#both of my grandfathers are ivans.

[hopeheartfilia]

alyosha is a blorbo blueprint

[marvelmusing]

A Courtship of Shadows

Part Three

Pairing: fae!Aleksander Morozova x fem!reader

Summary: As summer begins, the human court moves to the countryside, and Aleksander accepts several invitations for balls and hunting trips. He finds he cannot escape you, and that perhaps he doesn’t want to.

Warnings: smidge of angst, mentioning the loss of a parent, hints of violence (not explicit)

Part One • Part Two

My Masterlist

“Sire,” Ivan says, caution colouring his tone.

Aleksander can feel the hairs at the nape of his neck prickling at the sensation of unfamiliar magic. The sound of dogs yapping playfully makes his stomach tense.

During his grandfather’s rule, humans bred hounds with the specific intention of hunting down fae. Even now, hundreds of years later, the hounds’ descendants can sniff out the magic in their blood.

There’s a number of those hounds prowling at the heel of their master Lord Rathbone, the heir to Lichen Manor. Aleksander keeps track of them at the corner of his vision, eyeing the man discreetly. He’s one of the more arrogant humans Aleksander has come across during his time in East Ravka. Amongst his hunting friends, he struts like a peacock, shooting snide looks at him and the rest of the fae.

Suddenly, the members of Aleksander’s group all seem to have noticed something in particular. When he turns to investigate, he finds you moving through the gathering of people, head held high, hounds of your own trotting obediently on either side of you.

Bypassing Lord Rathbone, you ascend the stone stairs at the front of the manor, approaching the old man standing in the entrance to the house. Aleksander watches as you talk. From his position, he can only see the man’s expression - not yours. He seems to regard you with a fondness that intrigues Aleksander.

As you turn, you offer your arm to the man, helping him descend the stairs. Each step he takes is measured and your eyes are filled with care and patience as you stand by his side. Aleksander sees your eyes wander through the sea of faces, searching for someone in particular. His lungs stutter when your gaze locks onto his, your expression softening with what looks like relief.

There’s an almost imperceptible tension to your shoulders as you walk by Lord Rathbone’s group, which appears to stiffen further at the sound of their laughter. Aleksander knows the eldest Rathbone son is around the same age as you, though you carry the years far better than him.

Aleksander provides his horse with a gentle pat to her side, stroking down the length of her strong neck as he steps away. He turns, anticipating your arrival in front of him.

“Your highness,” you greet him with a small bow, your arm still locked around your companion’s. “May I present the Duke of Lichen.”

The elderly duke bows respectfully.

“I’m grateful for your presence here today, your highness. It is a pleasure to have you as my guest.”

Aleksander is somewhat surprised by the duke’s manners and the honesty to his words makes him wonder the reasoning behind his gratitude. Nevertheless, Aleksander inclines his head politely, offering both of you a small smile.

“The pleasure is mine, your grace. You have a wonderful estate.”

The man smiles, his eyes crinkling as he nods.

“That I can agree with, your highness. Though I cannot take credit for its beauty. I believe the lady to my right is responsible for managing the grounds.”

Confused, and impressed, Aleksander glances at you for an explanation. The smile you give him is modest.

“Whilst I officially reside at Hawthorne, I have always spent the majority of my summer here at the manor…” The smile slips from your face, a haunted sheen in your eyes as you add quietly, “Until recently.”

As your words falter slightly, the duke’s expression grows somber.

“I’m certain you will have heard my son has returned from Tsibeya.”

Tsibeya is a small region in the north of Ravka, where unruly nobles are exiled so that they can consider their actions, as opposed to being imprisoned. The brief reference to whatever crime or transgression Rathbone had committed seems to make you uncomfortable.

Aleksander sees your thoughts slip away, lost to some memory he cannot guess at - though he suspects Lord Rathbone has some part in it. The duke settles his hand over yours, which appears to rouse you somewhat, drawing you back to the present. The smile you offer the duke is deceptively bright; Aleksander can see the tears burning in your eyes as you blink hurriedly to suppress them.

The duke steps back, bowing once again.

“I wish you both a bountiful hunt.” Aleksander nods slowly in acknowledgement, tilting his head as he watches the duke pat your arm gently. “It’s been good to see you.” His eyes flicker towards Aleksander before he adds, “Your father would be proud of you.”

There’s a small pause and a sad smile twitches at the corner of your mouth.

“Thank you.”

Aleksander stops breathing. He knows you follow the rules of the fae, rarely thanking anyone directly. But in this moment, each syllable is deliberate, a soft gratitude there in regard to the duke. It’s evident that you see him as a paternal figure. Aleksander can only imagine how hard it must have been for you, growing up in the human realm without your father.

The duke squeezes your forearm one final time before he moves away, turning back towards the manor. He doesn’t acknowledge his son, barely casting a glance in his direction. Meanwhile, you bring your attention back to preparations for the hunt.

The Old Ravkan rolls beautifully around your tongue as you issue a firm command, bringing both your horse and dogs to heel on either side of you. Aleksander believes he can trust you, though he still tenses as the hounds tilt their heads at him.

“They won’t hurt you,” you assure him softly. “I promise.”

Aleksander’s lips part in bafflement.

“How?”

The smile that tugs at the corner of your mouth is fond as you look down at the dogs, stooping to scratch behind the ears of each of them.

“My father took them in when they were puppies. As soon as I could crawl, I was climbing into their basket.” There’s a small pause and a wry twist to your lips. “They soon grew accustomed to the scent of fae.”

Aleksander tilts his head, studying your expression as your eyes flicker up to meet his. A determination settles over your features, your chin raised in resolution and one thing is certain - you aren’t hiding your fae-ness anymore. He smiles widely.

The authenticity of his emotions has Genya’s tailoring faltering momentarily and your lips part slightly at the brief glimpse of his true form. His stomach flips when he sees your eyes darken.

He wonders how you would react if you could stare freely at his true form - pale skin, pointed ears and pitch black eyes, his hair threaded with strands of gold amongst his raven locks. He hopes you would find him appealing.

The early morning sunlight warms your face, casting a soft glow over your skin and drawing Aleksander’s attention to the scar on your chin which runs along the length of your jawline on one side. Iron is the only material capable of scarring someone with fae-blood in them and something twists inside him at the thought of you being harmed in such a way.

He wants to hook a finger under your jaw and trace the crooked line of scar tissue there. He wants to ask you what happened. He wants you all to himself, away from prying eyes. The sound of laughter from the group of humans nearby has you stiffening slightly.

“I suspect I was only invited to the hunt today in an attempt at embarrassing you.”

Aleksander frowns.

“Why would I be embarrassed by you?”

“You’ve heard the rumours about us?” He nods slowly, his brows furrowed deeper in confusion even as you elaborate. “They think it’s amusing that people believe you might be interested in me.”

Aleksander hates how the humans perceive you and he longs to provide you with some confidence. But before he can offer you any sort of comfort, he catches the tail end of one of Rathbone’s jests. The halfling and the Darkling. His remark incites more laughter amongst the group and the muscle in Aleksander’s jaw twitches.

“They intend on snubbing you and your party by hunting deer today,” you inform him in a low voice.

He nods, unsurprised.

“I thought they might.”

He ducks his head down, hovering over the crook of your shoulder as you adjust the bridle on your horse.

“Though I believe you’ve misunderstood one of our customs, little blossom.” He turns his head, his lower lip grazing the shell of your ear. “Hunting deer is a privilege, not a crime. Only royal fae are permitted to kill a stag.”

He watches you turn to face him, your eyes widening slightly in realisation, then a determined grin spreads over your features. His heart skips a beat.

“Then let’s find you a stag, your highness.”

»»---------------------►

Aleksander can’t find you.

He tilts his head aside, eyes scouring over the crowd in an attempt at being subtle in his search. When he notices Fedoyr’s grin he huffs out a sigh, turning in the opposite direction to eye the length of the ballroom.

The last time he saw you had been several minutes ago, talking to your mother. He hadn’t seen you leave the party but your mother’s brows are fixed in a disapproving manner as she holds her glass of wine tightly. The longer he looks at her, the more his concern for you grows, creeping beneath his skin like ivy.

Despite this being your family home, from your mother’s behaviour towards you it is evident that you are a guest at this evening’s ball.

Perhaps he should look for you. He slips from the ballroom without a word to anyone.

Aleksander passes the housekeeper in one of the quieter hallways, providing her with a polite tilt of his head as he continues his search for you.

“She will be in her father’s study.”

Aleksander stops, turning back to meet the woman’s eyes directly, examining her.

Despite only having arrived yesterday morning, the servants of your household have been exceptionally kind to him and his entourage. From his perspective, it seems they care about your well-being far better than your mother does.

He nods in gratitude and begins to move towards the stairway.

Aleksander locates your father’s study easily enough, in the room beside the bedchamber he has been occupying during his stay. The thought that he has been using your father’s bedchamber crosses his mind briefly.

He finds you sitting beneath the sturdy oak desk, your face flushed, cheeks stained with tears as you wipe your nose messily. At the sound of the door opening, you turn with widened eyes, brushing your tears away rapidly to hide your state of vulnerability. When you recognise him through your tears, your shoulders sag, losing their tension.

Aleksander closes the door behind him, eyes locked on yours as he moves slowly across the room to stoop down in front of you. He reaches out, his movements considerate as he gives you the opportunity to pull away. Instead, you lean into his touch as he strokes your damp cheek.

“What’s wrong?” he asks softly.

He can see the lie lingering on the tip of your tongue, human instinct urging you to insist that you are fine. He can also see the distress it causes you - the thought of lying to him. Tears well in your eyes again, your breathing shaky as you practically tremble.

“Mother has offered my hand to Lord Rathbone.”

The words are broken and hoarse but they ring painfully in Aleksander’s ears.

“I can’t marry him,” you admit in a whisper. “Our children would have too much fae in them. He would hate them, I know he would. I can’t bear the thought of my children being hated by their father.”

He watches as you fidget with the handkerchief in your lap, nails picking at the thread lining the edge as a few tears escape your eyes.

“His father - the earl - promised my father he would look after me. He’s already informed me that he will refuse whatever dowry she might offer.”

“A rejection like that will ruin your prospects.”

A self-depreciating smile quirks at the corner of your mouth.

“I wouldn’t say there are many suitors looking to court me.”

Human men are fools. Aleksander cannot understand how any of them can resist your sweet charm, quiet humour, and undeniable intelligence. Not to mention you are one of the most beautiful women at court.

He can see the sadness weighing on you and whilst Rathbone’s proposal and the upcoming damage to your reputation is distressing, he believes you’ve handled it well.

“There’s something else,” he says quietly.

Another tear slips down your cheek as you nod.

“I know it sounds childish,” you say, your chin wobbling as your expression crumbles. “But I miss my papa.”

“Oh, petal. Come here.” He slides himself under the desk, pulling you gently against his chest as he hushes you tenderly. “That’s it, just breathe for me.”

He feels you grip onto his kefta, fisting the fabric tight as your body shakes with the force of your tears.

“I can’t imagine how much it must have hurt you to lose him,” he murmurs softly. Aleksander strokes his hand down your back, feeling every dip and notch beneath the pad of his fingertips. “He would have protected you from all this, wouldn’t he?”

Aleksander feels you nod and he tightens his hold on you.

“I think he would have found someone for you from my court.” At that, you perk up, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

“You do?” He smiles down at you, thumb grazing over your jaw.

“Sweet girl, you are too beautiful and good and honest for any human.”

He feels your cheeks warm beneath his fingers.

“I think he would have liked you,” you admit shyly and Aleksander laughs.

“I think he would have told me to stay away from his daughter.”

“Why?”

The inquiry is soft and he lets it hang between you both before he speaks.

“I’m not a good man, petal.”

“If I was yours, would you look after me?”

He goes still at your question, at the thought of you being his. He doesn’t hesitate before responding,

“Until my dying day.”

Fae do not lie. He knows in his soul that if you were his wife he would take care of you. When he feels you lean towards him, eyes lowered to his lips, he holds tightly onto your chin to prevent you from kissing him how he knows you want to.

“I used to wander barefoot through the woods,” you admit with a soft sigh. “Hoping a fae prince would steal me away and marry me under an oak tree.”

He wants to distract you from your pain and from the thought of kissing him. He also, rather selfishly, wants to hear you talk about your dream wedding.

“What would your dress be like?”

“Something soft and flowing, with a long train that would sweep through the dirt and the grass.” He can imagine you in white with mud and grass stains covering the hem of your dress like nature’s hand prints, as if the wilderness wants to be a part of you. “I’d weave flowers through my hair and wear a tiara.”

The corner of his mouth quirks into a smile.

“A tiara?”

He feels your cheeks flush with warmth as you hide your face, giggling quietly as you concede shyly,

“Just a little one. I’d be a princess after all.”

His smile widens. Unable to stop himself, he presses a soft kiss to your forehead.

“You would make a beautiful princess.” He pauses briefly. “And a breathtaking queen.”

His words make you duck your head shyly and he can’t resist reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind your ear. His knuckle grazes your cheek and he hears you inhale sharply.

Then something on the wall catches his attention.

“You hung the antlers.”

It had taken quite some convincing for you to accept the antlers of the stag Aleksander had killed during your hunting trip. He needed to insist several times that they wouldn’t be considered a gift, meaning you wouldn’t be indebted to him by taking them. He hadn’t expected you to hang them above the mantle in your father’s study, but Aleksander is rather touched by it.

Nodding, you turn to follow his gaze, admiring the polished wooden mount, carved ornately around the edges which frame the curves of bone.

“David helped me mount them.”

“He did?”

At his sudden question, your head turns back to him quickly.

“Yes. I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped-”

He shakes his head with a small smile, smoothing his hands down over your waist.

“Not at all. I’m only surprised that you’ve befriended him. He doesn’t take well to strangers.”

He tilts his head at you, watching as you blink slowly in surprise.

“Oh. I think he’s nice.” Aleksander sees your gaze flicker down to where his hands have settled on your hips, warmth flushing through your body. “He knows a lot about materials.”

“He does. The majority of the furniture in my quarters at the Little Palace were designed and crafted by him.”

Aleksander sees intrigue sparkle in your eyes and he longs to take you to the Little Palace this instant, showing you everything there is to see, hoping that you will fall in love with it all.

“Mother is leaving tonight to visit her friend several towns over. Will you stay while she’s gone?”

“Won’t people talk about you being alone in a house with me?” he asks with a playful smile.

“Stay, please.” Shyly, you begin to play with the embroidery on the sleeve of his kefta. “I want to have lunch with you in my father’s garden.”

Everything he has wanted over the past few months, you are now presenting to him, practically with a sweet little bow wrapped around it. What else can he say, but,

“Of course.”

»»---------------------►

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[aleksanderscult]

Was the Darkling that much of a liar as the fandom makes him to be?

Because it's literally one thing for a character to truly lie every other page and another for the reader to have been tricked by the narrative that he's a compulsive liar.

If we thoroughly search and find his lying moments in the Grisha trilogy then it would be these:

“I don’t want to answer you.”

“Oh.”

Then he sighed and said, “One hundred and twenty. Give or take.”

After a moment, the Darkling said, “My great-great-great-grandfather was the Black Heretic, the Darkling who created the Shadow Fold.”

“How?” I pleaded. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“By helping me destroy the Shadow Fold.”

“What’s Baghra’s power, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think she was a Tidemaker.”

“Because every day we don’t find the sea whip, I’ll peel away a piece of her skin. Slowly. Then Ivan will heal her, and the next day, we’ll do it all over again.”

“Where are they? ” I screamed.

“They are safe. For now. They will be on my skiff when I enter the Fold again.”

“As hostages,” I said dully.

He nodded.

So in the whole trilogy the Darkling lied six times. Four if you count the scenes before he was revealed as the "evil guy".

His first real conversation with Alina is considered both by the protagonist and the fandom as manipulative and shady. He lied about his identity, age and true goal. Now let's take it from the beginning.

The fact that he lied about his age and identity wasn't something personal against Alina. This is the exact same lie he had been telling the world for four hundred years as a means of survival and staying as head of the Grisha. Also, did we really expect him to say "Yeah, I was the one who created the Fold. Hehe what can you do?☺️". We would be lying too if we were in his place.

Another thing that needs to be understood here is that the Darkling was testing her. He was trying to see what her personality is like, how does she feel about her newfound powers and, most importantly, what has she heard and how does she feel about him. I'm pretty sure that he was kinda sure that Alina would have been influenced by the people's views about him. And he was right. Alina was afraid of him thanks to the rumors and superstitions that surround him. If she also knew who he truly was then she would run from that barn ASAP.

Now let's see the next lie that the Darkling spat out. The one where he told her that he needs her to destroy the Fold. This was another test. Trying to see how she would react if she knew her true purpose as the Sun Summoner that everybody expected.

Apparently she failed that test as well:

Alina panicked when she heard that the realm's future lies on her shoulders, when she understood that she would be the one to destroy the Shadow Fold. Imagine how she would react if the Darkling said "Okay look. I need you so I can use the Fold against some nations, not destroy it". Yup, she would scream and run.

There's no way the Darkling would say the truth to her, especially since he saw how frightened and prejudiced she was about him and how clueless she was about the whole economical and political situation Ravka was at this point.

He was waiting for the Sun Summoner to be born and emerge for centuries. He would never risk losing her now because of her narrow views and some brutal truths. It was a matter of life and death for him in order to protect his country. And this girl was too young, too naive to understand.

So no. He didn't do it because he had something personal against her or to seduce her. He did it for the good of his country so this girl would stay no matter what.

Sadly, it's evident that in the end the Darkling's suspicions proved to be right. She run away. And when he found her he chastised her about her selfishness and her inability to see the bigger picture.

“Did you deserve my trust? Baghra whispers a few accusations in your ear, and off you go. Did you ever stop to think of what it would mean for me, for all of Ravka, if you just disappeared?”

“You didn’t give me much choice.”

“Of course you had a choice. And you chose to turn your back on your country, on everything that you are.”

“That isn’t fair.”

“Fairness!” he laughed. “Still she talks of fairness. What does fairness have to do with any of this? The people curse my name and pray for you, but you’re the one who was ready to abandon them. I’m the one who will give them power over their enemies. I’m the one who will free them from the tyranny of the King.”

The Darkling was right, she did have a choice. I once heard a line from a show that said "In life we always have a choice. But sometimes it's easier to think that you don't" and it applies to Alina here perfectly. She had a choice but she said to herself that she didn't. And by doing so, she only proved Aleksander right. She can't handle the truth.

Now the next lie is when he lied about his mother's powers. Don't have to dwell here because it's the same thing as before. It's the same lie he tells everyone "I don't know. I'm not sure". The Darkling (publicly) has distanced himself from his mother and keeps that relationship a secret. It's just part of his persona (just like his age, his identity etc.). Again nothing personal against Alina.

The next one is just some clever emotional manipulation. When he made clear to Mal that he would curve Alina's skin he knew that the threat was just enough. He has seen them act all cutie-cutie and being sacrificial for the sake of each other to a disgusting point so he took advantage of that (I say good for him).

And the last one is just my personal favourite if you ask me. That strategy he displayed there was my most favourite that he ever showed. Since he knew again how the threat would be enough for Alina to come to him like fish on a bait. He embraced his villainous persona and pretended that he would hurt those children if she didn't surrender to him. But he knew better. Mindless heroism would just bring her right into his net and again he was proved right until everything fucked up and died.

In his own words:

“I know what you thought, what you’ve always thought of me. It’s so much easier that way, isn’t it? To puff yourself up with your own righteousness.”

Just some delicious shit actually.

So, in conclusion, no. He wasn't a compulsive liar. But when he needed to lie he did and only for (as he saw it) selfless reasons. In fact, he mostly either evaded the truth or spoke truth. So misinformation just spilled that man's reputation lmao.

[bringerofdeathandtheapocolypse]

Honestly, having been rewatching the early episodes now, I'm a little annoyed how little what we learned about Ivan and what was going on with him and how horrible his actual debut truly was.

Fantasia set up that Ivan was exiled for an unknown reason (something which is still unknown since Makarov didn't know Ivan knew about Lumen histoire until Laxus asked about it so it wasn't that), that he had some interest in Laxus although again never specified what for or why, that he was the one to give Laxus his lacrima and that Gajeel was working as a double, double agent for him.

Then we learn through a flashback during GMG (I think. I might be remembering when wrong) of Laxus asking Makarov about what he was doing with Ivan and learning that he didn't attack Fairy tail over the 7 years. Something which we do know the reason for, that being no one remaining would have known the information he wanted.

Now I'm not saying that Makarov or Laxus need to info dumb about their pasts or something. It would be quite OOC for either of them unless it was an episode/chapter focused on say Laxus and the thunder legion, you know, the group he is the closest with.

Better ways of dropping small hints would be, even just taking canon events, have Makarov think about things when he's beaten by Hades. Think about how not only did one of his potential father figures turn down the dark path but his son and almost his grandson did too and have him think about what he could have done for that to happen.

Stories can have unreliable narrators. Not everyone is going to see things through the same lens as you do. Makarov thinking he was a good father and grandfather could make sense if perhaps he wasn't entirely aware of what was going on behind the scenes.

If, like I have mentioned before, Ivan grew resentful of Makarov and Fairy tail because it took away his father's attention which started out as Ivan acting out for that attention but it didn't work and got worse then its possible Makarov may not have noticed his son was feeling neglected. And I will stand by my belief that Ivan was an abusive father to Laxus. Maybe not physically but definitely mentally. And its possible that he said something to Laxus for him to be too afraid to take to Makarov about what was going on.

Fairy tail has a mix of villains who you can understand why they might have fallen down the path they did(the seiz with bad guidance, Lyon with becoming obsessed with his goal, Gajeel being raised in a guild that practically praised him for his violenece) while others where they just are evil because (Brain/Zero, Mard Geer and the rest of Tartarous, Erigor) I personally believe Ivan could have been the former. Give more context to it. Sometimes, children who aren't treated correctly by their parents fall into the wrong crowd, that could have happened with Ivan.

And again, his debut and build up in GMG was not good. His whole reason for joining the games was to get at Fairy tail and possibly get to Laxus specifically. So why was it only targeted on the first day. Third I get since there was no way to attack each other although they could have tried to trip up Cana or sneakly hurt Erza or Cana while they stood around.

But there isn't an excuse for day 2. Natsu and Gajeel could barely move. Wouldn't it make sense for RT to go after them while they were down?

And why not attack Juvia as well as Gray? Both are from FT.

And the fact that Gajeel being a double agent is brought up once with Laxus just mentioning that was how they got the info and Ivan being angry about it. Why not bring it full circle to have Ivan order Gajeel to work at sabotaging FT and aiding RT. Maybe even make him attack his own guild members during the night. Gajeel would likely refuse to do this since he at this point cares about FT so Ivan proceeds to threaten one of the members he's close with. It could be Lily or Levy, maybe Juvia or any other member he has an attachment or relationship with (Like how I see him being close with Mira and Wendy) Which forces his hand and makes it a case where the members are sceptical and think Gajeel is falling back into his old ways and betraying the guild.

So then when its the fight with Laxus and Ivan reveals some info to Laxus since he thinks he'll be on his side, it gets Laxus angry that Ivan would be willing to harm any of his guild and breaks what little hope he had for his dad.

Plus, it could lead to a little more chaos if Ivan is questioned by the council because he could try to put the blame on Gajeel and cite his sudden behaviour change. The council bring Gajeel in for questioning and then you could have a moment where Laxus reveals Gajeel was never wanting to hurt the guild and that he was being threatened into doing what he was doing and Makarov reveals Gajeel was a double agent the entire time.

The consequences can vary. It could be Gajeel is arrested because its a 4 to 5 vs 1 and its canon Gajeel has been in legal trouble before or he could be let go with a slap on the wrist and a warning to the FT guild where it could come back up later. (Maybe in a Gajeel centric arc perhaps something similar to the Rhodinite manga)

Or have Ivan cause harm to Gajeel now that he knows he was a double agent, attacking Gajeel and causing him to have a permanent injury. A branding, missing limb, damaged eye. Something other than a basic scar that isn't that noticeable to put out permanent consequences.

What can I say, I just love putting Gajeel in angsty situations.

[lailoken]

The Rowthorn: A Very Rare and Special Tree

Not too long ago, I began working with an extremely unique tree that I have since become pacted to, and I have finally been given leave to share about it publicly. It's a tree so unusual that it technically bares no common name and, instead, only has a couple of cultivar names and an undecided scientific name. The tree in question is one I have been calling a Rowthorn, since it is a cross between a Rowan Tree (Sorbus Acuparia) and a Hawthorn Tree (Crataegus Monogyna.) The resultant Crataegosorbus (or Sorbocrataegus, depending on your source) is a hybrid developed by Russian horticulturist Ivan Michurin in the 1920s, and can be phenotypically described as a nobbled Rowan tree with berries that look like rosy Haws the size of cherries. Miraculously, these Rowthorn berries are generally considered better for eating and cooking than either Rowan berries or Hawthorn berries are.

This tree is special to me for a couple reasons. On one hand, my grandfather was a botanist who specifically worked creating fruit tree hybrids in his day, which gives me a strange sort of ancestral connection to a tree born through human efforts. On the other hand, both Hawthorns and Rowans are quite historically and personally significant to my practice. Hawthorns possess ancient ties to the Otherworld and its denizens, and can serve to mark "thin places" where the realms are less experientially distinct from one another. As such, the Fae are often said to congregate at the sites of old Whitethorn trees. On the other hand, Rowans are also beloved by the Fae, who are said to enjoy dancing beneath their holy boughs—though, harvested wood from the tree can be utilized in a protective capacity against them as well. This ability of Rowan to both delight and repell the Fae is, in turn, closley aligned with my work as a Faerie Physicker. As such, a tree like the Rowthorn—which embodies the virtues of both these magical plants—is one I couldn't pass up the opportunity to know better, and so I invested in one the instant I was lucky enough to come across it.

Watching it grow from a bare and miniscule scion into a slowly flourishing sapling has been beautiful, and I can hardly wait for the day that it bares its first fruits.

[apersonwholikeslotus]

Alfred going out of town and giving Gil a full list of all the ghosts and what they MIGHT do to bother him before he leaves;

they're ghosts so like, typical mentions of murder and sickness under the cut

"okay, we'll go oldest to youngest, first off is Harald, Björn, and Sigurd, brothers. Vikings died of hypothermia in the 1020s after getting lost and being left behind when everyone else went back to Greenland, or Iceland I don't remember don't tell them that though. If the room suddenly gets cold, like windows frosting over cold, it's them. Make sure their blanket fort didn't fall over and the space heater in their room is still on and they'll probably calm down after."

"Arthur is my great x8 grandfather, he died in 1779 from food poisoning. He built the house if you try doing any major changes while I'm not here to convince him into it or at least calm him down you are at his mercy. His major thing is he'll fuck up your cooking, but he'll also leave like trails of feathers sometimes cause he was tarred and feathered not long before his death for being a loyalist"

"Molly and Lorenzo are a pair, they're like always together they both died in 1904 of tuberculosis so y'know trauma bonding i guess. Molly was a maid and Lorenzo was a cook working for my great-great aunt, the one that left me the house. Lorenzo can move stuff but usually only when he's pissed or bored, so just leave like a soccer game or the food network on and he'll be fine. Molly is the one you can hear humming or singing sometimes, but like you should be used to that by now."

"Katya, Ivan, and Natalya. Second set of siblings in the house. They were russian nobility but fled in 1917 to the US. They came to a party held here in 1920 thrown by someone who supported "the Russian people" and were poisoned. Ivan doesn't have his head because when they went to get rid of the bodies they didn't check that he was completely dead, and cut his head off. If you hear clattering in cabinets it's Katya and Natalya looking for his head. Nothing will actually move don't worry. Uh... if you want them to be quiet they really like the movie Anastasia yes, I know it's stereotypical, make sure the switch it to Russian dub though, their English isn't top tier"

"Remember when we did a walk through of the house and they told us the floor supports were fairly new compared to the rest of the house because like 60 years ago they collapsed and some guy died in the basement? Ludwig, he usually stays in the basement and doesn't bother anyone, if you walk through him you'll end up covered in like constuction-ish dust so just be careful."

"Then there is Tolys, in 1978 he and his friends went camping somewhere around here all got high, one of his friends got paranoid didn't realize who it was and killed Tolys. They freaked out and we're pretty sure dumped his body in the lake on the other side of the property. If you walk through him you'll get high, but like super nervous and paranoid even if you're not usually like that when you're high. Y'know"

"Mei, youngest ghost in the house, was murdered while her and her boyfriend were messing around after prom. Kinda like Ludwig but she just sleeps in the attic, warning though if she does come down while i'm gone she'll start drama and again not my problem. I'm not actually sure if she has any 'powers', um just don't go in the attic and wake her up and you won't be finding out either"

Gil just standing there,,, why me,,, as predicted he's going to walk through Tolys like 3 times on accident and is going to so paranoid all weekend poor guy ;-;

[rebouks]

👪😨🌋for my Son Ivan ❤️🫶🏼

Ivan must have like.. a billion parents by now 🤭

👪 FAMILY - what is their family like? what is your ocs relationship to them? does your oc have any siblings?

Ugh.. he was an only child and pretty much only had his dad throughout his life; there was a point he had his grandfather (his dad's dad) but he was even more crotchety than his dad 😭 Ivan loved his Pa but their relationship was difficult, he felt more like it was his duty to love him tbh

😨 FEARFUL - when scared, do they go into "flight" or "fight"?

Usually fight.. and you better hope there ain't a crowbar hanging around 😬😅

🌋 VOLCANO - how bad is their temper? is it a slow boil, or a instant explosion?

Oof.. I think we all know by now that Ivan has a terrible temper lmao, though it's better than it was! It's a mix of both tbf, if he's in a mood (for who knows what reason this time) he could fly off the handle at nothing; but equally, something could quietly piss him off more and more until he snaps n' smacks the nearest wall etc etc.. Ivan pls ⚆_⚆

[dangermousie]

S2 ep 5

1. Marcos declaring this boarding school is like a horror movie - he is so right. So much of this ep is his desperately trying to get himself (and more importantly Paula) out of it and the horror of it is he can’t (and once again, Caro gets all the signs she is ignoring, that she will never be his all-consuming love. He doesn’t even think of her in light of hopes of getting Paula out. As is right - being with Marcos would be in any meaningful way like being with a single father - you will come second and you should. But I don’t think Caro truly gets it.)

2. Julia and Ivan bonding over the math teacher being a psycho but what strikes me again is Ivan mentioning the man choked him and nobody even goes “we should report it.” What the hell is this school? Ah, hell school!

3. The irony of Elsa telling Ivan that if he doesn’t learn to control his aggression, he will end up like daddy. She is gonna date daddy!!!! And also, it’s rather hypocritical seeing she hired a teacher who chokes students and is a murderer; it all comes across as “only beat others if you have power” - yeah, that’s basically the school. (Side note - finding out he has no shared blood with Daddy was one of the best things that happened to Ivan - well that and getting an explanation as to why his father was such a monster; it stops him from wondering if there is something wrong with him that his own father could not love him (though I want to point out that this show is big on biology is not destiny. Marcos’ father and grandfather turn out hardcore Nazis and yet he’s good and fights them with everything.)) But anyway, the scene of Ivan “bonding” with Paula, there for punching a kid, is AMAZING. My fave part is when she sees him give Elsa’s back the finger and asks what it is, and he says it’s a gesture of liking and she should do it to her brother and teachers OMG you juvenile delinquent!

4. Fermin x Maria are everything. His telling her if she came to spend the night she won’t need the nightie and when she is asking which place he prefers (she is sleeping in his room for plot reasons, and they both know sex is not on the menu), his saying he likes being on the bottom. Heeee. I do love how Fermin somehow manages to both convey his liking her and wanting her and total acceptance of it all going at her pace...

5. Hi there resident serial killer. That was downright terrifying!

6. Evelyn and Paula decide to fake a letter from Ivan’s father (because they asked Maria why Ivan is bad and she said he wasn’t bad, he just does bad things because he’s sad because his father is in jail) and like...I melt as much as Ivan does. AWWWW. You know, for all his many issues and sharp edges, he responds to genuine kindness so strongly.

7. That flashback of Marcos learning about their parents’ deaths - what struck me is Marcos falling apart but Paula skipping oblivious, happily, and he is containing his grief - for her sake. That is their whole story summed up - he falls apart but protects her from all those horrors that cause him to do so. LIKE!!!!

8. Ivan, protector of Paula. Heeeee!!!! Well, you can’t be bros with Marcos if you don’t take care of his baby sis. (How far we’ve come from early s1 and Ivan’s snide comments to Marcos that he wants to tell Marcos’ sister their parents are dead.)

9. I caaaan’t!!!! He did tell her this is a gesture of friendship. OMG. This show was WILD!!!!

10. Marcos learning they have no money, their childhood home is gone...

And that means he is trapped with his sister in the boarding school of hell, they can’t leave, he can’t protect her (and his lawyer is clearly somehow involved which makes it scarier) and just the helplessness and the terror. This show liked breaking Marcos down almost as much as it did Ivan.

But once again - he is keening silently so Paula can sleep sweetly and peacefully. Because this is how it always is. I can’t with him and with them!

PS I find it pretty telling how Ivan is not shattered by the break up with Caro. I think because for him that relationship really also was largely not genuine love but wanting to have someone and not be alone.

[windmaedchen-fairytail]

While there had been head canons and theories on how Laxus acts as future guild master, what about him as a parent tho, I don't want him to be a carbon copy of Makarov in both ways, I'd see Laxus struggling trying to find balance in both his priorities as a leader and as a father and I think he's not the type choose one over the other as it reminds him the conflict both his father and grandfather had... ur thoughts?

I would agree, actually!

I've mentioned in other posts already that even though Ivan was expelled, Laxus appeared to have continued personal contact with his father. Something he chose to do, since going to Raven Tail is a bit of a trip. I conclude that he goes for a reason, one that suggest that Ivan is, despite everything, still a role-model for Laxus up to a certain point. Ivan's impression on Laxus was more profound that we think. At the same time, even though he spends plenty of time at Fairy Tail and with his grandfather (although I wager that it's way less during his teens than during his pre-family drama childhood), Laxus does not appear to approve or respect Makarov's behaviour or words of wisdom (or else Battle of FT would have looked different). I've given Ivan (and the Dreyars) plenty of backstory and to sum it up: - Makarov stands for the Fairy Tail Family - Ivan stands for the blood family I know that after the GMG Laxus has denounced his biological father and embraced Fairy Tail's mix of people as those worthy of being protected. As long as he's single he might continue down that road, and become pretty ruthless in making sure the members of Fairy Tail are safe and treated well. But the moment, he becomes father, I think his past admiration for his father comes back, as well as his previous doubts about Makarov. So he will struggle to balance things, saying NO to FT members and being exclusively there for his kid, and leaving the kid in someone else's care to manage guild problems. I don't think it's particularly fair to weigh up one family against the other... both, friends who are like family, but also your blood family are very important. Issues can appear for both options and both have to be looked at specifically and evaluated individually. And yet, the bond of a parent to their child, holds a very special place in my heart. And I like to imagine that Laxus has the right (which would essentially be "my") idea about this bond and manages to live a fulfilled life with his kid. Which would, in the end, be closer to what Ivan stood for, than what Makarov stood for.

....

Ah, this was a bit ... complex. Let me know if I need to clarify something again, I fear I may have only written and explained half of what I was thinking... xD Cheers to Laxus as a father!

[wetbloodworm]

i made some family trees for my rescueverse kids using this website! just some of them, like tolys has two brothers but that's the extent of that tree that i've got sorted out w/ no other interesting familial connections to other characters.

edit: the order of the pics gets fucked up on my blog, sorry about that! put '[pic #]' under reach space one of the pics is supposed to be among the text

you have to have a person selected so there's a bold-outlined person in each of these screenshots, which is either done at random or to show the maximum amount of people. also i manually made the nonbinary characters' blocks purple BUT the website does allow for nonbinary family members! those blocks are just white and i thought that was boring. grayed out names indicate deceased family members, thicker lines connecting couples indicate an existing relationship while thinner lines indicate exes.

[pic one]

starting off with the kotovs! this is the only one containing named grandparents because Lubov is at her base loosely inspired by 1P nyo general winter, so she gets to be there. technically all my russian grandfathers are named at least b/c i've got everyone's patronymics sorted out but god that would've gotten messy.

i tried to keep siblings in order of age but that didn't always work out. maxim IS older than konstantin, but yevgeny is older than asya. there was an option to add birthdays so i'm not sure if that would've shuffled things around but i didn't have the patience for that so it's FINE.

i'm not fully set on zhana and tanya being only children, though they are right now. i've thought about sergey having more cousins on his mom's side of the family before but hm. i don't know.

this tree also gets totally fucked in fallen au because of what i've done to asya's parent situation. here's the fallen au family tree below

[pic two]

why did i do this to myself. like i love asya's story in fallen and how she has to work on healing her personal relationship with being a changeling but god why did i do this to myself. had to edit this in CSP to get the full tree to show.

debated over making yevgeny maxim's son still in this au or making him [bio dad]'s son; i've drawn him as a changeling before but like is that really a good enough reason to scooch him around. really there's no good reason for any of this, and asya hasn't addressed having a half-brother in fallen, so i finally decided to leave him on the changeling side of the family. THEN i debated making asya and yevgeny full siblings instead of half siblings but. no. i've fucked up things enough as it is.

no idea what sergey's family's surname is in fallen. it can't be kotov/kotova because that'd make no sense. maybe i just make it lebedev/lebedeva and just make it so zhana kept [bio dad]'s surname. i don't know. i don't know!

WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF!!!

[pic three]

ANYWAY the orlovskys! the lighter line connecting ivan to the belyakovs indicates they're his foster parents, with the rest of that family not showing in this screen. i tried to edit the two trees together but i don't think it was super clear. ivan had a lot of foster families but the belyakovs were the ones he was the closest to, so it felt important to include them in his tree. avdotya and kseniya had some foster families as well, of course, but i haven't thought on them much beyond the fact that the kids didn't stay connected with any of them.

i wanted to include the bryants, another family crucial to ivan's development/backstory, but they only let you add a secondary set of parents, no more. alas. the bryants actually adopt him in at least one AU (doctor horrible au) so i feel bad not having them on here but alas!!

alyona and nikolay being only children is canon, and both of their parents predeceased them. the orlovsky kids didn't have any living relatives after the house fire, aside from each other.

[pic four]

and then the belyakovs! again, they had several foster kids over the years, but ivan's the only one that reconnected later on in life and stuck around after that, so he gets to be in the tree. he's got complicated feelings about considering himself part of this family tbh but he's ON THE TREE.

idk if klara and ilya are only children, so there might be cousins out there i haven't sorted out. if i do come up with them i'll update this post, but for now it's just them. my parents have three siblings each and i've got uhhh i think. eleven cousins i think? so these trees seem way too small compared to my frame of reference. which is why i'm overthinking the aunts/uncles thing a bit. it's fine. it's fine

[pic five]

finally, the o'lorcains! and the gibsons i guess. lyle has a surname now.

considered marking eamon as deceased but i think he's only dead in gta au. as a kindness to cian i'm making the decision that eamon's only dead in gta au.

it's an in-joke in this family that after madigan and erin, it's just all boys all the way down. madigan has four sons, erin has one son, shea has two sons. they thought grant broke the streak at first but then lyle came out and order was restored.

lyle is technically cian's first cousin once removed but cian just refers to him as his nephew. i think that's not uncommon for that familial connection? doesn't matter, that's his nephew.

i think flynn might also be married but i know he doesn't have any kids yet so i'm not too pressed to name his spouse. eamon's a mystery to me.

cian's tree can also get fucked up a bit depending on the AU, since there are AUs where arthur is his brother. i don't know how that works out with [gestures at tree] all this but oh well.

okay i stayed up too late doing this, goodnight

[raiiryuu]

Been needing to add this to this blog for a while, so I'm gonna try to get the Big Points ready to go so it's at least visible since I've fully switched to calling it 'canon divergent.' Some key points of difference or my view regarding events under the cut, more to be added later!

Laxus and Makarov: Laxus isn't particularly close with any of his remaining blood relatives, for various reasons. He still uses the same name for Makarov as he did as a child mostly out of habit, and usually only when speaking to him directly. There is still a bit of animosity about Ivan's separation from the guild, but it's something that's sort of been marked as an 'agree to disagree' at this point -- there's no saving things now, and arguing further is energy wasted.

Laxus vs Raven Tail in the GMG: This was always kinda strange to me, going back to it after the fact. It makes sense for Ivan to resurface after the Tenrou team did, as he knew no one else knew about Lumen Histoire, but it makes NO sense how he did it, to me. I've been trying to think of a way to make that work, because I do still want Ivan and Laxus to have that conversation. For now, it stays as is, but this is subject to change. I may later have Ivan contacting Laxus separately from the Games to discuss Lumen Histoire and get him doubting. Makarov and Mavis not going into detail on what exactly LH is doesn't help his wariness at all, though as in the manga he doesn't press the issue.

That being said, he doesn't hate Makarov or Ivan. Does he think they both have done things they shouldn't/could have handled things better? Of course. He feels the same way about a lot of the things he's done himself. Is he going to turn his back on his family because of it? Absolutely not. He doesn't have much, if any, contact with Ivan at present, and doesn't necessarily have the highest opinion of him, but things could be far worse. Like with Makarov, he's kinda content to leave things as they are for now. He's got plenty of people to support him that he considers family just the same as his flesh and blood.

The Dragon Issue: the Eclipse Gate shenanigans after the GMG should not have happened the way they did. You spent an entire series hyping up dragon slayer magic to be able to slay dragons, only for it to not matter in the moment? Nah. They were at the very least holding their own, but the gate being closed still got rid of the dragons for good.

Though the Bane/Magic Barrier particles in Laxus's body have been cleared up thanks to the fight with Wahl, the damage they did is still very present, and causes painful episodes and difficulty breathing. The frequency and severity can vary day to day, but it's something he's (grudgingly) working with Porlyusica to treat over time. Sometimes it makes him feel like he's a sickly little kid again, though he'll never bring it up.

During the year timeskip, I'm taking the events of the Raigo Issen spinoff as mostly canon. The Raijinshuu join Blue Pegasus and Laxus very quickly gets fed up by the typical work there, but there are jobs available that are more along the lines of what he's used to. It's during this time that he learns the Red Lightning magic he uses against Wahl Icht. Having it just randomly surface as homage to his great-grandfather always felt a little odd to me, but he had plenty of time to do some research on it prior to this fight.

Laxus carried Makarov to the guild mostly out of a sense of duty, at first, but the longer he had to process he was dead, the worse it felt. He still hasn't sorted his feelings on this out completely, especially with Makarov's return soon after.

Now that I've reread it, the ending. You bet your ass every single one of those dragon slayers got their fair blows in on Acno before he went down.

Regarding dragonification: we never did get clarification on the second-gen slayers' status on this, did we...? As far as this blog is concerned it is still a risk, but one he's keeping quiet about. [The dragon AU I have is about it specifically happening at the point it does, not it happening in general.]

More TBA

[filmmakingwithgg]

Documentary DOP Role

25/10:

I had my first meeting with Ivan and Jess about their documentary project and how I could help make their vision into a reality. Ivan showed me an outline of their idea and it revolved around the comparison between younger and older people and their ability to communicate using the Gaelic language.

As someone who isn't from Scotland, the topic initially scared me a bit, since I didn't know much about it, however I quickly realized I could use this as a way to better understand the culture of where I was living, so my fear turned to excitement rather quickly.

Their project started off being a lot about young people and they planned to go up to Aberdeenshire to Ivan's grandparents' farm to talk to his grandma and to the young people along Aberdeenshire about their experiences with the language. As someone who was hearing the project for the first time, it seemed like it was very ambitious for what was going to be such a quick minute and a half teaser. Therefore, me and Jess both suggested focusing the idea a bit more on Ivan's relationship with his grandmother and their shared longing for identity in Scotland.

Next I asked about the visual approach. Both Ivan and Jess were producing the film and Ivan was acting as the director, so I wanted to see what they were envisioning the documentary to look like. They confessed to me that neither of them had given much thought to the visual aspect of the film and they had been actually struggling to come up with the best way to do it. Upon hearing this, I gave them a few suggestions, using the indescribable scenery of the farm he had spoken about to help illustrate their stories through the a visual medium. I gave them a couple of examples such as the film Ratatouille as I thought we could use sceneries and actions to describe the words his grandma would speak in Gaelic, getting a feel for the language rather than an 100% accurate depiction. I compared these to the tasting scenes in Ratatouille. They seemed to enjoy this idea and we agreed to speak more in our next meeting.

2/11:

We met up again, this time online to discuss more details about the project. Over the weekend I had given them a short list of equipment I would like to bring up to the farm to use, however the camera I wanted to use was already booked out, so they told me we were going to have to use a Sony FS7. I was a bit concerned since I had never used this camera by myself before, but I decided I just needed extra preparation to be okay.

One of the struggles of the project was that there wouldn't be able to be a lot of equipment being carried by us, since we were going to go just the three of us on a four hour bus ride up the country. So after including just the bare necessities in my equipment list, with some Rotolights to be able to control the lighting during the night, I felt okay about the shoot.

We decided that we would shoot Ivan talking to his grandma while she's making us dinner (very lovely of her by the way) that way the conversation would feel a lot more casual and relaxed. I wanted to include a lot of camera movement as I was following them around the kitchen to make the audience feel like a member of their family, intrigued by what grandma would be cooking now.

With the second day we would then go for a hike to be able to capture all the beauty of the countryside.

11/10-12/10:

The day of the filming I felt a lot more confident based on my preparation. I had gone to a tutorial with Andrew to ask about the settings on the FS7 to make sure that I don't run into problems when setting it up. I also planned on playing with the settings to find the best ones, whilst in the bus ride, but I had to wait until we met up with Ivan's grandfather and we were in the car to be able to set up the camera. Nevertheless, I managed to set it up before we got there.

We met Ivan's grandparents, they were super lovely and we then started setting up for the day. We only had two days to shoot, so we had to be efficient with our time. We started filming Ivan's grandma talking to him while making a puzzle, before moving on to the dinner scene, however because the light was going down as time went in, I decided to set up the rotolights along the living room to attempt to create a warm atmosphere. We even used the fire flickering settings on one of them to replicate the warm fire that could've been coming out of their fireplace.

After getting the first interview footage, we moved on to getting some shots of their conversation as they're moving around, so we advised them to start cooking dinner. I was trying to look out for important things to capture in their relationship as they were cooking together while also listening to their conversation at the same time, which I would need to use to help me capture the footage the following day, so that was the most challenging part of the project for me. However, I think I managed to capture their relationship nicely and we then included a bit more footage on a tripod of both of Ivan's grandparents talking to him more about identity. After that we spent the rest of the night talking to Ivan's family and it was a great time.

The following day I woke up early as we wanted to capture some of the early morning scenery. After waiting for everyone to be ready we left and I started trying to keep in mind what the conversation between Ivan and his grandma had left in me. I wanted to be able to capture the interest they both shared to finding themselves, so when looking at the beautiful scenery I looked to capture Ivan in beautiful and distant frames to illustrate this. I also wanted to capture some of what made the north of Scotland so iconic, so I captured some animals like the Highland Cows as well.

After all of this, it was an amazing experience being part of this project and having the opportunity to explore a part of Scotland I had never seen before.

[hufftroelsen96]

A Smile Like Yours

What you score is what you write down on the scorecard, so every shot has a consequence, and it’s the polar opposite to the driving range where you simply reload and check out once more. You haven’t began so properly though, in fact, the place we all hoped that you’d be a massive enchancment on your predecessor, you’ve been a correct let-down right from the get go. I additionally hope you’ve done your homework and that you’re well-prepared, as you have some major work to carry out in your shift. Two fairly huge developments centred around tech arose in golf within the last week or so. The Open Championship, delayed by a year now, will get underway on Thursday at Sandwich in Kent within the south-east nook of England, and just a few miles up the street from the White Cliffs of Dover. The present Champion Golfer of the 12 months, Shane Lowry, has sat on his title for two years now, and will ultimately get to begin his defence. My dearest darling Lloyd, we vowed we might be collectively for all our lives and grow old together. Thank you for the numerous loving years and great memories. You will always be in my heart. Love you at all times and forever. Mommy words are insufficient to describe all steering and teachings that I even have obtained from you.I always pass them onto my family.I hope that I make you proud.Ilove you on a regular basis and at all times will.Your loving daughter.Gail. Our darling dad and grandfather, endlessly remembered with love and mi ..... dr gregory hough south africa I am so misplaced with out you. I miss you a lot already. I will love you all the time and eternally. My heart is so sore since you left us. Our honest condolences to Lesley, Neville and Bernard and households on the passing away of your dear beloved mother and grandmother. Today you have been in heaven for a half a decade. You are still very much loved and cherished by all who knew you. If only you had been in my Life for lots longer. Your life was filled with pain and suffering expensive Renny but you all the time showed such grace and braveness. Know that you simply have been dearly beloved by your father and his family. You are now with him and resting in eternal peace. Just read the sad news of the passing if Late Ivan Widan. We wish the whole household חיים ארוכים What a gentleman. And with hopefully a well-phased in return to action from there on that may embody playing golf. I even have been inundated with calls, WhatsApps and mails about information and bookings for subsequent week, but we’ll simply have to wait additional. A 7 under par sixty five on Sunday to return from three photographs behind to win by three, together with birdies at the ultimate three holes after overnight leader Matthew Wolff got within 1 shot after the fifteenth. He’d already erased the 3 shot beginning deficit after the 3rd gap. Remember that we've already played The Players as the 1st Nicklaus Major, and as traditional, the best 3 scores out of the 5 qualifying events will depend. Always in our hearts, by no means removed from our thoughts. We cherish our reminiscences of you our rock star dad, gramps and husband. My darling Lloyd, I miss you so very a lot. They settled in Riversdale the place she met and married Isaac Lipschitz. 23 Sept 2022 — Happy birthday Stevie, sorely missed and endlessly in ..... My dearest darling Lloyd, we vowed we might be collectively for all our ..... I am so sorry for everything...simply know i like you tons...meant to ..... Hey mom,I by no means received to say I loved you and thanks. There isn't a day that goes by that you just and mummy are not in my thoughts. I love you and miss you both very a lot. The legacy you have left behind will be hard to fill. Today, is the second anniversary since you had been laid to rest. I can't consider its eight years today that you simply passed on, the void you .....

[ladybugout-au]

Dear. GOD. After seeing Furious Fu, I would honestly love to see LBO!Marinette just chewing out Su-Han for all his canon-to-fic BULLSHIT. Like, I know you’ve already got a plan to incorporate Feast into LBO, which I’m super excited for, so this asshole showing up with all his nonsense after the new Team Miraculous is set, hell maybe even after they’ve already retrieved the Butterfly and the Peacock, and watching Marinette (and possibly Fu since he has the memories to stand up for himself) tear this dude a new one would really be the cherry on top of an already awesome fic. Sorry to rant in your inbox lol but the new episode just made me so. ANGRY.

In the lounge room of the Liberty, everyone jumped as they heard a noise from up above deck, as if something heavy had fallen or been dropped. Marinette briefly pulled away from Luka’s hold, staring up at the ceiling and wondering aloud, “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Juleka admitted, exchanging concerned looks with Rose.

“That definitely wasn’t Mom,” Luka noted with a tilt of his head.

Pounding footsteps followed, making it clear that a person had clearly gotten on the houseboat without the gangplank being there.

Nino jolted on alert, turning to Duusu with a hushed whisper. “Hide!”

“All of you,” Kagami began, standing up and looking around vaguely at every kwami. “get out of sight.”

The kwami, breaking out of their trance after the brief scare, scattered in every direction to find their own individual hiding places, some choosing to hide with their respective holder and others preferring to hide behind or inside objects. Ivan went into his usual protective mode, wrapping an arm around Mylene while she clung to him.

Marinette stood up, rushing over to the table and picking up the Miracle Box to stow it away. She looked around, then dashed for the microwave and stored the box inside.

She shut the door just in time for the intruder to descend from the staircase: an old man, dressed in Chinese garb and carrying a strange mystical-looking staff. He had a stern expression, his brows knitted together as he scanned the room like none of them were even there. He raised his staff, his gaze eventually locking on the microwave the Marinette was standing near.

Without a word, he pushed Marinette aside, earning an offended, “Excuse me—hey!” from her as he grabbed the microwave door and tugged it. When that did little more than jostle the microwave itself, he tried blindly tampering with the buttons to no avail.

Marinette slapped his wrist away, standing with all her pride as guardian as she asked, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

He glared at her in response. “Young lady, I demand you open your magical sealing chamber and return what’s rightfully mine!”

She blanked, the words catching her completely off-guard. This guy thought their microwave was a magical sealing chamber?

In response, Marinette gave a brief glance to the others, who were all looking back at her with equally puzzled expressions, any tension from before completely gone.

An unspoken question echoed throughout the room: Is he for real?

Before Marinette could ask any further, Tikki emerged from her hiding spot, flying over and explaining, “Marinette, I know who this is! This is great master Su-Han, the guardian of the Miracle Box!”

Marinette raised a brow skeptically. “But I’m the guardian?”

“He was responsible for the box before the incident that Master Fu caused,” she corrected.

Su-Han looked down at Marinette condescendingly. “So you are the current holder of the box.”

“That’s right,” she confirmed unapologetically. She gave a side-glance to Luka and the others, seeing that they were prepared to stand up and fight for her, but she gave a subtle gesture to let them know that it wasn’t necessary. Resolving to deal with Su-Han herself, she faced him again. “How did you find us?”

He held out his staff, the jewel on it mere centimeters from her face. “Guardian scepters are equipped with compasses that can find their Miracle Box at any given time.”

“In case you lose it?” Marinette blurted out, but didn’t apologize or try to take it back.

“Insolent!” Su-Han gasped. “You are not even a proper guardian. I can tell that this box hasn’t even been properly passed down to you!”

“Because Master Fu gave it to me,” she explained, “and we agreed that he should keep his memories.”

“Fu?” Su-Han echoed. “You mean Wang Fu? Chicken legs?”

Is this guy five? Marinette wondered.

Orikko popped out from their hiding place, waving a paw at Su-Han as if in warning. “I take offense to that!”

Su-Han glared at Orikko at the comment, and Orikko quickly ducked back down. Turning his attention back to Marinette, he continued, “Wang Fu is a student who wasn’t even able to fast for a day, nor do a thousand finger-pushups. He was never a rightful guardian, and he failed to fulfill the hope we’d seen in him.”

“Master Fu may have made mistakes, but he’s done his best to make up for all of them!” she argued. “He protected the box for over one hundred years and it’s because of his choices that our team was able to defeat Hawk Moth!”

“Team?” Su-Han asked, his face scrunching up as if he were piecing something together.

“Yes!”

Marinette gestured to her boyfriend and friends for emphasis. Luka, Ivan, Kagami, and Juleka stood while Rose and Nino pinched and stretched their shirts to show off their respective miraculouses.

“Children?” Su-Han gaped. Glaring at Marinette, as if she had personally given out the miraculouses herself, he declared, “Children are never meant to hold miraculouses, especially from the first and most powerful Miracle Box! Kwami are extremely powerful, cosmic creatures!”

A voice piped up from across the room. “Y-you say that, but—!”

Marinette and Su-Han turned to look at Nooroo, who had peeked out from behind Rose’s shoulder. He breathed up, seeming to gain some confidence, then floated out to the center of the room.

“They saved me and Duusu from the hands of evil! We would still be in Gabriel’s clutches if not for them!”

“What?” Su-Han asked. Just when Marinette thought they might be getting somewhere, he turned back to her and accused, “The peacock and butterfly were lost?!”

“Fu lost them when he was escaping the temple,” Marinette explained, a mixture between unphased and annoyed at the man’s outbursts, “but we got them back and everything’s okay now.”

Luka chimed in from his place near the couch, “Marinette has been an incredible leader, as both Ladybug and the guardian.”

She smiled at him in thanks, but Su-Han was clearly focused on anything but the positives.

“Ladybug? You’re even wearing a miraculous?! Guardians aren’t meant to hold miraculouses!” he said, throwing his arms out for effect.

“What—why?” she asked, genuinely confused.

Instead of answering her, Su-Han pulled out a book, shoving it pointedly towards her with the cover facing downwards in his palm. “Let me remind you of a few important rules you’ve violated.” He flipped through a few pages, then pointed at one of them. “Rule fourteen: Kwami must not live outside of the box.” He flipped through a few more. “Rule fifty-two: Guardians must never lose a miraculous. “He flipped to a page near the end. “Rule one hundred and thirty-three: Guardians must never, under any circumstances, wear a miraculous.”

“Master Fu wore a miraculous,” she argued, having never heard of any such rule from him.

“And that proves exactly what I’m talking about!” Su-Han retorted. “Neither you nor Fu are capable guardians because neither of you have respected the rules of the order!”

“...”

When Marinette initially imagined the Order of the Guardians and the people who ran it, this was not what she’d pictured. She had pictured zen and calm, not belligerent and immovable. She was reminded vaguely of her grandfather when she first met him, and that wasn’t a good thing.

She tossed another gaze at everyone, who gave her the same look and nod in response: let him have it.

“Young lady, I’ll repeat myself once,” Su-Han warned. “Return the Miracle Box and the miraculouses to me before--”

Marinette grabbed the book out of his hand, shut it with a satisfying “clap,” then set it back in his hand. “No.“

“What did you say?” he asked, aghast that she would speak to him that way.

“I said no.” Marinette advanced on him, the sheer force of her presence making him take a step back. “Now let me remind you about everything you must’ve missed this whole time.”

She raised a finger at him, raising additional fingers as she went on. “One: You intruded on my boyfriend’s house without any sort of permission. If you’d actually called out to us, we might’ve actually been willing to come out and listen to what you had to say. Two: You wouldn’t have even been able to be here in the first place if not for me using Miraculous Ladybug after our team took down Feast, which you weren’t able to do. Three: We aren’t children, we’re teenagers, and the fact that you can’t tell the difference or bother learning what technology is shows that I shouldn’t trust you with the Miracle Box even if you had a right to it. Four: You didn’t bother to listen and blamed me for losing miraculouses when it was you and your order who didn’t keep an eye on a poor boy who didn’t want to be there. Five, last but not least: I say the kwami are allowed out of the Miracle Box because I am the guardian. You and your order have been gone for over one hundred years and you can’t go making demands after I brought you back. You told me rules I didn’t even know about and didn’t explain why you have those rules in the first place. The kwami are my friends and they have feelings and I’m not going to shut them in a box because you told me to.”

Silence filled the room, no one saying a word and Su-Han’s face contorting between shock and outrage.

Marinette took a step back, standing at the ready and gesturing to herself. “So if you want the Miracle Box, you’re going to have to go through us first.”

She tossed a look at her team, all of them doing a synchronized, confrontational motion to face Su-Han.

“Tikki!”

“Plagg!”

“Wayzz!”

“Pollen!”

“Trixx!”

“Nooroo!”

“Duusu!”

They then shouted in unison, “Transform me!”

Several individual flashes meshed together, overtaking the room and then fading to leave several heroes behind, their weapons equipped for battle.

Su-Han looked amongst them, a flicker in his eyes that hinted that he knew he would be outmatched, but also wasn’t willing to admit it. He retreated a few steps back, hands out to show that he was prepared to defend himself.

It was at that moment that Ladybug heard and noticed movement from behind him, realization striking and a smile overtaking her face. Pulling back from her fighting pose, she placed a hand on her hip and stated confidently, “Captain Anarka will escort you out.”

He looked confused, and he was only able to let out a, “What—?” before a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

Su-Han wasn’t even able to turn around before he was pulled backward, a jewelry-adorned fist decking him in the face and sending him flying into the staircase. His scepter fell to the floor and he could only gape at the woman standing there, cracking her knuckles while he was sprawled out on the stairs with all air having been knocked out of him.

“A trespasser on my ship, eh?” Anarka asked, a grin on her face but her eyes glinting with malice. “I don’t take kindly to ship rats who threaten my crew and think they’re too good to walk the plank.”

Su-Han hurried to get up, only for Anarka to grab him by his shirt and haul him up the stairs, a rapid shuffling noise following as Ladybug went over and shut the door.

A few seconds passed and the atmosphere shifted to peace, everyone mutually releasing their transformations and relaxing. Marinette smiled reassuringly at everyone, letting them know that things were okay, but then jumped as she heard a resounding, “Marinette!”

The kwami all emerged from their hiding places, Marinette having no time to react as they all charged at her, their tiny bodies clinging affectionately to whatever they could grab of her.

“You’re amazing!”

“Thank you so much!”

“You stood up for us!”

“You’re the best guardian ever!”

Marinette gasped, finding it hard to move without disturbing any of them. Trying hard not to laugh, she protested, “Aha—hey! Stop, you’re all tickling me!”

She blushed, looking over at her teammates who were only staring at her with pride, which just made the pink on her cheeks turn red. “This is so embarrassing!”

Once the kwami had their fill of thanking her, they finally obeyed and flew away, each giving her smiles of approval. She covered her face with a hand, waiting for the shyness to die down, then noticed the guardian scepter out of the corner of her eye, still lying on the ground.

She approached, touching the scepter at first to make sure it was safe, then properly picking it up and letting it stand next to her. She tapped the gem on top, eyeing the compass that Su-Han had been talking to her about, then followed its direction back to the microwave. She walked over, opening it up, then took out the Miracle Box and held it in her free hand.

Looking back and forth between the two clearly ancient objects, she couldn’t help chuckling. “They don’t really suit me.”

Her friends giggled in response, Luka in particular shooting her a warm smile and approaching. One of his hands went to the scepter and the other went to rest on the Miracle Box.

“I think you make them work, actually,” he replied.

Marinette beamed at him, thoroughly warmed by the compliment. It didn’t feel like that long ago when her support was lacking and defeating Hawk Moth seemed like a pipe dream.

Now, holding the Miracle Box and scepter in her hands, she didn’t know why she’d ever doubted herself.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Then, looking at the Su-Han-less room, she gave a shrug and walked back with Luka to the couch. “So, where were we?”

[nevermindrussia]

Russian winter holidays' features - part 2. Дед Мороз

As you may remember, the Soviet government didn't approve any religious themes, so Russian people couldn't have any saint patron of winter holidays - neither Santa Claus, nor any other. Fortunately, Russian folklore had it's own character related to winter - not Christian, but more likely pagan-born.

His name is Дед Мороз [ded moroz], which is usually translated to English as Father Frost, though literally it should be Grandfather Frost. He's descending from the Slavic pagan god named Карачун [karachun], who was described as quite cruel and unpredictable being. He could make freeze to death any person whom he didn't like for any reason. But also he could make some present to somebody he appreciated.

An illustration to "Morozko" folk tale, based on the myph of Karachun, by Ivan Bilibin, the great Russian illustrator artist.

This character was popular in Russia since long ago; so when Christianity had become a common religion, Дед Мороз hadn't disappear, but had got the features of Christian St. Nikolay - the same to Santa Claus. Just compare Christmas cards from prerevolutionary Russia:

to ones from Europe of the same time:

Both characters are carriyng gifts - toys and sweets - to good children, and a bunch of rods to those who were naughty this year. And notice the colour of their coats! It's not totally red yet (as you may know, Santa's red-white outfit is a promo of the Coca-Cola Company brand, which had become a very strong tradition).

Though red ones also are met:

So, after the Revolution Christmas was banned, but Дед Мороз was out of question. He stayed, and his image had been transforming to more modern year after year. Rods were eliminated instantly, for corporal punishment was not acceptable in Soviet world. Up to middle of XXth century Дед Мороз had become totally nice, kind-hearted characted, giving New Year presents to all children and sometimes to grown-ups.

As you can see, his coat still is not always red. But as the years had been passing by, the influence of the Santa's image had been growing stronger. Today's Дед Мороз almost always is wearing red coat. Very rarely you can see a blue or white one.

To be honest, many Russian people now are thinking that Дед Мороз and Santa Claus are the same character, just various names. But they are not! Here is just the most obvious difference between them:

Santa

lives on the North Pole

has no relatives

has Christmas elves as assistants

wears a short light coat

travels in a flying sledge drawn by deers

Дед Мороз

lives in town of Velikii Ustyug, Russia

has a granddaughter named Снегурочка [snegurochka], who usually accompanies him while visiting children

has forest animals as companions and assistants

wears a long warm coat, often decorated with fur and embroidery, also has a magic staff

travels in a sledge drawn by 3 horses (in Soviet time often - by car or plane or even rocket)

The official Дед Мороз from Velikii Ustyug today looks like this:

But every children's New Year party must have it's own Дед Мороз. At home, at kindergarten, at school and so on. So parents either hire an actor playing Дед Мороз for they children (that's why New Year is a very profitable time for actors and actor students), or dress as Дед Мороз themselves, or ask some relatives to do this. For example, few years ago my husband and I were Дед Мороз and Снегурочка for his 3 years old niece =) When Дед Мороз comes, he congratulates children on the New Year, then they must tell a poem or sing a song to him, and then he gives his presents (bought by parents beforehand).

As a postscriptum, here is a bilingual joke for you))

Q. -Why are Russians so moody and never smiling?

A. - What did you want from a nation, whose Santa's name is Dead Morose?

So that's all about the main New Year character of Russia. Further there will be some more things which no traditional New Year celebration in Russia cannot do without. See you soon!

[icerosecrystal]

Marijon - My Secret Older Sister

Her name is Marinette Amani Al-Ghul. Marinette is the first grandchild of the demon-head and the daughter of Talia Al-Ghul. She is also the older sister of Damian Al-Ghul by two years. Despite what others may think, both she and her brother came from the same man. Bruce Wayne. Although Damian has no idea who his father is, Marinette has known for eight years. Despite the young age of 12, she was an incredibly smart girl. She also possessed the ability to be happy and feel love. But not in front of anyone but her brother and sometimes her mother. She and her brother had a great relationship. They were always there for each other. Damian was there for Marinette when her grandfather Ra's would sometimes beat her for not doing well on a mission. And he would base it solely on her gender. Marinette was there for Damian the first time Damian had to kill someone. It disgusted him, but he continued doing it for the sake of his title.  

Then the day the League fell came. Slade had attacked when Ra's was showing the whole League to Damian and explaining that it would all one day be his. Marinette was standing behind them next to her mother. Ra's had told her mother to grab both of them and run. Marinette protected her brother throughout it all when suddenly, Marinette got shot in the stomach. She collapsed in pain. She saw her mother running back to them, so Marinette let go of Damian, who was looking at her worriedly, "Damian, my akhi, go run, save yourself. Tell Mother to take you to Father. I'll be fine."

Damian was crying now, "NO, I won't leave you, you have to come with me. Please don't leave me, ukhti."

Marinette smiled sadly. She then hugged Damian and kissed him on the cheek, "I love you. And I promise I will find you one day." She let go of his hand as Talia quickly grabbed his arm and lead him to the docks, glancing at Marinette once in worry.

Marinette was lying still for a little bit before she heard a voice say, "Tom, I found her!" Marinette turned her head to the side and saw her godmother, Sabine Cheng recently Dupain-Cheng, hurrying over to her, with her godfather Tom not too far behind.

When they reached her, they gasped at the wound in her stomach. Tom picked her up and quickly walked to the docks with Sabine following. "Where we going?" Marinette said her voiced slurring, herself only half-conscious due to the blood loss.

Sabine answered, "We're going to Paris. We had a house there just in case we ever had to escape the League."

Marinette nodded in turn before she closed her eyes, letting the exhaustion take over. "Good night," she heard before she was fully asleep.  

Marinette woke up to an unfamiliar scene. She tensed, but when she caught sight of her godparents, she relaxed, "So what's the plan?"

Sabine was the one who answered", Well, you aren't allowed to act like the devil in disguise." Marinette scoffed, but she didn't argue, knowing Sabine was right. She may be sweet with her family, but with strangers and acquaintances, she wasn't the nicest. "Also, you are going to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You are the daughter of two bakers, Tom and I, and you are a designer. You will also be clumsy and stutter a lot."

Marinette nodded in understanding, "Okay, but what about Damian?"

Sabine sighed, "You're just going to have to hope that one day you find each other again."

Marinette nodded in understanding. She then went up to her new room, ready to put on a mask for the rest of the world to see.

(Time Skip)

It was now the start of the tenth grade for Marinette. She was now thirteen-years-old, and she was ready to play her part of the clumsy baker's daughter. She took some macaroons for her new classmates and then walked outside. While she waited to cross the street, she caught sight of a man crossing the street. A car was heading right to him. Regardless of who she was pretending to be, she wasn't going to let a man get hurt. She ran and quickly pulled him to the sidewalk, effectively using it as an excuse to trip over her feet. She handed the man a macaroon and then ran to school.

At school, she sat down quietly in her seat. When a dark girl, with brown hair and auburn highlights, picked a fight with a blonde girl. The blonde girl was supposedly bullying Marinette. Marinette and the blonde girl exchanged looks, acknowledging that the girl before them was a load of bull. Marinette then found out that the blonde girl's name was Chloe, and she was a bully, and the other girl was Alya.

Marinette looked around the classroom, analyzing everybody.

She then heard a voice scream, "Kim!"

She looked behind her to see a big, burly blonde kid, look like he wanted to beat up somebody. The teacher then asked him, "Ivan, what is going on?"

The blonde kid replied, "It's Kim! I'm so going to get..."

The teacher then pointed to the door and shouted, "Ivan, go to the principal's office."

Before Ivan could stomp off angrily, Marinette spoke up, quite surprised by the way the teacher was handling things, "With all due respect Miss, you didn't even listen to Ivan's side of the story. It could be Kim that's bullying Ivan, but you're rather playing favoritism."

The teacher sputtered, not knowing how to react, "Who gave you the authority to question my teaching skills?"

Marinette smirked, replying, " Common sense."

Mrs. Bustier walked out of the classroom to calm down, pure fury clear on her face. That day she turned into Zombispect. When she kissed them, they would automatically obey and respect her. That was also the day Lady Spots and Chat Noir resided in Paris.

While Lady Spots was a great superhero, Chat Noir was an incompetent fool. Marinette hated him. He would always flirt with her and never get anything done. And in many cases, if he didn't get what he wanted, he would either threaten to quit or sit out. Marinette never told him, but she honestly thought that she did better in battle when he wasn't around.

In terms of her civilian life, Alya convinced herself that she was Marinette's best friend and that Marinette had a crush on Adrien. In actuality, Marinette's best friend was and is her brother, Damian, and Chloe. While Chloe was spoiled, she was also neglected by her parents, which made her act rather bitchy at times. And she for sure did not have a crush on the spineless Adrien Agreste. No one in the class knew anything about the real her. But her godparents and even Chloe, who knew a bit about her. But, the one person that Marinette wanted to talk to was her precious little brother. She needed to hug him, spoil him, and talk with him about everything. But most of all, she wanted to know that he was still alive and happy somewhere.

Marinette would cry herself to bed every day, hoping that one day she would see him again. Thankfully, Tikki was on her side.

(Time Skip of one year. This is after Volpina, but before Chameleon)

It has been two years since Marinette last saw her brother. Alya was still going strong, coming up with ridiculous plans for her to date Adrien. She was still a "clumsy" baker girl. And while designing was her supposed hobby, after about a month, she really got into it. What pissed Marinette off the most was that she had to wear pink, have her room pink, and wear pigtails. Why? Because it strengthened the fact that she was an innocent, little, naive girl. While it did help people underestimate her, it annoyed the heck out of her. She actually ranted to her godparents one day about how bad her appearance was, "How can one color be so bright?! How could anyone like looking at it?! Why the hell do these pigtails make me look like a short-ass baby?! I look like a fucking moron! Where the hell is Damian when you need him?!" It was about three days later when her question was answered.

Marinette had been walking around town when suddenly someone bumped into Marinette.  Marinette caught herself and caught the person she bumped into. But the words that came out of the person's mouth had her reeling, "Tt, what type of imbecile are you to be bumping into people on the street?" Marinette would know that voice anywhere. And sure enough, when she actually looked at the person that she bumped into, she was staring into the face of her brother. When he realized who she was, he let out a timid, "Marinette," that had Marinette practically sobbing.

When she found that her face was wet, she realized that she was sobbing, but she didn't care. Damian was alive. She strangled him with a hug, cooing softly into his ear once he too started crying. They stayed like that for a while before they released each other. It was then that Marinette saw the boy standing behind Damian.

She blushed when she noticed his features, black hair like her own, the bluest, purest eyes she had ever seen. He was wearing glasses that gave him a nerdy look, but his body begged to differ. He was very tall, probably 5ft 11, and had huge muscles that gave off more of a jock look. He had so many characteristics that Marinette felt insanely attracted. She snapped out of her thoughts and offered the boy a hand, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, or Marinette Al-Ghul, Damien's older sister by two years."

He gave her a blinding smile that could rival the sun and then kissed her hand, "Jonathan Kent, Jon for short. It's nice to meet the sister of my best friend." The more she studied him, the more she realized that he looked familiar. It was then that she realized he was Superboy, the superhero Alya had been raving about last week.

Marinette blushed at him kissing her hand. She then decided to let her inner devil come out to play. Leaning closer, she whispered, "It's nice to meet you too. I hope that you have been nice to my brother. Because if I found out you haven't, I might get my katana and skin you. I know that you might be invincible, but with the kryptonite, which I do have, you would be weakened within a second. So make your decisions carefully." She then leaned back and watched how his expression changed. His face went from happy, to confused, to shocked, to scared, and the surprisingly, love.

He smirked, "Well, you are better than I expected." He then pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his phone number. "Call me, you're hot and a little devil, I like it." He then winked and gave it to her.

They both heard Damian scream, "KENT! Stay away from my sister before I skin you!"

Marinette giggled and took the piece of paper from him. She then asked, "You look to be about my age. Why are you with Damian?"

Jon replied, "I'm 15-years-old. So one year older than you. (I know that Jon is actually three years younger in Super Sons, but for this to work, Jon is three older, not younger. If you have any problems with that, fight me.) And Damian and I work together a lot. We're considered the Super Sons, so we're best friends."

Marinette nodded in understanding before suggesting that they all go to a coffee shop to talk. Damian and Jon agreed. Damian told Marinette all about their father, their brothers, and sisters, him being Robin. He told her everything. She offered him support and asked questions about their family.

When it was her turn, she explained how Tom and Sabine saved her and how she came to Paris. And how she is pretending to be a clumsy sweet girl who likes pink. (She wasn't totally over the whole pink thing along with the pigtails.)  That coaxed a laugh out of both Damian and Jon. But when she got to the part about Alya, Damian wanted to skin Alya. He was Marinette's best friend, not some dumb harlot. When she explained how she was Lady Spots, and Chat Noir had some major failings as a partner, it took both Jon and Marinette to hold him back. He continued trying to escape while shouting, "LET ME AT HIM, HE DARE FLIRT WITH MY SISTER!!! I'LL SKIN HIS SORRY ASS BEFORE RIPPING HIM INTO SHREDS AND DUMPING HIM IN A RIVER!" He then continued to explain exactly how he would kill Chat Noir. Marinette knew that he was capable of going through with his plan, so she distracted him by asking for his phone number so that they could stay in contact. Damian calmed down enough to give it to her.

When she realized how late it was, she gave a hug and promised to meet up with him for the rest of the week. She also promised that once he left Paris, she would stay in contact. She wasn't going to leave her brother again. She then went up to Jon and kissed his cheek before saying goodbye. She then turned around and went home. If she had stayed a second longer, she would have seen Jon blush and then touch the cheek that she kissed with his fingertips, a goofy smile adorning his lips. Although Damian wanted to keep Jon away from his sister, he supposed Jon was better than the mangy cat or the spineless model.

For the rest of the week, the three met up every day and did different activities. One day they went to the Lourve, another an arcade, the day after that a carnival, and so on. On their last day, they went to the park and then went for Andre's ice cream. When they arrived, Andre greeted Marinette, "Bonjour Marinette! Would you like a sweetheart ice cream."

"Oui Andre. This is my brother Damian, and his friend Jon." She then turned to the boys, "Andre is the sweetheart's ice cream maker. He essentially gives you icecream based on the characteristics of your soul mate. Damian, how about you go first."

Damian stepped in front of the cart, "Ah, Damian, one scoop of violet and honey for her eyes, coconut ash for her hair, and cherry for her mysterious and complicated past. Here you are." (There is actually such a thing as black ice cream. It's made with coconut ash that people sometimes flavor with burnt honey vanilla.)

Damian took the ice cream and looked at it. He then realized that it looked like Raven, his crush. He blushed. "Ah, I see the love fair and true. I suppose you know who is right for you?" Damian nodded and started eating his ice cream, a small smile gracing his lips. He then paid attention to his sister and his best friend. They were now getting their ice cream.

Andre looked at the two and said, "Ah, but here's the truth, the two of you are the right match. You complete each other just like one, so come, let Andre supply you with love." Marinette and Jon were both surprised by the turn of events. But they both just blushed and agreed. Andre then said, "Blueberry for both your eyes, strawberry for her lips, cherry for his secret, and cotton candy for your personalities. Enjoy!"

Jon and Marinette waved goodbye and then ate their ice cream. They were still surprised about the turn of events. Neither knew what to say to the other until picked up some courage and asked, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

Marinette was surprised but agreed. They shared a chaste kiss. They then heard Damian gagging in the background. They broke apart, and Jon raised an eyebrow, "You're one to talk. I saw your ice cream. It really represented, mmph." Damian covered Jon's mouth before he could blurt out the name of his sweetheart.

"Kent looks like it's time to go! By the way, if you hurt my sister, I won't hesitate to kill you." He then dragged Jon off, leaving Marinette to chuckle to herself. The next day, she said goodbye to Damian and Jon. She gave them both a quick hug along with an extra kiss for Jon. She was so happy that she had found her brother again.

(Time Skip of three years)

It has been three years since Marinette bumped into Damian and Jon in Paris. The two visited whenever they could, the same with Marinette. But they never told their families. Marinette didn't tell her family because they didn't know she was Ladybug. Damian didn't tell because he wanted his sister to himself. Jon didn't tell because the other two didn't. Jon's and Marinette's relationship was still going strong. They loved each other very much. Jon loved how playful and happy Marinette could be, but she wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone. She was his little devil. Marinette loved Jon because of how pure and sunshiny he was. She loved how he cared for her and was always there for her no matter what. Damian actually started a relationship with Rachel Roth otherwise known as Raven as Andre's ice cream had indicated all those years ago.

During the three years, many things had changed, though. A girl named Lila came and turned everyone against her except Chloe. Marinette pretended that she was sad, but really she was ecstatic that she didn't have to hang out with morons anymore. She found Lila quite pathetic. Lila let others do her dirty work for her. She hid behind lies and morons. Marinette never found her as a threat.

She also defeated Hawkmoth a year ago, but it was because he surrendered. So, she didn't take him to jail, she made him donate thousands of dollars to people who needed therapy from the akumas and do community service. He agreed, so she let him go. She was glad that Gabriel Agreste had learned his lesson.

Yeah, for the most part, everything was going fine, she wasn't stuck with morons, and she had her brother and boyfriend. Until her brother and significant idiot forgot that her bio family didn't know about her.

It was the end of another shitty day for Marinette. She collapsed on her chaise. She looked at the time and realized that it was time for her's and Damian's video calls. She groaned before getting up and getting her phone. She dialed his number before waiting for him to pick up. Once he did, she saw that Jon was with him. They all talked together animatedly. What Damian and Jon forgot to do, was make sure that the Bat-family didn't come back from patrol while they were still on the call. But naturally, the two idiots forgot.

So, two hours later, when the three were still talking, they didn't realize when Jason came into the room. They only did when Jason screamed, "Demon Spawn and Supes Junior are talking to a girl on the phone!" This alerted the rest of the Waynes, so they all ran into Damian's room. When they entered, they were met with quite a sight. A confused Jason was watching a small pixie-like girl screaming at Jon and Damian in what seemed to be Arabic, Urdu, Russian, English, French, Spanish, Romanian, and Greek.

Once she calmed down, although she was still glaring at the two boys, she introduced herself, "Hi, my name is Marinette."

Dick asked her, "What's your last name?"

Marinette replied, "It depends on who your asking. Here in France, I would be Marinette Dupain-Cheng. In the league, I would be Marinette Al-Ghul. But, my real name would most likely be Marinette Wayne."

Jason yelled, "Your married to Demon Spawn!"

Marinette scowled, "No, Tt, are you always this incompetent? I am Damian's older sister by two years. I am also Jon's girlfriend of three years."

Bruce took a deep breath and pinched his nose, "And the reason none of you said anything was because?" He looked directly at Damian when asking the question.

Damian snapped, "I didn't want to share my beloved sister. She is too good for you imbeciles. She is also too good for Kent. But Kent is better than the mangy cat or the ugly model."

Everyone looked at Marinette confused except for Damian and Jon. She quickly shook her head, "Don't ask. If you want to ask me some questions, I'll be there in a minute."

Damian realizing that she was going to use the horse miraculous to transport to Gotham quickly said, "Wait, no, don't!" But she had already ended the call making Damian curse in Arabic.

Seconds later a portal appeared and a girl stepped out. She then spoke, "Kaalki, dismount." A flash appeared around her and they then saw the same girl on the phone now in front of them.

This left Wayne's gaping, while Alfred asked, "Mistress Marinette, would Kaalki I assume, need anything?"

Marinette replied, "Oui, she prefers sugar cubes to recharge. Merci, Alfred."

Then Jon got up and shouted, "My little devil!"

"Sunshine", Marinette exclaimed in joy before kissing him with full force. He kissed her back passionately. She placed her arm on his shoulders while he held her waist and lifted her a little off the ground. After a little bit, there was an awkward cough that reminded them that there were others in the room. They gave each other one more peck, before reluctantly pulling away. Although, Jon's arm was still around her waist. Marinette tried to not focus on the aching in her chest that was telling her to pounce on Jon and smother him in love and kisses while he did the same to her.

Marinette sighed and tried to focus on the situation at hand, "It's nice to meet all of you. My name is Marinette Al-Ghul Wayne, and I am Damian's sister as mentioned."

They all stared at her strangely until Tim asked, "Are you sure you grew up with Damian, or that your mother is Talia Al-Ghul? You seem a lot more different from Demon Spawn."

She smirked at them viciously, "First of all, I am for sure Damian's biological sister. Second of all, I may seem like an angel, but I'm the devil in disguise, hence Jon's nickname for me. Third of all, I'm not as arrogant as Damian because Ra's was always abusing me since I was a girl. So, I am a lot worse than Damian, I just don't show it."

No one knew what to do with this information. Sure Damian already knew about the beatings, but no one else did. They stared at her in worry, but she just waved them off, "Don't worry about me. Ra's is dead, I'm living with my godparents, and I'm happy."

Damian then rose an eyebrow, "What about your moronic classmates?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you. This pathetic girl who threatened to take my friends away, made it so that no one talks to me anymore. So, yay! Oooh, also I should probably explain my life to you?" She then went on to talk about everything, how her life was at the league, what happened when Slade attacked,  her life in Paris and when she became Lady Spots, how she met Damian and Jon, what happened after that.

By the end of her story, everyone looked like they wanted to kill her classmates and Chat Noir. Well, almost everyone. Bruce was on the ground muttering to himself, "Why, why, why? I just wanted one of my kids to not be a superhero. Is that too much to ask for?"

While Bruce had his breakdown, Tim asked her, "Did you defeat Hawkmoth?"

"Yeah, I did. He surrendered, so I let him off with some requirements in place. I actually was thinking of doing something to expose Lila. As much as I hate the morons, their future will be horrible if they keep on listening to that pathetic bitch."

Damian looked at her curiously, "What were you thinking?

"You are going to invite my class to the Wayne Gala. There we are going to introduce the whole family, including me. Damian, you are going to bring Raven. I'll bring Jon obviously. If we disprove that she knows the Waynes, the rest of her lies will come crashing down." Everyone smiled obviously pleased with the idea.

So they spent the next month getting the gala together. They organized a contest that Bustier's class won. During the month, the Waynes got to know Marinette. While Damian did have a problem with sharing her, everyone still go to know her. They were officially scared of her after she won after sparing against everyone and then cussing at Damian in many languages. It made Jon fall more in love with her though.

Another problem was that the Waynes would walk into Jon's and Marinette's make-out sessions all the time. Once, Jon, had Marinette pushed up against a wall and he was kissing her passionately. Marinette had her hands in his hair, one of them playing with the ends of his hair. She had taken off his shirt and was kissing down his neck. Jon had groaned and had stopped her so he could kiss her neck as well making her moan in want. He was whispering about what he wanted to do with her at the same time. Through dazed eyes, Marinette looked up and finally saw her family looking at her, both Damian and Bruce had their jaws clenched. When Jon noticed them, he quickly let go of her. Dick, Jason, and Tim started laughing, cooing, and teasing them, making Marinette hide her head in his chest. This made Damian launch himself at Jon, but before he could, Marinette had already disarmed him. She screamed, "Don't hurt my boyfriend, Damian." He just huffed, but let it go. From then on, they made sure to lock the door.

It was finally the day of the gala. Marinette saw all of her classmates. They mostly looked nice, but Lila was wearing an incredibly revealing dress.

It was then time for the reveal. Bruce went up to the stage and announced, "Good evening, everybody. I am pleased that you could all attend. Today, I would like to introduce all of my children along with their significant other. To start, my oldest son Richard Grayson, also known as Dick Grayson along with his wife Kori Grayson."

(Bruce's suit)

(Dick's Suit)

(Kori's Dress)

"My son Jason Todd."

(Jason's suit)

"My son Tim Drake."

(Tim's suit)

"My son Damian Wayne with his girlfriend Rachel Roth."

(Damien's suit)

(Rachel's dress)

"Finally, my new found daughter, also Damian's biological older sister Marinette Wayne. With her date Jon Kent."

(Marinette's dress) 

(Jon's suit)

When her classmates saw Marinette they started screaming insults. She just raised an eyebrow at them, "Is there a problem?"

Alya yelled, "Yeah there is. You're not a Wayne, you never told me that you were."

Marinette replied, "We were never best friends so I was under no obligation to tell you anything. I am a Wayne. I just lived with my godparents in Paris until my dad found out about me. I am dating my handsome boyfriend, Jonathan Kent. I have given you so much proof. How about you question Lila. She claimed that she was dating Damian. Damian is two years younger than her and he is dating Rachel. She isn't close to the Waynes, I am. So, stop questioning me and question her."

Everyone looked at Lila, but she was incredibly pale. That showed everyone that she was lying. They started yelling at her. Bruce then spoke up, "Security, escort this class out of the gala." As security did so, no one stopped yelling at Lila.

Marinette and Jon then turned to the reporters and Marinette said, "Five questions go."

She pointed to one reporter, "Where do you live?"

"Paris like I mentioned earlier."

She pointed to another, "How old are you?"

"I am 17-years-old, almost 18."

She pointed to a third one, "Were you surprised about being a Wayne?"

"No, I knew that I was a Wayne my whole life. But I was sent to my godparents instead of my dad like Damian. But I still knew." She pointed to her family, "They were surprised about my existence."

She pointed to a fourth reporter, "How do you like being a Wayne?"

"I really enjoy it. They are so nice to me. I really cherish them and we all have a lot of fun together. "

She pointed to a final reporter, "Do you like being Jonathan Kent's girlfriend and how did you meet?"

"We met when I bumped into him and my brother in Paris. We spent the week together. We got this thing called sweethearts ice cream. The ice cream tells you who your soulmate is. The guy who runs it Andre said that we were meant to be together. Jon asked me to be his girlfriend after. We have been a couple for three years. I love Jon a lot. He's really sweet and considerate. I wouldn't trade him for the world." Everyone awed.

Jon then picked her up bridal style, "Now that this is over, we'll be going home to have some fun." He winked at everyone.

Marinette blushed at the implications, "JON!" But, Jon silenced her with a passionate kiss, carrying her off the stage.

As Marinette kissed him back, she felt so happy. She had a loving family and boyfriend. They accepted her and cherished her.

She didn't know that the league was going to be attacked, but it helped her grow as a person and escape abuse. She didn't know that she would get a boyfriend. She didn't know she would ever meet her little brother ever again or meet her family. She didn't know what the future had in store for her. But she did know that she was going to spend it with her boyfriend and her family, and nothing was going to stop her.

(Sorry for the pictures smack in the middle of everything!)