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grigori77 · 4 years ago

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2020 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 1)

30. BODY CAM – in the face of the ongoing pandemic, viral outbreak cinema has become worryingly prescient of late, but as COVID led to civil unrest in some quarters there were a couple of 2020 films that REALLY seemed to put their finger on the pulse of another particularly shitty zeitgeist. Admittedly this first one highlights a problem that’s been around for a while now, but it came along at just the right time to gain particularly strong resonance, filtering its message into the most reliable form of allegorical social commentary – horror. The vengeful ghost trope has become pretty familiar since the Millennium, but by marrying it with the corrupt cop thriller veteran horror screenwriter Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact) has given it a nice fresh spin, and the end result is a real winner. Mary J. Blige plays troubled LAPD cop Renee Lomito-Smith, back on the beat after an extended hiatus following a particularly harrowing incident, just as fellow officers from her own precinct begin to die violent deaths under mysterious circumstances, and the only clues are weird, haunting camera footage that only Renee and her new partner, rookie Danny Holledge (Paper Towns and Death Note’s Nat Wolff), manage to see before it inexplicable wipes itself. Something supernatural is stalking the City of Angels at night, and it’s got a serious grudge against local cops as the increasingly disturbing investigation slowly brings an act of horrific police brutality to light, until Renee no longer knows who in her department she can trust. This is one of the most insidious scare-fests I enjoyed this past year, sophomore director Malik Vitthal (Imperial Dreams) weaving an effective atmosphere of pregnant dread and wire-taut suspense while delivering some impressively hair-raising shocks (the stunning minimart sequence is the film’s undeniable highlight), while the ghostly threat is cleverly thought-out and skilfully brought to “life”. Blige delivers another top-drawer performance, giving Renee a winning combination of wounded fragility and steely resolve that makes for a particularly compelling hero, while Wolff invests Danny with skittish uncertainty and vulnerability in one of his strongest performances to date, and Dexter star David Zayas brings interesting moral complexity to the role of their put-upon superior, Sergeant Kesper. In these times of heightened social awareness, when the police’s star has become particularly tarnished as unnecessary force, racial profiling and cover-ups have become major hot-button topics, the power and relevance of this particular slice of horror cinema cannot be denied.

29. BLOOD QUANTUM – 2020 certainly was a great year for horror (even if most of the high profile stuff did get shunted into 2021), and this compellingly fresh take on the zombie outbreak genre was a strong standout with a killer hook. Canadian writer-director Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes for Young Ghouls) has always clung close to his Native American roots, and he brings strong social relevance to the intriguing early 80s Canadian setting as a really nasty zombie virus wreaks havoc in the Red Crow Indian Reservation and its neighbouring town. It soon becomes clear, however, that members of the local tribe are immune to the infection, a revelation with far-reaching consequences as the outbreak rages unchecked and society begins to crumble. Barnaby pulls off some impressive world-building and creates a compellingly grungy post-apocalyptic vibe as the story progresses, while the zombies themselves are a visceral, scuzzy bunch, and there’s plenty of cracking set-pieces and suitably full-blooded kills to keep the gore-hounds happy, while the horror has real intelligence behind it, the script posing interesting questions and delivering some uncomfortable answers. The characters, meanwhile, are a well-drawn, complex bunch, no black-and-white saviours among them, any one of them capable of some pretty inhuman horrors when the chips are down, and the cast, an interesting mix of seasoned talent and unknowns, all excel in their roles – Michael Greyeyes (Fear the Walking Dead) and Forrest Goodluck (The Revenant) are the closest things the film has to real heroes, the former a fallible everyman as Traylor, the small-town sheriff who’s just trying to do right by his family, the latter unsure of himself as his son, put-upon teenage father-to-be Joseph; Olivia Scriven, meanwhile is tough but vulnerable as his pregnant white girlfriend Charlie, Stonehorse Lone Goeman is a grizzled badass as tough-as-nails tribal elder Gisigu, and Kiowa Gordon (probably best known for playing a werewolf in the Twilight movies) really goes to the dark side as Joseph’s delinquent half-brother Lysol, while there’s another memorably subtle turn from Dead Man’s Gary Farmer as unpredictable loner Moon. This was definitely one of the year’s darkest films – largely playing the horror straight, it tightens the screws as the situation grows steadily worse, and almost makes a virtue of wallowing in its hopeless tone – but there’s a fatalistic charm to all the bleakness, even in the downbeat yet tentatively hopeful climax, while it’s hard to deny the ruthless efficiency of the violence on display. This definitely isn’t a horror movie for everyone, but those with a strong stomach and relatively hard heart will find much to enjoy here. Jeff Barnaby is definitely gonna be one to watch in the future …

28. THE MIDNIGHT SKY – Netflix’ big release for the festive season is a surprisingly understated and leisurely affair, a science fiction drama of big ideas which nonetheless doesn’t feel the need to shout about it. The latest feature in the decidedly eclectic directorial career of actor George Clooney, this adaptation of Good Morning, Midnight, the debut novel of up-and-coming author Lily Brooks-Dalton, favours characterisation and emotion over big thrills and flashy sequences, but it’s certainly not lacking in spectacle, delivering a pleasingly ergonomically-designed view of the near future of space exploration that shares some DNA with The Martian but makes things far more sleek and user-friendly in the process. Aether, a NASA mission to explore K-23, a newly-discovered, potentially habitable moon of Jupiter, is on its return journey, but is experiencing baffling total communications blackouts from Earth. This is because a catastrophic global event has rendered life on the planet’s surface all but impossible, killing most of the population and driving the few survivors underground. K-23’s discoverer, professor Augustine Lofthouse (Clooney), is now alone at a small research post in the extreme cold of the Arctic, one of the only zones left that have not yet been fully effected by the cataclysm, refusing to leave his post after having discovered he’s dying from a serious illness, but before he goes he’s determined to contact the crew of Aether so he can warn them of the conditions down on Earth. Despite the ticking clock of the plot, Clooney has reigned the pace right in, allowing the story to unspool slowly as we’re introduced to the players who calmly unpack their troubles and work over the various individual crises with calm professionalism – that said, there are a few notable moments of sudden, fretful urgency, and these are executed with a palpable sense of chaotic tension that create interesting and exciting punctuation to the film’s usually stately momentum, reminding us that things could go suddenly, catastrophically wrong for these people at any moment. Clooney delivers a gloriously understated performance that perfectly grounds the film, while there are equally strong, frequently DAMN POWERFUL turns from a uniformly excellent cast, notably Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo as pregnant astronaut Dr. “Sully” Sullivan and her partner, mission Commander Adewole, and a surprisingly subtle, nuanced performance from newcomer Caoilinn Springall as Iris, a young girl mistakenly left behind at the outpost during the hasty evacuation, with whom Lofthouse develops a deeply affecting bond. The film has been criticised for its slowness, but I think in this age of BIGGER, LOUDER, MORE this is a refreshingly low-key escape from all the noise, and there’s a beautiful trade-off in the script’s palpable intelligence, strong character work and world-building (then again, the adaptation was by Mark L. Smith, who co-wrote The Revenant), while this is a visually stunning film, Clooney and cinematographer Martin Ruhe (Control, The Keeping Room) weaving an evocative visual tapestry that rewards the soul as much as the eye. Unapologetically smart, engrossingly played and overflowing with raw, emotional power, this is science fiction cinema at its most cerebral, and another top mark for a somewhat overlooked filmmaking talent which deserves to be considered alongside career highs such as Good Night & Good Luck and The Ides of March.

27. PALM SPRINGS – the summer’s comedy highlight kind of snuck in under the radar, becoming something of an on-demand secret weapon with all the cinemas closed, and it definitely deserves its swiftly growing cult status. You certainly can’t believe it’s the feature debut of director Max Barbakow, who shows the kind of sharp-witted, steady-handed control of his craft that’s usually the province of far more experienced talents … then again, much of the credit must surely go to seasoned TV comedy writer Andy Siara (Lodge 49), for whom this has been a real labour of love he’s been tending since his film student days. Certainly all that care, nurture and attention to detail is up there on the screen, the exceptional script singing its irresistible siren song from the start and providing fertile ground for its promising new director to spread his own creative wings. The premise may be instantly familiar – playing like a latter-day Saturday Night Live take on Groundhog Day (Siara admits it was a major influence), it follows the misadventures of Sarah (How I Met Your Mother’s Cristin Miliota), the black sheep maid of honour at her sweet little sister Tala’s (Riverdale’s Camila Mendes) wedding to seemingly perfect hunk Abe (the Arrowverse’s Superman, Tyler Hoechlin), as she finds herself repeating the same high-stress day over and over again after becoming trapped in a mysterious cosmic time-loop along with slacker misanthrope Nyles (Brooklyn Nine Nine megastar Andy Samberg), who’s been stuck in this same situation for MUCH longer – but in Barbakow and Siara’s hands it feels fresh and intriguing, and goes in some surprising new directions before the well-worn central premise can outstay its welcome. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the cast are all excellent – Miliota is certainly the pounding emotional heart of the film, effortlessly lovable as she flounders against her lot, then learns to accept the unique possibilities it presents, before finally resolving to find a way out, while Samberg has rarely been THIS GOOD, truly endearing in his sardonic apathy as it becomes clear he’s been here for CENTURIES, and they make an enjoyably fiery couple with snipey chemistry to burn; meanwhile there’s top-notch support from Mendes and Hoechlin, The OC’s Peter Gallagher as Sarah and Tala’s straight-laced father, the ever-reliable Dale Dickey, a thoroughly adorable turn from Jena Freidman and, most notably, a full-blooded scene-stealing performance from the mighty J.K. Simmonds as Roy, Nyles’ nemesis, who he inadvertently trapped in the loop before Sarah and is, understandably, none too happy about it. This really is an absolute laugh-riot, today’s more post-modern sense of humour allowing the central pair (and their occasional enemy) to indulge in far more extreme consequence-free craziness than Bill Murray ever got away with back in the day, but like all the best comedies there’s also a strong emotional foundation under the humour, leading us to really care about these people and what happens to them, while the story throws moments of true heartfelt power at us, particularly in the deeply cathartic climax. Ultimately this was one of the year’s biggest surprises, a solid gold gem that I can’t recommend enough.

26. THE LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME – Body Cam’s fellow heavyweight Zeitgeist fondler is a deeply satirical chunk of speculative dystopian sci-fi clearly intended as a cinematic indictment of Trump’s broken America, but it became far more potent and prescient in these … ahem … troubled times. Adapted by screenwriter Karl Gadjusek (Oblivion, Stranger Things, The King’s Man) from the graphic novel by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini for underrated schlock-action cinema director Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3, Colombiana, the last two Taken films), this Netflix original feature seemed like a fun way to kill a cinema-deprived Saturday night in the middle of the First Lockdown, but ultimately proved to have a lot more substance than expected. It’s powered by an intriguing premise – in a nearly lawless 2024, the US government is one week away from implementing a nationwide synaptic blocker signal called the API (American Peace Initiative) which will prevent the public from being able to commit any kind of crime – and focuses on a strikingly colourful bunch of outlaw antiheroes with an audacious agenda – prodigious Detroit bank robber Bricke (Édgar Ramiréz) is enlisted by Kevin Cash (Funny Games and Hannibal’s Michael Carmen Pitt), a wayward scion of local crime family the Dumois, and his hacker fiancée Shelby Dupree (Material Girl’s Anna Brewster) to pull off what’s destined to be the last great crime in American history, a daring raid on the first night of the signal to steal over a billion dollars from the Motor City’s “money factory” and then escape across the border into Canada. From this deceptively simple premise a sprawling action epic was born, carried along by a razor sharp, twisty script and Megaton’s typically hyperbolic, showy auteur directing style and significant skill at crafting thrillingly explosive set-pieces, while the cast consistently deliver quality performances. Ever since Domino, Ramiréz has long been one of those actors I really love to watch, a gruff, quietly intense alpha male whose subtle understatement hides deep reserves of emotional intensity, while Dupree takes a character who could have been a thinly-drawn femme fetale and invests her with strong personal drive and steely resolve, and there’s strong support from Neil Blomkampf regulars Sharlto Copley and Brandon Auret as, respectively, emasculated beat cop Sawyer and brutal Mob enforcer Lonnie French, as well as a nearly unrecognisable Patrick Bergin as local kingpin (and Kevin’s father) Rossi Dumois; the film is roundly stolen, however, by Pitt, a phenomenal actor I’ve always thought we just don’t see enough of, here portraying a spectacularly sleazy, unpredictable force of nature who clearly has his own dark agenda, but whom we ultimately can’t help rooting for even as he stabs us in the back. This is a cracking film, a dark and dangerous thriller of rare style and compulsive verve that I happily consider to be Megaton’s best film to date BY FAR – needless to say it was a major hit for Netflix when it dropped, clearly resonating with its audience given what’s STILL going on in the real world, and while it may have been roundly panned in reviews I think, like some of the platform’s other glossier Original hits (Bright springs to mind), it’s destined for a major critical reappraisal and inevitable cult status before too long …

25. BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC – one of the year’s biggest surprise hits for me was also one I was really nervous about – the original Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and its just-as-good sequel Bogus Journey have been personal favourites for years, pretty much part of my geeky developmental DNA during my youth, two gleefully dorky indulgences that have, against the odds, aged like fine wine for me over the years. I love Bill and Ted SO MUCH, so like many of the fans I’ve always wanted a third film, but I knew full well how easy it would have been for it to turn out to be a turd (second sequels can be tricky things, and we’ve seen SO MANY fail over the years). God bless Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves for never giving up on the possibilities, then, and for the original screenwriters, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, for writing something that does true justice and pays proper respect to what came before while fully realising how much times have changed in the TWENTY-NINE YEARS that have passed since Wyld Stallyns last graced our screens. Certainly times have moved on for our irrepressible pair – in spite of their convictions, driven by news from the distant future that their music would unite the world and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity, Bill and Ted have spectacularly failed to achieve what was expected of them, and they’ve grown despondent even though they’re still happily married to the Princesses and now the fathers of two wonderful girls, Billie and Thea (Atypical’s Brigette Lundy-Paine and Ready Or Not’s Samara weaving). Then an emissary from the future arrives to inform them that if they don’t write the song that unites the world TODAY, the whole of reality will cease to exist. No pressure, then … it may have been almost three decades, but our boys are BACK in a riotous comedy adventure that delivers on all the promises the franchise ever made before. Winter and particularly Reeves may have both gone onto other things since, but they step back into their roles with such ease it’s like Bill and Ted have never been away, perfectly realising not only their characters today but also various future incarnations as they resolve to go forward in time to take the song from themselves AFTER they’ve already written it (a most triumphant and fool-proof plan, surely); Lundy-Paine and Weaving, meanwhile, are both absolutely FANTASTIC throughout, creating a pair of wonderfully oddball, eccentric and thoroughly adorable characters who would be PERFECT to carry the franchise forward in the future, while it’s an absolute joy to see William Sadler return as Bogus Journey’s fantastically neurotic incarnation of Death himself, and there are quality supporting turns from Flight of the Conchords’ Kristen Schaal, Anthony Carrigan, Holland Taylor and of course Hal Landon Jr., once again returning as Ted’s grouchy cop father Captain Logan. The plot is thoroughly bonkers and of course makes no logical sense, but then they’re never meant to in these movies – the whole point is just to have fun and GO WITH IT, and it’s unbelievably easy when the comedy hit rate is THIS HIGH – turns out third time really is the charm for Matheson and Solomon, who genuinely managed a hat trick with the whole trilogy, while there was no better choice of director to usher this into existence than Dean Parisot, the man who brought us Galaxy Quest. This is the perfect climax to a trilogy we’ve been waiting YEARS to see finally completed, but it’s also shown a perfect way to forge ahead in new and interesting ways with the next generation – altogether, then, this is another most excellent adventure …

24. TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG – Justin Kurzel has been on my directors-to-watch list for a while now, each of his offerings impressing me more than the last (his home-grown Aussie debut, Snowtown, was a low key wallow in Outback nastiness, while his follow up, Macbeth, quickly became one of my favourite Shakespeare flicks, and I seem to be one of the frustrated few who actually genuinely loved his adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, considering it to be one the very best video game movies out there), and his latest is no exception – returning to his native Australia, he’s brought his trademark punky grit and fever-dream edginess to bear in his quest to bring his country’s most famous outlaw to the big screen in a biopic truly worthy of his name. Two actors bring infamous 19th Century bushranger Ned Kelly to life here, and they’re both exceptional – the first half of the film sees newcomer Orlando Schwerdt explode onto the screen as the child Ned, all righteous indignation and fiery stubbornness as he rails against the positions his family’s poverty continually put him in, then George MacKay (Sunshine On Leith, Captain Fantastic) delivers the best performance of his career in the second half, a barely restrained beast as Ned grown, his mercurial turn bringing the man’s inherent unpredictability to the fore. The Babadook’s Essie Davis, meanwhile, frequently steals the film from both of them as Ellen, the fearsome matriarch of the Kelly clan, and Nicholas Hoult is similarly impressive as Constable Fitzpatrick, Ned’s slimily duplicitous friend/nemesis, while there are quality supporting turns from Charlie Hunnam and Russell Crowe as two of the most important men of Ned’s formative years. In Kurzel’s hands, this account of Australia’s greatest true-life crime saga becomes one of the ultimate marmite movies – its glacial pace, grubby intensity and frequent brutality will turn some viewers off, but fans of more “alternative” cinema will find much to enjoy here. There’s a blasted beauty to its imagery (this is BY FAR the bleakest the Outback’s ever looked on film), while the screenplay from relative unknown Shaun Grant (adapting Peter Carey’s bestselling novel) is STRONG, delivering rich character development and sublime dialogue, and Kurzel delivers some brilliantly offbeat and inventive action beats in the latter half that are well worth the wait. Evocative, intense and undeniable, this has just the kind of irreverent punk aesthetic that I’m sure the real life Ned Kelly would have approved of …

23. MUST MERCY – more true-life cinema, this time presenting an altogether classier account of two idealists’ struggle to overturn horrific racial injustices in Alabama. Writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12, The Glass Castle) brings heart, passion and honest nobility to the story of fresh-faced young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and his personal crusade to free Walter “Johnny D” McMillan (Jamie Foxx), an African-American man wrongfully sentenced to death for the murder of a white woman. His only ally is altruistic young paralegal Eva Ansley (Cretton’s regular screen muse Brie Larson), while the opposition arrayed against them is MAMMOTH – not only do they face the cruelly racist might of the Alabama legal system circa 1989, but a corrupt local police force determined to circumvent his efforts at every turn and a thoroughly disinterested prosecutor, Tommy Chapman (Rafe Spall), who’s far too concerned with his own personal political ambitions to be any help. The cast are uniformly excellent, Jordan and Foxx particularly impressing with career best performances that sear themselves deep into the memory, while there’s a truly harrowing supporting turn from Rob Morgan as Johnny D’s fellow Death Row inmate Herbert, whose own execution date is fast approaching. This is courtroom drama at its most gripping, Cretton keeping the inherent tension cranked up tight while tugging hard on our heartstrings for maximum effect, and the result is a timely, racially-charged throat-lumper of considerable power and emotional heft that guarantees there won’t be a single dry eye in the house by the time the credits roll. Further proof, then, that Destin Daniel Cretton is one of those rare talents of his generation – next up is his tour of duty in the MCU with Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings, and while this seems like a strange leftfield turn given his previous track record, I nevertheless have the utmost confidence in him after seeing this …

22. UNDERWATER – at first glance, this probably seems like a strange choice for the year’s Top 30 – a much-maligned, commercially underperforming glorified B-movie creature-feature headlined by the former star of the Twilight franchise, there’s no way that could POSSIBLY be any good, surely? Well hold your horses, folks, because not only is this very much worth your time and a comprehensive suspension of your low expectations, but I can’t even consider this a guilty pleasure – as far as I’m concerned this is a GENUINELY GREAT FILM, without reservation. The man behind the camera is William Eubank, a director whose career I’ve been following with great interest since his feature debut Love (a decidedly odd but strangely beautiful little space movie) and its more high profile but still unapologetically INDIE follow-up The Signal, and this is the one where he finally delivers wholeheartedly on all that wonderful sci-fi potential. The plot is deceptively simple – an industrial conglomerate has established an instillation drilling right down to the very bottom of the Marianas Trench, the deepest point in our Earth’s oceans, only for an unknown disaster to leave six survivors from the operation’s permanent crew stranded miles below the surface with very few escape options left – but Eubank and writers Brian Duffield (Spontaneous, Love & Monsters, Jane Got a Gun, Insurgent) and Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) wring all the possible suspense and fraught, claustrophobic terror out of the premise to deliver a piano wire-tense horror thriller that grips from its sudden start to a wonderfully cathartic climax. The small but potent cast are all on top form, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick (Netflix’ Iron Fist) and John Gallagher Jr. (Hush, 10 Cloverfield Lane) particularly impressing, and even the decidedly hit-and-miss T.J. Miller delivers a surprisingly likeable turn here, but it’s that Twilight alumnus who REALLY sticks in your memory here – Kristen Stewart’s been doing a pretty good job lately distancing herself from the role that, unfortunately, both made her name and turned her into an object of (very unfair) derision for many years, but in my opinion THIS is the performance that REALLY separates her from Bella effing-Swan. Mechanical engineer Norah Price is tough, ingenious and fiercely determined, but with the right amount of vulnerability that we really root for her, and Stewart acts her little heart out in a turn sure to win over her strongest detractors. The creature effects are impressive too, the ultimate threat proving some of the nastiest, most repulsively icky creations I’ve seen committed to film, and the inspired design work and strong visual effects easily belie the film’s B-movie leanings. Those made uneasy by deep, dark open water or tight, enclosed spaces should take heed that this can be a tough watch, but anyone who likes being scared should find plenty to enjoy here. Altogether a MUCH better film than its mediocre Rotten Tomatoes rating makes it out to be …

21. PENINSULA – back in 2016, Korean director Yeon Sang-ho and writer Park Joo-suk took the tired old zombie outbreak trope and created something surprisingly fresh with their darkly satirical action horror Train to Busan. The film was, deservedly, a massive international smash hit and a major shot in the arm for the sub-genre on the big screen, so a sequel was inevitable, but when the time came for them to follow it up they did the smart thing and went in a very different direction. Jettisoning much of the humour to create something much darker and more intense, they also ramped the action quotient right up to eleven, creating a nightmarish post-apocalyptic version of Korea which has been quarantined from the rest of the world for the last four years, where the few uninfected survivors eke out a dangerous day-to-day existence amidst the burgeoning undead hordes, and the value of human life has plummeted dramatically. Into this hell-on-earth must venture a small band of Korean refugees, sent by a Hong Kong crime boss to retrieve a multi-million dollar payday in stolen loot that got left behind in the evacuation, led by former ROK Marine Corps Captain Jung-seok (Secret Reunion’s Gang Don-won), a man with a tragic past he has to make up for. Needless to say, nothing goes according to plan … Train to Busan was an unexpected masterpiece of the genre, but I was even more bowled over by this, particularly since I got to see this on the big screen on Halloween night itself, just before the UK cinemas closed down again for the Second Lockdown. This certainly is a film that NEEDS to be seen first on the big screen – the fully-realised hellscape of undead-overrun Seoul is spectacularly immersive, the perfect cinematic playground for the film’s most impressive set-pieces, two astounding, protracted high-speed chases with searchlight-and-flair-lit all-terrain vehicles racing through the dark streets pursued by tidal waves of feral zombies. Sure, the plot is predictable and the tone gets a little overblown and maudlin at times, while some of the characters are drawn in decidedly broad strokes, but the breathless pace rarely lets up throughout, and there are moments of genuine fiendish genius on offer here, particularly in a truly disturbing centrepiece sequence in which desperate human captives are set against slavering undead in a makeshift amphitheatre for sport, as well as a particularly ingenious use for radio-controlled cars. And the cast are brilliant, with Don-won providing a suitably robust but also pleasingly fallible, wounded hero, while Hope’s Lee Re and newcomer Lee Ye-won are irrepressibly feisty and thoroughly adorable as the young girls who rescue him from certain death among the ruins. Altogether, this is horror cinema writ large, played more for thrills than scares but knuckle-whitening and brutally effective nonetheless, and in a year where outbreak horror became all too real for us anyway it was nice to be able to enjoy something a little more escapist anyway – given the strength of its competition in 2020, this top-notch sequel to a true genre gem did very well indeed to place this high. I’ll admit, I wouldn’t say no to thirds …

#body cam #body cam movie #blood quantum #the midnight sky #Palm Springs #palm springs movie #the last days of american crime #bill and ted face the music #true history of the kelly gang #just mercy #underwater #underwater movie #underwater 2020 #peninsula #train to busan presents: peninsula #2020 in movies

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eggytranslations · 4 years ago

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Volume 1, Chapter 11-Fate

Content warnings: n/a, maybe prequel to some nsfw?

The night was deathly still; even the candlelight barely flickered.

In this meager space, Shen Qingxuan’s voice was soft, yet it shrouded every corner, his expression serious, even solemn.

With such an expression he had asked, “Shall our separate paths converge into one?”

Yi Mo was somewhat surprised.

How could he not be surprised?

He was originally just a snake, and only because of his cold and unfeeling personality, was he chosen and enlightened by someone who had already ascended to the heavens as an immortal.

He had cultivated for thousands of years, and after one more heavenly trial, he, too, could shed his mortal body and be born anew. Joining the immortal ranks was just a matter of another two or three hundred years. But now there was this mortal, Shen Qingxuan, saying clearly and resolutely: Shall our separate paths converge into one?

Where could that possibly be, Heaven or Earth?

He could tell that Shen Qingxuan did not have the constitution needed for cultivation, which had something to do with his fate. Because of this fate, Shen Qingxuan was destined for prosperity and abundance beyond compare, yet he could only drift about in the mortal realm, endlessly reincarnating. Although he was in dire straits at this moment, it was just a fleeting period of misfortune.

From the first time they met, Yi Mo understood that this was his and Shen Qingxuan’s fate.

They were destined to meet, otherwise why would he, who had always hid himself in the mountains, enter the Shen family’s courtyard on a whim, go so far as to coil himself around the railing in his true snake form to bask in the sun, and let Shen Qingxuan drench him with a cup of hot tea?

Helping him was just a matter of yielding to fate.

As the mortals would say, he was Shen Qingxuan's , fated helper, and assisting him through adversity would allow him to obtain merits as well.

This was inherently a good thing for both parties, and after Shen Qingxuan overcame this calamity, he would naturally follow the currents of fate. In the future when he became some high official, he would no longer have anything to do with him. Yi Mo could care less about the wealth and status of the mortal realm, but Shen Qingxuan’s fate was predestined. With a body weighed down by oppressive, mortal bones, he would never be able to transcend this world.

Moreover, a mortal's life lasted less than a hundred years, and to him a hundred years was just a drop in the ocean. In the future, when Shen Qingxuan died of old age, and his bones returned to dust, he would still look like this, wandering throughout the world. How could their paths converge into one?

Mortals, they were always so greedy. They wanted to live long and healthy, enjoy fame and fortune, and even dared to meet with a yao at the end of the road.

Yi Mo slowly walked over until he stood with his head bowed over Shen Qingxuan, and after intensely scrutinizing him for a long while, he remarked, "I really underestimated you.”

Shen Qingxuan knew that his words were rash, even offensive, but even he did not know why Yi Mo would say something so out of the blue. At this moment, Yi Mo’s expression was as indifferent as usual. Unable to find any clues from his face, Shen Qingxuan decided to take this sentence as a compliment.

He did not expect Yi Mo to drily continue after a pause, “Although you are so thin and weak that even the wind can blow you away, your lust is awfully strong.”

Shen Qingxuan, who did not hear clearly at first, stared at him blankly with his face still turned up. When it dawned on him, a brilliant cloud abruptly blazed across his face. Suddenly unable to speak coherently, he berated hoarsely, "W-what nonsense are you talking about!”

Yi Mo, still standing with his hands clasped behind his back without a single ripple on his face, merely uttered each word slowly, "I saved your life, and promised to restore you to full health, so it is only natural that you want to repay me with your body. But I have not shown any indecent desire, and yet you are already this eager. You have truly surprised me.”

His words were spoken clearly and distinctly, yet they churned Shen Qingxuan’s mind into a muddied bog. He knew perfectly well something was not right, yet his tongue twisted into a knot, rendering him unable to utter a sound.

As he watched Shen Qingxuan’s control rupture into a blush across his face, Yi Mo raised his hand after deliberating for a moment, fingers delicately curled, and touched that shamefully hot face with his fingertips. It seemed as if he were inspecting something and toying with it at the same time. His actions were impetuous, yet Shen Qingxuan was in a complete daze. He did not even think to dodge, and allowed those ice-cold fingers to touch his burning cheeks.

They were so cold. Cold and icy, like lifeless porcelain. Yet soft and nimble, a living being devoid of warmth.

A snake yao—not even a human. Shen Qingxuan truly could not make sense of his deep infatuation. He could not help but gaze at his face through half-lidded eyes, taking in those picturesque and indescribably beautiful features. Then his heart began to flutter in his chest, beating so quickly that it did not make sense. But since when did this world ever make sense?

While in a world of his own, Yi Mo continued to graze his cheeks with his fingertips, taking in their warmth, the delicate skin suffused with a radiant blush. With such thin skin, how could he be this shameless? He opened his palm, turned his wrist, and let his ice-cold palm thoroughly cover that heat source. Extremely warm. A foreign yet familiar warmth flowed through his palm, and he could even feel the faint pulsing of tiny vessels beneath the delicate skin. A moment later, his palm slowly traced Shen Qingxuan’s face, moving from his forehead to his cheekbones, then to his cheeks, before finally resting on his sharp jaw. After enduring those ice-cold caresses for a short while, Shen Qingxuan's face not only did not cool down, but instead grew even hotter until it was scalding to the touch.

Yi Mo was a yao who had lived for over two thousand years; what strange stories had he not heard? Yet he did not understand how this half-crippled mortal of merely twenty or so years could have such ambitions. Nevermind that they were both men, he dared to entertain such delusions between a human and a yao.

Aiya—this truly made him open his eyes.

Absorbed in his own world, Yi Mo caressed him for a while before leisurely retracting his hand and remarking, "Thinner, but still smooth.”

Shen Qingxuan finally reacted with a low "Ah" and instinctively shrank back, coming to his senses and scolding at once, "You think this is a business transaction that you need to inspect before buying?”

Yi Mo raised his eyes and looked straight at him. "So you want to repay me with your body, yet not allow me to appraise the quality?”

Although Shen Qingxuan was still blushing, he had regained his wits for the most part. Seeing Yi Mo speak so directly and shamelessly, with just the two of them alone in this room and almost no distance in between them, Shen Qingxuan decided that he might as well lay down his shame. He murmured, “According to your words, I am only repaying your kindness. But have you ever seen a man offer up his body in the name of gratitude? There are no such records in all those books.”

However as he spoke, Yi Mo stretched out his hand again and untied his belt.

As soon as his belt loosened, Shen Qingxuan pursed his lips and swallowed back what he had wanted to say. All at once his heart realized—It was not that Yi Mo had misunderstood.

He had not misunderstood. Rather, Yi Mo had understood him so well, that he deliberately credited his feelings as mere gratitude. In this way of borrowing and returning, coming and going, repaying a debt was much easier to resolve, without too much entanglement.

––Yi Mo did not want to be entangled with him at all.

Once Shen Qingxuan understood this point, his heart felt like it had been drenched with ice water, the chill permeating his core. Even he could not describe his emotions. But he was somewhat calculating after all, and he recovered without betraying his feelings. He could not compete with that shrewd and experienced old yao. Whatever he says, goes, and Shen Qingxuan could do nothing about it. So he remained motionless, allowing Yi Mo to undress him.

The atmosphere in the room abruptly returned to silence, only the faint rustling of clothes audible.

Shen Qingxuan looked down to see the collar of his robes wide-open, exposing his snow-white inner robe. He watched as those slender yet forceful fingers worked nimbly, loosening the ties on the side of his waist, before untying the next one. When those frigid fingers touched his skin, Shen Qingxuan would shiver, goosebumps rising from his skin.

Sensing his reaction, Yi Mo halted, and after a moment of silence, asked, “Are you still willing to give yourself to me like this?”

Shen Qingxuan was also quiet for a moment, before giving a low chuckle and removing his own crown from his hair. A head of long hair flowed down, the silky strands covering half of his face.

"Since I am repaying your kindness, I should show some sincerity.” The corner of Shen Qingxuan’s lips quirked as he put his hair crown aside and turned back with an easy smile on his face. "Not to mention, you are a snake and cannot freeze me to death. Even if you were a glacier, I would still be willing.”

Hearing his attempt at courage, Yi Mo simply pressed his ice-cold palm firmly against Shen Qingxuan, deliberately making him shudder.

"Then show me your sincerity.”

~~~~~

This chapter is translated by Renee (wooo her first!)

Edited by Eggy and Tao

Happy 520 (an informal valentines day because it sounds like “I love you” in Chinese) so posting one day earlier :~)

Next chapter in two weeks

#a snake encounter #yu she #su hen #danmei #tl #eggytranslations #renee

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airis-paris14 · 4 years ago

Text

Redemption 15

Summary:One person, a secret, and and ocean tore them apart. Six years later, they find their way back together. But a rekindled love is not Redemption.

A/N: Let me know how y’all feel about this cause, chile..... I hope y’all enjoyed the fluff while it lasted.

Masterlist

[5 Weeks Ago] Birnin Zana, The Royal City, Wakanda

The palace was silent as the royal family sorted through the work in the office. “I am going to get some lunch. Did either of you want anything?” Shuri stood filing away the papers she had sorted through. “No,” Ramonda glanced up sadly at her youngest child, “Thank you though.”

“Brother,” the teen pulled the newly coronated king out of his thoughts. “No, I am fine. I want to get through this safe before I take a break for the day.” The king stood from his father’s chair and walked over to the desk, looking for the holographic keypad. “Very well. I am gonna head down to my lab after I eat, if I am excused, mama?”

Ramonda nodded silently and the teen kissed the crown of her head before leaving. The Queen watched her son fiddle with the safe before speaking,” Try your ring,” She stood and glided over to where he stood. “One time, Your father asked me to grab something from the safe, and that is when I realized the keypad and lock did not work. Place your ring under the lock projector.” With an eyebrow raised, T’challa let the light flow over his ring before the door clicked open. His mother smiled as the king pulled the small safe open. “You are welcome,” the Queen Mother laughed. T’Challa chuckled and grabbed the surprisingly small stack of papers out of the metal box. A small stack of letters caught his attention. “Will you take your father’s office? Or remodel your own?” The Queen asked, looking up when she did not receive an answer. “T’Challa?”

“I am sorry. What did you ask Mama?” The king continued to shuffle through the envelopes, his frown deepening with each subsequent pass. “What on earth are you reading?” The Queen frowned and reached for an envelope. “These letters, I know this address. I saw a deed for it the last time I sorted through these papers with baba.”

“Well, what did he say about them? I am sure it is just a war dog-” The queen is cut off as T’Challa shot out of his seat. He slipped his shoes on and ran out of the room. “For Bast’s sake,” Ramonda sighed and grabbed the letters her son dropped. A picture of a small boy and a pair of graduation tickets fall out of the envelope. In the photo, the child was smiling, holding a backpack and grinning, his smile just like T’Challa’s. The longer she stared, the more obvious the connection became. The mother flipped over the picture and read Aiden’s First Day of School. Her heart sank as she opened the letter and saw the signature at the bottom, “Zari. Oh, my love, what have you done T’Chaka?” Tears formed in Ramonda’s eyes as she began to look around for more clues as to what had transpired all the while her mind kept repeating. My son has a son.

The roaring of a jet caught her attention as it shot past the palace window. She sighed realizing her son left to walk into a situation he hardly understood. Ramonda plopped back into her husband’s desk chair. “I thought we promised not to hide anything from each other?” Her hands ran over the desk before she found the compartment latch she was looking for. The wooden top popped off and she reached in. Sorting through the papers, she found the deed to the townhouse and started to connect the dates. The more she searched her husband’s files the picture became even more clear. “But what is a marriage without secrets,” the woman sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

[Present Day] New York City, New York, United States of America

“What are you doing?”

Zari looks up to find Melanie frowning from the doorway. “I’m just,” she stutters as her partner walks in, “Supposed to be on a flight back home with your son and boyfriend,” Melanie drops her bags and raises an eyebrow. Zari’s gaze flits between the door, her phone, the costumes, and Melanie. “Does T’Challa know you are here?”

Tears form in the young mother’s eyes before she can stop them. A sob forces its way out of her throat and soon Melanie’s arms engulf her in a hug. “Okay okay,” the brown-skinned seamstress soothes her best friend. “Tell mama all about it child,” Melanie sings. A laugh mixes with a sob as Zari tries to catch her breath. A few minutes later her breathing evened out and the two women were rocking together slowly. “You ready to tell me what that was all about?”

Zari sighs and looks up at her best friend, “I’m terrified to go home.”

“Well, I got that,” Melanie laughs and Zari does too. “Have you told T’Challa how you feel?”

“We talked about it last weekend, but I thought that I could come here and calm my nerves before flying out.”

“This can’t be your only safe haven love. If T’Challa knows you are nervous, I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help ground you.”

Zari sighs, “I know. But he and Aiden. They’re so excited. Aiden has been learning Xhosa and how to greet his grandmother and aunt and-“ the young mother teared up, “I just feel like I’m ruining everything. I can’t seem to get excited about going home. I’m terrified.”

“I know, but you have to be kinder to yourself. You are a survivor Zari. Wakanda comes with a lot of baggage for you. It’s ground zero for some of the worst moments of your life.

In spite of that, you agreed to go to make your son happy. You’re putting his needs before yours and that’s what a true mother does.” Melanie reassured. “Uh Zar,” Renee popped her head in the room, “your boyfriend is outside waiting. Aiden is asleep so he can’t come in.”

The seamstress nodded and dropped her head into her hands. “Thank you, tell him I’ll be out in a second.”

The actress glanced at Melanie who nodded, letting her know she could handle this. Melanie watched Renee leave her attention moving to her partner’s groan. “I’m so stupid. I’ve ruined the whole day and we haven’t even left yet. Maybe I should just let them go and have fun together,” she reasoned. “Nah. You’re getting on that plane if I have to carry you myself. Your kindergartener is going to a whole new continent for the first time with a father he just met. You cannot leave him alone in this. He needs you.”

Melanie packed away the tools Zari had pulled out. She grabbed her best friend's bag and held it out. “Chop chop, lets go.” The mother stood and grabbed the bag. “I’m making the right decision right?”

“I honestly don’t know, but if it’s not the right one, it’s a damn good one.” Melanie pushed her through the backstage corridors and out onto the front stairs of the theatre. T’Challa stood at the bottom of the stairs, a sleeping Aiden on his shoulders. His body visibly relaxed once he realized Zari was safe. The seamstress pulled her best friend in for a final hug, guilt settling in her stomach when she realized how worried T’Challa must’ve been. For the first time he’d had to get Aiden together alone and figure out where his girlfriend had disappeared too. When she popped down the final step, T’Challa pulled her into a hug. “Please don’t do that. I thought I’d lost you again, and my heart cannot take that.” Zari nodded into the embrace,” I’m so sorry,” she sniffed. “I put your bags in the car if you’re okay with leaving from here, we can talk on the plane.” The father explained.

The younger couple looked up as clapping rained down, “KISS kiss,” someone chanted and soon the whole crowd joined in. All the actors, dancers, and crew stood on the theatre steps laughing. Most still in their coats suggesting they never made it into the building. T’Challa pecked Zari’s lips and the whooping intensified. “Don't you people have jobs?,” Zari yelled and some people chuckled. “Okay back to work, you’re all officially late,” Lin called, corralling the now moaning group into the theatre. “Be safe,” he called over his shoulder. Melanie threw in one final wave before she too headed inside.

“I’m sorry again, I didn’t mean to worry you,” Zari repeated and the king nodded. “I know, but with our history, you disappearing when you need space without telling me, it’s not going to work. My heart will stop every time guaranteed.” T’Challa strapped Aiden into his seat before opening the door for Zari to get in. He followed suit and the driver pulled away from the curb. “I was not thinking,” Zari started explaining, “I just needed to get out of the house.”

“Is going home still bothering you? We can postpone the trip, head to a different location instead?”

“No you and Aiden have been so excited about this trip. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I don’t wanna ruin the trip with my irrational fears.”

“They aren’t irrational Zari. They are not random, and they are not unfounded. You were taken from your home in the middle of the night, sent to a new continent and country, then gave birth to your son alone at 18. Who would not be nervous to go back home?”

“How are you so calm about this? I feel like I’m close to coming undone every moment I spend thinking about it.”

The king sighed, “I am afraid too, but I choose to focus on Aiden. He’s gonna meet my mother, see where I grow up, and see a place where he will spend time growing up. Is there not one thing you ever wished you could’ve done with him?”

“When I was young, mama used to take me to the cliffs and lull me to sleep singing lullabies into the air beyond the edge and it would echo back up. I always said I’d do the same for my children,” a smile etched its way into Zari’s features. The king grinned, “So grab onto that image and hold it. When you feel like running away on this trip, hold onto that goal as your safe place. Imagine yourself at the falls singing our son to sleep.”

“And breathe,” Zari grabbed the King’s hand, “yes-“ he grinned, “don’t forget to breathe.”

****

“What is your happy place?” Zari asked as the jet cruised over the Atlantic Ocean.

“Huh,” the king turned to face the mother of his son. “The falls are the memory that keeps me from running, what keeps you here? Safe from the panic attacks we are prone to?”

“You are going to laugh,” the king chuckled. “I’ll do my best not to,” Zari promised leaning into his shoulder. “Do you remember the winter formal senior year?”

Zari nodded, “My mom was so worried when we decided to wear white. She was convinced people would think we looked like one of those American wedding movies. Like we were making a statement,” Zari chuckled. The king nodded and pulled her closer on the long seat, “I know we weren’t making a statement at first. But by the end of that night I was. I knew what I wanted, and when you went missing, that picture became my safe place. When I thought I’d never see you again, I used to imagine that it was our wedding photo. That was my happy place, it still is.”

Butterflies erupted in Zari’s stomach and she let a smile stretch over her face, “You play your cards right, you might now have to imagine much longer,” she grinned and laughed at the shocked expression on T’Challa’s face. A few hours later T’Challa excused himself to wake Aiden and get him ready as the ship neared Wakandan airspace. Zari twisted her fingers together as she stood and walked closer to the cockpit. She’d never seen her home country from the outside. The ship headed towards a grove of trees and broke through the country’s barrier. Her anxiety levels dropped as the familiar scene of the border tribe villages came into view. Children ran chasing the jet and waved desperately. Zari waved back as best as she could before the aircraft zoomed out of their sight. The city unfurled in front of the ship and the pilot set her sights on their destination. Zari took a deep breath when the jet passed her neighborhood and slowed to make its descent over the castle.

“Woah, Baba this is where you live?” Aiden ran past his mother and pressed his face to the glass. “Don’t put your mouth on the glass Aiden,” Zari gently reprimanded. The boy leaned back, but his eyes stayed glued to the castle as they landed on the tarmac.

“Are you alright?”

Zari nodded. “I just need a second.” The king nodded and kissed her forehead. They stood together watching their son ramble excitedly about everything he was seeing. T’Challa pulled his love into his arms and she rested her head on his chest.

****

“What is taking him so long?” Shuri leaned over to ask her mother. The jet had been sitting on the tarmac for ten minutes now. The luggage had been unloaded and even the pilot had disembarked. Ramonda sighed. She had not told her daughter what she and her son had learned that led him to leave so abruptly. She herself was not sure of how to feel about the bits and pieces that she knew, and during this period of grieving any reason to be upset with her father, or his legacy, is not what Shuri needed.

Quite frankly, Ramonda had no idea what was keeping her son. She had a sliver of hope that he had found Zari and their son, but a lot could change in five years and that sweet girl could want absolutely nothing to do with their family, and no one could blame her.

“Who is that?” Shuri’s question interrupted the Queen’s thoughts. She pulled the gaze she was not aware had drifted, back to the ship and felt tears burn her eyes. She recognized the young woman walking down the stairs beside her son and the child he was holding in his arms. “He went on a rescue mission?” Shuri’s second question also went unanswered as the queen abruptly ran towards the young woman to pull her into a hug. Tears rolled down Ramonda’s cheeks. Zari felt herself relax into the familiar embrace and fought her own tears. “Oh my love I am so sorry,” the queen apologized, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “You knew,” Zari frowned, getting ready to pull away, but Ramonda held firm. “I found out when T’Challa did, but unlike him,” she glanced at her son,” I stayed and tried to piece together what happened before heading out into the unknown. Fury blazing,” the queen raised and eyebrow in his direction and he gulped, setting down Aiden who had begun to wriggle in his hold. “I realize the error of my ways now,” the king replied, running his hands together. “I am sure you do,” his mother hummed before pulling Zari into another hug. “I am so glad you are here sweet girl,” Ramonda sighed gently cupping Zari’s cheek and the woman nodded. “I cannot say that I was not a little apprehensive. I thought you all would hate me.”

“If it is any consolation,” the queen let her hand drop to squeeze Zari’s, “I was afraid you would hate us,” she admitted.

“It was not your fault. I always understood that,” Zari reassured. Ramonda sighed and squeezed her hand. “We will talk later. Catch up.”

The older woman’s regal gaze turned to Aiden,“ And you must be Aiden?” She grinned. The kindergartener nodded and latched onto his mother’s leg. “Aiden,” his father started, “this is your grandmother or umakhulu. She is my mother or umama,” the king explained gently pulling his son away from his mother and bringing him closer to his grandmother. “May I have a hug?” Ramonda opened her arms and the kindergartener giggled and obliged. “I always wanted a grandma,” he revealed when Ramonda settled him on her hips. “What a coincidence, I have always wanted a grandson!”

The two broke into giggles before she set him back on the ground. “Is that Shuri?” Zari asked, nodding towards the teen who stood at the end of the tarmac watching the reunion. “Yes, my baby girl is all grownup . She’ll graduate this year to head off to university.”

“She’s only what sixteen?” Zari asked then grinned, “She must be smarter than you,” Zari teased the king. “Yeah yeah,” he waved away. He and his mother lead the two over to Shuri. Zari raised both palms in a formal greeting and curtsied. “Princess,” Zari smiled. Shuri bowed her head in acknowledgment but the confusion never left her face. “Shuri, this is Zari, my girlfriend. She was around a lot when you were younger but she went missing five years ago. And our son, Aiden.” The little boy waved back when the teenager waved at him. “Hello, I apologize I don’t remember much, and I do not understand,” she shook her head looking back between her mother, brother, nephew and sister in law she guessed. Zari nodded as the Queen spoke, “That is more than understandable. Why don’t we all sit down for a late lunch, we have much to discuss.” Ramonda ushered everyone inside to the dining hall. Aiden walked along with his aunt and grandmother as his parents trailed behind.

“Everything looks the same,” Zari noted as they walked. “I have not had the heart to make any changes since he passed. We were in the process of cleaning out his office when I came to find you.”

“Will you take his office? I assume you have one of your own?” You were so excited to re-decorate it after graduation. We were to go shopping together,” Zari reminisced.

“I am not sure, I will probably just keep my own. I do not want to be in any space that was his right now,” the king sighed. Zari frowned and bit her lip, “What is troubling you?” T’Challa stopped walking and grabbed her hands.

“I hate to think that my situation has driven a wedge between you and your father after his death. You should only be having good thoughts right now.”

“Zar, none of this is your fault. He made the decision to keep my son from me. Intentionally. I just need time to come to terms with that. My own father kept me from being present in my first born’s life.” The king frowned, “He brought this on himself. It is just hard because I will never get to ask him why.” The designer nodded and the couple continued walking both deep in thought.

“You may all be dismissed,” Ramonda smiled as she carried in the family’s lunch. With some hesitation and additional reassurance, the queen walked all of the servants out of the dining room before shutting the door and moving her family into the informal dining room. Quickly shutting those doors as well. “Sometimes I swear they forget I did have a life outside of this palace before I married your father. I can serve a simple lunch,” the queen muttered before heading back over to the table. “They just want to help mama,” T’Challa laughed as the woman huffed. “I know, but I am tired of everyone following me around like I am an invalid anytime I want to do something myself. I lost a husband, not an arm!” The queen placed the last plate in front of Aiden before settling into her own seat and taking a deep breath. “And as much as those two things hurt, I will be fine,” she looked up at her children’s frowns and Zari’s sad smile. She reached over and grabbed both T’Challa and Shuri’s hands. “I will be fine,” she reassured, “Besides, soon enough I will be moving out anyway. To make room for the next royal couple to start,” she smirked and glanced down at Aiden, “or finish making their own family.”

T’Challa frowned and went to speak before his mother cut him off, “you cannot change my mind T’Challa. You and Zari, or whomever you marry need space to be young and in love without your mother being here to hear every second of it. Your grandparents moved out for your father and I. I shall do the same. Shuri may do whatever she so chooses, but we do not need to worry about that matter for the moment. Zari, Aiden, you must be starved. Why don’t we all eat.”

“Aiden, finish your vegetables, not just the fruit,” Zari reminded as her son pushed around the food on his plate. Reluctantly he finished the portions left and his mom smiled down at him. “So, Zari,” Ramonda started, “I know very little about the circumstances involving your disappearance just that you were pregnant, graduated, lived in New York City, and that my husband orchestrated the whole thing.”

“What? Baba would never-“ Shuri started. “Shuri,” her brother interrupted her and shook his head. He gestured for Zari to start and the woman offered the princess a sad smile, but the teen only turned her hurt expression the other way. “Umm, is there somewhere Aiden could go? I don’t want him hearing this,” the mother whispered to the king who excused himself and the little boy, “Let’s go see if you can help the chef make dinner,” he pulled Aiden up into his arms and they headed to the kitchen attached to the dining room. The three women sat in awkward silence as Shuri avoided looking at the guest. “Are you still into biology? It was your favorite thing to talk about when you were younger-“

“I know. I was there,” Shuri glanced at Zari. “Shuri Udaku,” Ramonda hissed and Zari shook her head letting the Queen know it was fine. She understood, she’d anticipated this reaction from both her and Ramonda. She wouldn’t want to accept that her father had done something like this either. The teen sighed, “My favorite area of study is biochemistry. So yes and no, but I plan to minor in physics in university.”

Zari nodded, surprised to get so much information. T’Challa returned Aiden less and the room descended into quiet once more. “Well, as you know,” Zari started. “I was pregnant with Aiden and I had planned to tell T’Challa after brunch the next morning. The day before, I had run into the king leaving the doctor appointment that had confirmed I was expecting. Somehow the king knew as well and told me congratulations when he spotted me in the hall of the hospital. When I confirmed the news reluctantly, he,” Zari paused dreading continuing her story, “he said that I should not tell T’Challa because he needed no hindrance in becoming king. When I said that I refused to keep this from you, he offered me a private abortion that he would pay for. Again I refused and told him that you deserved to know about your child. He finally agreed and I thought that the matter was settled. Until that night. Some guards showed up at my house and took me and Isha from our parent’s home. We were driven to some building way off of the road and outside of the city. From there I was put on a plane, and I do not know what happened to Isha. I woke up in New York City and was told that the king had found me a war dog doctor, a house, and offered me the choice of any institution in the city all expenses covered. I had Aiden and now we’re here.” Zari sighed and glanced at everyone’s faces. Each seemed to be lost in their own world. T’Challa and the Queen seemed to be reflecting on some experience, while silent angry tears trickled down Shuri’s face.

“I hate to, but I must,” Ramonda broke everyone’s focus, “I saw that he sent you monthly allowances for Aiden, what did you do with that?”

“I put it in a college fund for Aiden and have never touched any of it. Initially I sent the checks back, until the king wrote and wished that I would

allow him to provide for his grandson.” The queen nodded but the king’s jaw clenched, “That should have been me providing,” he mumbled. Zari nodded sadly, taking his hand in hers. The teen glanced at their intertwined hands and stormed out of the room. Zari watched her go sadly feeling like she’d been kicked in the gut. Shuri had been like the little sister she’d never had, and she’d loved every second of it. Now the young woman hated her.

“She will come around,” Ramonda grabbed Zari’s freehand, “This news is hard for all of us”

“I know I just wish I did not have to be the one to bear it. I wish his majesty was here to explain himself. The last thing I want is for you all to be angry with him during this period of mourning.”

“If I know my husband like I feel I do, he’d be glad that this family is being put back together in his absence. Bast rest his soul, he was ‘image over everything’ but these past few years, that had started to shift slightly. Who's to say whether or not he would ever have been honest and told us. But I’m sure he is glad that we are doing this. You needed closure too and T’Challa needed his son.”

“I will go check on Shuri,” T’Challa kissed Zari, then his mother’s forehead before following his younger sister out of the room. “I should probably go check on Aiden.” Zari stood and the queen followed. “Help me with these dishes and we’ll both go check on him. We should probably take a walk too, give Shuri and T’Challa some space.”

“Can we go to the falls? It is almost his nap time and I’ve always wanted to sing him to sleep by the falls. My mother used to do that with me.”

Ramonda grinned and hooked her arm through Zari’s. “That sounds lovely, I’ll teach you some that I know.”

****

“Shuri why are you acting like this?” The king huffed as he walked into her lab. “Why am I acting like this?” The teen exclaimed moving from behind her desk to face him, “Why are you and mama acting like this! You truly believe the word of this stranger? You believe that baba practically threw her out of Wakanda for being pregnant with your son? Even if baba threw her out, are you sure it is not because the boy is not yours? She could’ve been spreading her legs for-“

“That is enough!” T’Challa slammed his palm on the table, interrupting Shuri’s rambling. I get that you are upset and hurting. For Bast sake, I am hurt by everything too Shuri! But I will not allow you to degrade my girlfriend and the mother of my son!”

“Alleged son!” The scientist shot back.

“He is mine! And you will respect him and Zari as members of this family!” The king roared and the princess walked back around and took a seat, staring at him coldly as she gathered her thoughts. “All I am saying is that baba had to have a reason. The only one I can think of is that the baby was not yours and she was trying to pin it on you. You need to get a paternity test or I will do one,” Shuri threatened before walking away deeper into the lab. “Shuri do not touch my son!” He called after her.

The king ran a hand over his face before returning to his office. He contemplated all of his options and sighed as Shuri’s logic got the better of him. He didn’t want to believe it, but he also did not want to believe that his father could send Zari away. With his mind made up he glanced at the clock realizing he’d missed dinner. He walked up to his old bedroom where he’d had Aiden’s stuff taken and as expected he found his girlfriend maneuvering his sleeping form into some pajamas. He watched for a few moments before noticing her struggling to get the shirt over his head. “Would you like some help?” He whispered moving closer. Zari smiled up at him tiredly and they moved together to finally pull the shirt over the kindergartener’s head. They tucked him under the covers and Zari traced the outline of his head and face. “You gave my baby your big ass head and ears,” Zari chuckled, and the king playfully bumped her shoulder. “Let’s take a walk,” he grabbed her hand before kissing his son’s forehead, dreading the conversation he was about to start. The couple wandered out into the garden where the breeze and moonlight swept across their faces.

“How was your talk with Shuri?” Zari broke the silence as they waved at a guard stationed in the garden. The king stared off in the distance, “Not well,” he finally admitted and watched his girlfriend’s face fall. He loved how close she and Shuri used to be, and he knew that it was hurting her that her “mini me” was being so hostile. “She is just hurting right now. Baba just passed and now she’s learning an ugly truth so she’s lashing out. You know that it is nothing personal against you.”

“I understand. Does not make it hurt less. Does she think I am lying?”

“Partially, she believes that Aiden is not mine,”the king started. “Oh,” Zari offered as they continued on. “She’s trying to find a good reason to explain why our father would have sent you away, and that’s what she came up with.”

“Well as long as you and your mother know, she’ll come around eventually right?” Zari glanced up at the king. Dread filling her stomach when the king didn’t immediately agree. Anticipating her next move T’Challa squeezed her hand tighter to keep her from running. “She wants us to do a paternity test and I can only assume the council of elders is going to want one as well so-“

Zari pushed down the embarrassment and anger that flooded her system, “No T’Challa. Because if you did not want this, you would find a way around it. So do you want the paternity test too?”

The king gulped then nodded, “I do,” his heart shattered as he watched Zari come apart on the inside through her eyes. She snatched her hand back and took a few steps away, “So all of this time. This past month, you did not trust me? You didn’t believe Aiden was yours?”

“Zar-“

“No! Because I did not ask you to come. I did not ask you to fly to America, come get us, and ‘save us’. I did not ask you to play savior! You did that! You found the letters! You found the picture! You saw it and “just knew” T’Challa. You stood in my townhome and told me that you saw the Photo of Aiden and you knew he was your son! For fucks sake even your mother saw the photo and knew. Now a month later you wanna come out and ask for a paternity test? Now that Aiden has gotten attached to you?!”

“Are you saying that he is not my son Zari!”

“That is all you took from-“ the woman threw her hands up and walked away. “Un-fucking-believable,” she muttered as she stomped up the stairs onto the palace patio. “Zari wait, is he or is not my son,” the king grabbed her arm and turned her around. Tears were streaming down her face by this point and she furiously wiped them off, “He is your son T’Challa. I was with no one before you and no one since. Don’t fucking touch me your majesty,” Zari pushed his hands off of her arms and the king nodded. “Then if you have nothing to hide Zari, why are you so against this test?”

“I am not against the test T’Challa! I am offended that you do not trust me!”

“I do trust yo-“

“No you don’t T’Challa. If you did you would not have had the audacity to ask me for this test when you were there the night he was conceived. The condom broke and we were both terrified. You told me you would be there for anything! Now you’re sitting up here asking me for a test like I was with multiple men at 18! You know you were the only one! I was never like that! So excuse me if I’m hurt and offended that me man I love, the man I thought loved me, asked me for a fucking paternity test on a child that we both know is his!” Zari yelled as she walked back inside the palace.

“Lower your voice Zari,” the king grit as he followed her into the palace to their room. The couple stormed into their room and the mother went immediately to where her clothes had been hung up and folded into the closet. Her hands move furiously grabbing everything she can and stuffing it back into her suitcase. “Zari what are you doing? Look I’m sorry Zar. I shouldn’t have asked. It was uncalled for.”

“You’re damn right,” she muttered, zipping the haphazardly repacked suitcase. “But I’ll give you the stupid test, because the last thing I need is for you or anyone else questioning Aiden’s parentage down the line. But as far as I am concerned,” Zari slammed her bag down on the ground and grabbed her toiletries and purse in her arms, “this is over. We can co-parent your majesty, but I cannot, I will not, be with a man who chooses his 16 year old sister's wishes over mine. Especially when the evidence is right there in front of his face. She is a child! I am the one who put all of my trust on the line again with you, and it took you three weeks. Three weeks to break it T’Challa. And this time, it really was your fault.” Zari grabbed her bag and began wheeling it out of the room and down the hall, peeking in doors to find a guest bedroom.

“Zari wait! Please come back,” the king hurried after her.

“And since you believe so strongly that Aiden isn’t yours, stay away from my son until that positive test comes back!” She hissed in response.

“Look Zari, I am so sorry. I’ll sleep on the couch or the floor or something. You can have the bed. Just come back to the room.”

Zari found the first open room and walked in tossing her things on the bed, “I think we both need some space right now. Just leave me alone.” She turned to face the king who had tears rolling down his face. “Then I am sleeping in here on the floor,” he walked over to the closet and grabbed an extra set of sheets and began making a bed on the floor. “T’Challa,” Zari sighed. “Just sleep in your own bed.”

“No I lost you once, I’m not leaving your side again.” He grabbed the two spare pillows and made himself comfortable on the floor. “Fine,” Zari tossed up her hands, unpacked, and went into the bathroom to change for bed. “Goodnight,” she murmured as she passed the king on his makeshift bed. “Goodnight” he replied as she closed her eyes and emotional exhaustion led her off to sleep.

Taglist: Taglist: @almostpurelysmut @blackbypurpose @nyneebee @hutchj @tchoking @sisterwifeudaku @wikiwakanda @royallyprincesslilly @90sinspiredgirl @strictlyashley @afraiddreamingandloving @thedelightfulone @autumn242 @purple-apricots @kumkaniudaku @queertrex @kaciidubs @halfrican-heat @skysynclair19 @dramaqueenamby @gorjiss @leahnicole1219 @kreolemami @mzbritt @yoyolovesbucky @derangedcupcake @builtalongthewayside @ilcb7 @chaneajoyyy @lalapalooza718 @ororowrites @leahnicole1219 @dopegalkk @sarcastic-sunshines @sarahboseman @shesakillerkween @waitingonafriend @faatassbitch @lady-love-and-glitter-roses @cxnismajcr @tchallasbabymama

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raywritesthings · 4 years ago

Text

Happy Accident 3/3

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Thea Queen, Susan Brayden, Adrian Chase, Susan Williams, Quentin Lance, Talia al Ghul, Curtis Holt, Rene Ramirez, Rory Regan Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: Felicity’s punch has consequences no one intended, driving Oliver to take drastic measures with their own unexpected result. *Can be read on AO3, link in bio*

Laurel didn’t know what to think upon stepping through yet another strange portal into their base to find a couple strangers standing there. She’d heard the others mention recruits, of course, but it seemed odd not finding her teammates there waiting for them. At least, not both her old teammates.

Thea stood from a chair at the computer monitors, arms crossing as she eyed Laurel with a mix of mistrust and pain. “Rene and Rory filled me in. So, any sudden, overpowering need to kill a person yet?”

“Aside from your usual moods,” one of the men added. Laurel cringed; Iris had told her that a number of the others’ Earth-2 doppelgangers had also been criminals, but she did not love being judged as one herself.

“Where’s Felicity?” The other man asked.

“Felicity is taking a leave of absence,” Oliver answered simply, which Laurel thought was probably for the best rather than getting into details. She was still shocked it had even happened. “And we’ll be monitoring the situation with Laurel to see if the Lotus is necessary and if we can acquire more of it.”

The first man raised his eyebrows. “I thought the plan was bring her back, lock her in a cell.”

“Well, considering I haven’t even been read my charges let alone my rights, I’m not sure I agree with that plan,” Laurel decided to interject. “There’s also the fact that I’m not really who you think I am. When Ollie tried to bring back my doppelganger, it didn’t work, but somehow he found my soul and brought me back instead.”

“And you are…?” The second of the two men asked.

Oliver stepped up beside her and laid a hand at the small of her back. “Rory, Rene, I’d like you to meet the Dinah Laurel Lance original to Earth-1, the Black Canary and someone very important to me.”

The one she could guess was named Rory gave a start; Rene looked skeptical; but in that moment, Laurel really only had eyes for Thea, who gasped and swayed a half-step forward before catching herself.

“You’re really…?”

Laurel nodded, a smile growing on her face as Thea rushed forward.

Before her friend’s arms could circle round her however, Rene called out. “Wait a minute. Hoss, how do we know she isn’t just playing you again?”

“I mean, the Flash team thinks it’s her, so if she’s not that’s gonna be awkward,” Curtis remarked finally. “I mean, I only met Laurel — the real Laurel — once. I only met her doppelganger once, too, so that doesn’t help much, I guess. But if I had to say which one this Laurel reminds me of more, it’s probably the real one. I think?”

“Thanks, Curtis,” Oliver said, not doing much to disguise how insincerely that was meant. “Laurel - this Laurel - knows things that only the version I knew would really be aware of. Cisco tested that for himself as well.”

“Maybe people would feel better with one more test?” Rory suggested.

“I’ve got something,” Thea said. She turned to Laurel and asked, “What did I tell you about Alex compared to Roy?”

It took Laurel a moment to recall, but she nearly laughed when she did. “That you’d be surprised who uses more tongue?” Beside her, Ollie pulled a disgusted face.

“It’s you,” Thea declared, then practically squealed as she launched herself into Laurel’s arms. Laurel grinned from ear to ear as she hugged her friend back just as tightly. This, in some ways, truly felt like a homecoming.

Thea pulled back abruptly, her eyes darting from Laurel to Oliver and back again. “But this is — I mean you guys — did you tell her?”

“Tell me what?” Laurel asked, looking back at Oliver who had gone a remarkable pink color.

“One thing at a time,” he said. “First thing’s first; Thea, I’m gonna need your help drafting a proposal.”

“Okay. To City Council?”

“To the President of the United States.”

More than a few jaws dropped, and Laurel waited for Oliver to break or otherwise indicate he was joking. Yet apparently he wasn’t.

As it turned out, only the previous month Oliver’s team, Barry’s team and Sara and her crew had all repelled an alien invasion — because of course there were aliens — along with a different alien from a totally separate world and had been declared heroes by the President. Who had been the Vice President, last thing Laurel knew.

Ollie’s plan was to use that goodwill from their Commander in Chief to parlay some kind of deal for Laurel to receive immunity against being prosecuted. It wasn’t a terrible idea, all things considered, except for one small problem.

“This might just cover me for everything I did as Black Canary in the past, but it’s not going to hold up for anything I continue to do.”

Oliver looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean when I go back out in the field with you guys. I’m going back out there,” she added before he could even start. To her annoyance, the Queen siblings shared an uneasy look. “I understand that what happened last spring was traumatic. It was for me, too. But I am not going to let some kind of fear from what Darhk did to me make me waste my second shot at life.”

“We know,” Thea said. “We just — it’s been hard without you. I haven’t even been going out in the field much. Things were rough.”

Laurel rubbed Thea’s shoulder with one hand. “I’m sorry, and I’m glad you’re giving yourself some space to figure things out. But I don’t need time off. In fact, I’m pretty sure you need as many hands on deck as possible,” she added to Oliver, “considering Felicity is taking time off and John also doesn’t seem to be around.”

Oliver and Thea both looked down. “John’s in prison.”

“What?”

“He was framed by a superior officer,” Thea said. “Cause he went back for a fourth tour. Like I said, things were rough.”

Laurel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. John couldn’t be sitting in prison; he had a family to take care of, a daughter to watch grow up. “Can we get him pardoned with me?”

“I have a friend working on his case,” Oliver told her. “That’s the best hope we have for him right now.”

Privately, Laurel made a note to review said case and said friend’s handling of it so far, but there wasn’t much else she could say now without knowing all the facts. She’d have to see John as soon as she was allowed to walk about without risk of ending up the block above or below him.

All too soon, Laurel found herself standing in one of Oliver’s beta sites in front of a large screen that currently displayed the president’s seal. Oliver stood beside her dressed in his Green Arrow uniform.

The screen finally changed, showing President Brayden sitting at her desk in the Oval Office. “Green Arrow, Miss Lance.”

“Madame President,” Oliver said. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us in this manner.”

“I’ll admit, there was some debate on my part as to whether I should insist on a meeting face-to-face. This is a very sensitive matter. But why don’t you explain from the beginning what happened to you back in April, Miss Lance?”

Laurel nodded, taking a deep breath as she recalled the story they had practiced. She didn’t relish getting to lie to the president, but all of them had agreed that the less world governments knew about the Lazarus Pits, the better. “Last April, I was taken from the hospital by men working for Damien Darhk. I guess they must have substituted some kind of fake body or something for me to make everyone think I had died. According to them, since I had lived, he wasn’t done punishing my father for betraying him. But I guess Darhk was killed before he could make good on his promise

“I was moved from place to place. They didn’t seem to know what they were going to do with me, and there wasn’t a good window of escape for a long time. I wasn’t tortured, but they would starve me or leave me without water for periods of time, and I was still recovering from my injuries.

“What allowed me to finally escape was me discovering my metahuman abilities.”

“And these are?”

She’d been expecting that question; she and Oliver had agreed it was best to be forthcoming about this development so it didn’t look like she’d been concealing something on purpose from the Commander in Chief. “I can produce screams at loud enough frequencies that the sound waves are visible and can physically impact a target. I’d offer to demonstrate, but I imagine that wouldn’t be very good for your speakers.”

“No, probably not,” Brayden agreed wryly. “And upon escaping, you returned to your city and your team.”

“Yes, Madame President,” Oliver confirmed. “We were unbelievably grateful to have Laurel back with us. But we’re afraid to lose her again.”

“Green Arrow and the others wanted me to ask you for a pardon,” Laurel said. “But if I was granted one, it wouldn’t allow me to continue to operate as Black Canary.”

“And that’s something you wish to do.”

“Yes. Being the Black Canary is a part of me, and it’s the best way I know how to help people.” Laurel shrugged. “As much as I have loved being a lawyer, I know there’s no practice or District Attorney’s office that would take a publicly known vigilante. A lot of other jobs would be leery of it, too. That’s why I have a proposal.”

President Brayden steepled her hands together and leaned a little closer towards the camera. “I’m listening.”

“I understand that last month you gave an address commending my fellow heroes. You see the need for what we do, but I imagine there are some in Washington who don’t like the idea of trusting us blindly.” Laurel laid a hand over her chest. “With my identity known, I could act as a liaison of sorts between my team and your administration. I’m accountable to both sides since everyone knows who I am.”

Brayden thought for a few moments. “That would be a tremendous responsibility for you to take on, answering for any of the actions your fellows take.”

“It would be my honor to represent each and every one of them, Madame President,” Laurel said. Okay, so she didn’t actually know Rene or Rory or even Curtis all that well, let alone most of the people Sara traveled with. But Laurel trusted Oliver and Sara’s judgement in who they would choose to fight alongside them.

“And we would be honored to have Laurel representing us,” Oliver added. “Not one of us is going to take the trust she, you or the greater public have placed in us for granted.”

“Let me say that this arrangement is an attractive idea,” Brayden finally said. “But I will need time to discuss it with my advisors. You can expect a call from me as to my final decision within two days, Black Canary. Thank you for your time.” With that, the president signed off.

“I think that went well?” Laurel said, turning to Oliver.

“I’m inclined to agree. No matter what happens, though, we’ll handle it,” Oliver told her.

A week of negotiations ensued. All the details of Laurel’s new appointment had to be worked out; how and when and to which agency or body Laurel would be reporting to, what she was expected to disclose and what infringed on the other’s expectations of privacy. She remained down in the beta site the entire time, visits from Thea or Oliver with food and reminders to sleep breaking up the monotony of video calls and working out, testing the limits of the body she had woken up in. She really was going to have to send a blood sample to Caitlin for analysis; whether it was the meta gene or something about Earth 2, she felt stronger and more durable than ever, and part of her was itching to get out into a real fight to see for herself.

She took a round trip on a private plane to sign the final documents in D.C., shaking hands with President Brayden immediately after doing so while Secret Service members stood incredibly close. She supposed a metahuman would present a highly unique risk to the life of their charge.

“I’m hopeful that this is the start of a beautiful partnership, Laurel,” the president told her as the White House cameraman snapped their picture for the next morning’s press release. Laurel would not be attending since she would be in a special closed court session back home getting her death overturned.

“I’m hoping with you, Madame President.”

It was still early evening when she arrived back in Starling even though a whole day had passed for her. “I’m exhausted, and I miss a real bed,” she admitted to Oliver, who had been waiting just outside the tarmac to pick her up. She was sure once she had fallen into the cot in the beta site she wouldn’t care what she was sleeping on, but right now with her freedom very nearly secured, she longed for those kind of simple comforts.

“Why don’t you come back with me instead?” He asked.

Laurel stilled for a moment, then gave a quiet, “Okay.”

She was still so confused about what was going on with Oliver. She had wanted to chalk up his happiness, the frequent touching and the near-constant praise to just the newness of her being back, but it had been nearly two weeks and there was no sign of it slowing. Then there was the sort of excited buzzing about Thea seemed to do whenever Oliver so much as entered the same room as Laurel. Laurel recognized the behavior from Thea’s childhood; she had a secret, and she wanted to tell it. If she hadn’t been so busy working out the details of her new life as a publicly sanctioned vigilante, Laurel would have demanded her friend just tell her already.

Stranger still was the continued lack of Felicity’s presence and Oliver’s continued lack of seeming to care about that. Laurel had honestly thought the couple would have made up by now and resumed their lives together, yet her resurrection had seen them further apart than ever. She didn’t have the whole story yet; Laurel knew something had happened to a man named Billy who Felicity had obviously cared for, and there also appeared to be tension surrounding the way Felicity and Oliver had been clashing on leading the team’s new recruits, but Laurel would have thought Oliver would be devastated to be experiencing even more troubles with the love of his life. What exactly was she missing here?

All these thoughts were running through her mind as Oliver parked the car in the garage attached to his new home as the Mayor of Star City. He came around to lead her up through the house and to what looked to be an unused guest bedroom. Laurel bid him goodnight and climbed beneath the covers, letting herself succumb to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an extremely important day, and Laurel wanted to be prepared for it.

She woke up to Oliver’s soft knock on her door the next morning, a breakfast tray in his hands. Laurel smiled and combed some of her hair back from her face. “Breakfast in bed? Careful, I might not want to go back to my apartment.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind the company,” he replied, his eyes soft once again as he gazed at her. Laurel took a bite of her eggs so she wouldn’t be expected to reply. “I also thought you might like to call your dad before the big announcement from the president this morning.” He took out his phone and a piece of paper, setting both down on the edge of her bed. “That’s the number to the rehab facility.”

“Thank you, Ollie. For everything. Really, it’s kind of impossible to sum up how much I owe you for all this.”

Oliver shook his head. “You don’t owe me a thing. It’s what you deserve from me.”

She was speechless again. Laurel looked down, taking up the paper and fiddling with it.

“I’ll let you make that call,” Oliver said, backing out of the room.

Laurel willed the heat rising up her neck and into her cheeks back down as she tapped each number in its sequence. She waited as it rang twice before a woman with a pleasantly calm voice answered. “Evergreen Care Center, how can I help you today?”

“Hi, my father is staying at your facility right now, and I was hoping to speak to him. Quentin Lance?”

“Date of birth?”

Laurel gave it, followed by his phone number and the last four digits of his social. She’d memorized such information years ago after her mother had left them and Laurel had realized she would be his designated representative in any emergency situation.

“Let’s see here. Oh, yes, we do have Quentin with us. I’ll see if he’s up to a phone call this morning,” the woman replied, and Laurel felt her heart sink lower in her chest. She should have called sooner. “One moment, please.”

Laurel waited as she was put on hold, her fingers drumming on the bedspread a counterpoint to the soothing music that played. Eventually it cut out, and her father’s voice — tired to her ears — came on the line.

“Sara? You’re back in town?”

Laurel’s lips pressed together for a moment before she answered, “I’m not Sara, daddy.”

She heard a sharp gasp, then a thump that had her worried, but her dad asked, “Laurel?”

“Mm-hm. I’m alive. Ollie — it’s complicated — but Ollie found out about another Pit, and I’m okay now.”

“Oh, God. Oh, thank God. You — I’ve missed you so much, missed your voice, baby. Where are you?”

“I’m in the city. Listen, I’m going to get myself declared alive again today, and I’ll come visit. Please don’t check out of this place, dad. If you need it, you need it. I want you to get the help you need.”

“I needed you, honey,” he argued. “This stuff, this was just to keep me going. But I’ll be fine with you back, I promise.”

“When does the program end?” She asked.

“Nother two weeks,” was his grudging reply.

“Then just do the two weeks. I’ll still be here. I want you to learn how to do this without me or Sara, because you know we lead crazy lives. Anything could happen.”

“Hey, you just said you’re still gonna be there.”

“I know.” There was a knock on her doorframe, and Laurel looked up. Thea was standing there with a suit bag that was probably holding her court clothes. “I need to get ready for my appointment. We’ll talk about this when I come see you, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, honey. I never said it enough, before, but I- you’re my world, Laurel.”

She swallowed down the lump in her throat and said, “I’ll see you soon, dad.” Laurel drew in a breath as she hung up and let it out before getting up and facing Thea. “Okay. Shower?”

“Bathroom’s down the hall to the left,” Thea told her.

Laurel took a quick one, realizing belatedly that she had left the suit bag with Thea in her temporary room. She pinned her hair up and wrapped a towel around herself, hoping to sneak down the hall unnoticed. But as she drew up towards the guest bedroom door, she heard voices.

“I can’t believe you still haven’t told her,” Thea complained.

“It’s not exactly something that comes up in a normal conversation,” Oliver replied.

“Yeah, but how you feel at least? Ollie, you have a real chance to be happy, and I don’t want to see you walk away from that because you think you’re unworthy or something like that.”

As much as Laurel desperately wanted to know what Oliver’s response to that would be, she was hearing a conversation that was clearly meant to be private. She was also in danger of running late if she didn’t get dressed soon, not to mention that she was starting to get a little cold out in the hall with nothing but a towel on.

So Laurel pushed the door open the full way. “If I can have the room for a few minutes?”

The Queen siblings looked her way, but only Oliver sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes unmistakably flicked up and down her body for a moment, and Laurel flushed with heat a second time that morning at the way he licked his lips.

Thea crossed between them, but it wasn’t until she called, “Ollie, coming?” that either of them seemed to snap out of it.

“Right. Uh, sorry.”

Laurel backed up to give him room as he practically fled out into the hall, and she thought she caught Thea smirking as her younger friend shut the door. Laurel fanned her face with one hand as she grabbed her clothes to finally change.

Her day in court was short-lived considering all she was being required to do was appear in person and give the judge the written version of the statement she had delivered to the president, signed by both herself and Brayden. Judge Moore reviewed the document before adding her own signature.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Miss Lance.”

Laurel smirked. Moore couldn’t know how literally that statement applied to her case. “Thank you, judge.”

She was shepherded into the car around the side of the courthouse. “Brayden’s press conference just finished up,” Thea told her. “You’re officially the world’s first publically-sanctioned hero. You ready for a gig in PR?”

“I guess we’ll find out tonight,” Laurel answered. Oliver had scheduled a gala for tonight, ostensibly to check in with some of the higher-society constituents, but really to serve as Laurel’s reintroduction to Star City. It was strange how fast everything seemed to move now that she was alive again. And she was so, so glad for it. Her life had always been messy and complicated and confusing. She hadn’t known what to do with all that peace.

---

Adrian Chase had a problem. And he hadn’t planned for problems.

Everything he had worked for these last five years, every piece he had put in place, had ensured that Oliver was walking right down the path he had designed for him without even knowing it, all the while thinking he had a fighting chance. There simply weren’t room for mistakes.

But one had apparently been made, and as the morning news told him, it all came down to Dinah Laurel Lance.

Adrian had been satisfied overall with the Black Siren’s performance and the effect she had worked on Oliver and his team, the trauma that having to fight a woman that looked like their departed friend had brought on. Even if he had had to remind the woman of her place now and then, she had always been meant as more of a blunt instrument than anything. Something to let out and play for a while before she was rounded up by ARGUS’ agents.

At least, that was what Adrian had assumed had happened to her. That had been his first mistake.

Next had been not trying harder to learn why Oliver had taken a sudden trip out of the country or why he had come back looking as though he were walking on clouds. Strange, considering that his spying had informed him that Felicity Smoak was no longer going to the Green Arrow’s base of operations. If Oliver’s team had truly splintered so badly, what could he be happy about?

In his guise as DA, he had had no luck getting his ‘friend’ to open up to him about it, or the impromptu press conference and gala he had scheduled two weeks after his strange behavior had begun. All Oliver had said was, “You’ll see.”

And he was seeing it now. He was seeing her right on his television screen.

“President Brayden, surprising the nation and perhaps the world this morning with a stunning revelation — Star City’s own Dinah Laurel Lance is alive and well. In a written statement, Miss Lance explains that she was taken captive by men associated with the late terrorist Damien Darhk and managed to escape only last month. Lance was famously exposed by her friend Mayor Oliver Queen as the vigilante known as the Black Canary. In the president’s release, she indicated that not only will charges not be brought against Black Canary, but instead Miss Lance will be taking on the role of official liaison between the Capitol and the growing roster of masked men and women we have seen take place over the years. We at Channel 52 say welcome back, Miss Lance, and Star City should be happy to know their Canary has flown home.”

He wanted to break something. How dare that woman? Who did she think she was, turning her back on him after he had rescued her from the Flash’s pipeline and running into Oliver’s arms? What sort of game was she playing?

Since he was on the guest list for Oliver’s gala tonight, he intended to find out. After all, he was pretty sure who the guest of honor was going to be.

Sure enough, that night Adrian stood in a crowd that applauded as Oliver led who everyone thought was their miraculously returned hero up to a podium with her arm looped through his. His eyes practically shined as he let Laurel go and stood just off to the side to give her the floor.

“Thank you,” she began, a picture of grace and humility. She had perfected her act in the weeks since Adrian had seen her last, and he would be hard-pressed to tell the difference now between her and the original. He could acknowledge a guise well done.

“I’m thankful and relieved to be able to stand here in front of you all tonight and be welcomed back to my home. I can’t wait to get back to work making this city the best that it can be, and I hope you all feel the same.

“I’ve been doing everything I can to catch up on what I missed while I was gone. One of those things is the significant damage done to the Glades district last spring, a section of our city which has already suffered too much over the years. There is a donation plate available tonight to help fund the relief efforts Oliver and his administration have put in place. Please consider giving if you are able.

“That’s all I really have to say at this time. I’d rather speak to you all personally. I ask that the questions about my captivity be limited. It’s not exactly a period of my life that I want to dwell on.”

Adrian fought down a smirk at that. Clever, he had to give her that.

“Thank you.” Laurel Lance stepped back from the podium and rejoined Oliver as the two made their way out to the floor to speak with groups of people here and there. They made a fine couple, which begged the question: what had she told Oliver? How had she convinced him to go along with this? Adrian had clearly underestimated the power even a shadow of the woman Oliver had lost last year would have over him.

Eventually, the pair of them made their way around the room to where he stood. “Laurel, this is Adrian Chase, my DA.”

“Well, it’s good to meet you.” There was not a hint of recognition in her features. Did she hope that here, in public, they were trapped into playing their roles, that he wouldn’t be able to get the truth out of her?

For now, he smiled politely. “You as well.”

“Adrian’s agreed to help with John’s case,” Oliver added in an undertone.

Her eyes lit up. “I was hoping to hear more of the details on that.”

Well that was interesting. Was she angling to speak with him now?

“I’d be happy to get such an accomplished lawyer’s position on it. Who knows? If things had been different, we could’ve been working this together,” Adrian said, his one hand clenched right where it rested in his pocket as she failed to give any hint that she understood his double meaning. “If I could borrow Miss Lance for a moment, Oliver? Shop talk, you could call it.”

“That’s fine with me. I’m sure you and Laurel have a lot to say on the subject. I’ll just be making the rounds.” With a last smile in Laurel Lance’s direction, the man turned and walked back through the crowd.

“It’s a little loud in here, don’t you think?” Adrian asked, not waiting for an answer before he turned and left the main hall. There was a smaller, unused room in the venue just across the hall, a few tables and chairs being stored and little else. It would do.

“So, Oliver told me you were able to have John remain here by invoking the Star City charter,” she said as she entered the room.

Adrian rolled his eyes. “What exactly is your plan here?”

She blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“You can drop the act, Siren,” he said, stepping closer and lowering his voice. “I highly doubt Oliver is listening in considering how well you’ve apparently wrapped him around your finger. I have to wonder how you did it.”

She stared at him. “How do you know about Black Siren?”

Adrian was about fed up with the games. “How does the man who sprung you from a four-by-four cell know who you are? You can play dumb with Oliver, but it won’t work on me.”

“You’re Prometheus,” she breathed, and the shock looked so genuine, he found himself honestly wondering if she somehow hadn’t known, no matter that he knew she did.

“I’m glad you’re caught up, but you seem to need a reminder of who exactly is in charge here,” Adrian said, reaching swiftly to circle his hand around her throat.

Her eyes bulged as her nails dug sharply into his hand. He threw her down before her kick could connect with his side; he just felt the scrape of her heel against his pant leg.

“This new life you’re trying to build yourself here on this Earth, you wouldn’t have it without me. I can take it away just as easily.”

She shot up and lunged at him immediately, and Adrian sidestepped her, letting her careen straight into one of the tables. The crash did not seem to faze her, for she whirled around and was on him before he could dodge a second time, clawing and punching at every bit of him she could reach. Her eyes were wild, and without his training he might have been overwhelmed.

But he rammed her with his shoulder to send her staggering back, one of her heels snapping.

Adrian straightened his jacket, reaching into an inner pocket for his stars as she rallied, lips pulled back in an animalistic snarl.

One thing was finally clear: this was not the Black Siren. This was something else. Something worse.

---

Oliver walked through the throng of people, nodding in acknowledgement whenever he caught the eye of someone he and Laurel had already spoken to. So far, the night had gone off without a hitch, for which he was immensely grateful. Laurel deserved a night of celebration like this.

He kept waiting for some sign that he was dreaming again, some indication that it was all about to be ripped away. He didn’t get lucky like this, not ever.

There was so much he wanted to say to her, it was hard to put the feeling into words. Thea made it sound so easy, but then Thea didn’t know how he had failed to let Laurel know what she meant to him that night in the hospital when she confessed her own feelings. Feelings she hadn’t spoken of or acted on since. Not even now that he and Felicity were well and truly estranged.

He had expected to feel more regret over that, but truthfully it had made some things easier. The recruits had started shaping up more, whether that was out of fear of being kicked off the team or what he couldn’t exactly say. But he was glad to be able to feel in control of this unit he had agreed to take on. Thea was coming down to the base more to borrow the training area, too, and he had a feeling she was inching back towards the life of Speedy now that her partner in the field had returned. With Laurel’s new role official, she would be joining them down in the bunker rather than the beta site as well. It would be good to have more people with experience than just himself out there.

But how to show Laurel that, that he was happy and hopeful about the future again? And a future with her. It wasn’t even a question of if he should tell her; he didn’t think he could hide the way he felt for very long. When she had come back to her room that morning looking so much like the dream he had had, Oliver had forgotten how to breathe for a moment. Forgotten, too, that he was not her fiancé with the permission to look upon her with awe and desire.

She deserved to know. He just had to get over this old fear of his, convince himself he wouldn’t screw it up this time, and tell her.

Oliver wandered the perimeter of the room as these thoughts played out in his head until he found himself standing near the door he had made note that Adrian and Laurel had left through. He wanted to be able to catch her when she came back, missing her by his side already.

“I was starting to wonder if I might catch you alone.”

He froze. “Susan…”

It was not that he had forgotten the reporter he had taken on a date. But guilt churned in his stomach all the same as he turned to face her fully. There was no reason for it; Laurel had been, as far as he had known, beyond his reach in this life, and had given her deathbed blessing to him finding happiness without her — even if she had felt that would be with Felicity at the time.

“You must be really happy to have her back,” Susan said.

“I am,” he answered with a small smile he couldn’t help. He felt guilt towards Susan as well, considering what he knew was really in his heart. He should have called her to end things before now. “Listen, about, um—”

Susan held up a hand to stop his halting attempt. “It’s been nice, Oliver, but I’d have to be blind not to see what Laurel Lance means to you. And I’m big enough to know there’s little point getting in between that.” She smirked as she added, “Probably better I don’t get too heavily involved with the politician I’m trying to cover anyway.”

Oliver nodded. “Thank you. Really.”

She nodded and turned to leave. The relief that Oliver felt was cut short when he heard a loud crash from somewhere out in the venue. Susan pivoted on the balls of her feet.

“What was that?”

“I’m not sure.” Oliver slipped out of the door, unsurprised when Susan followed him. He was fairly certain it had come from the room directly ahead. “Stay behind me, okay?” He asked as he cautiously approached the door, which had been left just slightly ajar. He peered through the gap, eyes widening in alarm at what he saw.

Adrian stood in the middle of the floor, his suit and hair rumpled and a split lip slowly leaking blood. And Laurel, missing one shoe and the other snapped off at the heel, struggled to free the skirt of her dress from where it was pinned to the wall by three throwing stars.

“I’d love to understand what you really are, but Oliver isn’t ready to know my secret yet. I’m afraid there’ll be need for a fresh grave in Starling Cemetery.” Adrian flicked his wrist with practiced ease, another star sailing through the air.

Oliver threw the door open and leapt in front, remembering Susan’s presence at the last minute. He forced his instinct to snatch the weapon out of the air down, instead letting it slash his upper-left arm, teeth gritting at the pain. But the weapon clattered uselessly several feet from Laurel.

He turned to see Adrian’s shocked gaze, and Oliver willed his voice to remain steady as he asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”

Adrian’s answer was cut off by the rip of fabric, and Oliver ducked as Laurel released a sonic scream, features contorted with blind rage. Adrian fell to it, hands clapped over his ears as he cried out in agony.

Laurel marched towards him, her intent to worsen Adrian’s suffering clear. Oliver reached out and caught her around the waist. “Laurel! Laurel, stop!”

The scream died, and she blinked as if coming back to herself. “I- I wasn’t — oh, God.”

“Hey, it‘s okay.” He rubbed her back as she sagged against his shoulder. It was clear what must have happened; the blood lust had been triggered during whatever fight had broken out here. He was just glad he had intervened in time to keep a life off her conscious. Even if it was the life of a man who must have had some sort of long game to betray Oliver planned. Who really was Adrian Chase?

He caught Susan’s eye as she surveyed the whole scene and asked, “Can you call 911?”

She nodded. “I take it the DA is actually our Throwing Star Killer,” Susan remarked, gesturing to the weapons still in the wall, little strips of Laurel’s dress hanging from them.

“Looks like it,” he agreed. “I don’t have a statement on that just now. I, uh, I’ll see what the police are able to find out about it.”

They stuck around long enough to see Adrian taken away. He was only just beginning to stir as he was led away in handcuffs to be looked over at the hospital before being transferred into the SCPD’s custody. Oliver also placed a discrete call to Lyla’s office to see what ARGUS could do about assuming jurisdiction over the case as soon as possible. Adrian knew far too much, even if Oliver didn’t yet understand how.

Laurel’s other shoe was located, and he helped her to hobble towards the back entrance of the venue, hoping to shield her from as much of the press as possible. The last thing needed right now was the press photographing her in a dress with the skirt torn halfway up her thigh.

The driver took them back to his place. Oliver knew it was likely only Laurel’s shock at how she had lost control that was keeping her from asking to be dropped off at either the beta site or the old apartment Thea still owned. She would probably return to the latter soon if he didn’t say anything. Didn’t make any kind of sign.

Once they were inside, Laurel bent down and undid the straps that were barely holding her broken shoes on. “Well, some night,” she remarked with her head still tilted down, hair half-hiding her face.

“It wouldn’t be Star City if something eventful didn’t happen,” he replied. “Was, uh, was that the first time you’ve used…”

“The sonic scream? On purpose, yeah. I didn’t really know how strong it would be. I could’ve killed him.” Her eyes had a haunted look to them as she continued, “One second we were just talking, the next was like he just flipped personalities, was trying to threaten me. He thought I was her. Siren.”

“If he’s really Prometheus, then that makes sense.”

“The way he talked about me – her,” she amended, giving a slight shake of her head as if to clear it. “It was like he thought he owned her. The others told me the things she did, but nobody should be talked to like that.”

“I know,” he agreed. “She told me that she wanted out. I never found out if it was the truth or a lie.” Seeing the way his Laurel felt about it now, he thought maybe it just might have been a truth, even one that Black Siren hadn’t actually wanted to admit to herself. Or maybe that was wishful thinking; thanks to the others, he would never know.

“Then he attacked me. I just lost it, and when you were hurt—” Her hand reached out, just barely brushing his arm below the gaze bandage a paramedic had applied. “If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed him,” she stated. “I guess I’m not as different from her as I thought.”

“Maybe, but that’s not such a bad thing,” he said. She looked up at him in surprise. “If I hadn’t seen some of you in her, I might not have gone so far to try and bring her back. I might never have known there was a way to save you. Black Siren wasn’t evil, no matter what the others say,” he added. “I think she was just lost. You know what that’s like.”

She nodded.

“But you’re not a killer, Laurel. That was the effect of the Pit.”

“I was hoping the new one wouldn’t have the same side effects.”

“So was I,” he admitted. “But we’ll get more of the Lotus. You’ll be fine, just like Thea.”

Laurel’s lips twisted in a funny half smile. “Thea doesn’t seem fine right now. I think she’s going to lose it if you don’t tell me whatever it is she wants you to.”

Oliver swallowed. There it was. He was being handed a perfect opportunity to open up, to be truthful about his feelings. There was never anything half as terrifying as that. “Thea… what she wants me to tell you, it wouldn’t make any sense to come right out and say. There’s things you have to know.”

“Like?”

“Like how much losing you hurt. That it caused me to look back on the last few years and think of all the time I wasted. How much I wished things had been different for you and me.”

Laurel’s throat bobbed, but she remained silent, listening.

“And a couple months ago, my wish was granted.”

“A couple months?” She asked, and he didn’t blame her for the confusion. Laurel had only been back for a month.

“Yeah. See, when the Dominators came to Earth, they took a few of us hostage, to try and study us for potential weaknesses. We were placed in some kind of stasis where our minds went to a made-up reality based on our dearest-held dreams. Thea and I were back at the Manor with mom and my father. They were alive.”

“Oh, Ollie,” Laurel said softly.

“Yeah. The thing was, you were there, too. And it was almost our wedding day.”

Laurel’s mouth fell open. He didn’t know if the shock on her face was a good or bad thing, but Oliver also knew that he needed to say this no matter the outcome.

“I love you, Laurel,” he confessed. “And I know it doesn’t make up for all the years or the ways that I’ve hurt you whether I meant to or not. All I know is, when you told me how you still felt, all I could think about was what could’ve been for us. It haunted me the whole time that I thought we’d lost that chance.” Even now, he could see her in that beautiful white gown, her face so sad as he was forced to leave to help the others. “I wondered how I hadn’t seen it, why you couldn’t have said something before.”

“You were happy,” she said, as if that was all that needed saying. Her eyes shone bright with unshed tears. “You were happier without me.”

He shook his head. “The one thing I haven’t been this past year is happy without you. This, right now, is the best I have felt in a long time.”

He didn’t just mean because he had finally given voice to his feelings. Oliver had a team that was learning to respect his judgement calls in the base and in the field; he honestly didn’t miss the constant back talk on the comms. He felt better, too, seeing Thea happier and knowing that once Quentin finished his rehab program that he would come home to his daughter and be whole again. The looming threat of Prometheus had been ended as abruptly as it had begun. None of this would have been possible without Laurel.

“I know this cannot be an easy decision to make. I understand if, whatever our feelings for each other are, you’d prefer to remain as we were before that night. All I’ll ever ask of you is to be part of my life, Laurel, because it’s a far less full one without you,” he finished.

Her head tilted as her lips pressed right together for a moment, considering him. Then at last she stepped forward, cupping his cheek with her hand. “You know I never do things halfway, Ollie.” She rose onto her tiptoes, her hand at his cheek guiding his lips to meet hers in that perfect synchronous dance he had longed for, so much better than his dream for knowing that it was real.

Oliver smoothed his hands over her arms, down her back and up into her hair, unable to choose now that he was granted it all. Laurel seemed of a similar mind, hands cupping his face then smoothing down his shoulders, then up and his suit jacket. They were each aware of the time they had wasted before and how they could never get it back, and it spurred them on towards making the most of the time they had ahead. The time they very nearly hadn’t had.

He regretted what had happened to Laurel’s counterpart from Earth-2. No version of her deserved a violent end in his eyes. He took some comfort at least that she was now free from men like Adrian or Zoom. Maybe her soul had gone to whatever was next beyond the grave to find the Ollie she had truly loved and not just the man that looked like him. He chose to believe that, since he’d been granted the same beautiful dream in its own way.

For all that he and Laurel had suffered through, if it meant they arrived at this point together, Oliver wouldn’t change it. No matter how tempting it could be to fix the past, he knew how fragile time could be. And this time, at last, was theirs.

---

Talia al Ghul was more familiar with disappointment than one of her ability and lineage would like. Her first disappointment had come from her Beloved. Bruce had been a fine warrior, full of discipline, intellect, skill and honor. Yet he had lacked the conviction to bring a permanent end to those who committed evil in the world and so he had left her and her father’s League behind.

Then there had been her father himself. She could admit with chagrin that Bruce had been the one to initially question her father’s intention to pass on the title of Ra’s al Ghul to her. As the years had worn on, Talia had seen for herself that he would never do so. And so she had left, forming her own following to carry on the mission she still believed in.

Yet now, two of her own students had disappointed her one after the other. Oliver Queen and the one who called himself Adrian Chase. The former had killed her father and handed the League of Assassins to a traitor which caused it to fail less than a year later, and the latter had failed to be her instrument of revenge. Instead, she currently watched as the news continued to cover his arrest and the accusations mounting against him. Something would have to be done, and quickly. She was not ready for The connection Mr. Chase had to her to be revealed, as it might should he be questioned.

Talia had left it up to her student to plan the reckoning Oliver should face, who it would involve and where it would be. All of this would have to be abandoned now, and more planning would have to be done. Especially to accommodate the unexpected wrinkle that had developed: the return of this Earth’s Dinah Laurel Lance, Oliver’s own Beloved.

Talia’s spies had followed Oliver and his associates’ progress to the mountains of Siberia and confirmed to her that one of the rumored Lazarus Pits was in that location. She had also been made aware of the comings and goings of Miss Lance to and from the United States’ Capitol. Yet she had not realized until tonight — nor had Mr. Chase, it seemed — that rather than the copy of her from another Earth, Oliver had somehow managed to resurrect the original. It would be like him to play with those kind of forces with little regard for any consequences.

Talia left her current base of operations to deal with one of those consequences. Mr. Chase was going to be moved from where he was being seen at Star City General to a holding cell at the downtown precinct. It was her task to ensure this never came to pass.

She took up her position only minutes before Mr. Chase was escorted out the front doors towards a waiting transport van. From the rooftop across the street, she watched her chosen spy approach at a walking pace, the umbrella he had taken from their supply store tucked under his arm. She saw the moment he fired the jet of poison gas from a crushed cyanide ampule, though it was truly invisible to the eye, then smirked as an officer moved to intercept him from fully crossing paths with the police escort. Her agent backed away, feigning as though he had not realized what was going on, and crossed the street to continue his walk.

Just as Mr. Chase was walked up the steps of the transport van, he collapsed to one knee, the poison already taking its effect. None of those around him would realize that was what it was, of course. To them, it would appear as though he suffered a sudden heart attack. They would see the matter as closed and put the unfortunate memory of their fallen District Attorney behind them.

Oliver would suspect, of course. Oliver always suspected. But he would only have his suspicions. For now, Talia would retreat and reassess the best way to bring retribution to her former student. Let him grow complacent with his loved ones; she had all the time the Lazarus water allowed her to have her revenge.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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holidcy · 5 years ago

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i am actually embarrassed to say how long this intro too me to write out ? so im not gonna say it ! it’s not like it took be 3 hours or anything 👀 . and for what ? idk because this intro is a mess . but anyways ... i’m mia , i’m a whole twenty years old which really just feels like a glorified teenager but whatever , we’re not here to talk about that right now . we’re here to talk about my lil baby holly . guys she is literally the sweetest human ever ? but also ? to sensitive for her own good and really the good of those around her ? very happy feet energy coming form this girl . but without further ado , below you can read up on holly & if you wanna plot give this a like . also my discord is 𝖒𝖌𝖐'𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔𝖗𝖊#9789 if you wanna plot there or just generally chat !

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐇

full name: holiday elena addams nickname: holly ( she’s basically turned this into her name , not one really calls her holiday ) , holls , elle ( by her parents ) birthday: june 3rd birthplace: chicago , illinois hometown: highland park , illinois ( although the family home was located in highland park her parents would in chicago and holly even attended private school in chicago ) residence: new york city , new york nationality: american ( est. 1999 through birth ) ethnicity: english ( maternal & paternal , 50% ) , polish ( maternal , 25% ) , spanish ( paternal , 25% ) religion: catholicism orientation: heterflexible ( she claims being straight but in all actually she’s not closed off to anything despite not having much experience outside the opposite gender ) languages spoken: english ( fluent , first language ) , spanish ( fluent , second language ) , polish ( conversation , third language ) , mandarin ( conversational , fourth language ) . father: leandro oliver addams ( 49 years old ) was born & raised in chicago , illinois by a politician / businessman & a philanthropist . leandro went on to take a little bit from both of his parents as he is a highly esteemed business tycoon as well as being regarded as one of the most charitable men in the world . ( relationship: there has never been a day that has gone by where the two didn’t get along . if there is anyone in this world who gets holly it is her father . truly , daddy’s little girl . the two of them are as thick as thieves . ) mother : susanna renee addams ( nee daniels ) ( 48 years old ) was born & raised in long island , new york . the daughter of a hedge fund investor & a stay at home mother . susanna grew to be an amazing cosmetologist and which the help of her father’s amazing business mind she was able to start up a salon in new york city . she gained the most devoted clientele , loving every second of her work . she took a break for almost a decade before deciding to return to the beauty industry . today she has salons across the globe in chicago , los angeles , toronto , london , and new york city . ( relationship: susanna often had to play bad cop when it came to parenting and because of this the two butted heads quite often whilst holly was growing up . despite this , her mom is her role model and the two have always had a friendship that underlined their mother - daughter relationship . ) social class: upper education: attending new york university ( s. 2018 ) she spent her first year of university at usc , she’s majored in creative writing at both universities career: author ( her book is a coming of age mystery called privilege that she’s recently admitted to writing the full book during a coke binge ) , internet personality , philanthropist , socialite , and student notoriety: being apart of the prominent addams family , amassing over 32m followers on all social media platforms , publishing a new york times best selling book at the age of seventeen . weight: 120lbs height: 5′5″ hair color: brown ( with blonde highlights ) eye color: brown positive traits: benevolent, high spirited , extroverted , romantic , honest , affectionate , intelligent , friendly , ambitious , passionate , approachable , charming negative traits: immature , vain , garrulous , critical , sensitive , stubborn , inattentive , naive , sarcastic , obsessive , insecure , impractical , irritable likes: anything strawberry flavored , flowers , driving fast , pink , watching the first snow fall , birthday parties , lips gloss , netflix , sunkissed skin , dogs , peanut butter , agatha christie , redecorating , driving with the windows down , long plane rides , denim jackets , taco bell , orange juice , makeup , sports , female empowerment , online shopping , fresh berries , roller skating , photography , writing , tea dislikes: liars , driving in the snow , coffee , having no siblings , deep water , bad drivers , body shaming , pizza , hateful people , being rushed , cuss words , repetition , disloyalty , being alone , horror movies , dentists , silence , cheap perfume , criticism , the unknown , traffic , wine , poptarts , small spaces , hobbies: reading with a hot cup of tea , video editing in the back of a car , smoking before bed to help fall asleep , going out to eat with her parents , napping , hiding alcohol in her bedroom , painting alternate universe cartoons , attending big soirees , stashing drugs in jewelry boxes , sleepovers with her closest friends , talking the dogs on walks , early morning instagram lives , old disney marathons , scribbling in a notebook while snuggled up in bed chara inspo: olivia baker ( all american ) , leila faisal ( all american ) , tan france ( queer eye ) , elena gilbert ( the vampire diaries ) , dorothy gale ( wizard of oz ) , lucy pevensie ( chronicles of narnia ) , lara jean ( to all the boys i loved before ) , elle woods ( legally blonde ) , jeffree star , jenny humphrey ( gossip girl ) , cassie howard ( euphoria ) fashion inspo: vsco girls , bella hadid , megan markle , rihanna , selena gomez , perrie edwards , emma watson aesthetics: ghostly sounding music playing as background music to a pen to paper , eyes widened at the chance to do something positive , the annoying beg for approval , infectious energy , a pout so crippling , the swell of regret as you sneak a bottle into your bedroom , tanned skin tousling with silk sheets , big eyes threatening to shed a tear , the zip of a pink mclaren

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐄𝐑𝐀

holly is the only child to leandro and susanna addams ( the addams family 👀 ) . she was born with not just a silver spoon but the silver spoon . the addams are a prominent american family , that are regarded as one of the leading industrialist during the gilded age . in short her families been billionaire rich for a long time and are known as one of the families to bring wealth to the city of chicago . she was incredibly spoiled growin gup as you would assume but by the grace of her parents teachings she was anything but a brat . she had being filthy rich and being an only child working against her and she still managed to be the most giving and down to earth child . from a young age holly would give her toys to other kids during play dates & ask her parents if she could donate the things she didn’t use anymore to the less fortunate .

although her father had a busying career as he took over the family company just a year before holly was born , but in spite of that he always made time for his family . luckily her mother had stepped away from her career soon after meeting holly’s father , so she was able to be a stay at home mom and be there for every important moment of holly’s life . by the way , susanna was straight of of a real housewives show only just an overall better person ? they had dinner together as a family every night , threw parties at the house for every big moment in holly’s life . everything from birthdays , graduations , academic honors , to becoming captain of the cheerleading team and everything in between warranted a celebration in the eyes of susanna and leandro .

she grew up extremely sheltered , mostly because her parents wanted to keep their little girl well their little girl . they didn’t want the world to taint her . she went to church every sunday and even wednesday nights , if she wanted to have a sleepover it was always at the addams household , and her parents met the parent/s of every kid she befriended growing up .

despite their attempts her parents couldn’t shield her from one thing . getting her heart broken and at sixteen she experience her first bout of heart break . the boy she’d falling head over heels for just stopped talking to her one day , with no rhythm or reason he moved on to another girl with a blink of an eye . she couldn’t understand why ( pst ? it was because she slept with him and that was all he wanted to begin with ) someone could be so cruel an play with someones heart like that . it was her first experience of how the world could really work and in all honesty , holly couldn’t handle it . she got her hands on her parents bar room in the house and would literally drink every night before bed so she could sleep .

this soon turned into her going to parties , promising her parents "i just want to hang out with my friend , i wont touch any alcohol” and her promise was always kept , she didn’t touch alcohol at these parties instead she smoke weed and on the chance one of her friends had it on them she’d do a line .

this double life , if you would , didn’t lead to any real issues , at least not while she was in highschool . she still graduated top of her class and even got accepted into her dream school university of southern california . it wasn’t until she was a semester deep in usc that she realized she was losing control over her life . maybe it was a mix of her derailing mental state , being separated from her parents , and the los angeles social make up . whatever it was holly wasn’t too far gone to see she needed help .

instead of going back to school the following semester holly checked herself into rehab . her parents freaked out , unaware their daughter had touched a substance a day in her life . it was a long process and took alot of owning up for her own wrong doings but after a couple months she checked out of rehab and flew out to her parents .

she had decided upon leaving rehab that her best bet directly after getting out would be to surround herself with people who loved her . during her short stint in california her parents had made the temporary move to new york city so that her mom could focus on the salon in the city , so holly transferred to new york university to continue her studies and be around her parents .

she lives under their roof , despite being more than self efficient thanks to her multiple branches of income including her trust fund but she figures there is only so much more time before they leave to go back to chicago that the more time she spends with them the better off she’ll be when they leave the city . speaking of , she doesn’t know her parents will be leaving the city in the next few months . on a positive note they plan on paying the rent in the apartment they live in for her until she finds somewhere she likes better .

today , holly is a sober ( she smokes weed here and there but it’s not a addictive so it fine 🙄 ) and happy . although due to how sensitive the girl is anything could make her snap , she’s incredibly fragile guys . like capable of having a mental break at any moment but like we ignore it because if we bring it up it’ll happen . wooo .

not so fun fact ? when she has an off day she’ll literally sit in her room holding either a bottle she had hidden in her walk in closet or stares at the coke she keeps in her jewelry box . she hasn’t used any of it but she tells herself its there as a reminder when really it’s a crutch for if she ever needs it again , she has easy access .

secret time ? she pushed her ex boyfriend of a balcony while she was drunk . this happened before she went to rehab ... perhaps you could say it was what prompted her to realized her crazy ass needed to go to rehab . ummm , it’s not acceptable and she knows this but one thing we all need to know about holly is that holly + substances + being upset = toxic shit that is always the equation and there is never another answer to it .

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

a girl squad or just a squad in general really , give my baby her lil group of people please

maybe a fellow chicago native ? who she dated in highscool and you know is the one who dropped her like a hot potato after she slept with him

ex hook ups

frenemies but more like a blair & lil j circa season 1 situation ?

someone who just doesn’t like her , but like she does everything she can think of to get them to like her

an unrequited ting were he’s leading her one so he can sleep with her ?

or maybe someone has a crush on holly but she just doens’t have the heart to tell them she’s not interested so now here she is kissing and OMG YUP NOW SHES SLEEPING W THEM ...

someone she races ? she loves cars especially fast ones

a we hang out and watch/obsess over sports but the whole time i can’t help but think about how hot you are kinda vibe ?

someone who is v bad for her and they know it but she doesn’t care because she like them so much & he likes her too but knows he’ll hurt her ?!

someone who sees that she might be teetering on falling off the wagon ( maybe they were over her place and saw the stash of substances all over her room ), maybe they’re trying to get her to stop smoking weed bc they feel like for her that’s a huge gateway

smoking buddies where they literally just hot box cars together and munch on taco bell talking about why sound vibrates & shit

someone who she used to party with & be wild with ( could be from chi or nyc because she visited alot as a kid ) and now they feel like she’s a lame bc she’s sober

she’s a good influence on them ? they’re a bad influence on her ? ride or dies ? partners in crime ? only friends when there is a substance involved ? sugar baby vibes ? unlikely friends ? flings ? crush ? friends with benefits ? everytime they are around one another its a fight ? someone she lets crash at her parents place sometimes ? someone she’s backstabbed but like she got tricked into doing it ? anything fluffy , anything angsty ... reall just anything you got , i’ll take !

#wealthyhq:intro #❛ 🍒 ── 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑. / intro.#did i proof read this ? the lucky conch shell say ...#NO

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goldeneyedgirl · 5 years ago

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Ficathon: Mad World

I’ve spent today on uni work and chipping away on Shadow to Light, so instead of a prompt fic, have a sample of one of my WIPs - this one is Mad World, a fic where Alice is the daughter of Charlie Swan’s estranged sister who goes to live with Bella and Charlie. It was an experiment in gothic horror/romance, tbh.

“If you don't know where you are going any road can take you there.” - Lewis Carroll

When I look up at the sky in Forks, I don’t see clouds. Or I do, but they’re obscured by leaves and branches; the forest stretches above me and it’s nice. Private and safe, even though it makes it feel a lot later and darker than it really is. It’s like we’re in a cocoon, and there’s no one else in the world.

I return to reality as his teeth rasp against my stomach, above my belly button, and I giggle, ticklish. I’m splayed across a rock, and it's scratching my back - my sweater is balled up in the dirt, and my shirt is pushed up above my bra.

My fingers twist in his hair and I smirk as he looks back up at me. Jasper Hale; who I sit next to in History and in Trig. His shirt hangs open, revealing a body that will be taking pride of place in my fantasies.

“You okay?” His voice is low and even, but his eyes are sharp. Dark, and watching me. For a moment, I see calculation and something I should react to. Something dangerous. Like he could kill me right here and now; fuck me and choke me; rip me into wet, meaty pieces; beat my skull into dust with a rock. This boy, this man, is dangerous, and I have invited him to get much, much closer. He could do whatever he wanted to me, and he wouldn’t be the first.

And I don’t care. That darkness, that rage, and potential for violence, I’m not scared of it. I haven’t been for a long time. It’s easier to consent than to resist. And more than that, I like that darkness. I like that sharp edge. And what I know of Jasper Hale, I like.

Whatever I am feeling twists and fades into the steady thrum of lust, of confidence and willingness.

“Absolutely nothing,” I say, and tug his hair to bring his face closer to mine.

And that’s how I spent my third afternoon in Forks; fooling around with Jasper Hale in the woods behind the high school auditorium.

—

It’s a rainy Thursday night when I finally, finally arrive in Forks. And in that moment, it is the most beautiful place on earth - the green of the forest, the grey of the rain, the fresh air. It is Shangri-La on Earth, and I am apart of it.

I left North Carolina on Monday, and since then have taken a bus, a train, another bus, another train, and a third bus. I have layers upon layers of deodorant and grime upon my skin; my phone is dead; my hair is greasy from the endless styling tutorials I looked up to combat boredom, and all I want is something to eat and a shower. Anything that isn’t itchy seats, never-ending road, or snack foods would be heaven upon earth at this moment.

In truth, I don’t feel human anymore. I feel like a transient spirit, a modern-day gypsy, a lost girl. That for the rest of time, this will be my life - dirt and fuel and waiting for an end that never comes. But somehow, I have made it to Forks; the red ‘x’ on my photocopied map is finally a real place, with buildings and streets and people. Forks isn’t home, but it is the most welcoming sight I have had in years.

I jump down from the bus; a backpack on my shoulder, a satchel across my chest and a duffle bag in one hand. For all intents and purposes, this is all I own in the world. Twenty-three dollars in my wallet, and my entire life in my bags. I could go anywhere I wanted, except twenty-three dollars won’t take me many places.

No one else on the bus carries as much luggage as I do, and no one is dressed alike either - I changed at the Seattle bus station into my second-to-last clean outfit, to try and make a good impression. Everyone else is wearing a jeans-parka-boots combination, which is probably smart with the horrible weather. Not that I will miss the hideous summers of North Carolina. But I get the sense that this bus is full of locals, who busted happened to be travelling from Port Angeles or Seattle. There’s something about them, like the green of the forest, the dirt and mud of the ground, the rainwater has sunken into their bodies and marked them invisibly as belonging to the town of Forks. I wonder if I’ll be here long enough to be marked too.

The bus station is the smallest I’ve been to on this whirlwind road trip - a tiny convenience store, a spinning rack of postcards, a payphone, and endless wooden benches.

Uncle Charlie is right there, waiting for me - sitting on a bench with a paper cup of coffee. Even if he hadn’t been wearing his uniform, I would have guessed he was my uncle. He doesn’t strictly look like my mother, but there is something in the way they carry themselves, the way that they fill space. I don’t know. I just know that he is definitely Mom’s little brother, one Chief Charlie Swan of Forks, WA.

My new guardian - saviour or gaoler is yet to be determined.

“Uncle Charlie!” I put a big smile on my face and march straight up to him - if life has taught me nothing else, it’s that first impressions count. And not to piss off the person in charge of your welfare. “I’m Alice.”

Uncle Charlie looked up at me, and for a moment, just stared.

So, my outfit wasn’t the best first impression I could have picked. But it was the only one left that I could wear in public - my beloved, holey galaxy leggings; ancient floral Dr Martens that I had laced with pink ribbons; a giant purple and black sweater, and a black miniskirt. Combined with the pancake make-up I had used to cover up my blotchy-skin and dark under-eye circles, my greasy hair knotted in two buns with my collection of dollar-store butterfly clips, and the fact that I smelt like four days of bus, sweat, and fried food, I definitely looked like the devil child my mother probably portrayed me as.

“Mary Alice!” Uncle Charlie recovered. “How was your trip?” He smiled awkwardly and stood up.

“Long,” I said ruefully. “But I’m here now.”

—

Uncle Charlie tried to make conversation as we drove back to his place, as if a truncated game of ‘Twenty Questions’ could undo the awkwardness of not knowing about each other for seventeen years.

And it wasn’t like I could abridge my messy, ridiculous life story into a fifteen minute car trip, anyway. Or that Charlie Swan could become a beloved uncle between the bus station and his home.

Who was I?

I was Mary-Alice Brandon, eldest daughter of Annette Marie Swan-Ackerman, the only child of the late artist Nicholas Brandon. Resented step-daughter of Stephen Ackerman. A granddaughter and a niece and a half-sister. Former prisoner of a remote reform school. Epileptic. A secret keeper, and an artist.

How could I tell Uncle Charlie all the tiny details that made up me, and the reason I was here with him now?

That my mother is no Swan, but a chameleon, a snake, a cuckoo in the nest?

That the last of my stitches came out last week, but the scars still itch like crazy?

That I used to love gas-station slushies, especially pink ones, until I was twelve? That now I love soda, so cold it makes your brain and teeth hurt, and tastes like static?

And besides, what do I know about Charlie and my cousin? He’s a divorced police chief, and his daughter Isabella is also seventeen years old - five months older than me - and lives with him full-time. She attends the local public high school. That my grandparents are dead, and my ex-aunt has since remarried.

That’s it. That’s all I really know. And I am about to live with them.

If I think about it too much, it just feels like another trap.

—

The Swan house was small, but then, so were all the houses on the street. It was old, too, but I’d always known that was a probability. It didn’t make it easier, though. I’ve never done well in old houses. It needed a few repairs - the paint was peeling off, one of the shutters was hanging at an angle, and the front garden was dirt, grass, moss and ferns. Uncle Charlie struck me as a neat and practical kind of person, so this was surprising. But maybe in the spring, I could coax some kind of garden to life, as a way to say thank-you.

We walked in the backdoor, letting it swing shut behind us with a bang. Inside, the hallway was narrow and dark, with stairs leading up, and a few aged pieces of art hung on the plaid walls - mostly landscapes, and several of fish that were very good, if hideously ugly.

The first thing my eye caught was the mantlepiece in the sitting room, above the fireplace - a shrine to a teenage girl who bore a startling resemblance to Mom.

“Wow,” I said, moving closer. The eyes, the smile, the brown hair - this had to be my cousin. “Is that Isabella?”

“Yeah, that’s Bells. She’s out with her boyfriend at the moment,” Uncle Charlie said, setting down my duffle bag.

“She looks just like Mom,” I said, amazed. It was uncanny - Bella looked more like Mom’s daughter than I did.

“I guess she does,” Uncle Charlie said. “Bells is much prettier than Annette was at that age - but that’s all Renee.”

Charlie sounded uncomfortable, and I had to admit to myself that I was uncomfortable hearing my mother’s name. Turning away from the photographs, I pasted a smile back on my face.

“Sorry, I’m easily distracted,” I said. “You were going to show me my room?”

“Yeah. It’s not much,” Uncle Charlie began. “It’s pretty small…”

“You’re taking me in. That makes everything else perfect,” I said firmly, grabbing my backpack again. “Lead the way.”

—

Well.

Uncle Charlie had warned me that my bedroom was tiny.

It was more than tiny – more like a large alcove with glass doors. The walls were off-white, and a square window looked over a tiny yard and the forest. A narrow bed was wedged against the wall, made up with a hideous yellow bedspread. A dresser was arranged against the wall between the bed and doors. Opposite the dresser was a tiny desk and chair. Jammed in the gap at the end of the bed, next to the desk, was an old laundry hamper.

I was betting I could touch the window and the door with my arms outstretched.

Luckily I was used to small living spaces. I wasn’t sharing with anyone; that was enough to make up for the fact that this room would have been a better closet. Or window box. Apparently, Uncle Charlie had used it as an office when he needed to bring work home.

I set my bags on the bed. This was going to be my home for the next year and a half. It felt overwhelming all of a sudden, that I would be living with an uncle and cousin I had never even met before. It wasn’t like school, where I had shared a room with seven other girls, and we’d all been strangers.

I could do this.

It was only eighteen months. I had been away at school nearly three times that long, and if I could survive school, I could survive living at Uncle Charlie’s.

I had intended to unpack and settle in before dinner, but in the end, I just changed into some pyjamas, shoved my bags under the bed, and fallen asleep nearly instantly. I didn’t wake up until much later, almost midnight, starving and disorientated. I crept out of my room, making a note to buy some kind of curtains for the glass doors to give myself some privacy.

Uncle Charlie and my cousin were clearly already asleep, so I got myself a glass of water. There was a note scrawled out for me, telling me to help myself to food, and that they’d see me tomorrow. I felt bad for vanishing without spending time with them or even meeting Bella, but there wasn’t much I could do about that now.

The house was quiet in the darkness, but I used my phone to carefully navigate - and look around. The shrine held a wedding photo of a much-younger Charlie, and the woman who was my ex-aunt; a sad memento when I knew that Uncle Charlie had been divorced for quite a long time. An off-brand recliner sat near a small, out-of-date television, the remote on top of a TV guide, with various sports matches circled in pen. Several pairs of shoes sat by the front door - my cousin was clearly a strong supporter of Converse sneakers.

The leftovers in the fridge looked kind of suspect – some luminous mac and cheese, a chicken that was nearly picked clean, and some greasy looking Chinese. I ended up slapping some peanut butter on some bread, and drinking nearly half a carton of milk, before vanishing back into my new ‘bedroom’ for some more sleep.

Peering out of the uncovered window into the night, I could see beyond the fence line into the black of the forest. The tops of the trees cut the bottom half of the sky off perfectly, like an old-fashioned silhouette. It was strange to imagine my mother living in this kind of town, growing up here. But then, I had a hard time picturing my dad and her being married, too.

Lying back, I stared out at the night sky, the slow movement of clouds over the stars lulling me back to sleep.

#fic: mad world #jalice #alice cullen #jasper hale #twilight fan fiction #twificathon2020 #twilight #my fic #my writing

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staytiny-angel · 5 years ago

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The Demon's Lair - Part 2

Rating: Overall E, this chapter T

Main Pairing: Seth Rollins/Becky Lynch (Warning they aren't monogamous for much of the story)

Side Pairings: Roman Reigns/Jon Moxley/Renee Young, Finn Balor/Violet Balor(OC), Baron Corbin/Randy Orton/Ember Moon, Sasha Banks/Bayley/Xavier Woods, The Miz/Maryse

Summary: Fire? Meet Gasoline.

Taglist - @askauradonprep @rxllynch @neversatisfiedgirl @superrezzy00 @axelwolf8109 @swifteforeverandalways @hitory--chan @riottbliss @viperslunatic

Seth gingerly pulled his black dress shirt over the welts on his back as Violet knelt in front of him petting his face and hair "Feel better, precious one?"

Seth nodded in reply still a little spaced out from the endorphins. Finn entered the room again face clean from the paint that had given his handsome features their demonic appearance.

"So her name is Rebecca?"' he finally spoke

" Yes, she's a little younger than you. I've known her since she was a little girl. We came to America together but she moved down south when she met her former girlfriend, it was right before I met you actually. You just missed each other." Finn explained, "She's going to run the main bar since Jordan decided to return to school full time."

"I think I saw her. Orange-red hair, dressed in yellow and black leather?" Seth says as Finn helped him to his feet

"That would be Rebecca. Miss Rebecca or Miss Becky to you." Violet told him. "That shirt is much too tight to button over your back."

Seth nodded at the unspoken command "I'll keep it open"

Becky Lynch had not expected to like working at Finn's club after everything Charlotte had put her though because of her hatred of Becky's kinks, but her The Lair was like nothing she'd ever seen during her years as part of the scene. The members of the Lair acted more like a family than any other club she'd ever been a part of. It was surprising how all of them acted around one another despite many of the members' celebrity status, It had been a crazy moment, her when first night working the bar when Mike Mizanin and his wife Maryse just walked up and casually spoke to her, to her surprise the couple were very down to earth and just as funny as they were on their sitcom Miz and Mrs, though she'd wanted to slap Finn for not telling her he had the rich and famous frequenting his club. So far in her month behind the bar, she'd met several MMA fighters, a defensive lineman for the Giants, and she was currently talking to Ember Moon, a New York Times bestselling author. It was all so surreal. The only member of the club Finn ever mentioned was Seth Rollins. Becky had heard a lot about the millionaire CEO in her month at the club. Apparently, he was something of a legend around the Lair. He'd helped Finn get the club off the ground and Finn had introduced the man to the lifestyle. She knew he was at the club tonight but all she'd seen was long dark hair and a fancy suit as he headed into Finn's private domain.

The door to Finn's dungeon finally opened and Finn stepped followed by Violet who was holding on the arm of the man from before now looking much less agitated, fancy black shirt left unbuttoned to reveal a toned chest dotted with scrapes and bruises, and an impressive 6 pack.

Ember whistled from a bar stool off to the side of her "Seeing Sethie's chest is always a treat"

"What CEO looks like that?" Becky wondered aloud " and he's all banged up"

"One who served in the Army for the better part of a decade, including 3 tours of Afghanistan" Ember explained "Seth sometimes takes mercenary missions if they require his specific skill set. He's been gone on one for the last month"

"Wait, wasn't this guy born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth?" Becky looked at the other woman surprised

"Mama Trish….that's Seth's mom, by the way. Well, she may have raised a spoiled brat but he's also got a hero complex a mile wide after what went down with his Dad. Nasty business that was, Seth went into the military right after he graduated High School. Roman and Moxie, Miss Renee's boys? They followed him in. The four of them went to the same ritzy private schools, known each other since they were all little kids. One of my boyfriends was a few years above them. The silver spoon thing is funny though since Seth's middle name is Sterling"

"Hey! Are you mocking my name?" The man in question says in a raspy voice as he walks up to them.

"Your Mama named you Sterling, she cast that die for you already," Ember says hugging Seth after casting a glance at her Dom and getting a nod in answer.

"Sup, Emmy," Seth said taking a seat at the bar.

"Seth, Miss Rebecca. Becky, the Lair's chief pain in the ass." Finn introduced the pair to each other.

Seth rolled his eyes at Finn before smiling at Becky "Pleased to finally meet you Miss Rebecca" he said politely "Seth Rollins" he introduced himself properly

Becky's brain actually stuttered for a second. This man was too damn gorgeous for her own well being, after a moment she internally shook her thoughts back into place and reminded herself she was NOT looking for a new Sub, especially not a buff, tanned millionaire one.

"Be a good Kitten." Violet leaned in and kissed Seth softly "If you can find someone to play with tonight has fun! If not you are welcome to come home with us as always, my darling"

"Yes, Miss Violet. I'm taking the day off tomorrow. Moxie and Ro changed the security codes on the facility and all my work-related computer systems for 24 hours. They locked me out"

"I told them to, Mo Chroi" Finn tells him. "You need a day for yourself. Go to the gym, tend to your plants but you are not allowed near your headquarters until Wednesday understand?"

Seth bowed gracefully "Yes, My Liege"

Finn and Violet swept off to their personal VIP Booth, while Seth settled into his normal spot at the bar to chat with Ember as Becky looked on, laughing at something the tiny African American woman was telling him.

"What do you think my Queen?" Finn asks his wife

"I think they might be exactly what the other needs. Becky already thinks he's cute, I can tell" Violet replied

Are you okay?" Ember asked Seth seriously after joking around for a few more minutes. "You hardly take on solo missions anymore."

"Favor to one of Mom's country club buddies. Her friend's daughter got snatched while the girl was on a trip with her Dad. Tracked her over there, got her back relatively unharmed" Seth explained succinctly. One of Ember's Doms worked for Seth and had known him for most of his life, Sso she knew more about what he actually did for a living then most of his friends at the club.

"I'm glad. Now imma ask again cause you just tried to derail me. Are YOU okay?" Ember said grabbing the bigger man's shoulders gently and making him look her in the eye.

Becky watched as Seth ducked his head and then rolled his eyes at his friend "I'm better. Majesties worked me over a bit."

"Emmy." A deep midwestern accented voice said as Randy Orton walked back up to the bar. "Time to go. Baron's flight gets here in 2 hours"

"Yes Sir" Ember said lightly, accepting her boyfriend's hand and getting down off the barstool.

"Won't be in till Wednesday Viper, Royal decree." Seth told the older man

"Good. Tired of having to call the Doc in because your stubborn ass don't know when to go the fuck home. See you then, Boss" Randy replied before he and Ember headed out of the Lair, leaving Becky and Seth staring at each other

"Would you like a drink?" Becky asks him "Finn tells me this fancy-ass coffee set up is your doing?"

"I don't really drink, spent too many years trying to find death at the bottom of a whiskey bottle." Seth tells her bluntly "So yeah the fancy-ass coffee set up is for me."

"I'm assuming Finn told you to behave with me? He warned me about you while you were gone" Becky said easily despite being internally taken aback by the lighting fast change in attitude

She watched as Seth visibly took a deep breath "I apologize, Miss Rebecca, Miss Becky?" He said questioningly continuing when the redhead nodded "I apologize for my behavior Miss Becky, I wasn't prepared for Ember to ask about my last job and it was a…..rough one."

"Your forgiven, míshásamh," She said with a small smile that got bigger when Seth tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy "Six years being Finn's friend and sometimes boyfriend has taught me quite a bit of Irish but I don't know that word"

"Maybe, if you're a good boy, I'll tell you," Becky said with a smirk "Now if you want something fancier then a regular coffee, you're gonna have to come back here and make it yourself"

Seth grinned and nimbly leaped over the bar landing to the left of her, letting out a low cackle when she didn't budge "I can do that"

#Shai Writes #The Demon's Lair #Seth Rollins #Becky Lynch #Finn Balor #Rollynch #Ballins #Becky Lynch/Seth Rollins #Seth Rollins/Finn Balor #Seth Rollins/Finn Balor/OFC

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jbuffyangel · 6 years ago

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Legacy: Arrow 7x12 Review (Emerald Archer)

Spoiler alert: I loved the 100th episode. I know this is a controversial opinion because it is universally hated in the fandom (I think), but I truly loved the episode for where Oliver was at in his story. So, I didn’t go into the 150th with a lot of expectations. The 150th didn’t need to fix anything for me. Were there some misfires? Yeah and we’ll get into those, but overall I enjoyed this episode.

Let’s dig in…

Queen Family

William is home and our Queen family is reunited. FINALLY.

Yes, I know it’s technically the Queen-Smoak-Clayton family, but nobody is really expecting me to hyphenate three names over a dozen times? If you are then that’s crazy. I won’t do it.

Oliver and Felicity are overjoyed to see William,

but unfortunately the sentiment is not returned.

Source: olicitygifs

“Emerald Archer” introduces us to William’s alter ego: THE MOODY TEENAGER.

This may be the toughest foe Oliver and Felicity have ever faced.

Kidding. Not really. I’m knee deep in preteen years and the teenage ones are barreling at me with lightning speed, so I identity with this storyline A LOT.

Felicity deftly navigates the creature otherwise known as MOODY TEEN by complimenting his ability to find her virus (our budding computer genius. I am so proud.)

and then lovingly prodding William into discussing whatever is bothering him

by threatening grounding (for a rude & sassy attitude).

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Y’all I am taking notes. MOM ICON AT WORK.

William is ticked because his parents didn’t bring him home for Christmas. Is that what happened?

It’s so hard to figure out what holidays Arrow is acknowledging. Oliver said in 7x08, “Christmas vacation seems like 20 years from now,” so I assumed William came home sometime after 7x09, but I guess not.

Yeah, I get it kid. That sucks. #TeamWilliam.

In your parents’ defense they were hashing out the emotional evolution of their marriage while Oliver was body swapping with Bart. But that’s just a regular Monday for Arrow, so I understand the kid’s beef.

Source: ebett

Oliver playing television star (hehehe SO META) via this documentary doesn’t exactly scream crisis to William either. But-but-but all the shaky camera shots for gritty realism are cool though right honey? Yeah, William doesn’t care.

HOWEVER, if I spoke to my mother the way William spoke to Felicity and violently shoved an electronic device she paid for in her face while making demands regarding the wifi security (which she also pays for), I would be taking my life into my hands. My mother would have removed me from this earth, which is her right.

Same goes for my kid. I once asked my child during a temper tantrum if she wanted to do this the nice way or the nasty way. She put her little hands on her hips, all of age 3, and said with absolute conviction while glaring at me, “NASTY.” She is now 11, going on 12, and I assure you she has never made that mistake again. So, I commend Felicity’s reserve. I’m afraid I do not share that level of parenting patience.

Why is Felicity taking all the heat when it was Oliver who screwed the pooch by going to prison in the first place? Well, yes one can always trace the source of the problem back to the biggest pine tree to ever live,

but in this particular circumstance I agree with William. It was Felicity’s decision to send him away to boarding school. I’m not saying she shouldn’t have done it. Felicity had extremely good reasons to send William away.

Source: ebett

However, a large part of Felicity’s beef with Oliver after his release from prison was his constant Monday morning quarterbacking of her decisions. Oliver can hero however he wants, but he doesn’t get to question how Felicity deals with the consequences of his heroism. That was the agreement right? RIGHT. Felicity said the buck stops with her. So, the buck stops with her. Sending William away was her call, so now she’s dealing with some fallout.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Don’t worry, I fully expect Daddy to get looped in, but I like how they are focusing on William and Felicity first. It’s rare to run into problems with your child when both parents are in the room. One or the other fields the play first and then you loop your partner in. At least, that’s how it works in my house. (Seriously, I don’t know how single parents do it. Y’all are kings and queens among peasants.)

Side note: you never ever contradict your partner’s parenting decisions in front of the little human. It shows weakness. The wee nugget can smell it like fear and it gives them a tactical advantage. These are tools of the trade. Get a pen. Write it down.

It was just William and Felicity for six months. They built their own family without Oliver together. Of course, Oliver was still a part of the family and they missed him like crazy, but the day to day was just the two of them. Some of those decisions are coming home to roost, so it makes sense to me Felicity is taking the parenting lead. She was William’s only parent for quite some time.

Felicity, being the super hacker mom that she is, figures out what is really going on – William is lying to her. It seems he has been expelled from school. Oops.

The reason for his expulsion will be revealed to us next week I am sure, but I would say now is the time to loop Dad in.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

These scenes between William and Felicity were the best in the episode and it never ceases to amaze me how far their relationship has progressed in such a short amount of time. There is nothing Felicity can’t do and no man she cannot smoak. Life with a teenage William is going to become more complicated and the parenting more challenging. But William will be a better person for having Felicity in his life. No matter where this story goes that’s a solid fact.

Olicity

It’s been 150 episodes and we’ve come a looooong way with Oliver Queen.

He’s so at peace with himself in these interviews.

Oliver has merged both personas, the hood is down, mask is off, he's married to the love of his life, his boy is home, and his life is filled with purpose.

Source: smoakmonster

This man was snapping necks in the pilot and now he’s the softest teddy bear to ever exist because his son is home from school. MY HEART IS FULL.

Source: olicitygifs

To begin where Oliver began, and to be where he is now, is nothing short of miraculous. He may not be a saint, as Curtis notes later, but that’s exactly where he is headed. That’s who fully realized superheroes are.

But we still have some road to travel. Oliver’s only real area of doubt is his leadership abilities. I still don’t understand what mistakes Oliver made with Team Arrow.

Source: smoakmonster

He’s constantly referencing these “mistakes” particularly in “Emerald Archer.” This is a failing of Season 6. I truly think the writers believe the NTA versus OTA storyline was evenly handled, but in reality Oliver was completely in the right and the Newbies were acting like spoiled toddlers.

Oliver went to jail in some part to atone for his sins, but I do not feel any of those sins happened in Season 6. I view Oliver’s stint at Slabside as atonement for killing.

We can debate the necessities of that atonement, but this season feels like an ultimate purging of Oliver’s sins – venial and/or mortal. Whatever debt Oliver owed society, he paid it and then some. This only makes his soul more pure. If you don’t believe Oliver deserved to go to prison at all then it just adds more fuel to the martyr fire - all good things in the evolution of a saint.

However, now Oliver is questioning his ability to lead because of these so called “mistakes.” Based on statements Oliver has made in previous episodes, those mistakes would be lack of trust and lying.

I’m with him on the lying. Time to nip that in the bud, but that doesn’t mean Oliver owes everyone the truth immediately. He’s perfectly within his rights to take some time, yes even a month, to process the introduction of a new sister in his life. The man still has a right to some privacy and space.

Oliver’s guilt over not trusting the Newbies is fairly ridiculous since they gave him very good reasons not to trust them.

In case Oliver has forgotten, Dinah had a secret criminal boyfriend and Rene sold him out to the Feds. These are untrustworthy actions and they have consequences. I can’t remember what Curtis did, if anything. His crime is unceasing uselessness, so Oliver can and should ignore the man.

Oliver is not sure he’s meant to lead, which of course means he is absolutely the right person for the job. Only true leaders question their worthiness.

Source: smoakmonster

He returns to the destroyed bunker with a renewed commitment to rebuild the bunker

(with handy dandy deputy badges for the team) and learn from his mistakes.

Source: smoakmonster

I imagine Oliver’s new leadership style will be more trusting and democratic, but inclusion only gets you so far. Team Arrow may be the kindling in the Star City fire, but the citizens need Oliver Queen to set it ablaze.

The Team Arrow table is round both in the destroyed present and flash forward bunkers. It gives it a very Knights of the Round Table feel. Everyone can have an opinion and equal say, but in the end it was King Arthur’s kingdom. He pulled the sword from the stone, built Camelot and paid the ultimate price for his dream.

Oliver is King Arthur and Star City is his Camelot – or what he dreams Star City may one day become. He may pay the ultimate price for that dream like Arthur, but ultimately the loss of the hero teaches us the dream isn’t possible without the hero. Oliver may need Team Arrow, but the team and the city will soon discover they need him even more.

Source: ebett

This is something Felicity Smoak has always understood. Her belief in Oliver Queen and crystal clear understanding of who he is has never wavered in seven years. Even when they were separated romantically, Felicity saw Oliver as the man who would save Star City.

This belief became a compass for Oliver- his North Star. Felicity became the voice in Oliver’s head guiding him on his hero’s journey.

Her belief made Oliver believe and thus became a self fulfilling prophecy.

Edward: So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?

Vivian: She rescues him right back. (Pretty Woman)

There is no Green Arrow without Felicity Smoak and there is no Felicity Smoak without Green Arrow. Each is dependent on the other. Their love is amalgamation of give and take & push and pull. Oliver and Felicity never cease in their pursuit to become their best selves, yet remain a beautiful example of unconditional love, acceptance and forgiveness.

Love changes us and it cements who we are. It is a constant drive of two diametrically opposed forces working in perfect cohesion. We find clarity in the swirl of finding love, falling in love and then settling into love. Oliver and Felicity found themselves in each other. It’s how we all do, regardless of whom or what you love.

All it took was one sweet and simple smile for Felicity to know exactly who Oliver Queen is.

Yet, who is he is equally about who they became together. Felicity saw Oliver’s light because of how brightly hers shined. Their heroic evolution is perfectly entwined.

Source: @olicitygifs

So, there is no better person to speak on this topic. The word vigilante falls woefully short. It cannot encompass everything her husband is or what their love has built together. It barely hints at the goodness Felicity saw hiding behind a ridiculous lie and a bullet ridden computer.

Felicity’s interview doesn’t shine a big enough spot light on her own contributions, but I think that’s primarily because she hasn’t been outed as Overwatch to the city. However, she has always been the truthsayer of Arrow and that’s her role in the documentary as well.

Felicity understands who Oliver is because she is his equal in every way.

Recognition of his heroism is recognition of hers as well. And someday the world will see everything Felicity sees with unwavering

clarity.

Source: @olicitygifs

Should there have been more of Felicity and Olicity in "Emerald Archer”? Yes, absolutely.

My thirst will never be satiated, but I’ve long since acclimated myself to quality over quantity. This was Felicity as she’s always been. I love whenever this show showcases her ability to cut through the bullshit and shine a light on the truth. The scenes between her and William were the best in the episode too. That said, an Olicity kiss and/or joint interview wouldn’t have killed them.

Welcome Back Guest Stars!

A good returning guest star angle works for me 99.999% of the time on any television show. What can I say? I’m nostalgic. Let us wile away the dull hours and spin a tale or two about the days of old.

Nostalgia in these types of retrospective episodes can get a little tricky. You need a good reason to bring back five or six actors who’ve left the show and we’ve heard almost nothing from for a few years, particularly the dead characters. Arrow’s documentary film idea for the 150th episode really works for me. It gives a legitimate reason to bring all of these characters back, but not necessarily keep them around. It’s not aliens so right there we’re already light years ahead.

HA! Get it? Light years? Yeah, you might not be laughing now but you’ll realize how funny that is later on.

Source: fatedxdestiny

Arrow starts with Quentin and boy is that ever the right call. This documentary is very pro vigilante. It was put on the shelf because Star City became anti vigilante, so who better to advocate for the masked heroes than the man who ran the SCPD for the last twenty odd years?

Quentin was always the touchstone to the real world. He was the bridge between Oliver and the citizens of Star City. He was also someone Oliver wanted to earn the respect of and that’s what he’s trying to do now. He’s trying to earn Star City’s respect EVEN THOUGH THESE UNGRATEFUL TWATS SHOULD ALREADY RESPECT HIM. Even though I believe it was time to let Quentin Lance go, I still miss him and whenever Paul Blackthorne comes on my television screen I cry big baby dumbo tears.

Source: fatedxdestiny

Then we roll right into the reason Oliver began this mission in the first place: FAMILY. Family for Oliver is and will always be Thea Queen. I shrieked when I saw her. I officially take back my “We’ll never see Willa Holland again” prediction. I was happy to be wrong.

Thea being the representative for all her dead family members is the most Thea thing this show has ever done. Kid is a walking poster child for bereavement. I think it’s really important to remember Starling City was a hot mess before Oliver showed up. This city wasn’t hitting anyone’s nifty top fifty places to raise a family. There was a serious cost to all the violence and Thea’s interview is a powerful reminder.

Oliver is seldom given his due. The newbies, Star City, officials, villains, and other superheroes are always ragging on him. But when Thea found out Oliver was the Arrow she thanked him. She was one of the few people who understood right from the start the good Oliver was doing. (Felicity is the other few people).

Oliver started this fight for many reasons, but chief among them was his love for his family. Thea has always returned that love tenfold. She is ride or die for her big bro and even though we had AMAZING Queen sibling scenes in the 100th it’s nice to see them honor their relationship no matter how far away Thea is. They do lose points for zero Queen sibling interaction though.

Source: fatedxdestiny

Sara gives one hell of a speech doesn’t she? It’s in a similar vein as Thea’s – reminding Star City of the cost of unchecked crime. She acknowledges it doesn’t matter whether or not a person is wearing a mask. This is a classy way of calling out Star City’s double standard. Honestly, who cares if it’s a cop or a guy dressed in leather saving your ass? What matters is someone stepped up to save your life.

It’s also a nice subtle acknowledgement of Felicity’s contributions. Sara has worn a mask as the Canary and fought without one as White Canary. She knows what matters is a person’s heart and not what they wear. Sara has always understood the importance of the unmasked in this line of work.

This feels like a not so subtle way of sticking it to anti Felicity fans, but that’s just me.

Source: fatedxdestiny

SIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE YOU BEEN BABY GIRL? Honestly, my biggest annoyance with these return guest star scenes is we didn’t get much of an update on where the characters are at. Does Sin have a home now? Does she know Sara is alive? I have questions.

Sin was a fairly minor character in Season 2 and even more so in Season 3, but seeing her brings back all those Season 2 memories.

Memories, Like the corners of my mind Misty water-colored memories

Sorry. Sidetracked by Barbara Streisand.

Again, the use of Sin is brilliant because she represents the people Team Arrow has saved. We spend a lot of time on Oliver’s mistakes. We remember all the people Oliver couldn’t save and how deep those losses cut him. However, we seldom talk about those he has saved and Oliver has saved THOUSANDS – maybe even millions. The man deserves a cookie at the very least. Sin is a box of double chocolate chip.

Oliver is not the only unmasked vigilante – Ragman is too. He’s out doing good, but the people know he’s Ragman. We don’t know if he unmasked before or after Oliver, but I would bet after. Oliver is always the first domino to fall in this universe.

Rory’s interview is super short and is therefore criminally underused. He is primarily used to set up the Star City Slayer. Ragman’s mask is among the first Oliver found. Even the angles on his documentary interview have an artistic/retrospective/forlorn feel to it like we are seeing someone who is gone. I swear to God if this serial killer killed my Rory I am going to light things on fire and throw them. I’m not even sure killing Curtis will ease my pain (but it’ll help).

Rory’s albeit short message is pretty simple as is the premise of this show.

“People need help.”

What matters is there are those in the city willing to help the helpless (NAME THAT SHOW). Their methods matter less. Rene, Curtis and Dinah COMBINED still do not compare to Rory Regan. How we ended up with those three louts and lost that beautiful sparkling jewel of a character remains a mystery and still chaps my ass.

Source: fatedxdestiny

Who invited Bart? I am only tolerating his appearance because he needs to pay his respects, but – UNBELIEVABLY DAMAGED??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU BETTER COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER THAN THAT YOU LITTLE DICKHEAD BECAUSE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE A SHOW WITHOUT THE UNBELIEVABLY DAMAGED OLIVER QUEEN. Oh wait he’s still talking. Rewind... alright, Barry said some nice stuff. I’m better now.

Honestly, just the way this scene played it’s like the writers anticipated all my yelling after “unbelievably damaged.” They wrote the rest of the scene like Barry was reacting to my yelling as he cleaned up his statement. HAHAHA. That’s damn right fool. I’ll come for your ass. You better run.

If you’re going to pick a character among the four shows Arrow has launched I guess you go B*rry All*n. It makes a statement about Arrow’s influence on the DCTV universe, which I appreciate for the 150th episode. This was something extremely lacking in the 100th episode. Arrow is the reason a whole lot of people have jobs, so it’s an apropos time to pay due respect.

We’re constantly stuck in this Barry is light and Oliver is dark comparison and it annoys me to no end because I don’t believe either character is that clear cut. Both men have light and dark. But I do love how Barry acknowledges that the darkness Oliver survived also fuels his light.

Oliver Queen is incredibly protective. He doesn’t want anyone to suffer like he did, which includes not only his family and friends but strangers. Oliver uses his pain for good. He finds the light in the darkness, which why I love him so much.

Barry isn’t saying anything Felicity or Diggle haven’t already said for years. However, as the likely pass-the-torch candidate, Barry is commending the essence of Oliver in a way the insanely disrespectful crossover failed to do. Of course, we all know there is a reason for this disrespect – Oliver must be persecuted even by those who “know” him before he can be seen as the Messiah of superheroes.

But we are Arrow fans. We know the truth. We see Oliver for who he truly is and for just one moment, in this 150th episode milestone, the comic f*ckboys’ fuzzy bunny, rainbow puking superhero acknowledged the truth.

Also his faux shock about Oliver being the Green Arrow was hilarious.

Source: flashallens

Diggle and the Newbies

Sweet holy Moses. There are times this show is so tone deaf it truly blows my mind. It’s sort of like watching Wile E Coyote barrel off the mountain top. Does he see the ledge or does he simply not care there is a ledge? These are my deep thoughts for the day.

Diggle didn’t even know Emiko was Oliver’s sister. That’s where we’re at folks! These two brothers could finish each other’s sentences and predict one another’s movements at one point, but now they are like strangers. Ugh, I hate this. FIX IT NOW.

Arrow is going to fix Diggle in an extremely Arrow way. Anyone who has listened to Watchover with Jen & Calli knows this is what we said would happen. The writers are never going to dive deep like I do in these reviews. For one, they aren’t crazy and two it just ain’t the show fam. The Arrow way of fixing a problem is:

1. Pretending it never happened.

2. Slap a bow on it and call it fixed without doing any of the actual character development to earn the moment.

Annnnd that’s what we got. Things are a little tense between Diggle and Oliver. John is put out Oliver didn’t clue him in about Emiko, even though he’s known for about a month. Oliver correctly points out Diggle hasn’t run in his circle for the better part of a year, so he gets the info when he gets it. YASS! PREACH IT SON.

John at least has the good sense to admit what Oliver said was true. He also decides this superhero slayer is too much for the SCPD to handle (isn’t everything though?) and it’s time to get the band back together.

Source: legends-of-today

There’s some back and forth between the two men about the other team members risking jail, but Oliver going to prison never sat right with Diggle.

Source: fatedxdestiny

It is good John is acting honorably, steadfastly having Oliver’s back, and just generally dispensing some good old fashioned Yoda wisdom.

However, he says what has to be the most ridiculous line I have heard on this show in a loooong time.

“Oliver when you were in jail we had each other’s backs.”

I swear to God I screamed. And then I fell off the chair laughing because NONSENSE.

Arrow ignores its own storyline when it doesn’t fit with the goals of the episode. It’s so blatantly obstinate and counter to what their audience wants, hell I almost admire them a little for it.

Writers: The storyline is not what you’ve witnessed on screen. The storyline is what we tell you and that will change week to week.

Us: Umm that’s not how television works but okay. Have at it.

Obviously, the writers wanted to reunite Team Arrow in a very “Ra Ra Go Team!” way, but haven’t done any of the leg work so the moment feels earned or makes any sense at all.

Of course, the team didn’t have each other’s backs.

Diggle abandoned Felicity and was upset when any of her attempts to free her husband interfered with his useless A.R.G.U.S. soldiering. His annoyance, admonishments, refusals of help and threats weren’t limited to Felicity. It also included anyone who helped Felicity like Rene, Bl*ck S*ren and Emiko. He also did bupkis to help free Oliver from prison. But okay, you had their backs John.

Maybe he’s speaking about Curtis who joined A.R.G.U.S. John seemed okay with Dinah policing. Perhaps he has a highly compartmentalized way of looking at team support. Regardless, it’s a ludicrous statement and is one that makes you wonder if the Arrow writers actually watch Arrow.

But as I said, we were expecting this because this is typically what Arrow does. Sometimes they force the story even when its counter to everything we’ve seen for weeks on end. That’s what happened in “Emerald Archer.” The writers are done with the team fighting. They want everyone to reunite and rebuild the team, so it has to begin with Oliver and Diggle.

Team Arrow started with the two of them, which is why they repeated their iconic handshake basked in the sunlight. And yes, to a certain extent what Diggle said is true. They are family and families fight, but it doesn’t mean you stop being a family.

Source: legends-of-today

But you also don’t get to act like a selfish jackass for the better part of a year and then sweep it all away by playing the family card. Families have to work through their issues by 1) being honest about what those issues are 2) talking about the issues 3) and apologizing. The writers missed steps 1 through 3.

The scene felt like Oliver was apologizing to Diggle when really it should be the other way around. When did this become about Oliver’s mistakes and not John’s? Am I watching the right show? Let’s not forget in the midst of all this bromance healing the one who really needs an apology is Felicity.

I’m not too mad because I don’t think this is the end of the conversation. I think Arrow put the cart before the horse and reunited Oliver & Diggle before they actually dealt with their issues, but what else is new? They decided it was time for the reunion because it was the 150th episode. Uhhh... okay then.

It’s entirely possible additional conversations are coming though. Hopefully ones including Felicity. Diggle still has to confess about Diaz, which he was about to do but was interrupted. It should drop a bomb on OTA and kick up some very much needed, no holds bar, come to Jesus style drama. We have ten episodes to go which is a lot of season left. I haven’t given up completely on Diggle’s arc for this year.

But also, I’m tired y’all. If they aren’t going to examine John’s actions with a modicum of reflection then I’d prefer for it to be over as quickly and painlessly as possible because this is terrible storyline. I’m sick of Pod Diggle. I miss his friendship with Oliver and Felicity. I hate whatever the hell he’s doing at A.R.G.U.S. I’m tired of everyone doing their own thing. I miss OTA. I want the show to go back to vigilantes hunting bad guys.

And yes, that goes for the Newbies too. They aren’t going away – well two of them aren’t. Arrow is completely ignoring all of their horrible behavior in Season 6, so fine. They will never resolve this storyline to my satisfaction so let’s just be done with it. Does the reunion fall flat because Arrow refuses to deal with the consequences of the Newbies’ actions in a truthful way? Yes. But I can’t care more than the writers do. So, I’m done. Moving on.

This will not preclude me from snarking however. Nothing ever will stop the snark. Dinah and Rene were in rare form in “Emerald Archer.” Both were pretty snotty.

I actually liked Rene’s interview, but then he has the nerve to cop an attitude with Oliver. Apparently, Oliver didn’t fawn over Rene enough. This is their first conversation since Oliver’s release and Rene is bitching about Oliver not asking how he is. FOR REAL???? There is only one person who should be asking how the other is doing and it’s the one who turned state’s evidence.

He’s also annoyed Oliver has gainful employment with the police department while Rene “I Can’t Go Down That Road With You Hoss” Ramirez is left out in the vigilante cold. POOR BABY. Maybe if you hadn’t sold Oliver out to the feds the team could have stayed together.

Dinah cops an attitude as well (pun intended). Oliver is about to share deeply personal information with her and admits he’s had the information for some time. Dinah says it’s par for the course with him. ANY NEW SECRET BOYFRIENDS DINAH? I do not know where the Newbies got the idea they were on the moral high ground, but this horrific writing keeps perpetuating that myth. For the love of God writers REWATCH SEASON 6.

On to happier developments.

Source: legends-of-today

Curtis called Oliver a hero, had a cool moment with his T-spheres and remarked about being a team “even if it was for one last time.” Cue close up and Oliver looking fondly at him as if Curtis was already a ghost. Of course, he’s talking their impending jail sentences for breaking the anti vigilante laws, but we know different. CURTIS IS GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIE.

I was supposed to be pressed when Diggle, Curtis and Rene were arrested, but they all were annoying me so they can go to prison.

Finally the show does away with one of their more ridiculous plot holes. The mayor deputizes all of Team Arrow so they can fight crime in leather, but legally. Did she not see all the other times Team Arrow saved lives? They are only worthwhile if they are saving her life? They are friends with the DA too. BS is not going to press charges. So, why even have a law the DA won’t enforce? You know what? I’m not even gonna go there. Whatever.

It took Dinah several episodes to show some loyalty, but she was prepared to resign if her friends went to jail. Of course, Oliver “I’m Trying To Be Jesus” Queen puts his head on the chopping block again for these dinks too.

“After speaking with my family, I’m here to turn myself in.”

YOU SEE HOW EASY THAT WAS OLIVER? NOT SO HARD IS IT BIG BOY? THY NAME IS CHARACTER GROWTH!

Here’s something I’ve been mulling over. Clearly some of the Newbies are here to stay and a great deal of the 150th episode was devoted to this concept of legacy.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

These characters exist so what Oliver has built can live on beyond him. It doesn’t automatically equate to Dinah, Rene and Curtis being good characters, but Arrow is incredibly invested in the idea of Oliver Queen’s legacy.

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

We want the show to be about Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. They want the show to be about more than Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. And thus an immovable force meets an unstoppable object.

The problem is Arrow, once again, is putting the cart before the horse. They are focusing on Oliver’s legacy (and all the superhero characters he’s launched), but he hasn’t achieved what he set out to do. Camelot doesn’t exist yet! Oliver’s legacy can’t be built until the dream is achieved. There’s still work to be done. We need to focus on Oliver, Felicity and Diggle before worrying about the next generation. I wish Arrow could do both at the same time, but they can’t.

Do I think we’ll ever get that kind of focus? Nope. Arrow is committed to these new characters and their definition of legacy. It is what it is my friends. Either I make my peace with it or turn the channel, I guess.

Flash Forwards

Blackstar’s name is Mia. I couldn’t be happier.

I still think it could be a nickname for Moira, but they aren’t going to cough up that golden nugget yet. Obviously, yes all the comic f*ckboys are going to think she’s Mia Dearden and Oliver’s ward. Go ahead and keep thinkin’ that. We’ll see who lands on top.

Source: smoakmonster

Mia obtained a bootleg copy of the outlawed vigilante documentary and she practically bored holes into the television watching her father speak. There is no other reason to shoot the scene like that, with Oliver reflecting in Mia’s eyes, if she’s not his child. The shot clearly communicates a connection to OLIVER. She wants to find the location of Team Arrow’s bunker and the video provides the necessary clues.

Source: amunetblack

JJ, Diggle and Lyla’s son, makes his flash forward debut and he tags along with Mia. I felt a protective vibe from him. I think Mia gets into trouble all the time and JJ tries to keep her out of it, but absolutely they are ride or die. I may have been picking out wedding dresses for her during the scene. If Arrow does not put Diggle’s son and Oliver’s daughter together and make OTA in-laws then it is a crime against humanity.

I don’t know why JJ is going by Connor Hawke. He adopted the moniker in the Legends alternate future because he didn’t feel worth of the name John Diggle Jr. Frankly, I think Connor Hawke is a code name similar to Blackstar and the sole function of it is to make us think John is dead. But we know Diggle is alive because David let the cat out of the bag. *blows kisses to that beautiful man*

Mia hates vigilantes because the vigilante lifestyle stole her father and childhood. Simple is that.

Source: amunetblack

I don’t have all the answers yet. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how the Queen family was separated. I don’t know why William doesn’t know his own sister, but I certainly wasn’t expecting Mia to call Oliver “Dad” anymore than she would call Felicity "Mom” at this point. Answers lead to more questions and I am perfectly content with Arrow revealing the truth when they are good and ready.

If you refuse to believe Mia is Oliver and Felicity’s daughter, fine. If you are convinced she’s Bl*ck S*ren’s daughter, fine.

There is literally no evidence they hired the lead of Shadowhunters to play a supporting character’s daughter, but go off I guess. And no, Oliver is not cheating on Felicity with BS. Take that nonsense somewhere else.

They held off on introducing JJ because Diggle is one of the three main characters, but sure they’re keeping Bl*ck Si*en’s kid a secret. Not Oliver and Felicity’s kid, ya know, the characters who are the male and female leads of the show. Nope. Bl*ck S*ren’s daughter is the big surprise.

It doesn’t automatically make them mother and daughter simply because Bl*ck S*ren was singing the anti vigilante party line and Mia hates vigilantes. By that logic, Diaz, Quentin and the Mayor all have a shot at Mia being their progeny. If BS was as anti vigilante as she said then she would have pressed charges against Diggle, Curtis and Rene. She didn’t. Thank you. Next.

My point is I am convinced she is their daughter. Every episode just adds more evidence. My belief is unwavering. You won’t convince me otherwise, so save yourself the energy. You believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want. Then we’ll see how it shakes out in the end.

Stray Thoughts

Director Pedowitz might be one step over the meta line, but also hahaha.

Documentary intro was sweet. Can we make that the permanent one? Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Did they reshoot old fight scenes for the documentary? That feels like a lot of work. I wonder if it was film they had on hand but didn’t use from the old episodes. Either way it looked legit and I was impressed. Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

Slightly odd how Oliver or anyone else on Team Arrow never mentioned they are being followed around by a camera. That’s just details. Imma let it go.

It is official. Star City knows Oliver is the Hood, the Arrow and the Green Arrow. We can stop debating. This means these thankless twiddle twits know he saved them from Merlyn, Slade, Ra’s Al Ghul and Damien Darhk. HOW MANY MORE TIMES DOES HE NEED TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASSES TO GET SOME RESPECT?

Why does no one ever remember the undertaking on this show? Moira Queen admitted to a long term plan, led by Malcolm Merlyn, to destroy the Glades. This plan was hatched while Oliver Queen was on the island. No wait BEFORE the island. There was a freaking trial! How the hell does this make the Undertaking Oliver’s fault Madame Mayor?

Overwatch is back and the world makes sense again. Source: arrowdaily

Oliver shading Curtis with Felicity's superior abilities is LIFE AFFIRMING. Source: olicitygifs

Bl*ck C*nary fighting looks equally as ridiculous on documentary film as she does on regular film, so that question is answered and we can go on with our lives.

I really can't listen to Bl*ck S*ren pretending to be E1 L*urel Lnce. It's too annoying. Zip it fishnets.

I can’t pin point what “season” Thea’s interview was filmed during and it’s kind of bugging me, so hit the comments with your guess.

I’m not talking about Diaz. I cannot even believe they included him in the documentary. He’s gone here for a minute.

Didn’t love the Annie Hall look on Dinah. Misfire. Source: redfield5x5

One of the reasons why writers choose to film a faux documentary is so their characters can constantly tell the camera operator to turn the camera off. It’s a trademark of the trope.

“We need to come up with a better name immediately.” PREACH IT SON.

Baby William and Baby Zoe making friends is adorbs. Rene is all worried William is gonna make a move on Zoe. First of all, they are like 14. Calm down. Second of all, William is a short stop for the other team, but feel free to twist yourself into a pretzel Rene. The wasted energy will amuse me enormously. Source: feilcityqueen

This serial killer seems to collect masks regardless of whether or not the vigilante is actually dead, so I’m holding out hope Rory Regan is alive.

The documentary film shots of the fight scene were AMAZING. The last action scene was pretty sweet. It was nice seeing the team work together cohesively again. Source: 1-crazy-dreamer

I know I’ve said this before but Rene and Emiko are so happening.

“Fans have a strange way of showing their affection.” Oh yeah this guy was a hired gun by Stan the Fan. Kevin Meltzer was recently released from a psychiatric hospital which I am sure Stan has seen the inside of a time or two. No way is that line a coincidence. Or it’s a commentary on fandom. One or the other.

I had no idea Dinah’s vigilante identity was still secret.

Hahaha. Rene didn't know Emiko was related to Oliver. He's the new L*urel. I just decided.

Bl*ck S*ren agrees to give an interview for the documentary, but later on acts like she didn't agree to be on the documentary and threatens the camera operator. Yeah, that sounds about right.

This cupcake owns my heart. Source: ebett

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 7x12 gifs credited.

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wigwurq · 6 years ago

Text

WIG REVIEW: AVENGERS - ENDGAME

You guys can you believe I saw a Marvel movie within like 5 days of its release? I DID IT! AND NOW I CAN WRITE A LOT OF SPOILERS - READ ON ONLY IF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS 3 HOUR MARVEL OPUS TO ITSELF! But what about the wigs? OH GURL. LET’S DISCUSS.

We begin in the Mid-waste (I think?) where Hawkeye has been taking some time out of the fight and hanging by a sleeping tree, Bran-style (oh get ready for a lot of GoT crossover comments as I saw this right after the Battle of Winterfell episode and I might get my nerdy details conflated). Anyhoo, did you know that Hawkeye is married to Linda Cardellini? Is she just the supportive wife in everything? Side note: this fact might have existed in an earlier MCU movie. To be fair, I have seen MOST MCU movies (except Thor 2 and Spider-Man and I’m not correcting that) and only saw the other ones like once so I was going into this movie like most of America: vaguely confused about former facts and really exhausted about where this 3 hour movie was about to take me. ANYWAY, Hawkeye’s entire family vanishes like at the end of Infinity War and ugh I see what you’re doing Endgame: this movie is gonna be a BUMMER.

Iron Man of course lightens the mood with some cute banter with Nebula but also: they’re fully about to die in the space void and did RDJr lose a lot of weight or is this just that Marvel technology they used to make Chris Evans look spindly in the first Captain America? Anyway, things are looking BLEAK but then our girl Captain Marvel shows up and saves the day.

Back on earth, the Avengers are really bummed out about half the population being gone (but not so bummed out that ScarJo and “Best” Chris Evans haven’t taken some time to get haircuts - they look great!) But no time for hair maintenance talk: Brie Larson is ready to go back to space! Also her hair looks good! This movie was made before Captain Marvel and it looks like they just used her real hair and it’s so much better than her wig in that movie.

Anyway, to space! Wait, now Brie is wearing a wig. UGH. Dammit, space! However, I think this is ScarJo’s real blonde hair (a more natural look than her blonde bob wig seen in Infinity War) and what a long strange trip it’s been since Black Widow’s first perm to her mall hair in Age of Ultron and beyond. Thank the lord for this lewk.

So the (remaining) Avengers land on whatever planet Thanos is living on now and apparently he’s using old Avengers costumes as Scarecrows? Ok I know we’re supposed to hate this guy but he’s all for population control, gardens, AND now recycling are we sure we hate him? The Avengers definitely still hate him and after learning that he destroyed all the jewelry he spent all of Infinity War finding, they are PISSED. Thor is so pissed he kills him! Which is a super hot-headed thing to do and is basically as bad as “worst” Chris Pratt’s behavior with Thanos in Infinity War and will these alpha males ever learn??? How are they gonna reverse this whole half of the population missing thing now?

Spoiler (haha these are all spoilers!): THEY DON’T. FIVE EFFING YEARS PASS. And in real movie time, at least like 45 minutes? In which we’re supposed to believe that Black Panther (and other notable Avengers but mainly Black Panther) are going to remain dead. GET ON WITH IT MOVIE. Even more damning: Black Widow is now a sad sad lady making sad sandwiches alone and with THIS HAIR LEWK. I was so damn happy for ScarJo to be wigless and THEN THIS. WHAT IN OMBRE HELL. I think (?) what we’re supposed to think is happening here is that she’s so damn sad that she’s failed at hair maintenance and let her blonde highlights grow out into this mess? Here’s the thing, this wig is actually fine - it looks like real hair - but with A TERRIBLE DYE JOB WHY UGH.

Speaking of new lewks, ScarJo still skypes with the remaining Avengers (bless her heart!) and Captain Marvel went ahead and got THIS HAIRCUT WHAT. I guess the internet can stop talking about how much she needs a scrunchie? I think that this is actually truer to her comic book self but also is giving me all the Lilith Fair vibes (IN A GREAT WAY!) It is still a bad wig in a man wig way (the back taper is a mess) but you’ve gotta love the 90s gelled sideswept bangs for pure nostalgia.

Speaking of nostalgia! Ant-Man is back from the quantum realm and damn am I happy to see Paul Rudd (ALWAYS). He is shocked to learn that five years have passed while he was gone (this storyline is very Flight of the Navigator) and goes to find his now teenage daughter even tho he looks exactly the same (tho this would be true regardless - Paul Rudd doesn’t age). However, she’s all alone in her house with no Judy Greer or Bobby Cannavale in sight and does this mean they’re vanished or just not in this movie? Is this daughter being raised by Michael Pena now? Also why isn’t he there? EVERYONE IS IN THIS MOVIE I DEMAND ANSWERS.

So anyway, Paul Rudd is all: why don’t we just time travel through the quantum realm and get those damn jewels and fix this whole Thanos situation? Best Chris and ScarJo are in, but Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are the real pros at this whole quantum realm thing but are definitely vanished (as is Evangelline Lilly) so they go find Iron Man since he’s smart, right? Unfortunately, he is now living in a cabin by a lake and has a daughter (mazel! but this is def gonna throw a wrench into the time travel thing). Also Gwyneth is around looking tanned and vaguely ginger. Her wig is basically a more expensive, highlighted version of Nicole Kidman’s wig in Big Little Lies which is to say: MUCH BETTER BUT STILL PRETTY SHITTY. There is also a “joke” (?) about Gwyneth reading a book about composting which I think was supposed to be a Goop dig but honestly: WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT THIS MOVIE IS ALREADY SO LONG CAN WE JUST GET TO SAVING BLACK PANTHER AND THE OTHERS?

Iron Man def is like: dudes I’m not time traveling - I’m gonna do this whole dad thing WHICH IS FAIR so they go find the like #5 smartest person they know: DR. HULK. There are no pictures of this (that I could find) but Bruce Banner is now living life just AS the Hulk (but not an angry one) so he’s basically a bulky green guy in glasses which is fine but where does he buy those huge cowl sweaters? Asking for myself. Also ScarJo finds Hawkeye in Tokyo being some sort of hooded vigilante with a fauxhawk and guyliner and jeez someone is not dealing well without Linda Cardellini.

Also not dealing well? THOR! #2 Chris is off in Asgard living life with the best supporting characters from Thor: Ragnarok (TAIKA WAITITI 4EVR) and LETTING HISSELF GO. Oh also, Tessa Thompson is there too being a fisherman (?!?!?!) even tho she’s an effing valkyrie how did she get this job?!?! But I have to give full credit to Chris Hemsworth for fully embracing the deglam life here and for the next several hours of this movie. DEGLAM THOR IS EVERYTHING.

However, the wig is obviously terrible. ZZTop beard aside, the wig is these weird dreadlock tendrels which I’m guessing Thor wouldn’t have had time to maintain between playing video games, drinking beer, and eating pizza. Side note: I was really disappointed that he wasn’t eating Billy’s Pan Pizza (Lisbeth Salander’s #1 food choice in Sweden through all of those terrible books) which I actually tried in Iceland once and spoiler alert: original flavor INVOLVES HAM. Just saying: the devil’s in the details. Anyway, Thor and Iron Man decide to give this whole time travel thing a try (why not?) AND YES ONCE REASSEMBLED, IRON MAN’S FIRST POINT OF BUSINESS IS MAKING A BIG LEBOWSKI JOKE.

Iron Man somehow whips up some time travel gps bracelet and holy shit all of the Avengers movies are literally about jewelry. Then it’s on to making some sweet new time travel suits, Hawkeye gelling up that fauxhawk, and away we go to the quantum realm! Nothing bad can happen!

First stop: the first Avengers movie! OH GOD I SEE WHAT THEY’RE DOING HERE. The MCU literally made a plot where they could journey back to all the other MCU movies like a greatest hits tour and THIS MOVIE IS ENDLESS. This also involves journeying back to the ghosts of wigs past AND GURL I’M SHOOK. I guess I have to give credit to the MCU for wig consistencies - these wigs are as shitty as the originals! - and I guess they saved a lot in the already nonexistent wig budget. Also TILDA EFFING SWINTON IS THERE. This cast, dudes. Dr. Hulk and Tilda have a whole Back to the Future (which they make fun of in this movie, btw and I wasn’t here for it) discussion about time travel that I pretty much zoned out on until Tilda was just like eff it: here’s the jewelry you want, you seem pretty chill now, Dr. Hulk.

Oh and Tom Hiddleston’s shitty Loki wig is back! Jesus Christ this wig. Also, Robert Redford is back? How do I not remember him being talked into the MCU?? Anyway, the jewelry Iron Man and Best Chris were looking for is DEFINITELY snatched by Loki so they have to figure out a new time travel scenario.

Oh and Best Chris and Iron Man totally made up after being at odds for the last 2-3 Avengers movies. Also what do we think the hairspray budget was for these two? There is also a LOT of talk about Best Chris’s ass in this movie (they literally refer to it as America’s Ass) and I feel like this could very much be its own movie with maybe some added Best Chris badass twitter wars. Just saying.

Meanwhile, back in olde timey Asgard circa Thor 2, RENE RUSSO IS BACK (also Natalie Portman LOLOL everyone is in these movies). However, Sir Anthony Hopkins is definitely not wasting time on this nonsense and: fair. Also omg this wig on Rene. GURL. I don’t know what GoT prostitute dayplayer they stole this from but regardless: it’s a mess. Also apparently, Rene is about to die (I didn’t see Thor 2) and Deglam Thor is a MESS about it (also still very much a drunken mess also). He almost effs up the plan by going and crying on his mom (don’t worry - Bradley Cooper in his best work to date as Rocket Racoon got the jewelry!) And Rene tells Deglam Thor it’s ok to not be who he’s supposed to be an just be HIM which is very good advice OMG I LOVE RENE RUSSO.

So speaking of parents, Iron Man decided to go find some Infinity Stones in the 70s where his dad, John Slattery is! Apologies for the quality of this picture - it’s the best I could do. Anyway, John Slattery was made for period piece witty repartee tho his man wig (like all man wigs) is a friggin’ mess. He and Iron Man have some fairly emotional dialogue despite the fact that John Slattery doesn’t know that he’s talking to his son and also someone refers to RDJr as Mungo Jerry so I was really down with this whole section of the movie.

OH AND MICHAEL DOUGLAS IS THERE (again apologies for photo quality). What Marvel does best is face deaging technology (I still demand this be used for more 80s movies Michael Douglas wasn’t able to make at the time) but what Marvel consistently does worse is: wigs, specifically man wigs. WOOF. Regardless, they got all the jewelry they needed from the 70s! Moving on!

Over in Thanos town (probably what it’s called), nice Nebula is reunited with her former shitty self and also her sister. Jeez this whole part of the movie is family reunions. Anyway, Gamora’s wig is still a Hot Topic mess. Also a mess: Nebula let Thanos into the whole time traveling jewelry snatching heist which will definitely ruin everything.

Meanwhile, over by the cliffs of sorrow (also definitely official name, probably), ScarJo and Hawkeye and their upsetting hair looks are trying to get that one piece of jewelry that can only be gotten with human sacrifice, which they somehow had forgotten since Infinity War when Thanos sacrificed Gamora to get it. Maybe they just weren’t that tight with Gamora and forgot this? Anyway, the most important thing is that ScarJo gave herself these highlight braids which make this whole look slightly better but it’s still really bad. Also bad: one of these characters has to die! In the end it’s ScarJo I think because she doesn’t have a Linda Cardellini to go back to (or 3 kids) but I don’t really like what the MCU is implying here about the value of single ladies but regardless: goodbye ScarJo and your wig! You are probably better than this whole mess anyway!

Anyway, all the (remaining) Avengers time travel back to present day (aka 2023 just go with it) and everyone is so stoked that they got all the jewelry but then bummed when they hear about ScarJo. Side note: I forgot to talk about Iron Man’s highlights and feathered lewk. It’s upsetting! Moving on! Linda Cardellini calls Hawkeye which means this whole time travelling thing worked and they brought back half the population and also most importantly probably Black Panther so go team! But before we can talk to Linda Cardellini, Thanos crash lands into the Avengers HQ AND DAMMIT NEBULA.

So then everyone is somehow transported (?) to Thanos town aka Fightsville which feels like a great place to probably die in the apocalyptic fight FOR JEWELRY. All the Avengers yet again suck at fighting computerized Josh Brolin aka Thanos and then he calls in all his evil space backup army and everyone is definitely effed. It’s a lot like the part in the Battle of Winterell when the Night King does a Nancy Pelosi clap and reanimates all the dead people to fight the living and Jon Snow cries.

It doesn’t even help when Deglam Thor gives hisself the most wild lightning based makeover. Seriously, he surrounds himself with lightning, gets those badass Total Eclipse of the Heart eyes, and somehow is able to use lightning TO GIVE HIMSELF A HALF UPDO AND BRAID HIS BEARD HAIR AND NO I’M NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP. The lightning fails to remove his beer belly and again: I’M HERE FOR #2 CHRIS COMMITTING TO THIS DEGLAM BODY. I don’t know the hows and whys of lightning makeovers - I guess it’s just restricted to hair. Which still looks like crap, beard braids or no. Moving on: Best Chris can somehow use Thor’s hammer now and did I miss something? I think it’s a Chris thing and I’m glad that everyone agreed that Worst Chris wasn’t invited to it. But also he’s not there. YET.....

BUT THEN. Dr. Benedict Cumberbatch who I definitely forgot about (and who has the most hilarious American accent) creates all his sparkler circles. Also his whole wig/goatee lewk is like that one adjunct professor you had who kept office hours at a coffee house and/or a part-time vampire. Anyhoo, he BRINGS. BACK. EVERYONE. Black Panther (and all of Wakanda!) Spider-Man! Guardians of the Galaxy! ETC! THE JEWELRY HAND CHANGED HANDS MANY TIMES. THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON. Everyone starts kicking ass but it’s still not enough until Captain Marvel and her 90s pixie cut show up and I swear to god all the lady Avengers made a protective barrier around her like the Lilith Fair is serious getting back together (I WISH!) It was all the ladies you love - Valkyrie on a flying horse! Wakandan warriors BUT NOT LUPITA BECAUSE US IS BETTER THAN THIS! Elizabeth Olsen in that terrible red wig! Kate from Lost! Gamora and Nebula I think! - plus also Gwyneth who I totally forgot had an Iron Man suit too but sure! It was a very girl power moment that almost worked but very did not. In a final moment we all saw coming since before Infinity War, Iron Man sacrificed hisself for the jewelry hand (also: humanity). Thanks for your service: the jewelry was saved! OH MY GOD THIS REVIEW IS SO LONG. Am I still writing this? Are you still reading this? THANK YOU FOR READING THIS.

In the end, everyone is saved and reunited...to have a sweet funeral (apologies again for picture quality)! I shit you not: they gave Iron Man’s electric heart a viking funeral at his cabin. Really! And all the other prestige actors you weren’t sure would make it to this movie were there: Marissa Tomei in some sweet beachy waves! Michelle Pfeiffer in some not so sweet beachy waves but whatever: I’m always happy to see her! Michael Douglas! The Winter Soldier in his somehow shittier than Loki wig! That chick from How I Met Your Mother! Other people! Samuel L. Jackson! Oh and I think Iron Man’s daughter is now being co-raised by Jon Favreau? Ok! It was also a funerary co-production for ScarJo and I guess (?) Elizabeth Olsen’s computer boyfriend (aka Paul Bettany) who somehow wasn’t able to be revived by jewelry for reasons unknown. Oh and where the eff were Bobby Cannavale, Michael Pena OR GODDAMNED JUDY GREER I DEMAND ANSWERS!!!!!

SO THEN. Captain America has to go back in time to return the jewelry because Dr. Hulk promised Tilda Swinton and I still don’t get how time travel works in this movie. Also Dr. Hulk is still running the time travel machine even though the whole Ant-Man crew specializing in this technology are back but ok? It all goes great until Captain America returns IN OLD AGE MAKEUP WHAT. Turns out he took a detour to have a life and get married and huh? He then tells Anthony Mackie that he can be Captain America now - officially making the MCU America of 2023 on the level of real America in 2008 and I can’t believe they didn’t cut to a weeping Jesse Jackson (or at least Don Cheadle?) However, Deglam (still!) Thor makes Valkyrie the King of Asgard which officially makes MCU Asgard of 2023 definitely way better than the America of 2019 (yeah I went there) and then he decides to be a Guardian of the Galaxy which means we get to spend an agonizing 3 minutes with Worst Chris. Then they cut to the 1940s and a slow dancing Best Chris and Hayley Atwell and truly: if you can just time travel and be happy can’t we bring back all the dead Avengers too then? HUH? Whatever: THE END! Oh and there’s no post-credits scene but still watch the first like 5 minutes of credits to enjoy the truly mind boggling way that the MCU chose to credit the 5000 people in this movie. Are we please done with Avengers movies now?

VERDICT: DOESN’T WURQ (BUT NOW I WANT A LIGHTNING MAKEOVER)

#avengers #avengersendgame #wigwurq #lightningmakeover #deglamthor #lilithfairreunion #MCU #RENERUSSO #WHEREISJUDYGREER #VikingFuneral

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thedcdunce · 6 years ago

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Metamorpho

“Yeah, I’m alive.” - Metamorpho

Real Name: Rex Mason

Aliases:

Element Man

Dyna-Man

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 1″

Weight: 200 lbs (91 kg)

Eyes: Black

Hair: No Hair

Skin: White

Powers:

Unique Physiology

Abilities:

Archaeology

Investigation

Martial Arts

Weaknesses:

Orb of Ra

Universe:

Earth-One

New Earth

Citizenship: American

Marital Status: Married (Sapphire Stagg Mason; wife)

Occupation: Soldier of Fortune

First Appearance: Brave and the Bold #57 (January, 1965)

Last Appearance: Batman and the Outsiders Vol 2 #40 (August, 2011)

Powers

Unique Physiology: Metamorpho's physical body appears segmented with each limb appearing to be entirely made of a different elemental substance; whether it is liquid, solid or gas.

Elasticity: Rex can stretch, bounce, elongated, control, reshape his body as if it were made of rubber or plastic.

Elemental Transmutation: Rex can transmute his body to any of a wide variety of liquid, gas or metallic elemental compounds and form it to his will. He was limited to the elements which occur naturally in the human body. Over time, this limitation seems to have disappeared. He can alter the shapes and consistencies of these elements and combine them to form complex compounds. Rex can assume forms of gas, liquid or solid states.

Molecular Reconstruction: Stagg once boasted that Mason possessed the potential to submolecular variance at will, more than simply changing his own molecular/atomic structure at will but altering the very chemical nature of other objects even at a distance.

Flight: By turning into a gaseous form Metamorpho can achieve a form of self propelled flight.

Metamorphosis: Metamorpho can also shape parts and portions of his body instead of the whole.

Enhanced Durability: The nature of Rex's body provides him with natural body armor offering damage resistance from blunt attacks and energy attacks.

Bio-Fission: Rex's powers developed so that he could create duplicates of himself from his body. They each can move and speak, and Rex typically reabsorbs them before engaging in combat.

Abilities

Archaeology

Investigation

Martial Arts

Weaknesses

Orb of Ra

Origin

In Ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II, the priest Ahk-Ton discovered a fallen meteor, from which he crafted the Orb of Ra, a powerful artifact that would be used as a weapon in the future.

Millennia later, Rex Mason, a soldier for hire, was contracted by Simon Stagg to find the Orb of Ra. When he found it, his cohort, Java, stole it and left Rex in the light of an ancient meteor. This meteor transformed Mason into Metamorpho, the Element Man.

Soon after, he sought the Justice League's help in restoring him to normal. This failed, and Rex also rejected the JLA's offer of membership.

Metamorpho

Rex finally came to terms with his newfound powers and decided to use them for good. He started a career as a hero and he was always assisted by Sapphire Stagg Mason and her father Simon Stagg. As Metamorpho, he participated in several cases, most of them on his own, but sometimes he would help other heroes in need.

When Batman was turned into a monster, he sought the help of Simon Stagg; but as his transformation went out of control, it was up to Metamorpho to keep the "Bat-Hulk" at bay until he found a way to revert the process.

After a few years of adventures, Metamorpho was offered the chance to return to his normal state using a scientific procedure by Simon Stagg, but the experiment required that Rex spent years submerged inside a vat of chemicals. Rex agreed and Stagg started the experiment. Unfortunately, Stagg was forced to take Rex out of the procedure during the early stages when Sapphire was threatened by a hired killer known as Bounty Hunter. Metamorpho teamed up with Batman once again in order to save Sapphire, but the killer managed to escape.

Thanks to a freak accident caused by Java, Rex gained the powers and abilities of Batman and Superman and inadvertently he assisted them on the capture of an international criminal. After this, the effects reverted naturally and Metamorpho lost the super powers. Metamorpho assisted Batman on several other occasions and certain time they worked with Plastic Man in order to clear Bruce Wayne's name. When Rex decided to leave the city and relocate on a hidden retreat in the mountains, he was used by the local criminals on their gold smuggle operation and he only learned the truth after Batman came in looking for him. After this event, Rex decided to return to the city.

The Outsiders

Rex continued his adventuring solo, until the day when Batman's associate, Lucius Fox, was kidnapped in Markovia by Baron Bedlam. At just that time, Metamorpho had been seeking a cure from Markovian scientist, Dr. Helga Jace. Metamorpho aided in overthrowing Bedlam and decided to stay on with this new group of heroes, whose name he coined: the Outsiders.

With time, Doctor Jace was on her way to discovering a way to cure Rex. In the meantime, she helped him gain access to his girlfriend, Sapphire Stagg. The reunion was brief as her father, Simon killed Rex using the Orb of Ra. Although Metamorpho was already dead, Doctor Jace knew there was a way to revive him and she asked the Outsiders for help. To restore him, the Outsiders decided to return to Egypt, in search of the meteor of Ahk-Ton. There, they were transported back in time to 1200 B.C. Metamorpho was again exposed to the ancient meteor and restored. He briefly came under Ahk-Ton's control before the Outsiders could stop him and capture Ahk-Ton. Upon their return to the 20th century, Rex learned that the second exposure to the meteor transformed him permanently, which saddened him at first until Sapphire Stagg proposed marriage to Rex, which he wholeheartedly accepted.

Later, the Outsiders foiled an assassination attempt on Simon Stagg, which earned Rex and Sapphire his blessing to their wedding. As Rex and Sapphire readied for their wedding, his former foe, Maxwell Tremaine, sent his shape-changing lackey, Even Steven to kidnap Sapphire. Even Steven betrayed Tremaine and killed the both of them. After these events, Rex and Sapphire finally got married.

After the wedding, the happy couple decided to try to find a way to conceive a baby.

Hopes for children were dashed after much physical examination. And so, Rex agreed to undergo an experiment which would infuse him with new DNA. Unfortunately, while Doctor Jace began this treatment, the Manhunters activated all their sleeper agents on Earth—including Jace! Jace captured the Outsiders and took control over Metamorpho. Sadly, before Jace could be stopped, she destroyed Metamorpho and herself.

Justice League

Metamorpho laid dormant for quite some time. Finally, he was reconstituted by the Dominators' gene bomb. Soon thereafter, he resumed his heroic career as a charter member of Justice League Europe. He suffered temporary amnesia, and forgot about his family, who eventually sought him out. To his surprise, he now had an infant son Joey. By then, Sapphire had been pressured into marrying Java and Rex could not cope with such an apparent betrayal. He and Sapphire went their separate ways. During his time with Justice League Europe, he met and fell in love with Vivian D'Aramis, the Crimson Fox. Though Vivian returned his feelings, she was torn when her former husband, Rene, returned from the dead. She chose to go with Rene and the two of them faked their deaths.

It seemed tragedy would ever follow the Element Man, as his son, too was cursed by the meteor of Ahk-Ton. Unless contained, the boy would randomly transform the elements around him. For everyone's safety, Rex agreed to place the boy in Simon Stagg's care. Once done, Stagg forbade Rex from ever seeing Sapphire or Joey. For his son's safety, Rex abided this until he met a woman named Jillian Conway. She had also been transformed by the meteor. She convinced Rex that she knew a way to cure them of their metamorphosis. Rex hoped that this miracle would work for his son, too, and he stole Joey away from Simon Stagg. Before it was too late, Rex discovered that Conway had misread the hieroglyphics; when she attempted to reverse the process on herself, she was instead destroyed. In the confusion, Joey had escaped and found his way to the the meteor. Since the meteor transforms those who touch it, and Joey transforms the things he touches, both canceled each other out. Joey was cured of his condition, and the meteor was rendered inert.

Rex and Sapphire were once again estranged and he began to mutate even further into a more rock-like form. During this time, he was drawn once again to Vivian D'Aramis. This relationship was cut short when Vivian was kidnapped and ultimately killed.

Metamorpho has twice reunited with the Outsiders: once in Paris, and again at Geo-Force's wedding.

Tragedy struck again when Metamorpho shielded his fellow Leaguers upon reentry from space. He was rendered "inert," and was interred in Valhalla Cemetery, the graveyard of heroes. There he laid, but not peacefully. When the sixth-dimensional being called the "Id," was loosed on Earth, it granted everyone's desires. Young Joey Mason wished for his father's "return"; the dead hero was not, however, brought back "to life." After the Id's defeat, Rex's strained form was returned to its grave.

Apparently, Rex's spirit remained alive and he knew that he could be restored using the Orb of Ra. He finally succeeded in contacting Sapphire Stagg and she used it to restore him at last. He was soon back into the swing of things. Thayer Jost recruited him to join a short-lived revival of the Doom Patrol.

The whole Metamorpho clan was involved in an explosion which altered their identities. Simon, Sapphire and Joey were all merged into a single energy being. Rex himself took on the form of the late Java. The resulting amnesia led the former into a blind rage and up against Black Canary. Canary ultimately guessed what had happened and helped them regain their individual selves. Apparently, Rex subconsciously chose the form of Java because of jealousy; where Rex could never succeed, Java had been like a son to Simon Stagg. Stagg was rejuvenated by the affair and suggested they begin their adventuring anew.

Meanwhile, a second Metamorpho appeared. This person possessed most of Rex's memories, but suffered a measure of amnesia. This person accepted Arsenal's proposal to join the new Outsiders. The real Rex soon learned of his duplicates activities and went to reassimilate him.

He revealed to the Outsiders that he had fallen to Earth protecting the JLA, his body dispersed into many pieces. Though most pieces were recollected, one fragment reformed itself into its own separate consciousness. Understandably, this new Metamorpho had limited memory of its past and he eventually came under the wing of S.T.A.R. Labs in California and joined the Outsiders

The Outsiders were not so quick to allow Rex to destroy their teammate and in the end, Rex decided that this new version of himself was indeed a unique sentient being. He was allowed to continue his life with the Outsiders and choose a name for himself: Shift.

He teamed up with other heroes when Deadman coerced a group of heroes to form a task force against Agamemno and the Injustice League.

This "second" Metamorpho went by the name "Shift" and developed a relationship with Indigo. After the events of One Year Later, Shift willingly chose to be re-assimilated into Metamorpho, after killing several people. Rex stepped in to fill Shift's position in the Outsiders, while a full account of Shift's crimes was pending.

Shortly following the "Battle for Blüdhaven", the Outsiders went through an organizational change and Nightwing left the team, deferring leadership of the Outsiders to his old partner, Batman. Batman screened several known heroes to see who would be appropriate for the new roster, and Metamorpho was one of the veteran members selected for the team, beating out Aquaman.

However, Batman went missing and the Outsiders started looking for him all across Gotham. Metamorpho and Grace went to Arkham Asylum and learned from Dr. Arkham that Joker had instructed all the inmates to sing a song about Batman and gave all of them a poster with the picture of Batman's tombstone on it. Back at their headquarters, Metamorpho comes to the realization that without Batman, there is no team.

After receiving a message from a fake Batman, the team decided to play along to locate the real Batman. Unfortunately, after the message was delivered REMAC was infected with a virus that caused him to attack Thunder. Metamorpho tried to restrain REMAC and made him stop his attack, but the cyborg started an explosion sequence that destroyed their headquarters and blew Rex into a million pieces.

Fun Facts

Metamorpho is sometimes known as E-Man and The Fab Freak.

#metamorpho #rex mason #element man #dyna-man #dyna man #dynaman #outsiders #Doom Patrol #justice league europe #jle #seven soldiers of victory #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

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morenerdthanperson · 6 years ago

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Character question tag

“She’s like space Lady Gaga that also knows how to throw knives and ninja stars.“

I was tagged by the wonderful @sweetcatminteareblog!

Rules: Answer the following questions for one of your characters and then tag ten people! (um... I’ll try?)

I had no idea who to pick, so I decided to have some fun and talk about a character named Helena Olwen who only gets mentioned as a historical figure in my current book, but who I know a lot about anyway x3

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

At first she was nothing but the said historical figure: a woman who led an entire planet’s rebellion and who ended up becoming its first queen. I always knew what she looked like in terms of basic appearance: she’s of asian descent, with these terrifying electric green eyes (genetic tampering for the win!) (and she’s short, which she hates). All her eccentric dressing tastes and personality quirks came later :’D

2) Did you design them with any other characters/ OCs from their universe in mind?

Yep! There is of course the fact that she was mostly responsible for crafting Ahrin’s, my protagonist’s world, and also the Olwen family are famous for their trademark electric green eyes, which come from her.

3) How did you choose their name?

I already knew her last name (I just came up with it randomly), but I wanted to establish a naming tradition for the women in the Olwen family based on hers. Princess Elina Olwen was the youngest royal family member during Ahrin’s time (unfortunately she was killed as an infant), so I worked backwards and came up with Elena, Lena/Lina, Helen/Hélène, Elen, and finally Helena. I like that her name encompasses all the other ones :)

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

I actually got to know her through another historical figure, Asteyr Vivar. His backstory came to me in a flash of inspiration, and as I explored more about his life I discovered more about her, too.

I don’t know much about her backstory, though. I know what she’s like as a person, and I know basic facts of what happened to her during and after the revolution, but I have no idea what prompted her to join the revolution (much less become one of its leading figures) or where her eccentric personality and tastes come from. She’ll tell me when I need to know :)

5) Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Well, her natural hair colour is black because of her asian descent but she likes dyeing it crazy colours because she’s just a fun (and loud, in so many ways) person.

6) Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

As I said, it’s the trademark Olwen colour. She wasn’t the first person to have it; she’s descended from some random person on Earth who decided to tamper with their eye colour genes, and although there is a degree of randomness about inherited colours (some family lines don’t have a consistent eye colour; for example mum could have purple eyes but you could be born with orange) her family line’s eye colour has remained relatively stable throughout the generations. (I suspected it mutated at some point from a gem green to the scary green it is now, though.)

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

Not beyond her being short possibly being attributed to her asian descent. She gets really salty about it, though; I feel like she’s so loud all the time just to compensate lmao

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Despite her superficial craziness, she’s someone who’s actually quite serious and gets down to business when it’s needed. Basically, she knows when to be silly and when not to be, which I relate to (I’m simultaneously told I’m the silliest and most serious person by everyone know xD)

9) Are they based off you, in some way?

Nooo way, she’s too outgoing and brave and awesome! xD

10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

No idea. I know she likes guys (she marries one, and I know of at least one other crush), but she hasn’t told me if she likes girls too. I can very much imagine her experimenting with girls, though, just to see what it was like.

11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to write much past vague historical events involving her due to my focus on the project involving Ahrin, and I haven’t had the opportunity to draw absolutely anyone, so I guess I’ve found it difficult giving her any amount of time to breathe. She’ll get her moment within two years, I reckon.

12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Well, technically she literally just exists as a canon extension xD As I said, I don’t know anything about her backstory but do know about some things that happen after the revolution, so I guess her story is pretty far out there.

13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

I haven’t worked with her enough to know yet, unfortunately!

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

She looks crazy. She’s like space Lady Gaga that also knows how to throw knives and ninja stars xD

15) What is something about your OC that can make you cry?

She cares about both her family and her people very deeply. Unfortunately, she has to choose between them in at least two points in her life.

16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

Literally what @sweetcatminteareblog said: “/Angst/ [Sh]e’s a good [girl] who deserves better but I’m a machine fuelled by the tears of my characters” xD

17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

I discovered that she has a little brother or sister while writing this post! One who shares her eyes...

18) What is your favourite fact about your OC?

She is a master knife-hurler. Like, she’s better at knives than Ahrin is at guns and that is saying something. And everyone knows it too, so they try to keep out of her bad side because otherwise she will come after them hurling knives to scare them xD

One of her sort-of boyfriends/best friend(?) also gave her a snowflake-shaped ninja star as a gift, which she keeps at her side at all times (even though she won’t admit it) and which later becomes the new symbol/seal of Odyssey (her planet), which I think is pretty epic x3 (I still have to design it, oops)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my spicy girl!

I tag @saucy-egg-merchant (I know you’re not a writer but I know you have OCs!) and some people from my dash @aureliobooks @renee-gracie @thepotatowearsprada (nice to meet you, even if you don’t want to do this!!)

#my ocs #tag game #my WIP #am writing #writeblr

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parsippanylibrarykids · 7 years ago

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By: Miss Rose, Miss Sam, & Miss Kristen

FICTION

Ahdieh, Renee. Flame in the Mist. G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017. 416p. (gr. 7-9)

On the way to the imperial city to meet her betrothed, Raiden, Mariko and her escort are ambushed by the dangerous Black Clan, a gang of bandits that were hired to kill her. She dresses as a peasant boy to survive, infiltrating their group and eager to find out who hired them. Mariko impresses them with her wit and connects with Okami, one of the leaders. While there, she starts to question the truth about her family and her desires.

Albertalli, Becky. The Upside of Unrequited. Balzer + Bray, 2017. 340p. (gr. 9-12)

Molly has had her more than her fair share of crushes but nothing ever seems to come from them, as her twin sister Cassie keeps reminding her. When Molly makes a connection with Will, Cassie pressures her to start a relationship with him but Molly isn’t so sure that is what she wants, especially as she starts to get to know her coworker Reid and bond with him. Molly and Cassie’s relationship becomes additionally strained as Cassie starts spending more time with her new girlfriend and not participating as much as Molly would like when they need to start working on their mothers’ long-awaited wedding after gay marriage is finally legalized.

Benway, Robin. Far From the Tree. HarperTeen, 2017. 374p. (gr. 9-12)

After Grace, who was adopted as an infant, becomes pregnant and decides on an open adoption for her baby, she realizes that she would like to learn more about her own biological mother as she struggles with her feelings for her baby and her decision. Her supportive parents help her with the search and she discovers that she has a younger half-sister who was also adopted as an infant and an older half-brother who has been in the foster care system since he was a toddler. She connects first with Maya and then with Joaquin, who are struggling with their own issues, which include Maya’s mother’s alcoholism and Joaquin’s feeling that he isn’t worthy of love. The three siblings bond over their search for information on their birth mother and help one another sort through their feelings.

Buxbaum, Julie. What to Say Next. Delacorte Press, 2017. 304 p. (gr. 9-12)

When popular and beautiful Kit Lowell starts having lunch with socially awkward David Drucker, everyone at Mapleview High takes notice. But Kit doesn’t mind especially since David’s brutal honesty is oddly refreshing at a time when she’s struggling to overcome the shock and devastation of her father’s recent passing. Used to being outcast and ignored, David welcomes the sudden friendship and agrees to help Kit try to solve the mystery behind her father’s tragic car accident.

Cheng, Jack. See You in the Cosmos. Dial Books, 2017. 320 p. (gr. 5-9)

Aspiring astronomer Alex Petroski is only eleven, but he’s already building a rocket to send into space. Alex and his dog Carl Sagan (named after the real life astronomer), make the journey from their home in Colorado to the Southwest High-Altitude Rocket Festival (SHARF) in Albuquerque to launch his Golden iPod into space aboard his rocket, Voyager 3. Along the way to SHARF and beyond, Alex meets new friends and captures his adventures in daily recordings on his Golden iPod, in the hopes that other lifeforms will get to hear about what life on Earth is like.

Colbert, Brandy. Little & Lion. Little, Brown and Company, 2017. 330p. (gr. 10-12)

After Suzette’s stepbrother Lionel begins to exhibit disturbing behavior stemming from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Suzette is sent to a boarding school across the country while Lionel receives the treatment he needs. At school, Suzette has a secret relationship with her roommate but it ends disastrously and she’s not sure she is ready to come out to her parents, even though they are always supportive of her. While home for the summer, she realizes she has feelings for both her long-time platonic male friend Emil and mysterious new acquaintance Rafaela, which makes her even more confused. On top of this, Lionel confides in her that he is off his medication and Suzette agrees to keep his secret against her better judgement. When Lionel runs off during an outing, Suzette is forced to come clean to her mother about everything.

Cook, Eileen. The Hanging Girl. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 311p. (gr. 9-12)

Skye’s mother believes in all things paranormal, especially psychic abilities. Skye isn’t a believer, but she has convinced her classmates that she is indeed psychic and gives tarot card readings to her classmates. A fellow student convinces her to use her pretend skills in the kidnapping of a rich girl, but things go horribly wrong for the kidnap victim and Skye has to stay one step ahead of the police.

Firestone, Carrie. The Unlikelies. Little, Brown and Company, 2017. 323p. (gr. 9-12)

The summer before Sadie’s senior year of high school looks like it is going to be a dull and lonely one, as all her closest friends are a grade ahead of her and leaving for college. After an altercation at the farmers market where she works is caught on video, Sadie is lauded as a local hero and invited to be honored along with other teens who have done extraordinary things. The hero teens form a bond and over the course of the summer work together to help underdogs as best they can. An unexpected windfall bequeathed to Sadie by her employer aids them in their quests.

Frank, Steven B. Armstrong and Charlie. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 304 p. (gr. 6-8)

It’s 1973 and Charlie and Armstrong are starting sixth grade in Los Angeles. For Charlie it means starting a new school year without his brother Andy who recently died in a tragic accident. Armstrong is not looking forward to sixth grade either. He is feeling uncertain and apprehensive about being bussed to an all-white school away from his neighborhood and most of his friends. Charlie and Armstrong clash at first, but what starts as a fierce rivalry soon turns into a close friendship.

Goo, Maurene. I Believe in a Thing Called Love. Farrar, Straus & Giroux BYR. 2017. 336p. (gr. 7-9)

Desi is an overachiever who likes to plan things out. So when she finds herself flailuring (failing at flirting) yet again, she plans the perfect way to get noticed by her crush, Luca, in a good way. Raised by her widowed Korean father, she grew up with a steady diet of K-Dramas. With her Appa’s help, she meticulously creates a perfect list for her real-life K-Drama and sets her plan into action.

Green, John. Turtles All the Way Down. Dutton Books, 2017. 286p. (gr. 9-12)

Billionaire Russell Pickett is being investigated for fraud and bribery, currently on the run from authorities and there is a substantial reward being offered for knowledge of his whereabouts. Because Aza knew his son Davis when they both attended the same grief camp as children, her friend Daisy convinces her to talk to Davis to try to find out where his father is hiding so they can split the money from the reward. When she and Davis reconnect, Aza develops feelings for him. Her overwhelming anxiety interferes with her friendship with Daisy and makes it difficult for her to pursue her romance with Davis.

Lloyd-Jones, Emily. The Hearts We Sold. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2017. 381p. (gr. 10-12)

In a world in which demons are real and they can grant anyone a wish….for a price, Dee Moreno decides that the only way to get away from her bad home life is to make a wish. Unlike modern myth, the price isn’t a soul, but a body part. With the news that she won’t have a scholarship come the new school year, she trades away her heart for two years and is enlisted to protect the world by closing the voids that open up to unleash monsters on the world.

Lu, Marie. Warcross. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2017. 368 p. (gr. 9-12)

Teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet illegally on the virtual reality game called Warcross. When Emika needs to make some quick cash, she takes a chance and hacks into the opening game of the Warcross Championships and ends up at the center of the biggest international event. Unfortunately, Emika gets caught and finds herself face-to-face with the elusive creator of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka. Instead of arresting her, Hideo asks Emika to play in the tournament and spy on the other players to uncover a security problem. But Emika’s investigation uncovers much more than just a security breach in the Warcross empire.

McManus, Karen M. One of Us Is Lying. Delacorte Press, 2017. 368 p. (gr. 9-12)

It’s a typical afternoon for five students who are stuck in detention. By the end of it, though, one of those students, Simon, won’t make it out alive. When it’s revealed that Simon had planned to expose juicy secrets about the other four students on his gossip app, “About That,” all four of them become suspects in the murder. Bronwyn (the brain); Addy (the beauty); Nate (the criminal); and Cooper (the star athlete) are forced to confront the allegations brought to light by Simon’s blog. Though they barely know one another and belong to different cliques, the four band together to prove their innocence. And yet they were the only ones with Simon when he died. Did one of them kill Simon to protect a powerful secret or are they being framed by an outsider?

Menon, Sandhya. When Dimple Met Rishi. Simon Pulse, 2017. 384 p. (gr. 9-12)

Dimple Shah is glad but surprised when her parents agree to pay for her to spend the summer at coding camp in San Francisco. Dimple is passionate about coding and also looking forward to the break from her mother who mostly just wants Dimple to find the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic so when his parents tell him the girl they hope to be his future wife, Dimple, will be attending the same summer camp as him he is eager to meet and impress her. Needless to say, Dimple and Rishi’s first meeting does not go as planned once Dimple learns the Patels and Shahs played a role in the “suggested arrangement.” But slowly Dimple and Rishi’s friendships grows into something more and both are forced to confront their conflicting feelings between family obligation and the future they envision for themselves.

Murphy, Julie. Ramona Blue. Balzer + Bray, 2017. 408p. (gr. 9-12)

Ramona, her sister Hattie, and her father have been living in a FEMA trailer in a small town in Mississippi ever since Hurricane Katrina destroyed their old home. Their trailer becomes more crowded once Hattie’s boyfriend Tyler moves in after Hattie becomes pregnant. Ramona works several jobs to help her family as much as she can and she gets frustrated when people inquire about her plans for the future because all she can envision for herself is continuing to stay right where she is, working at menial jobs just to keep a roof over her family. When her old friend Freddie moves back into town and encourages her to swim with him and his grandmother, she starts to see that there might just be way out of small town life. Up until now, Ramona has only ever had romantic feelings for girls but she starts to see Freddie as more than a friend.

Nielsen, Susin. Optimists Die First. Wendy Lamb Books, 2017. 228p. (gr. 9-12)

After the death of her younger sister Maxine, Petula’s family falls apart. Petula’s mother starts hoarding cats and her father avoids home as much as he can. Petula has become hyper-focused on all the bad things that could possibly happen to her loved ones and she does her best to keep herself safe at all times. She has been attending an art therapy program through her school and meets Jacob, who has a robotic arm and his own issues that he has to cope with. Petula and Jacob form a bond but when she learns about his involvement in the death of a friend, she isn’t sure she can remain on good terms with him.

Ormsbee, Kathryn. Tash Hearts Tolstoy. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017. 367p. (gr. 7-9)

Tash is of the director of an amateur web-series that goes viral. Tash loves Tolstoy, and with her best friend, Jack (Jacqueline), they put together a modern production of Anna Karenina entitled Unhappy Families. With a mention on a popular vid-blogger’s own channel, Seedling Productions starts to reach acclaim in the webseries world, and with fame comes haters. Meanwhile, she’s also coming to terms with the the deepening divide between her older sister and a new, long distance relationship with a male video blogger who doesn’t know she’s asexual.

Perkins, Mitali. You Bring the Distant Near. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017. 320 p. (gr. 9-12)

In 1960, sisters Tara and Sonia Das are getting used to life in Queens after living in Ghana and London for several years. While Tara and Sonia adjust to life as teens in America, matriarch Ranee works diligently to make sure her family maintains customary Bengali traditions. Years later, Tara’s own daughter Anna must leave her beloved home in Mumbai and go to school in New York with her cousin Chantal. Told in alternating point-of-views and spanning generations, this is the story of the Das women.

Perkins, Stephanie. There’s Someone Inside Your House. Dutton Books, 2017. 287p. (gr. 10-12)

After an incident at her high school in Hawaii, Makani moves to Nebraska to live with her increasingly forgetful grandmother and start over where no one knows her secret. When students in her high school start dying at the hands of a serial killer, Makani and her friends investigate. While trying to figure out who in their small town is behind the slayings, Makani is forced to reveal the secret of how she attacked a friend during a hazing ritual gone wrong.

Poston, Ashley. Geekerella. Quirk, 2017. 320p. (gr. 10-12)

Elle grew up watching the sci-fi series Starfield with her late father, but the news that the movie’s version Federation Prince Carmindor is teen heartthrob Darien Freeman has her seething. An unlikely friendship begins when Darien accidentally contacts Elle when trying to talk to management at ExcelsiCon. Through her job on the Magic Pumpkin Food Truck and her friendship with her co-worker, Elle decides to go to ExcelsiCon, the Con her father helped created, to win money to get away from her stepmother by entering their Cosplay Contest.

Reynolds, Jason. Long Way Down. Atheneum, 2017. 306p. (gr. 9-12)

Will has been taught to live by the Rules of his neighborhood: no crying, no snitching, and always get revenge. After his brother Shawn is shot and killed, Will has no choice but to get Shawn’s gun and head to where the boy he is certain is the killer lives to exact revenge. On the elevator ride down, different figures from Will’s life who died from gun violence, including his father and his uncle, get on at each floor and help him figure out what he should do.

Riazi, Karuna. The Gauntlet. Salaam Reads, 2017. (gr. 4-6)

On her birthday, Farah and her two friends get transported into a board game called The Gauntlet of Blood and Sand to rescue her impulsive younger brother, Ahmad. Inside the game, the Architect created three challenges they have to complete to escape, all the while making sure no one finds out that they’re also trying to locate Ahmad to save him. If they lose a challenge, they’ll be trapped inside the game forever.

Roth, Veronica. Carve the Mark. Katherine Tegen Books, 2017. 468 p. (gr. 8-12)

Cyra is the sister of the brutal ruler of the Shotet people. In a world where people develop unique powers called current gifts, Cyra’s is more burden than gift. She feels and can deliver intense pain and her brother exploits this, using Cyra and her power as a weapon against his enemies. Akos is the son of an oracle from the planet Thuve. His gift allows him to turn off the current, so that he is not affected by other current gifts. When he is captured by the Shotet people, Akos finds an unlikely ally in Cyra.

Ruby, Laura. The Shadow Cipher. Walden Pond Press, 2017. 448 p. (gr. 6-8)

In the 19th century, the eccentric Morningstarr twins build a dazzling New York City using new technology and impressive machines no one has ever seen before. Skyscrapers reach new heights and the Underway travels miles and miles below the ground. When the architects mysteriously disappear fifty-seven years after arriving in NYC, it’s revealed that they’ve left behind the New York City Cipher, an intricate puzzle and treasure map woven into the buildings and machines in the city they created. By present day, the Cipher still hasn’t been solved. Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz make one last desperate attempt to solve the Cipher when they learn their beloved apartment building (a Morningstarr masterpiece) has been sold to a money hungry real estate developer with plans to demolish it.

Sanchez, Erika L. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017. 344p. (gr. 9-12)

Julia’s older sister Olga is the perfect, dutiful Mexican daughter who only leaves the house to go to her job or attend classes at the local community college. Julia is rebellious, has a hard time controlling her emotions, and wants nothing more than to leave Chicago and go to college in New York. After Olga is killed in an accident, Julia’s relationship with her parents becomes even more strained. It isn’t until after Julia attempts to take her own life and has to be hospitalized and then has an opportunity to spend a few weeks with her family in Mexico learning more about her parents and their journey to America that she and her mother and father are able to understand each other better. She also learns her sister’s secrets and realizes that Olga was not as perfect as she seemed.

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Balzer + Bray, 2017. 444p. (gr. 9-12)

Starr is a passenger in the car when her friend Khalil, who is driving, is pulled over by the police for having a broken taillight. Khalil is shot and killed during the traffic stop even though he is unarmed and hadn’t been doing anything wrong. His death is all over the news and the people in her largely African-American, lower income neighborhood respond very differently than the mostly-white students at the elite prep school she attends. Caught between two worlds, Starr tries to cope with what she witnessed and get her friends from school to realize what she is going through but even her own family doesn’t quite understand.

Watson, Renee. Piecing Me Together. Bloomsbury, 2017. 264p. (gr. 9-12)

Jade loves art and language and has dreams of traveling the world someday, even though opportunities for a girl from a low income family seem limited. She hopes to get picked for her private school’s study abroad program, but when she is called down to the guidance office, she learns that she has instead been selected to participate in a mentorship program for African-American students. She reluctantly agrees to give the program a try but has a hard time connecting with her appointed mentor, Maxine who is distracted with her own issues.

Zappia, Francesca. Eliza and her Monsters. GreenwillowBooks, 2017. (gr. 10-12)

Eliza Mirk fades into the background at school, but online, she’s the creator of the popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Within her anonymous world online, she has friends and people that understand her, but it isn’t until she finds out the new guy at school, Wallace, writes Monstrous Sea fanfiction that she starts to appreciate the real world. When her parents accidentally share her online identity, she has to not crumble under the pressure of needing to finish her comic, her relationship with Wallace, and her anxiety.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Chmakova, Svetlana. Brave. JY, 2017. 248p. (gr. 4-6)

Jensen’s reality is very different from his daydreams. He has trouble in middle school with making friends, with his school work, and even just not being left out of activities in Art Club. Akilah and Jenny, part of the school newspaper, ask for Jensen’s help with a special project about being bullied. While Jensen doesn’t believe he’s really bullied, the project opens his eyes to what challenges everyone faces in middle school, and that it’s important to be brave and make the changes you want to see in the world by reaching out to someone who seems lonely. Holm, Jennifer L. Swing It, Sunny! Graphix, 2017. 224 p. (gr. 4-7)

Sunny is having a hard time adjusting to life in middle school and at home without her brother. Even when Dale comes home from boarding school to visit, Sunny can’t figure out why he seems so different and angry all the time. Sunny is finding the year really confusing, but despite it all she’s determined to stay positive. Sunny doesn’t let her sadness get in the way of doing all the things she loves like listening to records and watching her favorite TV shows, General Hospital and Gilligan’s Island. She even makes a new friend and learns how to twirl a swing flag!

Jamieson, Victoria. All’s Faire in Middle School. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017. 248p. (gr. 5-8)

Imogene’s parents work at the Renaissance Faire, which is a huge part of the entire family’s life. Imogene and her brother have been homeschooled but now that she is entering middle school, she is going to start public school. School proves to be a huge culture shock for her. Imogene tries to fit in with the popular girls, but ends up isolating her only genuine friend and damaging her relationship with her younger brother in the process. She figures out a way to make things right, using the skills she has learned from the Renaissance Faire.

Meyers, Marissa. Wires and Nerve. Feiwel Friends, 2017. 238p. (7-9) Iko, an android, is out to prove she is more than just a machine by tracking rogue wolf-hybrids for her friend, Cinder. The soldiers have other plans and don’t make it easy for her, even with the help of a royal guard. Iko is forced to confront the fact that while she may feel human, not everyone will see her as anything more than an android.

NONFICTION

Aronson, Marc & Marina Budhos. Eyes of the World: Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism. Henry Holt and Company, 2017. 294p. (gr. 7-12)

Photographers and reporters Robert Capa and Gerda Taro were both Jewish refugees from Europe who made their mark in the photography world by documenting the Spanish Civil War, with a focus on chronicling the war’s effect on children.

Bolden, Tonya. Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls. Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017. 124p. (gr. 5-8)

In this biographical compilation, readers learn about achievements of some of the less well known African Americans in history who made a great impact. People profiled include Civil War spy Mary Bowser, race car driver Charlie Wiggins, and mathematician Katherine Johnson.

Gonzales, Andrea & Sophie Houser. Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done. Harper Collins, 2017. 272 p. (8-12)

Andrea “Andy” Gonzales and Sophie Houser met at Girls Who Code and teamed up to make a video game that went viral. Through the success of their video game, the duo was thrust into the spotlight, inspiring girl coders everywhere. Girls are so often left behind in the tech industry, and the authors message is to not give up on your dreams and career goals despite the statistics. Included are resources for readers who are interested in computer science topics discussed throughout the book.

Heiligman, Deborah. Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers. Henry Holt & Co., 2017. 464 p. (gr. 9-12)

This book explores the complex but close relationship of the Van Gogh brothers. Through nearly 700 letters, the story follows the brothers from their early childhoods, into adulthood as they developed careers of their own, and up to both of their early deaths. The author reveals the successes, differences and issues that existed between the two brothers. By becoming an art dealer, Theo made true on a promise made to his brother as a teenager to always support and encourage him, even as Vincent’s mental health deteriorated and issues developed in Theo’s personal life. Back matter includes a timeline and author’s note.

Slater, Dashka. The 57 Bus. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. 302p. (gr. 9-12)

On November 4, 2013, Sasha, an agender teenager, fell asleep on the bus. Richard, another teen on the bus, noticed Sasha’s gauzy skirt and held a lighter to it, thinking the act would startle Sasha and nothing more. Sasha’s skirt caught fire and burned Sasha’s legs severely. Video footage from the bus led police to find and arrest Richard and charge him with a hate crime. This book examines what Sasha’s life was like before and after the attack as well as how Richard and his family were impacted by his actions. Information on the criminal justice system is included, along with information on gender neutrality.

Walker, Sally M. Sinking the Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home. Candlewick, 2017. 208 p. (gr. 6-12)

At the end of the Civil War in 1865, more than 2,000 people boarded the Sultana, a steam boat equipped to carry only 376 passengers. Aboard the boat were Union soldiers who had recently been released from Confederate prisoner-of-war camps where they had been mistreated and endured atrocious conditions. On the third night into their journey north, the boilers exploded, engulfing the Sultana in fire. More than fifteen hundred people were killed. This book describes the tragic event and examines who (or what) was responsible for the disaster and how it could have been avoided. The book is filled with photographs, maps, a glossary and in depth author’s notes.

#books #ya books #middle grade books #best books #book recs #book recommendations #best books of 2017 #middle grade #teen

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