#i am loving this

[zablife]

@lilladygrinningsoul

Green Gloves (Part 3)

Ada Shelby & OC (Irene Robinson)

Summary: Ada suggests Irene take a much needed break on a hot day, but when they reach their destination she notices something unsettling about her friend.

A/N: Still working on this series and I'll be adding a few more parts than originally intended. I hope it doesn't drag!

Warnings: mention of fainting, mention of injury

Part 2

“Ugh…it’s too hot!,” Ada complained, fanning herself dramatically with her hand. Pleading eyes roaming to Irene, she waited for a sign that her best friend would soon be finished. 

However, Irene’s gaze never wavered from the careful stitching she’d been working on all morning and Ada began to despair. “Can’t we open a window?” she groaned, pulling at the heavy frame in vain.

“It’s no use, that one sticks,” Irene dismissed her.

Slumping against the wall in dramatic fashion, Ada declared, “We’re going to die in here.” She cast a hand over her chest like she’d seen in films when heroines were overcome by peril, but Irene wasn’t paying attention to her theatrics.

Pitching forward on her stool, Irene wiped beads of perspiration from her forehead with a handkerchief with a deep sigh of exhaustion. She had to admit it was becoming difficult to concentrate on the intricate stitching she held in her hands. The stifling air inside her mother’s dressmaking shop seemed to be growing thicker by the hour. 

Moved by the look of defeat on her friend’s face, Ada asked more gently, “Haven’t you done enough for one day?” 

“Ada, I promised mum,” Irene muttered, needle caught between her teeth. 

Ada flopped onto a nearby stool with a sigh, searching the table for needle and thread. “I could help and that would make the work go by…” she began, only for Irene’s laughter to cut her off mid sentence.

“What’s so funny?” Ada asked, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly.

“I’m not sure,” Irene considered, removing the needle to point it at her friend accusingly. “The fact you think you can sew or that I’d let you!”

Ada rolled her eyes at the unfair insult, piping up, “Course I know how to sew! You saw the new buttons on Finn’s trousers, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Irene admitted, attempting to hide a smirk. 

Ada gave a nod of vindication, but it was short lived as Irene quickly added, “they were scattered all over the floor the first time he bent over!”

“You’re worse than Polly, I swear to God!” Ada huffed, standing to kick the stool.

It was Irene’s turn to roll here eyes at Ada’s childishness. Already irritable from the extra work and her discomfort, her friend wasn’t proving much help in distracting her when all she did was complain. “Look, Ada, if you’re determined to be miserable today, why don’t you go home?” Irene suggested.

A wounded expression flashed in Ada’s eyes before a more appealing thought popped into her head. Face brightening at her cleverness, she reached for Irene’s shoulders to turn her around. “If I’m going, you’re going with me!” she declared with a devilish raise of her eyebrows.

Irene shook free, cutting her eyes toward her friend suspiciously as she warned, “Ada, I know that look!”

“Then you know I won’t stop until I’ve gotten what I want,” Ada hummed, failing to contain her glee. 

Brow already furrowed in objection, Irene began shaking her head. “No!”

“Why not? You’ve been here all morning. Surely your mum wouldn’t make you go on if…” Ada took a moment to glance about the room in mock innocence. “I dunno…you fainted from heat or exhaustion,” she explained rapidly. “Both!” she proclaimed, finger in the air as she began to spin a tale Irene’s mother would never believe. 

“I won’t do it,” Irene stated flatly, returning to her work.

“Won’t do what?” a curious blonde girl asked from the doorway.

Ada and Irene both turned, faces dropping in unison when they spied Irene’s younger sister leaning in to hear their conversation. Like Irene, Clara Robinson was lanky for her age, nearly her mother’s height at just thirteen. The deception of it irked Irene because of the distinct advantage it provided. Clara was constantly mistaken as older and more trust worthy than Irene thought she deserved.

“What are you doing here?” Irene grumbled, having little patience for the sibling who always seemed to appear at the most inopportune times.

“I live here,” Clara retorted.

“Don’t be cheeky,” Irene scolded, doing her best impression of her mother’s disciplinarian tone.

Clara’s enormous green eyes roved over her sister, waiting to seize on something she could report. The longer she stared, the more it unnerved Irene, finally causing her to snap at her sibling, “Don’t you have deliveries to make?”

“If you’d ever get round to finishing that dress I might,” Clara remarked, glancing down at her cuticles with bored detachment. 

Ada couldn’t help the sigh of exasperation that escaped her lips. She’d managed to avoid her own annoying sibling today and didn’t feel like suffering Irene’s.  

Clara took note of her reaction instantly, locking eyes with Ada as she pointedly asked her sister, “Does mum know you have a visitor here distracting you from your work?”

“You’re the one distracting her now, aren't you?” Ada observed. 

Clara sputtered as Irene added cooly, “I’m nearly finished because dear Ada’s been helping me.”

A sour looking scowl spread over Clara’s face, certain that wasn’t the case. But before she could protest further, Irene recalled an important tidbit from breakfast. “And, as I recall, mum told you to study your maths between deliveries. That would be now in case you were wondering.”

With a pouty expression and a short harrumph, Clara turned to disappear upstairs with Ada snorting, “put that in your pipe and smoke it.”

Irene tried to suppress her laughter, but the tickle in her throat got the better of her. “I told you, she’s impossible, didn’t I?”

“That’s why you need a day off!” Ada insisted, resuming her campaign instantly.

“I won’t!” Irene hissed willfully, the spite in her voice meant more for Clara than Ada in the moment. 

“You will,” Ada countered, attempting to take the delicate material from Irene’s hands. A scuffle quickly ensued as the girls fought over it, falling to the ground and grappling for purchase. As they rolled, Irene began to worry the dirt from the shop floor would soil the beautiful lace she’d so carefully been stitching moments earlier and she gritted her teeth with renewed strength against Ada.

“Let go!”

“You let go!”

And so it continued until Ada’s shoulder nudged the edge of the work table, a large bolt of fabric tumbling to the ground with a thud. The crash brought a thunder of anxious footsteps toward the back room and suddenly Irene’s breath caught in her chest.

No sooner had Ada crawled away in defeat, Mrs. Robinson came rushing through the door, her eyes wide with fear. After years of shepherding four children through a myriad of catastrophes, one might think she would have become accustomed to such chaos. In Ada’s experience, similar trials had lead Polly to assume a hardened disposition that often leant itself to fits of rage the likes of which Small Heath rarely matched in temper. Yet somehow Mrs. Robinson’s well never ran dry, offering the benefit of her empathetic heart at will. 

Upon witnessing this for herself for the first time, Ada felt her throat constrict with unbridled guilt, knowing she could never answer for the false pretenses under which she’d summoned this angel.

“What’s happened?” her mother gasped, rushing to her daughter who now lay motionless with fear. “Irene!” she called, falling to her knees and hovering over her daughter with frantic concern. 

“I…I think she might have… fainted?,” Ada squeaked from the corner.

Irene’s heart slammed against her ribs, eyelids screwed shut at the deception they’d caused. She prayed her mother wouldn’t notice how ineffectively she played dead, her stomach twisting with nausea as she remembered her father’s untimely demise a year earlier. Eyes opening to the panicked expression hovering over her, she gave her mother a slow blink of acknowledgment.

“Irene, are you alright?” she asked, stroking her daughter’s hair.

After a sheepish nod of her head, Irene managed to whisper, “I’m fine.”

“Thank God!” her mother sighed, helping her to sit up. “I think that’s enough for today. You girls should get some fresh air,” she suggested, looking between Ada and Irene with a reassuring nod.

Though it felt like a hollow victory Ada managed a weak smile, accompanied by a half-hearted wink, from over Mrs. Robinson’s shoulder and Irene could only groan in reply.

———————————-

Now that summer had descended, the grass grew thick and lush, offering a soft bed for an afternoon nap. After a long walk to a quiet spot outside town, Irene had quickly fallen asleep in the warmth of the sunshine, leaving Ada to read her book in peaceful silence. It had become a routine for them the past few weeks of good weather, knowing it would soon pass. The haven of these carefree days was exactly what Ada needed with the ever present war talk and Polly’s depressing morning prayers. Most days Irene welcomed the distraction, even when they did nothing at all because Ada always had a way of turning the day’s events into an adventure.

As Ada contemplated what Irene was dreaming of behind fluttering eyelids, a soft snore rose from her side and she looked down to find her friend turning over, a ladybug crawling past her freckled shoulder. Leaning over to brush the insect away, the neckline of Irene’s dress fell open slightly to reveal a jagged scar just above her breast. A moment of hesitation found Ada’s fingertips ghosting over it, eyes watching Irene’s sleeping form intently before lightly pressing her fingers to the raised mark. 

The skin was a decided shade of pink and raised to the touch, bumpy as she felt along the ridge. Ada found herself wondering what misfortune had befallen her friend to have caused such a deep wound when Irene began to stir, eyes blinking against the bright rays of the afternoon sunshine. 

“Was…was I asleep?” she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Ada pulled away with a jerk, burying her nose in her book as though she’d been concentrating deeply the whole time. “Yes,” she confirmed a bit too quickly. 

Irene sat up, tugging at her dress to put it back into place as her eyes roamed Ada’s tense figure with suspicion. Extending her limbs out for a long stretch, she allowed a yawn to ripple through her body before stating calmly, “It’s ugly, but at least it’s faded now.” She looked out toward the pond for a moment, knees pulled up under her chin and rocked herself gently. 

Ada fumbled with the pages of her novel, lips pursed at the thought of being caught. To diffuse the awkwardness of it all she found herself blurting out, “I don’t know what you mean.” 

“The scar on my chest,” Irene stated matter-of-factly.

“There was a ladybug crawling on you and I brushed it off. I didn’t mean to-“ 

Irene chuckled and tossed her head. “You’re blushing,” she teased, a new habit picked up from her boisterous friend.

“Wh-what? I’m not!” Ada denied, heaving for breath, unaccustomed to this role reversal.

Silence enveloped them for a short time, Irene busying herself absently plucking a few wildflowers to make into a chain. “Never thought I’d live to see the day Ada Shelby went silent,” she mused, enjoying the slight flush that still colored Ada’s cheeks.

Ada watched Irene’s hands lace the flowers together with the same practiced ease of her sewing, mind far away. Her voice grew somber as she ventured, “What happened to you?”

No sooner had she spoken the words, Irene was dusting her palms, having already pushed herself away from their resting place to survey the water. With one hand held to her forehead, she shielded her eyes against the glimmers of light reflecting back at her. Head snapping back hard enough to crash her ginger curls against her chin, she challenged, “Race you!” 

An incredulous scoff escaped Ada’s lip. “I’m faster than you!” 

“My legs are longer,” Irene stated emphatically, sure she’d win.

Ada only shrugged, shucking off her dress and leaving it behind on the grass along with any thought of further questions.

They tore off toward the water, shrieks of laughter piercing the air so loudly a group of birds flew from the trees. It was a welcome respite as they basked in the cool water, Irene submerging herself below the murky depths, hiding the imperfections she’d grown to loathe. But a smile graced her face even as her legs churned beneath the surface, making conversation about the girls working at the betting shop. And she was quite glad when Ada took the lead, prattling on about the gossip she’d overhead from her aunt. 

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

Tag List:

@peakyswritings

@evita-shelby

@shelbydelrey

@alanadetigy

@severewobblerlightdragon

@lovemissyhoneybee

@theshelbyslimited

@kittycatcait219

@callsign-fangirl

@theshelbyclan

@red-riding-wood

@elenavampire21

@little-diable

@lyarr24

@the-fangirl-diaries

@kmc1989

@stilestotherescue 

@helen06dreamer

@chaosinkest1996 

@pietroxreader 

@galactict3a

@ietss

@dream-this-nightmare-over

@mostly-marvel-musings

@writeroutoftime

@yolobloggers

@outlanderuniverse

@anilovessadbooks

@tremendousstarlighttragedy

@elliaze

@leenieweenie

@snickersmee

@niktwazny303

@thomashelbyswife

@brummiereader

@cillmequick

@justrainandcoffee

@emotionalcadaver

@peakyltd

@look-at-the-soul

@toms-cherry-trees

@copinghex

@call-sign-shark

@novashelby

@thegreatdragonfruta

@anonymooseforever007

@murderousginger

@runnning-outof-time

@dreamlandcreations

@lilladygrinningsoul

[landonaurr]

"come on Charles, too many mistakes" MAX THIS IS UR RIVAL? YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER WHY ARE WE BERATING HIM INSTEAD OF OVERTAKING?

[kooldewd123]

so how about that xenoblade artbook, huh? i'm just reading through some of the early translations and this stuff is wild.

malos? malos is in n's sword? not just logos, but malos specifically? mr takahashi what do you mean malos is dead "for the time being"???? you can't just give me hope for more malos content like that!!! and apparently matthew's gauntlets are actually just pyra and mythra for some reason. like i think we all assumed these were just logos and pneuma, but no, the actual blade personas are somehow present in all this.

and fiora is there in the weapons too for some fucking reason??? and nobody knew about this????? some people just became objects when aionios was created?

MR TAKAHASHI DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS ENTIRE TIME, LUCKY SEVEN WASN'T NAMED AFTER A BUNCH OF NOPON, BUT AFTER THE ACTUAL FAN-GIVEN NICKNAME "SEVEN." WHAT.

[mikaikaika]

I am a both Tubbo and Quackity apologist. I want Tubbo to destroy Quackity's things which ends up proving what Quackity already believed. Due to which Quackity gets worse and ends up hurting Fred. And I want Tubbo to see hurt Fred and get even worse and spiral down further. I want both of them to experience horrors from each other and I want both of them to make each other worse. Absolute win-win situation for me.

[skaruresonic]

Some more wholesome Shadria is always nice

pictured: me and the good fucking food, finally Shadria content they've been serving us recently

How can anyone not ship them? They're two badasses, quite literally made for each other <3

so adorable, dnjkdskdsandkja

Don't think I didn't notice how Shadow looked at Maria through a sparkly sakura filter, nor how Maria phrased it as "who I love most is...", lmao.

They aren't even being subtle about it.

[juthemagicalclown]

waterborne poetry event, ou "two introvert exorcists trying to purify the world from evil spirits while their extrovert partners try to rizz them up with poetry"

[annaraebananawriter]

Sorry to break my little reblog streak going on, but I'm watching the new episode of Dimension 20 Fantasy High and I just gotta say--

THIS IS GORGUGS FUCKING SEASON!! LETS GOOOOO!!!!

[mister-eames]

Six Sentence Saturday/Sunday

Thank you to those that tagged me!!! This one comes from that damn IKEA fic that I will finish this year if my life depends on it!!

---

The alcohol has him maudlin, and he surveys his empty room with its generic furniture and its generic artwork, somehow mystified with the utter soullessness of every hotel room he’s ever had to live and work out of. How can a room that must have seen every sordid and tragic act still remain so lifeless, he wonders.  Before he can think better of it, he already has his phone out and has Arthur on dial. He winces when he sees the time and moves to hang up, but finds the call is already answered. “Eames?” Arthur's voice comes from the speaker, croaky with sleep. “Sorry, love," he slips a hand over his eyes, "didn’t mean to wake you. Didn’t realise the time.”

-----

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

This is the event I have been waiting months for.

Guys, Gals and Nonbinary Pals... Welcome to One Minute War. An event that forces the Flash family to fight against the highly trained and heavily armed forces of The Fraction. The Fraction is just as fast as them, so their powers are useless and the war will be too fast for any meaningful help from backup. The Flash family has no weapons, no powers, no backup and no plan. They are the only thing standing between the Fraction and total annihilation of the world.

These are the first casualties of the war:

Right away I have to compliment this event's set up and storytelling. The stakes are real and meaningful. These aliens just wiped out half of Central City and Keystone. The speedsters couldn't do anything about it. Their loved ones are in danger, their city is being demolished, an alien force is invading and they couldn't do a single thing to stop it. They couldn't react in time.

This entire war will be fought in Flash Time, the state of advanced speed in which the rest of the world seems to be suspended in time and the speedsters move 'normally'. The series isn't skirting around the implications of this at all. Jesse couldn't save the civilians directly in front of her, Barry couldn't run Iris out of the blast zone, Wally couldn't get to his kid fast enough to shield them, ect. I've talked a lot about speedsters and their 'nobody dies' mentality but you don't need to be familiar with that to know this: What just happened is a tragedy and it will be devastating to them.

The tone has been set for the rest of the series.

[serickswrites]

Whump Series II

Countdown

Idiots

Rot

Field

Whumpee, the hostage

Not Listening

Spare--status complete. 2 parts. TW: captivity, torture, restraints, self sacrifice, forced to watch, drowning, mcd

The Strangers

[i-mean-technically]

Optimus is probably full on proud parent. He's ended the war, kept his remaining family alive and finally managed to protect a planet he set out to defend (some may argue that the complete transformation of the planet and its people isn't 'protected' but everything worked out in the end so-). He's still perpetually exhausted but this is the happiest he's been in millions of years, he even let the children show him a 'meme'.

Now he's ushering a brave new race into the galactic community and he's proud cause Optimus sees the value in all life, "Freedom is the right of all sentient creatures" and all that. When he saw humans for the first time, he didn't see a primitive, backward species of organics, he saw people and potential allies. And when he saw the cyberformed humans, he didn't see eldritch techno-organic mutant hell spawn, he saw (eldritch techno-organic mutant hell spawn) family. So he is dissapointed but not surprised when the galactic community violently rejects the humans (they still dont accept cybertronians either). At least the returning cybertronians are getting along with the humans and putting their differences and factions aside. After all judging people for things they cant control was half the reason they fought the war in the first place and no one wants to go through that again.

Earth is flourishing and Cybertron is being restored then both planets start moving towards each other. Primus has just woken up, happy his children have finally stopped fighting, when he senses something. Where last he felt his brother Unicron, a new presence now resides. Still chaotic and destructive but brighter, more in balance with himself than Unicron ever was. So for the first time since the era of the thirteen, Primus is now actively moving himself towards this presence. He can't wait to meet his new little brother.

Everybody on Earth and Cybertron is more than happy to go along with this (they're already running the space bridges non stop plus it's travelling in style). Totally unrelated apocaliptic prophecies have begun popping up and gaining traction in the wider galactic community, predicting the end of the universe when the two beings of creation and destruction meet. Many of the more accepting races start joining the New galactic community in the hopes they will be spared.

I like how your mind works.

Optimus is absolutely full on Proud Parent, with all the exhaustion and frustration that comes with it. But he loves both of his people, hellspawn and not-hellspawn alike.

Jack is shaping up to be a good young man with strong morals and a gentle nature. Miko is the first human to be inducted into the Wreckers, something that makes the three living Wreckers (Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, and Bulkhead) proud beyond compare. Raf is monitoring everything, setting up communications between the growing conglomeration they're building together with Cybertron to foster a new age in galactic history.

Sure, there are tensions. People who don't want to be with the cybertronians and cybertronians who just get Bad Vibes from the humans. It happens.

But with a sentient planet that is piloting itself, and a different sentient planet that is reaching for his brother-sister-sibling, ya kinda have to go with the flow whether you like it or not.

There's a community being built right now. Trade being done, stories shared, families built.

Sister races finally together for the first time. Its a beautiful thing to watch.

[kazu-naito]

😭😫😔🥺😪😖😵‍💫😩😮‍💨😵🥹

[sillylittlerock]

percabeth nation how are we feeling after episode 4?? because i am feeling GREAT

[chigirisprincess]

u guys wanna play mermaids with me??

yes or no?

[littlebetesofeverything]

Welcome to Night Vale ep 6

Okay, one more and then I gotta sleep, so let's see how this goes!

Roving outages sound amazing, hawks moreso. but body switching? SIGN ME UP, I got a test in a few days and I don't want it

upholstery on bridges seems like a wonderful idea. Why I'm gonna be a doctor, not an engineer.

Support the local news folks! especially nowadays

Angels in MY bank account? say it ain't so

Steve get called out! Night vale deserves that draw bridge!

choose the news that interests them? This was made in 2012? And expensive as hell? It was ahead of its time. Looking at you NYT

Police vs Firefighters is always a good time, no matter the fundraiser. Please pun away Cecil. The secret police are certainly something. Where am I gonna find uranium though?

The dog park is humming sounds fine. Why is the mayor being a snitch? Wait is this the same one no one is allowed in?

no cars? give me one moment while I run across red light intersections.

What if I want an incompetent draw bridge, Cecil? what then?

Scorpio sounds about right. Leo? TELL ME DAMMIT, I've always wanted to know how I die.

you kick the library? you replace it with strip mall? Jail for Night vale, jail for a thousand years!!!

I want to work at their hospital, ngl.

I don't care how delicious that berry is, I want the library back.

Good luck with that bridge toll buddy. what you have a pass? Sign me up

shared nightmares are interesting. Gives me ideas

YES, Desert Bluffs suck!

Music choice is something for sure. I can make out some words but idk what the full message is so just gonna vibe

Steve Carlsburg getting nabbed sounds good for you Cecil. I hope you enjoyed it.

Nefarious operations are the best place for getting donations though.

Good night indeed, Cecil. I'm off to my own dreamland. Until next time.

[deluweil]

Hailey and Bailey with Kenny and Ryan on set. 😍😍😍