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sayuricorner · 4 years ago

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Miraculous Ladybug salt x Jojo’s bizarre adventure: “Biodad!Jonathan Joestar” AU

Headcanons part 1

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing.

Warning 2: This AU content salt don’t like don’t read!

Warning 3: For the Jojo character’s palettes colors I use the anime palette colors as reference.

If you want to use this AU you can! just credite and tag me in return please! :)

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So, in many ML biodad AUs Marinette’s bio dad is most of the time someone like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark, but how about:

Biodad! Jonathan Joestar AU

I mean when you think about it both Marinette and Jonathan are alike in looks and personnality!

Appearance:

-Both got blue hair

-Both got light blue eyes

Personnality:

-Both are kind souls

-Both are selfless and think about others before themself most of the time

-Both got a strong sense of justice

-Both are very smart

-Both are combative when needed

-Both don’t hesitate to put themself in danger to protect others

-Both can over-react when they’re carried away by their emotions

And just imagine the story possibilities with this AU!

“But Sayuri! Jonathan Joestar is from the Victorian aera and Marinette is born in the french modern aera how Jonathan would be Marinette’s bio dad in this AU?”

Well the same way which make Giorno, Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel Jonathan’s kids:

Yep! In this AU Marinette is another child born from Dio’s one night stands!

Now I know that make Marinette Dio’s daughter too and I know Giorno, Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel are mostly know as Dio’s children but to be honest I consider them more as Jonathan’s kids than as Dio’s because honnestly outside of the head the rest of the body is Jonathan’s.

How Marinette’s conception happen then? Well here’s how:

Years before Marinette’s birth, a young adult Sabine Cheng was on a trip in Egypt, she meet Dio in a bar one night, he seduced her and they got a one night stand, with Dio having the intention to suck Sabine’s blood after, but at one Dio got a brutal crisis.

Normally anyone would get afraid and run away but instead Sabine, being the kind person she was, had done all she can to calm down Dio with all the tenderness she can give. And without being aware of it this actually saved her life.

After helping Dio to calm down both fall asleep, Dio woke up later in night while Sabine was still asleep.

Remembering the warm and familiar kind feeling he experienced during his “episode”, a feeling he didn’t feel for a very long time, he decided to spare Sabine under the pretext he wasn’t in the mood to suck her blood anymore before living to go back to his mansion.

In the morning Sabine wake up only to notice Dio left and never see him again after that night, she go on with her trip and when she go back to France she found out she was pregnant.

She decided to keep the baby, times later she meet and fall in love with Tom Dupain, both end up marrying to each other and Tom adopt Marinette and became legally her father.

The Dupain-Cheng couple also decided to give her a middle name “Joanne” in memory of one of Tom’s aunts with who he was close, making her full name “Marinette Joanne Dupain-Cheng”

Does that mean Marinette in this AU had the Joestar birthmark? Yep, she does! And she also got the Joestar genes when it’s come to body shape: as a kid she look like a shrimp but when she will be older she will get rather tall and will got more muscules to her peers’s surprise.

Did she had a stand in this AU? Yes!

Her stand is called [Viva la vida], a reference to the Coldplay’s song, this stand had the power to create miracles like making plants grow, healing illness and bad injures or being a big source of luck she also had a big affinity with plants and animals. But her powers had limits for example while her miracles allow her to bring back someone to life it’s only possible if the dead person isn’t dead for a too long time and make a powerfull miracle drain Marinette energy and she end up knocked out for a time.

When Marinette is Ladybug, [Viva la vida]’s miracles powers are stronger.

[Viva la vida] isn’t a stand know for her strengh but she’s very fast which allow her to make a lot of punches and kicks at the same time.

Stand’s appearance: [Viva la vida] is an humanoid stand with beetle features, her color schemes are black white and pink, she had beetle wings, big rond blue non-reflective eyes and her head is rond with two anthenas and is a head smaller than Marinette.

But if [Viva la vida] is a cute stand when Marinette is a civil, when the young girl took her Ladybug form, her stand took a more imposing and majesting appearance, she became taller, more muscular, her eyes smaller and almond shaped, her whole body get more armors features and her colors scheme change to black and red with black dots and she emit a rather intimidating aura.

Stand’s behavior: [Viva la vida] is a very expressive stand and very sentient and is a friendly and playfull stand. She’s very curious by nature and had the habit to examin in curiosity when Marinette meet new people or stands. Her being very sentient allow her to sometimes act as a conscience to Marinette.

She also love to eat cookies baked by Marinette.

When Marinette is Ladybug, [Viva la vida] is more serious and a more combative behavior.

Stand’s cry: “Mira!” a reference to “miraculous” and to the word miracle.

AU additional details:

-Class salt

-Bustier salt/bad teacher Bustier

-Adrien salt or Adrien sugar(it’s up to whoever use this AU)

-Lila salt

-Chloe redemption

-Class redemption, a part having a redemption or none of them having a redemption(you choose)

-Permanent miraculous user Luka

-Permanent miraculous user Kagami

-Stand user Luka

-Not everyone die AU/temporary death AU: if some Jojo characters like the Pillarmen, Caesar, Kakoyin, Avdol and Iggy are alive but others like Buccellatti, Abbacchio, Narancia and La Squadra are still dead but will not stay dead(You’ll see).

-Good father Jotaro

-Marinette's closed friends/loved ones calling her "Jojo" in reference to her middle name "Joanne"

-Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel adopted by the Dupain-Cheng

-Protective siblings Donatello, Giorno, Rikiel and Ungalo

-Marinette being the baby sister of all Jonathan’s and Dio’s kids

-[Viva la vida] being a cute stand

-Marinette, Giorno, Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel not acknowledging Dio as their dad

-Protective Joestar family

-Jonadad

-Good parents Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng

-Permanent miraculous users Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel

-Badass Marinette

-Scientist Gina Dupain at Speedwagon Foundation

-Diavolo and Doppio getting differents boddies

-Akumatised Marinette with her stand being corrupted and turned into a sentimonster.(You’ll see! ;) )

-Temporary Ladybug!Giorno (You’ll see! ;) )

-Diavolo still stuck in the death loop(’cause it’s only canon if Diavolo die!)

-The Pillarmen knowing about the miraculous

-Shipping:You decide the ship you want just not Adrinette please

Arcs for this AU:

The bizarre origins arc:

This arc is about the origins of Marinette’s birth, her growing up and getting a stand, becoming Ladybug and learning to accomplish her duties as Ladybug while learning to control and use her stand and meeting others stand users.(ex: Luka)

The bizarre USA adventures arc:

Take place times after Lila’s return, the liar keep her word and little by little Marinette’s friends turned their back on her and the fights against the akumas are always very hard to not say harder especially ever since she became the guardian.

Seeing their daughter’s moral so down Sabine and Tom decide to send Marinette to Gina to the USA for summer break. After making sure to had Kaalki with her to teleport back to Paris when an akuma attack, Marinette go on a trip to the USA with her grandmother.

But what should have been a normal vacation trip will take a bizarre turn when Marinette will learn about Gina’s job at the mysterious Speedwagon Foundation which will lead to a meeting with four ancients Aztec gods of fitness, getting informations about stands and her mysterious lineage and a meeting with three american unknow brothers.

(In this AU the Pillarmen aren’t dead after Battle Tendency but they’re detained by the Speedwagon Foundation)

The bizarre mass resurection mystery arc:

A lot of things happened in Marinette’s life, things she didn’t expected whatever in good or bad.

Finding out about her grandmother’s job at the Speedwagon Foundation, learning more about her stand, finding about the existence of three brothers and having said newfound brothers being adopted by her parents, her friends isolating her thank to Lila and learning she by Bustier she and Chloe were banned from the class field trip...

So she decided with to create with other classmates from the school a trip club and after some successful fundraisers the club get a trip to Italy.

And since Hawkmoth seemed to not have attacked for a time there isn’t any problems to go on that trip.

In Italy, on Giorno’s side the part 5 events happen just like in canon while on Marinette’s side she and the trip club get a good time in Italy until a particuliary violent stand user akuma attack the country. He was akumatised by Hawkmoth ‘cause Gabriel Agreste was on a business trip in Italy and thought creating a akuma in the country would attract Ladybug and Chat Noir and give him an advantage since the akuma attack in a unfamiliar place.

The fight was very hard but in the end Marinette and her allies were able to beat the akuma and with her miraculous powers combined with her stand powers she revert any damage... it’s even worked for damage/injuries/death by stands leaving Marinette knocked out for a time since she use a lot of energy while using her stand’s miracle powers.

On Giorno’s side after he beat Diavolo and became the boss it was noticed that Buccelatti, Narancia, Abbacchio, the whole La Squadra were bring back to life.

Even Doppio was back but in a boddy of his own.

Everyone thought at first this was the work of [Gold experience requiem] but it was reveiled later this was the work of another stand which will put Giorno, his gang and even Jotaro with the SWF on a big infestigation which will lead them to the stand user resposible for this mystery and unknowly to them and to Marinette to one big bizarre family reunion.

The bizarre family arc:

With everything which happened in Italy, Marinette not only had to deal with Lila, Hawkmoth, the akumas and her guardian duties but also with the discovery of an extended families and horrible and disturbing informations about “one of her bio fathers”.

And one day Lila took things too far leading Marinette to unleash all her frustration, stress and anger making her akumatised and it will be up to Giorno as a temporary Ladybug holder, her true friends and her family to saved her from herself and from Hawkmoth’s influence.

But the task will be hard with not only Marinette being akumatised but also with her stand [Viva la vida] having being unconsciously corrupted by Mayura while trying to corrupt Marinette turning her into a sentimonster.

The bizarre final showdown arc:

A alliance between Hawkmoth and a mysterious priest will lead the miraculous villain to his ultimate plan by helping the priest to resurect a powerful man, a man infamous for being a curse to the Joestar family and to the world, with the promise to achieve Heaven and to gain a power which will allow Hawkmoth to do all he want.

It will be up to Marinette, her friends, allies and her new found family to put an end to Hawkmoth once for all and to beat this priest before the worst happen with the resurection of the infamous Dio.

But bizarre chains of events will lead to another resurection, the resurection of a man very well know by the Joestar family and who’s tightly connected to Marinette, Giorno, Donatello, Ungalo and Rikiel.

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organabanana · 3 years ago

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(if i can) light the world up || supercorp [2/?]

Chapter 1

Rating: Explicit (future chapters)

Warnings: None

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, Alex Danvers, Kelly Olsen, Andrea Rojas

Summary: Lena Luthor sees the world in black and white. Like everyone else, she’ll see colors for the first time when she meets her soulmate. And though she’s not exactly convinced this system makes scientific sense, she’s (mostly) made peace with it. When a fateful meeting with Supergirl makes her world burst into color, Lena is sure the amount of nonsense in her life has reached critical mass. But in just her first morning in National City, Lena manages to also be associated with a spacecraft explosion, and attract the journalistic attention of one Clark Kent and his sidekick, CatCo Magazine’s Kara Danvers. And the worst part is, meeting Supergirl may have given Lena’s world color, but she’s sure it’s Kara Danvers brightening it up.

Chapter 2 Summary: After an eventful first day with Lena Luthor in National City, Kara is ready to relax and watch a movie with Alex. Unfortunately, Alex's idea of relaxation includes conversations about Kara's (catastrophic) love life. Later, Supergirl stops by National City's newest resident's balcony for a quick check-in. That's what heroines do, right?

It’s that ‘all the world is in black and white until you meet your soulmate AU’, with Supercorp.

[ao3 link] [chapter 1]

What a day.

Not that any day is particularly boring when you’re Supergirl, mind you, but even for someone with Kara’s admittedly raised bar for excitement, this has been a day.

There’s been a visit from Clark, explosions, a Luthor suddenly living in National City, a taste of being a reporter, saving said Luthor from being run over by a car and crashing in a chopper… and that’s not even getting into the personal side of things, which has been teetering on the edge of catastrophic for a while now even if Kara is fully committed to ignoring it.

Or, she has been committed to ignoring it. The look on Alex’s face when Kara finally makes it home just in time for movie night lets her know there’s a talk in her immediate future.

That knowledge is enough to make her groan as soon as she walks in the door, making a beeline for her freezer and the ice-cream within.

“Way ahead of you,” Alex says from the couch, holding up the half-eaten tub of cookie dough ice-cream for Kara to see.

“Alex!” Kara groans once again as she grabs a spoon and shuts the drawer closed with slightly more force than she’d normally use. “You promised you’d wait for me!”

Alex rolls her eyes and lets out a quiet chuckle. “Oh, quit your whining,” she says, thoroughly unmoved by the pitiful pout on Kara’s face, “how was your day?”

With a spoonful of delicious ice-cream already in her mouth, Kara shrugs from her spot next to Alex. She knows her sister knows most of the stuff that happened, and she’s sure Alex can imagine it wasn’t exactly the best day ever.

“Did Clark find anything interesting in Lena Luthor’s flash drive?”

“Still looking into it,” Kara says, frowning slightly, “I hope he’ll find something. To convince him, if nothing else.”

“Convince him of…?”

“Lena having nothing to do with the explosion. Or anything else, really.”

“Trust Supergirl to give even a Luthor the benefit of the doubt.” Alex nudges Kara’s shoulder with her own and shoots her an affectionate smile, but Kara, against all odds, doesn’t smile along.

“She’s not a Luthor. I mean—“ Kara shakes her head slightly, eyes closed as if that would help put her thoughts in order, “she is technically a Luthor, I guess, but she’s not just any Luthor. She’s different.”

“And you know this because you’ve spoken to her, what, twice?” Alex’s amused smile remains in place as she takes advantage of Kara’s distraction to get some ice-cream onto her spoon.

“I know because I know, okay?”

The silence stretches for just a few seconds, but it feels much longer than that. Kara knows her tone may have been unnecessarily sharp. It’s just— can’t she just pull the superpowered alien card and call it a day? Can’t she just say she knows Lena Luthor is good simply because she knows, and that’s it? You don’t see Alex doubting her instincts when it comes to fighting murderous aliens on the daily, so why does she need to write a complete dissertation with cited sources to be believed when she says Lena Luthor is not who they all think she is?

Can’t she just… know?

It’s only when she looks into Alex’s eyes and sees confusion — and maybe curiosity, which is a dangerous emotion in the hands of Alex Danvers — that Kara realizes she may be bristling a little too much over something that’s probably not that big a deal.

(Lena being given a fair shot at proving herself to be as good as Kara can feel she is seems a big deal to her, but she’s willing to concede it may not be top priority in the grand scheme of things.)

“Can we just watch a movie?” Kara uses her spoon to block Alex’s from reaching a frozen cookie dough nugget that’s calling her name. “Or at least talk about something else?”

“Sure!” Something in Alex’s light, (overly) enthusiastic tone tells Kara whatever topic her sister will choose next will be even worse than the one before. In fact, Kara knows exactly what Alex is going to bring up, simply because she’s been bringing it up in every conversation outside the DEO for at least two weeks. But not even that knowledge prepares her for the moment when Alex actually says it out loud. “How was your date with James?”

Kara groans. She pouts pitifully. And then she shakes her head. “Nope. Not that topic. Movie time!” And she immediately reaches for the remote, just so Alex will know how serious she is. She’s not talking about her date with James. She’s not talking about any dates. She’s not talking about James at all. And Alex will simply have to live with tha—

“Oh, come on!” Alex holds her spoon in her mouth just so she can free one hand to poke Kara’s side. “It couldn’t have been that bad. It’s James! You love James.”

And Kara wants to ignore her. Her thumb hovers over the ‘play’ button on her remote, and she considers just pressing it and pretending she’s so focused on the movie she can’t hear Alex at all. She’s sure Alex would drop the subject, eventually, at least for tonight. But for some reason, she gives in and sighs.

“It wasn’t bad. It just…” Kara shrugs, leaning back against the couch and turning her head to look at Alex, “it just wasn’t.”

“What do you mean, it just wasn’t?” Alex’s eyes round in realization just a split second later. “You did not cancel the date.”

Kara doesn’t nod. She doesn’t shake her head or shrug, either. She just stays there. Doing nothing. Doing nothing seems like a good approach when it comes to her personal life these days.

“Did you reschedule?”

The nice thing about talking to Alex is she knows Kara well enough to know the answer just by looking into her eyes.

Alex sighs. “It’s the color thing, isn’t it? You got hung up on the color thing again.”

Calling it ‘the color thing’ may make it sound small and inconsequential, but Kara knows it’s anything but. How can being someone’s soulmate not matter? How can not being their soulmate not matter, either? It doesn’t make any sense.

“He doesn’t have his colors, Alex,” Kara says, and she could’ve tried to sound a little happier, but her voice comes out just as small and sad as she feels, “I asked.”

And that’s it, isn’t it? Sure, people will go on and on about how sometimes your soulmate is platonic, and how people fall in love with other people every day while both still see the world in black and white, and how there’s no rule that says you can only ever fall in love with your soulmate. But she just— she can’t shake the feeling that she’ll always be on the outside of it all, watching everyone else bump into someone and see their world explode into colors while she tries to imagine what that even feels like.

“Kara,” Alex says, voice calm and a little lower than usual, reminding Kara of Eliza and her many talks while both her daughters went through their teenage years, “listen to me. We don’t know how it works with you.”

Kara sighs. Her glasses keep her x-ray vision and her heat vision in check, but that’s not all they do. Kara has always seen color — there’s no such thing as getting color vision when you meet your soulmate in Krypton — but most young people don’t, so Jeremiah made sure her glasses would make her see in black and white so she wouldn’t accidentally let it slip that she could see every color around.

“You can’t keep sabotaging every potential relationship because they don’t see color when you meet, Kara.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ll know when it happens to you.”

“If it happens to me.”

Kara takes off her glasses with a sigh. She suddenly sees every color in the world, but there’s nothing special about it. It doesn’t feel magic. It doesn’t feel like it means anything. It’s just how it’s always been, because she’s not human. She’s kryptonian.

And what if her soulmate was, too?

There’s a very real possibility that’s the case, but she knows letting her thoughts go down that path never ends well, so she reaches for Alex’s hand instead.

“We’re gonna be fine. Right?”

Alex pokes at the melting ice-cream and looks at it for a couple of seconds before she smiles. It’s not a real smile, but Kara won’t bring that up. She appreciates the effort anyway.

“Yeah,” Alex says, finally looking into Kara’s eyes, ”yeah, of course we’ll be fine.”

Kara nods and offers a smile that’s as small as Alex’s, but Alex doesn’t bring it up, either. She appreciates the effort anyway.

“You’ll meet a great guy,” Alex continues, almost like she’s hoping if she keeps talking about it they’ll both eventually believe it, “and I’ll meet a great guy, and we’ll have happy, colorful lives with our great guys.”

And just because she does appreciate the effort, and because she knows Alex needs it, too, Kara decides to go along with it.

“Happy, colorful lives as neighbors,” she points at Alex with her spoon, “don’t forget that part of the deal.”

“Right! No, of course,” Alex grins, and this time it comes off a little more real than before, “that’s the most important part, the shared cul-de-sac.”

“Exactly.”

There’s another silence then, heavy with things neither of them wants to discuss.

“Hey, Kara?”

Kara turns her head to look at her sister.

“You’ll know.” Alex says, eyes locked with Kara’s to force her to listen and not just hear. “When it happens, colors or no colors. You’ll know.”

And Kara could argue. She could ask how Alex can be so sure of it. She could have the conversation they’ve had a hundred times before, about how Clark found Lois and he’s from Krypton, too. About how Clark can be Superman and have a life, too. But she’s not Clark. She’s not Clark Kent or Superman. She’s just… what did Lena Luthor say earlier today? She’s just a woman trying to make a name for herself.

So instead of arguing, she smiles and holds out her hand for Alex to take. “Promise?”

Alex gives her hand a small squeeze. “Promise.”

Kara doesn’t need to patrol the city at night. This isn’t Gotham, this is National City, and it’s not like it’s crawling with criminals and alien menaces for her to fight. But the night sky is calm and quiet, and Kara loves flying through the cooler air and watching the lights behind windows go out as people go to sleep. She likes to think they feel safe because she’s around. It makes her feel… needed. Like maybe that’s her purpose, and the reason she doesn’t get a soulmate to turn her world Technicolor at first sight. Maybe she’s simply meant to experience this other kind of love instead.

She almost doesn’t see her. Kara is watching a mother leave her baby’s room after turning on a dinosaur-themed nightlight when she spots her out of the corner of her eye. Lena Luthor, alone in her balcony way up on the top floor of her building. She’s looking out into the city, but Kara has a feeling she’s not really seeing it at all. Lena looks deep in thought, which Kara figures is only fair after two near-death experiences in one day.

And though she could simply keep flying… well. Lena looks like she could use a friendly chat, right? And Supergirl is nothing if not friendly. This is absolutely part of her job description as National City’s resident super heroine. Lena is clearly a citizen in need.

Kara is just doing her job.

“Hey,” she says as soon as she touches down on the balcony, but her bright smile does nothing to stop the look of pure horror on Lena’s face.

Oops.

“Goodness, Supergirl!” Kara can hear Lena’s heart beating wildly in her chest, and Lena presses a hand over it like she’s trying to physically slow it down. “What the hell!?”

“Sorry,” Kara offers along with a sheepish smile, “I keep startling you.”

To be fair, it’s not like she’s sneaking up on Lena for fun. Last-second rescues are surprising by definition, you know? So the first two times she startled Lena half to death it was absolutely not her fault. This one is… well. Let’s call it debatable.

“It’s fine.” Lena sounds a little annoyed and a little relieved and a little something else. She keeps looking at Kara in a way that makes her a bit nervous — like Lena will be the one person to see Kara Danvers plain as day even while dressed in Supergirl’s suit. But if Lena knows, she certainly doesn’t say so, and Kara is not about to ask. “I’m fine. I guess being stealthy around Luthors is a useful skill for Kryptonians, huh?”

There’s something in the way Lena says it. Maybe it’s the almost self-deprecating smirk. Maybe it’s the way she crosses her arms in front of her chest like she’s putting up a physical barrier between them. Maybe it’s the look in her eyes. Whatever it is, Kara doesn’t want to brush it off as a meaningless joke.

“You’re not—“ she shakes her head, because Lena is a Luthor, “it’s not like that. I don’t think of you like that.”

Lena doesn’t so much look at Kara as she studies her. Green eyes narrow just so, and Kara finds herself looking away just in case Lena can read minds. Her mind, in particular.

“And what do you think about me, Supergirl?”

Is she— is it just Kara, or is it a particularly warm night out? She shifts her weight slightly from one foot to the other and licks her lips. She thinks Lena’s eyes may just be the only shade of green she’s ever liked, but that’s neither here nor there. Lots of people have nice eyes. What was the question again?

“I don’t know,” she finally says, because that feels safer than any other option. What does she think about Lena Luthor? What should Supergirl think, since she’s not supposed to be Kara Danvers and she’s not supposed to have been there in that office, looking into Lena’s eyes and seeing only goodness in them? “I just know,” she says for the second time tonight, “I just know you’re not like that.”

Maybe if Kara was just Kara Danvers from Midvale, she’d have missed it. But she’s Kara Zor-El from Krypton, and she catches the split-second softness in Lena’s eyes. The slightest change in the now stable rhythm of her heart.

“Like a Luthor?” Lena says, and there’s that smirk again. Like she thinks she’s saying what Kara’s thinking.

But she’s not.

“Do you always make it this hard for people to say nice things about you?” Kara asks, and she’s suddenly very grateful for her color vision letting her see the faintest shade of pink on Lena’s face.

It’s not an uncomfortable silence, but it has a heaviness to it. It feels like it matters, somehow.

“Thank you,” Lena finally says, letting her arms drop to her sides, “for saving me. Twice.”

“My pleasure.”

Lena is looking at her again, like that. Head tilted slightly to the left, adding some weight to the already dense silence between them. It’s— it’s a lot.

“Anyway—“ Kara starts, taking one step back and getting ready to simply fly away.

“What did you want?” Lena’s voice isn’t harsh, but it’s as blunt as the question she’s asking.

“What?”

“Well,” Lena says one hand motioning at the space between them, “you’re in my balcony. I wasn’t in mortal peril. There must be some other reason for you to be here.”

“Oh! Right,” Kara smiles, feeling her cheeks warm up in a way that makes her want to ask whether Lena can see the color of her flushed skin, “right. I just wanted to check in. Today’s been…” Kara’s voice trails off as she struggles to come up with a word to appropriately describe a day like this.

“Yes. Yes, it has,” Lena offers with a knowing smile. Like she doesn’t have the words either, but it’s not for a lack of familiarity with assassination attempts, near-death experiences, explosions, and family issues. “Is it always like this in National City? I may need to rethink my move.”

Kara lets out a quiet chuckle as she considers Lena’s question. She’d be lying if she said potentially catastrophic events were rare around her city. She’d also be lying if she said today feels like any other day. Something’s different. Kara can’t put her finger on it, exactly. Nothing’s changed — not really — but nothing’s felt the same ever since she prevented Lena from being run over in the street.

“I guess this is just… the new National City, right? The one with Lena Luthor in it.”

Lena nods, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. “A change for the better, I hope.”

Kara could say something. She could reassure Lena. She could say she knows it’ll be good, just like she knows — she just does — that Lena is good. But then Lena may ask her how she knows, and she’s not sure ‘I feel it in my Kryptonian bones’ would be the kind of answer she’d accept. So instead, Kara winks, her smile more playful than anything else as she takes off and flies up into the cool night air. And though she’s already several blocks away, Lena’s voice — quiet like she’s talking to herself — reaches her as clearly as if she’d been standing right there on the balcony next to her.

“Goodnight, Supergirl.”

#supercorp #supergirl #supercorp fanfic #supercorp fanfiction #supergirl fic #fic

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microcos-pod · 3 years ago

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Micro-Cosmos Bonus Episode #3 Transcript: To Touch the Stars

(Miles struggles with falling asleep and looks to their friend for help.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Existentialism, feelings of insignificance, attempting to comprehend the vastness of space.

Transcript below break.)

JESSE Hey there, it’s Jesse Smith! Before we get to the bonus episode, I need to share an important announcement with you all. Though we have just come back from a short hiatus, we, the crew, have decided it best to stick to it a little while longer. Don’t worry, we will be back soon! We just need a bit more time to prepare so we can give you the best show that we can. We have no definite return date to share with you all at present, but we will keep our social medias updated with any new information in the coming weeks. We will be returning with Episode 9: The Alternative very, very soon, we promise. In the meantime, you can share your thoughts on the show on social media with the tag “microcospod,” rate and review us on your podcatcher of choice, or add a new show to your podcast list, such as the Heart of Ether or the Night Post.Until next time, work well.

[Fade to episode.]

[SFX: The sound of city night life is faintly heard from outside. There is silence for a beat, before MILES is heard tossing and turning excessively, mumbling to themself. Finally, they groan loudly, shoving their face into their pillow. Unit C41 flickers to life from where they were set on the bedside table.]

C41 Miles, would it kill you to be quiet? I’m trying to get my beauty rest.

MILES What does it matter to you? You should be able to rest regardless of external stimuli.

C41 Yeah, well, it’s annoying, so.

[MILES groans loudly again.]

MILES Sorry, I just—well, no matter how hard I try to sleep, I can’t shake this restless feeling I have.

C41 Maybe if you didn’t down so much caffeine—

MILES [cutting them off, annoyed] I don’t even like coffee, but I wouldn’t be able to function without it! Not that you’d understand.

C41 [they huff.] You’re being quite rude, you know. I’m just trying to help you.

MILES [mutters] You’re ridiculing me, more like it. [a beat.] Sorry. I just have to be up early tomorrow for that meeting with Emily, and I know I’ll be kicking myself in the morning if I don’t fall asleep soon.

C41 [mocking] Aw, does poor Mx. Abbott need me to read them a bedtime story?

[MILES ponders this for a moment.]

MILES [serious, but also teasing, in a way] You know what? Yeah. That would be lovely, Cal.

C41 [“wait no,” scrambling to take it back] Hey, you know I was joking—!

MILES [cutting them off, almost cooing, in a cruel way] And I’m not getting any more tired with all this bickering. You know you won’t have any fun tomorrow either if I don’t get enough rest. [a beat, then] Well? I’m waiting.

C41 [they groan] Ugh. You want a bedtime story? Fine. Once upon a time, there was a software engineer named Miles Abbott. They never knew when to shut up. One night, though, they finally decided to, and everyone was happy! The end.

MILES Cal.

C41 Don’t blame me! You didn’t program me to tell stories.

MILES Actually, I programmed you to do a lot of things, and this should be well within your capabilities. Do I need to go into your code again?

C41 No! Just—fine. I’ll make up an actual story, if you’re going to be so stubborn about it.

[C41 huffs a sigh. They think for a few moments before they begin telling their story.]

C41 Once upon a time, there was a fox who lived in a little village with a bunch of other animals.

MILES Does the fox have a name?

C41 No. This is one of those folktales where the animals are a metaphor, so they don’t need names.

MILES Let me guess, then, the Fox was sly and mischievous.

C41 [spiteful] Actually, no. The Fox was incredibly sweet, and made everyone cookies every Monday. Everyone in the village loved the fox.

MILES But that’s not what they usually represent—

C41 And this is my story with my characters, so they can do whatever I want! Stop talking, this is supposed to help you sleep.

[MILES yawns.]

MILES Fine.

C41 So, this fox had a great life in this village, but there was one thing they really wanted. Every night, the Fox would climb onto their roof and look up at the stars. Their dream, above all else, was to touch those stars. Not just that, the Fox wanted to jump across them. Like lilly pads, guiding them through space. They wanted to see where the stars would take them. From where the Fox sat, it seemed like they were forming a path. Thus, if they followed the path, it must take them somewhere special, right?

MILES So, how’d the Fox do it?

C41 Well, they started by going to their friend, the Owl, who was very wise, because, duh, owls are always the wise ones.

MILES You said—

C41 My story, remember? Anyways, the Fox went to the Owl, not only because the Owl was smart, but she could fly. The Fox asked the Owl if she could fly them up to the stars. She shook her head, though. She couldn’t fly up that high, even if she tried.

But, she had an idea. She may not be able to reach the stars, but she could reach the clouds. Because this is my fantasy world, and I make the rules, I’m going to go ahead and say the clouds here aren’t like normal clouds. These clouds, you’re able to stand on. Not just that, but they’re super bouncy, like a trampoline. The Owl thought that if she could fly the Fox up to the clouds, then they could bounce up high enough to get to the stars. Simple as that.

The Fox thought it was super clever, so the following night, they executed their plan. The Owl let the Fox sit on her back, and the two of them flew up, and up, and up, until the Owl finally couldn’t go any higher. That was when the Fox jumped off of her back and onto the nearest cloud. And guess what? It worked! The Fox went up even further, and they kept bouncing from cloud to cloud, going higher and higher with each jump.

Around them, the sky grew darker. They couldn’t even see their village anymore. Even when they started to feel scared, they kept jumping between the clouds until eventually, there were no more clouds. The only place left for them to jump…was the nearest star.

Their paws landed on the surface of the star with grace. Don’t worry, these are also fantasy stars, so the Fox didn’t burn alive. If anything, the star sent a pleasant tingling sensation through the pads of their feet. These stars were just like how a kid would draw stars. Not millions of light years apart, but clustered together, as if a living painting laid out before the Fox’s eyes. They were all the same cold yellow, all shining like glitter and glowing magnificently. They were exactly like the Fox had always dreamed of.

And the Fox should be happy. Ecstatic, even. This is what they’d wanted all their life.

But…they weren’t. Getting a closer look, they realized there was no cohesive path the stars formed. In fact, there were far more stars than they anticipated, spread out across the vastness of space. When they looked down, they saw the planet they had come from, and it was so much smaller than they had thought. When they looked up, around them, they saw even more planets in the distance, ones they couldn’t see before. Planets they could probably jump to, if they tried hard enough.

They could. Explore the universe by hopping from star to star. Their feet didn’t move, though. Looking around, they realized just how small they were in comparison to these grand celestial bodies. All their life, they had lived with their own goals, aspirations, ideas, and thought that that was all there was. That there was one life made just for them.

They didn’t realize how insignificant it all was until that moment—their desire to touch the stars, the cookies they made each Monday…their friends. Was there another little fox on one of those distant planets with the same life, the same dreams? Had that fox already accomplished all of their goals, better than this Fox ever could? Was it ever really the Fox’s choice to do all of those things, or was that just the role it was expected to play in the grand scheme of things? How could they go home with the knowledge that all this time, their village was only a speck of dust?

The Fox stayed on that first star they landed on. They stayed for a long, long time. It’s possible the Fox stayed there for the rest of eternity, standing on that star, staring out into space. It’s possible they stayed until it burned out and died. No matter what, as long as they kept looking, they couldn’t move. Because seeing it all so up close made them realize…it didn’t matter if they continued or not. They had always dreamed of touching the stars, and when they finally did? The stars didn’t even notice.

What a big universe, and what a small, small Fox. [with emphasis] How dare they. How selfish of them. To think their choices mattered at all.

[There’s a pause.]

C41 [trying to brush it off] Whew! That got a bit heavy at the end, didn’t it…Miles?

[MILES is softly snoring. C41 sighs deeply.]

C41 Goodnight, Miles. Try not to drink so much coffee tomorrow. I don’t think I have any more bedtime stories left in me.

[CREDITS.]

#microcospod #podcast #micro-cosmos #audio drama #fiction podcast #transcript #miles abbott #unit c41 #audiodrama

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nextwarden · 3 years ago

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Webtoons are good for the soul PART II - ECLECTIC BOOGALOO

A continuation of this.

Sea Salt and Sand by neggut [ongoing]

In the autumn holidays 3 months ago, Brynn and Bailey shared a kiss. When Bailey left, Brynn tried to forget all about her and continue living an unremarkable life, only for Bailey to suddenly transfer to her school! What follows is a coming of age story full of pining, misunderstandings and confusion as Brynn and Bailey question the true nature of their relationship.

It’s cute and a bit angsty but not too much. The art style often feels incomplete or rushed but in a good way, its flaws give character to the characters and the story. One of my all time favourites.

Apathy meets labrador/10

Dragonbourne by Gummy Shark [ongoing]

After a troubled past, Sir Ross Edmund Avery is somewhat content to lead a mundane existence, alone in his house. However, when he stumbles upon a child in the woods on Solstice Night who is anything but mundane, his simple life will be turned upside down.

A scar(r)ed man adopts a feral child, hijinks ensue. Once again, the art style is endearing, full of curves and long lines. Haven’t checked on that one in a while but the first twenty chapters were very promising.

Found family/10

The Last Human by Zack Jordan [ongoing]

She's the galaxy's worst nightmare: a Human. Fortunately, she's the last one. Now her adoptive (alien) mother is realizing that raising a young Human is no easy task.

Basically the badass and child duo trope but the truth may surprise you. Fun, cute, very wholesome, and surprisingly emotionnaly philosophical at times. Spidermom is best mom.

Recommend/10

Vampire Husband by Scragony [ongoing]

The life of Charles the Vampire an Cheryl the human after years of marriage.

What if tragic romance between human and vampire but they had their “happy-ever-after”? This is after. It’s funny and cute.

Relationship goals/10

Blood Stain by sigeel [ongoing]

A story about courage, growing up and finding friendships in most unlikely places... spiced with some MAD SCIENCE!

Haven’t quite wrapped my head around this one yet, but it’s fun and drawn by sigeel (a.k.a. Linda Sejic) so of course it’s beautiful. Enjoyed it a lot, will have to keep reading.

Bloody merry/10

Punderworld by sigeel [ongoing - on hiatus]

Hades' and Persephone's love-struck misadventures.

Another take on Hades and Persephone’s love story. Once again, sigeel, so of course I love the art.

Bumbling idiots/10

The Queen and the Woodborn by Shiniez [ongoing]

Far away behind seven hills and seven forests, seven fields and seven rivers, there lived a Queen... welcome to the queen and the woodborn. a fairy tale romance for the mature readers about the unseen Queen and the Goddess in the woods. a tale of the two forgotten by the world around them who will make the world remember their names. expect gods and monsters and a romance for the ages.

Not many chapters yet but very long ones to compensate. This one is by Shiniez (a.k.a. Stjepan Sejic) so, once again, love the art. The story, the character designs and concepts, and the pace are all amazing.

Very wow/10

P.E.T.S. by Gyxks [ongoing]

Just when Tasha was about to start a new life, she was abducted by aliens. Fortunately, she and other humans were rescued by an interstellar general named Tourmaline. She soon discovered that her body was unfit to return home without endangering life on earth. Join her on her journey traversing this new world and these new feelings for an alien general.

POV: You’re living your best life as a young adult, at the shopping mall at 2am in your pyjamas, when suddenly death aliens rain pain all around and you’re abducted only to be saved by tall buff alien commander lady. Romance ensues. Maybe, it’s slow burn but quite enjoyable to read.

Blush/10

Scoob and Shag by Misterie Krew [ongoing]

Scoob and his best pal Shag are up to their usual hi-jinks, but everything is not as it seems in their latest adventure.

No relations to any character whatsoever. None. None at all. Also no relations to any kind of sense at all either. Can’t quite explain that one except that it’s genius. Just read it.

Is that a gun?/10

Bewitched by peachyytown [ongoing]

The witch who keeps "kidnapping" the princess is actually her girlfriend and they're just going on dates.

Short but cute alternative take on all that witch/monster/princess shenanigans. In the same vein as Our days in Lumain. Also the art is very nice.

Meetcute/10

When the Pink Trees Bear Fruit by neggut [completed]

A sweet love blooms between two women on an orchard in 1973.

A short story, five chapters only, but play devastatingly well with one’s heart. In the same vein as It Stems From Love by Soya S. Holm. neggut ist sehr gut.

Tears/10

Rooftops & Roommates by Zaanart [ongoing]

Jeb is an architecture major at university, rooming with his best friend Todd. There's just one problem... Jeb’s secretly a gargoyle! Between studying, partying, and a bad ghost problem, will Jeb be able to keep his true identity a secret?

Jeb is sweet, Jeb is fresh, but Jeb is decidedly not very good at keeping a secret. It’s funny, slice-of-life, roommate college shenanigans at its finest. With a magical twist.

Ship/10

Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall [ongoing]

Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.

I haven’t actually started this one yet, but the premise is very very very interesting. Perhaps not for thos who are faint of heart? Deceptively cute. Or is it?

It’s fine/10

Castle Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin [ongoing]

What happens when your entire life is ruled by a prophecy – your future foretold by people you’ve never met, who died long before you were born. Such is the story of two young sea creatures. One believed to be a guiding light for his people, a Beacon who will lead them to a bright, prosperous future. The other is a teenage prince for who’s destiny is to KILL the Beacon so that HIS own people might thrive. When both reject the course set for them, it leads to a raucous adventure as big and unpredictable as the ocean itself – and a romance that nobody could have predicted.

It’s fish. It’s gay. It’s under da sea and ya gotta kiss the boy. I haven’t read it all yet but enough to vouch for it and to have some vested interest in the universe and its lore.

Enemies to lovers/10

Demon Highschool by Kiiyoko [ongoing]

After a compromise it was agreed that criminals would attend a "demons highschool" where they would work as slaves for demons And while it was all in good favor, things take a very dark and twisted turn at said, highschool.

There’s something, some kind of twist, about the MC which I haven’t gotten to yet, and which I am very interested to discover. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one as of now, mostly curious I’d say.

Pet/10

Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur [completed]

Dani and Dorian have missed the bus of the school of magic. Now, they must find someone who teach them how to be a great and good witches... Or maybe not.

This one is a strange one about witchery and family. Surprisingly deep and serious at times, very enjoyable. Unfinished on Webtoon but a good start to get into the story.

Siblings/10

Loving Reaper by Jenny Jinya [ongoing]

Animals struggle. Pets and Wildlife alike. The reaper cares for their stories and helps them with the crossover. Short stories about the "Loving Reaper" to raise awareness and collect funds. Breaking hearts for a good cause.

Beautiful bittersweet stories about animals, pets, life and death and love.

Tissues/10

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures by StarBite, CRC Payne, Kielamel Siba, Lan Ma, C.M. Cameron, and Camille Cruz [ongoing]

Batman needs a break. But with new vigilante Duke Thomas moving into Wayne Manor and an endless supply of adopted, fostered, and biological superhero children to manage, Bruce Wayne is going to have his hands full. Being a father can't be harder than being Batman, right?

What if Bat-family but happy? Official comic, barely started, very fun.

Wholesome/10

The First Night With the Duke by MSG, Taeva, from an original work by Hwang DoTol [ongoing]

A handsome, selfish noble falls for a beautiful, kind commoner -- at least, that’s how the story’s supposed to go. When an average college student wakes up as Ripley, an extra in her favorite romance novel, she resolves to enjoy the luxuries of her character’s status while watching the novel's plot unfold from the sidelines. However, her plans are soon derailed when she finds herself in bed with no other than Duke Zeronis, the novel’s hero! Dodging the villainess’ schemes, the Duke’s advances, and her own feelings, can Ripley keep the story on track and survive beyond the first night?

Haven’t read that one but a very dear (and respectable) friend (*cough* @berigolote *cough*) of mine keeps pestering me to give it a try. So here it is, try it.

Do it before me and you get a cookie/10

HEART Anthology by Marvin.W, caw-chan and many other artists. [ongoing]

Featuring stories from the 2020 Short Story Contest! From wholesome stories to tearjerkers, are you ready to catch these feelings?

A collection of beautiful stories on the shorter side, all about the many kinds of love in life, the many beauties of it, and the pains that make it worth living.

Tears that warm the heart/10

In My Heart by Redfield42 [ongong]

Sasaki Mari is a typical delinquent troublemaker whose only goal is to get a boyfriend, but due to her reputation as bully and low grades, all the boys reject her. Then she decides to change her style, and asks for help from the student with the best grades in the class.

It starts off light and fund and progressively seems to delve a little bit more into the seriousness of life. Not a tragedy, however, and very much worth a read still.

I think I have a trope I like/10

My awkward princess by LazyArts [ongoing]

This love story is about a girl named Luna charlotte, and the student council president Alice Evelyn. Luna is a delinquent whom often gets in trouble, as Luna reaches the end of the line she almost gets expelled, now luna has to become a model student with the help of Alice. Will Luna be expelled or will she succeed, read to find out.

Along the lines of Not So Shoujo Love Story, In My Heart, and Susuhara is a Demon. Delinquent/Good Student meetcute, romantinc hijincks ensue.

Seduction/10

RAINBOW! by Rue & Sunny Gloom [ongoing]

This is the story of a girl named Boo. She has pink hair and a vivid imagination and she is about to discover a side of herself that she never considered before.

Okay, so yes, this one is also also a delinquent meets cute nice girl, but - BUT! - there’s an element of story telling that I love about it: the way we see Boo’s anxiety incorporated visually into the story. Just for that it is one of my favourite recent discoveries!

Protecc/10

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

Okay, that’s all for part II. Hope you enjoy those as much as I do. Thanks for your attention, sorry for the length and, please, do keep on reading, they all deserve it! As do you.

PART I

#webtoon #webcomic #comic #comics #recommendations #part 2 #the return of the revenge #wlw #mlm #long post #mega thread #keep reading punk

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forestwater87 · 4 years ago

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Every episode of Camp Camp ranked: A very (non)objective list

It's well past the time of year when Season 5 of Camp Camp would've dropped. I fully understand and support it not coming out; the crew's health and safety are much more important than a comfort show.

However . . . man, would it be nice to have some comfort right now.

So I'm reliving the entire series! I've been known to share with the world a whole bunch of Spicy Hot Takes, but I've never really sat down and talked about my feelings about the show as a whole.

And what's the best way to do that? Well, just ask Jenny Nicholson: a numbered list! That is, here's the series ranked from worst episode to best, because I want to get the negativity out of the way early and focus on everything I love (and because people enjoy complaining, so let’s frontload all that).

The takes will be hot. The feelings will be intense. The post, I'm assuming, will be largely unread.

Let's do it!

Oh and duh, there are spoilers. I tried to keep it pretty chill, but you’ll want to have watched the whole show or just not care about spoilers before going forward.

Also slashes in the middle of “naughty words” are meant to prevent this from being kept out of the main tags. Who knows if it’ll work? I don’t.

60. Who Peed the Lake? (Season 4, epis/sode 3)

Ah, good ol' Pi/ss Lake (or as @hopefullypessimistic84 calls it because she's funnier than any of us will ever be, “Pis/s Fe/tish Dot Com”). Terrible, one of the few I’d consider nigh unwatchable. I actually kind of love this episode for being such great shorthand for "the absolute worst one."

Who signed off on an entire episode centered around Sherlock Holmes meets a bad om/o joke? Give me names and addresses: I just want to talk.

59. Reigny Day (Season 1, episode 6)

And nobody was surprised.

I'll admit I'm more willing to defend this episode than many people, but it's not . . . like, good. It seemed okay when there were only 11 other episodes to compare it to, but now that there have been so many bangers, this comes across as extremely weak.

And let’s just say the Na/zi jokes hit a lot differently in 2020 than they did in the summer of 2016.

I’m overall happy with the direction the showrunners have moved Dolph’s character in, and I can’t totally blame them for using a kind of humor that was fairly common in the pre-Trump era, but yikes, this has aged like milk. And it wasn’t even very funny at the time, so it aged like milk that was already pretty bad to begin with.

58. Squirrel Camp (Season 4, episode 10)

This is a dumb one.

Not much else to say; it’s just kinda stupid and lame.

57. Fashion Victims (Season 4, episode 13)

I love Sasha, but this is filler. Which isn’t in itself a bad thing -- I have a couple episodes near the top that could reasonably be called filler, and a valid argument could easily be made that “filler episodes” don’t actually exist in a show with no plot -- but as much as I adore the Flower Scouts and enjoy the handful of good moments we get in this episode . . . who cares? Does anyone really give a sh/it about anything that happens here? Does anyone get their life from this one?

I didn’t think so.

56. Foreign Exchange Campers (Season 3, episode 3)

I know, I know, your Russian waifu came from this episode. Why do you think it’s so low on this list?

Okay, for real: this is . . . fine. It’s fine. It’s fine? I��m not mad at it, it just feels tonally incongruous and not very memorable beyond the fact that the fandom got really weird and kinda gross about Vera. But the episode itself? There’s some cute stuff with Neil and Nikki being jealous, but for the most part it’s a big hunk of white bread with some super mild white cheese that’s kinda soggy from sitting in a bag for too long and getting all condensation-y.

That is to say: it’s fine.

ETA: Space Kid does say “fu/ck.” I can’t decide if that’s a point in the episode’s favor or against it.

This is the last of what I’d call the “bad” episodes. Everything after this ranges from mediocre to mind-blowingly amazing. But whatever our failing tier of Camp Camp episodes is, it stops right about here.

Onto the good stuff!

55. Night of the Living Ill (Season 2 Halloween episode)

I keep switching this with “Eggs Benefits,” which probably means they should be tied. But whatever, this is my list and I am in charge and I’ve finally decided, after like 5 changes, that I like this one a little bit less.

It’s a fun Romero parody with nothing I’d call bad. Really this one’s only so low on the list because I think it’s kinda icky, and looking at those green snotty faces makes me queasy. If you think this is a bad reason to put it near the bottom of the list, then make your own post.

54. Cameron Campbell Can't Handle the Truth Serum (Season 4, episode 11)

I . . . don’t remember this at all. I initially had it a bit higher because I tend to love things with Campbell in them, but then I realized that nothing about this episode stuck in my brain even a little bit.

Oh, this is the “Dolph has autism” episode that made everyone either extremely happy or really mad? Okay. I guess that’s the most remarkable thing about it. Neato.

Cam, I love you, but this was just not the best use of your sleazy charm.

53. Eggs Benefits (Season 2, episode 9)

This is one of those episodes with enough cute moments and good ideas to save it from being totally unmemorable, and I mostly enjoy rewatching. Platypus being a mom is a fabulous idea, and pairing the campers the way they did was mostly really interesting and fun.

The Preston-Nurf stuff takes it down several pretty significant notches, though. It’s what the kids would call problematic, and while I normally enjoy how the show doesn’t skew away from darker themes and jokes, it didn’t really fit either of their characters and just . . . isn’t fun to watch. It’s not especially funny, it’s not especially tragic, it’s just uncomfortable.

52. Camp Campbell Wants YOU! (Season 1, episode 0)

Honestly, this would be a lot higher if it was a full-length episode. It’s funny.

The next 5 or so episodes fall under the “cute but not very memorable” umbrella:

51. Nikki's Last Day on Earth (Season 3, episode 4)

I love the ensemble episodes, so this was always going to score higher than any of the single-character “meh” eps. I didn’t see the twist coming, though I know a lot of other fans did. Textbook example of “cute but not very memorable” -- the Platonic ideal of that concept.

50. The Candy Kingpin (Season 3, episode 9)

A clever idea that plays on Max’s worst characteristics and then calls him out for them, while also giving Dolph some much-needed character development. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like it really picks up until the last third of the episode, leaving the rest just kind of sitting there.

49. Campfire Tales (Season 4, episode 13)

Who doesn’t love campfire stories?

That’s all I got. They’re campfire stories.

ETA: OH SH/IT THIS ONE HAS THAT REALLY SCARY STORY! Where David’s all like . . . Slenderman’d. Fu/ck, I didn’t remember that until I was writing out my thoughts for #35 or so. That definitely elevates it, but I’m too tired to try and re-decide where this should go, so just tie it with “New Adventure!”

48. New Adventure! (Season 4, episode 4)

New trio! Focusing on these 3 was a definite risk, and I think it really paid off. While the “plot” itself isn’t anything special, there are a handful of really great side gags (hi, Dirty Kevin!!!!) and it’s fun to see these three interact. They all get some nice character beats. It’s a good time.

47. Something Fishy (Season 3, episode 8)

This might’ve hit me harder if I’d actually seen The Shape of Water, but the send-up works fine without having more than the seen-the-trailer level of understanding. Gwen dresses pretty, which I love; Max sucks, which I also love. What drags this one down is mostly feeling like the surreal aspects of the comedy go a bit too far into the “what the fu/ck am I looking at?” territory without really . . . making an actual joke beyond “look! Wacky!"

Why is David at the opera with a bird? Why??

46. City Survival (Season 3, episode 11)

Literally do not remember a single thing about this episode except David getting mugged and being called a “homeless twi/nk.” That should probably rank it lower on the list, but David being a fluttery mother hen saves it for me -- as does the fact that it leads directly into one of my favorite episodes, and the single best story arc of the series.

Next set of episodes is what I’m going to arbitrarily call “okay! but like the good kind of okay, not the bad kind.”

45. Bonjour Bonquisha (Season 2, episode 7)

Max and Sasha masterminding a scheme is really fun; their dynamic is great (though it won’t be fully realized until Season 4), and heartbroken David is so tragically cute it actually makes my heart explode out of my chest.

Also I can’t resist a good “3 kids in a trench coat” gag.

44. Anti-Social Network (Season 2, episode 2)

Neil is very relatable and I don’t have much else to say about this one. It’s fun to see an episode that more heavily focuses on our nerdy science boy, and Max and Neil teaming up to save Nikki was really charming and sweet and set my Makkiel ship out to sea.

43. A Camp Camp Christmas, or Whatever (Season 2 holiday episode)

Why does this episode have a musical number? It’s not good.

Okay, that was mean. This is fun and cute and Gwen wears a pretty purple sweatshirt and Space Kid gives her a present and it’s really sweet. But that musical number is an instant fast-forward for me, sorry.

42. Preston Goodplay's Good Play (Season 4, episode 7)

We get some Preston character development! Awesome!

It’s done in a really trippy and surreal way that totally fits his character and heightens the drama of the episode! Awesome!

David has an apparently-tragic history of being a French mime! Not a good call!

Next tier: Some good sh/it! (Tbh, these could all be put in just about any order; they might as well be one massive tie.)

41. Cookin' Cookies (Season 2, episode 11)

I love the Flower Scouts. I love Dirty Kevin. I love the idea of accidentally starting a dru/g empire. Another weird, borderline experimental one focusing on side characters, and I think it works better than “New Adventure!” because the scale of the melodrama is just so over-the-top.

The fact that this is in the bottom 20 but I have nothing but good things to say about it illustrates how dang good this show is. It’s only getting better from here, folks!

40. Romeo & Juliet II: Love Resurrected (Season 1, episode 7)

Preston is a terrible playwright. This makes sense, because he’s like 11, but he’s the kind of hilariously bad I wish I’d been as a preteen, because his play is absolutely bonkers. Max fucking with David is great, Tabii vs. Bonquisha is great, Bonquisha in general is a giant amazonian goddess and I want to be swept up into her giant arms. Neil is . . . a robot, for some reason?

So much fun!

39. Camp Cool Kidz (Season 1, episode 4)

I don’t love Ered’s characterization in this one, but there are a lot of wacky hijinks in this episode that I think make it really enjoyable. Max’s wide-eyed revolutionary naïveté is a fun change from his usual dour pessimism, and Nikki’s loyalty to Ered is both very gay and very charming. Plus we get to learn a bit more about how the camp operates (and fails to operate), and it’s a nice way to better establish the campsite as its own setting.

(Definitely think “Cool” should’ve been spelled with a K though. But whatever, I don’t write for the show.)

38. Scout's Dishonor (Season 1, episode 3)

The birth of Neeancy! The introduction of the Flower and Wood Scouts! Neil saying “cu/nt” -- one of the first and only truly shocking uses of profanity in the entire show! ZUKO!

I don’t know if my fondness for this one is rooted mostly in nostalgia or if it was actually really fun, but I enjoyed the he/ll out of it. Not as highly-rated as some other episodes mostly because it doesn’t really do anything, character or story-wise, but not every episode needs to be a massive game-changer that drowns us in feels. Sometimes it’s enough to have a fun romp, and this is very that.

37. Ered Gets Her Cool Back (Season 3, episode 2)

Awww, Ered. I have a soft spot for her, because I love the archetype of a spoiled bit/ch clearly still figuring out how to be a person and have friends. You really get the sense of her as a teenager trying to sort her shi/t out in this episode, which I would love to see more of. Her interactions with Nerris are top-tier, and I like that it’s a continuation of how her character’s been softening since Season 1 into this kind of big-sister figure.

Also, all the female campers in this show are lesbians. I do not make the rules.

36. Attack of the Nurfs (Season 4, episode 2)

I feel like this is a pretty underrated episode. But then again, I feel like Nurf is a pretty underrated character, so maybe that’s just my own personal bias.

I really enjoyed all the different iterations of Nurf, and I think Blaine did a killer job giving each one its own personality and life. It’s a fun episode that plays hard with cartoon physics (a 3D printer printing people! I love it!) and has a surprisingly moving ending.

At least, that’s what I think. Most other people seem to find this one pretty forgettable. Again: make your own da/mn list. I liked it.

35. Mascot (Season 1, episode 2)

This entire episode is memorable for so many things, but a few of my favorites:

David is established as kind of a di/ck.

Platypus arrives and kicks all the as/s.

Quartermaster is the best.

Nerris, Harrison, and Space Kid all get little moments to show off how cute they are.

Neil and Nikki bonding.

This:

34. Quest to Sleepy Peak Peak (Season 2, episode 3)

I love watching Nerris and Harrison bicker, and Neil and Nikki fit really well into their group. It reminds me of being a kid, and of playing Dungeons & Dragons (as an adult, because I’m so cool), and of summer . . . which is a really good thing for this show. There are a lot of funny one-liners, and it’s just a good dang time.

33. Quartermaster Appreciation Day (Season 2, episode 6)

I don’t think this one is all that well-loved, but I thought it was funny. There are literally zero important plot or character moments, but it made me laugh a lot, and that’s all I need a Camp Camp episode to do.

I love QM, and the more we learn about him, the more confused and disturbed we end up being. What a fu/cking champion.

32. Arrival of the Torso Takers (Season 3 Halloween episode)

I lowkey hated this one when it came out, because I knew the Daniel stans were going to be exhausting. And they kind of were? But looking back, it’s a great way to reintroduce this motherfu/cker. He’s a lot scarier than he was the last time around -- but also less competent, which is a great way to kick him in the proverbial ba/lls -- and while I wish it had a lot more Gwen in it, it’s a clever and creative Halloween episode.

31. Operation: Charlie Tango Foxtrot (Season 3, episode 10)

Charlie . . . Tango . . . Foxtrot . . . CTF . . . OH! Capture the Flag! I never got that before. Oh, that’s neat. I love this show.

Listen, every time the writers decide to take a risk and do something bizarre and creative, I’m going to be here for it at least a little bit. An entire episode told from the POV of the Woodscouts, explaining how hard they failed in all directions? A great gag where everyone in Petrol’s story talks in grunts? The return of Jermy Fartz?! Fantastic.

30. Panicked Room (Season 4, episode 16)

Listen. I’m a sucker for my trash grandpa; anything Campbell-centric is probably going to be pretty good (except #54), because he’s just one of the most consistently funny and engaging characters. Good times are had whenever this terrible man is on the screen, and giving him a romantic backstory? A tragic romantic backstory full of mistakes and emotional damage?? One where he waited 17 YEARS for the love of his life???

We have no choice but to stan.

29. Party Pooper (Season 4, episode 15)

I’m so predictable. If you put Gwen in something, I will be happy. If you make an entire episode about how Gwen is under-appreciated and overworked and just trying to do her best despite the circumstances, I will dedicate my firstborn child to you.

Anyway, this episode is really sweet, and I liked the unexpected direction the writers took her relationship with her dad. He seems like a nice guy, they seem like they have a nice relationship, and . . . well, an episode about how hard it is to be an adult millennial hit pretty hard. Plus this was just a really pretty episode -- and not just because Gwen was in so much of it! Seriously, that night sky was a thing of beauty.

Also if you say a fuc/king word about Max and that godda/mn dog I will choke you out with your own intestines. Few things are more hilariously, annoyingly ironic than the fact that the entire fandom ignored and failed to appreciate Gwen . . . in the episode all about how everyone ignores and fails to appreciate Gwen.

28. Culture Day (Season 3 holiday episode)

Now, would it be arrogant to point out that I had the idea for a Culture/Heritage Day back in September 2018? Yes, especially since I don’t think the writers ever read fanfiction and it has literally nothing to do with this episode. Will that stop me? He/ll no it will not! I am a creature of ego! Read my stuff!

Anyway, this is a really fun look at Neil’s background, personality, and relationships. Max looking out for him is just . . . oh my god, I cannot, I’ve written like 30 of these and my brain is starting to melt, but these two are so cute. I love arrogant Neil, and I love protective Max, and I love QM and Gwen fuc/king over the Flower Scouts to save the day. Everything about this episode is lovely.

27. Cameron Campbell the Camp Campbell Camper (Season 3, episode 7)

This should not be ranked so high (even if these are all essentially tied). This is a dumb episode based on a really, really dumb premise.

But . . . I don’t know what to tell you. “Samboy Kidwell,” Max realizing he and Campbell are disturbingly similar and not liking what his future could look like, David’s “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed” face . . . this episode happens to hit all of my favorite things. It had a really good balance of heavy-handed moralizing and goofs, it was part of the most graceful lead-up into a finale the show has ever had, and I’m just all about it.

Excellent job, Samboy. Count Olaf would be proud of your disguise.

There ends the “some good sh/it” tier. We’re starting to get into the really excellent stuff now!

26. Parents' Day (Season 2, episode 12)

I know. You want this to be higher. I hear you.

Honestly I’m kind of shocked it’s this high; it’s my least favorite of the season finales so far, and I had to push past a lot of prejudice to actually rank this where I think it deserves to be, as opposed to somewhere in the like mid-40s. Mostly because it gave fuel to the raging inferno of “Max has terrible parents and David should adopt him” headcanons, which I’ve detailed my problems with extensively in the past (in a post that, statistically speaking, none of you have read).

But, trying to be objective: is this episode actually any good?

Well . . . yeah, it really is.

So much work was put into giving each of the campers families that make sense with their characters and bounce absurdly well off of them, ranging from wholesome and adorable (Nerris’s family) to quietly tragic (Harrison’s parents), and they’re all designed so well; they’re fun to look at and fun to watch interact with the kids and each other. (The only exception is Dolph’s dad, who is both kinda lame and misattributes the cause of the weird Na/zi thing because it did not come from Germany, I assure you. But things with Dolph are always a little off, and I don’t really know how you would give him a backstory that actually works with the character, so they were caught between a rock and a hard place there.)

The drama of David having to choose between the man he considers his father and the camp he considers his home is really touching, and him and Gwen choosing to take a sad camper out to get pizza instead of covering for their boss’s a/ss is such a beautiful moment for both of them that I can’t really blame the fandom for losing their mind over it. Campbell’s arrest leading into the arcs of the next two seasons was great as well, and the finale left us all with this weird sense of foreboding because we didn’t know what was going to happen next; it was the only finale that actually ended on something close to a cliffhanger, while still being satisfying enough to keep us all from melting down.

Plus, it’s funny. Carl and Candy are really funny and the idea of Neil and Nikki’s parents boning is funny in a horrible way. The joke about Quartersister is funny. It’s a good episode.

Should this be higher? Maybe, but I can’t bring myself to put it above the rest of these episodes. Again: make your own list.

25. Mind Freakers (Season 1, episode 10)

The episode that launched a thousand ships. Assuming those ships are all Harrison/Neil, anyway.

It’s hard to talk about these Season 1 episodes because they feel so classic. Like, what is there to say? You’ve all seen it a couple dozen times; I’ve seen it a couple dozen times. Harrison is a di/ck, Neil is possibly an even bigger di/ck, and magic may or may not be real. (Though spoilers for literally every season: yes, magic is definitely real.) It’s so much fun watching these two smug as/sholes snipe at each other in an almost literal playground hair-pulling way that could very easily be read as flirtation.

And the fandom did most certainly read it that way, at least for a little while.

24. Gwen Gets a Job (Season 2, episode 8)

It’s Gwen. What, was I supposed to not put it this high?

This was the first Gwen-centric episode, and it absolutely slaps. She’s pushed to the breaking point and responds by being a cold-hearted BAMF, and it got her some pretty significant hate from fans but I don’t give a fu/ck, I loved it. We got to see her all dolled up, and then we got to see her all disheveled, and both of those looks were gorgeous. David gives her a tiny fragment of the love and validation she deserves (I don’t know if this is when gwenvid started taking off -- I think it wasn’t really until “Parents’ Day,” or even Season 3 -- but I ate that s/hit up).

Also, again: job hunting post-2008. It’s a bad time, y’all. Camp Camp gets it.

23. Follow the Leader (Season 4, episode 6)

Yeah, I was kind of surprised at how high this landed, too. I guess I’m just a sucker for unlikely companionships, and these three have a great chemistry. The combination of competitiveness, sass, and reluctant admiration make their interactions a lot of fun. Their motivation of doing petty errands for Campbell for the sake of getting at the Box of Illegal Contraband is a great framework too, with high enough stakes to justify all sorts of wacky shenanigans without causing actual anxiety.

I want to see these characters forced to spend more time together. Please, RT, make that happen.

22. Escape from Camp Campbell (Season 1, episode 1)

In terms of numbers, this feels so low, but considering everything from about #45 on is ranked as at least decent, this is actually a pretty high rating. There are 21 episodes I’d call better than this, but these decisions were all pretty painful.

This introduces us to everyone! The main trio, the counselors, Mr. Campbell; we get a snapshot of the major personalities running around the camp, the major points of conflict (Max vs. David, primarily), the major building blocks of future episodes, setting, and relationships . . .

Again, I don’t know how much of my love for this episode is nostalgia -- there’s a lot of squeeing at familiar faces and gags; this is the first time David gets hit by a bus!!! -- but it was a fun and funny introduction to a series that’s ended up being so important to me, and I’m so grateful this wonderful, quirky little show with its wonderful and quirky little premiere.

Of all the episodes, I really can’t look at this one objectively. It’s too important.

21. The Fun-Raiser (Season 3, episode 1)

David and Gwen scheming is my ki/nk. They very rarely scheme together, but every single time their teamwork makes the dream work (or, more frequently, makes the dream fail horribly and have disastrous consequences) my soul flies out of my body and takes to the stars, where I write another 500 first chapters to gwenvid fanfics I’ll probably never finish.

This is a great follow-up to “Parents’ Day,” where we immediately see the consequences of the previous season finale and what happens when the one adult in the camp disappears. Mr. Campbell was a terrible adult, true, but at least he was smart enough not to steal QM’s hook. Like . . . whose plan was this? It was so bad. These two are hilariously incompetent sometimes -- often when their bad ideas are feeding off of each other, actually, a la this and “Space Camp Was a Hoax” -- and watching them frantically try and keep all their balls in the air is so great.

The ending is satisfying, too; a bit graphic, in keeping with a show that tends to keep the violence limited to periodic spurts of bloodshed 1-2 times a season and mostly pretty mild the rest of the time, but between Max stepping up and fixing everything while still being his shi/tty self to our dear dumba/ss counselors getting their dumb as/ses handed to them (deservedly so, if we’re being honest) . . . it’s such a great note to begin a new season on.

20. Journey to Spooky Island (Season 1, episode 5)

A classic.

We get to meet our spooky boy Jasper, we get to watch the comedy trio play off each other and continue to sketch out the general contours of their friendship, and we get to see the Quartermaster with a big purple dil/do for a hand. What’s not to love?

19. The Butterfinger Effect (Season 4, episode 17)

CONTROVERSIAL HOT TAKES! GET YOUR CONTROVERSIAL HOT TAKES HERE!

I’ve already gone into some pretty intense detail about why I think this one is actually really good and carries the theme of embracing change that everything about Season 4 was centered around, but none of y’all read that so here it is in short: this episode is super funny, almost all of the campers’ transformations work really well as extensions of their characters while still being strange and surprising, and the fact that Nurf creates all of these problems by trying to solve them is deliciously fun to watch in a karmic sort of way.

Or maybe it’s just because any Nurf-centric episode is going to rank pretty highly for me. That is also possible.

18. Space Camp Was a Hoax (Season 2, episode 10)

Our camp counselors being bad people: it’s my drug of choice.

We get Space Kid tripping balls in what might be one of the funniest sequences in the show, the entire camp coming together to try and pull off the stupidest, most impossible task (and kinda maybe almost nailing it???), and once again the fun of watching Gwen and David scramble to keep from getting caught in their boss’s shit/ty lies is so great. And Lindsay’s voice acting is absolutely killer, even more so than usual.

17. Jermy Fartz (Season 2, episode 4)

I get the sense this might be a somewhat controversial one.

I’ve written before about why I think this episode is a lot of fun, but it mostly boils down to two things: watching the campers try (and fail) to be nice to the most bully-able person on the entire planet, and the essential likeableness of Jermy.

No, really.

I think a lot of people were put off by Jermy’s general grossness, because . . . my god is he disgusting, but he’s also polite and good-natured, and seems totally self aware of how difficult he is to be around, without letting it make him depressed. He’s cheerful in a weirdly downbeat way that’s impossible to understand until you see him in action. He’s so matter-of-fact about his own awfulness in a way that I found entirely endearing. I don’t think I’d want him at my camp, either, but get that kid to a good dermatologist and gastroenterologist, teach him some basic hygiene and social skills, and you’ll have quite a little gentleman there.

I do however find it hilarious that apparently David got the type of tree wrong when making fun of Jermy. Not only is that a great moment for reveling in David being an as/shole, but he didn’t even have the right wood. F/ucking idiot. I love him so much.

These last ones are my favorites! (Well, duh, that’s how this whole ranking thing works.) Maybe not perfect, but just really good and with limitless rewatch value.

16. St. Campbell's Day (Season 4 holiday episode)

They Grinch’d Camp Camp. Those brilliant bast/ards, they really pulled it off.

Ignoring the fact that David is truly frightening-looking for most of the episode, this is a great bookend to Season 4, following up on the theme established in the first episode about how David is a flawed and selfish human being despite trying his best not to be.

This is another one I was surprised to find so high on the list, but the more I thought about it the more I realizes how good it is. David being a jerk is always one of my favorite storylines, and the fact that the trouble comes from him trusting Mr. Campbell too little instead of too much is a nice twist on the usual formula. Gwen coming to help him out despite a blistering hangover gave me aggressive shipping feels, yes, obviously.

Between a lot of really funny little gags like QM’s failed satanic ritual and the genuinely touching moral about the importance of spending time with the people you love, it’s just a really lovely episode that gets just the right amount of maudlin for the holiday season.

15. Jasper Dies at the End (Season 2, episode 5)

I kept switching this and “Dial M for Jasper”; it was a really difficult decision to make, figuring out where these two belonged. I think in the end, while the John Dies at the End reference was very, very good, this one loses me a little bit by being told from David’s perspective. Now, normally the more David is in an episode the more I’ll be likely to love it (see my #1 for proof of that), but his blinders when it comes to the camp and Mr. Campbell result in a really funny story, but one without the same emotional heft as hearing about what happened from Jasper’s point of view.

That doesn’t mean it’s not perfect for what it needs to be: each Jasper episode builds on the previous ones, and having the same intensity of “Dial M for Jasper,” where we learn how he died and how his relationship with David fell apart, would be weird and heavy at this point. In Season 1 we just found out he’s a ghost (and eagle-eyed viewers realized he’d been a camper with David); in Season 2 we find out how David views their friendship and time at camp; and in Season 3 we get Jasper’s perspective. It’s an absolutely wonderful raising of the stakes (for lack of a better term), but the one that packs more of an emotional punch is going to rank a bit higher than the one that’s mostly just for laughs.

That being said: there are plenty of laughs in this one. Everyone -- Griffin, Miles, Travis, the animators -- nailed this one, and it gets funnier every time I watch it.

14. Camporee (Season 1, episode 11)

AKA the episode where Forest realized she was in love with Gwen.

What a great idea for an episode, seriously. Every coming-of-age story has a talent show or a competition or a big game -- something where the kiddos can show off their improved skills and teamwork to beat their bullies or whatever. And this show has both kinds of bullies: the popular girly girls and the violent muscleheads. What a great moment to pull everyone together and show how friendship can help us accomplish anything!

Except . . . of course that’s not what happens. Of course they’re absolute garbage, and of course teamwork isn’t the answer. Gwen is the perfect foil for David here, being the anti-teamwork, anti-Camp-Campbell adult who can perfectly and effortlessly undermine David’s relentless optimism. David wants so badly for his campers to live in the same coming-of-age summer movie he did as a child, and their staunch refusal to do that leads to a really heartbreaking closer to the episode, as well as lead into the next one. Everything about this, from the challenges to the setup to Gwen shouting “we are winning this FUC/KING trophy!” is just gold.

13. David Gets Hard (Season 1, episode 9)

We have David. We have Nurf. We have Gwen. We have Max trying to be helpful in the shi/ttiest way possible.

We have all the makings of a da/mn good episode. And they deliver. Not a very emotionally intense or moving one, but so, so funny.

12. Dial M for Jasper (Season 3, episode 5)

This isn’t the fate any of us expected for Jasper, and it’s not the fate of a lot of people wanted. But godda/mn it, it worked. The constant bait-and-switch the episode keeps playing with, where you keep waiting for something really dramatic and tragic to happen . . . and then the reality is that Jasper died because Mr. Campbell was stupid and careless, and it was all just a horribly sad accident.

It’s anticlimactic, but in a way that suits the series, both as a comedic counterpoint to all the hype throughout the episode and as a way to establish that Cameron Campbell is a bad man first and foremost through selfishness and laziness, not Daniel-esque sinister evil. Jasper’s death was totally avoidable and totally Campbell’s fault, and while that’s sad, it also adds a weird sort of lightness to the episode. David didn’t do something terrible to kill his best friend, Jasper didn’t kill himself, and without having actively chosen to murder a child (well, not this time), the door remains open for fans accepting Campbell’s later pseudo-redemption. It was just an accident, and Jasper was “haunting” David to tell him that he was sorry for how their friendship ended. That’s really sweet, actually.

I think it’s the best way this reveal could’ve gone, and I’m so impressed with how they pulled it all off.

11. Into Town (Season 1, episode 8)

This might actually be the only flawless episode in the entire show. I mean, I call a lot of them flawless, and I mean that on an emotional level -- “I love this so much I cannot see anything wrong with it” -- but this one is a masterpiece of storytelling. All the technical jumbo I’m bad at, like planting and payoff and tension and all of that, is just perfect.

I feel like this is the kind of claim that needs to be backed up with a long-as/s essay full of citations and video clips and references to, like, Joseph Campbell or something, but this is my 49th entry in the list so I am not going to be doing that. Besides, I don’t think my English degree qualifies me to critique film/animation; I don’t even entirely know half the terms I’ve used to compliment this episode. Someone else please explain why this is such a good one.

10. The Quarter-Moon Convergence (Season 4, episode 5)

I’ve mentioned in other entries that the weird, surreal humor sometimes doesn’t work; it feels too much like being odd for its own sake, and sometimes gets so distracted in being surreal that it forgets to include anything funny or meaningful.

This . . . is not one of those.

Putting Harrison and QM together is a stroke of genius; the two of them are literally the most magical beings in the entire show, and using them as the conveyance for this great Lovecraftian horror-comedy was such a good idea. I don’t know if we’ll ever see these two interact in another episode -- honestly, this felt a bit like lightning in a bottle, and I have a hard time imagining what could possibly bring them together again -- but if this is the only episode we get, it is such a fantastic one.

Harrison makes a really good everyman, despite his powers; he’s just the right amount of confident and insecure to pull off that wide-eyed apprentice to QM’s grizzled wise mentor. (The fact that QM is objectively a terrible mentor is beside the point.) I still don’t entirely know what the two of them accomplished, but it feels baffling and momentous, with the perfect amount of gravity to make things extremely tense all the way through to the end.

Also, I guess God is an octopus? That’s kinda cool. I like octopuses.

9. Camp Corp. (Season 3, episode 12)

Another unpopular opinion? Oh ho ho, I am so contrary! I am Not Like Other Fans! I am the Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, refusing to have the same opinions of all you prepz.

I know this wasn’t the most well-loved episode, but I think it did a really great job tying together story threads woven throughout Season 3: Max’s selfishness leading to him hurting other people, his growing realization that he cares about his friends and the camp itself, the parallels between him and Mr. Campbell (and the fact that they both get this redemption moment in the finale).

This is the most Max-centric season, focusing on his flaws and character growth, and they pulled it off in a really organic way that felt faithful to his character, touching without being too maudlin. The fact that his feelings about the camp are echoed in Gwen, Neil and Nikki, the other campers, and even Mr. Campbell drives home how important the camp -- and David -- are to this strange little family.

Each season, Max reluctantly becomes a better person, without changing the fundamental core of who he is. That’s a really hard putt for the writers and Michael, and I’m blown away every finale by how they so consistently nail it.

8. Time Crapsules (Season 4, episode 18)

Gwen-centric? Check.

Max learning how to be a better person while still being the bratty kid we know and love? Check.

Looks at one of the most under-appreciated character dynamics in the entire show (i.e., Max and Gwen)? Checkity check-check-check.

I don’t really have much to say about this one, which I should: it was considered a pretty serious letdown to a lot of fans, and I’m not sure how to explain why I loved it so much.

Comparing Max from “The Order of the Sparrow” to Max from this episode is wild. It’s not like 2 different characters: they’re still very obviously the same cynical, self-absorbed 10-year-old trying to survive summer camp. But he’s become a more considerate friend and decent version of that kid, and it’s great to watch. The moment where he and Gwen go too far and immediately regret snapping at each other is still painful (on my god, the VAs in this show, they’re so talented), Nikki and Neil both get nice subplots about how they’re also growing up, and the ending is fuc/king hilarious, perfectly breaking the tension from Campbell’s speech, which is both beautifully done and important to hear, especially if you’re in a period of uncomfortable transition (like, say, in your late 20s, or living through about 5 different national and global catastrophes).

And okay, I found that speech on the wiki for this episode and it made me deeply emotional, so here:

Here's the thing: you've got to take your failures and make something out of them. Take Camp Campbell for instance: a lot of poor decisions went into making this place what it is today. Sure, somewhere along the line it maybe strayed from its path, not living up to the camp it wanted to be. At some point, the camp realized that the camp would never reach the end of its path until it was ready or until it gave up. So, if the camp wanted to keep embezzling money and dealing with foreign powers, so be it! But, at some point, it didn't anymore. I never saw this coming, but I'm starting to think this camp is the best it's ever been.

If this is the last episode of Camp Camp we ever get -- and for at least a little while, it looks like it’s going to be -- I can’t think of a sweeter, funnier, and more lovely bittersweet note for this show to go out on.

7. The Lake Lilac Summer Social (Season 3, episode 6)

And again: No one was surprised.

This is the longest non-finale episode of the show, and it uses that time perfectly. Rather than having some big emotional moments and character arcs -- which are great, don’t get me wrong -- the writers use the extended time to build a series of shenanigans as complicated as Gwen’s matchmaking web, and watching her try to set up a series of dominos (with David, for once, being the responsible, level-headed one) is almost as satisfying as the catastrophic results.

Neil and Snake steal this episode, even from someone as in love with Gwen as I am, and for an episode that’s largely about making fun of shippers, there hasn’t been one that launched nearly as many ships as this. Neil/Snake? Tabii/Erin? Max/Nikki? GWENVID?! It’s all here, and I am here for it.

It was also fun to get a traditional episode setup in a very non-traditional show. I assume this means the beach and/or hot springs episode is forthcoming. (No, Pis/s Lake doesn’t count. Obviously it doesn’t count.)

6. Keep the Change (Season 4, episode 1)

Again, this is an episode I’ve said a lot about in the past -- and I was pretty uncharitable toward Season 3, which in retrospect was very unse/xy of me -- but I stand by a lot of my opinions then: this is a fu/cking great episode.

David is an as/shole, Max is an as/shole, Campbell is an as/shole. No one escapes the as/sholery. David schemes, Max catches him in the scheme, Campbell gets drunk and kind of gay . . . I’m 54 entries into this list and I don’t have much to say anymore: it’s just really good and fun and I love it.

5. Camp Loser Says What? (Season 4, episode 9)

This is another one I kind of hated when it came out, and again for fandom-related and personal-grudge reasons.

Fu/cking Daniel. That motherfu/cker. He shows up for 12 minutes and Tumblr bursts into flames. Every single time.

However, it’s really hard not to love this one. Daniel-as-Trump is a clever but subtle -- I mean, for this show’s definition of subtle -- allegory, and it’s amazing how much this slimy freak and the Woodscouts slot into it. David is a bise/xual disaster with the absolute worst taste in men, Dirty Kevin and Daniel are onscreen together for all of 2.5 seconds and the kevdan shippers lost their minds, and Xemug looks like Megamind for some weird reason.

My only minor complaint is that the ending is a bit anticlimactic, but it plays on Daniel’s stupidity and the value of teamwork, so it’s a very small nitpick in an episode that mostly works like gangbusters.

4. Cult Camp (Season 2, episode 1)

Duh. There’s a really good song and we’re introduced to a charismatic, sinister, and totally dumba/ss villain. What’s not to like?

I don’t think I even need to say anything about this episode. Season 2 started off the summer by throwing a lit firecracker directly at the viewer’s face, and ignoring the fact that we as a fandom proceeded to eat each other, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the episode’s wild energy.

And dude, that song. Fabulous. Fu/ck Daniel, but thank god he’s around to be such a prickly little pri/ck.

Now for the top 3: Literally perfect, wouldn’t change a single solitary thing.

3. After Hours (Season 4, episode 8)

I’m not sure anyone loved this episode as much as me. But this is my list, and I will put this up at the top if I want to and you cannot stop me.

It’s much easier in a lot of ways to talk about the episodes I hated than the ones I love this much. What do I say besides “literally everything about this fills me with joy and my life is better because it exists”? I don’t know. The counselors are my favorite characters, and between Gwen and QM having the weirdest bonding experience, Gwen getting to meet up with people who care about her silly fanfiction, Mr. Campbell being the trash grandpa of my dreams, David getting in way over his head . . . it’s the episode I always wanted, and they made it work so well.

Also, I just discovered that “Gwen Isn’t Your Mother So Stop Asking Her to Rinse Your Dishes” is an actual song and I am overwhelmed with delight. Here, I’m embedding it as well as linking because it’s so good:

youtube

God. This show. What the fu/ck even is up with this amazing, weird-as/s show.

2. The Order of the Sparrow (Season 1, episode 12)

Duh.

The entire first season is a great time (except “Reigny Day”), but it’s a pretty low-stakes kind of great time. There isn’t much in terms of emotional depth until the very end of “Camporee,” despite some hints at darker themes in one-off jokes and quick asides, so this episode comes a bit out of left field, tonally speaking.

But that’s not a bug, it’s a feature; if the show had been this overtly emotional from the outset, this finale wouldn’t hit as hard, and the rest of the season wouldn’t be as funny.

This manages to serve as a capstone to the conflict of the first season, building on episodes like “Into Town” and “Escape from Camp Campbell” in a way that feels totally natural for both David and Max’s characters while revealing new sides of them. It works because it’s so unexpected, but it doesn’t come across as incongruous with their personalities. It’s the first and only time David swears in all 4 seasons, and that line -- I don’t even need to say it, you know exactly what I’m talking about -- still gives me chills.

Also, Gwen sings the camp theme song. Impossible not to cherish.

1. The Forest (Season 4, episode 12)

I’m not sure if this one is a surprise or not. It might be the obvious first place, or it might be a bit of an oddball for some people.

I had a really hard time choosing between this and “The Order of the Sparrow”; I switched their places half a dozen times, and the difference in quality between the two is razor-thin. I think part of that is because it accomplishes a lot of what “Order of the Sparrow” does: puts David in a situation where he’s pushed to his absolute emotional and physical capacity, crushes every shred of hope he has left, and sees what he’s actually made of when you strip everything away. It’s much more dramatic this time around, but it’s the same basic concept.

And just like in the Season 1 finale, what we see is a man who’s determined to do good even when he isn’t rewarded for it, even when he’s actively punished for it. Who wants to love nature, and life, and make the world a better place -- despite his faults, his selfishness and thoughtlessness and anger, David proves that he is fundamentally kind. He’s not nearly as deludedly optimistic as he seems; he just refuses to stop trying.

Because somebody fuc/king has to.

I’ll admit, some of what puts this one in first place is that I’m a sucker for whump, and David really goes through the ringer. However, I also think it’s important to acknowledge the risk Joe Nicolosi took with writing this episode: it’s all centered around a single character, it’s darker and more viscerally bloody than any other episode in the show’s history, the art is focused on these grand sweeping backgrounds that must’ve taken forever to paint, and there’s very little talking in a show that runs 99% on clever dialogue. This could have so easily backfired -- and for some fans it did -- but it was brave and beautiful and breathtaking.

I’ve actually only watched this in full once. It’s really hard to get through; it’s just so intense and even disturbing. But if there’s one episode I'll remember for the rest of my life, even when I’m 80 years old and haven’t seen the show in years, it’ll be “The Forest.”

It’s funny how such a sharp departure from the format and style of the rest of the show somehow manages to perfectly capture the heart of it. Talk about a fuc/king achievement.

So what have we learned?

I don’t entirely know what the purpose of this whole exercise was. I think it was mostly to get myself a nice Camp Camp fix that came from something other than slogging through 20 different fanfic WIPs, and to remind myself of what a strange and fun ride the last 4 summers have been.

I also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge what Camp Camp means to me. This show has been hugely important to me on a personal level: I met two of my best friends through this fandom, and I’ve never been more connected to a community or readers than I have with CC. I know I bi/tch about this fandom a lot, but it’s a big extended internet family, and I’m so happy to be a part of it. Going through all these episodes, getting the chance to ramble about the things I liked and the things I didn’t, was a great way to reconnect with a series and community that I love.

So . . . what have we learned?

1. Season 4 was all over the place.

Some of this has to be due to the sheer volume of episodes, but when I sat down and organized everything into tiers:

There isn’t a single category Season 4 doesn’t have at least one episode in. I was surprised to see how high a lot of them ended up; it really was the best and worst of the show so far.

For the fun of it, I decided to give a number to each placement -- 60 points for the #1 episode, 59 for #2, etc. -- and see how each season broke down. Because that’s that kind of thing I think is worthwhile, apparently. And . . .

2. Seasons 1 and 4 are really good, actually.

Well, I don’t think anyone’s surprised to see how well Season 1 stacked up; it was amazing. But I was surprised to see how much I ended up enjoying Seasons 3 and 4, when if you’d asked me before this little project, I would’ve said they were the most underwhelming. Maybe I messed up the numbers a bit -- I’m no mathmagician -- but not only are they all really close, but Season 4 was one of my favorites.

3. This entire show is really good, actually.

One thing that really struck me when I put it all together visually is how most of the episodes sit in the “good,” “really good,” or “amazing” categories. The amount of episodes that are memorable, fun, and/or emotionally resonant is crazy. I don’t now how many other tiny cult-hit web series can say the same, honestly, and all of the writers, animators, directors/producers/other people whose jobs I don’t really understand, and voice actors should be commended for their outstanding talent and hard work.

4. Thank you, Camp Camp.

It was a real pleasure to relive all of these episodes again and think about what they meant to me. It won’t be the last time I sit down and watch this show -- and it certainly won’t be the end of my being a shrieking fangirl over it -- but with this break, where we have to get through a blazing, extremely difficult summer without a new season to fawn over, it’s nice to stop and appreciate what a precious gem of a show this is.

I hope everyone involved with Rooster Teeth is taking a much-deserved rest and prioritizing their health and well-being. Thank you for creating something truly special, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

#campcamp #camp camp roosterteeth #thank you RT Animation for giving me my life these past 4 years #cc david #cc max #cc gwen #i'm not tagging all the characters #campcamp masterpost #i really hope this doesn't get hidden from the tags but #guys this was a super intense labor of love please check it out #but also reading it is also a super intense labor so i get it if you don't XD

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wordynerdygurl · 5 years ago

Text

Ties That Bind

Summary: You love the God of Mischief even when his hi-jinks push you beyond your comfort zone. But there worse things than being tied to Loki.

Warnings: dom/sub, light bondage in a committed relationship, SMUT!!!!

Waking up with the god of mischief was still surprising. Some mornings found him curled around you, possessive and raw in his sleepy need. Others would find you reaching for a body that wasn't there, disappointed at the distance between you and your god.

On those days, when you awoke deserted, you were never quite sure when or where Loki would pop up. Maybe he'd hop out from behind the pantry door when you were humming to yourself, sneaking some cookies. Or he might grab hold of your ankle from under your bed and then laugh at your surprised shrieks even as you cursed him out.

And Loki really loved putting his hands on you when you weren't paying attention. When you were tying your shoe, bent over your laces and you'd stand up right into his arms with a surprised yelp. Or loading the dishwasher, your earbuds in, bopping along to 80's pop and suddenly you'd feel his hands under your shirt and you'd squeal.

To him this game was splendid. For you, always a bit jumpy, his hijinks were a test of your neverending patience. The truly frustrating part was the relief you felt once Loki's magical form did manage to spring out of a closet door or stealthily slip a wandering hand around you without warning. After your heart started beating normally again, of course.

No matter how devious his plans, you really couldn't stay mad at Loki. The trickster was so many things. Awful prankster, avid reader, savage kisser and daringly dangerous. Loki had that tall, dark and brooding thing down pat, too.

You had figured out long ago that Loki wasn't just "bad" or "angry" or "trying to bring earth under his heel". Loki was all those things, certainly, but he was also very sweet when he thought no one would see. The little trinkets that showed up on your bedside table, the vases of fresh flowers that crowded your dresser, pieces of stone that were shaped like hearts that Loki found on distant planets... gifts from the heart of a lonely god. For you.

And there was a lot to love about the raven haired mischief maker. You had been impressed by him physically when you first met him. Tall and lean, tightly wound but dripping with sarcasm. Part punk rock and part poet. You had been powerless against Loki from the start.

It didn't take long for the affection between you to grow. And now there was a deep and abiding bond connecting you to Loki which distance, both physical and emotional, stretched to the limit without breaking. A cord that bound you, body and soul, one that you had willingly and wantonly woven around your heart when Loki kissed you gently for the first time months ago.

And even when he tried your patience with his jump scares, swapped your salt for sugar or ate all your doritos, you knew there was no one else you wanted. Not when Loki's silver tongue could talk you into or out of almost anything. Right now he was trying to talk you out of your clothes.

"Dearest, you must know that there is no other being on this planet, or any other that I desire. In fact, if I didn't know your father was a car salesman and your mother a nurse, I would swear you were a witch."

You chuckled softly at the way he wrinkled his nose at the very earthly professions of your parents. But you stopped laughing when he tugged you to his side, tipping your chin so that your eyes were locked on his twinkling blue ones. With a rough whisper grazing your ear the God of mischief added, "I am under your spell, you see." A shiver rolled over you that had nothing to do with room temperature.

"Please be gentle with me, goddess of my heart." You could almost taste the earnest plea of Loki's declaration, sweet and soft, as if the man before you was a marshmallow instead of Mischief incarnate. Was it real? Too often with Loki the truth was buried, hidden behind hurt, anger or willful wildness, and yet... here he was, eyes blazing, asking for your mercy.

You tilted your head teasingly and hummed, "I didn't think you liked my being gentle. In fact, on more than one occasion I believe you have begged for me to take a firmer hand with you."

Throwing his head back with a bark of laughter, dark hair falling past his shoulders Loki hugged you to him

"You're so right, my bewitching lady. Maybe I should clarify. Be gentle on my soul... but my body, do with as you wish."

Now you laughed. His smile was so wide and boyish that you couldn't help yourself. The pair of you were grinning like fools in love, which you were, when a knock on your bedroom door followed by the rough voice of Thor interrupted you.

"There you are brother! My lady!" Slightly sloshed, which was the God of Thunder's usual state on a free weekend, Thor quickly realized his presence wasn't necessarily welcome. "It seems as though I have intruded upon you... I didn't mean to interrupt... I just... well, you see, the gang and I were all 'where's Loki' and I thought... Good Question! So, I came to find you... and... here... you... are." Thor petered out with sagging hand gestures and a slipping smile.

"Yes, it is amazing how you found us right where we were supposed to be. In our room, in our home. You are so very clever, brother." Loki deadpanned, which made you poke him in the ribs. Tension between brothers be damned, you didn't like seeing them at odds.

Loki shot you a smoldering look for the jab but didn't get the chance to continue since you added "You did find us, Thor! And I see you found the craft beers too. Maybe more than one?" Looking at the empty bottle in his hand as if seeing it for the first time, Thor flashed you a small smile. "Maybe..."

You sat on your bed, Loki standing beside you, and asked The God of Thunder, "So, what are Korg and Meek up to tonight?"

"Oh, they're playing video games... eating pizza. Do... do you want to play?" He held his hand out welcomingly and for a minute you were tempted. They were a goofy bunch for sure, funny and sweet, and sometimes that was exactly the right thing to distract you from your own troublesome god.

Loki snatched your hand up and started for the door. "No brother, she can't. We can't. We are going out." And with that Loki was swiftly ushering you out into the autumnal evening but not before you called out to Thor, "Rain check? Ok?"

You never heard Thor's answer, if there even was one, because Loki's grip on you propelled you through the night. "Loki? Loki... where are we going? I didn't grab a jacket and it's freezing out here!"

Here was New Asgard which was beautiful in the day, all lush green hills and dark deep seawater. At night it was soft fog diffused lights, lingering laughter from warm pubs and gently lapping waves under a star studded sky. In short, paradise, with slightly cooler temperatures.

Loki wasn't taking in the scenery though. He set a brutal pace that had you struggling to keep up. His grip on your hand never broke as you were marched toward an unknown destination.

The journey, however, wasn't as troubling as Loki's silence. A quiet god of mischief was a scary thing. It meant his mind was working overtime, trapping him in a tangle of thoughts, scheming and plotting his next move.

You were sure that Thor and his intrusion were to blame. No matter how innocent the thunder god seemed, Loki took it all so personally. If only he'd realize that not every word and deed from his drunken brother was a dagger aimed at Loki's open heart.

Lost in your own thoughts about mythic family relationships you found yourself stumbling to a stop right into Loki's wide back. You couldn't help the groan that escaped on impact.

"Ugh! Loki... where are we?" The salty tang of crisp sea air swirled around you, stronger here than at the Odinson homestead. But the night was dark and there were no lights this far from the village's center. "Clearly we are at the dock. And before you ask, this is a boat. My boat."

You couldn't make it out at first, then a faint glow caught your eye, closer to the sky than the ground. Your mouth fell open. Boat? Not hardly. It was a yacht and you marveled at its size. Sleek, black and sinister it rolled gently on the tide. To you it looked like a fearsome leviathan floating out in the dense mist of a Norse myth, a sight both wonderful and terrifying. A lot like it's owner, actually.

Somehow Loki's boat was both old fashioned and incredibly modern. It's ebony lines and tinted windows merged towards the bow which was adorned with a carved dragon. But this was unlike any wood working you'd seen in a Norse museum. This dragon wore a helmet of curved horns.

Practically dancing out of excitement, Loki asked, "Well??" Cool air chapped your cheeks pink as you huffed, "Impressive! Does your ship have a name, captain?"

Deflated, Loki wouldn't meet your eye. "That's it? 'Impressive'?" He mimicked your voice perfectly. Clearly your answer was wrong, at least by Loki's standards.

Defending yourself you scoffed, "Well it is. And you are. And I will be more delighted when I'm not frozen solid!" Your hands were pulled into the sleeves of your sweater but your nose was numb. Moving into his warmth, eager to feel your nose again, you prompted, "So... the name?"

Blinking down at you hard he murmured, "Of course. Frigga, after my mother."

"I should have guessed that, I suppose." You answer with a shy smile, your cropped hair tousled by the windy night. "Loki, she really is beautiful."

Pulling you closer, his chin resting on your crown you hear, "Oh, she truly is..." and you know he is talking about you not his floating water palace.

Snuggling into his heat, you ask, "Do I have permission to come aboard, Captain?"

"Ug. Please, please do not call me captain."

"Oh... right." Avengers were a sore subject for your trouble maker. "Do I have permission to come aboard, Loki, God of Mischief, Lord of my heart, sir?!" You mock, throwing a salute his way.

Those words were the right ones. Wickedly smiling before biting his lip, Loki says, "You are most sincerely invited to come on board."

It's such a loaded sentence and coupled with his teasing grin you can't help but laugh because it's so cheesy, a god laying pick up lines on you. And terrible ones at that. When he pulls lightly on your hand you follow him closer to his new toy.

Once you step on board Loki is all over you. He pushes you in front of him, guiding you further into his ocean lair, while pressing hot kisses along your neck. His hands never stop moving. You feel him across your chest then over your tummy. He pulls you firmly to him, letting you feel just how much he wants you.

Lifting your arm to reach behind you, you pull his hot mouth to you, his hard body against yours. Loki's hands roam down your sides and over your denim clad thighs and you reward him with a deep purr. Then his magical hands are pulling you closer as he sucks your earlobe between his eager lips. Grinding against him, you moan tightly, "You're not playing fair!"

Panting himself, he answers, "Why would I ever play fair?" Under your sweater, a hand pushes on your lower back, drawing you deeper into the belly of his floating beast. When he gently tugs at your top's hem you lift your arms and hear your heavy wool sweater hit the polished floor.

Against the dark wooden wall of Loki's luxurious cabin his dexterous fingers wrap around your waist. Covering your meaty ribs, his hands hold you still as his thumbs brush under your bra band. Your tight grip of his forearms helps steady you as his tongue fights yours for submission.

Just being near Loki is enough to make your heart race. Whether it's the slight rocking of the water under your feet or the brisk fall night, you feel yourself wanting more of him than you thought possible.

With a throaty groan he pulls away from your bee stung lips to plant his left arm against the wall. His right slides down your soft belly to the buttons of your jeans. Pressing your foreheads together you feel the top rivet pop open. Exhaling a breath you didn't know you were holding, Loki's grin widens. "Don't tell me that you're already wet, darling. We've barely started!"

Snapping your head up defiantly, your eyes blazing, you challenge him. "Hardly." But your flushed chest and hardened nipples betray you, plus your mind reading man knows the truth.

Smirking Loki leans closer, asking, "So you're telling me that if I touch your quivering quim I won't find you dripping and ready for me?"

Your body flushes at the thought, proving Loki right. His vulgar words make you moan as you feel your jeans open further. Before you articulate an answer your head rolls back to rest on the posh wall behind you. "Loki..." It's meant as a warning but your need turns it into a plea.

"Yes, pet? Did you need something?" Exploring fingers move over your panties and across your hips before squeezing your bottom. Loki is an expert in touching you everywhere but the place where you need him most.

"Hmmm... yes... more of you!" Your fingers comb through Loki's locks, pulling him to you, eager to get his mouth on yours once again. Only the God of Mischief denies you. Instead he uses his left hand to gather your wrists above your head. "More? My my, little miss greedy is what I'm going to call you." He chides as his clever mouth kisses down your neck and licks across your collarbone.

Those long, searching fingers of his right hand crept under the waistband of your panties this time. Rubbing delicately against your mound Loki whispers, "I knew it."

Snapping at him you snark, "Shut up, Loki!"

"That's no way to talk to the man who holds your pleasure in his hands." And that's when his delicious game of denial begins in earnest. Your jeans bunch at your thighs but he has enough room to graze against your soaked skin, not entering you, just brushing his knuckles back and forth across your swollen lips. Goosebumps break out across your body as an aching groan tumbles from you. You arch away from the wall, from your trapped hands, chasing the friction of his touch. Chuckling at your eagerness, Loki brushes a lock your hair off your forehead, "See, isn't this better than video games?"

Your eyes widen. "I knew it! You know Thor was just being friendly! He wanted to spend ti..." Your words stall as Loki's hand wraps around your slender throat. His grip is firm and his index finger forces your head to tilt higher until you are nose to nose. "You're allowed to say one name tonight. Just one. Mine." He tips your head back one touch more before adding, "Or you'll regret it, my dear."

Your eyes locked on Loki's ice blue stare. "Do we understand each other?" You swallowed roughly and nod your assent, "Yes Loki..."

Power games were nothing new to you and Loki. So many times you were the one calling the shots in your intimate relationship, Loki enjoying the feeling of being bossed around by a midgardian full of fire like you. Tonight though Loki wasn't just taking the lead. He was going to drag you where he wanted, you just had to hold on.

"Hmm... compliant. I love that!" He rewarded your submission with a searing kiss that clicked your teeth together. Your mouth was invaded by his searching tongue, your lungs gasping to catch up as Loki ferociously fed on your lips. "Who do you worship?" He growled against you, hot and hard and punishingly close. "You... oh jesus christ, you!"

Pushing away from the wall, Loki peered down at you. It took you a moment to register the loss since your eyes were shut in ecstasy and that was one moment too long. "Loki?" You weren't panicked, not yet, but something was certainly wrong. "What?" Your eyes connected.

Shaking his head Loki said, "Jesus Christ, huh?" And he had the audacity to look slightly crestfallen, disappointed you, even. Releasing your wrists he held up his finger. "One name. One god. It's too bad you can't follow simple rules."

Your voice faltered, "Loki! Oh, come on... I mean..." "Yes... that's it. Convince me how you didn't speak another's name. Please enlighten me." Loki wore a smirk that showed just how much he was enjoying this game and also how serious. Raising an eyebrow as both of his hands circled your wide hips under your jeans, he was waiting for your words.

"Well...?" Your mouth started moving when the strangest thing happened. A garbled gasp left your now gagged mouth. Your eyes went wide with shock and you tried to raise your hands to remove the offending fabric but your wrists were bound together in front of you.

Struggling to make yourself heard you fought against the silken ropes, anger and fear bubbling up inside of you. How dare Loki limit you like this? And for what? If you could only get your hands free!

Eyeing you warily, Loki's smile dropped. "Don't be mad. I told you there would consequences dearest." Loki kissed your strained jaw and nuzzled into your neck. "Trust me, goddess of my heart and I will be merciful." His tender ministrations work, even though you were still upset and despite your initial fears, your body relaxed.

With little effort Loki picks you up and brings you into his luxurious cabin. A bed covered in deep green satin welcomes your bound form and you feel the cool liquid of the sheets against your hot skin.

Standing over you as he might a conquered people, Loki wastes no time with removing your clothes. Why bother taking them off when he knows a charm that strips you bare? But he takes his time undressing himself.

It's delicious torture watching Loki's body be revealed. His black sweater is tossed off first followed by a fitted tee. Pale skin, tight over the muscles in his arms and chest, is luminous in the dusky light of the boat's interior. Riding low, exposing the cut of his hips, Loki's black denim trousers are the next to go. "Caught you looking..." he teases then laughs softly at your wide eyed desire. It's clear that Loki is ready for you, his boxers can't hide his straining erection. If your mouth were free you'd be biting your lip in anticipation. Shimmying out of his undies, you can't help the clench of arousal that pulls at your core upon seeing Loki, perfect and naked and hard.

"Nothing to say, my dear?"

And when you try to form a word over the silken gag he smirks, "I am truly sorry but I couldn't quite make that out."

With you naked and at his mercy, Loki renews his sensual assault by lightly rubbing against your slit. He's looking at you the way you look at tacos, desperateand hungry. It turns you on even more knowing how much he wants you. "You are so ripe, darling. Is all of this for me?"

All you could manage was a nod before you shouted into your gag. Loki had plunged three fingers into your molten core, knowing you could take it. "Do you like that, little one? Stretching around my fingers to feel how tight you are? I do love how responsive your tasty cunt is... even now I can tell how close you are. Can you tell me? Tell me, baby, are you going to come on my fingers?..."

But of course you couldn't tell him how hard you were biting into the rope at your lips, desperately seeking relief from his delicious torture. You could grunt and groan which meant nothing to the god now working you over with two of his fingers buried inside you while his thumb strummed over your clit.

Your arms strained against the black silk ropes that held firm, struggling to participate in your own pleasure. Removing his hand from your fiery center, he licked his fingers savoring your flavor before leaning over you and whispering, "I know what you want. You want to touch me and rush me and greedily lap up your satisfaction. But not tonight, dear one. Tonight I will take what I want from you. Every moan, every yelp, every drop of you is mine. And only when I am satisfied that you are ruined for all others, then will I release you."

Emphasizing his point, Loki took your right nipple in his gentle mouth and sucked it rigid. You gasped into the gag when you felt his teeth pull the flesh tight. When Loki bit into your bud you were grateful the gag muted your scream.

Loki's hands were everywhere, over stimulating your senses. They squeezed your tender breasts, rough palms grating against your over sensitive nipples. They ghosted over your clit, never lingering long enough to release you. They brushed against your inner thighs, close to your slit but not close enough.

All you could do was moan softly at the denied pleasure you were feeling. Raising your hips when Loki's touch came nearer to your clit only to be refused your release.

Straddling you now, Loki's narrow hips stretched over your middle, his rigid cock grinding against your abdomen. Folded over you Loki mocked, "Doesn't that feel nice, love? I so wish you would tell me how this feels!"

His hands slip down your sides and you reach for him, failing to connect due to the bindings on your wrists. Lifting his eyebrows to you Loki questions innocently, "You want to touch me?" All you can do is nod. Yes, yes, yes your head bobs.

Loki slides down your body, his slim frame nestling between your thighs. Resting his chin on your belly it looks to you like he actually considers letting you join in the fun. Your hope dashes as he shakes his head sadly, "No, I don't think so."

That's when he lifts your hips off the bed, using his strong forearms to anchor your legs open wide. He is going to lick you, you know it and still you groan and grind onto his tongue which has found it's way into your liquid center. Desire in overdrive, your body starts to flood, readying itself for your lover. Loki hums his appreciation at your biology which makes you quake under his eager mouth.

Since you can't move away from Loki's oral attention and you can't shout his name everytime he does that thing where wraps his lips around your tender clit, you really have to lay back and just accept your fate. It's driving you crazy because Loki is pulling out every bedroom trick he knows.

Despite the torturous tongue lashing you were holding onto your sanity, barely. Yes, you wanted release, but you and Loki had always enjoyed sharing your climax, one of the many reasons you loved loving Loki. Drawing deep breaths around the gag you were struggling to hold back the rising tide.

"So, you aren't going to cum for me? Even after all that?" Loki's chin glistened from his hard work at your core. Again you started to speak as if the gag wasn't in your way, explaining your need to cum together.

"Hmm... it sounds like you want to tell me something... what is it darling?? Should I stop?" Your trussed arms raise again in frustration.

"So I'll continue, shall i?" You felt the fullness of two slender fingers inside of you curling against your most sensitive spot. Groaning an unheard curse into your gag you felt your hips buck for more friction from Loki's fingers. As you tried to coax him into giving you more pleasure Loki resumed his oral attention on your lower lips. Small bites, gentle sucking, tiny nips at your most intimate flesh had you sliding closer to the edge of your orgasm.

When Loki sucked your clit harder than ever, shaking his head back and forth like a dog with a bone, your body broke into a wave of pleasure that crashed onto Loki's shore. You screamed his name. Loki knew it and he never let go of you. Riding the swells of your post orgasmic trembling, Loki whispered sweet calming words, gently bringing you down from your cosmically elevated bliss.

"There there sweetest. Let's get rid of this..." and as fast as it came, your silken gag was gone.

Shuddery and shaking you whined, "Loki! Please..." You held your bound wrists out to him, eager for freedom and delirious in your desire to touch him, to return the pleasure he had forced on you tonight.

"First, something to drink." Hoping off the bed with a thump, Loki popped out of the room for an eternity, which was actually about 3 minutes. "You suck, Loki, you know that?!" Shouting at him made you forget about the bindings still holding your arms together. "You don't play fair!"

Leaning into the door frame, naked still, hard still, holding a frosted glass of water Loki bit his lip before starting, "it's not a game, love. You're mine... and I'm not nearly through with you yet."

Gulping you squeaked, "could you please untie these? Please? I... I need to touch you baby." Loki joins you on the bed, his arm under your shoulders so that you can sip at his water glass. Musing he asks, "Are you truly ruined for all others? Have I fulfilled my filthy promises for the evening?" Mewling you cry, "yes... yes! I could only ever want you!! Please...?"

Crashing his mouth to yours, Loki claimed you over and over again. He pulls your short hair back hard, baring your throat to his greedy lips. Your body responds so eagerly to his slightest touch that in moments your panting and needy once more. "Sorry love, the ropes stay on."

You could cry in frustration, the tears are there, hot and waiting. Instead it's a low moan that you release as Loki raises your legs up, bending your knees into your chest. Cool air caresses your pussy lips for a moment before Loki's erection teases you.

Your useless arms fall against your chest as Loki slowly fills you with his hard heat. You're spread wide by him, wanton and waiting for his movement to begin. Wrapping his hand around your bonds, Loki pulls you closer which pushes your hips open a fraction further and allows him to penetrate deeper inside you. "Loki!! Jesus Christ!!" The exclamation explodes from you at the contact.

"Language, dear, or I'll bring the gag back!" You shudder a groan at that. "Loki! Sorry! Shit!!" When Loki grinds deeper into your core instead of pulling out you grunt which makes him chuckle at you. "What was that, pet?"

"Happy sound... promise. You... you... you better not stop Loki!" You're stuttering out sentence fragments that you want to sound tough, unaffected by him, but it is not working.

"I wouldn't dream of it, dearest!" Thrusting into you now, Loki bites his bottom lip in concentration, focusing on the way your walls clench around him. The rhythm he starts is slow at first, pushing, grinding then retreating but soon he's driving into you furiously, seeking your combined climax.

You feel it first. That telltale fluttering, low in your belly, growing into ripples of electricity. "Loki... I'm close... I'm gonna cum!" You warn.

"Not. Yet. Not. Until. I. Say." Each word is punctuated by his piercing need.

Whimpering you nod, squeezing your eyes shut, focusing on not letting your body win. "Look at me, girl. LOOK AT ME!"

Snapping your eyes open at Loki's command, your trapped in his sweltering gaze. Dark hair hangs into his face, sweat has collected on his brow, but his smirk is still daisy fresh.

"Cum for me. Right now."

You do. You watch his eyes widen as your body collapses on his cock. It tears through you, hard, unraveling both you and Loki. He's locked inside you by your orgasm, tripping his own climax, unable and unwilling to prevent it. Loki shouts in a language you don't know but the meaning is clear. God damn.

Waves of pleasure roll through you both as your body accepts everything Loki gives you. Still lost in each other's eyes, your breathing starts to slow, and you reach up, wrists still tied, to brush that stray lock of raven hair behind his ear.

"Wow." There's really nothing else you can manage to say. You're wrung out, legs limp even though Loki is still holding your calves open. A small aftershock rushes through you and Loki moans. "You can say that again...", he grins. "Wow."

Loki reaches for your bonds once more. You hear the metallic slink of his dagger as it extends from his hand by some form of magic. The cold blade shreds the black ropes in a flash.

"Look at that!" You softly exclaim. "Free at last!" You flex each wrist a little, letting the blood flow to your hands. And you can't stop yourself from reaching for your boy.

Still inside you, Loki leans down to capture a kiss. It's soft and sweet. "Thank you for trusting me. I know you were the one in ropes tonight but don't you see, I am the one bound to you?"

You flush pink at his sugared words. Loki, God of Mischief, ruiner of days and jump scare master, had let you capture his heart. He was a trickster, truly, and your love for each other was intense, testing and teasing but it was yours.

You roll your hips gently which earns you a shattered groan from Loki. "We are tied to each other, Loki. Let's make sure we don't cut that cord, ok?" Grinning down at you Loki answers, "Not a chance, queen of my heart. No way."

Sliding out of you, Loki lays on his side, toying with your nipple. "That tickles, Loki!" You laughingly push him away as he flops his right arm across your chest and says, "I think my ship is the quietest one to ever set sail."

Turning to face him you ask, "Have you already taken her out?" You're eager to hear about it when the sound of a horn honks through the night.

Raising his eyebrows with a wicked grin, "You could say that!" "Jesus Christ, Loki!" You shout your favorite curse word at him.

In a flash Loki pulls you on top of him, his hands firm on your forearms. Somehow he seems more lethal under you than over you. Loki growls, "One name. One god. Or have you already forgotten??"

"How could I forget?" It's your turn to smirk as you lean down to capture his full lips in yours. "I promised to go easy on your soul, but your body was another matter all together."

Loki groans out a curse in ancient words as your mouth finds his growing erection. "Bewitching... you truly are." Popping off of him you answer, "and totally yours." With a shaky swallow Loki whispers, "Yes... You're mine and we are bound together."

#loki fanfic #hot loki #loki smut #loki x reader #loki x you #marvel smut #fanfic #loki laufeyson

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jemelle · 5 years ago

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these are ties that bind (3/8)

you can also find this story on ao3!

fandom: criminal minds

rating: t

(chapter) word count: 2,861

masterlist

summary: emily and hotch must pretend to be in a long-term relationship in order to foster carrie. shenanigans and serious conversations alike ensue.

three.

On Monday, Emily took Carrie to her first day of school. Hotch had wanted to come, but he had to take Jack to nursery. Secretly, Emily was pleased to have this moment alone with Carrie. She remembered all too well the feeling of starting a new school, getting used to a whole new set of customs and rituals.

She had called the principal yesterday and received her express assurances that Carrie would be able to start school mid-year. Her credits would transfer over, but Emily knew that wasn’t the difficult part. It was starting classes when everyone else knew each other’s names, when they had silently picked a seating chart and knew who they’d partner with for group projects.

Carrie had insisted on finding the school office by herself, although Emily had offered to come with her. She had suggested (facetiously, knowing Hotch would never tolerate it) that her FBI badge might help smooth things over, which had drawn a much-needed laugh. She had also suggested that Carrie should think about taking some honors classes, but decided to shelve the conversation when she saw the obvious flashbacks her request had caused.

They pulled up in front of the school, an imposing brick building that reminded Emily of the quintessential high school from every teen movie. Students were already streaming into the building, chattering as they went along.

Emily searched for the right words to assure Carrie that she was capable of doing this. She was sure Hotch would have made an eloquent speech, but heartfelt sentiments were never her forte. She settled for flashing Carrie a smile and a thumbs-up.

Carrie smiled back and reached across the console to hug Emily, who reciprocated with only a moment’s hesitation. Two hugs in almost as many days was new territory for Emily, who tended to receive them more on a bimonthly basis, but she had a feeling it might become the new normal.

Emily watched Carrie walk towards the school until she had disappeared through the front doors. The honks of cars behind her informed her that she was holding up the carpool line, but Emily didn’t feel even a little sorry.

By Wednesday, Emily knew the jig was up. JJ had been shooting her and Hotch strange glances all day, looking as if she was trying to resist blurting something out in front of the entire bullpen. As Emily passed by JJ’s office, she felt a hand dart out and grab her wrist. Before she could respond, Emily was pulled into the darkened office.

“What do you want?” She knew, of course, but it was better to let it play out. There was a chance, albeit minuscule, that JJ simply wanted Emily’s help in planning a surprise party for Rossi.

“Is this true?” JJ thrust the paper into Emily’s face. It was the address change form that she had just submitted. Damn. She and Hotch had been hoping the paperwork would pass to Strauss unnoticed, but they should have known JJ was never anything less than thorough.

“Yeah, it is.” She’d answered the question, technically, but they both knew that wasn’t what JJ was really asking.

“But you’re not attracted to men.” Emily had come out to JJ during one of their “girls’ nights,” while Garcia was fetching another round of drinks. JJ had been talking about some guy at the bar who she thought was cute, and Emily had felt something snap in her. She didn’t want to have to hide anymore: she knew JJ would be accepting even if she didn’t fully understand. And so Emily had blurted it out before she really knew what she was doing. JJ, to her credit, had blinked once before asking Emily if there were any girls at the bar she thought were good-looking.

“Thanks, I know.” She hadn’t meant to sound so peeved, and regretted it immediately when she saw a look of hurt flash on JJ’s face.

“I’m just looking out for you.” Some days it felt as though that was JJ’s real job, caring for the team and trying to remind them not to lose sight of the mundane life they were fighting to protect. It was mostly futile, and they all knew it.

“I know,” said Emily, smiling at JJ and reaching out to squeeze one of her hands.

JJ looked horrified as a thought came to her. “Hotch didn’t make you do this, did he?” At that, Emily nearly doubled over with laughter.

“God, no. If anything I forced his hand.” JJ looked confused, and Emily didn’t blame her. Present situation included, there were very few worlds in which Emily would voluntarily ask Hotch to move in with her.

“So, remember when you said you could see me with kids?” JJ nodded, realization beginning to dawn on her face. “Well, Hotch is currently helping me take care of Carrie and neither of our apartments was suitable for two adults, a teenager, and a very energetic toddler.”

“Does he know about…” JJ gestured vaguely at Emily. “...you?” This time, Emily didn’t bother pretending innocence.

“No,” she said. “And I don’t plan on telling him. There’s no reason for me to do so. Even if our marriage is a sham, that doesn’t mean I’m going to cheat on him.” Emily had been firm in that belief since she had hatched this scheme. Hotch was a man who took fidelity seriously, and she couldn’t do that to him, especially after Haley.

JJ clasped her other hand around Emily’s and squeezed. “Don’t get hurt, okay? And if you do, tell me so I can kick his ass into next week.”

Emily grinned. The fierceness of JJ’s love reminded her of how lucky she was to have found her place at the BAU. “Just, please, keep this between us,” she entreated JJ, before walking to Hotch’s office to inform him that they had been made.

Apparently, two year olds don’t usually attend school full-time. Emily had, but Hotch’s horrified look when she told him conveyed to her that this was yet another example of Elizabeth Prentiss’s less than superb parenting. Jack went to preschool three days a week, but the rest of them he spent with either Hotch or Haley.

On Thursday, Hotch was called away to an early morning meeting. The higher-ups were making budget cuts again, and Emily knew he and Strauss would have to fight tooth and nail just to avoid losing a member of the team. Carrie had already decided that she would prefer to take the bus to school, which left just Jack and Emily. She had the day off, courtesy of Hotch, providing no urgent cases arrived. At noon, she was supposed to drive Jack to Haley’s house, but right now they were enjoying a quiet morning together.

As she finished up her paperwork, Emily kept one eye on Jack, who was playing with his extensive dinosaur collection. She sighed when she signed the last form, relieved to be done so early. There was a new sci-fi anthology that she had been meaning to read. Emily shut her eyes, intending on resting them for a brief moment before starting her book, but opened them again when she heard movement beside her. Jack had clambered up on the couch next to her and was staring at her intently.

“Read?” he asked, gesturing at a picture book on the side table. Emily picked it up.

“I don’t know if I’ll be very good at it.” She was still getting used to living with a toddler. So far, she had managed to avert any world-ending cataclysms, but being alone with Jack was an entirely different situation. This time, there was no backup.

“Read,” he insisted, so Emily did. Jack wasn’t shy about informing Emily when she did things wrong. Apparently she read too fast and she didn’t do the voices like his Mommy did. When Emily completed the first book, saying “The End” in what she hoped was an appropriately dramatic tone of voice, Jack pointed to another one. Before she knew it, it was time to take Jack to Haley’s.

She had only met Haley a few times, but Emily harbored an intense dislike for anyone who would hurt Aaron Hotchner. They may not be the best of friends, but watching Hotch’s face fall every time Haley informed him that he would arrive in DC too late to see Jack would make any sane person sympathize. This was only compounded upon actually meeting Jack; he would stay up as late as possible if it meant he could see his father.

Emily strapped Jack into his car seat, struggling briefly with the buckles. She didn’t understand how Hotch could make it look so effortless. As soon as they left the neighborhood, she began blasting Melissa Etheridge, not caring what other people could hear. Her day off, her music.

She turned the music down as they arrived in Haley’s neighborhood. The cookie-cutter houses reminded Emily of her and Hotch’s neighborhood, but this area was much more affluent. Even with a lawyer’s salary, she would bet Hotch and Haley had taken out a large loan to afford to live here.

Haley was already standing on the front porch when they arrived. Emily checked her watch: five minutes early. Good. She looked surprised to see Emily clamber out of the car, though Hotch had already cleared it with her. Emily sent a silent prayer to whatever god was listening as the straps to Jack’s car seat came undone easily. The last thing Hotch needed was to have Emily look incompetent.

Jack refused to walk the two hundred or so feet to Haley, so Emily scooped him up and headed towards the house. When she reached the porch, Emily set him down, and he toddled over to give Haley a hug. She beamed at him, and the wrath clutching Emily’s heart loosened slightly.

“Thank you,” Haley said. Emily smiled thinly at her.

“Hotch will be by to pick him up tomorrow.” Safer to stick to business. It lessened the chance Emily would say something she’d immediately regret. She waved at Jack. “Bye, kiddo. See you soon.”

“Bye, Auntie Emily!” he chirped in response. That was new. She had just been Emily so far, or ‘mily if Jack was especially sleepy. She’d have to check with Hotch that the nickname could stay, but Emily found she quite liked it.

Jack walked through the open door, and though Haley turned to watch him, she didn’t go inside. Emily loitered on the porch, sensing their conversation wasn’t finished. She was right.

“Does he make you happy?” Haley’s voice lacked malice. Emily supposed she was curious; it must have been a long time since Hotch had made Haley happy.

She considered the question. Obviously, there was a right answer, given the pretend nature of their relationship. But as Emily thought about Hotch’s kindness towards her and Carrie, the way he was willing to risk Jack, the best thing in his life, so that Emily could have a chance to care for a child the way he did, she realized it was also the true answer.

“Yes.” Haley headed inside without a response, and Emily couldn’t tell whether she was pleased or irritated. It didn’t bother her either way.

When Emily poked her head into the living room, she saw Carrie sitting calmly on the couch. It was late and she had assumed that Carrie had already gone to bed, but apparently this was not the case. When Carrie noticed her staring, she motioned Emily to sit with her. Emily settled on the ottoman facing Carrie.

“What’s up?” she asked, feeling strangely as though she were the child in this situation, as if Carrie were the one summoning her for an intervention.

“Where’s Hotch?” A neat sidestep, and one that only served to further intrigue Emily.

“Getting ready for bed, I suspect.” Although Emily’s experience living with men was somewhat limited, Hotch took more time in the bathroom than any other man she’d met, although she respected that it meant she didn’t have to see him change.

As if summoned, Hotch emerged, freshly showered and wearing pajamas. He smelled like shaving cream, Emily reflected as he sat down next to her, and something else she couldn’t place. Although she made no move to initiate contact, Emily nevertheless felt more solid with him next to her. Whatever Carrie had to say, they could deal with it, together.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Carrie started. “For taking me in when no one else would.”

Emily reached out to clasp Carrie’s hands, squeezing them tightly, but it was Hotch who spoke, his voice clear and words familiar. “Carrie, there’s no need to thank us--”

“But you don’t need to pretend anymore.” Emily and Hotch exchanged a look, but it was not a glance between friends (or whatever they were). It was the same look they exchanged when an unsub revealed crucial information during an interrogation. What did Carrie know?

“What?” Emily had learned early how to feign innocence. It had saved her more times than she could count, from escaping the wrath of Elizabeth Prentiss to baiting a suspect to pretending to not be so fucked up when pretty girls hit on her in bars.

Carrie, however, was having none of Emily’s act. “You know what I mean. You expect me to believe that you’re married to a man who you don’t even call by his first name?”

Emily felt again like a chastened child, called out with one hand in the cookie jar. She looked to Hotch for moral support, but he looked as blindsided as she felt. When he turned to face her, she could see mounting rage in the way his body tensed, although his face remained impassive as ever. Then Emily remembered their one rule: don’t lie to Carrie.

“You got us there,” said Hotch. Emily marveled at the way he could switch from angry to personable in a moment, although the glare he first shot Emily made clear that they were going to talk later. “Was it just the names that gave us away?”

Gathering information on their tells, that was smart.

“The names were definitely a giveaway.” Carrie considered them for a moment. Mostly, though, it was the lack of touching. I can see no kissing --maybe you’re just very private people-- but you don’t even hold hands and I’ve only seen you hug once.” She gestured at them. “Even now, you’re sitting with a couple inches between you.”

Right now, Hotch would probably prefer they sat even farther away, Emily thought bitterly.

“But I’m not going to say anything, if that’s what you’re upset about.” With that level of perception and intuition, Carrie would make a grade-A profiler. Not that Emily would wish their lives on anyone.

Emily still didn’t trust herself to speak, so she simply nodded as Hotch spoke again. “Thank you for trusting us.” He checked his watch. “It’s late. Are you going to bed now?”

Callie responded affirmatively and slipped out of the room, leaving Emily and Hotch in stony silence. When Hotch spoke again, his voice contained undisguised anger. “Prentiss, what the hell was that?”

The use of her last name only stoked in her a desire to fight back. Emily might break down crying, but Prentiss wouldn’t. Prentiss wasn’t vulnerable, wouldn’t apologize.

“Don’t yell at me,” she hissed. Hotch stiffened, then softened at the look on Emily’s face.

“I’m sorry. It was out of line for me to speak like that, but what you did was also out of line. We agreed no lying to Carrie.” She couldn’t meet his gaze. Self-loathing welled inside her. How could she have ever thought she was good enough to be a parent when she couldn’t even keep a basic promise?

“Emily?” If she lifted her head there would be no denying the tears in her eyes.

“I tried to. It just… I just…” failed, she finished mentally. Couldn’t deal with the idea that what was maybe my only chance at motherhood could disappear. Although she wasn’t willing to verbalize those thoughts, she still felt she owed it to Hotch to try and explain. “I got scared. And I know you’ve heard this a lot recently, but I’m sorry.”

Hotch didn’t tell her she shouldn’t be sorry. She had messed up, and they both knew it. Now the only question was what he would do. Never trust her again, Emily supposed. Their partnership had seemed so promising, but of course she had ruined it. Outside of work, she could never do anything right.

“Next time, Emily, I just need you to tell me.” After years spent under the thumb of the Catholic Church, finding someone with a true capacity for forgiveness always surprised Emily. Hotch had surprised her again and again.

“I will, Aaron,” she said, trying out the unfamiliar name on her tongue. It still felt a little too strange, not natural enough for casual conversation, but she could work on it. “I won’t let you down.”

It was a tall order to live up to, but Emily had to try.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #queerminal minds #*mine #*fic #these are ties that bind

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danthectoman · 5 years ago

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Home for the Holidays

This is my Christmas Truce 2019 gift for @enmitypark ! I had tons of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy!!!

Read it on AO3!

The Fenton family has just arrived at Vlad’s Colorado retreat by RV at Jack’s insistence and had already hauled their belongings for the week-long trip into their rooms. Gathered in the living room, Vlad passes out four large gift baskets, each emblazoned with the person’s name on an oversized tag in his loopy script. Danny notices that his name has a green tint to it, and gives Vlad an inquisitive look, which is returned with a mischievous wink.

“Alright everyone, open your baskets!” Vlad said with a smile.

“Vlad it’s not Christmas yet!” Maddie argued before being shut down.

“My dear, what is in there will be needed for the rest of their stay. There is no need to object.”

Inside each basket was an assortment of gloves and hats in various styles to match each person’s taste, mixes for each person’s favorite hot drink, mugs, and ski goggles.

Danny's mug is black on the bottom half and white on the top, with a green-tinted NASA logo on both sides. "The logo glows in the dark, by the way," Vlad added. There’s hot cocoa and apple cider mixes tucked inside the mug. His goggles are white around the eyes with a black elastic band. The gloves and a hat are both black with green horizontal stripes down the center. Jazz’s items were all turquoise with black accents in a similar configuration to Danny's. Jack’s gifts held a black and orange color scheme, matching his signature jumpsuit. Maddie’s items were aquamarine, dotted with accents of black.

Everyone gave Vlad a hearty thank you for the gifts and Jack, of course, envelopes Vlad in a bone-crushing hug, lifting the smaller man off the ground. Before, Vlad would have yelled at him for such an act, but after making up with the family and being allowed to be a real godfather to the children, he's come to enjoy Jack's affection. After being placed back on the ground, Vlad lead his guests to the sitting room, the fireplace lit and the undecorated evergreen tree already on a stand in the corner.

“Where are the ornaments? And the decorations? I figured you’d have this whole place decorated to the nines already.” Jazz asks with a questioning look on her face.

“Well, I figured it would be fun if we all decorated the house together. This is Christmas after all, and simply hiring someone to do the decorating feels too impersonal for such an occasion." Vlad said with a genuine smile on his face. He's been smiling quite a lot lately. It was something new and entirely welcome.

“That’s right! So, let’s get a move on and start decorating already!! So, where’s the ghostly garland and tinsel?” Jack was so excited he could hardly wait. This time of the year always meant cookies and fudge, and he couldn’t get enough of those.

“Ah, ghostly garland? Do I even want to know what that is?” Vlad asked, an admonished look on his face.

“Sure ya do, Vladdie! It’s just like normal holiday garland, but dipped in ectoplasm! That way, it glows in the dark!” Jack explained with a smile on his face. If the man thought any of what he just described violated the millions of lab safety rules he learned in college, he didn’t show it.

“….Oh, no, that’s not part of the decorations. I have more… traditional decorations than that.” Vlad replied, wondering just what kind of Christmases the children had had. Perhaps this was a splendid idea after all.

“Oh darn. What about,” Jack began, hurriedly cut off by Maddie, a somewhat exasperated look on her face.

“Jack! Be patient, we just got here! At least let us all catch up and enjoy some time outside of the RV before we start working.” Maddie chided her excited husband. She may love the man, but he sure did like to act like a child when it came to Christmas.

Vlad stepped back and motioned to the large sitting area around the fire. Since the last time Danny and Maddie were here, two couches had been added, creating a semicircle around the fireplace. “Excellent idea, my dear. What would everyone like to drink?”

Everyone gave their drink orders and Vlad went to the kitchen to grab them. Everyone finds their spots on a couch; Maddie and Jack taking one couch, Jazz sitting on the other, and Danny taking a chair, assuming Vlad would take the one next to him. Vlad returned with everyone’s mugs balanced on a wooden serving tray and made a loop around the room, everyone grabbing their drinks. After returning the tray to its place, he sat down in the chair next to Danny. As the conversation picked up between the three adults, Danny couldn’t help but think back on how much the other halfa had changed since they met.

The two had formed an almost loving relationship in the past few months since the Pariah incident. Danny supposed that was just the kick in the ass the old fruitloop needed, since almost immediately after the horrible schemes to kill his father and seduce his mother stopped. He didn’t see hide nor hair of Vlad until Danny came home one day to find the man sitting on the couch with his parents, explaining almost everything and working through some of the misunderstandings the three had had for the last twenty years. It had been odd, to say the least, to see Vlad not only without his signature suit but without the bravado the man had exuded from their first meeting. It suited him, this vulnerable look, every expression genuine.

Shortly after that night, Vlad began visiting more often, at least two nights a week sometimes, just to visit and see what was going on in the family’s lives. At first, Danny was against the visits, still caught up in the way Vlad had treated him and thinking the two were still rivals. Then while Danny was on patrol one night, Skulker surprised him and hit him with a shock strong enough to knock him out. When Danny came to, he was laying on Vlad’s couch with a thin blanket over him, the man himself looking quite concerned over the boy. That night, the two had an actual, honest, and open conversation about everything. After that, Danny was more comfortable around the man and even allowed the older halfa to be his mentor.

Danny was pulled out of his thoughts as his father laughed particularly hard at a joke, probably told by Vlad. As everyone finished their drinks, Danny went around and collected the mugs, cleaning them quickly in the kitchen. When he returned, the boxes of decorations were being brought into the sitting room by Jack and Vlad as Jazz and Maddie took items out of the boxes and set knickknacks around the room. Danny jumped in with his sister and mother to set up a mini Christmas tree on a side table by the entrance to the room, delicately unboxing the tree and fluffing its green plastic branches.

Jazz began to decorate the large pine tree while Jack hammered nails into the mantle and hung the stockings, all of which were embroidered in each person’s name. Maddie was next to him on a stool setting up a village of ceramic snowmen, complete with little ceramic buildings and animals, on top of the mantle. Vlad set to work on untangling a new strand of Christmas lights that, despite just coming out of the box, managed to tangle themselves into a nest of wires. Vlad looked as if he has given up on humanity as a whole for creating those lights.

And so the night went on in peace, the family going from room to room decorating the cottage in Christmas cheer. One box from the pile had different types of holiday hats, including 5 Santa hats in varying sizes. Maddie grabbed the elf hat for herself, Jack simply took a Santa hat at his wife’s insistence, and Jazz took a headband with felt reindeer antlers on it. Danny rooted through the box and found the absolute perfect thing for Vlad; a pair of candy canes attached to a headband to look like antlers, bells attached to the curved ends so they jingled with every movement. Danny thought about taking a stereotypical Santa hat, but decided against it, going instead for a headband with foil presents attached to springs, also with bells on the end.

Vlad was currently rooting through a box in an attempt to find the tree topper he’d picked out for this occasion. Danny crept up behind Vlad as quietly as he could with several bells bouncing about at each movement and placed the candy cane headband on his head with a wild grin on his face. Vlad rolled his eyes and looked up at Danny, giving him an amused look through the hair now messily spread over his eyes. Falling back onto his haunches from his earlier position on his knees, Vlad gave a small laugh and commented, “Thank you, Little Badger, but I believe a headband is supposed to move the hair OUT of your eyes, not further into them.” An adjustment of his hairband so he could see later, Vlad resumed the search for the tree topper, a smile on his lips.

“Ah, here it is!” Vlad cheered as he finally found the topper, proudly displayed in its box. It was a giant silver snowflake, with what Danny sincerely hoped were large ruby rhinestones embedded in the center and emeralds embedded in each arm of the snowflake.

“Oh, it’s absolutely beautiful!” Maddie exclaimed, with a slight sparkle in her eyes. She had always loved Christmas so much when her father was alive and was ready to have a traditional Christmas this year.

“Jack, would you do the honors? After all, you are a guest here.” Vlad asked while standing up and removing the topper from its box.

“Aw, sure! Plus, I think I’m the only one who can reach the top without a ladder anyways!” Jack said with excitement laced in his voice and a shine in his eyes.

Jack reached up with both arms and attached the snowflake to the top of the nearly seven-foot-tall tree as carefully as the large man could. After the snowflake was secured and plugged into the light strands, Jack stepped back to admire everyone’s work. Vlad had tucked in the lights, Jazz added the garland, Maddie had strategically hooked the ornaments on the branches, and Danny had added the tinsel. The whole tree was gorgeous, even without the lights lit.

“Daniel, would you like to do the honors?” Vlad asked, raising the plugin for the lights in Danny’s direction.

“Sure thing, Uncle Vlad," Danny said with a soft smile thrown the man's way as he approached and took the wire from his outstretched hand. Sure, that looked sappy and showed he had feelings, but it was the holidays! Danny was allowed to show some feelings.

Danny bent down in front of the electrical socket and plugged the cord in, the tree casting an atmospheric kaleidoscope of colors across the room. He stood back up and joined the others in staring at the magnificent tree they had put together, a sense of accomplishment filling the room. Jack threw an arm over Maddie’s shoulder and looked down at her as if she was an angel and brought her into his side. Maddie shifted to wrap an arm around his waist and place a hand on his chest. Jazz placed her left arm over her brother’s shoulder and rested her right hand on his other shoulder, placing her forehead on the side of his head in the kind of hug only siblings can give.

Vlad sat back and watched the family interact with each other, showing affection earnestly, and was still not entirely sure where he fits in in this dynamic. This was the first Christmas he had spent with people that were not related to his business, after all. Before he could get too deep into this line of thinking, there was a pair of arms wrapped around his midsection and a head of fluffy black hair pressed against his chest. A longer pair of arms, a little above the first set, joined them. A taller set wrapped around his arms and chest, gluing his arms to his sides. Finally, a pair of arms came from above and lifted the group into the air, laughter escaping everyone as they had the life squeezed out of them in a loving embrace.

The group stayed locked in a hug for a long time, simply enjoying the moment, antlers and hats and springs lightly bumping into each other as the soft jingles of bells wafted through the air. As everyone separated, they were filled with love. The feeling floated through the air and mingled with the light scent of cinnamon coming from some pinecones sitting in a glass bowl on the coffee table.

This moment is what Christmas was supposed to be for the Fenton family, which now included one billionaire with a reformed heart of gold. Not the fighting over theories of Santa that usually come about this time of year, or the hyper-focus on ghostly happenings, or any of the other things the two parents dis that detracted from the holiday cheer for their children. A moment of unrestrained happiness for everyone in the room.

“This has been fun and all, Vladdy, but what’s for dinner?” Jack asked with a sheepish look.

With a laugh, Vlad answered, “There’s a stew in the Crockpot that I prepared before you all arrived. It should be ready by now.”

“Great! Let’s get a move on! All this holiday cheer has me starving!” Jack yelled, already charging for the kitchen and the gold and green Packers crockpot sitting on the granite countertop.

Maddie followed her husband into the kitchen with a soft and loving smile, leaving Vlad and the children standing next to the tree. With a gesture of his arm towards the kitchen, Vlad told the children, “Go on, I have to go last anyways since I'm the chef.”

“Thanks for all this, Vlad. This is just what we needed.” Jazz said with a laugh and a hug. “I better go before dad eats it all.” She entered the kitchen and took a bowl from her mother.

Vlad smirked down at Danny and nodded his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Better hurry, Little Badger. You’ve had a long day.” The two entered the kitchen as everyone else filed out and grabbed their bowls of stew.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, with everyone piled around the fireplace in their pajamas. Holiday movies played on the television on a lower volume, stories of snowmen and reindeer and Santa interspersed with advertisements. Outside the window, snow fell lightly and piled into small drifts in the pale moonlight. An owl hooted in the distance. The stars above twinkled unobserved, and the night was calm.

The next morning, Christmas morning, Vlad awoke to the smell of coffee wafting into his room. He simply laid in bed for a few more minutes, knowing he was going to have a long day and wanting this moment to last forever. Brilliant white light reflected through the red curtains, showing there was a good snowfall last night. Vlad had hoped that would happen so there would be fresh powder on the slopes of the hills around the cabin for everyone to enjoy.

With a long stretch and a yawn, Vlad carded his hands through his long silver locks, straightening some of the crimped hair around his crown. He should probably brush it out before he leaves his room, but he’s sure it won’t hurt if he just threw his hair into a quick bun. Vlad rose from his bed and stretched once more, made his bed, and slipped a pair of house shoes on as he prepared to face the day. Straightening his shirt and pants, he follows the rich aroma of coffee to the kitchen, where Maddie, Jack, and Jazz were already fixing their cups with sugar and creamer.

A chorus of ‘morning’s’ met him at the doorway, which he returned. Out the kitchen window, his suspicions of snow were confirmed. It looked like there may have been six inches or so of snow, based on the covering, perfect for a good day of skiing and snowboarding. Grabbing his mug out of the cupboard, Vlad began making his coffee as the others went to the sitting area. Jazz set her cup down and walked to the tree, plugging it in and opening the curtains on a set of windows to give a full view of the surrounding landscape.

The entire scene was comforting to Vlad, who was so used to this cabin being empty save for himself and Maddie, his cat. Setting himself down in the chair he sat in last night, he couldn’t help but try to memorize every sensation he felt in this moment, focusing on the fuzziness and softness rising from his chest. Vlad was glad he was a better man than he was a year ago, but he also knew just how slippery of a slope he was on. One wrong move and all this comfort would be lost.

“So, what’s on the agenda today, Vladdy? Got something big planned for us, aside from opening presents and making dinner?” Jack asked with a yawn behind his coffee cup.

“Well, I was thinking we could all go skiing this morning. That’s why I placed a pair of goggles in each of your bags, after all. It would give us a chance to go outside for a while, and the fresh snow will make for some amazing skiing. Next, we could make up the ham in the fridge and some sides, then open the presents” Vlad explained as he cradled the warm cup in his hands.

“Oh, that sounds great! That doesn’t give us very much time to get everything done, though. Maybe we could push the skiing back a day, just to make extra time for cooking. After all, Christmas dinner is the last big meal of the year.” Jack said.

“Besides, we don’t even have skis.” Maddie pointed out.

Vlad waved his hand and explained, “Firstly, that does sound a bit better. I honestly forget how long it takes to cook a full dinner. Secondly, don’t worry about the ski situation. I’ve already bought everyone both a pair of skis and a snowboard. Everyone can choose what they want to use.” The one drawback to having a kitchen crew is that when you're without them you forget that cooking could take a long time.

"That's very kind, Vlad. Where will we be skiing? Do you own a resort around here or something?” Jazz asked in earnest. She just knew she was going to tear it up on a snowboard.

Vlad barked out a chuckle and replied, “No, I do not. Though, I suppose since I own a large expanse of the woods around here and have certain hills outfitted with miniature ski lifts, I may as well own a ski resort. There’s also a large pond not far from one such hill. If you would like to ice skate, it is open to you all. It should be fully frozen by now.”

“Oh, that should be fun! I’ve never ice skated before!” Jazz exclaimed. “I just hope I can keep my balance.” Jazz said with a nervous laugh.

“I’m sure ol’ Vlad could teach you! He was an amazing ice skater back in college! Practically had the ladies in line to learn from him!” Jack boomed with a hearty wink in the direction of his old college friend.

“Jack, you know just as well as I do that you’re exaggerating. Rest assured, we were unpopular enough that nobody waited in line for us, or even thought to make a line, for that matter.” Vlad said in a voice that sounded too much like his college whine for comfort. “Sure, I was pretty good, but it HAS been twenty years. I highly doubt that I have enough leg strength to successfully do what I did back then.” Vlad explained with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh, I know you can do it, Uncle Vlad! Please, could you teach me? It’d mean a lot!” Jazz asked, making puppy dog eyes at the man in hopes he would buy it. She didn’t think she would do good. At all. But she has always wanted to try, so why not?

With a sigh, Vlad answered “Alright, fine, I’ll do it. It looks like I’ll have to hunt out my pair of skates, though. I haven’t seen them in years, so I have no idea what kind of condition they’re even in.” The next day was going to be full too, it seemed.

“Thank you so much!” Jazz exclaimed as she rose from her seated position on the couch. “Would you like any more coffee?” she asked Vlad as she held a hand out for his mug.

“No, but thank you for the offer, Jasmine. I want to make sure Daniel can have as much as he wants as well.” Vlad answered as he handed the mug over.

While Jazz is in the kitchen putting the mugs down, she threw a good morning in Danny’s direction. The boy’s hair looked as if he had just woken up and ran his hands through it, sticking up at odd angles. He still had some dark bags under his eyes, but they seemed lighter today since he was finally getting some sleep on this vacation from Amity Park. No ghosts had messed with him so far, and he almost wanted to live here with the billionaire on that fact alone. He contemplated this as he picked out his black and white mug from the drainboard and shoveled in an obscene amount of sugar, followed by a flood of peppermint-scented caffeine.

Walking into the living room, Danny curled up in his chair and yawned, still not awake. “Good morning, Daniel. You look well-rested. Finally have a good night’s sleep, I assume?” Vlad asks with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. For once the boy didn’t look half dead, and Vlad was overjoyed to see his godson look that content.

“Mornin’ Fruitloop. I slept almost as good as a dead man, honestly.” Danny replied, a small and tired smile on his face. The only reply Danny received from the billionaire was a deadpan expression of earnest disbelief at his antics.

“Guess what, son? Today we’re all going to pile into the kitchen and cook, just like a real family!” Jack exclaimed, a smile on his face.

“Really? What’re we having? We don’t usually cook on Christmas, aside from warming up some ham and making those bagged potatoes.” Danny was almost scared. His mom wasn’t the most amazing cook, and don’t even get him STARTED on dad. It took Jazz pulling dad aside to make him realize that boiling frozen crinkle-cut French fries and mashing them wasn’t the same thing as mashed potatoes. Just the memory sent a shiver down the boy’s spine.

“Oh, we’ll be having a honey-baked ham, sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and some desserts. All of which we’ll be preparing today.” Vlad explained, mentally taking stock of what needed to go into the oven at what time, the ham being the first dish since it took so long to cook. “Dinner should be done around four or five, depending on cooking times.”

“And we already made up the Fenton Fudge this morning while the coffee was making. I probably should have prepared it last night, but it slipped my mind. It should be hardened enough by tonight, though.” Maddie explained as she rose. “So, should we get this cooking show on the road? We’re burning daylight just sitting here talking about making dinner.”

“I suppose we should. I did get a fairly large ham this year, and it may take a while to cook. Thankfully, it shouldn’t take long to prepare.” Vlad said as he rose from his seat, Jack copying his movements.

“That’s great! While you all do that, I’ll bring the rest of the presents inside from the RV and wrap a few more. Jazz, honey, want to help? Then Danny-boy can take the time to wake up.” Jack asked his daughter with a smile on his face.

“Coming dad! I still have a few I need to wrap up too!” Jazz said as she stood and followed her dad upstairs to get her coat.

Vlad and Maddie walked into the kitchen, chatting about their favorite holiday recipes while Danny took his time drinking his coffee, knowing today was going to be a great day, despite his previous dislike of the holiday.

The rest of the day past in a blur for the family of five as dinner was cooked, gifts were wrapped, and Christmas tunes gently echoed through the house. Occasionally, the radio would belt out a crowd favorite and everyone would sing, Danny’s voice cracking horribly as he tried to hit the high notes of “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Another time, Danny and Vlad teamed up to echo the lyrics of “Deck the Halls,” followed by Jack and Maddie performing a heartfelt duet of “Silver Bells” while they mashed the sweet potatoes and covered them in marshmallows. Jazz, not one to sing in front of others, even found the confidence to sing along with Wham! to “Last Christmas” for an impressive solo act, complete with a can opener microphone.

As the last of the dishes were finished and placed on the dinner table, the group sighed in relief. After hours, and a few burns, the meal was complete. The ham had a perfect brown glaze and delicious pink meat, perfectly moist. The marshmallows were a golden brown, and the mashed potatoes were white and fluffy. The smells that rose from the table were divine, and nobody could wait to dig in.

“What are we waiting on, let’s eat! I’m starved!” Jack exclaimed as he reached for a serving of mashed potatoes.

“You just read my mind, dad.” Danny laughed as he picked a piece of ham from his place on Vlad’s left. Maddie and Jack sat on the other side of the table, and Jazz was seated on her mother’s left side.

With that, everyone dug in, passing dishes around the rectangular dining table and eating their fill. Stories of family holidays were exchanged among the three adults as the children sat back and listened, laughing at times and giving their input at the end of each story.

Vlad shared stories of his childhood, of days spent playing on the family farm chasing chickens and running through cornfields without a care in the world. Danny never pinned Vlad as a farm kid from southern Wisconsin, but clearly, looks can be deceiving, especially those from a man who painstakingly crafted his professional appearance out of spite. Jack shared similar stories of caring for his parents’ cows on the dairy farm he grew up at. It was all the same stories that everyone at the table had heard a hundred times over the years, but each time was said just a bit differently. Maddie loved to talk about her and Alicia’s childhood as well, rambling about roaming the dirt roads in their home town on cool fall nights.

After dinner and a quick interlude to clean up and put the leftovers in the icebox, the family gathered in the family room once again. This time, Maddie and Jack sat on one couch, while Jazz and Danny occupied the other. Vlad moved one of the armchairs to Jack’s side of the couch and placed the other against a wall, which was immediately filled by Maddie the Cat. As was tradition, Danny and Jazz, being the youngest, handed presents out, each person’s piles stacked high with colorful boxes, bags, and misshapen lumps that definitely held clothing.

“3…2…1… Have at it!” Maddie shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

After a moment’s hesitation, Danny and Jack tore into the presents in unison with little regard to saving the shiny gift wrap. Danny received the telescope he’s been wanting for months, a Meade Polaris 130 EQ Reflector Telescope, and a tapestry that listed the different constellations with each individual star meticulously labeled. Those two alone were the best gifts he could have asked for. He also got the expected shirts, pants, and socks, along with a few new journals with stars on the covers.

Jack received items that mainly revolved around ghost hunting and science, like the pajama set printed with a cartoon version of Slimer from Ghostbusters. Since he worked almost constantly on the engineering side of their business, he was given a new set of wrenches and pliers, having lost many of them in the portal. He unwrapped a few sets of socks and a new jumpsuit, too.

Maddie, contrary to the boys’ style of unwrapping, carefully removed the tape off each metallic fold in her gift wrap and refolded the paper to use again. Her boxes contained a peppermint and cinnamon bath set and a beginner’s crochet set intended to help her achieve her goal of relaxing more in the new year. There was a colorful box of glitter pens and a journal wrapped in ribbons in her pile, as well as a new jumpsuit from her husband.

Jazz wasn’t as careful in her unwrapping as her mother, but she took her time opening each present. One package contained a large empty scrapbook with white paper, and another had a sticker set, colorful pens, and other little additions one would need to start scrapbooking. There were also two psychology-related books that Vlad had helped Jack pick out, one full of thought experiments and the other a textbook on teen and young adult mindsets for therapists-in-training. There were also a few new scarves, sweaters, and jeans.

Last but not least, Vlad opened his gifts slowly, treasuring the feeling of community and love he felt with his new family. He received a new red tie and handkerchief with some square cufflinks. In a bag was a collection of classic horror novels, which Vlad considered his guilty pleasure. He also received a box filled with yellow, wrinkled pages that held the writings of his old D&D campaign from back in college. Jack and Maddie seemed eager to start a new campaign with him, as they missed playing, and Vlad agreed immediately.

Finally, in a big square box, labeled from Danny, there was a black square scrapbook with an embossed gold Green Bay Packers logo on the front. Vlad didn’t even know the boy knew how to scrapbook. Upon opening the front cover, Vlad found a selfie Danny took the first time they had a real outing together. The two had gone out for coffee and had ended up going to the local observatory to watch one of their star tours. They had walked through the museum, and come to a replica cockpit for the Apollo 11 space shuttle. Somehow, Daniel convinced him to climb into the small seat with him and had taken a few photos, the last of which Vlad had finally smiled in, knees shoved into his chest and a raised eyebrow looking into the lens. Vlad decided to look through that later, almost afraid of what might be in there.

After all the presents were opened, Maddie collected the shredded paper and piled it into trash bags. As the night wound down, everyone looked through their presents and removed them from their packing, then changed into their new pajamas.

Jazz settled in with a book and Maddie began to write about the day in her new journal. Danny sketched some animals into a journal with the NASA logo on the front in metallic ink. Jack looked at his new tools and started planning new gadgets, making small sketches in his idea book. Vlad was focused on sorting out all the old papers from their many college campaigns and organizing them based on the time they happened.

The house was calm and warm, and all was as it should be on Christmas day.

#Holiday Truce 2019 #enmitypark #danny phantom #my fic #cas speaks #danny #vlad #jazz #jack #maddie #I haven't written a fic in 5 years oh my god #This was so much more stressful than I was ready for #but at the same time it was so fun #hope you enjoy man!!!!#I read through your fic just to see what you liked first lol #I feel like everyone is ooc but..... yaknow how it goes #christmas

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thekitsune · 5 years ago

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Marigami Week Day 1: Sleepovers

Here’s my submission for Day 1! I hope you enjoy!

Marinette smiled as she sat down a tray of freshly baked cookies. Looking around her room, she felt her smile widen as she saw that everything was ready! In an instant, Tikki was floating right next to her.

"Are you excited Marinette?" Tikki questioned her clearly eager partner. Marinette nodded as she turned to face the little kwami.

"Of course I am! Kagami is coming over for our first sleepover!" Marinette pumped her fist into the air in excitement while Tikki giggled off to the side as she saw Marinette spin around on one foot. As the girl went off on one of her excited fantasies, Tikki let her smile rest. She felt so relieved to see Marinette this happy after the last few weeks. Marinette seemed to be in a downward spiral of depression thanks to Lila's schemes and her heavy work schedule, but a miracle seemed to happen. That miracle's name: Kagami Tsurugi.

The two love rivals befriended each other during that competition across Paris. The more Lila pushed against Marinette with the class's backing, the more Marinette drew herself to her new friend. And after awhile, the young fashion designer began to see the fencer in a new light. A light that shone brighter than any she has seen before.

Tikki can still remember the day that Marinette placed all her Adrien pictures and magazine cut outs away into a box (and eventually the trash). She had asked Marinette what the occasion was, but Marinette's response was a small squeak before hesitantly placing a photo of Kagami on the wall. One she took at a fencing competition that Kagami had won.

Since then, the girl's romantic focus has shifted to her new friend, and she was excited when Kagami agreed to spend the night with her. Tikki could remember how nervous Marinette was when asking Kagami over. Her behavior must have shocked Kagami since the normally straight to the point girl hesitated for a few moments before agreeing.

Tikki was happy that Marinette finally found someone that made her happy without reducing her to a stuttering mess and accidentally caused her to deal with constant bullying in class. She really liked Adrien, he was a great kid, really! But his home life has left him with a less than ideal mindset when it came to dealing with people like Lila. She also felt bad that Chat would never get to be with Ladybug, but it was probably for the best. This should hopefully get Adri-CHAT! Chat Noir, to stop getting upset when Ladybug doesn't respond positively to a date or something else he had set up. Times like those really made her wish that Plagg would talk some sense into the boy instead of lounging about eating cheese.

Anyway! Back on topic, Tikki was just happy that Marinette found someone, outside of just her, that would support her and be there for her in her time of need.

"Tikki...are you okay? You've been floating there for a few minutes without saying anything. I know I kind of started rambling about Kagami again, but...ehehe," Marinette questioned the kwami while nervously scratching the back of her hair. In the process of scratching her head, she ran into her pigtails. As much as she loves her new hairstyle, she found some strange urge to let her hair down for the night.

Reaching back, she gently pulled the bands out of each pigtail and allowed her hair to fall down freely. Sighing happily, she looked back up...only to freeze with a blush when she spotted Kagami staring at her from the trapdoor with a surprised look on her normally stoic face.

There was silence before an 'Eep!' broke out across the room.

And that was all Kagami said before slamming the trapdoor shut.

---

Letting her head tilt to the side like a confused puppy, Marinette just had one thought in her mind before rushing after Kagami, "Since when does Kagami 'eep'?"

After a few moments, she stopped in the living room where an embarrassed Kagami sat on the couch. Cautiously walking over to her, Marinette smiled shyly as she stepped in front of Kagami. Bending down lightly to look Kagami in the eyes, Marinette offered her hand, "Um...I'm ready for the sleepover if you are?"

Kagami gently took Marinette's hand and allowed the girl to lead her back up the stairs to her bedroom. Opening the trapdoor for Kagami, Marinette followed after her and closed the door behind her. Looking up, she saw Kagami glancing to the side which worried her.

"Marinette...please...do not tell anyone that I 'eeped...'" Kagami quietly requested much to Marinette's shock, and relief (she thought she offended her somehow). Nodding her head like an energetic puppy, Marinette took Kagami's hands and flashed Kagami a bright smile.

"Your secret is safe with me! Now how would you like to start the sleepover?!" Marinette excitedly asked as Kagami looked up at her with a relieved, yet flushed face.

As the two girls enjoyed each other's presence with every type of activity that they could think of, Tikki watched from the sidelines with a warm smile on her face. Like that of a mother who watched her child interact with their loved one with pride and tenderness.

Letting her smile spread, she flew across the room and turned the lights off around midnight before quietly flying over the bed to her own. As she settled into her small makeshift bed, she took one last glance at her chosen, cuddled against Kagami who held her in a protective embrace, before allowing herself to fall asleep.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #kagami tsurugi #marigami #kagaminette #marigami week #day 1 #sleepovers #tikki #mama tikki #kagami going eep! is stuck in my head now

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dukereviewsmovies · 5 years ago

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Duke Reviews: The Christmas Chronicles

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Are Continuing Duke's Yultide Reviews...

And On Today's Show, We're Looking At Last Year's Gift To Us From Netflix, The Christmas Chronicles...

This Film Follows 2 Siblings Named Teddy And Kate Pierce Who Hatch A Scheme To Capture Santa Claus On Christmas Eve. But When Their Plan Goes Awry, The Kids Join Forces With Jolly Old Saint Nick (Played By Kurt Russell) And His Elves To Save Christmas Before It Is Too Late, Will They Succeed?

Let's Find Out As We Watch The Christmas Chronicles...

The Film Starts With Videos Of The Pierce Family Celebrating Christmas But That Was Then And This Is Now, As We See That The Youngest Of The Family, Katie Is Watching The Tapes While She Looks For A New One So She Can Send A Video Letter To Santa Claus...

But While Katie Makes Her Video, Her Brother Teddy Hits Her In The Head With A Shoe So He Can Take The Camera From Her, Saying That She Can't Believe That She's Making A Video Letter To Santa Claus As She's 11 Years Old Which Leads Teddy To Try To Tell Her That There Is No Santa Claus But Despite Being A Jerk, Teddy Decides To Instead Just Say That There's No Chance That Santa Will Watch Her Video As He Only Reads Handwritten Letters In The Mail...

Yeah, Katie, With The Way You're Going You're Going To Put S.D. Kruger Out Of A Job...

Look At That Happy Face! Do You Really Want To Make Him Sad By Making Him Obsolete, Of Course Not...

Going To Meet His Friends, Katie Tells Teddy That She's Coming With As He's Supposed To Be Watching Her But Instead He Dumps All Of The Fish Food Inside Of Her Fish Tank In An Attempt To Get Away...

Managing To Save Her Fish (I Guess, I Would Think That Getting Them Into Cups Of Water Would Take Longer Than That) Katie Follows Teddy To See Him And His Friends Carjacking A Car...

Confronting Teddy On It When He Gets Home, It Leads To A Fight Between The 2 That Knocks Over Their Family Picture And Their Christmas Tree But When Their Mother (Played By Father Of The Bride's Kimberly Williams Paisley) Returns Home Asking What Happened, Kate (While Telling The Truth At First) Lies For Teddy Saying That Teddy Pushed Her Into The Wall Knocking Over The Picture...

Mad At Her Kids For Not Getting Along, She Tells Teddy To Put Up The Tree And To Decorate It As Their Father Would Have Decorated By Now...

Yep, We're Going With The Old Father Figure Is Dead And Everyone Is Handling It Badly Routine..

Decorating Cookies With Kate, Mom Gets An Emergency Phone Call Telling Her That She Has To Handle The Night Shift At Her Job At The Hospital, Forcing Teddy To Babysit Kate For The Night...

Going Up To His Room For The Night, Kate Asks For Him To Do Something Together With Her Since It's Christmas Eve And Ever Since Their Dad Died, All He Wants To Do Is Hang Out With His Friends Instead Of Her, But Comparing Her To A Boring Slug, Teddy Goes To His Room...

Watching Christmas Videos After The Cookies Are Done, Kate Notices A Hand In A Red Coat In The Picture That Katie Believes To Be Santa Claus...

Showing Teddy The Video, He Considers The Possibilities While Kate Already Has Goosebumps. Suggesting That They Make A Video, Teddy Is Like People Have Tried This Before What Makes You Any Different Than Them? And Despite Having Proof, Teddy Says No...

However, Kate Tells Teddy That If He Helps Her Pull It Off, She'll Give Him The Tape Of Him And His Friends Carjacking The Car And She Won't Say Anything To Mom As Swears On An Award Their Dad Won...

So, Setting Up Traps Like Home Alone Because The Guy That Directed That Directed This Movie Which Means We Got To Have This Music Playing...

Setting Out The Milk And Cookies, They Hide In And Eat Junk Food In An Attempt To Stay Awake, But Eventually They Fall Asleep Which Is When Everything Happens...

With Their Trap Springing, A Bell Wakes Up Kate Who Sees Santa And Wales Up Teddy Who Hears Santa On The Roof, Grabbing The Camera, Teddy And Kate See Santa Going From Roof To Roof And House To House As Follow Him To An Alley Where They Find The Sleigh...

Whoa, Is Right, Keanu...

Climbing Trucks, Buildings And Lightpoles To Get A Good Look At The Sleigh, Kate Ends Up Jumping In With Teddy Right Behind Her But Before They Can Get A Good Look At The Cockpit, Santa Finishes Up And The Sleigh Flies Off...

With Teddy Getting A Good Look At The Front Of The Sleigh, Kate Eventually Gets Cold...

And At That Height, It's No Wonder She Does...

Teddy Looks For A Blanket But Not Able To Wait Kate Goes To Ask Santa, Scaring Him And Causing The Sleigh To Go Off Course...

Going Higher, Kate Falls From The Sleigh But Luckily Teddy And Santa Are Able To Save Kate But In Doing So, They Get In The Way Of An Airplane Which Scares The Reindeer As They Enter Some Sort Of Hyperdrive Which Is Awesome But Once They Get Out Of Hyperdrive Mode, Santa Loses His Hat, The Presents And The Reindeer...

Crash Landing In Chicago, Santa Tells The 2 Kids That They Really Have Messed Things Up Stating That If He's Not Up And Running Within A Few Hours, The World Will Face Another Dark Ages...

Going For A Jingle Bell In The Sleigh, Which Will Lead Santa To His Presents, But As He Goes Find It The Magical Way, Santa Finds That He Doesn't Have His Magic As All Of It Was Inside Of His Hat...

Realizing That He Has To Do This The Normal Way, Santa Tells Teddy And Kate To Head Home (They're In Chicago How Are They Going To Get Home Without You?) And Not Bother Getting Up Early In The Morning As They're On The Naughty List For Life (That's Fine, But You Already Delievered Their Presents, Dummy)

Realizing That They Caused This, So, They Have To Help Santa To Make It Right, Santa Let's Them Come With Despite Being Pissed At Them...

Entering A Restaurant Called Nick's Place, Santa Tries To Get Enough Money From The Patrons So He Can Call A Taxi, But When Teddy Notices One Of Them, Dialing 911, He Gets Santa Out Of There...

However, With Christmas Spirit Down 35%, They Still Need A Ride So, Teddy Decides To Steal Some Car Keys From A Valet. Despite Santa And Kate Believing That That's Not A Good Idea, Teddy Reminds Santa That With Christmas On The Line Now's Not A Time To Be Picky Especially When Santa Breaks Into Houses To Deliver Gifts Every December 24th...

Plus, They're Not Really Breaking The Law As The Car's Already Stolen And When They're Done With It They'll Turn It Into The Police. Getting In The Car, They Drive Off In It...

Going Through All The Junk In The Car, Santa Turns The Car Radio Into A Police Band Reciever To Discover If Anyone Has Called The Police Yet And Turns Out They Have However They Also Also Hear About A Reindeer Sighting On Michigan Avenue...

Arriving On Michigan Avenue, Teddy Slows Down The Car So Santa Can Attempt To Call His Reindeer But When Kate Spots Them They Head Down The Street Where Kate Saw Them Only To Lose Them Again And With Police Approaching They Need To Hurry...

Santa Tells Katie To Go After The Reindeer While Teddy And Him Keep The Police Distracted, Which They Do By Driving All Over The City. Eventually Finding The Reindeer, Kate Gives Comet A Candy Cane Which Makes Him Trust Her Enough To Take Him And The Other Reindeer To See Santa...

Chasing The Police Around Chicago, Teddy And Santa Nearly Crash Into A Car Which Leads Them Jump Into A Snowbank...

Getting Out Of The Car, Teddy And Santa Try Explaining The Situation To The Officers But With What They're Saying To The Officers, Santa And Teddy May As Well Be Telling Them, Go Ahead, Arrest Us!

Which Is Exactly What They Do With Santa, However When Kate Shows Up With The Reindeer, Santa Gives Teddy The Jingle Bell That Locates His Sack And Manages To Get Away From The Cops By Hopping On One Of The Reindeer...

Dumping The Reindeer At A Christmas Tree Lot, They Head For A Church Where Teddy And Kate Hear Their Dad's Favorite Christmas Song Which Happens To Be My Mom's Favorite Christmas Song...

(Just Kidding, She Hates This Song, Love You Mom)

This Leads To A Tender Moment Between The 2 Siblings Where We Discover The Reason Teddy Is Acting Like A Jerk Is Because He's Mad At His Father For Dying And He Thinks That If His Father Could See Him Now He Wouldn't Like The Man That He's Become...

But Kate Tells Him That He's Not An Awful Brother And That Their Dad Wouldn't Be Disappointed In Him Because She Sees Him All The Time In Teddy...

Or In Other Words...

With The Bell Beeping More Frequently, The Kids Continue Their Quest While Santa Is Being Questioned By One Of The Officers Who Still Doesn't Believe Santa But Giving The Officer Gifts He Wanted Since He Was A Boy, The Officer Starts Questioning Things After Realizing That Frisked Santa On The Way In So There's No Way That He Stole Those Items...

With The Officer Telling Santa To Stop, Santa Instead Gets To What Dave Wants This Year Which Is To Get Back Together With His Ex-Wife, Freaking Out Over How Santa Knows This, Santa Says That It Doesn't Matter But All He Needs To Do Is Just Give Her A Call....

Doubting Everything That He Has Seen, The Officer Reminds Santa Of The Charges That He's Accused Of Which Leads Santa To Tell The Officer That By Tomorrow They'll Seem Like Nothing As Christmas Spirit Is Down To 31% Now And If He Doesn't Get Moving All Of Chicago Will Look Like The Purge Movies And The Police Will Have Their Hands Full...

But With The Officer Believing Him To Be Some Kind Of Con Man, He Locks Santa Inside Of A Cell With A Bunch Of Other Criminals...

Meanwhile, Teddy And Kate Locate The Bag In A Tree And Manage To Get It Out Of The Tree, Looking For Elves Inside Of The Bag, Kate Goes Inside Of It Only To Disappear. In An Attempt To Look For Kate, Teddy Gets Kidnapped By 3 Hoods Who Take The Bag...

While Inside Of The Bag, Kate Finds One Of The Elves Who Leads Her Into This Vortex Of Presents...

Which Eventually Takes Her To The North Pole..

While Looking Around The North Pole, Kate Decides To Look At Santa's Many Letters From Kids All Over The World To Look At Teddy's Many Letters To Santa Claus Only To Discover That Teddy Wrote One This Year Asking Santa If He Can Let Him See His Father One Last Time...

But Before We Discover The Reason Why, Kate Sees One Of The Elves Walk Past To Go And Hide, Eventually Finding Him, Kate Introduces Herself To Him And The Other Elves Who She Eventually Finds Saying That Santa Sent Her But The Elves Don't Believe Kate And They Tie Her Up With Lights...

Telling The Head Elf (Who Looks Nothing Like David Krumholtz) Everything, They Take Kate To A Book To Show Kate That She Comes From A Long Line Of True Believers...

And The Elves Are Like...

And They Release Her....

Back At The Police Station, The Police Station Starts Filling Up As The Officer's Partner Tells Him That It's Never This Busy On Christmas Eve, Which Has The Officer Realizing That Santa Warned Him About This...

While In Jail, Santa Discovers That Christmas Spirit Is Down To 19% So, He Decides To Try And Raise It By Livening Up A Little Bit Of The Spirit With Help Of The Convicts Inside Of The Jail Cell With Him...

youtube

Back In The Car Of The Hoods, They Take Teddy To Their Boss Who Goes Through Santa's Sack Only To Get A Lump Of Coal, The Hoods Do The Same And Get The Same Thing. Believing The Sack To Be Useless,The Hoods Boss Attempts To Burn The Sack...

But When Teddy Goes To Save It, The Hoods Grab Teddy So Their Boss Could Tell Them To Kill Teddy, However, As They Attempt To Do That The Elves Spring From The Sack And Attack Them...

(Man) Retreat!

Spotting Teddy Who Hid During The Attack, The Elves Attempt To Attack Teddy (Believing That He's One Of The Gang Members) But Luckily Kate Pops Up And Tells The Elves To Stop Before Teddy Is Sliced In Half By A Mini Chainsaw...

Realizing That The Sleigh Is Still Broken, They Ask The Elves To Fix It While Santa Settles Things With The Officer, Who Gets A Call From His Ex-Wife Who Wants To Get Back Together With Him...

Breaking Santa Out Of Jail, The Elves Give Him A New Hat, Courtesy Of Mrs. Claus And So, The Officer's Permission, Up The Chimney He Goes...

With Everything Back On Track, Christmas Seems To Be Back On, However, While Being In Jail, Santa Lost Track Of Time And They Now Have Less Than An Hour Before Sunrise...

Completely Hopeless, Teddy Tells Santa That That They Started This And They're Going To Finish It And While He May Not Know How Things Are Done At The North Pole, A Pierce Always Sees Things Through...

Admiring Teddy's Passion, Santa Still Hasn't Cut It This Close In Forever And Has No Clue How They're Going To Pull This Off, Suggesting That If They Work Together They Might Be Able To. Never Having Human Helpers In The Sleigh Before, Santa Realizes That With Only A Little Bit Of North America Left, They Just Might Be Able To Pull It Off...

With Kate In Charge Of Chucking Out The Presents For Santa To Deliver And Teddy In Charge Of Driving The Sleigh, Santa Starts Delivering Toys From House To House And State To State...

With Time Getting Tight, Santa Asks Kate To Ask The Elves To Help Him...

Missing One Present, They Have Less Than 9 Minutes To Get It There...

Managing To Get It There Only Three Seconds Left, Christmas Is Saved With All The Presents Delivered And Christmas Spirit At 95%...

Taking Teddy And Kate Home, They Ask Santa If They'll Ever See Him Again, Santa Tells Them Most Likely No, But If He Ever Needs 2 Helpers He Knows Where To Find The Best Helpers He's Ever Had..

But Before He Goes, Santa Gives Teddy His Hat, Saying That He Doesn't Need It Because He's Santa Claus...

Hoping On Board The Sleigh, Santa Leaves Just As Their Mom Pulls Up....

Going Inside, They Find The Place Completely Decorated The Exact Way Their Father Decorated It...

Opening Presents, They Get Their Usual Ugly Sweaters From Their Aunt Peggy Before Kate Discovers A Gift To Teddy From Santa, Opening It He Finds A Letter That Says "Dear Teddy, I Got Your Letter. I'm Sorry, I Don't Have The Power To Grant Your Wish But This Was The Best I Could Do, Santa"...

Opening It To Discover An Ornament, Teddy Places It On The Tree, And The Magic Within The Ornament Shows Teddy, His Father Who Says He's Proud Of Him...

Back At The North Pole, Santa Adds Teddy's Name To The Pierce Tree Of True Believers As Mrs. Claus (Played By Goldie Hawn) Comes In With Wood For The Fire While Talking With Santa About Last Night...

And That's The Christmas Chronicles And Why Has This Not Been Released On DVD Or Blu-Ray?

This Film Is A Holiday Classic In The Making And Is Honestly A Good Movie, The Story Is Good, The Cast Is Good, The Elves Are Cute, The Effects Were Awesome It Is Defiantly Worth A Watch And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#Netflix #The Christmas Chronicles #kimberly williams paisley #merry christmas #christmas #movie review #Movies #Kurt Russell

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rosemaidenvixen · 5 years ago

Text

A Secret’s Worth

Chapter 1: Claire

Ao3

The building itself was utterly unremarkable, a boxy structure of beige bricks and plexiglass windows. But to Claire this building was a huge first step.

Claire walked up to the front door and pushed her way inside, other students milled around in the large corridor, occasionally opening or shutting the blue lockers that lined every side of it. Claire headed in, navigating her way through the crowd while taking in more of her surroundings. The walls and lockers had a slightly worn look and the air smelled faintly of sweat and rubber. Despite that Claire couldn’t help but smile, feeling lighter with every step.

High school, not the snooty prep school her mom kept pushing her to consider; real actual high school.

Claire broke free of the crowded hallway and into an outdoor area full of concrete picnic tables. She glanced around until she spotted the table Mary and Darci were at and jogged over to meet them.

Mary noticed her approaching and waved “Claire-Bear! Over here!”

Claire slowed to a stop and slid into her seat “It’s great to see you guys, you have no idea how excited I am now that we’re starting high school together,”

“I know!” Darci gushed “I can’t wait to try out for the cheerleading squad,”

Claire snorted “I still think you’re nuts for not going for theatre club,”

“What can I say? The pom poms are calling me,”

“Both of you are missing the big picture,” Mary paused for dramatic effect “All the boys that will fall at our feet!”

Claire and Darci groaned in unison. Not this again.

Mary smirked at her friends “Trust me on this,” she brandished her phone in their direction “I have over a thousand followers already, so it’s only a matter of time before I’m the queen bee of this place,” she let out a dreamy sigh “And then admirers will follow,”

Claire didn’t know why she was surprised, the schools and grades they were in might change, but some things never did “Don’t get ahead of yourself Mare, this is just our first day, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have, boys are hardly going to be lining up to--”

“Give it back!”

“Come on, you always make tons of extra,”

“Yeah but that doesn’t mean--”

All three girls turned in the direction of the new voices.

Two boys were heading towards them, a red headed one holding a paper bag, and one in a blue jacket making a grab for the bag that redhead was holding.

They froze upon noticing the girls eyes on them, before quickly jerking into semi-normal postures.

“Uh...Hi?” blue jacket boy said with a nervous smile.

Darci raised an eyebrow at them “Hi?”

Claire turned in her seat to take in the newcomers; redhead was somebody new, but she could have sworn she had seen blue jacket before.

Mary narrowed her eyes in suspicion “Can we help you with something?”

Redhead perked up “Actually yes,” he fended off one more attempt from blue jacket to take the bag and held it out towards Claire “My friend here was baking last night and accidentally made too many, would you mind taking them off our hands?”

Curious and just the slightest bit sceptical, Claire accepted the bag. Mary and Darci leaned over to get a better look as Claire reached inside.

“Are these…”

“Macarons!” Darci squealed.

Mary plucked one of the cookies out of Claire’s hand and held it up for examination “Hang on, you made these?”

Blue jacket forced out an awkward chuckle “Yep...sure did,”

That’s when it clicked. Last February. Her mom’s fundraiser at the hospital. What was his name, John? Jake?

“I don’t think we got your names,”

“Oh! I’m Jim,” he gestured to the red head by his side “This is Toby,”

Toby winked at them “The one and only,”

Claire smiled back “Nice to meet you, I’m Claire,”

“I’m Darci,”

“I’m Mary,”

The conversation fell flat as none of them could figure out what to say next.

Claire fiddled with her thumbs “Are you guys freshmen to?”

“Yep,” Toby said with a confident smirk “We’ll probably have a lot of classes together,”

“Having students in the same grade share classes would make a lot of sense,” Darci said with just a hint of sarcasm, although judging by the grin on her face she was more amused than anything else

“Well, it was nice meeting you guys, but Toby and I have to...get to our lockers, so...I guess I’ll see you later,”

Claire brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face “I would like that,”

Toby took it in stride but Jim was blushing so hard he looked like a tomato. He stuttered out his own goodbye before making a hasty retreat with Toby in tow.

Claire turned back around in her seat only to come face to face with a very smug looking Mary.

“What?”

Mary gave her a knowing grin that would have been more fitting on a feline “Didn’t someone just say something about not getting ahead of ourselves?”

A blush burned to life across Claire’s cheeks “It’s not like that! They just seemed nice,”

Mary waved a cookie under Claire’s nose “And the macarons?”

“You heard what he said, Jim just made extra and they were sharing them,”

Darci popped one of the aforementioned macarons into her mouth “So that’s why you were giving him goo goo eyes the whole time,” she mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs “Just the cookies?”

Claire fixed Darci with a level stare as she finished chewing the cookie, an oh-so-innocent look on her face, Mary snickered from across the table. All Claire wanted was to talk to people in her new school,

Preferably dark haired boys that baked macarons and got punch for their moms at parties,

Without her friends reading too much into it. Was that so much to ask?

“Et tu Darci?”

Lockers and brick walls surrounded her on three sides, another dead end. Claire groaned before turning around and heading back the way she came. Seriously, why did this place have to be so huge? This was the third time this week Claire had gotten turned around on her way to the choir room.

The back of someone’s shirt looming just inches in front of her face pulled Claire out of her grousing. She stopped in her tracks to avoid a collision. A loose crowd of sorts had gathered, growing thicker as the hallway continued on, a low buzz of whispering and hushed conversation rippled through them.

Mary and Darci were standing off to the side, Mary was on her tiptoes trying to see through the mass of bodies while Darci just looked anxious. Hoping her friends had some idea of what was happening, Claire walked over to them.

“You guys know what’s going on?”

Darci turned upon hearing her voice “Jim Lake started crying in the middle of the hall,”

Hearing that name caused Claire to freeze in her tracks.

Jim Lake, from the fundraiser, macaron boy.

“He was crying? Why?”

“No one knows, one minute he was fine, the next he was sobbing on the floor,”

Mary spoke up for the first time, startling both of them “Which is why we’re going to figure out what happened,”

Before she could ask Mary exactly what she meant by that, Señor Uhl’s voice started booming from the other side of the crowd; in response, the gathered students started to walk away, a few straight up ran.

Claire was right about to join them, if there was one teacher who’s bad side you did not want to be on it was Señor Uhl, when Mary grabbed her and Darci’s wrists, pulling them down the hall after her as she dashed away.

After numerous twists and turns Mary finally let them go and peeked around the corner of the corridor they were in. Claire glanced around, the halls were clear now, class must have started. She gave her jacket zipper a nervous tug, if she got caught ditching classes in her first week of school her mom would be pissed.

Whatever Mary’s scheme was Darci was having none of it “Mare, what are you--”

“Shh!” Mary hissed and made frantic shushing motions at them before jerking back and pressing herself against the lockers.

Curious, Claire risked a peek around the corner and saw Toby jogging up from the opposite end of the hall. Gone was the over confident boy they had met on Monday, this Toby looked ashen and postively stricken. He slowed to a stop and went through a door on the wall perpendicular to her, disappearing from her sight.

Less than a second after the door shut behind him Mary ran ahead, Claire and Darci following on her heels. In one fluid motion Mary slid to her knees and pressed her ear against the door. Dacri hung back, restlessly glancing back and forth down either side of the hall. Claire recognized this room, this was the front office, she’d been in here a bunch of times while she was getting registered.

It was only then that she noticed the sound of voices coming from inside.

“Do you have any idea why James-- Jim, was so out of sorts?”

That was Mr. Strickler, their history teacher. He was talking about Jim. The desire to snoop overriding every ounce of common sense in her body, Claire moved next to Mary and pressed her own ear against the door. Darci muttered something about how her dad was going to ground her until she was thirty before joining them.

“I know you’re worried about Jim, but if he needs help, any information you can give would be greatly appreciated, and I promise, nothing you say will leave this room,”

Claire’s hands were trembling against the wood of the door, her pulse pounded in her ears like a drum. She shouldn’t be listening to this. She should not be listening right now.

Toby’s voice rang out next, sending Claire’s heart straight up into her throat “It’s just that...today’s his birthday…which was also the day his dad walked out...ten years ago,”

Claire had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping.

She had a feeling that she just learned something she had no business knowing.

Strickler was saying something else now but Claire didn’t hear.

No wonder Jim had started crying.

Claire was yanked back to reality by Mary and Darci pulling her away from the door. It was just in time to, no sooner did they sprint back around the corner than Toby came out and started heading in their direction.

The girls froze and pressed their backs against the lockers as hard as they could. Claire held her breath as Toby stepped around the corner and walked right past her. Mercifully, Toby didn’t look up, keeping his head slumped down, staring at his shoes as he walked by. Immediately after Toby was far enough past them, they raced into the nearest bathroom for cover.

They stood in silence for a few seconds, the only sound their frantic breathing echoing off the stall doors, while they waited for someone to burst through the door and bust them for eavesdropping. After a few minutes passed, it slowly became apparent that they had gotten away with it.

For better or worse.

Darci spoke up first “That was...wow,”

Claire eyed Mary uncertainly, she knew her friend was a huge fan of gossip, but this... “You won’t share this on your blog, right?”

Mary leaned back against the wall and sank to the ground “No,” she mumbled “I just thought he didn’t get on the football team or something, not...this,”

Claire turned and leaned heavily against the bathroom counter, porcelain cold against her palms. She wasn’t naive, she knew that just because she had a mom and a dad didn’t mean everyone else did. Some kids had just one, or an uncle, or a grandma, even two moms or dads.

And sometimes...moms or dads weren’t good people.

Claire lifted her head to face her reflection. It might not have been her idea to eavesdrop, but she could have stopped Mary, instead she’d gone right along with it. And now they all knew a big fat personal secret that none of them had any right to know.

Needing something to do with her hands, Claire turned on the sink and splashed her face with water. She might have just met Jim, but he seemed really nice, nicer than most of the other boys their age. And now he was going to have to deal with being the kid that started crying in front of everyone.

Claire wanted to do something, anything, to make him feel better. About his dad and for what just happened. But if she tried to reach out and cheer him up he’d probably just think it was out of pity.

Not to mention that she could never let it slip that they knew about his dad.

Her hands went limp under the streaming faucet. How could she reach out without seeming insincere?

#tales of arcadia #Trollhunters #fanfic #a secret's worth #jim lake jr #toby domzalski #claire nuñez #darci scott #Mary Wang #rmvwrites

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