#ivan also has some implied issues that he's working through here

[stabbynunchuckss]

Day 32 of the wheel of whump!

Today's prompt is:

Repeatedly passing out

-----

Cooper had managed to find the source of the bleeding, now - the bandages around his stomach had come undone, exposing the wound on his side and allowing the blood to flow freely.

He pressed his fingers against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do? The wound was hot as Cooper touched it, and felt almost swollen.

He let out a shaky breath, panic surging through him as he struggled to stay conscious. But he was losing blood fast, and the pain was almost unbearable.

When he next awoke, not much has changed. A little more blood had been lost, sure, but that was nothing new. Fuck, he was used to losing blood, so why was it so hard to handle this time?

He gripped desperately at the brick wall for some form of stability, attempting to pull himself upwards, but his fingers slipped, and he let out a cry of pain as he dropped to the ground, his eyes falling closed once again.

-

"Cooper? Kid? Hey, kid, can you hear me?" A voice, urgent yet gentle, reached Cooper's ears. His eyes flickered open.

Ivan was standing over him- No, they were sitting. Where were they?

As Cooper glanced around at his surroundings, he took note of the unfamiliar room. White walls. White bed. Red armchair. A single window, a single door. Upstairs somewhere, judging from the view of the sky.

"I- Ivan?" His voice trembled, and he took a deep breath. "What- What's going on?"

"Fuck, kid, I thought..." He sighed. "Doesn't matter. You're safe now, 'kay? You're in my room, there's a first aid kit in here, because- Never mind. But, either way, you're gonna be fine here. What were you doing outside?"

Cooper hesitated before speaking. "I- I didn't... I panicked, and- and I thought you were- There was blood, I didn't know what to do, I panicked, and- and I couldn't-"

Ivan's hand came to rest on his back. "That's okay, kid. The wound's probably infected, but... You're gonna be fine. Just get some rest, alright? I'll be right here."

-----

@roblingoblin285 @a-crumb-of-whump @i-eat-worlds :)

[omniswords]

Chronicles of a Parisian Dumbass 14

Happy Chronicles Update! I promise I'm still trucking along on this baby. I think?? We've also officially reached the halfway mark on this installment, which is kind of. Wow. That's WILD.

anyway, I hope you enjoy!

welcome to today’s episode of Luka’s Word to the Wise: whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be perfect. it just has to be good.

thanks, I.

Ivan is right. And technically, so is his Ma, who’s been telling him and Juleka this for as long as he can remember. But Luka will give them the gratification of saying I told you so when this is all over. Even though he could take a stab in the dark and guess that only one of them would take him up on that offer. And it wouldn’t be Ivan. And it wouldn’t be his Ma.

In between messaging back and forth with Bubbles over the next couple of days, Luka puts together a flyer. It’s not exactly the best—just something he threw together on one of those free graphic design websites, definitely nothing like a Gabriel billboard. But it’s punchy, and it fits the vibe, and it gets the overall message across. And more importantly, Juleka doesn’t give him The Look for it. In fact, she smiles over his shoulder when it’s done, and she rubs her fist in his hair, and she affectionately says, “Now can you chill?”

Luka only grins and throws her into a fireman’s carry for another round of ping-pong. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t know how to be totally chill any more.

They pool pocket money, leftovers from past paychecks, to put in an order for copies at the local print shop. Only Rose has ever been; she tells them she’s tagged along with a couple of old friends from an art club to print issues of the comic they’ve been working on together. It’s nice to see her take the lead, point out the best paper stocks and finishes and spot colors, whatever those are, based on what she’s overheard. It certainly beats the alternative: four barely-adults standing awkwardly at the counter, pretending they know what they’re doing.

Even if, according to Luka’s Ma, that’s most of what adulthood is, anyway.

They decide on something glossy because it makes the colors pop, and admittedly Luka has to thank his lucky, anxious stars for saving the file in every format imaginable because he wasn’t sure which one they’d need. Before he leaves them and heads to work on his bike, Juleka gives him another smile, and Ivan manages a single, subtle nod, and Rose’s eyes sparkle. And it’s starting to feel a little less like a thing he needs to do. It’s a thing he wants to do. With them.

And, well. Any bonuses are just that. Bonuses.

These days, Luka’s made it a point to bike past the bakery on his way to work, because if he’s as much of a regular as the Dupain-Cheng family claims, then he might as well act like it. To be fair, he doesn’t always stop in to talk or buy something; in fact, most times he doesn’t. maybe it’s some silly sense of hope that he’ll be seen. That Marinette really did talk to her parents about picking up an extra shift or two behind the counter. That there’s still room on the bulletin board for him—them. And most times, it is just Mrs. Cheng at the storefront, organizing displays or chatting with a friendly customer.

But sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes it is Marinette, idly staring at the window with what he can only assume is her sketchbook at her side and her apron tied around her waist. And sometimes, she looks up at him. And sometimes, she waves and smiles with all the warmth and none of the sweat of July.

That’s why he does it. For the sometimes.

The flyers, once they’re printed, are nothing short of gorgeous, but Luka can’t bring himself to take any of the credit for it. More than anything, he’s just happy to see his bandmates all in on this, even if he did jump in with both feet. Even if they do still rib him during practice about how he’s way too invested in this. (At least Mylène has only nice things to say. He’ll have to remember to order a few extra pastries just for her.)

They split the flyers into four stacks, because of course Mylène insists on helping and of course Rose and Juleka insist on going together. They run or pedal off in different directions once they’ve put a game plan together, and at least Luka can credit them for not teasing when he offers to take the third and fourth arrondissement. They all know it’s where the bakery is, in spite of how he talks up the Place des Vosges. They know, and they don’t have to say anything.

He’s still trying to figure out whether it’s a blessing or a curse to have your real-life friends on your social media accounts.

Even as he’s hanging the flyers in downtown coffee shops, in libraries, on signposts and public bulletin boards, Luka can’t stop staring. With every flyer he pins or tapes up, he finds something new to love about it. A splash of neon color in the top left corner. The jagged, cutting edges of the lettering. The blurred glow of a spotlight. Every time he looks, he gets the feeling that he’s already there. Music pounding in his ears, stage lights burning so bright and hot they make him sweat, fresh calluses on his fingertips that he’ll regret and adore later. He doesn’t think of stardom often, but he imagines this is something close to it.

At the very least, it’s what he would want to make of it.

It’s close to closing by the time Luka arrives at the bakery-patisserie; the usual lingering smells of fresh bread and sugary frosting and the easygoing music are both conspicuously absent when he walks in. But Mr. Dupain and Ms. Cheng are both missing from the storefront, and he has to double check the time on his phone to make sure he didn’t accidentally arrive too late, or that he’s not interrupting some closing routine. It shouldn’t take long; he spent almost the whole bike ride over rehearsing what he needed to say. He looks around cautiously, even clears his throat in case it gets someone’s attention.

It does. Marinette pops up from behind the counter with a squeak, and it startles him so much he nearly drops the stack of remaining flyers in his arms. And that would’ve been a pain in the ass as much as it would’ve been straight out of one of Rose’s cute romcoms for Marinette to round the counter and help him pick them up until their hands brushed over the same one.

Jesus. He really needs to get out of the house on his sister’s date nights.

He really needs to have a date night.

He also really needs to stop thinking about date nights when the person he’d actually consider a date night with is right in front of—

“Luka?”

He blinks to attention, standing awkwardly in the quiet. God, he really hopes he wasn’t staring at her when he zoned out like that. “Sorry,” he mumbles.

Marinette shrugs it off with an apologetic smile. “We’re fresh out of napoleons, you know,” she says casually, slipping past him to flip the sign on the door. “Guess you’ll just have to come first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, I guess I will—wait—” He shakes his head. “No, that’s not why I’m here.”

Marinette pauses at that. Even seems to stand a little taller, intrigued. Hopeful? “Oh…? Then why…  are you here?”

Meekly, Luka holds up one of the Kitty Section flyers and nods toward the bulletin board. Here’s hoping he—it— isn’t too much of a disappointment.

Marinette squints at the flyer for a second, and then her eyes widen and spark in delight. She looks… impressed, at least. which isn’t to say she’s never seemed impressed by him before. It just makes all the things he’s been working for a little more worth it. “Wow,” she says. “You really weren’t kidding about being in a band, huh.”

“You know it,” he says with what he prays is a casual shrug; this… wasn’t part of the script. “I don’t wear this thing on my back just to look pretty.”

She stifles a laugh, then claps a hand to her mouth immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t—I wasn’t implying that you’re not handsome—pretty— “

Oh God. She’s stammering. And it’s adorable.

Marinette composes herself with a deep breath and her arms folded over her chest. “There are pushpins in the corner,” she says. “Hang it up wherever you want.”

Except Luka can’t help feeling like she’s got her eyes on him the whole time. Either she’s coming to terms with the fact that he was telling the truth all along, or she’s… judging him. Or the flyer. And honestly, he can’t tell which is worse. “What’s wrong?” he asks once he notices she’s still staring. “Did I put it up at a funny angle or something?”

“No, just… thinking…” Her voice sounds distant, perhaps somewhere he might never find her. But then she snaps her fingers, and she says, “That’s it!”

“Uh.” Luka’s brow furrows. “What’s it?”

“Oh, just… sorry, my thoughts just ran away with me, I guess.” Marinette steps toward the flyer, brushing her fingers over it and wincing. maybe it’s just from the finish; his nails have scraped over then more than once, and it felt just as bad as a chalkboard. “I was just thinking, well…  you’ve been good to my parents and all. Why don’t we help you with promotion? You know, put postcards in the boxes or bags. It couldn’t hurt, could it?”

Luka nearly spotters, but the only thing he can manage to say is, “Where am I gonna get postcards?”

“I can make ‘em.” She says it like the simplest, most obvious thing in the world, and looks him up and down when he falters. “If… you and your band are okay with that, I mean. Cause I, y’know… dabble, in graphic design. But I don’t want to impose, if you’re okay with this. It’s your band and all.”

“I can,” he starts to say; then he stops himself, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “I can ask them?” Idiot, he thinks. That wasn’t supposed to be a question. “I’ll let you know what they say. Have to come in bright and early tomorrow anyway, right?”

Marinette only smiles. It’s faint, almost absentminded, but that sweet little tug at the corner of her mouth is hardly lost on him. “You don’t have to.”

“Ask them?”’

“Come by.” Her bag is hanging on a peg by the register, and she’s off rummaging through it before Luka can ask what she means. He gravitates toward her more than he actually walks to her, and by the time he reaches the counter she’s fishing a card out of her wallet. It’s pink and black, decorated with the same spray of flowers and monogram as her apron. when he turns it over, there’s her name at the top, and below that, two email addresses. And two phone numbers.

He looks up, wide-eyed.

“So,” Marinette says. “Unless you’re coming all this way for a napoleon, a pear tart, and my pretty face, I think you’re good.”

“I—” Luka turns the business card over and over as though it will teach him now to speak again. “I guess so.” Does she know he thinks her face is pretty? Wait—of course she does, he gave her that note. Oh, Jesus, does she still have that thing? It’s been weeks. “Well,” he says, scuffing his heel against the tile. “Who knows. Maybe I’ll come anyway.”

Okay, that was definitely not part of the script.

But then, neither is the way her eyes are sparkling. “Well,” she murmurs. “Maybe you will.”

“I should, uh—” He jerks a thumb toward the door. “Go, um. Happy closing?”

She laughs behind a hand, glancing between him and the tacked-up flyer before she grabs a broom and sends him off with a delicate wave. And to be honest, Luka’s never been angry with nature before, but he curses the wind for being so loud that he can’t hear that giggle in his head, over and over. Almost as much as he thanks it for drowning out all the stupid things he said, and the lingering questions of why she offered at all.

Luka’s Word to the Wise, Part 2:

Progress isn’t linear but it sure as hell doesn’t mean you can’t stutter your way through getting a girl’s number and succeed.

[miraculous-rewrite]

Miraculous Rewrite- Party Crasher

AKA You wanted a Boys Night episode Zag?

So we start with the classroom, Mme Dubois is briefing everyone on the project they’re about to be undertaking. Because this is their first year of Lycee, these kids need to consider where they’re going to be going with life in the next few years. The class is being divvied up into four groups, all of which will be assigned a fellow student whom is in Terminale and is in the middle of those last ‘what do i do’ jitters, some applying for University, others for the job market. And they’re going to write individual papers informed by their partners. A sort of semi-group project.

Adrien, Nino, Kim, Max, and Ivan are assigned Luka.

Marinette, Chloe, Lila, Mylene, and Alix are assigned a girl with long dark hair in similar pigtails to Marinette’s. She’s named Bridget.

Alya, Rose, Marc, Ali, and Mirielle, are assigned that blonde we saw back in Oni-Chan, Felix is his name.

And Juleka, Sabrina, Amber, Nathaniel, and Aurore, are assigned to a girl with long blonde hair in a single braid, her name is Melody. 

There’s a strange combination of cheers and groans as the teams are announced. Marinette and Chloe in particular appear rather upset at a certain person in their group, but nonetheless, kids begin to pick up their backpacks and shimmy to be next to each other. 

Nino lets out a whoop of triumph as he slides into the seat Marinette had so recently vacated, throwing his arm around Adrein’s shoulders. “Boys Night!” He chirps. “Hope your old man is ready for some Shenanigans!”

“Shenanigans!” Kim echoes excitedly. “I hear you got a DDR machine in your own ROOM man, we gotta go head to head.”

“Kim, your record with dance based arcade games is truly abysmal, at this point you have less than a 10% chance at beating anyone in this room at such challenges.” Max notes as he slides into his own seat. But just as Ivan has shuffled in, Luka approaches the group of them.

“Well it won’t be all fun and games, young Lycee students whom I’ve never met before and have no relationships with, music based or otherwise.”

A beat of silence, before they all burst into hushed laughter. 

We pan down to the front of the room, where Marinette and Chloe sit beside each other, in tired solidarity. Lila has already started with a story to a politely interested Bridget. 

“So I looked over at the prime minister, and I said ‘do you really want to take the north back or do you just want the English to suffer?’ And i dunno, maybe he just thought about it a little harder with the opinions of the youth in mind, but within a week he’d called off the irish military!”

Bridget looks a bit shocked, but more in a ‘I cannot believe someone like this is standing right here before me’ rather than anything that would imply she believed her. 

Chloe glanced up at the boys behind them. “Lucky punks….”

“At least SOMEONE’S gonna have it easy today…. Hey! Maybe when classes are over we can reconvene at my place to get this whole thing started!”

Chloe raises a brow at Marinette, but she winks at her. Chloe nods after a beat. But we’ll have a girl squad episode later, that’s not what this episode is about.

So before too long we clip to the boys making their way out of Lycee, Vladimir of course had to come pick Adrien up, but with the lot of boys behind him, he’s simply leading the band of them through the streets. 

The boys are chatting about anything and everything, at some point Kim puts an arm around Luka’s shoulders and asks him how things are going with Marinette. He smiles, not overly friendly, and reminds Luka that, after all, he’s known Marinette the longest out of any of them. 

“.....You never got to give anyone a shovel talk did you?”

“I’ve ALWAYS wanted to give a shovel talk! But Tam isn’t interested in dating yet!”

“Isn’t your sister also only JUST starting college?” 

“Yeah! So you see my issue! Just remember I’m a lot stronger than you and could probably win in a fight and we’re good!”

“...Keep working on it Kim. You’ll have something figured out by the time Tam brings someone home.”

Before they can actually enter the mansion’s grounds, the group is stopped by the arrival of one Wayhem, Adrien’s self-named biggest fan. He’s curious to learn about what the big ol’ party that’s about to unfold is, but Adrien is quick to explain this isn’t a party, just a school assignment, waving his hands to dismiss the thought. 

Wayhem’s gaze shifts to Luka’s guitar on the teen’s back, then to Adrien, eyebrow raised. 

“Believe me Dude.” Nino chimes in, patting Wayhem’s shoulder. “If there was a party going on, I woulda invited my girlfriend. I can’t organize for shit on my own. Actually Marinette would be here too because those two are the real Dream Team for party planning.” Nino glances at the camera and nods slightly.

Wayhem nods, but he looks a bit odd as the boys all begin to shuffle in. That kinda look when you know you’re being lied to, despite him not being lied to at all. But Adrien quickly buzzes them in, explaining the school project and that they’ll be as unobtrusive as they can get. Nathalie sounds tired when she buzzes them in. 

 “Nathalie’s been a bit off lately, so let’s try not to be toooo obnoxious.” Adrien offers to the boys before opening the doors. “No DDR match today, Kim.”

“Boo…”

Hard cut to Nathalie, sitting at her desk and nursing a headache, when a phone call comes in. 

“Gabriel I swear…” 

“I feel strong negative emotions. Maybe I shouldn’t be going on this trip. I’ve never had any issues doing video conferences before, surely I ca-” 

“No.” Firm, direct, and the camera pans to show Nathalie fiddling with the Peacock Miraculous almost absent-mindedly. “You need to make a physical appearance every now and again. Tell me who it is, and I’ll send a fan spoke to them instead.” 

“Bu-” 

“No. Buts.” She groans, downing another aspirin. “You left the house to go to your own fashion show, you can leave the house to go for a business conference.” She adds, a bit softer. “Just one step at a time Gabriel. Just because you’re moving forward doesn’t mean we’re leaving her behind.”

Only then does Gabriel acquiesce. 

“Be careful. Don’t overexert yourself just to keep a Sentimonster around.”

“You might be married to my older sister, but for the love of god, stop brother-ing me.”

She hangs up before he can get in another word, and for a brief moment she really does act like a younger sister, mouthing the words he just spoke in a mocking way, before groaning, pushing to her feet and heading for the lair. 

So as Nathalie transforms, we pan back up to the boys. Kim of course is messing around on Adrien’s rock wall, bc why wouldn’t he be? The rest just doing their own ‘post school cooldowns’ Nino and Adrien playing on one of his arcade booths, Ivan watching TV, it’s flicked over to a news channel. And Luka sitting on the window seat, tuning his guitar. Max is the only one who's already getting started on work. 

“I cannot believe every single one of you. Why am I the only one here whom is getting started on the project?”

“Hey Adrien, this place is a mansion, yeah? Got a swimming pool or something?” 

“Hey better watch your 20 dude, or else I’m gonna- HEY!” 

“Nice try, bro.” 

“Hey Luka, is your mom gonna do anything about those new boating laws they’re yacking about?”

“Knowing mom, the answer will be ‘ignore it until the police are banging down our doors’. Hey, I’ve been experimenting with a chord progression, what do you think-”

“Excuse me!” Max tries again.

“Oh dude, that sounds awesome, let me go over to the piano, it won’t sound the same as the keybo- NINO WHAT THE HELL?” 

“YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE!”

“Hey are you guys gonna go full band mode?! Nice! Can I make a request?” Kim drops from his place upside down, falling onto the couch beside Ivan. “Do you guys know Wonderwall?”

Ivan gives Kim a look, Kim smiles cheekily. Ivan pulls the blanket Kim was standing on out from under him, making him fall to the ground.

Max’s eye twitches for a small moment, before he opens his bag. Markov pops out, the ball that is the robot’s body tilting, and Max just mutters a “number 4 please.” 

A high pitched alarm-like sound belts out from the robot, and all the boys clutch their ears for a second, before the sound stops. 

“We didn’t all just get together to hang out, we’re here for a school project. For a GRADE! Can we at least do like… ten minutes? Of work? Before we goof off for a bit?”

Just as the boys all glance at each other slightly guiltily, the glass of Adrien’s windows shatters all at once with a huge din.

Luka quickly covers himself, but is also sent to the ground in the vibration, barely able to land on his feet as to not cut himself the hell up on the glass.

“Are you kidding me?” Max wonders out loud. 

“Welp! An Akuma doesn’t want us to study, so I guess we shouldn’t study!” Kim responds, needlessly chipper as he helps Luka get out of the danger zone of falling onto glass. Luka shouts ‘What?’ a few times, clearly his ears are fucked.

Adrien heads over for the broken window, peering out carefully. “Not an akuma, definitely not, take a look guys.” The guys all gather around him, and the blonde points. 

There, right in front of the gates, is Wayhem, slumped over against it, a Spoke clearly sticking out of his shoulder, right where it meets his neck, clearly placed there by another. Behind him, and blocking the gates fully, is a ginormous boom box, the source of the soundwave that shattered the windows and Luka’s eardrums. 

“Just a sentimonster this time?” Nino muses, and the group shrugs. “Well, either way, we need to hide further inside. None of us are gonna be able to escape, with him right there.” 

No one needs to be told twice, and as the main group heads back into the rest of the mansion, Adrien suggests hiding in different areas. Just because most people that make sentimonsters stay knocked out, that doesn’t mean this won’t turn out to be different, And Wayhem probably didn’t jab that spoke into his OWN shoulder, so it’s possible their mysterious blue enemy may be out and about.

So he quickly directs everyone to different places in the bowels of the mansion. Ivan to the secret kinda creepy basement hidden behind the bookcase, Max to his father’s office, granted his father’s out of town, and he’s the only one he’ll trust not to touch anything. Kim is directed toward the home gym, Kim’s eyes lighting up. And finally Luka is sent in the direction of his mother’s old studio, told under no uncertain terms (Shouted really, granted Luka’s ears are still ringing) not to touch anything in there either. 

Adrien and Nino share a glance as the boys break up in their respective directions, and nod at each other. 

They race for the front door, transforming just before the doors get kicked open. 

Another wave of sound knocks both of them off of their feet. The doors nearly ripped off their hinges from the onslaught of sound.

“I really hope Nathalie already went home.”

“WHAT?!”

Chat huffs and his fake ears wiggle a bit as he rests his head on the ground. “Great.”

He huffs for a moment before opening his communicator “Hey Master, if you get this I have a few concerns over the coming threats I’d like to speak with you about. Chat Noir out. Carapace, CARAPACE! PLEASE! TEXT! LADYBUG!”

“OKAY, NO NEED TO SHOUT DUDE.” Another soundwave sends the two falling further back. “WHAT SHOULD I SAY?”

“WE JUST NEED A MIRACULOUS CURE, I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG MY CAT EARS WILL PROTECT ME AND I DON’T WANT TO END UP DEAF AT THE END OF THIS.”

“YEAH OKAY.” 

So Chat Noir and Carapace try to fight on their own, without an Akuma there’s not as much of an urgent need for backup, since all they need to do is get to Wayhem and cast Black Cat Plague. But each time they’re getting close enough, of course, a soundwave knocks them flat against the mansion yet again. 

“This is bull, me and Ladybug have handled Akumas for SO long, and I can’t win against a MONSTER without her?”

Just when Chat’s ready to get the rest of the squad here now and now because maybe tackling this thing from another angle would work better, when a sudden burst of a soundwave from INSIDE the mansion bounces against the sentimonster’s soundwave, leaving the air ringing, but otherwise the heroes are unharmed. The two look up and, sure enough, from inside Adrien’s room is Luka, guitar plugged into an amp, and he’s standing on the windowsill carefully. 

We zoom up to him, and Max is sitting at Adrien’s desk, Markov plugged into the computer, showing the power from the mansion has been rerouted to the amp Luka’s guitar is plugged into. 

Just as the sentimonster is about to send off another soundwave, Max lets loose a cry of “AGAIN LUKA!” at the top of his lungs, and Luka, barely hearing the words, but understanding the passion of them, swings his hand and guitar pick down, setting off the chord he’d been displaying earlier to Ivan, and countering the blow of the monster. 

“Doo doo doo, doo doo DOO!” This time, the heroes look over to the wall/fence of the Agreste Manor, where Kim is doing a balancing act towards the front gates. Each time a battle of the soundwaves occurs, he drops down and clings to the wall like a spider-monkey. After a few rounds, he finally reaches the gates. “SURPRISE BITCH!” 

Wayhem’s body is dropped upon by Kim’s falling form, but it’s enough to dislodge the fan spoke from the teen’s shoulder/neck area, and the sentimonster fades away, giving Chat Noir and Carapace a chance to rush forward to the gate. 

He thrust his hand into the air, the spoke in his hand triumphantly. “I GOT IT!”

“Great Job you guys!” Chat approaches. “But also-” He swats Kim Upside the head as he takes the fan spoke from him. “Don’t be that reckless! You could have been pulverized by those soundwaves! Or fallen and broken your neck! You don’t have a Miraculous! You don’t have any magic protecting you!” 

“WHAT?” Kim goes for a moment before chuckling, and digging a thing of wax from inside his ears. “Hope Adrien’s old man doesn’t notice we had to demolish some of his candles… Seriously though, what did you say?”

Chat does not look pleased as he casts Black Cat Plague, the fan spoke crumbling in his grasp. “Look, Kim, I know Akumas attack so frequently can make anyone feel… invincible… But you guys gotta take better care of yourselves.” Chat puts a hand on his shoulder. “Just because Ladybug can heal people doesn’t mean we can afford to be reckless all the time.”

Only now does Wayhem seem to be waking up, grumbling and looking around in confusion. “But all the same, I appreciate your help. Without the lot of you giving us that back sound Carapace and I wouldn’t have been able to have even come close...Now Ladybug isn’t the only one whose stopped a threat singlehanded!” Chat grins cheekily. “We’re finally even from the Puppeteer fiasco!”

Now Wayhem seems entirely conscious, and seems about to book it, but just before he can, Carapace grabs him by the collar of his shirt. “Hold on dude. Hero business, we need to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Wait, b-but I didn’t do anything!”

“WHAT?”

“Wayhem, isn’t it?” Chat Strides forward. “An Adrien Agreste fanboy, right? Look, we’re not mad or anything, but this is the first time any of us have seen a Monster without an Akuma around to create it, so you’re gonna need to help us out here.

“Did you see the person who attacked you before you passed out? Could you describe them?”

We cut then back to the Chloe and Marinette group.  They’re all camped out in Marinette’s room, Lila making an offhand comment about how Lucky she is to have a whole loft to herself. When she was staying in South Africa with her mom their apartment was so dinky her room was practically a closet. This is, surprisingly, an honest statement, for ONCE, as she takes her phone out to show off a picture of her from that time, the bed pressed up against one wall, barely enough room for a dresser doubling as a nightstand beside it. “Had to do my homework in the kitchen, and my mom likes to… hover.”

“It must have been a lot of trouble to keep your grades up.” Alix notes, to which Lila chuckles nervously.

“Well it’s nothing I wasn't used to. She had me homeschooled for most of last year due to the Akumas. The Ladyblog really started to freak her out.” Lila laughs. “Is there such a thing as being TOO good at your job because I think Cesaire might just be that!”

Marinette is chilling at her desk, messing with her sketchbook, and Chloe sitting atop of her desk on her phone.

“Oh shit-”

“What happened?”

“I think we missed a whole ass Monster attack.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “What?!”

“Not an Akuma I don’t think, but check it out.” Chloe holds out her phone for everyone, sure enough there’s a Ladyblog report submitted by a different Admin. (named ‘Shellfan82 for eagle eyed viewers)  “Giant Boombox, right outside Adrikins’ house. Chat Noir and Carapace took care of it.”

“Wow! Cesaire is quick on the uptake! If she ever found out Ladybug’s identity I’m sure a post would be up within the hour!” Lila chuckles nervously. She’s speaking in hyperbole, but by the way Mylene and Alix cringe she smirks a little.

Chloe and Marinette share a look. “Well! I think since our lovely mentor Bridget is through with us, I should be heading home. I have a paper to write.” Chloe stretches her arms. “We should all probably stop impeding on Marinette’s hospitality.”

Marinette gives a few plaintive protests, but she nods gratefully at Chloe as she escorts the lot of them out.

Sure enough Ladybug transforms with a text and a voice message waiting. “Monster @ Agreste castle, me n adrien can handle it but im hella deaf now, miraculous cure plz”

“Hey Ladybug, it’s Chat. Totally just stopped a Monster with just Carapace and some non magical friends, you’re welcome for the day off. But we should probably talk shop, I’m gonna head over to Master Fu’s, meet me there? Doesn’t need to be everyone if they’re all doing stuff.”

So there they came to be, Marinette entering the shop, to be greeted by Adrien and Fu, Plagg and Fidde already chowing down on cheesy bread and chocolate chip bread respectively. Tikki and Callid happily race out and join their friends.

“Not often you do your own investigations, Adrien.” Marinette hums and sits down beside him. “Normally it’s me and Alya coming in hot with Hawkmoth ideas.”

“Well what can i say, a sentimonster without an akuma was worth a little interrogating.” Adrien shrugs. “You’re not the only active character in the superhero anime that is our lives.

“Adrien has shared some very interesting information today Marinette. At the very least, we can eliminate one potential for Hawkmoth’s ally.”

“I mean, it’s still pretty likely that My dad has SOME connection to all of this, I’m not saying that.” Adrien starts. “But he’s not Le Paon. Wayhem, that fanboy guy? He got Monstered, and he said he'd been approached by a woman in blue. And she was clearly a woman. She’d smiled and told him she understood the pain of being excluded, and then she’d attacked him.”

 “Okay, so that’s one out of a whole lot of other people in Paris, Why are we here as a meeting?”

“Well, if it was just me and Carapace we wouldn’t have been able to get in, my fake ears protected me a little bit, but Nino’s ears went out, like,  immediately…. I’m prepared to be completely laughed out of this massage shop for this, but Max, Kim, and Luka have all proven themselves more than once to be good people who are willing and happy to help.”

“Where are you going with this, Adrien.”

“Maybe they should be allowed to hang on to their Miraculous’. Not like, as full Order members like Nino and the others, but like…” Adrien gestures vaguely. “Like we were when we started out!”

“Like how we started out?” Marinette asks her question at the same time he finishes his statement, and they both share an awkward laugh, both of them turning to look at Fu. 

Fu of course looks pensive. He holds his hands in front of him on the table. Gaze on the four Kwamis sitting on the table before him.

“I’m not sure if this is the wisest choice.” He settles on after a moment of deliberation. “The more Miraculous that are out, the more dangerous the potential can be. Should any user become corrupted by an Akuma while they are transformed, it could easily turn into a villain of terrible power. Allowing the number of Miraculous’ out that I already have has been a gamble. A great Gamble.” he looks up to Adrien and Marinette. “You both know the risk factors better than anyone. Would you truly trust these three with such a power? Even if, say, they remain with their miraculous but under strict orders not to transform unless called upon, that’s still more power in the world than the world may be able to handle.”

“If they fail the two of you will be held responsible. Do you understand?”

The two that started it all share a look, before nodding at each other. 

“The threat is growing, Master Fu. It’s clear that Le Paon can and will act on her own, without Hawkmoth’s say-so.”

“And her creations require entirely different strategies to Hawk Moth’s. If we assume Le Paon is the same woman that was Monarcha for a time, it’s clear that she’s incredibly dangerous.” 

“Luka is a good man.” Marinette finishes. “He’s a gentle person, and he always wants to help people.”

“Max is logical, but idealistic, he always believes the good in people, because it’s not statistically likely for them to be cruel. He’s a fast thinker, and he’d be an asset to any team.” Adrien chimes in.

“And I’ve known Kim for longer than I can remember. He’s always been the kind of person to put others first, whether you notice over all the posturing, he’s always first to lend a hand.” 

Fu holds their gaze for a prolonged moment, but before we can see his response, we cut to night time, Chat and Ladybug sitting on the Eiffel tower, like they once did so many times before.

“So Kim’s ‘Always the kind of person to put others first’ but Luka only got ‘he’s a gentle person’? Should I tell him to be concerned?” Chat  nudges Ladybug’s shoulder, and she laughs. 

“Disgusting, he’s like my brother, we’ve known eachother WAY too long for that shit. That’s like if someone asked you if you thought Chloe was hot.”

Adrien cringes “Point.” 

“Okay, so… do we go together, or can you only spare the time for one before the next schedule blip?”

“Nah I’m good. Dad’s in Los Angeles by now, and Nathalie gave me the night off.” 

“Okay sweet, who should we go to first?”

“I think Max lives closest.”

And thus, the Order grows by three more half-members. 

[galahadwilder]

A Thief, Redux

Chapter 2: Dramatics

A sequel to A Thief, a Thief. Chapter 2 sponsored by @becauseforoncethisisme.

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KleptoMariac Archive

AO3

Warning: as always when I write Gabriel in non-crack fics, this chapter features emotional abuse. It also references self-harm, but none actually occurs.

*

It turns out that it’s much harder to say anything to Marinette’s parents than Lila expected. Because, for some bizarre reason, Marinette actually respects her parents. And not the way Adrien does—out of fear—but in a way that implies that, somehow, they actually earned it.

Which means half the messages she’d normally send would get her caught immediately. She may be able to fake that kind of relationship with her own mother, but Martina Rossi has never really paid attention to her. As far as she can tell, Marinette's parents do. Which means they'll notice if she messes this up even slightly.

She sighs, sending off a few messages to Rose, Alix, and Ivan while she tries to figure out what to say to Tom and Sabine. One to Myléne, one to Sabrina. Teenagers are easier to manipulate than adults—they're all convinced people secretly hate them. She's just proving them right. Their worst fears about Marinette come to light.

Then, inspiration strikes. What's a parent's worst fear about their child?

Losing them.

She scrolls back through the contacts, skipping over "Princess"—actually, hang on. What is that about? Does Marinette have a secret girlfriend? That would be interesting. Nothing she knows what to do with yet, though. Stick to the plan, go through with the idea before she loses it.

She taps on "Father," then "New Message."

Adrien: Papa? I don't think it's safe for me to stay at school anymore

Adrien: Everything's... too much. Too much pressure. Everyone's turning on me

Adrien: Papa

Adrien: I keep thinking about hurting myself

There's no response, which is a bit of a surprise. Maybe M. Dupain is busy at the bakery? Usually she would expect Marinette's family to be right on top of something like that.

Oh well. Lila shrugs with a grin, checking the time on the phone. The meet still has another twenty minutes to go—that's plenty of time.

She opens a text to Max.

*

"You have Nathalie's number?" Alya says as Adrien removes his helmet, steps forward, shakes his opponent's hand.

Marinette nods without looking up from her phone, not even at Adrien—she's on a mission now, and there's a fire behind her eyes that screams I am the Class President for a reason. Get out of my way. "How do you think we organized the seats at the fashion show?" she says.

"You mean the one where we pissed off Chloé's mom?" Alya says. She shudders at the sudden remembrance of every part of her body catching fire as she turned to glitter, and immediately shoves that down.

Marinette snorts. "Not like that's hard," she says, jamming her thumb down on her screen. "Okay, she knows. She's going to be shutting down the number shortly."

"Great! Glad that's... settled." Alya looks down at her hands, her fingers twiddling, and for a moment she can taste the metal of the bleachers just beyond them, the coppery taste settling right behind her teeth where they meet her gums. "Um," she says. "Something else that imposter said."

Marinette looks up from her phone. "Alya?"

”You—you’re stealing things again,” Alya says. She can't quite meet Marinette's eyes. “And you said you haven’t been sleeping.”

Marinette looks at her, swallows. Bites her lip, slowly lowers her phone to the bleachers. "Yeah."

”This isn’t just about Adrien,” Alya says. “How—” Her throat slams shut around her words; she knows she's at fault here, she knows she's been in denial about how much stress Marinette is under. But... but apologizing would mean admitting exactly how bad of a friend she's been lately and while she needs to, knowing it and saying it are two very different things. She can’t quite manage it. “I keep dumping babysitting on you,” she whispers instead. “How long as it been since you had a break?” Come to think of it... “I haven’t seen your design book in weeks.”

Marinette closes her eyes. “It’s—it’s okay, Alya,” she says, with an utter lack of conviction.

Alya’s heart drops, and her stomach begins to crawl, burning, up into her lungs. How much has she been hurting Marinette?

It doesn’t matter. Any amount is too much for their Everyday Ladybug, and she doesn’t even have to consider her decision before she flings herself bodily at her friend. “You don’t have to babysit every time I ask you to,” Alya says, hugging Marinette’s head to her chest. “You’re allowed to say no.”

Marinette stiffens, then relaxes into her grip. ”Don’t wanna disappoint people,” She whispers.

Alya grimaces. “You can’t serve from an empty cup, Marimuffin,” she says, rubbing her knuckles into Marinette’s scalp. “You have to take care of you first.”

“People don’t always listen.” Marinette looks up at her, eyes wet. “You don’t always listen.”

Alya’s eyes widen, and she swallows. “I—oh,” she says. “I... I didn’t realize.” She closes her eyes, breathes in through her nose. “I’ll... be more careful, about that,” she says. “In the future. And... I’ll make sure everyone else respects your boundaries too.”

Marinette just nods.

*

Lila is starting to get antsy. There's only a few minutes left in the fencing meet, and Marinette's father still hasn't messaged her back. The longer she has the phone, the more likely she is to get caught—but if she doesn't hold onto it, if she's not there when the message is returned, she's not going to be able to seal the deal, to properly hurt Dupain-Cheng through her family.

"Come on, come on," she whispers, willing the phone to sound. Pick up the damn phone, you useless excuse for a baker.

It dings, vibrating in her hand, and her heart leaps in her chest. "Yes!"  she hisses under her breath.  

Father: Stop the dramatics. This is not how you were raised to act.

Lila's eyes widen as a chill shatters through her veins. This—this doesn't sound like Marinette's father. This is not how she expected him to act. Is she—Marinette's parents are so perfect in public. Marinette seems to love them so much. Did Lila misread them all? How?

Is that why she can't seem to beat Marinette? Because the girl is impossible to read?

She falls forward, leans onto the next locker. This is not how she expected this to go, but... but. She looks back at the phone, and a grin widens onto her face. It's still working.

Father: I told you that public school would be too much for you, but you insisted. I have half a mind to leave you there to sort out your own problems.

Father: Honestly, sometimes you are as bad as your mother.

Lila's eyebrow raises as she turns her back to the locker, trying to stifle a cackle with her mouth. As bad as your mother? Something must be truly rotten in the Dupain-Cheng household. 

Father: If this is how you react to public school, then I will be pulling you out immediately. I'm glad you finally agree with me about your friends. They will no longer be allowed in contact with you.

Father: You will, of course, be giving up your phone. Clearly your time spent on the internet is doing damage to your mental health.

Lila presses a hand to her mouth to muffle a shriek of delight. This—she could not have imagined things going this well!

She glances toward the gym. Oh, she's won. "Hope you're enjoying your last ever gasp of freedom, Dupain-Cheng," she sneers.

*

The fencing meet is declared over, and both teams start packing up the equipment. It's easy to pick out Kagami, even though she's begun wearing white—every move she makes is impatient, swift. Adrien, on the other hand, is slow, deliberate. He doesn't seem to want to finish.

Alya snatches Marinette's hand and leaps to her feet, yanking the other girl up with her. She yelps, catches her foot on one of the bleachers, and stumbles; Alya is barely able to catch her in time.

The twelve other people in the stands, Adrien, Milo, Jean, Kagami, and Heloise all look up at the noise. Alya can see concern on Adrien and Kagami's faces, so she gives them a nervous thumbs-up. Marinette whines, hiding her face behind Alya's shoulder.

Satisfied, everyone turns back to what they were doing—except Adrien, who's still watching them.

"Okay, girl," Alya says, placing a steadying hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I need to go talk to Adrien to tell him what's going on." She breathes in, closes her eyes. Don't pressure her, she reminds herself. Breathes out. "Are you good to come with, or do you need to stay behind?"

Marinette blinks up at her owlishly. "Um," she says, her cheeks pinking the tiniest amount. "I... think I'll come with?"

Alya's eyes narrow at the reticence in Mari's voice, but she nods. "Okay," she says. "I can do the talking?"

Marinette nods a silent yes please, her mouth tight, her eyes wide with distress. Little signs that Alya has been missing—has her Adrien-anxiety been getting worse? And Alya didn't notice this whole time?

Alya wants to punch herself in the gut. This is not how a friend should act.

She climbs down the bleachers—over the seats themselves, because who even uses the aisles aside from Marinette (because of her coordination issues)—stepping on each seat like stones of a river, dragging Marinette behind her. Adrien watches them come.

They thread their way between fencers, coaches, and referees, making their way across the gym floor toward Adrien.

"Hey guys," he says as the get close. He looks at Mari. "You... shouted my name earlier?"

Alya opens her mouth to speak, but the Marinette voca-motive steamrolls her first.

"Someonestoleyourphone!" Marinette gasps.

Adrien's eyebrows narrow. "Was... that someone... you?" he says, confused.

Marinette squeaks, hunching her shoulders and trying to hide behind Alya.

Okay, time to take over. "Well, yes and no," Alya says, hugging Marinette's shoulder. "It looks like someone broke into Mari's locker."

Adrien's eyes soften. "Oh," he says, looking at Marinette, and wow, Alya can see the shoujo bubbles in his eyes. How does this boy not know he's—no. Nope. Not pushing this.

"Whoever it is," Alya says, "they think the phone is Mari's." She hands Adrien her phone. "They're sending really nasty things to everyone, pretending to be her."

Adrien takes the phone, scrolls through it, and starts growling. He looks up, meets Mari's eyes. "Ten euros it's her."

Marinette's eyes flick down. "No bet," she mumbles.

Alya looks between them. "Her? Who are we talking about?"

Adrien and Marinette meet wide eyes, lips pursed. Marinette swallows.

Alya's eyebrows narrow. What are they—

"I was wondering why you stole from her,” Adrien says. “You didn’t, did you?”

Marinette shakes her head, sucking her lip. “She was trying to frame me,” she says.

Adrien nods, holds up the phone. "You left her off the group chat."

”Guys?” Alya asks. “What’s going on?”

Adrien sighs, rolling his shoulder. “I think it’s time we talked to you about Lila,” he says.

*

Normally, Gabriel would prefer to avoid Akumatizing his son. It’s a pragmatic thing for when he reveals his identity as Hawkmoth—any Akuma that goes after Adrien, Gabriel can claim is an accident, that they somehow got out of control or he didn’t know the target. But sending a butterfly to infect his son directly isn’t something that can be so easily explained away, and might ruin any inclination Adrien might have to help him, Emelie or not.

And yet, right now, Adrien is devastated. He’s always been so adamant about remaining in school, even down to breaking what few rules Gabriel imposes—if he wants to pull out, something terrible must have happened. Something that gives Gabriel an opportunity.

"Dark Wings Rise!" he cries, and in moments, he is once again purple-clad, searching out his son's familiar emotions. He finds him, exactly where he expects: the fencing meet.

Except... his emotions aren't at all what Hawkmoth expected of him. He should be spiraling right now—Adrien's emotions have always been dramatic, and he's always been too weak to control them, despite Gabriel's best efforts to teach him otherwise. No matter how firm Gabriel is with him to act his age, the boy always seems to break down whenever Gabriel speaks to him. And yet that's not how Adrien seems to be feeling right now. He seems... determined?

Hawkmoth is stunned. There's nothing for an Akuma to latch onto. He's not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. He's a little proud, though. And also kind of confused. Is he missing something?

He jumps as his cane buzzes. "Hello?" he says, flipping it open.

"Sir?" Nathalie says.

"What is it?" Hawkmoth snaps. "I'm very busy."

"I've just received disturbing news about Lila Rossi," Nathalie says. And as she explains what his—he's increasingly realizing, inept—spy has done, Gabriel feels his rage begin to grow.

KleptoMariac Archive

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[hopes4gf]

Wings of Fire (A MHA Fanfic): The Charge

After my date with Katsuki, we meet several times afterwards in the classroom at lunch. To joke, to kiss, to cuddle, to listen to music, we pretty much do everything now. Until, the internships start.

"Kid, you good?" Hawks asks as I space out while we walk down the streets.

"Yeah, just thinking. I'm kinda nervous if you ask me. I've never seen a hero have so many fans besides All Might," I admit.

"Me too. I've never had someone takes so many pictures of me, it's odd," Tokoyami, my interning partner says shyly.

"Aw come on, you two were so confident fighting each other at the sports festival, I wanna see that fire in you again. In Aki's case, more literally," Hawks says.

I roll my eyes at his reference to my quirk.

"I know a good place we can stop by to make you loosen up," Hawks says.

Hawks flies ahead of us, heading towards our destination. Me and Tokoyami share a glance and follow him.

We end up on the rooftop of a restaurant blasting bachata.

"Of course you'd pick a latin restaurant," I say, rolling my eyes.

"What? Did you forget that you're Puerto Rican too?" Hawks suggests.

"You're Puerto Rican too?" I ask.

"Duh, you think your father would tolerate my ass if I didn't speak Spanish? Quien tu crees que soy? (who do you think i am?)" He says cooly.

"Whatever, bird brain," I say rolling my eyes.

"I've never had latin food before," Tokoyami says.

Me and Hawk's eyes widen.

"I know exactly what to get then," Hawks says with a soft smile.

"Arroz con pollo and tostones? (chicken and rice with tostones?)" I ask.

"With a couple pasteles," Hawks says.

"Mmm, sounds like Christmas," I say.

"I haven't had a Puerto Rican Christmas dinner in years. I usually get KFC," Hawks says.

"Of course you do, chicken is your favorite food," I scoff.

"Looks like you're learning a bit more about me. Makes sense since you're my assistant intern- mesera! (waitress!) " Hawks says, before calling our waitress.

The three of us chat about our culture, detailing it to Tokoyami.

"Anyways, the first day of training starts after this dinner. We have a modeling gig at 5 and an interview at 6:30," Hawks says.

"Modeling?" Me and Tokoyami ask.

"I'm a model, you chickens. Hero work isn't my only job, and with looks like mine, breaking your face open is something I'd like for you both to avoid. You both are hot shit for first years," Hawks explains.

Me and Tokoyami both blush as he compliments us.

"What are we modeling exactly?" I ask.

"It's gonna be a major magazine issue shoot. You two are both hot shot quirk users, so we're gonna be everywhere," Hawks says.

"But we're interns," Tokoyami says.

"Yeah, but you're my interns. And the world is thirsty for a scoop on my hot agency since I'm quite selective with who I choose," Hawks adds.

I raise and brow and chuckle to myself.

"I'm just your sister's sibling, what makes me so special?" I ask.

"You're Endeavor's daughter, you're powerful, you're rich, your name is well-known because of the sports festival, you have two quirks, and you're hot," Hawks details.

"I don't think you should be calling your girlfriend's sister hot," I chuckle.

"I'm being honest," Hawks says.

"What about me?" Tokoyami asks.

"On the other hand, you are more mysterious and agile, private and closed off. You only open up on the battlefield. Mystery is a powerful to reel in people. You have unlimited power on top of your quirk that way. And you're also hot," Hawks says.

"It makes sense. It's a balance between two people, one who is more known in one certain way, and the other known who is less known but known in another way," Tokoyami says.

"Exactly. My job is to show you how to open up not only to how much power you possess by having one side of the story but how to open up to your quirks. and how to manipulate them with what people know about you. To expect the unexpected," Hawks explains.

Before he can continue, a bunch of food is set in our table, it's delicious scents coating the air in gusto.

"Damn, that smells delicious," I say.

"You're both gonna eat all this food?" Tokoyami asks.

"We're latinos," We both say.

Me and Hawks both dig in to the food in front of us. We all eat a little of everything until more than half of it is gone.

"You sure didn't lie when you said it was good," Tokoyami says.

"I haven't been this full in ages," I say.

"What do they do at your house, make you starve?" Hawks asks.

"Honestly, I wish Fuyumi would cook more foods from our culture. I mean I would if she'd let me," I comment.

"Maybe when you invite your boyfriend over," Hawks suggests.

I put down my fork and blush softly. I grit my teeth and smack his arm. he winces, his wings curling behind him.

"Shut up about my boyfriend," I say.

"Oh? So he's your boyfriend now?" Hawks asks with wide eyes.

"You have a boyfriend at UA?" Tokoyami asks.

I immediately feel my face turn even hotter.

"Y-yes?" I say shyly.

"Damn, pop off then," Hawks says, taking a sip of his drink.

"I'm assuming it's Bakugo," Tokoyami thinks.

I turn to him with wide eyes.

"What? How the hell do you know?" I ask.

"You're always flirting with him in class through your little arguments," Tokoyami says.

My jaw drops to the floor and Hawks starts laughing.

"Y CUANDO ME IVAN DECIR TODO ESO?! (AND WHEN WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME ALL THIS?)" I shout in my mother tongue.

"Calmate (calm down), we were just joking. Besides, you're clearly a new couple so we won't be too much into your business. Well, while at work at least," Hawks says.

I slap his arm again at what he's suggesting and huff. For the relationship we have, it's still kinda odd that he's so protective of me.

Later, we head out and head towards Hawks agency. We are familiarly greeted by our co-workers as we walk through. We head towards one of the studio spaces and see people with a bunch of cameras and lighting, as well as a rack of clothing.

"You're late, bird boy," A familiar hero says.

In front of us stands the current number 6, Miruko, another hero that works closely with my father.

"I just flew in, Miruko. Cut me some slack, will you," Hawks says, striding towards the rabbit hero.

Miruko turns to see us and she recognizes me.

"Aki, right? Loved your performance at the Sports Festival, your dad must be proud," Miruko says.

"I wouldn't say he's too proud," I add.

"Oh please, I would be proud even after you survived that crazy explosion kid, baby carrot," Miruko says, patting my head.

"Who happens to be her boyfriend," Hawks blurts out.

I turn to Hawks with wide eyes, recalling what we just talked about.

"Want me to kick him for you?" Miruko asks.

"Please," I say through gritted teeth.

Miruko kicks him hardly with her famous legs in his side. Hawks grits his teeth to hide the pain.

"And who do we have here?" Miruko asks, noticing Tokoyami.

"This is Tokoyami, my partner and classmate," I say.

"Hello," Tokoyami says shyly.

"Thank god you're the opposite of what the other bird brain is. Don't worry about anything today, all you have to do is wear a suit and look hot for the camera," Miruko says.

"What do you mean by the opposite of-" Hawks starts.

Miruko kicks him again.

"Anyways, Aki can come with me since she has a lot more options to go through," Miruko says, taking my hand.

I follow her to a dressing room, where there is a rack full of different black gowns.

"Alright, I want you to go through all of these and see what you like, and then we'll go from there," Miruko says.

Immediately, my body gravitates towards the rack, I toss the distasteful designer dresses behind me. I pull three dresses.

"You like?" I ask, flaunting the three options.

"Damn, you know what you want, don't you? I like that," Miruko compliments.

I smile softly and Miruko leaves me alone to strip and try on the first dress. I walk out and Miruko smiles as she sees me.

"You look cute," Miruko says.

"I don't want to look cute. I wanna look older," I say sternly.

"Okay, I'm assuming the dress is a little too lose then," Miruko says.

"I'm trying to piss off my dad, since I already have by joining this damn agency. You know, just to stir the pot a little," I say with a smirk.

I walk back into the room and change into the second dress.

The dress is tight but not very flattering due to the way it flares out. I pop my head out of the door.

"This ones a no," I tell her.

"Damn, okay," Miruko says.

I go back in and change into the last dress.

www.amazon.com/Fair-Lady-Vintage-Mermaid-Wedding/dp/B017EN7DBE

I walk out of the room looking like a goddess.

"Damn, you look like a girl who just killed her own husband," Miruko says, admiring my figure.

"Alright, what's next?" I ask.

"Hair and makeup," Miruko says, leading me towards the department.

Miruko walks me over and sits me down in the chair. A team of people start to touch my face and hair, applying different kinds of product. I hum along to the music playing in the background that consists of a lot of 2000's RnB.

"So, baby carrot, how'd you get hooked up with Hawks?" Miruko asks.

"He's my sister's boyfriend," I say.

"Damn, he has a girlfriend already? He only broke up with me a month ago," Miruko says.

My eyes widen. This is Hawks' ex? And they're friends?

"Now, that's a shocker. Thanks for the info," I say with a smirk.

"You gonna blackmail him or something?" Miruko asks.

"Nah, just in case," I say.

"Well, if you need any help, I've got the details," Miruko adds.

I chuckle softly at her sudden interest in me blackmailing Hawks.

"He cares about you a lot already, I can tell," Miruko says.

"As an intern?" I ask.

"No, as someone he trusts. Frankly, your sister hasn't been spoken of much in this agency, all we've heard from the Todoroki's is about you and your father," Miruko says.

I raise a brow. Me?

"What are you implying?" I ask.

"This might be a stretch since you already have a boyfriend but, be careful around him. On the surface, he seems like a total womanizer who can snatch every woman in your family, but that's only because he has lots of secrets," Miruko says.

I smirk at the word "secrets" and she smiles.

"I can tell you're the type to uncover peoples secrets for yourself," Miruko says.

"It's an interest of mine since my family is so vague with their history," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Well guess what, he is too. But he's more on the protective side since he's a hero. He befriends you and then milks information out of you. You're not the type to do that, are you?" Miruko asks.

"No, I go with a practical approach. A slow burn if you will," I say.

"Fitting since you have flame quirk. personally, that's my favorite kind of manipulation. He's gonna be persistent with you when with you at work and when you're at home, trying to ask you about all these different things. What I'm saying is, he needs to calm his feathers, and if you want to protect yourself and give your sister the kind of relationship she deserves, the less he knows, the more he'll turn away from you and switch his sights to her," Miruko says.

"And why is this important?" I ask.

"So he can open up and give you any blackmail you need. Even him asking a single question can be useful if he strays away from her," Miruko says.

"You planning on using that tactic one day?" I ask.

"Sure, when the right girl to target comes around, he is one of my best friends, so I'm always keeping track of his dating life," Miruko says.

The stylists, finish up on me and I stand up from the chair. I walk into the main stage and feel Miruko eyes still on me.

The right target...she's probably talking about me. I'm assuming she wants me to work for her on the DL to collect blackmail to make him pay for their breakup. Ah, jealousy. The killer of all relationships. I brush the thought off immediately, I don't have time for that, I just got a new boyfriend, a new job, and so far I have my eyes peeled on Hawks to see if he does anything out of order that could hurt my sister.

When I step out onto the stage, Hawks and Tokoyami are getting their touch-ups done. They meet my glance and their eyes widen.

"Damn..." They both say at once.

I flip my hair over my shoulder and smile.

"You look so different," Tokoyami says, turning away to blush.

"You look so sexy, I might even say it's a bit too much," Hawks says, walking towards me nervously.

"That's the point, you idiots. I'm trying to piss off my dad by looking older than I am," I say.

"Ah, so you're trying to impress your dad?" Hawks asks.

"He thinks I'm not capable of holding my own ground. So this shoot and interview will prove him wrong," I say with a smirk.

Hawks smiles and pats my shoulder.

The three of us walk onto the main stage and take pictures in various poses. Some solo, some with me and Tokoyami some of me and Hawks and some as the trio. We got too the cameras and flip through the options. I stare at all of them, trying to decide which ones would make Dad and Shoto grit their teeth the hardest.

The three of us agree between the pictures and we head downstairs for our interview.

In mine, I give surface details of what my famous hero family is like and what mark I intend to leave in the agency, which is...to impress.

__________________________________________

The next week after our shoot, the magazine is released with the cover we chose. Hawks didn't lie when he said it'd be everywhere. When I get to school, I spot many students with the issue.

"Love the dress, Aki!"

"You look so hot, Aki!" Students shout from across the hall.

"You some sort of celebrity now or something for being in that agency?" Shoto asks.

I pull the magazine out from my bag. I hand it to Shoto and he stares at the cover with wide eyes.

"That's you?" He asks.

"Clear as day. And if you flip to page 24, my interview is there," I say proudly.

"You look like a model," Shoto says.

"Because Hawks is also a model, not just a hero. I found that out yesterday over dinner," I add.

"You had dinner with him too?" Shoto asks.

I nod and take the issue back.

"Do you know how livid Dad is gonna be when he sees that?" Shoto reminds me.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Oh, so this was on purpose?" Shoto asks.

"You and him both agree that I can't be anything without him, but guess whose face is all over the city and whose name is coming out of every households mouth?" I ask.

"Yours," Shoto mutters.

"Right, and all he's doing is drilling you about your fire quirk and how weak you are, meanwhile Hawks is telling me exactly what I needed to hear all these years with Dad. To me, Hawks is more of a man then our father could ever be, and I know Dad would agree himself," I say honestly.

"Have you worked on your quirk at all though?" Shoto asks.

"He's been helping me and Tokoyami strengthen and develop special attacks. For example, my boomerang shards," I say.

Shoto sighs and we both continue to our classroom. As we walk in, I spot several of our classmates with the magazine issue. I walk towards my seat and my classmates acknowledge me.

"You looked really pretty, Aki," Uraraka compliments.

"Thank you," I say.

"I see you're not the only one whose modeling," Momo says.

"I heard about your commercial gig from Sho, congratulations!" I say with a smile.

"Thank you, I hope we can do a joint shoot with Hawks's agency one day," Momo says.

"I'll let him know. I'm his interning assistant, so I manage all of his accounts," I comment.

"That's convenient," Momo says with a giggle.

"She looks so sexy!" Mineta says, drooling over the magazine.

"It's almost like the real thing," Kaminari says beside him.

Me and Momo both roll our eyes.

Bakugo walks over with his own issue and smacks them both over the head.

"Fucking pervs," He growls.

They both scutter back in fright. He peeks a glance towards me and I wink in his direction. He smirks back at me.

"By the way, what's up with you and him? " Momo asks.

I debate in my head whether or not I should tell her about Katsuki. I lower her ear to my mouth and whisper,

"He's my new boyfriend."

Momo 's eyes widen and she smiles widely.

"I knew it! I knew you liked him. When are you gonna tell the others?" Momo asks.

"Not sure," I say.

We both head to our seats as the bell rings. Me and Momo continue our conversation even when Aizawa-sensei enters.

"You went on a date with him?" She whispers lowly.

I nod.

"How did you-"

"Ladies in the back, care to share to the class what you're talking about that seems so important?" Aizawa asks, calling us out.

Momo and I tense up.

"Since midterms are coming up, I was telling her...that I was planning a study session at my house for it. And that I would need her help since she's another student with a high GPA," Momo makes up.

"Thanks, Momo," Sero says with a smile.

"That would help a lot," Tsu says.

"Fine, there's only a week until exams. You're all prepared right?"Aizawa asks.

"yes!" We all say.

"That's all then," Aizawa says, returning to his sleeping bag.

"In that case, I have to tell mother to open up the hall! What kind of tea are you all partial to? Of course you can trust me to help you all study!" Momo says, running along with the idea.

Looks like I'm helping her plan a study party.

"Her bounciness is so cute, I really don't care," Mina says in awe of her excitement.

"I was hoping me and you could study together at my place," Katsuki whispers in my ear.

"With you, I wouldn't get much studying done at all," I scoff.

"I mean we're both already pretty smart, so why not?" Katsuki asks.

"As much as I'd love to help you 'study', she's my best friend, I have to support her," I say.

Katsuki's smile fades and he tsks.

"But maybe at lunch I could...make it up to you," I say seductively.

Katsuki turns back to face me with wide eyes.

"I'm kidding, you nasty bitch," I say in my regular tone.

"Shut up, dumbass," Katsuki says, starting to blush as usual.

I giggle softly at his antics.

Later at lunch, I realize that I'm the first one to show up.

I start to munch on my chips and wait for Katsuki. Soon, he shows up with boxes of pocky in his hand.

"Hey, babe," Katsuki says.

"Hi," I say sweetly, leaving a kiss on his lips.

"I got snacks," Katsuki says, putting down the boxes of pocky.

"Good, I'll save them for Mmo's study party," I say.

"You really going to that?" Katsuki says, staring down at me.

"Of course, you and I both know that being alone in a room together is dangerous," I say.

Katsuki wraps his arm around my waist, pulling my closer to him.

"You cheeky girl," Katsuki nods.

I giggle softly at his remarks.

Katsuki turns and grabs and package of pocky.

"Are you gonna do what I think you are?" I ask him as he opens the package.

"You said you'd make it up to me, and my mom always taught me that food is the best way to a woman's heart," Katsuki says.

"You mean your crazy old mother that you complain on and on about?" I ask jokingly.

"Whatever," Katsuki says, sticking a pocky stick between his teeth.

I stick the other half in my mouth and stare a him.

We both laugh at our eye contact.

"Stop moving," Katsuki says, starting to bite down the stick.

I also start biting down the stick, our lips coming closer and closer as we both taste the chocolate flavor.

Before our lips meet the stick snaps in half and the door opens.

We both turn quickly and see Kirishima at the door with Mina behind him. The four of us stare at each other dumbfoundedly.

"Uh-are we interrupting something?" Kirishima asks.

Me and Katsuki step away from each other and blush softly.

"You idiot, they're obviously making out, look at all these boxes of pocky," Mina scoffs.

"What? No!" Me and Katsuki say at once.

"Um, we saw Bakugo come in here and we wanted to check on him...but I guess he's fine," Kirishima says nervously.

"We're gonna go," Mina says pulling Kirishima back, they close the door and we can hear them laughing in the hallway.

"Damn it," Katsuki scoffs.

I place my hand on his shoulder to cool him down.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain anything, but if you're comfortable, I'll say something to them tonight at Momo's," I suggest.

"Me and Kiri are studying together," Katsuki mutters.

"Then you tell him p[ersonally, he'll understand since you two are close," I suggest.

"Fuck. Why now? Damn idiots," Katsuki growls under his breath.

"Hey, we'll figure it out. Besides, a couple people know already," I blurt out.

My eyes widen I realize what I've said.

"Who knows?" Katsuki asks me in a serious tone.

"My siblings. Momo. Tokoyami. My boss slash sister's boyfriend and now two of our best friends," I say.

"What the hell, Aki? Even your boss knows?" Katsuki asks.

"He walked in our call that one night...well more like flew in," I explain.

"Who've you told?" I ask.

"Just my parents...and All Might," Katsuki says.

"ALL MIGHT? How could you tell him? He knows my father! They're rivals, Katsuki. If my Dad finds out, he'll kill you," I say, panicking.

"Like you said, we'll figure it out! I just can't believe you told so many people about me. It's kinda hot but wrong at the same time," Katsuki says, assuring me.

"I- I wasn't expecting you to say that. I just wanted to-"

"Tell people how good I am to you?" He assumes, finishing my sentence.

"Maybe," I say shyly.

"Then it's fine, just don't lie, dumbass," He says, pecking my cheek as the bell rings.

"Fine," I say, giving in.

"Good luck with the idiots, call me if you need anything," Katsuki says.

"Okay," I say.

We both head out the door and head our separate ways.

_________________________________________________

I see Mina, Sero, Oijiro, Jiro, Tsu and Kaminari waiting for me at the gate of Momo's manor

"You sure took long," Mina teases.

"Shut up, Mina," I say.

"I knew this girl was rich but I didn't think she was this rich," Sero says.

"yeah," Oijiro agrees.

"You should see my house then," I scoff.

Everyone except Mina stares at me like I have two heads. Mina is about to press the call button before Momo's voice appears.

'I've been waiting for you guys, come on in!"  Momo says, the gate opening slowly.

The group is mesmerized by the gate open and I stride in, not phased by the manor.

"How are you so calm?" Kaminari asks.

"My house is bigger," I say.

"WHAT?" The group says.

"Come on, you idiots," I say.

Momo waits for us at her door and I race up to her.

"Hi, mi amiga (my friend)," I say, kissing her on both cheeks.

"I'm so glad you all came! Come inside, please," Momo says with a smile.

We all head inside and take off our shoes.

"You could eat off the damn floor in this house," Sero says.

"As if your mother would let you pull that shit," I scoff.

"Tienes razon (you have a point)," sero says, continuing to look around.

"Your house is beautiful, Momo," Tsu compliments honestly.

"Thank you! We moved here a couple years ago, before, we used to live near the Todorokis," Momo says.

"You did?" I ask.

"Yeah, now that house goes for 15 million yen," Momo says.

"15 MILLION YEN?!" The group exclaims.

"Did I lie?" I ask them.

They shake their heads 'no' and I chuckle softly.

"Come on, I brewed some tea for you guys in the hall," Momo says.

"How nice, you have a banquet hall. Dad converted ours into his training space, you know, traditional hero fathers," I comment.

"Of course we do! We have important guests over all the time for negotiations, balls, and even my birthday parties," Momo adds.

"You must celebrate one hell of a birthday then," Jiro comments.

"It's usually the same every year," Momo says.

"Then why don't we throw you a birthday party after summer break?" Mina suggests.

Momo's eyes light up at the sound of that.

"Yes! Of course!" Momo says with a smile.

We all sit down at the long table and she brings us our tea. I serve myself a cup and sigh at the taste.

"Oolong, right?" I ask Momo.

"I thought it'd be a good choice," Momo says nervously.

We all start to pull out our books and cover the different topics. English, Algebra, Quirk Studies, Traditional Japanese, everything.

We end at 7 where all of us our wiped out from stressing topics and details.

"You know, Aki, I'm surprised you're even here, since you spend so much time with Kacchan-kun," Kaminari comment.

"Yeah, what's up with you two?" Jiro asks.

"It's obvious they're dating," Mina scoffs.

I blush softly and take a breath.

"We've been seeing each other since the first week of school," I admit.

"You have?" Oijiro asks.

"Yeah, in the abandoned classroom on the second floor," I admit.

"And you just started dating?" Jiro asks.

"Yeah," I say.

"Damn, then you must've held back your emotions for a while, it was so obvious from the first day," Mina admits.

"I agree, it was very obvious," Momo agrees with Mina.

"We tried to keep it on the low before actually committing. At first it was just flirting...but then it got personal. Anyways, I really like him and I don't want this to ruin any of our friendships," I say shyly.

"Aw, of course not! We support you, even if he is a bit brash-" Momo says.

"And rude," Oijiro continues.

"And has a huge ego," Jiro continues.

"And he's really mean," Kaminari finally says.

"Honestly, he's a chill guy," Sero says.

They all stare at him like he's crazy.

"I've hung out with him before. He's got a good music taste, he's smart, he's honest with his opinions, sometimes a little too honest, and he sticks around like any other friends would when your a bit down. He's good in his own way," Sero explains.

"I mean he is the one who invites us over," Kaminari starts to agree.

"Exactly, he's different than what you all think. Just give it time," I say.

"I don't know, his attitude is quite permanent," Tsu reasons.

"Sure, he has that grittiness. It's only because he's protective of his emotions," I explain.

"I can vouch for that," Sero agrees.

"At least with you around, he won't be as...explosive," Mina says, with a pun.

We all laugh at the pun.

"I'm glad you're willing to support me with this," I say with a soft smile.

"Of course, you're one of our best friends. We wouldn't be a group without you," Momo says kindly.

I smile to myself as they continue to converse. I hope Katsuki and Kirishima are doing okay.

_____________________________________________________

Sooner than later, midterms arrive and we take the written exams in class, I remember everything me and Momo studied with the group at her house. At the physical examination, we are paired up with another classmates to face our "villains", which end up being Aizawa and....

"Principal Nezu?!" The class exclaims.

"What's the mole doing here?" I ask.

"I'm one of the examiners for this years exam, considering the circumstances at USJ. We decided to change our tactics instead of the usual robots," Principal Nezu says before we are escorted through the rules.

I'm paired up with Kirishima, another good offensive and defensive user like myself.

Me and Kirishima scour the gym's city-like setting, trying to pick up any sounds or actions from our target.

"You picking up on anything?" Kirishima asks.

"I can hear them through the ground on the other side. So far we don't have anything to fear," I say.

"How can you hear through the ground?" Kirishima asks as I stand upright.

"My dad taught me to subconsciously listen to people's steps. You could hear it's pace, step and direction if you feel and hear the vibrations of the ground. The contact of my ice to the ground helps hear, because ice is made by water, and water contains sound," I explain.

"That's so-"

"Manly?" I ask, finishing his sentence.

"How did you know?" Kirishima asks.

"You say that every two seconds, Kiri. Everytime you do, Katsuki tries to yell at you," I say, explaining my rational.

"You count every time he yells?" Kirishima asks.

"To you, it's about 240. Me it's about 110," I say, recalling the statistics.

"How do you get yelled at less?" Kirishima asks.

"Because I'm his type of tolerable. You're a little more optimistic than I am, so it only makes sense," I explain.

"I guess you're right," Kirishima says shyly, scratching the back of his neck.

"They say if we pass our midterm, there's a training camp we can go to," I recall.

"Everyone's talking about it," Kirishima comments.

"Wouldn't kind of be like a 'summer retreat'?" I ask.

'I guess, I mean it is is a camp in the mountains," Kirishima says.

I hear rumbling underneath my feet. It's pace is a bit slower than Nezu's from what I've seen.

"Heads up, Kiri," I say.

"What?" Kirishima says.

I watch as he is tied in a familiar gray scarf.

"At least one of you has good senses," Aizawa says, his eyes glowing red from his quirk being used.

"Naturally, Aizawa," I say with a smirk.

"You get 4 points just for that alone, good job," Aizawa says.

"It's whatever," I scoff.

Aizawa lets go of Kirishima and he falls to the ground.

"Damn, his grip is strong," Kirishima says.

"Keep your guard up, idiot, or you'll fail," I scoff, hitting him playfully.

"You're starting to sound a bit like Bakugo," Kirishima comments.

"Oh shut up. Let's move on," I say, moving forward.

Suddenly, I hear screaming from inside one of the buildings and I use my ice to push me towards the window where the sound comes from.

"I didn't know you could fly," Kirishima exclaims.

"In a way, I can. Hawks taught me how," I explain.

Kirishima lands behind me and we spot a small girl in a corner with major wounds.

"We have to bring her down," I say.

"Please, no! It hurts and I'm cold," The girl says.

"It's alright, honey. I have a fire quirk too, I'll be like your personal heater," I say, demonstrating my flames to coo the girl.

"That's so cool!" The girl says with wide eyes.

"I know! When I pick you up, the heat will rush through your body instantly and the pain will subside a little, making it easier for me to bring you down, okay?" I explain.

The girl nods and I lightly activate my fire quirk and she nuzzles up to my chest when I pick her up.

"I need to go down and catch my fall," I say to Kirishima.

"What?" Kirishima asks.

"I got my hands full, you can help me out with this," I say.

Kirishima nods and jumps down. I spot him with his arms out and me and the girl fall. We both land in his arms, unharmed.

I keep the girl in my arms.

"You okay?" I ask.

"25 points for sportsmanship, heroism, confidence, and strategy," The girl says to me.

"Thank you, honey," I say softly.

I put the girl down and she glares at Kirishima. He stares up at me nervously.

"Rescue is very important, strong man. 5 points for helping her out and taking orders," The girl yells.

"You're both done, you can head back to the entrance now," The girl says, starting to walk away.

I laugh at Kirishima's confused expression after being yelled at by a minor.

"That wasn't very manly!" Kirishima exclaims, starting to blush.

Me and Kirishima start to walk back to the entrance and we spot Bakugo and Midoriya together, Bakugo's explosions filling the air.

"That's one manly man, huh?" Kirishima asks me.

"He's my boyfriend, no shit," I scoff.

Kirishima smiles at my response.

"He seems a lot more focused since your date. It's like he's more driven than ever, you know?" Kirishima comments.

"It's because he's got me in his corner," I explain.

[miraculouscontent]

Will you make an analysis of Chameleon? That... thing gives a lot to talk about

I had no plan to initially because I figured that the worst of it was in the teaser, but…

Well, you’re not wrong in saying that it gave me a lot to talk about.

[”Collecting” Thoughts]

I want to start by talking about this episode not as a singular episode trapped in a vacuum, but as a season opener. It’s bad enough that this episode exists on its own, but it’s important to compare it to The Collector in terms of how it acts as a follow-up to the Season 2 finale.

Volpina introduced the grimoire via Adrien and had Marinette visiting Master Fu. The Collector follows exactly in its footsteps, taking place immediately after and showing the consequences of Adrien stealing the book. The Collector was a GREAT follow-up to Volpina, with the only sad thing being that Marinette took the fall for something Lila did; in fact, Lila herself isn’t even mentioned. Still, it furthers the plot and was set up perfectly by Volpina to continue the story.

Now, what did Heroes’ Day do?

Catalyst brought back Lila and set up Gabriel knowing more about his own powers. It set up his closer relationship with Natalie (regardless of how people feel about that), which was followed up in Mayura by Natalie taking the Peacock Miraculous to protect Hawk Moth.

It was also established that the Peacock Miraculous is damaged in some way. There’s no visible wear on it, but it causes Natalie to appear sick.

With that in mind, what did Chameleon do to follow up on that?

…It brought back Lila. That’s it. No talks with Master Fu, no discussion on the Peacock; there’s just nothing. Even Mayura itself didn’t have Marinette/Adrien and Fu talking about the fact that they know Hawk Moth has the Peacock on his side now.

As a season opener, Chameleon is a complete and total failure. Catalyst had already brought Lila back and this is essentially just a worse version of the way that Catalyst did it (disregarding the fact that we were blindsided by Lila in the first place because she only got passing mentions until the Season 2 finale).

All Chameleon wants to do is set up Lila as an antagonist, and even that’s in the laziest way possible.

Heck. We don’t even get a new opening. It’s the exact same as season 2, which at least went through the effort to change the backgrounds and some images. It was effective to make it different enough to be recognizable.

The seating change that happens in this episode could’ve been something to help Season 3 stand out and be its own thing, but it doesn’t stick around. I know I’m gonna complain about that whole scene in a moment, but keep in mind that I’m complaining about how the seating change happened, not the fact that it happened at all.

That said, let’s go scene by scene, shall we?

[Opening Scene - A Lack of Care]

Marinette dashing into the school due to running a little late perfectly exemplifies how this episode is going to hurt you, and I don’t mean that in a good way.

Remember Fred? Mylene’s father and the guy from The Mime? Of course you do, because he was very nice to Marinette and she made him a hat

In this episode, however, he glares at Marinette when she bolts past him (not even knocking him over mind you; just running a bit late as students do from time to time). It’s just a dumb five seconds, but it’s a great representation of what you’re in for; typically good people that Marinette helped in the past turning against her. It sets the tone and everything.

Moving onto the actual meat of the episode though, might I say that one of the worst things a writer can do is present us with a better idea only to strip it away from us?

This episode does just that when Marinette presumes that Alya saved her a seat next to Adrien. That presumption isn’t really a stretch. Alya is her supposed best friend and everyone is sitting with someone else, so it’d make sense that’d she’d sit there.

However, not only did Alya not try to get Marinette that seat, but the thought didn’t even seem to cross her mind. She acts confused by the fact that Marinette even considered that she’d be sitting with Adrien.

That’s because Alya didn’t consider that herself. No one considered that themself. No one texted Marinette about this arrangement, no one asked her, and no one thought it was wrong to shove Marinette to the back row without her permission. Marinette gets the shaft and we’re not even given a reason why everyone thought it’d be a great idea (Marinette just talked about being worried that she’d be distracted by Adrien; it still would’ve been rude not to ask her, but that would’ve been a better reason to put her somewhere where she’s almost as far away from Adrien as possible).

That’s not even getting into the fact that Marinette took that seat herself all the way back in Origins. She worked for that seat. She stood strong against Chloe and that seat was her reward.

But then, it was taken away from her, like the seat was some sort of metaphor for all the care everyone had for her.

Enter Lila, who is a masterpiece example of how to annoy the audience as quickly as possible. She lies compulsively (most lies not even being believable), uses pity to gain affection, and gets incredibly petty when confronted.

Worst of all, aside from Marinette and only partially Adrien, everyone is fooled by her lies. Everyone falls at her feet and does everything she asks, probably both because they pity her and also because she’s the equivalent of a celebrity (saving Jagged’s cat, knowing Prince Ali, etc.).

Even Miss Bustier doesn’t care that Marinette’s been put in the back. When Marinette asks about it, Miss Bustier fixates on whether Marinette has a hearing/sight issue or not. Miss Bustier is supposed to be an empathetic teacher who cares about her students, yet Zombiezou over here doesn’t have a reason for putting Marinette in the back when Chloe and Adrien are sitting in the front despite having no issues with hearing or sight.

Also, talking about the classmates themselves, it’s easy to say that Marinette looks in the wrong because she said “no” when Adrien offered up his seat, but that’s not taking into account that of course Marinette wouldn’t want Adrien to move for her. She sees Adrien as a nice guy, so she wouldn’t think he’d deserve to sit in the back by himself.

No one in the class considers this though, because of course they don’t. That’s just how this episode wants to work for the sake of its disjointed plot.

Then, Lila makes it all about herself, which convinces the class to get upset at their “everyday Ladybug.” It’s a jarring transition from the Season 2 finale, to say the least.

I’ll admit: before I saw the akuma going after Marinette, I honestly thought there would be a twist where Lila was already akumatized and everyone in the school were just going off her whim due to a spell, with Marinette not being affected because she was late to class.

(Probably would’ve fixed it too. Add in an opening of Mari talking to Fu about the Peacock, then a scene after Lila’s de-akumatization where Gabriel checks on Natalie and talks about what good akuma-bait Lila is… you’ve got a passable episode right there!)

The problem with this scene is how immediately everyone glares at Marinette. No one spoke up for her to say, “I’m sure Marinette didn’t mean it like that.” Heck, even if someone just asked why Marinette was acting like this, that would’ve been something, because Marinette is so obviously acting like this for a reason.

It’s not even like I don’t see why Marinette gets put in the back; it’s because no one will see the akuma if she’s sitting back there all alone.

…In fact, keep this in mind, because I’m going to bring it up later.

Anyway, it’s undeniable that Marinette gets the most disrespect in this episode, but I’d also like to bring attention to Adrien. Yeah, he glared at Marinette (I know what the writing staff said; it’s irrelevant to me unless the episode gets edited), but consider how much Lila gets into his personal space and then remember that Nino is sitting right behind them. We see Marinette be plenty angry about Lila stroking Adrien’s shoulder because she knows that Lila is full of it and is taking advantage of Adrien’s good nature, but even if Nino doesn’t know, shouldn’t he be upset by a clearly-uncomfortable Adrien?

[The Cafeteria Scene - How to Kill a Character in Two Minutes]

(Note: shoutout to Nathaniel, who’s sitting by himself and not being pulled in by catering to Lila’s needs; both he and Ivan seemed to be the ones with the most questionable expressions in the glaring scene when referring to whether or not they’re angry with Marinette. I still won’t give them a pass because the general atmosphere of the scene implied that everyone was angry at Marinette, but still. Ivan and Alix also don’t seem to show up in the cafeteria at all, but both of them along with Nathaniel return for the ending scene where Lila’s still lying. All of them do NOTHING in regards to stopping her, so I won’t give them any points, but I still thought I’d mention it.)

One of the biggest reasons that Lila doesn’t work as the antagonist she should be is because she isn’t clever enough. Her lies are often not thought through and are only believed because everyone has been dumbed down due to the narrative wanting them to obey her every command to make Marinette progressively more upset.

And it’s honestly hard for me to see the characters acting like this even when I know that it’s not in-character. If it was just acting kind to someone, then sure, whatever, they can be dumb, but not when it comes at the expense of their relationship with Marinette.

It’s hard because these scenes still exist. Whether it’s attempted to be written off as a joke or not, I’ll still have to watch future episodes and see these characters interacting with Marinette with the knowledge that she nearly got akumatized because they abandoned her in her time of need and they never apologized for it, at least not here.

The jokes don’t even work most of the time because they’re centered around how much Lila is fooling everyone, which shouldn’t be joked about because people don’t want to see jokes being cracked about something they hate happening when they’re already frustrated by it!

Alya and Nino just make everything worse. Their presence in this episode does nothing but show how badly this episode is trying to make you ignore what’s happening to Marinette (and partly Adrien).

Let’s start with Alya, Marinette’s supposed best friend. Now, she was already on thin ice when it came to the Lila situation considering what she said in Catalyst, but she’s even more blatant here with how little she knows Marinette.

It takes until the cafeteria scene for Alya to ask Marinette what’s bothering her. Except, she doesn’t phrase it that way. She presumes that Marinette barely knows Lila despite having no evidence of that. In fact, she has evidence to show the exact opposite; that something bad happened and Alya should be wary of Lila because Marinette is wary of her.

And then Alya has the gall - the GALL - to ask if Marinette has proof that Lila doesn’t know Ladybug, because “a good reporter always verifies their sources.”

Says the reporter who was so sure that Ladybug owned the history book she dropped instead of wondering if she might be giving it back to someone.

Says the reporter who was so positive that Chloe was Ladybug when talking to Nino, based on little more than Chloe having a Ladybug outfit that probably tons of people in Paris do because they’re likely a popular costume in stores.

Says the reporter who posted a video, on her Ladyblog, of Lila claiming that she was friends with Ladybug, despite having no proof, no evidence, and not verifying that claim with Ladybug herself.

Give me a break. Even if Alya has just “improved since then,” that doesn’t excuse the fact that Marinette should be a trusted source and that Alya should realize her own contradiction because they’re talking about Lila in the first place.

If Marinette needs proof that Lila’s not friends with Ladybug, then where’s Alya’s proof that Lila is? Because Lila knows other celebrities? There’s a lot of famous people who Ladybug has saved but isn’t friends with (ex: Jagged Stone, XY), so what makes Lila so special? Besides, Marinette knows famous people too. Even disregarding that, Alya is basically telling Marinette, “You’re my best friend, but I also believe Lila over you because Lila is more special than you are.”

Marinette is not doing this out of jealousy; we’ve established this already in Frozer, which Alya was there for when Marinette was okay with Adrien dating someone else. Marinette would only be upset by Lila if she had a reason to be. Alya needs to stop minimizing Marinette’s problems by boiling them down to jealousy based on information she doesn’t have.

I just can’t even imagine how hurtful that is to Marinette. Her own best friend doesn’t believe her and doesn’t even have Marinette’s motive right.

Oh, and then Nino fixates on the fact that Marinette eavesdropped on Lila and Adrien instead of the fact that Lila lies constantly.

You know, Nino, who watched Marinette from a distance due to his crush in Animan. Is that a tiny offense? Absolutely (even Marinette has watched Adrien), but my point is, nobody has their hands clean.

Marinette stated right up front that Lila felt off to her, which should’ve implied that Lila could’ve been already akumatized and thus Marinette had every right to follow her to make sure so no one else would fall under her trap, but Nino presumes the worst of her and instead chastizes her for eavesdropping on Lila and Adrien.

We talked about it in the last segment, but Nino did nothing when Lila was getting in Adrien’s personal space. Nino, at least in this episode, is much more interested in criticizing Marinette’s behavior than actually doing anything about Lila’s.

And of course, the narrative neglects Marinette mentioning that Ladybug showed up to yell at Lila or that she saw Lila steal the book because they need to make it look like Marinette has no evidence whatsoever. It’s not like mentioning the book would be a big deal, because Nino knew in The Collector that Adrien had lost Gabriel’s book. All it’d take is, “I saw Lila steal Adrien’s book so she could get information to lie to him with. She threw it in the garbage when Adrien came by and then I returned it to Gabriel the next day because I didn’t know how to give it back to Adrien without looking bad.”

Then all it takes is asking Adrien and Adrien would probably admit, “Yeah, I remember last having the book with Lila.”

But no. Not even Alya and Nino can be on Marinette’s side. Marinette has to struggle alone because I guess they needed a hook for this episode and it’s “could Marinette get akumatized???”

If their story was actually of value, they wouldn’t need to set up a fake hook for a trailer. The story should be able to stand on its own without needing to set up something exciting that won’t actually happen.

Which brings us to talking about Lila.

[Freaking Lila]

Lila is a good character in concept. I love the idea of her as a foil to Marinette; Marinette hates liars but gets what she wants through hard work and effort, whereas Lila lies all the time and gets what she wants through no work at all and tons of emotional manipulation.

But there’s just not enough care put into her lies. When we see Lila, the reaction we should have is to think about how amazing she is at lying and how understandable it is that everyone is falling for it.

Instead, I feel incredibly annoyed at the fact that Lila is going around spouting nonsense that no one but Marinette ever tries to check out. It’s ridiculous.

And Chloe is completely left out of this equation; the only other person aside from Marinette who has real connections that’d be able to out Lila. Chloe gets nothing of value in the entire episode. Her and Sabrina just stay right in their original seats and do so little that you’d be forgiven for thinking that they were just copy-pasted from some other episode because the script writers forgot to include them.

Chloe also does nothing about Lila stroking Adrien, because the show still cannot decide if they’re friends and if Chloe has a crush on Adrien. Actual chances at showing what it’d be like if Chloe put her talents towards something good are thrown out the window because they needed all that run time to have Marinette be miserable.

Lila is also very annoying as Chameleon. I liked that she just grabbed the akuma to show just how antagonistic she is, but she acts really obnoxious as Adrien.

To a degree, I get that. She was mad at Adrien, so of course it makes sense for her to make him look like a fool.

BUT, if she’s supposed to be such a master manipulator, why not act similarly to Adrien but just with a meaner streak?

They could’ve done another twist here as well. Instead of showing Lila taking Adrien’s form, why not cut right to Adrien (but actually Lila) making fun of Nino and then taking his cap, but with a tone that’s much more convincing of Adrien? Heck, Lila doesn’t even bother using Adrien’s form to go mess with Marinette; she just goes for Nino and then starts jumping around like a lunatic.

And sure, it was funny to see her get turned into a clam and promptly destroyed (Ladybug had a pun about anemones that made me laugh way too hard), but what did she actually do as Chameleon? She ran around like an idiot, knocked Chat out with the kiss (as if parts of the fandom weren’t already tired enough of that; also, there were probably at least three different things Chat could’ve done to stop that kiss without throwing himself in the middle of it), and then makes people upset for stuff that Miraculous Ladybug fixes anyway.

She does less as an akuma than she does as a person. That’s not how akuma should work.

Though, I guess it’s hard to top what she did as a person considering Adrien’s role in the plot.

[Adrien the Doormat]

Lately, Adrien has garnered a certain… reputation. It started with little things in Season 1, but by the end of Season 2, those little things weren’t so little anymore and were becoming harder and harder to defend.

That brings us to here, where Adrien joins everyone else in the “not defending Marinette” club, but it’s worse because he’s aware that Lila is a liar. Yeah, he tries to passively get her to stop lying, but Marinette is who he should be worried about.

And yet, by the end, he tells her not to do anything. I would like to think that he was trying to say that Lila’s lies would eventually catch her in the act, but that was one of the worst ways to word it.

Firstly, she’s presumably been lying all her life. Everyone’s fallen for her ruse. She’ll have to make a crucial mistake to even make a single person wary of her.

Secondly, this passivity of Adrien has been a recurring problem thoughout at least Season 2. His friends might not be suffering exactly, but Lila’s making them look like fools and he’s just letting her go on unabated. Just imagine what the classmates’ reactions would if they learned that Adrien knew that Lila was lying the whole time and did nothing while they obeyed her every need (though this will very likely go unaddressed and no one will know that Adrien knows except Marinette). At his current levels of passiveness, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Lila starts being physical with him again in future episodes and he continues to do nothing about it.

Thirdly, yes actually, exposing Lila will make things better. It’ll keep everyone else in check so they’re not constantly falling at Lila’s feet. Adrien’s only thinking about Lila and (presumably) the fact that she has the potential to become akumatized again. He has yet to learn that some people just have to be put into place, even if it means fighting an akuma afterward.

Fourthly, making a bad guy suffer has turned them into a good guy. That was literally Chloe in Despair Bear and Malediktator. It was when the niceness was brought back and boundaries stopped being set that she returned to her old ways. So, no, sometimes being punished is absolutely necessary and Lila hurting more is an inevitability.

Fifthly and most importantly, this scene deprives Marinette of all the agency she has, putting Adrien on a moral high ground yet again. I understand where Adrien is coming from - that he and Marinette know the truth and can talk about it so neither have to be miserable over Lila - but he clearly hasn’t thought this through. They basically just got back from an akuma attack and he’s only focused on preventing Lila from being akumatized again.

Adrien could’ve even argued that Lila would just lie her way around Marinette calling her out, but he doesn’t say that. It makes it seem like he’s not at all concerned about how Marinette comes out of this and is just trying to make her feel better about doing absolutely nothing to solve her problems. I get that he already tried to help Lila and it didn’t work, which might also be why he’s taking the passive route, but again, that’s not what he says!

Adrien isn’t suffering from this like Marinette is. Marinette is close to a majority of the class and was miserable because no one stood up for her or believed her. Adrien is close to Nino, sure, but really, how many times have they even had passing conversation in the entirety of Season 2? It isn’t much!

We’ve done this before in other episodes. Marinette isn’t allowed to do virtually anything anymore without someone getting on her case for it, even if she’s in the right.

It’s damaging, to both her character and the narrative.

[Back in the Classroom - Go with the Quo]

I appreciate that Adrien sat down with Marinette instead of Lila, but what Adrien says about taking the high road simply isn’t true. This isn’t the high road; this is complacency in a bad situation. Sometimes, taking the high road actually requires a detour. Doing the thing that’s “morally right” can mean accepting that some morally wrong things may have to be done to uphold that rightness.

And, of course, we get no apology. There’s no apology for Marinette’s hurt feelings. Alya returns to sitting next to Marinette, even going so far as to ask teasingly if Marinette really thought that Alya would let her sit by herself.

An insult to the audience’s intelligence, if not their memory, given the fact that it’s literally what Alya did at the very start of the episode.

Lila also (expectedly) continues to lie, and while I’m thankful that Adrien isn’t the least bit pleased by her sitting next to him, I’ll hold my judgment until the next time they have a scene together.

Also, everyone wanting to change seats out of nowhere despite having no established reason is incredibly weird, considering it’s Ivan who started the massive change and he’s sitting next to Mylene. Sure, Marinette thought about getting distracted by Adrien, but after Ivan and Mylene have been in an established relationship for so long, I’d think they’d have more self-control! Nathaniel, I get, because he can draw behind Ivan without being seen by the teacher, but everyone else makes little to no sense to me.

Not only that, but… it’s Season 3. We’ve been deprived of Adrienette development so many times, and when we’re finally given a scene where Adrien and Marinette are simply sitting together in class, we’re deprived of it. It’s like what I thought of Frozer; does such a small piece of development really take the ship so far that it needs to be immediately taken away from us?

This means that, for the third time in this episode, we’re presented with an idea that’s way better than what they end up doing. We already saw Marinette trailing off about being distracted by Adrien, so seeing it again just tests the patience of the Adrienette shippers who were hoping for them to stay sitting together.

[In Front of the School - Dragged By a Marinette]

I will give this episode one thing in that the scene at the end with Lila isn’t bad. The moments where Lila and Marinette are alone are miles better than almost any other scene in this entire episode. (I’d complain about the fact that Tikki isn’t angry over Lila and doesn’t validate Marinette’s feelings, but I feel like I’ve been through this song and dance before. Also, Tikki tries at least, even if for a moment.)

And yet, when Marinette tells Lila off with such a simple phrase, I don’t feel all the emotions I know that the episode is trying to make me feel.

I feel satisfied that Lila was annoyed by the end of the episode - it wasn’t nearly enough but it was SOMETHING - yet I don’t feel confident alongside Marinette.

There’s this confidence from Marinette that everything will be okay; that it’ll all be fine because she believes in her friends and that Adrien is on her side.

But I don’t think I believe that. I don’t buy that; not with the passive Adrien we saw here and not with the way Marinette’s “friends” treated her. Instead of feeling confident, I feel a growing sense of dread that things could just get worse from here. I don’t know how, but if the class treats Marinette in the future with the same dismissiveness that they did here, I can only feel afraid that Marinette is going to get all that confidence sucked away.

It’s not a pleasant feeling.

[Did Anyone Ask For This?]

I see what this episode wanted to be. I see what it wanted to do. It wanted to re-introduce Lila and (presumably) set her up as a recurring antagonist for this season. It wanted to have this dramatic scenario where everyone turns against her and both her and Adrien are the odd ones out.

It just asks for too much. To enjoy the episode wholly and completely, it wants you to buy so many things it’s throwing at you: Lila’s lies, Marinette being trashed for the upteenth time, and a terrible lesson for the character it’s being centered around.

And what’s the alternative to the out-of-character behavior? That these characters actually are so stupid and disloyal to Marinette that they’d actually do these things? It won’t get rid of the bad taste in my mouth either way, but I’d much rather believe that this is just terrible foresight at play than actual character assassination!

And… sure. Maybe sometime far in the future (probably near the end of Season 3), Lila will finally be revealed as the liar she is and they MIGHT apologize to Marinette. However, I say ‘might’ because Marinette has been told not to do anything about Lila, so it’s entirely possible that Marinette will just be like “finally” to herself but no one will apologize to her because they’ll conveniently forget about what happened here.

Even if they do apologize though - even if Adrien is actually in the wrong and they plan on addressing that - it’ll be too little too late. As a standalone episode, this is terrible. This episode makes me want Lila to get her comeupance, and while the ending at least has her get annoyed, it’s not enough considering that 80% of the episode was dedicated to Marinette’s misery and Lila being irritating. We’re supposed to feel satisfied by the end of each episode, but I’m instead left with an empty feeling in my gut.

This is where the thing I told you to remember - how Marinette is shoved to the back so no one sees the akuma - needs to be brought back. When the episode shoves Marinette to the back seat… when no one hears Lila’s threat to Marinette and it never comes up again… when Adrien tells her not to act… and when Marinette receives no apology for everything that’s happened… it’s giving a very clear message.

It’s saying that Marinette’s feelings don’t matter. That, no matter what, Marinette must take the high road regardless of what she feels. She’s the superheroine, so she has to always been perfect and always be a role model. Anything else is disgraceful.

Revealing Marinette’s misery to anyone means making everyone else look bad, so Marinette has to suffer alone, with Tikki comforting her only so she doesn’t get akumatized. Everyone else looks in the right because they don’t know everything and Marinette is just left there with her feelings hanging in the air.

That’s why the teaser alone caused people to freak out. We’ve been shown this multiple times before and this was just the final nail in the coffin.

It’s fair to say that Marinette should be angry with her friends. I wouldn’t blame anyone for being upset that Marinette was centering all her hate onto Lila.

But… at the same time, if we’re looking at it from a realistic point of view, I can see why she does it.

It’s a coping mechanism.

Almost all of Marinette’s friends are in that class. If she loses them, she only has a few left.

It’s easier to blame Lila. It’s easier to pretend that her friends aren’t betraying her and that it’s all Lila’s fault.

Lila is a single target that she feels she can deal with. To Marinette, taking care of Lila’s lies means that everything goes back to the way it was before.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Her friends still need to apologize and promise not to repeat these mistakes in the future. Without it, their friendship is meaningless.

But that’s just how Marinette works. She’ll let it slide. She’ll let herself take the fall because that’s what she does. She’s been conditioned by episode upon episode to let people like Lila go around unchecked and feel better about themself just to keep akuma from happening even if it’d be more beneficial to do otherwise.

As long as it keeps the peace and lets Marinette keep her friends, she’ll do whatever passive thing she’s told to do.

Because, remember: at least in episodes like these, Marinette’s feelings don’t matter…

[wojtekbc]

D&D Session 5 Player Summary

When last we left our heroes... The party had split into two groups to tackle the issue of defending the farming town of Ravenhome from the Warbreed soldiers pressuring it for tribute; Cerna @pantographicclone, Jawbones @darkseldarine and Naoise @bluethegirl made their way to Octin and Belfort for arms and support, whilst Ellenwae @xynnos, Rowan @krunk-mcdunk and Shura (ya boi) stayed in town to train the peasants to fight. The team in Octin managed to recruit our musketeer buddies and the apprentice to Local Wizard Spindore, and the team in Ravenhome have a militia of 20 people.  Our DM @zarozinia herds the cats and starts the session. Before chronological events, the session started with a cutscene; our Bard Naoise in a flashback, re-reading an old letter before answering a noble’s summons. Implications were implied. Events begin with the party from Octin showing back up in town on Saturday evening. The party meets up again, and head to Whitby’s Radish for a meal and to catch each other up on the goings on of the other half of the party. Now, Whitby’s Radish isn’t a very lively place, what with the whole Militia Training and Soldiers Raiding Supplies business going on, but when we enter we see two new figures. There’s a woman on a makeshift stage, singing songs to the patrons who immediately starts singing of the tale of Belruel and Arizoth (patron saint of Ya Boi and the woman who saved her soul), and there is a cloaked figure caked in mud sitting alone at a table. This is D&D, and the bar is the current base of operations, so the party immediately sit down with the cloaked figure and pull back the hood. Shock! Horror! It’s a bald half-orc! What the fuck is he doing here? He introduces himself as 3296, and is visibly shaking. He tells us he feels wrong, that he feels like he’s doing something bad by fighting with the other soldiers. He mentions that a masked Wizard by the name of Ketracel has arrived in camp, presumably their leader. There’s no way he’s developed emotions or grown a soul in a couple days, right? He also mentions that he hasn’t taken his mandatory Big Boy Juice (Military-Grade Steroids) in a couple days. Ah. Maybe that’ll do it. The party name him Eoin, tell him to chill out in the bar, and that he’s pretty safe. So the singer heads over to the party’s table and starts coming on to Naoise quite clearly. Now, Naoise is a mess and also a D&D Bard; the presence of strong women is enough to make her pass her braincell to another party member. So this back and forth goes on for a while and then Naoise and the singer head to a back room. Oh no! Why is there Russian hardbass playing? Who could have guessed it’s Ivan, the revenant who Naoise killed a few days ago! Naoise’s stunned, but manages to get out a scream before Rowan breaks down the door and the entire Goon Squad dogpiles him again. Ellenwae’s holy magic is enough to take him down before he can even get a swing; it’s pretty pathetic. With the revenant no longer possessing the body, Shura takes the body outside for a proper burial and the party take the vaguely magical jewelry off the corpse; a necklace that casts Gentle Repose, and a ring that keeps a body at its normal, living temperature. Gross! Naoise takes the necklace and Ellenwae takes the ring to stay chill in the sun. The party goes to sleep. Morning comes and the party meet over breakfast to discuss what the fuck we are doing today. We have some new information, and we’re all back together, so what’s the plan now? Well, firstly, now that Naoise is back in town, they start the day off with a speech given by Naoise and Rowan to get the other 20 odd potential combatants to join training, and it works! The party now has 40 peasants and 20 musketeers; the odds aren’t looking quite so bad! What else are they going to do? Fuck knows. What comes next is the culmination of our week long idea spitballing; we have a dozen ideas for how we are going to fight this battle, but we don’t have a concrete plan. Fighting in the forest sounds like a good idea, pit traps sound like a good idea, flanking sounds like a good idea, lighting the Warbreed up with spells sounds like a good idea...but where? Eventually after much discussion we realise that potentially the best place for a fight might be just outside of town; the river flows between a hill and a forest; if we break the normal bridge and somehow bait them to this section, the musketeers can light them up from the hilltop, and the militia can charge the flank. Even better, we can dig pit traps on the hillside of the river, and make fording even harder. Even better, we can cut trees and roll logs from the top of the hill should they manage to advance on the gunners! Perfect! Naoise, a former soldier, spends the day training the new militiamen whilst Rowan and Shura spend the day logging with a few other villagers. All of Sunday is spent just working, and then the party return to the inn as the sun sets, and the other part of the plan begins.  See, Jawbones and Rowan are very stealthy. Supernaturally so. Jawbones becomes almost invisible at night, and Rowan’s slowly been discovering she can bend light and other such insane stealthy things, and Rowan has a magical cloak to boot! The party now knows this potion makes the Warbreed tougher, so why not try and get rid of it? Why not try and find some plans of theirs for what they might do if they attacked the town? In fact, why not sabotage as much as the duo can in their camp without being butchered? The party wishes these valiant souls the best of luck, and they disappear into the night. An hour later they arrive at the campsite; it’s fortified and broken up into four main sections with a command building in the centre. Both succeed in silently making their way around the perimeter and into the camp, first finding the food storage. No potions here, but why not poison their water with some rotten meat, or at least try to. No one detects this, and the duo are out into the black once more. The pair spot another summoning circle, like the one Jawbones saw the first time, but this time a Hellhound is brought forth. They head outside the wall once more to enter through another gate closer to where the potions are supposedly being stored, and as they avoid detection again, Rowan’s cloak shifts; it grows darker and Rowan’s attunement to the item informs her that the cloak now functions as a portable hole (the party has magical items that will level up alongside them, and the portable hole cloak was one of two possibilities here off a coinflip). Needless to say everyone was hyped as fuck out of character. The pair show up in the storage room undetected, and dump the vials into the portable hole; the plan was to smash them under the cover of a Silence spell but there’s no reason to do that if they can just take them away! But there should be more. Where else could they be stored aside from the command room? The wizard’s in there, and so are any potential plans, so why not go all in? The pair sneak in to the command room and check around for anything; the wizard is sleeping on his bed whilst they turn his room, finding communications, documents, a journal... and with Jawbones’ keen eye, a chest under the bed. Rowan casts Silence to drag the chest out, and they find the other potions... but something occurs to the dynamic duo; this Wizard is sleeping, Silence is preventing him from casting spells or calling for help, and the likelihood of a wizard like this to be an expert brawler is slim; so they decide to take him out. Rowan takes her staff, and crits his skull as he sleeps, with enough damage to instantly kill the Wizard. Out of character celebration is through the roof. Rowan takes the mask he sleeps in and the cloak off his back, stuffing them in the new portable hole, followed by every potion, all the notes, and a bag. Now, I almost died in real life here, because I was CERTAIN this bag was a Bag of Holding, but it wasn’t, so it’s fine. Rowan then dumps the Wizard’s body in the hole, Jawbones forges a note saying “My work here is done,” and the two vanish into the night and show back up at the inn with the Wizard’s corpse dumped on the floor. After the session, a very drunk Shura and Naoise try the steroid potion. Shura goes into a rage, but it has no other major effect. Naoise, however, loses all senses but smell, and manages to control herself just enough to not start attacking a very disappointed Ellenwae, and Shura. To conclude, the session was good fun. I don’t think it was as great as the last one but that may be simply because it felt like we had less to do. That’s not to say it was boring by any stretch; the planning was great when we actually figured out what we were doing, there were a handful of RP moments that were top notch, and a third of the session’s runtime was dedicated to the most tense stealth mission conceivable. It felt like a Rowan and Jawbones spotlight episode and it was wonderful to watch; the other players and I were DMing each other with a thousand ways this could go wrong and a dozen suggestions of what to do and the pair managed to reach the same conclusions in their own way. Rowan’s cloak becoming a Portable Hole was awesome, and killing the Wizard was one of the most satisfying moments to happen so far. The fight is swung immeasurably in our favour by the success of that stealth mission, and I’m looking forward to next session. It was great to have everyone at a session for once! Also, magic items gaining random properties off a roll has to be my favourite way to see items level. 

[internetbasic9]

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote https://ift.tt/2ybG9Wr

Nature

Image

A voter at a polling station last month in Murtino, Macedonia, during a referendum on whether to change the country’s name.CreditCreditDimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

WASHINGTON — For years, Ivan Savvidis has been the Kremlin’s man in Greece.

A Greek-Russian billionaire, a former member of the Russian Duma and the owner of a professional Greek soccer team, Mr. Savvidis has moved seamlessly between the sporting worlds of both countries. He has a finger in seemingly every facet of life in Thessaloniki, the Greek port city where he lives, and is a well-known player in the often feuding world of Greek and Russian oligarchs.

All of which has made him of intense interest to American spy agencies.

United States officials say they intercepted communications in June showing that Mr. Savvidis was working as Russia’s conduit to undermine an agreement between Greece and Macedonia that would have paved the way for Macedonia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Greece has long objected to Macedonia’s entry into NATO. Moscow, which sees the expanding alliance as a major threat on its border, was determined to defeat a referendum on the deal.

In retaliation, American officials made an unusually aggressive move: They turned over the intercepts to the left-leaning Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The Greek government responded by making a rare break with Moscow, expelling two Russian diplomats from Athens and barring the entry of two more.

American spies and diplomats remain elated. Although a referendum vote last month in Macedonia on the agreement was inconclusive — the Macedonian Parliament must now decide, perhaps as early as this week, whether the country joins the Atlantic alliance — American officials see the exposure of Mr. Savvidis and the expulsion of the diplomats as a rare victory in a catch-up effort against Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe and the United States.

“We’re pushing back and showing that we can play hardball too,” said Christopher R. Hill, a former United States ambassador to Macedonia. “We can tattletale, we can do things that maybe in the past we did not do.”

Image

Ivan Savvidis, the owner of the soccer club PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, Greece, was escorted out after running onto the field with a handgun in March.CreditSakis Mitrolidis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The secret maneuverings occurred as President Trump traveled to Europe over the summer and publicly embraced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and denigrated the alliance — yet another example of the presidency and the career national security establishment seemingly working at cross-purposes. But the Macedonian story begins long before that.

Countering Interference

When American national security officials first saw signs in the summer of 2016 that Russia was trying to interfere in the American presidential election, the State and Defense Departments, working closely with the intelligence agencies, formed what is now called the Russia Influence Group to try to counter the Russian attempts, principally in Europe. That included looking for elections in Europe where Russia might try to intervene.

Late this past spring, they saw that Macedonia was a likely target. On June 12, Macedonian and Greek officials announced that the country would change its name to North Macedonia to end a three-decade dispute with Greece, which saw “Macedonia” as implying territorial aspirations over a Greek region of the same name.

Once the country became North Macedonia, Greece would lift its veto on the country joining NATO. A formal vote to adopt the new name was set for late September.

Moscow was not pleased. At a conference in Athens three days after the agreement, a top Russian diplomat issued a stark warning to the West about the plans to invite Macedonia into the alliance.

Image

President Trump spoke in July at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

“Sure, we will not shoot nuclear bombs,” said Vladimir A. Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union. “But,” he added, “there are errors that have consequences.”

Mr. Chizhov’s threat prompted a series of diplomatic cables back to Washington from Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Greece who was at the same conference, to warn that Moscow was going to try to stymie the upcoming referendum. The State Department, the C.I.A. and the Pentagon’s European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, were already on the case, officials said.

By then, opposition to the referendum had already surfaced in Macedonia. Over the summer, there would be hundreds of new websites calling for a boycott of the vote and Facebook posts urging Macedonians to burn their ballots — classic disinformation, Macedonian and American officials said, directed by Russian-backed groups.

The day of the agreement, there were also violent protests outside the Parliament building in Skopje, the Macedonian capital.

Enter Mr. Savvidis. He had been on the radar of American and Greek intelligence agencies for years as a member of Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, when he was in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, and had parlayed a fortune first made through a Russian tobacco company into a string of interests throughout northern Greece.

Image

A polling station last month in Zajas, Macedonia, during the referendum.CreditArmend Nimani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

As the owner of the Greek soccer team, PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, he famously stormed the field during a match this year against an Athens team while armed with a holstered handgun and surrounded by bodyguards. The Athens team’s players left the field over concerns for their safety and the match was abandoned.

In June, American officials determined from the intercepts of his communications — email, texts, phone calls or a combination — that he had been paying the protesters.

One senior United States official said American agencies were able to easily collect financial data that put Mr. Savvidis behind payments to citizens and soccer fans to incite violence against the Macedonia referendum.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization, Mr. Savvidis paid opponents of the campaign to rename Macedonia at least 300,000 euros, or about $350,000.

Those who received the money included Macedonian politicians, newly established radical nationalist organizations and Vardar club soccer hooligans, who staged the violent protests in front of the Parliament building in Skopje, the project reported.

Image

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece last month in Athens. His government announced it was expelling two Russian diplomats for trying to interfere with the Macedonian referendum.CreditAngelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Savvidis strongly denied the accusations. “Totally false and highly slanderous,” his holding company said in a statement this past summer.

Relaying the Report

Conveying the American intelligence report to the Greek government in early July fell to Mr. Pyatt, a seasoned American diplomat who has been Washington’s ambassador to Athens for two years, several United States officials said. Mr. Pyatt was well prepared for such as role, having served as the United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016, when Russia seized Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

“There’s not a trick the Russians can pull that Pyatt doesn’t know,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Mr. Murphy said he had spoken to Mr. Pyatt about Russia’s meddling in the Macedonia referendum, but he declined to comment on specifics of their private conversations.

But getting the information to the Greek prime minister was one thing. Getting him to act on it was by no means assured.

The prime minister, Mr. Tsipras, who had refused to join the rest of Europe in backing Britain in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former spy, was from a political party with a historically cozy relationship with Moscow. Still, the decision to move against Moscow was made easier by the effort Mr. Tsipras had just put into breaking a 30-year logjam with Macedonia, only to see Russia try to spoil it.

Serbia

50 miles

Kosovo

Bulgaria

Skopje

Macedonia

Albania

Thessaloniki

Greece

Athens

Recent American diplomacy helped, officials said. The Obama government stood by Greece during its yearslong financial crisis, advocating for Athens to stay in the eurozone when some European countries initially balked at bailing out Greece. Jacob J. Lew, President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary, spent so much time on the Greece debt relief package that senior officials joked he had become the Treasury desk officer for Greece. Mr. Obama and Mr. Lew both traveled to Athens during the crisis, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who returned there after leaving office last year.

Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Tsipras last October at the White House, and the two countries are discussing expanding the American military’s presence in Greece, including access for United States ships and aircraft.

“If you look at geography, and you look at current operations in Libya, and you look at current operations in Syria, you look at potential other operations in the eastern Mediterranean, the geography of Greece and the opportunities here are pretty significant,” Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a recent visit to Athens.

Within the American national security establishment, officials have been clearly seeking to nudge Athens away from its relationship with Moscow. “We are cultivating Greece as an anchor of stability in the eastern Med and western Balkans,” A. Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in June.

Diplomatic Sparring

On July 11, Mr. Tsipras broke with Moscow. His government expelled the two diplomats and barred two other Russians from entering Greece, accusing them of trying to bribe unidentified officials and foment demonstrations against the Macedonia deal.

Image

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, met with Macedonia’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, last month in Skopje.CreditTomislav Georgiev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“The constant disrespect for Greece must stop,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “No one can or has the right to interfere in Greece’s domestic affairs.”

Moscow later said it was expelling Greek diplomats in retaliation.

Moments after Athens announced it was expelling the Russians, Mr. Pyatt, the American ambassador, triumphantly emailed a number of colleagues and former colleagues at the State Department and the Pentagon. Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, posted on Twitter after the announcement: “#Greece expelled two Russian officials and barred entry of two others for attempting to interfere in Greek politics. We support Greece defending its sovereignty. #Russia must end its destabilizing behavior.”

The American role in the Greek expulsion also shows how wide a gulf has developed between Mr. Trump — who has publicly questioned NATO while at the same time professing his deep admiration for Mr. Putin — and an American national security establishment that remains rooted to a deeply held belief that Russia’s efforts to meddle in elections both in the United States and among American allies is a geopolitical threat to American security.

That is a thought rarely, if ever, expressed by Mr. Trump. But it is one that a succession of American security officials repeat every day.

“The kind of mischief that Russia has practiced, from Macedonia to the United States,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on Sept. 11, ahead of the Sept. 30 referendum, is “always beyond the pale as far as I’m concerned.” He followed his remarks with a trip to Skopje to “make a specific statement that we stand with the Macedonian people,” he said.

Asked if there was anything the United States was doing to combat Russian efforts to interfere in the referendum, Mr. Mattis said, “Yes.” He declined to go into specifics, but Defense Department officials said that they are also launching information operations, jointly with the governments of Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine, to counter Russian disinformation in elections and referendums there.

None of the American behind-the-scene efforts may come to anything if the Macedonian Parliament does not agree to the name change. But Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who sent the measure to lawmakers this week, said he will call early elections if the measure fails.

Julian Barnes contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

1

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Work of U.S. Spies Uncovers Russian Link in Balkans Vote

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://ift.tt/2QJVt3J |

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote, in 2018-10-10 10:58:08

[captainblogger100posts]

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote http://www.nature-business.com/nature-u-s-spycraft-and-stealthy-diplomacy-expose-russian-subversion-in-a-key-balkans-vote/

Nature

Image

A voter at a polling station last month in Murtino, Macedonia, during a referendum on whether to change the country’s name.CreditCreditDimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

WASHINGTON — For years, Ivan Savvidis has been the Kremlin’s man in Greece.

A Greek-Russian billionaire, a former member of the Russian Duma and the owner of a professional Greek soccer team, Mr. Savvidis has moved seamlessly between the sporting worlds of both countries. He has a finger in seemingly every facet of life in Thessaloniki, the Greek port city where he lives, and is a well-known player in the often feuding world of Greek and Russian oligarchs.

All of which has made him of intense interest to American spy agencies.

United States officials say they intercepted communications in June showing that Mr. Savvidis was working as Russia’s conduit to undermine an agreement between Greece and Macedonia that would have paved the way for Macedonia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Greece has long objected to Macedonia’s entry into NATO. Moscow, which sees the expanding alliance as a major threat on its border, was determined to defeat a referendum on the deal.

In retaliation, American officials made an unusually aggressive move: They turned over the intercepts to the left-leaning Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The Greek government responded by making a rare break with Moscow, expelling two Russian diplomats from Athens and barring the entry of two more.

American spies and diplomats remain elated. Although a referendum vote last month in Macedonia on the agreement was inconclusive — the Macedonian Parliament must now decide, perhaps as early as this week, whether the country joins the Atlantic alliance — American officials see the exposure of Mr. Savvidis and the expulsion of the diplomats as a rare victory in a catch-up effort against Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe and the United States.

“We’re pushing back and showing that we can play hardball too,” said Christopher R. Hill, a former United States ambassador to Macedonia. “We can tattletale, we can do things that maybe in the past we did not do.”

Image

Ivan Savvidis, the owner of the soccer club PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, Greece, was escorted out after running onto the field with a handgun in March.CreditSakis Mitrolidis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The secret maneuverings occurred as President Trump traveled to Europe over the summer and publicly embraced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and denigrated the alliance — yet another example of the presidency and the career national security establishment seemingly working at cross-purposes. But the Macedonian story begins long before that.

Countering Interference

When American national security officials first saw signs in the summer of 2016 that Russia was trying to interfere in the American presidential election, the State and Defense Departments, working closely with the intelligence agencies, formed what is now called the Russia Influence Group to try to counter the Russian attempts, principally in Europe. That included looking for elections in Europe where Russia might try to intervene.

Late this past spring, they saw that Macedonia was a likely target. On June 12, Macedonian and Greek officials announced that the country would change its name to North Macedonia to end a three-decade dispute with Greece, which saw “Macedonia” as implying territorial aspirations over a Greek region of the same name.

Once the country became North Macedonia, Greece would lift its veto on the country joining NATO. A formal vote to adopt the new name was set for late September.

Moscow was not pleased. At a conference in Athens three days after the agreement, a top Russian diplomat issued a stark warning to the West about the plans to invite Macedonia into the alliance.

Image

President Trump spoke in July at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

“Sure, we will not shoot nuclear bombs,” said Vladimir A. Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union. “But,” he added, “there are errors that have consequences.”

Mr. Chizhov’s threat prompted a series of diplomatic cables back to Washington from Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Greece who was at the same conference, to warn that Moscow was going to try to stymie the upcoming referendum. The State Department, the C.I.A. and the Pentagon’s European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, were already on the case, officials said.

By then, opposition to the referendum had already surfaced in Macedonia. Over the summer, there would be hundreds of new websites calling for a boycott of the vote and Facebook posts urging Macedonians to burn their ballots — classic disinformation, Macedonian and American officials said, directed by Russian-backed groups.

The day of the agreement, there were also violent protests outside the Parliament building in Skopje, the Macedonian capital.

Enter Mr. Savvidis. He had been on the radar of American and Greek intelligence agencies for years as a member of Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, when he was in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, and had parlayed a fortune first made through a Russian tobacco company into a string of interests throughout northern Greece.

Image

A polling station last month in Zajas, Macedonia, during the referendum.CreditArmend Nimani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

As the owner of the Greek soccer team, PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, he famously stormed the field during a match this year against an Athens team while armed with a holstered handgun and surrounded by bodyguards. The Athens team’s players left the field over concerns for their safety and the match was abandoned.

In June, American officials determined from the intercepts of his communications — email, texts, phone calls or a combination — that he had been paying the protesters.

One senior United States official said American agencies were able to easily collect financial data that put Mr. Savvidis behind payments to citizens and soccer fans to incite violence against the Macedonia referendum.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization, Mr. Savvidis paid opponents of the campaign to rename Macedonia at least 300,000 euros, or about $350,000.

Those who received the money included Macedonian politicians, newly established radical nationalist organizations and Vardar club soccer hooligans, who staged the violent protests in front of the Parliament building in Skopje, the project reported.

Image

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece last month in Athens. His government announced it was expelling two Russian diplomats for trying to interfere with the Macedonian referendum.CreditAngelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Savvidis strongly denied the accusations. “Totally false and highly slanderous,” his holding company said in a statement this past summer.

Relaying the Report

Conveying the American intelligence report to the Greek government in early July fell to Mr. Pyatt, a seasoned American diplomat who has been Washington’s ambassador to Athens for two years, several United States officials said. Mr. Pyatt was well prepared for such as role, having served as the United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016, when Russia seized Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

“There’s not a trick the Russians can pull that Pyatt doesn’t know,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Mr. Murphy said he had spoken to Mr. Pyatt about Russia’s meddling in the Macedonia referendum, but he declined to comment on specifics of their private conversations.

But getting the information to the Greek prime minister was one thing. Getting him to act on it was by no means assured.

The prime minister, Mr. Tsipras, who had refused to join the rest of Europe in backing Britain in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former spy, was from a political party with a historically cozy relationship with Moscow. Still, the decision to move against Moscow was made easier by the effort Mr. Tsipras had just put into breaking a 30-year logjam with Macedonia, only to see Russia try to spoil it.

Serbia

50 miles

Kosovo

Bulgaria

Skopje

Macedonia

Albania

Thessaloniki

Greece

Athens

Recent American diplomacy helped, officials said. The Obama government stood by Greece during its yearslong financial crisis, advocating for Athens to stay in the eurozone when some European countries initially balked at bailing out Greece. Jacob J. Lew, President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary, spent so much time on the Greece debt relief package that senior officials joked he had become the Treasury desk officer for Greece. Mr. Obama and Mr. Lew both traveled to Athens during the crisis, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who returned there after leaving office last year.

Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Tsipras last October at the White House, and the two countries are discussing expanding the American military’s presence in Greece, including access for United States ships and aircraft.

“If you look at geography, and you look at current operations in Libya, and you look at current operations in Syria, you look at potential other operations in the eastern Mediterranean, the geography of Greece and the opportunities here are pretty significant,” Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a recent visit to Athens.

Within the American national security establishment, officials have been clearly seeking to nudge Athens away from its relationship with Moscow. “We are cultivating Greece as an anchor of stability in the eastern Med and western Balkans,” A. Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in June.

Diplomatic Sparring

On July 11, Mr. Tsipras broke with Moscow. His government expelled the two diplomats and barred two other Russians from entering Greece, accusing them of trying to bribe unidentified officials and foment demonstrations against the Macedonia deal.

Image

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, met with Macedonia’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, last month in Skopje.CreditTomislav Georgiev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“The constant disrespect for Greece must stop,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “No one can or has the right to interfere in Greece’s domestic affairs.”

Moscow later said it was expelling Greek diplomats in retaliation.

Moments after Athens announced it was expelling the Russians, Mr. Pyatt, the American ambassador, triumphantly emailed a number of colleagues and former colleagues at the State Department and the Pentagon. Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, posted on Twitter after the announcement: “#Greece expelled two Russian officials and barred entry of two others for attempting to interfere in Greek politics. We support Greece defending its sovereignty. #Russia must end its destabilizing behavior.”

The American role in the Greek expulsion also shows how wide a gulf has developed between Mr. Trump — who has publicly questioned NATO while at the same time professing his deep admiration for Mr. Putin — and an American national security establishment that remains rooted to a deeply held belief that Russia’s efforts to meddle in elections both in the United States and among American allies is a geopolitical threat to American security.

That is a thought rarely, if ever, expressed by Mr. Trump. But it is one that a succession of American security officials repeat every day.

“The kind of mischief that Russia has practiced, from Macedonia to the United States,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on Sept. 11, ahead of the Sept. 30 referendum, is “always beyond the pale as far as I’m concerned.” He followed his remarks with a trip to Skopje to “make a specific statement that we stand with the Macedonian people,” he said.

Asked if there was anything the United States was doing to combat Russian efforts to interfere in the referendum, Mr. Mattis said, “Yes.” He declined to go into specifics, but Defense Department officials said that they are also launching information operations, jointly with the governments of Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine, to counter Russian disinformation in elections and referendums there.

None of the American behind-the-scene efforts may come to anything if the Macedonian Parliament does not agree to the name change. But Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who sent the measure to lawmakers this week, said he will call early elections if the measure fails.

Julian Barnes contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

1

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Work of U.S. Spies Uncovers Russian Link in Balkans Vote

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/us/politics/russia-macedonia-greece.html |

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote, in 2018-10-10 10:58:08

[internetbetterforall]

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote http://www.nature-business.com/nature-u-s-spycraft-and-stealthy-diplomacy-expose-russian-subversion-in-a-key-balkans-vote/

Nature

Image

A voter at a polling station last month in Murtino, Macedonia, during a referendum on whether to change the country’s name.CreditCreditDimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

WASHINGTON — For years, Ivan Savvidis has been the Kremlin’s man in Greece.

A Greek-Russian billionaire, a former member of the Russian Duma and the owner of a professional Greek soccer team, Mr. Savvidis has moved seamlessly between the sporting worlds of both countries. He has a finger in seemingly every facet of life in Thessaloniki, the Greek port city where he lives, and is a well-known player in the often feuding world of Greek and Russian oligarchs.

All of which has made him of intense interest to American spy agencies.

United States officials say they intercepted communications in June showing that Mr. Savvidis was working as Russia’s conduit to undermine an agreement between Greece and Macedonia that would have paved the way for Macedonia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Greece has long objected to Macedonia’s entry into NATO. Moscow, which sees the expanding alliance as a major threat on its border, was determined to defeat a referendum on the deal.

In retaliation, American officials made an unusually aggressive move: They turned over the intercepts to the left-leaning Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The Greek government responded by making a rare break with Moscow, expelling two Russian diplomats from Athens and barring the entry of two more.

American spies and diplomats remain elated. Although a referendum vote last month in Macedonia on the agreement was inconclusive — the Macedonian Parliament must now decide, perhaps as early as this week, whether the country joins the Atlantic alliance — American officials see the exposure of Mr. Savvidis and the expulsion of the diplomats as a rare victory in a catch-up effort against Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe and the United States.

“We’re pushing back and showing that we can play hardball too,” said Christopher R. Hill, a former United States ambassador to Macedonia. “We can tattletale, we can do things that maybe in the past we did not do.”

Image

Ivan Savvidis, the owner of the soccer club PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, Greece, was escorted out after running onto the field with a handgun in March.CreditSakis Mitrolidis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The secret maneuverings occurred as President Trump traveled to Europe over the summer and publicly embraced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and denigrated the alliance — yet another example of the presidency and the career national security establishment seemingly working at cross-purposes. But the Macedonian story begins long before that.

Countering Interference

When American national security officials first saw signs in the summer of 2016 that Russia was trying to interfere in the American presidential election, the State and Defense Departments, working closely with the intelligence agencies, formed what is now called the Russia Influence Group to try to counter the Russian attempts, principally in Europe. That included looking for elections in Europe where Russia might try to intervene.

Late this past spring, they saw that Macedonia was a likely target. On June 12, Macedonian and Greek officials announced that the country would change its name to North Macedonia to end a three-decade dispute with Greece, which saw “Macedonia” as implying territorial aspirations over a Greek region of the same name.

Once the country became North Macedonia, Greece would lift its veto on the country joining NATO. A formal vote to adopt the new name was set for late September.

Moscow was not pleased. At a conference in Athens three days after the agreement, a top Russian diplomat issued a stark warning to the West about the plans to invite Macedonia into the alliance.

Image

President Trump spoke in July at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

“Sure, we will not shoot nuclear bombs,” said Vladimir A. Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union. “But,” he added, “there are errors that have consequences.”

Mr. Chizhov’s threat prompted a series of diplomatic cables back to Washington from Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Greece who was at the same conference, to warn that Moscow was going to try to stymie the upcoming referendum. The State Department, the C.I.A. and the Pentagon’s European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, were already on the case, officials said.

By then, opposition to the referendum had already surfaced in Macedonia. Over the summer, there would be hundreds of new websites calling for a boycott of the vote and Facebook posts urging Macedonians to burn their ballots — classic disinformation, Macedonian and American officials said, directed by Russian-backed groups.

The day of the agreement, there were also violent protests outside the Parliament building in Skopje, the Macedonian capital.

Enter Mr. Savvidis. He had been on the radar of American and Greek intelligence agencies for years as a member of Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, when he was in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, and had parlayed a fortune first made through a Russian tobacco company into a string of interests throughout northern Greece.

Image

A polling station last month in Zajas, Macedonia, during the referendum.CreditArmend Nimani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

As the owner of the Greek soccer team, PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, he famously stormed the field during a match this year against an Athens team while armed with a holstered handgun and surrounded by bodyguards. The Athens team’s players left the field over concerns for their safety and the match was abandoned.

In June, American officials determined from the intercepts of his communications — email, texts, phone calls or a combination — that he had been paying the protesters.

One senior United States official said American agencies were able to easily collect financial data that put Mr. Savvidis behind payments to citizens and soccer fans to incite violence against the Macedonia referendum.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization, Mr. Savvidis paid opponents of the campaign to rename Macedonia at least 300,000 euros, or about $350,000.

Those who received the money included Macedonian politicians, newly established radical nationalist organizations and Vardar club soccer hooligans, who staged the violent protests in front of the Parliament building in Skopje, the project reported.

Image

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece last month in Athens. His government announced it was expelling two Russian diplomats for trying to interfere with the Macedonian referendum.CreditAngelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Savvidis strongly denied the accusations. “Totally false and highly slanderous,” his holding company said in a statement this past summer.

Relaying the Report

Conveying the American intelligence report to the Greek government in early July fell to Mr. Pyatt, a seasoned American diplomat who has been Washington’s ambassador to Athens for two years, several United States officials said. Mr. Pyatt was well prepared for such as role, having served as the United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016, when Russia seized Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

“There’s not a trick the Russians can pull that Pyatt doesn’t know,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Mr. Murphy said he had spoken to Mr. Pyatt about Russia’s meddling in the Macedonia referendum, but he declined to comment on specifics of their private conversations.

But getting the information to the Greek prime minister was one thing. Getting him to act on it was by no means assured.

The prime minister, Mr. Tsipras, who had refused to join the rest of Europe in backing Britain in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former spy, was from a political party with a historically cozy relationship with Moscow. Still, the decision to move against Moscow was made easier by the effort Mr. Tsipras had just put into breaking a 30-year logjam with Macedonia, only to see Russia try to spoil it.

Serbia

50 miles

Kosovo

Bulgaria

Skopje

Macedonia

Albania

Thessaloniki

Greece

Athens

Recent American diplomacy helped, officials said. The Obama government stood by Greece during its yearslong financial crisis, advocating for Athens to stay in the eurozone when some European countries initially balked at bailing out Greece. Jacob J. Lew, President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary, spent so much time on the Greece debt relief package that senior officials joked he had become the Treasury desk officer for Greece. Mr. Obama and Mr. Lew both traveled to Athens during the crisis, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who returned there after leaving office last year.

Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Tsipras last October at the White House, and the two countries are discussing expanding the American military’s presence in Greece, including access for United States ships and aircraft.

“If you look at geography, and you look at current operations in Libya, and you look at current operations in Syria, you look at potential other operations in the eastern Mediterranean, the geography of Greece and the opportunities here are pretty significant,” Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a recent visit to Athens.

Within the American national security establishment, officials have been clearly seeking to nudge Athens away from its relationship with Moscow. “We are cultivating Greece as an anchor of stability in the eastern Med and western Balkans,” A. Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in June.

Diplomatic Sparring

On July 11, Mr. Tsipras broke with Moscow. His government expelled the two diplomats and barred two other Russians from entering Greece, accusing them of trying to bribe unidentified officials and foment demonstrations against the Macedonia deal.

Image

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, met with Macedonia’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, last month in Skopje.CreditTomislav Georgiev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“The constant disrespect for Greece must stop,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “No one can or has the right to interfere in Greece’s domestic affairs.”

Moscow later said it was expelling Greek diplomats in retaliation.

Moments after Athens announced it was expelling the Russians, Mr. Pyatt, the American ambassador, triumphantly emailed a number of colleagues and former colleagues at the State Department and the Pentagon. Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, posted on Twitter after the announcement: “#Greece expelled two Russian officials and barred entry of two others for attempting to interfere in Greek politics. We support Greece defending its sovereignty. #Russia must end its destabilizing behavior.”

The American role in the Greek expulsion also shows how wide a gulf has developed between Mr. Trump — who has publicly questioned NATO while at the same time professing his deep admiration for Mr. Putin — and an American national security establishment that remains rooted to a deeply held belief that Russia’s efforts to meddle in elections both in the United States and among American allies is a geopolitical threat to American security.

That is a thought rarely, if ever, expressed by Mr. Trump. But it is one that a succession of American security officials repeat every day.

“The kind of mischief that Russia has practiced, from Macedonia to the United States,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on Sept. 11, ahead of the Sept. 30 referendum, is “always beyond the pale as far as I’m concerned.” He followed his remarks with a trip to Skopje to “make a specific statement that we stand with the Macedonian people,” he said.

Asked if there was anything the United States was doing to combat Russian efforts to interfere in the referendum, Mr. Mattis said, “Yes.” He declined to go into specifics, but Defense Department officials said that they are also launching information operations, jointly with the governments of Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine, to counter Russian disinformation in elections and referendums there.

None of the American behind-the-scene efforts may come to anything if the Macedonian Parliament does not agree to the name change. But Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who sent the measure to lawmakers this week, said he will call early elections if the measure fails.

Julian Barnes contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

1

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Work of U.S. Spies Uncovers Russian Link in Balkans Vote

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote, in 2018-10-10 10:58:08

[algarithmblognumber]

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote http://www.nature-business.com/nature-u-s-spycraft-and-stealthy-diplomacy-expose-russian-subversion-in-a-key-balkans-vote/

Nature

Image

A voter at a polling station last month in Murtino, Macedonia, during a referendum on whether to change the country’s name.CreditCreditDimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

WASHINGTON — For years, Ivan Savvidis has been the Kremlin’s man in Greece.

A Greek-Russian billionaire, a former member of the Russian Duma and the owner of a professional Greek soccer team, Mr. Savvidis has moved seamlessly between the sporting worlds of both countries. He has a finger in seemingly every facet of life in Thessaloniki, the Greek port city where he lives, and is a well-known player in the often feuding world of Greek and Russian oligarchs.

All of which has made him of intense interest to American spy agencies.

United States officials say they intercepted communications in June showing that Mr. Savvidis was working as Russia’s conduit to undermine an agreement between Greece and Macedonia that would have paved the way for Macedonia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Greece has long objected to Macedonia’s entry into NATO. Moscow, which sees the expanding alliance as a major threat on its border, was determined to defeat a referendum on the deal.

In retaliation, American officials made an unusually aggressive move: They turned over the intercepts to the left-leaning Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. The Greek government responded by making a rare break with Moscow, expelling two Russian diplomats from Athens and barring the entry of two more.

American spies and diplomats remain elated. Although a referendum vote last month in Macedonia on the agreement was inconclusive — the Macedonian Parliament must now decide, perhaps as early as this week, whether the country joins the Atlantic alliance — American officials see the exposure of Mr. Savvidis and the expulsion of the diplomats as a rare victory in a catch-up effort against Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe and the United States.

“We’re pushing back and showing that we can play hardball too,” said Christopher R. Hill, a former United States ambassador to Macedonia. “We can tattletale, we can do things that maybe in the past we did not do.”

Image

Ivan Savvidis, the owner of the soccer club PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, Greece, was escorted out after running onto the field with a handgun in March.CreditSakis Mitrolidis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The secret maneuverings occurred as President Trump traveled to Europe over the summer and publicly embraced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and denigrated the alliance — yet another example of the presidency and the career national security establishment seemingly working at cross-purposes. But the Macedonian story begins long before that.

Countering Interference

When American national security officials first saw signs in the summer of 2016 that Russia was trying to interfere in the American presidential election, the State and Defense Departments, working closely with the intelligence agencies, formed what is now called the Russia Influence Group to try to counter the Russian attempts, principally in Europe. That included looking for elections in Europe where Russia might try to intervene.

Late this past spring, they saw that Macedonia was a likely target. On June 12, Macedonian and Greek officials announced that the country would change its name to North Macedonia to end a three-decade dispute with Greece, which saw “Macedonia” as implying territorial aspirations over a Greek region of the same name.

Once the country became North Macedonia, Greece would lift its veto on the country joining NATO. A formal vote to adopt the new name was set for late September.

Moscow was not pleased. At a conference in Athens three days after the agreement, a top Russian diplomat issued a stark warning to the West about the plans to invite Macedonia into the alliance.

Image

President Trump spoke in July at the NATO summit meeting in Brussels.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

“Sure, we will not shoot nuclear bombs,” said Vladimir A. Chizhov, Russia’s ambassador to the European Union. “But,” he added, “there are errors that have consequences.”

Mr. Chizhov’s threat prompted a series of diplomatic cables back to Washington from Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Greece who was at the same conference, to warn that Moscow was going to try to stymie the upcoming referendum. The State Department, the C.I.A. and the Pentagon’s European Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, were already on the case, officials said.

By then, opposition to the referendum had already surfaced in Macedonia. Over the summer, there would be hundreds of new websites calling for a boycott of the vote and Facebook posts urging Macedonians to burn their ballots — classic disinformation, Macedonian and American officials said, directed by Russian-backed groups.

The day of the agreement, there were also violent protests outside the Parliament building in Skopje, the Macedonian capital.

Enter Mr. Savvidis. He had been on the radar of American and Greek intelligence agencies for years as a member of Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, when he was in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, and had parlayed a fortune first made through a Russian tobacco company into a string of interests throughout northern Greece.

Image

A polling station last month in Zajas, Macedonia, during the referendum.CreditArmend Nimani/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

As the owner of the Greek soccer team, PAOK FC in Thessaloniki, he famously stormed the field during a match this year against an Athens team while armed with a holstered handgun and surrounded by bodyguards. The Athens team’s players left the field over concerns for their safety and the match was abandoned.

In June, American officials determined from the intercepts of his communications — email, texts, phone calls or a combination — that he had been paying the protesters.

One senior United States official said American agencies were able to easily collect financial data that put Mr. Savvidis behind payments to citizens and soccer fans to incite violence against the Macedonia referendum.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting organization, Mr. Savvidis paid opponents of the campaign to rename Macedonia at least 300,000 euros, or about $350,000.

Those who received the money included Macedonian politicians, newly established radical nationalist organizations and Vardar club soccer hooligans, who staged the violent protests in front of the Parliament building in Skopje, the project reported.

Image

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece last month in Athens. His government announced it was expelling two Russian diplomats for trying to interfere with the Macedonian referendum.CreditAngelos Tzortzinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Savvidis strongly denied the accusations. “Totally false and highly slanderous,” his holding company said in a statement this past summer.

Relaying the Report

Conveying the American intelligence report to the Greek government in early July fell to Mr. Pyatt, a seasoned American diplomat who has been Washington’s ambassador to Athens for two years, several United States officials said. Mr. Pyatt was well prepared for such as role, having served as the United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2013 to 2016, when Russia seized Crimea and backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

“There’s not a trick the Russians can pull that Pyatt doesn’t know,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Mr. Murphy said he had spoken to Mr. Pyatt about Russia’s meddling in the Macedonia referendum, but he declined to comment on specifics of their private conversations.

But getting the information to the Greek prime minister was one thing. Getting him to act on it was by no means assured.

The prime minister, Mr. Tsipras, who had refused to join the rest of Europe in backing Britain in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former spy, was from a political party with a historically cozy relationship with Moscow. Still, the decision to move against Moscow was made easier by the effort Mr. Tsipras had just put into breaking a 30-year logjam with Macedonia, only to see Russia try to spoil it.

Serbia

50 miles

Kosovo

Bulgaria

Skopje

Macedonia

Albania

Thessaloniki

Greece

Athens

Recent American diplomacy helped, officials said. The Obama government stood by Greece during its yearslong financial crisis, advocating for Athens to stay in the eurozone when some European countries initially balked at bailing out Greece. Jacob J. Lew, President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary, spent so much time on the Greece debt relief package that senior officials joked he had become the Treasury desk officer for Greece. Mr. Obama and Mr. Lew both traveled to Athens during the crisis, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who returned there after leaving office last year.

Mr. Trump hosted Mr. Tsipras last October at the White House, and the two countries are discussing expanding the American military’s presence in Greece, including access for United States ships and aircraft.

“If you look at geography, and you look at current operations in Libya, and you look at current operations in Syria, you look at potential other operations in the eastern Mediterranean, the geography of Greece and the opportunities here are pretty significant,” Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a recent visit to Athens.

Within the American national security establishment, officials have been clearly seeking to nudge Athens away from its relationship with Moscow. “We are cultivating Greece as an anchor of stability in the eastern Med and western Balkans,” A. Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in June.

Diplomatic Sparring

On July 11, Mr. Tsipras broke with Moscow. His government expelled the two diplomats and barred two other Russians from entering Greece, accusing them of trying to bribe unidentified officials and foment demonstrations against the Macedonia deal.

Image

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, left, met with Macedonia’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, last month in Skopje.CreditTomislav Georgiev/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“The constant disrespect for Greece must stop,” the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “No one can or has the right to interfere in Greece’s domestic affairs.”

Moscow later said it was expelling Greek diplomats in retaliation.

Moments after Athens announced it was expelling the Russians, Mr. Pyatt, the American ambassador, triumphantly emailed a number of colleagues and former colleagues at the State Department and the Pentagon. Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, posted on Twitter after the announcement: “#Greece expelled two Russian officials and barred entry of two others for attempting to interfere in Greek politics. We support Greece defending its sovereignty. #Russia must end its destabilizing behavior.”

The American role in the Greek expulsion also shows how wide a gulf has developed between Mr. Trump — who has publicly questioned NATO while at the same time professing his deep admiration for Mr. Putin — and an American national security establishment that remains rooted to a deeply held belief that Russia’s efforts to meddle in elections both in the United States and among American allies is a geopolitical threat to American security.

That is a thought rarely, if ever, expressed by Mr. Trump. But it is one that a succession of American security officials repeat every day.

“The kind of mischief that Russia has practiced, from Macedonia to the United States,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters on Sept. 11, ahead of the Sept. 30 referendum, is “always beyond the pale as far as I’m concerned.” He followed his remarks with a trip to Skopje to “make a specific statement that we stand with the Macedonian people,” he said.

Asked if there was anything the United States was doing to combat Russian efforts to interfere in the referendum, Mr. Mattis said, “Yes.” He declined to go into specifics, but Defense Department officials said that they are also launching information operations, jointly with the governments of Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine, to counter Russian disinformation in elections and referendums there.

None of the American behind-the-scene efforts may come to anything if the Macedonian Parliament does not agree to the name change. But Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who sent the measure to lawmakers this week, said he will call early elections if the measure fails.

Julian Barnes contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on

, on Page

A

1

of the New York edition

with the headline:

Work of U.S. Spies Uncovers Russian Link in Balkans Vote

. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/us/politics/russia-macedonia-greece.html |

Nature U.S. Spycraft and Stealthy Diplomacy Expose Russian Subversion in a Key Balkans Vote, in 2018-10-10 10:58:08

[ultrasfcb-blog]

US Open 2018: Novak Djokovic marches previous John Millman into semi-final

US Open 2018: Novak Djokovic marches previous John Millman into semi-final

US Open 2018: Novak Djokovic marches previous John Millman into semi-final

Novak Djokovic gained the US Open in 2011 and 2015

2018 US Open Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Protection: Reside radio protection on BBC Radio 5 dwell sports activities further; dwell textual content commentaries on the BBC Sport web site

Novak Djokovic reached the US Open semi-finals after persevering with his flawless document within the final eight with victory over Roger Federer’s conqueror John Millman.

The 31-year-old earned a 6-Three 6-Four 6-Four victory over the Australian world quantity 55.

The Serb, twice champion at Flushing Meadows, has now gained all 11 of his quarter-final matches in New York.

He goes on to play Japan’s Kei Nishikori within the final 4 on Friday.

Djokovic missed final yr’s event with an elbow damage however has now reached at the very least the semi-finals in each look at Flushing Meadows since 2007.

The victory was not as simple for the sixth seed because the scoreline prompt, Australian Millman offering stoic resistance earlier than Djokovic got here via to take his first match level after two hours 49 minutes, simply earlier than midnight native time.

Djokovic strikes nearer to Sampras information

Djokovic has gone on to succeed in the ultimate seven instances from these 11 straight last-four appearances, and victory over Nishikori would transfer him alongside Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl’s document appearances complete within the males’s showpiece.

An even bigger piece of historical past awaits, nevertheless, if he can go all the best way in New York – a 14th Grand Slam victory would rank him alongside Sampras, and behind solely Federer (20) and Nadal (17), in main triumphs.

However first he needed to get previous the energetic Millman on one other stuffy night time on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Djokovic had breezed previous the Australian on grass at Queen’s Membership in June – their solely earlier assembly – dropping simply three video games.

This time he was made to work a lot more durable.

The previous world primary missed 16 of 20 break factors, and was pegged again from 3-1 up within the third set, earlier than profitable 12 of the ultimate 15 factors to advance.

Warmth causes extra issues as Millman pressured off court docket

A failure to transform break factors was not the one drawback confronted by Djokovic.

Not for the primary time on the event he struggled within the circumstances which, though nonetheless sizzling and humid, appeared a lot simpler than on earlier nights.

He was given some tablets through the second set – however declined to say what they have been when requested in his post-match media convention.

“I personally have by no means sweat as a lot as I’ve right here. Unimaginable. I’ve to take at the very least 10 shirts for each match. It is actually after two video games and also you’re soaking,” Djokovic mentioned.

“I requested the chair umpire whether or not they’re utilizing some type of air flow or air-con down on the court docket stage, and he says that ‘he isn’t conscious of it’, that, , solely what comes via the hallway kind of factor.

“I feel that this event wants to handle this. I imply, as a result of whether or not it is night time or day, we simply do not have air down there. It seems like sauna.”

Djokovic was additionally given time violations in successive factors when serving at 3-2 within the third set, which means he misplaced his first serve whereas break level down, and Millman duly capitalised.

The Australian additionally suffered with the warmth, having to vanish off court docket at 2-2 within the second set to alter his sweat-soaked package.

“[In] these night time matches, the humidity goes via the roof,” he mentioned.

“It’s difficult, nevertheless it’s the identical for each individuals. You are dripping. However, that is no excuse or something. I would play in a swimming pool if I received to play a quarter-final each week at a Grand Slam.”

Ball girls and boys needed to wipe the court docket with towels between video games, and the USTA issued a press release afterwards confirming the chair umpire allowed Millman to depart the court docket after figuring out the floor was “harmful”.

Millman leaves with repute and rating enhanced

Millman produced a giant shock when he inflicted a four-set defeat on Swiss second seed Federer within the final 16, ending the opportunity of a gathering between two of the sport’s greats within the quarter-finals.

The love of the New York crowd adopted Millman into his match in opposition to Djokovic – and he thrived on the backing.

The 29-year-old, usually chatting and interacting along with his supporters within the stands, fed off the group’s vitality as he continued to frustrate Djokovic.

He entertained them with some exceptional retrieving, along with clutch serving and the odd sensible winner, on his option to seeing off 11 break factors – between those Djokovic did convert for a 2-Zero lead within the first set and a 5-Four benefit within the second.

However he was unable to check the Serb’s serve usually and when he did, breaking again to stage the third set at 3-3, Djokovic hit straight again.

However he’ll go away New York with an enhanced repute and a career-high rating of 37 after reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Evaluation

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

Millman saved Djokovic on court docket for so long as he probably might, and at instances drove him to distraction with some breathtaking retrieving.

The Serb might solely convert one in all his first 13 break factors, and once more appeared to battle within the excessive humidity. At one level he requested a nasal spray.

The frustration of being docked a primary serve for sluggish play late within the match quickly handed, and a straight-set victory is all the time gratefully accepted in a Grand Slam quarter-final. Djokovic gained simply earlier than the stroke of midnight in lower than three hours, a luxurious not afforded to Rafael Nadal the earlier night time.

BBC Sport – Tennis ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/tennis/11677/

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[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1161

Monday, May 1, 2017

 It's a great week to be a geek. The TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" starts airing now. Thursday, May 4th is Star Wars Day. The "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" movie opens in theatres on Friday, May 5th. Saturday the 6th is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. Sunday the 7th is another CAPITAL TRADE SHOW at the Jim Durrell Arena where Jee-Riz Comics & Appraisals will be hawking their wares. Fly your geek flags high.

 Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #1 - Peter David (writer) Mark Bagley (pencils) John Dell (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This follows the "Clone Conspiracy" debacle as Ben tries to start a new life in Sin City. If you like your Spider-Man a little bit unethical then this book is for you. Ben also talks to imaginary people which can make for some confusion but it's a quirk that sets him apart from the other Spider-Men. I don't know if I'll keep up with this mentally unstable version but I like his new costume a lot.

 Batman & The Shadow #1 - Scott Snyder & Steve Orlando (writers) Riley Rossmo (art) Ivan Plascencia (colours) Clem Robins (letters). A murder in Gotham City sets Batman on the hunt for the killer with the victim's name giving us a clue to who that might be. Lamont Cranston's death leads Bruce to the Alps to visit an old teacher after some detective work talking to old associates of The Shadow. I liked how the similarities between the two dark crime fighters make this an interesting chess game between two masters of mainpulation. I wonder what the motive was if The Shadow did indeed kill his own descendant. Maybe the rest of this 6-issue mini will reveal the truth.

 Big Moose #1 - This double sized one-shot features Archie Comic's iconic dumbbell jock Marmaduke AKA Moose Mason. I did not know that he had the same name as a comic strip great dane, and I don't mean Scooby Doo. The first story "Moose vs. the Vending Machine" by Sean Ryan (writer) Cory Smith (art) Matt Herms (colours) & Jack Morelli (letters) is your typical dumb jock story that would fit right in an old Pep comic from the fifties. The second story "Have It All" by Ryan Cady (writer) Thomas Pitilli (art) Glenn Whitmore (colours) & Jack Morelli (letters) shows a more intelligent Moose juggling all of his stressful high school responsibilities. I felt for the guy, especially his struggle with an English lit paper. It made me suspect that Moose might be dyslexic. The last story "The Big Difference" by Gorf (writer) Ryan Jampole (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) & Jack Morelli (letters) has Moose making a new friend that's a little "after school special" but the kids will get the message. All in all a nice feature of a minor Archie character.

 No World #1 - Scott Lobdell (writer) Jordan Gunderson (pencils) Mark Roslan & Charlie Mok (digital inks) JUANCHOo (colours) Zen (letters). I picked this off the rack to read because of the sexy hot cover by Jordan Gunderson & Peter Steigerwald. Plus, Scott Lobdell wrote some comic books that I used to like. This one did not impress me. The Aspen Comics imprint seems to cater to good girl art fans, of which I am one, but a comic needs more than just T&A to keep me reading. I wasn't given enough information about the two main good girls in this debut to care about them so I won't continue reading.

 Wonder Woman #21 - Greg Rucka (writer) Liam Sharp (art) Laura Martin with Hi-Fi (colours). Part 4 of "The Truth" finds Veronica Cale getting ever closer to finding Themyscira and saving her daughter. I am looking forward to the conclusion of this story in Wonder Woman #23 to see what Ares' role is.

 The Old Guard #3 - Greg Rucka (writer) Leandro Fernandez (art) Daniela Miwa (colours) Jodi Wynne (letters). Two of the five team members are in the clutches of the bad guys so it's three to the rescue. This issue is a great example of a good writer making you care about the characters. Part of it has the origin story of one of the mercenaries. Another part shows how much two of the members care about each other. There's plenty of action over many pages beautifully illustrated by Leandro but also lots of action we don't see that is clearly implied in just one panel. That's good comic books.

 Deadpool vs. Punisher #2 - Fred Van Lente (writer) Pere Perez (art) Ruth Redmond (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Round two has 'Pool and 'Pun in a shoot out with the Don of the Dead, a crazy Mexican bad guy as deranged as Deadpool. Round three next issue should be fun with a new bad guy who you'll recognise right away. I can't wait

 Action Comics #978 - Dan Jurgens (writer) Carlo Barberi (pencils) Matt Santorelli (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Part 2 of "The New World" continues the review of Superman's origin story including his romance with Lois Lane and the birth of their son Jonathan. The identity of the villain is also revealed. What he has planned for the Man of Steel isn't anything new but it never gets old.

 Kill or be Killed #8 - Ed Brubaker (writer) Sean Phillips (art) Elizabeth Breitweiser (colours). Being spotted by the police while killing his last victim has complicated Dylan's life. It seems like every law enforcement officer is looking for him, which makes it even more difficult to find and kill someone else to keep the demon at bay. This could be the end of our killer vigilante.

 The Mighty Thor #18 - Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). In part 4 of "The Asgard/Shi'Ar War" the Shi'Ar gods Sharra and K'ythri act like a couple of spoiled brats and decide to unleash their ultimate weapon to destroy the universe. The opening pages have the good guys seeking help from one of my favourite mutants. Russell's art is crazy good and he's close to Geof Darrow in the details that he puts on a page. When the force unleashed can take out The Destroyer in the blink of an eye you know the good guys are in deep doo-doo.

 Detective Comics #955 - James Tynion IV (writer) Marcio Takara (art) Marcelo Maiolo (colours) Sal Cipriano (letters). I was enjoying this issue right up until the very last page. It's one of those deus ex machina moments that I better get an explanation of or else "League of Shadows" will be the Detective Comics story that benches this book.

 Josie & The Pussycats #6 - Cameron Deordio & Marguerite Bennett (writers) Audrey Mok (art) Kelly Fitzpatrick (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). I loved the Michael Allred cover. I really appreciate that all the ad pages were gathered at the back so that we get to read an uninterrupted story. This is one comic book that I read just for fun.

 The Wild Storm #3 - Warren Ellis (writer) John Davis-Hunt (art) Steve Buccellato (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). If Aspen Comics had done as good a job as these people in redefining their cast of characters I would endorse their books. Here we have a fire fight that's even prettier than the one in The Old Guard #3 thanks to the work of John Davis-Hunt. New readers should not be afraid to pick this series up because it's got cool characters and Warren Ellis always entertains.

 Elektra #3 - Matt Owens (writer) Juann Cabal (art) Antonio Fabela (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). It's all out action as Elektra battles through Murderworld. Just when you think she's won her freedom, Arcade springs another surprise. He never fights fair. I really like the covers by Elizabeth Torque and would love to see a comic book drawn by her.

 Old Man Logan #22 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Eric Nguyen (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Looks like Jeff is showing us Logan's greatest hits as he winds down work on this title. Maybe it will make some fans buy a few trades.

 Hulk #5 - Mariko Tamaki (writer) Nico Leon (art) Matt Milla & Andrew Crossley (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I read recently that fans won't buy a Hulk comic book unless it's Bruce Banner as the big green galoot. Those fans are narrow minded and don't deserve to be called comic book fans. This book is great and has made the Hulk interesting to me again. I don't care who the Hulk is or who Iron Man is as long as there's a good story and nice art for the book. It's been 5 issues of this title hitting the racks and we haven't really seen the Hulk once. It doesn't matter because this story about Jennifer coping with the recent changes in her life is a good one.

 Infamous Iron Man #7 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Matt Hollingsworth (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). See, this is how you make a major change in an iconic character so that fans will want to read the book and not feel sick to their stomachs. I love this new version of Victor Von Doom. Brian has shown him evolving into the Infamous Iron Man instead of what happened with Captain America seemingly out of the blue saying "Hail Hydra". Here's another character that's been made interesting again and I will promote this title to anyone looking to read a good comic book.

 Ms. Marvel #17 - G. Willow Wilson (writer) Takeshi Miyazawa (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Okay, I don't get how Ms. Marvel and her friends defeated Doc.X but maybe it's because I'm an old luddite. I don't have a cell phone and barely know what apps are. I did appreciate the group hug that started this issue because I grew up in the sixties and that's what we wanted to do back then too.

 Star Wars: Darth Maul #3 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Luke Ross (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This young disciple of the Sith is a lot less interesting than I first thought. He is merely motivated by his hatred of the Jedi and that's seems to be all that he's about. One dimensional characters aren't that interesting. It's the evil auctioneer that is making me stick to this story.

 The Totally Awesome Hulk #18 - Greg Pak (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The evil aliens find out what happens when their food fights back. Amadeus showed a side of him that surprised me and made me like this Hulk even more.

 Doctor Strange #19 - Jason Aaron (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils) John Livesay, Victor Olazaba, Al Vey, Jaime Mendoza, Tim Townsend & Wayne Faucher (inks) Chris Bachalo (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Yay, Wong is saved from Misery but I might be miserable after the next issue because it will be Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo's last.

 Weapon X #2 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The bad guys are on the Warpath and the mutant super hero is outnumbered. Sabretooth and Old Man Logan are still free but it looks like that won't last. Once Greg adds in the Domino effect the gang will all be here. I like Greg Land's art a lot more with Jay's inks.

 Invincible Iron Man #6 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). RiRi meets with Stark Industries, M.I.T. and last but not least The Champions. I'm most excited about her possibly joining the young super hero team. I wish Marvel would find a way to change the title to Ironheart. RiRi has been wearing the armour for a while now and calling this book Iron Man is just awkward.

����

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Batman #21 Proudly (and Effectively) Displays its Watchmen Influences

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for “Batman” #21, on sale now.

Tom King and Jason Fabok’s “Batman” #21 marks the beginning of the Dark Knight’s anticipated crossover with the Flash, first teased in “DC Universe: Rebirth,” that will unveil many of the mysteries of the current DCU — including (possibly) the mastermind behind the New 52 universe, which excised five years from our heroes’ lives. “The Button, Part One” leans hard into the “Watchmen” themes that have permeated multiple titles since Rebirth, drawing heavy inspiration from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ classic story.

RELATED: Watchmen’s Comedian Button Is Crucial for [SPOILER]’s Return In Batman

Last year’s “DC Universe: Rebirth” one-shot by Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis and Gary Frank, which re-introduced former Flash Wally West into the current continuity, immediately began the unraveling of some elements of the New 52 reality. The story strongly implied that Dr. Manhattan, the clockwork demigod of “Watchmen,” had altered the bonds of the DCU’s reality for some unknown purpose, while another character called Mr. Oz, whom some have speculated is Moore and Gibbons’ antagonist Ozymandias, has since been seen operating behind the scenes, working toward some obscure stratagem, faking the death of Tim Drake (aka Red Robin) to take him off the board.

“The Button” represents the overdue team-up between the two heroes most invested in this universal struggle, and those most likely to unearth its mysteries. In the “Rebirth” special, Batman discovered, embedded in the walls of the Batcave, the iconic, blood-stained smiley button Rorschach recovered after the Comedian’s murder. Wally West’s return showed current Flash Barry Allen that core pieces of his life had been ripped away, and illustrated how Wally’s role in changing reality in “Flashpoint” weighs heavily on his shoulders.

Now, Batman is finally getting around to investigating that smiley button. And King and Fabok are showing off their “Watchmen” chops, enhancing their story in a way that holds all manner of Easter eggs for fans immersed in Moore and Gibbons’ book, but is simultaneously entirely accessible for those who haven’t read it.

On the Grid

“Watchmen” was noted, among other things, for its strict employment of the nine-panel grid, a device artist Dave Gibbons used masterfully for the story’s rhythmic pacing. Tom King previously wrote for the grid in “Omega Men,” illustrated to perfection by Barnaby Bagenda. He does so once again in “Batman” #21, which adheres almost entirely to the grid, though it does break for a single page as Batman’s time runs out in his fight against the Reverse Flash (more on this in a bit).

The device isn’t necessarily apparent in the first few pages — pages 1 and 2 are each three panels, three rows with a single panel each, while page 3 is a splash. Further, the first two don’t immediately call “Watchmen” to mind, focusing as they do on a scene at Arkham Asylum, where the semi-amnesiac Saturn Girl watches a hockey game she knows will end in tragedy. (There is a quick nod to Moore and Gibbons’ work in the background, though, in the form of a smiley face-emblazoned poster declaring “Arkhman is for Healing.”)

But from page 4 on, which divides into a full nine panels, it’s clear that what’s preceded has also adhered to the grid, combining the left, center and right panels on each tier for pages 1-2, and all of the panels for the page 3 splash, much as Gibbons modified the grid in “Watchmen” to create specific pacing effects. Fabok and King use less variety here than did Gibbons and Moore — “Watchmen” layouts would switch up the selection of combined panels, whereas this issue trades primarily in full-nines, horizontal threes, and splashes. Whether this is by design and will play into the story’s upcoming chapters remains to be seen.

Iconography

The bloodied smiley button, perhaps the most recognized emblem of “Watchmen,” hardly needs its significance explained. But King and Fabok make many subtle nods to the imagery of Moore and Gibbons’ dystopia, beginning right on page one.

Varying perspective, such as an extreme close-up of an object followed by a view of the same object from further back, was a recurring feature of “Watchmen” from its opening pages, where the view pulled directly up from a smiley button in a puddle of blood all the way up to the to the top floors of a high-rise. In “Batman” #21, we begin on a close up of center ice at a hockey game, viewed through a TV screen. In panel 2, when we pull back, a player’s stick has landed, evoking another bit of “Watchmen” iconography — the clock face. If that’s the minute hand, it’s pointed to around ten minutes to the hour. Not a lot of time, and deliberately similar as well, in fact, to the orientation of the blood spatter on the button.

Shortly after, in a scene Bat-fans have seen any number of times before, the Dark Knight stands before a massive wall of monitors in the Batcave. But in the context of such a “Watchmen”-heavy issue, the image evokes Ozymandias observing the world from his own headquarters. In this case, however, every screen is filled with the smiley face, save for four central monitors, one of which is tuned the hockey game.

The smileys overwhelm the image, giving an immediate impression that Batman is simply obsessed with this mystery, but with a moment’s thought this becomes a very strange scene. One of the smiley monitors displays a double helix overlay, suggesting Bruce is running tests on the button’s blood splatter, perhaps conveying that each monitor is devoted to a different experiment or set of data. But with only four remaining screens to keep an eye on Gotham — one shows firefighters at work, another appears to be a news program, a third looks like a bird’s-eye view of the city — why is one devoted to the hockey game? Is this what the Batman’s tests on the button are telling him is important, was he aware of Saturn Girl’s breakdown at Arkham, or is the Dark Knight simply a fan of the sport?

After rotating the button several times over his hand, all while he takes in the game, Batman tosses the button aside, causing it to come into contact with the Psycho Pirate’s mask. The Pirate, of course, was a major figure from “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” DC’s first major universe-altering event; so important that when the dust settled and a new universe was born, Psycho Pirate was the only person to remember the original continuity. Here, a spark passes between the mask and the button, and Batman sees a brief vision of the “Flashpoint” Batman, his father Thomas Wayne.

Batman phones up the Flash to help with this new mystery, and Barry Allen promises to be at the cave… in one minute.

“I saw God”

In that minute, though, the revitalized Reverse Flash attacks, taking revenge for his own death in “Flashpoint” at the hands of Thomas Wayne upon his son, this reality’s Batman. Bats actually holds his own pretty well against against a villain who can move at the speed of thought, taking each punch and even landing a solid hit by momentarily pinning Thawne’s foot to the floor with a Batarang. As the seconds tick down — another motif seen throughout “Watchmen” — Batman knows all he has to do is run out the clock until help arrives.

But the Flash is late.

This is the scene that breaks the grid; the clock runs out and the anticipated event fails to materialize. On the three-panel page, two tall panels split what would be the grid’s center panel, and Reverse Flash lands his knock-out punch in a full-width panel that is slightly taller than the grid’s third tier.

Thawne picks up the badge, which instantly transports him… somewhere; a moment later, he’s back, much as Dr. Manhattan would disappear and immediately reappear throughout Moore and Gibbons’ epic. But when the Reverse Flash returns — in a burst of blue light — his body is burnt and ruined, similar to how Barry’s was when he ran to save the universe in “Crisis.” Thawne’s final words before his seeming death are, “I saw God.”

The World’s Greatest Detective, The Fastest Man Alive

DC has made no secret of the fact that the “Watchmen” characters are central to the “Rebirth” mystery. Now that Batman and the Flash are attacking the problem head on, it shouldn’t be surprising, then, that that the influence of “Watchmen” grows ever stronger. But what’s also notable is how King and Fabok aren’t just using “Watchmen’s” characters and objects like the button, but also studying the storytelling elements that landed Moore and Gibbons’ book not only in the pantheon of comics but also earned it a spot on many literary “best of” lists. The result is not at all academic; they’ve enhanced their own story by using effective techniques, devices with a particular pedigree that enrich the sense of weight and import that the “Watchmen” characters’ arrival portends.

Most importantly, if you don’t know any of this, if you couldn’t care less about the science of comics storytelling. Even if you’ve never read “Watchmen,” you’ve still got a rock-solid story about the Flash and Batman teaming up to solve a mystery and stop a powerful villain. It’s a damn fine superhero action adventure, and really, isn’t that what matters most?

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