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#except to remove lenas bits
mi-rae07 · 9 months
Note
Hey hey, hope you're doing well. I've read all your fics and I love your writing, style and plots. If you ever feel like it and got time I was wondering how you felt about writing about Hongjoong betraying/cheating on his long term partner? Like all the worst forms of betrayal being done and his partner being absolutely broken but wanting revenge with somewhat a happy end? Anyways thank you for breaking my heart over and over again with your fics lol 💕
Kim Hongjoong : Fight For Me (Part 1/3)
Pairing : Kim Hong-joong (Ateez) and named character (Park Helena)
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A/n : TYSM❤️‍🩹💟💐 ily.
I tried my best, let's hope y'all find this fun enough.
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Helena opened the door to her penthouse with her luggage on her side, a small relieved sigh leaving her lips. It had been 3 months since she had gone away to the US for a business trip and she had been finally back. Helena frowned as she closed the door behind her, looking around as she realized there was no hongjoong running towards her with a wide smile. He hadn't come to greet her or hug her after being gone so long, that didn't seem right.
Helena : joong?
She heard no response. Helena slowly removed her shoes and walked towards the living room, keeping her suitcase aside. She was about to walk towards the kitchen for a glass of water when a small voice interrupted her
Hongjoong : lena.
Helena quickly turned around, smiling at the sight of her boyfriend standing in front of her. But the smile slowly disappeared as she realized he was looking at her with fearful eyes.
Helena : what…is something wrong?
Hongjoong bit his lip, his eyes turning teary as he whispered in a broken voice
Hongjoong : helena.
And just by looking at hongjoong's face, helena had known. It wasn't the first time anyway. Her eyes instantly filled with tears as she asked in disbelief
Helena : did you do it?
Hongjoong : lena-
Helena : I said, did you do it, hongjoong. Again? Even after all the times I had fucking forgiven you?
Hongjoong looked down in panic, his hands clenched behind his back. It was happening all over again.
Hongjoong : ye-yes. Yes, I cheated on you.
Helena scoffed as she harshly blinked her tears away, not wanting to cry in front of this man.
Helena : and who was it this time. First it was Ava, then it was sona. This time?
Hongjoong : helena, please. Just-
Helena : answer to my question.
Hongjoong : hyein, it was hyein.
Helena : of course it was. And, would you like me to forgive you again as well? As I have been doing for the past 8 years?
Hongjoong stared at helena as she stepped closer, holding hongjoong's cheeks with fake sympathy in her eyes as she said
Helena : baby please! Please don't leave me! I'm nothing without you, nothing. You're my entire life and without you, I would die.
Hongjoong looked at helena with tears streaming down his cheeks as she laughed, mocking the words he had said to her over and over again when he had cheated before. Helena leaned forward and kissed the side of hongjoong's neck, making sure to bite down on it hard enough before whispering
Helena : you're just pathetic at this point, hongjoong. Having yourself inside other women because you can't control yourself like some teenage boy? Pathetic.
Helena pushed hongjoong away harshly as his shoulders shook from silent sobs.
Helena : I should have expected this from someone like you.
Hongjoong knew what she had meant by that. Hongjoong's mother had been a prostitute, and he was born out of a wedlock between his parents. His father left before he was born and his mother struggled to make his ends meet until she died from cancer when hongjoong was only 15. ever since then he had been struggling with a thousand different jobs, until he met helena who turned his life different. She had given him a job at the company, and that was hongjoong's only source of income.
Except now helena had compared hongjoong with his mother, saying a person like him who had a mother like that, could only ever end up like this. And it made his heart drop. But helena didn't seem to care. She turned around and left, climbing up the stairs and heading to a spare bedroom before closing the door behind her with a bang.
Small sobs left hongjoong's bruised lips as he fell to the floor, his head feeling like it was bursting. Why was his life always like this? Why did god make him out to be like this? Could he never find happiness? Never have a life that didn't hurt every single second?
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Helena remembered the time hongjoong was a very shy person, wearing ragged clothes and his entire face covered in dirt and scratches. But even then he had been beautiful to her. She remembered when she would keep trying to talk to hongjoong after her work hours, hongjoong pushing her away by saying she shouldn't be talking to someone like him. But she had kept trying, and it had eventually gotten better.
Hongjoong slowly softened up to her, and told her all that had happened in his life. She felt no pity, she only felt the love and respect she had for him increase. She had then decided to give him her everything, and she had. Hell, she was even engaged to him now.
And as she looked at the diamond ring around her ring finger that hongjoong had bought for her after having saved up money for half a decade, she felt her tears stream down her eyes. Yes, he had cheated on her. But how could she forget the hongjoong who had shielded her from a car accident years ago? How could she forget the hongjoong who despite hating the cold, would always take his jacket off and give it to helena? How could she forget the times hongjoong had taken all the harsh words helena's parents had told him without a word, in order to not make helena unhappy?
Hongjoong was everything to her, he was her fiancé. But he had cheated on her while she was away. He had done it so many times in the past, that she was numb to it now.
How could she continue living with all that?
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Hongjoong : please, just…just one more month and I will pay the sum.
??? : sir, it's been years since this debt that you have been trying to pay. I know this was caused by your mother, and became your burden when she died, but…but this is the government's ways. I have exempted you and delayed the pay time for years now, but I'm afraid I cannot do it any longer.
Hongjoong : it's hard for me, ma'am.
??? : I understand that, but this is not my bank for me to choose. I am only a mere employee. So if this doesn't come to me by the next week, I'm afraid we will have to take away your collateral as a whole.
The collateral was the only thing hongjoong had owned, his mother's farm. It had been passed down through a thousand different generations of his family and it was where hongjoong had grown up. letting go of that would probably tear him apart. It was where his mother's graveyard was, after all.
Hongjoong : okay. Yes, I…will send it to you within a week.
The phone call ended as hongjoong kept his phone away with trembling hands, his eyes teary. What was he going to do? Helena did not know about this debt of his, hongjoong had never told her. Hongjoong had been desperately trying to pay this debt every month, even once starving himself to be able to pay this back. But if he had told helena about this, she would pay the entire debt back in one go, she had that money. Hongjoong didn't, and this was his burden to pay.
Hongjoong let out a shaky breath as he looked at his hand, the engagement ring shining against his ring finger as hongjoong stared at it for a long while. His mind went back to the things people had once told him
"You're a prostitute's son, has your mother slept with you as well to make money?"
"I feel bad for your father. Imagine having a son like you"
"Can you even do anything at all? You're talentless, poor, stupid, ugly, what are you even good at?"
"You don't deserve my daughter. She's been raised in gold and glory. She's a respectable, dignified woman. Your mother was a prostitute, and your own father didn't want you. What makes you think you deserve her?"
"I still don't understand how our boss likes you. So many handsome, rich men and she chose someone as shaggy as you?"
"She's just with you for your body, that's all"
And then hongjoong thought about what helena had told him a few hours ago
"You're pathetic at this point, hongjoong"
"I should have expected this from someone like you"
And so hongjoong wiped his tears off of his cheeks harshly, standing up as he decided on the one thing he never thought he would do.
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Helena hit her punching back again for the nth time that night, her tears and sweat mixing with each other as it ran down her body. She hated this, she hated him. She didn't know why she had kept forgiving someone like him. But when she had seen him crying, begging her not to leave, it had done something to her. And she had forgiven him, the last two times. Was she going to do it again? Was he going to want her to do it again?
Helena shut her eyes tightly as the door to her boxing room opened slowly, knowing fully well who it was. Helena continued punching the bag with low grunts, letting her anger out on the bag as she almost always had.
Hongjoong : helena?
Helena : get away.
Helena punched the bag with a force that made hongjoong flinch, him looking away from her as he said in a low voice
Hongjoong : I wanna…tell you something.
Helena : hongjoong, stop.
Hongjoong stepped closer to helena as her heart beat faster, the punches she rendered to the punching bag increasing ten-fold. She didn't want to see hongjoong right now.
Hongjoong : I have a reason I haven't told you before.
Helena punched the bag once again, the clattering of chains making hongjoong flinch once again. He hated these sort of sounds, and he hated it when helena got aggressive. It reminded him of his past, something he hated. But it wasn't like he got any say in this, was it?
Helena : go away before I do something to you.
Hongjoong stepped closer towards helena and was about to hold her as he said
Hongjoong : helena-
Helena cut him off with a groan as she punched the punching bag towards hongjoong's side, making him quickly stumble back in fear as he fell on the floor with a thud. Helena stared down at him, her chest heaving as she said
Helena : I told you to-
Hongjoong : I'm infertile.
Helena paused, her eyes widening. Hongjoong looked on the floor in part-shame, tears falling from his eyes as he said
Hongjoong : the…the reason I kept ch-cheating on you was because I thought you would leave me once you knew about my doings. I thought you didn't deserve someone who couldn't ever give you a child. But when I…when I see you leaving I can't handle it. So I beg you to stay and once you do, I regret it. And then I try cheating on you again-
Helena : hongjoong what the fuck are you saying?
Hongjoong stood up, shaking his head as he stared at helena with teary broken eyes
Hongjoong : I'm crazy, helena. I…I am a madman. I cheat on you because I want you to leave, but when you do, I beg you to stay. And the guilt of having done something like that to you weighs me down every fucking day. But I can't…I mustn't do this any longer.
Helena stared as hongjoong walked closer, holding out his engagement ring before saying
Hongjoong : take it back.
Helena stared at the shining ring with wide eyes, her heart thumping against her chest. He was actually saying all this. Hongjoong, who couldn't bear to even think of being apart from helena, who had done a million different things to earn her forgiveness before, was asking her to leave him.
Helena : are you really-
Hongjoong : yes, I don't want to be your fiancé anymore, and I don't wish for you to be mine either. So take this back, and keep it.
Helena stared at hongjoong for a long second, not saying anything. And then she took the ring, nodding before saying
Helena : fine, leave.
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Jisoo : he's infertile and he didn't fucking tell you.
Helena : yes.
Jisoo : and when he did, you just threw him out of your house.
Helena : he's the one who said he wanted to leave, jisoo.
Jisoo : yes! But that doesn't mean you actually let him go, helie.
Helena : you do realize he's cheated on me thrice, right?
Jisoo : yes, I do. I realize that. Which is why I won't ever ask you to take him back. I'm only asking you to talk to him, helena. That's all.
Helena : talk? Talk about what? The current state of the world?
Jisoo : helena-
Helena : jisoo, it's been 2 weeks, alright? He hasn't even come back to take his things from my house. And neither has he come to the office for work. He's disappeared from my life as a whole, jisoo.
Jisoo leaned forward, her elbow resting on the café table as she said
Jisoo : helena-ya, why would he come back to take those things in your penthouse? It's not his things, it's not his penthouse. It never really was, was it? Those were all bought with your money, so what makes you think he would come and take all of that when he asked you to leave him?
Helena stared at her coffee, not having realized that. Everything helena had bought for hongjoong, she had always considered that as his. She never thought of it as this.
Helena : that's not what I-
Helena paused as her phone rang, sighing as she took it and stood up before saying to her bestfriend
Helena : hold on, I gotta take this.
Jisoo nodded as helena walked a bit away before clicking accept.
Helena : yes?
??? : is this park helena? Kim hongjoong's fiancé?
Helena's heart flipped at that mention, hongjoong's fiancé.
Helena : mhmm. Is something wrong?
??? : I don’t know whether you're aware, ma'am, but your fiancé had a huge debt to pay that was left to him by his mother years ago.
Helena : what?
??? : he's been trying to pay it back for the past decade or so, not wanting his collateral to be taken away.
Helena : which…which is what?
??? : the farm he owns.
Helena's eyes widened at that. She knew how much that farmhouse meant to hongjoong, his mother was buried there.
??? : but now he's just given it up.
Helena felt her heart drop at those words.
Helena : no. No-
??? : it's bank property now until someone buys it. I've known hongjoong for years, and for him to give something like this up without even saying anything is unexpected. And I haven't seen him at the bank for weeks. I wish you could check up on him, miss. Just to make sure everything is alright. I understand if you do not want to, it is only a suggestio-
Helena : I will do it, thank you for telling me.
??? : anytime, miss.
Helena cut the call as she quickly walked towards jisoo, who looked up at her with concerned eyes. Helena placed her black card on the table before saying
Helena : I need to go somewhere. But in the meantime, I need you to buy me something.
Jisoo : buy what?
Helena : a farm.
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Helena had been searching for hongjoong for a week now, none of it coming to any use. She had searched through every job that hongjoong used to go to before they started dating and he hadn't been there. So now helena was worried, she really needed to find him out.
Hongjoong's words still rang through her head, every single day. Why he had cheated on her, and the fact that he was infertile. Helena had always told hongjoong about how she wanted to be a good mother someday, and that all that she had made was going to be passed down to her children. She could only imagine how hongjoong would've felt hearing all that, knowing all the while that he was infertile. And he had never told her that in fear that she might not leave him after it.
And yet, leaving her hurt him most in the world. But he had done it anyway.
Helena parked her car inside the farm that she now owned, stepping outside as she looked around the place. It had been abandoned for years now, and it still looked like it. She had no idea why she had come here, but it was the only place left for her to search. And so helena walked towards the graveyard of hongjoong's mother, the wind blowing against helena's long hair as she squinted her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. She had come here before few times, hongjoong had taken her here during a few of their anniversaries. The memories if them stabbed her heart like a needle.
Soon enough helena could hear the sounds of small sobs coming from farther away, her heart jumping at it. Hongjoong. Helena rushed towards the overgrown corner of the farm, the sight of hongjoong leaning against the tomb of his mother coming into her view.
He was like he once was again. Ragged clothes, dirt on his face, small cuts around his body and his hair a mess. But he was still hongjoong to helena, he always would be.
Helena : hongjoong.
Hongjoong flinched as he quickly stood up, his widened teary eyes staring at helena. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Helena : where have you been.
Hongjoong : you…you're not supposed to be here.
Helena : yeah, neither are you. Hongjoong, where have you been this past month? And why the hell didn't you tell me about your debt. I could've easily paid it-
Hongjoong : that's exactly why I refused to tell you. Because it wasn't your burden to bear.
Helena stepped closer to hongjoong, making him step back as he lowered his eyes to the ground. It hurt her, but she didn't let it show.
Helena : hongjoong, your burdens are mine. What you feel, is what I feel. You-
Hongjoong : not anymore. I'm not your burden anymore, remember?
Helena : why do you make it sound like that! You are not a burden to me.
Hongjoong : yes I am! You said it yourself. That I was pathetic for having cheated on you so many times.
Helena : that was before I knew that you were…
Hongjoong smiled, realizing that she couldn't even say the word out loud.
Hongjoong : infertile? Yes, it was. But that doesn't change anything. I still remain infertile, and a cheater. You must not ever forgive me.
Helena knew hongjoong, he had gone back to his old self now. He wasn't going to listen if she talked this way. She needed to get him back, and if this was the only way it would work, then so be it.
Helena : I didn't come here to forgive you, I am not a saint. I came here to ask you to come back to the company and work. You are my employee, if not still my fiancé. You cannot abandon your job and leave like that.
Hongjoong looked taken aback.
Hongjoong : you want my resignation letter?
Helena : I want you to fucking come back, hongjoong! Come back and work! Don't live like a goddamn ghost!
Hongjoong : I don't deserve that job-
Helena : yes you do. You have always been a good secretary, if not anything else.
Hongjoong : you do not want me to be your secretary again-
Helena : yes I do.
Hongjoong : helena, what are you saying.
Helena : you cheated on me, you broke the heart that I had given to you, hongjoong. This is your retribution, your only one.
Hongjoong stared at helena as she stepped closer, this time hongjoong staying put in his place.
Helena : I am not asking you, I am commanding you as your boss. Come back with me.
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lena-in-a-red-dress · 9 months
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If you could do a rewrite of Supergirl Seasons 5-6, what all would you keep and what would you change about the character arcs and the overall plots?
Welllllll... those seasons were so bogus I barely remember what happened, but I'll give it a preliminary shot right from what I recall as the biggest transgressions, in no particular order:
- Lena as a witch: I would either nix it entirely or made it more meaningful in both how it developed over time and the use of it in the finale
- Lex: remove him entirely. Period.
- Andrea: well, we've been talking about her a lot lately so I guess I would have given her more room to develop. Willam as well.
- No Crisis whatsoever. It killed the show, straight up.
- Kara: more of an emotional arc following the phantom zone
- Lena and Kara: better fallout and healing content. The writers took the most basic route to the fallout and then just dropped it when they got tired of it.
- Totems: they were just... used weirdly. It might have been their interpretation by the characters, but none of them really revealed anything notable about any of the characters except that bit of Nyxly's backstory
Those are the more realistic, network-would-approve items. If we're going totally off the rails, Supercorp endgame, of course.
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sunrisetune · 2 years
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DGM Exorcist! Alma Karma headcanons that nobody asked for:
When he was a kid, everything happened the same up until the very last one: which is to say he still destroyed the hell out of lab 6. Broke every machine, gutted every record-keeping station, killed all of the 'sleeping' apostles, slaughtered every scientist and staff member, everyone in the unsealed part of the building that he could get to.
Everyone except Noise and Yuu.
His Innocence, relatedly: is a bit fucked up! Physically, when it’s unactivated, it looks a bit similar to Allen’s arm before Crown Clown manifested properly, When activated it manifests somewhere between a gauntlet and a scythe, spiking up from his arm in way that’s only slightly more controlled than we saw in the flashback. It’s parasitic.
The Science division had to take a very long, careful time to find out information about it, given Alma’s trauma and following violent tendencies around doctors, but their general conclusion is that it would’ve been better suited as an equipment Innocence.
--- Or, in Komui’s notes, that it had been an equipment Innocence with its last accommodator, but that form broke when the Second Exorcist project had distilled it, and due to the trauma of their first synchronization it couldn’t bond properly with Alma to become what it was meant to.
As it is, though, it’s grown with Alma, through his arm and shoulder into his nervous system and whole right side. There’s no possibility of removing it without killing him, even with his accelerated healing.
They call it Angel’s Scythe
(This is partly based on Liketolaugh’s fic ‘Synchronization’ where Alma’s Innocence is named Angel Sword, and it’s good and y’all should read it)
~
I really like the idea, narratively speaking, of Alma reacting to his trauma equally & opposite to how Kanda does. Not an exact mirror but as a general characterization rule
e.g. The way Kanda hates anyone close to him ever, Alma is permanently touch-starved and is most comfortable when he's in physical contact with someone at all times
Kanda doesn't trust or like people and refuses to attach to anyone without kicking and screaming; Alma attaches to everyone who shows him any kind of kindness or affection, extremely easily
Like, to his detriment
He'd be a terrible Bookman
On one hand (literally) it's good because Alma’s protectiveness and regard for others matches his Innocence’s will, which gives them a usable synchro rate
Despite the seething hatred Alma has towards it, the scientists, the Asian branch, the Order at large, and also God
On the other hand, this gets him into trouble and he reacts to rejection, uh. poorly. Not violently poorly, and not as immediate-bawling as when he was a kid, but it's actually one of the ways he and Kanda are alike: they both have a Short Trigger for strong emotions
~
Alma is very angry, the same way Lena is very angry. This is part of the reason they're best friends
He remembers flashes of what happened to him in his past life, just enough to remember what’d been done to them, that his love died and that all flowers sink into the mud. He has terrible nightmares. Because of that, he does his best to avoid sleeping, and flowers
He does like non-flowering plants, though; and other things full of life; animals, kids, dancing, music; reading (especially mystery novels which he steals from Lavi on regular occasions), parties, learning.
The ‘detective work’ that sometimes come with missions is his favourite part.
He prefers mild-to-bland foods, like Kanda, but also really enjoys sweet things, and likes to try as much variety as he can (unlike his "soba for all meals counts as different food" soulmate)
Mostly he doesn't make his own meals, bc the Orders, but he can if needed. Klaude made cooking lessons part of his training (specifically, he’d have to cook her breakfast and if he was late or the food was burnt / undercooked he’d have another set of cardio exercises to do), and he found out he likes the whole process / finds it calming
Often when at the HQ he'll be in the kitchens making a midnight / 4am snack, Jeryy having made an exception to the “No One Allowed In The Kitchen After Hours, No Exception” rule for him when Alma and the others were very young
Though: once Link gets to the Order, he stops doing that as much. It makes Jeryy worry for him, but nothing’s wrong with Alma, it's just that he recognizes Link as a Crow from the moment he sees him, and Link uses the kitchens at night to stress-bake. So Alma cannot be anywhere near there or there will be a lot of problems.
Eventually Jeryy works out what the problem is and lets Alma use his personal kitchen to cook stuff, instead, which he would have done the whole time if someone had just told him what was going on, Alma
However that’s another thing Alma and Kanda actually have in common: if you’re having some kind of trouble, you don’t tell anybody anything at any point.
~
Lastly: Alma kept the plushie rabbit from the Lab, named Scratchy, and he fell asleep holding it every night he could until he was 17
~
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camslightstories · 3 years
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All of you
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Lena Luthor x Fem. Reader
Request - Anonymous
Warnings: Angst, homophobic comments, self hatred, negative comments and thoughts. 
Notes: Hey Guys! How are you guys doing? So First of all I'm sorry for taking so much time to write and I hope you guys are doing great! My messages and asks box are always open. I think this request has been the easiest but scariest to write and I hope you would like it! It’s a little overwhelming I know but I'm here if you need a friend.
I’m always open to hear about suggestions, comments, theories and more. Right now until I get caught up with my request I'm not accepting more but when I finished all of them, I will! Hope you guys enjoy have a great day!
Taglist: @captain-josslett​ @aznblossom​ @multi-images
National City had become your home after you and your family immigrated to the US from Y/H/C. The streets that once looked mysterious now were more than familiar. The library which took your time most of the afternoons. The park that was less than a mile away from your house where you went to find calmness when you could. The small cafe restaurant right around the park where you and your family went to celebrate sometimes when your parents could afford it. The small music store in which you spent your summers working and studying during your high school years. Everything was familiar, was safe and it didn't change with time. 
You appreciated your family, you loved them and you couldn't be more grateful for them but there were times that you wish you understood them. Every day your parents had been putting pressure on your shoulders that sometimes was too hard to manage, there were comments of how you needed to look, how you needed to be, what you needed to be, and more. You kept quiet as both of your parents recited every day what was wrong with you and what needed to change.
With the passing of the years you learned to keep quiet and just go with whatever they were saying, it was easier. Easier to explain to them why you wouldn't want things, or why you would feel a certain way. And with two parents constantly reminding you how you need it to be to fit in society, you learned to keep quiet. 
There were contradicting things, and comments that made you wonder about your life with them. Things like ‘We came here for you, we had a built life in our country but we wanted you to be better, small jokes about the LGBT community jokes about people with different weight and more. They would comment on what you were wearing, what you had done with your hair, why you wouldn't put makeup on, why you wouldn't hang out like the other kids, everything had always a small comment and you learned to live with it. 
Sometimes you wished you would say something, as you cried in your bedroom until you couldn't more. You looked at the mirror and saw all of those imperfections that they had remarked, and you hated it. You hated the fact that you stood in front of a mirror and every single time there was a self-hatred coming from you.
You hated that you didn't look like they wanted as much as you tried. You hated that you weren't comfortable with everything you did even though they said that it was going to make you feel sure of yourself. You hated the fact that you couldn't go an hour, feeling like the best you could without having a comment on how you looked. How it wasn't appropriate for society, how you looked like a shadow, a scared child, someone who doesn't take care of themselves, how you just looked unpleasant even if you tried your best. 
The black combat boots you had been longing for so long had finally found a way in your feet, after months of doubts and saving you had finally got them. You moved your feet as you sat in the car on the way to the restaurant with your family since a friend of your parents was in town. 
A smile on your face as you check your outfit, a grey crew neck knitted with black mom jeans, and your small cross-body purse on your right shoulder. Without noticing you guys had arrived at the restaurant. You got out of the car, like the moon and the stars brighten the night, looking up smiling, you registered that it was the first night out your family had made a comment about how you look, and with victory, you started to walk to the sidewalk beside your family. 
Your father looked up from his phone and eyed you from head to tone in a questionable glance, before sighing as he rubbed his temples. “Y/N, you look like a homeless person. Couldn't you at least find something good to wear in that closet of yours? We are dining with the O’mells, couldn't you at least look presentable ”
“Yeah, little sis looks like princess Fiona. All ugly” Your older brother joked as he laughed loudly, hitting you in the shoulder. Your bit the inside of your mouth as the insecurities started to come into your thoughts. Rubbing your shoulder carefully because of the impact.
Your younger brother interrupted, before both of the guys started to laugh. You looked down at your shoes, as you felt a tear ran through your cheek quickly cleaning it as you heard your father clearing his throat. “Don't get me started on the horrendous shoes, what are you a lesbian?”
“You have five minutes to look presentable, put on makeup so you don't look like a zombie, and next time you are not entering with us if you don't look like the lady you should be.” He said before opening the door of the restaurant as your mother gave you the keys to the car.
“Yes sir, I will. I’m sorry, so sorry” You responded immediately only to be ignored by them. You breathed in and out as you felt the need to let the tears fall but keep quiet looking at the car window as your reflection came across it. 
Your head was so involved in your insecurities that you see the young black-haired woman that had been standing a few meters from you watching the scene unsolved.
Lena stood there captivated by you the moment you had gotten out of the car, completely forgetting the fact that she had called over a taxi. Clenching her jaw as she saw the way your family had basically shamed you. She waited until they had left and walked to where you stood in front of the car window. 
Your Y/E/C eyes staring back at yourself lost in your head. Your hands held the car keys strongly, as a way to control your insecurities. You bit your lip as your eyes raked over your face, tears invading your eyes.
She slowly approached you before touching your shoulder softly. You flinched as she did, and turned around immediately with a concerned expression on your face. Your eyes looked down apologizing only for two green eyes to be looking right at you. 
Her black hair falling on her shoulder, a green tucked-in shirt, and a concerned expression hidden behind the charming smile of the woman. Immediately speaking as she kept eye contact. “Hi, I’m Lena”
“I’m Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N” You responded introverted after a second with fidgeting hands.
“Lovely name, for a charming person” She stated flirtatiously with a smile. You looked at the green-eyed woman confused, the older woman tilted her head as you immediately looked behind you curiously because of her comment. 
Noticing Lena’s expression you pointed at yourself, and the woman seemed to understand perfectly, nodding rapidly with a smile on her face before speaking. “You are quite lovely, and I would love to offer you dinner if you want tomorrow?”
“I-” You started as your insecurities flowed in. You were looking at the black-haired woman apologetically, only to stop as you looked over to the window to see your family on one of the tables smiling and laughing with the O’mells. 
Looking away from them, you looked down and back up. Glancing at her before finishing talking as fast as you could, letting out a sigh which converted into a small smile when the green-eyed woman laughed as she put her hand out, asking for your phone. “Yeah, I would love to”
“Okay then. Here is my number darling. See you tomorrow at 7 here then.” She stated rapidly as her hand lingered on your phone, while you annotated your number on her phone. 
A taxi stopped in front of the restaurant making the black-haired look away from you as she sighed. Lena walked closer leaving a small kiss on the palm of your hand before walking away. A redness crept on your cheeks as she did, making you look at the ground. 
---
Ten months, ten great months. With hidden moments that made your heart flutter every time. Kisses that grounded you, comments that made you blush furiously, cuddles after hard days, dates that you wished to be never-ending, and moments that you cherish every second of it. Your insecurities and fears were forgotten by the comments Lena made, only coming out on small moments that were inevitable, moments when you felt the self-hatred coming back, moments where you loved everything except yourself. 
The soft smell of plumerias invaded your nose as you sat in the university library, books surrounding your table as you studied with handwriting on the notebook and the other rubbing your temple while reading through the book in front of you. 
You kept studying until a soft hand touched your waist softly, immediately you moved away looking at the person weirdly ready to argue with the person only to find your girlfriend in her business attire. The bouquet was full of plumerias on one of her hands and a large bag of food on the other hand with a charming smile on her face as she sat next to you.
Your face lightened up speaking and immediately blushed when she reached for your cheek leaving a small peak on it, trying to remove the evident red mark on your cheek she rubbed it softly with her hands. “Babe! What are you doing here?”
“Hello, love. I wanted to see you, plus I knew you weren’t gonna eat anything because of your research project and I miss you” She responded immediately smiling widely.  
You tilted your head before shaking your head carefully looking at her before looking down to the carpet floor as you responded. “I miss you too, you didn’t have to come all the way here. You are a busy woman Lee, I’m not supposed to waste your time-”
“Darling, don't ever doubt that you are wasting my time. To me it's the best and most important part of my day is when I'm with you” She interrupted bringing your face up with her finger, closing the distance between the two of you immediately with a short breathtaking kiss. With your cheeks burning red, the two of you rested your foreheads with each other as she spoke softly looking at you as if you were the most precious thing on the planet, and with that glint in her eyes, she made you believe it. 
---
The different laughs are heard on the balcony as the rest of Lena’s friends and somewhat your friends sat on the living room floor. Screaming, laughing, eating, and competing in another game night. You stand on the balcony with a wine cup and your phone answering the text your dad had sent you. Your dry and immediate response was already answered with a goodbye. Your fingers hovering over the keyboard as you hesitated and typed the wanted message only to remove it immediately as you took every last drop of the wine on your glass. 
Staring at the lighted city, you wondered. You wondered if you were finally ready, you wondered if the feeling of happiness and butterflies in your chest would ever become pain again, you wondered if what your family had said over the years was true, you wondered if Lena would ever get tired of you, if she would wake up one day and realize the butterflies she once had for you were now gone, you wondered until you felt the familiar presence of your girlfriend hugging you from behind. 
She murmured into your neck, as she rested her chin on your shoulder. Your scented shampoo and fragrance filling her nose makes her leave small kisses on your cheek while speaking “Are you okay?”
“I want to tell my parents, Lee” You immediately admitted turning around meeting the sight of your girlfriend. Her hair was down with small waves on the end, her oversized button-up shirt you usually wore in her apartment with rolled sleeves and some of the bottoms completely open revealing some of her freckles on her cleavage.
A sincere look of confusion, worries, and happiness on her face. Grabbing both of your hands delicately she spoke when you kept silent and started to fidget with your fingers. Rubbing the palm of your hand softly as she spoke. “Y/N, love, are you sure? Whatever you want to do, whenever, and however. I'm always going to be by your side”
When the words came out of her mouth, she didn't hesitate to bring you into a warm embrace, holding you close by the waist as you rested your head on her shoulder. The two of you swaying slowly at the sound of the music Kara had put on the TV while you spoke softly looking up to kiss her only to be interrupted by a yelling voice. “Thank you-” 
“You took my potsticker! Lena, Alex took my potsticker!” Kara yelled, glaring at Alex. Alex kept her challenging stance glaring at her sister, Sam, and Lucy choking down the laugh as the Danvers Sisters kept up. 
“You ate mine! Y/N come and defend my honor, your best friend's honor” Alex shouted desperately, making you laugh as you looked at Lena, seeing her chuckled before walking inside separating the two when she took the other box of potstickers out of the refrigerator, both of them running to the kitchen to either side of the black-haired woman.
You laughed as you saw Lena scold your best friend and her best friend, making them walk back to the sofa giving the potstickers to Sam and Lucy and leaving some for you and her. The Danvers duo sitting on the floor as they started to shuffle the cards quietly, pouting making everyone else laughed with you. 
---
The silence that overwhelmed the car made your heart rate somewhat faster, thoughts, possibilities, doubts, and insecurities running through your head. As your now white knuckles were gripping the steering wheel. The sunlight of the afternoon made the pressure increase, the smell of the variety of pastries on the back of your girlfriend's car
Lena watched you worried as you sat quietly. It had been half an hour since you guys had arrived and there wasn't any movement from you, she wouldn't even know if you were breathing if your chest wouldn't move when you did. Worried now as she feared you hurting yourself, mentally. She decided to speak up softly putting her hands on top of yours which immediately softened in her hands. “Y/N/N, if you don’t-”
“I do, I'm ready” You pleaded while looking over at her, meeting her careful glance.
She responded, giving a small kiss on the cheek as you grabbed the pastries. Making you nod slowly as you got out of the car. “Okay, love. I'm right here by your side”
As you knocked on the door, the nerves that were once quiet now were rigging in your ears loudly. Your little brother opened the door and went to say something only to stop when his gaze fell on Lena, immediately accommodating his posture before opening the door completely with a smile on his face, to which Lena responded with another smile.
“Hey Jo, it's everyone here?” You asked for his attention only making him scoff, you shifted uncomfortably in your feet. A small voice in your head repeating the name again and again like a song as you stepped to the side.
He answered before extending his hand to your girlfriend. Lena looked at him weirdly, controlling her feelings when the 16-year-old kid called you that but kept the fake smile for your sake. “Yeah, but aren't you gonna present your charming friend? Thought you were better than that Fiona”
“I’m Joseph, you can call me anytime” He flirted with the green-eyed woman only to be ignored completely. 
She claimed following your glance at the pictures on the wall. Various family photos on them and also photos of your brothers with awards and trophies and only a few of them of you. “Lena”
“Y/N is here and she brought company!” Your older brother yelled as you stood in the middle of the living room, Lena by your side. 
Lena looked around as the two of you stood waiting for your parents, the house was completely clean, without a spot of dust in any place. Pillows, blankets, photos, books, and everything was perfectly placed, at first it seemed comfortable, cozy, and homey until she realized the fact that it looked too perfect. To perfect to be happy, to perfect to be comfortable, to perfect to make mistakes, to perfect to be yourself.
Your older brother was sitting on one of the edges of the couch with his phone in hand, glancing at Lena flirtatiously as she stood by your side. Your younger brother was leaning against the door frame texting when your parents came out of the kitchen. 
They looked at you curiously before speaking. Your Dad immediately commented on what you were wearing before extending his hand to take Lena’s. You gulped down when Lena looked at you when you kept quiet only responding as respectfully as she could.  “Couldn’t you at least look presentable?... Welcome to our home, I’m Y/F/N”
“Lena, Lena Luthor” She responded respectfully, shaking his hand and giving your mother a small smile. 
Your older brother, Nick, questioned as he looked at you up and down, rolling his eyes right before glancing at Lena flirting “And how in the world did Scar score to be Lena Luthor’s friend?
Lena looked at you shocked when you kept quiet and avoided her glance. She was about to counter back a response only to be stopped by the sound of your voice.
Clear worry and fear in it. You fidget with your hands after you set the box of pastries aside hearing your mom commenting “Yeah, darling put those there before you look like all of those people on the TV, horrendous” 
Lena clenched her fist and kept her head high, her expression slowly with each comment changing into her CEO character. Tensed muscles, head high, fake plastered smiles, and the confidence like she had the whole world in her hands. Even though her whole world was standing less than a foot away from her.
“I wanted to tell you guys something,” You said, taking a step towards them. All of your family watching curiously.
“I’m Y/S/T and she is my girlfriend, Lena” you continued as Lena took your hand for support. Your breathing had gotten quicker and the tears of fear in your eyes were evident, with a trembling lip as you spoke.
“That’s a good joke” Your younger brother responded letting out a small laugh while the rest of your family kept silent looking between you and your girlfriend. 
“Just because you decided to look unpleasant all the time, making no guy ever attracted to you so you know decided to be with a woman” Your father was the first one to get out of the trance scoffing in annoyance and anger. 
Your mother gasped yelling, with anger in her voice. “It’s a sin, Y/N!”
“It's a sin, Y/N. We are Christians just because you're immature and hideous and nobody is attracted to you, means you are going to break the rules, young lady” Your father claimed getting closer to you with a demanding voice, his finger pointing at you threat making you take a step back.
You pleaded to take a shaky step closer to him, only to immediately flinch as he screamed angrily. “Dad, plea-”
“NO! Absolutely no! We are not going to accept your idiotic tactics, just because you can't find someone to love you! Newsflash Y/N, like that you won't ever!” He screamed angrily, taking a step closer, making Lena step in with her CEO stand in front of you grabbing your family’s attention. 
Tears came slowly out of our eyes as you looked down, biting your lip to keep the soft whimpers and sobs that were coming out. Your dad eyed the black-haired woman up and down before stepping back letting out a sarcastic laugh, making your girlfriend raise her eyebrow in question to him.
“And her! Do you really believe someone will love you? And will be attracted to you? A woman you know how complicated women are with their taste. You need to get the thought in your head that if you don't change. YOU WON'T EVER FIND LOVE!” He shouted. 
“You have no reason nor sentiment to treat her like that!” Lena claimed as she stepped in front of your father. Clenched fits with white knuckles, a threatening stand, and an intense glare with a clenched jaw containing her anger.
You took a step forward putting a hand in her bicep making her turn around immediately, recognizing the soft touch of your hand. You spoke softly only to be interrupted by your mother’s yelling. “Lee, please. It doesn't matter-”
“Out of my house! NOW! And never ever come back until you change from being an abomination” She yelled as she slapped you, making you gasp before walking out of the door with tears coming down your eyes. 
Lena glanced at them finding pain, hatred, insecurities, and more. The soft makeup you had on your face had become black spots on your face. Your Y/E/C colored eyes were hidden behind the redness. A red evident mark on your face where your mother’s hand had made contact with your skin. Every single detail made her angrier and angrier by second, losing control at the side of you hurting. 
“She is perfect just the way she is, a completely passionate, sweet, kind, emphatic, wonderful, selfless person. And she is so much more of what you guys told her, she is perfect” Lena snapped as she felt the anger take over.
How dare they treat you like that? How dare they tell you those things? How could you stand to all of that? How dared they thought and said things like that of you? How couldn't they see the amazing human you were?
“This is my house-” Your father started as he looked at her angrier with a challenging look on his face in which your girlfriend returned.
She said, taking a step back, raging herself soothing her black dress. “It may be your house but first I will have to be dead for you or anyone else to treat the person who is my whole world like that” 
“You know, you guys may think she is a complete mistake, abomination, and more but she is perfect, she is the person I fall in love with every single minute more and more. You guys are the ones losing the greatest thing in your life, I feel sorry for you but the truth is you don't deserve, hell I don't even deserve her. Have a great day and I think it's a little over the top but if any of you tries to reach Y/N just to be like that then I can sure I will make your life a living hell” She finished letting out a smile of satisfaction when all of them clenched their jaws and kept quiet before walking out. Leaving your family madly quiet in the living room.
Your knees were high and pressed into your chest as the furiously streams of tears came down. Somehow the smell of Lena in the car calmed you, the sweet smell of mint and lavender invaded your nose. The only sound you could hear was your heavy breathing. The passenger leather seat felt uncomfortable, the salted flavor of your tears on your lips as you cried, everything felt wrong as the thoughts and insecurities run through your head.
Everything they said was true.
You are an abomination, nothing and no one will love you.
So full of imperfections, so full of horrible things, full of-
“Love? I need you to breathe with me. In and out, darling please” You heard her pleaded as she grabbed your hand, noticing the way everything felt too close, too overwhelming, too bad. 
Lena kept stroking your back as she kept your hand close to her chest making you feel the way her chest rises and falls trying to make you follow it. Your eyes kept staring at her hand with yours as your sobs started to calm down, and everything began to zoom out. In a blinking moment, you stumbled into your girlfriend's arms, holding her tight, hiding in her chest making Lena hold you as close as she could trying to keep her own tears out when she saw how hurt you were. With her reassuring and words, the minutes passed slower than usual.
“I’m sorry” You murmured repeatedly into her neck, as she started to stroke your hair. When tears began to fall again from your eyes. 
She didn't wait for another second to bring your face to rest on her forehead, both of you sharing an Eskimo kiss. The closest, the comfort of it brought you happiness and butterflies in your stomach which were abruptly kicked out when the thought of what your family said came back to you.
You pulled away meeting green tearful eyes, which made your heartbreak more. The voice in your head telling you it was all your fault, that she wouldn't want you anymore or that she ever wanted you because your family had opened her eyes to what you truly were. With a shaky and broken voice, you commented fearfully as you glanced back to her eyes and your trembling hands. Scared of what was going to happen next, scared of everything as you tried to hold on to the happiness she had made but you knew the moment, Lena would say the words. You will break in million pieces, beyond repair and everything would feel worse than it was before because you had met your sun and without it, the night would remain constantly reminding you of her  “It’s okay if you don’t want me anymore, I know what they said it's true-”
“Y/N, what they said wasn't true. You are far away from what they said you are perfect and wonderful and I don't know how they can see you like that because all I can see is my whole world, the love of my life, my person” She interrupted cleaning your tears with her thumbs as she grabbed your face by the cheeks bringing you closer to her slowly. 
Holding you like if you were glass, afraid of breaking it, afraid of losing it or damaging it because to her you were the best thing in her life and she wasn't going to let you go. It was the moment your eyes met, when you saw, heard, and felt everything. There was an understanding of what the two of you meant, all the love, all the happiness, and the pain, everything was there standing freely in silence. 
In a silence that made you believe it, she made you believe every word, every action, and the love and comfort which radiated out of her expression made you forget everything. The comforting and loving silence was more than enough to let everything behind, to dream of the desired future you both wanted. It was perfect, you wouldn't change a thing of what you were feeling or what had happened because everything led to that moment, the moment you knew you were going to be okay, the moment you realize that for the first time in your life you felt like enough, the first moment in your life you called something that was part of you perfect. The happiest moment of your life for now.
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naralanis · 3 years
Text
little bumps in the road (pt. 20)
PART TWENTY OH MY GOD YOU GUYS WE’RE NEARING THE END
Ahem. Previously on LBitR...
The next time Lena wakes, it’s to the weirdly familiar yet inconceivable exasperating sound of loud, obnoxious slurping.
Before she can even begin to blink the bleariness out of her eyes, the sound assaults her ears again—it is so visceral it disconnects her from the space she’s occupying (namely, the bed on a DEO medbay somewhere) and transports her somewhere else, far, far away, to a diner in the middle of nowhere. With Kara.
The slurping resumes and she sits up like a shot, fast enough to make herself dizzy. She’s still in handcuffs, and her sudden movement makes them rattle noisily against the railing of her bed, cutting her movement short abruptly and making her bounce back into her pillows.
“Kara?”
The name leaves her lips before her brain can fully catch up with the improbability of that logic, though it arrives at that conclusion moments later, when Lena’s eyes adjust and see Nia’s quirked eyebrow eyeing her back curiously as she sips from a plastic to-go cup.
“Nope,” Nia quips after another unnecessarily loud slurp. “Just little ol’ me. Here,” she extends a hand to Lena, who takes the second to-go cup the young woman offers without even thinking. “It’s kale. Your favourite—for reasons unknown to mankind.”
Lena takes a tentative sip—she has to lean forward, a little clumsily and awkwardly, since the handcuffs don’t allow her to bring the cup closer to her face.
Nia pulls a face at Lena’s second, much less tentative sip. The smoothie tastes amazing, and it makes her release a happy little hum before she can catch herself, and Nia’s offended grimace reminds her so much of Kara. It’s weird, but a happy kind of weird, and Lena knows it’s probably the last reprieve they’ll get before shit well and truly hits the fan. So, she’ll take it—the reprieve and the smoothie.
Nia watches her down half of her cup in a matter of seconds with an expression close to abject horror. “Gross,” she mutters, then slurps again at her own smoothie, a purple concoction that admittedly looks quite good.
“Don’t judge me,” Lena says, amused and smacking her lips with delight. “I’ve been eating nothing but fast food for weeks. I can’t remember the last time I even saw a vegetable.”
Nia laughs. “No judgement, I have nothing against vegetables. I love salad. I just don’t blend it.”
“Well, thank you for my blended salad,” Lena drawls with a waggle of her brows. “I—and my arteries—deeply appreciate it.”
“You and your arteries are welcome,” Nia says, pulling out the rickety metal chair by Lena’s bedside and plopping down rather ungracefully. “I thought I’d keep you company for a little while, if you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” Lena begins, but there’s something off about Nia’s tone—a slight warble of worry that Lena only spots because the young superhero won’t meet her eyes.
“Not that I don’t appreciate your lovely company,” she starts again, fiddling with the straw of her drink. “But… there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
“There’s a ton of stuff I’m not telling you,” Nia replies easily, though her eyes are darting around everywhere in the room, except to Lena, in clear discomfort. “I’m a woman of mystery.”
Lena taps her nails against the plastic of her cup, squeezes it slightly, jostling the ice and making the plastic bend and creak as she scrutinizes Nia’s face. The young woman’s playfulness has all but vanished, and there’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before, and it worries Lena.
“You’re here to keep an eye on me…” she starts with the obvious, watching for the most minute changes in Nia’s expression to indicate whether she was in the right path. “… because of Lex—no, that’s too easy; everything is because of Lex.”
There��s a slight sag to Nia’s shoulder’s, a microscopic shift to her brows, and they tell Lena what she wants to hear without words. “Because of Kara,” she breathes, and the way Nia chokes on her smoothie all but confirms it, and Lena immediately snaps into panic mode.
“Oh my god,” she gasps. “You heard something—you know something,” she says, free hand clenching around the flimsy sheets of her bed. It’s not a question, and Lena doesn’t phrase it as one, but the guilty look on Nia’s face answers it perfectly either way. “Is she here? Is she on her way?! Nia, you can’t let her come, we have to stop her! It’s a trap! She cannot come!”
“I know, I know, Lena,” Nia says, forcing a bit of calm that is not naturally occurring in her tone at the moment. “Please calm down; Kara is not in National City,” she grimaces. “At least not yet.”
“Then where is she?” Lena asks, voice wavering in a way she doesn’t even attempt to control. “She absolutely cannot come here.”
“I know,” Nia sighs. “We know. She was spotted by one of Lex’s satellites in Mexico.”
“Mexico…” Lena murmurs, mostly to herself. “For some sun, probably. Is she alright?”
“I would assume so; she was a literal blip on the radar, almost too fast to be picked up at all.”
Lena breathes a deep sigh of relief, sinking into the miserable pile of crappy pillows at her back. “Good,” she says, closing her eyes, already trying to map out the next steps from here. “Good, that means we still have some time.”
Nia quirks a brow in question. “Time? Time for what?”
Lena looks at the young woman like she’s gone insane. “Time to foil whatever Lex is planning to do next,” she explains as if Nia is missing something painfully obvious, because isn’t it? Painfully obvious? Does Nia just expect her to sit tight, handcuffed to this bed, while Lex continues with whatever lunacy he has in store for Kara?
“Brainy said the implant can’t be removed or disabled from a distance, but I was the one who created the system they run on. If I could somehow sneak into the mainframe, maybe I could—”
“Woah, woah, woah, let me stop you right there, Lena,” Nia interrupts, looking panicked. “Hold your damn horses—you are not going anywhere except another, more secure facility. You’re not stepping foot in LuthorCorp—no way.”
“Nia,” Lena hisses, vaguely aware she’s close to sounding like a petulant child, but not even remotely close to caring. “I have to—I’m the only one besides Lex himself who stands a chance in hell of disabling those systems.”
“No way, Lena. No. It’s too risky.” Nia says with an air of finality.
Of course it’s risky. Lena’s not blind to that simple fact—never has been. But the other simple fact is that any world with Lex Luthor in it presents more risk than anyone would be willing to accept.
“What’s the alternative, then? Keep me here, handcuffed, while Kara swoops in for a rigged death match against my brother??”
Nia flinches, and that tells Lena everything she doesn’t want to hear.
“Oh my god, you are,” she practically yelps, watching Nia shrink into herself at her outburst. “You can’t just keep me here! I could help, I could—I have to help—”
“I can, and I will!” Nia suddenly shouts, standing up so abruptly she sends her chair screeching backwards across the floor. “Don’t you understand, Lena? Lex wants to use you and Kara against each other. Every time I close my eyes, I see my friends—my friends, Lena, which includes you, you asshat! I see you two killing one another, over and over again! It’s already happened once, and I cannot let it happen again!”
Nia’s shoulders are shaking—her smoothie dropped and now leaking all over the floor. Lena can see the tears threatening to spill from her eyes; her fists are clenched and trembling at her sides, and all Lena wants to do is reach out and hold the young woman’s hands in her own, to tell her everything will be OK.
But can’t make those assurances; they both know it.
Nia releases a breath—it comes out as a sad little laugh. “You won’t be… you know, you won’t be handcuffed,” she says, as if the restraints were the whole point. “You’ll be at another facility, out of Lex’s reach until this is all over.”
Lena shakes her head, but she doesn’t have the heart to tell Nia that it’s useless. There’s no place Lex can’t reach. “What about Alex?” she asks instead. “She’s got an implant too.”
“Alex will go to the secure facility with you. She volunteered—she doesn’t want Lex to use her to hurt Kara either.” Nia sighs, finally looking Lena in the eye, though she looks defeated. “Lena, I know this isn’t ideal. But we’re running out of time, and we’re running out of options. It’s the best we can do.”
Lena doesn’t voice her disagreement—her gaze makes it clear enough that Nia sighs again, sinking back into her chair with a frown.
The silence is tense; Nia is not looking at her. Lena runs through all the possible arguments she thinks of in her head, before deciding they are all moot. The decision has clearly been made.
But Lena is stubborn. To a fault, really.
“Nia,” she whispers, waiting for the young woman to raise her head to look her way. “Why did you take me to Kara? When she was on the run?”
Nia shrugs. “I had a vision of you two—Kara was wearing her suit, but she had short hair.”
“And what happened?”
“I’m not sure,” Nia admits, biting at her lip nervously. “I’m still trying to decipher it. But I knew—with or without the vision, I just knew you wouldn’t… kill her. I knew you two had to be together for any of this to work.”
Lena takes a deep, deep breath—she’ll analyse whatever Nia’s trying to convey later, but now she has to grasp at the only out she has.
“Together you said,” she repeats, voice breaking. “Then you’ve got to let me help her.”
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lettheladylead · 3 years
Text
Not Your Aunt
Chapter 8: Webby [ao3 link]
It had officially been one week since Goldie first stepped foot in the manor. And she was still there. This was the longest she’d ever spent in Scrooge’s home since his cabin in the Klondike (excluding times when she was sick or injured, of course).
She was pretty sure, by this point, that Scrooge was avoiding her. He’d been spending a lot of time with his daughter (or whatever) and a lot of time at the Money Bin trying to fix the many issues that cropped up over the past few months with his money managers betraying him, but then even the time he did spend at the manor seemed to always involve other people besides her. The only alone time they’d had was right after he crawled into bed, but every single night their conversations were brief and then he’d fall right to sleep.
So she was a little annoyed. She’d had a few conversations with the kids, sat in on a few dinners, harassed Beakley, been harassed by Sharpie...it’d been quite the couple of days. But it was getting late and she couldn’t wait much longer to talk to him about how she was feeling or how he was feeling or where they might want their relationship to go after all of this…
Ugh. Goldie sighed and wandered around the upstairs hallway. She hated thinking about mushy family stuff, but ever since Florida she’d been feeling an unstoppable pull towards the Ducks and she kind of wanted to relax and see what could happen. But if Scrooge couldn’t make any time for her in the next few days, she was definitely leaving and not coming back for at least a year. Love or not, she did not take well to being ignored.
A door ajar in the distance caught Goldie’s attention and she started walking towards it, curiosity being the best cure for her boredom. She wasn’t sure what that room was - Scrooge didn’t redecorate much, but she couldn’t keep track of everything since he collected so much junk and had 50 regular rooms plus another 10 secret rooms and who could remember all of that?
Goldie tried to peek inside, but it was pretty dark except for a small light in the corner. With a shrug, she forwent her usual sneakiness and just fully opened the door to let the light from the hallway light up the room.
She was met with a surprised chirp and two bright eyes staring directly at her.
Goldie stared back, not sure what to make of what she was seeing.
Webbigail was sitting on a table near the back of the room with a giant book on her lap - surrounded by heaps of other similar-looking books. She looked sweaty and grimy, and the whole room was covered in a thick layer of dust.
“...wh-what are you doing here?!” Webby asked, closing the book that was on her lap.
Goldie raised an eyebrow and decided this situation was interesting enough to explore. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said as she took a few steps towards the girl.
Webby frowned and shook her head for a second before wiping her hand across the cover of the book. “I was, um...well...trying to learn some stuff.”
Goldie leaned against the table Webby was sitting on and craned her neck so she could properly see what she was holding. Oh. “In an ancient photo album?”
“Yeah,” Webby said a little sadly. “Uncle S-, er...my dad has been telling me all about our family...well, just more than usual, I guess...but some things still weren’t quite adding up and I thought maybe I could piece things together on my own.”
Goldie raised an eyebrow and stared at the girl without responding.
She didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve always liked connecting things together...before I was told anything about the McDuck Clan or my dad’s life story, I went through all his different biographies and the photos he has around the house and tried to figure it all out myself. And now he’s telling me things that almost, like...conflict with other things he’s said or other things I’ve read about and it’s just getting confusing.”
“Well,” Goldie said quietly, “he is pretty old, you know. Could be he’s just forgetting some things or mixing up stories.”
“But...but he’s Scrooge McDuck!” Webby said with a frown, opening the photo album again. “It’s one thing to forget a few details from a story, but like…” She pointed to a photo of Scrooge’s parents and a very small baby duckling. “The back of this photo says it’s from 1939, but whose baby is that?! Hortense didn’t have kids until the 1980s and Matilda never had kids so is this just some random baby or-”
“That’s Gideon,” the blonde answered, pointing to the way the baby’s hair stuck out at the top. “Scrooge’s half-brother.”
Webby stared at the photo again, then up at Goldie, her mouth wide open in shock. “Wh...wait, so...does that mean one of my grandparents had a baby with someone else while they were still married?”
“Uhh…” Goldie leaned back and scratched her neck. She knew Scrooge didn’t like to talk about his brother much, but she’d met the man a few times so there was no point ignoring the physical similarities. Though the complications of his conception might be why Scrooge didn’t bring him up. “...something like that. Don’t worry about the details too much.”
“Worrying about the details is exactly why I’m here,” Webby mumbled, flipping through a few more pages. She glanced up at Goldie. “You know my family really well, don’t you?”
“Not by choice, but yeah. If you think Scrooge loves to talk about his family now, you wouldn’t believe how he was back in the day. Very talkative.”
“I know the feeling,” Webby said, chuckling a bit to herself. “Lena said I’ve always been a little too obsessed with the McDuck family and now I’ve gotten even worse.”
Goldie felt an unfamiliar twinge in her chest and plopped a hand down on Webby’s head. “If she’s still sticking around, it doesn’t bother her as much as she says it does. Trust me.”
The preteen seemed to think about that, letting out a low hum while she considered Goldie’s words. “Trusting you doesn’t seem like the smart thing to do, but it sounds like you’re talking from experience.”
Goldie removed her hand from Webby’s head and shoved it back in her pocket. “Despite what your granny says, I’m not always lying.”
Webby turned her whole body towards Goldie. “I don’t think you were lying about Gideon either...so...would it be okay if I asked you about other confusing photos from any of these albums?”
Goldie sighed and lifted herself up to sit on the table, too. “You can. I really think you should just ask Scrooge about all this stuff, though. A few memory lapses here and there doesn’t mean he’s going to withhold entire family members from you.”
“I know, I know,” Webby mumbled and held the album against her chest. “I’m just still getting used to all this. I feel like I should know all these people already, y’know? Like...like Elvira Coot, the mother of Quackmore Duck, isn’t related to Scrooge McDuck at all, but they refer to each other as cousins in a lot of old letters. Is it just them being friendly with each other? Or is my research totally and completely wrong?”
“They’ve just known each other for a very long time,” Goldie said matter-of-factly. “Some people call old friends brother or sister, some people call them cousin. Scrooge usually just generally calls everyone his family, but some people get friendly little titles.”
“That’s very confusing.”
“It is what it is,” Goldie bent one of her legs so she could lean on her knee. “Scrooge has always enjoyed being a little confusing.”
“Is that why he likes you? ‘Cause you’re confusing, too?” Webby asked with an innocent tilt of her head.
Goldie rolled her eyes. “Maybe. I’m sure he’s got a long list of reasons why he does or doesn’t like me.”
Webby huffed out a short laugh as she tapped her hands on the open album page. There were photos of a few familiar members of Scrooge’s family and even a baby picture of Donald and Della.
“...you are really confusing,” Webby said, breaking the awkward silence. She didn’t let Goldie interrupt as she continued. “I don’t think I understand you at all. You’ve been here for a whole week so...are you moving in? Or what’s going on?”
“I’m just here to talk to Scrooge.” Goldie grabbed a photo album that was next to her on the table and flipped it open. “He’s been particularly busy this past week so I’m waiting.”
Webby watched her flip through pages and wondered if there were going to be any more secret relatives she didn’t know about in there. “I didn’t think you liked waiting for things.”
“Not a huge fan, no.”
“But you’re still here,” Webby mused. She watched as Goldie stopped flipping pages and stared down at a photo of Hortense and Quackmore, clearly having a fun time on their wedding day. It was a very sweet picture. “Huey says you and Scrooge are gonna get married, too.”
Goldie rolled her eyes and flipped past the wedding photo. “I’m sure he did.”
“If you did get married...would that make you my mom?”
Goldie closed the album and glared down at the girl next to her, annoyed that these kids were so interested in weddings and marriages. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” Webby asked, trying not to seem too confused.
“Why would it?” Goldie said with a hand to her forehead. “At the most, I’d be your stepmother, and that’s only in the very unlikely scenario where I say ‘yes’ to Scrooge’s proposal.”
“But this is a hypothetical scenario, so...if you did get married...would I be allowed to call you mom?”
“Ugh.” She knew there was a line here where her crabbiness would start to offend, but Goldie was not enjoying this line of questioning. “Even in this magical, crazy, hypothetical scenario...I would rather you didn’t. If I’m being completely honest, I’m still uncomfortable hearing you call Scrooge ‘Dad’.”
Webby, rather than be offended like Goldie thought, laughed out loud. “You think you’re uncomfortable with it?! I’ve been saying it over and over in my head all week and it still doesn’t sound right!”
Goldie raised an eyebrow at her and Webby froze, clearly surprised at her own outburst, and settled down. “Sorry. I shouldn’t say that. It’s just a little weird still.”
“Why shouldn’t you talk about how weird it is?” Goldie asked genuinely, leaning back on her hands. “If you don’t want to call him ‘Dad’ then you don’t have to.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Webby mumbled, imitating Goldie’s lean. “If I go back to calling him ‘Uncle Scrooge’ then it’s gonna seem like I’m rejecting him or something. That’s too mean. I can’t be mean like that.”
“It’s not mean.” Goldie sighed and turned towards the younger girl. “It’s your life. Call him whatever feels right to you."
Webby leaned her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "I've never had a dad or a mom before so I think I should keep trying for a little longer. It might just feel weird 'cause it's so unfamiliar."
"Or maybe it feels weird because it is weird," Goldie grumbled. "His DNA was stolen and used to create you, sure. So he's your father, but does that really make him your dad?"
The younger girl glared at the ceiling for a moment before turning towards Goldie again. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Being your biological father is significant, obviously. But family is whatever you want it to be." Goldie sighed and stared down at another photo - one of a much younger looking Scrooge. "You can run away from it. You can accept it without question. Or you can just try to figure it out."
Webby watched Goldie's face - trying to read the woman's expression as she stared at the photo. "I think I get that."
"Your grandmother wouldn't appreciate you listening to me, you know."
She smiled. "I know. But it's kind of interesting to get a more...outside perspective. I mean you're not not part of the family, but you weren't a part of all…" Webby waved her hands around for emphasis. "...this stuff."
"I suppose," Goldie said as she put the photo of Scrooge back down. A part of her really wanted to take it, especially knowing that Scrooge never went into this room so he likely hadn't looked at any of these photos in over fifty years. He wouldn't miss it!
"Do you think...um…" Webby stumbled over her words. "...do you think he'd be mad if I started calling him Uncle Scrooge again?"
"No," Goldie answered sternly. "He wouldn't be mad. Especially given everything that's happened with your family lately, I think an opportunity for some normalcy would be appreciated."
Webby flipped to another page in the photo album while Goldie spoke, and her eyes widened as she saw a familiar face in one of the old photos. She looked back up at Goldie and then back down at the photo. "So...if I call him Uncle Scrooge, then I guess I can call you Aunt Goldie, huh?"
Goldie turned to scold Webby for bringing up that nickname that she always knew would come up around these Duck children...when she came face-to-face with a photograph she didn't even know existed. Webby was holding it up dramatically, smiling smugly as she did so.
It was a slightly out-of-focus snapshot of Scrooge and Goldie in wedding attire, at an altar. Pretty clearly getting married.
Goldie quickly snatched it from the girl's hand and turned it around to check if there was a date or any notes. In Scrooge's handwriting it said "1953. Almost felt real."
She blushed a bit and turned it back around. "...I didn't know there were any pictures from this."
"And to think you made such a big deal out of my hypothetical scenario! But you're already married!" Webby looked more smug than she'd looked in a while, clearly ready to announce this news to the whole family.
Goldie frowned, unable to tear her face away from the image. Both her and Scrooge's faces were visible and, despite being at a bit of a distance, she could see just how happy they were at that moment. "...it was a con. A business decision. Not a real marriage."
"So you got an annulment afterwards?"
She laughed. "You think Scrooge would waste money on something like that? No, we just...moved on. I completely forgot it even happened."
"Well, Aunt Goldie, it doesn't look like he's forgotten."
Goldie sighed and pocketed the photo, wondering if she should show it to Scrooge later and shake out some memories. "Clearly he hasn't been in this room for a long time, so I wouldn't assume that."
Webby's excitement died down just a bit as she noticed Goldie's lack of embarrassment. "Isn't this...I mean, I know you say you don't wanna marry him, but you're still here despite everything plus you're already married! You really are Aunt Goldie and I don't get why you'd try to fight it."
The blonde frowned and exhaled loudly through her nostrils, trying to think of the best way to explain how she felt. "You've spent a long time idolizing Scrooge, right? Wanting to be a part of his family and whatnot."
"...yeah?"
"And from what I could tell, you two were getting close over the past few years. You called him Uncle Scrooge, he remembered your name. Yeah?"
"...uh-huh…" Webby had a feeling she knew where this was going.
"But now that this father-daughter thing was suddenly dumped in your lap in such a...such an awful way, really, you're feeling weird about it. Maybe it feels a little hollow, like this is what you wanted but it's not how you wanted it."
Webby frowned deeply - Goldie was completely right, but hearing the words said so casually didn't make her feel better about it.
"...that's what that wedding was for me," Goldie finished, finally connecting the two thoughts together. "I'd...wanted to be closer to him. I thought we were headed there. And then he suggested that plan and how could I say no? He was splitting the money with me 60/40 and I knew I could steal my missing ten percent whenever I felt like it."
"So you wanted to get married, but then you did but for the wrong reasons?"
Goldie sighed and shrugged. "Basically. It was a long time ago. Things change."
"And some things don't change," Webby added, noticing that Goldie was still staring at the photo in her hand. "You've had decades to talk to him about this, so why haven't you?"
"Eh," Goldie answered and stuffed the photo into her pocket. "Adult relationships are complicated."
Webby shook her head. "Not all of them. Just the ones that don't talk to each other."
Goldie glared down at Webby again, but the girl was already flipping pages in the album once more. She wasn't going to whine to a kid about how she was trying to talk to Scrooge but he was just making it difficult. Maybe if she told him she'd spent some time with his kid, he'd finally sit down and talk to her.
"Who's this?" Webby asked suddenly, pointing to another photo.
This one was older - depicting a young Scrooge (maybe nine years old?) with an even younger child that looked very similar to him. Goldie pouted and put a hand to her chin before grabbing the photo and turning it over to see if anything was written on the back.
"Oh, this is Douglas. One of Scrooge's cousins."
"On whose side?" Webby asked curiously.
Goldie shrugged. "Not sure. I know he lived alone in the Netherlands somewhere until he died, but he and Scrooge weren't very close, from what I could tell."
"Oh." Webby looked down at the photo, not really being able to read either child's expression. She supposed photos from the 1870s were rarely as expressive as ones from modern day. "You really know a lot about my family.”
"It's completely useless information taking up valuable space in my brain," Goldie complained with a smirk. "Maybe I'd be fluent in Mandarin if not for Scrooge."
Webby smiled, happy that she was able to recognize Goldie's words as a joke. "Well it's not useless to me. Thanks, Aunt Goldie."
Goldie frowned and rolled her eyes, but that just made Webby smile. She felt like she was starting to understand this woman...just a little bit.
A realization hit her and Webby suddenly gasped before hopping off the table. Goldie watched her with curious surprise. "I need to update my board!" Webby said as she rushed towards the door.
Goldie raised an eyebrow and hopped off the desk to follow. "I have no idea what that means!"
She followed Webby out the door and down the hall, until the girl was back in her own room. Goldie stuck her head inside just in time to see the unveiling of an insane-looking board filled with photos and string and notes and hearts and…
"...is that a locket with my face in it?" Goldie mumbled as she continued into the room. She stared at the locket as Webby ran around looking for something.
As she reached out to grab the strangely unfamiliar locket, Webby was suddenly on a step stool next to her and reaching for it herself. Goldie watched silently as the girl tugged her away from her little grouping of villains (rude) and moved her oh-so-closer to Scrooge.
Goldie blushed the slightest bit as Webby shortened the string, added some little hearts, and slammed a sticky note between them that said MARRIED-ISH!
"There's no way I'm letting you keep that up."
Webby laughed and wagged her finger in Goldie's face. "I'll just put it back when you leave!"
Goldie crossed her arms over her chest. "Then I'll just have to st...hm."
Webby's eyes were sparkling.
"...visit more often."
The correction didn't dull Webby's sparkle, instead she just smiled brighter. "I think everyone would really like that." 
Goldie raised an eyebrow. "Nice try, but I can assure you that your grandmother would sooner attend my funeral than enjoy having me around."
Webby hopped off the step stool. "Then you'll just have to win her over!" she said with a skip as she pushed the stool back to its regular spot.
"Yeah...I don't really see that happening," Goldie mumbled, not objecting when Webby grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the door.
"I think you could be friends! You just have to try!"
Goldie rolled her eyes but still didn't pull her hand out of Webby's grip. "Don't get your hopes up, Pink," she said with a sigh, but there was a little part of her that wondered if getting along with the whole family was even possible. She'd spent so long pushing away from Scrooge and his family and his friends that she'd never really considered what it would be like to actually...try. And she struggled to admit it, but...she wanted to find out.
She squeezed Webby's little hand and stared down at the bouncing bow on her head. Goldie still wasn't anyone's aunt, but...if she had to be, Scrooge's kids would be her first choice.
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wannabe-fic-writer · 3 years
Text
All Over Again - Chapter 2
Summary: What was lost can be found. 
Warning: 18+ Smut, Language, Violence. This chapter gets a little science nerdy!
Ch. 1
* * * * * *
“How did you do it?” 
Looking up from the red glowing gun, your eyebrows pinch together as you look at the man stepping into your lab. His eyes, like always, flick around to take in your equipment. All your weapons lining the walls. 
You lay the sword down,“ what did I do exactly?”
Tony leans on the counter across from you,“ Luthor Corp just bought six shares of Stark Industries and sent multiple emails detailing possible partnered projects.” His eyebrows rise,“ I’ve been trying to go into business with Luthor Corp for years now.” 
“Congrats?” You narrow your eyes at him,“ still not seeing where I come in at.” 
Your hands glow red as you run them along the side of the rifle, effectively removing it’s glow and energy charge. 
“Side note, if you could come do your glowy magic thing on my new reactor, that’d be great.” You save your comments on that for later.“ Anyway, Pepper told me that you made quite the impression on Miss Luthor. I have a hunch her new found interest in my company is because of you.” 
“Probably not. We never talked about Stark Industries. We talked about a lot but never the company.” 
Frowning, he tilts his head to the side,“ it was an investment dinner, the purpose was to-” he sighs,“ nevermind that. You’re going to National City tomorrow correct?”
“I really don’t want to play company rep Tony. We’re just working on a project of hers.” 
Which you found out the day after the investment dinner. 
You’d contacted Lena about going out there. She confirmed your guess that she wanted to get your take and help on the power core. For the past two days you’ve been getting a few things done, mainly stuff that needs your immediate attention, so you wouldn’t be leaving anything undone. 
After some pleading from Tony you tell him you’ll consider giving Stark Industries a little good press with Lena but you make no promises. Then finishing up your work and leaving the lab. 
Sighing, you roll your shoulders, feeling how tired you are. Doing almost a week's worth of work in two days isn’t the most healthy thing. 
“Hey, you okay?” 
E/c finds deep green and you nod,“ fine.” The smile you try to give turns out to be a grimace. 
Natasha watches you,“ you sure, you look pretty tired. I know you’ve been-”
“Romanoff, I’m fine.” 
The redhead sighs. She quickly pulls a blank expression and moves to stand directly in front of you,“ how long are you going to act like this with me?” 
“Like what?”
“Indifferent Y/n. Every time we talk you give me some off handed generic response like we haven’t known each other for nine years. Three of which we dated.” 
You narrow your eyes at her,“ all three you spent keeping secrets. And then left me for said secrets immediately after. I’m not indifferent towards you Natasha I’m fucking hurt.” You don’t mean to snap but you can’t help it. 
Since your break up Natasha has moved on and has tried to interact with you like everything was fine. Like she hadn’t broken your heart. Better yet, as if she was scared you’d hurt her. 
Getting to the end of the hallway, you turn to her,“ you know what’s funny? Had you just told me, beforehand, that there was something between you and Doctor Banner, I would’ve understood. Because the worst part was being blindsided.” 
“Y/n I’m sorry.” If you were close enough you could see the regret in her eyes, might’ve been able to hear her heartbreak. 
You nod,“ I know. You told me.”
Avoiding the ex-assassin has become a bit of an everyday thing now. So much so that you almost don’t have to put any effort into doing it before you have to leave. You spend a little time training with Sam and Bucky, walking them both through their new supercharged weapons. You coordinate with Steve on the mission you’re being assigned after you get back. 
You also take a moment to research Miss Luthor and Luthor Corp. Alongside finding the controversial opinions on the company and the woman running it. You ended up, not surprised, but impressed with her work.
And of course you spend some time with Wanda. Said woman not leaving your side at all, even as you go to bed. She occupies the empty side of your bed through the night and truthfully you’re grateful for the company. 
When you wake up, you make quick work of showering, getting dressed, and starting to pack. Wanda doesn’t move a muscle, much more content with reveling in the warmth you’d left behind, while trying to get you to not go. 
“I won’t even be gone long, back by tomorrow for sure.” You push a set of shirts in your bag. 
Wanda groans loudly and cuddles further into your fluffy blanket,“ but I just got back and you promised to take me to see Harrison.”
You chuckle lowly,“ it’s Hamilton, Wan. And I’m still gonna take you, just a little later. Think of it as an anticipation builder.”
“Don’t you think I have enough anticipation.”
Shaking your head, you zip up your overnight bag, and sit down beside the young woman,“ come on Wan, it’s not like I’m leaving you alone.” 
“Basically you are. Steve and Bucky never leave each other’s sides and Sam follows them around always, and Natasha has Bruce!” She exclaims, only to jolt up when she realizes what she’s said.“ I’m sorry.”
You do your best to laugh it off,“ it’s fine really. Natasha does have Bruce.” You quickly change the subject before that familiar ache returns,“ why don’t you take Clint up on his offer to stay with them for a while?”
Wanda looks down, playing with her fingers,“ I’m not ready to do that just yet.” Those eyes then lock with yours,“ besides I can’t leave you.”
“Hey,” you pull her into your side,“ you know I’m always here for you right?” She nods. Deciding not to leave on a somber note, you joke,“ except for tomorrow, so endure Miss Maximoff, and text me.” Standing up, you press a very chaste kiss to her forehead, and then leave out with a wink. 
“Headed out Y/Ln?” 
You nod to Steve, holding up your bag in emphasis,“ yeah, I’ll only be gone a day you know.” He nods.“ Oh and Rogers, do me a favor and keep an eye on Wanda yeah?”
While she’s doing significantly better after everything, you know she still has her moments. When they hit they hit hard and feeling/being alone doesn’t help. It’s one of the many reasons Clint invited her to go stay with his family for a while. But Wanda has reservations about that for reasons she hadn’t yet told you.
After getting Steve’s agreement to do so, you leave. 
To you, the worst part of traveling is all the little stupid stuff in between. You loved driving, hated traffic. Flying was calming and you loved looking at the clouds sail by, you hated TSA, baggage claim, and boarding. 
Luckily National City is merely five hours away and the second you land you feel the difference in NYC and NC. While both are skyscraper filled, fast paced, cities. There’s something about National City that seems freer. People are nicer, the sun shines brighter, the air smells cleaner. 
Perhaps it’s just being on the West Coast.
Being the woman she is, Lena has a car service for you, the driver waiting with your name on a white board. You confirm your identity and follow the woman out to the car. On the drive to Luthor Corp, you take in the sights of National City.
Lots of skyscrapers but still a surprising amount of greenery. Eventually you approach your destination, the tall glass building branding the large Luthor Corp logo. 
“Thank you.” You nod to the driver, slipping a tip her way, and getting out of the car. 
Stepping inside the building, your eyes take in the sunlit interior as you approach the front desk. The young receptionist asks what he can help you with and you respond that you’re here for Lena Luthor and he asks for your name. 
In the end you’re told to wait as she’s in a meeting, so you pass the time by texting Wanda, replying to the dozen texts Tony had sent. You tell him you’ll do it if he can get you decent Hamilton tickets and he agrees instantly. 
“Y/n,” her voice, while still new to your ears, is easily recognizable,“ I’m so sorry for making you wait.” 
You’re waving her off in an instant,“ it’s fine, I’m no greater than anyone else, I can wait.”
She chuckles, nodding in understanding, and silently pleased with your humility. A number of people would’ve demanded they go in immediately. 
From there she directs you toward the elevator. As you walk the people walking around look to Lena in seeming amazement. 
“It seems your employees are also fans, rightfully so.” You tease honestly. 
“They’re a part of a small group believe me. I have more opposition than you could imagine.” 
Raising an eyebrow, you shrug,“ a powerful woman is intimidating, especially one as brilliant and compassionate as you Miss Luthor.” 
A light blush fans her cheeks and her eyes watch you on the elevator,“ if I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re trying to flatter me.”
“I’m being honest with you Lena, it just so happens that your truth is pleasing to hear.” The elevator dings, letting you both off to a floor of labs, some walled off by glass and others concrete. You look around, some machines and equipment familiar to you and others you don’t recognize. 
Lena guides you down the halls to a room at the very end. It’s dark inside at first and then a purple light rises. Repeatedly it shines and then dims and you walk closer in amazement. 
Octagonal, metal, plates surround the rock like material in the center, each plate connected by thick wires. The purple light emits from the rock. Lena flicks the lights on and it powers up the monitors and the core. 
Still watching in fascination, you walk around the core, remaining a few decent feet away. A very low hum sounds from it and you can practically feel the power of it. 
“Wow.” Lena smiles at your amazement.“ I imagine you had to build a stabilizer before you could move it.” You look up at her.
“I did. It was in a ship when I found it so I reutilized the ship's engine.” 
Eyes wide, you smile softly,“ instead of the engine pulling energy from the core-”
She nods,“ it pushed the energy back into it.” 
“How did you stop it from overloading?” 
“Reworked the wiring to continuously transport the energy so there was never an overwhelming amount in the core at one point in time.” 
You look back at the core, noticing that is also how she’s currently keeping it from overloading.“ Remember when I said you’re brilliant?” She nods.“ That was an understatement.”
With another laugh and a bashful blush, she brings you over to her monitoring equipment. 
The next few hours pass with the two of you working on it. Lena loved the idea of turning the one power core into multiple ones which would require harvesting pieces of it. But it’s not like they make Alien Rock saws or anything on earth. 
You’d have to invent a tool strong enough to cut through it without it disrupting or agitating the energy. 
It’s well past the late hours of the night when hunger sets in for both of you. Lena insists you join her for dinner. After locking up her office, the two of you go to a restaurant that she sings praises for. 
The maitre’d is quick to seat you both, your waiter bringing water, and asking if you’d like anything else to drink. Lena orders wine and you get an old fashioned like usual. 
“So outside of being well versed in science,” Lena starts,“ what other talents do you have?” 
“I can make a great cup of coffee.” You joke, the woman laughing.“ No um, I’m a weapons specialist. It goes hand in hand with science and my powers. Mental materialization allows me to create just about any weapon with my mind, of course it doesn’t last forever. For the most part I enhance the weapons the team already has though I’ve invented a weapon or two.”
Brown eyebrows raise,“ invented?” Intrigue enters her eyes and you’ve already become accustomed to it.
You nod,“ at the time my team and I were facing a threat we never had before. It required a special type of weapon and of course it didn’t exist.”
“Alien?”
Before you can reply, the waiter returns. They set down your drinks and take your orders, both of you smiling politely before they walk away. 
Looking back at Lena, you sip your drink, and respond,“ yes. It took a lot of trial and error, messing around with their own weapons to finally get it. I ended up using the alien technology to build the weapons.”
“And you say I’m the brilliant one.” A smirk plays at her lips over the rim of her wine glass.
It’s then that you replay your own words in your head being hit with a startling realization!
“Lena!” You exclaim. Green eyes widen slightly, eyebrows raising simultaneously.“ A laser saw. We’ve been trying to come up with a material strong enough to cut through it instead of using its own energy to do so.”
She understands quickly, a disbelieving chuckle leaves her lips,“ oh my god, you’re right. Of course we’d have to neutralize the core before cutting it. That amount of energy against itself could cause a cascade of energy failures or something much worse.”
“You figured out how to stabilize it with it’s own engine and now you’ve got me,” she smiles amusedly,“ I’m sure two scientists of our caliber could work something out.”
Lena agrees. Then insisting you two talk about anything other than the work. 
As much as she loves her work, she’s been intrigued by you since your first meeting. With this being a much more casual setting than the investment dinner and her lab, she wants to get to know you. 
She’s learned how intelligent you are, even if that’s just the tip of your iceberg, but she’s dying to know more. And she does.
Over dinner you both get to know each other better. Lena’s disdain for her last name but need to clear it is something she, almost subconsciously, divulges. You’re not exactly surprised to hear that she went to MIT, in fact you would’ve been shocked if she went anywhere else. 
While she avoids going in depth about her family, she does make mention of being close to her brother when they were younger and loving her father endlessly. Her sincere compassion is a trait she seemed to have always had despite the briefly mentioned opposition she faced over being so.  
Her taking over the company after her brother was for a number of reasons the main one being that she wanted to prove herself. Luthor doesn’t mean evil, not always anyway. You’re led to believe that while many don’t agree, there’s proof through Lena’s work that she isn’t a bad person. 
In turn you tell her about your time as an Avenger. All of it started back when your father worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. Being the dedicated man that he was, he often brought his work home, and being the daddy’s girl that you were, you lingered around and watched as he worked.
You’d picked up on a lot of things from him involving the weapons. By the time you were 16 you knew most guns inside and out from standard pistols to compact grenade launchers. 
After high school you went to Stanford and majored in Mechanical Engineering, getting the opportunity to intern at the one and only Stark industries. Upon graduation you had taken an actual job at the company. Some time later you were approached by Fury to assist Stark in building the Particle Accelerator to save himself and take down Ivan.
Tony took a liking to you during your time working together and afterwards was more than happy to work closer with you, especially since you still worked for Stark Industries. Those connections lead you to being picked up by Fury every once and a while with S.H.I.E.L.D business. Until S.H.I.E.L.D fell, your last mission with them being Sokovia.
Eventually, despite the very late hour, Lena’s phone starts to buzz almost incessantly. With a small,“ excuse me,” she picks it up, reading the messages she received. 
“Are you up to a few more drinks?” She asks with a soft smile and you find yourself unable to say no under the gaze of her green eyes. 
She settles the check, relenting and letting you leave the tip, before you’re both in her car and driving to a different location. This place is a lot less upscale than the last. Funnily enough you find it a lot more comfortable than the restaurant. 
You follow beside Lena, who approaches a table surrounded by a decent sized group of people. They all smile brightly at the CEO, a blonde hugging her excitedly. Then all eyes fall to you. Before Lena can even introduce you, a voice speaks. 
“Oooohhhh my god!” A man about your height nearly vibrates with excitement in his seat. Brown eyes widen and he bites his lip.“ You’re Artemis, the Avenger!”
It’s impossible to not chuckle at his enthusiasm.“ I am, but without the getup you can call me Y/n,” you reach a hand out to shake his.
“Y/n, yeah of course.” He shrugs with an understanding nod. 
Going around the group of people, you shake hands and learn names. After Winn, sits Kara Danvers(Lena’s best friend as she introduces), Kara’s sister Alex(definitely an agent of some sort), J’onn(also an agent), and James Olsen. 
While they all seem fairly nice, you can see Alex’s and J’onn’s studying expressions. They watch you cautiously and you don’t blame them. Winn and Kara are the more open ones, excited to meet you and engaging in a seeming nonstop conversation. And James, well you aren’t sure about him yet but he seems okay. 
Alex takes a swig from her beer, elbows leaning on the table top,“ what brings you to National City?” 
“Lena actually.” All eyes widen, eyebrows rising as well.“ In a strictly platonic and professional way.”
The CEO beside you chuckles softly, hand resting on your bicep,“ Y/n’s assisting me with a project of mine upon my request.” 
“What kind of project?” The auburn haired woman asks.
Something in her tone tells you that she’s skeptical, almost untrusting of the woman at your side. Whatever history is there is a little rocky, you can’t place why but it is. And even though you don’t know anyone here all that well, you’d hate for everyone’s seeming enjoyable night to take a sour turn.
“For now it’s merely a test for a new energy source. If it’s not clean energy or it’s unstable it won’t go further than this.” 
The woman seems satisfied with your answer, at least a little, and nods. Lena sending you a smile in thanks. 
“So, what kind of drink recommendations can a tourist like me get?” 
With your simple, easygoing question, conversations start back up. Each person gives you a drink recommendation and you take it, trying each one. Some you don’t like but most of them are great, and strong.
By the end of the night there isn’t a single person who isn’t laughing. The effects of the alcohol you’ve consumed hit you and while you aren’t wasted, it definitely makes things lighter for you. 
“Alright, I think it’s time I get this one back to her hotel so she can get home tomorrow.” Lena lightly pats your shoulder.
“Awe booo!” Kara and Winn say at the same time, the latter much more intoxicated than the former.
You pout, looking at Lena,“ don’t you want to hear about the anti-gravity gun Winn is working on?” 
“It’s handheld.” He adds in a whisper.
The brunette chuckles,“ I’m sure Winn would be more than happy to tell you about it some other time.” 
Sighing you nod,“ fine. She’s right, I have a flight later.” You rise up, the support of the table a great assistance,“ it was a great pleasure to meet all of you, had a lot of fun.” 
Kara’s big blue eyes find yours,“ you’re going to visit again right?”
“Not sure when but I will definitely be coming back.” 
With a goodbye to everyone, you and Winn slapping hands and nearly missing, and you and Kara high fiving perfectly, you leave. 
For the third time tonight you’re in Lena’s car. She leans back into her seat after telling her driver where to take you. It’s a fairly quiet ride back to the hotel, you drinking from the water Lena gets from the center console, and her occasionally looking over at you. 
She took great delight in watching you interact with her friends, especially with the amount of alcohol you’d consumed. Drunk wasn’t the proper state to describe you as but the intake definitely had you a lot more talkative and energetic than Lena has seen, though that’s only been twice. 
Telling her driver to keep the car running, she accompanies you up to your room. She’d hate if anything happened to you before a friendship could even begin. 
You swipe the card over the door sensor and push it open, turning to lean against the frame and address Lena.“ Thanks for today.”
“The whole day?” She chuckles.
“Yes ma’am. I loved every bit of it. Your friends are awesome and I’m really excited to see how the power core works out.” 
A little smile pulls at her lips,“ well I may have started this by myself but you’re definitely a part of it now. So let me know the next time you’re able to come back.”
“Really?” Your eyebrows pinch together. Compared to how much was done when you’d arrived everything you did felt like adding two measly cents. 
Honestly speaking, you’d genuinely loved every second of working on the power core with her. As much as you love saving the world as an Avenger, there was a newfound excitement and intrigue in you while you worked on this. It could save lives in a way you can’t as an Avenger. 
“Only if you want to.” The CEO says, slight hesitation hidden behind her teasing smirk. 
“I’d love to.”
* * * * * *
Taglist: @username23345 @depressed-bi-bitch @fayhar @trikruismybitch @aznblossom
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imagine-lcorp · 3 years
Text
Between Two Lungs (One Shot)
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A/N: Hello dears, so here it is the infamous fic I’ve been writing. I really hope this fullfils my dream of crushing your hearts once again and that you have a fun time agonizing over this final choice. Because yes, I’ve made this a multiending fic...As always, remember to tell me what you think, is it something you want me to keep doing for other fics? Also, how did you feel after this? pls let me know. Also i made this PLAYLIST if you want to add some feeling to this while reading... Enjoy! 
Lena Luthor x R/Hanahaki AU//Word Count: 3,464
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It is possible to die of a broken heart.
You look it up somewhere in the internet. It's similar to a heart attack, caused by a very strong and emotionally stressful event. The death of a loved one, a breakup, a betrayal. It's treatable and rarely fatal. Following the recommendations of your doctor, you can make a full recovery within weeks. Still, it is possible to die of it.
You don't have a broken heart. You wish you had one. Because love, the one only you feel, is growing inside of you and it is much worse than that.
Thankfully, compared to others your condition it's not as painful as it could be.
You have heard about people with roses inside them, how their thorns puncture their pharynges with every breath they take. Others don't get flowers. They get apple or cherry trees with their fruits pouring juice inside their lungs and out of their mouths. Some others have pines and spruces, with cones constricting their organs and rib-cages until they bones break.
So you look at the small white petal that lays in your hand and think that, in your case, it is something almost magnanimous.
Plumerias have no thorns and, even though some can be a bit thick, their branches are soft enough to bend around your heart and lungs without much trouble. Their petals, small and delicate, rise easily up your throat without lacerating it in a coughing fit.
Maybe, you want to think in a very optimist way, if you can keep that love from growing further, you won't have to suffer through it.
Maybe.
So you prescribe for your own heart solitude and abstinence.
The first one is the easiest.
You tell your friends you are sick and need some time to recover. Most of them get worried as they don't know yet what illness has fallen upon you in these troublesome times.
"You know, If you wanted, I could get you a full medical examination." Alex offers with a raised eyebrow, giving you the look of the always concerned big sister.
"Thanks, but it's alright." You assure them with a smile. "I was thinking about spending some time at home anyway."
After a lot of questions you manage to dodge in the end, they decide there's no reason to doubt your intentions. So they leave you to your own devices.
Homemade remedies, or herbicides depending on who you ask, seem to help as you spend your days at home. Drinking some salt water with lemon in the morning, or a couple of vinegar tablespoons in a cup of tea before going to bed. They don't taste that bad once you get used to the flavor and these help you ease the new bitterness that you taste in the back of your throat.
The second is a bit harder.
You have to stop yourself from dreaming her, thinking her, missing her.
She has texted you a few times already, wanting to know how you're doing and offering her help if you don't feel like you're doing okay on your own. You handle it as best as you can. You text back, consistently enough and with measured time and words, so you don't raise any red flags. When you don't seem to answer she calls, but just thinking about hearing her voice makes your chest hurt a little.
You never answer. She doesn't try to call again. You spit your first handful of flowers after that.
It's all fine, you lie to yourself, at least until the pain reaches your insides and white petals come out of you mouth dappled in red.
"You need to tell her." Kara says softly as she pats your back after another coughing fit.
You cover your mouth with your hand, making sure there are no signs of blood or petals as you tight it into a fist. "Tell who what?"
"Tell Lena about the flowers." She sighs when she fells you freeze under her touch. "Sorry. Alex told me if I could get a clear shot at your lungs maybe we could figure out how to help. I didn't expect it to be... well, flowers."
It shouldn't come as a surprise to you but you are still amazed at how easy it is to forget Kara has x-ray vision when she's not wearing her suit. With or without it, she's still the same caring and protective person you have always known. It also explains why she has been so adamant about having lunch together, at least once a week, after your failed attempt at convincing her you were doing well after a month alone. You couldn't expect less from your best friend, you remind yourself as you catch your breath.
"How do you know it's her?" The taste is bitter as you swallow the rest of blood and petals in your mouth.
"It's plumerias, isn't it?" She rubs your back again as you regain you posture. "They are her favorites."
There are a couple of red tainted petals in your palm when you open your hand. "Yeah, they are."  
Kara looks at you and you see something in her you don't think you have ever seen before in the Girl of Steel. But you recognize it, because you feel the same way. Hopeless. Helpless. Powerless.
"(Y/N)." She says like she's already grieving. "It's spreading fast."
The easiest way to get ride of the disease is by removing its seed from your heart, the doctor says. No more than an hour in the operating room and your respiratory system would be as good as new. Common symptoms after the surgery can include aches between your shoulder blades, ribs, back of the neck or chest, weakness and hoarseness in your voice, and, in general, some memory loss and the inability to experiment intense or deep affection towards another person. Most of these stop shortly after you recover, except for the last one.
More experimental methods have been developed with the help of biotherapy. Experts in Japan are said to have reduced the spread of the flowers with other plants like kudzu or barberry, while someone in Europe has been using thrips to eat the plant and control its growth. It's like using maggots to eat your wounds, the doctor explains more enthusiastic than you feel.
You could, of course, try the simplest of things and confess your love.
It only takes to be loved in return for you to heal before any permanent damage is done. The seed that grows in your heart will almost instantly wither, the cough will purge the last of the flowers out of your lungs, and your recovery will last only a couple of weeks. You will breathe again.
But, if your love goes unrequited, you'll reach your fatal end in a matter of days. Doctors will give you a double dose of morphine or induce a coma trying to ease your pain. Flowers, fruits and cones bloom, branches and thorns grow. You convulse and gasp until your last breath when the biggest flowers come out of your mouth. All until your thorax is transformed, beautifully and violently, into a garden of flesh and blood.
Anyone who has seen it happen will tell you, how shocking it is to witness such a thing.
Whatever the case, this only serves to confirm what you already know. You can't be optimistic anymore.
You're dying and you will die, soon with flowers in your lungs or after many years with a loveless heart. Because this life and death of yours, you think, cannot be, shall not be, decided by a coin in the air.
And yet.
"It's flowers...in my lungs." You can almost tell which direction the flower stalks take inside your chest as the words form in your mouth.
"Oh." Lena says as she starts to fidget with her hands.
The anger, that had been growing inside her after weeks of vague replies and evasions, vanishes in her eyes the moment she understands what you're going through.
"Have you...talked to the other person?"
"No, not really. Not yet." You try not to lose your composure as you feel the flowers threatening to rise up your throat.  
"Will you?" She asks.
You take a deep breath, feeling the gravity pull your already heavy heart down. "It's plumerias."
"Plumerias?" You can see the moment it dawns on Lena, and the look she gives you makes you wish again you could die of a broken heart instead.
"Miss Luthor, I'm sorry but the board meeting will start shortly."    
Jess opens the door a second later and it gives you time to look at the other side and place your hand in your chest. As if that could possibly stop your heart and lungs from collapsing.
"Thank you, Jess. I'll be there." Lena dismisses her with a nod and looks again at you.
She doesn't say anything else and you feel a coughing fit building in your lungs. Stronger than you have ever felt it.
"(Y/N)!" She leaves her chair, running towards you.
You cover your mouth as your chest feels like a boxer is using it as a punching bag. I doesn't feel like it will end quick and when it finally does the only thing that remains is pain.
You thank the chair that holds you in place as you catch your breath.  
"I'm fine. It's fine." You don't want her to see it, but she manages to catch a glimpse of the bloody petals that cover your palm once you recover.
"No, it's not, (Y/N). You're dying and I-"
"It's not your fault." You cut her off, shaking your head and taking a little napkin from you pocket to clean yourself as best as you can.
The death, the break, the betrayal. You feel it all as worry and pity finally merge in her eyes. There's also guilt when she looks at you. It is there along with everything else she doesn't feel for you. So you don't want an apology, especially not from her, especially not like this.  
"You're my friend and I just- I wanted you to know. I got my surgery already programmed."
"Surgery?" You watch her draw back a bit in surprise.
"I'll be fine." You lie again.
"(Y/N), I-"                            
"Miss Luthor, the board-"
"I know!" Lena snaps and, when she realizes the magnitude of her reaction, she retracts, taking a deep breath for herself before answering. "Sorry, yes. Do you think you could hold it for a minute?"
"You should go." You say with a small voice before any of them can say more. "The meeting, sounds important."
"(Y/N)..." The way she pronounces your name makes you want to be over with this already. You just can't stand it anymore.
"We'll talk later." You say. "We got time."
She wants to argue, you know, but you won't, can't, do it. Still, you pull a little smile for her.
"We'll talk later." She replies with a nod.
There will be time for another conversation. There will be time. There will be time. There will be time. You repeat it like a mantra to help you carry yourself out of her office.
Everything else after that passes like a blur.
You know you reach the front door of the building, with the voice of the receptionist behind your back offering to call for help. You stumble on the sidewalk trying to hold onto light poles and signposts to keep yourself from falling. You clutch your hand in your chest as the pain reaches its peak. Flowers come pouring out of your mouth and you gasp for air as you finally fall.
You're delirious by the time you land on the hospital bed.
Many faces come and go then, doctors, nurses, friends, ghosts, both the living and the death. The only constants are your dying gasps and the painful beating of your heart until the morphine does its work. It helps you see, with certain clarity the only face that can make a difference.
"You listen to me, alright? I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier." You open your heavy lids at the sound of her voice, and you see those emerald eyes for what could be the last time. "I love you, (Y/N), please, I love you."
You hear her words, or you don't, or it is simply to late to care anymore. The coin is in the air and there's no more time.
***
☞ You let yourself drift into darkness as the plumerias are pulled to a better light. The garden is gone and what is left behind is only an empty carcass. You cannot stand the emptiness and your heart does what it should have done from the beginning. It breaks and breaks and breaks...
***
☞ Your mind tries to grasp her words but you find your heart too weak to keep a hold of them. So you let them pass through like a shadow. No need for them anymore as the anesthesia and the scalpel give you a break from all this suffering. There will be no flowers and it is, truly, not as bad as it could be...
***
☞ Her words suddenly hit you in their full meaning and your mind does its best to keep and save them into your heart. Even through branches and petals, it has the effect of an echo chamber, repeating those words like a healing prayer. I love you. I love you. I love you...
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docholligay · 3 years
Note
What's your opinion on the Ow 2 redesigns, Tracer and Mercy in particular?
OH LORD HERE WE GO
So I salute their right to redesign the characters for the Second Coming, and its not particularly unexpected because, I mean, they want to build conversation and hype, and that's a way to build conversation and hype, I suppose.
So I DID see it coming, and I know me well enough to know that when I am terribly fond of something, I don't necessarily ENJOY the idea of change, so I've been sitting with this for a long while to get USED to it before I decide if the hate is legit or just me being a little pissbaby.
ANYWAY HERE'S THE CONCLUSIONS I'VE COME TO
In generalities, I don't even think most of the redesigns are BAD, I just think that they make everyone look a little more samey-same, less exaggerated, and more grounded. On THEORETICAL PAPER, I don't have a lot of trouble with it because it makes them look more like a cohesive team (Which is essentially the point of the fic I'm working on) but I do miss a bit of the uniqueness of the characters in the redesign and they all feel like they've been flattened a little bit. Everyone is a bit more POLISHED, but a bit less FUN. This works for me for characters like Pharah, who, because of how I see her, I could see picking something more streamlined, more together, more PROFESSIONAL, but for like, Human Representation of a Vegas Slot Machine Floor, Lena Oxton, it doesn't make as much sense.
Now on a personal level, let's get into it. I'll start with Pharah:
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They darkened her skin a shade and removed her little gold bead hairthing, both of which I not only have no trouble with but out and out like. I have never cared for her silly little hairthings, and now I am at liberty to ignore them entirely, picking and choosing from canons at my pleasure. I'd have to see a better picture too, but I think her hair is longer, which I don't love, but we all know if it were up to me Pharah would have a haircut like this:
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You know, sexy but also very officious, so perhaps we can't go by me.
As far as her uniform, the changes are fairly minimal
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It’s basically just streamlining. The changes they made to Pharah were really minimal, which is good because I liked her the way she was, mostly, and they took away one of the things I didn’t care for, but also bad because making few changes to her seems to suggest to me that her involvement in the lore of the game will once again be minimized. But then again, who knows what they would do to her, perhaps it’s for the best. 
Winston, my poor bab, why do they treat you like this constantly? He gets hardly any change except they make his face less expressive??? Maybe in the game itself it won’t be so jarring. 
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Mercy!
WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS GODDAMN HAIRCUT, I HATE IT SO FUCKING MUCH
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a reminder of her full hair style before the redesign
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She looks like a fucking soccer mom who’s complaining about Bath and Body works being sold out of individual hand sanitizers for their big sale of the year, and now how is she supposed to make gift baskets for Teacher Appreciation Week with the PTA? IT BEING UGLY ASIDE, the woman is a combat medic!! Why in god’s name would she have hair that she can’t pull back in any way, shape or form? Where does she find the time to keep something like that trimmed up?? Also, out of all the shit you changed, you couldn’t let her have a wrinkle or something? Give a bitch a break. 
As far as her actual uniform, I highly approve of putting her status as medic on her sleeve, well done, and I think the way in which they tried to make the halo thing “work” as an actual item that a human being might have a reason to wear is not totally ungraceful considering how patently ridiculous it is. 
AND NOW, MY GIRL
I went to the website and just gripped my chest. My heart! How I love her! 
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So i actually really approve of how they changed her face:
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They removed some ot the rim from her goggles to allow her to have more expressiveness, and actually removed most of her eyeliner! PRAISE AND FUCKING BLESS, I am forever begging for scraps at the “please let Tracer be more butch, as a treat!” table, and every once in a great while, i get it. I DO wish they had brought back her freckles, but somewhere along the second year I think it was, they dropped her little angel kisses and every time I commission anything of her I have to be lIke, “And could you please give her freckles? :)” 
A better view!! I’m love her!!
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HER JACKET
HER JACKET
I HATE HER FUCKING JACKET
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ALright I get that this one is actually integrated better with her CA, and that’s fine and fair, but my god it is so colorless and drab and sad???? I loved the way her old jacket paid tribute to her RAF career, and it was such a THING of hers that I feel like I have to go back and remind blizz they actually sold her fucking jacket AND her hoodie was based off it, so why are we removing it now?? This thing is dishwater-dull, some sad excuse for a moto-style jacket that just doesn’t fit her at all to me and OH MY GOD HOW MUCH DO I HATE THAT THE PATCH IS NOW JUST TRCR GOD I HATE THE TREND OF JUST FUCKING REMOVING ALL VOWELS FROM SHIT. 
Also, the clips??? WHY? If you weren’t going to connect them to anything, wjhy keep them? In the original, they clearly keep Tracer’s CA in place while she’s fucking around, and if they decided her new CA (Which is flattened and made into a more wearable thing--I approve) didn’t require that because it fit better or is integrated with the jacket or something WHY IN GOD’S NAME ARE THE CLIPS STILL THERE???
Anyway, MY Lena Oxton would not wear this, or she would, in the name of the team, but she would scowl as she put it on. 
I have no idea yet what they’ve done with DVa, so STAY TUNED. 
Small thoughts: I like that Genji gets to wear clothes! His reign of naked cyborg oppression has ended! I don’t like that they’ve removed McCree’s chaps look from the whole thing, so he looks less cowboyish. 
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moviemunchies · 3 years
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If you wanted a movie that’s like a lower-budget John Wick about ladies taking down hordes of bad guys, then Gunpowder Milkshake is going to be your jam.
Gunpowder Milkshake is a movie about Sam. Sam is an assassin working for The Firm, an organization that apparently runs everything (or something; we don’t get that many details about The Firm and its dealings). Her mother was an assassin working for The Firm as well that left her when she was young to keep her safe. Sam has a chip on her shoulder about this.
Well things go horribly wrong on a routine mission and Sam finds herself taking care of a little girl. And then it turns out that on her last assignment, Sam killed someone she definitely shouldn’t have, so The Firm is no longer protecting her, and so now she’s the target of a very angry crime lord and finds she must get the help of her estranged mother and a trio of gun-toting librarians.
Alright, I’m going to come out and say it: this is not a deep movie. You probably guessed that, but I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not a complex film that grapples with difficult themes and well-developed character motivations. For instance, Sam says at least twice to her mother that “You always have a plan!” except it seems that she’s almost always winging it. She never seems to have a plan at all. Which maybe we can handwave with ‘Sam is mistaken about how her mother operates’ but that is a bit weird.
I’ve seen this movie criticized as having much more style than it has substance. And I think that is a fairly accurate description of the film. But OH, WHAT STYLE. Look, most action movies wish they had as much style as Gunpowder Milkshake. It is exactly the sort of movie you’d expect from something titled Gunpowder Milkshake. It is colorful, it is loud, once it gets rolling it’s got action scenes out the wazoo.
What I’m saying is: you’re not going to be writing a dissertation about this movie. But you will have a blast watching it. There are guns! There are knives! There are explosions! It’s a female-led action movie in which all of the heroes are women. It’s not like there’s a male supporting character that ever steals the thunder of our heroines, if that’s something you’re worried about. It’s all these badass ladies fighting off the baddies.
And like the original John Wick this movie takes place in a world that we only dip our toes into. That’s not bad--we don’t need to know every detail about how the world works for the movie to be enjoyable. We get snippets, like the library (which doubles as a black market arms dealer) and the diner (which is neutral ground and allows no firearms inside). We don’t know exactly how The Firm works, but we know that they’re the people who run things behind the scenes; that’s enough to understand exactly what Sam is up against when she’s been removed from their protection.
Also this movie has a great cast? Karen Gillan is Sam, Lena Headey is her mother, the librarians are Angela Basset, Michelle Yeoh, and Carla Gugino, and Paul Giamatti is Nathan, Sam’s handler with The Firm. I suspect that the movie’s casting director just called up a bunch of favorites and asked if they wanted to shoot people in a movie. Which, to be fair, would be a great way to recruit me for a movie.
Something that did slightly bother me--while there is shooting fairly early on, the first actual fight scene isn’t until about half an hour into the movie. There are plenty of great fight scenes from there on out, but if you’re expecting fantastic action scenes right from the get-go, you have a bit of a wait, and that can be a little frustrating.
Still, I think if you like loud action movies, or are craving a female-led shoot-‘em-up flick, you will probably like this movie. It could have been better, for sure--if it had an action scene earlier on, if it was more consistent with characterization. But as it is, it’s a fun way to spend a couple of hours. 
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pippytmi · 4 years
Note
parent!au + meet messy + “that was a very bad idea. 0/10 would not recommend.”
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Lena is not a fan of parks, generally speaking.
They’re just…public, and dirty, and entirely unpleasant. She can say with complete certainty that she has never, ever had a positive opinion of any day she’s spent in any park. But—and this is a begrudging but—Lena has committed to spending her weekends in this form of personal hell of sandboxes and juice pouches and sweaty, sun-kissed metal because it’s worth it.
“Mommy!” Lori toddles over, excitedly holding up a fallen leaf. “Tees!” She’s not able to form any “r” sound quite yet; her enthusiastic effort makes Lena smile.
“That’s pretty, baby,” Lena says, accepting the dirty offering when Lori holds it out. (She’ll worry about sanitizing her hands afterward, when Lori returns to the patch of grass she’s been inspecting.)
Lori gets just as easily excited about a smattering of dandelions two feet away, and begins determinedly making her way over. It is a good thing, too, because as Lena rises to follow—while sneakily discarding the dry leaf—she is the one who gets hit full-force by a wayward skateboarder.
Someone cries out; Lena isn’t even sure who. Then, “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” gets yelled into her ear, which suggests it must’ve been Lena to warrant such a frantic flurry of words.
“What the—” Lena makes to stand, but only tumbles all over again. She is tangled up with someone else—the skateboarder—and as a result, is left half-sprawled on the floor. “Excuse me, can you move?”
“Shoot, shoot, shoot,” the skateboarder mumbles, scrambling to crawl away. Lena doesn’t spare her a single glance, at first; she is only concerned about Lori.
Luckily, Lori seems extremely amused by the situation—she’s giggling when Lena reaches her, clapping her chubby hands. “Uh-oh!” she says. “Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh…” She uproots a couple of scraggly weeds, then proudly holds them out to Lena. “Flays,” she says. “Flays, Mommy.”
With the knowledge that her child isn’t traumatized, Lena can relax. “Thank you,” she says graciously, gingerly taking the handful of dandelion scraps. “These are beautiful flowers.” Only then, once normalcy has been regained, she remembers that someone else was involved in this situation. 
The rogue skateboarder has removed her helmet (which looks like it’s been haphazardly decorated in Spiderman stickers), and rubs at the top of her head. As if sensing Lena’s gaze on her, she suddenly looks up—and then winces.
“That,” the stranger says, “was a very bad idea. 0/10 would not recommend.”
If Lena were feeling more graceful, she would’ve asked whether or not the woman was alright. But since she’s rather affronted, she decidedly does not. “What, exactly, are you doing?” she demands. “My daughter was right here! She could’ve been hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” the stranger says meekly. “I was trying to make a jump, and I completely lost control. Are you okay? Is your daughter okay? I can—I can take you to a hospital! I don’t have a car, but, I do have…bus fare. And a working phone.” She fishes in her jean pockets, then triumphantly pulls a cracked smartphone out for Lena to see. “At least I think it’s working…” 
“I’m—alright, thank you,” Lena says, the fight slowly draining out of her. And, because it’s the expected thing to do, she follows up with: “Are you okay? I do have a car, if you need a hospital.”
“Oh, no, I’m fine.” The woman struggles to get her helmet on again, but pauses to throw Lena a rueful smile. “Sorry, again. If you change your mind about that hospital…well I’ll just be,” and she jerks her thumb over her shoulder, “trying that trick again.”
Lena blinks. “I’m sorry. Didn’t you just say attempting that trick in the first place was a bad idea?”
“Theoretically…” And the woman’s smile broadens, albeit sheepishly. “I promise I won’t crash into you again, though. Pinky promise!” She holds out her hand, then stops mid-air when she realizes her whole sleeve is streaked with dirt. “Oops. Actually, better not.”
Before Lena can think of what to reply, the rumble of skateboards drowns her out. Two other people come over, one a tall, broad-shouldered guy who’s frantic and one shorter girl who is filming the whole scene.
“Kara, that looked bad,” the guy says. “How are you feeling?”
The stranger—Kara, apparently—merely throws the two a thumbs-up. “Okie-dokie,” she says. “Ground’s actually pretty nice and soft, you know.”
“That’s mud,” the girl filming snorts. “Your sister’s going to be so fucking mad at you when I show her this.”
“Whoa, hey!” Kara says. “There’s a kid here, you can’t curse like that.”
As if on cue, Lori comes wobbling over, absolutely enraptured by the sight of the skateboards. Lena protectively shields her behind her legs, refusing to let her get too close.
“Shit, my bad,” the girl says. “Uh—I mean, not shit—”
“Quit while you’re ahead, Maggie,” the guy says, shaking his head. “We’ll, um, let you finish your flirting and catch you by the tennis courts, Kara.”
Kara’s eyes widen. “I’m not flirting,” she says. She twists around to face Lena, panicked, and repeats, “Definitely not flirting. Not that I wouldn’t flirt with you. Because I would! Except you have a kid, so you’re probably married, and even though I could probably take your husband on in a fist fight, it would be bad to have to fist fight in the first place, so…”
“I…see,” Lena says. Lori pokes her head between Lena’s calves, trying to see what all the commotion is about, and Lena bends down to pick her up. “I’m sorry, why would you be fist fighting my nonexistent husband in this scenario?”
“Uh.” Kara scratches her chin, tilts her head like she’s seriously pondering her answer. “I don’t know, it’s just happened the last two times I’ve tried to flirt with someone. Maybe I should really stop flirting with women at parks—they’re always the married ones.”
Lena isn’t sure if she should be flattered or not. (Maybe it’s a testament to how slow her love life is these days that, somehow, makes her inclined for the former.) “Yes, that would probably be for the best.”
“Wait, I didn’t mean it like—I don’t flirt with a lot of women. Or often. Only if they’re flirty with me first. Or—”
“I don’t…need an explanation,” Lena says, hoisting Lori a bit higher on her hip. “Maybe you should go find your friends.”
“…yeah, I’ll,” Kara nods in their direction lamely, “do that. Nice to meet you, uh—”
“Lena.”
“Lena,” Kara repeats. “I’m Kara.” She casts a wide grin at Lori and adds, “Nice to meet this cutie, too. I like your hat, kid.”
“At!” Lori proudly pats her gardener’s hat (a gift from her grandmother, who apparently has forgotten what children wear). She plucks it off her own head, then tries to reach over and drop it on Kara’s helmet.
“Oh, is this a hat trade?” Kara plucks off her helmet, then offers to put it on Lori. Lori is positively thrilled, and once the heavy helmet is dwarfing her head, she squirms over to face Lena and beam. Meanwhile Kara appears equally ridiculous, with a tiny hat perched precariously atop her head.
Lena can’t help it; she smiles at the silly sight of her daughter. “Okay, Lori, give Kara her hat back now.”
“At,” Lori says, but sadly, as Kara makes to take her helmet back.
Kara stops. “You know what?” she says, handing Lena Lori’s tiny straw hat back. “She can keep it. Suits her better anyhow.”
“No, it’s far too big for her. And not really appropriate, given the circumstance.”
“What, that I’m a total stranger?” Kara grins. “That’s okay. Why don’t you hang on to it for now, maybe give it back to me later? I’m going to be here for a while longer anyway.”
Lena narrows her eyes curiously. “Is that you trying to flirt again?”
“Well…I mean, you said you don’t have a husband,” Kara says, and with that she’s snatching her board up off the ground and taking a step back. Her blond hair sticks out every which way, and she pauses to pat it down before she throws Lena one last, carefree smile and jogs in the direction her friends have gone.
Lori squirms to be let down, and Lena pauses to remove the gifted helmet before she allows her the luxury. All things considered, well, it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little longer in this awful place. (At least, until Lori gets tired of the helmet and Lena can return it to its…oddly charming owner.)
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Text
Make wise Choices Part 1:
Hold me (baby Danvers)
Never have I ever written something in my life (except for Christmas cards for Santa when I was a kid or you know the regular affidavit when I lose a ticket for my expenses report from work, and that should count like poetry itself 🤓)
Anyways after reading for a while in different platforms I became quite curious about writing something myself. I noticed a lot of Baby Danvers fics and developed a sort of attachment to the concept of a third sister. Also I’m a sucker for fluff and sick fics. Even though I do have a dark side I wanted to try something tame first.
I have no idea if its any good and also take into consideration English is not my native language, I’m sleep deprived and using an iPhone because I’m too lazy to get my laptop and it’s like 3 am and I’m supposed to be at work in 3 hours LOL 😂
Without further ado I leave you my first story with baby danvers going through some painful wisdom teeth surgery recovery (so not an original idea but this actually happened to me and I can relate, impacted teeth sucks big time )
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PART 1
You had to get your wisdom teeth removed and you knew it was perfectly normal to experience some anxiety prior the procedure. In your case, your anxiety levels were through the roof. Your sisters knew this and of course they wanted to be there for you, and you couldn’t be more grateful for that; However, you were very nervous. Because of your anxiety you had to be sedated for the procedure and the effects very rough on you. You felt just awful and very loopy. Kara had to carry you from the dentist office to the car and up to her apartment. You were practically a rag doll in her arms, drooling saliva and blood on her sweater, because of course you were disgusted by the gauze and you took it out. Kara didn’t mind that at all, she felt bad you were feeling poorly after your surgery. You just cling to her like a koala and nuzzle your face in the crook of her neck.
Kara: “Careful there little one, don’t press your cheek into me so hard or you will hurt yourself” - Your sisters felt awful to see you like this, but you knew they were going to care for you during the following days after the procedure. Even thought you are a big baby when it comes to pain and doctors, the procedure was indeed very difficult, your teeth were impacted and required surgical extraction.
You just grunted in response and kept rubbing your face into your sister’s neck and shoulder. Until you did it too hard and felt a sharp pain in your mouth. Y/N: “Ow Ow Owie!” -You cried out and tried to move into a more comfortable position in her arms, you felt exhausted and wanted to sleep, but due to the weird feeling in your mouth and the odd sensations due to the medication you couldn’t quite find a proper spot to feel comfortable.
Alex: “Come one Y/N, don’t press your face like that and just hold on a few more minutes, we are almost home, and you can take your pain meds and sleep for a while. Don’t fall asleep before that, just hang on a little longer baby”
The three of you were in the elevator waiting to reach the apartment your shared with Kara.
Y/N: “Nooooo! I want to sleep now and eat a corn dog” – once again you rubbed your face into Kara and again, it hurt. – Ow Ow Ow!” You cried once again and tried to pout miserably, feeling just bad. You had tears in your eyes and you just looked like an overtired toddler with your big hazel teary eyes and rosy cheeks.
Alex: “Damn it Y/N, be careful you’re going to reopen the stitches and we will need to take you back to the dentist so she can patch you up. And no, you can’t have a corn dog just yet. It will hurt trying to eat something hot and solid”
Apparently, that was the worst thing to say because you just looked at her with big scared and hurt eyes and started to cry. – Y/N: “I’m sorry, but I just feel so awful and can’t get comfortable I just want to sleep. This suck! Dentists sucks, stupid wisdom teeth and stupid stitches! And I really want a corn dog Alex, pleeeease!!!!” - Moving your mouth to complain and speak your discontent made your incisions to bleed more and that of course made you cry more.
Y/N: “ugh blood taste awful!” – Kara tried to adjust you into a more comfortable position in her arms and rubbing your back in a soothing way to calm you down.  While Alex tried to clean the slobber and blood from your lips and Kara’s shoulder with a handkerchief. Both gave you a sad smile and just felt sorry for you. You were clearly in pain and felt just awful.
Alex: “Oh sweety please don’t cry, we’re almost there. Damn elevator it´s taking forever!” – she gave a frustrated sigh while trying to keep you from falling asleep and avoided mentioning the corn dog in order to make you forget about eating one.
Kara: “I know, I think there’s something wrong it, but we are almost there. Shhh… little one, we are almost there, and you can rest after your taken your meds. Ok?, Lena is waiting for us already with lots of cold juice and ice cream so you can feel better pretty soon”
You perked up at the mention of the green-eyed woman. Y/N: you sniffled and asked your sister- “Lena is here?”– It was no surprise for the Danver sisters that at the mention of the younger Luthor you would cheer up. You were very loved by your sisters and their friends, but it was no secret that you had the young CEO wrapped around your little finger. Lena was your sister Kara’s girlfriend, but she was enamored with you and she was very protective of you as well. She is like a hero to you; you admire and look up to her so much. Not that your sisters weren’t amazing as well, but the relationship you have with Lena is very special and strong.  She is always pampering you and spoils you rotten. You never take advantage of the way Lena is with you and her affection. You are not a brat, you are a very easy-going person, a ray of sunshine and everyone was smitten with you. But when your feeling down or sick you get cranky and you can be a little annoying. You know that, but you feel no shame whatsoever.
Kara: “Yes! She is waiting at the apartment and she said she was going to be prepared with lots of yummy things you can drink, and some things you can eat. We can watch movies after you rest for a bit if you want. What do you say?” – your bubbly blonde sister said while stroking you back and trying to make you stay alert for a bit more until you reached the apartment.
Y/N : You just gave her a tired smile and rubbed at your eyes with a fist and said- “Ok, that sounds nice.”
The elevator dinged and the door opened in the hallway. Alex and Kara, with you in her arms, stepped out of the elevator and walked to the apartment door. Lena was already waiting at the door with a big smile on her face, however she frowned a little when she saw your pained face and teary eyes. Your cheeks were starting to swell, and she knew the first couple of days were rough after that specific dental procedure. She also hated to see you in pain, so she just holds the door wide open to let Alex and Kara walk into the apartment.
Lena: “hi sweet girl”- she presses a kiss to your forehead while greeting Kara and Alex as well. She gave Kara a peck in the lips and asked her to put you in the couch. She walks to the kitchen to grab a bowl with cold water and a cloth to help reduce the swelling to your cheeks while Alex read trough the indications given by your doctor and sort your meds at the table.
Meanwhile Kara tries to lay you down on the couch, but you refused to let go of her and you just cling harder with your arms circling her neck and your legs into her hips. Kara just chuckles and rubs your back: “come on little one, let me set you down on the couch, you will  be more comfortable laying down and I’m just going to bring your blanket and some pillows and bring a pair of comfy pajamas so you can be more comfortable.”
But you, feeling poorly and cranky, shed some tears and asked to be held by your sister. You just felt so clingy. Y/N: “Noo… please Kara don’t go. Just stay with me I don’t need a blanket or pajamas.”
You were beyond exhausted and being up since early in the morning and since you didn’t get that much the sleep night before, you were just so nervous about the whole thing. Now that it was over, you felt all your energy drained, and in addition the pain meds were staring to wear off and that made you feel even worse.
Alex: “Sit down with her Kara, I’ll bring the blanket pillows and pajamas. Let me just grab the meds, and hey Lena can you bring a glass of water and – oh you already have a bowl of water and cloth that’s perfect, thank you. Go and sit down with Kara and set those on the coffee table. I´ll just change real  quick and we can give Y/N the meds and make her more comfortable so she can take a nap.”
Lena just nods and walks to the couch carrying the tray with a bowl with cold water, a few clean hand towels and a glass of water with your meds on it. She set the tray on the coffee table and takes one of the smalls towels and dips it into the cold water in the bowl to make a cold compress for your cheeks. She then turns to Kara and speaks softly to you.
Lena: “Y/N is it okay if I hold you for a little while so Kara can go change into more comfy clothes? What do you say, want me to sit with you for a bit?” - she gives you a big smile and you just nod and make grabby hands toward her. Kara chuckles once again at your antics and transfers you to Lena’s lap making sure you are settled alright and gives you a kiss to your forehead.
Kara: “I’ll be right back”- you just hum in approval and rest you head into Lena’s shoulder while the green eyed woman smiles down at you and brings the cool towel to your fast swelling hot cheek to make you feel better.
Y/N: “That feels nice”- you say in a sleepy voice while clinging to Lena.
Lena: “This will help with the swelling, I’m sorry you feel so poorly sweet girl. But don’t worry we are going to make sure you are comfortable, and you can take a nap after you take your pain meds. Look, Alex is here, come one just sit a little bit so you can take the pill.  Alex walks into the living room carrying several items in her arms.”
Alex: “Y/N come on kiddo I have your comfy jammies. Please sit for a bit for me baby.”  You sit with your back to Lena’s front and you hold your arms up while Alex works fast removing your current top and bra and pulls the button-up pajama top on you, while Lena keeps a hold of you supporting your hips and shoulder so you don’t fall from her lap. Next are your jeans, you let yourself fall backwards into Lena and she just chuckles and holds you close so you don’t slide down to the floor while Alex works on removing your jeans and putting the pajama short on you. Once you are  in your pajama set, Alex smiles at you and helps you try to lay in the couch, but once again you refuse and you move sideways on Lena’s lap so you face is nuzzled on her upper chest and sitting on her lap with your legs in the couch. Alex is about to try and make you move, but Lena just holds up her hand: “Its fine Alex, she is not heavy I can hold her and once she is asleep, we can move her to the couch or switch turns, because I think someone is  going to be very clingy for the next couple of days.”-  She says while looking down at you and giving you a soft smile.
Alex sighs but knows what you are saying its true, when you don’t feel good you turn into a koala bear and refuse to let go from your sisters or Lena’s arms. But you’ve been like this since you were little,       and your sisters love to provide any comfort you need. And right now, you want to be cuddled and sleep. So, Alex gives you a nudge and brings a small pill to your lips and hold a glass of water so you can swallow the medication. Alex: “Good job baby, now close your eyes and rest for a bit.”  
You let you head fall back into Lena and close your eyes mumbling something about corn dogs being soft. Alex smiles down at you while giving Lena the cool towel so she can press it down to your cheek and walks to the kitchen with the tray and to  figure out diner for Kara, Lena and herself and something soft and easy to drink for you. You won’t be able to eat anything solid for a few days, so that’s going to be a challenge. You love food as much as your alien sister. You don’t really like bland food nor drinking smoothies but that’s a fight for after you wake up from your nap. To say you are going to be an unhappy and very grumpy camper it’s the understatement of the century.
Kara took the opportunity to take a quick shower and walks into the living room in sweatpants and a lose top.  She smiles when she notices that you’re almost asleep with a small smile on your face while resting on top of her girlfriend. She spots your favorite blanket next to Lena in the couch, she drapes it over you and Lena and presses a quick kiss to your forehead and a kiss to Lena. Kara sits next to the both of you while surfing for something to watch on Netflix while Alex is busy in the kitchen. Lena is watching you fall asleep and still holding the cool rag to your cheek. After few minutes you are completely passed out and a little bit of drool and blood starts to spill from your lips.
Lena: “Kara, honey can you pass me one of those clean towels on the coffee table, please? Kara notices the little bit of blood and takes the clean small white towel and tenderly cleans your lips and chin. Kara takes away the other wet towel Lena was using for your cheek and leaves the new one so Lena can put it in between her shoulder and your chin. You sleep peacefully while being hold be Lena and Kara in the couch. Alex finally returns to the living room announcing she made diner, actually she made a phone call to order take out because she didn’t feel like cooking or cleaning dishes. She brings refreshments for everyone, a glass of wine for Lena, a glass of chocolate milk for Kara and a beer for her. She also brings a sports bottle with juice and ice, the ones that have a little rubber tip so you can drink easily and can keep the liquid cold. So once you´re awake you can drink something cool and remove the taste of blood from your mouth.
Yes, the next couple of day are going to be a little hard on you, but you have your sisters and Lena to keep you comfortable and dot on you while you recover.
 Next chapter: Y/N wakes up from her nap. And so, it begins…
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lena-in-a-red-dress · 3 years
Text
Lena walks into the Tower, her thoughts still with the book she left locked in the safe of her home office. All heads turn to face her, and her eyes go straight to Kara, whose shoulders sag slightly at the sight of her.
"Lena..."
Kara envelops her in a hug. Lena squeezes her back, unable to keep the smile from tugging at her lips. "I came as soon as I saw the news," she says quickly. "Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah," Kara murmurs.  "But let's just say it's been a crazy couple of weeks."
Nia greets her as well, but Alex is withdrawn, and when Lena eventually follows Kara out onto the balcony, she presses a little harder.
"Everyone seems... quiet. Is everything really okay? Tell me the truth."
Kara sighs. "A lot has happened since you've been gone. And today Kelly reminded us that we'd lost sight of something important."
"Oh." Come to think of it, Kelly was the only one not at the Tower. "Where is Kelly?"
"At home?" Kara guesses with a shrug. A moment passes, as Kara gazes thoughtfully at the skyline. "Maybe... you should go see her."
"Me?" Lena doesn't dislike Kelly, but they aren't the closest. "Why me?"
"I get the feeling she isn't ready to see the rest of us yet. And I think..."
"Think what?"
"You two might be able to find some common ground."
Lena scoffs. "No offense, Kara, but me dating her brother doesn't mean I know what she's going through."
"No," Kara agrees. "But-- once upon a time, you took over your family's company. Reclaiming the Luthor legacy as your own, as a force for good..."
Brow furrowing, Lena frowns. "I don't follow..."
Kara smiles. "It was a thankless, insurmountable task... and you took it on anyway."
----
And so Lena finds herself knocking on Kelly's door. She hears a rustle on the far side, and then a pause as Kelly looks through the peephole. When the door opens, Lena offers a smile.
"Lena, hi! You're back!"
"I am," Lena affirms. She steps inside when Kelly opens the door wider.
"How was your trip?"
Lena pauses, searching for the right words. "Enlightening," she settles on. "But I hear things have gotten exciting since I left."
Closing the door, Kelly's features settle in a grim line. "So, they sent you, huh?"
"Neutral party?" Lena means it as a joke, but it falls flat. She sighs, letting her shoulders relax. "Kara told me a little about what happened."
"So you're the Kelly whisperer now?"
Kelly's gaze cuts through the air, sharp as a razor. Lena can only shake her head. "No. I won't pretend to know what you've lived through. James-- James shared some of his experience with me, and I can't even imagine what it must be like. But..."
Kelly's entire body tenses, waiting for the other shoe to fall. Lena takes a moment to gather herself, to choose the right words before she made an already tenuous situation worse.
"I can't deny my privilege, and I have no intention of doing so. We come from two very different backgrounds. But I've been on the outside of Kara's decisions before...  decisions that made me wonder if they even saw me at all."
Kelly doesn't snap, but she doesn't soften, either. Lena continues.
"I can only imagine that they've already offered all the support you can probably stand by now," she smiles, "but I want you to know that you have me too. You know... if you ever need someone a little less super."
Finally Kelly relents, just a little. "Thank you. I appreciate that."
Lena nods. Quiet stretches between them, until Lena sense she's overstayed her welcome. "I should get going," she says.
Kelly opens the door for her, not protesting her departure. It's the least congenial Lena's ever seen her, and Lena wonders if maybe she's seeing a new layer of Kelly. She wonders if this makes them closer, or more distant than before.
On her way out, Kelly catches one of Lena's wrists. "Thank you," she says. "Really."
Lena nods. She gives Kelly's hand a squeeze, then moves to pull away, only to turn back at the last moment.
"You know, Kara reminded me of something tonight," she blurts. Her cheeks heat with a slight flush when Kelly's brow arches. "Once upon a time, I wanted to do good."
An idea starts forming in her mind, miniscule at first, but quickly snowballing as her thoughts connected into a cohesive, executable plan. She could do it.
She would.
"I think I'm going to start a charity foundation," Lena continues, her lips pulling into a smile. "Maybe at some point I could get this new Guardian's input on where we could be the most help."
This time, Kelly rewards her with a warm smile.
"Oh, I'm sure she's got some ideas."
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snowdice · 4 years
Text
Road Trips and Missing Persons (Part 23)
Fandom: Sanders Sides
Relationships: Patton & Virgil, Virgil & Janus, Logan & Patton, Emile & Remy, Roman & Remus & Janus
Characters: Patton, Virgil, Janus, Remus, Roman, Logan, Emile, Remy
Summary: Patton was just getting groceries. The next thing he knew, there was a knife at his throat and he was an unwilling uber driver. Virgil’s on the run after the murder of his dad, and it’s not just his paranoia that’s telling him he’s being chased down. He has to get somewhere safe, somewhere he can trust, and all he has is a couple of stories from his dad and a name: “Green Bellow Foods and Dispensary.”
Meanwhile, everyone else is trying to find a missing 15 year old, all with different pieces of the puzzle about where he is. It really is too bad that no one is answering their phones.
Notes: Secret Agents AU, knives, carjacking, kidnapping, murder mentioned, guns mentioned, pepper spray, blood mentioned, drugs mentioned, explosions, car crashes (more to be added)
This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve affectionately named it the Goblin Brain Fic because it’s helping my brain actually get motivated for studying. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 My Master Post
“Would anyone care to explain themselves?” Logan asked the room filled with the most frustrating human being he’d ever met. He must have infused his voice with the desired amount of ire, because everyone in the room seemed to wince simultaneously except…
“No thanks!” Remus chirped. Logan shot him a tired look and stepped forward. “Wait! Dad! No!” In a move he’d been using since Remus was a rambunctious child, Logan swiftly put him in a headlock.
“We’re going downstairs,” he told the others. His son was a bit wiggly when Logan started to pull him towards the elevator in the other room, but he didn’t actually put up a fight. In fact, the wiggling usually meant he was pleased with the attention.
He let Remus go when they got to their destination. The elevator was small enough that they ended up taking it in two groups. Logan ended up in an elevator with Lena, his sons, and his brother.
There were a couple of moments of awkward elevator music. “I am very displeased with everyone in this elevator,” Logan informed them all.
No one responded but Patton who patted him on the shoulder. Logan turned on him. “You are at the pinnacle of my ire.”
There were a few seconds of drawn out silence, and then Patton removed his hand. “Wow,” he said after a moment. “You could hear a pen-acle drop.”
“Kids, you no longer have an uncle,” Logan said coolly.
“That’s right,” Patton said with a smile despite the glare Logan was sending him. “You only have a puncle now.”
Roman snorted out a laugh but looked quickly away when Logan glared at him.
The elevator came to a stop and they climbed out of it. “You all go to the conference room while I wait for the rest. Except you,” he pointed at Lena and her bloody nose. “Fred can debrief me. You go get that checked out.” She shot him a thumbs up (because apparently the lack of disrespect for his authority had rubbed off on her) and wandered off towards medical.
“Um,” Roman said tentatively.
“Yes?” Logan asked, already even more tired.
“Also, Janus may or may not have a broken rib. At least he said he might have.”
“Why on Earth is he walking around, then?” Roman just shrugged in response to Logan’s question.
“And send someone down to look at his Janus apparently,” he called after Lena right before she turned the corner. “Anything else pressing?” he asked the three still with him. “No? Then I’ll see you all in the conference room in a few minutes.”
“Conference room 16 or 17?” Remus asked.
“Remus, everyone here is aware that room 17 is a broom closet,” Logan said. “No one is falling for that again.”
Remus sent him finger guns. “Conference room 17 it is,” he said turning to strut off down the hall. Roman shot Logan an awkward half smile before following after his brother, and Logan’s own brother jerked forward to smack his lips against Logan’s forehead before waltzing off after them.
Why was his family like this?
He turned to wait for the elevator to go back up to the factory and down again. He crossed his arms as it arrived. “You’re injured?” Logan asked as the doors opened.
Most of the occupants looked confused, but Janus looked slightly annoyed. “Remus,” he muttered.
“Roman actually,” Logan corrected. “I’m having someone sent down to look at you.”
“I’m f-”
“Don’t even try to argue right now; your second on my list today.”
“Remus is first?” Janus asked.
“Of course, Remus is first.”
“Where am I on the shit list?” Remy asked with interest.
“Somehow, only 5th.”
“Score!”
“But you’re inexorably moving up.”
“But I’m not in the top three.”
“No, my children and brother fill up the spots above you.”
“You said I was second,” Janus said with a frown.
“Yes,” Logan said. “Also, you’re grounded.” Then, he turned to walk towards the conference room.
“Wait, Logan, what does that mean?!” Janus asked his back.
“It means, Logan owes me a buttload of child support,” said Remy.
“I am not your kid. You are not my dad.”
“Sure, son.”
When Logan made it to the correct room, his family was already hard at work making his life a series of aggravations. Patton and Roman were already bent over some sort of project that involved markers, but Remus was missing. Before even stepping into the room, he turned to the opposite side of the hallway and opened the door to the supply closet.
“Get in the correct room before I make you get into the correct room,” Logan said.
“Come on dad, you know it’s not nice to force someone out of the closet.” On most days, Logan would not have found that at all funny, but today for some reason, it elicited a snort of surprised laughter. Remus smiled up at him from his seat on the floor like he always did when he’d done (or thought he’d done) something clever.
“Don’t,” Logan warned, wagging a finger at him, and trying to smooth the smile off his face. It was difficult since his chest was light with the relief of everyone he cared for being relatively unharmed. “Don’t. That doesn’t mean your forgiven. I am very, very unhappy with you.”
Remus just kept grinning.
“I’m relieved that you are safe and happy to have you back with me,” Logan said, “but I am also very angry.”
“Eh, that’s fair.”
“Now get out of the closet.”
Remus found it fit to obey him for the moment, and stood, following him to the conference room where the others had gathered. Patton had somehow found a stack of name tags somewhere and had managed to convince Roman to help him draw little pictures on them along with the names. Patton stuck one with a broom drawn on it onto Remus when he came in. He noticed Virgil’s had a knife drawn on it and Remy’s a cup of coffee. Logan’s own was, aggravatingly, a mobile phone.
Remy and Fredrick were currently forcing Janus into a chair while Roman avoided the glare the injured man was sending at him, and Emile was talking quietly to Virgil.
“Okay,” Logan said. “Let’s start with the ones who haven’t started to explain yet. Roman?”
“My phone got broken probably somewhere between Janus tackling me and hitting me in the face.”
“Oh, is that why Dad texted me about where you were a thousand times?” Remus asked
“Yes,” Logan said, “and you said you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t say that actually.”
“Remus.”
“I was in the middle of something! …And then I forgot.”
“And then it ended up in the bottom of a lake,” Roman said.
“And then it ended up in the bottom of a lake!” Remus agreed. “Along with Roman’s car and us for a minute.”
“You drove your car into a lake?” Logan asked Roman. He felt like his eyes was going to start twitching. “Is that why you are all wet?!”
“Yes, he did!” Remus said.
“Hey! No!” Roman said. “I managed to stop the car before it went into the lake. It’s not my fault the guys behind us aren’t as good drivers as me and slammed into us!”
“Roman destroyed another car!” Remus crooned, and there was the eye twitch. “What’s that? Three? And you say Janus is cursed!”
“I take so responsibility for the Taurus or for this one!”
“Two’s a coincidence; three’s a pattern!” Remus sang joyfully.
Logan shook his head at them and chose to look over at Janus instead. “And you?” he asked. “You looked at your mission details and never responded.”
“You were trying to send me on a wild goose chase when my brother was missing!” He tried to stand up and Remy pushed him back down again.
“I was trying to get you in a controlled environment before telling you of the issues for fear you would overreact and do something careless if you found out on your own.”
“I already knew,” Janus growled, “and that is not your call to make.”
Logan considered that. “Perhaps it wasn’t,” he agreed, “but you still should have attempted to communicate with me, at the very least so I would have known you were okay. For all I knew, Nelson had caught you in a lie and your cover had been blown.”
“It is blown,” Janus muttered. “I smashed her phone, blew up her car, and disobeyed her. She sent men to kill me.”
That information was honestly a relief in a way. Janus had been in danger constantly while being a double agent and Logan had grown more than fond of the man in the last few years. Not having to play nice with Barbara all the time would do him some good.
“We’ll have to reassign you,” Logan said. “As well as Remus, and you’ll both need new permanent residences.”
“We already decided we’re getting an apartment together,” Remus said.
“You decided,” Janus said weakly, clearly not actually interested in protesting, but needing to keep up appearances.
“And we’re going to get a kitty.”
“Ah,” Logan said. “Well, in that case, I would highly suggest you verify it is in fact a ‘kitty’ before you allow it on the premises. I have made that mistake before.”
“You love Raphael,” Remus claimed.
“Possum,” Roman explained at Janus’s questioning look.
“In fact,” Logan said. “It may be advisable that Remington consider moving as well. Nelson very much knows where you live and will likely be unhappy with your continued existence. At least, you should consider taking up residence somewhere else temporarily. For tonight, I’ll get everyone set up in some of the rooms in the base, but that will come later. For now, we need to get everything sorted out. I have a good overall idea about what happened at this point, is there any other important information I need to deal with immediately?”
Most everyone shook their heads and Logan was about to move on to getting more detailed reports when Remus raised his hand.
“Yes?” Logan asked.
“There are two of Barbara Nelson’s men tied up in the trunk of Lena’s car,” he offered.
“What?” Logan asked.
“They were the guys shooting at us that caused Roman to drive into the pond.”
“I did not drive into the pond.” Roman said.
“You were shot at?!”
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Part 24
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tabloidtoc · 3 years
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Globe, April 12
You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks
Cover: Brad Pitt Blindsided by Abuse Bombshell
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Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- former Vanderpump Rules hunk Jax Taylor hauling trash outside his L.A. home, tennis star Venus Williams had some courtside cuddles with her pet pup in Miami, sitcom star turned pot peddler Jim Belushi during a spin around Santa Monica
Page 3: Chrissy Metz runs errands in L.A., David Hasselhoff with his wife Hayley Roberts in Calabasas, Lena Headey buzzed around in L.A. on an electric bike
Page 4: Toxic TV talker Ellen DeGeneres is trapped in a tragic tailspin, belting back booze while struggling to get a grip on her fading career and rocky marriage -- after losing 1 million viewers this year alone, Ellen's once high-flying show is on thin ice and she's fighting with wife Portia de Rossi amid talks of a $300 million divorce -- her ratings are tanking, and her marriage is coming apart at the seams and she's knocking back the red wine to drown her sorrows -- her strategy is to let the storm about her talk show die down and then pull in some huge guest stars to win back her audience and reestablish herself as top dog on the talk show circuit -- at the same time, her 12-year marriage to Portia has been hanging by a thread and the two had been at loggerheads after serial house-flipper Ellen put the estate she bought from Maroon 5's Adam Levine on the market for $53.5 million and Portia thought it was finally going to be their forever home and it was like pulling the rug out from under her -- then another crisis struck home as Ellen rushed Portia to the hospital after she collapsed and Portia underwent an emergency appendectomy and is now recuperating but her spouse is a mess over Portia's health crisis and she's been drowning her sorrows in booze -- Ellen realizes much more than ever how much she desperately loves Portia and what she's got to lose if they split but she also knows it's be a lot of work to get the relationship back on track once Portia recovers
Page 5: Chevy Chase secretly cheated death after a secret heart condition landed him in the hospital for five long weeks and now he may never be out of the woods -- the 77-year-old, who is now recovering at his Westchester, N.Y. home, recently revealed the heart issue snuck up on him -- Chevy needed valve replacement surgery, and recovering boozer Chevy's long history of swilling alcohol had left him with an enlarged heart and acute cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder for the organ to pump blood to the rest of his body and his heart problems stems from his years of drinking plain and simple and it's affected his heart, weakened it over the years -- however, before risky surgery could be performed, docs needed to make sure the comedian was stable enough for the procedure -- in 2017, Chevy claimed he'd finally gotten sober after one of his daughters said she gave up on him and his wife Jayni threatened to leave him if he didn't clean up his act but it may be too little too late for the comedy legend because valve replacement surgery could affect his activities for the rest of his life and it means his heart was pumping through an ineffective valve, and this damages heart muscles, which never grow back and he could have ongoing chest pains or dangerous heart rhythm disturbances, which could lead to heart attack or death
Page 6: Dr. Dre's estranged wife, Nicole Young, claims the rap mogul knocked her out cold in a drunken rage -- it's the latest bombshell in the couple's brutal divorce war, with Nicole making the explosive charge in an application for a restraining order that was denied by a judge and she also alleges Dre punched her squarely in the face after he felt she disrespected him at a party in 1999 and Nicole claims she woke up in their car with Andre speeding at over 100 miles per hour, drunk and out of control and he was swerving and weaving and she thought she was going to die and she also claims a drunk and angry Dre held a gun to her head during a 2012 dispute, saying she was terrified he was going to kill her -- Dre has denied all of Nicole's abuse claims
* In a desperate bid to save their crumbling romance, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are seeing a sex therapist to spice up their fizzling bedroom romps -- the duo called off their wedding plans after a stormy four-year affair and are on the brink of the end -- A-Rod staved off a break at the last minute by dashing down to the Dominican Republic, where J.Lo's filming her new flick and patching things up for the moment -- the biggest issue has been Alex's roving eye plus sexting various women on the side, and Jennifer wants to get to the bottom of why she's not enough for him
Page 7: Jeopardy! contestants want celeb medic Dr. Mehmet Oz axed as guest host -- casting the dubious doc celebrates the elevation of talking heads at the expense of academic rigor and consensus, according to a group of the game show's former winners and contestants in a letter -- the letter cites instances in which Dr. Oz used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas, and referred to a 2014 letter penned by faculty at Columbia Medical School, where Oz also teaches, calling for his removal from the program and the letter concludes inviting Oz to guest host is a slap in the face to all involved
Page 8: Jeffrey Epstein's accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell's third desperate bid to get out of jail on bail has been nixed by a federal judge -- the 59-year-old British socialite it rotting in a Brooklyn, N.Y. federal slammer denying charges she recruited underage girls to be sex slaves for her late lover Epstein, whose 2019 death in his jail cell is suspected on being a staged murder, despite an official ruling of suicide -- Maxwell's offer to plunk down $22.5 million and give up her citizenships in England and France was nixed by Judge Alison Nathan, who agreed with prosecutors the suspected Israeli intelligence asset was still a flight risk -- meanwhile, Ghislaine's lawyers claim she was abused by a guard and is losing hair and weight due to poor treatment in the slammer, where she's awaiting a July trail date
Page 9: Billionaire Queen Elizabeth is bracing for a big pay cut -- due to the financial crash triggered by the COVID pandemic, the Sovereign Grant, the tax money allowance the royals get, is expected to be slashed by more than 25 percent when it comes up for its five-year renewal in 2022 -- last year, Her Highness raked in $114.2 million from taxpayers, but that bundle was exceptional and cannot expect that to be repeated -- a major cost, besides allowances for the royal family, is a renovation of Buckingham Palace, which prices out at $500 million over 10 years -- one saving is Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle have been stripped of their titles and public paychecks -- Her Majesty is aware of the current financial situation and is happy to play her part in cutting costs
* Prince Harry has landed a job as a hot-shot exec of a firm providing mental health and life counseling but it sounds like the tech start-up company is really using him as a celebrity showhorse -- Harry, who studied art and geography in college, will be Chief Impact Officer for BetterUp Inc, saying he intends to help create impact in people's lives -- BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux refused to say how much he's paying the prince, but noted Harry will have a meaningful and meaty role and will attend all employee meetings at the San Francisco headquarters and Robichaux also hinted at Harry's true value, saying he'll be a special guest at company events; in other words, the company will use him as a celebrity draw and they'll lure potential clients and investors to events by saying they can run shoulders with the prince and Harry has no psychology training; he will be a showpiece -- Harry first hooked up with BetterUp by using its app that gives proactive coaching and provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness and an all-around better life and Harry says he was matched with his coach who is truly awesome and has always given him sound advice and a fresh perspective, which is so valuable
Page 10: Lisa Marie Presley is getting back on track after her son Benjamin Keough's tragic suicide and bitter divorce from Michael Lockwood, but she's still a hopeless addict -- Elvis Presley's 53-year-old daughter smokes like a chimney from morning until night and is struggling for every breath and she goes through a pack or two a day minimum and she simply can't quit and she has cut out triggers like booze and coffee, but she still needs her cigarette fix from the moment she wakes up until she puts her head down at night -- she was snapped having a smoke outside a COVID-19 testing center in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley and it was the only time she was spotted in public since her son died in July -- she started smoking at age 15 and has admitted this is the one thing that got her and bit her in the ass that she can't shake even those she's kicked pain pills, cocaine, booze and opioids and she's tried everything she can think of to quit: patches, nicotine gum, going cold turkey, but nothing works and she did stop for a spell after being hypnotized but a day or two later she was lighting up again -- she's losing weight, exercising more and eating healthier, but her smoking habit is the elephant in the room
Page 11: Following the heart-crushing suicide of her brother, Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough has become a death doula, a counselor who helps terminal patients and their cope with the devastating trauma -- Riley announced she'd completed her training on social media -- the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and her first husband Danny Keough, Riley was devastated when her brother Benjamin Keough committed suicide with a shotgun last July -- spurred by the tragedy to become a death doula, Riley says she thinks it's so important to be educated on conscious dying and death the way we educate ourselves on birth and conscious birthing
* Reality TV train wreck Mama June Shannon claims she and her boyfriend Geno Doak spent $900,000 in a year to feed their drug addiction and the couple were spending $2500 a day, if not more, on methamphetamine -- June entered rehab with $1.75 in her pocket and they've been clean 14 months
Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- reformed boozer Luann de Lesseps sips a soft drink in Mexico (picture), Real World star Rebecca Blasband believes she had an otherwordly 15-year beyond-the-grave relationship with Beatles legend John Lennon's ghost, in Australia a not so itsy bitsy spider bite turned into a giant wallop of a headache for Melissa McCarthy, Ilana Glazer and husband David Rooklin are happily expecting their first baby ironically right before of her horror movie False Positive, Sarah Silverman says no one ever told her not to use tongue in screen kisses and it got her fired from a show called Pride & Joy
Page 13: Al Pacino gets all gussied up in Italy to play fashion godfather Aldo in the biopic House of Gucci (picture), Justine Bateman (picture), Tom Selleck covers up his signature 'stache with a mask in L.A. (picture), first-time mama Katharine McPhee hit a sour note with composer husband David Foster for blabbing their newborn son's name Rennie David Foster on Today
Page 14: Rihanna plunked down $13.8 million for a new Beverly Hills mountaintop mansion that's literally surrounded by noteworthy neighbors like Paul McCartney and Mariah Carey and Madonna who live in the same exclusive star-studded cul-de-sac, Tom Cruise is on a mission to unload his Rocky Mountain getaway for $39.5 million, Goldie Hawn gushes her life partner Kurt Russell is still hot as heck after turning 70
* Fashion Verdict -- Miranda Lambert 4/10, Taylor Swift 5/10, Phoebe Bridgers 1/10, Giuliana Rancic 7/10, Brandi Carlile 6/10
Page 16: Cover Story -- Angelina Jolie is determined to paint her ex Brad Pitt as an abusive, drunken monster, and now she's got their kids backing her claim that he's the dad from hell -- the mom of six, who's been battling Brad in court over custody and money for five years, filed new bombshell papers saying she and her children want to testify their life was the pits -- while the documents are sealed, Angelina is making sure their kids paint Brad as violent and aggressive and her shocking charges continue earlier accusations by oldest child Maddox, now 19 and in college, who accused a booze-fueled Brad of abusing him on a private flight five years ago and Maddox essentially painted his dad as a demented monster and he went into detail about Brad's terrible temper, the abuse he inflicted on the whole household with his binge drinking and the scars that exist to this day because of the appalling way he alleges Brad treated his mom during the marriage -- Brad has reportedly been sober for years and Angelina's new claims of domestic abuse are basically a rehash of the old accusations -- legal experts also maintain the minor kids can only testify if Brad agrees to it, which is doubtful -- the superstars have spent a combined $10 million in legal fees and are currently battling over visitation rights for their brood and Angelina has refused to compromise, wants full custody and calls it a fight to the death and she doesn't care about Brad or how anybody sees their fight, she just wants what she feels she is entitled to as a mother and will fight with every inch of her body and soul to get it
Page 19: 10 Things You Don't Know About Topher Grace
* Katherine Heigl boasts she's bionic after having two titanium disks inserted into her neck and the actress says the surgery has freed her from the most excruciating pain
* Wendy Williams broke wind in a stunning fart-burp combo while she was live on camera, right in the middle to discussing Kim Kardashian's divorce from Kanye West -- the gassy lassie seemed surprised at her own outburst and apologized to the audience
Page 20: True Crime
Page 23: William Shatner is creating an artificial intelligence-powered version of himself -- in true sci-fi fashion, people in the future will be able to ask him questions about his life and times -- the 90-year-old icon is the first person to be captured by an advanced video and sound system developed by the L.A.-based company StoryFile -- Shatner says with StoryFile, we can now be present for the future; your authentic self, for all time
* Furious perfume mogul William Lauder is battling to kick his former mistress Taylor Stein and their 13-year-old love child out of her home and into the street, because their supposedly secret love affair was revealed -- the big stink exploded after the 60-year-old Estee Lauder heir learned his secret teen daughter wrote on social media that her parents were divorced but actually, Lauder never wed Taylor, but kept her like a queen in a $7 million, 6000-square-foot Bel Air mansion with a $1 million annual allowance for years and the only condition was that she keep their affair and the child under wraps, but the Park Avenue playboy claims she blasted their pact to smithereens when his illicit daughter blabbed about the relationship online -- Lauder hooked up with Taylor in Aspen in 2000 while still wed to wife Karen, mom of three of his daughters -- he knocked Taylor up in 2005, but told her to get an abortion because he was then in the midst of divorcing Karen but three years before the 2009 divorce, Taylor got pregnant again and gave birth to their girl and that's when the moneybags lover boy drew up the hush-hush deal
Page 24: COVID vaccines hidden dangers -- scientists warn shots don't work and have nightmare side effects
Page 27: Gal rock roadie Tana Douglas is snitching on music superstars including George Harrison and Iggy Pop, who she got close to during her wild years traveling with bands -- in her book called Loud, she recalls her job hauling equipment for bands nearly ended at age 21 when Beatle George Harrison was ready to propose, but she blew it; the two were getting close under a kitchen table after George fled his own birthday party, where he was embarrassed by his present: strippers and she ruined the mood by firing up a cigarette and George told her he would marry her tomorrow if she gave up smoking but the first female rock roadie couldn't kick butts -- she has crazy stories about saving AC/DC's frontman Bon Scott when he overdosed, Elton John who did drugs and threw tantrums, The Go-Gos, and doing a line of coke with Iggy Pop intended for David Bowie
Page 28: Health Report
Page 30: Julianne Hough has plumped up her kisser, and her new look falls flat -- the newly single star may have gone overboard with lip fillers to the point where she's almost unrecognizable -- Julianne's had some surgical and nonsurgical things done, but her lips just look wonky and no one can understand why she'd do it because her lips looked fine to her friends and family, but Julianne obviously thought they needed more volume and clearly got carried away -- she's also totally gone overboard with the spray tanning and hair extensions and she ditched the short blond bob that suited her so well and now she's looking like a Kardashian -- her lips look a bit swollen, so it's possible they will settle down and her natural lip proportions appear to have changed, with her upper lip the same size as her lower lip
Page 32: Tori Spelling has got the marriage blues and she's been out and about without her wedding ring -- the 47-year-old mom of five was spotted buying veggies at Underwood Family Farms in California's Moorpark with her kids but minus husband Dean McDermott and her wedding ring -- Tori's fed up with her mate, whining he's not doing his share around the house or paying her enough attention and they've found themselves in a real rut where they spend less and less time together and barely mention one another on social media and they haven't had a date night since goodness knows and Dean is never in the romantic mood and lately, they're more like brother and sister than husband and wife -- Tori wants Dean to step it up and start acting like a hubby instead of a leach and Tori's exhausting herself by taking care of the domestic chores single-handedly at times while Dean has other things on his mind and he hasn't picked up a vacuum or washed the dishes in weeks and sometimes he doesn't seem to be aware she's in the room and it's frustrating her to no end -- ditching her ring is sending Dean a very clear message that he needs to stop taking her for granted and work on the marriage
* Paul McCartney dove deep into his Beatles past and emerged with a children's book inspired by the group's 1966 hit Yellow Submarine -- Grandude's Green Submarine, a sequel to Paul's picture book Hey Grandude, will be released in September and changes the color of the submerged vessel
Page 36: Reality TV momager Kris Jenner is worth an estimated $190 million and masterminded the megabucks careers of her reality star daughters, but she confesses she was clueless about dough when she became divorced -- Kris confesses first husband Robert Kardashian handled everything and she never paid a bill during their 13-year marriage that ended in 1991 -- she said she woke up to responsibilities that she didn't have the day before but she says she's a quick study and she knew she had to get it together and she felt such an enormous sense of accomplishment to be able to figure it all out and pay her own bills and make her own money and do her own taxes and there were times when she didn't have a lot of money, but she was very organized -- now she studies business for new opportunities and she's interested in different businesses and how they evolve and how they become successful and she just enjoys the business world
* Bobby Brown's son Bobby Jr. died after accidentally overdosing on a killer cocktail of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl, his autopsy reveals, but lawmen say they are now opening a criminal investigation into the 27-year-old's death at his father's home in suburban L.A. -- the autopsy report showed in his final hours Bobby Jr. consumed a deadly mix of tequila, cocaine and the prescription medication Percocet -- he was Brown's second child with former galpal Kim Ward
Page 38: Long-lost letters written by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's father, Alois, reveal the freaky Fuhrer grew up to be a cruel, tyrannical, arrogant lout, just like his old man -- the 31 letters were discovered by retiree Anneliese Smigielski in the attic of her house in the Austrian town of Wallern and are the basis of a new book by historian Roman Sandgruber -- penned to Anneliese's great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Radlegger, who sold retired customs official Alois a farm when future Nazi monster Adolf was six in 1895, the letters reveal Hitler's dad was a brutal boozer and boss of the house, but depended on the skills and money of his third wife, Klara, a former servant girl the cheating creep had seduced and wine-guzzling Alois was awfully rough with her and beat little Adolf and the other eight kids -- like his father, Adolf felt superior through the knowledge he had acquired in self-study and he saw himself as a military, technical and artistic genius, not only as a painter, but also as an architect, writer, composer and actor
Page 40: Bethenny Frankel is sporting an engagement ring from fiance Paul Bernon -- the three-stone ring features a huge eight- to ten-carat emerald-shaped center stone and if it's a real, natural diamond, its estimated value is up to $1 million
* Gwyneth Paltrow just babbled something her second husband, Brad Falchuk, probably doesn't want to hear: she never wanted to get divorced from Chris Martin but she wed Brad in 2018 and Gwyneth calls him the most amazing man adding they've built something that she's never had before
* Suzanne Somers brags she and husband Alan Hamel are having sizzling sex three times a day before noon -- she blames doses of hormones for their frisky urges in their golden years
* Klutzy comic Chelsea Handler jokes about her subpar skiing skills online, but later revealed she wrecked her knee and broke two toes after she flew into the trees on a snowy slope in Canada -- Chelsea confesses she took the terrible tumble in British Columbia, where she was training with a personal instructor
Page 41: Vin Diesel's son Vincent is learning it's a good career move to have a movie star dad -- the 10-year-old has landed a $1000-a-day role in his father's new Fast and Furious flick -- the kid plays the younger version of Vin's character Dominic Toretto in the already completed, ninth F&F film -- Vincent's mom is Vin's longtime galpal, Mexican model Paloma Jimenez, who also has two daughters with Vin -- unlike his dad's megabucks salary, Vincent got the basic $1005 daily rate
* The faith-based Duggar family of 19 Kids and Counting fame is still feuding after a sleazy sex scandal ripped them apart -- Jill Duggar Dillard, who's outed herself as one of four sisters molested by big brother Josh Duggar, reveals she hasn't visited her parents' home in years -- Jill and husband Derick Dillard, say they aren't allowed at Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar's Big House without her father's permission and Jill reveals there's some restrictions but also they just feel like they have to prioritize their mental and emotional health -- TLC axed the family's show after Josh was exposed as a child molester and in the past, Jill's admitted she's not on the best terms with some of her family
Page 42: Kim Kardashian has been getting back in touch with her body big-time now that she has booted Kanye West from her bedroom and her life and she's been strolling around totally nude -- with the pair's six-year marriage officially kaput, Kim is gleefully letting it all hang out, while indulging in once-forbidden McDonald's french fries -- Kanye made a habit of telling Kim to cover up and picked her to pieces for wearing sexy outfits and he said she needed to class up her act and grow old gracefully but now she's free to express herself and a lot of the time, especially when Kanye's looking after the kids, she's walking around totally in the nude and it's liberating for her to be at one with her body and she's made no secret of her desire to pursue a racy image and right now Kim's priority is to get her mojo back and learn to love herself again physically
* Britney Spears confesses she's been so wrapped up in battling the conservatorship over her estate, she forgot about singing until her mom reminded her -- the singer hasn't cut an album for five years as she's battled dad Jamie Spears for control of her $60 million fortune after a court gave him control when she went bonkers in 2008 -- she now realizes she's neglected her career after mom Lynne Spears sent her a video of her signing You Got It All at a '90s concert in Singapore and Britney tweeted that her mom reminded her that she can sing and she never sings anymore
Page 44: Straight Talk -- Cradle-robbing Scott Disick has struck again, scooping up a new galpal half of his 37 years, who is barely out of high school -- the latest victim is Amelia Hamlin, 19 years old and daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin
Page 45: Sharon Osbourne is demanding at least $10 million to walk away from The Talk after being accused of racist and sexist attacks on co-hosts -- Sharon is playing hardball, saying she was wrongly vilified for branding lesbian co-star Sara Gilbert a fish eater and calling Chinese-American Julie Chen slanty eyes -- it's going to become a battle royale and Sharon's made her demands clear and will fight tooth and nail and she's a street fighter and is used to playing down and dirty, owing to her years as a hard-nosed rock manager for husband Ozzy Osbourne
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riflewounds · 3 years
Text
[ last update : 23 Jan '22 ]
Hm.
Never really introduced my characters here.
I have a big-ass character doc which lives here:
But here's some quick character profiles, condensed into a few sentences. Wall of text incoming.
Norman Corey - the character you've been seeing here a lot (including in my icon), main whumpee, but also a caretaker and whumper. Essentially a swiss army knife character. Also ex-military, high-grade mess, can barely function and just wants to be held and feel okay for once. Blackmailed into working for some shady government organization. Hasn't managed to die yet, despite his best efforts. Consistently fails at keeping any sort of intimate relationship, but he's trying. Relies on alcohol, cigarettes, gummy vitamins and Gatorade to survive. Has a bit of an issue with blackjack. Easily bribed with Skittles and a poncho liner. Believes (Assorted) Charms are cursed. War criminal (allegedly. well, spoilers, not so allegedly).
Mike Rivera - bartender, enables Norman's alcoholism and generally provides respite when shit hits the fan. Owns and runs an entire dive bar, often jokingly called The Rat's Den. Has ties to organized crime, probably involved in some drug business (specifically cocaine, keeps several bricks in the bar's storage area). Bit of an asshole. Scared he'll kill someone on accident. The dependable friend. Had a band with Norman many years ago.
Lena Schwarz - art student, mostly clueless, jokingly says she should've studied physiotherapy instead because of her massage skills (well that sounded wrong... anyway). Vaguely interested in Norman (while he's debating with himself whether or not he should try another relationship.)
Ira Briggs - helicopter pilot, essentially a glorified truck driver. Operates in Alaska. Can't drive. Not exactly friendly or approachable, yet tries his best to be nice. Afraid of bears. Reckless anytime and everywhere, except when he's flying, then there's no time for mistakes. Caretaker.
Alexander Wolf - originally from Czechoslovakia, emigrated just after the Velvet revolution in 1989 (if he didn't, he would've been jailed because of his affiliations). Ex-ŠtB, currently working for a very shady government agency that may or may not be some branch of the CIA. Scary, cold, needs complete control of a situation. Frequently manipulates people. Has... stalkerish tendencies, it's work-related. Has no qualms about removing people who stand in his way. Has an uncanny ability to blend in with any crowd, while also making his presence known. It's hard to explain, sorry.
Mason - the quiet kid doing whatever Alex needs him to do. Doesn't exactly obey orders, frequently deviates from instructions to do things how he sees fit. Alexander doesn't care about the means, only about the result. Walks very quietly, to the point he's hard to spot if you're not aware of him.
Rafale Dragunov - cheery kid straight out of high school, excellent marksman, and unlike Norman, he's actually paid by the mentioned shady govt agency. Naive and sort of ignorant, unaware of the dangers lurking around him. Whumpee, barely capable caretaker.
The Sokolov brothers, Grisha and Artyom - ah yes, the two russians. Grozny vets, had their fair share of fights when they were young, especially Grisha, who has somehow managed to whoop most of a small youth gang because they sent Artyom to hospital. Grisha is very protective of his brother, while Artyom is just a being of pure rage, but that's masked by his cheeriness and generosity. Grisha is a warrior poet. Artyom... well who the fuck knows, I think he can sing.
Avis de Falco - hardass lady fighter pilot, initially called Wedge, later called Valkyrie (the first nickname is pretty much derogatory, it changed after her nearly impossible feat which saved a lot of lives that day). Knows several languages, but not particularly well.
Jack - oh boy. Norman's recurring hallucination. Don't ask. Or, you know, go read the character doc linked above. Too spicy for tumblr. Name borrowed from Norman's poison of choice.
Jameson - another of Norman's hallucinations, this one is actually kinda nice and helpful. Balances out Jack. Continues the trend of naming recurring humanoid hallucinations after liquor.
Elbrus - a deus ex machina, essentially the reason Norman cannot die. Bound to him by blood. Keeps him alive because it studies human suffering, usually appears when there's significant risk its subject may die. Managed to keep Norm alive through a bad case of acute radiation sickness. Weird, I know.
Wothdan- bound to Mason. Trades knowledge and wisdom. Same species as Elbrus, may be distant relatives.
Soryuu - hasn't appeared anywhere yet. Half-dragon whumpee, glows when angry. Has minor illusion powers, mainly for self-entertainment. May be able to shift into a full dragon if desperate enough. Was captured for almost a century, now he's enjoying his freedom. Pescatarian. Allergic to soy.
Durant - wip. Another Swiss army knife character. Used exclusively for roleplay, but I've written a few things to flesh out his character.
Welp, that's all of them. Sorry for the lack of pictures, they're in the linked doc. Along with a terrifying number of moodboards.
Hope you enjoyed this crash-course in Moose's Terrible Fictional People :)
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