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oh-for-fic-sake-library · 2 years

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Chaptered Fics

Here are all my long chaptered stories, everything on this list will be atleast ten chapters long.

Updated 02/12/21

Latest Teaser Dump UPDATED NOVEMBER 21!! Disclaimer and my stance on RPF

Henry Cavill Reader Series

An of chance meeting on a dog walk was all it took to change your life. Now here you were young and in love with the sweetest sexiest man on the planet…All thanks to a certain Bear stealing your ball.

A Walk In The Park / / Family Drama🥵

Married to the man of your dreams and a little girl of your own life was good…But not boring, it was never boring in the Cavill household.

No Boyfriends / / A Baby Brother! / / Tadpoles And Eggs / / Right Of Passage / / The Home Coming / / Two More Bedrooms / / Their Ours(Halloween Special) / / The Disco Fiasco (Christmas Special)

You find yourself in lock down trapped inside going mad, but just because you wasn’t going out didn’t mean you had to let yourself go!

The Cut / / The Manicure / / Waxing

Quarantine was going to suck, at least that’s what you thought but when Henry finds out your kinks everything changes now quarantine was the perfect time to explore all of your kinks and fetishes. suddenly being trapped in the house with Henry wasn’t so bad…Except maybe the Spankings?

Quarantine Kink Conversations 🥵 / / A Man And His Cat🥵 / / Weighted decisions🥵 / / Day In The Sun 🥵 / / Daddy’s Care 🥵 / / What The Telly Man Says 🥵

Working onset with a man you had been crushing on for years should be simple just avoid him and sneak peaks right? but this becomes impossible when suddenly the directors need you to stand in for a main role when an actress bails. Now here you were suited and booted an untrained actress playing a love interest of your celeb crush. But it would seem Mr Cavill is smitten with you to and now Joey, Freya and Anya are all trying to play match maker. Even Kal is helping. God help you.

1 / 2 /3 🥵/ 4 / 5 / 6 🥵/ 7 / 8 / 9 🥵/ 10 / 11 🥵/ 12 / 13🥵 / 14🥵 / 15🥵/ 16🥵

Moving to Kansas was a last minuet thing but escaping to the other side of the world had its benefits. Like the amazing woman across the field who has become your best friend despite you being younger then her son. And speaking of son he was definitely a bonus to this move. what started as a fake date to a party has grown into the best relationship you have ever had!

The Neighbours Son / / I Didn’t Know This Was A Date🥵 / / Because Its The Truth / / Perfect Little Size Queen🥵 / / Home Sweet Home 🥵 / / You’re A Little High Love (CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!)

Gotham was a cruel place for anyone…But orphan Meta human? the worst! A traumatic life filled with psychiatrists, medication and now foster homes you have fled to the streets. But the league has found you and now after a life alone trusting no one you find yourself adopted by none other than Clark Kent himself and your not sure what to make of it…

I Just Move Things / / Phsychokinesis / / Broken Bones And New Homes / / Undercooked Popcorn / / Grandma Knows Best

Bruce had seen it all! Fucked them all models, dancers, strippers, big girls, tall girls, small girls and everything in-between. But never once had he said to himself he was taking her home to keep, not once had he wanted a woman to stay in the manor with his children not until he saw you. He wasn’t sure if it was how you mothered Damien or how you became a scary protective mama bear when provoked, but he was certain that you are exactly when he and his family needed and you wasn’t going anywhere.

If They Get Married I’d Be Your Uncle / / Ghosting A Wayne🥵 / / The Final Wayne’s / / Admiring The View 🥵 / /Billionaires Bae-by / / Day At The Race / / Meeting The Bat / / Brucie Baby~🥵 / / My Mothers Recipe Book / /Interview With Mr Wayne🥵 / / Love From Mum (Christmas Special/Fluff/Angst)

Humanity has fallen. Superman snapped and now he is a god. The justice league split and a war broke out. Now a new Regime has taken hold. But things are not going smoothly for Kal and Diana, they are two doms in love, locked in a battle of wills. But just when Diana think all is lost Kal suggests getting a human, a sub. A little to explore their mummy/ daddy kink.

1 / / 2 / / 3🥵 / / 4 / / 5

You find yourself pulled into a foreign world but this hunk and his posse seem to have a plan so everything is good!

Pastry Negotiations / / The Ground Rules🥵 / / It All Worked Out In The End / / There’s A Head On Your Horse / / Don’t Leave Camp / / The Little Lords Hairless Prick / / One Hell Of A Night 🥵

A tourist stranded in Gilead and an Apostle. It should never work but it did. Apostles are the top of the food chain in Gilead the most notorious being Commander Cavill who’s name ignites fear in the highest of commanders. On the face of it Henry is smug and cruel but honestly he is just Angry and wants to make Gilead pay so here you both were trying to survive this new brutal world and grant a few justices along the way.

1 / 2 / 3 🥵?/ 4 🥵/ 5

He saw you. He wanted you. He took you. But now? Now he must train you and fight for you. You were his trophy and he was the king of this town he’d be damned if anyone takes you away especially some CIA little prick!

1 🥵/ 2 🥵/ 3 / 4 🥵/ 5 🥵/ 6 🥵/ 7 🥵/ 8 / 9 🥵/ 10🥵 / 11 🥵/ 12🥵 / 13🥵 / 14(Final)

Sherlock has been taken with a young woman for a while her fiery and frankly childish disposition has ensnared him. The only problem is that she just happens to be the daughter of his and Mycroft’s best friend from childhood Charles Adams. Now at eighteen it is time for her to marry but there’s a problem. She has hysteria and refuses to take a husband. So when Sherlock offers to take her off her fathers hands who is Charles to kick a gift horse in the mouth?

1 🥵/ 2 / 3 / 4🥵 / 5

Anne Boleyn seems to think she’s queen already and can order around anyone at court. But you are something entirely different something she and her family wasn’t prepared for. You refuse to become a lady of hers and she is not pleased now she is devising a plan to have you removed from court permanently. But there are a great many things Mistress Anne does not yet understand and She is about to learn a valuable lesson. The kings court is just that. The Kings. Not hers.

1 / 2🥵? / 3🥵

#oh-for-fic-sake masterlist #oh-for-fic-sake fics #henry cavill fanfiction #oh for fic sake long fics

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oh-for-fic-sake · 3 years

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Chaptered Stories Masterlist

Here are all my long chaptered stories, everything on this list will be atleast ten chapters long. my shorter fics are here on my Ficlet Masterlist and onshots drabbles and headcannons are here on my Oneshot Masterlist

Updated 26/05/21

Latest Teaser Dump UPDATED AUGUST 21!!

Disclaimer and my stance on RPF

Henry Cavill Reader Series

A Walk In The Park / / Family Drama🥵

Married to the man of your dreams and a little girl of your own life was good…But not boring, it was never boring in the Cavill household.

No Boyfriends / / A Baby Brother! / / Tadpoles And Eggs / / Right Of Passage / / The Home Coming / / Two More Bedrooms / / Their Ours(Halloween Special) / / The Disco Fiasco (Christmas Special)

You find yourself in lock down trapped inside going mad, but just because you wasn’t going out didn’t mean you had to let yourself go!

The Cut / / The Manicure / / Waxing

Quarantine Kink Conversations 🥵 / / A Man And His Cat🥵 / / Weighted decisions🥵 / / Day In The Sun 🥵 / / Daddy’s Care 🥵 / / What The Telly Man Says 🥵

1 / 2 /3 🥵/ 4 / 5 / 6 🥵/ 7 / 8 / 9 🥵/ 10 / 11 🥵/ 12 / 13🥵 / 14🥵 / 15🥵

The Neighbours Son / / I Didn’t Know This Was A Date🥵 / / Because Its The Truth / / Perfect Little Size Queen🥵 / / Home Sweet Home 🥵 / / You’re A Little High Love (CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!!)

I Just Move Things / / Phsychokinesis / / Broken Bones And New Homes / / Undercooked Popcorn / / Grandma Knows Best

1 / / 2 / / 3🥵

You find yourself pulled into a foreign world but this hunk and his posse seem to have a plan so everything is good!

Pastry Negotiations / / The Ground Rules🥵 / / It All Worked Out In The End / / There’s A Head On Your Horse / / Don't Leave Camp / / The Little Lords Hairless Prick

1 / 2 / 3 🥵?/ 4 🥵/ 5

1 🥵/ 2 🥵/ 3 / 4 🥵/ 5 🥵/ 6 🥵/ 7 🥵/ 8 / 9 🥵/ 10🥵 / 11 🥵/ 12🥵 / 13🥵 / 14(Final)

1 🥵/ 2 / 3 / 4🥵

1 / 2🥵? / 3🥵

#Oh-For-Fic-Sake Masterlist #Oh-For-Fic-Sake fics #oh for fic sake dc

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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You got any thoughts on Superman Birthright?

Probably my second or third favorite Superman origin, and the one that has my favorite Clark/Lex interactions.

Real pity it didn't get to stick as the "canon" origin because I like it a lot more than the Byrne origin that preceded it and the Johns Secret Origin that succeeded it. Smallville's influence is undeniable, but not a detriment, I like the Kents as flawed younger parents rather than wizened flawless mentors (if they have to be alive still when Clark becomes Superman that is). Pa Kent struggling with feelings of alienation with regards to Clark growing up and taking more of an interest in his heritage is still one of my favorite Pa/Clark moments in Superman's history. Ma Kent being a UFO buff is a great idea, apparently Waid had a story about that he never got to tell. I wonder what it was? Would probably make for a nice Annual or fill in story now that he's back at DC.

Lois is great of course, for all the reasons she usually is, as is Perry who gets way more panel space here than he usually does. Lois and Perry's relationship here is hilarious, love the gag where he writes out two lists of reasons to fire or keep her respectively. "No good place to hide the body" had me cackling. Jimmy though is just kind of there, he's the pal who has Supes back as always, but he's heavily overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Only real disappointment for me in terms of the core cast members.

There's a lot to like here in it's handling of Clark Kent as well. Love that Waid actually shows us Clark has travelled the world to gain some perspective, that he's not naïve or clueless, simply idealistic. He's seen the cruelty of the world up close, and he's also seen the way people react when they realize they're dealing with someone who has "gifts" (whether that's himself or Lex).

Showing us some of Clark's pre-Daily Planet journalist career is also a big pro for me, that's an area of Clark's life I wish got fleshed out more. Waid manages to establish a divide between the Clark and Superman identities that still makes the two feel different without it being a repeat of Pre-Crisis. It's a return to Superman being more "real" while Clark is more of a disguise, but "Clark" isn't bumbling so much as overlooked and ignored (which if you've lived in a big city is pretty much exactly how you get treated as a newcomer). His co-workers barely acknowledge his existence, Lois isn't giving him the time of day, Perry tears him a new one for not having a story to turn in about the ongoing alien invasion on time, Clark has to suffer in the trenches over the course of the story to prove himself.

Like Morrison's Action Comics run, this origin tries to fold a lot of the original Golden Age attitude back into Superman. This incarnation is a man with a temper, him shooting a gun then catching the bullet before it hits the guy who sold guns to a school shooter is literally a recreation of a Golden Age panel. Yet this isn't a "retro" take at all, despite being from Christopher Reeve's biggest fan. Waid writes Clark as someone who makes mistakes, fucks up in ways you don't typically see Superman do, and has a lot of doubts about whether or not he can live up to the task he's set before himself. Doesn't help that Metropolis doesn't welcome him any more easily as Superman than it does as Clark.

Public opinion about him is divided at first, then swings heavily to negative as Lex frames him for a false flag Kryptonian invasion, only to finally recover after he saves the day and exposes Lex. Personally I like Superman to have to work for that glowing reputation he usually enjoys, and if Lex is involved in trying to turn the public against him, so much the better. The anger and contempt towards Lex he demonstrates in particular sets the tone for the relationship between the two in the modern day.

Speaking of Lex, my God, this has got to be one of my favorite takes on him, and on his relationship with Clark, both pre and post Superman.

As adults Waid nails the Post-Crisis status quo of Lex being a selfish piece of shit who hides his nature behind a façade of philanthropy. For all his attempts at projecting an aura of power and intelligence, both of which he has in spades, Lex is so clearly defined by the lack of love and understanding he was shown as a youth. It's Superman "disrespecting" him, by not being happy to pose for photos with Lex after seeing him commit an act of sabotage, that pisses Lex off. For this "crime" Lex does everything he can to smear Superman to the public, and entertains holographic fantasies of dissecting Supes to copy his powers. He quips that killing Kal is "genocide" since he's the last of his people, something he demonstrates no empathy for at all given he laughs in Clark's face when he realizes Superman doesn't know he's the last.

Waid's Lex is probably one of the most monstrous incarnations, yet one of the most sympathetic as well. For my money, Waid is the one who convinced me that Clark and Lex being friends back in Smallville is a good thing.

One reason is that Clark gets to see how people react to "gifted" individuals. By observing the way Lex is treated for being unlike the rest, Clark gets a taste of what's to come if his own abilities were ever exposed. This has the dual benefit of establishing why Clark puts so much effort into making people feel at ease, and also establishing Lex as sympathetic for being unable to hide like Clark can.

The second big reason is that it shows why Clark thinks there's a chance Lex can be redeemed. Birthright Lex wasn't a monster from the start. At first he tried to help, but it always backfired. Doubling the efficiency of the milking machine scared/hurt the cows and upset Pa Kent, his ideas for how to improve the local government got rejected, and of course his experiment with Kryptonite. Sad twist of fate that Lex mistaking Clark's look of pain for the fear/disgust he sees everywhere else is what causes Clark to eventually give him that look of disgust for real when they reunite as adults. But having their first interactions be friendly instead of hostile makes Clark's hope that Lex can become a force for good feel grounded in reality instead of hopelessly naïve.

Can't gush enough about Yu's art either, he can make Superman look bright and inspiring, or scary as hell. His take on Metropolis makes it look and feel like a "City of Tomorrow", someplace exciting and dangerous, a city that needs Superman to protect it. Yu's Krypton is also one of my favorite incarnations, love that he gave Lara the S-curl! That's one idea from the DCAU I wish had become sacrosanct for all future origin retellings. Lara doesn't get to have enough influence on Kal to my tastes, so any little bit counts.

Sadly overlooked as it was coming out due to Azzarello and Lee doing For Tomorrow, it seems like it's risen in status after the fact. The S-shield being a symbol of hope on Krypton in addition to the El family crest has carried forward thanks to the DCEU (which is hilarious given Waid's feelings on that franchise).

Waid has another Superman project coming up next year with Brian Hitch that appears to be a "Year 2" follow up to Birthright. No clue if it will actually take place in strict continuity with Birthright, honestly it feels weird to have anyone but Yu do a direct followup to that, but Waid has said that a Superman run from him would basically be an issue 13 that continues from this story. I'm excited to see Waid take another big swing at Superman, I think he still has it in him to put out a great story, and Birthright being out of continuity may end up being to everyone's benefit. If this ends up being Waid's last Superman story, I hope he gets to do whatever he wants with the Birthrightverse. Kill off the Kents if that's his desire, I know he prefers them dead (as do I). Fingers crossed whatever he comes up with is good.

#superman #superman birthright #lex luthor #mark waid #dc comics

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dented-nado · 4 years

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Superman Doesn’t Like Horror Movies

Based off a prompt from this halloween prompt list!! - Feel free to send one in as well!

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“So I might have stayed up late watching scary movies and there’s something making noise outside. Can you come over?”

Bruce stared forward at the bat-computer.

“Clark… you’re superman.”

Clark made an odd deep squeaking noise Bruce had never heard come out of someone.

“I know I’m superman I know it’s dumb, but half of those scary movie monsters are paranormal which often tend to also be magic and you know that’s one of the things that actually can get me, and if they do I can’t save the ones I love and and aandimreallysorrybutpleasecomeoverpleaseImfreakingout”

Bruce blinked a few times trying to keep up with Clark’s words that were slowly turning into a panicked super-speed thread of words completely illegible to any average human.

“Okay okay, Clark, calm down. You’re going to be fine…”

“WAIT I KNOW I’LL COME THERE.”

Before he had a chance to react, Batman suddenly had a pajama clad giant man named Clark latched onto him from behind, arms wrapped around him.

Once he had a chance to catch up with what just happened Bruce sighed and put down his phone.

“Why are you so freaked out about this anyway? You’re smart Clark, you know those things… well…” He was going to say those things weren’t real… but considering the things the league had fought… he couldn’t really say that in good faith.

“Exactly.”

Bruce sighed and slid off his cowl. “What were you doing watching scary movies anyway.” He turned around in Clark’s arms so he could face him. The poor man did look shaken. It was an unusual look for Clark to have. “They don’t… really seem like your type of movie.”

Clark looked guilty. “They aren’t but…” He straightened his glasses unnecessarily. “See Lois and Jimmy were talking about horror movies at work… but I couldn’t say anything because I didn’t know any. Then today Green Lantern and Flash were talking about their favorite scary movies, then they asked me mine… and I just made an excuse to leave.” He frowned. “I felt so left out.”

Bruce hummed and ran his gloved hand through Clark’s hair. With anyone else he might take his gloves off first since the tips did have slight claws on them, but he didn’t have to worry about accidentally hurting Clark with them, so he skipped right to the comforting part.

“You could have just said you don’t like horror movies.” He suggested.

“Yeah but…” Clark turned a little red. “I didn’t want them to laugh about how ‘Superman is too scared to watch horror movies’ or think I was… I don’t know… being a coward.”

“Clark, you shouldn’t make yourself suffer or do things you don’t want to do just to try and get people to like you.” Bruce grumbled.

Clark sighed, touching the hand Bruce had in his hair and bringing it down to his cheek. Bruce nearly melted at Clark looking at him with those sad… deep ocean blue wide eyes.

“I mean… you said so too I’m Superman. These things shouldn’t… scare me.”

Bruce felt a twinge of guilt. “I’m… …sorry I didn’t mean it like that. I was surprised and I… have a lot of faith in you to be able to defend yourself. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you weren’t allowed to be scared. That wasn’t fair.”

Clark studied Bruce’s face for a moment before closing his eyes, only to jump slightly as one of the many bats in the cave flew to a new location.

Bruce bit his lip. “You know… even though I’m Batman I don’t like watching horror movies either.”

Clark looked at him surprised, taking his focus off scanning the area for strange noises.

“Really?”

Bruce nodded. “Really.” He smiled, tugging on Clark’s loose curl that hung over his forehead playfully. “With all of the ones that have killer clowns or serial killers? I deal with that crap enough in Gotham, I don’t want to have it come up in any other aspects of my life.”

Clark looked almost immediately relieved. “Exactly! That’s it! It’s like… we deal with that kind of terror so often… seeing it happen in a movie, seeing bad things happen to people and not being able to do anything even if you know its not real?? I… I hated it.”

Bruce looked at him sympathetically. “I understand. Of course seeing all that would put you on edge.”

Bruce looked briefly back at the bat computer then turned back to Clark. “Let me change and we can go up to bed.”

“B… are you sure? If you’re in the middle of something…”

Bruce held up one hand as he unlatched his cape with the other.

“We’re partners. I can’t let Superman face whatever may be out there alone. We do have a policy in the league about always taking at least one other person with you after all.” He teased with a small smile.

Clark watched him for a moment before letting some of the tension out of his shoulders. “Thanks… B… it means a lot, really.”

As soon as Bruce finished putting up the Bat-suit he turned around and re-approached Clark with a playful glint in his eye.

“Besides…” He put one hand on Clark's shoulder and fiddled with one of the buttons on the other man’s shirt with the other before popping it open sheepishly. “I’m sure there’s ways I could destract you from any potential worries and help you sleep.”

Picking up what Bruce was putting down, Clark smiled back coyly and slid his glasses off his face.

“I’ll think I’ll take you up on that offer to keep me distracted Mr. Wayne.”

Bruce allowed Clark to lift him up… he had now made it his mission to comfort the super-man after all… and wrapped his legs around Clark’s waist as he was promptly rushed upstairs straight to bed where any fears or strange noises were promptly forgotten.

#superbat #batman #superman #superbats #manman #clark kent #bruce wayne #batman x superman #my writing #halloween prompts

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la-mariposita-de-palestina · 3 years

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Rewatching Firebringer :)

Drum go badumbadumbadummm

Girls go eeeeeeeeeeeee

MOLAG MAH QUEEN TELL ME ABOUT MY PRIVILEGE!!!

Her dancing when they say “just as they will”

I love her so much

Mmmm babies

She’s so pretty..look at her all confidence and leaderishness

I like how they avoid saying Smelly Balls name just for the joke

THE DUCK MUST NOT BE ANGERED

*lifts her leg* dancing

Every time I see Tiblyn I get sad lol

Yas Jemilla 💃

Emberly my precious girl

He’s so mad awww

IT SPEAKS CHORN SPEAKS (or sings or whatever)

Ducker my dude chill

Cue Molag..the lier we love

I want to hear tales of the War Master

Tiblyn babyyyy you deserve the world

Most relatable panic face I’ve ever seen

I love when they just stop mid sentence like nope not yet.

PEANUTS IS THE SQUIRREL WHO MURDERED HIS FAMILY AND HE THREATENED THE GUY THAT CAUGHT HIM IN HIS POCKET THAT IF HE DIDN’T FEED HIM AND MAKE AN EMPIRE IN HIS NAME HE WOULD DESTROY HIM AND EVERY APOCALYPSE ON HATCHETFIELD IS A TIME HE WAS SLIGHTED AND HE RESETS TO GIVE THEM ANOTHER CHANCE. I’m ok moving on

*Stops the music*

Ooh

*breaks into song*

the way she clings to the air ahhhhhhh I love Lauren Lopezzzzzz

Lets be honest Keeri and Zazz were cute

“I’ll reinvent the human race, and shove it in Jamilla’s face“ best line

the sun slander in this musical is astronomical. ok bye

IS SHE WRONG. WE MAKE STUFF SO WE CAN DO LESS STUFF. YAY (its more complicated than that i know but like shmer)

Part 1 of Keeri adopting stuff

WELCOME TO THE STONE AGEEEEE (ft Keeri in the background trying to figure out of she’s going to die)

I need context for SM thinking a lion befriended a baby piglet....please

SB encountering any adversity “cOwArD aahhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Chorn=Groot Chorn=Alien Deity Groot=Alien Deity

*mosquito*

The squirrel tie... Shwoopsie murdered Peanuts’ family and now he reigns supreme in Hatchetfield waiting to exact his revenge on humanity.

Tyblin deserves the love of aN Alien Deity and aN angry caveman. She deserves it all.

*casually lays hand flat on rock waiting for magic hand touching moment of romance* *falls in love* *freaks out and tries killing him* *sing a song*

so wait is it moss?

*cue sad music*

“I’m like the rabbit“ I can’t breath

THEIR VOICES. I LOVE THESE COLLEGE KIDS THAT ARE CLEARLY NO LONGER IN COLLEGE.

They’re so cute.

Duckers voice, he’s def high on something.

HE IS LORD. DUCK IS LORDDDDDDDDD. HE IS LORD LOORD LORDD DUCK IS LORDD

OH TYBLIN BABYYYYY. AHHHHH. I LOVE HER. 27 YEARS. BRO.

“no.” OY SHE IS THE MOST SPECIAL PERSON ALIVE SHE IS WONDERFUL AND PRECIOUS AND SELFLESS LEAVE HER ALONE.

I want to know all the tribe members backstories.

OUCHIEEE

“Don’t be mean to Lauren“ no truer words have been spoken.

snarl is so scary, tell me all a-f*cken bout him

so elegant. so refined.

Jaime needs to sing more, so does Brian, and I want to see Tiffany again.

nom nom

Zazz right there is me on my period. And that quick getting up when you hear something atrocious that angers your very soul. yea.

*angrily kisses*

Tyblinnnnnnnnnnnnnn my girll ahhhhh

“BAABBEE“

I love Jamilla.

the songs in this musicalll

*woosh*

hahah “time is frozen naowww”

so wait Chorn disappeared cuz she was in her spaceship shooting lazers to make fire...whats SB excuse.... dun dun dunnn

“not quite sure how“ me.

starkid is blessed with song.

“stops the music“

would u look at that... the power is getting to her head and she’s doing what Jamilla used to do...I’m sure someone analyzed the f*ck out of this musical. I’m too lazy to find it or create my own cohesive thoughts tho.

“I did it for you Zazzalil“...foreshadowing their romance??? tbh I wish there was more, maybe they could have made her controlling seem more protective than bossy.

Me when Covid happened and I moved away

*cue the beautiful boi Clark*

and THATS how Jamilla died, she followed a stranger and got eaten.

they’re so cute.

*sigh* oh Grant

Grant is precious and must be protected

I LOVE THIS SONG.

he’s so cuteee

i thought the cat meant something else when i first saw it but ok...

“she doesn't even go here“

Grant noooooo

are you okay SB?

see. i love her. so. yea.

what if i tried something new and it

BACKFIRED

When Chorn is mad at you you know you did a Shwoopsie.

I want to be held in Clarks warm embrace when I doom my society.

so the Watchers with a Thousand Eyes are also the Neanderthals who all married Jamilla and the slaves of Blinky,,,, okay

I want Clark to get rid of the people in my life that I don’t like...

I want a family that makes sparkle sounds and glow every time they leave a room.

DUETTT OF QUEENS

He a soft murder boi.

Keeri adopting things part 2

the offstage voice that sings is the best thing known to man.

CHOOORNN

can someone draw Grant with arm feet?

*sings with a heavenly voice, claims it isn’t God*

Wait I want to know what they are saying on the ground....

DUCKERRRRR SHATTTAPPP

That proposal is actually amazing like yea we don’t agree but like what I gave you a chance? and it’s cuteeee

Uno Reverse Card

squeee, that was nice.

#rewatchers1000 #firebringer #my post #covid #i mention it once and some people are triggered by it so im just tagging just in case

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travllingbunny · 4 years

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The 100 rewatch: 5x04 Pandora’s Box

Another excellent episode, maybe a little less action-packed than Sleeping Giants but still fast, full of tension, new information, and many warm reunions and nice character moments - which are important to see before all these characters start having conflicts and many of these relationships get strained to the point of almost breaking later in the season.

This one picks up immediately after the last scenes of both 5x02 (the bunker - cliffhanger with Kane as one of the fighters in the pit) and 5x03 (Eden with Bellamy, Clarke and the prisoners after Bellamy has negotiated with Diyoza, Raven and Murphy on Eligius 4), brings everyone together*, as the prisoners open the bunker and Wonkru finally gets out - and ends with the conflict that means that war between Wonkru and the Eligius prisoners is imminent. The Pandora’s Box has been opened, to use another one of Bellamy’s Greek mythology references. (Oddly enough, he makes that reference in the next episode, not in this one.)

(*Well, not everyone - Monty, Harper, Emori, Echo and Madi are MIA this episode. hiding somewhere in Eden, before they also reunite with the rest of Spacekru plus Clarke plus Wonkru in the next episode.)

If I hadn’t seen season 5 before, I’d be thinking “Will this be the best season of the show?” It is by far the season with the strongest beginning - before the plot starts to drag, building conflicts within both camps. so that war would not happen until the two-part finale. Strong beginning, strong ending, poor middle part.

After the epic Bellarke scene at the end of 5x03, this episode delivers their actual reunion, with another one of those incredibly intimate and intense hugs that Bellamy and Clarke are known for. They tend to grow in intensity, and I’ll just say this: when Tumblr flagged gifs of this hug as “explicit”, well - for once I could see why poor Tumblr bots were getting confused:

A reunion after 6 years, during which Bellamy believed Clarke to be dead, while Clarke didn’t know if Bellamy was alive but still called him on the radio and talked to him every day for 2199 days, has to be pretty epic, and this scene delivers. It seems almost like Clarke - who had been badly tortured - wasn’t entirely sure if that was really Bellamy who emerged out of the darkness to save her, of if she was imagining it, with the way she says “You are really here!”, while crying out of happiness. The intimacy in the body language and the way they look at each other is also reflected in Clarke telling him “And now you’re home!” This goes way beyond how platonic partners and non-romantic best friends interact with each other. The scene is not just acted but directed and shot in such a way that anyone who would see it without knowing Clarke and Bellamy’s actual relationship status, would get the wrong (?) idea. For a moment, they even look like people who have been caught making out, like they don’t want these strangers to witness such an intimate moment.

Even if she did not see this scene in particular, it’s no surprise that Diyoza assumed Clarke and Bellamy were a couple (“the hostage taker and his girlfriend”) after what she saw of their interactions. Really, who wouldn’t?

Bellamy quickly updates Clarke on how everyone is - Madi, Spacekru, acknowledges that Clarke has saved them all (something multiple people do in this early part of the season) and that all of the people who went to space are safe. (”Murphy, Monty, Raven?” “Echo and Emori”. - But why the Harper erasure? This is one of the very few lines in this episode that feel wrong. She’ one of the Delinquents both of them have known since they landed on Earth and Clarke would logically care about her more than Echo, who, she barely knew and who was her enemy 90% of the time. )

Another beautiful reunion happens by radio - Murphy and Raven learn that Clarke is alive. Murphy smiles the moment he hears her voice, and Raven, teary-eyed, thanks Clarke for saving their lives. The Spacekru have been criticized a lot in the fandom for not appreciating Clarke’s sacrifice, but it has to be said that, right after they learned she was alive, they all acknowledged it and expressed gratitude. (Some of them were just later angry at her and not so ready to try to understand her perspective after living isolated for 6 years.) This is one of the very few moments of happiness in season 5 (whenever I see that screenshot of Clarke and Bellamy’s big smiles, I mistake it for a moment for a BTS photo. That’s how rare it is to see characters looking happy on the actual show.)

…………………….

Meanwhile, over in the bunker, no one is happy. and everything is dark, sad and disturbing. Octavia is full Blodreina and acting like a Roman Emperor, deciding if gladiators get to earn their freedom or not. because even being “the last” doesn’t necessarily earn you freedom now - it all comes down to the Queen’s whim. Kane is forced to fight in the pit again tomorrow. I suppose they already have the next batch of fighters ready - it would be a bit weird if she expected a bunch of new “crimes” tomorrow. But things must have gotten progressively worse if they’re now having death matches every day. If they had been condemning people to the pits at that pace throughout those 6 years, even more than 1/3 of the Wonkru would be dead.

One thing I had not noticed before - there is a singer, singing an anthem or ceremonial song before the fights start, and it is the same woman who sang the Coalition anthem in 3x03. This somewhat changes my views of the way Grounder clans chose 100 people to survive the bunker. At least one of the clans was smart enough to include a musician, rather than a bunch of warriors. There should have been even more musicians and other entertainers (you’d expect a culture like Grounders to have some sort of epic poetry!), as that would’ve helped the life in the bunker much more than warriors (and there could have been entertainment that does not include killing). But this was probably an exception, because this person probably had a high status as a ceremonial singer.

Our first look at Abby after the time jump - and she is obviously in a bad state and pill-addicted, and both she and Kane look tired and worn down. He is protecting her and taking the guilt for her crime - stealing pills, since Abby is obviously in no state to fight - and on her part, Abby wants to confess and spare him. But Indra - who has been helping them and is clearly unhappy with the way Blodreina is ruling - is more rational and knows Kane winning is the only way to save them both. Kane, however, is choosing to take a stand and refuse to fight.

Kane and Abby got a lot of flak from the fandom and were accused of hypocrisy for their attitude to Octavia later in the season - with the argument that Abby was the one who persuaded Octavia to go through with cannibalism and killing people for refusing to ear, and that Kane knew Abby’s role in it but blamed Octavia. All these arguments presume that they were blaming Octavia for the cannibalism and everything else that happened the Dark Year. But in fact, there’s zero indication that this is what they blamed her for, and it’s pretty clear that the reason why they - and others - have issues with Blodreina is that she’s been ruling by fear and throwing people into fighting pits for all sorts of reasons, and generally being a scary tyrant/leader of a cult of death and violence. Yes, as we learn later, Abby was a crucial part of how Octavia turned into that person, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is that person now, that she has absolute power in the bunker, and people have been living in fear of her.

Kane tries to plead with Octavia when she comes to tell him he has to fight, and at this point, he seems to still believe she could change and start making better decisions. What feels a bit off to me is that he says he’s been silent for too long - this can’t be the first time he’s tried to change her mind? He would have probably had a lot more chance to succeed if he tried much earlier. We get the first mention of the infamous “Dark Year” (this is also the episode where we first hear “All of me for all of us”) and see Octavia getting upset at its very mention (a reveal will be dragged out for 6 more episodes). It’s interesting that Jaha and Kane both mentioned Aurora Blake’s fate in their speeches to Octavia, but they used it to say completely different things. Jaha was saying that this is what you have to do, execute everyone who is the “enemy” because they endanger your survival in any way, even if it’s having one more child. Kane was saying that’s what they shouldn’t be doing anymore, she shouldn’t be doing what they did on the Ark, but do better. Octavia ended up taking Jaha’s advice, which shaped her as leader, for better or worse. (Mostly worse, IMO.) She could have maybe taken Kane’s advice years ago, but now it’s clearly too late.

If anything, Kane’s refusal to fight makes her more determined than ever to break him - she doesn’t want to condemn him to death, she wants to break his resistance and his stubborn insistence on morality. I don’t approve of all of Kane’s later actions in season 5, but it’s really not hard to see why, after these experiences and everything in the bunker, he thought Blodreina’s rule was the worst thing that could happen.

And then - like a Deus ex machina, the bunker door opens and Bellamy is literally coming down from above, into the darkness of Octavia’s underground realm, as the savior, bathed in light, It’s the second episode in a row where he comes as a Big Damn Hero in almost dreamlike scene, from a POV of a woman in his life, this time his sister. For a moment, Blodreina is Octavia again and hugs her brother. Clarke comes down a moment later (but she is not bathed in light - she looks at the Blake siblings from the shadows.)

Instead of hugging, Clarke and Octavia greet each other with a forearm handshake - which is quite an interesting choice, particularly since (thanks @jeanie205) this is apparently a type of greeting associated with Roman generals greeting each other. (But only in Hollywood movies, It wasn’t a thing in actual Roman history.)

In addition to all the reunions, some characters meet for the first time - such as Octavia and Diyoza, who are about to become rival leaders on two sides of the war. Who could have known what their relationship would turn into in season 6 and season 7?

I love the way that everyone - Bellamy, Clarke, Diyoza and the rest of the prisoners - have the “WTF is this” look when they see the fighting pit (which is all covered in blood - apparently, they don’t wash it. It’s an aesthetic, I guess.) Bellamy soon asks Octavia what the heck she’s doing (and guesses exactly what inspired her: “Someone must have read Ovid one too many times). It’s an experience she hasn’t had in years - to have her decisions questioned by someone who’s not one of her subjects and not afraid of her.

More reunions follow: Clarke and Abby, Bellamy and Miller (another relationship that will turn sour in the rest of the season), Clarke and Kane.

Meanwhile, on Eligius 4, Raven finds more info about Diyoza backstory - Colonel Diyoza was "something called Navy SEAL" (it makes sense that Arkers wouldn’t know about such things), decorated for valor three times, before turning into a rebel/terrorist, and leader of a movement called United Liberation Army. As we see in these articles, civilians died in these attacks, which is something Diyoza regrets in season 7 - even if her cause was right, her means were wrong.

Raven and Murphy have some fun playing soccer, but they’re also worried about the fact they may need to murder 283 people. Raven finds it hard, so Murphy offers to do it to spare her. It’s typical for their relationship that Murphy tends to see Raven as someone better and more moral than himself (in spite of the fact that she once tried to sacrifice him instead of Fin), while Raven often says disparaging things about him, even though she is fond of him.

One thing I found a bit odd that Murphy at one point says: “Why do you have to always be the one to sacrifice?” - even though this was just the second time Raven has decided to sacrifice herself, and he wasn’t even around for the first time - trying to blow the bridge in 1x10. But Murphy seems to have a somewhat idealized view of Raven, driven by his guilt over crippling her and his self-loathing. Or maybe he meant the others in the group in general. as he sees himself as the selfish cockroach as opposed to them. (Note: I initially wrote this in my 5x03 review, before I realized it was actually said in this episode. That’s what happens when you finalize posts after having seen two episodes ahead.)

Raven and her future love interest Shaw try to outsmart each other in hacking (Raven even kind of flips a bird at Shaw at one point - it’s like they are having a digital meet cute without having even met.)

But when Diyoza finds a way to outsmart Spacekru by suffocating Raven and Murphy - Raven tells Murphy to pull the lever (usually Clarke’s job) and kill the prisoners; and when he hesitates, she goes into her fierce/ruthless mode and goes “Fine, I’ll do it”, before Murphy comes up with the smart solution that prioritizes survival and also doesn’t include mass murder - a win-win, except it also takes away Bellamy’s leverage.

I wonder where the standoff between Wonkru and the Eligius prisoners would have led after Diyoza took Abby and Kane with her and announced her people were taking over Eden? Would war still have been inevitable? I can’t see Octavia giving up on Eden so easily. In any case, the war here was started by an idiot who shot an incredibly destructive weapon at Octavia just because her arrogant Blodreina grin pissed her off. (This guy, called Szybunka, is a part of McCreary’s faction, and here we first learn that they are preparing a rebellion against Diyoza, though McCreary thinks it’s still not time for it.)

A lot more deaths were prevented by Shaw, Major props for him in this episode both for that, and because he is the first person to finally make the point that there are so few people left of the human race and that it is incredibly stupid to kill more of them

Octavia immediately blames Bellamy for everything - even though he was the reason why she and Wonkru got out of the bunker instead of being stuck there forever/ And this time, I’m sure this was 100% meant to highlight that she has a habit of unfairly placing blame on Bellamy whenever something goes wrong in her life.

Body count: I haven’t been doing these for a while, but now I’m doing the body count for the entire season 5 so far:

Wonkru - we learn in this episode that, out of the 1200 people in the bunker, there are 814 remaining. So, 386 - almost a third - died during those 6 years. That includes 3 people who died in the fighting pit. An additional Wonkru member is killed by the idiot Szybunka while protecting Octavia, leaving 813.

Eligius prisoners - two of the party on Earth were killed by Madi and Clarke in 5x01, Four more were killed in 5x03 - one shot by Clarke, another one mercy killed by Diyoza after getting into one of Clarke’s traps, two more shot by Madi to save Bellamy, Monty, Harper, Emori and Echo. On the ship, Kodiak, the big guy Diyoza activated as a weapon (”activate Kodiak!”) was killed in self-defense by Bellamy with help from Echo and Raven. And in 5x04, Szybunka is killed by McCreary for his stupidity. This leaves 282 prisoners on the ship and an unknown smaller number on Earth.

Rating: 8/10

#the 100 #the 100 season 5 #the 100 rewatch #pandora's box #the 100 5x04 #bellamy blake #octavia blake #clarke griffin #charmaine diyoza #marcus kane #abby griffin #raven reyes #john murphy #bellarke #indra #indra kom trikru

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blodreina-noumou · 3 years

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what would the show have had to have done to be considered good for you? I thoroughly enjoyed my time watching the show, so I look back at it fondly.

Oh god, where do I even begin?

For starters - if you’re one of the people who enjoyed The 100 in its entirety, good for you! That’s awesome! I don’t want to diminish that. These are just my feelings and my opinions, and I don’t intend for them to make anyone else feel bad for what they like. The ending could’ve been much worse, I’ll give it that. And there were obviously moments I enjoyed throughout the final season, and the series as a whole will still stand (unfortunately) as one of my favorites.

HOWEVER.

I found the ending thoroughly disappointing. It robbed our characters of any of the development they made in the final season, for the sake of propping up Clarke (canonically, that is why they stayed.)

The final season provided us with some really fascinating journeys for our characters. Without recapping the whole season, I can say that I really liked where Octavia, Emori, Murphy, and Echo ended up in their respective arcs. They all had to overcome their past tragedies to fulfill new roles. It was interesting and engaging.

The show itself provided us with so many interesting conflicts, with so many different groups who had competing goals and ideals. On some level, it promised us that peace was not possible until these folks all learned to work together and stop killing each other. That was the goal, all along.

Survival of the human race was the first goal of the show, and survival of the human race is only possible if they (a) stay human and (b) survive.

Neither of those things happened by the end. The goal of our protagonists - the thing they allegedly existed for, in their stories - to save the human race and survive and thrive and all of that, did not happen for the vast majority of people.

Transcendence and the final scene on the beach erases all of the hard work they did in showing us those character journeys, and in making us invest time and energy into different groups that would only continue to suffer assimilation and homogenization by the end.

What was interesting to me about our main characters - Clarke, Bellamy, Monty, Raven, Murphy, Octavia, Emori, and Echo - was that they appeared to be the ones best suited (according to the storytellers) to save the human race.

The moment the show introduced the Grounders, I wanted a political thriller that I was probably never going to get. I accept that.

What I cannot accept is that they erased all of their conflicts with a convenient deus ex machina, and everything that our characters learned is more or less pointless because of it. I’ll focus on their s7 arcs, but I think it applies to their entire storylines.

Octavia learns about her brother’s way of raising her and comes to forgive him for it. She becomes a parent herself. She manages to bridge the gap between two cultures yet again (Bardo and...everyone else, I guess) by falling in love with Levitt.

She will never utilize any of those skills again. Hope no longer needs a parent. There will never be another culture different from them again. She and Levitt will never have children.

Murphy learns to put value in the group, and to recognize his own abilities as a leader and as a man. He saves multiple people in Sanctum, becoming their protector and their shield.

Emori learns to put value in herself, and to recognize her abilities to empathize with outcasts and those deemed “less worthy” by society. She becomes a queen in her own right, a protector and a diplomat.

No one will ever need them to fulfill these roles, ever again. There was no point in them leading those people.

Echo had to go back to a deeply painful role, one which has cost her dearly in life - a spy among her enemy. When she’s brought to her lowest, to the brink of committing genocide, it’s her love for her family that keeps her from going over the edge. She reemerges as herself, recognizing that her painful past does not define her, and she can find love despite it.

Too bad the love of her life was murdered by Clarke!

I wanted our heroes to save the human race, not be the only humans that ended up saved. Does that make sense?

Clarke gets the closest thing to a happy ending of anyone, since she was the one who insisted for seven seasons that “[her] people” were the most important thing in the world, and that she would stop at nothing to protect them. Welp, now there’s nothing to protect them from. Her genocidal rages get a little slap on the wrist and then she gets to spend an endless beach day bossing everyone around and pouting.

It just sucked.

I hate the magic hand-wave of all of the conflicts. You can try to tell me that transcendence was a choice all you want. Plenty of people chose the City of Light, too. That didn’t make the way it erased their individuality and personal goals okay. Frankly, the ending to me feels like everyone just decided to go into the City of Light anyway. And sure, they keep their bad memories and some semblance of individuality, but what do those things even mean when you just one blip of a species that works, moves, lives, and decides things as one?

They didn’t overcome their tribalism. All of the other tribes just got assimilated into the borg. And sure, they maintain some semblance of personality once they transcend - we know that because of Madi’s message to Clarke. But what kind of lives are they going to have as part of that big glowy shit? Madi never gets to grow up, or fall in love, or pet dogs again. (Picasso is always going to wonder where her new best friend went.)

And who were those alien assholes anyway? Who are they to say that their way is better, that they have the right to judge entire species based on one representative? That they can just exterminate anyone whose way of life doesn’t match up with theirs?

Our heroes didn’t save the human race. The human race turned into something else entirely, and its last survivors get to watch each other die knowing that that’s it, that’s the end of them all.

No societies. No cultures. No new art, or music, or fashion.

No children, no future. No hope.

It’s very disappointing and scary to me. I don’t like the messaging and I don’t like the implications for the surviving characters.

There was a brief, brief moment when I saw a glimpse of an ending that I could’ve liked. When Raven says, “just give us another chance,” I was really expecting the aliens to swoop off and leave humanity to their own devices. No crystallization. No transcendence. All of the remaining groups have to come together and figure out how to thrive together. Discuss and establish a system of government that doesn’t rely on state-sanctioned child battle royales, or body snatching, or extreme restrictions on how many children people can have. Obviously, in this ending, nobody gets shot and nobody almost dies. Madi retains control of her body, somehow. Fill in the details yourself, but my ending would include just about everybody surviving.

Build a society that will grow. Let our characters take the lessons they’ve learned and apply them in a meaningful way, a lasting way. Show us that humanity will survive and will rebuild, on the planet of our birth. Let them rest, but let that rest and that peace mean something more than, “Good job! You made it to episode 100!”

Not to mention, the fact that Earth did eventually heal made everything that Monty and Harper did at the end of s5 completely pointless. Monty thought he was delivering the human race to a new hope. He was just steering them towards assimilation to the borg. I don’t think that’s the “do better” that he wanted, you know?

I could go on, but this is long enough. I’ll just end by saying this - if someone had told me, back in 2015 when I started watching, that this is how the show would end, I never would’ve started it. Not for Lexa, not for Octavia, not for anything.

The ending made everything they went through so painfully pointless.

#asks #anon #forgot I had anon on lol #should turn it off again #saltblogging #stephspeaks #long post

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iggy-of-fans · 5 years

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Of Being a Ladybug part 2

So, Paris is about 6 hours ahead of Metropolis . So if Marinette sent the message at say… 8 pm, and Jagged got it at 9 because he was at dinner, then getting lawyers straightened out and all that ...say Marinette starts school at 10 am, then it would be approximately 4am in Metropolis. It would be a 7 hour flight, meaning she'd leave at noon on Monday, and arrive at 2am on Tuesday.

The cons of being a reporter.

TUESDAY 2AM Paris

Lois was as excited as she was exhausted. Paris! She'd always wanted to go to Paris. As her taxi drove her past the Louvre and she could see the Eiffel tower in the distance, she couldn't help but remember the call she received yesterday.

"I know it's early, Lois, but I have a job for you in Paris" Bruce said from the other line.

"I'm listening."

"The satellites from the Tower have been picking up irregularities. Burning buildings, the Eiffel Tower toppled or completely missing, then the next pass everything is normal. Hal even claims he saw a giant baby on cams once. I've gone over all the pictures of the last year, a couple of weeks ago there… I can't explain it. I'll send you the images and we'll try to find a believable cover story for going in the middle of the school year like this"

"I understand, thank you Bruce. I'll book the earliest flight I can." Burning buildings? The Eiffel tower toppled? Nothing had been said in the news. If something on a grand scale like that were happening, they would already know.

"Thank you, Lois. I will of course pay for your accommodations while there," Bruce offered. A consolation for sending her around the globe for film effects.

She barely got a "thank you" out, before he hung up. She flopped back onto the bed, Clark raising an eyebrow at her. Of course he'd heard both sides of the conversation, so he obviously had his own opinion to share.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked him. If Clark gave it some weight, she might take it more seriously.

"A video was sent by the Mayor of Paris about a year ago, asking for help because his city was being overrun by stone monsters and their only hope lay with a couple of kids. I watched it and it looked like some cheap special effects and deleted it like the other publicity stunts people pull. Diana was the one to notice the inconsistencies with the Eiffel tower, and she swears she saw a couple kids flying on rooftops. It's why Bruce started investigating. But he has no reason to be in Paris at all, since Wayne Enterprises doesn't have an hq there, and he wants to save that excuse for if there IS any trouble. Anyways, try to enjoy your little vacation while you're there" Clark smiled.

"... Does Bruce know the mayor called for Justice League intervention?" Lois asked slowly. This… Was… Not… happening.

"No? I mean, just some publicity stunts, Lois. We get 20 of them a day" Clark dismissed. Lois was beyond words so she got up and started packing, and turned on her civilian phone to call for a flight. Before she could get dialing she got a call incoming.

"Penny? Is everything okay? WHAT? YES! Of course I do! That's huge! Yes, let me just call my boss…. Oh? Oh wow! Thank you! Yes, I'll see you tonight… Or I guess tomorrow for you…yes. I understand. Thank you" Lois couldn't believe her luck. She grabbed her JL phone and called Bruce.

"Bruce! I've got a cover! I've been asked by an old college friend to interview her client and a few others on Parisian TV. Yes, totally legit, she just called me… Penny Rolling. Yes, yes Bruce! I will keep my eyes open. Did you know the Mayor tried to call for JL intervention a year ago? No? Clark told me there was a video but thought it was a publicity stunt. Maybe try to find it and give me a heads up… okay… Thank you Bruce. That'll be perfect! I'll get to the bottom of this… Okay, thank you."

Finally done with the update she rushed to call the airline.

" NOON?!"

Before she could take in the breathtaking view any longer, the cab stopped. Lois paid the fare and stepped out and looked up. It was a beautiful hotel, owned by Mayor Bourgeois. The cabbie was loading her bags onto a trolley with a Bellhop waiting stoically by the doors. Just as Lois went to inquire about Penny, the door opened and out she came.

"You cut your hair!" Lois exclaimed, giving her friend a hug and a LA Bise.

"You, my beautiful ginger, are late! Had you arrived a few hours earlier you would have had quite the show!" Penny said with a smile. She'd always been jealous of Lois's hair.

"It's Paris, Penny. How exciting could it possibly be?" Lois asked jokingly, wondering just what her visit here would truly reveal.

I was going to end it here, but I believe I owe you all an action scene 😉

MONDAY 10AM PARIS

Ladybug flew over buildings in the direction of the explosions. She really wished she'd had a chance to see the classroom before leaving to see if she would have to once again go up against Alya. Or Lila.

Maybe if she was lucky it would be another unfortunate soul altogether. One she hopefully didn't know personally. Because it was starting to really take a toll on Ladybug, every time she came face to face with a friend or loved one.

Before she was ready she was at the scene. And she was shocked. The Akuma of the day was a barely visible outline of a woman. She had a flowy garment on and only became visible when she touched a person. The person would immediately admit to bad deeds, anything from finishing the ice cream container to more horrible crimes.

Ladybug watched as a couple hid behind a vehicle to escape the fate, only for the akuma to lift and throw the car, one handed, into another vehicle, creating another explosion. The akuma drifted ghost like towards the couple and became fully corporeal as she touched them, first the man ("I tapped your phone! I hated how much time you spent always going out!" he blurted out) then the woman ("I can't stand being with you!" she screamed back). Ladybug swallowed. This was not good. A non corporeal being with the strength of ten men and the ability to… Spill secrets? Ladybug wasn't sure, but didn't want to get too close before she had the full story. She went to grab her yo-yo to call Chat, only for him to pop up, baton swinging.

"What have we here? Another scary movie victim?" Chat asked, drawing all eyes to them. Ladybug wanted to scream. Or toss him off the building. Once! Just. ONCE!

"I… am Guilty Conscience. That voice that should tell you not to do bad… It Is too quiet in most people's heads. So therefore I shall make you scream your misdeeds to the world. No longer shall there be hiding behind white lies for innocence" the ghost whispered, yet to Ladybug she may as well have screamed.

"Che, you're out of your league! I have a picture perfect record!" Chat smirked, ever brash and fearless. Without a second thought, he jumped off the building towards the ghostly form. And just as Ladybug predicted, went right through her. She did not become solid upon contact with a human unless she so chose to. Great…

"Chat! Fall back, we need a plan!" Ladybug called, stepping back from the roof and readying her yo-yo.

"Just lucky charm her and we can go out for coffee!" Chat yelled back, swinging his baton uselessly through GC. Ladybug shook her head. She was almost 90% sure they'd need more backup.

"Lucky Charm!" she cried, throwing her yo-yo high. Down fell a teapot. Back up it is, she sighed.

"Chat! Fall back, I'm going for backup!" she called out again.

"Awe, but M'lady, I thought I was the only one you needed in your life!" she was sure he thought he sounded charming. She cringed.

"Not now Chat. I'll be back in a while, keep her from following me but keep your distance. No need to waste your energy for now."

Had she looked down, or paid more attention to her surroundings, she may have seen Lila hiding in an alley not far from the akuma. She may have noticed her trying to follow her. She may even have taken another route to get where she was going. Later she would regret not being more vigilant.

To be Continued...

Looks like me tag list is officially full. I'll try to send the rest in the comments!

@sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @kuroko26 @northernbluetongue @zelladane @chez-pezeater @luciferge @vixen-uchiha @bluerosette23 @mochinek0 @krunchy-tuna @treebrosha @geekydragonyt @vivilakitty @sassy-spocko @bluefiredemon-blog @mindfulmagics @thornangelic727 @sidefrienda @xxmadamjinxx @thepeacetea @pandocatxd @whomthefyck @lamestplaceintheworld @miraculous-ninja @mikantsume @unabashedbookworm @kandi-pie @2sunchild2 @redsparrow12 @shamefullove @cadencehood @thatonechickathottopic @yin-390 @tazanna-blythe @bb-basbusa @zazzlejazzle @fanfictionaddict13 @royalchaoticfangirl @god-is-dead-and-so-am-i @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @slytherinsheashire @imanerddealwith @tinybrie @angelisalise @graduatedmelon @trickstermiraculous @ayuchan07 @thatrandomfandomsgirl @sweatyruinsstudentbored @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay

#damian wayne #marinette x damian #daminette #marinette dupain cheng #maribat #marinette deserves better #maridami #marinette protection squad #Penny Rolling #Jagged Stone #uncle jagged #Aunty Clara #justice league #lois lane #clark kent #batman #batfam

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my-lady-knight · 3 years

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Favorite Reads of 2020

I take back everything I said last year about how 2019 was a comparatively bad reading year for me. 2020 was even worse. I only read 48 books, I could barely focus on reading even when I did find a book I liked, and, just like last year, I ended up with fewer favorites than usual. Starting in August I’ve been having trouble reading any written media that isn’t TOG fic. And some of my eagerly awaited releases by favorite authors ended up being disappointments (Deeplight by Frances Hardinge and Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee).

2020—the year that keeps on giving.

I sincerely hope 2021 will be a better year in all respects, including my reading habits, but, as with everything else, who knows.

Regardless, here’s my list of favorite reads of 2020, in chronological order of when I read them:

Network Effect by Martha Wells

I’d read the first four Murderbot Diaries novellas when they first came out and enjoyed them, but I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with them. Maybe because they were novellas, and too short to get fully invested? Possibly. As it turns out, Network Effect is the novel-length fifth entry in the Murderbot Diaries that turned me into full-on squeeing fan—SecUnit, aka Murderbot, continues to be its delightfully acerbic, antisocial self, SPOILER makes another appearance and oh how I’d missed this character, the supporting cast is fun and endearing, and the novel-length story means there’s time and space for the brand-new corporate espionage/colonization/alien civilization murder mystery to unfold and spread its wings. (Sounds like a Sanctuary Moon plot tbh). SecUnit is possibly my favorite non-human fictional character atm, and I am now fully on-board for every and any new story in the series.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

When I first heard about this book and read the words “time travel romance”, I immediately went, “Nope, not gonna read.” I don’t like reading time travel stories, and honestly, I was imagining it to be something like The Time Traveler’s Wife, which granted I haven’t read but also sounds like it’d be the opposite of my cup of tea.

And then I went to a reading where Amal and Max took turns reading chapters – letters written by Red and Blue, enemy agents who repeatedly taunt and thwart the other’s plans to ensure their side is the one to win the time war and who can’t resist smugly outlining just how they’re staying one step ahead of the other – and the prose was witty and gorgeous and clever and intricate, and Red and Blue were snarky and arrogant and talented and fun. I had to read it. And I ended up loving it, this enemies-to-lovers story that is a meld of fantasy and science fiction such that they’re indistinguishable from the other, where the past is as equally fantastical and alien and imaginary as the future, where Red and Blue’s power play transforms into something different and scarier and more intimate than either of them imagined.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Becky Chambers has done it again, writing a gentle, hopeful story about humans working together out of a share a love and fascination for scientific exploration and wonder for all the possibilities the entirety of space can hold. With the advent of both space travel and technology that alters human physiology to allow them to survive otherwise inhospitable environments, a team of four astronauts and scientists have embarked on a mission to ecologically survey four distant planets and the life forms that inhabit them, from the microscopic to the multicellular—not to conquer, but to record and to learn and to share the gathered knowledge with the rest of Earth. In the meantime, lightyears away, Earth is going through decades without them, and the four of them must also contend with a planet that may have forgotten their existence—or that’s abandoned the entire space and scientific exploration program.

Reading Becky Chambers is the literary equivalent of sitting down with a warm mug of my favorite tea on a bad day – I always feel better at the end and like I can imagine a future where humanity does all the wonderful things we’re capable of doing.

A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

I started reading this book right as NYC was gearing up to go into lockdown, which should have made this a terrible choice to continue reading since part of the premise is that a combo of multiple stochastic terror attacks and a brand-new, deadly plague upend the world as everyone knows it by causing the U.S. to pass laws that keep people physically apart in public for their own safety and make concerts, theatre, and any other kind of artistic gathering obsolete.

But that’s largely just the set-up, and the real story is that of Luce Cannon, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who played the last major concert in the before times who twenty years later performs in illegal underground concerts, and Rosemary, a younger music-lover who’s only lived in the after-times, and who’s taken a new job scouting out talent to add to the premier virtual entertainment company’s roster of simulated concerts.

It’s a love letter to live music and what it feels like to connect and build community via music in unusual and strange and scary times, the energy involved in making music for yourself, for an audience, exploring the world around you, imagining and advocating for a better tomorrow, and embracing the fear, the possibility, and the power of change, both good and bad. This was the book I needed to read at the beginning of the pandemic, and I’m thankful I ended up doing so.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019 edited by John Joseph Adams and Carmen Maria Machado

When I end up loving half of the stories in an anthology and greatly enjoying all but two of the rest, that’s the equivalent of a literary blue moon for me. My favorites included the following;

"Pitcher Plant" by Adam-Troy Castro

"Six Hangings in the Land of Unkillable Women" by Theodore McCombs

"Variations on a Theme from Turandot" by Ada Hoffmann

"Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie Sing the Stumps Down Good" by LaShawn M. Wanak

"The Kite Maker" by Brenda Peynado

"The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" by P. Djèlí Clark

"Dead Air" by Nino Cipri

"Skinned" by Lesley Nneka Arimah

"Godmeat" by Martin Cahill

"On the Day You Spend Forever with Your Dog" by Adam R. Shannon

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

No one is more surprised than me that Harrow is on this list, given that I am one of approximately three people in the universe who did not unequivocally love Gideon the Ninth.

And yet the sequel worked for me.

Maybe because this time I already knew and was used to the way the world and the Houses worked, and I knew to not take anything I read for granted because I could be guaranteed to have the rug pulled out from under me without even realizing. Maybe Harrow’s countdown/amnesia mystery worked better for me than Gideon’s locked room mystery. Maybe the cast of characters was more manageable and fewer of them were getting murdered left and right before I got a chance to get used to them (and some of them even came back!) Maybe it’s that Harrow blew open the potential and possibilities Gideon hinted at and capitalized on just how fucking weird and mind-blowing the whole premise is in a way that felt incredibly and viscerally satisfying.

Also SPOILER happens three-quarters of the way through. That was pretty fucking awesome.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

P. Djélí Clark is a master of melding history and fantasy in ways that are in turn imaginative and clever (his fantastical alternate-history, early 20th-century Egyptian novel A Master of Djinn is one of the books I’m most looking forward to in 2021), while also using fantasy to be frank and incisive about the history of American antiblack racism (as in the above linked story in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019). Ring Shout combines the late-nineteenth and early 20th-century history of the rise and normalization of the KKK with Lovecraftian supernatural horror, in which the release of The Birth of a Nation summoned literal monsters (called Ku Kluxes) that became part of the KKK’s ranks. Maryse Boudreaux is a Black woman who’s part of a grassroots organization hunting both the monsters and the human members in order to keep the Klan at bay. However, there’s soon to be another summoning ritual atop Stone Mountain that will unleash even more Ku Kluxes into the world, and Maryse and her friends are running out of time to prevent it from happening.

Maryse is a fantastic character, as are her two friends—brash, unapologetic Sadie and WWI veteran, weapons expert Chef—her mentor and leader of the Ring Shout group Nana Jean, and all the other members of the group who work and fight together as a team and a family. Maryse’s past and the journey she goes on in the book to uncover the truth and stop the summoning is harrowing and heart-stopping, the supernatural elements are both horrific in and of themselves while also undergirding the real-life horror of the KKK and the hatred they engender. It’s smart, it’s fun, it’s eye-opening, and it’s also being turned into a TV show starring KiKi Layne. It’s really, really good.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

“Stick to the brief.” This is the maxim given to Dietz and all the other soldiers who join the war against Mars, where soldiers are broken down into light to travel to and from their assigned battlefields instantaneously. Only Dietz isn’t experiencing the jumps like everyone else – Dietz, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-Five, has become unstuck in time and is experiencing all the battles in the mission briefs out of chronological order, to the point that Dietz starts to build a picture of a war and a reality that’s been sold to Dietz and everyone else on Earth as pure fiction.

I’ve always appreciated Kameron Hurley’s stories, but this is the first book where she fully succeeded at writing the book she set out to write—it’s fast-paced science fiction thriller in the form of a loaded gun that takes brutal aim at late-stage capitalism, modern military warfare and the dehumanization of everyone involved on all sides, the greed of ungovernable governing corporations, nationalistic and military propaganda, the mythology of citizenship and inalienable rights, and it’s viscerally bloody and violent without being grotesque in the way all of Kameron Hurley’s books are. Especially important for me, I loved that Dietz went through the entire book not being gendered in any way, shape, or form (those last five pages didn’t exist, what are you talking about), and I love in general that Kameron Hurley is committed to writing non-male characters who aren’t less violent or fucked-up or morally superior to men just because they’re not men.

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Middle grade is a hard sell for me these days, as are books in verse, and I wouldn’t have known this book existed if it weren’t for the Ignyte Award nomination list earlier this year. As it turns out, this book, the story of Jude, a pre-teen girl who wants to be an actress who leaves Syria and the encroaching civil war with her mom to go live in the U.S. with her uncle and his white wife and their daughter while her dad and older brother stay behind, is full of beauty, curiosity, humor, confusion, grief, pain, and joy, and the poetic prose is both lyrical, nuanced, and perfectly fitted to Jude’s voice. I devoured this book in one day, which is the quickest amount of time it took me to read any book this year, including novellas.

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

The first book Darius the Great Is Not Okay was one of my favorite books in 2018, and I’m ecstatic that the sequel is equally as amazing.

It’s been approximately half a year since Darius went to Iran, met his maternal grandparents in person for the first time, and found his best friend in Sohrab, and in that time he’s come out as gay, joined the soccer team, got an internship at his favorite tea shop, and started dating for the first time. Darius is also working through some things though—when and if he wants to have sex with his boyfriend, his grandfather’s worsening illness, his dad’s recent depressive episode, his emotionally distant paternal grandmothers on his coming for an extended stay, the fact that he’s getting to know and growing closer with one of his teammates who’s best friends with Darius’s years-long bully, and a bunch else.

Darius the Great Deserves Better has the same tender and vulnerable emotional intimacy as the first book, more conversations over tea, new instances involving the mortifying ordeal of being a cis guy with a penis, even more Star Trek metaphors, and so much growth for Darius as he works through a lot of hard situations and feelings, and strengthens his relationships with all of the people in his life he loves and cares about. I can’t think of any other book that’s like these two books, and I love and treasure them dearly.

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

I had zero awareness of this book until a bunch of SFF authors started praising it on Twitter a couple months before the release date, and I was intrigued enough to get a copy from the library. I loved this book. I happened to be reading it right at the time of the presidential election, and it phenomenally served the purpose of desperately-needed distraction from the agony of waiting out the ballot counts.

It’s book about the power behind borders, citizenship, exploitation, and imperialism, set in a late-late-stage capitalist future, in which a prodigy invented the means to access and travel to slightly divergent parallel universes to grab resources and data – but only if the other universe’s version of “you” isn’t there. It’s the story of a woman named Cara – poor, brown, born in the wastelands outside the shelter, security, and citizenship privileges of Wiley City – who’s comfortably employed to travel to all the parallel worlds no one else can visit, because all her counterparts in those worlds are dead from one of the myriad ways Cara herself could have died growing up. It’s the story of Cara traversing the muddied boundaries between her old life and her new one, the similarities and differences between her own life and that of her counterparts, as well as the figures of power who defined and shaped her and her counterparts’ existences, and solving a mystery involving the unexplained deaths of several of her counterparts and the man who invented multiverse technology.

It’s a story of the permeability of selfhood and self-determination, and complexity of power dynamics of all kinds – interpersonal, familial, collegial, intimate – and the interplay between violence and stability and identity, and how one can be both powerful and powerless in the same dynamic. It’s a story with literary sensibilities that is unequivocally science fiction, written with laser-precise prose that flays Cara open and puts her back together again.

I worry this description makes this book sound dry and removed when reading this book made me feel like I was coming alive every time I delved back into it. This is a book I cannot wait to reread again to experience the brilliance and skill and thoughtfulness and emotion of Micaiah Johnson’s writing. I have no clue what, if anything, she’s writing next, but I have a new favorite author.

Honorable Mentions

Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Stormsong by C. L. Polk

The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (I feel bad putting it here and not in the first list – it is undeniably a modern classic and a brilliantly crafted book! But I had zero interest in any of the Italy chapters, and I found the way he finally figured out how to access fairy magic by essentially making himself mad to be both disappointing and narratively unsatisfying.)

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

For my yearly stats on books written by POC authors, in 2020 I read a total of 24 books (one of which was co-authored by a white author), which is fewer than last year (30). However, because I also read fewer books this year overall, this is the first year ever that I achieved exactly 50-50 parity between books written by POC and white authors. I honestly wasn’t expecting this to happen, as I stopped paying deliberate attention somewhere around April or May. Looking over my Goodreads, the month of September ended up doing a lot of heavy lifting, since that’s when I read several books by POC authors in a row for the Ignyte Award nomination period. But also, it does look like the five or so years of purposefully aiming for 50-50 parity have materially affected my reading habits, by which I mean even when I’m not keeping my year’s count in mind, I’m still more likely to pick up a book by a POC author than I was five years ago when I had never kept track at all. My goal for next year is to once again achieve 50-50 parity and to not backslide.

#long post #book recommendations #book recs #favorite books of 2020

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swanqueeneverafter · 4 years

Text

Sins of the Past Pt.1

Storybrooke. Present. Night. (Working as a cab driver, a weary Henry Swan-Mills glances at his rear-view mirror at the kissing couple in his back seat. With the realms of story united, Henry's clientele is large and varied. From drunken Musketeers to sight-seeing visitors from the Land Without Colour, the former Author has driven them all in his cab.)

Swan-Mills House. Morning. (Descending the stairs, Regina is distressed by the various boxes that are strewn across the floor. Just as she is about to raise her voice however, Zelena walks into the hall, carrying baby Maria.) Zelena: "And here's your other Mama looking ready for business." Regina: (Smiling:) "How is she doing?" Zelena: "Just fine, now that her Aunty Zelena's here, isn't that right, Poppet?" Regina: (As her sister continues cooing at the baby:) "Thanks for coming, Zelena. My meeting this morning shouldn't take long." Zelena: "Oh don't worry about that, Maria and I are going to have a wonderful time, isn't that right?" (Shaking her head at her sister's infatuation, Regina turns to see Emma walking into the room looking slightly frazzled.) Emma: (Followed by Ella:) "Just give me five minutes to put on a new shirt and find my keys and we'll be outta here." (Stopping only to give her wife a quick kiss, Emma runs upstairs to go change.) Ella: (Calling after her:) "Thank you! (To Regina:) I’m sorry to put you guys out like this, I'd take the bus but-" Regina: (Cutting in:) "You can't risk being late for work again. (Smiles:) We know and it's absolutely fine. I'd drop you off myself but I'm headed in completely the other direction. (Glancing at her watch:) Speaking of which, I'd better go. (To Zelena:) You're sure you'll be all right?" Zelena: "Yes, now go! Maria and I have the whole day planned."

The Woods, Just Outside Storybrooke. (Will Scarlett travels quickly through the woods, clutching a stitch at his side but continuing to run at top speed.) Dun Broch. (Regina stands over the slain body of a unicorn, Queen Merida by her side.) Regina: "What were you thinking? Even in my darkest days, I could never kill a unicorn." Merida: "Me? This is not my doing. Unicorns are rare and mystical creatures. There is a legend that says bad fortune will come to anyone who slays one. Neither I or any of the men I command would be stupid enough to kill such a sacred animal." Regina: (Scoffs:) "You have too much faith in a man's intelligence. So, what do you expect me to do about it?" Merida: (Nods:) "I thought you could speak to him." (Confused, Regina turns to see a cloaked figure standing a short distance away.) Anhora: "Are you looking for me? I am Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns." Merida: "Is it you who’s responsible for turning our water into sand?" Regina: “What?” Anhora: "You alone are responsible for the misfortune that has befallen Dun Broch." Merida: "Me?! You think I’d bring drought upon my own people?" Anhora: "When the unicorn was killed on your lands, a curse was unleashed. For this, Dun Broch will suffer greatly." Regina: (Stepping forward:) "Now wait a minute, I'm an expert on curses and I know they rarely, if ever, solve anything. Why don't you just lift the curse and we can all talk about this rationally for a moment." Anhora: "The curse was not my doing." Merida: (Drawing her sword:) "Undo the curse or you will pay with your life." Regina: (Chiding:) "Merida!" Anhora: "Only you can do that. You will be tested." Merida: "Me?" Regina: "You're the Queen, blame comes with the job." Anhora: "Until you have proven yourself, and made amends for killing the unicorn, the curse will not be lifted. If you fail any of these tests, Dun Broch will be damned for all eternity."

Storybrooke. Outside The Sheriff's Station. (Sitting in a squad car, Lily turns to her father who is joining her for a ride-along.) Lily: "Okay, are you ready for this?" Hook: "I was born ready." Lily: "Dad, I'm serious, this isn't going to be like your pirate adventures. Most days this job is about keeping the peace." Hook: (Smirks:) "Trust me, love, things might have been a bit quieter around here recently, but when magic’s around, there's always going to be trouble sooner or later." Main Street. (Ella sprints down main street, trying to get to work on time as Emma looks on from outside the Dark Star Pharmacy. Hoping her future daughter-in-law makes it, Emma turns and is knocked down by a still speeding Will Scarlett.) Emma: "Ahh! (Landing hard on the ground, she looks up to see Will barely give her a backwards glance before disappearing around the corner:) Yeah, you better run!"

(Wiping her hands, Emma hardly notices when her parents arrive beside her, rushing her her aid.) Snow White: "Emma, are you okay?" Emma: (Wincing:) "Yeah, I'm fine." David: "Here, let me help you. (Helping his daughter to her feet, concerned:) Are you sure you're all right." Emma: "Yeah, just a bruised ego is all. (Starts to walk:) Ow. And a bruised butt, I think." Snow White: "That really was quite the fall you took. We saw you as we were coming out of Granny's." Emma: "Well, that's what I'm here for. To protect, serve and amuse." David: "Emma-" Emma: (Sighs:) "I'm sorry, I don't mean to unload on you guys. It's... it's just been a stressful morning." David: "You know we're here to help anytime." Emma: (Nods:) "I know, thank you. (She hugs them both in turn. Pulling a piece of paper from her pocket:) Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get everything on this list and get home before Zelena paints Maria's bedroom green." Storybrooke Library. (Will stands expectantly as Belle looks over the book he's just returned.) Alice: (Pulling ten dollars from her pocket:) "You still don't get this until I'm satisfied." Will: (Grins:) "I know." Alice: (To Belle:) "So?" Belle: (Turning over a few pages:) "Well it hasn't exactly been returned in mint condition." Will: (Laughs:) "No offense ladies, but I'd challenge you to find one book in this entire building that'd fit that description." Belle: "Hm. And did you enjoy the book?" Will: "Oh, yes. Very much." Alice: (Sceptically:) "What was your favourite part?" Will: "Well, there was the beginning, the middle and the end." Alice: "What about the octopus, didn't you find that part scary?" Will: (Scoffs:) "Octopuses aren't scary - Kraken's are scary." Belle: (Smiles:) "There isn't an octopus in this book, Will." Alice: (Taking the ten dollars off the table:) "Ha!" Will: "Oh, come on! I still got the book back in time, so what if I didn't read it?" Alice: "Reading books is the whole point! I want you to broaden your horizons, lose yourself in an adventure." Will: "But we've both lived real adventures! Look, reading books is fine if you're locked up in a tower with no chance of escape, but there's no replacement for living life. In fact if you ask me, it's you two who should be broadening your horizons. (Backing out of the library:) Put the books down, girls. Let your hair down once in awhile, you'll thank me for it." (Belle and Alice smile at each other as Will leaves the Library.) Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack. (Sneaking in through the back door, Ella grabs her apron and ties it around her waist, attempting to start work without her boss realising how late she is. Taking a fresh pair of gloves from the box, Ella turns to find her boss standing in front of her.) Louis: "You're late. Again." Ella: "I ran here as fast as I could, but my-" Louis: "I don't give a crap! I'm paying you for 39 hours. (Another employee - Carl, drops a tray load of chicken on the floor:) Really, Carl? That's coming out of your paycheck." Ella: "Hey, Louis, lay off. It's just chicken. You don't need to be a jerk about it." Louis: (Puts down the cooking tongs:) "Apologize. Now! Or get out." Ella: "I can't, because it's true. You're a jerk." Louis: "You think you know me so well, huh? I know you. Former princess living with her prince boyfriend in his mother’s mansion. No real skills other than that temper. You need this job. This is the best you can do, and you know it. So, yeah, you're gonna apologize. Right?” Ella: “Never.” (Ella takes off her apron and storms out.)

Elsewhere In Storybrooke. (Placing a tray of dirty dishes down, Henry takes a moment to catch his breath.) Tiana: (Walking over to him:) "Henry, are you feeling okay? You look exhausted." Henry: (Forces a smile:) "I'm fine, just needed a second." Tiana: "I don't know, between your working two jobs and Ella working at the shack most nights-" Henry: "It'll be worth it when we've got our own place." (Henry picks up the tray and walks to the kitchen.) Tiana: (Following:) "Is there a rush on that? Emma and Regina can't be hurting for space. I've been to the Mayor's mansion and there's like thirty-seven rooms." Henry: "Ha-ha. There's not quite that many, but that's not even the point. My moms don't want me to leave but they've got Maria to look after now and... well there are other reasons." Tiana: "Such as?" Henry: (Begins placing dishes in the dishwasher:) "Such as wanting to carry Ella over the threshold of our own home? Such as being able to afford the wedding and honeymoon of her dreams?" Tiana: "Henry, you know Ella's not interested in those extravagant things." Henry: "But that doesn't mean she shouldn't be able to have them if she did." Tiana: "I'm impressed." Henry: "Thank you." Tiana: "I meant how you stacked the dishwasher. (She smiles and walks away, over her shoulder:) Very impressive." Dark Star Pharmacy. (Having gathered everything on her list, Emma is attempting to casually ask for Mr. Clark's professional opinion.) Emma: "What's your best cream for cuts and bruises?" Mr. Clark: (Scanning the items from Emma's basket:) "Depends on the type of injury and how bad it is." Emma: "Well I won't know how bad it is until I get home." Mr. Clark: "Then I can't help you." Emma: "Look, I'm not going to sue you for bad advice if that's what you're worried about. All I'm looking for is a good, effective cream." Mr. Clark: (Takes a sharp intake of breath:) "Again, I'd have to see the injury in question, just to be sure." Emma: "Trust me, that's not happening." Regina: (Entering the store:) "What injury? Is it Maria? Did Zelena call, is she hurt?" Emma: "No! No, it's nothing like that it's just... (Looks to Mr. Clark then back to Regina:) Delicate."

Mr. Clark: "If the injury is in a delicate area, I give you my word as a professional I would be happy to-" Emma: (Grabbing Sneezy by the shirt:) "I'm not pulling my ass out here in this store for you or anyone else, you got that? (Emma releases the man only to notice that he hasn't moved. Looking to Regina she sees that the brunette is using her magic to turn the store sign to 'closed' and drawing the steel blinds down:) Er, what are you doing?" Regina: "You're hurt. Show me." Emma: "Regina, it's nothing, I'm fine." Regina: "Show. Me." Emma: (Looking at a now frozen Mr. Clark:) "What about him?" Regina: (Considers:) "Let him be 'Sleepy' for awhile." (With a wave of her hand, Sneezy collapses behind the counter, fast asleep.) Emma: (Shaking her head, begins lifting her skirt and turns towards the counter:) "You'll take any excuse, won't you?" Regina: (Innocently:) "To care for my wife? Of course I will. (Hisses as the injured area is exposed:) Oh, Emma." Emma: "That bad, huh?" Regina: "It's definitely going to bruise." Emma: (Shrugs:) "I've had worse. (Stiffens when she feels Regina's hands on her hips:) So what now?" Regina: "Well I'll need to clean the affected area before treatment." Emma: (As her breath quickens:) "J-just make sure you do a thorough job." Regina: (Sliding to her knees, bringing Emma's skirt and underwear with her:) "Don't I always?" (Unable to answer, Emma merely closes her eyes and gasps as Regina gives her the due care and attention only she can provide.) Will & Tiana's Apartment. Storybrooke. (While cooking in the kitchen, Tiana smiles as she hears the door open.) Tiana: "Hey, sexy. Dinner's at- (Sees Ella standing there:) Whoa, whoa! What're you doing out of work so early?" Ella: (Simply:) "I quit." Tiana: "What?" Ella: (Jumps up to sit on the counter:) "You know, Louis, he's-" Tiana: "Yeah, I know what Louis is. He's what you grin and bear so that the singles in your savings jar don't get lonely." Ella: "I'll figure something out." Tiana: "What's Henry gonna say? You know, he's already out there working two jobs. So now-" Ella: "I know, I know, but hey, who's side are you on? You think I should work for that bully all my life?" Tiana: "Of course not. I just see how hard Henry's working and-" Ella: "Oh, way to make me feel so much better." Tiana: "You're right, I'm sorry. Wanna stay for dinner?" Ella: "No, that's okay." Tiana: "Drinks?" Ella: "Oh god, yes." Tiana: (Laughs:) "Then get your butt off my counter and pour the wine." Ella: (Salutes:) "Yes, Ma'am." Swan-Mills House. Night Time. (Emma lays on her stomach on the bed, Maria gurgling contentedly beside her. Regina enters from the bathroom, a tub of cream in her hand.) Regina: "There they are, my two favourite girls." Emma: "This is so embarrassing." Regina: (Smiling:) "Oh hush, you don't hear Maria complaining." (Emma turns her attention to her daughter while Regina applies the cream to her exposed backside.) Emma: "Isn't there a spell that can heal this sort of thing?" Regina: "Do you know of one?" Emma: "No. Do you? (Silence:) Regina?" Regina: (A long pause:) "Now where would be the fun in that?" Emma: "I knew it!"

#sq #swanqueen #swan queen

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dibs4ever · 4 years

Text

A piece of him

This doesn't really go along with today or tomorrow's theme but I have nothing for them and this was already something I wrote so I figured I’d share

Barbara was sitting sprawled out on the couch of Dinah’s living room

“Di how could I be so stupid” she groaned dramatically throwing her arm over her head. Peaking out to see her best friend standing across the room rocking and bouncing at the same time with a bundle wrapped in a white blanket in her arms

Dinah looked up from the bundle and met Barbara’s eyes “Stupid how?” She stopped moving

Barbara sat up, sitting properly on the black leather sofa “I had it perfectly planned out Dinah. I had the perfect parents, I was going to hand this baby over to them. Make their dream come true and go on with my life, but now....well look what you are holding” she waved her hands

Dinah smiled down at her arms and started bouncing again “You mean the most beautiful 2-week old baby ever?”

Barbara shook her head “I never planned to be a mom. I mean sure at one point I thought about it but it wasn’t something I fantasized about. The after I was shot I and told it’d be impossible to get pregnant-“

Dinah held up a finger “The words were practically. I told you there was still a 10% chance.”

Barbara rolled her eyes “And a 90% chance I couldn’t” she reminded “Might as well of said impossible.”

Dinah sent her a half-smile then looked back down at the bundle in her arms

“Then Dick and I got hot and heavy again after I got my ability to walk back and well we were reckless and then he....died.” She sighed “Then I found out I was pregnant and ya know like I said I didn’t intend to be a mom much less a single one with a dead parent” she looked up “Steve and Ian were such nice guys I was sure I found the perfect parents for the baby.”

Dinah nodded “They were great.”

Barbara shook her head “I was so sure of myself, then the hospital nurse just had to lay him on my chest and.....well you’re looking at what I saw.”

Dinah looked up and smiled then stepped forward “Here I think he’s getting hungry.” She set the baby in Barbara’s awaiting arms. Dinah was right, her son was squirming and making a grunting sound. Something she had picked up on in the last 14 days that meant he was hungry

After positioning him and making sure he was latched Barbara took a moment to admire her son. He looked up at her with his striking blue eyes. They were so blue they were almost scary, but blue eyes tended to darken as the baby got older-or so she read. She figured they’d eventually match Dick’s just like the rest of him.

She gently ran her fingers through the baby's dark locks.

“I couldn’t do it Di,” Barbara said as tears began to well in her eyes. “If he had red hair and looked like me maybe I could have but.” She looked down again touching the baby’s cheek “I mean I never dreamed for this as some woman do.” She waved to the baby “But I lost Dick forever. Dick will always be my greatest love. And to have someone who looks just like him-“

She ran a thumb over her son's forehead “I’m so selfish! I’m denying this child of a normal life. A normal life he would have had if I hadn’t said the words ’I changed my mind’ who does that to a defenseless baby just because he looks exactly like her dead fiancé?”

Dinah sat beside Barbara, resting a hand on her back “You are not selfish Barbara. This is your son....it’s Dick’s son. You two created this beautiful human with love.”

This made Barbara smile “He is beautiful isn’t he?”

Dinah laughed lightly “Yeah, it’s not surprising you are both gorgeous.”

Barbara bit her lip “Were” she reminded

Dinah shook her head “Listen to me Barb, just because this kid isn’t going to have a living father or that his family has unconventional lives doesn’t mean he won’t have a normal life. Look how much your dad and Bruce have already done for you both.”

Barbara nodded

“Plus all Dick’s brothers, Stephanie, Casandra, Kate, Me, Wally, Clark. Need I go on?”

Barbara laughed, moving her son to her shoulder so she could burp him “You have a point, I’m sorry I came here and just rambled when all you wanted was a visit from your new nephew.”

Dinah shook her head “Barbara you are my best friend going through a sudden, major, extremely unplanned life change. I will ALWAYS be here to listen.”

Barbara leaned her head on Dinah’s shoulder “The kid thing was never me. Back when we were teens and then recently when I went back out on the field again when we saved families, I always dealt with the adults and Dick took care of the kids.” She sniffled and smiled at the same time “God he’d be so over the moon right now. He would have made an amazing father.”

Dinah nodded “Yes he would have. But you are also going to be an amazing mother. You are going to teach him all about his crazy, unpredictable, kind, smart and brave father.” Dinah reached over the stroke of the baby’s soft hair. He was drifting back to sleep snuggled close to him mom.

Barbara nodded “I can do this” she let out a breath

Dinah nodded “ You can do this”

#dickbabs #dick grayson #barbara gordon #dinah lance #batfam headcanons #batfamily au #batfam fanfiction

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zombiesbecrazy · 5 years

Text

down in the cornfield

Summary: “No,” said Clark quietly. “I’m going to retire from being Clark.”

AO3

It wasn’t the first time that Lois had found herself randomly standing in a cornfield in the middle of Kansas.

Well, she assumed that it was Kansas but that was just based on past experience; she could be in Iowa for all she knew. She took in a deep breathe and spun around to get a better look at the view and then smiled at the familiar farmhouse roof in the distance beyond the rows of stalks, confirming that it was absolutely Kansas. It made sense. She had been having her lunch in the park, listening to a podcast and generally just minding her own business on her mandated lunch break that Perry had kicked her out of the office for when Kon had appeared in front of her said something along the lines of “he won’t listen to me or Ma so you have to come and deal with him” , scooped her up and leapt into the sky.

Kryptonian air taxi services were all well and good, but she definitely wasn’t going to tip this one because he hadn’t even given her the chance to grab her coffee off the bench or bothered to tell her what was going on before he took off again.

Three star rating at best.

Abrupt as it was there would only be one reason that Kon would have brought her here. “Smallville?”

Several seconds passed and Lois was wondering if this wasn’t some sort of elaborate Kent joke that she wasn’t privy to and was trying to figure out if she should wander around in the corn or head to the house when she finally heard a tired voice say “yeah ” a little further into the field.

She found him sitting in the dirt, bending some of the corn around him, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky with the sun beaming down on his face, giving him an unnaturally human glow. He was in that odd in between of not quite Clark Kent and not quite Superman, with his jeans and flannel shirt but no glasses and hair curl in place. It was the version of him that she loved the best, a complete version of who he really was. This is the Clark who she lived with behind closed doors, the one that only the chosen few got to experience. She sank down onto the ground beside him and waited for something, anything, but Clark seemed to be determined to sit in silence forever. “Dime for your thoughts?” she finally asked. That got his attention because he had an adorably confused look on his face and Lois shrugged. “I don’t have any pennies and it looks like you might be having some rather big thoughts.”

It wasn’t something that he did often, but it happened enough to recognize it when it did; the inevitable weight of the world becoming overbearing and Clark just needed to stop and hide and just get away from it all.

“I’m retiring.”

“You’re a little young for that. You can’t collect social security until you are at least 62. You are barely halfway there. And who will proofread my brilliance if you retire?” Clark didn’t say anything, just staring off into the dirt now. “Fine. I assume you were referring to the cape, but we both know how that would turn out. You’d ‘retire’ but then about two weeks would pass and something would happen and you’d say ‘just this once, Lois, they need me’ and then you’d be back to wearing the blue spandex under your work clothes again, thinking that I wouldn’t notice.” He had tried it before and it had never stuck for one reason or another, not for long anyway. It was something that was annoyingly amazing about him. His heart was just too big.

“No,” said Clark quietly. “I’m going to retire from being Clark.”

A light breeze blew through the field, and Lois was glad that she was wearing long sleeves to avoid the corn cutting up her arms. “You are making negative amounts of sense. You can’t just not be Clark. You are Clark.”

Clark reached around her and pulled her tight into his arms and rested his chin on her head and they sat there together, rocking gently in tandem. “This morning. I was at the bank ordering new cheques.”

“Who orders cheques in person? Hell, who even uses cheques anymore?” She could feel Clark clench his jaw, unbreakable teeth grinding together. She turned her head to get a better look at him, and she could suddenly see how tired he was, fatigue pulling at all of his features, maybe not in a way that anyone else could see it, but it was clear to her. “Sorry. Not the point.”

“There was a robbery. A bunch of men with guns held up with place.” Clark swallowed deeply, and pulled her in a little tighter. “There were little kids there, Lo. Scared and crying. One of them was whispering that Superman would come and save them. But I was there so he couldn’t come. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help because I was Clark, not Superman, and I couldn’t do anything to make them not scared.” He was rambling and cyclical in the way he did when it was just the two of them, hiding from the world after a bad day. “One of the tellers got shot because I was busy being Clark instead of him. They’re in critical condition and those kids are traumatized and all because of me insisting on playing pretend with a regular life.”

“Oh, honey.” As far as bad days went, this one wasn’t terrible for Superman. No one had died, the world hadn’t ended and there was no international disaster, but it seemed to be the tipping point of a large issue that he had been secretly struggling with. She twisted around so that she could be the one to wrap her arms around him and he sank into her touch. “I hate to break it to you but you wouldn’t be able to save everyone regardless.”

“I’d be able to do so much more though. I’m here so that I can help people. That’s the whole point”

“No it’s not. You are here so that you would be able to grow up safe and happy. Your parents sent you here so that you had a chance to be Clark, even if they didn’t know that name. Superman is just a side effect of random space science. In the bank. What did you do?”

“Nothing, I couldn’t do…”

“What did you do?” She thought about it a little more and then clarified her words to avoid any confusion about what she was asking. “What did Clark Kent do?”

“I sat on the floor with the other hostages.”

“How were you sitting?” She prodded. Lois knew the answer, but wanted to hear him say the words out loud. “Were you sitting against the wall, out of the way?”

“I was… I was between the gunmen and the rest of them. I made sure that the kids were behind me. Between me and their parents.”

“Was that because you are Superman?”

“I…”

“I’ll fill you in. It wasn’t. It was because you’re Clark and you are a good man regardless of the cape or being bulletproof.” Clark didn’t give any indication that he was going to say anything so Lois barrelled on in the way that she did when he needed her own personal brand of pep talk. “If you want to quit your job and be Superman full time, that’s fine. I can support that if that is what you really want to do. But under no circumstances will you ever be able to quit being Clark Kent. It’s who you are.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight between hers, as hard as she could, trying to force the idea through his impervious skin. “And even if it wasn’t, I won’t allow it because I think he’s pretty cool.”

“Liar. You have never thought that I was cool.” Clark chuckled softly and buried his head in her neck, giving her a light kiss on her collarbone. “ I need to think about it more,” he mumbled before stretching back up to look at her shyly. “Can we stay here for the weekend?” It was his way of saying that he needed to step away from it all, just for a little while, just to recharge in the quiet that was Smallville.

“Sure. Ma and I can whip your butt at gin.”

“I hate those lead cards Bruce made her.”

“Because you are a card cheat.”

“I’ll never admit to that.” Clark tilted his head towards the sky, and was listening to something that only he could hear. “Actually, if you’d like to join me, there is something that I’d like to do first if you don’t mind a quick trip back to the city.”

“Would love to. Kon didn’t give me a chance to pack before he kidnapped me here.”

***

Lois sat on a different bench in a different park and watched the children playing on the playground when a familiar figure in blue and red floated down nearby. A hush came over the park until a child let out a laugh and it broke the stillness and all the kids ran over to Superman, excitedly crowding around him, with the parents following suit with a more muted but obvious enthusiasm. She watched as Clark smiled and laughed with the children, answering all of their silly but earnest questions before he turned to a young boy, probably about 5 years old, on the edge of the crowd. Clark took a few steps towards him and knelt down so he was at eye level with him.

“Hi Ethan.”

A silence spread over the crowd, with a few excited whispers wondering how Superman knew Ethan. Ethan looked up at Superman with big surprised eyes, but said nothing. Superman gave him a shy smile. “I heard you had a scary trip to the bank earlier. A friend of mine was there and he told me how brave you were.” Ethan nodded his little head. “I’m very glad that you are safe but I wanted to tell you that I’m very sorry that I wasn’t there to help.”

Ethan stood in shock, staring at Superman, and then suddenly threw himself at the hero, wrapping his arms around his neck and sobbing into his chest. Clark looked startled for a second but then wrapped his arms around the little boy and rubbed his back gently until the hiccuping tears subsided. Lois saw the look of anguish on Clark’s face as he held the younger boy.

“It’s okay,” Ethan sniffed as he pulled back and rubbed his eyes. “Mommy said that you were probably busy helping someone else in trouble. That you can’t be in two places at once.” She watched as Clark hesitated, never very good at lying, especially to kids, but he nodded. “It was so scary, but there was a man there and he told me to hide behind him. He was very brave. And tall. Almost as tall as you.” He narrowed his eyes and looked Clark up and down with careful scrutiny. “Was that your friend?”

It sounded like a loaded question, like the child knew more than he was letting on, but that was crazy. He couldn’t have figured it out. “You know what? It might have been.”

“Can you thank him for me?”

Clark looked surprised at that. “I can do that.” Superman held out his arms again, and Ethan gave him another hug, this time giggling. Clark was laughing too when they broke apart and he stood. He waved to everyone around him, and took off into the sky, with everyone waving back.

Lois stood from her bench and walked two blocks to where she found Clark, leaning against a streetlamp, waiting for her patiently. He bent down and greeted her with a kiss.

“Hi.”

“Hi yourself.” Lois took his hand and squeezed it before they started walking down the street, Clark with a bounce in his step that had been missing since the cornfield. “Still think that you are going to retire?”

“I think I might keep at it a little while longer.” He grinned and tilted his chin upwards towards the sky. “Smallville?”

“Smallville.”

#whumptober2019 #no.5 #clark kent #lois lane #superman #Clois

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viccycraft · 4 years

Text

How To Get A Superhero

Description: Alien meets vampire. Vampire falls for alien. Evil falls for good.In reality, life isn't explained so easily. Especially for supernatural and extra terrestrial creatures.

Warnings: swearing, sexual themes, violence, gore.

This story is also available on fanfiction.net (ViccyCraft) and Wattpad (lara-stansfield).

_____________

Chapter one - Valeriya

Monachopsis: The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place

______________

My life began in November 1933. It 'ended' in December 1956 only two minutes as I watched my favorite movie of all time: Romeo and Juliet. My ending was quite a tragedy too, but not similar to their dramatic love. Mine involved just by me dying, not of suicide, and I had no lover to follow me afterwards.

Someone in a higher position of power decided to end my life, and another decided I deserved a second chance. For a long time, I didn't know whether to be grateful. I was given another life, though it came with loneliness, pain, and a thirst for something I couldn't find. After six months of isolation in the middle of Siberia, someone came across and - oh my Gods - the scent that came with him. The fragrance, evoked an emotion within her. Turmoil, happiness, and an unimaginable thirst. And that thirst came with tremendous pain, one I decided I would to anything to get rid of.

I felt my canines elongate and, before I could control my movements, I attacked the woman. I acted on my instincts and sank my teeth in her neck.

I drained the body completely. I remember standing up and looking down at her. It took a few minutes for me to realize what I had become. Who I had become, I should say.

The myth wasn't just a scary story people were telling each other. It wasn't deranged men accusing people to control the population. It wasn't all lies.

I, Valeriya Zhavodchikov, had become a vampire.

_______________________

Metropolis, built upon the island of New Troy, which was bought from the area's natives by Swedish settlers in exchange for trinkets, the city is a skyscraper island bustling with commerce and business.

The city of hopes and dreams, the home of countless acclaimed reporters, the home of three vampires - the City of Tomorrow.

Now eight-four years old but frozen at twenty-five, am currently living my eighth life. This time, I decided to not give myself a fake name, but instead settled on my birth name. Valeriya Zhavodchikov.

"I hate it when you don't listen to me,"

"Hmm?"

"You fucking bitch,"

"For someone that promised to respect her roots-."

"Okay? Your point?"

I shook my head, grinning slightly. Sayu Ukita was my oldest friend and oldest vampire that I knew. By now, I was used to her, but back when we first met I was astounded how much an eighteenth century vampire lacked manners.

"So? What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing, go on about what Nikki did today,"

"First of all, I was talking about Edward. Second of all, don't even say the name of that bitch, I don't even wanna think of her. Third of all, don't make me electrocute it out of you,"

"I swear to God, if you dare." I whirled around to give her a look that meant 'seriously, don't'. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of '73. Edward dubbed that day as 'Valeriya's Almost Funeral'.

"Val, I'll beat the shit out of you, I swear,"

I rolled my eyes at her stern tone, along with the way she put her hands on her hips. We've been friends for forty-four years, so I knew this was her way of saying 'I care about you, tell me what' s happening'.

"Baby, it's fine." I bumped my shoulder into hers. I rummaged through my purse as we neared our apartment complex.

"We're practically sisters by now and yet you refuse-"

"I told you it's nothing!" I interrupted, briefly looking up. I spotted a moving truck parked in front of the building. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about random shit. Now please, let it go,"

"I love that song!" A little girl giggled as she skipped past us.

"I can't believe mothers nowadays let little kids alone in cities." Sayu frowned, immediately distracted. It was times like these I was glad that Sayu had an attention span of a fruit fly.

We hugged each other goodbye and went our seperate ways. I lived three floors above her so that the sounds of her sexual endeavors with her husband were slightly muffled.

My keys jingles loudly in the empty elevator. The doors slid open and I went right, and then I stopped short.

Boxes of all sizes were scattered in the hallway. Even her door was being blocked by the ridiculous amount of boxes. The door next to her apartment was wide open and so she decided to stand in the doorway, half irritated that this person was rude enough to leave all their shut in the hallway and in front of her God damn door.

Her eyes fell on a guy carrying a large TV to another room. She crossed her arms and waited for him to come back. She looked around the apartment and found it all empty. Why didn't he dump his boxes in his place?

"Hey," I said as soon as he returned. His head shot up and for a second I saw fear and worry in his eyes, before it disappeared. A kind smile graced his features and he quickly put on a pair of enormous glasses, hiding his unfathomable blue eyes from me.

"Hello," he greeted in return, his voice shy. He quickly walked towards me, his hand out for me to shake, but he tripped over a box and stumbled the last few steps. "Sorry!"

I shook his hands, slightly disturbed by his strange behavior. She was glad to see that her new neighbor didn't seem like he'd blast loud music as midnight.

"I'm Clark Kent, I just moved in, but you can see that." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, causing his baggy sweatshirt to cling to his arm a little. I was surprised to see bulging muscles underneath the fabric. Maybe lifting was a hobby of his.

"Valeriya." I said. "Um, you got a bunch of boxes in front of my door..."

"Oh Gods, do I? I'm so sorry, let me put them somewhere else." He rushed past her to move the boxes to another direction. She followed him and watched as he put the boxes on top of one another on a different place. "I'm really sorry, I thought everyone would be at work at this time. Not that I mean any offense with that! It's fine if you're unemployed, I have nothing against that. I-I should stop talking."

At first I agreed with him, but then I became amused. I loved watching humans fumble over themselves.

"It's fine." I smiled slightly. I unlocked my door and stepped inside. "Nice to meet you, Kent."

He bowed his head, a shy smile on his face. "You too, Valeriya."

I nodded once and closed the door. I took only one step towards the kitchen before I heard several boxes falling from the other side, accompanied by several apologies.

I shook my head, grinning widely.

At least he was better than the nosy reporter.

#clark kent x reader #clark kent x oc #superman #clark kent #vampire #romance #angst #metropolis #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill #lois lane

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fertileimaginationvault · 4 years

Text

I Never Even Told You (part 1) - Superbat (DCEU Series)

“Ma?” Clark called as he passed the front door of the farmhouse. “Yeah?” Martha answered absently, busy in the kitchen.

“I've fixed the leak in the barn roof, and the fence between our farm and the Lang's. Their horses will no longer try to eat our... corn... What the-” Clark froze in his walk past the living room noticing the sudden change. The few furniture and the old couch were relocated to make room for a large flat-screen TV, almost taking up all the wall space on which it had been fixed.

“Bruce...” Clark sighed the other man's name as if asking to a higher being to be bestowed with divine patience. ‘Is that why he’s here?’ Clark thought. He had heard Bruce's heartbeat since he was still at the Lang Farm, the unmistakable sound of Bruce's heart flooded his ears and left him on alert. For a moment, Clark assumed his presence was due to an emergency that would require the Justice League to act. He even stretched his hearing to get part of Bruce's conversation with Martha but realized that the other man did not seem to be in a hurry to leave and had not even asked to see Clark (which bothered him a little although he hated to admit it). Clark kept working on the list of repairs that needed to be done around the farm, he could catch up with Bruce as soon as he finished. Now the TV of obscene proportions hanging on the wall of his mother's living room had answered all the questions he might have about Bruce’s presence there and even made him regret for not being able to stop the other man as soon as he arrived. Clark turned away from the tv, walking into the kitchen to find Bruce sitting at the table, his hair properly combed back, dressed in a well tailored three-piece suit that perfectly accented his silhouette, white shirt, black tie and a blue pocket square, which caught Clark's eye for being the exactly same shade of blue as his Superman uniform. He tried to ignore the erratic way his own heart started beating as soon as his eyes found that single spot of color in the sea of graffiti and black. That was not the first time Clark has seen Bruce wearing a tie or a pocket square of the same color of his Kryptonian suit or cape. Clark couldn't help the warmth spreading through his chest as his heart struggled to return to its usual rhythm. It was almost as if Bruce did this on purpose, to drawn Clark’s attention to him whenever they were in the same room... “Good afternoon.” Bruce greeted Clark from behind the cup of tea he was quietly drinking, yet his brown eyes studied Clark with some hesitation, like he was unsure that his presence in the house was desired or not. Clark cleared his throat, trying to keep his stance. He should be preparing to scold Bruce for one of his many extravagances involving him and his mother, not daydreaming about Bruce’s wardrobe choices having something to do with him. “What is that gigantic tv doing in our living room?”Clark asked folding his arms, narrowing his eyes to deflect any excuse Bruce might give regarding yet another extravagant gift. “Your mother needed a new tv.” Bruce answered, his voice flat, keeping a calm expression and his eyes away from Clark as he played with the handle of the teacup. “Bruce," Clark come closer to de table, “you can't just buy us expensive things like they're nothing.” “It is nothing.” “It’s a 4k smart tv almost bigger than the entire wall!” “It’s a gift.” “The screen matches the wallpaper! ” Clark sighed once again letting his arms fall beside him. This couldn’t be really happening. “Why did you buy us a tv?” “Because,” Martha intervened, coming to the table with a plate full of biscuits to place in front of Bruce, “the old tv has broken the last time Bruce came to visit. He was kind enough to try to fix that old junk but there was nothing left to do about it... and now he appeared here with this modern tv, even though I insisted that he didn’t have to buy me another one.” “It was only fair to give you a new tv, since I couldn’t fix the other.” Bruce shrugged exchanging smiles with Martha. Clark opened his mouth to say something, but his shock made him close it immediately. What was going on? Since when did Bruce and his mother have such a close relationship? And Since when Bruce made visits to the farm? “Ma, why didn’t you tell me the tv was broken? I could have gotten you a new one... well, not one of the size of an open-air cinema screen...” he mumbled, smirking triumphantly as Bruce rolled his eyes in response as continued to drink his cup of tea elegantly, “but still...” “I know you’ve been busy lately.” she waved off with a gesture while taking a tray of apple pie out of the oven to set on the counter so it would cool off. “I didn’t want to disturb you for an old tv that has seen better days. I could’ve handled it on my own... maybe go to the Sullivans’ store and get a new one.” “But I’m supposed to take care of those things, Ma. What would Pa say if he knew I left you here without a tv for... how long?” “Two days.” Bruce muttered discretely before taking another sip of tea, already suspecting Clark's next reaction. “See? Two days! Wait... “ Clark stared at Martha and Bruce, his blue eyes wide with disbelief, “Were you here two days ago?” Bruce remained silent, serving himself of some of Martha's biscuits, still unable to face Clark. “Clark, calm down, would ya? There’s no need to make such a fuss about it.” Martha took a seat in front of Bruce, also pouring herself some tea.“Bruce always comes to visit when he has the time...” “Does he... always?” Clark stood in the middle of the kitchen, trying to believe that that was his life and the big and scary Bat of Gotham was sipping tea and eating biscuits in his kitchen, with his mother. “I understand you might be upset...” Bruce finally took his eyes off the teacup to find Clark's. although his face was almost expressionless, Clark could feel the hesitation in his voice, like an apology hidden in millimeter-calculated words to sound as neutral as possible, but being enough to obliterate Clark's irritation completely. “I’m not upset. I am... surprised? I mean, that wasn’t exactly what I expected to see when I woke up this morning...” Clark said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, ashamed of his own reaction. However seeing the way Bruce’s eyes softened made that feeling fade away pretty fast. “Uh... Is there any chance I’ll be invited to join your tea club?” Clark mumbled with a smirking as he saw Bruce rolling eyes again, trying not smile, then turned to Martha giving his best big puppy eyes. “Maybe have some pie?” “Well, if you stop being so melodramatic, you may have a slice.” “Unbelievable! Since when did he become your favorite?” “Since I gave her a new tv.” Bruce allowed himself a slight smirk before hiding it behind the tea cup in one last gulp of tea, too fast for anyone to notice except Clark. “And since he’s not the one walking around the house with muddy shoes! Clark Joseph Kent I better not see footprints on my carpet!” Martha used the dishcloth to playfully whip Clark's legs who instinctively levitated in the air so he could escape it, laughing out loud. “Okay! Okay!” Clark lifted his hands in surrender, still floating a few inches from the kitchen floor, sitting on air while still laughing. “I’m gonna take them off! I’m going upstairs to take a shower and y’all better save me some pie for when I get back!” “Only if you stop flying inside the house!” Martha said, also laughing while seeing Clark floated to the stairs. “I’m not flying, I’m floating! There’s a difference!” Clark yelled back, making Martha laugh even more.” “No, there isn’t! I swear to God,” she turned to Bruce, “I have no idea who did he get that attitude from...” Clark quickly returned to the kitchen, still without letting his feet touch the ground, placing a kiss on her cheek, saying: “I got it from you.” Martha tried not cry for Clark's gesture. She has been doing that a lot for the past two years. Every time she sees Clark smiling, walking around the farm, playing with Dusty in the backyard. Every time he hugs her and say “I love you, Ma”. Every time Clark's on tv for saving someone or a entire city. Now that Martha knows how it is to lose her son, every moment with Clark has become even more special and also not enough . And to think that she could spend the rest of her life without seeing him smile again, if it wasn’t for the man seated in front of her. If it wasn't for Bruce. “Alright, muddy shoes,” she said, fighting the instinct to cry, patting Clark’s cheeks, “go get yourself clean, so we can eat.”

#I swear one day I'll be able to write stories shorter than that #my dceu Bruce is Batfleck in case you're wondering #I finished this during a writers block so I apologize if this sucks #I wanted to write Bruce expressing his feelings for Clark by buying a bunch of stuff to him and Martha because he just can't use his words #Clark has a crush on Bruce he just doesn't know it yet #Superbat #superbat fanfic #Clark/Bruce #Batsuper #bruce wayne/clark kent #superman #batman #clark kent #bruce wayne #dceu

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doomdays-a · 4 years

Text

“our time on the ring, those six years, you hated that. me? even though we were trapped in a tin can with nothing to do and no way back to earth, those were still some of the best times of my life. we were safe. together.”

i know that she’s said all of this before indirectly and i write about this literally every chance i get but it’s so important to me that she verbalized this. emori had various options when praimfaya was upon them but a lot of them were unfeasible.

find a spot in the bunker. but she didn’t have a clan to belong with, she didn’t have anyone fighting for her spot in that bunker. she had to manipulate her way in --- become a resource, make herself valuable, until they decided to let her in. it was always an unrealistic goal, but she had to do something. but the reality of living there for five years would have crushed her, being surrounded by people who despise her very existence and have been engrained since their own birth that she didn’t belong. it’s important to note the way she refers to the ring as “trapped in a tin can” but it’s positive when she talks about that. being trapped in space with few people, all but one of them not having been trained to hate her all her life, was an extremely safer option that being stuck in the bunker, no where to go, constantly surrounded by people who would have known she had no place there. she tried to fight to live there because she thought it was her only choice, but she wouldn’t have been happy. her goal of survival would have become even more ruthless than it already had been. the character development we see from her on the ring would have been the exact opposite in the bunker. she would have gotten herself killed.

hide in the island bunker with john, inevitably dying a few months later of starvation. this is an important option because it would have been her control, it was her way of avoiding dying the way she was always supposed to die ---- a way out of her control, dying for the simple fact that she had no clan, no one on her side, no one caring for her survival. she would have rather died months after the wave of praimfaya than be taken by it when it came. she would die either way, but at least she got to have control over what her last months were like. at least she didn’t have to die until she was ready. she was always meant to die out on her own, but she refused to die that way this time. that was the choice she would have made had the opportunity to go to space not come along.

go to space. this was a scary option too, one that she worried would trap her in a cage too, but it was the only viable option she was left with. her thoughts of skaikru are soured at this time. for one, all she knows about skaikru is from the perspective of john, who had revealed his own story and past in a way that resonated with emori --- so she assumed they weren’t to be trusted. and more than that, she had just been disposed of in the lab by skaikru. even though they ended up sparing her in the end, they still made that decision --- what would stop them on the ring from choosing her as the most expendable? there was no comfort in echo being there, either. despite them both being born on earth and never being to space before, it was also engrained in echo to not trust / care for someone like emori --- and even if echo had put that aside, emori would have no reason to trust it immediately. again, she would be trapped with no where to go, but there were less people here; she assumed she and john could still be in their own bubble away from the rest of they had to be, and it would be okay. when she got there, though, she found a way to make sure she was never expendable by quickly learning from raven, ultimately bringing her to where she is now.

her years on the ring were spent wondering what her life would have been like otherwise --- and knowing that this was the best option for her, that this was the place she could actually live instead of just survive ( even if that’s technically what they were doing anyway; but every single day was no longer a brutal fight to justify her life. ) she knew she was in the best place --- and she knew she didn’t want to leave. despite having nothing to do, despite not knowing what was left for them once they did return to earth, she didn’t want to leave the ring. that was the first place that accepted her, welcomed her as if she was finally home.

it’s why she smiles when she learns about what monty and harper did --- because she understands. she’s sad, of course, but she has no reason to resent them for doing something that would have been her choice too if she knew they had one. she’s happy for them, knowing that the rest of their life was peaceful, that they were done with the fight. her time on the ring was the best few years of her life because she didn’t have another battle to face every single day. on the ground, she had to justify her own existence every single day, survive in spite of those who didn’t want her to. but monty and harper got to live the way they wanted to, and she envied them for it.

she understands why raven didn’t enjoy her six years on the ring given the stress that she was under in particularly, but it’s important for her to tell raven that the time they spent together means so much to her. she never resented raven for not knowing how to get back to the ground, because as long as they were there, she was safer than she had ever been --- and she was surrounded by people who loved her, something that was entirely new for her.

she owes so much to her time in space. emori is so proud of the person she has become and it’s so clear in everything she does --- her words, her motives, her body language, her interactions with other people. she is no longer hesitant to talk to others; she holds a new confidence that isn’t based on how she can use something against them to twist in her favor; she just genuinely wants to be part of this larger community that is now looking at her without some sort of resentment. we even see her change in regards to physical touch ---- placing her hand on someone’s arm while talking, patting someones shoulder when encouraging them, even to hugging octavia when they first get to earth ( which is an important interaction to point out given that she and octavia have no personal relationship; it’s something so simple, hugging familiar faces because you know they’re okay --- but for emori, it’s huge to do that with someone she doesn’t even have a personal connection to other than stories her brother had told her. )

she has always been proud of herself for the ways she survived when she wasn’t supposed to at all. but it’s different now; she knows she’s become a person who puts other’s needs ahead of her, she knows that she is working to help others before herself. she takes so much comfort in that. choosing to sacrifice her life, knowing that she will save anyone else in the process, is the most important piece of character development ---- she has always been about the survivor’s move, that was the way she lived. but she found morality, she discovered that it’s okay to care about other people and help them selflessly. so many people have helped her selflessly in ways she used to not be able to understand ( why did clarke sacrifice herself 3 times in a row to save emori when she was a stranger? why did raven let her on the spaceship when the less people could have helped them survive more? ) she gets it now. she’s learned how to care about people and all she wants now is to make sure that everyone survives, not just her, like it used to be.

when she sees that the end of her life is inevitable, she is no longer desperately searching for ways to survive no matter the cost. she’s looking around at everyone else exhausting themselves over trying to help her, and she’s telling them to stop and work on something more productive. she’s asking about her sister, trying to remind them that there are other people who need help, not just her. she’s telling them to go save the bigger cause rather than wasting their time saving one life. being the priority for once is so emotional for her, having 3 people who care about her deeply fighting so hard to save her is so comforting. it’s like now that she finally knows what that feels like, then everything is okay. that’s how she wants to leave the world --- knowing that people love her, but also knowing she’s done what she can to ensure that safety of everyone else, no longer fighting for her own survivor move.

#i was trying to wait to say anything about this til i can properly rewatch but #i cant shut up this episode was so good for me #its just such a beautiful ending for her its everything i wanted and didnt think id get #getting to tell r/aven she loves her??? how much she means to her????/ love that for me #this just has me so energized and im tired of seeing it deemed as bad writing #when its such a beautiful indication of her growth - one of the best character developments in the entire show #her getting to verbalize her feelings + getting to fight to save the greater good and not just her is so important to her characters end #chefs kiss #t100 spoilers #𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘: emori.#𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀: emori.#meta.

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