#cnng talk

[shadowsndaisies]

I was re-reading the series bcs duh, why not? And I love that NG has so different dynamics with each member of the Team and I love that with Roy is just younger-sister-sassy.lvl_3000

LIKE- she turn even more cheeky and stubborn with him, annoying him on purpose and getting in his nerves LMAO THAT'S EXATCLY LIKE SIBLINGS ARE

here a dialogue that I had with my siblings that remembered me of Roy and NG

Roy: get out of my room (lying down on his bed scrolling through his phone)

NG: (stading right there on his room door) I'm not on your room

Roy: yes you are, get out!

NG: I'm not!! I'm not stepping inside of your room! (points down where her feet's are behind the line of Roy's door line)

Roy: Get out!! OR I'MMA THROW OUT YOU JACKET (gets up)

NG: YOU WOULDN'T-

Roy: (bolt out of his bed)

NG: (running down the hallway)

so ive been sitting on this one bc it inspired a lil blurb. enjoy some sibling roy and birdy content after their angst from the season finale!!

synopsis: sibling bonding time!! aka the holidays right after ollie takes in roy...

wc: 1.2k

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You were bored.

It’s winter break, 2004. Christmas is days away but you were so incredibly bored.

This year you were celebrating in a cozy little cottage some ways outside the city that Oliver’s family owned. Ollie himself had been pulled away for some sort of League thing, and so at the moment it was just you, Dinah, and Roy. Dinah had been on some call for the last hour and a half in a little home office. So really, it was just you and Roy.

You like Roy. Everyday he's becoming more and more like the older brother you never had. Dinah seems to really like him too, so it bodes well for your little family. Ollie had only taken him in about six months ago, and there was still some space for adjustment as you settled into being a newly minted family of four. Not that Roy seemed to realize that this was a family… he’d catch on soon enough.

But that's okay. It took you a while to put it together, you could give him some grace to do the same, even though he's older than you were then, and older than you in general.

Nonetheless, be it the boredom, or because Roy was still this new thing, you found yourself in his doorway.

He was just laying there, book in hand. Maybe he's bored too? you consider as you stare. If he's reading the tactic books that Ollie had given him, he had to be, right?

“What do you want (y/n)?” he sighs out, without looking when you stood in silence too long.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Stuff,” is his one word answer and you crinkle your nose in response.

“Come play with me,” you offer instead.

“Nope, doing stuff,” he repeats.

This time your brows shift down, and you step closer.

“Stop,” he groans, finally turning to look at you. “I'm not interested, and I’m doing stuff, so just.. I don't know? Go away?”

You're fully frowning now.

Teenagers suck, you decide.

And then your face relaxes. If Roy wanted to be a sucky teenager meanie pants, then he would be treated like a sucky teenager meanie pants.

“No.”

Roy stops mid page turn and slowly turns his head to look at you. Blue eyes narrowing slightly. “No?”

“No,” you cross your arms and confirm.

“(y/n), get out of my room!” he huffs.

You know he's starting to loose his patience with you. He's already tossed his book to the side to glare at you with full focus, he didn’t even mark his page, you note, scrunching your nose.

Your brows furrow in response before you glance down at your feet. You can see the thin little line that marks the threshold of the room and hallway.

smirking you look back at roy and state, “im not in your room,” as matter of factly as you can manage.

You don't laugh when his eye twitches, but you do take great smug solace in it.

“Yes, you are! Get out!” he shouts again.

“No, I’m not,” you repeat with the same tone. “I haven't stepped into your room at all… yet,” you challenge, pointing to the threshold of the door, and how your feet were planted firmly in the hall still.

“Get out, or I'm donating your leather jacket to a Goodwill,” he challenges, standing up.

That gives you pause, because no fair, you loved your jacket. Dinah and Ollie got it for you.

You hesitate in the door, and he steps forward.

“You wouldn't,” you counter, brows knitted as you study his body language.

Honestly that’s probably the only reason you managed to move as quick as you did.

Studying him for a lie meant you saw how he tensed up, pushing his weight to his back leg before he pounced, arms open and trying to grab you.

Well, and Dinah, consider she's the one who taught you how to read people.

You did notice though and were already booking it back down the hallway before he’d even caught his footing.

“BIRDY!” he shouts, and you can hear him running after you.

You're about to turn to your room, ready to shut the door and throw the lock when you realize your jacket is hanging over the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen. You turn quickly, sprinting through the home.

When you risk a glance back to see Roy gaining, stupid longer legs you think menacingly to yourself.

“DINAH!” you shout, hoping she might hear you.

“NO DINAH!” Roy counters.

You plant one leg on the couch vaulting yourself over before skidding to a stop next to your jacket.

Roy stands across from you. The two of you separated by a couch.

“You shoulda just left me alone Birdy!” he spits out, but you're both panting hard.

“I was bored!”

“How about now?” he challenges. “Still bored?”

You're hugging your jacket to you as you frown, but are saved from retorting when the door swings open, revealing Oliver. He's a bit bruised and battered, and he's got his bag with all his GA gear slung over a shoulder, but he's back.

Neither you nor Roy moves, and it takes less than two seconds for Oliver to read you both and let out a sigh.

“What was it this time?”

“She’s annoying!” Roy starts and you stick your tongue out at him.

“At least I'm not a sucky teenager meanie pants,” you counter, and Ollie’s eyes blow wide.

“Wow, breaking out not only sucky but also a meanie pants, gosh squirt what’d he do?”

“He was mean! for no reason!”

“No reason? She’s literally annoying me for no reason!” Roy counters.

“We're really feeling that holiday spirit huh?” ollie offers in response, finally walking all the way in, and shutting the door behind him.

“So funny,” you scoff.

“Yeah, what a crack up,” Roy snarks.

Ollie takes the opportunity to beam with a little too much pride at you both.

“See, you guys do agree on stuff,” he decides. “I’m great at this conflict management stuff,” he smirks, “I honestly don't understand what Dinah was going on and on about,” he adds, though his tone drops a bit quieter as he says the last sentence.

You make eye contact with Roy behind Ollie’s head and you see as he rolls his eyes and the expression he shoots at you clearly asks, *can you believe this guy?*

You hold back a snort as you quirk a brow in response. Roy seems to pick up on what you were trying to share because slowly you place your jacket back on the chair and then in the next second you both are lunging at Oliver. Ollie, despite how well trained he is was unprepared and lopped over the back off the couch, practically somersaulting over the sofa until he was on the ground. It's quiet for a second and then both you and Roy are laughing. He's holding the edge of the couch and there are tears in your eyes.

“Yes,” he states dryly, slowly pushing himself back to his feet, “bond by bullying your injured mentor…”

The look on his face simply had you both laughing harder.

...

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

dc taglist: @batarella @loninctzencarat @escapenightmare @uh-oh-howd-i-get-here

cnng taglist: @babymango-writes @smile-more19 @bruiscdlikeviolets @truly-dionysus @farfromjustordinary @sometimeseverythingsucks @dweeb-central @lucy-roo @casedoina @cipheress-to-k-pop @anonomano @seninjakitey @whelmedparker @officiallydarkgeek @midnxghtblue @unini @blackwhiteandshadesofgradient @dontmesswithbeebo @raggedyoldwitch @bouqet-of-gay @duckmylife18 @kendallambrosio @notslaybabes @torchbearerkyle @cynthiarose07 @mono--moonchild @emo-space-tea @notsostraightweeb @sassyspanishartist @ahyeonah @acceber1313 @onepieceformeplease @whatislifeandhowdoidoit @luvelyxp @lovelyartemisa @evermoore580 @mischiefmanaged71 @cryingnotcrying @aces-tattooartist @we-flower-fan @awkward-youtube-trash @laurcad123 @sanovr @feverish-dove @lolsnacks

[shadowsndaisies]

sooo there might be a scene in s3 that ive mapped out that goes a lil like this...

Fighting or Flirting?

Icicle Jr.: Are we fighting or flirting?

Y/N: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck-

Icicle Jr.: Your point?

[shadowsndaisies]

Your nightingale series is 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

I literally read through every chapter you’ve posted in 2 days! I love love love it !!!! Can’t wait to see more <333

aaaah! thank you so much!!! as a treat, enjoy some Ollie and Birdy bonding!

......

"Okay, Kid, Dinah said you're almost street ready, which is great, but before we set you free on the city we need to make sure you're able to get around," Oliver stood tall beside you as he led you through the now abandoned (and slightly decrepit) Queen Manor.

"If this is about the maps, D said I aced her ‘I'm lost, Birdy, where are we?’ tests," you shoot back with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, we're very proud that you can mentally navigate, I meant physically traversing," he clarifies, waving his hand around.

"Are you gonna teach me how to drive?" your eyes had blown wide in excitement.

"Absolutely not," he negates, smiling at the way your expression dropped into a pout.

“We will be waiting at least until you’re 14 for that,” Oliver adds on.

“That’s not fair, how am I supposed to get around if I can’t drive,” you counter.

“A normal person waits til sixteen,” he shoots back, and you shut your mouth for the moment being. “now, as I was saying, traversing, as in grappling,” he clarifies.

“grappling?” you repeat.

“Yep!” and he leads you up the stairs.

He finally stops in the attic and stands next to a broken window, looking out you see a gymnastics net has been set up on the ground below you, the same used in trapeese acts.

"That's a long way down," you note cautiously.

"It is," he nods. "How far do you think?" he asks with a quirked brow.

"Well we're about four stories up, a story on average is about fourteen feet, so we're about, what? fifty-six feet up?" you estimate, taking a second as you go to do the math.

"sixty-five, but your math process is spot on," he nods.

"sixty-five feet," you repeat, looking out at the ground, which seems to spin a bit the longer you look down.

"And this is the short end, when you're out there, you're grappling from, around, and between sky scrapers," he adds on.

"oh," you say softly, rolling the tip of your shoe against the floor. It's a bit of a tick, Oliver's noticed, not directly obvious which works in your favor, but something he's going to have to talk with Dinah about for sure.

He sighs and takes a knee to be closer to your eye level. You're still so young, so small, barely nine years old, "look, kiddo, today... today and for this training I can't be your friend, Ollie, okay? I have to be a little harsher. Grappling is an important skill, but it's also dangerous and Dinah and I need to make sure you're ready to move through the city like this, that you're trained properly for it," he explains, a hand on your shoulder.

"okay," you nod, voice soft.

"Okay," he repeats back, standing back up and leading you a table, there's a bow, and a grapple gun. "Here's how the next few weeks are going to go. First we're going to learn with the gun, make sure you're able to hold it, that you understand how it works. we are going to take this thing apart and put it back together until you can do it in 30 seconds or less. then, we're going to work on shooting, on testing what's a solid grapple point, and once we're confident in our choices we're going to work on actually using it, swinging around and stuff."

"Is that why there's a gymnast's net outside?"

"uh, yeah, about that..."

your brows furrow down, and if he weren't so anxious about what he had to share with you, he'd probably be cooing at the expression of distrust, "what?"

"Dinah thinks it's important to learn how to... fall," he says slowly.

"fall?"

"fall," he repeats, nodding and looking out.

you pause for a second and he can see the gears turning and sees when you put it together.

"you want me to practice.. falling," you say again.

"yes."

"as in, i will be falling down onto that net, from up here?" you ask.

"yes."

"This was Dinah's plan?" you squeak; the look of betrayal on your face forces him to choke down a laugh; your eyes are so expressive, and sometimes he is just stuck in awe of you.

"yes," he nods again; he’s not going to tell you that they both did this; he rather likes being the good cop.

"I do not like this," you decide.

"yes, we didn't think you would," ollie admits. "I am however, incredibly proud of you for saying so," he smirks.

"you would be proud, stupid pysch based child rearing," you scoff.

"Have you been peaking though Dinah's books again?" he asks, lips quirked in a knowing smirk.

you roll your eyes, "maybe."

"our smart girl," he smiles.

"So... when does the falling come in the schedule?"

"With the shooting," he admits.

"Not today?"

"No, not today," he reassures you.

"What if.. what if I want to try today?" you ask, he notes that your shoe is rolling again.

"kiddo you don't have to-"

"I want to, I want to know what I'm getting myself into," you tell him, tone resolute, and that's a pretty fair request.

"Okay, after we work on assembly and disassembly, at the end, you can try take a dive," he nods, and he can see you nodding back at him, trying to hype yourself up. "I'll do it with you," he adds, and your shoulders seem to lose some of the tension they were holding as you nod back.

...

wc: 921

synopsis: ollie introduces birdy to grappling

main masterlist

codename: nightingale series masterpost

...

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

dc taglist: @grey-water-colors @batarella @loninctzencarat @escapenightmare

cnng taglist:

@babymango-writes @smile-more19 @bruiscdlikeviolets @truly-dionysus @farfromjustordinary

@sometimeseverythingsucks @dweeb-central @lucy-roo @casedoina @cipheress-to-k-pop

@anonomano @seninjakitey @whelmedparker @officiallydarkgeek @midnxghtblue

@unini @blackwhiteandshadesofgradient @dontmesswithbeebo @raggedyoldwitch @unicorn-mya

@bouqet-of-gay @duckmylife18 @kendallambrosio @notslaybabes @torchbearerkyle

@cynthiarose07 @lolsnacks @mono--moonchild @emo-space-tea @notsostraightweeb @cryingnotcrying 

@sassyspanishartist @ahyeonah @acceber1313 @onepieceformeplease @whatislifeandhowdoidoit

@luvelyxp @lovelyartemisa @evermoore580 @mischiefmanaged71 @aces-tattooartist

@we-flower-fan @awkward-youtube-trash @laurcad123 @sanovr @feverish-dove

@raginghellfire

[shadowsndaisies]

so... hi. i am alive. i am working on the last quarter or so of the last episode of season 1!!! so exciting!! BUT i have also been working on some sketches of NG and her suit and stuff. so like... if anyone's interested... please let me know.

its more like her suit and her gear than her bc i wanna leave that more open to interpretation

[shadowsndaisies]

long time no see! Can't wait for the next update on C:NG. I'm hoping to reread it on my next bday tbh. (few days after new years'), I've grown up with this series, so it feels surreal. Thank you! <3

well its a good thing im tryna finish the final update of season 1 rn then... i really wanted to end on the new year since thats the day in the show so... keep an eye out 👀

[shadowsndaisies]

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the amount of effort and willpower you put into making the c:ng series because it's seriously good and so well taught out. You've been very dedicated to it as well cause writing a long ass fic with so many chapters isn't easy and the fact that you're still sticking to it? You have my love and support 💕🫶🏼

you made me cry a lil, ngl. i want to reiterate that i am 100% committed to the fic tho, and it is my goal to make sure it gets completed. and your love and support means so much, truly!

[shadowsndaisies]

honestly can we just forget about all the cn:n season 1 stuff and skip straight to the last three episodes of season 2? 😁(i want to feel pain)

lmao trust me sometimes i wish i could skip over parts too, i have most of seasons 2 and 3 mapped out already, but for some reason i've really been struggling with the season 1 finale, which is such a shitty space to get stuck on.

ps: you don't want me to skip that far, it's not necessary if you're just aiming for me to break your heart. it'll happen a lot earlier in the season tbh

[shadowsndaisies]

tbf in order to work on a longer series without burning out, you gotta do little self indulgent projects on the side !

exactly!! i feel bad though i know cnng is almost done with season 1 but I've hit a bit of a wall! at least athena and the daggers have given me an outlet to keep writing until i figure it out!

[shadowsndaisies]

Hi! So I just started reading cn:ng, love it <3 but I just wanted to know does ng have similar powers to canary? Like is she a meta-human?

Hi! Welcome!! So NG is an empath (recently discovered her abilities) but she's been Canary's sidekick since she was like 8 years old. She does not have the same powers as Canary, BUT before they realize that NG has powers of her own they give her a little sonic device that allows her to mimic the Canary Cry (think laurel lance in CW's arrow).

[shadowsndaisies]

hi I just got into dc + found your nightingale series by chance and I just wanted to say that I really love it!! wish I could be like birdy, she’s so cool (!!) kekwww

and actually, I do remember having an oc named nightingale in the past (she was a nurse, though). brought back lots of memories!

haha so cool about your NG too! but welcome!!! so glad to have you here! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so far! and please let me know how your forage into the world of DC and on Tumblr (read: hellsite) goes!

[shadowsndaisies]

What about the team see NG singing a song either for a solo in choir or a musical she will be in

I'm not sure if we'll ever seen anything like this in the story, buttt if ng were to star in a musical I could see her as Laurie in Oklahoma - sassy, bold, independent.

[shadowsndaisies]

hi! i was just wondering if you had any songs or playlists that you used while writing cn:ng? or any songs that reminded you of the characters? i thought it would be neat to see your connection of the story and music :)

hi! i do actually have some songs in mind, but it's a bit chaotic at the moment. I'll work on cleaning it up for you guys and then I'll post the link when it's ready! I'll add songs to it as I continue with the series too!

[shadowsndaisies]

im begging to see those sketches babe🙏🙏🙏

okay... so this is what i have so far.. i went back and added some labels to help.

im still working on her civvies outfit but you get glimpses in my action sketches

PLEASE let me know what you think or if you have any ideas!!

PS: these are my sketches and the product of long-term work when I get a little too in my head; they weren't originally going to be shared tbh bc, it was to help me physically envision the character I had been creating. Just because this is my interpretation doesnt mean its the only one- and i hope it doesnt drive anyone away!!

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

dc taglist: @grey-water-colors @batarella @loninctzencarat @escapenightmare

cnng taglist:

@babymango-writes @smile-more19 @bruiscdlikeviolets @truly-dionysus @farfromjustordinary

@sometimeseverythingsucks @dweeb-central @lucy-roo @casedoina @cipheress-to-k-pop

@anonomano @seninjakitey @whelmedparker @officiallydarkgeek @midnxghtblue

@unini @blackwhiteandshadesofgradient @dontmesswithbeebo @raggedyoldwitch @unicorn-mya

@bouqet-of-gay @duckmylife18 @kendallambrosio @notslaybabes @torchbearerkyle

@cynthiarose07 @lolsnacks @mono--moonchild @emo-space-tea @notsostraightweeb @cryingnotcrying 

@sassyspanishartist @ahyeonah @acceber1313 @onepieceformeplease @whatislifeandhowdoidoit

@luvelyxp @lovelyartemisa @evermoore580 @mischiefmanaged71 @aces-tattooartist

@we-flower-fan @awkward-youtube-trash @laurcad123 @sanovr @feverish-dove

@raginghellfire

[shadowsndaisies]

athena; the preamble

WC: 3k

synopsis: athena at a glance basically

main masterlist

athena-verse master post

a/n: i know I should be working on cnng, but this idea has just fully taken root. the brain rot is real.... please come talk to me about it... please

Having Maverick for a dad is exactly what it sounds like.

He played fast and loose with the rules of the Navy, which made him a highly decorated captain, but at the end of the day, he had two loves in his life, the Navy and his daughter. Despite the risks he took and the chances he played with, you never doubted your dad's love. You did, however, have to learn to speak his language.

That meant early mornings in the hangar, learning how to fix up engines and motors of relics. It meant doing homework on base after school. It meant learning ranks and callsigns as a kid. And so you did. You did it all. You learned poker and swindled more than a few Navy men before you'd even hit puberty. You smiled pretty for every commanding officer your father's managed to piss off. It also meant developing a need for speed.

Having Maverick for a dad meant being on edge every time he got deployed. It meant spending his deployments with Uncle Ice and Aunt Sarah and your summers with Aunt Carole and Bradley.

Every deployment that fell during the school year was spent based out of the Kazansky house. You didn't mind too much. Uncle Ice and your dad always had each other's back, a bond forged in loss, that much you knew. Aunt Sarah acted like a mom; she cooked hot meals and taught you how to make some of your favorites. You spent time with their kids and went to school with them, too. It was fun spending time with Ryan and Elizabeth Kazansky. Ryan was about five years younger than you but a ball of energy, and little Lizzie was a planner and was often your partner in crime despite being eight years younger than you.

There were the odd in-betweens when your dad would have someone he trusted enough to watch you. That being said, you'd only ever spent a few deployments with someone not named Bradshaw or Kazansky; the exception was always one woman, Penny Benjamin.

You weren't an idiot.

Having Pete Mitchell for a dad meant wising up quick. Meant quick humor and a reckless streak that you had to work twice as hard to overcorrect and suppress because you both knew he'd never be the one to police you on it. It meant a semi-stable home life but so much love and too many role models. It also meant a fluctuating Penny.

Penny, who met your dad years before you were born. Penny, who you knew your dad loved and who loved your dad, even though they never seemed to get their timing right. Penny, who taught you how to sail, throw a proper punch, and French braid. Who showed you how to open a beer bottle without an opener in several different ways, using a belt buckle, a spoon, and your house keys? Penny, who was.. a mom. As much as you are reluctant to admit it publicly, Penny Benjamin was probably the closest thing you had to a mom because even though Aunt Sarah loved you and cared for you like she did with Elizabeth, she was always Aunt Sarah, never Mom. Even Aunt Carole, who was your godmother, could never truly fill the void of mother even though you know she tried her best to help you with the parts you missed out on. Penny was the only one who came close, at least when she was around she was.

Summers, though, were your favorite. Whether or not your dad was on deployment, you spent every summer in Virginia with the Bradshaws. You had a room that Carole always referred to as "little Miss Mitchell's room" and a best friend who taught you so much more about life.

Bradley.

Bradley, who taught you how to swing a bat and throw a football. Bradley, who gave you your first driving lesson when your dad got deployed before he could. Bradley, who you talked with weekly when you weren't living under the same roof. Bradley, who let you make fun of his name when you needed an easy out, Brad Brad, had been the running joke.

Bradley always had your back; he piggybacked you home when you skinned your knees during your skater girl summer. He took you out of the way to your favorite ice cream place whenever you had cramps and planted himself on the sofa with you to watch Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and I Dream of Jeanie when you refused to move. Bradley, who ate the things you cooked when you'd test out Aunt Sarah's recipes and forgave you while throwing up when you gave him food poisoning when you were thirteen, who still trusted what you put in front of him even after that (though he had gotten you a meat thermometer and written up a cheat sheet to ensure you knew when it was fully cooked).

And you had his.

When Aunt Carole died, you mourned for months. Navy royalty knocked on your dad's door to share their condolences with the teen for weeks. Bradley had been seventeen at the time, about to start his senior year of high school. He completed that year back in San Diego. He'd had friends and people who cared for him in Virginia, who'd offered their homes for his final year of high school, but when your dad offered, he clung to the familiarity that was Mav. That year, your dad had a few deployments, and all of them were short. Looking back, you wonder if Uncle Ice had pulled strings to ensure that. Either way, when Bradley went to his senior prom, Mav was there. He filmed the awkward getting-ready stage, caught on camera as you helped Bradley tie his tie, and you got a great moment of Mav doing the last inspection before Bradley left to pick up his date.

You spent all your free weekends that spring at every single one of Bradley's baseball games. Aunt Sarah would come to every home game, and little Lizzie and Ryan loved screaming and cheering for Brad's mama. Look at Brad Brad go!

Bradley grieved and cried, and he was so incredibly sad and heartbroken. But he was still Bradley. He was still your best friend. He intimidated any guy who got too close and was the only person outside your father who you could love one second and be planning his murder the next. Bradley was your best friend; he was until he wasn't.

Until papers were pulled and words were exchanged, Bradley stormed out one day and never came back.

You found him; of course you did. He was your best friend. And even though you coaxed him out of his hiding spot, words were said. Phrases hurled at you that targeted the softest of spots that only he knew about. You held together; you had to. You got him at Viper's and left him there. You went to Ice's. You didn't talk to your dad for months, and Bradley never spoke to him again.

He reached out to you during your senior year of high school in an email apologizing for how he lashed out at you. You never responded. A scabbed spot in your heart that used to belong to him, still too raw to touch. He kept emailing, though. Random updates, more apologies, congratulations, and happy birthdays. You read every email, but you never could bring yourself to respond. Then, four years had gone by.

Bradley's bi-weekly email arrived when you were in your second year of university. You read it, reread it, and then read it a third time. Aviation Officer Candidate School. You weren't surprised; you knew Bradley wouldn't abandon his dream. You never thought he would, but being faced with the reality of it weighed heavily. Bradley being selected for AOCS was proof of his dedication. OCS, in general, required sponsors within the Navy and was much more difficult to get into than the Naval Academy; they only took individuals with a bachelor's degree to start with. However, for Bradley to get into AOCS, specifically the aviation program, someone up the ladder had to have helped. The more you sat with it, the harder it became to figure out who. It could have been Viper, who had dealt with an Angry, Confused, and Isolated Bradley for the remainder of his senior year and the summer, probably every summer after that. Or maybe it was Ice, cleaning up the mess your dad had made, just as he always did.

Your dad had cost Bradley four years in the Navy, but this program might help him bridge it, at least to some degree.

For the first time since the day you dropped him at Viper's, you respond.

Congratulations, Bradley, I'm glad you're achieving your dream.

That was it.

You didn't tell your dad. But you heard about it when he found out. Ice, thankfully, had given you a heads-up. You played dumb; you knew better than to admit to the emails. Your dad was strong and stubborn, but you'd seen what his and Bradley's blowout had done to him. The hollowness that followed him, the pain in his eyes at every memento and reminder. The ache in his heart is located between the gaps titled Goose and Carole.

He hadn't told you why he'd pulled Bradley's papers. You'd made (somewhat) peace (begrudgingly) with that when you finally let your dad back into your life nearly two months after the Pulling of the Papers, and only because he almost died in a bird strike and you as his next of kin had been notified upon his hospitalization.

When he heard about AOCS, though, the secret came spilling out. Carole asked me, and she gave me one request. You'd known your dad had a private conversation with Carole Bradshaw on her deathbed. You and Bradley had been asked to stand outside her hospital room while they talked. When you were allowed back in, they both had tears in their eyes. You'd always assumed it had something to do with Goose, and to an extent, you were right. Carole Bradshaw was one of the strongest women you'd ever met, but it seemed even she was afraid of the price you pay to the Navy for the honor of serving your country.

You weren't sure what drove you to it.

It could have been Bradley's transition into AOCS.

The truth your dad had finally shared.

Or because you still felt like you had something to prove.

Maybe even that need for speed that had never been handled properly.

But you enrolled in your university's Navy ROTC program that same week.

The most surprising part of the change was how easily it came. Orders sounded like they did on the bases you grew up on. Your history, lineage, and contacts helped get you started and acted as an excuse for your late decision to join. You found some semblance of peace in ROTC as if the missing parts of the puzzle were starting to become visible.

You weren't sure how you managed to get through ROTC and into your first year as a Naval officer without your dad finding out, but you did. And by then, it was too late for him to do to you what he'd done to Bradley.

Bradley, to his credit, had a mellower response, only because he didn't have your phone number anymore and could only type an email in caps lock to convey his yelling. He did include it on the bottom, though; I wish I'd thought of ROTC. I could've sped the pipeline along more.

You hadn't responded to any emails since his admission into AOCS, and if you watched his college graduation and sent a gift to Ice to pass off to him, that was nobody's business but yours.

Your dad was… displeased.

But he kept calling. He didn't freeze you out, and you didn't have it in you to do it to him again. So you talked, told him how training was, and when he finally asked you why? In such a pained voice, you told him the truth. There was no tangible reason, just that you had to do it, that this was your path. Safe to say, it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear.

Becoming an Aviator was difficult. Not only because of the requirements and the toll it takes. Not only because you were a woman. But because you faced accusations of nepotism at every turn. You were, however, your father's daughter, and his lack of movement within the Navy did not diminish his accomplishments. You learned. You learned from the best. From your teachers, from your peers, from your dad, and from the men you considered uncles. And you showed everyone what you were capable of. You were a Naval Aviator within a year of graduating from college and the ROTC program, achieving the rank quicker than almost anyone following the same pipeline. You made a name for yourself using your brain. Where people were quick to assume nepotism, you were quick to show them your dry wit, sharp tongue, and tactical thinking.

That's where the callsign came from. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, daughter of Zeus, and king of the gods. It fit well.

You did two and a half years as a Naval Aviator Officer in training in Norfolk and another two in Japan as a Junior Officer before you got the call.

Top Gun.

Returning to San Diego was… nostalgic. Being on the Miramar base even more so. You faced criticism of nepotism from your peers here as well; never mind that only the top two percent of naval aviators are invited to Top Gun to begin with. But you worked hard and proved your calling had more to do with wisdom and war than whose daughter you were. You came out of it with two friends: a pilot named Brigham Lennox, callsign: Harvard, and his WSO Logan Lee, callsign: Yale. Both of whom were the only two to wise up within the first day and realize you are so much more than your name.

It's also why the three of you were at the top of your class.

Afterward, Yale and Harvard are sent to Oceana, off the East Coast, where you knew Bradley had been based on his emails. And you were kept in state and sent to Lemoore. You preferred that, not that you'd say so. But being in-state meant being able to visit with Ice, even when you knew he wasn't doing so well, and it meant you could continue to avoid Bradley in peace. At Lemoore, you got placed with the VFA-14, the Tophatters, also known as the oldest currently active aircraft squadron in the US Navy. There's a lot of history attached there, a legacy to make proud of, as Ice and Viper would like to remind you when you'd join them for a monthly poker game.

Being stationed with the Tophatters came with two significant perks: Natasha Trace, callsign: Phoenix, and Jake Seresin, callsign: Hangman. Stationed with the VFA-41 (Black Aces) and VFA-151 (Vigilantes) respectively. Despite the fact that the two of them could not stand each other, you formed friendships with them both. In Natasha, you found someone who understood the uphill battle for women in service, but more than that, you found someone who kept it honest, called it like she saw it, and loved you for who you were.

With Jake, it was different. His bravado and charm worked, but not on you. Where other pilots got fed up with his cocky bullshit, you were able to stay leveled and see through. A benefit you shared once after a few beers of being raised by the best of the best. There must have been a sharper edge to your reminisces than you remember because Jake never made a nepo baby joke after that. A casual one here or there, but none at the heart of it, none with genuine malice. Not like he had in the beginning.

Jake allowed you to be. Rough edges and jagged ends. He kept your feet on the ground when you spent most of your day in the skies. You like to think you balanced him out a bit, too. Able to keep him from getting too stuck in the clouds, too sure of himself. You were always happy to knock him down a peg or two; truthfully, sometimes, he needed you to do so.

You found happiness on Commander, Carrier Wing Nine in the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific. You excelled in your squad and gained recognition and honors, ribbons that decorated your lapel. You talked with your dad, mostly about random things, given the confidentiality of both his and your assignments, but you found time. Ice and Sarah checked in, and Viper, too. And every time your feet were on solid ground, they found time for a barbecue or a poker game, or both, usually both.

You still read Bradley's emails. Bi-weekly had turned to monthly, and even then, they didn't come every month, but they did come, always with a reason, just as they had been for the last decade and change. You never could figure out why he kept sending them. You'd thought about replying, now, years after the rage and pain and grief you'd held onto had been let go of, nothing productive ever came from holding on too tight, you'd learned. But Bradley sent the emails, sometimes signing his name as Bradley or Rooster, but on the nostalgic ones, he'd always put Brad Brad, an olive branch, you knew, but you never could get yourself to click send on the drafts you'd write out, dozens of them sitting in the drafts folder as it was.

You'd found your space; it wasn't perfect, but it was yours.

And then you got recalled.

And so did 'Nix.

And Jake.

Then the email came in, and they're calling me back to Top Gun for some detachment. Maybe I could find time to come to Lemoore?

And then your dad hit Mach 10 and was missing in action for over five hours, only to be found in some small-town diner in the middle of nowhere Idaho.

He was sent back to Miramar, too.

And you were left wondering what the fuck was happening now, flying down with Phoenix and Hangman on your wings, and why it seemed to be colliding all the fragments of your world.

...

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

[shadowsndaisies]

total ng energy 👀

Rude

Y/N: I don’t mean to be rude—

Batman: Yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often.

[shadowsndaisies]

i just finished the next chapter of cnng, and folks, I might have sprinkled in the feels a little bit. there's more of ng's history here, some quality wally/ng content, roy/ng content, and even pseudo-dad ollie content. there's a lot of emotion in the end, that will get unpacked in a component blurb that will come out soon(ish) featuring canary, j'onn, and more on ng's empath abilities!

thank you to everyone for your kind words and patience! the next update should be in the next few days, I still need to go through for edits and grammar, but then it should be good to go!