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riddle-me-ri · 2 years

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also oops i saw you had sirens!riddler in there too and i haven't read that yet but i know what he looks like and he's another one who is apparently allergic to buttoning up his shirt (not a negative) so uh, in light of him being surrounded by other super hot girls, please afab/female reader who needs a bit of reassurance and is offered the line "that's it. that's my girl." 💜 (and also ily again u-u)

A/N: omg omg asdfgghjj to be told "that's my girl" by any of the green beans asdfgghhj I'd instantly melt on the spot. I took some liberty and changed the quote a tad because I'm a rule breaker u-u but the tone is still there. And YESSS PI Eddie! PI Eddie! This was the perfect way to destress after my breakdown yesterday rip. Also this ended up being so fuckin' sweet? Like I love this set-up I have going?? I wanna write another sequel? AGAIN? (ily too thanks so much for requesting you have the best ideas I stg)

Trigger Warnings: descriptions of an anxiety/panic attack, insecurities, strong language, overall hurt/comfort, and the comfort is extra sweet and soft

Word Count: 1.9 k

Gotham City Sirens!Riddler x F!Reader - That's My Girl

You were seething.

It's a wonder your skin wasn't bubbling from how hot your blood was boiling.

You were once again picking out leaves from your hair and sweeping thorns from under your desk.

Another visit from Selina, Pamela, and Harley. A popular trio that's been dropping in like flies to their favorite dumpster.

Not a surprise there. They always came knocking on Edward's door whenever they were in the slightest bind and didn't bother to put in a single ounce of effort to solve their own problems.

Now you know that's not true. You know Pam would do anything before asking Ed for help. They're smart and resourceful, only coming to Eddie when they've reached a dead end. Wouldn't you do the same?

You huffed as you slumped back into your desk chair. You would do the same.

Besides, Selina has done a few favors for Edward before his reformation…and a couple during it. He owes her.

You lean your head back and cover your face with your hands. You were already tired from cleaning, you really didn't need these mental gymnastics going on.

He can rely on her for anything. All he can rely on you for is his paperwork being in order and to push his new image.

That is all you were just some pencil pusher in a pencil skirt.

In a city full of super heroes, super villains, super geniuses and super sexy powerful women…it was really easy to feel incredibly puny. Incredibly ordinary and insignificant.

In Gotham, if you weren't a hero or a villain..you were a bystander or a victim…

What are you even doing here? What the hell were you thinking even having a chance with Edward? Edward Nygma at that, the fucking reformed Riddler…

"What am I doing here?"

Just like that the walls were slowly caving in. The walls painted with insecurity and founded on anxiety started crumbling. Suffocating you, claustrophobia setting in.

When you leaned back from your chair, you felt bile come up in the back of your throat. You barely managed to swallow it back down.

You couldn't say the same for the tears welling up in your eyes.

Your hand started shaking on your desk. Everything was hazy and foggy around you.

What are you doing? You wasted space! To think you could hold a candle to the likes of Selina Kyle…fucking Catwoman! Poison Ivy, Mother Nature incarnate! Harley fucking Quinn, the Joker's ex boo and a 10 to boot!

You barely made out the soft shushing sounds you were making. Your hands caged around your head doing anything to cease the nagging, taunting cruel voice in your head.

You laid your head on the desk, wrapping your hands and arms over your skull. Something, anything to make it stop.

"Please…please just stop.." You murmured into the long sleeve of your black blouse that no doubt had tear stains now.

"Y/N?"

Everything came to a screeching halt. The mocking voice, the falling walls, the shakes, the tears. Everything.

Shit.

You popped your head up from under your arms like a jack in the box. Immediately grabbing the nearest and softest material to wipe your face with.

"Oh..umm…hi Mr. Nygma, I-Im sorry um..I was uhh.."

"I see Pam left a mess again. Funny, how much she wants to clean the environment but can't clean up after herself.." Ed chuckles in a remorseful tone. As he recalls the weeks she manipulated him with her pheromones and made herself at home in his apartment.

"Y-Yeah, can't…can't miss her that's for sure." You sniffle.

"Are you all right? Did something happen while I was out?"

"Oh no, no, nothing like that Mr. Nygma…I, I think I may just be having a small allergic reaction to Pam's plants."

Smooth.

If you don't shut up I swear to God…

Ed nodded but he doesn't look the slightest bit convinced. "I would have thought after a couple outings you would drop the formalities…"

You were fidgeting with the hem of your skirt. You lean back in your seat with your head hung low.

"Oh, yeah…sorry. Just force of habit…"

"We'll break that habit eventually, I'm sure."

"Hm.." You nodded solemnly.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

Edward started walking towards his office, but not without a gnawing feeling in the back of his brain. Something upset you greatly, and he wants…no…needs to figure out what it is.

You were hesitant to divulge any information that much was certain. Your face was puffy and red, your eyes were watery. More in line with crying than an allergic reaction.

Think, Eddie, think…

She was fine this morning, bright even. Smiling and content. She brought us both coffee and she gave me some medicine for my growing migraines…things were going great. She was gonna ask you something…

Then of course Selina and the others came in with another – oh!

While the wheels started turning in his head, he already knew he couldn't leave you alone to your own devices again.

He stopped in front of his door with his hand gripped to the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder and was immediately taken aback by the forlorn look on your face.

You got up slowly from your chair and slung your satchel over your shoulder. It was five o'clock when you usually left anyway, and you needed to get out even if you didn't want to.

You did feel better with Ed around but you were worried the next thing he'd say may cause you to break down again.

"W-wait, Y/N…"

Damnit.

"S-sorry Mr.-- Ed…I'm not feeling myself, I was going to head home, unless there's something you need me to do, and I can take it with me?"

Ed shook his year. "N-No..no, umm…can I speak to you for a minute, in my office. Please, if you don't mind of course."

"Oh, ok..sure. I'll be right there."

You were cursing yourself in your head as you sat your bag on your desk and followed him to his office.

Funny, all the times you fantasized about this exact set up, you didn't imagine you'd had an emotional breakdown just before.

You took a seat in the chair in front of his desk and Ed made his way to his chair. He put down his cane and hung up his signature green suit jacket.

When Ed sat down he rolled up his white dress shirt sleeves and removed his eye mask.

You hate when he wears that thing. You understood why he did. He did look cute with it on, but you adore his eyes too much to want them hidden all the time.

You couldn't stand the silence, so you choked out. "I-I'm sorry, Edward…I just kinda got stuck in my own head. It was stupid, and I'm sorry you had to see that."

Ed furrows his brows. "You don't need to apologize for that. It's perfectly…normal, I'm even prone to that at times…sometimes more often than I care to admit."

"I can't even begin to imagine, but it was over something so…trivial..childish even."

"I can be the judge of that…If you don't mind discussing it with me?"

You felt your throat clamp up again. You wanted to talk to him, you appreciated him even giving you his time to help console you. You two have been going out, but nothing was entirely official, so he didn't have to do this.

"Can I take a guess?"

You nod.

"Was it Selina, Pam, and Harley from earlier?"

You lowered your head in defeat but muttered a "y-yes."

"Why?"

"T-They're just…they just make me feel so…inadequate. Like I shouldn't be here, in your world. I envy them, as much as I hate to admit it. They're smarter, stronger, and they're gorgeous –"

Your fingers have started tapping the wooden desk as you got lost in your anxious rambling. It wasn't until Edward put his warm hand over yours that made you stop. You gasp and look up at him.

"S-Sorry, see? It's so stupid."

"Stop. I'm gonna stop you right there…"

He reached his other hand to grab your other hand. He held both of your hands and squeezed them.

"It's not stupid. As I said it's normal, but I'm telling you now, you've earned your seat here. Why? Because you are intelligent. This world of mine with villains, heroes and crooks, it takes someone of strong will to take it on every single day. Even if you're behind a desk there's always that sliver of a chance of something happening, because of me and who I was and who I am now."

Your breathing was evening out again, despite the thumping of your heart, but it wasn't from anxiety for once.

"And you are gorgeous, you drew me on the first day I saw you. More so than any of those three, they don't hold a candle to you…"

He squeezed your hands again.

"Besides…there's one thing you'll have that they never will."

"What's that?"

He offered a soft smile, "Riddle me this…what’s extremely valuable, risky to give, hard to receive and sometimes impossible to repair once it’s been broken?"

You blinked for a moment. Your heart skipped another beat when you realized the answer.

"Trust?"

Edward rewarded you with a warm smile and kissed the back of one of your hands. "They may be acquaintances, I'll scratch their back if they scratch mine later, but I don't trust any of them as far as I can throw them. But I trust you with everything…and anything."

"You really mean that?"

Ed teasingly scoffed. "Y/N…I know I'm many things but a man of my word I'm certainly am, you should know that."

You giggled. "Y-Yeah I do…t-that's just…I never knew that, never thought of that."

"I know, I…I don't show it often how much I appreciate you and just how much you mean to me. This is fairly new territory for me…but I would like to do better."

You couldn't deny it any longer. You got up from your chair and went over to his side of the desk. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace.

"T-Thank you," you whispered in his ear. He slowly stood up and wrapped his arms around your waist.

You kissed his cheek before you looked back into his eyes. "By the way, you're doing great."

Ed chuckled. "Good to know."

You giggled at the all too familiar lopsided smirk he gave you.

Edward leaned in and kissed your forehead. He brought his hand up to your cheek and caressed your cheek with his thumb.

"Wasn't there something you wanted to ask me this morning? Before we were very rudely interrupted."

"Hmm..oh!" You had gotten so infuriated after Ivy entwined you with her vines, tossed you out of the room, and constricted you to your chair…you completely forgot.

"Umm…oh! I was wondering if you would like to have dinner tonight…at..at my place?” You smiled sweetly.

Edward’s heart swelled up on the inside. Your eyes were bright with excitement, your posture was lax and comfortable against him, and your beaming smile was absolutely precious to him.

He couldn’t resist when he tucked your chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought your lips to his in a tender kiss. When he pulled away, he chuckled at your widened eyes and cheeks dusted a rosy hue. You smiled before you hid your reddening face into his shoulder. He tightened his hold on you, before he whispered in your ear:

“There she is, that’s my girl.”

#gotham city sirens riddler x reader #gotham city sirens edward nygma x reader #gotham city sirens riddler #gotham city sirens edward nygma #sirens!riddler x reader #sirens!edward nygma x reader #ri writes

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1whimsicalgal · 2 days

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Shooting Daniel Pearl’s Infamous Dolly Shot (From Pam’s POV) Or How I Got Lucky In Spite Of Myself.

When I came on the set that morning in Quick Hill, Texas, our make-up artist Dottie was repairing my make-up. I looked out of the corner of my left eye, over at the swing where I knew I was supposed to sit for our next scene of Pam approaching the house. Perplexed, I noticed Daniel Pearl, our cinematographer, lying down on his stomach, crouched over his camera, UNDER the swing, and exactly where I was soon to park my posterior. I noticed Danny wasn’t moving. He was settled in. I asked Dottie as she was powdering my face, “Hey, Dottie, what’s Daniel doing under the swing?” She mumbled something similar to “Idunno…”, and quickly walked away.

They told me they were ready and where I was to sit. Huh?? No way. Yes, the stories are true. I freaked out, 😱 Pam and Tobe began to argue, me refusing to do the shot. Meanwhile, and totally Unbeknownst to me, this was immediately following a giant argument he’d just had with the money dudes, the investors, who didn’t want him to do this new shot that Daniel had come up with the night before, at all. They were ranting at him, telling him that they HAD to stick to the storyboard. .. or else (btw, dpearldp tells that delicious story on his IG - link below). Well, I had No Clue what it was either. I was protecting my cheeks… if you read me. Chewing on his cigar stub, and none too happy with his troublesome actress playing ‘Pam’, Tobe had had enough and said, “Aw, goddamnit, Teri, we’re gonna shoot all around it!!!” Hmmmm, I’m thinkin’, ‘shoot-all-around-it’? Just what the hell does that mean? Anyway, I shut up and sat down, however, remaining highly, highly suspicious. I later learned that everyone, except me, was in on the tracking shot.

All I could think of was my mother 😲 O.M.G. (who was unsupportive at best of my chosen career) and my Aunt Gerry, who were both super-duper religious. I could literally picture them coming unglued when they saw it. Before it was released a year later, I dreaded watching myself on screen and THAT scene, having never seen dailies, I was haunted by the thought of watching it.

When it was released in October ’74, I was living in Dallas and drove with a friend to see it at a Saturday matinee in Tomball, TX, along with 300 screaming kids. When the scene started, my eyes were covered 🫣 I watched through my fingers, scared to death, and NOT of Leatherface. There, up on the screen, in CinemaScope and vivid Technicolor, were my cheeks in those red shorts… O.M.G. 🥶🥵

The irony of all my worry, neither one of them ever saw it. 😂

That scene has been taught in directing classes across the world for decades, and the 1974 film is held in the film archives of MoMA, The Smithsonian, and The Academy /Oscars.org.

MoMA recently announced a weeklong celebration the 50th anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre August 8-14, when members of the film’s creative team will join to discuss The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s production and legacy.

How fortunate we are.

As many of you know, I didn’t come out of anonymity as 'Pam for ’35 years, till March 2008, when, Bill ‘Kirk’ Vail and I both first appeared at a humongous Cherryhill, NJ, Monster-Mania Convention.

Cut to 2008 when my sweet Aunt Gerry was in her 90's, I went to visit her in Arkansas at her apartment in Peachtree Village for a few days, and I told her, "Aunt Gerry, did you know I'm famous?" She said, "You are??" I said, "I certainly am." 😎 I got out my Mac, opened it to FB and showed her the shot above. She giggled and smiled. She loved it! We enjoyed a really good laugh together.💞😂

Tobe and Kim had apparently seen my picture in the Austin American Statesman for a play I was doing with Frank Sutton (Gomer Pyle's Sargent) at @Mary Moody Northern Theater. My eyes were closed in the picture.😂 They had called the theater and our director, Ed Mangum, gave me the message when I came in for rehearsals. I was to return their call.

WHO KNEW??? Certainly, none of us!

🎥 Follow our amazing cinematographer, Daniel Pearl, for his post & POV on filming this scene, at dpearldp's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvtejukgJIP/ as well as many more great stories from his 50-year career. Daniel's website: danielpearldp.com/

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einsteinsugly · 10 months

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Some of the Gang's Parents, circa 2023.

@tht70sblog, your recent ficlet has gotten me thinking about the status of the gang's parents (well, JH and ED's parents), in the present day. In my verse, of course.

Alive: Kitty (age 91), WB (age 91), Bob (age 81)*

Possibly alive (?): Pam (age 84?). She disappeared in the early 2000s, after running off to Mexico with her boy toy Enrique.

Dead:

Edna (died sometime in the 1980s, most likely)

Jack (died 2004, age 84)

Red (died 2006, age 78)

Midge (died 2021, age 78)*

*****

Bob and Midge are about/over a decade younger than Red and Kitty. In fact, both Bob and Midge's parents were closer in age to Red (5-8 yrs apart) compared to Bob and Midge themselves (14 years apart). The last of Donna's grandparents died in 2016, age 95. This being Bob's mother, Marie, Bob's genetics for longevity are apparently on his side (somehow, despite having diabetes and weight issues for years).

#that 70s show #that 90s show #red and kitty #red forman #kitty forman #bob and midge #my essays

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lolaslocker · 1 year

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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Da-Nang Silk Sequin Button Down Blouse.

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miawritingaboutgenre · 1 year

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SECTION 3: Women in Film Noir:

British film scholar Janey Place, communicates the complications that come with the character trope of the Femme fatal, the spider woman, or any prominent female characters in classic film noir. She describes the women in film noir to be ‘active, not static symbols’ who are characterised by seemingly positive traits such as ‘intelligence…if destructively so’ who ‘derive power, not weakness from their sexuality’ (Place, 1994). The focus on the noir woman’s sexuality is highly significant in noir due to its ‘danger to the male character’, which is visually expressed through iconographies and mise-en scene, such as noticeable makeup and jewellery, cigarettes, and their legs, amongst many others. Similarly, this can be achieved through lighting and camera positioning/angles and movement which Janey explores through analysing films such as ‘Double Indemnity’ (Wilder, 1944) and ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ (Gatnett, 1946)

‘Mildred Pierce’ (Michael Curtiz, 1945) is a noir film that consists of different types of film noir women, and certainly conforms to many of the noir typologies. The film follows Mildred Pierce who is a lower-class home-owner, a wife and a mother to two young daughters. Mildred is devoted to her children, which essentially leads to her downfall by the conclusion of the film.

Pam Cook who is Professor Emerita in Film at the University of Southampton, challenges the films typicality within the 1940s genre which is ‘characterised by a prevailing mood of pessimism and paranoia…a visual style dependent upon expressionist lighting…and a convoluted orginisation of narrative’ (Cook:69). Similarly, she claims that the film ‘signifies its labour by which men command the means of production and women remain within the family’. (Cook, 69). Despite Cook’s exploration of the film does not discus the roles and significance of women in film Noir, her writing still manages to highlight the ways in which the films’ characters conform to the typologies of women in noir.

Mildred Pierce, released in the same year of the ending of World War Two presents a female protagonist who essentially conforms to the way women were supposed to behave in society after the war: as a mother and house wife. According to Pam Cook, Mildred becomes ‘the historical need to re-construct an economy based on a division of labour by which men command the means of production and women remain within the family’. The film ends with Mildred returning to her original husband and loosing her children, placing her back into the domestic role that women were expected to succumb too.

Veda Pierce, Mildred’s daughter who is portrayed by Anna Blyth, can be considered the femme fatale of the film, which is one way it can be considered a noir film.

As displayed above, the lighting is very conventional for film noir. Veda is extremely manipulative and morally corrupt, and she utilises her sexuality and feminism to get what she wants which can be applied to a point that Place makes in regards to the femme fatal, when she writes that she’s someone who ‘tempts men and brings about his destruction’ (Place:47) While Veda certainty fits the visual appearance of a femme fatal due to her hair, makeup and other features that are considered iconographies of the genre, it is her independence that stands out; during the world-war two society in which women were expected to be providers, like Mildred, Veda stands out significantly as an ‘intelligent’ woman who certainly does ‘derive power…from her sexuality’ (Place:47).

Works Cited:

Place, J. ‘Women in Film Noir’ in Kaplan, E. Ann. (1994) Women in Film Noir, London: BFI, pp. 35-67.

Mildred Pierce (1945) Directed by M. Curtiz. [Feature film]. United States: Warner Bros

Cook, P. ‘“Exploitation Films” and Feminism’, Screen, Vol. 17 no. 2, summer 1976.

Cool, P , ‘Duplicity in Mildred Pierce‘, in E Ann Kaplan (ed), Women in Film Noir, (London: BFI Publishing, 1980), pp 68-82, p. 68.

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beautyqueen-inspirationalblog · 2 years

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beautyqueeninspirationalblog

The Plateau State Police Command has arrested the woman who allegedly tortured an 11-year-old girl, Margaret Joshua, to d£ath in Jos.

Spokesperson of the command, Alfred Alabo, confirmed the development to newsmen in a statement on Thursday, November 17, 2022.

The PPRO said the suspect, a mother of two and a microbiologist at the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom (NVRI) Plateau, Mrs Nnamaka Nwachukwu, forced the minor to sit in a bowl of hot water, which resulted in severe injuries in her buttocks and private part.

The suspect, who resides in K-Vom, Jos south LGA, was said to have inflicted injuries on the body of the minor until she d!ed from the torture.

The victim is said to be a native of Kebbi state, who escaped her community over insecurity, and was brought to Jos by a presumed helper who gave her out as a maid to the suspect.

The suspect allegedly beat the minor constantly and refused to register her in school despite promising to enrol the victim.

The police spokesperson said the case is currently being investigated, adding that the suspect would be charged to court soon.

Grace Pam, coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Plateau, who followed up on the case, said the injuries on the body of the minor showed she was subjected to torture.

The suspect claimed the girl fell on her own into the bowl of hot water and ran out of the house without her knowing her whereabouts for more than 24hrs.

Pam said the girl was found in a building and taken to the K-Vom police station, before she was moved to the hospital where she died hours later.

Our attention was called about the situation on Monday, by a staff of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), who said that an 11-year-old girl had been seriously beaten up and injured by her guardian, Pam said.

On getting to the hospital, we saw several old and new scars, and injuries on her entire body. We were told that she was taken to Mandela hospital in K-Vom, but was referred to JUTH due to the severity of her wounds.

beautyqueeninspirationalblog

#repeat #repository #disability #newport #black panther #healthcare

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docrotten · 2 years

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THE MUTILATOR (1984) – Episode 211 – Decades Of Horror 1980s

“By pick, by axe, by sword, bye-bye!” They forgot by pitchfork, by gaff hook, and by pointy coat hooks. Join your faithful Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Crystal Cleveland, and Jeff Mohr – as they check out the mutilations in The Mutilator (1984).

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 211 – The Mutilator (1984)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

A college student, who accidentally killed his mother as a child, decides to take his friends to his father’s fishing cabin during fall break, not knowing that his crazed father is stalking the place.

Directors: Buddy Cooper, John Douglass

Writer: Buddy Cooper

Special Makeup Effects:

Mark Shostrum (makeup supervisor/special makeup effects)

Anthony Showe (makeup supervisor/special makeup effects)

Selected Cast:

Matt Mitler as Ed Jr.

Ruth Martinez as Pam

Bill Hitchcock as Ralph

Connie Rogers as Sue

Frances Raines as Linda

Morey Lampley as Mike

Jack Chatham as Ed Sr.

Ben Moore as Cop

Trace Cooper as Young Ed Jr.

Pamela Weddle Cooper as Mother

Crystal chose The Mutilator when she saw that a sequel had just wrapped filming and is scheduled for a September 2022 release. According to her, this is not a case of so-bad-it’s-good, it’s just bad. It’s strange and weird and there are no surprises in the story. On the plus side, there is some decent gore.

Chad views The Mutilator as a cross between a Mentos commercial and Growing Pains (TV Series, 1985-1992). In other words, it’s not good. He’s also puzzled by the lead not being bothered at all by the deaths of friends. However, it’s great to see some of Mark Shostrum’s early effects work and there are some creative kills. The actors in The Mutilator give it the old college try with their attempts at campy humor but they are not supported in their efforts by the script, according to Jeff. For him, the only positive is Mark Shostrum’s effects work.

To summarize, your 80s Grue-Crew is none too enamored with The Mutilator, but if you’re a Mark Shostrum fan or want to prepare for the sequel’s release, you might still want to check it out. As of this writing, The Mutilator is available to stream free with ads from Tubi and from multiple subscription services, including Shudder and Arrow. In terms of physical media, The Mutilator (2-Disc Special Edition) [Blu-ray + DVD ] is available from Arrow Video.

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Chad, will be The Ripper (1985) “starring” Tom Savini!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the website or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at [email protected]

Check out this episode!

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miraculous-trinity-leo · 3 years

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Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 5: Then Let The Games Begin

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Soooo, the Batfam is panicking, Gotham's confused as to why Iron Man is flying over Gotham like a madman, and Maria is with two of Gotham's Sirens (but only Ivy and Harley know this) having a wonderful time playing with Bud and Lou.

Let's start with the Sirens.

Harley is watching over Maria and Tikki as they sleep with Bud and Lou, Ivy walkes over to sit next to Harley, handing her a cup of tea.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" - Ivy

"She has some sort of trauma, has class issues... and handles more than she should, but still does everythin', on top of bein' a hero. She's been through some sh-t Pam." Yeah Harley may have found out Maria's a hero (if the tiny god and magic were anything to go by).

"Is she alone?" - Ivy

"No, thankfully, she has supportive parents, and friends that aren't little sh-ts. I think they're also heroes, she also has a lot, and I a mean A LOT of pent up emotions, she doesn't show anythin' negative, only positive things. She seems to shrink in on herself if she thinks she does somethin' wrong. Pam, we both know there's a limit to how much crap a person can take before they snap, and she's such a sweet kid. There has to be somethin' we can do to help her Ives." Ok she found out alot, but in Marias' defense, they have trustworthy souls, and they were the only other people (besides her friends) that she talked to about it, yes she had her Maman and Uncle to talk about hero stuff, but for the stuff her class does, she only ever vented (without being negative) to her friends.

"Her class is visiting the Botanical Gardens in three days, and it's a 2 part tour, so we can see just what's going on. If it's bad then we scare them a bit, if it's bad bad... they can handle a few slightly poisonous plants right?" - Ivy

"God I love the way ya think Ives, do ya think she can stay with us? I mean look at how cute she is with Bud and Lou... Oh my god, she's cuddlin' dem, and ya gave her a flower crown, how'd I miss that?! Where's the camera?"

Harley took a picture to remind her of this wonderful moment. As Ivy and Harley looked at the picture, they both promised to keep Maria safe, and maybe become sorta kinda-ish parents to her while she's in Gotham.

•—–·Now back to the Bat-Chaos Bat-Cave·–—•

Tim took over the chair and was now searching the possible locations with Jarvis, Damian was sitting on a different chair, trying to act cool, but he wouldn't stop looking over at Tim, to see his progress. Bruce was talking over the comms with Tony. Dick and Jason, weren't helping (they kept feeding each other worse and worse ideas of what could have happened to Maria). Then they heard Jarvis speak.

"I have found the most likely area Ms. Dupain-Cheng would be in. Her phone died about 56 blocks away from her hotel, if we don't count kidnapping, or murder, she would have thought about asking for directions, but may have decided not to considering the city she is in. So that leaves us with a possible 15-25 mile radius from her last known location. I think it best to divide into groups of two, have Oracle stay and update you if anything on security, and or traffic cameras happens. Bruce will be with Tony, Dick will go with Tim, and Jason will go with Damain to search within the area. Stephanie and Cassandra will search around a 5 mile radius near Wayne hotel." as Jarvis continued to explain the other details, the Batfam began to suit up, Batman met up with Iron Man, and they took the North area, Nightwing and Red Robin took the East area, while Red Hood and Robin searched the South. Steph and Cass were on foot in civilian clothes, searching the West area they were assigned.

They searched for the whole day, and came up with nothing. Until Oracle saw a video from a traffic cam around 9pm, 15 blocks away from where her phone died. She called it in and everyone went back to the cave. Once everyone was at the Bat-Computer, Oracle pressed play, the cameras didn't have sound, and it wasn't close enough to see if she was ok.

They watched as she went to an overgrown parking lot and sat down. She was looking down at the ground, and that's when they spotted two figures round the corner and spot her. They watched as the two figures approach Maria, and saw the startled reaction she had. They realized it was Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy that were talking to her, then they saw Maria collapse. They watched as Harley made sure she was ok, looking over to Ivy before looking back to Maria and picking her up. The last thing they saw, was Maria being carried away by two of Gothams' most dangerous rouges, but now they knew where to look next.

•—–· Back to Ivy and Harley ·–—•

Harley continued to take adorable pictures of the children.

"God, they're so f-ckin' cute!" - Harley for the 20th time

As Ivy continued to watch while caring for her plants, Catwoman walked in.

"Hey girls, got the stuff for movie night, so what are we- Holy mother of cats! He adopted another f-cking child didn't he! Where the hell does he keep finding them?! 7 was ment to be the god DAMN LIMIT!!!" - Catwoman

Maria jumped at the sudden shouting and may have accidentally summoned a yo-yo (one made useing creation magic and protection magic) before saying.

"Tikki where's the akuma?! How long was I out?! Forget it Tikki spot-" she then realized she wasn't in Paris, and seeing a new face, she also realized she just spilled her secret to another person within the same day... kinda

"Fffffffffffudge sunday that fell on the pavement!" - Maria shouted in baker profanities

"That's not how ya curse sweetheart. It should go more like-" Harley was cut off by a vine Ivy had summoned.

"Harley, cursing makes the plants sad, you know this." - Ivy said removing the vine

Harley just walked over to Maria and whipsered it in her ear.

"You're supposed to say it more like this, ' ..... .... ... .. ....... .. ... .....' ok?" - Harley ended with a big smile

"... I will never see this world in the same frickin' light ever again." - Maria

"ehh close enough." - Harley

"Can someone please tell me, WTH is going on here, on our special girls day off?!" - Catwoman

"She is a new member of the Sirens as of today, and as a member, she's unda our protection, so effective immediately." - Harley

"Cool." - Maria

"Harley." - Ivy

"Wut... first things first, if she is going to join, she needs to be very flexible, know how to fight, and be incredibly intelligent." - Catwoman

"She beat Ed's @ss with a gun pointed at her, and solved every riddle with ease, so I'm positive she'll be an amazin' addition to the team." - Harley

'God she sounds like a new mother now' "But we don't know how good her flexibility is." - Catwoman

"I know, hey Maria, ya wanna do some tricks with me, of course we need to stretch first, but do ya wanna give it a go?" - Harley

"Sure." - Maria

Ivy and Catwoman sat down on a couch a few feet away from where Maria and Harley stood in the empty part of the building. They started out with stretches, and to Catwoman's surprise (and Harley's delight) Maria copied Harleys streches perfectly.

"Ok, now that that's done, we'll start with some cartwheels, then move on to flips, then handsprings and so on." - Harley

Maria gave Harley a nod... and they were off... literally, Harley did a cartwheel into a handspring, and a few backflips, Maria executed it flawlessly. Harley did some more complicated gymnastics tricks, and Maria did it, Harley did triple backflips going into a cartwheel, into a summersault, and Maria did that perfectly as well. This went on until both Harley and Maria were slightly out of breath, both having massive smiles on their faces.

"Ives, please let her join, she's like a mini me." - Harley then hugged Maria and they somehow both tripled in cuteness as they both did puppy (or Puss In Boots style) eyes at Catwoman and Ivy.

"Sure Harley." - Ivy said walking over to give Harley a small kiss on the cheek.

"Okay... but she doesn't have a costume yet, and she still has to think of a name for herself." - Catwoman

"Is a mouse good, like a mouse themed costume, that or a Turtle themed one. What do you think Harley?" - Maria

"Mmmm, I like that with the mouse you can always toy with Cat, ya know, cat an' mouse stuff, turtle seems... weird even fawh Gotham, so personally I would pick mouse, just because of the cheesy jokes you could do." - Harley

"Very funny, ok then, give me a moment." Maria then reached out her hand, her eyes then started to glow an icy blue, and a small portal opened in front of her, she reached in and pulled out a small pendant necklace. After she put it on a small mouce appeared and greated itself, Marias' eyes going back to normal after closing the portal.

"Hello I'm Mullo, nice to meet you all."

"Omg omg omg, It's soooo f-ckin' CUTE!" - Harley

"Best to assume all of them are extremely cute Harls." - Ivy

"What the Hell did I miss in the week I was gone?!" - Catwoman

"Ehh, not much, oh but Iron Man did fly aroun' Gotham a few times earlier this mornin' like a madman." - Harley

"Oh sh-t." - Maria

"Maria are ya ok? That was ya first official proper curse in my presence." Harley said looking over to the girl.

"He's gonna kill me." - Maria

"Wait, what do you mean Marigold?" - Ivy

"... He's my Uncle, and I never got to text him I was ok, since my phone died before I met you." - Maria

"Hey, I'm sure he'll understand, now what are we watchin'?" - Harley

"I think we have more important matters other than movies at the moment!" - Catwoman

"Ok, Me Myself and Irene it is." - Harley

"No! You basically kidnapped Iron Mans' NIECE!!!" - Catwoman

"Technically, she fainted and us bein' the good Gothamites we are, decided to take her with us, to make sure she was a-okay." - Harley

"I'm ganna need more than just a six pack of soda to get me through this... Just put the movie on already." - Catwoman

Catwoman sat at the far left end of the couch, next to her sat Ivy, then Maria, and then Harley, Bud and Lou by their feet. All of them sharing one big blanket (Becuase if Iron Man did show up, or any of the birds, then Maria was in a protective burrito and they may not see her right away) and they started the movie.

•—–·–—•

"Oh god, the poor cow." - Maria

.........

"Hahahaha, he stuck a whole f-ckin' chicken head in that guys @ss" - Harley

"The poor chicken." - Maria

"Maria you don't want to see this part." - Ivy then lightly covered her eyes for the ehem, chicken extraction.

.........

"Anyone up for another movie?" - Harley

"That depends." - Ivy

"Any suggestions Cat?" - Harley looked across to the other end of the couch to see Catwoman already sleeping.

"She took her cat-nap already? Seriously?" - Harley

"... What about Pirates of The Caribbean?" - Maria

"I'm good with that." - Ivy

And they started the next movie, Maria was happy, it felt like when her maman and papa would sleep with her when she made a pillow fort. It was a loving atmosphere, it felt safe, and nothing could ruin it. Marias' eyes became heavy, and she leaned her head on Harleys' shoulder, falling asleep after a few minutes.

Ivy paused the move looking over to see both Harley and Maria sleeping, soon Ivy also fell asleep in the comfortable silence.

…………………………

Around an hour later Maria woke up in a panic, she had a nightmare, and kept looking around frantically for someone with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter hun?" - Harley said looking around to see if someone had gotten in. When she looked back at Maria she saw that she was crying.

"What happened?" Harley asked in a kind voice that was filled with motherly love.

"I, just *hic* had a bad dream that's *hic* all, I'm fine." - Maira said trying to wipe the tears away.

"You're ok, I promise nothin's goin' to happen to ya as long as Ivy and I are here, ok hun?" - Harley hugged Maria, and she could feel the girl let out a few more sobs, and quick breathes.

"Thanks Maman." Maria didn't even realize what she had said, it just felt natural for her to say it.

"You're welcome hun." 'Omg I'm gonna cry, she called me maman!' Harley rubbed small circles over Marias' back, and began humming until she fell asleep, she continued to hug Maria until she also fell asleep.

•—–· Back to the Chaos Bat-Cave ·–—•

"What do you mean she's with two of Gotham City's Sirens?!" - Tony

"Tony, calm down, I'll call Selina, she can talk to them and get this all sorted out." - Bruce

"Your fiancee is a Gotham Siren too?! Why didn't you tell me?!" - Tony

"Why isn't she picking up? And unlike some people, this family doesn't like outing our secret identities... on live TV." - Bruce

"Oh well excuse me for not keeping my secret identity a SECRET!" - Tony

"I'll try calling her one more time." - Bruce

"Bruce, it's 3am. Who in their right mind ever stays up this late.... aside from this family." - Tim with a giant coffee mug in hand.

"... I'll just call her one more time." Bruce then connected it to the Bat-Computer so everyone could hear.

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Catwoman's phone is ringing like crazy, waking everyone up, including a tired, annoyed, and confused Selina.

"Wth does he want at 3 in the morning?!" - Selina

"Just answer it so we can keep sleepin'." - Harley still hugging Maria

"I'm putting it on speaker, so you lot can testify against his @ss in court, for disturbing the peace."

•—–· Over to Batsy ·–—•

"Selina I need to ask-"

"WHAT THE F-CKING HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT A GOOD NIGHTS REST!" - Selina

"Oooooh, she sounds pissed Bruce." - Jason

"I'm sorry to call you at this hour, but we need to find a girl that looks just like every single one of my other kids." - Bruce

"Bruce... I thought we agreed that 7 kids was. the. f-cking. limit." - Selina

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Selina looked over to Maria before muting the speaker.

"Do you want them to know you're here Kitten?" - Selina

"... I'm tired, I haven't had coffee, I have no filter, so f-ck it, act like you never saw me today, and let them drown in chaos. " - Maria

"I think I like filter less Maria." - Harley

"Okay." Selina shrugged her shoulders and then un-muted her phone, putting it back on speaker mode.

"Where was she last seen?" - Selina

"She was last seen with Harley and Poison Ivy, I want you to see if she's still with them." - Bruce

Selina looked over to Maria and Harley, both of them shook their heads with mischievous grins.

"I've been with them all day, and I haven't once seen a girl that looks like your kids. Now can I go back to sleep, and forget this ever happened?" - Selina

"WHERE IS MY NIECE!!!" - Tony

"Oh, hey Tony, didn't know you were there, don't know who, or where your niece is, but good luck trying to find her. Oh and Bruce, I'm shutting my phone off so you don't keep calling till the butt crack of dawn. And congrats it's now 4am. you owe me a lunch date, uh-ba-bye." Selina then hung up her phone and turned it off.

"That went pretty well if you ask me, now I'm going back to sleep." - Selina

•—–· Back to Batsy ·–—•

The room was silent for a few minutes before Jason spoke up.

"Does that mean that Pixiepop ran away and is even more lost now?!" - Jason

"Oh god, what do we do, what if she got hurt?!" - Dick

"What if she got kidnapped?!" - Jason

"What if she's with a big time Gotham Villain?!" - Dick

"... What if she got more coffee?" - Tim

"Oh Hell No" - Jason/Dick

"... Lets all go to sleep, and when we wake up, we'll head over to their base and double check. She could've just said that because I called her at 3am." - Bruce

"But my niece is still out there!" - Tony

"You're going to sleep Tony." - Pepper then dragged Tony to his room.

•—–· Back to Maria ·–—•

Selina went to a different part of the building, where Maria assumed the bedrooms were. Ivy had gone to the greenhouse to be with the plants, and now it was just her and Harley left on the couch, and she couldn't sleep.

"... Harley?" - Maria

"Yeah hun?" - Harley

"I can't sleep." - Maria

"Well, watcha wanna do till ya get tired?" Harley asked sitting up a little straighter to get a better look at Maria.

Maria gave a sly smile, and looked Harley in the eyes "Want to go free-running on the rooftops?"

"... Alright, but lets get some coffee, and a snack in us first." - Harley gave her a side hug, before getting up to go make the coffee, and grab some snacks.

After they had their coffee, they climbed to the roof of the base. Harley was in her outfit, bat in hand and ready to do some bonding.

"So, how does ya outfit work?" - Harley

"Like so, ready Mullo?" - Maria

"Yes Maria" - Mullo

"Ok, Mullo, Get Squeaky!" A bright light flashes, and when Harley could see again, Maria was in a dark gray suit, wearing black knee high boots, with a strip of pink at the knee, and black elbow length gloves with the same pink strip at her elbow. Her mask was a slightly lighter gray on the top part, and pink on the bottom. Her hair was pulled into two buns with pink ribbons that faded to gray, and to black at the very tip. Her jump rope around her waist forming a tail going just below the back of her knees.

"Just when I think ya can't get any more adorable. So what should I call ya?" - Harley

"You can call me Multimouse." - Maria

Soon they were racing and doing tricks off different roofs, they were really enjoying themselves. From one of the roofs they heard a commotion in one of the alleys, when they looked down they saw a man holding a woman at gunpoint.

"Not good, seems like he's got issues, probably lost his lover, most likely has additions to drugs and alcohol, and seems to be a little tipsy." - Harley

"I've got a plan." - Multimouse

…………

Multimouse droped a little way behind the guy, grabbing his attention while Harley got the lady to safety.

"You know there's a help center two blocks from here that would be more than willing to help you." - Multimouse

The crook just raised his gun to her trying to keep it steady as he spoke.

"Give me all your money little girl, or else I'll hurt you."

"1. That's not how you hold a gun. 2. That is no way to treat any girl. and 3. Instead of money, I'll give you my jump rope." - Multimouse

"Why the hell would I want your jump rope, that thing looks worthless." the crook lowered his guard enough as Multimouse pretended to hand over her jump rope, only to use it in a quick motion to dismarm the man, as Harley promptly knocked him out with one swing.

"Lets neva have ya at gunpoint again, okay hun? I'm afraid my heart can't take it." - Harley said while tying the crook to a lamppost.

"Sorry, but it was the best idea I could come up with at the moment, besides, any guy with a gun would feel like they have the upper hand if they're facing a random little girl with a jump rope, rather than Gothams' Harley Quinn with a bat." - Multimouse

"Sadly I'm just too popular with the kiddos on the street." - Harley

…………

They continued to stop a few more muggers on the way back to the base, and when they got back they peaked around the corner to see the whole Batfam plus Iron Man talking with Ivy and Selina.

"How much you want to bet we can get back out before they see us?" - Whispering Multimouse

"... Lets try hidin' in the kitchen." - Whispering Harley

As they tried to sneak by (still in their costumes) Selina just walks over and draggs them to the group.

"Here, now let me sleep!" - Selina

"Dang it Selina we wanted tah see just how long we could hide out in the kitchen!" - Harley

Selina did a double take now realizing they both went out.

"... You didn't." - Selina

"We wanted tah go free-runnin'! So what?" - Harley

"She could've gotten hurt Harls." - Ivy

"My suits magic, I am invulnerable to bullets, normal magic, swords, knifes, anything staby staby, and I can withstand any temperature in it." Multimouse said with a slight pout.

"Hold up, is she a magical girl?" - Red Hood in the background

When Selina let go both Harley and Multimouse went behind Ivy for protection.

"We can still make a run for it." - Harley whispered to Multimouse

"... Ok, I'll meet you on the roof." - Whispering Multimouse

Harley gave a nod as she slowly inched her wasy closer to the door that lead to the roof, as she saw Iron Man approach Multimouse.

"Please get out of your suit, we need to talk about why you're here-" - Iron Man

"Multitute!" - Multimouse

Harley then saw Multimouse shrink into dozens of tiny little versions of herself as her clones spread out in all directions, one of which was heading right for her.

"Wth, you never told us she could use magic!" - Red Robin

Harley picked her up, and slipped through the door without anyone noticing.

"That was great, but how do ya get back tuh normal size?" - Harley

"Simple, I just merge back with my clones." As she said this, all her clones came back, and she merged with herself, becoming normal sized again.

"Where to?" - Multimouse

………… So now The Batfam is trying to find many long gone Mini-Multimouses, and Harley seems to have disappeared with her. Harley and Multimouse are now running over the roofs, heading for Wayne Manor.

"So why are we going to Wayne Manor?" - Multimouse

"Because, Batsy will neva think of lookin' for us at his own home, at least not fawh a little while." - Harley

When they arrived at the Manor, Multimouse de-transformed as Harley knocked on the door.

"Ms. Quinn, Ms. Maria, pleasure to see you here, please come in." - Alfred

"Are any of the bat-birds here?" - Harley

"Ms. Barbara, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Cassandra are the only ones here at the moment." - Alfred

"Do ya think you can keep us bein' here a secret from Batsy?" - Harley

"Harley? What are you doing here with Maria?" - Barbara

"It seems that Ms. Harley and Ms. Maria are now playing hide and seek with the rest of the family." - Alfred

"Did someone say hide and seek?" - Steph

"Yes, so could we maybe try and keep this a secret from everyone else, please?" - Maria

"Sure, it was starting to get boring around here. We can all hide in the living room no one ever use. Barbara you show them the way, I'll get the food/drinks and boardgames." - Steph

"Is this alright with you Alfred?" Maria

"It's all right Ms. Maria, you can hide out in the old living room." - Alfred

"Thanks Alfie, ya the best." - Harley

"Thank you Alfred." - Maria

"Ok then, follow me." - Barbara

…………

In the old living room, Harley, Maria, Barbara, Steph, and Cass began to formulate a plan.

"Ok, so the best way for them to never find you is to have your phone off, stay away from any and all cameras, and show your face to no one." - Steph

"So, do you have anything in mind that you might want to do?" - Barbara

"Can we put them on a wild goose chase?" - Maria

Cass nodded to Marias' suggestion approvingly.

"I can hack a few traffic cams to help with that." - Barbara

"We can also throw in some useless hints, to throw dem even further off our scent." - Harley

"Good idea Harley." - Barbara

"Thanks, but how long do ya think we should make it last?" - Harley

"As long as Maria wants it to." - Barbara

"Then let the games begin." - Maria.

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Chapter 5 complete. Hope everyone is stayin' safe, Rockin' those Positive Vibes, and havin' an absolutely wonderful day. BUG-OUT 🐞💮🐞

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awigglycultist · 3 years

Text

Okay hatchetfield zombie apocalypse au bc why not ("but tgwdlm is a zombie apocalypse" shh no that's an alien musical apotheosis and also this is won't be the exact same as tgwdlm)

This ended up being way longer than I thought it would and also kinda ramblely (is that a word??) oops. So read the rest under the cut

Okay this takes place in 2019

Emma and Paul are together, emam ofc suggests they going to her cooky reclusive biology professor

This isn't the apocalypse Henry excepted and he doesn't like that, but hey he still prepped for an apocalypse so he's safe

Since this isn't a musical apocalypse and it'd probably be pretty hard to get money off of someone during a zombie apocalypse, so he's currently not trying to murder anyone

He let's Emma and Paul stay with him

But then Emma is like "hey you have room do you think my nephew, brother in law and his gf could stay with us? The gf's a nurse she could be helpful!!"

He eventually agrees

Then Paul's like "hey my coworkers are kid dumb asses there's know way they're surviving an apocalypse on their own can they stay with us? And also one of them has daughter and the other has a little brother (cough cough HCB) them too?"

And then Hidgens ends up agreeing to that, and then Alice and HCB are ofc both like "wait hold on our friends-" (ie: Deb, Ziggs, Grace Chasity (this would be HCB's friends not Alice's ofc), Cineplex kid (because I said so) Ethan (also Tony, my beloved) Lex and Hannah (once again, because I said so, do we seem them interact? No, but they're friends now)

And Hidgens at this point is like "well fucking fine I guess so! Bring em here we have a bunch of ppl already so why not!!"

All of these people, living under one roof (albeit a very big roof) is ofc chaos!

I'd imagine ppl kinda stay in groups a bit tho. Like the teens stay with each other for the most part. CCRP gang hangs out together most. Ect.

Still, very chaotic. The teens (really mostly Deb, Ethan and Lex) causing plenty of trouble. The adults all being dumb asses. Plenty of arguments between Bill and Ted ofc. And probably several arguments between the nerdy prudes (grace, hcb and cineplex) and the other teens. Probably one fight between Alice and Ziggs but it gets settled quickly and they figure everything out and clear the air and become good friends.

I mean you think this amount of ppl, particularly this certain group of ppl, are going to be well organized durning the apocalypse? Hell no!

Hidgens is the only one that actually understands shit about apocalypse, he's the one who prepared! (once again: although for the wrong one) so he's constantly having to be like "no we can't do that that's dangerous!!" Emma, Alice and Lex are the only other really competent ones.

Hidgens ofc spends his time trying to find a cure, Emma helps him. If life ever goes back to normal she has an automatic A in his class for the rest of college just for going through this shit and helping him.

Tom, Bill, and Tony are the dads. They're obviously dealing with the kids. But the do mainly try and focus on their own kid because... That their kid ofc they care about them the most. But they try to take care of the other kids too.

Bill has a rough time connecting with anyone besides Alice. But Grace was always nice to him church so there's that. And ofc Alice has gf, a gf he doesn't like a ton but now he's very much stuck with so he might as well try and get along with. They eventually do.

Tom ofc like I said cares most about Tim. But after him the next he cares most about are CaliforMIA gang. Lex and Ethan were his students (I know it's not confirmed that Ethan was one of students but he is now bc I want him to be), probably his favorite students, and that Lex's little sister who's only a few years older than Tim, ofc he's also gonna care a lot about them.

Tony also cares alot about Lex and Hannah, that's his son's gf and her little sister, once again, ofc he'll care about them alot too.

Becky absolutely cares about all the kids a ton!! She's a nurse who works with kids, she's very nurturing and mother like. She cares for and about them all fairly equally but Tim is her favorite because... Well that's her bf's son and she's known him the longest out of any of the kids ofc. Lex and Hannah end up loving Becky alot because she's so much kinder and sweet than their biological mother.

Before the apocalypse Ted took care of HCB, now he's still taking care of him ofc. Ted doesn't want to be taking care of any of the kids besides his brother. He wants to drink and party and stuff. I mean it's the apocalypse so why not? But he ends up taking care of Grace and Cineplex quite a bit too. This happens not bc others aren't taking care of them, they are being taken by the other plenty well (like I said the dads and Becky all care for all the kids they just have favorites) but because they see HCB going to Ted for almost everything and Ted doing stuff for/helping out HCB so they're like "well okay guess we'll go to him too" He's not happy about it. He already has to deal with his obnoxious little nerdy prude bother and now there's two more? But part of them reminds him a lot of himself when he was younger. Maybe that's why he doesn't like them, or also maybe that's why secretly likes them a ton?

Hidgens, Emma, Ted, Tom and Lex are the ones that go out most often because they're the only who are really able to fight off the zombies and stay safe a stuff (okay Ted not so much as the others but they bring him anwyay cause Henry's like "he looks like he can use gun or something" and Emma, Paul, Bill and Charlotte are all like "this is a horrible idea don't bring him" but they do anwyay. He doesn't kill any of the others so hey why not keep bringing him? Besides if something goes wrong they can use him as bait or throw him to the zombies to get them off the rest of the group /hj)

Other ppl in Hatchetfield exist of course and are out they're trying to survive. Sam and Pamela are some of the first to die that's karma bitch

Lex and Hannah were living with Pamela ofc when the apocalypse hit, the girls wanted to go somewhere safer but Pam wouldn't let them, then one day she went out and got turned into a Zombie, the girls quickly took that as their chance to escape and they went to Tony and Ethan and then ofc ended up at Hidgens'

Charlotte was with Sam before he turned into a Zombie and then when he did she ran to Ted & HCB and stayed with them before they ended up at Hidgens'

Gary and MIAH are together and trying to survive on they're own. Sylvia, Melissa, and Greenpeace Girl end up meeting each other and decide to gang up together and they're badasses. Dan and Donna are two focused on the news and finding out if Peanuts is surving (which yes, Peanuts, (as well as Papa Ed.. At least for a while) are doing fine) and they die pretty quickly. Holloway and Duke are doing great, Holloway's a witch so yeah she's good and ofc Duke is with her so he's good too.

Lucy is in Hatchetfield and she's already in the woods vibing with Chumby before the apocalypse hits (THAM doesn't happen in this universe and instead Lucy ends up finding Chumby own her own because uh??? Reasons??? Idk bc I said so) the two of them have no idea there's a zombie apocalypse. The Paul clones take this apocalypse as they're chance to escape, Paul23 leading the uprising ofc, they don't kill Paul and take his place tho, instead it's more like "there's a zombie apocalypse? Oh fuck yeah!" *escapes* "oh theres a zombie apocalypse oh no-" some try to stay in a group and live together, some try to go out their own. There's now a bunch of random Pauls and Paul zombies around town. The main gang do end up seeing the clones and they're all just kind like "uhhh wtf???" except Paul, he's absolutely freaking out, the clones kinda are just "uhh haha how do we explain this".

Spoiler alert: the world isn't destroyed. How? Not totally sure yet but probably through Hidgens managing to find a cure and time travel. Emdriod has traveled back in time to replace Emma, but oopsie she didn't travel back far enough so she can't kill Emma in Guatemala, so she goes to Hatchetfield in hopes she can kill Emma when no ones looking and just replace her then, but oh no there's apocalypse so thats a much bigger issue. She survives easily, she's strong af, doesn't need food, all that jazz. She and Emma do meet each other and it's another "wtf?" "how do I explain this?" situation. But Emdriod lies ofc and kinda explains what happened but said that she accidentally time travelled and leaves out the whole wanted to kill her part. Now the Emdriod has found Emma she does try to kill her, that's awfully hard to do tho considering Emma is literally always with a group of people, and Emdriod doesn't want to just kill Emma right in front of everyone bc then they'll all hate her and her goal isn't to just kill Emma it's too replace her. She end up giving up and she runs into Paul 23 and they bond of my doubles of someone and wanted to kill that somoen at first and then fall in love and kill zombies together :)

Ohh uhh other ships: Paulkins, Lexthan, Barneston, Potseed (Alice x Deb) ofc. Charted, Obnoxious Teens (HCB x Cineplex Kid) oh and ofc Holloduke. Uhh Bill x being okay for once, Ted x probably not dying for once (not too sure about that one yet) Hidgens x not actually trying to murder someone for once

Wait wait I just got idea: the zombie apocalypse occurs BECAUSE of Hidgens, he tries too bring back the working boys (remember his original backstory with accidentally killing them and stuff??)

Okay I think that's all I got for now

#starkid #hatchetfield #tgwdlm #black friday #nightmare time

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augustvandyne · 3 years

Text

Who I Write For

anything in bold i’m more motivated to write, but feel free to request anything

— Grey’s Anatomy

Meredith Grey

Izzie Stevens

Cristina Yang

Callie Torres

Miranda Bailey

Lexie Grey

Arizona Robbins

Jo Wilson

April Kepner

Maggie Pierce

Teddy Altman

— Station 19

Andy Herrera

Maya Bishop

Victoria Hughes

Carina Deluca

— Private Practice

Addison Montgomery

Charlotte King

Violet Turner

Amelia Shepherd

— Marvel

Pepper Potts

Natasha Romanoff

Maria Hill

Wanda Maximoff

Hope Van Dyne

Yelena Belova

Carol Danvers

Maggie Lang

Eleanor Bishop

Kate Bishop

Clint Barton

Scott Lang

Peter Parker (all 3)

— Criminal Minds

Jennifer Jareau

Penelope Garcia

Emily Prentiss

Tara Lewis

Alex Blake

Kate Callahan

Elle Greenaway

— Ginny & Georgia

Ginny Miller

Abby Littman

Maxine Baker

— TVDU

Elena Gilbert

Katherine Pierce

Caroline Forbes

Bonnie Bennett

Hayley Marshall

Davina Claire

Rebekah Mikaelson

Camille O’Connell

Freya Mikaelson

Hope Mikaelson

Josie Saltzman

Lizzie Saltzman

Penelope Park

— Riverdale

Betty Cooper

Veronica Lodge

Cheryl Blossom

Tony Topaz

— Euphoria

Rue Bennett

Cassie Howard

Lexi Howard

Maddy Perez

— Jane The Virgin

Petra Solano

Jane Villanueva

Lina Santillan

Luisa Alver

— How I Met Your Mother

Lily Aldrin

Robin Scherbatsky

Tracy McConnell

Barney Stinson

Ted Mosby

Marshall Eriksen

— Stranger Things

Eleven Hopper

Max Mayfield

Steve Harrington

Joyce Byers

Jim Hopper

— The Rookie

John Nolan

Lucy Chen

Tim Bradford

Angela Lopez

Wesley Evers

Nyla Harper

— Oceans 8

Debbie Ocean

Lou Miller

Daphne Kluger

Tammy Robinson

— A Quiet Place

Evelyn Abbott

Regan Abbott

Marcus Abbott

— Random

Lorraine Warren (The Conjuring Universe)

Ed Warren (The Conjuring Universe)

Gracie Hart (Miss. Congeniality)

Margaret Tate (The Proposal)

Lucy Moderatz (While You Were Sleeping)

Misty Day (AHS: Coven)

Cordelia Goode (AHS: Coven)

Madison Montgomery (AHS: Coven)

Zoe Benson (AHS: Coven)

Winter Anderson (AHS: Cult)

Sidney Prescott (Scream Universe)

Gale Weathers (Scream Universe)

Dewey Riley (Scream Universe)

Judy Hicks (Scream Universe)

Rob Geller (Never Been Kissed)

Karen Nelson (Halloween)

Jim Halpert (The Office)

Angela Martin (The Office)

Pam Beesley (The Office)

Larissa Weems (Wednesday)

Wednesday Addams (Wednesday)

Enid Sinclair (Wednesday)

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peterxwade24 · 3 years

Text

Safety Found in Red Sleeves

Chapter 9

I know it's been nearly four months (just five days shy of four months) and I apologize for that.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Thana watched as all of the patrons of the Iceberg Lounge turned to look as they entered. She knew they weren’t the usual crowd, seeing as how Adrien had on a fanny pack, but since they all had red, or some shade of pink, sleeves Uncle Ozzy would let them in.

“I’m sorry. Do I-” Oswald Cobblepott was, fundamentally, a good man. He would never turn away a child in need and he remembered the children he gave shelter to, so imagine his surprise when the person standing in his place of business was none other than the girl who’d managed to burrow under his skin and earn a special nickname. “Chick? Is that- are you- you’re really here?”

Thana let out a laugh and rushed at the man, throwing her arms around his neck before letting out a louder laugh. “I’m taller than you Uncle Ozzy!”

Oswald laughed before his gaze drifted back to the rest of the teens gathered just inside his place of business. “Chick, as much as I love seeing you, who’re they?”

“Oh!” Thana pulled away from Oswald before turning to her friends. “Well, the tall boy with black hair and frosted tips is Kim, the blonde girl is Chloé, the guy with short brown hair is Nino, the other blond is Adrien, and the short sporty girl is Alix. They’re friends I made in Paris, with my mother’s cousin.”

Oswald smiled and waved. “I see my niece has given you a heads up on the dress code around here.”

Kim nodded, a smile on his face. “Mèo con’s always reminding us that we have to wear red when we’re in Gotham, says she’ll ditch us if we don’t.”

Nino snorted before his eyes drifted over to the turntables. “Do you mind if I?”

Oswald smiled and nodded. “Go ahead, you can’t be any worse than my usual guy.”

Nino drifted over to the turntables and began playing some music.

Chloé strode over to the duo, a smile on her face. “It’s so nice to finally meet Fragolina’s Uncle Ozzy.”

“You must be the one my Chick won’t stop saying reminds her of the second Robin.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he pulled Thana close.

Adrien and Alix followed Kim over to the trio, where Kim draped an arm around Chloé’s shoulders. “That’s a possibility.”

---

Thana and her friends, accompanied by Thana’s Uncles Ed and Jon, toured Gotham. Thana made sure to show her friends around, showing them shortcuts to use to get around if they ever get separated from Madame Bustier. Eventually, the group came to an overgrown looking park.

“Uncle Ed, Uncle Jon. I’m going to show them around, and if we run into her introduce them. If we don’t, could one of you text her to let her know where they’re staying so we can do the introductions there?”

“Of course Mini Todd.” Her Uncle Jon nodded and wrapped an arm around Ed, who smiled softly at the act before nodding as well.

“And we’ll keep an eye out for You-Know-Who. He seems to think that you will come crawling back any day now.” Her Uncle Ed rolled his eyes.

“Thank you both so much.” Thana pressed kisses to their cheeks and smiled. “If we ever come across him, I’ll send an SOS to the group chat and then beat his ass.”

Jon and Ed pressed kisses to her cheeks and smiled. “Be safe.”

“With Aunt Pam? Always.” Thana turned towards the park and took a breath, smelling the local flowers and feeling better than she had since she’d been removed from the streets.

---

Thana led her friends around the park, pointing out all of the Poison Ivy original plants and warning her friends to stay away from them since they hadn’t built up an immunity to the toxin within the plants, with a smile on her face. “Aunt Pam always has a new plant that she’s making, and she’s been sorta kinda courting my Aunt Harley since she first saw her, although Aunt Harley used to be with this abusive asshole. I do wonder what happened to Aunt Harley’s daughter, I know she said she was with her sister but still.”

“Who?” Adrien asked, his hand hovering dangerously over a hybrid Venus Flytrap and Trumpet Pitcher plant, as he looked back at the group.

Adrien’s hand was saved by a wall of Boston ivy that shot up out of the ground. A loud scoff could be heard just beyond the plants before a beautiful head of red hair appeared through the leaves. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to touch wild plants?”

Thana smiled and allowed Kim to pull her into his side. “Are all of your relatives ridiculously attractive people?”

“You’ve met my Ma’s cousin,” Thana shrugged and settled more firmly against his side, “and Jervis Tetch is a rotten man, he’s rotten to the core.” Thana’s head rested against Kim’s chest, her ear close to his heart, as she forced thoughts about her birth father out of her head. “My Uncles and Aunts have this friend, Harvey Dent, who’s a little disfigured. He was in this really bad accident a while back and his face is a little hard to look at. He’s kind of nice, never really been mean to me specifically. I think he’s kinda cool though, he’s got a whole schtick about truth and luck.”

Kim nodded, his eyes flitting over the rest of their friends. Kim had never really had a big friend group, not until Thana joined their class, and then suddenly Kim was always around other people, had a shadow who was nearly as protective of him as his Mẹ was, and suddenly his fledgling crush was one of his best friends. Kim would probably always be thankful that Thana showed up when she did. Without Thana, Kim probably would have always been just a dumb jock who fell for some perfect princess. Kim knew his Mè was as thankful as he was that Thana had shown up in their lives, that Thana had stayed after she learned about the skeletons in their closets.

Kim looked at Thana, and he could see how much lighter she was here in what was the darkest city Kim had ever stepped foot in compared to back home. He could only hope that no matter where she went after Lycee, she would keep in contact with him and his Mè.

---

Thana and her friends left Robinson Park just before dinner that evening, her Uncles Jon and Ed escorting them back to the hotel when Thana’s friends went in for the night. Thana, however, followed her friends in and ate a meal with the class before ducking out of the hotel to go spend the night on the streets.

Thana refused to spend any more time in that building than absolutely necessary. She could still feel the cold lead encased in steel as it pierced her abdomen.

Thana hunkered down in an old spot, one she knew like the back of her hand, and could only hope that she would be safe here. She could only hope that she wouldn’t catch a cold while she slept on the streets.

Thana’s friends, however, slept fitfully that night in their comfortable beds in the hotel. Their thoughts filled with worry about Thana on the streets.

-*-*-*

Jason puttered around the kitchen, his feet encased in his slippers, and let out a yawn. He looked at the counter and noticed the already full coffee pot. He glanced around the room and frowned when he didn’t see anything before the sound of the TV reached him a moment later. “Duke?”

Duke’s head popped up over the back of the couch and he gave Jason a sheepish smile. “Yeah?”

Jason let out a breath and his whole body sagged for a moment. “Just had to make sure. Little twitchy after our late night visitor last night.”

“Who stopped by last night?” Duke stood up off of the floor and walked into the kitchen, sitting down on one of the counters like Tim, Steph and Cass had started doing.

Jason set his coffee mug (which read “World’s Greatest Dad” in a similar red to his helmet) down on the counter with a little more force than necessary. “The Bat.” Jason turned to the fridge to pull out the coffee creamer, but frowned when the only creamer left was the Southern Butter Pecan Pie flavour. He simply reached past and grabbed the milk to add to his coffee instead of creamer. “He wanted to know why I’d ‘taken you as well’. Because he sees you all as things to be taken and not children to be taken care of.”

---

Jason pressed a kiss to Steph and Cass’ foreheads before hitching Damian further up on his hip. “I’ll be back later. I just need to take Damian to finish introducing him to his aunt’s aunts and uncles. Unless of course, you two wish to join us.”

Steph looked at Cass and shrugged. “Timmy’s got work. I think Bart is out running around.”

Cass nodded before mussing up her hair and frowning at her sister in question.

“Kon might be in Kansas, I think he mentioned going to visit Clark’s parents. Cassie is hanging out with Donna, getting advice most likely. Cissie is spending the day with Oliver.” Steph slung an arm around Cass’ shoulders and smiled. “Give us a few minutes to get dressed and then we’ll join you.”

Jason nodded, a small smile on his face. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Steph and Cass disappeared into the room they had officially claimed, coming out a few minutes later in coordinated outfits.

Steph walked out wearing a dark purple crop top with black shorts and a black sweater tied around her waist. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a pair of black sunglasses, easily recognized as Kon’s, sat atop her head.

Cass, who walked out just a step behind Steph, wore a black t-shirt under a black and yellow flannel paired with black high-waisted jeans. Her hair was freely flowing around her shoulders while her wrists sported scrunchies she’d pilfered from Cassie and Cissie.

Jason shook his head at his sisters, Cass who was just a scant six months older than he was but acted so much younger and Steph who was just a few months older than Tim, and smiled. “Any particular reason for the attire today?”

“Just felt like coordinating.” Steph smiled at Jason and slung an arm around Cass. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

---

Jason led the way into the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, his sisters just behind him and Damian clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping him attached to the planet.

“So, not to question your sanity or anything but, why are we here?” Stephanie’s voice was filled with trepidation and Cass’ arm was wrapped around Steph’s in an act of comfort for both girls.

“One of Thana’s uncles is here right now. He’ll be out soon. Do not compare him to the guy who killed me.” Jason smiled at the guards on duty and continued into the building.

The person at the front desk, a young individual of indeterminate gender with short brown hair and brown eyes, looked up from the clipboard in front of them and deadpanned. “Name of the patient you’re here to see?”

“Jerome Valeska. He should be expecting me, Jason Todd.” Jason smiled and shifted slightly so Damian’s face was more comfortably buried in his neck. “My son and sisters will also be joining us today.”

The receptionist nodded and jotted down the details relayed to them. “Identification?”

Jason handed over his identification card while Steph and Cass pulled out their driver’s licenses. “My son is only nine and only has a passport, will that work?”

The receptionist nodded and smiled. “A passport will work.”

Jason pulled Damian’s passport out of his pocket and handed it over. “We’ll come back to collect those when we’re finished visiting.”

“Have a good visit.”

“Thank you.” Jason smiled and led the way back into the rehabilitation center, his sisters sticking close to his back with their free hands clinging to the back of his shirt just over where Damian’s leg rested, passing the cells filled with the more humane residents of the asylum. Jason paid them no mind, having grown used to their hooting and hollering as he passed on his previous visits.

The little four person group of the family finally reached the rehabilitation center and were let in by one of the orderlies, a bulkier individual dressed in teal scrubs. They all gave the orderly a smile and a nod as they passed into the room.

Jerome was sitting at a table with blank sheets of paper mixed in with sheets of paper filled with writing, and as soon as Jason could read what was on the paper he could see that the pages were filled with apologies and plans to become a better person if for no one other than his favourite niece and her wellbeing. Jerome looked up when Jason started to cast a shadow across his paper. “Hey buddy. You’re standing in my- Jason! What a surprise!”

Jason’s face grew soft, a smile on his face and pulled out the chair next to Jerome to sit down in. Damian was settled into Jason’s lap while Steph and Cass sat down in the chairs next to Jason’s. “How are you today Jerome?”

“I’ve been better.” Jerome had been better, before his parents and his uncle died, before his twin fell apart and brought him down with him. Jerome had been happy in the circus, performing with his family for crowds of people who adored their act, and then everything changed.

“Jerome, I’d like you to meet my son. Damian al Ghul-Todd, nephew of your niece Thana Todd, as well as my sisters, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.”

“Oh come on Jace. Why’d you have to use last names?” Steph pouted and punched Jason’s upper arm.

“Because now that Uncle Jerome knows of your parentage he’ll be less likely to toss anything you say aside.” Jason smiled as Jerome spoke about himself in the third person.

“What he said.” Jason let out a chuckle. Damian frowned at the lack of attention he was receiving and simply headbutted Jason in the chin. “Yes, yes, we know you’re here Kutlat Saghira. I’m sorry that we’re not paying attention to you.”

Damian pouted and puffed out his cheeks. “Baba, not here.”

Jason smiled at his son, knowing that he was safe in his arms. “I love you my Little Nugget.”

“Baba!” Damian frowned and looked towards the table, effectively ignoring the four other people at the table.

Steph and Cass watched the moment between father and son, sharing only a look before looking back at the duo.

Jerome watched as his niece’s brother smiled at his child, glad that he got to see it but all he really wanted was to see Thana.

“She’s in the city.” Jason’s voice was quiet, barely heard over the lull of the rest of the patients in the center. “She’s in the city and she, she got so big Jerome. She has a really good group of friends. You’d be proud of her.”

Taglist:

@amigotasbien @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182 @greatcatblaze @thatonecroc @vixen-uchiha @superbwhispersconnoisseur @sauseyyy @susiej1118 @bluesimani @thatonecroc

#maribat #ml crossover #mlb crossover #ml x dc #mlb x dc #Safety Found in Red Sleeves #sfirs

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jaybear1701 · 3 years

Link

The Outpost is, without a shred of doubt, a shithole.

And Ellen Waverly secretly loves it, even though her fellow ASCANs frown at the tavern’s dilapidated exterior. Anybody who’s anybody knows about the dive bar frequented by astronauts, engineers, and other NASA staffers. Spoken about with hushed reverence, the Outpost is hallowed ground, a right of passage, and a frisson of excitement courses through Ellen as they pause just outside its entrance.

“This is it?” Dani Poole eyes the peeling red paint of the watering hole’s sign, uncertainty lacing her voice as she clutches the strap of her purse.

“Yep.” Molly Cobb lights a cigarette dangling from the corner of her lips. She pulls the door open, hinges squeaking, and the odor of cheap beer and stale smoke wafts out. “You gonna stand out here gaping all night?” Molly strides in without waiting for a response. Patty Doyle’s right on her heels, as usual.

Neither bothers to check if the others are following, but Tracy Stevens manages to catch the door before it swings shut again. “Let’s go, ladies.” She ushers the others inside. “Can’t let Cobb and Doyle have all the fun.”

The stench, now mingled with sweat and other odors barely concealed by fading cologne, intensifies the second Ellen sets foot inside the dimly lit bar. She wrinkles her nose and, as her eyes adjust, they walk past a beat up cigarette machine into a tightly packed space where all eyes immediately fall on them. Ellen thinks she recognizes some of the men from around the halls of JSC, but in all honesty they blended together in a uniform mass of white oxfords, skinny black ties, and thinly veiled disapproval. They were all just waiting for them to fail.

“Same shit, different toilet,” Molly mutters under her breath. Still, she throws her head back high, cocksure, and swaggers toward a pool table with Patty. Her heavy boot steps draw even more attention, not that Molly pays it any mind, acting as if she’s frequented The Outpost all her life. Like she belongs there.

Ellen does her best to follow Molly’s cue, straightening her spine and making her way around a jukebox that’s seen better days to the last empty table. “First round’s on me,” she announces, surprising even herself.

“That’s mighty generous,” Dani says as she and the others take their seats. The legs of their chairs scrape across the slightly sticky wood floor. They all pretend they don’t see the little brown insects that scatter from beneath the table.

“What would you like?” Ellen asks before any of them decide to hightail it outta there.

“Round of JD,” Tracy responds. “Least that’s what Gordo has when he’s here. If that’s all right with y’all, of course,” she adds to murmurs of assent.

“Coming right up.” Ellen beelines for the bar, continuing to ignore the stares from around the room that make the tips of her ears burn despite her carefully curated air of indifference.

She manages to find a small opening between the occupied, but is disappointed when no one’s there to serve drinks. The bartender probably took a quick break, she thinks, focusing her attention on the black-and-white astronaut photos that line the wood-paneled walls. Idly drumming her fingers against distressed mahogany, she wonders if her picture would ever be prominently displayed alongside the likes of Armstrong, Glenn, and Aldrin. Of if she’ll wash out, as her mother seems to be expecting.

An unsubtle cough interrupts Ellen’s musings, and a man leans an elbow on the bar to her left, a little too close for comfort.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doin’ in a place like this?” He slurs out the oh-so-creative pickup line, alcohol sharp on his breath.

It takes all of her willpower not to roll her eyes in disgust. Instead, she pretends not to hear him, but he persists. “Never seen ya before. Y’all tourists or somethin’? Sightseein’?”

Irritation spikes in Ellen, who has half a mind to correct him, nondisclosure agreements be damned, when another voice cuts in. “Jimbo, what’d I tell you about scaring new customers?”

Ellen turns her head to the right and… Oh.

She’s not quite sure what she expected when it came to The Outpost’s barkeep. Based on the decor, she wouldn’t have been surprised by someone schlubby and indifferent and borderline antisocial. But Ellen most certainly isn’t expecting one of the prettiest women she’s ever seen, with strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a careless ponytail, bangs hanging just above eyes as blue as a cloudless sky. And just like that, Ellen’s starting to understand the appeal of the place.

“C’mon now, Pam,” Jimbo drawls, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Jus’ tryin’ to be friendly.”

“Uh huh.” Pam cants her head to the side, unconvinced. “Get outta here before I call your wife.” After he slinks away, Pam gives Ellen an easy smile, bracing her hands on the bar. “Sorry ‘bout that. What can I get for you?”

It’s not until Pam’s closer that Ellen remembers to breathe, the influx of oxygen allowing her to regain control of her faculties and notice the pin fastened to Pam’s maroon t-shirt. It reads in bold white letters against a black background bespeckled by stars: A Woman’s Place Is In Space.

Ellen’s stomach swoops in delight.

“You okay?” Pam asks when Ellen doesn’t answer right away.

“Oh, er,” Ellen intelligently answers in a manner befitting a future astronaut. “Yes, sorry.” Heat rises in her cheeks. “Drinks?” She vaguely gestures toward the other candidates, and the pool table where Molly’s lining up a shot that sends a striped ball straight into a corner pocket. “For me. And my…” Her what? They aren’t exactly friends. Rivals would be closer to the truth, but that would sound weird. And she’s already being weird. She eventually settles on, “Colleagues.”

“Drinks,” Pam repeats, eyebrows disappearing beneath her fringe.

“Yes, um, please.”

“Sure thing.” Pam nods, thoughtfully observing the other women for a moment before fixing her gaze back on Ellen. “Got something particular in mind? Or should I surprise you?”

Ellen somehow manages not to smack the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Sorry. Jack Daniels for, uh, seven.”

“You got it, space cadet.” With a wink, Pam pushes off the bar to fetch a set of lowball glasses and arranges them in a neat row.

It takes a few seconds before Pam’s words catch up with Ellen. Was Pam referring to Ellen’s embarrassingly delayed response or… “Space cadet?”

“You all are the female astronaut candidates, aren’t you?” Pam reaches past several rows of bottles to fetch the whiskey.

“What, uh, what makes you think that?” Ellen nervously brushes her hair behind her ear. No one’s supposed to know who they are until they graduate. If they graduate.

Pam shrugs, the tip of the bottle’s spout poised above the glasses. “Groups of women don’t really wander in here. Plus, some of you match the scuttlebutt I’ve heard here and there.”

“Scuttlebutt?”

“NASA types like to talk, especially after they’ve had a few.”

“That’s… not unsettling in the slightest.” Ellen tries and fails to tamp down a swell of unease, wondering if they’d all be bounced from the program if word got out.

“Relax.” Pam chuckles, as if reading her mind. She tips the bottle forward, expertly eyeballing two fingers of brown liquor per glass. “What’s said here stays here. Unless you’re a reporter, then I’m sworn under our unofficial Baldwin rule to kick you out.”

“Definitely not a reporter,” Ellen says, recalling Ed Baldwin’s very public misstep in calling out NASA after the Soviets landed on the moon last summer. Relief eases some of the tension between Ellen’s shoulders. She shifts from one foot to the other, curiosity getting the better of her. “So, what have they been saying? All good things, I’m guessing,” she jokes weakly, all too aware of the rampant sexism among many, if not most, of her male counterparts.

“They wouldn’t dare say anything negative within earshot of me.” Pam taps her equality button. “Would never get a drink otherwise.”

Ellen can’t stop herself from smiling as Pam finishes pouring, sets the bottle down, and crosses her arms.

“Let’s see, I’ve heard that two of them were in Mercury 13. Have chips on their shoulders.” Pam nods toward Molly and Patty playing pool. “I’m guessing they’re the ones over there acting like they own the place.” There’s an underlying current of respect in her voice as her line of sight drifts toward the lone table surrounded by women. “The blonde? I’d bet all my tips that she’s Tracy Stevens. Got those Hollywood looks that’d be Gordo’s type.”

Ellen has to admit she’s impressed. “And me?” She asks before she can stop herself.

Blue eyes darting across Ellen’s face, Pam appraises her in a way that sparks flutters against her ribs. “I’m afraid I haven’t heard about you, Ms...?”

“Waverly.” Ellen sticks her hand out. “Ellen Waverly.”

Pam grasps her hand, grip firm yet gentle, palm warm and smooth. “Nice to meet you, Ellen Waverly.”

“And you’re Pam.”

“That’s right.” Neither of them moves to let go. “Pam Horton.”

Another patron accidentally jostles Ellen’s shoulder and she immediately drops Pam’s hand. “Can I get a couple of beers, Pam?” He asks.

“Just a sec.” She says, transferring the whiskey glasses to a round serving tray.

“So, uh,” Ellen clears her throat as she reaches for her purse. “What do I owe you?” Pam waves her away. “First round’s on the house.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’d be my pleasure.” Her smile is genuine, radiant. “It’s the least I can do for the first American women heading to space.”

Ellen ducks her head, pleased yet embarrassed. “We haven’t passed yet.”

Pam looks her straight in the eye, and says without hesitation, “You will.”

Warmth blooms inside Ellen’s chest from Pam’s sincerity. “I… thank you." She hopes her face isn't as red as it feels. "We’ll make it up to you.”

“Prove all the assholes out there wrong, and we’ll be square.” Pam pulls out two beer bottles, swiftly pops off their caps, and hands them to the man. She inclines her head toward the tray of Jack Daniels. “I’ll have these out to you in a jiffy.”

With one last nod, Ellen makes her way back to the table, heart pounding and already vowing to return to the shithole that wasn’t so shitty after all.

#ellen x pam #for all mankind #ellen waverly #pam horton #spacepoet #fam fic #famk fic

23 notes · View notes