#it’s specifically that breed of cruelness that reminds me a lot if those kind of black mirror episodes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

roguestarsailor · 4 years

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i need help understanding mor and the dynamic between cassian and azriel.

TLDR; i dont get why this dynamic is so important! for mor, its two issues here and they aren’t connected. mor can reject az and keep her true sexuality a secret so why is she so insistent on being shitty to az? azriel getting rejected isn’t going to break his entire heart forever; az is a big boy he will be ok. god i hate this dynamic so much.

ok so this girl doesn’t have the courage to tell azriel that she doesn’t like him that way (or ever).

but its been 500 years of pining; like ?? i think he knows his heart has been broken?? hes a spy master; his entire profession is him seeking secrets and i would even assume knowing how to read people and such. i feel like after 500 years, he can pretty much confirm shes not interested in him. and then using cassian whenever theyre together should also signify something? are we banking on azriel to be a Head Empty dumbo man who doesn’t have an ounce of self awareness and emotional intelligence here?? mor constantly flirts w cassian as a joke. mor needing cassian to be a buffer sounds like she just wants him as the third wheel but nothing else and thats really shitty thing to do. how can she think she can keep it up?? how can she also assume cassian won’t try to find love?? she doesn’t love az why stop him from finding love???

she straight up only likes females no? she’s already sleeping with other people. thats a known fact. azriel has also slept w other people. they dont sleep together but they do just hang out--like buddies?? they go to ritas, they hang out in the houses at valeris, they do night court jobs together-ish but thats it? that sounds like what friends do. so if she rejects azriel, the worst that seems to happen is that they won’t hang out like they used to.

i flipped through ACOWAR to make sure im not missing anything and this is part of what she says:

“I’m not sure I can give my entire heart to him in that way. And...and I love him enough to want him to find someone who can truly love him like he deserves. And I love myself....I love myself enough to not want to settle until I find that person, too” (ACOWAR, 592)

“I should tell him. I need to tell him. Mother above, after last night, I should. But...It’s gone on for so long. So long. I’m petrified to face him--to tell him he’s spent five hundred years of pining for someone and something that won’t ever exist. The potential fallout...I like things the way they are.” (ACOWAR, 593)

she says this shit!! two contradictory paragraphs!!! how are you gonna be like let az find love/i want to find love and then backtrack and be like wait i like this dynamic??? what??????? in between those two line she says this:

“It’s stupid, I know. It’s so stupid and cruel that I do this, but...I slept with Helion just to remind Azriel...Gods, I can’t even say it. It sounds even worse saying it.”

“To remind him that you’re not interested.” (ACOWAR, 593)

what is this?? literally what the fuck?? this line right here makes mor sound like such a dick. this is literally cruel; she knows hes got intense feelings for her but she does this still?? is this some kind of power trip she likes???

yes it can be heart breaking to lose a friend but at the same time stringing them along and being so elusive is worse is it not?? yes it will probably hurt az a lot especially if his feelings are super intense but i think they as characters are capable of going past this. it might not be like before, but they will still be supportive of one another.

but also consider this: what would be the consequence of rejecting azriel? will he go on a rampage? will he shut out the IC forever? will he abandon them? is there a darkness to him that makes mor afraid to speak her actual feelings? cuz i feel like at worst it would be a few awkward moments here and there but ultimately it would just be over with and they will be friends again. does she really believe that az would continue to be a hopeless puppy following her around in the hope of her loving him forever or does she think he’ll reject love forever if she rejects him? she hasn’t given him actual romantic love back so he might not be missing much. and even her words about fucken helion just to remind az she’s not interested is treating him shity enough (which also leads me to why does he love mor? did he know her before rhys brought her to the illyrian camp all those years ago when she and cassian did it?) i know she wants to keep liking females a secret, but rejecting az won’t make people automatically assume she isn’t straight.

i can’t help but think literally all of mor’s reasoning for not telling az and keeping the dynamic going is garbage. the stakes aren’t that high! shes being a bad friend and stifling both cassian and azriel! idk how az’s heart isn’t already breaking?? im really mad SJM is trying to play this up as a big thing and making this dynamic seem so important to these characters but for mor, its two issues here and they aren’t connected. mor can reject az and keep her true sexuality a secret. azriel getting rejected isn’t going to break his entire heart forever; az is a big boy he will be ok. god i hate this dynamic so much.

on another note thats vaguely related to the above post: i re-read the scene in ACOWAR where mor confesses her true sexuality to feyre and im thinking why can’t mor just be bi? i’m not super well versed about sexuality here so correct me if im wrong but making her sleep w other males just to throw off the idea that she likes females sounds.......wrong?? why does SJM frame taking males to bed as this tool mor needs to keep up the secret of her preferring females but at the same time saying mor still likes sleeping w males too. so does that not define bisexuality??? does mor being bi take away from the impact of her not liking azriel??? mor feels like a diversity token rather than genuine queer character imo.

also why does knowing she prefers females hurt her in anyway? does she think her father is gonna send out assassins to murder her lovers? whats the cost benefit analysis to that? mor already controls hewn city, has rhys + IC as backup. and going by the logic mor puts out, does it matter that she takes female lovers as long as she can can produce heirs/continue the bloodline (because thats what her shitty family prioritizes)?? i feel like she can do both tbh. i see that its the emotional component that mor values and i can understand trying to shield something precious to her since her family has hurt and ruined so much of her life. the only significance i can read from this is that SJM is trying to show representation of closeted folks in the form of mor which i guess is fine if you vibe with her in that way??

this is the part of the ACOTAR lore that throws me off: i feel like sexual fluidity would be the norm for faes. these folks live forever and they will only stick to being straight? hard to believe personally. mor mentions that in her family specifically she is considered a “prized mare” who is great for popping babies but a) fae babies are rare already so i dont think she can just pop babies unless thats part of her power b) they just need her to “breed” so taking other lovers shouldnt be a problem either so long as mor’s family have babies to “continue the bloodline” c) is faithfulness an unspoken law? is polygamy frowned upon? these are immortal creatures why would they keep to one lover? babies are rare so from purely biological/survival stand point wouldnt faes have to have multiple lovers in order to reproduce???

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currentfandomkick · 4 years

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I have no excuse on this, just saw the prompt and wrote. inspired by @virgil-is-a-cutie‘s post where Marinette was from Gotham and moved to Paris, many liberties taken on timeline though, and with @justafanwarrior‘s comment on it

Marinette blinked a few times when her parents told her the first time that her grandfather on Papa’s side died, and they were going to move into his old bakery.

She was twelve.

She was getting ready for Tim (who’s elven and should not be allowed follow Robin without backup). She just finished working on a bit of embroidery for his suit when the Wayne Gala came up.

She didn’t know how to feel other than dread. (new country, language lessons, culture shock, losing her friends, her connections, her room and so much more).

She was quiet, nodded, and got ready for bed on time.

She whispered about it to Tim, who she watches out for. Because he’s small, an idiot with a very nice camera and she has to. Its her job to—she caught him when he almost fell and they were ten and nine. Like Jason caught her once. (She was so much smaller then, barely remembered the place but she slipped and Jason Todd caught her and told her to always watch her step because no one else will do it for her. well, she decided that she would watch hers and other people’s. because someone should, so why not her?)

She hadn’t seen Jason for years though. She knew he’s a Wayne now, but Waynes and Drakes have some weird rivalry thing and the Dupain-Chengs cater for the Drakes. So she hasn’t seen him in their neighborhood, not around her family’s business (or her ‘Uncle’ Oswald’s) or anywhere really.

Instead she saw Tim who she decided a long time ago was hers to watch out for.

She couldn’t take him to Paris though.

Tim didn’t like it any more than her. They both know they can’t stop it.

But Marinette made sure he was better at looking out and watching before she left.

It was a year of renovations to make the bakery and house above ready for them. Marinette was moved in the summer. She hugged Tim tight before she left, on one of their rooftop runs for fun (the memory, their last run ever) rather than BatWatch.

They didn’t know Robin saw them for a moment and was ready to give them a Big Lecture, because why would they? They were just moving to breathe, moving to scream in silence and ignore everything they don’t get to control. They were roof top running to have some control in a situation neither of them had any.

Marinette and Tim dropped down to her house, since it was over… for good.

“No going out there again since I can’t go too.”

Tim nodded, crying against her. She cried tooo. They both hated it.

Marinette moved to Paris the next day, beginning of summer. Beginning of the extra crazy as Gotham summers were always ripe with more rogues and more time and more ‘help’ than the rest of the year.

Marinette missed it. She was in Paris helping her parents do a grand opening. It was a success. Maman was glad they got out of Gotham, murmuring it would be better for Marinette. Marinette disagreed, but didn’t contradict her or Papa who was so much happier in Paris than in Gotham. He missed his home city.

(Marinette missed Uncle Oswald showing up at random to make sure no one was doing anything ‘untoward’ to her or people she said he should help. Paris seemed to have a different breed of ‘untoward’ that were well hidden. No one kept them in check. No Batman here to try, no Uncle Oswald to warn her, and no Jason to remind her to watch out for herself.)

On the first day of school Marinette was thrown into being a superhero. Ladybug—she should have used Ladybird or Coccinelle because it was so American but she panicked and now she’s a very American Named Hero of Paris. She prayed no one made the connection.

When Jason Todd died and made the news in the middle of her first year, she cried. A lot. She was Ladybug and couldn’t afford to be akumatized but her parents knew that even if Jason wasn’t around for her since she was little, that she kept those memories close, kept those pictures and wished him the best. They were grieving too—he was almost their son (they tried so hard to get him to stay, but he didn’t want to. He had a mom to care for and Marinette should have asked Uncle Oswald for help when Catherine looked off to her but she didn’t. She was seven and Jason begged her not to say anything so she didn’t.)

She was doing good as Ladybug. (more like putting out fires than fixing the problems, but she did only have observing Batman and Robin to go off of, and none of what she saw was the detective work.) She took down akumas, was working on becoming a good guardian in the future (the kwami admitted she and Chat were the only candidates… the temporary heroes weren’t even in the running) and becoming a better designer. (She now works for Jagged and Clara on the design itself, they have official seamstresses that build her creations to her standards and specifications. She handles the fittings and adjustments when her schedule allows.)

Then Lila showed up and Marinette didn’t get how they didn’t see through the lies. Marinette will admit her lies in French are just… bad. Thankfully they all write it off as her mistranslating her thoughts and her speaking five languages (English, Italian, Spanish, French and Mandarin) rather than it being an attempt at lying. She’s better in English, okay?

But Lila’s were outrageous, even for their school. Maybe it was Gotham, (Uncle Oswald murmuring how to spot a con and a manipulator a mile away, Jason reminding her to be suspicious of every good and too good deal offered, especially with nothing backing it) but she didn’t put too much into Lila on sight.

Then the Ladybug lying and things escalated.

Chloe caught the Drakes talking to one of the events her parents were catering to. Janet was inspecting Marinette’s latest work while Marinette let the woman analyze her choice before being dismissed with a “You have improved, but do try using that sewing machine for your seams next time.”

Tim had been standing with her and they were allowed to escape the crowd to catch up. Tim was not shocked to find out she’d taken to destroying people in Ultra Mecha Strike III on a city wide scale (she won) while Tim was working on more professional photos and debating taking up a sport to be more well rounded (he’s thinking baseball or track because of the running) and they both skirt around her design success because it could jinx it.

Not long after Chloe makes an effort to get along with Marinette. Marinette made a few things clear: she’s not a lackey and neither is Sabrina, that Chloe needs to stop using her family to get out of everything, and that Chloe needs to apologize for hurting people intentionally.

Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go over well the first time.

Sabrina did get close to Marinette instead (Marinette had no issue with this) and joined the girl gang.

Marinette was still skeptical (daughter of a cop versus anyone from gotham is a recipe for disaster) but so far Sabrina just needed to be given normal friend treatment en masses to calm down her obsessive tendencies. It may have reminded Marinette of Tim and his obessions. Kind of like how Marinette took to Alya (superhero obsessed like Tim, and protective like Jason) so she was quick to get used to her.

Chloe did make amends that year (slowly) and kept doing so.

Chloe and Marinette did agree on one thing: Lila is a scam and they didn’t want the class falling for it. So Marinette made suggestions to keep her friends on track for their interests (actually practice, don’t wait for opportunities) while Chloe took to openly opposing Lila as the one Lila can’t touch.

It kept Marinette safe from her attempted manipulations. Chloe was all for it—as Bustier isn’t able to cow Chloe the way Marinette knows the woman would try on Marinette. And language miscommunications could make her seem more complacent and get her in more trouble for not being as complacent as Bustier wants her to be.

Then came the anniversary. The first one. (and the one where Tim is a Wayne now, thanks to Janet passing and Jack being found negligent.)

Lila made the mistake of talking about Jason. Like he was nothing. Like he was a problem and rude and cruel. And a creep.

“I mean, not to speak ill of the dead but…”

“Then shut your trap.” Marinette stuck to Italian. Alya stiffened as Italian had become Marinette’s ‘I am emotional and need you to understand’ language as far as the class was concerned.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to be insensitive…” Lila said in an almost convincing act. Almost.

“Well you are Rossi,” Chloe glanced at Marinette, as she didn’t know what the connection to Jason was.

“I mean, its not like he was much than a…” Lila shut up as Marinette was stalking forward and this? this was not was Marinette was supposed to do. Throw a fit, make a fool of herself, something like that.

Marinette only saw someone trying to drag Jason through the mud. Everyone moved away when Marinette approached (like Uncle Oswald in a silent rage) and she didn’t quite remember what happened from there.

She did remember ending up at the principle’s office with her parents and Lila’s mom.

Who was finding out a number of lies Lila told and Marinette could feel a Talk coming on for her. (Good.)

But then it moved back to why they were there and Marinette saw red as “She was talking about Jason.”

Her parents stilled as that was (almost) family.

Maman was smiling too wide then as “What were you saying about him?”

Lila squirmed as she repeated words that were Wrong.

“She made it sound like he was nothing.”

Tom was the one that terrified them all then, turning to Miss Rossi. “So you mean to tell me your daughter was insulting a child who was murdered that my family was in the process of adopting before he vanished when his mother died and was taken in by the Waynes.”

Damocles paled as Miss Rossi had made it sound like she was getting back at Marinette for bullying her (something everyone but Bustier had denied vehemently. Especially Chloe and Chloe’s word outranked Lila’s) but with all of this… it seemed more like Lila was the issue.

Lila was trying to process the new information. Marinette was going to kill her was her conclusion.

“Miss Rossi could not have known of that connection,” Damocles said, eyeing the girl with something guarded.

It wasn’t more than a day later the school was introduced the Marinette’s uncle.

“Now, which of you is the one that angered my little birdie?”

Marinette groaned as she didn’t call him. Nor had her parents. (He was watching them then. Great. She thought that stopped when they left Gotham.)

Apparently terrorizing her classmates (and the school’s staff) was enough for him. Lila was now at juvie for truancy (the only charge that stuck) and away from Marinette.

She figured that was it.

It was not…

Six months later…

“Tim Tam?”

Tim grinned at her. “Hey Marebear!”

He was at Dupont, grinning like a loon at her. She said screw decorum and scooped him up and twirled as he is still too tiny.

“Okay, I love that you’re here but why?”

“Heard there was a problem in Paris you neglected to tell me about.” Tim gestured for them to go into the car behind him..

Heroes was her first thought. And Hawkmoth, but its Tim so heroes are his focus.

“I figured we were staying out of old habits.” She was a hero, not stalking them.

“We are.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow as she knew that tone, and it meant he had an idea. She slipped into the car with a wave to her classmates.

“What do you know,” she began with.

“Ladybug purifies and fixes, Chat Noir destroys. Good guys. Anything animal themed is a hero, expect Mayura. Bug themed besides Ladybug, Toss-up. Hawkmoth is who needs to go down.”

Marinette filled in the blanks on powers for public heroes. She shrugged on the blurred possible hero (MultiMouse) and let Tim rattle on and on.

“So I was thinking, why hasn’t anyone looked for outside help?”

Marinette blinked a bit as… “The Mayor was told it was a joke by Green Lantern when they asked for help the Stoneheart Army.”

Tim furrowed his brow. “Which one?”

“There’s more than one?”

“Hair color.”

“Weasely looking, that’s all I remember.”

“That was the ginger who is hated by the JL members, and should not count. Want me to ask Batman?”

“Should I be surprised the Waynes have him on call?”

Tim smiled at her, the one that they used when their parents told them to play and they went roof running and were never caught.

“Never mind. Do you need me to contact Ladybug or Chat Noir?”

“Well, I am talking to Ladybug.”

Marinette knew how to play this off. “And Batman and Brucie are the same person because the butts match.”

“Well, yeah, it would make being his Robin a little harder if they weren’t.”

Marinette took a deep breath before hitting Tim upside the head as “you idiot!”

“Hey, hey! Someone had to!”

“Nightwing!”

“Didn’t want to—not the way he needed!”

“I, urgh! Wait—then Jason—”

Tim softened. “Yeah.”

Marinette hit her head agains the back of the seat. “He told me to always watch out for myself and…”

Tim pressed his shoulder to hers. “I know.”

The rest of the ride was silent.

“How did you…”

“Ladybug, your new haircut and word that speech you made on your debut? A lot like what I found from Jason’s things.”

Marinette may have blushed. A bit. Okay, she had her heroes and hers didn’t wear scaly panties—wait. He did, she just didn’t know that at the time.

“No telling me Chat’s identity.”

“Haven’t figured him out yet, but I would love to see your theories on who hawkmomth could be.”

“Needs the funds to run a butterfly garden, and knowledge to do it in secret, local too, and probably a parent to a Dupont student.”

“That should narrow it down.”

A few weeks later, at fifteen years old, Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Hawkmoth (with Robin playing intelligence, and refusing to take credit). Chat didn’t want to do the reveal after.

Marinette figured it out when he sneezed at a pigeon.

They met up still, but Chat needed a purpose and Marinette was the guardian. She and Tikki exchanged a look. Marinette called Tim.

“Hey Tim? Remember that group project you mentioned? I don’t think I can help, but I know someone who could use an invite…”

Marinette is sixteen when Red Hood makes a splash in Gotham. Tim was there at the time, so was Adrien.

She didn’t know what happened (they won’t tell) and she won’t press… them at least.

Uncle Oswald answered her questions. New crime lord, and he has a bone to pick with the Bats.

Marinette convinces her parents to let her stay in Gotham. Jagged offered his townhouse for when he’s on tour and she can’t go with (she has so many commissions, so no touring for her).

Chloe and Sabrina manage to convince their parents its okay. (Sabrina’s dad was a particularly difficult sell until Marinette’s Uncle Oswald offered to have them guarded by his men. In person. Marinette is convinced he has a team watching her at this point, and is glad she’s retired as Ladybug. It’d be dangerous if she wasn’t.)

Alya somehow got an internship in Metropolis (Marinette wasn’t glaring at Tim for that, she was disappointed he meddled so much Superman caught on and had his girlfriend offer the girl a spot.)

Nathaniel and Nino couldn’t make it for the summer, but both managed to visit.

Thankfully neither of those visits coincided with her own run-in with Red Hood. To be fair, it was at the old bakery location. Now run by a friend of Papa’s who uses a different set of recipes.

Marinette was there and making some of the old recipes for old time’s sake. One of the baker’s was from Papa’s staff before they left. Most of the new staff were a bit sketchy, but nothing that raised Gotham Red Flags.

She blinked a few times during the encounter as Red Hood burst in (it was still light out… she thought at the time) and paused when he saw her.

“You’re the old owner’s kid?”

She didn’t get what her family had to do until… Uncle Oswald. Great. Human Bait-time.

“Pretty sure the kid left town with her family.” Not a complete lie, but an easy deflection like Jason taught her. She’s not as snarky as him (as he was).

Red Hood, she couldn’t tell what that did for him (stupid Helmet) but he did grab what she was and say “yeah, no way the kid would botch a macron like this.”

She really wanted to deck him for that one. As it was her specialty asshole.

He did leave after that and she may have told Jagged and Oswald she’s going to spend a week or two in NYC with Audrey to keep her mind off of it…

Then Tim had her over with Adrien (who Marinette is now convinced is a Wayne ward in all but name since he lives there now) and Just Their Luck, Red Hood decided to break into the Batcave.

Tim went off to defend it, and Marinette sighed as this is her life and she isn’t a hero anymore. Ladybug would be recognized and easily connected but…

“Trixx, Let’s Pounce!”

A fox hero? Unlikely. One illusion spell later (and Bruce, Tim, Alfred, Adrien suiting up) and Red Hood was knocked out.

Alfred was the one to tell her to stay up stairs as “This isn’t something you need to see Miss.”

She dropped the transformation and put her hands on her hips as “This guy tried to kill Tim who I’ve been keeping from dying since he slipped on a ladder in the middle of winter like an idiot. And is already looking for me.”

The group exchanged a look at that.

“How long?”

“He said I couldn’t be me because my macrons were wrong,” Marinette grumbled, ignoring the real question.

“He did what!” Adrien gawked at her.

“Marinette!” Tim was not happy.

Bruce was looking at her like she was the weird one.

“Oh no, you don’t get to look at me like that. I’m not the one fighting crime in as my fursona and teaching other people to do the same.”

Apparently Red Hood was not actually out cold. How does she know this?

He started laughing.

Bruce was sputtering, Alfred was unreadable, Tim was bring pink and Adrien was nodding along as he was one who started calling Batman and other heroes ‘the furrious furries’ when Batman and Robin were brought up as helping them with Hawkmoth over a year ago.

It was strange to think of it as a year ago.

(a year ago she thought Jason was dead, that Hawkmoth was impossible to find and still crushed on Adrien).

Now Jason is alive, Hawkmoth was defeated ages ago and that crush? Gone with that thing called distance and perspective.

Instead she was staring at the guy who broke into the Batcave and implied he was going to kidnap her two weeks ago, if she was herself, and didn’t because her macrons were ‘wrong’ when he clearly has no taste.

“Hey Pixie.”

Her brain shorted as… “Jason what the fuck.”

Her summer was a weird one. Jason was alive, Uncle Oswald and him were doing business, and since Marinette was in shock still, she went to Uncle Oswald’s unannounced (he tells her when he plans to be busy) so she walked in on Red Hood and him arguing over something and…

“Is this karma for helping Tim when I ten?”

Red Hood took one look at her, then Oswald, and it clicked.

“Pixie, why didn’t you tell me this Thing was your Uncle?”

“Mari dear, please tell me your association with this, this brute.”

“He came back from the dead and didn’t tell me,” Marinette told her Uncle as that she could process.

“Ah. That… explains nothing. Mari dear, we’ll talk about this later, feel free to go to the park until I send someone to fetch you.”

“No, I think Pixie will stay right here and find out what you do.”

Marinette did the logical thing one does when a dead almost-was-your-brother turns into a crime lord and is talking to your ‘Uncle’ who you know has a shady reputation.

Get the hell out of there.

She grabbed her things (she kept them in the suitcases just in case, because Gotham) and joined Uncle Jagged on tour because right now? She needed something a bit less insane. And Jagged qualified.

She would love to tell you she went after Red Hood, or helped Tim and Adrien, she would, but she’s the guardian and that means staying out of on-going wars of many kinds.

It also meant she was able to defend herself when Jason Fucking Todd decided to crash a Wayne Gala that Uncle Jagged and Uncle Oswald were insistent that she attend. Clara and Adrien and Tim joined in. Chloe and Sabrina and Alya combined forces to convince her to attend, while Nino consoled her with pats and good music.

Jason Fucking Todd announcing he’s alive at said Gala, and making a scene before chatting up Bruce and the Wayne Clan (There is new girl named Cass. and she did see a blond with Tim, she thinks its Steph but it could be one of his Titan Friends since she saw Superboy looking like less of a fashion disaster for once with a fast talking ginger that she’s pretty sure is the current Kidflash).

Marinette was so glad she was on the other side of the room, and out of the spotlight.

Jason Fucking Todd catching her the next day when she was getting coffee, was not in her plans.

“So, Pixie Pop, we have some catching up to do.”

And she is not bitter he vanished out of no where. That she thought he was dead when she was a little kid and mourned for months, only to find out he’s a Wayne now. Then not be allowed to see him because of the Wayne-Drake thing. Or that he really died for real and then came back without telling her. Or that he became a crime lord on top of it all and Tim a few scars that line up with what Oswald heard of Robin and Red Hood fights that were brutal.

Nope.

Not.

At.

All.

“We do, but I have an appointment already, and you already know how to contact me, so bye.”

He didn’t, but Tim did. And that meant he had to fix things there.

She’s not sure how to feel about her almost-brother and his attacks on Tim. She’s not sure how to process all of this but she can put some distance, right?

Wrong.

Jason Freaking Todd decided to make up some BS story about having taken time to get better and being grabbed by a goddamn cult and it took him time to escape. (Tim told her it was close to the truth the cult was some group called the League of Assassins… she just. Why. just why?)

Then he decided (re: Alfred Apparently knows Gina, who told Maman and Papa) to get her parents involved in making her talk to him.

How? How does he do this from another continent where he runs his (technical) criminal enterprise?

He just shows up after Tim figured what he was doing and told Alfred.

And now Marinette has to talk to her almost-brother-that-died when she’s elbows deep in a design rut and is far more willing to kick his ass than run (or think about talking to him).

“Pixie pop,” Jason grinned.

Marinette refused to respond on the principle. Her parents were downstairs, and she’s trying to make a nice silloutte but can’t and Fuck Off Jason.

“So, uh, I’m alive.”

“Uh huh.”

“I don’t kill people that don’t deserve it.”

She narrowed her eyes as “Tim.”

Jason scratched the back of his neck. “Okay, I was really messed up for a while.”

Marinette rubbed her forehead. “And.”

“You know of anything called the Lazarus Pitts.”

She did. Also they drive you insane (re: beyond reason) with one use.

“I was recovering from them and mostly have the Pitt Juice out of my system.”

“Bruce?” because he’s batman so what can’t he do at this point?

“A friend of his.”

Cryptic, but she doesn’t want to focus on him.

“So, what have you been up to?”

“Fashion.”

“Oh, what kind?”

Somehow she managed to soften a bit and give real answers. Maybe it was because Jason mentioned debating trying school and vigilantism (apparently he goes after abusers and drug lord and people who target kids and pregnant women and okay, she’ll check with Tim later and all for it being the truth but… she wants this to be real.

At seventeen Marinette meets a ten year old Damian Wayne, who is insistent Tim is not a Wayne.

Marinette is ready to throw hands with a teeny tiny assassin child.

Adrien is too.

Tim says he was just leaving, so Marinette makes the “mature” decision to follow him to San Fransico with Adrien on her heels.

They were not expecting Red Hood to show up a week into their stay (Uncle Oswald was expected to pop in and complain about her not being in Gotham, but Red Hood (not Jason but Red Hood)? Not on the list of visitors.

“So you’re telling me this kid tried to start shit with my Replacement?”

Marinette raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Red Hood told her to give him three weeks to fix it.

Somehow, it worked. And Apparently Nightwing was in the doghouse with some of his former teammates? She wasn’t sure how that worked.

She did know that Tim is sixteen, switched to Red Robin (she helped him design it as he’s bad at it and he wanted to look like he was 30 in his first design. 30. Just. No.) and said he had a thing to do.

Marinette and Adrien shared a look.

“I’ll watch the kwami.”

One list of kwami-care later, and Marinette switched to online classes for the year to keep her not-technically baby brother/her idiot out of trouble. Did she mention ninjas were involved? They were. it was a nightmare and she may have let Red Hood know about the League and he may have shown up to help her keep Tim from getting brainwashed.

Oh, and only at that point did anyone bother to tell her about Bruce being missing-missing not just Off-World or on a real vacation-missing.

Tim explained his hunch (because it is a hunch Timmy, and now we have a semi-solid theory) and she just sighs and calls Adrien to meet her in Gotham.

Fluff won’t tell them where (spell stops it) but confirms Bruce is lost in time. Jason is shocked, Dick and Damian are processing, Alfred is bordering on tears and Tim is victorious.

He also calls up the teen titans for help and they get Bruce—Tim and Adrien’s Father figure, not Batman.

She shakes her head and lets them have their reunion, kwami content at her side.

She goes back to Paris as its home now, and works on rebuilding the order in between nagging Tim about his health (he fears only her and Alfred apparently) and harassing Jason about doing his coursework (apparently she, Maman, Papa and Alfred are all effective there).

She’s able to say her parents were right about Paris being good for her, but she doesn’t think Gotham is bad for her.

hope you enjoyed!

#maribat #my fic #my writing

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writerbyaccident · 5 years

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Shards of a Soul (Yandere Tom RiddlexReader)

Request: Anything Tom Riddle with a female SO If you don’t write for Harry Potter feel free to ignore/delete

So I was going to post this last night but I think Voldemort must have imperio’d me or something, cause for some reason I just couldn’t stop writing!

Part Two

Flourish and Blotts wouldn’t have sold anything like the diary, that much you were sure of. They might have stocked books that turned invisible and books that would bite off your fingers, but the diary had a magic far too complex, too unique, too personal for it to be something the shop would stock on their shelves. And yet, the diary had appeared in your bag after you had left the shop. You were certain that you had only bought books that you needed for your classes this term, along with a few that had caught your interest. None of them had been a diary though. Thinking back on when you paid for them, you were sure that you hadn’t seen the diary then either. Perhaps the diary had found its way into your bag on your way out of the store, maybe when you had stumbled into that red-headed girl. She had been young, probably a first-year by the look of her, and stared at you with wide brown eyes as you apologized for not looking where you were going. The two of you had ducked down to help pick up the other’s fallen books, so that seemed like a plausible answer to the mystery.

However the diary found its way into your possession though wasn’t nearly as fascinating as the diary itself. Or perhaps you ought to say himself? Truly, the whole thing had a rather dizzying effect on you. Although you had heard of wizards and witches storing their memories, you had only heard of them doing so with the assistance of a Pensieve. And even then, you had had never read anything about those memories being able to interact with anyone. But somehow, Tom was able to. He always refused to answer your questions regarding how such a thing was possible, insisting that it provided a good intellectual challenge for you. As frustrating as that was, it was fairly typical for Tom. He was always trying to get you to push yourself, always trying to teach you something. You supposed that there was a lot you could learn from a wizard powerful enough to accomplish such a feat while still in school. It almost made you feel a bit insecure at times. Even as you talked to Tom, your doubts circled in your mind. You were sure that he only tolerated you because you were the only one he could talk to.

Little did you know though that Tom saw you as so much more than a convenience. While at first he had planned to use you to help him accomplish his goal of reopening the Chamber of Secrets, viewing you as nothing more than a tool to be used and then discarded, Tom soon found himself becoming fixated on you. His intelligence, his tenacity, his unfailing desire to learn were all things he saw reflected in you. But even more than that, the genuine kindness you showed towards Tom captivated him. You didn’t act agreeable towards him out of fear, nor did you fawn over him as so many of his classmates and teachers had done. No, you treated him with a sincere sense of compassion and friendliness that Tom had never before experienced. But now that he finally had it, he was addicted to it, to you.

You truly couldn’t be blamed for your ignorance on his feelings though. Tom was an extremely private person, to say the very least, always keeping things close to his chest. And for as much as he coveted you, that wasn’t about to change. No, in Tom’s view, you belonged to him and it was as simple as that. Why would something as insignificant as your insecurities matter then? He wanted you, so he would have you, and the only thing he had to be concerned about was how best to get you. And as for that, one day in particular helped Tom to forge his plan.

Hi, Tom, you found yourself writing that afternoon. What’s up?

Hello, he wrote back, as polite as ever. I’m fine, which is what I assume you meant to ask me.

A smart-ass as always, you teased him. You’re not in the forties anymore, you know.

Well, considering that I am a book, I’d think that being smart is rather fitting. In school, when this piece of him had still been a part of the world, Tom had never been light-hearted. He had been amused and playfully cruel at times, but never genuinely pleasant. But when he could sense you besides him, feel the way your soul flickered before him, he felt a dark sort of happiness that he never had before. It was the happiness of someone who had safely gathered what belonged to them into their possession. When you wrote to him, were with him, just as you belonged, the shard of the Dark Lord that was Tom felt content and generous enough to gift you his good humor. But that knowledge that you were where you belonged only made it all the more angering to Tom when you were gone.

Anyway, Tom continued, how were classes today? Like Tom always had, you found your classes at Hogwarts extremely fascinating. And ever since you began writing to Tom, he had helped you to excel, making even high-level classes like Arithmancy seem simple. On Tom’s end, sharing some of his knowledge with you felt natural. If you belonged to him, after all, it was imperative that you be up to his standards. Now, he knew that you could never reach his level in magic of course, but you still ought to be more powerful than those beneath his feet. By claiming you, he had proclaimed to the wizarding world at large (even if they didn’t know it yet), that while you were certainly not above him, he had deemed you to be above the rest of them.

They were good, you answered, blushing to yourself when you thought over what had happened that day. Unsure of how to tell Tom, and doubtful that he would even care, you decided to keep it to yourself. After all, Tom had plenty of his own secrets, why shouldn’t you have a few of your own? Keeping something from him was easier said than done though. You didn’t realize it, but all of the time you had spent writing to Tom and all of the pieces of yourself you had given him had forged a connection between your two souls for Tom to exploit. Through this bond he was able to feel your slight embarrassment and that unique breed of excitement that only came from having a secret. The mere thought that you dared to keep even a single secret from him who had deemed himself your master enraged him, but he decided to first see if he could pry it out of you without resorting to more extreme measures.

Merely good? Surely something of interest must have occurred,he prompted, trying to nudge you towards telling him what had you so flustered. Biting your lip slightly, you wondered how it was that Tom could always read you so easily when he was the one in a book. Even though you had only begun talking with him since a bit before the term started, and now it had only reached mid-September, it felt as though you had known each other for far longer. Tom had become such a fixture in your life, one that you had grown dependent on. But still, you told yourself, that didn’t mean he needed to know everything about you and your life.

Not really, you told him. It was just an average day. With your continued insubordination, Tom felt his fury begin to writhe, demanding that he strike. By giving you a chance to correct your mistake, Tom had gifted you a mercy that he would not have bothered to show to anyone else. Truthfully, he needn’t have even bothered to give you that opportunity. You were his, and as such it was his right to do with you as he pleased. Yet he had been feeling rather magnanimous, as he oftentimes felt towards you. But if you were going to refuse such a gift from him—your master, your lord—then he would feel no scruples towards what you had driven him towards. Reaching out to the cords that tied you to him, Tom began to send whispers of his will to you.

You, meanwhile, were unaware of the steps Tom was taking. Although you were bonded to him, you had no power to feel his emotions or catch glimpses of his thoughts, no power over him. So when you felt your mind start to grow hazy, a heady fog weaving its way through you, you were unprepared to make any sort of resistance. And then, when Tom’s coercive influence began to slither within your mind and soul, it was as if you were laid open for him to examine.

While the young dark lord had been able to sense your feelings beforehand, it was nothing compared to the wealth of information now stripped bare beneath his magic. Even if your conscious mind had not yet realized to whom you belonged, it was apparent to Tom that your soul was well aware. With every strand of you he brushed over, Tom could feel your soul give more and more of itself over to him, as it should be. He had known, of course, that emotional dependence on a Horcrux could have such an effect, but he was sure that this was something more. The way your mind, your magic, you soul, trembled before him was far more extreme than what anyone else could have felt in such a short amount of time spent with a Horcrux. All of it served to prove what Tom had already known, that you were his in a way none of his followers had ever been. For a moment Tom was almost overwhelmed by the weight of this confirmation, but, he reminded himself, he had entered your mind for a specific purpose. There would be plenty of time to explore and play with you later.

All Tom had to do to summon the memory he so desperately craved was to recall the feelings it had inspired in you, that flustered sort of excitement, and then he saw what you had been so determined to hide from him. At first, Tom found his attention captured by the mere sight of you. Despite all of the power he held over you, the magic that bound you to him had only given Tom vague impressions of your appearance. He hadn’t minded it, knowing as he did that looks were worthless compared to power and potential, both of which you had in spades. But now, finally able to see you, Tom became rather enthralled. The bright intelligence your eyes held, the softness of your lips, the curves of your breasts and hips that were slightly obscured by your uniform all drew him in. Tom doubted that he would have even noticed your appearance if he had not already determined that he wanted you, but this development had him wanting you in yet another way. His focus was suddenly called away, however, when the memory began moving forward.

You had been leaving Arithmancy, he observed, a small smile on your face from having had a successful lesson, when a classmate of yours had approached you. Tom wasn’t sure who this classmate of yours might have been, whether it was one of the friends you had mentioned or not, though that would not have softened him at all. He considered your friends as mere distractions, just another in the line of obstacles between the two of you. Either way, Tom felt nothing but a surge of disdain as he watched your classmate walk up to you, his contempt doubling when he realized that said classmate was male.

“Hey,” the boy—for he was merely a boy, Tom thought to himself—said to you. Smile growing slightly at your classmate’s greeting, you stopped walking down the corridor. From the way he was looking at you, you could tell that he wanted to talk to you about something.

“Hi, Oliver. How are you?”

“I’m good,” he answered, fidgeting nervously a bit, a sight that only increased Tom’s scorn. “I was just wondering—I mean, I was thinking—if you’re interested—but if you’re not that’s okay—” Stumbling over his words, Oliver started to lose track of what he was even saying, growing more unsure as each second ticked by. Luckily for him though, you found it rather endearing. The only other times you had seen Oliver that nervous were the mornings of his Quidditch matches. From the warmth of your gaze and the softness of your smile, Tom didn’t even have need for his connection to you to realize how you felt towards this boy. Anger deepening, he turned his attention back to the interloper. Although fairly tall, he wasn’t nearly as tall as Tom was, nor, Tom thought haughtily, was he as attractive either. And as for intelligence, there was no question that Tom had him beat. So then why were you even bothering to look at such insignificant filth, let alone feel so fondly towards him?

In hindsight, Tom supposed that he should have been concerned about this before. After all, even before he fully knew what you looked like, it was clear that you were an intelligent and spirited young witch. Not only that, but you had a fierce determination and thirst for knowledge that Tom had found especially enticing. Really, it should have been no surprise to Tom that the male students of your year were drawn to you. But, Tom thought cruelly, that boy was deluded if he thought he had a chance with you. After all, there was no possible way he could compete with Tom.

“Yes?” you prompted Oliver gently, drawing Tom out of his thoughts. Anticipation humming through you, you prayed desperately that Oliver was about to ask you what you thought he would. As much as you tried not to get your hopes up, you found them inching upwards regardless.

“Well,” Oliver began again, “the first Hogsmeade visit is this weekend. And, well, I wanted to ask if you would be interested in going with me?” Smile breaking out into a full grin, you felt your hopes crow with vindication. Tom felt the glow of your happiness, fury building as he could nothing but stand idly by and watch the memory continue to play out.

“I’d love to,” you told Oliver. As soon as you said those words, Tom’s rage shattered his foothold in the memory, sending him spiraling out of it. He was able to keep himself inside of your consciousness though, taking hold of both him and yourself. Seething viciously, Tom wondered how you could be so foolish. That boy was nothing and would remain nothing for the rest of his trivial existence. Why on earth would you ever bother wasting your time with someone as worthless as him? Were you truly so determined to ignore the fact that you had already been claimed? Perhaps that was the issue though, Tom realized, pausing in his brooding. While it had been perfectly clear to Tom that you were his, he had never bothered making it clear to you. Of course, he shouldn’t have had to, but he supposed he could forgive you this once. After all, although you were infinitely more clever than the unwashed masses, you still weren’t nearly as clever or wise as him. Your belonging to him would just be another thing he would have to teach you, something Tom was sure he could do. And perhaps he could use a certain chamber to do it.

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theflutterbyliterature-blog · 6 years

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Sowing: The Purification Era #1, by Angie Grigaliunas - A Review

Sowing, by Angie Grigaliunas, is a dystopian novel narrated by two sisters, Ariliah and Rabreah. Within this dystopian world, they hold drastically different opinions about what’s right and what’s wrong. While one believes that the authoritarian government is there to help and protect her, the other believes that the government is run by a bunch of crooks with the sole agenda of oppressing her freedom. Despite these opposing views, the two sisters love one another and it is that love that drives them toward most of their major decisions.

What I really liked about this story is that despite it being a dystopian novel, it focuses more on the human side of dystopia versus the societal. A lot of dystopian novels will harp on how society has crumbled into its current state of affairs and you get more of a bird’s-eye’s view of the situation. Grigaliunas, on the other hand, allows us to see through the eyes of her characters and since they are just common folk, they aren’t experts on what’s going on and I like that. It makes the story much more relatable. After all, who really knows what their government is up to? Do they work with our best intentions at heart or are they only out for themselves?

This kind of ambiguity is abundant throughout the story. It’s extremely difficult to differentiate between right and wrong, good and evil. While one character might seem like a total bad guy – one conversation – one single event – might change your mind. This writing technique works is Grigaliunas’ favor because it drives suspense for the reader, urging them to continue onto book two of the series. She has lured me into supporting certain characters and now I’m invested in their outcome. I’m certainly looking forward to her future works and if she continues with this level of sophisticated writing, I have no doubt that they will be a pleasure to read.

***

Sowing is a classic example of a YA fantasy novel. Both protagonists are young women who are just getting their feet wet with the real world. As the story progresses, they come to mature and grow alongside the events that challenge them. Personally, I adored Ariliah’s progression and I feel that by the end of the book, we glimpse her true potential. Rabreah, on the other hand, did not develop nearly as much as I would have liked her to. Don’t get me wrong, she is by no means a flat character. She certainly grows and learns to adjust her flaws to a degree but I just feel that more could have been done with her. However, I will concede that her lack of significant growth might be due to her stubborn nature. It’s hard to change someone with a thick skull.

In terms of world-building, I think it was solidly built. The world operated within its fantastical parameters and at no time did I feel like something didn’t make sense within the story’s context. Grigaliunas remained consistent throughout and certain scenes that described official ceremonies really demonstrated her grasp on the made-up world. There’s nothing better than a fictional setting that seems real. For this specific book, that realism might arise from its striking similarity to Nazi Germany. After speaking with Grigaliunas, she actually told me that the idea for her story originally garnered inspiration from the Ku Klux Klan and their acts of atrocity in Southern United States. Personally, I love when a fantasy novel comments on history. It just adds a unique flavor and perspective to events we are so used to learning about in a textbook fashion.

***

This book is Grigaliunas’ first published work. She has written a few other novels through to entirely but hasn’t chosen to share them with the world. This prior experience certainly shows in her work. Sowing is a well-polished novel that is supremely written. As I read, I always take note of any mistakes I might find and try as I might, I could not find any. In the e-book version I read, there were a few formatting hiccups but I suspect that’s a PDF/MOBI issue and not a mistake made on the author’s part.

It is my hope that Grigaliunas continues her success into the second book, Quelling. While I have yet to read it, people on Goodreads seem to like it as it has over a four-star rating (out of five). If she maintains her diverse cast of characters, retains the emotionality of the first book, and continues to craft a compelling plot, I have no doubt that it will be a hit.

***

I have already briefly touched upon the main protagonists, Ariliah and Rabreah. Here, I would like to discuss the minor characters. While some of them fully fleshed out, others are not. Specifically, I was a bit disappointed with Grigaliunas’ portrayal of the mother. For all intents and purposes, she is Ariliah’s antagonist. She is abusive, cruel, and downright heartless. This is fine but I wish I knew why. There’s so much I don’t know about her. Where’s her husband? Is Ariliah actually a half-breed or is that just an insult she flings around? And why is she so hell-bent on making her daughter’s life a living hell? Was it something Ariliah did? Or does Ariliah remind her of something she rather forget?

While I do not advocate for an author to spell out everything for the reader, I do appreciate it when I get inside the head of an antagonist. It humanizes them and at times, it makes the reader sympathize with the ‘wrong side’ which adds to the emotional rollercoaster we call reading. Now, I do realize that Grigaliunas was limited in terms of what she could do regarding minor characters since the story is told predominately from a first-person perspective. While an omniscient narrator can know everything that goes through everyone’s head, Ariliah and Rabreah cannot and I acknowledge that.

***

As I have said, this book is rather well-written. My only real qualm was with the beginning of it. The prologue, instead of grounding me within the story, only made me feel disoriented. Suddenly, I was plopped in the midst of a rebellion attempt and I didn’t quite know what to do. Then, once I reached the first couple of chapters, I had a hard time keeping up with the names. This could be a personal problem but I do find a certain comfort in a story that starts off slow and builds up momentum. This is not to say that there was anything wrong with Grigaliunas’ approach.

And, sure enough, as I continued to read, I was further and further absorbed by the story. As soon as I developed a connection with Ariliah and Rabreah, I was hooked and that’s exactly what a good book should do. Good writing isn’t just about stringing words together in a beautiful fashion, it’s also about what those words mean and create.

***

To be frank, this book wasn’t what I expected it to be. With a title like Sowing, I expected something of a murderous culling, you know, where some criminal ticks off his targets one by one. Of course, that is not what I got with his novel but I’m not disappointed by any means. Although, after finishing the novel, I do wonder what sparked the title because I still don’t get it. And I also do not understand why the series is called the Purification Era. Maybe I missed something along the way but I totally noticed the totalitarian government part of Nazi Germany but not the Holocaust part. If purification is a statement on race then I guess I expected something a bit more dramatic.

***

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of dystopian novels. It is similar enough to Nazi Germany to make you reflect on that part of human history while still being unique enough that you can enjoy the story for story’s sake. The language is fluid and easy to understand. The alternating perspective between sisters makes it easy to pick a side and engage with the plot. Are you team Ariliah? Or are you team Rabreah? So, if you love a story that blurs the lines between good and evil and keeps you guessing until the very last page, then this is the book for you.

***

Score: 4.5/5

Plot: 5

Characters: 4

Language: 5

Enjoyability: 4

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