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hope-and-roll · 1 year ago

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Fanny Wellington

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.” ― Victor Hugo

- Fanny Roxanna Charity Wellington - Née le 22 juillet 2005 - Originals - Anglaise - Sang-Mêlé - Lesbienne - Poudlard, Gryffondor - Pianiste professionnelle - Mackenzie Foy ~ Fille de Thomas et Roxanna Wellington, née Burbage ~ Petite-fille d'Enoch et Arabella Wellington (née Jones) et de Charity Burbage et Grayson Pops ~ Belle-fille d'Hannah Weaver * Meilleure amie de Daniel Dawn * Petite-amie, puis épouse de Lena Clark * Mère de Meryl Wellington Fanny Roxanna Charity Wellington est née le 22 juillet 2005. Elle est la fille d'un Moldu, Thomas Wellington, et d'une sorcière de Sang-Pur, Roxanna Burbage, ce qui fait d'elle une Sang-Mêlé. Thomas est né le 1er mars 1978. Son père, Enoch Wellington, est mort très jeune dans un accident de voiture. Sa mère, Arabella Wellington, l'a donc élevée seule, ce qui ne fut facile pour aucun des deux. Arabella vient d'une famille bourgeoise conservatrice à l'extrême, qui lui a transmis des convictions xénophobes. De plus, la mort de son mari l'a rendue encore plus froide et dure, anéantissant sa tendresse et son empathie. Grandir aux côtés d'une telle mère a forgé le caractère du jeune homme, qui devint très têtu et rebelle. Il était allergique à toute forme d'autorité et de diktat social. En grandissant, Thomas a appris à prendre ses distances avec l'enseignement raciste et homophobe de sa mère. Paradoxalement, l'éducation très stricte d'Arabella a fait de lui un homme très ouvert d'esprit, tolérant, insolent et révolté – l'exact opposé du fils qu'elle voulait. Les rapports entre Arabella et Thomas ont toujours été distants et conflictuels. Dès sa majorité, le jeune homme a quitté la maison familiale, quitte à vivre dans un très petit appartement et à devoir cumuler deux travaux fatigants : serveur dans le restaurant du coin le jour, et barman dans une discothèque peu éloignée de son domicile la nuit. C'est dans cette dernière qu'il rencontra sa future épouse. Roxanna Burbage est née le 1er septembre 1980. Elle est la cadette d'une petite famille de sorciers très ouverte à la culture Moldue. Ses parents étaient séparés, mais leur entente restait correcte. Sa mère, Charity, était professeure d'Étude des Moldus, et son père, Grayson, s'était remarié avec une Moldue, et ce qui entraîna leur assassinat par les Mangemorts en 1997, lors de la Première Guerre des Sorciers. Roxanna ne s'en remit jamais vraiment. Tout juste majeure, et déjà orpheline... Comme Thomas, elle n'avait ni grand-parents encore en vie, ni frères, ni sœurs. Elle vécut donc en colocation avec ses amis, qui l'aidèrent à faire son deuil. Quelques années plus tard, en 2001, Roxanna les entraîna en boîte de nuit pour fêter son vingt-et-unième anniversaire. C'est là qu'elle fit la connaissance de celui qui deviendra son mari.

Des regards, des numéros de téléphone échangés (Roxanna vivait quasiment comme une Moldue, étant passionnée de ce monde), des rendez-vous, des discussions, des secrets confiés... L'histoire d'amour de Thomas et Roxanna débuta de manière très banale. Et cette normalité aurait pu être réelle si la jeune femme n'était pas une sorcière. Le secret ne tint pas très longtemps, même si selon la loi, il fallait avoir un enfant avec un Moldu pour lui révéler l'existence du monde des sorciers, Roxanna n'avait jamais su mentir. Thomas eut beaucoup de mal à avaler ça, mais ne prit pas ses distances avec l'ancienne Poufsouffle pour autant. Ils se firent découvrir leurs mondes respectifs – même si Roxanna en savait déjà énormément sur celui des Moldus. A peine née, leur fille fut chérie et choyée. Thomas lui apprit à cuisiner, et Roxanna lui apprit à jouer du piano. La fillette se révéla très douée dans les deux disciplines, mais vouait à l'instrument une passion qui égalait, voire dépassait, celle de sa mère. Thomas et Roxanna se marièrent en 2007, et achetèrent un grand appartement à Londres, avec pour projet de devenir propriétaires d'une maison à la campagne lorsqu'ils auraient plus d'argent. Thomas enchaînait les CDD en tant que serveur dans des restaurants ou employé dans des grandes surfaces. Son rêve aurait été de devenir boulanger, mais Arabella avait tué ses espoirs dans l'œuf en l'empêchant de faire un apprentissage et l'obligeant à aller jusqu'au dipl��me. Quant à Roxanna, elle avait toujours rêvé de vivre de sa passion : la musique. Mais pour l'instant, elle ne faisait que se produire dans quelques établissements pour des sommes modestes, et piochait le reste de l'argent qu'il leur fallait pour vivre dans l'héritage de ses parents. Le couple s'était promis qu'une fois qu'ils auraient assez économisé, ils déménageraient dans leur maison de campagne et feraient tous les deux les métiers dont ils rêvaient, tout en élevant leur enfant, Fanny. Tant de projets, qui furent avortés par la découverte de la maladie de Roxanna. Une maladie génétique rare, autant chez les Moldus que chez les sorciers, qui prenait la forme d'une tumeur qui rongeait ses muscles, puis ses os. Les traitements des deux mondes ne firent que rallonger un tout petit peu sa vie, mais elle était condamnée. Roxanna Wellington mourut le 8 septembre 2013, alors que Fanny avait huit ans.

Ce décès fit perdre pied à Thomas. Il n'avait jamais eu de vrais amis, juste des potes avec lesquels il défiait les figures d'autorité et enfreignait les règles. Sa mère n'avait jamais su que le rabaisser. Et il n'avait aucun souvenir de son père. Sa femme était la seule personne qui l'avait aimé pour ce qu'il était, qui avait cru en lui. Il replongea dans les démons qu'il était parvenu à exorciser avec l'aide de Roxanna, et recommença à boire et à fumer, parfois de la drogue. Sans surprise, il perdit son travail. Même sa fille n'était pas un réconfort pour lui. Fanny fit tout ce qu'elle pouvait pour aider Thomas, mais elle était de plus en plus impuissante face à ce père de plus en plus glacial, dépendant, distant, voire violent. Tout son environnement, et surtout sa fille, lui rappelait Roxanna, et le faisait intensément souffrir. Thomas était un homme égoïste. En 2015, un an et demi après la mort de sa femme, il finit par abandonner Fanny à sa grand-mère, Arabella, qu'il n'avait plus vue depuis dix-neuf ans, sans lui laisser le choix, avant de s'installer aux États-Unis. Fanny ne comprenait pas ce choix. Elle lui envoya beaucoup de messages, beaucoup de lettres, sans jamais obtenir de réponses. Elle recevait juste quelques billets à son anniversaire et à Noël, ainsi qu'une très courte lettre disant simplement « Joyeux anniversaire » ou « Joyeux Noël ». A côté de ça, Fanny, comme Thomas en son temps, devint la cible et la prisonnière de l'éducation de fer d'Arabella. A ses yeux, elle n'avait plus de famille. Sa grand-mère était méchante, insensible, exigeante, intolérante, aussi froide et dure que du métal. Fanny la détestait, et Arabella n'aimait pas non plus sa petite-fille. Après tout, elle en voulait beaucoup à son fils de l'avoir abandonnée dès sa majorité, elle n'avait jamais appris à connaître Roxanna et Fanny. Et elle lui en voulait encore plus de l'abandonner une seconde fois en lui laissant l'enfant, qu'elle considérait comme un poids. En plus, c'était une sorcière, un monstre aux yeux d'Arabella. Les sentiments de Fanny, elle n'y pensait pas.

Quant à son père, Fanny n'arrivait pas à lui pardonner. Elle l'aimait tellement... C'était son héros. Mais son image intouchable de père drôle, fort, doué en cuisine et rebelle juste comme il faut s'était brésillée, remplacée par celle de l'étranger égoïste, dépendant qui l'avait abandonnée, qui la traitait comme une petite nièce dont on oubliait parfois le nom. Son entrée à Poudlard lui apporta un nouvel espoir. Fanny fut répartie à Gryffondor, où elle rencontra Dan Dawn, qui devient son meilleur ami. Ils créèrent un petit groupe d'amis, où elle se sentait bien. Elle chérissait ses amis, qui étaient pour elle sa nouvelle famille. En troisième année, Fanny tomba amoureuse d'une Serpentard de son âge, Annie Cole, lui faisant comprendre son homosexualité. Malgré ce que sa grand-mère avait essayé de faire rentrer dans sa tête, malgré l'homophobie presque violente d'Arabella, Fanny n'exprima jamais aucune honte. Elle s'assumait telle qu'elle était. Ce n'était pas une si grande affaire. Elles sortirent ensemble pendant un an, et se séparèrent en quatrième année en de bons termes. En cinquième année débarqua à Poudlard une nouvelle, Lena Clark. Elle avait été renvoyée de Salem pour violence sur plusieurs élèves qui la harcelaient. Fanny avait immédiatement trouvé ça révoltant : elle se faisait harceler, se vengeait et c'était elle qui était renvoyée ? La jeune Américaine se fit répartir à Gryffondor également. Fanny fut sa première amie à Poudlard. Elle présenta les siens à Lena, et fit en sorte qu'elle soit parfaitement intégrée à l'école.

Les mois passant, les deux filles apprirent à se faire confiance, mais c'était plus difficile pour Lena que pour Fanny. Fanny lui raconta son histoire à la fin de leur cinquième année, alors qu'elle venait d'apprendre que son père s'était remarié à une Américaine, Hannah Weaver, qui avait déjà une fille, Phoebe. Sa colère et sa peine étaient impossibles à cacher, Fanny se confia donc à Lena. L'Américaine ne parla de son passé à l'Anglaise que peu avant Noël de leur sixième année. Les deux filles ne rentraient jamais chez elles pour les vacances (les parents de Lena n'accordaient que peu d'attention à leur fille, et Fanny désirait éviter sa grand-mère le plus possible), elles restèrent donc très souvent ensemble.

Fanny fut la première à se rendre compte d'un changement dans leur relation. Lorsqu'elle avoua son amour à Lena, celle-ci prit peur de sa propre homosexualité. Pourtant, Fanny parvint à la mettre en confiance, et elles commencèrent à sortir ensemble en septième année.

Ce n'était pas qu'une amourette d'adolescentes. Leur histoire dura. Après leurs études, elles s'installèrent ensemble, se marièrent et adoptèrent une enfant : Meryl Wellington. Fanny devint pianiste professionnelle. Elle s'épanouit dans son métier, et chaque personne qui l'écoutait jouer avouait qu'elle avait beaucoup de talent. Une fois adulte, elle tenta de renouer avec son père, lui ayant pardonné, mais coupa les ponts avec sa grand-mère. La jeune fille a une grande force de caractère qui lui permet d'aimer, de pardonner et d'affronter tous les obstacles de la vie sans se plaindre. Elle est loyale et bien élevée, toujours polie. Elle possède une grande sagesse et un grand coeur. C'est une personne très sociable et chaleureuse, qui met toujours les gens à l'aise. Elle est courageuse et a confiance en elle. Elle a également beaucoup d'humour. Fanny est très étourdie, elle pourrait oublier sa tête si celle-ci n'était pas attachée à son cou. Elle est la reine des mauvaises perdantes, sinon. Elle est très gourmande, bavarde et malicieuse. Un peu trop curieuse, aussi. Elle peut facilement être comparée au Phénix : comme lui, rien ne peut la décourager, elle renaît toujours de ses cendres, c'est une optimiste. Elle a également un fort sens de la justice, parfois un peu disproportionné. Elle remet en question toute forme d'autorité avant de la considérer comme légitime. Elle est très bavarde.

Trivia :

- Baguette magique : bois de mélèze avec une plume de Phénix, 28 cm, rigide. - Animal de compagnie : Isil, un chatte Maine Coon âgée de trois ans. - Patronus : Griffon. Il est le symbole du pouvoir et de la justice, de la connaissance et de la force (le lion, le roi des animaux) associé à la transcendance et l'intellect (l'aigle, roi des oiseaux). Il symbolise le bien triomphant du mal. - Epouvantard : un Détraqueur - allergique au pollen - passionnée de randonnées en montagne, de base-ball, de parapente et de cinéma

Playlist :

Fanny : Believer - Imagine Dragons Youth - Shawn Mendes Lenny (Fanny Wellington x Lena Clark) during their teenage years : Under - Alex Hepburn

#Wellington #2004-2005 #Originals #Poudlard #Gryffondor

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rainbowtheque · 7 years ago

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Le secret de Grayson

Titre : Le secret de Grayson

Autrice : Ami Polonsky

Roman contemporain

Maison d’édition : Albin Michel Jeunesse

Disponible en version numérique et papier - Nombre de pages : 336

Âge conseillé : à partir de 12 ans

Résumé

Depuis toujours, Grayson fait semblant d'être ce que les autres voient, quitte à s'effacer complétement. Jusqu'au jour où il décide de postuler pour la pièce de théâtre de l'école et décroche le premier rôle : celui de la déesse grecque Perséphone. Son choix déclenche une véritable tempête autour de lui - au sein de l'école mais aussi de ses proches. Pourtant, malgré les rumeurs et les humiliations auxquelles il doit faire face, c'est aussi la première fois que Grayson ose être lui-même.

Identités représentées :

Personnage principal fille trans (en questionnement une partie du livre, mais c’est assez clair)

Thématiques présentes :

Questionnement, transidentité, harcèlement, tolérance, quête de soi, adolescence

TW : harcèlement scolaire, violence verbale sur l'homosexualité et physique.

Avis de Chenseth

Facile à lire, personnage attachante, moments quelques peu difficile émotionnellement qui peuvent rappeler notre propre histoire car cela se passe à l'école (collège) mais ça n'est pas creusé, ça aborde la thématique trans sans vraiment l'approfondir.

Avis de EhipsoVolcahra

Un super bouquin 👍 Fortement recommandé par moi-même!

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kandoesfanfics-writes · 4 years ago

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A Song Your Soul(mate) Sings

This is my Maribat Secret Santa for @my-northern-downpour. I hope you enjoy it! This is a soulmate!au based off of a trend on TikTok in which soulmates can hear each other when they sing. I extended this to include humming as well.

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The room was dark by the time he returned to his bed.

It was sparsely decorated, the six-year old boy not wanting much for potential enemies to use to conceal themselves. His eyes scanned the shadows, watching for the slightest movement, trying to see if there was anyone currently in the room. Seeing nothing that tickled his fight or flight instincts, he cautiously walked into the room before locking it behind him. He quietly barricaded himself in the room before walking over to his meager bed.

His body ached as he laid down to sleep.

Where there was not gauze or bandages was dark skin decorated with purples and blues of varying colors. The pain was a dull throb in his limbs as compared to the sharp pains in his joints. His stomach ached from the punishing training he'd been put through earlier that day. He hadn't wanted to train, but his mother had smacked him and told him to be grateful that he was chosen as heir.

"Des yeux qui font baisser les miens, un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche, voilà le portrait sans retouche, de l'homme auquel j'appartiens…"

The joyful echoes in his head began again, right on time. The echo sounded child-like, like the singer was someone his age. The echo sounded feminine, and he wondered why such a feminine voice would be echoing in his ears. He wasn't a girl after all so why did it sound like a girl? Why couldn’t he talk to that echo either? He could always have conversations with himself, but the feminine voice never answered him.

"Quand il me prend dans ses bras, qu'il me parle tout bas, je vois la vie en rose, Il me dit des mots d'amour, des mots de tous les jours, et ça m'fait quelque chose…"

It wasn't in a language he knew either. So far Mother had only taught him Arabic and English. The strange foreign vowel sounds and unfamiliar words made no sense to the little boy. Why was he hearing a voice speaking in a strange tongue?

And was he the only one?

Mother and Grandfather had never talked about hearing strange voices in their heads. Neither had any of the others the little boy had met. If they heard the voices too, wouldn't they have talked about them? Why would Mother and Grandfather hide the knowledge from him… unless they didn't share the same experiences.

The little boy did not fear the voice, but he vowed never to speak of it. While he did not believe the voice was a threat, he did not wish to be seen as defective. He saw what had happened to those deemed unworthy of his Grandfather's presence. He did not wish to die…or worse, go through painful procedures to get rid of the voice in his head.

"Il est entré dans mon cœur, une part de bonheur, dont je connais la cause, c'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie, Il me l'a dit, l'a juré, pour la vie, et dès que je l’aperçois, alors je sens en moi, mon cœur qui bat…"

As he curled into a ball, his daggers close at hand, he listened to the cheerful voice. He listened to the way the strange words would roll, and occasionally stutter, through his mind. It wasn’t terrible...if he had to be honest, it was rather relaxing. The sound was more often than not soft and gentle sounding compared to the harsh orders barked at him daily. Sometimes the voice had giggles and laughter interrupting the words, sending a strange warmth through him. He could feel himself relaxing enough to sleep, but he forced his green eyes to stay open as he wanted to hear more.

“Des nuits d’amour à plus finir, un grand bonheur qui prend sa place, les ennuis, les chagrins s’effacent, heureux, heureux à en mourir…”

He could feel sleep overtake him as he listened to the happy voice, glad that at least one thing in his life radiated warmth and was not tinged with fear.

He hoped Mother and Grandfather never found out.

Damian didn’t want the voice to go away.

————————

“Why do you keep singin’ if you can’t hear them, Mari?” a dark skinned boy asked, picking apart the sandwich his mother made him.

“Because Maman explained that some people can’t sing, Nino!” a little girl with paler skin responded. “Maman said that sometimes people are born without the ability to talk, or they get hurt real bad and can’t talk no more. She also said that sometimes people have a hard time hearing or can’t hear at all, so they learn FSL instead of talking with their mouth! What if my soulmate is like that? They’d be real lonely if I didn’t sing to ‘em!”

The little boy adjusted the small red cap on top of his head and said, “I guess that makes sense.”

The little girl nodded, her bob swinging a little with the force of her movements. Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her best friend, Nino Lahiffe, were sitting in her parents bakery, enjoying lunch. Nino was picking apart his food, not feeling very hungry after Chloe Bourgeois called him chubby. Despite Marinette telling Nino he wasn’t chubby, the little boy seemed to be down in the dumps. Marinette had tried to cheer him up by asking about the song he could hear his soulmate singing as Nino was very excited that he was hearing his soulmate more often now.

That had brought them to the conversation of Marinette’s soulmate...who she had never heard before.

Marinette knew her friend wasn’t trying to be mean by asking about it, and that he was worried about her. It wasn’t common that soulmates couldn’t hear one another’s voices so long as both people were alive. If one couldn’t hear their soulmates voice it could mean that they might have died, that they hadn’t been born yet, or that the person didn’t have one. There were also instances where both soulmates were still alive and still couldn’t sing to one another, and that was the type Marinette’s mother had just recently explained to her— people who were unable to verbally communicate due to either issues with hearing or speaking verbally.

Marinette was nibbling on her sandwich too, secretly trying to reassure herself as well.

After all, Chloe liked to tease her that she didn’t have a soulmate.

Marinette shook her head, kicking her feet back and forth. No! Stupid Chloe was wrong! She did have a soulmate! They just couldn’t sing to her right now! Maybe they couldn’t sing at all, but that didn’t matter! As long as she kept singing, they would eventually find her voice...wouldn’t they?

“Hey Mari, do you wanna go to the park?” Nino asked, interrupting her train of thought. “I got a new football. It’s in my bag.”

Marinette smiled brightly, adjusting the straps on her pink overalls before saying, “Prepare to lose, Nino!”

The little girl jumped out of her seat and raced towards his backpack, the little boy following after her. Neither child noticed the dark haired woman watching them with a soft, sad smile. Her near silver eyes shone with love and concern as she watched her daughter go off to play with her best friend. She looked so happy...and Sabine desperately hoped she would stay like that.

———————-

...things at his father’s house were strange.

His rules were confusing.

No killing. None. In fact, Damian got into more trouble killing while with his father. It just didn’t make any sense to him! Hadn’t Mother told Father anything?! Hadn’t Mother told Father that he was going to be heir of both the cowl and the League of Assassins? He had to know how to kill in order to do that! He had to keep up with his skills to be able to maintain and grow to surpass anyone who would challenge him!

But Father told him that he didn’t want Damian to do any of that.

He told Damian that he wanted different things for him than his mother did.

And that confused him.

The other thing that confused him was his place in his father’s house.

With his mother and his grandfather, the dark haired ten-year old’s position was always clear. He was to be the Heir to the League of Assassins. He was to be stronger, sharper, quicker, and more deadly than anyone else in the League. He was constantly being tested by Mother and Grandfather too. He knew that if he did not perform to their standards then a punishment was in order...and they never let Damian forget how replaceable he truly was at the end of the day.

He might be considered more important than the other League members, but he had to continuously earn that position.

Richard Grayson didn’t seem interested in fighting him for the cowl...at all. In fact, the young man seemed to want to get to know Damian. He seemed to get over his annoyance at the younger boy’s appearance rather quickly, and he’d started getting into Damian’s space. He asked him questions, trying to learn more about the newcomer. He didn’t appear to be threatened by Damian very much either, which irritated the aforementioned boy severely.

Dick was quick to suss out Damian’s boundaries, and while he’d ultimately respect them, he was also quick to push them too. His excuse was that Damian needed to act like other ten year old boys, and his father had agreed. While Damian had at first hated it...he had to admit he’d grown fond of Grayson, as the second Damian began to feel anxious, the older one would cease his pushing.

Dick was...well he was an older brother, through and through. He loved Damian, but he wasn’t afraid to try and kick the younger boy’s ass either. Damian appreciated someone who could see he had skill but wasn’t scared off by it. Dick was insistent in getting Damian to learn more about ‘normal’ kid stuff. Dick was the one showing him kids’ movies, loudly singing along to the lyrics, making their father groan.

Tim...Tim still wasn’t okay with Damian. Damian wasn’t okay with Tim either. Damian was more willing to overlook Dick as he was his own superhero— Nightwing. Tim was Robin. Tim was the one who had his role, according to his mother. Tim was the one he was supposed to show he was superior too. Tim was the one he had to get rid of.

But that had made father and Dick extremely angry.

Tim fought valiantly for his position, which Damian respected, but he also seemed to be sticking to Father’s no kill rule. It was clear that Father trusted Tim much more than he trusted Damian. Tim was still with the family. Tim hadn’t been replaced by him. Tim still hung out with Dick, though he did it less when Damian was around. Tim also clearly had Dick’s trust as well, while Damian was still on thin ice.

The younger boy couldn’t explain why that upset him so much, but it did.

As Dick had explained it to him, and Alfred re-explained, ranks were based purely on seniority. Alfred was in charge of Bruce, and Bruce was in charge of them. Dick was the next in line because he was the oldest, then Tim, and then Damian. There wasn’t any fighting in order to gain the upper rank...and despite Damian being on the bottom, he was treated with just as much respect as a living person deserved.

He was allowed to point out holes in plans. He was allowed to talk during meetings. He was allowed to offer his opinion. He was allowed to fight with them...he was allowed to fight without fearing death.

For the first time in Damian’s short life...he was allowed to do things without the risk of death constantly hanging over his head. The most his father would do is bench him from patrols, stop him from training, and put him under house arrest. All of these punishments were preferable to the ones his mother would come up with, and he felt so much better about that.

He was freer to be himself here than he ever had been with his mother.

“Here comes the sun, do, dun, do, do. Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right. Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun, do, dun, do, do. Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right!”

Damian looked up from his oatmeal, grimacing at his elder ‘brother’ as said man skidded into the kitchen in a tee-shirt, boxers, and his socks.

It had been an entire year since his mother had left him with his father. He was eleven years old now, and he’d told his mother that he was staying with his father. He had thought he’d grow used to his ‘brothers’ antics, but it appeared that there was one thing he still wasn’t used to— Dick’s insistence that he break out in a random musical number anytime he felt like it…

“GRAYSON, would you please shut up! Tt, it’s too early for this nonsense!” the green-eyed boy said with a scowl. “Alfred, please tell him that he’s much too noisy.”

“No can do, lil’ D! I have to let my soulmate know I’m a-okay! And the only way to do that is sing!” Dick said happily. “Good morning, Alfred!”

The elderly man shook his head in fond annoyance before saying, “Good morning, Master Dick. If you eat cereal, please leave some left for Master Tim. That boy hasn’t been eating much, but I have been getting him to eat cereal...and do lower your volume, Master Dick.”

“...what the, and I can’t emphasize this enough, fuck are you talking about, Grayson? Where did you hear such nonsense?”

The kitchen fell silent as both Dick and Alfred looked at Damian in shock. Alfred hadn’t even corrected Damian for cursing, both men clearly fighting back and array of emotions. Dick appeared to recover first. His inquisitive blue eyes focused on Damian before he took a deep breath.

“Dames...you know what soulmates are right?” Dick asked slowly.

“What kind of asinine—”

“Master Damian, have you ever heard a voice in your head?”

Damian froze like a rabbit that had just spotted a predator. Despite the boy’s training, Alfred could see it in his microexpressions that the child was afraid. It looked like he had no idea how to answer the question, so the old butler took pity on him and continued.

“This voice...or echo doesn’t sound like it belongs to you. It sounds like someone else...someone you may not know. It could be in another language, possibly, or it could take form in the sound of humming—”

“Almost everyone has one, Lil’ D...” Dick interrupted, his expression twisted with worry. “My soulmate sings back to me after I sing to him.”

The green-eyed boy’s jaw dropped, looking back and forth between Alfred and Dick in an alarmingly vulnerable way. Dick was about to go get Bruce before Damian let out the softest sound of shock and surprise he’d ever heard. He had to strain to hear what Damian said to Alfred next, hating how small and weak the proud boy sounded.

“I’m...I’m not crazy? She— she’s real?”

“Talia never told you about soulmates, did she?” Alfred said, taking the available seat next to Damian. “Of course you're not crazy, Master Damian. This is completely normal.”

Damian shook his head, looking anxiously at the butler and Dick. He thought the voice was just in his head! She was a real person? She was singing to him? Was he supposed to be singing back? Why could he hear her? Why him?

“Why we don’t explain what soulmates are first,” Alfred said softly. “A soulmate is someone whose soul compliments yours. You are whole as you are, Damian, but a soulmate is someone whose personality will compliment yours. They are the one person in the world who has the chance to know you as well as you know yourself. They’re a blessing to have, not a weakness to exploit.”

“In order to be able to find our soulmates, we have an almost telepathic connection of sorts. When our soulmates sing, we will be able to hear them in our heads. The same goes for when you sing. She’ll be able to hear you,” Dick added. “You will be able to find your soulmate through their singing. You’ll know when you’ve met her...Lil’ D...does your soulmate still sing to you?”

“Everyday...though the time has changed since I got to the states. I’m assuming she’s European due to the timezone difference and what I believe is a Latin-based language,” Damian mumbled, twiddling his thumbs. “Is that good?”

“That’s excellent, Lil’ D. It means she hasn’t given up on you,” Dick said with a grin. “So don’t keep her waiting anymore, okay?”

“Mother and Grandfather never talked about—is it safe? I assumed I was crazy because they never spoke of soulmates and neither did anyone else. I thought—”

“You’re not crazy, Master Damian,” Alfred said, this time firmer. “You are just like any other young man with a soulmate. You hear her voice when she sings to you, and you enjoy it, don’t you?”

“...it is a nice song…very pretty…”

“They probably saw their soulmates as weaknesses to their plans, but what they failed to realize is that soulmates are sources of strength as well. Do not be afraid to answer her now, Master Damian. She’s probably been waiting quite a while to hear your voice.”

Damian still felt like he was going to throw up, but he nodded. He was still tense as a freshly tightened spring as he watched Dick return to his breakfast. The older man started humming a tune that Damian recognized was a song from the movie they’d just watched the night before.

“Dick...what’s the name of that song? The one you’re humming from the movie last night?” he asked, trying to control his voice.

Dick raised an eyebrow, surprised by the use of his first name. He calmly told Damian that he was humming ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’ as performed by Elton John. He said nothing further as he watched Damian make a beeline towards the door, clearly not wanting to speak anymore on the subject, and abandoning his oatmeal. He looked towards Alfred to see if he should bring him back to at least finish breakfast, but the butler shook his head.

“Let Master Damian go. This must be overwhelming for him as well as slightly invasive. Let him process.”

Little did Alfred know that Damian had already accepted that the voice was in his head. He had already accepted the voice that lulled him to sleep as a piece of him that he’d protect willingly and viciously. The only change was that he now understood why he was so keen on protecting the intruder in his head.

He wasn’t crazy.

She was real.

That song was real.

Everything she ever sang to him was real.

Damian wasn’t broken.

She was real.

———————

The last thing Sabine Cheng expected was for her daughter to be awake at seven thirty am, no matter how early she and her husband got up.

Her sweet little Marinette had never been a morning person, always sleeping in and making herself late. Sabine had tried to break her daughter of the habit, but she was just as stubborn as her father. Now Sabine simply tried to mitigate how late her daughter got up so that she wouldn’t be as late to things.

She’d gone to wake her daughter up as she had errands to run. Sabine needed Marinette to come with her to help carry some of the items they were picking up for her mother-in-law’s birthday while Tom worked the store. Neither parent expected the shriek that came from their daughter’s room.

Nor the disheveled state she came nearly crashing down in.

“MAMAN! PAPA!” Marinette shrieked, her hair half-in, half-out of her braid. “HE SANG! MAMAN, HE’S THERE! PAPA, MY SOULMATE ANSWERED ME!”

Marinette’s eyes were wide with shock as she spluttered, trying to get words out of her mouth. Her hands were flailing in every direction, trying desperately to articulate the words she couldn’t get out. She was still dressed in her pajamas, looking at her parents helplessly.

“Marinette! Marinette, you have to breathe, little dumpling,” Sabine said, grabbing her daughter’s hands. “Take a few deep breaths.”

Marinette took a deep breath, following her mother’s instructions of in and out. As soon as she had stopped practically vibrating out of her skin, Marinette grabbed her mother’s arms and said, “He sang back, Maman. He was so shy and stuttered a lot, but he sang back. He answered me!”

Tom looked absolutely relieved, his posture relaxing slightly. He had been worried about Marinette’s soulmate never singing back, and how that would affect Marinette. They knew that she’d been bullied by the mayor’s daughter for never hearing her soulmate sing, and they knew how bad that had made her feel. Tom then stiffened back up when he realized that Marinette’s soulmate sang back, and now someone would be trying to find his little girl.

Sabine couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her husband. Their daughter was only eleven, so she doubted that someone was just going to come and steal her away! However, she was very excited for her daughter. She kissed Marinette on the forehead before saying, “That’s amazing, little dumpling. You go get changed, and you can tell me about it while we walk to the store.”

Marinette nodded eagerly before pausing.

“Maman? Do you think we could get some English books? To help me practice and learn? I’m pretty sure my soulmate sang in English,” the dark haired girl said, biting the tip of her thumb.

Tom looked at his wife, waiting for her to give the nod of approval, before telling Marinette that of course she could get some English studying material. While Tom was apprehensive of the soulmate that just started singing (why hadn’t he sang before?), he wanted nothing more than his little girl to be happy. He kissed his wife on the cheek before walking back into the kitchen, continuing to work on the pastries.

Marinette couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she raced back up to her room.

Her soulmate sang back to her!

She bounced over to her mirror, picking up her hair brush. She pulled out her hair tie, allowing the braid to fall apart completely. As she began to brush her hair, she picked up where her song had left off before her soulmate had tried to sing back.

“Quand il me prend dans ses bras, il me parle tout bas, je vois la vie en rose, il me dit des mots d’amour, des mots de tous les jours, et ça me fait quelque chose, il est entré dans mon coeur, une part de bonheur, dont je connais la cause, c’est toi pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie, il me l’a dit, i’a juré pour la vie,” she sang, carefully braiding her hair.

She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would try singing again.

Her soulmate sounded male, but it was hard for her to hear him. He sounded uncertain and shy as he stumbled across his words. Then he sounded a little bit upset before changing to humming a tune she was familiar with. He was humming “La Vie en Rose” which was a song Marinette sang very often, and that was another reason she believed he wasn’t French. He clearly knew the tune, but didn’t seem confident to say the words.

A familiar tune timidly filled her head, soft and sleepy. She felt affection well up in her chest as he continued to hum “La Vie en Rose” to her. Marinette could tell he’d been listening to her every time she sung him that song. He hummed every note perfectly until his voice began to drift off. Marinette wondered for a moment if that means he’d fallen asleep.

She finished getting dressed quickly after that, throwing on her pink sundress and black ballet flats. Blue-grey eyes sparkling with joy and excitement, Marinette practically ran down the stairs, causing her papa to call out to her to be more careful. She told her papa she would as she skipped over towards her mother.

She couldn’t wait to tell her mother about her soulmate humming her song back to her.

——————

It wasn’t until Damian was almost seventeen that he felt comfortable enough actually singing to his soulmate.

At first, he’d attempted a clumsy rendition of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. He hadn’t been able to remember the words properly, so he’d gotten frustrated and embarrassed. She had been able to hear him messing up! He already hadn’t been singing back to her for years, and now his first attempts were pathetic! He had been worried about how she’d respond to him finally returning her songs, but he’d then begun to worry about what she thought about him screwing it up entirely!

Instead of giving up though, he had decided to hum her song back to her. He knew every note of that song, despite not knowing the words or the name to the song. He had hummed until she answered him back with her own bright cheerful song. She had sung the words, strange and unfamiliar to him, while he hummed the melody, creating the most beautiful sound Damian could have sworn he’d ever heard.

Her voice had sounded even brighter than before, and Damian could tell she was happy. After the first day, he’d noticed an uptick in his soulmate’s humming and singing. The more he’d returned her humming with his own, the happier her voice had sounded. It had warmed his chest in an inexplicable way...almost as if he’d missed her without ever meeting her until he hummed back.

Damian had reached the point where he could easily recall all of the words to Elton John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, but he’d only hummed it to her. He hadn’t felt confident enough to attempt to sing it out loud again, but he was getting there in small steps. He’d been working on it, speaking the words out loud to ensure he remembered them as to not have a repeat of his first attempt. He had begun singing little bits and pieces to the song, which seemed to get the interest of his soulmate. He had fallen even faster for her when she began to show him what she’d been working on.

Singing in English.

Despite her difficulties, his soulmate had continued to try and sing to him in what she probably assumed was his native tongue. She had learned another language for him! She had learned one of the most difficult languages to learn (the grammar rules could be absolutely atrocious, and Damian hated it) just so he could understand her singing.

The least he could do was actually sing for her.

Especially since his soulmate had grown more somber and sad in the past few years.

Her songs seemed to have changed from the light-hearted melodies about love and life to heavier music, in both genre and topics. She’d never stopped singing the song he’d come to know as “La Vie en Rose” though. It appeared that she only sang it for him now because her voice was always quiet, almost like a whisper as she sang. Some nights she only sang a few words or not at all, which worried Damian greatly. So, he did the only thing he could do.

He hummed to her even when she was silent or didn’t seem to want to sing much.

Damian began to hum to her like she’d sang to him all those days while he still lived with the League. She had dealt with his silence for years, never knowing if she had someone on the other end of her connection. Damian only realized how terrifying that was when she’d gone completely silent for a day, not singing anything at all. He could toughen it out and hum to her until she felt like she could sing again, but it only got worse.

She had begun to sing in the softest, saddest voice Damian had ever heard.

It broke his heart to know she was in pain.

Which led him to his current situation, standing in a busy Parisian patisserie with his father and brother, singing to his soulmate for the first time.

“There's a calm surrender, to the rush of day, when the heat of a rolling wind can be turned away. An enchanted moment, and it sees me through. It's enough for this restless warrior, just to be with you,” he sang softly, ignoring the shocked looks of both Bruce and Tim. “And can you feel the love tonight? It is where we are. It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer, that we got this far, and can you feel the love tonight. How it's laid to rest? It's enough to make kings and vagabonds believe the very best.”

The small Asian woman behind the counter looked concerned until Tim apologized and kindly informed her that Damian had never actually sang to his soulmate before. The woman chuckled before telling Tim that he didn’t need to apologize, and that their order would be out soon. Tim nodded, paying the kind woman before Bruce guided them both off to the side to wait.

The dark haired boy ignored his brother’s insistent questions, listening for her voice. She was still quiet, having stopped singing the previous song that had gotten Damian so concerned to begin with. He continued to sing, wanting his soulmate to know that even if it felt like no one else did, he cared about her.

He’d have to thank Dick later for his annoying pop music obsession, or he’d never have recognized Sia’s song “Breathe Me”.

“There's a time for everyone, if they only learn. That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn. There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors. When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours,” he continued, ignoring all of the sounds going on around him.

Just as Damian was about to sing the next section, the patisserie door slammed open. A tiny girl(?) with pitch black hair that was falling loose around her face came racing in. He could see tear streaks down her face as if she’d just been crying. Her body posture was defensive. Her arms were crossed tightly against her chest, and her body was hunched over as if she were trying to make herself smaller.

A blond haired guy followed her into the building. He seemed out of breath with his face as flushed as it was. His green eyes reminded Damian of limes or acid, bright and loud. His entire demeanor displayed a nervousness as he tried to reach the girl, whose posture seemed to scream ‘I’m not okay’ the closer he got to her.

“Marinette, listen! It was just a joke! Alya said they didn’t mean it, and Lila already told the class to stop messing up your schedules,” the guy said. “Please, Marinette? Don’t be mad. You’re better than that.”

The young woman, Marinette, stopped dead in her tracks before turning around. With the more composure than Damian had thought she possessed, she simply said, “Adrien, I am allowed to be upset. They destroyed my planner, which had all the events for our class in it. As class president, I’m supposed to have all of those dates written down and available to anyone who needs them. I now have to remake the entire schedule on top of all my other responsibilities. Besides, real jokes don’t normally involve destroying someone’s personal property, now please leave me alone.”

Damian felt his heart drop into his stomach.

He knew that voice like he knew his katana.

He’d never be able to mistake the voice that had lulled him to sleep so many nights.

That was her voice.

He knew her.

“And can you feel the love tonight? It is where we are. It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer that we got this far, and can you feel the love tonight? How it's laid to rest? It's enough to make kings and vagabonds, believe the very best,” Damian continued, needing to be certain it was her.

He watched the young woman’s arms fall to her sides, looking almost startled. Her eyes, which he now noticed were an enchanting slate blue color that reminded him of a storm, were now darting around. Her petal pink lips, which looked so soft, were agape which hinted towards her being alarmed by something. Her posture straightened up as she scanned the room again. Not finding what she was looking for apparently, she slowly began to sing, her eyes searching the room once more.

“Et dès que je l’aperçois, alors je sens en moi, mon coeur qui bat.”

Damian’s heart then decided to make a violent return to his chest as he could hear it pounding in his chest.

It was her.

Those were the last lines to “La Vie en Rose”.

It was her.

——————

Marinette, to say the least, had been having a couple rough years.

At the age of thirteen, she had been given the ladybug miraculous by the former Guardian and became the spotted heroine known as Ladybug.

At around the age of fourteen-fifteen, Lila Rossi had joined her class and the bullying began.

At the age of sixteen, she realized that she had less friends than she thought she did.

And now at the age of seventeen, Marinette was just done.

She hadn’t been able to locate Hawkmoth due to his increasing power, gaining Mayura as an accomplice, and her inability to keep a standard set of heroes. Some people had lost the privilege to wield the miraculous by breaking Marinette’s trust, and others had been compromised by Hawkmoth. This meant that everytime she needed assistance, she either had to combine the miraculous or give a rookie hero a crash course in superhero training.

Add to that Chat Noir’s endless attempts to flirt and get her to sing in front of him, and Marinette was ready to throw herself out a window.

Being a superhero with little to no training had been hard enough, but now she was the Guardian of the box! Now not only did she have to worry about her Kwami, Tikki, she had to worry about all of them! She would also have to do this with absolutely no training as well except from what the kwamis could remember/tell her.

And all of that didn’t take into account the Marinette part of her life either.

Her only solace had been her soulmate, who had slowly been learning how to sing. She had been surprised to hear attempts at singing, as he’d been humming almost consistently since his first attempt, but it made the ache in her chest feel lighter. Her soulmate clearly cared enough about her to try and overcome whatever had been stopping him from singing before, and it made her feel good. She had come to find the humming comforting, but she also found she enjoyed his voice while he sang too.

More grown up now, his voice was a deep baritone that settled into her bones and made her relax. She had found herself wishing she could talk to him more, wanting to hear words instead of humming. She had forced herself to be patient though. If her soulmate had had problems singing before, it was a possibility he’d only recently gained the capability to verbally speak. She didn’t want to be rude and push for more if that was the case.

Which was apparently something none of her classmates understood.

Marinette had walked into her classroom, only to find the planner she had painstakingly put together for the class in tatters on the floor. She’d left it for their teacher to use, as the teacher needed to add a few more dates in for school functions that had just gotten approved. She wished she could say she hadn’t been upset, but she was.

They’d stuck her with this thankless job, due to Lila not wanting to have to do anything, and this was how they repaid her?

She found it ridiculous that they were still bullying her over Adrien. Sure, she’d liked him when he’d first arrived. He was handsome and rather nice, and most girls had a crush on him. She knew he wasn’t her soulmate though. While he could speak perfect English (thanks to his aunt and cousin living in England, and his late uncle speaking mainly English), the time zone differences didn’t match up.

Her soulmate hummed at specific times, and Marinette had attributed that schedule to reflect their difference in time zones. If Adrien had been her soulmate, then the humming would have occurred around the same time Marinette was normally singing. Plus, she’d heard Adrien sing before when Nino had pressured him into doing it.

The click didn’t go off in her head and as a result, her crush slowly began to die out. She’d even explained to Alya the situation when she’d told her former best friend that she was giving up on dating Adrien. Alya knew that Adrien wasn’t her soulmate, so she didn’t want to waste her time on him.

So why had she joined Lila in bullying her?

Why had she conveniently forgotten that Marinette was completely over her crush and didn’t want to date him?

Why had she lied to Adrien about Marinette wanting to date her?

Most of all, why had Alya believed Lila over her?

Marinette hadn’t heard anyone apologizing to her when she raced out of the room, overwhelmed and upset. She was doing her damndest to control her emotions so that Hawkmoth couldn’t akumatize her, but she could still feel the tears hot on her cheeks. She ignored everything else, storming back towards the patisserie, considering telling her parents she’d thrown up on the way to school and decided to turn around and come home.

Taking a deep breath, she began to sing an English song she’d found while browsing around online. At first she wanted to listen to English songs to help her learn her soulmate’s language, but she did end up finding music and artists that she liked.

“Help, I have done it again. I have been here many times before. Hurt myself again today, and the worst part is there's no-one else to blame. Be my friend, hold me. Wrap me up, enfold me. I am small and needy. Warm me up and breathe me,” she sang, picking up the pace as she heard Adrien shout out her name.

“There's a calm surrender, to the rush of day. When the heat of a rolling wind can be turned away. An enchanted moment, and it sees me through. It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you.”

Marinette nearly froze in her tracks.

Her soulmate had sung!

From the sound of his tone, he seemed worried about her. Marinette continued the song she’d been singing, only pausing when he began to sing his song back to her. She had continued walking on autopilot, taking comfort in her soulmate’s voice despite the fact that she could still register Adrien’s shouting in the back of her mind.

She slammed the patisserie door open, too shocked and upset to think about using the private entrance to their home above the bakery. She heard Adrien’s footsteps follow her inside. She had planned on ignoring him, not wanting to have another fight about whether or not Alya and Lila’s latest shenanigans had been ‘friendly teasing’ or not.

She was going to until Adrien opened his stupid mouth to tell her she was ‘better than this’.

“Adrien, I am allowed to be upset. They destroyed my planner, which had all the events for our class in it. As class president, I’m supposed to have all of those dates written down and available to anyone who needs them. I now have to remake the entire schedule on top of all my other responsibilities. Besides, real jokes don’t normally involve destroying someone’s personal property, now please leave me alone,” she’d told him, firmly.

Before Adrien could respond though, she heard her soulmate sing.

Marinette felt like she’d been struck by lightning as she realized she’d heard an echo, meaning that he was also in the patisserie. He was here! He was here, and he was singing for her!

Her eyes darted around the room, taking in everyone who was present. She saw that her father and mother were swamped with orders, doing their best to keep the line short. There were several regular customers in line with a couple new faces, but no one who stuck out. There was a small trio off to the side, clearly waiting for their order.

They did not appear familiar at all but from the looks of their suits, Marinette wagered they were businessmen. Perhaps they were in the city on business? Or perhaps this wasn’t their normal stop for baked goods, but they came here because it was closer?

Still feeling anxious, she steeled her nerves and began to sing slowly, trying to find the one person who would react in the crowd.

Her eyes were drawn back to the trio, noticing how awestruck the one looked.

He was objectively handsome with a sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. He had tanned skin that made the two men next to him look rather pale in comparison. His hair was jet black and well groomed. He looked strong with broad shoulders, and Marinette was certain he had several inches on her as far as height went.

It was his eyes though that caught her attention.

They were a jade green, a bit darker than Adrien’s, but captivating all the same. They were also looking at her with a look of longing that for some reason didn’t frighten Marinette. He looked like he desperately wanted to come over to her, but he appeared to be waiting for something.

The second he realized she had her eyes on him, he opened his mouth and finished the song.

“It's enough to make kings and vagabonds believe the very best,” he sang, looking at her almost hopefully.

Marinette felt something in her mind click into place.

She also could swear she heard Tikki giggling from inside her purse.

The little kwami had always told Marinette she’d meet her soulmate one day. She’d also told Marinette that she’d meet him when she needed him most. The little red kwami had seemed extremely confident about that fact and about how her soulmate would be able to help her.

Feeling a nudge from her purse, Marinette swallowed before marching over to where the three men were standing. The one whose gaze had been fixed on her also began to step forward, meeting Marinette half-way. He smiled at her, but his eyes told her he was nervous.

“Hello, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said, holding out her hand in what she knew was a traditional American greeting.

He took her hand but surprised her by kissing the back of her hand instead of shaking it.

“Hello, I’m Damian. You have a lovely voice.”

Marinette felt her cheeks heat up as she smiled back at him.

“You too...though I’d like to hear it more,” she replied, ignoring the fact he’d yet to let go of her hand.

The grip wasn’t harsh or uncomfortable...but rather warm and reassuring.

“Okay, seriously Demon Spawn,” the shorter man said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “What the hell is going on, and why were you singing to your soulmate? You never sing out loud! Who is she, and why did you kiss her hand? Do you even know her?”

“Shut. Up. Drake,” Damian hissed, his cheeks coloring a bit. “Can’t you and Father give me a moment?”

Marinette could see the tension building, so she asked the question that had been bugging her since she was a child.

“Why didn’t you ever sing to me before we were eleven?”

This made the two men freeze. A look of realization dawned on them as they looked between Marinette and Damian. The younger of the two had the decency to blush a little bit, mumbling a ‘nevermind’. The older of the two seemed almost...relieved? Happy? Ecstatic?

“Terribly sorry,” the older man said with a smile. “My name is Bruce Wayne. I’m Damian’s father. This is his brother Tim Drake, who I adopted, hence the different last name. Damian, we’re going to take our pastries and head back to the hotel. You can meet us there when you’re done.”

With that, Marinette watched as Bruce pushed Tim towards the exit, still feeling a little confused and dazed. She returned her attention towards Damian, who looked very uncomfortable and upset. She almost told him to forget about her question until he said quietly, “...my mother never told me about soulmates. I wasn’t allowed to sing or hum growing up, but my mother never told me why. They never taught me any songs either. I mainly had to learn them myself. I— I didn’t even realize I was hearing another person’s voice until someone explained it to me.”

Damian was looking down at his shoes, but he managed to lift his head to look at her before continuing.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel lonely or unwanted. I tried singing to you at eleven because I started living with my father around that time.”

Marinette felt relieved and heartbroken all at once.

“You don’t have to apologize just because your mother didn’t tell you about this,” she murmured, getting closer to her soulmate. “I’m just relieved that it wasn’t because you didn’t want me.”

“Excuse me, but Marinette and I were having a conversation! Marinette, you can’t just ignore people! It’s rude! Besides, Alya and Lila are here to apologize.”

The dark haired young woman let out a hiss, making the man in front of her chuckle.

Adrien.

She’d nearly forgotten about him.

Marinette turned around to see that Adrien was glaring daggers at Damian. The blond walked forward and actually had the audacity to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She pushed her arm off of her and stood in front of Damian.

From her new position, she could also see the two harpies from hell waiting at the patisserie door. Alya looked only a little nervous, and Lila had her usual fake sad face on. She could also see the simmering anger in Adrien’s eyes as she chose the stranger over him.

“Oh! Marinette, there you are!” Lila crooned, latching onto Adrien’s arm. “We’re so sorry! We didn’t realize that was your book.”

“I thought you said it was a joke on me though,” she responded, looking between both of them. “If you didn’t know it was mine, why would the joke be on me?”

“We never said that—” Alya began, but Marinette just cut her off.

Reaching into her bag, she took out the little tape recorder she’d been bringing to school to gather evidence. She briefly rewinded it before playing it, the two girls’ voices coming through crystal clear. Her expression did not change as Alya and Lila began to scream about how she couldn’t just record them like that, scrambling to also include how recordings could be taken out of context or misconstrued.

“You’re only mad because Lila won’t let you have Adrien!” Alya shouted, gaining the attention of Marinette’s mother and the other customers. “You’ve had a crush on him forever, and now you’re jealous because you can’t have him because of Lila!”

Marinette could feel a migraine coming on as she bit out, “I. Don’t. Have. A. Crush. On. Him. Seriously? That crush was like a month, two months long before I told you I was over it?”

“Don’t you still love me?” Adrien interjected, looking like a sad puppy.

“Not any more than a friend,” she said bitterly, “but I have no idea if I can consider you even that now.”

“You’re a filthy liar! You so totally have a crush—”

“Excuse me, but could you three kindly fuck off?” a cold voice came from behind her.

Marinette’s head twisted back to see that Damian no longer looked all that shy or vulnerable.

“I’ve waited years to be able to hear her voice in person, as Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng is my soulmate, and I’d really like to get to know her. Without an audience of absolute buffoons,” Damian continued, still coming off cold. “She already asked you to leave her alone, Blondie. My suggestion is take your two bitches and leave before I make you.”

“Ugh, you’re so rude!” Alya snapped. “No wonder you ended up with a cheat like Marinette!”

Marinette felt a twinge in her chest as she looked down at her shoes. She wasn’t surprised Alya had said something like that, but it still hurt deep down. Alya had once been a dear friend of hers, and for her to say such terrible lies about her made her heart break. She went to call out to her mother when Damian let out a snarl.

“You’re the rude ones. You think destroying private property is a joke? You think taking people’s belongings is a joke? You think barging into a place of business isn’t rude? Do you think interjecting on conversations that you’re not a part of isn’t rude? You think what you said isn’t fucking rude? Why don’t you try thinking before you speak? I know that takes up a lot of oxygen, but I can get you a plant if you’re worried about running out. Now, Get. Out.”

Damian cracked his knuckles and slid off his suit jacket, showing off muscled arms that looked a lot stronger than Adrien. He glared at the trio, watching them carefully as they backed off of Marinette. The subtle threat seemed to work as Alya latched onto Adrien’s other arm, both girls pulling him out of the patisserie. They were complaining loudly about how rude he was and continued to say passive aggressive things about Marinette. She thought the situation was going to explode until her mother walked over to them.

“Marinette? What’s going on?” Shouldn’t you be at school? And why were your classmates here?” she asked, gently holding her daughter’s face in her hands.

“I don’t feel well, Maman,” Marinette replied quietly. “It’s getting bad again.”

She watched her mother’s normally gently and friendly face twist into a well concealed look of rage. Sabine’s silver eyes narrowed, slightly worrying Marinette, as she looked at Damian before demanding to know who he thought he was, thinking that he could speak on her daughter’s behalf.

“I’m her soulmate, ‘mam. I wasn’t trying to speak for her, and I apologize if that’s how it was coming off. You see, my mother didn’t allow singing when I was growing up, and I went to go live with my father when I was ten, so for the first ten years of my life, I didn’t know what a soulmate was,” he answered. “It’s been about six years since I learned what a soulmate was, and I’ve been waiting since then to meet the girl who still sings to a silent soulmate.”

Marinette began to blush, stuttering apologies before Damian responded that she had nothing to apologize for. He then smiled at both her and Sabine before asking if they wanted to attend dinner at Le Grand Paris so Sabine could meet his father.

“I’d really like to get to know you, Marinette, but only if that’s what you want too,” he said with a soft smile. “I want this to be your choice as much as it is mine. I don’t want you to think you have to say yes just because we’re soulmates.”

And as she looked into the face of a man who taught himself how to sing just to be able to connect with her when she needed him the most, Marinette actually believed him.

Perhaps this wouldn’t be like Chat Noir and Ladybug…

A hard nudge from her pocket prompted her into answering, “Yes...I’d really like to get to know you too, Damian.”

As he smiled at her, a genuine smile that reached one’s eyes instead of the fake one he’d been using when talking to Lila, she felt her heart skip a few beats. He readjusted his grip on her hand, sending tingles down her arm and making her entire body feel warm. She gently squeezed his hand, receiving an evenly pressured squeeze in return as he talked to her mother about their patisserie shop.

Vaguely in the back of her mind, Marinette wondered if this is what being with your soulmate was supposed to feel like.

If it was...well, Marinette wasn’t going to be trading the warm homey feeling she got watching her mother talk nice with Damian for anything in the world. He seemed to have a quiet sort of charm about him, and he wasn’t easily intimidated by the looks of it, as he didn’t flinch when her father came out to meet him.

No, instead Damian had shook her father’s hand firmly, introducing himself with proud shoulders and confidence. This seemed to make her father happy as he wasn’t frowning as hard when he asked Damian what he did. Her father also seemed satisfied when Damian responded that his father owned a large business, and he was studying to help his older brother take it over once his father decided to retire.

The way he seemed to seamlessly slide into her family, the domestic feeling of it, made Marinette very happy.

Now all she had to do was figure out how to break the news to her soulmate that she was a superhero…

Oh boy.

*Songs in Order of Appearance:

“La Vie en Rose” by Edith Piaf

“Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles

“Can You Feel the Love Tonight” as performed by Elton John

“Breathe Me” by Sia

#maribat #Maribat Secret Santa #Maribat Secret Santa 2020 #Marinette xDamian #daminette #i hope you like it!#long post #it ended up being a biggin'

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xmanicpanicx · 4 years ago

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Mammoth List of Feminist/Girl Power Books (200 + Books)

Lists of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu, Montana Kane (Translator)

Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

Tough Mothers: Amazing Stories of History’s Mightiest Matriarchs by Jason Porath

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs

The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz

Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism by Robin Cross & Rosalind Miles

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers & Livi Gosling

100 Nasty Women of History by Hannah Jewell

The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen

The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World by Laura Barcella

Samurai Women 1184–1877 by Stephen Turnbull

A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero

Tales from Behind the Window by Edanur Kuntman

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

Individual and Group Portraits of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherríe L. Moraga

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: The Female Gang That Terrorised London by Brian McDonald

Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment by Joyce Chapman Lebra

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

The Women of WWII (Non-Fiction)

Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood

Skyward: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII by Sally Deng

The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich, Richard Pevear (Translation), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translation)

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation by Anne Sebba

To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African-American Wacs Stationed Overseas During World War II by Brenda L. Moore

Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisters and Spies: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne by Susan Ottaway

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

The White Mouse by Nancy Wake

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

Tomorrow to be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers & Wendy Holden

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisterhood of Spies by Elizabeth P. McIntosh

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu

Women in the Holocaust by Dalia Ofer

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat by Bruce Myles

The Soviet Night Witches: Brave Women Bomber Pilots of World War II by Pamela Jain Dell

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein

A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II by Anne Noggle

Avenging Angels: The Young Women of the Soviet Union's WWII Sniper Corps by Lyuba Vinogradova

The Women of WWII (Fiction)

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky

Night Witches by Mirren Hogan

Night Witch by S.J. McCormack

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

Code Name Verity series by Elizabeth Wein

Front Lines trilogy by Michael Grant

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

All-Girl Teams (Fiction)

The Seafire trilogy by Natalie C. Parker

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Effigies trilogy by Sarah Raughley

Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae-Jones

Wolf-Light by Yaba Badoe

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Burned and Buried by Nino Cipri

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation by Nafiza Azad

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto, Akemi Wegmüller (Translator)

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Hell's Belles series by Sarah MacLean

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

The Farmerettes by Gisela Tobien Sherman

A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg

Feminist Retellings

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

Doomed by Laura Pohl

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Kate Crackernuts by Katharine M. Briggs

Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Feminist Dystopian and Horror Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Women and Girls in Comedy

Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin

Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim

This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry

Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliot

Bossypants by Tina Fey

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy by Yael Kohen

The Girl in the Show: Three Generations of Comedy, Culture, and Feminism by Anna Fields

Trans Women

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Nemesis series by April Daniels

American Transgirl by Faith DaBrooke

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

George by Alex Gino

The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color by Ellyn Peña

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

Feminist Poetry

Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy by Amanda Lovelace

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill

Feminist Philosophy and Facts

The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy by Gerda Lerner

Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Bushra Rehman

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen

The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout & Jenn Abelson

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World by Kumari Jayawardena

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies by Akasha Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, Barbara Smith Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe L. Moraga, Gloria E. Anzaldúa

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDinn

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa

Power Shift: The Longest Revolution by Sally Armstrong

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Had It Coming: What's Fair in the Age of #MeToo? by Robyn Doolittle

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jody Kantor & Megan Twohey

#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy

Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle

Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement by Robin Morgan (Editor)

Girls Make Media by Mary Celeste Kearney

Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap by Evelyn McDonnell (Editor)

You Play the Girl: And Other Vexing Stories That Tell Women Who They Are by Carina Chocano

Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Hollis Robbins (Editor)

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman Bread Out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming, Politics by Dionne Brand

Other General Girl Power/Feminist Awesomeness

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

The Female of the Species by Mandy McGinnis

Pulp by Robin Talley

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

American Girls by Alison Umminger

Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women by Alice Walker

You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories by Alice Walker

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Sula by Toni Morrison

Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Everything Must Go by Jenny Fran Davis

The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr

Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel

Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

Gravity Brings Me Down by Natale Ghent

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

The Prettiest by Brigit Young

Don't Judge Me by Lisa Schroeder

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present by Lillian Faderman

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

Paper Girls comic series by Brian K. Vaughan

Heavy Vinyl comic series by Carly Usdin

Please feel free to reblog with more!

#book list #feminism #girl power

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ao3feed-brucewayne · 2 months ago

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YUANFEN

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/KjLTMqr by TheTime_OfTheStars "Yuafen": Relación predestinada entre personas, coincidencia o circunstancia que nos pone en contacto con alguien en el lugar y momento adecuado, suerte condicionada por el pasado, acciones realizadas en encarnaciones pasadas. Destino Nadie recuerda cuando inicio, solo que en algún momento personas “afortunadas” por todo el mundo presentaban la “marca”, un tatuaje en la muñeca, un nombre, un alma gemela. Pero que pasara cuando el universo decida juntar a dos polos opuestos que lo único en lo que están de acuerdo es que toda la situación es un asco, ¿acaso ambos se necesitaban? , ¿se salvaran? o ¿serian su destrucción?. Damian nunca pidió una estúpida marca en su muñeca, y mucho menos que una extraña apareciera en medio de la calle, que fuera su alma gemela y le pidiera hablar...si, era el peor día de su vida. Novalise siempre deseo que ese día nunca llegara, esperaba llegar a su vejez sin ninguna señal de una alma gemela, eso no sucedió, no solo apareció su marca, sino que dos años antes que la mayoría de su familia. Donde uno sabe más que él otro, donde uno caerá primero, pero donde ambos aprenderán que tal vez el otro era lo que necesitaban. Donde ambos no solo tienen un futuro sino igual un pasado. Words: 1330, Chapters: 1/?, Language: Español Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, DCU Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: F/M Characters: Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake (DCU), Jason Todd, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Zatanna Zatara, Original Female Character(s), Jonathan Kent Relationships: Damian Wayne/Original Female Character(s), Bruce Wayne/Original Female Character(s), Dick Grayson/Original Female Character(s), Tim Drake/Original Female Character(s), Alfred Pennyworth/Original Female Character(s), Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Slow Romance, I Don't Even Know, Magic, My First Fanfic, Family Secrets, Sorry Not Sorry, Damian Wayne is a Little Shit, Artist Damian Wayne read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/KjLTMqr

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the caped crusader #the dark knight #dcu #ao3 #ao3feed

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detective-pulp · 4 years ago

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Portrait : Robert Kirkman

Attention :

Pour la rédaction de cet article, j’ai entrecoupé plusieurs sources. Ainsi, j’ai constaté de nombreuses incohérences dans les informations récoltées, jusque dans les propres dires de Robert Kirkman. Donc, ne soyez pas étonné si vous découvrez d’autres versions de son histoire.

De plus, la longue carrière de Robert Kirkman ne peut être résumé en quelques pages. J’ai dû faire des choix dans le traitement. Voyez cette courte biographie comme une chronologie exhaustive de sa carrière.

En 20 ans de carrière, Robert Kirkman, c’est une poignée de comics cultes. Il est le créateur de The Walking Dead, Invinsible, Outcast, Oblivion Song, Die Die Die et récemment Fire Power.

Robert Kirkman s’est forgé une place de choix dans le paysage du comic book en intégrant Image Comics. De là, il s’est attelé à produire à une allure frénétique des hits ayant marquée une génération de lecteur. Grâce au succès consécutif de ses créations, il s’est bâti un véritable empire, s’immisçant dans toutes les strates du divertissement américain.

Ne vous méprenez pas, Robert Kirkman est un véritable bourreau de travail. Sa réussite est due à une constance créative inégalable. Cela lui a valu le titre de 8epartenaire de la maison d’édition Image, tant il a participé à sa renaissance.

Il s’est imposé comme le maître incontesté du trope de genre. Robert Kirkman a su créer et appliquer une recette infaillible, s’approprier les codes d’un genre en y ajoutant sa patte. Choisissant des sujets en marge de ce que l’industrie mainsteam produit, il aborde des réflexions étonnement universelles.

Aujourd’hui, il est à la tête de Skybound, producteur exécutif de « la marque » télévisuelle The Walking Dead, scénariste d’au moins trois séries en cours et le bougre n’est pas près de s‘arrêter. L’aventure de Robert Kirkman n’en est encore qu’à ses prémices.

Robert Kirkman est né le 30 novembre 1978 à Lexington dans le Kentucky, il grandit à Cynthiana, dans le même État.

Robert Kirkman s’intéresse très tôt à la culture comics. Il commence à en lire au collège, cependant, ses lectures sont limitées. Il se fournit au Walmart le plus proche (à une heure de voiture), mais le magasin vend exclusivement des titres Marvel. Robert Kirkman lit les X-Men et Spider-Man (en 2006, il nomme son fils Peter Parker en référence au héros). Il découvre l’univers de DC Comics et les éditeurs indépendants seulement à l’obtention de son permis de conduire.

Les premiers pas en indé

Au lycée, il se spécialise en Art, mais ses études n’iront pas plus loin. Comme il le dit lui-même, le système scolaire n’était pas fait pour lui. Il enchaîne les petits boulots, notamment dans un comics shop (un peu cliché, n’est-ce pas ?), tout en produisant, en parallèle, son propre comics.

Between the Ropes est un comic book sur le milieu du catch. Les divers personnages, composant l’œuvre, seront réutilisés dans d’autres de ses projets. A la base, Robert Kirkman voulait être dessinateur, une idée qu’il abandonnera rapidement (et pour le mieux).

« Mon rêve était d'écrire et de dessiner mes propres comics, parce que mes livres préférés étaient écrits et dessinés par des artistes qui faisaient tout eux-mêmes. » s’est confié Robert Kirkman au magazine Rolling Stone.

Dans un élan d’orgueil, il a voulu présenter son projet à Diamond Comics (seul et unique distributeur). Il essuie son premier refus et se fait remettre à sa place par le distributeur au motif d’un manque de professionnalisme. Robert Kirkman est revenu sur ses premiers travaux avec beaucoup d’ironie, ce coup d'essai était une "horrible petite merde".

« En grandissant, j'ai réalisé que je n'étais pas assez bon pour dessiner, ce qui m'a d'abord un peu attristé. Puis j'ai compris que l'écriture était plus fun, et moins chronophage. »

A 22 ans, Robert Kirkman démarre sa carrière de scénariste professionnel. Ami d’enfance de Tony Moore, ils auto-éditent Battle Pope, une parodie de super-héros sous le label Funk-O-Tron.

La fin du monde a eu lieu, peu de gens sont montés au paradis, même le Pape a été jugé pour ses actions. Dieu a envoyé Saint-Michel pour guider son armée contre les forces du malin. Saint-Michel échoue et se retrouve captif par Lucifer. Dieu fait donc appel au Pape pour partir à sa rescousse. Il envoie Jésus Christ pour l’assister dans sa quête.

En bref, une œuvre loufoque à l’humour parfois douteux, mais au programme bien chargé. Kirkman admettra plus tard, qu’il voulait attirer l’attention sur lui, quitte à choquer l’opinion publique. La série sera publiée pendant deux ans avant d’être arrêtée. Les ventes du comics couvraient à peine les frais de publication et ne permettaient pas de marge. La situation devenait critique pour les deux artistes à découvert. La publication de ce comics outrancier a eu le mérite de déclencher une réaction en chaîne, permettant aux deux compères d’intégrer la maison d’édition indépendante, Image Comics.

Porte ouverte chez Image Comics

Robert Kirkman s’est exprimé sur la chaîne Comic Tropes sur ses débuts chez Image Comics. Il s’était fait repérer par Erik Larsen (fondateur de la maison d’édition et créateur de Savage Dragon, rien que ça). A la suite d’une interview de l’artiste, Kirkman avait gardé contact avec lui, jusqu’à ce qu’Erik Larsen finisse par lui proposer un projet.

L’année 2003 marque les débuts fracassants de Robert Kirkman dans le paysage indépendant du comic book. Malgré ce que la plupart des fans peuvent croire, le premier vrai succès de Robert Kirkman n’était pas The Walking Dead.

Alors qu’il pitchait une nouvelle série pour Image Comics, Erik Larsen lui proposa de collaborer avec Cory Walker sur un épisode de SuperPatriot, un personnage issu de l'univers de Savage Dragon. Ultra productif, il travaillait également avec E. J. Su pour créer la série Tech Jacket en 6 épisodes.

Mais c’est lors de la deuxième collaboration entre Robert Kirkman et Cory Walker que quelque chose se passa. Ils créèrent ensemble Invinsible en janvier 2003.

Mark Grayson est un lycéen moyen qui travaille dans un fast food pourri, seulement sa famille cache un secret important. Son père Nolan est en fait Omni-Man, une sorte de Superman. Le monde de Mark prend un nouveau tournant le jour où lui aussi développe des super-pouvoirs.

Né dans le premier épisode de Tech Jacket, la série explosa ses ventes lorsque Kirkman intégra un twist culte à l’histoire. Le ton de la série prit un tournant radical jusqu’à sa conclusion. Cory Walker n’arrivait pas à produire dans les deadlines attendues, il a été remplacé par Ryan Ottley au 7e épisode.

Invinsible est le second plus long run de Kirkman. La série s’est achevée en 2018 à son 144ème numéro. Récemment, une série animée a été annoncé pour sortir sur la plateforme Amazone Prime Video. Robert Kirkman s’est engagé à développer du contenu télévisuel pour le service Amazon Prime avec des programmes d’horreur et de science-fiction.

L’avènement de sa carrière

Tony Moore et Robert Kirkman lancèrent plusieurs projets pour Image Comics. Ils imaginèrent ensemble le personnage de Brit (en juillet 2003), mettant en scène un vieil agent spécial surpuissant, tenancier d’un strip-club ou se produit entre autres sa compagne. La série, au même ton décalé que Battle Pope, disparaît pour revenir en 2007. La série est dirigée par Robert Kirkman mais est écrite par Bruce Brown. Douze numéros sortiront et la série s'arrêtera faute de ventes convenables pour un titre estampillé Kirkman.

Tony Moore et lui finissent par rencontrer un succès critique et commercial en octobre de la même année avec The Walking Dead.

Kirkman a expliqué que petit, il se cachait derrière pour regarder les feuilletons d’horreur dont ses parents étaient friands. Un film l’a particulièrement marqué, La Nuit des Morts-Vivants de George Romero. Un groupe de survivants devant repousser les attaques d’une horde de zombies était une vraie inspiration dans l’écriture du comics.

Le film était tombé dans le domaine publique et offrait une introduction parfaite à Robert Kirkman, en écrivant la suite située dans les années ‘60. Mais Jim Valentino, son supérieur, lui suggéra de trouver son propre concept, hésitant à produire une autre histoire de zombie. Avoir son propre concept permettait également à l’auteur en herbe de récolter l’intégralité des royalties dû au droit d’auteur. Pour finir de convaincre son boss encore réticent, Kirkman inventa une histoire d’invasion extraterrestres via un virus transformant l’humanité en zombies. Idée qu’il n’utilisera jamais, avouant plus tard à son supérieur qu’il lui avait menti.

Comme Cory Walker, Tony Moore n’arrivait malheureusement pas à suivre le rythme éditorial de la série et a fini par quitter le navire après six numéros. Tony Moore continua à dessiner les couvertures jusqu’au numéro 24 et les 4 premières couvertures des albums reliés. Le dessinateur a été remplacé dans la foulée par Charlie Adlard qui resta jusqu’à la fin de la série.

Le reste appartient à l’histoire, traduit en 30 langues et disponible dans plus de 60 pays, la série rendit Kirkman mondialement célèbre. La série s’acheva au numéro 193, à l’été 2019, provoquant un choque chez les fans en mettant brusquement fin à une épopée vieille de seize ans.

En 2008, Robert Kirkman devient partenaire de la maison d’édition Image Comics, sorte de récompense pour service rendu. Il est la seule personne à intégrer le sommet de la hiérarchie de la maison d’édition en venant de l’extérieur.

Le rouleau compresseur Marvel Comics

En plus de toutes les productions pour Image Comics, Robert Kirkman a travaillé chez Marvel de 2004 à 2008. D’abord, engagé pour écrire un revival des années 90’ de la série Sleepwalker. La série a été annulée avant même sa publication. Le contenu du premier épisode a été inclus dans l’Epic Anthology n°1 de 2004.

Robert Kirkman est rapidement devenu un pilier dans la production éditoriale de la Maison des Idées. Il est le créateur de la mini-série Marvel Zombies. Il a écrit pour la série Fantastic Four: Foes, en plus d’un run de deux ans sur Ultimate X-Men et une mini-série Ant-Man, entre autres.

Cependant, toujours lors de la longue interview accordé à Comics Trope, Robert Kirkman revient avec amertume sur son expérience, en considérant avoir été « traité comme une merde ».

Il estime ne pas s’être intégré à la politique éditoriale de Marvel. Il est allé jusqu’à se confronter à l’éditeur en chef Joe Quesada, à cause de différents artistiques. L’auteur n’acceptait pas qu’on apporte des modifications à son travail sans sa permission. Les abus ne s’arrêtaient pas là, puisque le département marketing ne promouvait pas ses créations, estimant qu’elles ne produiraient pas assez d’argent.

Ce manque d’intérêt flagrant pour ses créations a eu pour conséquence une coopération ratée avec Rob Liefeld (créateur de Deadpool, fondateur d’Image Comics et idole de Kirkman). Les deux artistes ont voulu relancer, en 2007, la série Killraven (créée en 1973 par Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway et Neal Adams). La série est morte dans l’œuf, alors que cinq épisodes avaient été dessinés et scénarisés. Rob Liefeld a quitté le projet, dénonçant ce manque de mise en avant et d’implication de la part de Marvel.

La pilule est dure à avaler pour les deux créateurs quand en parallèle, on sait qu’ils travaillaient pour Image Comics, spécialisé dans le creator-owned (les auteurs possèdent leurs créations). Ces événements ont poussé Kirkman à prendre la porte en 2008. Il laissa derrière lui un témoignage accablant dans une vidéo Youtube aujourd’hui indisponible. Il annonçait ne plus jamais vouloir travailler avec les grands studios, tout en ventant les mérites de l’indépendant.

Entrepreneurs de l’extrême

Comme 2003, l’année 2010 fut charnière pour le scénariste. En 2010, The Walking Dead remporte le très prestigieux Eisner Award de la meilleure série à suivre. Au début de l'année, la chaîne câblée AMC annoncait vouloir adapter la série à la télévision. Robert Kirkman fut nommé producteur exécutif et intègra la "writers' room" aux côtés du réalisateur Frank Darabont (The Mist, Les Évadés, La Ligne verte). Il dû quitter son Kentucky natal pour s'installer à Los Angeles. Le premier épisode est sorti le 31 octobre, avec une audience de 5 millions de téléspectateur. En 2015, la série « compagnon », Fear The Walking Dead, dévoilant ce qui s’est passé avant l’arrivée du virus, fut diffusée. L’épisode pilote rassembla plus de 10 million de téléspectateurs. Un autre spinoff est prévu pour le 4 octobre 2020, nommé World Beyond, la série sera en deux saisons.

Il a aussi été le producteur exécutif d’un « drame pre-apocalyptique » Coréen appelé Five Year et le documentaire Secret History of Comics pour la chaîne AMC.

Robert Kirkman créa, en 2010, son propre label Image Comics, nommé Skybound. La société n’est pas une simple maison d’édition, mais bien une entreprise à part entière. En tant que Président, Robert Kirkman prit son rôle très à cœur et développa toutes sortes de contenu du jeu vidéos, à la télévision en passant par le cinéma. Avec son associé, le producteur David Alpert, ils mirent un point d’honneur à défendre la propriété intellectuelle et le contrôle créatif de leurs employés.

Depuis, il a produit en collaboration avec le studio Cinemax deux saisons d’Outcast (entre 2016 et 2018), adaptation de son comics éponyme créé en 2014 et qui s’achève en octobre 2020. La série narre la vie de Kyle Barnes, possédé par une entité démoniaque depuis sa tendre enfance.

Le premier film produit par Skybound était Air, un thriller S-F, avec Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon dans The Walking Dead) et Djimon Hounsou (Korath dans Les Gardiens de la Galaxie) au casting

En 2020, il remporte un Prix d'honneur au festival d'Angoulême. Une exposition lui a été consacrée en tant qu’invité. Avec une carrière menée tambour battant, Robert Kirkman n’a plus rien à prouver au monde.

#Robert Kirkman #the walking dead #image Comics #marvel #comic book #comics #invincible

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