#it came from the adults in my life – including teachers

[montanabohemian]

so yesterday i had someone comment on a post i made on IG telling me how "offended" they were because i'd simply ended my post with the phrase "end the occupation and free palestine." so much of what they said was actually insane racist islamophobic bullshit and they managed to end their comment by calling all muslims terrorists and literally parroted the "they want to kill americans" fucking horseshit.

the person that made this comment was by someone i've literally known since grade school. i'm not close friends with them but i've gotten to know them over the years and never once thought they'd say anything like this. i actually thought it was a bot account for like a full minute.

i'm sadly not surprised at the rhetoric because that's where we are. we're right back to twenty years ago during the post 9/11 / war in iraq / war on terror fervor kicked off. i'm just. i had to fight this shit twenty years ago and here we are all over again, except this time with the added benefit of fucking social media.

if simply saying "free palestine" is so inflammatory for you, then that is your fucking problem to work through.

[machveil]

I demand(Lovingly) Konig bringing his kid onto base with him because reader couldn't watch them

But no one was aware Konig Had a child :)

Maybe include the 141 and not just Kortacs reactions?

(Google translate warning lol) to his team’s credit, they only knew König was married because they’d seen the band around his ring finger a handful of times. they knew he was a private man when it came to his home life, what they didn’t expect was König bringing a child with him to base.

his spouse was all set up to watch the kid, their school was having a teacher’s conference and the building was closed. unfortunately, they had gotten a call from work - an emergency came up.

a last minute sitter was off the table, the usual neighbor had arrangements already out of town. that left König, looming, intimidating Colonel that he was, to bring his kid with him to work.

to his relief, today’s priorities were just paperwork. König figured he could just b-line to his office and set his kid down with some paper and a pencil

only problem? well… König isn’t exactly stealthy. it’s hard to go unnoticed when you’re as tall as him and lugging a kid around (a kid that begged dad for a piggyback ride)

general head cannons for operatives interacting with König’s kid:

Horangi, to his credit, had a suspicion that König had a kid. that didn’t stop him from doing a double take when he saw the little one. definitely calls the kid 작은 새끼 (little cub) because I said so. immediately treats König’s kid as his own - jokingly claims he’ll teach the child how to play cards (“no money, we’ll play for snacks.”)

Johnny is the fun uncle, prove me wrong. can’t believe his eyes when he sees König carrying around this itty-bitty kid compared to his behemoth size. definitely steals the kid away for some shenanigans and teaches them how to prank their dad (“put his hand in hot water when he’s asleep” type of of stuff). lots of hair ruffling and teasing

Gaz hot take, I think he’s neutral on handling kids. isn’t surprised that König has a kid. back to my hot take, it’s not that Gaz doesn’t like kids, he’s just okay with them. he’s friendly and cracks a few jokes with König’s kid, but he definitely feels old now he’s not, but still. hypes up König by telling his kid PG rated “hero stories” about how cool their dad is and how “he’s a real knight in shining armor”

Price has major dad energy, I’m sorry. is he surprised König has a kid? not really, is he surprised König brought his kid on base? yeah, a little. Price and König teaming up to tease this poor child :( (“pull my finger” war flashbacks). Price and König lecturing giving life lessons to the kid when they ask a mundane question lol

Ghost is standoffish, but warms up to König’s kid. he doesn’t want to come off as scary because… well, between the skull on his balaclava, dressed in full black, and being built like a truck, he scares adults :( he doesn’t want to wig out this tiny person. inwardly relieved that the kid isn’t scared (“my dad wear a mask sometimes too!”) and instantly becomes fun uncle number two. cracks horrible, dry jokes that has the kid complaining and laughing. if König’s kid brought markers with them he definitely lets the kid color in his tattoos (“oi, missed a spot.”). low-key heals his inner child playing with König’s kid

König never made it to his office, he spent the day watching his kid meet and have fun with his uncles - uncles that keep complaining “when are you going to bring them around again?”

Johnny, journalist and scrapbooker that he is, definitely has a polaroid camera - takes photos of König and his kid and hands them over before the pair leave base

(for any KorTac members I didn’t mention, just know they teased König for not mentioning he has a kid and they treat his child like their own as well)

[nerdygaymormon]

Sometimes you mention that you've lived long enough to see changes in the church on LGBTQ topics. What are some of the major changes you've experienced in church?

I feel like I've lived in 3 eras of the LDS Church.

When I was a child, it was an era that now seems very far away. Black people weren't allowed to go to the temple or have the priesthood (which also limited which callings they could have in church). Church met twice on Sundays, once for Sunday School (children attended Jr Sunday School) and I think priesthood quorums met prior to Sunday School, and then we came again later that day for Sacrament meeting. This part is fuzzy to me, but I think youth activities were on Tuesday, and Primary was on Wednesday (and I think Relief Society was also on Wednesday). In addition to paying tithing, my parents were asked to contribute to the local ward budget, and we raised money to build the local church building. I remember my family working on the local church farm (I'm not sure if it was part of the welfare system or was a fundraiser for the local stake/ward budgets, perhaps both). There was a BIG emphasis on food storage. Social life revolved around church as there were many activities such as the annual Gold & Green Ball (dinner and a dance for the married folks, it was a big deal, they'd dress fancy for it). The church members were socially and politically conservative.

My teens and young adult years were spent in a different era. The church had undone the restrictions on Black members. Church was now consolidated to a 3-hour block on Sundays (except for youth activities on Wednesdays). Temples started getting built in big cities outside of Utah but still were a far drive for many members, instead of going on a temple trip once a year, as a youth we could go twice a year when a temple was built a few hours away. There were still a lot of activities, especially for the teenagers, such as big stake/regional dances, sports competitions, road shows, and a big youth trip in the summer. The ward budgets came from the church (from the tithing) and not from individual members of the ward giving more, and we no longer had to contribute (either money or labor) for local church buildings to get constructed. We didn't work on farms anymore, but worked in the cannery (I remember hearing adults talk about operating machines that bottled ketchup). While the membership was still very conservative, a more moderate approach was being taken by top leadership, and President Hinckley made big steps towards being more open with the world.

I'd say that President Nelson has ushered in another era. Two-hour church on Sundays. Wednesday youth programs being less rigorous or programmed. Temples within a relatively short drive of members and encouragement to go often. Teenagers can have their own temple recommends. No home or visiting teachers and instead a conversation and informal friendship counts as ministering. Few church activities outside of those for youth and our regular church meetings. More accommodation for differences in beliefs of what were considered core doctrines & principles (this started before the Nelson era). The internet has caused the church to be more open about its past, including some issues which are hard like racism and polygamy (again, this predates the Nelson era). There's also been steps to undo some of the patriarchy in the church structure (like women can serve as witnesses and changes to the temple ceremony).

I definitely would not want to go back to the era of the 1970's when I was a child. While there are things I miss from the era of Hinckley & Monson, I don't think I'd like to revert back. The one effect I worry about from the recent changes is people have weaker social ties to their church community. I've heard leaders say that church isn't a social club, but for a long time it was and I think the church underestimates the importance of social connections.

—————————————————

As for LGBTQ history in the LDS Church, Nathan Kitchen, the former president of Affirmation, did an excellent job in describing the changes in the church on these topics. I have lived through 5 eras of the church on LGBTQ issues.

The era from when I was a child was brutal. Even saying you're gay was seen as sinful. You were expected to fight with everything you had to completely erase these feelings. Attempts to remove these “tendencies” included electro-shock therapy at BYU. Most families would reject the queer family member.

The death of President Spencer W. Kimball in 1985 led to the next era for LGBTQ members. Rather than insist on complete erasure of homosexual feelings, gay members were to behave like straight people--get married and have kids and DON'T TELL ANYONE. This is the invisible generation who felt isolated and alone, hidden from other members and each other. Every so often we still hear about a former mission president or stake president who finally comes out after decades of living as a straight person. Most of the mixed-orientation marriages failed, the queer person eventually spoke their truth, picked up the pieces of their shattered dreams, and moved on and out of the church.

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley did a widely-viewed interview with Larry King in which he said said we love "so-called gays and lesbians" and put forward the idea that gay thoughts aren’t a problem, but gay actions are. The church's view was that some of us are struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions, much like people who have other addictions. Even as the church led a major effort to defeat marriage equality, queer members no longer had to remain hidden, so they found each other and attended conferences together and encouraged each other. Members would admire queer members for their wrestle against their attractions. Because they were trying to make this path work and were admired for it, these queer members mostly didn’t share their struggles & mental health challenges with their family, friends, or other members. They were visible, but largely were silent. A generation seen but not heard.

Beginning in the early 2010's, a growing number of gay members receive media attention, and groups like Mama Dragons and North Star are formed. By the mid-2010's the church shifts its approach and starts highlighting and celebrating gay and bisexual members who are single & celibate, and also a few who are in mixed-orientation marriages. The church starts softening its former positions as it officially rejects conversion therapy, advocates for no violence and doesn't require members to deny their queer identities. As long as you are single & celibate, you are welcome. This is also when trans members start entering the consciousness of the church as in 2015 Emmett Claren (now Emmett Presciado) starts a YouTube channel where he documents his transition and in 2017 Kris Irvin makes national news for having a bishop threaten to withhold a BYU ecclesiastical endorsement if Kris receives top surgery. LDS families no longer automatically reject their queer children, but tend to leave the church together if their queer child doesn't feel welcome or safe at church. One last effort to pull membership back occurred in 2015 with a policy against gay couples and their children, and it received a LOT of pushback and generated a wave of members leaving the LDS church.

I think we entered a new era in 2019 as the Handbook policy of 2015 is reversed. In 2020 the now-publicly available Church Handbook softens the approach to gay and bi members but puts in more rules and restrictions of trans members. It's the beginning of a dichotomy where we see progress for people who aren't heterosexual and regression for people who aren't cisgender. In 2024, there are now married gay couples quietly attending church and not being excommunicated (which wasn't a thing even just 2 or 3 years ago), and trans members are facing severe restrictions due to more changes in the Handbook. It's hard not to believe more positive changes for gay and bi members will be coming, even as the church ratchets up its fight against trans members.

[comics-and-fanworks]

Hi! I found this Drabble and was curious on how you’d write your own story around it because of how amazing you are! So, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could write a Maribat story around this prompt please? Thank you!

“It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.  Of course these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.  

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty apartment living room.  It had been another dream of something that was impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality.

It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying them was that in every one it was the same boy.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment.”

Hi! So sorry for taking so long! I’m currently in college and it’s killing me slowly, there’s been a lotta ups and downs, and my mental health is realistically not where it should be. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really should have gotten this done sooner. Also I didn't know which batboi you wanted so I put them all on a wheel and spun it. I also rewrote some of the scenes in Miraculous like Lila's first appearance to make her a bit craftier and such.

I love this prompt! Thank you for suggesting it to me and for your sweet words! I hope you like this super cute Soulmate AU!

Also heads up this is super long and only loosely adheres to canon! The thing is so long because it took so long for me to get this done, one thing led to another and here we are. This thing is pages long and has 23,741 words. P. S, some of this was written on my phone sorry if the formatting is inconsistent! Also, let me know if I miscalculated ticket prices or made mistakes, and I’ll fix it! How I did the math was I googled a Disneyland Paris ticket price, took the highest value, multiplied that by the number of students going (They had a pass for ages 3-17 that I used for the students), and then did adult ticket prices for the two teachers. I multiplied those by seven days and added the results. My result came up to about 9,667 not including tax, so I chucked on a few extra thousand to account for Lila pocketing some of the money. 

TW: swearing, mentions of bullying, and minor violence, hints of PTSD, mentions of death

~~~~~~~~

Marinette knew the minute she had her first dream about him. She was sitting on a couch in a library working on her designs. A faceless man approached her, holding two mugs, and set one down in front of her, gently kissing her head. Despite her inability to identify this man, she felt safe with him and could feel love and affection swelling in her chest. He set his mug down and sat beside her, chuckling as she snuggled up. In comfortable silence, they worked on their own projects, not a care in the world.

When Marinette woke up that Saturday, she immediately called Alya. "Girl guess what? I just had my first soulmate dream!" She quickly removed the phone from her ear, correctly predicting the excited shriek from Alya. "Oh my gosh, Marinette! This is amazing! Did you see his face? Was it a guy? Was it Adrien?" Marinette jumped out of bed, an extra bit of pep in her step. It was going to be a great day, she knew it! "Yes, it was a guy. I couldn't see his face though... so that rules out Adrien." She hadn't even thought of that. Everyone knew that you wouldn't see your soulmate's face in your dreams until you met them! She would have to face the reality that Adrien was not meant to be hers. Alya heard her tone change, and thought quickly, "That doesn't necessarily mean that! People are reporting that they haven't seen their soulmate's face even though they had already met them in real life because the time wasn't right! Maybe Adrien is your soulmate but now isn't the right time because his supervillain of a father who could make Hawkmoth look like a saint won't let him date. Or girl have you considered that your soulmate could be a superhero? Lois Lane stated that she knew her soulmate before she saw his face in her dreams because he had a secret identity that obscured it! Your soulmate could be Chat Noir," Marinette made a face as she styled her hair, " or one of the vigilantes from Gotham! The way I see it is that you have three options. 1. It is Adrien, it just isn't the right time. 2. You haven't met them yet. 3. It's a superhero." Marinette laughed, "What if they're a supervillain?" "No way girl. You’re too sweet and pure for a villain. Anyways-" An Akuma alarm sounded, cutting their conversation short. "Welp, that's my cue. I gotta go Mari, duty calls!" And with that, Alya hung up to chase down the Akuma, while Marinette shouted out, "Tikki! Spots on!"

There she was, hiking through the woods with her soulmate. She still couldn't see his face, but she immediately knew why they were there. He wanted to show her someplace special, somewhere he'd never taken anyone before. Eventually, they found a stream, and she turned to see her partner rolling up his pant legs and taking off of his boots. "Throw a stick in the water to see how strong the current is. If it's too strong we'll have to turn pack." His voice was slightly garbled so she couldn't identify it, but she could clearly hear what he said. Picking up a stick she tossed it far out into the creek, watching as it lazily floated away. With that, she took off her own hiking boots, and the two made their way into the creek. The water was cold and she almost lost her footing, only to be caught by strong arms and pulled against her soulmate's broad chest. Marinette couldn't help the blush rising to her face as he held her. She could feel his gentle breath by her ear, along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. He whispered, "Careful love. I don't want you getting hurt." He helped her stabilize and the two continued to make their way up the creek until-

Marinette woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock. She cursed the thing, of course, it had to go off when she was getting to the good part. She realized as she rushed to get ready for school that she was able to identify something about her soulmate, they were both adults in this dream. She had been having them for a few months now, but this was the first time she could figure out any detail about when they would meet. It also didn't rule out any of Alya's theories either. She kissed her Maman and Papa and sprinted to school, thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't late. However, she was in for a surprise when she arrived at Mrs. Bustier's classroom. There was a new girl sitting in her seat, while the whole class gathered around her. Alya noticed her and waved her over. "Marinette! This is Lila Rossi! She just transferred here and she's from Italy! Guess what girl? She knows Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale too! She saved Jagged's cat and he wrote a song for her, and she taught Clara some of her most famous dance moves! She also works with Prince Ali on environmental charities!! She's so amazing!" Marinette paused. Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat, he has Fang the alligator, and Prince Ali focuses on charities for children, not the environment. She could also remember Clara doing all of her own choreography, so her suspicions were already raised. She had serious doubts about the girl in front of her, and despite wanting to voice them she held her tongue. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila! I'm Marinette the class president, welcome to Dupont." Lila looked her up and down and gave her a saccharine smile which only raised Marinette's suspicions even more. "Hello, Marinette! I hope we can be good friends! Alya tells me you like fashion, I happen to be a personal friend of Hubert de Givenchy, so maybe I can introduce you to him!" Marinette's eyes narrowed, Hubert de Givenchy had passed away in 2018, and if Lila really knew him she would have known that. Her classmates looked on with bated breath, clearly believing Lila knew these famous people.

"Oh, you knew him?" Lila nodded, "I was so sad to hear when he passed away in 2018. He really was an inspiration of mine," Marinette said, watching as Lila's eyes widened, but was impressed with how quickly she recovered, "Oh I know! I misspoke earlier, I meant his nephew!" Before Marinette could reply, the bell rang. Alya turned to her and said, "Marinette I hope you don't mind. Lila has really bad tinnitus from when she saved Jagged's cat from getting run over by a plane. She struggles to hear so we gave her your seat." Marinette looked around and noticed no one was in their normal seats. If Lila had her seat, it meant the only place left to sit was alone in the back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really would have appreciated it if you waited for me to get here. I have no problem with Lila sitting there if she needs it I just wish you would have-" Lila cut her off with fake tears, "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause problems I just wanted to be able to hear the lessons! I can move to the back if that makes things better." Shit, she was good. Marinette looked around at her classmates who were now glaring at her. Did they not hear what she said? She had no problem with Lila sitting there if she needed it, she just wished someone would've let her know! "Don't worry Lila, you can stay there it's not your fault. I guess Marinette has decided to have an attitude today," Alix said, glaring at Marinette. "I just said I wished someone would have let me know!" Marinette shouted. "Girl it's just a seat it's no big deal. Why are you acting like a child about this?" Alya crossed her arms looking at her. "It's not even about the seat," Marinette started, "It's about you making a decision that affects me without talking to me about it!" "Well, we figured that since you're our Everyday Ladybug you'd have no problem with it. Come on Mari, you're supposed to be nice." Adrien scolded, and before she could defend herself the second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris, her soulmate nowhere in sight. However, she felt happy, it was a good day. She was going to her favorite bulk fabric supply store and texting some friends about the project ideas that danced in her head. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she knew this path by heart. She was planning on buying fabric to make a new spring line when she ran straight into someone, how embarrassing. Looking up, there was her soulmate, with his clouded face. He chuckled and asked where she was going in such a rush, and she stuttered out an apology. He offered to walk with her, making Marinette smile, they must have done this before many times.

The next few months were rough. Later that first day she had gone to talk to Alya and had presented evidence to prove Lila was a liar, but her best friend had simply shaken her head and told Marinette that jealousy was not a good look on her. Marinette had been stunned, she had nothing to be jealous about until Alya told her that everyone could see Lila had a crush on Adrien. Alya's words still burned in her brain, "I can't believe you Marinette. To try and ruin another girl's reputation because of a crush. You need to take a good look in the mirror." Marinette couldn't fathom why her best friend wouldn't listen to her and decided to go for a patrol as Ladybug. Then while she had been passing by the park, she had overheard Lila telling Adrien that she was the fox hero, Volpina. She had to say something, Lila might not realize how much danger she was putting herself in by making those claims. So she swung down, (and tried her best to keep her cool) and explained to Lila that there was no fox hero and that if Hawkmoth had overheard her she could be in danger. Of course, that caused Lila to get akumatized. To make things worse, a couple of days later Lila had cornered her and threatened her! Despite everything, she still believed her classmates would come around and see the truth.

That was exactly five years ago. Marinette really should have had less faith in the people around her. Lila got her expelled, Alya disavowed their friendship, and Adrien betrayed her worst of all. In his endless quest to avoid any confrontation, he pressured her to keep quiet, and when she didn't he turned his back on her. Marinette had quit trying to expose Lila years ago, but the brunette had kept her promise. Adrien just watched as their class left her out of their plans, destroyed her things, and ripped up her work, among other things. When she confronted him about why he was allowing this to happen, he just shook his head and told her it never would have if she had done what he said. Her heart shattered, and she prayed that her soulmate wasn't Adrien. The only people she had in her corner were her parents, Luka, and Kagami (who had quickly seen through Lila's bullshit after she'd tried to lie her way into Marinette's room), Nino, and Kim (they snapped out of it after Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs), and she had the newfound support of Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose. The last three didn't want to rock the boat or have Lila's wrath directed towards them but had expressed seven months ago that they figured out Lila was lying, but after Marinette was nearly knocked into the path of an oncoming car, they began to be more vocal in their opposition. Chloe had also stepped back from tormenting Marinette, the two girls never talked, but were never hostile. Her friends couldn't do much while they were in school, and since they were busy with their own lives, Marinette truly felt alone. Even under the mask as Ladybug she was alone, witch Chat Noir had gotten so frustrated with her constantly refusing his feelings, that he'd almost completely stopped showing up two years ago. Her only solace was that Paris seemed to be on her side with that one, and whenever Chat Noir did emerge he was met with anger from the citizens he'd broken his oath to. On top of all that, Marinette hadn't had a soulmate dream in years, which terrified her to her core. Did her soulmate die?

"Tikki, I haven't dreamt of him in years! What's wrong with me!?" Marinette sobbed, holding onto a pillow on her bed. Most of her days ended like this, with tears. The Kwami were kind enough to protect her from akumas during these times, after realizing that Marinette was only putting herself at risk by bottling up her emotions. Her room had changed since the Lila Era began. She had taken down all of her photos, save a few, her bright pink walls seemed to lose their hue, and she only ever designed for commissions, simply because she knew she needed a portfolio for college. Tom and Sabine had tried their hardest to get their little girl out of Dupont, but her transfer papers kept getting "lost." They tried to get her into therapy, but with Hawkmoth around every therapist had a waitlist that was beginning to enter into years. Tikki was growing more concerned with each passing day, her Chosen was close to breaking. "Oh baby bug, there's nothing wrong with you! Soulmate dreams are different than regular dreams because they're tied to real people in this world. The interesting thing about them is that they show up when you need them." "But I've needed them! I need to know I'm not alone, that I haven't been abandoned, and that the universe doesn't hate me enough to take away everything," Marinette just sobbed harder before she froze, "What if Adrien really is my soulmate and that's why I'm not having dreams? I'm unlucky as it is, so this would be on par for me," Tikki was horrified that Marinette would even think that, and before she could say anything, a new voice cut her off. "No. That brat is not your soulmate, I won't allow it." There was Plagg, in her room, holding a familiar silver ring in his paws. "Pigtails after what he's done to you, as Adrien and Chat Noir," Marinette and the other Kwami gasped, "I won't let him. I won't let him hurt you anymore! Marinette I am so sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but I let my gluttony and my pity for the kid cloud my judgment. I let him fail you inside and outside of the mask, Kitten I promise you I will never let a black cat holder hurt you again." Plagg nuzzled against her cheek, gratefully accepting Marinette gently kissing his head letting him know all was forgiven. "Besides! His karma is coming for him, but I have to warn you too. He's going to try and pursue you romantically because he doesn't like who his soulmate is." Marinette perked up at that, "Adrien knows who his soulmate is?" Plagg nodded, "Yep. One Lila Rossi. A liar and an enabler, how fitting. He had rejected her because at the time he was still convinced that Ladybug was his soulmate, but now that that's not true, he's turning his attention toward you. He found out from Alya that you had a crush on him, and so even though he knows you aren't his soulmate he's going to try and pursue you anyways." Marinette's brows furrowed, deep in thought. No wonder Lila was so obsessed with Adrien, and it explained why she wanted to get close to him. What Marinette needed was a plan, so she hopped out of her bed and made her way down to the kitchen where her parents were talking. "Maman, Papa. Would it be alright if I took a mental health day tomorrow?" Her parents seemed to light up at the thought, seeing this as an opportunity to give their child a break from her tormentors. "Of course! In fact, why don't you take the whole week off? You're ahead on your work and haven't missed any school this year. We'll call the school tomorrow and take care of everything." Sabine said, right before she and Tom were tackled by their daughter for a hug. With time to plan, Marinette made her way upstairs to begin her work.

It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.  Of course, these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty room.  It had been another dream of something impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality. It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying it was that it was the same boy she had dreamed of before.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment. Marinette quickly snapped out of her sorrow when she had a realization: She had dreamt of her soulmate again! She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. A knocking on her trapdoor snapped her out of her thoughts, and her mother's voice brought her back to reality, "Marinette sweetie? Are you up? I have some news. We couldn't have timed this better, it's your spring break, so we don't need to worry about problems from Damocles or Bustier! Also, your class has left for their trip, so there's no way you'll bump into them! Alright, that's all I've got, go back to sleep." Marinette couldn't sleep, not after hearing that great news! The kwami were already waking up and grabbing their food from the minifridge she kept in her room, while Marinette dashed to her wardrobe. She had made herself an outfit a while ago but was too afraid her classmates would ruin it. It was a short light pink sundress, perfect for today's weather. She was going to spend the day out on the town enjoying her life. She had a considerable chunk of fun money saved up from her commissions and decided that she deserved a self-care day.

She had just left her favorite brunch spot and was making her way to her fabric shop of choice, texting her friends who had gone on the class trip. Marinette was the only one who was purposely excluded from it, and while her friends tried to drop the trip, Mrs. Bustier made them go because if that many people dropped there would be no way the class would hit their fundraising goal. Marinette was pretty sure some of that money was going straight into Lila's pocket, but she wasn't class president and had no way to get her hands on the class's records. Marinette didn't know the average price of sending 13 students plus two teachers to Disneyland Paris, but 12,000 euros seemed like a lot. And the worst part: she was still expected to contribute! Marinette was so wrapped up in the sheer ridiculousness of it all, that she didn't realize where she was going until she ran right into someone! As she began to fall, she felt a strong arm grab her by the waist and suddenly she was standing upright and looking up at the man she had just run into. He was stunning, at least 6'2 with medium-length dark hair he kept neatly styled. His tan skin radiated warmth, and his muscles were clearly defined by the dress shirt he was wearing. As her eyes trailed up from his sharp jawline, she froze when she saw his eyes. They were a rich green, held a deep, almost mysterious gleam, and were as sharp as a panther's. Like the cat, there was something wild about his eyes, hidden just below the surface. The only thought running through her head was a simple, 'He should be Plagg's next holder.' Suddenly the man staring at her let out a deep chuckle that rumbled in his broad chest, "What's the rush little Lily?" His voice was deep, with a sort of sharpness to it, like this kind of conversation was new to him.

"I, I am SO sorry sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into you! I hope I didn't mess up your outfit!" Marinette was in full panic mode, the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life and she just made a fool of herself. Instead of the rage she expected and was used to, he only smiled, "No harm done. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and besides you only bumped into me, you didn't spill anything on me. Can I ask where you're going? My family has just arrived from the U.S. and I was exploring the city." Marinette blushed, he looked so intimidating, but so far he'd been nothing but kind. Still, she had learned never to drop her guard, but... If he wasn't from here she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be polite. "I'm going to some of my favorite fabric shops in the fashion district... I'm a clothing designer and I was going to pick up some to start working on a spring and summer collection," She decided to take a gamble, "If you have nothing to do I can show you around." He smiled, "I would love that Ms...," "Marinette, and you are?" "Damian." Marinette smiled as the two began to walk toward the fashion district together, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Damian, even if it was in interesting circumstances."

When Damian heard his father talking about going to Paris to investigate the Hawkmoth situation, he quickly volunteered to go along as well. His official pitch was that he was closest in age to the young heroes of Paris, and would have an easier time getting them to talk. He also said it would look good to add a bit of international travel and education abroad to his resume. However, he had a secret reason for wanting to go to Paris: to meet his soulmate. Younger him would have scoffed at the thought, but he was not the same person he was when he first came to his father. Thanks to his brothers and Jon (mostly Jon), he had grown as a person, and now that he was close to graduating high school, he was beginning to think about the rest of his life and how he wanted to spend it. Of course, there were the staples, going to college, starting at least 5 charities for animals, and inheriting the cowl, but a part of him wanted more. A part of him didn't want to be alone. So he started looking back at all the soulmate dreams he'd been having since he was thirteen. Even though he'd dismissed it at that age, he at least had the foresight to write everything down, and using his Batfamily-honed detective skills, he deduced his soulmate was somewhere in Paris. One dream stood out to him, he was standing on a sidewalk in Paris when his soulmate crashed into him. From the way she spoke in the dream, he deduced that this was when they would meet. So there he was, standing on the exact sidewalk in the exact spot. He knew how ridiculous he must've looked as he texted his family, his official story being that he was going to look for clues about the heroes. Right as he was about to reply to a snarky text from Tim, he felt a small mass crash into him with way more force than it should have. He quickly spun around and caught the woman, and as he stabilized her he was able to get a good look at her. The first thing Damian noticed was how small she was, at least compared to him, however, she did have quite a bit of lean muscle. Her skin was pale, with a slight pink undertone to contrast her shoulder-length ebony hair. Her cheeks were lightly dusted pink with small patches of freckles, and her lips were ruby red. She almost resembled a porcelain doll. She was gorgeous, but what really took his breath away was her eyes. Framed in long dark lashes they were a beautiful deep blue. They reminded him of an ocean, deep and rich and sparkling under the sunlight. This had to be his soulmate. He learned her name, Marinette, and she invited him to go with her to the fashion district. Damian was content, while she may not recognize him as her soulmate yet, it was undeniable that she felt the same pull towards him that he felt towards her.

Before she knew it, Marinette had spent her entire spring break with Damian. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to him, like she needed him to breathe. What surprised her the most, was the dream she had the night after she met him. She was sitting atop a building as Ladybug, watching the sunset, and next to her with the black cat Miraculous, was Damian. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and suddenly the sky erupted into fireworks of all colors. The show ended with a sentence spelled out in fireworks "Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit." She knew the moment she opened her eyes that Damian was her soulmate, and from the texts, she'd received, he knew it too. The two of them agreed to take it slow, they were still very young and had just met. However, as the mini vacation went on, the pit of dread in her stomach began to grow, and she would have to return to school. She had told Damian what was happening with Lila, Adrien, everything. Needless to say, Marinette was surprised when he told her he would be in her class, and that he wouldn't let them do anything to her (Little did they know Tom and Sabine heard them, and Damian had just won their approval). So when he arrived to pick her up, he made sure they got to Dupont early. Marinette gave him a tour, and as they were walking he stopped to talk to people. "Don't you normally hate talking to people?" "Normally I do my Lily, but in this case, I do not mind. However, I do have an ulterior motive. By talking to these people, I've created an alibi. Look over there," Marinette looked over and saw Sabrina and Alix watching them and whispering, "Those are two of that liar's sycophants right? Well now that they've seen that you spent your time before class giving me, a new student, a tour, if Lila claims that you did something to her, two of her own followers have seen evidence disproving it. So either they mention that there's no way you could've done it because they saw with their own eyes that you have not even interacted with her, or they say nothing and you know what kind of people they are." It was brilliant. Marinette was a little miffed she hadn't thought of it before. The two walked to class, and Marinette whispered, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Adrien will give you the most problems. I heard from a friend that he was interested in me, even though he already knows who his soulmate is." "Is it Lila?" "Yes. I know enough about her to know that she's incredibly selfish, she hated it whenever Adrien gave me any attention, because-" "Because he was her ticket to fame and fortune, and if he had picked you she would be locked out." "Exactly. I do not doubt that the second she hears your last name, she won't give a shit about Adrien and will focus her full attention on breaking us apart." Marinette was shocked when Damian told her his last name, she may be oblivious but even she knew who the Waynes were. Plagg joked that it was the Universe trying to make up for how shitty it had been to her. She was not expecting the wicked grin Damian gave her as they arrived at their classroom. "I would like to see her try."

Before the two could reach their seats in the back of the room, Marinette was yanked away from Damian by Kim and Nino, "We don't know who you are but you don't deserve her!" Kim shouted, holding onto Marinette. "Yeah! Mari's the nicest dudette the world has ever seen, if you hurt her we'll kick your ass!" Nino said as he put himself between Damian and Marinette. There was a small moment of awkward silence before the group laughed. Marinette had warned him that her two best friends would try something like this, especially after she told them that he was her soulmate. Taking their seats at the back of the class, the group chatted about their spring break, until Lila walked in with the rest of the class. She readied a fresh accusation to fling at the ravenette but caught herself just in time. WHO was that gorgeous man sitting with Marinette? He put Adrien, a freaking model, to shame. Everyone else seemed to share that sentiment, and Alya was about to start demanding answers when they were spotted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the man glared at them. Marinette waved to Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, who quickly took their seats near the group of outcasts while Damian Batglared the rest of the class. "Can I help you?" He asked in an icy tone, one that demanded immediate answers. Alya balked, "We, we were just curious about you, since you're, um, a new student here." Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "My name is Damian Wayne, yes, from that family. I came to Paris with my father for a business trip, and to find my soulmate, Marinette," Little mutterings of "no way," "That's impossible," and "I didn't think that bitch would have a soulmate," filled the room. "I plan on staying until graduation, and from there I will be going to college with Marinette. Let me make one thing clear: I will not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who tries to hurt my soulmate in any shape or form." Nathaniel could be heard whispering, "Oooh, I like him," To the rest of their little group, who nodded in agreement. After waiting for a second for anyone to challenge him, Damian turned back to Marinette, and almost like a switch flipped, began showing her pictures of his cat.

Lila couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Damian Wayne was in her class, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the world was in her class... and his soulmate was fucking Dupain-Cheng! She swore this had to be some sick joke. There was no way that THE Damian Wayne (whom she had instantly recognized because she had seen him once at a charity ball her mother had taken her to and committed his face to memory) had someone as pathetic as Marinette as his soulmate. The universe truly was cruel. She'd thought she was lucky when she found out Adrien was her soulmate and was devastated when he told her over the break he was going to pursue Marinette. But now? Now Lila knew she must be the luckiest girl in history! Glancing over at Adrien confirmed her belief, the dumbass pushover glared at his rival, and she knew he wasn't going to back down. This was perfect. All she would have to do is separate Marinette and Damian, use the mountain of evidence against Marinette that she made over the years to convince her future husband that his soulmate was no good, and then bam! In a few short years, her name would be Delilah Wayne! Adrien's persistence would only help her case, especially with Marinette's former crush on the blond it would be so easy to frame her for cheating. She would have to be careful though, just from the look in his eyes she could tell he would be much sharper than the rest of her classmates had been: he would be her greatest challenge yet. For now, she would bide her time, and perfect her plan.

Lila made her first move at lunch. She and Alya were sitting at a table, observing Marinette and her friends talking with Damian. "He's so kind to them, why is he such an asshole to us?" Alya muttered. Ah, an opening. "Well, I don't think it's really his fault. I mean he did say that he had come to Paris to find his soulmate, and well, Marinette IS a pathological liar," Lila said as she picked at her food. Alya nodded, "I just can't understand why they still hang out with her! They know what she does to you, they know she's a bitch!" "I think it's a mix of sunk cost fallacy and denial Alya. Nino and Kim have known her since they were little, so I think the reality of Marinette being a bully just can't compute for them. As for Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I think they feel indebted to her or something," Alya nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Girl you're so in tune with people it's crazy!" 'Yes I am,' Lila thought, 'You have to be able to read people to trick them.' "Alya... Can I tell you something? Something bad happened between Adrien and me over the trip." The reporter's head snapped around to her, "What did that bastard do?" Lila began to channel the sorrow she felt when Adrien confronted her over the break, "He... He told me he didn't want me!" She wailed, just loud enough for Damian to overhear, "He called me a liar and all of these awful names, and he told me he was in love with Marinette and that he knew she felt the same for him! He told me if I told anyone about this he'd ruin me!" She cried. It was amazing that Adrien had just handed her this opportunity, completely unaware that he'd done so. As Alya promised revenge against Adrien and the whore who stole him from Lila, the girl in question carefully glanced over to see Damian looking right at her. Perfect. When Lila had decided on this plan, she decided the initial bonding point would be that they had both been betrayed by their soulmates. If Damian was emotionally vulnerable he would be that much easier to manipulate, it would also be the perfect story to pitch to the media as well, they were both betrayed by their soulmates and fell in love!

Lila was quiet for the rest of the day, waiting eagerly for their classes to end. She had a feeling that Adrien would make a move and wanted to be there to see what she'd have to work with. She made an excuse to leave class early and quickly hid behind the stairs. She had to wait a bit for them to leave and spent the time doing research about Damian on her phone. So he loved animals, was passionate about the arts, and was a master swordsman and martial artist. He also spoke seven languages including Italian!! Lila sighed, he was perfect. Finally, the bell rang, and students began making their way out of the building. Lila knew Marinette usually spent some time helping the art teacher before she left, so she was certain Adrien would wait for the girl. Risking discovery, she poked her head out and saw her plan falling into place. Adrien was standing at the top of the stairs, clearly waiting for Marinette. He was muttering to himself, about how it wasn’t fair, about how he couldn’t understand how Marinette could trust a stranger she’d just met. Lila had to keep herself from letting out an amused snort. Isn’t that rich considering their class’s track record? 

She had to wait for about fifteen minutes before she heard laughter coming towards the entrance of the school, it was Marinette, laughing at something Damian had told her, “Oh my gosh, are all your brothers on crack?” she gasped for air, “Sometimes it feels like it,” Damian chuckled. The two were about to walk down the stairs when Adrien stepped in front of them. “Hi, Mari. Can I talk to you, please? Alone.” Wow. Lila didn’t know Sunshine Boy could have such venom, she figured he must’ve been directing that at Damian. Lila could only imagine the glares between the two boys, not daring to poke her head out now and get caught, however, when she thought she heard footsteps back into the school she took out her phone and pressed record. “Why? So you can pressure me into silence again? If you need to tell me something, say it now because Damian and I have plans.” Lila had known about Adrien’s high road advice, and that Marinette had been so in love that she listened. She doubted the ravenette would fall for that now. Lila waited with bated breath to see what Adrien would do, and could not believe what she heard. “I think you should stay away from him. You only just met him, he’s probably lying about who he is Mari. You saw how he treated our friends-” “He has been nothing but kind to MY friends. That’s so rich coming from you Adrien. Lila comes along and lies about everything and it’s totally fine, I meet my soulmate and now suddenly you care about honesty?” “It’s a different situation and you know it Marinette. Lila’s not hurting anyone and if you expose her she could be akumatized.” “What about me Adrien? What if I’m akumatized because of the lies that have ruined my reputation, my belongings are destroyed, when I’m being excluded from practically everything? Do I not matter to you?” “What- no Marinette you matter to me! Besides it’s not that bad and you’re our Everyday Ladybug so-” “SO WHAT? So I’m supposed to accept being mistreated and abused? What are you even here for Adrien?” Lila could tell that Marinette was losing her patience and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if this would be what got her rival akumatized. Adrien took a deep breath, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend.” Perfect! Adrien had given her just what she needed. Lila kept recording because even if Marinette didn’t respond how she wanted, she might say something Lila could doctor later. And it would seem that Marinette was finally shaking off her shock, “Are you crazy? Adrien, I haven’t loved you since we were thirteen, since you made it clear that not rocking the boat was more important to you than me. Besides, I’ve met my soulmate, and yeah we haven’t known each other long, I want to focus on getting to know him.” Adrien did not back down, “Come on Marinette! I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I know we’re meant for each other. The reason I know he’s not good for you is that you’re MY soulmate!” Wow. Lila wasn’t expecting such a bold lie from the blond, he must have been banking on the fact that Marinette had no way of knowing that Adrien was HER soulmate. Now that she had what she needed, she carefully snuck through the bushes and as soon as she turned a corner, she booked it for home. She wasn’t going to risk slowing down to look behind her, she figured since the two were still arguing that she’d successfully completed her mission. Soon it would be all over the media, ‘Model Adrien Agreste Ditches Soulmate for Useless Nobody: How Lila Rossi Saved the Day and Won Damian Wayne’s Heart.’ Lila knew she had a lot of work to do, and couldn’t wait to get started.  

After a long day, Damian returned to the upscale apartment his father was renting during their time in Paris. Marinette hadn’t been joking, her class was a nightmare! Damian had been skeptical at first, no way people could be that ignorant, but after what he saw today, he realized it ran deeper. They looked at Lila the same way people looked at him: They wanted something. Marinette had told him that Lila lied and faked evidence conveniently showing she knew famous people in their fields of interest, so it was likely they followed her because they wanted her to boost their careers. The Ladyblogger, someone who should have known to fact-check followed Lila like a sycophant, either knew she was lying or was really bad at her job. Then there was the other big problem in the class, Adrien Agreste. He seemed to believe he was entitled to Marinette’s love, despite his soulmate making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the blond. He had texted Nino about the Adrien-Marinette situation, and the DJ had filled him in. Marinette used to have a crush on and did some very crazy things to get his attention (Nino had also admitted the class had pushed her into some of the crazier situations), but Adrien either ignored her or was oblivious. At the time this was going on, he had a massive crush on Ladybug and still had a crush on her until recently. Googling the Parisian hero, he found a few things that made his blood run cold. First,  Ladybug had stated that she would never date a civilian (smart) in an interview. Second, the videos he’d seen from when Chat Noir was acting showed the hero displaying the same entitled behavior Adrien did, along with a couple of the same speech patterns and body language. Finally, Ladybug and Marinette looked very similar. There were some differences, but he couldn’t deny that the two could be sisters. A theory was forming in his head, Adrien had been Chat Noir, and after being rejected constantly by Ladybug, decided to set his sights on someone who looked similar to Ladybug. It was clear he still believed Marinette was a sweet, naive girl who would never say no to him, so he potentially thought he could pressure her into accepting his feelings.

  Damian was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that his father and Tim had returned home, however, they certainly noticed. Bruce decided that this was one of those moments where Damian might need some fatherly advice, and Tim decided he wanted to hear whatever was giving Demon-Spawn trouble. It must be interesting. “How was your day Damian? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you lost in thought,” yes he could. It was right after Damian had been brought back from the dead. He watched his son’s head snap up, “I… I’m fine. My day was fine.” “No, you’re not fine. Something’s been on your mind since B mentioned going to Paris, so you can either tell us what’s up or I’ll hack your phone.” Dammit, Tim not now. Damian sighed, surprising both that he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. “The reason I wanted to come to Paris was that I had figured out my soulmate was here.” 

Tim dropped the coffee mug he was filling, and Bruce stared at his son in shock. “Oh my gosh! Did you meet them yet? What are they like? When will we meet them? How did you meet them-” “Tim.” “Sorry B,” “Start from the beginning Damian.” “I met her last week. She was going to buy fabric and bumped into me. We spent every day of her spring break hanging out and getting to know each other, and I was lucky enough to be in her class at the school you enrolled me in. I also found out she had been having trouble with some of her classmates,” “Is she drama-prone?” “Tim let him talk,” “Not necessarily. She’s being bullied and has been for the past few years. Her classmates are the typical users we encounter at Galas and believed her bully because she promised them she had connections. My main concern isn’t the bully, I can deal with her, but a boy in her class has begun to show some alarming behavior... From what I’ve figured out, he was the hero Chat Noir, and I think he’s become obsessed with Mari- my soulmate because of how similar she looks to Ladybug. From my information, I know that he has never shown any interest in her before and that when they were younger she used to have a crush on him. I also know that for whatever reason he’s no longer active as Chat Noir.” “So your theory is that because he no longer has access to his obsession that he’s shifted targets to someone he thinks he still has power over in order to pressure her into fulfilling his fantasy?” “Yes. However, I don’t think he’s realized that. I think a part of him genuinely believes he has feelings for her. I did some research on him, and he grew up with a very controlling and sheltering father, so he’s still incredibly naive, that or he’s so deep in denial he’s become delusional. He still seems to believe that staying silent about my soulmate’s tormentor purposely lying to ruin her reputation and all the physical torment she’s receiving is the right thing to do.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and Tim clutched at his pearls. “So how do you plan on handling this?” Bruce was worried, they needed to find out why Chat Noir was no longer active, if Damian’s theory was true and the former Hero of Paris got akumatized he could still be a massive threat. However, Damian was his father’s son, “I looked into some of the old posts on the Ladyblog before it… strayed. From some clips, I think my soulmate might actually have a connection to Ladybug.” Tim raised his eyebrow, “Damian it’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but she sounds a little too good to be true. An amazing talented woman who just happens to know celebrities and heroes? Isn’t that the same thing that girl with the weird hair on the Ladyblog claims?” “Well, my soulmate can actually back up her claims.  Her class has had the most akumatizations minus the pigeon man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ladybug noticed, and my soulmate is connected to one of the most popular boulangeries in Paris that Ladybug has been seen stopping by. I was going to go out on patrol, and if I couldn’t meet Ladybug that way I’d find a way to see if my soulmate could get her attention.” Bruce nodded. The spotted heroine had been incredibly elusive, and he was beginning to suspect magic was involved. He gave Damian his blessing, and as his youngest son left to get ready for patrol he and Tim turned their attention to a new mystery: Figuring out who his son’s soulmate was.

Paris was beautiful at night. Damian stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city. He could almost run the path between his classmates’ homes by muscle memory alone. While he may not like them for their treatment of Marinette, he knew his soulmate still cared about them to some degree, and if anything happened to them it would kill her. He was debating swinging by Marinette’s home but decided against it. While he felt like he could trust her with his life, their relationship was still too young to bring the baggage of a hero into it. He almost didn’t pick up on the gentle thud behind him, and when he turned to snap at Tim for bothering him, he froze. “Mari? My Lily?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ladybug… who looked exactly like Marinette. Her costume had changed since her initial debut, but there was no doubt who the woman in front of him was. This whole time his soulmate was also the hero they were trying to contact. “Damian? You’re Robin?!” “And you’re Ladybug.” That seemed to snap Mari out of her stupor, “I can explain! Please don’t be mad!” He would address that last bit later, but for now, he just leaned against the railing and watched as she began pacing back and forth. He’d wait all night if that’s what Mari needed to get her thoughts together. “I became Ladybug when I was thirteen. I was chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous, and he snuck the Ladybug Miraculous into my bag.” “Forgive me but what’s Miraculous?” “Oh right,” He watched as Marinette took off the red and black earrings, “Miraculous are magical objects that are often worn as jewelry. Each Miraculous is connected to a Kwamii, and each Kwamii is the embodiment of a fundamental force of the universe,” A bright red flash came from the Miraculous, and next to Marinette was a floating Ladybug-like creature. The little Kawaii-thing flew up to him, and he carefully held up a hand to allow it to land. “Hello! Damian Wayne, Robin, Son of Bruce Wayne, Grandson of the Demon, and Heir to the Cowl. I am Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation! I am bound to the Ladybug Miraculous that my Chosen uses, and am the source of her powers! If you’ll excuse me I’m going to refuse with Marinette, it’s awfully chilly up here.” With that Tikki zipped back to Marinette, as soon as the two touched a bright red flash appeared and Ladybug stood before him again. “The previous Guardian, well long before he left and left the title and other Miraculous to me, lost two Miraculi, the peacock and the butterfly.” “Which are being used by Hawkmoth and Mayaura.” “Exactly.” Damian nodded, their theory was correct, magic was involved with the Paris situation. 

“Lily, didn’t you used to have a partner?” He watched his soulmate huddle into herself and immediately got off the railing to comfort her. “I did. Chat Noir wielded the Black Cat Miraculous of Destruction. He was my other half, my balance. Over time he got it into our head that because our Miraculi were complimentary, that meant we were soulmates. He began flirting with me constantly, calling me these embarrassing nicknames even when I asked him to stop, and would needlessly throw himself into danger to try and impress me. Eventually, he got tired of me turning him down, and he started missing battles and patrols. When he did show up he’d just get in the way, saying he’d help me again if I admitted we were soulmates. It got so bad his own Kwamii took the Miraculous back from him and brought it to me. I used to have temporary heroes I could count on, but they’re out of the question because their identities were exposed or they’ve chosen Lila’s side.” Damian hugged her tightly, he wasn’t one for physical affection but she was the exception. “So you’ve been alone this whole time? Oh my, Lily I’m so sorry,” he sighed, “Does Adrien know you’re Ladybug?” Marionette’s eyes widened, amazed he knew who Chat was. “Not that I’m aware of. He thinks we look really similar, but he’s seen Ladybug and I in a room together so I doubt he thinks we’re the same.” Damian nodded, “Mari I promise you I’ll help you through this, I just need you to trust me. My brother Red Robin and my father Batman are here-“ “BATMAN IS HERE?!?!” “- yes love. We’re here to help you take down Hawkmoth. I’ll help you take down Lila and figure out how to deal with Adrien, and then as soon as we graduate I’ll steal you away to Gotham.” He looked into her eyes and watched as a hopeful spark began to reignite. 

It was time for phase two of Lila’s plan. She was going to paint herself as Damian’s ideal woman, not by exactly mirroring his interests, he’d catch on to that. A good idea would be to lean into his love of animals. She had researched some well-known animal charities, and even though she really hated getting dirty, she had gone to a volunteer event the other day. Sure, the puppies were super cute, but Lila would rather spend her time working on her manicure. But now she has photos, timestamped photos. She took extra care to make sure her hair and make-up were absolutely perfect, checking on her secret weapon one last time before she left. She was going to save it until she absolutely had to, it would be either her killing blow or her final saving play. As she walked to school, she mentally mapped out her plan for today. She would brag to her class about her volunteer work, and show them the photos on her phone, then she would spread a rumor about seeing Marinette talking and being affectionate towards some random guy. ‘Lila Rossi!’ she thought, ‘You can do better than that! He would see through that in a heartbeat, they spend all of their time together.’ She decided to settle on making Marinette look bad. She’d have to be sneaky, Damian was clearly aware of her tricks and would be on guard, but Lila still thought she had a window of opportunity to convince him Marinette was the evil one. She went into a coffee shop and ordered an iced coffee, Lila wasn’t going to drink it, it was simply a prop she’d spill on herself as a direct result of Dupain-Cheng. She hated to sacrifice her favorite outfit but consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be rags compared to the luxury she’d wear as the girlfriend of a Wayne. Now she just had to decide how she’d spill the coffee, would she make it look like Marinette shoved her? No… too complicated. How about tripping? That won’t work, the little brat’s gotten too smart and now specifically looks for it. She would make it look like Marinette ran into her, and while it wouldn’t do as much damage as she’d like it to, it would be good to show Damian that his soulmate was WAY too clumsy to represent the Wayne Family. She was excitedly daydreaming about all the galas and events she’d go to, hell maybe she would start an acting career! Lila was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost ran into Alya! “Hey, girl! Don’t you look lovely today!” Lila smiled, “Hey Alya! I think you’ve got me beat today! Have you seen Damian? I’m worried Marinette might have said some things about me… and I wanted to talk to him and show him I’m not the person she says I am.” Alya scowled at Marinette’s name, “Ugh I bet she did! But she’s not here today. Her parents called and said she’d gotten sick over the weekend. Damian called in sick as well, and come to think of it, Adrien isn’t here either! Today should be an easy day for you!” Lila had to force a smile, this screwed up her plan damn it! Oh well, maybe if she got the chance, she could poke around Marinette and Damian’s lockers to see if there was anything she could find, it would also be a good chance to strengthen her hold on the class. If Lila is anything, it’s flexible, and she would never let an opportunity slip by.

Damian was looking around Marinette’s room, marveling at just how much his soulmate had accomplished. It looked less like a bedroom and more like a design studio, with mannequins adorned with projects ranging from just starting to fully complete, the walls papered with designs, and the occasional photo of friends or loved ones. Just underneath the papers, he could see the faint hint of a light pink painted wall. Bolts of fabric were arranged against another wall, organized by color and material, as well as a massive piece of wall art made to conveniently store different yarns. There was a closet filled with cases of embroidery floss and other art supplies. Under Marinette’s loft bed was a table with two sewing machines, a modern one able to do large-scale embroidery and Esme. Esme was Marinette’s pride and joy, a vintage singer sewing machine that was practically indestructible. Esme has been through everything, leather, denim, silk, you name it she’s sewn it. When she wasn’t in use, she was kept on her own table, in a place of honor within the room. Beside Esme was a vase of white lilies he’d given her, and a massive book. This was Marinette’s logbook, in which she kept meticulous records of everything: Who commissioned her, how much they paid, what they wanted, how much of each material she had, where it was, and other expenses. It seemed like wherever Damian looked, he saw something new. She made clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, accessories, and the evidence of that was in her controlled chaos. Even though it was smaller than the Manor, he loved it, he loved everything about Marinette’s home and her family. They were warm and inviting, and it was reflected in their home, and in the daughter Tom and Sabine had raised. Marinette’s room was like her, bright and full of unique colors and energy. She was currently moving Esme to her spot of honor, and opening a special compartment in her desk. From the compartment, she pulled out a vintage sewing box that looked almost ancient (I’m sorry but they made the Miraculous box an EGG when they could have done something that could blend in). 

As soon as Marinette opened the box, sixteen bright lights shot out of it, flying around the room. “Alright everyone listen up!” Mari clapped her hands together to get the light’s attention. They eventually came to a stop in front of her, and Damian looked at them in shock. There were… SO many Kwamii, and apparently there was supposed to be more his soulmate had to recover from around the world. “This is Damian, my soulmate. He’s-” Marinette was cut off by the excited shriek of some of the Kwamii, “He’s going to help us take down Hawkmoth and Mayaura and rescue Duusu and Nooroo. He and his family are superheroes from Gotham and-” “He’s going to be the next Cat,” Plagg interrupted, the seriousness of his tone taking everyone by surprise. The cat Kwamii flew over to Damian, holding a small ring. “The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are connected. One cannot be active for long without the other.” Damian’s eyes met Plagg’s, “And how do you know I am compatible with the Miraculous? I am Marinette’s soulmate but that doesn’t mean I am a match for you.” Plagg cackled, flying around Damian, who stood with his arms crossed, “You’ll do just fine! Much more serious than my last holder for sure! You are more compatible than Adrien was for the simple reason that you are deeply connected with Destruction itself. You come from a tragedy on both sides, a father driven to fight an endless war to avenge his parents’ murder, a mother who needed a pawn and heir to an empire of assassins. Not to mention, the Lazarus Pit.” Damian froze at the mention of the pits, and for a moment, he could almost feel the blazing fire of twisted life rushing through his veins. “Damian? Are you alright? Plagg? What did you do?” Marinette gently rested a hand on Damian’s cheek, she could tell he was reliving something… Plagg simply flew back towards the box. “I’m doing things differently this time Pigtails. I had some time to think… I need to be more responsible for you and for future cats and bugs. Nothing should be hidden between partners, and I know you love him, I know he loves you, but there are people in his life who will not approve. I think he should be the one to tell you when he’s ready. It’s a conversation that needs to be had for both of you. There can be no more secrets.” And with that, the Kwamii flew back over to Damian and gently placed the ring in his hand. The weight of it seemed to snap him out of his flashback, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. He remembered what he’d seen from the videos, he knew the basics of the Black Cat’s powers, and combined with his training, he would be formidable. “I’ll do it. What do I have to say to transform?” Plagg smirked, “Alright kid, all you’ve gotta say is, Plagg claws out!”

Alya was out with her class, chilling in the park after school. They had stopped and gotten smoothies and were working on their own projects in comfortable silence. Alya was busy chasing two leads: What were the Waynes doing in Paris, and where was Chat Noir? Sure, he didn’t do much in most Akuma fights, but he was still one of the heroes of Paris! Come to think of it, no new heroes had been called up since Hawkmoth discovered their identities. She had to take a little bit of pride in that, they were so good that Ladybug couldn’t find any good replacements. She thought about asking Lila for the inside scoop, but with how stressed her bestie had been lately due to Adrien and Marinette’s actions she decided against it. That was another mystery: Marinette. When had the switch flipped? What caused the switch to flip? Was she always like this and Lila was just the first to uncover it? She was also curious about Damian, why would nobody Marinette have such an impressive soulmate? She figured his bad attitude was Marinette’s fault, although, from the articles on her laptop, he’d never been the most approachable or friendly. ‘An asshole for an asshole,’ she thought. Although she’d noticed Lila had been eying Damian since he arrived, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Alya shook her head and went back to her research. Something had happened to Chat Noir and Ladybug has been silent about it. She had her theories, and normally she’d run them by Nino, but since the two had broken up all those years ago… Alya sighed. Marinette split the class in two and nothing has been the same since. The Girl Squad was disbanded, she and Nino broke up, and class events rarely hit their goals because if the bully wasn’t invited, her supporters wouldn’t go either. Alya groaned and shifted positions, she NEEDED to finish her research about Chat Noir's disappearance. It’s been forever since she uploaded  Ladybug and Chat Noir content to the Ladyblog, even Alya would admit her blog had started to shift towards Lila content only. Just as she was beginning to give up, a message popped up on her screen.

Hello Ladyblogger. I have some information you might be interested in.

Alya stared at her screen. Was this a scam? She tried to click off the message, but it stayed. She should close her computer, and ask Max to take a look at it, but… what if this person was an inside source!? Carefully she typed out a reply.

Who is this? Why should I trust you? 

Her elusive new friend was quick to respond.

That’s funny. You were so quick to trust before. What changed?

She didn’t know if she should be freaked out or offended, but her curiosity would get the best of her.

I got betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Now what do you want?

Oh, you got betrayed alright, or to be more exact, you’re currently being betrayed, you’re just too deep in denial to realize it.

‘What?! What could they possibly mean by that?’ Alya thought as her eyes narrowed and she looked around at her friends.

Look if this is you Marinette I don’t want any of your bullshit.

My name isn’t Marinette. It’s Red, and I happen to know about Chat Noir’s whereabouts or his lack thereof. But, if you want the file, you’re going to have to do me a favor.

Oh shit. There were many things Alya was willing to do for a lead, but she had a couple of lines that she refused to cross.

Oh Yeah? And what kind of favor is this? 

I need you to look into your class’s multiple akumatizations.

The feeling of wielding a Miraculous was exhilarating. Domain’s whole body was practically vibrating with an energy he’d never known. It felt like everything was amplified, he wanted to, no he needed to run, and could feel his senses sharpening and his emotions, or at least how he felt them, intensify. ‘This must be what Starfire feels like,’ He thought as he admired his new suit. It was all black with acid-green accents and made from the same material as his Robin suit. Instead of a belt tail and ears, he wore a long cloak with a hood, and two tiny bits poked up to form the ears. The cloak was lined in gold and the ears were tipped in gold as well. A solid black domino mask hid his identity, and his eyes were a bright shade of acid green to match the accents on his suit. The suit itself was made of a similar material as his Robin suit and was solid black, but if you looked at it in the right light, leopard spots were visible. He’d said to hell with the bell, and holding his cloak on and the sash-belt that doubled as a tail were held in place by a deep green cat’s eye gemstone His boots and gloves were solid black, and fitted with braces for extra support when landing. At the tips of his gloves were retractable claws that glistened in the light, and they were slightly curved so he could use them to grab onto buildings and climb. He still had the baton, but a sword was really more his style, but even still he marveled at the magical weapon. “Before you make your debut, you should come up with a name so you aren’t put on the spot like I was,” Mari said as she looked him up and down in the new suit. Damian thought for a moment, “Panthère de Nuit. Night Panther.” his soulmate let out a pleased hum, “Letting Hawkmoth know he faces a more dangerous apex predator?” “Indeed my Lily,” Marinette smiled, and with a quick, “Spots on,” the two were ready to begin Damian’s first patrol as Paris’s new hero.

The two heroes raced along the rooftops, with Panthère de Nuit easily keeping up, a credit to Damian’s training and time as Robin. The two finally came to a stop on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower, they could see their class in the park below. “Okay, the second Alya sees us, she’s going to try and flag us down for an interview. Do you want to speak with her?” Damian thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Since Lila has taken over her blog, I don’t think she is a reliable source of information. I do not trust your local news here as well, they seem to lean into rumors. Is there anyone reliable we can talk to?” Ladybug looked around and spotted a familiar parasol. Aurore. The two had gotten to know each other better since Marinette distanced herself from her classmates, and she found out that the blonde ran her own Ladybug-themed blog called On the Spot. While Aurore didn’t get the close-up Akuma footage that Alya had, she was far more accurate in her reports. She recorded information such as the time of akumatization, rough location, and the direction the akumas had been seen traveling from. She had meant to begin working with Aurore and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to start. “See that girl over there? The blonde one? She runs her own blog, On the Spot, and while it’s less popular than the Ladyblog, it is more accurate. We can talk to her, but we need to make it look natural, so our class doesn’t think we ignored them. 

As luck would have it, an Akuma decided to make an appearance. Frozer was back and seemed to be determined to turn Paris into a winter wonderland. “He has ice powers similar to Mr. Freeze, and the Akuma is in his ice skates,” Marinette said as the two rushed into battle. “The easiest way to get the skates would be to immobilize him. If we could somehow trip him, you could cataclysm the skates and release the Akuma.” Damian nodded, “Not my first time dealing with ice-themed villains. I can distract him, while you try to use your yoyo to catch him off guard. Do you want Batman and Red Robin to help with this?” “No. If Hawkmoth finds out they’re in Paris, he’ll for sure try to target them. Please be careful,” Damian gave her a reassuring smile. “Darling I promise I’m not the type to pick fights I can’t win.” With that, he leaped into action. Frozer had sent a blast of ice towards his classmates, which Panthère de Nuit skillfully blocked with his blade. The world around them seemed to, well, freeze as everyone took a moment to process what just happened. “And who are you?” Frozer asked as Hawkmoth’s signature mask appeared over his face. “Panthère de Nuit, the new black cat.” Frozer laughed, “Oh? So Ladybug’s finally replaced that mangy feline? Well no matter, you’ll be just as easy to defeat!” With that, several more blasts of ice were thrown at Damian, who easily dodged, blocked, and reflected. Frozer seemed to pale, if that was even possible, and began to back up for a hasty retreat. Damian couldn’t help himself, “What’s wrong? Not used to fighting a competent Cat Miraculous holder? Too bad.” His eyes met Ladybug’s and he nodded, the sound of her yoyo zipping through the air, and the thud from Frozer hitting the ground confirmed their plan had worked. Damian simply waltzed up to Frozer, and one Cataclysm later, a dark butterfly made a break for it, only to be caught and purified by Ladybug. “That was amazing! I didn’t even have to use my Lucky Charm! Well, I still have to reverse the damage but, you know!” Ladybug exclaimed as she did just that. Damian looked at his ring to check how much time he had before he transformed back and noticed the little pawprint was still full. Weird, he’ll have to ask about that later. A crowd of people had begun to gather, including their classmates and Aurore, Ladybug noticed her and smiled, which encouraged the blonde to ask her questions. “Hello, Ladybug! Great job with the Akuma, that has to be a record!” “Thank you! Aurore is it? Of On the Spot?” The blonde nodded excitedly, “Although, I can’t take all the credit. My new partner was amazing!” Damian sensed this was his cue, and stepped up to answer Aurore’s next question, “Who are you, and what happened to Chat Noir?” With one last glance at Ladybug, Damian spoke, “My name is Panthère de Nuit, and I am Ladybug’s new partner. Chat Noir, as well as some of the temporary heroes, have been permanently retired. The Black Cat Miraculous was taken from him by his Kwamii, who felt he was no longer worthy to wield it,” This was met with cheers from the surrounding civilians. “I promise to do a better job and be a reliable and competent hero that Ladybug and all of Paris can count on. All I can say to Hawkmoth and Mayaura is that your days are numbered.” And with that, the two heroes left to roaring applause. 

Adrien was watching his TV in horror. Plagg, not Ladybug, not the Guardian, PLAGG had taken his Miraculous. His own kwamii had betrayed him, did Plagg even have the power or right to take the ring from him? And now, he was seriously in a bind. If Plagg took the ring, it was safe to say that Ladybug had no idea who he was, and most likely had no idea who her new partner was so he couldn’t ask her to get it back for him. Not to mention the last time they spoke, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Yeah in retrospect skipping patrol and all those akuma battles wasn’t his best idea, especially because that soured his relationship with the people of Paris. If his dad had taught him anything, it was that public opinion mattered a lot, and now he couldn’t exactly count on the public’s support for Chat Noir. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his best chance of EVER getting a Miraculous again was to pretend to support this new cat, and hope that gets him Ladybug’s attention. Adrien let out a groan and flopped on his bed, his whole life was a mess. Plagg had taken his ring and hadn’t even given him a chance to fix his mistakes (He’d been given many chances), Lila was his soulmate and causing trouble in the class, and then Marinette shows up one day with Damian Wayne claiming to be her soulmate! He’d looked it up, and it really was Damian Wayne, and not some imposter using his name, but it was still so frustrating! He couldn’t figure out just why Marinette was so smitten with the man when he seemed like such a terrible fit for her! Marinette was kind, compassionate, and warm while Damian was cold, selfish, and quite mean. Adrien had been nursing a small crush on Marinette for a while and had known about her crush on him before Alya told him. He still loved Ladybug but realized after a while that she really might not feel the same way, and he couldn’t help it when a brilliant girl like Marinette was in his class. It didn’t hurt that she and Ladybug could be sisters, but he just figured he had a type. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was so focused on Damian when she’d been in love with him for years! “Calm down Adrien,” he muttered to himself, “Mari’s always been a hopeless romantic, so it’s probably just the fact he’s claiming he’s her soulmate.” He also needed to do something about Lila. Sure, he still believed the high road was the best way to go, but he had never expected things to escalate to the point Lila and their class were physically harming Marinette. Walking over to his closet and pulling out a whiteboard and some markers, he began to work on Operation Win Back Marinette.

Across Paris, another student was working on a plan: Alya. She had been working on her newest lead, and chatting with her new friend, Red. True to his word, Red had given Alya information about Chat Noir and Panthère de Nuit. What she knew so far was that Chat Noir’s behavior had gone on longer than anyone in Paris had realized, and that this was not Panthère de Nuit’s first time as a hero. In return, she had compiled a list of all her class’s akumatizations, and why they were akumatized. She slowly began to notice four outliers in their class: Marinette, Damian, Adrien, and Lila. Damian she could explain away easily, he had just gotten to Paris and hadn’t had the chance to be akumatized yet, but that was where easy ended. Marinette had a few failed akumatizations, in which she was always able to break out of Hawkmoth’s control. Alya chalked it up to Gina teaching her some meditation methods she used, but what was harder to explain was why Marinette was almost akumatized. The first time made sense, she had just been expelled, but the others were a complete mystery. Adrien hasn’t been akumatized (I’m not counting Cat Blanc or Ephemeral), but it almost seemed like the akumas never targeted him. She had seen him express negative emotions before. Then there was Lila Rossi, who had been akumatized into Volpina a scarily high number of times. Drawing from her own experience as Rena Rouge, Alya knew that the Fox Miraculous was all about illusions, and an Akuma based off of a Miraculous will share its powers, but in a weaker state. Come to think of it, there were times Lila was akumatized into Volpina that didn’t fit. She would be crying because Marinette had bullied her, and still turn into Volpina. Alya knew that you would only turn into an akuma twice if you felt the same emotions both times, such as Mr. Pigeon, so something wasn’t adding up. Opening her laptop, she typed out:

Red? Are you on? I have a few Questions.

She waited nervously, tapping her fingers on the desk as she checked her phone.

Yeah. What’s up Ladyblogger?

Alya could’ve kissed her computer, she felt like she was closer than she’d ever been to uncovering something big.

I was going back through the list of my class’ akumatizations and noticed a couple of outliers. Do you have any information on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Lila Rossi?

I never thought you’d ask. Here’s what I have.

Red sent over a bunch of files, with a ton on Adrien and Lila, and very few on Marinette.

Why does Marinette only have like, three things?

She isn’t a public figure like the other two, well at least under that name. Ever heard of MDC? That’s her. You aren’t a true celebrity if you don’t have an MDC original. 

Marinette was MDC?! This was news to Alya, but she guessed it would make sense. Marinette had stopped making them things a few years ago, saying she was too busy. If she was covertly running a fashion empire that would explain it. However, one last thing still haunted Alya, especially as she began to click through the files on Adrien and Lila. She paused for a moment, Red had sent her camera footage from the day Marinette was expelled, but why was it labeled as Lila’s file? As she pressed play and began watching, she began noting some inconsistencies. Before returning to the video, she typed out one last message. 

Red? I’m starting to think I’ve been lied to. 

For the next week or so, all anyone would talk about was Panthère de Nuit, and the hype was justified. He’d been spotted a few more times since Frozer, at Akuma fights and on patrol, and was just as skilled as his first fight. Videos were made speculating about his powers if he had any new ones, and where he could have possibly gotten the skills he used in his fight. The most popular theory came from Aurore, who hypothesized that Panthère de Nuit was not new to being a hero. The public was still a little apprehensive, since they remembered what they’d been through under Chat Noir, but were rapidly warming up to the man. Of course, a certain someone claimed to have more info than she did. Marinette sat in her spot with Damian by her side and rolled her eyes as Lila went on and on, “I’m so happy I was finally able to convince Ladybug to replace Chat Noir! I’ve been telling her for years that he isn’t a good partner, but she’s so sweet and sentimental, so she was hesitant to get rid of the partner she’s had since the beginning. Maybe now that he’s not around to get jealous, I can convince her to give you all your Miraculous again! Well, some people might not be worthy of wielding one, but that’s their own fault.” The class snickered and shot looks at Marinette and her friends, who simply ignored them. Lila had no way of knowing that some of the class would never wield any Miraculous again, their identities had been exposed and it was too much of a risk. Lila went on and on, even when Ms. Bustier came in and tried to start class. However, someone caught Marinette’s attention: Alya. Her former best friend was sitting with her laptop open to the Ladyblog analytics page, and she was watching Lila with narrowed eyes. She would occasionally stop and type something out. Her concentration seemed to stop when Adrien walked into the room, and Marinette quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with either. Damian shot a glare at the blond who was trying to get Mari’s attention, and the ravenette paid him no mind. Nino (Who still had connections in the Adrien fan club) had informed her that the model talks about her at his shoots, and when people ask if they’re dating he never denies it. “He’s trying to create a public narrative,” Damian had explained, “If the media picks up the story and the public catches on, it could spread like wildfire. Remember how everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and destined for each other? That resulted in people pressuring Ladybug to admit feelings she didn’t have.” The group nodded, clearly understanding that Damian was worried the same thing would happen to Marinette.

Adrien made his next move at lunch. Marinette and Damian, along with their friend group were going to spend their lunch at a nearby cafe. The group didn’t want to deal with Lila, and wanted to be able to discuss their topic privately: Reopening an investigation into who Hawkmoth is. Marinette had a theory board about it that she had made with Alya when they were younger, but the two stopped when they had their falling out. As they were leaving, Adrien approached them. “Hey, Mari! So where are we going for lunch?” I know a great place-” “We? Dude, you haven’t been caught dead anywhere near us since middle school,” Nino practically growled and crossed his arms. The ending of their friendship had been… explosive. Nino had gone to Adrien after he figured out Lila was lying, hoping to gather support to expose Lila and save his childhood friend’s reputation, and was horrified to find out that Adrien knew and pressured Mari to keep quiet. The following argument resulted in Nino being akumatized into Maskless, who was determined to “remove the masks” and expose people for who they truly are. It was a difficult fight for Ladybug, and after it was over, Nino disavowed the two boys’ friendship for good, the last thing he’d spoken to Adrien before now was, “I just can’t be friends with someone who would sacrifice a friend to avoid having to deal with a little discomfort. Talk to me when you grow a spine and maybe I’ll forgive you.” And the future director had kept his promise. This was the first time he’d spoken to Adrien in years. The callout seemed to catch the blond off guard, and he stumbled out, “Well uh, my father wanted me to talk to Marinette about an internship, so I was going to do that today at lunch. So Mari where do you want to go eat?” And with that Adrien made a move to grab Mari’s wrist, but was blocked by an angry Kim and pissed Damian. “Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to grab someone without consent?” Kim snarked. Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka nodded, with Juleka working up the courage to add, “You’re forgetting that you aren’t the only model in the class anymore. I’m in the same gossip circles you are now, and I know you’re trying to make people think that Adrienette is a thing.” “That’s not true I-,” “Enough,” Marinette cut in, Adrien gave her a hopeful smile, while the others snickered. “Adrien, I already have plans with my friends and it would be rude of me to cancel at the last minute. Plus I seem to remember two very important things you’re conveniently forgetting: First, the conversation in which I very clearly told you I wasn’t interested, and second, the letter I received in the middle of class a year ago from your father telling me I’ve been blacklisted from the company. And from the looks on both your and Lila’s faces I can conclude you both had something to do with that. If Gabriel wants me to work for him, he needs to start by addressing the elephant in the room and the damage he’s done to my career before I could even graduate. Come on guys, we need to actually get something to eat before lunch is over,” and with that, Marinette and her group sidestepped a disappointed Adrien and made their way toward a cafe.

After they’d gotten their food, they got to work on their theory of who Hawkmoth was. “Here’s the list of people I considered before I knew for sure he had a partner,” Marinette set a stack of papers down, “And here’s the list of suspects after I had to start over once Mayura came onto the scene.” That list was twice as long and seemed to radiate an aura of frustration. The others each took papers and began crossing out people that they knew couldn’t be Hawkmoth. “Soooo… I think we can rule out some people based on the fact they don’t have time to be Hawkmoth or Mayura. Like we know they aren’t any of our parents because they’re too busy with work,” Rose chirped as she crossed off names with her sparkly pink Pom Pom pen. “So I hate to be that person but are we sure Mayura is Hawky’s only partner?” Nathaniel asked, playing with a pencil. Damian nodded, “Surely he has to have someone else. He can’t guarantee that someone in Paris is going to feel upset enough to attract an akuma even though Paris is a big city. It would make more sense if he had someone working to actively cause akumas,” the group seemed to be stuck for a moment after the obviously innocent people have been ruled out. The problem with Akumatizations is how little solid evidence is left behind. Hawkmoth can emotionally hijack someone and leave behind no DNA or fingerprints, or really anything. 

Damian had (and none of them except Marinette knew this) checked the databases the Justice League and Batfamily kept on the various super criminals of the world only to have it turn up empty, so the group was stuck… until a new voice cut in, “You’re assuming he’s smarter than he really is. I should know, I’ve helped him before.” Chloe and Sabrina stood in front of their table, with the heiress making a point to sit herself down at the head of the table and continued, “Be honest with yourselves, I’m not the only person with an attitude problem in Paris who didn’t care how many akumas I caused. There are many more who don’t care, and those people are the backbone of Hawkmoth’s operation whether they realize it or not. Unless you and Ladybug have a plan to make everyone in Paris act as sweet as pie, you need to stop acting like Hawkmoth is a genius. He thrives off dumb luck and takes advantage of problems others cause.” Marinette froze at the mention of her alter ego, “Why do you think I know Ladybug?” Chloe snorted and gave Marinette a look, “Dupain-Cheng you got that wannabe reporter an interview with her! Despite your family’s lack of financial wealth, you have connections coming out of your pigtails. If anyone in this hellhole keeps regular contact with Ladybug it would be you. Anyways, Hawkmoth isn’t the brains of the operation, that could be Mayura if she would stop going along with all his ridiculous schemes and grow a backbone. In the few times I’ve willingly helped him, it was clear that his plan was only cobbled together at best and completely on the fly at worst.” “Why did you help him in the first place?” Rose blurted out, and realizing her mistake she quickly covered her mouth. 

Chloe simply sighed, “I guess I do owe you all an explanation since I was responsible for most of your akumatizations. When I agreed to help him, I was at my lowest. He prays on weakness in any form it comes in. I was always taught that I was born lucky, and everyone else was just lucky to be born- yes Kim I know what show I’m referencing- and for the longest time I believed it. I believed I had the right to act the way I did, and my parents encouraged it, but as I started getting older, it became clear that I didn’t inherit my mother’s talent so she started distancing herself from me. My father tried to fill the void by just giving in to everything I wanted. I know he loves me, but he wanted to be my friend instead of my parent, and that whole dynamic messed me up even more. Then I met Marinette fucking Dupain-Cheng, a girl who my parents taught me to consider less than dirt beneath my feet… but she somehow had everything I wanted,” Chloe clutched the smoothie in her hand, and couldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes, “Your parents love you so much, and are so involved. They made it to every event our class had, while mine couldn’t be bothered, they encouraged you when you failed and promised to help you, while my mother would scream at me and tell me I was a waste of her time. They helped you learn how to deal with your problems instead of paying them to go away. I was and still am, so jealous of you Marinette. I’d give anything in a heartbeat to trade places with you, but instead, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lashed out. I made your life hell for years, long before Lila came around, in fact, I’m surprised that you didn’t dump our class sooner. In all the years I bullied you, not a single one of them helped you, they avoided you, and the second you stood up to me they tried to act like all those years just disappeared,” Damian, who was mainly focusing on how Marinette was reacting, quickly noticed the shame on the faces of their friends. While he wanted to rage at them for what they’d done to his soulmate, he stopped himself, he knew he couldn’t now that he was Panthère de Nuit if Hawkmoth found an opening… He focused back in on Chloe’s story to try and calm down, “Anyways, when Ladybug came onto the scene, I immediately latched onto this idea that if she was my friend, all my problems would be fixed. I would have an amazing friend who would get my parent’s attention and make all my problems go away, but I screwed it up royally. When I found the Bee Miraculous, I thought it was a chance to redeem myself. I should have just returned it to Ladybug instead of causing that train accident, I thought if I showed her that I could be a hero then maybe she’d accept me. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I kept fucking up because I would let my ego get the better of me. When I lost the Bee Miraculous, when I realized Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me, and when I realized it was all my fault, I broke. I was convinced that I was destined to destroy anything good in my life, and that was when Hawkmoth approached me about becoming Miracle Queen. I was so emotional that I forgot who I was talking to, and gave him everything he needed to convince me to join him. After that… I was bitter, bitter at the world, Ladybug, Zoe, you name it I was upset at it because something had occurred to me during that time. I realized that I was never born lucky, that’s you Marinette, I was actually the one lucky to be born- shut up Kim let me have this- even though you were going through hell, you still had people in your corner who support you unconditionally. I know Ladybug hates me, I know you do too, but if she really wants to defeat Hawkmoth all she needs to do is get him at his lowest, and Mayura will follow him down.” With her speech over, Chloe and Sabrina simply got up and left, leaving a stunned table in their wake. “Get him at his lowest…” Marinette murmured to herself, and she kept muttering it all the way back to school. 

As the school day neared the end, Marinette had gone to the restroom, promising to meet Damian by her locker. As the Wayne heir waited, he heard a gentle, ‘ahem,’ and turned, expecting to see his soulmate. Instead, he felt his blood pressure spike as he was face to face with the ravenous wolf that looked at him as if he were a gullible lamb, a.k.a, Lila. She looked a mess with puffy red eyes and mascara streaks down her face reaching her chin, it was clear to anyone she had been crying. Damian narrowed his eyes, this might not be one of her fake crying episodes, but it clearly was still a carefully laid trap. They were alone, with no witnesses to watch what was about to go down. Lila hesitantly held her phone out to Damian, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, “I… I thought you should know,” she sniffed, pressing the play button. Damian listened with a raised eyebrow to the conversation Lila had supposedly recorded, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend,” Adrien’s voice could be heard loud, and clear through the recording, Damian opened his mouth but Lila cut him off, “There’s more hang on,” Soon after, his Lily’s voice could be heard, “Adrien, I have loved you since we were thirteen-” With that Lila stopped the recording and began to cry, “I know Marinette’s probably told you all these nasty things about me… but it felt wrong to say nothing and let her keep manipulating you like this when I know what I heard.” With that, Lila went back to sobbing and wailing about how her bully ‘stole’ her soulmate and was a filthy cheater. If anyone else was around, they would have caught the Bat Glare Lila herself was too wrapped up in her act to see. Damian wasn’t surprised Lila stooped this low, in fact, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t stoop lower and try to fake a pregnancy or something, but it dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to end Marinette’s torment and he decided to take it. “Oh, you were there for that conversation too?” Lila froze, and looked up at him with fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks, “E-excuse me?” A deep laugh that rumbled like thunder cut through the tension. “Do you seriously think I would have let Adrien speak to my Lily alone when I knew he would try to pull something? And do you seriously think I wouldn’t consider the possibility someone could have been listening in,” With that, Damian pulled out his own phone, shooting Lila a vicious smirk. “Let me fill you in on what you conveniently missed,” As he pressed play, the smirk only grew as he watched the color drain from Lila’s face and his voice played from the speaker, “Agreste there is no way you are her soulmate. I saw Marinette in my dreams, and she saw me in hers. Besides, I know your soulmate is Rossi. She was determined to make a scene today at lunch, and it tipped me off that you would try something like this. I suggest you listen well Agreste because this is the only time I will be kind enough to give you some advice. Leave Marinette alone. All you have done is hurt her and allow others to hurt her. You have stood by and watched as a petty ectoparasite burrowed into Marinette’s class and allowed her to spread her manipulative disease. Even if by chance you have somehow seen the light and exposed the truth tomorrow, which we both know you will not do because you are too much of a coward and care more about what other people think of you, it’s too late. You have blown all your chances, and Marinette is far too good for you, someone who will throw her to the wolves to avoid a minor inconvenience. So stay away Adrien, if you know what is best for you.” With that, Damian placed his phone in his pocket and looked back at Lila. 

“You know, I really ought to thank you, Rossi, you tipped me off to Agreste’s plan and allowed me to collect evidence to foil your own. I have that entire conversation recorded from the moment he approached my Lily, and I have already been recording this one too,” Lila’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to faint, so Damian moved in for the kill, “Do you really think you’re the first one to try and pull a stunt like this? I am from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world, did you really think you would be the first to lie about my soulmate? How convenient, you happen to have a recording of Marinette supposedly accepting a confession from Adrien, and that you finally worked up the ‘courage’ to tell me the first moment I am alone and Marinette is not here to defend herself. I will give you some credit though, your editing skills could fool someone who is not looking for signs of manipulation, and could have definitely fooled our gullible classmates, which brings me to my next point,” Damian channeled his rage into a calm, icy glare, “You will cease tormenting my soulmate immediately. I am not afraid to expose your lies and underhanded tactics to our class, but let me give you some more incentive. Before, Marinette did not have the… legal resources to handle you properly, but I have my family’s lawyers on speed dial Rossi. Marinette is not my wife yet, but the same protections that cover the Wayne family extend to her. So if you know what is good for you, you will shut your mouth and never speak ill of my soulmate again, or my lawyers will see what other secrets you have been hiding.” Taking that as her queue to leave, Lila booked it toward the exit like the devil was on her heels. Operation: Lila Wayne was clearly dead in the water, and Damian would be sure it stayed that way. Once she was gone he took a deep breath and got his emotions in check, just in time to see the love of his life jogging towards him. “Sorry! I realized while I was in the bathroom that I left some stuff in the art room!” He smiled as the familiar feeling of warmth returned to him. It was wonderful, being in love.

Alya just got finished pacing around her room for what felt like the hundredth time. She stared at her computer, open to the video she had yet to publish, and the one that would be the final nail in the coffin for her career. She knew deep down she had to do this, it was the only way to atone for all she’d done. A chat popped up on the screen from Red:

Are you okay Ladyblogger? I know this is a tough decision, and I’m here for you. 

Alya smiled, over their many late-night conversations, Red had become a good friend and close confidant. She’d never meet up with him in person, that was online safety 101, but he’d helped her come to some difficult conclusions.

Yeah. Just trying to settle my nerves a bit. I know I have to do this, it’s the right thing to do, and lately, I’ve struggled with that.

You’ve got this. I think it will go over better than you think it will. 

With that, Alya closed her eyes, counted to ten, and pressed the upload button. A video titled after one of the worst things she’d ever said was now on the front page of the Ladyblog, a video she could never take back.

Marinette and Damian were in her room, munching on a variety of cookies and discussing their plan to end Hawkmoth’s reign of terror once and for all. Their brainstorming was interrupted when a notification popped up on Marinette’s phone, and a new video had been posted to the Ladyblog. The two shared a look and a shrug, sure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to see what Lila was saying now, instead, they were met with a thumbnail of Alya sitting at her desk, and a video called ‘A Good Reporter Always Fact Checks’ was staring back at them. Damian pressed play, and the two sat back to see what this was about. 

“Hey everyone, it’s the Ladyblogger. This video is VERY different from what I normally post, and it needs to be because I have a lot I need to say. Many years ago, when I was just starting out I posted a video about a girl named Lila Rossi who claimed that she was Ladybug’s best friend. That video has been removed, but at the time I thought nothing of it. A girl who was my friend confronted me about it, and rightly, called me on the fact I had no evidence to prove anything Lila had said. Instead of fixing my mistake, I told her that a good reporter always fact-checks, but that wasn’t what I did. I am here today to apologize to her and to all of you for failing you. I neglected to do the right thing and gave a liar a platform to spread dangerous misinformation, but I also took that liar’s side and turned against the best friend I’ve ever had. 

I met Lila Rossi when I was thirteen, and I along with most of my classmates naively believed every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel. She told us that because her mother was a diplomat, she had gotten to meet and work with all these famous people and that she could talk with them and help our careers. We were so excited, there was someone who could help us reach our dreams and she was doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Hindsight really is 20/20, and looking back there was no way any celebrity in their right mind would be that deeply involved working with a teenage girl to the extent Lila claimed. I can’t speak for my classmates but I know a part of me kept believing her because the fear of pissing her off and then it all turning out to be true kept me loyal to her. I was a coward and afraid that if I questioned her I would lose out, and that later turned into fearing what I’d done in her name if it turns out she was lying. This resulted in me interviewing her and publicizing her lies and misinformation, giving her a platform to fuel her own ego. To put it simply: I didn’t fact-check, and now everyone is paying the price. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry. Taking her videos down doesn’t fix the damage she caused, and just saying I’m sorry won’t either. It sounds cringy but I promise to do better, but I don’t expect you all to stick with me now that I’ve proven not to be a reliable source. For accurate, truthful information, check out Aurore’s blog On the Spot. She’s a great reporter and has done a much better job than I did. I would also like to apologize to Ladybug, and not just for giving Lila Rossi a platform. I want to apologize for all those shitty things I did to try to figure out her identity and push LadyNoir even after she clearly expressed multiple times that she was uncomfortable. Most importantly, I want to apologize to my former friend and ex-boyfriend,” Marinette’s eyebrow raised a bit, “They caught on to Lila’s bullshit years before I did and tried to snap me out of it because they cared about me. But instead, I dug my heels in and participated in icing them out from the class, and stood by while they were harassed. I broke up with my boyfriend over this whole mess because I was appalled he’d take Lila’s “Bully’s” side when the truth was that they were the ones being bullied. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry and that they don’t have to forgive me. My teacher taught us that we always need to forgive and be the bigger person, but forgiveness isn’t something owed, it's earned. I’ve acknowledged my wrongdoings but I haven’t yet begun to work to make things right. So to that girl who was my best friend and one of the best people I’ve met: I should have trusted you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine, and I am so sorry for what I’ve done.” Marinette sat and stared, stunned at Alya’s admission and watching in awe as the blogger exposed Lila’s lies to the world. Out of all the people to do it, she never thought it would be Alya, Lila’s self-proclaimed BFF. However, it also meant the last variable in her plan was taken care of, so walking over to the Miraculous box, she took what she needed and gave a variety of Miraculous to Damian. Standing on her toes she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Text Red Robin and Batman, tell them to meet us at the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. And if you would be so kind, please take these Miraculous to their most recent holders. I know I said I retired the old heroes, but we’ll need most of them again. I have one errand to run, and I’ll meet you there.” Damian nodded, and kissed Mari’s forehead, “Be careful my Lily.” and She hesitantly broke away from his embrace, transformed, and snuck out through her balcony. 

Alya was scrolling through the comments on her apology/Lila Rossi exposè video, it was a habit she never could break. Yes, there were quite a few harshly criticizing her, and a couple were straight-up name-calling, but the majority of people were happy she’d seen the light and were encouraging her not to give up on her dream. Her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from her classmates (and quite a few angry voicemails from Lila), but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A part of her felt at peace, even though she mourned the loss of her dream. A knock on her door snapped her out of her spiral, it was probably her mom coming to give her a pep talk and reassure her she did the right thing. But as she opened the door to her room, a familiar set of pigtails nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Hi… I came to talk,” Marinette said, and Alya moved back to let her in. This felt so right, but wrong. It called back to the many sleepovers they had, laughing about boys and reading superhero comics, but this time it was like two opposing soldiers laying down their arms in a tentative truce. Marinette decided to break the awkward silence, “So I saw the video. I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting you to expose Lila like that.” Alya gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Neither did she. She’s been blowing up my phone with voicemails calling me every name she can think of and promising to ruin me. Well, she’s too late 'cause I already did that.” Marinette looked over at the comments, skimming through them. “Not necessarily. You apologized, admitted you were wrong, and have already begun working to undo some of her damage,” “But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you, to Nino, and your friends.” “No, it doesn’t, but you’ve owned up to it which is admirable. What snapped you out of it?” Alya smiled softly, “I made a friend who got me to stop and think… and also got me access to the school’s cameras. I don’t know how much of the video you watched but I played the video from the day you got expelled and it showed Lila framing you so Damocles and Bustier are in some hot water right now.” Marinette laughed, genuinely, it felt so strange for Alya to hear, “About time! I can’t help but wonder how many other people they messed up, besides us.” “Oh, a lot. I plan on exposing more, but that’s a problem to take out another day.” Marinette perked up a bit, “Speaking of taking out problems, I need your help with a big one.” Alya nodded eagerly, ready to make up for her years of inaction. “I asked Aurore to post this too, but I need you to post this article,” Marinette handed her a piece of paper to read, as she read, her brow furrowed a bit, “You’re not planning on taking on Hawkmoth, are you? Oh my god, you are. I don’t know what secret weapons stash the Waynes have but-” “Tikki spots on,” Standing there, in her room, was Ladybug, where her former best friend once stood. Before Alya could find her words Maribug, no, Ladynette, no, Ladybug cut her off, “I have a plan but I’m going to need Hawkmoth to panic thinking the Miraculi are slipping out of his grasp. We need this to bait him out.” Alya was stunned, and began to stammer, “Of course! I-” “You said you wanted to work to make things right, so if you’re willing,” Marinette held out an oh-so-familiar fox necklace, “I’ll need Rena Rouge’s help too.”

Chloe was sitting in her room with Sabrina, pretending to be invested in whatever show they were watching. In her mind she kept replaying that day she spotted Marinette and her group in her favorite cafe. The conversation she had… she had never expected to spill her heart out like that. Her mother always told her that she could never be vulnerable, she could never let others see any weakness, and yet there she sat pouring out her heart. Eventually, Sabrina had to leave, they did have school tomorrow, and the heiress was left alone. Alone was something familiar to Chloe, especially since her Icarus Moment, as she called it, was something she dreaded. She knew her parents would leave her out to dry in a heartbeat, she knew Zoe had her own life and that the two sisters would never be close, and she knew all her daddy’s employees would quit the moment they found something better. All she had left was Sabrina, so she clung on for dear life. She’d stopped treating her friend like a servant a long time ago, and even when she was at her worst, Sabrina stuck by her. Initially, it was out of fear, Sabrina knew that if she was going to swim with sharks it was better to be a remora. She had many chances to leave but stuck around time and time again and Chloe realized that maybe Sabrina really did care for her. Then there was the hot mess that was Adrien. He’d tried to give Chloe the “Her lies aren’t hurting anybody” speech a while ago, but the heiress wasn’t having it. This girl had humiliated her and needed to pay. She and Sabrina decided to gather information, and that was how they overheard Adrien making Marinette agree not to do anything and later Lila threatening Marinette. 

Chloe had always felt a little bad for the baker’s daughter, she was madly in love with Adrien but had no idea what he was really like, he could be incredibly manipulative if it meant avoiding an uncomfortable situation. She knew that Marinette wouldn’t trust her to outright accept help from the heiress, so she decided to back off entirely, a cease-fire of sorts. It helped that this coincided with her revelation that she was jealous of Marinette and her family. When Damian Wayne joined the class and declared himself Dupain-Cheng’s soulmate, Chloe thought, ‘About damn time.’ She’d seen how the former class president was treated and knew she most likely had another major stressor (Chloe theorized she was Ladybug’s woman in the chair, working behind the scenes), so she was a bit relieved to see the universe finally being kind to the ravenette. Unfortunately, it also marked the turn for Adrien to go off the deep end. He had confessed to Chloe before that he knew about Marinette’s crush, but that he was pretty sure his soulmate was Ladybug, and he’d also said that she’d be his second pick if that didn’t work out, and she certainly got an earful when he found out his soulmate was Lila. After she and Sabrina returned to school after their run-in with the Mari Squad, Adrien stopped her and asked her to help him win back Marinette. “Agreste,” She remembered snapping, not bothering with any nicknames, “You’ve lost your mind. Dupain-Cheng finally, FINALLY has something positive working out for her and you, one of the main sources of all her anguish think you can just waltz back in? You don’t really love her Adrien, you said it yourself she’d always be your second choice, and when your first choice fell through and your soulmate turned out to be Lila you sought out your consolation prize. Let me give you some advice: Life isn’t a fairytale, you can’t expect Marinette to wait for you forever or to completely throw away her life for you.” She doubted Adrien would get the message, but at least she tried. If she was naïve, Chloe would wonder if this marked the start of the end of their rivalry and the beginning of a new friendship, but the logical part of her knew that the damage she did was too great. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sound coming from her balcony. She groaned and got up, thinking a pigeon had crashed into the door and was now stunned on the floor. But when she opened the door, she was shocked, there was Ladybug and Rena Rouge on her balcony. Ladybug smiled gently, and in almost a whisper asked, “Is Queen Bee available?”

The three women arrived at the Eiffel Tower just before midnight. Their arrival was acknowledged by a majority of the Miraculous team and Red Robin. Batman stood back, silently observing. Marinette could feel the nerves rising in her stomach. There was Batman, in person, and he was here to help her. Alya seemed to be going through a similar mental process, trying desperately to act professional and not fangirl, until Red Robin greeted her, “Well, well, well. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting to see you here Ladyblogger!” Alya’s jaw dropped, “Red??” Tim threw his head back and laughed, “Yep! I needed some information for our investigation, and figured I’d help you off the sinking ship in the process.” Before Alya could reply, Batman spoke, “Speaking of information, we were able to figure out That Hawkmoth and Mayura are Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur by hacking into various cameras to track the akumas, and from there we monitored his activity through his security system,” “For the record I’ve seen better security from Rogues like Crazy Quilt,” Red Robin interjected, Batman sighed and continued, “We have solid evidence that will hold up in court, so our main objective will be to catch him,” the Dark Knight turned to Ladybug, “So I’m assuming you called us here because you have the plan to do that.” Ladybug nodded and stepped forward to begin to tell the team her plan, “So as most of you know Hawkmoth and Mayura get their powers from the Kwamii within their Miraculous, that’s the same thing that gives us our powers,” She clarified for the Gotham heroes, “All we have to do is remove the Miraculous from them, and their transformation will be dropped and they’ll be powerless. However, the tricky part is actually getting them to come to the fight themselves. The nature of their Miraculous allows them to create minions to fight for them, hence the Akumas and Sentimonsters, so it’s very likely that they’ll try and distract us so they can escape. We have a mostly full Miraculous team, minus the mouse, rabbit, ox, and horse, but those can easily be given to other holders to fill that void,” The group felt a mix of emotions at the realization that some of their classmates had still yet to try and make amends for what they did, but knew that it was for the better until they could fully trust the former team members again. “So in order to get them out, we need to get them to their lowest, a point in which they’ll be so desperate that they’ll feel like they have no choice but to face us themselves, and we’ll do that by making them think that everything is slipping out of their grasp.”

Adrien had just gotten home from school, and turned on the TV in his room, flopping down on his bed. His day was AWFUL because the night before Alya had made a video on the Ladyblog exposing Lila completely out of the blue. Needless to say, the class was furious, and then their fury was directed at him when they found out he’d known the whole time and the things he did to keep Marinette from exposing Lila. He’d tried to argue that yeah he’d made a mistake, but no major damage had been done and that the small stuff could be fixed, so they should all just move on and be friends again. That had only added fuel to the fire, and all of this was before Marinette and Damian walked in. Adrien could practically feel his blood pressure rising at the thought of his rival’s name. He’d changed Marinette, encouraged her to stand up for herself, and in Adrien’s opinion was shaping her into a toxic person, but it seemed like he was the only one who could see it! More and more people gravitated to Mari like moths to a flame, and she was enjoying quite the popularity spike while he and Lila were seemingly deemed the school’s outcasts. If he still had his ring he would go to her as Chat Noir and demand that she stop the bullshit and fix everything, but he couldn’t even do that. Lila had contacted him, screaming that he’d ruined her plan to split up Dupain-Cheng and Wayne, and if he’d just followed her lead, he’d have what he wanted and she’d have what she wanted. For once he wished he listened to Lila, especially when she told him that Damian had a recording of his confrontation with Marinette and her rejection. His lawyers explained that there was nothing he could do,  the Wayne family was a legal juggernaut so even if they did have a valid case, they would simply be able to drag it out until the Agrestes had no choice but to drop it, the same thing Gabriel had done to countless people before. They drilled into his head that any move he made against Damian Wayne would bring the wrath of his lawyers and that for once, Adrien was in a position of weakness. 

He was brainstorming ideas on how to convince Marinette to leave her soulmate when the TV switched over to breaking news. “Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit will be meeting with members of the Justice League and Justice League Dark today in order to transfer over the Miraculous to the hero teams. According to statements from Ladybug posted to the Ladyblog and On the Spot, ‘Hawkmoth’s attacks have become far more brazen, and in order to assure the safety of Paris, I felt it was necessary to entrust the Miraculi, including the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, to people who can properly protect them,’” The screen cut to Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit handing over what was supposedly the Miracle Box to the superheroes Batman, Red Robin, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate, The box was almost in Zatanna’s hands when a loud boom caught the attention of the heroes, and as the camera turned to show what they saw, Adrien gasped. There were Hawkmoth and Mayura on the back of a massive multi-headed dragon Sentimonster, with an army of akumas and amoks floating around them, ready to turn at least half of Paris into their own army. A burst of fire was shot from one of the heads of the dragon, with Ladybug, Panthère de Nuit, Batman, and Red Robin easily dodging. Zatanna and Doctor Fate, along with the Miracle Box disappeared in the familiar smoke of an illusion from the Fox Miraculous breaking, in fact, the whole area seemed to disappear, and when the smoke settled, it showed the heroes and villains trapped in a large Shell-ter. It struck Adrien that this was never a poorly executed plan that Hawkmoth discovered, this was an ambush. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t get involved, he didn’t have a Miraculous and would be putting himself in great danger. However, he was convinced that if he showed Ladybug that he could still be a hero, she would have to give him a MIraculous, and he could prove to Marinette that he was the best match for her. So he left for the battlefield.

Everything so far was going according to plan. Hawkmoth and Mayura had taken the bait and were now trapped in the Shell-ter with the Heroes. Rena Rouge was working overtime, creating illusion after illusion to confuse the devious duo. Carapace’s Shell-ter was holding strong, preventing anyone from entering and potentially getting akumatized. Vipereon was given the rabbit miraculous as well and was currently hopping between dimensions and using Second Chance to reset the fight and figure out the next moves they should make. King Monkey (with help from the Mouse Miraculous), Pigella, and Caprikid were using their respective powers to work with Batman and Red Robin to try and throw off Hawkmoth and Mayura’s concentration. Meanwhile, Ryuko, Panthère de Nuit, Purple Tigeress (also using the Ox Miraculous), and Rooster Bold were handling the massive dragon Sentimonster. Ladybug herself was along the outskirts of the battle, with Miss Hound and the “new” Bee hero Swarm. Ladybug was using her yo-yo to get her allies out of the way of various attacks, and waiting for the signal from Vipereon to use Lucky Charm. Swarm was waiting for an opportunity to use Venom to stun either Hawkmoth or Mayura, while Miss Hound was using the Horse Miraculous to teleport around to take shots at hitting the villains’ Miraculous. All of the heroes were connected with earpieces so they could communicate and monitor how each other was doing, and so far everything was going smoothly. 

For the first time in forever, Ladybug was beginning to feel hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon, when Miss Hound caught everyone’s attention, “Ummm… Why is Adrien trying to get in? Does he know that Hawkmoth is his dad?” Red Robin dodged an attack from an enraged Mayura, and quickly answered, “Not that we’re aware of. Although we did find out that he was Chat Noir, so maybe he thinks he can help,” Ladybug sighed and declared she would handle it, swinging off to the border. Sure enough, there was Adrien, banging on the Shell-ter, and he perked up as soon as he saw her. The only thing standing between the former partners was a magical green wall. “What are you doing here Adrien? It’s not safe!” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared, she did NOT have time for this! “I’m here to help My Lady! So tell Carapace to drop Shell-ter and let me in,” The blond boy shot her his best Chat Noir smile, while Ladybug simply raised an eyebrow, “I can’t do that Adrien. Lifting the shelter would allow thousands of akumas to escape and terrorize Paris. It would be too much of a risk and put too many people in danger. Besides you don’t have a way to fight, so you wouldn’t be any help.” She hoped that would put an end to it, but she was wrong, “But I can help! If you give me a Miraculous I can help you defeat Hawkmoth. Please Ladybug we’re partners, we’re soulmates! I should be there fighting with you!” Adrien was persistent she’d give him that, but there was no way she’d let him in, potentially ruining everything when they worked so hard. “No Adrien, I will not be giving you a Miraculous! Every single one of them is in use right now and to take one away from someone would put them in danger. Besides, you already blew your chance when you were Chat Noir! You proved that you were never in it to protect people, and you were barely a decent partner! There were several times Hawkmoth almost won because you were goofing off or just didn’t even show up. Finally, you aren’t my soulmate, you never were. Just go home, go home, and sit this one out,” That seemed to cause him to only get more upset, “This is because of the new cat isn’t it?! He’s convinced you I’m some awful person so you’d give him the Cat Miraculous instead of me! It’s mine, not his! Master Fu chose me! I am the real holder of the Cat Miraculous, so you have to do what’s right and give it back if you’re such a ‘real hero’!” Ladybug sighed, “And Plagg, the Kwamii of the Cat Miraculous took it away from you because he felt you were unworthy to wield it. Why would I give it back to you then? Leave Adrien.” With that, she turned away, ready to rejoin the battle, but stopped dead in her tracks, “I should have known all along Ladybug, you aren’t a real hero. You’re just a narcissistic, pathetic, lonely girl pretending to be this great, benevolent hero because, in your real life, nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. I used to think I was your soulmate, and it’s clear I’m not because there’s no way such a vile person like you could ever have one. This is the only way you can get attention, and you strung me along in the process! If anything, you’re just as bad as Hawkmoth!” Adrien spat, before storming off. Ladybug took a deep breath, fighting back tears. It hurt to have someone she cared about, and used to love say such vile things about her, but now was not the time to lose focus, she had a battle to win. 

Diving back into the fray, she quickly tugged Caprikid out of the way as Hawkmoth tried to strike him. “You good,” He asked as the two regained their footing on a building, “You left your earpiece on so we kinda heard all of that. Panthère de Nuit looked ready to kill him at one point, and the rest of us would back him up if you want.” Ladybug chuckled a bit, “Thanks but the Miraculous Team is adopting the Bat’s no-killing rule. I’ll be okay, no, I’ll be amazing once we end this!” “Then I’m happy to inform you that it’s time for Lucky Charm,” Vipereon chimed in, “Swarm! Miss Hound! Take the shot! Lucky Charm!” Panthère de Nuit Cataclysmed the Sentimonster, causing cracks to form, destabilizing Hawkmoth and Mayura, with some help, the Amokized pendant was caught and quickly broken. Swarm hit Mayura with Venom, and her Miraculous was taken with Miss Hound’s fetch, leaving a defeated Nathalie, and Hawkmoth standing alone. Ladybug would have to move quickly so Hawkmoth couldn’t Akumatize Nathalie, and looked down at the Lucky Charm in her hand: A lily. Looking around, she quickly developed a plan, Grabbing a few supplies, she made her way to the tallest point within the Shell-ter, and set a trap for the Akumas. Sure enough, the allure of a flower overpowered Hawkmoth’s control over the butterflies, and as a result, they left the villain powerless. The heroes were quick to surround Hawkmoth, and with no Akuma and nowhere to ruin, it looked like his reign of terror was over. “You’re done Hawkmoth, you lost,” Ladybug declared as she jumped down to meet the villain. His cane, which contained a small blade, was ripped out of his hands by Batman, who did not want to risk the former villain attempting to stab Ladybug out of desperation. Seeing as he had no way out, all Hawkmoth could do was sigh in defeat and remove his Miraculous. Once it was securely in Ladybug’s hand, Carapace let the shelter down, and one Miraculous Ladybug later, the destruction of the battle seemed like a distant memory. 

It was like waking up from a dream. For a moment, no one said anything, what was left to be said? News helicopters were now flying overhead, as people began to gather around. A few stunned police officers made their way to the front of the crowd to arrest Gabriel and Nathalie, and as they were marched away the crowd erupted in a roar of jubilation. The Miraculous heroes were quick to leave the scene, and not a moment too soon, since their transformations dropped shortly after they landed on a distant roof. As the rest of her team celebrated, Marinette turned to look at the Eiffel Tower, where it all started five years ago. It didn’t feel real, Marinette looked down at the celebrating crowd below,  she was happy, but she also felt lost in a way. Being Ladybug had been such a huge part of her life, and she hadn’t really planned what she’d do once Hawkmoth was defeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, “Hey,” Damian murmured. She could feel a smile growing on her face, “Are you doing okay my Lily? I thought you would’ve been celebrating as well,” Marinette leaned into his side, “I feel like I won the lottery… but I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve been Ladybug for a good chunk of my life, all the plans I made revolved around being Ladybug and responding to Akumas. Now I don’t really know what to do with myself,” “Come to Gotham,” Tim shouted at the pair, effectively ruining the moment. Damian turned, shooting Tim a glare over his shoulder. “He’s not wrong you know,” Batman started, getting everyone’s attention, “You’ve proven yourself to be incredibly capable, and now that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are back in your possession, the threat they pose has been taken care of. We would be honored to have you join us and the rest of the Gotham Knights.” Marinette was stunned, she stammered over her words trying to piece together a sentence, “I, I don’t know what to say-” “How about yes?” Damian asked as he leaned in for a kiss. “Alright then. yes. “ Marinette responded as her eyes fluttered closed. Before their lips could meet, the moment was ruined, “Get a room!” Tim called, resulting in a groan from the couple, and laughter from their friends. 

Marinette took one last look around her bare room, almost everything was gone except for her bed and a change of clothes. This was her last night in Paris for a while, maybe forever unless she came back to visit. In the month since Hawkmoth’s defeat, all of Paris had been in a state of constant celebration, and tonight there was supposed to be the biggest party of all: to wish Ladybug good luck and farewell as she joined the Batfam and by extension the Justice League. She would be the only hero moving up to the big leagues, with the rest of the Miraculous holders involved in the final battle releasing a statement that they would be permanently retired until further notice. They cited that it would be too dangerous to have so many Miraculous out and active on a permanent basis, potentially giving supervillains multiple targets to go after, and the potential danger each Miraculous could pose if they were to fall into the wrong hands. They wished Ladybug well and stated that they’d always be ready if she needed them again. Panthère de Nuit was publicly revealed to be Robin, the vigilante from Gotham, along with a slightly watered-down version of why the Bats were in Paris in the first place. No one really cared about the schematics, Hawkmoth was gone, and people could live their normal lives again. Marinette plopped down on her bed, sighing as she watched the Kwamii fly about the room. There really was nothing left for her in Paris, Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone, the rest of her class finally apologized, Lila was exposed and she’d just graduated high school alongside her soulmate. All she had to do now was go to college in Gotham, build her fashion empire, and help defend the world whenever she was needed. She was excited, who wouldn’t be? That excitement was dampened by a sense of melancholy, Paris was her home and she had so many good memories here, some she could remember vividly, like her soulmate dreams. “Hey Tikki?” The little Kwamii paused, floating over to her champion, “Now that I’ve met Damian, am I going to stop having soulmate dreams? I mean I’ve never had them consistently before… but it would be weird for them to suddenly stop right?” Tikki sat for a moment in Marinette’s hand, pondering her chosen’s question. “Well, it depends. Soulmate dreams work differently for different people, but you primarily seem to get them when you’re in a situation relating to hope. When you’re either full of hope or desperately need it, that’s when your dreams seem to come to you. They act like a promise, a promise that all will be well. So I imagine that you may occasionally have one when you need it most or when you feel particularly hopeful. Anyways, I hope you’re ready, it’s almost time for the party to start!” Tikki cheered as the Kwamii surrounded the two. 

Damian sat atop the Eiffel Tower as Panthère de Nuit, he watched Ladybug (It’s Lady Miracle now, he reminded himself) as she made her way across the rooftops to him. She was followed by cheering from the crowd of people, who all seemed to surge forward towards the celebration. Occasionally she would stop to pull a few people out of the crowd who looked like they were having trouble, but nonetheless, she was making good progress. She landed next to him gracefully, and he stood to meet her. “Hello my Lily,” he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. “How was your last day in Paris?” She hummed contentedly as she kissed him, pausing a moment to snuggle closer. “It was good. I finally got apologies from the rest of the class, and anyone else who believed Lila. I only had to deal with Adrien for a few minutes, he tried to convince me to stay in Paris and go to college with him instead of leaving for Gotham. Papa showed him the door. And I also finished up the last of my packing! I’ve never seen the room so empty, it’s kinda scary.” Damian sighed, It seemed like Adrien would always be a pain in their sides, he couldn’t do much, but he seemed determined to be a constant presence in their lives. The two decided they wouldn’t focus on it now, they had a celebration to attend to. 

The heroes wove their way through the crowds, talking to people, and occasionally stopping at vendors to purchase some snacks or merch. Eventually, the two made their way to where the old Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. There were plans to take it down and replace it. “It should just be a statue of Ladybug, I only came to help defeat Hawkmoth, but she has been fighting him the whole time,” Panthère de Nuit explained to the mayor and various sculptors and architects that were discussing it. Ladybug was munching on a chocolate croissant from her parents’ booth, when someone spoke, “So this is it huh? You won and now you’re just packing up and leaving?” She turned to see Lila standing there, arms crossed and looking a mix between furious and annoyed. ‘Annoyed Hawkmoth didn’t drag me down with him,’ Marinette thought, swallowing the bite of croissant. “Hello, Lila. Yes, I got invited to join the Justice League, so I’ll be spending a few years in Gotham training with Batman. How about you? Got any plans?” It was a bit of an antagonistic question. Since Gabriel Agreste was exposed, the brand Gabriel had been in a perpetual death spiral. Adrien, with the help of the board of directors and some lawyers, was able to stabilize the company, but it was going through a serious rebrand and may have to downsize. So Lila’s future as a model was shaky at best. Lila however, did not show any uncertainty, “Oh I’m probably going to continue modeling, after I finish college that is. Who knows, maybe I’ll leave that behind and branch into acting. Now,” her gaze hardened, “Let’s drop the pleasantries shall we? Hawkmoth is gone, so I expect I won’t be having any more trouble with you-” “Unless you decide to work with a terrorist again. The only reason you haven’t been arrested is because there isn’t enough evidence Lila.” “And it's going to stay that way. You have no reason to go snooping around my life anymore, and besides,” Lila shot her a smirk, “I’m sure the Justice League wouldn’t like it if it got out that their newest member was stalking an innocent model, accusing her of outlandish crimes.” Ladybug laughed, “Considering some recent revelations about you I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing them you’re anything but trustworthy. So stay out of trouble, because you’ll certainly end up getting in over your head, and someday no one will be around to bail you out.” Lila made a sound similar to an outraged chicken, and placing a hand over her heart she cried, “Is that a threat?” an obvious attempt to make a scene. Ladybug simply shrugged, “Nope. It’s a warning. Do with it what you will,” and with that, she walked over to Panthère de Nuit, and the two swung back up to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing, the symbols of all the Parisian heroes lit up the sky, and Marinette contentedly sighed as she leaned into Damian’s side. Life was good. After a couple of minutes, the grand finale began, with the final fireworks spelling out: Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit.

[flowerandblood]

Just this one time (Oneshot)

[modern! • Aemond x sexworker! • female ]

[warnings: sex content, smut, sexwork, anxiety, fluff]

[description: The girl is forced by her life situation to set up a profile on a portal, that is used by sex workers to attract clients. One of them, a young, enigmatic man, wants more than her pictures (Anon Request). Complexes, smut, anxiety, fluff.]

This story has a continuation in another Oneshot (Just one more time), but it can be read as a standalone story.

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

_____

She had never been so distraught in her life as that evening, when her mother called her to say that their father was in the hospital. Like every week, he went out to drink with friends and play cards. On his way home he didn't look at the road and was hit by a car. He had to undergo surgery which he fortunately survived, his prognosis was good.

The nightmare began when the hospital realized what neither she nor her mother knew - that her father had been unemployed for several months and was not covered by health insurance. Her mother called her crying, saying that such a gigantic sum was beyond her financial means. She worked as a school teacher and tutored. She asked her if she had any savings.

She worked part-time in a bookstore and while she was studying, paying for her room and food, she had little money. She had just gotten paid and had given her mother everything she had. Not only was it not enough, but she had no idea how she was going to make it through her paycheck and pay all the bills. She cried all night that day and didn't sleep a wink.

The next day she spent all her classes thinking hard about what to do. She called her boss, but he told her that even if he wanted to, he couldn't suddenly hire her full-time. He could have paid her a week's wages sooner, but it wouldn't have changed much. She needed a large cash injection quickly. During one of the lectures she suddenly glanced at one of the girls in her year and froze.

She once heard her talk about a website where she sold her photos and videos. She dated rich men on cams, sent them her clothes and panties, and even arranged for them to have sex in her apartment.

She said it wasn't so bad at all, she had a lot of money quickly and she didn't worry about anything. She cared about her anonymity and carefully selected her clients.

She covered her face with her hands, terrified of what she was thinking. She had had sex with her previous boyfriends, but it was always in a relationship, never with a complete stranger, and never for money. When it came to pay that meant she had to satisfy someone, be someone's product to be happy with. She dismissed the thought, knowing she couldn't do it.

When she got home she involuntarily looked at the portal that the girl was talking about. She couldn't see anything without registering.

She sighed heavily, squeezing her eyes shut, not believing what she was doing. A large window opened for her. She was surprised at how many questions she had to answer.

Is she an adult? What nickname does she want? How old is she? What interests her? What is her hobby - sweet photos, videos, maybe meetings or video chat? What kind of men or women, and in what age range, did she want to meet on the portal? What prices for what services?

Once in a while she'd get up from her laptop, pacing the room with her hands on her cheeks, wondering if it was safe, and what if anyone found out. She'd probably die of embarrassment, but each time she sat back down and went back to writing.

No videos. No webcams. No meetings. Just pictures, sweet, innocent, maybe in a light negligee. Men aged 20-35. She didn't want any old, disgusting guys looking at her.

She clicked "register" and her account appeared in front of her on the portal. She could now add more details about herself, what she does, what she likes and dislikes.

She wrote down a few things, including her interests. All that's left to do was post the photos. She sighed softly, went on Pinterest and started looking for aesthetic inspiration. She wasn't going to make pornography out of herself.

She saw plenty of girls with shirts unbuttoned that were too big or in huge sweaters that uncovered their shoulders, in long socks to the middle of the thighs or in delicate, subtle underwear.

It wasn't too bad, she decided, because there was a charm to it and she could crop out the photo, so her face wouldn't be visible. Her whole apartment was decorated by her in a vintage style that she loved and the decor was perfect for the scenery for such photos.

She sighed heavily and looked into her closet. She put on her warm, light wool socks to the middle of her thighs, a soft cream sweater that reached her buttocks, and delicate panties. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath, so her breasts were slightly visible.

She thought she looked cute. She let down her long, slightly wavy hair and sat on the floor in front of her large mirror. Behind her was her beautiful bed and a lovely white chest of drawers, a soft white rug underneath.

She made herself comfortable, leaning back against the bed, her legs bent at the knees in front of her covering what was between her thighs. She held the phone up so that it covered her face and took a picture.

She cropped it, added a filter to increase the saturation and make the whole thing a little more pastel, and it was ready. She looked again to see if there were any photos or other objects in the photo that might have identified her, but she couldn't find anything. She took a few more photos in similar outfits, uploaded them to her laptop and added them with a heavy heart, setting one of them as her profile picture.

She also fixed the price for taking pictures on request. She pointed out that there is no nudity or strange positions involved. She thought she was so demanding and restrictive that no one would want anything from her anyway. Tired and discouraged by what she had done, she simply went to sleep.

She woke up in the morning, rubbed her eyes and got up to drink water. She sat down with her glass and opened her laptop, wanting to see if anything had happened to her account. She almost choked when she saw that she had thirty new notifications. She was terrified and for a moment afraid to click on it. She finally did and started reading.

Several men paid her fixed sum for similar photos she posted. They wrote that she is gorgeous, that they would like a photo of her lying down and wearing different clothes, but leave it to her how she will solve it. She swallowed loudly as she saw several messages suggesting meeting up for sex, sending someone her socks or underwear. She paused on the last message and for a moment thought she had imagined it.

Someone had sent her more than she agreed for a single photo. He was the only one who wrote nothing. She clicked on his account out of curiosity. His profile picture was a black square. All it said was 25 years old, male. In the place where you could insert your short description it said: "Don't write to me."

She blinked, wondering what that was supposed to mean, and whether it meant that the women he orders from wouldn't write to him. She wanted to do it to tell him that he had transferred too much money to her, but she assumed that if he wrote that, then maybe he did it intentionally.

As soon as she got home after class she began to think about how to dress for the new photos. For the men who sent her the amount she asked for she wore a long T-shirt, also without a bra, the same long socks and underwear. This time she lay down on the carpet, lifted her calves slightly while lying on her stomach. She covered her face with her phone again as she took the picture.

She thought that she would come up with something special for the man who paid her more. She took her thin, translucent white robe and tied it around her waist, so that her shoulders were bare. Her legs were bare too.

She took the flowers she had bought that day in one hand, so that they covered her breasts. When she checked herself in the camera, she thought that she looked like some sensual, baroque painting. She took a photo, applied the same filters as before, and sent him the photo first.

Then she changed into normal clothes and started writing one of the essays. She felt terrible, but at the same time felt some kind of relief when she saw that the money had actually flowed into her account. She figured a few weeks and she'd be able to get the rest of the money she needed.

She saw that a dot had appeared on the app card, indicating that there was a new notification. She clicked there curiously, unfolded the list, and froze.

The man who paid more for her picture ordered another one, paying three times as much as before. Again, he didn't write anything to her. No additional requirements.

She pursed her lips as she felt her heart pounding. She thought he must be a very rich, bored young man. Or one that has no success with women. She had to appreciate that he wasn't asking her to do any perverted things.

She decided that since he was paying her so much, she had to make an effort. She might not have to take pictures for anyone else, and his assignments alone would do the trick. She pondered for half an hour what to do. She grabbed the fabric of the same bathrobe, putting it on similarly.

Now she held a beautiful ornate fan in her hand, beads of sweat adorned her bare arms becasue it was hot outside. She thought she'd zoom in on them, capturing her bare arms, the slightly exposed portion of her breast, her hand with the fan, and the portion of her mouth with her dark hair falling behind her.

After applying filters, she thought that there is sensuality, lightness and promise in this photo. If she were a man, she would like to receive such photos from her woman herself. She uploaded the photo to her laptop and sent it to him. She was very curious to see if he would like it.

She jumped in seat when she saw a message from him fifteen minutes later.

Abyss: "You surprise me."

She blinked at the screen in disbelief. She thought he never texted anyone. Apparently, that didn't work when he was talking to someone himself. For a moment she didn't know what to do. He fell from the sky and she couldn't lose him.

Ophelia: "I hope that's a compliment."

She replied briefly. No cute emoticons, no subtext, no familiarity. He didn't reply for a moment, and she wondered if she should add anything. She shuddered, when she suddenly got a notification that she had received a reply from him.

Abyss: "Why are you doing this? Pictures, I mean."

His question chilled her. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart pounding. What was she supposed to write to him? Even if she told him the truth, would he believe her?

There must have been plenty of girls who wrote, that they needed money because of an emergency, not because that was how they made a living. However, she decided that his money was saving her skin and he deserved her to tell him the truth.

Ophelia: "My father had no insurance at the time he had the accident. Neither my mother nor I knew he had lost his job. I work part-time, but it's not enough. And here I am."

She read her answer a few more times and, with a trembling hand, clicked "send". She felt like she was using him. As if they objectified each other. She pursed her lips at the thought. She drew in a quick breath when he texted back after a few minutes.

Abyss: Will he make it?

For some reason, she smiled at the screen. She knew she couldn't allow anyone to talk too privately and imagine who knows what, but she found his concern and manner to be matter-of-fact and kind. She appreciated it, and she tought that she kind of needed it right now.

Ophelia: Yes, thank you, it's very kind of you to ask.

Just a few minutes later, another message arrived.

Abyss: How far are you from the full sum?

She swallowed hard, feeling the cold sweat on her body. For some reason she felt insecure and trapped. She finally wrote him the exact number without adding anything else.

Abyss: I'll pay the full amount if you agree to go to bed with me. On your terms.

She looked at his message and after a while she started to cry. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head, wondering what she was doing.

She felt it was all wrong, terrible, that she didn't want to do it. On the other hand, she told herself that just this once would be enough, that it would be over and she wouldn't have to do anything else.

Just this one time.

She sobbed loudly, texting him back that she agreed.

She wanted him to come to her right away the next day. She couldn't mentally take it any longer, she wanted it to be over. She thought that no matter what he looked like she would be nice to him and just give him what he wanted.

She put on a dress with tiny yellow flowers that fastened at the front, so that it was easy to take off. She wasn't wearing a bra or panties underneath.

She didn't see the point in it.

She hid a condom in one of the pockets - she wasn't going to catch anything from him. She was taking birth control pills, but preferred extra protection.

She hasn't eaten anything since morning. She was sick and pale. She took a shower, sprayed on her perfume, dried and combed her long hair. She hid in her apartment all the photos and objects that could reveal her name, as well as those of her family and friends.

She heard a soft knock on her door two minutes before the appointed time. She tried to control the shaking of her body and the fear she felt. She walked over to the door, rested her forehead against it, and exhaled softly, opening the lock. She opened it and froze.

This was not how she imagined him.

He was smoking a cigarette in the stairwell, measuring her up and down. He was wearing a black T-shirt, black pants and a black leather jacket. His blond hair was partly tied back, and he looked like a pirate with an eyepatch. She saw a long scar running down his left cheek. She wondered if the lack of an eye was the reason he preferred this way of getting close to women.

Despite the scars, she thought he was a very handsome, athletic man. He raised an eyebrow, and she remembered who she was and what she was supposed to do. She stepped aside quickly, opening the door with a crack, inviting him inside. He walked in unhurriedly, as if entering a friend's apartment.

He took off his shoes while continuing to smoke. He went deeper into the apartment, as if to check that there were no third parties, and that nothing suspicious was going on. He stubbed out his cigarette in her sink.

He glanced at her finally, his face stony, his gaze intense. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart pounding wildly, her legs trembling slightly. They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Will you drink something?" She asked softly, her voice trembling. His gaze softened at the sound of her voice.

"Water, thank you." He spoke calmly, his voice low and sonorous, almost purring. She felt shivers go through her.

She nodded and, without looking at him, walked into the kitchen, grabbed a clean glass and poured water into it. She handed it to him, then took a few sips from her own glass, feeling her throat go dry.

He put down his half-empty glass with a loud clatter, and looked at her meaningfully, leaning against the doorframe. She swallowed hard and set her cup down as well. She smiled warmly at him and walked past him, glancing at him, nodding for him to follow her.

They went into the room where her bed stood. The man looked around, his attention drawn to the books on her shelf. He took out some of them, looked through them, and put them back. She looked at him and wondered if she should start a conversation with him. He didn't seem like the kind of person who liked to talk about nothing, she decided.

"Here?" He asked dispassionately, and she shivered. She felt herself blush with embarrassment. She was terrified.

"Yes." She said softly, lowering her lashes. He looked at her over his shoulder.

"Is this your first time?" He asked uncertainly.

She swallowed hard and shook her head.

"Good." He said calmly and took off his leather jacket, placing it gently on the bed.

He finally sat on it, leaning forward slightly, his elbows on his thighs. He looked at her intensely, his gaze roaming her body from top to bottom. She lowered her lashes, feeling his gaze burn her.

"I won't hurt you. Don't be afraid. Do it as you see fit." He said low, looking at her calmly, his gaze black. She felt subcutaneously that he wanted her and was surprised to find, that it did not repulse her.

Maybe it was because he hadn't groped her since he walked in and let her decide what it would look like.

She approached him slowly, her legs as soft as gummies. She pursed her lips, swallowing softly.

"Can I sit on your lap?" She asked quietly, her voice trembling slightly, her face red with shame.

He grunted in acknowledgment and removed his hands, straightening up a bit as he looked at her searchingly. She straddled him, her whole body trembling. He placed his large hand on her back and stroked it steadily, their faces inches apart.

"Easy. Take your time." He spoke softly. She nodded and smiled gratefully at him. She saw his mouth part slightly at the sight, and he swallowed hard himself. She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself. She raised a hand tentatively, her fingertips close to his scarred cheek.

"Can I touch you here?" She asked softly, almost in a whisper. He just nodded his head, looking away.

Her fingers traced lightly over his skin, exploring the slight indentations where there must once have been deep wounds. She wondered if those scars were the reason for his complexes and hiding on this portal. Looking at him closely, she thought that he had an incredibly beautiful, interesting face.

He closed his eye, feeling her touch. The tips of her fingers traced further, touching his chin, cheek, mouth. She felt a shiver run through him at her touch. He finally pressed his cheek against the inside of her hand, kissing her skin gently. There was something touching about the gesture, some acknowledgment that he wanted to show her respect.

She finally took his face in both her hands and leaned over him. Her lips brushed his invitingly, gently, teasing him slightly. She heard him exhale softly, his hand tightening on the fabric of her dress. His lips parted invitingly.

She caressed his lips with hers, sucking them gently, running her wet, fleshy skin over them. He moaned softly, and she shivered at the sound. Startled, she found herself getting wetter between her thighs, her nipples hardened and showing through the fabric of her dress.

He smelled of cigarettes and strong perfume, his scent made her head spin. She shivered as she felt him return her kisses timidly, his other hand grabbing her cheek gently, pulling her closer. They began to caress and suck each other's lips, tilting their heads alternately with the wet, sticky sound of their saliva, panting into each other's mouths.

Her hand slid into his soft hair, massaging his neck, and he grunted in delight. He continued to kiss her, his lips pressing greedily against hers, demanding more. She involuntarily moved closer to him. They both moaned into each other's mouths as she brushed against his hard manhood, throbbing in his pants.

"Fuck." He whispered into her mouth, his hand from her back slid down to her buttocks. He looked at her in shock when he realized she wasn't wearing any panties underneath. They both moaned helplessly as his large hand squeezed her firm skin, forcing her to speed up.

She didn't know what was happening to her, but she was full of lust and arousal. She thought with surprise that she wanted this. She leaned over him, pressing his face to hers, her tongue timidly passing over his lips.

He sighed loudly in surprise, his tongue coming out to meet hers. They were both panting, teasing the tips of their tongues and licking like two kittens. His hips pressed against the space between her thighs, making her moan softly.

Her hands went to the buttons of her dress. She began to undo them slowly from the top, their tongues dancing with each other with a wet, sticky sound. He gave her a blurry look as he saw her slip her dress off her shoulders, exposing her breasts to him.

He stared at her chest with awe and wonder. He pressed his face to the space between her breasts, kissing her top to bottom. His caresses made her feel her insides clench around nothing, her wetness running in thin rivulets down her thighs, her hips rubbing against him. She could feel him completely hard now, throbbing intensely beneath her.

A loud, unexpected moan escaped her lips as he took one of her breasts in his hand and began sucking on her nipple. She pressed his face to her chest, his hand tightening on her buttock, forcing her to speed up. They were both panting loudly, his tongue teasing and licking each of her nipples in turn.

"Feels good?" He asked in delight, his voice trembling slightly. She swallowed hard at his question.

"Y-yes, God, it feels so good" She mumbled, her hands fisted in his hair, pressing him against her breasts.

She quickly slid them down to his pants and began undoing his belt. He moved away from her and leaned back, giving her better access, helping her by undoing his button and fly. She started to reach into her pocket for a condom, but he pulled out his own, putting it on quickly and nimbly.

She rose quickly, panting softly, and pressed her forehead against his, lowering herself slightly. When she felt his tip inside her, they both moaned loudly into each other's mouths. She began to tease him by falling lightly on top of him and rising again, not pushing him inside. He writhed beneath her, thirsty and desperate.

They both leaned back and were speechless as they felt him enter her. He was so big that he barely fit in. She began to slowly ride him, panting loudly, pushing him deeper and deeper into herself. He leaned back slightly, holding her ass with one hand, staring at her helplessly, panting with her, his thighs responding to her every move with a thrust.

"You're so big." She sobbed in pleasure, pushing him all the way in, and he moaned loudly as he felt it. She leaned against his shoulders and sped up, rubbing against him where she felt the greatest pleasure, her walls pressing greedily against his cock, making him barely able to breathe.

"Fuck, you're so tight" He gasped, moving faster and more aggressively inside her, and she moaned loudly at his every move.

He finally grabbed her buttocks and turned her suddenly on her back, spreading her thighs in front of him and began to fuck her quickly and brutally, his thighs slapping again and again with a wet, sticky sound against her buttocks.

She moaned loudly, leaning back, she had never had sex with someone this intense before, beads of sweat streaming down her body, her hips responding to his every thrust. She sobbed helplessly as she felt his thumb on her clit, massaging it in a circular, intense motion, making the tension inside her unbearable.

"So wet for me. Do you like it when I touch you like that? Shall I stop?" He purred in delight, his voice trembling slightly, she felt that they were both on the verge of orgasm.

Her hands clenched the sheets around her head, her hips responding greedily to his loud, wet thrusts, filling her to the brim, rubbing where she needed it.

"No, please, touch me, touch me there" She sobbed helplessly, spreading her thighs wider for him, her nipples sticking out, hard with desire.

He moaned low hearing her words. His thumb began to caress her more intensely, pumping his cock hard into her with the wet sounds of their shared fluids trickling down their thighs. She leaned back heavily, her lips parted in pleasure.

"Oh God, I'm gonna come, please, please, please!" She sputtered, moaning loudly. She bent back suddenly, her body went through a wave of hot pleasure, moaned loudly and helplessly, she had never experienced such an orgasm before.

She felt his body begin to tremble, her insides pressing against him in waves, wanting to hold him in, he began to moan loudly along with her.

"Fuck, God, yes" He gasped, coming hard inside her, thrusting into her all the time, unable to stop.

They writhed under each other, breathing heavily, their bodies refusing to let go, clenching on each other. He stared at her half-consciously, beads of his sweat running down his shirt, his hair stuck to his face, his mouth parted. They both looked at each other as if they couldn't believe that this really happened between them.

He swallowed hard and slid out of her as if suddenly remembering who he was. She clenched her thighs, feeling suddenly empty, covering herself with her dress, trembling all over. He slid off the condom, tied it, and laid it on the floor, not knowing what to do with it.

He zipped up his pants as he got out of bed, still breathing fast. He cleared his throat without looking at her, fumbled for something in his trouser pocket. He took out a wad of bills and placed them on her nightstand.

"That's the amount we agreed on." He said lightly, his voice breaking as he said the words.

She shivered all over, feeling the cold fast on her body. She covered her mouth with her hand as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She finally hid her face from him and nodded.

"T-thank you." She said in a shaky voice and drew in a quick breath as she felt her body convulse. She thought he'd just leave, but she heard he didn't move.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked quietly. She looked at him shocked and shook her head, continuing to cry as she buttoned her dress. She felt lonely, dirty, worn out, unowned.

"Don't mind me, forgive me for my behavior." She said quickly, not looking at him, trying to calm her trembling breath. She wiped her wet nose from crying. He was silent for a moment.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked quietly.

She was silent for a moment. Desperately, she shook her head. She heard him swallow hard.

"What do you need?" He asked gently.

She opened her mouth, not believing she meant to say it.

"For you to hug me." She whispered, clenching herself, trembling all over.

She drew in another sharp breath as she heard him return to her bed. She felt his weight against her, saw his black T-shirt and pants, smelled his scent again.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She snuggled into him like a teddy bear, burying her head into his chest. His hand tangled in her hair, the other caressing her back. She felt his heart pounding. She slowly began to calm down.

She closed her eyes as she felt him kiss her hair tenderly. She thought that she could fall asleep in the arms of this man, that she didn't even know. She cleared her throat quietly.

"T-thank you, I'm better now. I won't hold you back any longer." She whispered, but he only grunted at her words and kissed her hair again.

"Hold me for as long as you want."

_____

Oneshot written as Anon Request. I had a lot of fun writing this and I really like the end result. Let me know what you think. 💖

Aemond Taglist:

(bold means I couldn't tag you)

@its-actually-minicika @notnormalthings-blog @avgdusterfan @nikstrange @zenka69 @bellaisasleep @k-y-r-a-1 @random-ocity @g-cf2020 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @tinykryptonitewerewolf @namoreno

[hana-no-seiiki]

can we get to know the perverted faculty in midnight darling?

hoo boy. i was gonna make it a stretch goal to include each and every subject mc might get as a biology major in the philippines but have the named ones for now.

warnings: homophobic society, inappropriate teacher/student relationships, age gap, infidelity/adultery, ageism, voyeurism/exhibitionism, sexual and typical yandere themes. dark content. this is a lot smuttier than all of my previous headcannons oh god.

[previous part] — yandere bad boy/jock, good girl, nerd and president.

YANDERE COLLEGE! FACULTY! X POPULAR GIRL! READER [PANGALAWANG YUGTO / SECOND PART]

ELOISE MORIN - PHYSICS TEACHER

✎ Eloise Morin was always drawn to you. You stuck out like sore thumb in her long list of faces she had to memorize every year and was the only time she ever broke a rule. The rule being to never fall in love with one of her students.

✎ It all started with the pairing of her sister, Ella Morin (The Emo! Kid) with you in order to break her out of her shell. The other faculty members seemed to trust you, and you had perfect grades.

✎ Sometimes your harem regrets always cleaning your record with how much the professors called upon you for tasks, thus reducing your time with them.

✎ And it worked, Ella’s grades improved and the sisters’s home life was better. They started actually talking during meals. She just seemed so much happier.

✎ Eloise soon found out it wasn’t because you were friends, it was moreso that you’d relieve Ella of stress when she acted to your whims.

✎ The woman could never forget the time she caught you eating out her little sister after a study session. In her own damn home.

✎ She was confused. Any responsible teacher and guardian would put a stop to this, right? But she found herself welcoming you in every time. Ignoring your disheveled look after ‘hanging out’ with Ella. Always treating you well so you’d be incentivized to come again and again into her home.

✎ So she can watch you defiling her baby sister as she touched herself to sounds of your moans.

✎Her horny levels are pretty terrible for an adult. Eloise was brought up to be a stout, pious woman. Never to have any sexual relations before marriage, much less the same gender. She was never attracted to the men around her and through you she finally knew why.

✎ She has yet to explore her likes and dislikes but what she does know is that merely seeing you gets her absolutely dripping in arousal. She fantasizes day in and out about what you could do to her and where you could do it.

✎On her sister’s bed? The Kitchen counter as she cooked dinner for you whenever you stayed for the night? In front of the class as she teaches? On the desk of that damn principal that kept creeping on you?

✎The only thing stopping her from pouncing on you is guilt. Guilt that she’s attracted to a person much younger than her. A woman no less. What would her parents think? Sure, they’re dead. But Eloise can still imagine the disappointment they’d show if she gave into these lustful urges.

✎What Popular! Reader thinks of her : Like many of your teachers and fellow students. You see her as a means to an end. However, unlike the rest of them, Eloise does interest you the most. You’re waiting to see the moment she snaps. Ready to taint her with your colors.

AMELIA YORKSHIRE - LINGUISTICS TEACHER

✎ Amelia is the eldest teacher in the staff list. She’s a triple divorcee with a child from each husband.

✎ She craves male approval and used to work with Ricardo to bring you down a peg. Before you came in, she was known to harass her male students and show a little too much skin that it was unprofessional at best.

✎ She quickly switched to the other side after a private one-on-one exam with you.

✎ Not only did you get a perfect score in that test, you also managed to give her a better orgasm than all her husbands combined.

✎Also uses her family to get you closer. This time more intentionally. C’mon don’t you just love children? Aren’t hers the cutest?

✎She doesn’t make it discreet when it comes to her more perverted side. Often shoving her cleavage to your face when in class.

✎Tried using another student to make you jealous and that only made you turned off.

✎Is currently desperately trying to earn your attention back. At this point she might as well wear nothing to school.

✎ What Popular! Reader thinks of her: You aren’t the type to slut shame. That would be quite hypocritical of you to do. But a professor obviously perving on her students was kind of baffling. She left little to the imagination, so after your first romp with Amelia you basically never touched her again. Unknowingly making her obsession worse.

✎ Hers was a minor subject anyways, so you didn’t put that much effort into humoring her. She was a great fuck though.

MARX ESGUERRA - BIOLOGY TEACHER

✎ Now Marx was a different story entirely. Unlike your more lowkey teasing with Eloise and disinterest with Amelia. It was well-known throughout the campus of your interest with the Biology teacher.

✎ It took a while to get into his pants. Marx was known to be even worse than Eloise when it came to how strict he was with himself and his students. He was teaching a new generation of healthcare workers after all.

✎ At least that’s what you thought. You didn’t realize it was because he was studying the best way to approach you.

✎ Marx thought of you of you as perfect. He knew what he wanted and what he wanted was for you to stay by his side. Permanently. He didn’t want a shallow connection like you had with Amelia and Justin.

✎ A perfect student like you deserved a perfect relationship from start to finish. And he’ll make sure to give you that.

✎ He expects you to be completely immaculate. He has an image of you that you have to follow. He’ll drill it into your mind if he has to. A perfect man needs a perfect spouse. He’ll never settle for less. He’ll wipe all those filthy hook-ups you’ve made from history. Besides you were just practicing for him, were you not? The rumors about your supposed interest in him do no good to stifle his delusions.

✎ He bumps your grades just a little bit after your dalliances to give the impression that he definitely does not want you just for the sex.

✎ What Popular! Reader thinks of him: A total snob. But you do what you must to gain perfect grades and better opportunities for yourself. Even if it means sleeping with that narcissistic man that kept staring holes into your body.

DANIEL CRUZ - THE PRINCIPAL

✎ This man is the very definition of corrupt. He knows of every dirty little secret that has happened in the school grounds and beyond and gets paid handsomely to hide that.

✎ Thus, he’s great at hiding your little relationship with him. From the school and his older wife.

✎ You were his secret as much as he was yours.

✎ You were just so much more beautiful, younger, tighter, than that stupid woman. He only wanted her when he was younger because she looked hot back then but age wasn’t so kind. After she got pregnant with his children she started showing signs of being grotesque so he often brought home other women to their marital bed. He just couldn’t get it hard with her for the life of him.

✎The wife is unfortunately used to his ways.

✎ Ever since you though, she noticed how he brought home less and less different women. Up until it was just you. She didn’t know if it was a relief or a more terrible sign that he’d actually fallen in love with a sidepiece.

✎ She didn’t know how to feel whenever you exited her own room after a night with her husband. A sorry look on your pretty features gave her a mix of anger for you pitying her and relief that whatever her husband felt, at least it wasn’t reciprocated.

✎ Other than his wife and perhaps even children (oh god) however, no one knows of your relationship with him. Not even Ricardo and he knows the most about you.

✎ What Popular! Reader thinks of him: Despite what many thought of you, you viewed marriage as sacred. You only ‘cheated’ on Justin because you didn’t want him to get killed. Once a promise is made it best be kept and treasured.

✎ And Daniel broke the most beautiful promise of them all.

✎ He’s one of the few people you actually strongly felt for. Unfortunately for him, it’s disdain.

A/N : This is the most filthiest thing I’ve written on this blog so far. I need to take a bath of holy water after this.

[kayakoto-enterprises]

I'LL BET I'M THE BEST HOUSE GUEST YOU'VE EVER HAD!

| Yume Playlist | Silly 1 | Silly 2 | A song that isn't on Spotify but is so them ^_^ |

House Guest is my main selfship/yumeship! It is a romantic relationship between Samantha Strong and Julianne Lucky (that's not her real surnaaaame!). Their relationship, dynamic, and fate are heavily built around the Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees universe as well as Nothing Painted Blue's song Houseguest. This ship is comforting, absurd, morbid, and adorable! Everything you might wanna know about them is in this masterpost from character details, links to important rambles, and links to all the fanfiction I've written about them.

Before you proceed, I highly encourage you all to please please read Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees. This ship is quite canon compliant and takes place a year after the events of the story. Please also read Präludium (the prequel story) because the events are also referenced sparcely. I will be discussing spoilers in this post from this point forward.

On August 23rd, 1987, a foreigner bought an apartment in a residential building at the edge of Woodbrook, Vermont. Then on September 1st, 1987, the same foreigner came to the Burly Brown Bear Hardware shop to inquire about home renovations and buy rudimentary materials and tools for a shelf. While wrapping up the bought goods, the shop owner shuffled around the counter for a cutter to slice off some cling wrap. Luckily, the foreigner always kept a pair of special scissors close to her at all times. She whipped it out of her purse, startling the poor bear.

This wouldn't be the last time the two would interact.

JULIANNE [MIDDLE NAME] [LAST NAME] "LUCKY" is a Filipino 24-27 year old illustrator and part-time art teacher. She moved to Woodbrook in 1987, a year after the infamous murders after seeing the mostly positive reputation of the little town and the fairly cheap apartment rates. She is a positive, introverted, and sensitive young adult still pinning her life down after wandering for so long in many thankless jobs/relationships/cities/families. She is a lesbian! Her favorite things include poetry, animation, cooking and baking, strawberries, and stars. She has reoccurring nightmares about a jackal in her closet.

Julianne develops an innocent crush on SAMANTHA STRONG, the hardware lady who seems to be tolerant enough to her nonsense. Woodbrook, of course, is a place of miracles and magic so think of Julianne's surprise when romance is suddenly around the corner! She's only heard pleasant, pitiful things about the woman from neighbors and locals, but nothing too damning to steer her away. Well, unless you count the butcher who's oddly upset with her on any given day. Nobody knows and nobody is gonna tell her that she's walking into a forest fire coming closer and closer to the eye of a spiral.

The events of House Guest take place in between the time-skip of Book 1 and Book 2 (Rite Of Spring). Julianne and Sam begin dating in 1988 and their story ends in late 1990.

FIC MASTERLIST!

(Easter egg: the incriminating post. the insanity began here.)

HOUSE GUEST LORE: Read this one first! The general outline of the relationship! This was written very early into me developing it but this is meant to paint the broader ideas and how they weave into BTTWNS' main story.

These are arranged in chronological order. The journal fics are told in Sam's perspective and are meant to be read like a regular issue.

PRE-DEER INCIDENT

Someone has a crush!

Magician crush

She! Loves! You!

Well, this is embarrassing.

It spreads like the kudzu

Sleepover!

It's raining....

There's a first for everything

Keep me close to your heart.. (2 in 1!)

Peeking into the apartment

Tell me what's wrong

Beach episode

POST-DEER INCIDENT

What to do when your girlfriend finds out you're a serial killer.

Fill in the blanks.

Sam's old friend pays a visit.

BONUS: IMPORTANT INFODUMPS/RAMBLEPOSTS ABOUT HOUSE GUEST!

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[phantomrens]

now that i am getting near the end of maruki’s palace and therefore my first playthrough of persona 5 royal i wanted to make a bit of a longer post gathering my thoughts, more specifically about the phantom thieves vs maruki because i think there’s an interesting parallel between them that has honestly made it one of my favourite parts of the game.

first off, i think the phantom thieves resonate a lot because at the end of the day they are just teenagers who have experienced some sort of trauma or abuse.

ryuji’s father was an abusive alcoholic and he lost out on his dream because of kamoshida.

ann’s parents were constantly moving around and she was groomed by one of her own teachers, as well as her watching her best friend try to kill herself because of it.

yusuke was used for years by his own parental figure to make art he could steal for money and is now left on his own with no experience.

makoto’s father died and she is left with her sister and an immense pressure to succeed in their footsteps.

futaba watched her own mother die and it effected her so badly she convinced herself it was her own fault for YEARS and locked herself away.

haru was also groomed by her own father into an arranged marriage she wanted no part of.

akechi (including him simply for the sake of talking about maruki later on) had a deadbeat dad who he wanted approval from and was passed between fosters for years.

sumi watched her own sister die and it traumatised her so badly that she pretended to be her so kasumi wouldn’t be dead.

morgana is a bit of a weird one because he couldn’t remember where he came from and thought he was human for so long only to find out he was created for the purpose of helping the phantom thieves, but he accepts his fate.

and ren obviously was a victim of false accusations of assault that landed him in shibuya with a criminal record.

obviously some of those are more extreme than others but they all share one thing: having an adult who has hurt or abused them in some way, or put pressure on them to succeed. this is what drives them to start/join the phantom thieves because they don’t want other people to suffer the same way they have and it’s a way to get back at their own trauma. they don’t want to change what happened to them, they want to make sure it doesn’t happen again and i think that is the fundamental difference between the phantom thieves and maruki. it’s a way of healing their own trauma for them.

maruki on the other hand wants to create a reality where abuse and trauma never happened and it just doesn’t exist. which on the surface level seems like a good idea, but digging deeper you realise there are so many issues with that, morally and ethically. yes i often wish i wasn’t traumatised and my friends weren’t hurting and want to take away their pain. but for better or for worse that trauma has shaped us and we wouldn’t be the same people without it. learning to cope and learning to heal is an important part of life and having a world where nothing ever goes wrong is so one dimensional and lifeless and strips people away of their individuality.

ren sees all his friends living in this reality and on the surface level it seems like they are happy and it’s what they truly wanted and wished for, but it almost seems too perfect and the happiness is fake.

ryuji is part of the track team again and is working towards his scholarship.

ann is spending time with shiho and is happy with her best friend.

yusuke is still with madarame and he is thriving with his art.

makoto’s father is alive and she is living as a family with him and sae.

futaba’s mother is alive and her, wakaba and sojiro are living as a family.

haru’s father is alive and is actually treating her with love and respect.

morgana is human because he thinks that that is what he was supposed to be.

they all snap out of it and realise that this reality is fake and not what they really wanted because it undoes so much of what has gotten them to that point together. maruki altering reality in such a way that people who were dead are now alive in his reality does such a disservice to the work that the phantom thieves in these situations had done to get over the trauma of their deaths themselves (especially in futaba’s case) and being able to grow and move on after mourning these deaths.

and to an extent i understand what maruki is trying to do. creating an ideal reality where no person suffers seems like a good idea. but as soon as ren enters that reality everything feels off. his friends are not themselves and everything is too ideal. taking away all the bad things in the world does more harm than good and creates a world that is devoid of any depth. i don’t want to hurt, and i don’t want my friends to hurt, but the journey to healing from your struggles on your own is much more satisfying than having someone completely strip away the opportunity to do that. everyone has their own traumas and struggles and should be able to take their own power back, not have someone take away that opportunity entirely. altering reality in such a way is not stripping people of their trauma, its fundamentally changing them as a person instead. maruki does this and thinks its healing his own trauma, but the difference is he is hurting people in the process (maybe without him even realising) rather than making sure abusers don’t abuse again.

sorry this post was incredibly long but i do think the addition of maruki’s palace in royal is such a clever way to put into perspective what the phantom thieves are doing themselves because it makes you question for a moment if what they are doing is really justified, but when you look at maruki and what he is doing you realise the phantom thieves are in it for the right reasons.

[lisbeth-kk]

May Prompts (21) Fire

The Luckiest Girl in the World (chapter 21)

Summary: Rosie muses about her peculiar family, and gets invited/ordered to come to the pub.

Twenty-One Years Old

My family wasn’t exactly what you would call average or normal, but as Dad and Papa constantly pointed out: who wants normal. Certainly, none of us. Being an only child and without any cousins, I was mostly exposed to adults outside school. By now, I think you can agree that that wasn’t as boring as it sounded.

Uncle Myc made sure that our small family was extended when he and uncle Greg finally realised that what they had was too precious to ignore. 

Papa tried to warn the DI in his normally dramatic flair.

“You know this is playing with fire, Gavin? Falling for a Holmes, means there’s no escape. You’ll be trapped for life, and our love is fierce and protective. A bit like that dragon. John, which film was it?”

“The Hobbit,” Dad answered and reassured uncle Greg that he had nothing to fear. “Deep down, they’re as fluffy as new-born kittens.”

This got him glares that brave men would’ve flinched under, but Dad only laughed and gave Papa a kiss on the forehead and uncle Myc a pat on the shoulder. No one knew how to deal with the Holmes brothers like my Dad.

Of course, this didn’t stop Papa’s attempts to abuse uncle Greg’s name but probably increased it. From that day, every name in the book was put to good use. Dad told him he was being childish, but Dad’s poker face in such matters was laughable at best, so he fooled no one. My uncles just rolled their eyes, knowing that arguing with Papa would accomplish absolutely nothing.

The less said about my aunts, the better, but I’m not exactly one who’s able to keep my mouth shut, am I... 

Aunt Harry, the one who was still alive, just barely, by the state of her liver, according to Dad, another one playing with fire, had never been a part of my life. Just like Papa’s deranged and murderous sister, thank God. Dad gave Harry an ultimatum after we moved to Baker Street; get help to get sober or stay away. It sounds harsh, doesn’t it? I had started school when I learned of her existence. We got an assignment to make a family tree.

“Extended and chosen family can also be included,” our teacher told us.

I had no idea what she was talking about, and neither did my friends, so I turned to my main source of information, my parents.

When Dad told me he had a sister, dozens of questions were instantly on the tip of my tongue, but he cut me off before I could utter any of them.

“She’s only my sister by biology, not by heart. You can put her name on the family tree if you like, but she’s sadly not interested in switching the bottle for family.”

“What Dad means, is that the biological part doesn’t always matter. Chosen and extended family can be just as good, sometimes even better,” Papa explained.

***

I found it comforting when uncle Greg moved in with uncle Myc, because the older I got, the more I worried about uncle Myc’s solitary life. He deserved to be loved by others, not just his family. 

The pair were even more peculiar than Dad and Papa. Dad and uncle Greg were much more similar, coming from the same upbringing and social class, while uncle Myc and Papa were posh gits. (Dad and uncle Greg’s words.) But still, they fitted together, just like Dad and Papa.

And where did that leave me? Somewhere in the middle, I guess. I wasn’t really that exposed to the upper classes. That was uncle Myc’s area. At least in the connection with his job. I had the advantage of being raised by people of both societies, though, so I coped better at posh events than Dad for example. Granny and Pops were quite down-to-earth people, who obviously rose to the occasion if need be.

***

Uncle Myc was unable to deny the love of his life anything, but he drew the line when it came to pub quiz nights. He didn’t budge a millimetre when uncle Greg tried to flatter him into participating.

“Myc, love. You would ensure that my team won the whole shebang. At least when the questions are about politics, language, history, mathematics et cetera.”

“Gregory, mon cher,” uncle Myc said softly and arched an eyebrow.

Uncle Greg admitted defeat and turned to me. I was twenty-one, drank alcohol on occasion, and was above average intelligence. Three good reasons to join the team apparently.

***

“So, do I call you uncle, Greg, or Lestrade?” I inquired before we entered the pub.

“Just avoid Gaylord and Grimmwolf,” he deadpanned.

“Those are his latest then?” I giggled.

“John said he looked up obscure ones online when he’d used up all the names in the book he found among Mary’s things.”

“Sounds like Papa,” I replied.

I had seen the book now and again, but I never knew it once belonged to my mother.

Luckily for everyone involved, Philip Anderson was no longer a part of uncle’s team Division. Sally Donovan was, but she and Papa had long since buried the hatchet, and she welcomed me quite civilly.

Uncle Greg mocked me the entire evening for my choice of drink. 

“Sour beer has nothing to do with beer in my opinion,” he scolded looking disgusted at my pink brew.

“I don’t mind what you call it. Your Guinness looks more like tar than beer to me, so I guess we have to agree to disagree,” I retorted. “Now, do you know the answer to the fifth question or not?”

“You’re a good mix of Watson, Holmes, and yourself,” Sally told me after that.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” I said. “Thank you. I take that as a compliment, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. That was the intention. They’re…um…good men and are evidently skilled at parenting. I’ll obviously deny it if I’m ever confronted with this,” she murmured.

Uncle Greg placed another glass of the “undrinkable” beer in front of me and gave Sally’s shoulder a pat.

“Getting sentimental on my, Sally?” he inquired with a smile.

“Hardly,” she scoffed and headed for the bar, but her soft expression gave her game away.

Also available on AO3

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @keirgreeneyes @raina-at @helloliriels

More tags in the replies

[tiphprince]

hello 😞

um can you explain the reasons you like snape?

Hi!

Sure.

I can't in fact remember when I started liking Snape, it happened as I was growing up with the movies, though I do know that by the time Half-Blood Prince came out in 2009 he was already well established as my favorite character, as I had friends take photos of me near a cardboard cutout of him at the cinema (I was 13 at that time).

So, I can't pinpoint what is the one thing that made me like him. However, I know that I started really loving his character more deeply when I read the books right after seeing the HBP movie. I discovered just how different he was in the books, and how much better his character was.

To answer your question... I love everything about him, including his many flaws.

He's hilarious, he has some of the funniest lines in the series. His sarcasm made me laugh as a young teen, even and probably, specially because it was directed at teenagers of the same age I was.

He's mysterious, for 95% of the series we have no idea what he thinks, what he's doing and why he's doing it. We just know that something is going on, but we don't know what. It makes him intriguing and makes you want to know more.

He's brave, and selfless. He risks his life on a regular basis once Voldemort gets back, he agrees to mercy kill Dumbledore, effectively getting himself branded as the second most hated man in the country and even by people who at minimum respected him (colleagues he'd been working with for 15 years, people who saw him as a friend), and he expects nothing in return. He dies a gruesome and painful death, though thankfully not alone, knowing that everyone who'd ever liked him, that everyone in the whole world, despises his guts because he had to do what no one else could to save thousands of lives.

He's petty, and cruel. I won't teach anyone anything by saying that Snape is a bully as a teacher, and that he enjoys it. Yet, this is also one of the reasons I like him, because it creates an amazing juxtaposition with the previous point. He's a hero... and an asshole who makes children cry. He will do everything in his power and more to ensure that his students are alive and stay that way, but damn if he won't crush their spirit in the meantime as well.

He's skilled. He's a potions genius, who was rewritting recipes as a teen. He invented spells also as a teen, both being things that even Hermione never attempted to do. He thinks outside the box, and he's an excellent duelist, but he relies on his intelligence more than rough power and fighting prowess.

He's traumatised. Snape has one of the worst childhood/backstories of the books. He was abused as a child by his father, grew up watching him abuse his mother, he lived in such extreme poverty that the Weasleys would look like the royal family to him. Then he got to Hogwarts, and we can see how excited he is to finally go somewhere he won't be forced to hide who he is, to be somewhere he belongs... except he meets his future bullies on the train and reality catches up to him fast.

He's "relentlessly bullied" for the next 6 years ish, with no escape. And yes, teenage Snape was no saint, he was no angel, but no child deserves this kind of torment. Every single day we hear of teenagers killing themselves because of bullying. As an adult he shows obvious signs of trauma from what the Marauders did to him, and it's very sad to see.

I need to stop at one point because I don't think you were asking for a whole ass novel about Snape, but there's so so much more to say about him. I'll just link to @said-snape-softly's answer to a post recently that was asking roughly the same thing, where they explain why they love Snape and added a lot of great metas to help you or anyone else better understand his character.

[autism-alley]

augh found my old post abt pjo and disability from before the show came out but it was on ye olde blog so i’m literally just gonna copy and paste, 3, 2, 1—

ok now that i’ve got it on the brain, i want to talk about disability in pjo and specifically how calling percy jackson dumb or treating him as such is not only a mischaracterization, but ableism. as a quick note, i’m keeping this to just percy to avoid having this already long post be even longer, but there are other disabled characters in pjo worthy of discussion, though i hit many of the same points in this post. i bring up percy specifically because he is mostly the character i have seen people treat as stupid.

percy is a dyslexic teen with ADHD who comes from a low-income family, raised by a single mother, and deals with an abusive step-father. i cannot stress enough how much of his character is shaped by that experience, but as hard as it is to single out any one part, i am going to focus on his ADHD and dyslexia. this kid has nightmares of being forced to take tests in a straightjacket as teachers ask him if he’s stupid and withhold him from recess with his peers. he is constantly labelled as “troubled” and blamed for things he didn’t do or aren’t his fault. he is told, over and over again, even from trusted adults, that he is “not normal” (othering him). he bounces between schools. he struggles to make friends. he deals with bullying. he has difficulty studying and reading, even when invested. teachers struggle to connect with him and tend to just give up on him. these are real disabled experiences, and rick does a good job at presenting them in the pjo books. sometimes, it feels like everything is a struggle. you are living inside a system that not only is restricting, but actively works against and punishes you.

in contrast, CHB is a great example of how when environments meet the needs of disabled people, it hugely changes how disabled we are in that environment. demigod brains are hard-wired for ancient greek, not english, and they’re born impulsive, with high energy levels that help them survive battle—but aren’t very good for a classroom setting. but by having them read books in ancient greek, regularly do lots of training/physical activities, and have genuine opportunities to express themselves...they function pretty damn well. percy discovers that while he struggles academically, he is brilliant in combat and capable of saving the world numerous times—he is a hero. do you know how important that message is for disabled children? disabled adults, too? that we can be heroes?

it is here, in camp half-blood, that percy finds a place he belongs, that shows him his worth—finally, somewhere is built to not only include him, but to nurture and genuinely prepare him for the world outside its boarders. however, i think people forget that just because percy functions in the world of CHB and the gods, that does not mean he doesn’t face ableism in the mortal world—and that there is an entire group of people who see ourselves reflected in his character.

i could talk on for hours about how much being disabled shapes percy’s identity and how he interacts with the world—like how percy’s humor revolves around coping with his environment and actually displays a very low self esteem after being looked down upon his entire life. this kid doesn’t even have to say anything and he screams i had a neurodivergent childhood. but about 5-6 years ago, when i was more regularly tuned into the fandom, every time i saw someone call percy jackson dumb or an idiot, even jokingly, i raised an eyebrow, and now that the series is getting fresh coverage from disney+, i have wanted to make this post. so much of this kid’s life and personality comes from being treated like he’s dumb or incapable, so it’s troubling to watch part of the fanbase reflect the harmful parts of this character’s upbringing. i truly hope it does not become common again. it’s also one thing coming from a neurodivergent/disabled person with similar experiences (and even then i personally find it a little uncomfortable), it’s another to be said by a neurotypical/able bodied person.

percy jackson’s experiences make for very important representation, and for people to characterize him as just a goofy, unintelligent guy is not only an insult to his character as a kid who is intelligent, but previously lacked the environment to show it, but also ableist. so in the dawn of the new tv series era, i ask that we cut that shit out. rick riordan did not create rep for neurodivergent and disabled kids for them to be called stupid by the fanbase. even jokingly.

[cordidy]

Hogwarts Legacy character's headcanon : Sebastian Sallow

My little headcanon for our boy, the list might grow as I keep having ideas :D

Growing up / Hogwart days :

He is the younger twin and Anne gave him Hell because of that, always bossing him around and teasing her "baby brother"

He was always very close to his sister to the point their parents had to hurry up to feed or change them cause whenever he was away from his sister he was all grumpy.

He would fall asleep curled up against his sister when they were babies and snored a lot so she would kick him, basically I picture them as sleeping like kittens xD.

I don't know why but in my mind he stuttered when he was young, being teased by the other children because of that. His sister broke a lot of noses in retaliation and he worked very hard with their mother to get rid of his stutter.

Anne is the one who saw their parents first in the cellar and it traumatized her so, that day, he became the "big brother" to protect and sooth her. At night, after they started living with Solomon, he would remain awake cause he knew at some point his sister would crawl into his bed and they would cuddle while crying.

The hat wanted to sort him into Ravenclaw like their parents but since Anne had been sorted into Slytherin he begged it to not separate them.

At first he was hyper vigilant and jealous of Ominis cause it took more time for the two of them to click than it did for Ominis and his sister and he felt like the third wheel.

He is a nerd, think Hermione kind of nerd, like, the guy gets detention for staying in the library after curfew and the day he discoverd Arithmancy....

If available, he would totaly take on Alchemy classes cause he likes to scratch his brain on complex subjects.

After Solomon's murder, if the player did not tell about it, he ends up comfessing to Professor Sharp.

He goes to trial, of course, but the Wizenmagot goes easy on him due to the circumstances and the fact he is still a child.

He ends up crying in Court when he realizes the people who came to testify on his behalf including his teachers (even Madam Scribner who told everyone how brilliant he was despite being a pain in her ass !), his friends (Ominis was there but not Anne) and even some shopkeepers from Hogsmead including Augustus Hill and Sirona.

He still goes to Azkaban for a month to make sure he gets the implications of what he did and spends the next 2 years in probation, seeing a conselor once a weak and undergoing evaluation to make sure he is not a danger for society or himself.

He becomes a loner when coming back to Hogwarts, keeping to himself and focusing on his studies.

He would still hang out with Ominis and the Gaunt would help him manage his night terrors but something broke between the two of them.

Speaking of Ominis, he is his only link to Anne as she refuses to talk to her brother after what he did.

Adult life :

After graduating, Sebastian would start a training as a healer in St Mungo's.

He would travel the world to study different forms of healing and would end up in remote places where he is really needed as a healer joining the wizarding equivalent of the Red Cross (I can't picture him in London or in a traditionnal hospital).

The moment Anne died, he knew it, waking up in sweat and recieving Ominis's letter was only a comfirmation. That's the only time he went back to England, for her funeral.

He never married nor had children of his own but became the father figure of a lot of kids in need.

He always kept the scars of the event in the catacombs both physical and psychological.

When he died, the nurse holding his hand said that the was smiling. She reported his last words were "you came for me ?" but no one really knows who he was talking to or if he was just hallucinating (Anne, it's Anne !)

[scotianostra]

July 13th 1900 saw the birth of Elizabeth “Bessie” Watson in Edinburgh.

Born just off the Grassmarket, at 11 The Vennel to Agnes Newton and Horatio Watson, Bessie did not take long to make her mark in the world, at the tender age of 9 she combined her two greatest loves: bagpiping and woman’s suffrage, the latter makes her arguably the youngest in Scotland, if not the world.

When she turned seven, Bessie’s aunt Margaret contracted tuberculosis – an incident which would change the youngster’s life forever. Margaret lived with the family, and Bessie’s parents, worried that she might fall ill to the contagious disease, encouraged her to take up the bagpipes in a bid to strengthen her weak lungs. Her first set of pipes was specially-produced according to her diminutive stature as she was too small to properly inflate an adult-sized bag. The half-sized set of pipes was purchased from Robertson’s pipe makers at 58 Grove Street. “I hurried home from school and carried it, in a brown paper parcel down to my (music) teacher”, Bessie recalled. As one of the very few female bagpipe players in the world at that time – not to mention one of the youngest – Bessie took to her new instrument with great enthusiasm.

Bessie had more than her bag pipe playing to make her worthy of a post here, while walking with her mother through the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, Bessie stopped to look at the window of the Women’s Social and Political Union office. Bessie became excited about the idea of women receiving the right to vote, even though she wouldn’t be able to vote for many years.

Bessie realized that her talents could help promote votes for women. She would run from school each day to play her bagpipes outside of the Calton Jail in Edinburgh for fellow suffragettes in prison.

At the first suffrage pageant she performed at, she wore a sash with the words “Votes for Women” as she performed with her bagpipes. At the height of the suffragette movement, Bessie was playing at major demonstrations and parades for the Women’s Social and Political Union, including the famous procession through Edinburgh on 9th October 1909. On that day a large crowd watched as hundreds of banner-laden ladies, wearing the suffragist colours of purple, white and green, marched down Princes Street before congregating at Waverley Market for a rally led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Watson rode on a float beside a woman dressed as Isabella Duff, Countess of Buchan in her cage! Isabella is famed for crowning Robert the Bruce at Scone when he seized the Scottish crown, she was later captured with the Bruce family and held prisoner in a cage in the open air at Berwick for four years.

Back to oor Bessie, who just a ten year-old she travelled to London to play her bagpipes in a women’s march on June 17th, 1911. J ust a few weeks later, for George’s state visit to Edinburgh, Bessie, leading the 2nd Edinburgh Company of the Girl Guides, received recognition from the king himself as she raised her salute. Having secured regal acknowledgement in time for her 11th birthday, Scotland’s youngest female piper continued in her quest to support women’s rights, accompanying inmates bound for Holloway Prison to Waverley Station and playing the pipes as their trains departed.

For the part she played in Edinburgh’s historic women’s rights pageant of 1909, young Bessie received a special gift from one very prominent individual. Christabel Pankhurst (daughter of Emmeline) came to Edinburgh to address a meeting at the King’s Theatre and Bessie was invited to attend. During the evening she was presented with a brooch representing Queen Boadicea (Boudica) in her chariot, as a token of gratitude for her help in the pageant.

During WWI, Bessie was just a teenager and used her talents to make a difference in other ways. She began helping the Scots Guard to recruit army volunteers by playing her bagpipes

In 1926 Bessie moved with her parents to a new house on Clark Road, Trinity where she would remain for the rest of her days. Following her marriage to electrical contractor John Somerville at the end of the Second World War, Bessie devoted her life to teaching music and foreign languages. Former neighbours recall that, even into her late eighties, Bessie continued to play her bagpipes at 11am every morning. It was something she had always done.

Bessie died in 1992, two and a half weeks short of her 92nd birthday. Over the course of her long life she had experienced almost a century of social progression and upheaval, and had played her part in changing the world for the better.

A pictorial tribute was unveiled at The Vennel in Edinburgh on August 1st 2019 in memory of Bessie, the University of Edinburgh also have a lecture room named in her honour.

[coochiequeens]

These ladies are Queens

‘Second only to men’ is my name: more Chinese women ditch sexist names from boy-seeking parents amid feminist awakening

Women in China are legally changing their names amid a wider awareness of gender issues and loosened restrictionsThey had names which reflect a parental desire for boys — Zhaodi: ‘beckon to younger brother’, Yingdi: ‘welcome younger brother’

“After an entire week, I finally succeeded in changing my name with the authorities. Let the stars shine in the coming years — It’s never too late!” wrote 20-year-old Chen Xingwan in celebration on her social media account.

For the past two decades, the young Chinese woman has been officially called Chen Yanan instead — ya meaning “only second to” and nan meaning “men”.

According to her father, who gave her the name, it means “a boy is coming after this baby”, while her mother, who had no say in the matter, interpreted it as “you are no worse than a boy”.

Sharing her new identity document on Xiaohongshu, China’s equivalent of Instagram, the university student from eastern China’s Anhui province said she hoped it would end a long period of self-doubt and start a new chapter in her life.

Chen is just one of many Chinese women who want to change the sexist names their parents gave them to reflect a preference for sons.

The trend has gained momentum over the past year amid a wider feminist awakening and loosened restrictions on legal name-changing for adults in mainland China.

At the start of last year, China enforced its first Civil Code allowing adults to choose their own names, as long as the words used are, “not against fundamental social values”.

Due to the traditional preference for a male heir in Chinese society, girls names which convey a family’s wishes for a boy were popular both before and during the one-child policy.

The policy, which wasn’t completely abandoned until 2015, limited all urban couples to one child, while those in the countryside were allowed a second chance if their first child was a girl.

This resulted in many parents giving their newborn daughters names such as Yanan: “second only to men”, Zhaodi: “beckon to younger brother”, Yingdi: “welcome younger brother” and Aidi: “love younger brother”.

Another is Sheng-nan which means “better than men”. This is usually interpreted as “despite the fact that you are a girl, you are better than a boy”, which is based on the sexist presumption that men are normally superior to women.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, of female citizens bearing the three most common family names in mainland China — Wang, Li, and Zhang — almost 32,000 are named “second only to men”.

More than 13,000 women with these family names are called “beckon to younger brother”.

“Since childhood, all my teachers would ask me the same questions when seeing my name for the first time; ‘Did your father want a boy? Do you have a younger brother?’,” said Chen .

Her younger brother came three years after her and was given the name Yongkuan, “It is a very normal name that won’t bring any trouble to him,” she said.

Chen, however, said she suffered significant social stigma because of her name.

Her classmates gave her nasty nicknames associated with the word men, such as “men’s room”, she said.

“I’ve hated my name since I was young. When I was asked to introduce myself, I was always unwilling to say my name,” she said.

“For some people, their names are just a symbol and may not play an important role in their daily life. But for many others, they may have been hurt because of their names. There could be some bad outcomes psychologically,” Chen said.

Many women in mainland China share Chen’s sentiments and have posted about their name-changing experiences with photos of their new ID cards attached online.

They include 22-year-old Zhang Yingdi from Tianjin who became Zhang Yuge, and a 24-year-old Lin Aidi from Guangdong province in southern China, who herself Lin Lisha.

Huang Chunyu, a retired professor in Chinese culture and history, said a person’s given name often conveys the giver’s expectations and understanding of what constitutes a good life.

“

After the era of the one-child policy, women became more independent and confident. They refuse to be subordinate to men and believe they are as good as, or even better than men,” he said, adding, “so this trend is a true reflection of social development.”

University student Chen said she was happy that her parents’ attitude had changed over time.

They were supportive when she told them she wanted to have a new name, she said.

“As they grow older, they are not as rigid as before. They not only agreed with my decision, but even helped me pick my new name,” she said.

[mariacallous]

LISBON—Maria Brites took one more carnation in her hands from a table covered in them. She carefully set the flower in a glass box. Brites, an accomplished 76-year-old art teacher, has made dozens of these graceful souvenirs for Portugal’s museums to preserve the memory of the so-called “Carnation Revolution” which changed her own and her country’s life. It was April in Lisbon and outside, tourists teemed through the streets in the capital of a liberal democracy ranked among the freest nations in the world. Joined by her two adult daughters, Maria began to sing “Grândola, Vila Morena.” Fifty years ago, the fascist regime installed by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar banned other songs by its author, Zeca Afonso, for his opposition to the dictatorial regime. On April 25, 1974, conspirators played “Gradola Vila Morena” on the radio at 12:20 a.m. The song’s powerful melody and lyrics signaled the beginning of the revolution.

“Land of brotherhood,” the lyrics exclaim, “the people are the ones who rule within you, oh city!”

Exactly half a century later, hundreds of thousands of Portuguese gathered in Lisbon to chant “No to fascism.” Banners strung throughout the city featured happy people hugging with the caption, “Europe is for you.” According to the Migrant Integration Policy Index, Portugal has the second-most favorable citizenship regime in the European Union, in terms of naturalization rates.

Over this period, Portugal has not just shed its dictatorial past, it has become a leader of multilateral democracy. Think of the EU’s Treaty of Lisbon, which helped to manage the bloc after it enlarged from 15 to 27 states, as well as Portuguese native António Guterres ascending to secretary-general of the United Nations in 2017. This spring, an absolute majority of Portuguese—81 percent—told pollsters that they were proud of the way that Portugal became a democracy. This process involved not just ending its dictatorship at home, but also liberating its remaining colonies in Africa.

When I visit Portugal and observe this pride in action, my mind inevitably goes to post-Soviet countries that failed to keep their liberal democracies and rolled back to dictatorial regimes in the decades after the fall of USSR. During my 24 years of covering news in the region, I interviewed many people in Russia, Belarus, the Caucasus, and Central Asia who told me they felt nostalgic for a strong leader like Joseph Stalin. It seemed to me as if they were suffering from the loss of historical memory. Russia targets leaders of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning group Memorial that worked hard to preserve painful memories, documenting hundreds of thousands of KGB cases and gulag victims, including the names of 44,000 people executed on personal order of Stalin. But the Portuguese do not hide their history, nor do they miss Salazar. Why? As millions of Ukrainians suffer from a war spurred on by Russia’s imperial ideology, I wanted to find out.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war in 2022, more than 60,000 Ukrainians have found refuge in Portugal. To the amazement of many of them, banners and billboards celebrating the country’s anniversary still feature communist hammers and sickles. Some slogans by the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), including “Mais forca!” are confronting to people from the former Soviet Union. The symbolism carries a valence that is hard to reconcile for them, and the associated iconography cuts against the message of freedom. In occupied Ukraine, these symbols signal the return of the authoritarian era, but in Portugal, communists helped end it.

The PCP was founded in 1921 as a legal party, but in 1926 it was forced underground by the far-right Estado Novo regime. Salazar came to power in 1932 and continued severe repression of anarchists and communists. Lisbon’s former prison, Museu do Aljube, lists the names and photographs of Portuguese opposition members imprisoned, tortured, or executed by the regime in the 1930s. The underground did not stop its struggle for over four decades of Europe’s longest dictatorship, though, and the working class and communist underground played a decisive role in preparing for April 25.

Portuguese communists, whom Moscow denied paying, were widely celebrated for the Carnation Revolution’s victory. Their involvement meant as soon as the people of Portugal embraced freedom from the dictatorship, they had to choose a side in the ongoing Cold War. The same year of the revolution, 1974, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev visited Fidel Castro in Cuba. Brezhnev was pushing European governments, the United States, and Canada to sign a document about security in Europe, recognizing the Soviet military victory in World War II, the acceptance of Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, and forced incorporation of Baltic states.

Fortunately for Portugal, the United States played a cautious role in Portuguese internal affairs, while the Soviet Union accepted the choice Portuguese people ultimately made to embrace the democratic path. “By the fall of 1974, communists tried to take over the power but our people made a different choice—we chose democracy,” Brites said.

Portugal signed the Helsinki Accords, along with nearly all other European governments, Canada, the United States, and the Soviet Union in Helsinki on Aug. 1, 1975, confirming the acceptance of post-1945 borders. Later pro-Soviet regimes took power in Portuguese former colonies in Africa, including Angola. After the revolution, Portugal gave independence to Angola, a colony for nearly 500 years (and a source of slaves for Brazil), withdrawing its military forces by November 1975.

On a recent afternoon, I talked about liberal values with immigration lawyer Gilda Pereira, who grew up in Angola where her family enjoyed a wealthy and successful life before the revolution. Portugal’s presence in Angola began with the arrival of the explorer Diogo Cão in 1482, and although Portugal officially changed Angola’s status from a colony to an oversea province in 1951, its landlords continued to use forced labor at local plantations.

I expected somebody who grew up affluent in a former colony might be less in favor of the changes in Portugal but Pereira’s face was illuminated with a big smile when she talked about the revolution and how it transformed her country. The founder of a successful law firm in Lisbon who employs more than a dozen women lawyers, Pereira said she felt “zero nostalgia” for the dictatorship and loved Portugal’s active civil society and its passion for freedom. Portuguese human rights defenders are respected, she said, and investigative journalists are acclaimed.

“I am glad we let Angola and other colonies free, I am happy we have the rule of law, that we are true democrats,” she told me. Under Salazar, Pereira explained, she and her team of women would lack basic human rights. Progress continues, and this year, Portugal has risen to 17th in the Global Gender Gap Index ranking of equality, up from last year’s 32nd place.

Local freelance reporter Claudia Maques Santos explains Portugal’s choice this way: “I think it has to do with memory and sense of freedom.” For many Portuguese, recalling the era of authoritarian rule is far more painful than it is aggrandizing. Maria Brites echoed this, telling me she was “utterly unhappy” under Salazar and his successor in the provincial town where she taught art and raised her daughters. The dictatorship forbade divorce, and hers was a miserable marriage: “Every month he picked up my salary at school,” she said of her husband, “as all men were allowed to do that to women. We had no rights.”

On the morning of April 25, 1974, Brites’s father called to tell her that the revolution had happened, and she rushed to Lisbon to see it for herself, even though, she said, her husband tried to stop her with threats. Arriving in Lisbon, she felt what she described as “complete happiness, freedom to say what you felt like.”

Improbably for a democratic revolution, Portugal’s transition began with a coup, as military officers who opposed the regime rose up against it, in no small part because of the country’s imperial adventures abroad. Under Salazar, Portugal was paying an immense human cost fighting to maintain its African colonies. Over lunch in April, Col. Aprigio Ramalho, one of the officers who led the revolution, told me that the trips he made to Mozambique and Angola under the dictatorship were part of what galvanized his action. Portugal had waged war in Africa for 13 years, and thousands of Portuguese men had died there. “The failing African wars were the turning point for the revolution,” the colonel told me. The analogy to Ukraine was not lost on him: “Russian military men should read their oath well. We did. We were sworn to defend the people, or Portugal, our country, but not the dictatorship.”

Isabel Graca, a history professor at Almada Senior University, told me, “We made the choice to be free: No woman under Salazar could travel abroad without her husband’s permission. … As a student, I ran away from the police many times. We were banned from gathering in groups of more than three people. Punishment was severe.”

For women in particular, the civil liberties they could not have under dictatorship were far more critical than the distant territories that fascist Portugal claimed to control. This is exactly the situation citizens face in today’s Russia, where millions of people suffer from poverty, domestic violence, corruption, and a poor health system and where none of Putin’s imperialistic ideas and promises to build the “new world order” together with China and Hungary can distract from daily miseries.

Once again Portugal has chosen a side in a cold war. More than 70 percent of Portuguese have a negative view of Russia’s influence in global affairs, according to a German Marshal Fund report, and roughly 80 percent want to offer Ukraine NATO and European Union membership. Even PCP—which was the sole political party avoiding condemnation of Russia for starting the full-scale invasion in 2022—has chosen democratic values, not dictatorship. In its latest platform, the party advocates for Portugal to enjoy “a regime of freedom where the people decide their own future.”

Pedro Magalhaes, a senior researcher at Portugal’s Institute of Social Sciences, told me that Portugal has little reason to worry about the role of communists in its political life. On the contrary, he said, “Communists have been reliable democratic actors, involved in revising the constitution, controlling law-abiding unions, and having representatives in parliament.”

This year, Portugal’s far-right party Chega won 48 seats in the parliament. They have been accused of racism: In 2020, the party’s founder, André Ventura, was fined for discriminating of Roma community. That same year, he wrote on social media that Black lawmaker Joacine Katar Moreira should go back “to her own country.” But local democrats are not worried. “Chega is being left alone at the parliament, no one makes alliances with them, neither left- nor right-wing parties,” Marques Santos told me.

Nearly half of Portugal’s population earn less than 1,000 euros a month, many complain about their country quietly becoming an immigration hub, majority want a reduction of emigration. But in spite of the social issues, Portugal continues to resist to the extreme far-right agenda. June poll showed Chega getting 12 percent of support, which was a drop from 18 percent it received in the election.

“Portuguese people have a genuine love for freedom,” Magalhaes said.

[himawarijjk]

JJK ROLEPLAY (LONG TERM)

x. I prefer writing OC x Character Roleplays. I know this can be a dealbreaker for some, so I put it first. More than willing to double up if that's what you want.

x. I have been struggling to find long term partners. The more the merrier!

x. My partners should be at least 18+. This is crutial. My roleplays include NSFW elements, mature themes and dark themes. I mean, it IS JJK, haha.

x. My first OC is Itadori Himawari. Using this OC would leave things slightly AU, in the sense that because she is Yuji's older sister (28yo) and a first year teacher at Jujutsu High, Yuji would need to be already familiar with Jujutsu Sorcerers. Himawari attended Jujutsu High Tokyo as a teenager. Her cursed technique is that she can use cursed energy to form thin needles which can penetrate the skin of her opponents, causing injury or death (if she hits the right places). She can also use these needles to poison, mute or (temporarily) paralyse an enemy. Himawari has an 11-year-old son (Itadori Kazuki, meaning hope) with Geto, who was her teenage love. She discovered her pregnancy with him on her 17th birthday, which was also the same day Geto betrayed them. Geto is unaware of his childs existence. Though I like to believe Gojo informed him before his death. I generally ship adult Himawari with Gojo (a friends to lovers situation filled with many sleepless nights, regrets and guilt. Regrets because he didn't make a move before Geto. Guilt because he feels like he's stealing his bff's woman, and she feels guilty admitting her feelings for her first loves bff) and her teenage self with, of course, Geto. I don't mind writing her as an adult, or writing her teenage love story with Geto.

x. My second OC is Akari Sato (18 yo). She's a Yakuza grunt (er, punching bag, to be fair) who held the ability to use cursed energy as a child, putting kids in hospital (and even one in a three-month coma) from a single punch in schoolyard scraps. She has since lost these abilities. Her father was a Yakuza lieutnent who was murdered by them for hiding money from his patriarch. He had planned to run away and escape Japan with his family, wanting a safer life for them. Akari and her mother went into hiding, but at 17, she came back into the public without her mother, who remains in hiding and is suffering from severe paranoia. Akari was approached by Gojo, who explained she possessed these hidden powers. She entrolled in Jujutsu High School simply because she wishes to get so powerful, she can overtake the Yakuza and own Tokyo. She has more dark elements and thoughts. I ship her with Megumi or Choso.

x. If you're interested in playing these characters and/or doubling up, feel free to PM me. if you have discord, we can write there. If not, we can work something else out. Looking forward to hearing from you. xo