#and how much i want my first ever binder to be the frank one | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

noisyalmonddreamer · 3 years ago

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Coming out as trans

Request? Yes!

Characters: Percy ~ Jason ~ Leo ~ Nico ~ Frank ~ Will ~ Magnus ~ Hearth ~ Alex

"I'm trans..."

Percy

- He blinks for a few seconds

- Like you can seeeeee the gears turning in his head

- "Oh okay"

- Pretty much goes back to what he was doing - Jk but he doesn't make the biggest deal of it

- At the time

- Ones you come out to his parents

- The next time you come over

- Expect a cake

- "Congrats on coming out!"

- With your name and pronouns on it

- He's just very proud of you

- And great full for you telling him

- If you ever feel dysphoric he's there to help

- Legit anyway he can

- You also mention ones needing a binder - And he goes "I have binders at my house. Do you want some? Would they make you feel better?"

- You explain to him that it's a different type of binder

- He then proceeds to look down at his OWN chest and press his hands against his pecs

- Trying to imagine how a binder would work

- But he always has a hoodie for you

- Like everywhere

- Normally smells like him cause he was wearing it

- He at first didn't set reminders for your binder

- Mostly cause he didn't know

- But he somehow always finds a place for you to change your binder

- HE JUST REALLY LOVES YOU. OKAY? _____________

Jason:

- bby boy wasn't fully exposed to this type of thing

- Growing up with wolves do that to you ig

- So just have like a sit down talk and explain

- Eventually gets it

- He's a smart cookie

- Probably doesn't think about a pronoun and name change so you'll have to tell him

- He does the best he can to be supportive!

- He doesn't slip much, the max is like a few days he does ones in a while but after like 5 days or doesn't happen anymore

- Feels very bad after

- Again you'll have to explain dysphoria

- Even after you explain he doesn't understand so he doesn't separate research

- This caused him to do research about binding - Safest ways to bind, best binders, things like that

- Including binding tape!

- So you can train and still bind!

- Buys it for you

- And a normal binder

- Just to be safe yk?

- He sets alarms on his phone for your binding limit

- Has alarms reminding you to drink water

- If it's to hot...

- I'm sorry to say he probably will be like "please don't bind. It's not safe today"

- But will get you large shirts

- He may be a bit confused but he's trying! _____________

Leo:

- Leo is scatter brained

- "Umm what?"

- legit just didn't process what you said

- Don't take his second question as him not accepting you!

- I see him as know a lot about this topic

- Probably more than any one else in the HOO gang

- Foster care kid who was tossed around a lot

- He was probably exposed to lgbtq+ stuff from an early age

- He hugs you

- Tons of kisses all over your face

- Immediately asks your name and pronouns

- When you tell him he even makes you a custom name and pronouns pin!

- He also makes himself one

- And the rest of the seven

- And like legit all his friends

- So it's more normalized yk?

- He wants to make you as comfortable as possible

- He gets out of training all the time! So if you don't feel like training cause you're feeling too dysphoric...

- You go to bunker 9!

- He's also probably pretty aware of binders already

- Doesnt to exact logistics

- But he knows there's a time limit to wear them!

- So he builds you a mini alarm clock thing

- You can put it on your pocket and it goes off 20 minutes before you're at your binding limit (no one tell him about watches)

- He's also really good at comfort

- He's such a good boyfi _____________

Nico:

- honestly I don't think he fully knew what being trans was

- You probably need to explain it to him ones or twice so he can fully understand it

- He'll have lots of questions and will only ask if you're comfortable

- He isn't sure if he should ask you if you changed your names and pronouns so you probably have to tell him naturally

- He is fully supportive tho

- He asks you some questions and doesn't push you to answer them at all

- Now for binding-

- When you first start wearing them around him he's a bit confused

- "Ummm...is something different?"

- There is something different

- But he can't put his finger on it

- Please tell him

- When you tell him he's all like

- "Oh yeah! What's that?"

- So again you answer his questions

- And when he finds out about safely binding he goes HARD

- Keeps an alarm that's 7.5 hours. (Leaving enough time to find/go to a place to take off the binder) - Carries water

- If he sees you're over-binding he's gonna try to tell you to stop in a nice way

- V supportive bf _____________

Frank:

- he knows a little bit about lgbtq+ stuff

- Like he knows enough

- Not a whole lot

- Just cause he wasn't super duper exposed you know?

- But ones you come out-

- THE MOST CHEESY MF

- you know how Percy made you a cake

- He also made you a cake...and threw you a gender reveal party-

- "What if I threw you a gender reveal part? Jk...unless-"

- He would correct anyone that used the wrong pronouns or name for you

- Probably more then you do

- Doesnt take much time for him to adjust

- He would also go shopping with you to buy more gender affirming clothes

- He would also by you binders

- And do a shit ton of research about them

- He's also a pretty big dude so you're like

- "I'm feeling disphoric :("

- Boom. Hoodie

- Right over your head

- If you need comfort

- Boom. He is now your favorite animal

- Go to some private spot and play

- Or a fluffy animal and take a nap

- He is also there 10000% of the time If you need reassurance

- If you guys are just hanging out he'll carry around water

- And your favorite snacks

- In his own words "snacks make people happier"

- He also carries around a towel in the summer

- Cause of sweaty binding

- Ew _____________

Will:

- so supportive - Immediately asks if you're changing your name, your pronouns all that jazz.

- Even offers to take you to get your hair cut if you want a more gender affirming haircut (If you don't have one yet)

- I Lowkey think he'd be really good at cutting hair so he might even offer to cut it

- he will also keep tabs on your binder timing

- Like how long you've been wearing it, what you're doing that day (training)

- If you're feeling dysphoric and can't take it off (cause of training) he will write you a doctors note so you can stay with him

- If you're okay with him touching you he will and he'll tell you how handsome he thinks you are

- If you're okay with him kissing your like chest area he'll leave little kisses on your chest and tell you how valid you are no matter what

- He'll also keep a large hoodie with him so he can give it to you when you need it

- If it's your or his is your choice

- He also keeps sports bras with him for you

- And water

- If you're wondering where he keeps all this stuff

- He carries around a tote bag

- He has a little pronoun pin! (He/they Will lives in my brain rent free)

- Anyway

- Depending on what you like he'll call you a gender affirming nick name

- "My pretty boy"

- Stuff like that y'know

- Sweet boyfriend. Love him so much Imma cry now _____________

Magnus: (after meeting Alex)

- his reaction is pretty calm

- Overall it's "oh okay :)"

- Asks your name and pronouns

- He already understand what being trans is

- I don't think he would know about dysphoria is though

- After explaining it he's like ":0 noooooo"

- he doesn't want you feeling uncomfortable in your own body!

- he tries his best to comfort you anyway he can

- But comfort isn't his...thing

- So he tries to make you laugh!

- He'll even...listen to Jack sing if it means getting your mind off it

- He loves you a lot

- He also didn't know what binding was

- I mean his main influence into the world of transgender was Alex

- And Alex doesn't need to bind

- So when you mention binding hes like "??????"

- Since he's you know...dead he doesn't really have money to BUY a binder

- So starts doing odd jobs for Blitzen when he can

- He thinks he's being sneaky but when he looks for binders he asks you your size

- Pretend to be surprised okay? He's trying his best!

- But overall he's a bit clueless

- But he goes to Alex and asks what he can do to make you more comfortable

- He does care a lot about your binding but he's also like "we're dead so-"

- Don't be like Magnus follow your binding limit _____________

Hearthstone: (this is after meeting Alex)

- hearth just looks at you for a sec

- Then kinda just goes

- Oh alright, sweetheart

- He also asks your new name and pronouns

- If you don't wanna tell anyone else yet he'll ask if you want him to use your ok'd name and pronouns around the others and he will

- But while you're alone he does tell you he sees you as who you are

- He also tries hard with Blitz to make you clothes that'll make you feel more comfortable

- He's not...great

- But hopefully you're only looking for baggy clothes cause that's what he can make!

- If not...he'll just ask Blitz

- Even offers to work extra hours

- He also gives you his scarf

- It probably can't help with your dysphasia but he just thinks you look cute

- He gives you his jacket if you need it though

- For binding...he wouldn't use a timer - Obviously

- He would just try to memorize when you put on a binder

- If he can't he'll ask someone else

- Not cause he doesn't trust you...just in case

- Sometimes you see him staring at you and you're like "bruh what??"

- And he's just like

- You're so amazing

- Dies

- On the spot

- He looks so genuine-

- If he finds out someone is being rude to you

- Especially a friend-

- He'll be super cold to them

- Not much he can do really tho :(

- He is super good at reassurance

- Kisses

- Lots and lots of kisses _____________

Alex: (she/her for this)

- fully understands

- Y'all would probably share your experiences with finding your identity

- If you're having trouble with something she'll explain her own experience with the thing you're struggling with

- You legit need to explain nothing to her

- Of course If you want to you can

- Would ask if you're changing your name and pronouns and immediately while you're gone would start practicing to use them (I love her so much it hurts)

- Legit will beat anyone if they mock you or misgenders you on purpose (not me attack someone for misgendering my old friend)

- If you ever need to explain something you're feeling because you're unsure, Alex will be there to listen

- Though it doesn't matter as much since y'all are dead she would still suggest not wearing a binder during training

- Alex doesnt peg me as the type to just talk about feeling dysphoric

- Mostly cause she can shape shift

- I don't think she suffers form dysphoria just cause she can shape shift but doesn't

- But will talk when you need it

- If you skip training cause you can't not bind she'll skip with you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This lowkey flopped on wattpad so T-T

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marbleheavy · 4 years ago

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here are some of my Nico headcanons that nobody asked for!!

He collects things. Not just Mythomagic stuff like he did as a kid, but cool shells, and rocks, and weird glass figurines that everyone else thinks are terrifying, and books. He’s got them in jars or lined up on shelves and he just has so many things (Because for so long he had so few things that actually belonged to him that didn’t have to serve a very clear purpose, so now he just wants to keep whatever he’d like)

He reads SO much as an adult. A lot of it is nonfiction because he’s trying to catch up on what happened in the world while he was pulled out of it, but a lot of fiction too (not really fantasy though, that’s too close to home) and a lot of poetry. He can recite poems from memory and will just randomly quote them sometimes and it should be pretentious but it isn’t and his friends think it’s amazing (cue dramatically saying "till love and fame to nothingness do sink" anytime he's told he has to wait) (Also, he will rant about why Ted Hughes sucks at any point in time)

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again!! He is a Dungeon Master! He’s got a binder for all the notes for his current campaign and a notebook for ideas and special highlighters and pens that he only uses for D&D. Also, dice are definitely one of the things he collects and he keeps them in those clear, plastic bead containers with dividers and they’re sorted by number of faces and also ~vibes~ (for example, do a backflip D20 and life or death D20)

leather jacket Nico di Angelo? seen, respected, and appreciated. CARDIGAN Nico di Angelo? underrated! He has a couple oversized cardigans with buttons and big pockets that he adores. The first one he ever had he definitely stole from Will but now, whenever he comes across another similar one, he buys it. The pockets are filled with rocks and worn, mass-market paperbacks and pens. (Basically, I’m leaning hard into English Major Nico with his annotated books and glasses and cardigans) (Also, cardigan Nico and flannel Will but sometimes they swap)

He definitely cuts his own hair in the bathroom and he's gotten very good at it. He's had a range of haircuts, from long hair to a mullet to the shaved sides and fluffy top, but he always ends up back with a shaggy mop that Hazel likes to put little braids in (or sometimes pull the very back of it into two little pigtails) and with bangs that always end up in his eyes.

Sorry to reiterate the same point that's been made forever, but his wardrobe is pretty dark-toned. Obviously black, but he does like a good jewel tone, perhaps a maroon or an emerald. Anything really bright was either a gift or belongs to Will someone else. Also, gendered clothing means nothing to him. He wears what he wants to wear and he thinks it's cool as hell when he's wearing a skirt while sparring and it flares out dramatically as he twirls.

He's kind of picked up modern slang but he also uses a lot of slang from pretty much every decade he missed. It's also a 50/50 chance he's using it incorrectly. (examples include: 1) Leo says something that is definitely supposed to be funny and Nico stares at him, utterly emotionless, and says "Gag me with a spoon" in an alarmingly monotone voice, and 2) Anytime he says something snarky to Jason or Percy he starts it with "hey bestie..." and honestly, they're both just touched Nico called them "bestie" at all)

He adores Studio Ghibli movies and can be found humming the Ponyo theme song anytime he goes swimming (Will standing on the shore, looking around for Nico and he eventually spots him in the water. He wades out to Nico, all sunglasses that shouldn't look so cool and golden hair and chest, and just greets him with "Hey there, Neeks, how's my fishie in the sea?" and Nico can't decide if he wants to drown himself or kiss Will on his stupid mouth)

Speaking of movies, shortly after the Giant War, all of his friends (the Seven, Reyna, Will, probably Lou Ellen and Cecil, too) showed up at his cabin with blankets and snacks. They each brought their favorite movie or movies they think he needs to see to catch him up on the modern age. At first, he acts disgruntled that they're all there but he very quickly settles into the blanket fort Annabeth constructs and is quietly very grateful and excited that they cared enough to do this for him. They're all holed up in his cabin for a full day until they've finished every movie. (Percy brought Finding Nemo, Annabeth brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Piper brought Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Jason brought Captain America: The First Avenger (and Nico definitely says "that's gay" when Steve and Bucky say there "Until the end of the line" shit and everybody absolutely loses their minds), Hazel also is behind on movies but she brought either a very scary movie or Moana, Frank brought A New Hope (though he considered Brother Bear), Will brought Spirited Away, Cecil brought Back to the Future, and Lou Ellen brought The Princess Bride)

He can play the piano! He gets a piano for the Hades cabin and on nights where he can't sleep and the nightmares are really bad, he plays piano.

He will cry if he hears I Will by Mitski or Wasteland, Baby by Hozier, for different reasons but also kind of not (he wants to be loved)

Also, Nico and Dionysus being buddies! Nico jokingly says he'll host a bacchanal if Dionysus excuses him from certain camp activities and that's how Nico and friends end up wearing togas around a campfire, all very hesitantly holding cups of wine they aren't actually going to drink. It is definitely not a bacchanal, it's just a bad toga party (barely) but Dionysus accepts it and decides Nico is a Good One.

(Yes I did very badly make this stupid meme that somebody has definitely made a variation of before)

This is definitely not a complete list of headcanons but it's what I've got so far!

#nico di angelo #nico di angelo headcanon #pjo #will solace #solangelo #headcanons #heroes of olympus

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underpaidimmortal · 2 years ago

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HOLY SMOKED LAMB KEBAB WITH CINNAMON ON A STICK GABE THIS IS SO FUCKN DETAILED!! AND SUPER INFORMATIVE!!

thank you for taking the time and effort to make this, it's really amazing!!

here are my thoughts:

the fact that frank has a dog named lunchbox is so fun my heart expanded two sizes when i read that (this is the first most important thought)

gerard way pretty princess?!! so true love that for him!! also he does have the sweetest face ever i want to hold it gently in my hands and weep. i am THIS CLOSE to putting them in a blender. i now truly understand why ebony darkness dementia raven way wanted his features if i walked around looking like him i think i would finally be at peace. what's the pancake report??

lesbian icon frank iero?? if i remember correctly he's also a trans icon too with the binders n stuff (pls correct me if i'm wrong). i sure do hope that he's alright from getting smoked in the bong i'm 5'4 (in american standards) which is pretty tall where i live but if he's 5'6 and that's considered short i think i may very well suffer the same fate. 120 times. also how many projects does he have going on wtf *REPEAT LUNCHBOX NOTE FOR EMPHASIS*

mikey. sweet sweet mikey. i too would love my wife very much more than anything (if i had one. i'm too young for this lol) i need to hear his jokes very badly. THAT IS A TERRIFYING IMAGE I DONT WANNA SEE HIS PRECIOUS FACE ON THE MICKEY MOUSE BODY OHHHH GOD I'M SCARED

...how chaotic is frank to need ray to babysit him?? like how much chaotic is he?? frank has aunt energy so true he literally has a similar haircut to the old aunties i see going home from school sometimes (no offence intended). so iconic of him to point at the crowd in the trans line i would probably convulse and froth at the mouth in joy

questions:

what's the pancake report?? who's frerard??

#thanks again gabe im sobbing with joy from ur dedication #the moot moots <3!!

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giogiohcs · 4 years ago

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Brothers x Trans man!MC

I didn’t write for Asmo bc I didn’t feel like it😖

Also how am I a trans man yet I sucked at writing this??💀

Lucifer

-When you come out to him, he accepts you, of course, but that doesn’t mean he understands.

-He’s a boomer, a sexy boomer but still a boomer😔.

-He’ll understand the concept of “being born in the wrong body” but if your journey is any different than that, it’ll cause him to be confused but he won’t ever admit that.

-He will need a through talking to, an honest and frank discussion about it, like what you plan to do, will your relationship change? Etc.

-When you mention wanting to get surgery or taking testosterone to change something about yourself, it’s hard for him to come to terms that you’re not doing this because you hate yourself but the opposite. You’re transitioning because you love yourself❤️.

-When he realizes that last point, he’ll be helpful and listen to what you want. He’ll even help you financially to transition if you want to.

-He doesn’t like the thought of you staying extensively on Earth for surgery and recovering but he’ll be patient for you.

-Will be a strict enforcer of your pronouns and new name, if you have one. He’s taking NO shit. A three strike rule? No it’s actually a one strike rule :). Get it wrong once and you’re done for.

-Is he using that one bit as an excuse to punish others especially Mammon? Maybe... He’ll stop if you want him to, but don’t✨.

Mammon

-When you come out to him, he’s confused, very confused.

-Of course, he loves you but he doesn’t understand at all.

-“Why do you want to change? I thought we were fine!?!?” His insecurity will come out when you come out.

-Thinks that you’re coming up with a weird way to break up with him, honestly.

-Along with Lucifer, will also need a talking to. You need to reassure him that you still love him and that your relationship is FINE. Even when he’s being a insecure little baby about it.

-After, he understands why you want to transition and wanting to take testosterone or getting surgery.

-He’ll look up the costs and even if it hurts his very soul, will start saving money to give to you for your next birthday. Expect him to be busy with modeling shoots.

-Will complain about having to memorize your new name and pronouns, if you have one. But suddenly like magic✨ will memorize and get it tattooed to his brain when you tell him that you’ll let him go on a shopping spree if he gets them right.

-Will never admit it but he’s excited to start calling you his boyfriend.

-Also he will brag to his brothers that you came out to him FIRST. He’s your first everything now! Little ego boost, as a treat.

Leviathan

-“We’re just like that one couple in ‘I’m Transitioning and I Don’t Know How To Tell My Demon Lord Boyfriend!’!!!”

-He accepts you and understands that you’re trans, no need for a discussion.

-But that’s AFTER he freaked out when you sat him down and tried to come out to him.

-Just like Mammon, he thought you were gonna break up with him so he didn’t allow you to speak before running away to his room and locking the door.

-🚪🏃🏻💨 🏃💨 WHY ARE YOUR RUNNING? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING?

-Reassure him that you still love him and that your relationship won’t change and he’ll be fine❤️.

-Levi is also gonna recommend trans and other queer animes to you.

-He’s trying to be a good boyfriend and order you questionable transitioning stuff from Akuzon.

-Have you gotten a cursed binder from him? Yes.

-Are you still wearing it because you literally can’t take it off? Yeah...

-But does it make you look flat af? 🥴Definitely yes.

-Is Lucifer gonna have to get involved to get you out of the cursed binder? Also yes.

Satan

-Completely understands and accepts you, he’s done extensive research in humans queerness, genders and sexualities

-He’s grateful that you love and trust him enough to come out to.

-Will offer to help you transition, whether it’s helping to convince Lucifer to let you leave Devildom to get hormones and/or surgery or helping you transition with magic 🪄.

-Don’t take the latter option.

-He’ll help you navigate through the nonsense that doctors and counselors try to put you through and speed up your medical transition process.

-“Oh? The doctor said you can’t get testosterone without going through [insert time-consuming bullshit]? Well actually, what he’s doing is considered medical malpractice due to law IQH.175 that was recently passed and it’d be just awful if he got jailed for it :).”

-Very helpful.

-Like Lucifer, a one strike policy is put into place.

-Also like his brother, he’s gonna use it to punish others ESPECIALLY Lucifer.

-Let your man have his fun❤️.

Beelzebub

-Doesn’t understand at all but accepts you. Says if you’re happy, he’s happy.

-Memorizes your new name and pronouns, if you have one, like that *snaps fingers*.

-You thought you were so glad to have just a caring and sweet boyfriend.

-That was until you start talking about transitioning through surgery or testosterone then he gets worried.

-Why would you want to change yourself? You’re already perfect in his eyes.

-...He really doesn’t get it.

-Thinks you want to change yourself because you simply don’t like yourself so he starts viewing transitioning as a bad thing.

-You need to sit down and talk to him about, well, everything.

-You’ll probably need to keep things simple but frank for him. Maybe make a comparison to exercising, a person doesn’t need to hate themselves to start working out right?

-He begins to understand why you do the things or want to do the things you do.

-Beel still views you as perfect no matter what you look like, but starts shifting his complements from “you’re perfect the way you are” to “you’re really handsome.” And complements your changes.

-He’s very proud by how far you’ve come.

Belphegor

-When you sit him down for a serious conversation, he, just like his other brothers, gets worried.

-Are you breaking up with him? Did he sleep away on too many dates? Is it because he killed you before? Etc etc.

-He becomes a cranky baby from all the bad thoughts in his head but then you come out to him.

-He’s surprised but also not really.

-He’s mostly just glad that you weren’t breaking up with him.

-Says he accepts you and just sleeps again.

-Memorizes you new pronouns and name, if you have one, very easily. He loves you after all.

-All’s well that ends well.

-That’s until you needed to go to earth to transition then he become a cranky baby about everything again.

-“Why can’t you do transition here? With magic? It’s so much easier and you won’t have to leave..” He tries to reason with you.

-Starts thinking that you’re just trying to escape from him, to go back to earth where you know he can’t get to you.

-Against all of his fears, he lets you go to earth.

-He has to start cuddling with his brother again because he just misses you so much.

-His heart is broken and honestly thinks that you’re never coming back.

-When you do come back, first time since you left, he’s gotten up from bed just to drag you down with him under the covers.

-You two have a lot of catching up to do.

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lady-divine-writes · 4 years ago

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The Hitchhiker - Chapter 1/4

Picking up a hitchhiker isn't exactly the dumbest thing Kurt has ever done, but it's not exactly the smartest either. When he comes across Blaine Anderson caught in a sudden downpour, he can't just leave him on the corner to drown... can he? (1756 words)

Read on AO3.

“Excuse me? Sir? Do you need a ride?”

Kurt flashes as confident and honest a smile as he can to the man standing on the side of the road. But the second those words leave his mouth, he hears his father’s voice in his head yelling: “Kurt Hummel! What the hell are you doing? Picking up a hitchhiker? Are you out of your mind!?”

And Kurt has to admit, the voice is right.

There is a fifty-fifty chance that this man, standing alone in the dark by the side of the road, is a violent serial killer. His outfit alone perpetuates the stereotype - indigo jeans, white t-shirt, leather jacket. He has an olive-green duffel slung over one shoulder and he's carrying a guitar case, for God’s sake! What are the odds that there’s actually a guitar in there!? If Kurt picks this man up, he has a greater chance of becoming a statistic than of that man being a musician! Kurt should drive away now without an inch of guilt, floor it without looking back.

And he probably would have deferred to his better judgment and stepped on the gas had it not been for a few things.

It's pitch dark out for a start. Only a handful of street lights line the curb, installed twenty or so feet apart, which creates long expanses of shadow in between. The road they're on is in the middle of nowhere, with trees towering on both sides of them. This doesn’t help Kurt’s argument any since it seems like just the place a killer would lie in wait for a potential victim. But, in that same vein, someone or something could be stalking him, waiting for Kurt to drive away so they can pounce on him from the trees. Then it would be up to the reach of this man's legs and his athletic ability to save him.

This leads directly to reason two: the man is a klutz. In the five minutes Kurt has been stuck at this red light, he’s seen him smack himself in the face with his own bag, drop his sunglasses (pink rimmed Wayfarers, no less), catch them, then fumble them again, and step in the same puddle twice. If this man is a serial killer, he may not be the most competent one on the planet.

Three, just as Kurt’s light turned green, it started raining. And not the light drizzle he has come to expect during his infrequent forays to San Diego, but an honest-to-God downpour. Kurt saw the man turn his face up to the sky, his shoulders slumped, wholly defeated by this new development. He put the butt of his guitar case on the toes of his shoes to keep it out of the mud, then attempted to wrap his jacket around it.

And Kurt’s heart melted.

Kurt is a musician himself. Singer more than musician but he has friends who play the guitar. His stepbrother Finn owns a Fender that he sold plasma to afford. Puck's Gibson is the only thing he has never hawked when he needed money. And Sam, in this man's position, would take off every stitch of clothing to protect his Blueridge if it came down to it. Kurt can imagine this man’s whole life wrapped up in that case, which he is now convinced does hold a guitar.

Kurt isn't a gun enthusiast by any means, but he thinks a semi-automatic should be able to withstand some weather. He may want to Google that one later on… provided he’s still alive.

And about that guitar case: it isn’t a plain, generic, black guitar case. The thing is covered in travel stickers and bling. It has a personality all its own. An easily identifiable personality. If this man is a killer, Kurt is pretty certain every human on the West Coast would know about it. He’d be nicknamed the Kitsch Case Killer or something along those lines. That case sticks out like a sore thumb. There’s no way a man carrying a guitar case decorated like an old-school Lisa Frank binder is getting away with swiping a pack of gum, not to mention murder.

To a lesser degree (Kurt tells himself so he doesn't have to admit how idiotic this idea is), this is the most a-dork-able man Kurt has ever seen. He looks more like a puppy than a predator (weak reasoning, he knows). But Kurt has instincts about people that are usually on the money. He has to give himself credit for making it this far in life. Kurt is tougher than he looks. He has taken his fair share of licks, and he’s still ticking.

Plus, he has bear repellent in the pocket of his jacket the size of a can of Aquanet. He feels he has his bases covered.

The man walks slowly towards Kurt's car, the curls piled atop his head hanging heavily down his cheeks the wetter he gets.

No, Kurt can’t leave him out here.

“Um. Thanks. Thanks a lot,” the man says, cautiously eyeing Kurt up and down as if he may be asking himself Kurt’s same string of questions in his head. “But I… ” The fact that he isn’t jumping at Kurt’s offer, that he’s glancing anxiously down the road, mulling his options even as rain pours down his back, puts Kurt at ease. The man looks like he’s trying to gauge if Kurt might have a weapon hiding somewhere on his person, contemplating if he’ll come out of this alive if he accepts this ride.

Ironic, but that proves that there are two sides to every situation.

The man looks about to step away and decline until a fork of lightning turns night into day for five seconds, a boom so loud following it shakes Kurt’s rental car.

“Sure. Okay. Why not?” He pulls open the rear door in a rush but still wary as he puts his belongings into the backseat and joins Kurt in the front. “Thank you so much. I didn’t expect it to rain this hard, or I might have stayed in my hotel room one more night.” He runs a hand through his hair, cringing at the water that sprays the headrest.

“Not a problem.” Kurt reaches behind the seat and grabs the towel he’d fished out of his luggage earlier when he’d done the same thing. But the rain was only a sprinkle then – angel spittle, his mom would have called it. “I couldn’t just drive by and leave you out here to drown.”

The man chuckles. It, much like the rest of him, is too cute for words. “My name’s Blaine.”

“Kurt.” Kurt extends a hand for Blaine to shake. Blaine looks at it, hesitates a second before taking it, still questioning Kurt and his intentions, Kurt assumes. Despite being stuck in the rain, Blaine’s hand is warm, comforting in a way Kurt speculates a serial killer’s hands would not. “Well, Blaine, where you headed?”

“Oh, uh… I’m trying to make my way to L.A. But you can drop me off anywhere between here and there.”

“Ooo. Actor? Producer?”

“Unemployed schlub, unfortunately. Currently riding my brother’s couch. He’s the actor. I’m the… the failure.”

Kurt pulls onto the road again and heads for the highway. “That’s a really unkind thing to say about yourself.”

“It’s what… well, it’s what my father would say.” He wrings his hands uncomfortably. “He’d also say I’m a disappointment, a waste of a Harvard education, a bum… ” He shivers. Kurt raises the temperature of the heater. Blaine glances at Kurt in embarrassment, and Kurt gets the hint that it’s not the cold that has him trembling.

“I know it’s not my place to say, but I’d stop listening to your father if I were you. It doesn’t seem like he has anything worthwhile to say.”

“How can you say that? You don’t even know me,” Blaine says under his breath, with an edge like a growl, the kind wild animals give when you stumble into their territory unaware. It sets the hairs on the back of Kurt’s neck on end, and he starts second-guessing this decision.

Relax, Kurt. The man’s just beat down. Exhausted. You understand what that’s like.

Blaine sighs, sinking into the passenger seat and leaning his head against the window. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying to be nice. It's been a long day."

“I understand. And I may not know you, but I know fathers," Kurt continues. "A father’s job is to be supportive of their children, no matter what they do in life. Succeed or fail, win or lose, they should always be in your corner. And if he’s not, screw him! Surround yourself with people who want to lift you up, not tear you down.”

Blaine winds his arms around his torso, hugging himself tight. “I---is that the way your father treats you?”

“Yup,” Kurt answers with a subconscious smile at the mention of his dad. “He supports me in everything, even the stuff he doesn’t entirely agree with. And when things don’t work out, he’s the first person there, helping me to my feet and encouraging me to try again.”

“Sounds like a great guy. You’re lucky.”

“He is," Kurt says proudly. "And I am.”

Blaine fixes his gaze to the road ahead as Kurt merges onto the highway. He chews the inside of his cheek, stares too hard at the rain-slick asphalt, not shifting focus. It's as if he can't bring himself to look at Kurt when he asks, “So, you think you’re a good judge of character?”

Kurt nods. “Yes, I do."

"How do you know?"

"Experience. I have a decent track record.”

"Surround yourself with a lot of questionable people, do you?"

"I guess you can say that," Kurt agrees with a laugh, thinking of the people who have come into his life that he has adopted as his own: Rachel, Dave, Santana, Puck, all of them rivals or bullies. Or both. But now, a cherished part of his found family.

People he hopes will miss him if SDPD finds him by the side of the road tomorrow with his throat cut.

Stop it, Kurt! Relax! You're in no danger! Everything is going to be fine!

Blaine shrugs, examining his wet hands as if he’s reading something etched on his skin. “Someday you’ll be wrong.”

“Probably." Kurt meets Blaine's eyes in the reflection of the windshield, flashes his confident smile again. "But I don’t think that day is today.”

#klaine #klaine fic #klaine fanfiction

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leverage-ot3 · 5 years ago

Text

notable moments from The Bank Shot Job

leverage 1.05

I decided I’m also going to start highlighting meta material in these posts for reference reasons (like for fics, headcanons, meta, etc)

I’m colorcoading by what character the meta pertains to btw

Clerk: Hello, Judge Roy.

Judge Roy: [slaps her ass] Hey, sweetheart.

Frank: Can I help you, your honor?

Judge Roy: Yes, Fred. Her phone number?

Frank: It's Frank. And she's 19, sir.

Judge Roy: That's too bad. She got a younger sister

diSgUsTiNG

- - - - -

Hardison: No. No more. We gotta talk to Nate. No more rip deals. They take too damn long.

Parker (ripping paper): That's why they're called "Rip Deals". You have to convince them they're getting a deal before you can rip them off.

Hardison: Two weeks. Two weeks sleeping in crappy hotels. Two weeks eating in crappy diners. Two weeks having my soul sucked dry. It's 107 degrees. Who lives where it's 107 degrees?

Parker: Juan's not so bad. I kinda like this town

I wanna see that domestic shit of them sharing hotel rooms and eating the continental breakfasts and dingy diners and everything about them living in rundown hotels for two weeks

- - - - -

Hardison: You know, I had to retask two satellites just to get a lousy internet connection. Took more than an hour to torrent the last episode of Doctor Who.

Parker: Hey! Illegal downloading's wrong. (lights paper on fire in trash can)

that’s it. that’s their relationship.

- - - - -

Hardison: How we coming on the breakdown?

Eliot (loading truck elsewhere): Fake addresses are shut down. Post office boxes are closed. The phones are cleared. Five more minutes, we never existed

bruh those props ??? I wish I had a screenshot but wtf where they DOING for the con ???

- - - - -

Hardison: Want me to call the Delgado family, tell them the news?

Eliot: Nah. Soon as I clear county line I want to do it. I just wish we could do more than bankrupt that corrupt son of a bitch

eliot is so good you guys im-

- - - - -

Nate: Get out. Now.

Hardison: Is he talking to us?

Parker: An unmarked van parked across the street from a bank that's being robbed? Yeah. I think he's talking to us.

Hardison: Yeah, well, five more feet and he would have been in the clear. What the hell was he thinking?

Parker: Don't be an idiot, Hardison.

Hardison: What?

Parker: Sophie was still in there

parker knows nate loves sophie and would never leave her behind because she may not always get people, but even she can see how much nate cares for sophie

- - - - -

Derrick: Everyone empty your pockets. Wallets, purses, watches, everything you've got, throw it over here.

(everyone throwing stuff to center of floor)

nate threw his fucking toothpick

- - - - -

Deputy Arnold: No, right here, right here, and we need ...

(Eliot crosses police line)

Deputy Arnold: Whoa, whoa, I need you to take a step back, sir.

Eliot: Tell me what's going on in there.

Deputy Arnold: I'm afraid I can't do that, this is an active crime scene, and you need to ...

Eliot: (to cop) I'm not talking to you. (to Nate) How many are there?

Nate: Yeah, you're right. Clearly amateurs, these two. Yeah. The younger one, looks like he's never handled a gun before.

Eliot: Is judge blow-hard next to you?

Nate: Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, definitely amateurs, That's what makes them so dangerous.

Eliot: Alright, 2 guys, both armed, neither one a criminal mastermind. You want me in there?

Deputy Arnold: Sir, we can't have you going inside the bank ...

Nate: Probably, uh, a good idea just to sit tight, don't you think? You know, and see where these guys' heads are

at, you know?

Eliot (backing away): Alright, your call boss.

Deputy Arnold: Thank you

poor deputy arnold + eliot being done with local law enforcement

- - - - -

Sophie: Okay. So what is the plan, Stan

“what’s the plan, stan” adorable.

- - - - -

(Eliot leans against a building across the street and watches Hardison and Parker pull up in a sedan)

Eliot: Nice ride.

Parker (taking notebook and removing badges): It's embarrassing. Everyone knows you don't rob a bank without an exit strategy. These two deserve to get caught. 42 seconds. (tosses notebook back to Eliot)

Hardison: What?

Parker: To rob this bank. One security guard who has never fired his gun before, 2 closed-circiut cameras outside, 1 inside, and a Glen-Reader safe built in the 50's whose default combination is the birth date of the manager's wife! Get in, get out, 42 seconds.

Hardison: Seriously

parker was so angry that she chucked the binder at eliot and he was like ??? we good ???

- - - - -

Hardison: Seriously? (to Bill) I'm Agent Leonard. This is Agent Elmore. We'll be taking over this crime scene,

Sheriff ...

Bill: Bill Hastings. Nice to meet you. You guys sure are quick, just called this in 20 minutes ago.

Hardison: Well, we were coming back from a little border skirmish. Patrol unit came under attack from a pack of Chupacabras.

Bill: Chupacabras? I thought those things were urban legend.

Hardison: You're adorable

I love it when hardison fucks with people it’s hilarious

- - - - -

Hardison: Whoa, what's going on?

Bill: Cut power to the bank. Standard operating procedure.

Hardison: Standard ... it's standard op ... it's standard? Where do you getting that bull-hockey from son?

Bill: Deputy Arnold, he took a seminar in crisis management last year.

Deputy Arnold: It was an online seminar. We got certificates.

Hardison: Certificates? Magic kits come with certificates. Does that make it cool for kids to saw their parents in half?

Bill: We're just going by the book.

Hardison: The ... the book? The book got a good man killed. I can't ... my blood pressure.

Parker: Ex-partner. Probably shouldn't mention the book again. Or propellers.

parker is doing so well with grifting considering and I’m so proud of her

- - - - -

Sophie: They are not cops, I promise you, they're friends of mine, you can trust them.

Derrick: Why should I trust you? I don't know who you are.

Sophie: I am a thief.

Derrick: Okay, I'm not sure what to do with that.

that’s it guys. that’s the show.

- - - - -

Nate: I didn't say it was going to be easy. But nothing's impossible, especially when you have the world's greatest thief on your payroll. Parker, have you ever robbed a bank that's being robbed?

Parker: There's a first time for everything.

her SMILE YOUR HONOR

- - - - -

Parker: The bank was built before 1980, before computers. Means it's got a larger than normal night deposit chute.

Hardison: 'Cause business had to drop off ledgers with their daily hauls. What, you thought my genius was only limited to ones and zeroes?

Parker: I'm thinking the chute's my way in. Only problem is, it's in the alley on this side of the building

the way she looks at hardison like damn boy you know my stuff

- - - - -

Hardison: I can take care of that, but, we actually have bigger problems.

Eliot: What's that?

Hardison: Well, Sheriff Coltrane over here called the FBI, the real FBI. Now the closes office is in San Diego, so they should be here, in about, um, give it 45 minutes.

Nate: We can't worry about that now.

Hardison: When do we worry about it?

Nate: In about 45 minutes

hardison, internally: lord give me strength

- - - - -

Hardison: Hold on ... Excuse me. (answers phone) Agent Leonard. We will do whatever you need us to do, just please, don't hurt anybody. Okay. (hangs up) Guys ... Boys, boys, come on, gather 'round. Now boys, that was THE call. The call we were waiting for. Now look, they have a list of demands. First off, they want 12 large pizzas. One cheese, one Hawaiian, extra pineapple. Two pepperoni and black olives, two meat lover's, t ... Seriously? Nobody's writing this down? Seriously? One triple-shot half-caf vanilla latte, tall,

(Parker goes down alley and opens deposit drop box)

Hardison: …three of the latest copies of the Hall and Oates CD. I know, right? Exciting stuff I didn't know they were coming out with a new one either. We're gonna need steaks. Steaks and a grill. They're trying to tailgate. Okay, they need your overalls, I don't know why. They need some kibbles n' bits, we need an Etch-A-Sketch, somebody in there likes to squiggle okay ... Are we good? Let's go people. Everybody. I need you guys moving. Everybody get out. Go. (hardison points at an officer) You stay. We need to talk about Hall & Oates.

I fucking loved this monologue,,, hardison is VERY GOOD at improvising

- - - - -

(Derrick opens night deposit box)

Parker: Hi.

Derrick (hands her the briefcase): There's a lot of money in there.

Parker: Yeah, I know.

Derrick: My wife's life depends on that money getting where it needs to go.

Parker: I understand. Sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get

parker’s face softened and you can see that she understood. parker didn’t get people in the beginning of the show, and sure her values and ideas aren’t typical, but she was ALWAYS a good person. she cared and understood what was at risk and she consoled him.

also, this is yet another piece of evidence that parker was the main character all along!!! I’m not gonna go super into it because there are already posts out there about it, but she had three (3) episodes dedicated to her character in season one alone AND had her say what is basically the mission statement of the show here in this scene

- - - - -

Sophie: Things could be worse.

Nate: Worse than me getting shot and you blowing our cover?

Sophie: No, no, you're not gonna lay that crap on me. We wouldn't even be in this mess if you'd just walked out with the cash when you had the chance. I would've been fine.

Nate: I know.

Sophie: Yeah, I can take care of myself. I've been doing it a long time. Since way before I met you. I'm just saying.

Nate: Yeah, you're right.

Sophie: Okay

nate knows sophie is a strong independent woman and that is one of the only things I stan about him lol

- - - - -

Sophie: We lost communication.

Nate: Yeah, we did.

Sophie: Hardison, Parker, and Eliot ...

Nate: That's right, they are on their own. Yup.

they ended up doing great on their own, but also, can we acknowledge what a glow up it was building up to the rundown job ???

- - - - -

(Mom gets out of truck and tries to run)

Meth #2: Where the hell you think you're going, old lady? (pulls mom back) Where the hell you think you're g ...

Eliot (catches Meth #2’s arm): Hey, what smells like crank and screams like a girl? (Takes his gun and breaks his knee)

Meth #2: AAHH!

Eliot (kicks car door closed before Meth #3 can get out, empties the bullets from gun): That's the right answer. (throws gun into car at #3, hits #1 as he approaches) Come on. (fights #1, kicks door shut, beats #1 more, kicks door again) Stay in the car. (beats the hell out of #3 and #1, kneels down near mom and removes her gag)

Mom: Who are you?

Eliot: Well ma'am, we'd be the cavalry.

this entire fight scene always has me ROLLING it’s so funny

also I’m not sure if this should go on the List Of Non-Weapon Objects Eliot Uses As Weapons but eliot DID use the car door in the fight

- - - - -

Sophie: Just let the paramedics take him. The rest of us will stay.

Judge Roy: And give up my leverage

*sophie and nate look at each other*

both, internally: tHATS OUR WORD

- - - - -

Nate: Hey, listen. She's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright

Derrick: Your people ... they're good?

Nate: Yeah. The best.

nate’s smile when he says that??? proud dad alert

- - - - -

Sophie (looking at replay of tape): You're still a geek.

Judge Roy: They're trying to ruin me.

Hardison: Geek power, baby. Stay strong!

in other words: age of the geek, baby

also- kudos to 2008 hardison editing video like that. I can’t do that shit with today’s tech lmao

- - - - -

Bill: Go home now. Bank robbers are in custody, hostages are safe. FBI's got the whole thing wrapped up.

Taggert: Do you have any idea what?

Mcsweeten: Just go with it.

Deputy Arnold: Mr. FBI guys, can you help me here?

Bill: My, my. Look at this. Our local drug boys, both with outstanding warrants. It's incredible.

Taggert: Damn, we're good!

mcsweeten and taggert stumbling onto the leverage crew’s cons and directly profiting off of them is iconic. they have no idea. too pure for this world

- - - - -

Sophie: Hey, thanks Parker.

Parker: Whatever.

Sophie: No. It was an excellent performance.

Parker: Yeah, I think I can act okay when I'm yelling at people and bossing them around.

Sophie: Well, it's a good start.

proud mom!sophie + grifting parker

Nate: Listen, we have to make sure we get the cash to the Delgado family. Ow!

Eliot (tending Nate’s wound): Oh! Settle down. You act like you've never been shot before.

Nate (glances at Sophie): So, uh, pizza boxes, huh?

Hardison: Yeah, I know, I know, You could have done better.

Nate: No, no, no. No I couldn't have.

eliot casually stitching up nate’s wound bc no hospitals but also can we talk about how much nate has to trust eliot to literally operate on him

nate giving praise to hardison ??? rare af I don’t know her

#leverage #the bank shot job #leverage 1.05 #leverage 1x05 #mine #notable moments #leverage season 1 #season 1

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realm-sweet-realm · 4 years ago

Text

Angel of the Ink Machine, chapter 2: Compromise

The premise of this AU is simple: Sammy leaves the studio instead of Henry, and as a result, Joey needs a new partner in crime. He finds one in Allison. Power struggles, sacrifices, passion, ecstasy and tragedy ensues.

---

Allison’s first few weeks at Joey Drew Studios had been interesting, to say the least. Joey had introduced her to the music room on her first day, and all had seemed to go well. The next day, however, just as she was setting things up in her recording booth, a small, blonde woman who hadn’t been around the day before had come in to interrupt her. Apparently, the last voice actress for the part of Alice Angel- Susie Campbell- had been away the previous day and hadn’t been told that she’d been replaced. The poor woman was heartbroken, and Allison had felt bad for taking a role that was essentially meaningless to her from someone who clearly cared much more about it.

That pity only lasted until Allison realized that half of the music department had taken a disliking to her, seemingly overnight. It was hard to tell how much of that was their loyalty to Susie and how much of that was just their regular standoffish-ness. Either way, Allison didn’t much care for the whole high school-level cattiness of it. Any friends she’d make in this studio would be outside the music department.

Voice acting was fine. Dating Joey was wonderful. She hadn’t gotten to play with the ink machine yet, but they’d done other magic together. She didn’t care for his secretiveness about his plans for the machine worked, though, and after a while she decided to seek out answers on her own.

Her first thought was to ask the man who was building the machine, Thomas Connor. He said that he didn’t know how this thing was supposed to work and didn’t want to, and sure as hell wouldn’t tell some random music department kid if he did. She asked his assistant, Wally Franks, who told her a round-a-bout tale about how he’d drawn up the first blueprint. This was not information Allison could use.

There was one other person she could ask, but it was a long shot. Despite her best efforts, Allison hadn’t fully avoided the high school nonsense of the music room, and she knew the reputation that their projectionist, Norman Polk had as a keeper of unknowable secrets. Allison thought that they were being ridiculous, but it was worth a shot, and he was open enough about meeting with her over lunch one day.

“So, you’re working with Joey Drew on the magical stuff,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Uh, yes. Does everyone know?”

Norman laughed a little. “Most people here don’t even know that magic is real. Anyhow, I assume that you came to me because you’re interested in knowing some kind of secret?” If he was annoyed about the new girl knowing his reputation, he didn’t show it. If anything, he seemed amused.

“Yes. Honestly, I just want to know as much about Joey as I can. Especially anything that has to do with magic, and the ink machine.”

“Well, I guess telling you can’t be any more dangerous than him keeping it from you. Follow me.”

“You want to know a secret about Joey?” Norman asked as they walked, “he hires people he thinks are vulnerable and down on their luck. So Joey Drew Studios has some teenagers working here, some people with disabilities from the war, and a lot more non-whites and queer people than you’d expect. Not a secret, just a pattern I’ve noticed. But I know that what you want is real secrets.”

Norman took her to a room labelled, “The Archives.” Within it was hundreds of audio logs in locked glass containers. “Joey audio-records us,” Norman explained. “I don’t know his purposes for it, but he clearly does it a whole lot. The glass bins are locked, obviously, but I stole one off his desk a couple days ago. Wanna hear it?” The man’s face had gone from proud and amused to dead-serious.

“Sure...”

Norman pressed the button, and the audio log played. It was Joey Drew speaking to Thomas Connor. They were talking about how to change Bendy from a soulless abomination into a lovable cartoon, and it ended with Joey promising that if these things are soulless, he would get them a soul. After all, I own thousands of them.

“You wanna know what I think? I think that Joey is great at preying upon the desperate. And quite recently, he made a person desperate to be a cartoon character again. So, Allison. I don’t know what your role in this magical business is, but if you can help it, don’t let Joey hurt Susie Campbell- she’s my fiancé. I’ve already told her to be careful around Mr. Joey Drew, but...”

Allison was struggling to take this in. Joey wanted to kill people for this project? That was insane! And yet, some of those pentagrams in the basement had looked awfully large. “I’m sure he doesn’t mean that he wants to murder people. But I’ll talk to him, Norman. I promise. And I do have power over him, so you can count on me!”

---

Allison kept her promise, and brought it up the next time she was at Joey’s house.

“Joey. I need you to tell me right now if this ink machine project involves killing people.”

Joey immediately tensed. He’d been thinking for weeks of a way to break that to Allison that wouldn’t make her run for the hills. “Not... killing. I mean, they’ll still be alive. It’s more like putting them in another body. Yes, the process does involve causing their old body to bleed out, but their consciousness will still be there- probably.”

“Probably?” her face was remarkably calm, given the circumstances.

“I’ve tested the machine on rodents. None of them came out physically resembling a cartoon- only your potion lets me do that. But some of them came out acting like rodents, some of them came out acting like cartoon characters, and some of them went berserk. I’m trying to figure out how to make more of them come out as either rodents or cartoons. If the person retains their personality, they could basically be actors. And if they come out with the cartoon personality, well...”

The more Joey spoke, the more withering Allison’s glare became. “Okay. None of that. I’m not going to destroy people for this. Going forwards, only retaining the consciousness is considered a good outcome. Capisce?”

“Okay,” Joey said, starting to regret letting Allison into the project.

“And I assume that you were going to tell the sacrifices exactly what’s going to happen to them beforehand?”

“Well... Allison, how many people do you think would do this if we were to tell them everything? I was going to tell them that they’d go to sleep and then wake up as the cartoon character they want to be.”

Allison shook her head and appeared to think things over a moment. “You know what, Joey? I’ll do this. But we can’t do it without my potion, so we’re going to do it on my terms. You understand? So, here are my terms: one, we test that machine. We test it on rodents until we have at least 70% of them coming out acting like rodents. Alright? Two, don’t sacrifice anyone without my permission. Ever. And three: I want to be the one who talks people into becoming sacrifices. I have a silver tongue, too, and I don’t trust you to be honest with people. Those are the terms. Take them or leave them.”

“I’ll... I’ll take them. But Allison, if you’re going to have this much power over the project, I need you to show that you’re loyal to it.”

Allison smiled. “Of course. I’m sure that we could work something out!”

---

“What do you think- can you break the lock, Wally? I can’t believe I locked myself out like this.”

“Hmm... Well, Shawn has been tryin' to teach me how to pick a lock. I could try.” Wally got to work on the door and had busted it open within two minutes.

“Alright! Thanks, Wally.” Joey handed Wally the 20$ he’d promised him. They parted ways, and then Joey got to work scouring Allison’s house for that potion recipe.

It was nine weeks and four days after Joey had agreed to Allison’s terms. Six weeks, and only now were they making their first human sacrifice. Worse, they’d wasted hundreds of dollars worth of pet store rodents and a few dozen hours spent altering their ritual. They’d gotten those rodents to turn into toons- mostly perfect toons- that acted like animals at a high enough rate to satisfy Allison, and now Allison was headed to Susie’s apartment to talk her into becoming their sacrifice. Joey wished he could be there, making sure that Allison was doing it right and not scaring Susie away from the idea in the name of honesty. But the one benefit to this situation was knowing that Allison wouldn’t be here, and that after this she would be headed straight to the studio- he wasn’t leaving this place without that potion recipe, and thus full power over the project.

Joey checked all the obvious places like cupboards and drawers, paged through binders full of recipes for various potions and food items, and then checked the obvious “hiding place” places, such as under her bed, under rugs, and so on. It didn’t help that Allison’s house was rather cluttered. For all Joey knew, he could have missed the recipe while sorting through the various papers on the kitchen table. He checked his watch and learned that he’d spent too long here and had supposed to be at the studio an hour ago. Well, he had to give up and leave sometime. Before he left though, he went back to one of Allison’s recipe binders, where Joey had bookmarked a page labelled, “Memory spell? Failed.” He tore out the page. Allison clearly wasn’t the best at creating spells, but seeing it had given Joey an idea of something he could add to the ink machine rituals. It would take at best a few weeks to perfect, but what if he could control what the sacrifices remembered and forgot? There were so many potential uses...

---

Norman had been right about Susie being desperate to be Alice again. Susie had been furious when Allison had showed up at her apartment, but once Allison had said the words, “Joey and I want to make you Alice again. We agreed that you’re the best person for the job,” she’d broken down in tears.

“D-do you mean that?”

“Of course I do! It was the plan from the very beginning. Susie, no one is as well-suited to being Alice Angel than you are. Now, I’ll still be her voice actress, but you’re going to make history- trust me, people will remember you as Alice for decades after this. Joey found an improvised means to bring you closer to Alice than any actress ever has been to a character. The process will seem scary, but Joey will help you, I’ll be there every step of the way. I’m pretty excited myself, honestly! No one’s ever done this before. So, are you with us?”

“Well, that sounds... too good to be true. I mean, even just getting my role back would be nice wonderful, but here you are promising me fame and all of that... But you’re being awfully vague about it. What exactly do you have planned?”

“Come with me to the studio. It has to be seen to be believed.”

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #allison pendle #joey drew #norman polk #susie campbell #my fanfiction #Angel of the Ink Machine AU

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army-of-mai-lovers · 4 years ago

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@katarahairloopies thank you so much for the tag!! talking about my writing to procrastinate writing is one of my favorite hobbies <3

prompt-share your:

first fic: the actual first fic I ever wrote was a pjo self insert fic I wrote in a binder when I was eleven and shredded six months later, in which the whole love triangle plot between Leo, Frank, and Hazel was resolved in three pages because even then I hated love triangles, my self-insert proudly declared that they were “too smart to date” (this was the excuse I was using at the time to escape the fact that I was a lesbian), and the completely un-child friendly myth of Philomena and Procne featured heavily because it was the coolest thing in the Mythology Book For Adults That Little Arthur Should Have Never Got Their Grimy Little Hands On, among other things. the first fic I ever posted was a 1D self-insert fic that I regret deeply.

favorite fic: ughhhh this is so hard I think it’s a tie between let him fly, victory lap, and like ripples, like love. let him fly was really important to me to write because the way the kataang family was portrayed in lok felt like a horrible twisted funhouse mirror version of my own family, and I knew that a lot of other mixed folks were upset by that portrayal, so I wanted to do something that showed Tenzin growing up with both Water Tribe and Air Nomad influences. honestly that’s the fic I’m proudest of, because I got feedback from a lot of other mixed folks saying that they felt seen by what I wrote, which is really all I’ve ever wanted. victory lap I love because I love writing and reading character study fics of characters who don’t get to do much on their own in the show, and I just love the concept of deconstructing the perfect badass Suki whomst we all stan and making her an actual human being. And like ripples, like love just makes me feel good, honestly. Writing it puts me in a good mood, and none of my other profoundly depressing wips do that quite as well.

EDIT: ok I think the original intent of this question was favorite fic that someone else wrote fjsdkfjsdjfklsjf my bad. for me it’s between Hooked by @listless-brainrot, Balance My Heart in the Palm of Your Hand by the lovely sukis_fans on ao3, where the stars do not take sides by WitchofEndor on ao3, and paint it red, they’ll cover it up anyway by snowandfire on ao3. Hooked I love because it’s the original Jetru fic and because it’s one of the most nuanced characterizations of both Jet and Haru that I’ve seen in any fic ever, also List’s descriptions are phenomenal, also BRUH THE FRAMING DEVICE ok listen framing devices are so easy to mess up and List just made his perfect the rest of us can all go home I guess. Balance My Heart is to this day my favorite mailee fic, I’m obsessed with it it’s so sweet and so well thought out. The author pays so much attention to Mai and Ty Lee as characters and also!!! Mai and Sokka friendship!!! we stan!!!! where the stars do not take sides is honestly a fandom classic (or should be, anyway). Y’all know I love a good major canon divergence and this is honestly one of the most well thought out ones I’ve ever seen. Also the characterization of Azula and of Azula and Zuko’s bond is INCREDIBLE. god-tier content honestly. paint it red is also something that should be a fandom classic and really readjusted my opinions of Jet as a character with its well thought out characterization. I love the concept of past jetko when it’s not “Jet was a total asshole and Zuko was perfect in every way” and paint it red ABSOLUTELY delivers on this it is so wonderful. A common thread with all of these is that they prioritize characterization over “ship dynamics” and they make sure that all of their characterizations are nuanced and three dimensional, and I love them for that.

most recent fic: love will always find you, the second installment in the donnaverse (in which the girls of Avatar inexplicably love Donna Summer and start a band together), which is about Yue and Suki going on their first date. There’s lots to love about this fic for me: it’s yueki (my favorite atla wlw ship), there’s a philosophical discussion of a Donna Summer song as they drive through LA, Suki backstory, background mailee, just good vibes all around.

fic with the most notes: like ripples, like love by far, but my most popular fics on ao3 are the greatest of them all (in which Toph and Bumi I duel and become besties) and keep the world at bay (Avatar Sokka)

a line or two from a wip: what I’m currently working on for atla femslash week-

She’d never needed anyone before, and she didn’t want to need anyone ever again. It was torture, picturing Yue’s face without being able to see her for real.

Just one night. Only one night.

How do you know?

The moon always comes back.

Suki felt the tears roll down her cheeks, the dry sobs wracking her body as she hid her face in her chest. I don’t know. I don’t know.

favorite character to write for (and why): Mako 100%. I vibe so hard with the tired older sibling with several undiagnosed mental illnesses energy he gives off.

character(s) you find hard to write: I hate to say it but Katara. I love her to pieces but I have no clue where to start with her characterization wise, which is why if she’s in a fic she’s usually not the pov character and she’s sidelined more than I would like her to be.

tagging: @listless-brainrot @the-hot-zone @miannmian @scrtminlikesdrawing and anyone who wants to!

#tag games #arthur's wips #again thank you so much for the tag kit #caps tw

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love-fireflysong · 5 years ago

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Day 18: Photo

Fandom: Until Dawn Character(s): Chris Hartley, Josh Washington, Ashley Brown Words: 1962 Rating: Teen (language bitches!) Author’s Notes: *Nickelback’s ‘Photograph’ plays in the background* Still alive over here! And it’s not angst this time! Amazing, I know. Big reason this one is so late is because after spending 3 days thinking about what to do for this, I still had nothing. And then I inspiration came to me in the shower so here we are: the follow-up to Deals and Arguments that probably no one wanted! Because lets be honest, if Ash is the one who writes ‘Ashley Hartley’ in her books, then Chris absolutely scribbled a heart with their initials by accident once. And that’s all it takes for Josh...

For almost as long as Chris had known him, Josh had always been obsessed with the idea. He wants to say that it started when they were in fifth grade, when their teacher, Ms. Franks, announced to the class that since she was pregnant, that she was going to be taking a leave of absence just before the end of the school year. Someone, he couldn’t recall who, had asked if they had a name for the baby picked out, but he could recall the response as though it had happened only yesterday.

“It’s still a little too early for names, but if they’re gonna be a girl, we’re thinking of naming her after a mutual best friend of ours.”

Ever since then, Josh had been all over the idea. Every dare, every piece of blackmail, every ‘dying’ wish was the same: “Name your kid Josh.” When he was younger, Chris would laugh and shove Josh away with a roll of his eyes. It was funny back when he was like ten or eleven, or hell, even when he was thirteen! He was gonna be a super cool app developer, he wasn’t gonna have time for marriage, much less kids. All of his time was gonna be spent developing super awesome games and apps that were gonna save the world! Or something.

While his mind didn’t exactly change the moment he met Ashley the summer after he turned thirteen, he is ashamed to admit it was pretty dang close. Josh introduced Ash to him in their favorite fast food diner, and declared the three of them to be best friends, til death do us part, yada yada yada. At the end of July, the three of them were inseparable, and by the beginning of school that September, he was gone. Donezo baby! Head-over-fucking-heels for the little braces wearing, red-head that read Sherlock Holmes and Shakespeare for fun.

And unsurprisingly, Josh never let up on his demand. Nope, he did not! In fact, he got even worse about it.

He needed to borrow a pencil for math? Name your kid after me.

Can he spot him a couple of bucks for ice cream? Only if you name your kid Josh.

When did the Battle of the Alamo take place? 1846. But I’ll tell you the right answer if you swear to name your first-born after me.

While extremely exhausting to try and avoid, Chris was able to do so easily. He just started asking the kid who sat behind him in class for pencils, borrowed money from Ash instead, and he’d rather fail history then name his kid after Josh. Thankfully, after his first bombed history exam, Ash made all three of them do their homework together constantly, so the last one became a moot point. Barely.

Eventually, Josh tapered off on the demand, but not until after the start of the next school year. Most people probably would have stopped a few weeks in, but most people weren’t Josh Washington. When he wanted something, the guy stuck to his guns and didn’t give it up for nothing. Not that he stopped entirely of course, Josh still brings it up during dares and shit but it becomes immensely more manageable. He notices that he doesn’t ask it of Ash during these game, but when he considers the completely mortified look she gets on her face when ever he gets asked, Chris figures that its probably for the best.

(The fact that he not only stops that day Chris walked back into Ash’s bedroom and she’s as red as her hair while shoving something into her desk drawer, but that’s also when the mortification starts, he doesn’t clue into until years later.)

So when Josh walks up to him during their first period together with the absolute shittiest of shit-eating grins on his face, Chris is on red high alert.

“Oh no. What did you do?”

The laugh Josh gives is low and dark, and if Chris’s hackles weren’t raised earlier, they sure as fucking-hell are now. “Oh no, Cochise. It’s not what I’ve done, it’s what you’ve done.” With that, Josh proceeds to just slam a binder onto Chris’s desk, and he looks to see that he recognizes it easily.

“Okay...? I don’t see what my math notes have to do with anything.”

Another laugh, this one somehow darker and eviler then the first. Oh boy, those alarms going off in his head aren’t getting any quieter. “Oh, it has absolutely everything to do with you.” Before Chris can even respond, Josh is already flipping through the pages, past older pieces of loose-leaf that ripped from the binder coils that he hadn’t bothered to repair and and the newer notes with their edges still intact, and stops at the most recent. At first Chris doesn’t see anything, it’s all his notes about logarithms that he had taken the previous day, blue ink scratchy and messy all across the page, and then he does. And he absolutely blanches at the sight and hurriedly slams the binder shut, putting his face in his arms as he covers his head, actually whimpering as he refuses to look at Josh.

He doesn’t have to look to see the triumphant grin on Josh’s face, he can already imagine it pretty clearly.

“Oh fuck me.”

The worst part is that he didn’t even know it was there in the first place, he never would have lent his notes out otherwise. Josh had been missing more and more school recently, claiming that he was having killer headaches and they were making him sick, so Chris had done what friends do for each other and lent him his notes. What he didn’t realize was that at some point when he had been taking notes down, he had drawn a little heart in the margins with the initials CH+AB inside. Something he never would have done if Josh had been there with him, but he hadn’t been, so Chris had zoned out thinking about meeting up with Ash after school to bring Josh his homework.

He was so dead.

“What do you want?” Though muffled through his arms, he cringed at how small and weak his voice came out.

God, he could hear the stupid grin in Josh’s voice when he answered. “You know exactly what I want, Cochise. What I’ve always wanted.”

Chris didn’t remove his head from his arms on the desk, but he did turn it enough to narrow his eyes at Josh. “Are you fucking serious dude? Really? You’re still on about that shit?”

“I will never stop. You know this to be true.”

“I am not naming my stupid kid after you! I mean, maybe I won’t ever have kids. I’m certainly not gonna if I have to name them Josh!”

Josh rolled his eyes, but the wide grin never left his face. “You don’t have to name all of them after me. Just one.” Somehow, Chris watched the grin get even wider as a thought came to him. “Maybe two, if they’re twins. Can you imagine? The twins, Joshua and Joshlynn, it’ll be great!”

“Okay, now I’m definitely never having kids.”

Josh gave a short bark of laughter. "Please, like that’s ever gonna happen. You wanna know why, Cochise? Cause if Ash is gonna want kids, then you’re gonna want kids.”

He couldn’t help it. He really, truly couldn’t help it. The image of little kids with bright red hair and glasses flashed through his mind unbidden, and he groaned loudly and put his face back into his arms to hide how red his face had gotten.

“Anything else, dude. Make me do anything else. I will strip and run through the entire school naked if you want, just don’t make me promise you this stupid shit.” God, if only he hadn’t drawn that stupid heart on his stupid notes, then none of this would be happening right now! He sat up in his seat at the revelation. “Wait. I can just rewrite the page and burn this one.”

“Oh, Chris Chris Chris.” They way Josh shakes his head in disappointment sends around a million different alarm bells ringing. “Do you really think that little of me? I took like a million pictures my dude. This shit is saved forever. I can send this to Ash whenever the fuck I want. I can post this on whatever social media I feel like and it will live on the internet forever, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Oh. Right. Shit. “I can’t believe that you can literally blackmail me with anything right now, and this is the hill you’re dying on.”

“So are we in agreement then?”

“I cannot believe I’m saying this, but yes. Fine. I will name my stupid kid after your stupid ass.”

“Oh please. Your kid may be stupid, but there is no way that any kid of Ashley’s is gonna be.”

“...I hate you so much right now.”

--------------------------------------------------

Chris hadn’t meant to respond the way he did when he found the old notebook he had bought for Ash years ago. He really hadn’t. He had just been excited to find out that she had kept the stupid thing after all these years, he hadn’t even been joking when he told her that he had spent ages in the store looking for it. (”It has to be perfect, Mom! I can’t just buy her any stupid old journal, she loves these things! I mean, what if she hates it?”) So he had opened it and started flipping through the pages, laughing with her at all the stupid misspellings and bad grammar that her thirteen year-old self had written.

And then he reached the last page.

Things had really been out of his hands at that point. Something about seeing her writing her name down as ‘Ashley Hartley’ had just ignited something in him. The images of her walking down an aisle, of them with matching rings on their fingers, of kids running underfoot, was too much for him to handle. So Chris had kissed her. Kissed her like he was never gonna be able to do it again. Them falling onto her bed had been an accident, though a happy one, as they both didn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss.

Finally, he had pulled away and her giggle when she moved to fix his glasses had taken his breath away. It had quickly returned when his eyesight improved enough to really take in the image of Ash flushed pink with her red hair spread out under her on the bed, and he was suddenly reminded that she was going to be living with him soon! That this was a sight he was going to be waking up to every morning at the end of the month, and he had never wanted anything so bad in his life.

“So,” his voice is rougher than usual when he speaks and he can feel her shiver under him at it. He makes a note for future reference. “Ashley Hartley, huh?”

He watches her bite her lip, and it takes everything in him to not kiss her again. Two years in, and he’s still amazed that he’s allowed to kiss her whenever he wants, that she encourages it even! “Be honest with me,” she starts off and Chris has never been told to do something so easy in his life, “what do you think of the name Joshlynn?”

He stares at her for just a moment, just letting her words sink in, and then falls forward to smother himself in her hair, his shoulders shaking he’s laughing so hard. Of course. Of fucking course he did.

“So he got you too, I see.”

#pride month prompt challenge #my writing #until dawn #chris hartley #josh washington #ashley brown #chrashley #im laughing that this is only like 20 words shorter then d&a #how the hell did i manage to make these almost the same length?#and theres so many damn italics in this god #this is gonna take forever to format on ao3 #what was i thinking?#does this have anything to do with photos?#not really #but considering that rainbow had almost nothing to do with rainbows #thats okay #probably should have used this for dare instead #oops

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ducktracy · 5 years ago

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happy birthday, frank tashlin!

today would have been frank tashlin’s 107th birthday, making him the second youngest director on the WB staff (bob clampett getting the title of youngest, born less than 3 months after tashlin) frank tashlin’s one of my favorite WB directors, and it’s a criminal shame how underrated he is!

he began his cartoonist career in 1930 working for john foster’s aesop’s fables, then briefly migrating to van beuren studios, but he seldom stayed in one place too long. bob clampett once likened him to a yo-yo, and ink and paint girl martha sigall reminiscing “here today, gone tomorrow. now you see him, now you don’t.” he joined the schlesinger gang in 1933 as an animator, even receiving a credit for buddy’s beer garden as tish tash.

during his first (out of three) stint at warner bros, he was running a comic on the side — van boring (he never says a word), a play on his former boss van beuren. leon schlesinger was particularly enamored by the comic, and wanted “a cut of it.” tash responded warmly, recounting “i said go to hell. so he fired me.”

he moved to ub iwerks’ studio in 1934, briefly working as an animator, and later moving to hal roach’s studio as a gag man. he returned to warner bros in 1936, this time as a director. jack king had just returned to disney, and a spot needed to be filled. evidently there were no harsh feelings between schlesinger and tash, as tash claimed “he was a man who thought in money terms. he never let personalities interfere too long; his wallet spoke.”

his first directed cartoon was porky’s poultry plant in 1936, also noteworthy for being the debut of composer carl stalling as well, who would stay at the studio for 22 years. tashlin started off as just a looney tunes director—tex avery was splitting the difference between looney tunes and merrie melodies, whereas friz freleng was exclusively MM. however, tash also got to indulge in the merrie melodies (a privilege his predecessor jack king never got to experience), his first being speaking of the weather in 1937, a take on the classic “books come to life” genre made popular by the harman-ising era. tashlin himself even said he idolized the duo, and modestly dismissed his own takes as “cribbing their ideas.” during his first directorial stint from 1936-1938, tash would direct 13 looney tunes and 8 merrie melodies.

tashlin departed in 1938 after an argument with studio executive henry binder, and sought refuge at disney. there, he recounts forming a union because of how terrible the pay was (he said that he earned $150 a week at warner bros, and at disney he supposed he “was the first person [in the union] making more than thirty dollars a week.” he wrote mickey and the beanstalk and was also involved in very early development of lady and the tramp.

he left disney after an argument with mr. disney himself (“i always pick the wrong people to fight with”) and headed for columbia pictures’ screen gems in 1941. in fact, he was put in charge of the studio impromptu when a “man” fired everyone but him. he hired a number of picketers during the infamous animator’s strike. he made the fox and the crow series, one of the studio’s better entires. and, once more, he was fired after a dispute with an executive.

tashlin finally returned to warner bros in 1943, taking over norm mccabe’s unit. not to say that his 1936-1938 works were bad (he has quite a few masterpieces--porky’s romance, the case of the stuttering pig, wholly smoke, cracked ice… some of his merrie melodies certainly rival tex avery’s), but his period from 1943-1946 reflects his experience and knowledge acquired from his days drifting between studios.

his first picture from his return was porky pig’s feat, one of my favorite porky/daffy cartoons and probably one of the best black and white cartoons made at the studio, if not the best. the plot is simple: porky and daffy stay at a fancy shmancy hotel, and the bill is ridiculously expensive. porky assures the manager daffy’s cashing in the check, and we see daffy gambling away (and losing) all of their money. the rest of the cartoon consists of daffy and porky attempting to save their hides and escape the hotel, but they end up being held prisoner regardless. bugs bunny also makes a cameo as another jailbird who tried (and failed) the same shtick they did.

tashlin lamented about being demoted back to the porky cartoons again: “who wants to see the damned pig, and i’m stuck with the damned pig. it takes him so long to talk.” “i hated him, i thought he was a terrible character.” he mentions envying the other directors working with bugs (only directing 2 bugs cartoons himself), how the studio worked as a hierarchy of sorts. having to work your way up to the big leagues. though his porky cartoons are fantastic, his distaste is subtly noted. (he claims that “you couldn't do anything with his body”, which i couldn’t disagree with more) daffy takes the front seat in porky pig’s feat, brother brat is dedicated exclusively to porky getting abused by a testosterone fueled baby, and swooner crooner hardly features porky to begin with (an iconic cartoon that holds the title as the only porky cartoon nominated for an academy award.) nevertheless, his cartoons are stronger than ever, growing only more powerful with his daffy entries and eventually bugs entries.

a big contributor to the success of these cartoons lies in tashlin’s filmmaking aspirations. he’d leave warner bros in 1944 (his cartoons running all the way until 1946) to go to the film business. ever since porky’s poultry plant, his eye for camera angles and cinematography has been evident, and only grown stronger since. tashlin described how his mindset aligned with his drifter attitude. if he was working on cartoons, he was thinking of film. if he was working in film, he was thinking of plays, etc.

he began as a gag writer for films featuring big names such as the marx brothers and lucille ball. he directed films all through the 50s and 60s, echoing elements he mastered in his animation: elaborate camera angles, fast pace, sight gags, plot twists, etc.

i’ve run my mouth enough, but he was a great guy who’s criminally underrated. his cartoons are hilarious, artful, clever, and just plain fun. definitely an important name in the animation business that should be much more important! i’ll get more in depth with his content once i get to his cartoons for my reviews (soon!)

to end, left to right: frank tashlin, tex avery, henry binder, leon schlesinger, ray katz, and friz freleng in 1936.

happy birthday, tish tash!

#long post #i’ll post this now so i can rb again later :)#analysis

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raywritesthings · 4 years ago

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Bird in a Storm 6/17

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn, John Diggle, Malcolm Merlyn, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Anastasia, Hank, Female OC Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: The confrontation between the Hood and SWAT on the roof of the Winick Building goes differently, altering the course of Laurel’s career, relationships and efforts to save her city forever, the shockwaves of such an altered path making themselves felt throughout her family and friends. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in bio*

Malcolm had never been interested in idle gossip, and even less so now that the Undertaking was nearly within sight. Only a few more months before Unidac was set to complete the earthquake machines. Then it would simply be a matter of setting them up beneath the Glades, to be triggered at his whim.

Even with his mind preoccupied, he’d hardly missed the hostage crisis involving his son’s girlfriend and the Hood last month. It had all been resolved before he had decided whether or not to involve himself, which was just as well. Miss Lance was a good person, driven by all the same ideals and passions Rebecca had had when she’d been alive. It would have been a shame to lose her so senselessly just as Rebecca had been lost.

It took far longer for the other rumors surrounding Laurel Lance to reach his ears. That she had been forced out of CNRI, that she and Tommy had separated. Considering her previous apartment had been Tommy’s last known address until recently, he thought it was high time he checked in on his son again.

Malcolm therefore found himself in the position of visiting the Verdant in the Glades. He never came out to this neighborhood if he could avoid it. Too many bad memories.

Tommy was standing behind the bar, his head buried in a binder with what looked like the finances. Malcolm felt the odd stirring of pride in his gut to see his son at work on something for once, and he hesitated to interrupt. But eventually, Tommy sensed the presence of another person — far too slow, really, he would have easily been dead if Malcolm had had those intentions — and looked up.

“Dad?”

“Hello, Tommy. I was wondering if you had some time tomorrow. I’d like to try catching up again, just the two of us. I know our last dinner didn’t exactly end well.”

Without the buffer of Laurel Lance between them, things could go that way just as easily. Then again, perhaps it was time they had a talk man to man.

Tommy hesitated. “What’s the catch?”

Malcolm held up both hands. “I promise, there’s no ulterior motive. I just heard you were going through a rough time. I thought maybe I could listen.”

His son considered him for a long moment. “Okay. I can get tomorrow evening.”

Malcolm smiled, and it was at least close to reaching his eyes. “Wonderful.”

The next night found the two of them sitting down to dinner. He’d picked somewhere with what would be considered American-style cuisine, if gourmet. Tommy had never had much tolerance for spices. He ordered a bottle of red for the table and thanks to a lack of small talk to begin with, they each had decided on their food fairly quickly as well.

“How’s, uh, the company?” His son asked eventually.

“Doing well as ever. I’m sorry your relationship ended.”

“Okay, cutting to the chase. Should’ve expected that.” Tommy set his wine glass down and shrugged. “We wanted different things, I guess. Or saw things differently. I don’t know.”

“And Laurel has left CNRI?”

“She had to. Said it was better for her clients, but I don’t see how. If a hooded killer is so important to them, I’m not sure why I’d bother.”

Malcolm paused, in thought and to allow the waitress to set their respective meals down.

Tommy was bitter, of course, that he had been deemed less important to the lawyer than her work. It didn’t necessarily speak of any deep-rooted conviction. But there was the seed of an idea in there, a thought that had occurred to Malcolm himself in the years after Rebecca’s death.

“Sometimes,” he began carefully, “people look to outlandish solutions rather than solving their own problems. They believe the Hood is here to save them, but in reality, they’re no better off than they were before he started.”

Tommy was watching him, his head bobbing in an unconscious nod.

“In fact, they might even be worse off. There’s nearly been a gang war over the business with his temporary partner the Huntress.”

“Yeah. Yeah, Laurel mentioned that guy Vanch she had to shoot only got out of prison because of all that,” Tommy was eager to agree.

“I’m not surprised. The truth is, Tommy, one of the reasons I chose to close your mother’s clinic was because I was worried for the safety of the employees.”

This was a half-truth. He was reasonably sure the clinic would have been perfectly safe up until the Undertaking, but he wasn’t about to sacrifice hard-working doctors and nurses to it needlessly.

Tommy’s entire posture changed, less closed off. His expression was far more considering as well. “I hadn’t thought of that. You know, I’m hiring at the club now, and do you think — wow, look at me asking you for advice.”

Malcolm felt something in him warm. Perhaps it was his heart. “I’d be happy to give it.”

Tommy pushed a bite of steak around on his plate. “Well, do you think I should hire additional security?”

“It never hurts. Moira certainly did the right thing hiring that bodyguard for Oliver.”

“Well, she really cares about her kids,” Tommy said, only a little less pointed than usual.

Malcolm set down his knife and fork. This was the real test, and one he had brought on himself. “She does. I’ve always admired that in her, the same as I admired it in Robert. In fact, I’m forever in their debt for everything they did in raising you.”

Tommy was staring at him now, his food forgotten, hanging onto his every word. Malcolm suspected he’d been waiting to hear this for years. Perhaps decades.

“I haven’t been the best father to you, Tommy. Part of that, when you were older, was frustration on my part. I wanted you to take things more seriously. To see the mature young man in front of me now makes me happier than I have been in a long time.”

“Yeah.” Tommy didn’t quite manage a smile. “I guess you cutting me off really was for the best, huh?”

Malcolm glanced down. “You’ve succeeded in spite of my lack of support, Tommy, not because of it. And I couldn’t be prouder.”

He could tell Tommy didn’t know what to say. Neither of them were good at expressing themselves this way; where he covered it with either cordial restraint or coldness, Tommy deflected with humor. But his son didn’t do so now.

“Well, thank you. I’m still trying to be better than I was, in spite of everything.”

“Of course.” Heartbreak was doing Tommy good, if anything. It always did; it forced a person to decide what was truly worth fighting for.

Malcolm requested the check and was soon standing and buttoning his coat. “My office door is always open to you, Tommy.”

“Okay. Hey, and this was… good. I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime.”

Malcolm smiled. “I feel the same.”

He left the restaurant in good spirits. Tommy had exceeded the expectations he’d settled on for him this past year. In time, he could well be a worthy successor. And after all, that was the goal.

Malcolm was not Ra’s al Ghul. He did not have a steady supply of the waters of Lazarus to keep his life going indefinitely. The world he was attempting to build would one day be inherited. Tommy, Oliver, Thea, Amanda — those children and more were the driving force behind everything he, Moira, Frank, and the other members of Tempest did. This plan twenty years in the making was for their benefit as well as the city’s, not that they knew it yet.

For that reason alone, it was time to bring Tommy back into the fold. He wanted to be close to his son upon the launch of the Undertaking. He wanted Tommy to know the loss of his mother would never be in vain. Her ideas of improvement in the Glades would soon be brought to fruition the only way Malcolm knew how: liquidation.

---

Thea hadn’t thought community service could get any worse. Sure, she’d complained and dragged her feet the whole way there the first couple of days, but she’d gotten used to the routine easily enough. And she’d honestly liked having the time to spend with Laurel, sort of woman-to-woman in a way she’d never really been with her mom.

Of course, then Laurel had gotten fired. That’s when things really took a turn for the worse.

Thea drafted yet another email declining Anastasia’s services on a civil suit against Dagget Industries, the phrases and language used in these sorts of things nearly second nature to her now. The couple who wished to bring the suit was claiming that Dagget’s products had damaged their daughter’s skin and wanted money to cover her medical bills. It seemed open and shut to her, yet Anastasia had forwarded it along to her with the instruction to notify the family that CNRI would not be representing them.

In fact, Thea had three more of these kind of emails to draft before the end of the day. One against Stagg Industries and two against Nickels, a landlord in the Glades.

Seriously, they couldn’t even win a lawsuit against a guy who worked out of the Glades? Enough was enough.

Thea stood and made her way over to her new sponsor’s desk, clearing her throat to get the other woman’s attention since she was busy scrolling through her phone.

“Hey, you finish those emails?” Anastasia asked her in a bored tone.

“Not quite. I was wondering if you wanted me to write any approval emails today or if we’re just going to continue doing nothing like the rest of this week.”

“Laurel really got to you before she was sent packing, huh?”

Thea bristled at her sponsor’s amused tone. “So what if she did?”

The other woman set aside her phone and leaned forward. “Let me offer you some free legal advice, kid. Pick your battles.”

“Okay,” Thea said slowly.

Anastasia sighed. “Here’s an example. Take the case against Dagget Industries. Dagget has the firm I usually work at on retainer, meaning we represent them in court on occasion. Meaning it would be very bad for the firm I usually work for if they are brought to court and lose, even over something as small as a little girl’s acne problems.”

“I’m pretty sure it was scarring,” Thea felt the need to point out.

“Whatever. The point is, my firm could lose Dagget as a client, which would mean a lot of money walking out the door and probably leading to layoffs. Considering I’m on sabbatical already and would be the one responsible in this hypothetical situation, you can see what kind of position that might leave me in.”

Thea was silent.

Anastasia seemed to take that as permission to continue anyway. “Now I still want to have some friends at my firm once I leave this sabbatical behind me, not to mention a job, so I’m going to be very careful which battles I pick. You understand me?”

“Yeah, think so.” Thea backed away and went to her desk. It had taken everything in her to keep the sarcasm from leaking into her tone.

This sucked. Sure, she hadn’t wanted to be an office gopher when she’d first started out here, but at least when Laurel had been her sponsor she had felt like the little things she was being asked to do would eventually add up to something. What was going to happen to all the people they were turning down? Wasn’t this like their last resort?

She still didn’t fully understand why Laurel had chosen to step down, or what good the Hood was for in these cases. Maybe if Thea could show her friend that the slack was not being picked up in her absence, she’d reconsider her decision and come back. Things could go back to normal.

With that in mind, while she waited just inside CNRI’s doors for Ollie and Mr. Diggle, Thea put in a call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Laurel, it’s me.”

“Thea? How’ve you been?”

She could hear some cars rushing by in the background on Laurel’s end of the line. The other woman was out somewhere then.

“I’m good. Well, mostly. Is this a good time to talk?”

“You caught me on the way to the gym,” her friend told her. “So I can give you about fifteen minutes.”

That probably wasn’t going to be enough to deliver her argument. And she thought she could see the car arriving anyway.

“Then could we meet up sometime, say tomorrow? I get a lunch.”

“Uh, I think — yeah, I’ve got that day off. Did you know where you wanted to meet? There’s a food cart that does good wraps about a block and a half from CNRI.”

“That sounds good.”

“Yeah. I’ve missed Hank’s food,” the older woman admitted. That sounded even better. Maybe Thea could lure her back to the office with the promise of more wraps. She’d be totally fine buying.

The horn beeped outside. Mr. Diggle must have thought she couldn’t see them.

“Okay, great, I’ll see you at 12:30!” Thea hung up and rushed out to the car.

Oliver was waiting in the backseat for her. “You busy today?”

Thea couldn’t hold in a snort. “Hardly. But I’m hoping that’s gonna change soon.”

If he heard her confident tone, he didn’t choose to comment. That was just fine. Thea wanted to keep her plans to herself for now. Once everything was okay again, then Ollie could know.

And he would owe her big time for sure

---

To say Laurel had been surprised when Thea had reached out was an understatement. She’d assumed her younger friend would want nothing to do with her after the Hood’s visit to Mrs. Queen. But she’d missed her a lot and wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to catch up.

She left her house early the next day. CNRI would be a bit of a walk, and she didn’t exactly have it timed down to the minute.

“Laurel, hey!” She turned at the call to find Anita standing by the back of her and Jerome’s place. She was pinning up a white cord. “You headed to work?”

“No, just meeting a friend.”

“Great. Think you could help me hang this line up for a minute?”

Laurel walked along the path and met her neighbor. “Sure. What’s it for?”

“Laundry. Just tie it around that loop Jerome nailed to the fence post. You see it?”

Laurel nodded and took the other end across the yard, tying it as Anita asked so that the line was taut. “I didn’t know they let you air dry in our neighborhood.”

Anita pulled a face. “It’s not a hundred percent legal, but it saves on the bills. Just make sure your lines are down every first of the month when the landlord inspects.”

“Ah, gotcha.” She headed back over to her neighbor so they weren’t discussing criminal activity so loudly. “Ordinances can be a pain sometimes.”

“Yeah, it’s not just the cost,” Anita said. She began taking things out of a basket she had sitting by her feet and hanging them. “The dryer messes with my embroidery, you know?”

“You do your own embroidery?”

“Mm-hm,” Anita nodded. “Avó taught me. That’s granny,” she added for Laurel’s benefit. Her neighbor held up a shirt that had a flower pattern all along the v-neck collar.

“That’s really nice.”

“I could show you sometime. Sewing and stuff, too. I know it sounds like girl stuff, but you’d be amazed how much it saves.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Laurel smiled as she kept studying the flowers. Pam would probably love something like that. Maybe on an apron.

“Well, I won’t keep you longer from your friend. Thanks for the help!”

“It was no problem.” Laurel went back down to the sidewalk and began her walk, at a faster pace to make up some of the time. Fortunately, Thea was only just getting out of the building as she drew up alongside it. Laurel hung back by the side rather than go up to the door. She wasn’t sure she wanted anyone catching sight of her in the sneakers and old jeans she’d thrifted.

Thea spotted her and hurried over in a cute little pea coat and purse. Laurel felt herself smiling already.

“Hey!” Thea stopped short of a hug, something they hadn’t really done since after the Gambit. “Thanks for coming out here.”

“It was no problem.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “So, wraps?”

Laurel led the way over to the food cart, Thea walking in step with her.

“Laurel, hey!” Hank greeted with a surprise smile. “Your usual?”

“Make it two, Hank. And I’m paying,” she added to Thea. Her friend started to protest, but Laurel was already handing the money over. Hank didn’t take cards, and she doubted Thea carried much in small bills anyway.

They took the wraps and started walking.

“How’s your community service going?”

“One hour at a time,” Thea answered. She sounded almost as unenthused as when she’d first started, and Laurel frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yeah. It’s Anastasia. She’s not doing anything.”

Laurel had had some worries about that. The woman had made it very clear she wasn’t at CNRI by much choice and would be counting down the days when she went back to her corporate firm. “You mean she’s not taking cases?”

“All she’s agreed to take on are some civil suits involving individuals and not corporations, and a few name change petitions.”

“Well, those are important,” Laurel pointed out. “For a lot of people, it means all the difference to have the name they truly want recognized.”

“Yeah, okay,” Thea admitted. “But we could be doing way more. Maybe if you were there?”

Laurel sighed. She should have expected something like this. “Thea, I was fired. I can’t exactly walk back through the door whenever I want.”

“Well, could you still say the thing they wanted to hear about the Hood?”

Laurel shook her head. “I was serious about that, Thea. I’m not going to denounce him to make a few corporate executives more comfortable. You know, if it weren’t for the Hood people like Sommers who hired the Triad to attack me would still be out there. That dealer who made Vertigo would be, too.”

Thea’s face scrunched up in thought. “I mean, okay, the Hood stops some bad people. But he also attacked mom and took you hostage. If you want to say he’s doing some good, fine, but he seems to be going about it in the wrong way.”

Laurel sighed. “I don’t agree with every action he’s taken, but it’s hard to know what kind of choices you have to make in the heat of the moment.”

Thea shrugged. “Agree to disagree. So—”

Whatever Thea had been about to say was cut off when a boy in a red hoodie knocked into her friend and grabbed the expensive purse hanging from her arm. Laurel could curse herself; she should have never let Thea come meet her out here looking this rich.

“Hey!”

The boy kept running, and without even thinking Laurel took off after him. Enough was enough.

A package wrapped in foil whizzed past her head and missed the boy — Thea had thrown one of the sandwiches. They were closing in fast on a fence blocking off the end of the street. But the thief jumped off some boards against the wall and started to climb. Laurel grabbed a handhold around the iron pole and leveraged herself up to snag his ankle before he could get over the top.

He struggled, leg swinging wildly. “Let go!”

“Give it back first!”

He kicked out with his other foot unexpectedly and caught her nose. Laurel felt and heard something crack, but there wasn’t immediate pain. Instead the shock caused her to yank sharply on his leg, sending first him and then herself toppling off the fence to the ground.

The bite of concrete was harsh on her hands and the side of her face, and the landing left her winded. Not as much as the would-be thief who was sprawled on his back while the purse sat a few feet away.

Thea’s heeled boots clopping against the pavement announced her arrival, and Laurel watched her bend down to scoop up her stolen property. “I’ll take that.”

“Have it. Jesus,” the boy groaned.

Laurel sat up and started to push herself off the ground, wincing at her skinned hands.

“Laurel, oh my God!” Thea gasped. “You’re bleeding!”

She reached up to touch her nose — or tried to, but winced at the slightest brush of her fingertips. “It probably looks worse than it is.” She looked down at the boy, who had tucked one of his arms in towards his chest. “What about you?”

He glared up at her. “I’m fine.”

“Is it your wrist?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Laurel, we have to get you to a hospital,” Thea insisted.

She pulled a face and then winced when that hurt. “I don’t have health insurance anymore, Thea. I’ll just try and make a splint at home.” Or maybe call John and ask for his help.

But Thea shook her head. “No way. I can cover it. We’ll go to one of those clinics — don’t the Merlyns have one in the Glades?”

“Uh, no. At least, I think it’s closing soon. Glades Memorial would be better.” Laurel said. It’d be just her life for Tommy to find out she’d wound up a patient in his mother’s clinic because of a scuffle in the street. And she wasn’t sure if Mr. Merlyn had gotten his way about those closing papers.

She looked down at the boy again and sighed, reaching down to haul him up by his good arm.

“I don’t need help,” he spat.

“You need that wrist looked at. Come on. I’ll cover you.”

“Thought you didn’t have the money.”

She didn’t even flinch at his biting tone, much less rise to it. “I broke the wrist, I buy the cast. Let’s go.”

Thea eyed the boy uncertainly for a moment, but walked along on her other side.

“What’s your name?”

“Roy,” he answered after a pause.

“Well Roy, I’m Laurel.”

---

Roy didn’t really know what to make of the situation he’d found himself in. But that was always the risk when committing a crime, he guessed.

At least there weren’t any cops. Yet.

The two women brought him along with them to Glades Memorial and sure enough he got his wrist looked at.

“It’s a sprain, fortunately,” the doctor told him. “You’re going to want to rest it.”

Sure, like she thought he had the money to sit around doing nothing for a while. At least she gave him some pain meds to go with her advice. Those would be more useful; he could get a pretty good price for them.

Roy sat out in a hallway. The younger girl, Thea Queen as it turned out, stood a few feet away, arms crossed and glancing at him occasionally. He kept his expression sullen. Who was she to judge him when she’d never had to work an honest day of her life either?

A door down the hall opened, admitting the third member of their group. Laurel, he thought she was called.

“Good news, my nose isn’t broken.”

When he looked up, the woman was wearing a sort of splint over it.

“Lucky you.”

“How about your wrist?”

“Sprained.”

“Well, that’s manageable at least. So, Roy, let’s talk.” She pulled the other chair over closer and sat in it. “Why’d you try to steal my friend’s purse?”

He rolled his eyes. “Why do you think? I need money.”

“Your paycheck not enough?”

Roy looked away.

“You don’t have a paycheck,” Laurel guessed. “What’s stopping you from getting a job, Roy? You’re young, fairly strong by the looks of it.”

“What, so I should be out there breaking my back on hard labor?”

“Better than breaking it stealing,” Thea Queen snarked. He scowled at her.

“Look, Roy, I don’t think you’re someone who steals for the thrill of it, or to get rich,” said Laurel. “I think you’re just trying to make ends meet.” Under her tougher getup, she sounded just as well-meaning and patronizing as the social workers that had visited him every so often growing up.

“Yeah, well I’ve found a way to make them meet. Lot easier than trying to get hired with a rap sheet, unless you know somewhere.”

Laurel turned to her friend, a meaningful look on her face. Thea Queen stared back. “Seriously?” She gave a huff. “Fine. My brother’s club is hiring. I could put in a word for you.”

“Because I want to go to work for the rich and powerful in this city? Clean up their vomit and piss for them? No thanks.” Roy stood and made to walk out.

Laurel’s chair scraped back and hit the wall with a sharp bang, and the next thing he knew she was hauling him back around by his good arm.

“You think you’re proving it to someone just because you have an attitude and know how to take whatever you want? You think you’re better than the rich who steal from people in this neighborhood just because you’re from here?” Her look was piercing, and he found himself taking a step back. “No one is going to fix the system for you, Roy. You can either be part of the solution or part of the problem, and if you’re going to take the easy route then I think you can drop the sanctimonious crap.”

“She’s probably got twenty other purses just like that at home!”

“Then keep it.”

They both froze as the bag landed at their feet.

“You’re right. I don’t need it,” Thea Queen stated. “So if you want my money instead of someone else’s in the Glades, I’d rather you take it.”

Something churned unpleasantly in his gut. “I don’t need your charity.”

“No, you’d rather just steal from me instead.” She scoffed and started walking away. Laurel backed up a couple of steps as well, face impassive. Roy looked down at the purse and his beat up sneakers.

He scooped it up and jogged down the hall, pushing it into the younger girl’s arms. “Here,” he said gruffly.

She looked at him with wide eyes, and he swallowed once. Then Roy turned and shoved his good hand in his pocket, shouldering his way out of Glades Memorial.

He’d be damned if he owed them anything. Already bad enough he was feeling guilty. Why should he care about making things better in the Glades? Nobody else did.

Did they?

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing #bird in a storm

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zoey-wades · 5 years ago

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Start Spreading The News

Ship: King Liam x Lyra Frasier (MC)

Rating: PG-13 (For minor smut)

Summary: Queen Lyra Frasier-Rys visits the local Valtorian Elementary school and gets a surprise.

-x-

Lyra could sometimes forget that she was married to a king.

Golden pink rays of the early morning sun peeked through the heavy ornate curtains, and surrounded her husband in a gentle glow. She watched him as he peacefully slept, his bare chest rising and falling evenly, and his dark, messy hair contrasting with the cream colored silk pillow beneath his head. The hint of a smile pulled at the corner of his lips when she shifted next to him, and his warm hand absentmindedly rested against her protruding stomach.

He looked like an ordinary man, sleeping peacefully next to his wife. And it was only in the comfort of their bedroom that they could be just that.

The little one kicked Liam’s hand, and Lyra let out an involuntary gasp at the action.

“Oh!” She whispered, pressing her hand over her husband’s, “Wow, that was a strong one.”

Liam peeked at her through heavily lidded eyes and grinned, “We might have an athlete on our hands.”

“I sure hope not,” she interlocked her fingers with his, and lifted their joined hands to her lips, “You’re enough of a handful with your constant energy.”

He raised an eyebrow and rolled over on his side to face Lyra, pulling her closer and placing small kisses along her cheek, “You didn’t seem to mind my energy six months ago.”

His lips traveled down her neck, and he stopped to gently nibble the soft spot just under her ear.

“Liam,” Lyra whined, biting down on her lower lip. She felt him smile against her skin, when he reached around to slide his hand beneath the hem of her silk nightgown and grab a handful of her ass.

“Have I ever mentioned how beautiful you look in this, my love?” Liam murmured into her bare shoulder, tugging at her lacy strap with his teeth and kissing the exposed deep russet skin.

No one warned her that the hormones would ruin her life like this.

Every touch seemed to light up all the nerves in her body. Every night ended with the couple making intense love, and she spent her days excited to see her husband again. Sometimes she’d lock eyes with him during council meetings, he’d smile at her, and she’d have to stop herself from dragging him to the bathroom for a quickie. Even now, she found herself shivering with the need to be pinned down and--

Shit.

“Baby,” Lyra ran her fingers through her husband’s hair, as he kissed down her chest, “I gotta pee.”

She rolled herself out of bed, and shuffled over to the bathroom as he laughed at the sound of her peeing through the closed bathroom door.

“Are you sure we can’t? Not even just a quick closet bang sesh?” Lyra wiggled her eyebrows, and Liam snorted at his wife’s antics. She adjusted the soft pink tweed blazer that draped comfortably over her stomach, and shook her butt in the mirror to test the security of her matching pink skirt’s waistband. She virtually looked almost like her old self, as her maternity wear was custom made to give her some semblance of privacy. The last thing she wanted was an influx of articles talking about how big she was. Not that she really cared, but the internet could be extraordinarily cruel when it wanted to be. And she felt more sensitive than usual, lately.

Liam lovingly twirled one of her thick curls around his finger, and let it spring back into place, then wrapped his arms around her, “Just think of it as something to look forward to tonight.” He kissed her pouting lips.

“Fiiiiine,” she sighed dramatically, tossing her head back, “You’re lucky I love kids, or I’d cancel and take you right now.”

Liam sharply sucked air between his teeth and kissed her on the nose, “When did you get so aggressive?”

“Blame your child.”

“Oh, it’s my child now?”

They giggled together, and a quick knock on the door interrupted the two as Mara poked her head in.

“Your Majesty, it’s time.”

“Thank you, Mara. I’ll be right there.”

The older woman bowed and shut the door behind her. Propping up on her tiptoes, Lyra cupped her husband’s face in her hands.

“One from me, and one from the little one,” she pressed two sweet kisses to his smiling lips, “We love you.”

“And I love you. Both of you.” He leaned down and kissed her stomach.

-X-

Lyra’s first visit to Valtoria’s local elementary school occurred shortly after her coronation. Her initial visit aimed to get to know the parents and children she had responsibility to look after, and she often checked in with the community to see what they needed. Lyra made a point to do whatever she could to form a bond with the people of her duchy, as this was a new experience for everyone involved. After all, it had been ages since they last had a duchess, and this was Lyra’s first official home in Cordonia. After learning of her pregnancy, Lyra reached out to Valtoria’s school district once again and found that the children were eager to see her.

The start of the school year brought about a flurry of activity in the school hallways. Colorful posters welcoming the queen decorated the walls, and streamers in crimson red and gold draped every doorway. As the click of her heels echoed down the halls, Madeline briefed her on what to expect from the visit. She rapidly flipped through her color coded binder, rambling off some facts about the number of kids, and the parents in attendance, who the teacher was, and what they expected from Lyra. And as usual, Lyra only half listened. Truly, all she could think about was her own child one day roaming these halls. She imagined them laughing with other children, learning about the country she loved, playing those silly childhood games and coming home to her covered in dirt. She thought about packing lunch for them (if she could), and smothering them in kisses before they left every morning. She lovingly rubbed her stomach, before the group accompanying Lyra came to a stop in front of a closed door.

“Here we are,” Madeline snapped the binder shut, “Mrs. Dennigan’s first grade class. I’ll check to see if she’s ready.”

She gently knocked on the door, and after a beat, a kindly older woman with dark olive skin and bright brown eyes peeked her head through a crack in the open door. Her long silver hair sat in a neat braid on her shoulder, and her thick glasses sat perched along her nose. She stepped out and firmly closed the door behind her, before executing an elegant curtsy. Lyra briefly wondered how often the older woman was in the presence of the last duchess as a child.

“Your Majesty, it’s an absolute honor to have you here, again. The children are so excited to see you.”

Lyra felt her cheeks warm up at the thought, “And I’m so excited to see them. I even brought them some goodies.” She motioned behind her to the chefs she brought along, who carried with them trays filled with mini Cordonian Ruby apple pies.

“Oh! Thank you so much,” Mrs. Dennigan smiled brightly, “I’m sure they’ll love this far more than the animal crackers I brought for them today.”

She and the older woman shared a giggle before she grasped the handle behind her.

“Ready to see them?”

Lyra nodded enthusiastically, “Absolutely!”

A large banner decorated the front of the classroom, welcoming her to the school. Decorating it were a bunch of small rainbow handprints, along with the Cordonian and American flags. A few of the children drew illustrations of her, Liam, and a baby between them, with a colorful interpretation of the New York City skyline on one side, and the palace on the other. The children stood in front of her, cheering and waving both country’s flags in their hands.

“Good morning, Queen Lyra!” They sang out in a chorus of tiny voices.

It took all of 4 seconds after entering the classroom for Lyra to burst into tears. She heard the snapping of cameras, and knew she had to reel it in before she broached ugly crying territory. Mrs. Dennigan graciously handed her a tissue, and she dabbed her face, shooting her a grateful look.

“All of this for me?” She asked, pressing a hand to her stomach, “Oh, gosh, you didn’t have to do this for me. Being here is enough of a gift as it is.”

“We actually have one more thing for you,” the teacher motioned for her to sit in a chair placed at the center of the room. Lyra wasn’t sure her heart could take anymore cuteness, but she obliged, sitting in front of the smiling group of 6-year-olds.

A little girl walked forward, clutching a bouquet of wildflowers in shaking dark brown hands. Her black, coily hair was parted into two plaits that sat on her shoulders, and she nervously pushed her glasses up her tiny button nose. She was just like Lyra when she was a child, it was almost uncanny. She couldn’t help the widening smile that graced her face as the child curtsied and handed her the flowers. She then pulled out a small piece of paper to read.

“Dear Queen Lyra,” she began, with an adorably serious look on her face, “Thank you for coming to our school. It makes us really happy to see you on TV, 'cause you’re really nice and make everyone smile. We are happy that you and King Liam are having a baby. And we hope you and the baby are happy to be here, too. We want to sing for you, and we really hope you like it. Love, Room 204″

Lyra clutched the flowers to her chest and reached out to the little girl before she reentered the group, “Is it okay if I hug you?”

She shyly nodded and reached out to Lyra, sinking into her embrace. Cameras went off around them, and the baby kicked in response, causing the little girl to start in her arms.

“I think the baby likes you,” Lyra assured her, causing the little girl to blush.

“Thank you, Queen Lyra’s baby,” the child curtsied again, before hurrying back in the line, and Lyra laughed happily.

Mrs. Dennigan sat at the computer and clicked around as the children got into place. The opening notes of a familiar Frank Sinatra song filled the speakers, and Lyra’s heart lurched in her chest. The children began to sing:

Start spreadin' the news, I'm leavin' today I want to be a part of it New York, New York

These vagabond shoes, are longing to stray Right through the very heart of it New York, New York

It was at this point that Lyra felt that strong pang of homesickness that she hadn’t felt in so long. She watched the little ones sing to her, slightly off key, while trying her absolute hardest to hold it together for them. New York reminded her of so many things. She missed her family, her old friends, her old neighborhood haunts and the cheap Brooklyn walk-up. She missed sitting on the roof during those hot, disgustingly sticky summer days, and the ice pops she’d get from the bodega down the street. She thought of her bar job, and how she hated it, but also missed the regulars who told her stories of triumph and tragedy.

It was also where she fell in love over and over again, with girls who never really stayed and guys she never took seriously. It was where she fell in love for the last time with the first person who made her picture forever. She could remember the way his eyes lit up when he saw the Statue of Liberty, and tasted freedom on her lips for the first time. And she could remember the breeze coming off of the harbor, whipping her hair around her as Liam slipped the ring on her finger.

She swallowed down the lump in her throat as they reached the climax of the song and raised their arms.

And If I can make it there I'm gonna make it anywhere It's up to you, New York New York New York!

Lyra leaped to her feet and clapped along with the rest of the adults in the room, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Cordonia was home. But New York was home.

And she missed it deeply.

#playchoices #trr #trh #king liam x mc #naja writes

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saleintothe90s · 5 years ago

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381. It Came From the Daily Show: one episode from August 1999, and one from September 1999

(June and July here)

August 26, 1999

I have a treat for the episode for August -- I uploaded my vhs copy of it!

By August, Jon is still walking to his desk at the beginning of the show -- I still can’t remember when he stopped doing this. Jon has to get through the show quickly tonight, it’s their back to school episode, and he has to go out and buy notebooks, binders, and toughskins. Sometimes he chafes! Ya’ll are like what on earth are toughskins? Toughskins were these ugly pants for kids that Sears used to sell in their catalog back in the day. They were supposed to be more durable, but I can’t imagine they were very flexible. Here’s a commercial.

Headlines - Pilot to Coke-Pilot : American Airlines employees caught smuggling cocaine. There may of been an incident of cocaine leaking out onto the food in a food cart...”resulting in an entire coach section running up and down the aisles with sandwiches held aloft screaming, ‘WOO-HOO! HAM AND CHEESE! YEAH!’.”

American Airlines had to change their slogan:

Clinton Vacation Diaries: Day 5 - Bill is on vacation golfing at Martha’s Vineyard. People were watching him and began singing “God Bless America”, which is creepy.

Tough Glove - Little League World Series heats up. Kids from all over the world come to a little town in PA to learn new ways to call their teammates homophobic slurs. Hey, Jon said it, I didn’t. Winners will either be sent to their rooms ... or their looms depending on where they are from. This is one of the crueler segments that I’ve covered from this series, and something Jon and crew got away from come late ‘99 and into 2000.

Correspondent Piece - Stilt Stalkings: Stephen Colbert interviews Uncle Sam who says that his ex wife is stalking him. “I want you to leave me alone!” he says.

Stephen: Did you ever go through his garbage?

Ex-wife: no....

Stephen: Good, because he peed all over it.

After commercials, Jon asks, “...is it a bad sign if someone in the audience says to me, ‘GET IN MAH BELLY!’?”

Other News - Going Going, Gun : “Los Angeles bans gun sales at gun shows. Gun Lobbyists say, ‘gun shows don’t kill people, people shows kill people.’”

Interview - Nia Long: I usually skip the interview in these entries, due to time constraints, but this one is special. Nia teaches Jon what a ho bag is. Nia lost her luggage three times on this promotional tour. However, she says that he mother always told her “no matter where you go, always carry your ho-bag”.

Nia: you know, your toothbrush, your condoms, a clean pair of underwear, your protein drink...

Jon: My apartment is a ho-bag!

Jon was just reading Family Circus.

This Just In - Nice Cans: Campbells introduces a new soup label. Because that was news in 1999. I love this stupid thing so much, Jon and Crew makes something as trivial as soup funny. This was the Daily Show I loved for years that sadly went away.

“Many say collectors will be rushing out to stores to buy the old cans, and place them on a trophy shelf alongside the bittersweet dream that was Crystal Pepsi.”

“The new label also features a photo of soup in a bowl, which will come as a revelation to the millions of consumers who up until new always ate their soup of out a hat!”

I actually remember those new labels, haha. The Campbells can had stayed the same all my life until then. So when that changes, you notice it.

Out at the Movies - Summer, 1999 wrap up: Jon says in the introduction that Frank will tell us why the Summer of 1999 movies went so “horribly, horribly wrong” -- but I’ve read articles where people declare 1999 as one of the best years for movies. Maybe 20 years ago, people were focused on the disappointment of The Phantom Menace, and Eyes Wide Shut? I mean, in the How Did this Get Made podcast episode about Lawnmower Man, Jason Mantzoukas even says that he CRIED when he saw how bad Phantom Menace was.

[from my hometown newspaper, Daily Press]

September 30, 1999 -- I uploaded this one from my old tapes too.

Here we are, bby. This is one of my all time favorite episodes. Jon learns all about Garth Brooks’ alter ego, Chris Gaines. Oh boy, Chris Gaines. Garth Brooks like, wanted to be a rock n roll star, and star in a movie or something so he created this character named Chris Gaines? Garth even went to make believe land, and gave him a whole backstory. I remember one was his mom or his dad coached swimming in Australia? There was even a faux Behind the Music on VH1 about Chris and how his bandmates died?! It was seriously one of the dumbest things from 1999. By the way, The Lamb never became a movie.

Headlines - Alter Egomaniac: Garth puts on a TV concert of his alter ego, but he performs on stage as Garth? Will he ask himself for an autograph of Chris Gaines?

I found the entire interview that played in between songs for the special, including the music video for Chris’ first band Crush (because that’s an original name for a band). Garth is totally lost in Chris Gaines when he’s explaining the faux musical video. You have to watch it. The bizarre “did you know?” about Chris’ fictional life are also in the clip. Was this music video made for the movie that never got off the ground? So many unanswered questions.

Jon says we can’t care about this stuff because CHRIS DOESN’T EXIST.

Media Responsibility - The correspondents are here to criticize the media. Yada Yada, this is all Chyron jokes:

It also includes a clip of a guy in a bullfight where his pants were removed by the bull. Classic Daily Show clip.

Stephen Colbert has to go freak on some bones? I wanna know where that shower was. Is it the one in Jon’s dressing room? Did they got to a co-workers apartment just for that shower scene?

Ooh! This episode has its commercials intact! There’s gonna be an SNL marathon Friday night in honor of Superstar. Also, a Phantom Menace Playstation game came out about four months too late.

Other News - Web of Receipts: amazon.com becomes an internet flea market with the launch of z shops. They’re gonna offer more than just books n cds. e.

(the interview is missing from my clip)

Out at the Movies with Frank DeCaro: For the Love of the Game - My boy Frank didn’t like it. Kelly Preston looks like Lisa Loeb, Kevin Costner has a bunch of crow’s feet.

“Isn’t this a long way to go just for a full head of hair?”

For more entries similar to this, check out my Daily Show favorites from 1999-2001 zine over at my etsy shop.

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lovebunnie · 6 years ago

Note

Do all the asks coward

1. what does your wallet look like?

-i got it as a present from my uncle for christmas and its really expensive but also so ugly im sorry uncle tom. its like that ‘southern fashion’ bullshit that white MAGA moms wear. but it was better than my old wallet, which looks like this and i got when i was 12:

2. favorite color?

- baby pinnk

3. do you own a pride flag, or more than one?

-heres the thing: my parents basically know im not straight but i havent told them. my brother has thought i was a lesbian since freshman year, i have a small pride pin on my backpack, ive never been on a date, its complicated. but no, i dont have one. maybe one day, hopefully.

4. describe your favorite outfit

-black pants, platform doc martens, hoodie under a jean jacket, one clip on earring, and holding my crushes hand :]

5. when was the last time a girl made your heart flutter, and what’d she do?

-okay so theres this girl in my theatre class who is really cute, and she put her head on my shoulder and shes pagan so she drew a little sigil on my arm that means “safe and homely” so like :)))))))))))))

6. do you use nail polish?

-i do, i mostly do black tho

7. do you keep organized?

-absolutely. i have things online filed accordingly, i pick out my outfits the day before, my binders are neat, i learned how to army fold my shirts, i keep my shit CLEAN

8. ever take naps?

-only accidentally. ill be laying in bed watching youtube and next thing you know my autoplay has me watching a markiplier video even tho i dont like him and its 4 hours later

9. who was your first crush?

-idk if this is a real person or not so ill do both. my first fake person crush was either troy from high school musical or frankie stein from monster high. and my first real crush was on a boy named dominic in elementary school. i told him i liked him at the end of 5th grade because i thought i was switching schools but then i didnt and we never spoke again.

10. what are your crush tendencies? fall hard or often?

-both both both. i am the worst with crushes. i have crushes all the time because im romantic and a fucking fool. i have 3 crushes off the top of my head rn and i like them all for different reasons. thats not to say that i want to date them, but its that i like them a lot and i kinda wanna kiss their cheek or hold their hand idk

11. describe your ideal day

-play overwatch with my best friend (u gonble >:) ) then hang out with my cat, go get a smoothie, buy some cool shoes or something, take a shower and be asleep by 9 :,)

12. describe your ideal date

-i have stated that build a bear is an amazing first date and im NOT BACKING DOWN. ITS CUTE AS FUCK AND ILL ACCEPT NOTHING LESS!!

13. whats your favorite food?

-either sushi or strawberries :3c

14. who do you feel most comfortable around?

-my theatre class, people from camp, and gobble

15. what is your favorite compliment to receive?

-i dont have a favorite, any and all are going to make my face go red so i have to cover it and maybe make me cry

16. did you/do you like highschool?

-the first 3 years fucking sucked but senior year has been amazing so far. mostly because i just kinda stopped giving a fuck but its amazing

17. favorite animal?

-i think its cats now. i really like cats

18. do you like your name?

-eh, its okay. its pretty but also it seems like there are 60 million fucking people named grace and its so annoying. i wish it was something more unique idk

19. what kind of weather is your favorite?

-a light rain. no swinging trees or thunder, just lots of rain. its nice to stay inside and feel secure

20. do you believe in horoscopes?

-absolutely not. but theyre fun if you like them

21. tell us about your music taste

-its horrific. to sum it up, my two favorite musicians are the gorillaz and frank sinatra. take from that what you will

22. have you had your first kiss? if so, what was it like?

-i havent had my first kiss yet. gonna be honest, i felt like i was going to, a few times at camp and recently when classes ended. but yeah, nothing yet

23. did you have a favorite stuffed animal as a kid?

-i went thro cycles of favorites. but one ive had for years is a plush shadow the hedgehog from universal studios i got when i was 6. i used to carry him around, even to a pool once

24. what time do you usually wake up and go to bed?

-if you know me, you know i go to bed ridiculously early. i usually get tried at around 6pm and fall asleep between 7:45 and 8:30. and i always wake up before 6 am. i havent slept past 6 am continuously since the end of junior year. please help me

25. what dream trip would you take with your wife?

-maybe to go explore new york, just the two of us that sounds like fun :]

26. do you have any pets?

-i have 2 dogs and a cat. the family owns the dogs but that cat is mine

27. what pair of underwear is your favorite?

-uhhhhhhhhhhh i have some with rainbows that are cool? i dont have favorites, none of them are cute anyway

28. what makes you smile?

-funny jokes make me smile real hard, and if you compliment me at the right time, i kind of pull my legs up and hide my face? its cute and charming i promise

29. what makes you feel heavy?

-in both the physical and metaphorical sense, eating bread

30. what makes you feel better?

-watching bo burnham always makes me feel better, hes my go to whenever im really depressed

31. how do you show your love?

-i show my love in everything i do. everything i do is for love, i love love so much its sickening

32. when is it time to get a haircut?

-whenever u want to lol?

33. where would you live if you could live anywhere?

-maybe san francisco, its beautiful and i love the city

34. do your friends and family take good care of you?

-as much as i allow them to. sometimes i go days without communicating and i know thats annoying but my friends put up with it (they shouldnt have to, i know) and my family is okay. its cliche to say, but they honestly dont understand what im going thro alot of the times, esp with my anxiety and shit

35. have you always used the labels you use now?

-back in the beginning of highschool, i used they/them pronouns and identified as asexual/aromantic. eventually, it didnt feel right, so i know identify as cis and bisexual and that feels right to me

36. what makes you laugh?

-my friends, when people shit talk gobble and i in overwatch even tho???? we didnt know him?????? and the mcelroys always get me

37. who is your favorite fictional character?

-too many options, see list here

38. who do yo admire?

-my father when hes not threatening to throw my phone into a fucking lake and my friends for putting up with me

39. describe yourself in three words

-i am baby

40. how long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

-usually about 45 min, more or less as each day goes

41. what do you wish you could tell your younger self?

-listen: STOP GIVING A FUCK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN, BE YOURSELF. STOP HIDING AND BEING SCARED OF YOURSELF, BE GENUINE!!!!

42. what would you do if you win the lottery?

-get my parents settled, see about other family members, and then distribute the money to charities accordingly, starting with flint and getting them water

43. would you call yourself a romantic?

-yes

44. what is your gayest childhood memory?

-my mom had cosmos magazines

45. do you have tattoos or want any?

-i dont have any tattoos but ive been obsessed with them since the 6th grade. id love to get tattoos, i just dont know what or where and also im afraid of pain

46. whats your worst habit?

-either biting my thumbs, starving myself, or ghosting my friends. prob ghosting my friends

47. what are you proud of?

-i guess coming out of my shell finally? idk, i actually have friends now and it feels amazing tbh. im in 5 group chats now. i havent been in a group chat since 6th grade. :))))))

48. did you know that youre actually a gift to the world, for real?

-hi i love you?

49. whats your favorite memory?

-there are so so many. but what comes to mind first is our dance night at camp where we all stood outside and i finally gave ian my tumblr and we all ran inside to dance to mr. brightside then ran outside again and we requested nightcore and rivers was fucking dancing their hearts out and we all sang along and im going to crying just typing this out

50. do you have a sweet tooth?

-i guess so. too much makes me feel like shit but i do really enjoy smarties

51. what do you like most about yourself?

-this is dumb, but my sense of style. since i got a job ive been wearing shit i actually like and its amazing. ill admit i have cool clothes

52. what makes you fall for a girl?

-besides acknowledging me, probably getting to know me and not like, putting me on a pedestal. idk its weird, ive met a lot of people this year who like to place me so high it feels like i cant make a mistake around them without disappointing them. idk, i want someone to call me out on my bullshit instead of assuring me im okay. i want to know what i do wrong so i can fix it

53. make a recommendation

-for what? uhh okay for music, listen to ‘clay pigeons’ by michael cera (yes i know michael cera) and for television, watch bojack horseman and for movies, watch the docuseries called ‘7 days out’ on netflix

54. have you ever had your heart broken?

-yeah, when i broke up with maddy because we werent ready to date. i cared and continue to care about her and i didnt want to hurt her but i knew its what we both needed. its what i needed, atleast. and i cant be a good girlfriend if i feel like im doing badly. but also ive had friends break my heart and family break my heart. but im okay now, this heart is ready to be broken again

55. when do you feel most yourself?

-def when i was at camp, that place is magical in the way it allows you to be yourself. but also when i talk to gobble because hes my best friend and when im at college, we can talk more and its gonna be dope as shit

56. name a gorgeous celeb

-jake gyllenhaal jake gyllenhaal jake gyllenhaal

57. what are some of your favorite songs this week?

-fake happy by paramore, im not okay (i promise) by my chemical romance, tomorrow comes today by gorillaz

58. tell us 2 or your biggest hopes and fears

-biggest hopes: i publish a book someday & i get a job doing something i love

-biggest fears: i end up homeless and broke & something horrific happens in college

59. what flavor chapstick/lipbalm is the best?

-raspberry i guess

60. are you okay?

-i answered a lot more honestly then i shouldve for some of these and i start new classes tomorrow so im feeling really anxious so im doing alright i guess.

gobble you test me but i do love you

#g0bbleb0ners #that took 90 minutes #also i got kinda real here.... :////////#whatever no one reads these things anyway

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