#if there are any turtle back zoo defenders out there first tell me why all your animals escaped during hurricane Ida

[whats-9plus10]

The Monarch going to the Bronx Zoo is making me spin around. I used to go a lot to hang out and eat dippin dots. Anyway here are some pictures I took of the butterfly garden and irl Mr. Reachmore.

He’s reading the butterfly facts :)

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

A Miraculous TikTok Account

Part 26

First

Previous

Next

Rena didn’t know what to do.

She really didn’t want to suspect any of the other miraculous heroes. She’d spent years of her life looking up to all of them and, while they were all definitely different than who they portrayed themselves to be, she hadn’t thought any of them to be ‘bad people’. They were just… people. They had their flaws, they just also happened to have miraculi.

But…

She remembered the way Master Fu had talked to her. Remembered why he had chosen her. She was there to find Hawkmoth. If he ever caught wind of the idea that she hadn’t investigated a possible traitor, she would be out. And she couldn’t be out.

And, she told herself, it wasn’t like Chat wasn’t at all suspicious.

His room had been left alone. He was definitely upper class like they were assuming Hawkmoth to be. He was also… too nice, somehow? Sure, everyone expects heroes to be good people, but there was something weird about how Chat seemed determined to never make anyone angry. Even when she and Chloe were outright accusing him of being a traitor, he’d defended himself without retaliation. She just didn’t understand.

Of course, there was also the persona thing. Ladybug and Carapace, the two heroes that had known Chat the longest, apparently had differing ideas about his personality. Ladybug had mentioned offhandedly that Chat was the only one of them who didn’t seem to have a persona. Carapace thought everyone had one. Which one was right?

She thought Ladybug would be the one to know because she’d known him for a few extra months, but Carapace was closer to him, so…

She squeezed her eyes shut.

For the first time since she’d gotten it, her miraculous felt heavy around her neck. Because it would be SO EASY to just say she had a family emergency and needed to go home for a few days and then spend the time watching to see what Chat would do. He wouldn’t have to know, and her curiosity would be sated.

...

She curled her fingers around the necklace and pulled it over her head.

She looked down at the foxtail pendant. It was so innocent-looking, could have been ripped straight out of a cartoon with the bright colors and shiny plastic if she were being honest. And the kwami linked with it was a tiny ball of fluff. She never would have thought that it could be so evil. She probably wouldn’t have even thought of it if she hadn’t been told ahead of time.

She looked at the old man in front of her in disbelief. Was he seriously going to try and convince her that THAT was a miraculous? She would have understood if she was a child, a younger her probably would have jumped at the opportunity, but she was EIGHTEEN. Just how stupid did he think she was?

She didn’t laugh, though she was tempted to. “Thank you, sir, but I don’t have any money on me so I can’t buy it.”

He’d sighed. “It is free.”

Somehow, she managed to trust him even less. “You don’t say.”

“I do.” He held the necklace out to her again, nearly forcing it into her hands.

She opted to ignore the weird rush of energy she’d gotten when it touched her. It was anxiety at being given a strange object in a dark alley, it was the placebo effect at work, it was confusion at why he was trying so hard to sell her on this. It was definitely NOT magic.

“Alya Cesaire --.”

She didn’t remember telling him her name. Her eyes flicked past him to the only exit.

“-- I am bestowing upon you the fox miraculous. Your patron god is Trixx, the god of deception.”

So she was either getting indoctrinated into a cult or murdered. Possibly both, in that order.

“I don’t know what you’re on, sir, but I don’t want any. So, take back your creepy necklace and step aside or I’m going to start crying and I don’t think you’ll be fast enough to outrun my akuma.”

The man sighed again. “Trixx, show yourself.”

There was a beat before two tiny, purple eyes appeared between them.

She yelped and backed up a few steps, nearly tripping over an abandoned soda can in her haste to get away from the weird floating eyes.

And then the area around the eyes rippled with light and suddenly there was a tiny… fox… thing where there had once been nothing.

The fox thing -- the old man had called it Trixx -- waved at her. She managed only a squeak in return.

The man regarded her for a moment before offering his cane as a kind of hand up. She opted to get to her feet on her own instead. She dusted herself off to avoid eye contact. The necklace wrapped loosely around her wrist jingled merrily with every slight motion of her arm.

When she thought she could do so without breaking down and possibly getting akumatized, she looked at the old man. “Explain. You have five minutes. Go.”

And, so, he did. He explained that he was a Guardian, that he was in charge of miraculi, that he selected all the heroes personally…

And then he explained her kwami.

She stared at him, open-mouthed for a long time as she struggled to find her voice. “I’m sorry? You’re telling me that you’ve had a kwami that could cast illusions this whole time and you just chose not to use it? This isn’t an anime, being overpowered is a GOOD thing.”

He sighed again. He did that a lot, she noted. Or, maybe, she was just very frustrating to him.

“Some kwamis are… more easily corrupted. The longer you hold onto one the more likely they are to corrupt you, but some… they can’t be held onto for long before you start having trouble figuring out what is you and what is them.”

She swallowed thickly and looked at the necklace in her hands. “Oh.”

“Yours is the easiest to corrupt.”

“Oh,” she repeated.

“Under the right circumstances, anyone can be corrupted. A high-stress situation at the wrong time… well, let’s just say the butterfly miraculous was supposed to be the hardest to corrupt.”

“Oh,” she said yet again, feeling a little lame.

He didn’t seem all that bothered, though. Instead, he took the necklace from her. She felt oddly cold without it.

“This is dangerous in the wrong hands. I hope I can trust that yours will remain clean.”

She closed her fingers around the pendant, blocking it from view. She knew it wouldn’t help, that she wouldn’t truly be herself again until she gave it up. He’d told her that she would have to do so if she ever expressed that she couldn’t handle it any longer.

But she couldn’t let it go. She’d felt it the moment it had touched her skin. It was HERS. She was meant for it.

She met Trixx’s luminous purple eyes and wondered, vaguely, what the kwami was thinking. Like all the others, Trixx never talked, but…

Trixx smiled and floated over, nuzzling against Rena’s face.

Her gaze fell back to the necklace in her hand and she slowly unclenched her fist. There were tiny marks where her nails and the rough edges of the necklace had dug into her skin.

She pulled it back on.

Having a traitor around could be dangerous. Dangerous for her, dangerous for the team, dangerous for Paris…

She could set her morals aside for just a little while if so much was riding on it.

~~~

Hahaha you thought the miraculous side effects would just be physical huh

But, more seriously, I always thought it was weird that the kwamis were so… good, y’know? They’re basically all powerful gods that have been around since the beginning of the world. And then they get enslaved by some jewelry? Why are they so relaxed about it? Why aren’t they bitter? Don’t they want to be free?

Anyways here’s a list of easiest to corrupt to hardest and why because it was a shorter chapter

Fox (literally the kwami of illusions/deception, it being a deceitful little shit was kinda mandatory)

Cat (... it’s a cat. try making a cat to do something. see how it goes)

Peacock (... again, it’s a peacock. have ya’ll seen zoos with peacocks just letting them roam around? idk they just feel free spirited and would hate being stuck in a brooch)

Ladybug (with the powers they have and the ability to create almost anything, I feel like it would be very tempting; creation is neutral, though and I feel like Tikki would be the same, so middle ground it is)  /  Bee (the holders that get it tend to be hard headed but also there can only be one queen bee per hive so I’m also putting it as the middle ground)

Turtle (more of a story than a philosophical reason, I just feel like Master Fu would give himself the second safest option and then keep the safest for if he ever needed to take on a partner; also the power is protection so it doesn’t really feel right to make that kwami evil)

Butterfly (since the powers seem to essentially enslave people, I feel like Nooroo wouldn’t want them to go into the wrong hands because he can relate)

~

Taglist

@nathleigh @sassakitty @th1s-1s-my-aesthet1c @blueslushgueen @woe-is-me0 @ladybug-182 @cas-and-their-refusal-to-write @trippingovermyfeet @melicmusicmagic

[lapzoli]

history repeats itself: I

//screams because I finally finished chapter one

Summary: In which some people end up with an unwanted roommate.

ao3

.

It had been a perfect trip planned in the spur of the moment.

Or perhaps on the whims of a teenager’s obsessive fanatics.

Either way, upon hearing there was a museum dedicated solely to Ladybug (and Chat Noir), Chloé had instantly demanded her father fund a trip for her to go.

The mayor, however, saw it as an opportunity to gain favor with the voters and the heroes as their third anniversary approached. The way he saw it, if the heroes saw how much he appreciated them, they would help his campaign, and once the people saw the heroes favoring him, they would too.

Simple.

So he compromised with his daughter; an exclusive, all-expenses-paid field trip for her class to see the museum in London, where they would roam the city and be able to learn the history of the two heroes before returning to Paris in time for the anniversary banquet he would hold on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s actual anniversary (since becoming heroes, that is).

It was perfect, and it certainly got the rest of the class up in a frenzy.

Alya, in particular, was bouncing with joy. She was almost excited enough to copy Marinette’s infamous butt wiggle.

Almost.

“Girl, can you believe this?” Alya gripped her phone, grinning ear-to-ear. “We’re going to learn all about Ladybug and Chat Noir! Where they came from, what they did...agh, I can hardly wait!”

Nino turned in his seat, unable to not hear his girlfriend’s excited squeals, and leaned close to remark, “Yeah, I’m pumped too. And, not that I’d ever tell her, but I’m glad Chloe’s dad is funding this trip. No way my family would have been able to afford it.”

Alya sighed at that. “Yeah, same here. I hate the idea of having to thank her though.”

“Don’t worry. She’s gloating enough to let us know she knows we’re thankful,”remarked Marinette, rolling her eyes. “It’s a miracle she hasn’t shoved in directly in our faces yet.”

“Well, I think the real miracle is that Adrien’s old man let him go,” said Nino, playfully nudging the blond next to him. “How did you do it?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. It was amazing how at seventeen, he still had the same innocent smile he did three years ago.

“Well, Chloe can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be,” he said as an explanation. “And...I had a good argument myself to go.”

Alya leaned in. “Really? And you won?” She grimaced. “Not to sound...impressed or anything, but your dad’s one hard nut to crack.”

Adrien sighed. “Believe me, I know. But yeah...I had a pretty solid argument for why I should be able to go. Aside from it being paid for and all that. Nathalie already rearranged my schedule and everything, so he can’t change his mind at the last minute.”

He sunk down in his seat a bit.

“And I happen to know he’s pretty good at backing out at the last minute.”

Marinette clicked her tongue, reaching across to rub his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner. While it was true she still had feelings for him, she was proud of herself for reeling in her emotions. If she hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t have been able to grow closer to him the last three years.

(Though not all of the posters had come down off her wall yet…most! But not all.)

“Hey, if your argument is as solid as you say, no way he’d have a reason to suddenly back out,” she reasoned.

Adrien smiled a bit and put his hand over hers, squeezing her fingers lightly.

“Thanks, Marinette,” he said. “So everyone in the class is going?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” said Nino. “Who’d turn down a free trip? My parents are thrilled about it. But maybe that's cuz my mom is probably planning to deep clean my room while I'm gone.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “I've been in your room; I don't blame her.”

The aspiring DJ grinned as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Hey, not all of us can magically keep our room clean - despite having two tiny tornadoes you call sisters,” he said. “How do you even do it?”

“Easy. I tell them there's a giant octopus monster in my closet that tickles little girls all day long, so unless they want to be tickled, they have to stay out of my room,” explained Alya. “It's...pretty effective.”

“Would work on me,” said Adrien, grinning at the two. “You think they won’t go in your room while you’re gone though?”

“Who’s gonna save them from the giant octopus monster if I’m not there?” Alya remarked, snorting. “They won’t be going in there, trust me.”

“But they may try to convince your dad to let loose one of the animals at the zoo and eat the octopus monster,” pointed out Marinette. “Wait, why are we even discussing an imaginary octopus monster?”

Nino shrugged. “Why not?”

Adrien chuckled and looked at the aspiring fashion designer.

“He’s got you there,” he said.

Marinette rolled her eyes, slumping her shoulders. “He does, doesn’t he? So is your mom really going to deep clean your room while you’re gone, Nino?”

He laughed. “Probably, but it’s all good. Nothing really worrying for her to find that she doesn’t already know about.”

“That poor woman,” said Alya, her voice oozing with sympathy. “What horrors has she seen?”

“Er, an empty turtle tank I use to store random stuff?” Nino remarked. “That’s about the oddest thing in my room.”

“And why do you have an empty turtle tank in the first place?” Adrien had to ask. “You don’t have a turtle.”

“That’s why it’s empty, duh,” teased Nino. “Eh, I wanted one when I was a kid. My neighbor had a tank he didn’t need anymore so he gave it to me, and I just never got a turtle.” He laughed. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get one later. It’s a good tank, huge and full of space, so it’d be a shame that a little turtle dude didn’t get to use it.”

“It’d be like having a bunch of catnip and no cat to play with it,” remarked Marinette, thinking of the plants on her balcony.

“A shame,” said Adrien, shaking his head gravely. “No catnip should be neglected.”

“Well, it’s gonna be, unless you have a cat you’d love to lend for a few hours,” replied Marinette, resting her chin on her hands. “Maybe I’ll just ask a stray cat I know…” She chuckled suddenly, as if remembering an old joke. “Mm, maybe I’ll do that.”

“Okay…” Alya shrugged off her best friend’s kookiness; she was used to it at this point. Though she was never any closer to figuring out what Marinette was so amused by. “Well, back to the trip, at least we know we’ll be comfortable. Chloe would never forgive her father for putting her in a cheap hotel, and since he can’t show favoritism - more than he already does, clearly - he’d put us in pretty decent rooms.”

“That’s true...hey,” said Nino. “You think we’ll get to choose who we room with?”

“Mm, I don’t know.” Adrien furrowed his eyebrows. “We should, right? As long as we’re not inappropriate,” he said as if scandalized by the word alone.

“Can’t be any worse than what some people do in the hallways,” said Alya. “Then again…”

Marinette snorted. “Not everyone has, as Adrien said, inappropriate intentions.”

“Not everyone,” agreed Alya. “But a bunch of teenagers? Wouldn’t be surprised. But I hope they don’t randomly assign us rooms. Ugh, imagine getting roomed with Chloe.”

“She’s not that bad, really,” said Adrien, quick to defend his childhood friend despite their faults.

“Yeah, you saying you want to room with her for two weeks?” Marinette cocked an eyebrow at him. “I’ll go tell her now.”

“Don’t, please,” said Adrien, making a face. “I...alright, fine. But I mean, aside from Chloe - and Lila - everyone gets along with each other fine; what’s the worst that could happen?”

.

“Can...Can you repeat that, Madame Bustier?” Rose squeaked as she and her classmates stared at their English teacher in shock. “I don’t think we heard you right…”

The red-haired woman hummed, mindful of the bright screens above their heads, each one depicting the flight times.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir were presumingly thrown into a new situation and forced to adjust, despite - we assume - being strangers,” she said. “You all will face a similar situation, by your room partners. This was decided by a random generator, and this means anyone can be your partner. Now, there’s an uneven number of you so one of you will have a room to yourself. And no trading is allowed.”

“Is this even...allowed? The school allowed this?” Mylene asked quietly, blinking up to see if anyone would answer her.

Madame Bustier didn’t hear her as she pulled out a sheet of paper.

“Since there are chaperones waiting for you in London, I will not be attending this trip with you. Therefore, I’ll be reading you your partners’ names now,” she said, a hint of tiredness - and, was that amusement? - in her voice. “I do not want to hear any of you complaining - or trading. Your chaperones have already been told of this, so they will know if you switched.”

She cleared her throat.

“First, Rose.” The blonde-haired girl squeaked a little. “You’ll be sharing a room with Juleka.”

“Wicked,” said Juleka, smiling at her best friend. She nudged Rose a little, allowing the smaller girl to sigh in relief.

Everyone else shifted anxiously. Even Chloe was eyeing their teacher, silently hoping to be paired with at least Sabrina if not Adrien. She wouldn’t be able to stand anyone else.

“Ivan, you’ll be rooming with Max,” continued Madame Bustier.

Ivan and Max glanced at each other, both clearly skeptical but also fairly relieved. This was good; the random pairing wasn’t that bad. And no one had been paired with a member of the other-

“Kim and Alix.”

Spoke too soon.

Alix stared openly at her teacher before she gaped at her rival, who did the same. 

“Oh, no,” she muttered.

“Please don’t kill each other,” said Madame Bustier simply before she looked back down at her list. “Next, Mylene and Sabrina.”

The two girls eyed each other suspiciously; they weren’t exactly friends, after all. Not enemies either, but not friends. Nowhere near friends. That was fine; there were plenty of roommates who weren’t friends but managed anyways, right?

Madame Bustier eyed Nino and Alya for a moment before she said, “Nino, Alya. I know you two are dating, but no funny business, please.”

The two of them had the decency to look abashed, though didn’t hide their excitement at being paired together.

Chloe had moved closer to Adrien at this point; since Sabrina was taken, she was confident she’d be paired off with him. It’d be better than being forced to share with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of all people! Hell, she’d even take that lying fox or the lovesick artist-

“Nathanael, you’ll be with Chloe.”

“Wha-?” The redhead looked as if she had just told him his death date as his eyes darted between the teacher and Chloe, who was gaping at Madame Bustier just the same.

“What? No,” shrieked Chloe. She looked between Adrien, Marinette, and Lila, the latter of which looked all too smug. Just like she had before she was assigned with the boy who couldn’t even accessorize properly!

“No trading,” said Madame Bustier firmly. “Now, to the three of you left.” She stopped as an announcement came on, telling them it was time to board the flight. “Alright, alright. Hurry, hurry. We don’t want you to miss your flight, do you?”

She ushered the kids towards the boarding area, ignoring their surprised cries as they picked up their suitcases.

“Wait, Madame Bustier,” protested Marinette before her teacher could push her into the plane, mindful of the poor flight attendant nearby. “Who are we-”

“You’re with Adrien,” said Madame Bustier quickly. “Lila, you have your own room. Now go and find your seats.”

She smiled at the teenagers, waving them goodbye.

“And have fun!”

Marinette gaped at her teacher even as Alya dragged her along.

“What?!”