HUGE dump of a bunch of art from my au! A lot of stuff has to be redone (the classmates designs since I changed the time period, Lila's ENTIRE role in the AU, etc) but I'm still really proud of these drawings! Even if they're from a few years ago, they're dear to me :) gonna reblog with a comic i made around this time too! (Though the designs are outdated now)
I have a part two that I’ll add to a reblog of this sometime, but here’s the first part for their college days! I couldn’t draw everything I wanted to, so more blabbering and elaboration under the cut!
Since this AU has turned into a fanfiction based off the concept art, the characterizations and roles of the characters can be pretty detached from canon- so just a disclaimer for that. Canon is merely a suggestion- and I’m not listening to it most of the time.
Their majors:
Sabine Cheng: fashion/ business
Pia Lahiffe: education
Nathalie Sancoeur: business/ economics
Otis Cesaire: environmental science
Gabriel Agreste: fashion/ art history
Emilie Sphinx: fashion/ performing arts
Amelie Sphinx: business/ economics
Andre Bourgeois: law/ (later) education
(Tom Dupain works full time at his dad’s bakery)
SUMMARY (and some extra details) OF THE HEADCANONS DRAWN: (since I am too lazy to do my full transcript tonight)
Sabine and Pia have been best friends since they were 13. Pia knows she’s Ladybug, and the two work together at Master Fu’s shop.
Pia knows that Fu has the turtle miraculous and makes sure he’s not overworking himself in his superhero retirement.
Sabine’s an open book with her emotions, doubly so when she was younger in college. Her fuse is short, and she’ll say one of her flaws is her pettiness.
Andre is the estranged son of a corrupt politician that works with Richard Sphinx. His dad originally paid for his tuition (to keep Andre away from him) but eventually cuts that off when he officially disowned him.
He and Audrey met like once at a social event years ago. Andre does not remember this, Audrey does but only because she thought his suit was so fucking ugly.
Audrey is the daughter of a Pergue (Sphinx’s company) investor. She eventually gets an ultimatum to get married, or else all her cards and cash get cut off.
Remembering “Ugly Suit” Andre has recently lost his dad’s tuition money, she asks him to marry her in return for her paying for his school. Andre becomes a trophy wife on paper, and the two never get closer than that. She writes his checks, he doesn’t get into scandals- easy!
Gabriel’s dream was to have his own atelier and specialize in lace products. His designs really push the limits of lace and beadwork. (He’s a huge nerd.) He never wanted a big brand.
Emilie has a crush on him and tries to talk to him often. Gabriel is conflicted between talking to the pretty girl in his class and interacting with the daughter of the enemy.
Emilie dresses eccentrically. Half of the time it’s costumes for theatre events, and the other half is her own style. (You can never tell which is which though- she’s always dressed like a time traveller.)
Otis is in the same econ class as Sabine and befriends her (Nathalie and Emilie are also in that class but they don’t interact with Otis or Sabine) and mentions her to Tom as a “girl he’d like.” Tom insists that’s what Otis says about every girl with a bob and a fringe.
Tom first sees Sabine that same day bursting in the bakery to ask for cookies while in a frenzy. Otis says it is the calmest he’d ever seen her.
Amelie has a huge crush on Nathalie, who is an intern assistant for Richard Sphinx. She refuses to act on her crush…as Amelie anyways ;)
MISC HEADCANONS FOR COLLEGE MM ERA:
Sabine, Pia, Otis, Andre, and Gabriel are the group for the longest time. They’re not all that close to the Sphinx twins in the beginning, but they get integrated into the group once Gabriel and Emilie start dating
How they all met/ some dynamic notes:
Sabine and Pia were childhood friends
Tom and Otis were friends since in high school
Tom befriended Andre when he became a regular at the bakery
Sabine met Gabriel and Emilie in their shared fashion courses
Amelie and Nathalie have so many common classes bc of their shared majors
Sabine, Pia, Otis, and Andre would study and hangout at the bakery, Tom would feed them
Sabine and Otis are the outspoken ones in the group, they bond over complaining.
Everyone admires Tom’s boundless optimism, the freebie baked goods are just a bonus
Andre and Sabine are unexpectedly close. Her rough, and oftentime bad, jokes get both of them to laugh until their stomachs hurt. No one else finds them funny, but they find the twos’ laughter contagious.
Gabriel and Pia like to work in silence together, they’re both grateful someone else favors a more quiet setting to focus
Sabine is originally intimidated by Emilie’s enthusiastic and extroverted nature, but they eventually bond over fashion designs even before the Sphinx twins join the group
MISC CONT:
Sabine’s designs are more conceptual and abstract, often trying to emulate feelings or experiences. Can seem a little scrappy to some, but sturdy compositions. She also thinks about ways to integrate her pieces into performance art works.
Gabriel’s designs are based on pushing technical craftsmanship, mostly detailwork. The pieces can seem fragile or delicate because of their meticulousness. They usually have some historical influence, but don't look for accuracy.
Emilie’s designs show off her theatre inspirations, and are often very costumey in nature. Similar to Gabriel, she enjoys historical influence, but isn’t as detail oriented as him. She favors exaggerating the historical features of costumes and playing around with silhouettes.
Amelie often “runs into” Nathalie while she’s out patrolling as Chat Noir. The two get closer when she’s transformed, and Nathalie develops a crush on Stray.
HOW THEY GOT THEIR MIRACULOUS (and reasons for fighting Pergue):
Sabine Cheng: got from her late grandfather when she was a teenager. Fights for revenge for his death and the other victims of Sphinx’s crimes.
Otis Cesaire: got it from an old mentor. Hates Pergue’s monopoly of businesses and services.
Gabriel Agreste: found brooch in his great-grandmother’s sewing box. Believes that Sphinx has the other half of a missing tapestry of his great-grandmother’s.
Emilie Sphinx: got the broken peacock miraculous from her dad. Works for Sphinx when transformed.
Amelie Sphinx: got it as a family heirloom from her mother before she passed. Wants to see her father fall.
Andre Bourgeois: his paternal grandmother gave it to him. Wants to expose the corrupt politicians and investors like his father that collaborate and fund Pergue.
Also some context for the last one: Adrien has a "sneaking out disguise" (the first row hair) that's just a dark brown wig, brown eye contacts and no makeup and he actually meets Marinette for the first time like this. She doesn't know it's her and Adrien's first meeting, she thinks he's a warehouse helper named Darien, and she later believes him to be Chat Noir's civilian identity, which is why she calls him that in that picture.
Anyways, some more blabberings under the cut:
- With Amelie and Felix's help too, Adrien has a go-to civilian disguise for when he's out and about. (it's mostly him NOT putting on makeup, reverse makeover if you will) For this reason, Inheritance!Adrien is a lot more acclimated to going out and having interests. He acts a lot like Chat when in this disguise as well- but just slightly less unhinged
- He sometimes parades as a storeroom assistant for the biggest Agreste warehouse/workshop, and this is how he meets Marinette for the first time. She's also the reason he began to ask to go to public school that following year
- He's a natural brunet, he started dying it blond when “Gabriel” began to put him into modeling. “Gabriel” was against it at first, but Adrien spun it for the company's favor and got him to stop fussing about it
- any resemblence to anything is accidental, "Darien" was made a while ago and was low-key based on fanon Plagg designs from like 2016 off my memory 😅
- Marinette and Chat hang out while he's in his "civilian" form quite a lot, and Tom ships them
- the glasses are cosmetic, it's for sentimental reasons
- annula disclaimer that I am going to pout an obnoxious amount of marichat outta this au 😌👍
Screw the additive doodles, I've had this in the archives WAY too long, here ya go. Here's the crew during the Scarlet Dancer/Lady Luck eras!
Misc facts about these guys under the cut!
YOUNGER VER.
Professions of the MM group in the SD/LL Era:
Sabine Dupain-Cheng: Baker, worker at Wang Fu’s thrift store
Pia Lahiffe: Night class teacher for adult education, part time professor at a university
Otis Cesaire: Ecologist at the zoo, also says he's taken security night shifts at the zoo
Tom Dupain-Cheng: Baker, part time student
Andre Bourgeois: Principal at the high school
Amelie Sphinx: Founder of a nonprofit that provides monetary aids and resources by those affected by previous and ongoing attacks
Emilie Agreste: co-founder on paper of Agreste Fashion, on sick leave
Gabriel Agreste: (previous) owner of detailwork atelier
“Gabriel Agreste”: CEO of Agreste Fashion
Nathalie Sancoeur: Agreste secretary
MISC NOTES FROM SD/LL ERA:
Since retiring as Ladybug, Sabine's essential tremor had gotten much more harder to navigate around
She stopped designing, frustrated she wasn't able to apply the same techniques she was used to (though Marinette gets her into crocheting during the SD era which helps bring her back to experimenting in a creative space)
Between Sabine’s work, and Tom going back to get his GED, the bakery’s hours have been shortened with them only open 3 days of the week and catering orders. Marinette and Bridgette help as often as they can, but the couple have been butting heads on the topic of hiring some help
Because of the shorter hours, Sabine works at Fu's to keep busy. When she joined his antique shop, they added a second hand clothing portion. They merged it into one thrift store, and it's actually pretty popular (mostly for the creative displays Sabine enjoys making)
Tom is attending Pia's night classes for his GED and brings leftover baked goods for his class every time (he's a fan favorite)
Later on in the LL era, Otis and Andre like to hang around the class too to do their own work (Pia gets on their asses about it but is grateful they're there- they make it fun)
When Nino was really young, Pia would have to bring him and his brother to work with her (they were also fan favorites of the class).
Pia and her boys live in the same building as Fu and his shop, and she's expecting to become his primary caretaker when he gets older. (He denies that he needs her help, but is very grateful to her and the boys)
Otis works at the zoo to maintain and improve the habitats
His children from the oldest to youngest are Nora, Hermes, Alya, Etta and Ella.
He absolutely adores all his children, but you'd have to pry the dad lore from his teeth with a wrench. Does not like to talk about himself, which causes different kinds of issues between him and his kids.
Nora and Otis are both incredibly stubborn, so they argue about the little things the other does and doesn't do
Hermes and Alya butt heads the least with their dad.
Hermes likes to take their dad out on outings where they can sit in comfortable silence to decompress before going home and dealing with whatever was stressing Otis out. He's also the one to always mediate with Nora, and it the reason Nora and Otis ever reconcile
Alya does the same but at home; mediates between him and the twins and she watches shows with him (it helps them both relax)
Hermes and Alya are probably the only ones to have heard the rare dad lore since he's most at ease in those moments
Etta and Ella like to prank him a lot, but always choose the worst times. Though Otis and the twins make up easily, and they love to paint his nails while he watches his shows
By the time Sphinx was arrested, Hive had stepped down from action for a few months. Andre learned his civilian identity had been found out, and he had hidden his miraculous before Sphinx confronted him about it. Andre successfully convinced Sphinx he didn't have the bee miraculous. Sphinx let it go, but only because of who Andre's father was and warned Andre he was keeping a close eye on him. Andre was able to slip away and only transform one more time to tell the others he had to leave before hiding the miraculous away for good. (Pollen still hung around his office and moves the miraculous if anyone gets too close)
Andre and Pollen didn't want Melodie and Chloe to know about his past as Hive. Audrey also didn't know, but she and Andre were never close enough for secrets anyways
Andre changed his goals to education, deciding becoming a teacher was the safest option. He eventually became principal of the high school, and still works there
After passing the bee miraculous to Chloe later in the LL era, he decides to go back and study law again
Most information about Amelie, Emilie, Gabriel, and Nathalie is on this previous post about the revised antagonist information
Amelie works in her nonprofit and works a lot with Felix, who got more into learning about it when his dad was found.
She doesn't hang out much with the others anymore (both since she's so busy and also to keep them away from “Gabriel”) but she exchanges letters often with Sabine, who usually shares what she can with the others, especially if it's about Emilie’s health.
Nathalie works as “Gabriel’s” secretary, and helps with Adrien the most (encouraged by Amelie's favor of her)
When Bridgette was 16, she was given the ladybug miraculous from Sabine. Sabine told her she herself wasn't in the condition to wear it anymore, and that it was safer with Bri. Sabine didn't explicitly tell her daughter to take up the responsibilities of Ladybug, but began to be her mentor and train her when Bridgette expressed an interest to protect the city.
Deciding against keeping it a secret from Marinette, Bridgette confided in her little sister since they shared a room and Mari would get suspicious eventually. Tikki grew fond of both girls and stayed a member of the family- hanging out with the four at meals and other home family activities.
Felix was gifted the Black Cat miraculous from his mother Amelie, and kept it secret from everyone else in his extended family while she trained him.
Felix and Bridgette were partners, going by the names of "Tuxedo" and "Scarlet Dancer". No other miraculous holders joined them in their time, but the two helped out with crimes and helped everyday civilians out in this quiet peace.
Tuxedo was a more serious Chat Noir, and served as the reasonable and pragmatic one. He did have a sense of humor, and was often laughing when around the more joking and carefree Scarlet Dancer. The two had feelings for one another, Ladybug taking a liking to Chat first soon after meeting, and Chat beginning to grow fond of her after a while. They never told each other how they felt during this time.
Around a year and a half in of the current Ladybug and Chat Noir, Emilie's health declined, and she fell into a coma. This spurs Gabriel's reluctant transformation into Hawkmoth.
Hawkmoth sets an akuma in the beginning of the day to wander around itself in search of a vulnerable enough host, so he doesn't really know when an akuma attack will begin. (It's also his way of trying to lessen the guilt of subjecting innocents in this- but the guilt still hits hard).
Using the broken brooch alongside the overwhelming power from Null drains Gabriel very easily, causing him to grow gradually weaker the more he uses the miraculous.
As akuma attacks begin, Bridgette and Felix are in unfamiliar territory that even their mentors are unsure about.
Tikki teaches Bridgette how to purify akumas, and the more enemies they fight, the more Tikki notices similarities in their powers and mannerisms to that of old fae friends that she had known in eras past. Tikki concludes that these strange akumas are not just the work of the butterfly miraculous, but Null as well- and that he's the one fusing akumas with the powers and fae he's absorbed. Purifying the akuma causes the faerie's spirit to pass on.
There is no miraculous ladybug cure, but when a faerie's spirit passes on, its energy undos any physical damages the akuma itself caused to the city.
As the attacks seem to get more dangerous, Sabine pleads with her daughter to stop, but Bridgette refuses- knowing that she needs to save the city and be there for her partner.
This routine goes on for months, until an especially dangerous akuma comes into play. This battle lasts two days until Ladybug was able to purify the akuma- but not without a cost.
Felix's legs were badly hurt in the battle, and Bridgette hoped purifying the akuma would heal his wounds but it didn't. He asks her to take him to a specific alleyway, where Scarlet cries and apologizes and Tuxedo promises her they'll be okay. But he says that she has to go or else she'll see who he is, and convinces her to leave. When she's gone, he calls Amelie to pick him up and tells her what happens when she arrives.
When Bridgette comes home, she gives Tikki the earrings and tells the fae to find a more suitable holder. Tikki objects, but Bri is adamant that she has failed and let her partner get hurt. She refuses to take the earrings back, and only begins to cry again when Tikki has flown out the window with the earrings. Marinette comes home to her crying, and listens to what happened, and sits with Bri through the night.
Tikki, unsure of where to go and reluctant to leave the only family she's known for centuries, hides in the cluttered attic and ponders what to do.
Felix is hospitalized and is told that he is paralyzed in both of his legs from the injury. Realizing he can no longer be Chat Noir, Felix gives the ring to Adrien hours later when he comes to visit and asks him if he'd take on the responsibility- or at the very least return the ring back to Amelie at a later date if Adrien chooses not to. His young cousin talks with him and finally decides to keep the ring, introducing himself to Plagg and letting Felix and the faerie say a proper goodbye before he leaves.
When Gabriel learns of Felix's injury that is too close to Chat Noir's injury, he puts the two together and falls into a bad state. Refusing to send out more akumas because of what he's done to hurt his nephew, Gabriel calls off the deal with Null, telling him to release Nooroo and find another to do his bidding. But Null refuses.
From using the broken miraculous, Null's power, and emotional grief, Gabriel is extremely vulnerable. Using this as an opportunity, Null uses the powers of multiple faeries and takes control of Gabriel's body.
Null visits Felix in the hospital, looking out for the ring but sees nothing. Felix quickly suspects something is wrong with his uncle and calls Amelie when Null leaves.
Amelie, who is with Adrien at this time since he came right to her after his visit to Felix to see Amelie as his mentor, hangs up the call and asks her nephew if Gabriel has been acting differently recently. Adrien tells her about how he's been really tired, but he's always tried to spend time with him when he could like usual so he'd just been chalking it up to work.
Amelie knows there's more they don't know, but until they know exactly what- advises Adrien to be careful. Knowing well how to hide things from her own ex kingpin father growing up, she gives him pointers on how to hide Plagg and the ring well and sneak around. With promises to visit often and do his best, Adrien goes home, leaving Amelie worried for all members of her family.
Tikki was passed down to Sabine from her grandfather who raised her, entrusting her with the earrings when she was 17. Tikki became a constant companion to her, and Sabine took up the mantle of Ladybug after her grandfather was killed in a robbery in his shop. Her late father’s best friend, Wang Fu, served as her mentor as he was the holder of Wayzz. Fu was also a student and close friend of her grandfather and took over his shop after his passing.
Fighting crime around the city, Sabine’s ladybug became known as “Mini Menace” and was seen as the city’s unseen protector- working mainly at night. She was joined soon after by the Chat Noir called “Stray”, and later the Fox holder “Vulpus”, and occasionally the Bee and Butterfly holders, “Hive” and “Adonis”.
Stray: Amelie Sphinx
Vulpus: Otis Cesaire
Hive: Andre Bourgeois
Adonis: Gabriel Agreste
The group became best known for dealing with a rising crime lord named Richard Sphinx who had been behind the attack on Sabine’s grandfather’s shop as well as the influx of organized attacks the miraculous holders worked to stop. They fought Richard’s right hand men the most, Mr. Pigeon and Mime who did most of his dirty work, but worked together to take down Richard Sphinx once and for all.
What the heroes didn’t know was that the faerie Null had been behind Sphinx’s successes as well as allowing him and his right hand men powers beyond normal humans. After seeing what the holders were capable of though, Null had kept his eyes on them.
As the years went on, Adonis and Hive were rarely seen around the city anymore, though Mini Menace, Stray, and Vulpus were still quite active. The three friends had decided to finally reveal their identities to each other, though were interrupted by an attack on Paris unlike one they’ve ever known.
Facing what looked like Adonis, the enemy seemed disoriented and reckless- as well as talking phrases that didn’t make sense, and crying. After talking him down didn’t work, the four fought until his miraculous brooch had cracked, forcing him to flee.
In the battle, Sabine had gotten badly injured. Even after her physical recovery, she had tremors and panic attacks, forcing her to retire from being ladybug. The trio disbanded without ever revealing their identities to each other. Though Stray could still be seen in the following years on occasion.
In truth, Null had partially fused himself with Nooroo and forced Gabriel to transform after the man had heard how his wife's health was declining. Null tested using Nooroo’s powers, though was not coordinated as Gabriel fought against Null’s control even as Null offered him Emilie’s good health if he managed to defeat the other holders and take the ladybug and black cat miraculous.
Gabriel forced Null to stop, saying he wouldn’t hurt innocents for Null’s gain. That he didn’t want Null’s “help” and that he just wanted to spend time with his family. Null unfused with Nooroo, but told Gabriel that he’ll be there when he decides to accept his offer.
It’s not until years later when Emilie falls into a coma that Nooroo, hating to see his holder so broken and hurt, asks Gabriel if he remembers Null’s offer and the possibility of accepting it. Gabriel brings up the points of the broken miraculous, the facts that Null has ulterior motives, hurting innocents etc; but Nooroo says that they can use Null instead of the other way around. Play the part of getting the miraculous, but as soon as they learn how to cure Emilie, they’ll figure a way to trap him just like Null trapped them all those years ago.
After planning, the two called for Null to tell him they accepted his proposal. The fae then fused together, and Hawkmoth was reluctantly created.
