#anyways dads cousins both have 2 sons each so those are my... second cousins

[from-home]

𑁍 MARK LEE┊ 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 / one ˎˊ˗

𑁍 summary : the one where mark lee time travels back and forth throughout the past and future with his crush, (y/n) ˎˊ˗

𑁍 pairing : mark lee x older!reader (by like three years lmao) ˎˊ˗

𑁍 word count : 6.7k ˎˊ˗

𑁍 genre : fluff, comedy (i hope??), minimal angst, time travel!au ˎˊ˗

𑁍 warnings : swearing, unrequited love (i know that shit hurts omg), my humour is ass, mark gives me slight second hand embarrassment in this, bad writing??, i gave up like halfway through this lol, first time writing a fic like this pls have mercy, it’s almost 2:30 am i'm too tired to proof read fuck ˎˊ˗

𑁍 a/n : first chapter of my first ever fic on here hehe - idk when the next chapter might come tbh but hopefully i’ll continue this series for my own enjoyment! in the meantime, uni still kicks my ass >:(( but anyway, enjoy and i hope that at least someone will find joy with this!    ˎˊ˗

[ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬 : 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟬 ]

when your pastor dad’s best friend was the biggest nerd in high school and became an eccentric scientist

O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

  What a beautiful Pussy you are,

       You are,

       You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!

      If he could write like that, maybe Mark wouldn't need to be here in this boring literature class of his. Don't get him wrong, he liked writing, and he liked the way he could express his emotions through a pen and paper. But for the twenty-one-year-old boy who could barely sit still in one place without his mind wandering off into four different dimensions, it was hard to be interested in whatever the professor was rambling on about. Maybe Professor Jung was telling the story of how she met Dylan Thomas' widow's sister's friend's cousin, and how much of an artistic impact it had on her. She had told the story a good three times in the past two months - Mark kept count.

      Yeah, writing was fun and all, but literature class specifically was boring and dull to him. "Oh but Mark, why take this course then?" one might ask. But one should also know that it was a necessary course if Mark wanted to earn his oh-so-coveted diploma.

      Curse him for majoring in creative writing. His dad always did wonder why writers even bother writing when the bible exists.

      But maybe one day, an hour and a half of John Keats would produce him some ideas for a romantic poem that he could write and gift off to his love of seven years... and counting.

      (Y/N), the shiniest of all pearls and the most beautiful of all Mona Lisa's, the older woman and her beauty often left Mark stunned and helplessly in love. He first met her when he was fourteen, when she had been introduced as his seventeen-year-old tutor. She was so pretty back then, and still was now. In fact, it was as if she didn't age at all!

      Someone who resembled a goddess like (Y/N)  deserved only the most romantic of all romantic poems, and Mark Lee made it a mission to be the one to write it for her. He was so helplessly in love with her that he was able to channel his feelings for her into five different written forms: poems, song lyrics, an 'A for effort?' drawing of her, letters, and anonymous blog posts about how "unrequited love hurts".

      Sure, those blog posts were anonymous, but as good as Mark thought he was at hiding his feelings for her, everybody in town and their ancestors' spirits knew about the big crush Mark had on her. But no one bothered to tell (Y/N) about her not-so-secret admirer and nobody bothered to let Mark know that his mysterious crush wasn’t as well-kept to himself as he thought it was.

      But it was cute. Not the part where Mark slowly died on the inside as each day passed without his feelings being returned (that was pretty sad, everybody acknowledged), but the part where the adoration in his eyes were so clear for (Y/N). Legend went that he held stars in his eyes whenever his gaze rested on the older woman - like, actual stars from the galaxy. Or so the first-hand accounts go.

      Mark Lee was a talented and hardworking boy, that much was a shared sentiment by everybody in town. He excelled at all subjects, mowed the lawn twice just because he thought he missed a spot, gave it his all at church every Sunday by rapping and dancing in the name of Jesus Christ until he was reduced to sweat and threatening to rip his dress shirt off - he was a jack of all trades. There were even rumours that whenever it was time for a 'Make a Wish' patient to... make a wish in heaven, he would dress up as Spiderman and visit them in the hospital to make their final dreams come true. So maybe that's why it was so endearing, his one-sided love for his noona. If there was one person who could jump over that hurdle of "just friends" and out of the friend zone, it had to be Mark, the boy who's always gave it his all in everything ever since he moved here from Canada when he was twelve. It was one thing to have this crush that you desperately wanted to be returned, but it was another to have the whole town cheering for you - it said a lot about Mark's character.

      Which is why! There was no other perfect test subject for Scientist Kim, the local eccentric scientist who was obsessed with creating his "next big invention". He also happened to be the best friend of the town's pastor (weird combination, everybody knows), courtesy of their high school days and a misunderstanding over a carton of milk. The town's pastor also oh-so-coincidentally happened to be Mark's father, who had lived in Korea for all his life until he moved to Canada so his wife could give birth to baby Mark. He ended up moving back to his hometown, however, thus creating a new relationship between his best friend and son.

      Now Scientist Kim - who liked to go by "Cabbage" as a homage to his idol, Charles Babbage - didn’t really care about Mark's painful one-sided love, but he knew the boy could never say no to his father's best friend from high school, so there was no one better to try out his experiments and inventions than Mark. Like, there was literally no one else at all - the whole town swore Cabbage was out of his mind and were still waiting for the day the newspaper would come out with a headline that he's been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Everybody would be disappointed, but not surprised. But such an incident hadn’t happened yet, so for now, Cabbage was still freely working hard everyday to successfully complete and unveil the invention that would propel him to "the front page of every science magazine and a Nobel Prize in Physics".

      And it just so happened to be today, October 30th 2020, when Mark received a phone call from his dad's best friend in the middle of class. He was glad he kept his phone on vibrate, but god, was it distracting. To answer or not to? Why now of all times? Right, he forgot that some people don't have anything else to do with their lives other than... creating things that usually end up on fire by the end of it. You know, now that he thought back on it, the last time Mark willingly participated in Cabbage's experiment which involved some tinfoil, antennas, and laser beam machining, it left Mark's right shoe on fire - thank God he had brought a fire extinguisher over to Cabbage’s house with him.

      Just that memory alone convinced Mark to ignore the call, nearly forgetting about it once it had stopped ringing if not for the fact he received another call just seconds later. "What is this, an infatuation?" Mark grumbled to himself, before glancing up at the front to see if Professor Jung was distracted enough for him to take this call without her noticing. It didn't help that he sat three rows away from the front. But she still seemed to be rambling on about how much she loved Dylan Thomas' works, and that was a sign for him to accept the call. He kept his voice to a hushed whisper, however, "Hello-"

      "Mark! You have to come over!" There was no way Professor Jung did not hear that screech that came from his phone. He glanced up nervously, noticing his classmate's startled gazes on him. But his eyes wandered over to the front, and judging by how Professor Jung was now going on about Dylan Thomas' "attractive appearance", it seemed he was in the safe for now.

      "Cabbage, I'm in class, so could you keep it down?" Mark hissed quietly into the phone.

      "Right, right, sorry!" While he was still loud even after lowering his voice down, it was more than quiet enough for Professor Jung not to notice, thankfully. "Mark, I've just completed my latest invention. But this isn't just any invention, it's the invention of both my - and everybody's dreams!"

      Mark would be mildly curious if not for the fact that Cabbage said that about every invention of his, but he figured that his dad was going to urge him to go anyway, even if Mark didn’t want to. "But he's my best friend, Mark!" Jeez, because how could he possibly say no to the power of friendship?

      "Mark? Boy? You still there?" Cabbage’s voice pulled Mark out of his thoughts, and the boy could do nothing but sigh. This was just going to be like every other time - he’d be introduced to some machine that supposedly did one thing, said machine would catch on fire the next minute, and it would all result in Mark going home an hour later.

      "Fine, I'll be there. After class in like, half an hour." Mark reassured the scientist, and he swore, he could hear something catching on fire in the background.

      "Great!" He then heard rushed footsteps and... a fire extinguisher? "See you then!" And the call ended.

      He just couldn’t wait.

       When visitors would come to the humble town of Uicheon (의천), located just thirty minutes away by car from the bustling capital city, Seoul, the first thing they would notice was how much the town gave off Suburban American vibes, like walking through a town where the main characters of some random Disney high school movie lived. All single detached houses, varying in style from Country French to Cape Cod with recent contemporary and modern upgrades to those houses by residents who wanted to "spice it up".

        Uicheon was a town seen by others where most of the population was upper-middle class. There was nothing wrong with that at all, and actually, the residents of Uicheon were both happy and welcoming of anybody and anyone who stepped foot into town or even took an interest in moving, no matter of their social or economic status.

       If anything, the residents of Uicheon - the ones who've lived in the town for longer than ten years at least - were often worried that those who did show interest of moving in inevitably get... scared off. By one particular daunting house.

       It was a beautiful town. No seriously, Uicheon had been mentioned on multiple "Top 5 beautiful towns just outside of Seoul that you should visit!" lists published on the internet. And in the beautiful small town where all the houses provide comfort and beauty, surrounded by flowers on nearly every available patch of grass like something straight out of a magazine, there stood a modern house - the only completely modern house in the town - its exterior all... black. Even the big windows were tinted black, and it was obvious that the house stuck out like a sore thumb. Sometimes, the local kids told stories of how the house was abandoned, and was home to a ghost with a vengeful spirit inside who wanted to steal your teeth. The residents of Uicheon had gotten used to the house's presence already, but it didn’t stop the mutual sentiment of "...really?" amongst them.

       And currently, Mark stood in front of its black front doors, ringing the black doorbell and covering his ears as trumpets echoed from inside the house, playing to the tune of the guitar solo of Gun N' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine.' Only seconds later, did the door swing open, revealing a robot, half of Mark's height. "SCANNING FACE... HELLO M-A-R-K, MARK." It greeted, well, robotically.

       "Hey, Edison," Mark greeted the robot nonchalantly, walking in and shutting the door behind him, "where's Cabbage?" He asked as he took off his shoes and placed it on the nearby shoe rack.

       "LOCATING THE DOCTOR..." Edison's eyes turned yellow, colour blinking repeatedly until it turned into a green light and stayed like that. "DOCTOR LOCATED - HE IS IN HIS LABORATORY DOWNSTAIRS."

       Because was it really surprising that the house belonged to a guy who invented things for a living and went by the name of a vegetable in a bizarre way to honour his idol?

       "Got it, I'll go meet up with him then." Mark informed, heading down the hall until he reached the black spiral staircase that led both to the third floor and bottom floor. It was really nice up there on the third floor though; Mark had been there before and it even came with a movie room! Too bad Cabbage rarely used it because he "doesn't have time for action sequences". So Mark, being the loyal lab assistant/test subject he was, headed down instead to the bottom floor, where he was greeted by a hallway that was lined up with pictures of old men on the walls. "My inspirations!" Cabbage would say. Among them were the likes of Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison (who he named his robot after, clearly), Nikola Tesla... you got the drift.

       Regardless, Mark never stayed in the hall longer than he needed to - he wasn’t sure if portraits of old men who were dead by now staring at him was exactly his kind of vibe.

       At the very end of the hall, all that awaited him was a grey metallic door that had some vapour seeping through the narrow space at the bottom of it. "Shit, I didn't bring a fire extinguisher today..." Mark cursed, grabbing onto the straps of his backpacks and readjusting it on his shoulders. "It's okay, Mark. He hasn't killed you before, so he can't kill you today...?" He wasn’t sure what the logic behind that thought was but you couldn’t blame him for trying to... reassure himself for whatever was about to come beyond those doors. It was funny to him; he had been the lab rat of many of Cabbage's crazy experiments and inventions, yet he kept coming back and every time he did, the jitters were always there.

       Maybe it wasn’t because he was scared of death. Because he wasn’t - his father always drilled the idea into his head that God would welcome him with open arms when the time came. At the very least, if Mark died - most likely because of one of these experiments and inventions - he'd be bringing Cabbage with him. But hey, that was beyond the point.

       If not the fear of death, then what? Maybe, just maybe... one of these days, one of Cabbage's revolutionary inventions would actually be successful. That for all of the craziness that's going on inside the mad scientist's head, it would finally pay off.

       If only he knew when.

       Mark reached for the handle and twisted it, pulling the door open and nearly coughing when a whole cloud of mist and vapour rushed at him. "Jeez, Cabbage, what are you doing this time?" Mark coughed into his arm as he took a step into the laboratory. He actually couldn't see the scientist at first, waving his hand around in hopes that he'd be able to swat away the mist and vapour. The space around him eventually did clear, though, revealing...

       Nothing?

       Instead of the usual grand machine that looked like it was taped together, Mark was greeted with... a clear space. The scientist was over at his desk just up a set of stairs that led to a second floor within the big room. "Cabbage!" Mark called after him, waving his hands to get his attention.

       Whatever the scientist was busy doing, it was important enough to leave Mark ignored for a good five seconds. It left him pouting, though the scientist eventually did glance over at the boy, his eyes widening behind his circular glasses. "Mark, boy, there you are!" Cabbage sprang out of his seat, quickly rushing down to the boy he had called over. He held some sort of watch in his hands, like it was the most precious thing in the world. Jeez, since when did Cabbage wear Rolex? "Took you long enough! I was bouncing in my seat waiting for you to come over! But in the meantime, I was able to complete another one after confirming my calculations for the twenty-seventh time..."

       One thing that nobody wanted to do was sit through Cabbage's rambling, prompting Mark to speak up. "Whoa, calm down, Cabbage. What's going on? Where's your invention?"

       "Oh Mark, you're looking at it." Cabbage held out the watch and Mark raised an eyebrow.

       "That small thing?" Mark narrowed his eyes at the watch in the scientist's hand. "Are you sure? Last time I came in for one of your creations, it was twice my size and almost killed me." But knowing the kind of person Cabbage was, Mark wouldn't be too surprised if this little watch managed to wreck havoc as well. How ironic it would be, for something so small to cause so much chaos.

       Cabbage shook his head, meeting Mark's gaze with oddly serious eyes. "Mark, the creation I hold in my hand can - and will - change the world. If left in the wrong hands, everything could collapse. Society will crumble, the universe will be left in a never-ending stream of terror, reality will no longer exist, the concept of time will-"

       "Okay, okay," Mark was left, once again, trying to calm down the frantic scientist, "Cabbage, deep breaths. Tell me, what did you create?" It couldn't be that bad that it left the older man going on some admittedly fear-inducing rant.

       "A time travel machine."

       One Mississippi, two Mississippi...

       "Alright, I'll see you next time then, Cabbage." And almost immediately, Mark turned on his heel, prepared to just dip out of there.

       "Wait, no, Mark!" The scientist called after the boy, grabbing a hold of his sleeve, "Please, hear me out!"

       "Time travel, Cabbage!" Mark whirled around, disbelief painted in his features. "Do you even hear yourself right now? That's impossible! This is impossible! Listen, I'm fine with being your test subject but even I have to put my foot down somewhere when things get a bit too crazy!"

       Despite Mark's reasonable concerns, Cabbage really didn't feel like letting his lab assistant slip away from the tip of his fingers, especially now of all times. "Come on, Mark! Twenty-seven times! I checked my calculations twenty-seven times! Don't let my hard work go down the drain!"

       "Then do it yourself! Time travel yourself!" Mark exclaimed.

       "I can't! I need you to go so I can stay behind and collect all the data while making sure you don't get stuck in the future or something!" Cabbage explained.

       Unfortunately, Mark's face still showed utter disbelief. "You know, this really doesn't help your case, Cabbage!"

       "Fine! We'll do this the fair way then!" Cabbage shouted, holding his fist out.

       "Are you serious? Rock, paper, scissors?!" Mark cried out, covering his eyes. If there was one thing he couldn't say no to, it was rock, paper, scissors. Why? Maybe because he boasts a seven-hundred-fifty-two win record, with a mere twenty-one losses in the game. As you could probably assume, Mark was the undisputed rock, paper, scissors king in Uicheon, and only two kinds of people would dare challenge him in the game when it came to bets. Those who were bold and those who were desperate.

       "I mean it, Mark! If you win, you can walk right out that door and never look back. I won't force this onto you. But if I win..." If Cabbage won, "you have to at least give this experiment a thought."

       "Wait, that's it?" Mark uncovered his eyes, surprise in his voice. But hey, it wasn't a bad deal at all - in fact, the opposite. If Mark won - which he was pretty much guaranteed to - he could leave. If he didn't, he could pretend he thought it over and just say no in the end. "Well shit, say no more, Cabbage." And out Mark's fist went. “On shoot?”

       "On shoot." The scientist confirmed, the two men placing their fists behind their backs.

       "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

       Rock for Mark, and... rock for Cabbage.

       "You got lucky." Mark rolled his shoulders back. "But this is it." And back their fists went behind them.

       "Rock, paper, scissors... shoot!!"

       Scissors for Mark, and... rock for Cabbage.

       "I won..." Cabbage glanced down at his fist, mouth left agape, "I-I won! Against you!"

       Yikes, better make that record seven-hundred-fifty-two wins to twenty-two losses now.

       "I-I..." Mark was still in disbelief, for a totally different reason now, however. "I... I lost?" Under such circumstances too... but seriously! Time travel was a bit too much! "H-Hey, that doesn't mean I'm going to be going through with this! Remember, you said if you won, you'd let me think about it!" Mark reminded.

       "Yeah, but only because I didn't think I'd actually win!" Cabbage snorted, shaking his head as he tucked the watch safely in the pocket of his white lab coat. "But I am a man of my word, so I'll give you some time to think about it. How about until the end of the day?" He suggested.

       "That's a bit too soon, don't you think?" Mark frowned, not really liking the idea of being forced into a decision so quickly.

       "Sorry, is that loser talk?" God, that damn Cabbage always knew how to get under Mark's skin.

       "Fine, by the end of the day. But don't be surprised if my answer doesn't change." Mark warned. "Now if that's it, I'll be going." Mark huffed, turning around and heading to the door once more. This time, the scientist let him go, but not without some parting words.

       "See you soon, Mark."

       (Y/N) doesn't know where her life went wrong.

       Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration and a dramatic one as well, but it didn't change the fact that instead of living out in the city and pursuing her dream as a world renown film director, she was stuck in her small hometown, working full-time at a film-rental store.

       What was even the point of this store anyway? Everything was online nowadays anyway - who did the owner think he was, trying to compete with Netflix?

       "One Mississippi, two Mississippi..." (Y/N) mumbled to herself from behind the counter, staring dully at the analog clock hung just above the front doors. An analog clock - what year was this again?

       "(Y/N)," the voice of the store's owner, Mr. Yoon, was a less than welcoming disruption to her daily "clock-watching" (as she termed it herself), but at least it was a good way to remind her that the day was almost over, "did the kids all go home already?"

       (Y/N) nodded, reaching below into the counter for a piece of paper with names and times. "Yup, Jungwoo and Sungchan just finished their shifts half an hour ago." She pointed to their names on the paper, "Signed out here."

       "Great. You're in charge of closing up for today then, I have business in the city." Mr. Yoon informed, proudly readjusting his grip on the handles of his briefcase.

       "Godspeed, Mr. Yoon." (Y/N) nodded, watching as the man left with a nod. And as the doors closed behind him, the female found herself alone in the store. All alone... which actually wasn't even that uncommon.

       (Y/N); twenty-four years old, graduated from a local college two years ago with a degree in Film Studies with hopes of eventually entering the field of film-making and directing. She had high hopes, especially when she graduated. "To the city and A-list I go!" She could remember cheering that day in her car, diploma in hand and graduation gown still on.

       But somebody must have forgotten to tell her that the university you went to mattered - and just how competitive the job market was for... pretty much every job.

       Now this wasn't to say the college she attended was bad or anything, it just wasn't... one of the SKY universities.  And before she knew it, when it came time for job hunting, the positions were constantly being filled out by "better candidates" and after a certain amount of "we regret to inform you"s, (Y/N) decided to go back home.

       Home, in the beautiful yet small town of Uicheon. All she wanted was to make it big, live in a nice condo in Seoul and shop at luxury brands. Yet now, she found herself wearing what was possibly a ten-year-old uniform from the back storage with a name tag that was always tilted at a forty-five degree angle no matter how many times she tried to fix it.

       But don't get her wrong! She hadn't given up yet - she absolutely would not! Her films might not be playing in theatres or at the Busan International Film Festival, but she still enjoyed writing up ideas and getting some of her co-workers to act out some scenes for her while she filmed eagerly with her trusty camcorder.

       The Sony HDR-CX675; this bad boy cost her a good two months of saving up but God, was it worth it. Jungwoo in a wig and Sungchan throwing pens like they were daggers had never looked so good in HD until (Y/N) had gotten her hands on that beloved camcorder of hers.

       "Should I film the clock or something?" She sighed, eyes wandering back over to the analog clock. At least she only had an hour left before the store closed, and she usually spent most of that time cleaning up anyway.

       And so that hour began, dreadfully long until with only ten minutes to spare, the front door had opened, prompting (Y/N) to rush back to the counter from the storage room, though not without grumbling to herself quietly about what asshole comes into a store ten minutes before they close.

       But it wasn't just anybody who came in - it was Mark, the boy who always complimented her hair no matter how lazy she had been to brush it that day. Still, flattery always earned some brownie points in (Y/N)’s books. So she wasn't hesitant at all when she had greeted Mark. "Hey, it's nice to see you here! Renting a movie?" She asked, resting her arms on the counter top.

       "Yeah, looking for some Christian-friendly Halloween movie. For the kids at church this Sunday, since Halloween is tomorrow." Mark chuckled shaking his head.

       "Let me see what I can find," (Y/N) grinned as she slipped away from the counter and to one of the shelves, "I'll be honest though, you're probably better off showing the kids some cartoon from Netflix or something."

       As if Mark was going to tell her that he insisted to his dad on renting a movie, for he wanted to see and talk to the girl of his dreams who currently had her back turned to him. "Well you know us, terrible with technology." Instead, that was all he could muster up.

       "I'll bet." She snickered jokingly, turning back to him with a movie now in her hand, "Toy Story of Terror sound good to you?"

       "Better than showing them Scream." Mark shrugged before heading back to the counter with her. "I'll pay with debit."

       "Mhm," (Y/N) nodded, taking his card and swiping it for him through the machine, "you know the usual, watch within thirty days and return it after those thirty days." She reminded him with a yawn. God forbid Mr. Yoon ever see that.

       "Busy day?" Mark offered a small sympathetic smile as he took his card back as well as the movie. "I kind of get it. Cabbage called me in for one of his inventions today."

       "Today?" She asked, watching as the boy across from her nodded. "What was it this time?" Everybody in town felt bad for Mark since he was the one always testing out Cabbage's inventions, but at the same time, at least it wasn't them?

       "Gosh, you wouldn't believe me if I said it." He shook his head with a heavy sigh. "A time travel machine - or like, a time travel watch, I guess."

       "Time travel?" The gasp from the female was expected; anybody would be surprised. "I always knew Cabbage was ambitious but definitely not to the extent of time travel!"

       "Yeah, needless to say, I said no. Or like, I told him I would think about it, you know?" Mark frowned. "I just can't believe... time travel of all things."

       "I'll be honest," there was a smile spreading on (Y/N)’s face, to the slight surprise of Mark, "the idea of time travel sounds so cool though. I'd love to try it out." When Mark had brought up what had happened at Cabbage's house, he didn't think (Y/N) would actually be... interested in the scientist's invention. Definitely not when it was so absurd. But she looked so cute, the way she stood up straighter and her attentive eyes as he talked about it. Gosh, he wished he could tell her that it wasn't worth the time. But her interest was clear, that much he couldn't ignore.

       "Then... why don't you try it in my place?" Mark suggested hesitantly. He didn't want (Y/N) and her pretty little self anywhere near those dangerous creations, for concern of her safety. But she really seemed to be interested in this, and this... it was the least he could do.

       "Alone? No thanks." She giggled softly, to the relief of the boy who had suggested it in the first place. "Maybe if someone else was with me though. Like a time travel duo!" Hold up - someone else?

       "This is your chance, Mark!" His inner voice practically screamed at him. Anything for (Y/N), right? "But it's so dangerous!" His other inner voice tried deterring him from going through with what he was about to suggest. But for (Y/N)! "Then," Mark felt his heartbeat quicken, excitement and hope visible in his eyes, "you wouldn't mind if we did it together, would you?"

       If his friends Johnny and Donghyuck were here, they'd definitely be cheering and slapping him on the back. It felt like he was asking her out, something he always dreamed of doing but never really having the guts to do so. Rejection was a scary thought, but as he watched the wide smile that spread onto (Y/N)’s face, he knew he had something to look forward to, even if through... this.

       "Of course! it'll be fun!" Score! "Too bad only one person can go though, I assume." She frowned.

       And for a second, Mark's hopes had shattered once again. But then he remembered something back at Cabbage's house, and maybe, just maybe, it wasn't over yet. "Actually, I think Cabbage mentioned making two watches." After confirming his calculations twenty-seven times. "Why don't we go together?"

       "Seriously? You wouldn't mind?" Oh, what Mark wouldn't given just to see that wide smile on (Y/N)’s face every single second of the day.

       And with a smile of his own, he nodded. "Of course not, noona."

       Love has always been a motivation for man, ever since the beginning of humans. And as time continued on and advanced, a variety of factors had been added to that list of motivation, such as money and power. But one constant above all was always going to be love - something that had always been interpersonal.

       So that was why Cabbage wasn't too particularly surprised to see Mark come back to his house later in the evening, this time, with a female companion. And judging by the look of awe on her face, it didn't take much for the scientist to connect the dots. "Mark, you came back!" Cabbage smiled down at the boy from the second floor of his basement lab. "With a friend this time?"

       "Right," Mark cleared his throat, gesturing to the scientist, "(Y/N), this is Cabbage as you already know, and Cabbage, this is (Y/N), my friend."

       "Hi! It's great to be here! Like, really great." (Y/N) was still enamoured by the many... things going on in the lab, though Mark couldn't blame her.

       "Anyway Mark, have you given my invention a thought?" Cabbage inquired, standing up from his seat by his computer and leaning against the railing. "I assume that's why you're here, after all."

       Mark nodded. "I have." He confirmed, biting down on his lip. "And I'll do it."

       "You will?" The scientist's eyes widened, grin spreading on his face. "That's great!"

       "But," Mark began, gaze falling over onto (Y/N) for a short second before back onto the scientist, "with conditions."

       "Conditions?" Cabbage raised an eyebrow, pleasantly intrigued.

       "Conditions!" (Y/N) suddenly spoke up with a grin, earning a look from the two. "Sorry, it just felt kind of intense so I wanted to ease tensions a bit." She coughed, glancing back and forth between the two. "Please, continue." She urged.

       "A-Anyway yes, conditions." Mark cleared his throat before turning to the scientist once more. "I want (Y/N) to come with me. You have two watches, don't you?"

       "I do." Cabbage nodded, fishing his hand into the pocket of his lab coat and bringing out two identical watches. "So far, they're the only two I have so I need to make sure that your friend will be extra careful with this."

       "She will." Mark reassured without any hesitation. "I know she will, because she's (Y/N)." A man who was claiming everybody's hearts left and right - except for (Y/N)’s though, unfortunately.

       Cabbage looked as if he was pondering on the thought for a bit before eventually nodding and making his way down the stairs. "Well, if Mark is vouching for you, I guess it should be okay." Cabbage nodded before gesturing for the two to follow him to the back of the lab, where large screen rested on the wall and multiple smaller monitors on both it's sides, resting on a glass desk. Below it were multiple keyboards, a few touch pads here and there with clearly different functions. It was like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. "This is where I'll be monitoring and communicating with you two while you're in whatever time period you land in." He explained, gesturing to his set up.​​​​​​​

       "What about the watches?" (Y/N) asked.

       "I'm just getting to that." Cabbage nodded, reaching for the two watches once again. "Gather around, you two." He motioned for them to come closer. "It looks like a regular analog watch at first, but if you tap the clock face," he did what he had just said, the other two watching in awe as a small digital hologram had appeared in the air, just above the clock face, "it has information such as your battery life on the right hand corner, the date and time you're in, the option to video call me, and the option to switch time periods." He pointed out each detail on the hologram. "Now the problem with the switching time periods is that once you arrive somewhere, you're stuck there for, at a minimum, twenty-four hours before the voltage and particle energies recharge and allow you to travel elsewhere."

       "Wait, so you're staying we might be stuck in a different time for a whole day?" Mark asked, a bit of alarm evident in his voice.

       "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find out the proper calculations to make the recharging process quicker but for the meantime... yes." The scientist sighed. "But hey, at least it's not twenty-five hours...?"

       "Cabbage!" Mark groaned, running his hand down his face.

       "I mean, twenty-four hours doesn't sound that bad." (Y/N) hummed. "I'd love to explore a different time period, really get to know what it was like!"

       "See, at least someone's optimistic." Cabbage sent a not-so-subtle look over at Mark. "But anyway, I actually have a quest for you two."

       "Ooh, a quest! I feel like I'm in a video game." (Y/N) giggled, and if it weren't for the fact that she was totally digging this right now, Mark would have just straight up left out of fear for his own safety.

       "Exactly!" Cabbage nodded eagerly. "Since you two will be going to different time periods, I want you to bring back a memento of some sort from each time period."

       "Anything specific?" Mark asked, wanting to make sure he was going into this with full details.

       "Yes, for the purpose of analytic purposes due to their high amount of energy." Cabbage turned to the two, a suddenly serious look on his face. "A meaningful item to at least one person you encounter."

​​​​​​​        The two waited for him to say more, but nope, all he did was stare back at them. Mark ended up being the first to speak up. "Hm, I think you're missing the part where you, oh I don't know, tell us what you mean by ‘meaningful item’??"

       "That will vary from person to person, Mark boy." Cabbage sighed, giving an empathetic pat on the boy's shoulder. "One person's 'meaningful item' might be a necklace that their mother gifted them, or maybe a letter from a lover for a soldier - everything in life is a variable anyway."

       "Wait, then how do we know something is a meaningful item?" (Y/N) asked.

​​​​​​​        "That's where this last function of the watches come in," Cabbage turned his attention back to the watches, "this icon," he pointed to one of the icons on the hologram screen that resembled a heart, "will allow you to scan a person once you've talked to them. This only works one person at a time though, and it does drain a lot of energy from the watch battery. It'll allow you to see particles coming from objects, like sparkles. The more vivid, bigger and brighter the particles, chances are that's your person's meaningful item. So be careful with who you choose to use it on - once you scan that person, you'll have to find their meaningful item before you can use it again. Not to mention that the longer it takes for you to find the meaningful item, the more energy it drains." He warned.

​​​​​​​        "Talk about ominous, gosh." Mark sighed, shaking his head. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

       "It'll be exciting though, Mark." (Y/N) glanced over at the boy beside her, a grin spreading on her face. "We're in this together, after all!"

       "Noona..." A shade of red coated Mark's cheeks as he stared down at her, eyes sparkling with adoration.

       "Ahem, and me too." Cabbage interrupted, "Just, I'll be back here handling everything."        

       "Yes, of course, because where would we be without you, Cabbage?" Mark sighed, feeling a bit salty over the scientist's interruption during his and (Y/N)’s "moment".

       "Love you too, Mark." Cabbage blew a kiss his way before handing a watch to Mark and (Y/N) each. "Are you two ready?"

       "Wait, we're doing this so soon?" Mark's eyes widened, staring down at the watch in his hands with a bit of fear.

       "Better sooner than later." Cabbage shrugged, helping attach the watch onto Mark's wrist and then to (Y/N)’s. "You guys will be fine, don't worry. I'm here, after all!"

       "So reassuring, Cabbage." Mark grumbled, about to protest over the quick timing and suddenness of all of this if not for the sudden feeling of warmth in one of his hands. He glanced down at said hand, eyes lingering on the smaller hand that had clasped his own. And as his eyes wandered up to the hand's owner, he swore she was going to be the death of him.

       "It'll be okay, Mark." (Y/N) squeezed his hand softly with a reassuring smile. "We're in this together." She repeated.

       "Right..." Mark trailed off before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Together." He then glanced over at the scientist. "We're ready, Cabbage."

       With an excited smile, the older man nodded before turning to his set up and taking a seat down in the chair. The sounds of his quick tapping against the keyboard keys had Mark worrying with every passing second, but as (Y/N) held his hand, he figured this wouldn't be a terrible way to die. "Adios, you two!" Cabbage called out before hitting one last button. Click!

       And as a bright and large flash of light illuminated within the lab, Mark knew it had begun, especially with the way his limbs practically burned and his consciousness struggling to stay intact.

       The things he'd do for love, huh?

[im-just-trying-to-get-bi]

(Black screen with text; The sound of buzzing bees can be heard) Narrator: According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. (Barry is picking out a shirt) Barry: Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Janet: Barry! Breakfast is ready! Barry: Coming! Hang on a second. (Barry uses his antenna like a phone) Barry: Hello (Through phone) Adam: Barry? Barry: Adam? Adam: Can you believe this is happening? Barry: I can't. I'll pick you up. (Barry flies down the stairs) Martin: Looking sharp. Janet: Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Barry: Sorry. I'm excited. Martin: Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Janet: Very proud. (Rubs Barry's hair) Barry: Ma! I got a thing going here. Janet: You got lint on your fuzz. Barry: Ow! That's me! Janet: Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. Bye! (Barry flies out the door) Janet: Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! (Barry drives through the hive,and is waved at by Adam who is reading a newspaper) Barry: Hey, Adam. Adam: Hey, Barry. (Adam gets in Barry's car) Adam: Is that fuzz gel? Barry: A little. Special day, graduation. Adam: Never thought I'd make it. (Barry pulls away from the house and continues driving) Barry: Three days grade school, three days high school... Adam: Those were awkward. Barry: Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. Adam: You did come back different. (Barry and Adam pass by Artie, who is jogging) Artie: Hi, Barry! Barry: Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. Adam: Hear about Frankie? Barry: Yeah. Adam: You going to the funeral? Barry: No, I'm not going to his funeral. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. Adam: I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. (The car does a barrel roll on the loop-shaped bridge and lands on the highway) Adam: I love this incorporating an amusement park into our regular day. Barry: I guess that's why they say we don't need vacations. (Barry parallel parks the car and together they fly over the graduating students) {♬ Playing "Pomp and Circumstance" ♬} Barry: Boy, quite a bit of pomp...under the circumstances. (Barry and Adam sit down and put on their hats) Barry: Well, Adam, today we are men. Adam: We are! Barry: Bee-men. Adam: Amen! Barry and Adam: Hallelujah! (Barry and Adam both have a happy spasm) {♬ "Pomp and Circumstance" Ends ♬} Announcer: Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Dean: Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of......9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Adam: Will we pick our job today? (Adam and Barry get into a tour bus) Barry: I heard it's just orientation. (Tour buses rise out of the ground and the students are automatically loaded into the buses) Tour Guide: Heads up! Here we go. Announcer: Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. Barry: Wonder what it'll be like? Adam: A little scary. Tour Guide: Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. Barry: This is it! Barry and Adam: Wow. Barry: Wow. (The bus drives down a road an on either side are the Bee's massive complicated Honey-making machines) Tour Guide: We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Everyone: Honey! (The guide has been collecting honey into a bottle and she throws it into the crowd on the bus and it is caught by a girl in the back) Adam: That girl was hot. Barry: She's my cousin! Adam: She is? Barry:

Yes, we're all cousins. Adam: Right. You're right. Tour Guide: At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. (The bus passes by a Bee wearing a helmet who is being smashed into the ground with fly-swatters, newspapers and boots. He lifts a thumbs up but you can hear him groan) Adam: What do you think he makes? Barry: Not enough. Tour Guide: Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. (They pass by a turning wheel with Bees standing on pegs, who are each wearing a finger-shaped hat) Barry: Wow, What does that do? Tour Guide: Catches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Adam: (Intrigued) Can anyone work on the Krelman? Tour Guide: Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. (Everyone claps except for Barry) Barry: The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. Adam: What's the difference? Tour Guide: You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. Barry: (Upset) So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. (Everyone on the bus laughs except Barry. Barry and Adam are walking back home together) Adam: Wow! That blew my mind! Barry: "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. Adam: I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. Barry: But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Adam: Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. Barry: You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Adam: Like what? Give me one example. (Barry and Adam stop walking and it is revealed to the audience that hundreds of cars are speeding by and narrowly missing them in perfect unison) Barry: I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Announcer: Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Barry: Wait a second. Check it out. (The Pollen jocks fly in, circle around and landing in line) Barry: Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! Adam: Wow. I've never seen them this close. Barry: They know what it's like outside the hive. Adam: Yeah, but some don't come back. Girl Bees: Hey, Jocks! Hi, Jocks! (The Pollen Jocks hook up their backpacks to machines that pump the nectar to trucks, which drive away) Lou Lo Duva: You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! (Punching the Pollen Jocks in joy) Lou Lo Duva: I love it! Adam: I wonder where they were. Barry: I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can't just decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Adam: Right. (Barry and Adam are covered in some pollen that floated off of the Pollen Jocks) Barry: Look at that. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. Adam: It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Barry: Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. (Barry waves at 2 girls standing a little away from them) Adam: Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Barry: Distant. Distant. Pollen Jock #1: Look at these two. Pollen Jock #2: Couple of Hive Harrys. Pollen Jock #1: Let's have fun with them. Girl Bee #1: It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Barry: Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! (Slaps Adam with his hand to represent his scenario) Girl Bee #2: Oh, my! Barry: I never thought I'd knock him out. Girl Bee #1: (Looking at Adam) What were you doing during this? Adam: Obviously I was trying to alert the authorities. Barry: I can autograph that. (The pollen jocks walk up to Barry and Adam, they pretend that Barry and Adam really are pollen jocks.) Pollen Jock #1: A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Barry: Yeah. Gusty. Pollen Jock #1: We're hitting a sunflower patch six

miles from here tomorrow. Barry: Six miles, huh? Adam: Barry! Pollen Jock #2: A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. Barry: Maybe I am. Adam: You are not! Pollen Jock #1: We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? Barry: I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. (The scene cuts to Barry looking out on the hive-city from his balcony at night) Martin: Hey, Honex! Barry: Dad, you surprised me. Martin: You decide what you're interested in? Barry: Well, there's a lot of choices. But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Martin: Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. Barry: You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. Martin: You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! Janet: Barry, you are so funny sometimes. Barry: I'm not trying to be funny. Martin: You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! Janet: You're gonna be a stirrer? Barry: No one's listening to me! Martin: Wait till you see the sticks I have. Barry: I could say anything right now. I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! (Barry's parents don't listen to him and continue to ramble on) Martin: Let's open some honey and celebrate! Barry: Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! Janet: I'm so proud. (The scene cuts to Barry and Adam waiting in line to get a job) Adam: We're starting work today! Barry: Today's the day. Adam: Come on! All the good jobs will be gone. Barry: Yeah, right. Job Lister: Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... Bee in the front of the line: Is it still available? Job Lister: Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Congratulations! Step to the side. Adam: What'd you get? Bee in the front of the line: Picking crud out. Stellar! (He walks away) Adam: Wow! Job Lister: Couple of newbies? Adam: Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Job Lister: Make your choice. (Adam and Barry look up at the job board. There are hundreds of constantly changing panels that contain available or unavailable jobs. It looks very confusing) Adam: You want to go first? Barry: No, you go. Adam: Oh, my. What's available? Job Lister: Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. Adam: Any chance of getting the Krelman? Job Lister: Sure, you're on. (Puts the Krelman finger-hat on Adam's head) (Suddenly the sign for Krelman closes out) Job Lister: I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. (Takes Adam's hat off) Job Lister: Wax monkey's always open. Adam: The Krelman opened up again. What happened? Job Lister: A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Adam: Oh, this is so hard! (Barry remembers what the Pollen Jock offered him and he flies off) Adam: Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? (Adam turns around and sees Barry flying away) Adam: Barry! Pollen Jock #1: All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... Adam: (Through phone) What happened to you? Where are you? Barry: I'm going out. Adam: Out? Out where? Barry: Out there. Adam: Oh, no! Barry: I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. Adam: You're gonna die! You're crazy! (Barry hangs up) Adam: Hello? Pollen Jock #2: Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Barry: Hey, guys. Pollen Jock #1: Look at that. Pollen Jock #2: Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Lou Lo Duva: Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. Pollen Jock #1: It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up. (Puts hand on Barry's shoulder)

Lou Lo Duva: (To Barry) Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Bee with Clipboard: (To Barry) Sign here, here. Just initial that. Thank you. Lou Lo Duva: OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! Barry: That's awful. Lou Lo Duva: (Still talking through megaphone) And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Pollen Jocks: (The Pollen Jocks run into formation) Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Lou Lo Duva: Black and yellow! Pollen Jocks: Hello! Pollen Jock #1: (To Barry)You ready for this, hot shot? Barry: Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Pollen Jocks: Wind, check. Antennae, check. Nectar pack, check. Wings, check. Stinger, check. Barry: Scared out of my shorts, check. Lou Lo Duva: OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! (The pollen jocks fly out of the hive) Barry: Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! (Barry flies through the kite) Barry: Wow! Flowers! (A pollen jock puts on some high tech goggles that shows flowers similar to heat sink goggles.) Pollen Jock: This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! Pollen Jock #1: 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. (The pollen jock fires a high-tech gun at the flower, shooting tubes that suck up the nectar from the flower and collects it into a pouch on the gun) Barry: That is one nectar collector! Pollen Jock #1: Ever see pollination up close? Barry: No, sir. (Barry and the Pollen jock fly over the field, the pollen jock sprinkles pollen as he goes) Pollen Jock #1: I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. Barry: That's amazing. Why do we do that? Pollen Jock #1: That's pollen power. More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Barry: Cool. Pollen Jock #1: I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. could be daisies. Don't we need those? Pollen Jock #2: Copy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Pollen Jock #1: Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Pollen Jock #2: Affirmative. (The Pollen jocks land near the "flowers" which, to the audience are obviously just tennis balls) Ken: (In the distance) That was on the line! Pollen Jock #1: This is the coolest. What is it? Pollen Jock #2: I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Pollen Jock #1: Yeah, fuzzy. (Sticks his hand on the ball but it gets stuck) Pollen Jock #3: Chemical-y. (The pollen jock finally gets his hand free from the tennis ball) Pollen Jock #1: Careful, guys. It's a little grabby. (The pollen jocks turn around and see Barry lying his entire body on top of one of the tennis balls) Pollen Jock #2: My sweet lord of bees! Pollen Jock #3: Candy-brain, get off there! Pollen Jock #1: (Pointing upwards) Problem! (A human hand reaches down and grabs the tennis ball that Barry is stuck to) Barry: Guys! Pollen Jock #2: This could be bad. Pollen Jock #3: Affirmative. (Vanessa Bloome starts bouncing the tennis ball, not knowing Barry is stick to it) Barry: Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. (Barry is being hit back and forth by two humans playing tennis. He is still stuck to the ball) Pollen Jock #1: You are way out of position, rookie! Ken: Coming in at you like a MISSILE! (Barry flies past the pollen jocks, still stuck to the ball) Barry: (In slow motion) Help me! Pollen Jock #2: I don't think these are flowers. Pollen Jock #3: Should we tell him? Pollen Jock #1: I think he knows. Barry: What is this?! Ken: Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to EAT IT! (A pollen

jock coughs which confused Ken and he hits the ball the wrong way with Barry stuck to it and it goes flying into the city) Barry: Yowser! (Barry bounces around town and gets stuck in the engine of a car. He flies into the air conditioner and sees a bug that was frozen in there) Barry: Ew, gross. (The man driving the car turns on the air conditioner which blows Barry into the car) Girl in the car: There's a bee in the car! Do something! Dad driving the car: I'm driving! Baby Girl: (Waving at Barry) Hi, bee. (Barry smiles and waves at the baby girl) Guy in the back of the car: He's back here! He's going to sting me! Girl in the car: Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! (Barry freezes as well, hovering in the middle of the car) Grandma in the car: He blinked! (The grandma whips out some bee-spray and sprays everywhere in the car, climbing into the front seat, still trying to spray Barry) Girl in the car: Spray him, Granny! Dad driving the car: What are you doing?! (Barry escapes the car through the air conditioner and is flying high above the ground, safe.) Barry: Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. (Barry sees that storm clouds are gathering and he can see rain clouds moving into this direction) Barry: I gotta get home. Can't fly in rain. Can't fly in rain. Pollen Jock #1: You are way out of position, rookie! Ken: Coming in at you like a MISSILE! (Barry flies past the pollen jocks, still stuck to the ball) Barry: (In slow motion) Help me! Pollen Jock #2: I don't think these are flowers. Pollen Jock #3: Should we tell him? Pollen Jock #1: I think he knows. Barry: What is this?! Ken: Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to EAT IT! (A pollen jock coughs which confused Ken and he hits the ball the wrong way with Barry stuck to it and it goes flying into the city) Barry: Yowser! (Barry bounces around town and gets stuck in the engine of a car. He flies into the air conditioner and sees a bug that was frozen in there) Barry: Ew, gross. (The man driving the car turns on the air conditioner which blows Barry into the car) Girl in the car: There's a bee in the car! Do something! Dad driving the car: I'm driving! Baby Girl: (Waving at Barry) Hi, bee. (Barry smiles and waves at the baby girl) Guy in the back of the car: He's back here! He's going to sting me! Girl in the car: Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! (Barry freezes as well, hovering in the middle of the car) Grandma in the car: He blinked! (The grandma whips out some bee-spray and sprays everywhere in the car, climbing into the front seat, still trying to spray Barry) Girl in the car: Spray him, Granny! Dad driving the car: What are you doing?! (Barry escapes the car through the air conditioner and is flying high above the ground, safe.) Barry: Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. (Barry sees that storm clouds are gathering and he can see rain clouds moving into this direction) Barry: I gotta get home. Can't fly in rain. Can't fly in rain.(a raindrop hits him, but before he can recover, another hits him) Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! (Barry sees a window ledge and barely makes it there, then crawls through the open window.) Vanessa: Ken, could you close the window please? Ken: Huh? Oh.. Hey, Check out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Barry: Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. (tries to fly out the window but bounces off of it) Oof! Ow! What was that? (tries again) Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This, this, this, this... Drapes. (taps the glass) That is diabolical. Ken: (showing off his resume:) It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies. Andy: What's your number one? Star Wars? Ken: Nah, I don't go for that... (mimics lasers firing) ...kind of stuff. Barry: No wonder we’re not supposed to talk to them. They're out of their minds. Ken: When I walk out of a job interview, they're flabbergasted. They can't believe the things I say. Barry: There's the sun. Maybe

that's a way out. (flies towards the light near the ceiling) I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. (bounces off it and starts falling, landing in a bowl of chip dip) Ken: I gotta tell ya, I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. (Andy scoops up some of the dip with a tortilla chip, including Barry, and brings it towards his mouth) Ken: Wait! Stop! Bee! Anna: Kill it! Kill it! Ken: (grabs something to kill it) Stand back. These are winter boots. Vanessa: Wait! Don't kill him! Ken: You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Vanessa: Well, why does his life have any less value than yours? (Vanessa places a lass over Barry) Ken: Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement? Vanessa: I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. (Vanessa rips Ken's resume in half and slides it under the glass) Ken: My brochure. Vanessa: (carries the glass with Barry inside over to the window and release him) There you go, little guy. Ken: I'm not scared of him. But yeah, it's an allergic thing. Andy: Hey, why don't you put that on your resume-brochure? Ken: It's not funny. My whole face could puff up. Andy: Hmm, make it one of your "special skills". Ken: You know, knocking someone out is also a special skill. (later, as the rain stops and the sun comes back out) Anna: Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. Ken: Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? Vanessa: Ah, yeah, sure, Ken. You know, whatever. Ken: You could put carob chips on there. Vanessa: Bye. Ken: Supposed to be less calories or somethin'. Vanessa: Bye. (the last of her guests have left. She shuts the door and begins cleanup.) Barry: (sighs) I gotta say something. She saved my life. I've got to say something. All right, here it goes. (Barry flies back into her house through the almost-closed window and stops in front of a can of Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna as Vanessa walks by, stopping right in line with the mascot. He starts to walk away and looks back. Says, "Huh" and turns back around to look at the mascot, then says "Nah" as he dismisses the picture and continues walking.) (Barry resumes flying and lands on a postcard from Coney Island taped to the refrigerator, again in a position where Vanessa doesn't notice him.) Barry: What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. (begins debating with himself) I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Come on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "Ya like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Barry: (to Vanessa:) Um, hi! (Vanessa gasps and drops the dishes) Barry: I'm sorry. Vanessa: Hah, you're talking. Barry: Yes, I know, I know. I'm so– Vanessa: You're talking. Barry: I know. I'm– I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Vanessa: No, it's okay. It's fine. It's just... I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Barry: Well, you know, I'm sure this is very disconcerting.... Vanessa: Yeah! I mean, this is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! Barry: Yeah. Vanessa: Yeah. Barry: Yeah, I am a bee. And, uh, you know I'm not supposed to be doing this, but... (Vanessa makes a small "Oh" and "uh-huh" noises while Barry's talking) Barry: ...they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I mean, I had to thank you. It's, it's just the way I was raised. (Vanessa grabs a fork and stabs herself in the hand, then cries out) Barry: Oh! That was a little weird. Vanessa: I'm talking to a bee. Barry: Yeah. Vanessa: I'm talking to a bee. Barry: Anyway... Vanessa: And the bee is talking to me! Barry: Um, I just want to say I'm grateful, and I'm going to leave now. Vanessa: Wait, wait, wait, wait! How did you learn to do that? Barry: What? Vanessa: That- that- that- that... The talking thing. Barry: Oh, same way you did, I guess. "Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. Vanessa: (laughs unconvincingly) That's very funny. Barry: Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal

with. Anyway... Vanessa: Can I uh... get you something? Barry: Like what? Vanessa: I don't know. I mean.. I don't know. Coffee? Barry: Well, uh, I don't want to put you out, unless you're making it anyway. Vanessa: Oh, it's no trouble. Oh, it takes two minutes. Barry: Really? Vanessa: It's just coffee. Barry: I hate to impose. Vanessa: Don't be ridiculous! Barry: Actually, I would love a cup. Vanessa: Hey, you want a little rum cake? Barry: I really shouldn't. Vanessa: Have a little rum cake. Barry: No, no, no, I can't. Vanessa: Oh, come on! Barry: You know, I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms here. Vanessa: Where? Barry: Well... these stripes don't help. Vanessa: You look great! Barry: I don't know if you know anything about fashion. (Vanessa walks away and begins pouring coffee onto the floor, a coffee cup in her other hand) Barry: Are you all right? Vanessa: No. (fade to Vanessa and Barry on her roof terrace, talking and having coffee) Barry: He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. So he finally gets there. Vanessa: Uh huh. Barry: He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on... Vanessa: Yeah? Barry: ...and he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan." Vanessa: Uh huh? Barry: Why would I marry a watermelon? (Barry laughs) (Vanessa's more confused than amused. Barry gestures, indicating his joke is done.) Vanessa: Oh, Is that a... a bee joke? Barry: Yeah, that's the kind of stuff that we do. Vanessa: Yeah, different. So, anyway, what are you gonna do, Barry? Barry: About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I, I can't do it the way they want. Vanessa: I know how you feel. Barry: You do? Vanessa: Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. Barry: Really? Vanessa: My only interest is flowers. Barry: Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Vanessa: Oh, huh. Barry: Anyway, you see if you look... There. There's my hive right there. You can see it. Vanessa: Oh, you're in Sheep Meadow! Barry: Yes! You know the turtle pond? Vanessa: Yes? Barry: I'm right off of that. Vanessa: Oh, no way! I know that area. Do you know I lost a toe ring there once. (behind them, a janitor comes onto the roof and begins working on replacing a light bulb) Barry: Really? Vanessa: Yes. Barry: Why do girls put rings on their toes? Vanessa: Well, why not? Barry: I don't know. It's like putting a hat on your knee. Vanessa: Maybe I'll try that. Janitor: You all right, ma'am? Vanessa: (realizing how it must look, talking to herself:) Oh, yeah, fine. Just having two cups of coffee. (she laughs) (Vanessa and Barry share a little quiet time) Barry: Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee. Vanessa: Oh, yeah, it's no trouble. Barry: Sorry I couldn't finis it. If I did, I'd be up for the rest of my life. Are you... Umm. Can I take a piece of this with me? Vanessa: Sure! Here, have a crumb. (She passes one to Barry on her fingertip) Barry: Oh, thanks. Vanessa: Yeah. Barry: All right, well, then... I guess I'll see you around, or not, or... Vanessa: Okay, Barry. Barry: And thank you so much again... for before. Vanessa: Oh, that? That was nothing. Barry: Well, not nothing, but... anyway... (Barry extends his hand. Vanessa touches it with her finger and they gingerly shake. The janitor looks over and continues tightening the bulb in the socket. It shorts, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards.) (The next day at the Honex building, hurricane survival testing is in progress. A bee wearing a parachute is in a wind tunnel.) Testing bee 1: This can't possibly work. Testing bee 2: Well, he's all set to go. We may as well try it. (via intercom:) Okay, Dave. pull the chute. (Dave pulls the cord and is immediately blown backwards. He slides down the wall and shakily gives a thumbs up signal. Barry and Adam walk by the outside of the testing chamber.) Adam: Sounds amazing. Barry: Oh, it was amazing. It- it was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Adam: Humans! Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant scary

humans! What were they like? Barry: Huge and crazy. They talk crazy, they eat crazy giant things. They drive around real crazy. Adam: And do they try and kill you like on TV? Barry: Some of them. But some of them don't. Adam: How'd you get back? Barry: Poodle. Adam: Look, you did it. And I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see out there, You had your "experience", and now you're back, you can pick out your job and everything can be normal. Barry: Well... Adam: Well? Well? Barry: Well, I met someone. Adam: You met someone? Was she Bee-ish? Barry: Mmm. Adam: Not a wasp? Your parents will kill you. Barry: No, no, no, not a wasp. Adam: Spider? Barry: You know, I'm not attracted to the spiders. I know to everyone else it's like the hottest thing with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. (Barry grimaces and makes a noise.) Adam: So, uh, who is she? Barry: She's... uh... a human. Adam: Oh no, no, no, no. That didn't happen. You didn't do that. That is a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. Barry: Her name's Vanessa. Adam: Oh, oh boy! Barry: She's so-o nice. And she's a florist! Adam: Oh, no. No, no, no! You're dating a human florist? Barry: W-w-well, we're not dating. Adam: You're flying outside the hive. You're talking to human beings that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s. That's one-eighth of a stick of dynamite. Barry: She saved my life. And she understands me. Adam: This is over. Barry: (pulls out the rum cake crumb) Eat this. (pushes it into Adam's face.) Adam: This is not over. What was that? Barry: They call it a crumb. Adam: That was so stingin' stripey! Barry: And that's not even what they eat. That just falls off what they eat. Do you know what a Cinnabon is? Adam: No. Barry: It's bread... Adam: Come in here! (opens the door to the office where he works and guides Barry inside) Barry: ...and cinnamon, Adam: Be quiet! Barry: ...and frosting. They heat it up– Adam: Sit down! Barry: Really hot! Adam: Listen to me! We are not them. We're us. There's us and there's them. Barry: Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning... Adam: There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me. You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. (another bee joins in:) Thinking bee. (and another joins in:) Thinking bee. (all bees in the office begin chanting:) Thinking bee. Thinking bee. Thinking bee. (Outside his house, Barry sits on a raft in his family's hexagon-shaped honey pool, legs dangling into the honey. Mom and dad approach, wearing cabana-type outfits, sun shining behind them.) Mom: There he is. He's in the pool. Dad: You know what your problem is, Barry? Barry: I've got to start thinking bee? Dad: Barry, how much longer is this going to go on? It's been three days. I don't understand why you're not working. Barry: Well, I've got a lot of big life decisions I'm thinking about Dad: What life? You have no life! You have no job! You're barly a bee! Barry: Augh. Mom: Would it kill you to just make a little honey? (Barry rolls off the raft and sinks into the pool.) Mom: Barry, come out from under there. Your rather's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Dad: Barry, I'm talking to you. (Barry keeps swimming downward through the honey, which clears and leads him to a park where Vanessa is waiting for him, reclining on a picnic blanket. "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies is playing in the background. She swats a mosquito that lands on her leg, then looks at Barry for his reaction. Both are surprised, but then laugh about it.) Vanessa: You coming? (said in a sultry way) Barry: Got everything? Vanessa: All set. (She gets into a one-man ultralight plane with a black-and-yellow paint job and puts on her helmet. She and the plane are now Barry's size.) Barry: You go ahead. I'll catch up. Vanessa: Don't be too long. (The plane takes off. Barry soon catches up and they fly together.) Vanessa: Watch this! (The plane does a loop, trailing red smoke that forms a heart, then crashes into the side of a rock pile, bursting into flames.) Barry: (yelling in anguish:) Vanessa! (his cry changes to bubbles escaping

his mouth) (Barry breaks the surface of the pool, gasping for air.) Dad: We're still here, Barry. Mom: I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond when you yell at him. Dad: Then why are you yelling at me? Mom: Because you don't listen. Dad: Ah, I'm not listing to this. Barry: (dries himself and puts on his sweater) Sorry Mom, I've got to go. Mom: Where are you going? Barry: Nowhere. I'm meeting a friend. Mom: (calling after him:) A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Barry: Bye! Mom: I just hope she's Bee-ish. (Vanessa exits her florist shop, flipping the sign over and locking the door.) Barry: (he see the Tournament of Roses Parade poster) So they have a huge parade of just flowers every year in Pasadena? Vanessa: Oh, to be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream. Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. Barry: Wow, a tournament. Do the roses actually complete in athletic events? Vanessa: No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? Barry: It's exhausting. Vanessa: Hmmm. Barry: Why don't you run everywhere? Isn't that faster? Vanessa: Yeah, okay. I see, I see. All right, your turn. Barry: Ah! Tivo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane. Vanessa: What, you don't have anything like that? Barry: We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease. Vanessa: Oh my. (They turn a corner onto a busier street. People start swatting at Barry.) Man: Dumb bees! Vanessa: You must just want to sting all those jerks. Barry: We really try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. Vanessa: So you really have to watch your temper? (they enter a supermarket) Barry: Oh yeah, very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. You work though it like any emotion– anger, jealousy, (under his breath) lust. (Barry lands on cardboard boxes in the aisle. A stock boy hits him with a rolled-up advertisement.) Vanessa: (to Barry:) Oh my goodness. Are you okay? Barry: Yeah. Whew! Vanessa: (to Hector, the stockboy:) What is wrong with you?! Hector: It's a bug. Vanessa: Well, he's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep. (She slaps him with the advertisement and he leaves, muttering.) Barry: (shakes off the hit) What was that, a Pick and Save circular? Vanessa: Yeah, it was. How did you know? Barry: It felt like about ten pages. Seventy-five's pretty much our limit. Vanessa: Boy, you've really got that down to a science. Barry: Oh, we have to. I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. Vanessa: I'll bet. Barry: (he stops when he sees the rows of honey jars) What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? How did this get here? Cute Bee? Golden Blossom? Ray Liotta Private Select. Vanessa: Is he that actor? Barry: I never heard of him. Why is this here? Vanessa: For people. We eat it. Barry: Why? (he gestures around the market) You don't have enough food of your own? Vanessa: Well yes, we– Barry: How do you even get it? Vanessa: Well, bees make it... Barry: I know who makes it! And it's hard to make it! There's heating and cooling, and stirring... you need a whole Krelman thing. Vanessa: It's organic. Barry: It's our-ganic! Vanessa: It's just honey, Barry. Barry: Just... what?! Bees don't know about this. This is stealing. A lot of stealing! You've taken our homes, our schools, our hospitals. This is all we have. And it's on sale? I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I'm going to get to the bottom of all of this! (Barry rips off the label from a jar of Ray Liotta Private Select Honey) (Later, Barry's infiltrating the supermarket loading dock by covering up his yellow stripes with a Magic Marker and putting on war paint. Hector's opening more boxes of honey jars.) Man: Hey, Hector. You almost done? Hector: Almost. (Barry steps in some honey. Hector stops and turns.) Hector: He is here. I sense it. (he grabs his box cutter as Barry hides) (Barry hides behind a box again) Hector: (talking loud to the open room as he opens a jar of honey from a box:) Well, I guess I'll go home now, and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around.

(pretends to walk away) Barry: (he steps out into the light) You're busted, box boy! Hector: Ah ha! I knew I heard something. So, you can talk. (Barry flies at him, stinger first, backing him against the wall. Hector drops the knife.) Barry: Oh, I can talk. And now you're going to start talking. Where are you getting all the sweet stuff? Who's your supplier?! Hector: I don't know what you're talking about. I though we were all friends. The last thing we want to do is upset any of you... bees! (Hector grabs a push pin. Barry begins fencing with his stinger..) Hector: Ha! You're too late. It's ours now! Barry: You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword. Hector: You, sir, are about to be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! (The fight continues. They cross swords and get nose-to-nose.) Barry: Where is the honey coming from? (Barry knocks the push pin away and put his stinger up to Hector's nose.) Tell me where! Hector: (points to a truck) Honey Farms. It comes from Honey Farms. (Barry flies after the departing truck, dodging a bus, taxis and a messenger on a bicycle. One driver yells at messenger, "Crazy person!") (Barry continues his pursuit, using the elastic strap on a bicycle messenger's helmet to launch himself towards the truck. He lands on the windshield, pressed against it by the wind. He sees himself surrounded by dead bugs, then works his way around them.) Barry: Oh my. What horrible thing has happened here? Look at these faces. They never knew what hit them. And now they're on the road to nowhere. (a mosquito opens his eyes) Pssst! Just keep still. Barry: What? You're not dead? Mooseblood: Do I look dead? Hey man, they will wipe anything that moves. Now, where you headed? Barry: To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. Mooseblood: I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood. Crazy stuff. Blows your head off. Ladybug: I'm going to Tacoma. Barry: (to a fly:) What about you? Mooseblood: He really is dead. Barry: All right. (the driver's hand moves to the windshield wiper lever) Mooseblood: Uh oh. Barry: What is that? Mooseblood: Oh no! It's a wiper, triple blade! Barry: Triple blade? Mooseblood: Jump on. It's your only chance, bee. (They hang onto the wiper as it moves back and forth. Mooseblood yells at the driver through the glass) Mooseblood: Why does everything have to be so dog-gone clean?! How much do you people need to see? Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! (inside the cab, the radio's playing) Announcer: For NPR News in Washington, I'm Carl Kasell. Mooseblood: But don't kill no more bugs! (he is flung off the wiper as the washer fluid sprays onto the windshield) Beeeeeeeee! Barry: Moose blood guy! (Barry gets flung off, grabs ahold of the radio antenna. A cricket flying by grabs ahold of the antenna. Both scream are screaming.) Driver: You hear something? Passenger: Like what? Driver: Like tiny screaming. Passenger: Turn off the radio. (The driver turns off the radio and the antenna retracts. As it lowers, the cricket and Barry work their way to its top. Barry wins and the cricket has to let go, but then so does Barry, and he's sucked into the air horn on the top of the truck.) Mooseblood: Hey, what's up, bee boy? Barry: Hey, Blood! (inside the truck horn, later during the drive) Barry: ...and it was just an endless row of honey jars as far as the eye could see. Mooseblood: Wow. Barry: So I'm just assuming wherever this honey truck goes, that's where they're getting it. I mean, that honey's ours! Mooseblood: Bees hang tight. Barry: Well, we're all jammed in there. It's a close community. Mooseblood: Not us, man. We're on our own. Every- every mosquito is on his own. Barry: But what if you get in trouble? Mooseblood: Trouble? You're a mosquito. You're in trouble! Nobody likes us. They're just all smackin'. People see a mosquito, smack, smack! Barry: At least you're out in the world. You must meet a lot of girls. Mooseblood: Mosquito girls try to trade up, get with a moth, dragonfly.... Mosquito girl don't want no mosquito. (A bloodmobile passes them.) Mooseblood: Whoa, you have got to be kidding me.

Mooseblood's about to leave the building. So long bee. (he leaves and jumps onto the other vehicle, saying to the bugs on its windshield:) Hey guys. I knew I'd catch you all down here. Did you bring your crazy straws? (At Honey Farms, the truck stops. Barry flies out of the horn and lands on the nose of the truck. Two beekeepers walk around the back side of the gift shop. Barry follows, landing in a tree.) Freddy: ...then we throw it in some jars, slap a label on it. It's pretty much pure profit. Barry: What is this place? Elmo: A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. Freddy: They are pinheads. (both laugh and Elmo says, "Pinhead". Freddy opens a smoker box after they arrive) Freddy: Hey, check out the new smoker. Elmo: Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. Freddy: The Thomas 3000. Barry: Smoker? Freddy: Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. (both laugh again) Freddy: Couple of breaths of this, knocks them right out. They make the honey, and we make the money. (Barry flies onto Freddy's hat and onto the brim.) Elmo: "They make the honey, and we make the money." (Freddy and Elmo walk onward. Freddy opens an apiary box and sprays it with smoke. Inside, the bees start moaning and gasping.) Barry: Oh my. (Barry flies into the open box as Freddy leaves and makes his way into an apartment. Two bees are just waking up.) Barry: What's going on? Are you okay? Howard: Yeah, it doesn't last too long. Barry: How did you two get here? Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? Howard: (points to a picture) Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. Barry: (looks at the picture) This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes. That's a drag-queen! (The walls separating the apartments are removed, revealing hundreds of them.) Barry: What is this? (Flies through the apartments and out into the open air. He hovers high above a tree, where he sees even more apiary boxes on the farm. He begins taking pictures) Oh no. There's hundreds of them. Bee honey, our honey, is being brazenly stolen on a massive scale. (Back at home, Barry's talking with his parents, Adam and Uncle Carl.) Barry: This is worse than anything the bears have done to us. And I intend to do something about it. Mom: Oh Barry, stop. Dad: Who told you that humans are taking our honey? That's just a rumor. Barry: Do these look like rumors? (Barry throws his pictures on the table) Uncle Carl: That's a conspiracy theory. These are obviously doctored photos. Barry: Ugh. Mom: Barry, how did you get mixed up in all this? Adam: 'Cause he's been talking to humans! Mom: Whaaat? Dad: Talking to humans?! Adam: He has a human girlfriend... Dad: Oh Barry. Adam: ...and they make out! Mom: Make out? Barry? Barry: We do not. Adam: You wish you could. Barry: Who's side are you on? Adam: The bees! Uncle Carl: I dated a cricket once in San Antonio. Man, those crazy legs kept me up all night. Hotcheewah! Mom: Barry, this is what you want to do with your life?: Barry: This is what I want to do for all our lives. Nobody works harder than bees. Dad, I remember you coming home some nights so overworked, you- your hands were still stirring. You couldn't stop them. Dad: Ehhh... Mom: (to her husband:) I remember that. Barry: What right do they have to our hard-earned honey? We're living on two cups a year. They're puttin' it in lip balm for no reason whatsoever. Dad: Even if it's true, Barry, what could one bee do? Barry: I'm going to sting them where it really hurts. Dad: In the face! Barry: No. Dad: In the eye! That would really hurt. Barry: No. Dad: Up the nose. That's a killer, heh heh. Barry: No. There's only one place you can sting the humans. One place where it really matters. (The scene cuts to the title sequence of the "Hive at Five" program. The title sequence shows news events covered in the past: a Pollen Jock coming in for a crash landing with a stinger that's on fire, a protest about bee beards, and a bear destroying a hive. Next are the newscasters.) voice over: Hive at Five, the hive's only full hour action news source. With Bob Bumble

at the anchor desk, weather with Storm Stinger, sports with Buzz Larvi, and Jeanette Chung. Bob: Good evening, I'm Bob Bumble. Jeanette: And I'm Jeanette Chung. Bob: Our top story, a tri-county bee, Barry Benson is saying he intends to sue the human race for stealing our honey, packaging it, and profiting from it illegally. (Broadcast shifts again to another studio in the building for "Bee Larry King Live".) Bee Larry King: Don't forget, tomorrow night on Bee Larry King, we're gonna have three former Queens, all right here in our studio, discussing their new book, Classy Ladies, out this week on Hexagon. (to Barry:) Tonight, we're talking with Barry Benson. Did ya ever think, I'm just a kid from the hive. I can't do this? Barry: Larry, bees have never been afraid to change the world. I mean, what about Bee-Columbus? Bee-Ghandi? Be-geesus? Bee Larry King: Well, where I'm from, you wouldn't think of suing humans. We were thinking more like stick ball, uh, candy stores. Barry: How old are you? Bee Larry King: Well, I want you to know that they entire bee community is supporting you in this case, which is certain to be the trial of the bee century. Barry: Thank you, Larry. You know, they have a Larry King in the human world, too. Bee Larry King: It's a common name. Next week on Bee Larry King... Barry: No, I mean he looks like you. And he has a show with suspenders and different colored dots behind him. Bee Larry King: Next week on Bee Larry King... Barry: Old guy glasses, and there's quotes along the bottom from the guest you're watching even though you just heard them... Bee Larry King: Bear next week! They're scary, they're hairy, and they're here live. (he exits) Barry: Always leans forward, pointy shoulders, squinty eyes.... Very Jewish. (Nighttime at Vanessa's Flower Shop. Law books and legal forms are piled up.) Ken: Look, in- in tennis, you attack at the point of weakness. Vanessa: But it was my grandmother, Ken. She's 81. Ken: Huh, honey, her backhand's a joke. I'm not going to take advantage of that? Barry: Quiet, please. Actual work going on here. Ken: Is that that same bee? Barry: Yes it is. Vanessa: I'm helping him sue the human race. Ken: Wha? Barry: (enters room, sees Ken) Oh, hello. Ken: Hello, bee. Vanessa: This is Ken. Barry: Yeah, I remember you. Timberland, size ten and a half. Vibram sole, I believe. Ken: Why does he talk again, hun? Vanessa: Listen, you better go because we're really busy working. Ken: But it's our yogurt night. Vanessa: (she pushes him out the door) Oh... bye bye. Ken: (from outside the now-closed door) Why is yogurt night so difficult? Vanessa: Oh you poor thing, you two have been at this for hours. Barry: Yes, and Adam here has been a huge help. (Adam is asleep inside an empty Cinnabon box, covered in frosting and muttering in his sleep about it.) Vanessa: (referring to the coffee:) How many sugars? Barry: Just one. I try not to use the competition. Ooh! So, why are you helping me, anyway? Vanessa: Bees have good qualities. Barry: Si, Certo. Vanessa: And it feels good to take my mind off the shop. I don't know why, instead of flowers, people are giving balloon bouquets now. Barry: Yeah, those are great... if you're three. Vanessa: And artificial flowers. Barry: Oh, those just get my psychotic! Vanessa: Yeah, me too. Barry: The bent stingers, the pointless pollination. Vanessa: Bees must hate those fake plastic things. Barry: There's nothing worse than a daffodil that's had work done. Vanessa: Well, maybe this could make up for it a little bit. (they exit the flower shop and go to the mailbox) Vanessa: You know, Barry, this lawsuit is a pretty big deal. Barry: I guess. Vanessa: Are you sure that you want to go through with it? Barry: Am I sure? When I'm done with the humans, they won't be able to say, "Honey, I'm home," without paying a royalty. (Outside the courthouse, a reporter begins her segment, talking to the camera.) Reporter: Sarah, it's an incredible scene here in downtown Manhattan where all eyes and ears of the world are anxiously waiting, because for the first time in

history, we're going to hear for ourselves if a honey bee can actually speak. (Inside, Barry, Vanessa and Adam sit at a table.) Vanessa: What have we gotten into here, Barry? Barry: I don't know, but it's pretty big, isn't it? Adam: I can't believe how many humans don't have to be at work during the day. Barry: Hey, you think these billion dollar multinational food companies have good lawyers? (Back outside the courthouse, a policeman announces though a megaphone, "Folks, everybody needs to stay behind the barricade." A very expensive car drives up with a license plate saying "ALIBUY" and the initials LTM on the hood ornament. The lawyer gets out, sees a bug and steps on it. Inside, Barry shudders.) Vanessa: What's the matter? Barry: I don't know. I just got a chill. Layton T. Montgomery: Well, if it isn't the B-Team.. (waves a honey packet he picked up from the saucer holding his drink) Any of you boys work on this? (he chuckles) Bailiff: All rise! The Honorable Judge Bumbleton presiding. Judge Bumbleton: All right... Case number 4475, Superior Court of New York. Barry Bee Benson vs. the honey industry, is now in session. Mr. Montgomery, you're representing the five major food companies, collectively. Layton: A privilege. Judge: Ah, Mr. Benson. You are representing all bees of the world? (Inside and outside the courtroom, everyone is waiting to hear what he will say.) Barry: Bzzz bzzz bzzz...Ahh, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Yes, your honor. We are ready to proceed. Judge: And Mr. Montgomery, your opening statement, please. Layton: (clears throat and speaks in a very heavy and exaggerated Southern drawl) Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. My grandmother was a simple woman. Born on a farm, she believed it was man's divine right to benefit from the bounty of nature God put before us. If we were to live in the topsy-turvy world Mr. Benson imagines, j-j-just think of what it would mean. Maybe I would have to negotiate with the silk worm for the elastic in my britches. Talking bee. How do we know this isn't some sort of holographic motion picture capture Hollywood wizardry? They could be using laser beams, robotics, ventriloquism, cloning...for all we know, he could be on steroids! Judge: Mr. Benson? Barry: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, there's no trickery here. I'm just an ordinary bee. And as a bee, honey's pretty important to me. It's important to all bees. We invented it, we make it, and we protect it with our lives. Unfortunately, there are some people in this room who think they can take whatever they want from us 'cause we're the little guys. And what I'm hoping is that after this is all over, you'll see how by taking our honey, you're not only taking away everything we have, but everything we are. (Vanessa smiles and silently claps and the bees in the courtroom are moved by his words. Back at their house, Barry's parents are watching on TV.) Mom: Oh, I wish he would dress like that all the time. So nice... Judge: Call your first witness. Barry: So, Mr. Klauss Vanderhayden of Honey Farms. Pretty big company you have there? Vanderhayden: I suppose so. Barry: And I see you also own Honey-Burton, and Honron! Vanderhayden: Yes. They provide beekeepers for our farms. Barry: Beekeeper. I find that to be a very disturbing term, I have to say. I don't imagine you employ any bee free-ers, do you? Vanderhayden: Uh, n-no. Barry: I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you. Vanderhayden: (louder) No. Barry: No. Because you don't free bees. You keep bees. And not only that, it seems you thought a bear would be an appropriate image for a jar of honey? Vanderhayden: W-well, they're very lovable creatures. Uh, Yogi Bear, Fozzy Bear. Oh! Build-a-Bear? Barry: Yeah, you mean like this?! (Vanessa and a man enter, guiding a giant grizzly bear restrained by a collar with chains atttached to both sides. They bring him in front of Vanderhayden. The bear lunges at him and roars.) Barry: Bears kill bees! How would you like his big hairy head crashing through your living room? Biting into your couch, spitting out your throw-pillows...rowr, rowr! Bear:

Rowr!! Barry: Okay, that's enough. Take him away. (Vincent stops roaring. He and the man depart without incident, leaving Vanderhayden trembling with the Judge glaring at him and Layton angrily growling himself.) (Later, Barry questions another witness.) Barry: So, Mr. Sting. Thank you for being here. Your name intrigues me, I have to say. Where have I heard it before? Sting: I was with a band called "The Police". Barry: But you've never been a police officer of any kind, have you? Sting: Uh, no, I haven't. Barry: No, you haven't. And so, here we have yet another example of bee culture being casually stolen by a human for nothing more than a prance-about stage name. Sting: Oh, please. Barry: Have you ever been stung, Mr. Sting? Because I'm feeling a little stung, Sting. Or should I say, Mr. Gordon M. Sumner? The jury gasps Layton: (to his assistants:) That's not his real name? You idiots! (later on, Barry's questioning another witness) Barry: (reading from the base of the statue the witness is holding) Mr. Liotta, first may I offer my belated congratulations on your Emmy win for a guest spot on E.R. in 2005. Ray Liotta: Thank you. Thank you. (he laughs maniacally) Barry: I also see from your resume that you're devilishly handsome, but with a churning inner turmoil that's always ready to blow. Ray: I enjoy what I do. Is that a crime? Barry: Not yet it isn't. But is this what it's come to for you, Mr. Liotta? Exploiting tiny helpless bees so you don't have to rehearse your part, and learn your lines, sir? Ray: Watch it, Benson, I could blow right now! Barry: This isn't a goodfella. This is a badfella! Ray: (suddenly upset, he tries to smash Barry with his Emmy statue) Why doesn't someone just step on this little creep and we can all go home? You're all thinking it. Say it! Judge: Order! Order in this courtroom! Order, I say! Mr. Liotta, please sit down! (The reaction from the press is harsh. The headline of the New York Telegram has "Sue Bee", the New York Post reads "Bees to Humans: Buzz Off", and the Daily Variety reports "Studio Dumps Liotta Project. Slams Door on Unlawful Entry 2.") (That evening, in Vanessa's apartment.) Barry: Well, I just think that was awfully nice of that bear to pitch in like that. Vanessa: I'm telling you, I think the jury's on our side. Barry: Are we doing everything right, you know, legally? Vanessa: I'm a florist. Barry: Right, right. (he raises his glass) Well, here's to a great team. Vanessa: To a great team. (both toast and Ken enters the apartment) Ken: Well, hello. Vanessa: Oh... Ken. Barry: Hello. Vanessa: Ah, I didn't think you were coming. Ken: No, I was just late. I tried to call. But, the battery... Vanessa: I didn't want all this to go to waste, so I called Barry. Luckily he was free. Barry: Yeah. Ken: Oh, that was lucky. Vanessa: Well, there's still a little left. I could heat it up. Ken: Yeah, heat it up. Sure, whatever. Barry: So, I hear you're quite a tennis player. I'm not much for the game myself. I find the ball a little grabby. Ken: That's where I usually sit. Right there. Vanessa: (from kitchen) Ken, Barry was looking at your resume, and he agreed with me that "eating with chopsticks" isn't really a special skill. Ken: (to Barry:) You think I don’t see what you’re doin'? Barry: Hey look, I know how hard it is trying to find the right job. We certainly have that in common. Ken: Do we? Barry: Well, bees have 100% employment, of course. But we do jobs like taking the crud out. Ken: That’s just what I was thinking about doing. (Ken reaches for a knife but pushes it off the table. He bends down to pick it up.) Vanessa: (from kitchen) Ken, I let Barry borrow your razor for his fuzz. I hope that was all right. (Ken hits his head on the table as he straightens back up, then presses the apple cider bottle against his temple to soothe it) Barry: I’m going to go drain the ol' stinger. Ken: Yeah, you do that. (Barry flies a couple of loops in front of Ken as he heads to the bathroom, causing Ken to shake the bottle and get cider in his eyes. Barry grabs a small section of Variety

Magazine as he goes.) Barry: Huh, look at that. (tears off a small corner off Variety Magazine as he goes in.) (as Barry finishes up and washes his hands, Ken enters carrying a large magazine) Ken: Y-yo, you known, I've just about had it with your little mind games. Barry: What's that? Ken: Italian Vogue. (he curls the magazine tight) Barry: Mamma Mia, that's a lot of pages. Ken: It's a lot of ads. Barry: Remember what Van said. Why is your life any more valuable than mine? Ken: That's funny, I just can't seem to recall that! (He whacks Barry with the magazine. He misses and knocks everything off the vanity. He grabs a can of air freshener.) Ken: I think something stinks in here! (He sprays at Barry) Barry: I love the smell of flowers. Ken: Yeah, How do you like the smell of flames?! (He lights the stream) Barry: Not as much. (Barry screams) Barry flies in a circle. Ken, trying to stay with him, spins in place. There are flames outside the bathroom door. Ken slips on the Italian Vogue, falls backward into the shower, pulling down the shower curtain. The can hits him in the head, followed by the shower curtain rod, and the rubber duck. Ken reaches back, grabs the handheld shower head. He whips around, looking for Barry. There's a water bug near the drain. Water bug: Water bug! Not taking sides! Barry is on the toilet tank. He comes out from behind a shampoo bottle, wearing a chapstick cap as a helmet. Barry: Ken, look at me! I'm wearing a chapstick hat! This is pathetic! (Ken is turning the hand shower nozzle from "GENTLE", to "TURBO", to "LETHAL".) Ken: I've got issues! (Ken fires the water at Barry, knocking him into the toilet. The items from the vanity (emory board, lipstick, eye curler, etc.) are on the toilet seat. Ken looks down at Barry.) Ken: Well, well, well, a royal flush! Barry: You're bluffing. Ken: Am I? Barry: Surf's up, dude! Ken: Poo water! Barry: That bowl is gnarly. Ken: Except for those dirty yellow rings! Vanessa: Kenneth! What are you doing?! Ken: You know what, I don't even like honey! I don't eat it! Vanessa: We need to talk! He's just a little bee! And he happens to be the nicest bee I've met in a long time! Ken: Long time? What are you talking about?! Are there other bugs in your life? Vanessa: No, but there are other things bugging me in life. And you're one of them! Ken: Fine! Talking bees, no yogurt night... My nerves are fried from riding on this emotional roller coaster! Vanessa: Goodbye, Ken. Ken: Augh! Vanessa: Whew. (Ken exits, then re-enters frame) Ken: And for your information, I prefer sugar-free, artificial sweeteners made by man! Vanessa: I'm sorry about all that. Ken: (re-enters again) Ken: I know it's got an aftertaste! I like it! Barry: I always felt there was some kind of barrier between Ken and me. I couldn't overcome it. Oh, well. Vanessa: Are you going to be okay for the trial tomorrow? Barry: Oh, I believe Mr. Montgomery is about out of ideas. Layton: We would like to call Mr. Barry Benson Bee to the stand. Adam: Now that's a good idea. You can really see why he's considered one of the very best lawyers... Barry: Yeah. Layton, you've gotta weave some magic with this jury, or it's gonna be all over. Layton: Oh don't worry Mr. Gammil. The only thing I have to do to turn this jury around is to remind them of what they don't like about bees. - You got the tweezers? - Are you allergic? Only to losing, son. Only to losing. Layton: Mr. Benson Bee, I'll ask you what I think we'd all like to know. What exactly is your relationship to that woman? Barry: We're friends. Layton: Good friends? Barry: Yes. Layton: How good? Barry: What. Layton: Do you live together? Barry: Wait a minute this isn’t about... Layton: Are you her little...bedbug? Barry: Hey, that’s not the kind of? I've seen a bee documentary or two. Now from what I understand, doesn't your queen give birth to all the bee children in the hive? Barry: Yeah, but... Layton: So those aren't even your real parents! Dad: Oh, Barry... Barry: Yes, they are! Adam: Hold me back! Layton: You're an illegitimate bee, aren't you, Benson?

Adam: He's denouncing bees! Layton: And don't y'all date your cousins? Vanessa: Objection! Adam: I'm going to pincushion this guy! Barry: Adam, don't! It's what he wants! Layton: Oh, I'm hit!! Oh, lordy, I am hit! Judge: Order! Order! Please! Layton: The venom! The venom is coursing through my veins! Judge: Mr. Montgomery! Layton: I have been felled by a winged beast of destruction! You see? You can't treat them like equals! They're striped savages! Stinging's the only thing they know! It's their way! Barry: Adam, stay with me. Adam: I can't feel my legs. Bailiff Take it easy. Layton: Oh! What angel of mercy will come forward to suck the poison from my heaving buttocks? Judge: Please I will have order in this court. Order! Order, please! The case of the honeybees versus the human race took a pointed turn - against the bees yesterday when one of their - Thank you! legal team stung Layton T. Montgomery. Now here’s Don with the 5-day. - Hey, buddy. - Hey. - Is there much pain? - Yeah. I... I blew the whole case, didn't I? It doesn't matter. The important thing is you're alive. You could have died. I'd be better off dead. Look at me. They got it from the cafeteria they got it from downstairs, in a tuna sandwich. Look, there's a little celery still on it. What was that like to sting someone? I can't explain it. It was all... All adrenaline and then... and then ecstasy! All right. You think that was all a trap? Of course. I'm sorry. I flew us right into this. What were we thinking? Look at us. We're just a couple of bugs in this world. What do you think the humans will do to us if they win? I don't know. I hear they put the roaches in motels. That doesn't sound so bad. Adam, they check in, but they don't check out! Oh, my. Say, could you get a nurse to close that window? - Why? - The smoke. Bees don't smoke. Right. Bees don't smoke. Bees don't smoke! But some bees are smoking. Adam that's it! That's our case! It is? It's not over? Barry: No, Get up, Get dressed. I've gotta go somewhere. You get back to the court and stall. Stall any way you can. And assuming you've done step 29 correctly, you're ready for the tub. Mr. Flayman. Yes? Yes, Your Honor! Where is the rest of your team? Well, Your Honor, it's interesting. You know Bees are trained to fly kind of haphazardly, and as a result, quite often we don't make very good time. I actually once heard a pretty funny story about a bee... Your Honor, haven't these ridiculous bugs taken up enough of this court's valuable time? How much longer are we going allow these absurd shenanigans to go on? They have presented no compelling evidence to support their charges against my clients, who have all run perfectly legitimate businesses. I move for a complete dismissal of this entire case! Mr. Flayman, I'm afraid I'm going to have to consider Mr. Montgomery's motion. But you can't! We have a terrific case. Where is your proof? Where is the evidence? Show me the smoking gun! Hold it, Your Honor! You want a smoking gun? Here is your smoking gun. What is that? It's a bee smoker! What, this? This harmless little contraption? This couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a bee. Barry: Members of the jury, look at what has happened to bees who have never been asked, "Smoking or non?" Is this what nature intended for us? To be forcibly addicted to these smoke machines in man-made wooden slat work camps? Living out our lives as honey slaves to the white man? - What are we going to do? - He's playing the species card. Barry: Ladies and gentlemen, please, free these bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! Free the bees! The court finds in favor of the bees! Barry: Vanessa, we won! Vanessa: Yay! I knew you could do it! High-five! Sorry. Barry: I'm OK! Vanessa, do you know what this means? All the honey is finally going to belong to the bees. Now we won't have to work so hard all the time. This is an unholy perversion of the balance of nature, Benson. You'll regret this. Barry, how much honey do you think is out there? All right. All right. One at a time. Barry, who are you wearing?

My sweater is Ralph Lauren, and I have no pants. - What if Montgomery's right? - What do you mean? We've been living the bee way a long time, 27 million years. Oongratulations on your victory. What are you demand as a settlement? First, we're going to demand a complete shutdown of all bee work camps. Then we want back the honey that was ours to begin with, every last drop.We demand an end to the glorification of the bear as anything more than a filthy, smelly, big-headed bad-breath stink machine. I believe We're all aware of what they do in the woods. Wait for my signal. Take him out. He'll have nausea for a few hours, then he'll be fine. And we will no longer tolerate bee-negative nicknames... But it's just a prance-about stage name! ...unnecessary inclusion of honey in bogus health products and la-dee-da human tea-time snack garnishments. Can't breathe. Bring it in, boys! Hold it right there! Good. Tap it. Mr. Buzzwell, we just passed three cups, and there's gallons more coming! - I think we need to shut down! - Shut down? We've never shut down. Shut down honey production! Stop making honey! Turn your key, sir! What do we do now? Oannonball! We're shutting down honey production! Mission abort. Aborting pollination and nectar detail. Returning to base. Adam, you wouldn't believe how much honey was out there. Oh, yeah? What's going on around here? Where is everybody? - Are they out celebrating? - No, they’re just home. They don't know what to do. They're laying out, they're sleeping in. I heard your Uncle Oarl was on his way to San Antonio with a cricket. At least we got our honey back. Yeah, but sometimes I think, so what if humans liked our honey? Who wouldn't? It's the greatest thing in the world! I was excited to be part of making it. This was my new desk. This was my new job. I wanted to do it really well. And now... And now I can't. I don't understand why they're not happy. We have so much now. I thought their lives would be better! They're doing nothing. It's amazing. Honey really changes people. You don't have any idea what's going on, do you? - What did you want to show me? - This. Barry:What happened here? Vanessa:That is not the half of it. Barry:Oh, no. Oh, my. They're all wilting. Doesn't look very good, does it? No. And who's fault do you think that is? You know, I'm going to guess bees. Bees? Specifically, me. I guess I didn't think that bees not needing to make honey would affect all these others things. And it's notjust flowers. Fruits, vegetables, they all need bees. Well, that's our whole SAT test right there. So you take away the produce, that affects the entire animal kingdom. And then, of course... The human species? So if there's no more pollination, it could all just go south here, couldn't it? And I know this is also partly my fault. Barry: How about a suicide pact? Vanessa: How would we do it? Barry: I'll sting you, you step on me. Vanessa: That just kills you twice. Barry: Right, right. Listen, Barry... sorry, but I got to get going. I had to open my mouth and talk. Vanessa? Vanessa? Why are you leaving? Where are you going? To the final Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena. They've moved it up to this weekend because all the flowers are dying. It's the last chance I'll ever have to see it. Vanessa, I just want to say I'm sorry. I never meant it to turn out like this. I know. Me neither. Tournament of Roses. Roses can't do sports. Wait a minute. Roses. Roses? Roses! Vanessa! Roses?! Barry? - Roses are flowers! - Yes, they are. Flowers, bees, pollen! I know. That's why this is the last parade. Maybe not. Oould you ask him to slow down? Oould you slow down? Barry! OK, I made a huge mistake. This is a total disaster, and it's all my fault. Yes, it kind of is. I've ruined the planet. and I wanted to help you with your flower shop. Intead, I've made it worse. Actually, it's completely closed down. I thought maybe you were remodeling. Nonetheless I have another idea, and it's greater than all my previous great ideas combined. I don't want to hear it! All right, here’s what I’m thinking they have

the roses, the roses have the pollen. I know every bee, plant and flower bud in this park. All we got do is get what they've got back here with what we've got. Vanessa: Bees. Barry: Park. Vanessa: Pollen! Barry: Flowers. Vanessa: Repollination! Barry: Across the nation! Barry: Alright Tournament of Roses, Pasadena, California. They've got nothing but flowers, floats and cotton candy. Security will be tight. I have an idea. Vanessa Bloome, FTD. Official floral business. It's real. Sorry, ma'am. That a's nice brooch by the way. Thank you. It was a gift. Then once we're inside, we just pick the right float. How about The Princess and the Pea? Yeah! I could be the princess, and ...yes, I think You could be I’ve- The pea! Yes, I got it. - Sorry I'm late Where should I sit? - What are you? - I believe I'm the pea. - The pea? It’s supposed to be under the mattresses. - Not in this fairy tale, sweetheart. - I’m going to go talk to the marshall. You do that! This whole parade is a fiasco! Let's see what this baby will do. Hey, what are you doing?! Then all we do is blend in with traffic... ...without arousing suspicion. And once we’re at the airport there's no stopping us. Stop! Security. - Did you and your insect pack your own float? - Yes. Has this float been in your possession the entire time? Would you remove your shoes and everything in your pockets?? - Can you remove your stinger. Sir? - That's part of me. I know. Just having some fun. Enjoy your flight. Then if we're lucky, we'll have just enough pollen to do the job. Oan you believe how lucky we are? We have just enough pollen to do the job! I think this is going to work Vanessa. It's got to work. Attention, passengers, this is Oaptain Scott. I'm afraid we have a bit of bad weather in the New York area. And looks like we're going to be experience a couple of hours delay. Barry, these are cut flowers with no water. They'll never make it. I've got to get up there and talk to these guys. Be careful. Hey, can I get some help with this Sky Mall magazine? I'd like to order the talking inflatable nose and ear hair trimmer. Excuse me, Captain, I'm in a real situation here. - What did you say, Hal? - I didn’t say anything Bee! No, no! Don't freak out! There's a chance my entire species... What are you doing? Stop! - Wait a minute! I'm an attorney! - Who's an attorney? Don't move. Oh, Barry. Good afternoon, passengers. This is your captain speaking. Would a Miss Vanessa Bloome in 24B please report to the cockpit? And please hurry! What happened here? I tried to talk to them, but then there was a Dustbuster, a toupee, a life raft exploded Now one's bald, one's in a boat, and they're both unconscious! - Is that another bee joke? - No! No one's flying the plane! This is JFK control tower, Flight 356. What's your status? This is Vanessa Bloome. I'm a florist from New York. Where's the pilot? He's unconscious, and so is the copilot. Not good. Is there anyone onboard who has flight experience? As a matter of fact, there is. - Who's that? - Barry Benson. From the honey trial?! Oh, great. Vanessa, this is nothing more than a big metal bee. It's got giant wings, huge engines. I can't fly a plane. - Why not? Isn't John Travolta a pilot? - Yes. How hard could it be? Wait a minute, Barry! We're headed into some lightning. This is Bob Bumble. We have some late-breaking news from JFK Airport, where a very suspenseful scene is developing. Barry Benson, fresh off his stunning legal victory... That's Barry! ...is now attempting to land a plane, loaded with people, flowers and an incapacitated flight crew. Flowers?! Well, we have an electrical storm in the area, and two individuals at the controls of a jumbo jet with absolutely no flight experience. Just a minute Mr Ditchwater. There's a honey bee on that plane. I'm quite familiar with Mr. Benson's work and his no-account compadres. Haven't they done enough damage already. But isn't he your only hope right now? Come on, technically, a bee shouldn't be able to fly at all. The wings are too small their bodies are too big... Hey, hold on a second.

Haven't we heard this a million times? "The surface area of the wings and body mass doesn't make sense." - Get this on the air! - You got it. - Stand by. - We're going live. Mr Ditchwater, the way we work may be a mystery to you. Because making honey takes a lot of bees doing a lot of small jobs. But let me tell you something about a small job. If you do it really well, it makes a big difference. More than we realized. To us, to everyone. That's why I want to get bees back to doing what we do best working together. That's the bee way! We're not made of Jell-O. We get behind a fellow.Black and yellow! - All:Hello! Left, right, down, hover. - Hover? - Forget hover. You know what, This isn't so hard. Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Barry, what happened?! Wait a minute, I think we were on autopilot that whole time. - That may have been helping me. - And now we're not! Well, then it turns out I cannot fly a plane. All of you, let's get behind this fellow! Move it out! Move out! Our only chance is if I do what I would do, and you copy me with the wings of the plane! You don't have to yell. I'm not yelling! We happen to be in a lot of trouble here. It's very hard to concentrate with that panicky tone in your voice! It's not a tone. I'm panicking! I don’t think I can do this! Vanessa, pull yourself together. Listen to me You have got to snap out of it! You snap out of it. You snap out of it. - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! - You snap out of it! You snap - Hold it! - Why? Come on, it's my turn. How is the plane flying? I don't know. Hello? Hey Benson, have you got any flowers for a happy occasion in there? The Pollen Jocks! They do get behind a fellow. - Black and yellow. - Hello. Alright you two, what do you say we drop this tin can on the blacktop? What blacktop? Where? I can't see anything. Oan you? No, nothing. It's all cloudy. Adam: Come on. You got to think bee, Barry. - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Wait a minute. I think I'm feeling something. - What? - I don't know. But it's strong, and it's pulling me. Like a 27-million-year-old instinct. Bring the nose of the plane down. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! - What in the world is on the tarmac? - Get some lights on that! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! - Vanessa, aim for the flower. - OK. Out the engines. Out the engines. We're going in on bee power. Ready, boys? Affirmative! Good. Good. Easy, now. That's it. Land on that flower! Ready boys? Give me full reverse! Spin it around! - Not that flower! The other flower! - Which flower? - That flower. - I'm aiming at the flower! That's a fat guy in a flowered shirt. I mean the giant black and yellow flower pulsating made of millions of bees! Pull forward. Nose down. Bring your tail up. Rotate around it. - This is insane, Barry! - This is the only way I know how to fly. Am I koo-koo-kachoo, or is this plane flying in an insect-like pattern? Get your nose in there. Don't be afraid of it. Smell it. Full reverse! Easy just drop it. Be a part of it. Aim for the center! Now drop it in! Drop it in, woman! Come on, already. Barry, we did it! You taught me how to fly! - Yes. No high-five! - Right. Barry, it worked! Did you see the giant flower? What giant flower? Where? Of course I saw the flower! That was genius man! Genius! - Thank you. - But we're not done yet. Barry: Listen, everyone! This runway is covered with the last pollen from the last flowers available anywhere on Earth. That means this is our last chance. We're the only ones who make honey, pollinate flowers and dress like this. If we're going to survive as a species, this is our moment! So, what do you say? Are we going to be bees, or just Museum of Natural History keychains? Bees: We're bees! Male bee: Keychain! Barry: Then everyone, follow me! Except Keychain. Pollen Jock: Hold on, Barry. Here. You've earned this. (places a pollen jock jacket on Barry and the 3 pollen jocks cheer while Vanessa gives him a thumbs up) Vanessa: Yay! Barry: I'm a

Pollen Jock! And it's a perfect fit. All I got to do are the sleeves. (The pollen jocks toss Barry a nectar pack) Barry: Oh, yeah. Mom: (proudly) That's our Barry! (Martin nods proudly in agreement) Mom! The bees are back! If anybody needs to make a call, now's the time. I got a feeling we'll be working late tonight! Here's your change. Have a great afternoon! Yes, can I help who's next? Would you like some honey with that? It is bee-approved. Don't forget these. Milk, cream, cheese, it's all me. And I don't see a nickel! Sometimes I just feel like a piece of meat! I had no idea. Barry, I'm sorry. Have you got a moment? Would you excuse me? My mosquito associate here will be able to help you. Sorry I'm late. He's a lawyer too? I was already a blood-sucking parasite. All I needed was a briefcase. Have a great afternoon! Barry, I just got this huge tulip order for a wedding, and I can't get them anywhere. No problem, Vannie. Just leave it to me. Vanessa:You're a lifesaver, Barry. Oan I help who's next? Who's next? Barry: All right, scramble, jocks! It's time to fly. Vanessa: Thank you, Barry! Ken: (Sees a sign that says "Vanessa and Barry: Flowers, Honey, Legal Advice" and becomes disgusted) Ken: Ugh! That bee is living my life! Andy: (guiding Ken protectively) Let it go, Kenny. Ken: When will this nightmare end?! Andy: Let it all go. Barry: Beautiful day to fly. Pollen Jock: Sure is. Barry: Between you and me, I was dying to get out of that office. Adam: You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! Barry: Me? Adam: Thinking bee, thinking bee! Get smart and start thinking bee! Barry: Gee! Adam: Flying here and buzzin' there. Barry: I'm lovin' the views. Adam: Listen to me cousin, every buzzer must use to be a bee! Barry: Or not to be. Adam: Start thinking bee! Adam: Barry, you got no occupation. Barry: What, you mean like pollination? Adam: Hey now! That's thinking bee! Barry: Start thinking bee! Adam: Listen to me fella, ain't you been on a tour? Can't cha' stripes of Black and yella. Barry: I just want to be sure! Adam: To be a bee! Barry: Start thinking bee! Can't I wait and see? Adam: No, Barry that's not to be! Be a busy little bee not a tizzy little bee! Barry: Alright, hold it, hold it, hold it. Let's just stop for a second. Hold it. (Adam: What it's like to be a thinking!) Barry: I'm sorry. Adam: What? Barry: I'm sorry, everyone. Can we stop here? Adam: Oh, Barry. Barry: I'm not making a major life decision in the middle of a huge musical production number! Adam: Alright, alright. Barry: Take ten, everybody. Wrap it up, guys. I had virtually no rehearsal for that.

Omg

[antibioware]

My final thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda (a 3 years late review)

So I spent the past week and a half playing a game I paid 13€ for, one that I promised myself I wouldn't touch but that in the end I gave a solid try to anyway, because I was willing to give Andromeda the benefit of the doubt. Because I'm aware that sometimes I'm a bitch, and that the Mass Effect trilogy had its own problems too, but I still regard it as one of the best gaming experiences of my life.

It wasn't as bad as I had expected it would be, but that doesn't make it good. Above all else, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a game that could have been interesting, had the creators actually cared to make something out of it outside of just “Dragon Age Inquisition in the Mass Effect universe”.

I wanted to write a more coherent post about what I didn’t like about it, aside from just shitting all over it like I’ve been feeling like doing since the canonical bury your gays in the game slapped me in the face. So here it is, an overlong post about a 3 years old game.

Before getting into the main elements that I disliked, I wanna preface this post by saying that I enjoyed parts of the game. The main characters, while not as well characterized as they could have been (no Bioware character ever is), grew on me the more I played the game, and by the end were the main reason why I kept playing. Unlike DA:I, the writers did a really good job building up the found family trope in this game, and while it turns corny at times, it’s very heartwarming. I think many of the planetary settings in Heleus were stunning to look at, to the point that I didn’t even mind all that much having to drive from point A to point B.

I didn’t hate the game, and I’m speaking from the point of view of someone who enjoyed it, but not enough to simply accept its many flaws.

The problems with the gameplay itself

There are three main things that I don’t think work well and are up in your face since the first seconds of the game: the game interface, the fight mechanics, and the open world aspect of the game.

◦ The first impact I had on Andromeda, right from the first 2/3 hours of playing it, was that it was very cluttered and very, very confusing. I had just finished playing ME3 and I had issues understanding how to move without having a proper map onscreen, how to read throught the thousand tutorials for the 100 new, useless elements they added to the game that are either reused from ME1 or taken directly from DA:I. The game didn’t need a crafting system, especially not one DIVIDED IN TWO DIFFERENT SECTIONS, it didn’t need an inventory system, and especially it didn't need to have the sheer amount of sidequest it had.

◦ The fight mechanics + leveling up/classes system is a hot mess. I understand they wanted to try something new, and in part they did make the fighting feel more fluid, but not being able to rely on teammates for necessary stuff like overloads/specific powers that you need during fights severely impaired the strategic element of the game. Now it’s just a third person shooter with teammates dying left and right because you have 0 control on how they fight, aside from putting them in one place or another.

The fact that you can only use 3 powers at the time is a consequence of the confusing leveling up system. Because you can have an endless amount of powers you can give your character, they needed to find a way to make them not too overpowered. The problem is…. You had more powers to use in-game in ME1. It doesn’t work so well.

When the fighting mechanics in ME3, a game that came out in 2012, feel way fluider and more enjoyable than the ones from the game that came out in 2017, something is very wrong.

◦ Open world games are a challenge, because too many developers don’t understand that turning a game into an open world doesn’t make it good, it just makes it bigger and slower. It was a problem with Dragon Age Inquisition, and it’s a problem here with Andromeda - with the only good aspect being that at least Andromeda gives you a decent car to explore the planets.

ME1 had some level of open world-ness, and there was a valid reason why ME2 and ME3 got rid of the concept: the maps you’re given are a big, cluttered mess of nothing. You have several thousands sidequests, many of which incredibly similar to each other, and nothing fucking else. Sometimes you will accidentally stumble upon something interesting, and then return to a 6 hours drive into the nothingness that keeps repeating over and over again.

It got to the point I almost stumbled upon the endgame because I got exhausted of running around doing errands, and I tried continuing the main plot, only to realize I was almost done with it. That was it.

Empty self-referencing

This is the term I used to describe my girlfriend why the way the game made call backs to the previous games bothered me so much. Call backs aren’t new to the concept of the game (the Mass Effect trilogy literally lived on characters returning from previous games, referencing things that had previously happened, etc.), but because this game wanted to be a separate thing from the ME trilogy, it couldn’t use this sort of material. And that’s completely fine! The game wanted to be its own thing, I was happy about it at first, because the trilogy was over and done for. If Mass Effect was indeed gonna continue, it needed a fresh start.

The problem is, it also needed to remind players that it’s a Mass Effect game, the game from which Commander Shepard came.

So, how to solve this matter? Well, instead of referencing stuff that actually happened in the trilogy, it solves the referencing aspect by putting a bunch of relatives of characters from the trilogy in the game. You get Conrad Verner’s sister, Nyreen Kandros’s cousin, a lost illegitimate son of Zaeed Massani, a brief cameo of Garrus Vakarian’s dad, a krogan on New Tuchanka being from clan Urdnot, and so on. And it was funny the first time or so, maybe even the second, but at some point it just turned awkward, and I started asking myself, “is this it? Is this all that’s left of the trilogy, just a bunch of big name characters to remind the player you belong from the same universe?”. The brief way they referenced back to Shepard was also very awkward and felt... out of place, with the rest of the game.

A couple call backs I really liked were:

Liara being acknowledged for her work as a Prothean researcher and being in contant with Ryder Senior, without much reference being done to her time in Shepard’s crew. It was good, seeing her from an outsider perspective.

The fact that Avitus Rix, being a turian ex-Spectre, knew Saren and was in fact his disciple.

Both these elements are things that make sense and tie the game back to the trilogy beyond just going “hey, this x character is the relative of this other x character, isn’t it crazy!”

The plot, and the problem with binary choices

It’s easy to make fun or critique the game struggling to find its own plot after something as big as the ME trilogy was. But Bioware isn’t an indie developer, it’s a huge fucking company, and they could have done better.

While I liked the design of the Remnants architecture and enemies, putting a plot point revolving around an ancient, long lost alien civilization who was much more technologically advanced, sounds a lot like a bad repeat of the Protheans.

I liked the Angara conceptually, but I didn’t like their design all that much and I often found it hysterically funny that angara are supposed to be a deeply emotional race, when the animators left them stuck with those mono expressive faces and unemotional eyes.

And on top of all of this, the kett are boring villains. The exaltation progress is really just a bad repeat of how Reaper indoctrination worked, and the way they talk reminds me of the big bad templars from the Dragon Age universe. It’s literally nothing new, and because of it, it’s boring.

When I was playing the endgame, all I kept thinking was “this is it? this is all they came up with? for real?”. I liked the twins aspect of the endgame, but aside from that, it didn’t feel satisfying.

And now comes the reason why it didn’t feel satisfying: the game got rid of the Paragon/Renegade system from the trilogy, and because of that, they also got rid of the possibility of additional problem-solving solutions during big choices. 

In Andromeda, almost every major quest has a binary choice attached to it: choose this or that. Burn the facility or save all the angara but leave the facility standing. Save the krogans or Raeka. Pick Sloane or Reyes. Keep Sarissa as the Pathfinder or not. Etc.

in the trilogy, complete, important binary choices were rare (choosing Ashley or Kaidan is probably the biggest one) and the consequences had long lasting effects. Not all of them did (saving or killing the rachni in ME1 and rewriting or destroying the geth in ME2 didn’t have so many long term consequences in ME3, for example), but a great deal meant big changes in the following games.

The issues with these choices in Andromeda? None of them matter. Characters will get angry at you for going against their will in a single dialogue line, and then never mention it again. The opinion on the Nexus won’t change if you expose Spender, Addison’s connections to the Exiles, or Nexus people targeting the angara. None of your companions will betray you or leave you for going against their will during their loyalty missions.

A Mass Effect game with choices that don’t influence the final result of the game feels like a joke, and while I know in many ways the trilogy also had a problem on this matter on some parts, dead characters stayed dead and betraying a friend’s trust meant losing them in the near future

The unavoidable part where I mention the issue with LGBT rep in this game because I’m a nonbinary lesbian and I can’t detach that aspect of myself from how I consume media

Endless gays and trans folks out there have already written this sort of matter so as my last point of critique, I’ll make it quick. Bioware has a long story with homophobia and transphobia in its character writing - this without mentioning the huge problems with racism in the character writing, too. Many gay/bi women in Bioware games are written by the same homophobic straight cis man with a lesbo fetish, AKA Lukas Kristjanson, and that alone gives a really good feeling on why such issues exist.

The original Mass Effect trilogy had very little gay romance options, out of the amount of romance options: as of ME3, there are two main gay romance options for fShepard (Liara and Traynor, without counting the mini-romances that were put in the previous games for pure fetish fuel) and two for mShepard (Kaidan and Cortez, both only added in the last game).

Andromeda wasn’t... the big breath of fresh air in the representation department they tried to pass it as. There are more romance options, but for once, there add to add another m/m romance option later on because the only gay romance available were with minor NPCs, and there’s an issue with the amount of content gay romances get compared to main het romances.

There’s a single trans NPC, and it's a random person you meet who tells you her deadname and the reason she transitioned right away. Ugh.

And now we come to the bury your gays mission that made me almost uninstall the game: the mission to find the turian Pathfinder with the help of his partner, the previously mentioned Avitus Rix,  who also happens to be the first gay male turian character in the game (the first gay female turian being Nyreen Kandros, who dies btw). You invest time to trace back to the turian arc, while listening to Avitus talk about how important the turian Pathfinder is to him, you realize pretty fast they’re lovers, and when you find out the turian arc, it’s all to discover that the Pathfinder is already dead. Not a choice in the game that could accidentally kill him, like with Raeka, or an active choice you make to keep him in his role, like Sarissa. He’s already dead, and you’re left with Avitus alone and mourning.

The game is from 2017. This sort of bullshit is unacceptable, and I will keep screaming it until Bioware manages to pretend like they care about their LGBT fans.

To end this mess of a post - Mass Effect: Andromeda lasted me a total of 50 hours of game, and in a way, I’m glad I got it out of my system. It was a delusion, but at least now I can cross it off my list and go back to playing other stuff. I understand that this is a game many ended up liking, and I’m sad I can’t say I’m among them, and that I couldn’t even fully enjoy the game at times. Also I promised myself I wouldn’t mention this but goddamn the facial animations of the game were so ugly.

DESPITE THIS, I really loved the characters, and I very much enjoyed Vetra’s romance, which was the main reason why I bought the game. 

[ghostmartyr]

how a life can move from the darkness [8/?]

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |

Summary: Two drug addicts (Eren and Historia) meet in group and decide to be roommates to make their  living situation slightly less weird. From there we do the slow burn  found family dance mixed in with the struggles and agonies of recovery. Heavy on friendship feels, especially EMA. Eventual yumikuri.

“Deep water first.”

Armin was comparing his map with the one on the directory, frowning studiously at their options. “You don’t think we should save that for last?” he asked. “We always spend the most time there.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to go to the Forgotten Marvels of the Deep screening,” Eren said, searching out the times for all of the film events on his map. “They have those every hour, you’re not going to miss it.”

“But we know how much time that will take,” Armin said.

“So it can go anywhere,” Eren said. “You’re always saying how we could use a break from walking. If we go first thing, that’s out.”

“That’s what I say to remind you two to eat something,” Armin said, talking too fast for Eren to point out that Armin was even worse than him and Mikasa about skipping meals. “Lunch is a break. Film features aren’t, and they put all of the other exhibits into context.”

Eren gestured at Armin’s entire everything. “We already have you for that. And the earlier we go see it, the longer you’ll have to brood about them getting the CGI for the megalodon wrong.”

Armin, with the infinite faith that had never once gone his way when they marched into the aquarium, renewed membership cards at the ready, said, “Maybe they’ll get it right this time.”

They never got it right. Eren didn’t know what elusive magic Armin was waiting for from the special effects wing of the world, but no matter how many movies with megalodons they saw, something had always gone wrong with the design. Eren was on Armin’s side for seeing some quality sharks, but he was always so disappointed. No one in the world saw things like Armin did. That should have meant nothing but good things for him, but instead it was a domino city of letdowns designed for Armin’s indomitable heart getting stripped bare.

Hanging back behind them, where the stakes of where to go first could be played off, Mikasa offered her opinion. “I would like to see the penguins.”

Eren and Armin looked down as one to check times.

“Do we want to be there for feeding?” Armin asked. “We should get there early if we do.”

“We should do early anyway. We don’t have to stay for the feeding, but they’ll be more active when they’re waiting for food, and there will be less of a crowd before it starts,” Eren said.

“It’s all the way on the other side of the building, and the feeding’s in forty minutes. We should move now.”

“Done.”

Armin nodded and folded up his map, then jolted forward a little before starting the familiar speed walk down the steps and into the aquarium parts of the aquarium. He turned around guiltily at Mikasa, and that sparked a jolt of Eren’s when he realized that Historia was standing even further back, and she wasn’t used to drawing battle plans up.

“How about you, Historia?” Eren asked before Armin’s guilty face got any worse. “Is there anything you want to see?”

Historia shook her head, drawing one more frowning face her way. Mikasa had decided to replace her cat as Historia’s buffer. Eren would have felt weird about both of them feeling like Historia needed a buffer, but this trip hadn’t been planned, and he didn’t think Historia was used to having friends. Ones who did stuff like finding tanks outside their apartment to stare at.

Eren hadn’t been ready for the excursion either, but Armin’s address was where his new membership card still went, and they always went the weekend those showed up. He was used to it.

He had missed it.

Each second no one was talking or moving had more weight and awkwardness than he’d ever thought could happen around Mikasa and Armin, but they all knew what it was, and he wasn’t allowed to yell at anyone over it anymore. They could let it bite into them and smile through the pain as long as they were all doing something together.

They were a better fix for the heartache than the pills had ever managed. Being with them again made Eren feel like a person.

Remembering to pull in the other person who needed that feeling because she refused to include herself made him feel like a slipshod, incomplete person. They’d almost been late because she hadn’t interpreted Eren telling her the aquarium trip plans as him inviting her along. She’d stared at him so long when he told her she was coming that he’d worried that something new had gone wrong.

“You get a vote,” Eren told her. She hadn’t opened her map yet. “We could check out stuff for Benjamin’s tank. Most of the eels are in the smaller areas, so they aren’t as crowded.”

Historia glanced at Mikasa. “Penguins sound fine.”

Eren looked at Armin, who was looking at Mikasa, who was looking at Historia.

Armin cautiously opened his mouth. “…Historia?” he asked, a tone of dawning horror in his voice. “Have you… have you never been to an aquarium before?”

Historia shrugged, a little helplessly, with the start of a defiant scowl growing. “I’ve seen fish before. We went to the store twice to find Benjamin.”

Armin’s horror rose to high noon and stayed there, staring at her in shock.

No friends, rightfully dead father, and a sister who treated her like the glue was still wet on all her broken pieces. No aquarium trips. That made sense.

The wrongness of it was still profound, and Eren didn’t have the words to fix it because the only ones his head was interested in coming up with said too much about how much several people before Historia should have taken a shot at killing her father.

Armin was on that same level, only with less active bloodlust. He looked like he’d just been told their library was closing. Eren turned to Mikasa. She had her overprotective concerned face on, but her eyes snapped to Eren quickly, a plan written in them.

“Otters,” she said.

“Otters,” Eren agreed firmly.

Armin caught on, and with revived vigor, he and Eren each took up one of Historia’s arms, melting her expression of flushed defiance into alarm, while Mikasa stepped behind her and took the place of pushing her forward and keeping her stumbling feet from tripping down the stairs.

“You’ll like it,” Eren said.

“And then we’ll go look at tankmates for Benjamin,” Armin confirmed.

“Or the penguins,” Mikasa said quietly.

“We could do all of that first,” Historia said, being tugged along, her hand crumpling her unopened map. “Or the movie Armin wants to see?”

“No,” they all said together.

----

Eren’s mom didn’t take things for granted. She never had, and losing most of her world had only brought that closer to her heart.

Her son being willing to spend time with her when it wasn’t a special occasion was a door she’d wanted open for months, and Eren had had a promise to come over at least once a month, with at least one of his friends or his brother, exhorted out of him before she let him take his spackle home.

“Or maybe your brother,” had been said with the sort of casual deliberation Frieda had used when she talked about a pet for the apartment.

Leaving Eren upside down on the back of the couch, staring mindlessly at his phone with his hair dangling to the floor.

hi zeke

good morning

we don’t have a tv but armin said

there’s a movie out at

good afternoon

my mom wants you over for dinner

The cursor on the last one blinked more than he could make himself. It was all bad. The only reason he wasn’t smashing the delete key on the last one was because Zeke’s complicated minefield relationship with his parents meant studiously and politely flipping off all of their dad’s awkward suggestions that he come over, and very politely accepting his mom’s invitations. He’d even bring flowers.

Historia’s bedroom door swung open, and she finally emerged from her room for the day, wearing one of the otter shirts Mikasa and Armin had encouraged her to get. The short-sleeved one. She stopped in the hallway when she saw Eren, thumb still hovering over her own phone.

“I’m texting Zeke,” Eren said.

Historia nodded slowly, and continued her walk to the kitchen. “Does that help?” she asked, reaching into a cupboard for a glass.

“No.”

“I’m sorry.”

Eren spun the phone up into the air a bit, catching it before it could hit the floor. He tossed it again, moodily, when one of the random memories of Zeke doing the same thing with a baseball every time he took a step near one started to play in his head.

“What do you text Frieda?”

Prolonged silence followed the question. Eren pulled himself away from his phone’s cursor to watch his roommate’s back. He lifted his head up so that his hair wasn’t touching the floor.

“…You text her, right?”

“I respond when she asks how I am,” Historia said.

Eren removed himself from the couch with a clumsy flip that Mikasa’s cousin would have found horrifying. “You don’t message your sister?” Eren asked. Barely, barely remembering that Frieda and Historia were too complicated to make the point that if Historia had no problem getting into drawn out fights on Twitter with strangers, she should have some words for her sister.

Historia shrugged. The baby otter hiding under the seaweed that draped over her shoulder didn’t offer any deeper hints about her mood.

“She’d be happy to hear from you,” Eren said, because it was true. Besides Frieda being that sort of person, he kept seeing it in Armin and Mikasa, and the screaming guilt was learning to shut up and let that feel good. “You wouldn’t have to come up with anything fancy. Talking about the weather would work. Or Benjamin. Or school.”

Historia didn’t quite turn around, but he could see more of her head than her hair when she spoke. “Why can’t you send Zeke something like that?”

“It’s not the same.” It was nowhere close to the same. Frieda was hot chocolate and comfort. Zeke was. Zeke. He’d never been anything different. Eren had just taken forever to work out how much that annoyed him. “Our relationship’s not… like normal siblings,” he said.

Historia pulled her glass out of the stream of water the fridge had been dutifully filling it with, and fixed Eren with a look. “My sister comes into my room at night and watches me sleep to make sure I’m still breathing.”

Eren’s phone and its blinking cursor shrunk a few sizes. “You know about that?”

Historia put her glass down on the counter. “Yes.”

Frieda would love that. Eren wasn’t sure when he’d switched sides on the habit, but it got him a hot drink and a listening ear in the middle of the night, and Historia refusing to participate instead of not knowing she could sounded too familiar. “If you texted her more often, she’d probably back off on that. Or if you talked to her at all,” he added.

Historia, devoid of amusement, looked over the otter on her shoulder at him. “Have you told your brother you want him to pay attention to you?”

Eren’s jaw set. He put his phone on the counter, where Historia could clearly see the screen. He erased all of the last attempt, and for a paralyzing instant couldn’t come up with anything to fill up the space with—before he remembered that quality wasn’t the point, and he could recite the alphabet and it would still put a win in his column. His fingers marched across the keyboard.

hi. how are you?

He hit the send button.

Pride and success flourished for about as long as it took to have the notification text go from ‘sending’ to ‘delivered.’

Then the knot in his chest that belonged to Zeke—more noticeable than ever with all the untying he’d gotten done on the others—throbbed, and his phone went from only a few sizes too small to microscopic with one little shift of the screen.

‘Read.’

A trio of dots followed, and the jolt of adrenaline they caused felt like every doorbell the nights Eren was waiting for Zeke to come over for babysitting.

               Are you feeling all right, Eren?

The adrenaline didn’t evaporate.

The excitement that had tried to rush past a decade of poor communication didn’t last an extra heartbeat.

Eren didn’t have the income to throw his phone into the garbage disposal. Acknowledging that and tightening his fingers until they went white was growth. Not needing to buy more spackle, or putty knives, was a good thing, and his progress should be a delight to anyone who knew how hard he’d worked for it.

To quote Petra.

He wondered if there was any school of thought where wrapping his hands around Zeke’s throat counted as progress, but that went into violence and other problems too fast to imagine properly, so he was left with Zeke.

“He thinks there’s something wrong with me,” he informed Historia.

Historia finished pouring her lemonade. “Is there?”

“No!” he snapped.

Her head swerved in his direction, eyebrows lifted in surprise. It took him a second. A full second, enough for her look to turn uncertain, for what he’d said to process as language instead of righteous indignation. Something that hadn’t belonged to him in over a year.

He used to burn through it at so fast Mikasa and Armin almost couldn’t keep up. Fights and protests and causes and that one idiotic proposal about cutting the library’s funding. People were being stupid, and he wasn’t going to sit around like everyone else and let them be stupid.

Until the only sort of good thing he could do for himself was walk into a gym and take a chair, where all the unclean hate boiled and festered and didn’t help anyone.

Zeke was being stupid.

Historia put her phone down next to his, swiping away from the open Twitter tab with an unfinished tweet in process. Her texting app opened, with only one other name besides Eren listed under the contacts. With deliberate precision, she typed out a new message.

Hi Frieda. Would you like to come over for dinner?

She sent it. After making sure Eren read it.

When she pulled away from the counter, the hand that took her phone moved like it was anchored to the marble. The screen flicked back to Twitter, and her thumb grazed the case. “Some people…” she said. “They don’t know how to be a family.”

It sounded like an apology, but Eren couldn’t guess for what. It also sounded like something his mom had said. About his dad. When Eren asked why his brother was living with their grandparents and not them.

Eren looked back at his phone, with Zeke’s text. His stupid brother with his stupid hands-off love that felt like he’d picked it up from a manners book, because why would giving someone a reason to keep trying ever be something that cropped up naturally? “I don’t think Zeke wants one.”

Seconds of quiet passed.

Historia, with thought and care ponderous as a boulder, said, “He doesn’t seem like the type of person who would bother talking to someone he didn’t want.”

Eren wanted to argue with that, because he wanted to argue against everything that said maybe someone a little less like Eren could make sense out of his brother being the exact same person he’d been since the day Eren was born. He wanted to argue, period, because Zeke was Zeke and Eren…

Eren might have been Eren.

And before he’d needed his brother, and Zeke was just some cool adult to break rules with, the thickest knot that tied them together was knowing that Zeke took his calls every single time he made one. Even when he only took their dad’s once a year. When Eren’s mom asked him to.

Zeke loved his little brother as well as he could. The way he thought he was supposed to.

Eren huffed and went over to say hi to Benjamin. Leaving Historia some time to finish yelling at Ymir before her sister, who knew how to love people, showed up and reminded them that they weren’t any good at it, either.

----

He had the wrong wallet.

That was already bad. Not terrible bad, but Ymir had been the one to point it out.

Walking into the rock climbing gym, unannounced, with Reiner and her usual self, she’d taken one look at Eren getting ready for work and said, “I thought I got ripped off when mine started sprouting holes like that. Guess that brand just sucks as a rule.”

Eren’s wallet didn’t have holes. Historia’s did. He had no idea why, and talking money with Historia always ended so badly that he wasn’t interested in asking. Her wallet also had more cash in it than Eren had ever seen in one place. What an Armin from years ago would have called drug money with a laugh, and something the Eren of the moment wanted to hurl out of his hands as fast as possible.

Working with Reiner and Ymir was an unexpected hitch in his day, but Reiner had immediately gone over to the free climbing wall with a bounce in his step. The worst they could get falling from that was a bruise or two, so Eren could stall by one of the other walls with his phone.

grabbed your wallet by mistake you want to come by and nab it?

Historia was between classes, so her reply came fast.

               Yes, thank you. Should I pick yours up?

yeah that would help

They didn’t have any real routine to their middays, but Historia had dropped by to share lunch a few times, so Eren was spared sending off the address. His eyes wandered over to the only customers they had so far. Reiner was trying to figure out how to climb the underside of the wall. Ymir was crawling it like a spider, way too capably to be new to it.

Eren typed out another thread.

Reiner’s here with your friend

               She is not my friend

k

He put his phone away and went over to help Reiner. There weren’t any tennis balls in the building, but they’d all be better off if he could get Historia her wallet without her coming into contact with Ymir. From what he could tell, weeks of Twitter arguments, which Reiner insisted were the best thing he’d ever seen, hadn’t burned off their edge. Smiling Ymir or not, they probably didn’t need a real introduction.

----

Reiner wasn’t bad for someone who’d never gone climbing before. He stretched for handholds instead of taking the ones nearby and wasn’t built for it yet, breathed too hard, paid too much attention to how fast Ymir was making her way up next to him—but it wasn’t like riding a bike. Eren didn’t think he’d have to throw himself against the ropes to keep him from crashing.

He wondered if it would be the sort of thing Reiner would have any interest in keeping up after the coupons wore out. Mikasa liked climbing. They could make a day of it or something. Show Reiner he had friends.

Ymir swung over to Reiner’s side of the wall and flicked him on the ear. Eren’s grip on the safety lines turned glacial when Reiner let go to bat back at her.

But he was smiling under the red face and sweat. They’d all figured out how to do that again somewhere, and Eren went back to holding the lines like he got paid to do it.

Until Thomas hailed him from the cashier’s desk, and a pocket of leather tapped his shoulder.

“Here,” Historia said, tone and eyes carefully directed away from Eren’s customers.

Eren fished her wallet out of his pocket and swapped it for his, with its zero holes and coupons stuffed in next to enough bills for lunch and nothing else. “Thanks,” he said. He held back on asking if she wanted to stick around and share lunch. “Sorry.”

“It wasn’t a problem,” Historia said mechanically.

She didn’t walk away. She wasn’t making eye contact with him, either. Her gaze was set somewhere between where Ymir and Reiner were climbing and Eren’s head.

Eren hadn’t thought much about it, because thinking about Ymir and Historia’s Twitter war wasn’t good for much outside of amusing Armin to get through an awkward texting pause.

“…Do you want to say hi?”

Historia’s hackles rose the way Rivaille’s did when Eren tried to pet him, and she finally broke her staring contest with the orange handhold to scowl darkly at him. The hand that had taken her wallet balled into a fist small enough to probably rip another hole in it.

“We’re having lunch together if you want to—”

“Hey Eren!” Ymir shouted down, freezing Historia’s expression to nothingness. “I thought it was only in your job description to pick up chicks if they were falling from—”

She stopped talking, which sounded like a dream come true, except it came with Ymir’s rope spinning taut and Eren’s heart seizing as suddenly in his chest as her whiplash brake in the air. She was so still that the first panicked emotion to make its way into thought was that he’d killed her just like the bus and the blood and she wasn’t someone he wanted gone just quieter.

But those eyes were too alive with something for him to worry about that instead of gearing up to scream the speech he knew by rote, from a hundred different teenagers not listening when he said to be careful with the equipment, directly into Ymir’s thick skull. Knowing that speech was why Hannes let him keep his job, and every syllable of it thundered in his electrified blood.

Reiner beat him to words. “Ymir,” he asked, dangling in a way that said it didn’t matter he didn’t know what he was doing yet, he would jump into thin air if it would help, “you okay?”

And maybe that wasn’t a bad question.

She wasn’t going for the handholds, putting all the work on Eren. If she cared at all about Reiner’s mounting concern, none of it or anything else showed. She looked shell-shocked.

Eren put the speech on hold. “I’m getting you down,” he said bluntly. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Whatever was going on, past experience with not breaking her neck kept her from actively hampering her descent, even if Eren was mad enough that he wouldn’t have minded an extra excuse to read her the riot act.

Historia didn’t help, standing stock-still next to him instead of thinking to move out of the landing area. Eren moved around her instead, pulse at a high that didn’t promise anything good. By the time Ymir’s feet hit the mat, he could feel his fingers itching to let go of the ropes and find a bottle.

His clenched jaw kept it all back, and he unhooked her in stressed silence, ordering Reiner to stay put with his glare. Even though he’d probably be helping him down the wall the second he was done with Ymir.

Ymir didn’t need ordering. She stayed next to the wall, quiet enough to ping Eren’s first-aid lessons instead of his temper. He breathed in. Out. Didn’t murder her like

He took another breath and a step forward, raising up a hand in front of her face. “Follow my finger,” he instructed, peering into her eyes and hoping the ghosts in her expression weren’t anything dangerous.

Ymir batted his hand away. Her hand was shaking. Eren’s temper dropped another notch. “Ymir…”

“Krista,” she whispered.

She wasn’t looking at nothing, Eren realized.

Because she was looking at Historia, who had turned into a sculpture of ice.

Reiner spasmed up on his perch, and Eren abruptly decided that whatever was going on, it was time for everyone to be on the ground. Descent went much simpler with someone who was bothering to be present for it, even if Reiner had the same shaken look on his face that had drained all the blood out of Eren’s.

The childish whining in his head wanted to cry. They couldn’t all just be normal together. Something had to go sideways and broken and fuck him he needed another tennis ball in his face, but he didn’t have one so he was just going to have to grow the fuck up and handle the broken pieces with some fucking gloves for once.

Ymir was odd and quiet, and her hands were trembling like Eren’s used to.

Historia didn’t look like a person.

Eren could guess how out of his depth he was, but he couldn’t see it hitting anywhere close. He stepped over to his friend and clapped her on the shoulder, trying not to turn into Frieda when that didn’t spark anything. He stuck to what he did have a dim comprehension of. “Historia?” he prompted. “You have a class to get to, don’t you?”

Nothing. Not even a damn flicker. Whatever was left in there was locked on Ymir.

Who—Eren did a double take.

That… was different, and his depth and comfort zone went somewhere else to leave him with nothing but pure confusion.

Those were tears in Ymir’s eyes. Actual, human tears.

And Historia moved.

“No,” she said, the one word so raw and crackled it didn’t sound like a language. A spark came back to her, and Eren’s hand fell off or her shoulder ripped away, leaving him to rejoin Reiner on the sidelines as the lopsided, unsure mass of puzzle pieces started snapping together.

“No,” she said, approaching Ymir on wobbly legs. Shine and fire broke the ice, even if they both looked three days into withdrawal. “You…” she breathed in like it was strangling her, and maybe Eren was caught up in the same haze they both were, because her exhale sounded something like laugher.

Historia, bright with tears, the shortest person Eren knew, looked down at Ymir.

“You don’t get to be the one crying!” she shouted.

Her fingers were digging new holes in her wallet, and Ymir was the first one to break the stunned staring, to look at the shredded collection of money and leather.

Crying.

Silently, to go with Historia’s repressed sobs. The tears were unrelenting and steady, winding down Ymir’s cheeks like a river that had been just waiting for spring.

“Historia,” she said, tender and so, so lost.

Click went the puzzle. The fiancée.

Historia had called her that, the very first time she brought her up. The only time she brought her up at all until she read the book that confessed all of the ways they’d missed each other. Padded out with how it was probably a joke, and never something real that broke her heart.

Eren didn’t think anyone could say someone’s name like that and call it a joke.

Or hear their name said like that and think it was anything other than what it was.

Historia’s whole expression collapsed, emotion spilling out faster than the tears. Her mouth wordlessly traced Ymir’s name, and her hands dropped the wallet to hold her head as she stared down at the girl she’d somehow undersold her love for, complete ruin and hope coalescing into the only words she appeared able to come up with before her legs tripped her down.

“You unromantic jackass,” Historia murmured, burying herself in Ymir.

Eren could have counted the seconds it took for Ymir to trust that she was allowed, that ruining absolutely everything and salting the ground didn’t mean what she thought it did when someone was willing to grab you and welcome you back to your home. He saw the second the connection sparked in her head, and her broken heart was punched through with a sewing needle.

Ymir crumbled, a hiccupping sob finally leaving her as she hid it all away in Historia’s hair.

----

I haven’t said it recently so I thought I would […] I love you thanks for taking me back

               Eren??? Are you okay?

                               We were always going to.

----

They didn’t have lunch together.

Not the way any of them had planned.

They were seated at a table for four at the deli near Eren’s work, two of the chairs empty while Eren and Reiner’s life focus became not running off to eavesdrop on whatever outpour of emotion Ymir and Historia needed to have. If their food tasted like anything, Eren was missing it.

Historia had held back Mikasa to let him talk to Armin alone. She’d helped Armin let him talk to Mikasa alone. He owed her.

“Krista, huh?”

Eren jolted back to his spot at the table. “Huh?”

Across from him, Reiner didn’t look any more together. But he’d finished his sandwich, so maybe holding on to the edge of the table with a grip meant for tearing things in half wasn’t the warning sign Eren wanted to call it.

“Krista,” Reiner said again. “Ymir’s girl. That—that was what Ymir called her.”

All Eren knew about that was a vague memory of Historia telling him the girl from juvie had never known her real name. He swished his water around in his cup.

“I guess… I guess Kr—Historia told you all about what happened,” Reiner said.

Eren tried. Since it was Reiner. “Not really. We talked about…” Things he felt weird about repeating, because now that the girlfriend was Ymir, and Ymir took one look at her and started crying, he was less sure about how much he wanted to punch her. He was more sure that Historia would be mostly okay throwing a tennis ball at her.

“We talked about how much it hurt when she wasn’t there anymore,” Eren settled on.

“Right,” Reiner said.

His knuckles were pure white around the table. Eren took an experimental bite of his sandwich, staring out the window and quashing the urge to go out and find his friend and his sometimes other friend to make sure nothing else broke. He hadn’t been able to help when he was standing right next to them. His contributions weren’t anything good.

His contributions were things like wondering if his roommate would ever come home again. He was a child, and channeling that into more unwanted worrying was all he had for the day.

“It was my fault,” Reiner blurted.

Eren pulled himself back again. “What was?”

Reiner’s look was straight out of rehab. His hands dug through his hair for a moment instead of the table, too short to hide the nervous twitch of his fingers completely. Eren straightened in his chair. Reiner took that as a sign to try to smile, which worked badly.

“I overdosed,” he said. “A lot.”

“I know,” Eren said.

“Right.” His fingers started tapping on the table. “But one of them—Ymir was going to be out any day. We knew that. Or—I guess Bertolt knew, I didn’t know much of anything by then, but…” Reiner clenched his eyes shut. “I overdosed, and Bertolt called her, and then she… she was there.”

Eren tried another bite of his sandwich and had to stop himself from spitting it out. He could picture it, and the unsaid half about the person Ymir had left behind, who hadn’t been in such immediate danger but never stopped needing her. He knew that story. He’d lived some of it, and now that the girlfriend had a face it was too easy to remember that Ymir was the idiot who left and Historia was the idiot who still wanted her.

Only this time the idiot who left had a good reason.

He wanted to call Armin and apologize again, not just texting because his fingers worked when his voice wouldn’t. He wanted to call Mikasa and remember that she’d survived him and they had Zeke’s damn baseball practice together.

He didn’t know how to call Zeke, but someone had, after the accident, and after Eren being stupid. And Zeke had shown up. No questions asked. He’d dropped everything, because Eren needed his brother, so his brother had shown up. Because that was something he knew how to do, even if conversations and feelings weren’t.

Ymir was so bad at knowing what to do with feelings she wrote an entire book about failing to share them and then got defensive when the person she had them for complained.

Eren wanted to check in on them. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do to help, but it felt like someone should be around to keep them from ending up in a place where Ymir went with releasing another book for her and Historia to fight over as a conversation starter. Counting on Historia to be that someone when she hadn’t been able to let go of Ymir when Eren was getting her harness off felt like a gamble.

He didn’t think either of them would like that argument. Their first act as a couple would be to find a ball pit to dump him in.

“It’s my fault,” Reiner said again. “If Kr—if Historia got hurt. I—Ymir has trouble being upfront about some things, but she wouldn’t have left it that way for anything else. She’s a good person, and Krista—she’s crazy about her. Still. She won’t hurt her.”

Eren stopped swishing his drink, and stared as much threat into Reiner’s eyes as he could without actually thinking about what hurting another person like that looked like.

“She’d better not,” he said.

----

We love you too. […] We can say it more often. If you want.

[next]

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

JULY PICKS!

You heard me correctly, I said JULY! Whoosh, this year is going by fast-but not in a good way if you know what I mean. This will be my last monthly wrap up where I am strictly staying home in quarantine as this upcoming week I’m heading back to work in person. Wish me luck!

We had quite the range this month from newly released, reality, musical and then some favorites from last month that I’ve continued watching. Without further ado here we go....

There’s going to be PLENTY of SPOILERS this go round. ESPECIALLY with my first pick of Stargirl. You’ve been warned!!!

DC’S STARGIRL

I need to talk about 1x10 or I’m going to burst!!! As stated above there will be A LOT of SPOILERS IN THIS POST!! So scroll down to the next picture if you don’t want it to be spoiled. 

You’ve been warned...again.

IT CANNOT END LIKE THAT!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Henry! Wow! 1) Epic fighting 2) The backstory and how he wasn’t going to give up on his dad AND THEN how he wouldn’t give into his dad. 3) HE DIED RATHER THAN JOIN HIS SIDE OR PRETEND (which I honestly felt was going to happen). His character arc and I can’t believe it’s over!!! 4) His speech at the end: *weeping.* I knew Brainwave was going to say he killed his mother. It just felt like the build up. Brainwave Jr. would have been a GREAT ADDITION TO THE JSA! AND OMG THE WAY THE REST OF THEM FOUGHT FOR HIM! I loved how they framed it so you could still see them in the back when Henry spoke to his father. Super heartbreaking. Man, it feels like a lot of people have been killed off this first season (or am I just still thinking about Joey?) 

Side note: Check out the Instagram Live between father and son Brainwave on Stargirl’s CW page. Jake Austin Walker did an AWESOME interview in his take over.

This was one of the strongest episodes overall and definitely one of my favorites so far. I agree with many others that while it is SOO GOOD and I want to rewatch it again, I don’t know if I can emotionally yet. I can’t remember the last time I felt that way about a show. 

Some other thoughts this episode: WAY TO GO BARBARA! Way to record them to translate later (such an awesome app btw, how do I get it?). I’m glad her and Pat came more to an understanding because I love them especially with that glimpse into how they met. Jordan’s parents give me the creeps, like the couple from The Visit vibes. I feel like Mike’s got to find out ASAP, especially because he’s spent time in the garage. Something’s got to show him the truth; because I’m really feeling he figures it out rather than being told. Very curious to see what his reaction will be. SOLOMON GRUNDY. Thank God Beth talked Rick down. She really is like Chuck in being the voice of reason. She did really well in the cafeteria too. While I still don’t believe Starman is Courtney’s dad, how cute was it when she put together her and Henry were cousins? Speaking of Court’s dad, who else didn’t feel like Starman was her dad until they saw that upcoming promo? I don’t know who that impostor is but he is not her dad. Something’s fishy.

Loving this show. So happy it’s renewed for a second season!! 

THE 100

From a show I can’t get enough of to one whose final season is a disappointment. I’m not going to spend too much time talking about The 100 because I feel I’ll just be repeating myself from previous posts. However, I did want to include it because I haven’t spoken much about the previous 2 episodes that I wound up watching back to back and I didn’t overly dislike them. 

As many have complained, when you have a final season you shouldn’t introduce SO MANY new characters and just push aside your originals (or the ones who are left). You also shouldn’t include so many confusing plots that are making it look like were the main points overall (like this many world concept was around since the first grounders) and playing with time in so many episodes is hard to keep up with too. Having so many people separated makes it difficult to remember what just happened to this specific group because I haven’t seen them in forever. ANYWAY, I did promise some positives. I didn’t except to like 7x08 because of it being a flashback episode with brand new people that was just going to feel like a potential spin-off pilot. Well...I actually really enjoyed it and the concept that the bunker was used before One Crew. The characters were easy to like and it was cool seeing Allie again (and this time not as the villain). While it felt forced including the orb (is that what it’s called? If not that’s what I’m calling it), but I liked how all the other pieces fit together (ex: the flame, the grounders’ language). Honestly, I surprise myself to say this, but I’d watch another episode. For 7x09, I liked being on Bardo and watching Octavia, Echo, Diyoza and Hope slowly get “brainwashed” I mean trained. We all knew it wouldn’t work for Hope and if I was them I would rather be on Sky Ring than Bardo (but then I guess I’d go crazy, so...) I enjoy the Octavia and Levitt relationship and would love them to work out, but if this show taught you anything it’s to be skeptical. I also want to shift to the Primes plot, just to showcase John Murphy for a second. THAT MAN! What a character development he’s had on this show. From the first season where I was like come on Murphy to now me awaiting his scenes. From cockroach to someone who won’t view himself as a hero. So good and something that is fantastic about this final season. They might have forgotten about other characters, but they’re doing it right by Murphy. 

Well, that was more than I was expecting. ;)   

THE CIRCLE

It feels like I haven’t watched a lot of reality TV this year, which makes sense because of our quarantine situation (but then again I’m watching World of Dance, but that’s a different because it’s more of a competition/dance show. I’ll stop rambling). The Circle is a reality ‘game’ show that could be easily completed during quarantine and social distancing because the contestants do not see each other in person. They each have an apartment in this complex and only communicate with each other on a social media platform called the Circle. The objective is to become the most popular and an influencer who gets power over who stays and who goes in the competition. There’s some side contests throughout, but most of the show is just people chatting through an insta messenger and trying to learn as much as they can. Alliances are formed and cat fishes try to thrive all for the grand prize of $100,000. (Wow, that’s a lot!) It is SUPER addicting and very funny. Having a voice-over narrator really makes it even funnier because she says what we’re all thinking. Just about every episode a contestant leaves and then is able to meet one other person in their apartment. It’s been cool seeing their reactions as oftentimes it’s someone they did not expect AT ALL. I can’t wait to finish it. If you’re a fan of Big Brother than this is definitely for you. Looks like there will be a second season, which I am excited about.  

THE BABYSITTERS CLUB

Jumping from one Netflix show to another. Released on Netflix on July 3rd, I tried not to binge it all in one day because then it would be over (and we still don’t know if there will be a second season yet). This is definitely my feel good watch for July. If you want something that’s a quick watch and just wholesome and fun to escape our current world than this is for you. I always felt so happy after watching and couldn’t wait to watch another. While I was familiar with the franchise--the 90s movie and of course the books (although I was more of a Babysitter Little Sister fan, so I was very excited to see Karen), you don’t have to have any knowledge of the Babysitters Club to enjoy this show. I was hooked just about right away by this new series shown by me watching the first three episodes back to back. I really like how they set up each episode with one girl as the main focus (just like in the books) where she takes over the voice-over narration. Great representation and made modern to fit in with our current times. The first example that comes to mind is when Mary Ann babysits Bailey who is transgender. I liked how Bailey says those are her old clothes while they’re playing. It’s shown in a way that explains the situation without feeling like a lecture. It fits so naturally into the episode. And then Mary Ann’s speech at the hospital is super powerful for both Bailey and herself. This is just one example of how well represented this show is. Extremely strong cast and actresses who are the proper ages. I also love the adult casting and how they threw in a Clueless reference from Alicia Sliverstone (who plays Kristy’s Mom). As someone who is writing for this age group, I really liked hearing and seeing how authentic this show is. 

FEEL THE BEAT

A Netflix original movie that has been on my list for a while that I just got around to watching. It didn’t come out too long ago. In the film, Sofia Carson’s character is a dancer who is a perfectionist. She gets on the bad side of a big NYC producer when she not only leaves her in the rain as she steals her taxi, but also knocks her, accidentally, off stage and becomes a viral video-this basically blackmails her in Broadway. This all happens within about the first 10 minutes of the film and the majority takes place back in her small home town (very Hallmark-like) in Wisconsin. While there her old dancing teacher wants her to share her Broadway wisdom with her young students. Meanwhile Carson has only been a chorus girl, so she doesn’t really have any. What draws her to helping the young girls is the chance to perform in front of a big choreographer that could get her to be the star she always dreamed of. The catch is that it’s the teacher dance in the childrens dance competition. While this might sound like a movie you’ve watched many times before, it was still worth it and a really fun watch. I think the kids really make the movie. They are adorable, funny and super talented. You feel connected with them really fast and want to see them succeed. I loved Dickie and how he joined the group. I think he was my favorite overall. I loved how inclusive the cast was here too (just like BSC) from a mixed race family, to single parents and even a student who was Deaf. It was great seeing the other actors sign to her. Carson’s character, April, can be annoying at times, but you understand it’s her character and something she needs to overcome. As I said before the plot may seem familiar, but the ending was something I didn’t see coming. Overall, wholesome, feel good and fun for the whole family. You can consider to watch while babysitting. (See what I did there??)  

VIOLETTA SEASON 2

She’s back! I know last month when I included Violetta it was mainly me being excited to see the second season FINALLY streaming on Disney Plus. I had watched a few episodes (remember there’s 80 altogether, so even if I watched 20 that’s still very early on and just a dent in the season) and was still getting used to this season. Well, now I’m happy to report I am in the 40s and more than half way. For a bit I was watching many of these episodes a day, which told me that I was loving it again. Recently, I feel I need a little more of a push to watch, but it’s mainly because of certain story-lines that feel like they’re dragging. (For example: Violetta’s voice. One minute it’s fine and the next she’s like dying). For this section I have two words: LOVE TRIANGLES. And I’m not just talking about Violetta, Diego and Leon. For a bit it felt like each character had their own love triangle, which honestly I was loving. These characters have definitely developed a lot from last season, which allows this to happen. Olga was in a love triangle, which just recently got resolved. I think German is still in one because of his alter ego Jeremias. Jackie was “kind of” in one. For her it was more of a misunderstanding, which is very classic on this show. Lots more secrets have been uncovered in these episodes as well as songs! You know how excited I am for those. Overall, I think I’m still enjoying season 1 songs more (which get referenced enough in this season), but some of the season 2 ones are really growing on me. Specifically Leon’s Entre dos mundos and when he sings with Diego Euphoria in English. Also, Yo Soy Asi has been real catchy. I know Frederico will be coming back soon and I can’t wait to see him again!  

HAMILTON

Like many I watched Hamilton this month-actually on the day it came out. It’s been a musical that I’ve been intrigued by, but never thought I’d get a chance to watch because of how popular and expensive it is to see on Broadway. So, I was very excited to hear I’d get the chance when it was to be released in theaters for a special event. Then because of Corona it was released to Disney Plus, which was EVEN more convenient and exciting. I really enjoyed it and watched it twice within the same week. I immediately downloaded the playlist and started singing it around the house. I do this a lot with many of the plays I see, but depending how good they are is shown by how long I listen to the soundtrack. (Some of my top ones are Bandstand, Once, Newsies and Anastasia.) Because there are so many songs in Hamilton it is taking me a little longer to know all the words, but I feel pretty confident with the first act. It was the perfect timing for this to be released on Disney Plus. Not only because it was July 3rd, but also because of the world we are living in. Lin’s diverse cast brings to life the world of 1776 and the revolutionary war (as well as the time after it), but it’s such a strong commentary on our world today. This is something I am continually noticing with historical dramas/pieces being released within the last 5-10 years. It feels like there’s more we can say in this genre than in a commentary piece. I also like all the analysis videos I’ve seen popping up, which just make it even more powerful. (Like it being Eliza’s story and her putting herself back in the narrative. That the play Hamilton is named for both her and Alexander.) I don’t know if all of what I see were intentional, but  either way well done. I hope it doesn’t leave Disney Plus soon. 

1917

And lastly, 1917. I promised quite the range this month and you can see that’s definitely the case. I always enjoy watching war films and with 1917 there was so much hype (both before it came out and after) that I was interested to give it a watch. Giving the movie to my dad for father’s day felt like the perfect excuse to be able to watch it. Even though our DVD stuck in a few places (still don’t know if it was the player or the DVD itself), the film was very entertaining and I would suggest it to anyone who is a history/film buff. Taking place in WWI, we follow two British soldiers as they attempt to deliver a message about an upcoming ambush that could take countless lives. I feel that I often watch more films revolving around WWII, so it was very interesting to be immersed in the first great war. After watching I am not surprised that the film was up for so many Oscars. While cinematography is the first thing everyone discusses when it comes to this movie (and it should be because the one shot/long shot is sooo impressive and beautiful to watch. It really brings you into the scene and has a way of making you feel like you’re there too. There’s a realness to it that’s raw and new compared to other war films I’ve watched in the past), there’s so much more to this film too. First, I like how it connects back to Sam Mendes’ grandfather, so while it’s not a true story it has real facts in it. I LOVE the score and music to this film. In the scene where George Mackay runs at night through those ruined buildings I could really hear how well the music worked with the action. Because of this I made sure to listen to some of the soundtrack and now I’ve added some of the songs into my writing playlist. I have chills just thinking about it. The other point I want to bring up is the cast! While there are SO MANY big names in this film from Colin Firth to Benedict Cumberbatch, the two main characters are played by George Mackay and Dean Charles Chapman and they are the ones with the most screen time. If their chemistry and acting wasn’t so great then the movie wouldn’t be as successful as it is. Because of this I have been watching non-stop YouTube interviews of the two of them for this film. 

They are so well-spoken, stand-up guys and I can’t get enough of their dialogues with each other and others. (You should watch these interviews too). While familiar with Chapman’s time on Game of Thrones, I haven’t seen him in much else, so I’m excited to see what he’ll have in the future (as well as checking out his IMDB page). For Mckay, I’ve seen him before when I just watched Ophelia earlier this summer so that was my first time watching him act. After that film I was curious what else he was in, but it was only after 1917 that I started doing more research. So far, I’ve only been able to watch the short film he was in called Infinite. While only 17 minutes it was very strong and deep. I highly recommend. As I’ve shared on this page already, in another post, the more I hear him talk the more of a crush I am developing. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced a celebrity crush this strong so soon. This quarantine has to end so I can make it to England to just casually bump into him like one does. :) 

[dibidibifiction]

Criminal In My Mind: Chapter 1

Warning: foul language

Pairing: Choi Minho x Reader

Word count: 2k

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction made for personal entertainment of readers. The writer does not ever intend to offend her readers nor does she aim to spread false information about anyone as to pay any disrespect to the real-life persons whom the characters are based on. She also does not claim ownership to any of the images that are being used.

masterlist  

Y/N

“What... What’s happening?”

Different voices sound faint in the background. I try to adjust as my sight is still cloudy. I have no idea where I am. I start to fail catching my breath as soon as I realize that I can’t feel my arms when I attempt to feel my head where there’s excruciating pain other than the rest of my body aches all over.

Although everything is dark and blurry, I noticed that I’m sitting down with my knees bent to my face, a cloth smelling of gasoline fumes covers my nose and mouth. I’m in a cramped space that I can hardly move in, some kind of a big container. I look up and I see a small hole with light shining through.

What is going on? I can hear myself breathing rapidly.

Two men appear from above me and grab me forcefully on both of my arms to stand me up as I feel another severe pain. This time it’s somewhere on my hip.

Shit, it hurts! It hurts, it hurts. It fucking hurts!

Still catching up with my breath, my sight is fading black again while I hear drilling and hammering but I can’t tell where it’s coming from. I feel myself being dragged as burns forming on my heels. I start to panic—trying to jerk every part of my body, trying to break free. I’d shout for help but my lips down to my throat are too dry as if frozen.

I must have passed out for a minute because the next thing I know is complete silence and complete darkness. Suddenly, in front of me appears another man with blood all over his hands and a sledgehammer in one. “Stay still,” he says.

I try to scream again and finally, my voice rips out the loudest that I can, “Help!”

“Shh, relax, this is just a-” 

“Dream!”

I jolt up. My pores drip with cold sweat and my heart throbs as if to break free from my ribs.

“It was just a dream,” I think out loud.

It’s been over a year since I last dreamt something about what happened when I was thirteen. I don’t even remember what exactly happened anymore. I just remember exactly how it felt, how terrifying it was. How I thought I was going to die. I’m not even sure how I survived, especially my surgeon. I received quite a beating from that event, such as severe bruises and deep cuts all over my body, internal bleeding along my insides. Two rib bones were so complicatedly twisted on my lower right flank that I needed surgery just for the doctors to fix them, which left a big scar down my side. I don’t know what’s worse: remembering how everything happened or remembering how it all felt. The memory of it all, although unclear...

I get freighted by the vibration of my phone against my nightstand. Jinki is calling.

“Lee Jinki, isn’t it too early for a flirtatious phone call? I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh, hey! I didn’t expect you to pick up right away. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a bad dream. Gonna take a shower. I’m late for-”

“Wait! Stop by for breakfast. It’s on me.”

I roll my eyes and hang up. Jinki and I dated shortly after college for like a week or two so nothing was serious. We’re good friends now but he’s still claiming that there is still some kind of remaining spark between us. It’s getting old so I just always assume he’s joking every time he tells me that.

I decided not to wash my hair and just let it loose since I really am going to be late for work and I hate to bother going out with wet hair. I get dressed, I go for a pastel pink long-sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted light blue jeans and my ivory cream high-top Chucks. I don’t bother for any makeup, which rarely happens, and rush out the front door then lock it behind me. 

I hop on a cab taking it that there won’t be a bus stopping any second now.

I arrive at Jinki’s café, which is just on the next parallel street of the flower shop and just two neighborhoods away from home, “Hi, I’m here,” I call out even before I spot him.

“Good morning, Y/n!” Jinki greets cheerfully with his usual bright smile. “Wait, I think there’s something different,” he gestures both of his hands on my face.

“Oh, maybe it’s because I haven’t put any makeup-”

“You’re extra beautiful today,” his smile widens, and eyes almost disappear.

“-on,” I grit my teeth at him. “You shut up, Jinki! I’ll see you later,” I walk out the glass doors and nod at the barista as thanks for opening them for me.

I flash all the way to the flower shop that my sock slips off from my heel when I walk in, to already witness an early customer.

“There she is! My favorite employee. Y/n, sweetie, please come and talk to this fine lady right here. She has a lot of questions that are far beyond my energy to handle.”

“Sorry, I’m late, Mr. Lee. And everybody knows I’m your only employee who isn’t your son,” I joke back as Taemin pops in yawning, still in his morning glory.

“And everybody also knows that my son sucks at his job,” Mr. Lee shouts and smacks the back of his son’s head then points to another customer that has just walked in, ordering him to go and entertain.

As I mind my own customer, I catch a small glimpse of the guy Taemin’s talking to, who looks unimpressed. He has dark hair in a layered bowl style with his fringe covering more than half his forehead and would’ve definitely looked cuter if he smiled. They seem to already know each other. Weird thing is I feel like I’ve met him before. Was he in one of my classes in college? Does he go to the same gym class I do? 

“For the petunia bouquet, can you add something else so it won’t look so plain?” the nice lady inquires further.

“Absolutely. Maybe I’ll add some purple azaleas or lilies, or maybe both if you’d like. What do you think?”

“Great! I’ll just entrust this on you, dear, okay?”

“No problem,” I assure her, not breaking a smile while I work the cash register for her down payment, I take one more quick look at the guy, who may now think I’m creepy so I’ll stop now. I hand over the receipt to the lady in front of me.

“Thanks! I’ll come back Friday to pick them up,” she announces.

“Thank you for coming in! I’ll make sure to ready your bouquets by then. Have a nice day!” I say, still smiling, opening the door for her to walk out.

As soon as I approach the guys, the other customer, probably coincidentally, is just walking out of the shop. I don’t know about everybody else who’s met him but he seems hostile to me. 

And really really familiar. I can’t point my finger at it. “You know him?” I ask Taemin beside me.

“Yeah, we’re in a photography class together,” he tells me. “I tend to talk to him at school but he’s kind of scary.”

“Seems likely.”

“But I like him. I think he’s better once I get to know him.”

I laugh. “Anyway, what time do your classes start this afternoon?”

“2 o’clock.”

“Great. Can you deliver those bouquets due today for me? Please and thank you!” I sweetly ask him, pointing at a big box across the counter.

“Sure thing, Noona. Tell Dad I’ll be home late tonight,” he informs me while grabbing his backpack and the box of deliveries.

“Hot date?” I tease him.

“We’re just friends,” he said with a jokingly evil grin and a wink. 

“Hey, Lee Taemin, don’t do anything stupid!”

Just like that, he’s out the door before I even finish my sentence.

Lunchtime is finally here. I’ve been arranging flowers all morning and handling customers whenever somebody comes in. Although I could never complain about my job since this is what I’ve ever wanted growing up.

I was born and raised in a different city where my parents live to this day about a two-hour drive away from here, or three hours if you took the bus since it has a lot of stops and depending on traffic. I moved to this city in my first year of college. 

My mom and dad had been tight with me growing up, especially with academics, since they both have families that got master’s degrees and PhDs. At first, I didn’t mind studying hard and graduating with honors because I didn’t really know what I wanted to be in the future at the time. However, the more I aged, the more I realized that I hated studying. I’m not smart enough like my parents and my cousins and they had no idea how hard I must have worked in order for me to please them. I hated the attention whenever I received a first-place certificate or won local quiz bees and academic decathlons because, you know what, none of the trophies and medals I earned made me happy.

When I was kidnapped and held captive in some kind of box for days, all I thought about was flowers. I was missing my mom’s garden at home, and how it smelled in the morning before I went to school. I figured that flowers were all that I drew with crayons in kindergarten. It was the highlight of my days. At the time, in that container, I had foreboded that I was going to die.

Since the universe provided me a second chance to live, that’s when my life began. I did not want to be an academic overachiever, I wanted to have fun. Since then, my parents always scolded me for getting a B or a C, but I didn’t care. At least I never neglected my studies.

The day came when I had to move out to go to college and I couldn’t be more excited. Still without neglecting my academics, I started partying almost every weekend and dated whoever I wanted. Although, I honestly have never been in love before.

The rest is history, I found Mr. Lee’s flower shop. I applied for a job here three years ago, before I graduated.

“Did somebody order lunch?” Jinki walks into the shop. “How’s my love doing?”

“Fine, thank you for asking. And shut up,” I say. “You didn’t have to do this. You already gave me breakfast.”

“Oh, no, I don’t want my girl to starve,” he winks at me.”

“Hey, Lee Jinki! Give me a break, won’t you? I’m not yours.”

“Come on, I’m kidding. It already sank into me that you’re never gonna be mine. Plus, I actually met somebody.”

“No shit, really? Who?” I ask, surprised.

“I’m not gonna tell you now. We just started seeing each other and we’re not exclusive yet. I don’t even know if she likes me.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you moving on. Let me meet her when you’re ready.” I say to him as I pinch his cheek.

“Here we go,” he says after laying out all the food on the counter.

“Looks good, thank you,” I’m always thankful for Jinki. Even though we didn’t work out as romantic partners, I’m glad we’re friends. “Oh, by the way, Kibum is coming into town this Friday.”

“Oh, great. I only got to meet him once before but I think he’s really funny. How long ago was it when he last visited?” he asks while his mouth is full with rice.

“I think it was over a month ago when he told me the news about his engagement.”

“Looks like we have a fun weekend ahead. Although I might not join you the next day since I’m going home to my mom’s.”

“Great! Say hi to her for me.”

Chapter 2

[hypnotica-ships]

how abouuuuut... 1,3 and 4 too?

Oh boy, this got suuuuuuuuuper long, but I’ve been holding a lot of this in, and I didn’t even get to mention the crow raisings...I’ve tried to keep this short and skipped a ton of things, so if you want some more info about anything, let me know, I”d be more than happy to answer! The last two questions will be under the cut, cause wow, can I talk....

1. What is your s/i's name & pronouns? Legally- Mathew E. Sionis However, only a few very close people know it, and even then they all still call him Crow. Even when he still had his deadname. No one but him and his father know what the "E." stands for. Also he goes by He/Him and They/Them. Mostly the first set though.

3. Does your s/i have a full backstory yet? Or is it still in the works? If it's done can we see it? Oh boy, do I. It's fairly messy, and you need to keep in mind that the first media I inserted myself into was DC Comics, plus I was 15 and never knew about the whole Self-Shipping Community until like last year, thanks btw. It gets dark and some spots, my bad, blame 15 year old edgelord Crow.

Let's start at the beginning yeah? Crow was born the second child to Circe, not much is know about her, and Roman Sionis who at the time had just started to make his name big in the underground crime scene, in Gotham City. She had an older brother and a younger brother, each sibling was born with some darker magic powers, but showed no sign of it at the time they were in his care. After Crow's younger brother was born (both siblings have names, but I'm a bit shy about saying who each one is, but as we'll see later, they don't really get along anyways...), their mother died. Which sent Roman into a bit of a spiral, he became incredibly paranoid. He thought the only way to save his children (who are all a year apart, so the oldest is about 2 and a half to three) was to kill them, but he had a hard time doing it directly after what he did to the older brother.... So he sent the other babies away in basket down a stream hope that would solve the problem. There was a fork in the stream, one child went one way while the other one went another. Crow's way went into a run off into a sewer, not just any sewer, (oh boy...here we go...) the Arkham Asylum sewer, where a big ole' Mr. Killer Croc found what he thought was a dead child. Once he realized the child was still alive, he tried his best to get one of the orderlies of the Asylum's attention. They....had no idea what to do, so (even though I"m pretty sure they probably would of sent the child to an orphanage...) they decided to have the inmates, with constant security around, raise the child (15 year old me had some ideas....to bad i never changed this...).

Yadda yadda yadda, time skip, Crow now has realized she has shadomancy powers and just basic magic as well, but no clue how to use em, so they 'wing it', they also have a pretty good gig at stealing things, since she can travel through the shadows real sneaky like. She finds out at some point who her dad is, and the younger brother, Crow is furious, and vows to never speak to her father ever again, but he insists on buying her love and gives her an "allowance" of like a billion a month, but she refuses to keep it all and only saves enough to live on while the rest gets sent to charity. She's about 13 at this point and has bought out an old hotel to live in that was ment to be torn down, so it's basically falling apart except for one room and the roof. Safe enough to live in though. Yadda yadda, still the same age, she meets Lonnie while looking for one of her pet crows that went into his cell at juvie, stuff happens they become friends, he finds out about her living situation, tells his folks, and now they basically adopted her. Crow and Lonnie cause trouble for a few years as a fucking awesome team. When they are around 16 or so, Jamm just shows up, and he needs a place to stay, and at this point Crow's hotel is fixed up a bit more thanks to help from Lonnie. So they let him stay in an extra room.

He now forever part of this group.

They make a band, The Nest, but it's kind of a cover up for vigilantism. At this point, since I like to keep things as cannon as possible, Lonnie fakes his death, which cause Crow to spiral, similar to how her father did when he lost her mother. It's sad and depressing time, lot of plot points, but I'll try to sum it up: Drinking problems, lots of failed relationships good and bad, possible murder, the older brother comes back and explains some stuff he may also be Satan, Crow and Jamm bonding time, and ect.

I dunno, about 18-ish now or whatever, I really don’t have the best concept of time, Crow dates Jimmy, thanks to some old connections with Lois who set them up, it goes pretty well, Crow is healing. She's not fully healed though, and Jimmy recommends getting out of Gotham since it seems to make things worse and she needs a vacation. Cool, she'll just move to Metropolis where Jimmy lives, nah, doesn't last long, but she does take a trip to Washington D.C. Crow sees a figure on the roof tops lurking around on her trip. One rainy night she confronts it, whoops, Lonnie is still alive! They end up fighting about him not telling her for a few months or so, until he finally says he's sorry. Crow and Jimmy adventures happen, (such as Crow finding out about her Uncle Guile and meets Holger and Marnie, which leads into like a year long hijinks, one relationship that ended in an uncertain way, and now Crow goes back home but has a distant little sibling now, they call and text each other now and again, even go out to lunch), but Crow is still not happy, and Jimmy takes note. Stuff happens, and he proposes.....Crow says no. She realized that she.....probably should of been a he. Crow with this knowledge dumps Jimmy, he takes it well and understands, but Crow still feels bad about it.

After, Crow moves back to Gotham, he talks to Lonnie about going about transitioning. He helps Crow with the whole process, killing whatever ill will was left form the faking death for years bit.

Crow's about 19-20 now, dates Jimmy again, he takes him to meet his cousin Archie in Riverdale. As he visits, he notices a kid and his dad. Said dad is....abusive....and Crow takes note. Stuff happens, Crow and Jimmy breakup again, but Crow moves to Riverdale, cause he needed a change and felt happy there. He remembers the dad and kid, and confronts them, big mess happens, and now Crow has an adopted son, Reggie (who's about 16). Tiny time skip, more garbage happens and then a dying bloodied kid shows up on Crow's doorstep, after helping him and saving his life he asks about the kids family, stuff happens, and now he has kid x2, Julian (also 16, but like 5 months older then Reggie, who hates that.) Stuff happens. Crow is happy with his family and the occasional visits from Uncle Lonnie and Uncle Jamm really help keep Crow sane, (a lot of trauma, a lot of mental issues here, same s/i, same) things are about to get a lot more interesting when the band Reggie is in is asked to open for Josie and the Pussycats....

4. How did your s/i feel when they first met your f/o(s)? How do they feel about them now? I decided to kinda make this a continuation of 3.

Crow was hanging out backstage of his son's performance, checking out the food and making himself a little serving even though the sign said "For band members only!". All of a sudden, a guy in a blue suit, sunglasses and a smug aura about him, slid up next to him. Crow immediately did not trust this man.

Dude asked if Crow was THEE Crow from the Nest, mentioned he was a fan, and wondered what they were up to since they went silent a few years ago. Crow answered as nice as he could, against his better judgement. This guy, Alexander, had the gull to offer him a contract to manage The Nest to "give them a second chance..." The Nest need not a second chance, if they wanted to go big, they would of years ago without this clown’s help.

Yadda yadda yadda, Alex doesn't stop pushing, and Crow ends up becoming a sort of mentor to the Pussycats, while also helping them keep their manager at bay, aka a distraction. Crow and Alex somehow become friends after he realizes that Alex was super lonely growing up and at this point Crow might be his only friend besides the Pussycats (who pay him/he pays them). They get quite close, and Crow, even though he hates that he let this happen, kinda has a major soft spot for this dork.

It took them over a year or so to finally tell each other that though. Not my fault they needed to go through a bunch of agnst/yearning adventures....

Sorry this got super long, but oh boy, did it feel good to finally get this off my chest. I clearly skipped a ton to keep this "short", but that doesn't mean I don't have those ideas fully fleshed out. So if in any point in the future you want me to elaborate, I"d be more than happy too! Thanks for the ask, and sorry to bombard you with a huge wall of text. <3

[winterfang53]

Gajevy Week 2020 - Letters

Super late but here you go!

Gajevy Week 202 day 1: Letters! I hope you enjoy!

Levy was running the moment she got off the bus; her red backpack bouncing on her back while her lunchbox threatened to fly out of her hand. The 12-year-old raced down the block towards her house, only stopping at the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

Excitement gleamed in her eyes as she eagerly opened the wooden frame only to deflate at the emptiness within.

“Not today I guess,” Levy sign, pouting as she trudged towards the front door, lacking the energy she had only a moment before. “I hope it comes tomorrow then,” Levy said quietly.

Levy made her way into her house, almost tripping over her older brother’s shoes at the doorway. “Stupid Jellal,” she grumbled loudly, catching the attention of someone in the kitchen.

“Levy is that you dear?” her mother called, poking her head around the corner, “how was school, Honey?”

“It was fine,” Levy said hesitantly, “Mom, did you get the mail by any chance?”

Levy’s mother smiled brightly, “Your letter’s on the table, Sweetie.”

Joy brightened Levy’s eyes, making her throw her shoes off in hast to bounce her way into the kitchen. There, sitting the on the light wooden table was a plain white letter with her name scribbled in bad handwriting. Levy squealed as she leaped towards the letter only for it to be ripped from her hand.

“What’s this?” Levy’s older brother Jellal asked, holding the letter above her short stature, “a letter from your boyfriend?” he teased.

“Jellal!” Levy screeched, her cheeks flushing with anger and embarrassment, “he’s not my boyfriend and gives me it back!” 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jellal laughed, “your penpal, who you wait with bated breath for every letter he sends you. It’s kind of sad Lev.”

Before Levy could defend herself, a show flew through the air to smack her brother in the face. Looks like her mom was here to defend her instead. “Jellal stop teasing your sister and put your shoes away!”

Levy snatched her letter and bolted up the stairs to her room, locking the door so her brother couldn’t chase her.

Downstairs, Levy’s mom chastised her son: “Why do you have to tease her like that? You know how hard it is for Levy to make friends -- those letters brighten her day!”

“Sorry Mom,” Jellal grumbled, “I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just she really needs to make more friends than the one boy who’s her penpal from last year.”

Their Mother’s eyes soften, “I know Honey, but you know how shy she is, she has a hard time connecting to the other kids. Let her appreciate the friend she has now.”

“I just hope he doesn’t stop writing her letters,” Jellal signed as he gazed up the stairs, “it would break her heart.”

Upstairs behind Levy’s locked door, sat Levy on her bed gazing at the letter in hand. It was a plain white envelope -- like always -- with her name scribbled in a handwritten that she could recognize anywhere as her penpal Gajeel Redfox. Last year, before the summer started, Levy’s school started a penpal program between her school and a school on the other side of the state. It was mandatory for all 5th graders in her school to participate, making shy little Levy write a letter to a complete stranger. 

Levy can still remember how nervous she was writing her first letter -- an introduction letter about herself -- and how her tummy hurt for 2 whole weeks while she waited for a response, only for her to bristle in fury at the response her got:

You sound short.

 Gajeel Redfox, as Levy came to discover, was a boy of every few words and took much joy in teasing her even though letters. Levy had been so mad that she wrote a very rude letter back. For the rest of the summer, Levy and Gajeel sent “hate mail” to each other, calling each other every name in the book until the first week of school when it dawned on her that the program was over. 

Levy had come to look forward to each letter; the excitement of interacting with someone her own age wasn’t something Levy got to experience often -- given her lack of friends. During the second week of 6th grade, Levy sent a letter to Gajeel asking him if he still wanted to send letters and for 2 whole weeks, Levy sat again with her tummy hurting. When that letter came, Levy almost cried happily at what was written:

You’re funny Shrimp, why on earth would I stop now?

Now, in April and almost a whole year of writing letters, Levy and Gajeel still exchanged letters almost every week -- just with less teasing.

Levy gently opened the letter, so as not to rip the letter, and pulled out the plain white notebook paper that Gajeel always wrote on:

Shrimp,

My Ma says I need to start my letters by asking how you are so here: How are you? I don’t really know why I need to do that, you would tell me if you’re ok or no but whatever. Has your school started ‘preparing’ you guys for middle school? Mine has and it stinks. What’s the big deal with middle school anyways? The only difference is that you have more than one classroom now, big deal. My Ma says it’s a bigger deal than that but I think she’s exaggerating. See? I used a big word -- I AM using that stupid dictionary you gave me for Christmas so now you can’t say I’m not!  Yes, I know there were Pokemon cards in the dictionary but you still gave me a dictionary for Christmas. That’s worst than socks Shrimp! 

Anyways that not the real thing I want to talk about. My folks are dragging me and Wendy to go see my grandparents out of state this summer, we’re gonna be there for a whole month while dad has to go overseas for work! I put their address at the end of this letter so you know where to send your letters to me. I’ll be there from June 23 to July 25 so don’t forget!

P.S. I hate making friends too, most of my friends are my cousins, well and you. Don’t let the other kids bully you ok? I’m not there to beat them up.

Gajeel

Levy smiled as she read her letter, blushing slightly at Gajeel’s hidden concern for her. Even if he was mean most of the time, Levy knew that he cared for her in his own weird way. His letters were the highlight of her day -- save for reading. Levy hoped from her bed and pulled out a large box from underneath. There, Levy had every letter Gajeel ever sent her. Kissing the letter, Levy placed it in the box before hopping over to her desk to write her reply. 

…

Levy and Gajeel continued being penpals for years to come, surprising everyone even themselves on their commitment. It wasn’t until high school when both Gajeel and Levy got cellphones did the letters slow down a bit and were partially replaced by texts. Letters, texts, and later calls allowed for Gajeel and Levy’s relationship to flourish until one fateful day during the first week of college did Levy and Gajeel finally meets -- 7 years after the first letter.

“Welcome to Art History 100 everyone!” the professor called out at the front of the class, “why don’t we start by introducing ourselves: Everyone, going in order, please stand up, give your name, and give a strange fact about your self!” Levy sat in the middle of class, her hair pulled back in her favorite headband -- a gift from Gajeel -- as she nervously waited for her turn. Finally, after what felt like forever, it was her turn.

“Um, Hello I’m Levy McGarden and my strange fact is that I’ve had a penpal since 5th grade that still actively talk to,” Levy said shyly before sitting down.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool,” the blond girl next to her said, her brown eyes showing her honesty, “I didn’t think penpals were still a thing!” 

Levy beamed at the girl -- Lucy if she remembered correctly. “Yeah, we were pretty unusual. I’m Levy by the way.”

“Lucy,” the blond said nodding her head with a smile, “did you two ever meet up or anything?”

Levy shook her head, “no, he lived on the other side of the state so we never got the chance.”

“What about now?” Lucy asked quietly since there were still people introducing themselves, “where does he go to school.”

Levy frowned at this, “I don’t know, to be honest, he told me it was a secret. Knowing him, he probably did it to piss me-” she was cut off then by a familiar voice that she had never heard in person before.

“My name is Gajeel Redfox and my strange fact is that I’m Levy McGraden’s penpal, Gihi!” 

Levy could only gab at the towering male with thick black hair, silver piercings, and a fanged grin smiling over at her from the back of the room. There, in the flesh, was her crush since grade school, her penpal, Gajeel Redfox. 

“You asshole,” Levy said softly, unable to stop the smile that was spreading across her lips as Lucy cooed on how cute this was. Throughout the rest of the class, Levy couldn’t help herself from looking back at that man who pissed her off and make her smile all with the same breath. Meeting the red eyes that teased her from the back while Lucy giggled at her the whole time.

“You have some explaining to do you jerk!” Levy growled playfully as she whacked him after class.

“Gihi! What? You didn’t like the surprise?” Gajeel laughed, dodging her little fists, “damn, I must say Shrimp, you’re living up to your name!”

“Gajeel!”

...

4 years later, at their wedding reception, while Lucy was recounting the story, Levy slip over a folded paper to her new husband.

“What’s this?” Gajeel whispered, his brow raised in question.

“The first letter of our marriage,” Levy said smiling, “read it.”

Gajeel eyed her in question before unfolding the paper only to choke on his own tongue;

“We’re pregnant?!”

I hope everyone enjoyed this! 

[effortlessly-bored]

The Bucket List - Michael Shelby

Chapter 1 l Chapter 2

Emma's first week in Birmingham was fairly uneventful. Henry didn't come back to the Garrison all week, giving Emma time to think. Her school hadn’t started yet, so she had focused on working hard at the Garrison, unpacking her flat and finding a pair of shoes that could handle all Birmingham threw at them. 

Emma spent her mornings at home, reading and writing letters home. She wasn’t overly homesick, but Emma’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss her dad and Mrs. Johnson. After she’d written the letters, Emma mailed them on her way to the Garrison. She worked hard at the books and keeping the pub moderately clean, which was a larger challenge than she anticipated. She worked till about 11 each night after which Harry took over for the stragglers. If she was being honest, Henry/Michael hadn't left her mind since they last saw each other. No matter what she was doing the back of her mind was filled with Henry. 

Because Henry/Michael signed all the books and paychecks, Emma knew that she'd have to seem him eventually. The more she thought about what Thomas said the less angry she felt. It wasn't that Emma wanted to forgive Henry/Michael necessarily; she almost didn't have control over how she felt about him. No matter how hard she tried to stay as angry as she once was, she felt the anger melt away. Don't get her wrong, Henry/Michael was in no way in her good graces, but she could at least understand where he was coming from. 

Putting on a brave face, Emma marched all the way back to the Shelby Company Ltd offices with the massive accounting book. She had made sure to call ahead and make an appointment with Mr Shelby, to save time. Emma felt a rush of warm air as she opened the door to the offices. She set the book down on a chair and hung up her coat. 

"Hi there," She said to the secretary. "I have an appointment with Mr Shelby."

"Of course, Miss... ah, Emma," the secretary said, finding the appointment in her planner. "Mr Shelby's running a little behind, but you can take a seat and wait till he comes back."

Emma smiled and said thank you when a familiar voice rang out. "Who's there, Lizzie?" Emma was still a little shocked at how low Henry/Micheal's voice had become. 

"Miss Emma Wallace, Mr Gray." 

"Send her into mine please." Emma gave a quick smile to Lizzie and slipped into the doorway of Henry's office. 

"You called for me Henry," Emma spoke before she realized they were not alone. 

The was a middle-aged woman sitting in one of the chairs across from Henry's desk. She had dark hair the was pristinely in place. She had an obvious look of disdain on her face, with a direct glare at Emma. It was obvious she was not happy with the interruption. 

"And just who might you be? And just why the fuck aren't you calling my son by his name?" 

"Mom!" Henry/Michael exclaimed. "Stop righ-"

"No, Michael. I want just who this girl thinks she is and why the fuck she thinks that's your name?" Emma couldn't move, the women taking menacing steps toward her. 

"Mom, Henry is my name too! And you don't get to talk to Emma like that!" Henry/Michael shouted, stepping in between his mother and Emma. He loved his mother but Michael would be damned if he let anyone speak to Emma that way. 

It was silent for a few seconds before Emma spoke up. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Don't apologize, Emma, you didn't do anything wrong." Henry/Michael said, turning around to look in her eyes. 

"No, I feel awful and I don't want your mother to hate me." She said, moving out from behind Henry.  

"Smart girl," Polly remarks. 

Emma sticks out her hand, "It's nice to meet you Mrs Gray, my name is Emma." Polly looked Emma up and down a few times before finally shaking her hand. 

"It's Ms Shelby, dear. So, how do you know my son?" 

"We grew up together, mum," Michael answers, still slightly nervous about the situation. 

"The girl can talk for herself, Michael."

"The girl has a name." Emma finally spoke. 

"Be respectful mum. Please." It seemed there was no way this situation would go well for Michael. 

Polly took a deep breath, not wanting to upset her son. "What exactly are you doing in these offices?"

"Emma's the new barmaid at the Garrison." Michael figured the less talking Emma did, the faster the scene could end. 

"Followed Michael out here, hm?" Polly was inherently distrustful, but especially so when it came to her son. 

"No ma'am, I go to the university across town and needed a job. I hadn't seen Hen- Michael since he left until last week. I'm just here for a meeting with Mr Shelby about the Garrison." 

"Yeah, mum. And I have to be at that meeting too, so I'll talk to you later." Michael gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek before trying to usher her out the door. 

"It's alright." Said Emma, not wanting to be alone with Henry/Michael. "I can wait outside until Mr Shelby comes back. I just came in to give you this letter, Michael." Emma took the letter out of the accounting book and held it out for Michael to take. Polly snatched it before Michael even had a chance. 

"How dare you, you little bitch!" Polly was livid once she saw who the letter was from. 

"Mum! You can't speak to Emma like that." Michael was exhausted from his mother's antics. 

"This is a letter from the woman that took you away Michael!"

"It's from your mum, your adoptive mum," Emma explains, looking at Michael. “We write to each other, and I thought she had a right to know you were alive. She wrote a letter to you and I promised her that I would give it to you. She said there was a photo of your siblings in there.”

“Michael is not a part of that family, he never was-“

“With all due respect, I remember the first day Michael came to town. He had no shoes and clothes with hundreds of holes in them and even more stains. He was nervous and shy and wouldn't talk to anyone. He had dirt and soot all over him. The next day, Henry was washed and clothed in brand new clothes. His hair was clean and cut, styled nicely. And I'll never forget the shoes he was wearing. They were beautiful. Brand new, well polished and sturdy. No matter what, Michael always had a pair of shoes that fit him at his old house. They took care of him, provided for him for the majority of his life. He was always smiling and happy at home with his brothers. I just thought that your adoptive mother had a right to know you were okay." At the end of her mini-speech, Emma heard the front door open and heard Mr Shelby's voice through the halls. She said a quiet "Excuse me." and left the tense office. 

Michael was once again dumbfounded, for the second time in a week. Polly was seething, mostly because she knew that Emma had a point. Polly always felt guilty for missing out on the bulk of Michael's childhood and she never liked when anyone pointed the fact out. 

Michael walked up and gave his mum a hug, trying to calm her down. “Calm down mum, it’s okay.” He whispered. “I have to go to this meeting, but I’ll come over tonight okay?”

“I’m going to see Ada, call me instead,” Polly whispered, slowly handing over the letter to her son. Michael put the letter in his desk, in the same drawer as the bucket list. He gave his mom one last hug before walking into Thomas’ office. 

Michael had a sneaking suspicion as to why he hired Emma. He knew that she reminded Tommy of Grace a little bit, which worried Michael a bit. He didn’t want Tommy trying to make Emma another Grace. The whole reason Michael wants Emma to stay is so that he knows she’s safe and getting involved with Thomas would only cause harm, and make him jealous. The jealousy ebbed when he saw Tommy and Emma standing so close together looking at the accounting book. Michael quickly made his presence known by clearing his throat. 

“So, what is so urgent about the Garrison?” Thomas said, pouring himself and Michael a whiskey. Tommy sits in his chair on the other side of the desk while Michael put himself beside Emma. 

“Well, I’ve been working really hard this week trying to clean up the books and, well, the Garrison has been running a deficit for a few months. I talk to Zay about it-" 

"Zay? Do you mean Isaiah?" Michael asked and Emma nodded. "Since when are you two so close?"

"He's in the Garrison every night, we talk," Emma explained before continuing her point before. "Anyway, he said there was approximately thirty men who are official 'Blinders' which means thirty regulars who don't pay. Not to mention Arthur and John are in there it almost every night and say 'Drinks on me!' at least three times a night; but, of course, they don't pay so all those drinks are free." 

"So this urgent meeting was just about a few bad months at the Garrison?" Tommy asked slightly condescending Emma. "Love, I don't know if you've noticed but we can cover a few bad months at the Garry." 

"But it's not just 'a few bad months', the deficit has gotten bigger every month. Not to mention your putting all your faith in the American economy and prohibition lasting. And if your other business ever goes bad you're going to want a business like the Garrison to help keep you up.” 

“And what exactly do you mean other business?” Michael wanted Emma to have no part in the ‘other’ business. He’d made it clear to his cousins that she was to only work at the Garrison. 

“Let’s just say that I’ve overheard things at the Garry. Anyways, Mr. Shelby, you’re putting all of your eggs in one basket; and, when the American economy pops, which it will, you’re going to be in some trouble. But, if you invest proper efforts into the Garrison now, you’ll be alright. If there’s one thing you can count on men to do, no matter the economy, it’s drink.”

Michael and Thomas were both stunned; Michael wasn’t surprised though, Emma had always been a genius. “What the fuck do eggs have to do with this? And, how do you know it’s all going to go bad in America?” Tommy was a little upset some new girl had just come in and ripped apart his whole business. 

“It’s a country saying,” Michael explained. “If you put all your eggs into one basket and something happens to that basket, you’re fucked and you’ve got no eggs left.”

“And America’s economy is like a bubble. It’s only been growing since the war, getting bigger and bigger. One day it’s going to pop, and that could make or break you.”

“Alright, what do you suppose we do, then?”

“I think the Garrison should start a tab system,” Emma said.

“Okay, what the fuck, do what you want; just get the Garrison in the green, got it?” Thomas said, just wanting Michael and Emma out of his office. “Go to Michael’s office and sort out the details."

Emma nodded and Michael took one last gulp of his drink before they exited the office. The pair walked in silence to his office. The paper work didn’t last long, and it was completed in silence until Michael finally spoke up as Emma was getting ready to leave. 

“I remember that day too when I first came to town. You had to plaits in your hair, and it was darker than it is now. You were wearing a green and blue dress, it ended right before your knees and it had little spots of mud on it. You were missing three teeth, one on the top and two on the bottom. You were so friendly and bright; the opposite of everyone I had met thus far. It was a little scary because I didn’t realize people could be so kind. And, even though I wasn’t very nice to you at first you insisted on being my friend the next day. You made that town a home.” 

Neither one spoke for a minute, Emma stunned into silence and Michael too nervous to say anything. Michael wanted a smoke to relieve his anxiety but knew how much Emma hated the smell, so he refrained. 

“When does your school start?” Michael finally asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“How are you getting there? The school is across town.”

“Um, I hadn’t figured that out yet. I’m sure I can find a ride or walk.” She wasn’t sure of this at all. 

“Isaiah doesn’t have a car, so…” He says without any subtlety. “I do though, I could give you a ride.”

“I don’t want to impose, it’s not necessary-“ 

“Honestly, it’s the least I could do.”

“Is it a nice car? I only ask because I’ve never been in one, so I want my first time to be in a nice one.”

“Yeah, it’s nice. So will I see you tomorrow?”

Emma ponders this for a second then tentatively nods. “Alright, pick me up at eight, yeah?”

“I’ll be there, I promise.” They both know he meant it. 

[historyrepeatsitself]

modern au headcanons p2

hey guys, so after uhh everything crashed and burned as u can see from this post, i did not follow thru in good time with writing a modern au headcanon post… BUT!!! fortunately, i have returned from my semi hiatus to bring you… inspired by this OG post… httyd modern au headcanons part 2!!!

also sorry for the weird bullet points, i did this in microsoft word so the entire thing wouldnt fucKING DELETE AGAIN

·         so like i said with the last one, cami is obviously internet famous for her ridiculously cool youtube channel

·         shes also quite popular on insta but youtube is more her jam

·         her fame started when a video of her pickpocketing stoick and them him finding out and absolutely Losing It went viral

·         it was a vine

·         you can hear hiccup laughing in the background

·         her videos used to mainly feature pranks she did but since then shes branched out

·         she still does a lot of pranks but now her videos also include: parkour, absolutely HORRIBLE karaoke (ft. hiccup and fishlegs), Q&A, playing with toothless for an hour and thirty minutes (yes, it did get a lot of views ((also toothless is a cat in this au))), roast battle vs snotlout (spoiler: snotlout cries), “a compilation of hiccup doing nerdy shit and me calling him a nerd (8 min, 30 sec)”, “reading yalls fanfiction abt me (fishlegs has an asthma attack)”, videos of her doing sports, & more

·         like in the original hiccup and fishlegs have their own channel

·         its literally shit

·         they update it only on lethal amounts of caffeine

·         its usually VERY active during finals week (hence their not great grades)

·         it puts shane dawson to shame

·         “NOT CLICKBATE: OBAMA IS FROM THE MOON????”

·         “NEIL A IS ALIEN SPELLED BACKWARDS??? DID ARMSTRONG USE THE MOON AS A WAY TO FUEL UP BEFORE JUMPING BACK TO HIS COLONY ON MARS??”

·         “MY CAT IS NOT FROM EARTH (VIDEO INCLUDED!!!!)”

·         “got rejected again…. </3”

·         “video of fishlegs on sugar high after i gave him a bunch of candy bc he wouldn’t stop crying”

·         “kids from our school found us” (during the whole video theyre panicking while wearing wigs and fake mustaches)

·         needless to say its very confusing when someone connects that those guys are also on cami’s channel

·         shes pissed but comes around and they regularly star on her channel while she regularly stars on theirs

·         hiccup also has his own side channel where he explains different animal species (natural history stuff) and also does various language tutorials

·         fishlegs reads poetry and sings on his side channel

·         cami has a video where she reacts to hiccup’s channel, he actually gained a lot of followers from it

·         hiccup and fishlegs go to the same school while cami goes to an all girls school across town

·         she actually doesn’t hate it

·         hiccup and fishlegs are public school kids

·         that public school vibe

·         kids from their school are so confused how they know cami and rly jealous

·         cami once stopped by after school (her school gets out a little earlier) and punched a bully for them

·         it was iconic

·         she smacked him right in the face and hauled hiccup’s ass up and dragged them both in the car

·         cami is pretty popular at her school

·         hiccup and fishlegs are NOT

·         theyre honestly a bit like peter and ned from spiderman

·         gotta love that lego deathstar

·         cami does not like legos

·         both hiccup and fishlegs are smart but don’t put in a lot of effort

·         fishlegs excels at English and hiccup is good at science classes (esp bio) and history

·         fishlegs is ok at history but finds some of it a little boring

·         they HATE gym

·         theyre both shocked to find that cami (a dumbassTM) is actually a straight A student

·         shes super competitive so she actually does super well and gets rly rly good grades and all her teachers love her

·         she didn’t for awhile bc she has ADHD for school was HARD but shes gotten a lot better and got tutors and study methods and also shes just super competitive

·         she was on math team in middle school and hiccup wont SHUt Up about IT

·         “hey theres my favorite student mathlete!!!!!”

·         fishlegs doesn’t even try and help him anymore, he does this to himself

·         fishlegs wins English awards every year

·         he also got a 36 on his English ACT hes just SO GOOD

·         hes also a theatre kid lmao

·         he does shakespearean theatre on top of his school theatre too

·         “to be or not To Be”

·         Hiccups not a huge English fan and he doesn’t rly like Shakespeare but he does rly like Oscar wilde

·         Dorian gray is the Shit

·         Fishlegs was so happy when he read it bc they could finally talk about LiTeRaRy ClAsSiCs!!!

·         the trio met bc hiccup and cami’s parents own rival business companies

·         both stoick and bertha are very Rich and Important

·         hiccup and cami sometimes have to go to business dinners

·         they fuck around

·         that’s how they met

·         hiccup bumped into cami replacing the soap in the hand dispenser in the men’s room with silly string

·         he thought she was the coolest person ever

·         she tried to fight him at first but they quickly united against the Evil Boring Dinners With Stupid Old Men

·         they locked this one old racist dude in a bathroom stall once and sent fishlegs a video

·         truly forces of chaos

·         the forces of chaos were unfortunately grounded for that tho

·         stoick is very busy and valhallarama travels a lot so they hang out at hiccup’s bc its usually empty (cami’s house is also kinda far)

·         cami’s parents are divorced but her dad stops by occasionally

·         fishlegs has a foster family and that’s how he wound up meeting hiccup was when he moved to be with his new family when they were in second grade

·         hes rly grateful that hes been able to stay with them for a long ass time

·         theyre actually pretty nice

·         hiccup gets to come over for dinner

·         snotlout is hiccup’s bitchy cousin whos a grade ahead of hiccup and fishlegs

·         he eventually becomes nicer to them at the beginning of sophomore year

·         some bad stuff happens  (might write an angst fanfic idk lemme know (itll prolly be hiccup centric))

·         basically, snotlout kinda realizes hes been a bitch

·         hes sorry

·         things get better

·         until yknow

·         gotta keep things sad cant get rid of all the emo

·         but anyway snotlout does wind up becoming a good friend to the trio!! <3

·         oh lmao when valhallarama came home for Christmas she thought hiccup was either dating cami or fishlegs and she didn’t know which one bc hiccup was so shy she just figured he was dating one of them and just didn’t tell her (theyre all like super close yknow)

·         after seeing hiccup and cami holding hands (a RARE moment, it was bc they thought it would annoy snotlout bc he hates cami (it did)) she assumed it was cami

·         she brought it up

·         LMFAOOOO hiccup laughed for like 10 minutes

·         She then immediately was like oh ok ur gay and its fishlegs

·         that was even funnier

·         “mom fishlegs is weird lmao” (he and fishlegs probably friendly roast each other a lot tbh. they definitely call each other “weirdo” “freak” “nerd” other possibly explicit words, its chill)

·         Valhallarama is so confused

·         she didn’t say it but “child u literally told me that u thought ur little cat that’s missing teeth is prolly from area 51, ur the weird one son”

·         she asks stoick

·         hes just as confused

·         she drops the whole topic

·         it has yet to occur to bertha

·         fishlegs’ family is good as long as hes good theyre chill like that

·         oh and cami’s school has uniforms

·         yes, she does have to wear a skirt

·         yes, several of them were shredded freshman year

·         bertha is So Tired

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #49. Clace baby.

It is a warm June morning in 2015 when Jace is awoken from his dreams by the sensation of being shaken. 

Jace groans and bats the hand on his shoulder away, burying his face further into the pillow. Soon he wont be able to sleep in like this, these sleepy, relaxed mornings with Clary will soon be replaced by early morning feeds and diaper changes. Clary is 9 months pregnant with their first child and is due any day now, and though they are both beyond excited to meet their baby, they are also extremely nervous, they have so little experience with children, Jace had helped out a bit with Max when he had first gone to live with the Lightwoods, but not much, and Clary had grown up as an only child with no aunts, uncles, etc. They’ve both helped out with Baby Max quiet a bit but they still feel extremely nervous about being parents. 

“Jace, Jace wake up!” Clary hisses, shaking her husband again, harder this time. 

“What’s up Clary?” Jace asks in a tired tone, turning to face his wife. 

“I think I just had a contraction.” Clary quietly says. Jace’s eyes widen and he scrambles to sit up.

“Should I get the midwife? Do we have time to get the midwife? By the angel, am I going to have to deliver the baby?!” He says in a panicked tone.

Clary laughs lightly and places her hand on his arm.

“Jace calm down, I don’t know if it even was a real contraction, it might have been fake. Grab my phone and I’ll time them.” Clary calmly says. 

Half an hour later Clary has had 3 more contractions, each 15 minutes apart, the pain staying on the same level each time. 

“Should I get the midwife now?” Jace tentatively asks, once Clary’s latest contraction has passed. Most Shadowhunters have their babies at home with the assistance of a private midwife and/or The Silent Brothers, and Clary has chosen to also give birth at home, however she and Jace have agreed that they will only summon The Silent Brothers if absolutely necessary, and just have their midwife deliver the baby.

“Yeah.. yeah that might be a good idea.” Clary says in a breathless tone, feeling worn and exhausted after the last contraction. 

“Do you want me to call your mom too? Or anyone else?” Jace asks, secretly longing for his own mother to come and reassure him that everything will be okay. 

“No not yet, in fact don’t tell anyone I’m in labor, as much as I love our family, I know they’ll all rush over here and I don’t want that, we can send them pictures of the baby when he’s born, and they can come visit in a few days.” Clary says in a tired tone, in no mood for visitors, not even her parents.

________________________________________________________________

**5 hours later**

It has been 5 hours now, since Clary woke up with intense pains in her lower stomach, her labor had been fairly short but intense and only a few moments ago, Clary gave birth to her baby, comfortable and relaxed in her and Jace’s bed.

Before the midwife can get near the baby to wash him down and wrap him up, Clary reaches down to the bottom of the bed and scoops her baby up into her arms and cradles him to her chest, her heart swelling with a love and a joy greater than she had ever felt before. Holding her son with Jace at her side, Clary feels a beautiful, calm sense of peace settle over her.

“Oh Jace look at him, he’s so perfect.” Clary quietly says, gazing at her son in awe. The baby is a perfect mixture of his parents, with a few tufts of golden blonde hair, just like Jace’s, Clary’s bone structure and mouth, Jace’s eye shape and nose shape and- as it would later turn out- beautiful big green eyes just like his mother and grandmother. 

“Yes he is, just like your dad, huh Stephen?” Jace softly coos to the baby. Stephen Alexander Herondale, his son, named after his grandfather and his Uncle Alec. Jace can hardly believe this gorgeous baby lying in his wife’s arm is really his, he is extremely proud of his son already and he is immensely proud of Clary, nothing he has ever done or ever will do, will ever top what Clary has just done, nothing will top her courage and bravery.

“I can’t believe he’s really ours.” Clary softly says, laying her head on Jace’s shoulder, gazing at her son with pure joy. Jace kisses Clary’s head and lets Stephen grab onto his finger.

“Me neither, I love you both so much.” Jace softly says, slipping an arm around Clary and pulling her closer to him. This has to be the happiest day of his life, sitting here with his beautiful, amazing wife and their perfect baby boy, Jace could not be happier, this is his idea of heaven. 

*2 DAYS LATER* 

“Jace are you sure you don’t want me to stay? It would be no hassle at all, really.” Maryse asks her son in a hopeful tone, after spending the last few hours visiting her sweet new grandson, who she is already infatuated with. She knows how daunting this must be for Clary and Jace and is more than willing to help out as much as she can.

“We can stay too Clary, this is such a daunting time, you and Jace are so young, wouldn’t you feel more at ease if your parents were here?” Jocelyn says to Clary, not wanting to leave her daughter when she has just had a baby and she does not want to leave her grandson either, she hadn’t been around when Ash was a baby and now that she has bonded with him and grown close to him, she desperately wishes she could have known about her grandson when he was a baby and taken him in and loved him. Now she wants to be around for everything with Stephen. 

“Mom it’s fine, I couldn't ask you to stay with us anyway, dad has work to think about, he can hardly run a bookstore pretty much on his own, while helping to care for a newborn.” Clary calmly says.

“I don’t mind, I could close the store for a few days or ask Maia and Bat to run the show for a while, I’d rather spend time with my first grandchild than work, anyway.” Luke says, looking up from the baby’s face and smiling at his daughter. Being a grandfather is amazing, even though he feels far too young to be a grandfather he already adores his new role as a grandpa and couldn’t wait to be able to do all the things with Stephen that he hadn’t be able to do with Clary, like helping him learn to walk, talk, etc. 

“Look we appreciate your offer to help out, we really do, but we’re copping just fine, Stephen is a very easy baby, he eats well, he sleeps well and he’s not that fussy, Clary is getting plenty of opportunity to rest and bond with Stephen, everything is fine.” Jace calmly reassures his mother and parents-in-law. 

“Jace is right, you’re more than welcome to come visit anytime you like, Ash will be coming over in a few days to meet his cousin, and of course Magnus and Alec are constantly coming over with gifts, as are Izzy and Simon, but we don’t need you to stay with us.” Clary gently says, not wanting to offend her parents and mother-in-law. 

“Alright, but you call us day or night if you need us, okay?” Jocelyn firmly says, hugging her daughter tightly, trying not to worry too much about her. 

“We will mom, of course we will.” Clary says, as Luke passes Stephen to Jace. 

Once Jocelyn, Luke and Maryse leave, Clary and Jace are able to breathe a sigh of relief. They appreciate their parents’ concern and willingness to help, but they can be very overwhelming at times and almost suffocating, though no doubt they mean well, Clary and Jace are glad to have some time alone with each other and their baby boy.

*Two weeks later*

“Delia what do you think of the baby?” Jem softly asks his daughter, kneeling beside her with baby Stephen in his arms. He, Tessa, Kit and Cordelia had come from Devon today to meet the newest little Herondale. It’s especially important for Kit to meet the baby, seeing as he is one of the only people alive that is related to him by blood.

Cordelia peers curiously at the bundle in her father’s arms, watching as Stephen blinks open his green eyes and gazes at her in fascination. 

“He look like Uncle Will!” Cordelia exclaims in delight. She adores her Uncle Will, who often comes to visit her. 

“You think so?” Jem softly asks, fondly remembering his parabatia. 

“Uh hu, papa we keep him?” Cordelia curiously asks, looking up at Jem with pleading brown eyes. Jem chuckles softly and kisses his sweet little girl’s forehead. 

“I don’t think Clary and Jace would be too pleased if we did that.” He softly says. 

“I’m afraid you can’t take him home Cordy but you can come see him all the time.” Jace softly says, crouching next to his little cousin. 

 Before Cordelia can reply, Stephen starts to fuss and cry in Jem’s arms, his little face scrunching up and turning bright red.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong little one?” Jem coos, gently bouncing the crying baby in his arms, trying to settle him. 

“He’s probably tired, it’s almost his nap time, I’ll go put him down for a bit.” Clary says, walking over to Jem and gathering her son into her arms. 

10 minutes later when Clary comes downstairs from putting Stephen down for his nap, she realizes she has forgotten to put his baby monitor- that Magnus had enchanted to work in The Institute- in his room.

“Kit?” Clary calls to Jace’s cousin, grabbing the baby monitor off the sideboard. 

“Yeah?” Kit asks, walking up to her and looking at her with questioning blue eyes.

“I forgot to take the monitor up when I put Stephen down for his nap, could you please take it up for me? I’d go myself but walking up and down all those stairs makes my pain worse.” She tentatively asks, not wanting to bother or annoy Kit but not feeling fit to walk back up all those stairs. 

“Yeah no problem, which room is he in?” Kit asks, taking the monitor from Clary.

“Second room on the left on the second floor, thanks Kit, you’re doing me a big favor.” Clary says in appreciative tone. 

“Anytime.” Kit says, before turning and jogging up the stairs. 

A few minutes later when Kit steps into Clary and Jace’s room to leave the monitor in, he immediately notices two transparent figures, standing on either side of Stephen’s crib. One of them is a tall man who looks to be in his early 20s, he has straight blonde hair and sharp features. The other is a small, slim woman who also looks to be in her early 20s, she has long curling blonde hair with a soft, square face. 

“Oh he is so sweet and beautiful, he looks just like our Jace.” The woman coos, leaning over the crib and stroking the baby’s cheek. 

“Yes and Jace looks just like me, and this little one has my name too!” The man says in an excited proud tone.

“Jace looks like me too, and so he should, I carried him for nine months. Oh Stephen I wish we could have been around to raise Jace, I hate that Valentine ever got near him, my sweet boy.” The woman says in a solemn tone. It’s then that it hits Kit that these are Jace’s parents, Stephen and Céline. They’ve obviously come to meet their first grandchild. Kit hopes that they are much happier now in the after life than they had ever been when they were alive, he would love to be able to tell Jace that his parents are happy and watching out for him.

“I know Céline, me too, I wish I could get my hands on that bastard for what he did to my boy, he killed me and then stole my child, and it’s not as if he were doing it out of love for us or Jace, he beat him and abused him for years, but thank the angel that Maryse and Robert did give him a good life when they took him in, I never really like them but they loved our boy and cared for him, and for that I’m grateful.” Stephen says in a tight tone, anger welling up in him at the thoughts of what Valentine did to his child. 

“Me too, if I can’t be a mother to Jace I’m glad Maryse is.” Céline quietly says. “And I’m glad our boy is finally getting the life he deserves, he is going to be such an amazing father to this little one.” Céline softly says, gazing at the sleeping baby. 

“Yes he will, I’m so proud of him.” Stephen says. 

“Me too.” Céline agrees. 

Kit quietly places the baby monitor on the dresser right beside the door and quietly backs out of the room, not wanting to further disturb Céline and Stephen’s moment with their grandson. 

As Kit makes his way back downstairs, little Stephen briefly wakes up, his eyes fluttering open to see his grandparents smiling down at him.

“It’s alright little on, go back to sleep, grandma and grandpa are here, we’ll keep you safe.” Céline whispers. Little Stephen smiles up at his grandparents and grabs onto Céline’s hand, before falling back into an easy sleep, guarded by his grandparents. 

[dianapana]

SH Day 10- Historical Romance

Well would you look at that...i am alive after all. Sorry for the long wait and for lowkey being like...a month late. I got home a few days ago but i wasn’t in the mood to write all that much and tbh this prompt didn’t inspire me all that much but i didn’t want to skip a day so yea...i will be posting everything (hopefully)

Anyway! I hope everyone had an amazing SH 2019 Month!!! And again sorry for the delay...Enjoy, Love Dia~~~

Clans - Part 1

Hinata  

They say that tragedy is for royalty and that comedy is for the common people. They say that the “common folks” can’t grasp the depth of the anguish that all these tragic plays show. If you ask me that’s a pretty bad deal for us royalties, especially when we are young. The kids belonging to the bourgeoisie’s class sit down on dirt, watch and laugh as actors trip and tell jokes, while I was forced from a young age into stiff dresses, I was thought t only sit on half a chair with my spine so straight that it feels like it will snap in two and watch as the actors cry and kill each other, as they lie and their lives fall apart. I know that this is a whiny complaint, one that hardly matters, but as I'm looking out the carriage onto the street and see a kid’s theater, I can’t help but be envious, even now at almost 19 years old I want to sit between the small children and laugh with them as one of the actors falls and rips his pants.  

“Hinata” Neji’s voice was stern and he was looking at me with a pleading face. He wanted me to cut it out, to stop looking longing towards something that is less than proper. I know he means well; God only knows what would have happened had father seen me, or even worse, grandfather. Closing my eyes, I try to conjure up a memory of grandfather which wasn’t unpleasant, but nothing came to mind. The older man inspired only fear and fury in me, and I hated how I could never look him in the eye anymore, scared of what I'll see when his ice-cold gaze was fixed on me.  

We were on the way to a family whose name I couldn’t remember, to do and discuss something I didn’t care about. I wish father had went alone, but he snapped at me when I proposed that, he argued that we must appear as a united and loving family. At least he was honest and didn’t lie saying he wanted out company on this long journey. Hanabi was next to me trying her headrest not to fall asleep since that would be un-lady-like. I closed my eyes and mourned her innocence. If father and grandfather stole my childhood, they murdered Hanabi’s in cold blood. One summer day my little sister was running around the Clan House in her small toddler bare feet and the next her eyes were cold and unwelcoming. I do not know what had happened in those hours, Hanabi never shared but it was such a brutal change.  

I look at my older cousin and try to picture him as a care-free child. When we were finally allowed to spend time together Neji was already calloused I wasn’t given the opportunity to know him before they broke his spirit.  

“We are almost there” my grandfather said in a low voice right before we came to a stop, I saw Neji look towards him and nod but I did not acknowledge him. I look out the window and see that we are no longer in the village, the scenery changed to a forest. There is a paved road that led right to the front gate of a house just as big and stoic as the Hyuuga House. I saw the sign of a clan large and proud above the door but I had never bothered to learn which sign belonged to which clan, nor did father bother to teach me. I can only imagine his utter disappointment when his first born was a girl and then his second born followed and it was also a girl. Mother died when Hanabi was young not giving father any son-heirs. That issue was very discussed for a long time in our clan. I heard talk about how Neji should have been the heir, I've heard talk about how both me and Hana would be married, and Dad wouldn’t step down until one of us had a son and he was old enough to lead.  I don’t know about Hana but I never wanted to be the head clan. I just want freedom.

We stop again, but this time we’ve reached the house. I get out of the carriage the last. I'm in no hurry to be here, once more I wish dad had left alone, when he is away, I like going to the village and just pretend I'm one of them.  

“Welcome” says a man in his late 40s. I assume he is the leader. Next to him is a beautiful woman, probably his wife. My father greeted them back as did my grandfather. “These are my beautiful daughters Hinata and Hanabi, and my nephew Neji, a fine young man” father says and gestures to eac of us. I know this dance, he says our name and we bow, this is easy and safe.  

Sasuke

“The guests seem to have arrived” Itachi says but neither of us makes any move to go and introduce ourselves. This is the 5th family to come visit us in the past 2 weeks. It's exhausting to meet so many new people and to constantly pretend like you care what they have to say. Especially since most families that came had one reason only, to present their daughter or daughters if they had more than one, in hopes that Itachi would take a liking to them.  

We are both laying on our back on the porch, my eyes are closed but I believe that Itachi is looking at the sky. Sooner or later dad will call for Itachi or both of us, sooner or later we’ll be forced to talk pleasantries with some strangers. The parents are the ones that want the marriage for title and prestige, while the girls were ok with it because Itachi was known as the ‘most eligible bachelor’ and they wanted to be the ones to catch his eye. While here the girls flutter their lashes and act as sexy and desirable as they could yet Itachi never finds any of them interesting. The guest have arrived for quite a while and dad hasn’t called for us yet which is weird, usually dad pushes the girls toward Itachi as fast as he can. Maybe this meeting is different. Just as I think that two girls take the corner. Itachi and I look at each other,I give him a ‘here we go again’ eye roll and he simply smiles.  

“Hello ladies” Itachi is the first to speak and he gets up. The older girl flinched when Itachi spoke. She was smiling at her sister but now, looking at me and my brother her smile fell. The younger one bows and when she sees that her sister isn’t doing the same she touches her shoulder. The older sister bows too but I see her jaw is clenched and she seems to be in a foul mood now.  

“My name is Itachi and this is my younger brother Sasuke” Itachi says and we both bow. “What brings you lovely ladies here?” My brother is a very good actor and he excels in small talk.  

“Our father has a meeting with yours. We simply tagged along, we didn’t want to be alone home without father. Whenever he is gone we miss him dearly” The younger girl says with a smile on her face that looked anything but genuine. Her sister scoffed and turned around while her sister was talking. “My name is Hanabi and this is my older sister Hinata.” Hanabi makes a show of looking at our house before turning back to us and saying “You have such a lovely house” I look at Itachi and he smiles at them, he I amused and to be honest I am too.  

“How was the trip here?” Itachi asks.  

“It was marvelous. You have such a beautiful village nearby. I asked dad to stop so we could take a look around. And as soon as the village ended this beautiful forest started! I was so surprised; I haven’t seen so many lush trees in my life.” Hanabi talks with great theatrics, if I didn’t know she was lying I might have believed her.  

“What about you Hinata? Did you like the village, do you like the trees?” Itachi furthered asks. I get the impression he wants to get the older one to talk as well, she hasn’t said a word yet, hasn’t looked at us.  

Her head turns, she looks at Itachi and then at me and for a moment I think she’ll ignore us. But she sighs, closes her eyes and when she opens them ack up it’s like she’s a different person, her smile looks genuine, her posture changes to a more welcoming one. “It was lovely. I enjoyed the kid's theater very much. And this forest seems perfect for an evening stroll. I do hope you’ll accompany me so I wouldn’t get lost” her voice is gentle, and you couldn’t be able to she was annoyed just a moment before.  

Before Itachi could reply a man took the corner as well, he appears to be Itachi’s age, maybe a year or two younger. When his eyes land on me and Itachi he plasters a fake smile on his face and bows but doesn't bother to tell us his name or greet us. He goes to Hinata and whispers something in her ear, I'm closely watching her, and I see her face falling. I see panic overtake her eyes as she turns to the man. His jaw is clenched, and his eyes are sad. The younger girl watches the interaction looking alarmed and confused.  

“I’m sorry Hinata” the man says and he puts his hand on her shoulder, squeezes it and leaves, like whatever he told her didn’t just ruin her life. And it occurs to me that maybe she didn’t know the reason why she’s here. Her eyes look at Itachi and then at me she looks scared and cornered.  

[soldrawss]

Don't read unless you have watched the new episode. But the whole time I watched it I was thinking how it pretty wild that your comic and the episode are basically the same.

 OK I HAVE FINALLY WATCHED THE EPISODE AND BOY WHOO HOO HOWDY I’M GONNA INCLUDE MY THOUGHTS UNDER THE CUT BECAUSE I KNOW A FEW OTHERS HAVE YET TO SEE IT AS WELL AND I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING BUT WHOO LETS GO BABES

SO first off I’m just gonna say that I LOVED the episode. Really and truly honestly I did.  I don’t think there were any major things that I didn’t like tbh. It was such a truthfully wholesome episode. And I’m actually happy with the amount of screen time we got with Scrooge and his insight with Christmas. 

HOWEVER. I wish it was a 45-minute special. Because I think we could have absolutely dived MUCH deeper into the relationship between 1) Younger Donald and Dewey and 2) (the most important) DONALD AND DELLA. I mean like HOLY SHIT. I have to collect my thoughts together really quick cause I’m gonna explode just going on about the sibling relationship going on there so let me backtrack really quick and start from the beginning.

First and foremost. The set up to the episode was great. The kids getting ready for Christmas. Webby’s little hug to Huey and Huey’s patient little smile back to her. Louie’s X-mas list and his “let me explain”, like yes my son, own it. Donald being his best dad self, decorating and STILL playing guitar and singing awful carols at the top of his lungs like, we stan a good good duck dad!!! Literally, everyone is top notch just being great! 

Then we get to plot. The ghosts are back in town. And they’re ready to get down and dirty and party and I LIVE for the idea that they were originally looking for a different Scrooge and that OUR Scrooge actually LOVES Christmas (And I’m so glad that we still don’t know why Scrooge has beef with Santa cause like, that’s potential for future X-Mas episodes and I’m all about having more mysteries to look forward to alright?) So we get it. Party on Scrooge lets go back in time!!!

So we’re 12 minutes in, more Scrooge stuff happens (Which I adore. Love that they brought back Goldy. Love that Young Scrooge is so passive about seeing Old Scrooge. LOVE that BEAKLY fucking FLIRTS with the GRIM REAPER SKJD;S GET IT GIRL LOVE THAT) And super double plot twist is that little jimmy cricket over here is actually like, kinda evil? Well not evil, but he’s a little-twisted buddy, which isn’t his fault, but he just wants to party and feels like everyone abandons him when once they find the true meaning of Christmas (being with family) Which Scrooge does. Which also, can we appreciate how fast it takes for Scrooge to be like, yeah I’m bored of this adventure stuff, can I just go home to my family now? It may have just been the episode time frame but IDK man, I feel like he’s growing from once being bitter to becoming that good old family man again. Good, good old man, I love him. 

ANYWAY- NOW LETS GET DOWN TO THE JUICY HALF OF THE EPISODE AND THE HALF THE EVERYONE WANTS MORE OF INCLUDING MYSELF

OK So here we see Dewey hitch a ride on grims cloak and fall into let’s say around 25+ years in the past. The FIRST thing I noticed and the first shot we get is a mere parallel to the one we see when Scrooge first falls in the past. Its a shot of the mansion. But as opposed to the shot where Scrooge falls during a Christmas where his mansion is LIT the fuck up with lights and sounds and color and LIFE, Dewey sees it dark and practically dead, but still recognizably the Mc’Duck Mansion. One of the next shots we see takes place inside, and we see the mansion (remember this duck is a billionaire) with the wallpaper peeling and the walls cracking and hardly lit and it looks absolutely deserted and kinda uncared for which BREAKS MY HEART OK!!! 

(But I’m so glad I at least got the scene right where Dewey’s first interaction with Donald is through his music and that Dewey could guess it was Donald through his Voice™!!! Also, should have thought of Bluey. That was SO much better than Deuteronomy. But oh well! Got the fake family part right! And the fact that Donald knew she was out back looking fo Santa and was trying to catch Santa for Scrooge. That last part wasn’t in the comic, but that was going to be the original idea for part 4 and FUCK YEAH I WAS ON A ROLL)

And ohhhh when Donald says this is the most confusing family! Ouufff that hit me so hard!!! Cause like, honestly, in canon, Donald is SO proud of his heritage and family line. He’s the only Disney character to really even HAVE a family tree, are you kidding me?

Also Dewey just Yeeting himself out a window with Donald’s guitar as Leverage was such a good idea I wish I would have thought of it and I’m SO ANGRY that I didn’t but I guess if I had then technically I would have been a mind reader or actually stealing from the show so good job me for NOT doing that but I at least got them Escaping out the window part down so WOOP FOR that!

ALSO DONALD JUST STRAIGHT UP LICKING THE TREE! WONDERFUL GOOD BOY AND LIKE!!! AND LIKE!!! OK I kinda played around with the idea that Donald kinda just does stuff without explanation and when someone asks we gives off these weird oneliners that don’t really answer the question of WHY he did/was doing the thing in the first place is something I absolutely live for and both his interactions within my comic and in the show are so parallel with one another that I’m actually mind freaked right now I want to scream I fucking love these kids ok?!?!?

So I could probably live for the next 30 years off of just Dewey and Donald just talking to each other like, it was probably only 40 seconds of conversation, but I lived for every second like it was the only thing that mattered!!! Just Dewey being so Hecking Excited to learn more about Della from someone willing to talk to him without any trauma™ and I LOVED how Donald never outrightly admitted that Della wasn’t Amazing or Awesome (Dewey said it at least twice when referring to Della) and just changed the subject. Like, true sibling love. (I would have also accepted if he had called her a nerd or a geek or something similar because they are siblings after all, like jeezus the whole episode was mostly about their fight like, anything is great, give me them sibling dynamics)

OK AND THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

DELLA MY SWEET BABY GIRL APPEARS AND SHE IS MY EVERYTHING

OK honestly I was gonna draw her with a bit more messy hair but OTHERWISE SHE’S PERFECT. AND HER’S AND DONALDS IMMEDIATE BICKERING IS MY FAVORITE EVER. (And tbh her reaction to them NOT being Santa clause and honestly that entire net scene was also gonna be my reaction so don’t be surprised when you see that in upcoming continuation of my comic) (Also her calling Dewey a Dummy, is ACE)

So their whole fight scene going on. The whole Dumbella incident. You can just FEEL the sibling energy off of it. I ate that shit up SO FAST. I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT. (I WANT SO MUCH MORE OF THAT STUFF PLEASE DT CREW GIVE US A FLASHBACK EPISODE OF THE COUSINS I NEEEEEEED IT) If you’ve ever had a sibling then you KNOW. You know that look when Della got when Donald called her Dumbella. The No, not until you apologize she gave back. The FOR WHAT?? The endless back and forth that would have continued onward for a LONG time if they weren’t in impending doom. Man that’s the shit right there. That’s really all I wanted I could have had a full 45 minutes of just THAT right there. Just these kids being siblings.

(Also, Donald outing himself about the toothbrush and combat boots, he’s so gonna pay for that later I can feel it in my bones and I live for these moments kids)

AND THEN WE GET THE FIRST HEARTBREAKER OF THE NIGHT FOLKS, when Dewey figures out why Della’s so peeved at Donald (rightfully so) and it’s just!!! It’s just so good that all Della really wanted was to spend time with Donald and make a memory of it and catch Santa together and folks I would be lying to you and to God and to our Lord and savior Carl Barks if I said that I didn’t cry, these siblings are so good. (And the fact that Dewey also made a quick connection to himself, like, ohhh yeah I need to also be better and apologize to MY family and give MY Donald a hug when I get home)

NOW SHIT GETS REAL!!! The way Donald and Della land after getting free from the net. These kids were BORN for adventuring. This isn’t their first rodeo and this is what I want to see more of!!! Donald and Della as the fighting duo!!! (Dewey totally face planted my smol blue bean I love you) Della gets into fighting position ready to go, and Donald flips his hair back outta the way like so cool and nonchalantly LIKE DREAM TEAM SO COOL I LOVE THEEEEEMMMM!!! aND THEN when they find out the Wendigo is after Scrooge, They’re all like, “of, yeah, duh, Its always scrooge,” and then IMMEDIATELY GO AFTER HIM IN PERFECT FIGHTING SYNC LIKE THESE ARE 10-YEAR-OLDS AND THEY FIGHT LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING ON SCROOGE’S BEHALF FOR YEARS AND IM!!! (there’s so much fanfic potential here i’m screaming) And Dewey’s kinda just standing back like, Woah nelly, CAUSE LOOK AT THESE DUCK CHILDREN GO!!! LOOK AT MY LITTLE FIGHTING REBEL KIDS I ;KLD’KLASJ’F I LOVE THEM!!!

(Also, shout out to the last episode, in which we see that Donald kept the broken guitar under hammock all those years, he never could manage to through the thing away, i love this temperamental kid so much guys i’m crying again) But I’m glad we got to see Wee angry Donald!!! That was a fun thing I’m glad they put that in!!!

And now for the final! I’M glad Donald apologized rightly and straight away and wholeheartedly! That’s the good boy I know and Love! And Dewey going in for the hug!!! So sweet!!! But also!!! Della like, immediately figuring out that Dewey was from the future, I kinda like that! I wasn’t going to do it, but I like it! Love how smart she is and just how nonchalant they both are about it cause hey, have you MET their family? I like how they say Ducks, too. Not Mc’Ducks. Like, Scrooge is Weird and they do all sorts of crazy stuff with him, but you haven’t SEEN crazy till you’ve met the hick side of the family.

And then it’s like, just like that, they’re gone! And ouufff boy that was not the goodbye I was expecting but sometimes goodbyes are like that and that’s ok and I respect the out the DT crew took cause it flowed so nicely and well but boy did it hurt. (Can you imagine Donald and Della coming back with THEN Scrooge with this whole explanation to find nothing there and Scrooge being like???? Ack you kids leave me alone I hate Christmas as it is I don’t need you all playing tricks on me with fake Wendigos and family members from the futures when I have important things to do bah humbug or something and Donald and Della just have to live with this knowledge but at least they have each other and are closer for the better!!!) Because then Scrooge was there and THEN DEWEY WAS CRYING AND THERE’S JUST SO MANY EMOTIONS CAN YOU IMAGINE ALL THE EMOTIONS THIS KID IS GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW AND HE JUST WANTS TO GO HOME AND SEE HIS UNCLE DONALD AND BROTHERS AND WEBBY AND JUST BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS AND ACK.

AND GOSH WAS THE DONALD DEWEY HUG JUST SO GOOD AS WELL AS THE DOGPILE LITERALLY GIVE ME ALL THE HUGS, I WANT THEM ALL THIS IS SUCH A WHOLE GOOD EPISODE!!! All in all, 10/10 Was very good. Could I have loved more of just about EVERYTHING? yes, but I can make my own content if I need to fulfill my wishes. Overall, there was nothing that disappointed me, which was so good. I wasn’t let down by the interpretations of the characters, the morals, or how the storyline went. Could we have made it into a 45-minute episode and just like, extended every conversation? Yes. But plot? Solid. Characters? Solid. Relations? Super solid. Did Sol cry? She did and she will again cause she just loves these good characters so hecking much!!! Donald is my all time favorite Disney character on the planet and just the fact that he gets so much love and attention and just all the beautiful backstory and rick history is such a beautiful gift that just keeps on giving! 

Also, FULL Disclosure, Im gonna continue part 3, 4 and 5 of my version of how I thought this episode was gonna go. Simply because, well, I liked it. And I think you all will like it to.  

[olicitysecretsanta]

Love Knows No Season, Love Knows No Clime (The Christmas Ornament)

For @foreverfelicityqueen from @allimariexf

Happy holidays to you, Kayla @foreverfelicityqueen!! I wanted to try to incorporate your wishes into this story, which meant going out of my comfort zone! I don’t know if this will be what you imagined, but I had such a fun time writing Tommy and doing the “soulmates” theme - both things I’ve never tried before! Thank you for that! I hope you like the result, which is a little fluffy, a little angsty, a little smutty and a little Hallmark magicky! :D 

Tags: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Tommy Merlyn/Laurel Lance (implied), Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Tommy Merlyn, Laurel Lance (mentioned), William Clayton (mentioned), canon compliant, soul mates, christmas! fic, pre-Island, season 2, post-7x09, fluff and smut and light angst, mildly Hallmark-Christmasy, but darker because Arrow

Rating: M

Summary: Christmas magic

_________________________________ December 24, 1996

Oliver found Tommy sitting in the darkened hallway, lit only by the festive lights of the party below.

“Hey.”

Tommy looked up, not bothering to smile. “Hey.”

“Was wondering where you went. Laurel was asking about you.”

Tommy made a face.

Oliver grinned. “What? I think she likes you. What’s so bad about that?” He took a seat on the floor next to his friend.

Tommy lifted an eloquent eyebrow. “She likes you. She only asked about me so she’d have an excuse to talk to you, you know.”

Oliver stared back at his friend for a long moment before looking down with a knowing smile. “Okay, maybe.” He paused and listened to the sounds of music and voices drifting up from below that seemed to belong to another world. “What are you doing up here?”

When Tommy didn’t answer, Oliver gave his shoulder a shove. “Come on, there are a lot of girls down there! And no chaperones. And you were the one who stole the liquor out of your dad’s cabinet to spike the punch, dude!” He raised his eyebrows significantly. “Good job, by the way. But it makes me wonder why you aren’t down there enjoying it.”

Tommy shook his head, clearly in one of his moods. Oliver was used to it. Ever since his mom died and his dad left three years ago, Tommy had become a fixture at the Queen home, and he was more like a brother than a friend to Oliver. Most of the time he was the same old Tommy, fluent in sarcasm, never one to turn down a dare, who didn’t understand the concept of taking things too far. But every once in a while he would go silent and unreachable, and Oliver knew this was one of those times.

“You thinking about your dad? Or your mom?”

“Actually, I was thinking about girls, and then -”

Oliver swung his head around to give Tommy an incredulous look. “You’re up here brooding about girls?”

“Ha! No, not exactly.” The brief smile slid off his face. “I was thinking about girls, and that reminded me.” He drew a pair of objects from where they had been stashed behind him, and Oliver squinted into the darkness to make them out. “My mom gave these to me.”

Oliver looked at his friend, all jokes about sappy heart-shaped Christmas ornaments falling away from his lips.

“Well actually, I found them. The Christmas before she died.” He smiled softly. “I was looking through her closet to see if I could find out which Super Nintendo games she got me -” he met Oliver’s eyes with a grin, “Battletoads and Double Dragon!”

Oliver laughed with Tommy at the memory of the hours they’d spent playing the game, but he knew his friend had more to say, so he stayed silent. The sound of girls shrieking pierced the silence, and Oliver felt a strong sense of missing out on his own party, but he shoved the feeling down and waited for Tommy to continue.

“Instead, I found these ornaments.” He held them up into the dim light so Oliver could inspect them better. There were two of them, identical, each one made of wood and delicately carved into a pair of hearts. The words “My True Love” were painted in the center, with obvious space for two names below it. “She told me one of her patients gave them to her at the clinic. She said he was an artist and that he couldn’t afford to pay her, but he made her these ornaments, and told her….” He frowned slightly, as if he wasn’t sure whether he should continue.

Oliver was intrigued. “He told her what?”

“He told her they were magic.” He rolled his eyes and then looked at Oliver, waiting for judgment.

Oliver suppressed the sarcastic comment he normally would have made, because he could see that the ornaments, the story, the memory meant something to Tommy. Still, he was skeptical. “Magic?” A slightly indulgent smiled played over his lips.

Tommy shook his head, smiling. “I know, I know. It’s dumb.”

“Hey. It’s not dumb. It’s just…magic? What’s so magical about an ornament?”

“Well, according to my mom, you write your name here,” he pointed to the leftmost blank spot on one of the ornaments, “and then on Christmas eve you wish upon a Christmas star -”

“What’s a Christmas star?”

Tommy laughed. “I dunno. A star you see on Christmas? That’s what my mom called it, okay? I mean I know it’s all BS anyway….”

“Hey.” Oliver punched him lightly. “I didn’t say it was BS. What happens next? What are you supposed to wish for?”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “It is BS. Sappy love stuff. Okay? You write your name here, and you wish on a star for your one true love to find you. Your soulmate, or some crap like that.” He set the ornaments down and turned to face Oliver. “I thought of them because I was just down there, looking at you. Wondering how you get girls to like you.”

Oliver opened his mouth in surprise, but he felt himself flush with the still-new knowledge that it was true. Girls did like him. Until recently, it had been more of an inconvenience than anything, but more and more lately he found that he didn’t mind, that he liked the attention. “Tommy, you know I -”

“Ollie, it’s fine! It’s not a big deal. I was just thinking about it, and I remembered these ornaments, and it got me thinking about my mom.”

“You know you’re my best friend, right? Girls are just…girls.”

A slow smile spread over Tommy’s face. “Yeah. I know.”

Oliver matched his small smile and picked up one of the ornaments from the floor. “She was a good mom.”

“Thanks. She thought of you like a son too, you know. In fact, she told me this other ornament was for you.”

Oliver ran his thumb over the blank space on the right side of the ornament. “So what’s supposed to happen?”

Tommy spoke carefully, but Oliver heard the note of hope he was clearly trying to hide. “We write our names here. We wish on a star on Christmas eve. We put the ornament away. Then our true love will bring it to us one day, and her name will be written next to ours.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Ollie -”

“Come on, let’s do it! It’s Christmas eve. There’s a bunch of girls down there. Who knows what will happen?”

Tommy grinned at him, not saying thanks for humoring him and not teasing him, but Oliver understood anyway.

They opened the doors of the second floor balcony at the end of the hallway, meeting the freezing, crystal clear night. Situated over six miles from any other civilization, the Queen mansion always had excellent stargazing visibility, and tonight was no exception.

“Oh, crap, we forgot to write our names.”

“Umm. Here, I still have this from when I was writing names on the take-home bags.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket.

“It’s green.”

Oliver shrugged. “It’s festive.”

Tommy took the pen and wrote his name before passing it back to Oliver. “Now we wish.”

Oliver looked at Tommy, trying to match his solemn mood. “Okay. I wish that my one true love will come find me.”

“Yes. And I also wish that my one true love will come find me.”

“And they’ll bring us these ornaments.”

“Yeah.”

Oliver waited a moment, to give the wish time to take effect. “Now what?”

Tommy grinned. “Now we go back to the party and let the girls come to us!”

December 24, 2005

The door to the pool house opened again, the very loud sounds of the party spilling out into the cold night air, but people had been coming and going from the large inground hot tub all night, so Oliver didn’t think anything of it until Tommy rounded the corner and spotted him.

“Hey!”

“Hey.”

“I was looking for you. Kinda surprised to find you alone, though.” He settled into the lounge chair next to Oliver’s. “Laurel asked me to find you. I was prepared to tell her I found you throwing up in the bushes.”

Oliver let his gaze drift over to meet Tommy’s, but he didn’t match his friend’s knowing smile.

Still, Tommy pressed on. “I saw you talking to Rachel Atwell.”

“Who?”

“That redhead, Tanya Ferris’s cousin here on break from Vassar. You know, the one who had her hands up your shirt and her tongue in your mouth?”

“Oh. Her.”

“Yeah, Ollie. Her.”

Oliver felt Tommy waiting for an explanation, but he stayed silent.

“What’s going on, buddy?”

“Do you remember when you found those Christmas ornaments from your mom, the night of my first co-ed Christmas party, when we wished on a star for our true loves?” He had been staring off into the darkness, but after Tommy didn’t say anything for a minute, he looked over to find his friend giving him a strange look.

“Ollie, are you okay?”

“Do you remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. It was a silly thing we did, you were being nice to me about missing my mom and my awkward stage with girls. Thank goodness that’s over, right?”

A smiled flashed over Oliver’s face, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Seriously, buddy, what’s going on?”

“I got kicked out of Princeton.”

Tommy frowned. “That’s what’s bothering you? I mean, not to be insensitive, but you didn’t seem that bothered when you got kicked out of Harvard.”

Oliver shrugged.

“What did Laurel say?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Oh. But -”

Oliver met his friend’s questioning gaze without emotion.

“But wasn’t she transferring to Princeton to be with you?”

Oliver nodded once. “Yep.”

“Okay, okay. No big deal. I’m sure your parents can work something out, get you a second chance or something.”

Oliver’s gaze slid away to focus off into the distance again.  “Did your one true love ever come find you?”

“Ollie. Oliver. Come on, man. That wasn’t real. There’s no such thing as magic.”

“But is there such a thing as true love?”

It was Tommy’s turn to be silent.

“What is love, anyway? Is it like my parents?”

“Man, I don’t know.” For once, there was a note of impatience in his voice. “You tell me. You’re the one of us who’s in a serious, long-term relationship.”

Oliver shook his head, sighing. “I know she makes me feel good about myself, like I’m special. Is that true love? I know that it doesn’t matter how much of a screw-up I am, she always tells me I’m a good person.”

“Yeah, she definitely loves you, Ollie.”

“She caught me cheating on her last month. She walked in on me in my dorm room when she was visiting me on campus.”

“Wait, wait. Let me get this straight: she was staying with you on campus, and you brought someone else to your dorm room?”

Oliver nodded.

“Dude, you have serious balls! Almost like you wanted to get caught!”

Oliver nodded absently. “She was really upset. She screamed at me, stormed off. I found her crying an hour later. But she forgave me, and then we had really great make-up sex.”

Tommy grinned. “Like I said, she really loves you. Nothing you could do would make her leave you.”

Oliver was silent for a long moment. “She’s too good for me.”

Tommy shrugged. “Someday you’ll be good enough for her.” He smiled mischievously. “But maybe not today? You’re still young, dude. Way too young to be worried about settling down just yet, in my opinion. Not when Rachel Atwell is just one hot girl among many, my friend, and you have a 6-years-running Christmas eve streak to maintain. Come on. We’ll go reassure Laurel and make your excuses.”

A slow smile was spreading over his face at the idea. Tommy was right. And besides, how was he ever supposed to know if what he had with Laurel was true love if he didn’t compare her to other girls? “She’s probably going to see through any excuses you come up with.”

“Well thank god she’s forgiving, then.”

December 24, 2013

The sound of the foundry’s door unlocking jolted Oliver out of his thoughts, and he swiveled toward the CC feed to see who was coming to the lair this late on Christmas eve. He felt an involuntary surge of pleasure in his chest as he watched Felicity descend the stairs, but he was used to that. After all, she was his friend.

She stopped short on the last step as she saw him sitting in her chair. “Oh. Hi!”

Oliver smiled and stood up, moving toward her. “Hi.”

They spoke at the same time. “What are you doing here?”

Felicity laughed and looked down.

“I thought you were in Central City.”

“Yeah, well.” She shrugged. “I was.” She stepped off the last stair and would have slipped past him, but Oliver reached out and laid his hand on her arm, sensing something was bothering her.

She shook her head, but she didn’t move away. “It’s nothing.”

“Felicity.” He slid his arm up to her shoulder and waited.

She looked up at him with an expression that he couldn’t quite identify. Self deprecation, maybe. “I was at the hospital, with Barry’s foster father and some of his friends, and it was really nice.” She looked down, nodding to herself. “They were all really nice, welcoming. Really awesome people. I was having a good time, but then it occurred to me, these people have a history, they’re a family, you know? And here I am, taking up their time and attention, and they don’t even know me. Don’t really have a reason to. Like, who am I? What am I even doing here?”

“Felicity, you -”

“When Joe West invited me to spend Christmas eve with them, I was really excited.”

“I remember.” He remembered the strange feeling in his chest when she told him about it, too. Remembered how he’d clamped down on that feeling, knowing he had no right to begrudge her a chance to be happy.

“I mean, regardless of the fact that I don’t celebrate Christmas myself, it’s a day when everyone goes off and spends time with their close friends and family, and, I dunno. I thought it would be nice to be a part of that for once.” She looked up at Oliver with sad eyes. “But rather than feeling like I was a part of something, I was reminded how much I don’t belong.”

“Hey.” Oliver squeezed her shoulder with the hand that was still resting there.

“I mean, who am I to Barry, anyway? We only just met when it happened. I’m not really a part of his life at all, definitely not part of his family. I’m not really a part of anyone’s family.”

“Felicity.” He shook her a little, to pull her out of her spiral, and placed his other hand on her shoulder, leaning down so she would focus on him. She met his eyes with a look that made him bite back unbidden words that suddenly threatened to spill out. You’re part of my life. You’re my family. When did that become true? Because he knew instantly and with bone-deep certainty that it was the truth.

She looked back at him for a long moment, and he suspected she could read some of what he didn’t say in his eyes. Eventually she blinked and spoke in a brighter tone, obviously attempting to change the subject. “What about you? I thought you were going to spend Christmas eve with your family?”

Oliver let his hands slide from her shoulders and looked away, vaguely aware that there might be other unexpected truths lurking in his eyes. “I did. I mean, mom and Thea and I had dinner and exchanged gifts, and then Thea went over to Roy’s and my mom went off to do whatever she does, and I came here.”

Felicity stared for a long moment at her chair, where he’d been sitting when she’d entered. “Why here?” She looked up at him suddenly. “You weren’t thinking of going out there, were you? We agreed we’d take tonight off.”

Oliver gave a short laugh. “No, I just….” His eyes also drifted over to her chair. “I guess I just felt more at home here.” And it was true. As much has he had insisted he spend the night with his mom and his sister, the uncomfortable truth was that the people he was closest to, the people who knew him best, were not the ones he’d come home from the island to save, but the ones who had joined him in his crusade.

He felt Felicity move toward him, close enough that her shoulder brushed against his as she came to stand beside him. “Yeah.”

Because of the life that I lead…. His words to Felicity had crystallized what he had realized months ago, that his dangerous life, the risks he took, meant that didn’t have space in his life for a relationship. But what exactly counted as a relationship? Where was the line? He was still allowed to have friends, right?

He was struck with a sudden idea. “Hey. We should get out of here. This is no place to spend Christmas eve.” He looked down to find her staring at him with one eyebrow raised, just as he expected.

“What?”

A tiny smile crept over his face. He would never admit out loud how much he enjoyed surprising her. “Come on. Let’s go see the tree at Nelson Plaza. I haven’t really gotten to see it yet this year.”

“Oliver -”

He heard the protest in her tone, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. So what that he had decided he couldn’t have a life outside of being the Arrow - that he couldn’t risk getting in a romantic relationship. That didn’t mean he couldn’t still be there for his friends, did it? Because Felicity, his team - they were more than friends; they were his family. Wanting Felicity to feel cared for? That was allowed. That was what friends - family - did for one another. It didn’t have to mean anything more than that.

* * * * * * * * * * *

They took his Ducati, and when she wrapped her arms around his waist, he realized they’d never done this before. Never ridden together on his bike. Never gone anywhere socially, just the two of them. That realization, or maybe the feeling of her chest pressed against his back, made his stomach flip with sudden misgivings, but he shoved the feeling down. He wasn’t at risk of going against his vow; he simply cared about her, and that wasn’t the same thing.

She was shivering when she climbed off the bike. “Wow, I really should have brought my heavier coat!”

Oliver began to peel his leather jacket off. “Here -”

“Hey, no! You need that! I’ll be fine.”

On an impulse, he wrapped his arm around her instead, and it wasn’t until he felt her body stiffen for a brief second before relaxing under his touch that he realized that they didn’t do things like that, either. But why shouldn’t they? Wanting someone to be safe and comfortable, that was what friends did, right?

“At least it’s not raining for once. The sky’s so clear I can see the stars.”

Oliver looked up, realizing she was right. He was struck suddenly with the memory of Tommy, of wishing on a Christmas star. Of staring up at the stars on Christmases since then, never quite forgetting the childish wish he had made. He felt a sudden rush of sorrow as he realized that, with his new realization that his life as a vigilante required him to be alone, the part of him that had never given up on the idea of one day finding true love might never get to experience it.

He was lost in his thoughts as they approached Nelson Plaza, until Felicity’s voice broke him out of his memories.

“It’s beautiful. So many thousands of lights.”

It was true. The Nelson Plaza tree gave Rockefeller Center a run for its money, and it was one of the few things of magic and beauty that Oliver remembered from his childhood that still remained. “Have you ever been to the tree-lighting?”

Felicity shook her head, her eyes never leaving the spectacle in front of them.

“We used to come every year when I was a kid. Queen Consolidated is a major sponsor, so my dad and mom would come and be part of the ceremony.” A small sigh escaped him at the memory of simpler times. “I used to feel so proud to be a part of it.”

He felt Felicity’s arm wrap around his back, but she didn’t look away from the tree, giving him the space to speak or remain silent as he chose.

Oliver laughed bitterly. “To think I prided myself on being a Queen. To think I thought that made me better. I had no idea what my family’s true legacy was built on, what it would become.”

Felicity ran her hand soothingly up and down his back, and he closed his eyes, unable to resist taking comfort and pleasure from the touch.

“Your family’s legacy is in your hands now, Oliver. You can make it something to be proud of. You are not your father. Or your mother. You’re better than that.”

He looked down at her, blonde hair glowing in the yellow light, until she returned his gaze. “You really believe that.”

“Of course I do, Oliver. I know you.”

He shook his head. “You don’t know everything.”

“I know you’re not perfect.” She lifted the corner of her mouth in a small smile. “I still haven’t forgiven you for making me your Executive Assistant without asking me.” But her tone suggested she had forgiven him enough to joke about it.

“Felicity, you don’t know the things I -”

“I know enough. You’re not your father, Oliver. You fight for the people in this city.”

Still, he couldn’t let it go. It was true that even though he hadn’t told her much about the five years he was gone, she’d seen enough over the past year to know him at his worst. But something else was still bothering him, a guilt that had been riding him for over a month, that he suddenly needed to expose under the harsh light of truth. “I’m not as unlike my father as you might think.” He held her eyes, making sure she understood he was serious. “He slept with his secretaries, his interns, his…business partners.”

He watched the reference land on her face, watched the veil of disappointment descend. She seemed at a loss for words.

What was he doing? Was he trying to hurt her? Hurt himself? Trying remind her how misplaced her belief in him was? But he knew that most of all, he needed her to have no illusions. For some reason, it was important that he was always, always honest with her. “And I’m sorry. I never meant to be like him, not like that.”

“Oliver, I….” She turned back toward the tree so he couldn’t see her face as she spoke. “You don’t need to apologize to me. You don’t owe me anything. I meant what I said. If anything, you need to apologize to yourself, because you deserve better than her.”  She turned under his arm, and her eyes met his with that earnest look that always convinced him that she saw past all his masks.

He nodded, speaking lowly and held transfixed by her steady gaze. “I know. And that’s why I wanted to apologize to you. Because I know I let you down.”

A slow smile was spreading over her face, and Oliver found himself leaning down, drawing her body closer to his, eyes moving between her eyes and her mouth. Compelled toward her, heart beating in his throat, breath coming faster, not thinking, only feeling, only wanting, in a way he had never let himself want her before.

It was only for a second that seemed to stretch on forever, but then he remembered himself, remembered his promise to himself and to her, and he stopped. He gave her a small smile and a gentle squeeze before leaning away and gazing back at the tree. Because trusting someone, caring for them, needing them to be safe, knowing that they care for you, knowing that they see the real you - separately, those were all acceptable elements of friendship. But all of them together, combined with kissing? It was more than anything he’d ever felt before, for anyone. It was overwhelming, dangerous, and absolutely not something he was allowed to have. Because it was undeniably, dangerously close to love.

He knew she had recognized his intention in his eyes, and he saw something like surprise and then disappointment flit across her face before she, too, masked her emotions, but it didn’t have to mean anything if they didn’t let it, so they both remained quiet for almost a minute, letting the moment slip away.

Still, Oliver was surprised when it was Felicity who broke the silence first.

“Thanks for this. Tonight, I mean. Thanks for bringing me here.”

He turned toward her, and she tilted to meet his eyes with minimal awkwardness.

“I just mean, this is a place you associate with your family, so thanks for sharing it with me.”

“Felicity.” He paused to let the moment gain significance. “You are my family.”

Her eyes widened momentarily, and then she smiled, because they both knew it was true.

“And don’t give up on Barry.” Her smile froze a little, but he carried on. “I know you only just met him, but I can’t imagine a world where his life doesn’t get better for having you in it.”

She huffed out a surprised laugh, then nodded. “Thanks.”

He stepped back, pulling on her arm as he turned back toward the street. “You’re welcome, Felicity.”

December 24, 2018 (morning)

So much had changed in a year, and as much as Oliver tried to be stable, a rock for Felicity and William to lean on, there were times when he was completely caught off guard by how different everything seemed.

The new apartment. Working with the police. Living among the public unmasked as the Green Arrow.

William, older and more mature and with a new layer of wariness in his eyes that wounded Oliver to the core.

Felicity, with new armor and barbs covering bruises that might never completely heal. Bruises that he’d inflicted.

And the world around him on this side of prison, brighter than he remembered, but forever changed, too.

But when he thought of last Christmas, crouched under the threat of the FBI investigation and tainted by the sting of betrayal, he renewed his determination to make this year the best Christmas any of them had ever had. His family deserved it.

He rolled over onto his back, still unused to sleeping on the left side of the bed. It was one of the many small adjustments he’d had to make since being back. Apparently Felicity had slept on his side of the bed the entire time he’d been in Slabside so that by the time he came back, his side had become her side.

“Hey.”

She was also usually awake before him, which was definitely not something he was used to. “Hey.” But at least she was still in bed this morning. Some days he woke to nothing but a cold emptiness next to him, the sheets and blankets barely betraying that a person had been there at all, and those mornings were usually the start of the worst days. Thankfully, that had been happening less and less in the two-ish weeks since reality had been restored. Since he had reassured her that any version of him would love any version of her in any reality, always. He rolled on his side to face her, and his heart sped up at the sight of her.

She smiled at him and lifted her palm to his cheek. “You have that look on your face again.”

Oliver smiled. “Which look?” But he knew which look she meant. It was the look he got every time he wanted to see her and all he had to do was open his eyes to get his wish. It was the look he got when he realized he’d gotten out of the habit of taking her presence for granted.

Instead of answering, she stretched toward him, capturing his lips in a series of soft, open-mouthed kisses, grabbing his chin with one hand and running the other down his chest.

Oliver groaned and ran his hands into her hair, enjoying the sensations sparking as she raked her fingernails along sensitive areas on his body. “God, Felicity.” He leaned slightly back, momentarily breaking away from her kisses so he could see her. Somehow, despite all she had been through, she was more beautiful than he remembered. “How can I love you this much?”

Felicity’s eyes widened in surprise, but before she could say anything, he leaned forward and claimed her mouth in a demanding kiss. She responded instantly, parting her lips and wrapping her arms around him, letting him lower her down on her back.

This was also new. They had always needed each other, loved each other passionately and almost insatiably, or so he had thought. But ever since he’d gotten out of Slabside, it was if they needed physical intimacy more than they needed air. At first he thought it was only because they were substituting sex for difficult conversations, and then he thought it was a way for them to reassure themselves that they loved each other even when all their conversations inevitably led to arguments, but slowly, slowly they were working through their issues, and using words to express not just hurt but love, yet the unrelenting physical need for each other remained.

He met her eyes and she nodded, and it was all the encouragement he needed before he slid inside her. He paused a moment to let her adjust, and to just enjoy the feeling of being this close, his forearms on either side of her head, letting just a little of his weight press her into the mattress the way she liked. He took the opportunity to kiss along her neck and the underside of her jaw.

“Mmm, Oliver.” He felt the vibration of her words under his lips.

“Hmm?”

She ran her hands down his sides and over his ass, accentuating her words with a squeeze that pulled him into her more deeply, “Move.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He began to rock into her, responding to the cues of her hips. Her fingers played over his body, accentuating his pleasure, and she met him kiss for kiss. Lips, tongue, and teeth nipping, exploring, feeling, fast and slow, following and prompting the pace of their bodies.

And this, too, had taken some getting used to. As naturally as sex had always come to them, when they fell into bed again after a prison sentence apart,  Oliver found that it was different, more difficult, than it had been the first time, or than it had been when they’d come together after being broken up for a year and a half. It wasn’t that it wasn’t the best sex they’d ever had, because somehow it was; it was just that their established practices and expectations were different. She was still just as sensitive to his touch as ever, she just wanted him to touch her differently. And he’d found the same went for him. They’d had to relearn each other, and the process had been bittersweet as they discovered new things about each other and realized just how much they had changed. But on the whole, Oliver couldn’t be bothered to dwell on the past. As he had told her at ARGUS, and as he rediscovered in a different way every day, their love could weather any change; the only thing that mattered was that they were together.

He felt his orgasm impending, but he knew Felicity wasn’t quite as close so he pulled away, causing her to whine a little as she chased his mouth as far as she could reach. He looked down at her with a small smile, and eventually she dragged her gaze from his lips to his eyes. “Hey. You wanna get on top?”

She read the meaning behind his words and nodded, a small smile playing over her lips. “Yeah. Normally I’d say what’s the rush, but yeah. Christmas eve and William and everything.”

Oliver’s smile deepened at the thought of all the domestic bliss that awaited them. He pulled out of her, to the accompaniment of groans on both their parts at the loss of contact, and then she was pushing him up and over onto his back with a familiar bossiness that he had missed.

She fit herself over him and sank down with a low moan, letting her breasts brush over his chest as she began to kiss him again, and this time he let his hands explore her body, over her shoulders and down her sides, grasping her hips, over her amazing ass as she rode him, and long before he’d had nearly enough time to enjoy the lines and curves of her body, she was gasping into his mouth, grinding against him and hands cupping the sides of his head as she came, and after that there was no more holding back. He thrust up into her once, twice, before coming into her with his arms wrapped around her entire body, skin against skin, heartbeat against heartbeat, holding her as close as possible, but never close enough.

She was breathing hard, and he kissed the top of her head, over and over, his mind spinning with an emotion that no words could ever contain. Love really was too small a word. “Felicity.” He whispered it into her hair. “Felicity.”

She was boneless against him, but he felt her lips against his neck, brushing against the skin and pressing occasional kisses. “Oliver.”

“I’m sorry.” He sighed, only a little surprised at the words that had slipped from his lips while he was trying to figure out how best to express the overwhelming amount of love he was feeling.

But Felicity didn’t seem surprised at all, and she paused her kisses only long enough to reply. “I know.”

And for just a little longer before they had to get up, he held her tightly, enjoying the warmth and weight of her body over his, and he found himself once again contemplating the nature of love. He thought he’d figured it out long ago, when he first came to terms with his feelings for Felicity. It wasn’t just about feeling pleasure, or about being adored, or about responsibility. It wasn’t only about trusting and being trusted, about seeing behind masks and being your best self, or about being willing to do anything to protect each other. It was stronger than habit. It was remembering the past but living in the present. And most difficult of all to accept, but also the most powerful, was the realization that it wasn’t conditioned upon peace or comfort. He knew that he and Felicity still had far to go to settle their issues, and they might spend their whole lives untangling this mess and getting into new ones, but that meant that he’d get to spend his whole life untangling messes with Felicity, and that above all was the happiest of ever afters he could imagine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * December 24, 2018 (evening)

“Hey, Oliver?”

There was an odd note in Felicity’s voice, which might have worried him except he could see her by the Christmas tree from his place in the kitchen. He was cooking dinner and she was placing the last of the wrapped presents under the tree. “Yeah?”

“What’s this?”

Oliver glanced at William, who was helping him in the kitchen, but his son just shrugged, so he gave his hands a quick wash and wandered over to Felicity. She was sitting on the floor holding something cupped in her palms. “What’s what?” He crouched down next to her, taking the opportunity to run his fingers through her loose hair.

She looked at him, and her eyes were filled with a strange emotion: a mix of confusion, awe, love, and little bit of apprehension.

“Hey.” His hand instantly moved to cup her face, but she lifted the object and his eyes shifted to see what she was holding. And what he saw made his heart stop.

He hadn’t seen it in over 20 years, but he recognized it instantly. A carved wooden ornament, in the shape of two hearts, with the words “My True Love” painted on it. Below and on the left, written in a childish hand in green pen, “Oliver.” And to the right, in red pen, “Felicity.”

He dragged his eyes away from the ornament to meet her wide eyes. “Where did you get this?”

“It was on the tree. Oliver, this is my handwriting, but I - I didn’t write this. I would have remembered. I’ve never seen this before in my life. Did you put it here?”

Oliver shook his head, and he watched fear become more prominent in her eyes.

“Do you think…?”

“Felicity, no. No. Baby.” He covered the hand that was holding the ornament and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into him. “It’s okay.”

She relaxed a little in his arms, trusting him. “You know what this is? What is it?”

Oliver grasped for an easy explanation, then laughed lightly when he realized there wasn’t one. He leaned back and looked her in the eyes. “Magic.”

“Magic?” Her tone was mildly exasperated. “Oliver, what does that mean?”

He took the ornament from her, holding it up so they could both examine it. “It’s a long story, one I’ll be happy to tell you.” He laid the ornament carefully on the ground and then took her head in his hands, gently pulling him toward her. “But the moral of the story is that I love you.” His eyes drifted to her lips and he couldn’t resist leaning down to give her one, two soft kisses.

When he leaned back and looked at her again, she was smiling at him indulgently. “Oliver Queen. You are the biggest sap. Sometimes I wonder how you ever had a reputation as a bad boy.”

He smiled into her eyes, both of them knowing that she had made all the difference. “People change, Felicity.”

He watched the reference slide home in her face, but this time she smiled more deeply without a trace of bitterness. Change had always been a part of who they were.

“I love you, Oliver Queen. Love is too small a a word.” She leaned in to kiss him, and he met her halfway.

[sybvrites]

ayyyy it’s ya girl bee again, this is gaia and she’s 2/3 of my characters ( asdf i know, 3 charas rip me ). anyway, gaia is probably the nicest character i have and i just lov her a lot. im on discord  ( the uk’s weird farmer cousin #1697 ) if y’all want to plot for any of my messy kids and now i’ll shut up and you can read abt g !

tw: death & blackmail.

( sofia carson, cis female, she/her, twenty-four ) — have you seen gaia bergé-saint-laurent, the economics and management student around oxford yet ? i hear they can be aloof and genteel, but those who know them insist they’re reminded of the clinking of a teacup against the saucer, fresh peaches and cream, the sunrise peeking through sheer curtains, a cloudless blue sky & balmy parisian nights when they’re around. rumour has it that she’s blackmailing the interim chairman of the company who owns her father’s company. is it true ? only time will tell…

FULL NAME: gaia lucienne bergé-saint-laurent PRONUNCIATION: /ɡaɪə/ /bɛʁʒé/ sæn ləˈrɒn DATE OF BIRTH: february 28th, 1995 PARENTS: pierre bergé & yves saint laurent NATIONALITY: french  IMPORTANT LINKS: statistics & pinterest.

BACKSTORY

gaia was born prematurely to columbian immigrants, alessandra and sergio garcía, at thirty-three weeks. as they already lacked the money for her care, and also had two young sons, they made the decision to give the small newborn up for adoption. as luck would have it, a week into her short life, two men found themselves at the same hospital to meet a friends baby and found themselves enraptured by the tiny girl in the room adjacent to their friend. as soon as she was healthy enough she was going home with them, with the adoption proceedings well underway by that point. she was christened gaia lucienne bergé-saint-laurent in the hospital and later on her birth certificate, with her new fathers wishing for her to carry both of their names.

she never really understood the meaning of her wealth, it wasn’t hers yet but she was their sole inheritor, she was pampered but neither her papa or dad ever thought to drown her in luxuries and treat her as if she were royalty. she was a small girl when they brought her to her first fashion show, and it was clear ( yet strange ) that her dad was different. gaia knew people loved him, but then they loved her by extension and she had dozens of uncles and aunts that promised to be at her families beck and call.

her fathers were never the sort to send her off to boarding school under the guise of wanting the best education, in fact, both of them vehemently protested such a thing and unlike most of the children she was socialised with as a toddler who went to switzerland for schooling, she went to the international school of paris. and the best part was that she was still able to come home every night and cuddle up on the sofa with her parents and enjoy every second with them.

she was thirteen when her dad passed away and she fell apart, only held together by her papa, and for a time after his passing she truly felt as if she didn’t have the right to feel an empty hole in her chest because she’d only had him for thirteen years and papa had him for a lifetime and now he was gone. she did, however, utilise the time she spent with her remaining parent, she was reminded that life was short and loved ones could be taken away at a moments notice. at eighteen, her worst nightmare came true. her papa lived long enough to see her graduate but he had held on for so long and he finally succumbed to his illness with her by his bedside. she was inconsolable and the only thing that helped her through was the knowledge that her fathers, who taught her how to love through their own love, the very definition of soulmates, were reunited.

gaia didn’t know what to do with herself, suddenly alone in the world without a parent to turn to, and she sought solace in marrakech where both her fathers were laid to rest. it was in their home there that she found a box of their love letters, written from the time they met until the time papa had passed away, and tucked in there were letters for her, and from her. all her life they had called her l'amour de ma vie ( love of my life ), and there were letters upon letters that addressed her as such. a day later she found herself getting a tattoo, the only one she’d ever get.

CURRENTLY

gaia had a hard decision to make once she felt prepared enough to attend university, she wanted to return to france but she also wanted the best possible education, and so her decision to go to oxford was made. it was close enough to home that she could make the trip quickly if she wished, but it marked a fresh start too, and that was the most important part. her course choice was easy however, she wanted to be able to run a company one day, her father’s company specifically. 

after both of her father’s passed away, they left everything to her. their impressive art and literature collections, an equally impressive real estate portfolio, their business shares and every penny they ever earned. it was a ridiculous inheritance at the age of eighteen, and gaia didn't want it all, a large amount of their collection was sent to morocco and a large chunk of the estate was turned into a museum dedicated to their legacy. but then she realised she didn’t receive everything that she was due, her father’s company was still under kering. it only took a well paid private investigator to deliver a folder of salacious information on each board member, information each of them would do anything to keep quiet. 

PERSONALITY

POSITIVE TRAITS: driven, intelligent, kind, graceful, genteel NEGATIVE TRAITS: reserved, aloof, perfectionist, blunt, impenetrable

gaia is exceptionally focused on things that she wants, if her sights are set on it then it will likely be hers. she isn’t frugal by any means but she does still live in at her college, and she isn’t flashy about her wealth — she likes nice things but will under no circumstance wave it in someone’s face. she’s hyper-aware of how her time is spent, and this can make her come off as quite aloof as she doesn’t tend to spend her time associating with those who aren’t worthy of her. 

one thing that many people have said about her is that everything is always pristine about her, her clothing, her hairstyles, her living space, even the way she lays her stationary out to take notes, she’s earnt quite the reputation for always being prepared. though she is polite almost to a fault, she’s also very blunt, gaia won’t hesitate to tell you that your new haircut is horrible but she does phrase it in such a way that you hardly register it until later on.

PLOTS

gaia is very friendly but mostly with purpose, if your character can in any way help her further her own goals, she’s likely tried to befriend them. otherwise, she can make friends easily enough and doesn’t really care enough for enemies. i’m certainly open to other characters not liking her but the fact would remain that she wouldn’t even think about them. she’s also demisexual, which means that she doesn’t feel any type of sexual attraction unless there’s a deeper romantic connection, she is aware of her sexuality. so give me her exes who she never felt a connection to, or even better one or two that she did, or a current love interest, perhaps even someone who’s trying to determine just where her boundaries are.

but honestly ? i’m hella open to just about anything ? just shoot me a message either here or on discord and we’ll plot and brainstorm !

[dibs4ever]

They’ll be Best Friends (Part 2)

The “Terrific Trio” are 14 and freshman in high school when one of them starts dating. It’s no surprise that it’s Nathan.

She’s a tiny brunette cheerleader named Therissa. A few weeks later Mark starts dating Theresa's best friend.

The West family is at Grayson Manor, they decided to send the boys off to homecoming together since they’re dating friends. This also allowed Barbara and Artemis to take as many photos as they’d like of their ‘little men’

Melanie is sitting on the couch dressed in Victoria’s Secret sweatpants and a Star labs T-shirt. Obviously, she isn’t going to the dance but came to share this moment with her brother and her best friend.

She turns when she hears Nathan coming down the stairs, always the performer he makes a leap at the end landing in the living room

“So how do I look?” He grins standing tall

Melanie smiled and pushed herself up. “Like a train wreck,” she teases taking note of his messy hair. Otherwise, he was dressed neatly and properly for the dance

Nathan chuckled “I suck at doing this mop of hair” he flipped his raven locks

“Awe does your mommy still do it for you?” Melanie teased puckering out her bottom lip

Nathan cocked his head to the side “As a matter of fact she does. Where is everyone?” He looked around

“Our dads are in the Nightcave, not sure if they are working out or going over notes. My mom is helping Mark finish getting ready, your mom is finishing dinner in the kitchen and I think your sister is in there with her” she explained

Nathan nodded fiddling with his tie. He had grown quite a bit over the last year but she still had a half inch on him.

“Would you mind doing my hair for me?” He asked holding up a comb and tube of hair gel

Melanie smiled rolling her eyes “Come here wonder boy” she took the brush and gel from him.

Melanie finished fixing his hair just as there is a knock on the door. Nathan jumped up. “I look good right?” He asked straightening out his suit jacket

Melanie laughed “Yes very handsome”

He flashed her a grin before making his way to the door.

The rest of their families come out hearing that the dates had arrived.

After they leave its apparent that Therissa is only dating Nathan because he is the grandson of Bruce Wayne her friend is only dating her brother because it’s Nathan’s best friend

As soon as the door closes Dick turns to the group “Well they seem-“

“Fake” Leah Dick and Barbara’s 12-year-old daughter finishes

Melanie smiles and fist bumps the younger girl “I had to restrain myself from slapping both those girls across the face” she said flopping down on the couch

Barbara nods “You should have”

“Babs” Dick gasps

Barbara shrugs “She’s using my baby boy, besides Melanie has super speed those girls literally wouldn’t have known what his them”

Wally shakes his head “They’re big boys now they can take care of themselves”

Artemis crosses her arms “Oh and if the tables were turned and it was Melanie would she be able to take care of herself?” She narrowed her eyes

Wally looked at his daughter who was anticipating her response quickly he shook his head “That’s completely different”

As predicted Nathan and Mark soon figure out the girl's motives a few weeks later. And end things.

Nathan is out on patrol with Nightwing one night monitoring the east side of Gotham. They’re watching the city while Bruce is away on his honeymoon with Selina.

“Robin anything?” Nightwing's voice comes over the comlink

Nathan scans the city once more “Pretty quiet at the moment, just stopped a purse snatcher. Old lady thanked me with a price of butterscotch” he smacked his lips together. “What about you?” He asked

“About to head to the south side, why don’t you meet-“

“Wait” Nathan cuts his father off

Nightwing was silent for a few minutes but either his parental concern or his curiosity gets the best of him “What is it? Some action, do you need my help?” He asks over the radio

“Melanie is on a date?” Robins' voice comes back in a surprised tone

Dick rolls his eyes from the other end “Leave the girl alone and meet me on top of the old warehouse on 60th in 10. Remember you’re Robin right now so you can’t interfere with Melanie West’s——whatever she’s doing” he reminds his son

The next day at school Nathan is sitting at a picnic table under the big oak tree of the courtyard. His lunch forgotten as he is deep in conversation

“What are you decoding, “ a voice says breaking him out of his concentration

Nathan turns to see Mark approaching him with his lunch tray

Nathan shrugs “What? nothing “he stammers trying to play it off. He picks up his sandwich and took a bite

Mark chuckles sitting down across from him “I know that look” he waves his fork then taking a bite of spaghetti

“That’s the bat look” he mumbles with his mouth full of food

“Shh not so loud” Nathan glances around the field making sure nobody had looked

Mark chuckled “Please nobody is paying attention to us. At this school, we’re just two nerdy guys. Anyways you had your detective look on. Fill me in” he smirked

Nathan looked ahead to where Melanie sat talking to some female friends

“I was on patrol with my Dad last night and I saw Melanie, with a guy” he empathized

Mark nodded “Yeah I know,” he said sounding aggravated

Nathan shot his head toward him “you knew? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Mark shrugged “It was just one date she didn’t want you to know. Believe me, I wasn’t happy about it and neither was my dad”

Nathan looked back toward were Melanie stood “Why wouldn’t she want me to know?” He thought out loud

Nathan hates Melanie’s boyfriend Chad. He’s loud and annoying and perfect. Mark hates Chad, Wally really hates Chad, Dick wishes he could dig up something bad about him but they can’t. Barbara, Leah, Artemis, and Melanie think Chad is amazing.

Which is why everyone is shocked when Chad breaks up with Melanie 4 months into their relationship

Nathan and Mark are sitting beside her on her bed unsure of whether or not they should say something, or what to say for that matter.

“Why Umm why’d he break up with you?” Mark finally speaks

Melanie’s face is buried in her hands “Because he says I spend too much time with you” she mumbled

“Me?” Mark said surprised

Melanie picked her face up and shook her head “No you” she pointed to Nathan then flopped back on her bed “He said it was weird that I was so close to another guy”’

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows “Why? We’ve literally known each other since the day we were born. We’re just friends “

Melanie nodded “I told him that, and he was okay with it until he found out we kissed.”

Mark jumped “Wait for you two kissed, why am I just now hearing about this?”

Nathan shook his head “Cause it was nothing. We were 12 and I wouldn’t even count it as kissing or even a peck our lips barely touched for a microsecond. We were at a gala, ended up under the mistletoe and my Uncle Jay being the troublemaker he pressured us into it.”

Mark laughed lightly “You had me scared there for a second I thought there was something going on between you two” he nudged Nathan

Nathan lied down beside Melanie, Mark lied on the other side of his twin “Want me to talk to him Mels? I’ll explain you and I seriously are just friends.”

Melanie shook her head “No, I don’t need to be with someone who doesn’t trust me”

Mark smiled “That’s my twin” he gave her shoulder a playful nudge

The three laid there for a few moments “I miss having sleepovers” Melanie sighed

Nathan nodded “Why did we stop?” He said shifting so his arm was behind his head

“Cause Melanie got boobs and our parents decided we were too old” Mark chuckled

Nathan pushed himself up on his elbows and narrowed his eyes at his friend “Way to make it awkward Mark”

Mark laughed “Hey you asked”

Melanie fidgeted for a few more seconds “When did we grow up? Seems like yesterday we were out on the playground seeing what weird ways Nathan could flip and bend his body”

They all 3 laughed “Yeah now we’re 15 and our sophomore year is about to end” Mark added

“Not to mention this will be our first summer apart” Nathan mentioned

They all three looked up at the ceiled letting out a sigh

Artemis is the first to notice something might be different.

They are at Wayne Manor for a pool party. It’s both Nathan’s 16th Birthday and a “Welcome Home/end of summer” get together since the two Grayson children had been gone all summer traveling with the circus. They had been participating in a special “Flying Grayson Memorial” show where they honored their paternal grandparents by connecting with their circus roots.

Artemis watched as Nathan held Tim and Stephanie’s toddler daughter on his hip. All the young girls were ogling over the Grayson who was clad in only swim trunks and holding a cute baby. But he didn’t seem to notice

“This is Melanie” Nathan said to the little girl

Melanie smiled and gave the baby’s a wave

Nathan flashed her a smirk “Isn’t she pretty? Say pretty!” He cooed

“Pretty” The toddler repeated

Melanie gave a nervous laugh

“Ya know baby cousin I think Melanie wasn’t to go swimming” he smirked

Melanie shook her head “No Nate I just dried off”

Nathan nodded “Yup she really wants to go swimming” he laughed setting his little cousin down he quickly picked Melanie up and jumped into the pool with her. Causing her to let out a sequel and him to laugh.

“You jerk” she teased splashing him when they came back up

Nathan continued to laugh “Yeah but you love Me”

She shook her head “Only because I have to”

“Admit it Mel’s you’re whelmed to be back in the pool” he winked before she playfully splashed him again

Artemis and Bullseye get home from patrol before her husband and daughter do that night. She was half asleep when she feels the bed dip indicating that Wally had gotten home. As soon as he laid back she scooted upward nuzzling into his bare chest.

“Hey” he whispers wrapping an arm around his wife “How was patrol?”

Artemis nodded “All is Well is Star city, what about you?”

Wally nodded “Central City will see another sunrise”

They lie there in silence for a few minutes Sally rubbing small circles on her arm

“Do you think Melanie and Nathan like each other?” Artemis asks suddenly

“Of course, they like each other they’re best friends” Wally smiles

Artemis pushes herself up to look at him “No I mean do you think they’re attracted to each other?” She lowers her eyes

Wally looks at her silent for a second before chuckling “Arty don’t be ridiculous, they’re like cousins. No, they don’t like each other like that” he shook his head

Artemis sighed resting her head back on his chest “They seemed kinda flirty at the party today” she pointed

Wally shook his head “They haven’t seen each other all summer, they’re just being silly. Besides that’s just how Nathan is, he’s a dork just like Dick” he laughed again “Besides our daughter won’t fall for Grayson charm”