#blue beetle slight spoilers

[scryarchives]

𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 - 𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬

it's been almost a month since the whole "Victoria Kord Blue Beetle Fiasco", and Jaime has loads to sort out, especially since the new neighbour might not be what she says she is...

masterlist | next !

– pairings: jaime reyes x oc

– warning: fluff, canon divergent, blue beetle movie spoilers

– author's note: after watching the blue beetle movie, I've been so down bad for jaime reyes i had to make a one-shot series for him. disclaimer: i'm not of Hispanic descent and i have don't know casual terms spoken, so do correct me if im wrong!

The sun's heat beat down on the hot sand, heat waves radiating off the ground from the high temperature. A winding tarmac road lay between the plains, and a little vehicle sped down it, emptiness surrounding them.

“Mama, how much longer until we get to… Palmera City?” The woman drawled, picking up a pamphlet in her right hand, and pulling her wireless headphones down with the other.

“We're pretty much there, Drea,” A woman replied, hands on the steering while and eyes trained on the road. “We’re almost there.”

“Why can’t I just fly there myself? You and Amma can take the car. I’m twenty Ma, not five,” Drea huffed, neatening out her ruffled ebony waves. “You taught me how to fly when I was ten, anyways.”

“Kanna, you don’t even know where Palmera City is,” Another woman turned her head in the passenger’s seat to face her daughter in the back. “And you don’t know where the house is.”

“I do know where it is, El Paso Street, Palmera City.”

“Which house then? And you only knew Palmera City from the pamphlet,” The woman driving chuckled. “Besides, don’t you like spending time with your mamas?”

Drea said nothing in return, grumbling and pulling her headphones back over her ears, blasting her music at almost full volume.

“She grew up too fast,” The other passenger sighed, her hand on her forehead. “When did she become twenty? Remind me, please.”

“She turned twenty almost two days ago, aṉpu,” The driver grinned. “Did you forget that she almost set the house on fire when we told her about the move?”

“Please, don’t remind me, Zara,” Anika sighed at her wife’s entertainment. “I’m still drained from all of the mess I had to clean up after.”

“Nika, we’re moving, new people, new sights to see, and new opportunities for a good life for you and me. For our family,” Zara, the driver, smiled softly. One of her hands slipped off the driver’s wheel, encasing itself around Anika’s smaller hand.

“Besides, Drea needs a job, something that can keep her steady until she finds out what she wants to do,” She shrugged. “And Palmera City might have everything she needs.”

“‘Might have’ are the keywords.” Anika’s worried eyes met Zara’s calm ones. “If it doesn’t? Then what? She’ll just, what, fly alone to a new place?”

“Probably. But that’s okay, I was her age when I came here, and I needed something new. Something different. And then I met you, and I felt love for the first time,” She winked, her wife flushing.

“Oh stop it you, focus on driving!”

“Alright, alright. But you get my point, right?”

“Yeah… I do."

“Until that happens, if that ever happens, we’ll be just fine.”

“Hermano,” Milagro huffed, her hands forearm deep in water as she held a plate in her hands, holding it up to her brother, who was staring out the window in curiosity.

“Jaime,” She called out once more, her brother still unresponsive, the girl’s patience snapping. “Earth to Jaime Reyes!”

Jaime jumped slightly, taking the plate, gaze focused back on the window while muttering apologies to his younger sister.

“Sorry, sorry,” He wrapped the plate with the cloth in his hands hurriedly.

“What’s got you so distracted?” Milagro frowned, peering over his shoulder to see a moving truck parked outside their house. More accurately, in front of the empty house across the road from them.

“Oh, new neighbours,” She nodded, taking another soapy plate to rinse off from her mother. 

“I wonder what they’ll be like,” Bianca Reyes hummed, handing Milagro another plate.

“It’s about time someone moved in that house,” Milagro chirped. “That house has been empty for as long as I can remember."

"That's not true," Jaime glanced at his sister. "Mrs. Diaz lived there for a while before her son moved out."

"Oh yeah… But that was still ages ago. So my statement still counts."

Jaime playfully rolled his eyes, a smile faint on his face. Glancing over, Milagro questioned her brother teasingly.

"Why are you staring there so much, anyways? Did you see Jenny?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"What? No, no. We're just friends," He huffed.

"Sure you are."

"No, look. Khaji-Da scanned their moving stuff—"

"Woah! Boundaries, hermano!"

"Exactly! But she did it somehow and she warned me about them."

"What? Is she saying that they're villains? Like Jenny's crazy aunt?" The girl beside Jaime placed a hand on her hip. "C'mon, they're new neighbours, how bad can they be?"

"Pretty bad," Khaji-Da chimed in Jaime's head, her host glaring.

The rest of the day proceeded to be uneventful. After dishwashing and tidying up after lunch, Jaime hadn't done much other than trying to find work or helping his mother around the house.

Occasionally, Nana would come around for a drink while taking a break from her sewing, and Milagro soon joined Jaime in his room, the two job-hunting together. Uncle Rudy was… well, somewhere working on "an upgrade for the truck Jenny had gifted", according to him.

If he could, Jaime would have described the atmosphere as "chill and somewhat productive".

His mind drifted from the list of temporary jobs he could apply for on the site he sat on to the whole "Blue Beetle Fiasco" over a month ago. To the friend he hoped would be something more, until she, in the nicest way possible, tried to turn him down.

"Jaime, you're thinking about Jennifer again."

Instantly, he shook his head, trying to refocus his attention.

"Nope, nope. I'm completely focused. See? I can qualify for a…" He narrowed his eyes, reading the word his pointer was aimed at. "Chiropractor? What, no—"

"You need to move on, Jaime. The positive is that Jennifer is still your friend. You have more responsibilities."

"Yeah, and I'm doing it with Mili," Jaime then looked around him, wondering why his sister's questioning and prying hadn't begun.

"Milagro had left to get a drink, while you were busy 'looking for jobs'," Khaji-Da chimed in, rubbing in her point before her host could ask.

"Thank you, Khaji," Jaime huffed sarcastically. "How long has she been gone for?"

"Ten minutes."

"That long?"

"You were deep in thought."

"Got it," He grumbled, pushing himself off of his bed to find his job-hunting partner. "Mili!"

He called out his sister's name, hoping to find her peering around a corner in response, but was returned with nothing, not even a single quip.

"Mili?" Jaime frowned at the lack of noise in his home.

"Nana? Uncle Rudy?"

Seeing that no one was responding, Jaime narrowed his eyes, his mind darting to the worst-case scenario.

"Khaji, can you scan or locate where my family is?"

"Your mother—"

"Jaime! There you are!" Bianca cut Jaime off, her son relieved to see that she was alright.

"—is right here."

"Thank you for the… status, Khaji," He whispered before smiling, letting out a sigh. "Mama, where's everyone?"

"They're outside, greeting the new neighbours!" She furrowed her brows, a smile still gracing her lips. "I thought Mili told you? Oh, I'll talk to her about it later, come come! Let's meet the neighbours, yes?"

She grabbed Jaime's upper arm, rushing out to meet up with the rest of the family.

"Jaime, meet Mrs Tlatilpa, and her daughter, Alejandra!" Bianca smiled.

Jaime smiled over at who he assumed was Alejandra, as she did look quite a bit younger than the woman beside her.

Taking in her appearance, he noticed that she almost looked Hispanic, like him, though her skin was slightly darker. Her hair remained wavy and was a dark shade of brown, pretty much black if he hadn't noticed it against the sunlight. If he looked close enough, he noticed that she had a few strands of braids tied together here and there.

She tilted her head as her wireless headphones covered in vibrant stickers were plastered all over, covering the brand's logo, and it seemed like stars — he noticed a few hand-sewn ones on her baggy jeans — seemed to be her favourite pattern.

Triangle earrings glinted in the light as her dark brown eyes watched him in curiosity. If he looked close enough, he could almost see sparks of red—

"You're staring, Jaime."

He flinched from Khaji-Da's comment, holding his hand out to shake hands, the woman across from him doing the same.

"Reyes, my name's Jaime Reyes," He nodded, putting on his best smile.

"Alejandra Tlatilpa. But you can call me Drea," She nodded respectfully before switching her glance to his shoes. "Cool shoes."

"Ah, uhm thanks. Not my favourite pair, but they serve their purpose," He chuckled, almost sadly as he remembered the fate of his now-incinerated favoured shoes.

"She's dangerous," Khaji-Da pointed out, Jaime's brows furrowing.

"What? No way," Jaime muttered, Drea, blinking in confusion.

"I'm sorry?" She questioned for clarification.

"No, sorry, I uhm… just a habit of mine, I talk. To myself," He quickly responded, his smile turning awkward.

"Right," She pointed a finger, nodding once more. "Got it. Don't worry about it, we all have our habits."

"Look at the two of you getting along!" Mrs Tlatilpa grinned. "Kanna, why don't you go get Mama? I'm sure she'd love to meet new people."

"Yeah, sure," Drea chirped, smiling one last time at Jaime. "See you around."

"So, your wife?" Bianca questioned, her eyes curious.

"Ah yes, it's a long story," Anika laughed nervously.

"No, no worries! In fact, would your family like to join us for tea?"

gif by @rob-pattinson

taglist: @mooncleaver < comment/dm me if you'd like to be on the taglist! >

#blue beetle #blue beetle 2023 #jaime reyes x oc #jaime reyes x reader #blue beetle jaime reyes #blue beetle movie #blue beetle slight spoilers #jaime reyes #milagro reyes #bianca reyes #khaji da #oc #ocs #blue beetle oc #sam writes !

[madlittlecriminal]

Hi, didn't know if your requests were still open but I was wondering if you could make a one shot for blue beetle. Spoilers but y'know how in the movie Khaji Da blatantly says whatever like emotional thing or physically thing is happening to Jaime? Kinda a one shot with that same concept where Khaji Da keeps telling Jaime what he's feeling or *feeling* towards the reader and the reader like asks Jaime what's up causs he keeps arguing with Khaji Da. It can me suggestive, smutty or fluffy, or all. All up to you! :)

Wing...A.I.? ➜ Jaime Reyes × Female!Reader

lol that end scene made me crack up with jenny

Warnings: friends to lovers, slight angst, smut, dry humping, blue balls/no finish

title is based off 'wingman' but because khaji da is an alien/a.i., it didn't feel right to say that, especially since im 90% sure khaji doesn't have a specific gender

He was annoyed. As much as he loved Khaji Da for being there for him, it was days like these where he would groan and wished he never opened the box.

You had came over since he offered to binge watch the new season of one of the many shows you both watched together.

"I can feel your heartbeat has increased, Jaime." The alien A.I.'s voice echoed through his ear, making him groan. "Not now, Khaji!" He whisper yelled as you were in the kitchen grabbing bottles of water for the both of you. "It only happens when she's around."

"Stop!" You raise a brow as you hand him the bottle of water. "You alright?" He nodded and chugged the water, making you slightly confused. "Uh, okay..." Jaime gave you a forced smile before turning towards the TV and played the show. You rested your head on his shoulder making his breath hitch slightly. "Your breathing has increased, and your heart rate has increased even more." Jaime groaned. "¡Khaji, por favor!" (Khaji, please!) You looked at him, brows furrowed as you tilt your head to the side. "Jaime, what the hell is going on with you and Khaji Da?" He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Nothing..."

You gave him a look he knew too well; it was the look his mom gave him when he was in trouble. "Jaime..." he huffed out a breath and ran his fingers through his curls. "Khaji's been bugging me about...something." You frown. "Obviously, but what?" He sighed. "I can't tell you."

"Liar." Jaime rolls his eyes at their words. "I mean, I could, but I don't...want to tell you." You gasp and rest a hand on his shoulder, feigning shock. "What?" He chuckled, but his breath caught in his throat when your hand trailed down to his bicep. "Your blood is-"

"Shh!" You giggled at him. "What did she say?" He shook his head. "Nothing I don't already know." You sighed. "Just talk to me, Jaime. What's up?" He took a deep breath. "If I tell you, it could change our friendship..." You snort. "Don't tell me another alien A.I. crawled up your butt." He glared at you. "For the last time, it didn't crawl up my butt." You laughed and nod, pulling out your pinky. "I pinky promise it won't change our friendship." He hooked his pinky with yours and gave you a shy smile. "I-I like you, (Y/N)...but more than just a friend."

Your eyes went wide as you looked at him. "Oh." He gulped at your response, but quickly regained his composure when you leaned in. "For how long?" You asked. "For a while now actually..." he admits while his hand reaches over to touch your cheek. "Well, you and me both..." now it was his eyes that widened at your words. "Really?" You nod. "Jaime, just kiss her." Jaime chuckled at Khaji Da's words before leaning in to place a kiss on your lips. You giggled into the kiss before kissing him back. His thumb caressed your cheek as you both got lost into the kiss, your heart racing before you eased your way onto his lap. He moaned into the kiss as his hands trailed down to your hips.

You broke the kiss with a smirk that made him chuckle. "So Khaji Da's your little helper when it comes to relationships?" He laughed. "You could say that." You shook your head with a smile before kissing him again while his hands trailed up and down your sides. Your hands gripped his shirt as your tongue slid across his bottom lip. He opened his mouth, allowing you access and letting your tongues dance along each other. You both let out a satisfied moan before you moved your hips against his. He groaned into the kiss as his hands traveled down to your hips once more. Jaime couldn't help himself as he moved you both so that you were laying on the couch and he was on top of you.

"Are we moving too fast?" He asked against your lips. "We could stop if you want." He shook his head before pecking your lips. "We can keep doing this. I don't mind." You bite your lip as your eyes met his. Jaime moved his hips against yours, causing you to moan. He leaned down and began leaving a trail of kisses on your neck as he continued to grind on you. You tangled your fingers into his curls as you buck your hips against his. He moaned against your neck as he kept going. You were both so close. The moment was right there. He felt it and you felt it.

Then your phone rang, the ringtone that belonged to your mom echoed through the room. "You got to be kidding me." He groaned as he got off of you, letting you go to your phone and answering it. "You're frustrated." He chuckled as he caught his breath. "You have no idea, Khaji."

#jaime reyes x reader #jaime reyes x you #jaime reyes #jaime reyes x y/n #blue beetle #blue beetle x reader #blue beetle x you #blue beetle x y/n #jaime reyes smut #smut #reader insert #x reader #asks #ask #anonymous #dc universe #anon asks #anonymous asks #dceu

[its-actually-minicika]

Dragon Sickness

Part 2;

Pairing: Bookcanon!Aemond x Strong!Niece!Reader;

Warnings: No usage of Y/N, bookcanon Greens, potential spoilers for Fire&Blood (but not really), dubious consent, allusions to sex, to male masturbation and oral from Aemond (female receiving - he just wants to tickle your pickle with his fingers and mouth but yk), slight angst, minor and major character death, vague descriptions of death by asphyxiation;

For the sake of keeping characters as close to canon as I can, the eye that Aemond lost was his right, not his left!

Word Count: 7k+;

Author's Note: Repost because yeah...

Reblogs would be really appreciated, since I believe I was shadowbanned :") ♡

Sorry for taking so long with getting this next part out ♡ I wanted to make sure it's perfect (or as close to perfect as I can get it), because the last thing I desire is to post something I'm not proud of/I wouldn't personally read :")

This gif was made by the love of my life and the moon to my sun - @aemondx here on Tumbr ♡ if you aren't already following her, definitely follow her right now now. I'll wait. The story will wait. She is absolutely amazing, and the sweetest person ever.

I also dedicate this chapter to my literal soulmate @diamantesprincess , who beta-read this whole shit-storm for me, and supported my insane antics ♡

Young girls dream about their wedding day. And women prepare themselves for the humiliation bestowed upon them by the night.

Her cheeks flushed with the expectancy that was thrown before her – the avid sting that prickled her skin, flooded her veins and broke her soul. She could feel her smooth-green gown stick to her contorted form. The horrid fires of lashing out already licking at the corners of her downturned mouth.

The Velaryon thus swallowed thickly, whilst flickering her eyes by nigh to each corner of the squaring table. She needn’t glance into the silver plating to ensure what she had known, simply owed to the salacious heat that downed her heart in poisoned terror. How vexing it had been for her to hear the former Queen about – darting to her wedding night, hinting at her lack of purity. How terribly uncertain she’d felt, when Aemond all but abandoned her on that rueful and exerting night.

She’d searched feverishly for his company, trying to converse with him, to allude him to take interest, to inspire him to like her. But her attempts were answered with indifference, with clumsy lines of conversations, which never led her far in musings.

“– Even so, I trust that you understand your duty.”

She couldn’t have been quiet for long. For she felt how her mouth lulled opened, if only to blurt out a passive admission to Alicent’s extended words. Still she felt the decades pass, turning her old, and mean, and cold, as an ample flood of pain engulfed her sparring and incisive heart. The Queen Dowager sighed, either by lack of blitheness or by wry exhaustion, and merely shook her head at the sight of the conflicted bastard.

She supposed she should be grateful – for a private bedding brought across no prying eyes upon her form, upon her skin and womanhood; upon the shame she would soon feel, to spread her legs for the Qybor who slayed her kin. But a private bedding meant she'd have to be alone with him. A private bedding was unsafe, for it meant her maiden blood wouldn't have to be the one staining their rivetting sheets. And Aemond had killed men before, his flesh and blood, innocent spawn – so was there anything that would ensure he wouldn't cut her very throat?

A silent tear obscured her view, and one of Helaena’s beetles boldly flew nearby her plate.

Satin green and oryx white, silky blue and striking violet.

To be born a female was a wright cursed account.

Upon her birth, she belonged to her father. And when he died, she fitted Daemon. She suited to her brother, Jace, to the whims of the New Seven, and very soon to those of Aemond.

To be born a female stripped one of all crass autonomy.

When she was young, her Septa was the one to tell her the story of her cursed birth – how she was good and quaint and quiet, how she had not ensued hard labour. How her mother cried when she saw her small and portly face. And how she sighed with great relief at the notion of her naked sex.

Benevolence was to be found within the weakness of a poor female.

‘The girls are easier than the boys,’ The woman nodded as she spoke, ‘They're less rowdy and quick to anger. Easier to marry, too.’

To be born a female meant a deconstructive marriage. Simply something that must happen, not a matter of debate.

To be born a female meant fantasizing about that marriage. Salaciously filling your head with hopeful dreams of charming knights, or handsome princes and comely lords.

To be born a female was underestimated work. Work put up by sons and fathers, whose sole purpose of providing to the girl was to find her a well-suited husband.

A future to be well decided, set in stone and judged quite harshly – all in valour of a missing cock, and a lack of tiny stones.

When Rhaenyra married Daemon, she was happy for her loving mother.

‘I want to be just as beautiful on my wedding day!’ Her voice chirped through the halls of Dragonstone, whilst rotating about the room, chased by an ongoing Jace, ‘We’ll have a pigeon cake the size of a young hatchling, and a venue bigger than that made of the smallfolk of King’s Landing!’

‘Maybe one that smells better, though,’ Jace snickered inside her ear, earning a brisk tickle from his younger sister, ‘But you’re right, it’s better to stay realistic!’

A loud fit of giggles erupted from the waiting children. Rhaenyra only glanced at Daemon, who in turn shook his head, bemused by her swallowing visions.

‘Whatever prompts you to even believe your mother and I will allow such a thing?’ The Rogue Prince graced her with a trumping smirk, as the girl’s face fell in a childish and pathetic slouch.

‘I’ll have to get married one day!’ She rebutted her stepfather, ‘With a strong knight in shining armour, or a chivalrous Lord from an important House!’

‘There will be yet some time before that happens, sweet girl.’ Rhaenyra grinned at her daughter’s eagerness, pushing down the bittersweet feeling that gnawed beneath her bludgeon gown. She placed her hand atop her cheek and gingerly grazed the youth’s plumpness with a soft, motherly touch. ‘A couple of years from now on, at best!’ She hummed into her tender caress and opened her mouth to speak again, but Jacaerys’ mellow voice cut the base of her dream short.

‘I would be very careful with what I want,’ He mimicked a serious and grieving tone, ‘So far you could only marry Tyland Lannister or Kermit Tully!’

Her eyes widened to the size of two round plates, and the young Velaryon merely scrunched her nose up in dissatisfaction. ‘Kermit wouldn’t be that bad…’ She tried to reason with herself, ‘And his sister, Celia, is very nice! We would get along quite well.’

‘Of course, of course –’ Jace nodded in understanding, before throwing Luke a mischievous look, ‘Or you could always marry Aemond – he’d be quite a match, you know!”

Silence ensued for a while, until all three children broke down in their hysteric fits of laughter.

‘Oh, Gods be good…!’ She murmured lowly, shock and aversion evident on her once impatient face.

She’d found herself someone who loved her, someone whom she could amply trust. A man that’d be reliant for her, in her times of greatest fraught.

When the War of Ravens first ensued, it was he and her small brothers who went to deliver envoys. When Luke died, it was he who mended and arranged the curdling scheme of Blood and Cheese. And when Aemond took a hold of Harrenhal, cruelly burning at their allies’ lands… it was he who gave his life in an attempt to free their folk.

“Gods be good…!” Her voice strained through the musings of her handmaiden, so preoccupied with lacing up her constricting and excessive corset. “Could you go in any tighter?” Her snapping question deterred the young girl to remove her calloused hands from the fine silks that engulfed her. All of the other women who tended to her hair and eyes took a backwards convoluted step and, as if whipped across the face and wholly burnt by dragon fire, they froze up in minute poses – all of them gripping their hands, and looking down in taught submission.

Breathless and submerged in bashness, her reddened lips pressed to a line, as her gaze followed their in suit, falling on the stone below her.

“I’m sorry,” She began with a taut pitch, while expelling one of her brisk and tantalising breaths, “I didn’t mean to shout at you. That was below any level of discretion.”

"W-Would you like us to continue, Your Grace?" One of the older-looking wenches dared to ask the fair Velaryon.

No, she ached to bring herself to say, I'd stay like this, still half-undressed. Unpresentable for him to take.

"Of course," Her meek voice echoed in reply, "You must make haste to get me ready. The wedding is in but an hour."

Tens of dozen of pairs of hands flooded her every sensation with their ceaseless and insistent prodding. The softest of the cluster played with the slicked ends of her charcoal hair, adorning it with a myriad of pins and jewels, grazing her scalp with heavy and relenting hairstyles. Now there was prudence in her tying corset – as if she were a rabid beast who’d sink her claws into their necks, if only she’d feel indisposed by their way of picked-up working.

For the first time since her ladies swarmed into her darkened chamber, the girl’s leer settled on the gown before her. She took in a quick breath through the margins of her teeth, whilst feeling her stomach wail and churn with an unkept overzeal.

Her dress was of a deep set black, which seemed more fitting for a funeral than for a joyous feast precarred soon after by a most imposing wedding. Yet upon a closer look, the brims which laced its puffy bottoms smiled to her in rueful red.

Surprise etched upon her face, and the coy women must have noticed, for they all stopped forthwith again. She brought a hand to the light fabric, and grazed it slowly with her fingers.

She almost hummed in chasmal worry, before fixating her eyes away.

“Apologies, but who told you to bring this dress?” Her voice reverberated with a faint but levelled question, and a retort came back her way.

“The Prince Aemond, Your Grace,” What she assumed was a slight seamstress replied for the whole gathering, “He requested that his vest should also bear your House’s symbols.”

Surprise merged with upheld amusement, until her judgement simmered down to a least lenient of views – since the Blacks were there no more, what point was there for an exorbant gown with any shades of ghastly Green?

No matter his good-hearted message, Aemond hadn’t done it for her. Just like Alicent hadn’t proposed a marriage with her son for her clemented and invested sake.

Her family was dead. All she knew had gone with them – swallowed wholly by the sea, or by Sunfyre, by Vhagar.

There was no more point for her to wear his sickly green. There was no reason for the usurpers to display their endless rows of utter power.

“I see,” Her vocal cords strained with her roughened and perturbed reply, “It’s very beautiful,” She whispered not a heartbeat later, as she turned to the appraised seamstress, “Thank you. You must have worked very hard.”

As everyone resumed their tasks, a trailing truth pierced through her heart – she now had no family left to lead her to the Greater Sept.

His collar fell too tight on him.

He noticed late, as she approached him.

He swallowed thickly once before her, as his burnt brother gripped her hand.

Her softened smile lit up her face, though the disgust within her eyes unveiled her sickly mild facade. A rattled thought surged through his chest, mending with akin distraught. He knew full well she didn’t love him, but at the least, he’d have to try. The subtlety of her rejection stabbed right through his nervous gut, but still the Prince looked down upon her, gracing her with a half-smile.

The ease with which she then returned it relieved the throbbing underneath his leather patch, and as she mouthed him her timid greeting, the man bowed deeply in reply.

“You may now cloak the bride, and bring her under your protection.” The Septon’s voice instructed deeply, snapping both out of their trance.

His calloused fingers unclasped the belts from his broad and heaving shoulders – the cape fell heavily into his hands, yet Aemond still approached his Lady, and placed the Targaryen embroidered mantle atop her tense and fragile shoulders.

Brown eyes clashed with an unnerving lilac – both bride and groom sucked in a breath, and yet refused to look away.

The silence of the Sept was deadly, and as Aemond closed his eye, allowing his relentless thoughts to slip into a hurried prayer, he swore that every witness to their union would hear the keen beats of his heart.

The High Septon clasped his wrinkled hands together, drawing a faint and muffled noise which reverberated through the clearing – signalling to the lost children to place their hands into the other’s.

His Lady was the first to reach him. Shyly she grazed his palm with the smooth padding of her index finger, flattering an anxious probe which distilled his wilted heart, and brought heat into his cheeks.

Her small diversion urged him to press back into her – with a doubting and reserved caress made with his thicker middle finger.

The man bit into his inner cheek, as he aligned his palm to hers, and waited patiently for the Septon to bind their hands with the white linen.

“In sight of the Seven, I hereby seal these two souls, binding them as one, for eternity.”

Her thumb gently caressed his own in an attempt to soothe his breaths. Though her smile had broadened yet, her eyebrows twisted to a brazen furrow. The old man hummed with unturned patience, and he nodded at their leisured and unhurried movements.

“Look upon each other and say the words.”

His chest tightened with unruly pride, as her cheeks flushed with a deep colour, which grew to match the lacings of her fitted cobbler – both took a moment to compose themselves, before Aemond’s voice filled the room with the silk-smooth baritone of his levelled and protruding tone.

“Father, Smith, Warrior,” His lone orb swirled with both uncertainty and desire, as her own voice ushered him suit, “Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger.”

Her chest heaved with a weighty exhale, and her pushed bosom shifted in her dainty dress. Abashed by his sexual intrusion, Aemond focused his left eye on the shape of her inviting lips.

Though they said the words in unison, only her better half beset his ears, “I am his, and he is mine.”

“From this day, until the end of my days,” The Targaryen hushed in return.

Thousand of cheers erupted in the Great Sept, and Aegon even whistled lowly, but nought of the crowd’s boastful words engrained themselves into his mind.

“With this kiss, I pledge my love.”

His mouth pressed hungrily against her own, with a force and desperation that dispersed her every hope for a chaste, intimate peck. The shape of his lips moulded against her with an ease that left her wanting – wanting for it to end, for him to stop, for him to keep going.

His scent invaded her diluted senses, and flashes of her brothers’ faces danced across her hazy view. And just as Aemond was about to deepen and take his uncouth ministrations further, the greying Septon interjected with a subtle but alluding cough.

Despite the fact that he refused to speak to her since the incursive night of their engagement, the palpable need and excitement that seemingly had gathered in him burst for all high lords and petty maidens to see. Coveting whispers reached the girl’s reddened ears – each muttered truth more beguiling than the last.

‘A Kinslayer and a bastard… what an ill match for the grandeur of the Great Sept.’

With her mouth slightly agape and her breath still somewhat staggered, the former Velaryon avoided his stare, with an adamant and willful steer.

Her own eyes began to water. And the aching sadness that curled into her vrying soul muted out any reminder of the crowd’s elated boasts.

What had happened was now irreversible; and the Greens would host a banquet in honour of the newlyweds. Goblets would drown her violent sorrows, food would fill them like fattened-up pigs for cutting.

Aemond would breach her with his cock if he felt disposed to do it. Then he might smother her face, or cut her throat with the same dagger that he used on her late brother.

For why else would he deny a prim and proper bedding ceremony?

Though her eyes still looked at him, and a smile still spurred her lips, the girl swallowed down a prayer.

Perhaps he had grown to like her. She’d been good to him in those past weeks.

The High Septon yelled over the cheering crowd, cutting down each thought that breached through her weary and misguided mind.

“Let it be known that they are now one heart, one flesh, one soul. Cursed be he who would seek to tear them asunder!”

Then cursed be she, in the light of the Seven.

The dizzying nature of the fifth waltz of the night left everyone in the Great Hall drained and panting – fully taken by the mistifying anticipation caused by the encapsulating ardour of Prince Aemond’s wedding reception. Roaring applauses erupted from the few women seated at the high tables – Aegon’s eyes followed the wanton skirts of the lowborn maidens, and even Helaena disregarded her fattened caterpillar to grace the crowd with her absent-minded stare.

At the centre of the King’s table stood the Court’s styled “star-crossed lovers”, each seemingly preoccupied with avoiding any further dancing at any and all occuring costs.

The girl’s fingers traced over the rim of the wine goblet, glancing from time to time at her newly acquired husband, who seemed hammered in his seat and not at all wanting for chatter. The dim lighting of the candled room sprawled its shadows all across his tired features, which loomed all the more sharp and perusing with each notion of a passing hour. His lack of joyful disposition was clear and evident for all to see – for even his contented mother had chastised him under her breath.

Alas, any notion of stability had at large been long repressed, and not even her able chirping managed to pry at her son’s attention.

As her eyes trailed lower yet, over the arch of his broad chest, and the poignant veins of his clenched fist, the Targaryen gasped at the obvious arousal restrained in his black leather pants. Her face turned promptly to the side, before anyone’s conviction should follow her indiscreet trail.

Another smile graced her red lips, as a very drunkened Lord tripped across her narrow view. He approached her with bemusing boldness, borne out of believed renown, and introduced himself as Quince Webber: a lower lord within the Reach, ‘right across the Arbour seat’. His puffy face was basked in red, an indication of his mind’s plied state – and as he blabbered on his woven lapses on what wedded life should be, the Lady bowed her head with grace, thus managing to stop his spiel.

He slurred over his predicted wordings in a heavy and relentless breath, but still managed to congratulate the twain for their well-thought-out alliance.

“Thank you, my Lord, I am indeed very lucky.” Her cheeks hurt from all the smiling, but still she forced herself to laugh, “Aemond has been very kind to me.” She turned to face his stare, abashed, and allowed her hand to touch him. The charcoal leather of his broidered vest burnt her at the faintest touch, and the girl had to stifle a gasp at the arid heat which charred her palm.

“He has, he has!” The lord of Coldmoat agreed well-pleased. A wolfish grin spread across his droopy face, pulling both his plump cheeks higher. An impish laugh beleft his lips, as he took a swing of liquor from a nearby empty glass.

The corner of her smiling eye darted back to that of Aemond, who merely glanced through the drunk lord with a horriedly vexated look.

“Although,” He teased them with a slurred hic, “I can’t say he’ll be nice to you when the bedding ceremony will ensue!”

Wholeheartedly amused at his inappropriate and shrivelled joke, the old man began to laugh, much to Aemond’s disarray.

His fists came into contact with the sprawled-out wooden table, shaking every cutlery which remained scattered across it. The lively whispering of the Great Hall ceased with his vicious display, and even his contented brother jerked his shoulders in dismay.

“Aemond,” Alicent spat out his name, as her face turned cold and wary. “Perhaps it’s time you two retire.”

A restless snarl etched from his throat, and he looked ready to pounce – were it not for the soft hand that touched him, and the sanity utter of her voice, which managed to somewhat reground him, and contort poor Webber’s choice.

But as cruel fate would weave and have it, another end would spend their night.

“Aemond,” His Lady tried to coax him in, “Let’s listen to your mother… please?” Her fevered eyes adamantly searched for his, until a strange yearning and passion registered on his reluctant face. His hand gripped hers in pure devotion, and his large thumb ran over her flaring knuckles, as she'd done so many times before for him.

The lord’s lost face painted over with uncouth excitement, and he turned his back around, almost hitting Daeron’s face.

“It’s time for the bedding ceremony!” He announced the crowd quite loudly, and tens of voices of plastered men rose with every passing second. Some of them swarmed close to the couple, some tried to pick the girl from her leering resting place. Most barely launched up their feet, struggling to uphold their balance.

“There will be no bedding ceremony tonight.” Aemond’s dark and frigid voice thundered through the cluttered hall. Women sighed in great relief, while the men and boys began to bicker.

“It’s tradition!”

“I’ve been told specifically that it would take place.”

“Such stupidity!”

“I bet Renly six gold dragons that –”

“The King long announced there would be none.” Otto’s otherwise calm voice resounded with a harshened tone.

“Has he now?” A slurring lord took three wide steps in the direction of the pressured lady. Her whole face morphed into preleened discomfort, as she placed both her hands upfront. “Oh, don’t you even think about it…!” She warned him with a throaty hiss, but before his hand could graze her, Aemond grabbed his arching fists.

When his nervous gaze settled on his face, he smiled.

The lord clawed at his darkened neck, for Aemond forced him in a kneeling stance, and wrapped his hands around his throat. The timber in his chilling voice rained affront with his obduring malice, sending a shiver down the bent spines of the mere on-watchers, “You wish to gaze upon my wife tonight, Lord Ashford?” The callous ends of his slim digits dug into his purple skin, “You want to see her naked form, and compare her dripping sex to your own wife’s loosened cunny?”

The older man opened his mouth – but the pressure on his wielded neck impedimented his speaking manner and, much like a fish that’d been hoisted out of water, he could barely form a word.

“N…No-n-no – I’m s-s-”

“You’re sorry?” His eyebrows rose in feigned surprise. His wails of anguish pierced his heart – and yet his grip didn't uncurl. “You’re sorry now, are you?”

“Aemond, that is enough!” Alicent’s chastising shouts failed to break his unsound trance. Among the mistifying flock of ladies, the Velaryon stood high, but frozen. Her parlous specks of deep brown eyes bore into the shocking scene, as her own transfigured hand prodded at her covered neck.

"You've heard, perhaps, what happened with little Luke Strong, the bastard.” Her own eyes widened at his cruel retorts, and her deft fist grabbed at her skirts. Despite it being aimed to scare the stupid and unbashful lord, Aemond’s dicey did nought else but expose her to the whole crowd whole.

The heated blade of loss and ire impaled her through her aching chest, cutting both her breath and temper and deterring her to simply shake.

“– I'll gouge your eyes out and present them as a wedding gift to my wife."

Little Luke. Jace. Rhaenyra. Daemon.

Joff. Rhaenys. Corlys. Allyn.

Baela. Rhaena. Viserys. Aegon.

“I-I’m b– begging you–”

Little Luke. Jace. Rhaenyra. Daemon –

“Then beg. Beg my wife for her forgiveness.”

Joff. Rhaenys. Corlys. Allyn –

“My L– My Lady, p-please…!”

Baela. Rhaena. Viserys. Aegon.

Mother, mother, mother, mother –

“Please, Aemond, stop! Just stop!” Her own voice screeched into the balling clearing, as the sound of breaking bones and the smell of copper blood menged right through her very veins. “Stop. It’s enough. It’s alright. I’m alright. Please–”

Her panicked breathing flooded her ears. Her lack of presence drowned her in.

Her husband threw her an affrighted look, as he instantly let go of the man’s entwisted neck.

He crawled closer to his own wife’s feet. His piqued-up breathing staggered for a brief momentum.

For two or three seconds they waited.

And then quietness enwrapped the Realm.

Her honeyed voice had reached his ears.

"We're man and wife now, you and I.” She began with a faint murmur, and a small smile on her lips, “We must start talking to each other. Eventually, I mean."

She spoke to him in utter earnest, despite her voice’s nervous edge.

Alas he must not have replied to her, for her body shifted in her narrow seat, ducking away from him in recluded and uptight tension. “I’d like there to be no secrets between us – I’d like for us to tell each other whatever happens to be on our mind.”

The alluring scent of her dark hair, the creamy skin of her bare shoulders…

His breathing turned close to erratic, as he morphed his hands to fists. But two waltzes he had danced with her, before he felt his breeches tighten, bringing forth his quaint undoing.

He would have stayed in bitter silence, focused on the passing hours – were it not for the unlucky words that the brittle lord had uttered.

Oh, and how she looked into his eye; full of shock and brittle terror.

She must have been scared of him. For she was shaking like a leaf.

The walk to their marital chamber loomed with ever-pressing silence.

If only he could read her thoughts – then he might just mend his error.

“I rather liked the pigeon pie.” Her voice came out as weak and gruff, “Though it was far too big for those at present.”

When his answer wouldn’t beckon, the Lady turned and closed her eyes. She snapped her head in his direction, faltering her present smile. “I think that what you did was very chivalrous and brave, my Prince.”

The corner of his left eye widened, as her words registered in. The margins of her flimsy skirts kissed the ground atop her form – the swish and flicker of the candles remained the only source of noise.

The corners of his mouth bent slightly, at her ludicrous but fair assertion. Whether he had meant to thank her, or kiss her on that very spot, the Prince failed to puzzle out. Though his step halted in place, and his face turned briskly to her.

“Aemond,” He sighed, reluctant, whilst awaiting for her change of heart, “You said it yourself, we’re man and wife. You should start calling me Aemond.”

Her daring eyes looked up right through him, dissolving to a kindred stare. “Then you should also use my name… Aemond.” She uttered with a playful tone, testing his name upon her lips. “Though I… much prefer it when you call me ‘wife’.”

His reply was fast, forthright, “I’ll call you whatever you wish.”

“Then…” She began with a weak mutter, allowing her hair to hide her face, “No, forgive me, never mind.”

“Tell me,” He commanded with grave urgency.

Tell me of anything and I will make it yours.

“Mayhaps,” His Lady paused a while again, “You’d agree to call me your ‘dear wife’?”

His cock twitched inside his pants. The blood that pigmented his face descended lower in its lax pursuit.

All that you need do is ask.

“Anything you want,” His voice rumbled in a breathless timber before he could stop himself, “Dear wife.”

She must have thanked him with a smile again. All she did those days was smile.

She smiled when that low lord approached her. She smiled at her engagement feast. She smiled when Aemond took her dancing.

“I trust,” Alicent had swallowed deeply, “That your mother already taught you what’ll occur after the wedding.”

Better said during the bedding. When she’d be forced to spread her legs for the one man who’d damned them all.

She smiled when Aegon named her bastard. She smiled at the mention of her sweet dead brother.

She hummed as she touched her fingers, rotating her golden rings.

“What of Aly Blackwood?” Her eyes pried at her heavy conscience, “You said that if I marry Aemond, you’d think of a way to release her and make peace with Benjicot’s House.”

–

Her trail of thought was pulled before her, like a feeble dream which she won't reach.

The handle of a leaden door was yanked, pulsing the quaint hall with clatter, and basking her with a warm light.

“We’re here.”

Though wailing dread flooded her senses, her voice came out in slight bemusement.

“It isn’t furnished.”

“I wanted you to have a say.” The depthness of his mellow tune carried out his crass remark, “I didn’t know how many dresses you’d have.”

The notion of her moving in, of sleeping side by side with him, of sharing a bed and a mattress and a bath with him – it hadn’t failed to make her snort.

Hidden from his plane of sight, she allowed a distant scowl to break in her pretty features.

She wanted to scream and shout. To lash out in grave disconcern the moment his revolting hands came in contact with her lower back, urging her to step inside. She wanted to laugh at him – at the sight of his scarred face, his forceful probe and lack of honour.

“You’re so thoughtful, Aemond. Thank you.”

A grave unease surged in her gut. Pure fright prickled at the apex of her thighs. Her once loose dress seemed to constrict her form from running – from hitting him over the head and at last make her escape.

A pained sigh escaped his lips – the One-Eyed Prince who killed her family.

The Kinslayer. The Trident’s Terror. The Prince Protector of the Realm.

Almost as if he could sense her worry, the lithe Targaryen beckoned her in.

There’d been a moment when he only looked at her, bearing holes into her face and the front lobe of her skull, as his thick brows twisted slightly, jarring in misguided silence. Her jaw clenched involuntarily, as his face hithered in closer. She closed her eyes for two, three seconds, before she opened them again.

The lack of ease with which he gawped at her would have dearly made her laugh. The great and feared Aemond Targaryen, so incursed, taken aback.

He exhaled deeply in connived frustration, and simply took a few steps back. A rumbled hum of welting havoc trailed behind his high-arched lips, and a simple look of ardour was engraved on his sharp face.

The hands which had been snaked around her let her go within an instant, and as a curse sprung from his throat, the man found refuge and retreat towards the blazing fireplace. The girl followed his lenient steps, which faltered near the goatskin armchair.

His hands moved in accord with stress. Stiffly he had poured himself a hefty glass of liquid courage – swallowing it down with haste, and indifference towards the spectacle that he made with his demeanour.

His hands were shaking. His gulps of dark and bitter wine accentuated with every guise of stolen looks he dared to throw and hatch her way. At one point through his fretful jitter, the Prince snapped with a scorned hiss.

"Do you reckon you need help with your black dress, my dearest wife?” The rattled edge within his voice echoed through the room's long walls – his tone was mystified by pain, by torturous need, and want, and lust.

"N-No, my love, that I do not." She tried with shear to reach her lacings, as her mouth quirked with a smile. The desolation in her orbs spun the man to heave a sigh – his wobbled hand to reach his collar, and pull at it with forced renown.

Multitudes of scattered feelings reveled on her softened face – pain and fear, disgust and anger, lack of confidence and broad distress.

Inch by inch she thus revealed patches of her creamy skin. Feeling all her fingers stiffen with perturbed stilling discomfort, shame and angst and staid mistrust.

Although her corset was now loosened, the source of air within her lungs remained scarce and all the same.

She maintained his carnal stare, watching how his one eye darkened, turning to an opaque black. His lips pressed into a line, his furrowed brows deepened his stare – he gulped another hoist of wine and swallowed thickly at her chaffing stare. His adam's apple bobbed up and down in repressed bewilderment and apt surrender. His weary mind surged with a vast contrast of thoughts, each one more torturous and sparse than the mentioned fleeting latter.

He felt utterly inadequate.

He'd touched and fucked women before – handmaidens that caught his eye, wenches that offered their heat, servant girls who lured him in.

But none had managed to prepare him for the unrelieved pressure of her. Of the one woman he loved, of the one he wanted most.

She'd been kind to him when they were children – and remained polite throughout when he dared to rain his anger on his ludicrous half-sister.

He regretted every hostile instance where he hurt her with his words. And every bite full of prone venom, that he threw her brothers' way.

He regretted how he acted, when he killed the raucous lord. How he taunted him with perverse pleasure, how he named Luke's shocking perish right across from his sweet wife – knowing somewhere all too well that she'd take offence to it.

His face felt numb, his limbs felt heavy. He wanted to denude her slowly, to prode at the extended nature of her smooth and nuanced skin. To devote himself to her fair pleasure, to worship the slickness of her womanhood with a reverence and love perturbed.

He longed to lay his masculinity at the altar of her maidenhood, get on his knees and devout his being to making her peak with him – on his tongue, on his slim fingers, on his chin, or on his face.

He’d read the ways to get a cunt wet – it would take no less good skill and incredible amounts of patience; but for her, he’d gladly wait, and gently stretch her virgin hole, with the aid of his firm touch and the pulsing of his deepened voice.

He closed his eye in a small prayer, as he begged his Gods for guidance – to be able to bring her to the heightened cliffs of sinful rapture, to be able to prove himself as a man fit for her needs.

To make her love him in return, perhaps, and make her see his side of things.

As he remained hammered in place, trying his hardest to regain control over his trembled conscious and his indulgent thoughts, the man failed to notice how his Lady made impressive progress into her methodical and empty musings.

Her head hung low as she undid the lacings of her fitted garment. Her eyes were cast in shadowed doubt and in utter lack of certainty – her breathing came as fast and laboured, and her hands with-held a tremor with every new poignant display of another patch of skin.

Unbeknownst even to her, hot tears of merciless aversion rolled off her rosy cheeks, landing on her petticoat and the cold stone ground below them.

The Prince sucked a jarring breath, as she turned to face the bed with a heartbreaking and crushed compliance. Her softened eyes peered at his form, and a forceful smile unfurled along the corners of her swollen lips.

His expression must have tightened, and his form recoil in slightly – for her hazy eyes enwrapped him, and her shapely brow rose up.

“Aemond…?” She tried to lace her voice with sweetness, “Do you–” The latter words died on her lips, and she remained with her mouth parted, until her thoughts surged loudly clear.

“Should I… d-do you want me to sit in any way?”

The hoarseness in her tender voice made the man pale in disgrace.

“You’re scared of me.” He long admitted, with a rough and neutral tone.

Aemond’s feet carried him slowly, towards the place in which she stood. When his hand came to rest over her wet cheek, she stiffened up and almost winced.

“Why are you so afraid of me?” The desperation in his utter broke the silence of their spacious room, “I would never hurt you. I would sooner die than see you in pain.”

Realisation settled in, and her lost face morphed with awareness. She brought her palm smooth on his own, and searched despairingly to entwine their hands together. When she opened her mouth to speak, she blinked away her forming tears.

“No, my P– Aemond. I could never be afraid of you.”

“Yet here you stand,” He murmured weakly, “Half-naked before me, and shaking.”

“The chamber just feels very cold.” His wife hung onto the excuse. “I’m sorry, I didn’t – I swear to you that I do want this –”

“I will not bed you.” He hummed as he wiped off her tears – a soft and feeble grazing led about by the callous ends of his smooth pads.

Her face breached forward with mistrust, as her weary mouth lulled open, “W-What? No, Aemond, believe me, I–”

“I will not bed you,” The Prince repeated to her gently, “Not until you ask me to.”

A disgruntled and affronted sigh left the high arch of his lips, yet an understanding look rained across his lustful stare. The one hand which hung loosely by his side trailed a slow path to her jolting shoulder. He swallowed thickly before speaking, pushing down his burning desire.

"Ziry iksos ao qilōni lurksas issa kesīr." The meek admission in High Valyrian made her relax into his touch, "Nyke jāhor daor gaomagon mirros bona mazverdagon ao zūgagon."

The Prince staggered with a shaky breath, whilst looking her into the eye. "Skoro syt kostagon ao ūndegon bona?"

Although she tried so hard to speak, not a word etched from her throat. She nodded in undisplayed wonder, and gripped her husband by the shirt.

He took her balling fists in his, and kissed atop the even skin.

Thoughts strengthened with affirmed abhorrence steered clear through her befuddled mind – there may be hope to fix the error that she so tactlessly set off that night.

And yet before she could place Aemond’s hands down the shape of her small back, the Prince grabbed his sharpened knife, and merely nicked his open palm.

Droplets of deep-crimson liquid seeped into the whitened sheets, and the girl remained upright and frozen, as she watched him clean his blade and rummage through his modest cupboard for a piece of airy cloth.

With one hand he gripped the footboard – and began to firmly shove it into the stone wall up ahead.

The avid creaking of the bed turned into a pleased refrain. One not too fast, but not too slow, which carried on for a few minutes.

Outside their petulant and guarded door, whistles of men and cheers from women crassly seeped into their ears. Though most were muffled down by the sensitive and leal guards, some managed to blurt out half-enthused encouragements upon their midnight escapades.

A flow of compliments descended upon Aemond’s lasting pace – and some of the more improper ladies even dared to coo at her.

“It’ll feel better once you give it time, sweetling!”

“You simply must confine in us what it was like to ride a dragon!”

How utterly humiliating.

Like all bad things within the world, their idle and unseemly chatter ceased after a little while. Aemond sighed and stopped his motions, while granting her a knowing look.

“I’ll remain here for mere more moments. Then I’ll leave you for the night.”

‘N-No!” Her eyes widened in mistrust, as she gnawed her bottom lip. Almost too soon for her own well liking, she’d begged incessantly for him to stay. “Please remain near me, sweet husband… I so long to sleep by you.”

When her words seemed to elude him, she reached for his wounded hand, giving it a slight caress. She pressed her lips atop his cut, and devotedly looked up at him.

“Ao vestretan bona nyke udrāzma ao kesīr. Nyke lurksas bona ao umbagon issa rūsīr."

Aemond drew in a sharp breath, and merely settled on the bed.

“As you wish, my darling wife.”

Translations:

"Qybor" = uncle - specifically, from the mother's side;

"Ziry iksos ao qilōni lurksas issa kesīr. Nyke jāhor daor gaomagon mirros bona mazverdagon ao zūgagon. Skoro syt kostagon ao ūndegon bona?" = 'Tis you who commands me here. I will not do anything that leaves you frightened. Why can’t you see that?

“Ao vestretan bona nyke udrāzma ao kesīr. Nyke lurksas bona ao umbagon issa rūsīr." = You said that I command you here. I order that you stay with me.

#aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #aemond fanfiction #aemond imagine #house of the dragon #yandere aemond #house of the dragon aemond #prince aemond #aemond one eye #bookcanon aemond #dark aemond #dark aemond fanfic #dark aemond x reader #dark aemond targaryen #aemond x niece reader #aemond x fem!reader #aemond x y/n #aemond x you #aemond x strong reader #house of the dragon slowburn #house of the dragon smut #house of the dragon angst #house of the dragon fanfiction #hotd aemond #hotd aegon #hotd alicent #fire and blood #fire and blood fanfic #dragon sickness

[lilian-writes-sins]

       series masterlist

★ wings:

It's the Ladybug Miraculous? Ladybugs have wings? That’s it lol (probable spoilers, but this will be my reasoning for Queen Bee (and some others) as well).

The wings tuck into the red ‘outer shell’ (idk what to call it) when they’re not in use.

★ antennae:

They work kind of like Chat’s ears, so you can use them to enhance your hearing. Basically the antennae are like an extra limb/sense organ (like in actual bugs). Though, unlike how Adrian’s human ears disappear, your human ears stay (unless you’re wearing some sort of head covering, then they’re not visible obvs).

Speaking of ears, [Y/N] has multiple piercings (sorry if u don’t lol). I just think that, aside from looking cool, the piercings could confuse the Akumas and make them pick the non-magic earrings.

★ goggles:

They pair with the wings. I wanted to have a more bug-like look for the eyes + it just looks cool lol.

They are removable — when not worn, they rest around your neck. They protect the eyes from debris/wind/ect. + they can be used sort of like binoculars (i.e. They can zoom in/out to look around better, and if you/your character wear(s) glasses, the lenses of the goggles are prescription lol).

★ eyes:

They just look cool lol + I like how Chat Noir’s whole eyes are green, not just the iris, if that makes sense? It gives a more animalistic/inhuman look and I wanted that here too (I’m probably most definetly going to do this for the other characters too).

In this story, all the Miraculous holders resemble their kwami at least a bit (in personality, mostly). So, with the Ladybug Miraculous, the holders get Tikki antennae + the blue eyes + wings and a bit of her personality leaks through (her kindness/willingness to help others and optimism mostly, though it shows a bit differently through Red Beetle, not as outwardly as Tikki).

★ mask:

Since they already have the goggles (and the fact that I couldn’t make an eye mask work lol), they’re getting a face mask. An added bonus being that this covers more of their face :D

It works the exact same as all the regular masks in the show (i.e. you can’t physically remove it, like how LadyWiFi tried back in S1 with LB’s mask, since it’s magic). You can eat through it, it just looks a bit weird to others.

★ armor:

It’s not exactly armor, but the costume (specifically the red pieces) is more reinforced and protected (took some inspo from Mister Bug’s costume, which I really like).

I know it probably looks a bit flat, I’m just not well-versed with drawing armor lol.

★ weapon/tools:

I took inspo from some concept art images i found on the MLB wiki:

Red Beetle is less reliant on Lucky Charms, using them more so for the fixing/setting everything back to normal, than as a way to solve the problem (unless it’s like a weapon/weapon adjacent).

★ other modifications:

Okay so, your body does have slight changes when transformed (this goes for ALL Miraculous Users, in my mind). I.E. you’re taller and more muscular, than you are as a civilian. As an adolescent, it’s not really noticable (you still buff out and tower over everyone when transformed, dw all you tall queens/kings/royals), but adult/mature users, (ex. Hawkmoth and Mayura), have a She-Ra effect, they grow to like 8ft (2,44m) tall (or taller). I got this idea from this post.

Also, I know my drawing might look like a skinny twink, but the only thing that I mention about your/[Y/N]’s appearance/body is height and build (i.e. you’re tall and muscular/strong), and even then, it’s mostly when you’re transformed into Red Beetle.

       series masterlist

★ author's note: with this design, I wanted to stray a lot from Marinette’s Ladybug, mostly cuz her fit was UGLY, but it also doesn’t really work with the [Y/N] I’m going for. They’re a lot more closed off, so I thought a more armored/protected look, where even most of their face is covered, would fit better. Also [Y/N]’s main goal with the Miraculous is to protect her family (Astrid and future pals) and they couldn’t realistically do that in a spandex suit lol. ANYWAYS, hope you enjoyed this little art rant, I might do Adrien/Chat soon (his won’t be as detailed no promises)!

#★.lilian draws #miraculous redesign #character redesign #ml ladybug redesign #ml tikki redesign

[dg-outlaw]

Blue Beetle - Movie Review

Finally got to see this on HBO Max... yes, "MAX" we still think of you as HBO just as Grogu is still Baby Yoda. Deal with it.

So, back to 'Blue Beetle'.

Long review, short, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think it's one of DC's best in their quasi-DCEU/not DCEU or whatever is going on with WB and the DC movies these days. From what I understand, James Gunn/WB is not scrapping everything from the Snyder-verse/DCEU, but changes are coming and there's rumor that this iteration of Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle will stick around and I really hope so. I also think it helps that there were no character cameos in the film, only mentions of heroes like Superman, Batman, etc. so this Blue Beetle could easily be folded into the upcoming Gunn-verse.

As a latino I'm both ashamed to say I don't know much about Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle outside of his appearances on the 'Young Justice' animated series, but I was also excited to see him on the big screen (metaphorically) and plan to go back and check out his comics.

I won't do a random synopsis as you can easily hit up a Youtube trailer or read an IMDb blurb to get that info, but I will talk about some of things I really enjoyed about this film. Warning: Slight Spoiler's ahead.

First off, this was overall a well-polished, well-written, directed, acted, and enjoyable film. The CGI was CGI, but it never felt janky and I could see the attention to detail in a lot of the VFX work, even with Jaime's practical Blue Beetle suit. I also truly appreciated that this film took risks and didn't shy away from taking those risks, creating stakes and sometimes following through, and addressing certain cultural and socio-economic subject matter without being preachy. In some ways I compare it to the MCU's 'Black Panther' in tackling the cultural and socio-economic things that mainstream, especially Disney, often tries to shy away from.

While 'Blue Beetle' isn't as serious in tone as 'Black Panther' there were several moments in the film where you knew that the writer and director had some creative leeway as opposed to having lots of studio oversight, just as Ryan Coogler had in the first 'Black Panther' film. I'm not sure if this is because WB wasn't paying attention because the DCEU was dying off or if they were somehow convinced to let the creators do their thing.

There were also so many moments where my Hollywood Blockbuster/MCU-trained brain said, "now is where they pull away from the hard moment, make a joke to pull away from a real emotion, or water down the stakes", but that didn't happen in this film. Yes, it was funny throughout, and jokes were made to lighten the mood where appropriate, but it was never at a disservice to the story or the characters. There were no moments where I felt like some director/screenwriter/studio-exec was getting embarrassed because it's a superhero movie so [insert Whedon-esque quip here] to avoid showing feelings.

Plus, you had George Lopez bringing his well-known loud, wild humor as the conspiracy theory spouting, 1% hating, mad-scientist Uncle Rudy, but if anything I think he was needed to give light to a story that potential to be really dark and sad at times. This is not to say there weren't moments that tugged at your heartstrings and made you feel or think. This movie went there because yes, we can think it's cheesy because it's just a superhero movie, but in-universe these events are reality for the characters and I think other superhero movies need to remember that. This was really well done in the first transformation scene of Jaime into the Blue Beetle as it started with light humor and slowly morphed into an almost horror-film like scene. There was no gore, but you felt the terror that Jaime and his family were feeling by watching things unfold. We, as the audience know what's going on, but for him and the family, the shit was hitting the fan and they didn't know what was going on.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from this film. Having recently watched Shazam 2, which I thought was really funny and better than the first, but also forgettable and the Flash movie (which I also thought was fun but forgettable), I just expected more popcorn fun--the last sugary drops of the DCEU slushie before the Gunn-verse got underway. What I recalled about the trailers and vague reviews about this film was that it was a fun superhero movie that focused heavily on family.

But unlike the popcorn, turn your brain off and enjoy chaos of the Fast franchise, it didn't require Vin Diesel, 30 movies, and an endless string of memes to drill that concept into your head. Yes, Jaime Reyes is the hero in the film, but it's the collective efforts and support of his family that ends up helping him win in the end and it's what gave the movie heart.

This is also not meant to take away from Xolo Maridueña's performance as Jaime Reyes as the hero, an actor I've enjoyed since first seeing him on the Netflix series 'Cobra Kai'. Just like in 'Cobra Kai', I continue to enjoy his almost innocent boyish charm, shyness, and vulnerability he exudes on-screen. In some ways his character and performance remind me of Tom Holland's Spider-Man as just this kid trying to do the right thing, but is totally in over his head as a teen superhero (even though Jaime is a recent college grad from Gotham U). And just like Peter Park, Jaime didn't ask to be a hero and had no real aspirations for being a hero, other than to his family, but in the end he stepped up. This was not for cool points, though Jaime eventually learned to embrace the scarab's many cool powers, but because he knew it was the right thing to do. And yes, Mr. Vin Diesel, because of family.

I could go on and on about all the cultural moments and subject matter addressed in this film that I thought was really brave and refreshing in a superhero movie, but I won't as that's a giant article in it of itself. But I honestly think Disney/Marvel could take some pointers here as they often pull away just as they are about to get there. Also, no hate on MCU. There are many of the MCU films I enjoy, but the overall formula hasn't gotten tired and needs a revamp. Again, another post for another day, but just putting in a BIPOC, female, or LGBTQ character in a movie doesn't make it good and marketable. And no, we don't need PSA sob-story movies beaten into our heads, but what does it mean to be part of a marginalized community and be a hero? What does that look like? What different perspective does that character bring to the table?

In the end, yes, enjoy 'Blue Beetle' as a superhero movie, but also keep an eye out for the smaller messages and heart of this film as it was a delightful surprise for me. I hope we get to see more Blue Beetle in the future of DC films and I'd even be down for a live-action adaptation of 'Young Justice', with Jaime on the team.

#jaime reyes #blue beetle #blue beetle movie #blue beetle 2023 #movie review #DG-ramblings

[verydistractedveryconfused]

SLIGHT BLUE BEETLE SPOILERS!!

I watched the Blue Beetle movie yesterday and Let me tell you

This was one of the greatest live action DC movies I've seen

I've known Blue Beetle since I watched Young Justice as a kid

Then saw him again in the DC animated film, Teen Titans vs Justice League

I really like how he's portrayed in the movie, I love how close he is to his family, and I love that after the initial fear and shock of having a literal sentient being attached to his spine he came around to try and understand Khaji Da (hope I wrote that right) and what it (she..?) wants

#blue Beetle 2023 #blue beetle #jaime reyes #khaji da

[romancomicsnews]

Who should play Ted Kord in the DCU?

*slight spoilers for Blue Beetle in theaters now!*

I have now seen Blue Beetle twice now, and I absolutely loved it. From the cast, the cinematography, to the action and the drama, it may be my favorite DC movie. If I had one nitpick, I was hoping to see a little more inclusion, at the very least a cameo, of Ted Kord.

Ted Kord in the comics is the second Blue Beetle and the sometimes mentor to Jaime, sometimes deceased hero. In this movie they opted for a middle ground, Ted is missing, and does not appear in the film.

However in our mid credits scene, we find a message from Ted, stating he is alive and needs his daughters help.

While this excites me for future installments of the franchise, it did leave my wheels turning as to who should play Ted in a sequel to Blue Beetle. And I think I have some solid picks. First let's look at what has come before:

Live Action Depictions:

None. Sorta.

While Brandon Routh plays Ray Palmer, the character was set up and meant to be the Blue Beetle. He originally appears in Arrow, described as tech CEO who looks to use technology to become a superhero and challenge the Green Arrow.

However, before this season, Arrow mentioned Ted Kord and Kord Industries so much, one can assume that the character that would become the Atom was originally Ted Kord.

And there are a lot of similarities! Both use technology, both are dorky, corny and well intentioned smart dummies. I think Routh does a great Kord audition here.

We want someone charming, dorky, and even silly. Ted Kord is a silver age hero, and needs to feel like it.

Film Stipulations

For the first time I fancast, we actually have some clues and hurdles for casting.

We learn quite a bit about Ted Kord from the Blue Beetle movie. He is obsessed with the scarab, he fought in and for Palmera City, but wasn't iconic enough to be remembered by many. He was remembered foundly by Rudy though, who is played by George Lopez, who is 62.

Bruna Marquezine plays his daughter, who is 28, and Susan Sarandon plays his older sister at 76. Gaging this range we can assume Ted is somewhere between 55-65, so our actor needs to be in that age range.

We also know Susan Sarandon is very white, and Jenny is mixed, so we're looking for a white actor.

Characteristics

Ted Kord is a classic hero. He is corny, he is fun, and he is weird. We know he is obsessed with the scarab, so someone who can get a little unhinged would be good.

One aspect of Kord I loved from the movie was this inventions didn't always work. He was a genius but a janky one. I like the idea of mad scientist meets heartfelt hero.

We also need someone who feels like they've been a hero for a longtime, and maybe not always the best one.

Honorable Mentions

One interesting aspect of Ted Kord is his history of being adapted through other characters. We brought up Brandon Routh as Ray Palmer playing a version of Blue Beetle, but Patrick Wilson similarly did so.

Alan Moore's Watchmen character Nite Owl II was based off or Ted Kord. You can see it in his suit, gadgets and even ship.

Blue Beetle is often compared to Batman for being so similar. While he just made his reappearance in The Flash, George Clooney is in our age range and kind of fits perfectly.

While I'm usually against actors playing separate superhero roles, I think in this case it can be a fun wink and nod to the viewers, while oddly enough honoring the character.

So if Brandon Routh, George Clooney or Patrick Wilson want the role, I think they should take it.

Finally, a popular fancast and rumor was Jason Sudekais was taking the role.

I absolutely love this casting, and would be happy with it. But I want some originality in my pick, so I have my own as well.

So let's get into my picks:

3. Eric Bana

Starting off strong with an actor who has done superhero media but not in the DC universe.

You may know him from The Other Boleyn Girl, Star Trek or the Time Traveler's Wife, but most would remember him as Bruce Banner from 2003s The Hulk.

While Bana was wrong for Banner, I think he has the making of an excellent Kord. He has those classic hero features, the voice, the look, and I think the range to pull this off. He even had a solid comedic voice performance in Chip n Dale as Monterey Jack.

I do think Bana can play a generic once was hero, but I'd like a little more life in my Blue Beetle. So while I think he is a solid, my top 2 and honestly my honorable mentions would be much better.

2. Patrick Dempsey

Known for roles in Grey's Anatomy and Enchanted, Patrick Dempsey's character work leads me to believe he'd be a good fit here.

Dempsey has a voice that if utilized well, can be very silver age. I think his background in romantic comedies can be utilized with such a funny cast. Dempsey would be the dorkiest to put in the suit, and would pull off that mad genius hero line well.

My main problem with Dempsey is whether he can feel like a mentor. While the others on my list can pull it off, I don't know if I've ever seen Dempsey play the guy who knew what he was doing. I think he's got the chops for it and I'd be happy to see him try.

1. Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci is a gem.

I could list off his credentials for days but you probably love him from something. He has charisma, mad scientist energy, and can clearly rock the bald look The Beetle costume gives ya.

Tucci also has charisma with just about anyone. I can't think of an actor more widely loved in pretty much everything he is in. He would bring his A Game with such an incredible cast.

He's also had experience mentoring a young hero. He played Abraham Erskine in Captain America the First Avenger, where he mentored a young Steve Rogers.

At 62, he is right in the age range we want. He's got the build, he's got the charm, and absolutely seems like the type of hero who would make a Beetle Mech with a fart button.

Overall, I can see Tucci returning and playing Kord for several solid movies, even spinning off with my Booster Gold and having adventures, or making the ultimate sacrifice.

Either way, Stanley Tucci is my Ted Kord.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me, you can:

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#dc comics #dc universe #blue beetle #blue beetle 2023 #blue beetle battalion #ted kord #jenny kord #victoria kord #blue beetle graduation day #arrowverse #ray palmer #dceu #dcu #james gunn #justice league #brandon routh #superman returns #george clooney #batman #nite owl ii #patrick wilson #jason sudeikis #eric bana #the hulk #patrick dempsey #stanley tucci #fancast #fancasting

[sir-adamus]

Ok tbh I'm just qorried about no one taking Batman anywhere near as seriously as they should. Like. This man can scare villains into almost submitting by standing in the room. A slight eye squint will quiet even the most off-the-handle allies. I'm also wondering if there will be an 8th DC character. I think Aquaman, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, or Red Tornado. Maybe even Etrigan could work.

i'm actually glad this movie isn't doing any Batwank - he's out of his depth in a world he doesn't understand and regressed in body and behaviour into a teenager

he's not scary as a teenager, he's awkward and doesn't know how to use his new body, and he's mostly gonna be fighting monsters that don't have souls and so can't be afraid of him (rendering that idea mostly pointless)

i appreciate that this is a lighthearted take on him, i think a lot of current media takes him way too seriously and makes him too cool, just for the sake of "because I'm Batman", this feels like a throwback to the 90s cartoons where he was a more well rounded character who didn't have to be serious all the time and doesn't have "i need to be the scariest, most aggressive and paranoid asshat in the room" as his primary personality trait, he was capable of being part of a team and trusting his friends

as for 8th DC character - from the spoilers i know about, there is, and they're the villain, though Etrigan would be a fun throwback to the JLU episode that this movie seems to be taking a bit of inspiration from

#Justice League x RWBY

[euphobait]

Slight Spoiler for the Blue Beetle Movie

It's me making connections to YJ because s2 never leaves my head.

During his first fight with Carapax, I swear the scarab pulls a move straight out of YJ S2 (Specifically the two blades being dragged across the street) to try and kill him. Maybe I'm having a delulu moment but with how Khaji Da's given control, Jaime panics when he realizes what's going to happen, and the blades it feels like a throwback.

Or maybe I'm making connections where there are non.

#Jaime reyes #young justice #Blue Beetle #dc blue beetle

[queen-ofc]

Movie Review - Blue Beetle - First Impressions !! SLIGHT SPOILERS MENTIONED!!

Hello everyone!

Movies are something that I am OBSESSED with! Film is my passion! Ever since I was a little girl, I would critique every movie I've ever seen to my parents, so much so that they'll sit and listen after we finish a movie because they always expect me to say something about it.

I have always wanted to share my passion for film with the world, but I have never the confidence nor will to start, but that's all going to change. I wanted to start off my little series of movie reviews with the one I had just seen in theaters today: Blue Beetle!

Now, Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle has ALWAYS had a special place in my heart. I grew up watching the series Young Justice, and I continue to watch it today. Ever since I saw Blue Beetle on the screen, he instantly connected with me and has kept his #2 spot on my list of all-time favorite DC characters. (#1 being Dick Grayson Robin/Nightwing.)

This has been a HIGHLY anticipated movie for me! Ever since the trailer first came out, I was anxiously waiting for it to hit theaters, keeping track of every day in between, counting down the very seconds until its release, and as soon as it did, my parents and I jumped on the opportunity to go see it in theaters! To see my boy hit the big screen and finally get recognized by so many people as a hero in the DCU just filled me with overwhelming joy. So, as one could expect, I had incredibly high expectations for this film. And to make a long story short, overall, I wasn't disappointed!

⚠️WARNING! THE FOLLOWING CONTENT FROM THIS POINT ON CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!⚠️

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I said, overall, this was a very enjoyable movie, but there were a couple things I wanted to point out that could've improved it!

1) Now, this one is mostly a bias of mine, so feel free to ignore this point and move on to #2 if you'd like.

Something that really stuck out to me was the fact that Jaime's father told him something like, "The Universe knows" or "... chose you" (obviously not an exact quote, but you get the idea.) During the movie, I noticed that they were hitting a lot of stereotypes regarding Hispanic/Latino families. Keeping that in mind, I'll go back to Jaime's father. Now, already a lot of people can tell it's obvious that Jaime seems to be visiting him in a heaven of sorts, with the candles around his father symbolizing that. However, there was no mention of God at all during this time, which in my personal opinion, seemed like something that could've been an easy switch; from "universe" to "God" or "the Lord" or something along those lines to show a Catholic or some other Christian denomination belief system.

However, this is just a minor thing, and luckily, it doesn't affect the story at all. Now, I'll get into something a little more unbiased and a little more major to Blue Beetle's story.

2) They should've established a good relationship with the Scarab.

Now, I'm not saying to remove Jaime's relationship with his family to this, but I'm just saying to add it. I loved the fact they included Jaime's family in all the scenes, making them an essential part of the movie, but adding this would dive into the Blue Beetle's story a bit more. Yes, the movie would be a tad longer, but it would be so much better.

Throughout the movie, the growing relationship between Jaime and his scarab is always implied and never actually produced in the scenes. Instead, he seemed thrown into the action and already knew how to use his scarab to his full extent after just a single battle. It's like we were missing a big chunk of the story, and just thrown into the action.

At the beginning, the scarab seemed hellbent to kill any and every threat in its wake, yet at the end, it tells Jaime that he shouldn't kill the enemy. It tells Jaime "We aren't murders." That doesn't seem right to me considering there was no time in between when Jaime taught the Scarab such things. The control Jaime had over the Scarab also seemed just given to him, instead of earned.

What they should've done, is have some sort of "training montage" in the movie. A time when Jaime finally has the Scarab in a calm mood and is talking with it to learn exactly what his abilities are and how to use them all. He should've had to fight a little more with the Scarab, telling it why they don't kill innocent people. Jaime should've had to command control of the Scarab himself, instead of it being handed to him on a silver platter. Only when the Scarab and Jaime are fully in sync would the Scarab acknowledge why it's bad to blatantly murder people regardless of what they have done, making the "We aren't murders" line so much more meaningful after all they had been through.

Another thing that I would fix, is to more obviously establish the fact that only Jaime can hear the Scarab. Only at the very end of the movie does this fact become clear, meaning that people who didn't know the Blue Beetle and his powers probably would've been confused about that fact. I think they should've had a small scene where Jaime is having a conversation with his Scarab, maybe even arguing with it, in front of his family or his girlfriend. The family/girlfriend would obviously be confused, thinking that he was talking to them, when in reality he wasn't.

Maybe he gets into a fight with a family member or his girlfriend while he's trying to argue with his Scarab because the family member or girlfriend thinks that he's insulting them when he's insulting the voice in his head. Make it a little bit of a joke when he's fighting the enemy and gets into another argument with his Scarab, making the enemy think Jaime is talking to them, only making Jaime have to repeat himself that it's not them he's talking to, but the Scarab.

Just small ideas, but all ones I believe would make a big difference.

______________________________________________________________

That concludes my initial reaction to Blue Beetle! I really hope my writing was comprehensible as I just kinda brain dumped it all on here and my brain is far from organized, haha. However, I do plan on making a more in-depth review of the movie once it hits a streaming platform and I can watch it a second time! After all, you can miss a lot of things the first time!

Being that this is my first time actually posting any of my thoughts on a movie, please give me some grace. As I do want to continue to do these types of things, sharing my thoughts on movies I love, I would appreciate constructive criticism and thoughts on how to more accurately organize my thoughts before I write them! I would also love recommendations of blogs that do any kind of reviews so that I could learn from them too! And please, share your thoughts on this movie!

Thank you for reading! <3

#blue beetle #young justice #dc #dc blue beetle #blue beetle 2023 #blue beetle spoilers #spoiler #spoilers #movie spoilers #movie spoiler #dc spoilers #dc characters #jaime reyes #dc comics #movie review #review #new releases #brain rot #brain dump #long post #long posts #movie thoughts #movie reviews #i love this movie

[dehydration-stati0n]

Unsolved {Ghost!Zoro x Reader Part 1}

Rules Word Count: 0.8k Spoilers: None

“We’ll find something this time,” Perona claimed as she drove up the gravel road in her pink Volkswagen Beetle.

“If you say so,” You come up here to the grave site with her once a week to try and summon something, although, hardly anything ever happens.

The small car rocked slightly as it drove over the bumpy road. The afternoon sky really set the scene for the two of you as it cast its reddish glow on the surrounding trees.

“Here, I brought candles, Moria told me it helps with this kind of stuff.” The Lolita told you, bringing out the fairly tall and expensive-looking candles.

You helped her set up the board and light the bubblegum-colored candles. There was a slight chill in the autumn air, causing brown leaves to rustle nearby as you sat on either side of the Ouija Board.

“You ask something, I don’t want any ghosts following me.”

“Is there anyone here?” The pinkette asked. The two of you waited, anticipating the possible entities that would appear.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe we need to find a new graveyard, this one's no good.” You commented. You were starting to believe ghosts weren't real, or at least you two were doing something wrong.

"Give it a second."

"The planchette has never moved when we do this." You argued.

She only glared at you, shadows dancing across her face and the grass below as the candles slowly burned.

The two of you waited there for about 30 minutes before giving up and climbing back into the car. Your friend was determined to find a ghost boyfriend and you knew you were going to be roped into the process until she succeeded.

The sky was quick to turn dark during your visit to the cemetery. Changing from red to dark blue. The tall, almost leafless, trees swayed in the wind. You loved autumn. It always gave you a warm feeling when it came around each year.

Some of the buildings in your guys' town almost looked abandoned, or at the very least old. With vines growing on the walls and chips in the faded paint.

“Hey, is that Kid?”

You glanced out the windshield to see your boyfriend with his arm around another girl as they walked on the sidewalk together.

“I'm sure she’s just a friend.” You said aloud, trying to reassure yourself and Perona. She never liked Kid and was quick to assume the worst. You understood where she was coming from, with him being arrested a few times already. You didn't blame her.

You froze when you saw him kiss her. You weren't sure how you were supposed to react. You weren't sure if you WANTED to react. You more just wanted to go home.

Perona slowed down the car, “You're a whore, Kid, I hope your other arm has to be amputated.”

Tears started to roll down your face, you wished you never had to witness all that. Perona’s hand was rubbing your back gently as she and the redhead shouted at each other. You didn’t listen to whatever she said to him, too lost in your own mind to want to hear the argument they were having.

Streetlights blinded you as you stared out the window into the dark. The hum of the car lulled you into a false feeling of not existing, like having an out-of-body experience, you didn’t feel all there in the present.

It didn’t seem to take long before your friend was pulling into the parking lot.

"You ok?" Her voice was sweet and soothing, she was always good at comforting people. You were not ok, and she could tell, but you still nodded at her words. She frowned at you before helping you out of the car and into your shared apartment.

----------

“Here, you can sleep with this one.” She said, handing you her Jack Skellington plushie before sitting next to you on your bed. “I’ll flirt with Sanji tomorrow and get him to beat Kid for you.” She promised holding you in her arms as you cried into her shoulder.

You just nodded along, too tired to reply. You were so annoyed with Kid, you had done everything to keep that relationship together and stable, only for him to turn around and cheat on you. You felt kinda bad, tonight was supposed to be fun, with you and Perona doing your weekly ritual.

“Don’t feel too bad,” The goth started, “he wasn’t that cute anyway.” Her cold hands rubbed your back, occasionally playing with your hair as she brushed it out of your face.

"Thank you." You hiccuped into her shirt.

"I'll always be here for you when you need me, ok?" The pinkette told you, brushing your hair out with her fingers. "Get some rest, I'll make breakfast for you in the morning and we can do whatever you want. Neither of us has anything tomorrow."

You thanked her again as she turned your light out before she turned to leave you alone, closing the door behind her.

You continued to sob into your pillows a while more, before eventually exhausting yourself and falling asleep.

#zoro #roronoa zoro #zoro one piece #zoro op #one piece #one piece fanfiction #one piece oneshot #one piece x reader #one piece fanfic #fanfiction #zoro x reader #zoro roronoa x reader #roronoa zoro x reader

[scryarchives]

𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 - 𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 | 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

khaji-da mentioned something about the new girl 'drea' being dangerous, but what did she mean by 'dangerous'? and how dangerous could she be if she's best friends with his very own sister?

masterlist | previous , next !

– pairings: jaime reyes x oc

– warning: fluff, canon divergent, blue beetle movie spoilers

– author's note: more of a filler chapter haha. disclaimer: i don't speak Spanish, so please do correct me if i am wrong! read more under the cut! :)

A couple of weeks had passed since the Tlatilpas had come over to the Reyes household. Unfortunately, Anika (or as she asked Jaime to call her “Aunt Anika”) was the only one over as her wife Zara had been too exhausted from the drive to Palmera City.

As nice as their family was from what he gathered, Jaime couldn’t help but let what Khaji-Da told him that day weigh his mind down. He sat on his bed, laptop open on the plush bed sheet as he gnawed the end of his pencil, brows furrowed in thought and confusion.

What did she mean by ‘she’s dangerous’? Did Khaji mean Drea specifically? Or her entire family?

“This ‘Drea’ you worry about, she’s the dangerous one.”

Jaime rolled his eyes. Of course, the blue bug alien bonded to him and responded to him when everything was peaceful and quiet in his home.

“Okay, you’ve said that already, but a little specifics would be nice,” He shrugged sarcastically at the little robotic voice in his head. “I mean, dangerous how? Does she have connections to harmful people? She’s got machinery that can endanger us? What–”

“I scanned her DNA while you were shaking hands,” Khaji-Da cut Jaime off, the male glaring incredulously at the voice.

“First off, we need to set some boundaries, Khaji. You can’t keep scanning all these people without my acknowledgement. It’s creepy and overall weird. Second, how would that make her dangerous? She’s human too.”

“Incorrect.”

“What? You’re saying I’m wrong about scanning people being inappropriate–”

“She’s not one hundred per cent human,” Khaji-Da answered once more, this time, her answer left Jaime on edge. 

“She’s approximately fifty per cent alien.”

“Milagro! What’s up? How’s my favourite Reyes doin’?” Drea chuckled, her dark waves bouncing behind her in her high ponytail. The bracelets on her wrists ‘clinked’ together as she and the youngest Reyes high-fived, grins wide on their faces.

“¡Soy bien! You?”

The two shared a handshake, and despite their fast friendship, they got along well, like two peas in a pod.

“Meh, could be better,” She chuckled, rubbing her upper arm. “My Amma had a whole list of chores for me to do, so my arms are completely wiped out.”

“Ah man, I get you,” Milagro scoffed, nudging shoulders with her best friend. “Hey, you wanna come in? I’m sure we got something we could watch together.”

“Yeah, of course! Oh, by the way,” Milagro perked up, seeing Drea halt. “I almost forgot, Amma made some snacks a few days ago, so she asked me to bring some to you.”

It was then that Milagro realised that Drea was carrying a backpack and the Latina walked over to help hold the item up as Drea pulled out a little transparent container with a red twist-on lid.

“It’s more of a traditional snack from her home town? Country? One of those,” The older woman shrugged. “It’s called murukku, not sure if you’ve heard of it, but it’s one of my favourites. Vadai’s a close second.”

Milagro hummed at the spiral-looking snack, smiling kindly at her friend.

“Aw, look at you all soft for me! I’m gonna hide this in my room forever so that no one else in my family will ever take a bite,” She grinned before it fell. “Actually, better not. My mom is gonna kill me if she finds food in my room.”

“Oh, I know how that feels,” Drea chuckles, the two walking into the Reyes’ humble abode.

“Mom! Drea’s here!” Milagro called out, the woman smiling sweetly the moment Bianca entered her view.

“Hi, Mrs Reyes! Thanks for having me over,” She pulls her bag over one shoulder in slight nervousness, Bianca smiling widely at the girl.

“Oh, it’s no problem, Drea! It’s always wonderful to have a friend of Mili’s over!”

“Her mom made us snacks. No one touches it before I do, please,” Milagro huffed, placing the transparent container on the table as her mom eyed the snack curiously.

“Alright, mija, but there’s no controlling the rest of the family,” Bianca laughed, Milagro rolling her eyes with both love and annoyance as she led her friend towards her little room.

“Did you know I found a stray the other day? Surprisingly, both my moms let me keep him,” Drea whispered to Milagro, hoping to distract her.

“Oh seriously? What’d you name him?” Milagro looked over at Drea in slight surprise. 

“Sparky von Cocoa the First, but Sparky’s just for short.”

“I need pictures of him. ASAP.”

“Hey Mils, you hungry?” Drea glanced over at Milagro, seeing her friend lying beside her, stomach flat on the bed as her eyes were still glued to the computer, invested in the series the Latina was introduced to named “Never Have I Ever”.

“Uh… I could get a drink, do you want one?” Milagro raised her eyebrows, glancing up at Drea, who shook her head.

“Nah it’s fine, I can get it. You’re too invested to miss anything,” Drea teased, pushing herself up from her cross-legged position. “And I’ve already watched all the episodes up to date, so I’m good.”

“Wow, you do not have a life.”

“I know I don’t,” Drea chuckled, opening her best friend’s room door, and walking out into the corridor.

As soon as she turned around, she noticed that she was face to face with the other Reyes descendent, Jaime’s eyes widened in surprise to see the neighbour’s daughter standing in his home.

“Jaime, hi,” She flashed him a quick smile, and Jaime cleared his throat.

“Hey, uhm, Drea!” He held an awkward smile of his own, eyes guarded. “What’re you doing here? Is Milagro alright?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Was gonna get us drinks.”

“Cool.”

Then silence hung over their heads, neither adult looking at the other before Drea crossed her arms, lifting her left arm to point her thumb in the direction of the kitchen.

“So uh, does Milagro have a specific drink she likes here? Or should I drop by the convenience store to get it?” She asked with genuine curiosity that Jaime almost believed that she was completely human.

Unlike what Khaji warned him about.

“We got uh… something in the fridge that she’ll like.” 

Jaime once again smiled, albeit he smiled flatly, heading out of the corridor, and into the dining area. Trailing him to get the drinks, Drea filled herself a cup of water, eyeing Jaime curiously as the male rushed around the area, as though he was looking for someone.

“How’s life?”

Jaime snapped up, humming before zoning back to her presence. He looked a little lost before he finally registered her question all while fidgeting slightly.

“It’s… life. Nothing much really. Job hunting, trying to keep things afloat,” He answered before heading towards the front door.

“Oh seriously? You’re looking for work too? That’s great,” Drea chimed, brushing off Jaime’s behaviour as nervousness. “Do you think it’d be fine if Milagro and I join you for the search?”

“I mean,” Jaime’s eyes darted to the door as he turned around to answer. “Mili and I were already working that out together but uh, yeah, you’re welcome to join.”

“Great, that’s… yeah, thanks,” Drea smiled gratefully back while Jaime nodded hurriedly.

A silence fell between them once more, Jaime tapping his wrist in urgency, yet he stayed in case there was more conversation she tried to start. Just to confirm, he spoke up, Drea keeping her glass away in the sink as she picked up another full glass of water for her friend in the room.

“Is there anything else you need to ask or…?”

“Ah, nope, I’m done,” Drea shook her head, her eyes widening in realisation of his situation. “Oh, shit, sorry for the hold up.”

Before she could say anything else, Jaime told her his response while walking out, the door slamming shut as she heard his voice ring out for the last time.

“You’re good, no worries!”

As soon as the front door was shut and he had walked out of view of anyone, Jaime sighed as his suit, unfortunately, burning his current clothes off, annoyance filling him. 

He had to speak to Khaji about that, there was no way he could keep buying new clothes for each week.

“I thought you would never leave.”

Speak of the Devil.

“Look, she was nice,” Jaime muttered, the helmet forming over his head. “And she’s Milagro’s friend, I can’t be not nice for no reason.”

“She is an alien. There is a reason to not be nice to her,” Khaji-Da responded with a know-it-all tone, Jaime rolling his eyes.

“That’s rich coming from you. Just tell Mama that I’ll be late for dinner.”

gif by @rob-pattinson

taglist: @mooncleaver

< comment/dm me if you'd like to be on the taglist! >

#blue beetle #blue beetle 2023 #jaime reyes x oc #jaime reyes x reader #blue beetle jaime reyes #blue beetle movie #blue beetle slight spoilers #jaime reyes #milagro reyes #bianca reyes #khaji da #oc #ocs #blue beetle oc #sam writes !

[dragon-snoots-a-boopin]

In a back to back sense, I also recently played Injustice 2. As always, please remember that everything here is my own opinion based on my experience playing the game. Disagreeing and discussion is welcome, just be kind about it.

As with the first game, the story is very well written and very well told and, again, is the entire reason that I wanted to play the game. I am not going to go into spoilers here but it does continue pretty much where the first game leaves off. Worth it to play and experience the story if you ask me. With that, Injustice 2 is a definite graphics upgrade from the first and definitely looks a lot more cinematic over the first game.

A minor thing that does bug me is the two voice actor changes in The Flash and Green Lantern but, Green Lantern is the most noticeable and bugged me the most. GL in this game is voiced by Steve Blum and, as much as I love that VA (Transformers Prime Starscream), his voice just doesn't fit GL if you ask me.

Speaking again on difficulty here and I don't know what happened in the four years between games but I found this game a lot more difficult than the first, even on the same difficulty. I played both games story mode on very easy and there were some fight in this game I had to do multiple times before getting through them. I know this will be a slight story spoiler and I'm sorry but I have to say that the two times I had to fight Brainiac was not easy, even on very easy. As Superman, I didn't beat him until the third attempt and as Batman, I didn't beat him until the second attempt and that is super frustrating.

Injustice 2 has about 33 characters that are new and not in the first game. Those are:

Supergirl

Reverse Flash

Jay Garrick's The Flash

Poison Ivy

Starfire

Black Lightning

Atrocitus

Gorilla Grodd

Blue Beetle

Deadshot

Black Canary

Swamp Thing

Cheetah

Vixen

Scarecrow

Doctor Fate

Firestorm

Captain Cold

Mr. Freeze

Enchantress

Hellboy

Atom

Darkseid

Red Hood

Power Girl

Sub-Zero

Grid

All Four Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I am going to be honest, some of these do not make a lot of sense to me. Injustice is a DC Comics thing. Now, like with the first game, I understand the addition of MK characters like Raiden and Sub-Zero. But, what I don't understand is the inclusion of Hellboy and the Ninja Turtles here. There are 14 characters that are only in the first Injustice that don't appear in this game so why not include some of them? Instead of Hellboy, why not add Raven and then you could have almost all of the Teen Titans in the game? Instead of the Ninja Turtles, why not grab Scorpion, Batgirl, Zatanna & Doomsday?

Okay, to explain my next point, I have to tell you that unlike in the first game, Injustice 2 uses Motherboxes of varying rarity as means to get gear for your characters. Yes, gone are the days where I can just select a character, press Y and select an alternate costume for them. For Injustice 2 character have head, leg, arm and something unique to each character, like for Robin, is his sword. You also have two ability slots, an augment slot and the shader slot. So, in keeping with my example, if I want Cyborg to look different, I have to play modes that reward me with Motherboxes to open and hope that I get gear for Cyborg and that's not something I am a fan of because it's not guaranteed. Yes, there are augments that will increase the rate of reward geared towards your equipped character but, it doesn't increase the rate all that much. Either way, I much prefer the more simple way that the first game deals with alternate costumes for characters.

Something I don't get is why some characters are like hidden away under the shader slot for other characters. What do I mean? This:

Reverse Flash is a shader for The Flash.

Jay Garrick's The Flash is a shader for The Flash

Vixen is a shader for Cheetah

Mr. Freeze is a shader for Captain Cold

Power Girl is a shader for Supergirl

Jon Stewart's Green Lantern is a shader for Green Lantern

Black Lightning is a shader for Raiden

Bizzaro is a shader for Superman

Grid is a shader for Cyborg

This really doesn't make all that much sense to me. The only ones that I think this would make sense is in the case of Green Lantern, Jay Garrick's The Flash, Bizzaro and Grid. Otherwise, Reverse Flash, Vixen, Mr. Freeze, Power Girl and Black Lightning should be their own characters on the roaster and not as shaders for other characters.

Still on the topic of characters and also about the fact that Injustice 2 also has a very bad grind to it that the first game did not have. See, in the first game, you just had your profile level that would increase with each fight won. For Injustice 2, not only do you have you profile level, but each individual character has their own level and can be leveled up to 30. When I looked this up, I found that you'd have to do over 100 fights per character to get them fully leveled up. Given that Injustice 2 has around 38 characters, that's anywhere between 3800 & 4000 fights that one would have to do to get every character fully leveled up. That is just insane and I really don't think that anyone would do that. Pretty sure most people would only fully level their favorite character they main so but, either way, the grind is pretty bad.

A really minor thing is that the first game actually has more stages than this one. Injustice: Gods Among Us has 15 stages where Injustice 2 has 12 stages so, that's a little disappointing. Something I wonder is like, if they're going to include character from MK and other characters like Hellboy and the TMNT, why not make some unique stages for those characters? Would have been a cool idea.

I managed to get exactly what I wanted from this game and that is a really good and well told continuation of the story from the first game. Yes, this game is a lot more difficult, it has loot boxes and the grind is bad but the game is graphically way better and it has more characters. Injustice 2 is a good and enjoyable game that, like the first one, I recommend getting this game only when it's on sale for like $5.

#the dragons speaks #video games #DC #DC Comics #dcu #dc universe #justice league #injustice gods among us #injustice 2 #netherrealm studios #fighting games

[blackfire5561]

Drinking buddies (Thanks Mister Miracle #10 for my life)

#mister miracle #scott free #booster gold #blue beetle #justice league international #jli #dc #dc comics #slight spoilers #iM SO GLAD THAT THEY STILL HANG OUT TOGETHER #jolie’s art #I drew this at 2am last night in a fevered state

[lady-griffin]

Characters That Might Be Introduced in Young Justice Season 4: Phantoms

This is just my own personal speculation, based on what I think might happen in Season 4 and what YJ has given us so far. I’m sure that I’ve missed plenty of characters that others 100% believe or know will be making an appearance...but, I can’t do anything about that. 

While the majority of the characters on this list are ones we haven’t met before, there are a few we have met in the show - I included these characters, because I think they might be added to the ever-growing roster of heroes or have a more prominent role to play. 

This is really long, but I had fun doing it and I hope you enjoy it. 

Characters We've Met Already

Part I: Prominent Future Role

     M’comm M’orzz/Ma'alefa'ak

M’gann’s younger brother who wants to start a white revolution on Mars. We met him in season 3 during the episode of “Away Mission,” where he was a major focal point.

There are a couple of factors for why I think he’ll play a prominent role.

He’s M’gann’s younger brother and as several people have speculated upon, this season’s tagline of “Phantoms” might be in reference to our main characters’ own personal phantoms from their pasts, rather than literal ghosts. Also given how M’gann has a new little brother in Gar, who was given more prominence last season – there could be something there.

M’Comm wants to start a White Revolution and we know M’gann, Conner, J’onn, and Gar (I believe) will be heading to Mars, either before or at the beginning of Season 4. Since J’onn/Martian Manhunter is usually the last Green Martian – some dark stuff may be awaiting our heroes on Mars or occur while they’re there.

I think he’ll play a significant role in the upcoming season. 

     Jason Todd/Red Hood

Jason is a prominent member of the Batfamily and we’ve already learned that he was the Robin after Dick, but died before Season 2 began. 

In Season 3 – he was also an easter egg in “Nightmare Monkeys,” where he died in Beast Boy’s mind, along with other fallen comrades.

More importantly, in “Rescue Op,” we actually met him as the Red Hooded Ninja on Infinity Island. Towards the end of that episode there was attention given to the fact that he recognized Dick and therefore his memory was returning.

I can definitely see him having a more significant part in the future. He would most likely be Dick’s main phantom, if that’s the case for Season 4. 

     Big Barda

One of Granny’s most loyal generals and the leader of the furies before she defects against Darkseid. We were introduced to her in Season 3, in “Influence" - she fought against the Justice League, but more importantly she was saved by Superman. While it’s clear that Granny hurting her or being willing to sacrifice her is par for the course, it seemed pretty clear (to me) that Superman reshaped her outlook on life. 

We never saw her again, so more than likely she defected after Superman saved her.

Given her usual importance to the plot of Darkseid as well as the fact that her main love interest is Scot Free – I think there is more than a good chance we’ll see her again in Season 4.

--

In the third season, each of these characters were introduced in a single episode. Given their significant relationships to either a character or a plot element that is important to Young Justice - it seems more than likely we’ll see them play a larger role in the upcoming season.

Part II: Minor Future Role

     Harper Rowe/Bluebird

She was a minor character in Season 3, but she was also pretty prominent. Given that she’s a hero in the comics, I can see Harper being a new hero added to the roster. I can’t say how prominent she’ll actually be, but I can definitely see her playing a minor role.    

     Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl

Courtney is a pretty prominent young hero in DC and she made several appearances in Season 3 – with her show (Stargirl) where she reported and interviewed young heroes. So, maybe she’ll have decided instead of just interviewing heroes, she’ll become one herself. 

     Cisco Ramon/Vibe

For a character who was just being bullied they paid a decent amount of attention to him. Now maybe he was just a prominent Easter Egg for fans (CW’s The Flash), but it could also be YJ laying some slight ground work for him in the future.

     Cassandra Cain/Orphan

Orphan is a member of the Batfamily and her mother is Lady Shiva - The Light’s new enforcer, who we got to know decently well in Season 3. Because of that, I think there could be something there to explore in Season 4.

-- 

I don’t really think any of these guys will be major characters, but I’m betting we’ll at least see them in the background as heroes. Similar to how Stephanie Brown and others were introduced as easter eggs and then in the following season we saw them working as heroes.

In addition, there are of course other minor hero/super-powered characters whom we’ve already met (Arrowette, Spoiler, Mist etc.) and any one of them could get more screen time, it’s honestly anyone’s guess; I just don’t have anything specific to speculate about for them.

Characters We Haven’t Met 

Part I: Legion of Super-Heroes/Time Travel

Based on the idea that the Legion of Super-Heroes and time travel could play a significant role in Season 4 – which is based on how season 3 ended with an unknown woman wearing a Legion Ring. 

Legion of Super-Heroes

The Legion of Super-Heroes are a superhero team from the 31st Century; they are similar to The Justice League, but they protect and defend the United Planets. 

     Tinya Wazzo/Phantom Girl

Phantom Girl is a member of the Legion, so based off that and her name, there’s a decent chance we’ll meet her. I can’t say how big of role she’ll actually have, but I feel confident in saying this season won’t be named after her; it’ll just be fun little tie-in, if she does make an appearance.

     Querl Dox/Brainiac 5

Brainiac is a very prominent member of the Legion and knowing that they will play some role, it’s not a stretch to say he’ll also play a role. 

Brainiac 5, or at least in the WB animated show, was the inventor of the Legion Ring, as well as the ability to time-travel. 

Given his relation to one of Superman’s greatest enemies, Brainiac, who could definitely be a threat to both the League and The Light (if Brainiac even appears), I can definitely see Brainiac 5 playing a role. 

But, just his promience within the Legion is enough reason to speculate he’ll make an apperance.

     Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl

Given Saturn Girl’s usual importance and prominence to the Legion (founding member), plus the fact that it was a waitress wearing the ring – it could very well have been her at the end of Season 3.

And even if it wasn’t her, she will still likely make an apperance. 

Other Members of the Legion of Super-Heroes who we could meet: Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Bouncing Boy, Triplicate Girl, Timber Wolf, Chameleon Boy, etc.

     Michael Carter/Booster Gold

Booster Gold is a pretty popular character who has appeared in many other works and is intrinsically linked with time-travel. On top of that, he typically has (or had) a good friendship with the old Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), so maybe we’ll see some reverse-mentor relationship with him and Jaime, the new Beetle – Jaime teaching him what it actually means to be a hero.

In general, I think he would just be a fun and new kind of personality to be brought in. 

     Future Kids (Lian Nguyen-Harper, Damian Wayne, Jon Kent, Tornado Twins, etc).

Given how time-travel will possibly be an element in Season 4, I think there’s a chance we’ll have an episode set in the future, starring the next generation of heroes. Maybe not all the kids we saw in “Home Fires,” but probably some of them.

Part II: The Phantom Zone  

I have the theory that Granny’s X-Pit is a type of Phantom Zone or at least based off the real thing.

Granny herself even called the pit the Ghost Dimension (which just sounds like another name for the Phantom Zone). So, it seems very likely to me that given the title of Season Four, the prominence of The Phantom Zone in DC, and how the X-Pit worked in YJ -- that The Phantom Zone will make an appearance in season 4, if not play an important part.

There could be lots of ways they could incorporate it into the show.

Maybe it works as a prison. The prison cells are like the red boxes Granny used to protect herself and thus there’s no chance of prisoners escaping the Zone, because if they try leave their cells, they’ll experience excruciating pain

Depending on how the Phantom Zone would work in in YJ, I feel like those who escape the Phantom Zone or are from there, could be called Phantoms.

While I do personally think the tagline Phantoms will refer to our main heroes’ own personal phantoms, the tagline could also be in reference to other elements of the season (like the Phantom Zone).

      Kara Zor-El/Supergirl

Supergirl is an important and popular character in the DC and given the prominence of the Batfamily in YJ, it seems a bit odd that the Superfamily is rather lacking in comparison. 

Supergirl has been a part of the Legion of Super-Heroes and due to her popular CW Show - she is more recently associated with the Phantom Zone. In her show, she ended up being stuck in the Phantom Zone which is why she arrived on Earth so much later than Clark. YJ could do something like that or maybe she’ll have been stuck in the Phantom Zone until the 31st Century. 

The introduction of Supergirl could be an interesting storyline in association with Conner (and Clark). We know that Clark has been interested in finding other Kryptonians and Kara is certainly more than just another Kryptonian.

She’s also a likely candidate to be the waitress who was wearing the Legion Ring. 

     Mon-El

A Daxxamite who’s a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and is also strongly associated with the Phantom Zone. Given how in Season 1, Superman thought that Shazam and Icon were potential Kryptonians, there could be something interesting there with Mon-El – especially since his species are so similar to Kryptonians.

In the comics, Mon-El had been inspired by Superboy into becoming a hero, but he was put in the Phantom Zone because he had an incurable disease; he was later saved by Brainiac 5 in the 31st Century. So that could be another potential storyline for Superboy in Season 4.

Mon-El has also gotten some more recognition in recent years, due to his role in CW’s Supergirl.

Also, when I was looking up a picture for him to use, I learned that there is another version of Mon-El, where he is a descendent of House El/Superman. 

So maybe that version will be introduced instead of the Daxxamite one, I don’t know. 

     Zod Trio -- Zod, Ursa, Non

I don’t actually think these guys will be important to Season 4, if even they are introduced. But they are important Superman Villains and they’re usually connected with the Phantom Zone – given how many continuities they are prisoners of said Zone. 

So, it seemed silly to not speculate about them at least making an appearance or small cameo, if not something more. 

Part III: Darkseid and Meta-Trafficking  

     Scott Free/Mister Miracle

Scott or Scot is Darkseid’s adopted son and the biological son of Highfather, so it feels safe to say that he’ll be a part of the show at some point. Especially, given the increase prominence of Darkseid as well as how much we’ve seen of the New Gods, Motherboxes/Fatherboxes, and the two worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips.

Scot is a defector of Apokolips or more accurately was never broken by the place. He is known for being able to escape any imprisonment - particularly Granny’s Orphanage/X-Pit, so if there’s a return of the X-Pit, Scot would be a great asset to our heroes.

Given how we’ve been introduced to the X-Pit quite thoroughly in Season 3, I think that Scot’s ability to free himself would be all the more impressive, and a quick way to establish this new character and his skills. 

In addition, while we didn’t meet the real Orion, we do know that he exists in this universe. Orion is the adopted son of Highfather and the biological one of Darkseid. In the comics, Scot and Orion were traded as part of a Peace Treaty between the worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips. 

Basically, he’s due to make an apperance. 

     Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran/Starfire

The plots of Season 2 and 3 were largely focused on the kidnapping, experimenting, and trafficking of meta-human children/teenagers, so given all of that - Starfire seems very likely to be included in YJ.

Or at the very least, YJ has laid down the groundwork for her to be introduced - whether or not they’ll use that, we’ll have to see.

Starfire’s origin is that she is a Tamerean Princess who was taken and experimented on, which resulted in her gaining powers (more powers). So, in the YJ universe she would essentially be a Meta-Tamerean. 

Starfire could be a great way to show that the Meta-Gene exploitation isn’t just an earth/human problem anymore, as many more beings across the universe are being experimented on and turned into living weapons.

Thus, expanding upon the trafficking story thread that was introduced in Season 3. 

In general, Starfire’s origin story fits very well with the trafficking/meta-experimenting storylines that we’ve gotten so far and I think her presence would add something new.

Given the popularity of Teen Titans and the prominence of Nightwing, Beast Boy, and Cyborg in YJ, it seems more than likely that Star will be a character in the show. 

Also, we know that Arsenal will be on the Covert Team and that Jason is alive, so maybe if Star is introduced, we’ll see a version of the Outlaws in YJ. Which could be fun. 

Finally, she is one of Nightwing’s main love interests, so there could be some personal drama to be had, if the show goes down that route, which they may not. 

Starfire obviously doesn’t have to be a love interest for Nightwing to be added into the story. 

While I love RobStar (+ Dickbabs), I feel like sometimes Star is just limited to being Nightwing’s other girlfriend. So, if she is introduced in YJ, I would not be opposed to other storylines involving her without Nightwing. 

In my personal opinion, not including Star would be such a wasted opportunity, given what YJ has already established so far.

Part IV: Zatanna’s Protégé(s) / Magic-Based Characters

I have a small theory, that magic might play a larger role in season 4. This is mostly based on the fact that magic has been pushed to the background in the past two seasons. Also, the title of ‘Phantoms’ makes me think of the supernatural (aka Magic). 

We also know that Zatanna will have protégés, as in plural. Now she already has Thirteen, so at the very least we can say that one new magical-based character will be introduced to the team or the hero side. 

     The Phantom Stranger

A mysterious mystic who battles supernatural forces. It’s unlikely he’ll be a protégé for Zatanna, but I mentioned him first, because of his name. Which is the main reason for why I think he, out of all the magical characters in DC, could make an appearance.

Similar to Phantom Girl, I don’t think the season’s tagline will come from his name, but it might just be a nice little tie-in regardless.

     Eddie Bloomberg/Kid Devil aka Red Devil

Blue Devil has made a few minor appearances in Seasons 1 & 2 and given how Kid Devil was once his sidekick in the comics, I think there’s a decent chance Red Devil we’ll make an appearance.

He’s a character who I think many people might not know about or at least not a lot about; and YJ does like to shine a light on those characters.

Eddie started out as human kid/teenager who became Kid Devil - sidekick to Blue Devil. He ended up making a deal with a demon and got demonic powers and looks to match - possibly related to that, he had a falling out with Blue Devil and stopped being his sidekick.

I’m pretty fuzzy on the details of his story, as I’m not super familiar with his character; but the broad strokes that I do know, I think could really work for YJ.

He starts  out as the sidekick of Blue Devil (maybe he knows the team), but he has a falling out with Blue or goes off on his own – and gets his demonic powers, becoming Red Devil. Or something like that.

As he becomes Zatanna’s protégé (trying to learn to control his magical powers), he also has to work on his strained relationship with Blue Devil.

It could be a similar story to Red Arrow’s from Season 1, a nice throwback with a new character. And a character who while being new, does already have some slight groundwork laid out for his introduction - with Blue Devil already existing in YJ.

Again, I’m just throwing ideas out here and speculating. 

     Zachary Zatara

Several people have pointed out that Zachary is a more likely candidate to be Zatanna’s new protégé than Raven is - who was the first person I thought of - given how Zachary is Zatanna’s cousin. 

And yeah, I think there’s a decent enough chance for him becoming a character in Season 4. 

He’s related to a former member of the OG Team and like Eddie, he’s not really a character many people are super familiar with, so that could work in his favor.

It could also be fun to have someone back on the team who has magic like Zatanna and if Zachary was part of the team, we would probably see more of Zatanna – which would be great.

One problem I do have though, is if he does exist in this universe - why didn’t Zatanna move in with his parent(s) (her aunt or uncle) when her father became the host for Doctor Fate.

Of course, that could just be because in season one they had never intended for him to exist in the show, but now things have changed. 

And in Season 2, we were given no indication that Beast Boy had been with the Doom Patrol or that they had died tragic deaths in between the time his mother died and when he joined the team. So yeah....

Zachary is a likely candidate to be added, especially in regard to Zatanna have multiple protégés (or at least 2). 

     Rachel Roth/Raven 

Unlike Starfire, Raven’s main story arc involving Trigon doesn’t really relate to what has been going on in Young Justice so far. Nonetheless, it seems very likely she’ll be included - given the popularity of TT, plus Nightwing, Beast Boy, and Cyborg being prominent characters. 

Raven  shouldn’t be limited by the existence of Trigon; as you easily have Raven in a story, without Trigon being front and center, in my opinion. And, it would be nice seeing other storylines involving Raven that don’t include Trigon, or at least not having him be a major factor.

There’s nothing specific that makes me think Raven will be introduced in Season 4, but –

She could definitely be Zatanna’s new protégé or at least one of them. And, while in the comics Zatanna and Raven haven’t always gotten along – there’s no reason that has to be the case in YJ. Plus, in Bombshells, Raven is Zatanna’s pseudo/adopted daughter.

Though, I think Raven being the protégé of Doctor Fate might work a bit better. 

Also, in regard to my personal theory that magic will become more prominent, Raven would be a great way to go about doing that, especially with her wide range of powers and abilities. 

While, I don’t think a story needs Trigon to have Raven – her being the daughter of one of the great evils of the universe, could certainly be a bonding element for her and the other heroes who also have supervillain relatives. 

Plus, Raven being the portal to Trigon (this seemingly unstoppable force) could be something interesting to explore in regards to Darkseid’s and the Light’s plans. Maybe Darkseid and the Light would perceive Raven as a major threat and want to get rid of her and perhaps even the good guys would also see her as a threat that needs to be stopped. 

There’s just so much that YJ could do with Raven. And while I would love for her a main or secondary character, I think she could be an interesting neutral party or a single-episode character. 

--

There are many other magical characters that could be introduced to YJ, but it feels silly to list a whole bunch of characters, just because they have magic. 

Part V: Random Characters

     Rose Wilson/Ravager and Joe Wilson/Jericho

Two of Deathstroke’s children who operate as heroes. I can see a lot being done with these two in YJ, especially with Deathstroke being a member of the Light. They could potentially bond with the other characters who also have supervillain parents and maybe even bond with Tara over the terrible parenting skills of Deathstroke. .

     Natasha Irons/Steel aka Starlight aka Vaporlock

Natasha is the niece of John Henry Irons/Steel who had a very minor role in Season 3, but nonetheless was introduced to the audience. In addition, Natasha has been associated with Infinity Inc, Lex Luthor’s group of “superheroes” who were also introduced in Season 3.

And while I could be mistaken, as I don’t know much about her, when she was part of Infinity Inc., she was injected with a serum that unlocked her meta-gene, giving her powers.

Natasha could possibly be introduced in Season 4, as a lot of the elements to her story, are already part of Young Justice. 

Green Lanterns

I think there’s a decent chance of us meeting a new Green Lantern, especially a younger one - as they would be a member of the Covert Team or the Outsiders. 

     Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern 

She's recently been popularized or at least introduced to many fans through the show DC Superhero Girls (2019) and I think if there was a combination of that version and her comic book counterpart – you could have a really compelling character for YJ. 

In the comics, Jess suffers from extreme anxiety, which is such an interesting and unique folly for a Green Lantern to have. And, I just think there’s a lot of story potential to be explored in that dilemma. 

     Keli Quintela/Teen Lantern

From what I’ve seen of Keli, I think she could be a fun addition. Just for the sheer fact that she uses the Green Lantern power completely different than every other Lantern we’ve seen – that alone is enough reason for her to be added.

     Kyle Raynor

One of the major Green Lanterns of DC. Like the two ladies above, there’s nothing specific with what we’ve been given so far in YJ to indicate he’ll be included, but I just think because of his status among fans, if the show was to introduce another GL – he has a decent shot.

     Vic Sage/Question

Since Season 1, I thought Question would be a great addition to the hero side – as the typical conspiracy stuff he obsesses over and discovers to be true, actually does align with what The Light has consistently been doing.

In general, he would be a fun character to add. Also, if we’re thinking of potential new protégés - Vic Sage could be the current Question and there could be a young (or at least somewhat young) Renee Montoya - under his care/tutelage. Or Renee could just be Question - either works for me.

I loved Question in JLU and would love to see him again.

Finally,

Wally West/ Kid Flash (former)

I think there’s a very good chance we’ll see the return of Wally in Season 4. Especially since Season 3 left us with many little hints that he’s not really dead.

Also, in regards to the idea that the tagline of “Phantoms” could be about the team’s personal ghosts haunting them, well Wally is a ghost for many of our characters - so that fits rather perfectly.

Or, maybe he ended up in the Phantom Zone. Or if ‘Phantoms’ is referring to more literal ghosts, even that still works in regards to Wally, as he’s presumed dead. Or maybe, he was jumped through time and somehow ended up in the 31st century (w/ the Legion of Super-Heroes). 

Maybe I’m wrong, but it just seems very likely Wally will be returning.

--

And now we’re finally done. 

As I’ve mentioned before, this is just my own speculation and I’m sure I’ve missed several characters. Also, I obviously don’t think all of these characters will be introduced in Season 4, but to me they all have somewhat of a chance. 

And yeah...that’s it. 

I hope you enjoyed this extremely long list of characters who I think could be introduced in Season 4 of Young Justice. 

#Young Justice #YJ #Young Justice Season 4 #Young Justice Phantoms #YJ Phantoms #YJ Season 4 #YJ Season 3 #Young Justice Season 3 #Young Justice Outsiders #YJ Outsiders #DC #DC Comics

[birbleafs]

[fic] An Interlude Between Friends

Series: Artemis Fowl Rating: G Genre: Friendship & Humour, Post-series Character(s): Holly Short, Artemis Fowl II, Foaly Warnings: Feels, probably. Mentions of past (major) character death Summary: One cursory glance from the report scrolling across her visor screen and she’d already caught on that this was less a scouting mission and more Friendly Intervention, A.K.A. Maybe Get Whatever’s Gnawing At You Off Your Mind With A Friend. Or, in which Holly Short comes to terms with the changes in her life but remains grateful for the little constants—one being her friendship with a certain Artemis Fowl.

A/N: For indefiniteimpala, as part of the AF Yuletide Exchange 2019. Happy holidays! I had a lot of fun writing about Holly and Arty again and hope you'll enjoy this story :) This fic is set post-TLG, without taking into account the events in The Fowl Twins as I started drafting ideas before the new book was released (so no spoilers for TFT). Many thanks to Digi-bro for the last-minute beta work ♥

Fic can also be read on AO3 _______

She could hardly hold back her laughter as he recounted the incident where, out of his love for his darling mother and against his better judgement, he had offered and participated, several weeks ago, in an amateur bake-off organized by Angeline Fowl and her colleagues as part of the Trinity College fundraising event for Dublin’s homeless.

Needless to say, it had been Artemis Fowl the Second’s most excruciatingly embarrassing attempt (and subsequent failure) at making cherry soufflé. “Couldn’t you have gone with the chocolate cake instead?” Holly grinned, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. “First of all, it’s not simply a chocolate cake,” Artemis said, brows creased as though offended by such blasé abasement of a world-renowned delicacy. “Sachertorte is a Viennese speciality, with an illustrious history as the centrepiece of a long-simmering feud between Hotel Sacher and Café Demel that spanned two whole centuries. And second, despite the clean simplicity of its look and flavour, it is far more tedious to bake than your classic soufflé.” Holly groaned, her grin quickly morphing into a wince. “Spare me the sordid details, Arty. Does it matter anyway? You make working the kitchens seem like an extreme sport, exploding sandwiches and all.”

This time it was Artemis’s turn to grimace, her words hearkening back to yet another old, embarrassing memory. Still, he had the grace to accept the jibe, conceding defeat. “Touché.” They sat, side by side, in the shade of a towering oak overlooking the remnants of the Martello tower and where the old Berserker Gate once stood. Clusters of orange roses bobbed between blades of green, the summer breeze a gentle ripple through the meadows. Holly closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun over her skin and the scent of the fairy roses wafting all around them. As much as she loved her home and friends back in the Lower Elements, there was always a bone-achingly deep sense of yearning that she shared with all fairies for the world above. She would always miss the unbridled joy and freedom she’d bask in whenever she soared through the endless skies, taking in the view of the lands before her, watching the sun slowly inch its way back into its woodland nest of aspen and silver birches that lined the horizon while the skies rippled from shades of burnished gold and vermilion into a deep, velvet indigo canvas where the stars would flicker, one by one, a scattering of candlelight in the night. The two friends—human and fairy—had taken to spending what little time they had together like this, whenever Artemis wasn’t traipsing halfway across the globe for weeks on end as a guest speaker for various academic conferences, or whenever Holly could spare a few days or hours off, depending on her schedule and on Commander Kelp’s fluctuating moods. Or in this case, depending on a certain centaur’s propensity for sticking his nose into other people’s business. Holly frowned. Truth be told, ever since she’d finally (albeit with a little half-hearted reluctance) accepted her promotion to Wing Commander of Recon Special Ops, she had, quite surprisingly, been in a dour mood, short on patience, and even sharper with her tongue. Foaly was used to her smart comebacks, of course, and usually he enjoyed trading witty jibes with the elf. But even he had found her words to be a touch more churlish than usual. And that was saying a lot coming from the centaur, whose hide was as thick as it gets. Holly knew Foaly was concerned, as any decent friend would be, and had tried to nudge her into talking about whatever it was bothering her, to no avail. What she didn’t realize was how far he’d been willing to go to get her to talk—if not to him, then at least to someone, even if that someone was a young Irishman waiting leagues above Haven. “‘Sightings of the extra-terrestrial inhuman kind’? I can’t believe you of all people would pull a stunt like this behind Trouble’s back,” Holly had muttered when she arrived at E1, easing her pod into the docking station. One cursory glance from the report scrolling across her visor screen and she’d already caught on that this was less a scouting mission and more Friendly Intervention, A.K.A. Maybe Get Whatever’s Gnawing At You Off Your Mind With A Friend. “I didn’t go behind the Commander’s back,” Foaly’s protest crackled over her comm speakers. “He agreed that you needed a time-out. But with your promotion to Wing Commander, and as a friend, he didn’t want to impose a forced leave upon you. I just convinced him that a tiny bluff was probably easier and way more efficient.” Holly only snorted, a flare of irritation rising from her gut. She held her tongue, however, not trusting herself from vocalizing a scathing remark. As if he had sensed her indignation through the static, Foaly gave an apologetic cough and said, “Listen Holly, I’m worried about you, all right? This probably isn’t the best way and I’m sorry for the bluff. But whatever’s been bothering you... You can’t keep it bottled up like this. Besides, it’s been a while since you two met. So, try to make the most of it, yeah?” The centaur gave a short, breathy chuckle, to lighten the mood. “Even newly minted Commanders need to gambol about in strawberry fields sometimes. I heard that in a Mud Man song once—or maybe it was by that gnome and dwarf act, Dung Beetles? Huh, I’m always mixing up the two.” And so here she was, sitting beside Artemis Fowl, ex-criminal virtuoso and now friend of the People, listening and laughing together with the young man as he recounted stories of his latest misadventures of the non-magical kind and with hardly any actual thievery involved. Holly hated to admit it, but even a few moments spent with Artemis like this, away from the cacophony of city life in Haven, from the growing weight of all these new responsibilities, expectations—fears, uncertainties, disappointments —it was strangely comforting. She found some solace in his company and was grateful for it, but... She sighed, hunching forward. Despite her best attempts, she couldn’t stave off her earlier sullen mood from creeping through the brief respite. The sudden shift of moods between them hardly went unnoticed by Artemis, of course. She was all too familiar with how attuned he was to the slight changes in her body language. “Something on your mind, Commander?” Artemis ventured, his voice still light with teasing. Holly flinched visibly at his use of her newly conferred title as though he’d thrown a stifling cloak over her. An uncomfortable knot twisted in her gut. “This feels wrong,” she said abruptly, feeling the pinpricks of unshed tears sting the corners of her eyes. Artemis turned towards her, a flicker of puzzlement and concern crossing his features. Still, there was something in his gaze that suggested he was already making a calculated guess about the nature of her sudden distress. But he only leaned closer, nudging his shoulder gently against hers, even as Holly kept her arms wrapped around her chest as if to shield herself from opening up. From giving voice to the dull ache of grief and loss—fears, expectations, disappointments—she had carefully kept tucked away in the background amidst all the congratulatory wishes she’d received when her promotion had been officially announced internally to the rest of LEP. “What feels wrong?” Artemis asked. He paused, uncertain at first if she’d allow the contact, then gingerly reached for her right hand with his left to lace their fingers together. “All of it,” Holly sighed in frustration. She unconsciously tightened her grip around his fingers. The warmth of his touch was consoling and seemed to soothe something within her; she felt her vulnerabilities gradually surfacing as she spoke. “I know what this promotion means to the People, and it’s an achievement to know that I’ve worked through so many hardships just to come this far. I know it, I really do! But even so... There’s a part of me that almost can’t do it. It feels almost wrong to be a new Commander. To be standing where Julius and Vinyáya once did. To replace Julius.” “Technically, it’s less a replacement since you’re assuming command of a number of squadrons and thus continue to serve the People with your skills and experience,” Artemis began, before he caught himself. “But I digress. This isn’t the time for semantics. Especially since in hindsight, you had very obviously meant it in spirit.” Holly scowled, but she couldn’t stop a tiny smile from ghosting her lips. “Artemis, you’re my best friend and I love you, but you’re incorrigibly bad at cheering people up sometimes.” “That I am, and for that, my sincerest apologies.” Here, the young man attempted a contrite grin, even as his blue eyes softened with a touch of fondness. A rare sight indeed for Artemis Fowl, reserved wholly for those dearest to him, but one that never failed to draw a soft chuckle from the elf. “Look, Holly. You’re not replacing Julius,” Artemis continued, squeezing Holly’s fingers again in reassurance. “No one can replace Julius, much like no one can replace you. And I’m not going to drown you with platitudes—I’m sure you’ve already heard more than enough in the last couple of days. But I will say this: Julius would be immensely proud of you, as much as any of us here today. You know this, and I daresay there isn’t anyone else as qualified as you to carry on his legacy and all that he stood for.” Holly found herself matching his grin with a smile of her own at his words, the dull ache of sorrow and anxiety within her lessening. She squeezed Artemis’s fingers back, and was reminded again how much she appreciated their continued companionship over the years. And not for the first time in many years, she wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn’t known him, and Butler and Juliet. (She imagined it might have been quieter, simpler no doubt, but she was a maverick adventurer at heart and knew the boring life wouldn’t suit her anyway.) Holly chuckled softly, her mismatched eyes—one hazel, one blue—gleaming with warmth now. “Maybe you aren’t too bad at this cheering up business.” This time, it was Artemis’s turn to laugh. He inclined his head and gave her a polite nod, accepting the compliment with as much humility as his natural inclination towards smug victory would allow. “I learned from the best.” “My word, and flattery now too?” Holly was smirking now. “If I didn’t know any better, I might suspect the mastermind Artemis Fowl has been replaced with a clone. Oh right, that had been your own idea too. What do we call you now, Artemis Fowl the Second Version 2.0? Artemis Fowl Squared?” A somewhat pained and mortified expression crossed Artemis’s features, before he let out a long-suffering sigh. “Please don’t call me Artemis Fowl Squared,” he protested weakly, fingers massaging his temples. “That joke is wholly pun-based, and is neither mathematically nor biologically correct since a clone is never 100% percent an exact copy.” But his chagrin was fleeting, and he was soon laughing again with her as he conceded defeat to the same elf twice in the span of less than an hour. Then again, Holly had always been the reigning champion of their friendly verbal banters. They sat in a comfortable silence for several moments, watching the clouds drift lazily above them, listening to the thrill of birdsong in the distant woodland. “Thanks, Arty,” Holly said at length, her voice soft and grateful. “For reminding me of what Julius would do. You’ll be there at the ceremony, won’t you? You, Butler and Juliet?” “Of course. That’s the reason why you’re here today, right? To invite us to the promotion ceremony.” Holly grinned and punched his shoulder playfully. “Don’t act all innocent. You’ve probably known all about my promotion long before today and that’s how Foaly roped you into this cheering up business and what-not. Rascals, both of you.” “You have to admit, it wasn’t too bad a plan. And it worked. Besides, we hardly get to see each other—I’m almost inclined to think that either the universe has been conspiring to keep us from spending a little time together, or that you’ve secretly been avoiding me.” Artemis’s brows were arched as though scandalized by either suggestion, even as his eyes remained bright with mirth, and Holly continued to chuckle. Then his gaze softened, lips curved into a smile as he allowed himself a moment of heartfelt sincerity. “I’ve missed you, Holly. It’s good to be with you like this again.” “Me too, Artemis.” It wasn’t long before they spotted the approaching figures crossing the meadows from the direction of the manor. Butler was leading the small group, a huge wicker basket—filled with a selection of cheese and canapés, and a bottle of Jean François Ganevat Vin Jaune—in one hand, and a picnic blanket draped over the other. Juliet trailed several paces behind him, with one of the twins, Beckett Fowl, dangling from her shoulders like an energetic spider monkey. And marching stiffly with his pale fingers gripped around Juliet’s left hand was Myles Fowl, his eyes bright and piercing behind his round spectacles. “I’ll go help Butler with the picnic blanket.” Artemis stood up, brushing grass and fallen petals from his trousers. “Be right back.” Holly watched his retreating back as Artemis walked down the grassy knoll towards his family. And it struck her then just how much her friend had grown and changed (even in a cloned body) over the last two years: his frame still angular but less gangly and more lithe; his posture relaxed, almost unguarded and amiable at times. Growth and change... For the barest of moments, in the sudden gust of wind around her, Holly thought she could almost hear the ghostly whispers of Julius Root from memories past— “This promotion is not for you; it’s for the People.” “If it makes any difference, I’m proud of you, Holly.” “... Be well.” —And she smiled then, exhaling softly as she rose to her feet. “Arty, wait.” Artemis paused, glancing back at her with a puzzled look as Holly jogged up to his side and reached for his hand. “I’ll come with you.” —End—

#artemis fowl #holly short #foaly #fanfic #yuletide exchange #q