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creatureofmystry · 3 years

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MLB x DC Universe Headcannons

I just love the idea of MLB and DC (expecially Batfam cuz Mari is such a Wayne) being in the same universe and crossing over. So one night, I just had an idea overload of different ways the Marinette would know the batfam/be a part of the DC universe. And if any of my shitty ideas somehow inspire or prompt you, then please be my guest. 😊 _

1) “Ladybugs of Past and Present”

Hippolyta, Wonder Woman’s mother, was once a previous holder of the ladybug miraculous. When Fu activated the miraculous and put them in circulation, Hippolyta could feel its magic waking back up. Knowing there must a reason for it to be out, she sent a message to her daughter. Diana searched, finding Marinette and Adrien as the present holders of the ladybug and cat miraculous. She vouched and brought them into the Young Justice program while they also made their own team, Project: Zodiac (or something like that).

[Sometime when Diana takes Marinette to meet Hippolyta]

“Great Hera, Tikki, you have not aged a day” -Hippolyta, cause she does know how to make joke.

“And I would say the same to you” -Tikki

“Mother, you can make a laugh?” -Wonder Woman, honestly a bit confused cause her mom have never not been serious before.

And Marinette is just speechless cause she’s starstruck meeting Wonder Woman’s mom AND a previous Ladybug holder.

2) “Rockstar Niece”

Jagged Stone is Marinette’s Sweet Uncle J. During the summers, Jagged Stone would take Mari with him on tour. HIs summer tours are throughout America, so Mari gets to sightsee the country. Jagged’s first tour that he gets to take Mari on (5-ish), he’s also booked for the annual (for whatever reason) Wayne Summer Gala. When Marinette meets the Waynes, they are so enamoured (Dick and Tim couldn’t help it) that they tell Jagged he’s always invited as a guest, Mari of course being added to the permanent guest list too. About 6 years later, Mari is practically adopted, spending the first half of her summers with Jagged, going to the Wayne Gala, then spending the rest of her summer with the Waynes. Overtime, she figured out the secrets of the family and was there to welcome Jason back from the dead (when that happens). Anyways, now 11(-ish?) Mari meets Damian and the two become good friends… after an… impressionable first meeting.

“Tch, let me guess, you’re another one of father’s adopted strays” -Dami

“YOU MUST BE DAMIAN!!! DICK TOLD ME ABOUT YOU!!” -Marinette, who just ignores what he said for a hug.

“hiiiiiiiiissssssss” -Dami, touchy with touch

“...” sprays water in his face since he decided to act like a cat.

“I say, Master Bruce, the children are getting along quite well” -Alfred

3) “Pen Pals”

Jon Kent and Marinette Dupain-Cheng are part of an international pen-pal program, starting when they were very young (maybe like 4 or 5-ish, super super young) where they told each other everything (Jon can’t just say that his older bro is a clone made from Superman and Lex Luthor’s DNA, or that his dad is Superman, or that his best friend is Robin, but yea. Lois and Clark probably proofread his stuff until he’s like 9) with pictures and everything. When they’re old enough to get phones & stuff, they call, text and vid-chat along with their letters (love without blood). When Mari is maybe 9-11 (somewhere around there) she starts flying over during the summers to hangout with Jon (and his friends and big brother). While there, she meets Kon, Bat fam, and Clark (some who she already knew, some who she didn’t) & lightly hints that she knows who all they are once she figures it out (it didn’t take her long to do so).

Now whenever she visits and is at Wayne Manor (Jon likes to have sleepovers practically every weekend) while they’re on patrol, Mari subtly messes with their minds (super subtle, they’re the world’s best detectives after all) until they finally look through the cams and see Mari giving them one of those smiles (those shit-grinning cause it’s just so hilarious how it’s gone on for so long) & and a playful wink.

[5 seconds later]

“Mari!” “Pixie-pop!” “Angel!” “Teacup!”

“Seriously, am I the only one with a normal nickname for her?” -Tim

“Ms. Marinette would like to inform you that ‘it took you long enough’” -Alfred (who so knows that the girl has been playing them since the third night she stayed at the Wayne’s)

“Where are my adoption papers?” -Bruce (who is seriously adopting any talented black-haired child)

4) “Mari and Mar’i”

When Mar’i is young, Dick and Kori take her with them to see Paris (btw, this would be during the winter). They’re strolling along through a park and lose track of Mar’i who finds Marinette (9-10 ish). Marinette comforts and distracts Mar’i while noticing the young(er) girl is Tameranian (her hair is very warm and she’s wearing significantly less layers than should be worn for a human of that age during the winter, plus that sun-kissed skin tone. She’s seen Kori in her fashion magazines (and, from time to time, on the news as an ambassador) so she easily make the connections). Dick and Kori finally spot Mar’i with Mari who introduces herself to them. Mar’i asks if she can see her “Auntinette” again and Marinette just goes “if your parents are okay with it.” Dick and Kori are totally cool with it (not many are willing to watch her and have the time to do it) so they ask Marinette if she can babysit Mar’i whenever (with good pay of course) if she’s up to it (cause she’s still pretty young). Marinette can’t say no to Mar’i’s babydoll eyes (and she’s so much easier compared to Manon, who’s only 2 rn), so of course, she says yes.

Now Marinette is Mar’is official babysitter and sees Mar’i often whenever her parents drop her off (using zeta tubes to quickly get to Paris and back). Marinette gets treated like an honorary Wayne (cause she’s the most responsible) and gets invited to their family stuff (w/ travel pay taken care of, of course). It doesn’t take her long to realize the fact that she babysits Bruce Wayne’s & BATMAN’S granddaughter, but of course, being the responsible one she is, keeps the secret… while also playing with them via Mar’i.

[One Day]

After Marinette leaves for her plane…

“Uncle Dami!”

“Yes, Spawn?”

“Auntinette said to tell you after she left that Robin’s sut needs a major upgrade & that you look like a traffic light… whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

[Another Day]

“Uncle Jay!”

“What’s up kid?’

“Auntinette said that to let you know that Red Hood doesn’t make any sense ‘cause Red Hood wears a helmet. Not a hood.”

[The next time]

“Uncle Tim!”

Yawn. “yea?”

“Auntie told me to give you this” (pulls out super caffeinated coffee) “and that Red Robin’s cowl is a menace to all things fashion”

[Again…]

“Daddy!”

“Yes, Starshine?”

“Auntienette said she’s proud of Nightwing’s costume ‘cause it’s one of the only in the batfam that isn’t an astro-city to the fashion society.”

5) “Marinette, the one who’s always getting chosen”

Before Mari became (becomes(?)) LB, she comes across a different powerful piece of jewelry, from a different order of guardians where her will of mind is not only her shield from being akumatized, but it is also what drives her powers. That’s right, Mari walks past a flea market and activates a GL ring. The guardians pick up on this activity and send Hal (it is his sector) to check it out. Hal finds the ring with Mari but it still needs the light of a GL to charge and fully work.

[During the explanation]

“Look, kid-”

“Marinette.”

“Look, kid, I just need to know why you have that ring.”

“You think I know? I was just walking through the market and all of a sudden, this possessed ring, if that’s even what this is, started following me, then zipped in front of my face til i held my hand up so it can put itself on my finger.”

“Kid-”

“It’s MARINETTE. Get it wrong one more time and you’ll see why I don’t need a possessed piece of alien jewelry.” -Marinette, making sure you get her name right. “Besides, if I stole it, I would remember. I’m a klepto” -Marinette, probably holding his ring too at this point.

Hal obviously doesn’t want the wrath of the Dupain-Chengs (just the kid Marinette scares him enough), so he tells the guardians that JL will take care of most of Mari’s training (once they get her a lamp for her ring, of course) & has her take part in training at Mt. Justice with the Young Justice team and special training with the Bats. Mari does all this under the guise of an international student exchange program for Mari to stay with the Waynes (not yet knowing that it’s the bat fam) and attends G.A. Mari doesn’t do much, but it takes her 24-36 hours to know who EVERYONE is.

[the next week after settling in]

“Hey, Mars,” -Dick, in his Nightwing gear

“Hey, Di-is the GREATEST SHOW!” -Mari, changing the subject(… not really)

“How long did it take you?”

“Not as long as the Kryptonians…” -Mari, going off into a tangent (still trying to change the subject”

[When Marinette meets Tikki]

Back in Paris:

“Sooo… I’m getting powerful jewelry that gives me powers and a suit, needs to be recharged, and comes from some Order of the Guardians? What’s the difference between you and my ring?” -Marinette, who at this point is very confused as to why she keeps getting picked on for this kind of stuff.

“One’s alien, one’s magic” -Tikki, hoping Mari will end it there & lowkey hates that the GL Corp. got to her first.

“They’re both non-human made energy sources” -Mari, cause once you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it all before.

“You can’t heal the Akuma without the miraculous, and there are more than just rings. Yours are earrings, there are hair clips, bracelets, necklaces and more” -Tikki, after having a minute to think

“Fine, only because you said they’re the only way to heal the, what was it again, akuma?”

6) “Their Unofficial Official Barista”

Part of Tim’s job as Co-CEO, is to make sure all the branches are running smoothly, sometimes that means he has to fly abroad to manually check in. Tim goes to Paris to check on the W.E. Paris branch. He goes to a nearby Patisserie (Tom and Sabine’s) to see a young Marinette (somewhere from 8-11) drawing in her sketchbook at the counter. She explains that her parents are at a catering event, but she’s there to man the little bakery. Tim asks for a super caffeinated coffee and Marinette makes it with ease, claiming it was on the house with how bad he looks (and how much sleep the man clearly needs). Tim begs for her knowledge and asks if she can teach his butler. Mari’s willing to show him the next time he comes, so he gets the whole fam to go (viz tubes so they don’t waste time) maybe a week later. Everyone gets their own drink (plus a free pastries) and Marinette teaches Alfred her coffee, but it’s just not the same so Tim, using the tubes, goes to get coffee from the girl whenever he can.

Mari is horrible at getting up on time (the life of an insomniac, never getting to sleep even if you want and then barely waking up on time) that she is up super early, makes Tim his coffee (plus a croissant) and tries to go back to sleep (making her inevitably late). Tim would walk up to the pick-up counter where his cup and to-go bag is while Marinette runs out of the house to get to school. Eventually, the rest of the Batfam (as well as the Laegue, TT, and YJ) frequent the place, slowly becoming (Dami too) Mari hides it, but she knew all the batfam the first day they came and she showed Alfred how to make the coffee. When the others start making more regular appearances, she learns the identities of YJ team, WW, GLs, and others. Obviously when LB and CN appear as heroes with HM as their villain, they immediately reach out to help. Because 1. Batfam clearly notices that it’s Mari and they sure as heck won’t let her deal with that by herself, and 2. The JL is worrying too much about their favorite barista (even though she’s not really one), especially with the Gigantitan scare. So, of course LB & CN (can’t make him bad everytime) get inducted into YJ.

[After Ladybug finishes defeating Gigantitan and detransforms]

“Bean! Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” -Tim, being an even more protective older brother than Dick, which shouldn’t be possible

“Yes, I promise. I’m fine” -Marinette, who just accepts the fact that she’s adopted an older brother (and his famliy)

“Tube over, we’ll have Alfred make sure” -Dick, already pulling out the medical supplies for Alfred.

“I-”

“You shouldn’t worry your brothers like that, Marinette. Now come over so Alfred can clear you,” -Bruce, who just happens to overhear the conversation

“I’m sorry, Miss Marinette, they are very adamant that you’re in pitch perfect health before going out again,” -Alfred, who’s not actually sorry

“Fine” -Marinette, accepting her fate of her adopted, protective family.

7) “Thicker Than the Blood We’ve Shed”

Why is Marinette so freakishly strong? Because she was trained to be. Before she could even talk, Mari was taught to be an assassin. She and Damian were frenemies, both competing for top spot as best in the League (of Assassins). They often spared together and became rivals who pushed each other (which sounds great in that context if you forget about the fact that they’re killing people and turning it into a competition). When Damian’s care is turned over to Batsy, Mari also comes along for the ride. She implements herself into Dami’s classes at G.A. & watches him from afar. (Damian, not being an idiot, of course knows all this and knows that it’s probably for Mari to give a report to Talia.) When he becomes Robin, Mari obviously knows, but waits to see if anything drastic would happen (his care was given to the Batfam, they had already expected this to happen.) She then heard word of the bounty Talia put on Damian’s head. Marinette knew there wouldn’t be much she could do to help, but she ave Dami a warning about the upcoming situation before fleeing the country.

From there she got to France, changed her name (it wasn’t originally Marinette, it was Shénqí, chinese for miraculous/magical (or something else if you want)), was adopted by Tom & Sabine, and left her time in the League in the past. When she received Tikki, she didn’t want to be a hero because she didn’t think she deserved it after her up-bringing. Eventually, she did become LB (being a trained assassin does help with lucky charms, considering she was taught how to kill with basically every and anything), and life was good for her. Then Rossi came.

[Gotham field trip]

While at Wayne Tower…

“How idiotic are they?” -Damian, who after reuniting with his long-lost sister-from-a-different-mister (yes, Marinette was able to convince him to say it once), can’t understand the stupidity she has to deal with.

“Are you Robin?” -Mari, who is too tired, so just goes straight into the analogy

“Yes.” -Obvious and simply is.

“Exactly” -Mari, who can’t even put a limit to the amount of thought the one brain cell the class shares doesn’t use. I mean please, the so-called “reporter” believed that the first cosplayer she saw was the actual LB when they don’t even have the same hair! And let’s not forget the origins arc, where LB’s first citizen save was Chloe.

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reiven2017 · 3 years

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Delicate steel.

Summary:

Rachel wanted to go home. She just wanted to get home. The only thing that held her back were the two huge wolves outside the door, the iron lock, and the fucking fate that had clearly decided to laugh at her. As it was, everything was fine...Oh, right! She's also getting married soon. But I have no idea for whom yet.

Notes:

In general...I decided to finally finish this chapter, because what I published earlier was just a draft and it happened that I deleted the work. Ahem, ahem.

Chapter 1: 1

Chapter Text"I don't know, damn it," Damian snarled back, his lips pinched into a thin line. His patience was running dangerously red, and his annoying family never stopped asking him questions, and Damian didn't know how close he was to killing each of them. "What do you mean, you don't know, Damian?" Your eighteenth birthday is coming soon! "I'm aware of that. Damian said dryly, turning to the window and trying to ignore the circle of people gathered around him. Sometimes, in his head, he would quietly start hating them all. The boy heard his sister snort at his answer, and before she could open her mouth to say something even more irritating and irritate him, his father intervened. "Damian." Bruce called coldly — " Stephanie's right. The day of the Blood Moon is approaching, and whether you want it or not, you must find a mate. It's a tradition." — Steph smirked like the Cheshire cat. "Come on, Dad. Maybe our little Alpha likes to go to "girls". " - Damian gritted his teeth and said nothing at Jason's snide remark, hoping that if he continues to ignore them, then maybe everything will be fine?The alpha genes were already boiling in him, the wolf was growling in frustration, and Damian was ready to howl in helplessness. He hated family advice, but when it came to his marriage and finding a true mate, it didn't seem so bad to hang himself and rot in a barn somewhere. Maybe now from the outside he looked like a "little capricious Alpha" with his behavior and an offended frown, but if such a strategy would bring him the desired silence, Damian was ready to play along. Despite the fact that he was the future Alpha of the pack, the new leader, and should have been able to solve problems diplomatically, or be able to kick ass, now he would have been happy to be somewhere in the mountains. Or on another planet. He could have left at any moment, ignoring the drama of Stef and the grinning Jason, if not for the glaring eyes of his father and mother. Damian knew he was being stupid. But he did not know the answer to the question that had been nagging at him for about a year. And every day it annoyed him more and more.From the very first day of his birth, Damian was different from the other wolves. Even in the cradle, he was different. The guy turned early to become a wolf, too early for any measurements, and after the Alpha blood in him awoke with extraordinary speed and as it turned out, he is the new Alpha, which further complicated the situation since he was the youngest son and theoretically could not inherit the Alpha genes. But no, it did happen. Everyone expected that his older brother Richard, kind, cheerful and resourceful, able to talk or at least tolerate people, and most importantly already having a couple, would take the place of the leader and everyone would be happy to the point of screeching bones. How wrong they all were, and how no one expected the Alpha genes to wake up in their youngest son, the rude, silent, and insufferable Damian, known as the walking mess and without a true mate at 17. Many people only laughed when they heard that the Alpha Force appeared in the younger heirs, but when they met with Damian, not a single question remained. He was young, but the Alpha genes had awakened in him with the strength and power of a mature wolf, which gave him even more advantages in the piggy bank of oddities. His relatives got married almost from the first day of birth, his sister was already engaged, his friends were already engaged and even some children in the sandbox already wore special marks saying that they have a couple! And Damian... Damian was broken. Broken almost from the very first day of life. The day of his coming of age was approaching, and the council and the entire pack were now on edge, watching his every move and not losing the chance to slip him a wolf at every opportunity in the hope of finding the one that made him even more exasperated. During this week, he had seen so many women's faces that they were all mixed up in one mess, and he didn't even remember their names. His position in the

pack is already pretty shaky, and if he doesn't find a mate before his birthday, Damian may not be the leader. < i>Worst of all, he won't last long without a pair. "Well, look at him! He's not even listening to us!" — Stephanie fell silent again, seeking support from her father. Of course, her position doesn't weigh in the balance, and the whole pack doesn't sit on her neck and fall asleep with eternal questions that he doesn't know the answers to. Bruce sighed heavily, casting a pleading glance at his wife. He knew that it wasn't easy for his son to come to terms with his new Alpha status and his new status in the pack. Despite all the responsibilities Damian had to deal with, he was pretty good at it, but the question of his true mate was always going to be a hell of a lot harder. Talia gave him a quiet smile, putting her hand on his shoulder. "But if brother can't find a mate on his own, then we have to help him! Damian chuckled softly. If only it were that simple, but only the Gods themselves could help him. - "Dad! I know who is perfect for the role of the Moon! Christy! She is younger than my brother, but she is a beautiful and strong wolf. Christy will fit perfectly into our family! " - Steph screamed again to her father. But then Damian's patience reached the end, driving the Alpha genes in his blood, and his wolf growled inwardly at his sister. Damian didn't like that part of himself, but he was grateful for the Alpha Force now, as Stephanie immediately fell silent. "That's enough," he said, as his sister jerked behind her father, hiding her eyes in shame. "Just because she's your friend doesn't mean she's my mate, Steph. His voice, menacing and guttural, turning into a growl, echoed off the walls of the mansion, causing Steph to shudder slightly and hunch over, hiding behind her father. His emerald eyes, a little silvery, swept around the room, and when they met his mother's distressed gaze and his father's frown, he frowned sternly. Maybe tomorrow he will regret his lack of restraint, but right now the only thing he wants is to get as far away from them as possible, so as not to see himself as a leper.***Perhaps if the town of Date, in northern Switzerland, could be described in three sentences Raven would have said " Forest. A large forest. The devils of the big forest. " and it would be clear to everyone what kind of place this is. It wasn't that she was against nature, but she had lived most of her life in gray and gloomy New York, so the forest was her first shock when she moved. Her mother recently remarried after a failed marriage with Raven's father and an accident with her sister, and now they are all together, the whole friendly family decided to change their place of residence. As if they don't have enough problems. Rachel didn't listen much to her mother's speech in the front seat, plugging her ears with headphones, knowing that she was talking more for her stepfather. Ben wasn't a bad person. He joked stupidly, smiled affably and believed in a happy life, dreaming, according to him, of a large family. He didn't touch Rachel, and he didn't bother her with father-daughter chatter, so he was the best option for her and her mother, Angela. To be honest, he never bothered Rachel at all.When Ben expressed a desire to move, to give in to a quiet life, Rae was not so against it. She didn't have any friends in New York, or anywhere else, so she was neutral about the idea of moving. So she ended up in Switzerland, in the back of an elderly pickup truck, in the middle of the woods and 7 miles from the city of Data. "Rachel!" — through the wall of music, the girl heard her mother's displeased voice and quietly rolled her eyes. - "Yes? Rachel replied tonelessly, still wearing her headphones, and turned to the window. She stiffened quietly. Maybe this way they'll know she's not in the mood to talk. "Could you please put the music down, young lady? I want to talk to you. "- "Well, of course to talk, and I thought we were going to drive the ball." barely restraining the sarcastic remark that was about to fly off

her tongue, Rachel still put the headphones in her bag and raised an eyebrow at Angela questioningly. "So? — " "There's a new school waiting for you, Rachel. New acquaintances". Angela's words flowed smoothly, and her sweet smile suggested doubts, and Rachel inwardly guessed that this conversation had been planned in advance. The girl chuckled to herself. "Ben and I are well aware of your difficulties in communication and all that concerns friendship, and we are immensely grateful to you for so easily agreeing to move, but if you have a problem again, like last time..." Rachel's eyes dimmed. Her heart stopped for a moment, silent for a second, and her nails dug painfully into the soft skin of her palm. The world seemed to stop, and my lungs were on fire. So that's what it was all about. Her lips parted in a venomous grin, and Rachel gritted her teeth. Rey saw a small flicker of pain cross Angela's face, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her face lost any hint of a smile, and with a curt nod to Rachel, the woman turned away. Rey exhaled heavily, holding her breath. She leaned back in her seat, pressing herself as close to the window as she could and crouching in a corner of the darkness, only now feeling the pain in her arms. She slowly opened her hand, coldly watching the tiny drops of blood gather on the skin that had been severely pierced by her own hand, and immediately closed her hands. She didn't have the energy to look at it again, and the only thing that distracted her was the huge sign with the big black letters "Date. A place where people become one with nature.»

#ravenrot #raven #demonbirds #damirae #damian x raven #damian wayne

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blackholesandlions · 4 years

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SPOILER WARNING

So I was reading ToN and I got to the part about not being able to destroy the fasces, and my mind started racing with ideas so I got down my idea of how the book would end before reading the rest of it, just to see how wrong I was. Anyway I ended up liking it a lot so here’s my alternate ending to the Tower of Nero

Warning this makes no sense if you’ve read any point in the book past where I stopped, so keep that in mind.

Nero’s words still rang in my mind. “You haven’t destroyed it yet, because you can’t. Even if you could, you’d release so much power it would burn you to cinders.” After he said that we ran, fast. He didn’t even bother calling the guards on us. He knew Python would get us first.

I was at the back of the group, because I was carrying the fasces, and it weighed me down. This thing had Nero’s soul in it, it was the only way to kill him, but breaking it would destroy everything around it. And even then, there was still no way to defeat Python. I’m not strong enough to take him out. If only there was some way to… oh. It’s so obvious, why didn’t I think of it earlier? Well, I don’t even want to think about it now, but it’s my only option that gets everyone out safely.

I stopped walking, and the rest of them turned to face me. Rachel asked, “Apollo, what are you doing? We need to keep moving.” I steeled my nerves. “I have a plan to take out Nero and Python in one move.”

“Great, let’s hear it,” Lu said. “No. No time. I need all of you to run, run as far as you can. I’m going to take them out, but you need to be out of the blast zone. Don’t come back for me.” I half wished somebody would protest, say no Apollo, we can’t let you sacrifice yourself, but they nodded, and ran.

Except Meg. Meg was holding back tears.

“Let me help, Lester. You can’t do it on your own.”

“I know.”

“Then how-”

“Destroying the fasces will incinerate anything around it. I’m not strong enough to break it, but he is.”

Meg wasn’t even holding the tears back at this point. She was crying. Over me. “Lester, you can’t,” she sobbed. “You’ll die!”

I pull her into a hug. “Hey, that’s the price of being human.”

“Now go.” She nodded, and gave me a weak smile before turning to run.

I rummaged through my bag, looking for anything to secure the heavy fasces. After a bit of searching I find what I’m looking for. Oh, thank the gods for Duct Tape, truly one of mankind’s greatest inventions. I strap the fasces to my back and shuffle onward towards my doom.

When I finally got there, my old enemy Python has wrapped his way around the entire chamber. His eyes are closed, so he doesn’t see me approaching, and for a second I have to admit, I’m tempted to just flee. Give up this lapse in judgement and live the rest of my mortal life hiding in shame.

But Jason didn’t think like that. Or maybe he did, I guess I have no real way of knowing. Maybe he was just as terrified as I am right now, hesitant to sign his own death warrant. But nevertheless, he jumped into the fray and sacrificed himself to save his friends. So had all the heroes I’ve met on my journey. They were so brave, much braver than I will ever be. But I owe this to them.

“Python!” I yelled into the echoey cavern. Names have power, especially for immortals. Calling the name of someone who wants to kill you is a death wish. But it sure got his attention.

The enormous serpent opened its eyes, the size of lakes, and stared right at me. “Little Lester,” he growled in that horrible voice. “You appear to be all by yourself, but that can’t be possible. I’m sure you have a whole cavalry hidden with some sort of magic. You might as well reveal yourselves, it won’t make a difference.”

I was frozen, shaking. I remember Python well, he terrified me back when I was a god, as a human teen his presence was simply too much. “No,” I squeaked out. I held on to any courage I had. “It’s just me.”

Python smiled, but tilted his head in confusion. “Then how on Earth do you intend to fight me?”

I dropped my bow and ukulele. “I’m not here to fight.”

Now he was incredulous, and angry as well. “I am going to consume you, your entire essence. You will be destroyed, and I will control this world’s future, and you mean to say you aren’t going to fight it?”

“I’m doing this so my friends can survive.”

Python reeled his head back. “Are you sure you’re Apollo?” He hissed. “No immortal in their right mind would be so cavalier with their existence.”

At that I had to laugh. “I don’t think I was ever in my right mind until I was cast down here. I was arrogant, selfish, and cruel. I cared only for myself. But worst of all, I treated mortals like they were expendable. Insignificant humans, good for a laugh, or a duet, or to fetch me something.

“But these people, they live lives that are so full of value and meaning. They form connections that I’ve never had, bonds stronger than anything you or I are capable of. And then… they end. And humans come to terms with it, they accept it. Their lives are so short, but more full than mine ever was. And if sacrificing my life means that they can live another day, then I am fully willing to do so.”

Python was quiet for a moment, looking almost contemplative. Then he curled his sharp teeth into a menacing grin. “Well, Apollo, one thing certainly hasn’t changed about you. You’re still a fool.”

He unhinged his terrifying jaws, and I dove in without hesitation. In the moment before we collided, I could see myself reflected in his eyes. My face was determined and resigned, but my eyes were the real. They were glowing bright orange, two burning orbs, bright and harsh like the unforgiving desert sun.

I could see Python, my oldest enemy, finally recognize me. His mouth didn’t move, but his expression morphed into one of pure terror.

And then he clamped his jaw down.

A fang came down right on top of me, the impact puncturing my body and shattering my spine. The pain was searing, I was probably a few seconds away from death, when I heard a hum from near me. My plan had been a success after all, the fasces was shattered as well, and was slowly getting brighter and brighter, and I could hear Python screaming out in pain. In a burst of light, we were both gone.

I don’t quite remember being dead. I didn’t have any thoughts, not even a haiku crossed my mind. The only reason I knew I was still there was the pain. It got duller and fuller over time, and I started to worry if that meant I was fading away, out of existence. But even then, that barely concerned me. I knew Python was gone, I had done my job. If I faded away now, it didn’t matter, my friends were alive and safe.

And then suddenly I was alive. The first thing I saw was my sister. She was sitting next to me, arm around my shoulder like she did when we were little. “I’m glad you’re here.” I had never heard those words from Artemis before. I started to tear up. “Zeus wants to see you.”

It took me a while to remember how, but I appeared in my father’s palace, right in front of him. I saw his glowering expression. Then I heard his stern, familiar tone. “You were not supposed to die. It took all I had to bring you back this much, but even now…

“You’re still a god, but not powerful like you used to be. You’re on the level of the most minor of deities, not an Olympian. I know this must be very upsetting to you.”

The strangest thing was, it wasn’t. I had lost my status, most of my power, I should be furious at how diminished I’ve become, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. Alarming, to say the least.

For some reason, my mind kept drifting back to Camp-Half Blood. My children, all the others I had saved, and my brother, Dionysus, still stuck there. It was odd how happy he had been, just to have someone else to work with. I hadn’t seen him that excited since he was first sent to that camp. I had laughed at the time, but now I think his punishment was no better than mine.

Zeus cleared his throat. “Well, at least you’ve learned your lesson now.” I looked at my father, the man who had caused all of this in the first place. “I’ve learned many lessons, Father.”

“I’m glad you’ve learned how to respect me now, Apollo.” Suddenly I was overcome with anger. This… god consistently refused to take responsibility for his actions, and never took into account anyone’s feelings but his own. He was callous, and egotistical, and awful.

But, that’s just what I was like before my journey, wasn’t it? I was just as awful as he is. But I’m better than that now. I don’t have to go back to the way I was, I can make changes. We gods always said we were stuck as we were, that we needed mortals to change things, or we would keep repeating our history forever.

But the truth is, we could have changed at any time, we just refused to accept that we were the same as humans. We refused to accept that we could be wrong, in need of changes. We just continued pretending we were perfect, because we are cowards. I was a coward. But not anymore. And I am going to write my own prophecy, change my future.

“No, actually, I think that’s the one class I skipped.” He furrowed his brow. “What. Did. You. Say.”

“You need to release Dionysus from his post at Camp-Half Blood. Now.” Thunder roared throughout mount Olympus. “That insolent child hasn’t served his full punishment yet!”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be taking over his post effective immediately.”

When I appeared at Camp-Half Blood that day, I kept myself invisible at first. I wanted to see what was going on at camp before I made my presence known. The scenery was always beautiful, but now I looked at it with a sense of nostalgia. Not just as a place to pop in and show off to the young demigods. But as a home.

The first thing I spotted was, in fact, spotted. It was my brother, in his usual ugly leopard print shirt. The second thing I spotted was Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, at camp. I had last heard they were at Camp Jupiter, but they were here now.

Percy and Dionysus were arguing loudly with each other. I caught a snippet of it. “Look Mr. D, me and Annabeth were on the other side of the country, you can’t just teleport us here on a whim!” Dionysus sighed. “It’s not a whim, Peter Johnson, I brought you two here so you could hear my big announcement! Ah, speaking of!”

He amplified his voice, and began. “Attention campers! Please proceed to the courtyard immediately, I have a very important announcement to make!”

Head counselors shuffled kids out of their cabins until everyone was in the courtyard. I heard some kids muttering things like “ugh, this better not be another end of the world.”

Mr. D cleared his throat. “Now that I have your attention, see you losers!” There were cries of confusion from the crowd. “That’s right, Zeus has lifted my punishment early, which means I don’t have to take care of you brats anymore!” He looked almost giddy. He looked to where I was standing, invisible, because of course gods can see each other, and gave me a nod of gratitude, before disappearing in a flash, leaving behind a cluster of grapes. I had the feeling he wasn’t coming back.

The camp fully erupted into chaos, children freaking out left and right. Even the oldest around were confused, this was new territory even for them. A young child ended the chaos by crying out “who’s gonna be in charge of the camp?” The campers paused for a moment, before turning their heads to all look at Percy Jackson.

The poor boy looked almost ready to cry. He so desperately wanted to be done with everything, to have a normal life, go to college with his girlfriend. He didn’t want to spend his whole life at this camp. But he sighed, and said “if I have to step up, I will.”

In a flash of golden light, I made myself visible. “That’s very noble of you, Percy, but it won’t be necessary.” The whole crowd was stunned. I had to smile. Despite it all, I still loved a good dramatic entrance. I heard a familiar voice from the crowd say “Lester?”

I had never been so happy to see a little girl with a terrible pageboy haircut. I did a little wave and said “hi Meg,” weakly.

“I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” She yelled across the courtyard, but I could see she was smiling.

It occurred to me that I still looked like Lester, and even more surprising, that I hadn’t cared to check. I used to spend hours a day agonizing over what form I took, but it hadn’t crossed my mind this whole time. Even stranger, I didn’t feel like changing to someone more handsome. This Lester form felt somehow fitting to me, like I wouldn’t want to change it at all.

“I kinda did die, but I’m back now, and immortal again. But I’m not Apollo. I’m not anywhere near as powerful as I used to be. I’m not even on the Olympian council anymore.”

“Wait, then there’s an empty spot?” Annabeth asked. “An unbalanced council isn’t good.” I nodded my head. “Yes, that’s why I yielded the post to Hestia. I figured she deserved a turn back in the spotlight.”

Percy grinned. “Wow, man, that’s a lot to give up.”

I sighed. “Yes, it is.” I turned back to Meg, tears welling in my eyes. “It’s good to see you again.” She wiped a tear away from her eye. “Well, are you gonna lead us or not?” I smiled. Never change, Meg, never change.

“Right. I’m running this camp now, and you will see some major changes.” The campers looked nervous, probably remembering Mr. D and all his ideas.

“For starters, I’m creating a parents day here at Camp-Half Blood, twice a summer. I understand that some of you don’t have great relationships with your parents, but there are many who do and wish to see them. For those campers, we will provide safe travel so your parents can be here to see you.”

Some kids looked very excited, especially younger ones who had just been pulled away from their parents. I looked up to the sky for this next point. “And also, attendance from godly parents is mandatory!” The sky rumbled with loud thunder. “Don’t try to fight me on this! You all have infinite time and can be in multiple places at once, there’s no reason you can’t be there for your children for a couple of hours!”

The younger campers definitely all looked ecstatic at that, the prospect of meeting their godly parents. The older campers, though more jaded, still smiled at the idea of their parents being there for them. The kids were all chattering excitedly amongst themselves, until one piped up. “What about quests?”

This was the question I’d been dreading, because I didn’t have a good answer for it. I paused. “Quests and prophecies are an unavoidable part of life as a young hero. However, I am aware of how dangerous and traumatizing they can be. So I am instating a policy. If you have gone on a quest, you do not ever have to go on another. You are allowed to opt out, and the gods have promised they will not hold it against you.”

A half-hearted clap of thunder pulsed through the camp. Percy and Annabeth gave me grateful looks.

“Any more questions?” I asked the camp. My son Will raised his hand. “Yeah, what do we call you? You’re not Apollo anymore, and I’m guessing Mr. A isn’t right either, so who are you exactly?”

That was tricky. I didn’t quite know yet. I was certainly still immortal, yet I felt human, so human. But I think I was starting to get the idea.

“I’m Lester. God of Camp-Half Blood.”

#toa #pjo #riordanverse #trials of apollo #tower of nero #ton #fic #toa spoilers #ton spoilers #pjo spoilers

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thetimelordbatgirl · 3 years

Text

Marvel Descendants OCs

Acknowledgment: When Marvel Descendants was first written in 2015, one year after I joined Tumblr, at the time I wasn’t aware of how bad certain things were and while I am aware this is a bad excuse for what I’m about to acknowledge, it’s all I have really for what I wrote into Marvel Descendants at 14-15 as back then, I was into DC’s Kingdom Come and when I saw them ship Nightstar and Ibn al Xu'ffasch (pre-Damien Wayne), I didn’t see anything wrong with it and as a result, used the adopted family excuse for shipping Locket Lokidottir and Theo Thorson. Now that I am older and know more over the years, I wish I had known back then, but I wasn’t deep into Tumblr until December 2014 and even then, it took me until a while back to realize Marvel Descendants was wrong for that, but by that point, book 5 confirming the ship two married in the future, was out and while its too late to fix canon, I try to fix it in AUs and ship the two with other characters. Any other issues within Marvel Descendants, I am trying to fix and hope to avoid in the future as I continue writing.

Description of Marvel Descendants: Marvel Descendants is a marvel version of Disney Descendants that follows The Isle of the Lost, Descendants 1 and Wicked Wold in first two books and mini-spin off and goes on its own plot in book 3, with it now being tied @disneyfan50 ‘s series, Descendant of Loki, starting from the team up/crossover, Daughters of The Trickster, with the series continuing on right now with planned future installments and AUs.

Timeline so far:

Book 1: The Area of The Lost. Summary: Twenty years ago, all villains from Loki to Doctor doom were sent to the lost part of asgard with a shield around it to keep them there and them from ever escaping. The villains and their children now live in total isolation, forgotten by the world. But now there is a price for grabs, Loki's sceptre, could be their chance of escape, but they have to prove their more then willing to do anything evil to get hold of it. In their quest, they also learn, that being good can also help and isn't so bad at all sometimes. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6739788/The-Isle-of-the-lost-Marvel-Version/1

Book 2: Descendants: Marvel Version. Summary: Thor's daughter is about to be crowned goddess of lightning when she suddenly requests for the children of the villains to be given a chance at redemption. When their parents give them a task to get hold of the Tessaract so they can take over the world, the children of Loki, doctor doom, Sabertooth, the leader and the Mandarin and the granddaughter of red skull, have their own choice to make, be good or be evil like their parents. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6677501/Descendants-Marvel-Version/1

Book 3: Marvel Descendants: The Art of Mischief. Summary: Its been a week after tori's crowning of her title and the attack of doctor doom and the villains kids have been living a normal half term, well, as normal as they could get anyway, but now school is on again, but also, a old enemy is rising in the darkness of asgard, and he is out for revenge on asgard and earth. Sometimes, heroes are born at different points and sometimes, its not a good move to judge someone based on their look or their background.... Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6814801/Marvel-Descendants-The-Art-Of-Mischief

Mini-Spin Off: Marvel Descendants: Wicked World. Summary: The marvel descendants are back, and good is the new bad in this case, with drama and pranks and mischief and of course, the children of the heroes and villains, this is wicked world. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6924709/Marvel-Descendants-Wicked-World/1

Crossover with @disneyfan50 : The Daughters of The Trickster. Summary: When a portal opens unexpectedly in Locket's room, another girl falls out. Her name is Lilith Lokidottir, the daughter of another Loki from and alternate universe. The tides of evil are rising, and at their helm is none other than the Queen of Darkness herself. Can Locket and Lily stop this menace together? Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6859006/The-Daughters-of-the-Trickster/1

Book 4: Marvel Descendants: The Trickster’s Curse. Summary: Life is starting to go back to normal for Locket lokidottir, daughter of loki, the battle against mariana over, but that doesn't mean that there is not a effect in all of this. There is a curse on the school coming out, and it may be lockets and theos fault, when Loki though falls to it next, locket, theo, tamora and a new ally, lucy selvig, have to find the cure and put a end to this curse before it continues, but who set it? who left it? why is it affecting locket and her father the most? and why does darkness and poison come with it? Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/6984816/Marvel-Descendants-The-Tricksters-Curse/1/

Book 5: Marvel Descendants: Sins of The Past. Summary: Its the year 2032- and things have changed. The X-Men have failed in their one mission: to get human acceptence. Now mutants, metra-humans, off world people and even humans who were assoicated with mutants or could have mutant kids, are either in prison, on the run or killed. Jackie Haller leads a group against this and they have a plan- go back in time to save the future. In 2016, the past is about to commit the one act that makes this happen without knowing it..... The resistance in the future are on a ticking time bomb to stop this event with the pasts help.... ....Or its game over. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/8099153/Marvel-Descendents-Sins-Of-The-Past/1

Crossover with @disneyfan50 : Untitled. Summary: TBA.

Agent of Asgard: Volume 1: Summary: Well now i have done it- i never thought that in my life, that i would work for heroes- But here i am, Locket Lokidottir, working as a agent for Queen Jane of Asgard, but now, now im in the deep end, i got a crazy version of myself after me, im meeting weird people and theres some plot going on- Why cant i just go back to being normal yet? Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/8471877/Agent-Of-Asgard-Volume-1/1

Crossover with @disneyfan50 and Entity High: Untitled. Summary: TBA.

Agent of Asgard: Volume 2: Summary: TBA.

Agent of Asgard: Volume 3: Summary: TBA.

Agent of Asgard: Volume 4: Summary: TBA.

Spin Off: Siege Perilous: Summary: Being a dragon should mean you should always be able to soar through the air, no matter what- the skies your limit. But what happens when someone tries to clip your wings? Jayla Del'Tazar thought her troubles ended with Mariana Malora- she was wrong. As soon, Jayla finds herself in her own battle against a man named Draeko, a pureblood dragon determined to take her out for her relations, in any way possible. Travelling to Wakanda with Princess Kiara and Jayla's girlfriend, Peregrine Wilson, Jayla soon finds that when pushed to the edge of possible surrender and near death, that sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire...and in this case, that fire is discovering hidden abilities she never knew she had until then, and things only change from there on. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/11017793/Siege-Perilous/1

Agent of Asgard: Volume 5: Summary: TBA.

Untitled Sequel to Siege Perilous: Summary: TBA.

Book 6: Untitled. Summary: TBA.

Untitled third book to Siege Perilous: Summary: TBA.

Book Set in the Future: Marvel Descendants: Up From the Depths: Summary: Its the year 2032, and the Area of the Lost has existed for more then 20 years as the grandchildren of the villains and heroes now exist and the previous generation have grown up. But soon enough, after a crack appears in a dome and a poisoning of the villains grandchildren at SHIELD Academy happens, its a adventure that soon leads to a truth about the Area and its residents...and how unlike the heroes....not everyone has a good path in life....and may need help more then ever at this point. Link: https://www.quotev.com/story/9912322/Marvel-Descendants-Up-from-the-Depths/1

Locket Lokidottir

- daughter of Loki-

Faceclaim:

India Eisley.

Richard Creed

- son of Sabertooth-

Faceclaim:

Jason Scott Dolley.

Victoria Von Doom

- daughter of Doctor Doom-

Faceclaim:

Raffey Cassidy.

Alex Sterns

- son of The Leader-

Faceclaim:

Ferdia Shaw.

Lucas

- son of The Mandarin-

Faceclaim:

Ryan Potter.

Tamora

Schmidt- granddaughter of Red Skull-

Faceclaim:

Sadie Sink.

Torunn ‘Tori’ Thordottir

- daughter of Thor-

Faceclaim:

Chloe Grace Mortez.

Theo Thorson

- son of Thor-

Faceclaim:

Landon Liboiron.

Lila Creed

- daughter of Sabertooth-

Faceclaim:

Mia Talerico.

Johnny and Jessica (formerly Olivia)

- twins of Juggernaut-

Faceclaim(s):

TBA.

Lizzie Octavious

- daughter of Doctor Octopus-

Faceclaim:

TBA.

Frigga Thordottir

- daughter of Thor-

Faceclaim:

Abby Ryder Foster.

Ravan Darkholme

- son of Mystique-

Faceclaim:

TBA.

Andrew and Ally Amoradottir

- twins of Amora-

Faceclaim(s):

TBA.

Nathan Osborn

- son of Norman Osborn-

Faceclaim:

TBA.

Thorn Sifson

- son of Sif-

Faceclaim:

Spencer Boldman.

Amanda Amoradottir

- daughter of Amora-

Faceclaim:

Sabrina Carpenter.

Devlin Kilgrave

- son of Kilgrave-

Faceclaim:

TBA.

*Maria Stark- daughter of Iron Man- Faceclaim: TBA. *James Fury- son of Nick Fury- Faceclaim: Tyrel Jackson. *Poppy Coulson- daughter of Phil Coulson- Faceclaim: TBA. *Snow Banner- daughter of the Hulk- Faceclaim: TBA. *Luke Walters- son of She Hulk- Faceclaim: TBA. *Riley Jones- daughter of A-Bomb- Faceclaim: TBA. *Mark Hill- son of Maria Hill- Faceclaim: Bradley Steven Perry. *Margaret ‘Peggy’ Rogers- daughter of Captain America- Faceclaim: TBA. *Andrew Wilson- son of the Falcon- Faceclaim: TBA. *Harry Pym- son of Wasp and Giant Man- Faceclaim: TBA. *Nick and Jade Barton- twins of Hawkeye and Black Widow- Faceclaim(s): TBA. *Lauren Howlett- daughter of Wolverine and Storm- Faceclaim: TBA. *Joy Summers- daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey- Faceclaim: Mackenzie Foy. *Gwen Parker- daughter of Spiderman and MJ- Faceclaim: TBA. *Jessica Storm- daughter of the Human Torch- Faceclaim: TBA.

*Lynn Richards- daughter of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman- Faceclaim: TBA. *Atli Volstaggdottir- daughter of Volstagg- Faceclaim: TBA. *Heleo Fandralson- son of Fandral- Faceclaim: Ross Lynch. *Vio Fandraldottir- daughter of Fandral- Faceclaim: TBA. *Ty Hogunson- son of Hogun- Faceclaim: TBA. *Andrea ‘Andy’ Barnes- daughter of Winter Soldier- Faceclaim: TBA. *Gordon Maximoff- son of Scarlet Witch- Faceclaim: TBA. *Millicent Maximoff- daughter of Quicksilver- Faceclaim: TBA. *Techna- daughter of Vision- Faceclaim: TBA. *Tee Strange- daughter of Doctor Strange- Faceclaim: TBA. *Kiara (formerly Ann)- daughter of Black Panther- Faceclaim: China Anne McClain. *Mick Gold- son of Mockingbird- Faceclaim: TBA. *Charles Danvers- son of Captain Marvel- Faceclaim: TBA. *Brooke Murdock- daughter of Daredevil- Faceclaim: TBA. *Willow Rhodes- daughter of War Machine- Faceclaim: TBA. *Destineva Heimdalldottir- daughter of Heimdall- Faceclaim: TBA. *Jake Amaquin- son of Crystal- Faceclaim: TBA.

*Danielle Rand- daughter of Iron Fist- Faceclaim: TBA. *Toby Masters- daughter of Taskmaster- Faceclaim: TBA. *Kasey Parker- daughter of Spiderman and MJ- Faceclaim: TBA. *Maxine- daughter of Electro- Faceclaim: TBA.

*Alastair Quill- son of Star Lord and Gamora- Faceclaim: Bradley Steven Parry.

*Lucy Selvig- daughter of Eric Selvig- Faceclaim: Saxon Sharbino. *Aidan ‘Acrylic’ Lokison- son of Loki- Faceclaim: Eka Darville. *James Selvig- son of Eric- Faceclaim: TBA.

*Leela Theodottir- future daughter of Theo and Locket- Faceclaim: Grace Kaufman. *Leonardo ‘Leo’ Theoson- future son of Theo and Locket- Faceclaim: Logan Williams. *Luna Theodottir- future daughter of Theo and Locket- Faceclaim: Lauren Boles. *Daniel Creed- future son of Richard and Joy- Faceclaim: Carter Hastlings. *Roxanne ‘Roxie’ Thorndottir- future daughter of Thorn and Tori- Faceclaim: Caitlin Carmichael. *Vanessa Wilson- future daughter of Andrew and Victoria- Faceclaim: Kyla Drew. *Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Xavier- granddaughter of Charles Xavier- Faceclaim: TBA. *Elsbeth Wagner- daughter of Nightcrawler- Faceclaim: TBA. *Zelina Lebeau- daughter of Rouge and Gambit- Faceclaim: TBA. *Octave Lebeau- son of Rouge and Gambit- Faceclaim: TBA. *Cerise Wilson- daughter of Deadpool- Faceclaim: TBA. *Feliks Rasputin- son of Shadowcat and Colossus- Faceclaim: TBA. *Max Summers- son of Havoc and Polaris- Faceclaim: TBA. *Derek Worthington- son of Angel and Psylocke- Faceclaim: TBA. *Paige McCoy- daughter of Beast- Faceclaim: TBA. *Alix Drake- daughter of Ice Man- Faceclaim: TBA. *Screech Cassidy- daughter of Banshee- Faceclaim: TBA.

*Jayla Antoine- adopted daughter of Colin- Faceclaim: Skai Jackson.

*Ella- granddaughter of Elsa (in Auradon)- Faceclaim: Peyton Elizabeth Lee.. *Jamie Sterns- daughter of Alex and Snow- Faceclaim: Eve Moon. *Nike Stark- son of Maria and Lucas- Faceclaim: TBA. *Dove Wilson- daughter of Andrew and Victoria- Faceclaim: Millie Davis. *Tracy Octavious- daughter of Lizzie- Faceclaim: Bailee Madison. *Misty Darkholme- daughter of Ravan- Faceclaim: Morgan Lily. *Alan Allyson- son of Ally- Faceclaim: Ty Simpkins. *Ava Allydottir- daughter of Ally- Faceclaim: Maggie Elizabeth Jones. *Renee and Brandon Creed- twins of Richard and Joy- Faceclaim(s): Kennedi Clements and Jacob Trembley. *Kol Amandason- adopted son of Amanda- Faceclaim: Oakes Fegley. *Usagi Del’Tazar- twin daughter of Jayla and Peregrine- Faceclaim: Sofia Wylie.

#megan's ocs #megan's fanfiction #OC's masterpost #original series OCs

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wellthatjusthappend · 5 years

Note

Can we have a continuation of Family and the mess, where Roy gets back to jason explaining to the bats everything and dick being pissed at him and overprotective whilst holding his daughter.

Sounds good!

Roy had been told more than once that he was needlessly paranoid. Especially when it came to his new family. Roy hadn’t even known Lian existed until months after she was born. He was as new as Jason at taking care of a newborn and they both fretted over every little thing.

He was quadruple checking the alarms on the house when he saw them all turn off at once. He tried to manually reactivate them, but nothing happened. The cameras weren’t picking up any unusual activity, but if the alarm system had been hacked the surveillance feed would be easy.

“I need to run back to the house to check on something, cover for me?” Roy said urgently.

“Sure, call me if you need backup,” Conner said looking concerned.

Connor Hawke was a blessing from above.

“Will do,” Roy said smiling absently.

Fortunately, getting back to the house only took a minute. He could see from outside that several lights were turned on- which was wrong for this time of night- but the private line for his comm pinged before he could crash in guns blazing.

“Little busy,” he snapped trying to get a good sightline into the house and of course not being able to because Jason had been the one to arrange their furnishings for just this purpose. He was an intense nester.

“Daddy?” Lian said sleepily.

“Baby, you alright?” Roy said quickly, his tone shifting immediately.

“Yeah, but Uncle Dick and the others are here and they’re making J-Daddy mad,” she reported.

“Oh,” Roy said, his shoulders sagging with relief. Bat’s invading their house in the middle of the night and upsetting his mate was still not okay, but his family wasn’t in danger and that was most important, “Thanks for telling me princess, I’ll be right in.”

“‘Kay,” said Lian hanging up.

Roy heard them long before he saw them.

“We’re your pack! It’s our business if you suddenly get married and have a baby!” Dick was saying, obviously upset.

“Well maybe if you all weren’t such controlling knot-heads, I’d actually tell you shit!” Jason spat back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what it means, Dick-head.”

“A-hem,” Roy said leaning on the doorway. It was extremely intense to 4 Bat’s glare at him the same time and his inner 19-year-old would have bulked under the scrutiny, but Jason looked relieved to see him and that was enough to summon up some strength to stand his ground.

He’d known what he was marrying into. He also knew that Jason desperately needed people to side with him in arguments against his pack. Too often it was everyone else against him.

That didn’t mean it was any less scary to have Batman himself advance upon him.

“Did you use Jason’s pregnancy to coerce him into bonding with you?” he went straight to the point.

“What?! No,”

“I already told you-” Jason started to snap.

“Shut up Todd, we already know this plebeian hasn’t been letting you contact us,” Damian said drawing his sword.

“What?! I wouldn’t do that!” Roy recoiled.

“He should have at least contacted the Pack when he started courting him,” Tim was sizing him up.

“What are we in the 16th century?” Jason glared, rubbing agitated circles on their daughter’s back. Roy saw Lian peaking worriedly out from the hallway, emergency comm still in her hands.

“You did at least court him, didn’t you?” Dick was glaring at him, “Some friend you are. I can’t believe you went after my little brother-”

“All of you shut up,” Roy ordered, starting to get pissed and knew he was giving out the challenging scent of an Alpha, “You’ve broke into our home at night, frightened our children, and continue to disrespect Jason. You will get out of this house right now.”

Damian looked like he was going to say something, but Bruce held up his hand. The other Bat’s looked to their leader as well.

“We’re not done talking about this,” Bruce warned.

“Out,” Jason growled, lower and more threatening than most Alpha’s could even manage.

Surprisingly, they went, though not without a few more menacing glares at Roy. Dick was going to blow up his phone with texts after this, Roy was sure.

“Daddy!” Lian dashed out to meet him as soon as they were gone.

“It’s okay baby girl, you did such a good job calling me when people came into the house,” Roy praised, scoping his girl up and holding her close.

“They were being so mean,” Lian said, rubbing her face in his neck and getting his scent all over her.

“They were,” Roy agreed, walking over to Jason who was looking a little lost now that his pack was gone, “Hey, you okay?”

“Sorry… I didn’t realize we’d woken her.” Jason said looking away, bouncing the baby lightly in his arms. That didn’t really answer the questions, except for the ways that it did. Roy peered around Jason’s shoulder to see that their other daughter was wide awake and watching everything with big murky eyes. Jason smelled stressed and upset, Roy was wasn’t surprised the baby hadn’t been able to settle down again.

“C’mon,” Roy shifted Lian to his hip and grabbed Jason’s hand, “It’s late, we can talk about this in the morning.”

“Can I sleep with you guys?” Lian asked worriedly.

“Course, princess,” Roy gave her a kiss on the forehead. Honestly, he was on edge enough that he felt much better about having his whole family where he could see them and he had a feeling Jason felt the same. Jason still stayed quiet though.

Roy frowned. He’d always hated the way Jason’s pack could just shut him mate down with a small encounter.

Once they got back to the bedroom, Roy set Lian down and let the girl toddle excitedly over to the bed and clamber up. Apparently the fun of getting to sleep with her dads far outweighed and anxiety having an angry unfamiliar pack in her home had caused. Roy was immensely grateful for that. Jason paused at the doorway though.

“I should walk around with her a bit more,” he mumbled, gesturing towards the baby, “She’ll start fussing if I try to lay her down right now.”

“I’ll take her,” Roy said reaching out softly, “You go snuggle with Lian; she was worried about you.”

Jason hesitated before handing their daughter over and walking over to help Lian from overturning all the pillows onto the floor. Roy smiled a little tightly and instead took his other daughter in a walk around the house, turning off lights and humming softly. He was grateful to get to move around a little. It gave him a chance to re-check that all the alarm systems and security were back online.

He needed to put a little more thought into Bat-proofing their house. It was hard when he couldn’t set up anything too lethal in-case Lian somehow got into it.

Eventually, the baby dozed off and Roy returned to the bedroom.

He wasn’t at all surprised that Jason was still awake and brooding.

“I think she takes after you,” Roy joked as he laid the baby down in the center of the bed by a drooling Lian, “Faaar too awake in the middle of the night.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said staring at the ceiling. Roy knew he wasn’t apologizing about their daughter’s sleeping habits.

“Hey,” Roy said softly, propping himself up on an elbow and reaching for his mate, “You have nothing to apologize for. Like you said: they were being huge knot-heads. They didn’t have the right.”

“I should have told them,” Jason mumbled.

“Probably,” Roy agreed with a shrug, “I understand why you didn’t though.”

“They just never listen,” Jason said, his face scrunching up in frustration, “They’ve never approved of anyone I wanted to have a relationship with and I didn’t want them to mess things up when we decided to bond. And then I got pregnant and I knew they’d freak out about it and then-”

“And then there was just one thing after another and it got harder and harder to tell,” Roy said sympathetically.

“Yeah…”

“It’s going to be okay, Jaybird,” Roy promised, leaning over their girls to kiss him quickly.

“Yeah…” Jason breathed out some of his tension, “Thanks for backing me up out there.”

“Of course,” Roy said, “I only ordered them out a little sooner than you would have.”

“Might have scared the children if I chopped off their dicks,” Jason cracked a half smile.

“Eh, Lian needs to learn sooner or later. Gotta give her practice for when all the boys and girls come courting,” Roy grinned back.

“Shh, no, I can’t think about that,” Jason shuddered.

“We’ve got time,” Roy snickered.

The look Jason was giving him was thoughtful and almost soft.

“What?”

“I’m glad you’re my mate,” Jason said, “I’m just… really glad.”

Roy felt like his heart just overflowed with affection, “Yeah, you too. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“Crazy Bat-pack and all?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

“Crazy Bat-pack and all,” Roy confirmed, stealing another kiss, “I love you.”

“Yeah… you too.”

Roy settled back down, reaching over their girls to entwine his fingers with Jason’s. He was close to dozing off himself when a thought hit.

“Wait, if you didn’t tell your pack, who have you been sending all those baby pictures to?”

“Alfred, duh.”

#I freaking love Red Fam #JayRoy #story requests #fic: Family and Mess #Anonymous

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thecomicsnexus · 5 years

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SWAMP THING #51-55 AUGUST - DECEMBER 1986 BY ALAN MOORE, RICK VEITCH, ALFREDO ALCALA, JOHN TOTLEBEN AND TATJANA WOOD

SYNOPSIS (FROM DC DATABASE)

With the Great Darkness no longer a threat, Swamp Thing, Deadman, and the Phantom Stranger make their way back to their respective territories. The Stranger will remain in Heaven and make sure that all is right with the territories therein. Deadman will return to the Region of the Just Dead, and Swamp Thing hopes to return to his wife Abby.

Meanwhile, Abby has been arrested, and thrown in a jail cell to await her public defender. The attorney is certain of Abby's guilt, revealing that she has been charged with "Crimes Against Nature." Abby refuses to plea that she was forced into the relationship, considering that her relationship with her husband is consensual. At the hearing, the judge takes little time to condemn Abby's actions, going so far as to suggest that her relationship with the Swamp Thing is made all the more heinous by her position in the child-care profession. Abby is outraged by the suggestion, but the judge is dismissive, and sets bail at fifteen thousand dollars. To her surprise, Abby's boss at Elysium Lawns, Deanna French, pays the bail. Deanna explains with contempt that she is only paying it because Abby was good with the children, and refuses to speak to her again.

Free for the time being, Abby wanders the streets and notices people talking about her behind her back. A woman she recognizes turns away rather than acknowledging her. A man makes repeated perverse phone calls to her. Afterwards, Abby refuses to go out until her preliminary hearing. At the hearing, it is decided that the case will go to the Grand Jury, and the building pressure becomes more than she can take.

Swamp Thing makes his way to The Green from the Region of the Just Dead, and regrows his body in the swamps of Houma. He encounters John Constantine, who has come to pay his respects before going back to England. He admits that while his side of the battle went well, it claimed the lives of his friends Zatara, Sargon, as well as his friends from the Newcastle Crew, while leaving Mento deranged.

With the increasing hostility from the residents of Terrebonne Parish, Abby decides jump bail. She sends a letter to Deanna along with a cheque, promising to pay her back for the rest of the bail money when she can. She disguises herself and goes to the bus station. After a lot of deliberation, she chooses the bus to Gotham City and hopes she can get lost there.

Swamp Thing arrives in Abby's house, but finds it empty and messy. Her clothes and valuables are gone, and he hopes that there is an explanation.

Finally getting to Gotham, Abby immediately regrets her decision. She remembers that Gotham has a darker side, its criminals all deformed or insane. She wishes she'd chosen Metropolis or New York City. She then tries to ask some hookers for directions to a place to stay. The hookers are not very helpful, and before they can give her a useful response, a Vice Squad from Gotham City Police Department nabs them all, including Abby. As she waits in the drunk tank, her name is called as "Cable" despite the fact that she introduced herself as "Holland." Because of this, she deduces that police must have heard from Louisiana about her bail-jumping.

Swamp Thing returns to the swamp, and discovers a newspaper with the headline "Monster Sex Queen Jumps Bail!" Seeing this, and understanding what has happened to his wife, the Swamp Thing goes into a rage. His anger and violence is so powerful that it frightens dogs and children. He promises war in Abby's name. All this occurs despite the Parliament of Trees' warning that he should avoid power and anger.

Driven by his outrage, Swamp Thing speeds across the United States, from Louisiana all the way to Gotham City. Every neighborhood that he blasts through has a trail of flowers and foliage left in his wake. As he enters the more urban part of the city, he senses another who is connected to The Green, and homes in on it.

At Gotham City Police Headquarters, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock meet with a man from the D.D.I. called Dwight Wicker, who has come on behalf of the US Government to capture the Swamp Thing after he killed General Sunderland. Wicker believes that Abby Cable can lead him to the creature. Bullock warns against allying with Wicker, having done his research, and knowing that the D.D.I. attacked Abby and her husband Matthew several times in the past, to the point of bombing their house. Mr. Wicker is dismissive of the accusation, and demands to be allowed to protect Gotham. Gordon responds that Gotham has its own ways of dealing with menaces.

At Arkham Asylum, Swamp Thing visits with Jason Woodrue, who fears that the creature has come to punish him for abusing The Green. Swamp Thing responds that the wrath of nature is not wrong, nor is it unjust that man should bear the brunt of it. He forgives Woodrue for his anger, and leaves, promising that nobody else in Gotham will be forgiven.

As Bullock attempts to lead Abby into her extradition hearing, she is surrounded by fans and protesters. Someone offers her a rose, and through it, she hears the Swamp Thing calling to her. When she responds, Swamp Thing is overcome by his need for her, and speeds toward her location. By the time Abby gets into the courtroom, she is entirely engrossed in her telepathic conversation with Swamp Thing, and can't speak for herself. She fails to answer the judge's questions, and speaks aloud to Swamp Thing. She drops the rose she's been holding to the floor, and warns that her captors have brought what is coming onto themselves.

As the rose touches the ground, it bursts into life, growing violently out into the form of the enraged Swamp Thing. The guards pull their guns on him, and find that they are ineffective against such a force of nature. In his anger, Swamp Thing brings roots and vines up from the earth, and grows a forest within the courthouse. Even so, he faces more guns. He warns that he cannot be killed by guns, but Abby begs him to let it go for now, worrying that someone will be hurt. Reluctantly he leaves her, warning that nature is more powerful than humans can perceive, and demanding that his wife be returned to him within one hour.

Elsewhere, Mr. Wicker introduces a special consultant to the team meant to track and kill the Swamp Thing. They have paid ten million dollars for a mere ten minutes of consultation with Lex Luthor regarding how to kill an indestructible being.

As the hour he gave them comes to an end, Swamp Thing follows through on his threats, reaching into The Green, and allowing nature to reclaim the land on which Gotham City was built. Trees burst out of asphalt, and vines from cracks in the sidewalk. Children are the first to embrace the jungle, then derelicts, criminals, and lovers. By dusk, the first few converts remove their clothes and go naked in the new hanging gardens of Gotham.

Despite his feeling of satisfaction at bringing paradise to Gotham, Swamp Thing remembers the warnings of the Parliament of Trees and becomes more cautious. He remembers that this is not his city, and high above, the city's real protector watches his city drown in green.

Gotham City is now an overgrown jungle. Much of the city has been completely taken over by vines and plants. This is all the result of the Swamp Thing's vengeance against the city for keeping his wife Abby in custody for sex crimes, after she was caught on film engaging in sex acts with him.

Batman answers the Bat-Signal, arriving at Gotham City Police Headquarters. He assures Commissioner Gordon that he has met the Swamp Thing before, and that he will make an attempt to reason with the creature before things get worse.

As Swamp Thing's hold over the city gets stronger, members of the D.D.I. plot with Lex Luthor to come up with a method by which they can overcome Swamp Thing's invulnerability, and kill him. In doing so, they will eliminate a witness to the underhanded dealings of the D.D.I. Luthor proposes a scrambler that will alter Swamp Thing's frequency, making him unable to leave his body in the event of his death, and regrow elsewhere.

On the outskirts of the city, Chester Williams makes his way on foot along the overgrown highway. On the way, he encounters Wallace Monroe. Both of them have come from Louisiana to see the Swamp Thing, and both have environmentalist ideologies. They decide to join forces, and begin the trek into Gotham.

As he observes his work, the Swamp Thing suddenly hears the sound of saws buzzing through the trunks of the newly grown trees behind him. Suddenly, a Batmobile equipped with enormous circular saws bursts through the growth, and stops in front of the Swamp Thing. From inside, Batman asks to talk. Swamp Thing demands only to have his wife released to him. Batman states that until she has been through the judicial process, her return is impossible. At an impasse, Batman chooses his last resort, and equips a backpack canister and hose filled with defoliant. After releasing the chemical upon the Swamp Thing, he discovers that the creature is more powerful than he had guessed. Several Swamp Things surround him, and beats him into submission. As he walks away, he leaves the message that things will get worse if Abby is not returned.

Later, the commissioner visits with the mayor, but they are interrupted by the sudden appearance of Swamp Thing. He reports that Batman and Gotham itself have fallen to The Green. He commands that his wife be returned to him by dawn, or else Gotham as a city will be completely erased from the map.

Elsewhere, many people from Gotham and beyond have gathered together, worshipping the Swamp Thing as something of a cult god. Chester and Wallace are among them. Chester still has a piece of the hallucinogenic tuber that he picked up months ago, and he still wonders what will happen to him if he uses it. Wallace reveals that he is the same Wallace Monroe who ran away from his pregnant wife after she was exposed to the nuclear waste that saturated the homeless man called Nuke-face. Sadly, his baby was stillborn, and his wife hasn't got much time left either. He is saddened by the fact he can do nothing for her. Seeing what kind of man Wallace is, Chester offers him the remaining piece of the tuber, to ease his wife's pain.

Just before dawn, Batman, the Commissioner, Harvey Bullock, and a retinue of National Guardsmen await the Swamp Thing's retaliation. Batman warns that he wouldn't dare guess at the upper limits of Swamp Thing's power now, and suggests that they release Abby. He expresses distrust of the laws used to charge her. Suddenly, a huge swarm of bugs attacks. As they attempt to maintain composure under the bugs' onslaught, a growing rumbling sets them ill at ease.

They are horrified to discover that the rumbling is the sound of the Swamp Thing inhabiting a giant plant construct built out of redwoods, and – towering over everyone – he addresses Batman and the police. He warns that there are no limits to his power, that he could cause the flora in human intestines to overgrow if tempted. He states that he will have his wife now, with no more delays. As the construct crashes to the ground, Batman insists on speaking to Maryo Skowcroft. Batman warns of the creature's power, and criticizes the charges against Abby. He warns that if charges are to be brought for fraternizing with non-humans, other heroes such as Hawkman, Metamorpho, and even Superman would have to be condemned. Faced with these warnings, the mayor calls Washington, D.C. and negotiates a pardon.

Batman delivers the news of the pardon to Swamp Thing personally, warning that if he ever does this to Gotham again, he will kill the creature. Swamp Thing responds that he believes that Batman actually might. As Swamp Thing arrives at the courthouse, the D.D.I. prepares to launch its attack. Abby emerges from the courthouse and as soon as she sees Swamp Thing, she bursts into tears, and they run toward each other. As they finally embrace, a D.D.I. sniper fires Luthor's frequency scrambler into the back of Swamp Thing's head. He senses that something is wrong immediately, and finds himself unable to leave his body. Desperately, he shoves Abby away, knowing that something bad will soon happen. Moments later, the snipers attack him with napalm. Batman rushes to hold Abby back as the creature is engulfed in flames. As he feels himself dying, Swamp Thing flashes back to the death of Alec Holland, who also burned to death violently. He remembers the Parliament of Trees' warning that he should reject the allure of power and accept the way of calmness. He collapses in a pile of burning ash, and the D.D.I. assure themselves that he didn't survive. The city looks on in horror as Batman feebly attempts to comfort Abby.

Liz Tremayne is alive, and she hasn't left her apartment in nearly three years on the advice of Dennis Barclay, the man who takes care of her, though she had once rejected him so long ago. Liz has become somewhat unhinged due to Dennis' conditioning. She's even afraid to watch television by herself, lest she get electrocuted. Even so, Dennis has been gone for days, and Liz finally gets up the nerve to plug in the television and turn it on. She sees a newscast reporting on the recent events in Gotham City, where Swamp Thing was killed, and Abby Cable – whom Liz believed dead – mourns him. Seeing that Abby is returning to Houma, Louisiana, Liz builds up courage enough to leave her apartment, and seek Abby out.

Abby is nearly inconsolable. Commissioner Gordon informs her that the city is arranging a funeral service for Swamp Thing, and will be happy to pay her expenses from Louisiana to attend. Batman offers that her bereavement needn't destroy her, and that it could make her stronger with time, if she accepts that he is gone. Chester Williams gives her his number, promising to carry on the Swamp Thing's teachings with an environmentalist group. She returns home, and begins tidying her house. When she finds a dead plant, she can't bring herself to throw it out, and collapses on the floor in tears.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Abby is surprised to see Liz Tremayne standing there at her door because she had believed that Liz died three years ago, just as Liz thought the same of her. Abby soon learns that Liz believes that the Sunderland Corporation is still in full operation under the leadership of General Sunderland, and that she has been kept inside by Dennis for her own protection. Of course, Abby knows that General Sunderland has been dead for years, and begins to realize that Dennis has caused Liz to become mentally unbalanced. Her friend is no longer the sharp reporter she once was.

Meanwhile, Dennis realizes that Liz is missing. He sees the map with Houma circled on it, grabs a machine gun out of a drawer, and heads to Houma as well. Abby hears a knock at the door, and when she answers it, and recognizes Dennis, he opens fire. Fortunately, Abby dodges the bullets, but Dennis forces his way into the house in search of Liz. When he finds her, he warns that she could have been caught by Sunderland, and he tries to convince her that Abby is a spy, and that the real Abby was killed three years ago.

As he grabs Liz, Abby smashes a vase over his head, grabs Liz, and they run for the swamps. Liz's confusion makes her slow to escape. Her sick relationship with Dennis has tricked her into thinking that her dependence on him is some kind of love, but the sickness in his eyes disturbs her. Dennis chases them down in his truck until it won't go any further, and he has to continue on foot. Apparently, after Liz had rejected him, and they were attacked by Sunderland, he had concocted this situation as a means of ensuring that Liz would stay with him.

As she drags Liz through the swamp, Abby has fond memories of being with the Swamp Thing there, and is saddened by her loss. She presses on, however, trying to imagine how he would help her if he were there. She thinks that he would use the surroundings to his advantage, and tries to do the same. They head toward a grove filled with flowers, and she forces Liz to skirt around the edge of the grove with her. Dennis catches up to them and charges forward, only to discover that the flowers are actually floating on the surface of a deep body of water. Angry, but undeterred, he swims toward them, warning that there will be repercussions for running from him. As he nears the other side, where Abby and Liz are cowering, he suddenly screams in pain as a number of alligators devour him in a flurry of scales and teeth.

Abby and Liz return home finally. Abby puts in a call to Chester, and offers to help in his environmental group. She accepts Commissioner Gordon's invitation to the funeral, and asks him to pass on her thanks to Batman for his earlier advice.

In Gotham City, Abby Holland attends a funeral arranged by the city for the Swamp Thing. The whole thing seems somewhat ineffectual. She wants him back.

A statue is erected, and Commissioner Gordon offers a eulogy, apologizing for the city's shortsightedness and closed-mindedness when it came to the Swamp Thing's love for Abby. Abby feels that the apology isn't enough. She notes that despite having helped the Justice League of America on more than one occasion, only Batman has attended. She had brought her friend Liz to the funeral because the woman was so broken that she couldn't be by herself. Chester Williams and Harvey Bullock also attended.

Abby has a vivid memory of a time when she had returned to the swamp from her job at Elysium Lawns, and found the Swamp Thing sitting silently at the edge of some water. She talked and talked, but received no response, until finally she embraced him, and he fell apart. She was horrified until he appeared behind her, comforting her, and explaining that the thing she had been talking to was merely a husk left behind after growing a new body elsewhere. Still shaken, Abby begged him never to die; to be there forever. He promised he would.

John Constantine and the Phantom Stranger watch the proceedings from further back in the crowd. Neither has seen or heard any indication that the Swamp Thing is still on earth, and they worry that this death may be permanent. All the same, they have only come to pay their respects, and having done so, they depart.

Representing the superhuman community, Batman provides his own eulogy, condemning the anonymous organization that murdered the Swamp Thing. During the speech, Abby fantasizes that Swamp Thing has returned, and that the people of Houma have forgiven her and are ashamed that they shunned her relationship with him. They are set to be married, officially at the Gotham courthouse, but suddenly the scene shifts to the memory of Swamp Thing being destroyed by napalm there.

Abby is brought out of the disturbing reverie by the touch of a hand on her shoulder. A small man in glasses introduces himself as Boston Brand. He informs her that he has checked out the places the Swamp Thing might have ended up, and that he wasn't anywhere throughout the Spirit World. He suggests that she not give up hope in this life that Swamp Thing will return. As Deadman leaves his host, the man suddenly realizes where he is, and Abby, who has never met Boston Brand, slaps him across the face. Bullock arrests him while Batman continues his speech.

Batman expresses regret that Gotham has wronged Abby so deeply, and offers her a chance to speak her mind; a chance to - if nothing else - condemn Gotham for its lack of understanding. Abby, however, is at a loss for words. She places a red rose on the monument, and states that she has nothing to say out loud. Inside, Abby begs to know where the Swamp Thing is. She hopes that, somehow, God will look down on the world, and realize that a mistake was made. The attendees soon begin filing away, moving on with their lives.

Somewhere, on an unknown alien planet, Swamp Thing grows a new body out of the native vegetation.

REVIEW

I am not sure Dennis Barclay is in character in this story. I understand he is possibly going through PTSD, but he didn’t seem to have this kind of inclinations before (although, he certainly had some low self-esteem and insecurities). Having said that, I never felt much for the guy.

This is Lex Luthor’s first post-crisis appearance. You can tell this is the case because of Luthor’s chin and suit. This is not the known criminal from pre-crisis. Likewise, Batman looks darker, even when his supporting cast is still looking like pre-crisis, it does seem like Batman is already in New Earth.

Now about the story. Any kind of terrorism is wrong, but at the same time, you have to sympathize with Swamp Thing here. His love has been considered illegal and he won’t stand that. It makes sense in this world where good and evil are not black and white. If society decided that I cannot marry someone of my same sex (something that for a certain amount of time in my life was true), and I had super-powers, I may have been inclined in shaking the status quo. However, Swampy was warned not to fall into anger, as anger and power are a dangerous combination. I think he went too far, but nobody seemed to be willing to listen to what they were trying to say otherwise.

I am also not very convinced (yet) as to why Swampy ended up in a distant planet. Luthor’s weapon didn’t really make it for me. If Moore wanted Swampy to explore space, I would have sent him into a space shuttle and blow it up (but I guess in 1986, people were too sensitive about that).

I am not particularly happy to see the Sunderland corporation again, but at least he is tying loose ends.

As usual, Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, is paired with very good artists that can make Moore’s scripts into a reality. These issues look beautiful.

I give this arc a score of 9

#steve bissette #dc comics #comics #review #1986 #modern age #swamp thing #batman #batman80 #lex luthor

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head-and-heart · 6 years

Text

Cry With Me - Part 2

It’s been a century but I’m finally back again with part two of “cry-with-me-about-how-ridiculous-book!bellamy-is-and-THIS-is-why-we-can’t-just-”read-the-books”-and-solve-all-of-our-bellarke-angsty-heart-induced-problems-CAUSE-THEY-AIN’T-THE-FUCKING-SAME-JASON!!!”

aNYway ...

If you don’t remember what the purpose of this post is: to put it short, I decided to go through all of The 100 books and pick out all of book!Bellamy’s best (worst) lines that truly show just HOW different he really is from show!Bellamy. At the very least, it cracked ME up when I was reading. So hopefully someone else will find it entertaining too.

You can read some gems from the first book here. This part will be about the second book, “Day 21″ (my personal favourite).

Fair Warning: Potential Book Spoilers Lie Ahead

1. “I think the radiation must’ve finally scrambled your brain.”

2. “You really shouldn’t have done that.” Bellamy’s voice was low and menacing, and for a moment, Clarke thought she might’ve actually upset him. But then he grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head in one swift motion. [i can’t believe him look how dramatic he is]

3. The moon was so large and bright that there was no mistaking the grin on Bellamy’s face as he reached down to undo the button is pants, tossing them aside like they weren’t the only pair he had on the planet. [*sings* it’s gettin hot iN hEre - so TaKe oFf aLL yOuR cLoTHeS]

[Clarke] shivered again, and Bellamy slowly unlocked his lips from hers. “You must be freezing,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her back. She cocked her head to the side. “You’re wearing even less clothing than I am.” Bellamy ran his finger up her arm, then tugged playfully at her damp bra strap. “We can fix that, if it bothers you.”

5. “You should get some rest. I’ll keep an eye on Sleeping Beauty here, and let you know if there’s any change.” [can you imagine bellamy saying this about clarke in the show lmao]

Bellamy twisted her arm behind her back, just like he used to do to the boys in the care center he caught teasing Octavia. “You’d better tell me right now [where Octavia is], or you’ll wish you never crawled out of whatever cave you came from!” [...] He reached over and yanked on the girl’s hair, bringing her face up to his. “You tell me right now, or this is going to get really unpleasant, really fast.” [...] Bellamy didn’t care if the girl was radioactive, or if she had goddamn wings. All he cared about was finding out where she and her friends had taken his sister. [...] “We kill her,” Graham stated [...] “Not before she and I have a little conversation,” Bellamy growled. [don’t you just wish you could maintain your composure as well as book!Bellamy?]

Her friend giggled. “I bet that’s why she smells like the recycling deck.” “And you’re going to smell like a rotting corpse when they finally find you,” Bellamy interrupted.

8. Did trying to choke that piece of space trash who’d been bullying his sister count as an Infraction? [iconic]

9. “That’s a pretty name.” The words slipped out before he realized how stupid they’d sound.

10. “My reputation precedes me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. How could you not talk about someone this good-looking?” [i CAN’T]

11.

“You only brought two [rabbits]?”, Lila asked, trying to exchange a disdainful look with her friend Tamsin, a reedy blond girl who struck Bellamy as a quieter, and somehow even stupider, version of Lila. [ROOD] [...] “Good counting, Lila,” Bellamy said slowly, as if praising an accomplished toddler. “You’ll make it all the way to ten soon.” [...] “You’re an asshole, Bellamy.” “Ever hear the saying ‘Don’t bite the and that feeds you’?” he shot back with a grin. “Or, why don’t I put it to you this way? There are two rabbits, as you so astutely pointed out, and there are way more than two of us.” [...] “Not everyone is going to get a bite. And you just made that decision a little easier for me. So, thank you.” He extended his hand as if offering it to Lila to shake. “I’m very grateful for your help.” She smacked his hand away and sun on her heel, tugging on the uneven edges of her shorts as she strode away. Typical Wal-ditz, Bellamy thought, using the term Octavia had coined for the girls on Walden who purposefully acted like airheaded Phoenicians.

[I’M SCREAMING I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW SAVAGE HE IS]

12.

A curly-haired girl approached him, trailed by two giggling friends. This trio had taken the cutoffs trend to the extreme, and were now tugging at the frayed edges of shorts that barely skimmed the tops of their thighs. “Hey,” the first girl said. “We need a tall person to help us fix the roof on the north cabin. It’s caving in already.” Bellamy barely glanced at her. “Build a ladder.”

13. “There’s the spot where I almost dropped you,” he said, pointing vaguely into the distance. “That’s where I stopped to make sure you weren’t choking on your own vomit. And, oh, look, that’s where you regained consciousness for a few seconds and told me that I had the biggest-” He cut himself off with a yelp as Clarke jabbed him in the stomach with her elbow.

14.

“Jazzed? What does that mean? Like you’re so happy, you’d be willing to listen to jazz music.” [Clarke speaking] “Willing to listen to jazz music? You must mean ‘happy because you get to listen to jazz music.’ So happy that your heart starts beating a jazz riff.” [Bellamy speaking] [...] “So what does a jazz riff sound like?” “It’s more about what it feels like,” Bellamy said, reaching for Clarke’s hand. He began tapping a rhythm up and down her arm. She shivered as his fingers danced on the inside of her elbow. “So jazz feels like some weirdo tickling your arm?” “Not your arm. Your whole body. You feel it in her your throat . . .” He brought his fingers to her neck and tapped along her collarbone. “In your feet . . .” He knelt down and tapped along the side of her boot, and Clarke laughed. “In your chest . . .” He stood up, bringing his hand to rest lightly on the top of her heart, and was very still. [show!Bellamy I-can’t-flirt-for-shit Blake is shooketh]

15. He’d kissed girls before, and it had never done anything except scramble their brains, turning them into a walking mass of giggles who always wanted to hold his hand. [BUT BELLAMY YOU LOVE HOLDING HANDS *betrayal*]

16. “Don’t you dare tell me what I understand,” Bellamy cut her off. “I never want to see you again. Maybe you can offer yourself up to the Earthborns. Wouldn’t that be fun? A whole new population of children to experiment on.” He spun around and strode off, leaving Clarke alone and trembling in the woods. [BELLAMY HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR WIFE LIKE THAT]

17. Now he was leaving for good. He’d dealt with Wells’s mind games and Clarke’s treachery for the last time. As he stuffed a few protein packets into his pocket, a new wave of anger rose in his chest at the thought of everything he’d given up to bring Clarke safely back to camp. [...] He should’ve left Clarke in the woods, letting her limbs swell and her airway close up so that she’d never be able to utter another lie again. [DAFUQ?? this is like Day Trip except written by Satan]

18.

Was that Clarke really in there? The Clarke who could look so gravely serious one moment and then burst into laughter the next? The girl who found everything on Earth miraculous, and kissed him as if he were the most incredible find of all? “You look creepy standing there. Either come down or get going,” he said gruffly. [way to woo a girl, Bellamy]

19. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll go find a blond. Redheads are nothing bu trouble.” Bellamy grinned and reached for the book. “Give it to me. That thing is half your weight . . . Carrots.”

20. “Are you okay?” Clarke asked. “It’s just Jim Dandy.” Clarke reached over and squeezed his hand. “Aren’t you excited? You’re finally going to meet people who understand your weird, old-man Earth slang.” [TBH this isn’t that notable but I just thought it was funny since the fandom always jokes about how Bellamy’s just a soft old-man-teddy-bear]

21. “Half-brothers,” Clarke said for what was probably the twenty-ninth time that night.. She reached out and ran a finger along Bellamy’s cheek, as if she might find some sign she’d overlooked that he and Wells were related. Bellamy smiled as he gently removed her hand, then brought it to his lips to kiss it “I know it’s hard to believe. I’m just so much better looking.” [listen to this cocky asshole]

22. “Look at that,” Bellamy whispered in her ear. “What?” He took her hand, gently extending one of her fingers, and pointed it toward a pinpoint of light moving quickly across the sky. “Did you ever make wishes on meteors on Phoenix?” [again, this quote isn’t so much about Bellamy himself as a character in the book but it just struck me because it’s basically the reverse of “can you wish on this kind of shooting star” in 1x05 so I thought it was interesting to point out]

That concludes all of the main Bellamy parts of book two! He still has some pretty ridiculous (and SAVAGE, holy crap) moments but to be honest this is probably my favourite of the four books in the series (just in general). Hopefully you found this post entertaining - stay tuned for book three: “Homecoming”.

#the 100 #bellarke #bellamy blake #day 21 #kass morgan #clarke griffin #posts by moi #cry with me #otp: maybe together will be our always #bellamy blake: he's the key to everything

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the-desolated-quill · 6 years

Text

Nightmare In Silver - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Neil Gaiman writing a Cyberman story? What could possibly go wrong?

...

Fucking EVERYTHING!

I... You... Wha... What the hell happened?! This came from the same guy that wrote The Doctor’s Wife, Coraline, The Sandman and American Gods? This piece of shit came from him?... THIS?!?!

Look, the Cybermen are very precious to me. They’re my all time favourite Who baddies due to their timeless themes and limitless potential. Which is why it breaks my heart whenever I see them mistreated like this. I mean... Jesus Christ!

Nightmare In Silver picks up where The Crimson Horror left off with those two kids blackmailing Clara into getting a free ride in the TARDIS (yeah, that didn’t make sense in and of itself. The girl Angie says she’ll tell her dad that Clara is a time traveller, but what are the chances of her dad actually believing her? Come off it!). Normally I despise children (both in real life and in fiction) and this episode very handily reminds me of all the reasons why. God I hate these brats! The little boy (Arty I think his name was) is this big wooden dork and Angie is quite possibly the most spoilt, arrogant, ungrateful little shit I think I’ve ever seen. She’s travelled to another planet in a spaceship that’s bigger on the inside, and what’s her reaction? ‘Oh this is so boooooooring! Oh Clara you’re so stupid! You always spoil everything! I want to go home!’ Oh go fuck yourself, you moaning little bastard! What’s worse is that these kids don’t actually play any sort of role other than needing to be rescued. You know characterisation has gone seriously wrong when their personalities are actually improved by Cyberfication.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the new Cybermen. While I do prefer the RTD Cybermen in terms of design, these new ones are quite cool. More robotic looking this time around and I’m fascinated by the suggestion that at this point in their history they’re less cyborgs and more biomechanical, converting flesh directly into metal. It’s been a running thing that each new Cyber design in the series represents another advancement in their evolution, and this feels like a very logical leap to me. I also really like the Cybermites. Much prefer them to the Cybermats, which I’ve never liked. What I really don’t like however are the superpowers. My jaw hit the floor when that Cyberman started running at super speed like the Bionic Man, not just because the effect looks like shit and there’s no way Angie would have survived being hit with such speed and velocity, but because it’s a leap too far. Same goes for Cyber body parts detaching and operating by themselves, as well as Cybermen being immune to lasers and upgrading themselves so that they can’t be electrocuted. They’ve effectively become an army of Cyber-Supermans. They can just do anything now. They’re way too overpowered to the point where it all starts to become laughably absurd, and because we no longer know what their limitations are, they become more vague as a threat, and therefore more dull. (Also how come the Cybermen never use their super speed ever again? That ability could have come in useful multiple times).

Actually I tell a lie. They do bring back one limitation from the classic series. It’s... hmph... their weakness against gold.

For those of you who don’t know, in the classic series they introduced the idiotic and nonsensical idea that the Cybermen were vulnerable to gold because it’s a non-corrosive substance that can clog up their breathing apparatus and suffocate them. First of all, since when did Cybermen need to breathe? Second, what does being non-corrosive got to do with clogging up anything? And third, why specifically gold? Couldn’t you clog up their breathing apparatus with something else? Like water for instance? And it just got worse and worse when it developed from gold suffocating them to gold just affecting them in general. Despite being bulletproof, apparently you can kill a Cyberman with golden arrows. Rubbing Adric’s gold badge on the Cyberleader’s chest plate in Earthshock was enough to hinder it, and there was one really low moment in Silver Nemesis where the Cybermen were destroyed by Ace using some gold coins and a slingshot. It’s quite possibly the most embarrassing aspect of Cyber lore and it makes me cringe whenever I think about it, so you can probably imagine my relief when the Cybermen first arrived in New Who back in 2006 and there wasn’t a single mention of gold anywhere.

Now imagine my horror and disappointment when the Doctor is able to briefly incapacitate the Cyber-Planner inside his head by slapping a golden ticket on his face. And somehow Gaiman managed to make it even worse by implying that cleaning fluid can have the same effect. Yes. Cleaning fluid. So the Cybermen are an unstoppable force that will not rest until they’ve hunted you down and converted you, and you should be very afraid of them... unless you’ve got a bottle of Toilet Duck to hand, in which case you’re basically fine.

Yes the Cyber-Planner makes its first appearance since The Invasion way back in the 1960s. It’s no longer a brain inside a giant metal apparatus however. It’s now a Cyber hive mind/network that assimilates other beings into its consciousness, mostly children in order to use their imaginations for military strategies. Until it catches sight of the Doctor that is and tries to assimilate him. Which leads to quite possibly the worst thing about this episode. Mr. Clever.

The Doctor being cyber-converted could be legitimately frightening, seeing this manic, warm hearted adventurer become a cold, calculating menace. Unfortunately that’s not what we end up getting. Instead we end up getting more of Matt Smith’s goofy bollocks. Mr. Clever (ugh) is just too emotional. He’s not his own character. He’s just the Doctor but evil. What’s even weirder is that the Cyber-Planner talks about how emotions are useless and that everyone is better off without them whilst it’s displaying emotion. It’s really inconsistent. I was astounded by the number of critics at the time praising Matt Smith for his performance because I honestly thought it was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. Watching him yelling and gurning his lines like an insecure pantomime villain was just embarrassing, and it shows a complete lack of understanding of who the Cybermen are (and I don’t just mean the whole emotions thing). As I’ve said numerous times in the past, the Cybermen aren’t evil like the Daleks. They’re altruistic foes. They honestly believe what they’re doing is helping us. That’s what makes them so frightening. By making the Cyber-Planner the default cackling baddie who’s evil just because, it makes the Cybermen less interesting and, as a result, less scary.

Speaking of actors giving bad performances, Jenna Coleman, I know you’ve been lumbered with a really shit character, but can you at least try to deliver your lines in a manner that isn’t smug or smarmy. Every single line has this air of snugness about it, which is irritating in and of itself, but there are occasions where it becomes really inappropriate. There are Cybermen about to breach the comical castle and the kids are in danger, and yet Clara is wandering around without a care in the world. Um Clara, shouldn’t you be panicking? Just a little? And there’s one really shocking moment where one of the soldiers informs her that someone has died, and Clara doesn’t even so much as react. In fact she’s surprisingly glib about the whole thing. I don’t know if it’s bad acting or bad directing. All I know is somebody fucked up. (Also I could have done without the bit at the end where the Doctor describes Clara as a mystery inside an enigma wrapped in a skirt that’s a bit too tight. Just... ew).

Beyond that, there isn’t really a whole lot to discuss. The theme park setting is nice, but we don’t really get to explore much of it. Jason Watkins is always good in everything he’s in, but he’s barely in this before he gets converted and is left to stand silently in the background with the kids. In fact the whole thing feels really rushed and under-developed. The punishment squad could have been interesting to explore, particularly in the context of the setting. It’s 1000 years after the Cyber Wars. The Cybermen have become the equivalent of mythological bogeymen, and now this rag tag group of failures and rejects are about to come face to face with their worst fear. The return of the long thought extinct Cybermen, now more powerful than ever. Think of the drama you could wring out of that. Instead they barely get a look in. They’re just a bunch of nameless redshirts that we don’t give a shit about. Same goes for Porridge. Warrick Davis gives a decent performance, but his character just isn’t very well developed. You could have expanded his character greatly. Given him a whole arc with him coming to terms with the horrible decisions he made in order to end the Cyber Wars (wait. He’s over a 1000 years old? Well I suppose if Liz 10 can survive well past 300 years in The Beast Below, I guess it’s possible) and finally reaccepting his position as Emperor. Instead it just feels like he’s going through the motions. He never actually changes or evolves. He just returns to being Emperor because... the script said so.

Nightmare In Silver is bad. Like Revenge Of The Cybermen/Silver Nemesis bad. The plot is weak, the characters are under-developed, the kids are annoying, the Doctor and Clara are still just as obnoxious as ever, and they completely botch the Cybermen. I pity anyone who tries to write a Cyberman story in the future after this disaster.

#nightmare in silver #neil gaiman #doctor who #eleventh doctor #matt smith #clara oswald #jenna coleman #cybermen #steven moffat #bbc #review #spoilers

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stunudo · 7 years

Quote

There was a hostage situation. I negotiated with Bale. He agreed to give himself up. He came out of the warehouse peacefully. I gave the okay to send 6 of my agents in and they never came out. It was a mistake. It was my mistake, I was, um, I was outfoxed by Mr. Bale. By you. I sincerely regret having made the decision to send those agents in that day. And I sincerely regret and apologize to the families of all those who died that day

Jason Gideon

Breaking Point

One of the Six: A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction

A/N: Thank you for reading Bets’ stories. It means a lot that anyone would take the time on something so out of focus as the show is now. I wanted to create something completely different. As there are so many amazing people writing fan fiction it was a difficult task. I hope I didn’t disappoint. xoxo Stu

3 days remain

“What can you tell me about bombers?” Jason began.

“Males, usually youthful offenders.” I answered.

“Loners, lots of times they are negligent and become their own victims.” Morgan answered, thank you Mr. ATF.

“About 50% of bombings are acts of vandalism, possibly politically motivated.” Bird chirped in with the statistics.

“Socially non-confrontational, bombs are weapons of choice for cowards.” Hotch added.

“If that is the case, do not say it to his face. This guy is delivering death on people’s doorsteps, he needs to see the destruction.” Jason was rubbing his hands together, pacing.

“Morgan, take Reid and go over the bomb fragments. Bets, you and Gideon can talk to the victim’s family, see if we can pinpoint a motive or.... a stressor.” Hotch got quiet. I nodded understanding.

I drove the dark SUV as Gideon reviewed crime scene photos.

“Sucks to be back under these circumstances.” Why was I making small talk?

“The team here seemed to have liked you, why did you leave for the BAU, Bethany?”

I sighed, not expecting a personal question. “Boston was filler, it was me bulking up my resume for another crack at the BAU.” I hated to admit so much, to Jason of all people.

“I’m sorry we didn’t hire you the first time.”

“Don’t be, no one can ever truly replace Rossi, I get that now.”

“Why was it so important to you to get on the team? You don’t have the same curiosity as Reid, or the same dedication to justice as Hotch and Morgan.”

“I didn’t like losing.” I shrugged. “Devereaux’s don’t give up.”

Jason nodded, peering across the rims of his reading glasses.

“So, does Haley know you told me? Can I call her and congratulate her yet?” I teased as Hotch and I were going over some notes.

“Do you think I thought to tell you? That was all her.” Hotch chuckled.

The blonde strolled in, “Hotch, the media wants a statement. Should I arrange a press conference or do you need more time?”

“We have all we need for the profile, JJ. I will touch base with you once Morgan hears back from Garcia.” She turned back, head buried in her phone.

“Well, at least you’re not stuck in front of the cameras anymore.” I muttered under my breath.

“C’mon Bets, I think I still have my charms.” Hotch joked.

“You can’t compete with that, that face could convince nuns to murder puppies.”

“Bethany, you’re up.” Gideon called as soon as the unsub had agreed to come out peacefully.

Adrian Bale came out with a stupid look on his smug face. His hands were in the air with a detonator in one hand. Morgan and Jason headed over to ensure he was cleared and secured.

“Bets, you sure you don’t want Morgan to go in first?” Hotch was cautious. I shook my head.

“If Morgan wanted dibs, he should have let me in with SWAT on the last case. Don’t worry he can help after we secure the building.” I was ready for action and giving Morgan grief. I gathered behind a couple of local agents I knew from my days at the Boston field office, and a couple tacticals from the bomb squad.

“Ready, boys?” They nodded and we headed in.

We entered in formation, securing entrances and framing perimeters. Finding the hostage handcuffed to a platform in the center of the warehouse. She was in hysterics, I tried to calm her down. I locked eyes on her and the last thing I heard was the click of the ignition.

My name is Bethany Devereaux. I was one of the six agents killed by Adrian Bale and this was my story.

Epilogue:

Jason stared at the menacing eyes of Adrian Bale as he watched his destruction from the backseat of a squad car. The bastard was getting off on it, on all of it. Bethany had led the squad of agents inside, determined and stubborn as always. The hostage would never make it home.

The explosion had damaged everyone’s hearing, but Jason didn’t care. The ground was shifting below his feet as he stumbled past the barricade of vehicles. The lights of ambulances and back up shone before he could hear their wails. Jason Gideon had miscalculated, he hadn’t finished the profile. Bale wasn’t just a bomber, he was a sadist. And he had won.

The flight back to Quantico was silent. Reid was guarding Bets’ things like they were an unaccompanied minor. Her brother Manny met the team at headquarters for the official briefing. Jason stormed out of the conference room when Hotch handed over her stash of hard candy and the vintage photograph of their Grandfather from off her desk.

Jason’s mind was crumbling within him, he had hurt another somebody who loved him. This was exceedingly different from the years missing his son grow and forcing his wife to divorce him. He had gotten Bethany killed. Not just her, more. The Boston field office had to call in for reinforcements after the hit to their numbers. He walked to the fridge for a drink, he needed something to sate the desperation. There in the back, still attached to the plastic rings was a single can of V8.

Jason Gideon grabbed the can and marched out of the break room, through the bullpen and into the elevator in maniacally calm silence. He left, because it was safest. For everyone.

Spencer sat in the back of the funeral, she had full military honors. Hotch held Haley as she cried into his collar. Chief Strauss arrived late trying to corral her three tiny children, matching blonde heads distracting their mother from her guilt and doubt. Mrs. Devereaux, the mother, barely moving as the father shook with grief. This family had given so much to their country and now they held another flag to remind them. Spencer’s mind filled with the words she had spoken to him...

“Well aren’t you the most peculiar thing.”

“Cases with Hansen were the worst, the absolute worst. I would have rather spent the entire case with the unsubs themselves than that misogynistic alcoholic.”

“After graduating from Annapolis I spent my time on a ship or two. Before a friend of my Daddy suggested I apply for something closer to home.”

“Well, at least I never had to learn how to make lobster bisque.”

“We didn’t exactly confide in each other, but we had each other’s backs.”

“It was a Tuesday morning. I woke up. I ran. I got ready. I went to work. Just a day.”

“I kind of have a thing for lighthouses.”

“I was born and bred in Virginia. So many of my family worked for the government or were military that I never considered doing anything else.”

“That’s why, right there. I’m too competitive and you’re too smart.”

The animosity that came from Bethany was easily profiled jealousy, Spencer didn’t hold that against her. He just wanted Gideon back. Somebody had to lead the way. Without the older man, Hotch was doing too many jobs, once again. The young doctor kept his head down and his hands in his pockets. Morgan kept his head up, the tears falling silently. Saying goodbye was never easy.

@dontshootmespence @cherry-loves-fanfic @imagicana @teatimewithtiya @criminalwriting

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jugandbettsdetectiveagency · 7 years

Text

Tacos and Tequila - Ch.5

Sorry it’s late! Once again your lovely comments astound me - for every one a baby gets their beanie <3

(Just realised I haven’t gotten round to replying to them yet, I’m so out of it, but I’ll get to it tomorrow!)

Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.3 / Ch.4 / Read on AO3

Hour 6

Suddenly Betty is gone from the couch.

Jughead practically feels the wind she creates in her fast movements to get away from him.

“How do you know about that?” she asks from where she’s standing in front of the TV. Jughead sits up straighter, holding her with a level gaze. The alcohol is making her head feel heavy, her tongue feel numb – or was it because of the way he refused to stop staring at her as she felt her heart begin to race?

Not here, not another person. Jughead wasn’t supposed to know about this, about what she did at that party. No one outside of Riverdale should know. A clean slate, that’s what she’d been longing for, what she’d been grasping at for a long time now; that incident just pushed her over the edge, was the last straw in taking her final steps out of Riverdale and hoping she didn’t have to go back. Polly was in Greendale, and her mom would be quite happy to let her spend her holidays trapped inside the house for as few days as possible, after the show she had made of herself. As far as the rest of the population of that town was concerned, Betty Cooper was now a ghost.

And wasn’t that true? After it happened, the Betty Cooper that people had always known –sweet, wholesome, predictable – was no more. She’d marred her perfectly crafted reputation beyond repair, the standards she’d been held to for so long so ingrained that she couldn’t even find it in herself to be relieved. She was just ruined.

“It’s not his fault, but Archie may have mentioned something…” Jughead sees a light go out in Betty’s eyes and hurries to placate her. “He didn’t tell anyone what happened. We were just at this party at the start of semester, and he briefly said something about hoping it didn’t end like the last one he went to, that something happened with his best friend,” Jughead explains warily.

Betty nods, downcast eyes causing the first hot tears to spill over and onto her cheeks, fingers clenching automatically.

“Try to leave one reputation behind and another one follows you,” she laughs humourlessly, bitterness coating her tone.

“Hey,” Jughead stands, moving to step in front of her and stop her pacing. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s none of my business,” he says soothingly, hand twitching towards her shoulder before he pulls it back again. Betty looks up at him with wide, watery eyes and his chest tightens. She lets out a shaky sigh.

“Before, when you said I seemed ‘perfect’,” her voice is quiet but she spits the word out like it tastes bad. “What did you mean?” she asks, fingers uncurling to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. He takes a subconscious step closer to her.

“I guess I meant you seemed impossible. There’s no such thing, Betts,” he murmurs, unable to stop himself from reaching out to brush a stray tear away. “I was kind of waiting for you to tell me to fuck off. But when you didn’t, I realised that you might believe that’s what you were,” he tells her, rising inflection turning the guess into the hint of a question.

She sucks in a sharp breath. How did he know?

“The way Archie spoke about you – it was clear how much you meant to him but… I guess I heard something in his stories about you that I could relate to,” he finishes cryptically. Betty scrunches her eyebrows as she waits for him to explain. Jughead searches her eyes for a second, irises wide and imploring, before turning and heading back to sit cross-legged on the cushions they’d left on the floor. He looks to her, waiting for her to join him. She mirrors his position and waits.

“Dad lost his job when I was seven. My sister, Jellybean, was only one at the time and there had been complications with her birth that my parents were still paying medical bills for. We moved into the trailer park on the South side of town. It wasn’t enough to cover the costs, though, because Dad started to… do a little something extra on the side. There was this gang,” Jughead huffs a laugh through his nose. “Let’s just say they were less than savoury characters.” He pauses, and Betty watches as a show reel of memories flits behind his eyes. They’re unfocused and distant, no longer with her in the apartment as he remembers.

“Anyway, whatever he was doing with them didn’t sit well with my mom. They’d fight at all hours, I don’t think it was possible for them to be in the same room as one another towards the end – and there aren’t many places to go in a trailer. I think they always fought and I just didn’t notice until we were in such close quarters.” He swallows. “But they’d fight, and Dad would drink, and they’d fight because of that, and then something would get smashed.” Jughead’s voice turns bitter. “It was like they were immune to Jellybean’s cries at that point, so I’d go in and pick her up and make up stories to tell her till she fell back to sleep. I was doing it mainly for her, but any time I could spend in a different reality was a bonus for me too.” He’s running his nail along the embroidered pattern of the cushion beneath him.

“A few years later Mom left. And then a few years after that she came back and took JB with her.” Jughead blinks back the tears he remembers releasing the day he watched the car drive away, his sister inside. Suddenly, he’s back in the room with Betty.

“There were times though – birthdays, and Christmas, and family outings – when things were like they used to be. Dad wasn’t drinking too much, and Mom wasn’t always tired. They were parents and we were children, and everything was the way it should be.

“I’d see my friends at school and tell them about how normal my life was. In public, the Jones’ were everybody’s All-American family.” Jughead laughs again, and this time it’s genuine. “I used to make up these little comic strips, with us as the characters. We’d do the most mundane things and I’d pretend they were real life. If I focused on them hard enough they became memories.” He meets her eyes again, their intensity stopping Betty’s breath slightly.

“The lying became too much, and I was tired of keeping up this act in front of my friends. I stopped talking to them, and eventually they stopped trying to talk to me. If there was no one to lie to I didn’t have to lie anymore. A lot of stuff happened in the middle, but now Dad’s getting help, and I’m getting back to a point where I don’t feel the need to lie anymore – it never did any good. It didn’t put my family back together.”

Their gazes hold even after Jughead is finished talking. The credits to the movie are running quietly in the background.

“You didn’t have to tell me all that,” Betty says quietly. Jughead shrugs.

“But I did. What do you think of me now?” he asks, and the question throws her off. He seemed to do that a lot.

Betty looks at him for a moment. He was confident, yet guarded. He was funny and empathetic and he’d just told a girl he’d known for a few hours his life story.

“You’re brave,” she tells him honestly. Jughead smiles softly at her in gratitude, the back of his neck heating up gently. Betty takes a breath, understanding his point.

“My sister started dating this guy, Jason Blossom. His sister, Cheryl, was on the cheerleading squad with me and she had this big party after graduation. Jason and Polly’s relationship was… turbulent, to say the least. The last argument they had before they broke up did something to Polly. She was inconsolable and distraught, and Mom did what she always does and made it worse. Polly got sent to a mental health facility in the town over when she should have been starting her freshman year of college.” Betty’s eyes water, but she doesn’t let the tears loose this time.

“Jason was home for summer and he came down to the party. He started making all kinds of rude remarks about Polly, about how she was such a good girl by day but ‘a freak in the sheets at night’.” The quote makes Betty shudder. “He was laughing about it with all these jocks and it made me so mad, because Polly was locked away like some kind of prisoner. I told him to stop it but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Polly is where she belongs,” Jason threw at her, baring his teeth behind a wide grin. Betty’s fists began to clench as a wave of darkness blurred her vision. “That girl is insane. You know she tried to convince me to marry her, said she wanted us to start a family? How pathetic.”

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” Betty seethed between gritted teeth. Jason laughed, loud and menacing.

“Little Betty Cooper – what’s the matter, princess? Finally found your fight?” Jason glanced to the side, meeting the eyes of a few of the crowd that had begun to gather on the patio. “Don’t forget, Betty. I’ve been in your house. Your bathroom. I’ve seen those pills in your cabinet – crazy must run in your family,” the redhead snarled, leaning towards her as he revealed her secrets to their peers.

Betty didn’t remember when she began to move, but all of a sudden she was lunging for him. The surprise movement threw Jason off guard, her weight managing to topple him as he took a step back, foot slipping against the edge of the pool. With a shove to his chest, Betty sent Jason flying into the water, his head knocking against the lip of the pool on the way down.

Jason emerged, clinging to the stone edge, eyes clearly dazed and disorientated from the blow. Betty crouched by the edge of the pool, watching him splutter for air.

“Say you’re sorry, Jason. Say you’re sorry for what you did to me!” she screamed. The world was a blur, nothing felt real.

The next thing she knew, Archie’s arms were around her waist, hushing her gently as he dragged her away, the people in the distance rushing to help Jason out of the water.

“I don’t remember it very clearly,” Betty tells Jughead, voice wavering with nerves. “I just remember this… darkness taking over, and it scared me. That I don’t know what I’m capable of, that I could…” her throat hitches, cutting off her sentence. She looks up as Jughead touches her wrist gingerly.

“Ask me what I think of you now,” he whispers.

“What do you think of me now?” she asks, voice just as quiet.

“I think you’ve spent too long in the shadows, Betty Cooper. Trapped inside your own expectations. But now you can finally learn to breathe.” She wants to wrap her arms around him to hide the fresh tears in her eyes, but she doesn’t.

“It’s unfair – you knew more about me when I arrived than I knew about you, than I knew about myself,” she adds with a chuckle, the moment she met Jughead seeming like an age ago. Jughead smiles.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere. It would be your honour to get to know me, Betty Cooper,” he tells her, his smile shifting to a coy smirk. She laughs, the sound a little fuller than before.

“Are we going to regret all this oversharing in the morning?” she asks, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. It’s meant as a joke, to diffuse the shift that’s happened between them in just a few short hours, but there’s a nervousness behind her question.

“I hope not,” he replies sincerely.

#bughead #bughead fanfiction #bughead au #betty cooper #jughead jones #betty x jughead #riverdale #riverdale fanfiction #bughead fan fiction #jetty #writing

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floggingink · 7 years

Text

Riverdale: “Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter”

six seconds in, we’re hit with the pun “cliffhanger,” which meant I had to pause the recording immediately after it began and brew a very strong tea

“Life’s not an Agatha Christie novel,” Jughead mumbles, reminding himself, standing in line at Stumptown for Betty’s latte

Jason “I’ll Sell These Drugs But Not These Drugs” Blossom, killed for his moral relativism

is there quite a business for heroin in Montreal? is Montreal the hub of heroin in Canada, the Philly of Canada? I tell you, I have heard more mentionings of Montreal on Riverdale than I have my entire life before it (what I’m calling “Phase One” of my life, or maybe “B.R.”)

where did the Hiram Lodge leather satchel come from to be planted at Mustang’s? didn’t Hermione give one stuffed full of cash to the Mayor?

what, if anything, did Clifford think of Jughead Jones, to spew at FP while threatening his life? (write this fic for me)

FP tossing his Sabrina comic to the side becomes Pop sliding Jughead’s coffee across the counter: LEE TOLAND KRIEGER. this is going to be one of THOSE episodes

is Jughead’s dream to be a sort of Alice, drinking coffee and writing his scoop in a real newspaper office?

“75 MORE YEARS OF PEP!”

“last vestiges of corruption crushed”—ma’am, you took a BRIBE

can we get FP some new clothes in there, in holding? maybe a DVD player? is there so little other crime in Riverdale that FP has been free to lounge in solitary relaxation there for days?

I don’t know why Jughead was allowed to sit in on the meeting between FP and Sheriff Keller, but it means he gets to lounge against a wall in the blue prison lighting without himself being detained, which is always welcome

the Serpents only deal in “dime bags of weed,” so whatever else they do to be a Scary Gang is up in the air, menacing public spaces

FP is SO COOL AND COLLECTED in the face of a 20-years-to-life threat, truly an inspiration for those in tight corners with authority: smirk at your legs, chin pointed down, show off your cheekbones, reveal nothing

not enough column inches devoted to Archie’s waistline. while not the coveted martini glass Chuck Clayton sported, Archie’s waistline is instead a gently tapered pilsner glass, deceptive in its easy concealment under a heavy letterman jacket or zipped-up hoodie, until, draped only in a grey T-shirt, it shows its full force and effect

(Jughead is a hand-blown lead crystal sommeliers champagne flute, designed with a thin rim to heighten the effect of the bubbles on the nose)

you know LEE TOLAND KRIEGER has Fred Andrews brooding in the steamy sunbeams of his kitchen window!

there’s a rose gold French press and a porcelain green tea kettle on the counter behind him

Maturing Friend points to Archie for acknowledging that his “dealing” is different from Jughead, Betty, and Veronica still being in the thick of it

I’d give $30 to know what huge book Veronica is reading

“He’s your father, not the Godfather”: Godfather reference #1

Betty is unbelievably self-possessed at the breakfast table that she looks that calm while ripping up her palm

difference between telling Jughead your problems and telling Archie your problems: Betty’s like, My family’s acting happy, and Archie’s like, That’s great, babe!

Archie laughs at Betty’s “Greek suburban tragedy,” which she gives him a look for, but this is just what Archie has been conditioned to do. he doesn’t totally understand everything, so he’s learned to just laugh gamely

Archie doesn’t understand Veronica’s “pas de deux”

Mayor McCoy is doing some frantic PR, looping Archie and Betty into the Jubilee

“What about Jughead?” GOD I LOVE THIS ARCHIE

Mayor McCoy “likes” Jughead. will we ever learn how Jug wrangled his way into a meeting with her about the drive-in?

along with baby showers and birthday parties, jubilees aren’t Jughead’s “thing”

Jughead doubts it: “Kevin, relax. This isn’t The Wire.” Jughead is doubtlessly one of those people who think The Wire is the greatest TV show ever made (which it is), and I want to say he might also be one of those people who sits down their SO and makes them watch it from beginning to end (which he should)

throughout this incredible West Wing circle-around of Sad Breakfast Club eating lunch, Kevin tersely bounces an orange on his tray, Veronica has a salad, Betty has assorted fruit, Jughead has a sandwich, Archie appears to be drinking apple juice (MY MAN)

Veronica, and this happened, stood up to deliver the news about her and Archie. it’s because she knows how important it is!

Archie, mouthing: Don’t. No. No. No. No. What’re you doing.

Please protect Betty: Betty’s like, And this is coming from me, I’m telling you to relax.

“Instead he was buried like a pauper.” I’m picturing the burial in Amadeus, where Mozart’s body is dumped out of a reusable coffin into a heap of bodybags, blessed in the rain by the priest on duty, dusted with lime, and walked away from, already forgotten

“Why are you crying? You hated him.” I really have difficulty conceptualizing or putting into words the particular scariness of Penelope Blossom, like the quiet venom things she does, the way she sneers and her subzero motionless rage stewing, like how she was staring into the fireplace last episode? DAMN. Penelope Blossom is like an 80’s psychological thriller villain transplanted into a 2010’s teen soap, and she begat Riverdale’s greatest thematic creation, Cheryl Blossom, who lives her life as if every moment is the dramatic bombshell scene before cutting to commercial

Penelope...just...unambiguously endorses hanging yourself instead of “this awful limbo,” “living,” “being alive,” “reality”

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: Archie double-checking with Betty is sweet, Betty stopping Archie before he gets started on his “But I always thought…” is ESSENTIAL

he’s still thinking about it! COME ON ARCHIE. his little yeeaahhhh... microexpression

the 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: Josie: Oh...we’re not going to sing it. Oh, did you think we were going to sing it?

I will give Hal Cooper credit for smiling proudly at Betty while her mom compliments her article

but ONLY FOR THAT

Betty’s heavily structured trench coat is righteous

Cheryl “abdicates” as the Vixens’ “directoress,” like she’s the tsar

she could be, with that choker!

“I’ve shed my tears for the Blossom men.” and now she’s in grim business mode, sooooo

Betty wasn’t allowed to publish in her mother’s newspaper so she published in her own damn newspaper

thank you Veronica for telling me how to pronounce “Bechdel”

“Swear on the September issue?” “And on my copy of Forever by Judy Blume.”

Fred Andrews had a fast, serious talk with the social worker: “You gotta call him ‘Jughead.’ I know his name is Forsythe. You gotta call him Jughead or he’s not going anywhere with you.”

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: Archie and Jughead coming back from doing who knows what together, Archie tosses his jacket onto the staircase, Jug is like, NICE

this is a new jacket from Jug! the boy loves a fleece lining!

Certified pedigree: Fred is juuuust on this side of too poor and sad to be able to house Jughead

Jughead’s “It doesn’t sound completely horrible” is a radical concession from him, perhaps has been waiting for this moment for months, for Children’s Services to catch up to him

Archie runs to FP to save Jughead. is there a revolving door to FP’s cellblock?

“It tears me up, red, but the Serpents are my tribe.”

FP calls his son “scrappy, a survivor,” which is what everyone wants their father to know for a fact about them

“He’ll try and pull away inside himself. . . He’s got some darkness in him.” he will! he does! cut to: the burger

a one-on-one Jughead and Veronica scene? I’ve not only already signed up, I’m standing at the entrance with a clipboard waving down passersby on the street for more signatures

“You and I have a lot in common”: Jughead goes straight for the superficial prison thing, and Veronica counters with the superficial dating-the-best-friends ergo thrown-into-each-other’s-company thing, but what else could we mention here? fixation on “truth”? fixation on outer appearance as social armor? fixation on father’s legacy as relates to nature-versus-nurture destiny of self? fixation on Betty Cooper as a means to salvation? so many options

I would appreciate an explanation for why sometimes Jughead has lunch with the rest of the gang and sometimes he’s not there. and now he’s at lunch and no one else is there with him except Veronica. do high schools have two lunches now? is one like an extended breakfast before homeroom, or a free period? what different electives do they have that their schedules are slightly different? for instance Archie still presumably has his MUSIC THEORY

Cheryl’s pins: blue cherry pin on her soft cornflower blue wrap top

it’s validating to know Cheryl considers her Bakelite spider pin to be as fantastic as I do

also I love the word “recompense,” so Cheryl is skyrocketing

Veronica recognizes this, the second instance of Cheryl giving away a treasured possession, as the red flag it is (plus making amends!), while Jughead, NOTABLY, pockets the pin as advised

the hanged Betty doll strung up on her locker with twine is like something Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s nieces would have played with out in the woods in Mama

the phrase “Go to hell, Serpent slut” is so, SUCH a mix of high and low art, the plebeian and proletarian, “GO TO HELL” is so bourgeois and chill and indignant and after that they still have enough pig’s blood to call her a slut, which is like SO trashy Draco Malfoy?

what is FP Jones innocent OF in Betty’s article? he’s not being charged WITH murder, and he IS guilty of some murder-adjacent villainy, so I assume Betty’s article is more about his character assassination

Betty’s already in the dazed later stages of absorbing and/or filing this under “emotionally deal with later,” Polly is about to cry

Jughead, who watches Carrie every Wednesday, is always ready to tell Betty the ugly truth, the viscera of the truth

BUT he like whispers it as she, SLIGHTLY in denial to herself while knowing she’s slightly in denial, attempts to tear it down and he’s like mmmmmmmm standing in front of it to redirect her attention and he GETS HER OUT OF THERE, he’s like Agent Toscano in the back kitchens at Georgetown with Zoey

Archie doesn’t know where you could get pig’s blood and this ENRAGES HIM

Betty and Jughead appear to be strolling home together through a graveyard, because Betty and Jughead

Jughead is so coded as an outsider that I’m afraid for his peace of mind once he relocates to his southside pied-à-terre and feels like he’s among kith and kin. the multiverse indeed

there have never been two people more devoted to touching each other’s faces, with the possible exception of Bella and Edward in Dan Bergstein’s Blogging Twilight, than Betty and Jughead. their heaven would be a night at the Ritz-Carlton by Central Park, eating three-egg omelettes and scrubbing each other with Lush face masks. Betty is Rosy Cheeks, Jughead is Cup o’ Coffee

Betty doesn’t let Jughead “Sure babe” his way out of resolving their conversation

plus then he gazes at her like she is the only source of light in his life

Veronica was rich: Hiram Lodge is partial to black orchids? did Hermione get it from the Blossoms’ ORCHID ROOM?

These students are legally children: “Sure, mom, I’ll just sexually manipulate Archie into doing my bidding.” “As long as you’re in control.” WHOA!

Hermione, to be clear, as gone full dark side, while not bitterly sanctioning suicide in front of her emotionally shattered daughter but in a fallen-1%, Madame du Barry sort of way

I like how the show is setting up Hiram Lodge as a scary cloak of paternal/paternalistic/patriarchal malevolence, wherein at the beginning of the series Hermione was at least fronting to distance herself from Hiram’s name and influence and history, and now that he’s “coming back,” she is getting ready for his return left and right through her turning away from Town Upright Fred Andrews, her business loyalties, her aesthetic choices, and her hypothetical manipulation of, of all people, Archie

Betty could run the Iditarod in that trench coat

my man LEE TOLAND KRIEGER coming in with Alice Cooper and the reflection of Alice Cooper flanking Betty while they fight in the kitchen!

“It’s so hard, Mommy. Pretending every—” “I. Don’t. Care.” there has never BEEN a daytime soap, Lifetime Original, Ryan Murphy production, or Sharon Stone exploitation period piece as GOOD as the scenes between Cheryl and Penelope

Cheryl is wearing this drapey see-through black lingerie robe while she dashes around her haunted mansion like sexy Bertha Antoinetta Mason

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: you know shit is about to get a confessional when Alice walks into Betty’s room with no eye makeup on and a cardigan that covers her hands

“I have a secret brother out there in the world.” for half a second, I was terrified, in a fabulous lurid way, that the secret brother was Jughead, because I would not put that past Riverdale, before, you know, he’s gotta be like ten years older than Betty

but I mean, he’s got to be FP’s child. right? like—RIGHT?

Fifth period is AP English: “Positively Dickensian.” does Archie know Dickens? surely he knows CHARLES DICKENS

“A blond Adonis, no doubt.” or a sloe-eyed greaser with a DEEP VOICE and Alice’s cheekbones???

WITNESS ME: it is at this point, 21 minutes in, that Ep. 13 starts moving at 10,000 mph

“GO TO THE DARK SIDE”!!!!! like Southside High is MOS EISLEY

the music in the background picking up like some shit is about to happen, like they’re about to BREAK HIM OUT OF PRISON!!!!

What damn high school in America: our boy LEE TOLAND KRIEGER INDEED had Archie, Betty, and Veronica do the Breakfast Club hallway slide, because—BECAUSE WHY NOT! why not just LEAVE SCHOOL to go to a different school to get your friend out of school!

Veronica is in like a black sable stole, because SHE IS!

it is impossible to see what book Jughead is reading, and this haunts me!

Gay.: this is our first viewing of SOUTHSIDE TEEN, taking one of Jughead’s fries, wearing a very conservative white tee and blue jean jacket with a simple side part/2-setting shave down haircut!

honestly Southside High looks fantastic for Jughead in the sense that everyone is wearing a flannel and everyone’s hair is rebelliously long or styled archaically

Cheryl’s sheaths: local hero LEE TOLAND KRIEGER has those white-cold sunbeams coming down over the back of Cheryl’s Gothic grand duchess bed as she lays out her Jason dress!

“Where would he be?” “...cafeteria.”

if you look, there is literally just a female Jughead sitting on the table to Jughead’s right, she’s in black skinny jeans, black Chuck hightops, a DARK BLUE JEAN JACKET WITH A FLEECE COLLAR, and a soft stretchy beanie! she is right, like, hit me up! I cook!

it’s been one afternoon and already Jughead has more friends at Southside High than he had the entirety of his life in the northside school system

Betty, Archie, and Veronica just reaching the table with Jughead surrounded by ne’er-do-wells about to beat him up but it turns out Jughead is merely the beloved communal focal point IS the scene in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes when Jude Law’s Watson shows up at the prison and makes his way through the circle of Victorian roughs about to massacre Robert Downey, Jr., just as Holmes delivers the punchline to a ribald joke to the delight of the motley ruffians and it turns out he’s basically their king

Jughead is technically like Serpent royalty, so it makes sense all these Slytherins would at least make the gesture to seek him out and adore him

awww, Betty Cooper embodying the north side, Jughead embodying the south side, hugging each other, nothing shall tear them asunder, YET

Jughead says something to make her laugh while Archie and Veronica look on

it might not be a stole. it might be the collar of her jacket. is that her Homecoming jacket? I wouldn’t put it past her to have a black sable stole

Veronica getting Cheryl’s text and being like, “We have to go!” is literally the third or fourth time THIS EPISODE someone has been like, “WE HAVE TO GO!”

I could not believe we were actually getting a scene with these guys running through THE FOREST to stop CHERYL BLOSSOM from KILLING HERSELF—just—pause to reflect???

first there’s some sort of bonkers Titanic ice splintering under their feet

and Cheryl is beating her way through the ice with her hands and the power of grief? like—my god. Emily Brontë is like, He’s dead, girl, let it go

Summer + Blair = Veronica: Veronica is truly, as she has been in the past, embodying her true self, with is to reach out with her haughty, beautiful, self-aware, compulsive love and connect with everyone she sees: “WE’LL FIGURE THIS OUT TOGETHER OKAY.”

Cheryl is of course in her all-white mourning dress, her hair down, her spidery mascara, her lips turning purple, bathed in the BLUE FILTER OF HORROR as she sinks into the ice, the ice claims her like the blood sacrifice it demands each year to keep the maple syrup flowing

Archie barrels across the frozen river like a ginger Balto

pretty sick underwater shot looking up at Archie from below the ice!!!!

remember when Veronica told him to be careful with that hand, that his hand was going to be worth millions someday and he needed to be gentle with it during football or he couldn’t play guitar, and now he’s punching through a frozen river? ARCHIE?

the Blossom corpse: okay…..okay…..Cheryl seeing Jason’s corpse reach out to take her like Frodo being dragged underwater by the ghosts of the soldiers claimed by the Dead Marshes

the bloody juice milkshake on top of the water as Archie finally beats his way through by the power of his ripped bod

Archie > Dawson: you know Archie knows CPR!!! how delicately he pinches Cheryl’s nose shut!

however cold Cheryl was upon being thrust into the winter air as Archie & the Gang brought her to A HOSPITAL was not half as cold as Hermione regarding her in front of the fireplace and saying, “What is she doing here?”

Betty starting to cry immediately after putting on mascara is real-life drama

Archie, bullheadedly warming up to perform with his hand in a cast after he saved someone’s life, doesn’t know the word “wistfully,” and I think this encapsulates everything great about Archie Andrews

again, again, AGAIN, I want to JUST POINT OUT that Veronica-noticing-Archie staring “longingly” at Betty-plus-Jughead and wondering if this meant Archie secretly liked Betty is a plot point that would have been stretched out over the course of at least one entire episode, if not the undercurrent of an entire relationship arc of a season, on a lesser teen show, AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN, but Riverdale does not have time! we have to get everyone to the scene where Reggie is threatening to run Principal Weatherbee through with an epee on top of Veronica’s apartment building by the end of the episode!

for the Jubilee performance, Melanie has a shiny white skirt and big hoop earrings, Valerie is in some sort of phenomenal Sgt. Pepper blazer, and Josie is in a studded bustier

the drinking game of listening to Mayor McCoy’s speeches for the phrase “my daughter Josie and her Pussycats”

Jughead and FP have what might be their healthiest, most productive conversation in years on either side of the prison bars

Archie, clearly having the time of his life performing his song, strumming his guitar with two fingers

GOD KNOWS JUGHEAD SHOWED UP WITH HIS JACKET OVER HIS SHOULDER TO HEAR HER SPEECH

some first grader is a big fan of Archie

it seems like Betty’s speech is a rerouted, condensed version of her “FP JONES INNOCENT” article imploring Riverdale to embrace its pain, rebirth itself, and get a new town motto

Jughead listening to Betty call him “the very soul of Riverdale” is probably the moment, you know, he was like, The trailer is empty...

oh Jesus he starts the slow clap

can you imagine being an everyday going-about-your-business Riverdale resident without a kid attending high school, only tangentially paying attention to the news, being like, Who is Veronica Lodge? Does Betty Cooper know Jughead? Why is he called Jughead? What?

Fred is damn right about Hermione being at a damn crossroads

Betty, who signed in pink, Veronica, who signed in purple, and Jughead, who signed in black with his crown, are the only signatures on Archie’s cast yet

Veronica and Archie appear to have chocolate milkshakes, while Betty got a vanilla, and Jughead has Betty’s usual strawberry, with her arm slung around his leg

I know you had forgotten about Penelope!!!!!!!!!

Cheryl’s a psychopath: there are no words in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of men to describe the sight of Cheryl Blossom standing at the fireplace holding a candelabra with a tub of gasoline at the floor, (helpfully labeled “Gasoline”) in a white Super Sailor Moon dress, about to burn down her house

Jughead really did clean that shit up!

in the annals of sexy cinematic history, where Rear Window, Secretary, The Handmaiden, and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice all reside, there is a little shelf space saved for the shot of Jughead, out of focus, pulling his hat off behind Betty’s back and throwing it onto the couch

there were only five minutes left in the whole episode when the heavy percussion started and Jughead LIFTS Betty off the ground by her waist. YOU KNOW!!! SOME PEOPLE ARE ABOUT TO GET LAID!!!!

Veronica and Archie slip into her apartment, her mother is passed out on tranquilizers. THEY’RE REALLY DOING IT THIS TIME, THIS TIME I’M NOT DELUSIONAL

Veronica truly did make a Prince Valiant reference

you know I loved Veronica’s beautiful tiny stockinged feet coming off the ground!

the little shot of Veronica exploring Archie’s chest in the dark, by silhouette, whispering to him, was all I really needed from a sexy Riverdale scene, you know? I was sated. all the happy couples were making out and heading for great things, their first happy nights in so long. like, “We’ve had this date with each other,” etc., everything is finally good. I thought that was THE END. I thought that was the end! I WAS ALREADY HAPPY. I DIDN’T KNOW WE WOULD GET JUGHEAD SLAMMING BETTY INTO THE KITCHEN CABINET. I DIDN’T KNOW!!!!!

only, ONLY Betty and Jughead, even with all that chest exposed between the two of them, they still go for each other’s faces, in, dare I say, a clever reprisal of Archie’s mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, kissing like they want to consume each other

it really has to be seen to be believed, how up in there Jughead is between Betty’s legs, the dimple of his back muscles while he’s kissing her like he’s going to push her through the wall

NO ONE EXPECTED Jughead to hold his hand to the side of Betty’s neck and go down to like BITE her collarbone ONSCREEN, what, like, what the fuck, who blocked this? YOU, LEE TOLAND KRIEGER? A MASTERPIECE

Jughead eats: he brought her to the kitchen. “The cafeteria.” he was planning on eating

poor things Betty and Jughead conditioned to assume it’s Alice Cooper interrupting their heavy petting

Jughead’s hair twanging around his forehead cracks me up

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: TIME Person of the Year LEE TOLAND KRIEGER giving us one last rack focus of the line of lights on top of the trailer, dripping with rain, what else could possible happen in the last two minutes of this episode??? stay tuned bitches!!!

Gay?!: Jughead Devotee Southside Teen is back! WITH SCRAGGLY CANON SHEEPDOG HOT DOG. Jughead is like…...hi…...

mangy gruff Serpent daddy has a nose ring, which is always cool

Best costume bit: though it looks like various interviews has RAS saying otherwise, I didn’t read Jughead putting the Serpent jacket on as an unambiguous, wholehearted, instantaneous joining and acceptance of the Serpents on Jughead’s part, for me it was more a mix of A) a thank-you B) “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad” C) a “trying on” of what it might feel like to maybe live this life D) indulging in a moment of being sought out, validated as a member of a community (complicated! because Betty just called him the soul of Riverdale!) F) Cady slowly realizing she’s the new Queen Bee E) a bomb-ass jacket

of course we know Jughead must be incredibly important to the Serpents, whether he knows it or not, so is this them coming to him and being like, The king is dead, long live the king!, or is he a sideways, sometimes-Serpent, or does he even have to “BE” a “Serpent” for them to still take him a bit under wing and protect him—from whom?—while FP is gone? did FP tell them to leave him alone, what was understood, what was ordered, WHAT IS JUGHEAD? what are any of us? who am I? aren’t we all just going to die? (write this fic for me)

the point is that Jughead looks REAL good shrugging the leather jacket on

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: in the silence, in the rain, and the curl of his bangs on his forehead, YYEEEEESSSSSSSS

with a BOOM shot of the Dark Mark taut on his shoulders, like in the fourth episode when FP walked into frame

Sixth period is Intro to Film: Betty’s “Juggie” from behind the door, and he looks back at her? Godfather reference #2

I KNOW YOU FORGOT CHERYL WAS BURNING DOWN THORNHILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheryl’s hair: all of Jughead’s surprise sexual dexterity aside, the greatest moment is the slow-motion shot of Cheryl and Penelope. Cheryl is staring at her work, entranced, okay, having finally been able to take irreversible action to cleanse herself, but Penelope behind her is, understandably, going berserk, and repeat Nobel Laureate LEE TOLAND KRIEGER has her lash out to strike Cheryl, but she’s one step too far back, and there’s an explosion of Cheryl’s hair over her shoulder and it’s got to be one of the most beautiful things ever to be on television

of course Veronica slept in Archie’s dress shirt

the female gaze: Archie’s back is always, always worth it

“Damn good coffee”: oh, he’s so happy in the bathroom mirror

WITH LITERALLY THIRTY SECONDS LEFT IN THE EPISODE, THERE IS AN ARMED ROBBERY OF THE DINER

who would rob Pop’s? is this a hit on Fred Andrews? DID SOMEONE ORDER A HIT ON FRED? JUGHEAD SAID IT WAS “ANYTHING BUT RANDOM,” WHO WOULD KILL FRED ANDREWS????

are you going to sit there and tell me fucking Riverdale hired Luke fucking Perry and then it KILLED OFF LUKE FUCKING PERRY? when the fucking blue neon “RIVERDALE” came up after that, I lost my SHIT. FUCKING RIVERDALE LIKE JESUS CHRIST

next season: full-time student Veronica Lodge finds herself in the midst of a viciously civil power struggle with her father, freed felon Hiram Lodge, over ownership of Andrews Construction, the Pembrooke apartment, half of the town, and the love of her mother. while investigating the true extent of her best friend’s father’s illegal activities for her next exposé, Betty Cooper starts receiving death threats, political pressure to “let the story go,” and mysterious late-night voicemail tips concerning the business dealings of her gangster boyfriend which “might be interesting” to her should she choose to “look closer,” all of which she documents and files in alphabetical order in a fireproof safe beneath her bed (the tips are from her secret brother). Archie Andrews, who is now Batman, must hunt down the masked bandit who killed his father, helped by his best friend Jughead Jones, who, unbeknownst to Archie, has taken his father’s place as the leader of the biggest criminal empire in Riverdale and masterminded a coup for control of the Canadian heroin cartel in Clifford Blossom’s absence to buy Betty as many structured jackets as her heart desires (write this fic for me)

#riverdale #commentary #i say #tropes

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hollyoaksloversx · 7 years

Text

A Funeral, Drugs and a Piss-up at a Kids Party...

Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (24th-28th April 2017)

It was a sad week in Hollyoaks as the show’s latest murder victim, Amy Barnes, was laid to rest. The occasion brought back some old faces, as Amy’s crazy Mum, Kathy and Mike’s girlfriend, Zoe, returned to pay their respects but despite Mike’s attempts to keep the peace, the pair couldn’t resist swiping at each other. Kathy may not have been posting turds this time round, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still causing trouble, as she accused Ste of murdering Amy, not realising that Leah and Lucas were behind her! With the news that Mike was desperately trying to keep from the kids now out in the open, he decided that the best thing to do would be for them to leave Hollyoaks to live with him and Zoe. However, proving that he has the memory of a goldfish, Ryan announced that he wanted Leah and Lucas to live with him, believing that it wouldn’t be right for them to move away. Reluctantly, Mike agreed that he was right.

Meanwhile, Harry was still desperately trying to get Ste to change his plea as his day in court arrived. Whilst in the dock, Ste suddenly remembered phoning his dealer at the time he was supposed to have killed Amy and pleaded ‘not guilty’ at the last minute, leaving Harry delighted. However, proving himself to be a total idiot, Harry was surprised that Ste wasn’t let out immediately and set out to look for more evidence to prove Ste’s innocence. Evidence came from the most unlikeliest of sources, when Mercedes remembered hearing a ringtone outside Amy’s flat on the night she died, a ringtone that was later revealed to belong to James.

Elsewhere, it was the week of Adam and Maxine’s engagement party, which Darcy did her best to ruin by announcing that it clashed with Toby’s birthday party. Wanting to get one up on her love rival, Maxine insisted that it didn’t matter and was even ‘happy’ to make their party a joint birthday/engagement do, although I’m struggling to see how The Dog is an appropriate place for a kids party. Proving that last point, Maxine ended up getting blind drunk and promptly threw up into the chocolate fountain. However, Adam had something that would cheer her up and announced that he’d re-booked their wedding for two weeks time. But, you can guarantee that Darcy will be trying her best to spoil it. It turns out that it wasn’t really Toby’s birthday, it was all a ploy to spoil Maxine and Adam’s party...

Also this week, Nancy became the latest Hollyoaks resident to be embroiled in a drugs scandal when Kyle asked her to look after his stash of marijuana. Feeling unable to say no to her former flame, Nancy agreed and decided to hide the drug at the back of a cupboard, where it was very nearly discovered by Oscar. Meanwhile, there was more bad news for Darren when he discovered that because he’d left the keys in the taxi that Liam had stolen, the insurance would not pay out.

Finally, Warren was a man on a mission as he attempted to get rid of Bart’s body once and for all, however, with Sally refusing to leave the flat, that proved easier said than done! After Sienna pointed out that his plan to torch the entire block of flats was a little extreme, not to mention dangerous, she set off the fire alarm and evacuated the flats. With everyone gathered at The Bean, Warren moved Bart’s body into his van but disaster struck when Joel took the van on an errand! Warren was relived when he eventually tracked Joel down and realised that he hadn’t seen the corpse in the back, however, Joel soon spotted Bart’s wallet and realised exactly what had happened. Needing to think fast, Warren later found the perfect spot for Bart, Amy’s grave...

5 Things we Learnt this Week:

1. Zoe thinks that ‘mad dancing’ is a great way to stop someone feeling sad about their loved one’s death. She should charge for that. She’d make an absolute fortune in the village!

2. Toby is an absolute menace on the football pitch.

3. "It is not a chocolate fountain if the chocolate doesn’t fountain”.

4. A magician and a piece of rope is all it takes to amuse Adam.

5. Nancy’s has appalling taste in headwear...

One Last Thing:

Myra’s choice of outfit for Amy’s funeral was amusing. I don’t think she went this OTT for any of her children’s funerals!

Characters Featured:

Adam, Alfie, Cleo, Courtney, Darcy, Darren, Ellie, Freddie, Grace, Harry, Hunter, James, Joel, Kathy, Kyle, Leah, Lexi, Lucas, Marnie, Maxine, Mercedes, Mike, Minnie, Myra, Nancy, Neeta, Nick, Oscar, Peri, Prince, Ryan, Sally, Scott, Sienna, Ste, Toby, Tony, Warren, Yasmine and Zoe.

Past Characters Mentioned:

Jade Albright, Suzanne Ashworth, Amy Barnes, Sarah Barnes, Nico Blake, Cameron Campbell, Katy Fox, Bart McQueen, Zak Ramsay, Jason Roscoe, Robbie Roscoe.

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projectunwritten · 4 years

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This was originally called Facade it was my 12 year old me’s attempt at a thriller drama high school-ish narrative inspired the idea of Avalon High, standard high school anime and the tv series Lie to Me

Prologue

I have a question for you? Yes you reading this book! Have you ever lied about something. Most likely you have at some point in your life, Big or Small it’s still a lie it’s as simple as that. For most people, I’m not most people. Why? You may be asking well have you ever gotten away with a lie before, like a BIG one. Probably not, parents seemed have this 5th sense for scouting out lies whether it be your Father, Mother, or Guardian . Me … I’ve lied every day for the past decade and I gotten away with it every single time. Why you may ask have I and will I continue to lie like this? Simple answer … To build more walls. In the past 10 years I’ve created walls made from secrets and lies, new identities at home and out in the real world. Built to keep my family safe as did what I did. But I you wouldn’t be telling you all this if there wasn’t something interesting to what I did. My Name is Zach Micheles and this is my life as a liar and a King.

Chapter 1 - The Boss

Highschool. A dangerous place to go to, I mean it should be illegal to go there. Just think of the idea of hundreds of hormonally imbalanced kids inside of 1 building for 8 to 9 hours a day ( Not to mention after school activities ) with little to no parental supervision. I mean this saying how many teacher are there in the average school 50, maybe. Makes you want to beg your parents to homeschool. Me I never feared highschool I saw it as an opportunity. To rise above, yet stay in the shadows. I spent my entire freshman year of highschool clawing my way to the top without anybody noticing. That due to the amount of “friends” in order to get to place I wanted to be. To do what I had planned to do for years. At the start of freshmen year. Studied my surrounding close the last few days of summer. I found in my research I had to deal with 4 different types of classes. First are rich and popular kids. These kids don’t always have to be rich just popular in their school whether they're the star quarterback, head cheerleader, or a member of the student council. These are people you make to make associates with due it giving access to parties and events. Not to mention good credit with the Second class the short handed law enforcement otherwise known as teachers. Speaking of the. devil … Teachers, our worst nightmare and common enemy of all teenagers alike. These vicious creatures are under paid, over-whelmed staff stuck with hundreds of crazy teenagers for a minimum of 8 hours a day. Some to only come home to MORE crazy teenagers. Some teachers are nice due them taking their sorrows and misery and turning it into fake joy. Other become depressed and other are extremely passive aggressive. These Teachers are a menace since they are what lead us to class #3, “The Bad Kids” kids that were given a hard time, this putting pressure on them so much to the point here they give up and become the quote unquote “bad kids”, kids who drop-out, do drugs, get into criminal activity, have children in high school, etc. Now don't get me wrong there people have a choice if they want go that low. But these teachers definitely aren’t helping. Personally use as form of information to find and to keep track of everything bad they do, and to make sure they don’t bring certain items onto school ground or certain people. The Last class in the the most various … everybody else if not one of the cool kids or bad kids they're just ordinary usually made up in small pockets of friends ranging from 2 to 7 people that are in close circle and deal own personal problem and drama. Usually people are scared of drama in some way staying away from it. Which how some lies are formed, out of fear of the unknown or the worst case possibility. I don't fear drama I love it's a very effective tool. To confuse everyone fear, deception, rumors these are also tool I use to confuse everyone keeping them focused on who did what. While I work in the background on maintaining everything. Though I don't do this Alone well I don’t now, my freshmen year however I found I was not alone.

Chapter 2 - Race to the Top

So my freshmen Year of high school I had a plan to execute I would scope the big dawgs get integrated into their circle and work my way to the top through the shadows. I was ready, I was ready !! Then I wasn't … her name was Abigail Stone “Abby” is the most irritating person on the planet. Who was like me, she's what I today call a “member of the monarchy”. We’re alike because she was trying to get to the top. So here's how we met. I was attempting to integrate with class #1 (The Cool/Rich Kids).

“Hey ..uhh Zach right? You’re the newbie for the football team?” Jason says as I pass him in the hall. “Yeah” I replied acting surprised but knew who he was. Jason Creed Ridgeville’s Star Halfback/Running Back player. (What? You thought he was the Quarterback, Nope.) “ You shoulda come to this party on Friday…”he continued slyly. I knew where this was going he would invite to this party I would go and be initiated into the class #1 social group. But I'd have to act cool about it. “Hmmm a party you says I don't kn….” That's when she stepped in. “Of course we’ll go! Zachary is so shy” she said as she laid her arm on me and began to interrupt my game. As thought it, Jason said it. “Who are you?” I played it cool wait for a response trying not to blow my cover. “Oh he didn't tell you I'm bae, Abby. Though I'm not his actual bae, we’re just really close” she said moving in a little closer to me. Trying not to flinch I played along with her rouse. “Hey babe, what are doing?!” I said widening my eyes as ways of trying to figure out what was going on. “Well you know making sure you attend this party, as matter a fact why just give me the invitation and I'll handle him.” She says batting her eyes at Jason with her hand extended. Jason looked her up and down smiling a little. [A side note while I was mainly focus on Abby, if caught attention a girl by her locker scoffing then slamming the locker before stomping off as she saw Abby talking to Jason and him eyeing her. Possible relationship?] It was at this moment I lost it. “Ok” Jason said as he wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to her. She grabs it “ Bye Zachy” scruffled my hair and gave a flirty yet shady look as she walk away. “You’re a lucky dog Micheles, I would grab that before someone else does.” He says bitting his lip a little. I was paying no real attention to him. I was still in shock for moment, then I snapped I walk towards her immediately as I heard Jason yell Behind me “ Yeah you go get that boy!” I followed her picking up the pace then I immediately snatched your hand with the piece of paper in it and pulled her into the nearby Janitor’s closet “Ok, who are you?!” I shouted “What do you mean Zacky?” she said with a conniving smile. “I'm serious, what do you want?” “I want what you want, to get the top.” She said coldly. I thought for a moment realizing exactly what she was here for. “ Well stay out of my way I don't need competition, not that I knew there was any.” She laugh to sterically. “If you think I'm the only competition when I gave you more credit than you deserve!” I looked at her confused and she got real close to my face point where I can feel her breath, it smells like blueberry even still does to this day. “Take a look around Micheles, you and I aren’t the only ones racing to the top.” She smiled then immediately walked out the closet as I walked out after her I looked around and what I saw completely change the game. . I suddenly realized I, well we were not alone.

Chapter 3 - A Brave New World

#facade #KoS #unwritten #pkstudios

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