl. "Oh, now you're telling me that you were Vesperia?" she snaps. "Real funny, Chloé. I'll see you at school." Then she slams the door.

Chloé blinks. Of... of course she wasn't saying that, Zoé is Vesperia. What has her sister so angry?

Getting ready for the day is been unexpectedly difficult. All of her favorite outfits are missing—in the wash, probably—so she’s stuck with a bunch she doesn’t remember buying. Probably from Daddy. The only lip gloss she’s able to find is that white one she’d stopped wearing months ago when she realized how much it made her look like she was about to demand to speak to someone’s manager—i.e., her mother. (She’d had a full-blown dissociative episode over that one. No way in hell is she touching that particular lip gloss anymore.) She decides that it’s probably a hair down kind of day, though her yellow hoodie seems to be missing so she can’t go full comfy, which is slightly grating.

Zoé doesn't wait for her to walk to school together the way she usually does. Something's really wrong—Chloé must have pissed her off really badly. The worst part is, she has no idea what she even said. She keeps replaying the conversation they had in her mind, trying to figure out what happened, what had triggered Zoé this badly, but she can't. She's stuck on one thing.

Zoé had mentioned someone—or something—called Monarch. She’d talked about them like they were some kind of new villain, almost with a sense of… paranoia? It’s unsettling, a little bit. Chloé can’t help wondering how much, exactly, happened while she was unconscious. Or dead, or whatever.

It’s been a year and she’s still not quite used to thinking that.

She wanders into class holding a tray full of coffees, each of which she’s marked with the animal symbol of one of her friends as a bit of an inside joke—and also to keep them straight, because god forbid she accidentally give Marinette “black coffee or death” Dupain-Cheng some of Adrien’s cream-and-sugar monstrosity.

”Morning, guys,” she says, removing the cardboard cups from her tray and placing them in front of Adrien and Nino. “Coffee’s up.”

The entire classroom falls silent at once, and suddenly everyone’s eyes are on her, pressing on her with the weight of confusion and judgment. Nino and Alya, in particular, seem more baffled than anything else—but Adrien… Adrien seems angry.

”Was… it not my turn?” Chloé says, weakly. Did she do something? Why is everyone so pissed at her today?

“Your turn for what?” Alya says, confused, before she turns her cup and sees what Chloé drew on it. Her face draws tight. “Oh. Thanks. Very funny, Chloé.”

”What?” Nino says. “What did she…?”

Alya points at his cup. “Turtle shell.”

“Oh.” Nino turns a glare on Chloé. “Asshole.”

Chloé’s heart leaps up into her throat, and she swears she can’t breathe. “I—what?” she gasps. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—” What is happening?

Adrien’s face is white as a sheet, now. He’s staring at his cup like he’s been struck dead. She’s not even sure he’s breathing.

”I—I—” Chloé’s starting to feel overwhelmed. Hopeless. Everything’s going wrong today and she has no idea why and oh no, she’s gonna get Akumatized, she has to get out of here before she hurts somebody.

”Scuse me!” she yelps, body-slamming back out the classroom door and dashing toward the second-floor bathrooms.

The charm Marinette gave her is the wrong color.

It’s such a weird thing to fixate on, what with everything happening right now, but focusing on that is helping Chloé keep calm. She hasn’t heard the flap of butterfly wings yet, so it seems to be working?

Either way. The Anti-Akuma charm is the wrong color. It’s… yellow. The same yellow as her uniform. Which would’ve made sense for any number of her Akuma forms, except that the one that Marinette specifically gave her the charm for, she had been dressed in a way that was patterned on Ryuuko’s costume, not any of Chloé’s—red, with black and gold accents. This is not her charm.

She hears the door to the bathroom open, and immediately she’s on alert. There are any number of people she doesn’t want to see right now, and if any of them—

“Chloé? Are you… sitting on the floor?”

Oh thank Kwami. That’s Marinette’s voice.

”Sorry,” Chloé mumbles, barely keeping the tears out of her voice. “Trying not to get Akumatized.” She barely looks up as her friend’s pink capris enter her field of vision, though she does hold up the Anti-Akuma charm. “Charm seems to be working okay.”

”That’s goo—wait.” Marinette seems to dither, stuck between going to Chloé and entering the bathroom stall. “I thought that was a gift from your mom?”

“What? No, you gave me this,” Chloé says, then coughs out a single laugh. “Only thing Audrey ever gave me was mommy issues.”

”I… don’t know what you’re talking about?” Marinette says, unconvincingly.

That makes Chloé look up, meeting her friend’s eyes in confusion. ”Nobody else is here, Mari,” she says. “It’s just us.”

Marinette takes a step back.

Chloé blinks. “What is with everyone today?” she says.

”I don’t… know?” Marinette says.

Chloé sighs, staring back down at the tiled floor. “Did Pollen stay the night at your place? I couldn’t find her this morning and Zoé wouldn’t talk to me.”

Marinette is silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. “Who’s…” she croaks. “Who’s Pollen?”

”Oh, come on!” Chloé snaps, slamming a fist into the tiled floor. “Don’t tell me you forgot. Kwami of Subjugation? Looks like a tiny humanoid bee?”

"You—!" Marinette says, and Chloé is surprised to hear the wetness in her voice. She looks up to see Marinette's reddened face, eyes shining with tears that she's clearly trying to hold back. "Why—why would I—know where—where—where—where—where—"

Oh, no. Chloé knows this look. Something just triggered Marinette, badly, and though she has no idea what, Chloé can't just let her best friend spiral. She reaches behind her and pulls herself up on the sink, staggering into Marinette and sweeping her into a hug. "Hey," she says, pressing her palms against Marinette's back, pulling her in close. "We'll find her, okay? She's—"

The she feels the sink crack against the base of her spine before she even registers that Marinette has shoved her. She slips, pinwheeling, back to the ground, plastic dust raining down onto her head, barely even aware of her own body—the impact drove all the breath, and all the thoughts, clean out of her.

"Don't—don't touch me," Marinette whispers from the floor across from her, shaking, eyes wide. She's thrown herself across the bathroom, too, tripped backward onto her butt. "Don't touch—don't... you..."

Chloé, stunned, looks at her own hands, the dust on them, the deep red scrapes where rough plastic friction burned her skin. She can't feel them yet, but she's going to in less than a minute, and they look... they look painful. Part of her, the ragged, nasty part, the part of her that is her mother, wants to leap up, scream, throw Marinette against a wall, storm into the principal's office and demand she be expelled. She wants to take out the pain of the last few hours on everyone else, because it's always been easier to vent it than feel it.

But more than that, more than anything, she just wants her goddamn teddy bear.

It takes her a moment to realize that she's crying, because it takes her a moment to remember to breathe, but when the breath comes it comes hard and ragged. "I'm—I'm—s-s-sorry," she sobs. "J-j-just want—want—wanted to... to... help."

Marinette looks at her like she's grown a second head.

Chloé, heedless of the scrapes and the dust, buries her face in her hands and finally feels whatever inside of her was still holding together collapse.

Then she hears a very familiar voice in her head. The one she still has nightmares about.

Hello, Princess Solitaire, Hawkmoth says.

@emma-d-klutz @generalluxun @naresar @ninepostsstuff @grotesquewombat @erisluna35 @oblivionhold @all-peristeronic @chaos-has-theories @into-september @claws-and-bee-stings @279ital @drawing2cope

#miraculous ladybug #chloe bourgeois #reborn as a villainess #chloe redemption #zoe lee #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #original content #my fic #ml fic #isekai #otome isekai #angst #the time i got reincarnated as an evil version of myself #that time i got reincarnated as an evil version of myself

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flightfoot · 3 months ago

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I crave chat blanc fics

please, recs for the angsty kitty?

Sure! Just warning you, but I'll probably have some incomplete fics in here, if I think they're good enough.

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the last day on earth by Reiaiji

The first time Marinette sees Chat Blanc, she's fourteen years old. The second time, fifteen—the third time, seventeen. The closer she grows to Adrien, the harder it is to save him.

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been here before by Boogum

The sight of Marinette with her hair down is a slip of ice on his spine. It's the little prickles that creep along his skin, whispering to his soul of familiarity. Of been here before. It's the haze of dreams and echoes of loneliness and ice, and it leaves him frozen. Or, in which Adrien starts to remember the events of Chat Blanc.

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Blanc Out by @11jj11

They always knew how dangerous it would be if one of them was akumatized, but what Marinette didn't realize was the emotional pain that would come along with that. But now as she faces Chat Blanc she begins to realize just how much she needs and misses her partner. Hawk Moth seems determined not to lose this akuma though, Chat retreating at any sign he might falter, leading one battle to stretch out into many. What pushed him to this state, allowing Hawk Moth to turn him? And what about the times when Hawk Moth is not in control, when her kitty is roaming the streets of Paris, akumatized and alone?

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Bell The Cat by @heartfulselkie

Ladybug is the Miraculous Hero of Gallia. She has spent the past number of years fighting the minions of the tyrant Hawk Moth, only for the war to come to an abrupt end. News reveals that Hawk Moth was brutally slain by his own champion and captain of his own elite guard - the infamous knight Chat Blanc, known to wield pure destruction itself. With the disintegration of Hawk Moth's army, Chat Blanc is captured and imprisoned until his certain execution. Being a beloved hero and instrumental in the realm's defences during the war, Ladybug is offered a reward of her choosing. Instead of choosing a title or luxuries as expected she chooses...custody of Chat Blanc??? A new threat is rising in the chasm Hawk Moth left behind, and Ladybug believes Chat Blanc's knowledge and skill will be vital in what's to come. And perhaps he could also answer some questions that have plagued her since even before the war with Hawk Moth began..

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Bathed in White by @coloradopeculiar

Ladybug was vaguely aware of Chat Noir’s worried cry and Sandboy’s victorious laugh. It slowly registered that she had gotten hit. A nightmare of hers would come to life, but which one would it be? Would she lose her powers again? What about her memories? Would Alya show up mid battle claiming her allegiance to Shadow Moth? What if-. Dread ran through her blood, cold and dark. ‘Please, no. Anything but that, anything but him.’ Ladybug pleaded with whoever was listening. No such luck. “Why hello there, My Lady.”

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Hallucinate by JuliaFC

When the power of an akuma gives Marinette hallucinations, her words open more than one can of worms. And one especially, she would never have wanted Adrien to know about.

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I hope these are satisfactory!

#ask #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic rec #chat blanc

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graaythekwami · 7 months ago

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Little random game: name the eps you most hate and most love of each miraculous season and explain why

Hmm, there's not many episodes I'd say I hate, but my favorites and least favorites of each season are as follows:

Season 1:

Favorite: Origins -I don't care if this is technically two episodes, I loved seeing the origins of how the children met and how everything went down. The beginning of LadyNoir and oh my gosh we got such good LadyNoir moments here.

Least Favorite: Reflekta -Honestly looking through season 1 there really isn't any that stands out as a least favorite for me. So I chose Reflekta solely because this episode is the start of the curse of the many Reflekta akumatizations to come. xD

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Season 2:

Favorite: Heroes' Day -I had to put this one as my favorite just on the premise that I feel that Heroes' Day is the best final/two parter we've had in the entire series. I loved everyone's role in these episodes, and of course we get to see Nathalie being an absolute queen as well.

Least Favorite: Frozer -Eh. Just an episode that's never stood out to me. Forgettable in the long run.

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Season 3:

Favorite: Chat Blanc -Favorite episode of the season? More like my favorite episode ever! The angst. The feels. Chat Blanc's hurt and rage. Chat Blanc's design. It's all so beautiful the only change I'd make is making it a two parter and maybe adding a LadyBlanc kiss. But those changes aren't even needed because it's wonderful as is. 11/10. -Gamer 2.0, Oblivio, and Reflekdoll are honorable mentions. For the adorable LadyNoir moments, adorable Lovesquare moments via memory loss, and kwami swap! Season 3 is probably my favorite season overall.

Least Favorite: Christmaster -Just another episode that's never stood out to me. Plot wise it felt mid, and I can't see myself going back to rewatch it or basing a fic on it. Or including it in a fic. -Honorable mention of Miracle Queen though, as this used to be my least favorite of the season. I was really on board for a Chloe redemption when season three ended so this episode kind of stung (hehe) then, but nowadays I don't have the same issues with it.

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Season 4:

Favorite: Qilin Least Favorite: Qilin

-Ha! Didn't see this coming, did you? I love love loved so much of Qilin. I loved the themes it addresses, Marinette and Sabine's relationship, the design of the akuma, it was all so good... until the very end!! They let Marinette take the blame when the real problem was racism?? I hate you ticket dude. And also bus driver dude you saw Sabine with her tickets and she literally gave you baked goods and you said nothing when she was taken away? Why???

And if you don't accept one episode being both the favorite and least favorite, then here are my thoughts on other episodes of the season: -I love the setup of Truth and Lies and would love more episodes focusing solely on Adrien. -Guiltrip when Chat Noir almost Catalcysms himself hurts me on a physical level someone give Adrien a hug. -I will forever live for the Plagg and Adrien moments in Kuro Neko.

Season 5:

Favorite: Evolution -Season 5 has a lot of plot-heavy focused episodes, which I always love to get. We got canon Adrinette, Gabriel getting Cataclysmed, awesome lore... but in the end I still think it's this first episode that's my favorite. I loved the action, how it picks right up at the end of season four, and also Rabbit Noir had such an awesome design too. I liked seeing Master Fu again, and the role Alix got to play. Gabriel got his good Monarch design with the stained glass look. Also timetravel can be tricky to write, and they pulled it off well.

Least Favorite: Action -After a whole season of the most plot-heavy episodes yet with a lot happening emotionally... Action has very little action is the way of plot or even as good “filler”.

Specials:

Favorite: Miraculous Paris -Gah honestly I think this is one of the very best episodes in all the show. Fantastic writing, great characterization, a fun adventure and seeing the alternate universe was fascinating. I love Shadybug and Claw Noir. Hesperia was awesome (I refuse to call him Betterfly). I have so many questions about the other world and who the Supreme is. Gabriel singing the intro. I could go on all day.

Least Favorite: ...idk -I mean there's only three specials thus far, and honestly I can't rank the Shanghai or the New York special as the lowest.

Movies: -Jk we only have one. xD But with how movie one ended with Nathalie I'm excited to see what they might do with this universe in the future.

#ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #ml episodes #adrien agreste #chat noir #anon ask #chat blanc #plagg #marinette dupain cheng #jj talks #jj speaks #ladybug

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gale-gentlepenguin · 7 months ago

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Hoaxer

Its just a recolor of her better akuma form.

It is a cool color scheme, but thats it.

#rate the drip #drip ask game

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rosekasa · 2 years ago

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(kisses ask game) 43 & ladrien? 🥹

!!!! post reveal angst (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

send me a kiss prompt + lovesquare corner

43. kissing away tears

It comes out in one sharp burst of words as soon as she sets him down. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Adrien doesn't respond, gaze fixed on a puddle scattered in the concrete.

She hates this. Hates the way he won't look at her, hates the way she always ends up yelling at him, hates the fact that they keep having this conversation over and over again, as if it will make any difference to what he does.

Ladybug sighs, leaning back against the brick. She glances down at her fists. Still shaking.

"Adrien,” she says softly. “I'm not going to die again.”

He swallows hard, looking down at his ring. The sky is a blue square of light in his eyes.

She doesn't remember much about that fight. It started just after sunset and ended when it started getting light again, but everything in between is empty, a hollowness she can feel, trace her hands around the shape of but never be able to fill, no matter how many news reports she's read about it. All she knew was that it was a sentimonster — a giant, black wolf — and that the Tour de l'Horloge rang out only twice before she died.

Chat Noir had to take her earrings while the sentimonster was still on top of her.

She was back by the end of the battle, when he’d used her Cure on the city. She remembers standing up, brushing the dirt off her clothes, and bumping her fist against his once he came to find her. He didn’t mention what happened, and so she didn't either.

He speaks after a long pause. "How do you know I'm thinking about that?"

"Because you haven't looked me in the eye all afternoon." She reaches out for his hand. "Adrien. I know you're scared. But you can't keep putting yourself in danger just to save me."

His fingers loosen around hers. Slowly, he slips his hand away and puts it in his pocket.

She stares at the space where it used to be, pretending that didn't sting.

"What if it were me?" he says.

She looks at him. "If what were you?"

"If it were me that had to die that night." Finally, he meets her gaze. "If you had to see me like that."

"That's…" She trails off. "I don't know."

He lets out a scoff. "Yeah. Thought so."

She raises her eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No, tell me."

"You'll just yell at me again. Just like you always do."

Her mouth falls open. She wants to be sympathetic. She does. But it's hard when he becomes cold like this, when it feels like she has to smoke him out of the walls he's built around himself.

"Adrien," she says coolly. "It was one battle. And I came back. If anything happened to me again, the Cure would fix it." She looks at him. "What the Cure can't fix is if Hawk Moth gets hold of our Miraculous because you jeopardise our plan by throwing yourself in front of an akuma."

He sets his gaze on her, hard and unyielding. "Wouldn't you do the same for me?" he says. "If it were me who'd died?"

She swallows hard. “I’d just use the Cure."

He scoffs. “Bullshit. You’d tear up the whole city.”

A deep breath leaves through her nose. She wonders, briefly, if this is why he keeps doing this. To teach her a lesson. To get even with her.

"I'm not saying that I'd handle it well," she says. "I'm saying that, sometimes, shit happens. But I have my Cure. We need to remember that. We can't just toss away all our strategies just because we're scared. That's not the way we've ever done things."

His silence is cold and sharp. "Because back then I could look at your face without remembering what it looked like when you were dead."

His voice cracks mid-sentence.

Any further argument dies in her throat.

Adrien yanks his hand out of his pocket and fumbles with his ring. He slides it off, and holds it out to her. “Take it,” he spits. “Find another Chat Noir. One who wouldn’t care if you died.”

She stares at him. "You're not serious."

"I'm completely serious." His voice is shaking. "I can't do this job anymore. Not if it means having to be okay with seeing you hurt for the sake of the battle."

She looks down at his ring. A thin thread of sky light traces the shank. He's not taking it back.

Her first instinct is to tell him to put his ring back on and agree to talk about this when they've both cooled down. But this feels like more than just something said in the heat of the moment. Something that he might actually… want.

And… she doesn't blame him. It would be easier, wouldn't it?

At least the next time she died, he wouldn't be the one to see her body.

She closes her eyes, a lump swelling in her throat.

But she's not sure anyone else would save her the way he did. Take the risk of wielding the Ladybug against a canine sentimonster just so they could possibly summon the Cure by the end of it.

When she opens her eyes, tears are streaming down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she says softly. Reaching up, she touches his face. "You're right. You shouldn't have had to see that."

His fingers curl around his Miraculous.

He squeezes his eyes shut, lowering his head. "I thought I lost you," he says quietly. "That— that whole battle, I just remember knowing you were lying there, knowing what happened to you, so sure that I would never see you again—"

She steps closer right away, pressing herself as close to him as she can, fingers sliding on his wet cheeks and into his hair while she kisses the tears off his face.

"I'm sorry," she says. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll always stay alive."

"Always?" he asks, lifting his gaze to meet hers.

She holds it firmly, watching every shard of light glitter in his tears. "Always. For you."

#miraculous ladybug #ladrien #alizeh writes #ask

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heavenlydemonyuricult · 7 months ago

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The street fighter team and other fighting game teams as well probably are such sexist trash. It's utterly ridiculous how they'll make basically all the women on average have less health than men from the perception that they're weaker possibly regardless of actual balance issues from pidgeon holding themselves into said trend and only allowing male characters to show the age of their legacy in their character designs like Ryu and Gouki/Akuma while Chun-Li is stuck in an eternal time stop like she found the 5th Magic or some shit still looking like she in her early to mid 30s at best for who knows how long. Chun-Li went from looking around the same age as the other male fighters to looking like she could deadass be Ryu's motherfucking daughter and then some. It's completely fucking ridiculous and there's no good excuse for it.

#street fighter #sexism #misogyny

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rosewood-multifandom-writer · 8 months ago

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Street Fighter 6 Roster Character Ages:

Because the game never made it clear how old certain characters are, these are my personal headcanons that are straight up just guesses. I’m going from who I think is the oldest to the youngest. I am also basing the ages around dialogue, behavior, and of course, the year the game takes place, which I’m gonna assume is either mid 2010’s or late 2010’s because of how the smartphones look, and a bit of appearance. I say a bit, because like in real life, characters can be much older than they look. The asterisk next to the ages has more to the guess. (I also project a lot towards the end)

My personal guesses:

Oldest Fighters (Oldest to Youngest)

JP: Mid 60’s

Dhalsim: Mid 60’s (dude has the bushiest and whitest beard imaginable and acts like a grandpa)

Akuma: Early 60’s (He’s not out yet, but that ain’t gonna stop me from guessing that he’s a demon grandpa)

Zangief: Mid to Late 50’s (think about the oldest wrestlers form any wrestling company who have retired and have aged like the finest wines)

Blanka: Mid 50’s (considering that he’s a beast that lived in the Brazilian forest for a very long time while hiding from tourists, I’d like to think that his DNA gave him the best genes that just barely age him)

E. Honda: Late 40’s*

Guile: Late 40’s*

Ryu and Ken: Late 40’s*

Chun-li: Mid 40’s

Deejay: Early 40’s

Youngest Fighters (Oldest to Youngest)

Cammy: Late 30’s to Early 40’s

Juri: Early 30’s (she calls Chun Li an old lady in different ways in World Tour mode, so I’d like to think that specifically, she’s 30-33)

Rashid: Late 20’s (the closest to being 30)

Marisa: Late 20’s*

Ed: Mid to late 20’s (I’d like to think that he is close to being 30, considering that he calls Luke a “Kid” despite looking like he’s in the same age range as him, not to mention that he is shown in the Fighting Ground selection screen very clearly drinking beer, so he’s above the legal drinking age)

Manon: Mid 20’s*

Luke and Jamie: Early 20’s*

A.K.I: Early 20’s (Specifically, she is the last character in the group of characters who are in their 20’s to turn 21)

Kimberly: 18 or 19 years old*

Lily: 18 years old*

Further explanations (The HCs with the asterisks):

Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li: They’ve been fighting for a long time. Ken and Chun-Li are both parents with kids that are now in their late teens or early twenties now, and Ryu has witnessed both Ken and Chun-Li grow. Specific ages are 49 and 48 for Ryu and Ken and 45 for Chun-Li since it was officially stated that Ryu is 4 years older than her.

Guile: He gives me the vibes of a brother that is only one year older than him. 49 specifically. I ran into a lot more people with siblings who either have a one or two year age gap. I’ve yet to run into someone who’s age gap between their siblings is significantly larger than me and my sister’s (I’m eight years older than my sister)

Marisa: Again, just going off of vibes here, I’d like to think at her age (27-28) she would be seeking out relationships and wanting to have a life long partner, and seems like the type of woman that is into older men like Zangeif. Could be projection, who knows, but with how young she looks? Definitely late 20’s.

Manon: The fashion industry loves to mostly hire women who are 18-25, and considering how young Manon also looks, I’d say she’s 25. I mean, she’s already a master at her craft at her age considering she started judo and ballet training as a child.

Luke and Jamie: To me, they both act like typical college aged men in their early 20’s. Jamie is the frat boy who is a heavy drinker and gets into fights the most, and Luke is the laid back former soldier boy who gets into a fight with drunk frat boy. I can say this, I have heard many stories about college aged men that have personalities similar to Luke and Jamie (hence why I’m not attracted to either of them, sorry to anyone who simps for these two)

Kimberly and Lily: These two a lot of people speculated a lot. People have guessed that Lily is 14-16, for Kimberly, 17 to 19. My personal guess? I think they are in their late teenage years. I have four reasons for this. One, people can be older than they look, especially from Asian media. If you look up literally any Asian celebrity, they look younger than what their actual age is. Japan has depicted characters who are just as young lookin as Kimberly or Lily but they are much older in canon. Two, there are real life young adult women who have body types like Kimberly’s and Lily’s. ESPECIALLY Lily’s. I am 5”0, and I’m 25 years old. I’ve been told I looked 19 at a job I left, in High School, I was mistaken as a freshman when I was actually a senior, when I went with my sister to her middle school registration, there were middle school kids who were taller than I am, and I had to show a cashier my ID at a grocery store (I was looking after a shopping cart which had beer (which was my dad’s and he went to get something at the last minute) to verify that I am over 21 years old. And three, Kimberly and Lily’s outfits would not be age appropriate if they were underage. Finally four, Capcom is not that type of entertainment company that sexualizes underage characters (unless there were before and Capcom just did a good job hiding it) or puts them in revealing outfits despite being underage. Even back then, they never did that.

More explanation on Kimberly: Guile, Juri, and Cammy refer to her as a kid both directly and indirectly. Not to mention how she acts too. She acts like any 18-19 year old who are a little too curious about certain things to the point where they take so many risks. I mean, think about it. Even at 18 or 19, a teenager will still think they are invincible or super tough even though they’ve been through a few typical middle school and high school moments that you can think of. Kimberly went further into the rabbit hole about the death of her uncle and has fought JP in her story. So it’s safe to say that she is a late teenager who takes risks despite the fact that it puts her in danger. Chun-Li also jokingly says that Kimberly’s youth is somewhat “blinding” to her.

More explanation in Lily: She displays some curiosity most 18 year olds would show, especially since she travels the most out of everyone on the roster. Not to mention that most 18 year olds don’t just magically grow out of most their childlike behavior. Plus, there’s the whole mistaken-as-underage-because-of-her-height situation she has. And if she was underage, again, going back to Capcom not sexualizing underage characters or putting them in outfits that are too revealing, she wouldn’t have the booty shorts that show a peek of her buttcheeks. I have worn short shorts (not the ones with my big butt out). Then again, I could be projecting since I am petite like she is, except she has the petite body type and I’m a shortstack (because boobs and butt).

Edit: A weird edit because Tumblr needs to fix this issue with my comment being eaten every time I want to respond to a comment on here (like seriously Tumblr actually fix this). I was informed by @sunkern-plus (thank you very much for the information) that Cammy is younger than Chun-Li and is closer to Sakura’s age with Sakura being a few months (I’m guessing two to three months) older than Cammy, so possibly 38-40. Pretty much one of the very few times in any Capcom canon there has been a more clear answer on a character’s age.

Edit 2: I forgot to list Rashid, so he has been added.

#street fighter #street fighter 6 #sf6 #headcanons #age headcanons #street fighter headcanons

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applepies-and-starlight · 8 months ago

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...so I completely forgot that (2) (more) people were interested in Siltcurrent. (Akuma!Ishmael)

Anyway I'm gonna be posting the text under cut because. It's A Lot. And there's a 10 image limit so I can't just screenshot my ramblings

Some Context for LCB moots/readers who have not seen MLB: Akumas are butterflies made by the show's villain (Hawkmoth) who target people experiencing negative emotions, usually said emotions influence how their villain self acts and what their powers are

Extra context for anyone confused: basically a while back I made an AU where Ishmael is the Ladybug (Scarlet Ardor) and Don is the Black Cat (Chatvalier). The aim of the game is bringing glory to yuriville here Also note that they're both in university in a modern AU where we aren't in the shitfest called the City for obvious reasons

Mid edit apple: now should probably be a good time to mention the entire context of the scenario here is that Ishy tries to confess to Don, gets rejected (as Ishmael) and accepted (as Ardor) at the same time. So in attempt to logic away her hurt she tries to figure out why Don likes Ardor better (Ishmael knows Don is Chatvalier (accidental); Don does not know Ishy is Ardor) but in doing so she attracts an Akuma and turns into Siltcurrent thanks faust

Mid edit apple 2: i'd like to clarify that 90% of these writings were written at 3am while i was delirious on sleep deprivation with all of my impulse controls dead on the floor

(Writings will be indented; ramblings will be in bullet points)

So! Siltcurrent! Ishmael Akuma!!

Akumatized late at night (roughly 11pm maybe) but it isn't noticable for the first few days

Illusion subset of powers; Siltcurrent conjures up a form of Ardor to try to keep up some form of normalcy

Omori vibes; as in, everything seems normal but there is something Wrong

Physiology:

Half-blind; Siltcurrent can only identify colors and vague shapes

Exception is Chatvalier/Don, she knows Exactly what to look for and it's Very Hard to trick her

Because Dream Devouring Siltcurrent reference, flouresents!

Bandages. Everywhere. Especially in the heart area

The bandage covering her chest is trying to hide a wound that looks like a lance ran through it

Constantly crying, like deadass her tears are flooding the place

Basically she looks like that fucked up Blind Obsession mer KoishiJSM drew

Oh, yeah, have I mentioned this fucker can break into your dreams?

It gently held her hands, adoration and malice waging war in its one visible eye, both combining into a new emotion that could only be possibly described as obsession.

"I love you," it said, gently kissing above her eye "I love hate love hate love hate..."

Its near-fanatical murmurs eventually petered out into a low whine, resting its head in the crook of her neck.

"You ruin me. Ruin me so much... I hate it I hate it, love you hate you love it love it please keep going please please please..."

(^^ this is a dream sequence; coincides with the last point i made)

(Siltcurrent keeps visiting don's dreams because her horrible compulsion keeps making her do it, otherwise she'd go even more insane for not acting on said compulsions)

Akuma has killed her impulse control so her intrusive thoughts are running rampant

She has at least enough self control to not go... Too Far, at least

(This lack of impulse control from "Ishmael" and "Ardor" is one of the things that tip off Don that something's wrong because honestly she's pretty smart despite what others say)

Very Avoidant of Don (as "Ishmael")

Like. Yk how ayano's like in yansim? Yeah basically

Mild yandere(?) mode now that i think of it

Like. She sees that Don's given someone else more attention than usual too and immediately tracks them down before pestering them about her (mainly like. Asking why she's been around them more, if they learned anything about her during their interactions, etc etc; comes off as overbearing and creepy)

It causes people to steer clear of don because nobody wants to deal with "ishmael"

This one needs screenshots i can't do it justice otherwise

Queequeg's..... Somewhere.

I don't know what exactly happens I just know the end result is that Ahab did A Thing and now our sailor has Trauma. Yk, usual limbus shit

Whatever the fuck happened broke Queequeg and her apart

Idk what it is exactly (could be death or other circumstance, probably the latter because.. cool leg) but whatever it is caused her to not quite. Open Up™ as a defense response

"I've been burned once, I don't want to be burned again"

"Don't go... don't go..."

Torrents of water began to fall from the sky, as if a god had punctured a hole in the clouds. Flooding the place and dragging her under.

"Please don't go..."

The thing pressed its body against her, eye searching for any reaction she had

"Empty... so empty... why do I keep breaking?"

"Why am I always hurt?"

"Is there something wrong with me?"

Don woke up again, managing to stifle a shout before she ended up waking the entire household.

(She swore she heard a choked sob off in the distance)

(^^ This one's a little rougher, but also another dream sequence)

(Side note: this one and the previous one were in italics because i used italics to distinguish my writing from my rambling in those entries and i'm too lazy to deitalicize them)

Ardor tentatively stepped towards Chatvalier, smile too stiff to be sincere; too wide to be human, her blue eyes desperately searching for something as she lifted a hand, only to awkwardly let it flop beside her.

(Her eyes were supposed to be green; a near-golden shade of olive that reminded Chatvalier of the first leaves heralding fall.)

"Hey, Chatvalier." Ardor spoke, her voice barely above a whisper yet still carrying through the space between them. "I..."

"Release Lady Ardor at once."

"Ardor's" smile faltered, her hands trembling with some deep-seated emotion.

"Chat, please." Its voice cracked as it took more steps towards the cat, "It's me, It's really-"

"Silence, wretch." Chatvalier spat, lowering her stance and pointing her staff at it. "Thou shall not decieve me; release her at once."

Its smile vanished completely, a tear sliding down its cheek.

Then, with a booming roar, a mighty wave crashed down on the fake.

(^^ beginning of what I like to call "Act 2", basically Don figures out Ishy's gotten Akumatized and something's Wrong with Ardor but instead draws the conclusion that Ishy kidnapped Ardor she mentioned she loved Ardor)

(Don't ask how I know my middle english I don't remember either (and if its janked anywhere please tell me))

Fun fact i originally used cur instead

But then i remembered the word wretch existed and went "yeah that's more in line with an absolutely pissed off Don"

"What do you want from me?!" The Akuma wailed, its head whipping around as it tried to find the flash of gold it so dearly adored, "Why are you doing this to me?!"

It screamed as it felt something stab into its tail, twisting around and throwing Chatvalier off of it, trying to shake off the pain from its mutilates tail

"Have I not told you, cur?" She shouted back, flourescent blood staining her boots as righteous fury burned in her eyes.

"Thou hath harmed mine lady, and it is mine duty to deliver retribution onto thee!"

(^^ I can't fucking figure out how I want the last line to go)

(The tail stabbing is a minor nowhere is north reference lmao; one of my drafts for siltcurrent's appearance is that she has twisted legs for a tail ala Mili's bathtub mermaid art)

Chatvalier watched in both horror and morbid fascination as the akuma writhed on the ground, screaming in frustrated agony as it clawed against its bandages, the fight all but forgotten.

"I DON'T HAVE ARDOR! I CAN'T GIVE HER BACK TO YOU!" It screamed at Chatvalier, tears overflowing as its voice went hoarse, "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO?! WHAT DO I DO?! TELL ME!"

Before she could even formulate a response, or even a short quip, it dug its claws into itself, a guttural roar ripping out of its throat before a sickening thump landed on the rooftop.

A still beating heart rested at Chatvalier's feet.

(^^ something possessed me to write this and it just. Ended up becoming an important thing in my outline)

(Discord between me and @/scriptum-pandemonium (tell me if i you want these off tbe post pls))

Speaking of here's more stuff (spoilered because body horror (vague) which i added because. C'mon, this is a limbus au, i should be able to ramp up the violence to blood and (some) gore levels)

Hell yeah up the gore and horror

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE HEART

■■■

Delulu this akuma just has multiple hearts, octopus time

Honestly my original idea is that like, through magic bullshit she's still perfectly ok (still in pain because. Literally ripping your heart out. But. Y'know.)

If I may build on the banger lines you put down, maybe when it's over donqui pulls Ishmael in for a long hug just so she can hear the beating of Ishmael's heart in her own chest

(Shoutout to Blue and the gang at Halcandra btw this was largely inspired by Magiajam)

Shaky, labored pants filled the silence between them. The villain's hair - Ishmael's hair, shadowed its face.

Only its eye was visible; the eye looking at her with so much manic hate, sadness, obsession...

Love.

The heart continued to faintly beat.

"Take it." She gasped, a bloodied claw gingerly covering the gaping, bleeding hole in her chest, "just take it and leave."

Chatvalier couldn't. How could she, anyhow? Anyone who saw such a grosteque sight would be paralyzed in shock, too.

A small sniffle snapped her out of her spiral, looking up to find the akuma desperately trying to wipe its tears away.

"Please..." it hiccuped, desperately trying to steady its breathing.

Then, a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry-"

It started wailing again, babbling a thousand apologies at once as it began to crawl back to the waves.

"I'msorryIcan'tbeherI'msorryIdon'tknowwhyyouloveherI'msorryIcan'terasetheuglymeandbebeautifulforyouI'msorryyouhavetoseemeuglyI'msorryI'mnotperfectforyou-"

Somewhere through the storm of sorrow, Chatvalier found that her feet had tried to bring her to the villain; to Ishmael.

But when she raised a hand to try and stop her, she was already gone.

All that was left was a patch of flourescent, bloodied water, and a single glass shard.

(^^ arguably one of my favorites; I am in so much pain!)

[...] sorry for being not ardor, for being ugly, for not being perfect [...]

It's been a few days since her confession. Ishmael has gotten over the rejection. Definitely. Yeah. It wasn't like... it wasn't like it was the end of the world or anything. She and Don were still friends. (Right?) (Right...) (....hopefully.) No, the self reflection notes weren't about Don. She was just... curious about herself. Yeah, that's it. Nothing to do with how she told her that she reserved her heart for Ardor. (She didn't even question it; she knew Don was Chatvalier, her annoying, endearing, ever loyal partner, who'd gladly throw herself into harm's way if it meant she'd be safe.) Nope. This was only because she saw a curious ad on the internet. A few days ago. (What did she do differently as Ardor?) She checked her notes again; a list of traits she'd describe herself as, another one for the her with the mask. (She impulsively checked her phone for the time.) (A small part of her scolded her for getting distracted so quickly.) What made her and Ardor different? What did she lack outside of the mask. She was just curious; absolutely nothing to do with the proverbial daggers in her heart. Nothing to do with impressing the girl who stole her heart. It's fine. She's fine. She isn't hung over it. It doesn't hurt. Does not hurt at all. Not in the slightest. In fact, she's over the rejection. She's perfectly fine! Just great. Peachy, even. Everything will go back to what it was tomorrow. She shouldn't be fretting over this, the weekends should be enjoyed right? So yes, she's fine. Nothing to worry about. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't... ... "Good evening, Siltcurrent."

(^^ this one's big, I just kinda gave up on editing this to fit tumblr format here)

(Anyway this is me trying to portray OCD and may or may not be me somewhat venting/projecting)

[...] Ishmael desperately trying to logic it together because she's fine it's not even a total rejection, Don Quixote just loved her hero self and not her ordinary self

[...] donqui is a bit self conscious because here she is, rejecting one of her best friends because of a what must seem like a celebrity crush that could never happen

[....] personally I like to think after the Realization™ (figuring out chalier was donqui) Ish started seeing her in a different light [...]

■■■

[...] theres something sad in Ishmael being the only one that realizes the truth, because Ishmael's been the one to see the entirety of Donqui as both a civ and chatvalier, yet Donqui can't because she thinks of ish as two separate people

Part of her is confused as to why Donqui sees it as that (she and Ardor are technically the same person right? They can't be *that* different)

The rest is just. Hurt. And is trying to grasp on straws to logic it away

■■■

Donqui loves ARDOR, which means she could've loved you but she didn't. Because you didn't win her over. Because YOU did something as Ardor so that Ishmael could never compete

Because it is "what does he have that I don't, what can he promise you that I won't" but to yourself

"Ishmael" is borderline manic 90% of the time (like, has the vibes that 1 wrong move will suddenly make her start laughing like a madman before she decks you)

She sometimes gets mental breakdowms over not being able to complete her goal (obtain the miraculous; [Acherontia] assures her that that isn't important right now

Doesn't really help much it just stops her immediate crying and makes her internalize the guilt more

This + her core motivation + everyone now looking at her weirdly compounds into siltcurrent just. Fucking flooding the entire place with her tears (this is when act 2 starts)

Ishmael hovered awkwardly at the edge of the door, practically hiding behind it with the way she positioned herself. "...uh, hey-" She barely started talking before Don was crashed into her, wrapping her arms around Ishmael's waist as she buried her head into her chest. (She could hear the gentle heartbeat under Ishmael's clothes; soft, but steady.) (Strong.) She felt Ishmael flinch at the sudden gesture, but she couldn't find herself to care. "I- woah, now." Ishmael stammered, awkwardly patting Don's head in a subtle attempt to pry her off, "Was... was I really that bad? I know Akumas don't last longer than a day, but..." She trailed off, her ears finally picking up on shallow, stifled gasps as she felt something wet on her shirt. She instinctively wrapped an arm around her, rubbing gentle circles on her back as Don tried to hold back her tears. "Hey, it's okay... I'm okay now." She mumbled, still somewhat awkward from the chain of events, "whatever happened to me is over now, yeah? I'm better now." (She didn't know that Don knew who she was, unaware that a blinded mermaid had begged her to know why it wasn't loved without a mask.) (She didn't know that Chatvalier stood on the roof of a building, holding a bloody, heartless body. Desperately trying to ignore the gaping wound in favor of pretending her Lady was simply asleep.) (If she convinced herself that the blood wasn't real, then perhaps...)

(^^ epilouge scene, basically)

(There are Consequences to gouging out your heart)

Me, at 3am, high on sleep deprivation: i know this is a kid's show, but you know? We've never seen an akumatized villain that was terribly injured detransform before the Cure kicked in

Lady Sonata ex machina I can't have yuri if one of them is dead

The peacock can literally make life from a will and a way ans G is more than competent enough to make ladybug and cat senti-copies to emergency stand in incase one gets incapacitated (also i want a pun on Ardor (Ardoll... heh))

#void screaming #long post #scarlet ardor and chatvalier au #ramblings #writings #fucking hell this took 2 days to compose and compile #i gave up trying to fit it into tumblr's format at the end #it's 2:30am #if it wasn't obvious scriptum is in orange #also i edited some messages specifically so i could get to their points

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