The Sensational Sentibug
The tale of Selia Sancoeur
Recently, I've really wanted to explore what the Sentimonster ladybug incident would be like in one of my AU's, specifically considering how the way I tend to try and humanize Gabriel and make him less cartoonishly evil while still keeping his character flaws(anyone whose familiar with my AUs will know I write Gabe closer to his movie counterpart, where he's a bad dad, but really is just trying to save his wife and not on a power trip or inherently evil) would affect it.
Sadly, none of my current AU's really fit this idea, as even my more cannon-similar AU's just wouldn't provide the setting for what I wanna explore. So, we once again delve into a brand new AU(I know, I know, I have too many. It is my curse. We will survive I swear. Things will get done! ..... somehow!).
The basis for this AU is based on two factors. One, that Nathalie trying to kill Sentibug is just a gut instinct reaction to being turned on and outnumbered, and that, if she had ever stopped to actually consider the implications of what she had created, she would have seen the sentimonster the same way as she views Adrien and wouldn't have tried to destroy her.
And two, in this AU, Gabriel wakes up earlier than in cannon and, worried about his assistant just collapsing in the middle of the fight from her sickness, rushes to create an Akuma as backup and then personally goes with the Akuma to Mayuras side to help. Thus arriving right before Nathalie can destroy Sentibug.
Gabe, acting mostly on his already triggered protective instinct, immediately can't help but see Adrien in the Sentimonsters place, and so he ends up interrupting Mayura and, with the help of his Akuma distracting the heroes, steals Sentibug and her Amok, and then retreats with Nathalie in tow.
Back at the house, Gave first fusses over Nathalie being sick, and then kind of gets into a yelling match with her that concludes with an angry question of "is that what you would've done to Adrien if he got in our way?"(The irony is heavy here) Which makes her fully understand what she almost did. After they both calm down, this leads into a difficult discussion about what to do with Sentibug now.
Now, if you recall, Sentibug is made from Mayuras devotion to Gabriel and his Cause(that being saving Emilie). and that got me thinking that Sentibug in cannon switched sides awfully fast for a Sentibeing literally created from her commitment to help Gabriel and save Emilie.
Except then I remembered that Sentibug doesn't know what hawkmoths goal actually is. She has no compunctions about betraying Mayura despite devotion to the cause being at the core of her being, because everything she knows about Hawkmoth implies he just wants to rule the world or something.
That's not the kind of thing that a being with a personality based on Ladybugs public facing heroic persona would be behind, and likely not the kind of emotion that would let you create such a heroic character.
But a self sacrificing desire and devotion to help the man you love save his dying wife? That is good enough to build a hero on. And also likely to resonate with Sentibug.
So, my current idea for this AU is that Sentibug is at first furious and refuses to cooperate with them, even after she forgives Mayura(ladybug is very forgiving, maybe too much. So Sentibug is, too) and swears she'll reveal them and their identities the moment she gets a chance. Until Gabriel and Nathalie take her to the basement, and explain why Hawkmoth exists, and what their goal is(in this AU, Gabriel and Nathalie have no idea about the wish having an equivalent cost. Not even an inkling).
After that, though it takes time, during which she stays hidden in hawkmoths lair, she eventually ells them that while she can't bring herself to help them, she doesn't have it within her to stop them, either. Because everything is so confusing and she doesn't know what the right "moral" call is here.
Because without knowledge of the Wish having consequences, their actions are debatably not that bad? Gabriel knows that either Ladybug, or himself with the ladybug miraculous, will fix any damage he causes. He has never done anyone permanent harm as of yet. With all physical harm being erased, all he's doing is harassing Paris in an attempt to save a life. It's still not right, but it's hard not to see the logic there, and harder to argue that their actions have to stop. Especially for a girl whose barely a day old.
Thus, Nathalie becomes a mother to an already teenaged newborn daughter, who takes the name Selia(kind of a mix of the first parts of Sentimonster and Ladybug). Who comes to live at Agreste Manor, as Gabriel is worried enough about Naths condition to insist she move onsite for the foreseeable future(and it's not like she didn't have a room she slept in after late nights working already anyways).
The main focus of this AU is going to be Adrien interacting with Selia, who is an obsessed chat noire fan, but also isn't really sure how she feels about Adrien. They definitely get off on a weird foot, and there journey to friendship, and possibly more, interests me a lot.
Selia integrating into the miracuclass, and the fall out from that, is also going to be fun to explore. As is Selia eventually deciding to join the fight on her new families side, mainly because she's worried about her "Mom" Nath, who is not so easily dissuaded from actively participating despite being sick.
Selia, for her part, is a really interesting character to explore. She's described in cannon as possibly the strongest sentimonster ever, and she has powers that mimic the Ladybug just, naturally. She's also, personality wise, like Marinette if the Ladybug persona wasn't an act. She's strong, confident, and brave. With a sense of justice and a stubborn streak a mile wide.
Selia does figure out how to "untransform" so to speak, into a non-ladybug costume form. Since nobody actually knows how ladybug looks out of the suit since it's known to be capable of changing how you look, Selia looks like a mixup of Nath and Marinettes features. She has a bluer sheen to her black hair, like Marinette, but dies streaks of red in it like her mom does.
Her eyes are still blue, but very clearly Nathalie's shade of blue and not Mari's. She also has a nose closer to Naths in shape. And she's taller than Marinette's civilian form, with more muscle visibly packed on.
Oh, and to make it clear: Gabriel lets Nath decide what to do with the kids Amok. And Nathalie chooses to give it to Selia. To terrified of what she almost did to trust herself with it anymore.
At first, she'll carry it with her at all times. But after a scare where she loses it at school for a little while(Adrien finds it, luckily), she ultimately asks Nathalie and Gabe to help her put it somewhere safe.
Gabe's response is to put it in a concrete brick, then put the brick under Emilie's Coffin, doing the same with both twin rings(after making a replica for appearances sake), for Adrien's safety as well.
But that's later on.
At some point, I will talk about the immediate aftermath of Selia showing up while Marinette is still suspended, and what happens from there when you pit a girl who can't stop lying against someone whose personality was based on an exaggerated heroic persona and is obsessed with Justice.
But that'll be for later. I have drafted and deleted and rewritten this idea like 3 times. So I'm gonna end this here for now, after all of that. Until next time!
