#and I can’t see any of the adults or artemis doing that | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blingblandfanfic · 5 months

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He aint heavy deleted scene

i couldn't decided whether to make chapter 22 Dio or Hermes' pov, and i eventually settled on Hermes, but here's Dio's pov if you still want to read it! Hermes' pov can be read here

Hermes sighs, rubbing his face as he looks at Dio, probably thinking about how much he regrets taking him in, he bets. He keeps his arms crossed, analyzing the wood grain as he kicks the leg of the table. It feels good to move, to take out his anxiety on something when a tongue lashing is imminent. Maybe a real lashing. He doesn’t know. He’s only known Hermes for like, a year.

“So,” Hermes says, when he feels that Dio has squirmed long enough, “you snuck out to drink, huh? I gotta be honest, I didn't expect that behavior for a few more years.”

It’s a joke, and Dio takes it, smirking as he continues to kick at the leg. There’s a cup of water on the table, and he likes seeing how it ripples.

“Last night wasn’t even the first time you snuck out, huh?” Hermes sighs.

“You’re such a heavy sleeper, dude. Like, it’s almost impressive. One time I made myself popcorn at midnight and you didn’t even stir.”

Hermes makes a face like he’s suppressing a smile, and he’s not happy about it, “have you been drinking, every time you’ve been out?”

Dio stays quiet. He just feels like shit. He wants Hermes to get to the point.

“Do you know how bad drinking is for kids?” Dio can’t help but roll his eyes.

“Oh my god, yeah, it’s bad for your development, you’re gonna become an addict when you grow up, whatever, I've heard it all before.”

“This isn’t a fucking joke, Dio!” Hermes snaps, and Dio jumps at the sudden volume, his heart stuttering, “even if you stopped now your life could be affected forever– god, not even getting into brain development, you’re wandering around the city of Athens drunk by yourself! Not even adults feel safe doing that! Do you have any idea the kind of risk you’re taking, every night, just to get drunk?”

He hunches his shoulders, his face flushing. Hermes is so overreacting, he was fine. He’d always stuck to the touristy places, he knew not to talk to strangers, he’s not a child.

He stays quiet as Hermes looks at him, not wanting to satisfy him with an answer. Not even knowing what to say.

Hermes sighs, letting his hand fall on the table, “how long have you been drinking?”

Dio shrugs.

“Since you moved in with Dad?”

He can’t help but look up at hermes in surprise, but he quickly catches himself, looking away.

Hermes smiles, but it’s sad, “it’s easy to drink with dad, isn’t it? He’s so damn careless, he just leaves out his drinks everywhere. He even asks you to bring him a drink, and he never comments on it when you grab two.”

Dio stares at Hermes with wide eyes.

Hermes lets out a huff of air that could be a laugh “yeah, I know what it’s like. I never really got into drinking. Just wasn’t my scene. I’ve seen our other siblings fall into it, though. You should’ve seen Apollo when he was a teen, oof.”

Apollo. One of his siblings. He’s still not exactly sure how many of them he has. It’s not like he’s met any other than Hermes. They don’t give a shit about him.

Still, he can’t help but desperately want to hear more about him.

“You know, Apollo and Artemis, they were also like you. Their Mom also died. Hera dumped her in the middle of nowhere when she promised to give her a ride to the hospital.”

“Oh,” Dio breathes. His stepmom never liked him that much. He’s still stunned that she would do something like that.

“Yeah. Hera swears up and down she thought that she had her phone with her, but it doesn’t even matter what the truth is, the result was the same,” Hermes sighs, “when they found out, Artemis just withdrew in herself, stayed out of the house as much as possible, but Apollo,” Hermes shrugs, “he basically did the same as you. I remember once he told me that it was because drinking was the only thing that made him feel okay. Made him able to stand Hera’s presence.”

That’s… almost like him.

“And, you know, after a while, he couldn’t not drink. He’d get sick when he couldn’t. Get all shaky, and nauseous. Sometimes he hallucinated.”

His heart pounded in his ears, matching the pounding in his head.

“... I thought there was something wrong with me,” Dio breathes. He’d thought that he was crazy, that he had some sort of undiscovered disease that could only be fixed with alcohol. That he’d be sent off to a psych ward the moment he breathed a word. “What– what happened to him?”

“He’s doing pretty good for himself, right now,” Dio lets out a slow breath, tension that he hadn’t even noticed receding almost immediately, “don’t get me wrong, it got pretty bad for him. He got into some other stuff, and he had to hit rock bottom to realize that he needed to change. He quit everything, got sober, and now he’s a doctor. Or a musician? Man, he’s changed his career so many times I can't keep track. The point is, he’s happy. I think he’s like, fifteen years sober now.”

“Wow,” Dio murmurs, “and he didn’t, like– he got better?” whenever he tried to quit, he thought he was dying. No, he didn’t think it. He knew he was. He needed to drink. How could anyone get better?

Hermes blinks, “what do you mean?”

Dio shrugs, feeling deeply uncomfortable, “... I get sick when I don't drink. Like, really, really sick. I thought I was dying,” his eyes sting with tears and Hermes leans forwards, something like concern in his expression.

“No, no, no, no, I promise, Dio, you’re not. It’s just withdrawal. Your body’s become dependent on drinking to function, so when alcohol is taken away, there’s an adjustment period. Withdrawal absolutely sucks, but you get through to the other side, okay?”

“Okay,” Dio mumbles.

Hermes sighs, “how much have you been drinking?”

“Not as much recently.”

“Before you moved in with me?”

Dio shrugs, “I would like… pretty much everything I drank was a drink of some kind.”

“Okay,” Hermes sighs, “and now?”

“Like, I dunno. It depended on what I had. At least a few every day.”

“Okay,” Hermes rubs his face, “we got some options for what to do, here. You obviously can’t keep drinking–”

Dio’s scowls.

“Dio,” Hermes sighs, “did you not listen to me talk about all the dangers?”

“Half the dangers would be cut if you gave me alcohol,” he mumbles, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m obviously not gonna do that.”

“Whatever,” Dio shrugs, “I'm gonna move back in with Dad soon, anyway, so what do you care? I’ll just start drinking again.”

“You think I'm gonna let you move back in with Dad?” Dio blinks, snapping his head to look at Hermes. There’s no sign of a joke on his face.

“what?

“Letting kids drink is child abuse. Child neglect, at the very least. They won’t let you go back, even if Dad wins the case.”

Child neglect? It’s really not that serious… right?

“… won’t I… go to foster care?” he mumbles. That’s always what he figured, if dad lost the case. Hermes wouldn’t want to deal with him full time.

“Not when you have a willing guardian, sitting right here,” Hermes smiles, but Dio’s face feels paralyzed.

“… oh,” for so long, he’d been working on the assumption that he wouldn’t be staying here. That it was all temporary, as everything has been since Mom died. It’s trippy as hell to suddenly have to consider like, staying here. Permanently. There’s no way.

“Yeah. And since letting you drink isn’t an option, we need to figure out the best way to help you stop.”

If he stays here, he’ll have to stop drinking, and the thought is so horrible he can’t help the way his face crumples,“why? Why do I have to stop?”

“Dio–”

“It’s the only thing that makes me feel better! I can’t– I can't breathe when I don't drink, I can't do anything because I just feel so– empty. Drinking makes it go away, Hermes, I need to drink.”

“That’s grief, bud,” Hermes sighs, “it’s the– worst feeling in the world. It’s so tempting to just take something to make it go away, huh?”

Dio nods frantically, wiping away tears.

“That doesn’t work, though. Drinking to avoid feeling it is, like,” he waves his hand, “like ignoring a wound. It feels like it’s helping, it’s nice to pretend that it isn’t there, but it is, and it’s not gonna get any better, not until you deal with it.”

Dio’s tears are now coming so fast that wiping them away is futile, “but I don't know how.”

“I can help you, Dio, there’s people who can help. You have to do all the heavy lifting yourself, but there’s people who can give you the tools. Give it time, and work, and sometime in the future, it’ll start feeling like you can breathe again. But the first step is to stop drinking.”

He can’t stop himself, and he covers his face as he lets out a little sob. He wants a hug, but he doesn’t want hermes. He wants his mom. He wants to go back to before all this. Before he started drinking. Before any of this ever happened.

Hermes stays where he is, and eventually, Dio manages to get himself under control. He has to spend a good minute breathing, before he can finally bring himself to ask, “what are the options?”

Hermes lets out a big, almost relieved sigh, “the first one is, you can go to rehab– it’s not like how it is in the media!” Hermes hastily says at Dio’s expression, “Apollo went, he can tell you what it’s like, if you want? You’d be there for about a month, but they can give you great tools to help you deal with your grief, and they can help you through the withdrawals. There’ll be lots of people there in the same position as you who understand what it’s like as well.”

He… kind of likes the idea of meeting Apollo, but he’ll probably hate him, so maybe not. He doesn’t like the idea of another change. Staying in another place, with people he doesn’t know. What if at the end, Hermes just doesn’t pick him up? What would they do with him then?

Dio crosses his arms, “what’s the other option?”

Hermes sighs, “I guess… the other option is that you try to stop by yourself. Quitting instantly is dangerous, so we’d have to wean you off onto lighter drinks to make the withdrawal less intense. I’ll find you a therapist as well, and they can help you with it.”

Dio nods, “I like that one a lot more.” he’d get to stay here, at least.

Hermes frowns, “the downsides are that you have a lot more opportunity to relapse–” Dio blinks at the strange word, “slip back into drinking. You know how to sneak out, you know that I'm a heavy sleeper. It’ll be way too easy for you. There won’t be anyone else who gets it, either. You’ll just have me, a therapist, and maybe Apollo, if he’s up for it.”

“I want to do that one,” Dio insists, and Hermes sighs.

“Okay. but– Dio, you only get a certain amount of chances, okay? If you relapse too many times, then that means it’s not working, and that we need to try rehab, okay?”

“Okay,” Dio mumbles. Would he be able to keep himself from relapsing? Already, all he wants is another drink, so he doesn’t feel hungover anymore. How will he feel in a few days?

“Okay,” Hermes sighs, “I love you, kid.”

Dio blinks, “you haven’t even known me for more than a year.”

“And I still love you. Crazy how that works, huh?”

Dio looks down at his lap, his face feeling hot. Hermes is lying, obviously, you can’t love someone that fast, but–

It’s still really nice to hear it.

“You don’t need to say it back, or anything. Just know that I got your back, no matter what, okay? I’m gonna help you with this.”

“Okay,” Dio sighs, “I'm really tired.”

“Yeah,” Hermes huffs, “you’re probably overdue a nap, huh? C’mon, let's see if they’re done talking.”

Right, Hypnos is going through his own talk with his older brother. He hopes he’s okay. He wordlessly follows him out of the room, almost wanting to loop his arm through Hermes’ arm, just like how he did with mom.

He doesn’t. He’s too tired for any of that.

#long fic #hades game #dionysus #hermes #deleted scene

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mommy-medusa · 1 year

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All of a sudden, the grove lit up in a flash of golden light. Apollo was standing there, a look of panic on his face.

“You’re needed on Olympos,” he said to Artemis, his expression grave. “It’s Athena.”

No other words were spoken as the twins both vanished from the grove, leaving Teddi and the other huntresses behind in confusion.

It wasn’t until much later that they returned, when the sun had already left the sky. The huntresses were already tucked up in their burrows, and the grove was near silent.

“I swear, at this point, he’s doing this just to spite her,” Artemis said, her voice the growl of a bear in the dead of night.

Smiling ruefully at her side, Apollo said, “No, yeah, that is exactly what he’s doing. A few months back, she finally came outside again, and he loudly made some snide comment that had her turning around and marching right back inside before she even left her courtyard.” He took a moment to try and smooth out his chiton, which was torn up around the edges and looked slightly singed. Artemis’ clothing was the same. Both twins smelled strongly of lightning, too.

When Apollo failed to fix his clothes, he dropped his hands and sighed. “I just can’t believe he brought up Pallas.”

Artemis nodded with a grimace. “And what he said about her maidenhood?” Deep disgust flashed across her features, and Apollo set a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We should have let her maul him,” Artemis said mournfully.

“Agreed,” Apollo said.

The twins shared a moment of silence before Apollo took a step back. “Well. I better go check on the damage done. See if I can treat ‘Thena’s burns before she goes back into hibernation. And if she’s already in her sadness coma, then I’ll just do it while she’s asleep. If anything, it’s easier that way.”

“Need any help?” Artemis asked.

Apollo shook his head, waving a dismissive hand. “No, I’ve got her. Hera already offered to aid me.”

Artemis’ eyebrows raised in surprise. “Look at you two.”

“I know right? We shall bond over our mutual concern for the owlet.” He smiled softly. “Goodnight, my starry night.”

“Goodnight, my sunny day. If you need me, call upon me again.”

“I will.”

After bumping his forehead with Artemis’, Apollo disappeared in a flash of light.

The moment he was gone, Artemis released a large sigh. She rubbed a tired hand over her face sluggishly.

“You can come out now,” she said. “I know you’re listening.”

Teddi’s head, along with several others, popped out of the hollows in the great tree. Artemis turned to all of them, smiling slightly.

“I can’t possibly blame any of you,” she said. “Is there anything more interesting than the divine drama of the gods? I’m afraid that’s all for tonight, though.”

The audience mostly dispersed, but Teddi climbed down from her hollow to confront Artemis.

“You were talking of Athena?” she asked.

“Indeed,” Artemis answered.

“Is she…alright?”

To that, Artemis hesitated. Then, she beckoned Teddi to follow her away from the prying ears of the huntresses, and Teddi did. Chrysaor flapped after them, while Pegasus remained soundly asleep.

“I don’t know how to answer that, but my best guess is no, she is not alright,” Artemis finally said. “She has not been close to ‘alright’ in quite some time. I haven’t seen her this distraught since Pallas died.”

“Pallas?” Teddi tilted her head.

“Oh, you don’t know? Then again, I’m not surprised that it’s been buried in obscurity. It’s a rather tragic tale,” Artemis said. “Pallas was the daughter of Triton, who was the son of Poseidon, and was Athena’s greatest and closest friend. Those two were like Apollo and I—they practically kin. The Athena with Pallas was much different than the Athena we have now. She was less stressed, less stoic, less—and I mean this in the nicest way possible—uptight. But she was also still very young, even when she was born fully grown. By all accounts, she was a child—or as close to a child she could be considering, again, she was born a fully grown adult. She was an owlet, if you will, as Apollo and I affectionately refer to her as.” She paused for just a moment. “Ah. Do not— do not call her that to her face. She will probably smite you. But Pallas was her childhood friend.” She then laughed as she seemed to recall something. “She couldn’t walk when she was first born.”

“What?” Teddi said.

“You didn’t hear this from me,” Artemis said, “But after springing out from Zeus’ head, donned in full war gear and wielding a spear, she took a long look at all the gods gathered around her, very regal and mature, took one step forward, and WHOMP, fell flat on her face.”

Teddi couldn’t contain her giggles. “Really?”

Laughing, too, Artemis said, “Really! Just picture a baby horse trying to walk for the first time- that was Athena for at least an hour after she was born. Apparently, the heads of baby owls are too heavy for them to hold up, so, naturally, Ares, Apollo, and I kept making jokes about that. All that wisdom was just too heavy for Athena.” She tapped her temple with a chuckle.

“Wait,” Teddi said. “You were around when Athena was born?”

Artemis gave her a confused look. “Yes?”

“Oh,” Teddi said. “I always assumed that—”

“She was the oldest?” Artemis finished, and Teddi nodded. She chuckled again. “I don’t blame you for thinking that. She certainly asserts herself like she is the eldest of our kin. But no, she isn’t. The little owl is actually the third youngest out of the main lot of us, if you will believe it. She’s only older than Hermes and Dionysus. You have no idea how many ‘I cannot believe you are all older than me’ comments I have had to endure from her.” She then waved a hand. “But I’m getting off topic! Back to the matter at hand, Pallas was Athena’s greatest friend, and the two of them were trained in combat by Triton. They were raised beside each other, as close as sisters. And then, without warning, tragedy struck. Pallas was killed at Athena’s hand in an accident during an athletics festival. Stabbed through the stomach with a spear. Athena remained on this beach for several days until Hestia and Demeter, our aunts, came to retrieve her, and they found the same spear impaled through her stomach, like she had tried to make away with herself. When she was brought back to Olympos by the two of them, her gut gouged open and spilling ichor everywhere, Zeus just— he just sneered at her. As though he was more concerned with the pavilion getting dirty from her gore rather than his own daughter being badly injured. And he said, where everyone could hear, that she was acting like a child. He humiliated her. And I suppose Athena took his words to heart because, after she had recovered, she was different. Steely, jaded, calm. Whatever playfulness she had was now locked up somewhere inside of her. And Zeus was so pleased. He now had the perfect dog to lick all over his boots. I’m sure you’ve heard that Athena is his favorite out of all his kids?” When Teddi nodded, Artemis went on, “I do not envy Athena’s status. I would rather live in the shadows than stand in the light if it’s Zeus who casts such a glow. And yet, somehow, with Zeus’ spotlight constantly shining down on her, she’s become a shadow herself. She is constantly thinking, planning, scheming. All of us are, in some way, but she is the only one who acts on it. She is the only one who is constantly at work. She is the only one who takes the consequences. She barely ever stops to rest, and there are times where I don’t see her for an entire year because she’s rushing around all of Greece, aiding mortals in any way she can. And that’s—” She sighed, rubbing her forehead with two fingers, and Teddi could tell this was something she had discussed several times before. “That’s fine. Really, it is. If she finds joy in helping mortals, then who am I to tell her that it’s wrong? The thing is, I don’t think it brings her joy. Not exactly. Maybe it does, sometimes, but I feel like it’s just a way to make ends meet. A way to distract herself. Or maybe it’s just her feeling the constant pressure put upon her by Zeus, so she’s desperately scrambling to try and claw her way up to his unreasonably high expectations for her. She hardly trusts anyone at all, doesn’t talk about her problems, doesn’t even have her mother to turn to because Zeus ate her! Medusa was the first time since Pallas that Athena well and truly settled down enough to make a relationship with someone, and that was taken from her. She’s alone, and that is not a good place to be when you’re immortal and live forever.”

“Because of how lonely it can get?” Teddi said.

“Precisely,” Artemis confirmed. “The novelty wears off after a few decades—and that’s usually before you even reach the centuries. Why do you think I make it to where my huntresses don’t age or can’t die from natural causes? It’s a vain attempt to keep other people around. Because, after they die, there’s a good chance that I will never see them again. And when I saw what Pallas’ death did to Athena, I was afraid of going through the same grief. Unfortunately, not even my divine protections can stop whatever the Fates have in store for my pack. If they are meant to die, then there is nothing I can do about it.”

Chrysaor lifted his snout to nuzzle his nose against one of Artemis’ hands, and Artemis smiled softly, giving him a pat on the head.

“But at least I have them,” Artemis went on. “Athena… Athena doesn’t really have anyone. However…” She crossed her arms firmly over her chest. “I suspect this goes deeper than even Medusa and Pallas.”

“What do you mean?” Teddi questioned, tilting her head.

“Athena has always been walking over hot coals,” Artemis said. “As the years went by, she became more and more frustrated with everything, but especially Zeus. Never had the courage to actually make a stand against him. Until the day Medusa died, of course. I wasn’t present for the battle, but Apollo told me it was terribly destructive. Lightning, fire, ichor spraying everywhere. And after it was over, she went into this ‘dormant mode.’ I think she finally realized the futility of it all. She had spent so long bowing beneath a man who could care less about her, and everyone she has loved has died brutally, so she just…stopped. Now, she just exists in this state of nothingness. And she’s so scared, I think.” She shook her head. “We gods are not good people, Teddi. That much you must understand about us. None of us are good.” She paused. “Well— slight addendum to that, Hestia is good. I don’t think she’s ever done anything bad in her entire life. But aside from her, none of us are good. Our morality is entirely ambiguous and constantly fluctuating, and we only act civil because we choose to, not because we have to. I’m not going to act like I’m innocent. I’ve done terrible things that I am not proud of, and there are even more terrible things that I am proud of. But Athena… Athena, at the very least, tries. She tries to be good. If there is anyone who does not deserve this cruel hand that has been dealt, it is most certainly her. I just hope that, one day, she will learn to forgive herself.”

#slipping more and more snippets for y’all to chew on ;)#greek myth #greek mythology #greek myth retellings #greek gods #gods and goddesses #ancient greek mythology #ancient greek #medusa’s child #athena #artemis #apollo #theodora the vengeful #theodora #book snippet

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zeequicks · 11 months

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Excuse me, is someone bothering you?

conner kent & zatanna zatara, young justice fic. (they are besties)

I realised I never posted this one on tumblr, and it's one of my favourites still, so here it is. T-rated, 1.8k words | read on ao3

Summary:

When Zatanna first joins the team as an insecure teenage girl, Conner has her back. When they're both adults and Conner is still struggling with daddy issues, Zatanna returns the favour. Every good friendship needs a healthy dose of magic and muscle.

It’s difficult enough trying to save the world on a daily basis; it’s even more difficult when you’re dealing with a group of rowdy teenagers.

Zatanna has friends, sure. But she keeps her distance at school, because well—her powers tend to be unstable. Her dad can get pretty protective of her, too, so when he finally agreed that she could join the team, she was ecstatic.

(And not at all prepared for what being in a team with no boundaries, no privacy and no place to hide, meant.)

It’s only her second week with them and everyone’s having an argument on the Bio-Ship over no-one-remembers what. She’s sitting next to Conner, both of whom have been watching the scene unfold in front of them.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you? You just have to be the center of attention all the time!” Wally yells at Dick.

Dick jumps out of his seat, ready to try to drag Wally out of his and wrestle him into the ground, probably. “Me? Oh, that’s rich, coming from the guy who screwed up every part of the plan!”

“Dick, will you listen to us for once? Wally was trying to save your ass,” Artemis cuts in, huffing. “Just admit it. You miscalculated. I tried to tell you that the warehouse was sealed from behind!”

“That’s what she sai—”

“Shut UP, Wally,” everyone says.

M’gann rubs her temples together and says, “Right, no more yelling. It’s not good for the ship. If you want to talk, we talk like adults on my mind-link. I’ll kick you out if you can’t be civil about it.”

“Maybe if you stop with these avoidance techniques and actually try to have a conversation with us instead of retreating into your mind fortress, we’d be a better team,” Kaldur says.

M’gann flares up. Conner jumps out of his seat to try to comfort her, but stops in his tracks as they look at each other.

Zatanna knows that look. Everyone in the room is silent for the next minute. Expressions twist and change, arms start flailing around.

“You guys are having a telepathic conversation without me again, are you,” she says, flatly.

What was she thinking? Joining this band of spoiled, legacy brats, none of whom can make a single decision without imploding on each other? And she has nothing to contribute, not because she doesn’t want to be involved in the fight, but because she can’t even focus on anything but the spells she messed up during the mission.

No one’s chosen to pick a fight with her over it, or scold her for screwing up. Is she not even worth taking seriously?

She’s not one of them. She can never be. Maybe she should just go home to her dad, tell her that he was right and that she isn’t ready for this.

Everyone turns towards her all of a sudden.

“What?” Zatanna says, and M’gann gives her a sympathetic look. Oh. “I was on the line, wasn’t I? You guys were listening.”

Yeah, we heard you, Dick replies, dropping his gaze.

She runs off to the back of the ship and lets out a little cry.

To her surprise, she feels a heavy hand on her shoulder as she’s wiping her tears away. She sees the shadow of a rather large someone sitting down next to her.

“Hey,” Conner says. “You okay?”

“Sraet og yawa,” she says in barely a whisper. She takes a breath and nods.

Conner frowns. “You don’t have to do that. Not around me. Or any of us.”

Zatanna lets out a weak laugh. “Yes, I do. Everyone already knows I’m not—my dad thinks I’m not ready for this. Batman, too, apparently.”

“Batman has ridiculously high standards,” Conner smiles. “I’m pretty sure Dick doesn’t meet them, either. And I’m the same way with, you know, the big guy.”

“Oh. Superman?”

He nods. “He always seems disappointed, whenever he looks at me. But none of that matters to anyone here. You know, we’re always impressed by you.”

“Me? I haven’t even done—I still don’t feel like I’m not pulling my weight. You guys always have these new ideas, new ways of looking at things or trying to come up with strategies for our missions. Every second I spend off the field I’m practicing spells in my head.”

Conner shrugs. “Everyone has their strengths. Look at me, I’m just the muscle guy.”

It’s nice, actually, talking to someone levelheaded, who’s not trying to pry into her mind or ask her a million questions about her life. She's always thought of Conner as brooding and intimidating. Now she realizes that he’s probably a lot like her, just wanting to get by without people crossing boundaries.

“Besides, the reason why no one yelled at you was because we had nothing to yell at you for. You were the only one who did what you were supposed to on this mission. Sure, it took you a while to break those chains, but you stayed focused on what you had to do and you kept trying until you did it. Better than the rest of us.”

“That’s—that’s really nice of you to say, Conner,” she smiles, for the first time tonight. “Thanks.”

“If you’re ready, they’re all waiting for you back in there. We all owe you an apology.”

He stands up and pulls her up to her feet.

“Oh, no, you guys don’t owe me anything.”

“Zatanna.”

“Okay, maybe an apology would be nice. And some peace and quiet for the rest of the flight. I really do need to meditate and practice a couple of spells in here,” she points to the side of her temple, as Conner chuckles and nods.

He cracks his knuckles like they’re about to go into a fight.

Judging by the way he’s standing next to her like a guard dog ready to attack in front of the rest of the team, he might actually be.

“Listen up, everyone,” he starts, and okay, Zatanna’s never actually heard Conner address the room like this. She forgets, because of his usually quiet demeanor, that he can break people with two fingers.

“You’re going to apologize to Zatanna. She deserves a little more respect, and team members she can rely on. Not just to watch her back on the field, but to listen to her. And we all know we suck at doing that.”

Zatanna’s probably blushing ten shades of red right now, but someone in the room had to say it. She thinks she’ll be able to stay on the team for a little longer, if this keeps up.

Years later, Zatanna gets promoted to join the League.

She celebrates with the team at Barry’s place, where everyone’s toasting to her and Raquel, their newest members.

Zatanna’s been sitting on Dick’s lap for the past twenty minutes as the two of them share a slice of cake. Dick licks off a bit of frosting from her nose and she has to push his face away the second she sees Barry and Iris walking past.

Drinks are flying around, Artemis and Wally are cornering Bart in the kitchen for something he did last night, Kaldur is trying to make sure L’gann doesn’t embarrass the Atlantean crest, while M’gann is quietly sitting in the corner of the room, absentmindedly watching the door.

“Hey, I’ll be right back,” Zatanna says, patting Dick on the head as she walks over to M’gann.

She’s thinking about the fact that Conner isn’t here. They broke up a couple of weeks ago and it’s been hard on all of them. Conner told them he’d come, but he had to head to Metropolis for an important conversation with Clark.

He’s been getting worked up about it all week.

“If you know so much about how he’s feeling, will you go check on him for me?” M’gann asks. “He gets sensitive when it comes to him and Clark. I know it’s not my place anymore—and he’s always relaxed around you.”

Zatanna nods. “Of course, I’ll see how he’s doing.”

She teleports herself to him and winds up in an office in Metropolis, where Conner punches through the wall inches away from her face.

His eyes go wide when he notices she’s there. “Zatanna? What are you doing here?”

Zatanna looks to the other side of the room and sees Clark, taking off his glasses and looking frustrated.

“I was just checking to see if you were okay,” she says, deciding to keep M’gann’s name out of it. “We’re celebrating at Barry’s now, if you’re still up for joining.”

Conner places a hand on his forehead. “I promised I’d be there. I’m sorry, Zatanna, I just got caught up in—” he looks at Clark, who’s giving him a look that looks almost like a warning.

What the hell is going on?

“Right,” she says, walking over to Clark and planting her feet down. “I don’t know what it is you think he’s done to besmirch your name this time, but I’ve had enough. He deserves better. And every single time Conner does something good, not even for himself—because it’s never about himself—it’s just never enough for you.”

Clark stares at her, wordlessly, as does Conner.

He finally settles on, “Zatanna, I apologize if I’ve done anything to offend you.”

At the lack of a response, offers something perhaps a little more honest in, “I am trying.”

“Then do better,” she replies, without missing a beat. “It's not me you need to apologize to. Conner has always made sure to let me know that I was never alone. You, of all people, should know how important that is.”

She wants to go on, but she knows this isn’t her fight. She turns around and finds Conner standing next to her.

“I think I’ll go with you now.” Conner glowers at Clark, “Don’t follow us.”

“At your command,” she replies, trying to maintain a lighthearted tone. Clark takes a step towards them, which results in Conner flinching slightly.

Zatanna raises her hand up towards him and says: “Yats dednuorg thginot.”

When they return to the party, everyone starts crowding around her to ask her if she really did take away Superman’s powers of flight for the night. She's never been very good at escaping attention, no matter where she went or what she did. Judging by the satisfied grin on Conner's face, she has a green light to take the floor.

Barry raises an eyebrow when she tells them. “I didn’t even think that was possible. Be careful around Batsy with that. He might start coming to you for favours.”

“Upping your game already, Zee?” Raquel asks. Her eyes are sparkling with the possibilities of what they'll achieve when they start playing with the adults. Raquel's already poised to make a bold entrance, and if Zatanna already taking on Superman before day one then they're both as well-positioned as rookies can be.

“Oh, you know. Just a little practice, that’s all,” she says, smiling at Conner. “Magic is a little bit like muscle sometimes—you never know how strong you are until you push a little harder. Or take on someone twice your size.”

He laughs, and she happily takes that as an agreement.

#conner kent #kon el #young justice #zatanna zatara #clark kent #dick grayson #m'gann m'orzz #fic #young justice fic #fanfic #zeequicks writing #kon and zee #background chalant

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saccharinewitch · 3 months

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╭────────.★..─╮

✧ 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧... ✧

╰─..★.────────╯

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🜸 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:

Hi, you can call me Saccharine! My pronouns are she/they, I’m a black and native american eclectic hellenic polytheist. I’m not new to the practice of witchcraft or helpol, but I do have a lot to learn and would consider myself still a baby. I’m hoping to find mutuals who I can learn from!

I’m 24 years old. I’m an Aquarius sun, Sagittarius moon, and Taurus rising. I have a great love for the arts. My favorites are painting, literature, cinema, theatre, and music. I also have a great love of animals and have four cats.

I am disabled, having POTS and fibromyalgia and I also have autism and adhd, alongside mental health disorders including PTSD, BPD and OCD. While this blog is dedicated to my craft, I may occasionally post about these struggles as well, alongside my hyperfixations and non-religious interests as well. Especially because I can’t work so I have a lot of time to spend with you all :)

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🜸 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐦 / 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦:

I’m a devotee of Aphrodite, Dionysus, Poseidon, and Apollo and I also worship Persephone, Hermes, Artemis, and the rest of the Theoi. I’m an eclectic witch hoping to work with the fae, selkies, and mermaids as I’m very drawn to them so anyone with any helpful information on this would be very appreciated! I also practice tarot, kitchen witchcraft, and cosmic witchcraft, and have a great interest in hedge witchcraft, green witchcraft, and hearth witchcraft. I’m very spiritual and spend a great deal of time speaking to the Theoi, specifically Apollo and Dionysus. I feel they are always with me and have built a very close relationship with them. With that, I will add that this is NOT a fandom blog. I worship the Theoi religiously, so if you’re coming here as a fandom account, please leave.

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🜸 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬, 𝐄𝐭𝐜:

Some of my main interests are:

𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚:

Once Upon A Time

Hannibal

One Piece

The Witcher

Horror/Thrillers

Sanrio

Care Bears

Monster High

Twisted Wonderland + more.

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬:

Baldurs Gate 3

Sims 4

Call Of Duty

Dragon Age

FFXIV and FF in general

Most Nintendo games

Minecraft

Pokémon + more.

𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬:

Gyaru

Cutecore / Kawaii

Anything 90’s - 00’s

Whimsigoth

Goth

Vaporwave

Cottagecore

Mermaidcore

Vampirecore

Clowncore

Coconut girl aesthetic + more.

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🜸 𝐃𝐍𝐈:

Minors please DNI, I have nothing against young witches but I’m an adult and don’t want to interact with anyone underage.

I don’t support nor do I want to interact or see any racists, sexists, misogynists, ableists, homophobes, transphobes, p*dos, or anything of that nature. I will block anyone who spreads any of that hate speech immediately.

Anyone who sends hate through my ask regarding my religious beliefs, identity, or any general hate will be blocked immediately.

Fandom blogs PLEASE do not follow me because your media uses aspects of my religion. This is my religion, I don’t want to be associated with supernatural/occult/mythology fandoms.

════════════════════════

╭────────.★..─╮

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠! 𝐌𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 ఌ

╰─..★.────────��

𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 :)

#introduction #hellenic polytheism #helpol #hellenic pagan #paganism #witchblr #theoi worship #intro post #blog intro #deity work #saccharine speaks

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aurora-astra · 2 years

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Author’s note:

Hello!! This is my first time writing anything that doesn’t turn into a book, so bear with me as I figure this out!! Any constructive criticism is much appreciated.

୨⎯ young justice x green lantern!reader pt. 1 ⎯୧

NEXT PART ⇨

Backstory: you are related to Hal Jordan, and after he becomes a Green Lantern, you show obvious interest. He sets you up with a ring, providing basic training with John Stewart and occasionally Guy Gardner. Your skills improve greatly, its clear you are responsible and talented enough to wield the ring on your own terms.

As for the adults, I assume most would treat you like a sidekick, even if you aren’t one

I imagine Hal treating you more like an equal than anyone else on the Justice League, he respects your abilities and since you are family he definitely trusts you the most out of all the sidekicks

John acts like a father to you, even if you have a dad (but especially if your father isn’t present/isn’t a good dad). He worries more than Hal does and often teaches you more practical stuff like first aid and things you can do with your ring

Guy doesn’t really pay attention to you, whenever he helps train someone else is always there and he just kind if watches lol

The other Justice League members treat you with respect as well, but obviously your the age of a sidekick so the mentality that you’re younger and aren’t as wise sticks with most until later years

As for the sidekicks, I can see most of them admiring the power your ring holds (but not to a toxic amount)

Aqualad appreciates having someone with similar powers on the team, and he quite enjoys training and sparring with you

Zatanna didn’t necessarily take a special interest in you, but she still enjoys your company and lets you handle things even she can’t

Robin and Artemis find it refreshing to have another regular human on the team- despite having powers from the ring, its nice to have someone who understands daily struggles (school, socializing outside of being a hero, stuff like that)

Even though Red Arrow was only on the team for a short amount of time, I can see him appreciating your company regardless- he will probably spend most of his time socializing with you or Aqualad

Ms. Martian and Superboy find your ring-given powers fascinating (even though it might take a while for SB to admit it lol), and likes to listen to you talk about Green Lantern Corp and the history of the rings

Finally, we have Kid Flash. I can imagine him going two ways:

He doesn’t necessarily believe your ring is magical, and tries to explain it using science terms (which you and the team find amusing)

He takes the time to ask you about the ring and learns about the magic behind it, even if its hard to believe

Regardless, Wally enjoys spending time with you and definitely looks up to your abilities and talents

End notes:

Thank you for reading!! I appreciate the attention :) if you have any suggestions for how to improve, please let me know! Also, lmk if some of the adults are OOC or if you want specifications with anyone!! Part 2 will be everyone else who joins the team in following seasons (this is based on s1 team) 👍

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moonlightreal · 7 months

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Reading The Secret Circle in 2023

I love this series. It was probably my first teenage witches series, it was YA before YA was really a separate genre, and LJ Smith is a solid writer. But I’m giving it a reread to see what I see, that my teenage self, who had read much less YA, didn’t see. And I’ll just write whatever comes to mind while I read.

The first thing and the main thing that made me twitch was Faye. The femme fatale of the coven, Hera the jealous goddess, boyfriend stealer and terrorizer of the school. In her first scene she’s pressuring a guy who has a girlfriend to take her out on a date, and since the whole school lives in terror of the coven’s powers the poor guy can’t say no. This is super uncomfortable.

Ms. Smith likes this femme fatale character type, she uses it again in one of the Night World books. I don’t think I’ve ever run across this kind of character in any other YA book. Faye is a very sex-positive character but also a sexual predator of unfortunate boys. She’s not a good person but she’s presented as wicked but still one of the good guys.

In the second book there’s a buck-wild scene where Faye, Suzan and Deborah play “Pizza Man He Delivers” they get the house done up like witchy love nest with candles, incense, crystals and music, and then they order six pizzas and if the delivery guys are cute they invite them in to seduce them. And I have so many questions. 1)did anybody do this in real life ever? 2)does Ms. Smith think anybody did this in real life ever? 3)how many adult films is this exact scene in? It’s straight out of a dirty video, with characters who are supposed to be 16! Ms. Smith is a much weirder writer than you might think lol.

Good girl Cassie decides this is wrong because the guys “don’t have a choice” even though they are enjoying the proceedings. The real life dangers of seducing and sleeping with random guys don’t seem to cross Cassie’s mind, so maybe their school has really bad sex ed.

But (back to slightly more serious thoughts) reading Faye it also occurs to me that she’s the femme fatale without ever being slut shamed. Her sexuality is scary but not shameful. Suzan, the voluptuous Aphrodite of the coven who barely gets a mention that doesn’t include mention of her chest size, is not really written as less-than because she likes seducing guys. In fact there’s a scene where Suzan helps the other girls get ready for the school dance and Cassie thinks, “She’d thought Suzan was just an airhead, but it wasn’t true. Suzan loved beauty and was generous about sharing it with other people.” and that is an amazing, amazing way to write the “fashion obsessed airhead” character type. Half my headcanons for Stella are based on that image that stayed in my head from the time I first read this series to the time I started watching Winx.

Each girl in the coven is based on a goddess, and they each have a signature color. This is not a bad writing trick to handle a bunch of characters and make them distinct! The third “bad girl” is Deborah the biker chick, based on Artemis the huntress. Deborah rides a motorcycle and wears itty-bitty tops and leather jackets and at one point has a leather hat with a chain on it. And she’s “not interested in boys.”

Ms. Smith was writing in the early ninties when there were “gay books” and ‘normal books” and she was writing normal books as directed by her publisher so all her characters are white-cis-het. But Deborah, while described as very pretty with a dainty face, is kind of butch. One of the boys, the cold and emotionless Nick, is described as not liking girls, but I don’t get any potentially gay vibes off him. If you wanted to read into it Nick could be ace and Deborah could certainly be a lesbian.

This made me wonder-- if she started writing again today when representation is the trend in YA literature, what would Ms. Smith think? We can’t ask her so I can only make a guess based on her writing, her blogs, and the fact that she’s no fan of Trump… I think she’d freaking love it. Ms. Smith’s jam is writing forbidden love, and now she’d have all these new kinds of couples to write and new reasons for their love to be forbidden. Thinking Night World here because that’s a series that could be expanded, what do all the supernaturals think of same-sex relationships? The witches are very traditional but same-sex relationships happen among animals so maybe the shapeshifters are chill with it. Who knows? Ms. Smith could worldbuild that stuff to her heart’s content and I think she’d have just a grand time.

LJ Smith mentioned somewhere that she put “everything I could find or make up about Wicca” into Secret Circle. There were BARELY any books about witchcraft in 1992, and I wonder what Ms. Smith could do today, when they’re everywhere and she could look up all different magical traditions. She’d have so much to work with!

So what did she have to work with? The girls use rhyming spells and lots of candles. They use herbal teas and homemade beauty products. There are circles and books of shadows. The elements and nature are mentioned a lot, but despite the girls reflecting goddesses they don’t worship the old gods.

There aren’t a lot of magic tools, interestingly. The girls use a lot of stones, each girl has a unique “working crystal” and a type of stone that they use most. Then there are the “master tools,” a set of regalia the leader of the coven wears: a bracelet, tiara and garter. Not a wand, besom or cauldron in sight! At one point one of the characters mentions typing up spells to make a “floppy disc of shadows” which is a phrase I think I read in a Silver Ravenwolf book, but I don’t think Ms. Smith read any SRW, she’d have pulled WAY more from it if she had.

But if you are, like I was, a young magic user looking for how-tos in fiction books, the Secret Circle is great. The main magical takeaway is the use of stones and crystals, which the girls use constantly. As jewelry, as pendulums, in spells, or just to hold to absorb their attributes. Each girl mentions her favorite stone at some point so whoever you are you’ll probably be inspired to use your favorite stones more often.

In fact I think I’ll drop the page from the old Circle Daybreak website here.

Finding your working crystal Each witch in the coven, male or female, also has a special stone, often of their color choice but not always. This is their working crystal, and is used to draw out their own special virtues and powers. Here are what different crystals can be used for and what they mean. You, too, can use your working crystal, in addition to wearing a certain color, to bring out these qualities in yourself.

The garnet brings circulation to normal, helps the blood clot, and purifies. It builds balance, awareness, and well-being, as well as preventing fears and insecurities. Garnets also draw out negativity, and can make one more attractive to others.

The ruby intensify love, compassion, and sexuality. It, too, brings circulation to normal, and purifies the blood. Also, rubies are high-energy stones for courage, boldness, and action. Faye likes to wear star rubies to increase her sex appeal to men.

Carnelian stimulates energy and appetite, as well as physical power and courage. It helps ground one to the physical plane, and promotes practical application of ideas. As Suzan’s crystal, perhaps this is why she has such a fondness for twinkies.

Citrine is Deborah’s crystal and may be the source of her energy. It provides a sense of stability and promotes practical application of ideas and a rational approach. Citrine also adds energy and emotional balance. It clears the body of toxins.

Topaz calms and cleanses. It relieves and balances emotional breakdowns. It aids in the healing of nervous fatigue, exhaustion, and extreme stress. Topaz also aids with headaches.

Peridot is used for clear sight and problem solving. It is a healer of the spirit and physical body. It provides protection from nervousness, and increases fearlessness and willpower. The circle uses it for dowsing. It helps with hurt feelings.

Melanie’s crystal is jade, and she uses it for mental clarity. It brings peace and calm, and has a stabilizing effect on the body. Jade also builds courage, clarity, and tranquility of the mind. It aids stomach problems.

The emerald strengthens memory, clear seeing, and wisdom. It enhances speech and creativity. Emeralds also increase intelligence, foresight, and prophecy. It aids heart problems and asthma, and eye problems.

Malachite purifies things on the material plane. Its bands provide protection of creative ideas. Malachite also promotes tranquility, success and good wealth in business. It is sometimes called lapis liguris.

Lapis Lazuli is used by vampires in The Vampire Diaries as protection from the sun. It illuminates the mind, and has purifying and healing properties. Lapis also promotes mental endurance, insight, and wisdom, as well as building good judgment and psychic abilities. It helps emotional healing.

Azurite aids in communication. It clears thoughts, and cleanses negative mental states. Azurite also aids in insight, vision, and hypnosis. It reduces stress and depression.

The sapphire aids in communication, as well as aiding clairvoyant perceptions, divine wisdom, and prophecy. It also cleanses negative mental states and disturbances. Sapphires help with nervous and mental disorders, and asthma.

Blue Topaz adds spiritual strength. It calms, sooths, and sedates. Blue topaz also brings a peaceful and natural healing state of consciousness. It builds mental clarity, and aids emotional healing.

The amethyst, Laurel’s crystal, has a calming and healing mental effect. It enhances the meditative state, and creates pure thoughts. It also adds spiritual insight and higher values, in addition to alleviating mental stress. The circle uses amethyst to ward off evil

Extra Secret Circle stuff: There was a sequel series written by Aubrey Clark. They are not very good. I did have them from the library but it was some years back so my memories are vague. Ms. Clark did her best but she just doesn’t have Ms. Smith’s gift for getting the characters right. She also killed off some characters, I think Suzan didn’t make it, which sucks.

Ms Clark brought two new things to the series: the concept of witch hunters and Scarlett, Cassie’s half-sister. My first reaction was, “Ha-ha, Mary Sue long lost sister!” but… it’s actually a pretty valid idea. Bringing in a child of Black John is a good way to add something new and connect to the original villain without bringing him back from the dead, and Scarlett can start evil and then be turned to good. Valid plot! I, uh, don’t remember if that actually happened in the sequel series, but the idea’s good.

There was a TV show. I was excited to learn this—but I learned it too late and could only find a middle episode and something I forget what about the plot annoyed me so much that I never tried to find the rest. I really probably should at least watch episode one, give it a chance, but the CW’s style is just so not my jam.

I’ve read that the show and the sequel books have similar plot points so that could explain some of the sequels’ events, if Ms. Clark was writing to tie in with the show.

#lj smith #secret circle #night world

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burningivy · 3 years

Note

18- fly for the one word writing prompts

Ok so I’ve never actually written fanfic before (minus one attempt that we don’t talk about) but this prompt immediately made me think of this

(Also sorry this took me forever to get to)

—-

Everyone else had left the cave for the day, and Red Tornado was off doing whatever it was he did in his free time (what does an android even do for fun?). M’gann was in the kitchen making dinner, a pasta dish from a cook book she’d found (it wasn’t there before, so she was assuming it was a gift, but from whom she had no idea), while Conner (her boyfriend! probably, they had kissed after the ice melted) sat on the couch. It was better that he didn’t help. Last time he tried, well it ended in a mess.

“What’s it like to fly?” If M’gann hadn’t been levitating the dish, she probably would have dropped it. She hadn’t even heard Conner walk up.

Quickly, the pasta went into the oven, and she turned around, facing him as he leaned against the counter.

“Oh because Superman can-” she trailed off, seeing him tense up. (Maybe one therapy session with Professor Strange hadn’t been enough.) “Well, I don’t really know how to describe it. You did kind of fly in my head back in Bialya, but that wasn’t really flying. And the Bioship doesn’t really count either. It’s just like nothing else.”

M’gann stopped her rambling when she noticed Conner smiling at her (that smile he only gave her, just like something off TV!). “Maybe you could show me someday.”

Well, it wouldn’t be like the dates on Hello Megan!, still she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Maybe. I mean, it probably wouldn’t be for a while. Levitating a whole other person. I don’t even know if Uncle J’onn can do that.”

“I can wait.” And maybe life didn’t need to be exactly like it was on TV.

#ask #jakemothpigeonchaos #💙💙💙#my writing #young justice #m’gann m’orzz #conner kent #miss martian #superboy #that’s a lot of tags #this is for the show not the comics #and it takes place just after terrors #the episode where they go undercover in the prison #in my head dick left the cookbook #because kaldur would have mentioned it #and wally would have made a big deal out of giving it to her #and I can’t see any of the adults or artemis doing that

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inamindfarfaraway · 2 years

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Animaniacs (2020) LGBT+ Pride Song

I wrote a song I would have the Warner siblings sing in a potential LGBT+ Pride celebration episode. Obviously you can’t hear the tune and music, but I can, and I’ll tell you it’s fast, very bouncy and cheerful in the classic Animaniacs educational list song-style. You can’t tell me Yakko wouldn’t love to make a song out of the acronym. The title of this segment could be “Easy as L, G, B…”. It could start with a bystander of a Pride parade complaining not maliciously, but ignorantly that "there are so many identities these days" and it's "too confusing", so the Warners show up (out of the parade, obviously) to break things down.

The Pinky and the Brain segment would have the two mice finally confessing their feelings and officially becoming a couple. We all want it!

The other Warner siblings segment could be a sketch with their presence added to either a famous point of queer history or a myth or story including queer representation. Ooh, how about them trying unsuccessfully to help a histrionic disaster bi Apollo get a male or female partner who doesn’t die and/or turn into a plant? “Hello, nymph!” He refuses to associate with Eros because he sees him as a rival archer (“Isn’t your twin sister another archer?” “Yeah, and we’re rivals.”). The Warners are happy to step in. Artemis meanwhile, unequivocally not into dating or romance, observes her brother’s string of failures with some pity, but mostly amusement and wry comments. At the end the Warners finally manage to set Apollo up in a genuine, equally loving and respectful relationship with the mortal man Hyacinthus, certain he’s a keeper, and the couple stroll off hand in hand in a picturesque romantic scene. "Hey, for our first date, maybe we could go discus throwing?" "Sounds perfect."

Anyway, I have the visuals of the song in my head, but they’re very dynamic and I can’t be bothered to fully describe them. The initial real world setting is a Pride parade; the bulk of the song is in an abstract space with various manipulatable pride flag backdrops and informational diagrams and example couples and so on; then they return to the parade in the finals chorus. I personally don’t feel very strongly about the nonbinary Wakko headcanon, but I get why it’s a thing and know it means a lot to a lot of people, and it would be cool to be confirmed. I think it should get its own segment were it to become canon. It does give me a cute mental image of Wakko wearing a version of his sweatshirt in the nonbinary or demiboy flag stripes. And the “gender balanced” phrase in the theme song would be more true, with Wakko standing on top of the scales in the middle or something.

Yakko: G for gay -

Dot: And L for lesbian

Yakko: Have meanings much the same

Only the same gender as you can light that special flame

Dot: It’s found all across history, and the animal scene

So the US let them marry nationwide in - 2015?!

(sighs) America is always more disappointing than I remember.

Wakko: B is for bisexual, you like two genders or more

Yakko: Guys, girls or any other, so much nuance to explore

Dot: Now it’s true pansexuality is liking many genders too

Wakko: But when you’re pan gender really doesn’t matter to you

Yakko: Heck, you can be bi and pan if you don’t get the difference!

That brings us to asexual, the oft-neglected A

It means you simply do not feel the need for any ‘adult play’

That’s by no means essential, so a problem there is none

Unless society’s obsession with the business counts as one

Dot: A stands for aromantic too, as attraction can be split

You may feel the physical part, but not the lovey-dovey bit

Wakko: Demisexuals feel ace until they meet a special case

If neither’s there don’t worry, that just makes you aroace!

Warners: Whether you haven’t found a label

Or’ve been sure of yours since birth

No one should be able to deprive you of your worth

If you’re long gone from the closest

Or you'd rather stay inside

No one can erase your place in life’s crazy, wild ride

That’s why we celebrate Pride!

Wakko: Hey, we missed the T.

Yakko: Oh yeah. I thought it might be easier to have the verses for sexualities and genders be separate. You know, because they're totally separate things.

Dot: That makes sense. I bags the first verse!

T is for transgender, a blanket label widely worn

Your gender isn’t what the doctor said when you were born

That one’s names and clothes and stuff can cause you much distress

Though if you wanna keep them, you aren’t made trans any less

Yakko: Growing up we often learn that the genders number two

But there's documented history that proves that isn’t true

Wakko: Some people are nonbinary, and some lean either way

Dot: The genderfluid may be anything at any time of day

Wakko: But wait, why do we even need a binary at all?

One not one big massive spectrum upon which we all can fall?

Dot: The human experience comes in endless shapes and forms

You can’t hope to contain them in one culture’s set of norms

Yakko: Yes, heteronormativity is a social construct utterly

A person is a person and so we should all live free

Warners and Pride Parade Ensemble: Whether you know exactly who you are

Or you’re questioning or queer

If you feel abhorred, then rest assured, you belong right here

No one’s ever put us down for good

Although many have tried

That’s why we celebrate Pride

Warners: And if you’re cis and straight

No need to wait

Allies are always great!

All: So come on and celebrate… Pride!

Wakko: Now what do we do?

Yakko: Have fun! But first, we need to turn off our phones. The fans are gonna go nuts over which of us sang what lines of -

[He starts vibrating like a jackhammer with incessant notifications. Wakko and Dot quickly turn their phones off.]

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antiloreolympus · 2 years

Text

10 Anti LO Asks

1. I don’t think it’s the fact the “gifting ceremony with one bad option” is a common trope (which tbh it really isn’t even in old fairytales? But w/e) it’s the fact it’s so obvious Rachel is just lifting ideas from her Disney+ account to pad the story out even more than even attempt to think up something creative or god forbid let Persephone have any sort of flaws to her. The whole comic is mind-numbingly unoriginal and insultingly watered down with the sleeping beauty ripoff as more proof of that

2. why is there more instances of rachel trying to use mythology sources to "confirm" hades has kids and persephone was the hottest goddess ever over being remotely accurate on the actual hymn or mythology of hades, persephone, demeter, etc. she even purposely cut off the hymn quote in the first episode to focus on hades giving her gifts and not mentioning persephone was scared/crying and wanted to go back to her mother. shes aware she's wrong but wants to pretend she's a good faith adaptation.

3. I don’t even think HxP retellings realize they’re doing this but the way they look at the myth and go “hmm, how do I fix this? Oh yes, I make Persephone change who she is and and adjust her whole world to be with Hades!” Is unintentionally saying they read this myth of her being kidnapped & forced into marriage and thought it was HER fault she wasn’t thrilled to be Hades’ wife and that SHE needs to change for it to work. It’s lowkey victim blaming her for not loving Hades after he hurt her.

4. Everyone talks about how regressed of a character Persephone is because RS insists on always walking back even a step of character development, but can we talk about how stagnant Hades is? He has not changed in literal years at this point. He’s still the same violent, entitled asshole he was at the start. He has learned nothing and yet we’re supposed to praise how much he’s “grown”? The only way he’s grown is RS once again not using a design sheet and making him 8 feet tall, not developing him.

5. saw a LO stan try to defend the age gap as "that's just how the culture was!" as if that makes it better. yeah maybe in ancient times but LO is supposed to be modern with modern values, so why would it go off a culture it's not apart of? Even then it acts as if people didn't disagree with stuff like that even back then? Ancient societies also had slavery, should we be ok with that and ignore the abolitionists back then too? Then again RS thinks Hades is "smart" for his eternal slavery so :/

6. baby persephone has an adult face but adult persephone has a baby face. someone make it make sense please.

7. Not only was RS trying to use the Niobe myth as "proof" Zeus wasn't being "fair" to Persephone (even though her actions were far worse)/demonize Apollo/trying to be an excuse to Persephone's actions, it's a complete misread of the actual myth. The whole point of the Niobe story was Apollo and Artemis realizing what they did was wrong and doing what they could to atone for their actions, but go figure RS would butcher another myth to push her illogical story along for Persephone's benefit.

8. Apparently there’s some app drama with WT India so I wanted to see if it also showed up on the American end … and the ENTIRE ad video for the app and promo images are just of “read LO!!!l and that’s it. Like can’t they even pretend to promote their other series? Why keep releasing new comics each week when they only going to focus on the same comic? tho even the ad material only focused on the stuff from 2018 once again, so more proof they don’t want new customers to see what it’s become 🙄

9. not Rachel's publisher seeing how everyone dunked on how bad the vol 2 cover was that they had to bring in a designer to do it for her 💀 also is it just me or is the logo theyre going with it now kinda ugly?? it sure doesnt fit the actual story at least

10. aint no way she made a BABY arch her back out like she makes her adult women do???? no im not claiming she's a ped0 for it but ma'am that's just WEIRD. baby persephone is a walking hate crime.

#anti lo #anti lore olympus #lo critical #lore olympus critical

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amaryllisblackthorn · 4 years

Text

a lot of people have this idea that Annabeth's been like, a Luke apologist and in denial since the very beginning but it's not really true?. Annabeth was angry at Luke for his betrayal in the end of Lightning Thief and during Sea of Monsters. It's only until the end of The Titan's Curse that she starts the 'Luke really isn't that bad' kind of thing.

the end of Lightning Thief:

"I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him...He was never the same after his quest."

"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"

She was really angry at him during Sea of Monsters. Her vision from the Sirens does indicate that deep down she may believe she's able to save him, or at least wants to, but it doesn't diminish the hurt and anger she does feel.

"How could you?" Annabeth sounded so angry I thought she'd explode. "Thalia saved your life! Our lives! How could you dishonor her--"

"Liar!"

"I understand you want to destroy the camp!" she yelled. "You're a monster!"

"Because you have none of your own [intelligence]!"

"That's disgusting!" Annabeth said.

"You're insane," Annabeth said.

"Go to Tartarus," she said.

All those above are on the Princess Andromeda with Luke. Then later, to Percy:

She shook her head. "We made a dozen safe houses like this. I doubt Luke even remembers where they are. Or cares."

Even in the beginning-ish of Titan's Curse, she doesn't trust him. When he's struggling under the sky and asking for her help, she's hesitant. It's only when the sky begins to fall that she goes to help hold it.

Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated. "What happened?" she asked.

"Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.

Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow--tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke with her own strength.

However!! There's a shift in her feelings by the time Percy and Thalia rescue her and I personally think it's because she's aware that Luke 'saved' her life for the time being after Atlas ordered him to kill her after Artemis took the sky -- even though he was super complicit in her being in that situation in the first place. Compare:

Luke hesitated. "She--she may yet be useful, sir. Further bait."

and

"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He...he'll be useful."

I don't think it's a conscious parallel on Annabeth's part per se, but Rick Riordan using the parallel to indicate the connection. I think that's when Annabeth discovers that Luke does still care deep down, and that deep down the person that she knows is there. which is fair, because before this point he hadn’t given her any indication seeing as he literally directed Oreius to eat her. that’s a whole ‘nother write-up, though, i think. i digress.

Once she knows this, she starts to view him as someone being manipulated and taken advantage of by Kronos, someone who was able to manipulate Ares, a god, in the first book, -- she's not wrong! He is being manipulated. That doesn't absolve him from his horrible behavior especially towards her, but she understands that Luke is a troubled, traumatized young man being taken advantage of by the evil King Titan, and she's also aware that literally no one else cares enough to try to save him.

like, the language Annabeth uses to describe Luke in the end of Titan’s Curse is the same that Percy uses to describe the demigods on the Titans’ side in Last Olympian.

"You don't believe me about Luke," Annabeth said, "but we'll see him again. He's in trouble, Percy. He's under Kronos's spell."

I tried to wound his men, not kill. That slowed me down, but these weren’t monsters. They were demigods who’d fallen under Kronos’s spell. I couldn’t see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends.

there’s another callback with the language Percy uses to describe the opposing demigods in Last Olympian. this time, to what Percy says to Luke at the end of Lightning Thief.

“He’s brainwashing you, Luke.”

“You’re being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don’t listen to Kronos.”

This kid was getting brainwashed—trained to hate the gods and lash out because he’d been born half Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought I was his enemy.

Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. “Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path.”

“They were brainwashed!” I said. “Now they’re dead and Kronos is still alive. That’s supposed to make me feel better?

Percy has sympathy for the demigods manipulated by Kronos to be on the Titan’s sides; he sees them as victims. the reason he doesn’t for Luke, I feel, is because Luke’s betrayal made it personal. I think this is where Percy’s fatal flaw comes into play, honestly, with the personal loyalty. both in regards to the personal betrayal to Percy, as well as Percy’s loyalty to Annabeth (and thus Luke’s betrayal of Annabeth, too). and i feel this also applies, to a lesser extent, to Ethan. but that’s a whole ‘nother write-up, too (one day!)

there is, admittedly, the factor of Luke’s age in comparison to Percy, Annabeth, and most of the other campers. there’s definitely a power imbalance -- especially with Annabeth, which isn’t okay, obviously. so even though he’s a victim and young himself, that power imbalance in regards to his actions, manipulations, etc is messed up and not okay.

even so, Luke is still pretty young himself -- not as young as the others, but still young. like, i got into this series when i was younger than Percy and Annabeth were, so Luke, like most early 20 year olds, seemed very old to me in that regard; it’s only as i got older and closer to his are that i started to really realize that heck he was really young. so while Luke is definitely an adult in regards to the relationship he has with Percy, Annabeth, and other younger demigods -- which he should have been mindful of and makes his manipulation etc very messed up and not okay -- he’s also young himself which is something to keep in mind. like, Luke is only around 19-22? in the series. That puts him at a power imbalance in regards to Annabeth and Percy, in which he's very much an adult in the relationship, but outside of that he's still pretty young! he’s a college kid, which when you’re younger seems pretty old but then you are one and realize differently -- his brain hasn't even fully developed yet. but i’m like, seriously digressing.

my intended point was that i disagree with the interpretation that Annabeth was blinded by emotions and a toxic relationship which led her to make excuses for Luke and unable to see him for what he really was etc,-- because Annabeth was angry at him after his betrayal and had even thought he was different, that he didn’t care anymore. The ‘Luke apologist’ behavior only starts at the end of Titan’s Curse, the third book in the five book series. I just feel like her ... feelings? perspective? position? idk the right word.... is often misrepresented?

she becomes very defensive over Luke’s ‘inner goodness’ and stuff because she’s literally the only one who wants to save him and knows it. she knows what he’s done isn’t okay, but she keeps driving it home that he’s being manipulated because he is! it doesn’t excuse his actions but it doesn’t have to. by the end of titan’s curse, annabeth sees luke as someone terribly lost and no one trying, willing, or caring enough to save him. and like, she’s right when she sees luke as someone who isn’t beyond saving, who’s extremely lost and being manipulated through his trauma and anger -- it doesn’t excuse what he’s doing but that doesn’t make him someone not worthy of saving. despite what he’s done, luke is still her family and she will fight for him. she sees luke the same way percy sees the other opposing demigods in the last olympian and she’s right. she’s not making excuses for him, she doesn’t think he’s done nothing wrong, she’s just not willing to give up on him and she was right. as the child in the relationship/dynamic, it wasn’t her responsibility to be the one to save him and shouldn’t have been, but she wasn’t wrong in how she saw Luke.

like, their was definitely a power imbalance in their relationship and it’s definitely important to acknowledge that, but i feel like people tend to like, erase annabeth’s agency, for lack of a better word, and attribute her desire to save Luke as being tragically misplaced? like, Luke has totally wronged Annabeth and mistreated her terribly, but like...I find her not giving up on him mostly admirable and not pitiable, though like I said as the child in their dynamic it wasn’t her responsibility. i’m rambling though.

mostly this post was made to remind people that Annabeth was angry towards Luke, and rightfully so, until near the end of Titan’s Curse, which is where her defending Luke and insisting he could be saved really started, likely with Luke indicating he actually still cared deep down for the first time being the catalyst. especially since it seems a lot of people give like the impression they think she’s done it from the very beginning? idk ive definitely rambled a lot and lost my main point sometime ago or something. enjoy this anyway.

#annabeth chase #pjato #percy jackson and the olympians #luke castellan #ab analyzes #i'm kind of expecting this to be somewhat controversial idk #;the last olympian #;titan's curse #;the lightning thief #;i have at least two other related metas i want to write up so hopefully ill get around to that

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all-my-love-for-harry · 4 years

Text

Don’t shout.

summary: Harry doesn't know what to do after he lied to Y/N.

word count: 1.7k

based on these requests:

"fuck i didn’t mean to send that haha okay for ‘shy little boy’ can u do something where yn and harry fight over him going to a girls house while on tour (but she’s a friend) when he gets back home yn ignores him bc she found out n stuff (the kid is not home i can’t remember his name srry) hope this makes sense"

and

"How about when Harry and y/n fight and Artemis thinks they are going to break up but he doesn't want Harry to leave him. I love you writing. Artemis is sooo cute uWu."

and

"hey idk if you’re taking requests but i was wondering if you could do one where you and harry get into an argument where he makes you cry and artemis sees and gets mad at harry and won’t talk to him until harry apologizes to you,, ty !!"

and

"where y/n and harry have there first big fight"

and

"For the my shy little boy series, could you do one where y/n and Harry fight about something and Artemis gets upset at one of them as well?"

a/n: had to change the requests a bit but i hoped they worked together!! I enjoy writing angst so i liked doing this one :)

you can find more of my shy little boy here

*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:

Y/N was never one to pick up a fight. She was the type of person who preferred bottle up her feelings, most of the time. Usually she didn't have drama in her life aside from the occasional four-year-old tantrums and stuff, but then again she hasn't dated anyone in what felt like years. And she has never dated a famous person before, so every day she learned something new.

Like how trust is the most fundamental part of a relationship. She couldn't believe every little thing that was put in the internet about him, as eighty percent of it was all fake information. So she always trusted Harry and waited for his side of things before jumping to any conclusions.

However, this time, she couldn't do that. Not when dozens of pictures of him leaving one of his ex-girlfriend's house with the same clothes from the day before where all over the internet. She couldn't care less about that part, to be honest. What she was hurt about was the fact that Harry told her he was at his hotel and wasn't going to go out that night.

She knew Harry had friends, a lot of them were women. And she was no one to tell him who he could and could not hang out with. What she felt betrayed about was that he lied about it.

Now, Y/N considered herself a very mature person. But this time she allowed to feel angry and ignored every call of Harry's, not being in the mood to talk to him after she saw those pictures.

When he was back to London, he already had figured what was the problem. And he couldn't blame Y/N for ignoring him either, so as soon as he landed, Harry went straight to Y/N's home, determined to give her an explanation.

Y/N opened the door, raising an eyebrow at him but let him in anyway. She turned around and walked to the kitchen, completely ignoring him. Harry closed the door behind him and followed her, knowing her silence was anything but a good sign.

"Where's Artemis?" He asked softly, trying to make small conversation.

"His room." She murmured, raising a glass of water up to her mouth to drink from it.

"Are you mad at me?" He already knew the answer, but he didn't know how to bring up the subject. All he received was a bitter laugh from her. "I'm sorry..."

"For what? Because you lied to me or because you got caught?"

"Caught? Nothing happened, Y/N."

"Then why did you lied to me?!" She almost slammed the glass on the kitchen island, growing really angry. "Why you didn't tell me you were with her?"

"I didn't want you to be mad." He murmured, like a little kid who was being scolded.

"And how do you think i am right now? Uh?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Y/N stared at him. "I trust you, Harry. Every day, all the time. All i ever ask from you is honesty. What happens when i can't even get that?"

Harry panicked for a second, not knowing if she was going to break up with him over this. "Please, tell me how i can make it better."

"Start with telling me why you lied." She demanded. "And don't say because you didn't want to upset me because i'm not buying that. I called you the night before those pictures were taken. You told me you were at your hotel room, was that even true?"

He nodded furiously. "I was at my room when i called you. I swear."

"You told me you were gonna take a shower then you'd call again to wish Artemis a good night, but you never did. Harry, i called you, three times and you didn't answer. Here i was thinking you were so tired of working you fell asleep when in reality you were at you ex's house doing god knows what!" A single tear rolled down her left eye, breaking Harry's heart.

"She called me. She had broken up with her boyfriend and needed a friend." He said. "We drank a little, that's why i couldn't drive back to the hotel. I slept in her couch. Nothing happened, baby, you have to believe me."

"I'm not worried about you cheating, Harry. I worry about you lying to me. How can i trust you if you don't tell me the truth?" More tears fell from her eyes. "I don't want to be that type of girlfriend, but i thought we could tell each other everything."

"And we can, god, we can. I'm sorry, so sorry, baby."

"Were you still going to tell me even if those pictures didn't come out?" She asked. Her lip was trembling as she waited for him to answer, however, Harry stayed silent. "That's what i thought."

She tried to walk out of the kitchen, but Harry wrapped his hand around her wrist gently, stopping her from leaving. But Y/N was too hurt right now to react properly, so she snapped. "Don't!"

"Mummy?" A much smaller, scared voice was heard, making both adults swallow hard. "Why are you crying?" Artemis was confused when he saw the tears on his mother' face, but then his eyes landed on Harry. Under any other circumstances, he'd jump on his arms, excited he was back home. But he was quick to put two and two together, and he instantly blamed Harry for his mummy's tears. So he furrowed, stepping in front of Y/N to take a good look at her.

"Hey, baby. Were you there long?" Y/N asked him, running a hand through his soft curls. Artemis shook his head. He didn't heard much, and what he heard he didn't understand. Just that his mum was shouting and Harry was apologizing for something. "Let's go back to your room, okay?"

She took his hand and guided him back to his room, staying with him for a little bit to show him she was okay. She knew Harry wouldn't leave, especially not after a fight, but she wasn’t sure she could keep fighting with him once she came out.

Harry made the decision to make lunch for them, hoping Y/N would be willing to talk to him. He knew Artemis was now mad at him too, and Harry felt so bad for upsetting his two loves. God only knows how protective Artemis is of his mum.

He didn’t even know why he couldn’t answer Y/N’s last question. He didn’t think paparazzi would take pictures of him entering and exiting his ex-girlfriend’s house, or that Y/N would react in that way. But he also understood how bad it looked from her perspective.

“You’re still here.” He heard her voice from behind.

“I’d never leave while we’re like this.” Harry turned to look at her, furrowing when he saw her red eyes. “I never meant to upset you.” She nodded, staying quiet. “I know how the world makes it look every time I’m out with someone from the opposite sex, I’ve been targeted as the biggest player for that.”

“Those things are not true.”

“And you know that. But… in my past relationships, they didn’t believe me. They’d automatically assume the worst, that’s why I didn’t want you to find out. I didn’t want the opinion you have of me to change. I’m truly sorry.”

Y/N sighed. She looked at him in the eye and could see how vulnerable Harry was allowing himself to be right now, how honest and regretful his eyes looked.

“You’re a good friend, and a good boyfriend. That’s what I think of you. Harry, you don’t have to lie or hide things from me. I know nothing happened, I trust you in that. Just, please, be honest with me. I don’t want to find out of things when there’s already millions of pictures online, I want to hear the truth from you so we can save arguments like these.”

Harry nodded furiously, again. “I promise, it won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.” She stated. Harry walked towards her and pulled her for a tight hug, squeezing her close to his chest and sighing in relief. “But Artemis is kind of upset too.”

“I should go apologize to him too. We shouldn’t have been fighting with him in the house.”

“Go talk to him, I’ll finish this.” She pointed at the almost done meal Harry was cooking.

He obeyed, making his way towards the little boy’s room. The door wasn’t entire closed but he still knocked before entering. “Hey.” He said softly, but Artemis didn’t answer. “I’m sorry you heard that, monkey.”

“You made my mummy cry.” He stated, crossing his little arms across his chest, looking exactly like Y/N while doing it. “You have to apologize.”

“I already did, kiddo. Mummy and I have talked, now I want to say sorry to you, for upsetting you.” Harry knelt in front of him.

“Are you gonna leave?” He said, his mood drastically changed as his eyes filled with tears.

Harry was confused by the question, but was quick to assure him. “Of course not. Everything’s fine, monkey. Adults fight sometimes, but I’m not gonna leave, ever.”

“That’s what my teacher told Susie but her dad doesn’t live with her anymore.” He rubbed his eyes with his little fists, whipping his tears.

“But that’s not us, Artemis. I’m here, do you see? I’m never gonna leave you or your mummy.”

“Promise?” Artemis offered him his right pinky and Harry wrapped his much bigger one around it without hesitation.

“You have my word.”

They hugged, Artemis wrapped his little arms around his neck, applying a little pressure as he was still afraid Harry would leave him. But in response, Harry just squeezed him closer to him. He sat on the floor with Artemis on his lap, letting him calm down as he cooed at him.

“I love you.” Harry barely heard the words, as Artemis spoke above a whisper, still pressed to Harry’s tattooed chest.

But he still heard. And he couldn’t help the dimpled smile from appearing on his face. He loved this boy more than he could ever begin to describe, and the reassurance that the feeling was mutual was always something Harry loved to hear.

He kissed the top of his head, brushing some blonde curls out of his small face so he could look directly at his hazel eyes. “Not as much as I love you.”

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

taglist!!

@myfavfanficsever @odetostep @la-cey @cock-a-doodely-doo @awkwardbullfrog @mellamolayla @moorgannn @bagtan-serendipity @awesomebooklover17 @finelineribs @sunnybusiness @beanholland @sweetenerstyle @cronias13 @vhsharry @maisley @seasidecrowbar @stylesfics-xx @autumnpauley20 @fineline-hs1 @stephaniemalvie @immajustreadwritereblog @jadert15 @iguessweallcrazyithinktho @abundanceofsoph @harrysthicccthighs

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles one shot #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fic #harry styles angst #harry styles x you #dad!harry #stepdad!harry #harry styles fanfiction

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mochegato · 3 years

Text

Capturing a Dream

Chapter 1 - Meeting the Team

This was it. She was excited. No excited wasn’t the word. Terrified? Yeah, that was closer. Marinette was about to step into the Young Justice base for the first time and meet her new teammates. What if they don’t like her? What if they don’t let her join the team? What if they let her join the team but they exclude her? What if they get mad at her because she won’t expose her identity and they think she doesn’t trust them? What if she messes up and she ends up getting someone killed? What if she gets one of her teammates killed? What if she gets someone else killed? What if… No!

She wasn’t going to do that. She wasn’t the same 14 year old girl who spiraled into anxiety-induced, worst-case-scenario, death spirals. She was 17 now. She was in her final year of school before college, nearly an adult, legally, she was an adult. She was the Guardian. She was a hero. She was already in a prestigious internship with one of the biggest names in fashion. She was working with the Justice League, well Young Justice, but that was better because there wasn’t as much of a time commitment, which was really good because she didn’t have much to spare… where was she going with this? Right! She was smart. She was competent. She was confident(ish). She was… standing outside the zeta tube opening staring at it like an idiot, and she was going to be late.

She took a deep breath and ran her free hand over the costume she wasn’t quite used to yet, trying to find comfort in the feeling and focus her mind. She could do this. She may no longer be able to be Ladybug for secrecy reasons, but Ladybug wasn’t her only option. She was Chimera now and Chimera was not linked back to the miraculous. So this new and completely un-miraculous affiliated hero definitely wasn’t unifying the fox and horse miraculous. Chimera was a separate and unmiraculous hero. She was a new heroic entity; a powerful amalgamation of divergent parts; an illusion, who uses illusions; a dream that can never be captured. Chimera was just another magical hero working in the background.

Gone was the flashy, bright suit of a central hero. She was a shadow now and her suit reflected her new role. The base of the suit was a brown so dark, it almost looked black. Her knee-high boots and gloves that reached to midway up her bicep were both black, meeting with the brown core of the suit with a strip of deep orange. Her mask was the same dark brown color with deep orange at the corners. She no longer had her yoyo, but in its place was a rope that responded to her like her yoyo did. Her flute across her back completed her weaponry.

She was still a hero, just not a miraculous one, as far as anyone else knew. She was still protecting people for now, she just wasn’t on the front lines anymore. She was still protecting the miraculous and would for the rest of her life. And she was still… standing outside the Zeta tube opening, staring.

She closed her eyes, and walked through the portal. Before she let out her breath, she could feel a difference in the air around her. She heard a digital voice say “Recognize Chimera B12.” She opened one eye tentatively and jumped back with a quiet squeak when she saw Batman standing on the other side giving her an amused smile next to Black Canary and a red figure.

Black Canary stepped forward, “Welcome to Mount Justice, Chimera. You’ve already met Batman. This is Red Tornado. He supervises the cave here.” Chimera nodded to him but before she could say anything Black Canary continued speaking. “We are very excited to have you here. While you are training and on missions, this will be your home. I know you have an apartment near your internship, but if you ever want to get away, you are always welcome to stay here whenever and however long you want to.” Her voice was warm and welcoming. She leaned over and lowered her voice, “lead lined walls and no bugs or cameras allowed in the personal rooms in case you want to drop your transformation while you are here.” She gave her a nod and started walking, motioning to Chimera to follow her.

“As discussed before, your team knows nothing about you. What you choose to disclose is your decision. Only Batman and I know anything more. The team is used to people hiding their identities so there is no pressure to give your personal identity. I mean, there might be teasing, but you are under absolutely no obligation to divulge and they will respect that. Especially since Robin is under the same requirement.”

They entered into a small sitting area that appeared to be their common room. The first thing she noticed was a kitchen that was almost as nice as her parents’ kitchen in the bakery and significantly bigger. She let out a quiet “Wow” without even noticing she had done it. She would have to try that out as soon as she was able to get back to it.

“Pretty nice, huh?” She heard from behind her. She whirled around and finally noticed the other half of the room were a few couches and chairs were clustered in front of a television. More significantly, there was a red headed boy talking to her, standing in front of four other teens. They were looking at her with uncertainty and a slight bit of curiosity except the red headed boy who looked excited to meet her, and the larger black haired boy who looked a bit hostile.

“Uh, yeah. It’s… um, a really nice kitchen. It looks… really professional.” She stammered, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.

The red head smiled brightly at her. “Only the best for the Justice League.”

“Alright team, it’s nice to see your smiling faces.” Black Canary started with more than a hint of sarcasm. “I would like to introduce you to your new team member. This is Chimera.” Chimera gave an awkward wave to the Young Justice members. “She was recruited by the Justice League. Her identity is secret and will stay that way, am I clear?” She stared at each of the team members one at a time. “Good. She is here under an outside deal so she may not always be available for missions, but she will be here whenever she can be.”

The red head raised his hand. “Wally, you don’t have to raise your hand.” Batman said tiredly.

“What is the outside deal? What does that even mean?”

“It means something else brought her to our vicinity and she is only available to us because of that. The details of the deal are not important. Only that she is a hero on your team and every bit as dedicated to the team as the rest of you.”

“How is she as dedicated if she can’t commit to being here?” Artemis snarked quietly to Superboy.

“We all have outside lives that demand our attention. There are times I can’t go out with the Justice League. One of the others cover for me. Are you suggesting I am not committed to the Justice League?” Batman stared harshly at her.

“No, sir.” Artemis shrunk back.

“I’m sorry, I have school and… other obligations, but I promise I will give you as much time and attention as I can spare without going insane. Learned that the hard way.” She looked down as she muttered the last part under her breath. She quickly looked back up hoping nobody heard her. Everyone seemed to have the same expressions on their faces except Superboy who was giving her a quizzical look. “I am committed to the team. I want to be here, I promise. Um… here, I brought macarons!” She said with forced cheeriness, attempting to placate their suspicions and hostility. She opened the lid to the box of macarons she had brought with her.

Chimera’s hair blew back as Wally rushed forward. He had already grabbed three macarons before she even saw him move. “These are delicious! Where did you get them?”

“Thank you. I made them. I like to bake.” She smiled broadly at him.

Wally stared at her with his jaw open, the macaron close to falling out of his mouth. “Marry me.” He said dreamily.

Chimera giggled at him. “How about I use the only-the-best kitchen to make something else for you a bit later instead?”

Wally gave her a bright grin. “That will work.” He looked at the rest of the macarons longingly then back at his teammates. “Uh…. These are absolutely terrible and you shouldn’t have to be subjected to them. I’ll just finish these off so you don’t have to.” He reached back toward the box but Chimera closed the lid and raised an amused brow at him.

“Move over,” Robin pushed Wally to the side. “Thank you Chimera. That was sweet of you.” He took a bite and looked back up at her with a smile. “Hey, Wally was right. These are delicious. Artemis, Kaldur, Superboy, get over here and try these.”

Kaldur and Artemis came over, Artemis shoving Wally again for no apparent reason. Superboy stayed where he had been and continued to eye her suspiciously. Wally looked at them with a pout. “Hey! Leave some for me.”

“You’ve already had a bunch. The rest of us get some too.” Artemis rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I have a fast metabolism. I need to eat.” Wally whined.

“Thank you… I’m sorry, I didn’t get any of your names.” Chimera said apologetically.

“Tall, blonde, and hostile is Artemis. Tall, blonde, and aloof is Kaldur. Tall, dark, and broody back there is Superboy. You already met Wally, aka Kid Flash. And I’m Robin.” Robin gave her a charming smile and shook her hand.

She gave them all a brilliant smile. “It is nice to meet you all. I’m really excited to work with you.” Wally smiled broadly at her and gave a lovesick sigh. Artemis groaned and turned away.

Kaldur moved forward and extended his hand to her, “Welcome to the team.”

She shook his hand and gave him a warm smile. “Thank you.”

“Okay, now that everyone has introduced themselves, let’s get to the training area. I’m interested to see how Chimera’s powers work with the rest of yours.” Black Canary announced.

“The training area is just this way,” Robin said with a suave smile, sweeping his arm out toward the direction they were supposed to move.

“Thanks,” Chimera smiled anxiously at him.

Wally came up on the other side of her and bumped his shoulder gently into hers. “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy on you.” He said with a wink.

Chimera looked at him blank faced for a few seconds before throwing him a sassy grin. “It’s not me I’m worried about, speedy.”

“Oh no, Speedy was someone else.” Artemis threw in, moving past the group.

“You’re kidding.” Chimera stared at her.

“Nope.” Artemis responded popping the p. “A whole different hero. Not even fast either. Makes no sense.”

“Good to know.” Chimera nodded absentmindedly.

“Oh, she can never meet Speedy.” Wally looked at the other heroes with wide eyes.

“Is he that bad?” Chimera asked, concern seeping into her eyes.

Artemis turned back to her and grinned wickedly, “No, he’s afraid you’ll start dating him.”

“Ahh. I don’t date teammates so, don’t worry.” Chimera reassured Wally with a clap on his back. Artemis barely contained the chuckles that were fighting to spill out.

Wally gave her a distressed look, “But, teammates are great. They are supportive and understand you… They’re… They’re the ideal dating material.”

“You make some interesting points.” She nodded as though contemplating his words. “Luckily, you have very pretty and interesting teammates, four at least from what I can see. So you have a wealth of dating material at your disposal.” Chimera gave him a wink and walked ahead of him. Artemis cackled loudly and threw her arm over Chimera’s shoulders, walking along with her. “I think I’m going to like having you here.”

Chimera smiled at her. “Good. I hope so.”

Black Canary gave them a serious look and stood in the middle of the sparring area as the team lined up around the edges. “Let’s get started. This is an exhibition sparring match. We want to see what you can do and what your teammates can do and see how you can mesh.”

“You don’t know what she can do?” Kaldur asked.

“I know. It’s you I’m concerned about. You’re going to be working with her and leading her. You need to know what she can do. So, Chimera? Go full force. We want to know what to plan for in the field.” Black Canary commanded.

Chimera looked at her unsure. “Full force? Are you sure? I don’t want to… That can be really dangerous.”

Black Canary nodded in understanding. “I get that, but I assure you it will be fine. We just need to see where you are in your skills, so we need you to give it your all.”

Chimera eyes got even bigger, “I’m not going to kill someone to prove a point. I can do a demonstration instead.”

The rest of the team looked at her insulted. Robin finally spoke up to scoff at her. “We can take it. We’ve dealt with worse. Don’t worry.”

Ladybug looked back at him with wide eyes. “It isn’t… I don’t think I’m a better fighter than you. I’m positive you all have better training than I do, especially since I don’t have any, it’s just… I’ve brought down the Eiffel Tower with one hit before. Thank god for miraculous ladybugs. But you all look a bit more…” she struggled for an appropriate word to finish her thought, “…vulnerable. I really don’t want to hurt any of you.” She shot him a pleading look.

Superboy stepped forward with a determined look on his face. “Then try me. I’m less…” he paused as if thinking, “what was that word you used… Vulnerable.”

She looked at him uncertain then looked over to Black Canary, taking note of her stern expression. She nodded and stepped onto the mat. “I’ll make it work.” Chimera offered uncertainly.

They faced each other for a few moments before settling into a fighting stance. When she was ready, Chimera nodded to Superboy. He rushed at her and extended his arm at the last second to deliver a haymaker punch. Chimera bent backwards and twirled in a semi-circle so she was standing behind him and kicked him in the butt, sending him sprawling on the floor. He got up and glared at her. He rushed her again, this time aiming for her waist so she couldn’t duck under him. She stared at him coming at her like a deer in headlights. Superboy got a smug glint in his eye as he closed in on her. At the last second, Chimera jumped up and rolled down his back, landing on her feet behind him, the wide eyed expression long gone.

“We need you to try, Chimera. We need you to actually fight, not just dodge.” Batman stated sternly.

Chimera looked over to him to nod at the instruction. The momentary distraction was enough for Superboy to land a hard hit to her stomach. The force of the impact sent her flying across the mat. The team winced and groaned in sympathy as she hit a wall with a hard thump. Superboy moved over to her to check on her but stopped half way to her. Chimera stood up and cocked her head to the side, examining Superboy. She raised her brow and asked calmly, “So… super strength. Invulnerability?”

He nodded at her. “Okay then.” She smirked at him, walking back to the central area of the room. “Let’s do this.” He smiled slightly and nodded. She immediately launched herself at him, catching him by surprise. She punched him hard enough to send him across the room in the opposite direction. He slid toward the wall but was able to regain enough control to use the wall as a springboard to launch himself back at her. She saw him coming and twisted at the last second, using his momentum against him to push him off balance. He recovered quicker than she expected and swept her legs out from under her. She used her momentum to turn the fall into a flip, leading to a series of flips and twists taking her away from him, giving her some space to think.

They circled around each other trying to plan their next move. Suddenly Chimera stopped and looked like she just realized something. “Oh I forgot. I’m supposed to be showing my skills…” she started innocently. Superboy took advantage of her apparent distraction to jump at her again but that was the moment she had been waiting for. “Voyage” she whispered and created a portal behind her. She stepped out of the way at the last possible second, sending Superboy through the portal at full speed. The portal ended close to the rock wall on the other side of the room. Superboy almost slammed into the wall with his full force but she had left him enough room to bounce back off the wall and launch himself back through the portal and back in front of her, throwing a punch toward her sternum that she was just barely able to twist away from, rolling along his arm until she was in the perfect position to elbow him in the back of his head. He grunted and turned back toward her, circling around her again.

“Full force, Chimera,” Black Canary chastised her.

“Not going to make him bleed on purpose for a game, Ms. Canary.” Chimera responded, still focused on Superboy. “Besides, we’re not done yet.” She turned to Superboy, “Right?” He nodded at her, an amused glint in his eyes. “I haven’t even showed off all my skills yet.”

“Well, let’s see those skills you keep talking about.” Superboy taunted her.

“If you say so Superboy.” She smirked at him then frowned. “I don’t appreciate that your actual name is the name I would have called you to taunt you. You’re making my job harder.”

He frowned at her, the amused look that had been in his eyes dropping. “So sorry my name is an inconvenience. You can call me The Weapon like my makers did if you prefer.”

Chimera stood up straight, fidgeting and frowning at him. “That’s… really?” She looked around to the other heroes. They all nodded solemnly.

She looked back at him with softer eyes. “What do you want to be called?” She asked in a kind tone.

“I… Superboy.” He said stiffly, not exactly sure how to respond to the shift in atmosphere.

Chimera nodded and gave him a warm smile. “Superboy it is. No nicknames unless you approve of them.”

“As heartwarming as this is, you are supposed to be sparring.” Black Canary reminded them.

“Right,” Chimera said shook her head to refocus herself. “Sorry.” She whispered “Mirage,” bringing her flute up to her lips. As soon as the notes were heard, a dozen replicas of her appeared and began running around the circle. Superboy tried to scan them but they all looked identical even with his infrared vision. He stilled to listen for a heartbeat or breathing, but he couldn’t detect it in any of them. He looked around wildly. It was a sea of dark brown and bright orange. He nodded to himself calculating the possibilities. Most likely she managed to split herself. So either they are all fully sentient or there is a central figure controlling them. He’d have to hope for the latter.

His eyes flicked to one of the figures running at him. The figure jumped into a flying kick. He dodged out of the way and rolled to his feet, looking around again for the next attack. He didn’t wait long. Another figure ducked low to sweep his feet. He jumped over her but felt a sharp pain in his side as one of the replicas body checked him with enough force to knock him into the far wall.

Superboy shook his head to clear it. When he took more than a few seconds to recover, the replicas looked at him concerned. One of them finally moved forward and asked “Are you okay to continue?”

He stared at the replica for a few moments before nodding. “We’re not done yet.” All the replicas smiled at him and moved into new positions, waiting for him to indicate he was ready. As soon as he nodded two replicas moved to attack him, one went high, one went for his legs. He lunged for the one going high, jumping over the one going for his legs. As soon as he reached her, she disappeared. Not meeting the resistance he had expected, the force of the lunge caused him to lay out flat on the floor. He grunted and jumped up before any of the replicas could attack again.

As soon as he was up he looked around with a grin. “Mirage,” he repeated. They were all an illusion. He just had to find the real one. Two attacked him again. He hit one causing it to disappear but the other one hit him with her flute, knocking him to the side. He shook his head again and turned back to them and backed away, giving himself space. He just had to find the one. There had to be an indication of which one was the real one. He couldn’t use his infrared vision or hearing. Maybe there was something about them. He stared at them as they circled around each other. There! There was one with a different shade of orange, the shade Chimera had before the match. All the replicas had bright orange but the real Chimera had deep orange accents.

He kept his eyes moving so she wouldn’t know he’d made her. He moved forward toward one of the replicas moving to punch her. Chimera attacked from the side again, coming at him before he could touch the replica and make it disappear. He grinned to himself. At the last second, he changed his trajectory and sent another haymaker toward her. He jerked back in pain as the replica he had been moving toward originally made contact, knocking the air out of his lungs. He grunted in anger and confusion as a rope was tied around him, pinning down his arms. His legs were swept out from under him causing him to land hard. He trashed with all his strength as he felt her tying his legs too. He kept thrashing against the rope, but no matter how hard he pushed and pulled, the rope showed no indication of weakening.

After a few moments of him pointlessly struggling, Black Canary walked over and declared Chimera the winner. She smiled excitedly at Chimera. “Now we know what we’re working with and we can plan how to incorporate your skills into missions and approaches to your training.”

Chimera nodded in understanding and looked over to the team who were still watching her in various degrees of surprise. Kaldur nodded in approval. Wally and Artemis stared at her in shock. Robin was pointing and laughing at Superboy. Chimera glowered at him and turned back to Superboy, releasing the rope so he could get up.

As soon as he was freed, Superboy jumped up and rubbed his arms, glaring at the floor. Chimera smiled nervously in his direction, but he refused to look at her and had turned his body away from her. She sighed and looked down too, shifting nervously. After a few moments, she started gathering up the rope to tie it back around her waist. She furrowed her brows at the sound of Robin still laughing, which seemed to upset Superboy even more. She narrowed her eyes at him and whipped the rope out in his direction. It snapped a few inches away from his face with a crack so loud it reverberated throughout the cave. Robin jumped away awkwardly and fell backwards, landing on his butt.

Superboy looked from Robin to her. He let out a small laugh and gave her a smile. Chimera took it as a good sign and smiled back at him. “That was a lot of fun. You are really good at picking up on details, otherwise that color trick wouldn’t have worked.” Her voice was soft, like she was addressing a scared child.

He nodded at her and quietly said, “Thanks. It was fun.”

“Does that mean we can do it again sometime? I need practice sparring and I’m usually afraid I’ll hurt someone when I’m in the suit and when I’m not, it isn’t as effective. I mean, helpful still, but not as effective.” He stared at her for a few seconds but finally nodded at her.

“That was a pretty good introduction but it’s getting late now. I think it’s time to call it a night. Red Tornado, can you take Chimera to the room she will be using so she can recharge?” Black Canary asked.

When Chimera returned a few minutes later, the group smiled at her and gave their goodbyes. They made plans for everyone to return the next day for more training. One by one, they all left through the Zeta tubes except for Superboy. Chimera looked at him confused. “Are you not leaving too?”

“No.” He stated coldly.

“Why not? I mean… if you don’t mind me asking.” She stammered out.

“Because I live here.” He grumbled back at her.

“Alone?” She gasped.

“With Red Tornado.” He corrected defiantly.

“But no other… people? In this big, empty, cold place?” She looked out over the cave, the empty, cold, inhospitable place he was going to call home.

“I like being alone.” He stated in an annoyed voice.

Something that looked like anger flashed across her face transforming into a determined look before she smoothed it out and gave him a cheeky grin. “That’s a shame.”

He narrowed his eyes looking at her suspiciously, “Why is that?”

“I’m moving in.” Her smile grew bigger.

He furrowed his brow and frowned, “What?”

“I’m moving in. I have school and, uh… stuff during the day, but I’ll be here in the mornings and at night, most weekends.” She nodded at him. “It will be like a sleepover every night… except we’ll be sleeping in separate rooms.”

He stared at her for a few seconds, unsure how to react. “Whatever,” he grunted walking back toward the residence area. “Dinner is usually in like 30 minutes.” He called over his shoulder. She smiled in his direction. It wasn’t a warm welcome but it was better than nothing.

“Are you sure about this? It isn’t required for you to live here. Most of the members don’t.” Black Canary reassured her.

“That’s why I’m doing it. I’ve already had one teammate who had to live essentially alone and isolated in a big, empty space. He hated it. It messes with your self-worth and your ability to interact with other people, no matter how badly you want to. It scrapes away at your humanity. I couldn’t really do anything for his living situation, but I can do something for Superboy.”

“It will make keeping your identity more difficult.” Batman warned her softly.

“I know, but he’s my teammate. I won’t abandon him. And I need a friend here too. I’ll be all alone otherwise, so… it will be mutually beneficial… I hope.” She added tentatively.

Batman and Black Canary shared an approving look with each other and turned back to her. “Okay. Let us or Red Tornado know if you need anything. We really think you are going to fit in amazingly with this team.”

Chimera smiled at them and shifted slightly to look out over the rest of the cave. “I think so, too.”

Chapter 2

#connette #connerette #konmari #maribat #Marinette x Conner #marikon #capturing a dream #conner x marinette

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weeinterpreter · 3 years

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Female Characters in the Artemis Fowl Series

Following me, botching @orangerosebush fun post with some critical feminist talks (sorry!), I shall try to make a new and more coherent (but not necessarily complete) comment on the female characters in Colfer’s books.

Before I start, though, I want to clarify that I love the series and my criticism isn’t me throwing shade because of hatred. I am pointing out these things because I deeply care about this book series. Also, I know the books were published in the early 2000s, so our world views have certainly progressed. But, let’s start and see where we end up.

Looking at the book series, we have five female characters that play big roles: Holly, Opal, Juliet, Angeline and Minerva.

Let’s start with Opal, because I got more and more frustrated with her, the more often she was used as a villain.

What really bothers me is how Opal is being reduced to such a ridiculous villain. She appears in 4 out of 8 books, but I can't take her seriously, especially since she gets more and more deranged. She was a good villain in her first appearance, but starting from TOD, she starts getting unstable. She eats truffles, is jealous of Holly’s beauty, wants to be the Queen of the world, etc. Imagine, Spiro or Cudgeon – two villains who were also scrupulous and didn’t shy away from murder – eating chocolate and envying Arty of his beauty. Their roles would have had a completely different connotation. We didn’t get that with any of the male antagonists. Their antagonism was never linked to their gender.

Opal is like the Evil Queen in Snow White, who asks the mirror if she is the fairest of them all and succumbs to her weaknesses. Opal’s antagonism was more and more played for laughs, which for me plays into some old patterns in which female characters never really succeed and/or are taken seriously compared to their male counterparts. And whenever something goes well for a female character, chances are, she is considered a Mary Sue.

Minerva gets this treatment in canon (not taken seriously) and from the fandom (”Mary Sue”). Her father wants to buy her ponies the whole time and in the end, she gets outsmarted by Artemis. Compare this with Artemis in Book 1, whose adult bodyguard travels around the world with him, because he wants to catch a fairy and then he not only kidnaps a fairy, he also gets to keep the money. Despite all that, the fandom initially hated Minerva, possibly because people thought she was too much like Artemis/too perfect. In the end, Colfer dropped her from the books and we never see her again.

I’d even go so far and say that Holly was a victim of the “female curse”. She is the one character in the books, who probably has the hardest time.

She never really succeeds. First, she has to fight to get a position in LEPRecon. She has to fight her way through misogyny, and (I assume) is giving her other female colleague a hard time by pointing her finger at their femininity. Root gives her a hard time, but is supporting her, eventually. When she loses this ally, she has to give up her career in the police, because she can’t work/doesn’t want to work with Ark Sool. Trouble Kelp just swallows it, works his way through to Commander, and succeeds.

When Holly tries to become a private investigator, she fails and has to accept Vinyaya’s offer in joining Section 8 (regardless, if she wanted to or not, her private agency endeavour fails vs Mulch and Doodah Day = Success). This rarely happens to male characters/private detectives? Thinking of such movies as “The Maltese Falcon” or the “Dresden Files” book series. They always somehow manage with their agencies, no matter how hard the overall hardships. They rise from the situation like a phoenix from the ashes.

Due to her time in Hybras, Holly ends up isolated from her peers. Everyone around her gets married, has children, etc. Her only real friends are humans who will die centuries before she gets old. She does get to be a Commodore (which I don’t think was a position before?), but it seems to only have come with a huge sacrifice.

We meet Juliet at the age of 16, being a maid and training to become a bodyguard. After the mind wipe, she decides to become a wrestler and she was one character, I was genuinely hoping to see go her own way. She became a wrestler, but suddenly in Book 8 she is going back to be the twins’ bodyguard. This really annoyed me, but I understood it was a temporary thing, so when I read that Colfer was planning on bringing her back and described it as a "Michael Corleone" thing (note: A character who wants to get out of his family's business but ultimately fails), I got really worried. It will be interesting to see if Juliet has to give up her wrestling career in Book 3 of the twins, to be the full-time bodyguard for Myles and Beckett, because it would just play into the same pattern, imo.

One last thing about Angeline, because this is already getting really long. This touches on mental illness, and I am no expert (and I am also not a fan of its portrayal in Book 7), but compared to Artemis, who gets a “funny” mental illness (one that is played for laughs), she gets the whole shebang. Delusions, not recognising loved ones, hurting her son. It seems like a lot, compared to Artemis’ Atlantis Complex, who afterwards gets treated and is taken care of.

I am sure there are lots more examples, and this is far from complete. Feel free to add or disagree, I am really interested in your thoughts. All these examples are not bad storytelling devices, I just think that if they happen to the majority of female characters, then that is noteworthy. Also, I am not accusing Colfer of deliberately doing all this to his female characters, I’m just pointing out a pattern, I have noticed.

#artemis fowl #fowldom #holly short #opal koboi #minerva paradizo #juliet butler #angeline fowl #colfer's depiction of women is odd at times #ramblings #is this a female characters written by men kind of thing I wonder?#female characters have it hard #still love the books #vinyaya is the one accomplished woman in the books and then she gets killed off #coincidence?#holly is the tragic hero in the books for me #x #artemis fowl ii

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lifeofkaze · 3 years

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When Stars Ignite - Chapter 15

HPHM Rockstar AU

A/N: Katriona Cassopeia (in mention) belongs to the gorgeous @kc-and-oc, David Willows (in mention) belongs to the wonderful @that-scouse-wizard

General Warning: This whole fic has a general warning of being NSFW / 18+. We will give specific warnings for every chapter in itself, but several adult themes will be more or less present in every chapter, may it be explicitly or in mention. These include sexual topics, drug abuse, (ab)use of alcohol, smoking and a whole lot of cursing.

Specific Warning: language

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Find the masterpost here, the previous chapter here and the next one here. The songs featured before every chapter can be found on this pretty badass playlist here.

~~~

This work is a collaboration with @the-al-chemist

Taglist: @slytherindisaster @carewyncromwell @night-rhea @thatravenpuffwitch

Mm, child, tired of the bullshit Go on, dust your shoulders off and keep it moving Yes, Lord, tryna get some new shit In there, swimwear, going-for-the-pool shit

~ Cold Years - Good As Hell ~

Lizzie frowned as she saw Murphy quickly turning his wheelchair around and getting ready to leave as she approached him and Orion. The blond sound technician nodded to her in passing and she could have sworn he winked at her as well.

She looked after him curiously as she sat down on the deckchair next to Orion, her towel loosely wrapped around her shoulders.

“What’s gotten into him?”

Orion smiled ominously. “Yearning for his one true love.”

“What, basketball?” Lizzie snorted. “Fucking fringe sports.”

Orion had to laugh at her words. “I was talking about Katriona.”

Lizzie shrugged. “Close enough.” She tilted her head to see what Orion had been writing down into his notebook. “How’s the song going?”

He spun the pencil between his fingers, the way Lizzie had shown him with a drumstick. “Slowly; I’ve been a little distracted by more inspirational sights.”

He briefly smiled at her before resting his chin on his arms with his eyes closed.

“Were you now,” Lizzie giggled. She moved a little closer to Orion, pulled her still dripping ponytail over her shoulder and wrung it out over his back. She laughed as he jumped at the cold water hitting his warm skin.

“What was that for?” he called out, playfully trying to shove her away. “You’re a mood of your own, do you know that?”

“As if you don’t love it.”

Orion only snorted and chose not to answer. Expecting another teasing remark from Lizzie, he was surprised when she remained silent. Looking up, Orion saw her attention had shifted from him to the other side of the pool. He followed her eyes to where Artemis was sitting alone on her deckchair, listening to music with her gigantic headphones on while scrolling through her phone.

“You’re still intent on making friends with her, aren’t you?” Orion said. It was more a statement than a question.

Lizzie hummed in response, her eyes not leaving Artemis. “I can’t believe she wants to be alone all of the time.”

“Have you considered that maybe she values her solitude more than she does company?” Orion contemplated softly. “Sometimes we keep from others because we want to protect sides of ourselves we don’t want anyone to see.”

“Like Merula does all the time?”

Orion nodded. “Yes, she and Artemis are more similar than both of them might think.”

“But Merula and I became friends eventually,” Lizzie said stubbornly. “The effort was on another level but we still did. I bet I could make Artemis like me; I don’t want her to be alone all the time. That’s the best part of touring isn’t it? Spending all this time with your friends.”

“It is for us, but not necessarily for her. You can’t force her, Liz; if she wants to remain alone, you’ll have to accept that. Why are you so intent on befriending her anyway,” he wanted to know, “is this about you or about her?”

“It’s not an ego thing, if that’s what you’re going for,” Lizzie answered a little more sharply than she had meant to. She could see that Orion was taken aback by her tone, so she softened her voice a little as she tried to explain.

“I don’t think she’s keeping to herself by choice,” she said. “She’s always on the sidelines, always watching what everyone else is doing. She only started talking to Charlie a few days ago, and God knows how he managed to do that. I don’t think that’s because she doesn’t like us, though. I think she just had really bad experiences in the past.”

“Artemis is not a scared cat. It shows your compassion that you want to include her so badly but just think about all the things you’ve tried already. You tried talking to her many different times, you wanted her to join us for lunch, asked her to go out for drinks after the shows; she declined every single one of your offers. If Artemis wants to tear down her walls, she will do so in her own time and at her own pace.”

Lizzie contemplated Orion’s words; without thinking about it, she placed her hand on the tattoo on Orion’s back. She had seen it up close so many times by now, but she never grew tired of how beautiful it looked. The water beads still glistening on his skin were looking like shiny pearls amongst the black lines.

She was broken out of her thoughts, when Orion moved away from her touch. “What’s wrong?”

He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “You know I appreciate both the gesture of affection and the thrill of the risk, but I think you’re taking things a little too far.”

Lizzie only chuckled and tried to playfully poke him in the ribs, but Orion moved out of her reach again. A little irritated, she furrowed her brow. “Since when have you become so boring? You didn’t complain about the little extra attention when we had the photoshoot yesterday.”

“I know, but still, it was reckless of you,” Orion replied calmly. “People could start noticing.”

“But they didn’t.”

Orion sighed. “I’m not entirely sure about that.”

Lizzie’s shoulders tensed, all playfulness disappearing from her face. “What do you mean?”

“I think Skye might have seen something. I wasn’t sure because she didn’t say anything so I decided to wait and see. But in any case, it is unwise to draw attention like that.”

Lizzie raised her head, her eyes moving to where Skye was sitting with Erika and Andre. And sure enough, the blue haired bassist was in fact looking their way. Lizzie unconsciously moved a little away from Orion, but when hers and Skye’s eyes met, Skye’s look confirmed what the sinking feeling in Lizzie’s stomach had been telling her all along - she knew.

“That’s not good,” Lizzie whispered, more to herself than Orion.

“It is far from optimal indeed.”

And sure enough, Skye’s frown deepened as quickly as Lizzie’s panic was growing. She watched as her friend said something to Erika before getting out of her chair to come over to them.

Lizzie absolutely didn’t want to be confronted by Skye, and least of all in front of the others. Skye had never been a particularly subtle person; if Lizzie got into an argument with her here, she might as well shout everything from the rooftops.

Before Skye could make her way to them, Lizzie practically jumped out of her seat, trying to look as casual as possible while her heart was racing in her chest.

“Pity you don’t want to join the next round,” she proclaimed just loudly enough for Skye to hear it, “water polo is always more fun with more players.”

She set her eyes on Artemis, who was still sitting on the opposite side of the pool. “I’ll just go and ask Artemis instead.”

“How smooth,” she heard Orion mutter with a mocking tone, but didn’t care. She had wanted to speak to Artemis anyway and if she could bring the whole length of the pool between herself and Skye by doing so, all the better.

Lizzie set off to round the pool in the opposite direction to Skye; much to her relief, she noted that her friend had sat down onto her deckchair again, but she could feel her green eyes boring into her back.

Artemis was slumped deep into her chair when Lizzie approached her. She was slightly nodding her head to the inaudible beat coming from her headphones. The corners of Lizzie’s mouth twitched when she saw the stylised cat face engraved in silver on the speakers; she had the same limited edition.

Artemis was so concentrated on her phone that she didn’t even notice Lizzie’s presence. Lizzie wondered if that was intentional, but when Artemis jumped violently when Lizzie sat down next to her, she instantly felt sorry; she hadn’t wanted to scare her.

She countered Artemis’ hostile stare with an extra cheerful smile, partly because she wanted to start the conversation off right and partly to mask her own jumpy nerves.

“All alone today?”

Artemis sized her up for a moment. “Apparently.”

“Sorry about scaring you, I thought you’d seen me coming.”

The look in Artemis’ eyes grew hard. “I’m not scared.”

“I just thought…”

“I said, I’m not scared,” Artemis repeated stubbornly and Lizzie raised her hands in defence.

“Of course not, sorry.”

She waited for Artemis to show any sign of wanting to continue their conversation but received none, so she tried again. “Do you want to come over and sit with the rest of us? You don’t have to sit alone all of the time.”

Artemis’ eyes flickered to where Everett was basking in the sun. “I don’t think so.”

Lizzie was looking in the same direction. “Whistling after you earlier was shit, sorry about that. Ev takes a lot of getting used to, but he doesn’t really mean it that way.”

Now Artemis’ hazel eyes found hers and Lizzie could see a trace of anger flashing in them. “I think he very much meant it that way.”

Lizzie sighed; actually, Artemis was right but that wasn’t something she could downright tell her and still hope to get her to come. “He can be such an idiot, I know. Just forget about him.”

Artemis indicated her headphones. “That was the plan.”

The faint sound of a guitar was reaching Lizzie’s ears from the music that was still playing, and the voice of the singer was sounding familiar. “What are you listening to?”

Artemis watched her critically, probably contemplating just putting her headphones back on, and be done with it. “Some cover songs from a singer from Liverpool. He’s called David Willows. Have you heard of him?”

Lizzie had to laugh. “You could say I’ve met him once or twice back in the days.”

She immediately regretted laughing when Artemis’ eyes narrowed; she had probably given the impression that she was making fun of her.

It was apparent that the unapproachable pyro tech had no intention of continuing their conversation; she was repeatedly glancing at her phone and her whole body language had turned dismissive. Under usual circumstances Lizzie would have given up at this point but she didn’t want to give Skye another opportunity to talk to her.

“What I actually wanted to ask,” she tried for the third time, “Charlie and I want to play another round of water polo. Want to join?”

The look in Artemis’ eyes turned contemptuous. “And climb onto some random guys naked back to make a mickey out of myself?” She demonstratively dropped her eyes to her phone. “No thanks, I’m good.”

Lizzie had to stifle a sigh at her stubbornness. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I said no,” Artemis replied, a lot more sharply than before.

Lizzie felt a flare of temper. “It’s just water polo, why are you making such a fuss about it?”

Artemis' face darkened considerably and Lizzie feared she might have overstepped her mark. But before Artemis could say something, her eyes shifted from Lizzie to something in her back, only moments before Lizzie felt Charlie’s hand coming to rest on her shoulder.

“There you are, little rockstar. Have you persuaded Artemis to join?”

His tone was easy but the look in his eyes wasn’t lost on Lizzie; he wasn’t happy at all she had disregarded his wish to leave Artemis alone.

“I’m afraid not.” Her tone was brusque; she was pissed with Charlie for stepping in.

Charlie’s mouth twisted into a grin. “Hate to say it, but I told you so.”

His attention turned to Artemis, who was just as unhappy with her company than the rest of them. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

Artemis sighed deeply. “If you have to.”

She put her phone down and got up and Charlie immediately walked her away from Lizzie. Lizzie’s face darkened and she fought the urge to cross her arms in front of her chest. She was not impressed Charlie had interfered; he was starting to grow overly protective of Artemis, even though she didn’t seem to be the kind of person to need anybody’s protection but her own.

Her thoughts were instantly forgotten, when she suddenly heard Skye’s voice in her back.

“Jameson, you and I, we need to talk.”

Lizzie grimaced before turning around. Skye had her arms crossed and was staring at her accusingly.

“What’s on your mind?” Lizzie sighed.

“You know damn well what’s on my mind,” Skye hissed. “There’s something you need to tell me, right fucking now.”

Lizzie averted her eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know damn well what I mean,” Skye snorted. “What in the actual fuck is going on with you and Orion? Don’t try to pull the old innocent-trick on me, we’ve lived together and I know you’re as innocent as Merula next to an empty box of cigarettes.”

Her eyes narrowed when Lizzie didn’t answer. “I saw what you did yesterday at the photoshoot and I saw you earlier next to him as well. You’re not even as handsy when it comes to Charlie and a lot of things make a lot more sense to me now. So, gonna ask you again and you better not lie to me; what’s the deal?”

Lizzie muttered something under her breath, making Skye frown. “What’s that?”

Knowing she would have to tell her friend if she liked it or not, Lizzie sighed. “We may potentially have a little thing going on, if you want to call it that,” she said, not meeting Skye’s eyes.

Just as she had feared, Skye’s voice immediately rose in volume. “Are you out of your bloody mind?”

“Keep your voice down,” Lizzie said angrily, “there’s no need to shout.”

Ignoring her words, Skye continued, albeit with a lower voice. “You know the rules! It’s a clear hands off the other band members. What if dad finds out you guys are dating?”

“He won’t find out if you just shut up about it and keep your nose out of things that aren’t your business,” Lizzie responded sharply. “And for the record, we’re not dating. It’s just some fun, nothing of it.”

Skye pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, clearly exasperated at her friends’ antics. “Can’t believe it, I always thought you were the smart one out of the two of us. How long have you been at it?”

Lizzie fidgeted uncomfortably. “A few months? Maybe?” She faltered under Skye’s withering stare. “Since last August.”

Skye looked at her incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned. “You’re not saying you’ve been shagging our guitarist longer than my longest relationship lasted and never even thought to tell me? Your best friend?”

“At least I’ll have to tell no one else if you don’t stop shouting,” Lizzie replied wryly. “And sorry to say that but your average relationship duration is not a very high benchmark to reach.”

Despite herself, Skye had to suppress a grin. “Fair game.” The smile faded as quickly as it had come when she continued. “Seriously though, are you sure about what you’re doing? It’s a damn right dangerous game you’re playing at, is all I’m saying. What if something goes wrong?”

They both glanced over to where Orion was now again working on whatever song was floating around in his head. Much to their surprise, Artemis was sitting next to him. When she saw them looking, they quickly turned their heads again.

“Nothing will go wrong,” Lizzie insisted, “if anyone should know shagging a colleague can work just fine, it’s you.”

If Lizzie hadn’t known her so well, she might have missed the slight flush creeping onto Skye’s face. “No idea what you’re on about.”

Lizzie made a dismissive sound. “Oh please. Don’t act as if not the whole fucking crew knows about you and Erika.”

Skye raised her chin defiantly. “Okay fine, maybe being friends with benefits can work, but this is different. She’s part of the crew, Orion’s an actual member of the band, and a damn important one at that. If you guys screw things up, we’re all royally fucked.”

“Stop worrying, everything will be alright. Orion and I are completely on the same page with this.”

Lizzie hesitated for a moment. “You’ll keep this to yourself, right? You won’t tell your dad about this?”

Skye looked at her as if she had gone mad for good. “Do you think I’m bonkers? Dad doesn’t need to know everything. Way too involved in our stuff as it is, if you ask me. But you got to promise me one thing.”

Relieved the immediate catastrophe had been averted, Lizzie nodded. “What?”

“Don’t put me into a position where I need to lie to my dad, alright?” There was nothing of the ever present sparkle in Skye’s eyes; she was dead serious about this. “Don’t get too involved with him. This is about family.”

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