#raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by pollen

[hauntedchilis]

check on your friends with misophonia this allergy season we are not ok

[gothicbabydollz]

100% get this is not everyone’s cup of tea but I would absolutely crumble if you ever wrote an Amarantha x fem! Reader drabble or fic involving sex pollen/dub con themes where she’s just making you eat her out

(I’m so sorry if this is disturbing)

Lap Cat

~~~

Pairings: Amarantha x f!reader

Warnings: this is a dark fic, read at your own risk. smut, dark themes, dubcon, mentions of torture/killing, oral (a!recieving)

Summary: You didn’t really think you’d get away with deceiving the Queen now did you?

Word count: around 2k

a/n: this ended up being a lot longer than i expected… (not proof read)

~~~

I imagine you being the daughter of a High Lord, which one is up to you but essentially you are very well known throughout Prythian.

Maybe you’re relatively younger, like 100 years old compared to other High Lord offspring’s.

Therefore, you’ve spent your first years of adulthood under Amarantha’s reign, and as your father is a high lord the Queen prefers to keep close - you’ve also spend the first years of adulthood stuck under the mountain.

This fuels your knowledge when conspiring against her, knowing your way around, having been accustomed to the horrific displays almost every night, being paid no mind from the Queen herself…or so you thought.

You were good. Truly. Yet Amarantha was better.

And you were still too young, too naive to truly attempt to deceive her.

Those helping you were tormented and slaughtered the previous nights. Your friends, your allies. Now hanging on the walls of the throne room. Under torture, you’re sure your name would have slipped out.

Now you were just counting down the hours until your time came.

The Attor himself was sent to retrieve you, and it took every ounce of strength you had left to keep the tears at way. As your mind ran wild of the possible ways the Queen would make you suffer.

When you’re released from the Attor’s punishing grip, your knees meet soft ground. Unlike the cool stone of the throne room. Cracking your eyes open, you stare at the detailed rug beneath you. One of the last things you’ll see. You run your shaking fingers through the wool, savouring the soft feel.

“I had expected better from you.”

You don’t bother trying to defend yourself, you know you’ve been caught. Instead you force your eyes upwards, looking towards the direction her voice came from.

You’re in the Queen’s personal chambers, you realise. As you see her standing in only a robe, so purple it could be black. Her crown still sits atop her head, copper hair weaved throughout. Her eyes find yours, cold and unforgiving, that prominent smirk evident on her mouth. “Up. Drink,” She gestures to the flagon of wine sitting on the table, the lone silver cup waiting to be filled. She holds its twin in her own hand, the eye trapped within her ring darts, as if telling you to do as she says.

Rising on shaky legs, you walk to the table. You struggle to suck air into your lungs, chest tight with the impending fear of death. You put all your effort in keeping the flagon steady as you pour yourself a cup of deep red wine. It looks like blood. Mother knows you’ve watched Amarantha draw pint after pint of blood from her victims. You can’t help the tears that line your eyes.

Poison. You think as you raise the cup to your mouth, sniffing the liquid within. “If I were going to kill you, do you honestly believe I would choose poison?” She asks, obviously having noticed your hesitance. You turn to face her, watching her settle on the edge of her large bed. You find your voice, “I wouldn’t know. You’re unpredictable.” The Queen laughs at that, a heartless sort of sound, “Drink.”

You do.

As the cool, bittersweet wine coats your throat, you pick up on what she said. “If you were to kill me?” She takes a sip from her own wine, humming, and points with a sharp, pointed nail to the floor at her feet. Kneel. Her gesture tells you. Tendrils of hope encase your mind, so you slowly walk towards her and settle onto your knees at her feet.

“I should kill you,” she looks down at you, with such terrifyingly beautiful features, “but i don’t want to.” Your heart pounds, could you get out of this alive? Amarantha reaches out, long, slender fingers catching your cheeks in her grip. She tilts your head to her will, “It would be an awful shame to ruin such a pretty face or the body hiding underneath that dress.” From the way she looks at you, it was if she could truly see beneath your clothes. You gulp.

She releases your face as she continues, “Killing you would be a waste of potential,” You follow her hands as they move to the tie holding her robe together, “I believe you could prove…useful. I simply need to know who’s side you’re on.” Your breath is caught in your throat as you watch the Queen strip off her robe, exposing the smooth, pale and utterly naked skin beneath. She sighs in her fresh nudity, her full, perky breasts shifting with the movement. Dark nipples peak in the chill air. You have to drag your stare away, instead down her stomach, flexing as she moves to get comfortable, propping her feet on the bed and ultimately widening the stance of her thighs, leaving you between them. With a view of her wet cunt, slick shining in your eyesight. It’s pathetic, that you can do absolutely nothing to stop the flood of arousal igniting a fire between your own legs. Guilt and lust cloud your mind as you stare at the Queen, awaiting her next move.

She lifts her cup, tilting it to allow the wine within to drip onto her skin. Dark against her pale complexion. The droplet runs down the valley of her breasts. “So, pet. What will it be?” Amarantha asks, smugness lacing her voice. Pet. The word echoes between your ears. That’s what she wants. Though she leaves the final choice to you. Would you rather be her plaything, her puppet? Or die.

You catch the droplet of wine as it reaches her mound. The taste melting on your tongue. Looking up at her, you follow the path back up, and she grins. It’s frightening. “Smart choice.” It all she says before tipping more wine over herself. This time, the liquid coats her breasts, and like a good little plaything, you clean it up. The Queen says nothing as your tongue licks at the plump flesh of her tit, collecting the wine before swallowing it down. She tilts her head when your tongue flattens over her nipple, testing you. So you pull then taut bud into your mouth, suckling like a kitten on her mother’s tit. Amarantha moans when you do, the sound shooting straight to the pits of your tummy. It shames you almost as much as it arouses you.

You chase the droplets that escaped your searching tongue. Finding one on the very same path as the first. You kiss your way back down her stomach, eyes watching her breasts as they rise and fall with each breath, nipples glistening with your spit. Her face only shows off her amusement, yet the smell of her gives it away, she’s aroused and getting off on having you bend to her will.

Her cunt is soaking, juices dripping onto the sheets beneath her. You know there’s no going back the second you put your mouth on her. Not if you want to live, that is. The thought scares you, shames you, that you’d rather live to serve her to escape your fear of death. You try to believe that you’re forcing yourself to become aroused, as a means to make her think you enjoy this. Truth is, you’re not sure.

Long fingers find home in your hair as you kiss down the length of her, inhaling her scent and feeling her slick smear over your lips. Nails lightly rake over your scalp and you look up, meeting her gaze while your tongue licks back up. Amarantha’s lips part when you catch on her clit, hint of a moan on her breath. You give her a few more kitten licks before wrapping your lips around her bud and sucking. That earns you a groan and tight grip on your hair, “That’s more like it. Come on, don’t be shy.”

You whimper against her, worried of what she’ll do if you fail to please her. Dipping down, your tongue delves between her folds, tasting her built up arousal. Her essence explodes on your tongue, sweeter than you could have ever imagined. She tastes like fine wine, and you lap her up, finding some sick pleasure in the taste of her on your tongue.

Urged to double your efforts, you press closer, slurping on her cunt, parting her with your tongue to dip inside. Amarantha moans, hips grinding into your face as she used the right grip on your hair to pull you closer. Your nose rubs against her clit, tongue massaging her inner walls in tandem. “Fuck, pet,” She purrs, meeting each thrust of your tongue, “That mouth. I think i’ll have keep you.” She clenches around your tongue when you whine against her in response, feeling drunk off her cunt. A wave of submission washing over your body.

Her breathing picks up as you continue your ministration. Burying your face in her sex, tongue pushing inside her and exploring her soft, warm walls, searching for spots to make her tighten and moan. Your nose is pushed against her hot clit, adding to the stimulation you’re giving her. You find yourself releasing frequent sounds of pleasure, losing yourself in the taste and feel of her cunt. Amarantha relishes in you, grinning as she moans out, loud and filled with lust. She’s pulling at your hair so hard, it hurts. And her thighs close around your head, keeping you locked against her.

“Like licking cunt, don’t you?” Her words come out as a groan, yet you still depict ever ounce of mockery laced in her tone. You watch her stomach flex, feel her cunt tighten rhythmically. Along with the slick and spit dripping down your chin, your cheeks, your neck. Making a complete mess of you. “At least that’s one thing you’ll be good for,” she laughs through her moans, “Gonna make me fucking cum on that pretty face of yours, mmph fuck-”

She does. The Queen of Prythian climaxes hard, thighs trembling on either side of your face. She cries out a string of curses, drenching your chin with her juices. You fuck her through it, keeping up pace to drag her climax out for as long as possible. Your tongue glides in and out of her pulsing hole, collecting each wave of cum that escapes her.

You don’t stop until Amarantha drops her thighs and forces your head back with a sharp tug. Her hand wraps around your throat before you can suck down a breath of well needed air. You choke out a yelp, eyes widening in a mix of fear and surprise.

Amarantha leans down until the tip of her nose brushes yours, and you can feel her breath fanning across your face. Her expression has changed. No amusement lingers in her gaze. Only ice is left, serious and unforgiving. “You are mine.” Her grip tightens, “Always have been, always will be. Understood?” It’s not a question. You’re smart enough to know that.

“Yes,” your voice is a whisper, strained due to the hold she has on your throat. Her eyes darken. “Yes, my Queen.”

Satisfied, she releases her grip. “Good.” You’re finally able to breathe, dropping onto your hands until you no longer feel lightheaded. “Why don’t you pour us another drink, hm? The night is still early, and i’m not done with you yet.”

This is your life now, you realise. Utterly at your Queen’s mercy. As she said…her pet.

[pastelwitchling]

Journey to the Past

read on ao3

This was meant to be part of my one-shot collection, it turned out to be too long, and now it’s a separate fic. If you enjoy reading even a little bit, please comment and share/reblog, it always makes the world of a difference ❤

Michael woke to find he’d fallen asleep at Alex’s bedside. Before anything, he sat up, checked to see if Alex’s eyes hadn’t fluttered, if he wasn’t finally waking from his coma, but his hand remained perfectly still in Michael’s, the heart monitor echoed steadily into the otherwise empty room and echoing off Max’s bedroom walls.

They would’ve taken him to the hospital, but since the attack that did this to him had been by his father’s rogue Project Shepherd agents, they couldn’t risk leaving him in a room that any enemy could access. At least here, Isobel and Michael could set up forcefields around the grounds. At least here, Max could strike anybody that came too close with lightning and they could blame it on the weather. At least here, Michael could cling to Alex and no one would bother him about it.

Michael wasn’t Alex’s boyfriend, he knew. Alex’s actual boyfriend – or his ex, that is, as of two weeks ago – was back in New York, unaware that the man he’d fallen so deeply and treacherously in love with had fallen victim to his father’s pissed off and ridiculously loyal minions.

Michael followed the bruises on Alex’s jaw and cheeks with his eyes, the cut on his lower lip, visible under the thick respirator. There was a stitched up gash in his forehead, and his knuckles on his right hand were scraped and bloody from the fight he’d given the attackers. He’d fended most of them off, before Michael had arrived to blow the rest of them into the walls and knock them out, but not before one of them had managed a stray shot in and got Alex in the stomach.

Max had done his best to heal him, but the bullets had been laced with yellow pollen. Jesse Manes’ last attempt to kill his youngest son, apparently, had followed him out the grave.

Michael shut his eyes against the thought, and instinctively gripped Alex’s hand tighter. He didn’t want to think about Project Shepherd and what they’d intended. They’d failed, and that was all that mattered. His grip turned painful on Alex’s hand. They’d failed.

A knock came at the door, but Michael did not look away from Alex’s face. He heard Max’s voice from the end of the room ask, “How’re you holding up?”

“Why isn’t he awake yet?” Michael demanded. “You said he’d be awake by now.”

“No,” Max sighed, and closed the door behind him. “I said Kyle hoped he’d be awake by now.”

“It’s been two days.”

“We’re doing everything we can –”

“Well, it’s not enough!” Michael snapped, and the room collapsed back into silence.

“He’ll wake up,” Max promised him. “He will. Just give him some time.”

“I need him,” Michael whispered.

“I know –”

“No,” he growled. “I need him.” He rubbed his face roughly with one hand. “Where’s Is?”

“Outside,” he said. “Why?” When Michael didn’t answer, Max’s shoulders slumped and his frown deepened. “Michael, no.”

“I know we said there were risks –”

“Risks?” he scoffed. “I already told you it’s too dangerous to go digging through Alex’s head! Isobel told you it’s dangerous!”

Michael stood. “Valenti said his brain waves are normal, he’s just asleep. If I can find the part of him that doesn’t want to wake up, then – then I get him back.”

“Or you guys screw something up,” Max argued, “and change something that can’t be changed back.”

Michael clenched his jaw. “He won’t wake up, not like this, and I can’t just sit here and wait.”

“Michael,” Max tried, purposely calming his voice in that way when he knew Michael was seconds away from blowing up and wanted to ease him back down. “Listen to me. I know you’re worried about him, but if you go into his mind, you could make things worse.”

Michael swallowed. Max was right, he knew Max was right. But he remembered Kyle’s voice when he’d hoped Alex would wake up soon. He had been too quiet, his eyes downcast like he was praying and didn’t want the others to know it was that bad.

He had no idea that when it came to Alex, Michael paid attention. Only when it came to Alex.

“If I do nothing,” he said, “Alex stays asleep.” His fingers curled to fists at his sides at the thought. He looked back at Alex, the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed softly. His unmoving fingers and closed eyes.

Michael sniffed, and decided, “If Alex doesn’t wake up by tomorrow morning, I’m going in to wake him up myself.”

 They waited until the next morning, then noon. Michael had been ready to start at dawn, but Kyle had seemed anxious, and Max argued for “Just a couple more hours, Michael, he’s the doctor here!”

Michael had argued that Alex didn’t need a human doctor, and Kyle had argued that Alex was human, so who else was going to treat him?

Michael forgot that sometimes; that Alex wasn’t actually an alien like him, that he didn’t have any superpowers like the others did. He’d just always seemed so strong and intelligent that it slipped Michael’s mind. But Alex was human, and more fragile than Michael allowed himself to believe. He’d been too careless, too willing to ask for Alex’s help fixing this or fixing that without ever considering what he might’ve been doing to him. What it might cost.

Maybe that was why Michael was so eager to go into Alex’s mind already and wake him up. It was time for him to save Alex for a change.

“Just for the record,” Isobel said, “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“You deal with brains all the time,” Michael argued.

“Not like Kyle,” she insisted. “And not memories. It’s like . . . time travelling! If you touch something in the past, you could change the future forever!” She swallowed. “And Alex is . . . he’s too important.”

She didn’t need to say the words for Michael to know what she was thinking. He’s too important to you, she seemed to be telling Michael. If I hurt him, it’ll break you, and I could never forgive myself for that.

Michael took her hand. “You’re gonna do great,” he said resolutely. “If anyone can do this, you can.”

Her brows pinched, unconvinced, but Michael didn’t have any more time for doubt or hesitation. Alex hadn’t woken up in too long, and his nerves were fraying with every passing second.

“Do it,” he said.

Isobel glanced hesitantly at Kyle. Kyle looked to Alex, as if weighing the damage that they could do, but even he must’ve known that Alex being asleep for this long was abnormal, because he looked to Isobel and nodded, clearly unhappy about it.

“Be careful,” Max warned. “For your sakes, and his.”

Isobel’s hand on Michael’s tightened, and she shut her eyes. Michael kept his gaze on Alex for as long as he could. Then he felt a sudden chill shoot throughout his entire body from his hand, and he inhaled sharply. One second he was looking at Alex’s sleeping figure, and the next, the world around him turned to smoke, and he found himself standing in the desert on a bright, sunny day.

He was still holding Isobel’s hand, but nothing looked familiar. There was just desert and gray-steel buildings built high with tall glass windows, clustered like boulders in the sea.

In the distance, he could see uniformed soldiers, marching in formation. Men and women training, sergeants barking orders, laughter from friends somewhere hidden. Where were they?

“What the hell?” he muttered, looking around. He didn’t recognize the area at all.

Isobel shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Where’s Alex?”

Michael turned and found they were inches from a doorway that opened to a large, steel room. There was a raised platform at the very opposite end, and several soldiers fighting, sparring, exercising – but Michael couldn’t see any of them.

Isobel gasped. “Michael,” she pointed. “Isn’t that Alex?”

Michael had already spotted him. He was on the platform, fighting another young man. But even before Isobel and Michael approached him, Michael knew this was a much younger Alex. He looked barely eighteen, his hair having lost its spike and was cut short, he was throwing punches and kicks in a way that seemed very unnatural for the man who hardly had to raise a finger to induce fear. And he was losing. Badly.

“I don’t think anybody can see us,” Isobel murmured, looking around at the other soldiers as they passed. “Or hear us.”

Michael’s eyes were on Alex. His heart was hammering, beating painfully against his ribs with every beating Alex took, every time his body fell to the floor. His opponent delivered a roundhouse kick that had Alex on his face again, and Michael snapped. He held a hand up to blast the other fighter back, but his powers wouldn’t work.

“Are you crazy?!” Isobel hissed, slapping his arm. “You can’t change anything, remember?”

“Literally,” Michael spat, hoping Alex’s opponent could feel his glares. “My telekinesis isn’t working.”

Isobel looked around before her eyes focused on another soldier who was doing pushups. Her brows furrowed for barely half a second, then she winced and put a hand to her temple.

Michael tugged on her hand. “Are you okay?”

“It’s taking all of my power for us to just be here,” she sighed. “My other powers won’t work either.” She frowned. “What’s he doing?”

Michael followed her gaze, and saw that Alex, beaten and bloody, was slowly pushing himself to his feet with trembling arms.

“His face is covered in blood,” Isobel shook her head. “He needs to stay down!”

Michael guessed he shouldn’t have been surprised to see Alex so resolved to stay on his feet. His hair was plastered to his temples with blood and sweat, his breaths were quick and short, like his chest ached, but his shoulders were straight and his eyes were filled with a fiery anger. Alex was looking at his opponent like he was every other person who’d ever beat him down and ordered him to stay there. He was screaming, without any words at all, that he wouldn’t.

It didn’t seem to matter to the opponent as he threw hit after hit, hurting Alex again and again, making Michael flinch and burn with rage every time.

When the fight was over, the other soldiers jeering and eager to start their own training match next, Alex’s opponent crouched down beside him and whispered, loud enough for Michael and Isobel to hear, as though they were in Alex’s place themselves –

“Nobody cares who your daddy and brothers are, Manes,” the opponent sneered with disgust. “Your kind will never survive here.”

Michael clenched his jaw. He felt Alex’s anger, his frustration, his grief. He’d often wondered what happened to Alex after he’d enlisted, how a soldier trained and what that did to them, whether it was hurting Alex the same way.

No one offered Alex a hand, no one knew what to make of this lesser Manes. Michael wanted to kill them all for hurting him, for pushing him down. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to see things differently.

With all the charge of that emo kid from high school, Alex groaned and pushed himself to his feet. He spat the blood in his mouth out, and wiped his forearm against his nose. His eyes were dry, his expression unreadable, but that same anger stayed.

More than a few soldiers looked surprised and even impressed, but Alex, already walking away, didn’t notice.

The scene changed.

Before Michael could blink, they were outside again. A cursory look around told them they were behind the building this time, where rocks and stray blades of grass grew out. Alex was sitting against the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest. In the distance, soldiers marched on, but nobody seemed to see Alex as he cried.

He hadn’t wanted anyone to see him.

Michael glanced at Isobel, and saw her eyes were wide and sympathetic. Alex wiped the tears away faster than they could fall. He sniffled, and pulled a picture out of his pocket, hiding it between his eyes and knees, a secret for no one else.

“I’m sorry,” Alex sniffled again, and wiped his cheek on his shoulder. “I’m trying not to. I’m getting better at it. Not that I think you’d be disappointed that I cried, I just . . . don’t want to cry in front of anybody else. Never again.”

Michael and Isobel each went to a different side of Alex to see whose picture he was talking to, all the while Michael trying not to scrunch up with the uncomfortable thought that Alex had taken enough comfort in someone else that he would sneak a photo of them into base, even back then.

When he saw the picture, he froze. Isobel breathed, “Oh my god . . .,” and Michael had to kneel down next to Alex. It was a picture of them – him and Alex – similar to the picture he had in his airstream. Except this one was taken at a different angle, and they were smiling at each other, taken in the exact moment Alex had noticed Michael watching him play guitar, and the two had laughed, giddy at being so close together and knowing what they knew about their feelings for one another.

Michael tried to breathe, but a lump lodged itself in his throat. Alex had kept a picture of them with him when he’d first gone to the base, and he pulled it out whenever he needed strength and comfort. All this time, he’d thought Alex hadn’t thought twice about him . . .

“I’m scared, Guerin,” Alex confessed to the picture, his grip on the edges tightening. “I don’t – I don’t know what to do. I’m not strong enough to be here. I don’t want to be here.” His lower lip trembled. “But that’s why you started to pull away, right? I was too weak to protect you . . .”

“No,” Michael breathed, shaking his head. “No, please, don’t say that, please.”

“That’s why Alex enlisted?” Isobel said. “Because his dad hit you?”

“It was after Rosa,” Michael croaked, eyes on Alex. “Everything changed, and I . . . I could never tell him what happened. But he – he thought . . . I didn’t know he thought . . .”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Alex cried, hiding his face with one hand. “I’m trying not to cry, I swear I’m trying. I just miss you so much, Guerin. You’re the only person that’s ever felt like home to me, and now I’m here, and I’m more lost than ever.” He exhaled shakily. “All I wanted was a goodbye. I keep thinking about the way I left. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Isobel’s own eyes were glassy. “Michael?”

“I didn’t want to,” he whispered in response to her silent question. “I didn’t want to say goodbye. It felt like I would never see him again if I did.” He clenched his jaw. He tried to press his forehead to Alex’s temple, to inhale his scent, but he couldn’t feel Alex at all. He could only watch him suffer.

“The last thing I ever said to him before he left was –” he scowled at the bile in his throat “—that I’d be better off if he left. I was just angry, and – and hurt!” he tried. “I didn’t mean it!”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly, pulling her eyes off Alex. “It’s in the past, Michael. That’s what all of this stuff is. Memories. You know Alex now, you know what he thinks of you. He loves you.”

Michael shook his head. “That’s not what hurts, Is.”

“Then what does?”

“It’s that he loved me this much even back then.”

“Private Manes,” a voice sounded, and Alex gasped just quickly enough for Michael to catch it before he was on his feet, straight as a board.

Michael looked up and found none other than Sergeant Ramos, Alex’s mysterious leader who’d come to Roswell a mere few weeks ago. The man Alex had looked up to and smiled around and trusted. The man who seemed more Alex’s father than Jesse Manes had ever been.

Sergeant Ramos, looking about twelve years younger, raised a brow at Alex’s right hand which was subtly pushing the photo back into its hiding place in his pocket.

He tilted his head at Alex. “You’re the new kid, right? Jesse’s youngest. Alec?”

“Alex Manes, sir,” Alex said loudly, coherently. Like a soldier.

“Alex,” he nodded. “You miss your friend, Alex?”

Alex faltered. “Sir?”

“Your friend,” he nudged his chin at Alex’s pocket. “In the picture.” His eyes were meaningful when he said, “You must’ve been very close.”

Alex swallowed. It was no use trying to hide the panic in his eyes. He’d just come back from his father’s house, he was too used to being afraid. He hadn’t spent a decade learning to hide that fear.

“Is he the reason you’re here?”

Alex raised his chin. “I’m here to be stronger, sir!”

Ramos smiled, like he knew something Alex didn’t. “You seemed plenty strong to me up on that platform, Private.”

Alex frowned. “I was . . . losing, sir.”

“No,” he shook his head. “No, you were getting back up. No matter what he hit you with.”

Alex clenched his jaw. “I don’t like bullies, sir.”

“Did a bully hurt your friend there?” he asked. “Is that why you’re here?”

Alex said nothing, and Michael could see the questions in the furrow of his brow. What would happen to him if a sergeant discovered he was gay? Would he report him to Jesse?

Ramos sighed and looked around. “If you don’t know why you’re here,” he said, “you won’t last long, I can guarantee you that. You know where you are?”

Alex blinked, confused. “The – the US Air Force Base?”

“Are you asking me?”

He straightened. “The US Air Force Base, sir!”

“You ever been in a plane?” he asked. “Ever seen what we see up there?”

Alex hesitated, then shook his head. He quickly caught himself and said, “No, sir!”

Ramos hummed, then patted Alex’s shoulder once, hard enough to make Alex stumble. “All right, follow me! I’m about to show you the few good things about being out in this godforsaken desert.”

Alex followed as he was supposed to, though doubt never left his face. He seemed convinced that there was nothing good about being out here.

Michael and Isobel exchanged a glance before they quickly followed. Michael stayed close to Alex and reached for his hand several times, until they passed right through each other and Alex hardly seemed aware of him.

They went into a hangar with several smaller planes inside, and Alex tensed just for a moment at the sight of them all before he realized Ramos was leading him to a little aircraft at the far right of the room.

“Stay with me, Guerin,” Alex suddenly whispered, his eyes wide and betraying some fear. Michael looked to him, surprised, but realized that Alex was just talking to himself. His hand covered his pocket where his picture of him and Michael was, and with a deep, shaking sigh, he followed Ramos to the plane.

When Alex got close enough, Ramos tossed him a helmet. “Hop in, kid!”

Alex swallowed. He looked like he wanted to stutter an excuse not to, but he gripped his pocket tightly and nodded once, putting on the helmet.

“Oh my god,” Isobel said with a smirk tugging at her lips as realization dawned. “You’re like his good luck charm.”

Michael swallowed, though he definitely didn’t want to smile. When did it stop? When did Alex realize that he wasn’t good luck at all? When had he stopped needing him?

Before Michael and Isobel could say anything else, they both ended up in the backseat of the little aircraft, Ramos and Alex in the front, the plane on a wide stretch of road. Michael didn’t know if this aircraft had initially fit two people in the back, but it was like the memory warped and changed for them to be able to follow.

“We’re tied to Alex,” Isobel told him. Despite the roar of the engine, they heard each other, and the other two passengers, perfectly. “We’ll keep getting tugged along with him.”

Alex gripped the edge of his seat tightly as the plane took off into the air. Michael could hear his gasp, his eyes wanting to close but unwilling to do it in front of his sergeant. They rose high to the clouds, Alex’s knuckles white. Michael wanted more than anything to reach for him, to hold and comfort him, but this Alex was on his own. He’d never had Michael there as Michael had had Max and Isobel. It was just him, alone, with nothing but a picture to comfort him.

“Better hold onto somethin’,” Ramos laughed and pulled up high above the clouds.

What they saw knocked the breath out of their lungs. High above a bed of white, the sun shined brightly, turning the sky around it to gold and pink and purple and blue. It looked like the color of their spaceship surrounding them.

The sunlight hit Alex’s wide eyes, and Michael watched him breathing quickly, emotions turning from fear to shock to grief to wonder to amazement to grief and shock again. He could’ve done anything in that moment. He could’ve cried, could’ve screamed. Instead he smiled, a surprised burst of laughter escaping his lips.

He held up his hands and yelled, “WOOOOOOO!” and Ramous laughed harder. Isobel couldn’t help but laugh along, and Michael couldn’t look away from Alex. The bright sunlight had turned his tear-filled eyes to crystal green, and if Ramos noticed his crying, he didn’t say anything. Alex just laughed and ran his hands through his hair, marveling at the sight before him, as if he’d never expected that such a beautiful treasure could be right over his head this whole time.

After they’d come back down, Ramos handed Alex his half of a ham and cheese sandwich. “Every year,” he told him, “I look at new recruits, try to decide if there are any worth keeping an eye out for. This year, that’s you.”

Alex blinked. “Why me?”

“Because a soldier who can start a battle is a dime a dozen,” he said simply. “I need the kind of person who can win them. I think I can make you captain in record’s time.” He raised a brow, and finished his sandwich in one bite. “Would that be something you would want?”

Alex’s eyes widened. “That would outrank my dad – er – Sergeant Manes.”

“Yes,” Sergeant Ramos said slowly, as though he’d just figured out the bully’s name. “It would. He would have to answer to you.”

Alex’s cheeks were red, but his expression fierce and hopeful. “You can really make me captain, sir?”

“If it’s what you want,” he said. “If it’s the kind of person you want to be. But you ‘aint gonna get it getting beaten down the way you do.”

“I’m – I’m trying –”

“Trying is for excuses,” he said. “‘Round here, you do. If you want to outrank your old man, there’s only one way to do it, Manes. I can train you, but the work’s gotta come from you. What do you think?” He tilted his head. “How far are you willing to go to be the stronger one?”

The look on Alex’s face said it all. He would become whatever he had to, do whatever needed doing. He had enemies, and he wanted them to burn.

The picture changed. It was like walking through a film, memories too blurred and passing now for Michael and Isobel to cling to.

“What’s going on?” Michael asked Isobel, and she shook her head.

“Alex doesn’t clearly remember any of this stuff,” she said, “so we can’t see it any better than he can.”

They saw Alex get older, training harder, running faster, shooting better than anybody else around him. They saw him rise in ranks quickly, uniformed men pinning medals to his chest, congratulating him. Alex laughing with a team of his own, men with muscles larger than Michael’s head, following him like he was their hero.

The memory then stopped, and Michael and Isobel found themselves in a hospital hallway.

Isobel shivered and clung to Michael’s arm. “What is this?” she asked. “Where are we?”

Michael looked around, and pointed at a familiar man pacing along the wall, his thumb pressed to his lower lip.

“Gregory?” Isobel blinked. “What’s he doing here?”

A doctor stepped out, and Gregory was on him in an instant. “How is he?” he demanded at once.

The doctor sighed. It sounded sad. Gregory’s face fell, anguish overtaking his expression. “We did all we could,” he said, “but we couldn’t save the leg.”

Isobel gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “No,” she breathed. “I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to see this.”

Michael couldn’t hear anything else she said. He was watching Alex who was sitting up in bed, staring numbly at the ceiling. Michael went inside and stood at Alex’s bedside. He did not look at the sheets and what they revealed.

“Private,” he whispered, leaning in as close as he could without touching Alex. “Can you hear me?”

Alex said nothing. He didn’t look down or move. The circles around his eyes were dark. He slowly reached over to the tray beside his bed where a few of his belongings sat in an opened plastic bag, and took something out. It was a picture, his picture of him and Michael, tattered around the edges and stained with specs of blood on the back. He hugged it against his chest as a tear wordlessly rolled down his cheek, though he remained expressionless.

“Alex,” Gregory came in. He looked over Alex’s missing right leg, and swallowed thickly. “Hey,” he brushed his hair back from his face. Alex was either half-asleep or still filled with anesthetic. “Hey, can you hear me?”

Michael knew Alex could, that he remembered this moment perfectly, or he and Isobel would never have been able to see it.

Alex’s lips tugged up in half a sad smile, his brows furrowed as another tear fell down the bridge of his nose. “He’ll think I’m broken now. He’s so beautiful, he’d . . . he’d never love me like this.”

Michael stepped back, feeling like he’d been shot. Alex had kept the picture. Alex had thought Michael wouldn’t love him without his leg. Even now, after all these years, he’d kept the photo of them together. Even now, Michael was still his comfort.

The scene changed.

“I’m getting dizzy,” Isobel groaned. “Where are we now? It looks like Alex’s house, doesn’t it?”

It did. It was night, and they were right in Alex’s driveway, the trees lit with fairy lights, and there sat Michael, or a previous version of Michael, on the bed of his truck.

Michael’s heart fell into his stomach. “No,” he breathed. He remembered this.

“Whoa,” Isobel looked between Michael and Memory Michael. “It’s like Inception.”

“No, please, no,” Michael whispered as Alex pulled up. He stepped out and saw Michael shaking his head.

“What?” he asked in that cute way Michael had never admitted to.

“Pick another memory,” Michael told Isobel. “Any other memory!”

“I can’t control where we go!” Isobel said. “Why? What happens here, Michael?”

Michael pressed the bottoms of his palms into his eyes as Alex’s plea to help him find out more about his mom sounds in his ears. Then Michael’s own cruel words, “I like Maria, okay?”

Isobel’s hand tightened on Michael’s. “Oh.”

Michael was about to say something, though he didn’t know what, when the image before them blurred. It didn’t go away, it just faded to darkness.

“What’s happening?” Michael asked Isobel.

Isobel’s brows were furrowed. “It’s Alex,” she said. “He – he stopped paying attention.”

Michael swallowed thickly as the colors ran around him. Then he and Isobel were in Alex’s living room as Alex came in. It was right after Michael had left his house.

Alex sat down on the couch, staring off into the distance. He pulled off his cap, and his arm fell limp to his side. Slowly, Alex let his head fall back against the wall, and he stared at the ceiling, the same numb expression on his face as when he’d woken up to losing his leg. Any pretense of being fine or indifferent to Michael’s confession was gone.

Alex sniffled, then straightened. His eyes were dry. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out that same picture of him and Michael. He stared at it for a long time, but he didn’t say anything.

“He kept it,” Isobel breathed. “All this time, he’s loved you so much.”

“I didn’t –” Michael croaked, shaking his head. “I didn’t know.”

He’d thought Alex didn’t care who he was with. Then he thought to the way Alex’s eyes had fallen time and time again; in his driveway, his backyard, outside Michael’s airstream over and over and over again. Never surprised, just afraid that his suspicions had been right. That he was too broken for Michael to love anymore.

Alex lied down with a deep sigh that sounded frighteningly like resignation, his hand with the picture hanging off the couch. Slowly, his jaw clenched, Alex let the picture flutter out of his fingers and to the floor. He turned over to his other side and closed his eyes. He didn’t pick the picture up again.

“Alex . . .” Michael whispered, but before he could try reaching for Alex, the picture changed again, and he and Isobel were standing next to Alex in front of a short building. Kids played outside and elders swept their front porch.

Isobel leaned her weight against Michael. He put an arm around her waist. “Whoa, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, “yeah, I’m fine. Just tired. I don’t think I can keep this up much longer, Michael. We have to find the broken part here, fast.”

Michael looked Alex over. “I think we’re getting there. Wasn’t this what he was wearing the day he was ambushed?”

Isobel straightened, eyes narrowed. She gasped. “Kyle told me Alex had gone to visit his mom that morning! He called on his way to the bunker, and –”

“That’s where they got him,” Michael growled, his hands turned to fists at the thought. “We’re close.”

As if hearing the urgency in their voices, a woman opened the door to greet Alex. She had Alex’s dark eyes, dark hair, and kind smile.

“My baby,” Alex’s mother pulled him in for a hug. Alex hugged her back just as tightly.

“Hey, mom,” he said. He sounded exhausted.

His mother quickly noticed and her smile faltered. She cupped his cheek. “Okay, baby, come in. Come on. I’ll make you some tea.”

That was how they found themselves minutes later, seated in a small but comfy living room with plush floral couches, Michael and Isobel on each side of Alex as he and his mother nursed hot cups of tea.

“What’s going on?” Alex’s mother said. “Why do you look like that?”

Alex scoffed halfheartedly, “Are you saying I look bad?”

She brushed his hair back from his eyes. “My son is the handsomest in the world.” She brought her hand to his chin and lifted his head. “So why is he so upset?”

“I’m not upset, mom,” he said, smiling weakly. “I’m just . . . so tired.” His smile fell away and he pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a sip of his tea and set the mug down. He rubbed his hands together. “When you called last night, I told you everything was fine. I lied, mom.”

She nodded, like this didn’t surprise her in the slightest. “I know.” She tilted her head, and softly asked, “Is it your breakup? I thought you were okay with that.”

“I was,” Alex shook his head, eyes shut. “I – I am, but I . . .” He sighed and pulled something out of his pocket. He huffed a miserable chuckle. “I tried to burn it. I couldn’t.”

She took the picture from him, and Isobel gasped softly. It was the same one Alex had had of him and Michael for all of these years. He’d never gotten rid of it. Michael had never stopped being a comfort to him. Until, apparently, now.

Realization dawned on Alex’s mother’s face. “This boy. What was his name again?”

Alex rubbed his face. “It doesn’t matter. None of this matters anymore. Forrest and I broke up, and he still won’t tell me anything.”

She frowned. “I thought you said you loved each other?”

Alex nodded. “I used to believe that.” He sighed shakily. “Not anymore.” He chuckled sadly, and covered his face with his hands. “I’m so tired, mom. I’m so tired of – of excuses and being afraid and – and being brave just to find out that it makes no difference. It’s not enough. I’m not enough.”

“Alex,” Alex’s mother looked horrified at her son’s words. “Did he tell you that?”

“He didn’t have to,” Alex confessed in a whisper. “He showed me. He told Maria he loved her.”

Isobel’s eyes were wide. “Michael, you what?” she demanded. “Why would you lie like that?”

“I was scared,” he said, his eyes on Alex. “I wanted to hold onto something easy.”

But he didn’t know this was what he’d been doing to Alex. That he was hurting him this badly, all to date someone he’d never actually wanted to date. Michael looked at the dark circles around Alex’s eyes, his hollow cheeks, his tousled hair, and wondered how long it had been since Alex had eaten or slept.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Alex said. “I’d always hoped that . . . that we’d end up together. But it’s not something he wants anymore. If he ever wanted it at all.” His eyes shut tight. “I can’t keep clinging to bread crumbs, mom, I don’t want to.”

His mom looked concerned, but she took Alex’s hands in both of hers and said steadily, “Alex, what’re you trying to say? You can tell me.”

Alex exhaled shakily, and lifted his gaze to his mother’s. “Mom, I’ve thought about this a lot. I’ve thought about it since he and Maria first started . . .” he clenched his jaw and looked away, like just the thought of Michael and Maria together pained him. Finally, he said, “I’m leaving Roswell.”

“No,” Michael breathed.

“And I’m not coming back this time.”

“NO!” Michael stood. “Alex, you can’t leave!”

“Michael,” Isobel tried. “He can’t hear you.”

“Alex can’t leave me,” he shook his head. “He can’t.”

“I can’t see him anymore,” Alex said. “I can’t pretend he still loves me. It hurts too much.”

Despite Isobel’s protests, Michael leaned over Alex and grabbed his arms. He kept going through him.

“Alex, look at me!” he demanded. “I’m right here, look at me!”

Alex flinched just as Michael’s hands collided with his arms, grabbing onto him. He could feel Alex, and Alex could feel him.

Alex looked startled, his mother’s voice was gone. Everyone’s voices were gone but Michael’s, Isobel’s, and Alex’s. The world around them was turning to black as Alex searched the air in front of him, as if looking for the source of the sound.

“He can hear me,” Michael muttered, eyes wide. “He can – he can hear me!”

Alex’s eyes fell onto Michael’s, and his brows furrowed. “Guerin?”

“This is it,” Isobel stood. “This is the faulty memory! The part where Alex’s brain is screwed up and is keeping him asleep!”

“Isobel?” Alex blinked. He tried to stand with Michael clinging to him. Michael was afraid that if he let go of this memory, Alex would disappear from him for good. “What’re you guys doing here, what is all this?”

They were standing in darkness. Nothingness upon nothingness.

“You were attacked,” Isobel told him, “by Project Shepherd agents.”

“You’ve been in a coma for three days,” Michael said. “We couldn’t get you to wake up, we had to come into your mind, try to wake you from here.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Alex shook his head. “Attacked? Coma? None of this makes any sense!”

“Remember!” Michael demanded. “Remember! This is just a memory, the real you knows what happened! Remember, Alex!”

Alex looked shocked, doubtful, disbelieving. Then something in his expression slotted together. “I was – I was at the bunker . . . the door was open . . . it all happened so fast.” He blinked, and gasped. “A gunshot. Someone – someone shot me.” He frantically patted down his stomach, looking for the wound, but he wouldn’t find it in a memory. He looked back to Isobel, then Michael. “You’re telling the truth.”

“You have to fight it, Alex,” Isobel urged. She leaned forward on her knees and huffed, like just breathing was getting tiresome for her. “You have to want to wake up.”

“Want to wake up?”

“Yeah,” Michael cupped his jaw. “Come on, baby. Wake up for me,” he breathed. “I miss you, please wake up for me.”

Alex searched his face, then said, “No.”

Michael faltered. “N-No?”

“No,” Alex tried pulling his arms out of Michael’s grasp, but Michael held on. “Guerin, I don’t want to.”

“What do you mean you don’t want to? Alex, this is your life we’re talking about –”

“My life?” he laughed. It sounded so sad. “What life, Guerin? The one where the man I love won’t say two nice words to me? The one where my friends don’t think twice about what their decisions might do to me? Where my own brother tried to kill me because I got in his way?”

Alex shook his head. “No, Guerin. No. I’ve been tired for a long time, and I want to rest now.”

Michael gripped his arms harder. “You think I don’t know the real you?” he demanded. “You think I don’t know that you’ve had hope for us even when I didn’t? You think I don’t know that no matter what you say, you’ll believe in us whether you want to or not? We’re cosmic, Alex, this won’t kill us, and you know it won’t. If you don’t wake up, I’ll just come after you again, you know I will.”

Isobel stared, shocked. “Michael . . .”

His grip on Alex turned painfully tight. “I’ve never trusted anything, Alex. I’m not like you, I can’t see the good even when everything just feels bad. But I trust you. If you don’t wake up, I’ll die.” He shrugged, a sad smile tugging at his lips as a tear rolled down his cheek. “And you won’t let me. I believe that.”

His grip loosened.

“What’re you doing?” Alex said, though he seemed to already know the answer.

“I’m trusting you to come back to me,” Michael said, his whole body trembling. “Because you always do.”

“Michael,” Isobel warned, “if you let him go now, we might lose him for good.”

Michael smirked, and a tear fell down Alex’s face. “I’m not letting you go,” Michael told Alex. “I can’t.”

“Guerin,” Alex tried, but Michael was already straightening, bracing himself.

“You’ll come back,” he said, sure of this more than anything else.

Without another word, he let go of Alex, and a sudden wind hit his face. Then he blinked, and he was back in Max’s bedroom. He and Isobel both broke apart and fell to the ground.

“Oh my god,” Kyle gasped somewhere in the distance and helped Isobel up while Max came to Michael’s side.

“You guys have been frozen for hours!” he said, pulling Michael to his feet. “What happened?”

“Michael had Alex,” Isobel said, and looked to her brother. “Why?” she demanded. “Michael, after what he told us –”

“What?” Kyle said, looking between them. “Told you what?”

Michael lumbered out of Max’s hold and took his place at Alex’s bedside again, taking his hand in his. “Come on, Alex,” he begged in a whisper. “Come on. Come back to me.”

“He said . . . he said . . .”

“It doesn’t matter!” Michael snapped, and Isobel fell silent. “He’ll wake up. He will. Come on, baby,” he murmured into Alex’s hand. “Come on.”

The minutes ticked by in silence, like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.

“Michael,” Isobel said quietly. “He’s not going to wake up.”

“Yes, he will,” Michael said at once, his grip on Alex’s hand bruising. “He will.”

“Just give him a minute,” he heard Kyle say. He must’ve been clinging to that hope just as desperately as Michael was.

“Come on,” he pleaded. “Come on, Alex. Stay with me.”

A moment. Two. Michael’s eyes burned, and his hands started to tremble. Then he felt it; he felt Alex’s fingers move in his.

He gasped, and waited. Alex moved again.

Kyle pointed at one of the monitors. “Brain activity’s increasing!” he all but yelled. “Alex?”

They looked to Alex, waiting, waiting, waiting. Then Alex’s eyes fluttered open, and a sob escaped Michael’s lips before he pressed them to Alex’s fingers, kissing each one. Kyle gently pulled off the respirator, and he and Michael both helped a confused Alex sit up.

Alex’s brows were furrowed as he took in the room. When he spoke, his voice was dry and hoarse. “I had the weirdest dream.”

Isobel collapsed into tearful giggles, and Max, relieved, patted Alex’s shoulder twice. Kyle ruffled his hair, and Michael moved to sit next to him, hugging him tightly and keeping him close.

“Don’t ever do that to us again, Manes,” Kyle warned him with a trembling smile.

“Do what?” Alex asked. “I don’t remember anything – ow!” He lifted up his short sleeve to reveal red nail marks. Michael’s nail marks from when he’d been gripping him a little too tightly, terrified of losing him.

Alex met Michael’s gaze with furrowed brows, realization quickly dawning. Michael pressed their foreheads together and took a second to breathe Alex in before he closed the distance between them, taking Alex’s lips in his own.

He tilted his head, deepening the kiss, and then Alex broke away, panting, though they kept their foreheads together.

“Get off him,” Kyle slapped Michael’s shoulder. “He still needs a minute to breathe.”

“No,” Michael said simply, resting his head on Alex’s shoulder and nuzzling his neck, feeling as much of him as he could.

“Oh!” Isobel started. “Alex, what ever happened to that photograph?”

Michael tensed.

“What photograph?” Max asked.

“Alex,” she said, “had this picture of him and Michael when they were seventeen. We saw it in all of his memories.”

“Isobel,” Michael warned through grit teeth. He expected the same out of Alex, to see him embarrassed or shy, but Alex simply blinked like he’d forgotten about the picture.

“That?” he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small photograph.

Michael hugged his waist with one hand and took the photo with the other. “I have one just like this.”

Alex laughed. “Yeah?”

“I’ll show it to you,” he promised into his shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Alex sighed. “I think it might be time for a new one.” He smiled at Michael like he adored him. No, more than adored him. The thought made Michael’s heart flutter and made him cling tighter.

Michael kissed Alex’s neck, then his shoulder. “Good. ‘Cause I have a few ideas.”

“Um,” Isobel said testily as Max and Kyle looked away with red faces. “Y’all know we’re still here, right?”

[manychocolatefactories]

CatCF Ruby Chocolate: Part 2, Wonka and Factory

WILLY WONKA

Willy Wonka in this version appears as a young man in his twenties. He is a really swell guy, always trying to be friendly, to joke, to act "cool" - but it usually fails, due to on one side the kids of the tour being pieces of sh*t, and on the other side Willy himself being quite outdated. All his references seem to date back to the 80s and 90s, early 2000s at most (and remember, this version takes places in the 2010s).

This Willy Wonka presents himself as the son of the original Willy Wonka. In fact let me describe you a series of three portraits:

First portrait, Willy Wonka Senior as he opened the factory at the turn of the century. A thin, youthful, good-looking man in his 20s.

Second portrait, Willy Wonka Senior as he closed the factory in the 50s-60s. Despite being technically in his 70s, he merely looks like a mature man in his 40s. He has "padded" and "thickened" a bit, growing a goatee and looking more like a typical "factory owner", but he still good-looking and charming.

Third portrait: Willy Wonka Junior. An identical twin of Willy Wonka Senior in his 20s.

Even weirder is when Willy Wonka Junior explains that he is actually around 30/40 years old, having taken over the Factory from his father in the 70s/80s - when he clearly looks like a 20s year old. But there are so many things weird about this Willy Wonka... He seems stuck in the 80s and 90s, and despite being youthful looking in general, he still has the stiff walk of old people, some gray in his hair, needs a cane and glasses, and a few wrinkles - probably from laughing or smiling too much. He jokes that being surrounded by vats of preservatives actually helped him stay young.

But the truth is that there always ever was one Mr. Willy Wonka. Yes, Wonka senior and Junior are one and same person. And yes, Mr. Wonka is around or over a hundred years old.

Remember when I said that this version takes place in the 2010s and is a "modern" one? Well, this is for the final twist.

Because what's more modern than... ALIENS!

Yes, there are aliens in there. The Oompa-Loompas are aliens!

Weren't expecting that, huh?

Willy Wonka was the young heir of an important industry baron. Yet, Willy was a dreamer. He didn't want to become a steel or wood baron like the rest of the members of his family. He wanted to do something with more imagination, more colors, more childlike. He then met the Oompa-Loompas, aliens stranded on our planet, and he made a deal with them.

The Oompa-Loompas offered him all sorts of alien technology and science that helped him create new, incredible, almost impossible candies. And thus, he became the first candy maker worldwide. The Oompa-Loompas are also the ones that helped him stay alive and rejuvenate all those years - by using their alien knowledge.

But one can't live forever, and Wonka is reaching its ending point. Despite all the Loompas efforts, he can't stop aging. And at the end of the day, he finds himself a sad little man. He tried many things during his life, and most apparently failed or backfired. He wanted to pursue his dream, and by consequence was rejected by his family. He helped his workers as best he could, but made their town dependant on his Factory. He tried to help the Oompa-Loompas hiding, but as a result fired everyone. He tried to help those he fired with free candy - not realizing he caused a wave of diseases. Wonka is, as we said before, a dreamer. As a result, he lacks a bit the rigorous thinking, the strict preparations, the long-term thinking his family tried to put into him. He is a bit too childlike, too whimsical, acting a bit too much on impulses. He tries to do what seems like the best thing at the moment, often forgetting to consider what it could cause in long-term goals. His meeting with Charlie is especially relevant, because he sees what his actions have caused on the descendants of his workers: caused their misery, both social and physical misery.

Wona never really "fit in" with anyone or anything. He never felt at ease with normal society, preferring all things odd and weird like him - and that's why he bonded so well with the Oompa-Loompas. But by isolating himself with them, he became even at more at odds with human society - locked inside his Factory he missed a lot of world's hostory and events, and his knowledge of the outside world is fragmentary. He still believes the Soviet Union is around!

Hopefully, things will get better (see Ending at the end of the post)

THE FACTORY:

Given the final twist on the story, the Factory has to look a bit like a flying saucer. However not just like any flying saucer - I think the main structure of the building should actually look like the "flying saucer", the confectionnary, the candy originated from Flanders and considered one of the "top best-liked British candies". Of course, the Factory doesn't just look like a flying saucer, it has to look like an actual factory (with doors, chimneys, etc...) but I imagine the main building, the main structure of the Factory has to be flying saucer-shaped. Probably because the Factory was built around the Oompa-Loompa's original flying saucer, when they first landed on Earth.

The interior of the Factory needs to be a mix of both sci-fi elements (after all, we are talking about alien technology) and of regular human aesthetic. Since the Factory was built around the flying saucer, a good part of it seems "regular". The Factory was built around the 1890s (maybe in the 1880s, maybe in the 1900s) and I think it keeps even to the present day some elements of this style. But since it also was "open for public" up until the 1950s/1960s, the buildings, style and "regular technology" was also probably updated/remplaced/renovated. I don't think however that Wonka changed a thing ever since the "closing" of the Factory - he must have stopped trying to make it more "up-to-date" since the Oompa Loompas took care of everything. So yeah... imagine a sci-fi flying saucer, with all around it 1890s buildings filled with 1950s/60s technology and furnitures.

Some rooms:

# The Greenhouse. This is the first room the kids visit on the tour. It is a gigantic, 19th-century shaped greenhouse, and it hosts only carnivorous plants. Yes, you heard well. You have regular Earth-carnivorous plants, mutated Earth-carnivorous plants, and some alien carnivorous plants. This idea was based on an episode of the French cartoon "My friend Marsupilami" (the episode being called "The Jaws of the Jungle", disponible on Youtube). In this episode, a chewing-gum factory raised carnivorous plants to steal their attractive, sugary and addictive pollen/essence to flavor their candies. Wonka basically does the same - to make his candies attractive and seducing, even addictive, he fills them with the products the plants create to attract their victims.

It is where Augustus Gloop meets his demise. Unable to resist the lure of the carnivorous plants, he gets entirely swallowed by them (in fact he is eaten by the biggest plant around). The devourer is being devoured. Will he get rescued before he gets digested?

# The Laboratory is the second part of the Factory the tour visits. It is here that here is a junction between the two part of the buildings. One side of the Laboratory is like a giant, massive kitchen. The other side is more like a science-fiction laboratory filled with machines, tubes and other robots. This is where Wonka prepares his candies, tries new recipes and tests (plus tastes) his products.

This is the room where both Violet Beauregarde and Marvin Prune meet their demise. Marvin, tired of not having any of his machines and electronic items working properly, steals some "Electrifying candies" (candies originally made to be able to prank people by creating static electricity with your own body or imitating the hand buzzer effect with your mere hand) and swallows them - but he eats too much and has a true electrocution (but it is more like a cartoony electrocution, he ends up all fried and charcoal-like and smoking). As for Violet, she of course takes the Three-Course Meal Gum. Instead of a blueberry transformation, she actually turns into several numerous colors, a true clown or Arlequin: her skin becomes blue (for the blueberry pie), and red (for the tomato sauce), and yellow (baked potatoes) and brown (roast beef)... Her hair too. (This ending fits with her "clown and circus" aesthetic).

At this point, the group leaves the first floor to go to the second one. Since the Factory is shaped as a "flyin saucer" (the candy), it has two levels, one corresponding to the "lower dome" and the other to the "upper dome".

At this point, the group leaves the first floor to go to the second one. Since the Factory is shaped as a "flying saucer" (the candy), it has two levels, one corresponding to the "lower dome" and the other to the "upper dome".it, Wonka offers the kids to try one of his new product not yet released (but completely safe): a special chocolate, designed to taste exactly like the thing you love the most. Elvira and Mike both take one, but they both say it doesn't have any taste (Elvirag because she truly doesn't "love" anything, she merely keeps liking new things every minute, and Mike because he doesn't love anything in this world). To Charlie however, it tastes as a strange mix between his parents' homemade cooking, and regular Wonka chocolate.

# The Squirrels Room. Pretty much identical to the one in the original works. This is where Elvira meets her demise. Since squirrels are of the latest trend, and a popular fashion, she tries to take one away. She ends up thrown down the garbage chute, into the furnace - just like how she discarded all sorts of perfectly good objects or pets just because they weren't popular anymore. And as it turns out, the furnace has just been lit... perfect for rubbish like her.

# The Television Room. Again, identical to the original works. It is another part of the "sci-fi" side of the Factory here.  Mike Teavee ends up in the television, just like in the original book. However, during the teleportation, he actually gets fused with the chocolate bar that was sent at the very same time (a bit like the teleporters in the Fly). As a result, Mike Teavee ends up being made of chocolate - a living chocolate boy. Now he will be forced to hide in the shadows (for the sun may make him melt), never going outside (dirt being unwashable and insects would try to eat him), doing nothing for he may break during sportive events... basically, it actually won't change anything to his life, so it's kind of a perfect win for him. Plus, if he is hungry in front of the television, he will eat a bit of himself as "snack".

# The Candy Landscape. The final part of the tour, what Wonka had intended to be the final piece of this wonderful show. This is basically a Garden of Eden made entirely of candy - just like previous versions. It is actually located in the basement of the Factory, under the ground. It is also where Charlie meets his demise - because yes, in this version Charlie has a "bad end". Basically, his addiction to chocolate gets the best of him and (due to his gluttony and weight) he falls into the chocolate river and nearly drowns (due to not knowing how to swim). He also gets sucked up by the pipes - but I change a bit things here.

In a twist of things, Charlie being a big kid is actually what saves him from getting shredded into fudge. His buoy of fat blocks him in the middle of the pipe, like Augustus, but this is how the Oompa-Loompas and Mr. Wonka are able to save Charlie. If he had been of a normal size, he would have been aspired by the machine and turned into candy.

 OOMPA-LOOMPAS

As mentionned above, the Oompa-Loompas are actually an alien species that came to Earth.

It is unknown exactly how things worked out - but a few Oompa-Loompa families arrived on Earth by mistake, probably after an accident, at the end of the 19th century. They met with Mr. Wonka, who was a young man in his 20s at the time, desperate to escape from his father's burderning inheritance. Wonka offered the Oompa-Loompa protection, assistance, a roof and food in exchange of them helping him create his candy factory. The Factory was built around the Oompa-Loompa broken flying saucer, and they used their technology to help Wonka become the first and most inventive candy maker in the world.

They stayed hidden for roughly fifty years, maybe a bit more. But when the 1950s/1960s came around, they actually had multiplied and couldn't stand being locked away. Something had to be done - and Wonka found the perfect idea. Turn the Oompa Loompas into his Factory workers. As a result they would be free and have something to fill their life - while they worked on their real project, aka creating another flying saucer to go back home.

Three important elements should be noted about the Oompa-Loompas:

1) I decided to base them around the Muppets and other "puppets" from television and children toys, on a suggestion of ArtMakerProductions.

2) Oompa-Loompas are a hierarchy species, naturally obeying to a specific caste system. Back in their home, there are different subtypes and subspecies of Oompa-Loompas, each with a different task and role in society. They vaguely re-adapted this caste system in the Factory, resulting in different "breeds" of Oompa-Loompa with different tasks.

3) The Oompa-Loompa needs candy to survive. Sugar and chocolate are essential elements to their health, and the basis of their diet. That's why they agreed to create a candy Factory for Wonka (and also why they are so gifted with making candies). They eat a lot of candies and sweets everyday - if they don't, they fall sick and may even die of starvation.

There are six different kinds of Oompa-Loompa (just like there are six kids), each playing a different role in the factory (and each based on a different "puppet/toy" influence:

# The Gardeners. They are based on the Fraggle Rocks and Kermit the Frog. They appear as small humanoid with pink or yellow skin, and wild green hair. They are a bit frog like, with no nose, no ears and a strangely shaped mouth (shaped like those of Fraggle Rocks). They are the ones that take care of the plants or the gardens (especially the Greenhouse filled with carnivorous plants). Their "kid correspondance" is Augustus Gloop. Some are also seen as being the "cleaners" of the Factory.

# The Beast-Tamers. These ones are based on the "furry" Muppets, Alf the Alien and other Cookie-Monster like puppets, those entirely covered in fur and looking more like beasts than man. They take care of all the animals in the factory - from the cows to the chocolate-laying Easter bunnies to the squirrels. They appear as almost ape or monke-like beings, covered in a fur usually purple or white, sometimes with a bit of their pink skin revealing. Their kid correspondance is Elvira Entwhistle.  Some of them also work as security guards for the Factory.

# The Cooks. They are the ones making the candies, the treats, the sweets, the cakes, everything. As long as it has a recipe and is edible, they'll do it. They are based on both some ArtMaker's illustrations and on the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. They appear as chubby humanoid, with more developped noses than the other Oompa-Loompas. They have very small eyes, usually hidden by their blue or orange hair (because they don't use much their sight, they rely mostly on touch, smell and taste). Their skin is purple, and their kid correspondance is Violet Beauregarde.

# The Technicians. They are the ones in charge of the machines, of computers and of technology as a whole in the Factory. They are again a mix of some illustrations done by ArtMakerProductions, and of the TrollZ dolls. Basically, they are short green-skinned humanoids with very long, very wild masses of hair (this was also a nod to Einstein and his insane hair). Always white, the hair. They have very big eyes always hidden by very big glasses. Their kid correspondance is Marvin Prune.

# The Doctors. They are the ones taking care of everything health-related - but here's the main trouble. They are Oompa-Loompa doctors, healing and treating the workers of the Factory. They are also the ones healing the injured guests, and making sure the candies are "healthy". The trouble is that Oompa-Loompas don't understand human biology very well, and Oompa biology is really different. This is why for exemple the guests have very "special" treatments - and why despite them claiming the candies to be "healthy", the Wonka treats are just as addictive, fattening, teeth-rotting and sickness inducing as other candies, if not even more. With usually mustard-colored or white skin, they are basically identical in shape to the Cook Loompas (chubby, small eyes) with the only differences being a smaller nose and them being entirely bald. (they are based on Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets). Their kid correspondance is Mike Teavee.

# The Assistants. They are Wonka's assistants and secretaries, the administrative workers, the guides during the tour, etc... Their kid correspondance is Charlie Bucket, and they are based on the "human" shaped Muppets and puppets. They basically look like small humans with a bit of exaggerated traits, and blue skin with pink hair.

Two additional notes about the Oompa-Loompas:

# Due to being "aliens", I decided to change their "songs". As in, after each kid demise they still sing, but not in normal words - they sing in animal sounds. Augustus song is the sounds of pigs and cows. Marvin's is the song of cicadas. Violet's is the singing of exotic birds. Elvira's is the song of whales. Mike's the sound of frogs and toads. Charlie's "song" is the yelp of dog puppies.

# If you are wondering about it, the Oompa-Loompas actually don't have genders. They all look male from far away, or at least gender-neutral, and they can mate with anyone they want, no need for male or female. Their reproduction process is extremely strange - at Valentine's Day, if they want to reproduce they make a batch of baby-shaped chocolates, and their "mate" has to eat them - it has to eat enough so that his belly will become round as a pregnant woman's belly. When Easter come, they lay eggs (chocolate eggs) and the baby devours the egg to get out of it.

Oompa-Loompa normally reproduce inside their own sub-breed or caste. Mating with someone not of your group isn't a usual custom. It is possible however, and "mixed breed" babies can be born. For exemple, if a Gardener and a Technician mate, they can birth a Gardener-shaped Oompa with the colors of a Technician, or a Technician baby but with no nose or ears. Or, if a Cook and a Beast-Tamer mate, they can produce a chubby Beast-Tamer, or a very hairy Cook. However, when the child grows up, his body will adapt to whatever function it takes. For exemple if the very hairy Cook works as a Beast-Tamer, he will quickly lose his chub and see his nose shrink down as his hairiness becomes fur. Or the reverse, if the chubby Beast-Tamer works as a cook, he will see himself lose his fur as his nose will grow bigger.

 ENDING

For the brats:

Ever since he got swallowed by the carnivorous plant, Augustus Gloop seeks revenge. He now only eats vegetables and fruits. He has lot a lost of weight, and suffers from the troubles and sicknesses caused by lack of fish, meat, dairy and non-vegetable products, but he is a prominent fighter for the vegan movement.

Marvin Prune  was left paralyzed by the electrocution, and now really has to rely on electronics to survive, move, speak... But he thinks it is incredibly fancy and cool, so he doesn't mind.

Violet Beauregarde got her wish and became famous thanks to her weird condition - with her multicolored skin, she appeared on several showws about freaky bodies and strange medical conditions. A good thing came out of it though: now she fights against skin-color discriminations. "Equality for all colors", that's her new motto.

Elvira Entwhistle was left half-burned by the fire, with nasty scars. But she was lucky - the new trend of the month was "sympathy for people with burnt scars". She dropped all ideas of trials to sue Wonka and enjoyed her time of fame. But when the fad was gone, she realized bitterly she had officially abandonned all possibilities to attack Wonka.

Mike Teavee still lives sheltered. His life hasn't changed much - the only difference being that his room is now kept at a freezer temperature.

As for Wonka, Bucket and the Loompas, they managed to find together a solution to please everyone.

The Oompa-Loompas finally managed to finish their flying saucer. It wasn't big enough to take all the Oompa-Loompas, but a good part of them managed t return to their native planet.

Charlie Bucket is the heir of Mr. Wonka, he and his family now owning the Factory. Since there are less Oompa-Loompas, Charlie could "hide" them better and re-employ people from the town. He also let a few people of trust learn about the Oompa-Loompa existence, realizing that keeping such a secret alone is nearly impossible and too dangerous. A few Oompa-Loompas still work at the Factory, and the other human employees are under obligation to keep their existence a secret.

Where are the rest of the Loompas? Well, they are working with Charlie on a project of his: making the Wonka candies less unhealthy and help the town get out of its misery. The Oompa-Loompas opened some institutions, shops and other buildings in town, sometimes with the help of trustworthy workers. The Technicians and Beast-Keepers opened sport center and gym complexs. The Cooks opened healthy restaurants. The Gardeners opened small urban farms and organic shops. And the Doctors were sent to human medical and nutrition schools to learn exactly how human body and diet works.

Charlie himself, as well as his family, became healthier, especially since they could afford good food, healthy diet and more sports. Charlie however insisted for keeping a little spare tire around his waist. Partly because he can't get rid of his sweet tooth, but also partly as a reminder that being fat isn't always negative and can even save you if you are sucked up in a glass pipe from a chocolate river.

As for Mr. Wonka, he got his final wish. He was carried with the Oompa-Loompas of the flying saucer. He always wanted to see the Oompa-Loompas original planet before dying.

[animatical-fandoms]

Kwami Swap Week Masterpost

Long post ahead; buckle up!

TIKKI

Adrien/Catbug- Well, it’s going to be canon. He needs to call Mari “Kitty” and hearing him say “miraculous ladybug” will be amazing

Alya/Ladybird - My personal design for @lunian‘s Ladybird AU. It’s awesome, go read their work!

Nino/Ladybeetle - In this AU, Mari was too nervous, despite Chat’s belief, and gives Nino the ladybug miraculous. He and Chat!Adrien are the best of friends, and Adrien lowkey crushes on him almost as bad as Mari!Ladybug.

Chloe/Lady Scarlet - My interpretation of the wonderful @zoe-oneesama‘s Scarlet Lady AU. 

Luka/Redbug - Plain and simple, Master Fu showed up a few years earlier, and ran into this kindhearted musician before Mari. TBH Luka is one of my faves, so he’s going to show up for the majority of the week because I loved playing around with designs for him

Felix/Lord Coccinelle- He doesn’t get cursed with bad luck, but with a kwami that insists he be responsible and help poor Lady Noire (Bridgette) break her curse. He’s gentler, kinder as a bug than as Felix, always happy to help others and to calm akuma victims after a fight. He’s drawn to Lady Noire, ever melancholy and mysterious, and lets himself loose with an edge against Bridgette because that’s how he’s always been.

PLAGG

Marinette/Lady Noir - Again, based off of the leaked art. I just really, really hope she’ll call Adrien some version of My Lady, and make at least one cat pun.

Alya/Nina Noir - Instead of Master Fu picking Adrien, he asks New Ladybug who she would like by her side. Obviously Alya is the first choice, and she’s ecstatic to be a superhero, keeping the Ladyblog focused on Ladybug because, you know, she can’t record herself. Nino and Adrien crush HARD on the new superheroes, and while that frustrates Mari, Alya is absolutely delighted.

Nino/Felus - Adrien pulls a Marinette, afraid that he’ll get caught since he’s under so much scrutiny as a model with a ton of visibility, and though it physically pains him to not fulfill his magical girl dreams, he knows Nino would be an amazing hero. Nino takes it in stride, and he and Mari!Ladybug are the bros to end all bros. Alya, crushing on Chat!Nino, creates both the Ladyblog and another blog dedicated to Nino’s alter ego. His thought? Best girlfriend ever.

Chloe/Duchess Noir - Adrien did the above, but with Chloe, thinking her confidence would be an asset  Mari as Ladybug would be irritated by Duchess, but it becomes a series of growing moments for Chloe, because she gets to see what a force she really can be on people’s lives and gets better at the Friend Thing.

Luka/Pantheon - My boy omg this one was fun to draw. Kinda similar AU to him as Ladybug. 

Bridgette/Lady Noire - Reverse PV - Bridgette thought her luck was bad enough with her being unable to speak at a normal pace and pitch in front of her crush, not to mention her clumsiness makes her look like a fool during their dance classes. Now she’s cursed with a god of destruction and a Perfect Superhero Partner - well, at least her clumsiness disappears when she’s Lady Noire. A shadow to Lordbug’s light. She knows it’s as hopeless to try and break her curse with him as it is to get together with Felix, so she just stands aside as his protector.

TRIXX

Marinette/Fennette - See the Ladybird AU with Alya; I couldn’t help myself!

Adrien/Kitsune - In the world where Alya is Chat and Mari is Ladybug, the two need help against the multiplying twins, same as before. Except Mari goes to lonely Adrien who she knows would be amazing. And the nerd goes for an anime name immediately. 

Nino/Volpino - The above babysitting disaster happens to be Nino’s little cousin, Chris, rather than Alya’s sisters, so Mari offers the fox miraculous to him. He and Adrien get to be bros for all sides of the mask. Alya makes an entirely new blog dedicated to the new fox.

Chloe/Mistress Amber - She made like Queen Bee and stole it, thinking: I can do way better than Lila because I won’t be faking it.

Luka/Vulpes - He probably would get this if another akuma was the reason they needed the Fox - maybe if Fu gave it to Ladybug while his mom was akumatized and he was worried about everyone’s safety.

Felix/Reynard - He was free of the Black Cat’s curse, and the miraculous could no longer be his. It got passed to Adrien through Fu without him knowing, and as soon as he sees his little brother vaulting across the city in a catsuit (without stripper boots, what the hell Plagg why did you make me suffer this way) he storms up to Fu’s place and says give me the fox those are small children my god and becomes Mentor #1 to the new Chat and Ladybug. Naturally, no one catches on that he’s himself. He’s a professional at this secret identity thing.

WAYZZ

Marinette/Mlle. Bouclier - In the world where Nino and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat respectively, Alya has been chosen as the fox. During Anansi, though, she’s captured - so Nino’s like omg Marinette could be the turtle and Marinette, upon receiving it, is having major panic mode set in, but you know, she does her best. Adrien takes a look at her protecting them and is like omg my Lady, a la Alya knowing exactly who Carapace was, but he keeps it to himself, and becomes more comfortable and flirty with Mari.

Adrien/La Tortue - Don’t know if this fits in with any of the others … but probably Chat!Chloe verse, and Marinette is like please can you be my partner forever

Alya/Turtledove - Instead of her getting kidnapped during Anansi, it’s Nino, since Nora had a beef with him being too girly. She totally saves him and fangirls over being a superhero and he just knows.

Chloe - How did this happen? I’m not even sure.

Luka - Both Alya and Nino are unavailable during Anansi, so Marinette is like, Luka was super helpful on the boat and is super nice let’s do this.

Bridgette - Fox!Felix verse - she sees her boyfriend, who was once Chat, as a fox teaching the two bb heroes the ropes. She goes to Fu, stands in the door with her eyebrow raised.  Fu had meant for her to succeed him as guardian anyway, and she takes up a job at his place so he can still hang out with Wayzz. She becomes Mentor #2 and is basically Mulan in fighting style - totally unexpected strategies. (It’s her fault that identity reveals happen, idk how, but it is)

POLLEN

Marinette/Marigold - My version from the Lady Scarlet universe!

Adrien/Goldenbee - From the universe where Chloe ends up as Chat, Marinette is super protective of this sunshine bee boy

Alya/Honeybee - Marinette actually? Gets the Bee Miraculous to Alya instead of losing it to Chloe?

Nino/Bumble - Mari’s mind goes to Nino instead of Alya when the Bee is needed, and she makes it to him.

Alix/Piquer - After seeing her do so awesome with Reverser, Marinette turns to Alix for help as the Bee. 

Max - well, I don’t have too much of a headcanon for him, but @kwamiswaps did a fanfic, so that’’s what this design is for! (I did little suspender stripes without meaning to omg I really do like how it turned out)

DUSUU

Marinette/Bluebird - The Peacock wasn’t damaged, just disappeared - and, while visiting Adrien for a study session, she ends up with a new bird friend.

Adrien/La Paon - He inherits it from his mom okay??? Like, Fu has it and knows and is like your mother would have wanted you to have this. And this pisses off Hawkmoth to no end because he thinks whoever stole it is Definitely Not Adrien and is disgracing his wife’s name. Obviously a lot of drama. 

Alya/Ava Azure - Swap the Peacock for the Fox - let’s just say Hawkmoth had a direct source to mess with Lila. Instead of illusions on the night the twins start multiplying, she creates a summoned creature to lure them all together.

Nino/Plume - The Peacock was damaged still, but Nino was willing to risk that to save his girlfriend and the city after a really nasy attack

Chloe/Royal Blue - Somehow, since the Mayor was friends with Gabriel and his wife, he ended up in possession of the Peacock before Gabriel knew what it was. Chloe gets her hands on it relatively at the same time she would have gotten the Bee and is just as Extra(TM).

Jagged/Pavo - He deserves to be a flashy birb. His suit would have sequins if I’d had time. 

NOOROO

Marinette/Mariposa - Mayura is the main villain in this universe, and Emilie is comatose because of a damaged Ladybug Miraculous. Adrien is still Chat, but he makes “my wings” and “my little butterfly” comments rather than “My Lady”. Gabriel has Nathalie generally doing his dirty work, and he calls Emilie his lady. Mari uses her friends’ best qualities to fight against the beasts Mayura creates.

Adrien/Papillon - He’s been Chat for some time, but now Gabriel has been revealed to him and Mari, and he gets really, really angry, and steals the miraculous as Adrien. This is a Problem. Plagg is concerned Adrien is getting too angry to deal with powers of destruction full-time, so Adrien brings him to Fu and alternates between Plagg and Nooroo, and he confronts Gabriel a lot as the Butterfly because betrayal reasons. Ladybug is concerned, but she trusts him and that’s what gets him through.

Nino/Wingbeat - He is So Supportive of his friends, okay? He gets chosen as the Butterfly holder when, say, Bridgette has the Turtle and they manage to take it from Hawkmoth but still need help getting the Peacock or some other stolen one.

Chloe/Madame Monarch - Okay, this version of Chloe does not get a redemption arc, like, ever - she’s Hawkmoth. Straight up.  She starts every akuma purposefully, becomes a villain, etc.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know - attention? I prefer Redeemed!Chloe, but I feel like she’d totally be past saving as this particular supervillain.

Kagami/Painted Lady - Adrien gets to pick some new holders in my personal headcanon. Let’s say while the Mouse and Snake go to Mari and Luka, they get the Butterfly so Adrien chooses Kagami because she tried to help him and she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way when she chooses people with her powers.

Felix/Hawkmoth - Brother!AU. He was Chat Noir when he was younger, has been abroad with Bridgette, and comes home to see the canon situation. He is Not Fooled by Adrien, Mari, anyone - he’s been there, and he has distance of not knowing most of the people involved, so he gets very, very, angry. He knows his father is Hawkmoth. So he steals the butterfly and sides with Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are both thankful but confused at this new Butterfly who’s So Angry - Adrien doesn’t figure it out, but he comforts Felix without meaning to and Felix is so touched. Felix eventually reveals that he knows who the previous Hawkmoth and the current (insert new villain identity) is - Gabriel Agreste. Obviously disbelief and angst, but he reveals himself and is like I am the last person to want Gabriel to actually be a supervillain  and Agreste brotherly bonding and HawkDad butt-kicking. 

Another universe idea I had was that Felix and Adrien share the cat and the butterfly, trading depending on what’s needed. 

That’s a wrap!

[redsky123love]

Why do you have a Stripper Pole in your Room? Chapter 5-Nothing about the Stripper pole?

"Got to run!"

Marinette shouted before running out the bathroom. The other two blondes do the same, running out the area to transform into their hero alter-egos. Once heroes, the five meet on the rooftops to where the explosion was. To their fear, it was by the military base.

"Okay, trained killers with big guns preparing shot anything on site. All of them are Akumatizied it would seem." Ladybug said.

"Hawkmoth effected the whole military?" Rena asked with a shocked tone of voice.

"No, it would seem he infected one person that had the ability to infect other's." Carapace said as he scans the area using a shell-like powder compact holder. It scans the area using a green laser that flashes around the area, giving Carapace clear view on enemies and Akuma butterfly.

"So we take the head honcho down, then call it a day." Queen Bee says with a smirk.

"Ignoring the fact that there is a building filled with trained killers ready to shot on sight?" Rena said. This made Chat chuckle before saying:

"Bring it on..." He purred before jumping down into the military base. His fellow comrade's, expect for Ladybug, soon joined him. Ladybug just stood on the roof, waiting for the screams of her comrades to be heard. Tapping her feet for a bit, she stops when she hears the battle cries of her teammates:

"MY LADY!" Chat shouted.

"FIRE! FIRE EVERYWHERE!" Carapace shouted.

"IS THAT A NUKE!?" Rena shouted.

"FLASH BOMB! COVER YOUR EARS AND EYE'S!" Queen Bee shouted before a dim but bright light shines from the opened areas of the military base. Ladybug gently rests her hand on her head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MERP! MERP! MERP! MERP!"

Was all Ladybug could hear from her teammates. They were once taught in class to make funny sounds when their hearing might go out. So Ladybug was guessing that's what they were doing. Removing her hand from her face, she pulls out her yo-yo before making a small chuckle:

"Is it wrong that I let them take the first hits...yea! But karma's a bitch." She said before jumping down to save her comrades.

(HawkMoth)

"Yes my champion! Give me the Miraculous and I will give you all that you desire!" Hawkmoth shouted at the top of his lungs. A man in front of him had green skin and a lab coat on. His teeth and bodysuit were dark purple with orange lining. He looked revolting to Hawkmoth but he ignored his champions appearance. The man was in front of a panel with flashing buttons.

"I shall master! I shall, once I set this baby in the air! Everyone will be at my command!" The Champion shouted.

"What thing?" Hawkmoth asked, sounding a little concerned. The view of the man goes to what's in front of him...which was a HUGE rocket.

"What the fuck?" HawkMoth asked with a small hint of concern as his eyes widen a bit.

"I shall reap havoc on the world. Once this hits America, all shall be ours!" The Champion said. Hawkmoth drops his cane then presses that hand to his head as he looks around. For the first time in his life, he realized that he might have fucked up and gone too far.

"NATHALIE!" Hawkmoth shouted at the top of his lungs. Downstairs, Nat was just about to finish organizing Gabriel's designs when he screamed for her. Sighing, she stands up from her desk, then makes her way into the attic. Once inside, she shoves some of the butterflies out of her way before standing next to Gabriel:

"Yes sir...oh god no." She muttered as she saw Hawkmoth's recent victim who was standing in front of a rocket.

"Find Adrien and go into the bunker!" Hawkmoth shouted, making Nat look at him funny.

"You have a bunker." Nat asked as she dials Gorilla's number. Pressing the device to her ear, she has a short conversation with Gorilla. By the time it ended, her face was almost blue and her eyes were wide. Hawkmoth de-transforms back into Gabriel, having his Kwami fly to his head and sighs. The older blonde male then looks over to Nat to see her make an unusual face. He has seen it before, but not that often. It looked weird to him.

"In all honesty, what is that face you make?" Gabriel asked as he tries to remain calm. Nat, not so much.

"This is the face I make when an Akuma attacks and I can't find Adrien."Nat responded, making Gabriel give her an intense glare.

"WHAT!? YOU HAVE ONE JOB!?" Gabriel shouted at her.

"No, that is Gorilla's job!" Nat shouted back.

"Explain to me why I keep you on a payroll?" Gabriel growled. Making Nat cross her arms over her chest and say:

"Because I know your Hawkmoth, I'm good at lying, good at keeping your son out of trouble and basically everything a parent to your son." Nat said with a small hint of sarcasm.

"Don't get smart with me!" Gabriel growled.

"Smart!? I'm sorry, do you not see the bullshit you just caused!" Nat shouted as she points to the view of the crazy man and the rocket.

"A mistake in picking a subject." Gabriel growled.

"Mistake!? THIS IS NOT A MISTAKE! THIS IS YOU DOOMING THE WORLD TO A WAR!" Nat shouted at the blonde male.

"I know, and I have a meeting tomorrow. Which reminds me, could you change my 10 o'clock meeting to 12." Gabriel said. At this point in Nat's life, all things sweet and kind just faded away. And the dark evil monster she had been hiding in her heart came out.

"You are the worst father ever." Nat said, making Gabriel scuffle before saying:

"Why you-DON'T EVEN!" Nat shouted at the blonde male in annoyance. Making him stare at the woman in shock and fear. She then points to the view and shouted:

"Instead of doing this, you could actually spend time with your son! Instead, your son is possibly hiding from a bunch of fangirls trying to lose their virginity to him!"

"Being attacked by girl! Why would you think that?" Gabriel asked. Making Nat facepalm herself for a second before shouting:

"YOUR SON HAS BEEN ATTACKED TWICE BY BATSHIT CRAZY FEMALE AKUMA!" Nat shouted. "This RIGHT HERE is the reason I tell Adrien not to bother to buy you a number 1 dad mug!"

"My son is fine! He is a healthy 13-year-old boy!" Gabriel shouted. At this point, the inner mom in Nat came out, and she was pissed.

"HE'S 16!" Nat shouted. "HE'S 16 YEARS OLD! HE DANCES ON A POLE TO EXERCISE! AND HE'S GOOD AT IT! HE HAS HIT PUBERTY AND MASTURBATES IN A CLOSET! OH MY GOD I QUIT!"

"Wait, what?" Gabriel asked in shock at the woman's words.

"I QUIT! I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" Nat shouted. "If I am going to die, it will be with my family!"

"YOU HAVE NO FAMILY!" Gabriel shouted. "I FOUND YOU ON THE STREETS SELLING CHIMICHANGA'S!

"Dam." Nooroo said.

"I am done! I am leaving! Go find yourself another assistant to deal with your crap!" Nat shouted before walking out the room. Gabriel presses his hand to his face in worry, not only was he possibly going to die today, but if he lives he might have to find an assistant that is good at keeping secrets.

(Our Hero's)

"Glad we save the day!"

Queen Bee said as Ladybug ties up the crazy Akumtzied victim. The other three heroes were tieing down his brainwashed goons. It took a while to fight them off, our heroes manage to do so. Rena looks over to Ladybug and walks over to her. Smiling, she opens her mouth to say:

"Well, with that done, let's go home and-

"Ten minutes till launch."

The computer said, making the five teens look over their shoulder to see a giant nuke preparing to attack America. Eye's widening to the point they two balls became bigger than their heads, the five turn back at the man.

"TURN IT OFF!" Chat shouted.

"I can't…" He said before fainting, making the five lose their color before looking back at the rocket.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Queen Bee shouted.

"We are not going to die!" Ladybug shouted.

"Yea, if the bomb doesn't kill us, the radiation will! And if that thing hits another country, war will happen! MILLIONS WILL DIE!" Rena shouted. Ladybug grabs her by the shoulders and begins to shake her back and forth.

"QUICK! DISARM IT!" Ladybug shouted. Only to have the girl in orange slap her friend across the face. Causing her to let her go.

"WITH WHAT!? MY SECRET HACKING SKILLS!? IM A WRITER! NOT A COMPUTER GENUSE!" Rena shouted at her friend. Ladybug shakes her head at her friend's comment.

"Right, this is no time to panic!" Ladybug said as she bites her bottom lip. Walking over to the control panel, she stares at the hundred of buttons that blinked before her. "Okay…I don't know what I am doing."

"Move aside!" Queen Bee said before pushing Ladybug to the side. She then slams her fist a couple of times on random buttons. The screen of the timer changes from 10…to 3. At that very second, Queen Bee found her self-being stared down at the girl in red.

"Move or I will kill you." She growled, making the queen hero step aside. Carapace examines the rocket for a bit before saying:

"You know, it's not really a threat, it's the toxic fumes inside that are bad." Carapace said, making Ladybug walk up right next to him as her eyes make their way to the open hatch where the tube of toxic liquid gas was.

"We remove the tube with toxic gas. Chat, tactic launch now!" Ladybug said before leaping into the air. Carapace performs a backflip, flying backward a little before raising his shield above his head. Ladybug lands on the shield as it slowly produces a green light.

"Alright!" Chat said with a smirk before running over to Queen Bee. The blonde girl throws one of her pollen bombs to his feet, launching him in the air. Carapace shield makes a bright light before pushing Ladybug into the air. She and Chat travel at the same speed of motion, when gravity finally hits, Ladybug turns her body to Chat. Using his stomach, she kicks herself up higher, grabbing the open door. Chat latches on to the side of the rocket Only to fall when that piece of metal broken off. Fallen right on top of the panel.

"Launching comments."

The voice said, making Chat's eyes widen in fear. Ladybug was squeezing through the tiny holes and wires, trying to find the location of the toxic gas.

"Stupid…team members…trying to figure out my identity…not paying attention…" Ladybug growled. "If and when I get out of this, I am so lecturing them! And that's after I find Hawkmoth and ram my foot up his ass!"

Suddenly, the rocket begins to move, making Ladybug's eye's widened. They then form into thin lines of annoyance and shame.

"Things could not get worse." Ladybug growled, oh but it did. Because she was blinded by a bright pink light for a second. Then, saw Tikki sleeping in front of her. Her eyes widen to the point they almost popped. She saw her life flash before her eye's for two seconds before screaming:

"GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT!"

She shouted before ramming Tikki into her bra. Yes, she stuffed her in their like a woman with a 20 dollar bill and had no wallet. She crawls through the small space that led to the bomb. It took a few seconds, but she found it, connected to a bunch of wire. Crawling through the hole, she falls into a tiny space and rips the wires out of the huge tube of liquids before crawling bag through space.

Only this time, she had the bomb on her back as she crawled. It was being held down by on her back by the wires. Once she reached the hole, her eye's…well they just popped. She literally just the outline of Paris. Tikki sticks her head out from her top.

"MARINETTE WE NEED TO JUMP!" Tikki shouted, although the girl was thinking of other things to do right now. Like how she got herself into this mess and how she was still able to breathe.

"MARI!" Tikki shouted at the top of her lungs. Nodding her head, Marinette slides out of the rocket and begins to fall. The wind blows against her chest like someone had punched her. The air was blowing against her face so much that she couldn't even open her eyes. Tikki holding onto Marinette's top for dear life as the girl falls. Tired of the wind in her eyes, she turns her body around so that the air could hit her back and not her face. Once that happened, she turns her head to the side to see Paris as it becomes bigger and bigger.

"Well…" She said with an annoyed face. "Shit!"

"GIVE ME A MINUTE!" Tikki shouted as she tries to crawl under Marinette's shirt. Marinette sighed as she crosses her arms. One of her shoes went flying into the air as she turns her head to the side. Even though she was possibly falling to her death, she was enjoying the view.

[endgameexecutor]

bAE. IN CELEBRATION OF VALENTINE'S DAY, I'M REQUESTING THAT YOU DO THE THING THAT BROUGHT US CLOSER TOGETHER. DO ALL THE ASKS IN THE POKEMON ASK MEME. O3O

favorite type: Normal type no fucking doubt.

least favorite type: Ghost types seem to appeal to me the least.

favorite dual type: You pair anything up with Normal and you’ve got a winner in my books, though I’ll give this one to Normal/Dragon just because it goes from a mundane typing to god-dammed Dragon.

least favorite dual type: Fairy/Psychic but only because the two values of pink just sorta blur together and it doesn’t look all to appealing to me (I still love Mr Mime though).

favorite trainer: Like favorite trainer class? I will admit I have a small crush on the redheaded Furisode Girl because her appearance reminds me of @crazygingerlady​

least favorite trainer: Imma take this spot to ask why Game Freak didn’t have female Triathletes in ORAS. Seriously, their design was fine and lovely and you screwed it up.

favorite gym leader: Lenora is a Normal-type gym leader I can proud of.

least favorite gym leader: It feels like more effort went into Olympia’s gym than her personality.

favorite elite four member: Aaron because I like Bug-types

least favorite elite four member: Malva

favorite trial (sun & moon): Is it bad I want to say I enjoyed Mina’s lack of a trial just because of how jarring it was?

least favorite trial (sun & moon): I feel like Sophocles’s original trial was just sort of average and I’m glad they changed it up for USUM.

favorite antagonist team: Team Plasma from the original Black and White. I haven’t played B2W2 yet so I don’t know how they hold up there.

least favorite antagonist team: I feel like had they fleshed out the “classist Nazi” aspect more, Team Flare would’ve been a truly horrifying successor to Ghetsis. 

favorite shiny pokemon: 

(Her name is Princess and I love her.)

Okay this is gonna definitely get super long so I’m just gonna put one of these down…

16. least favorite shiny pokemon

(For me Garchomp is the pinnacle in lazy shiny designs.)

17. 3 favorite pokemon

I can’t fully explain why, but I just love Dunsparce’s design so god-damned much. He is a perfect boy. 

Shuckle is one of the earliest instances of a lethal joke character in Pokemon, only beating out Wobbuffet on this list because I just love his strange design so much.

This sunny lizard basically replaced my starter in Gen 6 and I have no regrets.

18. 3 least favorite pokemon

I’m putting coffin boy here because he’s Ghost type, but also one I dread facing. Who though giving a mummy box a cursed ability was a good idea?

Fighting types are one of my top three but sadly Crabominable’s design just turns me me away. It’s not even “ugly-cute” like Snubull. It really is a shame because it’s a cool type combination.

Pachirisu is an unfortunate victim of Game Freak’s attempts to make lightning strike twice with the marketability of Pikachu. I really do love their design but they won’t get any cool evolution because they wouldn’t be cool and marketable forever. I’m sorry Pachirisu, you deserve better.

19. favorite pokemon game: Emerald fills me to the brim with so much nostalgia and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

 20. least favorite pokemon game: No Pokemon game has been terrible to me, but Diamond and Pearl’s pokemon are sorta just “Eh” to me while X and Y’s story invokes the same emotion.

21. favorite legendary/mythical pokemon

A music-based normal type? Sign me the fuck up.

22. least favorite legendary/mythical pokemon

It’s unfortunate but he came in around a time when it felt like less effort was being put into Mythical Pokemons’ events. Sure he gets a whole movie but he’s just handed to us in the game.

23. favorite music track from a pokemon game

The Ultra Recon Squad is some of the best shit I’ve heard.

24. your favorite team of pokemon you’ve ever had 

I can’t really remember my older teams all to well so I’ll have to give it to my latest squad.

25. favorite design of a pokemon: I feel like this goes back around to questions 17 and 18

26. least favorite design of a pokemon: See question 25

27. overall favorite generation of pokemon: Just from Pokemon alone, Gen 5 hands down.

28. overall least favorite generation of pokemon: By the same criteria, gen 4 gets a shrug from me.

29. favorite normal type: 

Golly I wonder who it could be.

30. least favorite normal type:

Fuck you they’re all great.

31.favorite fire type: The Turtonator featured in question 24!

32. least favorite fire type: 

Oddly enough, Ninetails never struck me as something I’d be inclined to raise.

33. favorite fighting type:

I couldn’t pick between the Hitmons so I chose the baby they come from instead.

34. least favorite fighting type: Still Crabominable.

35. favorite water type: 

Do I need to explain why Qwilfish is so cool? The answer is no, he just radiates awesome. And also poison if his quills are leaking. Deadly, deadly poison.

36. least favorite water type:

I mean I understand why you aren’t, but I still wish you were Luvdisc’s evolution.

37. favorite flying type: 

HE IS DOING HIS BEST AND I LOVE HIM.

38. least favorite flying type:

Santabird sits here as a victim of wasted potential. He has access to a lot of moves through breeding and tutoring and honestly that would be a cool concept for a Pokemon. The problem is that he dosen’t have the stats to make use of them. Poor Santabird.

39. favorite grass type:

You are forever one of my favorite starters, even if the physical/special split screwed you over.

40. least favorite grass type

You kinda bore me, though.

41. favorite poison type:

Who’s a colorful, gooey girl? You are! Who eats trash with their rock teef? You do! Who’s the bane of my wife’s fairy/psychic types? You are!!!

42. least favorite poison type

You have really cool sprites but no reason to be poison type.

43. favorite electric type: Yup, still Helioisk.

44. least favorite electric type: Pachirisu for the tragic reasons mentioned above.

45. favorite ground type:

His stats are perfect compromise between Politoed and Poliwrath, he has some of my favorite moves, and an awesome design to boot. I love you wart-man.

46. least favorite ground type:

Flygon is cooler.

47. favorite rock type:

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT HIM

48. least favorite rock type:

Your stall tactics have given me so mush hell I think I deserve to be petty.

49. favorite ice type:

This boy was a Beauty Contest champion and I’m just proud of him. He did so amazing… Excuse me I need a moment.

50. least favorite ice type

I’ll be honest, I don’t have much reason to put you here other than your crap shiny. Also you should evolve with the new Ice Stone.

51. favorite bug type:

Remember when you could catch him down in ruins? That was really cool, especially since this guy has become a part of my Black and White team without me even noticing. It was a really cool even and Game Freak should do more.

52. least favorite bug type:

All bug types are perfect. Fuck you this space is staying blank.

53. favorite dragon type:

54. least favorite dragon type

Still the Garchomp line sadly. This isn’t even over the shiny now, they’re just one of the last dragon types I’d consider raising.

55. favorite ghost type

Okay Shedinja has Wonder Guard and we all know what that entails. So instead Imma blab about it’s other aspects. First and foremost, Shedinja is re-animated remains of Nincada’s old shell, technically making him the first zombie Pokemon. On top of that he has a cool design that combines cicada shell and guardian angel, which happens to be emphasized in Wonder Guard’s Japanese name: Mysterious Protection. And to top it all off, he’s the evolved form of a Pokemon that can evolve into two Pokemon at once! That’s fucking cool.

56. least favorite ghost type:

GET THE FUCK OUT OF THAT TOWER YOU ETHEREAL BASTARD.

57. favorite dark type

BOOF

58. least favorite dark type

HE’S STILL NOT OUT OF THE GOD DAMNED TOWER

59. favorite psychic:

I brought that baby Wynaut all the way to the ORAS Pokeleague and I’m so proud of him. My punching bag has punched back! ;3;

60. least favorite psychic type:

I’m sorry Oranguru, as a Normal type you’re beautiful. But as a Psychic type, well your design just doesn’t appeal to me. Please forgive me…

61. favorite steel type:

love the cronch

62. least favorite steel type

It’s a bit controversial, but I feel kinda apathetic about Lucario. There’s just something about it’s design and the way it’s marketed that makes me feel like it’s design was focus-tested to be the most marketable “cool” Pokemon in Gen 4. I mean hot-damn he’s great in battles, but I get the sense that originality might have been quashed in favor of sales.

63. favorite fairy type:

This tiny motherfucker is one of the deadliest dust-mites I’ve ever had the pleasure of raising. Under that adorable exterior lies a deadly secret; that they are a fucking Bug/Fairy sweeper, type you would’ve thought you’d see in Gen 6 comes wreak havoc on those who who dare oppose him. 

FEAR THE POLLEN BEE

64. least favorite fairy type

You’re only here because the cross of plague-doctor and flamenco dancer is just something that doesn’t appeal to me. Which is my only major nag because as we’ve gathered from the other entries, I’m quite vain. You do have a great shiny and an excellent supportive moveset, though.

65. favorite pokemon movie:

I had the Pokemon 2000 movie on VHS when I was a kid. I had no idea what was going on when I watched it though. Probably didn’t help that I only knew Gen 1 back then.

66. least favorite pokemon movie

I can’t say there’s any Pokemon movie I outright hate. Though I’ve watched like the older ones so maybe there’s something bad later down the line. I dunno.

67. favorite animated adaptation

Honestly I enjoy watching the Sun and Moon episodes with @crazygingerlady. This series actually sparked my interest in the anime again. (Give us more focus on Team Rocket though, thank you.)

68. least favorite animated adaptation

As a kid I watched a lot of the Hoenn stuff and I think I complained a lot. Thinking I could do both Ash’s and Team Rocket’s job way better. When I think back on it I realized two things: One. I was being really silly. Two. The Hoenn stuff kinda bores me.

69. favorite pokemon card

Yes.

70. least favorite pokemon card

DON’T MAKE CHOSE BETWEEN MY BABIES. ;M;

71. favorite pokemon tumblr blog(s): Look I just follow anyone with “Dunsparce” in the name.

72. favorite pokemon plushie

These precious babies I got from @crazygingerlady

73. favorite pokemon merchandise: The games. o3o

74. favorite alolan version of a first gen pokemon

The bearded cannon.

75. a pokemon that you feel is overrated:

It’s the same sad deal I was talking about earlier. I’m sorry Lucario, you’re a great fighter but I won’t go out of my way to raise you.

76. a pokemon that you feel is underrated

You know, I don’t see much love given to my walkin, talkin boombox.

77. favorite eeveelution

sploosh

78. least favorite eeveelution

The only reason Umbreon is here is because they’re the only one Syncronoise is useless on. That’s it. All the Eeveelutions are pretty great and it was hard to pick between them.

BONUS QUESTIONS (that Jayde and I came up with):

79. Favorite Pokestar opponent?

I’m not sure why I chose this question seeing as I haven’t played B2W2, but this dude is creepy as hell.

80. Favorite Mega Evolution?

I am so glad Beedrill got a Mega evolution, I ran with vanilla Beedrill all the way through Pokemon X and now my boy has a upgrade! I am so proud of him and his new badass form.

Now all we need is a Mega Butterfree!

[pyrewriter]

For Whom it Tolls

An Akuma's minion drove its comically oversized axe deep into the ground where Chat Noir was just a moment ago and struggled to pull it out while the hero stood on the blunt end of the weapon. "I would have thought you and Hawkmoth would have learned this song and dance by now" Chat chided, addressing the newest villain. "You always lose and even when you win you're still going to lose one-way or another".

"Hawkmoth may give the orders but I ,The Ringmaster, am master of this show, disobedient cat" they spat back. "Now make him dance for me my Carnies" they ordered, cracking their whip at Chat, directing the small horde of jugglers, strong men and other oddities toward him. Of course that's exactly what Chat wanted as he led all the unfortunate bystanders who got turned to Carnies away and right to a group of waiting Cheshire. It didn't take long for the Carnies to be stripped of their weapons and contained by a parked bus on each side of the street rendering them virtually harmless. Chat left them in the care of the Cheshire after confirming that everyone was ok then headed back to fight with Ladybug against Ringmaster. 

When he returned the two of them were in a stalemate as Ladybug had subdued or knocked out what few Carnies remained. Joining the fray Chat swung his staff as he extended it, hitting Ringmaster from behind, knocking him from the roof he was standing on. Ring Master was surprised by the sudden attack from behind and took the fall hard landing flat on his back knocking him out cold. Ladybug wrapped up the last of the carnies while Chat descended to street level to the concussed villain to pick up the akumatized item which had been thrown from him. Luckily this akuma had chosen a fairly obvious item to use as it's vessel ,a top hat to be specific, poking a whole in it with his claw Chat released the corrupted butterfly. 

Before it fluttered off Chat whistled to his partner signaling her, she quickly captured the akuma to cleanse it. "Miraculous Ladybug!" fortunately neither Ladybug nor Chat had used their Miraculous' power and they had taken care of this attack relatively quickly. Ringmaster turned out to be another one of Hawkmoth's favorites, a young man with nothing particularly striking about him. 

He was disoriented both from the fall and the cleansing process "ugh my head" he groaned, looking around he noticed he was in the street again. Cursing under his breath he mumbled unintelligibly before getting to his feet and tried to run. Chat watched from a distance with his arms crossed.

"You're just gonna watch him get away?" Ladybug asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Give it a second..." Chat replied dryly ,unmoving, the former villain took only a few hurried steps then fell like a sack of flour "There it is". Moving to the young man Chat kneeled down and asked in a tone that conveyed his apathy to the humdrum fighting villains had become. "So are you going to tell me your name or are you gonna try and run again?" he asked.

"I have nothing to say to you, Stray!" he tried to spit but just drooled, "What did you do to me, why can't I move properly?" he asked flipping himself on his back. 

Chat lied down before answering the question "Well, you hit your head really hard after I knocked off the roof and while you're physically fine your body needs a minute. Which means we've got some time to kill sooo...are you gonna tell me your name and aren't you cold?". 

The young man's groan was long and clearly annoyed "You're not getting my name, and yes I'm freezing my butt off!". 

Chat adjusted to lay on his side resting his head in his hand "Well I guess I'll just have to refer to you as 'Kid' or 'Background character the villain' if you won't give me a name".

"Am I really just a background character to you? The more I fight you the more I see that she was right" Chat's eyes narrowed at his words sending chills down his spine. 

Chat's eyes softened as he asked "Who made you this way?".

The young man looked away from his interrogator, something about the tone in which the question was asked made the hero sound empathetic and concerned. He mentally shook his head "I won't talk" he stated with a hmph.

"You don't have to tell me anything more, I already know enough to make a pretty good guess as to who's behind all these repeat victims" Chat said. "I should warn you though, the city is debating law enforcement intervention. I'm against it but I can't guarantee the proposition won't pass, especially if people like you keep this up" he warned with a stern tone. Whistling he called two paramedics to him "Temporary paralysis and possible nausea, keep him upright and he'll be fine in half an hour" he told them. Before walking off he told the young man one more thing "The Cheshire can help, we're easy to find and hardy to escape".

When he thought about it, it should have been obvious from the beginning, the malice toward him and Ladybug, the way they fled like they were scared after being cleansed. Not even Hawkmoth himself had that kind of power ,no, only one person he knew of could manipulate people this much. Just the thought of her name made him clench his teeth in fury ,Lila Rossi, he wasn't one hundred percent sure but the evidence pointed to her. Ladybug tapped on his shoulder asking why he took so long talking with the young man that was their latest enemy. Considering the history the two girls had combined with the admittedly minuscule chance it wasn't Lila he thought it best not to tell Ladybug his theory. If he was going to find who was causing people to become repeatedly targeted and turned into Akuma villains he was going to have to be more physical.

For the next month Chat took every chance he could to subdue and capture villains before they were cleansed or had a chance to run after the fact. He questioned each of them the same way and got similar responses across the board, after they were caught however he rarely fought them again if ever. By November's end there were far fewer attacks which made it clear that sewing doubt in the ranks of Hawkmoth's favorites was working. But the few attacks that did occur were almost all carried out by the same person, luckily she was never able to cause much damage before being driven off and fleeing. 

Of course attacks still became a constant threat once again as December rolled in, with so many holidays in the same month it wasn't hard to find any number of potential Akuma victims. Luckily however this wasn't the first December where Adrien had to spend most of his time as Chat Noir, it was different now though. He had a Familia and a place to really call a home but that wasn't going to stop him from performing his duties to the city and checking in with Cheshire efforts. With the increased number of attacks also came an increased diversity of victims themselves, this fact coupled with the time of year made it easy to stop Akumas. Many of them were teens or parents who were just stressed and/or had a heated argument with family which Chat could easily relate to and talk through with most. 

On Christmas Chat took the time to go to the Master Fu, he had gone to wish him a happy holiday but on his way saw a caretaker and their charge walking down the street. It made him think of his sister and how she chose to spend her holiday, how she always chose to spend her time outside of her counseling work at the school. "Master Fu, I know it is a strange request to ask of you but...will you allow me to take two Miraculous?". 

Fu pondered the thought before responding "Forgive me for answering your question with a question but why do you wish to grant any Miraculous? You have been able to talk to most Akuma victims through their problems have you not?". 

Adrien bowed and Plagg followed his lead, "I have been visiting the city hospital for some time now to visit those bedridden and terminally ill. With the reappearance of Queen Bee and Rena Rouge only a few months ago I have heard murmurs of children and others who idolize them an-". 

"I have heard enough, raise your heads the both of you” Fu told them “Adrien, you are kind hearted and worthy of the praise you garner" he said moving to the phonograph that hid the box. "I will grant your request, when you are finished retrieve the Miraculous and return them to me" he instructed, placing the box between. Retrieving Fox and Bee Miraculous he placed them in separate cases before handing them to Adrien who nodded and thanked him before leaving. 

Transforming after distancing himself from the Guardian Adrien transformed and headed toward Le Grand Paris to deliver the Bee to its Queen. From what he could see it looked like Chloe' was alone on Christmas too, knocking on the window he got her attention and she let him in. "Chat Noir what are you doing here, shouldn't you be with your family?" she asked. 

Chat chuckled "They're all a little busy at the moment" he said "Looks like you're in the same boat" he told her voicing his observation.

"Daddy's busy being the Mayor of Paris and all the staff are on vacation so yeah it's just me, thanks for rubbing it in" she said sounding disappointed. 

Chat smiled warmly "Well how about you come help me make some unfortunate people very happy" he said holding out the Bee Miraculous allowing Pollen to manifest. 

Chloe' gasped before proceeding to nuzzle the Kwami, "So where are we going?" she asked proudly as she put the comb in her hair.

"Head to the Hospital and wait for me on the roof while I need to go get the other two members of our little greeting party" Chat told her. Chloe' nodded, transformed and was out the door with Chat close behind, they looked to each other one more time before heading to their separate ways. Chat had been to Alya's enough times as Adrien to know his way there but the hard part was going to be convincing her to leave her family for a few hours. Windows gave him a clear view inside, everyone was sitting on the couch enjoying old claymation Christmas movies. The window over the sink gave him a way into the kitchen if he could thread the needle and not get noticed. 

Deftly Chat jumped through the open window rolling silence his landing and hid behind an island that served as extra counter space. Searching the draws he found something to leave a message with, he wrote a note and placed it with the box inside the draw he had gotten the pen and paper from leaving it ajar. Keeping low he peeked around one edge of the island letting out a short whistle to try and get Alya's attention. It didn't work the first time as her parents also looked toward the noise but the second time only she looked while the others were enthralled in the movie. Chat lifted his tail waving it above the counter once she took interest he leaped back out the window, he didn't want to push his luck.  

Alya sacrificed her spot on the couch allowing her siblings to take it as she went to see what the Black Cat was doing in her home. Looking around the island she saw a draw open and inside lay a box with a paper with something written on it, she grabbed the box and paper, it was a note. 

"If you're willing I need your help to make some people really happy, I understand if you do not wish to leave your family. If you're not coming destroy this note and leave the box outside the window but if your in then bare your Miraculous. I am outside".

Moving to the window Alya stuck her head outside to look for Chat but saw nothing, closing the window she grabbed a coat and started toward the door. "Hey guys I'm gonna go out and get some fresh air" she announced. Her family looked at each other before telling her to be safe and have a good time, once she was outside she opened the box greeting her Kwami warmly and transformed.

Chat Jumped down from where he was watching, "Sorry to take you away from your family on the holidays" he said.

"Nothing to worry about" Rena told him waving off the apology "But I do have to ask, what's this about making people happy?".

"Follow me" Chat replied, leaping to the roofs once more and headed for the hospital with Rena in tow. "My apologies for keeping you waiting, Queen" he called as they approached, she greeted them with a friendly wave. 

"Aren't we missing one?" Rena pointed out.

"That we are Rena, I need to see if I can get in touch with her" Chat explained "You two should de-transform and wait someplace warm while I try to get Ladybug on the horn" he added. After several failed attempts to call his partner he hung up before it could go to voicemail again, an unimpressed groan managing to escape as he put his staff away. "I need to go find LB, sorry this is taking so long" he told them before getting a running start and pole vaulting onto a roof headed toward his normal sleeping spot. When he arrived minutes later he de-transformed, "Do mind getting LB or Tikki and telling them to meet us at the hospital?" he asked looking to his Kwami. Plagg crossed his arms and huffed, "There two slices of Camembert if you do" Adrien added trying to sweeten the deal.

Without a word Plagg flew through his wielder and into inside, he looked around but saw nothing, he didn't feel anything in the room either. Phasing through the floor into the living/dining room and kitchen he felt a strong aura emanating from a porcelain jar labeled "Cookies". "Of course she's in there" Plagg thought as he looked around to make sure the coast was clear and flew into the jar. 

"Plagg what are you doing in here?" Tikki asked but she was muffled on account of the cookies stuffed in her mouth. 

"I don't have much time to explain but Adrien got Rena and Queen and we're going to meet people at the hospital, get Mari and meet at the hospital" Plagg told her, leaving seconds later. Meeting Adrien outside he received the two slices of cheese as they agreed upon, once it was gone they transformed and headed for the hospital. 

Inside Tikki finished the cookie she had already taken a bite out of before poking her head out, Marinette's parent's backs were turned but she would have to be careful. Flying her way over Tikki hid inside Marinette's hair "Marinette, Chat wants us to meet him at the hospital, I don't know why" she whispered careful not to be heard by Tom or Sabine. 

Standing suddenly Marinette stated "I just remembered I'm going to volunteer with my friends today, I'll be back in while" and left abruptly. Once she was outside she looked around but the streets were empty, airing on the side of caution however she walked behind the school "Tikki, Spots On". It wasn't long after Chat had returned that Ladybug arrived slightly annoyed that she had been forced to lie about volunteering. The sight of Alya and Chloe' gave her a twinge of anger "This better be good if you've pried these two and myself away from our families, Chat" she told him with an annoyed tone. 

"Relax LB, you'll enjoy this" he replied, motioning for them to follow Alya and Chloe' transformed and fell in line behind Chat as he moved for the front door. Ladybug was suddenly starting to get the picture. "Afternoon Miss, do you mind calling a psych counselor by the name of Fe' for me?" he asked the receptionist on duty, she nodded and made a few calls. 

A short time later Fe' came into the lobby, "Chat, Ladybug, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge, what are you four doing here?" she asked.

"Came to see those who aren't so lucky" Chat replied flashing a warm smile. 

Fe' smiled back and waved for the group to follow "Please follow me then" she had been working with the Cheshire to keep tabs on who wanted to see Heroes for a while now. She didn't know if her brother knew this or if he suspected but in any case Fe' couldn't help but smile and be thankful that the other heroes had come with. They spent a number of hours going room by room visiting young and old alike to make their day just a little bit better. 

When almost the entire hospital had been visited Ladybug sheepishly apologized for snapping at him when she first arrived. "It was wrong of me to act like that ,you were right and I'm sorry, you're better at this public stuff than I am" she said rubbing her arm. Chat waved it off saying he didn't blame her since he knew how much being with family meant to her, she thanked him for understanding before zipping off to return home. Chat escorted Chloe' and Alya back to their respective homes collecting the Miraculous from each before leaving. With both the Bee and Fox Miraculous in his possession Chat returned to Master Fu ,as a civilian, to return them so he could secure them within the box. 

"Thank you for returning the Miraculous" Fu said as he placed the box back in it's phonograph facade. 

"Thank you for allowing me to grant them despite the lack of an attack. Protecting the Miraculous is my job" Adrien retorted.

Fu stroked his beard "Perhaps but it is also the job of a wielder to protect their people and that means making sure that your presence is not feared". He took a seat across from Adrien and sipped his tea then poured himself another cup offering some to his guest, Adrien graciously accepted. "I am aware of the feelings this time of year brings you" Fu started as he poured the tea "You have grown much since the attack last year however" he nodded to Wayzz. "In light of the past year and it's events we have gotten you a gift" Wayzz returned with a bottle filled with a golden liquid and a bag of cheese so pungent it's aroma was visible.

Adrien's eyes widened "Master Fu, you didn't have to-".

Plagg pushed his wielder's mouth shut, his own watering "Th-Thank you Master Fu, we will appreciate these gifts immensely" he said. Adrien rolled his eyes before pushing Plagg aside to accept the gifts from Wayzz, they took their leave shortly after finishing their tea. 

"Thank you and happy holidays" Adrien said over his shoulder before leaving, once they were far enough away he dipped into an alley and transformed. The tavern would be closed that night, both Milo and Nino would be with family like everyone else so there wasn't much for him to do. During a chat with Nalma he learned that there was a party going on with every previous wielder of every Miraculous that lasted through the whole month of December. 

Chat found the notion that even those from times and cultures long gone got to party and spent time together a little frustrating.  When he asked why she wasn't with them she replied "I've never been one to take part, I just feel out of place" she was silent for a moment then added "Besides I've got you to talk now". 

He found it comforting that he was able to help even those long past. After wandering aimlessly until he ran out of time he de-transformed, Plagg insisted that he recharge with the cheese gifted to him by Fu. The three of them sat in the snow trying to decide what they should do but none of them could think of anything but they did realize they were missing an important member. The moment Plagg was ready Adrien transformed and headed for Fe's place to pick up their missing member. With the group complete Chat patrolled the city slowly and with a bottle of whiskey in hand that he sipped heedful of how quickly he emptied the bottle. He wasn't alone this time though, he had Belial with his fluffy winter coat snuggled inside the collar of his jacket and Nalma, Plagg too during breaks. It certainly wasn't the worst Christmas ever, the company and knowing that he had made other peoples day so much brighter was enough to keep him occupied. 

Unfortunately attacks picked up by morning so there was no rest for the heroes during the days following. At this point however both Chat and Ladybug had become rather adept at handling attacks on their own. It had gotten to the point that one would handle the villain while the other would distract the minions or move civilians. Yet despite this the same one always managed to escape them. 

Much like Hawkmoth's favorite, the Cheshire had been far from idle over the course of the month. Every instance of an Akuma managing to flee was followed by the sighting of the same person leaving the area said Akuma was last seen in. Chat found it funny that the descriptions amounted to "A female with long brown hair and oversized bangs leaving with a smug look" or something to the same effect. He had yet to confirm these sightings for himself or successfully follow an Akuma to Lila but there were very few people he knew that would stoop so low.    

Now December was coming to an end and so was the year, New Years parties were preparing to kick off all over Paris with fireworks, family and way more sugary foods than anyone should eat. Adrien and the Familia knew they didn't get to spend time together during the holidays so they made it a point to have a party of their own. Nino, Milo, Adiren, Belial and Fe' worked the Tavern until sunset before closing down so they could have their preemptive New Year celebration. That same bottle that they had taken shots from was passed around with pizza, grilled cheese, and so much soda that everyone would be shaking from sugar. 

Plagg joined them as they drank and sang like there wasn't going to be a next year, none of them had ever had so much fun at a party in their lives. Something about the bond the group had forged through all that the past year had thrown at them made it special. "To the New Year and all the insanity it brings! CHEERS" Milo toasted.

"To the survivors".

"To the chaos we're gonna fix".

"To the cheese"

"To the Familia"

"Meow"

Unbenounced to the others Adrien had also manifested the previous wielders ,who were also partying like animals, it was certainly a night none of them would forget for a long time. With only a few hours to midnight it was time for Nino and Milo to leave for their own family festivities. Adrien decided it was time for him to take Fe' home and leave Belial with her since fireworks scared him. Transforming outside he let Belial and Fe' ride piggyback. Chat expected New Years to be as silent as just about every other holiday had been but he took care not to drink too much nonetheless. He was buzzed but still clear minded enough to run through the streets and use the allies to cut through city blocks.

It didn't take long for him to reach Fe's building but he couldn't climb up to her window with her on his back even if he was sober. Pulling out his staff and using it like an elevator he raised himself slowly and quietly to the window. It took a few tries but he eventually managed to open it with his foot allowing him to slip inside, he once again found himself being thankful for his ability to see in low light. Careful not to wake either of his piggyback riders he put his sister and furry companion to bed. Moving to the kitchen he grabbed a paper and pen to start writing a note for Fe' to find in the morning, as he did Belial walked in with his back arched and hair stood on end, hissing angrily.

"Hey what's wrong bud?" Chat asked cocking his head in confusion, he kneeled down to try and calm his friend. He felt something brush against his tail as he moved and on instinct he pivoted to face his target but saw nothing behind him. Chat already knew this trick though, lunging forward at the air in front of him he tackled who or whatever was there. Deftly he threw them through the open window, Belial jumped to Chat's shoulder before he followed the invisible thing. 

Casting his gaze about looking for clues to see where his stalker went he saw a shadow at the bottom of the alley cast by the moonlight. Looking up he saw her, it was an unforgettable silhouette and the words that came from it only confirmed what he had known. "So is this where you've been hiding out, stupid Stray? I guess it's fitting the second-rate hero should live with the second-rate, fake Agreste". 

Leaping from wall to wall Chat stood on the roof opposite his adversary, a cold indignation filling both his and Belial's eyes as they stared at the figure across from them. "Of course it was you, it's been you ever since your Master started running out of victims" his words were coated with poison. 

"He's not my 'master' Stray, he's just an enabler" she shot back annoyed at the suggestion she was a servant "Without me he would be practically useless" she added. 

Chat smiled at her tone ,he knew how to cut deep, "You may have combined some old tricks but recycled trash doesn't always make a better product". 

"Why you little-AGH!" rushing forward Chat's adversary came into full view again confirming what he knew, Lila Rossi had collaborated with Hawkmoth and Volpina was back. She was easily redirected but recovered and pulled out her flute, playing an off key note manifested two copies of her that turned invisible. Chat responded with a wide swing of his staff dispelling the two illusions, a smile crossing his mask. As the fight dragged on neither of them were backing down or stopping, the stakes were higher now and both of them could feel it, it was in their ferocity. If Hawkmoth hadn't discovered it during the Kaleidotherapist attack he definitely knew where Fe' lived now. Chat's experience fighting her in so many different forms had only sharpened his ability to fight her. The same could be said for Lila but the difference in general fighting prowess and experience the effect of their repeated encounters was dulled significantly.

Lila and Chat never broke the flow of their fight as they clashed on the rooftops but neither had managed to land a decisive blow on the other. Belial ,who had jumped from Chat's shoulder at some point, was hissing at the recycled fox Akuma from the school roof as they fought. Lila had gotten fed up with the cat constantly harassing her and decided that the best way for her to make an opening was to distract Chat. Playing another sour note with her flute Lila summoned another illusion this time it crossed it's arms and sank into the shadows and Chat prepared himself for an attack from anywhere.

When nothing came he was confused but immediately knew where the illusion had gone when he heard a cackle come from behind him. Belial was hissing and swatting at the figure that was slowly approaching him as he unknowingly backed toward the edge. Chat lunged at the illusion dispelling it with a slash, Belial was surprised and jumped backwards off the roof. Luckily Chat had over shot his target and caught him in mid air. 

Lila took advantage of this and ,with the help of another copy, flung herself at the pair of cats to deliver a devastating flying kick. Chat used himself as a shield to protect his friend, taking the full force of the attack. They were sent flying backwards with only the roof behind stopping them after crashing through it and into the building. Chat could hear...something coming from his left but he was in too much pain to bother looking at what it was. It wasn't the first time he had been thrown through a building and covered in rubble but he didn't have time to brace so it hurt a lot more than normal. 

He felt Belial squirm free in his arms and jump away but didn't see where but he was safe and at the moment that was all Chat really cared about. Looking at his hand Chat could see and hear the *BEEP BEEP* of the ring, he’s about to run out of time. "Dammit" he thought "I just need a little more time, then I could at least get away". 

"Ooohh what do I have here? A few of the Stray's other little friends" Lila sneered as she looked down from the school roof "Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe' Bourgeois". 

The names of his friends cut clear through Chat's fuzzy hearing, a primal fury filled him and his vision was tinted with blood from a head injury. Then his hearing suddenly cleared but was dominated by a distinct sound, it was a church bell but it only rang once. Blinking Chat suddenly found himself surrounded by a featureless landscape with a boundless horizon. He got flashbacks to his fight with Pixelator but as he cast his gaze around and saw his precursors he relaxed ,if only a little, there didn't appear to be any immediate danger.

"Where am I, where are they, where's Mari and Chloe'?" he asked confused and concerned that he was incapacitated when he needed to be protecting his friends. 

A Kwami resembling a rabbit that he didn't recognize floated from somewhere out of view "Relax Ring Bearer, your friends are safe" it said. 

Sass and Plagg "It is true, your friends are safe" Sass repeated with a reassuring nod from Plagg. It was then that Adrien realized he was de-transformed and in civilian clothing. He opened his mouth to ask but a whistle from somewhere nearby interrupted him "It is time, follow me if you would" Sass said floating past with Plagg in tow. Adrien turned and saw a congregation of what he assumed to be the other Kwami and followed Sass, he started to walk toward it. 

The previous wielders joined him at his side, "Is anyone gonna explain what's going on?" Adrien asked. 

"I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to do this...not so young" Nalma whispered under her breath.

"This is something I hoped would never have to be called ,The Council, this is bad luck even for us Black Cats" Xylon explained bluntly with a somber tone in his voice. 

Adrien shook his head "Well that's not ominous at all" he continued toward the circle still confused but prepared for very bad news.

"This calling of the Council is in session, are all in attendance aware of the situation?" Wayzz asked looking to each Kwami in the circle then to Adrien and the precursors. 

"I don't know what's going on or where I am still so can I get the short version?" Adrien said with annoyance in his voice.

Wayzz looked almost sad but explained "This is the Council, a collection of all the Kwami and previous wielders of the Balck Cat's Ring. Together we deliberate on matters of great importance or events that could alter the course of history that are to be undertaken by the current wielder of the ring. This particular meeting the council turns it's attention to the girl Lila Rossi". 

"So you called me here for politics and aren't there a few members missing if 'all Kwami' are supposed to be present?"

"Your observation is accurate, there are four members missing but we can not bring them here without incurring repercussions. And we have not brought you here to debate, we have come to a consensus on what we believe must be done but a vote is required and for that you must be present" Wayzz explained. Adrien sighed and motioned for him to continue, "Now that all in attendance are up to speed we will begin the vote".

"Is this really ok?" Sass interjected. 

Plagg answered before anyone else "Like Wayzz said if we brought them here it could have disastrous repercussions, we cannot risk the safety of the Miraculous for semantics. Not to mention Fluff is already trying to keep her wielder from altering timelines anymore than she has already". 

Sass sighed heavily and shook his head "Very well, I have no further objections".

Wayzz nodded in acknowledgment, "All who believe Lila Rossi is a threat that can no longer be tolerated and is irredeemable by conventional means raise your hand or paw". The air fell silent as the vote was cast and all eyes were on the one among them. Adrien had his hand raised with little emotion on his face, concerned or surprised murmurs from both Kwami and wielders alike could be heard. Wayzz’s tone was level as he spoke, silencing the others, "The Judgement is passed, Wielder of the Black Cat's Ring ,Adrien, will you carry out and deliver this verdict?".

With a nod Adrien was thrust back into his body in the real world, his pain still present but no longer hindering him, he felt stronger, he could see clearer. Chat lifted himself from the rubble that had previously pinned him but now ,with the power granted to him by the council he felt unstoppable. Bringing himself to full height and removing his mask he glared at his target, the manifestation of an ancient and hateful god's Ire pouring from his eyes like the river of Styx. 

He spoke and the words came to him as though he had known them all his life, each laced in a cold malice toward the one he was addressing. "I am the fifteenth wielder of the Black Cat's Ring, third of whom's bell has tolled. You, the one known as 'Lila' have been deemed unfit for redemption by the Council ,minus four, the vote is unanimous. Surrender now and you will be allowed to make peace, continue to resist and-". 

Lila's response was to play her flute summoning an array of bladed weapons, "I'm not afraid of some stray from the streets" she spat before playing again to send them toward her targets. As the weapons hurtled toward Marinette, Chloe' and himself Chat calmly reached for his staff. Raising his weapon above his head Chat extended it to a precise length then brought it down with blinding speed to dispel the illusions aimed at his friends ignoring those that came for him. Marinette and Chloe' gasped in horror as they watched the blades aimed at the hero hit home. Chat stood in silence, he felt every inch of the cold metal that was buried in his flesh but again he was unhindered by the wounds. 

"Cataclysm" his hands became shrouded by an impossibly dark aura that seemed to churn and writhe. With a swipe the weapons that had embedded themselves in his body were gone but his power had not expired. "Your decision is made, for your actions you will be ERASED" he stated, in the blink of an eye he was in Lila's face poised to strike. 

Somehow she managed to dodge the claws and tried to run, playing her flute to summon copies and obstacles in an attempt to slow her assailant. Chat's advance was unyielding as he broke through or destroyed everything in his way at his touch, throwing his staff he shattered Lila’s ankle. He walked slowly toward her, she threw her flute in desperation which he was simply swatted from existence. "You shouldn't be able to do this, you're out of time, your power should have been used" she shouted trying to crawl away. 

Lila raised her hand to shield herself from his approach, pausing as he stood over her he sighed deeply as he raised his claw. "For whatever it's worth, I really am sorry" he muttered but his words were drowned out as a cacophony of fireworks lit up the sky around them with dazzling lights. The New Year had come. Marinette and Chloe' had moved to the balcony by now but all they could see was the silhouettes of Chat Noir slashing Lila across the abdomen turning her to an ashen husk. 

The destruction was instant ,as was her death, it was not the slow rotting spread of his normal power but in a way such a fate was what little mercy he could give. The only sign that she was attacked is the look of abject horror frozen in her face and a set of shallow claw marks where he had slashed. With the verdict of the Council carried out Chat's power ended and he was back to normal, de-transforming he looked to the sky as the fireworks continued to illuminate it. 

"Plagg,...could you...get Belial for me....please?" Adrien asked slowly, hesitantly.

"Sure thing, Kid" flying to the hole in Marinette's room, "Belial, time to go" he called ignoring the crack in his voice. Belial ran up to and nuzzled Plagg feeling something was wrong with his small floating feline friend, he meowed sounding somehow concerned. "Hehe I'm not the one you should be worried about little guy, come on the Kid's waiting for us" he said before flying into Belial and began floating him over. Adrien stared into the sky, past the fireworks and into the void at the stars, when the trio was all together he started walking. None of them were sure where they were going but Plagg and Adrien felt the need to be away ,it didn't matter where, they just needed to be away.

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[wendylewis-blog]

05.01.2020 /The Weekend

I feel more animal. I sleep when it’s dark and get up with daylight. I forage my house for food when I’m hungry and often, let myself feel that hunger without satiating it. I’m more acutely aware of what’s around me—wandering the woods, walking the river, sitting in the dry prairie grasses. The wind, pollen scattering from the trees, birdsong, chattering squirrels, elegant deer and awkward turkeys. Hoards of gnats swarm in tiny tornados near the water—I wonder if they hold a consciousness about their purpose here. I wonder if I do. 

I talk to people much less than I did in the beginning. Everything has been said too many times over. Exhausting and erosive. It’s becoming more personal now; taking each other’s spiritual temperature, reconnecting with some ppl I’ve lost over time, like a woman in NYC and another in San Franciso, both with new babies. Sometimes, we’re cynical, sometimes laughing, sometimes weeping. I’m quieter than ever and if you know me, I’m not prone to silence. It feels like getting to know a part of myself less explored. Not a bad thing. Listening more, talking less. 

This morning’s soundtrack. 

There is rain moving in. I’m sitting in my dining room facing the south side of the yard watching the sturdiness of trees against a grey backdrop. They wave their branches a little. I’ve looked at these trees out this window for twenty-two years. They give me a false sense of permanence but unless virulent summer weather takes them down some time, I will lean into that ruse. 

It’s the first day of May. My oldest daughter Hannah will turn 34 in a week. She and her husband Geoffrey and g-bb Ezra came down to our house last Saturday. I hugged them both with a bedsheet between us. I had so many conflicting feelings seeing them after almost two months and keeping prescribed distance for the afternoon—the full range existing between joy and grief. I suffered an emotional hangover the next day. It’s so hard to explain. It’s surreal to watch them from across the yard while the dogs romp together and not get gob-smacked about this new reality we are saddled up into—how this contagion (and the ones that will surely follow) will distort/contort, forever changing our intimacies. I’ll have to think more about this. 

We have always been such a tactile family and this is taking time to get used to and it’s only just begun. I’m gonna give myself all the time necessary to acclimate. It was so incredible to see them after so long, if bittersweet. 

I had similar feelings when daughter Kitty and her roommate Anna came down the following Monday to gather kindling, take a walk and stay for dinner. I spent a couple hours prior to their arrival instigating a yearly ritual—opening the porch! We put all the leaves in the table to properly distance ourselves. I thought about how to share the food. I ladled the soup into the sitting bowls, split the French bread loaf in half and wrapped separately, gave them their own dish of salt and plate of butter. We made mistakes—shared the pepper grinder and all touched the tubs of yogurt and sour cream. Ohhh well—we washed our hands afterwards. We also talked and laughed our asses off until dark. When they were leaving, Kitty and I looked at each other and suddenly hugged without the sheet, turning our faces away, not breathing. The next morning I woke up and had a moment of subdued panic until I remembered that every time I leave my house and go to the grocery store, it’s a risk. 

These are the inescapable truths we are all being forced to reckon with in one way or another. In that moment, the gain was well worth the risk. I am gonna get more used to this eventually and do my best taming the wild range of emotional geography to something less painful and more often flushed with gratefulness that we are all alive and love each other. Pull it together, Lewis! 

I’ve been trying to order seeds on line for weeks. Most of the organic sites were filling commercial orders in lieu of home gardeners’ requests, stalling us until May. Now, most everything is unavailable, especially herbs, which are expensive to buy in the produce section. I guess I have to take a deep breath and roll with it. There’s a lot we all have to roll with. I’m not an avid gardener anyway but I did love how the bush beans grew last year and fed us all summer long, planted in succession. 

I’ve emerged, at least for now, from the hopeless/helpless place I’d been in last week. I decided to curb my drinking habits, which had become something of a crutch a couple weeks ago that collapsed under my own weight and fed my sad monster. I’m going to need all my available faculties to get to the next day and the next one, not fall victim to laziness or inflamed feeling, already tender. So, cutting back. It’s been pretty easy so far. 

Meanwhile, there are important issues to focus my anger and intention towards when it rears up—an endless stream, most recently; Pence not wearing a mask when he visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN, Trump suggesting ultra violate rays and disinfectant injections as a cure and then later saying he was being sarcastic (!**/?!#@%!!?), joining up with Stacy Abrams out of GA and the Fair Fight organization to protect our voting rights and democracy in the upcoming election. I also watched (Michael Moore presents) Planet of the Humans written/directed by Jeff Gibbs. Warning: brutal, informative, a li’l craycray (fact checking review here as ballast). 

Also, watched a Frontline piece on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. What a supreme, soulless dick! Yikes! I knew, kinda, but have never gone in for the longer story. I know—it would be difficult for some, because—so convenient—but what if we just stopped ordering from that megalomaniac, ceased to fill the pockets of the richest man in the world whose mistreatment of his workers is legendary? He would be the best first place to start reorienting our rote thinking about capitalism. Done with him. 

What if we supported our local stores, local restaurant take-out, local clothing and sundries stores (most sell online now) or shopped directly to companies online instead of going through the infamous Amazon? What if we used this time to begin to unhook from the corporate rank and file consumerism we have all been brainwashed with, and started supporting each other and small businesses? Hearing that Tyson is suffering an enormous rise in workers infected with Covid due to cramped and unsafe working conditions (!!!) what if we supported local co-ops even part of the time? I know they are a little more expensive, but if you go local and not Whole Foods, you’ll do better. I did hear that Farmers Markets may open soon and those offer the most affordable options to Cub or Rainbow. I’ve lived and shopped this way for a long time and never made much money so I’m just sayin’, you actually can afford it. 

Every time we spend our money, we are casting a vote, so this is a good time to explore and support the neighborhood both near us and small companies online instead of supporting the giant corporate machine. They are not helping us as much as they make it appear. Other than Costco (my only big box store), who pay their workers a living wage with good benefits and safe work environments (in addition to offering remarkable dry goods, produce, meats and cheeses, the rest are forever off my list. They offer so many organic options and I save so much $$ there. I admit, it’s not much fun to go there—especially right now in terms of exposure—but when I’m out of paper towels and coffee or need a bag of lemons for $6 and organic ground beef, they are my go-to. 

This week’s movie recommendations. Kitty brought The Midnight Gospel, an animated, spirited, crazy, philosophical ride on the human condition from the makers of Adventure Time. You don’t have to be a Dylan fan to enjoy No Direction Home, a documentary that centers on Dylan’s trajectory (copious interview time with him and others around him) from late 50′s-70′s and beyond. If that’s not your cup of tea, check out Ricky Gervais’ AfterLife in which he deals with the fallout of grieving his beloved wife in that sweet/irreverent way he is known for—the second season now available. Also, Devs (recommended by Al Church) is really good, but if you can’t do violence, steer clear. All of these are streaming on Netflix. 

Last post, I was thinking hard about employing more acceptance and open-mindedness. I’m still there and working on it as I wrestle my uncaged  sometimes savage emotions. I check in on many of you via our only source of communication and it seems we are all on the same rollercoaster. It’s a rough ride—hang on and, when you’re fed up or feel brave or are awash in a weird kind of joy, raise your hands off the bar and into the air. 

While we may be isolated, we are not alone. 

Lovelove. 

[svcreds]

nd hcs.

○ although he’ll never say it, sungjin is glad cole is shouldering some of the burdens of leading a team of people, most of whom are older than him. he isn’t very sociable, and he doesn’t do well with people, so in the areas of leadership in which he lacks, cole covers for him. in a lot of ways cole has more leadership qualities than sungjin does, but he never sees himself as anything other than sungjun’s subordinate. he has no ambitions to take over leadership. ○ sungjin secretly wished youngsoo would take the role that cole has now. getting comfortable with cole took a while, and there were some bumps in the road because they had to get used to each other. out of everyone, sungjin trusts youngsoo’s opinions the most. but youngsoo didn’t want to be any more involved than he currently is. youngsoo initially starts off as a pacifist, so he didn’t feel comfortable condoning any kind of violent behaviour.  ○ liam, in the main verse of nd, gets kicked out.  ○ after the liam fiasco, sungjin took screening a lot more seriously. any recruits after liam ( namely seojun, eunmi and sangjun ) would not only have to possess skill but also get along with the core members and, most importantly, be able to follow. he would also personally handle all recruiting, and the new recruits would have to be approved by everyone currently in the group. ○ sangjun starts off as just someone that youngsoo happened to pass by one night. after getting kicked out of his parents’ home for his aggressive behaviour and frequent mood swings, he was taken in by his grandparents. being abandoned worsened his behavioural issues, and after his grandmother naturally passed, his grandfather also passed from stress. sangjun treasured his grandparents, but there were a lot of underlying issues that made him lash out. the guilt is something he will never recover from. he’s living by himself in the small apartment his grandparents and him lived in, and he works several part-time jobs to make up the rent. his grandparents’ passing, and being abandoned for the second time, was a serious wake-up call for him. he’s actively trying to better himself, but without professional help, it’s a slow process. he considers it a debt he has to pay, and it’s his way of repenting. youngsoo found him one night in some dingy alley ( someplace sangjun frequented to think and stew ), and while sangjun was hostile at first, it was the first time anyone had bothered to ask him if he was alright. someone took interest in him, for something other than his troublesome nature. truthfully, from youngsoo’s point of view, sangjun just looked really pitiful sitting in the dark by himself. but more than that, it’s easy for him to recognize a tattered soul. he brought him to sungjin, and sungjin, trusting youngsoo’s judgement, now lets sangjun hang around hq. sangjun is still abrasive and barks complaints, he’s loud and vulgar, but slowly he’s letting go of the version of himself that caused so much anguish and pain. he’s really only nice to youngsoo, he clings onto him, trails behind him by holding onto the back of his shirt or sweater. whenever he starts falling back into harshness, youngsoo puts him back into place. sungjin always knew that that was one of the things he lacked as a leader: the ability to read people, understand people, and get people to listen without having any kind of authoritative position. sangjun is terrible with remembering names and faces, and because he isn’t used to sharing a space with so many other people, he can have trouble communicating and respecting boundaries. but he has a good heart. the nd members treated him with kindness, they didn’t turn him away or give up on him, and they didn’t blame him for who he used to be. what he’s really wanted was for someone to stand by him and not leave him, and part of his attachment to youngsoo is that he introduced him to people who would do that and play that role. eventually he becomes a field agent. he has incredible strength and physical capabilities, and is well-versed in judo, aikido and karate ( all from when he was younger, and his parents were trying to find an outlet for him to channel his aggression ).  ○ also in the main nd verse, luca and lilli end up together. it’s a looooong process though, mainly because lilli has never been perceptive of luca’s feelings for her, and luca has been too timid to say anything about it. the members tease him about it all the time. one time he got the courage to ask her out on a proper date, but she thought he was joking and coldly rejected him, and it crushed the very Depths of his soul because he was in fact being super serious !! his reputation as being a lady-killer and a flirt doesn’t help his case either. it would be another year and a half before he picked up the pieces of his dignity and pride she smashed into smithereens to ask her again, this time making it into a whole romantic gesture complete with flowers and everything. too bad he’s allergic to pollen, so he was sneezing the Entire time. but lilli was endeared, and what she had wanted from the beginning was to see the actual luca, not the luca who flirts with any being with human parts.  ○ minhee is the most capable fighter in nd. she’s usually always a part of the team that gets sent out. she looks frail and delicate, but harbours a lot of strength. ○ eventually, youngsoo joins as a full-fledged member later on into his story. the catalyst is his parents, his father who is a corrupt politician, and his mother, who was the bystander to his father’s bizarre parenting tactics. when he was younger, his father forced him and his mother to sign nda agreements to ensure that his dealings wouldn’t get leaked. when youngsoo turned of legal age, his father forged another nda with his signature, just in case. he tried raising youngsoo with the mindset that the only way to live a prosperous life was to eliminate anyone and anything that kept you from getting there. youngsoo was too stubborn to be taught though, and while his father was engaging in illegal activity, he was the person who raised himself the way he thought was right: to be moral and ethical about decisions. from a young age, his father’s behaviour disgusted him. there were fundamental differences in their ways of thinking, which lead to lots of conflict. he was hit several times for voicing his concerns over his father’s business practices, and reprimanded for expressing his opinion on how his father did business. they are now estranged. and while it seems as if youngsoo has gotten over many of the traumatic events of his childhood, he’s devoted his academic career to sending his father and mother to prison. after graduating with a political science major, he plans to go to law school. on the side, through shinwoo’s ( caspar’s cousin ) connections, he’s working with a criminal lawyer, compiling his father’s illegal business tactics. the plan is to sue his parents and get guardianship of his three-year-old sister, who spends most of her time with her grandparents. however, eventually, his father threatens youngsoo’s hostile nature towards them by trying to keep his sister away from him. that’s how his father asserts his dominance, by taking things and leaving the victim with no choice but to play along. he joins nd officially, but the new aim is to punish his parents for what they did, not only to him, but to the hundreds of people who fell victim to their schemes. his morality takes a jarring turn when he decides that bad people should be exterminated all together, instead of reprimanded. most of it is pent-up, unresolved feelings. he doesn’t feel as if he will ever be satisfied sitting in the sidelines. sungjin, who has been trying to recruit him all this time, supports him. youngsoo, in the way sangjun has physical strength, possesses an almost inhuman level of mental strength. his intelligence is one thing, but he has the ability to concentrate and focus for long periods of time ( if he puts his mind to it ), devote his mind completely to one thing. as such, things like hand-eye co-ordination, depth perception, distance perception and hitting targets is easy for him. sungjin wouldn’t ever let him engage in close combat like minhee and luca, and instead, has him focus on long-range weaponry. of course, bc youngsoo is still a beginner, he asks cole to teach him basic self-defense. sangjun offered, but sungjin opposed, and sangjun sulked for Nine Straight Days because of it ( “what will you do if you accidentally hit him? his bones will shatter. his skull will crack open. he’ll just break in half. isn’t that the kind of thing we’re trying to avoid? and knowing you, once you get all excited, you won’t be able to contain your enthusiasm and you’ll end up accidentally punching him in the face and giving him brain damage.” ).

[humanegardener]

A visit to this suburban property outside Washington, D.C., feels like returning to a land time forgot, a place where salamanders, hummingbirds, chipmunks, caterpillars, and deer thrive among the humans welcoming them back to their long-lost home. Learn more about the rare transformation in this fifth dispatch of the Humane Gardening Heroes series.

Logs become sofas and highways for animals in Genberg’s garden. (Photo above and featured image: Toni Genberg)

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen neighbors kick fallen leaves to the curbside for county pickup and discard tree trimmings like trash, Toni Genberg thinks of the wilder residents of her community who would appreciate these natural treasures: the robins and white-throated sparrows who like to peck through the leafy layers, the salamanders who take cover in the moisture, and the firefly larvae who make “happy meals” out of the earthworms and slugs beneath. She considers the pileated and downy woodpeckers drilling for insects in logs, the chipmunks making prostrate branches into superhighways, and the squirrels lying on top of it all like lounge lizards claiming their domains.

Toni Genberg admires a bumblebee on false indigo flowers. (Photos above and below: Nancy Lawson)

These are just a few of the animals who have made a home in Genberg’s quarter-acre humane garden in Falls Church, Virginia, where dead plants take center stage among the living. Even in a habitat filled with lushly blooming native species in every layer of the canopy—silky dogwoods, persimmons, elderberries, milkweeds, asters, sweetspires, coneflowers, columbines, coral honeysuckles, false indigos—decaying organic matter takes on a life of its own. “Planting the plants is one thing,” says Genberg. “Equally important is leaving the leaf litter and branches and logs. I have on many occasions dragged branches home from nearby curbs.”

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n this magical space, it’s not hard to imagine a hobbit joining the animals peeking out from beneath the logs lining the stone  pathways. From behind a moss-covered stump topped by an Easter Island Maoi carved by a friend out of a declining oak tree, a squirrel surveys his surroundings. Into a brush pile covered by Virginia creeper vines, a chipmunk dives for cover. Next to the patio, a newer pile of stems and small branches that Genberg had intended to distribute elsewhere already shows signs of occupancy. “That wasn’t supposed to be there,” she says. “But someone’s living in there now, so I have to leave it.”

Brush piles give Carolina wrens and other animals places to take cover and feed even during the cold days of winter. (Photo by Toni Genberg)

In front of the jewelweed patch Genberg leaves for hummingbirds and deer, a carving made by a friend gives clues about some of her interests, depicting her native Hawaiian islands, a video camera, a flower, and skulls. (Photo by Nancy Lawson)

She didn’t intend to have so much jewelweed under the dogwoods either, but now she has to leave that, too, because deer eat it and hummingbirds sip from the blooms. But though these sound like laments, they are really more of a celebration, representing to Genberg all the life that a small yard near a major thoroughfare in the middle of mowed-down suburbia can support. The hummingbirds who catch gnats in midair and the bird who once landed on Genberg’s head are favorite visitors, but everyone else is welcome here, too. “From aphids to leafhoppers to milkweed bugs, we embrace them all,” Genberg says. “I understand that ‘pests’ have a place in our habitat, too.”

A hummingbird sipping sap from a tree will also find plentiful flowers in this habitat, including coral honeysuckle, red columbine, and cardinal flower. (Photos by Toni Genberg)

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] lifelong nature lover, Genberg doesn’t just rescue discarded decaying matter destined for the county compost pile. She also helps save plants, volunteering at Earth Sangha, a nursery that propagates species from wild-collected seeds for use in restoration projects and sale to gardeners. In her role as a transporter for Wildlife Rescue League, she has picked up and delivered opossums, barred owls, crows, ducklings and other injured and orphaned animals to area rehabilitators.

Closer to home, she has been so incensed and heartbroken by the effects of rodenticides that she now conducts a mini-campaign against them. After finding a rat bleeding from his nose, she hand-delivered 50 copies of an educational letter to neighbors. As a Virginia master naturalist, she created a display for the City of Falls Church Farmers Market that shows images of the victims of secondary poisoning—the hawks, owls, foxes, and pets who eat smaller animals killed by rodenticides. Children are especially moved and bring their parents to take a look. “People are attracted to the photos and then they end up reading what the message really is. … I had one person say after checking it out, ‘Well, I’m not ever doing that again.’ ”

As a volunteer for the Wildlife Rescue League, Genberg recently helped save this young opossum. (Photo by Toni Genberg)

Respect for all creatures started young. One of Genberg’s earliest memories is of her mom throwing the tin cans she used for growing plants at the side of a neighbor’s house during a drenching rainstorm. “She finally got them to come out because they had left their dog out in the rain. She was so angry and so upset,” Genberg recalls. “It’s stuff like that that kind of gets ingrained in you.”

Even the typically less appreciated animals did not fall outside her mom’s purview. Once when Genberg and her sister commented that they’d heard stories of putting salt on slugs, “my mom was like, if you put salt on that slug, you’re going to have to eat it. So that made us think, ‘Oh, OK, maybe we won’t do that!’ ”

The caterpillars of spicebush swallowtail, monarch, and black swallowtail butterflies munch away at their native host plants. (Photos, left and center: Toni Genberg; right: Nancy Lawson)

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ecades later in Virginia, Genberg applied the same ethic to her garden, shunning pesticides and delighting in the sight of deer and foxes who meander along her backyard creek. After she and her husband, Marc, purchased their home in 2005, they even added a few native plants. But it wasn’t until Genberg heard University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy speak three years ago that the true transformation began. Like many gardeners, she was astounded by Tallamy’s research showing that most baby birds subsist primarily on a diet of caterpillars, who in turn rely mostly on native plants they’ve evolved to digest.

The new information was a revelation, inspiring Genberg to plant milkweed for the monarch caterpillars and golden alexanders for the black swallowtail caterpillars, goldenrods and asters for bees and butterflies, coral honeysuckles and cardinal flowers for the hummingbirds. She created a website, ChooseNatives.org, where her skills as a longtime video editor help her convey a big-picture view of the importance of wildlife-friendly plants and minimizing hazards to animals. Though she grew up with cats and her father fed the ferals in their Hawaiian community (“I fancied myself a cat,” she says), she’s now particularly concerned about the effect on wildlife and pleads with cat owners to keep their pets indoors.

Creating a safe space for all animals has meant learning to coexist with squirrels who once wreaked havoc on her raised vegetable beds. “I used to curse the squirrels,” she says, “but you learn to cage things.” She even names her resident nut lovers, including the one with the worrisome hip problems whom she and Marc call “Hipster.”

The Genbergs, shown below on their patio, are on a first-name basis with their squirrelly visitors and keep a close eye on those with occasional threats to their well-being. (Photos, above: Nancy Lawson; below: Toni Genberg)

Deer are welcome to the wild strawberry, heuchera, asters, and suckering elderberries. “They can have as much as they want of the elderberry because that shrub is so huge, and their browsing is not going to kill it,” she says. “They have so much to eat that they just kind of nibble, nibble, nibble. Everybody complains that deer eat their hostas. I have two hostas and the deer don’t even go near them because there’s this huge native smorgasbord.”

They even help to prune some of her plants: “One of my friends came over and said, ‘Oh my god, your New England asters! How do you keep them looking so low and tidy?’ And I’m like, ‘The deer are doing that—they’re awesome! They come in and then they prune for me, and everything looks great.’ ”

Deer are welcome to nibble on many of the suckering plants, but Genberg cages hazelnuts and a few other trees. (Photo by Toni Genberg)

There’s plenty for the smallest of creatures to eat, too. Where once there was mostly lawn and invasive plants—privet, bush honeysuckle, English ivy, pachysandra, and vinca—Virginia creeper, white wood asters, wild strawberries, and wild basil fill the spaces instead. Native thistle and Joe Pye weed beckon goldfinches while woodland sunflowers and golden ragworts provide food for bees. After learning that many native bees are specialists, collecting pollen for their larvae only from certain species, Genberg began planting for them, too.

Genberg’s involvement with the master naturalist program “continues to open my eyes to things,” she says. “Every moment is a learning moment or a teaching moment. … It’s really this evolution you go through as you get older. You just see what’s a priority and what’s really important. We need to be supporting our wildlife because really, without them, what are we?”

By leaving fallen leaves and adding logs and other plant debris around the garden, the Genbergs have welcomed salamanders to their habitat. (Photo by Toni Genberg)

Resources for Northern Virginia and Beyond

Gardening for Wildlife: On her website, Choose Natives.org, Genberg provides thoughtful advice about native plants and humane cultivation practices, as well as links to local plant sales and events. Among the many resources offered by Plant NOVA Natives, a collaboration of public and private groups, is a free downloadable guide with profiles and colorful images of recommended plants for the region.

Native Plant Source: Earth Sangha is a unique nursery in Springfield, Va., that offers local ecotypes grown from seed collected with permission from natural areas—a method that helps preserve genetic diversity and resilience. The nursery participates in many public and private restoration projects and holds plant sales for gardeners.

Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education: The Wildlife Rescue League, where Genberg volunteers to transport injured and orphaned animals to rehabilitators, also operates a hotline to provide advice and resources to the public. The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy advocates for animals and the environment through educational programs, citizen science projects, and habitat restoration projects.

Gardening for Deer and Bees: The habitat needs of wild animals large and small are often misunderstood. To learn more about how to help some of the ones mentioned in this article, see “Gardening for Deer” and “How to Really Save the Bees.” For inspiration on using native plants to help bees, watch this beautiful video Genberg created in honor of National Pollinator Week:

*Featured images of chipmunk by Toni Genberg.

Find more profiles, tips, and inspiration in my new best-selling book, The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife. To learn more and tell me your own story, read about the Humane Gardening Heroes series.

The Humane Gardener: Virginia's Toni Genberg A visit to this suburban property outside Washington, D.C., feels like returning to a land time forgot, a place where salamanders, hummingbirds, chipmunks, caterpillars, and deer thrive among the humans welcoming them back to their long-lost home.

[animatical-fandoms]

Upcoming Fanart Info!

I finished my @kwamiswaps week art a few minutes ago, and boy let me tell you, it took forever. It’s just tagged and put in my queue for each day (I think each is scheduled for like 9-10 AM or something my time? So a few things to note about each character if y’all are interested, I have basic info below the cut about each swap and my basic headcanons about it. 

If I tagged you below the cut, it means I used your existing au as inspiration for some of my designs in the coming week, and I wanted to credit you as inspiration before my queue catches up! 

Tikki

Adrien - Okay just, whatever happens in canon, all that I ask is that Adrien calls Mari “Chaton”/”Kitty” it will warm my dead, dead heart understand? 

Alya - basically my personal design for @lunian‘s Ladybird AU. It’s awesome, go read their comics and stuff! I just like Alya’s Rena cape thing, so I went for ladybug wings - Fennette will be a thing too for Trixx’s day!

Nino - The fact of the matter is in this AU, Mari was like Nino is the responsible level-headed person of this friend group he’d make the best superhero and gives him the ladybug miraculous. He and Chat!Adrien are the best of friends, and Adrien lowkey crushes on him almost as bad as Mari!Ladybug. 

Chloe - yeah, my interpretation of the wonderful @zoe-oneesama‘s Scarlet Lady AU. My version of Marigold will get featured, too :)

Luka - Plain and simple, Master Fu showed up a few years earlier, and ran into this kindhearted musician before Mari. TBH Luka is one of my faves, so he’s going to show up for the majority of the week because I loved playing around with designs for him

Felix - He doesn’t get cursed with bad luck, but with a kwami that insists he be responsible and help poor Lady Noir (Bridgette) break her curse. He’s gentler, kinder as a bug than as Felix, always happy to help others and to calm akuma victims after a fight. He’s drawn to Lady Noir, ever melancholy and mysterious, and lets himself loose with an edge against Bridgette because that’s how he’s always been. 

Plagg

Marinette - Again, based off of the canon leaked art. I just really, really hope she’ll call Adrien some version of My Lady, and make at least one cat pun, either unintentionally or specifically for Adrien’s benefit so he can squeal over it. 

Alya - Instead of Master Fu picking Adrien, he asks New Ladybug who she would like by her side. Obviously Alya is the first choice, and she’s ecstatic to be a superhero, keeping the Ladyblog focused on Ladybug because, you know, she can’t record herself. Nino and Adrien crush HARD on the new superheroes, and while that frustrates Mari, Alya is absolutely delighted. 

Nino - Adrien pulls a Marinette, afraid that he’ll get caught since he’s under so much scrutiny as a model with a ton of visibility, and though it physically pains him to not fulfill his magical girl dreams, he knows Nino would be an amazing hero. Nino takes it in stride, and he and Mari!Ladybug are the bros to end all bros. Alya, crushing on Chat!Nino, creates both the Ladyblog and another blog dedicated to Nino’s alter ego. His thought? Best girlfriend ever. 

Chloe - I don’t really know how this would happen unless Adrien did the above, but with Chloe, thinking her confidence would be an asset?  Mari as Ladybug would be irritated by Mistress Noir, but it becomes a series of growing moments for Chloe, because she gets to see what a destructive force she really can be on people’s lives and gets better at the Friend Thing. 

Luka - My boy omg this one was fun to draw. So 

Bridgette - Reverse PV like Luka’s - Bridgette thought her luck was bad enough with her being unable to speak at a normal pace and pitch in front of her crush, not to mention her clumsiness makes her look like a fool in front of him during their dance classes. Now she’s cursed with a tiny god of destruction and a Perfect Superhero Partner - well, at least her clumsiness disappears when she’s Lady Noir. A shadow to Lordbug’s light. She knows it’s as hopeless to try and break her curse with him as it is to get together with Felix, so she just stands aside as his protector. 

Trixx

Marinette - See the Ladybird AU with Alya; I couldn’t help myself!

Adrien - In the world where Alya is Chat and Mari is Ladybug, the two need help against the multiplying twins, same as before. Except Mari goes to lonely Adrien who she knows would be amazing.

Nino - The above babysitting disaster happens to be Nino’s little cousin, Chris, rather than Alya’s sisters, so Mari offers the fox miraculous to him. He and Adrien get to be bros for all sides of the mask. Alya makes an entirely new blog dedicated to the new fox. 

Chloe - I really don’t know how she would get her hands on the fox, unless she made like Queen Bee and stole it, which I suppose is plausible. Maybe I can do way better than Lila because I won’t be faking it kind of thing?

Luka - He probably would get this if another akuma was the reason they needed the Fox - maybe if Fu gave it to Ladybug while his mom was akumatized and he was worried about everyone’s safety. 

Felix - He was free of the Black Cat’s curse, and the miraculous could no longer be his. It got passed to Adrien through Fu without him knowing, and as soon as he sees his little brother vaulting across the city in a catsuit (without stripper boots, what the hell Plagg why did you make me suffer this way) he storms up to Fu’s place and says give me the fox those are children my god and becomes Mentor #1 to the new Chat and Ladybug. Naturally, no one catches on that he’s himself. He’s a professional at this secret identity thing. 

Wayzz

Marinette - In the world where Nino and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat respectively, Alya has been chosen as the fox. During Anansi, though, she’s captured - so Nino’s like omg Marinette could be the turtle and Marinette, upon receiving it, is having major panic mode set in, but you know, she does her best. Adrien takes a look at her protecting them and is like omg my Lady, a la Alya knowing exactly who Carapace was, but he keeps it to himself, and becomes more comfortable and flirty with Mari. 

Adrien - Don’t know if this fits in with any of the others . . . but probably Chat!Chloe verse, and Marinette is like please can you be my partner forever

Alya - Instead of her getting kidnapped during Anansi, it’s Nino, since Nora had a beef with him being too girly. She totally saves him and fangirls over being a superhero and he just knows. 

Chloe - How did this happen? I’m not even sure. But her being on the defensive is so out of character that I can’t even begin to rationalize it. 

Luka - Both Alya and Nino are unavailable during Anansi, so Marinette is like, Luka was super helpful on the boat and is super nice let’s do this. 

Bridgette - Fox!Felix verse - she sees her boyfriend, who was once Chat, as a fox teaching the two bb heroes the ropes. She goes to Fu, stands in the door with her eyebrow raised.  Fu had meant for her to succeed him as guardian anyway, and she takes up a job at his place so he can still hang out with Wayzz. She becomes Mentor #2 and is basically Mulan in fighting style - totally unexpected strategies. (It’s her fault that identity reveals happen, idk how, but it is)

Pollen 

Marinette - Marigold from the Lady Scarlet universe!

Adrien - From the universe where Chloe ends up as Chat, Marinette is super protective of this sunshine bee boy

Alya - Marinette actually? Gets the Bee Miraculous to Alya instead of losing it to Chloe?

Nino - Mari’s mind goes to Nino instead of Alya when the Bee is needed, and she makes it to him. 

Alix - After seeing her do so awesome with Reverser, Marinette turns to Alix for help as the Bee. 

Max - well, I don’t have too much of a headcanon for him, but kwamiswaps did a fanfic, so that’’s what this design is for! (I did little suspender stripes without meaning to omg I really do like how it turned out)

Dusuu

Marinette - I suppose in this AU, the Peacock wasn’t damaged, just disappeared - and, while visiting Adrien for a study session, she ends up with a new bird friend. 

Adrien - He inherits it from his mom okay??? Like, Fu has it and knows and is like your mother would have wanted you to have this. And this pisses off Hawkmoth to no end because he thinks whoever stole it is Definitely Not Adrien and is disgracing his wife’s name and just more angst than I expected for this Bird Boy (which, of course, makes the running gag that he’s allergic to feathers hilarious - Dusuu does make him sneeze if they get in his face, but when he transforms he doesn’t have his allergy. 

Alya - Swap the Peacock for the Fox - let’s just say Hawkmoth had a direct source to mess with Lila. Instead of illusions on the night the twins start multiplying, she creates a summoned creature to lure them all together. 

Nino - The Peacock was damaged still, but Nino was willing to risk that to save his girlfriend and the city. 

Chloe - Somehow, since the Mayor was friends with Gabriel and his wife, he ended up in possession of the Peacock before Gabriel knew what it was. Chloe gets her hands on it relatively at the same time she would have gotten the Bee and is just as Extra. 

Jagged - Who knows? It was necessary to make this once it was suggested. Let it happen. He deserves to be a flashy birb.

Nooroo

Marinette - Mayura is the main villain in this universe, and Emilie is comatose because of a damaged Ladybug Miraculous. Adrien is still Chat, but he makes “my wings” and “my little butterfly” comments rather than “My Lady”. Gabriel has Nathalie generally doing his dirty work, and he calls Emilie his lady. It’s very sad and angsty. Mari uses her friends’ best qualities to fight against the beasts Mayura creates. 

Adrien - He’s been Chat for some time, but now Gabriel has been revealed to him and Mari, and he gets really, really angry, and steals the miraculous as Adrien. This is a Problem. Plagg is concerned Adrien is getting too angry to deal with powers of destruction full-time, so Adrien brings him to Fu and alternates between Plagg and Nooroo, and he confronts Gabriel a lot as the Butterfly because betrayal reasons. Ladybug is concerned, but she trusts him and that’s what gets him through. 

Nino - He is So Supportive of his friends, okay? He gets chosen as the Butterfly holder when, say, Bridgette has the Turtle and they manage to take it from Hawkmoth but still need help getting the Peacock or some other stolen one. 

Chloe - Okay, this version of Chloe does not get a redemption arc, like, ever - she’s Hawkmoth. Straight up.  She starts every akuma purposefully, becomes a villain, etc.  Don’t ask why; I don’t know - attention? I prefer Redeemed!Chloe, but I feel like she’d totally be past saving as this particular supervillain. 

Kagami - She’s a fencer, the Butterfly has a sword/cane, it’s a match! Adrien gets to pick some new holders in my personal headcanon. Let’s say while the Mouse and Snake go to Mari and Luka, they get the Butterfly so Adrien chooses Kagami because she tried to help him and she wouldn’t let her emotions get in the way when she chooses people with her powers. (I didn’t like my original Alya design for the butterfly, so we get Kagami instead!)

Felix - Brother!AU. He was Chat Noir when he was younger, has been abroad with Bridgette, and comes home to see the canon situation. He is Not Fooled by Adrien, Mari, anyone - he’s been there, and he has distance of not knowing most of the people involved, so he gets very, very, angry. He knows his father is Hawkmoth. So he steals the butterfly and sides with Ladybug and Chat Noir, who are both thankful but confused at this new Butterfly who’s So Angry - Adrien doesn’t figure it out, but he comforts Felix without meaning to and Felix is so touched. Felix eventually reveals that he knows who the previous Hawkmoth and the current (insert villain name) is - Gabriel Agreste. Obviously disbelief and angst, but he reveals himself and is like I am the last person to want Gabriel to be a supervillain so yeah and Agreste brotherly bonding and HawkDad butt-kicking and there.