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miraculouscontent · 3 years

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Kagami and Marinette deserve so much better.

Anyway, let’s just start literally where this episode starts, because it makes no sense. Remember back in my “Truth” critique where I basically said that the episode seemed like it’d been shoved through multiple drafts and no one checked the final one?

Same applies here.

Like--okay, ”Truth” and “Lies” take place at roughly the same time, which means that the same filler akuma/sentimonsters appear to interrupt Adrimi’s moments just as they did with Lukanette’s, giving its audience a clear timeline of how the episodes line up. The reason this is important is because the writers can’t even keep consistency within singular episodes and then honestly thought that they could do it within two.

“Lies” begins with Marinette talking to Tikki about the grimoire, because apparently she has the non-translated version and there’s a secret to figuring out the code that Tikki believes Marinette will discover eventually.

...Alright, I’m derailing here but I have to add how absolutely stupid Fu was when dealing with translating the grimoire. He was supposed to teach Marinette how to be guardian, yet he didn’t teach her how to read the grimoire (if there’s supposedly a “secret” to it, is he really going to bank on Marinette figuring it out herself eventually instead of just giving it to her and avoid the risk altogether??), kept the translated pages on his tablet without sending them to Marinette as he deciphered them, and took time to write a letter to her in “Miracle Queen” but left no guardian-centric advice for her to work off of, meaning that Tikki had to explain how the Miracle Box worked to Marinette back in “Truth.”

The show goes out of its way constantly to turn everything against Marinette even if it makes all the characters around her look either incompetent or cruel. It’s not that I’m not used to this by now but it’s just infuriating that it keeps trying to raise the stakes and tension when Marinette made such a tiny mistake to cause the issue in the first place, and now we find out that Fu had no back-up plan or strategy, apparently expecting this 14-year-old girl to act perfectly and cover for him.

And of course, instead of leaving the scene off on Marinette being encouraged by Tikki and Marinette showing confidence in herself (i.e: what would’ve been a nice scene), the kwami accidentally fumble with the keyboard in such a way to have Marinette’s computer bring up a news story about Adrien, which leads to Marinette leaning towards her computer and sighing over Adrien and his “amazing life.”

Can I just point out how annoying it is that all the Adrienette moments so far on Marinette’s end have been forced, not just in general (because we’re used to that), but literally forced by the plot so Marinette would talk about him or other characters would bring Adrien up?

“Truth” had Alya insult Marinette to her face over her Adrien crush because Marinette was freaking over something non-Adrien related that they couldn’t have known about, Luka was sent a no-context picture of Marinette’s Adrien wall which led to him lowkey teasing her about it, and then Truth was forced to listen to Marinette’s friends and Tom babble about Marinette’s supposed crush on Adrien even when Truth points out that it’s not a secret, making the “joke” fall absolutely flat.

And now “Lies” comes along and has the kwami drop things and step on the keyboard in the exact way to pull up Adrien stuff for Marinette to fawn over. It’s at this point I’m realizing that - had the kwami stayed inside the box or just not been around in general - Marinette literally wouldn’t have brought up Adrien at all in either “Truth” or “Lies” and now I’m sad. I really don’t want to have a counter for “episodes where Marinette wouldn’t have so much as breathed Adrien’s name if the kwami/someone else wasn’t there to force it.”

So yeah, the episode had to force Adrienette into its Adrimi episode because the show can’t go five minutes without reminding the audience that Adrien exists even though this episode is primarily from his point of view, made worse by this scene’s lack of ability to exist.

See, from the timeline in “Lies” lining up with “Truth,” there is no possible way for this opening scene with Marinette talking about guardian stuff and then fawning over Adrien to happen. There’s an akuma scene in “Lies” that literally is just copy-pasted from “Truth” (it actually does this again with another scene later but that’s not important right now), so that means anything that takes place before said scene in both “Truth” and “Lies” have to line up.

Except they can’t. The akuma scene in question interrupts Marinette’s movie date with Luka in “Truth,” and before that, she had just opened the Miracle Box, wrangled up the kwami, talked to the girl squad over video call, talked to Luka, and then immediately had to leave. There are no cuts or wiggle room anywhere in there.

Therefore, the scene in “Lies” is impossible. Either the scene is supposed to go elsewhere in the episode (we don’t actually know how many days it takes up so it’s hard to say on that front) which just makes the episode even more convoluted, or this means that one would have to pick between the scene in “Truth” and the scene in “Lies” because they literally cannot co-exist.

“Lies” was supposed to coincide with “Truth” and they messed it up in the first scene of the episode.

Then comes Adrien himself, who really shows the series’ clunkiness in focusing on other characters. It’s not that I’m against the show moving away from Marinette to show other people’s point-of-view (I definitely didn’t complain during the Couffaine sibling scene in “Reflekdoll”), but Adrien cannot carry his own episode.

In Marinette’s opening scene, we immediately got details on the grimoire and lore about how reading it actually worked. I didn’t like it and it wasn’t good, but it was new information.

Adrien, meanwhile, spends a large portion of the episode being sad (a very grand and unique plot, my dudes) and giving us information we already know. “Truth” has to come first because “Lies” is half of a follow-up on it, meaning that the audience is already aware that Ladybug has been forgetful and has had to miss out on patrols. It’s just that now we get to see Chat Noir sulking about it and--okay, I am just going to go off, alright?

Firstly, Chat Noir tells Ladybug later on that he “understands” her guardian duties, but he previously mocked her behind her back by using air quotes when he was talking to her answering machine (since she obviously wouldn’t see that). We saw in “Truth” where he admitted that he doesn’t mind her being guardian “as long as it doesn’t change their relationship,” and that’s on display right here with his comments.

Not only is it extremely disrespectful, but for someone who claims to be so loyal and understanding to Ladybug, he sure doesn’t show it.

Secondly, he leaves her a message about how he’ll take care of patrol, then proceeds to slack off because she’s not there to keep him in check. He sulks around Paris, mumbling about how Ladybug isn’t around and constantly checking his messages to see if she’s replied to him. Chat Noir has shown his “priorities” in terms of heroism before, but patrol isn’t supposed to be about getting time with “““his lady”““ yet that is clearly all he cares about. He even ends the patrol unprompted, either giving up or just generally having not finished, because I don’t believe that the “end” of patrol just happened to be at the place Kagami was.

Patrol is about protecting Paris and scoping things out. Ladybug is trusting him to pick up the slack when she’s not around and he should be picking up slack, yet he has completely failed on that front. This is made worse when considering that the Season 3 finale had Ladybug breaking down to him from guilt and we know that Marinette had a breakdown before that to Luka, yet Chat is doing nothing to lighten Ladybug’s burden, putting up a falsehood on Ladybug’s answering machine to make him look better than he actually is.

Then, thirdly and most importantly/infuriatingly, Chat Noir knows that Ladybug is busy and he knows that she’s taking on a new responsibility, yet he not only jabs at her for “how hurtful it is when she leaves him to patrol alone” (one, cry me a river, and two, I don’t care if it’s a joke, it’s insensitive), but before that scene, he was actively hoping for people to get akumatized so Ladybug would be forced to show up and he could spend time with her. He egged Xavier Ramier on, even asking him if he “missed being Mister Pigeon,” and then looked on with glee as Chloe bullied Sabrina because he thought that an akumatization might happen.

And this is on top of so many other issues with this whole scene. Adrien complains all the time about his schedule and how restrictive his father is, but suddenly - in the episode right after Marinette had to break up with her boyfriend due to her cramped schedule - is lounging around and wasting time. It hurts to see Marinette suffering from all of her responsibilities while Chat’s biggest problem is how little time he gets with Ladybug.

Also, another point on Mister Pigeon is that that’s the akuma that had interrupted Marinette’s movie date and kiss with Luka. I’m not suggesting that Chat egging Xavier on led to him getting akumatized, but I am saying that Chat wanting akuma to happen with no regard for Ladybug’s happiness is yet another point on the list of why I hate the love square. Marinette genuinely forgot about patrol with him - genuinely was forgetting about everything, really - and as a “punishment,” her own partner whined, didn’t patrol properly, and egged on an akumatization that eventually ended up happening which then broke up the little bit of happiness that the universe was allowing her to have.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s also dating Kagami at the time as well because here we freaking go.

Now, I did not get on Marinette’s case for her Adrien wall and stammering because Luka is largely aware of where she stands in the relationship and she only brought Adrien up when someone else did, even when Luka wasn’t around or being mentioned. Adrien, however, I have multiple bones to pick with, starting with how utterly needy he is for Ladybug’s attention.

This guy has tons of friends, all these fans, and could get people to flock to him whether in or out of the mask, but he wants Ladybug, and anyone not Ladybug isn’t good enough. There’s a scene later in the episode where Kagami - his girlfriend, mind you - is pouring her heart out to him, and he gets distracted by Ladybug instead of listening to her. Even when he excuses the distraction, he then gets distracted again even though Ladybug is no longer in the background.

Lying to protect his identity is one thing, but what Adrien does to Kagami goes beyond that. He’s pining after and flirting with another girl and Kagami has no idea. She’s speculated before that Adrien likes Marinette, but she’s mostly left in the dark because Adrien hasn’t told her anything, nor has he confirmed with her whether it’s okay or not for him to flirt with other girls so long as he’s not pursuing them. He could’ve admitted that he was in love with Ladybug but that he wants to try things with Kagami, but he refuses to open up to her or put himself out there.

Except, he technically does, once, when Kagami tells him to pose for her and he strikes his transformation stance, but he caught her completely off-guard and it’s no wonder why she was put off by it or thought it was unnatural. Not only that, but when Kagami tells him that he’s acting like a clown in that scene, we can see by jumping back to “Truth” that Chat Noir fished for Ladybug’s compliments which then led to a line about him talking about how Ladybug enjoyed him acting like a clown; a direct connection.

Kagami didn’t validate him, so he fished for Ladybug to do so because Ladybug was both forced to answer the question and wasn’t able to lie to him. The show has Ladybug state that her most preferred trait of his is his humor but I am certainly not laughing.

Chat Noir even goes further after the fight with Truth (so another copy-pasted scene) by saying that he has the most fun with Ladybug specifically, and this is all while he’s still dating.

Then this guy has the gall to talk during his break-up about how his fun times with Kagami weren’t lies after apologizing to her for his constant lying, as if he’s trying to earn her sympathy when we know that he’s been pining after Ladybug and flirting with her like she were his number one when he already had a girlfriend waiting for him (and who, by the way, had covered for him earlier and was sitting sadly on a staircase outside, feeling abandoned). The episode presents the break-up as if Adrien’s problem was the fact that he had to constantly lie to Kagami due to being busy with hero work (which is already dumb when we also saw him lounging around and complaining about how nothing was happening, meaning he was inadvertently supportive of the idea of having less time with Kagami and more time with Ladybug even if that means Paris is in danger), but the real problem ends up being that Adrien neglected Kagami emotionally and wasn’t able to give her the attention she wanted.

It’s both sad and annoying that Adrien has always sulked about his dad not paying attention to him and then we get Adrien not paying attention to Kagami, looking for Ladybug when Ladybug had already left and Kagami is trying to tell him something very important.

This is what I mean when I say that Adrien can’t carry an episode on his own. He’s incredibly selfish and most of his dialog just involves him complaining about Ladybug or making excuses. Kagami carried the episode more than he did because more details were revealed about her - specifically the fact that she likes drawing - and she’s active in making things happen (being the one to make the excuse to set up their fencing lessons, deciding what they’ll do with their hour of free time, etcetera).

And regardless of what girl he’s interacting with, Adrien can’t respect either of them. I just talked about Kagami and I’ve already talked about how he treats Ladybug when she’s not even around, but now we get to how he treats Ladybug when she is around.

During the climax of the fight with Lies, where Ladybug requires a distraction to safely pull off her lucky charm, Chat Noir decides - without Ladybug’s input - to sacrifice himself yet again.

I have to stress that Ladybug is stressed and Chat has always talked about her plans and listening to her, yet he has a horrible habit of making decisions all on his own and letting Ladybug deal with the fallout. Whenever he has the chance, he’ll throw himself in front of her and take the big hit, presumably with the mindset that Miraculous Ladybug will fix everything so it’s not like it matters.

Ladybug even shouts at him when he hints at what he’s about to do and there was absolutely time for them to talk about it, but Chat Noir just lets himself fall and be bait, even throwing out what is a clear confession (again, while he’s still dating someone else) before he’s knocked unconscious by Lies’ power.

And when Ladybug yells at him for it when everything’s said and done, pounding at his chest and looking absolutely upset over the whole thing? He not only brushes her off, but he boops her nose and talks about how “irresistable” her “angry little pout” is.

He might as well have just said, “you’re cute when you’re angry,” because that’s exactly what he’s implying; that Ladybug’s anger is something “amusing” to him and not something he takes seriously. We’ve already seen it before in “Reflekdoll” and “Oblivio” as well, so this is just a continuation of already-annoying behavior.

Then, instead of Ladybug getting even angrier for it, the episode has her smile at him, which not only isn’t a normal reaction compared to how she’s reacted before, but now gives the impression that she’s being conditioned by the narrative to accept Chat Noir’s behavior in whatever shape or form it takes.

Because think about it: regardless of how upset Ladybug gets over Chat Noir, it never works out for her and she’s forced to either make up with him quickly or just get over it because she can’t be fighting with her partner (meanwhile, like in “Glaciator,” Chat Noir can be as upset as he wants and she’ll apologize first). She presumably would now have the authority to take away his ring by virtue of being guardian, but he’s also been her partner from the beginning and he’s had so much time to get used to the cat. Most likely, she would sooner blame herself for failing to reign him in than blame him for failing as an adequate partner.

There’s nothing she can do. She has to deal with the hand that she’s been dealt and getting angry at him has done nothing; rejecting him has done nothing.

And of course the episode throws everything under the rug in the ending with an insulting LadyNoir scene where Ladybug and Chat Noir talk about the secrets their forced to keep but also how they can trust each other.

Meanwhile, Ladybug has no idea of all the things Chat Noir has done behind her back. She still has no clue about “Copycat,” nor “Syren,” nor any of the stuff he did in this episode that she’ll probably never know about. Factor it in with “Miraculous New York” (whether one considers it canon or not) where she rightfully shouted at him because he betrayed her trust, and here we are one and a half episodes later (since “Truth” and “Lies” take place at similar times) where suddenly they’re all buddy-buddy and Chat Noir doesn’t have to deal with any consequences to his selfishness.

I’m glad that Kagami didn’t forgive Adrien in the end (even if I’m upset that she doesn’t know how bad it really was) because she had every right to walk away and not want to be friends with him. I only wish that Ladybug could do the same thing and never look back, but due to the love square’s status as endgame, we know that can’t happen, and Ladybug will eventually be forced to fall in love with a guy who mocked her responsibilities behind her back, disrespected her authority by opting to tease/flirt with her, continued pursuing her despite her rejections, and hoped for Paris to be in danger just so he could see her.

And... yeah, that hurts. It really does.

#category: salt #episode: Lies #other: ask and answer #other: ml spoilers

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pl-panda · 4 years

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The Vines that bind us - Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don’t own Miraculous Ladybug or any DC characters. I own only the plot, and even that is inspired by the amazing story "Marigold Ivy" by @lwandile13 on Wattpad. Go check it. It's great. He allowed me to take some inspiration, for which I'm grateful. Also, don't translate the french words maybe. Or at least do it on your own responsibility. Big thanks to @Liza! on Discord for being my Beta :)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a normal girl, with a normal life. But she had a secret. Her real name was Marigold Isley. She was born under that name in Gotham city sixteen years ago. Her mother never revealed to her who was her father, but Mari never cared. She was happy with her mom and several aunts and uncles. Technically, none of them were related to her by blood, but Rogues were quite close to each other (excluding some outcasts like Joker or the Menagerie). They taught her many interesting things such as lockpicking, stealth 101, or hand-to-hand combat. She was five when it started, so her first-ever practical test was breaking into a kitchen cupboard and stealing a jar of cookies. Overall, she was very happy.

It changed when she was eight. One very tired social service person named Elizabeth Barrow got wind of a child of a villain. That Elizabeth was new to Gotham after being reassigned from Metropolis and didn’t yet get the wind of how things worked. Maybe her colleagues didn’t like her, or maybe she was just too overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem in Gotham. Previously, there was an unspoken agreement in the government that they wouldn’t notice Marigold. In exchange, rogues were calmer. Or at least tried to keep the death toll down. For a time, Gotham even started to slowly heal. But then, Elizabeth took the case of Marigold Isley. Ivy tried to fight. To protect her daughter. For three days, the city was held hostage by giant plants. It was only the fear in her daughter’s eyes that made Poison Ivy relent and let go. She didn’t want that life for Marigold. The one condition she gave was that the girl would leave America as a whole, to ensure she would be safe from all the madness.

And so Marigold ended up in the care of baker’s couple in Paris. She never showed any powers thus far and the adoption agency kept the parentage a secret. That’s when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was born. She continued with martial arts training and stealth training, but now only as fun and reminder of her mother and extended family, as opposed to actual necessary survival tool. She also picked up designing as another hobby, which soon turned into a kind of obsession. She was generally a ray of sunshine.

The one black spot in the happy world of Marinette was the Mayor’s daughter. Chloe Bourgeoise considered herself above others and just couldn’t stand sunshine girl. She ruined her clothes, sometimes damaged her homework, or verbally assaulted her. While Chloe was generally disliked, she was more of a nuance. Overall, Marinette was happy. At least until two events changed that.

When she was twelve, Paris was attacked by Hawkmoth for the first time. Marinette found herself becoming Ladybug, a superhero with magical powers that protected the city from harm. She received a partner in form of Chat Noir. It took some time before she got hang of it, and then more time before she and Chat became an actual team. Over time, more heroes joined them, even if temporarily only. She had people she could count on. She became Happy again.

Privately, she started her own brand: MDC, managed to become a class representative, and became best friends with Alya, who joined around the same time she became Ladybug. It was quite ironic. The superhero was best friends with one person whose greatest dream was to unmask the hero. Marinette also developed a huge (and a bit unhealthy) crush on Adrien Agreste, a famous model who was in her class. She spent years vying for his attention, but nothing ever came from her attempts. She was unable to even say a word around him and her face always became red like her mother’s hair. Overall, she couldn’t complain.

Then, when she was fifteen another black spot appeared. It was Lila (Liela) Rossi. She came to their school and immediately started sporting lies with every breath. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to buy into that, believing her like she spoke the gospel. Everyone but Marinette. She tried to expose Lila, but it only backfired. She became an outcast, disliked by everyone, and universally hated. Suddenly, it became okay to bully her because she was a bully herself and deserved it. It became okay to shun her and no longer include her in anything. The worst was Alya, her former best friend. At first, she just tried to nudge Marinette to give Lila a chance. When Marinette tried to show the truth, Alya practically attacked her. She was just as much responsible for Mari being cast out as Lila was. The fact that her best friend abandoned her only fueled the gossip and allowed Lila to drive the final nail in. In the span of a few weeks, Marinette was left alone.

Around the same time, Chat Noir became more persistent in his pursuit of her while Adrien, who Marinette knew was aware of the lies, was only telling her to keep the high road (do nothing). She could understand him. As a famous model and son of a well-known fashion designer, he was always taught to not provoke the press. It still served as a wake-up call on her crush.

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Marinette was packing her things after lessons when she noticed someone approach her from behind. Immediately, she tensed. After eleven years of martial arts practice, it was an instinct. Before she had time to turn around, something heavy landed on her desk with a loud Thud!. She turned to see Chloe standing over a large book, a single thick envelope, and a puffy bag that content Marinette couldn’t guess.

“What’s a…” She started, but Chloe cut her off. She had her usual ‘resting witch’ expression.

“The book contains every single instance I verbally assaulted you, destroyed something of yours, talked about you behind your back, or in any way otherwise did something wrong toward you. Here are the materials for the damaged clothes,” she pushed the bag toward her, “and here is money for other things.” Chloe gave her the envelope. “I apologize for all of that. I was jealous of all the attention you kept getting even though I thought I deserved it. I now realize that my behavior was wrong and hurtful. I will understand if you’ll never speak to me again. I kept acting ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” With that, she turned and started to walk again. Marinette idly noticed that there was no Sabrina nearby. Thinking back, Chloe was no longer acting (overly) mean toward anyone as of late.

Making a split-second decision, Marinette raced after the blonde and pulled her into a hug.

“Wha…” Chloe yelped before sinking into the hug. Neither girl realized they were crying until they finally separated. Blonde had her lite make-up in total ruin while Marinette had tears still going down her cheeks. “Does that mean you accept my apologies?”

Marinette didn’t answer immediately. She stood there with open mouth for a moment before smiling weakly. “Yes, Chloe.”

Since that day, they were best friends. It turned out to be a blessing. Chloe, once she finally allowed someone to truly know her, turned out to be a highly intelligent, funny, and very much still overbearing person. She still acted high and mighty, but it no longer felt mean, rather just… felt. She took to defending Marinette from the rest of the class. She was aware of Lila’s lies from day one but never acted on it until it was too late. Sabina abandoned her for the liar. Dealing with loneliness was hard on her. She didn’t even have parents that cared. Her father would probably move sun if she asked, but he had an emotional range of a toothpick. Her mother didn’t even know her name, so she didn’t bother.

Something about their friendship must’ve upset Lila because the girl upped her game. Marinette’s parents suddenly found themselves facing strong critique and constant inspection from the sanitary department and child protection questioning their parenting abilities. MDC, who was slowly becoming one of the go-to fashion designers for famous found herself in the middle of several fake media scandals, including one lawsuit over defamation. If it wasn’t for Jagged Stone and Penny rallying her customers, Marinette and her parents would end up broke. He managed to save MDC and practically made her untouchable. Still, Alya and Lila got off scot-free as nothing could be linked to them.

Perhaps what pushed Lila over the edge was Chloe confronting Adrien. She yelled at him for good two hours straight about responsibility and morality, pointing in detail exactly what he did wrong. She would probably go on if Marinette didn’t stop her. After that, Adrien finally apologized and tried to make things right, but it only turned against him. By then, Lila had everyone so deep into it, that he was powerless. She didn’t go after him as her partnership with Gabriel Agreste was too important, but she did tattle to the Fashion Mogul about it. Gabriel tried to get his son under control, but this was one thing that he couldn’t achieve.

It did inspire a whole youth fashion line ‘rebel’, which became a global hit.

All this time, Marinette kept two secrets. One was her identity as Ladybug and the guardian, the other was her true name and family. Until she kept neither.

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Marinette returned home after another day at school. Recently, her mother revealed she was pregnant with another child, even though she was believed to be barren. Everyone in the bakery was overjoyed and the couple even started to hand out small treats to any guest that came. The free samples helped the business return to a better standing.

When she entered, strangely there was no sound in the bakery. It was empty. Usually, her parents would both be very busy as it was still business hours. Slightly worried, she went upstairs. When she entered the living room, she found an envelope addressed to her.

Isley

We tried, but we can no longer tolerate you. We turned a blind eye when we learned how improper you act, trying to drag every boy you meet for some, and we quote, “alone time”. We didn’t react to the bullying accusations, believing them to be overexaggerated. Even when you were expelled, we still had hoped you’ll turn out into a fine young lady. But now, we must think of the baby. Today was the last straw. Hearing about how you ruined that poor impaired girl’s birthday was both cruel and against everything we taught you.

We held hope you won’t follow in your mother’s footsteps, but you proved us wrong several times. We supported your obsession over fashion, even with the drama it caused, because it was actually non-violent. At first, we didn’t want to teach you how to fight, but we convinced ourselves that you would have a way to vent the emotions somewhere away from us.

Please, don’t try looking for us. We will probably have already left the country or even the continent. The bakery is yours. We don’t want to have anything to do with the spawn of evil such as you.

We hoped you would turn out better

Sincerely,

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng

Marinette tried to read it over and over again, but her eyes welled with tears. She had no idea she was screaming until her throat was coarse. Rationally, she knew she needed to keep calm or she would attract the Akuma, but emotions made her not care.

Unknowingly to her, the plants all around Paris responded to her cry. They started growing and spreading, trying to get to their queen and comfort her. The Akuma that would’ve come for her stumbled into one of the vines, corrupting it. Hawkmoth was surprised, it was not something anyone ever seen in Paris except on TV or some strange Japanese shows that play after midnight. The more important thing was that even though he akumatized the plants, he had no control over them. He couldn’t even recall his Akuma.

Back in Marinette’s living room, she started to feel the ground rumble. Soon, plants exploded from the ground and broke windows. She slowly looked at her hands to see them tinted with green. They were not the same as her mother’s, but close. She looked to the floor where pieces of glass littered everything. Her face was the same, but her hair became blue and her eyes were now the most vibrant iridescent green she’s ever seen, exactly the same color her mother’s eyes were.

She started to panic even more. Tikki floated next to her, talking to her, but Marinette couldn’t hear her. Or maybe process it. She could hear the plants call to her. She could hear them speak. They promised her revenge. They promised retribution on those who attacked her. God’s wrath would rain upon them from the sky and hell’s fury would consume them from beneath.

Impaired girl…

“Liar Rossi.” Marigold seethed. She knew there was only one person who would do such a thing. Only one talented enough to convince her parents she was a villain. If they wanted a villain, they would get one. Her mind was being clouded. Her clothes were already torn, replaced by a skintight outfit made of leaves, much like her mother wore. Then, Marinette remembered another part of the letter. She added a skirt made of purple petals that complimented her blue hair nicely and long sleeves that reached to her hands, ending with a triangle that reached her middle finger and surrounded it at the base. She left the decolletage as it was.

Exiting her house, she allowed the vines to carry her. There were only so many places The Liar could hide. First, she went toward School, as it was closest. She made plants carry her over the roof right into the courtyard while more of them broke the doors and blocked any exit. The fencing class was still going on, but The Liar was not there. She looked over the scared crowd, spotting two people she wanted to find. She needed to protect them from The Liar, else they end like her. She grabbed the fencer in a red outfit and her partner, knocking their masks to reveal Kagami and Adrien. The plants wrapped around them, forming a sort of cocoon before dragging them to the heart. Marinette then turned her sight to Eifel tower. She knew The Liar liked to drag the class there.

As she moved through town, she passed the Hotel where Chloe lived. Pausing, she made the plants lift her toward the balcony. Her best friend was indeed there, right next to the lit-up Bee-signal. Honeystly…

“Marinette!?” The blonde jumped in surprise

“Marinette is gone. She should’ve never even been. I’m Marigold, the daughter of Poison Ivy.” For a moment, the fog thickened, but Mari shook it off quickly enough, before whatever caused it managed to get the hold of her.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng! If you got yourself akumatized, I’m telling my daddy!” Chloe shouted. Seeing the tears form in the iridescent green eyes, she looked at her friend with pity. “Oh, Mari! Is this the Liar again? Come here right now!” The blonde spread her arms for a hug. She didn’t care about the Akuma. Her friend needed her and she would help her conquer the world if she asked. Chloe owed Mari… everything. She helped her evolve beyond being the queen witch. In response to the gesture, the plants in the garden started to grow until they surrounded the two of them in a tight cocoon. Marinette stepped onto the balcony. She affectionately petted the vine that carried her so far before allowing it to return to its hunt for the Liar.

“Chloeee!” Mari launched herself at the girl. She sunk into the embrace, allowing tears to start flowing again. She sobbed her heart out while pushing a piece of paper she constantly held in her clutched fist before. The blonde took it and read while patting Marinette on the back of her head.

“Salauds! Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! How dare that cochons! And the chienne! Wait till I tell daddy about this! Don’t worry Mari. I will protect you! I will ruin her! Merde!” The rant made Marigold pause. She never heard Chloe curse. Like… never. “But first. Mari. You know I love you and I would help you hide the body, but drop the Akuma. It’s making you look Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous! I mean the dress is so much spot on and so you, but the whole take over Paris is more my style. I can let you be my faithful sidekick while we take over the world if you want.”

For a moment, Marigold continued to stare at Chloe before she burst out in a fit of laughter. It wasn’t a nervous chuckle or the villain cackle, but genuine pearly laughter. It was just so… Chloe-ish. She couldn’t imagine anyone trying to dissuade an Akuma by offering to become a sidekick.

“You… You… Never change Chlo.” Mari smiled at her friend.

“Whoa. You… didn’t make me a fertilizer? I mean, of course, you wouldn’t. You are just too good of a person, but Hawkmoth…”

“I’m not akumatized Chloe.” Mari smiled. “It’s me.” As if to prove her point, she stood up and spun, allowing the blonde to see her from all sides. “This is how I really look. Apparently, I do take some after my mom.”

“Your… mom?”

“Pamela Isley, she was a famous biologist. Mom was brilliant. She used to be one of the smartest people in the world.” Mari praised. “There was this one accident that she is now famous for…”

“Pamela Isley? I remember reading about her.”

“Yeah… She is…”

“Didn’t she create this environment-friendly line of cosmetics?” Chloe asked in her typical fashion

“Yes! I have no idea why everyone remembers her only for the ‘Poison Ivy’ thing!”

“I know, right?” Chloe nodded. “Wait a…”

“Tada!” Mari said weakly before trying to look away, doing everything not to look her friend in the eyes. The blonde gently grabbed her chin and moved it so she could look right into the beautiful green eyes of her best friend.

“Mari! If you think I would abandon you just because your mother took veganism too far… You’re utterly ridiculous!”

Marigold smiled slightly. Slowly, the green receded and her eyes turned back to normal. The dress remained, as without it she would end up naked and she didn’t fancy trying to explain to anyone that.

She then turned to the plants and tried to order them to return to normal, only for them to resist. For a moment, her mind started to feel fogged, but it didn’t hold at all now.

“As much as I like the scenery, maybe we stop the plantpocalypse?”

“Um… Remember how I told you I wasn’t akumatized?”

“Yeah?”

“I think the plants are…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chloe shouted. “Listen here Hawkmoth! Get this Akuma the heck away! I don’t care about some fancy Jewels that will totally clash with your suit! I mean purple and white with red earrings? Are you colorblind?”

There was no visible reaction to the plants.

“Strange…” Marigold ran her hand over the plants. “They still respond, just refuse to yield.” Inside, Mari cursed that she couldn’t consult Tikki.

“So… Want some cookies?” Chloe asked. “We just have to wait for Ladybug to save the day. At least the damage will be repaired.”

‘Except Ladybug it trapped here…’

Suddenly, something small and black slipped through the vines and entered their small peaceful enclave. It zoomed between items on the balcony, trying to avoid being seen. It would’ve been successful if Chloe didn’t know about Kwamis.

“What was that!?” She shouted pointing at Plagg’s hiding place.

“What? I didn’t see anything!” Mari tried to lie. It was the one skill she never had. She did compensate for it by never getting caught.

“A Kwami! I’m sure I’ve seen one.”

“Kwami? Who’s Kwami? Is that some bird? How would a bird get here? I mean we are trapped in…”

“Ugh! I don’t have time for games!” Plagg suddenly floated before the pair. “Chat is trapped and can’t help without revealing himself. Paris is being destroyed mindlessly and nobody can do anything as the vines are harder than steel.” The cat summarized. “And I’m hungry. Give me cheese!” He looked at Chloe. “Camembert would be the best, but I’m not that picky.”

“Why come to us? Ladybug took away my miraculous.” The blonde asked.

“I didn’t come to you. I came to her.” The god pointed at Mari.

“Me?! Why? It’s not like…”

“We don’t have time for charades guardian! The Akuma is out of control! Literally! Hawkmoth’s connection was somehow severed and now you have a giant plant that knows only the rage. This is serious!”

Mari wanted to protest or try to save some of her identity, but then Tikki floated out of her purse.

“Oh no! Marinette! He is right! We have a huge problem.”

“Why?” The girl asked resigned.

“You’re Ladybug!” Chloe shouted but was subsequently ignored

“Hawkmoth must’ve akumatized the plant, hoping to control you, but he had no idea it was sentient. But it stopped being sentient the moment you let it go. I… It never happened before.”

“You’re Ladybug!!!” Chloe shouted so loud that everyone had to look at her.

“We can talk later. Now we need to somehow deal with the plants. Maybe… No. What about… But they are too tough… What if…” Marigold started to run through various scenarios and plans.

“Can’t you just order them to expel the Akuma?” Plagg asked bored.

“It… It might work.” Mari had a focused expression. In her head, she was running through all her knowledge of biology, miraculous magic, and how her mom’s powers worked. Hesitantly, she walked to the edge of the cocoon and called the main vine to her. The wall spread slightly and allowed the tip of it to enter. Mari touched it and started gently caressing it.

“you’re a good boy. Yeah! Who’s a good boy? You’re. Yes! You’re a good boy. But Good Boys don’t have Akuma. Do you want to be a good boy? Of course, you do…”

Chloe stood there and watched how Marigold kept talking to the plant like it was a puppy. She felt something fall into her hand. Opening the palm, she saw two earrings.

“I… I can’t!” She protested, but Plagg floated before her eyes.

“She can’t do it. If Akuma escapes, we will have plantmagedon on a larger scale.”

“Fine. Spots on!”

Just as Mari finally talked the plant into expelling the Akuma, Chloe caught it.

“Bye Bye Little Butterfly!” She released the pure white bug. “Lucky charm!” Chloe shouted. A red and black folder fell into her hands. She looked at it curiously. Inside, she found a complete set of adoption papers for her father to sign. She quickly pulled out the sheets and tossed the folder itself, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that repaired Paris to how it was before plants. The sheet stayed.

Transformation dropped after that and Chloe handed the jewel back to the true owner.

“You still have sooo much explaining to do!”

Nobody remembered about Adrien and Kagami being carried together to safety, which turned out to be Mari’s basement. And while Ladybug Cure should’ve restored them to where they were taken from, for some unknown reason they remained locked there until Mari returned late into the evening to spend the last night at the bakery. It would be some time until Tikki admitted that it was an act of revenge on Plagg for revealing her chosen’s identity. He had to go the whole day without cheese. The one good thing that came from it was that Kagami and Adrien had a long frank talk and ended up as friends. The relationship just wasn’t working.

----------

When Mari was adopted by the Mayor, she decided to keep using the Dupain-Cheng name at least for now. At first, Chloe’s father was against it, but once the girl presented it as a way of getting good press of mayor who personally looks after his citizens he practically ripped the papers to sign them. Although on paper he was the adopter, Chloe was the real parent/sister that took care of Mari. Lila seethed and spitted, but couldn’t really do much more. Adrien and Chloe roped Jagged Stone and Penny into Marinette Protection Squad. Luka and Kagami, who somehow hooked up, also joined. At some point, Mari entrusted Luka and Kagami with permanent Miraculous and Gave Chloe the Bee miraculous back. Some Fox illusion of Chloe publically applauding new heroine helped hide her identity. The hardest part was revealing to Chat, Viperion, and Ryuko her true identity. Adrien was a big surprise, but at least they finally dealt with their crushes once and for all. The fact that they were in love square in two people was way too awkward. Chloe and Mari did notice Adrien sometimes looking at Luka, but he was happy with Kagami. The only person that disproved of ‘Lukagami’ was Kagami’s mother, but she warmed up to him when he accepted the challenge to a duel and was completely pacified when she learned that Luka is apprenticing under Jagged Stone.

Jagged and Penny wanted to Adopt Mari, but ended up filling the role of uncle and aunt. After some time, Mari realized that she rebuilt what she once had in Gotham. These people might not have been her family by blood, but it mattered little. That family might’ve been damaged, maybe even broken, but they were happy together. They found solace in one another. Once more, Marinette was happy.

Until a trip to Gotham came knocking on the front doors.

#maribat #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #Miraculous #Batman #DC #MLB x DC #Mother!Ivy

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dwellordream · 3 years

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A Six of Crows Review: Joost and Inej I

This marks the beginning of my review of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Before I go any further, I want to provide context for my experience/knowledge of the book and its fandom. Six of Crows was published in 2015 when I was 16. I picked it up in a bookstore and read the first few chapters idly while shopping, before putting it back down.

At the time, my dislike of what I’d read was probably primarily fueled by the realization that it was by the same author as Shadow and Bone, which I had tried to read a few years before and disliked, and because at the time I was aging out of the YA genre in general and had very little patience for many of its familiar tropes.

In recent years, Six of Crows and its companion and predecessor series, the Grisha Trilogy, have become one of the most popular YA series online. The avid fan response and promotion of it on social media no doubt led to the Netflix series being greenlit and it is obviously trending at present due to the success of the series. With all that in mind, I’ve decided to try Six of Crows again and see for myself what all the hype is about.

Some more caveats: I am 22 years old. I am aware Six of Crows is YA literature intended for a middle and high school audience. I will not be holding it to the standards I would hold an adult grade fantasy book, in terms of prose, themes, or content. I am aware that I am not necessarily the target audience for the book and these reviews are in no way intended to shame or disparage anyone who enjoys the book.

Criticism is a healthy part of any fandom and does not necessarily constitute hate. I will likely critique elements of the book in my write up. That does not mean I have a personal vendetta against the author, publishers, or the TV show. Please do not take this as a personal attack if you’ve enjoyed the book. This is just intended to promote discussion and to gather my own thoughts.

If you follow me, I am tagging this as ‘in review’ so you know what to block if you don’t want to see my posts on your dash. I will be going through 1-2 chapters per weekend. This weekend I will be looking at the prologue, aka Joost, and the first Inej chapter.

Jumping into things, here is Joost:

The prologue is our introduction to Ketterdam, the setting of Six of Crows. It’s been a very long time since I read Shadow and Bone and so all I really know is that Ketterdam is a city in an island known as Kerch, based off the map. The major countries or kingdoms of the mainland to the east appear to be Fjerda, Ravka, and Shu Han, though it is unclear how they differ from one another at this point.

Ketterdam through Joost’s eyes is a sinister and dreary place, a city under a grimy night sky and full of dangers. Joost works as a hired guard for a very wealthy man named Hoede, who keeps grishas, powerful magic users, as indentured servants. Joost is infatuated with one of them, Anya, a healer, though he knows she is not likely to return his affections and furthermore cannot wed without the permission of her owner. We also learn that grishas are at risk for being kidnapped and sold by slavers due to their value. However, the indentured servant system of Ketterdam thus far doesn’t seem to be much better than slavery, given how little freedom the grisha have.

Overall, the prologue is supposed to give us a sense for the setting of Ketterdam and interest us in the main hook of the novel, which seems to be a mysterious substance that grisha can ingest to heighten their powers for the benefit of their masters, though it has the risks of making them uncontrollable. How well is this done?

Through Joost’s perspective we can glean several things; Ketterdam is a dirty city with rampant income inequality, full of crime and corruption. Magic is an established system within Ketterdam, but the magic users do not seem to be at the type of the hierarchy despite their powers, which suggests they are a minority to the extent of which they can still be controlled by the elite class of non magic users, if they have enough money and power.

It is also very obvious through the references in the prologue that Ketterdam is heavily based off the Netherlands during the Golden Age, which was Amsterdam’s (Ketterdam… Amsterdam… not subtle) economic and cultural boom during the 17th century, aka the 1600s. Notably the world’s first stock exchange began in Amsterdam in 1602, and it was a major port and trading hub for the Dutch East and Dutch West India Companies.

It is not clear if Ketterdam is also intended to be a 1600s-esque society, timeline wise, but we know that rifles are common place and there is a thriving merchant class who rule as opposed to old aristocracy, which seems to indicate a Renaissance style setting, as well as the urban environment in general. (That said, from the advertisements for the Netflix show, they seem to have updated it to a more Victorian-era 1800s society, in terms of fashion and general aesthetics).

Overall, the prologue does its job. It gives us a vague idea of what Ketterdam is like, how the society is structured, and who holds the power. It also ends on a suspenseful cliffhanger, leaving Joost’s fate unclear. Where it falls flat is that I think a little more time could have been spent fleshing out Joost as a narrator, even if this is his only showing in the book.

His internal monologue comes across as a bit dry and mechanical, as if the author is aware he is just a means to an end to start the book off with a bang, and he quickly turns into a walking camera (just there to report events to the reader, with no internal input from him), for the second half of the prologue, as we switch to just watching Anya and Hoede through his eyes. That said, it’s not a major problem, as Joost is clearly not intended to be a main character, and his narration still effectively conveys what is happening and sets the dark tone of the novel.

What I would have liked to see from the prologue is perhaps the POV of Anya herself, or the small child she is being forced to experiment on, as that might have been a more compelling and immerse introduction to Ketterdam and its dangers rather than the fairly bland and neutral Joost, who doesn’t really feel like a character so much as a bland stand-in for the reader. If we were put in the shoes of Anya, suddenly called upon by her power hungry employer to participate in this unethical test, or in the shoes of the small boy caught up in the middle of this, it might have been both more thrilling to read and given a more gritty sense of what it’s like to be on the lowest rungs of Ketterdam’s society, at the mercy of the most powerful.

Moving onto Inej, we run into some similar problems. After Inej’s first chapter, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about her, other than that she was an acrobat as a child, that she is part of the street gang known as the Dregs, and that she intensely values loyalty. This isn’t a problem, per say, but while that’s all good to know, it doesn’t give me any sense of Inej’s actual personality, which doesn’t exactly bode well. Like Joost, she comes across more as a walking camera and occasional tourist guide as opposed to a human character with her own worries, hopes, and fears.

I think this may become a recurring problem with Bardugo’s writing - ie all tell, no show. Inej is good at telling things. She tells us where we are as we follow her to the location of a stand-off between rival gangs, she tells us that Kaz, their leader ‘doesn’t need a reason’, though she never exactly explains what that means other than that he is widely feared, she tells us that she is very fond of her knives.

But in terms of writing, we shouldn’t have to be force fed all this information via her internal monologue, which, again, entirely cuts out once the action picks up, just like Joost’s. While I don’t need her thoughts on every threat or gunshot, it would be nice to feel as if she hadn’t just vanished from the story completely as soon as the dialogue starts.

We also meet Kaz and Jesper, though I couldn’t tell you much about them utter than that Inej clearly admires, even venerates Kaz as an accomplished intimidator and chess master, and that Jesper is clearly the joker of the group.

It also feels incredibly weird that this parley between gangs in happening in front of the city’s stock exchange. Inej tells us this is because the Exchange is one of the few remaining neutral territories, but it’s also heavily guarded, which means every time a gang wants to parley, they have to pay out the cash to bribe all the guards to very pointedly ignore a meeting between rambunctious and trigger happy street gangsters on their literal doorstep.

I understand why Bardugo chose this location, wanting to contrast the violence of the gang members with the economic injustice that the Exchange and its merchant rulers represents, but it just seems a bit silly. They couldn’t meet at the docks? In an alley way? This is like picturing the American Mafia hosting a public meeting at the New York Stock Exchange with a bunch of cops twiddling their thumbs nearby.

The foreshadowing that Bollinger is the traitor (‘I’m not going to bet on my own death’) also seems very heavy handed and a little much, but I’ll let it slide.

It’s also not really clear while Inej is present at this meeting in the first place. Kaz commands her to keep watch from above, but he has also put a contingency plan in place that doesn’t even involve her, having bought out some of Geels’ men from under him. Why put Inej looking down from above if you’re not involving her in this plan? Her only role seems to be to watch, and she doesn’t even have a gun she could play sniper with. It just seems like a hamfisted way of getting Inej out of the danger zone so the author can have her as a passive spectator to the violence that follows.

This is my main problem with this chapter. It’s supposed to introduce us to Inej, but really, it’s introducing us to Kaz. Which is fine, but as he also has a POV in this book, it seems a bit lame that her own chapter is completely overtaken by showing off A. his smarts and B. how dangerous he is, despite being dismissed as a young ‘cripple’ by the likes of Geels.

Geels is also… not a greatly done villain. I get that he’s supposed to be small fry and is just a precursor to much more threatening opponents, but his every line of dialogue feels designed to show off how cool and Machiavellian Kaz is in comparison. He doesn’t seem like an actual hardened criminal who has underestimated his opponent, but a somewhat cheesy cartoon thug who unironically says things like “How are you going to wriggle your way out of this one?” with his full chest. The effect is comical, and not in a good way.

This chapter also shows off Kaz’s sadistic side in full display, which is probably one of the only interesting things about it, though it would be nice if we got any input at all from Inej on this… instead she completely vanishes from her own narration, to the point where she might as well not be present at all. Kaz has no qualms about tracking down his enemies’ weakness, such as lovers and family, and threatening them.

But the open horror and shock Geels reacts with seems incongruent, as if Kaz were the first up and coming gangster to actually consider threatening someone’s family or girlfriend. That seems pretty par for the course for violent criminals trying to claim territory and unnerve their rivals, yet Inej and Geels himself react as if no one had ever thought of sinking to the level of ‘do what I want or I’ll kill your loved ones’ until Kaz invented it. It just feels a bit silly and on the nose.

Really, my overarching issue with this chapter is that it’s not about Inej at all, it’s just an introduction to the Kaz Brekker fan club. I don’t automatically hate Kaz as a character, but his introduction is heavyhanded and comes at the cost of any establishing character moments for Inej. The most we get out of her is her brief pangs of sympathy for Bollinger despite his treachery, and her brief reference to her childhood. Maybe future Inej chapters will totally change this, but right now, it’s not a great sign of what’s to come.

I can think of about a hundred things Inej could have done or said this chapter to develop or establish her personality at all, but all we got was her briefly holding a knife to someone, and her briefly saying a prayer for Bollinger. I think it would have worked much better had this plan to catch Geels with his pants down been Inej’s invention or at least worked out between her and Kaz, rather than her just there to play lookout and admire how cool Kaz is.

Or at the very least, we could have seen the scene referenced where she searches the crime scene of the assassination, instead of that getting two lines and an entire chapter being devoted to what boils down to a pissing contest over which gangs gets rights to a certain neighborhood.

Next week, we will look at Kaz I.

#in review #six of crows #ya lit #inej ghafa

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gigglewaterart99 · 3 years

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Ruby Vs. Kuma

As said in my bio I’m working on a graphic novel, so in addition to being an artist, I write too. I’m not the best but I try. Which is actually why I’m posting this short excerpt from my story. Idk if this is the best way to get feedback or critique but it can’t hurt to try.

I know y’all don’t know much about my story, so here’s the general tl;dr : four high school superheroes (with elemental themed powers) become friends, fight villains, go on adventures, explore their abilities, and have some chaotic fun.

This particular excerpt features Ruby, who has earth powers, and she gets into some trouble. POV shifts twice, from Nightmare to Ruby, and then back to Nightmare at the end, in case anyone is confused. It’s also a bit ?spoilery? but I figure y’all don’t know enough context for it to even matter so eh, here we go.

words: 2411

CW: blood, gore, injury (graphic descriptions)

“Hurry up Heath!”

“Quit worryin’, I’m coming!”

Nightmare lets the door slam behind her as soon as the second Heath brother is through. They made it out of the bank with seconds to spare, and minutes before any law enforcement arrive. Nightmare smiled under her mask, this was too easy.

She spoke too soon.

A flash of blue and orange drops from the sky and lands heavily in the middle of the alley way. The Heath brothers are too stunned to react before two columns of earth rise at blinding speed and knock both brothers into opposite sides of the alley. They slump to the ground out cold, their bags of cash rolling out of their lax grips.

“A bank heist on such a fine Friday evening? What a great start to my weekend!” The little hero exclaims avidly, her chest puffed out and her arms spread wide, a toothy grin the only thing visible on her masked face.

Kuma, who had been ahead of the brothers, turns around at the commotion, “Little brat! I’ve seen you around the city but never up close, until now. I’ve been looking forward to destroying you!”

“Destroy?! Whoa there, I just took out two of your buddies in two seconds flat. No offense but I don’t think you and your…” She turns to look at Nightmare, who was starting to advance, “uh, shadow mask friend are going to be much of a problem. Unless of course you were Flairs.”

“You’ve miscalculated,” Nightmare advances full sprint, “We are.” She vanishes in a flash of black mid-leap and reappears with a dagger extended at the hero, who barely manages to lift a gauntlet in time for the dagger to bounce harmlessly off. Nightmare had to give it to the little hero, she had some sharp reflexes. But she was going to have to be quicker than that to catch her--”GAHK!” Nightmare tumbles out of her shadow jump with the hero in tow, who had grabbed onto her tail with a painful grip.

“Oh, did that huwt your wittle tale?” The hero ducks as Nightmare spins around with the dagger slashing dangerously close. “Woah! Someone needs a chill pill! Here, big guy, why don’t you give your friend a talk!” Pain flashes up Nightmare’s spine as the hero yanks her tail and launches her at Kuma, who had been advancing slowly. But Kuma, the damn brute, does nothing to break Nightmare’s fall and instead swats her to the side.

“Not friends I take it? Acquaintances maybe?” Ruby watches as the masked Flair slumps to the ground.

“I am here for the money, but I am going to enjoy ripping you apart.” Kuma lets out a roar, a roar? As his clothes begin to rip and his form rapidly grows and darkens as if a shadow had suddenly overtaken him. Ruby takes a step back, nervously eyeing his hands as they sprout enormous claws and...fur? Her eyes flick back up to his face, which was no longer bearded and angry, or human for that matter, but was covered in thick black fur and elongated into the long, thick snout of a bear, with a matching set of sharp white fangs.

Ruby was glad her visor was heavily tinted because she could feel her eyes stretch wide in a mixture of astonishment and fear, as the man reared back to his full height, which had gone from something like 6 feet to a dizzying 8 feet. He was, without a doubt, a big black bear. But not a full bear. The proportions weren't quite right, almost like a human wearing an extremely realistic and frightening bear costume.

Ruby had read about Flairs like these. They were called Zoo Flairs*. They had the ability to rearrange their whole physical structure which meant that they could take on the physical prowess of the animal they copied, and could even amplify said abilities. But such power came at a cost; most can only shift into one type of animal.

And this one had to be a big friggin’ bear. Ruby’s muscles tighten as the man-bear lets out a roar and charges. She crouches and leaps over the mass of black. But her flight is cut short as a giant paw wraps its claws around her leg. How the hell did he turn so fast? A body with that much mass shouldn’t be able to--”OOF”.

Ruby’s thought is cut short as she’s slammed into the ground. Before she can even force air back into her lungs, she feels herself lifted into the air again. A moment later she crashes into a wall. Somehow she lands on her feet and her legs, albeit shaky, hold her up. She looks up to see the bear--uh--man-bear charging again. She throws a left hook, sending a chunk of brick wall straight at his ugly snout. Bullseye.

She jumps to the side as the man-bear collides blindly with the wall right where she had been standing, but not before a stray claw can slice through her exposed shoulder. She winces and takes a moment to breathe and glance back at the other goons. The blonde dudes were still out cold but the masked Flair was moving again. Not good. She had to put this man-bear down, quick! Or at least hold out until some backup arrived.

Ruby winces. Vincent was still recovering from a recent fight and in no condition to come to her aid. Laurel was grounded for the weekend and Sam had swim practice today. She’d forgotten she wasn’t going to have backup today and had promised herself only some light patrolling. Nonetheless she felt her stomach drop as she realized the situation was quickly going south.

She whips her head back to the man-bear as he frees his head from the wall with a grunt. He turns to Ruby while giving his big head a shake to free any lingering chunks of brick, although a light dusting of red still clung to his fur.

“What’s the matter, tubby? Too temperamental to fit in with the circus and too ugly for the zoo?”

“GRAAHH!” He charges at her, who advances as well. Before he can take a swing, Ruby drops and slides feet first between his legs, simultaneously digging a heel into the pavement to spin herself around to face his back as she comes out the other side. Using her momentum, she rolls backward, planting her hands on either side of her head and coiling her legs into her body. Satisfied with her hold on a chunk of earth between her and the beast, she releases. Her legs extend up towards the bear, a large chunk of asphalt following the line of her feet and colliding explosively with the man-bear’s face, who had twisted his upper body around to follow her movement.

As debris rains down, Ruby continues her momentum and flips onto her feet, a fist ready for a close body shot. Before she can even brace herself, the man-bear’s paw slams against her chest, smashing her back into the ground and pinning her with a crushing weight. Her head flies back into the pavement with a thud and she silently thanks her brother for the extra thick padding in her helmet.

The man-bear shakes his head and glares down at Ruby, a growl rising from deep inside his chest. Ruby curses under her breath; she’s made a mistake. She let her fear cloud her judgement; she’d let her pride turn into recklessness; she should have known that the asphalt was too crumbly to provide any serious damage, and that getting so close to an enemy with such intense strength and speed was foolish.

She could hear her sister already yelling at her; her eyes pointed with disappointment. “What the hell was that?!” The older girl walked toward Ruby, her head raised high and her movement graceful and powerful. She stands over Ruby, staring down at her with frustrated but tired eyes, “You know you have the upper hand when it comes to battling in such small quarters,” She gestures to the rusted steel walls surrounding them, lined with old pipes and grated catwalks that extended indefinitely into the shadows, “Not to mention we’re on ground level, literally your area of expertise.” She squats down next to Ruby, who’s covered in dirt and grime, and bruises. “So why do you keep making these mistakes?” Ruby looks away, the shame too strong to answer. Her sister sighs, “You’re strong Ruby. And smart, crazy smart, but you let it get to your head, and that’s what's going to get you in trouble, understand?” Ruby nods. Her sister extends a hand, “C’mon, I know you’ve still got a little fight left in ya’.”

The crushing weight on her chest brings Ruby back to reality. She wants to yell out but it’s getting harder to breathe. She tries pounding against the beast’s forearm, but her strength is beginning to weaken as well.

“That’s not going to work, little bug.” The man-bear lets out a rumbling chuckle, or was it a growl? He peels his lips back to expose his big white fangs dripping with drool, “I’m going to--”

Without thinking Ruby slams her elbow into the ground and raises it in a weak punch, sending dirt and grime into the beast’s mouth.

He spits and lets out a deafening roar, “I’M GOING TO TEAR OFF YOUR STUPID ARM!” He wraps his claws around Ruby’s right arm with a painful grip, and pulls. She screams.

There’s not much air left in her lungs but the pain is too much. “STOP!” She kicks her legs out in an empty attempt to connect with something, anything. “NO, PLEASE STOP! YOU -- *GASP*” A loud pop at her shoulder sends pain rolling through her body. Her hand has gone numb.

The beast lets out another grumbling chuckle and continues to pull, slowly. Ruby can feel the tendons and muscles in her shoulder weakening and ripping. She couldn’t think straight anymore, panic flooding her brain. She began pounding with her left hand at the hairy arm pinning her. Her fist hit so hard that it recoiled back hard enough to hit the ground and her brain cleared just enough for her to realize that the shock of the impact allowed her to get a feeling for the composition of the ground just beneath her hand. It was solid and surrounding something even harder: a stray piece of rebar. She had an idea. It was crazy, but considering her right arm was about to get ripped off, crazy was all she had.

She pushed her fist against the ground and willed the earth to slide up into her hand, carrying with it the piece of rebar. Without hesitation she plunged the rebar reinforced shaft of earth deep into the beast’s forearm. He let out a roar but Ruby almost didn’t hear it amongst all of the adrenaline inducing white noise in her head. She could just see the tip of the rebar poking out the other side of his arm. She gave another push and her hand slipped into the wound.

The man-bear still hadn’t released her arm, so she wasn’t going to release his. Using the last bit of her strength she grabbed onto what felt like a stiff bundle of muscles, and squeezed. They popped; blood gushed out of the wound. He roared again and finally let go of her arm. He lifted his wounded arm as well but Ruby had latched onto another group of muscles. The beast growled and shook his arm, throwing Ruby off like she was nothing but a pesky bug.

She landed with a thud, the little air she managed to get back into her lungs knocked out again. She lay for a moment gasping, trying to focus her eyes as pain ran through her body. Despite everything, she was just happy she didn’t lose an arm. But the relief didn’t last long as she heard the man-beast walking back towards her. She managed to raise her head just enough to watch him approach, grasping his bleeding forearm. The rebar was gone which meant he pulled it out.

He stops beside her and glares down with a hmph. She’s reminded again of her sister, which is odd because her sister never tried to kill her, unlike this beast who fully intended to. Ruby is too weak to scramble out of the way as he reaches down and collects both of her arms into his one good hand and lifts her into the air.

Ruby can’t remember if she screamed or not, only that she was fighting to stay conscious from the flood of pain. He lifts her to eye level and she manages to focus her eyes as he lets out a rumbling growl, “I’m going to kill you.” She believed him.

He pulls back his arm, despite being injured and not 100% functioning, Ruby had no doubt those 4 inch long claws could slice into her like butter.

“Kuma STOP!” He pauses and turns to look past Ruby. She can’t turn her head but she recognizes the female voice, it’s the masked shadow Flair. “We don’t have time for this!” He frowns and pulls back his lips into a sinister sneer. But the masked Flair continues, “Listen! The cops are almost here and you’re making too much noise! We have to leave now!”

The man-beast, Kuma as the other Flair had called him, pauses and turns his head, his ears pricking up at the faint sound of sirens. Darkness was closing in on the edges of her mind but Ruby could hear the sirens too, and she realizes that although this fight felt like it was lasting an eternity, in reality it had only been a couple minutes, if even that.

Kuma lets out a low, dangerous growl as he turns back to Nightmare, “Fine.” With one swift move he launches the barely conscious hero into the far corner of the alley, where she collides with and disappears behind a large pile of trash bags.

Nightmare turns to Kuma with a frown, “C’mon, grab those two, I’ll get the bags.” She slings them over her shoulders as Kuma heaves the Heath brothers under each arm. Nightmare steps forward and wraps her tail around the arm of the younger brother, “Ok, hold on.” And with a puff of black smoke, they’re gone.

#my writing #i am: hero #Ruby Sandz #Nightmare #Kuma

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melodious-madrigals · 4 years

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wake me up (before you go-go)

Day 4 of Wondertrev Loveweek.

Fandom: Wonder Woman Pairing: Diana/Steve Prompt: Return Word Count: 4095 Rating: T Summary: On a sticky day in June, Diana decides that it’s time to return to Themyscira. It produces some mixed emotions and insecurities.

Read it on [AO3] or below the cut.

***

It's a sticky day in June when Diana says, "I think it is time to return to Themyscira. I have put it off too long."

Even though the War technically ended in November, there has been no shortage of work and missions, of places for Diana to help right the wrongs that Ares—and Man—had done. Still, a visit is long overdue, if only to put her mother's mind at ease. She's been gone seven whole months.

"I—yeah. I can arrange transport for you whenever you want." Steve's sitting at the kitchen table opposite where she's standing, newspaper and juice in hand, doing his very best to conceal his surprise and swallow down the dread that's suddenly thickening in his throat. He's not ready to lose her. (He doesn't think he'll ever be, but seven months is nowhere near enough time.)

"Us," says Diana absently, apparently unbothered by the oppressive heat as she fiddles with the kettle for her morning tea, which she always drinks far hotter than Steve can stand. "If you can spare a week, anyways."

He can absolutely spare a week, but that doesn't actually seem like the biggest issue, here. "Am I, uh, allowed?"

"Yes, of course," says Diana, adding a touch of honey—which she far prefers to the overly sweet granulated sugar the British are so fond of—to the tea. "You are with me."

"It's just—" He scrapes his hand across the nape of his neck, winces. "I can think of a few reasons I wouldn't be." The fact that he's a man is probably the least egregious thing on Hippolyta's list.

"Anyone who doesn't like it can take it up with me." She pauses, looks at him seriously. "You do not have to come, you know. I would like it, but if you are uncomfortable…"

He's going, of course. It was a lost cause as soon as she asked him. He'd follow her to the ends of the earth and back, and that includes Themyscira.

"When do we leave?"

Diana's ensuing smile might just make it all worth it.

Steve enjoys the boat trip to Themyscira more than he has any right to. It's the first time they've had substantial, uninterrupted time together since—well, since the boat trip from Themyscira. And they're on considerably closer terms, now.

There's no mission to steal their attention away, no urgent telegrams calling one or both of them to another country, no well meaning friends crashing what was meant to be a romantic dinner. (Sameer swears up and down that he didn't realize that Steve meant he was making a specifically-him-and-Diana-dinner, but Steve saw him discreetly swapping money with Charlie afterwards and laughing, the traitors.) It's just the two of them, talking and laughing and—on one particularly memorable occasion—diving off the side of the boat for a lazy, mid-afternoon swim.

At night, they lay side by side, so close that the Steve from seven months ago would be heartily scandalized, and play a game where Steve points out constellations, and Diana recounts the myth behind each one that she was taught as a child. They fall asleep shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh, heads leaned together and fingers laced.

They catch good winds and make quick time, and though Diana thinks they go in circles a bit before finding the veil that separates Themyscira from the mortal world, they do break through eventually.

Indeed, they must be spotted almost immediately by an Amazon scout, because by the time they arrive at the dock, there's a welcome party waiting for them, consisting of a dozen Amazons and led by Menalippe.

The Amazons unanimously abandon decorum and embrace Diana in turn, and Menalippe tells Diana that the Queen waits to receive her in the palace.

What should be a victorious homecoming and happy moment is dampened when it becomes apparent that the party only boasts one extra horse, despite the fact that they were both on deck the whole time. Whether it is her mother's doing, or Menalippe's, the meaning is clear.

"No matter," says Diana icily. "Steve can ride with me. Klytemnestra is more than capable." The black mare chooses that moment to snort, seemingly in agreement.

"Princess—"

But Diana has already swung up onto the horse, and reached down to boost Steve up behind her. As soon as he's in place, she urges the mare forward, galloping off along familiar trails towards the palace.

Diana dismounts in the courtyard while the horse is still moving, and strides into the palace throne room, where Hippolyta stands, cutting an imposing figure with an entourage of Senators flanking her.

"Mother," Diana greets, inclining her head.

"My child."

It's at that moment that Steve shows up, sending a murmur through the Senators.

"Steven Trevor," says Hippolyta distastefully.

"Your Majesty."

Diana redirects the attention back to herself by saying, "We come with the news that Ares has been vanquished. I have fulfilled the foreordiance of the Amazons and killed him."

More whispers erupt among the Court.

"Congratulations, my daughter. You have done us a great service, and are a credit to the Amazons."

"I have done as I was taught by you and our great fallen sister, General Antiope." She holds her mother's gaze. Hippolyta blinks first.

"A celebration, then, is in order," declares Hippolyta. "To fête a mighty warrior, and give our thanks that Ares has been defeated at last."

At this edict, a dozen Amazons spring into action.

"Eumelia, Maia, in the meantime, please show our… guest to the Sage Rooms. I would have a private audience with my daughter."

Diana's eyes narrow. The palace is not spectacularly large—there's no reason for it to be much bigger than a regular residence with a couple of halls for High Council meetings, but the rooms she's suggesting are as far from Diana's traditional set as is spacially possible.

Diana squeezes Steve's hand. "I will be along shortly," she whispers.

Steve nods, and allows himself to be led away.

As soon as they are alone, Hippolyta rounds on Diana. "What are you still doing with him?"

"He is a good man, Mother."

"There is no such thing, Diana!" Hippolyta exclaims.

"The world is not so black and white," Diana refutes. "And even if what you say is true, he wants to be a good man. He is trying to be, every day, with all of his choices. Does that count for nothing?"

Hippolyta scoffs. "Oh, I'm sure that he claims to be, but what is a man's word worth?"

"He sacrificed himself, Mother!" Diana snaps, choking on the words, unable to separate the fact itself from the memory and the emotions that it causes to well within her. "He was willing to die to save thousands, maybe millions. I watched his aeroplane explode, and I could do nothing to save him."

Hippolyta's brow furrows, and Diana answers her unasked question.

"One of the gods saved him. Apparently they are not all quite so dead as your stories implied."

"A god would," says Hippolyta derisively. "It reeks of Zeus, as if a man is ever a reward—"

"I love him—"

"You barely know him!"

"I know him well enough! I love him and I'm not willing to argue with you about this any further."

Pivoting from Steve himself—possibly because she knows a losing battle when she sees it—Hippolyta says instead, "I still think they do not deserve you, Diana."

"Probably not," Diana agrees, to her mother's clear shock. "But it is not about what they deserve. It is about what I believe, and I believe in love, and humanity."

Hippolyta pauses, then half-nods, a resigned air about her. "I suppose that is rather insightful."

Diana smiles at her triumphantly. "That is something Steve told me. He is more than you think, Mother."

"Hmm," says Hippolyta scornfully, but she makes no further protest, and Diana knows that she's won for the moment.

Diana finds Steve fiddling with an hourglass in his rooms, far later than she'd meant to be. Her conversation with her mother was wide-ranging.

"You survived the day."

He looks up, relief clear on his face.

"Yeah, uh. An Amazon named Maia took pity on me?"

Maia is a talented archer, and she was on the beach that day. She would've seen Steve fight with the Amazons, would have reason to not distrust him outright.

"Then perhaps your day was more enjoyable than mine."

Steve winces. "Your mother?"

"Displeased with me," Diana says lightly. "But I am working on it."

"She's mad at you because of me, isn't she."

"A little, yes," says Diana in that blunt manner of hers, unwilling to sugar-coat it or lie. "But she disapproves of many of my choices."

That much is true: the list of things her mother disapproves of includes Steve, her decision to stay in the World of Man after Ares was defeated, her desire to return, her critique that her mother should have told her about Zeus, about being the Godkiller, and more.

She sighs and starts to pace, now visibly agitated. "I just do not understand why she continues to be so stubborn about you!"

"In her defense," says Steve cautiously, "men do not have the greatest track record. It's probably not personal. I hope."

"But it is personal!" Diana cries. "I am not asking any of them to go to Man's World, or to bring a group of unknown men here. I am simply asking that they treat one single man who I trust implicitly without hostility."

It finally clicks for Steve: she's angry because she feels they're discounting her judgement just as much as they're discounting him. Even after all she's done, all she's endured, they're signaling to her that her trust, her judgement, isn't enough.

"Shit. I'm sorry. Maybe I should leave?"

"No," says Diana fiercely. "This is their problem, not yours."

Personally, Steve feels that they've kind of made it his problem, but he's not about to do something to make her question whether he distrusts her judgement too.

"Maybe a quick nap before the feast tonight?" he suggests. "It's been a long day."

"I am not tired," she snaps, and then reconsiders it, softens a little. "But if you are offering to hold me—?"

Steve ducks his head to conceal his grin. "Yeah, I am."

She nods once, and without hesitation strips down to her linen tunic, lays down. Steve joins her, and she buries her head into the junction between his neck and chest, breathes deep as he wraps his arm around her.

"It is unfair how much better this makes me feel," she grumbles.

"Trade secret," teases Steve, before he presses a kiss to the top of her head. She sighs and nuzzles closer, and they both end up drifting off for a bit.

The Amazons, it must be said, certainly know how to throw a party. The bonfire roars in the background, the food is superb, and the music is rollicking, lively, frenetic. The joy in the air is infectious: Ares is defeated and their Princess has returned a conquering hero.

A woman he recognizes as Mala, Diana's best friend, pulls her up and they start dancing, something related to a reel or a jig, fast paced with intricate footwork. In no time, a number of other Amazons join in, all laughing and cheering and spinning wildly.

Steve watches as Diana gets twirled 'round and 'round in time to the lively music, switching partners regularly and laughing in delight. At one point, he loses sight of her, and the next moment, she pops up next to him.

"This is dancing," she says, slightly breathless and eyes alight with excitement. "Will you join me?"

He's about to make an idiot out of himself, but he'll do it gladly for her. Steve takes her hand and allows her to pull him up. She walks him through the steps, and then they pick up the pace. The footwork itself is a little much for him, but once he picks up the general rhythm, they're able to twirl around almost as fast as she had been before. As he gets more comfortable, they start trading partners as is customary, and he dances with Maia, and then Mala—who he suspects is being kind for Diana's sake—and then an Amazon named Apollonia that he vaguely recognizes as the healer who treated him the first time he was here, before ending up back in Diana's arms.

Diana grins, delighted, and then leans in to whisper, "This is nice, but I will admit that there is something to be said for swaying."

He wears a matching grin, after that.

Steve is an early riser, but he's got nothing on Diana. The other side of the bed has long since turned cold by the time he wakes, the sun over the horizon but still low in the sky. Just past dawn, but he suspects Diana woke to go join the other Amazons in their training.

He dresses quickly and pads his way down the trail towards where she pointed out the training grounds last night. He has the city to himself; all the training warriors are long-arrived at the field, and everyone else is still abed. He hears the sounds of sparring before he sees them, and then finds himself on a balcony overlooking the field. He thinks, maybe, it's the one she told him she took a flying leap from as a little girl.

Below, the women are through with their conditioning exercises and have moved on to actual sparring. Steve catches sight of Diana almost instantly, her figure familiar to him even at a distance, her dark hair done back in an elaborate Amazonian braid.

Even if he wasn't so attuned to her, couldn't pick her out of a crowd in a second flat, it would be easy to spot her: she's in the middle of a dozen other Amazons, wielding a massive broadsword and fighting all of them at once.

They come at her in waves, and she takes them down with a practiced sort of ease, one or two at a time. It's truly awe-inspiring, watching her like this, among almost-equals. She looks so natural here, dressed in the same tunic and breastplate as the other Amazons, the sun glinting off her shield.

It's because she belongs, he realizes. Belongs in a way that she never has in his world, even though she's carved a niche for herself.

He's thrown from his reverie by a mighty clang as she catches two different blows with her blade at once and throws them off. Off to his left, there's a glint that catches his eye, and he turns in time to see an archer release an arrow meant for Diana. But even as she parries another blow, turned away from the incoming arrow, she jumps, vaulting herself into the air and twisting over the path of the arrow entirely.

Even Steve, who regularly sees what Diana can do, feels his jaw drop. He stands there entranced at least another hour, watching as Diana takes on Amazon after Amazon—with a sword and later hand-to-hand—and makes it look easy.

When the session ends with her pinning the last opponent and then gamely pulling her up and into a warm hug, Steve makes his way back towards the palace.

She finds him some time later, reading on the balcony. She's dripping sea water, and is wearing the widest grin, skin glowing in the golden island light.

"We went cliff diving," she says, breathless. "I came back to see if you wanted to join in for a second round!"

Steve is no stranger to daredevil activities—he was a pilot, after all—but there are no words to convey how much he does not want to go cliff diving. He doesn't mind heights and doesn't mind swimming, but the nexus of the two leads directly down the path of being overcome by memories of crashing his plane into the sea.

Diana seems to draw this same conclusion by the stricken look on his face as he's trying to figure out how to say it aloud. "Steve, I'm sorry. I did not think. Maybe we could go swimming in the cove instead?"

"What about the cliff diving? I want you to have fun."

"Spending time with you is fun," she says guilelessly, like she's confused he could consider it anything else.

Steve slips a bookmark into his page. "Lead on."

She takes him down a rocky path he's never been on, and leads him down to a sheltered cove where the waves are almost non-existent and the water is a clear, vibrant blue.

Diana dives in, Steve not far behind, and they splash around like giddy children for a spell.

"Float with me," Diana says eventually, and tips back in the water until she's floating buoyant on her back, eyes closed and soaking in the sun and breeze.

Steve does the same, and, like her body is tuned in to exactly where his rests, she extends a hand and laces their fingers together. He closes his eyes and they float—silently, peacefully, together—in the crystal waters until an Amazon named Phoibe comes to inform Diana that she's late for lunch with the Queen. Diana squeezes his hand, gives him a smile and a kiss, and dashes off to meet Hippolyta, leaving him to head back up at his leisure.

They pass the rest of the week in much the same way: in the pre-dawn morning, Diana slips out of bed to train with the Amazons, and then her friends drag her from one activity to another.

One afternoon, she convinces Steve to take a hike to a temple on the Northern side of the island, but ten minutes in, three other Amazons—including Mala—crash their trip. Fortunately, Maia is also part of the group, the closest thing Steve has to an Amazon friend outside of Diana. It's still an enjoyable afternoon, it's just not quite the one either of them thought they'd be having.

In the evenings, they usually dine with a group of Amazons including Hippolyta. Post-dinner is devoted to storytelling, once with a bonfire on the beach, but usually at the residences of Diana's friends.

And Diana is incandescent. Steve has never seen her so relaxed, has never seen her looking so free. The weight of the world has lifted from her shoulders, and she looks younger. Her laughs are just a little quicker to arrive, and a great deal louder in volume. He adores seeing it, and it simultaneously scares him. He's greedy; he wants more time, but he doubts more with each day that he'll get it.

The day before they're set to leave, Diana barely sees Steve at all. She's done her best not to leave him all alone—after all, she did ask him to come with—but sometimes her friends get carried away, and this afternoon is one of those times. They spend the entire afternoon on the beach, practicing horsewomanship and some of the more daring tricks. She allows herself to get swept up in it because it's been months since she's ridden a horse trained for this type of thing, and it gives her a thrill. Diana has so idea how long it'll be before she gets the chance to do this again.

She greets Steve at dinner sweaty and grinning, and feels butterflies in her stomach when his smile softens upon seeing her, when some of the tension reflexively leaves his body. She relaxes too, knowing he's all right.

When she and Steve get back to their rooms that evening, there's a desperation in his kiss that Diana chalks up to having a tough day. It's sweet, even, the way he kisses her like he's mapping her, memorizing every inch.

"I love you," he says later, as they're drowsing, when she feels so sated and heavy with sleepiness that she might sink straight into the mattress. "I hope you know that I love you."

She tries to respond, but she's dragged under by a dreamless sleep before she gets the chance.

The next morning is a flurry of activity, as Diana gets dragged out even earlier than normal by Mala and Steve packs the few things they've brought.

They barely see each other all morning, and they're accompanied down to the dock by several of her friends, who chatter on excitedly, anxious to make the most of every bit of time they can.

Waiting for them at the dock is the Queen and her riding party.

"Diana." Hippolyta's face betrays nothing, and her tone is just as even.

Diana pauses in front of her mother, gestures at Steve to continue. Time might be repeating itself, if not for the fact that it is early afternoon and Ares has already been neutralized.

"There will always be a place for you here." Hippolyta does not ask her to stay; she already knows what Diana's answer would be.

"Maybe someday I will return for good," says Diana. "But for now, there is still work to do. It does not mean I love you any less, Mother." She looks at her imploringly, the closest she will get to begging her mother's understanding.

"Be safe, my child."

Diana allows herself to break this time, and throws her arms around her mother for a tight embrace that she couldn't have indulged last time.

Then she strides down the dock and boards the boat, leaving Steve, who was unmooring the lines, to clamber in after her. It takes very little to get them under way—a stiff, agreeable breeze aiding them—and Themyscira grows smaller, until the moment they pass through the barrier, and the whole thing vanishes like a dream. There was enough to do in terms of manning the riggings that their journey up to that point has been mostly silent, but once Themyscira disappears, Diana breaks the silence.

"You thought I was going to stay." It's not a question.

"I did," Steve admits, swallowing. He'd done his best not to show it, but as usual, Diana can read him better than anyone. He couldn't help the look of surprise when she got on the boat, or the tension that left his shoulders when Themyscira vanished.

"But you were not going to ask me to return with you," Diana says slowly, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"No, I wouldn't do that. Themyscira is your home."

"And yet you came." She sounds utterly confused.

Steve laughs, soft and wry. "Diana," he says helplessly, "I'm only human. I wanted every second I could get, and I wanted to be able to say goodbye. A real one."

Her eyes soften in understanding. "Oh, my love. This is not how we are destined to say goodbye."

Steve swallows thickly; she sounds so sure.

"I just don't want you to be unhappy."

Across from him, Diana frowns. "What makes you think I am not happy?"

"It's just, on Themyscira, you looked so natural, so relaxed."

Diana cannot help but laugh. "My love, it was because I knew I did not have to stay. I love my sisters dearly, but my role on Themyscira is too static, and comes with the expectation of forever being the same person. The visit was all the sweeter for its fleetingness."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. Do you really think I would not express my dissatisfaction, were I to feel it?"

Well, shit. He somehow overlooked that bit, despite the fact that Diana has never been shy about sharing how she feels, and now he feels ridiculous.

He scrubs a hand over his face. "No. I don't know. Forget I said anything."

"No, Steve, this is important. Sometimes we get too close to our own problems to see them clearly." She presses a hand to his cheek, and looks him straight in the eye. "This is me telling you: I am happy with you. And if something is wrong, I will tell you. I promise you this. I hope you will do the same."

A deal is a promise, and a promise is unbreakable, echos in his mind, and he smiles at the memory. He can't imagine ever not finding happiness with her, but says, "Of course," and means it.

"I love you, Steve Trevor."

A peacefulness that he hasn't felt in weeks settles over him, and it stays with him the entire return trip to London.

Their time is only just beginning.

***

#wondertrevweek2020 #wondertrev #Wonder Woman #diana prince #steve trevor #themyscira #fix-it fic #diana x steve #steve x diana #wondertrev fanfiction #lenci writes

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this-is-my-toenail-collection · 5 years

Text

Zadr week phase 2: dumbass in distress

And a short story I wrote for it :)

It had been 1 week since the truce.

One week since Dib had foolishly thought to give the smelly alien a chance. For one week Dib had put the fate of humanity into the hands of an outsider, and in one week Zim had proven himself trustworthy.

There was no denying that Zim had changed, or maybe its Dib who saw him differently. Knew him better. But for a while Zim had been the only one to listen, to sympathize. The earth was not Zim's motivation, rather, he and Zim shared a driving force.

As much as Dib hated to admit it, it was approval.

Dib still didn’t fully trust the space bug but he had been so yearning for companionship that the desire to fight dwindled on its own. Zim was just a kid…like him. Even though he deserved to be suspended in the glass tube that imprisoned him now, Dib could not help but feel as if the fear and embarassment on the Irkens face was his own.

However, none of this is the reason for the twisting of his gut. The heat rising in his face and the bile in his throat at the sheer disgusting nature of what he was witnessing.

His Father stood in front of the tube gesturing wildly and announcing things to the camera people who crowded his lab.

“Yes as you can see here I have discovered genuine alien life living amongst us.” He boomed to the press. “Until now extraterrestrial entities have been entirely theoretical, but with this discovery I have proved not just the existence but—”

Dib backs away quickly, tuning out his fathers words.

He almost vomits for the 4th time today, his mind reels at the injustice of it all. His father, the man who never believed him for a moment about Zim being an alien, standing in front of the entire world declaring his discovery.

It had happened so fast. Zim had stayed at his house every day since the truce. 'for research, Research I say!' he had proclaimed from on top of the dining room table. Dib had not snickered at the antics. Not even slightly. When Zim had asked to stay over the next day and the next Dib had started to suspect Zim's “base” was a bit more lonely than he let on. It wasn’t a big deal, his dad had never noticed any of the other paranormal happenings that were right under his nose, why would Zim be any different?

All it had taken was one night. Zim had snuck into the kitchen to raid the twice already raided snacks cabinet. Dib didn’t blame him, it must be boring not sleeping every night. Zim had traversed the house without Dibs knowledge, and without knowing about Professor Membranes non-existent sleep schedule.

Zim had not worn his disguise.

Now he was witnessing a nightmare. Dib had thought the worst thing that could happen was Zim's success at taking over the human race. Now he knew at least then no one could say he didn’t try. But now everything he had worked for was uprooted and dismissed. Overshadowed by the prestigious individual who called himself Dibs father.

Dib walks to the living room expecting to find Gaz not caring on the couch. To his surprise she’s not there. He considers going to his room to brood but he doesn’t think he can stand to be among his alien tracking gear right now. He resigns to brood in the living room and hope the press keeps the noise down.

He sits on the couch and assumes the brooding position. Knees tucked to his chest with his elbows resting on them. His fingers steeped in front of his face as he stares intently at the ground. It isnt a very comfortable position but that isnt the point.

He knows he should be happy. Zim is caught, the earth is safe and he’ll finally get to know how Erkins work. His pride has taken a massive hit but that isnt too out of the ordinary in his life, he honestly should have expected this is how things would work out. But he couldn’t shake the thought that it was supposed to be him. He should be the only one to cut Zim open and learn how he worked.

He had chased Zim all over the solar system. Hed matched the Erkin in cunning and technological prowess from day one. Now that Zim was finally defeated and it was time to reap the rewards Dib felt he was the only one who should be congratulated.

He earned this dammit!

As for Zim? He was growing to tolerate him but in the end he still wanted him dead. Zim was a horrible space cockroach who deserved to be cut up and studied for science. But Dib still felt that letting anyone other than Zims designated rival do it…in a way it stripped Zim of a dignified defeat. It was just wrong.

Dib found his mind wandering to Zim, suspended in that tube surrounded and critiqued like an art project. His face held such fear, there were wires and tubes coming out if his pack. His arms had cords pumping a strange liquid into his bloodstream.

Dib's knees started to ache from holding his very productive brooding position, he stretched them out to get the blood flowing back to his toes and found he was no longer brooding.

And his face was wet.

He took a quick survey of the room to find the source of the water. Then the realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

He was crying.

Why?! That was so unlike him! He had dealt with disappointment like this for years without shedding any tears. He wipes his eyes on his coat aggressively and prays Gaz doesn’t pick this moment to return her usual spot on the couch.

He hears footsteps approaching the living room because of course he does, but they aren’t Gaz. The news crew follow Professor membrane into the living room. Trailing so close they don’t notice the young membrane slip into the lab to avoid them.

Without the extra people the lab is eerie. The only light coming from the suspension tank that holds Zim. It casts a green sheen on to the ominous tools and inventions cluttering the lab.

Zim's eyes are closed, his posture is almost relaxed, perhaps he was sleeping? But Irkins don't sleep...

Without thinking Dib steps closer to the tube, placing his hand on the smooth cold glass. He holds it there for a moment watching zim, so still and peaceful, as if he’s already dead.

Zims eyes fly open.

Large compound red spheres suddenly upon him standing out in stark contrast from the green skin of the alien as well as the murky teal liquid hes suspended in.

Dib nearly jumps out of his very mysterious trench coat in his surprise, but he doesn’t look away.

He doesn’t know exactly what he expected Zims expression to be. Maybe one of fear or hatred…betrayal. None of these emotions show in the Erkins large eyes. There is only one message Zims gaze pierces Dib with. A challenge.

'You're going to let that dirt monkey do this?'

Dib stares entranced by that challenging gaze. It holds years of fighting and malice and begrudging mutual respect.

These eyes have haunted Dibs nightmares and thrilled his waking days. It occurs to him the biggest problem he has with Zims capture, perhaps even the reason for his crying.

The thought of never seeing those eyes again.

That horrible gaze turns questioning, wondering why Dibs just standing there. Dibs stomach drops into his shoes at the thought of waking up every day and not thinking about what Zim is doing, how Zim will challenge him, how he can stop Zim. He thinks of coming home every day and doing nothing, going to the taco place and not having to be prepare for casualties. He thinks of life without Zim in it. And its empty.

Dib doesn’t feel his feet move as he backs away from the tank. He doesn’t feel his hand rap around the heavy rubber drumstick sitting conveniently on one of the work tables. Hes watching Zims eyes, his face. It shifts from confusion to fear as Dib swings the drumstick at the cylinder.

He doesn’t hear it when it shatters.

His senses are dulled as he watches Zim collapse to the floor. People stir outside the lab. One second, two seconds go by and Zim doesn’t get up. Dib barely registers the footsteps coming toward the lab. Four seconds and Zim slowly rises to his feet. He tugs weakly at the cords in his arms, unable to break free. Dib just watches the small green creature struggle, unable to decide what to do.

“Oh its just my son, poor insane child—”

His fathers voice brings Dib crashing back to reality. He broke Zim out of the suspension tube. Hes standing in his dads office with a rubber drumstick in his hand and live cameras on him.

His dad starts walking to where Zim is still struggling with the cords. Dib pushes past him ignoring his insulting comments. He pulls the cords out of Zim a little too roughly and grabs him by the hand.

“when I say, we run” his voice doesn’t shake or crack. Uncertainty often plagues his decisions but not now. This isn’t a decision, there are no other choices. Zim is dazed but offers no argument.

“Now”

Dib rushes the reporters hoping bitterly that his stunt makes the news if only to embarrass his father. Zim drags behind on shaky legs but Dib doesn’t slow down. They had to get out of there. He nearly knocks Gaz over in the kitchen on his way out the door.

“Dib!” she growls. He doesn’t have time to explain so he shoots back

“imfinallytakingcontrolofmylifegottagocallyoulaterbyeeee!!”

He nearly takes the door off its hinges as he bursts into the evening air. He looks behind briefly to check on Zim.

Zim is deathly pale and has his free arm rapped tightly around his midsection, but his eyes are fire as he glares ahead determined to keep up with Dibs sprint.

Dib doesn’t know where they're running but he knows its not that god damn house.

His lungs burn but he doesn't stop. His heart is pounding and his mind is buzzing with adrenaline. They’ll go to Zims base, he decides.

Dib let Zim stay over, the least he can do is return the favor.

#Zadr week 2 #zadr #long post #invader zim #this is my first time posting original content please be nice #I'm just happy to be here #dumbasses in destress

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welllpthisishappening · 5 years

Text

Of Babies and Hockey Mascots

It had been a very long time since the mascot of the Philadelphia Flyers had made Matthew Jones want to scream in fear. He was, after all, a grown man. But being a grown man also meant seeing other adults in his life have kids. And Roland had always been very popular in Philadelphia.

------

This was/is and continues to be exceptionally self-indulgent next gen Blue Line hockey fic. Because life is life and good things happen in this universe. Also because I write them that way. So, here’s like almost 4K of Matt Jones, his girlfriend, his parents and both Roland and Henry ragging on Matt Jones for being terrified of Gritty. And the Rangers play hockey tomorrow. So.

This one goes out directly to @shireness-says for being an absolute, goddamn delight at all times. Also, also @optomisticgirl for constantly letting me bounce ideas off her, @stealing-vengence because I didn’t have these words to send last night and @distant-rose just for, like, existing.

This is the video mentioned in the story.

------

“Babe.”

Matt didn’t answer.

“Babe.”

Nothing. If he didn’t answer, then Claire would definitely go back to sleep and it was stupid and petulant and—“Babe,” she said, that one sounding less like an endearment and more like the audible and understandable sound of middle-of-the-night frustration. She jabbed him in the ribs.

Matt groaned.

“Answer your phone, Matthew.”

He hissed in a breath, burying his face into the pillow like that would make the phone stop, but that was a pipe dream and Claire’s nails absolutely left marks on his skin when she scratched down his side.

“I got it, I got it, I—“

The phone fell on the floor.

“Oh my God,” Claire grumbled.

None of Matt’s muscles appreciated when he leaned over the side of the bed, fingers scrambling for a phone that was somehow still ringing and sounded as if it were getting louder with each passing second and—

“Someone better be dead,” he growled, barely moving his thumb away from the screen after he swiped before lifting it to his ear.

He hadn’t checked who was calling.

That was definitely his first mistake.

Well, second. Maybe third, actually.

He’d gotten hit pretty hard after that turnover in the zone and he should have just started shutting his phone off at night. Like several dozen years earlier. So those probably took precedence.

And the tongue click on the other end made it blatantly obvious who it was anyway.

“No one is dead,” Dad said. “That’s kind of the whole point of this call, actually.”

Matt blinked. Once, twice, three times, probably to match up with the number of mistakes and—he would absolutely blame whatever time it actually was for how long it took him to realize what was going on.

“Oh, shit.”

Dad sighed. And it sounded like Mom laughed.

It must have been nearly three in the morning.

“Got there, huh?” Dad asked. “That was a good pass in the third, by the way. Almost made up for the turnover and—“

“—You do not get to critique my turnovers right now. It is the middle of the night and that was just like…your greatest weakness and—“

“—And not really the point,” Mom called, what sounded like the couch creaking in the background and they must have been in the living room. Waiting. Or something that sounded a little more familial and far less menacing.

“It’s not really the point,” Dad admitted, voice turning a little repentant. “But it was a really good pass, the legend of the wrists continues—“

Mom sounded like she was growling.

There was a quiet scuffle on the other end of the phone, Claire’s laugh working its way under Matt’s skin when she pressed her head into the curve of his shoulder, reaching a hand up to brush away far-too-long curls because they were in the middle of a playoff run and he desperately needed to go back to sleep, but—

“It’s a boy,” Mom announced, and of all the very sore muscles that made up Matt’s current bodily structure, he hadn’t ever really expected his cheeks to ache quite that much.

Or so suddenly.

Smiling like an idiot would do that though.

“Oh, shit.”

“Mattie, you can’t keep saying that over and over. It’s just—it’s not the world’s best reaction.”

“I know, I know, I just—a boy, for real?”

“You knew that,” Claire mumbled, nosing at his collarbone and he could feel her smile too. His stomach felt like it had thrown into his throat.

“Yeah, I know I did, I just—“

“—Used up all those well-thought out responses in post, huh?” Mom asked, and maybe they were all just smiling like idiots. That made him feel a little better.

It had been a really good pass.

“Something like that,” Matt muttered. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging lightly as if that would wake him up, but the prospect of Roland and Lizzie’s kid had already done a pretty good job of that and Claire only gasped softly when he pulled her up with him. “Is everything—I mean, everything went ok, right? No one’s—“

“Everyone’s fine, kid,” Dad said, clearly on speaker now and that was probably for the best. “Except maybe Liam who—“

“—According to El, snapped at several different orderlies, demanded hourly updates from the nurse and—“

“—Wait, wait,” Matt interrupted. “Hourly? This was a multiple hours thing? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Nothing.

Huh. That was annoying.

“Well,” he prompted, “the resounding echo of your own silence is pretty deafening. Who else was there? Why didn’t Rol call?”

“Presumably because he’s staring at his kid like they’re the greatest thing in the entire world,” Dad said reasonably.

Matt slumped against the pillows. “I’m going to blame the turnover. For, you know—being a dick.”

“Matthew!’

“Mom, you don’t get to ground me anymore, I just—“

“—Henry was there,” Dad finished. “He’d been planning on coming back here, but something about fate or whatever and he got delayed in Atlanta, so he rerouted to Philly and from what Gina said, he was the only rational one and Rol kept walking in and out of the room. Rumor has it there was quite a lot of pinching the bridge of his nose.”

“He does that when he gets nervous.”

“I can’t imagine why he’d feel that way in this scenario.”

“But everything’s ok, right? I mean—with Lizzie and Rol, the nose thing aside and—“

“That’s very normal,” Mom mumbled, another telltale tongue click from Dad and Claire kissed Matt’s shoulder that time. “Some would say even calm compared to other reactions.”

“This is not an answer to my question, just sly jabs at Dad for being a freak and—“

“—I will absolutely ground you, Matthew,” Dad cut in, a distinct lack of any actual frustration. “Also, today is not the season-opener. So, I can’t see how the two situations are even remotely comparable.”

Matt hummed.

Claire might have mumbled something that sounded a hell of a lot like this family is crazy, which—well, fair.

“And,” Mom continued, “I wasn’t really being sly about it. I thought that was a pretty obvious commentary on Dad’s nerves.”

“A name, Mom. Does the kid have a name?”

She hissed in a breath.

And Matt waited. Or, tried. Doing his best to temper his impatience because he was only a little annoyed Henry had been there when he hadn’t and that was absolutely insane.

Seriously, it was all that turnover’s fault.

He hoped Roland hadn’t seen that.

He’d never hear the end of it.

“Mom. Do I have to guess? I’m not going to be able to guess, I—“

“Noah Miller Locksley,” she finished, and Matt nearly dropped the phone again.

He swallowed. More than once, tongue darting between suddenly dry lips because he’d started breathing through his mouth at some point, the way his eyes falling shut having nothing to do with how utterly and completely exhausted he was.

“Oh shit,” Claire whispered. “That’s good.”

Matt made another noise — something he was only vaguely hopeful sounded like an agreement. “Did Aunt Gina cry?”

“She absolutely wept according to several reliable sources,” Dad answered.

“Were those all just Henry?”

“And El. Who told me this while crying rather hard.”

“God, that’s so stupid.”

“In the realm of exceptionally stupid, yeah.”

“Idiot,” Claire mumbled, and it might have just been a trick of the minimal light in their room, but Matt would have sworn her eyes had gone a bit glossy too. He blinked several times.

So as not to also be accused of idiocy.

And Matt’s phone buzzed in his hand.

“There it is,” Mom muttered fondly, Matt’s hand shaking when he glanced down at the screen and a group text that was very active for the middle of the night.

Roland Locksley, 2:47 a.m. :: image attached ::

Noah Miller Locksley. Ten fingers, ten toes. Seven pounds, eight ounces. Far more hair than expected, which we assume means he’s some kind of super baby.

Do not send us hockey sticks, I will punch you all in the face.

Matt scoffed, a quick sniffle and tears on his cheeks that he hadn’t really planned on, but seemed pretty inevitable for the parents of a kid who had absolutely fought over who got to use him on their side of the aisle at their wedding.

Claire kissed his cheek.

He didn’t read the rest of the messages — Peggy sending at least ten in a row and Chris’ didn’t look like much more than the same gif of Roland celebrating a playoff goal four seasons before, Leo’s all just several lines of exclamation points — tugging the phone back up to his ear and his own parents were definitely smiling.

Beaming, probably.

“I’m going to buy that kid so much team-branded merch,” Matt said. “All blue. Only blue.”

Dad chuckled. “I’m sure Roland will genuinely appreciate that.”

“How many hats do you think one hospital goes through with its baby population every day?”

“This is why you answer the questions and don’t ask them, kid.”

“That’s a serious question.”

“Make sure you ask Lizzie that later.”

“Don’t ask Lizzie that later,” Mom countered, and the couch made another noise. “And it really was a good pass in the third.”

“Ah ha! I thought you said that wasn’t the point of the conversation!”

“I mean—not a huge point, but definitely a sidebar and,” her voice dropped low like there wasn’t another person sitting directly next to her, “Dad nearly destroyed the chair when he jumped out of it. So.”

“So?”

“So,” Mom echoed. “Something paternal.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Go back to sleep, Mattie.”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

She one-hundred percent narrowed her eyes at the air in front of her, several dozen blocks away, but Matt still wasn’t all that worried about getting grounded and the small flutter of feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t disappear when he woke up the next morning.

He only checked one of his text messages.

Dad, 8:15 a.m. The chair would have deserved to get wrecked in celebration of that pass. I’m proud of you, kid.

Matt, 8:17 a.m. Something, something, you’ve got a pretty solid head start on best dad.

Don’t tell Henry I said that.

Dad, 8:18 a.m. The something really made the message. I will not tell Henry.

And it all probably would have been fine — more photos of Noah while he was sleeping and being held and the group text had several thoughts on Roland’s technique when Lizzie sent a video of him rocking their kid back and forth in the middle of the hospital room. But then that same video got several gazillion retweets and likes and Matt had to go to film and skate and he didn’t really forget, but—

“Christ, Jones, is your phone going to explode?”

Matt shook his hair away from his eyes, tossing his practice jersey into the hamper a few feet away and it was a legitimate question. The stupid thing was buzzing and ringing at the same time, wobbling precariously on the top shelf of his locker, like it was getting ready to take flight.

He really needed to start checking who was calling before he answered the phone. Because Henry was already talking.

On video.

“Matt, Matt, Matt, listen, I need you to not check the group text and—“

“—Wait, what? Why do you sound like you’re out of breath?”

“Are you in the locker room?”

“I am in the middle of a series. I have skate and I need to go to PT and—“

“—Go in the hallway.”

“What?”

“The hallway,” Henry repeated, sounding as if he were issuing declarations or possibly grounding his own kids and Matt was twenty-nine. He needed to stop thinking about getting grounded so much. “Now.”

Matt widened his eyes, but Henry’s expression didn’t change, clearly tucked in the corner of a hospital with particularly aggressive overhead lighting.

“Fine, fine,” he grumbled. It only took a few moments, not bothering to grab his sandals when he hadn’t even had time to take his socks off yet, slumping down the wall almost as soon as the sounds from the locker room dimmed behind him. “You look like you’re about to tell me that they’re taking away my assist from last night.”

“That was a ridiculous pass.”

“Ridiculous here, meaning—“

“Good, obviously,” Henry sighed, an obviously exhausted hand running over his face.

“You sleep at all, old man? Where are your kids?”

“At my apartment? With my wife? What kind of question is that?”

“You’re really stressing me out.”

“Did you look at the group text yet?”

Matt shook his head slowly, some of that pleasant fluttering and general good that had made it easier to skate on such sore muscles disappearing. “I get the feeling I should have, though.”

“No, that’s—Matt, that’s the point. I—ok—“

The footsteps that moved down the hallway in a hospital with particularly aggressive overhead lighting in Philadelphia, weren’t all that loud — presumably because he hadn’t gotten much sleep what with having a baby to take care of, but then Matt also felt kind of bad about referring to Noah solely as a baby less than twenty-four hours after he’d been born and Roland looked torn between hysterics and…mostly hysterics.

“Are you kidding me, Matthew?” he balked, sliding down next to Henry slowly enough that it took several moments for him to find his way into the phone frame.

Matt arched an eyebrow.

Henry sighed.

“Seriously, why wasn’t this something I knew about?”

“Should you be out here? Shouldn’t you be like—I don’t know, documenting Noah’s every move or making sure Lizzie is—”

“—Lizzie told him to come out here for reasons we’ll get to that are not my fault,” Henry finished.

Matt’s eyebrows could not get higher.

And Roland rolled his eyes. “Ok, well, thanks for that vote of father-like confidence—“

“I’m not your father, Locksley, that sentence didn’t even make sense.”

“You want to acknowledge how cute my kid is…or?”

“Obviously,” Matt snapped, a weird counterbalance to the way the ends of his mouth tugged up. “He’s a super cute kid. I’m going to buy you twenty hockey sticks that are all legit, pro size.”

“I’m already kind of annoyed with you, so that’s not helping.”

“What could you possibly have to be annoyed with? Aren’t you just, I don’t know, buoyed by emotion and those father-like feelings?”

“Good use of the word buoyed,” Henry mumbled, Matt’s eyes flickering his direction. He still looked a little nervous.

“What’s going on? I feel like I’m missing something.”

“Nah uh,” Roland objected, “you’re the one holding out on us, Matthew. It’s—how do you even play here?”

Matt tilted his head. The fluttering was gone completely, replaced by something that felt like entirely unwelcome dread and he nearly yanked several pieces of hair out of his head when he ran his fingers through it.

Henry grimaced.

“This is not my fault.”

“So you’ve mentioned.”

“I never told.”

“Yuh huh.”

“But, uh—ok, are you by yourself? Because…just maybe look at the group text and see what this stupid team did.”

Roland had to put his hand over his mouth. Presumably so he wouldn’t disturb the other babies. With his laughter.

Matt wondered how long they were required to wear hats.

And it only took a few scrolls back for Roland to find it, brandishing his screen towards Henry’s — the whole phone call almost understandable because Chris had posted the video and he didn’t know, no one really knew, it was a stupid, childlike fear that he’d absolute, positively, shaken as a grown man with a very serious girlfriend he was really considering proposing to at some point and—

“Oh, fuck,” Matt gasped, pushing his arm out like that would stop the video from playing or the goddamn Flyers mascot from moving around so much in said video.

Roland snickered.

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, whatever filler music the Flyers had used in the video sounding impossibly loud. As if it were heightened by his fear

Of goddamn Gritty.

He was decorating a locker — streamers and balloons, every move making his stupid eyes rattle around because the eyes hadn’t changed in years and Matt still hated him with every fiber of his being. As if there were totally normal.

The video didn’t end.

It seemed to last forever, Gritty glancing back at the camera every few seconds — presumably just to remind Matt that his eyes defied the laws of gravity — but then the locker was decorated and the sign said Welcome Baby, Locksley and Matt could not remember the last time he took a deep breath.

Roland had given up on trying to hide his laugh.

“Why did that happen?” Matt hissed, rolling his shoulders like that would make him look more adult or less terrified of another grown adult in a costume. “You’re not even on this team anymore. You are—“

“—A beloved alum, it seems,” Roland alum. “Oh Captain, my captain and all that.”

“Isn’t he dead in that poem?”

“Honestly?”

Matt glanced at Henry, the color in his cheeks nothing do with embarrassment and more with Gritty. “This has taken a pretty morbid turn, don’t you think?”

“Why is the mascot decorating a locker that isn’t yours, Rol?” Matt demanded.

“I’m very popular on this team. Still, or whatever. Plus, you know—the kid is exceptionally cute.”

“God, that’s not fair.”

“Say the kid is cute, Matthew.”

“Obviously I think the kid is cute. God, you are so annoying.”

“Tired,” Henry amended. “He’s tired.”

Roland nodded. “That too. And maybe a little delirious on like—I don’t know, joy? Is that lame?”

“Yes,” Matt nodded “But nice too. Dad said Gina cried.”

“Wept. Seriously. Shoulders shaking, sniffles. It was not dignified at all. Made the whole thing.”

“You’re a giant freak, you know that?”

“Lizzie’s going to call you later, she’s got—“

More footsteps. Those ones with a distinct squeak that came from those very specific shoes nurses wore and the woman smiled when she noticed both Henry and Roland.

On the floor.

“Mrs. Locksley is awake again,” the nurse said, “and, uh—well, she’d like to know why you didn’t wake her up if you were going to—“ Roland’s eyes widened. And Matt laughed that time.

“She wants to know why they’re ragging me about the video without her, isn’t she?” he asked.

The nurse nodded.

“Maybe I should just ask her to marry me again,” Roland mused. “That’s romantic, right?”

“I mean the kid was a pretty good sign that you were into your own wife, honestly.”

“True, true, c’mon. I bet she’s got scathing opinions.”

She did. For several straight minutes, a gurgling Noah resting across her chest and that didn’t do much to stop Lizzie’s right hand from flying through the air while she talked.

Matt chewed on his lower lip.

“What I can’t understand,” Roland mused, slumped in one of the few chairs the hospital room seemed to offer, “is why we didn’t know you were so terrified of the mascot? You play here all the time.”

“Never came up.”

“Matt.”

“What? When would I have told you that? And would that not have ended with you trying to get me to run into the stupid thing every time was at Wells Fargo?”

“Eh, yeah, that’s probably true.”

“It’s one-hundred percent true,” Henry said.

“And how did you know, exactly?”

“Oh, I’ve known forever. Matt was—I don’t know, little, little. Like a baby and Killian was on the road in Philly and he lost his mind when Gritty came on TV. Just one of those fundamental fears, I guess.”

“Is that a thing?”

“See,” Matt challenged, “we shouldn’t be talking about that stupid monster because then you’re going to mess your kid up after less than a day.”

Lizzie glared at him. “You’re a jerk.”

“I’m only going to buy you Rangers gear.”

“Please, you’re going to take it from the team store.”

“Eh, column A, column B.”

“Still stealing,” Roland muttered, head lolling back.

“Whatever. Go to sleep. I’ve got to go back to the locker room and acknowledge PT and—“

“—A will yell at you if you blow that off,” Lizzie interrupted, her own eyelashes fluttering and Henry was already moving towards the door. “Just, you know, on principle.”

“I know, that’s why I’m trying to end this conversation with you.”

“Charmer.”

“Mmhm, hey you want to know a secret?”

Lizzie cracked open one eye. Noah was definitely already asleep. And still as cute as ever. “Did you cry?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Please,” she scoffed. “I know everything about you.”

“You did not know about Gritty.”

“I knew there was a reason you hated being on the ice for too long during warmups here. And it wasn’t that hard to put two and two together. Who do you think told Henry the message was in the group chat?”

“You were reading the group chat?”

“It was a genuinely insane pass last night. You guys going to win tomorrow?”

“An attempt will certainly be made.”

Lizzie laughed, soft and obviously exhausted, a heaviness to her that hadn’t been there before, but wasn’t altogether bad. Almost like she was more…something. Good. Protective. Maybe even understanding.

“I will probably fall asleep during the game,” she warned.

“Ah, well, you did just have a kid, so…”

“Exactly.”

A voice called for him from the other end of the hall, one side of Lizzie’s mouth ticking up when she slumped further into the hospital bed. “Score the kid a goal, huh?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

He did. In the third period. A quick stick and impossibly fast wrists, no mascot in New York to terrorize infants and Matt grinned when Claire found him outside the locker room later that night, a bag with a Rangers onesie clutched in her hand.

#cs ff #blue line one shots #that cs ff tag is generous honestly #but emma and killian both are in this #still #most of these are like...original characters and adult henry #if you read this i think you're very nice

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trillhouse-lh · 5 years

Text

Writer’s Block (Sin Adults)

> “Daaad… hey, Earth to dad.” > “Mmm,” Bobby grunted, not really paying attention as he typed away at his keyboard. At the doorway stood his daughter, wearing her usual overcoat and an irritated scowl on her face. > “Mmm?! That’s all you have to say?!” Robbie snapped. “Where the hell WERE you?!” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she waited for an answer… only to receive none. In fact, the man didn’t even seem to notice that she was talking to him. With a growl of frustration, she stormed across the study to her father’s chair. “HEY! Are you LISTENING?!” > “Not right now, sweetheart,” Bobby mumbled as he typed, not even glancing up from his screen for a moment. “Daddy’s worki-” Before he could finish, Robbie grabbed the back of his chair and spun him around to face her. “Hey!” > “Don’t you ‘hey’ me!” The girl barked. “You were supposed to pick me UP, you jerk!” > “Roberta Elizabeth Loud! Do NOT call your father a… wait, what time is it…?” Bobby glanced at the clock, his brow furrowing as he saw it was only 2:17 PM. “It’s… Roberta, what on Earth are you doing home this early?” > “It’s a HALF DAY, dad… we got out at NOON! I’ve been telling you all week!” Robbie shouted. “Do you have any idea how long I was waiting for you?!” As his daughter’s words sank in, Bobby’s look of confusion shifted to one of remorse. > “Oh… oh, geeze…” Bobby groaned and buried his face in his palm. He’d gotten so wrapped up in his writing that he’d completely forgotten he had to pick Robbie up from school, let alone pick her up early. “I’m sorry, sweetheart… I wasn’t-” > “You weren’t paying attention. Right,” Robbie huffed, looking away from him with a scowl. “What else is new…”

> “Robbie, I…” Bobby began, only to hang his head and sigh. “Why didn’t you call…?” > “I DID,” The girl shot back. “You didn’t answer.” Bobby cocked an eyebrow. > “You… hang on,” He said as he snatched his phone off his desk. “I never got any-” As he checked his phone, the man’s heart sank; there were fifteen missed calls. FIFTEEN, twelve of which were from his awaiting daughter… not to mention a slew of unnoticed text messages. “...Oh, shit…” He muttered. “I had it on silent...” > “OH! You had it on silent! Great!” Robbie said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. “Never mind that I had to walk my ass all the way over here, it was just a mistake. And here I thought you were just ignoring me! Well, glad we cleared that up!” > “You WALKED? Honey, why didn’t you call Lemy?” > “Because he’s busy with job interviews all day. You know, like you TOLD him to do?!” She spat, making her father wince. “And before you ask, mom and aunt Lupa were at work.” > “I know, I know… ugh.” Bobby lifted his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Robbie was right to be mad at him… he’d messed up, bad. With another sigh, he lowered his glasses and looked at his daughter apologetically. “Robbie, I’m really sorry. I was writing, and I-” > “You think that’s an excuse?!” > “No… no, of course not,” Bobby assured her. “This is my fault, simple as that. I swear, I’ll-” > “‘I’ll make it up to you’. I know,” Robbie grunted. She knew her father was being sincere, and she knew he hadn’t MEANT to brush her aside like that… he never did. > But it still stung. > “Whatever… I need some water,” Robbie said with a scoff, turning and skulking out of the room with her hands jammed into her jacket pockets. “Had a long walk, y’know?” Bobby sadly watched her go, then slumped back in his chair with a groan.

> “Nice, Bobby… nice,” The man grumbled under his breath, lightly beating his fist against the side of his head. He took a few moments to wallow in his own guilt before taking a deep breath through his nose and exhaling. He’d have to figure out a way to make things up to Robbie, but that could come later… for now, there was another matter to attend to. > Bobby frowned as he looked down at his phone. While the brunt of the missed calls had been from his daughter, there were also several from an ‘Alan’. Alan Douglas, specifically... Bobby’s literary agent, and the reason WHY he had put his phone on silent in the first place. > Alongside his many other projects, for nearly six years ‘R.J. Loud’ had been plugging away at one novel in particular: Memoirs of a Technician. Title pending. Something of a high-concept tale, told from the perspective of a lowly technician aboard an intergalactic freighter. It was one of his earliest ideas, and one he’d kept close to his heart for years… possibly even his magnum opus. Just a few weeks prior, he’d submitted his proposal to Alan. And now? Now, he was dodging the man’s calls as he continued writing his third draft. > Bobby chewed his lip, his thumb hovering anxiously over his agent’s name. Despite his best attempts to remain optimistic, he’d been through this song-and-dance far too many times before… he’d show them his finest work, work he had poured his very soul into, and time and time again it would be cast aside as though it were nothing more than rubbish. This time, he tried to tell himself, would be different. This time, his hard work would pay off. This time, people would finally be able to read the story he’d always wanted to tell. > So why was he hesitating?

> ‘Alright, Bobby… alright,’ He thought, taking a moment to collect himself. ‘Just get it over with. Whatever happens, it’s fine.’ Bobby took a deep breath and, finally, pressed down on Alan’s name to return his call. His leg bounced anxiously as he waited for the man to pick up. > [Alan Douglas speaking,] A clean and business-like voice spoke through the earpiece. > “...Hey, Alan.” Bobby said, trying his best to mask the lack of enthusiasm in his voice. “It’s me.” > [Oh, Robert! I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.] > “Yeah… I noticed. Sorry about that.” Bobby spun back around to face his computer and tried to get back to work, as though it would distract him from the bad news he no doubt was about to receive. “Well, let’s hear it.” > [You don’t sound particularly optimistic,] Alan said. His client merely gave a short, humorless laugh. > “Should I be?” He asked; Alan made a vague, indecisive noise that spoke volumes, and Bobby let out a sigh. “What’d they say?” > [Nothing, actually…] The agent said. Bobby stopped typing mid-sentence, his brow furrowing in confusion. > “Nothing…?” > [Well, no…] The man paused to clear his throat. [...That is to say, I haven’t actually spoken to a publisher yet. In fact, I only just finished looking it over today. Busy schedule, you know how it is.] > “Oh… I see.” Bobby muttered. This was somewhat unusual… usually if Alan had any feedback or suggestions he’d reach out through email. “Well, what did you think?” For a few moments Alan said nothing, seemingly mulling over his words. > [Right, well. It’s… different, to say the least,] Alan said in an unusual tone, as though forcing himself to sound supportive. [Not quite what one would expect from the genre.] Bobby slumped back in his chair and rubbed his temples, already beginning to feel a pit forming in his stomach.

> “...Is that a BAD thing, Alan?” > [No, not inherently…] The agent replied. [I just think it needs to be… REFINED a bit more before we can-] > “Look. Alan. Let’s not beat around the bush, alright?” Bobby cut in, his voice quiet and sullen. “Just give it to me straight. What did you think.” There was a heavy silence, broken only by Alan’s faint breathing; after what felt like an eternity, the man gave a deep sigh. > [Alright. To be frank, I have no idea how you expect me to sell this,] Alan said plainly. [Don’t get me wrong, it’s well-written, but-] > “But WHAT, Alan.” Bobby snarled. > [...BUT, if I’m being completely honest, it’s just… I honestly have no idea what you’re going for, here.] Alan said. [I mean, who’s this meant to appeal to, exactly?] > “It’s cerebral science fiction, Alan.” Bobby grunted, his fingers rapidly tapping against the armrest as he fought to keep himself calm. “It’s a niche genre.” > [You think I don’t know that?] Alan retorted. [There’s cerebral, and then there’s… whatever the hell THIS is. For God’s sake, you sent me over a hundred pages of a mechanic talking to himself about repairs and space economics.] > “It’s called WORLDBUILDING.” > [Rob, there’s over fifteen pages dedicated to explaining some kind of… cyber capacitor thing.] > “Cyclonic reduction capacitor,” Bobby corrected him. “It’s a crucial component of the ship’s… look, you’re only going off of three sample chapters here. In the full story-” > [Does anything change?] The man interjected. [Do things pick up? Is there any sort of call to action for our protagonist? Does anything HAPPEN in this story, Robert?] Bobby tried to answer, but all that came out was a faint croak. Suddenly, his mouth felt very dry.

> “That’s…” He began, pausing to wet his lips. “...I-it’s a character study…” He heard another deep sigh through the earpiece. > [Right… case in point.] Alan’s said. Bobby couldn’t help but find his tone similar to that of a disappointed parent. [Rob, listen. I like you. I wouldn’t keep doing this if I didn’t. But NO publisher would want to touch something like this. Hell, based on what you sent me, I doubt anyone could even get THROUGH it. There’s no hook, no sense of pacing, no structure… there’s a fine line between ‘methodical’ and ‘boring’, and you’ve crossed it in the first five pages.] Bobby grit his teeth and dug his fingers into the armrest. As much as he’d tried to prepare himself for disappointment, he hadn’t been ready to have his work critiqued so harshly. That his agent’s tone was calm and matter-of-fact, free from hostility or condescension, somehow only served to anger him further. > “...I’ve spent six years on this, Alan. Six years,” Bobby hissed. “And you’re telling me it’s BORING?” > [I’m telling you the TRUTH, Rob. You’re writing for an audience that simply doesn’t exist,] His agent replied. [I’ve told you time and time again, this isn’t what readers want. There needs to be excitement, something to capture the reader’s imagination, especially in THIS genre. You’ve done it before, Rob… you can do it again. Why not continue Sons of Dawn?] > ‘Sons of Dawn’. Bobby clicked his tongue in irritation at the mere mention of it. It had been his second novel after Voice of the Cosmos, as well as his second--and last--to be published. While the first had received a somewhat mixed reception, Sons of Dawn had proven to be a moderate success, and to this day he STILL got fan mail asking him to continue the story.

> But they had been nothing more than generic space adventure shlock to him, the sort of thing one might find in an airport convenience store. He’d slapped both together in the span of a single year for no other reason than to get his foot in the door, and while he’d initially been pleased with the unexpected success, he’d long since grown to resent his early work. Was it marketable? Yes. Was it what he wanted to write? > “...No.” > [Rob-] > “I’m not going to sit here and let YOU tell me what I should write. I’ll fucking publish it MYSELF if I have to.” > [Robert, please, be reas-] > “I think we’re done here, Alan.” Bobby said before the man could get a word in edgewise. “Goodbye.” Without another word, he ended the call. His nostrils flared with sharp, quick breaths, and it took everything he had in him not to hurl his phone across the room in anger. With a growl of frustration he haphazardly tossed the device onto the desk before leaning forward and burying his head in his hands. Rejection was one thing… he was more than used to it by now. But to have the very nature of his work torn apart so thoroughly hit far harder than he had expected and, quite frankly, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt so sick to his stomach. > “Sheesh, sounds like THAT didn’t go well.” The silence was broken by none other than Robbie, standing in the doorway with a curious expression on her face. “Turned down again, huh?” > “...How long have you been there, Robbie?” Her father asked, not so much as glancing up from the desk as he spoke. She simply shrugged and sauntered in.

> “Long enough. Been a long time since I’ve seen ya so pissed off,” The girl said calmly. She walked over to the desk, flicking a magnetically-floating model of the Enterprise and watching as it spun around in the air. “So what’d they say this time? Too emotional? Too complicated? ‘Too optimistic for the current political climate’ or whatever? That one’s always been my favorite.” Bobby sighed, removing his reading glasses and setting them aside. > “Sweetheart, please, not now.” He grumbled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m not in the mood to-” He was cut short as Robbie leaned over his shoulder, her cheek pressing against his as she looked at his computer screen. > “‘Gerald frowned as he withdrew the... tri-conductive relay processor… from the smoking chassis of the… quasi-biotic dexometrical… hex… nani the fuck am I READING, here….?” > “Roberta, LANGUAGE,” Bobby snapped, gently pushing the girl away and minimizing the document. “Don’t you have homework to do, or something?” > “Nah, not on a half day.” Robbie replied with a shrug. “But hey, looks like you’ve got time for a break now, right? C’mon, let’s do somethin’.” > “I told you-” > “C’moooon. I’m bored.” The girl grabbed onto her father’s arm, tugging on it to try and coax him out of his seat. But the man wouldn’t budge, jerking his arm from her grasp with a huff. > “Robbie. PLEASE.” He repeated. “Not now. Go play a game or something, alright? I’m sure Lemy will be back soon-” > “I don’t WANT uncle Lemy right now,” Robbie shot back, shooting her father an annoyed scowl. “We never get to hang out any more. You’re not busy, so-” > “I. AM. Busy.” Bobby growled. His daughter fell silent, seemingly taken aback by his demeanor; He knew he was being cold towards the girl, but right now he was too worked up to deal with her. “Now, please. Go.”

> “Yare yare... you really are in a mood, aren’t you?” Robbie grumbled, her father letting out an audible sigh as she flopped into a nearby chair. “Y’know, aunt Lupa’s right… you ARE too uptight.” > “Right, because she’s SO well-adjusted…” Bobby muttered bitterly. > “Hey, at least she has a real job.” > “Writing IS a real job!” Her father snarled. Robbie scoffed and shot him a cocky smirk. > “Then how come mom’s the one paying the bills?” She joked; unfortunately, her father looked less than amused. His hand curled into a tight, trembling fist, and he had to shut his eyes and take a deep breath to calm himself. > “...BECAUSE, Robbie,” The man hissed through clenched teeth. “This whole damn industry’s run by IDIOTS that wouldn’t know a good story if it kicked them in the teeth. Now are you going to leave me alone, or-” > “Sounds to me like you’re just not a very good wri-” > “That is ENOUGH!” Bobby roared, slamming his fist against the desk as he stood from his chair. The rage in his voice was enough to silence Robbie in an instant, and the amused smirk faded from her face as he wheeled on her with fire in his eyes. “I’m not about to let a CHILD talk about me OR my work like that, ESPECIALLY not my own fucking daughter!” > “G-geeze dad, chill!” Robbie stammered as she too stood from her seat. “I was just jok-” > “I am not a fucking JOKE, Roberta, and neither is my WORK! Now I’m not going to say it again: GET. OUT! Do you UNDERSTAND me, Roberta?!” For several moments neither spoke, nor moved… Bobby stood with his arm outstretched, pointing towards the door as his chest heaved with heavy breaths.

> Robbie chewed her lower lip and averted her eyes, her face scrunching up as though she were fighting off tears, but Bobby didn’t falter; then just as he was about to shout at her again, she let out a growl of frustration and snatched the lamp from her father’s desk. She threw it with all her strength and it struck the wall with the loud CRASH of shattering glass. > “ROBERTA ELIZABETH LOUD!” > “Yeah! I know! I’m fucking grounded, what else is new?!” The girl spat, turning on her heel and storming out of the room. She paused a moment in the doorway to shoot one last glare over her shoulder. “...Asshole…” She muttered under her breath before skulking away to her room, being sure to slam the door so hard that a nearby picture crashed to the floor as well. > For some time Bobby stood there, his gaze fixed towards the door, before looking down at the broken lamp lying on the floor. Finally he groaned and slumped back into his chair. > “Fuck’s sake, Bobby…” He muttered to himself; Bobby ran his hand through his hair, sitting in silence as he let his heart rate return to normal. It wasn’t like him to get so worked up, let alone to the point of screaming at his daughter, no matter how out-of-line her comments may have been. He knew she hadn’t meant it, of course… she’d simply pushed the wrong buttons at the wrong time, and instead of handling it with maturity he’d exploded at her. Perhaps he was simply taking out his anger on her. In any case, he’d fucked up for the second time that day. > He REALLY wished Loan let him keep alcohol in the house.

> Bobby let out a deep sigh as his gaze fell upon his monitor. Six years of effort down the drain… not merely dismissed, but downright savaged. Granted, it was only one man’s opinion, but his criticism had been so thorough that even Bobby couldn’t help but dwell on his words. Now that the anger had faded, he only felt a deep sense of inadequacy. He wondered if this was how Lemy felt about his own failures… a musician that couldn’t play. A writer that couldn’t write. > Pathetic. > Bobby opened up the document again and stared at it, weighing his options. Perhaps he could salvage it… cut back on the exposition, come up with some kind of plot, some POINT to the story he was trying to tell. But perhaps that was the problem… there was no point. There never had been. The stories he wanted to tell simply weren’t what anyone else wanted to read. They were simply wasted efforts, and nothing more than that. > “...Fuck this,” Bobby muttered. He took a deep breath and closed the document, clicking ‘no’ when it asked if he wanted to save. > Back. > Right click. > Delete. > Are you sure you want to delete this folder? > Yes. > Right click. > Empty recycle bin. > ...Yes. > Once he’d done the same for his online backup, Bobby leaned away from the keyboard, withdrawing his trembling hand from the mouse. There… it was done. He wasn’t sure how he should feel… part of him wanted to laugh, part of him wanted to cry, and another part of him wanted to vomit. Instead, he sat in silence with naught the tick of his wall clock and gentle hum of the AC unit keeping him tethered to reality. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there; perhaps five minutes, perhaps thirty, perhaps an hour. It was the growl of his stomach that finally snapped him from his stupor, and it suddenly dawned on him that he hadn’t had so much as a bite to eat since breakfast.

> “...Alright.” Bobby unsteadily got to his feet. As he made for the door, he felt something crunch beneath his foot: the glass from the lamp. He’d completely forgot about it. “Thank God for slippers…” He said with a sigh of relief. > After a quick detour to the utility closet, he returned to his office and swept the brunt of the glass into a dustpan. He’d vacuum up the smaller flakes later… once he’d dumped the glass and bent remains of the lamp into the trash, he made his way down the hall towards his daughter’s bedroom. Before he could even think about food, he had to apologize for his behavior. > “Robbie…?” He called, gently knocking on the door. “Can I come in?” No response. Bobby frowned and gave another knock. “...I’m not mad,” He assured her. “I just want to talk.” > “Go away,” Came the muffled voice of his daughter from the other side. > “...I’m coming in,” He said. Robbie said nothing further as he turned the handle and stepped inside. The room was dim, but with the light from the doorway he could see his daughter lying in her bed, completely covered by her bedsheets. “Robbie… are you alright?” Again, no response. Bobby frowned and approached the bed, nearly tripping over the girl’s hastily discarded jacket in the process. “Look… I wanted to apologize,” He said softly. “You were right. I was being an asshole, and I’m sorry.” No response. The man sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Robbie, please,” He pleaded, taking hold of the blanket. “Talk to… me…?” > As he pulled the blanket aside, he found nothing more than a small pile of pillows lying beneath. He barely had a moment to process this before an attack cry rang out from behind him; he yelped in shock as his daughter leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and wrestled him to the ground with a THUD.

> “Sorry?! You really think that’s gonna cut it?!” > “R-Robbie, get off…!” Bobby struggled in the girl’s grasp, but he was far from a strong man; Robbie easily flipped him onto his stomach and sat down on his back before he could get back to his feet. The man cried out in pain as she took his ankles under her arms and bent back his legs, putting him into a boston crab. > “Or what?! You’ll ground me?! Too late for that!” She snarled with a forced, aggressive drawl appropriate for a delinquent.“You forget to pick me up, you YELL at me, and now you expect me to just FORGIVE you? Ain’t happenin’! I ain’t forgivin’ you till you’re BEGGIN’ for it!” > “OW! Okay, okay! Please, I-” Robbie applied more pressure, earning her an even louder whine of pain from her father. “ROBERTAAAA! PLEASE!” But the girl did not yield; knowing her, Bobby doubted she even INTENDED to until she was satisfied. If he wanted to get out of this, he’d have to play by her rules. “F-fine…!” With a grunt of effort, Bobby managed to push himself upwards. > “Whoa…?!” Robbie gasped in surprise as she found herself being lifted upwards. She may have been strong for her age, but she was still far smaller and lighter than her father; once her feet were off the ground he twisted his body, flipping her off of his back with a yelp. He grunted as her back hit the ground and, to her surprise, she quickly found herself trapped in a cradle pin. > “Now what?” Bobby asked with a cocky smirk. “Let’s see you get out of…?!” His apparent victory didn’t last long; with an amused snicker his daughter managed to slip free from his hold and the next thing he knew, he was once again on his stomach, gagging as Robbie trapped him in a chokehold. That was it: he desperately tapped her arm in submission and she released him.

> “Not bad, dad.” Robbie said with a smirk as her father gasped and panted for air. “That’s the first time you’ve pinned me in, what, two years?” > “Y-you…” Bobby managed to gasp out between breaths. “You’re way too rough, you know that…?” Robbie simply shrugged, apparently unmoved by her father’s plight. He tried to push himself up again, only to find himself pushed face-first down to the ground. > “Apologize again,” Robbie demanded. Bobby sighed. > “...I’m sorry.” > “For?” > “Everything,” Bobby muttered. “Really… I mean that. I’m sorry.” The girl narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips as she considered her father’s words, then gave a small nod. > “...Me too,” She said. Robbie climbed off his back and let him sit up, wincing as he rubbed his sore neck. “For the stuff I said… and the lamp.” > “No, it’s… ugh, hang on…” Bobby flexed his neck a bit, letting out a grunt as he heard a loud POP. “There we go… anyway…” He paused to clear his throat before continuing. “It’s alright. Given the circumstances, anyway… I’ve been a real jerk, today. It’s just…” He frowned and averted his eyes, taking a deep breath before shaking his head. “...I wasn’t mad at you. I was just… mad.” > “What happened?” Robbie asked; her father furrowed his brow, then groaned and flopped onto his back. > “What HAPPENED is that I’m a hack,” He grumbled, raising a hand to massage his temples. “Asimov, Wells, Clarke, Ellison… my whole life I’ve wanted to be like them, you know? One of the greats. Hell, I even deluded myself into thinking I COULD be. But… I was wrong.” > “Hey, don’t… don’t say that,” Robbie said softly, inching a bit closer. “I mean, you got published before, right? It could happen again.” Her father simply shook his head and gave a dry, humorless chuckle.

> “Those were rush jobs, nothing more than that.” Bobby muttered. “There was nothing special about them, hell, I barely even THOUGHT about them while I was writing them. It just... happened.” The man scowled slightly, his tone growing bitter. “...I wanted to tell stories like the ones I grew up with. To make people feel the same way I did when I read them… and the only time I came close was a complete accident. What a joke.” Robbie averted her eyes and pursed her lips in thought. > “Well… I won’t pretend to know much about writing,” She said, scooting to her father’s side before lying on the ground beside him. “But maybe that’s the problem?” > “...Eh?” Bobby pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at his daughter with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean?” > “I mean… maybe you’re thinking too much,” The girl suggested. “You always told uncle Lemy that he was so worried about what he wanted to be that he ignored the things he was actually good at… maybe it’s the same for you?” Her father furrowed his brow in thought. “Y’know… you always were good at making things up off the top of your head. Remember those bedtime stories you used to tell me?” > “...Prince Nebula.” Bobby chuckled, a nostalgic smile crossing his face. “How could I forget?” He used to lie with his daughter at night, weaving tales of an alien prince and his quest to save the galaxy from the evil Baron Galacticus. They’d been simple, cheesy stories, made up entirely on the spot despite their ongoing narrative. But nonetheless Robbie was always eager to hear what adventures came next for the intrepid prince, and Bobby had cherished those moments above all else.

> “Well, those always meant a lot to me, soooo… I dunno…” Robbie muttered, “Maybe they could mean something to other people too?” Bobby stared at the ceiling in silence, mulling over his daughter’s words. Putting his old bedtime stories into writing was something that he’d never even considered. He still remembered them well enough, and it wasn’t as though he had anything to lose. > “Not a bad idea…” Bobby sat up with a grunt, then got to his feet. “...It’s something to consider, at least. But that can come later… right now, all I want to do is spend some time with my daughter.” > “Really…?” Robbie asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “But I’m grounded…” > “Tell you what,” Her father said with a grin, offering the girl his hand. “You don’t tell your mom I forgot to pick you up, and I’ll forget about the lamp… that thing was ugly, anyway. Deal?” Robbie looked at him in silence for a moment, then grinned and took his hand. > “Deal.” Her father helped her to her feet and she dusted herself off. > “Now I don’t know about you, but I could go for a burger… what do you say?” He offered. “And maybe afterwards, we could swing by the comic shop.” > “Seriously?! Damn, I should break shit more often,” Robbie said with a snicker as she followed her father out of the room, being sure to pick up her jacket along the way. > “...Don’t push your luck,” Bobby huffed, shutting the door behind them. “And watch your language, okay?”

#sin kids #sin adults #Bobby Jr.#bobby loud #robbie loud #trillhouse #my work #fanfiction #greentext

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godyouredull · 5 years

Text

Sure You Can Handle It? | All You Have To Do Is Fall In Love AU

Other Parts: 1 Author: Sarah - @godyouredull Pairing: Ben Hardy / OFC Rating: M Word Count: 6.8k POV: Sarah Warnings: series warnings, SMUT Summary: Ben comes over to repay Sarah for a memorable first night together, and despite her best efforts, she breaks her own rule.

Masterlist found here! Series Summary: Best friends and college roommates Ben, Joe, and Gwil, find themselves tangled up with a group of girls who bring out the best (and worst) in them. Series Warnings: drinking, swearing Authors’ Note: Stories can stand alone, but it’s much better when read all together! Not everything is always in the same tense, or same point of view/perspective.

I can’t decide if I’m nervous or not. I’ve had guys come to my place before, right? This isn’t any different. It’s just another guy coming over to have drinks and there is absolutely no need to overthink things. Ben is a complete gentleman and you are not being too easy by inviting him over after only knowing him for 24 hours.

“What are you doing?” Mic’s voice interrupts my inner dialogue. She’s standing at the doorway to my bathroom, looking at me questioningly.

“Oh, I’m uh,” I take a beat trying to make myself sound as casual as possible, “just shaving my legs.” It’s a bit tough to sound casual when I’m sitting in a somewhat awkward position on the floor of my shower wearing a sports bra and shorts, trying my best to remove any trace of hair from my legs.

“I thought you weren’t gonna fuck him tonight?” She smirks.

“I’m not! I’m just shaving because… better safe than sorry, okay? He could still touch my legs at some point tonight.”

“Uh huh.” She takes on a sarcastic tone, shaking her head. “And why are your red lace panties laid out on your bed? I assume because you’re planning to wear them tonight.” Dammit. I was hoping she hadn’t seen that.

“Like I said.. Better safe than sorry.” I try to defend. She just sighs a little too loudly and shakes her head as she walks out of my room. “I have some self control, Mic!” I call after her.

“No one believes that, Sarah!” She calls back. I hear Ella laughing along with her from the living room.

At exactly 7pm there’s a knock on the door. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that he’s punctual but it’s a bit unnerving since I’m late for literally everything. I open the door to see him standing right in front of me, looking hot as hell in a grey t-shirt and jeans, holding a full handle of Fireball.

“I was gonna bring flowers but I felt bad accidentally leaving the other one in the park.” He says as he hands me the bottle.

“Oh my god.” I say between laughs. “This is way better than flowers. Thank you.” I open the door a bit wider to allow him entrance. He wraps his hand around my waist and gives me a peck on the cheek as he walks in.

“You look beautiful.” He says lowly in my ear. Fuck.

“Trying to butter me up, Benjamin?”

“If I’m gonna cover you in something it’s not gonna be butter.” I can’t hide my surprise at his brashness. My jaw almost drops.

“Butter’s not your thing then? We have some other options.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” We’re in the kitchen now so I fake looking around in our pantries before I answer.

“Pancake batter?” I hold up the box and he immediately laughs.

“Alright, you win. I regret starting this bit.” I join in his laughter as I turn around to put the box back where I found it and then start gathering the ingredients for mojitos. It took some convincing but Mic finally agreed to let me use hers as long as I bought the next batch of materials. “So you just happened to have mojito ingredients laying around your apartment?” He asks as I bend down to grab some limes out of our fridge.

“You’re implying I lied and then bought them to lure you here?”

“Women have been known to do less to gain my affection.” He shrugs.

“Wow! You’re especially cocky tonight, aren’t you?”

“I’m still just trying to keep up with you, love.” He smiles sweetly at me as I start to muddle the mint leaves, sugar and lime together. It’s clearly not my best work but hey alcohol is alcohol. Ben notices though. “You’re not doing that right.” He mocks.

“Shush.” I hold my pointer finger up to silence him. “And to answer your question: yes, we did have these ingredients already. My roommate loves mojitos.”

“Which one?” He asks, remembering the handful of facts I told him last night.

“Michaela.”

“She’s got good taste then.” He speaks as he furrows his eyebrows together, still watching me attempt to make an attractive mojito. “Okay, I have to stop you. I’m sorry.” He says as he gets up from one of our barstools and walks around to where I’m standing in the kitchen.

“Seriously?” I ask in disbelief. “You’re critiquing my technique?”

“I’m not critiquing!” He insists as he pushes me out of the way and takes the muddler and glass full of ingredients out of my hands. “Look, I’ll show you.” He puts a few more mint leaves in the glass and continues to muddle them with ease. I watch the muscles in his bicep flex as he presses down hard with perfect technique. He cuts another half of a lime and adds two more wedges to the glass before continuing to muddle and add sugar. He doesn’t even think about what he’s doing. It seems to just come to him as if it’s second nature. It’s so unbelievably hot that I can feel my mouth beginning to dry.

“How are you so skilled at this?”

“I’m a bartender.” He reveals.

“What?!” I can’t hide my shock. “Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”

“It never came up.” He shrugs as he pours rum and carbonated water into the glass before garnishing it with a lime wedge. It’s a work of art, really. It looks like I would pay $12 for it at the Ritz-Carlton. He hands it to me and I take a sip.

“It’s alright.” I shrug as I lie. It’s delicious.

“Mmhm.” He smiles knowingly as he moves to make himself a drink.

“So what? You bartend at one of the frat row bars? Is that how you met Joe?”

“No,” he laughs as he muddles limes in his own glass. “I bartend at the Four Seasons hotel not far from here.” I almost choke on my drink.

“You’re a luxury bartender?”

“Oh god don’t say it like that.” He screws his eyes shut and smiles while shaking his head. He’s embarrassed! How does he go from being so cocky one second to completely flustered the next? I want to ask him to make eight different fancy cocktails just so I can watch him work but somehow that seems weird.

“You make a killing in tips, don’t you?”

“I do alright.” He chuckles. He finishes making his own drink and holds it up for me to clink my glass against his. “Cheers.” He says as we both take sips, me a little bit more than him. I’m suddenly very nervous as my urge to jump him resurfaces. We’re both standing in my kitchen, not too far apart, taking sips from our drinks. I decide to sit on top of our kitchen island countertop to get a better view of him standing across from me.

“I’m gonna like having you around if you keep making drinks like this.” I admit.

“So you are gonna keep me around then?” He asks as he puts his drink down and starts to walk towards me.

“I’m thinking about it.” I almost whisper as he moves to stand between my legs. He puts his hands on my thighs and his eyes flit down to my lips, as if to ask permission. I cup his cheek with my hand that’s not not holding a drink and lean down to connect our lips. It’s just as fierce as it was this morning. His hands move up my thighs and wrap around my waist. I put my drink down and wrap my legs tightly around his body, bringing him as close to me as I possibly can. I bring my hand away from his face and wrap them around his neck as he lifts me off the counter, never breaking the kiss, and places me so my feet touch the ground and I’m standing in front of him.

“Ben.” I practically moan his name against his mouth. He responds by pressing his body against mine, my back hitting the cool countertop, so I can feel how hard he is against my leg. God, he wants this as bad as I do. “Wait, stop.” I put my hands flat against his chest to stop him. He’s still standing inches away from me but our movements have ceased.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, concern in his eyes.

“Nothing. I’m fine. I just--” I search for the right words, not wanting to offend him. I look away from his gaze, knowing my thoughts would give me away.

“Sarah?” He forces my eyes to meet his.

“This is so unlike me.” I move out of his grip and start pacing in the kitchen. “Seriously, Ben, I would usually never get this worked up. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I--” I start my statement, ready to be completely honest about my fear of being too easy and scaring him off before quickly changing my mind. I look at him again from across the kitchen so we’re staring directly in each other’s eyes. Once again I’m completely thrown by how green they are. How is he so gorgeous?

“Sarah, do you want me t--” I know he’s about to say ‘leave’ so I cut him off, walking towards him and immediately connecting our lips again. I don’t hold back, putting my hands in his hair and fisting his blonde curls. He wraps his arms around my waist again, completely enveloping me in his embrace. I push him back a bit so he hits the refrigerator, shoving my body against him as hard as I can, desperate for friction. He copies my roughness and softly bites down on my bottom lip, causing me to moan again. I’m about to lead him towards my bedroom before my subconscious attacks me for the second time tonight. As I start to question the whole situation, he removes his lips from mine and begins kissing my neck and traveling down to nip at my collarbone. It feels so good that it pains me to stop him.

“Ben.” I say his name while placing my hands on his shoulders, pushing back ever so slightly.

“Love, what is on your mind?” He stops his actions and places his hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him again.

“We shouldn’t do this!” I exclaim in exasperation. “It’s too soon and I am NOT easy.” He seems kind of surprised by my declaration but he drops his hands and lets me move away from him.

“Believe me, Sarah, I do not think you’re easy.” He chuckles.

“Ben, if we fuck tonight and then you leave in the morning and I never hear from you again, I’m gonna hate myself.” I finally say, sounding flustered as hell. I can’t believe I’m acting like this and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for being so embarrassing. Damn his effect on me. It’s only been 24 hours and I’m already a mess for him.

“That’s not going to happen, darling.”

“Yeah that’s what they all say. And usually I don’t mind but with you.. I’m...” I run my fingers through my hair and look up at him again, expecting to see pure fear in his eyes. It’s not there though. In fact, he almost looks sympathetic.

“Are your roommates home?” He asks after a beat of silence.

“What?”

“Ella and Michaela. Are they home?”

“Um..” I try to process how random the question is. “Y-yeah, they’re in their rooms. Why?”

“Go get them.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

I wanna ask what the hell he’s thinking but I’m still too flustered to argue so I just make my way towards the hallway with Ella and Mic’s rooms and knock on their doors. Ella comes out first, looking half asleep and wearing her pajamas.

“What’s going on?” She asks as Mic opens her door, also looking a bit drowsy.

“Ben wants to talk to you guys?” I say questionly so they realize I’m just as confused as they are.

“He didn’t say why?” Mic asks.

“No, I have no idea what he’s thinking.” We all stand around for a second before I speak again. “So… will you meet him?” They both look at each other and nod before following me back into the kitchen. Ben has moved from where I left him and is now sitting on one of the bar stools, facing us.

“Good evening, ladies.” He says as charmingly as possible. They both chuckle and give him shy smiles in return. I know they’re both thinking about how hot he is even in person and I have never wished for the ability to telepathically communicate more.

“Uh, Ben this is Michaela and Ella.” I point to them as I say their names.

“What’s this about?” Ella speaks first, crossing her arms.

“I just wanted to introduce myself and say that you’re gonna see a lot of me around here because I really like your roommate. I’m a theatre major and I work as a bartender at the Four Seasons so you can come find me and kick my arse if I hurt her.”

I look from Ben to Ella and Mic, who both have the same dumbfounded expression that I’m sure is on my face too. I can’t believe he just said that. It’s such a simple thing, introducing himself to my best friends, but he knew exactly what it would mean and he did it anyway with no hesitation. I flashback to his words from this morning and realize that I, too, am in trouble. I’m gonna fall for this asshole, aren’t I?

“Shit,” Mic finally speaks. “That was smooth.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your night.” He speaks again. “You can go back to your rooms if you want.” They both look at me as if to ask if that’s what I want and I nod. The look in Ella’s eyes tells me exactly what she’s thinking and I smile at them. This morning we were all sitting at that table looking at pictures of that beautiful, blonde british guy and now he’s in our apartment, sitting in the exact same spot.

“They’re gonna fuck.” I hear Mic whisper to Ella as they get closer to their rooms. I close my eyes and shake my head as I turn back to Ben.

“I can’t believe you ju--” I start to say but he cuts me off, standing up to stand directly in front of me again.

“Anything that happens tonight is completely your choice, babe. But I’m not going anywhere.” He promises as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I sigh involuntarily and lean my face into his palm.

“Will you make me another drink?”

“Of course.” He smiles and kisses my forehead before walking back into the kitchen. I follow behind him and take a seat on one of the barstools, watching his skilled hands make two more mojitos for us.

“I don’t suppose you can find a way to add fireball into these?” I ask jokingly.

“You’re ridiculous.” He laughs as he continues to make the mojitos. Once he’s garnished both of them, he walks around the island to place the full glass in my hand. I watch him intently as he takes a sip from his, slowly coming to the realization that I don’t want him to leave tonight. Even if all we did was sit in the kitchen and talk about anything as he continued to make drinks all night, I know I would never get tired of listening to or looking at him.

“Ben?” I say as I put my drink down, watching him take another sip of his.

“Yeah?”

“Put your drink down.” He obeys and places his glass on the counter, turning to face me. I stand up and cup his cheek with my hand, pulling him towards me for the third time tonight. He leans into my kiss, putting his hands on my waist before slowly moving one down to cup my ass. I smile against his mouth and fist his hair, pulling it ever so slightly, causing him to moan. I can feel him beginning to harden against my leg so I press my body tight against his, creating a friction we’ve both wanted since he walked in the door. “My room is the door behind you.”

“And you’re sure?” I don’t answer. Instead I kiss him again and start to push him so he’s walking backwards towards my room.

“Whoa, whoa I worked too hard on those mojitos for them to be forgotten.” He says, surprising me. It puts me at ease that he can keep up his joking manner no matter what.

“Fair enough.” I admit and pick up my glass, tilting it backwards until I’ve downed the entire thing. “Your turn.”

“Damn.” He says, eyes wide. “Eager, are we?”

“You know the answer to that.” I whisper as I stand in front of him again, bringing my hand between us to palm him through his jeans.

“Christ.” He curses and then quickly finishes his drink. He reconnects our lips and I can taste the rum on his tongue as he slips it into my mouth. His hands move to cup my ass again, and before I can even register it, he’s lifted me so my legs are wrapped around his waist.

His biceps are so firm beneath my touch and I have to keep convincing myself that he’s definitely strong enough to carry me to my room. It’s a ridiculous thought to be having but if he drops me, there’s definitely no saving this night. He doesn’t though. He carries me all the way to my room, where thankfully the door is already open, and places me down on my bed, hovering over me. He finally breaks the kiss but just moves downward, leaving quick kisses against my cheek, my neck and my collarbone.

“Leave marks.” I whisper. “Please.” He chuckles. The bastard. I know I’m feeding his ego but I don’t even care.

“Gladly.” He smirks and works his way back up to my neck where he nips and sucks until I’m sure there’s going to be a dark, purple hickey. I arch my back and move to take my shirt off. Once he realizes what I’m trying to do, he grabs the bottom hem and lifts it up over my arms so I’m completely topless in front of him. I’m a bit self conscious but I never wear bras so I definitely wasn’t going to start tonight. He looks down at me for a second before blinking repeatedly, exhaling in slight disbelief.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you all day. Not for one second.” He admits. My breath catches and I want to think of a comeback but I can’t. I don’t know how to say that I’ve been thinking about him all day too. I pull him back down to me so we’re kissing feverishly, one of his hands propping him up while the other is cupping the side of my face. I move my hand down to the bottom of his shirt and try to pull it over his head. He finishes my actions and reaches behind him to grip the back of his shirt in one hand and remove it in a quick, fluid motion. And holy… shit. He’s ripped. I mean absolutely jacked. I can’t believe I thought he was going to drop me earlier.

“You’re staring.” He says, still sitting up while I’m laying down in front of him.

“Don’t take this the wrong way but you’re fucking… hot.” I’m borderline drooling at the sight of him shirtless. I reach out and touch his toned abdominals before sitting up so we’re inches away from each other. “I’m sorry. Is this obnoxious?”

“Usually.” He laughs “But with you touching me it’s…” He stutters and I remove my hand from his body. “No, don’t stop.” He grabs my wrist and places my hand back on his abs. I stroke his skin with my thumb, slowly moving my hand further downward until I reach the button on his jeans.

“Take them off.” He lies down on his back and slides his jeans down his legs so he’s left in nothing but his briefs. They fit him so snug I can see the outline of his hardened dick through them. He radiates sex: laying down on his back, every muscle in his stomach flexed, fully hard in MY bed. How is he in my bed?

“C’mere.” He says and pulls me over to him so that I’m straddling his waist. I’m still wearing my skirt and panties but nothing else so I can feel his cock through the thin fabric, which is already soaked. I begin to grind against him and he groans at the sensation, throwing his head back and screwing his eyes shut. I continue, slowly, because I’m having too much fun teasing him. His fingers grip my thighs with such force I’m almost sure there’ll be bruises in the morning. I hope there are. I don’t ever want to forget the way this felt or the way he looks right now.

“Oh, god.” He sighs. It’s pornographic and I want to hear him again. So I lift myself off him every so slightly and place my hand between us, stroking him over his briefs. “Fuck.” He clenches his jaw and grips my thighs even tighter. I almost cum on the spot. “Wait, stop.” He ceases my actions and flips us over so I’m laying under him again.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t wanna cum yet.” He smiles sheepishly.

“You were gonna cum just now?” I poke fun at him a bit. I’m secretly proud of myself even though I don’t feel like I did much.

“Do you realize how bad I’ve wanted this?” He defends himself. “Since the second I saw you.”

“That’d be sweet if we hadn’t just met 24 hours ago.” I laugh and he joins in.

“Shut up.” He crashes his lips back down onto mine and it’s more forceful this time. I make a mental note to piss him off more often. He takes both of my hands in one of his and pins them above my head, keeping me from touching him. “Don’t move.” He commands as he moves his mouth down the length of my body, leaving soft kisses in his path. I know he’s building up the anticipation to tease me because of the way I had done. It takes everything in me not to buck my hips against him. He slips his fingers into the waistband of my skirt and pulls it down my legs, leaving me in nothing but my red lace panties. “You’re gonna be the death of me.” He whispers against the inside of my thigh.

“The feeling’s mutual.” I admit. That’s good. Sexy stuff, Sarah.

My hands are still rested above my head, not moving, per his request. I already know I’m not gonna be able to keep them there though. He’s gonna have to tie me down if he wants it that way. He moves my panties aside slightly before plunging one finger inside my core. I involuntarily cry out since I’ve been so sensitive all night. Honestly, I’ve been sensitive since he left this morning.

“God, you’re soaked.” He says as he looks up at me from between my thighs. My chest is heaving as he slips in another finger and curls them both. My hips buck up involuntarily to meet his movements. “Use your words, love. Tell me if it’s too much.”

“Keep going.” I half whisper. I can see him smirk in the darkness of my room. Maybe I will keep boosting his ego if he’s gonna keep this shit up. It feels so damn good. He continues his gentle assault as my mouth hangs open and my eyes roll back.

“How good is it? Tell me how good it feels.” My arms move down to grip my sheets as he rubs his thumb against my clit.

“So fucking good.” He licks his lips before biting down on his bottom lip and I already know what he’s thinking. He removes his fingers from inside me and I whine at the loss of contact, causing him to chuckle. He puts those fingers in his mouth and sucks, popping his lips when he takes them out.

“Look at me.” He says as he wraps his arms around my thighs, holding them in place. I follow his command and stare into those beautiful green eyes I love so much. We keep our eye contact for a second before he began to circle his tongue against my clit.

“Fuck.” I cry out as he continues to swirl his tongue inside me. He begins to hum, making me buck my hips again. The urge to press my thighs together is overwhelming but he doesn’t allow it, still holding them apart. I begin to feel bad about mocking him for cumming too soon because I can already feel myself nearing the edge. I try my hardest to keep looking at him but the pleasure is too much, and I have to throw my head back as I continue to cry out. His mouth is hot and wet, his tongue unbelievably skilled. He removes one of his arms from my thigh and uses the pad of his thumb to rub circles into my clit as his tongue laps between me. He continues to hum as I throb against his tongue and I can feel the fire growing in the pit of my stomach. A tremor runs through me and we both know I’m close.

“That’s it.” He says against me. “Let go. I’ve got you.” His words send me over the edge and my hips stutter into the air as my muscles spasm around him. He laps up my heat before brushing his fingers over my sensitive walls one more time. I’m utterly spent as I’ve never come so hard before. Somehow he knows exactly what to do and where to do it and I’ve never had that before. “You okay?”

“I--” I start a sentence but I still haven’t caught my breath. I inhale heavily as I try to bring myself back down to earth.

“That good, huh?” He bites down on his bottom lip and I chuckle slightly, grabbing a pillow and using it to cover my face.

“Hey, no no.” He moves up the bed to lay down next to me and take the pillow from my grip. I look up at him through my lashes and smile. He’s laying on his side, facing me, with his head in his hand. I pull him down to me and kiss him again, tasting myself on his lips.

“I want you inside me.” I admit.

“Sure you can handle it?”

“You know, one of these days I’m gonna turn this cockiness back on you and you’re gonna be sorry.” He licks his lips again and laughs.

“I can’t wait.”

I press my hand against his chest and push him down so he’s lying on his back, me straddling his waist. His hands are on my thighs rubbing circles against my skin with his thumb. I lean down to kiss him slowly as my hand travels down the length of his body, into his briefs where I wrap my hand around his cock. It’s rock hard and already leaking some pre-cum, which I collect with the pad of my thumb. He groans against my mouth.

“If you do that again I’m not gonna last.” My satisfaction is through the roof as I take my hand out of his briefs and move to take them off, sliding them down his legs.

“Sit up.” I tell him. “If you don’t last, I promise I won’t hold it against you.” I say as I position myself in his lap, holding his cock in my hand and lowering myself onto it. He doesn’t have a chance to respond and he moans so loudly against my shoulder. The feeling of him inside me is euphoric and I almost immediately combust, still sensitive from my first orgasm.

“Christ.” I hear him curse under his breath. He grips me flush against his body as he kisses and bites along my shoulder.

“Kiss me.” I say and he obeys, crashing his lips onto mine as I start to move my body up and down. He thrusts his hips to meet mine each time I come down onto him. My grip on his shoulders is so tight as I try my hardest to steady myself. He hits every spot perfectly, rubbing and soothing every throbbing spot inside me, slowly and deeply. Though part of me was desperate for fast and hard thrusts, going slow like this was somehow better with him. He moves one of his hands from around my waist and brings it between us, rubbing my clit with the pad of his thumb.

“Babe, I’m--” He cut himself off as he grunts into my neck.

“I know.” I whisper in his ear as I pull his hair slightly. It doesn’t dawn on me until now that he never put a condom on but there’s no way I’m asking him to stop. Mic is gonna have a field day with this.

“Shit.” He curses as he releases inside me, my walls clenching around him. My second orgasm of the night quickly follows his and I say his name softly as I ride out my high. He’s still holding me flush against him, as if his whole life depends on it.

“That good, huh?” I repeat his question from earlier. He laughs as he lifts his head and looks at me, cupping my face in both of his hands.

“The best.” He whispers, kissing me again. Our lips move lazily against each other’s for a minute before I finally move out of his embrace and lay down next to him. “You do want me to stay, right?” He asks as he lifts himself up on his elbow again, looking down at me.

“I’d kill you if you left.” I admit. He laughs and pulls me towards him, bringing me to lay my head on his chest as he wraps his arm around my waist.

“Because I make the best mojitos?” He whispers as he kisses the top of my head.

“Among other things.” I smile against him and we fall asleep, both completely exhausted. My heart continues to race as I hope to god he’s still here in the morning.

I wake up the next morning to the sound of kitchen cabinets slamming and find that Ben is still fast asleep next to me, his arm draped around my stomach and his face cuddled in the crook of my neck. His blonde curls are unruly and he’s breathing slowly. He looks so peaceful and lovely that I decide it would be a crime to wake him up. I kiss his forehead before slowly standing up, placing his arm back down on the bed, he stirs slightly but doesn’t wake. How he can sleep through the ruckus Mic is making in the kitchen, I have no idea but I still tip toe around my room looking for something for wear, trying my best to be quiet. On the floor I spot his grey t-shirt and quickly slip it on, along with a clean pair of panties from my drawer. He’s still asleep as I walk out of my room, closing the door quietly before joining my roommates in our kitchen.

“Hey!” I shout-whisper at Michaela, who’s cooking up a storm in the kitchen. “Slam those a little louder, why don’t ya?”

“Oh, dear. Did I wake you?” She asks sarcastically. Ella, who’s sitting at the bar, starts laughing at her fake sentiments. I give her a condescending look before putting a pot of coffee on.

“Nice hickey.” Ella smirks at me. Oh shit. I put my hand on my neck and sure enough, it’s a little sore. Using the microwave as a mirror, I examine the dark purple bruise on my neck. I’m turned on just looking at it.

“Goddamn.” I continue to admire myself. “That’s hot.” I raise my eyebrows at Mic who’s shaking her head while stirring a bowl of pancake batter.

“So, good night then?” She asks.

“Mmhm. You could say that.” I bite down on my bottom lip, bragging a little bit.

“Is he still in there?”

“Yeah, he’s sleeping.”

“Is that his shirt?”

“Yep.”

“Did you use protection?” Ella finally speaks up.

“Uh… well.” I stutter, turning my attention back to the coffee pot.

“SARAH.” She yells accusingly as Mic bursts into laughter.

“Oops.” I shrug, joining in their laughter. At that moment, the door to my bedroom creaks open slightly, revealing a shirtless Ben. All of us turn our heads in his direction.

“Uh… good morning.” He opens the door all the way but stands against the frame a bit awkwardly. I can sense Mic and Ella’s shock at how drop-dead gorgeous he looks shirtless because I’m feeling it myself but them seeing it for the first time is even better.

“Hi.” I say, smiling at him. “Do you want coffee?”

“Uh, sure. But um… you’re wearing my shirt.”

“Oh, right sorry. Do you want it back?” He’s still standing in my doorway so I start to move towards him before he stops me,

“No, no. It looks better on you.”

“Okay…” I start to get the sense that he might not want to walk around the apartment without a shirt on, despite none of us giving a shit. “Well, you can wear one of mine if you want. I have every size in the bottom drawer of my dresser.” He looks a bit relieved at this as he walks back into my room to search for a shirt to wear. I make a mental note to ask him about his reservations later. Though I guess if his friends were ogling at me in his kitchen I guess I would put clothes on too. Actually, maybe I wouldn’t.

“You’re wearing each other’s clothes. That’s cute.” Ella comments. “Although it wouldn’t kill you to put some pants on.”

“Oh come on. You’ve definitely seen me in less.”

“Against our wishes.” Mic chimes in. “Also, uh, you didn’t tell us he was so jacked.” She says under her breath.

“Well, I didn’t know either! I’ve only seen him in t-shirts and hoodie until last night.”

“That’s a nice little surprise.”

“Keep your cool, please. He’s quiet about it.”

“I cannot possibly be expected t--” Mic starts before Ben walks back out of my room and she drops the subject. He’s wearing one of my larger Star Wars t-shirts, which looks a bit ridiculous on him but seeing him in one of my shirts is a nice sight nonetheless.

“Michaela, you’re making breakfast?” He asks as he walks around her towards me. “Good morning.” He speaks lowly to me before kissing me quickly on the cheek. I wrap my arms around his waist and stand in his embrace.

“I try to as often as I can.” She says as she pours more batter on the griddle.

“Wow, pancakes?” He asks as she places the bowl back on the counter next to him. He moves out of my grip and places a finger in the bowl, collecting some of the batter with his finger and then sticking it in his mouth. “Not bad.” He says as he winks at me. My jaw drops open and I laugh, shaking my head.

“Am I missing something?” Ella looks at us, wide-eyed.

“Did you just fucking eat pancake batter?” Mic raises her voice an octave. Neither Ben nor I has a response as he avoids the question altogether.

“You mentioned coffee?” He says to me. Ella and Michaela look at each other questioningly before simultaneously shrugging, deciding to drop it. I reach up to grab another mug for him out of one of our higher cabinets so his shirt rides up on my body, exposing my cheeky panties.

“Here we go.” Ella mumbles into her mug of what I’m assuming is hot cocoa. “Put some fucking pants on!” She laughs. I turn around to see Ben leaning against the counter, blatantly staring at my ass.

“I was enjoying the view actually.”

“See? Someone appreciates what I have to offer. Y’all should take notes.” I say as I point to them accusingly before kissing Ben on the cheek. “Thank you, babe.”

“Whoa.” He takes this moment to admire his handiwork on my neck and down my chest. “Too much?”

“Not enough.” I wink at him. He shakes his head and laughs.

“I’m moving away from you now.” He says as he walks past me to sit in one of the barstools next to Ella. He tugs on the crotch of his jeans a little bit, letting me know that he’s getting hard. “So, what’s on the menu?” He ignores my gaze as he focuses his attention on Michaela.

“Just pancakes, bacon and eggs.”

“My roommate would freak out over this.”

“Joe?” I ask innocently, looking directly at Ella as she looks at Mic.

“Yeah he’s a big fan of everything breakfast but no one in our flat wakes up early enough to cook.” Interesting.

“Do you want cream and sugar?” He nods as I hand him his mug of coffee, changing the subject before Mic gets flustered at the subject of Joe. She places the last batch of pancakes on our individual plates before placing some down in front of Ben and Ella and handing me mine. I hand the cream and sugar to Ben and place my plate down opposite from him, standing next to Mic.

“Ben, I don’t know what you like but don’t feel like you have to eat it all.”

“Oh, no, it looks amazing. Thank you.” I smile at the sight. Ben in the kitchen, eating the breakfast one of my best friends made him, wearing my t-shirt. I’m staring at him again, as I always do.

“Stop it.” He mouths, looking up at me. I blush, turning my attention down to the food on my plate.

Upon finishing our breakfast, we’re all still sitting in the kitchen discussing our plans for the rest of the day. I’m sitting next to him at the bar and his hand is on my thigh, rubbing the skin where he left light bruises last night.

“Oh shit, what time is it?” Ben suddenly asks.

“10:15.” Mic answers.

“I gotta get to class soon.” He says standing up from his chair. “Love, is it okay if I borrow your shower real quick?”

“Of course. Maybe I’ll join you.” I state matter-of-factly. He’s taken aback.

“Uh…” He looks at Mic and Ella apologetically.

“You might as well get used to that. She asks one of us to shower with her at least once a week.” Ella tells him. He looks at Mic for confirmation and she nods.

“It’s true but don’t worry. Neither of us have ever taken her up on it.”

“It’s a JOKE… usually.” I mumble the last part. “Not to you though I really do want to shower with you.” I say to Ben, putting my hand on his arm.

“Okay, come on then.” He sighs, grabbing my hand in his. I give one last look to Ella and Mic as I’m being pulled towards my room. They both make obscene gestures and I have to try my hardest not to laugh thinking about giving them the details later.

Once inside my bathroom, Ben quickly removes his shirt and turns on the water.

“So are we just showering… or?”

“Well I thought I could help you out with this.” I emphasize as I palm him through his jeans. I know he’s been semi-hard for a while but he’s fully hard now.

“A result of all your teasing.” He says as he sucks in a breath. “Can I expect you to always be so brazen in public?”

“You don’t like it?” I tease, still rubbing him.

“I didn’t say that.” He admits before kissing me urgently. He moves to take his jeans and briefs off while I remove his shirt and panties off my body and we step into the shower. I hope he doesn’t mind being late for class.

---taglist---lmk if you want to be added---

@a-night-at-the-0pera @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @lelifesaver @redspecialty @rrrogahtaylahhhh

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pm-my-hubbies · 6 years

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Mother Knows Best | A.P.

Summary: A visit back home to see Austin’s family suddenly turns sour when readers life is exposed.

Word Count: 1.2k

Pairing: Austin Porter x Black!Reader

A/N: This is a bit of an AU fic. I know Mama Porter would never be like this towards Austin’s lovers but the idea came to mind while I was at work today. And I used him because our hearts need more Austin content on here so here you go.

“Be yourself, he said. She’ll love you, he said.” I angrily muttered as I tossed a T-shirt of mine back into my suitcase. “Love me my ass. I’m getting the Hell outta here.”

In the few hours I’d been inside of Austin’s childhood home, I believed everything was going according to plan. We flew from Los Angeles to Charlotte, North Carolina because somebody had been begging to meet me, Austin’s girlfriend of six months. I bonded with Ryan over simple guy topics; sports, TV shows, the latest video games, you name it. Mason wasn’t here due to prepping for his wedding but Austin promised to FaceTime him later for the introduction. Mr.Porter resembled my father; chill but made sure to remind his sons who the man of the house was. Mrs.Porter? Well, she was a different story.

I went along with Austin’s words prior to us flying out here: being myself. And I believed she accepted that. Like any other kid with their parent, I revealed my goals and dreams as an individual, how school was panning out for me, what I did to earn money, what my parents did for a living, and so on. His mom attentively listened, like she was genuinely interested in the life I was raised in and built for myself when my parents set me free. She offered advice when my struggles were exposed and throughout her speaking, Austin held my hand like the caring boyfriend he was.

I scoffed. Caring. It didn’t even fit him anymore! He was more than likely downstairs plotting how to tell me things were over.

Moments before I commenced my repacking, I was headed downstairs for the dessert Mrs.Porter promised was “the best in the household”. What stopped me from entering the kitchen was hushed but frantic whispering.

“I don’t know Austin. Something doesn’t feel right.” whispered his mother. “I don’t think she’s the right one for you.”

“Mom, what the Hell?” he responded. I knew that phrase with him. When said, it was laced with confusion and frustration because Austin was currently at a loss for appropriate words to fit the scenario.

“Watch your tone! I am not one of your friends.” A deep sigh was heaved. “Sweetie, I don’t think she has her life together yet. From the looks of it, she’s having a difficult time with obtaining auditions.”

“So? What does that have to do with me?” By then, he was probably crossing his arms.

“Your career Austin. You’ve been placed in a band by one of the greatest music critiques on the planet. Y/N is just your average girl trying to make it as well but it’s not working for her. She’s not getting anywhere.”

“Mom, one of my duties as a boyfriend is to support her in anything she’s determined to do. Of course, she’s struggling but at the end of the day, I’m picking her back up so she can try again and eventually make it.”

“The last thing you need to be doing Austin is taking care of a child. Y/N is still in college and you’re not. You’ve got a job as a singer and you can’t let her lifestyle pull you down. The minute that happens, there’s no coming back up for air.”

Then there was silence and my stomach dropped. Austin wasn’t saying anything and when he didn’t say something, it meant he was mulling over his opponents response. It’s what he did with me before he agreed that I was right.

The silence was cut but the words pooling from my so-called boyfriends mouth didn’t cure my nerves. “Alright, I’ll um… I’ll talk to her. I mean, I didn’t even think of it like that.”

“Good. I just hope she understands that what you’re doing is for the best. For you and her.”

Who was this woman? Who was she to be judging my relationship with her son? Oh, that’s right: she’s Austin’s fucking mother. And like the old saying goes: “Mother knows best.”

I had just zipped up my suitcase when the bedroom door opened. Knowing it was Austin because we were supposed to be staying in his room for the time being, I refused to look at him as I heaved my bag off of his bed and onto its wheels.

“Wh-what’re you doing?” was the first thing he said. The nerve of this guy, I tell you.

“I’m leaving.” I simply answered.

“And going where?”

“Back to Los Angeles, Austin.” I turned around to finally look at him and immediately regretted doing so. His eyes held sadness behind them, something I rarely caught a glimpse of when he was doubting his skills as a singer. But then I remembered why my hand was gripping the handle of my luggage so hard that my knuckles lightened. “Don’t try to play the Guilt Card on me. I heard every single thing downstairs between you and your mother.”

“What?”

“Yeah, you forgot that I was coming back down for dessert? Seriously, if you’re going to talk about me, the least you can do is wait until I fall asleep or I’m at least a five minute drive from your house. You and her both had the audacity to question my life and how it would affect yours.”

He sighed in realization, placing his head in his hand. “Y/N, it’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it exactly that I’m thinking Austin? I heard her clearly: I’m not the one for you because I can’t get my shit together. And instead of you defending me, you side with her. What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Baby, you have to understand--”

“Don’t call me that, you do not get to call me that name after what I heard down there.” I snapped with my index finger pointing directly at him.

He huffed. “Fine. Y/N, you have to understand that she’s only looking out for you and me.”

I shook my head, appalled at his response. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? I’m the last person she’s thinking about. I’ve only known her for a few hours and she’s judging how our relationship is gonna end up because I’m not like you. I’m not famous and living on my own. I’m just a kid trying to graduate college and begin my career and she’s assuming my young adult life is going to ruin yours. Austin, she’s only thinking about you.”

“No she’s not!” he argued.

“Yes she is! And you’re too oblivious to see it because she’s your damn mother!” I yelled.

Both of our eyes widened in shock. I’d never raised my voice before, let alone Austin. And thinking about it now, my cheeks were wet from tears. Fuck, this is really screwing me up.

I shook my head and wiped my cheeks. Austin made a move to come forth and comfort me but I shoved his hands away, grasping the handle of my bag again.

“I have to go.” I spoke, a quiver obvious in my voice. Before I could exit the room, I faced Austin one last time. “When you finally go back to L.A., don’t even bother trying to hit me up on some friendly bullshit because that’s not what I wanted between us. Delete my number right now and don’t even think about getting your friends to contact me.”

He only stared with furrowed brows and watered eyes. All I could do was shake my head in shame and move on.

Part 2????

#prettymuch imagines #prettymuch #austin porter imagines #austin porter #prettymuch preferences #prettymuch oneshots #austin porter oneshot #prettymuch blurbs #austin porter blurbs #brandon arreaga #edwin honoret #zion kuwonu #nick mara #funktion tour #jack and jack #jack gilinsky imagines #why dont we #why dont we imagines

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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shadowedlamplight · 5 years

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Lily’s Worst Memory

Fandom: Harry Potter Words: 3,034 Warnings: None that I can think of

I wrote this for a class and decided I’d post it. Snape’s Worst Memory from Lily’s perspective.

AO3 Link

Story under the cut

The Knockback Jinx, the Tongue-Tying Curse, any form of Verdimillious, though Tria would probably be best…

Lily tapped her quill against her desk, wracking her brains for spells she was certain she knew. She just needed to breathe and focus. She started counting on her fingers:

Knockback, Tongue-Tie, Ver, Duo, Tria… Rictusempra, might work… a well-placed Conjunctivitis Curse too, if–

“Five more minutes!”

Lily jumped at Professor Flitwick’s voice and glanced up at the large clock at the front of the hall. It read that there were five minutes left of the exam period, just as Flitwick had said. She cursed under her breath. Merlin, she hated timed essays. She took a slow, deep breath. She could do this.

If a witch or wizard is facing an opponent of greater magical skill than they, using simple spells to prevent their opponents from casting is best. Such spells may include the Knockback Jinx, the Tongue-Tying Curse, or the Conjunctivitis Curse. Other spells, such as Verdimillious or Rictusempra could work, but will do less to inhibit an opponent than those previously mentioned. In the case of such spells being blocked, however…

As Lily started putting the words to parchment, she found that the rest were ready to follow, and she wrote as quickly as she could without smearing the wet ink. Perhaps this essay wouldn’t turn out as terrible as she had feared. She only needed one or two more sentences to finish this paragraph, and then–

“Quills down, please!” Lily froze, her quill in the middle of a word, and closed her eyes. Damn. “That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!” Lily set down her quill and watched forlornly as her exam flew to the front of the hall.

The rolls of parchment knocked Professor Flitwick to the floor and Lily snorted. From what Alice had told her it was not the first time it had happened, and Lily guessed that it would not be the last. She glanced in the direction of where she knew Severus sat, behind Adrian Vane, but he was absorbed in the question sheet, likely critiquing the questions rather than his own answers. She would find him later to ask how he had done—Severus was good company, but his frustration with professors’ expectations (low, in his opinion) got old rather quickly. Lily sighed softly and began tucking away her quills, parchment, and ink while Flitwick was brought back to his feet.

“Thank you . . . thank you. Very well, everybody, you’re free to go!”

Lily rose from her seat and slung her bag over her shoulder. She tried not to focus too much on the final question. It was only question, on one exam, and she still had her practical to make up points. This was not the end of the world! It just felt like it…

“Hey, Evans!”

Lily jumped half a foot in the air and turned, about to pull her wand on Potter and whatever flirtation or prank he had planned next, then scowled when she saw Marlene McKinnon’s laughing face and Potter nowhere to be found.

“Y-your face!” Marlene cackled. “Merlin, I’ve been waiting to do that, and you–” She broke off in another peal of laughter, almost doubling over.

Lily rolled her eyes and turned on her heel, walking again towards the Entrance Hall.

“Hey, wait, c’mon– Lily!” Lily couldn’t help smirking slightly at the sound of Marlene running to catch up to her; longer legs were a definite advantage. “Jeez, can’t you give a girl a break?” Marlene looped her arm through Lily’s and pushed her black bangs out of her eyes.

“Hm. I’m not quite sure you deserve one after that.”

“Oh please, it was funny. Besides, you have to admit, that was a good Potter impression, right?” Lily stared resolutely ahead. She wouldn’t give Marlene the satisfaction. “Right?” Marlene tugged a bit on her arm, but Lily ignored her still. “Right?” Marlene careened into her and the two of them nearly found themselves on the ground—Lily couldn’t help but laugh.

“All right, all right, yes! I thought it was him for a second.” Marlene made an exclamatory sound. “But only for a second!”

“A second still counts, Lily, my dear!”

Lily rolled her eyes again—but she was smiling now—and unhooked her arm from Marlene’s.

Marlene looked at her curiously. “Where are you off to?”

“The library. I want to just brush up on some of the spells that might come up in the–”

“Nope.”

“I– What?” Lily raised an eyebrow in Marlene’s direction. The other girl was staring back at her defiantly, hands on her hips.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said ‘Nope.’”

“I heard you, but I don’t–”

“You are not going back into that musty old library to study spells that you already know, that we all know you’re going to cast perfectly.”

“Don’t let Mr. Pennifold hear you calling his library musty.”

Marlene ignored her deflection. “Lily, come on! It’s still early, the sun is shining, the birds are singing–”

“Marlene, I really need to study.”

“You do not!” Marlene drew herself to her full height (which was not particularly high, all things considered) and looked Lily fiercely in the eye. “Lilian Evans–”

“It’s just Lily, you know that.”

“–I will not rest until you see the sun on this day!”

“Look, the sun is right there through that window. See, I've seen it, now– Marlene!”

Marlene was now dragging Lily by the hand through the Entrance Hall toward the main doors.

“You and I,” she said grandly, “are going down to the lake, and we’re going to see Dorcas, and you are going to relax—yes, I know!” She gasped when Lily made a sound of protest. “Relaxation, what is that? It’s been so long, you’ve forgotten. Well, not to worry, love, we’ll have you fixed up quick as a flash.”

Lily groaned, but Marlene was not to be argued with when she was this determined. Hopefully if Lily sat with them by the lake for a few minutes she would be able to sneak off and get some extra practice in.

When they met Dorcas, she was lying down by the lakeside with her eyes closed, practically sunbathing but for her robes, more than happy to ignore the rest of the world. As they approached, Lily glanced at Marlene, and to no great surprise she was grinning rather deviously. Lily stifled a smile.

“Are yo–” she started, but as quickly as she started speaking, Marlene had dropped her hand and was rushing toward Dorcas. Lily shook her head fondly and followed more slowly behind. Marlene ran up and dropped abruptly to her knees at Dorcas’ side, and Lily burst out laughing at what could only be described as a squawk from Dorcas.

“Horrid,” Dorcas spat as she sat up, glaring at Marlene and Lily in turn. Lily sat down on her other side. “Absolutely horrid, the both of you.”

“And what am I horrid for?” Lily asked in mock-indignation.

“You let it happen, didn’t you?”

Lily hummed. “Maybe I did.” Dorcas shoved her, and Lily laughed. “I’m sorry, Dorcas, but you’re so funny when you’re startled.”

Dorcas grumbled, even if Lily knew that she wasn’t really upset. “Yeah, sure, funny my ars–”

“It’s so hot out!” Marlene cut her off, and Lily had to cover her mouth with her hand lest she receive Dorcas’ glare as well. Marlene simply smiled in the face of it. Braver than an Auror, that one. “Can you believe it’s already June?”

“I certainly can’t,” Lily said, jumping on this new topic and trying not to giggle at the expression on Dorcas’ face.

“Come on, let’s cool off.” Marlene was already taking off her socks and shoes as she said it, and Dorcas and Lily quickly followed her example. The cool water of the lake was a shock to their sweaty feet, but it felt lovely in all the warmth. It wasn’t an oppressive heat, but Spring was certainly ending, and it was hot enough that Dorcas had tied her long blonde hair into a messy knot at the nape of her neck. Lily thought it was lovely. Perhaps Marlene had been right—she shouldn’t put so much stress on herself.

Lily told her so and Marlene grinned widely.

“You see? That big brain of yours needs to breathe every once in a while, Lils. You can’t just keep it stifled up in that castle or you’ll go bonkers.”

Lily snorted. “Maybe,” she said, “but I could never get to be as bonkers as you.”

“Oh really?” Marlene asked, suddenly haughty. For all that she liked to tease them, Marlene could learn to take a bit of her own medicine.

“Oh yeah, she’s right,” Dorcas said seriously. Marlene turned to her. “You’re certifiably mad, got the report from the Healer myself.”

“You–” Marlene started, but she was drowned out briefly by the sound of loud laughter behind them. The three girls turned around to see that something of a crowd had formed closer to the castle.

Dorcas groaned. “What in hell is going on now?” She flopped back on the grass. “Does there always have to be something going on? Can’t we exist for an hour without some other sort of drama? Half an hour at least!”

Lily didn’t disagree with her that there was a lot of drama, but it kept things interesting at the least. Something to focus on other than classes and the bitter cold that plagued the castle for much of the year.

Marlene craned her neck to see between the students that made up the slowly growing crowd. Whatever it was, it seemed to be entertaining.

“Looks like it’s just Black and Potter up to their usual nonsense.” Lily made a disinterested noise. Scratch that entertainment idea, the crowd must simply be drawn by their stupidity. “And… oh.”

“What?” Lily looked curiously at Marlene. She wasn’t a gossip per say, but Marlene was always interested in what had caught their classmates’ attention.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Lily stared at her. She seemed reluctant to say. Marlene grimaced. “It looks like they’re pestering Snape again.”

Lily’s eyes went wide. “Sev’s up there?” She scrambled to get her feet under her and pulled out her wand. Fury was swelling in her like a hot air balloon. Who did those… those arseholes think they were?!

Marlene looked quickly between the scene and Lily, biting her lip. “Lily, maybe you shouldn’t…”

Lily paid her no mind though, and she saw Dorcas waving Marlene off from the corner of her eye. “Let her go. It’s not like you’d stop her.”

She wasn’t wrong. Lily had already crossed half the distance to the crowd. She was close enough now that she could see Severus on the ground, spitting up some pink substance, and Potter, Black, and Pettigrew looming over him like vultures. Lily grit her teeth and increased her speed.

“Leave him ALONE!”

Potter and Black immediately looked around, Potter already mussing up his stupid hair. Lily was coming right for him and the few people who were in her way moved quickly out of it.

“All right, Evans?” Potter asked pleasantly, as though he weren’t torturing her best friend in front of their entire year.

“Leave him alone,” Lily repeated, aiming for calm. Potter only ever seemed encouraged when she was angry at him. “What’s he done to you?”

“Well,” Potter said—slowly, as though he were actually thinking, “it’s more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…”

Her classmates laughed, especially Black and Pettigrew, but Lily only glared more fiercely, eyes narrowed.

“You think you’re funny,” she said coldly. “But you’re just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.”

“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” Potter said quickly. “Go on… Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”

A wave of disgust rolled through Lily, and it took all she could not to spit in his face. How could anyone stand to be around him?

“I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” she said firmly.

“Bad luck, Prongs,” said Black, as he had so many times before, and he turned swiftly, wand out. “OY!”

Lily turned just in time to see that Severus had broken out of whatever jinx Potter had placed to hex him back, drawing blood. It might have even been one he had made up himself. He hadn’t shown her all of them, but she knew he was always thinking, always coming up with ways to improve their spells—or to harm, as had been the case since he started spending time with Mulciber and his lot.

Potter responded just as quickly, and in a moment and a flash of light, Severus was hanging upside down by his ankle, and his robes fell over his head, Sev’s legs and underwear hanging out for the world to see. Everyone around her laughed.

Lily almost, almost smiled, only because that spell was a particular favorite of hers to see—but not when it was done this cruelly. She schooled her expression.

“Let him down!”

“Certainly,” Potter said, and with a quick jerk, Severus had fallen back on the ground.

Severus worked to get to his feet, held his wand aloft, but the moment he was off the ground Black hit him with the Body-Bind Curse, and he had fallen again.

Lily saw red. She drew her wand on them. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

Potter and Black looked warily at her wand. The only time they showed her any sort of respect, it seemed, was when she had them at wandpoint.

“Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you.” Potter seemed to mean it, too. As if. But at least it would give her an edge.

“Take the curse off him, then!”

Potter sighed—much like a child who’d had his dessert privileges taken away—and quietly muttered the countercurse in Snape’s direction.

“There you go,” Potter said mockingly, as Snape struggled to stand. “You’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus–”

“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!”

Lily blinked, staring frozen at Severus. Had he really…?

“Fine,” she said coolly. “I won’t bother in future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.” She blinked again, more rapidly, but she wouldn’t react in public. She should have known, from the way he’d been acting–

“Apologize to Evans!” Potter screamed, and Lily was so done with stupid boys and their stupid egos.

“I don’t want you to make him apologize,” she shouted, turning on him. “You’re as bad as he is…”

“What?” Potter asked, and he seemed truly startled by her reaction, idiot that he was. “I’d NEVER call you a—you-know-what!”

“Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can–” Lily shook her head in disgust– “I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.”

She turned sharply around and started briskly away from them—all of them.

“Evans!” Potter shouted behind her. “Hey, EVANS!”

Lily refused to turn around, refused to give him the satisfaction, and soon enough he’d stopped calling after her.

She hurried back to their spot on the lake and grabbed her shoes and socks, almost falling over in her haste to put them on.

“Lily?” said a quiet voice. Lily looked up and both Dorcas and Marlene were looking at her, their faces drawn. By the expressions on their faces she knew that they had heard. She looked down again. Dorcas continued, “Are you–”

“I’m going to find a classroom,” Lily said swiftly, still not looking at them. She fumbled once, twice with the laces of her shoes before she’d tied them. “To work in, that is. I still need–” Her voice wavered for a moment and she paused before trying again. “I still need to practice the spells for the practical exam, and I’d rather do it inside.”

“Do you… want some company?” Marlene asked tentatively.

“No, I think I’d really rather be alone,” Lily said. She looked up briefly to smile without humor, and the look on Marlene’s face made her ache. She averted her gaze again. How many times had they told her that Sev was no good? How many times had they tried to convince her to stay away from him, the same as she had warned him away from Avery and Mulciber. She should have expected this. Marlene and Dorcas clearly had.

“All right… If you’re certain…” Marlene said. Lily didn’t bother meeting their eyes again. She didn’t think she would be able to bear it. She started stuffing the few things she had pulled out back into her bag

“I am. I really am, thank you, girls, but I’m fine.” She gave that little smile again and felt her eyes burn at the corners. Lily steeled herself. Not until she was safe within the castle walls where no one else would see. She didn’t know which was worse, the shame or the hurt. At this point they seemed to have melded together.

“Okay…” Marlene said softly.

“Should we come find you before the exam?” Dorcas asked.

Lily shook her head firmly. “No, I’ll– I’ll meet you in the Great Hall. Wouldn’t want you to be late, trying to look for me. I’ll be all right.”

“Okay…”

Lily straightened up and placed her bag her shoulder. She smiled tightly at Dorcas and Marlene. “See you two at the practical, all right?”

“All right,” Marlene said.

“We’re here if you need anything,” Dorcas said pointedly.

Lily nodded stiffly and turned around, walking swiftly toward the castle. She took the long way around just to avoid Potter and his little crowd. Besides, this way was quieter, more peaceful. And, if she had to wipe at her face for any reason, well, there was no one there to see it.

#harry potter #harry potter fanfic #marauders era #snape's worst memory #lily evans #severus snape #james potter #marlene mckinnon #dorcas meadowes #sirius black #fic #mine #gosh i'm curious to see what y'all think of marlene and dorcas #people always write them so differently #uhhhhh idk what else to tag this as #t #oneshot

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pl-panda · 4 years

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Damienette aranged marriage: part 3

Whoa... Two parts in one day. Sorry if this one is worse, but yet again I wrote this instead of sleeping.

Warning: there will be some cursing from Jason, but can you really blame him? Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Damienette arranged marriage: Part 3

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“And why would you tell her everything?!” Jason screamed, still hidden behind Batman’s towering posture.

“Because she is my wife Todd!” Damian screamed. The silence in the room was thick enough that if the assassin swinged his sword, he would be able to cut it in half. Finally, Bruce was the one to break it.

“Fuck.”

This worked like detonating a bomb. Immediately, Red Hood, Red Robin and Nightwing pushed their way into the room and surrounded the two teens.

“You were gone for less than forty-eight hours!” Dick

“How did you manage to get married!” Drake

“You are just fifteen demon spawn!” Todd

“And who is she!?” Drake again.

Talia watched this whole ordeal with no small amount of amusement. That is until Bruce suddenly appeared next to her. His frown was downright scary even for her. “Explain. Now!” The growl was low and emotionless, but it was enough to yet again put the room in dead silence.

“Beloved. It is good to see you too.” Talia smiled seductively.

“I am not in the mood. Now talk!”

“Fine.” She dropped all illusion of niceness. “I made peace with old enemy of the League. Or even a shaky alliance. But to seal the treaty, an assurance was required.”

“And that assurance was?” Jason asked confused, earning a facepalm from Dick.

“The Royal Marriage. An heir of the League and future leader of the Order.”

“And that leader would be… her?” Batman asked, not fully convinced.

Marinette was standing there the whole time, greatly uncomfortable with the attention Bat Family was giving her and Damian. She did read a bit on them, but it was always Alya who never shut up about heroes. For the most part, she preferred talk about Ladybug, but lately there was slowly forming a rift. The aspiring reporter was falling into Lila’s lies, posting unreliable videos on Ladyblog. Rossi had it for Ladybug and Alya, together with the rest of Marinette’s class, was falling for her machinations. They still hanged out with Marinette, but there was this distaste forming around her. She was no longer their to-go person with personal problems, being replaced by Lila who was awful at helping others unless it benefited her. But now Marinette had more pressing matter than a pity little liar. She looked at Batman, then at the bat-kids and finally at Damian. They were all looking at her expectantly.

“Oh right! Sorry. I did it again…” She gave them a sheepish smile. “I am Ladybug, hero of Paris and Great Guardian of the Miraculous.” She stated. Most of the heroes (bar Damian who knew a tidy bit about the Order of the Guardians) were confused.

“Paris doesn’t have heroes. There aren’t even any supervillains there.”

“Excuse me?! How does nobody knows what is going on in Paris!” Ladybug shouted. “Ugh! Seriously?!”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Forgive me, Ladybug, but the Justice League would know if there was a threat in Paris. So who are you really.”

“Then ask Green Lantern. He was the one who laughed at my plea for help.” She scowled, but then her demeanor changed. She calmed down and gave a sheepish smile. “But guess I should thank him. I can only dread what would happen if Superman was akumatized. Or Flash. Or anyone really. I don’t think I could win.”

Batman frowned. He would have a talk with Hal once he dealt with this. If there was really a threat like that, ignoring it was not only stupid, but dangerous. And the girl was at best Damian’s age. She was dealing with this for how long? The way she spoke suggested that she was in charge. A child fighting in a war all alone.

“For now beloved, it should be enough for you that the two of them are legally married.”

“Like hell!” Jason shouted at her, waving his gun. “They are fifteen. No court would accept this.”

“Actually,” Tim started, “under some laws they can be married. For example ‘The Personal Status Law of Muslims’ in Sudan sets the minimum age at ten.” He spoke like he was reading an encyclopedia.

“But we are somewhere between Nepal and China. I don’t think there are such laws here.” Dick said, but his confidence wavered.”

“Tt. First of why don’t anyone ask me or Marinette about our opinion?” Damian asked irritated.

“Shut up Demon Spawn. Adults are working here”

“If you don’t shut up, Todd, I will make you eat your dirty socks until you choke on the stench.” The young boy threatened. Marinette cringed at this, not really wanting to imaging such situation.

“The marriage stays.” Talia stated coldly. “Otherwise, I will not be able to stop League from going to war against Order of the Guardians.”

“You are their leader.” Batman pointed out.

“That may be correct, beloved, but I am but a regent. Only after Damian finally assumes the leadership, his word will be law. I do try to reform the league, but there is little I can do in this situation.”

“Bullshit!” Jason cursed. “You are just manipulative bitch.”

“Jason!” Dick hit the back of Red Hood’s helmet, causing him to almost tumble. “Language. There are minors in the room.”

“Don’t worry Mousier.” Marinette noted that the whole debate shifted to English. She learned it years ago when she first got interested in fashion. Some of the greatest fashion critiques wrote only in English and she didn’t want to be left behind. And other foreign critiques and designers were always translated into English. “After today, cursing is the least of my worries.” During the talk, Marinette pulled her yo-yo to check the situation in Paris. The good news were that there was no Akuma attack since her confrontation with Hawkmoth. Bad news: she was gone for over forty hours already.

“What exactly is the deal?” Bruce sighted. He loved his boys, but he could practically feel his hair graying. At least the girls didn’t go around marrying total strangers. “I want the full story Talia. Don’t even try to deceive us.”

“As you wish Beloved.” She smiled and sat back at her chair. Jason was about to hop onto where Marinette sat, but Damian ‘accidentally’ tripped him. Ladybug detransformed and Tikki flew out.

“What is this flying mouse?!” Dick screeched upon seeing a kwami.

“My name is Tikki. I am kwami, or if you prefer a small god, of creation and luck.”

“Okay… I’ve totally seen weirder.” Jason shrugged and Tim was too busy trying to plug in his pocket kettle to make himself some coffee.

“Ekhm.” Bruce faux-coughted to get their attention. “Begin Talia.”

“Many centuries ago, magic jewels bestowing extraordinary powers were created. These were... the Miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race. Order of The Guardians was responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculous for the good of all humanity. Some time in the past, League has learned about the existence of this artifacts, more powerful than even Lazarus Pit. A secret war began between two organizations. There was a constant stalemate until the Order was mysteriously destroyed without a trace. We believed all miraculous to be lost until two years ago heroes and villains using them appeared in Paris. Initially, we ignored them, long since abandoning this war. But then, some month ago a temple of the Guardians suddenly reappeared with the Order in chaos. The League attacked, but they were strong enough to withstand the initial strike and turn it into a siege. In time, we would have succeeded and wiped them once and for all. But instead, the Guardians understood their situation and reached to us with agreement. A truce and alliance, in exchange for sparing them.”

“Yeah right! Only an idiot would take such offer!” Red Hood kept arguing with the Assassin woman.

“Or a strategist. Either way, the League wins. They no longer need to worry about threat, but this way they also get an ally.” Batman remained expressionless, but he kept sending Damian and Marinette side-glares. He wanted to know how they are coping with this. The girl was a bit shaken, but that was to be expected. He would talk more with her later. What surprised him was that Damian seemed to show concern for her. The kind he usually reserved only for his brothers and father.

“Yes. While our methods differ, the League and the Order have a common goal: prosperity for all humanity. But to ensure that neither side would go against the other, there needed to be a more tangible symbol of this union.”

“Marriage of the heirs. In the past such method was often used to symbolize an alliance. It symbolized equality of both partners and parties they represented.” Tim acted as an universal encyclopedia again, which Jason did exploit to tease him mercilessly while the others focused on the discussion.

“And let me guess” Dick frowned. “If they break the deal, it means war?”

“Yes.” Damian simply nodded. The memory of his mother’s threat hanging over the girl’s live was still fresh. Now that he got to know her better Damian was surprised that someone so brave and strong could at the same time be such emotionally unstable or open. It was almost refreshing. His family was awful with emotions and beyond that women only saw his last name. Many times he dealt with liars who tried to use him to get into the pockets of his father. But with Marinette he was sure that she was genuine with her feelings. He could not find any reason for her not to be at the moment, especially after she revealed her secret to him.

“So what? We are just supposed to roll with it? What will press think? You will give Alfred a heart attack Damian.” Dick rambled. Youngest Wayne decided to ignore him and turn to his father.

“While this might be a bit inconvenient, I believe it is the best course of action for now.” Damian spoke with cold and calculative voice.

“And what about you?” Batman turned to the girl, who for the most part lately was busy discussing something with the kwami in French. Bruce was proficient, but he was too focused on Talia and Damian.

“I… I accepted that my duty as Great Guardian comes with certain responsibilities. If this is what it takes to preserve peace, then I guess… I guess I will roll with it.” She smiled at Dick, almost daringly. Damian smiled too. Anyone who teased his brothers like that earned some points in his book. “But I can’t just leave Paris. For now it’s peaceful, but I don’t know how long it will last. And there are my parents… Oh Kwami! What will I tell my parents! Or my friends! Or my class! What if they reject me for this and I will be kicked from home, then I will not become a professional designer and I will never fulfill my dream and I will be forever lonely…” She unintentionally rambled in mixture of English and French while walking in circle and waving her hands. Damian grabbed her by her wrists to stop her before she accidentally knocked someone out and then cupped her hands with his. She was still talking random stuff, which made absolutely zero sense. Damn. She is cute when she is rambling. What!? He shut down the intrusive thoughts and focused on the girl… his wife.

“Calm down. Take deep breaths. You will not be alone.” He hoped it would work, but she barely slowed down. He sighted. Damian looked her deep in her bluebell eyes and she saw the two whirlpools of jade green he had. They were more prominent that Adrien’s. “Listen to my voice. All is going to be fine. We will not leave you.” This time, it did work and she calmed down.

Rest of the Batfam watched in shock how Damian has acted. It was most unusual for him to initiate physical contact at all, much less act this gentle. They looked at Talia, but she shrugged.

“I didn’t do anything if that’s what you think.” She smirked. “But I don’t think I needed.” Two newly-wed were just standing there, starring in each other’s eyes.

“Robin!” Batman finally got him to break out of this. “We gotta go. We will figure out exactly what to do later.”

“Fine. But we are taking Marinette with us.” Damian stubbornly stated.

“Yes. She should not stay here. And I have more questions for her.”

The flight to Paris was surprisingly fast. They traveled in perfect silence, but she felt rather uncomfortable with how everyone (bar Damian) sent her a suspicious glares. Finally, they landed around 8 PM on the rooftop of local Wayne Enterprises headquarter. She walked out first, happy to finally get back onto her home turf.

“Now there are some questions that needs to be answered.” Batman spoke.

“Uhm… Okay?”

“Stop intimidating her Father.” Damian scowled.

Bruce reluctantly nodded. “Maybe it would be the best to discuss it in private of my office.” He pressed some buttons on his glove and the bat-plane camouflage. Well, it was probably more of Bat-cargo plane since it could fit six people comfortably and still have much space free.

They got into the office, where Bruce had a total of five armchairs set around the coffee table. Immediately, Damian and Dick took two of them, leaving the head one for Bruce and one in between the two Waynes for Marinette. Tim didn’t bother trying to fight with Jason over who gets the last place, instead opting to just jump onto computer chair at the desk and activating a holo-screen. He quickly connected to Batcomputer and started to pull various files (mostly on Marinette and her close ones, but she didn’t see it).

“So tell me. What is our young couple planning to do now?” Dick teased them.

Jason was standing next to the alcohol bar, pouring several glasses of whiskey. Before Bruce could protest, he brought five and placed them on the table. His reaction to disapproving glare from the other adults was to just shrug. “What? They are married. I think underage drinking would be the least of the problems. Oh! That reminds me.�� Jason grinned maliciously and pulled his wallet. He tossed something square and silver at Damian. “I don’t want any demon spawns junior running around soon.”

Once Marinette realized what was that and what was he implying she turned redder than Tim’s outfit. Damian scowled. “I have a sword on me Todd, so watch what you are saying. I might not have chosen her to be my bride, but I will not let you embarrass her just for your fun.”

Jason saw an opportunity and he would be damned if he didn’t take it. “Which sword are you talking about?”

Damian hissed like an angry cat and drawn his sword, lunging at his brother. Todd initially wanted to block the attack with his gun, but fine steel cut right through it. Seeing murder in Damian’s face he did the only plausible thing: started to run.

Marinette was inventing new shades of red with her blushing. Bruce gave her an apologetic look. “Please, don’t take his comments to heart. Jason is…” before batman could find a right word there was a sound of something crashing, followed by a painful yelp. In just a moment, Damian returned happy, his sword a bit bloody.

“Please tell me you didn’t kill him…” Dick begged. Marinette was not sure whether this was a joke or not, but the longer she stayed with the batfam, the less sane they appeared.

“Nah. But he didn’t look where he was running and toppled the stack of boxes and I ended up stabbing him in his left calf. He will live.” Damian assured them. And true to his words, a limping Jason appeared in the doors. He grabbed a fresh bottle of whiskey on his way to the armchair and slumped resigned. “Demon spawn!”

“Idiot!”

“Enough!” Bruce wanted to pull his hair out. “We came here to discuss a certain situation not stab each other. Marinette?”

“Yes monsieur Wayne?” She asked, still stunned with what happened. She had to admit Damian acter chiviliarus protecting her honor, even if his way was pretty violent.

“I was trying to ask you, what do you plan on doing now?”

“I… I don’t know. This all happened so fast…”

“It’s okay. I don’t think anyone would have a plan for such situation.” Dick reassured her

“Bruce does. It’s inside the safe in the batcave in folder labeled ‘Talia never gives up’.” Tim chimed in before returning to his research.

“Well, no one sane has such plans.” Dick tried to cheer her up. It did work even if just a bit. “But ask yourself what do you want.”

“Well… I would wish to finish my education and I always dreamed about becoming a professional fashion designer.”

“And how is this plan working so far?” Bruce inquired.

“Well, I do run a small internet boutique, where I take commissions and uncle Jagged refuses to wear anything that wasn’t personally designed by me.” She said casually.

“Wait a moment… Uncle Jagged as in Jagged Stone, the world-class rock musician?!” Tim suddenly shouted.

“Uh… yes?” She got confused

“But his only designer is the mysterious MDC! That would mean you are MDC!”

“Uh… yes?” Marinette had no idea why Tim acted like that.

“Oh god! Oh god! I got to meet MDC! Can I get your authograph?” He was suddenly next to her, holding a copy of the her first album cover she made for Jagged.

“Sure.” She signed it and handed it back. It read: ‘Good luck TD, MDC’.

Tim Fainted.

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Taglist (sorry if I missed you)

@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64

#fanfic #fanfiction #crossover #marinette x damian #order of the guardians #guardian!marinette #maridami #maribat #damienette #maribat au #league of assassins #arranged marriage au #batman

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the-apocryphal-one · 5 years

Text

Novel Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

I’m sorry, but when you open up your book with that paragraph, intentionally invoking and subverting typical fairy tale tropes with a fun tongue-in-cheek narration...you’ve got me hooked. And if you get me hooked like that, you’d better follow through. And this book did. Hot damn it was good. I binged it in a day.

Apparently the author used to write fanfiction; it shows, because she took away all the good lessons you learn from it and left behind the bad parts. Uprooted is a stand-alone medieval fantasy with a refreshingly original tale and lovely use of fairy tale tropes and you should definitely check it out.

Summary: Once a decade, the Dragon comes and Chooses a single girl from the valley he protects as payment. Agnieszka (Nieshka for short) doesn’t worry about being taken; she worries about her beautiful, talented, perfect best friend Kasia, who everyone knows will be Chosen. But for a reason Nieshka can’t fathom, the Dragon picks her instead, and she gets sucked into a world that is dark and horrifying...but not in the ways you’d expect it to be.

Spoiler-free cliffnotes review:

- After a while, YA female protagonists start to get cookie-cutter. Nieshka is not at all cookie-cutter; she’s unique, sweet, and genuinely flawed. I never found myself irritated with her, and I kept getting prouder and prouder of her as she grew into her own.

- Likewise, YA romances tend to be cookie-cutter and feel shallow or lust-based. And don’t get me started on the love triangles. But thankfully, there are no love triangles here, and the romance is background, slow-burn emotional goodness. Bonus points for neither lead being hot; they’re actually kind of plain. Poor Nieshka especially gets called horse-faced and nothing special to look at.

- The other characters are all developed well; Kasia, the wizards at court, the royals, the antagonists, they all have their own distinct personalities and motivations. And boooooooy I love Nieshka’s friendship with Kasia, it is Good and Strong and we need more platonic relationships like that in literature.

- Worldbuilding was enticing, I was genuinely interested in the different legends and histories and songs. Downside is the world itself felt a little confusing in terms of layout; nothing that created a plot hole, but I could have used a map.

- Novik’s prose is beautiful, and especially shines when she’s creating atmosphere, but can be a bit too long at times. It definitely slowed me down while I was reading.

- She’s great at pacing and tension. The stakes start small but important, and then they grow a little larger, and then they just spiral up and up and more and more is at risk and I kept holding my breath waiting to see how the heroes would get through it this time.

...And have the spoiler version below the cut:

The Gushing:

- honestly I love Nieshka because she is just so unlike your typical YA protagonist. A lot of them are cold, brave, loner-types who don’t need help. Nieshka’s a self-admitted coward, genuinely clumsy (she’s always dirty from spilling stuff on herself and tripping), and anxious...but also a big sweetheart, idealistic, and kinda spacey. Like the Dragon took her to teach her magic, and she keeps thinking about how restrictive it is. Then she starts thinking about it in terms of wandering through the woods not knowing what she’s looking for, but she’ll know when she finds it, and she’s picking berries in her head, and suddenly: boom, magic. And the Dragon is furious because that’s too unorganized, what do you mean woods there aren’t any woods here, how are you doing it????

- it is essentially Wizard vs Sorcerer, to put it in DnD terms, only she is the only Sorceress in a world of Wizards and they can’t. get. it. it’s hilarious. (but she also can’t do their stuff, she has all the power without the precise control. They’re all stronger working together, so it’s not “super specialness”, it’s a fair trade)

- Delicious slow-burn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, yum. It’s written subtly and beautifully; I love the detail when she stops thinking of the Dragon by his title and starts thinking of him by his name. You just see the relationship changing without being told it is.

- speaking of, I love the Dragon. He’s laid out as nuanced and “not a bad lord” from the start--protective of his vassals, enough to personally step in to help them, but also extremely distant. He thinks of the needs of the many vs the few, he’s grumpy, he never socializes, and he demands a sacrifice of a girl every decade--just to clean his tower, but everyone thinks the worst because he doesn’t do anything to make them think otherwise. So no one likes him except in that local proud “he’s our lord” way. And he keeps getting taken off-guard by Nieshka (again: “HOW ARE YOU CASTING LIKE THAT?!”) in a way that’s kind of adorable.

- Nieshka's profession at the end is becoming a druid-type healer. I LOVE THAT. there’s like some stigma against women doing feminine things in YA literature, and Nieshka just goes for it. She has the power to be a war-witch, and she’s used her magic that way, but she hated seeing battle and death. She goes “nope, I’m gonna peace out and heal the damage caused by this war.”

- I love how Nieshka knows the Dragon is gonna run from their relationship and decides she’s not gonna beg him to stay bc he needs to figure that out for himself. If he doesn’t come back, she’ll be sad, but she’ll move on. Her life doesn’t revolve around him, that’s refreshing, and it makes the moment he does come back (bc of course he does) that much better.

- Nieshka and Kasia’s friendship is the Good Shit, they’re just completely devoted to each other and it’s not at all framed in a romantic way. ACTUALLY their platonic love is the central relationship of the story instead of the romance, and I LOVE THAT, because romance shouldn’t be The Only And The Biggest bond in our life. But they also have their secret envies and hurts, but their friendship just grows stronger for it??? it’s just so good???

- Okay, for some non-Nieshka things (but seriously I love her), how about the side characters? They’re never reduced to “stop mattering when the hero leaves the screen”, they get motivations explained and other facets of their character explored. Alosha the witch-blacksmith, the Dragon’s rival the Falcon, KASIA, Prince Marek. Marek is like the perfect shadow archetype of Nieshka, they both really want to save someone they love from the Wood, they both refuse to quit, and it’s just plain bad luck that his quest was doomed from the start. So even though she hates what he does, she understands why he’s doing it, and admits she might well have done the same in his shoes.

- The Wood is terrifying. Novik uses a lot of pretty descriptive words in her narration that borders on flowery at points, but when it comes to the Wood, it underlines how horrific that place is. At one point, the Wood corrupts Kasia, and she describes sap seeping out of her eyes and mouth and I gagged reading it. Or here, take this paragraph:

“I could see light shining through my own skin, making a blazing lantern of my body, and when I held up my hands, I saw to my horror faint shadows moving there beneath the surface. Forgetting the feverish pain, I caught at my dress and dragged it off over my head. He knelt down on the floor with me. I was shining like a sun, the thin shadows moving through me like fish swimming beneath the ice in winter.”

- yes thank you I really needed the imagery of living evil fish swimming under someone’s skin in my life (translation: beautiful prose but ahhhh!)

- plus the Wood is alive and incredibly smart. It spends the whole book playing speed chess and keeping you double-guessing every apparent victory the heroes have. Combined with the supernatural/horror aspects, it really feels like an eldritch and dreadful force of nature.

- there are like three books’ worth of plot in this one, but they all get developed and paced well. there’s just so much content, and it’s varied and exciting and gripping--training with the Dragon, rescues in the Wood, courtly intrigue, a siege on a tower, kickass magic battles, and The Big Final Mission which ends in a way I don’t want to spoil, even in the spoiler section.

Critiques:

- I really wish Novik included a map of the land, because I just kept getting confused where everything was. At first I was under the impression the Dragon’s tower was to the west, closest to the Wood; then it and the Wood turned out to be in the east? And the capital is...north, northwest of that? But then why are Nieskha and Kasia crossing mountains to get to the Dragon’s tower in the south, the mountains are in the east too, dividing them from Rosya, right??? where even is everything??????? it’s possible I was a dumbell and just misread/misremembered stuff, but that’s why a map would have been helpful.

- Novik’s writing style is beautiful, it’s fairy tale-esque and fits the setting...but once in a while it’s too much, you know? She really, really wants you immersed in the physical sensations of the world she created, and in cases like the Woods, it works well to convey the sheer monstrosity of the place. In other cases, it feels kinda like a slog; there’s one point where she writes at length about the pattern of a carpet. How interesting.

- Usually in YA fiction, the heroine doesn’t care about her parents or vice versa. Thankfully that’s averted here, but Nieshka mentions she has three brothers...who she doesn’t really think or care about. There’s a nice scene when she first arrives at the tower and starts crying about how she’s lost her parents, but her brothers? Nada. They don’t even get names or show up, with no explanation; at the very least a line about how they’re so much older than her that they’re not close would have satisfied me, but there’s nothing like that. It’s not huge, but it’s jarring.

- while I love the Dragon and Nieshka’s emotional relationship, I do admit the physical aspects felt sudden. Novik basically has it so that magically working together creates a charged intimacy between them, and the first time it happened I loved it because it seemed like it was gonna be ‘the gateway’ to more. Instead, it kind of ends up a crutch for their physical relationship. It’s like “slow burn, slow burn, magic, KISSAGE, slow burn, slow burn, magic, SEX”.

#book review #uprooted #book rec

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