#at least she doesn't get it yet

[conretewings]

-Here's my first installment of my 'Fuck You Anon I'm Gonna Post Stuff with my OC's Anyway' series, also a nice little way to get some random scenes and ideas that may/may not go into larger stories out of my head. It's early morning and Powder goes to talk to Vander...but finds something she wasn't expecting.

-Claggor noticed it first as he dragged himself still half asleep into the small kitchen; the large envelope wrapped in twine and finished with a large wax seal stuck under the door. He lifted it with a yawn and a curious look, flipping it over a couple times before turning to Vi and Powder; Mylo had refused to get up yet and thus was still happily snoring away.

"Hey...anyone know what this is?"

"And who's it for...? Weird." Powder mumbled, rubbing her bleary eyes.

Claggor dropped it on the table, all three glancing the mystery item over before Vi noticed and pointed out that 'Vander' was neatly written in small letters on the flap. A brief debate was had, during which Vi's idea of carefully opening to read then reclosing it was firmly shut down, when they noticed something...the addressee still wasn't present. Normally Vander was up before or about the same time as them but this morning he had yet to show.

"Should we go get him?" asked Powder.

The two older kids exchanged a quick glance; she was right, but they knew what a grumpy bear the man could be first thing in the morning, especially if awoken from his hibernation.

"Good idea. Go for it. I'm making coffee." Vi replied quickly as she grabbed the coffeepot.

Claggor had already picked up a frying pan, "And I'm gonna start up some eggs."

"Fiiiiine!" Powder sighed, knowing she'd been defeated and grabbed the worn blanket she'd brought from bed off a chair, throwing it around herself as she padded off toward Vander's room. She pondered the envelopes possible contents on the way and as she reached his door, rapped her knuckles lightly. When she received no reply she carefully opened it a crack, then just enough to slip inside. The room was very dim, so much so it took her eyes a moment to adjust before spotting his huge, softly snoring frame sprawled across the bed and she carefully approached.

"Hey...Vander?" she began quietly, "Uh...there's something for you in the kitchen...also Vi is making coffee. Sorry to bother you but-"

Abruptly, a brief yawn and rustling was heard that wasn't him-then a woman partially sat up from behind him, his large figure having concealed her until now. Her deep brown and silver hair was disheveled and her eyes heavy with sleep and confusion. She glanced toward Powder, did a double-take and let out a gasp.

Powder blinked slowly, still sleepy enough for a moment she wasn't sure if she was still dreaming, "....Rosemary?"

"Oh heavens uh-hello Sparkplug!" sputtered Rosemary as she quickly and discreetly made certain the old shirt of Vander's she wore covered her fully, "Say why don't you-"

It was at this moment that Vander finally awoke from the noise and movement, and groaning, rubbed his face as he propped himself on one elbow, "The bloody hell is all this fuss...?"

Seeing Powder gaping in confusion, he glanced at Rosemary over his shoulder...and it took a moment for the sleep-addled gears in his brain to fire up, the situation sinking in before his eyes widened, face reddened and he jabbed a finger at the door.

"Out!" he barked.

"But-but-" she tried to protest.

Again he waved a hand, "Unless it's an emergency it can wait; out!"

Pouting, Powder huffed out a "Fine!" as she turned and stomped out, grumbling under her breath about 'grownups being weird' while shutting the door.

"Oh my gods..." Rosemary snorted out in a nervous laugh, collapsing back onto the bed while Vander sat up fully and massaged his temples with a pained groan.

"I coulda sworn I locked that door..."

She tried to suppress another laugh, failed, and sympathetically rubbed his arm, "To be fair, ya were a tad uh, distracted when we got in last night..."

"I'm glad one of us finds this funny..." he mumbled, shooting her a mildly sour look.

"Is it kinda funny though."

His expression softened as he gazed at her, and even cracked that half-smile that crinkled his eyes and made her stomach aflutter, "You're not the one who has to explain it to them."

Meanwhile, Powder returned first to her and Vi's room for some crayons and a piece of paper, then to the kitchen and plopped herself into a chair, pulling the blanket up so it made a little tent around her and began to draw, still pouting. Vi studied her for a minute, confused then cleared her throat.

"Well?"

Powder flicked her narrowed eyes toward her sister and shrugged, "I dunno. I told him we had something for him and he told me to get out. Also Rosemary was with him."

She went back to her scribblings, while Vi and Claggor caught each other's stunned gaze, both sharing the same thought; no way. Vi smirked and slapped a hand over her mouth, then composed herself enough to question Powder further.

"Wait...like, she's here...?"

"Yeah, duh that's what I said! He was still asleep when I walked in and she was there with him!" the girl looked up to see the two grinning like idiots and snort-laughing and raised her eyebrow, "What's so funny?"

"N-nothing Powder!" Claggor swiftly replied, turning around to attend to the stove.

Smelling bullshit, the young girl's sharp, critical gaze fell on Vi, who went to her and rubbed her hair affectionately, "It just means they're...getting along really well and really love each other. I'll explain more later okay?"

Still being a little sleepy and having decided her sister's explanation was good enough for now, she nodded and again turned her attention to her artwork.

A few minutes later Vi stepped into the hall to grab something from her room, when Vander rounded the corner. They paused and stared at each other for a moment before Vi broke into an ear-to-ear grin. Vander sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So. She told ya eh?"

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies

All work words count: 14 593

Words in this part: 2 224

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay Or Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: First meeting and training discussions Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

Duke was running out of fumes to run on. Last few days would be exhausting if it was just vigilante or just civilian stuff but no, he had to have it both. Because of Arkham break out he had been called in three nights in a row, not for a whole patrol but he couldn't exactly sleep it of during the day like others did, especially not in a week when every teacher decided they need to have test or quiz or what not. Naps meant he wasn't as sleep deprived as he could be but he needed far more. But he couldn't because crime in Gotham never sleeps so he had normal patrol to finish and there were about two ours left.

Would something bad happen if he just stopped for a moment and laid on a roof? Ten up to fifteen minutes. It was a slow day too...

Yeah, no, he deserved a moment to rest and if something disastrous was to happen in the meantime he would shame other Bats for not giving him enough time to sleep.

It certainly said something that he found gravel covering this roof to be quite comfortable. He set a timer for ten minutes and let himself close his eyes.

When loud screech of timer jolted him awake, he was suddenly fully aware that he wasn't alone anymore. He sat up a little too quickly.

"Oh, you're awake," white haired girl around Damian's age chimed, sitting cross legged just few feets away from him. She wore something that could only be described as an unholy mix of lab safety hazmat and skintight workout jumpsuit, white and black. When had Gotham gotten a new vigilante? "Good, I just returned from snack hunt," she added, gesturing at a big textile bag lying next to her. Duke didn't have enough brainpower to do anything more than ask.

"What?"

Girl shrugged, take out from BatBurger in her hand.

"You look like you have a bad day if not few days, so I've got you my cousin's bad day combo or at least closest thing I could. BatBurger burger isn't as good as NastyBurger but you certainly have better fries," as she spoke, second take out bag, 1 quart bottle of energy drink, juice bottle of same size and pack of convenience store brownies joined greasy paper bag sealed with a sticker.

"Is your cousin a speedster?" Excuse Duke, it was a totally valid question, he saw with his bare eyes both Wally West and Bart Allen when they visited Manor. Noone else would be able to stomach the amount of food they inhaled during their stays.

"Nah, we're not that fast or that hungry. Though I think I may get closer to speed of sound," So, clearly a meta if white hair and weir aura that let his eyes rest weren't enough indication "My cousin when he has bad few days he often forgets to eat so this combo has to help with there too. But I'll steal your fries of course."

Duke was not going to look gift horse in teeth, so he grabbed one bag and tore it open. There was classic combo with bigger fries and NightWings inside.

"Thank you..." he trailed off, hoping that girl would take a clue and introduce herself but she didn't. She just drowned her fries in ketchup and started munching. She had her own juice.

"My cousin always said that each part of this combo has different purpose," she explained instead, slightly muffled because of fries in her mouth, "This" she gestured towards fast food meal "is to sooth your stomach. This "she tapped energy drink "is to sooth your brain and kick it back online. This "she raised bottle of juice, "is to sooth your taste buds because energy drinks are war crime against them and this "she nudged brownies "is to sooth your heart because Ancients damn it, this day is awful and you deserve it. At least that's what he told me when I had day bad enough to deserve that," she shrugged, licking ketchup of her finger. Suddenly she froze "You aren't allergic, are you?

"No, I'm not," he confessed bewildered.

"Good"

For a long moment they sat in silence, devouring food the little girl brought. Duke distantly wondered if this was how night shift spent their snack breaks. It felt nice.

He was finishing his part of brownies when girl spoke up again.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah" he was a little surprised to realize that it was true. He'll have to note down what she put in this 'bad day combo'. "Thank you"

"Don't mention it," she shrugged with general gesture of dismissal, "You're one of my cousin's favorite heroes because you're vaguely his age and handle Gotham alone during the day and I quote, "she did honest to God air quotes at that" 'As only hero in Amity-' which is a lie by the way, Val is doing great and even if he suddenly got problem with how she feels about his alter ego, he still has Sam and Tuck even if they're usually more of moral support. And I helped when I visited, so no, he isn't only one. Anyway as he said 'As only hero in Amity, my heart goes out for anyone who deals with this type of bullshit so Dani if you absolutely have to prank heroes, leave them out of it, especially Signal, he can't be older than Jazz, he doesn't need any more mess to handle.' All aliens and lanterns are also off limits because he is a space nerd. But you aren't space related so I'm like 80% percent sure he has celebrity crush on you," she slurped more juice, unbothered.

Duke was thankful he wasn't swallowing anything because for sure she would choke. He took split second to consider addressing... this whole situation and choose not to. He was not ready to be anyone's celebrity crush.

"Your name is Danny?" he asked instead.

"Dani" she corrected" with an I"

"Ok. It's nice to meet you Dani-with-an-I," She giggled, nodding her head slightly.

"It's nice to meet you too Signal"

Duke stood up, stretching a little. Dani joined him after hastily putting all the trash in her bag. She was a little higher than expected.

"I have to get back to my patrol"

"Cool," she drifted back a bit, making him realize that she was floating a few inches above the ground. She fixed her bag on her arm.

"Hey, can I hang out a little bit more? My cousin will go green out of jealousy when I tell him," she added with a mischievous smirk but Duke could tell there was more to it. He took a moment to consider it, which apparently made girl nervous "I can be invisible the whole time, like before," she offered, disappearing in the meantime. He could still tell where she was, because of her heat signature and other waves she excluded but for regular people she would be no different than surrounding air.

"Yeah, you can hang around and you don't have to be invisible. Just don't get in my way when I have to actually do some fighting."

She popped back to visible spectrum and pouted like Damian whenever he got benched.

"I can fight, y'know? I stopped mugging on a snack run."

It was ten god damn minutes, how could she get so much food and stop mugging in such a short time?!

Oh, right, superspeed. Still, impressive.

"I haven't seen it-" he started, channeling all Dick-trying-to-wrangle-Damian-into-socially-acceptable-activity energy he could muster "-so I don't know how you fight or even what powers do you have. If we tried to fight together we would trip over each other" It was a bare faced lie, Bat training made sure of that but he knew for fact that if he said anything else, the girl would be mad and probably did her own thing.

Was that what Bruce thought about all of them?

Oh no.

Dani still looked displeased but after a moment of consideration she nodded with a defeated sigh.

Suddenly she straightened like she got struck by lightning and whipped around.

"Wha-"

She just shushed, raising finger to her mouth. Duke did indeed quietened.

"I have enhanced hearing," she whispered "There is a mugging somewhere this way."

"Let's go then," he shot his grapple, waving his other hand at Dani to come with him before he jumped off the roof. He heard the girl giggle as she flew right after him.

"After this you'll show me the coolest gargoyles, okay? Sam asked for photos"

"Okay"

It seemed that the end of this patrol wouldn't be as bad as the start was. Hopefully.

And afterwards he was going to lock himself in his room until sky falls down or he was well rested.

Yeah, that was a good plan.

********

"Hey kid," Signal started, dropping from fire escape to cuff weirdo in clown mask who Dani just fought. He did it deliberately slowly to show her how to do it like he always did. She choose to not be to annoyed at being called kid again and noted to herself to come up with good codename later. All her previous ideas apparently weren't cutting it and she couldn't keep going by Dani because reasons.

"Yes?"

"Who gave you a combat training?" he asked getting up from a crouch and gesturing towards roof. So it's going to be longer talk, okay.

"My cousin," well, Flashes in Central taught her some stuff but it was more rescue and reassure type of deal not punch and kick, Sam tried to get her through basics of psychological warfare in activism, Tucker sweared he would teach her some programming and hacking but never got around to it, Jazz did some emotional training and Val offered to teach her Red Huntress skills when she got back, but yeah, all in all, Danny was the one to show her how to punch people. Even though it was more of 'shit we have to fight, observe maybe, idk' most of the time. She picked some tricks from Vlad too now that she thought about it, not that she planned to give him any credit for it, like, ever. "Why?"

"I have a bone to pick with him," vigilante announced, melting with the shadows. Dani sped as much as she could to beat him to the roof. She was competitive spirit like that.

Unfortunately he was first. She made another note to herself (she was so going to forget them in next five to ten minutes) to train her speed a bit more. She got tips from the guy with the title of The Fastest Man Alive for crying out loud, she shouldn't loose with the person who technically doesn't even have superspeed!

Signal sat cross legged on the gravel and tossed her a healthy granola bar. He kept doing it for some reason.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but almost everything in your fighting technique is horrible. Your cousin did shitty job as a teacher" he started in warm slightly teasing tone. Dani felt attacked anyway.

"It's not like he has any sort of training either," she started, trying to sound nonchalant, rolling her eyes. "Cut him some slack," She bit a snack in attempt to cover her furry. It had chocolate and raspberries, was quite tasty and she was kinda hungry anyway. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how Signal knew it though "Everything he learned is from the trial and error by crashing through a few walls. Quite hard to care about 'technique'. I at least got his mistakes to learn from so don't you dare to speak about him like that!" alright, she lost it, she can admit it. But, Signal might be cool and Danny may or may not like him (she hoped he didn't, Val was much better option) but Gotham's hero had no right to say anything bad about her template. He didn't know anything. He didn't understand.

Signal looked like he was going to say something so she put her ghostly vocal cords to use and growled.

Don't-harm-family/will-fight/ protect-mine/don't-you-dare

She didn't stop to consider how unlikely it was for him to understand her. She crossed her hands on her chest, glaring.

Turned out, growl was enough of the warning. He carefully picked his next words.

"Sorry, it's not the way I should've phrase it," he started, his mouth doing the thing it did when people were embarrassed with themselves but in an uncomfortable, a bit angry way. He understood his mistake, good. She calmed her glare a bit. "I wasn't aware of you circumstances. If you want, I can show you some tricks, Batman is very throughout with his training"

"No, thank you, I'm good" she was still mad. So mad. And she was not pouting.

"Of course you're good but you can be better, more efficient."

"No." Whatever Signal would propose to her, she wouldn't agree. He said mean things about Danny not even a minute before. She couldn't let him have it on a principle!

"I'll give you a cookie after every training," he pleaded "The homemade, tasty one"

Well, that changed things. A lot of things.

"Yes please!"

He apologized anyway.

********************

Second part

I know democratic winner in poll for now is "publish all at once" and believe me, I respect democracy, especially now that I finally have rights to do things, but Tumblr wouldn't let me. Too long or something. So, it'll be in parts, sorry guys. I'll try to post all of the parts this weekend though (or one each day, I'll see).

Yes, I didn't have a name for this fic until five minutes ago, how did you know? It's quite alright though, I think. If you have better idea I may reconsider

[kaltacore]

i would really like to see people appreciate beau's growth and character arc more without trying to convince newcomers that "she'll get better eventually just you wait" implying she was such an unbearable character you have to make yourself sit through her scenes. i assure you, she wasn't

[solanj]

LOVE ME Proper context for this scene would take an essay to explain, so I'll only provide this: not long before this episode Heinrix left her. With an extremely good reason. (Well, he stayed on the ship since he's still under XC' orders but ceased all communication except what's strictly necessary for business) Silence copes with it (and her guilt) very, VERY poorly

[wisebeth]

why does the pjo series have to unnecessarily villainize goddesses (hera & athena) or show them as silly ladies (aphrodite & demeter) BUT posiedon and apollo are somehow shown as the coolest/most likeable gods, even though arguably, they're right after zeus on terms of corruption?

ares shown as the worst god after zeus and hera amuses me. last time i checked, he was the patron god of amazons and literally killed a man for attempting to rape his daughter but guess who cursed women for rejection? apollo. guess who raped women when they said no (aside from zeus)? posiedon.

[evakant]

han sooyoung 1863 (and her specifically) offering eternal sleep to yoo joonghyuk is an act of mercy and.... and, god, it was kindness

[oh-gh0st]

he loves her very much (and misses her a lot when she has to leave)

[nozomijoestar]

Asuka is a tragic figure, a figure of mystery, a wild card, all because the only thing she wants in life is peace and quiet for herself and to feel in control- yet her secret heritage that may be hidden from her for her own protection and the reality that life is unpredictable and will go on with or without you keep ruining that delusion, that vision of how the world is meant to work to her, and she suffers regardless of what she wants, what she does, and how little she understands anything

She was born into a family preaching peace and balance and order while being a creature of violence, and puts a dozen mental locks and excuses over this truth to justify giving into her impulse for fighting by pretending she's justice when she does it

She keeps trying to build a place of safety but she's using sand and life is a wave that destroys, yet she stubbornly persists rather than give up, not drowned to the point of self centered suicidal loathing like Jin- there's contrast, where Jin is cloaked in death Asuka stubbornly clings to life and humanity as a normal person in a terrifying world

She's not a fucking narrative clone for Jun's own purpose, Asuka's purpose must be determined by Asuka herself

[shimmerluna]

WAIT Elle has box braids in s3??? I could cry

I don't think she had bad hair in s1 or s2, but I'm excited that they're actually giving the Black girls Black hairstyles instead of having them wear it out.

Before, it felt like the (all-white, for context) hair department was just ignorant about Black hair, so they put wigs on the Black actresses and only did styles that also work on nonblack hair for their own sake/convenience. This theory was especially supported by the fact that Tara, whose 4c hair couldn't really be styled the same as nonblack hair, wore a twistout that would take literal hours to do every day, but she had box braids in s2! and Elle has box braids now!! I'm so excited!!!

I also feel like this fits her bold, fashion-loving personality so much better than leaving her hair out. Our hair is basically its own accessory, and the long box braids are very feminine. Again, I'm not saying not having a protective style isn't feminine or fashionable (I myself am a fashion girlie with an Afro), but having one is another outlet for her creativity, and I'm glad they're recognizing that now.

[dodecademons]

Funny how like 90 percent of people wanting the wilds back hate to acknowledge the fact that it's partly their fault. I want the wilds to be renewed as well, however if I DARE say yall aren't ready for it and a small part of me thinks some viewers are undeserving I'm the bad guy. Right because the vast majority of you didn't openly admit to skipping over the boys parts in the show, smh. If you arent watching the whole episode why would they want to renew it? They want views, they want money. Do I want the wilds back? Of course. Do I think the gretchen clones deserve it? No. Be better.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello love! How are you?

May a i ask for another part of the Addams Fam au pretty please 😄 it's so cutee.

Thank you for all of your stories they are amazing, i adore how you write Thena and Gil, you get them so right every time. 🩷🤍

"What a beautiful day."

"What a beautiful day indeed."

Thena and Gil looked at each other before bursting into laughter, sitting on the steps of the gazebo. The heavy rain underscored it, only Theseus on Thena's lap even blinked. Their parents were inside, discussing business of some kind.

"Father has been talking about this meeting for weeks," Thena looked down at Theseus, running her fingers over his back and up his spines delicately. "He is quite excited about the deal they will be making, supposedly."

"Yeah, Pops has been talking about it too," Gilgamesh agreed in not so many words. He looked at her with a grin, though, "keeps saying it'll be a huge drag."

The two shared a light laugh again, maintaining the 'code' of sorts they had concocted upon their first meeting. Their parents' businesses entangling so often had actually come to benefit them. Finally someone with whom to discuss things that weren't business, or investments, or the benefit of all the plastics piling up in the environment (how that was a good thing was beyond both of them).

"I do like the rain, though," Thena added more quietly. "It's much easier to sleep when it's raining. And Theseus enjoys it as well, from the safety of his sun lamp tank."

Gilgamesh chuckled, extending a finger. The growing iguana was warming up to him slowly. He wasn't of petting familiarity yet, but Theseus flicked his tongue a little in the direction of Gil's finger. "You guys must love monsoon season, huh?"

Thena offered a guilty little pinch of her lips. "The last trip on which we accompanied Father, the weather had been dreadful. Mother didn't get to experience the sea at all, and we were essentially shut in the whole time. I quite enjoyed it."

Gilgamesh threw his head back in laughter. She liked how unrestrained he could be in that way. "I probably would've liked that too. I think we're old enough they don't have to drag us around with them anyway, right?"

Thena sighed, hunching over Theseus as a breeze travelled through her around the gazebo pillars. "I wish they agreed. And yet Mother and Father's leash has only gotten shorter, I fear."

They kept insisting that she and Gilgamesh remain within a certain distance of the house when they were visiting. Something about not getting up to any 'funny business'. Thena didn't understand it; nothing about business was ever humorous.

"Hm," he pursed his lips, sliding closer to her. His larger frame actually did block some of the wind that accompanied such lovely rain.

"Have your parents always-" Thena started asking and then stopped dead in her tracks. She was becoming too comfortable with Gilgamesh--comfortable enough to ask rather forward questions. It was untoward, with a guest.

Gilgamesh leaned closer to her, softening his already soft voice, "go on."

Thena's eyes darted between him and Theseus. He was awfully close, now. "Have your parents always been suffocating--like mine?"

"I guess kinda the opposite," Gilgamesh shrugged, now close enough to venture into the realm of touching Theseus' back. The lizard allowed it, his eyes sliding closed as he enjoyed the attention. "Pops used to show me his model trains all the time, teach me about the railroads, all that stuff. Then, one day, he never had any time for me anymore. Now I seem to just be a distraction for him, and Ma."

Thena frowned. Perhaps she did know that feeling. Mother no longer brushed and braided her hair. Father had long ago said that she needed no tutelage in fencing. She recalled a younger Thena even falsifying her own flaws in hopes her father would continue to teach her, but to no avail.

"Hey," he nudged her arm gently. Their parents never let them be too close to each other in their presence, but she had to admit that being close to him had its advantages. "That's why we have each other, right?"

She smiled, completely unwittingly, too. He seemed able to pull a smile from her more and more easily. Unfortunately, her parents were catching on. Every time she smiled at Gil from across the dinner table her mother would nudge her foot to mind herself.

"I'm not as involved in my dad's business," Gilgamesh shrugged, pulling his hand away from Theseus and resting his elbows against his knees. "But your dad still drags you to meetings sometimes, right? Like when my folks first came over?"

Thena merely nodded. "Any time an associate has a son, he asks me to accompany him. I believe he thinks it will be seen as an asset--something to further convince them to agree to his conditions."

She was his perfect little bargaining chip.

"That's gross."

Thena smiled again, although it wasn't quite as free as his. "I suppose it is."

"It must be tough," he sighed and rested his chin in his palm. She tilted her head at him and he grinned at her, "being so pretty."

Thena's jaw clapped shut, too loudly for the rain to cover it. She tried to formulate a response but she couldn't, and Gilgamesh was still looking at her. She turned reticent, utterly embarrassed by such a bold compliment at such close range. Her whole face felt warm. "Hm."

He chuckled, but he didn't say anything else, nor did he prod her after that pitiful excuse for a 'thank you'.

Thena stared down at Theseus, trying and trying to think of something to say. Her flustered energy awoke the reptile, who looked up at her. It did not help her feel more calm.

"Pops doesn't ask me to come to meetings anymore--not even here."

Thena blinked at the sudden admission. She had assumed Gilgamesh joined his parents for their continued meetings with her own because they had insisted so. As far as she knew, Gilgamesh would take over and inherit his father's businesses someday. "He doesn't?"

He grinned at her again, and that funny feeling arose inside her ribs. "I keep asking to come. Hanging out with you here is the only fun thing I ever get to do anymore."

Thena still didn't mange to squeak out a decent reply. But she had to agree. She looked forward to Gilgamesh coming over. She even included in her letters to him what she had overheard Father discussing so as to better encourage Mister Lee to come over again. She would lie awake the night before, be restless all the morning before they arrived.

Gilgamesh left it at that again, but he did pick his head up from his palm as she scooted a little closer to him, until their sides could brush, his stark black suit against her soft white cardigan.

"The same could be said for me," she managed to admit, in far too many words than needed. But 'I like you too' seemed both too simple and...too complicated. But he seemed to accept it, letting her settle next to him in a positively scandalous proximity. But he was much warmer than the chilly rain air.

"You could try and get your dad to come over to our place," Gilgamesh suggested. His face was close again, by sheer proximity of how they were sitting. But she didn't mind it as much. "You can come with him, I can show you around. I'm pretty sure my folks wouldn't really care what we get up to."

Thena fidgeted to admit to him, "I've never been allowed to leave the manor without the presence of Father, or Mother."

Gil shrugged though, and his massive shoulder collided with her smaller one. "They'll be there--kinda. And I'll be a perfect gentleman."

She smiled as he held up a hand for her to rest hers within. It was familiar, even comfortable. "Of that, I have no doubt."

"Great," he whispered, running his thumb over her fingers. "So, next time your dad mentions my dad, tell him that Pops has...documents--or something. His office is full of train stuff. He has maps of every railroad on the continent, I'm pretty sure."

She did know their deal had...something to do with the railroads. She had looked into at first. But since she was able to spend time with Gilgamesh instead of listen to the business dealings, her attention had dwindled, to put it mildly.

Thena tightened her hand in his, and he returned the gentle squeeze. His hand felt nice. "I shall tell him forthwith."

"Well maybe we can enjoy the rain in Ma's sunroom next time, then," he chuckled. He went to drop his hand, and hers, but he blinked as she held on. She thought about snapping her hand back in that second, but he adjusted his grip, still holding her hand perched in his even in his more relaxed posture.

"That sounds," Thena sighed, letting herself lean against him just a little more, "dreadful."

He laughed again, jostling her amidst her relaxing. But she excused it, only because she liked his laugh so much.

[amarriageoftrueminds]

You'd definitely write a better Captain America movie than how the Russo brothers did with Civil War.

Oh dude I wanna take that as a compliment but it's not exactly a high bar is it? 😅

I was thinking the other day how that movie transparently wants the plot of Steve defending Bucky, but not the characterisation of Steve defending Bucky.

RIP M&M but if I was writing two friends who've known each other since childhood reuniting for the first time in years after being separated by terrible circumstances and one isn't even sure if the other one remembers him or not... I simply would've made it an emotional scene. 🤷‍♀️

[dandelion-wings]

consider

rosaria and barbara roleswap

in which rosaria is basically natasha and barbara is the one kidnapped by treasure hoarders when she was a child

Okay, I don't know who Natasha is (I assumed an NPC, but when I googled got nothing but Star Rail, and if that's who you meant I don't play that), but that would be a fascinating roleswap! Though Rosaria in particular seems like she would be so different, as so much of her personality was shaped by her bandit experiences, that I'm not sure I can really get a grasp on what she might be like without them. XD;; Presumably she grew up in her village here, and... who knows where she might have gone from there, without knowing more about her family and parents. Though I suppose there's the possibility that the roleswap is that they were all killed as in canon but she was rescued instead of kidnapped, which would mean she grew up in the Church but with that trauma of watching them die, which... okay, I can see where Rosaria might go from there, and I feel like she'd be a less hardened person in the way she treats others, but probably have this core, given her strength of conviction in canon, of wanting to grow up to make sure that never happens to another child. Which is to say, Knight!Rosaria, probably.

Barbara does seem more emotionally fragile overall than Rosaria, and while some of that was probably her family situation, we know from her character stories that she struggled more even as a child, so honestly, being kidnapped by bandits would probably make her even more timid. TBH I have an easier time imagining her dying in the rough-survival situation Rosaria's lore implies, especially if she struggled with the 'training' Rosaria went through the way she struggled with her mother's, but we're assuming she survives here, so. Maybe the false-father bandit Rosaria killed in canon develops a soft spot for Barbara, too, and protects her, and she eventually ends up the group's mascot. Possibly she starts learning rough wilderness healing skills, which would help--the person who can keep you alive if a fight went bad is worth feeding and protecting--but I still can't imagine her ever becoming the kind of killer Rosaria is. Just much more calculating, aware of the skills she lacks without being ashamed of them as in canon, but rather equally aware of the skills she possesses and determined not to devalue them in any trade for those skills she doesn't have.

...and then Sir Rosaria is with Varka's party when they clear out the bandit camp, desperate for revenge because these were the bandits who killed her family. But she's injured in the fight, and Barbara, cornered by Rosaria as the surviving bandits are being chased down and slaughtered, offers those exact skills to help her in exchange for her own life. Yeah, okay, I'm into that. XD

[yusuke-of-valla]

In Berry Blast Brigade Yusuke is way more chill about the "Chidori kidnapping him that one time" thing than most people would be but Hamuko does not forgive or forget when it comes to her baby siblings so whenever Yusuke wants to visit Chidori in the hospital Hamuko is in the hallway glaring menacingly.

[fragmentedblade]

Also, Ruan Mei was the one who lent the Phase Flame to Ratio, wasn't she?