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eri-pl · 5 months ago

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Silm reread 16: Beren, Luthien, and the fourth wall,

through which Pengolodh needs to be punched a little. Or at least frightened.

So… This chapter is a lot.

First we get a remainder that we are in a narrative frame: there are many stories but this one is the best. So I, Pengolodh, will make sure it sounds proper.

Also, why is the Lay of Leithian… I thought "Leithian" was some variant of Luthien, but it's "Release from Bondage". What. Why. I guess it's that one scene where she takes Sauron's island?

Before I proceed: I wanted to say that writing a love story dedicated to your wife and overloading it with meanings is an absolutely valid thing to do. And beautiful.

Yes, this is an opinion I will stick with. No, it doesn't mean that I think everything in B&L is coherent or well-written. Most is, but there are places that stick out.

So we start with Beren. He lives with his fatherr and a band of outlaws and… they worship a (lake? river? translation unclear.) because Melian had hallowed it.

They are so competent that Morgoth tells Sauron (his 2nd in command) to kill them all.

Again we have a character with unprocessed grief (nor surprising, as he doesn't know whether his wife is alive or dead) and it is the entry point for the forces of evil. So, Gorlim. Sauron pulls the Dune-like thing on him. I wonder which was first. Jirt didn't like Dune, but had read it.

Beren sees Gorlim's ghost, in the (hallowed?) water, which is an interesting place for a ghost to appear. good for him I guess?

What is the thing with hands? Beren attacks the orcs and grabs his dead father's hand with the ring of Barahir. Unclear which hand was that. Also, he becomes vegan.

Beren is so competent that he gets a "wanted" poster Morgoth offers a prize for his head. As high as for Fingon. OK, so Morgoth gives money for killing important people? Or at least offers money? We aren't told if he ever actually paid anyone. But the orcs still prefer to run away, so he sends Sauron + a whole army and his werewolves.

How competent can one guy be?

Also, we get an explanation of what werewolves are. Terrible ghosts imprisoned in wolves' bodies and posessing them. This chapter has more on werewolves then the whole rest of the book.

So, Beren has to evacuate through Spider-land. Which he manages to do. (Seriously, how many Fate Points does this guy have?)

Luthien is so beautiful that he falls in love instantly. I would be more comfortable if Tolkien didn't show falling in love as simultanously a) totally uncontroleable result of beauty, and b) impossible to not turn into action. But Beren is a good guy so he is polite, he just admires her and stuff.

Also, she's got the exact same poetic colors of hair and eyes as Elrond, which makes sense. Or, more precisely, Elrond as her.

Fate this, fate that, I get the point but don't like the language.

Beren gets kind of sick, because he has to gain more Fate Points pays for the great destiny he is going to get.

I am not going to repeat that part I complained about already. Let's just say there's a lot of "she/they were the most X of everyone in all times" and this sounds, well, poetic but not factual. (Also, they are "the most happy anyone has ever been". )

Daeron snitches on Luthien (part 1). Thingol is sad and confused and asks questions. Beren says "I found what I didn't seek, but as I found it I will never give it up" and that is a really good line.

Thingol, of all people, complains of having made a hasty oath. :D

Beren would take death before dishonor. Also shows Finrod's ring and Thingol isn't very impressed. (I think this may be used as a counterargument to "Finrod should have written to Thingol" — Beren has already shown the credentials he could get from Finrod. What additional things could Finrod tell Thingol?)

We get a description of the ring of Barahir.

Melian tries to calm het husband down, but he is upset and resentful at Beren. And he says that he desires the Silmaril (does he? Did he desire it before he said that? Unclear)

At least Thingol says that with the Silmaril he will give Luthien to Beren if she will want to, which is very proper of him. Also he mentions the "fate of Ards is tied to the Silmarils" thing. Everyone realizes that he just wants Beren dead (so I guess it is a fact?)

Beren is very chill. He says "bye" to Luthien, bows. And then he moves the guards and just walks away ignoring them which is an awesome way of leaving.

Melian is worried, Thingol says that Beren will not return, and if he (thingol) believed that there is any chance of success for him, he would kill Beren, promise or not.

We have a lot of "Lay of Laithian says" so I guess this is suposed to be a later edition... I should do a reread (well, first read tbh) on the Lay one day. But it's hard to read with focus.

Beren goes to Nargothrond, and (so that the guards don't shoot him) yells often that he is Barahir's son. Which must have looked quite funny.

Also, Turgon isn't the only one with "shoot the intruders" policy, but Finrod's one seems less strict.

Finrod talks with Beren behind closed doors (I think it's because C&C. Finrod isn't naive, he's just… idk. Anyway this is a smart move.) Also he is surprised and sad and heavy-hearted because he realizes he's going to have to die. At leats he doesn't try to weasel out of his fate.

Also, Finrod says a lot of interesting / strange things:

the Oath is on again. So, we are in the "oath is an active thing" situation. Probably.

there is a "curse of hatered" on the Silmarils. (Huh??? Who cursed them? I don't remember Fefe cursing the jewels, he cursed many other things…)

who speaks their name with greed, awakens poweerful forces (WHAT? So… Thingol is greedy about the jewel? And it triggers the Oath? Or what? that's… a whole new conceptual area to explore)

the Feanorians would rather destroy all lands then let anyone else have a Silmaril (I'm not sure how true this is but him saying this tells us something about C&C)

the Oath "rules over the princes of Noldor" (What. Finrod, my guy, you are a Noldorin prince too. Also, what. What about their free will?)

C&C are a problem but Finrod won't break his word to Barahir, so we all are deep in trouble

Finrod makes a speech, expects support from his people. It's not said what kind of support. He doesn't say he is going to attack Angband directly.

Celegorm takes out his sword and quotes the Oath. That's pretty metal, but also definitely not good. Curufin is apparently more polite now (iirc he was brash some chapters earlier, I guess he learned. Or it was Celegorm too?). Citizens of Nargothrond are scared of war, they get sneaky, start using poison and generally turn Nor Great from this time on. Huh.

The Doom of Mandos awakes in C&C's hearts and gives them evil thoughts. This is a very close paraphrase. Excuse me, what? Pengolodh, what have you been drinking? something made by Namo (or one of his Maiar, which I find more likely, but anyway) makes them think evil things? Go home and check your phrasing, seriously. This sounds so off. Unless it's the translation again?

Finrod appeals to pity and gets ten guys to follow him. I agree that this speech of him doesn't sound great and … I think he just feels sad and abandoned and does some emotional blackmailing here. and Finrod is awesome but not so awesome to never do anything wrong. It's not terrible, but, yes, I think he would be better without it.

[Which implies that if it was just him and Beren, Sauron would not try to kill Beren earlier. Which… makes some sense. When you have 12 prisoners, killing one as an example isn't a lot. when you have just two, you need to use subtler means of persuasion. (sorry for a bit of Sauron PoV ;) )]

Still, Edrahil is pretty cool here. I like him. Yes, those two opinions can coexist and it is an important point.

The song duel. Finrod picks "Of secrets kept," as his starting line, which makes sense in the context (keeping their disguise) but also, considering what kind of secret had Finrod been keeping (mostly from Thingol, who is btw associated with this quest) for many, many years, I would say it does have a weak point.

So it leads to "In Valinor, the red blood flowing" and we're out.

Luthien feels that things are bad and asks mom and mom tells her that Beren is captured by Sauron. Which she knows. Because she's a Maia, probably? But still, to see into Sauron's dungeons is quite an achievement. Maybe fate was a factor too.

Huan! The dog that is under the Doom of the Noldor! It seems as if this was the reason he later dies at all, that without the Doom thing Huan would be immortal. What even is he. [A lesser Maia. I don't care it's no longer canon, it makes the most sense.]

Also, he never sleeps, his sight and smell can't be deceived and he is invulnerable to magic.

C&C capture Luthien and we have their reasoning explained. So, C&C's logic as told by the narrative:

Finrod and Beren are as good as dead now

so let's let Finrod die

also let's force Thingol to let Tyelko marry Luthien

we will be the most powerful princes of the Noldor

the Silmarils, yea, so let's wait. first we will rule all the Elven kingdoms and then we can work on reclaiming the Silmarils.

No, it doesn't mean that someone else may take them!

Yes, it is explicitely about political power. (But also, Luthien pretty and Celegorm is into her.)

Also, Huan (like Celegorm) understands all creatures.

Finrod dies. Pengolodh edits it heavily. Seriously, I hereby accept this fic as my canon for what finrod said, because the book is lying. Oh wait, no. It is the translation. In the Polish version Finrod literally says "it will be many ages before the Noldor see me" and he says it without "probably" or anything, he says it like a foresight. And we know it is not true, because he got reembodied very quickly.

The original is not that bad. Anyway, it is lacking. It reads like something Celegorm would say in the situation (no offense to Celegorm who had actually been in this situation in early drafts).

[HC time: I imagine Pengolodh as very much the kind of guy to get offended by and cut out anything that looks too strange and … I don't know how to call it. Difficult? He's not terrible, but very insecure after returning from the Exile. He really doesn't want to offend the Valar again and isn't taking the best approach to it.]

And, speaking of Pengolodh and his additions, "so died Finrod, the most beloved descendant of Finwe". Beloved by whom? Certainly not by Finwe. Maybe by the people, but it does depend on which people exactly. Most beloved on the average? Most beloved by Pengolodh?

Pengolodh, my guy, I actually agree with you that Finrod is the loveliest Finwean, but please, could you refrain from using "loved / beloved" and comparisions?

Anyway, song-rescue. This is something even Pengolodh can't mess up describing. Also, Valacirca (Sickle of the Valar, that is: the Big Dipper) mentioned, and … it's a sign of Morgoth's fall? I thought this one was a threat to him. (Yes, let me remind you: there is not one, but two different seven(ish)-star constellations that Varda put in the sky specifically as a threat to Melkor. Also, of all the weapons, a sickle.)

Sauron seems to have a thing with "standing on a high place and smiling/laughing just before he gets wrecked". (Later he does it as Numenor is falling). I hereby HC that just before he noticed the Ring being in the Crack of doom, he also stood high atop his tower and laughted (because Aragorn's army was losing).

I'm tired. I'll cut B&L reread into two parts.

#silm #silmarillion #tolkien legendarium #the silm #the silmarillion #silm reread #beren and luthien #beren #luthien #thingol #morgoth #sauron #huan #celegorm #curufin #finrod #finrod is awesome #eri reads the legendarium

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2af-afterdark · 1 year ago

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I'm in the VERY VERY vocal minority about this but tbh I'm kinda glad that the angel units are behind paywals. Bc their stories are really dicey and I am NOT strong enough for the discourse that would come out of that. Like, I understand this whole ordeal was handled terribly but I'm just trying to look for silver linings at this point.

Also I doubt pb will learn their lesson. They got their money already and this announcement was just salt in the wound. I wasn't surprised that the angel units wouldn't be added to the main gacha. Plus they only seem to work well with other angel units so putting them in the main gacha would dilute it further. Though I guess since a lot of people are saying they're Uninstalling so maybe they'll see it plus their emails are probably getting blown up.

All in all. It's disappointing but unsurprising. I at least wished they'd just given us S rank Gabe as part of the challenge since he's technically in the game. But as soon as I saw that it was L rank I knew they wouldn't give it out for free.

Sorry for rambling. I'm just holding out for the main story at this point.

Okaay so, maybe I'm not communicating this well but... having limited time cards is not the issue for me. The issue is how trash PB's communication is and how predatory and money-hungry they are being. They should have said in the announcements that the angels would be limited time and not added to the pool. I get certain cards being only for a limited time (that's what most gacha do). The issue was that they said nothing until later, which establishes that they can and will change the rules whenever they feel like it without warning. It doesn't have to do with if the units are good or bad. They could literally be the worst units in the game and I would still be upset because of what they are communicating to the players; that we are not worth keeping informed.

I admit that I am not happy they are paywalled, but that's because I'm never happy when cards (a huge bulk of the gameplay for a gacha) are completely paywalled. I find it gross and predatory. Also, it may sound heartless of me, but this game has so many problematic elements that if people get spicy over the content with the angels... I don't know what to say? The game is very open about what it is. It has many dub/noncon elements, intense kinks (two of them are literally decapitation and necrophilia), violence, etc. If the angels are the thing that starts the discourse, I will have to wonder who ignored all the other similar shit without saying something. If the cards are going to start discourse, they will do that regardless of the paywall. But, again, idk why they would when anyone walking into this game should already be aware of what it is.

And, no, I don't expect them to learn their lesson. The only way they would learn anything is if it hits them in the paycheck. The fact that people pay for Solomon Seals continues to encourage PB to use Solomon Seals to earn money. Unless the whales stop spending money on these practices, PB will keep using them (they why I don't, even though i am one person and my resolve means little in the grand scheme). Unless the sudden evacuation of players are whales (who seem to be the only ones PB cares about at this point), I doubt the company will notice.

Gabriel though, does genuinely upset me. Like I said in a previous response, battle pass systems like this tend to have free rewards and paid rewards. The rewards are usually the same but the free path gives out the main reward much later (think earning the card at level 200 for a free path versus earning it at level 120 for the paid path). This is usually fine because, though difficult, both paid and free players can earn the final reward. It's a small way of rewarding players for, you know, playing the game. This is especially true because battle passes require frequent log-ins and active participation. But Gabriel, the ultimate reward for the battle pass, can only be acquired after doing all that work plus spending $60. I find that gross.

I'm a whale. I do spend money on this game, but I am careful about how I spend that money. I pay for the daily log-in bonuses (the extra AP and keys). I have bought several event packs. I own every sticker pack. Basically, the only thing I don't do is pay for Solomon Seals. I simply want PB to not alienate a huge chunk of the players just because they can't, won't, or don't want to shell out money. It's about the principle of the matter to me.

As for S-rank Gabriel... He's okay. He's a good unit in battle, but he comes with no intimacy (so no comic, info, etc). Also, my guess is that they wouldn't add him to the general pool afterward either. After all, Minhyeok wasn't added after he left. Plus, my guess is they don't want to do that since they plan to release more packs, including those that sell Gabriel. Less incentive to buy his pack if you can just earn him in the general pool.

#❖ nonie #love letters ❤️#talkin' whb

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artichokefunction · 7 months ago

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the handler is afraid. she is curled up small and their hands are over their mouth because she is trying not to draw fire. he's breathing really fast, he's panicking. she doesn't normally do that. okay. okay. you have him behind cover, he won't get shot at here, probably, you scramble over to the more exposed end of this overturned table and you peek around it to try to keep an eye on the development of the conflict. no wait. you take off your visor to reduce the potential glare on your face giving away your location and then you observe the conflict. it's actually died down quite a bit. this room has less bodies in it then it used to? they're not on the ground, which means they evacuated, and you don't need to worry or care about them. probably.

it takes you a few seconds but you identify the people still here, the three wealthy and loud people who were doing all the talking this meeting, and their bodyguards. by now, no one is shooting anymore. one guard is still standing, a guard and a businessman are on the floor but conscious. they look like they've come to an agreement or something. temporary peace. you want more then that, technically. or you want money. you're, like, pretty sure no contracts have been negotiated yet, so you won't get paid if you killed these people. you have no motive for it. the one person standing spots you, they hold eye contact for a moment. a long moment. you don't know what their face is communicating and you don't know what your face is communicating. but eventually they look away, in a natural way, doesn't draw attention to your location. that's on purpose. that's nice of them. or you threatened them. whatever.

eventually, slowly and quietly, they take the businessman under one arm and drag him out of the room. so now there's only one conscious person for you to be worried about here. no wait fuck you got distracted. fuck. you have a job. the handler is quieter now. you try to get her attention but she doesn't see you. and you're not going to make noise or grab him. so you, uhh. you stand guard. you keep watch. you keep watch for danger, and none comes, they're all dead already. that last guard goes limp, eventually. you listen to the sounds of the pipes in this old building, and the sound of the handler, next to you, alive. you put your visor back on. you keep watch.

[hey, can I hug you?]

eventually, she scoots closer to you. he wipes her face and signs, awkwardly 'cause she only just started learning sign, she's learning it for you, [we are safe?]

you nod, yes. he takes a moment to think, or collect herself, maybe. then he nods back.

[we should leave?]

you nod, again. you stand up, you're visible, you're out of cover, and nothing happens. no one shoots at you. the handler stands up as well. you offer your hand and she takes it. she's warm. people are warm, usually. he follows you out, but he stops to look at the bodies. you don't know how to interpret their face. they are quiet, as you go down the few flights of rickety old stairs. she is afraid, still, you think, which is why you are afraid. that's new, that doesn't normally happen. getting freaked out, because of someone else. you keep your breathing slow and regular. you make it to the little truck and nothing bad happens on the way. you are fine. both of you are in your seats. the handler has not driven away from this building yet. she is fidgeting with her hands like she is thinking on something. eventually, she turns to you.

oh. you weren't expecting that. you, uh, you don't normally touch people. make skin contact. like that. but it's not weird when she holds your hand. and a hug is just like that but scaled up. you think. you, uhh.

[and you don't have to, if you don't want to. you know. no worries at all.] he says, very quickly. so. you stretch your arms out, to her. and his face folds into a big soft smile and he hugs you. she is, um, she is warm and soft. your arms are wrapped around him. you feel like you are made of concrete? you feel like you are doing this wrong. how the hell are hugs supposed to work. how are they supposed to feel. you don't know. you try to pretend to be soft and relaxed. the handler is soft but they are not relaxed. you count their breaths, you can feel their chest rise and fall shakily. how long are hugs supposed to be. you don't know. but your guess is that that does not matter. you wait for her to let go of you, to straighten up, to wipe her face, to take a deep breath. to fumble around for a cd. an instrumental album. you like this one, you can count it too. you don't like music you can't count.

[thank you] she says, and then she maneuvers the truck out of this building's lot, and away. the sun tries and fails to cut through the thick warm fog in the air. the little air conditioner does not do much to help with the heat, its the humidity, she says, and she'll have to fix up that old AC. or install a new one, if she can find one somewhere. she'll keep an eye out.

#[fiction]#[category: the agent & the handler]#minor character death

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davidmariottecomics · 1 year ago

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Not So Evergreen: A Perennial Problem

Hi there,

Wouldja believe it, this week I was thinking about comics?

I know, it's hard to imagine I've had time around Valentine's Day and preparing for our impending nuptuals (which you can contribute to if you're so inclined!).

Or around the continued bullshit that is KOSA, which you might've noticed is NOT actually fixed--and still needs to be stopped. Or, as long as we're talking about regulation and the internet and what can/should be regulated to try to make it a better safer place, all the latest "Generative AI" nonsense (not linking anything in particular here, but there're new stupid developments every day).

Or while keeping track of what's happening in Gaza and, specifically, in Rafah, where Palestinians were told to evacuate to and that is now under bombing, or as they continue to attack hospitals and kill civilians. Sharing up top some recent resources I've seen, including a nice list of places where you can donate (you may also notice the PCRF on our registry and thanks to the folks who've already given there) and a nice collection of Palestinian cultural reading and listening and cooking you can do. There continue to be demonstrations and actions--with a lot in the past week being organized to keep hands off Rafah. Call.Fax. Email.Contact the White House. Keep an eye out for actions from organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine, BDS, and the Democratic Socialists of America, or whatever local organization is making efforts near you. If spending money brings you any comfort and you feel a need to put something into good practice, the Cartoonist Cooperative's page still lists a ton of resources for E-Sim cards.

But despite the many other things that should and do reasonably take up my time and brainspace--the good and the bad--it is my job to make comics and I do have to spend some time thinking about 'em and something I've been thinking about this week is the strange state of "evergreen titles."

A Perennial Should Standalone

In particular, I was inspired by seeing some random young person somewhere online say a fairly common refrain, something along the lines of "I tried Western superhero comics, couldn't see myself in them, other than one (now) 35-year-old Vertigo series, and found a lot more in manga for me."

This is one of those things I've talked around every part of in the past, I think. I've talked, fairly recently, about how it is strange to me when people cut themselves off from or don't give themselves the opportunity to continue to explore a format or genre of comics entirely as if they're homogenous and how I think that can make you lose out on some of the contextual history of the medium and how storytelling can work within it. I've talked about how manga is just another word for comics and how I think some of the separation of manga and "Western" comics is more artificial than people realize. I've talked about continuity and how it can be a real turn-off for people, but also how even when it does matter, it maybe kinda doesn't matter, and even earlier than that, I talked about how they say every comic is somebody's first comic and the strange balance of serialized storytelling and accessibility. And just last week, I was mentioning how I think N.K. Jemisen's Far Sector is a really great example of a modern "here's how cool superhero comics can be" book. Now I want to pull it all together and talk about how we've maybe canonized a lot of comics that require a higher bar of context than they're often given.

Now, last bit of business before we dive in, just in case, what do I mean when I say perennial or evergreen title? They are a little different, though I'm largely using them interchangably here. There are certain comics that have been canonized (not meaning made canon to a in-universe continuity, but the older definition of added to the historical register as a work of significance) that you can pretty much always find, and that has grown even more with the increased importance of the book market to comics sales. To use a very important example, you can walk into *most* any comic shop or bookstore that carries comics and is not specifically a specialty shop (like not Silver Sprocket probably, but also, shout out to them for joining the PACBI) and find a copy of Watchmen. Doesn't matter that the book is nearly 40 years old, it has been kept in print constantly (which... if you aren't familiar, is a story unto itself) and y'know, still sells. New people discover/buy/upgrade their copies of Watchmen every year and DC always points to it as an Essential title in their annual catalogs.

DC in particular is actually pretty good about promoting their evergreens. They release an annual catalog to comic shops (and some book stores) that's like a free 80-ish page thing about like "if you want to read DC comics, here are titles we recommend." And if you're even halfway immersed in American Superhero Comics, you could probably name a good half-dozen of them off the top of your head. Watchmen! The Killing Joke! Sandman! All-Star Superman! Batman: The Long Halloween! Batman: Hush! Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth! Kingdom Come! Dark Knight Returns! Other titles written 30-40 years ago by a White British person! Any title from the past 7 years written by a guy named Tom! Etc! I'm being a little flip, and generally, like a lot of those books, but it's true, those tend to be what gets platformed in that way. And, credit where it's due, I know the last catalog also included things like Far Sector and Wonder Woman Historia and Nubia: Real One and the Kami Garcia/Gabriel Picolo Teen Titans OGNs.

But what I find complicated about a lot of those decisions is that a lot of those books may be self-contained in that you can read a single volume or single series and get a pretty complete story without a lot of continuity fluff or cross-reading or whatever, but I think a lot of those books benefit from having existing grounding in reading superhero comics that can get lost when they're being presented not only outside the context of what they were originally in conversation with, but as books of high accessibility or jumping on points.

I could probably go on about most of these, but I'm going to use Killing Joke as an example because it's a really clear one. It's famously a "read this book" kinda book. I think it's still in the DC 25 Essential titles list. It's also a book that is STEEPED in important context that it usually isn't presented with and that I think does really change the reading experience.

Like, when Killing Joke was originally released, it was part of a big push of the Joker at DC. In early 1988, Killing Joke comes out, followed a few months later by A Death in the Family (the one where he killed Jason Todd Robin) and the year capped off with a Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told collection that didn't include either of those stories because, y'know, they were both too new. And modern collections (the 75th and 80th, respectively) both include, interestingly, 1 issue each of A Death in the Family (and different ones at that) and only an excerpt of Killing Joke because they usually don't like to collect it because it can take up a lot of pages for a book that most people own as an individual volume (though... interestingly, the 80th does include Mad Love). Sorry, getting a little distracted. But you know what the Greatest Joker Stories does include? A comic from 1966 that came in a box of PopTarts. Pre-'88, he had gone through cycles of being serious, silly (not even connected to Batman '66, the Joker's many boners story was from the early '50s!), and serious again when he returned in the '70s, but it was never to the extent that Killing Joke went to and that was solidified by the next year of publishing. And, even then, the next year brought some very different Jokers: Jack Nicholson's live-action version who is very much not the Killing Joke Joker and the Joker of Arkham Asylum, who again, is also violent, but in a very different way.

As you start looking at the long-tail, you see the Killing Joke interpretation more in the Batman: The Animated Series version of the character (though, obviously, toned down somewhat for the audience) and that continues to resonate through each version of Joker that happens after across media (except maybe Batman: The Brave and the Bold, because that series is so Silver Age-y). You get Oracle going from a somewhat unexpected character in Suicide Squad to being a major part of the Bat-family and really evolving as a character as Birds of Prey took flight in the late '90s (pin in that for a sec). There are stories that directly reference it, like that Booster Gold issue where he keeps trying (and failing) to change the past because Rip Hunter (almost wrote Rip Torn, who would've made for a very different Booster Gold book) lied to him. There are whole projects that are inspired by it, like the One Bad Day books from 2022/23. There are real world effects, like the things I mentioned earlier with it becoming an evergreen title and one of the first big DC tentpoles to have as a constant at comic shops and in bookstores (especially as the book market has become increasingly important).

Looking at the sort of joint in continuity and publishing history leading up to Killing Joke, it's important to know that Joker and Barbara Gordon had been sort of in-and-out of the comics. Joker hadn't had a major break in a while--also an influential factor on Killing Joke, another darker '80s Joker was in Dark Knight Returns just a couple years prior. But he had been a character who kinda disappeared out of the comics in the past--I think before his return in Batman #251 in '71, he had not been in a comic in like 4 years. And, speaking of not being in comics in 4 years, Barbara Gordon had largely retired as Batgirl before Crisis on Infinite Earths in '85 and was basically a non-character in DC comics post Crisis until Killing Joke. It's part of why the story got approved with her in it and part of why she got taken over to Suicide Squad afterwards... there weren't any plans for Batgirl otherwise.

And all of that is before we're even talking about stuff like the fact that it was recolored and the recoloring really changes the reading experience (TBH, I am not a fan) or that it's a book that if you are recommending it to someone, you should tell them that it's a book with a heavy trigger warning for sexual assault. It's not talking about it as an Alan Moore project and his publicly bad relationship with DC/Warner (see, among other things, that earlier Watchmen article).

So many of these books have that sort of important contextual elements that change the way they're read. I think it's important to know that Sandman is a DC universe book and at least something about some of the DC characters who get featured (like Prez, Element Woman, and Dr. Destiny). All-Star Superman is in conversation with Superman comics of the Golden and Silver age and I think in particular dialogue with Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow (and, hey, again, probably helpful to know that Grant and Alan have their issues).

How to Contextualize, Or Find New Evergreens

Okay, brief note: Becca and I went and saw Madame Web and this was left unfinished when we did. Madame Web was great. It was genuinely bad. It was the Cats (2019) of superhero movies. I've never seen a movie where literally all the content was in the trailer and the rest of the movie was deleted scenes. Anyway, after it was over, we went to the Barnes & Noble next to the theater and listened to this couple talking in the comics section and literally every book they gravitated to was one of these sorts of evergreen titles--Sandman was mentioned, Watchmen and Before Watchmen, V for Vendetta, etc. It was clear they weren't really readers, they seemed to be shopping for someone else, but that their primary frame of reference was TV shows and movies, which also goes to the whole "what makes it evergreen" argument and is really interesting because through adaptation, some of the importance of how these things work in the comics medium is lost. And by the end of it... I think they just didn't pick up a comic. Anyway, was just kinda funny to have a real world example of this exact phenomenon I'm talking about happen mid-blog.

Only other thing I want to say before getting any further. Obviously, I've focused a lot on DC titles. The reason is DC makes it easy. Like I said, they literally put out a catalog with their "here's what we think is most essential from our library" every year. DC's also got a long track record of these types of titles to examine and particularly because the initial comment led me to think it was more about American Superhero Comics, it was a clear focus. Every comic company does have their evergreen titles and I think evergreens are a good thing! When positioned properly, they are supposed to be new reader friendly and a great way to get into the medium. I'll talk a bit about Marvel in this section, but I'd also like to acknowledge that one really smart move that Image made (not entirely sure if they're still doing this, but props where it's due) is they made the first volume of multi-volume series--particularly the ones that seemed ripe for perennial status like Saga--$10. I think making these titles at an accessible price point is a good way to help prop up the things that can help secure a love of the medium and drive further visits to comic shops and bookstores.

More generally, I think there are two things that would both be rad if they were to happen because I think they'd be really helpful for onboarding new readers. The first is I wish there were more international approaches that were like the partworks collections. If you're unfamiliar, there've been a few of them from the UK, including Marvel, DC (who started with Eaglemoss and actually got picked up by Hachette later on), Transformers, Star Trek, and Judge Dredd, wherein significant arcs were released periodically with connecting spine art so they looked really nice together on a shelf that featured additional material like introductions and contextual writings on the reason the arc is significant and the featured character(s) and the creators and really provided at least a starting point of context. The other kinda interesting thing is for the Hachette ones at least, they were released with two numbering systems: one by release of the partworks collection, one by (relative) release order of the original story relative to the other partworks releases. It's almost like when you used to buy an encyclopedia set and every however often the new volume would be ready and you'd have to buy that. I think that's a really cool approach to bringing comics backlist to new and lapsed readers and particularly with the contextualization element, gives you reason to understand why these stories are evergreen. It's exciting to look at partworks as almost a curated greatest hits collection.

The other thing, and again, I think this is already in progress with both what DC is doing generally with their Essentials catalog and specifically with a lot of the stuff in their middle grade and young adult OGN space (and to a lesser extent with Black Label) and with the more recent additions to the Hachette Partworks--is I think that the "canonical" books need to be updated. And, of course, I have a lot of thoughts on what should be on those lists. I've said it before, but Far Sector would certainly be on my list. As would Superman Smashes the Klan. Just to throw out a couple of others: Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon, Batman: No Man's Land, Young Justice: Sins of Youth, New Frontier, GL/GA: Hard Travelin' Heroes, (when it's collected, the first arc of the current Birds of Prey series), no longer a big two series, but Astro City (honestly... any volume), Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt, X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga, Marvels, Shadow of the Batgirl, Wednesday Comics, Gen13: Meanwhile (hey, that collection slaps), Mr. Majestic (the '99 run), Starman: Hell and Back, uhh... can we just collect all the pages where the Legion of Superheroes wore outfits designed by kids and fans, and probably a lot of other dumb stuff. But besides being the books that I really like and feel like are deserving of a place in more readers minds, I think the important thing is that we expand from books that may've had a splash outside the medium's traditional haunts (be that in films & TV or literary circles) or that we as comics people recognize for their artistic merit or internal cultural significance to books that celebrate and capture how fun comics can be! Also... and I realize what my own list looks like as I say this, but... fewer comics by white guys, please.

And now, our regular features.

New Releases this week (2/14/24): None

New Releases next week (2/21/24): Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. MOGUERA (Editor - IDW, post-leaving)

Announcements: Happy Black History Month! This week, I want to spotlight writer/editor Joseph Illidge! He's one of those guys who has been everywhere--Milestone/DC, Valiant, Heavy Metal, Lion Forge, etc. He's got irons in a few fires right now, from Noir is the New Black to teasing a new Image project coming to doing more editorial work to doing some pretty good articles of his own on the current and historical state of the comics biz. Among his many editorial credits is one of the books I mentioned feeling like should be treated more as an evergreen title (though... given it's complexity and just how many titles it ran through, I do understand that it's a bit harder): Batman: No Man's Land. But he's on all the socials and always has something cool brewing, so throw him a follow!

Sorry that Patreon is still behind! I've sent in a help request and once it's all sorted, blogs will be going back up regularly! As mentioned above, we're getting ready for wedding and travel and expenses around all that, so please also check out my webstore, my Kofi, my eBay, and Becca's site for additional ways to support us and get a little something for yourself!

What I enjoyed this week: Nancy (Comic), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Baldur's Gate III (Video Game), Blank Check (Podcast), Solve This Murder (Podcast), The City We Became (Book), Blade Runner 2049 (Movie), Madame Web (Movie), Witch Watch (Manga), One Piece (Manga), Dandadan (Manga), Lore Olympus (Webcomic), Death to Smoochy (Movie), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), and big thanks to everyone who has already given us a little something for the wedding!

Pic of the Week: Nadja made a new friend (?) and his name is Optimus Prime. But she HATES that Sonic.

#comics #stop kosa #free palestine #hands off rafah #eyes on rafah #batman no man’s land #killing joke #canonical comics #far sector #a lot of dc comics sorry #comic opinions #a cat that loves optimus and hates sonic

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the-firebird69 · 11 days ago

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We're going after Trump for treason in other words he's in the oval office saying it. We're going to Levy the charges shortly..

In other words people are getting those charges ready they want in the hell out of here this is hardly hiding anything from us or our son and they're a bunch of imbeciles saying that it works and then it doesn't and they're just dirty dirty people there's something huge going on right now and it is going to affect everybody it's happening all over the United States people are saying that they want a real president okay but that's one thing the other thing is in Charlotte county the beginning to arrest the trumpsters and it is bja and he is in trouble he can see that he's going to be attacked if he doesn't get the stashes and cashes he's going to be out and yeah what an idiot our son and daughter can't stand him he's a little bit of a complete a****** to them and says outrageous stuff one day in the little room there he went up to our son and he says I want you out of the room and I need you out today and it was in the second room and he's trying to be this big man or something I said looked up and said go to hell and touch my stuff I'm going to break your bones. And tommy says well I'm going to tell or something it said did you hear me.. any walked away so he starts to bother our son and our son says if you don't stop annoying me you're going to go out the window he said you can't say that he says why not give me one real reason he says I'll get revenge and said no no not after that so he shut his mouth and he's threatened him with it before and that's his style he wants to move our son around and threaten him and her son is saying that the guy is treating him like an animal and the guy is an animal and we're going to prove it and he's going to make some very huge very expensive mistakes he already did that his people are dying in the general population the mack morlock had about 10.8% last week and now they have 9.5%, and counting and it's cuz they have big mouth and he's a huge loser our son doesn't want a big motorcycle and trying to see does and he's an he's completely out to lunch and he's a down syndrome victim and he's stupid and we're going to take care of him. Yeah in between him and Terry C just a drywall wall which stud. There's basically two walls between our sun and the device because where their positioned and it will blow out the back of their place right to the glass and it will blow upwards most of it and because of the three foot below the window or two foot it will blow upwards mostly and he doesn't know this but it sort of does but we don't want him here or his brother or bja they're uncivilized. And we talk about it and it gets the job done and I'm going to disable all your devices because you're a huge loser.

-there's about 2 minutes of time we have to give to this moron no we don't want to give many times it's starting to dismantle his organization globally and it is getting faster and faster right now his duplicates are 0.2% in the general population people are working the perimeter of the money centers in the hospitals and they will fall soon completely and the trumpsters are at 3.8% in the general population they are going to evacuate 1% pretty soon and maybe another percent later but fairly soon they are being attacked and they're fighting the pseudo empire and they're fighting mercenaries tons of them today they started hiring more in a few days they will go from 12% to about 14.5% and that's the pseudo empire and minority morlock and miscellaneous those are big numbers and they're gaining people. They really should.

We're getting up and we're going to go to war with Trump in his idiots I'm sick and tired of this and anybody else that does

--right now we know that the local police are gearing up to pull the a****** out of there and we do need Terry cheesman they're going to move to remove him from the sheriff's office because of the propane and they're going to pull them out of all sorts of police departments all over the world and the FBI

Terry C wants to know the location of all the equipment that Trump took from Tommy F and he's threatening her account for it and we're going to he's threatening our son and daughter indirectly and we want to go get and we wanted to go after him for doing it

Thor Freya

Olympus

Yeah I'm kind of ignoring it and I end up going inside robots oh well

Trump I sort of get something he says oh well I guess you're out

Is my territory and I'm going to handle it

Bja

Olympus

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asupernaturalgirl · 4 years ago

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I’ll Always Be Here to Help You

Sam Wilson x Fem!Reader

Request: If you don’t mind, I wanna request maybe something like sam and the reader previously being lovers in the past but they separate and she becomes a lab rat for hydra or something like that, and he saves her and what not. Very cliche yet cute in my opinion. 🙂🙂❤️ @jeonsblackgf-writes

A/N: Hey, All! I have to admit, this one made me a bit nervous. This is my first Marvel One shot and I wanted it to be so good so I hope you all like it. Also, this is written in 3rd person, which is new for me in one shots so I hope you don’t mind.

Warnings: torture, breakups, hydra stuff

H/C: Hair Color, S/C: Skin Color

There’s a moment when you’re watching something about to happen, something terrible, where you so badly want to turn your head, to avert your gaze, but something is still fixing it onto whatever is happening. Car crashes, accidents, injuries. You would never purposefully enjoy watching something so terrible, but your brain doesn’t make the connection between something about to happen and needing to shield yourself from it.

That was exactly how Sam Wilson felt as he watched the screen in front of him. He wanted so badly to turn, to leave the room. Steve had even approached him to try to get him to leave, but some sick part of his brain wasn’t allowing him to even step a foot away. He watched as the sick criminals injected something into her skin. Her skin. It was so grey, so much paler than her normal (S/C) tone. Bruises and bloody injuries lined nearly every part of her body.

Her (H/C) hair, which he had loved so much, was matted and dirty. It was so unlike you, so rare for you to be so weak, so hurt, that he almost didn’t recognize you at first. It was her screams of pain, her desperate pleading that brought him back to reality and allowed it to actually sink into his brain. Hydra was using her as a lab rat. They had no plans to actually turn her into anything, they were just testing all of their materials on her.

He hadn’t seen her in so long. If he had known she was in danger, if he had known that this would have happened, he would have done anything to make sure she was safe.

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Sam sat down at the park bench, holding her hands tightly as he tried to explain the very thing he was dreading explaining to her. It was worse than he imagined. “I can’t force you to wait for me when I’m off god knows where, fighting in the Air Force.”

She turned her head. Sam Wilson, the man who meant everything to her, the man who she’d been with since she was in 10th grade, was breaking up with her to go into the military. He didn’t want her to have to forsake her health and life so that he could live his own. “Sam, I don’t care about where you’re going. I’ll go with you. There’s nothing keeping me here anymore.”

He shook his head. People walking by looked over as the two of them spoke. Tears poured out of her eyes. She was still trying to keep from sobbing out loud, although she wasn’t sure how much longer that would actually last.

“You need to live your own life,” He was strong with his statement. As a rescuer, his job would be dangerous and take up a considerable amount of time. “Even if you came with me, I wouldn’t be around much. I can’t drag you to some unknown location and then force you to stay there without any friends and family. This is for the best.”

Y/N didn’t want to even look at him. She turned your head slightly and crossed her arms. She felt like a child who wasn’t getting what they wanted. Sam meant everything to her and it hurt her that he was leaving without even giving her an option in the matter.

“I love ya, sweetheart,” He ran his hand along her back, trying to comfort her. He hated when she cried and it hurt him even more that he was the one causing those tears. “I’ll come back and visit you when I get the chance.”

That had been the last time he spoke to Y/N. The last time he spoke to her before she was captured, he left her on a bench. The guilt began to spread in his chest at the thought. She must have been so terrified, so lost when Hydra captured her, and he wasn’t there to help. “We need to get her.”

Steve nodded his head. “Where do you know her from?”

Sam watched as she withered in the chair they had her strapped in, screaming for help. His chest constricted at the idea of Y/N in so much pain, the idea of someone hurting you like that. She had absolutely no business being there. “Her and I dated when we were in high school and a little bit before I joined the military. I broke up with her.”

Steve’s face dropped. He had no idea that she had been so close to Sam. He knew that his friend must have been devastated. Moving forward, Cap placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We’re gonna get her, Sam. I promise you.”

…

Sam was flying over the base, trying to find some weak point to enter through. It was easy to find the location. Because they had received the video via hacking, all they needed to do was look at the location codes. Rumors had been circulating about a Hydra base closeby, so once they had a general spot to look in, they found it rather quickly.

“Sam, the third window to the left in the back looks unguarded,” Clint said through the earpiece. “Goes into a small closet. We did a quick X-Ray check and it seems there’s no one guarding that either.”

“I’m goin’ in,” He said quickly, rerouting his position towards the back of the large base. He was surprised no one had found them yet. They were able to get into the base rather easily, which sent shivers up his spine. It was never this easy.

Apparently, it was right to be worried. As soon as he broke through the window and closed his wings to begin walking through, three men immediately charged him. He dodged them quickly, throwing one into the wall as he kicked another in the face, knocking him out. The last charged forward with a knife held in hand, but he quickly grabbed the man’s arm, bending it backwards. The sound of a bone snapping echoed through the small closet and he screamed out slightly in pain. Sam quickly pushed him into a cabinet while his defenses were down and slipped out before he tried anything else.

He walked carefully through the hallways, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself than he already did. He hoped that the three men were the only defenses they put up against him, but he seriously doubted that.

The one thing that kept him going was thinking about Y/N. She deserved none of this and he would make sure she was safe before anything else. He pressed on the small bud in his ear. “I’m in. You see anything else?”

“There’s a couple of guys fighting down here,” It was Natasha this time. “Steve and Clint are trying to hold them off while you’re down there. Try to get to her quickly.”

“Well, it’d be a whole lot easier if I could see a damn thing down here,” He turned the corner, but could only see about 3 foot in front of him. The combination of dark walls and a lack of windows made it quite dark. “You’d think an organization that has been around for this long would have enough money to turn on some lights every once in a while.”

“Ha Ha, Wilson,” Natasha said sarcastically. “Just find Y/N and get the hell out of there.”

He went into overdrive mode. Occasionally, someone would pass by, almost completely oblivious to the fact that they had an enemy raiding the base at the moment. They were unprepared and by the time they realized they had to fight, Sam already had them on the ground.

One room in particular stuck out to him. There was a breaker box right outside the door for electricity. This meant they likely needed quick access to the controls here. He was wary, unsure of what he may find inside. He prayed that if she was there, no one else would be. He needed to get her and leave as quickly as possible.

He opened the door quickly, ready for a large fight. There she was. Y/N. She was sweating, but shivering at the same time. Her eyes were huge as she turned towards the door, caught off guard by the loud sound. He would never forget the expression of relief that crossed her face as soon as she saw him.

There was a man frantically trying to undo her restraints, likely trying to evacuate her before Sam could get to her. He quickly rushed forward, tackling the man to the ground. He grabbed the man’s head, hitting it against the concrete floor until he was seemingly unconscious. Sam pried the key from the man’s hand and rushed to unlock them.

“Sam, what are you...what are you doing here?” Y/N questioned. She was shocked. She had prayed that someone would help her, that someone would save her from the absolute misery she was experiencing. The person she expected was definitely not her ex boyfriend.

“Found a video of you being used as a lab rat,” He started, moving to her legs now that her arms were free. “There was no way I was going to let you stay here. Can you walk?”

“I-I don’t think so,” She looked down at her hands. “I’ve been here for a few weeks so my legs are so weak.”

It hurt Sam almost physically that they hadn’t even let you out of the chair. As soon as you were completely unshackled, he leaned down and lifted you into his arms, quickly carrying you throughout the facility.

This time, there was seemingly no one left to fight. He went through the same way that he came in, making sure he didn’t take a bad turn. Taking the wrong turn here could be the difference between life and death. Steve was waiting in the same closet he’d broken into, his eyes surprised as soon as he saw Sam come through the door with the girl in his arms.

Steve helped Sam out and sprinted with them as they made their way back to the jet. He could feel his arms beginning to grow heavy but he knew he couldn’t let you go. You wouldn’t be able to walk by yourself. Your muscles were likely atrophied at this point.

As soon as the team got the go ahead, they were taking off. A doctor had rushed forward to help Y/N, taking care of the most dramatic injuries first. He cleaned off a few deep wounds. “These likely needed stitches when they happened but they’re too old now. Stitching them would just cause the infection to be trapped inside.”

Sam watched as they worked, making sure that she wasn’t afraid. He felt the need to use comic relief, as he normally did, but refrained. It would likely be in bad taste at the current moment. After a few hours of poking and prodding, there was a few minutes where Y/N could just soak everything in. She had been rescued, saved from the most terrible people by Sam, her old love.

Sam sat quietly on a chair next to the small gurney. He looked down at his hands but kept a close eye on you to make sure you didn’t need anything. “Thank you, Sam.”

He looked up, surprised by her words. Why would she ever think she needed to be thankful for him for this? He got her out of a situation that he wouldn’t have wished on anyone. “You could have just called me if you wanted my attention. You didn’t have to do all this.”

A grin crossed Y/N’s face. He was the same old Sam. Even though he was a superhero and looked quite different physically than he had before, he still had the same personality. “Yeah, I might have to think about that differently next time.”

Sam slowly walked towards you and grabbed your frail hands in his large ones, giving you a comforting squeeze. His eyes were sincere as he looked down at you. “I meant what I said when I saw you last, Y/N. I love you. Even though we haven’t seen each other in years, I’ll always be here to help you.”

#sam x reader #sam wilson x reader #one shots #marvel #avengers #falcon #falcon x reader #captain america x reader #steve rogers #imagines #steve x reader #Bucky Barnes

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 3 years ago

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The Triumphant Return.

Conductor: Everyone! Please! Make your way over to the next carriage! This is not a drill! There is an emergency-ACK!

Ok, that’s enough out of you.

*Narumi, armed with her gauntlets, blasts the conductor in the back. She doesn’t kill him, but she knocks him down to the ground and he passes out cold. Upon seeing the spectacle, all the passengers on the carriage immediately jump up and evacuate the carriage, screaming in terror.

Hey! Watch the dress!

*Celeste snaps at a few people as they shove past her. She is still holding Hina, and when everyone rushes out, she thrusts the point swimming pro onto a couple of seats.

NGGGH!!

*Hina, bound by a tight rope and shut up with a metallic gag, writhes in frustration. Celeste simply smirks at her, and sits down in the seats adjacent to the one’s she’s laying down on.

This isn’t the most comfortable ride home but it will have to do. What makes you sure that they won’t try and stop the train though?

Even if they did, we should still be able to get pretty far. I could always fly us away again if we get halted.

I don’t like that idea. You’ve flown me far enough already. Any more and you’ll ruin my hair.

You mean your extensions?

Which are a part of my hair.

Suuure...

*sigh*

*Celeste sighs.

Why you specifically?

Huh? You mean why did they send me to save you?

I did a pretty good job, didn’t I?

Quite. But I figured Akira would want to come instead. He would have done just as good a job.

No he wouldn’t! He might care about you but he doesn’t have my spirit of adventure!

That “spirit of adventure” delayed my rescue by quite a bit. You spent too much time playing around with Sakura and the others.

Alright, fine! I’ll grab you and fly you back to your old classmates! I’ll do it!

Th-That won’t be necessary!

Then shut your mouth and be grateful for once.

Ugh...Thank you for saving me...

That’s better. And I’d better not hear any complaints if I somehow have to fly us away.

Sure, sure.

HHNGH! NGGGH!

Oh SHUT UP!

*WHAM!*

NCCK!

*WHAM!* *THUD!* *THUD!* *THUD!*

HMM! GGM!

*Celeste loses her temper and repeatedly kicks Hina off the seat and stamps on her while she’s on the ground.

PTOO!

*She then spits on her face and sits back down.

Wow...Pent up aggression much.

You have no idea. I’ve had to live the past 8 years, holding my tongue while having this talentless loser as a Branch Chief!

*WHAM!*

!!!

Aggression doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel.

I don’t consider many of you Zetsubou cretins “friends” exactly, but I very much prefer you. You’re not tight with rules, and you allow me to do whatever I please so long as I deliver results.

In a way...That mindset is similar to that of Hope’s Peak’s staff, is it not?

*She sits back down.

What do you mean?

Back at Hope’s Peak, you were free to do what you wanted and cut as many classes as you wanted so long as you were developing your talent. They really did not give a crap.

Wow. Sounds fun.

It was...While it lasted at least...

*She holds her head in and sighs.

Not like I remember any of it...

Celeste...I hope you do realize that by working for us...you ARE effectively working for Junko Enoshima and Despair, right?

...

I want my castle. I want my money. And as soon as I’ve got that, I’m out.

If that means I have to stick with you guys to the end, then so be it.

You seem oddly desperate to get this castle of yours...

And the reason why is something I am going to keep to myself.

Fair enough~

*She stands up and starts to walk towards the next carriage, stepping over Hina as she does so.

Where are you going?

I’m gonna go get us something to drink. The last carriage has an abandoned drink cart with some tea. Sorry, but you might have to put up with the low quality stuff.

Well, I’m fresh out of complaints. I’ve waited at least a month for a decent cup of tea, I can wait a little-

*BANG!*

!!!??

!!!!!

*The air is cut through, as all of a sudden, a bullet comes flying out of the rear carriage door, and hits Narumi in the shoulder.

NARUMI!

!!!??

*Still bound and gagged on the floor, Hina watches as Celeste jumps up and cradles the injured girl in her arms.

???: I’m sorry dear ladies...But we’re fresh out of tea.

!!!!!!????

*Recognizing the voice, a cold chill crawls up Celeste’s spine as she looks up at the shooter.

Or at least, we are for you.

!!!??

*Hina’s reaction is a mix of shock, and amazement as Kyoko stands in the doorway, aiming her pistol at the Zetsubou grunts.

You! What the hell are YOU doing here!?

YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!

Hmph...Tried that once...Didn’t take then, don’t take now.

*She starts to make her way towards them.

NGH!

O-Ow...! I-It hurts...!

Sit tight...I can handle this.

*Still cradling the bleeding Narumi, Celeste backs away all the way to the other end of the carriage. She places the young girl on a seat.

...

*RIP!*

GASP! K-KYOKO!

Good to see you old friend. Sorry, but now’s not the time for proper reunions.

*She frees Hina and hands her a remote.

Take this and get all the way to the back of the train. It’ll give the Future Foundation a signal to track where we’re going.

What? But-

Do it!

...!

*Kyoko’s sternness shuts Hina up, and she does as she’s told.

For someone as unsympathetic as you...You seem to have made pretty good friends with these villains.

...

*Celeste keeps her back turned to the Detective.

True friends and allies are the people who would let you be you. No one in the Future Foundation ever did that, so why should I owe you any favors? Even if you DID revive me, what’s the point if I can’t do as I should?

If that was an excuse, the term “psychopath” wouldn’t exist.

You know it might have been a mistake to send Hina away. We may lose her, but you’re also on Shirogane’s list, you know? And yet you’re taking us on without any backup?

Considering the main muscle is already down and out...I like my chances...Plus, I wouldn’t have it any other way...

*She aims her gun at the gambler girl.

Because one thing you don’t know about me...is that I’m not above holding a grudge.

Ah...that’s right...

*Celeste, regaining some bravado despite her previous slip up, turns her head slightly and grins maliciously...

I almost forgot the entire reason we’re in this mess is because I killed Detective Samidare...

Considering your history with each other...I’m amazed you would be THIS torn up over her death. Especially considering what happened between you two.

...You know about that then?

An assassin needs to know the personal details of their target before the hit. I’m no professional, but I fail to see why that wasn’t obvious.

Your history isn’t a pretty one...So if it’s not for vengeance for her, is this all just because of your injury?

Injury’s can be healed. Dead people can’t be brought back.

But logic has shown that to be wrong! After all, I and everyone else from the first killing game are supposed to be dead, so why don’t you just bring your good friend back?

Yes...You’re a good example...

*She cocks the gun.

And one that I clearly need to fix. Only when I’ve taken care of you will I consider bringing her back.

W-Wait...Are you saying...You’re trying to KILL me?

I’m not “trying” to...But you should have died a long time ago anyway...

We’re on a speeding train and I have a gun...So if you somehow end up dying? Oh well...

You really don’t think my life is worth ANYTHING!?

Why would it!? You betrayed us! You killed my childhood friend! I have NO sympathy for you.

I won’t feel anything if you somehow wind up dead.

You...good-for nothing...!

*WHHIIIRRRR!!!*

!!?

DON’T GET COCKY WITH MEEE!!

*BOOOM!*

!!!!!???

AAGGHK!

*Celeste’s plan becomes clear within the ensuing moment. The reason she had her back to Kyoko the whole time was because she was secretly placing Narumi’s repulsor gauntlets on her own hands! With a cry of anger, she spins around and blasts a beam straight at Kyoko. Kyoko dives out of the way, but it provides Celeste enough of an opportunity to grab Narumi and make her escape.

*Kyoko suddenly notices Celeste procure another thing from Narumi. A radio.

We’re on the train! Narumi is down! Send backup as quick as you can!

*With that, she slams the door to the carriage.

Chihiro! Celeste has a radio! Find out where the signals going!

Chihiro: Alright I’m on it! But...what are you gonna do?

I’m going to pursue.

Chihiro: What!? Y-You can’t! What if they’re luring you into a trap!?

Don’t worry...I just got back. I don’t plan to leave so soon.

I’m not falling for any of her traps...Not again...

//KYOKO KIRIGIRI VS CELESTIA LUDENBURG//

#danganronpa survivor #danganronpa #danganronpa 1 #dr1 #danganrebirth voices #celestia ludenberg #kyoko kirigiri #chihiro fujisaki #narumi osone #aoi asahina #fall of the future foundation arc

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marvelsuperfangirl · 3 years ago

Text

Spooky Coincidences

Bucky x Reader

A/N : I wrote this and the following chapter in a day, I don’t why but the idea of unfortunate encounters with Bucky inspired me, it’s been a while I haven’t written for the Marvel fandom, so I hope you’ll like it :)

Warnings : Punch, broken jaw, spilled burning coffee ( is it really a warning? ) and crappy writing... ( sorry )

Halloween was commercial ! It was an appropriation by the consumation society to make an even bigger profit than the other period of the year.

Candies, seasonal snacks and drinks, decorations, events, haunted houses… Their only goal was to steal the honest people’s money.

Which is why, this year, you decided to become one of the instrument of that overpowerful society. By becoming a monster in a haunted house !

At the time, it sounded like hell of an idea… Now not so much….

You’ve heard about the super fun and well paid experience of working in a haunted house, so of course, you’ve applied to the job and became the ephemeral place’s entitled werewolf.

At first, you scrunched up your nose at the news. Yay, being disguised as a half human half dog being, so cool…

But at least, you were a cool version of a werewolf, wild hair, long white teeth, fake claws fake contact lenses, teared clothes and make up to match the style and give a scary touch to the mix.

After only a few shifts in the haunted house, things started to go south for you, and unbeknownst, itw as only the beginning….

The house had transformed one of its wings into a dark forrest, which floor was covered in fake grass and « jonchée » of bones, cracking under the feet of the visitors. And you were supposed to jump from between the trees, covered in blood and baring your fake fangs to the already rather scared people who dared to wander in your territory.

The very evening of Halloween, you had to step up your game and look twice as scary to make all the children and daring adults shit their pants, at least, that’s what your boss said, even if you prayed it wouldn’t literally happen, at least not in your area…

You were waiting, crouched behind the fake trees, for newcomers to enter your wing, legs starting to hurt from how long you’ve been maintaining the uncomfortable position.

« Calm down, Bucky, we’re almost out »

As the masculine voice reached your ears, you stood up abruptly and got into character, giving yourself a mental speech.

« I’m a mean werewolf, hungry for human flesh, and mostly for money, so if I want it, I need to scare the hell out of those humans, let’s go »

« I can’t understand by you get shit scared by fake monster when you’re fighting nazis almost every week » another voice rang , sounding closer this time.

You heard a groan and waited for your preys to be at the perfect place to be pounced on and jumped right out from between the trees.

There was a tall bulky man right in front of you and without thinking you chose him as your dedicated victim for this group.

You advanced toward him, but alerted by your roars he’d already turned to you, eyes wide in fear and had a small backing movement before his fist came colliding with the side of your face.

The punch sent you flying back against one of the fake trees, which produced a very unpleasant noise, and all you could feel was pain and shock.

Your whole skull was throbbing from the impact of his fist and the pain in your back was almost able to rivalize with the previous one.

Around you, gasps and scream echoed while you were gritting your teeth in a vain attemps at controlling your pain.

« Oh god, are you alright ? »

Someone has crouched down beside you and held your shoulder, trying to get a look at your face, you noticed a few other pairs of feet in your line of vision, joining the first person.

As the shock subdued, on the complete opposite of the pain, you replayed what happened and remembered your attacker. You tried to lift your head as slow as possible as to not worsen the throbbing and search the little crowd with your eyes for the guy who was responsible for the possible concussion you would be diagnosed for, except if you were going to die, that is !

And there he was ! The fear was still evident on his face but now it was twisted with a dose of remorse / guilt.

With you teeth still gritted like your life depended on it, you managed to give a piece of your mind at that stranger.

« Why the hell did you punch me ?! »

Everyone person present in the area turned to him, waiting for an answer but as he start to open his mouth, visibly even more embarrassed, you didn’t let him say anything.

« You f*ck*ng idiot ! What the f*ck, if you’re scared of haunted house don’t go there, you asshole ! Go f*ck yourself elsewhere before I call a lawyer, you dick ! »

You spat all the harsh words you could think about at the moment, your mind blurry from the adrenaline =, while the pain gave you the urge to get it all out and maybe feel a little bit better. News flash : it wasn’t the case.

« Miss, we’re sorry, itw as an accident he’s just »

« Y/N ! »

One of your colleague who was responsible for the lights and cameras in your wing came running toward you, pushing throught the crowd, flanked by a few other members of the team.

« We already called an ambulance to check on you »

« We’ll evacuate the house, stay there and wait for them, it wouldn’t be a good idea to move you ourselves. »

The first one nodded and settled down next to you while the others started to usher your attacker and his friends out, leaving you alone with your colleague.

« It probably sounds stupid but how are you feeling ? »

You glared at him, at his more than known stupidity before softening.

« Like hell, that guy has a killer punch, seriously, I feel like my head’s gonna explode, and my back hurts as well, you tried to move to stretch but your colleage held your shoulders.

« Don’t move, it could be something severe, we’ll see what we can do for that guy and regarding your state if there will be legal pursuit or no, don’t you worry about that »

You leaned abck against the fake tree, replaying the exact moment when you decided it would be a good idea to work in a haunted house to make « easy money ».

« Fuck I hate Halloween »

#marvel #marvel imagine #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes fluff

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pynkhues · 4 years ago

Note

.... any succession fic recs? 👀

Yes!! I haven't read a lot for it yet, but some of the stuff I've read has been staggeringly good. I'm generally more into gen fic in this particular fandom, but have enjoyed some Stewy x Kendall, Gerri x Roman and Naomi x Tabitha too.

A few recs under the cut!

“I wanted to get out. From under all this. Take the money and run.”

Kendall tells Stewy even though he knows he’ll never get it, not like Naomi does. He’ll never understand the crush of it, the heart-stopping head-fucking fear of failing a tyrant. Kendall’s been ignoring the shape of it for a long time, putting pieces of it together in the back of his mind in total darkness like a blindfolded man. It doesn’t matter that one day his dad will die. It doesn’t matter about the money or the hostile takeover or the stolen files or any of it. There’s no running. Kendall’s Logan Roy lives inside his head.

Stewy laughs. Stewy laughs for a long time.

“There is no out, Ken, what the fuck are you talking about? You were born this and you’ll die this. You are what you are, and what you are is a fucking Roy.”

Kendall hates him, for a moment. Lightning-strike furious. What the fuck does he know about any of it, about his dad’s swinging dinner plate-sized hands, about getting 24% name recognition in reliable international polling, about puking every time you think about a car swerving off the road in the rain. About finding out that you can do something unthinkably, unimaginably terrible, and it doesn’t matter to anyone you know but you. There’s a scar on his arm that no one else who hasn’t already been told how it got there can ever know about, and he’s sick of it, and it’s not fair. He hates Stewy for a moment because Stewy’s right.

“I wanted to do the right thing, Stewy, for once in my fucking life.”

Stewy laughs again, more briefly, and the predator flash of his eyes in the neon of the motel sign is a torture all its own.

‘There is no right and wrong, Ken. How the fuck do you not know that yet? Not for people like you. Like us. There’s shit you get caught doing and there’s shit you don’t.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You really, really fucking don’t,” says Ken, and fuck, there it is. The road less travelled, that only he has ever driven on. The path he’s down where Stewy can’t follow. That place beyond Stewy Hosseini where he never thought he could go.

“You’re not telling me something, and when I find out what that is, and I will find out what it is, Kendall, don’t you think I won’t, so I am warning you that when I do find out I am going to be righteously fucking pissed,” says Stewy, and if Kendall thought those were a predator’s eyes before—

“Yeah, you will,” says Kendall, because he knows exactly how perceptive Stewy is. Exactly how weak he is. Exactly, precisely what both of them are.

And treat this night like it’ll happen again by postcardmystery. 8k words. Kendall x Stewy. Post s2. (CW: internalised homophobia, some homophobic language)

I tried to pick a shorter excerpt, but I literally couldn’t, this fic is so. good. The voices are pitch perfect, and it’s got this incredible build to it overall that goes back and forth between time and point of views and just rips your heart out. The premise itself is pretty simple – after the press conference at the end of 2.10, Kendall calls Stewy, and they drive through rural America while Kendall has a breakdown, and it’s just - - unspeakably good. I love it so so so much, I have no words.

r/roysucks Connor’s gf just posted on Instagram (instagram.com) submitted two months ago by webbedscrum_2279 23 comments share save hide report

[–] DM_ME_SAMESMAIL 40 points two months ago I too like to escape to my yacht in the Mediterranean when my family and I are on trial for covering up rape and murder. permalink embed save report reply

AITA for accusing my father of multiple crimes on his own news station? By amleth 3k words. Gen fic. Post s2.

And now for something completely different – epistolary fic which is just reddit news threads of the Roy family drama. I love an epistolary fic and this is just totally charming, and made me laugh a lot out loud.

“You’re quiet,” she observes. “That’s a first.”

“Yeah, well, the Turks beat it out of me. Gave you a run for their money.” He waggles his eyebrows. “So what is this? Whips and chains? Are we doing the whole boat-sex thing? I heard Shiv and Tom are looking for a third —“

Gerri finds what she’s looking for: a black leather binder. She drops it on the bed and begins paging through it, and Roman cranes his neck enough to recognize that it’s just full of documents, not like, dick pics. “I’ve given some thought to what you proposed a few weeks ago, and I agree that we should make things official in some way,” she says, and he blinks.

“Uh,” he says. “Which — what part of it?”

“Take a look.”

Gerri closes the folio and hands it over. It’s deceptively heavy, and the print on these pages is way too fucking fine, he thinks, paging through it. “Is this some kind of, like, Fifty Shades of Roy sex contract? Because it’s not that I’m not into it, but I think there’s a strong argument for going paperless —”

“Strictly speaking, this isn’t legally binding,” Gerri says. “Just something I threw together with regard to our business arrangement going forward. But with no respect to the family — the past few weeks have really illustrated that no one should take anyone at their word right now. Give me a little more than your word.”

Evacuation strategies for a yacht on fire by devourthemoon. 11k words. Gerri x Roman. Post s2. Explicit.

After the events of s2, Roman and Gerri fake being married as a professional alliance, only, y’know, maybe it’s not so fake. This fic is just so, so much fun, and messy in the best possible way. The author nails all the character voices, and the sex scenes are just the right amount of hot and ridiculous, and I just love it all a lot too.

Kendall estimates it will take an hour for the first articles to go up. Some rapid-fire blog without oversight—the New York Post, maybe, or wherever those Vaulter hippies have skulked off to—will slap a catchy headline on it and report his words verbatim. Give or take a gif of his face when he switches to script number two. New York Times, Washington Post, AP, those fuckers take longer. They like to bleed the story like Middle Ages plague doctors for its marrow, fact-check and add context and analysis and as many backlinks as their servers can handle. Still, a couple of hours, and his face will be plastered on every major news outlet. His voice will play over the nightly talk shows. He’ll trend on Twitter. A few more days, and he’ll be the star of analysis segments, podcasts, weekly briefings. Maybe, fuck it, maybe he’ll trend on Twitter again.

It’s been years since Kendall read Shakespeare. But that shit sticks with you, gets under your skin and emerges when you least expect it, like eczema or Keynesian economics. He knows how the media will spin this. Kendall Roy Attacks CEO Logan for Years of Corruption. Prodigal Son Disrupts Family Legacy to Restore Credibility. That’s how Hamlet ends, right? And Macbeth, Lear, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, even Titus fucking Andronicus. The spilled blood sinks into the ground, the seedlings sprout forth from the soil, and a new castle is built on the bones. Order out of chaos, or at least close enough an approximation that the tabloids will buy it.

Legacy for profit by owlinaminor Post-2.10. Kendall Roy. Kendall through Shakespeare analogies – just - - ooooof. It's a beautiful, lyrical character study that weaves through Roy family history and teases at a future none of them are even sure they want. It's gorgeous writing.

For the next few days Shiv would have to keep the pressure on Kira like an open wound because there were other women, victims that Nate’s people were going to find one by one as soon as that phone call disconnected. Mo was her father’s friend, good friend, for a long, long time. Nate and Gil, Sandy and Stewy, too many sharks in the water and the share price probably dipped to a new low but she would never check a stock ticker. Her husband’s nerves fraying at the edges on national television. She had promised a woman she’d never met before that she would kill roughly one third of the top male executives of her family’s company. Her company.

The last look Rhea gave her before she shut the car door was concern close to fear—no longer the same woman who heard their pitch in the safe room, who laughed with her at Argestes. Rhea had only looked into the abyss; she got cold feet and she didn’t even know what it’s like to grow up in it.

Her family’s company is hers, will be hers. Even from a whale fall, new life would spring.

Feed his flesh to wayward daughters by reogulus. 2k words. Shiv Roy. Set during 2.09.

This entire fic is set around Shiv bribing Kira not to testify, and god, it is so good. It’s bleak and rough, and really hones in on the complex ground Shiv walks as a character. It's another brilliant study of what it takes to be a Roy, and the way they make the awful choices in order to fulfill this legacy that they don't even know they want.

Kendall sets down his fork. “So. Tell me. Is it everything you wanted? Is it what you thought it would be?”

Roman stills. He never does that. He’s constantly a menace in motion, slouching and fidgeting, worse even than Kendall at his amphetamine peak. “What? The view from the tippy-tippy-top?”

“His regard.” Kendall wipes his mouth with the edge of the white cloth napkin. It comes away pink from the steak. “Dad. He’s all yours now.”

Roman still hasn’t moved. Finally, he lurches, like corroded machinery come uncertainly to life. “Yeah, man. It’s fucking tight as hell. I love every beautiful daddy and me moment I was a good enough little boy to earn.” He snorts. “Fuck you.” His face goes curiously slack then, like something Kendall’s own face would do. An intermission in the performance, an energy cut. Something genuine finding its way to the surface. “Why don’t you tell me. When you got everything you wanted, how the fuck did that make you feel?”

Nauseous, is the first word that springs to mind. Sick. Scared. I’ve never had everything I wanted, there’s that. I’ve never once had a single fucking thing I wanted. There’s that, too.

Interim leadership by arbitrarily 2k words. Roman + Kendall. Post s2.

I love Roman and Kendall scenes generally, but this one which features Kendall and Roman meeting for the first time a few months after the press conference in 2.10 is just a bit magic. The push pull dynamic that's just inherent to them mixed with the genuine affection and brotherly love is really special, and arbitrarily embraces both in equal measure. It's a great little fic.

There are lots more of course, and I'd also recommend checking out other works by these authors, but I hope this is a good place to start! :-)

#hbo succession #succession fic #fic recs #welcome to my ama #kendall x stewy #gerri x roman

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lovelyirony · 5 years ago

Note

"a single thread of gold/tied me to you" for ironhusbands?💛

If there is one thing that James Rhodes cannot stand, it is “love at first sight.” In his professional and personal opinion, there is no such thing. It is simply a concept that Disney invented so they could make cutesy stories about princesses finding their princes immediately and give people hope about love, but in the end it is all about the money.

“You’re a cynic,” his sister Jeanie tells him over breakfast. She flings a stray Cheerio at him. “You are a cynic and you’re never gonna date someone because they’re going to think you suck.”

“People are going to date me and realize that I’m a good, realistic choice,” James responds, sticking his tongue out and stealing a drink of her orange juice. “People are going to date you and you’ll be disappointed because you watched too many romantic movies and you let it taint reality.”

“Loser.”

“Dork.”

And then he’s in college.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t meet Tony Stark for two years despite the fact that every single year, they live in the same building on different floors. He has had to evacuate about twenty different times because Tony cannot stop himself from doing experiments in his room.

The third year, James is an RA and required to live with one of the residents because of “experimental tendencies.” They don’t elaborate on why he’s stuck with a roommate, what the tendencies are, or who he is.

“You’ll know,” comes the email from the coordinator, and he has never wanted to curse so badly in an email before, but here he is.

But he’ll deal with it. Just like how he’s going to deal with everything this year.

He thought he would get the room to himself for a little while before everyone moved in and brought everything and he would check them in.

But no.

There’s his roommate, lounging on a bed, and grinning.

“Simply enlightening to meet you, James. They told me I could come back if I had a trusted roommate.”

“And they stuck you with me?”

“Well they were going to stick me with some dude who got the email, and then immediately transferred to Dartmouth. So I think you were the second option.”

“Great.”

He hates life, maybe just a little bit.

Tony wants to do things. Which is fine, but he isn’t really in the mood to have the conversation of the fact that he can do things, but he doesn’t want to do them. He has to focus on being an RA and preparing for the Air Force.

“Why prepare for that when you could be living?” Tony asks, lounging on Rhodey’s bed.

Oh yeah, that’s new too. Rhodey. Apparently, “Jim,” “James,” and “Rhodes” were unacceptable nicknames.

What is acceptable is Rhodey. And of course, the “honey bunches of oats” and “loveliest RA of all time in the history of MIT” and “sugar-puff” and “sweetness overload”

He’s responding to all of them, by the way.

Rhodey didn’t think his mental health would get this bad by the beginning. He had actually scheduled it to be around October.

And then the students come. There are nervous freshmen, the sophomores who don’t say anything as they move in and get settled, and the returning juniors and seniors greet Rhodey and Tony with familiarity and laugh about the posters that Rhodey’s worked hard on.

“So, we’re having joint-RA’s or something?” Miles asks, throwing his comforter over his bed.

“No, we’re not,” Rhodey says, hoping his expression is somewhere along the lines of not-showing-emotion. “Tony’s just...”

“I’m simply too exhausting for Housing to deal with anymore, so I have a babysitter,” Tony says with a wink. “And who better than our lovely Rhodey?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sugar-puff?”

“Still no.”

Miles snorts.

“This year should be good. Tony, you gonna pull any fire alarms this year?”

“Rhodey has expressly banned experiments in the building, unfortunately,” Tony sighs. “It’s like he doesn’t want everyone to bond over having to leave at two in the morning...”

“Nothing says bonding like hating a rude wake-up call,” Rhodey says, and Tony nods. “We’ll let you get all moved in, Miles. Remember that floor dinner is at six!”

“You got it!”

Rhodey gives Tony a look.

“You know, I can do this on my own.”

“Aw shutterbug, I’m not gonna let you.”

“Are you really this intent on following me around?”

“Well, what if I want to overtake your position next year? What if you tragically get a raging headache and it’s up to me to know what to do? What if your mother kidnaps you and never lets you come here again?”

“I’m sure the college kids will be fine,” Rhodey stresses. “And I’ll still have access to email and the groupchat, genius.”

Tony just laughs.

“Alright, okay. I gotta go get some shit for my new class. The teacher sent out an email stating that the textbook is mandatory, and we have to do book work. This feels like eighth grade all over again.”

Rhodey snorts.

“Is it for Professor Casper?”

“Yeah, did you have him?”

“Yeah, you don’t need the book. You can find it online for free, and he never collects the book work. It’s a waste of time to get the book.”

“You’re an angel-and-a-half, love of my life,” Tony says. “And for that, I’ll snag an extra pudding for you at the dining hall.”

“Is it vanilla or chocolate this time?”

“Chocolate with cookies in it.”

“Oh my god, seriously? Already?”

“Guess they must have had a jump,” Tony teases. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Tony has a specific way of getting people to open up and actually talk with others that Rhodey envies.

If Tony wasn’t so hellbent on convincing the group that if Miles and Kamala create a distraction, they could totally sneak out one of the pictures of the mascot.

“We are not doing that the first week,” Rhodey says. “Maybe the last.”

“It’s a beaver,” Tony whines. “Who’s gonna miss it, a Canadian?”

“It’ll be the floor bonding activity,” Gwen says, finishing off her fifth (maybe sixth) slice of pizza. “Better than talking about your feelings about the campus or whatever.”

“No.”

“We’ll convince him soon,” Tony whispers conspiratorially. “Also, who here is a freshman? I have some advice regarding the math classes and which teacher you want...”

Rhodey does have to admit, that sometimes it’s easier to have Tony around, who is so willing to stay up until the late hours because of some stupid drama or to help Peter at his chemistry homework and also ease his anxiety about leaving his Aunt May all alone.

Tony isn’t all wild and crazy as stories have led him up to be.

"I wore out all my crazy freshman year after going to two frat parties and deciding that no one knew anything about how to have fun,” he declared. “I mean, come on. Why have beer pong when you could quiz people about obscure fashion facts?”

Rhodey snorts.

“Don’t make that the next game night. Hey, what do you think about having a movie night this Friday? I’m thinking something not scary, we’ve been doing a lot of those.”

“It is October, what do you mean not scary?”

“Some of our residents don’t like scary,” Rhodey reminds him. “Honestly, I think we could do with a bit of Halloween fun.”

“Hocus Pocus? Double Double, Toil and Trouble? If you want to be slightly scared of old women and clown parties, I’d recommend it.”

“You weren’t scared of clowns beforehand?”

“Of course not, I wanted what they have; the ability to fit eighteen people in a car.”

“Couldn’t you just gut the car?”

“Not the same effect, honey-pie. Not the same effect.”

Miles and Peter both end up lobbying for Hocus Pocus, with little to no competition other than a promise that the other choice would be shown later on in the semester.

They’ve shoved all the chairs together and multiple people have brought out their own chairs, and Tony saves a seat for Rhodey under the premise of “Rhodey organized it, he gets a seat.”

It’s a tough squeeze, and Tony and Rhodey get all tangled up together.

Tony smells like expensive cologne and coffee, and he grins up at Rhodey and maybe the lights from the TV aren’t bright enough, but for a moment his heart skips a beat.

Well. Shit.

When he goes home for Thanksgiving break, Tony seems a bit...sad.

“What, your mom cook the worst turkey in the world?” he jokes.

"Sure,” Tony says, eyes unfocused. “Yeah.”

"Dude, you okay?”

“Yeah,” Tony says, turning. His smile brightens, eyes crinkling. “Why wouldn’t I be fine, buttercup?”

Rhodey gives him a look.

“I’m gonna call you when I get home, okay? You better answer.”

“I always answer to you,” Tony says, and damn Rhodey’s mind shouldn’t be going where it is.

Rhodey waves, gets in his car, and thinks about how Tony most likely has a problem on his mind, how he should probably not room with him, and his Aunt Ada’s green beans.

God, he loves those green beans.

Tony is alone for Thanksgiving. Jarvis and Ana got an opportunity to visit Aunt Peggy in England, and he knew that they hadn’t seen her in two years. He didn’t want to be selfish, have them stay just for him.

So, it looked like deli turkey sandwiches were in his future. If there’s still some soda in the fridge, maybe that too.

He sighs, and turns towards the lab. Dum-E’s not even here, as he didn’t fit in the travel car, so Tony let him loose on the floor to “keep guard” over the dorms and make sure that no one broke in or stole the cords that he knows he accidentally left in the common room.

The odd thing is, he had almost told Rhodey. Almost let him know that he’d be alone for Thanksgiving, but is that weird? That’s weird, right? To tell people your emotions just...it’s so messy.

They have to deal with it, you have to deal with the fact that they’re dealing with it, and then other people know that you both are dealing with it and it’s just a whole mess of epic proportions, you know?

Rhodey finds out on Thanksgiving, when they’re doing the parade on the TV and there’s a new snippet on the gossip channel when they go on commercial break.

Howard and Maria Stark, vacationing off the Mediterranean Coast.

“It’s reported that Tony Stark has preferred to spend his time in the vacation home,” the news reporter said, her smile wide and placid.

“Tony’s lucky,” Mama says, wrapping golden yarn around her fingers as she works on another sweater. (A small one, a tiny one. It’s for the new baby in the family for Christmas.) “He tell you about it?”

“He’s not there,” Rhodey says numbly.

“He’s not?” Dad says, eyes raised over the newspaper.

“No.”

“He didn’t tell you, did he?” Dad asks.

“No, no he didn’t.”

“Well then. Next time he’ll come with us.”

Rhodey nods.

“Christmas?”

“Clear it with his parents if they’re not spending time together.”

“Got it.”

Rhodey’s Thanksgiving is...nice. He can’t stop thinking about Tony going alone.

So he calls him. It’s two in the morning, he might be asleep, and Rhodey’s not sure if he got the “eight” in the last four digits right or not.

“Howard’s out, who is it?” comes a sleep-addled voice.

“Good thing I’m not looking for Howard, Tones.”

“Rhodey? Why are you calling me?” Tony asks, and Rhodey can imagine his eyes lighting up and that’s...that’s something.

“You spent Thanksgiving alone, I wanted to see how you were.”

“Aw, checking in your residents?”

“Checking in on you.”

Tony stills for a moment at the phone.

Besides Jarvis, no one had ever really checked in on him.

“Um, I’m fine?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, it sucks to be alone on Thanksgiving, but I don’t really like any of the foods that people usually have, so I’ve been fine. I ordered wraps from my favorite place.”

“Good to hear, good to hear.”

There’s a silent pause for a moment, the one where they both try to find something to say.

“Listen,” Rhodey says. “If you’re ever stuck for a holiday alone, you’re coming with me, okay?”

“I don’t want to intrude on your family,” Tony says softly.

“They all wanna meet you. Jeanie says she can kick your ass at ice hockey!”

“You guys can actually play ice hockey?”

“With limited degrees of success.”

“Oh, now that I gotta see some time.”

They come back to college, and Tony is back to his usual antics, greeting everyone who comes through the elevator with a shower of shredded paper.

“Welcome to Winter Wonderland! Next stop: suffering through finals!”

“Ugh,” Kamala groans, “stop it. Stop making me think. I have to memorize Byronic poetry. Do you know how boring that is?”

"Speak for yourself, I have to build a wooden chair,” Riri whines. “Who works with wood these days? It’s so old-fashioned.”

“Create the most bitching chair alive,” Tony says. “And I’ll help you with the necessary tools. Your professor isn’t expecting much, mainly just that it can support the weight of two people, you’ll be fine. Kam, Byronic poetry is not that bad, you will be good. We will bake cookies.”

“Can we even bake cookies? I thought our floor got banned from kitchen usage,” Peter says. “Hey Rhodey.”

“Hey kiddo,” Rhodey says. “First of all, yes we are banned from the kitchen. Second, we’re only banned and get in trouble so long as they know we’re there. And since more than half of us are nocturnal creatures and I am willing to wake up to help, we can bake cookies.”

There are cheers around the room, and Tony mocks offense.

“You don’t trust me to help the future youth?”

“Given that we’re not allowed to rent out any more equipment from the front office? Yes.”

“You wound me, darling.”

“Only as much as kitchen equipment goes, sweetheart.”

Tony grins.

“Aw, you missed me.”

“Yeah, I did. Now come on, you gotta help me with a billboard about the movie night this Friday. We thinking a romantic comedy or something mildly terrifying but probably won an award?”

“Mildly terrifying!” Gwen calls from her dorm. “If we watch two people falling in love I’ll choke! We’ve been doing it all year!”

“We’ve only watched, like, three rom-coms?”

Gwen rolls her eyes, as if he’s missed something completely obvious.

“You don’t get it. I’ll try again later. Hey, are we doing floor dinner tonight?”

“They’re serving pizza sandwiches, so obviously,” Tony says. “We will feast like kings.”

Christmas is a festive time for Tony. He loves it, and goes overboard with decorations. Rhodey lets him, because you can’t stop Tony once he loves something (and Rhodey is kind of. Fond of him).

Pepper comes up from the fifth floor, whistling.

“Damn, Jim. I knew you would do a good job with decorations, but not this good. Is this...did you buy a miniature village? How was this budgeted?”

“It wasn’t,” Rhodey says. “Tony’s really into Christmas and the floor convinced him that the theme should be Christmas Village. He’s been crafting identities for each villager instead of studying for any exam. The craft store employees know him by name now.”

“Well, we all have our vices. You two seem to get along well. Housing is pleased that he hasn’t blown up anything yet.”

“If they try to serve cheese ravioli again, he might.”

“That’s a problem for Dining,” Pepper reminds him.

“Still, it’s abominable. Where did they get them, bottom of the Hudson River?”

She snorts, adjusting her shirt.

“Probably, but hey. They still got eaten, even if that one freshman threw them all back up at the entrance.”

“It was payback, they were vile.”

Tony waltzes into the lobby, arms filled with glittering tinsel.

“We are not letting you hang that,” Pepper says, gaping at it all. “Do you know how hard it is to get rid of tinsel?”

“We’ll manage!” Tony says. “Also, are you free at six-thirty?”

“No, that’s when we’re getting dinner on my floor, what do you need?”

“Just that little tidbit of knowledge,” Tony says, looking down at his phone.

A message buzzes from the groupchat, and Rhodey glances at it:

We are a go for the real Christmas tree. I have the vacuum, and a believable lie. Rhodey’s gonna tell us when the RA on duty is gonna come so we can hide it.

Rhodey looks at Tony, grinning. He smiles right back.

“Is there some weird roommate telekinesis I’m missing here?” Pepper asks.

“Yes,” Rhodey says. “We’re discussing dinner plans.”

Another text from Harley:

I’m already picking one out with Peter. I have good taste. When is the ornament-making party?

Pepper looks at them.

“You’re planning something that I probably would have to disapprove of. I’ll tell people I got your floor watched tonight.”

“Pepper, light of my life, my absolute sunshine? You’re the best,” Tony says, grinning. “Rhodey-darling, help me with tinsel?”

He can’t say no. Simple as that.

That is how tinsel gets strung throughout his hair as he’s watching Tony climb onto chairs that shouldn’t be climbed on to hang it from everywhere.

“People deserve to have a good-looking Christmas,” he says. “Besides, I wanna win the decoration contest.”

Rhodey laughs.

“Okay, okay. I think we got it in the bag.”

Later on in the week, Tony can be seen flitting about from room to room with help and jokes to lighten the mood.

Rhodey has to admit, being an RA with Tony around is...nice. Better than he thought.

And maybe he has feelings. He’s not going to say anything about it. After all, they’re roommates. He also isn’t allowed to have a relationship with anyone on the floor, regardless of anything.

It doesn’t mean every RA follows it. God knows Sharon’s snuck down to the fourth floor to see Sam near-about every night, and her residents usually keep it a pretty good secret.

Still. There’s also everything else to consider, and the fact that he doesn’t even know if Tony likes him like that.

He doesn’t have to focus on it.

At least, not until the week of finals when he’s dying and Tony’s made him peppermint hot chocolate and sits on his bed, just about an inch away from his notes for his history class.

“Do you remember what you told me on the phone?” Tony asks softly.

“You up to compete against Jeanie for this year’s ice hockey championship?” Rhodey asks, smiling.

Tension releases from Tony’s shoulders.

“Only so long as you’ll have me.”

“Always, genius. Always.”

After the last resident leaves for the holiday and Rhodey checks in with those who are staying, he and Tony hit the road, dragging suitcases behind them.

“Are you sure I’m allowed?” Tony asks. “I can always find a hotel along the way...”

“Mama wants to meet you, I keep telling them a ton about you,” Rhodey says, laughing. “They told me they want to hear your side of the great Glitter Debacle.”

Tony laughs.

“You mean the truth?”

“Uh, I’m sorry, how are you going to convince them that green glitter was needed? And that you could clean it out of carpet?”

“Determination and grit?”

Rhodey laughs again as they pull onto the highway.

After a couple of hours, they make it to Rhodey’s home. His sister comes out, hugs for both.

“Good to meet you Tony,” Jeanie says. “I’ve heard a lot, and I think we’re going to get along awesomely after I tell you every single embarrassing thing that Jim’s ever done.”

“Only if I get to share stories too,” Tony teases, grinning. “Aw, they call you Jim?”

“What do you call him?” Jeanie asks.

“Jim-Jam, angel-dear, sugar-puff, Rhodey. You know, the usual.”

Jeanie snorts, taking one of Rhodey’s bags.

“Calling you the first one from now on.”

“Tony did you have to let her hear any of those?” Rhodey asks, exasperated in a teasing manner.

“Of course I did,” Tony sing-songed. “Now after you, I’m sure your mom is waiting to hug the living daylights out of you.”

It’s not until Rhodey gets all settled in and Tony is downstairs competing with his dad in a round of chess that Jeanie sits on his bed, the intention to annoy.

But it’s...different. She looks at him.

“You love him a lot, don’t you?”

Rhodey stills.

“You wouldn’t have told him he could come here if you didn’t.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m always right,” Jeanie says, flipping braids over her shoulder. “Nice of you to finally realize that I’m the smart one.”

Rhodey doesn’t say anything as she saunters out of the room.

He makes the decision not to tell Tony.

If it goes wrong and if Tony says no, he doesn’t want it to be an awkward family event but more importantly, the most awkward rest of the year ever. He can say it as they’re moving out, and that’s that.

He tells Jeanie as such.

“I thought you didn’t believe in love,” she says as they’re preparing the soup for dinner.”

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” Rhodey says. “I do believe in love. There’s a difference.”

There’s a hell of a difference.

First sight, you don’t know everything. The second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on? Oh you learn so much more, and they become that more important.

He learns that he doesn’t mind picking up tinsel, so long as Tony is laughing and singing along to all of the worst Christmas songs ever, and maybe. Just maybe he could picture looking at Tony underneath the fairy-lights that they hung in the dorm room for all time.

Love is terrifyingly exhilarating, even when it isn’t supposed to be.

Rhodey did not think his heart would race so much as Tony listened to his Mama talk about her wedding china, about the utter disaster that his father was.

“He forgot his tie,” Mama said, smiling. “Oh my lord, my mother had a cow about that. I thought he looked kind of dashing.”

Tony’s eyes drift towards the wedding pictures, which are slightly shaky, but everyone had such wide smiles.

It’s a far cry from the publicity photos from the Stark wedding, Rhodey remembers the solemn expressions, the stuff tuxedos.

“I love it,” Tony says softly. He looks at Rhodey across the table, setting down the final plate. “Tell me more, Mrs. Rhodes.”

“Call me Mama, honey, Mrs. Rhodes is for people I don’t like that much. I think you’re gonna be my new favorite.”

“Even over me?” Jeanie says, grinning as she kisses Dad on the cheek. “I’m your favorite.”

“You’re my favorite until now,” Mama says. “Don’t think I don’t know that you skipped out on setting the table because Tony was here and graciously offered.”

“It was nothing,” Tony says. “Just happy to help. Thank you for letting me stay at your home for the holidays.”

“We’re always lucky to have guests,” Dad says, setting down the main dish. “Now let’s eat.”

Family dinner is a brand new concept to Tony. He’s had maybe four or five of them, and the majority of which were staged for some holiday shoot or some “celebrating American values” shoot.

It was awkward, weird, and he didn’t get why.

Now, he does. Jeanie has been steadily moving mashed potatoes away from Rhodey’s plate, and Mama caught her eye and winked, distracting him with talk about his college major and news about the neighbors.

Mr. Rhodes watches it all with a careful eye and a lax smile.

After dinner, they play cards.

It should be boring, but Jeanie puts on an old record and Rhodey keeps trying to count cards, and Tony didn’t think you could count cards in a game of Spoons.

“You can’t, he’s just a try-hard,” Jeanie stage-whispers.

“You-”

Jeanie laughs, rolling herself out of Rhodey’s grasp as he chases her around the family room. Tony leans back into the couch, and shouts with surprise as Jeanie trips Rhodey into the couch.

His body twists, and Rhodey’s facing him on the couch and they’re close and with the fire roaring in the fireplace and the Christmas lights outside shining through the windows, it’s almost magic.

It is magic, but Rhodey is kind of terrified of that.

Tony breathes in, breathes out.

“Hello sugar-puff,” he says.

“Hello genius,” Rhodey says, a smile on his face.

Oh.

The night does not get much sleep.

Tony doesn’t sleep anyway, but Rhodey finds that quite often he can’t sleep without some softly-playing rock in the background, doesn’t matter if it is a highly-questionable AC/DC song. That and Tony softly murmuring about his plans, and it’s like a personalized lullaby.

Rhodey cannot sleep. Tony’s in the guest room, and he can’t sleep.

There’s a soft knock on his door.

Tony’s there in shorts and a t-shirt that’s probably expensive, but he’ll never say if it is or not.

“Can I...I can’t sleep.”

“Get in here, Tones. I can’t sleep either.”

The bed is a tight squeeze, but they make it work.

Rhodey whispers until he drifts off to sleep about Christmas and school and everything else.

Tony watches with quiet eyes, interjecting with his own stories occasionally.

They fall asleep tangled up together, and Rhodey doesn’t mind it one bit, not as he pulls Tony in closer.

Waking up is bittersweet, honestly. Rhodey has Tony in his arms, and that’s...that’s perfect. He thinks this is going to be the best thing that’s ever happened in his lifetime.

“It’s too early, darling,” Tony groans. The light from outside is already peeking through the blinds, and he has stuffed his head right back into a pillow.

“Jeanie’ll be here soon to bother us for Christmas breakfast,” Rhodey says. “And unless you want her pouncing on the bed and landing on wrong everything, we better get down there.”

Tony smiles sleepily, stretching.

“Thanks for letting me sleep in your room, honey-bunch.”

“No problem,” Rhodey said. “Missed the constant AC/DC and late-night discussions about robotics.”

“Not like I did much talking, Mr. Sap,” Tony teased. “Or was it me who mentioned that they had a favorite plate for dinner?”

“Listen, it’s superior and you did not once interrupt that story to complain. I think I did a great job explaining it.”

Tony laughs.

“I’m gonna go get dressed, okay?”

“Not until after present unwrapping,” Rhodey says. “We stay in pajamas.”

“I’m cold,” Tony whines.

Rhodey chucks his sweatshirt at him.

“Then here you go.”

Tony’s eyes light up as he shrugs it on, wiggling as he brings it up to his nose. It shouldn’t be that cute. But it is.

“You are the light of my life.”

Rhodey laughs, rolling his eyes.

“Maybe. Now come on.”

They head downstairs together, and they both get swept up into the speed of things, with Jeanie racing around the house and telling Tony that he got treats too, they just didn’t have a back-up stocking.

“Hush,” Mr. Rhodes says, handing Tony a carefully wrapped gift. “After breakfast, we’ll go ahead and open it.”

He smiles, and Rhodey thinks it’s the best thing he’ll ever see.

Christmas gifts, Rhodey thinks, are his new favorite thing to see Tony interact with.

It’s painfully obvious that he’s never really had any personal gifts, anything that reminds people of himself. He carefully unwraps the paper, careful not to rip it.

“You nerd,” Rhodey says, grinning. “Come on, show us what you got.”

Tony laughs as he opens a box with two coffee mugs from the rest of the family, emblazoned with “Rhodes” on one cup, and the other being a simple red with gold trim.

“They’re perfect,” he says. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re feeding his coffee addiction,” Rhodey answers.

“Like you aren’t doing the same,” Jeanie teases. “You made him his cups of coffee this morning.”

“That is because I have trained him well,” Tony says, grinning. “Rhodey, here’s my present to you, open it.”

He’s nervous.

Both of them are, but Tony especially so.

He told Rhodey once that he’s not good at shopping for other people. He tends to have the phrase “go big or go home” permanently circling in his mind, and it can lead to...complications.

(Rhodey remembers the overhaul of his closet for his birthday, complete with a visit from a rather well-known designer.)

Inside is a beautiful jacket. It’s all patchwork, artfully sewn together with embroidery thread spelling out “James” at the lapel.

“I commissioned Janet,” Tony says, smiling softly. “She wants you to still walk in her fashion show, by the way. Says you’re a model.”

Rhodey snorts, shrugging on the jacket.

“You helped with this, right?” Rhodey says. “I can see it in the gold thread you got on the sleeves.”

“I may have had some creative input.”

“I love it,” Rhodey says. “Now here’s mine.”

Tony breathes, and Rhodey wonders if this gift will be enough. He feels a bit stupid, it doesn’t seem like that great of a gift, in retrospect-

It’s a puzzle.

A puzzle of their favorite cafe and restaurant to go to at MIT. It was in a shop window, and Rhodey could tell that Tony would love it.

On top is a scarf, since Tony gave away his last one to another student in their philosophy class.

“I love it,” Tony breathes, tackling Rhodey in a hug. “I love it, I love it! We have to do the puzzle after this.”

Mrs. Rhodes sends her husband a look.

Yeah, Tony would be around for a long time.

They set up the puzzle on the floor of Rhodey’s room, clearing away any luggage. It’s silent for a while, Tony moving around the pieces and Rhodey looking for edge pieces.

They work closely together, side by side.

Rhodey can’t stop staring.

He should be able to. He’s stopped himself before, but now?

Sunlight is coming in through the window, playing around Tony’s fingers as he nimbly picks up puzzle pieces, and this is the eternity that Rhodey wants so badly. If he died right now, he thinks he would choose for Heaven to look like this.

“You okay?” Tony asks, eyes looking up. He took his contacts out, and now he’s just in his tortoiseshell glasses, the ones that he secretly likes more and Rhodey loves.

“I’m in love with you,” Rhodey blurts out, because he can’t stop thinking about how beautiful Tony is and how much he loves him.

He realizes that this could very well be considered a mistake. Because they still have to live together and drive back together and it won’t be the same, and the residents will notice no matter how well they both act--

Tony pops his head right under Rhodey’s chin.

“Kiss me?”

That’s all it takes.

They mess up part of the puzzle, but that’s okay. They find they don’t mind it too much. They can work on it later, when Tony’s done getting Rhodey out of his new jacket and Rhodey works his hands underneath Tony’s sweatshirt.

Mama takes one look at them for dinner and grins.

“Jeanie, you owe me a night of dish-washing.”

“Seriously?”

“Mama!” Rhodey hisses, embarrassed beyond belief.

Tony just cackles, and elbows Rhodey out of the way so he can get to his chair at the table.

“Couldn’t have fooled you for a second, could we?” Tony teases.

“Not at all,” Mama states proudly.

Rhodey rolls his eyes and squeezes Tony’s hand under the table. All will be well.

When they both get back to college, none of their residents are surprised, at least not until they have to have a “knocking before entering” policy put in place after one particular late morning.

#lovelyirony writes #jeanie rhodes #mama rhodes #rhodeytony #ironhusbands #pepper potts #harley keener #gwen but i can't remember her last name #spidey gwen #gwen spider-man #kamala khan #peter parker #tony stark #rhodey

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besanii · 4 years ago

Note

Hi! Am rereading your shattered mirrors verse and I love it so much. Are we going to get the scene in which WWX explains everything that’s happened to him (with the poison) etc to LWJ after they meet wen yuan?? I’m dying for the angst but also fluff and comfort 🥺🥺🥺

@lurkingscientist asked:

I can’t wait to hear about all the sad things wwx experienced!!! :D my “stabby stabby stab stab stab” is feeling slightly neglected

Shattered Mirrors #61

“I haven’t told you everything.”

In the thirteen years Wei Wuxian had been gone, Lan Wangji searched desperately for every scrap of information he could get his hands on, from every channel he could access, in hopes of finding him. Or finding out what had happened to him. What he could find was piecemeal at best and unreliable at worst, often conflicting depending on the source. The result was him, driven mad by desperation and grief, chasing ghosts in the shadows until he could no longer tell what was real.

Even now, with Wei Wuxian back at his side these last two years, happy and content and safe, he still does not have a clear picture of what had happened during the war. If he’s being honest, he’s afraid to ask, and even more afraid to know. He tells himself it’s enough just to have Wei Wuxian by his side again. He doesn’t need to know, if Wei Wuxian does not want to share.

So Wei Wuxian’s confession punches the air from his lungs and he feels in its wake, his hands trembling where they’re entwined. Wei Wuxian watches him with the same care one would give to a startled animal ready to flee.

“That is,” he amends hesitantly, “if you wish to know.”

Lan Wangji inhales, and exhales again, with a shudder. Squares his shoulders. Looks him in the eye.

“Yes,” he says. “I do.”

It is Wei Wuxian’s turn to take a deep breath, the tentative little smile on his lips giving way to steely resolve. On his other side, Wen Yuan kneels by the bed, wordlessly offering his unwavering support. Despite all this, it takes Wei Wuxian some time to find the right words to convey the enormity of what he is about to disclose.

“I don’t know where to begin,” he admits with a shaky laugh, looking down at their joined hands. “I suppose you already know how Yunmeng fell.”

Lan Wangji nods. He has heard scattered details, enough to know that there had been a traitor in their midst, someone who had fed false information through their intelligence network while Wei Wuxian had been in Gusu. They had managed to secure Yunping, but sustained heavy losses that severely weakened their defences. The traitor had been found, but by then the Qishan Wen army was already at their doorstep, ten thousand strong, and they had no way out.

“We evacuated as many civilians as we could. Jiang Cheng, Jiang-wang and Yu-wanghou stayed behind to defend the city,” he says. His eyes and voice are distant, lost in his memories. “I took Shijie and we escaped via the lakes, with the rest of the civilians. Our priority was to get to Yunping, and then to Lanling. Shijie was engaged to Jin Zixuan, so they would definitely come to our aid—or at the very least, they would keep her safe while I gathered reinforcements.

“They were there,” he continues, still in that far-off voice. “Wen Chao and his men. They had split their forces to ambush us while we were defenceless. Our boats were burned, our people drowned—we in Yunmeng are strong swimmers, but even the strongest swimmers cannot survive when arrows rain down from the sky.”

He shivers with his next breath, but his voice is steady.

“I entrusted Shijie to my lieutenant, instructed them to use one of the overturned boats to cover their escape, while I distracted Wen Chao.” He smiles, but it’s stark and without humour. “We’ve had…altercations in the past, so I knew I would be an adequate distraction. I held him off for as long as I could, kept his attention on me. But I was only one person, and he had an army.”

The reports that had come out of Yunmeng around that time—the ones Lan Xichen had allowed him to read while recovering from his punishment, at least—had painted a picture so bleak, so devastating that he had wept. The lakes of Yunmeng, once teeming with colour and life, stained red with blood over the course of one night; and Lotus Pier, its seat of power, that had once risen from the depths of the lakes like a mirage, burned to ash. He had been back to the ruins of Lotus Pier in the intervening years as it was slowly rebuilt after the war—Gusu had offered aid wherever possible, in both money and manpower, as well as political support for the Yu family of Meishan, the maiden family of Queen Yu Ziyuan, who had been installed as stewards in the absence of the ruling family—but the shadows of war still haunts its streets and darkens its waters even now.

Wei Wuxian’s eyes fall closed and his fingers tighten around Lan Wangji’s.

“There’s a stronghold in Yiling,” he says. “Some call it the Burial Mounds, or the Mass Grave. Beneath the fortress, there’s an extensive network of cells that run beneath the mountains. That’s where they keep their highest security prisoners, the ones who get…special treatment.”

There is no need to ask what ‘special’ means, so Lan Wangji stays silent. His blood, however, runs cold—as cold as Wei Wuxian’s voice as he continues his narrative, detached.

“Wen Chao had a special—” that word again, spoken with such venom that it curdles in Lan Wangji’s stomach and burns his throat, “cell prepared. More a cage, really. Every second shichen, it would be submerged in water up to the neck, and stay there for another shichen until it was raised again. In the interim, the prisoner would be left soaking wet in the cold, damp cell.”

The memory of Wei Wuxian at the water’s edge, the frantic terror on his face as he struggles to breathe despite not having come into contact with it, the frailty, the susceptibility to cold and illness—it is all starting to fall into place, one horrifying piece at a time. But Wei Wuxian is not finished.

“There were beatings, of course.” A sudden, fierce anger wraps around Lan Wangji’s heart at the matter-of-fact way in which he says it. “Wen Chao always did have a sadistic streak. He liked to hang people up by the arms and have them whipped, or burned, or flogged. Sometimes he’d leave them there for more than a day, weighed down at the ankles, blindfolded, while they tortured others around them.”

A hand extricates itself from Lan Wangji’s death grip and peels back the edge of a sleeve to reveal the scars along his arms. Dozens of them, some longer and thicker, others as thin and fine as thread, criss-cross along the pale flesh. As he traces quivering fingers along the skin, Lan Wangji feels each cut, each slice, on his heart. Then Wei Wuxian turns his hand over, revealing a large, pale scar on the inside of his wrist, and a matching on on the other, too precise to be self-inflicted. He inhales sharply in realisation.

“Your hands—” he chokes, eyes wide as he stares at the scars. “He didn’t—”

Wei Wuxian lets the sleeves fall back down to cover the scars.

“If you fight back,” he explains woodenly, “they cut the tendons in your wrists and ankles. They’ll send a doctor to look over your injuries, of course. There is no benefit, no value, in a dead prisoner of war. That’s how I met Wen Qing and her brother, Wen Ning.”

“My aunt and uncle,” Wen Yuan, who has been silent until now, explains. Lan Wangji had almost forgotten his presence. He smiles sadly. “They were taken by my great-uncle as hostages to ensure our branch of the family supported the war effort, and served as doctors on the front lines.”

Wei Wuxian’s lips curl into a smile—not the harsh, bitter ones from before, but softer, tinged with grief.

“They took care of me,” he says. “Wen Qing was the best doctor in all of Qishan. There was no illness she could not cure, no injury she could not fix. And Wen Ning…Wen Ning was the kindest person I have ever met. Too kind, too gentle for war. They did their best to help me—slipped me medicines and food whenever they could, diverted Wen Chao’s attentions away from me when it got too much.”

His voice wavers and breaks.

“They died trying to get me out,” he says hoarsely. “First Wen Ning, then Wen Qing. And I couldn’t—I couldn’t do anything to save them—”

Lan Wangji gathers him into his arms, crushes him against his chest as he cries out in anguish, his body wracked with sobs. His own eyes are hot, and he sees Wen Yuan’s are also bright with unshed tears when their gazes meet over Wei Wuxian’s head. They stay like this until he quietens, curled in Lan Wangji’s embrace, eyes hollow and wrung out. Lan Wangji is about to suggest that they continue this another day when Wei Wuxian rouses himself with a shaky breath, and continues.

“They killed Wen Ning in front of me,” he says. “And then they forced Wen Qing to take the same deadly poison they had been using to experiment with on us—”

“Qianji poison,” Lan Wangji says before he can stop himself. Both Wen Yuan and Wei Wuxian turn to him in shock. He lowers his eyes. “You fell ill after your performance at Caiyun Pavilion,” he tells Wei Wuxian. “I had a physician brought in to see you.”

He is careful to leave out Mo Xuanyu and Madam Zhang’s involvement, but Wei Wuxian is not fooled. But rather than get angry, as they had feared, he only shakes his head and laughs.

“I should have guessed,” he says. “They always liked to make a fuss.”

“They care about you,” Lan Wangji chides him gently. “And I am glad they told me, so I was better prepared to take care of you like I promised.”

This time when Wei Wuxian turns into the cradle of his arms, it is out of exhaustion, as if a great weight has been lifted from his chest, and his eyes drift closed as Lan Wangji strokes his hair with gentle motions. There is still more to the story, Lan Wangji knows—and there are questions burning in his mind. But he feels the sag of Wei Wuxian’s body against his, the heaviness of his breath, and cannot bring himself to press him further. They have time. After a moment of silence, when Lan Wangji thinks him asleep, he stirs.

“I’m tired,” he murmurs. “So tired.”

“You’ve done well, Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji reminds him. “Get some rest.”

Wen Yuan excuses himself as Wei Wuxian hums and nestles deeper into his arms. Lan Wangji nods at him gratefully and watches him leave, keeping his movements quiet so as to not disturb Wei Wuxian’s rest.

“I think I’ll close my eyes for a while,” Wei Wuxian agrees, his words already starting to slur. “I just need…a little break.”

Lan Wangji presses a light kiss on his forehead.

“Take all the time you need,” he says. “I’ll be here when you wake.”

master post in sidebar!

buy me a ko-fi: ko-fi.com/besanii

#dreamaholicsanonymous #lurkingscientist #asks #shattered mirrors fic #shattered mirrors au #lan wangji #wei wuxian #mdzs #wangxian #王爷机 X 花魁羡 #prince!lwj #courtesan!wwx #🥢#🔪🔪🔪🔪#torture mention cw #my writing

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lena-in-a-red-dress · 4 years ago

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Metallo!Lena AU Pt 18

Wresting back control of LuthorCorp is easier than Lena expects. She's forgotten that she was voted in once, that the shareholders had actively wanted her in the lead, wanted her to pull them back from the brink. It doesn't hurt her case that the company floundered even further after her presumed death. Who better to bring it back to life, the board surmised, than the ressurrected Luthor herself?

Towards that end, Lena hires an army of people to bring her back to life. She recruits a publicity firm to handle the media, she hires a stylist team to shop an entire wardrobe for, and an accounting agency to figure exactly how much money she has to her name.

Lena allows her army free reign to put her life back in order, and in the meantime she devotes her time to resuming her battle for the good opinion of National City. As a vigilante, being Supergirl's friend helps a great deal, but for Lena herself, she has work to do.

Through a series of follow up articles, Lena shares herself with Kara, and by extension CatCo's readership. At LuthorCorp, she ingrains herself in the daily workings of the company. She's already laid much of the groundwork before the crash, but she's still full of nerves as she re-introduces herself to each and every department.

She's keenly aware that a handshake from her could now snap bones, so one corner of her mind is always conscious of her strength, always careful. Part of her now recognizes why Kara spent so much time at the DEO, where everyone knows her strength and how deadly she could be-- they know to keep their distance.

At L-Corp, everyone presses close, eager for smiles and soft words of welcome backs. Lena remains on the razor's edge of awareness, leaving her drained by the time she walks back into the apartment she shares with Kara.

"Oh, wow," Kara mutters when Lena returns after her first day. It takes Lena a moment to realize her friend is staring, and a moment longer to remember that Kara had been called away for an early DEO emergency that morning, and that this is the first time they've seen each other all day. Kara's already comfy in pajamas and an NCU sweatshirt, but Lena is still dressed for the office, in an outfit her stylist selected for her.

Kara blinks, her eyes traveling all the way down to Lena's feet, arched in killer heels. Only then does she shake herself out of it.

"Oh, wow," she repeats, this time less stunned and more concerned. "You must be exhausted."

Lena huffs, rolling her eyes. "You have no idea."

She's been sleeping on the sofa's daybed at night, but at the moment its folded up into the couch. Lena clicks her way over and slumps into the increasingly familiar cushions, chucking off her shoes haphazardly.

Kara scurries over and hands her a bowl of pasta. Lena accepts it with a grateful smile and waits for Kara to join her on the couch with her own bowl before she tucks in. Its simple, just a snack of buttered noodles to pick them up, but Lena devours it in record time.

"How's CatCo?"

Kara grimaces. "Awful. Snapper hates me. Which is actually normal for him, but... some of the others have joined in this time. A little less thuggishly, but still."

Lena frowns. "Wait 'til christmas. They'll be thanking you for their holiday bonus."

"I don't want them to like me because I helped get them money," Kara counters. "I want them to like me because I'm nice. Or good at my job."

Lena smiles. "I give them another week before they're eating out of your hand." When Kara looks at her, she shrugs knowingly. "Isn't that about how long it took you to break through to me?"

Kara scoffs, thumping her with a pillow. "You're different."

"Am I?"

"Well, yeah. You're.... you."

"That explains everything, thank you."

---

Lena doesn't patrol with Supergirl anymore-- the district attorney's office serves a cease and desist the morning after her first interview with Kara airs, xiting that having such a high profile figure running amok on the streets would only incite chaos, not prevent it. But the DA's reach doesn't extend to the DEO, and so when Supergirl reaches out for help investigating the strange rash of young adults deliberately in harm's way in the hopes of being saved by the hero, Lena readily agrees.

With Kara in her guise as a reporter, they track the group to a meeting space, and discover that it's actually a religious group-- devoted to Supergirl.

"Miss Luthor!"

Lena's recognized immediately. Kara bristles at the exclamation, but Lena squeezes her wrist in reassurance. She can handle a room full of disillusioned young adults, but if anyone recognized Kara, they were done.

A slender man with a wet-eyed look approaches them. "It is an honor to have you here, Miss Luthor. Any friend of Supergirl's is a friend of ours. How did you learn of our group?"

Lena flashes one of the flyers they'd used to find the dingy little room. "We received one of these. What exactly is this?"

"You've arrived just in time to find out," the man says with a simpering sort of smile. "Please, find a seat, and make yourselves comfortable."

Sharing a look, Lena and Kara make their way to the rows of chairs, settling in towards the back. The meeting opens with a girl who shares her story of rescue-- one entirely genuine, not fabricated like the recent arsons and trespasses.

When a young man follows, then an older woman, Kara realizes she's saved all of these people. She doesn't feel honored-- she feels sick. But Lena has her eye on the leader, who introduces himself as Thomas Coville. There's something about him that rubs her the wrong way, and the moment they leave she says as much to Kara.

"I get that being saved from certain death could turn someone's life around," she hisses in a low voice. "But starting a religion? No one does that unless they want power, and when someone wants power, that makes them dangerous."

She resolves to get close to him, and to everyone's surprise, it's shockingly easy to do so. All it takes is modifying her cover story so that it's Supergirl who pulled her from the fiery helicopter crash and whisked her away to anonymity-- and she's in. It takes almost a month before Coville hints that he's got something big planned.

When he leads Lena and the rest of his congregation to the basement of the National City sports stadium, Lena puts a finger to her ear.

"Now."

Supergirl and the DEO swarm the basement. They begin arresting people, and shuffling them all out. The last to go is Coville, but the man is anything but perturbed.

"By Rao's will," he says, a sentiment echoed by his followers. None of them resist. Only then does Lena catch sight of the betahedron in one corner of the basement.

"Is that...?"

It powers up, its light pulsing more quickly. Supergirl cries out, dropping to her knees. Lena rushes to her side, only to jerk back when she sees her friend's skin threaded green kryptonite. Pressing the button on her watch, her vigilante suit forms around her-- she'd lined it with lead in case her kryptonite ever failed. But Kara continues to groan, and Lena realizes she isn't the culprit this time.

"The betahedron!" she calls. It's starting to pulse faster now, which can only mean one thing. "It's gonna blow-- get everyone out, now!"

"There's a packed house upstairs," Alex says over comms. "There's no way to evacuate in time. You'll have to find a way to disarm it."

"It's a fucking alien probe, Alex!" There might not BE a way to disarm it. Behind her, Lena can hear Kara struggling for breath. She can't do anything to disarm it, but she can't do nothing, either. A dozen ideas fire through her brain, but all of them are discarded as usless.

All but one.

With only a moment's hesitation, Lena approaches the betahedron and punches a hole through its plating, peeling the outer layer back until she can see the pulsing green crystal within.

Removing her gauntlet, Lena pages her comms. "Director Danvers!"

"You got something, Luthor?"

Lena takes a deep breath. "Maybe. If it works, I'm going to be radioactive as hell." She looks over her shoulder, meeting Kara's pained gaze.

"No matter what happens, don't let Supergirl touch my fucking body."

Kara's eyes grow wide with realization. "Lena, NO!"

Lena thrusts her arm into the betahedron and grips the kryptonite with all her strength. She screams as the radioactive energy crackles up her arm towards her chest, seeking it's grounding point in the crystal embedded there. The manufactured kryptonite absorbs the energy, buffering and containing it for long, perilous moments before the first cracks begin to form.

Lena hopes it'll last long enough to diffuse the kryptonite energy of the bomb and neutralize its explosive power.

As her senses go dark, all she can do is hold on with all her might, and not let go.

previous / next

#metallo lena au #supercorp #freaking coville #i know it doesnt exactly match up to the episode bomb wiae #but it works for me okay?#okay #things are picking up again

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the-firebird69 · 6 months ago

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Now this is going to be a big evacuation it's this week it's starting today and it will be the pseudo empire and shortly after the Morlock I'm going to leave they're going to leave because their businesses are leaving too and they can't keep them here the clones are going nuts over this area. For some reason they like it or something and it's true we're really the trying to capture leadership and it will turn focus off of our son a little bit is not true they'll try more and they'll have to use their ships because he won't have the manpower to use up both of them won't it's gonna happen soon but the corksters will evacuate when the disaster begins and it's true that's why we give it a good solid week for it to work our son and daughter think maybe Wednesday Thursday this week it'll start and we think earlier they're fighting at the nuclear plant they can't get to it they're going to protect it with ships and everything and that ship can't get nearby because of the attack and it is going to be expensive for Tommy F is gonna find his approach to be a lot more than just illegal or fatal mistake and a lot of people are saying boy you **** **** and they laid into him and it is ugly and it's very ugly with this guy's doing. There's no solution to stopping asking me how to defeat me in others same with them I think you're wrong you can read it in English and Tommy F is arguing already just like these fresh boys. They're gonna be without tech and as a matter of fact we have news about Hera and Venus which is very far away from Trump's stone ship fleet which is heating up the remaining 30%. In moments the 20% will start to try and turn some of them are in about five more percent will be out in a moment and then the rest we expect the 30% to be out within the hour and it's on to the next fleet which is miscellaneous then there are retrofits and that's it so he and Tommy F will go at it pretty hard and the rings will be held by the Morlock they'll be fighting mostly the clones. They'll try and move our son and with all sorts of things some jobs and they suck they can't figure out what money is boy do they suck they think he has stuff somewhere and it's probably empire trying to check over and over and they can't figure out what they're doing to themselves so our son is rip **** it says look I don't have anything can you figure it out you're **** moron and Trump says that I make sure he doesn't and you're kinda mad but they don't understand it for some reason but really they're keeping him here with it and he has to stay here for awhile. And he knows about it. He says if you want a beautiful woman and my friend and my love you would not get away with it she's laughing because she's saying all sorts of stuff it's like he's a parent so we have a lot going on today the evacuation is pretty good sized it's not huge but this place was going to empty we feel this week we are building some things that would help we do tell you an F-150 cannot tow even a 12 foot trailer it's a camper it's

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rohad93 · 4 years ago

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Moonlit Masquerade: Sandcastles

Pt 6 of the Moonlit Masquerade Series

It’s Monday after lunch and Luz is trying to coerce her locker into spitting out her books. Beast keeping doesn’t usually require any, it’s more hands on learning, like how to properly feed a baby chimera or how to pull infected or molting scales of a hydra without the other heads eating you. Her afternoon potions class on the other hand requires several, it's arguably one of the more technical and dangerous tracks… in regards to consequences for the user if you mess up anyway. Or in some cases, the whole class. It wasn’t uncommon for the potions hall to be evacuated because someone mixed something with the wrong thing.

“Just give me the book!” She shakes her fists at the creature as it glares down at her, growling. She growls back and the creature only grumbles at her before it finally opens its mouth and she pulls the book out with a yank and gives it the stink eye.

“Give that locker what for!”

“You sure showed it.” A pair of familiar voices laugh and Luz turns to find the Blight twins standing behind her grinning.

“Oh, hey guys, what’s up?” She knows the twins well enough after two months of dating their sister that they are here for a reason. Everything they do has a purpose, even if that purpose is just to get a laugh or mercilessly tease Amity.

“It’s about Amity,” Emira starts.

“We need your help,” Edric finishes, and both twins look so uncharacteristically serious that her mind jumps to the worst possible conclusions.

“What is it, what’s wrong!?” She drops her book, eyes wide as they switch wildly between the two older teens. The twins jerk, realizing that maybe they came off a little too serious, but for once they are serious.

“Whoa, whoa, nothing is wrong.” Emira holds up her hands to calm her.

“Yeah, everything is fine.” Edric sets a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“You looked so serious, you scared me…” Luz holds a hand over her rapidly beating heart. It was too early in the week for this. Usually something terrifying didn’t happen until at least Wednesday…

“Sorry,” Edric chuckles. “This is serious, just not…,” he trails off.

“The life threatening kind of serious you’re used to getting yourself into…,” Emira finishes for him with a laugh.

“Oh, well, what is it?”

“Well, you know this Saturday is Mittens birthday…," Edric starts.

“What!?” Luz is panicked again, but now for a very different reason. “I didn’t know this weekend was her birthday!”

“Really?” the twins ask in unison.

“She’s never said anything…” Luz’s words are muffled as she drags her hands down her cheeks. What kind of girlfriend is she when she doesn’t know when Amity’s birthday is?!

The twins share a glance, before turning back to the internally… and outwardly panicking human.

“This is why we need your help,” Edric says.

“Huh?” Luz looks between them.

The two glance around the hall and finding it’s mostly empty, turn back to her.

“We know that Amity tells you everything, like about…” Emira makes a face, hesitating, but Edric doesn’t.

“Our family, we know she’s talked to you about our messed up family,” he says quietly with a frown.

“Oh…” Luz says. “yeah...” She nods.

“Well, then we shouldn’t need to tell you that our birthdays are used so that our parents…”

“Mom,” Emira coughs into her hand, as though trying to cover up the word.

“... use our birthday parties to show off to their work friends and acquaintances… it’s not really about us…” The older boy crosses his arms and frowns. Emira shares a similar look.

It makes sense to her, of course she knew Amity wasn’t the only one just trying to get by living under her mother’s thumb, but she never expected the twins to even mention it to her.

“So, they usually suck and the guest list is full of people important to them and their work, not us, and isn’t even usually on our birthdays, just close enough to it that works with their schedules…” Emira also crosses her arms and the bitterness in her voice is clear to Luz as Amity’s had been and she feels for all the Blight siblings, she really does.

“The fact that Amity didn’t even tell YOU about her birthday? Yeah, I think that says it all,” Edric says. “We had Amity’s ‘party’...” he finger quotes and rolls his eyes. “...Sunday, but this coming Saturday is her actual birthday…”

“We have a plan to celebrate.” Emira grins at her. “...and we need your help.” she points at Luz with a grin.

“I’m in!” Luz jumps, pumping a fist. She doesn’t even need to know what the twins are planning or what she needs to do, she’ll do it! Anything to make Amity’s birthday special for the first time since she was a kid.

Both twins grin brightly at her. They know the surefire way to ensure their sister has an actually happy birthday is to get her girlfriend involved. The two have been watching carefully over the last two months, and Amity is the happiest they can ever remember her being since their parents made her stop being friends with Willow, and they know it’s because of Luz.

“So what’s the plan?” Luz looks between the two.

“We’ve been extra good and diligent in our studies the last two weeks…,” Edric says, holding his clasped hands to his cheeks and bats his eyes.

“No pranks of anything…” Emira follows his lead.

“So that we could ask our parents’ to let us take Mittens, and use the beach house this weekend while their out of town again on business, and they said yes.” Edric is grinning

“What they don’t know is that we’re going to be throwing Mittens a surprise birthday party there.” Emira grins too.

"There's no school Friday, so it'll be a whole weekend long bash. We'll get there Friday afternoon and leave the same time Sunday," Edric explains their plan.

“That sounds awesome!” Luz grins, bouncing with excitement.

"We're glad you think so, we need your help with some of the planning," Edric says.

"Whatever you need, I am on it!" Luz hooks her thumb into her chest. She is determined to help make this the best birthday Amity has ever had.

"We figured you know who she hangs out with best, so we thought we'd leave who to invite to you." Emira smiles, setting a hand on her hip.

"Well…," Luz trails off thinking. "She only really ever hangs out with me Gus and Willow…," she screws up her mouth thinking.

Amity has all but abandoned Boscha and her crew, which is for the better she thinks.

"Then just invite them." Edric shrugs.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to be a big party, with a bunch of people that are hardly even acquaintances. Mittens had plenty of that Sunday." Emira rolls her eyes.

"Okay, I'll talk to them." Luz nods.

"Great, one more thing. We're putting you in charge of the cake. Me and Ed will take care of feeding everyone for the weekend and all the little things."

"Think you can handle it?" He leans forward with a teasing grin.

"I won't let you or Amity down!" Luz declares and then the bell is screaming.

"Alright, well we better get to class, we’ll message you the details. See ya, Luz." The twins wave as they walk off toward the illusion track hall.

Luz hurries to potions as she pulls out her scroll and sends a message in her Willow and Gus's group chat with the twins plan before switching it over to her and Amity's private one and sends her a quick message that she won't be able to hang out after school. Eda needs her home, which, yeah, is a lie, but it's for a good cause!

It's hard to concentrate on her potions work when her mind is buzzing with thoughts of the coming weekend.

The cake is arguably one of the most important things and the twins put her in charge of it. She already knows what she needs to do.

When the teacher is preoccupied she checks her scroll to find both Willow And Gus have sent back enthusiastic yeses to the invitations. While she's looking at the scroll it makes a quiet 'ping' and a message pops to the top, from Amity.

"Okay, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Luz grins at her phone as she types back a response.

"Oh, texting in class… that's not very 'top student' behavior, Miss Blight."

It only takes a few seconds for a reply to come in.

"Look who's talking."

Luz grins to herself and starts tapping.

Across the school in the abomination track hall Amity has her book held up to cover her scroll, waiting for Luz's reply that she's sure is coming.

"I've never, in any world, claimed to be the top student, maybe the middle."

Amity rolls her eyes but before she can reply another message comes in.

"But I'll happily settle for dating the smartest girl in school. <3"

Amity's face pinks and she hunkers down farther behind her book as the teacher drones on about the proper stance for abomination summoning. Something she's already covered in her personal time.

Luz is quite pleased with herself, knowing by the long pause that somewhere, on the other side of the school, Amity is probably turning a pretty shade of pink.

She's just about to put her scroll away when it pings again, the quiet sound unnoticeable over all the boiling potions in class.

She taps the message and reads, and now it's her turn to turn color.

"Then I guess I'll just have to content myself with dating the sweetest girl in school. See you tomorrow, xoxo"

As her face burns, Luz both loves and regrets teaching Amity human texting lingo. The girl is going to kill her, and right in the middle of class.

When the final bell sounds for the day Luz makes a straight shot for the owl house. She would have gone straight to town to do what she needs to do but she doesn't have any money on her.

She says quick hellos to everyone as she runs by, going straight to her room and changing before taking some snails out of the small savings jars she started. More often than not Eda's potion clients tip her when she brings their deliveries, and she's started to hold onto it. Eda calls it her 'date money jar’ and Luz can't really argue with that. She mostly uses it when she and Amity go on dates, which, since they can't be seen together very often out in town by themselves, lest someone they know from school see them, she rarely dips into it.

This is a special occasion though, and she's spending it on Amity anyway.

Money firmly in her pocket she hurries back down the stairs and shoots out the door with a call that she's going to town and will be back before dinner.

Leaves crunch under her feet as she runs down the path to town.

Luz has learned that Amity actually has quite the sweet tooth, but one thing she likes more than anything is treats made out of thornberries.

She rounds the corner to stop in front of Amity's favorite bakery and freezes, stomach dropping.

It's closed and a sign hangs in the window.

'gone on vacation, back in two weeks.'

The date on the bottom is from yesterday to well after Amity's birthday.

"Now what am I gonna do?" she mumbles to herself. There aren't any other bakeries in Bonesburough that sell Thornberry baked goods.

She goes home, dejected.

Hooty tries to talk to her but she just nods to whatever he's rambling about as she walks into the house.

Luz walks into the kitchen and plops into a chair at the table next to Lilith, who's is flipping through a book and sighs.

"Hey, kid, what's got you lookin like someone died?" Eda looks up at her as she mixes potions on the counter.

She sighs again and explains how the twins had approached her after lunch.

"Bakery's closed, huh? Tough luck," Eda says, pouring some things into the pot and Luz watches her for a minute before she has an idea.

"Maybe I could bake a cake?" She sits up.

"Sure, why not." Eda shrugs. "Kitchens yours to use if you want."

"Can you help me?" she asks and Eda grimaces.

"Eh, you'd probably be better off on your own, I was never much of a baker," she admits.

Lilith snorts, finally looking up from her book.

"That's putting it mildly. When we were girls you almost burned down the kitchen trying to make bramblewheat bread."

"Happens." Eda shrugged, turning back to her pot. "You'd be better off asking Lilly, she was the baker."

Luz turns to the other Clawthorne sister with wide eyes.

"You bake?" she asks, wonder coloring her words.

"I... dabbled a little when I was younger, she admits and Eda snorts from across the room.

"When we were kids she used to enter baking competitions all the time, and won quite a few of them too, cakes were your specialty." She directs the last part at Lilith, whose face colors a little at the words.

"Can you help me?"

Lilith looks at the child who is looking at her with large, pleading eyes and knows she can't refuse. Mostly because she knows that she still has atonements to make to both her sister and Luz for what she did to them, and she has grown fond of Luz, but the look is hard to ignore too. Like a cerberus puppy.

Eda is grinning to herself from the other side of the kitchen, knowing that her sister isn't going to refuse.

"Very well. What kind of cake did you have in mind?"

"Thornberry" Luz answers immediately and Lilith cocks a brow at that.

"An unusual choice…," she hums, tapping her index finger to her chin as she regards Luz.

"Thornberry is Amity's favorite. When we go to the bakery she always gets Thornberry tarts or muffins," she explains and Lilith hums, thinking.

"We can make a thornberry cake… but you won't find them in town. It's not something people commonly use, the Redstone bakery is famous for them for that reason. We would have to go and pick them ourselves," she explains.

"Okay, where do I need to go," she asks and Lilith chuckles..

"I'm afraid this won't be a quick jaunt to a nearby section of the woods. Thornberrys grow only on the knee."

"Oh..."

"If thornberries are what you want we will have to leave first thing in the morning for the knee." Lilith declares.

"I have school tomorrow…," Luz starts, but Eda snorts.

"Pfft, school, schmool. That can wait." Eda waves a hand.

"While I also believe your education is important…," Lilith begins, pointedly looking at Eda out of the corner of her eye. "We will need to prepare the berries which can take a few days, and you only have until Friday morning; it will have to be tomorrow.."

Tomorrow is Tuesday, she has abominations on Tuesday with Amity, but this is for Amity, and there will be other Tuesdays. It doesn't take more than a second for Luz to decide.

"We leave at dawn!" Luz proclaimed, thrusting her fist into the air.

"That's my girl!" Eda points at her with a grin and Lilith rolls her eyes but can't help but smile at the two.

They leave at dawn the next day, much to Luz's chagrin.

She hadn't meant literally… she'd just really always wanted to say that…

The ride on Lilith’s staff is chilly and the knees biting winter like winds bite at her face.

On the way she sends Amity an apologetic text, saying that Eda needed her to go with her to gather ingredients for potions.

She can tell by the short return text that she's disappointed, but it's for a good cause. Luz is going to do whatever she needs to do to make sure her girlfriend has the best birthday possible, come hell or high water.

The knee is even colder than she remembers now that fall has begun to settle over the Isles.

She and Lilith track through the woods in knee deep snow, foraging.

"Thornberries are oblong, dark red with black stems and leaves and covered in thorns; they only grow in this area of the knee," Lilith tells her as they search the woods for the elusive bushes.

"Red berries, black leaves…," Luz repeats to herself as she weeds through the underbrush of the forest, weaving between the trees, leaving no bush or rock unturned.

They search for two hours, but so far they have nothing to show for their efforts other than red ears and noses from being exposed to the cold.

Luz sighs to herself frustrated. She hasn’t seen one single red berry or even a hint of the black plant.

Lilith keeps searching ahead of them While Luz turns to search another section of trees, splitting up to cover more ground seems like the logical thing to do.

She shoves her way through some scraggly, thorny plants, though not the ones she’s looking for, muttering under her breath. Her nose is numb and her cheeks feel raw, buffeted by the cold winds of the knee.

She shoves some tall bushes out of her way and glances around, freezing at the sight in front of her.

About twenty yards away, is a small field full of black plants with shiny red berries.

And sleeping curled up in the snow near them, is a Slitherbeast, snoring loudly.

Stiffly, with eyes wide, Luz backs out of the bushes.

“Lilith… Lilith!” She hisses in a loud whisper over her shoulder, but stops. There is no way Lilith is going to allow them to pick berries so close to a sleeping Slitherbeast.

Luz frowns, fist tightening on the empty burlap sacks in her hand.

She needs those berries…

Luz swallows thickly, mouth suddenly dry as she quietly pushes through the bushes and with the slowest, most careful steps she’s ever taken, makes her way over to the plants. She glances at the Slitherbeast, still snoring peacefully as she crouches down, wincing at the sound of the snow crunching under her boots as she does. She doesn’t think her heartbeat has ever been as loud as it is right now, A heavy staccato rhythm in her ears.

With careful fingers she begins pulling berries off the plant as quickly and quietly as she can. When this one is picked clean she moves to the next and repeats the process, glancing over at the sleeping creature every minute or so. She’s not paying attention for a second and thorns dig into her bare fingertips.

“Ow!” She yelps and immediately slaps her mouth shut, eyes whipping to the Slitherbeast, its snoring hitches for a moment before returning to evenness and Luz breathes a silent sigh of relief before she goes back to collecting berries as fast as she can.

One of her bags is full, a second is nearly full, and she’s picked about half the bushes clean. She has no idea how many they need and if she’s going to put herself in mortal danger for this she may as well go for broke.

“Luz!” Lilith’s voice cuts through the trees and Luz freezes.

The bushes begin to rustle and Luz whips around in time to see Lilith break through the line of underbrush.

She freezes upon seeing the Slitherbeast, still sleeping nearby and looks between it and Luz, eyes wide before an outraged look comes over her face and she silently points down at the ground in front of her.

The message is clear.

'get over here!'

Luz tiptoes with her bags of berries carefully over to Lilith, but a rock, covered in snow is her undoing.

She can't help but call out as she slips and tumbles face forward into the snow and something else if the pain they erupts from her forehead is anything to go by.

A screeching roar makes her jump up much more quickly than normal and grab her bags, hightailing it toward Lilith, who is now flying toward her on her staff.

Luz jumps on, almost over shooting it and flinging herself over the staff, but a hand fisted into the back of her coat steadies her as they fly away from the Slitherbeast that gives up on chasing them after only a few seconds.

"Whew, that was close…," she breathes.

"What were you thinking?!" Lilith is scowling at her over her shoulder. "That creature could have easily killed you."

"I needed the berries!" Luz yelped, holding up the two filled sacs.

"Ugh..." Lilith slapped a hand to her forehead as they flew away from the knee. She turned back to say something else but saw the blood running down Luz's face from her forehead. It seemed like quite a bit of blood.

"Your bleeding…"

"Huh?" Luz reached up and winced as her fingers touched her forehead over her left eye. She winced and pulled her hand away to find her fingertips covered in blood.

"Well that's not good…”

Lilith pushes her staff faster toward home.

Eda is not pleased when they get back and blood has dripped down half of Luz’s face though she doesn’t seem to be suffering or badly hurt.

They clean off her face and it’s a decent cut, but nothing serious. Luz just shrugs and explains that forehead cuts just bleed a lot, at least on humans.

Eda slaps a white gauze bandage on her forehead and calls it good. Luz hurries to the kitchen where Lilith is washing the bags of berries.

“What do we do first?” Luz looks up at Lilith as she finishes washing them.

“First, you dry these,” she instructs, handing Luz the large bowl full of them. "We’re going to cook them down into jam to use between the layers of cake.

"How do you make jam?" Luz asked, looking up from the wet, shiny, red fruit to gaze at Lilith, brown eyes wide with wonder and the elder Clawthorne sister can't help but smile.

"I'll show you."

The rest of the day is spent making and canning jars of thornberry jam and talking about baking and magic.

Eda is her magical mentor, but Lilith knows more, even if Eda was more powerful by Lilith's own admission, she actually finished school and her years in the emperor's coven had given her access to the castle's vast library full of books about all manner of magic.

She can better explain the theory and technicalities of certain magics better than Eda could.

She has a precise and easy way of explaining things that reminds her of Amity, which makes sense, Amity used to study under Lilith; though now they hardly speak.

Amity had to come clean shortly after their month anniversary about having come to speak to Lilith that day in the market one day when Luz suggested they hang out with the elder Clawthorne for some magical tutoring.

She still hasn't forgiven Lilith for what she'd done to her or to Luz. She knew Lilith was trying, but she wasn't ready to forgive.

She wasn't sure how her girlfriend would feel about it, but Luz said as much to Lilith who listens quietly, intently, frowning, and when Luz is done she just nods knowingly.

"Amity is a proud girl, and after you told us about her family life it’s easy to understand why she can't forgive me," she finally says, accepting, and Luz frowns.

"But you're trying!" Luz argues." She respects her girlfriend's feelings, but seeing Amity upset about her old mentor doesn't make sense to Luz when it's so obvious that Lilith wants to make amends and do better. "I forgave you, and you kidnapped and tried to kill me!" She throws up her hands. Both sisters make uncomfortable faces at that.

"You are…" Lilith hesitates.

"You're a freak of nature when it comes to kindness, Kid," Eda says. "Almost no one is as kind as you, and even most people who are would have a hard time forgiving someone who tried to make a shish kabob out of them." Eda adds her two snails from the kitchen table where she's drinking apple blood out of her 'thirty & flirty' mug and Lilith makes a face but doesn't argue. "Your girlfriend has trust issues with adults,” she says, taking a loud slurp from the cup. "Just look at what you're doing, the look-alikes are having to throw her a completely separate and secret birthday party because their parents use theirs for influence-mongering," Eda growls.

She might give them a hard time and tease them, but Luz knows Eda likes Amity, and is becoming just as protective of her girlfriend as she is of Luz.

Lilith nods.

"Amity is accustomed to being betrayed, manipulated and lied to by the people she is supposed to be able to trust. I broke her trust, so earning it back will take time and work on my part." She then smiles at Luz and hesitates a moment before reaching out to pat the girl's head. "I know you have forgiven me, but I do not yet feel I have earned that forgiveness, and until I do, I will work to earn hers and be worthy of yours. Yours, Amity's and…" Her dual colored eyes flicker over Luz's head to where Eda is sitting at the kitchen table, watching silently with the same eyes.

Whatever long talks the sisters have had about this subject, Luz has not been privy to, and for once she knows better than to ask. Sometimes, things are still quite tense between the two and Luz can't tell what is just sibling bickering or… something else.

"...this is something I must do." Lilith picks up where she left off.

"But I…," she starts.

"That's enough, Luz." Eda's unusually serious voice cuts her off and Luz hunkers down.

"Okay…," she mumbles. Lilith smiles and pats her head again.

"If someday, Amity would like to learn from me again I would be glad to teach her. She has incredible potential and is a very apt and studious girl." Lilith shifts the conversation back to a topic that is always a surefire way to perk Luz up and keep her talking; her girlfriend.

"I know… she was upset last week when she got a A- on our abominations test... I'd kill for a C in abominations!" Luz throws up her hands in exasperation.

"Eh, you'll figure it out before you know it, and then those ugly, goopy things will be all over the house," Eda huffs with a wave of her hand.

"I agree." Lilith nods and Luz looks up at her, surprised. "You don't have an inherent affinity for magic, but where you are naturally lacking you make up for in tenacity and ingenuity." She smiles down at her.

"That's what makes you better, Kid. You work for it," Eda agrees with a grin.

Luz can't help but grin too at the praise.

They finish turning all the berries save a few into jam and store them in the fridge. They need to sit for a couple of days.

One thing they do have in the Isles that Luz is familiar with, oddly enough, is vanilla and it far more readily available then thornberries. They decide to make the layers of the cake vanilla with thornberry jam on top and between the layers.

With the cake well on it’s way Luz only has one thing left to do.

She needs to figure out just what exactly she’s going to give Amity for her birthday.

#Moonlit Masquerade #lumity #Luz Noceda #Amity Blight #Eda Clawthorne #lilith clawthorne #Edric Blight #Emira Blight #fic #toh #the owl house

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