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gilbirda · 2 years ago

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Can't help falling in love (with you) Chp.4

Jazz/Jason (Anger Management). DP x Batman crossover.

Based on this post

When a ghost does shenanigans, Jazz usually stays out of the trouble, since that's her brother's thing. This time? This time trouble found her in the form of a ghost that marries her to the Red Hood against her will.

For DPxDC Week!

Day 5: A royal problem.

[Read on AO3][Read on FF.net]

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Chapter 4: Shot through the heart (and you are to blame)

Curse or no curse, Jason wasn’t mad about being married to that woman.

He never wanted to get married, or do the whole romance thing in general. Never saw the need to be with someone else, or subject someone to the mess of a person he was - he was self aware enough to know he wasn’t exactly that good of a life partner.

This Jasmine chick seemed nice and overall badass, she didn’t need someone like him in her life.

That being said, he wouldn’t mind knowing her more.

Man! Whatever Danny did to him was doing wonders to his mind! He had stopped feeling the urge to agree to anything she said and stopped feeling like the world spun around her.

He still felt a bit of awe, an infatuation, as she geared up with a calm demeanor that told of years doing the same dance over and over again. Consider it some kind of kinship with his way of life - she wasn’t a vigilante, but apparently a ghost hunter, and that was close enough.

It was like seeing someone with the same outfit, or the same haircut; a sense of solidarity in their lifestyle that inevitably made him feel closer than a civilian. He had never had a moment where he saw someone and thought, ‘yeah, this person could get me’, until now.

That’s why he wanted to follow her. He wanted to see her in her own turf, see her fight once again, and get that rush he got at the mall earlier in the day. Also, they made a great team.

“Go.” Right. Bruce was still there, watching him. Creepy old man. “I’ll look for the other affected people, you follow the siblings.”

“Are you trusting me to go alone?”

Batman actually smiled. “Apparently, the safest place for you right now is at her side.”

Jason lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

“She seems nice.”

“You only say that because she called you out.”

“What can I say? She impressed me.” They looked at each other for a few moments. “Once the situation is dealt with please take them both to the Cave. We need to know more about these ghosts.”

Red Hood groaned. Bruce was behaving but the paranoia was showing - not that he disagreed with him, since suddenly accepting that not only ghosts were a thing (as in, actual villains that did magic tricks) but that the mysterious meta that’s been messing with the Bats was actually just a kid; well, that was too much in too little time.

Huh.

And that he may or may not be married to a stranger. That too.

The others couldn’t know about this.

“Alright.” He walked up to the window, grappling gun in hand. “I’ll keep my comms open, yes.” He added before Bruce could say the reminder.

The older man smiled, the facial expression a bit out of place in the cowl, but it was genuine. “Take care.”

“Always do.”

With that, he jumped out and grappled to a nearby rooftop, setting his path in the direction he felt the pull in his chest. It wasn’t like the Pit, at least not the same sensation. It was akin in nature but not… prickly? Not aggressive, just a beacon of light that was impossible to miss.

The same with the Pit inside of him. It was quieter, gentler, a constant pressure in the back of his mind, but that wasn’t trying to take over his every thought. He was starting to understand that he really, really had been very fucked up.

Everything was so clear now, so defined, and colorful. It was like coming up for air after being underwater for too long.

He owed Danny a big one.

Soon he heard the roaring engine of Jazz’s bike and adjusted his course to follow it, finding her speeding into the night, her turns sharp and precise, with a clear destination. It wasn’t hard to determine where she was going, actually, since sounds of the fight were getting louder as well.

There it was, the floating figure of the meta - or ghost, as he now stood corrected - flying around what Jason assumed was the ghost that was behind all the mess.

He landed about at the same time Jazz drifted into a stop and turned off the engine, quickly taking off the helmet, eyes fixed on the ghost fight going on.

“Oh, hello!” Danny flew past them, coming back into the fray. He dodged some rays that came out of nowhere and shot back another green blast of his own.

“What is he actually fighting?”

Jazz glanced at him and sighed. She took his hand and-

Oh. Oh.

What he initially thought was a green weird vortex was actually shaped like a person, and someone he actually recognized.

“Is that fucking Elvis Presley?”

Jazz laughed, letting go of his hand. Whatever she did made him able to properly see the ghost on his own, see how Elvis strung his guitar and somehow the notes became tangible and were very, very sharp.

He jumped out of the way of one of the notes.

“The fuck?”

“Welcome to my world,” she said with a little smirk. “And that’s not actually Elvis - apparently is an Elvis impersonator, the kind that marries people in Vegas.”

Okay, that was making some sense. It didn’t explain why the fuck a ghost could just… do that kind of stuff.

“Why-”

“If you don’t mind, Q&A can happen later.” Her smile turned nervous as they heard Danny scream and be knocked to the ground.

Jason could only agree. That fall seemed to hurt. In any case, Danny stood up in less than a second, blasting more of those green rays.

Jazz jumped in this time, screaming at her brother and asking him what he needed. Too slippery, Danny explained. If he tried to get closer to get a proper punch Elvis would just sing a song and knock him back.

“I need a distraction.”

“I can do that.” Jasmine nodded. “Lead the way, Danny-o.”

“I hate that so much.”

The siblings rushed to where the ghost was floating, amused with the interaction, and watching - he was watching Jason. The fucking guy knew about him and Jazz and thought that the whole thing was amusing.

“Eat this!” Jazz screamed as she started shooting, making a nuisance of herself and impossible to ignore.

She ran up to where not-Elvis was waiting for her, her shots not meant to hit the ghost but the floating notes surrounding him, knocking them away from the defense barrier. Danny jumped in once he saw his chance, hand ready to grab the ghost-

Elvis laughed, took a breath and opened his mouth. “At last~!”

The blast pushed the Fenton siblings back, Danny just barely in time to catch Jazz before she hit the ground.

“-my love has come along~”

Was that…?

“My lonely days are over and life is like a song~”

Etta James? Was the Elvis ghost seriously singing that?

Jason looked at where Jazz was wincing and trying to cover her ears. Right, his mouthpiece went over the ears and muffled some of the sound, so he wasn’t as affected. Danny was worse, barely able to stand up with the noise - Phantom had sensitive ears, they’ve come to learn in their investigation of what they thought was a metahuman.

He needed to help them.

Quickly, he ran to where Jazz was struggling to aim her gun with the horrible noise, and opened her left holster to steal one of her guns.

“Consider this payback!” he shouted at her, but she probably couldn’t hear him or read his lips with the mask in the way.

“My heart was wrapped up in clover~” Jason aimed at the ghost’s chest, not sure if it would actually work. “-the night I looked at-”

He took the shot. One, two, three times. The guns were different from what he was used to, but familiar enough to not skew his aim too much. It was more like a laser gun from a sci-fi TV series - but it did real damage.

Elvis screamed and grunted, knocked back a little by the shot. At least he stopped singing.

“Thanks,” Jazz breathed in relief. “You can keep that, for now.” She nodded at the weird ray gun in his hand.

He rolled his eyes at her words, not giving her the satisfaction at the call back to the mall fight, and nodded at her.

“Any pointers I need?”

“They heat up a little more than a normal gun, so space out the shots. No need to reload, or anything like that,” she glanced nervously at Danny, who recovered quickly and started blasting the ghost. “We don’t need to kill him, just tire him enough so he stays still for capture.”

“Got it.”

“And don’t stay in the same place too long - even if your core is not fully developed, ecto blasts will probably hurt you.”

That was something he wanted to follow up on later, but let it go for now. “Understood.”

Jazz breathed in, breathed out. “And don’t die.”

This made him chuckle. “Never try to.”

She rolled her eyes. “Could have fooled me.”

Before he could continue the banter, Jazz tensed and jumped back. Right where she had been standing a stray green blast hit the ground.

“DANNY.” She screamed in the general direction of the fight.

“Sorry~” The halfa singsonged as he flew by, dodging more of those music notes with ease. “It’s not my fault that you lovebirds chose this moment to-”

“Shield!”

He didn’t hesitate - Danny obeyed his sister and put up a green shield without looking, just in time to block incoming attacks that would have hit them all.

It was obvious that these two had fought together before. A team. There was an underlying trust between them, in the way that as soon as the attack stopped, Jazz jumped into action and slid from under the fading shield, guns at the ready.

Elvis didn’t expect that, eating a few blasts in the face.

“Why!?” He screamed. “Why are you guys getting in the way of love~!”

This time they were ready when the sonic blast hit - Jason knew when his turn was due, standing up and shooting at the ghost in the chest, now a bit more familiar with what he had to do with the gun.

“Not bad, sweetheart.” Jazz patted him in the arm and took a few shots of her own.

Danny lunged again, closing the distance with the ghost, arms ready to grab him and make him stand still. Elvis growled, strumming his acoustic guitar once again; but instead of notes, what appeared were staves, the five lines where usually the notes were placed in a music sheet.

The lines approached Danny faster than he could dodge them all, grabbing him by the arms and legs.

“Oh, no, I’m definitely not into that shit!”

He transformed his legs into a tail and managed to get it free, but the arms stayed tangled in the magical ghostly lines.

“Distract him.” Jazz gave Jason her gun and withdrew one of the knives she had on her vest, making a run for her brother.

Alright. He can be a nuisance.

Jason quickly grappled away into a more advantageous position where he had a clear sight of the ghost from behind. He aimed and shot, ready for the glare and the strumming of the guitar, for the sharp music notes and the strings of staves coming after him.

He jumped away, flipping and missing the attacks by inches, not having time to stop between the onslaughts. Ghosts didn’t tire of get out of breath, it seemed, because pretty quickly he had to make a jump and seek solace behind some brick structure on the rooftop only so he could take a breather.

“What the-”

One of the guns was making a beeping sound, the green light (leds?) on the side blinking slowly. It didn’t look good. He had to go back and ask Jazz what was wrong with it.

He took a peek and the ghost Elvis’ attention was back on the siblings, Danny now free and flying circles around the enemy, looking for a chance to strike that wasn’t reflected by a magical music note or parried with the guitar.

Jason carefully grappled back to the ground, seamlessly landing next to where Jazz was running behind the flying ghosts down the road.

“Hey, wanna switch?”

She glanced at him, doing a double take once she saw the beeping gun. “Throw that!”

He didn’t need to be told twice - without breaking his stride he hurled the thing as far as he could, in the direction of the fight, and watched as she threw her knife at it.

The explosion was bright, and loud, and now her wide eyes and panicked tone made sense. It also made sense why she carried so many guns.

“What-”

“Q&A later!”

Right. The fight.

Jason stopped just for a moment to pick up her knife, which got stuck on the concrete road, and followed her and the sounds of that horrible singing.

Soon it was obvious that the ghost wouldn’t stop and he was only playing with them, tiring them. Running around and shooting or throwing stuff at him didn’t get them anywhere, and Danny was being tossed to walls more easily, and recuperating a bit slower.

Jazz seemed to get to the same conclusion. She helped her brother up from the small crater he created when he landed after the latest sonic blast, telling him something via facial and hand gestures that Jason couldn’t follow.

Danny frowned but nodded, and was up in the air again.

“Hey.” She said once she turned to look at him, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. “Can you get me to that rooftop?”

He looked at where she was pointing and nodded. No sweat. He had done higher than that.

“Hop on, princess.”

She huffed but walked into his awaiting arms, looping her arms around his neck, and didn’t comment on the pet name or how his grip on her waist was a bit firmer than was necessary.

Even with the added weight his grapple gun could make the trip up to where she asked him to, and soon they were running to the other side of the roof and towards where Danny had cornered the ghost in a nearby alley.

“It’s over, dude. Surrender.”

Elvis stopped, carefully strumming some chords in his guitar, considering. If he knew they were watching from the roof, he didn’t show it.

“You can’t stop me, you can’t stop my work.”

“Dude, you are marrying complete strangers without their consent. That’s not cool at all.”

Jason watched as Jasmine quietly unlooped the giant rifle she still had on her back, kneeling so she could start preparing it. Was she going to use it? Part of him was excited, he was curious to see what kind of damage it could do, and why she had called it “Moral Support” - the name was badass as hell.

“They are not strangers, they have potential!” Elvis did a riff on his guitar, making a point. “They will have enough time to get to know each other! That’s what love is for!”

Jason winced. That was not how love worked, not that he had a lot of experience, but he had been painfully aware of every one of his brother’s and Bruce’s failed relationships.

(And his parents’.)

Just as quietly as she was assembling the gun, Jazz scoffed. She apparently shared his opinion.

Good.

Not that it was important, since they would not be married anymore after they caught the ghost.

(What a shame. This was fun. She was fun.)

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t agree, young King,” Jazz jumped and looked up from her work, eyes wild, “because what I started cannot be stopped. I cannot be stopped! I am cupid, the love god, and is my duty to-”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Get in the thermos.”

“Didn’t you hear? I am the love god!”

“And I’m Danny Phantom, now get in the thermos!”

Jazz rolled her eyes, the weapon in her hands now properly assembled once she pushed a button. It made a noise like it was charging up and she placed down on the floor, getting down in position. Jason couldn’t stop noticing how comfortable she looked, prone on the rooftop, with what he could guess was some kind of sniper rifle in her hands, waiting for her shot.

She had done this before. And she looked gorgeous.

A scream brought him out from his musings and he looked away from the sniping goddess to find the retreating figure of the Elvis ghost flying away faster than how he had flown as they fought him. Danny quickly followed, trying to slow him down.

He looked at Jazz again, how she tensed and relaxed, how she controlled her breathing and put her finger on the trigger.

“Stop breathing.”

It took a second to realize she was talking to him. He obeyed, holding his breath, waiting to see if she could make the shot. They were getting away, and fast, and whatever that big ass gun did couldn’t be good if she hit her brother by accident. It showed the amount of trust between them-

Jazz whistled, the piercing sound loud on his ears, and Danny moved away just in time to avoid the brightest laser Jason had ever seen. It was big, it made a noise like a firework as it soared through the sky, hitting the ghost right in his chest before he could make a shield or use his guitar to stop it.

Elvis trembled in the air as if shocked by a taser for a few seconds, his form flickering, unstable, before plummeting to the ground.

Jazz breathed in relief and stood back up.

“Good shot,” he couldn’t help but say. That was impressive. “That shit must have a recoil like crazy.”

“It really does,” she rolled her shoulder, “and it can only take one shot before having to recharge for a day. But it’s worth it.”

Just one shot, huh.

“What does it do?”

She made a face, quickly picking up the rifle and undoing her previous work. “It destabilized a ghost’s core. Momentarily.”

That didn’t sound good. It sounded dangerous, and by her somber expression, it was painful and cruel.

But it was the only thing that stopped that ghost.

“You did well.”

She looked at him funny, like she didn’t expect supporting words. “I know. Let’s go.”

Jazz looped the strap of the gun around her neck again and jumped into his arms without prompting. It felt good, natural, to have her close. Her touch was cold even through the layers of the suit, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; and the way her body perfectly fit with his, like it was meant to be there, was… nice.

Maybe it was the curse speaking, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like it.

In any case, he had to shelve those thoughts until he could unpack that underlying attraction, and maybe check if she was okay with it?

He quickly grappled them to where he saw the ghost fall, gently letting her down, and smiling when she said a quiet “thank you”, even if she couldn’t see it.

They found Danny smugly standing next to a green dome with the Elvis ghost sitting in it, defeated. His arms crossed over his chest and his lips in a pout, and his guitar broken at his side. However, his face lit up when he saw them land together.

“Oh, yes, my greatest match!”

Jazz didn’t find it funny. She immediately pointed a gun at the ghost.

“Undo it.”

He laughed. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” She placed her finger on the trigger. Jason appreciated the enthusiasm, but he wasn’t sure if the shot would bounce on the green shield.

Elvis chuckled, and stood - flew? Floated? - to an upwards position.

“Honey, a royal bond cannot be broken that easily.”

She froze. “A what?”

The ghost sighed, clasping his hands together with a wistful expression. “What was my surprise when I saw you two together at the mall. My greatest work! The Princess and a Knight, a match made in heaven.”

Jason saw the moment Jazz’s mind disconnected. He wasn’t following what was going on that well, but by Danny’s sudden ashen expression and how he tried to sneakily step away from his sister’s field of vision, he assumed something was up.

“You guys even did the rope ceremony on your own! It was destiny, I tell you. Destiny.” He turned to look at Jason now, his red eyes piercing. “The moment I saw you fight together I knew this would be my magnum opus.”

“Danny? What is he talking about?” She lowered her gun, but Danny froze like she was pointing it at him. “Princess? Royal bond?”

“Uh… I may have- I mean, I was gonna tell you when I visited, I promise, but stuff came up and then-”

“Danny.”

“I may have, uh, I am the Ghost King now?” He smiled nervously.

Jazz wasn’t smiling back.

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scorchedhearth · 2 years ago

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If you could fukky control and write about Jason as character what would you do?

oh thank you for indulging me :] i suffer from cant shut up disease so i had to put a cut there

ok so, first of all, i don't really follow what he's up to nowadays, i've read a couple of issues here and there but mostly it bores me so i dont have the fine details of continuity, no idea how to tie my hypothetical changes with what's currently going on

what i'd want to do is give him back the crime boss persona. not like he was in utrh, not entirely, but give him an attitude, set of values and principles that isn't the regular approach vigilantes have of investigating crimes and acting as aftermath. that's what's most interesting to me about red hood, that he takes proactive actions and has this 'control to prevent' attitude, there's a lot to be done with a 'good' guy doing something pretty much all of the heroes look down upon, things to explore and question and measure, and im not just talking about the 'to kill or not to kill' problem, but also 'is it ok to break in and beat people as a vigilante? where do you draw the line of what's admitted or not for a vigilante to do just because they've got good intentions even if legally it is a crime? you can leak drug deals information to the police but cannot do them yourself to manipulate the results as you want? what's moral, what's accepted as good and bad actions?' and all that jazz

first and foremost in the plot of this hypothetical run i'd be given, i'd have him give up the crowbars (fucking stupid choice imo), pick up guns again and stop running around doing patrol like every single other gotham vigilante do, there's spoiler to keep an eye on the narrow if he's worried about his home neighborhood. what i want for him is to do a lot of investigation and research and planning like he does pre-utrh, spending time making up complicated plans and then striking and unfolding it piece by piece with extreme meticulousness, showcasing his many skills (yes, fighting skills but also people skills like manipulation or reading people, making bombs, traps, poisons, using politics and all those things he learned)

i'd have him turn away from the batfam, at this point they've reached a status quo of as good relations as they'll get, by now jason has run dry his fantasy of good family attitudes and settled for what he'll get, stop trying to reach for their attention (admitting he's no longer 19 but in his 20s now). but, and that could be the new conflict, this new indifference could be a point of contention for bruce, who cannot use his desire for recognition as a way to weigh in jason's decisions. basically, emancipation from the daddy issues for my boy <3

for the story itself, im half temped to put black mask against, first because their interactions were amazing in utrh, and second because i think black mask having red hood sicced on himself twice is hilarious, man getting his office blown up by the same rogue vigilante twice, more news at 8. i would want something a lot more grounded, not magic or science fiction, just jason going up against gotham's mafia and slowly mowing them all down, getting his fingers into all the corrupted pies of gotham officials and pulling strings to his satisfaction. there would be lots of political plot points i think, jason growing bored of them to rely on his own methods, the slow gears of how crime actually works in real life

and! on a personal life note, have him bond with other people, not in his personal life because i still want him messed up and refusing genuine human relationships, but on a general human level. actually show why he's doing this, show the drug users getting compassion from the operation he's setting up, show him watching over the kids needing help, dismantling cover-up for abusers, etc. show that despite what he lets on, jason actually cares about other people and that's why he's doing this, to make gotham safe and protect victims and innocent people

the book ends with jason as this new gotham kingpin that even batman can't take down (and batman genuinely tries to, he just can't because jason is competent, he was trained right), thus putting a new status quo for following writers to stick to in the coming years, and maybe then we'd get stories that are deeper than just 'oh is killing good or bad? what does my dad want me to do because i don't have a personal moral anymore'

#you guys know me too well you give me the best opening to rant #asks #anon #dc #jason todd

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thebooki3h · 4 years ago

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Lukadamianette Au Part 2

First Here Next

We begin where we left off, with Luka and Marinette on one of the dates Luka Planned. Just because it makes sense in this, Luka and Mari arrive a week early

Because Mari is emancipated and excused herself for the first week of school before the trip during which the class is still in France bc they just ended summer and all that jazz. also I have decided that the trip has turned into a half semester exchange program even though this doesn’t make the most sense, but the French school thought the class could use a reward and tbh they just wanted to get the Akuma class out for awhile. Also this way they aren’t in Gotham for a whole semester of senior year. The trip is planned for the first half of the first semester of senior year. I know that this doesn't make a whole lot of sense but just stick with me.

They go sight seeing and basically on a week long date bc the following week begins the Wayne sponsored exchange program and when Luka has to work for Jagged. One day they go to museums, the next the go to famous parks around Gotham (which are thriving thanks to Poison Ivy), the next they see all of the famous villain spots (which are surprisingly popular tourist destinations bc for the most part they don’t get hit twice in short periods of time) which is a good cover for studying past bat battles. They take days in between to rest and use the inspiration they gained to make new songs or clothing designs.

They share hotel room bc Mari’s parents stopped being her parents a long time ago and lost their say and bc Jagged says they are grown up enough to be responsible for their actions (which brings a blush to their cheeks every time bc “daaaaaddddd” “uncle jaggeeedddd”)

Mari also makes it her mission to visit all of the non chain coffee shops at least once while they are there bc coffee became her best friend when she was active as ladybug. She meets Tim in almost everyone because Tim also drinks coffee obsessively. Luka is more of a tea drinker because coffee interrupts his musical thought process and tea is less harsh. Marinette drinks tea when she wants to relax but coffee is the fuel of the gods. She expresses this to Tim and that's how they become acquainted bc finally someone understands his love for coffee. They exchange numbers after they run into each other for a fourth time. (Luka silently thinks that he might have to talk to Mari about her obsession of coffee again and if there is a rehab center for coffee drinkers) Tim learns that Mari is from the exchange class very quickly based off of Luka’s French accent as well as her light French accent that is mixed with a couple things he can’t quite place.

The class arrives, Lila ofc tried to pull something to leave Mari behind and she thought she was successful so she was gloating. She ofc took credit for the whole trip claiming that she was super close to the Waynes and that she helped Damian acclimate to his new school (she actually knows that Damian didn’t start living with his father until 10 bc why not). Mrs Bustier tries to check in under both her name and Lila’s name, both of which don’t work because they are A) an hour and a half early and B) all of the reservations are under the contest winners name (they have to ok their chaperones to use their name) C)Mrs Bustier told Mari to make all of the reservations under Mari’s name anyway and she totally forgot that.

So the sit in the lobby for an hour, Lila has the whole class riled up bc Marinette isn't there and it is al her fault that they can’t get in to their rooms. Marinette shows up with Luka 15 mins before the class was supposed to show up (they had just gotten lunch at a cafe that jagged had recommended) and she is laughing and happy, which causes the class to BLOW UP in her face. She ignores them and checks everyone into their rooms. Kagami and Chloe share a suite bc they are rich in their own right and upgraded their shared room bc they are dating and signed up to be roommates. They got this okayed by Buister in writing JIC. Marinette as the contest winner also got a suite (the room she had been staying in with Luka that she just extended the booking for)

Lila and Alya obviously make a big fuss about them getting special treatment but bustier can’t do anything because Mari won’t let her. She secretly thinks Mari is a lost cause now but she tries her best to get her to see that she has to be a role model. Mari actually planned the whole trip and she did a fucking fantastic job bc its Mari and planning something is what she is great at. She has all of the bases covered including iternerary, bookings for food, emergency contact info, health info, info on Gotham, safety procedures and the whole shebang. All of which had to be approved by Bustier and that Bustier has copies of but totally ignored.

The next day they try to pull the let’s leave an hour early to leave behind Marinette stunt. Not only does that fail because the tour can’t start until the contest winner is there, but they arrived before Wayne tower was even open to the public. Because jagged is extra he shipped Luka and Marinette motorcycles to Gotham bc they were going to be there for a couple months, they also got special permission from Wayne enterprises to park their bikes in the employee parking structures from Tim once he heard that they rode bikes as expensive as Jason’s. So she left early from the hotel with Luka(bc she knew that Bustier would leave her behind somehow) to go meet up with Tim at a new coffee place (one of his favorites). They end up riding on their respective bikes to WE together so they can hang out before the tour. Luka goes to a recording studio to meet up with Jagged, but not before a very passionate kiss goodbye, which makes Tim blush. (Tim may not seem like the biker type but he is a bat and he lives with Jason so he not only knows how to ride a motorcycle well has one, so it may not be his favorite mode of transportation but he’ll live)

So he and Marinette walk to WE about a half an hour before the class is supposed to be there in the middle of a debate on how best to brew coffee (Mari insists its French press) and low and behold they are there yelling at the receptionist. Mari gives Tim a look that says I’m so sorry you have to see this and yes I was not exaggerating walks up to the receptionist and apologizes for what she is about to do (not for the classes actions bc fuck them they can apologize for themselves she has learned to not take responsibility for others actions and she won’t let all that work go to waste). She then proceeds to yell, much louder than someone of her stature presumably should “SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I STG I WILL BREAK JOKER OUT OF ARKHAM AND LOCK HIM IN A ROOM WITH ALL OF YOU WITHOUT FLINCHING” this is shocking to everyone, especially mrs bustier who is scandalized that her role model student would do something like this.

Tim had a feeling that something video worthy would happen so as soon as she walked away he started recording, and he was NOT disappointed. The video gos straight to the batfam gc and Luka immediately. He powered off his phone then he proceeds to start laughing and applauding. Upon seeing the CEO’s reaction the rest of the employees start applauding as well bc damn those kids were rude. Tim then walks up to Mari talking at a speed no one but Mari, Chloe and Kagami could understand (bc the class is not fluent in English no matter what they would tell you). Mari proceeds to blush once he informs her that he sent a video to Luka (he does not tell her about the batfam gc)

Chloe and Kagami are immediate intrigued bc this is NOT what they picture when Mari said she met someone who loves coffee as much as she does. they may be hella gay for each other but damn that man is ripped. They join the convo while the class remains befuddled bc who knew Mari even swore. in the back of his mind Nino is reminded of a young blue-eyed girl who lost playground privileges for a week bc someone made fun of his glasses and proceed to punch said someone in the nose. But he shakes it of because Mari hasn’t been like that in years.

Bustier eventually collects herself and gently, so as not to cause an Akuma (apparently she didn't get the memo), reminds Mari that they are here for a tour and she needs to get the class their passes. So Mari leaves her friends to get acquainted and goes up to the receptionist, to whom she apologizes for her actions again, and the receptionist replies with a laugh and a “honey, you just made my week, there's no need to apologize I should be thanking you” (she does thank Mari). Mari gets a special pass bc she’s the contest winner to which Lila and Alya (then the rest of the class for the most part) proceed to throw a hissy fit over. The receptionist is so over them though and doesn’t even blink.

Then their tour guide shows up. (its Dick and his assistant Damian). Damian proceeds to scold the class for a solid ten mins (which coincidentally leads up to their scheduled time to start the tour). Dick slides off to talk to the receptionist and his brother who isn't working and is talking to real people for once. Just for that they are his favorite out of the class. Tim unfortunately has to go to work so they talk to Dick to get acquainted until the tour has to officially start.

Los tres amigos are the only ones who pay attention to Dick at all (he leads the tour bc he’s been there the longest but Damian throws in a comment here or there mostly related to shenanigans his family has gotten into but overall useful facts. for example these windows are reinforced because our CEO (Tim) leaned up against one, fell asleep and fell through the window to the office below.)

The rest of the class is focused on Lila who is talking a whole bunch of nonsense about the Wayne family and how she has helped them with their business. Some things actually sound kinda legit, but Mari and Co. know that it is BS. Dick tries to bet bustier involved but she makes an excuse for Lila and goes on her phone and doesn’t really pay attention.

Eventually the class tour turns into Dick talking to Mari, Chloe and Kagami while the class vaguely follows them. Damian doesn’t really say anything because he generally doesn’t do well talking to strangers and these girls seem ok and he is still insecure (not that he would ever admit it to anyone ) about social interaction now that he has figured out how people who weren’t raised as assassins act. That is until Dick starts talking about shenanigans that his brothers get into, and Damian jumps in correcting him because I did not try to tackle Todd, Grayson I did tackle Todd quite successful and also Alfred won’t let you into the kitchen anymore because you almost burned down the east wing of the manor not because he is territorial over the kitchen. And Mari hadn’t really paid attention to Damian until now but OH MY KAWAMI he is hot, and how did she talk so long to notice that.

She ends up taking a pic of Damian without him noticing (he really doesn’t notice which is a feat in itself but Dick does and he will be teasing Damian about it later bc obviously) and she texts it to Luka bc if she is going to freak out over his hotness she wants Luka to do so too. ( he sees the pic in the middle of recording and he ends up needing a water break bc gay panic and he really is extremely handsome. Recording gets delayed even longer bc jagged cannot pass up the opportunity to tease him son and he does so mercilessly and Mari totally knew what she was doing when she sent that picture) Luka ends up demanding that she gets Damians number or he will because that man is fine.

Mari now knows that the stuttering idolization that she had with Adrien wasn’t really healthy and Luka likes to remind her all the time that she can be smooth when she wants to be (sometimes unintentionally but she practices on Luka because she loves to see him blush). Mari then makes it her mission to compliment Damian as much as possible so that it is crystal clear and very obvious that she is flirting with him. If he even shows a little discomfort in a negative I don’t like this kind of way she will stop because she will not make someone go through what she went through with Chat Noir and unwanted advances.

Chloe, Kagami and Dick immediately notice that she is flirting with Damian. Chloe takes a video for Luka bc she knows that he would want to see this and Dick takes a video for the Batfam gc.

Just to be clear Mari and Luka have talked about seeing other people and maybe adding a third person to their relationship as long as they talk about it. that line of communication was opened when Mari sent a pic of Damian to Luka and when Luka asked for his number that was his “go ahead” for her to flirt with Damian. Lila doesn’t understand how that works and neither do the rest of the class so that is a point of contention between the class and Mari. She would NEVER cheat on Luka, she loves him and he is the most important person to her in the world. Something that Juleka understands (she just doesn’t like Mari bc of Lila she knows how polyamory works this is why her and Luka aren't as close as they used to be)

Moving on... the batfam gc blows up for a second time that day and so when the class goes to the cafeteria Tim just has to see this for himself. Mari tries not to be obnoxious in her flirting so she compliments Damians intelligence by asking him questions that weren't included in the tour, and she asks him about his interests and is like that must have taken a lot of time to perfect you must be very dedicated. Damian isn’t used to genuine compliments especially from strangers so he is very flustered by it but he makes no indication for her to stop.

The day winds down and the class has some free time before they have to go to dinner but the do have to leave the tower. Mari does actually get Damians number (he thinks she must be very well trained to get his number that quick bc he refuses to accept that he gave it to her because he likes her) Mari promises to ft him later bc he promised to let her meet his dog and she doesn’t want to wait until the class has dinner at the manor to see Titus.

First Here Next

Taglist

@dood-space

@toodaloo-kangaroo

Also I’m not very sure about how to go back and edit posts to link new parts so if anyone knows how to do that please comment or message me because I would love to learn!

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tres-spades-hotel · 4 years ago

Note

I am not sure you are taking requests or not, but I got this idea and I really wished you could write something for it, 'about Eisuke falling in love with his secretary and make it a bit dramatic'. I know it may be a lot to ask but all your written works have been so beautiful, I just had to ask you. No problem if you couldn't do it :).

Hi there! I’m so glad you sent a request! Yes my requests are open, I only just realised that I haven’t put it anywhere on my blog that they are open... oops! Anyway, I’ve never written a secretary story before so this was definitely a challenge, thanks to @flatsuke and @leoamber66 for helping me find a solid plot to use. And thanks to @lin-ful for just being amazing! This story is 8000+ words so that’s why it took some time to get this to you. I hope this is what you wanted, if not I hope you at least appreciate the time and effort I took to writing this. Enjoy!

Keep Me By Your Side

They say patience is a fool’s game. Waiting for love will weigh your heart down heavily like an anchor in the ocean. But saying ‘I love you’ to Eisuke Ichinomiya will get you nowhere fast. What does he know about love? Kindness? Happiness?

He was young when he was made CEO of the Ichinomiya Group. He was even younger when he lost his mother to the scythe of death, when he lost his sister to a different, better, whole, and lovable family. When he lost his father to the mist of uncertainty. What could a man filled with emptiness from a traumatic childhood, know about love?

He’s arrogant but he’s suave. A businessman through and through. Ruthless and cunning. Intelligent and sarcastic. Sweet-toothed with hidden compassion. A passionate hater of peas. A wonderful smile when he is genuine. And believe me, I have only ever seen this smile once in my whole career.

He never gets drunk and he spends more time at his auctions than with women. No woman other than me has stayed longer than a night at his penthouse. No other woman knows that Eisuke prefers warm weather to cold. No other woman knows how he likes his coffee: sweet using three sugar cubes and milk. I still remember the first time I made him coffee.

‘It’s adequate.’

‘Really?!’

‘Do it again. It needs more milk.’

‘Okay!’

I remember when he told me about his life. I remember his touch when he wiped away dewy tears. Telling me that it was a long time ago. That he just wants the truth. Closure.

That’s why, as his secretary, I have to be there for him. Because Mr Ichinomiya, founder, and owner of the Tres Spades Hotels around the globe, the mastermind behind the black market auctions and my boss, has brought me down to my knees…

In love.

I am in love with Eisuke Ichinomiya.

I want to shout it out to the world.

Scream it at the top of my lungs as if his name is my breath.

But I can’t.

Because I am only his secretary.

‘Here’s your schedule for today. After lunch, you have a meeting with a potential investor for the new Tres Spades Restaurants. He wants to propose different menus and VIP arrangements plus staff requirements for the restaurant in Sydney, Australia.’ I hand Eisuke his tablet and a folder filled with paperwork.

‘Hm. And the auctions?’

‘All set. Baba is still looking for the specific item that you requested but we have plenty of other materials to sell tonight. Soryu has sent the invitations and Mamoru will get back to you about the increasing police activity here lately. And Ota… well he’s being Ota.’

‘Pfft, of course he is.’ Eisuke looks up at me.

‘And Luke?’

‘He nearly fondled my collarbones… again. But he is ready to proceed with the surgery this week.’

Eisuke narrows his eyes at me.

‘Tell Luke to come see me before then. And you know better than to visit Luke immediately after a surgery.’

I rub the back of my head nervously.

‘Well, you told me to see him right away so… I was just following orders.’ Eisuke sighs in response.

‘Oh! And Luke told me to tell you that he needs another x-ray of your collarbones.’

‘Why? I already gave him one a few months ago.’ The annoyance is written all over his features.

‘Because he left it in the other clinic in New York. Luke doesn’t have an x-ray here in Tokyo.’

He unconsciously pouts at his laptop screen.

‘Isn’t one enough?’

‘Apparently not…’ It takes everything in me not to stroke his head to comfort him.

‘What about your collarbones?’

‘When we got back, while you were still in London, Luke did a medical examination on me so he got an x-ray of mine.’

‘Remind me to ban him from using the x-ray machine.’ I reply with a giggle instead of words.

‘Vivian.’ He says with urgency.

I salute military style.

‘Yes sir!’

‘… You would make a clumsy soldier.’

‘Hey!’

‘If there’s nothing else, get me coffee and leave.’

I bow and attend to my duties. After giving Eisuke his coffee, I head down to the lobby to find Mr Kenzaki. The lobby is busy as always with staff running around attending to the whims of the guests. New guests checking in and old guests leaving satisfied by their stay. The Tres Spades never disappoints.

I spot Mr Kenzaki by the reception. I catch his eye and he walks towards me by the penthouse elevator.

‘Ah Vivian, is there something you need?’

‘Yes, the Boss will need the conference room after lunch. We will need it for a few hours.’

‘Of course, I will have it set up. Do you need the projector?’

I think for a moment.

‘I’m not entirely sure but set it up anyway. Better to have it on and not use it, than need it when it’s off.’

He smiles warmly at me.

‘I understand. I am glad to see that you have become a capable and worthy secretary to Mr Ichinomiya.’ I blush at his teasing words.

‘Thank you. But we both know that Boss would choose you over me any day of the week.’

‘Haha, I’m not quite sure he is that attached.’ I highly doubt that actually, but I don’t tell him that.

‘The guest is Mr Lance and he will be arriving in a few hours. Make sure the lobby is prepared. Boss and I will come down to greet him.’

‘Very well. Make sure to take breaks every now and again Vivian.’

‘Yes, I will.’ Mr Kenzaki has always been obedient and thoughtful. I admire his dedication to Eisuke and the others plus he was a huge help to me when I first started working at the Tres Spades. He’s almost like an uncle or a grandfather (I’m sorry Mr Kenzaki! I promise you’re still young!) to me and the others.

I return to the elevator, swipe my key card, press no. 51 and watch the metal doors close. Turning around, I watch the outside world grow smaller and smaller as the elevator pulls up. There was a time when I was bewildered by the sheer size of this hotel. Over 50 floors of suites and boutiques and shops and the auctions all bundled into one.

Funnily enough, I worked with Eisuke’s adopted father, Akira Ichinomiya before I came to work for Eisuke. Akira took me in when I was first starting out in business and he taught me the ropes. He introduced me to Eisuke a little after Akira retired and, although he retired, he still worked within the Ichinomiya Group to make things a little easier for Eisuke. We met a few times over the years before Akira decided to send me to Japan to work for Eisuke as his secretary instead. I was more than miffed to hear of his decision without consulting me, especially since we had gotten so close with each other. I lost my grandfather when I was young so Akira ended up filling in that void.

Akira assured me that Eisuke would teach me more about how the Ichinomiya Group runs and I couldn’t say more. With my salary increased and bags packed, I got into the private jet and waited to see my new boss.

Looking back, I think I put up a bit too much of a fuss because Eisuke became a wonderful teacher, and a great friend. He listened to me and my problems even though he never needed to.

‘I have to make sure that my employees are at their best. Physically and mentally. Hearing your small problems is nothing to the value you are as my secretary.’

His words back then bring a whole new meaning to me now. I hope he means them in the way that I think they mean. That he cares about me.

A vibration courses through me as my pager goes off. I pluck it out of my belt and answer it.

‘Hello?’

‘Vivian! Where are you? Come to the penthouse! I have something to show you!’ Baba’s excited voice reminds me of a child but I wait to see what he has in store.

‘Ta da!’ Baba’s jazz hands do nothing to appease the sight.

A large statue of Venus towers over us all as we gape at it.

‘How did you get it in here?’ I ask, bewildered.

‘That’s a secret.’

‘Did you break it in half?’ Ota asks next.

‘No! This is priceless!’

‘Then how did you bring it into the lounge?’ Soryu says.

‘That is also a secret!’

‘He used the helicopter and the window.’ Mamoru mumbles from the couch.

‘Oooooohhhhhh’ Ota and I say at the same time. Baba pouts in response.

‘Mamo! Don’t go giving away my secrets!’

‘That’s not my job. That’s Ayase‘s job.’

‘This isn’t what I asked for Baba.’ Eisuke glares at him after inspecting the statue.

‘Ah yes, well. The item belongs to a Mr Jason Taylor Lance. I believe his father is coming to the hotel today.’

‘He is.’ I say.

‘Fine, I’ll get it from him instead.’

‘What is this thing you’re looking for anyway Eisuke?’ Ota asks.

‘It’s a collection of gems found at a temple in Egypt. Rumours of the gems suggest that a whole manner of good things will happen to those who possess them. I figured they would go for a very high price at the auctions.’ Eisuke smirks.

‘They were unearthed a few years ago and have found their way to Japan.’ Eisuke explains. Baba sighs.

‘Well I need more time to find the exact location.’

‘Fine.’

‘Ota can you appraise the statue for me?’

‘Okay.’ He goes back to his room while I prepare coffee and tea. When he comes back, he puts on white rubber gloves and uses a magnifying glass around the statue. I check my emails, replying to some and deleting others when Ota quips:

‘It’s fake.’

‘WHAT! Are you sure!?’

‘Yeah. It was created with cheap materials. An amateur’s work.’ He says it in such a matter-of-fact tone that I don’t comprehend it for a moment.

‘You would never know just looking at it.’

‘Yeah but if you sell it then the person buying it would most likely be an art collector and they appraise everything.’ He sits down and takes out his phone.

‘Unlucky Baba. Just like your sex life.’

‘Hey!’

‘Baba take that thing out.’ Eisuke orders.

‘Alright, alright. Sor help me out.’

‘Why me?’ Soryu and Baba heave the statue out of the penthouse.

Eisuke and I have lunch and then we venture out to the lobby. Just as we exit the elevator, Mr Lance enters the hotel. He is a big man wearing a white suit and a silver chain around his neck. His bald head shines in the glow of the lights and I can hear his shoes squeak against the marbled floor. He spots us and smiles.

‘Mr Lance, I am glad you could make it.’ Eisuke plasters on his signature business smile, holds his hand out for a shake and I bow from beside him.

‘Eisuke, please call me Connor. If we are going to be business partners, we should at least start with first names.’ He wraps both Eisuke and I in a bear hug and I nearly gag from the heavy cologne smell. Mr Lance is overly-friendly and I can already tell that this meeting is going to be a long one.

When he lets us go, Eisuke straightens his suit.

‘Please follow me to the conference room.’ Eisuke walks away while I turn to Mr Lance.

‘Shall I carry your briefcase for you, sir?’ I ask politely.

‘Of course, please.’ He looks at me for a moment. During my time as Eisuke’s secretary, I have met many individuals who have looked at me in inappropriate ways but Eisuke is always there to make it clear my place by his side. Still, I always stand my ground. Even now, as Mr Lance studies my face when he suddenly gestures to the case on the floor and follows Eisuke.

I’m not sure what that look was on his face but something tells me that this meeting will twist horribly.

‘Of course the staff will be perfect in their presentation but I believe that…’

Mr Lance, despite his ‘we-should-use-first-names’ greeting, is actually quite the businessman. He and Eisuke have been discussing the chain of Tres Spade restaurants and how to profit the most without hindering their guest’s experience.

‘The Tres Spades always delivers in high quality standards. Our guests and what they desire are our top priority.’

‘I have no doubt. Reviews of your hotels are 100% which I completely agree with. But if we could…’

Although, they are at a stale-mate right now. Neither is willing to backdown which is making me nervous. Mr Lance is more insistent on getting his way and so is Eisuke.

‘Sir?’ I finally pipe up from my corner in the room.

‘Hm?’ Eisuke looks at me.

‘May I suggest something?’

‘I hope you do not mind.’ Eisuke says to the man opposite him.

‘Please, a second opinion is always valuable.’ Mr Lance says, nodding in my direction.

‘Well, I suggest that the guests are given a form to personally write down any changes they want or need to the menus. This way, waiters will be more efficient obtaining orders and will limit any commotion that may arise.’

‘Paper forms will get lost or damaged very quickly in a kitchen.’ Eisuke says.

‘Hm, electronic tablets? With the entire menu and a writing stylus or Bluetooth keyboard to use.’

‘The keyboard would be too bulky on a table for guests.’

‘Why not use both? Paper and technology alike. Reservations will need specifications on which apparition the guests would like to use. Spontaneous guests first arriving will be asked immediately before seating if they require the keyboard or stylus.’ Mr Lance suggests.

‘That would be agreeable for me.’ Eisuke says.

‘I also.’ Mr Lance responds.

I breath a quiet sigh of relief. Mr Lance looks at me again before turning to Eisuke.

‘Before I sign this contract, I would like to add something to this.’

‘Such as?’

‘You see, I have a son, who I assume is the same age as your secretary?’

I glance at Eisuke briefly before saying hesitantly, ‘I am 28 years old, sir.’

‘Ah perfect! I have a son who could use a woman like you by his side.’ At those words, both Eisuke and I look at each other. He glares at Mr Lance who does not seem to notice.

‘You are an impeccable woman. In just a few hours, I have seen your beauty, your perfect manners and now your incredible intelligence as a woman working in the business sector of society. I believe you would be a wonderful wife to my son and an even better daughter-in-law to my wife and I.’

‘What are you suggesting, Mr Lance?’ Eisuke could be a snake he spat out those words so viciously.

Mr Lance does not break eye contact with Eisuke. Actually, it seems as if he is not intimidated at all by Eisuke, which, despite his words, is impressive.

‘I will sign this contract. Only if your secretary agrees to marry my son.’

‘That is outrageous, as if I would agree to such a thing.’

‘I am not asking you, Mr Ichinomiya. I am asking her.’

There is so much tension in the air that I can see it. Literally. So if I don’t agree, Mr Lance will walk out of the project. But if I do… While there are other investors, Mr Lance has a large influence on the economy, just as much as Eisuke does. He’s too important to deny.

Maybe I should convince him to sign without the marriage?

‘If I may, Mr Lance, I am hardly worthy of being part of your family. I have no wealth which you would consider rich, neither do I have many connections or the reputation to be married into your family. The public and the media would, quite frankly, have a field day about this marriage which could result in backlash on your family and mine. Please, reconsider this.’ I think half way through, my reasoning became a plea.

‘My secretary has never met your son and neither have I. She has worked for me and my company for years. Her well-being is my responsibility.’

Mr Lance thinks over our arguments calmly, as if he has done this a hundred times to other employers and their employees.

‘Very well. Why don’t I have my son stay at the hotel for a week? They can get to know each other and when she agrees to the marriage, then I will sign the contract. Until then,’ he pushes the folder away, ‘I will not sign. This is final.’

He gets up, leaving his business card, and walks out whistling to himself.

* (EISUKE’S POV)

‘That bastard really believes that he can have whatever he wants just because I need him to invest in the project.’

‘Did he really ask you for Vivian’s hand in marriage?’

‘To his son?’

‘…..’ I don’t answer, I only glare at Baba and Ota who hide behind Vivian and Soryu.

Mr Lance has attempted something that I have never seen in my whole career. A marriage proposal during a business deal? Mixing his personal life with his work is extremely amateur for a man who has been in business for over 30 years.

‘That man’s head must have a few screws loose.’ Mamoru says in an exasperated tone.

‘So what did you say Vivian?’ Ota asks.

‘Well, I tried to tell him that I wouldn’t be a good match for his family but he wouldn’t listen to us. His son is going to be staying in the hotel and I have to attend to him.’ She says, clutching her tablet to her chest.

‘Eisuke, what is he planning?’ Soryu is right to be suspicious. Even I believe that there is something amiss here.

‘Soryu, Mamoru, find out everything you can about this man and the Lancer’s Group.’

‘Lancer’s Group?’

‘Mr Lance’s last name turned into-‘

‘A joke.’ Mamoru finishes her sentence. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Criminal records, illegal activity, anything. Baba see if you can find something in their estates. I want to know what they have in their possession.’

‘Uh, okay Boss…’

‘Ota I want to know what the public think about the Lance family.’

‘Sure.’

I get up from the couch and head to the stairs leading to my penthouse suite.

‘Eisuke, what about the auctions tonight?’

‘The IVC and the auctions will continue as usual. Vivian, coffee.’ I say before turning around and ascending the stairs. I hear Vivian’s high heels against the floor as she rushes to me.

As soon as I get inside, I sit at my office desk and begin researching. If the Lancer Group is as influential as the Ichinomiya Group, they will have more than a few skeletons in their closets. The smell of coffee fills the room as she makes my daily beverage. For a second, I suddenly imagine Vivian making coffee for someone else. Mr Jason Taylor Lance. With his hands on her hips and his lips at her neck, attempting to distract her from leaving. It disgusts me that another man besides me would have Vivian by his side.

I feel myself get up from my chair and wander to Vivian quickly. She pours milk and three sugar cubes into the mug. Her waist feels small in my hands. The hair on her head smells like argan oil. Vivian is actually a small woman, her head is just below my shoulders with high heels on. Her long dark hair is straight with a braided crown around the back of her head. She wears a black suit and a purple blouse plus I notice the thin platinum band around her right ring finger that I gave her when we first met.

I hear her gasp at my touch and she turns around in my arms. Her eyes are wide open with her eyebrows raised.

‘Eisuke?’

Eisuke. She usually says my name when we’re alone. When she’s in work mode, she calls me Boss, like Baba unfortunately, but I still remember how casually she said it the first time.

‘Eisuke, you’ve been working for hours. Take a break for a few minutes, please? What will I do if you faint from exhaustion?’

My hands cup her chubby face. Her trembling fingers hold onto my hands. The only man I see reflecting in her eyes, is me.

I can’t imagine being without Vivian.

Wait. What am I thinking? Or rather what am I doing?!

I let go of her face and turn to leave the room. Her short arms suddenly wrap around my waist as she desperately holds on.

‘Eisuke, I don’t want to leave you.’ Her whisper is enough for me.

But why do I care so much for her? Have I become attached to this woman? This woman who Akira introduced to me? The same shy, bubbly personality who has stuck by my side for more years than I can count? No one has survived as my secretary or assistant ever but Vivian has held on.

What am I feeling inside? This warmth in my chest?

The next day, we prepare for Mr Lance’s son’s appearance at the hotel. Jason Taylor is a famous model and fashion designer who is also known for his… drunk antics.

‘Soryu, make sure your men keep an eye on Taylor and Vivian while they are together. If he dares to make a move on her, I want them to intercept immediately.’

Soryu, sitting in the chair opposite my desk, rubs his head and sighs with exasperation.

‘Eisuke, my men are mobsters, not bodyguards.’

‘Soryu.’

‘I know, I know. I care about her too you know, we all do. She’s the only woman willing to stick by you and your peculiarities.’

‘….’

‘My men will watch out for her and will keep me and you updated on their activities.’

‘Good. Have you found anything incriminating?’

‘There is something. Apparently, the Lance’s have a secret operation in Brazil. It might be money laundering.’

‘Hm, have your men take it. If it is money laundering, the evidence will move the scales in my favour.’ We share a knowing look when Baba’s loud voice booms outside the office door.

‘Boss! He’s here! Come on out!’ I sigh and stand up.

‘Looks like His Highness is in your territory.’

‘We’ll see how long he can stay on his pedestal.’

Vivian meets us in the penthouse lounge. I gave her the morning off to mentally prepare herself for the work that she will have to do. She wears a different outfit that she wears for work which makes me feel better inside.

‘Hey Vivian, why are you wearing that?’ Ota asks. She looks down at her suit then to me.

‘Because I’m still working.’

‘But he’s going to be your fiancé, shouldn’t you greet him looking a little sexier or something appealing?’

‘If you’re so desperate for a fiancée, why don’t you go greet him?’ I spit out at Ota who frowns at me.

‘Baba, Eisuke’s being mean!’

‘You kind of deserved it Ota.’ Baba says.

‘Damn I’m tired. Can we get going now?’ Mamoru yawns.

‘Slacker.’ I hear Soryu mutter under his breath.

‘What you say!?’

‘That’s enough. Vivian.’ I turn to leave and hear Vivian follow. The others grumble along to see who has made an enemy out of me.

Just as the elevator doors open, we hear loud noises and women screaming. In the centre of all attention is JT Lance, a known critic, womaniser, drunkard and an exceptional model and designer. He was already at the top when he was born, but we’ll see how far down to the bottom he falls when I’m done with him.

He seems to be signing autographs on paper and magazines and on women’s bodies as well. Arms, hands, necks, chest, he’ll put his name anywhere. A typical celebrity. He wears a golden chain similar to his father and an open shirt revealing his body.

The lobby quietens down as I step out.

‘Oh, it’s the King!’

‘The King?’

‘Eisuke Ichinomiya?!’

The staff try to handle the guests as much as they can while I stride over to the man receiving his room key.

‘Mr Jason Taylor? It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ I smile at him and shake his hand.

‘Eisuke Ichinomiya, the pleasure is all mine! My dad says good things about you.’

‘Does he now?’ I highly doubt that considering our last encounter.

‘It’s a bit too crowded here to talk. Please follow me to the VIP lounge.’

‘Lead the way.’

In the lounge, JT sits making small talk with Ota and Baba while a female staff member serves drinks. I see her blush as JT winks at her from his spot on the couch.

‘Do you have any tips on how to attract women?’

‘Baba has trouble keeping a woman’s attention for more than a second.’ Ota quips.

‘Haha, the first thing a woman sees in a man is his fashion sense. And yours… is a little less than average.’

‘What?!’

‘You look a tomato with a head, hands and feet. You need to look more manly and dignified.’ He waves his arms around, looking a buffoon. Baba frowns, lost in thoughts.

‘I assume you wear that red… thing daily. Red is a passionate colour and bold to be worn in broad day light. But too much passion turns women off quicker than a light switch. A man should wear blues or purples, like Ota and Eisuke or that scary looking man over there.’ He points to Soryu whose face doesn’t change or move in the slightest.

‘… Um, even that man over there in the grey suit is more manly than you.’ He indicates at Mamoru who smokes at the window.

‘Hmmm, so I need to change my suit? But I love this suit…’ Baba mumbles to himself helplessly as Ota falls over laughing.

I feel Vivian fidget beside me as she gleans the man attempting to take her away from me. JT changes his focus to Vivian.

‘So, this woman is the secretary my dad told me about? What is your name? You are certainly a beautiful gem among the dirt. Have you tried modelling? I’m sure my designs would look stunning on you.’ His insult generates a glare but, like his father, he does not notice.

‘My name is Vivian Grier and I am certain that I am just an average looking woman, sir.’

‘Oh please, you would look divine! And call me JT, it would be plain weird if my future wife calls me so formally.’ I feel my eye twitch at his casual words.

‘She is not your wife yet.’

‘That will be her decision, will it not?’

The tension increases with each passing moment as we size each other up. But Vivian cuts it like a sword slashing in the air.

‘Um, JT why don’t I show you around the hotel? Then you can relax in your suite. I still have work to do unfortunately but we can have dinner tonight in the restaurant if you would like.’ Her suggestion does nothing to quell the fiery rage that is slowly growing inside me.

His smile sickens me to my core.

‘I would be delighted to have that. Ota why don’t you come as well, we can discuss some new designs I’ve created.’

‘Sure. Don’t worry, the old man beside me won’t be coming along.’

‘Hey!’ Baba shouts out as usual. The four of them leave but not before Vivian pats my shoulder and says,

‘I’ll back in the penthouse in a bit, try not to exhaust yourself too much before I arrive.' She smirks and winks at me before rushing to the others.

‘You’re going to do what!?’ The words I didn’t want to hear leave Vivian’s mouth so simply that I shout at her in front of the others in the lounge. She flinches but continues.

‘JT is going to check out of the hotel tomorrow, and I will go with him. I’m going to agree to the marriage and stay with his family at their mansion.’

I can only glare at her, trying to dispel the unshakable resolve in her eyes. But she doesn’t look away nor does she back down.

‘Why?’

‘You and I both know that there is something not quite right here. They’re hiding a corpse underneath all that fame and money and I’m going to find out what.’

‘…..’

‘I know you have been investigating. I’m sure you’ll find the evidence we need but do it before the wedding. I…. One day, I want it to be you and me at the alter Eisuke. Truly.’

My eyes widen. Is she confessing to me? Now?

‘Soryu? Can I take Ryosuke and Samejima with me? For protection and friends to accompany me?’

‘Of course, they will protect with their lives Vivian.’ He takes his phone out and leaves to prepare his puppy and shark.

Vivian turns to me.

‘Eisuke, if I find anything then I will send it to you. And I promise I’ll come back. Come back to you.’

Vivian stands in front of me as the strong woman I know she is. She’s doing what needs to be done.

‘Money laundering.’

‘Huh?’

‘We have evidence that the Lance family is money laundering. Find me something related to it or something else I can use.’ I say. We look at each other for a moment then she smiles at me.

‘Okay.’

‘Good luck Vivian. We’ll be here if you need us.’ Baba pats her shoulder.

‘Don’t get yourself killed.’ Ota says from the couch.

‘Kid, don’t go doing anything stupid now.’ Mamoru puffs on his cigarette.

‘Thank you guys. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.’ She smiles and bows to us before turning around.

‘And Eisuke?’

‘What?’

‘On JT’s phone, I saw a message. It said… the body is ready to be disposed.’

‘A body?’

‘Mamoru get on this.’

‘Murder, huh?’

‘Well, he gives lousy advice on fashion anyway.’ Baba says.

‘He was right about your fashion sense though.’ Ota retorts.

‘Kid, send me that message as soon as you can.’

‘I’ll try.’ Vivian’s heels stride out of the lounge. Strong and confident, she leaves with my heart.

The engagement is called on TV. Mr Lance announces the engagement and we watch as Vivian and JT exchange rings.

‘Such a tacky ring.’ I mumble to myself.

‘Hey, what’s that silver ring on her other finger?’ Ota points to the monitor.

‘Boss, didn’t you give that to her a few years ago?’

‘Obviously. I have more class than he does in style.’ I smirk. So even on TV, she continues to belong to me.

‘Eisuke, Inui and Samejima have dropped Vivian off at the hotel. She’ll be here in a few minutes.’

‘Good.’ My fingers hover over the pager’s call button. It has been confirmed that the wedding will take place tomorrow. JT has booked the ballroom for a party and invited me to attend.

‘So they recorded this and sent it to the media everywhere huh?’ Ota asks.

‘Yes. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 2 weeks since Vivian left us.’

‘She hasn’t left us. As if Eisuke would let the kid go, not with her skills.’ Mamoru, who for once is not asleep, teases me.

‘You’re not snoozing, has the station finally fired you?’ Soryu retorts.

‘Stop it. You all are too noisy.’ I order before Mamoru can fight back.

‘How are the preparations for JT’s party tonight?’

‘Going as well as I can hope. I’ve called the media here to capture JT’s antics on screen.’

‘Seriously? Does he know?’

‘Even if he does he’s not shy to the camera. Everyone knows his drunk habits. I’ve ordered for security to be ready to take action against him if he tries something.’

‘Ota, Mamoru and I will be there as well so you can count on us Boss!’ Baba says with as much enthusiasm as a balloon.

‘Why do I have to be there?!’

‘Because the alcohol is for free. I won’t have to buy you any tonight.’

‘Fine. I guess I’ll go.’ Mamoru grumbles to himself by the window.

‘Hook, line, and sinker. Point 1 to Baba.’ He tips his ridiculous hat and winks at Mamoru who pretends to gag on his cigarette.

‘Sir?’ Kenzaki enters the lounge with the woman I’ve been expecting to see since she left.

‘Miss Vivian has returned.’ His smile tells me that he has been missing Vivian as much as the rest of us.

‘Hey everyo-‘

‘VIVIAN!’

‘THANK GOD!’

‘GET US COFFEE PLEASE!’

Vivian jumps behind Kenzaki as the three men throw themselves at her. It is true that we’ve been miserable without her coffee. We have been living off of room service and Soryu’s tea.

‘I can’t believe you guys really missed me that much. I was gone for 2 weeks!’ She hands out the mugs and I sniff the coffee. It smells wonderful and for once, everyone is quiet in the lounge.

‘Would you like some Mr Kenzaki?’ Vivian asks.

‘No thank you, you can make me some another time. I have some work to do so I will leave you to it.’ He strokes her head like a father and leaves.

‘Vivian, upstairs.’ Still holding my mug and picking up Vivian’s bag, I climb the stairs with her in tow.

We sit beside each other when she looks up and smiles before taking out her tablet.

‘Even though I’ve been away, I’m still your secretary Eisuke. I’ve responded to all your emails and contacted everyone involved with the project. Mr Lance is going to sign the contract tomorrow after the wedding and-‘

‘Are you okay?’ I ask.

‘Hm, what?’

‘Did he do anything to you?’

‘No, not really. Despite the engagement, he hasn’t touched me. I thought he was seeing other women since he keeps going in and out of the mansion but I think it’s something else.’

‘Yes, the coordinates Soryu’s puppy sent is an office. It’s filled with counterfeit money.’ Vivian, Inui and Samejima were able to gain the site of Mr Lance’s operations from JT’s car’s automatic navigation system. The Ice Dragons stormed the place with Soryu and found over $200 million in cash.

‘What do you think it’s for?’

‘It could for a number of things Vivian. People have a way of finding things to buy when they millions to spare. Be it an object or a person.’

‘Did Mamoru find out about… the body?’

‘We’re still looking into it, but I have a hunch.’

‘Which is?’

‘You’ll see.’

‘No fair!’ Vivian pouts at me and I pinch her cheeks.

‘Oww!’ She says it in a more playful tone, letting me know that she’s happy.

‘You’ve gotten thinner since you left.’

‘I guess I was lonely without you Eisuke.’ She takes my hands and wraps my arms around her.

‘I missed you, so much.’ She hugs me tight, listening to my rapid heartbeat.

‘How have you been Eisuke?’

‘Fine. It’s not as if I need you by my side all the time.’ Who am I kidding? Her giggles tell me that she doesn’t believe my lies either.

‘But you will always miss my coffee right?’ Her teasing words make me chuckle.

‘Your coffee has done wonders for me. Even if you didn’t stay as my secretary, I would have made you the penthouse maid.’

‘Haha, I’m sure you would have.’ She raises her head and looks up at me through her long lashes. When did she become so beautiful?

‘Eisuke…’ When did her voice become so enticing when she says my name? And what would she sound like at night, beneath me with her head thrown back in pure bliss?

But before my lips can touch her skin…

‘Boss! Are you ready?’

‘Damn it, that thief always has awful timing.’ I grumble as we untangle our limbs from each other.

‘Don’t worry Eisuke. I’ll still be here when you get back.’ She takes my face into her hands and leaves a kiss on my forehead.

‘You know I will always be here.’ We lean our heads against each other, savouring the feelings that we hold dear. I’ve never felt love for a woman before. It’s not a bad feeling though.

* (VIVIAN’S POV)

I change into my casual clothing and go downstairs to find not only Soryu with Ryosuke and Samejima, but also Luke in the lounge. The TV has been set up for us to watch the party on mute.

‘Hey you guys.’ I sit on the couch next to Luke and see Eisuke, Ota, Baba, and Mamoru at the party, mostly drinking at the bar.

‘Hey princess.’ Ryosuke waves. Samejima and Soryu both give me a nod.

‘Hello Sexy Bones.’ I smile at Luke.

‘Why aren’t you down there Soryu?’ I ask.

‘Too many women.’

‘Oh I see.’ Soryu hates women with a passion. Eisuke was surprised when Soryu said he didn’t mind me being here. Apparently, I’m not the type of women he hates.

‘Where’s JT?’ I ask, trying to spot him on the monitors.

‘Over there, speaking to one of the politicians.’ Luke points to the far corner. For a while we wait and see what happens. Eisuke speaks to various celebrities, all with that sly smile on his face, while Mamoru drinks at the bar. Baba and Ota flirt with the other women at the party.

It all seems pretty calm when I see JT suddenly throw a glass of champagne at a wall.

‘Uh oh.’

‘What the!?’

‘He’s drunk.’ Luke observes.

JT seems to shouting at a staff member. One whom I know as my friend, Sakiko.

‘He’s going to hit her!’ I shout. JT’s large fist is balled up in the air, ready to hit its target when Eisuke grabs his arm and pins it back. He forces JT to the ground and Mamoru cuffs his wrists.

‘Oh thank god!’ I sigh with relief as Sakiko is attended to by the other staff members. Eisuke seems to be addressing the guests as Mamoru and security push JT off the premises.

‘The media will love this.’ I say.

‘Eisuke knew this would happen, that’s why he called them in the first place.’ Soryu says, turning his attention to clean his gun.

‘Mr Ichinomiya looked so cool! Just like you sir!’ Ryosuke says, looking at Soryu with admiration.

‘Indeed, Eisuke’s collarbones looked splendid.’ Luke smiles and Ryosuke gives me a look of bewilderment. I laugh despite the situation we just witnessed.

‘Eisuke did look really cool out there.’

‘Maybe you should make him the new Ice Dragon’s leader.’ Luke says.

‘No.’ Both Luke and I burst out laughing with Samejima trying to hide his smile and Ryosuke looking even more bewildered.

When Eisuke came back to the penthouse, I said good night to the others and followed him upstairs to his bedroom. I hugged him tightly as soon as we entered him room.

‘I saw on the monitors. Thank you for saving Sakiko.’ I nuzzle my face into his chest.

‘Hm.’ I feel the slight vibration course through his body.

‘Eisuke?’

‘What?’

‘Seeing JT be so… violent… made me think. Do you think sacrificing my freedom, despite knowing his flaws, despite knowing that there is always the possibility that he could become violent with me, that he could hurt me and cause me pain and trauma that I might never recover from, if marriage is about accepting the faults of the partner you love, should I accept his flaws no matter how abusive he could be?’

‘No. Because even the slightest possibility could destroy more than just your body, but your heart too. People like JT are not worth more than the dirt under our shoes.’

Suddenly, Eisuke dips down and hooks his arm under my knees.

‘Ah! Eisuke!’ Wrapping my arms tightly around his neck, Eisuke throws me onto the bed and leans over me.

‘You’re still here though.’

‘I am.’

‘Are you going to leave?’ I look into his chocolate brown eyes. I can see my reflection in them so clearly. I feel my love for him bubbling up inside me.

‘Only if you force me to.’

‘Pfft, as if that would ever happen.’ His kiss is sweeter than any candy. It melts me at my core completely. That night, our hearts finally connect with one another. The moment that I have always wanted has been fulfilled. And before I pass out, I hear,

‘I promise, tomorrow, you will walk out as my woman. I will save you.’

Standing at the church doors, I breath in and out. Clutching a bouquet of hydrangeas, I think about last night. Eisuke promised that he would save me.

‘Go to the wedding tomorrow. I will be there and stop this madness.’

Akira comes up and turns me to face him.

‘Do not worry Vivian. Eisuke will give you a wedding surprise you won’t soon forget.’ His smile warms my heart. I asked him to come from London to walk me down the aisle. With my parents gone since I was a child, Akira is the closest thing I have to a father.

‘I know he will. I just hope he hurries up.’ I say. Akira holds out his elbow and my left hand gently clutches his suit. We hear the music begin and the large doors creak open.

With thousands of eyes on me, I look straight ahead just as Eisuke would. Ignore all the stares and look straight forward always no matter what. Cameras and flashes and whispers fill the room as I see JT smirk my way. The wedding dress wasn’t my choice. It was designed by JT and Ota together but it still isn’t the dress I imagined I would wear to my wedding. It’s a backless, pearl white lace dress with a ring of diamonds at my waist. My hair is in a loose bun and a thin hair band with small flowers rests atop my head. The dress trails at the back slightly and I feel it drag the fake flowers those sitting on the benches throw at us. In the corner of my eye, I see the bidders who wave at me. I smile inwardly, knowing that I’m in safe hands.

We finally make it to the priest and JT presses a light kiss to my hand. I gag inside as Akira leaves me to sit down.

The priest begins to speak the formalities and my mind drifts away. Eisuke said he would save me. So where is he? I’ve hoped for years that Eisuke would love me the way that I love him and now that I finally have it, we’ve become entangled in this mess.

‘If there is anyone who would object to this couple’s union, speak now or forever hold your peace.’

The doors behind us creak open once more. Everyone turns to see the silhouette of the man I love the most in this world.

‘I object.’

Eisuke walks forward as gasps and whispers fill the room. All cameras pointed at the King of Spades.

‘JT Lance has no business marrying her.’ He nods to the priest who takes out a remote and presses a button. A projector rises near the back of the church and a picture of a woman appears.

‘Oh that’s Miss Freya Opaline.’ Opaline was a great gem collector who mysteriously died when she tripped and fell into glass which pierced her heart.

‘Miss Opaline was not killed by what we believed was an accident.’ Eisuke’s strong voice echoes in the church.

‘JT and Opaline were both after the same set of gems that were unearthed in Egypt. Opaline got to them first so JT attempted to bribe her for them. When that didn’t work, he killed her and took the gems for himself.’ Moans and groans of the shocked public begin to rise.

‘The next few slides have secret messages between Mr Jason Taylor Lance and his associates who covered up the murder. Let’s also not forget about Mr Lance, who has been making counterfeit money for nearly a decade.’

‘Damn it.’ I hear JT whisper in defeat.

‘If there is anybody else who would like to object…’ As if on cue, Baba and Ota shout out.

‘I object!’ Everyone follows suit and I back away. Suddenly, Mamoru and the police walk in, arresting JT and Mr Lance. Before JT is taken away, I waltz up to him where he is handcuffed. I smile and throw the bouquet at his feet. The sound a slap resonates inside the building, rendering everyone silent. JT stares dumbfounded. Suddenly, I hear cheers for my performance and the police take JT away.

Eisuke comes up to me and I kiss him. I hear many screams and see white flashes behind my closed eyelids but I don’t care. He did it all and I helped him.

‘I love you Eisuke.’

‘I love you Vivian.’ He smiles genuinely and I fall in love again. We lean our foreheads together, knowing our love for each other is true.

‘It was nice of Mrs Lance to sign the contract on behalf of her ex-husband.’ I say.

‘Yes. Now that Miss Felicia is taking over, their business might finally have a chance of being good.’

‘But not as good as the Ichinomiya Group. Right?’ I laugh.

‘Obviously.’ Eisuke smirks at me when we hear a crack.

‘Okay, I think I got it.’ Ota says. The large statue of Venus stands before us once again… in pieces.

‘I guess you finally did something right for once Baba.’ Mamoru says.

‘Yeah! Wait what?!’

‘We were lucky that this was the statue that Miss Felicia was talking about. Who would have thought that Opaline and Felicia were such good childhood friends that Opaline gave the gems to her?’

The gems were never with Opaline to begin with. She sent them to JT’s mother as a way to rekindle their love for each other. Unfortunately, JT killed Opaline before she and Felicia could run away and start life anew. After her death, Felicia hid the gems inside the statue made by an amateur to prevent anyone from taking them.

‘The gems were the beginning of so much sorrow. Whatever stories there are, those gems hold nothing but pain.’

‘It’s a tragic love story but I think Felicia will be happy knowing that she has her own business to run and that her lover’s murderers are in prison.’

‘What I can’t believe is that Mr Lance wanted Vivian in order to blackmail you into selling the counterfeit money at the auctions.’

‘A stupid idea by a coward.’

‘Guys, I think I found it.’ Ota pulls out a golden box from the statue’s chest.

‘Is that it?’

‘Must be.’

‘Open it Eisuke!’

He takes the box and uses the key Felicia gave Eisuke. Inside is one gem, not multiple like the stories. A large diamond the size of a fist sparkles in the light.

‘Now this, will fetch a very good price.’ Eisuke smirks.

‘$20 million! $50 million! $100 million! Do I have any more bids?’

‘It’s going up.’

‘Of course it is.’

‘$150 million! $200 million!’

‘Wow.’

‘Honestly, these people are far too desperate for something good to happen to ‘em. As if a diamond can bring good fortune.’ Mamoru says.

‘$300 million! Any more!’

The diamond sits on a pedestal on top of a purple velvet cushion. I hug Eisuke’s arm and snuggle into his side as I feel him kiss the top of my head.

‘$500 million! Sold!’

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goliath-de-senfina-sango · 5 years ago

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Danny Fenton & Wesley Weston Characters: Danny Fenton, Wesley Weston, Jazz Fenton, Maddie Fenton Additional Tags: Walker is mentioned repeatedly, Phantom Family AU, Revelations, being a lil shit is genetic apparently, Danny swears in stars and constellations and space stuff, Wes swears with cuss words Summary: Prompt from Tumblr: I wish you would write a fic about Danny being a little shit to Vlad by revealing him to Wes. Wes comes over and nearly gets Danny’s half life ended, which leads to further family revelations that leave Danny’s head spinning.

Danny Fenton was having a weird and not particularly pleasant week. His Dad had finally encountered the Box Ghost, who took one look at him and glitched out like a Bethesda character before apparently regaining his memories. Apparently, the Box Ghost was Jason Fenton, older brother of Jack Fenton. The Box Ghost was Danny’s Uncle. That was weird as fuck to discover, especially when he implied that Box Lunch would be a person he’d have to deal with soonish. He was going to have a cousin. His already living cousin, Wes, had decided later that week to ruin Danny’s life by asking him right in front of Jazz and Mom if he still had that giant green dog thing he’d crashed a game with. Danny dragged him up to the third floor of Fentonworks, shoved him into his room, and learned very quickly that Wes had figured out that he was Phantom the moment he focused on him. “Orion, man, you can’t just imply I’m a ghost in front of Mom or Dad!” “Why not?” Wes stared at him like he’d grown a second head - he hadn’t, he knew the sensation - and Danny took a moment to redirect the energy surging to his eyes over his skin and outward. It blanketed the room in a wave and left what Tucker had described as the feeling of touching an old tv and feeling static on your fingers all over the place. Wes rubbed his arm and raised a brow at him. “Wes, tell me what Jack Fenton is going to think if you tell him ‘hey that ghost kid you shoot at all the time is your kid’? Actually, no, how the fuck did you even figure it out?” “You look like you put on your suit and then someone turned on the color inversion filter on their camera. Blue skin, white hair, black and white suit.” Wes paused and poked Danny’s cheek, looking him in the eye. “Your eyes should be orange instead of green though if that were the whole case. How’d this happen? Last time I talked to you, you n Tucker were talking about building a motorcycle that could fly.” “The hoverbike has sorta been put on hold, I’ll admit,” Danny grumbled, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. He pulled his hands away from his face and Wes was still there, tall and stupid and overly observant. “If I tell you what happened, do you promise not to out me to my parents?” “I-should I treat this like you’re in the closet?” Wes snorted at the idea. “Closeted dead guy. Alright, I can get that. But uh, if you’re dead, why are you still…” he wiggled his hand and then gestured at Danny’s room. “In a house with ghost hunters?” “Well, to start with, I’m not actually dead. Not entirely, anyway.” Danny sat down on his bed and Wes followed, and after taking a moment to triple check that Vlad’s bugs weren’t in his room with another wave of energy, Danny told Wes the story of the Accident. It was a short story, but he was slow about it. He’d never really discussed it with anyone, Sam and Tucker just sort of knew better than to bring it up and Jazz probably thought he’d tell her himself in his own time. By the time he finished, Wes looked almost as uncomfortable with the situation as Danny felt. “You know, not to sound like a cheesy 90’s cartoon character but this is why you shouldn’t give in to peer pressure.” Danny snorted and laughed at that, and Wes grinned even when Danny elbowed him. “Ok, so I’m putting together that you did a bunch of dumb shit and found yourself decided to be a superhero. What the fuck was up with the dog, or the mayor getting kidnapped? Your eyes were fuckin red when you stole a bunch of shit that one time too.” “Ok in order of what all happened: Axiom labs euthanized their guard dogs and one of them came looking for his squeaky toy but forgot where it was and no matter how many times I shoved Cujo back into the portal-” “ Cujo ?” Wes snorted and ruffled Danny’s hair. “Have you been reading the stuff Sam gives you or did your emo phase just never really end? You have the emo bangs.” “I do not!” Danny huffed, running a hand through his curly hair that, well, Wes couldn’t really ruin a mess, could he? “You’re the one with actual bangs, sasquatch hunter.” “Acknowledging that Big Foot is real doesn’t mean I’m gonna go and shoot it.” Wes crossed his arms and rested them on Danny’s head. “By the way, any idea when that growth spurt is due?” “Bold words for someone with his shins within targeting range.” “I can and will put you in a headlock Astroboy.” “I can slam dunk you through a hoop like your precious balls.” Wes said nothing to this and simply leaned more onto Danny’s head. “If I snap my neck because of you I’m suing. Anyway no matter how often I yeeted Cujo back into the Ghost Zone-” “I beg of you to call it something cooler. Call it the afterlife even, just. Please.” “He just kept digging his way out. So, I looked at his tag, saw that he came from Axiom, and we ended up in there, while getting shot at by the Red Huntress-” “Valerie, right?” “H-” “She appeared as the Huntress literally the same time the dog shit was happening, and I am getting increasingly worried that no one has noticed that she sounds the same in her Red Huntress suit as she does in the Nasty Burger mascot suit.” Wes dropped his arms to Danny’s shoulder, but still rested his chin in his hair, humming loudly. Danny slid into that spot between and snorted when Wes fell onto the bed. “I can’t tell you how pissed she was that I outed her to her dad about being the Huntress so that she wouldn’t get herself killed fighting Pariah Dark. Pretty sure if you tell her or anyone else about that, she’ll shoot you.” “I mean, it’d probably get her swarmed by so much hostility she stops shooting at you, so that’d be a plus. I’d just come back and bug you anyway.” “You’re a jerk, but I guess you’re alright.” Danny flopped back. “The mayor thing was a ghost, this douche bag prison warden named Walker in the GZ who decided that since I broke out of his prison I owe him over a thousand years and he’d make my home a prison instead.” Wes stared at him, clasped his hands flat against each other, and took a deep breath. “There are so many things wrong in that sentence. Why were you in ghost prison?” “I did ghost crimes.” Wes looked and sounded like he was in some deal of pain, and Danny couldn’t help but grin. “Dad’s anniversary present for Mom fell through the portal while I was cleaning up by shooting things into their proper place,” he covered Wes’ mouth as he opened it, “and so I flew in after it, but it was a ‘real world item’ as though the Ghost Zone is fake somehow, and that was ‘Against The Rules’ according to Walker.” Danny rolled his eyes. “I got the present out and back to Dad but I had to like, get to him at your mom’s place.” “Did you fly all the way from Minnesota to Arkansas for a present?” “Arcturus, no, not with my powers.” Danny laughed, laying back on his bed. “That’d take me like, 8 hours at top speed. No, I used the Speeder.” “Have you modified it to get into space?” “Not yet.” “Do you have permission to mod it for space travel?” “Do I have permission to be dead?” “Touche.” “Anyway, Walker is stronger than me, even when possessing a human, so when all eyes and cameras were on me he possessed the mayor and dragged me back inside to make it look like I was dragging him in. Whole invasion was his idea.” “Danny?” “And then with the robberies when my eyes were red, did you know about Circus Gothica? Cause me and some other ghosts were under the control of the ring master of the circus, Freakshow, who had this freakin crystal ball thing that could control ghosts attached to his staff. It shattered after a very long fall, thank Astrea.” “That’s really fucked up. You’ve had a fucked up life.” “Yeah.” Danny shrugged. “I guess I have.” “Know what’s more fucked up about this?” Wes had a too big grin on his face and Danny narrowed his eyes. “Do you remember my mom’s last name?” “Wal..ker… no. ” The two of them were thundering down the stairs in seconds, Danny half shouting in the livingroom. “ Mom was your dad, by chance, a law enforcement officer, or jail warden or something?” Mom looked up at him from the staff she was tinkering with on the table - note to self, sterilize the table before dinner - and blinked at him a couple of times before smiling and nodding. “Why yes, he did. Warden James Lamont Walker ran the Spittoon prison when he was alive. He was a good man, if a bit strict. To my and Alicia’s fury and grief he was murdered during a prison break.” Mom stared off in the distance, the air around her curling with a dark cold that Danny was sure only he could see. Then she softened up a bit and smiled softly at them. “Why?” “No reason, auntie, I was just curious about something and Danny thought we should ask you.” Wes played with the hem of his shirt while maintaining eye contact and Danny wondered if he had a tell for awkwardness like that. Then he realized he was rubbing the back of his neck. “Do you have any pictures of him?” “Oh, yes! They’re in the shed! My boxes are actually labelled.” “Uh oh, careful, Dad might hear of organization and come to tear it up,” Danny said with a laugh, half dragging Wes out the back door. When they were out of his mom’s considerable ear shot, Danny said softly, but with feeling, “Fuck.” “Got locked up by grandpa, huh? That’s like, the worst way to get grounded ever .” Wes snickered and watched Danny run-walk up to the shed, hand glowing so softly you could only see it by staring directly at it as he turned the knob. “There are odds, slim ones, that this is a whole different Walker. It might even be his first name.” “Who the hell names their kid Walker?” “Walter, Wayne and Wesley Weston.” “Alright then.” For a few minutes the two of them searched through the mess known as the Fenton Family Shed for a box with a label neither had thought to ask for. Eventually, they found one labeled Scrapbooks and carefully eased it out of the mess of it all. “Y’knonw, Danny,” Wes said as they opened the box and started flipping through scrapbooks with just enough care not to damage them. “I’m feelin kinda good about investigating a ghost with you. Is this how it is with you n your boyfriend and best friend?” Danny almost tore a page out, turning to stare at Wes. He must’ve felt the temperature drop for a second because he looked up with a raised brow. “What?” “Boyfriend?” “Tucker. Tucker Foley.” Danny’s jaw dropped and Wes’ confusion morphed into a shit eating grin. “You know, Tucker spends most of his time with you Foley? The one you build shit with all the time? The nerd that you get sick in sync with? I’ve seen you lose a pencil and then he puts one behind your ear while you look for the one you lost. You made him a custom gaming computer disguised as a console.” Danny’s face burned red as a tomato at this point and he shoved Wes. “Shut up I’m not dating Tucker!” “I have to ask Jazz about this now, you’re killing me.” Wes snorted and flipped a page. He blinked down at the scrapbook and pointed at a picture. “James Walker. This look anything like him?” Danny took the book and looked at the picture. Looked at the several pictures of the man with his daughters, wearing a black pinstriped suit in a handful of them. And he let out a long, loud groan. “I hate this week, I hate it so much.” Wes started cackling and Danny scowled. “That reminds me.” He kicked Wes in the shins and grinned. “Much better. Also, Wes, I gotta tell you. I’m not one of a kind, as far as my living status goes.” “Oh what, there’s another Schrodinger’s little shit flying around out there?” Wes rubbed his ankle and hissed. “Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but that fruitloop we call a mayor may have been elected because he possessed literally everyone that was voting.” Wes went silent and stared at him, and Danny nodded. “Think you can pester him instead of me? He wants to kill Dad and thinks that he can get Mom if he does that.” “Danny. My Dad works for Masters.” “This puts you in the perfect position to mess with him, I say. Just act like you’re there to see your dad.” “You oblivious asshole. I fuckin love you, cous.” “Same here, skyscraper.”

#Danny Phantom #Danny Fenton #Wes Weston #Jazz Fenton #Maddie Fenton #Walker #james walker #Box Ghost #fanfiction #fanphiction #phanfiction #phanphiction #phanfic #fanfic #fanphic #phanphic #prompt fill #Rexy Writes #Phantom Family AU

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letgraysonsheart · 6 years ago

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Day Two: Paparazzi - #DickandDamiWeek2019

Dick is dead, and the goddamn paparazzi won't give Damian any room to breath.

A/N: I throw canon out the window, and dick is dead, good times

Grayson is gone, but that doesn’t mean the paparazzi act anymore respectful towards any of them.

Damian understands that the paparazzi is something he can not avoid in this life of his. His father is the man he is, rich and famous and all that jazz. There is really nothing they can do with that, not without ruining the rest of their lives - not that their lives aren’t ruined already. It's been a hard week.

He has long ago accepted that the animal like paparazzi are going to follow him, no matter how much he tries to yell, or how he moves to ruin their pictures. No matter how much he utters his wishes for them to leave him alone they never do. Not even when tries to ask them to just please, please, for the love of all things good to leave him alone. It is like everything he says falls on deaf ears, like they refuse to hear his pleas. In some ways, they remind him of the people who trained him in the league. They didn’t listen to his wishes either, not even when he was on his knees pleading for just a bit of pitiful mercy.

Even so he tries, again, hoping this time they will hear in his words and his voice how desperate he is. That this time will be the one where they realise that what they are doing hurts, that their questions are like razor sharp knives to his skin. The paparazzi only looks at him with their fake sympathetic eyes, their faces falling into perfectly sculpted and practiced expressions. They still don’t let up, doesn’t grant him some space and some air. It actually feels like they move even closer, now that he has engaged with them. Rookie mistake on his part, he should know better by now.

The paparazzi are there no matter what, anywhere he goes, maybe the only constant thing in his life now. If there is one thing in his life he can count on, it is nosy journalists showing up when he least wants them to. Not even father can get the paparazzi to stay away, not even as his voice slips dangerously close to Batman-level. It is definitely a lost cause.

Still, do they have to be so utterly careless about their feelings? They, Damian’s family, is after all the ones the paparazzi is making their money off. They are like parasites, feeding on their pain, gaining strength from their weakness.

They have barely put Richard in the ground. A place where Damian never actually believed he would have to see his brother lowered to, not in this lifetime. The vulture-like men and women have been surprisingly quiet for all of two days, but now - here they are, stronger than ever. Vultures with cameras for eyes.

Father is walking in front of him, his figure big, dark and looming. There is security on both their sides, making a small pathway for them so they can get to their car. Even without the cape and cowl, there is something so incredibly Batman about how father is holding himself. He is wearing a mask, even if there is no cape and cowl in sight. Really, it is surprising no one else has made the connections between the man who is his father and the bat.

“Mr. Wayne, is it true that your son’s death was self-inflicted?” some random man from some equally unimportant paper yells.

Damian concentrates on the spot right in between his father’s shoulder blades to stop himself from yelling something crude to the journalists, staring as if with laser eyes at the seam on his father’s jacket. He doesn’t want to put a stain on Richard’s memory so soon. He can see how fathers hands clench, how they have gone completely white by his sides. Damian assumes he too is thinking about Richard, and how the journalists will slander the man in the news recently deceased or not, if they are to say something wrong in the earshot of a camera. They show no mercy.

He curses their need to cover Dick’s civilian's death by being vague, because it leaves so much to speculation. The media wasted no time, they grabbed their chance and ran with their vile ideas and horrible fantasies, covering every newspaper and the internet with their conspiracy theories.

Damian understands that they can’t explain that Dick died saving civilian lives, that he died as Nightwing, a former Robin, a hero. That would in no doubt lead the journalists down the slippery slope of finding out Bruce Wayne is in fact Batman. That would not only ruin everything for Batman, but would also drag the rest of them with him down the drain. It would ruin all the hard work they have done for so long trying to conceal their identities.

Still, Richard deserves better after all he did for Gotham and Blüdhaven, for the whole world.

Damian wishes Todd was there to beat the idiots up. Jason could probably get in a few good swings before father would pull him off, rage fuelling him like gasoline fuels a car. Todd would for sure have the nerve to do it too, he would not be a coward like Damian - constricted by thinking too much and then not acting. Damn Jason and his status as deceased, giving him an out of not having to be seen in public with the family. It would be nice to at least have one alley beside him while he slowly feels his grip on his inner rage slip. An alley that would understand.

Speaking about Jason - “Can you give a comment as to why this is the second son you’ve buried?” a new voice chime in. Yelling louder than the others. Forcing their words to be heard. Damian tastes blood in his mouth after how hard he has bitten down on the inside of his cheek. It seems it will never stop surprising him how low those imbeciles are willing to go, just to get a reaction. Why? How is father supposed to answer that? Is there even an answer to that?

How far can the walk to the car possibly be? How long until they can speed away from the vultures circling them as sickly prey?

“Would you say Mr. Grayson fell into the habits of his kind?”

It feels like someone has punched a hole into Damian’s gut and twisted a knife around. He can see father clench his hands even harder, something Damian didn’t think was physically possible. He will in no doubt have red marks on the inside of his palms from nails digging into skin. Damian just feels sick.

Damian breaths, and tries to use the methods Dick taught him so so long ago to calm himself down. He feels the rage simmer inside him. He does not want to have a public displayed meltdown. Especially not one in front of his own father, and certainly not in front of all these disrespectful paparazzi. His own face, red from tears and scrunched up in that ugly way it only is when he cries for real, is not something he wishes to see plastered on the front page of the Gotham Gazette tomorrow.

He barely restrains himself from punching any of the journalists, if their work can even be called journalism. They should feel lucky, not knowing the pain he imagines inflicting upon them in his head. One look at father tells him that paparazzi are lucky they haven't brought the wrath of something worse than Batman on them - the one of a grieving father.

That doesn’t mean Damian manages to restrain himself once they get home. The whole car-ride he feels like a fueling ball of rage, on the brink of going nuclear. Neither he nor father says anything, and Damian doesn’t comment on it when father pushes the car over the speed limit. They both just want to get home, even if the one person who made it really feel like home won't be there anymore. Won't be there ever again.

The wall in the hallway gets quite the dent in it when his sneaker-clad foot connects with it, and damn his toe hurts. He will be have to acquire an ice pack from Pennyworth.

Tears spring into his eyes before he knows it and his face crunches up and fathers hand is on his shoulder, and if Damian falls a bit apart right then and there, well, there are no journalists to witness it, so who cares?

#no beta #im sorry i only know how to write angst #bruce is actually not an ass in this!! but he doesnt say anything #fic 2 #my writing #DickandDamiWeek2019 #dick grayson #damian wayne #and jason is mentioned

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amazildoessomethingstupid · 5 years ago

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Character Re-imagined: Sandy

Well kids, we’re still doing our time for artist hiatus crimes so let’s move on to the next chapter! Chapter 100: High Expectatio-

OH FUCK RIGHT, I’M SO SORRY I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT YOU SANDY! I SWEAR!

Okay, for those who haven’t dug too into this rant series. A while back, I did a half-rant on the chapter Model Girlfriend, which of course was the chapter where Sandy came back to Roseville for a day. I ended up not really finishing it because I found most of the talking points that I’d use, and the complaints I had with the chapter, weren’t necessarily with the chapter itself as much as it was with the characterization of Sandy. And my problem with the characterization was more to do with how I wrote Sandy in comparison to how the canon wrote her. And simply saying that my problem with a character was that she wasn’t how I wrote her just isn’t a fair critique by any measure. And no matter what people may think about the rants, the one thing I don’t want the rants to be perceived as, is unfair.

So I decided that I would do something similar to what I had done before, which was a Character Revisited which was for Paulo. Where I talked about Paulo’s characterization before Boy Toy and how much of a difference was done to his personality, and demeanor in the recent chapters specifically Table for One (Actually, is it still technically “recent” if these chapters are 3 years old? Man this shit is long). Anyway, I wanted to something similar for Sandy but be more of a Character Reimagined, talking about what I ended up having to do with the character and how I wrote them for January and False Idol. It was SUPPOSED to be after the Pit Stop but I kind of forgot about it, and uhh…

I got distracted. But nonetheless, we’re here now so let’s dive right into it. This is Sandy Re-imagined.

So if we’re going to talk about my Sandy, and her development as a character we of course have to start with January, and January’s take on Just Beautiful. And if you don’t know what January is, I’m not going to get too into it but it’s essentially my fancomic which is a faithful (as possible…) alternate take of the whole January arc, following the timeline from December to Happy Hour. And at its rough and rebellious beginnings, it was very run and gun in terms of writing. I didn’t care as much about building characters outside of setting scenes, and focusing on Lucy and Susan…until…

I had to do Just Beautiful. A chapter that I hated, featuring a character that I hated, that was centered around a ship I didn’t care about, and had little effect on what was happening in the story aside from just making Mike remorseful, because of…

Yeeeah back then, I figured out that Sandy is more of a plot device, than an actual character (an opinion that still holds water today, and I swear to god I will get to that chapter). So I really did not care about her, or give her character any thought until I had to do this segment for January. Because, I cornered myself to do the chapter and realized something… “Hey, fuckface! You’re a writer! You don’t think this is interesting or fun? Then just make it interesting and fun for you!” Sandy is such a blank slate of a character that I could kind of do anything I wanted for her outside of what’s established, and since there wasn’t much established it meant I had to…

Get creative! The first part of writing Sandy was tackling the issues I had with her character in comic, specifically how little we know of her personality, how she interacts not only with Mike, but with people outside of her relationship. How does she take to adversity, how does she tackles problems, what problems does she face, how do they conflict with her relationship, and how does her relationship clash with that? And in January I couldn’t really dive too deep into that, especially because the story isn’t about her; it’s about Lucy. But I wanted to at least give something, or hint at that with her little scene just to show that there is at least something there. But more importantly, I wanted to establish one very key feature about Sandy. Something that I felt the comic left out, and it seems will never come true.

Sandy feels the distance too. If you look at the scene in January, this is the one bit of dialogue (except on bit at the end) between Mike and Sandy that isn’t directly from the canon to stick to the canon. And It is the main part of Sandy that I keep at her core because it is one of the one things we knew about Sandy which is that she loves Mike (aaaaand then Model Girlfriend came along and threw a wrench into that…) but at least for me this is what makes up Sandy. And since we’re talking about Sandy as a character I am going to spoil False Idol quite a bit, because False Idol is essentially a story about finding out about Sandy. Who she is, what her life is like, and how Mike plays into that. But one of the main things about Sandy, that I changed about her is brought up in this one bit in January.

Sandy doesn’t tell anyone about Mike. The more I thought about how little we know about Sandy as a person, the more I thought about how little Mike knows about Sandy as a person. Which helped to expand her character more as a person. Looking at Model Girlfriend the whole idea of “Mike really doesn’t know Sandy as a person” was realized…but taken to a more bitter end. Whereas I still held onto the idea of Sandy really loving Mike, but she doesn’t share that with anyone. She keeps her romantic life separated from her co-workers and classmates, which is also touched on in False Idol.

And more importantly, it goes both ways. In this way, there’s a lot more intrigue and options in Sandy’s character. Why is she keeping Mike a secret? Why did Sam have to steal Sandy’s phone to find this out? Is she ashamed of people knowing Mike’s her boyfriend or is there something more? And Why haven’t we heard anything about these guys? And the answer is something I won’t tell you, because that’d be too much of a spoiler, but what I will say is, that at her core the main statement I want to define Sandy is this: Sandy loves Mike. She loves him as much as Mike loves her. BUT when creating a character, and understanding a character there is one big factor to consider which I found the most fun in writing Sandy and what elevated her into a character that I found myself very engrossed in as a writer. To the point where even after 3 years I am still dedicated to writing her story in False Idol! And the one thing to always remember is that no matter what as strong, complex, or emotional your character is. They are only as interesting as the environment you put them in. That’s why if you look at the Just Beautiful scene in January, the first time we see Sandy say anything, before she sees Mike; the first interaction we see to give us an idea of how she is outside of Mike is her talking to her best friend.

Sam! Who has grown on me like an aggressive tumor, and will probably be the death of me. The big part about writing Sandy and trying to make this character more interesting was building the environment around her. Brainstorming ideas, and thinking about what her life is like outside of Mike. There is a joke song I wish to make someday parodying Avenue Q and BCB, called There is Life Outside of Your Plot Line, and that’s basically what I wanted to explore with Sandy. Specifically her and the models. It’d be easy to assume that the modeling business is cutthroat, and her coworkers are bitchy people, and it’s so taxing, and she hates it, and all that jazz. But I wanted to take it in a different direction where her work environment isn’t actually that bad. Her co-workers are nice and down to earth people, with their own personalities and viewpoints. The first model to get expanded on like this of course being Sam, and her dynamic with Sandy. This is where of course False Idol comes in and brings out that world more. To give us a better understanding of the kind of people that Sandy hangs around with. But in order to flesh that out I’d need more than Sam which is why in False Idol!

We get a slew of new characters! In order: Charlie Hartman, Daniel “Dan” Mercado, Samantha “Sam” Cartwright, Ashley “Ash” Clements, Alice McCarthy, and Jason “Jay” Cartwright. Oh and sadly I couldn’t fit him in here, but I would be doing my man a disservice by not mentioning him,

Tyrone the lovable meathead beefcake! The only one who I didn’t make a last name for. Because he doesn’t need it. He’s just Tyrone. Although I can only take half-credit for him, because he’s more of a shared joke between me and a friend that we both had a lot of fun working on. All of these characters help to build the setting and world that Sandy lives in, with their own different personalities. Sam being a spunky, rebellious, and surprisingly mature scamp; Alice being a very prideful, conceited, yet down to earth, and caring person; Ash being a grounded soft, cute, but hardened and smart girl. All of the characters help to give us an idea of not only Sandy, but an idea of what she deals with and the people she associates with. And one important thing about these characters, is the fact that I deliberately wrote it to where not one of these characters were assholes. I didn’t want to fall into the trapping of having Sandy’s life outside of Mike be some like horrible mean world and Mike’s her only escape, or make it where “Oh little did we know that Sandy’s suffering from this one HORRIBLE MESSED UP THING! SO NOW YOU HAVE TO FEEL BAD FOR HER AND SYMPATHIZE WITH HER OR ELSE YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE!” No, I wanted Sandy to have a fairly average life. So if you were thinking False Idol was gonna do some fucked up heel-turn like “OH BOY, LITTLE DID YOU KNOW THAT SANDY IS ACTUALLY A DRUG ADDICT AND WHORED HERSELF OUT TO GET THE JOB!” I’m sorry that’s not happening…Actually, fuck you I’m not sorry because that’s fucked up I’m not going there. AND I SWEAR TO GOD IF TAESHI DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE IT TURNS OUT OH NO, SANDY HAD SOME FUCKED UP SHIT GOING ON WE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT AND NOW WE ARE FORCED TO FEEL SAD! I am going to be fucking fuming mad.

The main thing I wanted to do when writing Sandy, given how little we know about her and the setting she is in. Is to show this setting she’s in and give us an idea of what her life was like. I wrote Sandy and False Idol, in a way where you can look at her and the characters that surround her and feel like there was another comic going on at the same time. And we’re just coming in after they’ve gone through their own different mini story arcs and this is some big moment in their story too. I mean imagine if Mike suddenly went missing, running away from home and then Sandy comes to Roseville to get answers. And then she learns more about everyone, and all the stuff Mike’s been through…

Actually that’d be pretty damn cool honestly. Damn. Taeshi should steal that. That would be fucking awesome and turn this ship around quick…sigh…if only. Anyway, what I’m trying to say here is this.

Sandy is a character that I hated. She was a character that I did not care about at all, and didn’t think anything of. I saw her in the comic as a plot device and nothing more. But with creative thinking, care, and love for the comic I reinvented her to be more than that. To be a good character in her own right. With her own message, with her own story to tell. And I believe she has the potential to be just that. To be more than what she is. I didn’t want her to be a lie, or a complete fake of what Mike thought she was. I wanted her to be nice, caring, wholesome, naïve, mature, a little selfish, sneaky, clever, but full of love and surrounded by love and support. She loves her friends, she loves Mike, she loves her job.

And to see her in canon I just…

I feel disappointed to see her as nothing but a plot device to stab the reader in the gut with and make them feel bad. I wish she was more. More than an enigma, more than a bitch, more than another person to make Mike feel bad. Sandy could’ve been better. She could’ve been so much better. And I just wish Taeshi did better.

As someone I looked up to, as someone who inspired me… I wish she’d be better than me.

#Bittersweet Candy Bowl #rant

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peaches-of-1 · 6 years ago

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Taehyung- Coffee Shop!AU

Male!Reader x Barista!Taehyung

Mstrlst in Bio!

Taehyung used his index finger to push up his glasses and then gave a small Korean girl her Vegan Vanilla Chai Latte. He had been working here ever since high school to buy video games, but this place ended up becoming his safe space. He loved the smell of the Arabica beans fresh in the morning and the various brews throughout the day.

It had become a place for college students to congregate for study nights. Finals were coming up soon, so they’d have a lot more college aged kids in the upcoming month.

“What’s this?” A young man named Vai asked after ordering. He came around enough to be recognized, but not exactly a regular.

He was referencing to the mug shaped piggy bank with sheets of paper and a pen next to it. Tae explained that the shop was taking suggestions about what they could do to help improve the atmosphere of the coffee shop, especially with the younger crowd.

“Any good suggestions, yet?” The shy boy asked.

“Nah, mostly just menu things that we can’t afford and some stray coins or whatever.”

“Can I write something?”

Taehyung motioned to the container, “Go ahead.”

The foreign YouTuber wrote something and put in into the piggy bank. The next time Taehyung looked at the clock, it was 8:21 at night. He’d be here soon, and so the brown haired young man started preparing his order. Four minutes later, the bell rung and a young man in a purple jacket came in with a group of his friends.

They all set down their backpacks at the seats they chose. Some started unpacking while others began to line up.

“(Y/N)~!” Taehyung’s husky voice called out.

The young man in the purple jacket turned around and smiled. He approached the counter with a smile to get his pre-made order.

He chuckled, “You know you don’t have to do this every time.”

“You’re a loyal customer. It’s my pleasure.”

“There might be a day I order something differently.”

Tae shrugged, “It’s been four months. I highly doubt it.”

The young man huffed, “That just means I’ll surprise you next time.”

He went back to his friends, and Taehyung just sighed. The barista loved the boy in the purple jacket more than words could describe. He had started coming about four months ago to study for an entrance exam or something and had returned every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The first night, he had asked Taehyung for the best coffee.

“Oh, I don’t drink coffee, but the tea here is really good.”

His chuckle had made the barista’s heart go !!!, “If you don’t drink coffee, why are you working here?”

“Money’s good and I like the atmosphere. The people are mostly nice too. I’d suggest hot chocolate or the butterfly pea tea.”

By the end of the day, there were about 50 suggestions Taehyung had to go through before closing. The boss wanted to help go through them, but there was no way his most loyal employee was going to let him.

“You need your rest, sir. I’ve got it. I’ll let you know if we have anything interesting when we open tomorrow.”

After going through them, he found that there were mostly usless suggestions or ones that would cost way too much money. There was one that was actually a really good idea, however. Live music. Having a coffeehouse musician was popular nowadays, and there would probably be a lot of untapped talent in the local area.

After suggesting it to the boss later the next day, he thought it was a wonderful idea as well. | Soon enough fliers and posters were hung up in the shop and also around town displaying the time and date of auditions to sing in the coffee shop. They were looking for someone with a gentle and clear voice, hopefully they could play guitar. It wasn’t a requirement since instrumentals could be found online at any time.

The day of auditions came, and Taehyung was annoyed. They were being held at the back of the coffee shop as to not bother the patrons. He didn’t understand why so many people thought screemo or rap would do well when the flier said “gentle and clear”

“Next!” He called as he scratched out yet another name from his list and balled up their application. He grumbled to himself about how people didn’t know how to read nowadays.

The next person that showed up sounded familiar, “Um, hi?”

“Hi. So you’re called the...” He looked up to see the man in the purple jacket and swallowed. “The Pa-bros? Is that correct?”

Both Tae’s crush and the broad-shouldered man next to him nodded. The other man was someone who visited but never dressed so casually. Taehyung sat up straight and asked them to give their real names for him to write down.

“I’m Kim Seokjin.”

“And I’m (Y/N). We’re the Pa-Bros.”

He wrote down both names and then asked to hear what they had. Seokjin began to strum on his guitar and (Y/N) sung out in a pristine and beautiful voice that carried the most human of souls in it. He was singing “Put Your Records On” by Corrine Bailey Rae. It made Taehyung’s heart flutter, and he could’ve sworn he forgot how to breathe until the end of the song.

Everyone in the room let out a breath.

“Wow.” The barista said. “That was amazing. I’ll let you know how you did within the week. Yeah, I’m speechless. Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you.” Both said and bowed. Seokjin packed up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder while the other placed his stool against the wall.

Several patrons of the coffee shop were standing outside the door when the two left. It surprised the two performers, but it also gave the barista more of a reason to hire them. There had been only two other decent auditions the whole day other than (Y/N) and Seokjin.

“So, how’d it go?” The boss asked as he helped to clean up the tables as his brown-haired employee swept the floors.

“It went well. I’ll show you the footage of the top three once we’re done cleaning up.”

The two men sat at a table and watched the performances on Taehyung’s phone in the silent shop. They had all done incredibly well. It was hard for them to choose a favorite and decided to do one final test to see who they could have perform for them. Of course, there was only a certain amout of money that could go towards paying these talents, so they had to be worth it.

Once home, Taehyung sat at his laptop and sent out rejection emails to the 34 people who did not make it. Then you sent emails to the final three: Pa-bros, Mia Kim, and a brother sister trio called Gro Up. The message explained that they would have to do a live performance the upcoming Wednesday to see how well their visitors liked their talents.

It would also show who could handle performing live in front audience. Tae didn’t send the message to them yet since he wanted his boss’s approval to make sure it had everything he wanted in it. Instead, he listened to jazz in the shower and while he microwaved his dinner, humming along to the brassy notes

He really hopped the Pa-Bros made it just so that he could see (Y/N) every other day of the week.

The day came, and Taehyung made sure his uniform was clean and had even fixed his glasses for tonight. He had seen people talking about the coffee shop competition on SNS. Even though it wasn’t marketed like that, he figured that’s what this basically was. A competition to see who got the job.

Wait, fuck! Does that mean it’s gonna be busy today? Tae thought as he picked up his speed to the shop.

The answer was yes. Luckily, the boss had anticipated this and restocked two days earlier even ordering extra for the crowd. The store would be getting more popular after this, huh?

Tae put his stuff into his locker after clocking in and put on his apron. Getting to work was fun as he watched speakers be set up where the stage would be sooner or later. It wouldn’t be that big, just a bit higher than the rest of the store for better viewing. The orders came quickly, but the interest made most people more patient. That was good.

Then the boss said that the two Park Jimins could take over the counter, and he could introduce the acts and work the floor due to his natural charisma. He nodded and went to do just that with nothing prepared.

“Hi, everyone. Glad to have you here.” He said into the taller microphone. “We have three amazing acts for you to watch tonight. The winner will be decided by your applause and will become perminant entertainment for the store!”

A few people clapped, making him smile despite his nerves.

“Anyways, first up is a band of twin sisters and thier little brother. Please welcome to the stage, Gro Up!”

The trio began to sing and play their instruments, but something was off. It quickly came apparent that one of the sisters weren’t feeling well. She darted towards the bathroom to throw up. Her twin followed as the youngest thanked the audince for their attention, but they were going to withdraw from the competition. He scampered off to check on his sisters.

Taehyung was pushed back on stage where he introduced Mia Kim who did well despite the events that literally just happened seconds ago. Then Tae introduced Pa-Bros. Another stool was set up in the space and microphones were placed where the best sound could be heard from each.

Today (Y/N) wore a vest over a checkered dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up halfway which made him look more handsome than usual. Jin was also dressed nicely, but Taehyung’s eyes were glued to (Y/N) His face was so handsome and he seemed comfortable under the stares of the largest Wednesday afternoon crowd they’d ever had.

“Hi, we’re Pa-Bros, and we’ll be singing ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz.”

The Barista closed his eyes as he listened to the singer. It felt as if he were transported to an island where it was just the two of them in swim trunks exploring the forest with smiles on their faces. They played in the water until sunset where they made a bonfire and slow danced under the stars. They now sat by the ocean in a blanket with the fire crackling near by.

He laid his head on Tae’s shoulder and smiled at him, “I really love you.”

Taehyung snapped out of his daydream while people applauded and felt his cheeks get warm, but he clapped as well. What kind of daydream was that? He had never let his imagination go that far when thinking about the man, but this time was different. (Y/N) looked at the blushing barista who gave two thumbs up in return.

Then people voted for the two artists. Ten minutes later, they were counted up by the female Jimin who texted Taehyung the winners. Gro Up had apologized and gone home out of embarassment but said they wished Mia and Bros luck since they had both done so well.

“Alright, folks.” He adjusted his glasses as everyone quieted down. “Before I announce the winner, I wanna thank all of you for coming to see the show and ordering while you’re here. It means a lot.” He clapped and smiled.

“I’d also like to give a round of applause to our lovely entertainment. All of you were absolutely stunning tonight and are both winners in my book.” Applause and cheers.

Taehyung continued, “However, in the payroll, there can only be one or the other. We’ve counted up all the votes three times and by two different people. The winner is...” He opened the text message and beamed as he saw the name, “The Pa-Bros!”

The whole coffee shop became an uproar of cheers. The two boys hugged each other and then bowed to Mia who congratulated them. As Taehyung moved to congratulate them as well, (Y/N) pulled the barista in by the collar and kissed him square on the lips.

After the two parted, he said, “Sorry, I just promised myself I would kiss you if I won.”

“Good.” Tae said and kissed back.

A few months passed and the coffee shop was doing better than ever. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they would have a poetry slam. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were when The Pa-Bros--who renamed themselves to Koffee Kings--performed on the new stage.

Taehyung clocked in as usual, humming jazz. He always showed up half an hour earlier to watch his boyfriend (Y/N) perform a couple of songs. By the time he clocked in, it was a five minute intermission. Sometimes when his love was in a really good mood, Tae’s boyfriend would dance with him after giving people their coffees.

He was wearing the purple jacket tonight, “Don’t forget to tip your waiters, especially cuz that one’s my boyfriend! I love you, Tae!”

“Love you too!” The barista replied, blushing with the biggest smile on his face.

Kim Taehyung always liked working here, but he could tell that he would enjoy it even more.

#BTS #Bangtan #Kim Taehyung #V #BTS V #V x Reader #Reader x V #Taehyung x Reader #Reader x Taehyung #Male!Reader #Bi!reader #Pan!Reader #Gay!Reader #Gay!BTS #mlm #for the gays #writinx #Kim Seokjin #Jin

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imaginethatalena · 7 years ago

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#34: Batfam x Reader

Thanks @crazyfreckledginger for requesting! I’m sorry that the ending kind of sucks, but I hope you like the rest of it. My brother is a big Transformers fan so he helped me out with the Transformers part. I hope you like it ❤

Request Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3: Tell me if you have enough of my requests (hey don't blame me blame the anon who asked you if you write for Transfomers) So it's another crossover and the reader has scarlet witch powers and gets badly injured whist on patrol (she moves around alot but patrols the cities she goes to). She is found unconscious by the batboys and brought to the cave. They stitch her up and when she wakes up, Bruce asks her a few questions because he has suspiscons on what she is. She doesn't tell them much and says that she has to leave now. Bruce stops her and says that she is in danger and that they will protect her but she declines and leave rapidly. Bruce orders the boys to get her back whilst he does some research on her. The boys 'stalk' her and discover that she can really defend herself after being ambushed by a villain (idk Bane?) because he wants to use her. Then a group of police cars arrive and are shooting at her and the boys are about to step in when a group of sports cars, motocycles and vans arrive and the police car transform in decepticons and the autobots transform and fight them. After the fight, Jazz finds the boys snooping and brings them to the group. The reader recognises them but doesn't say anything. Ratchet says his line in the movie (it's something like "The boys pheromon levels suggests they want to mate with Y/N" and it become awkward but the other autobots become very protective? I dunno how to end it lol! I'm really sorry this is long!!

“God dammit!” You cussed when you saw the amount of blood coming out of your leg. You had just barely made it out of a battle with a particularly violent mugger, and you had gotten very badly injured. You thought that your telepathy and telekinesis powers would give you an edge over such a low risk criminal, but this one had a big knife and good aim. The person you were saving had gotten away, which meant it was time for you to leave and assess the damage.

You were getting lightheaded and you fought to stay conscious, realizing that the blood loss was worse than you thought. You had to stay conscious long enough to alert someone to where you were.

“Help!” you shouted into the night. You had been wandering the northeastern cities of the United States for a couple weeks now, and every single one had had at least one vigilante on duty the nights you were there. Tonight you had come to Gotham, and you knew there was an entire family of vigilantes here. You hoped one of them would hear you.

“Help!” you shouted again, but this time your voice was much softer. You lost consciousness moments later, just as a dark silhouette appeared in your vision.

“Over here!” Dick shouted to his brothers, leaping to the ground with the grace of his acrobatic training. Damian dropped down with the help of his grappling hook while Jason sped around the corner into the alley on his motorcycle, Tim sitting behind him.

“Shit,” Jason said. Dick was crouched next to you, checking your pulse. “Is she alive?”

“Yeah, but she’s bleeding pretty badly.”

“We need to get her to the hospital,” Tim said.

“Are we going to just ignore how she’s dressed?” Damian asked, pointing to your outfit. It was obvious you were a vigilante of some sort. “What if she has an identity to hide? We can’t risk that.”

“We’ll get her to Alfred, then,” Dick said. He scooped you up from the ground and went over to Jason. “Tim, get off. Let Jason take her.”

Once Jason was sure you weren’t going to fall off his motorcycle, he sped out of the alley and into the city. His brothers would catch up. Getting you medical help was the priority.

You awoke to a tugging sensation in your leg and you opened your eyes to see a high stone ceiling above you. You raised your head to look around and saw you were surrounded by six unfamiliar people.

Startled, you sat up and pulled your leg away from whoever was holding it, feeling a sharp pain as your skin stretched around the half done stitches.

“Ow!” You clutched your leg and cast your nervous gaze around. “Who the hell are you?”

Four of the people were young men, the oldest looking to be in his twenties and the youngest to be around eleven. They all backed away as soon as they saw you were panicked, but the older man at your side gave you a chastising look.

“My dear, you’ll have to allow me to finish the stitches before you can move around,” he said, his kind voice accented by a British upbringing.

You reluctantly gave him back your leg under the hard suspicious gaze of the final person, a tall man who appeared to be the father of the four boys.

“Who are you?” he asked you.

“I asked you first,” was your reply, but you didn’t need an answer. Aside from the old man tending to your leg, you recognized each of them from their superhero suits. This was the Batfamily. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin all shared the same curious look, but Batman’s was cold and careful.

“Who are you?” he asked again, his voice firm, and you thought it would be best not to fight him and just answer his questions.

“I’m Y/N,” you said. “I’m kind of a vigilante, but I don’t have a home, so I just drift from city to city and do what I can while I’m there.”

“What kind of vigilante?” he probed. “Do you have any special abilities?”

“No,” you lied. “I’m just a fighter trying to do some good.”

“When we brought you here, we were followed by a few cars,” Nightwing said. “We lost them fairly easily, but we wanted to know if you knew anything about them.”

“I don’t.” You were just full of lies tonight, but they didn’t need to know everything about you all at once. You didn’t trust them.

“We believe you’re in danger,” Batman told you as the old man finished up your stitches and started wrapping your leg. “I think you should stay here until we learn more about the people following you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” you said, getting to your feet and looking for the exit. “I have to get going.”

“Wait.” Nightwing put a hand to your arm, but you quickly pulled away. Realizing that teleportation was the only way you were going to get away, you opened a portal beneath your feet and slipped away before they could stop you.

“Go after her,” Bruce ordered his sons, already at the Batcomputer. “I knew there was something off about her. I might have a lead.”

“What are we waiting for?” Jason asked, already revving the engine of his bike. Bruce had managed to get a tracer on you, and they were all ready to follow you back to downtown Gotham.

“Hey, Jason,” Roy said, climbing off his bike when the four boys showed up. “Why did you call for me?”

“I thought we could use your help on this one,” Jason said as they continued to search for you. When they found you, they were surprised at what they saw.

“Forget it, Bane!” you were shouting at the man attacking you, a hulking figure with green veins highighted on his unnaturally bulging muscles. “I’m not going to join your stupid secret society!”

“Your power is wasted saving the lives of ungrateful civilians,” he told you as he fought against your power, manifested as a golden glow that kept him away from you. “If you will not join us willingly, I will take you by force!”

“Good luck with that,” you said, and opened a portal beneath his feet. “Have fun in Arkham, asshole.”

The Batboys couldn’t do anything except stare at you in awe. You had gone toe to toe against Bane, a Rogue that even Batman had failed to defeat, and won with little to no effort. They were about to speak when a number of police cars and vans sped over to you and surrounded you. Instead of policemen exiting the cars, the cars all began to transform into robots that stood hundreds of feet taller than you. Soon after, a silver sports car, a yellow Camaro, an ambulance, and a pickup truck arrived and also transformed.

“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Dick asked.

“What the hell is going on?” Jason gasped. Roy stood next to him in stunned silence.

“This is impossible,” Tim said.

“Duck!” Damian shouted. The robots had begun to fight, and the collateral damage of their battle was enormous. Parked cars were smashed, sparks flew in every direction, and the robotic shouting coming from what was supposed to be their mouths was deafening. Eventually the boys could see the majority of the robots chasing away a few of their brethren.

“You Decepticons should know better than to challenge the Autobots!” one of them shouted, presumably an Autobot towards the retreating Decepticons.

“Are you alright, Y/N?” one of the four remaining robots asked, the one that had previously been an ambulance. “You’re injured.”

“I’m fine, Ratchet,” you told the robot. “It was just a couple stitches. Where’s Optimus?”

“He’s with Sam right now. Who fixed you up?” another robot, the one that had been a silver sports car, asked you.

“I was picked up by the Batfamily, Jazz,” you said. “But don’t worry. They don’t know about you.”

“Are you sure about that?” John Cena’s voice came from the yellow robot.

“Since when did you start quoting vines, Bumblebee?” you asked with an amused smile. “And yeah, I am. Why?”

“Because you were followed.” The boys heard a deep robotic voice above them, and they were all grabbed by the last robot. It was surprisingly fast for its size, and there was no escape once he had dropped them to the ground near you.

“Shall I kill them?” it asked, revealing cannons in its arms pointed straight at them. The boys began to panic, Dick and Tim pleading with the robots while Jason, Roy, and Damian shouted meaningless threats.

“They’re the ones who helped me, Ironhide,” you said, rolling your eyes. “They’re fine.”

“What are you?” Tim asked in wonder when Ironhide put his canons away.

“We’re the Transformers,” Ratchet told him. “Are you the Batfamily Y/N told us about?”

“Yeah, we are,” Jason said. “You guys were the cars that tried to follow us.”

“We thought you were kidnapping our friend,” Jazz said defensively. “Of course we’re going to search for her.”

“Pardon me, but I’ve scanned these boys, and their pheromone levels suggest they want to mate with Y/N,” Ratchet said. “I don’t believe they would mean to harm her if they---”

“Listen here,” Ironhide’s cannons came back. “If you’re all thinking about mating with Y/N right now, you better be prepared for the consequences. Right, Bee?” The yellow autobot’s face was covered by a combat mask and he readied his own guns.

“Guys, guys!” you shouted, stepping in front of the boys. “Calm down! It’s fine! I barely know them!”

You turned to the boys with a serious look.

“No one is supposed to know about them,” you said. “Can you keep our secret?”

Dick, Jason, Roy, Tim, and Damian all nodded. They weren’t sure how to feel about your robot friends, but at least now they knew you were safe.

#batfamily imagines #batfamily imagine #batfam imagine #batfam imagines #batfamily x reader #batfam x reader #transformers #imagine #request #transformers imagine #transformers imagines #dc comics #dc comics imagine #dc comics imagines #the batfamily

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skyruemonroe · 7 years ago

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It's a Chicken Nugget Hazel Levesque. Tfw u tried to write a pjo fic even tho the series has been dead for u since 2014

After years of being lost in the fields of Asphodel, Hazel Levesque was brought back to life to be a part of a prophecy. The Prophecy of the Seven destined seven half-bloods to rise to the call and defend the world as they know it against an ancient Earth goddess, Gaia. Out of the seven demigods, only six were defending the world “as they knew it”. Hazel had been dead since 1942. Hazel’s half-brother Nico Di Angelo jail broke her out of Asphodel and threw her into a new century. The 21st century might as well have been an entirely different world versus the time she’s from. Buckets of information were poured into her head with every passing day. Nothing reminded her of the 1930s and there were no familiarities besides her newly made friendships with the rest of the seven. One of the seven gained a little more than her friendship. Frank Zhang took affection with his cheeky smile and stole her heart with gentle gestures. Frank had become the praetor of New Rome after the war with Gaia had ended. They haven’t been able to spend too much time sharing stories and giggling flirtatiously His post kept him busy, but Hazel was kept busy with her lessons about the modern day.

Camp-Half Blood had such a slower pace compared to the rest of the world. Instead of obnoxious, horn blowing and car engines growling there were trees rustling, birds chirping and the sweet, relaxed chatters of campers. Although, chatting was more so cheering and groaning when war games were in session. As far as she was aware war games weren’t planned for the rest of the week. More time to relax and enjoy her friends’ company.

Friends. An ethereal smile flooded into her face as she headed towards the Hestia cabin. Tight, copper curls bounced against her shoulders as she started to skip. Her eyes were a gold sun and they shined brighter with every friendly wave from campers lingering in the ring of cabins. The canary letters printed on her purple SPQR shirt, along with the brown in her knee-height boots created a casual accent against cinnamon skin and high-waist blue jeans.

The Hestia’s cabin door swung open before she could raise her hand to knock. “Miss Underground has arrived,” a pointy eared, scrawny boy announced. He grabbed Hazel’s hand and yanked her into a room of laughable cheers. “It’s thanksgiving Charlie Brown and we’ve got taste testing to do.”

“Leo, it’s not thanksgiving and who’s Charlie Brown?” Hazel’s eyes widened as his bony arm pulled her to the rest of the group. It was odd seeing everyone letting their guard laze and unscathed. Leo was wearing a clean, stainless, white t-shirt and brown cargo shorts rather than an almost grey with filth button down shirt and jeans.

“Darling Hazel…Grasshopper you’ve still got much to learn. I, the qualified Percy Jackson will show you Peanuts after food. “Percy closed his eyes put his right hand on his chest and held his right arm out to Hazel as if he was making an oath. A small smirk flickered on his face as he awaited a face palm from his beloved girlfriend. Hazel’s right eye scrunched as her left eyebrow rose. Are peanuts not food? Are they slang now?

“Seaweed brain. Why are you like this?” Grey eyes rolled as a blonde haired girl spoke. A soft chuckle tumbled from her lips as she tugged on of her curls.

“Anyway~” Leo interrupted the couple before flirtatious bantering could hit off. “Courtesy of the Hestia cabin. Today you’re going to try chicken nuggets and other 21st century foods. ” His brown chucks tapped against the ground softly as he walked backward into a chair. His curls matched the brown choppiness of a girl who was leaning towards a blonde boy with thick, black glasses. “Maybe you’ll eat the vegan stuff Piper likes. ” He jutted his thumb to the girl behind him.

Hazel rolled her eyes at the brown haired girl’s spot on jazz hands behind Leo’s head. “How many other foods?” The smell of oils and modern day convenience stores wafted all through the cabin. “Why couldn’t we do this at the dining hall?” Hazel figured it make more sense to take advantage of the dining hall’s magical properties than to have Hestia campers do all the cooking.

“Lots of foods will be tested. Foods I will eat.” Piper finger gunned at Hazel. Reminding everyone that she wasn’t going to be consuming chicken nuggets or any other meat products. “We wanted to do it here because homemade is the best way to have food. ” Piper pulled herself up onto a wooden table in the center of the cabin. Then playfully leaned forward to flick Leo and Jason’s heads. “I’m a vegetarian. Not vegan…yet. ”

Jason turned around with puffed out cheeks, narrowed blue eyes and pursed lips. “Pipes owh. I didn’t say anything.”

Percy giggled as Leo slyly un-tied Piper’s grey converse. “Piper you might want to hop down from the table. If we’re going to be eating I don’t want your butt where my food will be.”

Piper gave an understanding nod and hopped down from the table. Her shoe lace on her left foot got caught under her right shoe, throwing her forward onto her face. Hazel looked away as Piper shot back up. Should she have said something so Piper wouldn’t have fallen?

Maybe she shouldn’t have said something. That was quite hilarious though. In order to hide the corners of her smile Hazel pretended to cough.

Annabeth sat in the corner eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed firmly together like she was about to explode. “They’re all frozen foods. It doesn’t make sense to have it here in the Hestia cabin.”

Before more common sense could spill off her tongue a Hestia camper came out with bowls filled to the brim with chicken nuggets. “The blue bowl has tyson chicken nuggets, the green bowl has vegetable based nuggets and the purple bowl has breaded chunks of chicken. Or homemade chicken nuggets. ”

“Thanks!” Five of the kids chorused in unison.

“Why didn’t you just say homemade chicken nuggets? Why make it more complicated?” Percy scooted his chair towards the table. The screeching sounds of the chair legs against the floor were so irritating. Annabeth kicked Percy’s chair forward flying him all the way up to the table. Instead of multiple fragmented screeches there was one big scooch.

Piper immediately started snatching nuggets from the vegetable bowl and stuffing them in her face. Jason followed her actions but much more slowly. At least Piper wasn’t intense and mean. Hazel hasn’t ever seen her trash or make a scene over people eating meat. Frank was making his way into becoming vegetarian as well. Percy and Leo would tease him about how soon his heavy armor would turn into eco-friendly grass woven shirts.

Giggling, Hazel walked over to the table and picked up a homemade chicken nugget first. They looked delicious, she thinks. Hazel hasn’t seen any other homemade chicken nuggets to compare them to.

The moment Hazel popped a chicken nugget into her mouth. A boy solidified through a shadow cast on the wall by a bookshelf. “I knew you all would do this. You got nuggets. You didn’t get McNuggets. You’re dead to me. ” Once the boy was completely visible his pale skin stuck out like center piece against all the warm colors in the Hestia cabin. The bags under his eyes were an unsettling grey. Did those bags ever go away? What would he look like without fatigue weighing on his skin. Does Will ever make him sleep? Hazel bit her lip into a smile as she thought about her brother and his hot mess of self care.

“Nico!” She dropped the next chicken nugget she was about to eat onto the table and ran over to give him a loving hug

“Hay! Be careful you’re going to hurt the happy meals. ” His grip tightened around the gold m-shaped handles. He lightly kissed her cheek then smiled back.

“Hay Hay back a way way!” Percy grinned. All eyes turned to a young man balancing a stack of chicken nuggets on his nose. A few Hestia campers were watching the group from afar. Their heads tilted and eyebrows raised. Were these dorks really the brave heroes to save the world? In the full picture they looked like the weird group of misfits who’d sit a table away from the ‘squares’ at school. "Someone is missing. “ He looked around at everyone in the room.

The room was filled of people. "There’s no one missing. Frank already told you he couldn’t make it. ” Hazel took a Happy Meal from Nico’s hands. Her eyes widened as she noticed the teeth and tongue painted onto the box. “Why does it have a face?” The corner of her upper lip raised while the skin on her nose scrunched up.

“To make it more kid friendly. ” Leo offered an explanation and then turned to Percy. “Calypso couldn’t make it because she isn’t feeling well. ” Leo stuffed as face in the midst of talking in order to cover up the immediate look of love sickness.

Percy shook his head. “No, not them. Someone that’s Nico’s TYPE. ”

Everyone in the room let out an annoyed sigh. "LET IT GO. “ The entire cabin shouted.

"Percy you’ve got me, your girlfriend. You can’t hold on to Nico growing out of his crush forever. ” Annabeth smacked the back of head, causing all the chicken nuggets to fall onto his lap. Nico huffed and picked up a glass full of a red drink from a platter just being brought in. Hazel looked over to the Hestia kids. Why were the so distant? This wasn’t a selective food party. It’s an everybody food party. Hazel opened her mouth to call everyone over but was cut off by Percy’s revenge.

“Annabeth. There’s a spider right behind your head. ” He pointed and forced a look of surprise upon his face.

“Kelphead. Do you really think that’s gonna work on me? I found the Mark of Athena. I’m not scared of spiders anymo-”

Leo took his shoe off and started to get up, “I’ll kill it. ” He looked to where Percy was pointing. Annabeth flew into Percy’s arms that millisecond. All the chicken nuggets on his lap fell onto the floor. A hestia kid groaned in the background. They’re going to have clean up the mess when they all leave.

Hazel felt dirty for laughing so hard. The guilt faded away as Piper joined her. Hazel’s hair smushed against Piper’s shoulder as she leaned into her jean jacket. Looking to Nico her eyebrows furrowed. “Are you drinking blood?” She understood the term edgy now. Wasn’t this taking 'edge’ a bit too far? Her pupils shrunk a bit as her mood was tainted with fear and disgust.

Everyone laughing at Percy and Annabeth now laughed at Hazel’s confusion. Nico’s head jerked back as his eyes bugged and he spit his drink out of his mouth. “No! It’s not blood. Good gods Hazel. It’s Kool-Aid. ”

The blonde boy behind Nico nodded. “Yeah Hazel it’s just a soft drink. It comes in a ton of different flavors and colors. It tastes pretty nasty unless you pour half a bag of sugar in. ”

“Jason you’d only put the amount it said to put in until I showed you how to make Kool-Aid. ” Leo raised his eyebrows and looked over to the Hestia campers. “Are you guys going to chill with us?” A toothy grin sprawled across his face as Leo waved them over to the table.

Jason looked to the side. It’s not his fault he never experimented outside of instruction. Some people are made to be set in stone. Hazel laughed at Jason’s face then turn to see the Hestia kid’s expressions. There was a bit of confusion and hesitant nodding. “It’ll be more fun with you!” Hazel twirled over to them and extended her hand to the eldest looking camper.

“Well I don’t see why we’re all sitting back here. ” The Hestia kid took Hazel’s hand and they both went back to the table. The other kids followed. “So, you’re Hazel Levesque?” They noted her copper curls, SPQR shirt and bond with the world’s saviors. “How’s the 21st Century treating you?”

Hazel let go of the Hestia camper’s hand then spun around to come face to face. She looked up a tad because she only came up to their chin. “I am Hazel Levesque. It’s. It’s interesting. Not like anything I’ve ever witnessed but I love it!” Hazel bashfully tugged on one of her curls and gazed down at the floor. “I still feel like I don’t know enough to really contribute. ”

The Hestia camper chuckled lightly. “You don’t have to learn to create. You create to learn. Bring in what you do know and then go from there. ” They patted Hazel lightly on the shoulder.

Hazel’s golden eyes rose to meet the Hestia camper’s blue eyes. They weren’t as chilling and intimidating as Jason’s but they were even more infinite and capturing. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name?”

“You can call me Jace. ” The Hestia camper grinned. “You’ll have more fun in this generation if you stay away from 5sos and meme stans and… Politics. ” Jace popped the P in politics and slid in a chair across from Piper. They grabbed a veggie nugget and poked it into their mouth.

“What’s a five sauce stan? What’re memes?” Hazel paused before trying a veggie nugget. For Frank. She’s doing this for Frank. He’s going vegetarian. That means she has to get more acquainted with vegetable based products.

“Memes are the best thing about the 21st century. Ever. ” Leo firmly stated while llaying upside down on his chair like a bat. His curly hair rested on the floor. “Five S.O.S Is actually an acronym for a ban named Five Seconds of Summer Piper likes them. ”

Piper scoffed. “You say it as if being a fan is derogatory. ” She kicked Leo’s chair over a bit. His head rubbed against the floor.

“Beauty Queen you’re so violent today. Look up what Stan means on urban dictionary Hazel. It’ll boost your Internet skills. ” Leo pulled himself and leaned over to pinch Piper’s cheek.

“What’s the urban dictionary? ” Hazel looked away from Jace to Leo.

Leo’s mouth had just opened but Percy’s laughter spilled before he could say anything. “We’ll show you after Charlie Brown. You’ll need it. ”

Annabeth poked Percy’s cheek. “Jace if you don’t mind me asking, how were you born?” She cringed as the words fell from her mouth. That question was so annoying to ask and be asked. Her need for knowledge made it so she had to know. “Why’d she change how she felt about cabins?”

“With each home Hestia blesses a child is brought into the picture from their hearth. We’re not really born. A lot of us were adopted into a home and blessed by Hestia or we were literally created from the sentimental warmth of a fire place. ” Something along those lines. Jace rolled their eyes. “Also, I’m not sure. Ask her. ” This lot is something else. “Hey Hazel have you ever tried nachos? ” Another one of their siblings brought out chips draped in cheese fondue. “You’ll love 'em. ”

Hazel giggled and shook her head. She’d heard of nachos before. One time Percy, Annabeth and Hazel went to a video gaming arcade, Percy naturally went straight to the restaurant area. Annabeth followed after rolling her eyes and asking why’d he order food if he hated it the last time. Percy replied he was going to get something different. Over all the cheering and beeping Percy’s voice declared her wanted nachos with extra cheese. The woman working the counter nodded with a straight face and and loud groan. She must’ve been in a terrible mood because she gave Percy a plate of nachos.

#percy jackson #the big bang #i never finished it

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thelittleredheadedmusician · 7 years ago

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Titans Academy

The prompt for cassiestephkara week day 1 was High School AU and I definitely got carried away. I’m going to post it here but rather than reading it on my blog I highly suggest reading it here on ao3. PG rating; 9,632 words cassiestephkara, background dickbabs, Please feel free to reblog and leave comments!

To say that their school was a bit odd was… an over-simplified under-statement. Their weird gymnastic/cheerleading cross boasted the best acrobat in the world, students could take actual college courses (not just AP but actual professors from ivy league schools), the track, archery, swimming, and fencing teams all had world class athletes and quite a few teenaged Olympians. Their theater and music departments regularly produced award winners and art students often received gallery openings before graduation. Students participated in actual scientific research and published papers and interned at places like the UN and Catco Media, all as high schoolers.

Yet the student body was just as perplexing as their accomplishments. Sure there was the Wayne family and the Queen gang, all the (mostly) adopted children of multi-millionaires. Most were there on full scholarships though, some thanks to influential family members or friends but for most it was due to talent and a desire to learn. For nine months out of the year, teenagers from all walks of life and all over the country with all kinds of interests and talents lived and went to school at the huge mountain turned prep school not far from Gotham City.

Cassie Sandsmark had known that she would be attending the prestigious Titans Academy, her older sister Donna was a student and her cousin Diana was an alumnus and a diplomat meaning Cassie would most assuredly be attending. Move in day was odd, a group of kids, mainly boys, had been directing traffic and yelling insults at each other across the parking lots. Donna had ended up stopped behind a large pickup truck, the driver of which was jovially chatting with one of the teenaged boys helping with traffic. She rolled down her window and waved when he turned towards them. Cassie caught sight of dark black hair, blue eyes, and an easy smile. The boy turned back to the truck and tapped his palm on the door before waving as they pulled away.

Donna inched her car forward, “That’s Dick. He spent the weekend with us this summer?”

Cassie vaguely remembered the group of teenagers who had visited Donna though she couldn’t remember what all of their names had been. There was just too many redheads and too large of a crowd of loud noisy teenagers at the time. Now Cassie wouldn’t consider herself a shy person but Donna’s friends were just overwhelming so she spent most of the time they were there at the museum with her mom.

“Troia!” Dick called as they pulled up beside him. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing your car with!”

Donna laughed, “It’s a surprise! Plus we both know that had I told anyone before getting here Wally would’ve called dibs on shotgun.” Dick laughed and nodded. “Dick, you remember my little sister Cassie? I need to help her move in to the freshmen dorm.”

“A little, you weren’t around much when I visited.”

Cassie shrugged, leaning forward to better speak with the boy who had stuck his head into the car. “I was helping my mom with her exhibits. Also, the house was a little full.”

Dick laughed again, Cassie was starting to get the feeling that he laughed a lot. “Yeah well, I don’t think any of us thought that we’d all be able to make it. Wally, Garth, Roy, and I are rarely ever not busy at the same time during the summer. Not to mention Kori with her modeling, Vic with sports, Raven with her strict parents, and Gar is just Gar,” he ended with a chuckle.

Cassie raised an eyebrow at her older sister, “You didn’t tell me you were actually popular.”

“Rude!” Donna scolded but her smile betrayed her true feelings.

Dick turned back to look at the line of cars. “Well we’ll have to talk more later. Did you see where the truck in front of you went?” Donna nodded. “It was Clark Kent, he’s dropping off his little brother and cousin, they’re freshman too, so you’ll be heading the same place. Oh! And keep an eye out for Tim and Steph, since we don’t live on campus they’re helping with the move in.”

Donna gave him a thumbs up and headed onward towards the parking lot nearest the dorm. Finding a spot in the first row she parked and tapped Cassie on the knee, “C’mon girlie. You’ve got a lot of crap to get out of my car.” Donna smiled over at her as she opened the door. Cassie climbed out and took the huge suitcase from Donna’s arms. The older girl pulled a canvas grocery bag and a plastic tote box from the trunk. “Would you look at that, I’m the one with all the crap,” Donna laughed as she pushed the trunk closed.

Cassie pulled her backpack from the backseat and slung it over her shoulders before pulling the handle out on her rolling suitcase and following after Donna. The dorm was a long, two story building set between the athletic fields and the large mountain that somehow had been hollowed out and made into the main academic building. At the door stood a perky blonde girl with a face full of freckles and a pale boy with longish dark hair and a clipboard. A tall man held a small stack of crates and was bookended by a blonde girl and another dark-haired boy, both with backpacks and large duffle bags.

Clipboard boy drew what looked like check marks and pulled two small envelops out of a box by his feet. Cassie caught him saying “And Steph here will show you to your rooms. Oh, uh and my name’s Tim. I’m also a freshman so I’ll probably see you around.” The boy smiled a little awkwardly before handing them the envelopes and the blonde girl bounced off down the hall.

It was Cassie and Donna’s turn to talk to the boy with the clipboard. “Tim? Like Dick and Jason’s little brother?” Donna asked with her best smile.

Tim smiled a bit sheepishly, “Yeah. That’s me. You’re Donna, right? Dick talks about you a lot and I think you came to the Manor once.”

“You’d be right on both accounts!” Donna then elbowed Cassie. The blonde glared at her older sister before turning to Tim.

“Hi, I’m Cassie. Sandsmark. Cassie Sandsmark, cause there’s always a lot of Cassandra’s.”

Tim smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter. “Yeah, my sister is actually named Cassandra too but she goes by Cass and I met a Cissie earlier today too.”

Cassie blinked, “Whoa. That could potentially get confusing.”

Tim nodded, “She’s blonde too.”

“That’s… weird.”

Donna laughed a bit, “You know that isn’t the strangest thing I’ve heard at this school.”

Tim smiled and turned back to his clipboard, “So uh, you’re going to be in room 205 with Kara Danvers. That was actually the girl just in front of you,” he said looking up at her. He bent down and pulled an envelope out of the box, double checking the number before handing it to her. “Steph should be back… here she is. I’ll see you around then?”

Cassie smiled at Tim as the blonde girl who must have been Steph skipped down the hallway. “Sure. Nice meeting you.”

“Bye Tim! I’m sure I’ll see you around!” Donna grinned and marched into the hall. Cassie sighed before following her, Tim shot her a wry smile and Cassie instantly knew that the two of them would get along brilliantly.

“Hiya! I’m Stephanie ‘Spoiler Alert’ Brown! But you can call me Steph.” The blonde said with a voice that matched her sunny disposition.

“I’m Cassie Sandsmark. This is my sister Donna Troy, she’s a junior.” Donna grinned and wiggled her elbow in greeting.

“You seem very familiar. You’re one of the older boys’ gang aren’t you?”

“Does Jason have a ‘gang’? He likes to deny he has friends, even though Roy, Kori, Kyle, and I regularly hang out with the grouchy nerd.” Donna raised her eyebrow at Steph who cackled in return.

“Now I see why he actually likes you. What’s your room number?” She asked Cassie.

“Um, 205.”

“Oh! Sweet! You’re gonna be Kara’s roomie! I was just there! She’s a sweetie pie, you’ll love her.” Steph’s smile somehow got even brighter as she punched the elevator button with her index finger. The doors slid open and the three girls immediately filed in. Steph pressed the button for the second floor before leaning against the wall. “So where’re ya from?”

“Gateway City originally, but my mom got a new job in D.C. last spring so we’ve been living with our cousin there until we finally found a house in Alexandria,” Cassie told her, fiddling with the handle on her suitcase.

“Cool. What does your mom do? Sorry, I’m nosy.” Steph said sheepishly.

Donna chuckled and Cassie turned to shoot her a look, Donn just shook her head at her younger sister. “She’s an archeologist originally but she’s worked as a museum curator the last few years now.”

“That’s awesome!” Steph grinned as she somehow hopped backwards out of the elevator. “My mom’s a nurse, which is exciting only in Gotham, being an archeologist is so cool!”

“Yeah,” Cassie replied. “I actually want to be one too.”

“You and I practically grew up in ancient Greece, you’re definitely going to be an archeologist.” Donna told her confidently.

Cassie blushed at that as Steph lead them down the hall. Her room was on the far end from the elevator and she could see other students setting up their own rooms through the open doors she passed. She could hear rock music blaring from one room and when she passed she saw a redheaded girl looking at a platinum blonde with concern, the redhead seemed to be gesturing to the music and asking to have it turned down but the other was simply staring back with a raised eyebrow. Another held a pair of boys, one with blonde hair and what looked like snake tattoos on his arms and another who had a lightning bolt shaved into his hair, who were trying to set up a large fish tank on top of their pushed together dressers.

Steph came to a stop in front of the window at the end of the hall, “Ta-da!” She trilled throwing her arms out into jazz hands. Cassie giggled at her as she passed. Taking a glance into the room across the hall, the boy from outside was there and Cassie noticed that in addition to an undercut he also had a gold hoop in one of his ears, she smirked a bit at that, his roommate was a scrawny hyper-active boy who could be heard chattering from the hall as he bustled around the room constantly pushing his auburn hair out of his eyes.

Cassie turned to her own room and peeked her head in. “Um, hi? I’m Cassie,” she smiled and slowly stepped through the door.

“Oh! Hi! I’m Kara! I hope you don’t mind that I took the left side of the room?” The girl gave her a warm grin as she turned to face Cassie. The other girl’s bed was half-made and there was knick-knacks, posters, and school supplies scattered across the desk.

“That’s fine. Uh, this is Donna, my sister.”

Donna smiled and placed the stuff she had been carrying down next to the bed. “Hi Kara. I’d love to chat but I need to go move in myself. I’ll text you and we can meet up for dinner?” Cassie nodded and Donna pulled her into a hug before waving to the other two girls and heading back down the hall.

“She seems really nice. You know she’s like super popular?” Steph asked from where she leaned on the door frame.

“She never really mentioned it but I’m starting to get those vibes,” Cassie replied honestly as she started opening drawers to sort clothes into.

Kara gave the other two girls a small smile. “I’m just hoping to make friends,” she told them softly.

“What do you mean, ‘hoping’?” Steph practically screeched with exaggerated air quotes.

“Well, I’m from Midvale and it’s this little town in Kansas and everyone there thinks I’m really weird cause I really like movies and books and writing, like really, really like them. But I’m also really good at soccer, that’s why I’m here, but I don’t act like the other girls and people don’t like that. Plus here everyone is from the city and what not so I’m an outlier and yeah…” Kara trailed off and peered at the other girls through the strands of blonde hair that had fallen in front of her sky blue eyes.

“One: I thought I talked fast, wow,” Steph gave a quick shake of her head. “Two: you’re from Kansas, not the planet Krypton or something like that! I met a girl from Blue Valley, Nebraska earlier! She seemed super cool btw, name’s Courtney. So, there’s not going to be any problems in that department. Three: being weird is kinda everyone’s thing around here. Trust me. I’ve been practically a Wayne for years now and they all go here so I know what kind of weird people get accepted. I mean, I’m here!”

Cassie laughed at Steph’s statements before turning to Kara. “Look, I know we just met but you seem really nice so I’ll be your friend. I’m mildly obsessed with mythology and I fence so if being a soccer super star and lit nerd is what you’ve got going on then I’m not one to judge.”

Kara beamed at that, “Thanks. So um, what’re you into Steph?”

“I’m a junior detective and gymnast,” she said proudly. “How I got into this place I’ve got no idea. Probs cause Bruce has all but adopted me, I’m still holding out hope though.”

“Hope for what?” Cassie asked, partially confused by Steph’s words to begin with. From talking to Steph the past few minutes Cassie gathered that she knew much more than either Cassie or Kara and didn’t realize or didn’t want to explain it all.

“Oh, that Bruce will adopt me too. But I guess having my mom and I move in is close enough.” She shrugged as her phone dinged. Cassie glanced over at Kara who was definitely equally confused. “Timbo needs assistance. Well I shall return! Oh! First phone numbers.” Steph pulled a sparkly purple gel pen from what appeared to be thin air and scrawled her number on the back of each girl’s hand. “Text me!” She called before skipping out their door.

“She seems like a-”

“Tornado?” Kara suggested.

“I was gonna say handful but that works much better,” Cassie grinned.

The two laughed before turning back to their unpacking. Soon they were chatting and laughing, Cassie knew that they were going to be great roommates and even better friends. She learned that the boy with the earring across the hall was Kara’s cousin Conner but everyone just called him Kon and figured out that Kara’s cousin Clark and Cassie’s cousin Diana were really good friends and met up once a month with some other guy for coffee.

They had ended up rolling out a rug that Kara had brought with and just sitting there on the floor getting to know each other. A knock on the half open door drew their attention to the boys standing there. “Kon!” Kara cried with a smile. “This is Cassie, Cassie my cousin Kon.”

Cassie raised a hand to wave and smiled. “Hiya,” he said in return. “D’you guys want to come to dinner with Bart and I? Oh, this is Bart by the way.” Bart-by-the-way peered out from just behind Kon and waved.

“I’m supposed to grab dinner with my sister but I’m sure she won’t mind. We can always get dinner another night,” Cassie smiled and got up to look for her converse.

She was just pulling them on when another silhouette filled the doorway. “It’s a regular party up here!” Steph said brightly. “Are you all heading for food? Can Tim and I sit with you? I’m one of the few non-related people he knows and so we need to find more people to sit with so we have an excuse to avoid the related people.”

“You make it sound like I have no friends and hate my family Steph,” Tim gave her an exaggerated eyeroll and Cassie couldn’t help but smile.

“Well you don’t and you do,” Steph shot back smugly.

“None of us have friends! We just got here! And Jason and Damian hate me, I have no problems with them and Dick, Cass, Babs, Duke, Harper, and Cullen love me.” Tim quickly replied.

“Ok, well only two and half of them are related to you so…” Steph’s sass, if possible, rose to another level. Cassie looked around at the others and they seemed just as interested and confused as she was. Cassie got the feeling that Steph and Tim would always be mentioning people only they knew and that she was just going to learn to live with it because she had already decided she wanted to be friends with the bubbly girl and clipboard boy. Kon was smiling broadly at the soon to be snark off while Bart seemed to be shaking with silent laughter.

“C’mon Steph, don’t act like the only person from my family that you’re on speaking terms with is Cass right now. Because if Harper and Cullen don’t count for me then they don’t count for you either.” Tim’s smirk had a victorious edge to it and Steph narrowed her eyes.

“At least Damian tolerates me. That’s more than you can say.”

“Am I the one who set off a glitter bomb in the game room last week? No. Who was that again? Oh yeah, you.”

“You know that was an accident! Babs vouched for me!” Steph’s blue eyes glowed with rage and her fists were balled.

Tim raised his chin a few centimeters higher as the smirk grew. “I know. That doesn’t mean they believe you.”

The two Gothamites stood like that while the other four glanced between each other, no longer amused and now thoroughly unsure of what to do. Suddenly someone’s stomach growled and Bart cleared his throat, “So food?”

This seemed to bring them around as Steph pushed a breath out of her nose and Tim smiled before flinging his arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze. “C’mon, dining hall is this way,” he said and the two started walking off back down the hall.

As they walked Cassie felt her phone buzz and pulled it out of her back pocket. The screen was lit with a text from Donna, “On my way to dh. See you in a few.” She slid it back into her pocket without responding, figuring she’d just tell her sister when she got there and that Donna would understand. She tuned into the conversation around her as she walked with her new friends to the large, cave-like door set into the side of the mountain.

Bart was trying to explain that he had two second cousins and they both had the same name and were both going to school here but the one was the same age as him and the other was two years older. Cassie’s head swirled but Tim seemed to be keeping up with the other boy perfectly. “Wait, the older one is he a ginger?” Bart nodded quickly at that. “Yeah, he’s my oldest brother Dick’s best friend,” Tim said with a smile.

“Is your brother friends with everyone’s family members?” Cassie asked, only half sarcastically.

“Well, kinda? I mean he’s pretty much friends with everyone but there’s a lot of people in our grade whose siblings or whatever are his good friends,” Tim’s cheeks started to flush and Cassie gathered it was a touchy subject for him.

Steph bumped her hip against his as they walked, “Cheer up Timmy-boy! That just gives you, and by extension me, a slight advantage in the social hierarchy!” Tim simply raised an incredulous eyebrow before shaking his head at her in disbelief.

Inside the dining hall Cassie found Donna sitting at a large table which was already half full. She waved before making her way over to where Cassie stood with her group of new friends. “Hey! All moved in?”

“Yep. Everything’s good. Do you mind if I eat with my friends? We can grab dinner together another night.”

Donna smiled at Cassie and then the group of teenagers waiting for her, “You guys can all join us if you want.” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder at the table. A boy with black hair and a white streak in it appeared to flip Cassie and the others off but when Steph stuck her tongue out at him and Tim rolled his eyes they realized it was not directed at the group at large. The boy from earlier, Dick, lightly whacked him upside the head before waving to the group. A redheaded guy on Dick’s other side gave them a quick jerk of the chin greeting. Bart raised his hand in a half-hearted wave.

“Um… I think we’re good finding our own table,” Cassie replied as she turned back to Donna.

Donna frowned at her friends but nodded, “That seems best. I’ll talk to the boys, see what’s up. I swear my friends are normally nice.” Cassie just smiled and shrugged before following after Tim as he lead the way through the crowded tables.

One table started waving at him and Steph as they neared it. Steph eagerly waved back and called, “Hi Cass! Hi Harper! Hi Duke! Hi Cullen! Tim doesn’t feel like dealing with family today.”

The girl with blue and purple hair laughed and called back, “Then what are you?” Steph responded with an exaggerated shrug before she kept walking.

A kid with bright green hair bumped into Cassie and then started profusely apologizing. She kept telling him it was fine but he just kept talking. The others had stopped to see what was happening and when the green boy saw Tim and Steph his face split into a grin. “Hey guys! Are you avoiding the others cause they’re all over there with us. Well, not all, but Dick, Jason, and Babs are. I had to come get a vegetarian option. Oh! I get it now! You’re trying to make friends! Ok, wow, sorry. And sorry for bumping into you again. Peace out!”

Cassie looked at Tim and Steph for explanation. Steph had already started walking toward an empty table while Tim stood with an amused expression on his face. Cassie noticed that Kon and Bart were waiting for Tim to explain too, when he didn’t Kon took things into his own hands. “So do you just know everybody?”

“What? No. Just most people. That was Gar, he’s a friend of my brothers and they have a lot of friends so…” Tim trailed off with a shrug and turned to follow Steph. Kara, Kon, and Bart all exchanged glances with each other and Cassie before moving on themselves.

Cassie put her jacket on a seat at the table Steph had claimed before heading back the way she came to get food. The group of freshmen reconvened at the table almost simultaneously. Cassie suddenly felt awkward sitting between Tim and Kon, Steph directly across the table from her with Bart on the left and Kara on the right. Steph and Bart were laughing, swapping stories about pranks they did or wanted to do. Kara caught her eye and smiled, Cassie smiled back. Kon raised an eyebrow at Steph and Bart and before joining in on the tales of pranks. As Cassie twiddled her fork in her pasta she began to feel more settled with these people. The conversation swirled around her as topics changed and the meal wore on.

Kara checked the time on her phone and grimaced slightly. “I hate to sound like a party pooper but we’ve got class in the morning and it’s getting late.”

“You’re right. Steph, we should probably find Dick and find out who’s riding with him and who’s going with Alfred.” Tim said, gathering up his dishes. They soon parted ways with Tim and Steph, after promises of meeting up again were made. Cassie enjoyed joking with Bart and Kon on the walk pack to the dorms, Kara laughing at the three of them.

Cassie woke the next morning promptly at 6 am thanks to an alarm blaring. Kara groaned from the bed next to her before violently kicking off her covers. The other girl slid out of bed and shuffled to the small bathroom, a few minutes later she returned wrapped in a fluffy pink robe with her hair piled in a towel on top of her head. “Sorry ‘bout the alarm,” Kara murmured from behind a yawn.

Cassie forced herself out of bed and shrugged. “No biggie, mine was going to go off soon anyway.” Cassie showered and got ready for the day. In the main room she was surprised to find herself effortlessly orbiting Kara as they each went through their morning routines.

They walked to breakfast together and chatted over cereal and eggs. Cassie pulled the folded piece of paper with her schedule printed on it from her backpack. She brushed a stray curl from her face as she smoothed the paper out on the table.

“Oh! I totally spaced on asking about your classes!” Kara gave her a small frown and Cassie waved her off.

“I literally did the same to you. Here let’s look now.” They bowed their heads over the sheets and began smiling. They had 4 out of nine periods the same, one of which was lunch. “Well we have second period together so I guess I’ll see you soon!” Cassie told her as she began gathering things up to go find her 8 am.

Kara nodded and grinned, “I’ll try and sit with you.” Cassie beamed as she walked away.

Cassie wasn’t late getting to class, but she was one of the last to arrive. Kara had saved her a seat and Cassie was pleasantly surprised to see Stephanie was sitting on her other side. “Hey there Cassie!” Steph called.

Cassie smiled and sat down. “Hey guys.”

“How was your last class?” Kara asked, genuinely curious.

“Good. Boring. How about you guys?”

Kara shrugged. “Oh you know, average first day of school stuff. Paperwork, expectations, how they know you’re going to disappoint them by the end of the month.”

Steph laughed loudly, causing the other students to shoot the three blondes looks. “You’re not as sweet as you look Kara Danvers. In first aid they gave us a supply list.” Steph reached down into the purple backpack at her feet and procured a sheet a paper which she smacked onto her desk. “Look at this! Tape, gauze, shock blankets. You’d think we’d be learning to survive the apocalypse or something? But no, this is just a first aid and CPR course to get us our certifications.”

Cassie leaned over Kara to pull the page closer to her. The list was long and detailed, giving preferred brands and even websites to purchase the items form. “This school is weird,” Cassie shook her head as she leaned back into her seat.

“You can say that again,” Steph said with a scoff-like laugh.

“What do you mean by that?” Kara asked, a slight tilt to her head.

“Besides the obvious?” Steph smirked and gestured to the subterranean classroom they sat in.

Cassie rolled her eyes, “We wouldn’t be asking if we already had guessed.”

Steph quirked an eyebrow at that. “Wait. You don’t know either?” The other girls shook their heads and Steph let out a low whistle. “I’m surprised. Well, for one, people here are like freakishly talented. I mean, why else would they be here? But the cliques aren’t… they’re… it’s hard to explain.” Steph made a bit of a frustrated face, her eyebrows furrowing and nose and lip scrunching up in distaste. She grinned suddenly and pointed a finger, tipped with sparkly nail polish, just under Kara’s nose. The other girl was forced to go cross-eyed to ensure she wasn’t poked.

“Ok Cassie, you know how your sister is part of that huge gaggle of Juniors, and a couple sophomores?” Cassie nodded, unsure where this conversation was going. “Well they definitely wouldn’t be friends outside of Titans Academy. See Dick is a rich pretty boy and a cheerleader, yet he’s the leader of their little pack. Wally and Roy are his right-hand men, but Wally comes from the Nowheresville of Nebraska and is the track team’s golden boy while Roy is as much a rich white boy as Dick (even though Dick isn’t actually white and Roy actually grew up on a Navajo reservation but semantics) cause he’s the adopted son of that billionaire from Star City, Oliver Queen. Now as much as Wally is a goody two shoes Roy is a hell-raiser. The archery team’s bad boy he can be found beating up bullies with Jason just as often as holding court with Dick.” Steph sucked in a breath while Cassie tried to process the rapid fire word vomit.

“Ok, so you’ve got all that? Well there’s also Garth who’s an international student and like a completely insanely awesome swimmer. And your sister, Donna, she’s the president of the yearbook committee and the lead photographer as well as the photo editor for the newspaper. Now, yuppie teenage cheerleader plus cornhusking track star plus rebel without a cause archer plus exchange student swimmer plus miss congeniality photographer? Error. Error. Error. Does not compute. But wait! There’s more!” Steph threw her arms up and did her best impression of an infomercial.

Cassie glanced at the door, the teacher was nowhere in sight. Glancing over at Kara the other girl just shrugged and mouthed “We asked for it.” Cassie sighed before resting her chin in her hand, giving Steph her undivided attention.

“So then you’ve got Vic, the next all-American with his football and basketball and lacrosse and just sportsball in general plus the guy’s a genius and VP of the Coding Club. Babs is the president, she’s part of the Gotham gang with me, and she’s currently dating Dick plus she’s an actual genius and a ballerina. A ballerina! And Kori, Dick’s ex-girlfriend and still bestie, who is an heiress to some crazy tech company and she’s like always the lead in drama club productions. Lemme tell you, that gal can sing.” Steph nodded seriously before charging on. “Then we have the sophomores: Gar with his green hair and greener thought process with his animal rights activism and eco-friendly everything. Even the hair dye! And there’s Kyle, he’s an artist and somehow got roped into being friends with Jason. Connor came with Kyle, he’s Roy’s little brother, also an archer and is in charge of the philosophy club. Raven, quiet, a little goth, super sweet. She’s also an artist and does some super cool fashion design. And wrapping up the young’ens is Jason! The second oldest of the Wayne boys he’s what your mothers would warn you away from. ‘Cept he’s a giant nerd, like loves classic lit and writes angsty poetry nerd, and a social justice warrior. Between him and Gar you could go to an on-campus protest once a week!” Steph grinned and started giggly madly before finally getting out the words “And that’s what you missed on GLEE!”

Cassie exchanged a look with Kara, neither truly knew what to say. Steph had spit a lot, A LOT, of information at them. Cassie knew she had met most of the people mentioned over the summer thanks to Donna but she was struggling to attach names and personalities to faces. Kara looked even more lost. With her blue eyes wide Cassie was struck by how well she mimicked a deer in headlights.

“I don’t know a single one of those people… How? Steph? Are you some internet stalker or something?”

Cassie waved a hand in Kara’s direction. “Yes. What she said.”

Steph rolled her eyes. “I’m not a creep. Wayne Manor is not even ten miles away, it’s like a 15-minute drive and since my dad decided to get himself arrested and my mom decided to get clean and I was already besties with Cass and Timbo, Bruce had the two of us move in. Now I live there and pretty much so do all of they, they’re around enough. See, I’m just observant.”

Cassie’s head continued to swirl, she was coming to the conclusion that this was just how Steph talked and if she hung around her enough Cassie was sure she would get used to it eventually. Until then, she had to pick out and rearrange the relevant pieces of information. From what Cassie worked out, Steph and her mother had been invited to live at Wayne Manor which, due to its proximity to school, was were Dick Grayson and his incessantly large group of friends chose to hang out in their free time. This was how Steph came to know so much about Cassie’s sister and her friends.

“Ok…” Kara began slowly. “So, what you’re saying is, the lines between cool and not don’t exist?”

Steph pursed her lips and tilted her head from side to side. “Eh. No, not exactly. It’s just that no one really acknowledges them. You don’t have to be ‘cool’, just yourself.” Steph shrugged and faced forward just as the teacher walked in, nearly 20 minutes late. He muttered out some apology before shuffling papers. Cassie still wasn’t sure what to think of this school but it definitely wasn’t what she expected.

She made it through the first week unscathed, even earning an impressed compliment out of her strict fencing coach. The English class she shared with Steph and Kara had proved thoroughly entertaining. Their first unit was on mythology and between her knowledge, Kara’s impressive command of the English language, and Steph’s argumentative spirit they made quite the trio. Cassie wasn’t sure if the teacher hated or adored them.

Cassie ate dinner with Donna on Friday. Her sister was happy to hear how well she had settled in, especially how well Cassie and Kara were getting along. Donna scooped up a spoonful of applesauce that she quickly popped into her mouth. Cassie could see her sister studying her, weighing options. Finally, Donna spoke, “Bruce is going out of town this weekend and Jay and Dick are hosting a party. Steph is going to be there, why don’t you and Kara come? I can take you in my car.”

Cassie blinked before stuttering out “Yeah. Uh, sure. I’ll- I’ll talk to her?”

Donna beamed. “Great! I’ll meet you in the student lot at eight.”

Cassie had left dinner with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something between butterflies and a lead balloon. When Cassie told Kara about the party invite she had gotten as excited as a golden retriever puppy that was asked if it wanted to go for a walk. With her golden blonde hair and the bouncing she sort of looked like it too.

They blasted music as they threw clothes at each other, neither really knew what the dress code was. Cassie settled on a leather jacket with a flowing dress and combat boots while Kara borrowed her galaxy leggings with a long black sweater and vans. They were fixing each other’s makeup when there was a knock on the door.

They checked the time – they weren’t running late – and exchanged confused glances. Cassie pulled herself from the desk chair and went to answer the door. Kon and Bart stood on the other side, “Are you aware that you’re blasting techno-pop?” Kon asked with a raised brow.

“It’s like you have super hearing or something,” Cassie shot back sarcastically.

Bart snickered. “You getting ready for a shindig or something?” He asked with a sweeping motion to her outfit.

Kara joined her at the door, “As a matter of fact we are! Cassie’s sister invited us to a party at Wayne Manor.”

“What a coinky-dink cuz, so are we! Tim said that his brother encouraged him to invite friends and he invited us.” Kon shrugged and an easy-grin spread across his face.

“That explains the outfits,” Cassie replied with a raised brow of her own. She eyed the boys up and down from Bart’s grey beanie, yellow and red flannel, to his scuffed up red high tops. Like her, Kon wore a leather jacket and a pair of doc martens but his was accompanied by a pair of criminally tight red skinny jeans and round sunglasses. The gold hoop in his ear winked at her as Kon laughed.

Cassie smirked and turned back to Kara, “I need more glitter and so do you. Boys? Would you like to be glittered before we go?” Cassie quirked her lips, daring them to back down.

“Cassie, glitter is my middle name,” Kon said seriously as he swept past her into the room.

The four were standing in the student lot at ten of eight when they heard voices coming towards them and growing louder. A group of teens could be seen laughing and shoving one another as they neared the lot. One of the girls let out a yell and waved an arm above her head. Cassie recognized her sister’s fringe suede jacket and waved back. A slick black SUV and a beat up 60’s VW Bug pulled up to the curb behind the small huddle of freshmen and Cassie turned in time to see Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon climb out of the vehicles.

“Hey guys. Glad you could come! Tim and Steph are back at the house, we’re trying to conserve seats.” Dick told them. His blue eyes sparkled in the lights from the parking lot as he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and leaned against his SUV.

Babs leaned next to him and bumped his upper thigh lightly with her hip. “As you can see, we don’t have a heckva lot of those.” She grinned and started fiddling with her bright red hair, watching the group draw near.

“What’s the head count?” A guy yelled from near the front of the group.

“You plus four in your jeep, Donna has her sister and Kara and two more in her car, I can take seven and Babs can take four. The others are already there,” Dick yelled back.

“I can take my bike!” A different guy shouted. They were still too far away with the sparse pools of light for Cassie to see who was speaking.

“Wally don’t be an idiot!” Cassie smiled as she recognized her sister’s voice. The group finally got to them and Cassie breathed a sigh of relief, comfortably avant garde seemed to be the dress code. Donna was indeed wearing her fringed suede jacket and sparkly leggings with a plain black t-shirt and sandals. She rushed Cassie and gathered her into her arms. “Hiya sis,” Donna breathed into her ear and Cassie laughed, struggling to free herself.

The group cooed around them. “Why aren’t you guys like that?” someone asked someone Cassie couldn’t see thanks to her sister’s fluffy hair. When she finally pulled away she saw most of Donna’s friends and her own laughing at the two of them, causing Cassie to blush.

“Alright,” Dick said, taking command of the seating arrangements. “Cassie, Kara you go stand by Donna. You want to take Kon and Bart too?”

Donna shrugged, “Not a problem.”

Dick waved the boys over to her and the five stood off to the side. “Alright, with Roy how about Kori, Kyle, and Connor?” The teens in question murmured their assent before also standing to the side. “I’ll take Wally, Garth, Vic, Gar, and Ray. Roy, Connor, where’s your sister and her friends?”

“She texted they’re on the way now,” Roy fixed his baseball cap as he looked at his phone. Sure enough, a group of girls could be seen making their way towards them, boasting three blondes and a pretty African American girl that Cassie recognized from her math class.

“Sorry we’re late!” The blonde in the lead called out. “We were trying to convince Megan to come but she was hiding from Rose in Wally and Jackson’s room and they all decided to be lame!”

“Wow Mia. Way to be blunt!” Roy called back.

“Bite me!” and an extremely audible raspberry could be heard as they neared. Roy completely cracked up while Connor did an honest to god face palm. Cassie almost felt bad for the guy.

“The girls will be riding with you,” Dick informed Babs who shrugged and climbed back into her bug to try and get the beat-up car started again.

Donna taped on Cassie’s shoulder and she automatically tilted her head to hear what her sister said. “Do you know them?” she whispered.

Cassie turned and whispered back, “Not really. I have a class with Anita and I know Mia and one of the other blondes are both on the archery team but other than that.”

Donna shrugged and turned back to the group. “We good?” Dick asked as he looked around at their little squadrons. Everyone nodded and Dick clapped his hands together once. “Alright then, time to move out!”

“Shotgun!” Wally called before barreling towards the SUV. With that they all broke off towards the cars to reconvene at the house in a few minutes.

Cassie’s mouth gaped open and her eyes widen as they rounded the final bend of the manor’s long drive. “It’s huge,” slipped out of her mouth as she took in sprawling grounds and ever impressive mansion that reeked of old money.

From the backseat Kon snorted. “That’s what she said.” Bart snickered as Cassie turned around to glare at the boys. Wedged directly behind her, Kara held a hand to her mouth in a poor attempt to contain her giggles. Cassie huffed as she turned back around. Donna glanced at her and smirked too.

Cassie’s mouth knotted as she crossed her arms and stared stubbornly at the large house that continued to grow larger. Donna pulled around the extravagant fountain that sat in the center of the gravel drive and parked just past the front door between Roy’s red jeep and Barbara’s beat-up bug.

The group of teenagers all clambered out of the cars and towards the front door. Cassie could already hear the bass thumping as the door was flung open. A boy in artfully ripped black jeans and a red hoodie had thrown open the doors and flung his arms into the air. The lights that lit up the porch’s giant, decorative columns gave his face eerie shadows and made the white streak in his black hair glow. The knife-blade smile he gave them glowed too and Cassie was suddenly having bad feelings about coming along. Jason cackled and called out, “Welcome! Come one, come all! To the Lost Boys soiree!” He then abruptly turned on his heel and marched back into the house.

Cassie glanced over at Kara who had appeared at her shoulder, the other girl stared back and shrugged. “And I thought Kon was dramatic,” Bart muttered from where he appeared on Cassie’s other side. She laughed and let her anxiety melt away.

The older kids were racing up the steps and Cassie linked arms with Kara excitedly and Bart did the same to her before marching onward, pulling them with her. Kon could be heard laughing as he jogged to catch up and linked on Kara’s other side as they made their way to the imposing double front doors.

Inside the house Cassie was struck first by the smoke. Somewhere in the one of the uncountable rooms and hallways there was a fog machine pumping out the swirling white matter around their calves. Next was the music, loud and thumping and coming from everywhere at once. Cassie didn’t know where to look as her eyes caught on priceless paintings, antiques, and original woodwork in the weird half-light.

“There’s food and drinks in the kitchen!” Someone half-shouted from behind them, making Cassie and everyone else jump. Steph grinned as they turned, pleased by the entrance she made. “Tim’s there too. Also, when I saw drink I mean soda and good old water. If anyone got drunk and ruined anything Alfred would have all our heads.”

“And where exactly is the kitchen?” Kara yelled back. The music seemed to be getting louder, the bass pounding through Cassie’s ribcage.

“This way!” Steph waved and began weaving her way through the house. The four of them followed her deeper into the halls where the music, if possible, got even louder and then began to dim as they ended in a sleek, modern kitchen with a huge island and even bigger wood table and chairs.

The counter was lined with bottles of every non-alcoholic carbonated beverage imaginable. The table overflowing with everything from burgers and chips to chocolate cake and apple pie. Tim was found at the coffee pot, chatting with Mia and the three girls she had brought with.

“Timmy boy!” Steph launched herself onto his back. He laughed and elbowed her sharply in the ribs. She easily rolled off and bumped their hips together. “I found your friends.”

He turned to them and smiled. “You made it! Excellent! Coffee?”

“I cannot believe you’re drinking coffee right now,” One of the blondes said with an incredulous eyebrow.

“Look Cissie, I drink coffee like some people drink water.” Tim finished pouring it into his mug and turned to the others. “I don’t think you guys all know each other. Mia,” he pointed to the blonde on the far end, her hair was long and held in a tight ponytail. “Cissie,” the girl standing next to him, her hair came to her shoulders and swished as she waved. “Courtney,” the last blonde smiled and Cassie saw braces wink at her in the kitchen’s bright light. “And Anita,” the African American girl smiled and inclined her head. He then moved on to group that Steph had just brought in, pointing to each in turn. “Kon, Kara, Cassie, and Bart.”

“Now that we’ve all met get your snacks and let’s go!” Steph bounced towards the table and filled a plate before pouring herself a cup root beer and rushing out a door Cassie hadn’t noticed earlier.

“Should we?” Cassie asked, gesturing after the other girl.

“Yes. Most definitely yes,” Tim said, grabbing his mug and an entire bag of chips and following Steph.

The eight teens still standing in the kitchen did the only thing they could, filled plates and cups and followed their hosts. The door lead to a backyard that was completely lit by floodlights. She could just make out trees at the edges of where the light no longer reached. In the yard in front of her was… Well Cassie wasn’t exactly sure what it was. There was a halfpipe but also trapeze swings like you’d see at a circus and a stage bookended by speakers. Like everything else about the house Cassie was struck speechless.

Steph and Tim were seated on a large blanket next to a dark-haired girl. When Steph waved them all over the girl turned and Cassie saw that is was Tim’s sister Cass. They made their way over and Cassie sat on the blanket to Steph’s left, as the one she was currently on was filled thanks to Harper, Duke, Cullen, and another boy that Cassie didn’t recognize laying in front of the other three. The boy snarled at something Tim said and Cass shot him a look, making his mouth snap shut and Steph ruffle his hair. The others laughed and Tim excused himself to go sit with Kon, Bart, Mia, Anita, Cissie, and Courtney on another blanket that was devoid of the younger boy.

Steph gathered her things and moved too, coming to sit with Cassie and Kara. “What was that?” Cassie asked and gestured to the neighboring blanket that Steph had just left.

“What? Damian? Kid’s just a little demon brat is all. No worries, he loves me,” Steph waved them off and wiggled her way so that she was squeezed between them.

“Ok. So, what’s all this?” Kara asked and spread her hands at the set-up in front of them.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll see. One thing the Waynes all have in common is a flare for the dramatic. That is what this is.” Steph held her plate out to Kara. “Pretzel?”

Suddenly, there was a loud tone from the speakers before it morphed into a flurry of notes. A whoop came from the small crowd around them as a figure appeared on the platform of the trapeze. The figure bowed and waved in time to the music as it crescendoed. At the peak the figured jumped and Cassie gasped as they plummeted through the air but the momentum caught the swing and soon they were soaring through the air to the next swing. Back and forth they flew and flipped, spun and soared. The music and performance came to a close as they landed on the opposite platform, perfectly in synch. The crowd cheered and the figure bowed again before climbing down and walking to the middle of the stage.

“Hello and welcome to the first Neverland party of the year!” Dick crowed to the crowd. They all gave up another cheer and Cassie gasped.

“That was Dick? With all the flippy stuff?” She whispered in Steph’s ear.

“Yup. He’s the best acrobat in the world,” Steph said midchew on a chocolate chip cookie. “That’s why he’s captain of the cheer/gymnastic/flippy stuff team.”

“Aren’t you a gymnast?” Kara asked, looking over at Steph.

“Yup. And lemme tell you, I ain’t nowhere near as bendy as that boy.” Steph shook her head, making her hair brush against Cassie and Kara’s cheeks.

“Wait… Does that mean you’re a cheerleader?” Cassie asked as a grin spread across her face.

Steph did her nose/mouth scrunch of annoyance and sighed. “Yes. I am.”

Kara gasped and clapped her hands together. “I have got to see you in that little outfit!” Her cheeks reddened and eyes went wide before she gulped and stared diligently at the stage that was now clear of the trapeze equipment.

Steph didn’t seem to notice though as she let out a rough sigh. “That outfit is a torture device I swear to god. The only good thing about it is the sparkly bows.”

Cassie decided to ignore what she thought Kara was implying and refocused on the stage. Cass and Barbara stood there, still in their party clothes – fishnet stockings and jean shorts with a quirky t-shirt and fluffy cardigan for Babs, black leggings and an oversized maroon sweater for Cass – that were now paired with pale pink pointe shoes.

Cassie recognized the upbeat song as soon as it began, she may or may not have a minor obsession with Les Miserable and she knew Master of the House when she heard it. She was captivated as the two girls twirled and leapt, spinning into and between each other to the drinking song. They’re faces would go from passive to sneering along almost instantaneously, making the crowd laugh as the girls didn’t just dance but entertained. The song ended and the two rose on tip-toes to high kick perfectly in time to the final cord. The crowd whooped and hollered as Cass and Babs took their bows before leaving the stage.

The blanket next to them all leapt to their feet to start pulling apart the stage. “I should probably go help.” Steph said, as she leaned her head onto Cassie’s shoulder and slung her legs overtop of Kara’s. “But I’m comfy and they’ve got it so…”

Cassie glanced over the top of Steph’s head to look at Kara. The other girl was slowly going pink that then darkened to red. Cassie had to admit that she had gotten butterflies in the pit of her stomach the moment Steph’s head touched her shoulder. Her head started to swirl and Cassie was forced to ask herself if you could really start crushing on someone after only knowing them a week. If she was asking herself this question then realistically she should also be asking herself how it was possible that she got these same feelings every time Kara brushed up against her too. Was it possible to have a crush on two people at once?

Cassie was forced to focus back on the festivities though as another song started up. She recognized it as some Green Day song that Donna would blast whenever they drove to the beach but trying to identify it was tossed aside as soon as she saw Tim at the top of the half pipe with a skateboard. On the other side was Jason on a bike. The boys nodded at each other before dropping down on their respective wheels. Cassie was stunned as they wove back and forth, doing more impressive and dangerous tricks each time. Like the others, the performance ended when the song did. Cassie’s heart was racing, she may not know Tim overly well but she thought of him as a friend and the entire time she was having visions of him falling and getting hurt.

Next to her Steph chuckled. “You were worried about Tim. Don’t. He’s much more of a little punk than people realize.”

“Are your parties always like this?” Kara asked as around them the crowd began to break up and disperse back into the house where the bass once again boomed.

“With this?” Steph asked and flopped her hand out in front of them.

“Yeah. The Waynes and all putting on a show.” Kara clarified.

“Yeah. Well it’s not just them. Pretty much everyone goes and does something. Last year Kori performed opera, Gar put on a juggling act, Roy and Connor did William Tell.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kara’s eyebrows had shot skyward and she had turned to look at Steph head on.

“You know. The guy who shot apples off people’s heads? It’s an archery stunt. They did it to each other, simultaneously. Really cool. Impossible to top,” Steph said the last part a little stubbornly.

Kara was stunned into silence and Cassie really couldn’t blame her for it. The yard had completely emptied and it was just the three of them on their blanket in the quiet, early fall evening. “So what’s your act?” Cassie finally asked Steph.

She felt more than saw the other girl shrug. “You can’t perform until you attend Titans Academy. Otherwise Damian would’ve been doing real life fruit ninja for us years ago.”

Kara snorted and Cassie giggled. After not even meeting the boy she could tell that he’d definitely do so with confidence. “Does everyone have to go?” Kara asked.

“Nah. It’s only if you want to. You can come and watch and eat and dance and hang regardless.” Steph pushed herself off of Cassie and removed her legs from on top of Kara’s. She maneuvered herself so that she was laying down and looking up at the sky. Immediately Cassie and Kara both mirrored her until they were all staring up at the nonexistent stars. Steph dug her phone out of her back pocket and tapped out a quick text. A few minutes later the floodlights switched off until the yard was only lit by the squares of light from the windows, none of which reached their blankets. As their eyes adjusted they could see the stars winking down at them.

After a few more minutes Cassie raised her arm and began pointing out different constellations, relaying the ancient stories that were written in the stars. She fell silent and soon Kara raised her arm and told them what the different stars were named, what type of star they were, and where in the universe they called home. When she fell silent Steph grabbed each of their hands in each of her own and entwined their fingers.

“I-” she started and then cleared her throat and tried again. “I wanted to say thanks, for coming tonight. I know you guys didn’t know what you were getting into and I know that the others aren’t exactly forthcoming with information but thanks. Donna- Donna said that she’d ask you since I was too nervous to and I’m- I’m really glad. So thanks.” Steph sucked in a deep breath and held it. Cassie squeezed her hand and somehow she knew that Kara was doing the same on Steph’s other side. Steph let out the shuddering breath.

The three girls laid there under the stars holding hands as the music began to turn slow and quiet down. Lights began flickering off until only the kitchen spilled light onto the backyard and yet they laid there. The air became chillier and dew began to gather on the surrounding grass. Finally, Steph spoke into the darkness. “Everyone just spends the night then. You can stay in my room, I have spare pjs.”

Cassie nodded and pushed herself off the ground, never letting go of Steph. Kara mirrored her and still linked they made their way into the house. Kara let go to allow Steph to take the lead, grabbing onto Cassie’s free hand instead. They didn’t even take their shoes off before they collapsed onto Steph’s bed and fell asleep in a pile of limbs, blankets, and long blonde hair.

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chestnutpost · 6 years ago

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The 'Bone Collector' teaches NBA MVP new moves

Rafer Alston’s job is to watch basketball. In Houston, where he spent three-and-a-half seasons as a player, he scouts local games on behalf of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He pays special attention to point guards, some of whom are his old foes, now pacing the league in extraordinary ways. James Harden, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul—the list goes on. For Alston, the current so-called golden age of point guard play is something of a callback. The moves of today have a familiarity to them.

There is the way Curry glides beyond the arc, slicing and dribbling at high speeds, pitter patter, until he springs himself open for a three. There’s the probing, fearless work of Kemba Walker, a New Yorker like Alston, who treats every trip down court with mano a mano desperation. On a recent night, Kyrie Irving confused the defense so deeply in transition that by the time his pass traveled through his own legs—backwards—and into the hands of his teammate, the guy was open by 20 feet. Have we covered Paul or Lillard yet? Or how about Ben Simmons, who at 6’10” casually dropped in a youthful, slightly haphazard behind-the-back one-hopper two weeks ago. And then there is Harden, who performed the most notorious move in recent memory last year when he crossed over Wes Johnson, poured him out onto the floor, took a long look at him and then popped a three. All that was missing, as far Alston might be concerned, was Harden bouncing the ball off of Johnson’s dome before shooting.

“They got it from somewhere,” Alston says of these astonishing guards. “That’s the funny thing about basketball. They didn’t start doing some of the moves and passes that they do. CP, Steph, Lillard, they didn’t do it on their own. They got it from somewhere. You ask them, ‘Who’d you watch?’ It might have been a streetball guy.”

Two decades ago, Alston was the streetball guy. In 1998, he brought his audacious, borderline unsportsmanlike style of streetball to mainstream audiences as the dazzling Skip 2 My Lou on the inaugural AND1 Mixtape. He would pave the way for 10 such videos. The first three centered around individual streetball players such as Alston, Main Event, Hot Sauce, and AO. The final seven tapes tracked a team of AND1 streetball stars, such as The Professor and the late Escalade, as they traveled the nation, facing local competition in various cities. In many ways, Alston was a pioneer of the goosed-up highlight reel; the AND1 Mixtape arrived some six years before YouTube and a dozen years before Instagram. Today, the basketball world is oversaturated with such clips, but back then, there was only one set that mattered.

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

“We used to watch it all the time before we’d go play, as inspiration,” says Phoenix Suns veteran Jamal Crawford, now a sort of ball-handling sage at age 38. “We’d take the VHS everywhere with us.” When Crawford saw Alston on the tape as a teen, he was “mesmerized,” he says. “The way he passed the ball, the way he handled the ball, the way he just displayed that kid of flair.” Crawford was such an admirer of Alston that he initially enrolled at Fresno State to follow in his footsteps. “The creativity of it, the art of it, you didn’t see guys like that in the NBA,” Crawford adds. “It just brought a whole different layer and viewpoint of how you could play the game.”

All these years later, Alston’s approach—and that of his fellow AND1 streetball players—has permeated the NBA. “Every pass, every fancy play, the derivative is streetball,” says Larry Williams, better known as the Bone Collector, who joined the AND1 live tour (a follow-up to the mixtape tour) in 2011. Williams has worked on handles with a number of NBA players, including Harden. “Jamal Crawford, for instance, Lou Williams—look at their entire game,” Williams says “What kind of offensive structure do they have? Is that a [conventional] pro game? Crawford isn’t a point guard or a 2-guard, he’s everything. That’s why streetball is important for the NBA, and I’m happy James [Harden] and guys like that are bringing light to that.”

On any given night, you’re liable to catch some mixtape-worthy moments in the NBA. Even on the brightest stages—like, say, Game 7 of the NBA Finals—a quick crossover and a springy stepback might decide an entire season. That’s now light work for a player like Irving. “He’s really got it down pat,” says Irving’s teammate, Jayson Tatum, of such wicked moves. “For him to perfect it in the biggest moments—it’s special.”

Indeed, Irving, Harden, Curry and the rest have taken the snazzy elements of the mixtapes they grew up watching and elevated them, honored them, pulled them apart and reassembled them. For trailblazers like Alston, it wasn’t easy to prove that a guard could win and look so good doing it. Today, though, substance and style are a packaged deal in NBA backcourts, and the AND1 mixtapes are owed a debt of gratitude.

It just brought a whole different layer and viewpoint of how you could play the game—Jamal Crawford on the legacy of AND1.

“AND1 played a big part in handling the ball. Period. For everybody, no matter your size,” says Terry Rozier, the Celtics‘ backup to Irving and an electric player in his own right. Rozier followed the AND1 Mixtape Tour as a kid and often tried his luck with mixtape moves. “It had a big impact on the stuff we see in peoples’ games today—it’s more natural now,” he continues. “It’s not so much of guys being stiff when they’re playing [anymore]—everybody’s more loose. I wouldn’t say it’s mainly because of AND1, but I feel like that played a big part in it.”

To be sure, there are any number of reasons that the NBA game looks like it does today. Guys have been crossing up defenders and flipping the ball behind their back for decades—you can trace great ball-handling from Bob Cousy to Pete Maravich to Magic Johnson, with countless practitioners in between. Jason Williams, aka White Chocolate, recalls owning just one jersey as a kid: Jason Kidd’s Mavericks No. 5. During a broadcast last week on TNT, Isiah Thomas recalled that when he was a veteran, a young Tim Hardaway challenged him “and used my move [the crossover] on me! That’s when I knew it was time to hang it up.” Later, as Hardaway’s career faded in the late ’90s, Allen Iverson took the torch and sprinted ahead.

Other factors have influenced the way the game has evolved, too. In the early 2000s, the palming and hand-checking rules were shrugged off, opening up the court. Everybody learning to shoot threes only widened it further. “I think it all played a role,” says Aaron “AO” Owens, a former AND1 star. “It all meets in the middle and goes down the same lane.” But, says, Waliyy Dixon, aka Main Event: “Let’s be real. Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, James Harden, a lot of guys—they had to watch the tapes.”

True—it seems most everybody in the NBA did.

“I watched it, and there were times where I tried to do some of the moves, of course,” Walker says. He never thought of AND1’s style as one that would mesh or thrive in the NBA. And yet, he adds, “I’m a small guy, so I had to use some of those moves to get where I wanted to go or get the shots off that I wanted to get off.”

“I watched it, and there were times where I tried to do some of the moves, of course”—Kemba WalkerSteve Dykes/Associated Press

Will Barton, the Nuggets swingman, can pinpoint the gestures he borrowed from the AND1 players on the tapes. “A lot of crossovers I stole from them, a lot of moves I tried,” he says. “They definitely had a particular flair. Sometimes when I dribble, you’ll see me skip—I definitely got that from Skip 2 My Lou. Throwing passes while looking away, I definitely got that from him and Alimoe [the late Tyrone Evans]. Sick crossovers from Hot Sauce, definitely.”

Devin Booker, the Suns’ combo-guard, felt more of a connection with the bravado, the posture of AND1—what it represented. “It was definitely a culture of basketball; a whole different swag was invented from that,” Booker says. “We’d watch the moves and then go in the backyard and practice them—get a 3x shirt, put it on, headbands, they did it all, man.”

Tatum has similar fond memories. “[It] was really big, as a kid on the playground,” he says. “I tried putting the ball in my shirt, throwing it around, throwing it off their head—I used to try all that stuff.”

That AND1 could affect multiple generations of current NBA players—Crawford is Generation X; Tatum, coincidentally, was born in 1998, the same year that the first AND1 Mixtape dropped—is testimony to its brilliance. And to its impeccable timing.

The NBA was entering a transitional period in the summer of 1998. Michael Jordan had three-peated for the second time, defeating the Utah Jazz, the epitome of controlled, no-frills basketball,again. John Stockton was a kind of anti-mixtape point guard. Meanwhile, Allen Iverson, then in his second year with the Sixers, was upending that stiffer tradition, performing what Thomas Beller of the New Yorker recently described as “the apotheosis of street ball’s swagger at the NBA level.”

That offseason was a wild one: In June, Vince Carter (No. 5 pick) and Williams (No. 7) were drafted in the first round. Alston was selected with the No. 39 pick. In August, the first AND1 Mixtape, starring Alston, dropped. In January 1999, Jordan retired. All the while, the league was on strike. There would be no NBA basketball until February 1999 (and no MJ until 2001). A window opened for AND1. “The timing was perfect,” Alston says.

And that wasn’t just true in a basketball sense. Something was bubbling in American TV culture, too. Reality TV was exploding—think The Real World, Survivor and American Idol. AND1, which had established its own authentic version of basketball, was, on some level, tailor-made for reality television. The AND1 tour picked up in 2001, and the next year, ESPN built a show around it called Street Ball. (EA Sports also released an unaffiliated video game called NBA Street in 2001.)

Cameras would follow the AND1 team from city to city to film not just how they played, but how they interacted off the court. “We’d do some whacked out stuff, some stuff that they probably had to edit out,” Alston says. “But at least it was organic—this is who we are. Then with basketball, you had kids, mothers, grandmothers so fascinated. Each player had something unique he could do with the basketball.” (In 2003, Dave Chappelle mocked—or maybe honored—the show in a hilarious sketch.)

Aaron “AO” Owens drives at an AND1 Mixtape Tour game in Los Angeles.Steve Grayson/Getty Images

AO recalls the AND1 tour stopping at Wake Forest, where college-aged Chris Paul came to watch them play. Big men like Ed Davis and guards like Shabazz Napier and Monte Morris caught the tour, too. Morris, who’s now among the NBA’s leaders in assist to turnover ratio, credits his hesi dribble to the AND1 players. At a Cavaliers game in the mid-2000s, Main Event recalls LeBron James finding him in the crowd to dap him up. “He didn’t know me from sitting in the stands; he had to from watching the mixtapes,” he says. In 2012, Grayson Boucher, aka The Professor, connected with Curry, who asked him for a photo. Not long ago, in a Las Vegas casino, Alston came across a fan in Lillard. “He was like, ‘Man, what’s up, OG Skip?’ I know he’s not calling me an OG because I averaged 20 points per game in the NBA, you know what I’m saying? He’s like, ‘This dude was a streetball dude, man—AND1 Mixtape!'”

As much as players respected the AND1 Mixtapes—from the personalities to the style of play—many coaches felt differently. “I came up when coaches wouldn’t allow it or they call it junk ball or they’re like, ‘Oh, that street stuff is no good,'” Alston says. “We grew up playing the game in the playgrounds and the gym, we come from playing the game with so much flair and passion for the game. I think the coaches had a hard time trying to blend the two, trying to incorporate the fundamentals and make sure these young men keep their God-given talents, some of the good things that they do.”

Alston’s first coach when he entered the league in ’98 was George Karl. “[Alston] had that game, he had that street game, or…” Karl says, before pausing for a beat. “He definitely had some shit, man. It was good.”

Still, most nights early in his career, Alston was stuck behind Sam Cassell, a more established, balanced point guard. Alston and Karl developed a “love-hate relationship,” in the coach’s words. Karl had just wrapped up a six-plus-year tenure in Seattle, where his SuperSonics had reached the Finals behind the all-around excellence of point guard Gary Payton. Alston wasn’t Payton in sensibility or style, despite both having been molded by the rigors of the playground. (Alston in Queens, New York; Payton in Oakland, California.)

“He played with the ball a lot,” Karl says. “We had a little problem there, but I think I realized Rafer was young, youthful, maybe too playground-ish. The game has maybe gone to the playground a little more than back then. There were more set plays then—the point guard was more to be a mental mind on the court for the coach rather than a talented player as today.”

AND1 played a big part in handling the ball. Period. For everybody. … It had a big impact on the stuff we see in peoples’ games today—Terry Rozier

In that version of the NBA, a number of AND1 players struggled to break through. “When I was coming up, it was so political—if you were a streetball player, you weren’t meant for the league,” says Boucher, who joined the AND1 tour in 2003. Boucher played a stint in the Continental Basketball Association—the unofficial predecessor to the G League—where, he recalls, “They’d say, ‘Well, he’s more of a novelty, he’s streetball.’”

Part of the problem was a misunderstanding about what AND1 players really could do and what they were already doing. “People would say it’s some Globetrotter shit, but it wasn’t,” says Owens. “In a 40-minute AND1 game, you might only see five minutes of shit (on the mixtape) because of TV, cutting and clipping.” Most of the game, Owens says, was something more similar to NBA ball.

Owens was a DII All-American at Henderson State and would later play in the then-D-League, where he won a championship. At times, he felt as though he were being judged for his streetball background. At one NBA tryout, he recalls the team’s coach said, “What’s a streetball player doing here?” But for Owens, the transition from the street game to the pro game was simple.

“There wasn’t the balance for me—if I was playing in an AND1 game, it’s one thing; a D-League game is real basketball. But if I get an outlet and my instinct is to throw it through his legs, I’m gonna fuckin’ do it. The only way to get past him without a turnover might be through his legs,” he says. “I didn’t have to calm myself down like, Don’t do no dumb shit like throw it off the side of the backboard. It was basketball.”

That’s how Jason Williams looked at it, too. Williams, who arrived to the NBA as a highly touted point guard prospect, felt comfortable leaning on some flashy street elements. He didn’t view his style of play as a novelty—not even his signature behind-the-back elbow pass. “Sometimes throwing it behind my back was easier than a regular chest pass,” he says. “I didn’t look at it at a street level; it was basketball to me. I watched [the AND1 mixtapes] growing up and loved it, but I didn’t pattern my game after any of that. I was just doing my own thing.”

“Sometimes throwing it behind my back was easier than a regular chest pass. … I didn’t look at it at a street level; it was basketball to me.”—Jason Williams aka White ChocolateRocky Widner/Getty Images

Now eight years retired, Williams is amazed by how much the league has changed. “When I was playing, guys were still throwing the ball into the post and trying to get double-teams that way,” he says. “Now that’s out the window.” He prioritized feeding the big stars around him: Chris Webber and Vlade Divac, then Pau Gasol, then Dwight Howard. And Shaquille O’Neal, too. “If Shaq don’t get the ball two or three times downcourt, he looks at you and says, ‘I need the ball,'” Williams says. “It’s just different. My job was to get scorers the ball. Now their job is to score and get guys involved.”

Sunday will mark 20 years since Alston debuted in the NBA. The league—perhaps especially at point guard—has changed tremendously since then, while the star power of certain streetballers has faded even in Alston’s own home. Alston’s son, a 10-year-old guard who will undoubtedly arrive in your Instagram feed before long, “doesn’t realize how good his dad is,” Alston says. “To him, I’m just dad. I’m not Skip 2 My Lou, the streetball legend, the guy who played 11 years in the NBA. Other kids gotta tell my son, ‘You know how good your dad was?'”

Owens never made an NBA roster and now coaches high school basketball in Philadelphia. His ninth and 10th grade players, much like Alston’s son, don’t fawn over his streetball fame like a young Jamal Crawford or Terry Rozier once did. “They’re like, ‘I seen you on YouTube,” Owens says, flatly, “but not necessarily like, ‘Yo, that’s AO!”

Vince Carter, who is as much a mentor to young players as he is a rotation player in Atlanta, has sensed a change in the way young players relate to the tapes. “I think most younger people today just watch YouTube or watch highlights on social media just because of the convenience and access,” Carter says. “And while they’ve heard of AND1, I don’t know that it has the same impact.”

Take Booker, for instance. The 22-year-old Suns guard was born only two years before the first mixtape dropped. He may have tried out the moves he saw, but his connection with the AND1 tour only runs so deep. When asked about his favorite mixtape ballers, Booker says, “I know Hot Sauce put the ball in the shirt, and who was the white guy with the handles?”

Alston and Carter together in Toronto.Ron Turenne/Getty Images

Booker can’t quite come up with the name of The Professor, the type of player who meant so much to his older teammate, Crawford, back in the day. One reason, Crawford suggests, is that mixtape culture today is so omnipresent. “There’s so much now to digest on Instagram,” he says. “It wasn’t like that before.”

The mixtape has become something new, and in a way, it is stronger than ever. “Now a kid can get a scholarship off a Ball Is Life mixtape,” The Professor says. Or even climb up NBA draft boards. Zion Williamson, for instance, became famous long before he arrived at Duke—before his games aired nationally—and he’s likely to go No. 1 in this year’s draft. “Now the influencer hooper is the new streetballer,” The Professor says.

But the old streetballers aren’t going anywhere. The Professor runs his own YouTube channel—Professor Live—where he airs his familiar skillset to nearly 3.5 million followers. The Bone Collector has nearly 1 million followers on Instagram, where he posts photos with Harden and tapes of poor kids falling all over themselves while defending him. Hot Sauce made waves last year for doing the same in Atlanta as a Hawks halftime performer. And Alston is still as connected as can be to the game.

Plus, as he points out, those original tapes are never far away.

“The footage is still around,” he says. “It might be some grainy footage—you gotta convert the VHS to DVD, then convert it on the computer. But the footage is still around.”

The post The 'Bone Collector' teaches NBA MVP new moves appeared first on The Chestnut Post.

from The Chestnut Post https://www.thechestnutpost.com/news/the-039bone-collector039-teaches-nba-mvp-new-moves/

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junker-town · 7 years ago

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Limited Upside NBA podcast: The Celtics won the East regular season, then changed their entire team

Boston brought in 11 new players, including two all-stars. It looks awesome on paper. How will it look in real life?

Listen to SB Nation’s Boston Celtics preview here.

The Celtics had the East's best record last year, then promptly turned over more than two thirds of their roster. What's left is a new superteam built around Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford, but also one with youth waiting in the wings and a whole lot of uncertainty for how this is going to work.

To help us make sense of the madness, we brought on SBNation.com senior writer Paul Flannery and Celtics Blog contributor/CLNS Radio founder Nick Gelso to talk through the following.

The emotions of losing Isaiah Thomas after what he did last year, combined with the cold hard reality that the trade for Irving needed to be made and IT was never going to match that success even if healthy. How is Irving warming up to Celtics fans?

How will Irving fit in to Brad Stevens' offense? Early returns seem promising.

Let's not forget about Hayward. The Celtics chose signing him over pursuing Paul George and Jimmy Butler. Can he make them justify that decision?

Who plays alongside those two and Horford? Who plays in the backcourt? Do they have too many options, or not enough?

What should fans expect from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum this year? Why did the Celtics trade the No. 1 pick to get Tatum, anyway? What kind of dude is Brown, anyway?

We circle back to Brown's comments about it being weird that the team traded IT while talking up tradition. What did we make of those?

RIP Nets Picks.

What kind of person is Irving, anyway? Is there more to him than we've seen before, or is there actually not as much? It's kind of weird how we've learned so much about him over these past three months. How much of it is authentic?

Paul and Nick pick very different banana boats.

We know they should be good this year, but what defines success for the Celtics? Does it even matter if they repeat last year and don't progress?

This podcast was part of the Limited Upside podcast’s 2017-18 offseason series previewing all 30 NBA teams with members of SB Nation’s team communities and other friends of the show. We’ve spent the last two-and-a-half months gauging the temperature of every fan base heading into what should be a terrific NBA season. There’s no better way to understand what makes NBA fans in each market tick.

We began these in August and counted down worst-to-first leading up to the season. Here’s how to listen to them all:

Nets with Kristian Winfield and Nets Daily’s Anthony Puccio

Lakers with Zito Madu and Silver Screen and Roll’s Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen

Suns with Bright Side of the Sun’s Dave King and Evan Sidery

76ers with Tyler Tynes and Liberty Ballers’ Kyle Neubeck

Knicks with Kristian Winfield and Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal

Magic with Orlando Pinstriped Post’s Zach Oliver and Cory Hutson

Kings with Kenny Carraway and Sactown Royalty’s Tony Xypteras

Mavs with Tim Cato and Mavs Moneyball’s Kirk Henderson

Wolves with Canis Hooups’ Eric Goldman and John Meyer

Pelicans with The Bird Writes’ Oleh Kosel and Travis Tate

Hornets with James Dator and At the Hive’s Nicklaus Denning

Pistons with John Ketchum, Kofie Yeboah and Detroit Bad Boys’ Lazarus Jackson

Nuggets with Denver Stiffs’ Adam Mares

Heat with Kelly Cohen and Hot Hot Hoops’ Surya Fernandez

Bulls with Ricky O’Donnell and Blog a Bull’s Jason Patt

Pacers with Whitney Medworth and Indy Cornrows’ Caitlin Cooper

Blazers with Blazers Edge’s Brian Freeman and Peter Sampson

Bucks with Kevin McCauley and Brew Hoop’s Mitchell Maurer

Hawks with Harry Lyles Jr. and Peachtree Hoops’ Brad Rowland

Grizzlies with Grizzly Bear Blues’ Joe Mullinax

Thunder with Eddie Maisonet and Welcome to Loud City’s Joshua Broom

Thunder addendum! Carmelo Anthony trade emergency pod with Eddie Maisonet

Wizards with Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp and Bullets Forever’s Michael Sykes

Jazz with SLC Dunk’s Mychal Lowman and James Hansen.

Raptors with Raptors HQ’s Daniel Reynolds and freelance writer Seerat Sohi

Cavaliers with Fear the Sword’s Chris Manning and MMA Fighting’s Eric Jackman

Clippers with Clips Nation’s Lucas Hann and former L.A. video coordinator Mo Dakhil

Celtics with Paul Flannery and Celtics Blog’s Nick Gelso

Rockets with The Dream Shake’s Ethan Rothstein and Jeremy Brener

Spurs with Pounding the Rock’s J.R. Wilco and Bruno Passos

Warriors with Golden State of Mind’s Bram Kincheloe

Subscribe to Limited Upside on iTunes (and leave us a review!)

Follow Limited Upside on Stitcher

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teachanarchy · 7 years ago

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Quiet as it’s kept, the music we call jazz began life as an experimental remix of dance grooves from Africa and Europe that got chopped and screwed by high-stepping bluesicians of New Orleans over a century ago. From the git-go, the jazz thing has been as much about alchemy as flashy chops.

Everything we love about modern song, noise, and dance sprang from swing and bebop roots: R&B, rock, Motown, funk, disco, hip-hop, Detroit techno, Chicago house, drum & bass, et al are all extensions of a movement-inciting continuum that started in antebellum New Orleans’ Congo Square—breakbeat culture’s ground zero. It was the explosive site where enslaved Africans were permitted to get their ya-yas out to the beat of the drum—well, at least until the human traffickers of that time figured out rebellion was also being plotted in the Square under the cover of a funky good time. Same as it ever was.

Early New Orleans jazz connected those rebel riddims to funereal and carnivalesque marching band stomps; Jelly Roll Morton decided ragtime piano was needed to further excite the cipher of tubas, trumpets, clarinets, bass drums, and tambourines. Duke Ellington brought a rich palette of colors to big band swing that was adopted from the spirituals, Debussy, and Stravinsky. Louis Armstrong made a trumpet emulate a man laughing to keep from crying his eyes out and transformed his singing voice into a sardonic freestyle horn. What did I do to be so black and blue? Armstrong inquired in 1925, and his existential query has yet to stop worrying the minds, bodies, and souls of African-Americans to this day.

Collage, cut-and-paste, sampling, remixing, and genre contamination has been a preferred mode in African-American music since the 1800s.

The flavors that Armstrong’s triumphant horn shot out so perplexed the French manufacturers of his instrument that they sent engineers to his first Paris concerts to find out what modifications he’d made to his trumpet. Sacre bleu could have been the only response when the builders realized Satchmo’s ancestral African lips and tongue were the only technological innovations at play.

By the 1970s, Sun Ra had already pioneered the introduction of electric pianos and Moog synths into serious freedom jazz: Miles Davis had strapped a wah-wah pedal to his horn and was in the studio making vicious breakbeats with tape loops, tabla players, and live handclaps on electronic jazz masterpieces like On the Corner and Get Up With It. Students of Miles—like Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Weather Report—soon followed, with sublime composition, improv chops, and grooves steady enough to yank in hardcore disciples of James Brown, Sly Stone, and Funkadelic. Meanwhile, Maurice White’s Earth, Wind & Fire so wickedly blurred the line between avant-garde soul and electronic jazz as to render distinctions between the genres patently absurd.

In a nutshell, the pioneers of ’80s and ’90s breakbeat dance culture were following precedents set by jazz musicians of the 1920s, ’40s, ’60s, and ’70s—even if some didn’t know it. Not entirely their fault: serious jazz got a lot less concerned with the dance floor from the mid-’40s on, thanks to Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, who were more concerned if their virtuosic flights made them happy than if they did everyday people; all the serious hoofers, toe-tappers, and lindy-hoppers got the message and moved on. Where they moved to was a hot, newfangled conflagration of gospel beats and vocalizing gone blasphemously secular, jazz harmonies and gutbucket blues forms—all that mess being pioneered by one Ray Charles. This kitchen-sink template set the stage for everything that’s come down the pike since, from mojo-handed talents as diverse as Little Richard, Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, Larry Levan, Ron Hardy, A Tribe Called Quest, and Lauryn Hill. Collage, cut-and-paste, sampling, remixing, and genre contamination has been a preferred mode in African-American music since the 1800s.

Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr did much to assert the common humanity and creative urges of rappers and beboppers in their collaborations with Donald Byrd and others on their epochal Jazzmatazz series of albums of the late ’90s and aughts. They sparked a breakbeat-jazz hybrid scene on both sides of the Atlantic that yielded much musical fruit for a brief time but never cracked the blinged-out materialist hip-hop mainstream of the late Clinton and early Bush years. The Soulquarian Movement rallied by The Roots to assemble D’Angelo, OutKast, Jill Scott, Common, Bilal, Black Star, and Erykah Badu under one roof, and all threw hints and flashes of their own jazz genes into the conversation for those who knew the codes.

On the contemporary set, cats like Christian Scott, Jason Moran, Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Marc Cary, Vijay Iyer, and Robert Glasper are reuniting the urge to cunningly improvize with the urge to move the crowd. So of late we’re seeing a revival within the jazz world of electro-acoustic forays that refuse any opposition between software-driven sonic modernity and a good old-fashioned bebop-infested blowing session—both in the studio or on the stage. Ironically enough, as DJing has evolved into a standalone art form, it’s become much akin to ’60s freedom jazz, drawing crowds who don’t feel weird about gathering to hear turntablists experiment in public with their craft.

As frequently happens when the gems of our parents’ eras undergo rediscovery, old rhetorical baggage fades and the glorious innocence of crate-digging for soul gold remains.

The ever-ambitious Flying Lotus—grand-nephew of Alice Coltrane and her husband John, a far-flung composer of dream-dusted cosmic music in his own right—has done much to surgically conjoin the beatmeisters and jazzers of now through his Brainfeeder label. It’s an enterprise which in a relatively short while has normalized the curious drift of instrumental improvisers to the dark side of hiss-and-glitch clouded boom-bap, and vice-versa.

Political upheaval and jazz revivals tend to go hand in hand for African-Americans, and this Black Lives Matter-defined moment is no different in that regard. The jazz-damaged hip-hop artist of now who has made the convergence of ambient sonics, beats, and sexy improv seem inevitable, a seamless fait accompli, has been Kendrick Lamar—especially given how fluidly and fluently he deployed Glasper, Thundercat, and other bi-coastal jazz pros in the composing process that produced To Pimp a Butterfly. Because critics were so quick to label the album a black protest psalm, Butterfly hasn’t yet been fully recognized as the Bitches Brew of our time—an artist’s nuclear meltdown of this era’s dominant musical tropes into a definitive abstract-expressionist statement—one that We The People can feel, call and respond, rally around, freely quote, space out, get our wiggle on to, etc., etc.

Butterfly is a bedazzling combo of beats, rhymes, and live in-the-studio experimentation. Jazz heads have no choice but to flip over “For Free,” a straight-up freedom swing where Kendrick turns rapping into scatting and what author Jack Kerouac called bebop prosody, while string and drum breaks pop like bomb bursts around his head. It’s a ballsy declaration of jazz-funk allegiance from an MC not afraid to play a game of virtuoso chicken with players who routinely eat knotty changes for brunch. There’s as much Isley Brothers and P-Funk influence as Coltrane and Mingus, but in the ’70s it was never unusual to hear funk bands sharing stages and tours with Miles acolytes like Hancock and Corea. A musical rapport and mutual language was shared, one bonded by the warm-blooded tones of the Fender Rhodes piano—the universal solvent of ’70s black music across the rhythmic spectrum. Ya gotta love that Kendrick recognized having Glasper on Butterfly—with his sumptuous touch on the Rhodes—gives more life to the sonic beds his rhymes flowed over. Ditto Terrace Martin’s yearning-burning alto sax on “Alright,” which establishes a stellar emotional plateau for jazz and hip-hop hybrids.

That Lamar is a multidirectional rapper—able to supershift his cadences, character-acting, and melodic caches on a dime—is what unveils him as a jazzer in hip-hop guise. He’s not alone in these mutant abilities: the members of Freestyle Fellowship, The Pharcyde, Snoop Dogg, and Del Tha Funky Homosapien all inject that gene into a loosey-goosey California rap skill set. Lamar’s just the first artist to make it so fearlessly explicit at breakneck tempos when many of his generational peers are still drawling lockstep to gothic trap beats. It’s hard to imagine Drake, Young Thug, or even Chance The Rapper so viciously and fluently going toe-to-toe with a stomp in 9/8 like Kendrick does at the midway point on “Momma.” Fortunately, the race toward the dreamy side of the jazz-ecstatic aesthetic continued on K-Dot’s surprise March release, untitled unmastered—a spooky revisitation of the trans-dimensional realm of loops and live-riffing in modern rap that he and his cohorts have made their privileged wheelhouse.

The most immediate beneficiary of this perfect storm, though, has been Kamasi Washington and his comrades in the West Coast Get Down crew. Washington’s May 2015 release, The Epic, signals how modern acoustic jazz could go down to the breakbeat and improv, harvesting a global flow of heads ready once again to embrace 15-minute tenor saxophone solos with as much ardor and attention as they’ll bestow on their favorite MC’s next 64 bars.

Washington’s rapid ascent to world-stage prominence has been linked to both exceptional good fortune and family ties within jazz, but the striking thing about The Epic is that there’s nothing overtly hip-hop-friendly about it. It’s as pure a sonic throwback to the ’70s freedom-cum-cosmic swing of his dad’s youth as has been heard in acoustic jazz since that era, when Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and McCoy Tyner extended the range of Sun Ra’s intergalactic inventions into forms that found traction among a post-Black Power generation of listeners on historically black college campuses. Also woven in are nods to the smoother funk-jazz of the ear, purveyed by Grover Washington Jr. and The Crusaders. The twain rarely met up and played nice back then due to political divisions in jazz over spiritual purity and pop ambitions. But as frequently happens when the gems of our parents’ eras undergo rediscovery, old rhetorical baggage fades and the glorious innocence of crate-digging for soul gold remains. Even more remarkable, though, is how Washington has made those open-ended modal jazz forms relevant, rabidly followed by the musically intrepid and curious collegiate crowds of now—the Black Power flower children of the Black Lives Matter era. Many of us jazz lifers got lifted seeing more twentysomethings at Washington’s February coming-out gig in New York City than we’d witnessed at a Gotham jazz club since The Marsalis brothers and Steve Coleman’s confederates stormed their youth movement onto the scene in the 1980s.

As always, jazz never went away; it just kept vibrating in its batcave, laying in stealthy wait for a shaken-and-stirred world to get hip and revolutionary-minded again, between wars and between the ears.

#jazz #music #culture #us history

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