#both sides of this fandom are loud and wrong at this point

[bohemian-nights]

I see “fans” are concern trolling about Nettles again

[coryosbaby]

Down & Dirty

Fandom: “Outer Banks”

Pairing: mean! Rafe Cameron x fem! Pogue! Bimbo! Reader

Cw: dark themes— dubcon, angst, manipulation, nsfw . Gunplay, dumbification, mud scene, codependency, subspace, anal, breeding, daddy kink, extreme domination, size kink, predator/prey dynamics

A/N: bro I was fuckin FERAL writing this .

Fear courses through you as Rafe Cameron’s hand covers your mouth and he drags you away towards his truck. You knew it was a bad idea to come here by yourself, but you went against your better judgement.

“I really wish you wouldn’t do that.” He calmly but scarily murmurs as you struggle. His bottom lip peeks out and his eyes are almost vacant.

You’ve always known that Rafe is somewhat of a bad person, given the torment he had always given you being Sarah’s best friend— but now, with his grip tight and mean, gun barrel pointing at your skull, you know now that something has shifted inside him — something dark and unforgiving. The hands that had once been soft on your skin, the eyes and body that had comforted you once or twice, regardless of Rafe’s violent tendencies with your pogue friends, we’re now aiming to end your life .

“Rafe, please…” You plead with him, as he yanks you by your hair.

“Rafe, please,” he mocks. “Jesus, you’re fucking pathetic. You’re lucky that I haven’t put a bullet in that pretty fucking skull yet.”

Tears well in your eyes and you kick him in his groin. It makes him groan, and he drops his grip from you. You run away from him, at a certain point having to stop and take your favorite pair of heels off. You were incredibly stupid to wear them here.

Rafe catches up to you quick. He tackles you, and with a loud sloshing sound you both land in the mud on the ground. He wrestles you down until his hands are around your neck. You gasp, trying to run away again, trying to get away from this guy you had once recognized as a form of comfort for you, but to no avail.

“You fucking bitch.” The gun has been lost somewhere beside the both of you, but that doesn’t make the boy any less threatening. “I never wanted to hurt you! You did this to your self- stop fucking squirming!”

You sob as his hands loosen a bit on you. He looks down at your supple chest, your bra now peeking out of your tank top from all of the movement.

“Even now you’re dressed like a fucking slut,” he growls. Your brows furrow. You’ve been avoiding eye contact with him, but now you meet his once again. He looks like a predator about to catch its prey.

He looks angelic, almost… a fallen angel. You breathe out, and with enough strength to pull forward, you kiss him.

You don’t know why you do it— sex is the thing that most men want from you, so maybe that’s why. As a way to plead for your life.

His tongue finds its way into your mouth for a moment, his teeth clacking against yours, but as if pulled out of a trance he rips himself away from you. Mud cakes his face and arms as he gets up to his feet.

You let out a tiny whine as he looks down at you, from frustration or fear you don’t know. Probably both. You flimsily move up on your knees, doe eyes looking up at him with a begging expression.

Rafe’s eyes dart to the other side of you, and he catches sight of the loaded gun laying in a heap on the ground. He grabs it and shoves the barrel against your skull. With one hand he wraps it around your neck and pulls you closer to him.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” He says with a disgusted tone.

You don’t say anything, just let out a little whimper. He catches sight of your tank top again— and a small smirk glazes his features.

He grabs the strings of it and rips the flimsy thing right down the middle. When it settles in what’s about to happen, a wet spot forms in your panties.

You might die right now, covered in mud and grass, but you’re fucking horny.

“I should kill you right now,” he whispers heavily against your ear. “But that’s not what you want, is it? You want me to fuck you, right here on the dirty fucking ground. Don’t you?”

You nod your head, desperate. For what, you don’t know.

He smiles, demented. And he moves the gun down to your mouth. “Just a dirty little pogue that wants to get filled with dick, right?”

“Yes… yes, sir.” You mumble. Your tongue lolls out to lick at the gun barrel. “I wan’ it..”

And that’s all the confirmation Rafe needs. He places the gun in the back of his waistband and begins to undo his belt.

“Of course you do,” he rambles. “That’s all you’ve ever fuckin’ wanted was to get dicked down by me. I always saw the way you looked at me, y’know.”

You move closer to him when he pulls his lengthy cock out of his pants. It’s heavy, thick and long, circumcised, with precum coating the tip. A vein runs down one side of it, almost throbbing.

You reach out and lick the tip of him. He tastes absolutely divine.

“‘S so pretty..” you whisper. You drag your face along it, just to feel the warm skin and lick it all up.

Rafe, bored, grabs your face and positions his cock in front of your mouth.

“Open that fucking mouth as wide as it can go.”

You obey, mouth opening to take him; he shoves his cock in as deep as it can go. He reached behind him to his waistband and the gun is back in one of his hands again. He shoves it against your head for a third time. He groans when you gag around his fat prick, and your body naturally moves forward in between his legs. Rafe takes notice and is quick to wrap his thighs around each side of your head, making sure to squeeze. It’s too much pressure on your head, and you try to move away. But Rafe slaps both sides of your blushing face and thrusts so hard that you gag.

“Don’t fucking move. You move, I’ll fuckin’ shoot you. Do you understand me?”

You can’t nod, but you cry out around him. He holds the top of your hair with his fingers and keeps you down until you can’t breathe.

But seriously, you can’t breathe— your vision goes blurry and you’re almost close to passing out. You’re too dazed to care, But thankfully Rafe doesn’t want to kill you just yet. He forces your head away. You gasp, choking and sputtering, trying to get more oxygen back into your now sore throat. He’s back on you in an instant, though, and he’s leaking so much precum and you’re drooling so much that it’s dripping out of the sides of your mouth. His balls slap against your chin; your nose presses into his pubic hair, and he smells so delicious that you almost start rutting into the filthy ground.

He pulls you off of him when he’s about to cum. You get thrown to the ground, your head hitting the soft mud and caking your face. Rafe discards the gun again, gets down on his knees behind you, and rips your skirt and underwear down your legs vigorously. Your puffy cunt is revealed to him. He tsks, running a finger through your folds.

“So wet. And shit—“ he pulls your cheeks apart, exposing your juicy pussy and tight asshole to the warm air. You clench around nothing as he spits down in between your ass cheeks. “All your little holes are so tiny. Fuck, this is gonna hurt you, sweetheart.”

“Please..” you whimper, pushing your body back against him on your hands and knees. “Need daddy’s big cock. Need it ‘s bad.”

The fact that you’re talking in third person like this should be a bit concerning. Your mind is so far gone. But Rafe doesn’t care about that— all he cares about is ripping your sloppy cunt open.

“I know you do.” He states. His tongue goes down to your asshole. He runs it along that place there, and down to the place in between your ass and pussy. His thumb moves around and lightly massages your clit. It’s the first kind of stimulation he’s given you and your eyes roll to the back of your head.

“Yeah, you like that, don’t you?” He mutters. “Maybank ever do this to you?”

He’s referring to JJ; he has, although you don’t want to admit that to him. Rafe isn’t the first cock you’ve sucked, the first guy to finger your pussy. But he’s by far the best.

“S-Sometimes..”

It comes out low, and his fingers stop.

“Yeah? You slut yourself out to all those dirty pogues?”

When you don’t answer, his hand comes down on the fat of your ass. You sob.

“No! N-No, just JJ, I swear!”

He reaches around and slaps your pussy. It hurts, and Rafe thinks that you let out a sound like a pained little bunny. The nickname makes so much sense to him, and he’s angry as he lines himself up to your puffy entrance.

“You’re never gonna see him again.” He states. His tip sinks into you. The stretch stings, fucking hurts so bad. You’ve sucked cock but you’ve never had one inside your cunt. “You’re mine. You’ll always be mine. You dumb fucking bunny.”

And he pushes himself in, in, in, and you’ve never felt so full, so dirty, so claimed. He pushes past that thin little wall inside you, pops your cherry with his cock’s mushroomed head. When it breaks through blood coats his length; he knows because he begins to move quick after that, sees the red coated on his dick. You’re so tight and sweet and fuck— Rafe doesn’t think he can kill you anymore. He needs to be inside you forever.

“Mine.” He growls. “All mine.”

You’re laying there, having no choice but to take it. The pain feels good. Rafe grabs your wrists and pins them behind your back as he begins to pound you right there in the dirt.

Little ah ah ahs leave you as his balls slap against your clit. He shoves one of his fingers into your mouth. You can taste the grittiness of dirt and under that, his natural taste— mixed with the taste of hand soap, almost. Probably the one that sits back in the Cameron household’s second bathroom, on the counter. Or maybe it’s the body wash that he so often washes himself with; you know this because you use it sometimes. You like the way the boy smells.

“Little pussy’s squeezing me so fuckin’ tight.” He groans. “Best pussy daddy’s ever had baby, fuck.”

He’s almost a whimpering mess himself. He’s not gonna last long because of your cunt— and he intends to make the most of it.

He grabs you by your throat, has bent backwards against him as he presses a messy kiss to your mouth. It’s hungry, it’s crazy, the whole situation is. But you’re both at each other like fucking animals.

“Whose pussy is this?” He demands. You lick at his bottom lip, clench around him just right.

“Yours! ‘S all yours, daddy!”

“Yeah, that’s right.” He huffs, then he thumbs your asshole and watches as you suck him in. “Gonna fuck this tight little ass after this. Gonna take you home and take you right there on my fuckin’ staircase.”

You mewl, and you can tell that he’s close. You reach around to try and rub your own clit, but Rafe slaps your hand away. He turns you over on your back. You can see him a lot better this way, and he looks like a fucking God, pounding you so good like this. He pushes your legs over your head and slides back inside your gummy walls. He buries his face in your neck and his fingers move down to your clit. When he rubs you, it doesn’t take long before you’re cumming on him with a scream. Your cunt tightening around him makes him let out a growl, and you beg him for his load.

“Please, Rafey,” you whine out. “Please cum inside me. I need your cum in my tight little pussy.. wanna be a mommy, wanna have your baby, please please please—“

He lets out an animalistic shout, and his cock squirts warm, white cream right against your cervix. He pounds you even more at the force of his orgasm. When he comes down, he slows and breathes in your scent. The sweet strawberry perfume you wear is right against his nostrils. He pulls out of you, slow. He spreads your pussy lips apart and watches his seed drip out of your gaping pussy.

“Good girl..” he coos, oddly sweet. “Daddy’s good little cocksleeve..”

Your mind is hazy, and even here in the woods you grab his hands and grab him to pull him closer to you. He pushes you away, however, and grumbles, “Don’t. Cmon, get up.”

You comply, on shaky legs. He picks up your tank top, slips it over your head. Your skirt is practically in shreds, so he just puts your panties back on. You’re too fucked out to even care that he’s dragging you to his truck, half naked, cum dripping down your legs. You don’t care.

The ride to the Cameron residence is quiet. Rafe threw the gun in the console when he got in. You fall asleep halfway there, and he turns the radio on softly.

He looks over at you. Caked in dirt, cheeks red, scratches all over your thighs. You must’ve got them from the twigs in the mud.

Something tugs at his chest. He blames it on the adrenaline.

The house is empty; Wheezie, Rafe had sent off to a friend’s. Sarah, running around with the pogues, probably trying to find you. Rose, god knows where. His dad, dead. He does what he said he would do. He sits himself down on the staircase, pulls out his cock, already hard from the way your thighs are wet. He positions you on top of him as you look down at him tiredly. You want to be good for him, though, and let him stretch your ass out on his fingers. Afterwards you move your panties to the side, grab his cock and slide it inside your heat. You bounce on him, mouth agape as you look into his eyes. There seems to be more emotion in them now. He’s calmed.

He digs his fingernails into your hips, and he grunts when your lips find his neck and you suck a bruise onto it. He spills inside you for a second time, and then he makes you go upstairs with him. He pulls you into his bathroom, the one connected to his room, that you’ve never been in. He takes off the both of your clothes and starts a warm shower. He pulls you inside of it, takes a rag and begins scrubbing the both of you down. You lean against him as he does so, leaving kisses against his now bare chest. His fingers come down to your pussy and make you cum again, an oddly selfless act preformed by the boy. A reward because you were good, maybe? He turns the water off when you’re both squeaky clean. You don’t let him out of your grasp until he gets out of the shower and you follow him. He grabs a towel and dries your used body off with it, and then grabs another and does the same for himself. He guides you to his bed, and you crawl into it.

Your mind is still a mess. You feel alight, like you’ve been touched by god himself. But Rafe’s distance from you when he sits beside you makes you frown. It saddens you so much even, that tears well in your eyes again. Rafe can see the tears coming down your face.

“Jesus, are you fucking crying right now?”

Silence, and then a small sniffle. He scoffs.

“Need me to fuckin’ coddle you, or somethin’?”

You don’t say anything, but you do want that— you don’t know why. He had just taken you in the literal fucking mud, like a disgusting fucking animal. But his warm embrace sounds like something that can ease the headache forming in your skull.

Rafe must sense this. Because he groans, and lays himself down in the spot beside you.

“Come here.” He demands, harshly. You turn over, surprised at his words, but comply regardless. You bring your arms up around his neck and nestle in the space between his arm and torso; it’s comfortable there, it’s warm and soft. You like it. Maybe you’re losing your fucking mind.

You feel the need to thank him for his generosity— you still haven’t gotten out of that space he had forcefully thrown you into— and you need him to be proud of you, almost.

“Rafe—” you say, voice a bit hoarse.

“Did I say you could talk?”

“No..” you murmur. “‘m sorry.”

“Better be.”

He pulls the comforter over the both of you. He remembers the gold, the entire reason why this had occurred in the first place. But it can wait. Exhaustion overtakes him. After a moment a small sigh emits from him and his thumbs rub soft circles against your shoulder.

And soft, almost like an angels wings, he kisses your head with plush lips.

© 2023 bratty-lxndry444 🤏🏻 all rights reserved. do not copy, translate, modify, repost, or claim as yours !!!

[rebelliousstories]

WHAM!

Relationship: Wade Wilson/ Deadpool x Reader

Fandom: X-Men

Request: Yes by Anon

Warnings: Fluff, Innuendos, Brief Adult Content, Mentions of Drug Use

Word Count: 1,013

Main Masterlist: Here

X-Men Masterlist: Here

Summary: A simple night with some good food and better music.

“Baby, is that the takeout for tonight?”

“Yes ma’am. I’ve got the goods. It’s gonna cost you though.”

Wade rounded the corner and set the bags down on the counter, before spinning his girlfriend around by the hips. They had the apartment all to themselves that evening, thanks to Logan taking Blind Al to his apartment for the night. And the couple was going to make the most of it.

“What’s it going to cost me, Mr. Pool?” She teased, wrapping her arms around his neck. They began to sway gently to invisible music that only drifted in their touch.

“I think a kiss to start,” came his request. Looking to be deep in thought about it, he took it upon himself to surge forward and press his lips against hers. Both of them began to sink into the embrace that took over their bodies. However, the microwave beeped and brought them back into the world.

“Move, mister. Gotta get the popcorn out.” As she did, her boyfriend let out a loud gasp as she dumped the contents of the bag into a bowl.

“Is that the limited edition salt and vinegar popcorn? And are you going to put the caramel on the side so we can enjoy that as a post dinner snack with the movie?” He rattled off, clapping his hands together while watching like a parrot over her shoulder.

“Yes it is. And it will be perfectly cooled down for your preference by the time we’re done eating.” She moved on from the popcorn, and grabbed some forks and spoons for the takeout.

The couple moved to the table in the dining room, and began their meal. A usual takeout night was pizza or wings, but tonight was special. Wade had gotten the favorite pasta from that Italian joint down the road that they always went to. Light conversation flowed through the air as they continued to eat. Even with all of his wrinkly, dimpled, bold headedness, she still loved to look at him. It had been a challenging few years, but they made it work.

“You know what this needs?” Wade suddenly stood, and went over to the boom box that was tucked away into the corner of the room.

“No, no, Wade. Please don’t,” her begging did nothing but encourage him. He stuck a tape in and turned dramatically.

“Oh, yes baby, come on.” His hands grabbed hers, and placed them on top of his shoulders, while his went to her waist. The music flowed through the apartment, and wrapped around them as they not quite danced, but rather swayed together.

“Is that Wham?”

“Gotta say it right. It’s ’WHAM!’,” Wade dropped his voice to a near whisper, “the album gave them their exclamation point.”

“Whatever you say, honey.” She stood on her toes, and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was certainly different than kissing someone without a mutation like his. But there was no one else in the world she would rather kiss. The rough outline of his lips, that were constantly slathered in chapstick to make it more pleasing for her, molded so perfectly with hers. Firm muscles under her hands, and dimpled skin underneath the tips of her fingers. He was the first one to pull away as the song trailed off.

“Movie time?” His voice was excited at the prospect of continuing their night.

“Are you saying that because you want to spend time with me in a horizontal position, or because you want the popcorn?” She teased.

“Oh I always love spending time with you horizontally. But I actually really want to watch the film.” Wade’s flirting was nothing new for her. In fact, it was a welcome part of her day and dialogue with him. She could automatically tell if something was wrong depending on if he did not make an innuendo or adult joke to her.

“Whatever you say big man. I’m bringing my spaghetti though. That stuff is so good.”

They grabbed their respect foods, and made their way to the couch. Plopping down, she watched as her lover set up the film on their brand new blu-ray player that was a gift from the TVA. Wade could have asked for anything, but he was a simple man at heart. He just wanted to be able to watch Golden Girls in perfect imaging for years to come. However, a new film filled the slot as the man made his way to the couch to sit next to his girlfriend.

“Really,” came her deadpan delivery; complete with expression to match.

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” However, whether Wade was saying that about his popcorn that was now being dipped in caramel or the movie he had selected, she was not sure.

“It’s a ‘My Little Pony’ film.” All the different characters made themselves right at home on the screen before them while he turned to face her.

“Okay, Grouchy Bear. Just watch it, will you? They really teach you a lot about magic, friendship, and how to recognize red flags in the people in your life.” Wade went on to defend, but she dropped her face into her hands. She laughed lightly while peaking at him through her fingers.

“Alright. Just hit play.”

At her defeat, Wilson happily followed the order and tucked himself in. She put her food to the side after a couple more bites because she would much rather be doing things other than eating. While the food found a place on their coffee table, she found her spot tucked underneath her boyfriend’s arm so that she was snuggled into his side.

“It is a pretty good movie so far.” She whispered, not too sure if he had heard what she said.

“I know.” Wade responded, pressing a kiss to her hair. This was right where the both of them wanted to be. Just them two alone for some quality time. And paying absolutely no attention to the fact that Logan was yelling at Blind Al downstairs for offering to do cocaine with Laura.

[multi-fandom-imagine]

-Wanna Feel Your Skin.

A/n: I apologize if this sucks and if I left you off the tag list. But really on so sorry if it sucks.

Warnings: P in the V, teasing, creampie, biting, rough sex, aftercare, sex pollen. { everything is consensual ,Female reader.

Tag List:

@jeremy-is-heere , @cuti3pie4u , @yeojoongiee , @the-abyss-of-fandoms , @hrefna-the-raven , @msghostface , @lunamomos

Inspirations:

[ CLAIM ] our muses are arguing because receiver is worried and overprotective of sender, but when they get up in each other’s faces they end up kissing and groping at each other.

Song: Skin- Rihanna

Song 2: Dangerous Woman- Ariana Grande

Heat, it’s all he was feeling. Heat and want.

Leon didn’t understand what was happening to him, why he was feeling like this, why he wanted you so badly.

He had to push down, he couldn’t focus on that! He can’t shouldn’t be focusing on wanting to fuck you.Gritting his teeth he ran a shaky hand through his hair. He didn’t know what the fuck he got injected with but right now his priorities was to find Ashley and make sure that you stay safe in the process.

And of course she had to show up, Leon knew how much Ada pushed your buttons. She knew his feelings for you despite him never telling you.

“It would be so easy Leon, to just give in to your desires…I don’t think she’ll complain.”

Leon wanted to say something, he tried to open his mouth but that scuffle had riled him up. He could feel his pulse pounding under his skin, his heart racing.

Working his jaw Leon did his best to focus on what Ada saying but then you stepped closer, your hand placing its self on his forearm. He wanted to shrug you off. The rational part in his brain begging him to push you away. It was coming to a point where he couldn’t even hear your voices anymore.

“Why the hell are you here.”It’s not like you hated the woman per say, you knew the shit she did yet that wasn’t the reason why you held so much hate for her, you hated how much she flirted with Leon. That he seemed to hold something for her. You hated how jealous you felt but you knew you could never admit it out loud. What was the point in admitting your feelings only to be turned down.

Ignoring your question, Ada tipped her head to the side watching the man stumble towards the table. His nails digging into the wood, chest heaving. She wondered if this might be the push you both needed. She was honestly getting tired of watching you both dance around each others feelings.

“You should take care of our dear Boy Scout. Don’t think he’ll last much longer.”

Turning away from Ada you gasped seeing Leon hunched across the table, he didn’t look good and at the moment you could careless Ada being gone.

“Leon! Shit you’re burning up.” Pressing your hand to his head you tried to think what might be wrong.

God why did you have to stand so close to him, why did you have to smell so good. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to drown out your voice, tried to tell you to leave but nothing game out but a strangled groan, he could feel his blood rushing south. Something he did not want to happen.

“Don’t tell me you’re all worked up about her Leon.God I don’t understand why you’d even having feelings for that woman.”

Pushing away from the table he took a few steps away from you nearly tripping. He wanted, wanted you badly and he was scared what might happen if he’d act on his impulse.

“Really Y/n…you think I have feelings for her? Christ you’re smart but I didn’t think you’d be blind. How can’t you see that.” Gritting his teeth he snapped his neck towards you. “You don’t see they I have feelings for you?”

“What?” You we’re so quite he wasn’t sure how he picked it up and right now he didn’t care, he never meant for the words to spill past his lip this. He hated how desperate he sounded.

A small rumble escaped his lips, he didn’t know what made him snap. Maybe it was the pent up feelings or how you were looking at him but he wanted you, he wanted you now and the next thing you knew your body was being pinned to the small table. Leon’s hands on your hips. You tried not to shudder feeling his hardness pressing into you. His lips finding yours, you did your best to return the kiss until he broke it.

His face hiding against your neck, his fingers skimming your bare skin as they slid under the shirt you were wearing. “Please…please you need to leave.I can’t stand the thought of hurting you.”

Sinking your teeth in your lip you let your fingers run down the back of his neck. “Then take me Leon…please…I want this.”

Your voice, your pleading as your legs wrapped around his hips. Your clothes coming off happened bast, to fast in his mind. His hand cupping your breasts, sliding down your hips to your center.

This was his, for his eyes lonely and once he was out of this hellhole he was going to take you right, treat you like a Queen but right now he wants you and he’ll make sure you’d be screaming out his name.

A small whimper escaped your through as he pushed a finger in your warmth, your juices coating his fingers. He couldn’t wait to be within you, to feel you envelope his cock.

“Don’t hold back Leon.Please I want to feel all of you.”

Leon did his best to not to hurt you, his nails digging into your curves as he drew you closer. Your body nearly sliding off the table as he sheathed himself into your warmth.The table groaning underneath you as he continued to thrusts, his hands guiding your hips. You did your best to match Leon’s movements. One hand moving down where you both were joined as he pressed his thumb to your clit.

A cry leaving your lips, your breasts bouncing with head of his hard thrusts.His lips capturing your own as his tongue swirled against your own, your cry’s muffled.

The familiar feeling building in your stomach as your legs tightened around his hips. Your fingers weaving through his freed hand, Leon squeezing it gently. The only sound in the room were the ones of your love making, moans spilling past your lips. Begging for more, a deep chuckle escaping Leons chest as he slowed his pace. His mind clearing of the fog, teasing you.

The tip of his cock brushing your clit as he nuzzled your neck as he moved his hand back to your hips.

“Say my name.”

“Leon…please. Don’t stop.”

Your body tensing as he pushed his cock back into your pussy.

“So good, you feel so good.”

Your first climax hits you the moment Leon pulled out his member. The tip barley grazing your walls. Your teeth sinking into your bottom lip. Your body quivering, chest heaving as your arousal dripped down your thighs and on the table below you, waves of pleasure shooting through your body as he thrusted back into you.

“More.”

Picking up the pace, Leon hitched your leg higher on his hips, the new angle making you cry out his name. Your scream echoing the once silent room as pleasure rolls through you.

Then you scream, your throat raw as he continue to thrust.His breaths coming in harsh, burning pants against your cheeks as he continues to fuck you, his hips snapping against yours as his name continued to slip past your lips over and over.

Your head swimming with dazed pleasure, consuming desire. Your blood pounding in your ears as as the table creaked with each force of his thrusts.Another climax building, a feral growl escaping Leon’s throat as you felt the base of his cock start to swell.

“Yes!”You could feel yourself getting closer to the edge, feel the pleasure building within you as his thrusts started to become more sloppy.

“Y/n.”He groans out your name, rutting faster, deeper, his thrusts becoming more desperate and with one last, power thrust he slams his shaft within you. Your nails digging into his shoulder as you sobbed out his name.

Leon comes, burying his face in your neck, a shuddering groan of pleasure escaping his lips, his chest pressed against yours. You could feel his heart pounding as your lips found his, your body still shaking with pleasure as he fills you with his seed.You kiss him, slowly, careful as he throbs within you.

His mind free from the fog, everything finally clear as his body finally relaxes.Your fingers now stroking his cheek as he lent against your hand finally coming down from the high.

“I’m sorry…this wasn’t exactly how I wanted our first time to happen but.”

Chucking weakly you ran your feelings through Leon’s hair, the man melting into your touch. Of course the man would revert into his caring self. “Leon. You don’t have to apologize, I mean it’s not the most romantic place but I’m not complaining.” Placing a kiss you his cheek you then gave him a teasing smile. “But next time you want to fuck me, pick a place that’s more comfortable.” You teased.

Snorting Leon captured your lips in for one last kiss before he finally pulled out from your warmth.Watching the cum slipping out of your warmth was stirring something with him, forcing himself to look away he cleared out his throat tugging his pants back up. “Sorry for…tossing your clothes away.”

Blinking, you narrowed your eyes, a smile forming on your lips as you started to put your clothes back on. “How’s that fair that I’m the only one that got naked.”

Once you were finally dressed Leon placed his hands on your hips. “I promise…next time we’ll both be naked.”

“Hmm and I’ll be comfortable.”

Placing his fingers under your chin he forced you to look at him. “You’ll be very comfortable.”

Grinning you gave him another kiss before pulling away. “Good, now before we go and you know rescue Ashley again. How are you feeling?.”

Closing his eyes, Leon clutched your hips. He hummed. “A lot better actually, I love you. I should have said that in the beginning.”

“I love you too Leon.”

[kataraslove]

as someone who has recently read the reckoning of roku, it’s really not the anti fire nation propaganda that a certain subsection of fandom is making it out to be. yes, gyatso says those words to roku, but he’s angry - at both the world and at himself for the death of his sister. he later apologizes to roku. the book does not paint gyatso out to be in the right, and neither does it paint all fire nation citizens to be in the wrong. the narrative even makes a distinction between the good fire nation citizens (ta min and roku) and prejudicial fire nation citizens (sozin, primarily), and some morally ambiguous ones like dalisay, but they’re more or less abolished from any accountability for partnering with sozin.

avatar the last airbender does not do a good job at displaying much of the context associated with the crimes of the fire nation, aka the climate and perspectives that justified sozin eradicating the air nomads and many of the benders in the southern water tribe. we know from avatar that sozin wanted to conquer the rest of the world for fire nation domination and expansion, but we’re not given much insight into the causal factors that allowed him to conduct genocide and colonialism, beyond “he was able to do it all in one day with the power of the comet,” and “he was a very bad man.”

the reckoning of roku provides the context for all of that, the factors that contributed to sozin’s blood-thirst. which means seeing sentiment from sozin that view the air nomads - and their pacifist ways of life - as inferior and below human. the novel doesn’t particularly attempt to humanize sozin, not in the way that other medias do when exploring the backstory of their villain. at the end, the takeaway from the novel is that sozin is on the road to becoming the ultimate fascist we all know him for, but this time we’re provided more context into how he became that fascist, and why roku hesitated to kill him.

is it more critical of the fire nation than most of the franchise? yes, i would say so, and having a filipino author be the one to offer that commentary is an excellent decision by avatar studios. but the extent of the critique is still more or less along the lines of “this one guy was truly the operations behind it,” which is still consistent with what we’ve seen in atla. there’s nothing too radical introduced in terms of colonial theory, unlike what parts of the fandom are saying.

which leads me to my final point: if this is how badly a subsection of fandom (aka fire nation worshippers and zutara shippers [not mutually exclusive]) are reacting to the simple notion exploring how sozin committed genocide, then they’ve hit further rock bottom than i can imagine. not only that, but this type of reactionary behaviour risks alienating other parts of the fandom; for instance, fans of the avatar novels who otherwise would have given the ship and the shippers grace.

in other words, many of these hardcore shippers “criticizing” the roku novel have no one to blame but themselves if their behaviour leads to the alienation of regular fans. this loud subsection of fandom is so caught up in their one-sided, imaginary fantasy where everything in the franchise somehow revolves around aang/kataang vs zuko/zutara, that the Evil Bryke are always targeting them, to the point that they’ll fail to realize that the fire nation and fire nation characters are often absolved from accountability across the IP, and the fire nation is explored much more than the other nations are.

[pokemon-ash-aus]

I'm more curious on what reverse betrayal AU is, i couldn't really find anything in the tags sorry

Damn i SWEAR i wrote it down already. I guess Tumblr's tags are extra extra broken.

OKAY 👏

So everyone knows the canonical fanfiction trope of Betrayal AU's yes? Where the Main character of any fandom (in this case Ash) gets abandoned and spit on by their friends and partners except for the brief few that usually end up being the love interest?

In this case it's

Ash's friends leave him, ash's pokemon leave him except for the strong ones (pikachu is usually leaving him behind but i call bull so whatevs), Ash gets new pokemon, stronger and so much better (also legendaries, whoda thunk), he gets a love interest or a harem (cause why not) and then gets WICKED OP to the point its a bit unbelievable. Theb the betrayers come back and Ash wipes the floor with them while mocking them the whole time.

Its a well known trope, one that i used to adore myself, but i found it lacking after a hot min. The characters were always OOC, and the progression of events started to lean on terrible for me. No hate to the trope, i wrote one nyself once upon a time (unfinished), but it's nit in my wheelhouse anymore.

And so i made the Reverse Betrayal AU, mostly as a kick but really it started on the same premise but executed differently.

Ash's friends gather round, in this case, it had only gone up to alola so im sticking by that. My reasoning was that the little field trip down in Kanto was an excellent opportunity to get the rest of Ash's friends down there as a surprise!

Now, i want to point out the crucial information that Ash acts differently with each friend group. Not intentionally being deceitful, but more of, trying to fit into the type of person they need. For Misty that was a Brat, for May that was a Mentor, for Dawn a Sibling, for Iris an idiot, for Serena a hero. Etc etc.

Alola was the place where Ash *couldnt* do that so he finds himself in a mix of Mentor/friend/sibling role.

But when they all are there, Ash has a hard time trying to figure out what he should be and what he should stray into. And that leans into him being a Brat because Misty is a VERY loud personality in a way no one else was.

And boy do they grate on each other's nerves.

Misty is teasing him playfully, but Ash is biting back HARD. Not because he wants too, but the stress of the situation makes it hard for him to fight back just as playful. Especially with Iris there since her words used to cut before, but now he's painting Misty with the same brush but twice as deep.

And Misty doesnt appreciate this right, so this playfight on her end turns into actual fighting, words of anger and resentment speaking out on both sides.

"I WISH I NEVER MET YOU." Get's thrown out and the entire field goes quiet.

"Ditto." Ash growls.

And they turn away from each other.

And Brock is already trying to placate, he's seen this before a million times but then...

Everyone else jumps in.

Accusations are thrown, some side with Misty some side with Ash. None of these people are friends with each other, they all are connected through Ash.

And so Brock cuts them all off, cause the two were BOTH being uncalled for. And when he turns to Ash to ask what he was thinking.

The kid is outright gone.

No words no nothing and that leaves a deep deep dread in Brock's stomach.

"Oh he left, just like a little kid." Iris sighs, shaking her head as the others glare at her.

"No," Brock's voice trembles and that stops everyone else from really saying anything. "Ash can be rude and angry and wrong all he wants but he doesnt ever leave a conversation mod way- hell he doesnt even run away from a confrontation- this- this isnt right."

And while they look for him it starts ti become more and more clear that... None of these people are /friends/. They know Ash and Ash only.

And that starts *arguments*, screams of whose right and whose wrong and why Ash doesnt need to have a friend like *you.*

Its the take of, instead of Ashbeing abandoned by his friends. Its instead Ash 'abandoning' his friends instead. But its not really true, cause Ash wabts to be with his friends he's just...

Very mad right now.

Whoo i went on a tangent. I have more- somewhere- so ill need to look for it.

[anonymous-dentist]

I’m actually really interested in how the qsmp fandom treats its female characters at large versus how the female characters’ fans treat their character of choice. Because there’s a general consensus to Not Be A Dick To Women, because women are awesome (source: I am one.) But then you get to the individual fandoms for each character and you see that either you really aren’t allowed to criticize those characters at all, or all you do is criticize.

(And keep in mind I love both these characters I’m going to talk about and I literally try and watch every stream they’re part of if I have the time.)

For the first category, let’s look at the fandom surrounding qJaiden:

She’s a silly bird girl! She loves Cucurucho, but not the Federation. She’s actively friends with the creatures that have tortured and manipulated and kidnapped her own friends, but that’s fine because she has trauma. She’s a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to keeping and telling secrets sometimes, but that’s fine because she’s just silly!

This is the general qJaiden fandom perspective. If you call her a hypocrite, you have people calling you misogynist. If you say she’s a bit Weird for being besties with the bear that tricked her into thinking her son was alive and forced her on a death march just to laugh in her face and show her that she’s dead, you’re called a misogynist.

You criticize her at all, or you point out her flaws, you’re labeled a misogynist. Because Jaiden is silly! She’s never done anything wrong, actually, you either just hate women or you don’t watch her pov because you clearly don’t understand her character, which is Just A Silly Woman. There’s no nuance to her character past that, and acknowledging the fact that she’s morally gray can be Bad for ‘outsiders’, or even ‘insiders’ if you’re loud enough about it.

On the flip side, let’s look at qBaghera’s fandom:

qBaghera is useless. She needs to stay in her lane. She needs to tell others her personal lore. She needs to give up on running for president. She needs to be president. She needs to hang out with Forever and Bad more. She needs to be more of a revolutionary. She needs to take a step back and stay in her lane.

This is the general qBaghera fandom. Deal. It’s gotten to the point where ccBaghera has asked that people stop criticizing her character because she plays her character very close to her own personality. It’s nonstop people telling her how to play her own character, but they all claim to be ‘fans’. Her character doesn’t have any agency of her own to them, so she’s criticized, or, when she’s hanging out with The Boys she’s criticized for hanging out with The Boys, or she’s not hanging out with The Boys enough. That’s the kicker: she felt the need to stop hanging out with the other two members of Dramatrio because people were demanding she hang out with The Boys while ignoring her own personal lore.

These two examples are very different, but they both show the misogyny hidden beneath a thin layer of on-the-surface feminism. Not being allowed to criticize a female character is Not feminist at all, and criticizing a female character too much is definitely Not feminist.

And the thing is? Neither fandom seems to acknowledge the fact that they’re being Weird about their favorite female characters. Neither are allowing their favs to have any agency: Jaiden is always ‘Silly’ and doesn’t get to have any consequences or criticism, and Baghera can’t do anything without being criticized. But if you say anything about either character in a remotely negative or criticizing way, the individual fandoms will hound you for “being misogynistic” or “favoring male ccs/characters” because the qsmp fandom Is Not A Dick To Women. Because the fandom at large loves its female characters and ccs, the smaller, individual fandoms can get away with some weird shit in the name of “feminism” covering up misogyny within.

[soureggs]

I want to say my opinion on the btd gomenne gomenne fan game , i basicly have no leg to stand on but this is just my view on it

Controversial opinion but

I DONT think anyone is wrong realy in this situation,both sides are vaild.

°its very muddy and ppl try to bring in topics i DONT understand????

*I think ppl often forget alot of the Loud minority of gatos fanbase has sorta parasocial relationship with her since at one point gato was very active in her fanbase offten answering questions on the spot and constantly liking fanart and leaving comments, something not alot of creator's do ( i know the creator of sally face interacts with their own fandom too!)

But bc gatos fanbase is so niche the small amount of ppl assum she approves of everylittle thing or knows about every protect/merch ect She doesn't , it apperse to me shes often the last one to hear the news. If even(?)

( somewhat un related but im using this as an example bc its recent) vvvvvvv

// Very recently a merch creator/ seller said that her version of ren was a. l%li-con and there was some ppl who assumed gato was okay with this. She wasn't lol- i mean gato said multiple times kids DONT even exist in the games plot, BUT because gatos so lenient and open to head canons /spins on her characters thoes ppl assume she approved it \\

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Its also very hard when you make a character and then a person starts writing them using their own head canons or having alot of out of character moments

And a STRANGE AMOUNT of thoes ppl thinking its canon or cant get THAT version of your character out of their head/ fan art /wrighting untill eventually its a fanon

Even WHEN a fangame is a perfect (like said fangane) because one person dose it , some ppl with bad intention will use this as an excuse to make a upsetting fangame and wont REALY get in trouble.

Hell even ppl with good intention could do the same and completely miss interpret the characters yk??

Veteran btd fans saw this years ago -

IM NOT SAYING THE FANGAME CREATOR WOULD EVER DO THAT OR ANYTYING WITH BAD INTENTIONS! :0!! There art is grate and im sure they are LOVELY!

But keep that in mind with Everthing i said above how it might be a reasonable personal rule to have in such a small fandom. Especially if she had bad passed experiences

I think ppl misinterpret her words, not out of malice ! Im sure of it! , but (creating your own game based off my work) is much different than

(Creating a game using my characters and or plot or story)

I belive she ment ( you can make your own muderp%rn dating sim) like courten cowboys or lurking for love , lovers trophy , etc etc ! Maybe her wording was a misstranlation ? Or misinterpreted? , im on the spectrum so i have that problem too sometimes ! And Especially since gatos so flexible and vague its easy to missread /gen

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To be Inspired by a work dosent mean to use the characters or plot, just like referencing when drawing ! Example, OFF and undertail was Earthbound inspired but they both dont use any characters ect OVER THE GARDEN WALL Was inspired by Dante's Inferno! But its not the same characters pulled out and used

I hope that helps/gen

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I personaly believe stuff like that , what happened before and even in other fandom is why gato has that particular rule about not wrighting her characters at length. Not wanting to take the risk of someone miss using her characters again! /lh

I think its odd that ppl can Wright about sans undertail doing some weird ass shit and ppl dont scream about how toby fox approves of it . but they do for gato for some reason? ( if you could let me know why pls do ! )

" well ren was giving to gato so its not even hers"

That argument is silly to me, ren was giving as a gift, when you give a present to yourfriend is it yours anymore?? When a person buys an adoptable is it still the sellers?

Its not like gatos shy when saying she didnt creative ren, she was given him and modified him and still lets ppl know she didnt crate him .

Some of them use that as a talking point to say that said fangame creator is fine using that character in particularly as if hes free use, i DONT understand as someone who sells characters /designs(?)

( if you could explain i would appreciate it!)

The fangame devs are very talented the game seems fine from what i hurd! They did take creative liberties but its still very much gatos characters, I think they where respectable with them even in the contex of said game! . But i find it weird that the post says fanart for their fan game is appreciate ( at least in the English post i found prompting it) fan art of a fan game is confusing and i see how some ppl might mix the two up! Know?? like what would even be the tags? 'Sorrysorrybtd?' :0 So i can see how that could be another reason for the rule!

°I acknowledge and am so grateful that the artist. And devs worked so hard on the game and assets , im sure alot of ppl are as well! And im 100% sure it wasn't their intention to upset gato or anyone in that matter at all!

they are NoT obligated to apologize, maybe not make a second game out of respect(?) But thats their prerogative! They can do it , they wield the power yk?

BUT HARASSING ANY OF THE DEVS INVOLVED IS SO so so WEIRD???????

And making dramatic posts about it as well - it just rubs me the wrong way. Especialy using this as a opportunity to disrespect gato and ONE of her only rules she has for this very odd ( positive) fanbase. its kinda a little silly in my opinion . NOT to mention harassing the other game devs - this might make them not want to make any other games at all in the future ! D:

Please know i dont mean anything in this post to be upseting or malicious in anyway, i honestly think no one this fangane drama had any bad intentions or would do anything to upset anyone on purpose! I know its very high tension. And i would be upset too if a fangame i worked SO hard on with characters i love was met with disapprove instead of praise. And this is to say -this could have ben done better on gatos part. Thos could've ben done in privet imp

BUT im not gato , im not the other devs. im not in the positions to say ' i would've done this' bc ive never ben in that position, ive never had to deal with anything like this. So i wouldnt know what ild do in that moment ! And i think alot of ppl also forget that with all devs involved

We are all vary passonat in this fandom. But please dont start burnning bridge's over this! :'3 this fandom is already so devided due to all of our strong personal opinions it dosent realy need to be a. ' pick your side ' thing i dont think..

I am relatively new to the fandom, so i DONT know much about the past dramas srounding it, so if yall have anything youll like to say or add or educate me on PLEASS let me know and i will retract any of thoes statements !

[sgiandubh]

Dénouement

Good morning, BIF,

I swear I was done with you last night. But you were not done with me, it seems. In a fit of righteousness that I salute (for it is almost unheard of, across the street), you mumbled some edited corrections to your post:

That won't do, BIF and you know it. That was you trying to make a point, belittle me and police this fandom, not a car rental insurance contract. You were wrong, I get it: it happens all the time, on both sides of the Grand Rift. And when it does happen to me, I always immediately edit, very clearly and make sure everyone got it.

If you want to show us that you really have class and are honest, you edit that post and say it loud, please: it was not Red Box/Bingo Nutcase who nicknamed me and I was wrong. In the exact same size you wrote this Pronunciamiento:

Tit for tat. Rhymes with hat. Come on, BIF - you can do it: your crown ain't gonna fall. Put on a brave face and your big girl pants and act as a Real Person, not as an Illeist Pixelated Cartoon.

Now, yes. Now I am done with you for good.

[jinx-jade]

And they were roommates

For @the-coffee-fandom

It had taken five years to defeat Hawkmoth and retrieve the missing miraculi. Five long years of fighting, planning, and bottling up emotions, but at last, it was finally over.

Despite the dramatics of each minion created over and over again in Hawkmoth's image, the end of the Parisian hostage situation was a quiet affair that was handled quickly and without some large announcement. In fact, no one had been made aware that they were once again free to feel and experience emotions without the need to worry about possible possession by an evil butterfly.

The threat simply ceased to exist overnight. Gone forever without any hint as to how or why. The only people who knew at what moment Hawkmoth's reign of terror truly came to an end were Hawkmoth, the man himself, and those who helped to decide his punishment for the misuse of multiple miraculi.

For the spotted heroine, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. Her duty, the one thing she had promised to all of Paris at the beginning of the war, was finally fulfilled. And just as she had proclaimed, Hawkmoth had been the one to hand over his miraculi of his own accord, having only needed a little push in the right direction.

The push, in this case, was offering to heal his comatose wife, for a price, and it was a price he was more than happy to pay. All that was needed was for Hawkmoth, the elder Agreste man, to give up not only his miraculous but also the ability for his wife’s and his own bloodlines’ to wield, hold, or claim any object inhibited by a kwami as their own. It had only taken a simple blood pact that had been created by previous guardians as a way to banish those seen as unworthy from the temple, to make this rule a reality for both the Agreste and the Graham de Vanily bloodlines. However, it was this blood pact that led to the accidental half-reveal between the two Parisian heroes, when the black cat, peacock, and butterfly miraculi all reappeared inside the miracle box as soon as Ladybug honored her side of the deal.

"No no no no no-" The bluenette mumbled under her breath in a panic.

Reaching into the miracle box with shaky hands, Marinette picked up the ring that had once belonged to her partner; former partner. She slid the ring onto her finger, watching with a held breath as the kwami of destruction and ill fortune manifested before her.

“Pigtails? What happened? Where’s the kid?” Plagg questioned, looking around the remains of a familiar pink room that held more packed boxes than it held personal items.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Marinette whispered, raising a hand to her mouth in growing horror.

Plagg zipped over to the bluenette, hovering in front of her.

“What- is he? He’s not-…” The black cat stuttered, unable to continue his sentence.

“No Plagg, he’s not dead,” Tikki reassured her other half, despite how her head hung low, and her voice held the same tone she usually used whenever they were grieving the loss of one of their wielders.

“Then where is he, Sugar cube, and what’s wrong with your bug?”

Tikki shook her head, floating slowly over to her other half’s side, grabbing his paw, she led him to the opposite side of the room. Leaning in close, the kwami of creation and fortune whispered just loud enough for the other to hear.

Plagg chuckled, a low and dark sound in the dimly lit room at the news of Adrien being alive but unable to wield a miraculi ever again. He floated over to Marinette’s side, gently wiping away her tears, even as they continued to fall.

“It’s alright pigtails. You didn’t know.” The black cat kwami murmured as Marinette continued to cry apology after apology.

At some point late at night, during the early hours of the morning, the three of them fell asleep, curled up together in the mess of pillows and blankets that had been haphazardly thrown together in a pile on the floor. It was a mess, but to be fair, so were they. And the next morning, a few hours after the three had fallen asleep, Marinette got up just long enough to ask her parents to call her out sick and grab some food and snacks for herself and the two kwamis.

When it was time for lunch, Sabine brought up a bowl of soup and bread, placing it at Marinette's desk.

“Sweetheart? Are you alright?” The older woman asked, taking a seat next to her daughter among the pile of fluffy objects.

“...No. I’m not.” The bluenette admitted after some gentle nudges from the red kwami.

"Did the Hawkmoth confrontation not go as planned?" Sabine inquired, only to receive a half shrug, half shake of her daughter’s head.

"Hawkmoth isn't a threat anymore, and the bloodline punishment worked," Tikki explained in her wielder's place.

"Oh? Then what's bothering you, dear?"

Marinette blinked up at her mother with teary eyes.

"Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste…and I know it's stupid- but with the type of punishment used, Adrien can't be Chat Noir- or use any of the miraculi- and I just ripped away his ability to use any of the miraculi and he's always said it was his freedom, and I ripped that away- he was my best friend for years, mama- and he was an amazing partner and I-... I don't know-..." The bluenette trailed off.

"Oh, sweetheart, you were going to ask him to be your life partner, weren't you?" Sabine guessed correctly, earning a nod from her daughter.

"Marinette, the thing about life partners is that they are always harder to find than they seem, and often aren't the first person you consider." The older woman points out gently. "I know some of the other priests and priestesses say to settle down with your best friend, but sometimes, you need someone who understands you in a way that just a friend isn't capable of."

"You and papa make it look so easy with your fairytale love story. " Marinette mumbled with a pout, which earned a chuckle from her mother.

"We're far from perfect, but we communicate with each other, and that is the key to any good relationship, platonic or romantic. Besides, Tom was actually my third potential suitor." Sabine whispered conspiringly.

"Really? I didn't know that!" Marinette says with wide eyes, earning another round of laughter from her mother.

"Mhmm, and with each suitor I thought, this is it, this is who I want to share my soul with," Sabine says, shaking her head with a huffed chuckle.

"The first one was a childhood crush from my prayer group, I was eleven or twelve at the time when everything was still some fantasy dream you only hear about. The second was my best friend when I was seventeen. Just like you, I thought it would be amazing to settle down with my best friend for life, but then I left the temple. I left home and I found someone who understands me without the need to speak. Someone willing to put in just as much effort and energy into the relationship as I was, despite how easy it felt. And while the elders had been hesitant to allow our union, it helps that your father was able to learn some of the basic magic skills. " The older woman explained.

"The elders wouldn’t allow you to take Adrien as your life partner even if he had the chance to agree to the terms of courtship. They won't even consider him a potential suitor with his inability to wield a miraculi in addition to his lack of magic, " Sabine continued. Running a hand through her daughter’s messy hair, she gently began untangling the knots as she went.

"It's just so dumb. I understand the rules and traditions, but for whatever reason, I still wanted to pick the one person who I'm not allowed to pick." Marinette pointed out with a huff, wiping at her watery eyes. "I've seen the alternate realities where we had gotten together, and they all ended in apocalyptic circumstances! I shouldn't have even entered this stupid, stupid crush for as long as I have!" The bluenette groans, burying her face into a nearby pillow.

"It's not stupid, sweetheart, just a case of puppy love. It will fade." Sabine cooed, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall.

"The kid was your best friend within the safety the mask provided. It was understandable for you to grow attached." The black cat kwami murmured from where he was curled up on Marinette’s shoulder. "Hell, I know I did. He might not have been one of my kittens, but he sure was one of the best wielders I've had in a long while."

Sabine hummed in agreement.

"It probably didn't help to have him wielding the complementary miraculous to yours. There is a reason that tethered miraculi are usually used by tethered souls. The fact that you're not romantically involved with anyone would make it easier for the ladybug miraculi to alter your emotions to fit that of someone who is tethered to the other." Tikki pointed out, causing the bluenette to groan.

"Don't you just love magic?" Marinette asked sarcastically, earning a light swat on the arm from her mother.

"Come on, get up and eat. Your food is probably cold by now." Sabin says, prompting another groan and a round of grumbled complaints as Marinette sluggishly pulls herself out of the fluffy pile of pillows and blankets.

"...how about we take a trip to the temple for your birthday?" Sabine suggested after a few moments of thinking.

"It would be nice, but we don't have time, mama. Next week is finals and then I have a plane to catch right after school on the last day." Marinette reminds her mother.

"I'm sure we could work it out with your teachers, maybe come into school early on Monday, take all of your tests, and then we'll leave for Tibet." The older woman explains.

"Yeah, that could work." Marinette hummed in agreement, and that's exactly what they did.

Sabine set up the tests with Marinette’s teachers, and the bluenette came in early Monday morning to take all of the tests. Once they were complete, the Dupain-Chengs took a much-needed trip back home to the Tibetan temple.

Despite the bluenette’s protests, the elders had put together a welcome ceremony that began the moment the Dupain-Chengs helicopter had settled down on the landing pad. Practically every villager was gathered, waiting patiently, or impatiently if one was referring to the children, in neat rows with a clear pathway from the helicopter pad to the main temple. Those who were lined directly along the path held unlit candles cradled in their hands, offering them in Marinette's direction with their heads bowed in a show of both greeting and respect.

Looking away from her people, blue eyes locked with her mother’s dark obsidian eyes. Marinette sighed, taking the first step out of the flying vehicle. Sparks of light shoot out in waves of swirls from where the guardian had stepped causing a surge of energy to wash over the temple grounds. The wick of each candle offered to the guardian caught fire as she walked by them until eventually, every candle was lit with flickering blue flames.

When the Dupain-Chengs reached the main temple, they were greeted by seven of the nine court elders. Each one of the elders took the time to bow their heads with their fisted hands placed over their hearts. Marinette dipped her head in return.

The trip only lasted six days, during which, a majority of the bluenette's time was spent meditating, speaking with the elders, and participating in quite a few required ceremonies. Marinette, as per tradition, held a banquet in the lotus garden courtyard during the evening of her second day and last day back at the temple. During the banquet, the guardian performed a large tea blessing ceremony. The tea leaves were mixed into a few cauldrons full of low-boiling birch water while she whispered prayers to each kwami, calling on each of their souls to protect her people from harm. A few batches of this particular tea were made in order to have enough for the whole village.

The day Marinette returned to Paris with her mother and father was the last day of the school year. Despite the lack of classwork to do, classes continued as they would any other day of school. Most classes were spent talking about what everyone had planned for the break, or where people were going to school the following year. And of course, the Akuma class couldn’t stay on topic for an entire day’s worth of conversations about the future. A majority of the class was gossiping about the dramatic reappearance of Gabrial Agreste’s supposed late wife, who was very much alive.

According to the rumors going around, Adrien was taken out of school a few days early to spend time with his mother. This meant that Marinette wouldn't have to see her former partner, who held quite a few of her almosts that ended as nevers. She was glad to not be forced to see what effect, if any, the loss of the blond's miraculous had on Adrien. It definitely made it easier for Marinette to accept her decision to follow one of the elder's advice and move on from Paris as a whole.

There was a taxi waiting outside of the bakery when she got there. Her luggage was already packed inside and her parents were chatting with the driver while handing him some pastries and a cup of coffee. Marinette smiled, hugging her parents tight as they whispered goodbyes and wishes for safe travels.

An hour later, blue eyes stared out the window at the retreating image of Paris.

It was an eight-hour flight, but thanks to the time difference, only two hours had passed by from when she left Paris to when she landed in Gotham. Another hour or so was used to grab her luggage and eat an early dinner at one of the food stalls outside of the boarding area. Marinette should have known better than to stay at the Gotham airport for longer than she needed to, and based on the screams that had started only moments after the bluenette had sat down with her food, it was a lesson she was going to be learning the hard way as gas started to fill the area.

All of a sudden she was back in Paris. Her former partner was dressed in all white with blue eyes instead of green. They were surrounded by dead civilians and dozens of akumas hovering around Chat blanc, waiting for her akumatized partner to give them orders.

One of the akumas tried to grab Marinette, only for her to leg sweep them, taking their akumatized object and dismantling it. More akumas seemed to notice Ladybug after that first one. The akumas were rushing in her direction, away from the dead remains of the city’s people.

Everything that happened next was in quick succession. The time from the first akuma take down to the next one, and the next one, and the next, seemed to blur together until the reserve team of miraculi users had entered the fight.

Once all of the Akumas were taken care of, one of the other miraculi users approached Ladybug with caution. A quick pinch to her neck later had Marinette’s vision blurring and her knees give out. The teammate that had been approaching with caution darted forward to catch Marinette just before she could hit the floor.

"Miss, can you hear me? Are you alright?" A masked red, black, and gold hero questioned in a tone of voice the bluenette recognized as one usually used for akuma victims.

"Mmhm." Marinette hummed, blinking hard as she attempted to take back in her surroundings. "I'm fine, err, I'm okay." She reassured the vigilant, cringing at the way her voice cracked.

She was helped over to one of the medical teams by the vigilante who had caught her, Red Robin, if she remembered correctly.

The paramedic checked the bluenette over for any injuries that needed to be treated. To everyone's surprise but her own, Marinette was deemed fine and uninjured by the medicinal professional.

One of the cops came over to take her statement, and with a sigh, Marinette explained what happened to the best of her ability. Her explanation was met with a look of disbelief.

"From what the few people visually unaffected were saying, you’re the one who took down the majority of these guys, and now you're saying you couldn't hear anything and were visually hallucinating?" The cop that was taking her statement said with a raised brow, causing Marinette to snort.

"I'm from Paris, France. We pretty much thrive off functioning properly while suppressing emotions, and in all honesty, this was probably the equivalent of a small-scale akuma attack." The bluenette says with a shrug, watching the cop nod his head in sympathy.

"You're a long way from home." The cop pointed out, flipping his notepad shut.

"Am I free to go?" Marinette asked, not acknowledging the cop's last comment.

"Hm? Yeah, you're free to go." The cop said with a nod of his head, walking off to question someone else.

Gathering her luggage, Marinette left the airport, flagging down a taxi. One stops by the curb only a few seconds later. It's not a relatively short or long ride from the airport to Marinette’s college dorm, about a half-hour trip total. Checking in with the front desk took another twenty or so minutes before they gave Marinette her dorm key and sent her on her way.

Unsurprisingly, the bluenette was the first one to arrive at her shared dorm room, having arrived about a month early. A quick look around the apartment-style dorm showed that she would luckily only have one roommate. The kitchen had cabinet space and an island bar, with a fridge, a stove oven hybrid, and a sink, but no dishwasher. There wasn't a dining area, not unless you want to use the living room entryway area, which was a big empty space at the moment. The hallway across from the kitchen leads to three doors. One to the left, which was a bedroom, one to the right, another bedroom, and one at the end of the hall, which was the bathroom.

After one more check around the dorm, mainly to look for any hidden cameras, while also placing protection wards, and signal disruptors, Marinette finally began unpacking. Opening the pocket dimension she had used as storage, the bluenette started putting away her kitchenware in their proper cabinets and drawers. A towel was put on the counter next to the sink, in place of a drying rack she needed to buy. The fridge and pantry were next on the list of things to unpack, with a list made of what she had forgotten and needed to get from the grocery store. Then was the bathroom, which she stocked with towels, toilet paper, and other necessary products.

The last things to unpack were for her bedroom. She had left it last for a reason, and that reason was procrastination.

It took a while to assemble her new bed, desk, and dresser, but the easier tasks, part of setting up her room, could only be accomplished after those were done. She ended up taking a break to eat a few snacks since her dinner had gotten interrupted earlier that evening. After her long drawn-out snack break, Marinette eventually got everything unpacked and set up properly.

Having completed everything she needed, Marinette promptly crashed onto her bed to sleep off the jet lag. The next few days were spent resting and building up a new storage of emergency energy in each kwami's specialized area and subareas of power. She didn't leave the dorm for three days, allowing each kwami to explore and bless their new home for the upcoming school year. On the fourth day, Marinette finally left the safety of her dorm to run some errands, like finally buying a dish rack, and getting more groceries.

Slipping her shoes on, Marinette walked out the door and down to the lobby while double-checking the list on her phone.

"Pardon, excusez-moi." The bluenette says, stepping off to the side with a twirl, just barely avoiding walking into someone.

Damian rolled his eyes at the French girl’s pointless apology, continuing his walk over to the front desk. After about a half hour of the fool behind the desk floundering at his job, he finally handed the former assassin his dorm key.

Taking the elevator up to the seventh floor, Damian made his way to his overly expensive ‘assigned’ dorm. The term ‘assigned’ was used very loosely whenever money got involved. Seeing as the former assassin still has the habit of injuring people who enter his personal space, Bruce had thought it best to insure that Damian would be put with as few people as possible.

Opening the door to his dorm, Damian walked in, not yet removing his shoes, he instead opted to survey the area.

There were dishes in the kitchen and food in the fridge and pantry where Damian had expected to find empty space. A scoff left his lips as his annoyance with the simpletons kissing up to his family name began to simmer under his skin.

Moving down the hall, he opened one of the doors, and as expected, it was empty of everything except a cheap bed and nightstand. The door at the end of the hallway was a bathroom that was already stocked with products. In contrast to the room he had just seen, everything in the bathroom looked new and expensive, with glass jars full of different creams and soaps.

The last door was the one across from the bedroom, and when Damian opened it, a few thoughts switched gears and clicked into place.

This room was another bedroom, except it was fully furnished with pastel pinks, sage greens, cream, and gray. The cheap bed and nightstand had been replaced with higher-quality items. A new bed, desk, dresser, and some other decorative furniture had been arranged neatly in the small room.

The reason that this room was different from the other room was that his roommate had already moved in. The kitchen and bathroom items that had originally felt like someone added them in to earn favor from the Wayne family, no longer bother him in the way that people fawning over him or his family does. No, now it bothered him because his plan to come to the dorms early and not have to deal with people was ruined by his unknown, singular (thankfully), roommate.

With a sigh, Damian continued as if his plans hadn’t been interrupted, pulling out his phone to scroll through it idly. He received a message from the moving company twenty minutes later and had to meet them down in the lobby to escort them up.

A total of one hundred thirty-seven minutes, or two hours and seventeen minutes later, Damian was escorting the moving workers out of the building. And once he was no longer responsible for any visitors, Damian went back to the quiet of the elevator, ready to collapse onto his new bed or break in the speed bag that had just been put up.

Either one will have to wait until he is back in his room, which can’t happen until the elevator doors open to allow him in.

“Ah, good evening.” The French girl from earlier greeted him, with her hands full of shopping bags, waiting, just like him, for the elevator doors to open.

Damian nodded his head instead of returning her greeting, not caring enough for a proper ‘Hello’. However, unlike his idiotic siblings, Damian was unwilling to tarnish Pennyworth’s name as an etiquette teacher with his own lack of care for being a ‘proper gentleman’, and so, he gave a nod in acknowledgment as a compromise.

The elevator arrived at the ground floor. Its heavy metal doors slid open along its mechanical rail tracks.

Both college students walked inside the elevator.

Damian went to press the button for the seventh floor, only for the French girl to press it first. The two young adults glanced at each other for the invasion of space, but otherwise, they stood in silence, waiting for the machinery to reach the desired floor.

A ding from the elevator signals their arrival, and they both step out through the metal doors, beginning the walk down the hall to their respective doors.

Except, instead of going their separate ways to their own dorms, they end up at the same door.

“Eight-three-one?” The girl asked, having pulled a key from her bag, showing off the tag designating it as this door's key.

With a tired breath, Damian did the same, pulling his key out to show the girl, his roommate it seemed, his same key and tag.

“Mhm.” The girl hummed after examining the tag on his key, she gestured to the door. “If you won’t mind.”

“Wouldn’t or don’t, not won’t,” The former assassin corrected off-handedly, unlocking the door to their shared dorm apartment and pushing it open to allow the girl inside.

“Ah! Merci.” The girl thanked him, walked inside, and placed the bags on top of the kitchen island.

“Have you looked around and unpacked?” She asked while sorting through her bags, putting the food away in its proper area, and leaving the non-food objects inside one of the bags.

“I have.” Damian says, and after a moment of thought adds on, “I do apologize if I disturbed any of your belongings while looking around and unpacking. I was originally under the impression that I had arrived before any potential roommates. However, that assumption was quickly proven incorrect after checking the rooms.” the former assassin explained.

Looking away from her groceries and up at him with eyes that are an unnaturally bright shade of blue, the girl offered him a slight smile, more so an upturn of her lips than anything else.

"You are an honest person." The girl points out with a nod of her head as if Damian had passed some kind of test.

"It's not so much honesty as it is an unwillingness to waste time on useless sugar-coated words." The former assassin corrected, which earned something a little closer to an actual smile from the girl.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and you?" The girl introduced herself, glancing in his direction.

"Damian Al Ghul."

Marinette hummed in acknowledgment, looking away from her newly introduced roommate to grab the last bag full of the remaining non-edible objects.

"Eat whatever you like." The bluenette says, gesturing at the fridge. "We can figure out the rules of coexisting tomorrow since it's so late." She suggested.

"That's reasonable enough." Damian agreed as Marinette disappeared into her room.

The bluenette leaned back against her closed bedroom door as it closed, forcing herself to take a deep breath in an attempt not to panic.

When Duusu flew over to check on her, Marinette cut the peacock kwami off with her index finger pressed to her lips in a silent gesture for quiet. It was only after a few moments of silence that Marinette pushed herself up off the door, moving to check over the protection wards, adding a sound concealing effect to them. Once that was done, she turned to face the curious, hovering kwamis.

“What’s the likelihood that his last name is just a coincidence?” The bluenette asked them, but they only looked at their guardian in confusion.

“Well, I’m not sure, Miss! What’s his last name and who are we talking about?” Ziggy asked before any of her siblings could.

“My roommate. His name is Damian Al Ghul… that's just a coincidence, right? He's not here for the miracle box is he?” Marinette asked, flopping back onto her bed.

“Depends on what you are considering as a coincidence, pigtails, and I'd say is a fifty-fifty shot on whether or not the kid's here for us,” Plagg says with a shrug, joining Marinette on top of her bed comforters.

"I'm confused. I thought the Al Ghuls were in an alliance with the order." Daizzi voiced, lowering his paw from where he had once been raising it in an attempt to catch everyone's attention.

"They are- well, sort of? It's more of an agreement to not act with hostile intent towards each other." Marinette attempted to explain.

"Why aren't we in an actual alliance with them? Wouldn't that stop them from taking us?" Duusu questioned, looking from one kwami to the next.

"To have an actual alliance with the Shadows, both organizations would have to be on what they perceive as equal footing." Marinette sighed. "With the Order having a box full of gods at their disposal, the Shadows would want at least half of you." The bluenette explained.

"Oh- oh dear... I can't imagine that would end well." The peacock kwami worried.

“If he was looking for the mircauli he wouldn’t have stopped in the doorway after only a glance inside your room. Well, that and he wouldn’t have been allowed into the dorm as a whole if he had ill intent.” Orikko pointed, earning agreement from some of the other kwamis who happened to be out and about.

“With how out of balance your luck is, it wouldn’t be that bazaar if the kid was just like you.” The black cat kwami states lazily, earning a raised brow from his guardian.

“What- an unwilling heir to an ancient organization?” Marinette questions sarcastically.

“Exactly!” Plagg grinned.

“You never know, '' Trixx shrugged. "I bet a box of berries that he is. Why not test him? See if he recognizes the League of Shadow’s symbol. If he does then he’s likely a descendant of the old demon, and if he doesn’t then it really is just a coincidence.” The fox kwami suggests.

“I’ll think about it.” Marinette yawned. “Now off to bed. All of you, we don’t need a repeat of the wobbly tower incident.”

The kwamis laughed in amusement at their guardian's half-hearted glare but complied with her instructor nevertheless.

The next morning Marinette got up, grabbing a change of clothes before heading down the hall for a shower. She thinks over Trixx’s proposed idea as the steam begins to fill the room. Every possibility of what could go wrong ran through the bluenette's head faster than she could process them. Maybe Marinette was overthinking things. It’s just a symbol. She could write it anywhere in his line of sight, and see if he recognizes it or has a reaction to it.

Stepping out of the shower, Marinette began drying off, applying lotion to the newly dried surface before getting dressed. She wiped an area of the mirror clean of water vapor in order to check her reflection. And as the steam began to cover the reflective glass again, an idea pops into Marinette’s mind.

With a steady breath, she gathers a small portion of Longg’s elemental energy, using it to keep the layer of water vapor in place as she draws. Once Marinette finished drawing the symbol she locked the energy in place, adding a conditional unlocking sequence. The trigger for said lock was for someone other than Marinette to see it. Then the water vapor would be free to disperse on its own.

After one more steady breath, the bluenette grabbed her dirty clothes and stepped out of the bathroom, making a b-line to her bedroom. The clothes were unceremoniously thrown into the hamper in Marinette's closet. And just as she was about to leave, a glint of light caught her eye from the top of her dresser.

Looking over the object, Marinette could only sigh.

“Which one of you took this out of its box?” The bluenette questions with furrowed brows, having not seen any of the kwamis out of their box.

There was a purple blur as one of the kwamis flew over to the object that should have been tucked safely away in its box.

“I thought… you could- perhaps, use it?” Nooroo mumbled, unsure of his decision. “Ah- not that you need extra protection! Just… for evidence? If he is the Shadow’s heir, he would recognize this and- uhm… yeah.” The kwami trailed off.

Marinette offered the butterfly kwami a genuine, albeit, a bit sad-looking, smile.

“Thank you, Nooroo. I’ll hold on to it for now.” The guardian says, grabbing the piece of jewelry.

It was a deceptively fragile-looking thing. A thin, dainty chain that replicated a serpent in appearance and held one singular, very important pendant. She ran her hand over the intricate metalwork. Taking a slow, steady breath, Marinette brought the piece of jewelry up, draping it around her neck in its proper place. The pendant fell into place at the hollow of her throat as the clasp, the snake's fangs bit her finger, drawing blood to the surface.

In the seconds after the clasp bit her, the silver chain came alive, and like the serpent it appeared to be, it coiled its body into a tight circle, securing the choker in place. And just as the dainty silver chain had come alive, it turned still, content to rest in its rightful place. The bluenette's hand rested lightly on top of the pendant before thinking better of it, removing her hand and deciding to pay the pendent no more mind, Marinette walked back out of her room to go make breakfast.

The dorm was quiet aside from the eventual sound of one of the doors from the hallway opening. Light footsteps walked farther away, towards the bathroom at the hallway's end. The bathroom door creeks. There's a pause, or perhaps it wasn't a pause, but the actual effort put into making himself as silent as possible.

"Breakfast is ready if you like Chausson aux Pommes. If not, you can fend for yourself." Marinette informs her roommate the moment he stepped out of the hall.

"You took a shower this morning." Damian pointed out as one of his hands rested on a hidden weapon.

"I did." Marinette agreed, pulling the tray of pastries out of the oven. "What of it?" She inquires, setting the food on top of the stove.

His hesitation was all the confirmation Marinette needed.

"I left the bathroom as clean as it had been when I entered. Well- minus the steam of course." The bluenette challenges with a raised eyebrow.

Blue eyes met green, and for a moment, time froze creating their own little bubble, but all too soon the bubble broke and time resumed. A blade flew straight at Marinette only for it to stop mid-air, being snatched up by a wave of her hand, creating the image of her having caught the blade at a lightning-fast speed.

"Really?" Marinette asked unimpressed. "That was a little rude, but I'm assuming based on your reaction that your name isn't a coincidence, and you are that Al Ghul."

"Tch, what do you want?" Damian demanded more than asked. "Did my mother send you?" He inquired with a scowl. A glare was pointedly sent in her direction.

"Merde, now I'll have to stop by the store to pick up berries for Trixx" The bluenette huffed, Turing over the blade in her hand. A movement that caught Damian's full attention.

"No your mother didn't send me, I've never even met the woman, and what I want is to have a normal school year for once in my life," Marinette mumbled, placing the blade on top of the counter, she slid it over to the green-eyed boy.

Damian grabbed the weapon immediately, rounding the island, he pinned Marinette in place with a blade to her throat.

"Are all assassins like this? Attack first, question later? Or I guess it would be, ask questions never since the person would be dead." The bluenette mused.

"I won't ask again. Who sent you?" Damian growled impatiently, pressing the blade harder against her skin. Which to his surprise didn’t draw any blood.

"Do you recognize my pendant?" Marinette asked in place of an answer. She watched as green eyes trail away from her face and down to her necklace.

At first, there was nothing, no recognition, but the intricate pattern held his attention in the way that something you once knew a long time ago would. A flash of an old memory surfacing in his mind causes the former assassin to lower his blade from her throat, not yet releasing his hold on her.

"The order? What business do they have with me? I'm no longer a part of the league." Damian states with narrowed eyes.

"No business at all. Simply my unusual luck deciding to mess with my new school year. Like I said before, I'm just here for a normal school year after the hell that was Lycée in Paris." Marinette shrugged as best as she could.

The sound of a tea kettle whistling filled the air interrupting their conversation.

The former assassin loosened his hold, and hesitantly he let the guardian step away from him and over to the stove. She turned it off and opened the lid to the kettle, allowing the water to cool for a minute or two.

“Are you planning to stand there all day and starve, or are you going to join me for breakfast?” Marinette inquired with a curious tilt of her head.

Damian scoffed, rolling his eyes, but nevertheless, he took a seat at the kitchen island. The bluenette nodded her head, pleased with his decision. She turned back to the tea kettle, added the tea leaves to the strainer, replaced the lid, and left them to steep.

“So what brings you here, Mr. I'm not part of the league?” Marinette asked, leaning back on the counter. Blue eyes once again met green.

“What are you doing outside of France with Hawkmoth active?” Damian questioned in return, causing blue eyes to look away.

“He isn’t,” Marinette answered, turning back around as she moved the kettle onto a serving tray.

“What do you mean he isn’t? If he was apprehended the Justice League would have been informed.” The former assassin frowned.

“Who would have informed them? Ladybug? Chat Noir?” The guardian asked sarcastically, plating the Chausson aux Pommes, she moved them onto the tray with the tea.

“Look, there are no mircauli active. None. If you wish to inform someone, be my guest, but there are no and will be no active miraculi. Not of a while…” The bluenette trailed off, placing the tray of tea and pastries on the island, she takes a seat beside the former assassin.

“And who are you to make that decision?” Damian inquired as the guardian put a silver plate and teacup in front of each of them, pouring the steaming liquid into both cups and placing a few pastries upon their plates.

“Me? Oh, I’m just the unwilling heir to an ancient organization and guardian of a box full of gods.” Marinette shrugged, taking a sip of her tea. “Now would you like to continue this conversation about my, and subsequently, your, heritage, which would lead us to the next conversation about co-existing rules, or would you like to eat while everything is still hot and then talk?” She asked, placing her tea down to pick up her pastry.

“I see you’re not one to sugarcoat things either,” Damian noted with an arched brow, wrapping a hand around the warm cup, his eyes trailing back to the herbal liquid with suspicion.

“It’s not poisoned, you know.” Marinette pointed out. “It would one, mean I just drank poison, and I’m not stupid enough to do that, antidote waiting on standby or not. Two, it would ruin my normal school year before it even started. And three, it would be against our people’s neutrality agreement.” The bluenette lists, raising a finger with every point made.

“And I’m supposed to believe that you would abide by that old agreement?” Damian questioned in disbelief.

“Oh, you don’t have to believe anything. That’s the beauty of blood pacts. They can’t be broken, knowingly or not.” Marinette states, gesturing to the blade and where it had somehow not cut her neck.

"My grandfather didn't make his deals based on trust, he made it based on his knowledge of unbreakable magic pacts." The bluenette shrugged, grabbing her cup, she took another sip of the herbal liquid.

“What happened to your accent?” Damian questioned curiously. She had a heavy French accent before, but now, it sounded different. Her words were pronounced the slightest bit off. She still had an accent, but now Damian couldn’t place where it was from. It was as if a single note was out of tone, making it stand out amongst any voice he had ever heard before.

“The food’s getting cold.” The bluenette pointed out as if Damian hadn't said anything at all, blue eyes catching green for just a moment. The corners of her eyes crinkled in amusement.

With a sigh, he lifted the cup to his lips. “We’ll eat, then talk.” The former assassin decides before finally taking a sip.

The two heirs ate their breakfast in silence. Not a comfortable silence, but also not an uncomfortable silence. It was simply, silence. And when they finished eating, the two got up from their seats, brought their dishes to the sink, and began cleaning up.

“... you never answered what you’re doing here Al Ghul? From what I’ve heard, you’re the current Robin, and I really can’t imagine you sitting in one place for an entire school year. At least not at a high security, practically close campus where you can’t leave for patrols or missions.” Marinette comments, placing the dry dish down to pick up a newly washed one out of the dish rack.

“This dormitory is outside of the main campus, meaning it would be child’s play to leave whenever I so desired, and I would be more than capable of acting as Robin without compromising my studies.” Damian scoffed.

The bluenette hummed, laying the rag over the dishrack to dry.

“So you were benched then?” The guardian mused, leaning back against the counter.

“It’s none of your concern, Dupain-Cheng.”

“Good thing I’m not concerned. I’m merely curious, and because we have to live together for a while, I’ve deemed this information important for me to be aware of.” Marinette states, crossing her arms over her chest.

More silence filled the room, and once again, it was neither awkward nor comforting. The longer the silence stretched out, the more apparent it became that it didn’t lean one way or the other. There was no comfort provided by the presence of someone who was technically an ally, and there was no unease at the presence of a stranger.

“The co-existing rules, what are yours?" Damian eventually asked instead of answering her question.

"Mm, I have a few main ones, like staying out of my personal space unless I allow you there. Clean up after yourself, and no inviting people over." Marinette states lazily. "We'll need to figure out food and chore arrangements too, but those are my main rules."

"Am I correct to believe that these rules go both ways" The former assassin inquired, receiving a nod of agreement from the bluenette.

"Then I will be expecting you to abide by these rules as well. They are adequate for the time being, however, I reserve the right to alter or add to our current three rules." Damian states impassively.

"So long as we discuss any new rules before they are created. I won’t have a problem with that." Marinette agreed.

When they moved on to food arrangements, Damian was forced to explain that he didn’t know how to cook. Marinette had raised an eyebrow at the former assassin but didn’t say a word about why he would be lacking such a basic skill. Instead, she told Damian that he either needed to learn, or he would be buying take-out food whenever it was his turn to take care of meals. He had agreed but informed the bluenette that the last time he had cooked, it ended with him being banned from the kitchen at home. Marinette had huffed out a tired breath before agreeing to teach the former assassin how to cook so they wouldn’t be stuck with take-out food for half of the school year.

At some point during this conversation, Marinette had gone to her room to retrieve a notebook and pen to help keep them organized.

"Where'd your necklace go?" Damian asked with a raised brow.

"I took it off."

"Why?"

"Because wearing it means I'm presenting myself as the Crowned High Priestess to the Order of Guardians, and while the title is helpful in some cases, I'm not a fan of wearing it." The bluenette explained, earning a nod of understanding from her new roommate, and the topic was dropped.

The two heirs went back to discussing their schedules and ended up writing them down in order to figure out who would be cooking when, and to their surprise, a good majority of their classes were with each other.

“Huh. I had originally thought that one of us would have had to make the meal and store it for the other due to my night classes. Both of us having class at the same time as each other will make meals more convenient at the very least. At the worst, we’ll be sick of each other from nearly twenty hours of constant co-existing.” Marinette pointed out, earning a glare from her roommate.

It was decided that Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday would be Marinette’s days to cook. Monday, Thursday, and Saturday were Damian’s days, while Wednesday was either leftovers or fend for yourself. Chores were assigned using the simple rule of, if you make a mess, clean it up, and, if you see something’s wrong, fix it.

With their rules established, the two heirs separated to continue going about their day in their individual rooms. In the first few weeks of co-existing in general, the two kept to themselves, staying tucked away in their rooms unless otherwise necessary. They interacted mainly during meal times, where a majority of Marinette’s entertainment came from watching the former assassin fail at simple cooking tasks.

“Okay, okay, stop. This is just sad.” The bluenette huffed in amusement, leaving the safety of her barstool, she joined him in the kitchen, walking over to the sink.

“You’re going to need a lot more seasoning than that,” Marinette informs him while drying off her freshly washed hands and snapping on a pair of gloves.

“The recipe says-” Damian began, which led to a half-hour debate about when you should and should not follow recipes, and when it was better to deviate from what the text says. Marinette explains that the rules for cooking are a lot more forgiving than the rules for baking, causing Damian to ask what the point of the rules was if they were just going to be broken.

“Some people just like things a certain way. For example, back in my home village, the food is rich and flavorful without being heavy and dense, but here in America, most of the flavors are barely there, the foods oily, or it's an imitation of a different culture's foods.” Marinette explained, clicking the stove buttons over to off.

She turned to grab the plates only for Damian to already be holding them in her direction, waiting for the bluenette to take them.

"Thank you." Marinette hummed, grabbing the plates.

Luckily for the two heirs, Damian was fast at learning his way around the kitchen. It was obvious that his lack of cooking skills wasn’t from a lack of trying, but more so from a lack of being taught. By the end of their first month of co-existing, he was proficient enough with cooking that Marinette was more so supervising than actually helping with meals. He wasn’t at the level where he could cook any meal he wanted without a recipe yet but for half a month of learning, Damian had about six different dishes where he only needed the recipe cards as a reminder of the listed ingredients and measurements.

Before they knew it, it was the first day of school and they now had to attend their new classes.

It was definitely interesting to be in close quarters with the same person every day of the week. Except, unlike in the dorm where they could hide away in their separate rooms, they could no longer do that during school hours. Now, the two heirs were constantly in the same enclosed space with each other, with multiple other humans surrounding them, for multiple hours of the week.

On the bright side, the classes they had at night were quieter than the ones they had during the day. The people in the nighttime tended to be a lot quieter and less nosey than the daytime students. It was to the point that some days when Damian and Marinette got back to the dorm after their morning classes, neither of them would say a word to each other for hours unless it was truly necessary.

Their reluctance to speak along with living in the same dorm apartment for a little over three months had the unique side effect of being able to read each other’s body langue and react to it automatically. When they did speak to each other, it was usually in the quiet of night over topics that had to be put into words for the other to understand and wasn’t something they had talked about before.

“Are we ever going to put something there?” Marinette inquired, staring at the large empty area in the entranceway, holding her warm cup of tea to her chest as if it would magically spread its warmth through her chilled bones.

“What do you purpose we put there?” Damian asked in response, earning a shrug from the bluenette.

They sat in silence, enjoying their last few moments of peace before they had to leave their dorm and head to class.

When the time came, Marinette washed out her cup, wordlessly grabbing Damian’s from his hand and doing the same, placing both washed cups onto the dish rack to dry. The former assassin slipped on his shoes, then tossed the guardian her coat and scarf before leaving the dorm. He walked down the hallway, arrived at the elevator, pressed the button, then waited for the machine to arrive. The bluenette appeared at his side a few seconds before the doors opened, and they both stepped inside.

Walking from their dorm apartment to class wasn’t as quiet as it normally was. More whispers and gossip were filling the air as students walked by. A few of them glanced at Damian then went back to whispering among their friends. The class was the same as usual if you were to ignore the other students speaking, which Damian and Marinette already did on a regular basis anyway.

The class ended and one brave soul got up, abandoning her stuff at her seat, and walked to the back of the classroom where the two heirs had just finished packing up and were about to leave.

“You’re Damian Wayne, right?” The girl questioned, earning an unimpressed raised brow from the former assassin.

“It’s just that my friend mentioned hearing you went here and what classes you were in, and I realized that you were in my class, so I just had to see if it was true for myself, ya know? I mean, I can’t believe I didn’t recogni-”

“Shut up,” Damian commanded, cutting off the girl’s rambling as he pushed past her to the front of the classroom.

“Hey! You can’t speak to her like that!” One guy yelled out, grabbing the back of Damian’s shirt.

In a quick set of movements the guy who had grabbed the former assassin was pinned to a desk with his arm held at an angle where the smallest movement could snap the bone like a toothpick.

There were a few more outcries from the surrounding students but none of them stepped forward, having heard what the girl had said earlier.

“Al Ghul, we’re going to be late for our next class,” Marinette reminded the former assassin in French rather than English as she walked up to him. Making sure to keep her hand within his line of sight, she gently tugged on the edge of his long sleeve shirt. The switch in language caused a collective lag in the rest of their classmates' brains.

The former assassin tsked, releasing the guy with a shove causing a loud pop of a joint dislocating and a cry to be heard.

“Come on.” The bluenette urged switching back to English, she continues walking towards the door with the fabric of his shirt fisted in her hand.

They didn’t end up heading to class, instead, Marinette takes them to one of the empty school gymnasiums and rolls out one of the sparring mats. Removing her bag, coat, scarf, and shoes, Marinette stepped onto the mat, gesturing for him to do the same. He does, eventually, do as instructed, with some reluctance and a huff of disinterest.

Marinette wastes no time at all, pivoting on one foot she lands a solid kick to his chest, knocking the wind right out of him. Damian stumbles but recovers quickly, grabbing onto her foot, he swipes the other out from under her. The bluenette catches herself in a roll, hooking the leg that had been caught, around the former assassin, dragging him down to the ground with her.

The spar continues until one of them pins the other and they can’t escape, being forced to tap out. In this case, the spar continued until Damian finally conceded and stopped struggling against the bluenette.

“Feeling better?” Marinette asked with heaving lungs, taking in deep uneven breaths.

“I thought we weren't able to harm each other?” Damian asked in place of answering her. His voice sounded just as breathless as Marinett's own.

“We can’t.” The bluenette agreed, rolling off of the former assassin to lay beside him on the floor like a starfish. “You won’t find a single bruise on you.”

Damian huffed but didn’t argue the point any further. Instead, he used their current lack of conversation to take in some much-needed deep, calming breaths.

“...we should get a sparing mat for our dorm.” Damian decides, after a few moments of silence.

“Alright.” The guardian agrees, letting them fall back into the comfortable quiet where only their heavy breathing and beating hearts could be heard.

They have to get up eventually, Damian helping to pull Marinette to her feet only for her to stumble and crash into his chest.

"Oof- sorry, I stood up too fast." The bluenette apologized, straightening herself to stand on her own.

Damian hummed but didn’t otherwise acknowledge that she had said or done anything as he walked away to gather his stuff. Marinette turned away from her roommate and did the same thing, gathering her extra layers, her school bag, and slipping her shoes back on. The bluenette then walked over to where Damian was waiting by the doorway. She blinks in surprise when the former assassin grabs her by the wrist and starts walking back to the dorms.

It was unusual for them to actually touch one another for any longer than a few passing moments. It was even more so for Damian to be the one initiating the physical contact, and for it to not be in a violent way. Thinking it best not to make a big deal out of something as unimportant as the former assassin grabbing her wrist, Marinette allowed herself to be led back to their dorm, quietly staying at Damian’s side.

They ordered a few things for the dorm the next morning and continued with the school day just like usual. There were still whispers from gossiping students, but the teachers didn't say anything about the incident from yesterday, only sparing a glance at Damian as he walked to his seat. A few days later, when everything arrived at their dorm they began putting it together.

"Are you still okay with me calling you Al Ghul with everyone else calling you Wayne now?" Marinette asked, tearing off a new piece of black electric tape.

"That is who I introduced myself as." The former assassin said with a frown.

"Then why don't you correct others when they call you Wayne instead of Al Ghul?" The bluenette questioned curiously.

"Leave it be, Dupain-Cheng." Damian snapped, indicating that he didn't like their current topic; they should end that topic there.

"...it was the dean's daughter by the way," Marinette mentioned off-handedly in an attempt to steer the conversation into safe territory. This earned a glance and a raised questioning eyebrow from Damian.

"The one who essentially told the whole school that your last name is Wayne and you go to this college. It was the dean's daughter." The bluenette explained, double-checking that the mat was now firmly secured to the flooring.

"You know that how exactly?" Damian inquired skeptically.

"...I have enhanced hearing on occasion," Marinette mumbled, leaving the living room turned-trained area in favor of making herself some tea in the kitchen. The topic of Damian’s preferred last name and Marinette’s occasional metahuman abilities was forgotten for the time being.

Once the sparring mats were set up, using them became just another part of their day. The entryway living room area that had once been completely empty now served as Marinette and Damian’s practice and training area.

They trained with different types of weapons, sparring against each other, and if only one of them knows how to use it, then they teach the other one. When they aren't using weapons they'll spar without them, working on their techniques, trying to make their movements as fluid as possible.

The area is also used for weight lifting and endurance, stretching, and meditating. The last of which, Marinette had to walk Damian through how to do it properly and to say the former assassin was annoyed would be a bit of an understatement.

"I don't see what's wrong with my way of meditating. It works perfectly fine for the job that's intended." Damian scoffed, eyeing every movement the bluenette's hand made as she carefully rearranged his body to sit how she wanted it to.

"What's wrong with it, is that you're just pushing all of the negative energy out and not taking any in. To properly meditate you need to be doing both simultaneously." Marinette informs him only to receive an unimpressed huff for her troubles.

Damian closed his eyes, breathing in slowly through his core, and exhaling just as slowly and steadily. He pushed away every negative thought, allowing his mind a moment to be empty, unthinking, for the time being.

"Al Ghul," the bluenette begins, interrupting his umpteenth attempt at meditating properly.

"Open your eyes and look at me." She instructed sitting cross-legged a few inches in front of Damian, waiting for his cooperation.

"Look at me." The guardian repeated in a softer tone, watching as the former assassin's eyes opened at the gentle command.

Green eyes meet blue ones, and for the second time since the two heirs meet, time seemed to freeze, creating their own little bubble. A pause in time to allow one heir to stare into the other's soul and vice versa.

Her eyes had a glossy sheen to them. Not quite watery enough where she always appeared to be on the brink of tears, but to the point that her eyes look like water itself. The light reflected little glimpses of silver across the ocean as if it was the moon shining its light over a body of water.

Damian takes in another breath cleaning off his paintbrush. He stepped away from his painting to take a better look. The entire thing was made from different shades of blue. Even the areas one would assume white or black had been used were painted in blue, and blue alone.

A knock on his door broke Damian away from where he stood staring at his painting. Walking over to the door, he opened it, revealing, unsurprisingly, his roommate on the other side.

"Are you heading home for break or staying here?" Marinette asked without waiting for his usual questioning eyebrow raise.

"Why do you need to know?" Damian asked in response, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because I need to go shopping, and what I plan to get varies between having one mouth to feed and having two mouths to feed," Marinette answered pointedly, earning a huff from the former assassin.

"You're not going home for break?" Damian questioned curiously, leaning his weight against the doorframe.

"Nope. Thanksgiving is an American thing." The bluenette shrugged.

"And? It's still a school break. You can do as you please with the time off." Damian reminded her.

"Mmhm, well, I'm definitely not going back to Paris, but I'll think about visiting home for a little while. Now stop sidetracking the conversation and say whether you're staying or leaving." Marinette states with narrowed eyes.

"I…have yet to decide." Damian eventually admits, averting his eyes away from her bright blue ones.

"That's okay. You still have a day or two to decide. In the meantime, why don't we go spar." The bluenette suggested, offering her hand out to the former assassin, waiting for his response. When Damian rolled his eyes and didn't snap at her, Marinette grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled Damian out of his room and down the hall.

They sparred with each other for who knows how long; until they were both out of breath, laying on the mats. A forearm rested over Damian’s eyes while Marinette just stared at the ceiling.

"You should go home, even just for an hour or two," Marinette recommends, sounding as if she had just run a marathon.

"No." Damian groaned, letting his arm drop from his face down to the mat with a solid thump sound.

"Because you're still mad at them?" Marinette inquired, only to receive a loud smack of a hand hitting the mat in warning from the former assassin.

"Fine, how 'bout another round?" Marinette asked, pushing herself to sit up on the mat, and glancing over at Damian. "Maybe you'll finally be able to beat me." The bluenette jokes, earning another groan from the other heir as he sat up on the mat with a shake of his head.

"The fact that you can best a highly trained assassin during every one of our spars is concerning," Damian states plainly as he stood up and moved over to the kitchen.

"You're a highly trained former assassin, Al Ghul." Marinette reminded him, following Damian into the kitchen. "I mean, sure you're still a vigilante, but you hold back too much in your attempts to be less lethal. You weren't trained in incapacitation and capture. You were trained in elimination and maybe information gathering." The bluenette explained, taking the glass of water the former assassin was offering her.

"You're saying I should stop holding back." Damian voiced in confusion, lowering his glass away from his lips.

"Yes and no." The bluenette hummed. "I'm saying that you need to learn how to properly do the task at hand. You need to forget what you were taught as an assassin and relearn what is needed to be a vigilante." Marinette informed him, taking another drink from her cup.

"You are aware that I was already trained to be a vigilante." Damian pointed out.

"While that might be true, the person teaching you was clearly training you on how to use less lethal force, and not how to properly fight as a vigilante." Marinette countered, setting her glass down

"So what, I wasn't taught anything but how to pull my punches? If that's so then who in their right mind would teach me to actually fight? You?" Damian scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

"Sure. We already spar and teach each other weapons. We could easily add in proper vigilante training." Marinette shrugged, washing out her now empty glass before placing it in the dish rack.

"However…" the bluenette trailed off with a slight upturn of her lips.

"What do you want?" The former assassin states more so than asks.

"Go home for Thanksgiving day. You can ignore your family and hide out in your room all you like, but you have to stay the whole day and eat with everyone." Marinette instructed, ignoring the glare being sent her way. "You can leave as soon as the clock strikes midnight if you want. I'll even pick you up on my bike so they won't know you're leaving till you're gone." The bluenette offered.

Blue eyes met green with a glint of amusement.

"Come on Al Ghul, it's your family event and I already let you drag your feet for three hours. It's past time to go." Marinette called from where she was leaning against the doorway.

"I can't be late if the only one expecting me is Pennyworth." The former assassin snarked, meeting the bluenette at the door.

Marinette raised a challenging brow, jingling her keys as her roommate slipped on his shoes.

"Why I ever agreed to this I will never know." Damian sighed.

"I think it had something to do with not wanting to continue getting your ass kicked by someone almost a foot shorter than you." Marinette reminded him with a poorly concealed, small but genuine, smile as she tossed him a protective jacket.

"Dupain-Cheng," Damian calls in warning while the bluenette ignores him and turns away, walking through the doorway.

"Al Ghul." Came Marinette’s answering call as she turned around, walking backward down the hall. Her hands clasped behind her back, keys clinking together with each step.

Damian rolled his eyes, grabbing his unused set of house keys before trailing after his roommate and her taunting key jingles until they reached the elevator. The two heirs waited patiently for the machine to reach their floor, stepped inside, waited for it to reach the ground floor, and stepped out. They made their way to the underground student parking garage a little ways away from their specific dormitory, and over to a sleek, matte black motorcycle.

"To review, you can either hide away or hang out with your family, but you have to eat with them, and I'll pick you up at twelve o'clock midnight." Marinette reminds her roommate, handing him a helmet from one of the storage bags.

"Those are the terms we agreed upon," Damian states plainly, putting the helmet on and sliding the face shield into place.

"Alright, let's go." The bluenette huffed, waiting for her roommate to climb onto the bike.

With both heirs situated on the motorcycle, Marinette revved the engine and they were off, racing out of the garage and down the streets. A few traffic laws were ignored in favor of speeding over to the other side of the city. Although, there was nothing anyone could prove seeing as the guardian's magic ran interference, providing anonymity on any camera feed where they should have been caught. The wind whistled as their hearts raced with the adrenaline rush of weaving through traffic at such high speeds in comparison to their usual day-to-day activities in college.

They ended up taking a few detours around the city, delaying their arrival by a few minutes, not that either heir minded. It was as if they hadn’t sped around at a speed that was definitely over the legal limit when they eventually arrived at the gate of Wayne manor. Damian removed one of his hands from around Marinette’s waist to reach into his pocket, clicking the entrance key attached to his house keys as the bluenette slowed the motorcycle's approach. The speed reduction allowed the gate time to open, letting the bike through without the need to come to a complete stop.

Marinette drove the bike down the long pathway past the gate and around the large circular fountain. She circled the old water structure before coming to a stop, shutting off the engine in front of the manor’s front steps.

“Go on. I’ll pick you up at midnight.” Marinette says, gesturing at the door nonchalantly only to suck in a quiet but sharp breath in response to the former assassin tightening his grip on her waist.

“I’ll be holding you to that. Don’t be late, Dupain-Cheng.” The other heir hissed with no real heat behind it, releasing his hold on Marinette as he climbed off of the bike. Damian removed his helmet, tossing it to the bluenette, who caught it easily and put it away in one of the storage bags.

“Oh look, someone’s at the door.” Marinette pointed out with, what was obviously, a fake surprised gasp before revving the engine of her bike and zooming away from the manor, leaving Damian stranded.

“Hey, Dames! I thought you weren’t coming?” Jon greeted, grinning as the former assassin made his way up the front steps.

“I’m here, am I not?” Damian responded, walking past the half-Kryptonian and into the foyer.

“Yeah, you’re here, but who dropped you off?” Jon asked, only to be ignored by the former assassin who was walking away from him.

“Hey! Wait up Dames!” The half alien called out, following his younger friend into the dining hall where the rest of their families were gathered, serving their food and pouring drinks.

For a moment, as the former assassin walked into the room, everyone seemed to pause, chancing a glance at the newcomer. A majority of them looked surprised by the appearance of Bruce’s youngest son, while a few of them seemed unbothered as if they had already known that he was going to show up.

"Uncle Dami!" Mar'i called out excitedly, predictably tackling Damian into a koala hug. "Dad said you weren't gonna be here, but I said you had to because it’s thanksgiving time and I was right!” The half-Tamaranean laughed in triumph.

“Mar’i, come along little bumgorf. You may play with little D after you have eaten.” Kor’i instructs, ushering the little half alien to her seat at the dining table.

“Awww, but Uncle Dami only just got here!” Mar’i whined, releasing her grip she returned her feet to the floor, walking over to take her seat as Mar’i’s mother placed the half Tamaranean’s plate in front of her.

“And it is only noon. You will have plenty of time to play with little D after you have eaten. Alright, little bumgorf?” Kor’i reminded her, receiving a pout from Mar’i but a nod of the half Tamaranean’s head nonetheless.

“I am pleased you made it little D. Mar’i was upset upon hearing that you might not be coming for the thanks of givings.” The Tamaranean woman explained with a smile, ruffling his hair before going back to grab her own dish of food for lunch.

Damian scowled, fixing his hair. He glared at his oldest brother, taking in a deep breath, even, breath, calming his already buzzing nerves. Something told the former assassin that this was going to be a long day.

By the time midnight rolled around, Damian had to carefully extract himself from a rather chaotic game of monopoly that was more swearing than actual negotiation and business deals.

“Where’re you heading?” Connor asked from where he had settled on an armchair away from the chaotic game fighting; next to the doorway.

“Where do you think?” Was the former assassin's sarcastic response as he slipped on his shoes and jacket.

“I think you’re leaving with that motorcyclist that just pulled up,” Connor answered honestly with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Then you aren’t as idiotic as you look.” Damian scoffed walking into the foyer, he opened the front door, ignoring the questioning calls from the family members that had followed him out of the living room.

“You’re late.” The former assassin states, walking up to the motorcyclist's side.

“It’s eleven fifty-nine. I’m technically early.” The bike rider pointed out jokingly, tossing a helmet to Damian that he caught with ease.

“Let’s go.” The assassin heir ordered, climbing onto the back of the bike, and off they went with a rev of the motorcyclist’s engine, without so much as a glance back at the family members that now stood in the manor entryway from where they had been investigating what the youngest Wayne had been up to.

The manor faded into the distance as the two roommates sped through the city, making their way back to their college dormitory, or more specifically, the parking garage of their college dormitory. The bluenette parked her bike in the same spot she always does, shutting off the engine.

“You didn’t tell them that you weren’t spending the night, did you?” Marinette asked, removing her helmet, she looked backward, over her shoulder, as she stayed straddling the seat.

“It was none of their business, so why would I?” The former assassin scoffed, removing his own helmet and placing it in the appropriate storage bag. He did the same for the bluenette’s helmet, taking it from her hands, he climbed off her bike and put it away.

“You don’t. It would have just kept your overly paranoid family from worrying.” Marinette shrugged and climbed off her bike.

“Come on. We still have to grab our stuff from the dorm before heading out.” Marinette reminded her roommate, only to receive a roll of the eyes from him.

“I aware, Dupain-Cheng.”

“Then let’s go.” Marinette hurried, grabbing onto the edge of Damian’s sleeve, having made sure to have kept her hand within his line of sight. The bluenette tugged on the fabric as she began to walk away from the bike. The former assassin followed, falling into step with her, walking side by side as the two made their way back to their dorm room.

They walked into the dormitory, took the elevator up to the seventh floor, and walked down the hallway to the door labeled eight-three-one. Damian unlocked the door, pushing it open, he allowed Marinette to walk in first, following right behind her into their dorm. The two heirs grabbed their bags from where they had been left in Marinette’s and Damian's separate rooms, meeting back up in the middle of the hall, right outside both of their rooms.

“You have everything I told you to pack, Al Ghul?” The bluenette asked, taking out a dark dusky pink marble that had a slight glow to it.

“Of course I do.” The former assassin scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

Blue eyes narrowed at her roommate, looking him over as if to double-check that he had everything without looking in his bag.

"No, you don't. Here." Marinette says, pulling out a black leather cord choker that holds a single metal bead. "It'll translate the langue into one you'll understand." She explains, handing it over to the former assassin and waiting for it to be put on.

"You're wearing that necklace." Damian pointed out, sparing a glance at the sliver serpent and pendant that decorated her neck.

"We are staying at the temple." The bluenette reminded him, grabbing Damian's sleeve once he was done putting on the choker.

“Now we can go,” Marinette muttered under her breath, dropping the marble on the floor. She stomped on it the second the marble hit the floor.

One moment they were in the hallway of their dorm room, the next, they were standing outside a large decorative yet sturdy and protective gate.

“We aren't in Kansas anymore, Al Ghul,” Marinette joked, pushing the gates open with what was definitely an inhuman amount of strength. “Welcome to the Order of Guardians.” The bluenette says, gesturing for them to keep walking.

The Order was both exactly what he expected and nothing like he had thought it would be. The buildings, clothes, accessories, and food were all clearly of Asian descent, but from which specific area was hard to pick out. If Damian were to take a guess he would probably say that this village took its culture from a little of everywhere that surrounds it. It’s a large gated village that surrounded a large temple. There were a few smaller temples as well, scattered around the village, but that wasn’t where the two heirs were going. They were heading straight for the main temple.

Villagers that the two heirs passed on their way to the main temple were whispering among themselves. A few recognized the bluenette for who she was and bowed their heads when she walked by. Others pointed out their very obvious outside clothing, wondering what brought the outsides or who let them inside the village.

“High Priestess?” One of the guards standing outside the main temple door greeted them questioningly.

The bluenette tilted her head to the side curiously, once again grabbing onto her roommate’s sleeve.

“Sheng, I wasn’t aware that you finished your training.” Marinette greeted in return, bowing her head ever so slightly.

“That’s because I just graduated, today’s my first da-” The first guard was cut off by an elbow to his side from the second guard that had been standing on the other side of the doorway. “err I mean, greetings High Priestess, I shall alert the elders of your arrival.” Sheng greeted her properly, ducking inside the temple to do what he said he would.

The second guard chuckled.

“Forgive him, High Priestess. He still has a lot to learn.”

“I’m not a fan of formality and you know it, Qin.” The bluenette huffed. “While it is nice to see the both of you, I do have to go greet the elders and introduce my guest,” Marinette says, tugging on said guest’s sleeve.

“Of course, High Priestess, pardon the interruption.” The older guard, Qin, apologized with a fist over his heart and a bow of his head.

Marinette sighed and led Damian into the temple.

“Is that how I should expect most interactions, here, to go?” The former assassin asked, glancing at the bluenette.

“Oh no.” Marinette snorts. “It gets worse.” She says without any further explanation, guiding them through the maze that was the temple halls.

Eventually, they come to a stop outside a large door that had two guards standing on each side. All four guards bowed with a fist placed over their hearts.

“I hope you remember your manors from your time with the Shadows, Al Ghul,” Marinette mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Damian to hear as one of the two closer guards pushed the door open, holding it to allow the two heirs through.

The room on the other side of the door held a long, tall table with all nine elders sitting in their designated spots. Each elder looked between the two as they entered the room and the guard closed the door behind them.

“High Priestess, it is an honor and a surprise to have you with us this afternoon.” The elder in the center of the long table greeted her with a bow of his head, and the other elders followed suit, bowing their heads.

“Junior Elders Lu, Zen, Lei, Zhao, Fu, Tao. Elders Fang, Tang, and High Elder Cheng.” Marinette greeted with a bow of her head. “I thank you for your greetings and wish you Tikki’s blessings and Plaggs mercies.” The bluenette offered, raising her head.

“And we thank you for your kindness, High Priestess.” The elder that sat in the center of the table, High Elder Cheng, said in return. “How long will your visit be?”

“My guest and I will be staying in the temple until noon this coming Monday,” Marinette answered, causing attention to shift to her roommate.

“And who is this guest of yours, High Priestess?” High Elder Cheng questioned with a raised brow.

“This is Damian Al Ghul,” Marinette introduced, pleased with the slight head bow that the former assassin was willing to offer.

“Al Ghul, you say.” High Elder Cheng repeated with an impassive facial expression.

“I assure you High Elder Cheng, while I am that Al Ghul, I don’t intend to cause any trouble,” Damian explains easily, unbothered by the skeptical looks the other elders were giving him.

“...well, so long as you aren’t causing trouble for the order, we take no issue with your being here, Al Ghul.” High Elder Cheng decides, sending a look to the one or two other elders that looked like they wanted to protest. “Please, enjoy your stay.”

With that, the two heirs took their leave from the room full of elders. Marinette used the next three days to run Damian through all of the basics. She would make him restart whatever lesson they were working on if he used a move or technique outside of the skill set Marinette taught him.

While he was making progress, it was slow and repetitive with how often they would have to restart from the beginning. The few breaks that the two heirs were forced to take for meals, sleep, and the two lotus ceremonies on Saturday and Monday were most likely the thing keeping the former assassin from snapping at the guardian for making him restart. Which, to be fair, was actually his own fault and Damian knew it, even if he didn’t want to admit it out loud.

A few hours after Monday’s lotus ceremony it became noon, meaning it was time for them to go back to school. If Marinette and Damian were lucky, then they would end up falling asleep as soon as they got back to their dorm, maybe getting six or seven hours of sleep before they actually had to go to class.

It was midnight when the two heirs arrived back in their dorm room. They took turns using the bathroom to shower and brush their teeth, changing into pajama clothes, and attempting to sleep. As it turned out, lucky they were not. Neither of them ended up falling asleep, tossing and turning in their beds, unable to fall asleep. Instead, the two heirs ended up in the kitchen, a kettle of water had been set on the stove for tea, and now they sat at the kitchen island, waiting for it to boil.

“So, how did you like staying at the temple?” The bluenette asked, not bothering to lift her head up from where it rested on her crossed arms that lay on top of the counter.

“Small talk, really? That’s unlike you, Dupain-Cheng.”

“And yet, here I am doing it, so answer my question.” Marinette huffed, rolling her head to the side so she could glare at Damian.

“It wasn’t horrible.” The former assassin answered halfheartedly.

“Al Ghul.” Marinette groaned.

“What?”

“Just answer the question.” the bluenette huffed.

“I did.” Damian pointed out with a smirk, earning another glare.

“Fine.” The former assassin conceded. “I disliked the way everyone would act around you. It reminded me too much of how people from the league would act around my grandfather, mother, and I.” Damian shrugged. “Otherwise it was alright. The foods and drinks were good, the clothes were comfortable and well made, although, the large number of accessories and jewels they would put you in for the ceremonies seemed a bit much,” he admitted.

“Mmm, yeah I agree about the accessories, but I can’t really complain. Most, if not all of the things that they decorate me with are what’s expected of the crowned High Priest or Priestess to wear, although, the Priestesses usually end up with more decorations and feminine outfits than the Priests, who get boxier, more masculine outfits.” Marinette explained, only to be interrupted by the screech of the tea kettle.

They do end up falling asleep eventually. It just so happens that they fall asleep in their third class, not during the hours they spent talking about the annoyances of clothing that was chosen for them, and the way that they had to act and talk as the heir of their respective organization. In all honesty, a majority of the time before school was spent talking about what their families expected of them for being born to their specific bloodlines, and how exhausting it all was.

No one bothered to wake the two sleeping students up, not even the teacher. Instead, they were woken up by the loud, obnoxious school bell, signaling the dismissal of any currently active classes. Both heirs jolted awake at the sound, looking around the classroom, taking back in their surroundings.

Marinette groaned, dropping her head back onto Damian’s shoulder.

“Get up. We can sleep once we’re back at our dorm room.” The former assassin reminded her, jerking his shoulder to force the bluenette off of it.

"Al Ghul, we’ve been up for the past twenty-four hours and only just got an hour, hour and a half of sleep.” Marinette pointed out, dropping her head onto the desk.

With a sigh, Damian stood up, grabbed their school bags, and crouched down next to Marinette’s chair. He grabbed her arms and draped them over his shoulder, prompting the bluenette to blink at him a few times before piecing it together by herself.

“You don’t have to-” The bluenette attempted to protest only to be interrupted.

“You’re right. I don’t. However, I’m already offering, so just climb on and shut up.” Damian instructed, and after a second more of hesitation, Marinette climbed onto his back.

“Thanks,” Marinette mumbled into his neck, her head lolled to the side, resting on his shoulder as she drifted back to sleep.

Damian carries her back to their dorm room, dropping their bags off by the door. He brings the bluenette over to her room but stops in the doorway a moment after having opened the door, debating whether entering her room to put Marinette on the bed would be considered entering Marinette’s personal space without permission. Then again, Marinette was currently asleep on his back with her head tucked to his neck, so he wasn’t quite sure what did and did not count as personal space at the moment.

“Ya gonna stand there all day kid?” A voice from inside the room asked, causing Damian to take a step back in caution of the possible threat.

“Jeez kid, no need to be so stiff.” The voice laughed as a small floating black cat-like creature came into view.

“Plagg, stop scaring him. We’re supposed to play nice, remember?” A new voice scolded the cat-like being, as a red bug of some sort with a black dot on her forehead zoomed up next to the first voice.

“Yeah, well, you’re scaring the kid just as much as I am, so it’s fine, Sugarcube.” The black cat-like being point out with what seemed to be a shrug.

“Right,” the red bug winced, turning her attention to Damian. “I’m Tikki, kwami of creation, fortune, and order, tethered to the ladybug miraculous. It’s nice to meet you.” The newly introduce kwami greeted him. “Come in, you can just put Marinette on her bed, she won’t mind.”

“Okay.” Damian nodded skeptically, stepping into the room, he walked over to the bed, and sat down on the edge, removing Marinette’s arms from around his neck, he got up and gently laid the bluenette down onto her side.

A few more flying creatures came out of nowhere and flew over to Marinette. The beings landed on the pillows, and blankets, some even landed on the bluenette herself, and curled up, seemingly joining Marinette in her sleep. Seeing as none of the creatures were hurting Marinette, Damian stepped out of the room and across the hall into his own room, where he promptly collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

Damian ended up sleeping until the alarm letting him know it was time to leave for his first night class went off. A whole seven hours of sleep later, Damian still felt exhausted but got out of bed nevertheless. He changed into a clean set of clothing before leaving his room and heading for the kitchen to throw together a quick meal, only to find out that his roommate had already made food.

"It was my day to cook." Damian pointed out but didn't protest the warm plate or cup he was handed.

"And I got more sleep than you and have energy reserves I can pull from. Besides, It's one meal." Marinette shrugged, taking a seat next to him with her own warm plate of food and cup of tea.

"Then you won't mind me making breakfast in the morning," Damian asked, raising a challenging brow.

"Be my guest, but I will warn you, we need to make a run for the grocery store after tomorrow's morning classes," Marinette informed him, letting the conversation trail off from there as they continued eating.

Once they were done, Damian took to cleaning the dirty dishes, while Marinette dried the dishes he put in the dishrack and put them away.

"What are kwamis, and why haven't I heard of them if they are tethered to the miraculi?" The former assassin asked, watching out of the corner of his eye as his roommate almost dropped the plate she had been drying in surprise.

"Which one was it?" The bluenette asked with a tired groan.

"What?"

"Which kwami introduced themself, I'm assuming this was when you dropped me off on my bed."

Damian gave a nod of his head in confirmation.

"Tikki was the one who introduced themself after scolding the one they called Plagg."

Marinette rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, used to the antics her kwamis usually got up to.

"Yeah, go figure it would be those two." The bluenette sighed, picking up a new dish to dry off. "To answer your question, a kwami is a god of an abstract concept, and while there is an unknown number of kwamis, there are only nineteen that have been tethered to the pieces of jewelry you know as mircauli," Marinette explained, putting the dish away and grabbing the next one.

"The reason that no one outside of the Order knows about the kwamis is that the guardians have worked incredibly hard to keep it that way. Our job as guardians is to protect the kwamis because they are, in essence, slaves to the wielder of their specific miraculi, and when a guardian fails to protect the kwamis, we end up with a situation like what happened in Paris." The bluenette informs him, grabbing the last dish that needs to be dried off from the dishrack.

"I can see why the creatures that power the miraculi being slaves to the wielder would be kept a secret." The former assassin acknowledged, letting the conversation trail off from there as they moved on to getting ready to leave for class.

Now that Damian knew about the kwamis, Marinette saw no reason why they would need to continue to be locked up in her room, so she allowed them free range of the dorm apartment, which may or may not have been a mistake. One thing was for sure, their dorm was now always buzzing with movement or chatter. The once quiet apartment was no more as the kwamis flew about the dorm but mainly stay in the kitchen where they discovered that Marinette's roommate would give them snacks and treats if he saw them in the area while he was there.

Another month goes by and their school was let out for winter break. The topic of whether or not they would be going home was once again brought up to each other. However, this time the topic was brought up in a completely different way than it had been for thanksgiving break, it was brought up by Damian instead of Marinette.

“What are you doing for break, and would you be opposed to being kidnapped?” The former assassin questioned, taking a seat at the kitchen island, watching the bluenette move around as she prepared their dinner.

“Uhm… I wasn’t planning on going home this break, and what exactly do you mean by being kidnapped?” Marinette asked in return, only spearing a glance at her roommate before going back to work.

“...My family keeps asking about who dropped off and picked me up from the manor for thanksgiving. So far, I’ve taken to ignoring them or temporarily blocking them. However, I figured it would be best to just introduce you so they would stop with their insistent messages." Damian explained, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned against the countertop.

"Oh, that's what you meant by kidnapping? I thought you meant by one of the rogues, or your mother's side of the family." The bluenette laughed, earning a roll of the eyes from the former assassin. "Sure I'm fine with meeting them. What day were you thinking?"

"From the twentieth to the seventh."

Marinette paused mid-chop, looking up at Damian with furrowed brows.

"That's the entirety of winter break." The bluenette pointed out, earning a raised brow from the former assassin.

"Technically that would be four days into break, not the entirety of it." He corrected, causing Marinette to set her knife down instead of throwing it like she most likely wanted to.

"Al Ghul," Marinette said in a tired, clipped tone, narrowing her eyes at her roommate.

"Yes, Dupain-Cheng?" Damian answered.

Green eyes met blue in amusement.

"Let me get this right. You want me, to meet, and I'm assuming stay with, your family for the entirety of winter break?"

"Again, not the entirety of break, but otherwise, yes that would be correct."

Marinette groaned, breaking eye contact to instead stare up at the ceiling.

"It's for all but four days, Al Ghul. It might as well be the entirety of it." She pointed out in annoyance, glaring at her smirking roommate. "Wait a minute- you're just asking me to come meet the family you're still mad at, so you don't have to interact with them, aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Damian inquired.

The drop of his previously playful tone caused the bluenette to once again meet his eyes.

"That would be fine, so long as you're aware that I will be clinging to you the entirety of my stay, and I mean that both metaphorically and physically," Marinette informs him. "I hate large crowds of unknown people in unknown places, and usually use magic as a comfort, but I'm not risking it in a manor full of bats so I will be using you as a substitute."

"...fine, so long as you give your usual warnings beforehand, I have no problem with it, seeing as the whole reason you will be in that position is that I'm using you." The former assassin conceded.

"Cool, so is there anything I'll need to know or..." Marinette trailed off, picking the knife back up to continue making dinner.

"It might be beneficial for you to be aware of both the Christmas and new year galas you'll be attending with me." Damian pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck.

The abrupt silence of multiple kwamis was so loud that it could be heard as Marinette slammed the knife back down onto the cutting board.

"You're finishing dinner," Marinette states, leaving the kitchen, she disappeared into her bedroom with the slam of her door.

The same kwamis that had yet to make a noise, burst out into rounds of laughter and cackling as some of them went to go check on their guardian.

"Fair enough." The former assassin sighed, stepping down from the kitchen island stool, he rounded the counter and moved over to the sink, washing his hands before walking back over to where the abandoned cutting board sat. He picked up the knife and continued where his roommate had left off.

A few minutes later, a door down the hall opened with a squeak of its hinges, and the bluenette reappeared, walking over to stand in front of her roommate with a pout. This earned her a questioning brow from the former assassin who turned off the stove and stepped away from the hot surface, which just so happened to have brought him further into Marinette's personal space. Taking that as an invitation, Marinette leaned her forehead against Damian's shoulder and just stayed there.

"I'm upset about having to go to a big event full of suck-up rich people," The bluenette admitted as Damian wrapped his arms around her waist, just enough to clasp his hands together. "It's fine, I can do it easily, and have done it in the past. I'm just not a fan of them."

Damian hummed in acknowledgment.

"I could see about having both of us miss the galas?" The former assassin purposed. "I'm more than okay with having an excuse not to attend those events."

"But your family will be attending them?"

"Yes, they will."

"Won't they be upset if you ditch it?" The bluenette stressed.

"It's more likely that they would be annoyed that I have an out, and they do not," Damian explained, pulling away from his roommate, signaling that he was done with physical contact for the time being. "Quit worrying, Dupain-Cheng. Dinners ready." He says, grabbing out two bowls to serve their food in.

The first few days of break come and go until the day Damian said he would be returning to the manor arrived. Both heirs double-checked that they had everything they needed before heading down to the student parking garage.

This time they would be traveling separately, Damian in his car taking their bags, and Marinette on her bike, just in case she wanted to leave at any point during her stay. Which the former assassin gave full permission and encouragement for her to do so if she starts to feel overcrowded or trapped, or even if she just wanted to go out and do something on her own because she can.

They leave for the manor, and despite Marinette's ability to slit lanes, weave through traffic, and speed, she arrives after Damian. His car pulled through the gate and up to the garage instead of the front door. Her bike pulled up behind him a minute or two after Damian was already out of the car and being ambushed by his siblings.

"Hey, you're the one who picked demon spawn up last time." The tallest of the brothers, that seemed to have been waiting for their arrival, pointed out.

"And what of it?" Marinette questioned curiously but uncaring as she removed her helmet. The three brothers seemed to collectively do a double take as she stepped off her bike and put her helmet away in its proper place.

"I was just curious who would be willing to pick the brat up that late at night." The tallest shrugged. "Nice bike, by the way."

"Mm." The bluenette hummed, attempting to grab her bag from Damian, only for him to sidestep her and raise a brow in her direction.

"I can carry it myself." Marinette huffed, walking after the former assassin, unintentionally, or perhaps it was intentionally on Damian's part, leaving the three brothers behind in the garage where they had clearly been waiting with the sole purpose of ambushing their younger brother when he arrived.

"I'm aware." Damian shrugged, moving the bag just out of her reach once more as they headed inside.

"Master Damian, welcome home." An old English man greeted, then turned his attention over to Marinette. "And you must be Miss Dupain-Cheng. It's a pleasure to have you staying with us. I am Alfred Pennyworth, the family's butler."

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." The bluenette greeted with a bow of her head.

"I trust that you will show your guest to her room and around the manor, Master Damian."

"Of course, I can, Pennyworth. Come along, Dupain-Cheng." Damian tsked, leading her past another group of who she assumed to be more members of the former assassin's family.

They walked up to the second floor, ignoring the Wayne family's curious stares, and down a long hall, took a left, walked a little further, and stopped outside one of the doors.

"This is where you'll be staying while we're here," Damian informs her, opening the door to show her inside, as well as dropping her bag off beside her bed.

"My room is the door across from yours if you need anything." He said while gesturing to the door he was talking about. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, one. Is your family just going to stare at me like I'm some kind of alien the entire time, or just until we're properly introduced?" Marinette asked, taking a seat on her bed, she patted beside herself for the former assassin to do the same, and while he tsked in annoyance, Damian complied either way and sat down beside the bluenette.

"Truthfully, I have no idea." He shrugged, earning a hum from his roommate.

“Okay then.” Marinette sighed, standing up off the bed with a stretch of her back. “You can either help me fix this place up or start working your way through your meditation exercises. It’s your choice.” She says, closing the bedroom door.

Damian rolled his eye but picked one of the choices offered to him kicking off his shoes the former assassin moved to sit with his legs crisscrossed, hands resting palms up on his thighs. He breathes in at a slow, even pace while Marinette moves around the room, placing her protection, concealment, and silencing wards that she had prepared the night before so it would be easy to set them up. She used a storage bead made from energy pulled for Wayzz's specialty and sub-specialties to simplify the process while boosting the overall integrity of the spells.

With that taken care of, Marinette moved on to unpacking her clothes and toiletries. A majority of the clothing went to hang up in the closet with her shoes, with a small portion of them folded and placed in drawers. Soaps, hair products, dental care, makeup, and herbal remedies were put in what she deemed the correct location to store these items during her stay.

Once that was taken care of, the bluenette grabbed her sketchbook, and some drawing utensils, taking a seat on the bed in the corner created by having it pushed up against two walls. The movement disturbed where the former assassin sat, and while he did turn his head ever so slightly in her direction, Damian didn't open his eyes or otherwise acknowledge her presence. More importantly, he didn’t move to break from his meditative state.

It was about three hours later when one of the Waynes finally came knocking on her door. The bluenette not bothering to look up from her book, placed a hand on one of the wards, temporarily disabling the silencing charm.

"Come in." She called, dropping her hand off the ward and onto her sketchbook.

One of the brothers from earlier slowly opened the door until they could see each other.

"So this is where you're hiding out." Damian's brother observes, looking around from where he stood, leaning against the doorway.

"Well yeah. It was the quietest place where all of my drawing supplies are, so it made the most sense to stay here instead of making a mess somewhere else. That and this place is full of strangers." The bluenette informed him, innocently blinking up at Damian's brother from her spot on the bed. She was completely ignoring the fact that he was most likely talking to her roommate and not her.

"Ah, right... I'm Damian's oldest brother Richard Grayson, but I go by Dick." Damian's brother, Richard Grayson, introduced himself.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." The bluenette introduced herself in return, looking away from her roommate's brother and back at her sketchbook, done with their conversation. The room fell back into silence.

"...So, how do you two know each other?" Richard asked, once again breaking the room's silence.

"What do you want, Grayson?" Damian states more than asked, finally giving up on his meditation to glare at his eldest brother.

"Oh, so you're done ignoring me now?" Richard inquired, receiving no other answer than the continued glare from his youngest brother.

"Alright, fine," The eldest sighed. "Alfred sent me to say dinner's ready."

"Thank you for letting us know. We'll be down in a bit," Marinette informs him, shooing Richard away from over the top of her sketchbook.

The bluenette only waited until the door closed to turn her attention away from the book and over to her roommate.

"Are we going to be down in a bit?" Marinette asked.

Blue eyes met green with genuine curiosity.

"We are." Damian sighed in defeat, uncrossing his legs, he got up off the bed.

"Okay, then let's go," Marinette encourages, leaving her sketchbook and drawing utensils on the bed, she grabs the sleeve of his shirt, giving a small tug in the direction of the door, they started heading down the hallway, and took a right, went down to the first floor, and walked into the dining room.

A few of the Waynes look to see who was entering the room only for their eyes to trail over to where Damian's roommate was holding onto his sleeve. It's a slight change in body language, but something that the former assassin catches with ease, glaring at each family member. Damian eventually sighs and nudges his roommate.

"Hello, I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Al Ghul's roommate over at G.U." The bluenette introduced herself, walking the rest of the way into the room, Damian leads them over to their seats.

"Wait- really? Blink twice if he's holding you hostage or kidnapped you." The only brother from the garage ambush that had yet to speak, says in such a serious tone that Marinette starts to laugh.

"I mean- technically I was willingly kidnapped?" The bluenette says, earning a glare from her roommate.

"What? That's literally the terminology you used." She pointed out in her defense, which earned a pointed look and an eye roll from the former assassin.

"I'm right, and you can't just roll your eyes every time I am."

"Seeing as you are hardly ever right, I believe I can."

"Uh-huh." The bluenette narrowed her eyes.

"Lemon muffins." She pointed out with a raised brow.

Damian opened his mouth to say something, but his roommate beat him to it, holding up a finger for each thing as she began listing off seemingly random things."Umbrella, headphones, power outage, throwing knif-"

"Okay, you've made your point." The former assassin cut her off.

"Have I, though?"

"Yes. You have." Damian conceded, rolling his eyes.

"You did it again," Marinette smirked, pointing at her roommate with her fork, which earned a side glare and a huff as Damian turned away and went back to eating his food.

"...Well, that was an interesting conversation. Care to explain it for those of us that have no clue what just happened?" A blond girl asked while a few of Damian's family members seemed to second that idea.

The two heirs looked at each other and came to a mutual decision.

"Nope!" "No."

"Aw, not even a little explanation?" She tried again.

"See, I would, but then again, I don't know you, and I have to live with him, so it's a no." Marinette shrugged in a what can you do shrug.

"Oh yeah- sorry, I'm Stephine Brown-Wayne, Cass's- oh uh, Cassandra Cain-Wayne's wife." The blond introduced herself, and the ravenette next to her after a nudge from her wife.

"I already introduce myself, but this is my wife Kor'i and our daughter Mar'i," Richard informed her.

Each Wayne took the time to introduce themself. From oldest to youngest it was Bruce Wayne, the head of the family, and his wife Selina Kyle-Wayne. The unofficial daughter Barbara Gordan, who was a family friend. Then it was Richard and his family, Cassandra and her wife. The second eldest son, Jason Todd, who was rumored to have died a while back, and based on the corrupt life energy clinging to him, the rumors were most likely true. Lastly, it was the second youngest son, Timothy Drake-Wayne, whose husband and his family were visiting their grandparents, so she would have to meet them at a later date.

By the time introductions were over, Marinette and Damian had finished their food and were able to make their escape from the dining hall. The pair left, taking their finished dishes into the kitchen and never returning.

"Ten bucks says they made a run for it." Jason wagered as Kor'i and Dick took Mari away to get ready for bed.

"That's a loser's bet, and you know it." Stephanie snorts with a shake of her head.

"At least we know he's making friends." Barbara pointed out.

"He's made a friend. Singular, not plural, and apparently she's his roommate." Tim notes, leaving to most likely head down to the Batcave.

They eventually all make their way down to the cave. Not for patrol, no, it was to look over the profile Barbara and Tim had started compiling after dinner was over.

"Wait- she's the girl from the Scarcrow incident at the airport?" Dick questions in surprise.

"Yep. She looked familiar so I ran facial recognition through Gotham security cameras, and here she is leaving the airport the day of the attack." Tim explains, switching to the security feed inside the airport during the attack. "And here she is with the same outfit, skin tone, and hair color."

"For whatever reason, the cameras couldn't focus on her face enough for any of our software to recognizer her during our first few look-throughs, but with the facial recognition we traced her back to the airport." Barbara continued.

"Past fighting experience?" Bruce asked with an almost bored tone of neutrality.

"uh- yeah, sort of. She's from Paris, specifically a group of school kids known as the Akuma class, so she's ended up in the middle of a lot of akuma attacks. She was also one of the temporary heroes that got exposed," Tim informs them, pulling the appropriate tabs up on the computer.

"Which one?" Stephine asked in excitement at potentially having another female vigilante.

"Multimouse. She was a literal one-woman army with the ability to create temporary clones that disappeared in a cloud of smoke if they got too damaged." Barbara explained, showing a clip of the pink and grey mouse-themed vigilante going to town on an akuma three times her size.

"Damn." Jason whistled in appreciation, "Her technique is solid, and she's not afraid to fight dirty or hit hard. She knew how to fight before being thrown into a mask. No question about it.”

“That’s not even the most interesting part,” Tim states, finally pulling up Marinette’s personal file.

“She was born in a small village called, Ta-to-sa-so-ke Lo-me-na-la-re, which is the noted pronunciation of the village, by the way.” He explained, stumbling over the name. “I can’t find any translations for the original writing, so it’s safe to assume that this langue is most likely native to this village- but I’m getting sidetracked.”

Tim clicked a few things on the screen, he highlighted the seal that had been stamped onto Marinette’s documents and made them bolder in color so it would be easy to see the image as he adjusted the lighting and contrast of the stamp.

“Voila, the league's crest,” Tim says with lazy little jazz hands. The silence that followed was unnerving.

Patrol went on as normal when the time to head out came. The only real difference was that now all of the bats were the tiniest bit distracted. All of them wondering the same thing.

“Did Damian know that his new friend was, potentially with the league?”

They never ended up asking him as the next day was more chaotic than usual with everyone was rushing around to get ready for the gala. Damian and Marinette were nowhere to be seen for a good portion of the day and it wasn’t until Alfred made the last call to start getting into the limo that the two finally reappeared, both fully dress and ready to go.

With all of the Waynes pilled into the limo, they started the drive over to the venue.

All and all, the night was pretty tame. No one attacked the gala. All of the Waynes were on their best behavior. Really, the biggest thing was that Damain ‘Ice Prince’ Al Ghul-Wayne has a date to the gala, which the Waynes already knew about and had figured during the course of the evening that Damian had most likely invited his roommate, someone he seems to be comfortable with having lived with them for half a year already so that she would act as a deterrent for all of the rich heiresses, and it worked.

Marinette didn’t even seem out of place walking around on Damian’s arm, whispering and laughing with each other, almost as if they were in their own little world. And despite the Waynes' original thinking that Damian probably didn’t know that she had been with the league, it was quickly made clear that he did indeed know, after a longer conversation than they thought would happen, Cassandra gave the all-clear.

When the night ended the Waynes went back home.

This had probably been their calmest gala event. Nothing had gone wrong, their biggest worry was who would be winning the bet of tomorrow’s headline would be since they all knew it would be something revolving around Damian’s ‘mysterious’ date. So now each and every one of the Wayens was wound up, waiting for something to happen, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Morning came and each Wayne made their way into the dining room to eat breakfast, doing their best to ignore the nervous buzz in the air as they waited for the stragglers to join them. Eventually, the girl in question comes walking backwards into the dining hall with Damian a few steps behind her. They were evidently having a conversation during their walk, but cut it off with a slight smile and a roll of the eyes as the realization that they were at their destination settled in.

It was silent as the two sat down. Then, Marinette’s small smile grew into a poorly concealed smirk. She grabbed a muffin and handed it to Damian, who took it without a second thought, taking a bite of the baked good only to choke on it a moment later.

Damian threw the muffin at Marinette, glaring at her with no real heat behind it.

“Hey! No throwing food!” The bluenette laughed, being a complete hypocrite as she threw the muffin back.

Alfred cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention to him before a food fight could break out, knowing how this family is.

“Master Damian, what’s so wrong with the muffin that you’ve decided, throwing it was the best course of action?” The pseudo-grandfather inquired with a raised brow.

Instead of an answer from the youngest Wayne, there was a round of laughter from Cassandra who had a muffin in her hands that was clearly missing a bite. The ravenette gestured for her wife to take a bite, and she does, then promptly starts laughing, which makes the rest of the Waynes curious. One by one, they each ended up with a muffin of their own, well, all but Damian who was totally not sulking in his seat, and definitely wasn’t waiting for the opportunity to make a run for it.

While they didn’t understand what had the two women laughing as hard as they were, the muffins were still really good.

“Would you like a muffin Mr. Pennyworth?” Marinette offers with a smile that was just a touch too sweet.

“I suppose I could indulge just this once.” The butler sighed, taking the offered muffin.

He takes a bite.

“My, these lemon muffins are quite good. Would you be so kind as to share the recipe with me? I have a feeling that they will make a wonderful addition to the breakfast spread, so long as they don’t all end up on the floor.” Alfred says with a pointed look at Bruce’s youngest son.

“Of course, thank you for letting me borrow the kitchen this morning.” Marinette cheered, purposefully ignoring the loud thunk of her roommate’s head hitting the table.

“You told Cassandra and Brown, didn’t you.” Damian accused her, and rightfully so since she did in fact, do just that.

“Whatever gave you that impression?” Marinette asked, blinking innocently, she spared a glance at the two women who started cackling again.

Other than that strange start, breakfast continued without any more events, with the exception of Marinette and Damian leaving briefly to go grab cleaning supplies, clean up their mess, and put the cleaning supplies back away.

Winter break continued. They celebrated Christmas, went to the new years gala, celebrated New Year's, and then the two heirs returned to their dorm apartment to continue the rest of the school year.

January went by in the blink of an eye. Nothing notable happened that month.

February turned the school campus into a bigger gossip mill than usual, with who’s dating who and who’s potentially going to ask who out. Marinette and Damian did their best to avoid all of it, even if they did somehow end up with hundreds of candy grams between the two of them.

March was another boring month, or, well, it was a sort of boring month. There was a weird thing that happened with green smoke bombs and glitter that no one ever figured out who was responsible for it.

April there was an easter egg hunt where you could get extra credit for certain classes. Damian and Marinette teamed up to get their schedule’s eggs a collective thirteen times. It was because of this that they had to announce a last-minute rule that you could only collect one egg per class on your schedule. That didn’t mean that the two heirs didn’t get all of their points, on the contrary, they had an ironic one hundred ten percent in each of their classes now.

May had another school break, and this time they went to the Guardian temple instead of Wayne manor. During this break, Damian spent the majority of his time training while Marinette spent it working as the Crown High Priestess. They didn’t actually get to see each other much or that often, which was definitely strange when they were so used to seeing each other every day.

June is finals season so while the two heirs do get to see each other, they’re both overly busy with schoolwork and don’t have time to just sit down and meditate together or spar. To no one's surprise, they both pass their finals with flying colors. The school year was finally over and let out for the summer. Marinette and Damian were given their warning to either sign up for another year in the doors or start packing, but of course, instead of figuring that out, the first thing the two heirs do is start sparing now that they finally have the time.

It was a good way to get out all of the energy they had stored up, and boy did they have a lot of energy. If it wasn’t for the old blood pact keeping them from injuring each other, they would definitely be covered in large patches of ugly bruises. Eventually, Damian is able to pin Marinette.

“Alright,” The bluenette breathes out, sucking in another gasp of air. “You win.” She admits in defeat, letting her head fall back onto the mat as she stops struggling, looking up at Damian with breathy laughter and a bright smile.

For a moment blue eyes met green, and neither one of them could tell you who leaned in first, just that they did. Their lips met for nothing more than a brush of skin, but then they did it again, and again, and again. A slow and sweet experiment as they leaned into the other’s touch before finally breaking away for a more steady supply of air. They stayed where they were, laying on the sparing mats, foreheads leaning against each other, their hot breaths fanning across the lips of the other.

“This can’t be a one-time thing, Damian, I’m not allowed to date around.” The bluenette reminds him as blue once again meets green.

“I’m aware,” Damian murmurs, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “And it’s not.” He answers, getting pulled into another breathless kiss as Marinette rolls them over with a giggle, smiling down at her roommate.

“I’m assuming we’re dorming together next year too?” The bluenette double-checks.

“Of course.” Damian huffed with a roll of his eyes, pulling her back down for another kiss.

[amonggtheestarss]

Hey Gang

This is gonna be a more unique post than what I usually do but uhm...

See this guy? Black from Rodamrix. I'm gonna talk about them, because they're such a decently portrayed character in my own personal opinion and I believe they deserve more attention than what the fandom gives them (which is like... none.)

With the power of having autism and unnecessarily psycho-analyzing the jellybeans, I see Black as a pretty well assertive character. They're VERY expressive, loud, and is often strongly opinionated on things. If they have something to say, they'll say it. If they want something, they'll do what they can to get it. A decent majority of scenes of Black is them with the >0 expression and I love that aboutthem.

And as I rewatched Rodamrix for like the 2000th time, I noticed one thing.

Remember when I said they were very strongly opinionated on things? This is the one and ONLY time (as of now) Black has ever hesitated to make a decision, which is between voting Yellow or Green out. And when I watched this scene a dozen times, it always confused me because this was so incredibly out of character for Black. Black has been siding with Green this whole time, but suddenly hesitates when forced to decide between Green or Yellow. But why?

Not sure if anyone truly took much notice to this scene, because I for sure didn't. I stupidly saw it as just a "Glitch.Y is trying his best but his best isn't good enough for the crewmates," and I had assumed Black would of shrugged it off as "Man this kid is insane as hell whatever" BUT I DID NOT NOTICE they actually turned around to see the box Glitch.Y was pointing at.

Glitch.Y saved Black's life and they acknowledged it. Their ass got saved by a literal child he saw as a freak. And this is the first time we see them with a face of Genuine Worry.

YOU NEVER SEE THEM WITH THIS SORT OF GENUINE EXPRESSION AGAIN. UNLESS I'M JUST REALLY BLIND. BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BLACK EXPRESSES GENUINE WORRY AND IT'S FOR GLITCH.Y. They've sided with Green this whole time but then has realised that just this once, Green was wrong about something, which was Glitch.Y trying to kill them all. And Black Worried. For once they hesitated, and couldn't bring themself to make such a decision.

And that's just one thing about Black. Small detail, really. They had a moment of hesitation for the first time. Oh well. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.

Green, who is the Skeld Leader goes missing, right? That was their LEADER. They are now without a leader. And who is the first to take initiative and act as next leader?

BLACK DOES.

Yellow tries to take the initiative first, but is torn when Dr White assumes Glitch.Y and Green already dead, so Black immediately takes the lead instead. Black becomes the new, temporary leader for the team when they go to look for Glitch.Y and Green.

They even stand at the front of the team, willing to go forth before them all which would put themself at the most risk. And this isn't arrogance either, they do it GENUINELY. They even waited for Yellow's word before they start walking. They even gave each other the nod to proceed.

And they do a pretty decent job at leading too. They take after Green pretty well, in my opinion.

Altogether, I just feel like Black is a well fleshed out character, especially for someone who's sidelined for the entirety of the series. Everyone talks about Tan, a lot talk about Lime, which both deserve the attention they get of course, but I feel like Black is the most fleshed out side-character in the entire series.

I appreciate how much effort Rodamrix puts into Black's personality. I do hope Cyan gets a bit of a character arc too though. I like to see Black as Cyan to be really close, especially since they share similar personality traits. I just hope the fandom comes to appreciate Black more for his character in the series.

Also, bonus Black Alternate content

(They were actually the last to die out of the Skeld team which I found interesting. Gives into the idea they could've potentially made it out alive had it not been a 2v1. The only reason they got stopped and killed was because Purple came in as they barely escaped Pink.)

(Fun fact, Black's role in the Skeld is actually guarding*, so it'd make sense they watched outside while the others worked to fix the dropship)

(I like how Green looks directly to Black here honestly, might be a part of why Black tends to take after them. Green gives them the their attention first KYEHEHE)

(bro looks like they're trying to intimidate Purple over actually trying to stop them BEHEHEHE)

(And here, they're the first one to say something upon seeing the France Squad (and Mini Yellow))

*From Rodamrix's Instagram, a reference of Black's role here

I hope you guys understand why I like Black as a character a lot now.

Black appreciation post done. Thanks for reading.

[rosazoldyckk]

-Yandere! Alluka X Reader-

⚠️warning⚠️mentions of yandere/obsessive behaviour and clinginess.

Fandom: Hunter X Hunter. Character(s): Alluka Zoldyck, Killua Zoldyck, Gon freecs.

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It was easy to assume that Alluka was always safe. She was so sweet and despite the fact that she shared her body with a Dark Continent creature, she was great company. You could tell her your deepest secrets and she listened to every single one. There was no fear that she would spill them to anyone else and it felt wonderful not to be judged. Because of this most of your time was spent with the young girl. Even Killua joked that you had a stronger bond with Alluka than he did. You denied it, but it seemed that no matter what happened, Alluka was always by your side. It was comforting to see her by your side, but recently you had been longing for daylight. You adored her, but these days her presence was overbearing.

Alluka giggled as she clung to your arm, cuddling into your chest. Shifting was impossible, although she looked like a little girl her strength held you in place. She curled into you, something you had found adorable when she first did it. You knew she didn't mean for it to be as torturous as it was. She wasn't trying to hurt you in any way. And yet you hated the fact that you had to sit here, unmoving, for hours while  Alluka sang and played with your hair.

There wasn't any point in trying to move. She wouldn't even feel your force and would stay locked in place, her light blue eyes smiling up at you. You could complain, but she'd look hurt and you'd relent, resulting in her spending even more time with you. The only time you had to yourself was when Nanika wanted to spend some time with Killua. The entity had become a sense of relief for you as the girl released you from her grasp to find her brother.

You felt bad for how bitter your feelings for Alluka had grown. She only wanted to make you happy. It was clear from the flower crowns she gave you when you rested down under the trees. From the way she melted into every touch you gave her. From the way she would drag out into the garden to show you the flutters of butterfly wings. From how she gazed at every expression you made with a warmth that still surprised you. But even though she meant no harm towards you, everything she did unnerved you in some way.

The flower crowns themselves were sweet, but the shivers that ran down your spine when her nails brushed your scalp weren't. When she melted into your warmth you were unable to move, not wanting to face her pouting face of her loud wailing. You didn't want to see the butterflies, you didn't want to go help her find Killua, but there wasn't any way to escape her or surely Nanika would get involved. You had to constantly be good, as if every action was monitored. There was no way out of her presence. She was suffocating you and she didn't even know it.

"Y/N, are you alright? You look so sad." Alluka asked as her hand had moved to cup your face, concern evident in her eyes. Her fingertips traced the outline of your jaw. There was an inquisition in the way she tilted her head.

"I'm okay, Alluka. I've just been a little distracted as of late. Theres nothing's wrong, I promise." You faked a smile. "Hm...alright then!" She said gladly and nuzzled into the crook of your neck, giving a sigh of relief as she rested. You leaned back, one of the small movements you could actually do. It was interrupted by the door sliding open to reveal Killua.

"Hey Y/N how are you and Alluka doing?" Killua asked. Curiosity filled his tone and he likely wondered how Alluka was so comfortable around you so quickly.

"Yes we are both fine, just resting that's all," you answered, giving a small nod to the boy.

"Good, cause me and Gon are about to go on a super  special mission. I'll tell you what's happening on the way there," Killua lowered his voice as his eyes dipped to Alluka peacefully resting on your body "The mission is supposed to be really fun but it's going to be super risky as well, so it's alright if you don't want to come with." Killua's hushed.

"I'd love to go with you guys. C'mon let's go," you answered with a nod.

You tried to lift yourself from the floor, expecting Alluka to allow to leave but her weight encased you. You squirmed against her, but she didn't let go of your wrists. She didn't even lift her head up to address the situation, opting to trap you beneath her.

"I don't want Y/N to go!" Alluka whined as her grip tightened on your wrist, causing you to hiss in pain. "I want Y/N to stay here with me! I want to keep Y/N safe here with me!"

"Alluka, please. This is important. You have to let go of me," you said, trying to sound as patient as you could, "No! I don't want you to leave! you shouldn't go if it's going to be dangerous! Please stay here with me!" Alluka complained as she pulled you into her with an even harder grip. Her stance grew protective and you hadn't noticed earlier how her pupils grew into slits at the word danger. Her arms had coiled around your waist and her head moved from her favorite spot of your neck to glare at her big brother.

"Big brother, if you let Y/N go, then I will hate you forever and ever." Alluka growled. Causing Killua to back away in shock. He had never seen his little sister behaving so possessive before. It was like a predator protecting it's young.

"A-Alluka..." Killua stuttered, too stunned to form a coherent sentence. He looked over to you for any hope of guidance, but you were also appalled at the girls sudden behaviour.

You had seen how Alluka would glare at others in extreme situations. It was a sign of annoyance. Killua flinched, surprised that his little sister would act such away.

"Alluka," you pleaded, "do not speak to your big brother like that again. And please don't need to worry. I've been on lots of dangerous missions before, I'll be safe, I promise!" Alluka was unmoved by your words, still pouting and holding on to you with her strength. Pain bloomed in your abdomen as her grip grew suffocatingly tight.

"H-hey Alluka stop squeezing them so tight! They won't come on the mission alright?!" Killua yelled.

Alluka eased her grip and her eyes softened as they turned to you.

"M-maybe it's best if you both just stay here while me and Gon are gone, it's probably safer anyways. We'll get you guys some souvenirs," Killua mumbled dolefully as he walked back to Gon.

You had seen Alluka worry over you and she always ran to save you from the heat of danger with the help of Nanika, but she had never spoken to her big brother like that. You couldn't help but stare, shock and horror scrawled over your face like a tattoo. She giggled one again and pressed her face against your collarbone, hands running over your back before settling between the strands of your hair. You wondered if she was trying to comfort you or herself. You couldn't help but embrace her back. Despite everything, she would protect you. She would save you from peril. You could deal with the pain of entrapment in exchange for safety. "Now we have all the time in the world Y/N! Isn't that awesome?" Alluka hummed against your clavicle, giving kisses to your skin. As her ocean eyes reflected a pure intense love you wondered if maybe this life wouldn't be so bad after all.

[aha-chuu]

Alhaitham ships I like and respect

I realise I typically only post about Kavetham but I actually love a lot of Alhaitham ships (my mans deserves all the love). Here's a list and my reasons for shipping them, because I just got home from uni and I'm bored. These are all ships that I like, the rating is just "how would this realistically go?".

1) Kaveh/Alhaitham

Getting this one out of the way cos <3 we know. I really enjoy their bickering dynamic and they both have very strong personalities, which I adore. That's why I feel the need to be more picky with the fics I read, actually, cos sometimes people write one of them very uncharacteristically just so they don't have to deal with writing two characters with uh *checks notes* personalities lol.

They are both babygirl and they are both Problems. I think their relationship would be undefined but exclusive - neither of them say they're dating, but they've also never sleep around with other people. I kinda like the hc that Kaveh got around a bit more before they met/started their situationship, but I also vibe with the idea that he lied and told Alhaitham he was "oh so experienced" just to one up him.

Rating: 9/10

2) Cyno/Alhaitham

Hehe this one's an oldie but a goodie. So here's the thing: back in 3.1, this was The Sumeru ship. Cynari was also there , definitely, but there was a loud fandom quite obsessed with the enemies to lovers trope. Which! Some people call Kavetham enemies to lovers, wrong, they never had a fistfight; they're just rivals and lovers.

Anyway, Cyno and Alhaitham are a great ship cos we have battle boyfriends with an eventual soft dynamic. I especially love in Act 5 of the archon quest, when they continue to disagree but they're on the same side - Cyno is very against Alhaitham's reckless plan. They have a lot of contrast in their approaches to life, but at this point they have mutual respect for one another that I think could develop beautifully.

The only issue i have with their dynamic is that I struggle to imagine how they would end up together. Maybe after a fight, one of them almost dies and so there's a dramatic kiss?? I don't think Alhaitham would be so romantic tbh, and Cyno is more likely to be very straightforward with a confession, but I think he might not be honest about his feelings in order to focus on Justice™.

Rating: 7/10

3) Dehya/Alhaitham

Yes. I also occasionally like f/m ships. My issue with this one is simply that I ship Dehya with Dunyazarad more, so I think this would be a more one sided crush on Alhaitham's part. I have a hc that he's just, into claymore users. Dehya serves cunt and beats people up and Alhaitham is like "pls come back to the Akademiya, you're so so cool <3".

Maybe I have a crush on Dehya. Maybe that's the issue hm.

I can't see Dehya dating him or Alhaitham really wanting to date her - just a little crush and then a good friendship.

Rating: 10/10 for vibes, 3/10 for practicality

4) Nilou/Alhaitham

Consider: Nilou is cute. Alhaitham is cute. She thinks he's a cool treason-man and he thinks she's the only person as crazy as he is for immediately agreeing to the dangerous plan everyone else took 80% of the run time complaining about.

Would they actually ever date? I think they'd hold hands once, but then figure out very quickly that they have almost nothing in common. Alhaitham would want a more headstrong person to counter his bluntness, and Nilou would find his introversion frustrating in a dating context.

Rating: 4/10

5) Tighnari/Alhaitham

I sort of see this dynamic as the healthiest version of opposites attract on this list. Now, they're both stubborn bastards, however - where I think Alhaitham and Kaveh lose all braincells upon being in the same room, I think Tighnari and Alhaitham maintain their intelligence.

I like the idea that post archon quest they shared an infirmary room in the Birmastan (Alhaitham via head trauma, Tighnari for his untreated lightning strike lol). They both quickly get fed up with their friends' overprotectiveness and kick the likes of Cyno and Kaveh out. They are both Akademiya graduates who've kind of denounced the Akademiya, Tighnari by quitting to become a forest ranger and Alhaitham by phoning in his entire career :')).

So they get to talking since they only really knew each other through Kaveh previously, and then they vibe doing their own thing when they get bored of conversation. I think they'd understand each other pretty well, and Alhaitham would brush off Tighnari's nagging and Tighnari find Alhaitham's abrasiveness endearing, since he's not an idiot.

Rating: 7/10

However, the context I most like them in is -

6) Kaveh/Alhaitham/Cyno/Tighari

I am an 4ggravate girlie. I love a good poly ship and these guys work very well.

Basically just a combination of everything I've already said:

Alhaitham & Kaveh and Cyno & Tighnari are both in situationships. These are open relationships.

Alhaitham and Cyno (who didn't previously know each other well) start seeing one another in a new light when they're stuck in the desert together for a month fighting against the sages. Feelings ensue.

After the drama, Kaveh realises he wants to make the situation with Alhaitham more concrete because he was worried. He also hangs out with Cyno a lot after Alhaitham and Tighnari kick them out of the infirmary.

So many high stakes and the close companionship makes it so they're all sort of on board with trying a poly sitch. Tighnari seems the type to bring it up first, to Cyno and then to Alhaitham and Kaveh.

Cyno likes the idea but worries a bit that Kaveh and Alhaitham's dynamic would get in the way of an actually healthy relationship.

Alhaitham is a bit iffy cos like - free time, introversion etc, but he does think it would be a good idea to test it out.

Kaveh is pretty totally on board cos all his friends are super hot, though he says "I should have tried using a foursome to force Alhaitham out of his shell ages ago" which actually delays the process quite a lot :'))

Rating: 10/10, Alhaitham gets three boyfriends I cannot see any issues

[kayetra-spade-queen]

Danny Phantom

There's not much change in name, but I intend to use what the fandom come up for his middle name (at least I think that's what the fandom agreed on? I might be wrong).

Daniel James Fenton.

Daniel, his actual full first name.

James, is what I remembered the name the fandom agreed upon, or at least some of it.

Fenton, his family name. There's nothing for me to explain about.

Also, a friend pointed out that I have a habit of giving things dramatic names (I'd say the influence of Genshin is strong af-). I do have a habit of making something to be more extreme than it was when it was originally made, so please don't mind it.

Relationships:

Maddie and Jack:

They're still the goofy and quirky parents Danny and Jazz had, but was smarter, more understanding and compassionate compared to the original. Knew Danny turned into ghost and the portal incident, more like they were also witnesses of that said incident. The sound of his scream of agony and pain manage to pull out nightmares for the both of them on several nights. However, that doesn't waver their love for their son. Sure, he may become half of the being they're hunting down for the sake of studies or something, but that doesn't erase the fact that this ghost child is their child, their little baby who unfortunately fell into the abyss of their own mistakes and neglect. They assists Team Phantom many times when it comes to the supply and whatever knowledge they have currently and are still expanding beyond their current understanding for the sake of learning to find a solution that wouldn't harm either side of the plane.

Jazz:

Nothing much different compared to the canon, except she was also a witness to the incident. Her overprotectiveness tenfold, much to Danny's dismay, and it took a lot of time for them to find a common ground and for her to tone down. There's nothing much different in this version compared to the original.

Sam, Tucker:

Danny's friends since elementary. Their relationship is pretty much the same as they are in canon, but what's different is that Danny and Sam doesn't harbor feelings for one another (I apologize for those who ship Amethyst Ocean), and therefore they aren't in any other relationship other than best friends.

Valerie:

Danny's relationship with Valerie is very contradictive compared to their relationship in canon. First and foremost; Valerie listens to people more than just act out and shutting her ears out, yes she sometimes act out first questions later, but she had made pretty good judgements and know that nothing good happens when jumping to conclusions too quickly and taking everything at face value without knowing the full story. She and Danny became friends during freshman year of middle school, and although Valerie still somewhat in the 'popular' clique in their school, she'd prefer to spend time with the Team Phantom any time. She could be considered the hub of all gossips at school with how much information she gets from the most loud and chatty clique of the whole school.

Dani/Elly, Dan/Ozzy:

Dani: The first ever semi-success clone of Danny made by Vlad. Nothing really is different in their relationship, until Dani was in the most critical condition that had something to do with her unstable ectoplasm, which required her to have to be revert to a some sort of fetus and undergo a process similar to normal human pregnancy, but instead of putting the halfa fetus into Danny, it was put inside of a bottle first before a birthing pod when the halfa child became more mature and resembles a newborn. In turn, she'll be reborn back as purely Danny's child (think about Ben who asexually reproduced, but went through a completely different process) without any of her past memories in place. The art and technology of doing this process remains undisclosed. Her new identity became Eleanor Maria Fenton with the nickname "Elly", and she became the ghost princess by right of birth after her "rebirth".

Dan: Their relationship remains the same until Danny decided to properly take care of Dan (before the de-aging). Think of it like a Nahida-Scaramouche/Wanderer relationship. Although it was a painfully grueling process, Danny was patient and really think about Dan and his freedom and his disoriented characteristics at heart and tried to the best of his abilities to help Dan out through it all. However, it turns out the ectoplasm from Vlad's half in Dan was found out to have a corruption, making Dan going through an excruciating pain and suffering. In order to cleanse the corruption entirely, Dan have to go through the same process as Dani, reverting him back to that of a fetus, born now as a halfa, and restart everything from scratch. His new identity became Kalos Marcus Fenton with the nickname "Ozzy", becoming the ghost prince by right of birth after his "rebirth". He and Elly had became twins in this current life.

Cujo:

The ghost dog that Danny found outside the building of Axion Labs (no, he didn't went in and wreck the place, because I'm twisting some things in Shades of Gray because Valerie is part of Team Phantom from the start). The dog looked lost, confused, as if it doesn't know what to do, so Danny decided to take the dog in and brought him home. After a while, he realized the tag on the dog's collar, and figured that this dog at some point was a staff at Axion Labs or maybe someone related to someone who works at the lab, and decided to check what's the deal with the dog and the lab. Danny later found out that the ghost dog, along with other dogs before (he didn't know if the other staff dogs are also dead, but he'll have to check it up later) are used to be guards dogs decades ago, but they were let down when technology became more efficient. The dog canals, food bowls, and other stuff are being put in an abandoned storage space that was completely sealed off. But a single toy stood out to him, a squeaky toy. Since this is the only toy in the whole room, Danny assumed this might've belonged to the ghost dog he found, so he decided to go back home and hoping this is the item that the dog was looking for to the point of waiting outside the walls of the lab for, which thankfully it was. However, instead of going back to the Ghost Zone, the dog decided to stay, and Danny became his owner after asking Maddie and Jack (to which both agreed). Cujo became his name.

Vlad:

Good god, where do I even begin... Ok, I guess I should start that their relationship is a lot worse than in canon. Yes, he still had that hatred towards Jack, but he also hated Maddie as the miniature portal was also her creation as it is to Jack's. By extent, he hated both of their kids too (unreasonable? Yes, but anything goes for me-), but particularly Danny due to his status as a halfa and the many connection he had between the living plane and the Ghost Zone. Dani's creation wasn't because he wanted a perfect son, it was an attempt to use the clones as an army to attack Danny. Dan's creation was literally a succeeded version of Vlad's plan. Vlad figured that the only way to really hurt Maddie and Jack, was to hurt their beloved youngest, the more pain the better he said. Vlad was so deep into his hatred towards the Fentons, morality was completely out the window and down the drain for him. Every attempt was another way for him to destroy the Fentons of what they did to him, he wasn't willing to talk whatsoever, even an attempt would've been futile instead. Due to me completely erasing Phantom Planet from existence, Vlad was still roaming free under the facade of a good natured mayor while scheming to get rid of the Fentons by any means necessary. His ectoplasm became corrupted due to many times it was used to experiment dangerous creations and many mysterious methods. However, Vlad could withstand it due to his overflowing amount of sheer hatred, while Dan couldn't handle the corruption due to having Danny's DNA.

Manny:

A fellow member of the Nicktoons Team. Manny (alongside Jenny) joined much later. They started out as acquaintances then friends, then after a while, they both started a relationship. Manny's life became even more interesting by the time the twins came to the picture, and Manny wouldn't want it any other way. He's a great babysitter (and maybe even parent, someday).

Jimmy, Timmy:

Danny considered both of them as his troublesome younger brothers, particularly Timmy. It all happened because the Turners asked the Fentons if it's ok for them to leave Timmy under the Fentons for a while, and that's how Danny's babysitting career started (do not ask for details. If you know what the Turners are like, that should speak volumes enough). Danny met Jimmy a little later afterwards after seeing a lonely kid on the bench of the courtyard of Timmy's school, so he decided to approach him, and that's how they get to know each other. Danny was a bit protective towards Jimmy due to how many times he's been bullied and being treated as an outcast because of his high IQ, so Jimmy found a safe haven in Danny. Although Danny said he's more of their babysitter than anything, Danny turned out to be that of a parental figure of the team; slightly strict but responsible and gave out reasonable rules so no one gets into unwanted troubles even outside missions. Both Jimmy and Timmy viewed Danny is that of the 3rd parental figure who kept them grounded and the voice of reason and motivation for them. Although he is still capable of grounding them, like confiscating Timmy's video games and locking Jimmy's lab while taking the key with him. Jenny said it was a given considering many times those two caused trouble.

SpongeBob:

Danny's best buddy in the team. SB had always been the motivational one of the whole team and kept everyone in spirits. Literally the closet person he had in the team way before Manny and Jenny. Supports Danny through thick and thin, and was the first person Danny ever confided with whenever he had problems and vice versa.

Jenny:

Was the only person (robot?) Danny recognized in Center Shades, and the only one Danny talked with for a while until he got to know the other members (particularly Randy and Jake). Danny was Jenny's backup fixer whenever Jimmy is not available and/or wasn't with them altogether, hence the only person Jenny trust in the other team with her mechanisms.

Info Dumps:

I will be dumping a hella load of info in this column, so be warned if you don't want to read everything. I'm not really willing to make a separate blog about this topic itself, so consider it like a Danny speciality that you can't find anywhere except asking Danny himself;

The term 'ghosts' is an umbrella term used for all types of spirits that originates from all the realms of the Infinite Realms (commonly known as the Ghost Zone). Just because they're called ghosts, doesn't necessarily mean they are whatever that's left of a human spirit.

Ghosts aren't inherently bad natured; they're more driven by their obsessions more than anything, and doesn't really meant to cause harm, but their obsessions could clouded their better judgement, making them getting mischaracterized as 'bad natured' and 'pure evil'. They're not bad, they just need something to feed off of their obsessions to find a few specks of peace.

The Ghost Zone is actually named as Infinite Realms, but another name was also proposed when the realm was first discovered; Gap of The Sun. The reason for this naming is that it was once believed that this realm had been created from a sun that once exploded, and instead of turning into a black hole, it turned into a neverending realm filled with doors leading to many other realms. However, the naming and this theory was eventually dropped due to lack of evidence to support the claim of the exploded sun that created this primal realm.

The nature of ectoplasm is currently unknown, but it is theorized to be remnants of a spirit's will and their former drive when they were still alive. But due to the lack of evidence, there is no concrete info that the ectoplasm were remnants of the ghosts leftover living will. It was only left that ectoplasm are just what give these ghosts their shape after their soul no longer resides using a human vessel in the living plane.

There's a phenomenon between the ghosts called a "Death Day", where the ghost will have to relive the memories of their death, the feeling of pain they felt all over again. They would go completely paralyzed and won't be able to move at all as they relive the memories and pain of their death with nowhere to go as they couldn't move. The aftereffects when the day of their Death Day had passed are; extreme numbness, lacking color vision in their sights (everything is in black and white for them), complete blockage of their powers, and whatever that's left in their mood swings of their Death Day. The only way to minimize the pain during Death Day was when the spirit's living loved ones visit their graves or commemorate the death anniversary. Even then, that won't erase the pain entirely, as it won't affect anything in the aftereffects (although this is unclear for those who are born as a halfa). (This is inspired by that one DPxDCA fic on AO3).

Danny's ghost king title:

Ok, so I did said that Danny became ghost king in this version, right? Well, in version, Danny became ghost king a little later after the defeat of Pariah Dark. Technically, he was already crowned shortly after, but due to the fact he's biologically and chronologically too young to rule yet, it was decided that Danny have to wait until he was 20 to finally take on the big roles of being the king of ghosts. Until then, he was made to do smaller tasks that seemed a bit big to him at first, but once he became king, the weight was even more immense than what he had initially thought it would.

The Ghost Law:

A law that is absolutely mandatory to follow by all ghosts of every realm and every kind. Here are some examples;

Ghosts are absolutely forbidden to harm those who still resides the living plane by any means.

In terms of handling one's obsessions, it is absolutely advised to ask the Ghost King for any solution that wouldn't involved the living beings.

Killing a living soul or the environment of the living realm will be heavily punished.

In terms of living amongst the alive in the living plane, a barrier must be made around the property to prevent ghost hunters or unwanted guests from lingering the property.

When a soul from the living plane had lost its human vessel and could no longer resides amongst the alive (basically: someone died), it is an absolute must to inform the ghost king in order to conduct the 'White Farewell' ceremony for the now-departed spirit.

Personality:

Not much different, except he radiates mom energy all over. Well, no wonder. Along with Ben, Danny has plenty experience when it comes to hyperactive and/or rowdy kids, and had a huge sense of parental responsibility towards everyone. Both Danny and Ben would be fussing over those who would dive head first into trouble without a clear plan and getting injured in the process, or when someone did something incredibly stupid it ended as a huge problem (they're in the Overview department for a reason).

Danny is more... Elegant compared to the original. There's always an aura of grace coming from him, and sometimes his voice comes off a sort of a mystical vibes, even if he didn't intend to it. Although despite being king, his overall personality didn't change; humble, friendly, and approachable.

Battle attire:

Something like a royal outfit, but nothing extravagant. Ok, maybe adding a bit of claws on his gloves could be a bit extra, but you can't blame me, blame Ningguang-

The hair tho, I have been thinking like a Zhongli-style ponytail in battle form. But in normal form, like human form will varies depending on what Danny wanted. Majority of his hair would already be white even in his human form.

The design I came up with.

(Base: TheCherryMonsterLu (DeviantArt));

Weapons:

Polearm

Fenton Thermos

Flashdisk

Abilities:

Ghost powers

Ice powers (from his Ice Core)

Ectoplasm generating

Mind reading

Dream-jumping

Other Info:

Obtained the title or nickname as "Siren Voice", due to his mystical and beautiful voice. Think of it as those myths where sailors would disappear when they heard the voice of a mermaid/siren. This'll be hella useful for Danny in so many ways.

Ftm transgender, though he liked being called 'mom' by the twins.

Although he is a Fenton, he does not have the Fenton luck when it comes to driving (neither does Jazz). But he was usually being driven to by his ghostly staff/guards than driving himself. He still have a driver's license though.

Still can't get close to Blood Blossoms, otherwise he'll experience pain as horrible as the time of his 'death'.

Danny's body is sturdy but also hella flexible. He used to do gymnastics when he was younger, but his flexibility was greatly enhanced when he became a halfa.

Danny's eyes changed after the incident, not just when he's a ghost; originally icy blue, now blue on top half, and ecto green on bottom half. His eyes is still fully green when he went ghost.

The 2nd tallest in both at Nicktoons and the other team. Sorta thriving and suffering at the same time (the whole 'shorter people live longer' joke became a bit too literal than it was intended to due to Jake's longevity).

Danny would, quite literally, became a dictionary when someone would ask about ghosts, its nature and laws, etc.

Danny and June are actually pretty close friends due to their shared dreams to be an astronaut (even with their current circumstances).

Danny used to love eating sweets and desserts, but as Sam and Valerie monitored him and limit his consumption of sweet food ever since he had the twins.

Given everyone his protection seal, so ghosts couldn't really harm them, and it'll be much easier dealing with the ghosts like that because they're under the 'territory' of the ghost king himself.

At some point, Danny will start an orphanage for lost young souls who met their fate far too early. Randy might also do the same, but just with living children, and there will also be rescue shelters and such.

He, along with Jake are currently searching to find ways so that lighter energy-beings like Jake and June could enter the Infinite Realms due to having absolutely chaotic and mixed energies.

Danny's signature flower is Star Lit Orchid.

[lover-of-mine]

Boy what a day and it’s still going!

Things are not sunshine and daisies on the other side of the fandom line in my little corner. A lot of anger geared toward Ryan for being “an attention seeker” today. Trying to focus on the personal attacks against Ryan again and turn everyone against him because of the issues from the past. It’s like their go to at this point. It never works but they keep trying. But they are absolutely fuming he’s getting so much attention and love from everyone right now. They have spent so many weeks trying to paint him as this horrible person both in and out of show and it’s like a personal vendetta as everyone proves them wrong.

Also furious over the Ryan and JLH photo. It was supposed to be Lou and her after all. They just knew it would be happening. Why wouldn’t she have a photo with her on screen brothers boyfriend but then she had one with Ryan instead. (I think this has the added insult because everyone knows Lou was at the set for filming so not being shown still is not a good sign)

They are as I’m sure you’re aware trying to be positive about saying the over shirt Oliver had on for his Buck fit, is apparently an Italian material made flight jacket. Or that’s what’s being spread around anyway. And Making big emphasis on the Italian portion because Lou’s Italian and that means it’s meant to be. I suppose when you don’t have much to go with you fixate on the strangest things lol.

Which brings us to that whole ABC video. I’m not sure how it is in the groups the others are in but the few I’m in it’s a lot of just pretend it didn’t happen. The loud ones made such a stink the other day over the comment being pinned and re throwing in our faces that kiss video ABC shared and how it all proves endgame that now ABC making this video with Oliver and not showing Lou has them wanting to bring as little attention to it as possible since again those few loud ones are making them all look stupid. Because the same logic would essentially apply here. Only the buddie side would have more weight behind it since there has been so much buddie promo already for season 8 with the show, the cast, the crew, even the journalists and absolutely nothing from Lou/Tommy besides a couple random likes on instagram (where he still isn’t responding to anyone)

TikTok side the creator who made that video issued a formal apology video today. She basically blamed it on being in an unmedicated hypomanic state but says it’s not an excuse. She’s lost a lot of followers due to her video. She was almost at 18k when she originally posted the Tommy video and now she’s at 16.8k. She does mention she will be taking a step back from the fandom for a while and doesn’t know if she’ll be back and if she if it’ll be awhile and just sticking to recap videos. I’m not going to personally say if I believe it’s genuine or not but it’s out there for people to see if they want and make their own decisions. I do know that some of the more vocal BT fans are trying to use her apology videos as a “omg look what the bobs are doing now. Attacking this creator for making a video” and just removing all context surrounding the issue of course.

I will end this update by saying the more stuff we’ve gotten today the quieter they have gotten. Which to me is kinda unnerving but also kinda tracks. It’s hard to keep trying to launch a delusion narrative when you keep essentially getting whacked in the face by all the official channels repeatedly in such a short time period. I also think it’s starting to really sink in for at least some of the people that they can be as mad as they want but it’s not going to change the reality of the situation.

Hope things are calm for you, and personally hoping for some LW or GG insight. I’m dying to know what some of the others experienced from this wild day.

~🅰️

Hi darling ❤️

This was a RIDE. It just keeps going, oh my god lol I don't even know what to say tbh. The insistence on hating on Ryan that keeps continuously backfiring is actually so entertaining, it's like the more they hate on him, the more powerful he gets lately. I will say I did laugh hysterically for about 5 minutes when I saw the picture of Ryan and Jen because I remember the way they were saying Lou was gonna show up in a selfie with her and it was too funny. And the way that they chose not to use a picture with him when all the pics were from the medal ceremony was a choice....... I did look into the jacket, it is an Italian flight jacket but it's a green jacket and green on Buck is never a good sign, so I'm not worried on that front lol. The fact that some of them are just ignoring the video when they were rubbing the kisscam on everyone's face is embarrassing. The tiktoker is just... I don't even know what to say there. But honestly, it must be hard to hold on to this delusion in the current state of affairs, getting mad is not going to change anything.

[s-creations]

Copy - Mario & Rabbids Fanfic Story

Rabbid Mario was a lot of things. Brash. Impulsive. A show-off.

He, however, was not Mario. They just share the name.

Fandom: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Mario & Rabbids Rating: General Audience Audiences Relationships: Luigi & Mario (Nintendo), Rabbid Mario & Rabbid Luigi (Mario & Rabbids) Tags: Rabbid Mario learns a lesson, Rabbid Mario's a show off, Rabbid Rosalina knows what's up.

Besides the shared name and semi-similar fashion, there wasn’t much shared between Mario and Rabbid Mario.

Mario was in every way a hero. Kind, caring, more than willing to help everyone who needed it. Bubbly and personable, anyone could approach him with any concerns and not feel judged. It was rare to see him angry. Even then, it was more frustration than true anger. 

Rabbid Mario was a show off. But, when one’s amazing as he is, what else was he supposed to do? Just stand there? Absolutely not. He was a smooth talker that really only moved if it was absolutely necessary. He had two moods, boast about his skills or disgruntled. Rabbid Mario was pretty sure he only held the title of ‘hero’ because of the crazy merging incident. 

It also didn’t help that people just assumed he was like Mario because of his name. 

The other major part that was a sore topic was Mario’s second title that he wore with pride. More so than his role of being a hero. If asked directly, the red-cladded human would say his favorite job was being Luigi’s brother.

It wasn’t hard to see that both brothers loved each other. But Mario was definitely the vocal of the two. Always touting about how great his little brother was. How proud he was. How Luigi was the best at gardening, baking, ghost-hunting. Even when asked point blank how Luigi was acting as a hero, as everyone knew of his timid nature.

Mario would just beam and reply with, “There’s no one else I would want by my side.”

With how vocal the human was, it gave a few people the wrong idea about Rabbid Mario.

Mainly coming from Rabbid Luigi. Who eagerly thought they were brothers now. 

Something to keep in mind was that Rabbids weren’t really ‘related’. There were no parents, siblings, cousins, nothing of the sort. They all just exist together with a few more popping up at random. Truthfully, no one would know where these new numbers came from. They would just…pop up.

Bottom line, there was no reason for Rabbid Luigi to be determined that he and Rabbid Mario were brothers. 

“You’re crazy.” Rabbid Mario grumbled.

“We’re all crazy! It’s what we do!” was Rabbid Luigi’s reply, “Come on, we already have the names.”

“And that’s it, just the names, nothing else. You don’t see me pining after Rabbid Peach.” 

“Like you could afford me.” Rabbid Peach said as she casually scrolled through the feed on her phone.

“Why are you so against this?” Rabbid Luigi pouted (actually pouted) with wide, begging eyes.

Which only caused Rabbid Peach to scoff and Rabbid Mario to roll his eyes. “One, we don’t do that. And two, you’re annoying. And three, I don’t want to be your brother. I’m not Mario.”

“You’re so mean…”

Rabbid Mario just rolled his eyes again and walked off.

In all honesty, what it all came down to was the fact that he didn’t want to drag him down. Mario clearly leaned on his friends and family to help. Which wasn’t a bad thing. But Rabbid Mario was a solo player who liked to call the shots. 

And definitely not the fact that he wanted even more comparison to the human. 

Rabbid Luigi was the opposite of what Rabbid Mario was trying to achieve. The green dressed Rabbid was childish, loud, and always in your face. He was running off at a moment's notice and didn’t seem to know when to shut up. 

Rabbid Mario liked to show off, sure, but the other was just too much. Rabbid Mario wanted to give off an air of ease and not eagerness. Which was not Rabbid Luigi’s personality. 

He’d hope that the conversation would have been enough to deter Rabbid Luigi from the idea. 

It didn’t.

In fact, the hope became worse with the recent issue. Having to save the entire universe from this Cursa. Which allowed the strong bond between Mario and Luigi to be on full display for the group to see. 

Before, when it was rushing around the chaotic Mushroom Kingdom, there wasn’t much down time. No moment to observe anything. It was either constant moving or sleeping. Really no in between.

Now they were traveling between different parts of the galaxy in a very luxurious but rather small space ship. Jumping from planet to planet. Meaning they were crammed into this small place for a day or two. Also meaning further personalities were better on display. 

If verbal confirmation wasn’t enough to prove how much Mario adored his brother, his actions certainly confirmed this.

If Mario wasn’t talking with Peach, he was with Luigi. Even then, it was clear Mario could only focus if his brother was in line of sight. Though they were both constantly being in the line of danger, it was Mario who made sure Luigi was protected. Deliberately putting himself in the line of danger if his younger brother was targeted. Going so far as to make sure Luigi was patched up before he was. No matter how many times Luigi said he could wait. 

There was a point when facing a Darkmess Puddle, Beep-O claimed Luigi’s skills were definitely needed for it. At that, Mario immediately rushed forward. Claiming he would help his brother out.

“Ah, nothing is stronger than a sibling bond!” Beep-O gleefully exclaimed, “I’m sure you two can handle this easily.”

Rabbid Mario pointedly stared ahead when Rabbid Luigi turned to him with wide eyes. As if this was proof that being siblings was perfect. It didn’t help when the twins felled the Puddle faster than previous encounters with the entire team working together. Mario happily ruffled Luigi’s hair with the younger brother laughing. Looking sheepish but pleased at getting his brother’s praise. 

“Okay, see, that has to mean something,” Rabbid Luigi whispered desperately.

“You’re just grasping at straws now.” Was Rabbid Mario’s short reply.

Reminding himself that he didn’t need that. A sibling relationship. He could handle himself on his own. Rabbid Luigi was annoying and would just get in the way.

Being alone was better.

Worrying only about himself. 

It’s what was needed. 

He wouldn’t be compared to Mario.

Apparently, the galaxy wanted to prove Rabbid Mario wrong.

It was when the group was on Terra Flora., traversing through the large Everbloom Tree. The far too large Everbloom Tree. Too large to get the tasks done quickly if they remained together. The number of Darkmess Puddles spotted throughout the area worrying the heroes (and Bowser). 

“It is probably in our best interest if we divide our powers,” JEANIE suggested, “We will cover more area and hopefully get to the center faster.”

Dividing the group into two balanced groups took longer than it probably should have. Edge and Bowser clearly didn’t care. Mario wanted Peach and Luigi with him, but JEANIE said there needed to be better diversity between the groups. Rabbid Mario’s claims of being able to work alone didn’t add much weight to anything. He did frantically try to shake Rabbid Luigi off and away from him. 

Even with the constant back and forth that happened, they eventually decided on the two groups.

No one missed how worried Mario looked at Luigi being part of the other team. 

Beep-O stated, “JEANIE and I will be in full contact, just in case anything goes wrong with the other team. Not that I’m saying it will. This is just in case.”

Luigi let out a slow sigh, looking up feeling a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

“Hey,” said Mario quietly, “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah…are you?”

The older brother shuffled weakly before replying with, “Yeah, just concerned.”

Rabbid Mario quickly interjected himself into the conversation. One part trying to move this along and another part to shut Rabbid Luigi’s face up watching the brotherly affection. “Ah, you worry too much! I’ll make sure he’s okay. Green Boy here is a long range shooter with a ghost Spark. He’ll stick to the back. Trust me, under my lead, Luigi will be fine.”

“Who said you were leading this party?” Edge asked briskly.

Which Rabbid Mario just brushed it off with, “Because I said so. Now, Team ‘Awesome-Becuase-Rabbid-Mario-is-Leading!’, let’s move out!”

Back turned and marching forward, Rabbid Mario just assumed the rest in his party was following. The numerous footsteps following behind being the only confirmation he needed. He missed the quick hug shared between the twins before Luigi rushed to catch up.

But Rabbid Luigi saw.

“Are you really going to focus on keeping her safe?” The green-dressed Rabbid whispered to the other.

“Of course,” Rabbid Mario hissed back, “I told you my plan. It’s fine.”

“But you didn’t really even take into account the layout of the battlefield, or the enemies we could face. You can’t just say ‘keep him in the back’ if-”

“Would you just- stop talking. You are going to follow my lead, got it.”

Rabbid Luigi huffed, “You need someone else to bounce your ideas off of to make sure they don’t sound stupid. We’re brothers, we need to-”

Rabbid Mario pinned the other down with a steely glare that immediately shut him up. “We. Are not. Brothers. Get that through your head.”

Rabbid Luigi’s ears and shoulders dropped and he fell back to walk next to Rabbid Rosalina. Who gently patted his shoulder while casting a judgmental glare towards Rabbid Mario.

He didn’t care. He ignored it.

His stomach burned with an uncomfortable sensation.

He ignored that too.

The first few puddles went surprisingly well. Rabbid Mario’s worries melting away with each job done. He knew what he was doing. This was easy. Rabid Luigi was worried over nothing-

“Wow,” Rabbid Rosalina said, voice slightly influxes to indicate her surprise, “That…is a big puddle.”

It was. Larger than the full group had dealt with before, never mind this smaller one. Thick, sticky tendrils were spreading out from the deep center point and attaching to whatever they could reach. This normally wouldn’t be a worry…if the full group was together. But it was just five against whatever was resting within.

That wasn’t going to stop Rabbid Mario.

“Alright, we keep the same position as before. Easy.” 

“Are you stupid or just have a death wish,” Edge frowned, “We can’t take this size of a puddle on with just five. We need everyone here.”

“And I think we’ll be fine. If you’re that worried, you can stick close to me. I’ll keep you safe.”

Rabbid Rosalina stepped forward at that, “I’m not putting more energy into this than what I have to, and that’s way too much energy.”

“Then stay here.”

“H-Hold on,” Luigi spoke up, “T-This is really d-dangerous. We c-can’t just rush in.”

Rabbid Luigi nodded furiously, “I agree! Mario wouldn’t just go in there without everyone.”

“...Well…if you’re going to be like that. I’ll take care of this myself.” And before anyone could argue, Rabbid Mario jumped in.

The familiar swooping sensation in his stomach didn’t wash away the bitterness he felt from that last comment. The chilled feeling doing nothing for his heated skin. Rabbid Mario landed on the dark rock battlefield, letting out a huff as he waited for the area to clear. His ear twitched hearing a few heavy thumps indicating the others had followed him in.

“Decided against staying behind, huh?” Rabbid Mario taunted. Faltering slightly being faced with Edge’s scowl.

“More of we didn’t want you doing something stupid.”

“...You’re…too worried. We’ll be fine! You’ll see.”

It went south so fast.

First issue was the fact that the enemies they were facing were Lone Wolves. A large number of them. Normally, they would hunker behind their barricades and fire from their stationary locations. But they were more active this time. Able to get close to do small damage before running away to launch their proper attack.

Second problem was the fact that only Luigi and Rabbid Mario were able to deliver proper damage. The rest could only break down the barriers to try and make the Lone Wolves’ slightly easier targets. 

The final problem was the terrain of the battlefield. The group was trapped in a pit with Lone Wolves on higher ground surrounding them. Meaning they were sitting ducks with minimal coverage while struggling to fight back. 

“We need to leave,” Rabbid Luigi called out, “We’re making no progress!”

Rabbid Mario growled softly, “I’m not running away!”

“You are an idiot! Stop trying to feed your ego and realize we’re not going to win this!” Edge shot back.

He was about to retort when a flash caught his attention. 

A Lone Wolf had taken advantage of their arguing to try and take Rabbid Mario out. On his part, Rabbid Mario felt frozen to the spot. Watching with rising fear as the shot drew closer to him. Knowing with his current damage, Rabbid Mario wasn’t going to survive this.

At the very last second, something heavy collided into him. A thought of ‘What is Rabbid Luigi doing?’ crossed his mind. That was quickly wiped away when the shot landed directly on Rabbid Luigi’s back. 

All of this acted before Rabbid Mario’s eyes in slow motion. Time catching up when they both collapsed onto the ground. The green-dressed Rabbid unmoving as he laid across Rabbid Mario’s chest. A cacophony of noise assaulted his ears. But he couldn’t take his eyes off the still form.

Before there was even a chance to begin to take in what was happening when another shot rang out. Rabbid Mario looked up in enough time to see Luigi crumple to the ground. Not out, but clearly down and unable to move. Gripping onto his wounded arm, curled into a ball with his face scrunched up in pain. Rabbid Rosalina rushed over to scare the Lone Wolf away and drag Luigi further behind cover. 

Edge was already pulling up their exit route with JEANIE’s help, “We need to grab and go, now!”

Rabbid Rosalina, practically dragging Luigi along, was already making her way there. One of the few times her eyes were wide with fear and worry.

Still feeling numb, Rabbid Mario lifted his fallen comrade up and rushed over. All jumping in. Thankful when the warm air and rough bark greeted them. Rabbid Mario didn't have time to fully recover before Rabbid Luigi was pulled from his hold. Almost going to fight back, to pull the other towards him again. But was quickly guilted by Edge’s glare. 

So, he sat back.

Sat back and watched as Rabbid Rosalina frantically gave Luigi a Mushroom and wrapped his arm. The human’s face slowly calmed as he fell into a less than peaceful sleep.

Rabbid Luigi was completely unresponsive as Edge carefully checked him over. Pulling out one of the Sparks, the pink one with the balloon tied to them, and asked them to work their healing magic. 

“It’ll…take awhile.” the Spark spoke softly.

“But you can help?” Edge asked, voice hard with worry.

“Yeah, of course.”

Rabbid Mario tried to get up when Edge started to stalk towards him. Only able to stand before him and pull him up fully by the front of his overalls. Dragging him closer to clearly see the fury on Edge’s face. 

“What were you thinking!” He wasn’t able to reply before he was shoved away. Ears drooping as Edge began to pace, continuing her stream of thought, “I’ll answer that for you, you weren’t! I know you have a brash attitude. But if you would just get rid of your stupid ego- No, you know what! You can keep your ego. Keep your self given title of being the better hand-to-hand fighter. I don’t care. But you need to stop letting everyone clear up after your carelessness!”

Normally, being talked to like this, Rabbid Mario would feel the burn of indignation rise up. The need to defend his stance, his price, we needed! No one got to talk to him this way!

But a different burn was in his stomach now. Feeling like he was going to throw up. It was horrible. Eyes landing on the unmoving form of Rabbid Luigi. Namely focused on the slowly healing burn on his back.

“...I thought we could handle it.” Was his weak reply back.

“No, you thought you could handle it. If you’re going to claim to be the best fighter, then you need to back it up. And you can’t.” With that, Edge turned and walked back over to Rabbid Rosalina. Both sitting by the two recovering teammates, their back’s to Rabbid Mario.

On his part, Rabbid Mario slowly sat himself back down. Shoulders and ears slumped low, almost curled into a ball as he stared at the ground.

He wasn’t sure how long they all sat in silence. Feeling as if he was sinking into the Darkmess Puddle that rested nearby. He was broken from his dark thoughts hearing numerous footsteps drawing closer to their location. The rest of the group eventually turned the corner.

“There you all are!” Beep-O called out, “We were worried when you- What happened to them!”

Mario called out his brother’s name, distress clear in his voice, upon seeing Luigi’s unmoving form. Practically sprinting over Luigi’s side. Rabbid Rosalina moving out of the way to just avoid being barreled over by the worried human. Mario’s hands worriedly hovering over Luigi before slowly and carefully collecting his brother close.

The red-dressed Rabbid watched with fearful eyes as Edge inched closer to Mario. Whispering something to the human, causing his shining eyes to snap up to Rabbid Mario. Who flinched. Waiting for rage, anger, accusations, being thrown away.

But there was nothing.

Mario’s stare turned away, shoulders falling as he just cradled Luigi closer. Eyes closing as he pressed his forehead against his brother’s. Pulling Luigi onto his lap. 

Rabbid Mario…faltered at that, surprised. He was really ready to be torn apart for letting Luigi get hurt. Even more so with what he’d said the last time Mario was there.

“You really don’t get it, do you.”

Rabbid Mario was not pleased with how high he jumped at suddenly hearing Rabbid Rosalina. Looking up as she sat next to him. “What are you talking about?”

“You really thought he was going to yell at you.”

“Well…yeah.”

She let out a slow sigh, eyes rolling. “How is it that I get his personality better than you do. Yet you’ve known him longer.”

“What point are you trying to make here?”

“You try too hard to show you’re not the same as Mario.” 

That caused Rabbid Mario’s ears to perk up at that in surprise. “What? No, I don’t, it’s the complete opposite!” 

“You sure about that?”

“Yes!”

Rabbid Rosalina rolled her eyes again. “Look, I get it. We’re basically seen as pasted versions of someone else. I really struggled with the idea for a while. Rosalina is a galaxy goddess. I’m a plump, sleepy Rabbid. We’re nothing alike, but I felt like I had this legacy to live up to since I have her name.”

“But the Captain sat me down one day, said I was being silly about it all. People share names all the time, but there’s no one competing to the ‘best’. We get to be our own people.”

She gently pushed Rabbid Mario’s with her shoulder, “You probably have it worse than all of us in that aspect. Sharing a name with a big hero.”

“It’s not a problem.” Rabbid Mario hissed out.

“Really? You’re trying to show off that you can be your own hero. Your own version of being a hero. Because acting anything like him would just make you a copy. But you want to help, you want to be a hero. So what do you do? You try to act opposite of him. You’re loud while he’s a human of few words. You like to work alone while Mario works with as many people as he can. You’re used to not having siblings while Mario is one of the best older brothers out there.”

“But you know that it’s not you, not all of it. You’re super loud and you have a huge ego, but you care about us. All of us. Now however, you’re too far deep into this… You just continue the act, to be so opposite that no one would dare clump you together as being the same person. So much so…that someone suggesting to be your brother, it feels weird.”

“We’re not brothers,” Rabbid Mario tried to argue back, “Rabbids don’t have family relations, you know that.”

“Well, sure. ‘Family’ is a weird concept, we don't really have that…at least, not in the normal sense. We can have people that we see as family roles. The Captain may not be related to me. But, he took care of me, put up with me, raised me… Even if a blood relation isn’t something Rabbid’s have, I still see the Captain as my dad…and I’m his daughter.”

Rabbid Mario’s eyes widened at that. “How…what?”

“We’re family because we want to, we choose. Making connections isn’t bad. Stop seeing it like that.”

Rabbid Mario’s attention darted over to where the two injured were resting. Luigi was back on the ground to rest properly, Mario gently brushing his brother’s bangs back gently. One hand gently gripping on to Luigi’s injured. Peach sitting next to Mario, whispering softly to him. No doubt trying to offer some sort of comfort towards the hero. Rabbid Luigi was still unmoving, Edge by his side, watching the Spark that was resting on his back, healing the passed out Rabbid.

“Do you really find him annoying? I mean, he is. But I’m talking about the sense that you don’t want to be his brother. Or are you just using it as a reason?” Rabbid Rosalina asked.

It was as if a light bulb went off in his head. Rabbid Mario’s entire form seemed to lift up. Eyes wide with realization. 

Rabbid Rosalina continued, “What do you want to do?”

He was up the next second. Rabbid Rosalina gave a small smile as she watched him walk away.

Mario turned away from Luigi, noticing movement from the corner of his eye. Watching as Rabbid Mario sat down by his green counterpart. Their eyes connected for a brief moment. Both offering a small smile and nod of acknowledgement before focusing on their own brother. 

Luigi was up first, unsurprisingly. Beaming as he was pulled into a tight hug by Mario. Waving off Rabbid Mario’s small ‘Sorry’ with an understanding smile and nod. 

When Rabbid Luig woke, there wasn’t a crowd around him. All were currently sitting around a warming (and contained) campfire white they ate breakfast and discussed. But that didn’t mean he woke alone. The Spark that had been healing him let out a small cheer as he moved to sit up slowly.

His attention was drawn to a plate put before him. Looking over to find Rabbid Mario, who’s eyes were on his own plate, sitting right next to him. 

Rabbid Luigi took the offered plate slowly. Watching Rabbid Mario for a few moments before eating.

“How are you feeling?” Rabbid Mario asked gruffly.

“Uh…better…I guess. I mean, I’m up so…”

“That is good…”

There was a pause of silence. Rabbid Luigi was surprised once more when Rabbid Mario inched closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Gently pulling Rabbid Luigi closer so he could lean against the other comfortably.

“I’m happy you’re okay…lil bro.”

There was no verbal reply back. Rabbid Luigi’s eyes widened in surprise before smiling with glee. Ears twitching in joyous energy. Both enjoying their meal in comfortable quiet.