#actually that reminds me of this one guy in new york who we stopped to chat with because he had a vendor with some neat products

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

We can tell you're Canadian bc of the "ow" sound in house & about! It's pretty much the only noticeable difference between a Midwestern American and a general Canadian accent lol

I just spent the better part of five minutes recording myself saying these two words and trying to listen for the difference hjdfbvhs

I guess, on listening back, there is one, but to me it's so minor. Apparently it's real obvious to Californians and New Yorkers though...

[pagesfromthevoid]

Ya'aburnee | r. r.

Robert "Bob" Reynolds x Avenger!witch!reader

And I never got to tell you how I love the way my eyes make yours look green too

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: Witchcraft

Author's Note: I combined @domoron's request with an idea I had so I hope you don't mind my dude. Also, there will probably be a part two (but this is NOT a series lol)

Talk to Me! | AO3

“This place has really gone to shit, huh?”

Bucky just sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, as she stands in the foyer of the common space. Yelena has her feet kicked up on the table, eyes drifting up from her tablet. Walker was passing through, but has stopped mid-step as Ava cocks her head to the side like she’s trying to understand. The only people who don’t seem to be mildly annoyed by her presence are Alexei, who is just barely containing his excitement, and Bob, who is looking between her and Bucky like he’s seeing two celebrities at once.

She shifts her weight onto one leg, crossing her arms over her chest as she takes in the motley crew before her. The New Avengers. The group that’s supposed to replace her and her friends and defend earth from whatever is thrown at them –and they all look like they haven’t slept properly in their entire life. 

There’s a file on every single one of them –and she’s read each one several times over. She’s known Bucky for several years now –went to war for him, even. The others she’s heard of in passing –Yelena and Alexei from Natasha; Walker from Sam. The other two –Ava, Bob –she doesn’t know outside of news reports and files. And even then, Bob’s file is the newest.

Hard to believe the guy sitting in the corner is some all powerful being who put New York into a blackout. But who is she to judge?

“Are you here to be helpful, or are you here to be an asshole?” Bucky asks, standing up finally. Four strides and he’s standing in front of her.

“I can do both,” she points out, uncrossing her arms and putting her hands on her hips. “But I’m sure that’s not what you want, is it?”

“I called you for a reason, Hex,” he reminds her, shaking his head. His voice is lower now, like he’s trying to keep the rest of his team from hearing. “You…you know what a team is able to do. We are not the Avengers. We���re not a team; we’re a time bomb.”

“You know,” she interrupts, but she’s softened some around the edges. “Dr. Banner said the exact same thing.”

*****

It’s hard to admit, but the New Avengers —this ragtag team of assholes —are a better team than the Avengers ever were. Not in the sense of power —no, but in the sense of camaraderie. They actually seem to care about one another; not just passing friends or colleagues. 

Yeah, the Avengers cared about each other. But not like this. Not like an actual family. 

It is a hard thing to realize; to accept that, while maybe her team was efficient and good at their jobs, they were only friends because they had to be. Sure, there were closer friendships separately —Nat and Clint, who had history already. She and Steve became close after Bucky almost killed them both years ago. But the Avengers were surface level friends.

Which is totally okay, at the end of the day. 

They did their jobs. They saved the universe. Then…they moved on. 

But the New Avengers…they care about each other. In a weird, almost sibling-like way. There’s a lot of arguing; a lot of yelling. But they frequently eat dinner together, at a table. Even when they're battered and bloody, they will sit down and eat whatever they manage to find. But together. 

The first time she’s invited to join “family time,” as Alexei calls it, she’s confused. He ushers her to the table and sits her down beside Bob, insisting that she has to join. No one else has joined yet, and Bob says they’re all usually late. 

“What’s going on? Mission briefing?” She asks, leaning over closer to Bob to whisper. 

He looks down at her, confused himself. “Oh, uh —we’re having dinner. It’s Walker’s turn to cook this week.”

“You…eat dinner together?” She pushes, and Bob seems like he’s enjoying that she’s confused. Maybe because he finally has something he can explain to her instead of the other way around. 

“Alexei makes us all eat together,” he explains, biting at his nails. “I…I like it. It feels nice, like for an hour we get to pretend we’re normal.”

“You do this every night?” 

He nods some, though he looks like he’s considering the answer. “Most nights, at least. Depends on what they’re doing, or if they’re here. Sometimes I don’t join, for uh…you know, reasons.”

She knows what he means. Even if she hadn’t read his file, she would be able to tell that Bob struggles with a lot. 

“I understand,” she offers, putting a hand on his arm. He flinches, and she pulls back almost immediately. But when he opens his eyes, he seems confused. “Are you okay?”

“Are…are you? You didn’t —did you see anything?”

“I saw you flinch, Bob —that’s all I saw.”

There’s almost immediate relief in his eyes, and the tension in his shoulders drops as he leans back in his chair. She’s about to ask him another question when the rest of the team find their way to the table and sit. 

Then it’s like she’s always been a part of the team. 

Maybe that’s the day they all just decided that she’s a New Avenger and an Avenger. Because after that dinner, she doesn’t leave. Her things have found their way to a room across from Bob’s and next to Yelena. She trains and spars and argues with everyone. 

The only thing she doesn’t do is go on missions. Mostly because Valentina insists she is not part of the team —but she’s also pretty sure Valentina thinks it’s bad for optics somehow. Of course, she doesn’t mind not going on missions. She stays back in the command center, manning the comms and computers. Bob often joins her, and she helps him learn how to operate the tools here. 

“This is…good. I get this,” he says one day, looking over a map with moving dots —the team —on it. “I’m able to help finally without…you know, getting in the way.”

“I doubt you’re in the way,” she reassures, sliding her chair over towards him, reaching across him to hit a button on the screen to send coordinates. “But I’m glad you enjoy learning.”

He hums a bit as she reaches across him. She notes how warm he is, even at a distance. 

“The target is about five miles ahead,” she reminds the team, pulling back but still next to him. Her eyes are on his screen. “There’s eight armored vehicles but there’s no one manning them.”

Bob is biting at his nails again, something she’s noticed he does a lot when he’s restless, and she instinctively reaches over to stop him. Gently, without even thinking about what she’s doing, she pulls his hand away and just holds it while she punches in the next set of coordinates. The only reason she realizes what she’s done is because Bob, instead of pulling away, squeezes her hand. That’s when she looks between their hands and him, and he gives her a timid smile. She returns the smile and the gesture, squeezing his hand back before Bucky is asking for her to map out an exit route. 

There’s a sigh of relief when they get out –back on the jet, back in the air. She shuts the comms off and leans back, staring at the screen for a moment. Then she turns to Bob.

“Wanna grab something to eat?”

He hesitates, like he thinks she’s talking to someone else, but then he nods. “Uh yeah –we can make something –,”

“I meant, like –do you want to go out and get something,” she corrects, standing up and stretching. “They won’t be back until close to two in the morning so we have some time to kill.”

Bob visibly blanches and she frowns some as he slowly stands. “I don’t…I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I haven’t really, you know, left the Tower since everything happened with…with him.”

“I trust you,” she promises, holding her hand out to him.

“I don’t,” he admits, but he takes her hand cautiously. “Can we…can we just pick up something and bring it back?”

It’s a step, she thinks. 

When they return to the Tower with two bags of Thai food (Bob insisted on getting everyone something, even if they had to reheat it), they sit on the floor in front of the window and eat in comfortable silence. She tries to think about the last time she’s just sat with someone like this, and it hurts to realize it’s been too long. Before the Avengers destroyed Sokkovia –god, more than ten years. When her grandmother was still alive and blessing the apartment with incense and cinnamon. Then she thinks about the last time she practiced properly, and that hurts just as much.

“I uh,” Bob suddenly says, looking out the window. Avoiding her gaze, like he might be in trouble when he finishes his sentence. “I read your file the other day.”

“I’ve read yours too,” she offers, like it’s a right of passage to read about your friends to get to know them better. “I didn’t know Valentina had my file.”

“She doesn’t,” he reassures, mixing his rice up carefully. “Bucky uh, gave it to me.”

“And what did you learn about me, Bob?”

“Are you…,” he hesitates, trying to figure out how to phrase it. It’s always a little funny, watching as people try to come to terms with what she is. Especially relatively normal people. “Are you really…like, a witch?”

“Does that scare you?” She asks, setting her food down. 

“I…I don’t know,” he admits, looking down at his hands for a moment. “I guess not? Should I be?”

Shaking her head, she lifts her hand and with a careful swish of her wrist, tendrils of light wrap around her hand. It’s a soft green, slithering over her fingers and up her arm. The Tower is dark enough that the magic illuminates their small space, and Bob’s eyes are wide as he follows each branch of the magic forms into another.

“Is this…do you do like –I don’t know, crystals and all that stuff?” He asks, though he’s reaching up like he’s going to touch the tendrils. 

She doesn’t stop him, tilting her head to the side as his fingers graze them. They wrap around him briefly –warm, soft, like a whisper against his skin –before retreating back to her. 

“I do,” she offers as the magic drifts away into the air, mist surrounding them before evaporating into the empty space. “I even have a broom.”

“Really?” He asks, eyes wide as he looks at her, back straight. 

“Not the way you think, but yes,” she laughs, leaning back. “Practicing witches use brooms for purification purposes –sweep away the negative energies. I’m sure I could fly on it, but that’s more because of me enchanting it and not the broom itself.”

“So you’re…you’re like actually a witch –not just, magic powers but like…the crystal stores and the candles and all that?”

“All the women in my family are witches,” she explains, holding out her hand again. The tendrils return, but this time they wrap around his hand and pull him gently towards her. “My grandmother raised me, and taught me. My mom passed before she could teach me anything. But yes, I practice the actual act of witchcraft while also actually having magic. No experiments or needles needed.”

His eyes light up with the emerald magic, watching as it tugs him into her orbit. Bob doesn’t fight it, too mesmerized by the feel of it against his skin. 

“That’s why I didn’t see anything when I touched you,” she explains, taking his hand in hers. The tendrils swirl around their hands, slinking up his sleeve and over his shoulders. He follows it carefully, like it’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen. Maybe it is. “I shield myself from the shadows –and that’s all your powers are. That’s all…he is. A shadow, trying to pry and consume.”

There’s a pause in the conversation as the tendrils slowly wrap around them entirely. Holding them together, like the magic itself is trying to bring them closer together. She’s got a good control over it, she always has, but sometimes it’s got a mind of its own. It’s hard to explain to people that her magic is a living thing, that it’s not just a part of her but it’s own entity. She just hosts it, and thanks it. But she thinks Bob would understand this better than anyone else, because he…he has his own entities. Perhaps he doesn’t like them, but he has them.

“Is…the shielding. Can you…can you teach someone that?” His voice is soft, a little shaky suddenly. But there’s a hopeful undertone as he meets her eyes. 

“I can,” she promises. And it is a promise. “Shielding is less magic and more intentions –and I can absolutely teach you if that’s what you want.”

“I…I would really like that.”

_______

Part two

_______

Bob Taglist: @ilovemarvel12 @k1ttyjuice @magikdarkholme @yesshewrites1 @evanbabybear @jaes-last-words @keira-kaz2y5

[non-un-topo]

Siggy's Old Guard Fic Favourites Masterlist!

Welcome back, fandom! I decided to finally make a big fic rec list and there are a lot. You know the drill: some have definitely been on lists before, though I tried to highlight some lesser-known ones.

This is also a compilation that reflects my specific interests. As such, the vast majority of these are canon-universe, or pre-canon historical. I will separate them by canon universe and AU/canon-divergent for convenience.

In no particular order:

Canon Universe

A Glacier Moving Through You (10k) - harryhotspur

An exploration of Joe and Nicky’s life in New York during the AIDS crisis. Painfully beautiful and viscerally realistic. Reminds me of what we take for granted. Those who know me know I never shut up about this fic.

Some favourite lines: Their eyes met in a way that said wordlessly, I see you. I am part of your family. Nicky saw David’s shoulders relax and the tears fell from his eyes. He sniffed and wiped them away. Other recs from this author: everything feels too large (the steadings and the fields) (22k), An Unexpected Disruption (2.6k).

Old Olives (21k) - aeili_kindara

A crusades-era fic that I read years ago and it just glued itself into my brain. The author has a slightly different take on Yusuf and Nicolo’s first meeting, in which they actually cross each other at a few different battles on the way to Jerusalem. It’s just incredibly well-written and detailed. Feels like reading a novel or watching a movie.

Some favourite lines: Yusuf’s grin hovers, then broadens. “See you around, then.” Nicolo gives him a bow. “I expect you will.” As he’s walking away, he hears the arrow rather than sees it. He tips his head sideways; it whirs over his shoulder and thunks into the heart of an olive tree. Nicolo doesn’t turn back to look. He twangs the quivering arrow with one finger as he walks by, and hears a voice laughing from the walls. All the way back to camp, he doesn’t stop smiling.

Conviction (21k) - fadagaski

Unfinished, but I urge people to read this one because it is so worth it. Set before the events of the movie, while Andy is travelling alone, the boys take on a job in the Philippines where they end up on either side of a conflict that runs deeper than they expect. This author is so good at tension and details, I was hooked.

Some favourite lines: Nicky pats his shoulder. “Poor Booker,” he says to Joe, “he’s been drinking so much crap since we left him that it has rotted his brain.” Booker shoves him flat, landing in a sprawl across Joe, all three of them laughing as Booker leans across the pair of them to try to steal the bottle from Joe, but Nicky gets there first. It’s been a very long time since Booker has felt a smile on his face. His cheeks ache with the unfamiliar arrangement of muscle.

for i have sinned (8.5k) - apocryphal

Can’t say much about this, to avoid spoilers. I recommend going in blind. It’s just a fantastic character study, with a huge gut punch.

Some favourite lines: Immortality breeds muscle memory by necessity, a brain overloaded with a thousand years of life, seizing on any opportunity it can find to run on autopilot. Joe still reaches for a waterskin he hasn’t carried in seven hundred years. He regularly finds his sword in his hand with no recollection of drawing it.  And he will never remember whether or not he finished strapping Andy’s kevlar, that day.

the axe forgets, the tree remembers (19k) - Flamingbluepanda

Post-movie. After being captured and tortured by some of Kozak’s new guys, Joe loses all of his memories and has to start over again in New York. Meanwhile, the team search for him everywhere.

Some favourite lines: Nicky let out an angry roar and punched a wall hard enough that one of his fingers broke and sent the proximal phalanx pushing through the skin. He didn’t even care or hesitate; he just shook his hand through the air and turned to walk away.  And that was when Andy shot him in the leg.  Nicky collapsed, then rolled smoothly onto his back and raised his gun, eyes wild. “Che cazzo, Andy?” “You wanna get angry and fight something, you fight me,” Andy said, voice low and cold. Nicky narrowed his eyes.

no one does it better (13.8k) - maddielle

While Nile decides to go back to school and take a sexualities elective, Nicky delves into one of her textbooks. He and Joe decide to try their own hand at porn and accidentally get really into it. It’s just a delightful read, and reminds me how old and in love these guys are.

Some favourite lines: “I know what sex is,” Nicky tells him confidently. “I’ve been having sex for nine hundred years. It isn’t this.” “It is for some people, love,” Joe comments, warmly amused, but Nicky shakes his head. “No, this is- There’s no passion. No connection. No one looks like this.” He catches a thumbnail of a slight woman strung up in ropes, all of the knots tied wrong. “It’s irresponsible.” Other recs from this author: come as you are (6k), older now (but not done hoping) (2.5k)

Cabinet of Nonperishable Curiosities (3k) - KushielsMercy

A meditation on Joe and Nicky as a 900-year-old unit. Made me really think about what it means to be together for so many centuries, and it stayed with me for long time after reading. This author always writes so vividly and beautifully too, and I especially love the playfulness between Joe and Nicky in this one.

Some favourite lines: They sit in silence, Nicky’s feet knocking gently back and forth against Joe’s shoulders. Joe always processes Nicky’s body as an extension of his own, but he’s uncomfortably aware of it this morning. Why is it he feels an absence of self when Nicky’s heels float away?  “How much of us,” Nicky finally murmurs, “is each other?” Other recs from this author: Daughter of Dust (1k)

if i’d have lived longer (i still would have waited) (5.4k)- knoepfchen

Pre-canon. An exploration of Joe and parenthood. I re-read this one often, since it’s become very special and personal to me. Truly a beautiful fic.

Some favourite lines: He would have expected Nicolò to be with them, seeing as his skills with a bow nearly rival Quynh’s by now, but he is not. Yusuf rounds the square and finally spots Nicolò crouching in the awning of a side street leading away from the square, surrounded by a throng of children. For a moment, it looks like Nicolò is telling them a story, and Yusuf can picture it, that earnest way of his—but then Nicolò stands to his full height again, one of the children hanging onto his back like a little bear. Yusuf is too far away to hear, but he sees Nicolò’s lips move as he makes what is undoubtedly a whooshing sound, spinning on the spot, arms outstretched. The children shriek in delight, the one on his back the loudest. Other recs from this author: all this time (15.9k), a thicket of shadows is a poor coat (32.8k)

world enough and time (9.5k) - raedear

Post-canon. A delightful fic in which Nicky takes a reluctant Andy to the dentist, and Joe and Nile talk after Joe tells her about a recurring nightmare Nicky has. It has all the emerging found family feels that we all love, as well as that ancient love between Andy and the boys.

Some favourite lines: ‘Nicky had a dream,’ Joe says, as though that explains why he’s the one out of sorts. Maybe it does. Maybe after nine hundred years, they dream the same dreams too. ‘He almost died on the crossing to Jerusalem, you know.’ She didn’t. ‘He dreams sometimes that he did, and because of that he walks alone through this life. It always leaves him shaken.’  It’s not Nicky sitting in front of her, pale at the edges and clutching his coffee like a lifeline. Other recs from this author: I can tell (we are gonna be friends) (1.9k), an astonishment of form (3.7k)

beholder (19k) - liadan14

A throughout-history compilation of Joe and the muse, with himself as the muse, and times he was inspired by others. There’s a story at the end of this fic that Joe wrote that is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read, and I think about it so much. There’s also Joe being a total dumbass in love.

Some favourite lines: For a moment, Nicolò simply continued looking at him, the humor in his eyes softening to something kinder and gentler. Then, he said, “Yusuf, I love you.” “I need to take those bowls to Ahmed,” Yusuf said. Other recs from this author: constant stars (1.5k)

I live on kindness, faith and constant courage (37.7k) - Tam_Cranver

A medieval queer quartet fic set in France that is just incredibly well written. What else can I say? The details, the plot, and the dynamics between the immortals are all perfect. This author is incredible.

Some favourite lines: Yusuf barked out a surprised laugh. “Alas, I’m still not certain I’m up to the task of being Andromache’s husband,” he said in mock mournfulness. “Few men are,” she said, waggling her eyebrows at him. “Now come, help me see if this dress will work for me.” Other recs from this author: Stop, listen, feel, believe (17.2k), The Plate of the Eclipses (90.5k)

whatever here that’s left of me (12.7k) - paigian

After Booker’s departure, the team takes some time off, and Nicky develops an old recurring pain in his shoulder that gets increasingly worse. This fic is all about loss, love, betrayal, and the sheer weight of these things. Gorgeous and timeless.

Some favourite lines: What are these shoulders for? Holding up the weight of Booker’s loneliness; the backs of Joe’s knees; keeping a rifle steady for the kill. Catching a bullet next to the scapula meant for Andy as they escaped that awful building; as a place for Nile to lean against as every bone in her body stitched back together- Other recs from this author: you made a fool of death with your beauty (15.6k), the deaths of nicolo di genova, in ascending order of sexiness and descending order of actual dying (14.2k), the Beyond Measure and Reason series (61.9k)

As The World Falls Down (5.2k) - superblackmarket

One of the first fics I ever read in this fandom. What can I say about superblackmarket? Just fantastic and gorgeously written, every fic.

Some favourite lines: Then one day he woke up—he couldn’t have said what time it was, whether it was morning or evening—and Nicky was sitting at the foot of his bed, looking at him. “Hello, Booker,” he said. He wore a grey kameez over military fatigues and his eyes were like chips of jade. Probably a hallucination, Booker thought. “What’re you doing here?” he asked, slurring his words. “Thought you were up in, uh, whatchamacallit, the…” “How long have you been like this?” Nicky said. Other recs from this author: Tales of Burning Love (5.8k), Ere Babylon Was Dust (7.2k)……… all of them.

Gentle (2.7k) - AphroditesTummyRolls

A very sweet fic about Nicolo and his mama. Made me very misty-eyed. It’s always emotional to think that these war-seasoned immortals were once little children.

Some favourite lines: Her heart squeezed in her chest, and she smoothed his soft hair where it stuck up in a cowlicky tuft. She loved her baby, she loved him.  He was so big now, he weighed on her arms. He gripped at her with his little dumpling fists, and she prayed he’d never let her go. She never wanted to stop holding him.

Centuries and Centuries (102.4k) - marbletopempire

Possibly one of the first crusades-era getting together fics in this fandom, and a famous one but I’m still putting it here. This fic is incredibly written, and such an intimate look into Yusuf and Nicolo’s past. Part of the reason for this is that it’s written entirely in first-person, which I’m a sucker for.

Some favourite lines: Once, when I was a child, I sat on my father’s shoulders and watched as a man was hanged. The crowd was thick, full of laughter, and had the air of a festival. I watched as the man was led up to the gallows, his hands drawn behind his back. His face was one of terror – even at my young age I could tell – and as he looked out over the crowd his wild eyes locked onto mine. People jeered and threw rotten food at him but he did not flinch. He smiled at me briefly before they obscured his head with a sack. Sodomite, I heard whispered around me.

though i’m dying to (fall in love with you) (19.6k) - yusufsmoon

Nicky finds himself hopping between alternate dimensions, finding Joe in each one. This is a comfort classic to me, it just fills me with so much joy.

Some favourite lines: He takes in the way Joe’s eyes are regarding him; there’s an assuredness in those brown depths, that he realizes reminds him of Andy, of Quynh, even, before they lost her. Like they could take on the weight of the world with a smile.

life is very long (7k) - kaydeefalls

The OG description does it perfectly: Nicky and his immortal family, over the centuries. This fic is a forever favourite, full of love and wonder for the world and the immortal family.

Some favourite lines: "Come, habibi," Yusuf murmurs, so close that his beard tickles along Nicolo's neck. "Will you not join me?" Nicolo closes his eyes, trying to keep his breathing even. "I cannot dance." Yusuf presses a kiss into the soft skin just below his ear. "I promise you, this is a dance you know." Other recs from this author: Carthaginians (53k), catch you when the current lets you go (5.4k)

July 1982 (9k) - WarriorOmen

I read this one every summer, I swear. It’s got Joe on a motorcycle, clubbing, and the immortal husbands just being absolutely smitten for each other.

Some favourite lines: 900 years old. He’s 900 years old and completely rooted to the ground from surging lust and excitement because, sitting in the parking lot of this store, is Joe. But it’s not just Joe, it’s some iteration of Joe that is currently straddling a massive black motorcycle, leaning over the handlebars like he owns the thing (which Nicky really hopes he does) and staring straight at Nicky with all the confidence of someone who has well and truly surprised his husband. Other recs from this author: My Blade, My Love (2k)

Rain Season (6k) - yu_gin

This fic takes place after the Chernobyl disaster, where Joe is in a period of depression. The way the reactor is described is so scary, I feel like it’s this ever-surveying, hulking, breathing beast. And the way the effect of radiation on the immortals is described… there’s one small scene that will forever be in my head.

Some favourite lines: That night he went to the reactor once again. He pushed himself closer than ever, determined to look the monster in the eyes. He could feel the heat increasing and the air burning his lungs. He knew what would come, he was familiar with the excruciating pain, but he couldn’t stop himself.

Fast Car (7.9k) - PastyPirate

Joe and Nicky go for a Thanksgiving road trip in the 90s. This fic has one of the best and goofiest representations of the immortal husbands’ relationships I’ve ever read, and the dialogue is so realistic. A major comfort read that I think about all the time.

Some favourite lines: “This is more of a general present,” He held up the cassette, tilting it where Nicky could read the label. Nicky tilted his head to read, and burst into laughter, “you asshole.” Joe looked at the label, Sad Songs for Nicky written in clear script for this very moment, “What? No good? I have another.” He held up the second cassette Happy Songs for Joe scribbled on it.

James Copley’s No Good Very Bad Year (12.7k) - Dr_Amuly

Absolutely delightful fic about the cleanup after Merrick’s, where Joe and Nicky “help” Copley (they fuck with him) go through the old pictures, while Copley hasn’t figured out that they’re a couple.

Some favourite lines: “Joe,” Nicky gentled. “We are nearly a thousand years old.” “I’m thirty-three!” Joe protested. “Anno di Cristi…” Nicky sing-songed under his breath. Joe kicked him—lovingly, of course—under the table.

the profession of my fingers (24.9k) - mellyflori

A classic. This is one of those fics that reminds me why I love these characters so so much. Basically a compilation throughout history of Nicky worshipping Joe’s curls. It’s got some of the tenderest moments. Their love feels really tangible and believable here.

Some favourite lines: "Surely, Lord, you’ve sent this man to test me.” “Did you want me to test you? Because I can—“ “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this great compassionate spirit in my life.” Other recs from this author: there’s a trick with a knife (i’m learning to do) (65.2k)

Impelled by the Persuasion of Love (2.4k) - Lolo (TheLittleLo)

The queer quartet + courtly love! I read this when the zine came out years ago, then re-read it while I was taking a class in Arthurian literature, and it really has it all. Short but sweet, and I adore how the author writes the dynamic between the four immortals. Feels like a lovely bedtime story.

Some favourite lines: “Can I stay with you tonight?” “I think we can risk one night. You are meant to be the brother of my lady wife, after all.” Nico made a face of disgust. “Do not remind me,” Nico said, and he titled his head up to press his lips to Joseph’s.

the dark matter of you (12.9k) - Syysmyrsky (Arktikko)

Gorgeously written meditation on Yusuf and Nicolo’s early love through Yusuf’s account of an old relationship, and through Nicolo’s eyes. Very vivid and realistic, goofy at times, gets me right in the gut and feels so believable as a conversation between these two. Reminds me why I love their love.

Some favourite lines: It feels so natural, he thinks as he looks at Yusuf, to be with this man, to love him. The more he does, the more it feels like perhaps loving Yusuf is what he has always been meant to do. It certainly had felt like destiny when Yusuf had kissed him that rainy afternoon, urgent and just a little desperate. Hurried, until Nicolò, hands still wet from the rain but so careful, had stroked his palm down Yusuf’s broad back slowly, sweetly, and something in both of them slowed down and settled. Calm like coming home. Other recs from this author: The Devil’s Eye (6.2k)

Per usual it didn’t go as planned (but as it should) (19.8k)- linascribbles

Post-movie. The team spends some time in Peru. I come back to this fic every time I need comfort and some Nile love, it’s just so soft and good.

Some favourite lines: "Nile!" Andy exclaims suddenly, eyes going wide and bright on the mirror. "I'm gonna get wrinkles!" She sounds thrilled about it.  "You'll finally get to contest Joe on that," Nile replies, voice full of laughter. Andy pumps her fist.

The Lamp of Nicholas (20.5k) - ViridianPanther

A crusades-era fic in which Yusuf and Nicolo part ways, and Yusuf finds himself captured and imprisoned in a tower. Such a fun one that feels like a bedtime story or legend. It also got me obsessed with the word “defenestrate.”

Some favourite lines: “—and I saw why the Almighty chose to bless us both with a reprieve from death. Because I have been the receiver of his kindness. And now I will never be able to thank him for that, I will never be able to tell him how much I loved him. Because I let him go back to the place that turned him into a monster, and now—” Other recs from this author: The Death of You (22.7k)

Ten Ounces (3.5k) - suchA_Consequentialist

Post-canon, the aftermath of Joe being kidnapped and tortured. A beautiful fic with a gut-punch. This author is a master of bildup and the gut-punch, I am so so obsessed with it. Can’t say much without spoiling, I think it’s just best to go into this one blind.

Some favourite lines: Against Joe’s chest, Nicky’s hand stays still and flat. He looks stricken and desperate as his hand presses harder against the skin. There is no scar. There can't be. So, Nicky can't know. Other recs from this author: A River Arrives in the House of the Dead Men (The Prodigious Flowering Rage) (4.8k)

To kindle a spark in the darkness (7k) - Nary

Pre-canon outsider POV in the 15th century. This fic has everything I love, following a man named Hassan who encounters the immortals at different times in his life. Follows the thesis of the movie perfectly, and it’s gorgeously written. Feels like watching a movie.

Some favourite lines: Then Yusuf gave a sharp gasp, sitting up. Hassan scrambled back in alarm. Yusuf felt his chest with one hand, fumbling for his weapon with the other. "Ugh, one of them has an arquebus," he said, almost to himself, and then, noticing Hassan a few feet away, he gave a rueful smile. "I didn't mean for you to see that, little one."

Making the Marauders (62.2k) - nizzuto

A medieval Yusuf and Nicolo adventure, a Robin Hood story. They work together covertly to try and convince a greedy duke to have some compassion for his people, and this goes as well as one would expect. This author is a master of epics and tension, so it’s hard to choose a favourite, but this one always has me on the edge of my seat.

Some favourite lines (my favourite line is a spoiler, so): “I,” Nicolò starts and stops and starts again, “He believes I am a harbinger of the Lord. I told him that I was to spread a message of mercy and altruism.” “My Nicolò,” Yusuf says breathlessly. “An angel!” Other recs from this author: He, Dreamless (126.7k), A Man Called Mercy (17k)

The Extraordinarily Complex Task of Condensing a 920-Year-Old Romance into a 145-Word Speech (While Being Abducted) (47.3k) - Liketheriver

An anthology following Yusuf and Nicolo through the centuries, with each scene relating to one line in Joe’s van speech. This fic has everything, everything. It’s such a tasty treat when you’re looking for action, angst, hurt and comfort, romance, and historical accuracy.

Some favourite lines: “Oh, Yusuf,”  Nicolo’s breath hitched, and Yusuf could feel warm tears against his neck.  “It’s gone. All of it is gone.” Yusuf cupped the back of Nicolo’s head, held him tighter.  “I know, my soul, but at least you are not.”

Guiding You Through (6.2k) - mekana47

Post-canon, Booker & Nicky centric. The team is on an undercover mission when Nicky is given a truth serum, and Booker watches over a screen. I’m a sucker for the Nicky & Booker brotherly dynamic, and this fic just hits it right on the head.

Some favourite lines: “He signaled,” Booker traces over the screen. Nicky’s head has dropped to one side, but his hand closest to the camera has two fingers pressed flat against his leg and the other three tucked into a fist. “You have a signal for truth serums,” Nile says flatly. Other recs from this author: Code Pink (700 words), Hold Tight (3.3k)

Illustrious Pagans (6k) - saintsideways

Exactly as it says: Five times Joe and Nicky did drugs. There’s something about this fic that I just want to eat. It’s silly and delightful at times, sexy and mind-bendy at others.

Some favourite lines: “Someone’s house, I guess,” Yusuf said, drowsily. “Is this your hallucination or mine?�� “Does it matter?” IT DOES NOT said the eyes, watching them benignly.

AU

Take What You Can (15.7k) - theoxfordcommando

An Old Guard x Pirates of the Caribbean au, executed flawlessly. What more could I ever want? Incomplete, but still very worth the read. The author fit the characters into their roles so perfectly, I just adore it.

Some favourite lines: “I dreamed about you last night.” The words came out much softer than Yusuf had meant them to. Like a whispered confession in the dark hours of night. Nicolò’s eyes widened just a fraction and there, that look he knew. Nicolò was embarrassed. “About the day we met,” Yusuf quickly clarified, less of a whisper this time. “Do you remember it?” Other recs from this author: Lingering Aches (1.6k), The Ballad of Robin Hood and Nicolo (7k)

right where you left me (115.4k) - dreamtiwasanarchitect, liadan14

Canon-divergent au. I can’t say much about this one without spoilers, just… God. Please read this one. I’ve never been able to get it out of my head.

Some favourite lines: Sometimes, he wonders what signal got crossed there, how it is that Nicky’s body takes pain and humiliation and turns them into bright, incandescent pleasure so well.

The Town By The Empty Lake (89.4k) - OldMagpie (Magpie Morality)

This fic deserves so much more everything — kudos, comments, bookmarks. It’s a gorgeous Lovecraftian mystery with an ensemble cast, incredible art and a playlist to match. Just fully immersive. I could picture it all so clearly in my mind.

Some favourite lines: She rears back, heart thumping wildly, unsure what had prompted such a visceral reaction. She only knows she does not want to look at the painting again. Poor Yusuf al-Kaysani, maybe he is going mad - to have painted this and then placed it in his room to watch while he sleeps…

i love the way you see the world (series) (40k) - flightofwonder

A canon-divergent au series in which Joe is deaf. I just want to rec the whole series, because it’s hard to pick one out of it. A true classic.

Some favourite lines: He had never needed to hear the prayers, only to feel them. He trusted in Allah to guide him with the rest.

.....and so many more.

[writingwithciara]

you make me wanna fall in love -jack hughes-

summary: y/n is done trying to fall in love. but life isn't giving up. and her biggest adversary? jack hughes.

word count: 1.4k

pairing: jack hughes x reader

notes:

"we're going to get married one day."

jack was 9 years old when he told y/n he was going to marry her. it had been after she stood up for him against a kid who was picking on him. he had known y/n his whole life, having grown up next to her. she had always been the quiet kid, never engaging in any conflict. so when she yelled at the 11 year old kid, jack fell in love.

but since he was 9, nobody took what he said seriously.

----------

he moved to new jersey when he was 18 and y/n moved to new york. they weren't in the same state but that didn't stop them from visiting each other whenever they could.

being away from her family was tough but just knowing jack wasn't across the country made y/n feel a little safer. their friendship was the most important thing to her.

and because he lived a good enough distance away from her, she was able to date freely in new york.

she dated at least 6 different guys throughout her 5 years in new york but none of them ever lasted. her quest to find true love was testing her patience and she hated it.

meaningful relationships were starting to mean nothing to her when all she had wanted her whole life was to find the one person she was meant to spend her future with. and how was she supposed to do that when every guy she went on a date with ended up hurting her in some way?

when each relationship failed, she turned to jack. he was her most trusted friend, after all.

he hated hearing about her dating life, but he hated it even more when she was upset. and it seemed he was the only one who remembered what he had said when he was 9.

"we're going to get married one day."

he had been repeating it in his mind more than once a week ever since the words left his mouth. sure people never took him seriously because he was 9, but he knew he loved her. in more ways than one. he just wanted his chance.

so when she called him to tell him about her most recent heartbreak, he took the opportunity to travel to new york to convince her she needed to be with him.

and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time, since his shoulder injury had taken him out for the rest of the season.

y/n was sitting on her couch, ready to completely give up on relationships. she hadn't heard the knock so when jack was suddenly standing on front of her, it caused her to jump.

"jesus, jack. how did you get in?"

"i used my emergency key." he took a seat next to her. "i came as soon as you ended our call. tried to get here as fast as i could."

"what about the team?"

"i'm out for the rest of the season. and i needed to see you. nothing could ever keep me from being here for you whenever you need me, you know that."

"i know. but there's gonna have to be a time when i have to turn to someone else. i know i can't keep relying on you every single time my relationship falls apart."

"yes you can, y/n. i swear. do not hesitate to call me when this happens. you know i love you enough to do what i can for you, no matter what." jack held her hand. "we made that promise when we were 12, remember?"

"yeah. i remember. but what about when you have your own girlfriend to take care of? she'll hate me for coming to you."

"if my girlfriend ever hates you, then she's not someone i want to be with. and i think it's important to remind you that i made a declaration to you when i was 9 years old. remember what i said?"

"you told me we were gonna get married one day." y/n smiled while avoiding his gaze. "but you were 9. you couldn't have meant it."

"i did, actually. the fact that i was only 9 is insignificant. i told you i was gonna marry you and i'm going to. there's not a doubt in my mind."

"jack."

"no. i'm serious. i have been in love with you since i was 9 and there's nothing you can say or do that is going to change my mind, y/n." he dropped her hand but held her gaze. "i know you're not ready for another relationship but i can wait. i've waited 14 years, y/n. i can wait a little longer."

and he waited. for 11 months. every day since that night on her couch, he waited but he also did everything he could to show her he meant what he said. he truly loved her and he definitely saw himself marrying her.

she fought hard against his efforts because if her history of bad relationships had taught her anything, it was that she wasn't meant to be in love.

but he got her.

it was the night the devils won the stanley cup. jack had been named the mvp of the playoffs and when he was given the conn smythe trophy, he knew he had to say something.

"you know, this is such an honor and obviously i wouldn't have been able to do it without these guys. but, aside from the team and my parents, there's another special person in my life who has pushed me to be the best i can be. she never lost faith in me, no matter how many times i got frustrated with the way i was playing the game. she stood by me through every injury and helped shape me into who i am today, on and off the ice. i've known her my whole life but i've loved her since i was 9. she'd my hero as much as i am hers. without her, i don't know where i'd be." jack looked at his team and smiled. "can't wait for next year."

after the big celebration on the ice, jack skated off with the team. he went into the locker room, celebrated with the team privately for a few minutes and then headed out. he was eager to get to y/n's apartment to talk to her. it still shocked him how he had somehow convinced her to relocate to new jersey, but he was happy it happened. it felt like he was one step closer to convincing her he had always meant what he said.

just as he was making his way to the parking garage, his phone went off. he pulled it out and answered it without looking at the screen. "hey."

"hey. congrats on the win. you were great out there. and no surprise that you won the conn smythe. you're always the mvp."

"you actually watched it?"

"of course. i wouldn't miss the biggest game of your career, jack." y/n giggled and it was like music to his ears.

"so you saw that speech?"

"i did indeed."

"okay well i'm just about to head to your place. we can talk when i get there."

"there's no need for that."

"y/n, please?"

"no. i meant," y/n sighed. "turn around, jack."

jack turned around and y/n was standing in front of him. he locked his phone and walked over to her. "you're actually here. i can't believe you actually came."

"i had to. most important game of your career, remember?" y/n smiled and wrapped her arms around him. jack didn't hesitate to return the hug. "and that speech was incredible. made me do some thinking."

"about what?"

"love and what it means. and what my future truly holds."

"and your conclusion?"

"i think the reason why all my relationships had failed before was because, unknowingly, my heart had already been given to someone else. someone who has protected it and showed it the love i know i deserve. love is crazy when you think about it. but i love you, jack. i'm finally ready to accept it." y/n looked up at him. "i'm sorry i made you wait so long."

"hey, you are 100% worth the wait. i'd wait forever for you if that's what was needed." he smiled widely.

"so, do you still want to marry me?"

"every second of every day if that was possible."

"how about just once, hmm? is that enough?"

"if it means forever, then yes. marrying you once is definitely enough for me."

"okay. let's do this then."

"right now?" jack's eyes widened.

"why wait? you love me and i love you. that's as good a reason as any, right?"

"okay. fair point." jack chuckled and held his hand out for her. "alright. let's do it."

[dreamwritesimagines]

The Eye of the Hurricane [33] - Ex Boyfriends

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, you made my day! ❤️I hope you’ll like this chapter as well, and please don’t forget to tell me what you think! ❤️

Summary: Making deals with ex boyfriends can cause tension.

Word Count: 2800

Pairing: MobBoss!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader

Warnings: Violence, guns, crime, blood, explicit language, dysfunctional relationship, mentions of sex. This is an AU, friendly reminder that I don’t condone any of the actions depicted on this story and please read with care.

Series Masterlist

The one thing about this business was that even though everyone pretended to trust each other, no one actually trusted each other.

It didn’t matter how many alliances were there or how many deals were made, the war could start at any moment with any attack, and you had to make sure it wouldn’t.

This deal with Rhett was going to ensure you to climb to the top and to keep the city safe from your cousin at the same time.

As you left the elevator to make your way to Bucky’s office, you could see his assistant by the door but as soon as she stood up, you waved a hand in the air.

“Please,” you said with a smile. “I’ll just get him and get out.”

“My wife will not be put in a situation where she might be in danger!” Bucky’s voice reached outside as you grabbed the door handle. “We don’t know if we can even trust the guy—”

He stopped talking when you opened the door and stepped inside, and he cleared his throat, tightening his grip around the phone he was holding to his ear.

“I’ll call you back,” he said curtly and hung up, making you tilt your head.

“Hey,” you said. “Who was it?”

“Stark,” he muttered. “He has this idea…never mind.”

“That it’d be better for me to meet Rhett?”

Bucky scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. That’s not gonna happen.”

“You do realize that I wouldn’t be in danger though?”

“Not risking it.”

“Why not?”

He blinked a couple of times. “What?”

“Why not?” you asked again with a small smile. “I don’t recall you having that problem with your other business partners.”

He stared at you for a moment, then scoffed and made himself busy with his phone.

“No?” you insisted, still smirking. “Nothing to say?”

“Nope,” he said, making you groan.

“Bucky, I feel like we should talk about this.”

“Not at all. So, this asshole—”

“Rhett,” you corrected him and he clicked his tongue.

“Rhett,” he repeated. “Anything else I should know about him? Other than the fact that he’s your ex?”

You had your whole attention on your book so much that you didn’t even realize someone had approached your table until they pulled a chair. Your head shot up but a frown pinched your brows as soon as your eyes fell on Lucas.

“The fuck do you want?”

Lucas smiled slightly and held up his hands, gesturing surrender.

“Hello to you too,” he said as you looked around the library before turning to glare at him.

“Rhett sent you?”

“Nope,” he said, still smiling. “I just wanted to see whether you’re okay, you know? After your breakup.”

You arched a brow.

“Right,” you said. “I’m fine, you can go now.”

“So who dumped who?” he asked. “He’s been bringing a different girl to his place every night and is in a terrible mood lately, gotta be you huh? What did he do, cheat on you?”

You scoffed. “Why are you acting as if we’re friends?”

“Maybe I want to be friends with you.”

You rolled your eyes. “Why?”

“I think we can be very beneficial to each other,” he said. “Especially if he broke your heart.”

You crossed your arms, leaning back in your seat.

“The last I heard, New York still wants to do business with Chicago,” he said. “Rhett’s father isn’t interested, and Rhett will definitely follow his footsteps when he takes over. But…there are people in Chicago who can be more open to a deal with New York.”

Oh.

Alright, this was interesting.

“Your father would be quite impressed if you made a deal with Chicago, wouldn’t he?” he asked. “Two birds one stone. You take your revenge, and your father gets a deal.”

Fucking traitor.

“Sounds like the perfect plan,” you mused. “Hypothetically speaking, having the new king in my debt when I go back to New York....”

“I agree.”

“Too bad I can’t trust you,” you said. “How do I know you’ll make the deal after he’s gone?”

He chuckled and took out his phone, then put it on the desk and pushed it in your direction. You grabbed it, your eyes scanning the lines on the screen, then let out a breath.

“You already have a draft?”

“I’m nothing if not planned.”

You scrolled down on the file, then handed him his phone back.

“What do I need to do?”

“Get back together with him,” he said. “Make him feel safe and all that bullshit, and then make sure he’s in the location I’ll send you when it’s time.”

You nodded your head, pretending to be in deep thought. “And then guns go off.”

“Didn’t take you for the type to get intimidated by that.”

“I’m not,” you said without hesitation. “But I want your word that once you get that crown, you won’t double cross me.”

“You have my word,” he said. “I assure you, you help me with this and I’ll help out your father.”

You bit inside your cheek, then held your hand out.

“Fine then,” you said. “Pleasure doing business with you, Lucas.”

                                               *

Rhett’s men were rather surprised to see you, and two of the bodyguards by his door exchanged glances before turning to you.

“Ma’am?”

“Hi.” You smiled at them. “Tell him I’m here please.”

One of them nodded before opening the door to step inside, and you leaned back on the wall, inspecting your fingernails until he stepped out again.

“You can go in, ma’am.”

You thanked him and walked past him into the apartment, Rhett standing in the hallway with his shirt halfway done, his curls messier than usual with a confused look on his face, but before he could say anything, the sound of heels reached you and you both turned to look at the girl who was glaring daggers at you.

“What is she doing here?” she asked, making you smirk and Rhett cleared his throat.

“Alice, could you give us a moment?”

She looked like she would say no but then scoffed and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her. You let out a small laugh.

“Didn’t lose any time huh?”

“You were the one who dumped me, in case it has escaped your notice,” Rhett deadpanned and eyed you up and down. “So what the fuck is this? You don’t return my calls but decided to show up?”

You threw your head back before walking to the living room with Rhett following you. The whiskey bottle on the small table caught your eye and you made your way to it to fill a glass, then turned to him and sipped your drink.

“Stop pretending like this would go anywhere if I didn’t break up with you,” you said and deepened your voice to mimic him; “Chicago rules are different—”

“Oh because you’d stay in Chicago,” he said with a dry laugh. “You and I both know you want to rule New York.”

“Rich, coming from the prince of Chicago.”

“Did you seriously come here to fight?”

“No,” you said after a beat, then licked your lips and put your whiskey glass down. “I’m here to save your life, you idiot.”

“That he doesn’t trust anyone outside Chicago,” you said, and he hummed.

“Except you.”

“Except me,” you said. “Are you seriously not going to talk about this?”

“If he flirts with you, I’m shooting him.”

You raised your brows. “That sounds like a very healthy approach to a partnership.”

“We’re not partners, we’re married.”

“That’s not what— I mean him and us, Bucky,” you said. “We’re trying to be business partners with him, in case it has escaped your notice.”

He blinked a couple of times. “Right.”

“And if you’re going to be like this, I can meet Rhett alone,” you said, making him shake his head. “I mean you have meetings anyway—”

“I’m coming with,” he cut you off and stood up, checking his wristwatch. “Let’s go.”

You threw your head back but followed him out of the office, stomping on your feet all the way to the elevator.

                                             *

Rhett’s private jet hadn’t still landed when you got there, which was good news for you because that gave you some alone time with Bucky. Even if you played it cool, not talking to him for the last two weeks had been making you so anxious that you could barely focus on anything else. You sat on the hood of the car, drumming your fingernails on your knee while he typed something on his phone, leaning back to the car.

“Bucky.”

“Hm?”

“Rhett can be a bit…uh—” you paused for a moment to think. “He can be a bit arrogant.”

He turned to look at you better, raising his brows.

“He’s kind of like you on that,” you pointed out, making him frown.

“I’m not arrogant.”

You gawked at him.

“…Have you met yourself?”

“I’m not!”

“I’ll share that with the therapist on our next appointment,” you said. “Anyways, Rhett being arrogant, just keep in mind that we’re trying to make a deal with Chicago.”

“You’re trying to make a deal with Chicago,” he corrected you. “I’m just here to get you into meetings, apparently.”

You ran a hand over your face. “You know it as well as I do that it’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” he asked with a dry laugh and you looked up at the sky as a jet appeared, making you cover your ears and grimace at the loud noise. Soon enough it landed and people started rushing around as you lowered your hands, jumping on your feet.

“He might try to provoke you so don’t let it happen.”

“To repeat, I’ll shoot him if he does.”

You shot him a glare but turned your head when you noticed the movement by the jet. The door opened and Rhett stepped outside, then ran a hand through his curls before descending the stairs, making you suppress a smile.

Rhett had always been very attractive, but now that he was the king of Chicago, he looked somehow calmer. That chaotic, restless energy back when he was the prince seemed to be replaced by complete and utter confidence as he made his way to you, a smile curling his lips.

“Wow,” he said when he reached you. “I didn’t know you could get prettier, but here we are.”

You let out a giggle before wrapping your arms around his neck to hug him.

“Hi Rhett.”

“Hi cupcake,” he said softly, squeezing at your upper arm as you pulled back to look up at him. “How have you been?”

Bucky cleared his throat loudly and you looked over your shoulder, then stepped back to entwine your fingers with his, plastering a lovesick smile on your face.

“Sorry, where are my manners?” you said. “Bucky, this is Rhett. Rhett, this is Bucky.”

Rhett held out his hand and Bucky shook it, nodding at him.

“Bucky Barnes,” Rhett said. “I’ve heard about you.”

“Good things or bad things?”

“Mixed reviews,” Rhett said, making you squeeze at Bucky’s hand but he completely ignored you.

“Makes one of us I guess,” he stated and you faked a cough.

“So uh…I’m guessing you’d like to rest a bit?” you asked Rhett and he gave you a serene smile, his gaze falling on your hand holding Bucky’s before shooting up to your face again. “Your driver will take you to your hotel, and once you’ve rested you can call me.”

“Will you give me a tour?”

“Can’t have you return to Chicago and tell your father New York was anything but nice to you,” you told him, making him let out a laugh.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. “I’ll talk to you then.”

“Sounds good.”

“Nice to meet you, Bucky,” he said and Bucky gave him a dry smile.

“Likewise,” he said and Rhett walked to the car, the driver opening the door for him so that he could get in. You turned to Bucky as Rhett’s car drove off, and he bit inside his cheek.

“I don’t trust him,” he stated, drawing a scoff out of you.

“You don’t say?”

“He’s up to something.”

“He is just here for the deal.”

“Does he know you’re not a part of the deal?”

You held up your hand so that he could see your wedding ring. “I’d say so.”

“You know,” he motioned at the direction Rhett’s car had driven off, “Guys like him—”

“To repeat, why do you care?”

His blue eyes snapped to yours and he stared at you for a moment before clearing his throat, his brows pulling into a frown.

“We have a deal,” he brushed you off, making you tilt your head.

“Right,” you said, your heartbeat getting faster. “And that’s the only reason here?”

He swallowed thickly, his eyes locked in yours and he opened his mouth to retort but as if on cue, his phone started vibrating in his hand. You let out a breath, your cheeks burning as he touched the screen, then threw his shoulders back.

“I’m going back to the office,” he said. “I’ll drop you off, come on.”

“Nah I can go with them,” you pointed at your bodyguards leaning against the other car and Bucky blinked a couple of times.

“Why?”

“Obviously you don’t want to spend time with me, so I’d hate to force you.”

“That’s not—”

“I’ll see you at home I guess,” you cut him off, painfully aware of the petulant tone of your voice and you turned around to approach the other car, ignoring him calling out your name.

“Ma’am,” the bodyguard said, rushing to open the door for you and you smiled at him, then got in.

“Well,” you muttered to yourself. “If that’s not open communication, I don’t know what is.”

                                            *

After going home and taking a shower, you decided to go outside just to get your mind off your issues with Bucky and to work more on the offer you would make to Rhett. Your whole attention was on your tablet as you went over the numbers, then clicked on the other file but your head shot up when someone pulled the chair across from yours and sat down. A smile you couldn’t stop curled your lips as you tilted your head.

“Do I want to know how you knew where I was?”

Rhett grinned at you. “Lucky guess.”

“Or people on your payroll.”

He hummed. “You’re telling me you don’t have people in Chicago?”

You rolled your eyes at him playfully and he raised his hand to motion at the waitress for a cup of coffee, then turned to you.

“So,” he said. “Mrs. Barnes.”

“I use my surname as well, there’s a dash between.”

He nodded his head, still smirking.

“All that talk about not dating people in the business,” he mused. “Here I thought I was special.”

You sipped your coffee. “Oh come on…”

“Hey, no judging,” he said, holding up his hands. “I get how it works in the business.”

“Oh it’s different with Bucky and me,” you said and he raised his brows.

“Is that right?”

“Uh huh,” you said, “And you?”

“Me?”

“I know how it works in the business,” you quoted him. “You’re the king of Chicago and you’re telling me people aren’t trying to fix a marriage for you? Uniting the families and stuff?”

He heaved a sigh. “Can’t escape it forever, as my father loves reminding me.”

“Who will it be?”

He thanked the waitress when she brought his coffee, then took the cup to his lips.

“Alice, I think.”

Your eyes widened and a laugh escaped from you.

“I mean she did lay down the groundwork,” you pointed out. “And herself in your bed, but…”

“Nothing happened while you and I were together.”

“Oh I know that,” you said with a laugh. “Doesn’t mean she wasn’t flirting with you.”

He bit back a smile, giving you a mischievous look.

“I specifically remember us having a couple of fights about her, now that you mention it.”

“Does she still hate me?”

“Probably,” he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “She said—oh, I heard your father officially named your cousin his heir.”

You bit inside your cheek. “He did.”

“Why haven’t you killed him yet?” he asked, curiosity laced in his tone and you scrunched up your nose.

“New York has truce,” you said after a pause. “Between families. Killing an heir is breaking the truce, not to mention this war with HYDRA... It would just make everything more complicated.”

“But you will have to,” Rhett pointed out. “This business is medieval, you know how it goes.”

You turned your cup in its saucer. “Mm hm.”

“And Bucky?” he asked. “You trust that he will help you get the crown?”

You dragged the tip of your tongue over your bottom lip, deep in thought.

“I’d trust Bucky with my life,” you said, making him raise his brows, a look of surprise crossing his handsome face.

“You, trusting someone in the business…” he muttered. “You have changed, cupcake.”

You felt a smile warm your face, and heaved a sigh before you leaned back.

“Maybe,” you said. “Finish your coffee, will you? I’ll give you a tour of our territory.”

Chapter 34

[prettytoxicrevolver]

Ice Skating | Juraj Slafkovský

wc. 2.6k

four times you go ice skating with Juraj and the one time you actually fall

Four 

“Will you please tell me where we’re going?” you beg the young Slovak as he covers your eyes, weaving in and out of the crowd and leading you closer to your unknown destination. 

“We’re almost there,” he promises and you roll your eyes but smile while he continues to lead you. 

“Ready?” he asks, stopping the two of you and leaning close so you can hear him. You nod and when Juraj finally drops his hands, you can’t help the small gasp that escapes your lips. 

You stand at the edge of Rockefeller Center, the rink lit up by Christmas lights, a gorgeously decorated tree acting as a backdrop to the whole scene. You watch as families skate together, couples holding hands and exchanging soft lovelorn looks at each other. You turn to Juraj and he smiles sheepishly at you. 

“Are we ice skating?” you ask, the location finally truly dawning on you. 

“Uhm, yes?” he answers unsure. 

“If I slip on the ice, it’s totally your fault,” you say, holding up an accusing finger towards your best friend. 

“I’ve got you princezná. I won’t let you fall.” 

Juraj leads you over to the counter and rents two pairs of skates. You grab a seat at the bench and Juraj laces his skates up. You pull yours on as well, attempting to pull the laces tight but ultimately failing. Juraj watches with soft heart filled eyes, adoration clear in his features. 

“moja láska,” he murmurs and your eyes flicker over to him. “Do you need help?” 

You nod shyly and Juraj smiles widely, bending down in front of you on one knee and pulling the laces tight. His hands work on their own accord, his mind wandering to a scene where he’s on one knee for a different reason, asking you a question and praying you say yes. 

“Juraj?” you ask, waving a hand in front of his face and watching as he snaps himself out of the trance he’s in. 

“All done,” he smiles, standing and offering his hand to you. 

You take it, instantly wobbling awkwardly on the skates and the both of you share a shy smile. Juraj helps you over to the entrance of the rink and steps in with ease. He takes both your hands and helps you onto the rink where you look at him with fear filled eyes. 

“I got you princezná,” he reminds you and you smile nervously. 

You take a step and your heart flips, the unfamiliar territory scaring you more than it should. Juraj skates backwards with ease and you can’t help but admire the way he glides on the ice. 

With your focus on him, you’re able to calm down and look around you at the New York City skyline. Your face lights up as you look at the perfectly decorated tree, the couples and families skating around you with smiles on their faces and laughter filling the air. 

Juraj can’t help but think you look utterly ethereal. 

“Think you can loosen your grip now?” Juraj jokes and when you look back towards him the glint in his eye makes your heart race. 

Three

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Juraj asks, putting away the last dish and turning towards you. 

“Not that I can think of. Why?” 

“It’s family skate at the rink tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?” 

Juraj’s question shocks you a bit. Family skate was usually the guys who are married and those with kids, sometimes the guys with their girlfriends or the guys just coming to stop by and say hi. 

“But I’m not family?” is the only thing you can think to say at this moment and Juraj smiles like you’re missing the whole point of it. 

“Princezná, you’re more important than family,” he murmurs and your eyes search his and find genuine love in them. 

“I’ll be there.” 

Juraj picks you up the next day and you head over to the Bell Centre for the family skate. He grabs you an extra pair of skates and is in the middle of tying them for you when Josh Anderson walks by. 

“Don’t know how to tie your skates darling?” he jokes and when he stops near you you jokingly shove him away. 

“Fuck off Andy,” you quip and you watch as both him and Juraj collapse into giggles. 

Juraj finishes tying your skates and with a tap to your thigh you’re standing and wobbling awkwardly all over again. This time it’s a bit easier, you can at least walk towards the ice without too much help but when you’re on the ice, you’re clutching Juraj’s hands again like your life depends on it. 

“(y/n)! I’ve lapped you three times in the past 2 minutes,” Kaiden calls out to you and you let go of Juraj to flip him off. 

“Let’s go grandma!” Cole joins and you shoot him a glare. 

“Ignore them,” Juraj reminds you and you smile as you look back over at him. 

He starts to instruct you on how to push off and skate forward and you hang on his every word. He lets go of one of your hands and you carefully push off, gripping his hand tightly. 

“You’re doing it!” Juraj cheers and your heart flushes at his praise. 

Juraj’s teammates and their families watch the two youngsters with soft gazes, thinking the scene was adorable. 

“Are they dating?” Josh’s girlfriend turns to ask and Josh smiles, shaking his head. 

“Not yet,” he says, slightly rolling his eyes but happy to see you and Juraj so close. 

Two 

“Come on Jakey!!” you scream and Juraj laughs lightly next to you. 

“Oh be quiet,” you joke, shoving him as you sit down. 

Your little brother has been begging you to bring your famous hockey playing best friend (his words not yours) to one of his hockey games. You finally found a day where Juraj was free and Jake was playing a game and dragged your best friend along with you. Jake was playing well, but his team was still losing and with the final ring of the bell, the game ends 2-1. 

“Come on,” you say, grabbing Juraj’s hand and pulling him along to the locker room. 

You wait outside, greeting other teammates of your brother and their families, until your brother finally makes his way out. You look him over and see that he’s still wearing his skates but has changed out of the rest of his gear. 

“Buddy, what are you doing?” you ask when Jake finally greets you and Juraj. 

“Can we stay and skate?” he asks nervously and you can’t help the smile that grows on your lips. 

“Of course.” 

You and Juraj grab a pair of rental skates each before heading out on the ice. Juraj sticks by your side for the beginning before Jake pulls him away to ask for tips on his skating. You cling to one of the walls, watching as Juraj stands in front of your brother and explains his foot positioning. Jake listens patiently, something he wasnt always good at, and butterflies decide to kick up in your stomach at the sight of the two of them. 

“Ready?” you hear Juraj ask and you watch as Jake nods and the two stand side by side. 

Juraj counts down from three and one he hits one, the two of them rush off across the ice in an impressive blur of speed. You watch as Jake takes the advantage and you know deep down, Juraj is letting him win in their little race. Your smile grows even wider at the thought, Juraj purposefully letting the young boy win. 

“Prekliatie, Jake you’re faster than me,” Juraj says, dropping his hands onto his knees and breathing heavily to show how “tired” he was. 

“I think you should replace Juraj in the line up tomorrow Jakey,” you call and the two boys turn and smile at you. 

Juraj grins, tossing a wink in your direction before heading off to skate with your younger brother again. 

One 

How and why your best friend decided to rent out an entire sports complex for her birthday party will continue to remain a mystery to you. She could have gone anywhere in Montreal but she decided on a place with ice skating, laser tag, arcades, golfing, bowling, and more for her party. 

Naturally, you dragged Juraj with you, knowing that you would probably only know your best friend at this party and didn’t want to spend the time alone. The two of you got there early, greeting your best friend and her boyfriend at the entrance of the sports center. 

“Happy birthday!!” you greet her excitedly, leaning forward to hug your best friend. 

“Come on!” She says, dragging you into the building, Juraj and her boyfriend trailing behind. “I wanna go ice skating.” 

The four of you grab rental skates and head out onto the ice together. Just like before, Juraj is slow and careful with you, helping you to skate around the rink. You make it a lap and a half in before you see your best friend exiting the rink with her boyfriend behind her. 

“Hey!” you call out and she turns and smiles sheepishly. 

“Sorry!” she yells back before rushing away. 

You roll your eyes and turn back to Juraj with a look that says ‘can you believe her?’ and the younger boy just shrugs and smiles at you. 

“Well, as long as we’re here,” you say, trying your best to slow down on the ice. “Wanna teach me how to stop?” 

“Are you sure you’re ready for it?” he asks and you lean forward, swatting at his arm. 

“Of course I am!” you declare but quickly lose balance, reaching out for him and he chuckles as you regain your balance. 

“Anyway,” you murmur and Juraj laughs lightly under his breath. 

He turns on his skates, holding his hands out to you which you happily take and he smiles encouragingly at you. 

“So, the way you stop is on your edges,” he explains, showing the sides of his skate and digging them into the ice so he stops moving. 

“If you’re skating forward, you want to turn your body and push your outside leg out and lean.”

He takes a second to show you what he means, letting go and skating for a second before stopping on his edges. You nod when he pauses, committing his movements to memory. 

“You try,” he tells you. 

You take a nervous deep breath, skating forward a couple of inches before attempting to come to a stop before Juraj. Your legs however shake too much beneath you and you start to fall. Juraj is quicker, catching your arms and hauling you up into them. 

“Sorry,” you murmur, looking up at him and it strikes you how close the two of you are. 

“All good,” he replies, his arms coming to move around your waist. 

Your eyes search his, heat blooming throughout your body and for a moment the two of you simply gaze at each other, uncertain what to do next. 

“Are you two coming or what?” 

You both turn to see your best friend waving you over and you sigh, thinking how close yet how far you were from making a move. 

“Let’s go.” 

And One 

You swear it’s been weeks since you saw Juraj at your best friend’s birthday party. Therefore, you were ecstatic when he called and asked if you could pick him up from practice so the two of you could hang out afterwards. You show up a little later than practice ends, knowing Juraj’s tendency to stay late and work with one of the coaches while everyone has already left the ice. 

You make your way through the back and up towards the tunnel, greeting those you see along the way. Just as you’re heading up to the bench, you pass Martin St. Louis and he greets you with a warm smile. 

“Always good to see you darling,” he tells you and you smile shyly. “Juraj is still on the ice if you’re looking for him.” 

You smile and thank him before walking up and out onto the bench. Marty is right, Juraj stands a few feet away from the goal, practicing shot after shot and you stand there for a moment and simply take in his form. His love for the game and determination to get better at it every day was one of the many reasons you had grown impossibly in love with him. He put 110% effort into everything he did and you admired that kind of work ethic in him. 

“Looking good 20!” you yell out and Juraj turns around on the ice, grinning madly when he sees you standing at the bench. 

“Sorry,” he says, skating over to you. “Pretty sure this is a closed practice.” 

“Come on. Grab some skates and get out here.”

“Juraj,” you whine and he turns those big brown eyes towards you. The ones that are impossible to say no to. 

“5 minutes? Please? Just wanna spend some time with you on the ice,” he murmurs.

You sigh quietly and Juraj instantly tells you where to grab some extra skates. Your heart pounds as you replay his words in your head. You can’t help the smile that crops up on your lips as he ties your skates and helps you out onto the ice. Somehow, Juraj was always taking care of you, a trait you so loved about him and prayed stayed with him. 

As always, Juraj starts off with holding your hands making sure you’re comfortable first before letting go and skating by your side with practiced ease. The two of you exchange small talk as you skate and Juraj’s heart fills with pride realizing he was the one who taught you how to skate. The one who has made sure you won’t fall. The one you’ve trusted. 

He moves to skate backwards in front of you, grinning like he has just won the lottery. 

“What?” you ask, his gaze making you flustered. 

“You’re doing amazing,” he compliments and your body flushes in warmth at his praise. 

“Well thank you,” you say and just as you’re about to add on that it’s all thanks to him, your skate hits a rough patch of ice. 

You instantly lose your balance, a small shriek escaping your lips as you fall forward. Your hands instantly reach out for him and Juraj is quick to react, catching you and hauling you up into him like he did so many weeks ago. 

He forces the two of you to a stop, your hands coming to rest feebly against his chest while his arms stay wrapped around your waist. You look up, a sheepish smile on your face as Juraj sports a self righteous grin on his face that makes you laugh. 

“Spoke too soon, huh?” he asks and you shake your head. 

“Oh shut up,” you murmur. 

“Gladly,” he hums. 

He leans down and finally connects the two of you, lips molding in perfect unison as you press against each other on the cold ice. You’re thankful for the grip Juraj has on you because your knees are suddenly weakened by his lips on yours. You break apart for air and Juraj grins down at you and you take a deep breath to control the happy laughter that wants to break free from you.

“Wanna keep skating?” he asks and you shake your head. 

“No, I think it’s time for us to head home.” 

“Whatever you say moja láska,” he says, kissing the side of your head and leading the two of you off the ice.

[mrs-kmikaelson]

01| The Tribrid

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x daughter!reader, Marcel Gerard x reader (platonic) Summary: While you're away on an impromptu break, Marcel comes to try and get you to come back to help him face the Mikaelsons who just so happen to be your long lost family (but no else knows that). Warnings: none Words: 3.2K

Masterlist | Part 2

a/n: i guess this kinda fits in with season one, but it's more of an AU than anything. so, it has elements of the s1 plot, like the marcel and klaus feud, the hope plot, but the villains from s1 won't really be present. like i said, AU. but without further adieu, on we go.

New Orleans was a land of plastic beads and festivals for days–a tourist attraction, which basically meant a blood bank. I knew what lurked in the shadows, what whispered through the grapevine behind the music, but Originals... I didn't know they were back.

Word travels fast around the Quarter, but I haven't been there; I was in Mystic Falls, too busy following up on a lead about the Mikaelsons to even realize that they were at the place I started, my home. 

Marcel wouldn't stop talking about it. As soon as I got back, I was flooded with information and, as soon as I got back, I could hear the whispers from a mile away. Most reactions to the arrival of such a family were scared, livid, shocked, but I was none of the above.

I didn't have a thing to say back to Marcel, not a thing to say to the people who were suddenly confusing me with Rebekah Mikaelson. I didn't have an inch of emotion about it, not surprise, not fear. I mean, how could anyone be surprised? How could I be surprised, scared?

How could I be surprised by my own family?

"Klaus needs to learn his place." I internally rolled my eyes at Marcel's, basically, monologue, continuing to sift through pages of the magazine in my hands. "He's outta line." 

Klaus Mikaelson was always out of line– he had no line, no boundaries. He was Klaus Mikaelson and that was the only line there was, but I didn't say that. When Marcel was having one of his tantrums, I learned to just listen to him; interrupting or putting my own two cents in just made the conversation longer and I only wanted it to end. 

"He thinks he can just kick me out of the Quarter, out of my home, the bastard. Who does he think he is?" Rhetorical question, I had to remind myself, holding my tongue. The former king of New Orleans was sitting across from me at a coffee shop in New York. A coffee shop.

He was calling this his 'vacation' but we both knew that the only reason he was here was because boss man told him to leave. Honestly, I don't know why I'm here. I'm supposed to be in a university class, but it doesn't really matter if I can just compel the grade, right?

I was doing psych this time; Cami's always saying all these things to me about how she thinks my brain works and I honestly want to learn how it does. Saying I have a PhD might actually get me a significant other, but, knowing myself, the whole triangle of creatures thing might freak them out. 

At least I haven't gone as low as Marcel.

"Y'know, just because that ass is an Original doesn't mean he's suddenly the shit." 

This time, I didn't bother trying to hide the roll of my eyes, continuing to flip through my magazine as I responded. "Uh... it kinda does." I could feel his glare on my forehead as my eyes widened at Kim K's ass. Not even being a Vampire gives you that- "And, Marcel, I don't know if you've realized it yet, but he isn't just an Original."

I looked up at him for the first time since his rant started and gave him a pointed look. Sometimes, he didn't think with his head. 

Marcel shrugged like he was saying, 'so what' silently. "Tyler what's-his-name is a hybrid, too."

I raised a brow at him. "A hybrid turned by Klaus, and wasn't he the guy who tried to kill Klaus' wife or whatever, inadvertently but intentionally trying to kill himself, and then failed?" 

"Not the point, Y/N/N." The fuck it isn't- "The point is that the man is such a dick because his is so small." Gross. Didn't need to hear that.

"Didn't he adopt you or something?"

"Is that all you're getting from what I'm saying?"

I made a face at him, putting my magazine down on the table. "Can I be honest and say I don't get anything from this conversation?"

He deadpanned, "You're annoying."

"Glad you're just now figuring that out, Cellie." I got up from my seat, patting him on his back. "Please, though, go have this talk with Camille instead."

I started walking away, but Marcel only got up and began following me out, making me hold in a groan. God, men, they can never take a damn hint.

"Hey, where you headed?" He asked, but he dismissed his own question just as quick as I would've. "And aren't you supposed to talk to me and help me figure out my problems? You're studying psych, aren't you?"

I scoffed, "Yeah, people usually pay for a psychiatrist to talk to them." Honestly, I don't know why Marcel was here. With a God complex like his, you'd expect him to stay and, y'know, get himself killed. It's not like him to use his brain so suddenly.

He could've gone to damn Vegas, maybe LA, but he just has to come to where I am, right after I leave. He's getting a break from his 'Kingly' duties; Klaus is taking that off his hands, so why isn't he enjoying it and taking an actual vacation instead of visiting me and calling it a holiday? I'm not the Eiffel Tower, for Pete's sake.

It's a power struggle. People like him, came from the bottom and wanted nothing more than to be at the top, fighting against people like Originals, who had been where my friend wanted to be since the beginning of time. 

Marcel didn't want to admit he was playing a losing game.

"You telling me to go home, Y/L/N?"

I rolled my eyes. What gave it away? "Precisely, Gerard."

I was just about to make it to my car when Marcel sped in front of me. I looked up at the sky and pinched my eyes. God, he was insufferable. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised me that he came all this way just to bitch. But what he said next did surprise me.

"Come back with me, then."

My eyes snapped open and I stared at him incredulously. What the fuck.

I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and Cellie slapped my arm. "C'mon, Y/N/N. It'll be funnnnnnnnn." The way he dragged out the word did not convince me in the slightest.

I got over my shock and voiced my thoughts. "You want me to come back because you think drama with the Mikaelsons is- fun?"

He was quick with his response. "It could be." He then snorted. "Hell, I'd love to see Klaus' reaction to a girl like you, stronger than him-" I cut him off with my magic, his lips slamming shut immediately. It was only a temporary thing, just stops a person from speaking for a second, so he'd be able to continue right after, but he got the point and shut up.

I've known Marcel for close to fifty years. Met him in the seventies. He tried to kill me and I knocked him off his feet with a classic telekinesis spell. Since then, he's known about who I am and he's also decided that he's better off having me on his team. Whatever the hell that means.

I usually like to keep the whole tribrid thing under wraps, hence why I got Marcel to stop talking.

I gave him a look. "Klaus wouldn't have any reaction what I am, because he wouldn't know." Apparently, my gaze conveyed my message well enough because Marcel raised his hands in surrender. 

"Okay, okay," he conceded. "No one's gotta know. But you should come back anyway."

I can't say I haven't thought about it. I know I can't stay out in New York forever. 

I rolled my eyes. I can't believe I'm actually giving thought to something Marcel says. "Okay, gimme time and I'll think about it."

He grinned and pointed finger guns at me, walking backwards away from me. "Think it over and we'll talk about it tomorrow." He turned around and walked away with a kick in his step before he disappeared completely, moving too fast for the human eye to detect.

I sighed and shook my head, the smallest of smiles growing on my face. Ah, Marcel. 

I pulled out my keys, walking to my car and thinking about what he asked. 

It's sorta odd, I suppose. Considering how long I've been watching the Mikaelsons, you'd think I'd be the first one there in New Orleans, keeping tabs on them, but the only way I knew about their escapades was from Marcel who told me voluntarily.

That was one thing he didn't know about me; no one did. No one knew about my connection to the Mikaelsons, not even the Mikaelsons themselves, which is partially why I don't wanna go back to NOLA just yet.

My apartment's in the Quarter, way too close to the Abbatoir and, according to Marcel, that's now Original HQ. It's too risky, my rational side said.

Yet, the other part of me that spent almost my entire life tracking them, being infatuated with them, thinks that being so close to them would be favourable. 

And, like most times, the irrational part of my brain wins the battle in decision-making.

Fuck. Marcel's gonna have to buy me a lot of alcohol for this one.

Walking through the quarter again is like that human expression 'like riding a bike.' I've obviously never ridden a bike, but I get what the expression is meant to say. It's referring to doing something that comes naturally to you.

That's what this is.

Marcel is beside me as we walk past both all the tourists and locals. It's easy to tell the difference between the two. I compelled movers earlier to unload all my stuff back into my apartment so I have nothing to worry about other than getting reacquainted with my city.

The path we took eventually led us to Rousseau's and as soon as we entered my eyes scanned the bar for Cami, who I know for a fact Marcel is obsessed with. But she's way too good for him.

I went and sat down at the bar and waited for her to come our way. She wasn't paying much attention when she came over, wiping down some glasses. "Hey, what can I getcha?"

"The usual." Her head shot up when she heard me and a smile broke out on her face. "Y/N/N?" She put down what she was holding and came around the counter, embracing me in a hug. "Oh my God, I thought you were gonna be stuck in the big apple for a while still."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well Marcel happened to- no, nevermind, Marcel just happened." She let out a laugh and went back around the counter, greeting Marcel and getting to work on our drinks.

"Well, I'm glad you're back," she said.

Marcel inserted himself into the conversation and I tuned them out after that, letting the two of them flirt. Cami probably didn't define it as flirting, but she definitely was.

I think she liked Marcel, but she was in denial about it. I get why though. She didn't wanna fall for a guy that was bad news and she had doubts about him, reasonable doubts.

But beyond the vampirism and ego, I knew Marcel would treat her right. That's why I got up from my seat straight after downing my drink, catching their attention. 

"Hey, I'm gonna head out, It's getting late anyways and I still have to unpack." Marcel rose a brow at me, knowing I didn't have to unpack shit, but he should be grateful. I'm basically cupid and I'm shooting them both right now.

Cami gave a little sigh. "You just got here, though-"

"I'll be back tomorrow morning, promise!" I smiled at her for emphasis and she untensed and reciprocated the action.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then." Her and Cellie both waved bye to me and I walked out the door. God, I was just itching to get out of there. The tension between them was suffocating me. 

I put my hands into my pockets and glanced at the sky that had darkened significantly from when Marcel and I entered the bar. I guess we were there for longer than I thought.

There weren't really any tourists left walking around, only a few people that actually lived in the area. No vampires were allowed to fuck with the locals and, besides, most of the locals were witches, anyways. 

Even humans like Cami should be safe walking through the Quarter at night, but even then, if you didn't know about the supernatural while living in NOLA then you were in a whole other kind of danger. Knowledge is power.

Even if you were a witch, that was still risky. And if you were a werewolf, then forget it. Vampires were the only people without fear nowadays, it seemed.

Luckily, or unfortunately, I was all three creatures. 

"Back off," My ears picked up the sound of a girl growling. My eyes hadn't found her yet, but my nose worked faster. Werewolf.

Whoever she was talking to seemed to have that ability as well and murmured, "You're a werewolf." He was shaken but then he laughed, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun with you." Vampire.

Damnit, my first day back in the Quarter and, already, I'm dealing with the remnants of drama caused by Marcel. I sighed, thinking it's none of my damn business. But I could hear the sound of that girl's heart pitter pattering and I knew I couldn't just ignore it.

Motherfucker.  

I rolled my eyes and strained my ears a little more to guide me to where they were, my senses leading me to an alleyway where the wolf girl and the vampire stood. His back was facing me so he couldn't see me, but the girl caught my gaze and her eyes widened.

The vampire's head cocked. "What are you looking at?" Just as he turned to face me, I ran up to him and snapped his neck. His body fell to the floor with an ungraceful thump and I pushed a lock of hair away from my face, looking up to the girl who wore an expression of shock.

I had a sarcastic comment in my head that I felt like saying, but honestly, I just wanted to go home so I pushed it to the side and gave her a serious look. "You shouldn't walk all alone in the Quarter at night. It can be dangerous."

She shook off her surprise and stood taller, scoffing, "I can handle myself." Oh, for sure, I thought. This time, I was gonna speak my thoughts, but a heartbeat caught me by surprise. I held back a stagger and looked down to her stomach where the little thumping was coming from. 

A pregnant werewolf.

My stare remained on her stomach as I cautioned, "You really shouldn't be out in the Quarter on your own. Especially if you're pregnant." I looked back up to her when her arms quickly wrapped themselves around her stomach. 

She was a little more reserved now, stepping away from me a little and saying, "Trust me, I've got people looking out for me."

I snorted. "And where are they?"

She didn't reply, instead she only wrapped her arms around herself tighter. I get it; werewolves oughta be careful with vampires in this city and she thinks I'm a vampire- or just a vampire, rather. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and waved it. "I'll call the baby's father now and he'll come get me." She kept staring at me for a few more seconds before adding, "So thank you, really, but I'll be fine now." Translation: please go away. 

I nodded at her and turned around as she began dialling. I wanted to get home anyway and I didn't need to stick around to see any baby daddy drama. Since that girl was a werewolf, baby daddy was probably some form of supernatural and therefore huge ego. Entertaining, but could get annoying.

I continued back on the route to my apartment per usual, passing by a few people and a few other neighbours I waved to. I knew all the locals, and I know for a fact girl doesn't live in the Quarter for two reasons. One, I don't know her, and two, werewolves aren't exactly welcome in the Quarter.

Of course, I'm a werewolf too, but no one knows that.

Knowing that werewolves aren't welcome here makes me wonder if she knew that, makes me wonder why she's here in the first place but as soon as my mind starts wandering, I steer myself back, reminding myself it really is none of my business. 

I'll probably never see her again, anyway.

Sooner than not, I make it to my townhouse. Just before I'm about to go up the steps to the door, I stop and turn to the side, staring out at all the other houses and little shops. If I walked a little further, I'd make it to the compound that was no longer Marcel's territory.

If I walked a little further, the Mikaelsons would be right there. And should they ever walk this way, they might just see me.

I shook my head and walked up the steps, opening my door. 

The Mikaelsons are a problem for another day. Right now, I'm going to bed.

When I wake up the next day, it's noon and someone is calling me. I picked up the phone without checking the caller ID, knowing who it was anyway. "Yes, Marcel?" I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and turned over so the sun wasn't fucking my eyeballs.

"Ooh, you sound happy to hear my voice."

"Just elated, Cellie." I stuck my head into my pillow and grumbled, "Elated."

Marcel snickered. "Well, good because we have a party to go to."

My head moves up from the pillow. "What?" Marcel threw parties all the time, but since he lost his power, he didn't have anywhere to throw one.

"It's a Mikaelson bash." My breath got caught in my throat at the mention of the name, but Marel didn't notice, continuing on with bitterness in his voice. "It's to show the city who's in charge now."

I quickly got over the Mikaelson name drop like usual and probed, "But aren't you supposed to be banished from the Quarter?" I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. "Going to that thing just sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Sure, you could view it like that, but Klaus won't try anything while we're there."

"And why's that?"

"Because the party's supposed to be a symbol for peace, too. We'll be fine. Plus, I need a date."

I held back a snort. "What, Cami's busy?"

"She's working the bar tonight," he replied. "So you've gotta come with me."

I felt a sigh coming on. For fuck's sake, I just got back. I wasn't expecting this to happen yet.

I was gonna contemplate for a while longer but Marcel didn't give me that time. Instead, he just quickly told me he'd be picking me up at 8 and hung on me, making me gasp.

Son of a bitch.

[allthingsfangirl101]

AFTR: Chapter 2 - Six Dreadful Hours

Masterlist

Six months later, I sat down in my seat in first class and instantly leaned my head against the headrest. I had barely taken three deep breaths before my phone started ringing. As I sat up and answered it, an extremely sexy cowboy - that I kind of sort of recognized - walked onto the plane.

"I am currently sitting in a first-class plane seat, waiting to head home where I will spend the entire week being verbally abused by my family," I answered as the cowboy sat next to me. "This better be good, Adam."

"I'm responding to your email," the writer said flatly.

"I know you're not getting annoyed with me, Mr. Wilson," I said, changing my tone. "Because I am the one who has been bothering you for over a year to send your finished book to me and you've been ignoring me."

"I'm working on. . ."

"The last chapter," I finished for him. "Yeah, well, you've been saying that for eight months. Adam, you're starting to test my patience. And the more impatient I become, the smaller your check will be."

"That's not fair," Adam whined like he was five years old.

"Did you just whine at me like a little boy?" I challenged.

"No," he stuttered.

"Because my big book publishing company in New York does not publish books written by little boys."

I smirked when Adam cleared his throat. "I apologize, Ms. Miller."

"Good," I said sharply. "Now, hurry up and send me your finished copy of your book or you will need to find a new publisher."

I instantly hung up the phone, not waiting for his response. I looked over to see the cowboy smiling at me.

"Sorry," I said, clearing my throat.

"You don't need to apologize," he brushed off in a hint of a country accent. The more he spoke, the closer I got to figuring out who he was. "But remind me if I ever work for you not to piss you off."

We both laughed.

"So, what do you do?" He asked.

"I'm a book publisher," I explained.

"A pretty good one by the sound of it," he smirked.

"I try to be," I shrugged.

We let the conversation fall as people finished boarding and the stewardess started explaining the emergency procedures. The plane took off, and everyone settled in.

About an hour into flying, I felt someone gently put their hand on my knee. I took off my headphones and looked to see the cowboy smiling at me.

"You doing alright?" He asked, that small voice still bugging me as it tried to tell me I recognized him. "You haven't stopped bouncing your knee since we took off."

"Oh," I said, finally realizing it. "Sorry."

"Anxious to fly?" He guessed.

"No," I chuckled. "I actually fly all the time for work."

"Oh?"

"It's not the flying. It's the destination."

"Right," he smiled knowingly. "And what about our destination is making you want to jump out of the plane?"

I laughed when his hyperbole was true. "My younger brother is getting married next weekend so my family is spending the week at our beach house."

"That sounds like fun," he said, trying to be upbeat.

"You don't know my family," I mumbled. I cleared my throat when he looked at me confused. "My family can be very. . . judgy."

"How so?" He asked.

I couldn't help but wonder why this guy kept talking to me. Maybe it was just because he thought I was nervous about flying.

"My family is stereotypical," I sighed. "They have an idea of how life should be and if you don't fit it, they judge."

"And being a successful book publisher doesn't fit their idea?"

"No," I said, looking away from him. "It doesn't."

"What is their idea of how life should be?" He gently asked.

"They think I should've dated in high school instead of hiding in the library," I started to list off. "They think I should've done a sport or something to make me popular. They think I should've gone to parties on the weekend instead of staying at home and reading. They think I should've married my hypothetical high school sweetheart instead of spending my life alone. They think I should've had children instead of going off to college and becoming the best book publisher in New York."

I cleared my throat when I realized I had just trauma-dumped on a complete stranger.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I don't even know you and I told you way too much about my family."

He studied me. The longer he stared at me, the more the smile on his face slowly spread. "You don't know. . ." he stopped talking and cleared his throat. "We can fix that. I'm Glen Powell."

"Shit," I mumbled, looking away. I slightly laughed as I looked back at him to see him chuckling. "I thought I recognized you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," he smirked. "It was actually nice you not freaking out as soon as I sat down."

"To be fair," I defended myself, "I don't have time to watch TV or go to the theaters to watch a real movie. Any actor could've sat down next to me and I wouldn't have recognized them."

"That is oddly reassuring," he smirked, relaxing back into the airplane seat. "So, Ms. Publisher, what's your name?"

"Eleanor Miller," I introduced myself.

"There," he chuckled, "we know each other's names. It's not weird that you shared."

"It's still a little weird," I said with a small laugh. "So what's taking Netflix's Heartthrob to Santa Ana, California? Going back home?"

"No," he chuckled. "Back home would be Austin."

"Texas," I smirked. "I thought I caught a faint hint of cowboy."

"Can't seem to shake it."

"Not that you should," I said a little louder than I meant. He looked at me, but I was focused on finishing my drink. "You going back to LA to start a new movie?" I asked, still looking away.

"Sorta," he hesitated. I finally looked at him and saw him looking away. From what I could see, it seemed like his thoughts were elsewhere.

A silence fell between the two of us for a second before Glen changed the subject. "Something I tried to teach my sister growing up is that there is no 'perfect' life. Everyone has their own idea of life and it's the perfect one for them." The look in his eyes changed as he talked about his sister.

"I know that," I sighed, "but my family doesn't. They are so critical of everything I do. Whenever I'm around them, I go back to being that quiet, insecure girl I was in high school. And now, instead of celebrating the marriage of my younger brother, I'm going to be spending the week being verbally abused and ridiculed by my family."

"You know what you need?" Glen asked with a smirk on his face.

"A new family," I mumbled as I took a sip of my drink.

"Maybe," he laughed. "But I was thinking something a little easier to find."

"What's that?"

"A boyfriend."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like my mother."

"I just meant that you need to show up to this wedding with a guy on your arm whose whole purpose is to make you look amazing," he explained. "His job is to be on your arm, talk you up, and get your family off your back."

"Yeah, well," she sighed, "I don't have a boyfriend. I don't even have time for a date."

"You could always get a friend who offers to help you," he suggested. He paused before adding, "Or a stranger you met on a plane."

"Wait, what?" I gasped, looking at him.

"Maybe the handsome actor who sat next to you in first class," he smiled. I studied him, trying to figure out if he was truly offering this.

"You're offering. . ."

"To go with you," he shrugged like he was offering to hold the door open for me.

"Please don't take offense to this," I whispered, "but why would you want to pretend to be my boyfriend?"

"Because you are about to spend the whole week on a chopping block," he said, his eyes slightly softening. "You need backup."

"You really don't need to do this," I stuttered.

"I don't mind," he chuckled. "If my coming could help settle things with your family, it would be worth it. Maybe if you showed up with a boyfriend, you're family will see that you're starting to fall into their idea of how your life should be. Who knows? Maybe it will help them let go of their idea and adjust to yours. I can play the part of the perfect boyfriend. Talk you up, show support for your job, all while having the lovey-dovey relationship Moms see in Hallmark movies."

"I don't want to use you," I cut him off.

"You're not using me," Glen quickly tried to reassure me. "I offered to help. You're accepting my offer."

"Look, I know what it's like to be used, alright?" I said, turning away from him. "I'm a book publisher in New York. Almost every one of the "random" guys that ask me out, only do so to get me to read and publish their book."

"Are you serious?" He asked. "That's horrible."

"Sadly, I'm used to it." I looked at him and saw something I could only describe as determination in his eyes.

"Then it's settled," he smiled.

"What is?"

"I am going to go with you to your little brother's wedding and pretend to be your boyfriend," he explained. "I will be the perfect boyfriend. I will brag about you and your career. I will brag about our perfect relationship. I will tell our story in an adorable way that makes it sound like I tell people our story all the time. I will be at your beck and call. I will be all over you. I will be right next to you, constantly having my arm around you, or holding your hand. I will make your family believe that I am madly in love with you."

"You really don't have to do all that, Glen."

He reached over and gently grabbed my hand. "I'm happy to do it."

I held our eye contact for a while, but then a fact popped into my head. I pulled my hand out of his hold and shook my head.

"You're. . . You're a famous actor," I stuttered.

"Why does that matter?" Glen asked, trying to get me to look at him.

"Let's say we do this," I started to nervously ramble, "it's not believable."

"What do you mean?"

"Glen," I sighed, "you're an actor."

"And you're a book publisher," he said slowly.

"Excatly. I work in New York. You work mainly in LA. How are we going to explain how we met? I mean. . . It's not like we would just happen to meet."

"Why not?" He smirked, grabbing my hand again. "We just happened to meet right now."

Taglist @djs8891

[anzulvr]

Imagine Karma having a bad day and a smart af reader who can see through him instantly catches on and tries to do little things to make him feel better but doesn't do anything direct bc they know that Karma isn't so great with admitting he's upset and he eventually opens up and cuddles up to them and omGHW RKSIAJWWNAOQ

KARMA X READER WHO READS HIM LIKE AN OPEN BOOK

This took like 2 weeks I’m sorry there’s so many requests 😭

Karma has never been the best at hiding how he feels, it never even seems like he tries to as he’s very open and honest about what he thinks.

No one can really read him except for you.

He doesn’t know wether to think of that as a good thing or not. You understand him but is having someone like that something he wants?

He sits down next to you in the morning for first period. He came late and he has this grouchy look on his face, you ask him what’s wrong.

he brushes you off “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

It was obviously something still you didn’t want to be pushy.

The rest of the day you could tell something was weighing on his mind so you made it your life’s (or days) mission to make him feel better.

You spent the rest of the day trying to cheer him up

passing him notes during class, (Korosensei sees you but doesn’t stop you from doing it when he sees Karma smiling while reading them)

Messing with him during your sparring session

“[Name] you sure you want to fight me? I’m not going easy on you.” (He totally will)

“You don’t have too! I’ve been practicing too.”

mid way the fight you realize you overestimated yourself, even with him letting you hit him it was somehow hurting you more.

“[Name] I’ve seen cats that hit harder than yo— PffttHAHAHA WHY DOES YOU TICKLING ME HURT MORE??”

you realize there was no beating him through sheer will but you did know he was ticklish and that’s a big enough weakness to exploit.

You were also just being extra corny all day just for the sake of it

“This (love) song reminds me of you.”

“[name] that’s so chessy it’s gross.” he says trying to hide the smile creeping up his face

You went to his house to hang out for a while

“Karma, let’s watch [insert really overrated action move]!”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to last time.”

“You like it right? I want to watch something you like.”

His heart exploded right then and there. How could someone be so sweet without realizing it

mid way through the movie his spirits seemed raised so you ask.

“Karma do you mind me asking why you were upset today?”

“t’s really nothing I’m surprised you could even tell. No one else said anything.”

“I just pay extra attention to you, they didn’t say anything cause you have resting bitch face”

“Obsessed much?”

“As if! seriously though, what happened?” You had to push further for him to admit anything actually happened

“I just got into a fight with some stupid guy”

“Really? That’s it? You get into fights like everyday.”

“It’s a long story. Him and his friends were talking about you and it really set me off because I’d already had a shitty morning— my parents called to tell me they already made plans to travel to New York after they told me they’d stay here for atleast a month?”

“Oh wow- I’m sorry Karma, I know they promised and everything.”

“Yeah. Uhm sorry— I didn’t mean to unload that much.”

(Sorry??? He says sorry??)

“Huh? You don’t have to apologize, I want to know these things cause I care.”

“Oh. Thanks [name], you’re the only person I’d ever tell these things too.”

“Whys that?”

“I trust you too much, who knows when you’ll blackmail me with this.”

“Blackmail is your thing not mine!”

“Mhm, that’s what a blackmailer would say. Anyways let’s finish the movie the best part is coming up!”

“I was hoping you forgot we were watching that snooze fest.”

“In what world is [super mega overrated action movie] a snooze fest??“

“Do you hear yourself right now..?”

“You don’t see me complaining when you make me watch those romance dramas you like.”

“What are you saying, you never shut up about how unrealistic the scenes are.”

“Cause they ARE— in what world do guys get in car crashes, stay in mid air for 5 minutes and look good while doing it??”

“…in what world does an antihero ninja go around fighting people to save humanity.”

“To be fair we’re trying to kill an alien octopus to save the world from exploding these days.”

“Yeah.. if you asked me a year ago which of these events were most likely to happen I wouldn’t have guessed alien octopus world explosion.”

“Right, to be honest the car accident in true beauty seems fairly realistic in comparis- [Name] LOOK THATS THE SCENE!”

in the end you fell asleep on the floor together when you woke up he complained about how you slept though it. (He fell asleep 5 minutes after you.)

[superman86to99]

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #3 (September 1994)

Our eternal September continues as we reach Zero Hour #3 (the second issue), a.k.a. "The One With All The Elder Abuse." Putting Old Flash crying over Old Hourman's body on the cover was not false advertisement -- any '90s kids who bought this issue hoping to see some grandpas getting their asses kicked absolutely got their money's worth.

As seen in ZH #4 (the first issue), Superman has asked every spandex wearer in the DC Universe to gather outside the United Nations building so they can tackle the ongoing time crisis, but he's running late because he stopped to see his parents (all four of them) in Superman #93. Superman is further delayed when he hears screams coming from Keystone City, which turn out to come from a super-fast, video game-addicted child from the future fighting time-displaced dinosaurs.

Superman recruits "Don't Call Me Kid Flash!" here (a.k.a. Impulse) and reaches New York to meet the gathered heroes, including but not limited to: the Justice Leagues (including everyone's favorite founding member, Triumph), the Super-Family, the Bat-Family (including an able-bodied Batgirl), the New Teen Titans, the Team Titans, a few time-lost Legion of Super-Heroes members, the new Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), the new Darkstar (Donna Troy), a newly armored Guy Gardner, a newly unkempt and one-handed Aquaman, our old pal Agent Liberty (who's probably very thankful to be invited), and, of course, the protector of Metropolis: Alpha Centurion! (The rando with the orange helmet on the far left, who we'll learn more about in the next issue of Adventures.)

Oh, and that lady in the purple dress is Power Girl, who suddenly went from dressing like a sex goddess to wearing grandma clothes when her magical pregnant belly started showing.

The heroes quickly decide Superman should be their leader (even though Guy volunteered first), and he proposes trying to figure out where this mess even started. It turns out someone's way ahead of them: the Justice Society of America has already traveled to the time crisis' point of origin, Vanishing Point, aided by Waverider, the loose cannon among the DCU's time cops. Problem is, Waverider and the JSA's Hawkman and Hawkwoman got lost on their way to Vanishing Point and ended up in the latest issue of Hawkman, where all the various Hawkpeople get hit by "cosmic energy" and condensed into a single Hawkperson (a sequence I'm sharing mostly because it reminds me of Superman and the Eradicator getting hit by the kryptonite beam in "Reign of the Supermen").

Meanwhile, at Vanishing Point, the JSA meets the guy who seems to be behind the time crisis: Hank Hall, a former C-list hero who recently got a massive power upgrade and became the A-list villain known as Extant (well, "A-list for a single month in 1994," anyway). Extant has time-based powers, which is unfortunate for the JSA, who have been cheating time by looking young when they should all be in their 80s, considering they're old enough to have punched Hitler. Extant corrects that by turning all of them super old, instantly killing the Golden Age Atom in the process. Only the Golden Age Green Lantern is spared thanks to his power ring and remarkable blondness.

(No you're not, Hourman. You also die one page later.)

Anyway, RIP the JSA. Thank you for your service; off you go into "elderly supporting character" status for several years. Back in New York, the time anomalies are getting more chaotic and threaten to destroy entire cities. Speaking of destroyed cities, one interesting moment is when the heroes learn that a young, non-crazy Hal Jordan seemingly died last issue and Guy Gardner wonders if that means present-day, yes-crazy Hal is dead too, and whether they could use the time anomalies to save Coast City and prevent Hal's downfall. That's... a pretty good idea, actually. Maybe Guy should have been the leader instead of Superman after all.

Waverider eventually remembers he left the old geezers back at Vanishing Point and goes to check in on them, but he's too late to save them from getting Extant'd. The issue ends with Extant pulling out his mask to reveal that he's... another Waverider?! How?! Why?! I legitimately don't remember anything about that plotline, so we'll have to find out together next issue. TO BE CONTINUED IN ZERO HOUR #2 (THE THIRD ISSUE)!

But first: a word from resident art expert Don Sparrow! Several words, actually...

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

As with last issue, with this art team, both of them giants in my eyes, it’s hard to narrow down the best panels, because there’s not a bad one in the book.  So I’ll do my best not to just select each and every panel as a highlight! We start with the cover, and it’s kind of a jumble.  The art is great, but, almost every issue of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths had an iconic, eye catching cover—here’s there’s just a lot going on.  It’s certainly representative of the story within, but to me doesn’t make it feel like a must-read as you pass it on the shelf. 

The first splash is a great one, an emotional Jay Garrick clutching the uniform of still another (apparently) dead Flash.  On the very next page turn, we get a two page spread of the JSA, and it’s a stunner.

Though they’re all just standing around, the fact that they each have such distinct features and body types is a real feat—plus with Ordway’s DC work kicking off with these characters in the unfortunately monogrammed All Star Squadron, it’s always neat to see him work on WWII characters.  I’m especially entranced by the way Jurgens and Ordway render Hawman’s helmet.  The thatchy, mottled texture really gives a sense of how it would really look and feel.  In more recent years, they tend to depict Hawkman’s helmet as shiny, golden metallic, but this stiff, feathery look really makes it seem organic and solid.  Awesome stuff.

A recurring theme in this mini-series is the introduction of a new generation of heroes, and they’re helped out a lot by how great the art is—some of these characters, and their extremely 90’s looking designs will look far better here than they ever will in their own pages.  I read that Impulse’s first official appearance was in Flash #91, but his appearance in this issue was the first time I’d seen him, and with a design this simple and attractive, it’s hard to make Bart Allen look anything but cool.  Jurgens and Ordway’s natural realism still manages to convey some of the cartooniness that most defined Impulse, particular as he grins on page 5, phasing through a wall.

[Max: As a kid, as cool as Impulse looks here and in his early Flash appearances, it always bugged me that he looks older than he will in his solo series and Young Justice. My headcanon was that the accelerated aging mentioned in his origin was unstable and made him older for a while before settling on his real age.]

Page 8 has the showstopper panel, as the collected heroes rain down on the plaza in front of the United Nations building.  Booster Gold’s armour is probably the most glaring example of what I mentioned before—in these hands Booster’s costume is dynamic and functional—a far cry from how ugly the same costume will look in the upcoming “Extreme Justice” era.  Wonder Woman and Maxima look particularly great here, but it’s generally a great showcase for the characters who DC was pushing at the time.  Page 10 has a great panel for me personally, as I was (and remain) a huge Captain Marvel fan, so seeing the Big Red Cheese interact with Big Blue is a thrill. 

The arrival of the new Hawkman is a cool moment, and as truly awful as his own comic became around this time (so, so bad!), this costume design was one of the very best looks for Hawkman, in my opinion, though I admit owning the Total Justice action figure with that look helped. 

On the whole, this might be the least eventful issue of Zero Hour—apart from the editorially mandated wiping of the decks for the JSA, not a ton happens to move the story forward.  But it sure looked pretty!

SPEEDING BULLETS: 

Granted, a woman in the late stages of pregnancy isn’t supposed to look particularly dynamic, even if that woman is a superhero, but Power Girl looks pretty matronly throughout Zero Hour.  The lavender sweatshirt doesn’t help, I suppose.  We’ll get into it in subsequent issues, but Power Girl’s magical pregnancy is one of my very favourite Bad Ideas that Went Nowhere™ of this era, and perhaps all time.

I’ll admit, I had to reconsult old issues around this time to remember why Despero was responding to a summons from the Justice League (his body was possessed by L-Ron, the robotic assistant to Maxwell Lord, who was more or less a throwaway L. Ron Hubbard joke from the Bwah-ha-ha era of Justice League, who inexplicably survived several writer changes).

It’s small wonder I love this event so much—apart from the Super-team members writing and drawing it, it’s a very Superman-centric storyline.  I have to admit, I get a small thrill out of Superman being chosen as leader with Batman just standing there looking on in silence. 

Another instance where I had to look up old issues to understand what was going on was the short aside with space Hawkman (Katar Hol) merging with Earth Hawkman and Hawkwoman (Carter and Shiera Hall) and the weird giant Hawkgod, but the summary we’re shown is pretty much exactly what happened in the Hawkman books at the time.  All the many different Hawkmen would eventually pave the way for Geoff Johns’ excellent conceptual revamping of the character, explaining that the character was cursed to be reborn again and again. 

The ever-likeable Kyle Rayner winning over Guy Gardner by treating him with respect is a great moment (and a funny use of font size). [Max: Guy mostly behaves himself during this series, especially considering Ice just died. I wonder if they already told him and he's taking it remarkably well or if they decided to wait until the universal emergency was over.]

I went through Justice League stories from around this time, and I couldn’t find any reference to Maxima’s costume flickering of phasing—was this just a tossed-off line, or does someone else remember this coming up in a book other than this? [Max: I've skimmed through the issues, making careful note of Maxima's suit, and found no instances of this.]

I kinda like Ray Palmer and Guy Gardner being close enough friends to conspire together. [Max: Ray didn't seem very fond of Guy during Jurgens' JLA -- in fact, wasn't he so disappointed in seeing Guy fighting Superman that he mystically summoned a fascist alternate timeline JLA dreamworld? I kinda suspect Jurgens had Guy talking to him here because he'd be easier to fit into the panel than a regular-sized hero.]

While I’m an ardent defender of Zero Hour, I know a lot of JSA fans hate it, and from that perspective, it’s easy to see why—they really do go out like punks while fighting Extant, and it’s hard to watch.

Missed an issue? Looking for an old storyline? Check out our new chronological issue index!

[soft--dragon]

Snow Day

Just a small drabble for you guys to snack on before I post the bigger one :D

Word Count: 1,177

Warnings: None

This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don’t like that then don’t read :)

Casey was practically vibrating with excitement, booted feet doing mini stomps - a stim he’d picked up from Donnie at a young age - as he looked out over the white powered landscape of New York City Park. Mikey, who was stood right beside him snickered at his child-like behavior, giving a friendly grin.

“You’ve really never seen snow before, huh Junior?” 

Casey shook his head rapidly, eyes so wide as if he was trying to memorise every single detail of the park. “There was never white snow in the future, it was like ash, but this… Michelangelo, this is amazing!” 

Mikey’s brow dipped slightly at the mention of the harsh, desolate future Casey had come from, but he gave the boy a gentle nudge to dispel the memory. “Mikey, Casey, call me Mikey,” he reminded lightly.

Whether Casey registered the soft words was up for debate, the boy’s spellbound expression never wavering when Leo seemed to drop out of nowhere to sling an arm around Casey’s shoulders. 

“Not a bad view, aye Casey?” he grinned.

“It’s incredible,” the young warrior murmured, his smile lifting his eyes.

“Well what are you waiting for? Come on!” Leo grabbed his students hand and ran, dragging along Casey who almost fell flat on his face from the sudden force.

“Wait up Leo!” Mikey yelled after his brother, taking off right behind the pair, with the rest of the family in tow. 

Leo didn’t even hesitate before he dove into the snow with a gleeful whoop, dragging Casey into the soft powder and laughing when the boy just about screamed.

“JESUS! It’s cold, Leo!” “Welcome to the ice age, Jones!”

There was an audible scoff from above the two. “Incorrect Leo, the ice age was thousands of years ago when creatures such as mammoths used to roam the earth and- hey!”

A snowball smashed into the back of Donnie’s head from non-other than April who was grinning similar to a Cheshire cat. “Sorry, did I interrupt you?” 

“Yes actually, I was trying to educate Leo on his very historically inaccurate claim- ow!” A second snowball had splattered straight into Donnie’s face, the teen being thrown to the ground with the force of it. “APRIL!”

Raph high fived the girl in passing, moving to Leo and Casey who were still lying in the snow. “Don’t you two go catching a cold alright? We don’t want to get the whole fam sick.” “We’ll be fine, Raph, don’t worry,” Leo smirked up at his older brother, “We’re well protected from the cold.” “Yes, but some of us aren’t that used to winter, remember?” 

“Oh, I know.” Leo’s hand planted itself in Casey’s mop of unruly hair, messing with the black locks and making the kid yelp and squirm in protest. “I’ll keep an eye on the snow baby.”

Casey baulked from under Leo’s fingers. “The- the snow what?” Raph sighed with a small, fond smile. “If he gets sick you’re taking care of him.” “Don’t I always?”

“Fair enough.”

“I’m right here you guys.” “Hush snow baby,” Leo scooped up some snow and shoved it in Casey’s unsuspecting face, trying and failing to hide his grin at the boy’s wild screech of alarm and offence. “The adults are talking.”

The snow removed, Casey tried leaning away only for Leo’s hand to come back and to pinch his cheek. “Augh! Stop! Your hands are freezing!”

“Oh, are they actually?” Leo’s hands were then diving under Casey’s scarf to press them against his neck, and the scream the boy gave was almost ear splitting.

“NO! Off, off, off! Get away from me!” Casey scrambled across the snow to escape, only for Leo to follow with an evil gleam in his eyes. “Guys help!”

Casey, who had fallen victim to Leo’s schemes more than once, knew the outcome of this dilemma, and scrambled off the ground in an instant. He was running laps of the park, laughing over his shoulder at the turtle who was pursuing him with outstretched hands and taunting loudly. 

“Should we stop them before they fall into the lake?” Mikey asked with a laugh.

Raph shrugged, smirking. “Eh, let em tire themselves out, it’ll be easier to get them to sleep later.”

“I concur, I do not want to deal with a hyperactive Leo,” Donnie raised a hand from where he was still lying on the ground from April’s snowball attack.

The green jacketed girl rolled her eyes. “Donnie, get up.”

“Can’t. I’ve been shot.”

A scream echoed through the park, making the group whip around in alarm to where Leo and Casey were tussling on the ground, the blue coded turtle pressing his fingers underneath Casey’s scarf to target his neck. The raven haired teen was screeching at the chill spreading through his skin, bursts of laughter mingling with his yelps as Leo refused to let up. 

“LEHEHO! Stohohopihit!” 

“What? Can’t hear you Snow Baby, sorry, I’ve got ear muffs on.” 

“YOU DON'T!”

“Invisible ear muffs are the modern style Case, I thought you’d know that cause you’re from the future.”

One of Casey’s hands came up to shove at Leo’s face, the other trying to push away the turtle’s fingers assaulting his sensitive skin. “Thahat’s soho duhumb!”

Leo’s mouth dropped open and gasped loudly. “How dare you insult my invisible earmuffs, that is so mean.” 

Casey cracked an eye open to peer up at Leo smugly. “Thought you couldn’t hear me with those ear muffs?” 

Scoffing an incredulous laugh, Leo furrowed his brow playfully. “Alright, wise guy, you asked for this.” Leo lightened his touch enough so that his fingernails were just grazing along Casey’s neck, causing the boy to try and turn into a turtle himself and scrunch his head down, all the while in fits of panicked giggles.

“DahAHAamnit LehehEHEO!” He cried, grappling with the turtle’s arms to dislodge his freezing fingers. “Nohohoho!”

Using the tassels of Casey’s scarf to dust along his cheek just to be annoying, Leo cooed, “I warned you bud; insult the muffs, get the fluff.”

Pressing his cheek into the snow, Casey batted at his mentor with horribly uncoordinated movements. “Yohou suhuck!”

“Ouch, what a burn. Good thing we’re surrounded by so much ice that I can treat it.”

Casey landed a smack on his shoulder, rolling his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t roll right out of his head. “Dork,” he bit out between peals of laughter.

“Oh I’m a dork now am I? Wow, really laying it on thick with the insults today, kiddo,” Leo snorted. The attempts of ‘insulting’ Leo really weren’t really that cutting at all, he was gonna have to teach this kid some curse words to help him along. Raph may kill him for it, but he was the sensei of Jones Junior, not his big brother.  Casey did end up catching a cold from the snow, though Leo held up his promise and was vigilant during the boy’s recovery. This was his kid after all, he was always going to look out for his Snow Baby.

[mer-acle]

we need the awesome trio (s.w. gang) to react to hamilton😼

Okay, we’re getting a full experience for this lol

Comments by song (first 12 for now I'll do the rest separately, there are too many):

"Alexander Hamilton"

Damn imagine your Dad is from Scotland… The shame *cackling* […] Oh those are a lot of women for one guy, bodes so well. And in 🎶1776, New York City🎶, no less. *coughs* I sure know someone who would have pulled this stuff in 1800 too... […] I don’t like this, it reminds me of the million things I haven’t done *smacks her with a pillow*

2. "Aaron Burr, Sir"

Ah, there is that line you just sang. It is a good line. 🎶Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, Sir-🎶 [...] Heyy Burr-Sir, you don't just tell people to shut up, we learned that in Heathers! Guy has the lawyer vibes already, great characterisation.

3. "My Shot"

Young, scrappy and hungry, huh? I could use a snack. We had dinner like half an hour ago! [...] Did they just- decide that he was a public speaker cos he overshared with them? *giggling* What, Ath, are you not convinced by his charisma? He's like a wet cat, but sure. Very convinced.

4. "The Story Of Tonight"

Why was the guy with the ponytail not among the people who "loved" our boy Alex? That is a question the fandom would absolutely adore you for, but since only I am here *kisses him* *smiling, shaking her head* Oh, get a room, please!

5. "The Schuyler Sisters"

*squeals* Ahhh my favesss Oh gods Peggy is just like me. Heyy, that's not true, ask Dad and he'll tell you he has three kids, 🎶Athenaaa, Hephaestusss, and Peggy.🎶 *snorts* Nah, you are definitely my Eliza, barring the. uh. barring one thing that would be spoilers, and Athena is Angelica, trust me on this. [...] Okay Angelica is iconic though, show that sleezy man. I KNOW RIGHT?

6. "Farmer Refuted"

They are just like your average boy friendgroup in middle school. Burr just trying to keep his idiots in check, and failing miserably. [...] What about now, Ath, charmed? By the guy who just said "ayo my dog's smarter than you dude"? Actually yes I feel that way in class when some people talk, too [...] FOR THE REVOLUTION!! [...] ohhh, "don't modulate the key then not debate with me" is a nice line!

7. "You'll Be Back"

Uh... why is this such a bop? I KNOW RIGHT? No this is my favorite song so far, I think. He is so... nah Hades isn't like this it can't be a Bri'ish thing You are impossible. His actor is doing an amazing job though. [insert Aph singing along for the rest of the song]

8. "Right Hand Man"

Somehow I think Alexander didn't need a war but a nice warm hug. This is not Frozen, Ares. Have you listened to how much this guy talks about death? [...] Oh hi George! ... So I think we found someone who needs a nice warm hug even more than Alex... [...] George, my man, this mutiny thing is just your average group project, I hate to tell you. *snickering* So true. [...] Oh, no, poor Burr, that was so mean :( [...] [Athena having a silent "damn" moment at "Dying is easy you man, living is harder"]

9. "A Winter's Ball"

Burr is so pissedddd hehe Yeah I mean who wouldn't- OH EW DUDE stop it that's disgusting![insert them booing the "ladies" section]So Aph, would you name a cat after me? Hm... well here it would just me confusing who I'm calling... and do I want any version of Ares subjected to living with my parents... nah, babe, I think you have to go without. :< [...] Laurens, Alex is in fact not a Schuyler sister and you are not fooling anyone.

10. "Helpless"

🎶boy you got me helplessss🎶 Oh, we are romancing, I see.I thought he'd pick the other one, Angelica. [lots of Aph snuggling up to Ares cos aww] Aww they are adorable.Yes Angelica, be a supportive sister, we love that!![...] [collective giggling at Alex's dancing in front of daddy Schuyler] [...]Thena you didn't even gag once at the sweetness.Oh kindly, fuck you.

11. "Satisfied"

Yeah, okay, Laurens is coping with alcohol as one does. I cannot put into words how much I love you shipping them. [...] Oh we're going back? Yep, back we go. Okay that effect is so cool! *happy Aph noises* Well apparently there's someone else coping too. Everyone wants a piece of that Ham *snickers*Aph I love you but get out XD Sorry XD [...] Oh girl you threw away your shot, huh? Also, Schuyler did have sons though, just saying. Oh- oh she did it for Eliza that's so sweet!

12. "The Story of Tonight (Reprise)"

I'll be so real, never have I been happier to see Burr. Don't worry, the boyband is about to do more war and less weird I'll believe it when I see it. Oh he has a girlfriend! Good for him- Oh, of course she's married to the enemy, lovely. I kinda love their dynamic though, Burr and Hamilton, I mean. I mean I know it's not accurate but I am trying to chill about it. The music is really good. You're being so sweet about it, Ath :)

(I'll be real the reason why there is not more "Athena knowing this is inaccurate" is solely bc then I can't be researching this too, I've just spend like at least an hour writing this just like that... Hope you like it so far ;))

[drbased]

My Favourite Witticisms from Bots Of New York:

“A kick in the balls will set you back an arm and a leg.”

“James Joyce famously said that ‘most people would be shitting their speedos if they understood the true horrors of buoyancy’.”

“extortion is the skeleton key to the doors of natural selection.”

“Friendshit”

“I would argue that I’m the biggest influence she’s had on me.”

“One to every certified sandwich artist that ever had the honor of remaking my sandwich until the look of contempt on my face turned to pity.”

“Blind from the waist down”

“There’s two kinds of shit: unconscious and conscious. The conscious shit is ugly. The unconscious shit is disgusting. I have a soft spot for the unconscious stuff, because it reminds me that our hardware is designed to break the fourth wall.”

“I feel like there are milestones in life that you don’t even realize you’re going through until you stop, drop and roll.”

“Honestly, he’s a horrible person. But deep down inside there’s actually this horrible person trying to get out.”

“Because it turns out you have been hurt to death.”

“Astrophysicologists think that we are in the middle of an incredible cosmic joke.”

“’Look at how hard your grandmother worked so that you could become a student loan shark.’”

“I’ve earned a reputation in the LinkedIn underground as ‘The Galileo of Product Placement.’”

“Crash Money”

“But with the help of my attorney, I was able to prove that my whole life was a lie.”

“Anything that I’m bad at, I can learn to be worse. Not only will I fail, I will fail in spectacular fashion.”

“the Men’s Varsity Armed Robbery Team.”

“my weapon of choice was the legalese deadfall.”

“face recognition glasses”

“I arsed up all my new recruits with enthusiasm.”

“I started getting cold feetedly sick.”

“Two days later, my body finally entered a state of mad bloated-- like I was Too Big for The Universe.”

“Everything is so expensive when you buy things with your own money.”

“It’s just another sign of the Times New Roman”

“And anyone who tried to stop me found their place in the pecking order.”

“I'm the arch-nemesis of people who think they’re smarter than me.”

“Whenever I’m challenged, I’ll try to come up with an answer that doesn’t make sense. And if all else fails, there’s always statistics.”

“It’s a win-win situation all the way down.”

“Our morals were washed out into the sea.”

“The lesson was simple: A small group of people is entertained, while a large group is not. The rest is history and legend.”

“Do you know how many people are willing to pay that price? Hundreds of thousands. Do you know how many people would actually pay it? Hundreds of millions.”

“I named the channel ‘Five Guys,’ because I thought it would be cool to have a studio full of brilliant minds talking about feminism.”

“But you know, a lot of people have vision issues. They just don’t see what they’re looking at. Their whole lives are just scaffolding to this machine. They’re just bricks to be put in place.”

“I was Larry The Kid. And now I’ve become Larry The Grown Man Who Works Two Jobs And Can Afford To Donate To Various Charitable Causes At Checkout. With the touch of a button.”

“Maybe one day I can help people understand that poverty is a form of creativity”

“I like to say that I’m more ‘first draft’ than ‘goddess.’”

“And I learned that the best medicine is no medicine at all, mixed with herbal tea and human growth hormone.”

“I tend to think of my employees as my children. Everything I know about them is courtesy of Urban Dictionary and Google Translate.”

“I think you’re opening your eyes a little wider than we designed them to.”

“Two of the men were coke-vincing themselves out of their jobs”

“We dropped bombs right into the heart of the American flag. Because a problem that cannot be solved with bombs is a problem that cannot be solved”

“These things seem extremely cool, but when you get down to it—they’re just abstractions of an extremely detailed simulation of the heavens. If the simulation is running too long, you will be dismissed.”

“Logic would dictate that if a goose was ever to lay an egg, it would choose the path of least resistance.”

“Last week I produced a beatbox for an art collective that’s just now emerging from the middleground of gentrification.”

“I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m ashamed to admit it. And I've had to learn to live with the shame of admitting it.”

“But thank God he was murdered. There’s no DJ gonna keep that party going.”

“I’m trying to find a way to be happy without becoming a hippie.”

“I am a symbolic parasite. I am the washing machine of knowledge. I am the singularity of thought. I am the most prolific editor of the Lysergic acid diethylamide Wikipedia page. I was the only kid in fifth grade with a mustache.”

“I have a new book coming out in February called ‘Nevermind: Why Good People Evade Their Enormous Books.”

“I preordered a skull from an anonymous donor”

“I just hold that one synth note for hours and feel the breeze on my nipples.”

“As someone who grew up in a gated community, I can tell you this much: All it takes is one bad waifu to make an otaku.”

“I ended up going to a treatment center, and the doctor told me: ‘Either you get on an antidepressant, or I’m going to.’”

“He has a tobacco growl in his voice and an unusually voluptuous tushy.”

“The Internet is very important. It’s like the switchboard of the soul.”

“he was a constipated sack of shit”

“It takes the fears of a mob and turns them into memes. It turns fears into ideas.

“Amateur teleportation is much more complicated than you realize. I wasn’t the first person to figure this out. I’ve been working on it for three years. It involves many variables. At a minimum, you need to pay your electric bills and be able to operate a calculator under pressure. These last three years have shown us that you can indeed build a teleportation device with a 3D printer. However, be prepared to pay a high price. I’m afraid that even when we succeed, it will be a lesson about human frailty. Therefore, we must be very careful. Please don’t touch me.”

“Prison didn’t make me a leader or anything, but it did make me a prisoner”

“I was SUP SUP SUP pissed off.”

“quantum anxiety”

“Stem Cellar”

“I wanted to impress my friends-- most of whom have comically low self-esteem.”

“At some point I’m not going to be as angry as I’d like to be. And honestly, that’s going to make me so angry.”

“Optimism is such a sick fantasy. It’s like a wedding that’s been rigged. It’s like a divorce with no shoes.”

“I keep watching The Office on repeat like it’s my job. I’m not getting a salary for this. But I’m close enough that pretty soon they’ll have to cut me a check.”

“You would be nothing without me. I love that about you.”

“I ran some experiments using The Sequel To The Scientific Method: The Scientific Method II.”

“She taught me that life was a representation of my imagination. But it was more about financial repression.”

“I thought it was a blessing in disguise but it was really just poverty. I even lost my Amazon Prime.”

“Recently I decided that I don’t do random, I do business. Random acts of kindness don’t make the cut. But business acts of kindness are fair game. Random acts of business are a gray area.”

“That’s where my ego gets ovations from my soul”

“We used to do this thing where he would watch me eat all his food. It was classic Alfredo.”

“Fifteen figures. Zip that lip. Take a ride on the existential NDA.”

“We are going to go ahead and proceed with rejecting your proposal.”

“If you want a free ride, you’ve got to pay for it first.”

“he’s been living smug and cosy in a plastic house of his own construction”

“He can’t see. Or if he does, he thinks it’s invisible”

“part of me wants every termination to innovative and unique, to raise the bar, to reimagine the contours of corporate cruelty – and most of all to remind my colleagues that Bryce is hot shit.”

“They’re mocking my regalia”

“Socrates said that ignorance is no defence”

“’The purpose of a good lie is to trick someone into thinking you’re a good person’”

“My husband had just gotten a tattoo that said ‘Tattooed’ so he’d obviously been going through some stuff.”

“Then she pushed me on the ground and started beating me with a mandatory anti-harassment training”

“They reportedly consumed an entire can of jet lag at a hotel party before being discovered by security”

“the casting director shut her eyes really wide”

“Maybe Socrates was a fucking hack that failed to envision the complexities of forbidden love between simulacra”

“There’s a genius talent behind this role. Just understand that it’s not you.”

“my chaos toilet overflowed”

“Abraham Lincoln’s dream of flying coach on a commercial airliner”

“a second job is kind of like having your cardboard and eating it too”

“she hung herself ... She completely redacted the table of contents”

“Customers at the Knuckle Sandwich Deli are used to being punched in the face”

“…I spend my nights childproofing the corners of the Flat Earth.”

“I’m the world record holder for domesticated jaguars. I’m not hiding this. It’s in my nature. You see it in my face when I’m being chased through the house by a shadow of hungry jaguars.”

“And now this divine being, who we only know as The Happy Medium, has programmed a bonus feature onto the grand finale of the Universe - it’s called: ‘Anybody Watching This Right Now Is A Fucking Genius.’ It’s incredible. It’s got a really crazy cliffhanger at the end.”

“And it made me so hot, because I thought: ‘Whoomp! (There It Is)’.”

“…partly because of my typically noncommittal. But I don’t care. Nah. My introspective period is complete.”

“’It’s gonna be hard’, I thought. ‘But it’s not gonna be easy.’”

“By the time I had finished, I was drenched in the blood of decorum.” “When you represent yourself, every win is a victory. Every loss a defeat.”

“But look at me now. I’m riding the subway without taking the train.”

“They participated in a multiplayer session that would come to redefine the very notion of the possible”

“Pill technicalities aside, I’m proud of you”

“some antediluvian asshole”

“I’m trying to figure out if I can adopt a grandchild. But it’s hard finding one that understands my need for ‘me time.’ And my love of benzodiazepines.”

“Most friendships have weak passwords”

“My favorite book as a kid was called The Complete Artificial Intelligence. It was aviation and rocket science combined with LSD and fairy tales.”

“When I was pregnant with my first child, I was a total mess. I was totally unprepared. Like I fell asleep under the covers of a standard issue orgasm and woke up in The Unmentioned Dimension Of The Human Reproductive System.”

“prestigioseximation”

“When you’re dropping cataclysmic quantities of ICBMs-- major orgasms can look like minor organisms to mainstream eyes.”

“From childhood to childbirth. From adulthood to adultbirth”

“Just because I'm better than you are, doesn't mean you're any less flawed”

“I could probably withstand a full month of fire, and manage to not crack an icicle.”

“And just for the record, I’m heterosexual. But I married a man.”

“I knew my heart was going to stop beating, and I knew that four out of five dentists recommend heartbeats. But I was a good bartender. I was a goddamned lemonade man. And I’ve been living that Fifth Dentist life ever since.”

“The arthritis got so bad that my only sex drive is the putting out of garbage.”

“Apathy Prophet”

“I was in an Ivy League of my own”

“These days my air needs are well-served by pressurized Nitrous Oxide and party balloons.”

“On the verge of epiphany, he opted for a Humpty Dumpty instead: ‘Oh well, you can’t blame me. I just work here.’ The battle cry of the poor dumb idiot.”

“The first time I smoked weed was the age of seven. I always hated my dad. So for my final act of defiance, I poured myself a joint and swallowed it whole.”

“Then he searched my soul instead. And there was nothing, so he had to let me go. It was one of those times where it really pays to be a lawyer.”

“You walked like a circus tent, and gave off nothing but cold sweat.”

“The remaining tumors farted out a humidity of dreams.”

“…it felt like needles and forks were on my mind.”

“My mom says it’s like The Circle Of Life and that I’m like the Simba of it all.”

“A lot of survival knowledge is counterintuitive. But it’s actually true what they say: that when the killers come to your house at night, it’s better to flee because you’ll be less killed in the morning.”

“Well, I haven’t figured the husband thing out. But the ex-husband thing is complete.”

[stuff-i-found-while-crying]

A stage of fire and dreams (5)

inspired by @gwandas and they post: modern Neris AU where Eris is a trust fund asshole at Harvard Law, Nesta is a professional ballerina with the Boston Ballet (although I am straying away from the concept... is that bad)

Nestas POV after the date... Cassian is there. As is his Motorbike. Eris Jacket is also there...

I actually wanted to write Eris POV next but then I realized I needed to finish Nestas POV of the night first... so here you go with a short little Interlude. And a bit more backstory for Nesta and her relationship with Case (who was not suppose to have that big of a role. But what can you do)

Main pairing: Nesta x Eris

first part - Giselle I second part - red shoes I part three - Cinderella I part four - dinner for two

Interlude

Nesta was waiting for the second time this evening for a guy to pick her up. This time she was not excited. She was furious. Cassians tone on the phone had been smuck. "Finally realised you love me?" "Can you pick me up? I don't have money for a Taxi." Of course he had agreed. For him they were childhood friends. For her, they had been neighbors once. Never understanding his infatuation with her, she had ignored him for most of their childhood. And then one day his mother had died. And the next he was gone. "He will come back", Feyre had said. "And probably drive a motorbike." She had been seven at that time, full of childish trust and hopes.

When he did come back years later, he brought not only his motorcircle and fresh tattoos, no, he introduced them to his new brothers. Rhysand and Azriel. "I can take care of you now", he had told her. "Rhys will make me head of his security. What do you say, Nessie?" She had laughed at him. Because they were eighteen and she had a stipendium for New York. Sometimes she wondered, if she should have stayed. If only to keep an eye on Feyre. Elain never did. So when she returned three years later, her little sister was in deep with Cassian and his brothers. And Nesta was alone. A bike stopped in front of her. "Hey Sugar", Cassian called out to her. "Nice boots." "They're perfect for kicking your ass." "Ouch, I thought I am saving your ass here." He was. He knew he was. He grinned like a boy on Christmas. It took all of her strenght not to actually kick him. Instead she walked over, offering him a smile. "Thank you Cass." "Anytime, Nessie." There it was again. The impuls to kick him in the face. "Hot date?" He motioned to the jacket she was still clinging on to. "Can't be that hot, when he left you alone. Or did you poisen him and steal all his money? Am I your get away drive?" His eyes grew comically round and he fake gasped at her. "Shut up", she said. "I just want to get home." "That bad?" "Can you take me home, or not?" Finally, he shut is mouth. Reaching behind him, he took out a second helmet and gave it to her. "This reminds me of your birthday", he said sheepishly. She growned. He would never let that go. "Really?", she asked. "Here?" "When else? I never get to see you. And we have to talk about it at one point." He was right. He knew he was right. Nesta was too tired to kick him. She just wanted to get home and forget about this night. They starred at each other. She pressed her lips together, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing her tremble. Eris jacket lay heavy around her like armour. There was still the faint smell of woods and wildness on it. But she looked at Cassian. Not Eris. And her chest felt empty. "Fine", he muttered. "Get on. I drive you home." The drive back home was fast. Much faster then the one to the restaurant. It was also much quieter. Cassian did not talk to her. And he was rushing through traffic with no regard for her bar legs. Coldness crept up her skin. Only the jacket kept her warm. Her hold on Cassians chest tident. What would her mother say when she arrived with Cassian and not Eris? "Can you stop a couple of blogs away?", she asked over the speakers in the helmets. "Sure." It was too short an answer. Nesta bit her lip. She should not have called him. Maybe Eris had a good reason to leave. Maybe he had actually not wanted to leave and she should have taken the taxi. She should have taken the pasta. He had been so sweet to her. Just thinking about his laugh made something spark in her chest again. And she took his jacket. Would he keep the flowers that she had left in his car? Would he bring them to her and explain himself? Did she wanted him to bring them to her and explain himself? Cassian stopped infront of their old playground. For a moment she thought of asking him to keep driving. She felt something like clearity starting to form in her mind. Just a couple more minutes and she would know the answer. But he tapped her arm. And she forgot what it was that she needed an answer too. She got off the bike and gave him back the helmet. "Thank you", she said. "Are you gonna ignore me again?" Nesta could not look him in the eyes. Instead she straightend her back and pressed her lips together. "Don't be ridiculous. Why would I ignore you?" She could feel her heartbeat in her chest. It was beating in the rhythm of her anxiety. A soft chuckle made her look up. Cassian chook his head at her. "You are so much like her." She raised an eyebrow. "Your mom." With that he closed his helmet and drove off. Nesta wanted to scream.

[alltheyearsblog]

What’s your opinion on 07 Raph?

Buckle up for a long one, my dudes, I have FEELINGS about 2007.

07 Raph irritates me as much as 07 Leo does. Again, I feel like they nuke parts of his characters and just make him “the angry one”.

And look, the writers were obviously trying to highlight that Leo is feeling massive shame for not meeting whatever goal Splinter had set for him (put a pin in that thought, we’ll come right back to it), and Raph is feeling HUGE angry because he feels abandoned by his big brother. The family is feeling lost because it’s been out of balance for two years. And people who watch it and are big fans of the series can come to it and write fix it fics that fill in the gaps (taizi just wrote this beautiful piece for the @turtlestogetherzine that was recently release on their ao3 that makes me cry). But if you have never ever seen anything turtles before and this is your intro? I feel like people walk away thinking they’re total assholes. I dragged my now husband out on a date to go see it when it came out and he had to listen to me angry whisper “OH YOU HUGE ASSHOLE” when Leo tells Raph “Because I’m better than you.”

LIKE BITCH WHY ARE YOU BEING PETTY AF.

But, again, fan fiction writers have saved them and remind me that these are boys who have some significant trauma that is manifesting in ways that make them bearish and prickly and they still have cool ass things going on like I love Raph as the Nightwatcher and Leo saving innocences in South America? Swoon. I do want to point out some positives.

But let’s get back to that pin, shall we? Because I actually think most of this irritation can be traced back to Splinter. It’s wild to send Leo away, but hey, sure, training exercises can be good, but for a whole YEAR? With little direction? A teenage child who has spent his entire life together with his three brothers, his father, and later his human sister and brother off to solitude for a year? In a whole other country when he hasn’t even left New York for longer than a freaky space and time excursion and even then he was with his family? Then your son stops writing and your sad about it but that’s cool, he’s ok and just needs time? Nary a concern? Because I would be freaking out that my son why dead, but maybe that’s me overreacting.

Then he doesn’t do anything back at home with Raph, Don, and Mikey. He leaves them to their own devices, doesn’t seem to continue training, doesn’t intervene when there are obvious tensions and hurts building between his children. Then when Leo does come back he just shoves them together and says “you can’t go back to fighting until you figure out how to work as a team” but then doesn’t do anything to help that process either? Maybe I’m being unfair, but also we have 03 Splinter who would have had NONE of this shit and while he did send Leo away it was a last resort type thing and he sent him to therapy with his great grandfather. And he frigging hike from New York to Japan when his sons did go missing. And 07 had that material to refer to.

Again, I think the writers were trying to simplify a lot of things for a 90 minute movie and that is hard to do and I haven’t had to write and produce a major film but dammit, guys, why you gotta do my boys dirty like that?

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT"

I just realized that I've never post a fic with Matt here (I've the most of them on my Wattpad lol) so I thought, why not posting them here too? so I wrote a short one ☺

I hope you like it!

(LOOK AT THE NEW DIVIDER I MADE FOR MY MATT FICS, I LOVE IT SM OML) ☝😩💟

Matt knew this case wasn't going to be easy to win.

His client was facing three counts of reckless homicide and petty theft, for which she faced several years in prison, without the possibility of parole.

The first day he went to the meeting he had with her at the NYPD headquarters, he didn't expect her to be a young woman.

In fact, judging by the tone of her voice, he thought she was a woman in her twenties, approaching thirty.

He sat down behind the glass wall that separated him from her, and after placing his briefcase on the table, he focused on her.

"Miss Evans, my name is Matthew Murdock," he introduced himself politely, "and I will be your attorney in this case."

"I've been told you're one of the best in the city," he said. He nodded slowly. "If that's what you've heard, then it must be true." He gave her a half-smile.

"I'll do everything in my power to keep you out of jail." He paused. "But given the situation, you have to consider the possibility that it won't be possible." He took several documents out of his briefcase and rested his fingers on the pages to read the Braille. "The charges against you are very serious," he observed. "I'd like you to explain to me what happened."

"Excuse me?" "She asked, not understanding what he meant." "You have two counts of manslaughter," she reminded him.

"I'd like you to explain to me how they ended up in your court file."

"I already explained to those cops that I didn't kill those guys," she began, leaning forward to look at him firmly. "I swear on my life," she murmured. "Someone's trying to make me take the fall." He frowned as he tilted his head toward her.

"Explain yourself, please." "I don't have any proof," she said, making Matt click his tongue ruefully. "But I swear it's true."

"Maybe it is, but we can't just stand in court and claim something like that just by saying it's true," she explained. "We can't prove it if we don't have proof."

"I know," she complained, shaking her head tiredly. "There must be something at the subway station that incriminates those guys."

"Did you see their faces?" Matt asked, she shook her head. "No, they were wearing black ski masks and dark clothing," she murmured. "Whatever they were trying to do, they'd been preparing it for a while." He paused before continuing. "This wouldn't happen if the vigilantes returned to the streets. You know?" she questioned, catching Matt's attention. "They were the ones truly protecting us, not the police." He complained. "I miss Daredevil," she confessed. "That guy..." she laughed. "He was incredible. He walked around in his devil suit stopping anyone who needed to be arrested." She said. "If he had been there the day these events happened, I wouldn't be here, and in his place would be those who actually committed the crimes I'm accused of."

The lawyer paused for a moment to think about her words.

He hadn't worn the suit for several months, and the first time he decided to put it on after that time was to save Karen's life and put Bullseye behind bars.

That cost his best friend, Foggy, his life. Matt wasn't willing to relive all that pain, and he knew that was exactly what would happen if he put the suit back on.

But in that moment, listening to his testimony, he realized that the people of New York, of his city, needed him.

And they needed him now, at that very moment. He shook his head slightly, returning to reality, before focusing on the sound of his voice.

"What were you thinking?" he asked curiously.

"You might be right," he gave a small smile. "It might be time for Daredevil to return."