#jason fully thought they’ve been dating this whole time

[chlorophyll-tints]

VALGRACE NATION WE UP‼️‼️

[rapz-rites]

Is it alright if i request Batbros finding out Damian has a s/o

But it’s not just any s/o he’s dating his best friend and his partner in vigilante work

Love your work and I hope all is well

Best-friends and Girlfriends

Damian Wayne x Meta!Reader

Why were the Batboys surprised to find out you and Damian were dating? Aren’t they supposed to be great detectives?

A/N: OMG I GOT MY FIRST REQUEST. I HOPE I DO RIGHT BY YOU 😤✊🏾 Sorry it took so long. I had a background story about the reader activating/getting her powers here

Word Count: 2.1K+

Warning: kissing, cockblocking, Damian being a dickhead

-You got into the vigilante business much later than the others

-You were brought to the leagues attention after an accident you accidentally caused (see background story for details)

-You already lived in Gotham so they decided it would be best to work under Batman

-Because you were part psychic and could feel peoples emotions

-In the beginning Batman tried pairing you up with a few of the others to too how you would work

-You were relatively new to your powers, especially your element powers

-You’ve had a tiny bit of experience with people emotions but now that they’ve been fully activated, it overwhelming

-That’s why you had a hard time being paired for patrol

-You didn’t want to be a Bat

-You appreciated Batman taking you under his wing but you could stand having the same logo on your chest as 5 other people

-And each of them had very different personalities

-Jason had too much unreleased aggression

-Dick was a bit too chipper for your taste

-Tim was too jittery from the surplus of coffee and lack of sleep

-Stephanie was fine but she would just have random burst of emotions that startled you and you couldn’t deal

-You almost fell of a roof with her cause of that

-Cass was also nice but you couldn’t get too comfortable or else you’d end up in a void of nothingness

-That’s how you ended up fall off a roof

-Luckily Batman caught you and had Damián take you home

-You didn’t snap out of it until the next day

-Damian tried his best to avoid you

-He didn’t trust you

-Especially with your ability to read minds

-He thought you would read his mind and use it against him

-But, as a last resort, you two were paired together

-Damian tried to fight it

-“Little D. At least try for her sake. She’s going through a lot with all these unwanted thoughts and feelings”

-Unwanted?

-“Fine, Grayson. I’ll try but I won’t like it ”

-“Thank you”

-When Bruce told you you were going to be on patrol with Damian you were nervous

-When you first got to the manor, you thought he hated you

-I mean… he probably did

-It wasn’t like you were another kid he was trying to adopt

-You parents were very much active in your life

-They sent you to the manor because they thought being with other people and hero’s your age would help

-Though none of the Bats have powers you would still see the other super powered sidekicks often and learn whatever you can from them

-Surprisingly to both you and Damian, patrol went well

-You could feel Damian had a lot of emotions

-But they were quiet

-Like he was hiding them

-Suppressing them

-You would definitely ask him about it later

-After that patrol you went to talk to Damian but he disappeared

-And everytime you tried talking to him about it something keep getting in the way

-Other than that, over the next few months you two got closer

-Since you were new to the whole vigilante scene you let Damian lead

-Which he appreciated

-His siblings usually didn’t let him

-You two would have some nice conversations during patrol even if they were cut short

-Sometimes you two you just hang out in each others presence in the library or you’d watch Damian paint in the art room he had Bruce make

-You both enjoyed each other’s company

-But his thoughts and emotions confused you

-One night you couldn’t sleep

-Both you and Damian were off from patrol that night

-Making your way to Damian’s room, you knocked on the door

-Damian opened the door before looking at you

-“Grayson, what do-”

-He stopped once he saw you

-He was clad in just pj pants

-You we’re wearing a oversized shirt you cut into a crop top and shorts

-“Hi”

-“It’s late. What are you doing?”

-“I'm sorry, did I wake you?”

-“No. I couldn’t sleep”

-He opened the door wider so you could come

-As you walked in you took it upon yourself to look around a bit, not touching anything

-“Cool swords”

-“Thanks”

-You went to sit near the end of his bed, and he sat in the center, resting his back against some pillows and his headboard

-“Why are you here so late?”

-“I wanted to talk to you about your thoughts and emotions”

-Damian wasn’t look at you before, but now he was

-“What about them?”

-You could hear a slight venom in his voice

-“You’re suppressing your emotions and your thoughts are always against each other. ”

-“So what?”

-“I’m just… worried about you. I want to help you”

-“My thoughts and feelings are none of your concern so you can leave now”

-You were a bit hurt by this

-But you tried something

-You moved yourself closer to him

-You put your hand on top of his and had him feel you emotions

-You could tell by the look on his face that he could feel how genuine you were

-“Fine”

-You we’re glad that he allowed you to help him and you face didn’t hide it

-That entire night you helped him

-At the end you couldn’t help but smile

-“What are you smiling about?”

-Damian was confused

-If you saw what he saw you shouldn’t be smiling

-“You think I’m pretty and you want to kiss me again”

-Of course you saw that

-“It late. You should go to sleep”

-“Wait no. We never got to talk about it but I enjoyed the kiss too”

-Damian kept a straight face but you could feel he like hearing it

-You smiled at him

-“If you enjoyed it that much, we can do it again”

-He took initiative to kiss you

-And you kissed him back

-He pulled you closer so that you were on his lap

-It was nicer than the last time

-Don’t get me wrong, the last time was great but this kiss was way better

-Had more emotion and wasn’t rushed

-You groaned when Damian broke the kiss

-“Let’s go on a date”

-He wasn’t asking

-It was more like a very strong suggestion

-One someone couldn’t say no to

-Not like you would ever say no

-“I’d love that”

-You smiled and kissed him again

-That’s how the two of you started dating

-Since then whenever Damian got in an arguement with his brothers, just one touch from you and he would instantly calm down

-His brothers were grateful

-They figured you had just used you powers to help calm him down

-They thought he opened himself enough to you for you to become best friends

-They weren’t wrong but Damian knew that you would help him get through any negative emotions he had

-They didn’t know that you two were dating though

-It didn’t take Bruce long to figure it out

-He knew the first time you calmed Damian down after a fight with his brothers

-“I know about your relationship and I figure that your parents know”

-You nodded

-“I would just like the be sure that you two are using protection-”

-“Bruce, please. My parents gave me the talk years ago and we both know how babies are made”

-“Ok good”

-Once out of ear shot, Damian smirked and said

-“Glad you didn’t tell we are using protection”

-You rolled your eyes at him and walked away

-Which brings us to now

-It’s the annual Wayne New Years Gala

-You’re wearing a beautiful green dress that matched the accents on Damian’s suit nicely

-By this point you and Damian have been dating for over a year

-There were so many people

-Usually you would have left by now with all the people and their thoughts and emotions, but Bruce asked if you could try to stay the entire duration

-You knew he would ask if it wasn’t important to him

-So you stayed

-It was about hour and a half until midnight when you disappeared

-You were fine speaking with some of the older women and girls your age

-But you drew the line at the persistent boy who kept flirting with you

-You told him you had a boyfriend and didn’t appreciate his constant flirting

-But he didn’t get the hint

-NO MEANS NO

-When he was distracted you slipped away from everyone

-Luckily no one noticed your disappearance but Damian

-You hid in the library

-You couldn’t feel other people or hear their thoughts

-it was nice

-However a opening door broke your peace

-It was your boyfriend

-After a few weeks of dating you and Damian decided to share your presence

-Meaning that you both could faintly feel what the other is feeling and are aware of each others presence

-Once Damian couldn't feel you in the ball room he just followed your presence leading him to the library

-“I don’t know why father insisted on you staying when he knows you can get overwhelmed with all these people”

-You had mild social anxiety before

-You did fine with crowds but after a certain period of time you could do it

-Once your powers activated it got worse

-You could be around remotely large crowds for too long or else your powers might fritz out

-“It was going fine until…it doesn’t matter. Stay here with me”

-Damian sat down on the couch next to you

-Damian didn’t hesitate to agree

-He hated these galas

-Especially the girls throwing themselves at him even after politely turning them down

-“Let’s finish reading that book”

-You suggested

-But Damian had a different

-“Or… I can get my New Years kiss a bit early”

-You couldn’t help but chuckle

-“I like that idea very much Mr Wayne”

-At the same time Dick wondered where you and Damian went

-He got his other 2 brothers to help with the search

-In the library, Damian was on top of you while you kissed each other

-You tugged at Damian’s jacket and tie

-“Take it off ”

-You didn’t have to tell him twice

-Once they were off his went back to kissing you

-So passionately

-So lovingly

-So not what Dick and Tim expected to find

-Jason caught up with them and saw

-“OH MY GOD!”

-That startled you and Damian away from each other

-“What’s going on”

-Steph and Cass came into the library to see what was happening

-She looked at you and Damian and the shocked look of her brothers face

-She laughed

-“Oooh. I see. Did you guys not know?”

-Dick was offended

-“You guys knew”

-Cass let out a simple

-“Of course”

-Steph intervened

-“Bruce was the first, then Cass, and Duke and I”

-Jason was shocked

-“Even Duke knew”

-You could just sit there

-Uhm. We’re right here“”

-Martian Manhunter taught you how to knock people out with your mind

-You could easily do it to his siblings and take Damian to another room and continue where you left off

-Bruce might not like it though

-But who cares

-You have needs

-“Let’s go. Father is most likely expecting us for the countdown”

-You looked to your side a notice Damian had put his jacket back on but left his tie

-You pulled yourself together before standing up

-Damian have you his hand

-“Come on, Beloved”

-You took his hand, and both of you walked out

-And his brothers followed you pestering for answers

-“Here is my youngest son, Damian”

-Saved by the Bruce

-You planned on staying at Damian’s side for the rest of the night

-But Bruce just had to ruin it

-Damian had to give a speech

-It was just 2 minutes before midnight when Damian finished his speech

-“Before I go I’d like to mention my gorgeous girlfriend-”

-The amount of gasps from the crowd was astronomical

-Boy, we’re the tabloids going to love this

-“Y/N L/N”

-You got on the stage next to Damian

-People were recording and cameras were flashing

-You could see the the headlines already

-Damian Wayne No Longer a Bachelor

-Damian Wayne and Y/N? Who Knew?

-“Im am glad to be able to step into the new year with her by my side”

-10

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

-“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

-And with that Damian pulled you closer to him and kissed you

-Of course he had to be extra with it and dip you a little

-And yet you still smiled at him

-And he smiled back at you

-You could feel the flashes from the camera and the jealousy radiating of Damian’s fan girls and that boy that kept pestering you

-But you ignored all of that and focused on Damian

-Your Damian

-Your heart and soul

OMG IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

[sellieellie]

saw some friends last night. it was bella, jason, spencer, connor, and one of the high schoolers.

im becoming frustrated with the whole connor situation. he either gets super angry and mean or super sweet and profound when he’s drunk. no in between. and i don’t like dealing with the uncertainty.

yesterday he was also just saying the most questionable things. he said that when he was dating his ex, his friend called her ugly behind her back and he just fucking laughed. he laughed. and he always talks about how much he hates his ex and how crazy she is. and spencer is constantly telling me that i just need to make the first move. but i won’t be doing that. if, and that’s a huge if, he makes a move, i might reciprocate. huge maybe on that one.

every time he acts out and shows one of his red flags, my friends just say “oh you can fix him!” but i don’t want to have to fix someone. sure, i’d love to grow with someone in a relationship but im not gonna fix someone? he has to do that himself. he’s not a child, he’s fully an adult and if he can’t become a good man, with the capacity to date me, then maybe he’s just not worth it. maybe he was right. maybe im too good for him.

and it sucks, because i thought he’d come home from school more mature, but he’s the same as he was. and im sad. i wish he would do better. im sick of the disappointment with men. so so sick of it.

i can’t help but be a little upset at my friends for pushing this in the first place too. if they hadn’t put that idea into my head, i don’t think i would’ve ever considered a relationship with him in the first place. i would’ve just had another really good friend. but no. i don’t get that because for some reason my friends feel like i need to have a romantic interest?? like obviously i’d love to be in love, but they’ve been trying to push this for almost a year now, and im still not in love. so i don’t even know what to do. idk.

im not sure how to deal with this. i think im just gonna tell my friends how i feel. but im so bad at verbalizing this type of thing so im not sure how well it’ll work out. they also don’t take me seriously when i say things like this sometimes and i really wish they would. it’s so frustrating. and im also afraid of disappointing them. or him. idk. i feel bad but i don’t want to drag it out. idk.

[ladyanput]

Seeing Red Ch.4

The morning had been boring as all hell, not that that had surprised Eva. A free day for everyone to scatter and she decided to avoid Bustier and to let Marinette have a fun day exploring Gotham, with friends, of course.

So she had talked herself to going to a cute little cafe and ordering herself a slice of cheesecake and a cup of hot chocolate. She took a seat in a booth and just enjoyed the solitary moment to herself. No idiot teachers, no bratty students, no stress of anything. Just her and this cheesecake that would go straight to her hips.

“What are you doing here all by yourself?" 

Eva looked up and met the impossibly blue eyes of Jason Todd. She was so startled at the sight of him that she began coughing as she swallowed a mouthful of hot cocoa wrong. Embarrassment burned her cheeks as she hacked at the sudden pain, doubling over on the table. She soon felt Jason’s large hand settle on her back and begin rubbing it.

"Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, Eva.” Jason winced when he saw her watering eyes and red face. He had been just as surprised to see her in this small cafe, and like an idiot he had just strode up and demanded why she was there like a jackass.

“It’s fine, I’m fine.” She reached out a hand to set it on his shoulder, trying not to notice how broad it was under her hand. She forced a smile as she sat up, using a napkin to wipe her mouth. “I was off in my daydreams, so I guess it was going to be inevitable that something would scare me." 

The two shared a smile before Jason motioned to the seat across from her. At Eva’s nod, he took a seat. They stared at each other for a while, before Jason cleared his throat, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed.

"So.. Damian is rather lovestruck, I’d say. It’s a bit scary, he’s always been this hardass, no nonsense kind of guy, then he meets this French girl and he’s all doe eyed and smiled more. He’s not supposed to smile.” Jason shook his head, quickly ordering himself a coffee when the waitress came over.

“I was a bit hesitant about Marinette dating him.” Eva admitted as she poked at her cheesecake with her, keeping her gaze lowered. “I mean, they’ve barely known each other for a week and suddenly they’re dating? Pardon me if I’m skeptical.”

Jason opened his mouth to agree, but his mind quickly flashed to the past couple of nights. It wasn’t dating exactly, but it was a fair bit… Hypocritical of himself to agree.

"If Damian hurts her, how about I break both of his legs?” He reached out and set his hand over hers, only to feel his heart begin to race when she turned her hand to grasp his.

“And I’ll break both of his arms, and we can toss his body in the river." 

The two shared a smile, and before they both knew it, they were walking around Gotham, trading stories and laughing, before they eventually arrived in front of the hotel, Eva with a hesitance to her body language.

“What’s wrong?” Jason began to reach out, but stopped himself and tucked his hands into his pockets. 

“Nothing, I just.. I like this job, I really do, it’s just.. I don’t like Caline, or the kids, except Marinette of course, some of them aren’t so bad, butI think I’m going to go grey soon!” Eva ran her fingers through her hair, seeming a bit rattled at the feeling of the words bursting from her lips. “I want to kind of quit, but.. I’m only there for a year, and I love France, but the circumstances are shit.”

“I thought I sensed some tension on your shoulders. Dick told me all about that class, especially that Rossi chick. Trust me, liars like her don’t last very long, eventually her lies catch up to her. And surely there’s something else keeping you sane, right? Maybe a boyfriend…?”

Jason didn’t know why he was fishing. It was a fling, nothing important, but the thought of Eva having a boyfriend.. It didn’t make him feel very good.

“…” Those purple eyes were suddenly downcast, a frown settling on those impossibly soft lips. “No.. There hasn’t been anyone for a long time. I mean, there’s a guy in Gotham that I met that I kind of want to get to know more, but we kind of agreed to not get into that kind of relationship. Besides, he and I have only known each other for a few days, it’d be a bit weird to suddenly jump into a romantic relationship like that, right?” 

He didn’t know exactly how to answer that. Jason.. He never really had a good deal with ladies, he liked both guys and girls, but love.. It wasn’t something he wanted to pursue, because well, he was a broken man. A man with a fucked up past that he didn’t want to burden on anyone else. 

“Anyways, I should get inside, it was a pretty long day.” She gave him a small smile, and a playful wink. “I’ll need as much beauty rest as I can get with these kids.”

As he watched her walk away, a small smile played on his lips as his eyes drifted to the sway of those hips, a sway that showed that she meant business. How could it be that anyone could have such a perfect ass?

Eva entered the hotel, spotting Marinette surrounded by a few of her friends. With a sudden spring in her step, Eva began to make her way over to the girl, though her steps faltered upon the sight of the desk clerk motioning her over.

“Ma’am, I do hope you had a good day today. Er.. We found that we charged your card with some unnecessary purchases during your night at the bar, and to try and fix that hiccup, we decided to give you one of the better rooms.” The clerk blurted out with incredible speed, holding out a key card, her bright and cheerful smile not once cracking. “I do hope that you will forgive us for this inconvenience and enjoy the rest of your stay.”

“Oh.. Well, thank you.” Eva glanced between the clerk and the key card. She had just checked her bank account an hour ago, and there had been no other charges than that bottle of wine.. “Well, I guess I’ll get my stuff.”

“Oh, we already had the staff move it for you, so that you can simply go and have a relaxing night. And any room service for the rest of your stay is on us!” The clerk put in quickly, before giving a soft giggle. “Have a good evening, Miss Bourbon.”

Eva’s brows drew together as she stared down at the key card in her hand. She slowly made her way over to where Marinette stood, waiting for the elevator to arrive.

"What’s that?” Nino blinked in surprise at the sight of the shiny new key card.

“I.. Guess I got a new room..” Eva murmured, before turning her gaze to Marinette. “I also got a free dinner. Wanna join me for a bit?”

The smile she received in return made the whole thing seem so much more tolerable.

…

“So.. Has Damian called you?” Eva grinned at the sight of the blush rising in Marinette’s cheeks. “My goodness, sugar cookie, I think you’ve got it worse than when you had your crush on Adrien.”

“I do not! I mean, I can actually talk to Damian without making a complete fool of myself..” Marinette took a hold of one of her pigtails, tugging on it as her blush only grew worse. “And.. I think he actually cared about me. Like, really cares.”

“Ugh, young love, it’s too sweet, I’m going to get sick.” Eva faked a retching noise, only to have a pillow thrown at her face.

“Eva, I’m serious! I think that maybe I can finally have something.. Something real.” Mari murmured as she hugged one of the other pillows to her chest, an almost dreamy look crossing her face. “I mean.. It could be something amazing.”

Babe, you and I are something real..

Eva tensed as she felt the ice spread in her stomach, David’s face flashing in her mind, his smug grin as he grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her in for a kiss…

A knock at the door tore Eva from those thoughts, causing her to rush over, avoiding meeting Marinette’s curious eyes.

“Well.. If you do want to pursue this relationship.. Please be careful, Marinette. I know that you think this guy is great, but,” Her grip tightened so hard on the doorknob that her knuckles turned white. “, First impressions can be deceiving.”

They were served in an overly fancy fashion, their meals kept under silver domes, the room service worker pouring both ladies each a glass of sparkling pomegranate juice, before they were left sitting at the small table in silence.

“How.. Did you get this room again?” Marinette posed her pasta dish absentmindedly with her form, while Eva shrugged in response. “You should have seen the look on Miss Bustier’s face when she found out you got a better room. Lila is spreading around a rumour that you slept with a staff member to get special treatment.”

“You know what, let’s not worry about those two anymore. I’m tired of Lila and you guys are graduating this year, in a few months, so I’m not going to give her the time of day anymore. Her lies won’t work out there in the real world, because unlike Alya, people actually check their fucking facts.” Eva muttered as she sipped the juice, trying to ignore the growing anger in her chest. Those people weren’t worth it. “Now, about Damian Wayne.. Listen, Marinette, you’ve fallen for a pretty rich boy before, just take this slower, please. You claimed that you fell in love with Adrien the very day you met him, and I’m sorry, but love just doesn’t work like that. Yeah, you can feel attraction, but love is so much more.”

Marinette was quiet as she finally took a bit of her food, refusing to meet Eva’s invasive gaze. She seemed to be almost tearing up as she swallowed and finally spoke.

“I know, Eva, but.. I don’t think it’s wrong to believe in love. People fall in love every day, and I feel like Damian is going to be better than Adrien. He is actually acting like an adult, he seems to actually be.. Well, you know, he actually cares and is aware of reality.”

Eva clicked her tongue , but nodded. Adrien was a bit of an.. An airhead, in Eva’s eyes. He never seemed to fully grasp what was going on, or how life actually worked. Marinette had gone through far too much thanks to her crush on that boy.

“Sugar cookie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like I was demeaning.” Eva sighed and stood, moving over and pulling the girl into a tight hug. “I just care, you know? You’re the only family I have.”

“You’re lucky to have a little sister like me.” Marinette teased as she hugged her back, smiling to herself as she felt the warmth radiating off of her. “But I do appreciate the advice. I was a complete mess with Adrien.”

“We’re all a mess with our first crush.” Eva kissed the top of her head. “Now finish your food before it gets cold.”

…

Eva sighed to herself as she stared at herself in the mirror. She touched the corners of her eyes, glaring at the dark shadows under her eyes. Her body jolted when she heard a knock at the window, slowly making her way over and cautiously opened the curtains. At the sight of Red Hood dangling outside her window caused her to grin.

“Never think of entering through my door?” She teased as she let him inside, only to let out a cry of surprise as he scooped her up in his embrace, giving his shoulder a playful smack. “You’re covered in snow, asshole, you’re freezing!”

“You were on my mind all day. You and this sexy ass of yours.” Red Hood growled softly as he gave her ass a sharp squeeze through her pyjama pants. “And that sharp tone of yours.”

“You insatiable pervert, I must be really turning you into a sex fiend, huh?” Eva taunted, giving her hips a playful wriggle, her heart beginning to pound in her chest.

“Only for you, you little vixen. It’s illegal to be as sexy as you are.”  Red Hood gave her ass a smack then, causing her to moan.

“Hmm, then are you taking me into the coppers, Red Hood? Finally gonna cuff me and put me behind bars?” She giggled as she was thrown onto the bed, his hands sliding along her body as he pinned her underneath him.

“I suppose you. Be careful what you say, anything you say can and will be held against you, my vixen..” He whispered as he began to unbutton her top, his gloved hand sliding in to grasp one of her breasts and squeezing it. “Fuck..”

“Red Hood..” Eva panted out, arching her back as she felt the cold material of the gloves on her heated skin. “Red Hood, my Red Hood..”

“Mmm, naughty girl. Maybe I should teach you a lesson before taking you in..” He growled, reaching over to the lamp to switch it off.

A knock at her door caused them both to freeze.

“Miss Bourbon? Are you there?” Adrien’s muffled voice could be heard, causing Eva to curse under her breath.

“Ignore him..” Red Hood hissed, once again reaching for the lamp once again, only to let out a frustrated growl when Adrien knocked once again. “I’m going to kick that kid’s ass.”

“You shush, Casanova, he must be having quite the bit of trouble if he’s coming to me and not Caline.” Eva rolled out from under Red Hood and grumbled as she buttoned up her shirt, then pulled on a robe. “But don’t worry, if you ever come to Paris, I’ll point out a lazy cat themed superhero whose ass you can destroy.”

Jason watched as Eva fixed her appearance; smoothing down her messy hair, adjusting the robe to hide her lack of a bra, though he noticed her skin was still rather rosy. It was funny, hearing her speak so.. So brashly, while she always appeared like those high class ladies he would see at those weird events he had gone to with Bruce before.. Before th Joker had killed him. 

“Well, if the kid’s in trouble, I know you can help him, you would obviously go through gunfire for that girl, so I guess you’d do that for anyone.” Red Hood teased.

“No..” Alya and Lila’s faces flashed in her mind and for a moment, Eva felt shame. “Not anyone.”

As Eva set a hand on the doorknob, she felt Red Hood’s arms wrap around her waist, hugging her tightly.

“Tomorrow.. I’m going to take you on a proper date, okay? Well, as proper of a date as a vigilante like myself can do. No secret apartment rendezvous, no drinking beer on a roof, just something nice, okay?” He whispered, and Eva found her cheeks began to burn. 

“That sounds great.. Um.. H- have a good night, Red.” She whispered back, leaning into his embrace. When he finally let go and left, the room felt so cold, so empty. She felt so empty.

“Oh, Miss Bourbon! Sorry if I woke you, I was just hoping we could talk.” Adrien blurted out as soon as the woman opened the door. At her skeptical look, he pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture. “Please! I was wrong, wrong about Lila and I want to make it up to Marinette. You’re the only one who’s close to her now, so you’ll know what to do.” 

“Fine.” Eva pulled on her robe tighter, then propped open the door and let him inside. At his questioning look, she shrugged. “In case Lila happens upon the room and tries anything, the door is wide open, I have nothing to hide. Besides, I’m tired, Adrien, I was about to turn in for the night.”

‘Oh.. I’m sorry… Adrien murmured as he entered the room, taking a look around, a bit surprised at how extravagant everything was, it even had its own mini bar. “The hotel was really generous to give you this.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t really need it, though a room without Bustier is a dream come true.”

Adrien looked as if he were about the comment, but wisely kept his mouth shut. He turned his gaze to the open window and squinted ever so slightly at the sight of the faint foot impressions on the sill. Had someone broken in? Or.. Had Ladybug been here? His green eyes settled on Eva, who had turned the Keurig on, his heart beginning to pound. She had to be the key to Ladybug, to his lady, to his rightful happily ever after.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” The T.A. walked over with two steaming mugs. She handed once to Adrien.  “Hot chocolate. I remember one time you mentioned to Nino that you can’t drink coffee because it would stain your teeth.”

“Um.. Thank you, Miss Bourbon.” Adrien waited for her to say a cheerful ‘oh please, call me Eva!’, but it never came. She merely sat down, taking a long sip of her black coffee. His eyes trained on the array of dark bruises on her neck and collarbone, hiding a smirk as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. She certainly must be easy if she was already with someone here in Gotham, she must be encouraging Ladybug to follow her behaviour with Damian too. Adrien made a mental note that once he finally convinced Ladybug to date him, he’d get her as far away from Evangeline Bourbon as possible, maybe get the T.A. sent back to Canada. He couldn’t have his future wife becoming so wanton and loose.

“I just want to know what I did wrong, Miss Bourbon. I tried so hard to try and get everyone to get along, I didn’t bully anyone, I never said anything hurtful to Marinette, did I?” Adrien met her gaze, met those eyes that sent chills down his spine. 

Eva closed her eyes briefly as she prayed to every god and goddess up in the heavens to give her patience. 

“That’s the problem, Adrien, since you tried to get everyone to get along, that you merely put a band-aid over a chainsaw wound. And, Marinette felt like you were ignoring her feelings, making Lila a priority.” Eva clicked her tongue softly.

“B-but what if Lila gets akumatized if we expose her?! If Marinette just put the lies aside and got along with her, we’d all be happy again!” Adrien burst out.

“So you say that Marinette should just roll over and take it, because it inconveniences you? Adrien, Lila has been akumatized over fifteen times, and those are just the ones we know of. She’s always going to get akumatized, Adrien, there is really no way without it. But imagine how much it’s going to hurt when this eventually gets out.” She trailed a fingertip around the rim of her mug. “Think really hard about all of this.”

Adrien was quiet for a long time, his grip tightening slightly on his mug. 

“I’m sorry.. I guess.. M-my mother left a few years ago, she always told me that you should work hard to keep the light in the world, since it can be so cruel.” He whispered, bowing his head.

Eva flinched as a memory flashed across her mind; her mother getting in her car and driving off, never to return, leaving her all alone with her pathetic father. Pity filled her chest as she remembered how cold Gabriel Agreste was to his son. To lose a mother, to have an absentee father, in a sense.. It definitely causes one to be vulnerable. And Adrien certainly was a sheltered boy, so I guess it made a bit of sense..

“Listen, if you really want to get on good terms with Marinette again, you’ll need to apologize. Maybe do something nice for her to show you actually mean it and aren’t putting out empty air.”

Adrien grinned, Eva missing the almost mad glint in his eyes.

“Yes, of course! I know exactly what to do!”

Taglist: @the-navistar-carol @chocolate1721 @emo-elaine13 @mochinek0 @drarryismylife101 @toodaloo-kangaroo @moonlightstar64 @imtryingsstuff @shamefullove  

[writingblock101]

The Billionaire and the Basketcase (Jason Todd x Reader)

I did it! A one-part Jason Todd fic. Geeze, it’s funny because I usually hate the two-part fics, but I’ve written two now. Oh well. Anyways, this is a request done for an anonymous. Hope you like it! 

Summary: Life is weird when your dad is Tony Stark, your boyfriend is Red Hood, and you are a Gotham vigilante, but somehow, life still found a way to throw one hell of a curveball. 

Word Count: 3,900

You’re not fully sure how your parents met, but you do know you’re the product of a one night stand. Despite the surprising circumstances which resulted in your birth, your parents love you dearly, even if your dad isn’t present in your daily life. 

Tony Stark is not a conventional father. Between his own emotional constipation and strained relationship with his parents, the path to fatherhood came with one hell of a learning curve, but he provided in the ways he knew how to: you went to nice schools, lived in a nice house with your mom, and you never needed anything. He always made an effort to know you and be involved in your life. 

Being a Stark isn’t the only source of insanity in your life. A few years ago, you began donning a mask to protect children in abusive homes after the murder of your best friend at the hand of her abusive mother. Funny enough, it’s how you met your boyfriend Jason, who’s life is stranger than yours. 

Tony helped you design a suit that was both light and agile, and protective, fitted with thrusters that allow you to fly and blast enemies. Your mom, on the other hand, wasn’t as excited about your extracurricular activities. While she understood your drive, she wished you would help others in a less unorthodox way, but that doesn’t matter anymore, you suppose. 

Even with all the money in the world, Tony Stark couldn’t keep cancer from claiming your mom’s life two years ago. Those things were in the past and they formed you into who you are today, for better or for worse. 

Despite the strange circumstances in your life, somehow, life still found a way to throw one hell of a curveball. 

                                                         . . . 

You wake up to a phone ringing. Jason groans, blindly stretching out to turn off his phone. The room is silent again and you curl into his chest, one of his arms wrapping around your back. Just as you begin nodding off again, his phone rings again. Jason groans loudly, ready to silence it again. 

“You should answer it,” You murmur to him. 

“It can wait,” He grumbles, silencing it again. 

“What if it’s important?” 

“It can still wait,” Jason relaxes again, shifting to kiss your head then lay back on his pillow.  

You chuckle, knowing his phone is going to ring again. Thirty seconds later, his phone rings again. He groans again but this time answers it. 

“What the fuck do you want, Bruce?” 

You laugh at Jason’s greeting to his adopted father, then resettle on his chest. He absent-mindedly runs his fingers through your hair and down your back while talking to Bruce and you doze off again. 

“Yeah, okay, bye,” Jason tosses his phone back on the nightstand and wraps both arms around you. 

“What did Bruce want?” You ask. 

“Apparently Ivy is in Gotham and he asked us to go after her.”

“Mm, sounds fun,” You hum. “We should go shower.” 

“Or we could just stay in bed,” Jason counters, he tilts your chin up and gives you a long kiss, running his hands up your shirt. 

“I like that idea,” You grin, tossing your leg over Jason to straddle him and kissing him deeply.

                                                          . . . 

You roll out of the way as one of Poison Ivy’s plant’s roots shoots past your face then blast the root with your thrusters. You leap over the root and dodge another, but as you hit the ground, another root shoots out and hits you in the face. 

You fly backward, slamming into the wall as half of your helmet crumbles, revealing part of your face. 

“Ouch,” You groan, then two more roots break through the wall and begin wrapping around you. 

You activate the electrocution feature in your body armor, frying the roots and quickly roll to your feet. Another root is blasted out of the air, right before it would’ve hit you. You glance over to see Red Hood who nods then dodges another root that comes flying at him. 

Ivy is in the middle of the room, controlling the plants. If you can get to her, the plants will die. Your face hardens then you dodge one root and use another as a springboard to launch yourself into the air and dive toward Ivy’s back. 

She senses you coming and sends another root shooting out of the ground that wraps around your neck, holding you in midair. You blast the root but three more shoot out, wrapping around your neck and both arms. Ivy turns to face you, her eyes widening in surprise. 

“Wow, you are a carbon copy of your mother,” She observes. 

You stop struggling for a moment, confused. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” You demand. 

She tilts her head. 

“You don’t know, do you?” 

“Know what?” You growl. 

“Your mother.” 

“What?” 

“You don’t know who your true mother is.” 

You narrow your eyes. What kind of game is Ivy trying to play? 

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” You growl, activating the electrocution in your armor and blasting the roots away. 

You tackle Ivy, pinning her arms down and snap the power disabling collar on her neck. Around you, the plants wither and die while you tie up Ivy. 

“There’s no denying it,” She tells you. “You look just like her.” 

“Shut up,” You mutter. 

“They’ve been lying to you,” Ivy insists. 

You pull tighter on her restraints, your jaw tightening then stand up and walk away, not even entertaining her with a response. 

                                                         . . . 

Later that evening, you sit on a roof, holding your broken helmet in your hands and running your fingers over the jagged break. You’ll have to ask your dad to repair it, but your mind isn’t on your helmet. They’ve been lying to you. 

“Half of your helmet is broken, yet there isn’t a cut on your face,” Jason greets, sitting down next to you. “I dunno, maybe your dad does know what he’s doing.” 

“I’d be careful, he upgraded that helmet you’re wearing himself,” You tease, poking at Jason’s helmet. 

“Yeah, I gotta say, that’s a first. A girlfriend’s dad that actually tries to keep me from dying.” 

You chuckle half-heartedly then frown at your helmet again. 

“Everything okay?” Jason asks. 

“Did you hear what Ivy said?” You ask, glancing over at him. “About my mom?” 

He raises his eyebrows. 

“About not knowing who she is?” 

“Yeah…” You trail off. “That was weird… right?” 

“Yeah,” Jason agrees. “Especially considering your mom is dead.” 

“Exactly! She was just trying to get into my head…” 

“You don’t sound convinced.” 

“It’s just… It’s a weirdly specific thing to say to try to intimidate me, you know? And it wasn’t even a threat! She just said I look like my mom, but there is no way in hell Ivy knew my mom.” 

Jason shrugs. 

“We’re talking about someone who tries to take over Gotham via plants. She’s not exactly the definition of normal.” 

You chuckle. 

“Yeah, you’re right. It was just weird.” 

Jason nudges your shoulder. 

“She was just trying to get under your skin. Don’t let her get to you.” 

And you really tried not to. You tried to shove the thought down and ignore but it kept coming back. They’re lying to you. What if they were? That would be ridiculous, right? Your mom raised you! If anyone, Tony Stark being your dad would be the lie! 

And your mom is dead. This is a closed deal. 

Or it should be. 

Yet, here you are, three days later, sitting in front of the computer in the Batcave, running a DNA test. You chew your thumbnail, waiting for Bruce to come downstairs and tell you you’re being ridiculous because you were! This whole paranoia is based on the words of a criminal! Why are you even entertaining this thought? 

You would leave. You should leave, but you just need to see your mom’s picture pop up on the screen with the words genetic match then you’ll be fine again. This stupid paranoia will go away and life will continue. 

It must be stress. That’s the only reasonable explanation as to why you’re even entertaining this idea because any rational person would not trust the word of a criminal--

The computer beeps. The test is done. Your heart drops. 

You don’t know why your heart drops because you know what’s going to be on the screen when you click view results. It’ll be your file, your dad’s file, and your mom’s file. There won’t be anyone else because you’re not being lied to because that would be ridiculous.  

You click view results. On the right side of the screen is your file. On the left side of the screen is your dad’s file and a file belonging to Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel. 

Harley Quinn. 

That’s not your mom. You feel your stomach drop and your face drain of all color as you stare at the screen in shock. It must be wrong. The test screwed up. Your mother is not Harley Quinn. 

You scramble to set up a new test with shaking hands when a voice startles you. 

“The test isn’t wrong,” Bruce says. 

You whip around and stare at him wide-eyed. 

“Excuse me?” You demand in a dangerously low voice. 

“The test isn’t wrong,” He repeats. 

Your face hardens. 

“What do you mean the test isn’t wrong?” You growl, standing up. “Because if the test isn’t wrong then that means one thing,” You point at the screen. “You’ve been fucking lying to me.” 

"Y/N--" Bruce begins but you interrupt him sharply. 

"Don't start with me! How long have you known?" 

He stares at you for a long minute then sighs. 

"Since before we met." 

You huff and cross your arms. 

"So, when Jason brought me around, you already knew who I was?" 

"Yes." 

“Must’ve been a real “oh shit” moment for you,” You hiss. “Your back from the dead son was now dating the daughter of one of Gotham’s most notorious criminals!” 

“No, it was never about that.” 

"So why didn’t you tell me?!" You demand, gesturing to the screen. "What, did you think I didn't deserve to know who my actual mother was? Did you think that I would be compromised?! That my judgment would be clouded?! Or did you think I would end up like her?!” 

"No! God, no--," Bruce rubs his face, trying to explain himself. 

"Then why?! Why did you lie to me?!" Your eyes filled with tears. "You were at my mother's funeral. You were there when I was taking her to treatment. Why did you lie to me?” 

“It’s complicated--” 

“That’s a bullshit answer,” You snarl. 

Bruce sighs. 

“Y/N, it wasn’t my knowledge to tell you.” 

He’s right. Despite the odd relationship you have with your boyfriend’s adopted father, it isn’t his place to tell you who your biological mother is. 

“You’re right,” You agree, calmly snapping your thrusters on. “It wasn’t,” Then you turn, walking toward the door, but Bruce catches your arm. 

“Where are you going?” He demands. 

“You’re the world’s greatest detective,” You hiss, snatching your arm from his grip. “Figure it out,” Then you storm out the door. 

                                                         . . . 

“Y/N!” Your dad greets in surprise as he opens the door. “I didn’t know you were stopping by!” 

“We need to talk,” You tell him shortly then walk down the front steps of his porch. 

“Okay,” Tony frowns but follows you. “What’s up?” He asks. 

“You lied to me,” You begin, crossing your arms. 

He tucks his hands into his pockets. 

“About what?” 

You roll your eyes. 

“Oh, nothing big,” You remark sarcastically. “Just the fact that Harley Quinn is my birth mother.” 

Tony’s shoulders slump. 

“Oh…” He begins dumbly. “You found out.” 

“Yeah, I found out!” You throw your hands up. “Bet you didn’t plan on that happening, did you?!” You hiss. “So, where should we start? Maybe about why you lied about who my mother is or how I had to find out from fucking Poison Ivy?!” 

“Y/N, you can’t trust--” 

“Already took a DNA test. At the Batcave. You done lying yet?” 

Tony sighs, rubbing his face. 

“I’m sorry,” He begins. “I’m sorry I lied to you, especially about something this big.” 

“Were you ever planning on telling me?” You ask. 

Tony stays quiet, staring at the ground. 

“You weren’t, were you?!” 

“No!” He insists. “I was! I was going to. I kept telling myself I needed to, especially after your mom died… But I didn’t know how to.” 

“Didn’t know how to,” You nod along, fuming. “So, if you didn’t know how you were going to tell me the truth, why did you lie to me in the first place?” 

“Because…” Tony sighs, running his hand through his hair. “Because I had a kid with Harley Quinn! And she’s not exactly mom material! The last thing I needed was to make a kid that was somehow more fucked up than I was.” 

“So, lying about who my mother is for my whole life seemed like the best option for my own mental stability?” You narrow your eyes. “Did that really help you sleep better at night?!” 

“No! I knew I should’ve told you, especially after your mom died and I’m sorry this is how you found out, but I…” He trails off. 

“You’re still not answering my question,” You growl. 

Tony sighs again. 

“I lied, we lied because we needed to protect you.” 

“We?” You raise your eyebrows. “As in you and my mom or as in you and Harley Quinn…?” 

“All three of us. When Harley found out she was pregnant, she came to me scared out of her mind. I’m sure you’re well-acquainted with The Joker since you protect Gotham, so you can imagine what kind of reaction he’d have if he found out his girlfriend cheated on him and had a kid.” 

You stay silent, but he takes that as his sign to continue. 

“Harley knew she couldn’t raise you and God knew I definitely couldn’t so we started screening people to raise you and found your mom.” 

“Unbelievable,” You scoff. 

“Y/N, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you--” 

“You told me you weren’t going to lie to me,” Your eyes fill with tears. “You promised to always tell me the truth.” 

“I know I did, and I’m sorry,” Tony pleads. “This was just so… You watched your mom die for a long time, but after she passed, it was like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders and I didn’t want to take that away from you.” 

You shake your head. 

“That wasn’t your decision. I had a right to know,” Then you start walking away. 

“Wait, Y/N,” Tony calls after you. “Please, I’m sorry! Where are you going?” 

“I need space,” You growl, then take off, flying back to Gotham. 

                                                         . . . 

Jason finds you perched on the tallest building in Gotham, staring over the edge. 

“Hey,” He sits down next to you, taking his helmet off. 

You didn’t even bother to wear yours since it’s still broken from your fight with Ivy.  

“He wasn’t even going to tell me,” You mutter to Jason then shake your head. “He wasn’t even going to fucking tell me.” 

“Well, it’s not something you can exactly bring up over lunch,” Jason points out. 

“Yeah, well he should’ve thought of that before he decided to lie to me about my mother,” You snap. 

“Your mom is Harley Quinn who is constantly racking it up with Joker. You didn’t need that chaos in your life.” 

“Why are you siding with him?” You demand, growing irritated with your boyfriend. 

“Because it makes sense why he didn’t tell you,” Jason stares you back down. “Yeah it’s fucked up that he lied for as long as he did and that you had to find out from Poison Ivy, but if Joker knew about you, he would’ve killed you.” 

“I can handle myself,” You growl. 

“Yeah, now. You really think Joker would’ve waited until you were a trained vigilante?”

Your shoulders slump, all fight draining out of you. 

“Jason, my mom is Harley Quinn. Can you believe that? Harley Quinn!” 

He chuckles, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulls you close. 

“Your life has never traveled the simple route for anything.” 

“Ain’t that the truth,” You mutter. “What the hell am I going to do?” 

“You don’t have to do anything.” 

“Yeah, I kind of do. My mom is Harley Quinn.” 

“So? She didn’t raise you, she didn’t take care of you, and love you. Harley is not your mom. Your mom is still your mom and no amount of DNA or blood tests is going to change that. Blood doesn’t make you family.” 

“I feel like I have to do something.” 

“Do you want to do something?” 

“I don’t know! Maybe?” You trail off, staring at your legs for a moment. “I’m scared.” 

“Of Joker?” Jason asks. 

“No, that clown can go to hell,” You grumble, making Jason chuckle. “I’m scared I’m going to end up like her.” 

“Oh, God!” Jason sarcastically remarks, pulling back from you and pretending to take your temperature. “Maybe you are going crazy!” 

“Jason, I’m serious!” You insist. “What if I’m more psychologically prone to…” 

“Insanity?” Jason asks with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“Yeah! I have the genetics!” You weakly argue. 

“Well, you are dating me so maybe you are a little crazy.” 

“Jason.” 

He turns to you and cradles your face with both his hands. 

“You’re not going to end up like Harley,” He promises. “Okay?” 

“You don’t know that,” You argue.

“Yes, I do because you care way too much about others to end up like Harley. You are your own person. You are you.” 

“What if it’s not enough?” 

“It is. Trust me, okay?” 

“Okay,” You quietly repeat back. 

“You’re still you,” He promises. “You’re still the girl I fell in love with.” 

You smile.

“Thanks, Jay.” 

He kisses you softly then you shift, leaning on his shoulder, his arm around your waist as you stare down at Gotham. 

Jason’s right. You haven’t changed, but there’s one last conversation that needs to happen before you feel content again. 

                                                         . . . 

You sit on a roof, suited up in your body armor, minus the helmet. It’s not like Harley doesn’t know who you are. Jason watches from another roof, far away enough to give you privacy, but close enough to intervene if things go sideways. 

“I’m sorry this is the way we’re finally meetin’,” A familiar drawl begins from behind you.

You turn to see Harley Quinn tentatively emerging from the shadows with a guilty look. 

“I’ve always wanted to meet you…” She trails off, shly playing with her fingers. “You’re so beautiful.” 

You smile at the compliment and gesture to the ledge next to you.

“Ivy said I look a lot like you.” 

Harley sits down next to you, smiling at you for a moment then averts her eyes. 

“I’ve always watched you and kept an eye on you. You’re so smart, like your daddy.” 

“Ah come on, we both know all of that didn’t come from him,” You joke, trying to ease the tension. 

Harley giggles. 

“He’s a bit of a mess, ain’t he? But I guess I can’t really say much either.” 

“Have you met my boyfriend? None of us are really batting a thousand when it comes to mental stability.” 

“He sure is handsome though,” Harley smiles. 

“Yeah, he is,” You smile at the thought of Jason, knowing he’s keeping a protective eye over you. “He makes me happy.” 

“And he treats you right?” Harley asks, looking slightly apprehensive.

“Yeah, he does,” You nod. 

“Good. I don’t want you to end up in the situation I’m in…” She looks down with a sigh. “I’m sorry I’m not a mama you can be proud of.” 

You frown, unsure of what to say. Harley’s right. You fight crime. You stand for justice. You arrest criminals, people who hurt others… People like Harley. She’s not a mom you are proud of, but some things can never be easy. 

“Were you okay with giving me up?” You finally asks. 

“Not at first,” Harley sighs. “But I knew Mista J wouldn’t like it and I didn’t want anything to happen to you. Between me and your daddy, we were both paintin’ a pretty big target on your back.” 

“Yeah… That’s what dad said…” You trail off. “Why didn’t you just leave the Joker?” 

Harley frowns, staring into Gotham. 

“It’s complicated,” She admits. “I know I should leave him, but somethin’ always brings me back to him.” 

You suppose the Joker is responsible for Harley becoming who she is so it kind of makes sense, but… 

“Not even me being born could change your mind?” 

Her shoulders slump. 

“Pumpkin, you didn’t need me to raise you. I wouldn’t have been a good mama.” 

“You never even let yourself find out if you would be,” You point out softly. 

Harley smiles, tucking a loose strand of your hair behind your ear. 

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Besides, your mama took very good care of you. I’m sorry she passed.” 

“Thanks,” You say quietly to your lap, her death stinging a little more than usual in the moment. 

“Y/N, no matter the circumstances, just know your daddy and I care about you very much.

You smile, looking down at your lap. You’re not sure where to go from here because Harley is right. The two of you are very different. Your lives have taken both of you nearly opposite directions. How do you two proceed?

“I know this is a big adjustment,” Harley begins. “But I want you to know that you control how our relationship will proceed, even if this means this is the last time we talk to each other.” 

Harley isn’t your true mother and she seems to know that. Your true mother died and like Jason said, no amount of DNA or blood is going to take that title away from her. She raised you, loved you, and formed you into the person you are today. 

It would be so easy to pretend Harley wasn’t your mother and never speak to her again. It would be so easy to pretend everything was as it was and allow your relationship with Harley to be black and white again. She’s a bad guy. You’re not. 

But it doesn’t feel right. 

“It’s a lot,” You finally admit. “And I’m still processing.” 

You don’t miss the way Harley’s face falls. 

“But I don’t think I want this to be the last time we speak.” 

Her face lights up. 

“We move at your command,” She promises. 

“Okay…” You agree, slowly standing up. “Thanks… for talking with me.” 

“Thank you for lettin’ me,” Harley smiles. 

You smile back, then fly to the building Jason is watching from. 

“How did it go?” He asks, pulling off his own helmet. 

“It went well,” You walk forward, wrapping your arms around him. 

He hugs you back, wrapping his arms around you tightly.  

“It was weird,” You admit. “But it wasn’t bad.” 

He chuckles then kisses you. 

“Yeah, well finding out your mom is Harley Quinn when your dad is already Tony Stark is kind of weird.” 

“Yeah,” You snort. “The billionaire and the basketcase. Who would’ve known?” 

Hope you enjoyed! I’ve got a request for Damian to do next, so keep an eye out! 

[ranger-jedi-knight]

I Thought You Wouldn’t Hurt Me, But You Did Part 4

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22839535/chapters/55322512 Tag list: @marinettepotterandplagg @emo-elaine13

Ok, so here’s the next part. I said id show u what happened to Bustier, n ill show u what happened to Bustier! Hope you enjoy this!!

Lana couldn’t believe Bustier was even allowed to get a license for teaching. Bustier is an incompetent woman who can’t keep her naivety out of the classroom. Students shouldn’t be forced to be role models for the other students. While it does come in handy to say be more like that student, she shouldn’t. Students should only worry about tests and homework, not being a good example. But that’s what Bustier did to Mari. And it seems like that isn’t all Bustier did.

As the month went on, her lessons got worse and horrendously unorganized. When she asked, Bustier admitted that she had the class president, Mari, write her lesson plans. She couldn’t even write her own lesson plans!? Lana did not take that well. Especially when Bustier tried getting her to do it instead. She had to restrain herself, then Jason and the others when she told them that.

Lana wasn’t impressed when Bustier expressed her displeasure at that. She even had the gall to get annoyed at Lana when she called her out for putting so much pressure on the Class Representative.

Thou that was nothing to the gossiping and whispers Lana overheard. They bad-mouthed Mari even when she announced to Bustier and the class that she was in the hospital. The class bad-mouthed her still.

Bustier did nothing.

She just stood there acting like she wasn’t hearing it. She droned on about the lesson that half the class wasn’t even fully listening too.

And it frustrated Lana.

And it annoyed Damian.

Several times he’s lashed out at his classmates.

That was the only time Bustier did anything. That was the only time she’d actively tried stopping anything.

Lana did her best but since she had promised Damian she’d be with Mari as much as she could, she wasn’t there to stop it. She’s seen it a few times and stopped the bad-mouthing and had to stop him a couple of times. She’d even glared at the class into silence which made Damian proud. Before she started dating Jason, she couldn’t glare anyone away, but now she could. As Mari would say, they’ve rubbed off on her in the glare department, she made them proud.

But who cares.

She doesn’t anymore.

She was Done™ with the class. Done with listening to the gossiping. Done listening to the bad-mouthing. Done with the nincompoops of a teacher. Done with everything.

Though she couldn’t understand why Lila was so quiet. She just halfheartedly talked about things she’s done, slowly dwindling down to not feeling up to talking about it. And that got those loyal to her grumbling. They enjoyed hearing the stories so that they could focus on something that wasn’t class.

She’s glared so much that she’s worried she wouldn’t be able to not glare anymore from how her face hurt from all the glaring.

She could only smirk when Mendeleiev, the new principal as the board fired Damocles, went up to Bustier and said to come to her office. She followed along after then when Mendeleiev waved her forward. Soon, the three sat down in Mendeleiev’s office and the woman looked between the two young women. “I need to discuss your classroom with you Caline.”

“What do you need to talk about?” Bustier asked tilting her head.

“Your teaching methods to be exact.”

“What about it? It works well for the students,” Bustier said confused and glared when Lana snorted. “If anything, it’s my TA’s methods that need to be talked about.” Lana leveled a looked at Bustier before looking back at Mendeleiev who looked unimpressed at Bustier’s words.

“No Caline. Lana’s methods are fine. Yours are not,” Mendeleiev said and Bustier frowned.

“They work perfectly fine!”

“Lana, along with several students, have brought forth evidence that says otherwise. First, you force a student to be a role model. But scold them when they speak out against bad behavior. You bend to the bully’s will and victim blame. As witnessed when Chloe had bullied Marinette for years before turning a new leaf. That should have been stopped before it even started. Marinette still has some confidence issues and anxiety from that,” Mendeleiev started and Bustier frowned at that.

“Yelling at the bully won’t do them any good. They need to be given a good example,” Bustier argued and the two shook their heads.

“Bustier, no. Bully’s don’t learn from that. What they learn from watching the teacher talk to their victim, is that they can get away with it. It enables them. And not to mention, a good example doesn’t change someone. It takes action by people who want to help the bully change their ways. You may not be saying it, but your actions are the same as telling the bully it’s ok to continue bullying,” Lana spoke up with a glare and Bustier opened her mouth to speak but Mendeleiev spoke up.

“Ms. Grayson is correct. You’ve been enabling bully’s Caline. All the teachers have seen it and have had to deal with it. These students don’t get away with it in any other class because they know they won’t. But in your class, they know they can get away with it. So they don’t change their ways,” Mendeleiev said with a sigh.

“But Chloe did change! It took time but it happened!” she argued and the two others shared an exasperated look.

“No, it didn’t. Marinette helped Chloe with her parental problems. She then helped Chloe learn that she doesn’t need her parents to be exceptional. Chloe learned that having your parent’s approval isn’t important, but having true friends is important. Marinette did that despite what you did,” Mendeleiev rebutted and Bustier looked down at that. “But the biggest problem?”

Bustier looked up at Mendeleiev curious but shrunk down at Mendeleiev’s glare. “W-what?”

“Putting all your responsibilities onto the class representative. Or more correctly, onto Marinette. Ms. Grayson told me you said Marinette made the lesson plans, planned the fundraisers, the trips, and so much more. Things that you should be doing. The class representative’s role is to be the spokesperson of the class, to tell the staff at the council’s meetings what their class would like to happen. Be the bridge between staff and students. They also are only supposed to help new students catch up or help students falling behind get caught up in any way, either by giving them the notes or helping them find a good tutor. The most they should do is maybe help figure out what the class would like to visit. But that’s it. Only if the class would like to visit a certain city or perhaps place. Not plan the whole thing out. That’s the teacher’s job. And something that you apparently were also trying to get Ms. Grayson to do. The TA’s job is to only grade homework and go gather items from the teacher’s lounge or office. Nothing more, nothing less. They are to be shown how to act and do things in the classroom. Not what you’ve been doing.”

“B-but that’s an excellent way to learn!” Bustier argued.

“For who to learn? You’re only doing this to one person. And the only thing they’ve gotten from this is stress and anxiety,” Lana spoke while Mendeleiev nodded agreement.

“The way you’ve gone about teaching is incorrect, and quite frankly? Appalling. At first, I was willing to overlook it and give you a second chance, a chance to change how you work. But, hearing this, I will not. You’re fired, Caline,” Mendeleiev said and Bustier looked shocked.

“B-but you can’t!”

“Yes, I can, Caline.”

“It’s the middle of the year! You can’t just leave the class unsupervised. And the kids will miss me!” Bustier yelled.

“I don’t think all of them will miss you. Some will be happy. The ones that will are the people you enabled, Bustier,” Lana said and Mendeleiev nodded.

“Even if most missed you, I will not change my decision. You are fired. Lana, how do you feel about being the class’s substitute?” Lana smiled at Mendeleiev’s question.

“I’m fine with it. I’ll be their substitute until you find a replacement,” she answered and Mendeleiev nodded while Bustier looked shocked between the two.

“B-but she’s just a TA! She can’t teach a class!” Bustier argued and Mendeleiev smirked at her.

“Is that so? You seemed to think she was perfectly capable of doing your job while Marinette was gone. What’s different now?” Mendeleiev asked smiling as Bustier’s mouth opened and closed several times, now knowing how to respond to that. “There’s nothing different really. Ms. Grayson will be the class’s sub until I can find a suitable replacement. Ms. Grayson, would you go tell Marinette and her friends to expect to be called to my office then tell your class the news?”

“Of course, Principal Mendeleiev,” Lana replied with a nod before standing up and leaving the office as Mendeleiev glared at a cowering Bustier. A soft smile was on Lana’s face as she entered Mendeleiev’s classroom. The entire room looked at her as she walked over to Mari’s table. “Expect to be called into Mendeleiev’s office soon.”

“Why?” Mari asked tilting her head while her friends and boyfriend also showed confusion. Her smile grew slightly as she looked between them, and then to the other students that looked intrigued.

“Well, Bustier is being fired as we speak. I’ll be the class’s sub for the time being,” she replied and Mari beamed at her.

“Awesome!” Mari said and Lana nodded.

“I’ll see you later, gotta go tell the class now,” Lana said with a nod before she left the classroom. She soon reached Bu-no her classroom and pushed the door open. “Class!” She called clapping her hands as she walked to stand in front of the desk.

“Where’s Ms. Bustier?” Mylene asked raising her hand and Lana nodded at the girl’s question.

“Ms. Bustier won’t be your teacher anymore. Principal Mendeleiev and the board have agreed that she is not a good fit to teach anymore. I’ll be your substitute until they find a good replacement,” Lana explained and Mylene nodded along with a couple of others while the others looked shocked and confused.

“Wasn’t a good fit? Why!?” Kim asked shocked.

“Well, she put too much pressure and responsibility onto a teen, the class representative. But also, the way she handled that class was incorrect. But that is all I shall say. Just know, I’m your new teacher until further notice,” Lana said and the class nodded understanding.

Ok, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed it! Remember, if you want another part just send me a prompt or idea you want to see via comments or messages/DMs! Until next time! -Love Willa<3<3<3

[thattimdrakeguy]

Toxicity, gaslighting, hypocrisy, an overall just bad fandom folks on twitter.

I’m glad I’m not involved with twitter comic fandom cuz the amount of people trying  to make Tim look bad like throwing a fit cuz he’s under too much pressure or like-- not being a saint. While calling characters that constantly murder people or violate human rights “baby” is way too high.

Even just the minor lies are nutty, acting like the 90s edgy art style at the time shows Tim is twisted cuz he looks scary in it-- when it’s just dated art

But then-- complain when people say things out of context for other characters-- when the context doesn't make it better. I really can’t process those people. they confuse me.

Also one of them apparently said Tim being a rich white kid makes him a power fantasy? Which is superficial at best  when applied to Tim given when you read 90s Robin-- (Which I assume they’re complaining about, cuz he still lives away from Bruce then-- cuz otherwise Jason would technically count as a rich kid) Tim is just this dorky kid, who’s scared on  the inside, putting on a brave face and fighting crime and his insecurity problem. He’s not some masculine power fantasy, he’s a relateable kid, his wealth besides being able to spend money in his first mini was even portrayed negatively if any thing sometimes with his dad as having been away for a lot of his childhood and leaving Tim without proper social development and being pretty socially clueless to the point it‘s a problem he has no street smarts.

So pretty much just gaslighting and strawman arguments.

You’re racist if you don’t like Damian.

You hate poor people if you don’t like Jason.

You’re sexist if you don’t like Stephanie.

But I’m someone who still likes Jason a lot even if I don’t like any thing in the Red Hood era not done by Winnick (and even then there’s a scene in Lost Days  that creeps me out), and used to like Damian and Steph, I just stopped liking them because I just found myself realizing I don’t particularly like a lot of their writing.

At the same time as well, isn’t it just more reasonable that people don’t like them cuz of simple taste or their character actions?

Damian does kidnap people and violates people’s human rights currently, and did chemically paralyze and trigger Jon in their first meeting, as well as smacks him for freaking out later on that miniseries.

If you made Steph a dude, more people would be very likely to call Steph a sexual harasser for flirting with Tim past  what he’s comfortable with, even with the knowledge he has a girlfriend. Plus she has shown dangerous cynicism in nearly letting criminals die, and even tendencies found in emotional abusers given her gaslighting, ill-trust, and attempts to go behind Tim's back, and even throwing crap at him while refusing to talk as he’s trying to apologize for some thing he didn’t actually do.

Not even to say Tim is a saint, he’s shown to be insensitive, and condescending, but if you start with his origin and not Red Robin, in my experience it ‘s more likely you’ll read him as a socially oblivious boy scout-esque kid rather than an angsty jerk. Doesn’t make what he did not bad, but just more interesting, because if a character is a saint it‘s boring, and Tim's actual original character makes what he does less offending to people. He has gotten incredibly pissed off at his friends, but ... he’s a literal kid that has to lead other kids with super powers. It‘s bad that he threw fits, but it ‘s never done in a way that makes it feel like “Oh i must hate this character”. Damian is also a kid, but what he does is way more notably offending to some people. He has a bad backstory but it is fiction, people have different standards with specific actions depending on how they feel about it. It‘s not illogical to be fine with a socially oblivious kid being insensitive but not be fine with a character  that consistently does bad things even after they’re aware it‘s bad. 

(Heck, Tim even cheated on his girlfriend, but given how that whole storyline chunk was written, it‘s more out of character and an example of bad writing than anything else, given how Tim feels on the topic of cheating before and after, as well as how much he cared about Ari. It was inconsistent and even the writing breezes past reality with how Ari suddenly agrees to mutually break up. I don’t  believe the story actually treats it fully as cheating either, making it feel like they knew. So it feels more like bad writing than a thing to judge Tim on, because that‘s just something people use to criticize bad writing, quite commonly even with many shows or movies. I can still get why people don’t care. It‘s more of a writing complaint. Like Jason being a serial killer is. It‘s inconsistent, doesn't add up, and isn’t a good reflection of the character.)

If you are fine with it is some thing else, cuz that‘s a matter of tastes.

I actually started calling Tim “baby” cuz Damian fans called Damian baby-- which I find a bit more odd (sometimes honestly just worried given the crap he does in the images they say that to some of the time), cuz while I’m aware Damian is younger obviously, he’s only cute in pandering moments that‘d I’d actually deem ooc, using basic standards that it isn’t consistent with anything before and after, as well as not fitting who the character is or even built up properly if they even try. (Also cuz Aunt May called Peter and friends babies and  thought it was charming). My blog as well is about 90s Tim Drake as well, where’d he’d be a year off of the same age as Damian mainly, I may call him baby past that age, but that‘s just cuz it‘s s tuck in my head now. I really can’t picture calling RR Tim baby in fandom usage of the word (which is  the only way I use it) if that was the only way he’s ever been.

Like with characters I start from the beginning (besides Dick and Bruce cuz gosh that’d take forever) and judge what ‘s in-character from there and read, while noticing development as well as things they’ve done. i didn’t read Red Robin first, I read Robin first. I didn’t read Batgirl first I read her Robin appearances first. When I studied Jason I wen t with his post-crisis Robin run (I deem pre-crisis Jason a different character given so much is different the same way i do with the New 52 teen titans core four generally speaking besides comparing to pre-New 52 versions). When I went to study Damian for stuff I read his first appearances forward much the same. And at one point in time I liked all these characters, I judged them based off of reading them.

So I’m not someone with just a bias-- I’m aware some of my friends do, but I’m not my friends if that wasn’t obvious. I’m friends with some people that like vastly different things than me even.

All I can say in the end is that it bugs me that toxic people have convinced themselves they are some victim while spreading harassment, lies, and gaslighting, because other people just enjoy different things or read things differently.

A lot of these people bother me especially because they frame themselves or the character  they like as some victim they have to defend, and even target specific people over, when they themselves are the ones showing basic toxic behavior. they are the toxic ones yet believe they’re the victim-- cuz someone read a comic differently or didn’t like the same character as them.

That is nuts to me

I’ve even had to deal with similar people since I gotten called a racist for not liking Damian-- when I’ve even mentioned that I’ve liked Damian previously, and explained I simply didn’t like his comic or his writing enough to reasonably like him. Meaning I guess the action of not liking Damian-- in of itself-- is racist, which is gaslighting at best. I’m sure someone out there even hates Damian because they’re racist, but why treat everyone (or at least some notable chunk to be worth talking about) that doesn't like him as if they’re that person?

They’d rather believe that people that don’t like what they do must be terrible people of some kind rather than treat them as normal people.

They’ve even showed hypocritical behavior, by complaining of others not  giving context-- while doing the same thing to other characters.

As I said, I’m not on comic book twitter, I have not even interacted with these people. I’ve just seen it, and it‘s just so toxic to me. It‘s a bad thing to see over fiction.

[goodlesson]

peyt’s big bad bastille fic rec post

have i read literally everything in the bastille ao3 tag at least three times over? unfortunately yes. and now i’m here to share my wisdom with you all!!

bella (@dansmlth) asked for fic recs so i figured i’d just....compile everything into one post for easy access. this list has p much every pairing under the sun, so hopefully there’s something for everyone. happy reading y’all!!

please make sure you heed any warnings on ao3 before reading; some of these are certainly more heavy and triggering than others.

p.s. if you need more recs, ej (@mirandabeach) has a great list here. you can also check out my ao3 bookmarks.

dan/kyle:

i’ve never felt my heart like this by unfinishedidea (explicit, 5k)

“‘My quiff makes them panties drop,’ or, Kyle finally accepts that fans aren’t the only ones obsessed with Dan’s hair,” by Kyle Simmons, age twenty-four and a half.

lights by trash (teen, 4k)

Kyle gets a flat, with bonus flatmate.

through the years by trailsofpaper (explicit, 13k)

Five times Dan and Kyle have sex, and the one time they finally kiss again.

you are enough by trash (teen, 2k)

Kyle is in a shit house share, three miles from campus, with less money to spend on getting rat arsed than he had initially envisioned. In fact, university is turning out to be an all round utter shit show. But then there's Dan.

and in the morning you’ll be stranded in love (it goes around and around) by brujay (teen, 15k)

“Have you seen Groundhog Day?”

Kyle took a moment before replying. “I have… what exactly are you trying to say, here?”

Dan sighed again. “I think I’m living it.” Dan gets trapped in a time loop, and he is not having a good time.

help me piece it all together, darling by trailsofpaper (explicit, 16k)

Dan Smith, sometime after he turns fourteen, travels in time. What follows, if not chronologically, is a life of existential dread and an inability to follow his dreams. Dan thinks there is no purpose to it, and is resigned to this existence of inconvenience, until he goes to a party where he meets a dark-eyed man with a bright smile, who is sure they've met before.

exorcise my mind by brujay (explicit, 12k)

BBC Radio 1 @BBCR1 • 12h

BREAKING: @bastilledan just came out live on air! Listen back here -> bbc.in/2jREPsm #WildWorld

days that bind us series by lady_icarus (teen to explicit, 47k total)

When Kyle meets Dan at a party, he's not sure what he's expecting to come of utilizing the messy number scrawled on his arm. Near-daily texts of "join my band" wasn't even in his top five expectations. And yet getting pulled in by dazzling eyes and a mesmerizing smile wasn't as much of a surprise as it should have been.

nothing except my aching heart by trailsofpaper (explicit, 9k)

Dan is an exotic dancer, and Kyle is just the lights and sound guy. He didn't ever stand a chance, did he?

who the fuck is keith by cornflakes_canvas (teen, WIP, 125k so far)

"So, you want me to fake-date Kyle, whom you owe a favour, so he can convince his crazy ex that he's gay, which he's not, so she'll stop stalking him, and you can't do it yourself cause he'd never date you if he was gay. Which. He's not."

Ralph considered his words for a moment, then broke into a small grin. "Sounds about right?"

i’ll see you in the future when we’re older by trailsofpaper (explicit, 9k)

Glastonbury, 2016. Dan would look forward to it if Brexit hadn't just happened, and if he could remember the last time they performed at the festival. Whatever happened on that night in 2013, Kyle won't tell him, and Dan never thought to ask.

keep chasing echoes of my mind by orphan_account (teen, 9k)

“I’ll be okay, you know,” Dan mumbles, slowly, rubbing nervous circles against Kyle’s wrist with his thumb. “There’ll be other people coming along, we have everything planned out ahead, and if they ever start being suspicious of us we’ll be right out of there before they can even touch us.” Kyle nods, quietly. Dan tightens the grip he has on his hand a little. “It’s just a few months! I’ll be reporting back every once in awhile, too, and I’ll be fully back before you even know it.”

“It’s just…” Dan’s head perks up as Kyle finally turns around to face him. “I’d like it a lot better if you didn’t have to go at all.”

give me something to remember by thoseseconds (explicit, 11k)

They’ve cuddled like this before, just… never during the day. The cuddling is a night thing that they do when everyone else is asleep and not there to judge them, but Dan has been strangely touchy ever since the train ride here.

argonautica orpheus by trailsofpaper (mature, 17k)

Kyle, like Jason on the Argos, sets out on a journey to retrieve something important but, more importantly, he finds love along the way. Dan, unlike Orpheus, doesn’t look back.

(Dan and Kyle are flatmates in Leeds, but when Kyle wrecks his keyboard a week before he and Dan are about to enter a competition, they need to go to London to get another keyboard. Complications and even shenanigans ensue.)

don’t paint wonderful lies on me by atrophicgalaxy (explicit, WIP, 7k so far)

That was one of the reasons why Dan hated these types of conversations. He didn’t understand, couldn’t relate. It made him feel like an alien, this strange out of place being observing the real people who experienced normal things. Dan didn’t have the same urges.

Dan is asexual and he's been burnt before. Trying to navigate that, and his own head, in such close proximity to the rest of the band takes its toll. And then there's Kyle.

drown all sorrow by trailsofpaper (explicit, 4k)

Dan would rather chat with a dark-eyed and nimble bartender than watch a burlesque show. He is also propositioned via drink - twice.

turning saints into the sea by thoseseconds (explicit, 3k)

“Oh my god.” Dan suddenly says, cutting Kyle out of his thoughts. “You’re jealous.”

a million pieces by trash (g, 1k)

Dan should have never kissed Kyle.

kiss? by trash (mature, 1k)

Dan is drunk again.

you won’t remember this (a kiss is just a kiss) by trailsofpaper (mature, 21k)

1930, Los Angeles. The weather is unchanging and so is Kyle Simmons, but when he meets fellow British expat Dan Smith, the singer with the bright blue eyes, Kyle thinks he might have found something to strive for. Dan wants more from life than playing the piano in smoky Hollywood jazz clubs, but Kyle isn't sure he's able to follow him even if he wanted to. His past threatens to drag him down, and Kyle doesn't want to drag Dan down with him.

charlie/dan:

like the world is watching series by heartbreakordeath (g to teen, 14k total)

Everyone is here except for me And I can feel the world is watching - the world is watching, two door cinema club

invisible string by williever (mature, WIP, 8k so far)

That's the only thing he hates about parties - people tend to turn up to them.

i wanna pour my feelings down the drain (fall headfirst like paper planes) by dansmlth, williever (teen, 11k)

Charlie often wondered what a relationship would entail for him.

Was he just supposed to put his heart on the line before either of them got invested? “Hi, nice to meet you, you’re cute, also I don’t want to fuck you ever? Please don’t take that the wrong way?” Jesus. He’d like to not ever put himself in such an awkward position.

dan/will:

i’m afraid the ground will swallow me whole by theonline (mature, 8k)

They had barely aged. A couple of wrinkles had collected around Will’s eyes, but that was it. He noted that Will had dropped the American accent and he sounded like home. Dan felt himself break.

“I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”

kyle/will:

place your head on my own by theonline (explicit, 6k)

Sounds began to flood his ears: the sizzling of something cooking in a pan, Will lightly humming, and the TV in the background:

We will be with Great Britain in these final hours, right up to the very end.

dan/ralph:

sinking for something by parachutiste (mature, 3k)

Dan thinks it's worth a try, liking how it feels a little bit weird at first, and not weird at all pretty soon after. Ralph always seems to forget the next morning. Dan doesn't.

[miggydiaz]

So I just reblogged that scene of Betty and Jug in the dream sequence where she has the rock on her finger and they’re married or engaged or whatever and it’s Thanksgiving? I think. Anyway, not important.

OP of the gif set mentions that Archie talks about Jug stabbing him in the back, and I genuinely think that Jug is really concerned about Archie feeling like that now that he’s with Betty. Sort of like a “bro, you’re my best friend, and I know I told Betty I couldn’t be with her, but then you just swoop in and steal her from me?!” I think that Jug was really insecure and nervous about hurting Archie by dating Betty.

And I find that so interesting because I think that’s honestly how Archie truly felt too. I know he was fooling around with Grundy and then Val which had him all distracted and gave him other women to focus on, but the second Betty and Jug got together, Archie got weird about it. He hedges a little bit about it with Jug and claims he’s cool with it — but I don’t think he ever was. When he talks to Betty a little while later and basically starts to say “I always thought we’d get together” and Betty cuts him off and says they’re lucky they found the people they’re supposed to be with, you know that’s where that conversation was headed for him — a “i always thought it would be us..” comment, right behind Jug’s and Veronica’s back.

Betty is the first person Archie calls about his dad when Fred is shot. Not Veronica. Not Jughead. In fact, Veronica gets the news FROM Betty. And then a few days later when Jug is at Southside and Betty and he are hugging while Archie looks longingly at them? He tells Veronica that he wants to be that person for her, but really, it’s only because he realizes that he missed out. Then we have the Black Hood debacle, where Archie, mad at Jughead for joining the Serpents because he believes the Serpents are involved with his dads shooting, uses the breakup as an excuse to pop off at Jug in an unnecessarily cruel manner, and not so subtly implies that he doesn’t think Jug is good enough for Betty — something that cruel, something that hits right at the center of Jughead’s insecurities, comes from a place of malice. Archie is pissed in that moment for himself, but he uses it as an opportunity to drive what could have easily been a deep wedge between Betty and Jug... and in fact, it resonates with Jug enough that even when they do get back together, he breaks it off with Betty because he believes that he and his lifestyle with the Serpents aren’t good enough for Betty either. It’s too dangerous, and he loves her and wants to protect her, but that seed was planted by Archie.

And now there’s what’s happening this season. Since the news broke, I’ve been heartbroken over the disservice they’re doing to Betty’s character, but I’ve never thought that this was outside of Archie’s wheelhouse. He’s dumb and impulsive and while he loves his friends, he’s also a textbook Himbo, and Himbo’s do dumb stuff like this all the time in TV shows. Jason and Hoyt from True Blood come to mind. Before the article, I was convinced that Archie was going to try something and Betty was going to push him away, preserving Bughead but breaking Varchie apart and setting the stage for Veronica to go to NYC, Archie to stay in Riverdale. I assumed something would break up Betty and Jug so that we could do the whole “split up the core four and bring them back together at the time jump” thing that they’ve been telegraphing all season, but I NEVER thought they’d do this to Betty. And I think that’s what makes me the most upset.

Betty Cooper isn’t perfect. She has mental issues and violent impulses that she can’t always control. She’s obsessive to the point of it being detrimental at times, and she is more than willing to throw casual acquaintances and yes, even her friends sometimes under the bus in pursuit of her version of justice. She’s complicated and has her problematic moments, but for 4 seasons, I have never — not even once, not even when Betty and Archie kissed the first time — believed that she loved ANYONE more than she loves Jughead Jones. Lili’s performance, time and time again has sold that for Betty, come hell or high water, Jug was it for her. There was no looking back. Even at her most stressed out, even when the only person she had WAS Archie because the Black Hood had cut her off from everyone else, Lili conveyed such a sad and lonely desperation through all of it that it never gave me pause. I fully believed that the first kiss between them, while being a genuine pursuit of interest for Archie, was merely the product of heightened emotion and stress and fear and loneliness out of Betty.

And to throw such a steadfast and heartfelt characteristic out the window... to just erase Betty’s four seasons of growth, and four seasons of Lili pouring herself into this character in a way that sold even the most ridiculous crap time and time again... and to do it just so an — I’m sorry — basic white boy fantasy jock can once again get the girl, and be rewarded with the one thing he hasn’t ever been able to really have since he shut her down the first time just really, REALLY bothers me. There have been a lot of people who have said that this is nothing but misogyny in the name of male fantasy fulfillment and they’re absolutely right. The fact that the writers not only refuse to acknowledge this, but actually expect the fan base to just sit idly by and be good little fan girls and boys while just showcases how little they care about not only their female characters, but also their largely female fan base.

In the end, it’s not about fans for them. It’s about power. It’s why Archie — Mr. All American, the popular high school jock who is also a ~moody~ and ~sensitive~ artist, gets the girl. None of the sad men who write this show were ever that guy in high school, but I can almost guarantee you that they WANTED to be. And time and time again, probably because they’re evidently gross misogynists, they were passed over for the Archie by the pretty Betty. It’s got the stink of Incel ideology all over it, and now they’re punishing Betty’s character (not to mention what they’re doing to Veronica) while giving their basic white boy fantasy exactly what he’s always wanted. And Jughead will end up being the strong noble one in all of this who might forgive Betty, but will still fuck off at the end of the season so she can “figure herself out” because that’s who the writers think their analog in this is. And in the end, Archie gets what he thinks he wants for a little while, Jughead gets the final word against the ~evil~ girl who broke his heart, 4 years of Betty’s character growth gets decimated, and Veronica once again is left with zero people who actually give any sort of damn about her.

Do not reward these men with your views or your energy. Reward your fandom content creators. Reward your fanfic writers. And remember: no one except fans of B/A think this makes sense. Not reviewers. Not most casual fans. Not us. Because it doesn’t make sense, and you are absolutely right for believing that it doesn’t.

[bookworlders]

the wedding date - chapter 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

Percy piled his plate high with pancakes and blueberries. Annabeth went for fruit, scones, and bacon. The burden of saying hi and meeting people was eased with the crutch of having full mouths.

These were her old camp buddies, her close friends, but she could feel her social meter already running out. The constant circuit of greetings and small talk and introducing Percy had left her emotionally spent, but Percy was killing it. He was charming and goofy and greeted everyone so warmly. Annabeth was grateful he was here.

After they had chatted with Katie Gardener, her old fellow Cabin Leader, Percy excused himself to get more coffee. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

Annabeth shook her head, “No thanks. I’m actually gonna take a breather.” She motioned over to an alcove of the dining pavilion that was less crowded.

“Are you okay? We can leave,” Percy said, genuine worry in his eyes.

She flashed him a grateful smile, “Yes, I’m fine really. Just need a second. Go get your coffee.” She watched him walk over to the beverage table and didn’t miss how almost everyone’s eyes followed him.

She felt bare now without his hand on her back supporting her, physically and emotionally.

“Is that the elusive Annabeth Chase?”

Annabeth whirled around and was suddenly in a bear hug, literally. Her face was full of Hazel’s caramel curls and a huge mass of muscle, but when she saw her dearest friends, Frank and Hazel, she was beamed. “How are you guys!” She asked, not letting go of either of her friends’ arms.

“We’d be better visited us once in a while,” Hazel retorted, but there was love in her tone. She wore a yellow sundress that matched Frank’s tie. Theypulled off matchy-matchy without looking like they were trying too hard.

“Oh you know I’ve been meaning to, but—”

“We know, we know, you have work. Annabeth Chase the famous architect needs to be here to redesign the Manhattan skyline,” Frank teased.

“I—” Annabeth smiled, sheepishly, “Yeah, I do have work.”

“We know, and we’re so proud of you,” Hazel said, squeezing her arm, “But justoneweekend, fly out to New Rome. We’d love to see you more often.”

“I’ll try, Hazel,” and even though Annabeth had said that before so many times to Piper and Jason, the way Hazel and Frank looked her made her really mean it.  

“And Annabeth, I heard from a little birdy that you brought a date?” Hazel teased, grinning at her. Annabeth watched Hazel and Frank’s gaze shift to Percy across the room, chatting to one of Jason’s random old relatives at the coffee table, signaling Piper had fully briefed them on Percy already.

“I did,” Annabeth said, challenginly.

“Why didn’t you tell us? Piper said she didn’t even know until you asked for a plus one like a month ago!”

Annabeth shrugged, “It all just happened, um, so fast.” She wasn’t lying. “I’m not sure if it was the right thing to bring him, actually. I brought a newcomer to camp, and now everyone’s staring at him.”

“Wrong, Annabeth,” Frank said, “Everyone’s staring because he’s so attractive.” Hazel’s expression read, he ain’t wrong.

“Oh,” Annabeth bit her lip, “That’s good, I guess?” It was better they were staring at him for that rather than staring at him for being some random stranger she bought to an intimate wedding. She wanted the subject of Percy off from Hazel and Frank. “By the way, did you guys, um, fly in with Luke?”

Hazel and Frank exchanged glances, warily. Annabeth noticed. “No, he flew in with Thalia this morning,” Hazel replied, “but he’s here. Around.”

Gratefully, Annabeth was saved from having to respond by superman. “Hazel, Frank!” Jason called from across the pavilion, waving them over.

“Whelp, Groomzilla beckons,” Hazel muttered, tugging her boyfriend towards Jason, “Can’t wait for you to introduce us to Percy later!”

As Hazel and Frank left her alone with her plate of now cold bacon, the reality of the situation dawned on Annabeth. She hiredand actor to come be her date at a wedding with her closest friends, her family. These people knew her better than anyone, even better than her roommate.  They would definitely see right through her whole façade. She had brought Percy so she wouldn’t face Luke as some sad, single spinster, but it was already paying off greeting everyone and having someone at her back.

“Annabeth. Hello? Annabeth?”

Annabeth snapped out of her reverie. “Oh my gods, Thalia!” She threw her arms around the dark-haired girl in front of her. If anyone would see through her today, it was her oldest friend.

“What were you just thinking about? You looked so stress,” Thalia said, swiping a piece of bacon off Annabeth’s plate. She wore tight black dress that fell to mid-calf and reminded Annabeth of a pin-up girl. Her short black hair had new purple streaks from the last time she saw her.

“You know, just all this wedding stuff,” Annabeth recovered. “How you’ve been?”

“Busy,” Thalia bit off another piece of bacon, “Aren’t we all? But we all needed this weekend, I think. We need this time to be together. What about you, Annie? How you’ve been since the last time I saw you?”

Annabeth smiled, “I’m happy we’re all together too. I’m still recovering from you moving away. I have approximately one friend in the city now. You’re all over in California. So many of you moved out to New Rome these past few years. I was just talking to Hazel and Frank, I need to come out and see your new place. Did you end up buying that yellow couch?”

“No, I couldn’t haggle the price down. And also…well, actually, well, I moved again.”

“Thalia, what! You just moved across the country at the beginning of the year, and you’ve moved again? It’s only been like six months.”

“Yeah, but the commute to The Hunt was just so long, and there was a vacancy in, um, Luke’s building. So I moved to an apartment there.”

“Oh,” Annabeth could tell Thalia was studying her face for her reaction. She had to shift gears, “How is the new job?”

“It’s amazing,” Thalia said, “Moving all over again was worth it for this job. My boss, Artemis, is so cool. I love the company so much. It’s an all-female staff, and we go on this awesome company camping trips.”

“That’s fantastic!”

“Enough about me. Now tell me about you since I last saw you.”

“Well, I submitted my blueprints for the—”

“Not about work, Annabeth. You always talk about work. Tell me about your life! What are the new bars you’re going to? Who do you go out with now? Are you going out with anyone right now?”

“Well—”

“Oh my gods, actually. There’s the cutest guy I’ve ever seen here today. I don’t recognize him from camp, maybe he’s one of Jason’s cousins? But he’s so hot, and I think he’d be perfect for you—oh my gods, he’s walking over here right now.”

Percy returned from the coffee bar and kissed Annabeth on the cheek, “Got you a coffee, babe. Looked like you needed one. Hi, I’m Percy.” He stuck out his hand, smoothly transitioning to greeting Thalia.

Thalia gaped, but recovered quickly in true Thalia-fashion, “Oh, hey, I’m Thalia. Annabeth’s best and oldest friend. You’ve probably heard all about me already.”

Percy grinned, “Nice to meet you, Thalia. Of course I have. I’m Annabeth’s best and current boyfriend.” Damn, Annabeth thought. Percy was so smooth, she actually had never mentioned Thalia, but Percy lied so well that she believed that she had told him all about her.

Thalia grinned, “Oh, boyfriend.‘Beth didn’t mention the B-word. How long have you guys been dating?”

“-One month-“ “-Just a couple weeks-“

Annabeth paused, squeezing Percy’s arm, “We start counting from different times, but, um, we met about a month ago.”

Thalia raised an eyebrow, “Whirlwind romance?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you in the wedding party also?” Percy asked.

“I’d kill Jason if I wasn’t,” Thalia replied.

“Thalia is Jason’s sister,” Annabeth explained. Percy nodded.

“Have you met everyone already, Percy?”

“Almost,” Annabeth responded for him, “Still a couple people we haven’t gotten the chance to talk to. Like Reyna and Leo, they’ve been too busy running around doing Best Man and Maid of Honor stuff.”

“Right,” Thalia said, chugging the rest of her mimosa, “I won’t hog you two from the masses. Nice meeting you, Percy.”

Percy let out a whistle as Thalia walked away, “Wow, she has a, er, strong personality.”

Annabeth nodded, “Yep, that’s Thals for you. She’s one of my best friends. We were so close growing up. Her, me, and…” Annabeth coughed. “Any, there are still a couple people we need to say hi to. They’re over there.”

Annabeth pointed over to where two people were yelling at a catering waiter, one wiry man with curly dark hair wearing suspenders and a tall, dark haired beauty in a striking purple wrap dress, “That’s Reyna, the best man, and Leo, the maid of honor.”

“You mean the other way around?”

“Actually, I don’t. Reyna is Jason’s best friend and Leo threw a fit until Piper made him her maid of honor.” Percy nodded as Annabeth pointed them out in the crowd. “That buff Asian guy I was talking to is Frank, he’s another groomsman. That girl standing next to him is Hazel, she’s another bridesmaid with me. Do you see that goth looking kid standing by the muffins? Standing next to that blond guy? That’s Nico and his boyfriend. Dakota is another groomsman, but I think I heard that he couldn’t fly in until the rehearsal dinner. And you just met Thalia. The last  bridesmaid is Piper’s sister, Drew.”

“Okay, there’s Leo, you, Hazel, and Thalia. And there’s Reyna, Frank, Nico, Dakota and who’s the last groomsman—” Percy asked, counting off on his fingers. He lost count when,

“Annabeth!”

“Leo!” Annabeth grinned, embracing her friend, “Long time no see, how are you—”

“Great, we’re doing pictures of the wedding party over by the front of the room in T-minus forty five seconds, so get over there, princess,” and then Leo was gone.

Annabeth shook her head, “That’s Leo for you.” She and Percy walked over to where the rest of the wedding party was gathering, and Leo was animatedly directing.

“Okay, let’s do Piper and her bridal bitches first, and then we’ll do Jason and his guapo groomsmen next.” Leo said, ushering people towards the front and pushing people away.

Percy fell back behind the photographer Annabeth let herself be positioned with the other bridesmaids.

“Which ones yours?” asked a handsome, blond, tan guy standing next to Percy behind the photographer.

“Oh, sorry, what?”

“I’m Nico’s boyfriend. That groomsman who looks like he’d rather be digging graves than be here right now?”

“Oh, I’m Annabeth’s boyfriend. My name’s Percy.”

“Will Solace. Nice to meet you.”  

A woman with long, wavy auburn hair in a white dress joined their conversation, “And I’m Calypso. Leo’s lucky date,” She rolled her eyes when she said it. “Welcome to the wedding dates club, Percy.”

Will grinned, “Our job is to make sure oursignificant others don’t go crazy, so Piper and Jason don’t go crazy.”

As if on cue, Leo appeared and Calypso was already handing him his phone before he even opened his mouth, “You left it on the table this morning.”

Leo grinned, kissing her on the cheek, “Thanks, babe.” He went to go hand his phone to the photographer as well.

As the groomsman gathered, Will called over his shoulder, “Nico, your tie is crooked.”

Percy felt out of place so he just shot Annabeth two supportive thumbs up. She smiled gratefully.

The bridesmaids picture seemed to be taking longer than necessary because of dark haired girl in the front who was flirting with the photographer. From process of elimination, Percy assumed it was Piper’s sister, Drew.

Will muttered from next to Percy, “Holy Hephaestus, she’s trashed.”

Calypso giggled, “I saw her downing an entire tray of mimosas. They weren’t even that strong!”

“Being a wedding date is so fun,” Will said, “You just get to witness all the drama unfolding without being a part of it. But then you have to hear them all bitch about it later at night.”

Calypso handed Percy and Will fresh mimosas, “That’s why we drink up, boys. We’ll be standing on the sidelines watching them take pictures all weekend, might as well have fun.”

Percy took the drink and cheers them, “I don’t mind.”

After Annabeth’s cheeks hurt from smiling for so long and she saw that Percy was occupied with Will and Calypso, she slipped away from the pavilion for some fresh air. She hadn’t seen Luke yet with the whole wedding party gathered, and her nerves were getting tauter and tauter with every second she braced herself to see his face.

“Annabeth, hey.”

Snap.She knew that voice anywhere. Once upon a time, that voice could have roused her out of a coma. She felt like she was going to be sick. She turned on her heel to leave, but his hand caught her wrist. “Luke,” she choked out, “let go of me.”

Luke dropped her arm, and stepped close, “Come on, Annabeth.” His sandy hair was shorter than the last time she saw him. He probably cut it recently for the wedding. His grown out his facial hair was new from the last time she saw him, almost a year ago. Annabeth had always requested he didn’t do. She liked a clean shave. He looked older, more rugged. More handsome.

Annabeth didn’t want to, but she couldn’t help but study everything about him. She recognized every article of clothing he was wearing. She knew that navy blue suit was his favorite one to wear because it hugged his biceps and made him look toned. She knew he got that white polo from a sale from their favorite outlet mall they went to one of the weekends right before they broke up. She had bought him those boat shoes as a joke because they were so preppy, but he actually pulled them off.

“What, Luke?” she sighed. She hadn’t expected seeing Luke Castellan would be this hard.

“Can’t we be civil, Annabeth? Come on, it’s been almost been a year. Can’t we put this aside? For Piper and Jason?”

“Put this aside? What? Our history? Our whole relationship? A couple months, and I’m not supposed to be upset anymore?” Annabeth hadn’t seen him or contacted him in anyway since the day they broke up, and it was all coming out now. She realized she’d never gotten the words out, she’d never had time to grieve.

“Annabeth, please,” Luke continued with a steady voice. They were far away enough from the pavilion that no one would be able to hear them arguing, but he looked weary still.

“We were engaged, Luke. We were in the middle of planning our own wedding. And you left me. I can’t just ‘put it aside,” Annabeth spat out.

“I didn’t leave you, Annabeth. Don’t twist things. You knew that job at Kronos Corporations was all I’d ever wanted, all I’d worked for. I was going to be promoted, and you wanted me to choose between you and my career?”

“I wanted you to compromise! We had our life in New York. What about my job? We had a good life and you wanted us to uproot everything. And the reason I felt to goddamn stupidthe day you left without me was the day,” Annabeth’s voice caught. She could feel tears pricking in her eyes, “the day I was going to tell you that I was going to go with you.”

Luke looked pained, “Annabeth.” He reached for her.

“Stop. I-I’m here with someone.”

Luke’s arms grasped for her waist, “Annie, you don’t have to lie to me.”

Annabeth shied away, “I’m not.”

“Annabeth?” Percy appeared and stepped between the two, smoothly putting a barrier between her and Luke. He stuck out his hand, “Hey, I’m Percy, Annabeth’s boyfriend. You are?” She noticed his greeting lacked the warmth he had greeted all of her other friends with. Percy’s arm settled back around her waist, and she was surprised by how natural and comforted she felt with his arm on her waist.

Luke eyed Percy’s hand, his facial expression hardening. He shook Percy’s hand, “Luke Castellan. Old friend.” The handshake was typical enough, but Annabeth could tell from the veins on their forearms that it was quite the firm one.

“Well, I think they’re going to make some announcements now so we should head back. Shall we, Annabeth?” Percy said, already steering her away.

When they arrived back at the pavilion, Piper and Jason stood at the front of the room with the drunk girl from earlier. Drew was tapping on the mic loudly.

“Hi, everyone!” Everyone in the crowd jolted from the mic feedback, “Whoops, sorry,” Drew said, yanking the mic away from the speaker. Percy and Annabeth chose a spot towards the front next to Hazel and Frank.

“Welcome everyone! I’d like to say a few words for my beautiful sister who makes an even beautiful-er bride,” Drew giggled. She ironically still had a mimosa in her hand. “This day is so special for her and my soon-to-be half-brother-in-law Jason, but also for us former campers. Camp Half-Blood is home for all of us.” Drew spread her arms like Moses parting the Red Sea. “We get to share this special event and be reunited with everyone after so many years.” Drew slurred, “This reunion and celebration would’ve happened much sooner at the supposed-to-be wedding of the century last year, but we all know what happened. Actually, do we all know what happened—”

Annabeth’s stomach dropped, and Frank and Hazel’s face probably mirrored everyone else’s in the room as Drew made her speech, shock and horror. Annabeth turned away, about to make a break for it, but Percy surged forward, tripping over wires and grabbing the mic from Drew.

“Hey!” she protested.

“Um, hi,” Percy said into the mic, “I’m Percy. I, er, didn’t go to camp here. I only met Piper and Jason this morning, but after just five minutes of talking to them, they, er, showed me what love truly is. I’d like to propose a toast. To Piper and Jason!” Percy raised his empty hand.

The guests echoed, “To Piper and Jason!”

Jason walked over, sheepishly, and took the mic from Percy, “Wow, um, that was beautiful. Thank you, Drew. And Percy. I hope everyone had a lot a eat, we still have plenty of food left. Chiron has happily set up camp activities for us today. So after this, everyone go have fun!”

Percy walked back to Annabeth, ignoring the stares directed at him and her. He took her arm, steering her back towards Cabin 3. He wasn’t sure if that’s where they were supposed to be headed, but she was silent.

As they approached the valley of cabins Annabeth turned to him, “Thank you. For, um, intervening back there. I don’t know what Drew was thinking…”

“You’re welcome. I, um, I didn’t know that you had been engaged.”

“Yeah, we��”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“I want to,” Annabeth said, “You deserve to know why you’re here.” The pavilion crowd had dispersed and most of the guests were headed straight towards camp activities so luckily, they were alone by the cabins.

“Luke and I started camp around the same time. He was a lot older, but he still hung out with me. We grew up together. I had a huge crush on him, but I thought he just thought of me as like a kid sister. He was my best friend. When we were older, we both knew the feelings were kind of there, but nothing ever happened until I came back from college. He was working in the city, and we started dating. I moved in with him. I think everyone knew we would end up together one day, so none of our friends were surprised when we got engaged only a year after we started dating. I’ve known him basically my whole life. Even though I was only twenty-four, he was thirty-one already. I was finally getting some of the bigger projects at my firm, we were in the middle of planning our wedding. It was supposed to be a June wedding at this exact time last year.

“Then, a couple months before our wedding, he got a call from this company he’s been trying to get involved with for years. They wanted him, finally, and it would be a huge promotion from his position at his dad’s shipping company. Except their headquarters is in San Francisco. Luke wanted to postpone the wedding so we could relocate to California. And I didn’t want to leave New York. I was finally getting traction as an architect, and we had a life, something permanent here and he wanted to throw it all away.”

Annabeth sat down on the bench outside of Cabin 3, almost like the weight of the story was too much for her stand.

“It was a huge fight. I ended up leaving and packing a bag and crashing on Thalia’s couch. After days of moping, I went back to our apartment, fully intending on making up with him and agreeing to move to California, but he was gone. Our apartment was all packed up and he was in a U-Haul with half of our things. The worst part was I’d already mailed out our save-the-dates,” she muttered, bitterly.

“This was the first time I saw him, well the first time I saw basically everyone since we called off the wedding. I almost didn’t come, but I couldn’t do that to Piper and Jason. So that’s why I hired you,” she trailed off, looking at Percy.

Percy held out his hand to her, “I respect what you’re doing. He’s an asshole, and you shouldn’t have to face him alone. I’m glad I’m here.”

Annabeth took his hand, standing up. He was looking at her so kindly and sincerely with those beautiful green eyes. He didn’t release her from his grasp. They were so close. If Annabeth tilter her chin forward, they’d be kissing.

When his lips were about to brush hers, she breathed, “I don’t know if you’re okay with anything physical.”

“I’m an actor, Annabeth, I kiss in shows all the time. But it’ll cost you, that’ll be another $500.”

Annabeth blinked, pulling away from him and cracking a smile, “I hope it won’t resort to that, but good to know you’re prepared.”  She opened the door and slipped into Cabin 3.

[gurlluvswriting]

Relieved to be Wrong (Jason Todd x Reader)

Request from: Anonymous Prompt: “Can you write a reader x Jason Todd where she’s bffs with dick and Jason thinks they’re hooking up (but they’re not) and he gets jealous” Warnings: Swearing and anger

Jason had accepted that you were close friends with his older brother; he did. He wasn’t bothered about it when the two of you started dating, and he definitely wasn’t bothered by it now. Why should he be? You gave him plenty of attention and affection everyday, you always put him above all others- just as he put you above everyone else, and you had even moved into an apartment together. That was how things have been for the past few months, until recently.

Recently, the most time you’d spend together was to give the other a hasty kiss goodbye as one of you left to work; he didn’t see anything very suspicious of this, because you both led busy work-lives-- he just so happened to work at night, while you worked during the day. On your days off, you’d usually spend the whole day with him, in order to catch up, chat, and simply banter with one another. However, recently on your days off, it seemed as though you always had plans with Dick. He hadn’t even made that connection himself, until his own best friend pointed out: “They’ve really been hangin’ out a lot recently, huh?”

Jason simply shrugged Roy off at that statement, taking it as him speaking mindlessly out of boredom while they waited for their target to arrive on schedule. Once he got home after a job well done, however, he noticed that you weren’t in bed, and that’s when his mind went back to the statement and suddenly his thoughts were sporadic.

It led him to where he’s at now, pacing back and forth in an empty bedroom, with a hand up to his chin and his brows furrowed in thought. He huffs through his nose as his thoughts continue.

You had taken some rain checks with him in the past, saying that Dick was in Gotham and you didn’t want to miss the chance to say hi; to which he didn’t mind all that much because he always had more work to do and it made sense. Dick lived in Blüdhaven, so of course you’d want to catch up while he visited- he had no worries because he and you had other days to spend with one another. However, none of his visits have ever been this long, and Jason was sure that by now Dick would be bothering him about how he’s missed him and it’s been so long.

He’d never take Dickhead to be a homewrecker though; especially not to his younger brother who he always claimed he cared about. It made no sense, and the more he continued to think about it, the more terrible the scenarios became.

He started to turn from slightly concerned with his thoughts, to completely and utterly pissed off. His steps had become more like stomps, his breathing became heavier, and his whole posture was completely rigid.

“Who the fuck does Dick think he is?!” He suddenly yells, gripping harshly onto a nearby wardrobe with a mirror. He glances up at himself, sees the rage in his eyes, and can’t seem to convince himself that he hasn’t been betrayed.

He pulls out his phone, and speed dials your number. His anger only grows when it goes straight to voicemail, and he leaves a message of: “God fucking dammit!” before redialing. Multiple times.

He all but kicks the front door down by the 10th call, and rushes to his motorcycle, fully intending on finding where you and Dick are, and beating the shit out of his brother while screaming bloody murder. He also feels like crying, but like hell will he let either of you see him vulnerable.

He thinks for a second that he shouldn’t drive like this- with his emotions going absolutely haywire and his entire body trembling from either anger or despair- he’s unsure, maybe it’s both. He hops on anyway, and speeds away.

He’s not sure where to even head, surely you weren’t bold enough to cheat at Wayne Manor- but he’s not sure where else to find his older brother if he’s in Gotham. He settles for just driving wherever the road leads him, and ends up seeing you and Dick standing near a street light. His heart skips two beats, and he suddenly feels nauseous, so he does what any sane man would do. Slam the breaks on and nearly throws himself off his bike.

The action catches both yours and Dick’s attention. You appear to be worried.

“Damn, I should’ve kept track of the time,” You say, the words causing Jason’s grip on the handlebars to become even more fierce, and his face to fall. So his thought process wasn’t wrong. “Here’s your phone back, Dick.”

You begin to head over to Jason, and his hand shoots up to stop you and he finds himself choking on the words he was planning on saying. His voice sounds about as terribly broken as he feels: “What the fuck?”

You look so concerned- so innocent, and that simply angers him more. No way you’re planning on acting dumb. “Jay?”

“What the fuck are you doing with him?”

“I--” You glance back at Dick, who looks equally confused and worried, then back to Jason. “Dick’s back in Gotham for the month, so I’m catching up?”

“Bullshit!” He cries, swinging his leg off and then throwing his bike over to fall to its side. You jump at his outburst, and despite all his anger he winces for startling you. He continues in a lower voice: “Y’know, ‘catching up’ is different from ‘hooking up’ in my book.”

“Hooking-- I-- what?!” You stumble over your words. “Wait? Do you mean?” You again glance back at Dick and have the gall to look both offended and grossed out. “Dick and I are best friends! I mean-” You refer to Dick, “No offense, but ew.”

Dick shrugs and gives a short nod in agreement, as though implying the thought was ridiculous and maybe even uncomfortable.

“Oh, really?” Jason asks. “Then why have you been spending all month with him during your free time? Why didn’t you answer your phone when I kept calling you? Why aren’t you in bed at 4 in the morning?!” He voice cracks a little as he says: “Why’d you have to ‘keep track of time’?!”

“Jay,” You start, your entire demeanor suddenly softening at his broken tone. “I said ‘I should’ve kept track of time,’ because my phone died about two or three hours ago, and I just barely noticed the time and figured you must’ve gotten home and were probably freaking out about where I was. Which is why I asked to use Dick’s phone; I was going to call you to let you know I didn’t get mugged or lying dead in some ditch.” Jason stutters a bit as you continue: “As for spending a lot more time together, Dick’s going on an undercover mission for the next few months, and I’m not sure when I’m going to be able to chat with my bestie next.”

He falls silent after that statement. You walk up to him, and place a gentle hand to his arm, “I’m sorry, Jay. If I had known that I’d give off the wrong impression, I would’ve gone about it differently.”

Jason lets out a long breath, “No, I’m sorry.” He says, looking away with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. “I honestly didn’t even think anything of it until Roy said something.”

“Ah, so Roy’s the one who made you jealous,” You say, a teasing smirk on your face.

“I wasn’t jealous!” Jay denies. “I was just… concerned!”

Your banter continues after you both say goodbye to Dick, all the way through the ride back home, and it even starts back up when you both wake up in the afternoon. And even though he denied anymore cuddles with your continued jabs of him being jealous, he’s relieved that he was wrong. And he’s relieved that you chose to take the day off to spend with him, even if you end up teasing him the whole time.

[eaglesfan986]

Christina Grimmie: One Of My Idols, Gone Too Soon.

WARNING: This is going to be a very long post, so unless you have the time or patience to read it all the way through, I suggest you keep scrolling.

Christina Victoria Grimmie was an American singer who started off on YouTube. She and I both grew up in New Jersey, she lived only a few miles away from me, before moving to Los Angeles. She was only a couple months younger than me. As I’m typing this, it’s been over a week since the 2-year anniversary of her untimely death in Orlando, Florida. I’ve been having a hard time getting her off my mind all week, so I figured the best way to get this off my chest would be to just let it all out. Share my story about Christina, like how I was introduced to her, what I liked about her, and how I heard of her tragic passing. So, here goes.

I first heard of Christina some time in 2011, when I heard that she was touring with Selena Gomez on her We Own The Night tour. At the time, I was obsessed with Selena, so when I heard of her, I looked her up, and sure enough, I came across her YouTube channel. In her first couple years on YouTube, Christina just uploaded song covers on YouTube. Some of my favorites were her covers of Skyscraper by Demi Lovato, My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion, We Found Love by Rihanna & Calvin Harris, Impossible by Shontelle, and of course, Just A Dream by Nelly with Sam Tsui. Before I looked her up, I realized that I had seen her YouTube videos before, her videos at the time were titled, “Me Singing _____,” so I didn’t really think about checking them out at the time. I’m glad I finally gave her a shot. When I watched her more and more, and followed her on more social media sites, I realized that she had more than just a beautiful singing voice, she also had a heart of gold, and was very goofy. She loved making people laugh, and she participated in many charity events that she could. In fact, her last video before her death was her asking her fans to participate in this charity for animals in need that she was a part of, called the Humane Society of The United States (HSUS).

When I heard that she had made original music, I knew I wanted to buy them myself. I remember waiting to receive an iTunes gift card, so I could download her music, Throughout her music career, she had released two EPs, a studio album, and a few singles. Some of my favorite songs of hers are: Liar Liar, Counting, Advice,  With Love, Get Yourself Together, Make It Work, The One That Got Away, My Anthem, and more.

One of my favorite segments on her YouTube channel was her Above All That Is Random series, that she would do with her friend, Sarah. In those videos, they would sing just a bunch of random, goofy things in autotune. For the last 3 episodes, they asked the fans to write down some lines that they could use in the final cut. Her sense of humor also consisted of posting April Fool’s videos. Her first one was her crying, saying that she had enough of people harassing her, that she was giving up music, and moving back to New Jersey from Los Angeles. She almost got me, but when I saw the date on the video, I was like, “OK, say [April Fool’s].” She did manage to get many of her fans, some of which posted videos begging Christina not to give up, and that they were there to support her. Later that day, she did release another video, saying that the first one was a joke, and she apologized for freaking her fans out.

In early 2012, Christina introduced in a new video this new hand gesture for her fans, who she called, Frands (friend and fan), and Team Grimmie. The hand gesture was simply holding up 3 fingers, as if someone was saying they wanted a quantity of 3 of something. She called it, “RAWWK Fingers.” No, that wasn’t a typo. Christina loved misspelling words, she would often say on social media, “Team Grimmie RAWWKS,” that’s what the hand gesture was supposed to represent. For my high school graduation later that year, I actually did the RAWWK Fingers when posing for a few pictures. My friends thought I was throwing gang signs.

In early 2014, Christina auditioned for season 6 of NBC’s The Voice. Her blind audition was her singing Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball, and within 10 seconds, she had 3 chairs turned for her (Usher, Shakira, and Adam Levine), however she did manage to make Blake Shelton turn his chair at the end. Christina ended up joining Adam’s team, and the two of them became inseparable, he even went backstage to hug her mom, who Christina said on stage was her inspiration, and had battled breast cancer 3 times. I never watched The Voice before, but when I heard that Christina was going to be on it, you bet I watched the entirety of that season. I did everything I could to help Christina win, I called the phone number that they showed us to call to cast a vote, and I even helped save her on Twitter, with the hashtag, #VoiceSave. Unfortunately though, I didn’t have the money to buy all the songs that she sang on the show at the time, so I couldn’t do much to vote for her there. Me watching The Voice was how my family was introduced to Christina, they said they loved her, and were rooting for her throughout the season. She made it all the way to the finals, but in the end, she only got 3rd place. I was a little disappointed, but I was happy that she at least made it that far.

Then, in the morning of July 11, 2016, I heard of the tragic story of Christina’s death. I was on YouTube, and I saw a video from Keemstar’s Drama Alert titled, “Christina Grimmie Shot.” Seeing how that was from Keemstar, I knew I couldn’t trust him for accurate news, so I looked it up on Google, and unfortunately, Keemstar was right. Christina was performing at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida, opening up for the band, Before You Exit, and after the concert, she had a Meet-and-Greet, and one of her fans took out a gun, and opened fire on her. Her brother, Marcus, tackled the gunman, who then killed himself. The police later reported that Christina was rushed to the hospital, but died there. I was utterly shocked, I couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Who would kill such an innocent, fun-loving, caring girl like Christina.” I later realized that the guy who killed her was an obsessed fan, who fantasized of marrying her, but then found out she had a boyfriend from one of his coworkers. What’s most disturbing is that the guy actually had 2 guns on hand, 2 fully loaded magazines, and a hunting knife. I was disgusted to find out that The Plaza Live at the time had no metal detectors, and no pat downs, they just checked people’s bags. Of course, many people, including myself, were outraged that this happened, and part of me felt like suing The Plaza Live for having inadequate security. All this happened only a couple days before The Pulse Nightclub shooting in the same town.

I talked to some of my coworkers about Christina’s death, and as it turned out, one of them actually met her in person one time. This coworker said that Christina was friends with someone in his family (I can’t recall if it was his daughter or niece), he even had a picture of them together, and I asked him if I could see it. He let me see it, and I was delighted to see Christina’s smiling face on that photo.

Adam Levine, Christina’s former coach on The Voice, was of course heartbroken over Christina’s death, and offered to pay for her funeral. Christina was buried in a private ceremony on June 16, 2016 at Berlin Cemetery in Berlin, New Jersey. 

In early 2017, Christina’s family released her first posthumous song, Invisible, which would later have an animated music video. That year, Christina’s family released one posthumous EP, Side B, and her 1st posthumous (2nd overall) album, All Is Vanity. I, of course, bought them as soon as I could. A couple of my favorite songs on All Is Vanity are Echo, and Everybody Lies, while on Side B, I really like Invisible, I Only Miss You When I Breathe, and her cover of Jason Mraz’s I Won’t Give Up   In April of 2017, Adam performed Hey Jude by The Beatles on The Voice with his team, in memory of Christina.

Earlier this year, Christina’s family released another posthumous single, Little Girl, which I bought only a couple days ago. Christina’s mother actually released a video a day before the song was released to talk about how much that song meant to her, and Christina. She goes on about how Christina was a toddler, she was worried that her mom was going to die because of her cancer at the time. It gets very emotional, and truth be told, I didn’t even watch the whole thing, because I didn’t think I would be able to take it.

A few days ago, I came across this Creepypasta reading on YouTube. It was titled, “Christina Grimmie Final Goodbye.” The story was basically, this guy hears about the death of Christina Grimmie, and a few months later, he discovers this playlist of alleged unlisted videos of Christina Grimmie, and he comes across this one video of hers that was uploaded on that day. He clicks on the video, and he sees Christina in her room, her face covered in blood, she’s crying hysterically, and choking on her own words. Basically, Christina is thanking her fans for all the love they’ve given her over the past few months. She then tells them that she wants them to be strong, that she’ll always remember all the good times she had going on tour seeing their smiling faces, and that she’s sorry she never got the chance to say goodbye. The guy is confused as to how this video was uploaded months after Christina’s death. The video eventually starts buffering, and he reloads the page, only for the video, and playlist, to suddenly vanish. 

Of course, people were outraged over this Creepypasta reading, saying that the guy was only profiting off of Christina’s death. While I can understand their point, I actualy enjoyed the video, it felt very uplifting, and truth be told, I wish that story was based on a true story. What that story said that Christina said actually did sound like something Christina would say. I tried looking up the original story, but no luck, it must have gotten removed because of Christina’s angry fans.

A couple days ago, Scribbler released a video on YouTube of a big brony collab cover of “You Will Be Found from the Broadway musical, Dear Even Hansen, to raise money for The Trevor Project, a charity dedicated to help prevent suicide from those in the LGBTQ community. I ended up leaving a comment that consisted of a quote from one of Christina’s songs. The quote was, “You are an extremely unique and individual person. And I’m telling you, don’t let those invalid opinions of others just bring you to the pits, OK? You’re strong, so own it. Love, me.” I also went on about how recently was the 2-year anniversary of her death, that she was my idol, and how I missed her so much. In hindsight, I think it may have been a little bit selfish to talk about Christina on a video that had nothing to do with her. Like I said earlier, I’ve been having a hard time getting her off my mind, and I want to get it off my chest.

We all miss you so much, Christina. Hope you’re singing with the angels as I’m typing this. <3 <3

Love,

Chris

[richincolor]

Poetry Month

Some readers avoid poetry, but I run toward it with open arms so Poetry Month makes me smile. Here are a few of the newest poetry books I’ve been enjoying.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo HarperTeen [Audrey’s Review]

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

For Every One by Jason Reynolds Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds’s rallying cry to the dreamers of the world.

For Every One is just that: for every one. For every one person. For every one dream. But especially for every one kid. The kids who dream of being better than they are. Kids who dream of doing more than they almost dare to dream. Kids who are like Jason Reynolds, a self-professed dreamer. Jason does not claim to know how to make dreams come true; he has, in fact, been fighting on the front line of his own battle to make his own dreams a reality. He expected to make it when he was sixteen. Then eighteen. Then twenty-five. Now, some of those expectations have been realized. But others, the most important ones, lay ahead, and a lot of them involve kids, how to inspire them. All the kids who are scared to dream, or don’t know how to dream, or don’t dare to dream because they’ve NEVER seen a dream come true. Jason wants kids to know that dreams take time. They involve countless struggles. But no matter how many times a dreamer gets beat down, the drive and the passion and the hope never fully extinguish—because just having the dream is the start you need, or you won’t get anywhere anyway, and that is when you have to take a leap of faith.

A pitch perfect graduation, baby, or love my kid gift.

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

A cannon. A strap. A piece. A biscuit. A burner. A heater. A chopper. A gat. A hammer A tool for RULE

Or, you can call it a gun. That’s what fifteen-year-old Will has shoved in the back waistband of his jeans. See, his brother Shawn was just murdered. And Will knows the rules. No crying. No snitching. Revenge. That’s where Will’s now heading, with that gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, the gun that was his brother’s gun. He gets on the elevator, seventh floor, stoked. He knows who he’s after. Or does he?

As the elevator stops on the sixth floor, on comes Buck. Buck, Will finds out, is who gave Shawn the gun before Will took the gun. Buck tells Will to check that the gun is even loaded. And that’s when Will sees that one bullet is missing. And the only one who could have fired Shawn’s gun was Shawn. Huh. Will didn’t know that Shawn had ever actually used his gun. Bigger huh. BUCK IS DEAD. But Buck’s in the elevator?

Just as Will’s trying to think this through, the door to the next floor opens. A teenage girl gets on, waves away the smoke from Dead Buck’s cigarette. Will doesn’t know her, but she knew him. Knew. When they were eight. And stray bullets had cut through the playground, and Will had tried to cover her, but she was hit anyway, and so what she wants to know, on that fifth floor elevator stop, is, what if Will, Will with the gun shoved in the back waistband of his jeans, MISSES.

And so it goes, the whole long way down, as the elevator stops on each floor, and at each stop someone connected to his brother gets on to give Will a piece to a bigger story than the one he thinks he knows. A story that might never know an END…if WILL gets off that elevator.

Solo by Kwame Alexander & Mary Rand Hess Blink [Crystal’s Review]

When the heart gets lost, let the music find you.

Blade never asked for a life of the rich and famous. In fact, he’d give anything not to be the son of Rutherford Morrison, a washed-up rock star and drug addict with delusions of a comeback. Or to no longer be part of a family known most for lost potential, failure, and tragedy. The one true light is his girlfriend, Chapel, but her parents have forbidden their relationship, assuming—like many—that Blade will become just like his father.

In reality, the only thing Blade has in common with Rutherford is the music that lives inside them. But not even the songs that flow through Blade’s soul are enough when he’s faced with two unimaginable realities: the threat of losing Chapel forever, and the revelation of a long-held family secret, one that leaves him questioning everything he thought was true. All that remains is a letter and a ticket to Ghana—both of which could bring Blade the freedom and love he’s been searching for, or leave him feeling even more adrift.

And here are a few on my TBR:

It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sigiura HarperTeen

*Not a book of poetry, but it does include poems*

Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that she’s pretty sure her father’s having an affair. And then there’s the one that she barely even admits to herself, the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for her to be honest with her friends and family, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known before. The only problems are: Sana is pretty sure Jamie’s friends hate her, Jamie’s ex isn’t totally out of the picture, Sana’s new friend Caleb has more-than-friendly feelings for her, and things with her dad feel like they’re coming to a head. She always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wanted to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy…what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.

Voices in the Air by Naomi Shihab Nye Greenwillow Books

Acclaimed and award-winning poet, teacher, and National Book Award finalist Naomi Shihab Nye’s uncommon and unforgettable voice offers readers peace, humor, inspiration, and solace. This volume of almost one hundred original poems is a stunning and engaging tribute to the diverse voices past and present that comfort us, compel us, lead us, and give us hope.

Voices in the Air is a collection of almost one hundred original poems written by the award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye in honor of the artists, writers, poets, historical figures, ordinary people, and diverse luminaries from past and present who have inspired her. Full of words of encouragement, solace, and hope, this collection offers a message of peace and empathy.

Voices in the Air celebrates the inspirational people who strengthen and motivate us to create, to open our hearts, and to live rewarding and graceful lives. With short informational bios about the influential figures behind each poem, and a transcendent introduction by the poet, this is a collection to cherish, read again and again, and share with others. Includes an index.

Black Girl Magic by Mahogany L. Browne with illustrations by Jess X. Snow Roaring Brook Press

Black Girl, they say you ain’t ‘posed to be here

Much of what twenty-first century culture tells black girls is not pretty: Don’t wear this; don’t smile at that. Don’t have an opinion; don’t dream big. And most of all, don’t love yourself. In response to such destructive ideas, internationally recognized poet Mahogany Browne challenges the conditioning of society by crafting an anthem of strength and magic undeniable in its bloom for all beautiful Black girls. She has travelled the world sharing her vision of Black Girl Magic, and now in collaboration with artist Jess X. Snow, presents her acclaimed tribute in a visual form.

Black Girl Magic is a journey from girlhood to womanhood and an invitation to readers to find magic in themselves.

Am I missing any great poetry books from this year or the last? Please let us know in the comments. Also, if you want to find more great poetry titles, check out our previous posts here:

Pieces of Poetry (2017)

Poetry Link Round Up (2016)

Novels in Verse (2014)

Piles of Poetry (2013)

[sinceileftyoublog]

Årabrot Interview: Speaking in Tongues

BY JORDAN MAINZER

On Norwegian Gothic, Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park preach the gospel of Årabrot. The Norwegian band’s 9th full-length is, according to the band, the logical culmination of the noise they’ve been peddling for almost two decades. Recorded and centered around the Swedish church where Nernes and Park live, Norwegian Gothic takes equal thematic influence and reference from Theodore Adorno as it does David Bowie, its aesthetic filled with psychedelic folk and ecstatic rock and roll. 

Just take a look at the two-part video series associated with the record, encompassing three songs. On “Kinks of the Heart”, Nernes, dressed in his suspenders and wide-brimmed hat, and Park, pregnant in a flowing white dress, come to a town with a bible-looking book with the band’s name printed on the cover. They quickly round up a few townsfolk and cause them to reflect and act on their innermost desires, from sexual promiscuity to cross-dressing, over crackly guitar riffs and hard-charging drums. Part II is the sharp dance-punk synth jam “Hailstones For Rain” and washy, saxophone-laden “The Moon is Dead”, where Årabrot and their newfound cabal go to a local church--in actuality, the church where Nernes and Park live--to speak in rock and roll tongues to enrapture the crowd and later celebrate the summer solstice in a haunted-looking mansion, Nernes and Park nude as other folks dance around them.

Årabrot have fully embraced the idea of Norwegian Gothic as a statement for a while. The record was written starting in 2017, a year before their last full-length, Who Do You Love, was released. (Earlier this year, they also released an EP from the Who Do You Love sessions.) It was eventually recorded with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (who Nernes calls “Gomez”) in London last year right before lockdown. There, they tracked drums, bass, and guitar before returning to the church for Park’s synthesizers, Hammond organ, mellotron, vocals, and overdubs. So while the album also features a number of other collaborators, like Jaga Jazzist’s Lars Horntveth, the spookiness of the church contextualizes the drama of the record, from the Kyuss-like opening guitars of “Carnival of Love” to the strings of “The Rule of Silence” and theatrical vocals of “Feel It On”. There’s also a number of spoken interludes, namely “The Voice” and album closer “You’re Not That Special”, that act as not just breaks or a comedown but, as they were culled from real-life thought provoking conversations the band had with friends, gives the album some substantial meat to back its purported philosophical influence.

Årabrot are holding out hope for some festival dates, like ArcTanGent in the UK in August, though I get the sense that, for once, their live streams so far are expertly curated displays of both Norwegian Gothic and Norwegian Gothic. Watching them perform “Hallucinational” from their church, Park’s spiritual singing and organ playing centering the band as much as the skulls that encircle them, I feel like I’m watching a production rather than a live show, yet one distilled to its raw emotion, and not just because it’s acoustic. Dressed in the same outfits as the characters from the short film, I’m unsure what’s an act and what’s not. What could be more gothic?

A couple months ago, I spoke with Nernes over the phone about Norwegian Gothic, which is out this Friday via Pelagic Records. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: You say that Norwegian Gothic represents the culmination or combination of everything you’ve done so far. What about it makes it such a good summation of what you do as a band?

Kjetil Nernes: As a musician and an artist, you might say, I have a pretty specific idea of how I want things to sound and be. Usually, it’s really hard--it’s a goal you have far ahead in front of you, and you just aim to that goal. It’s really hard to get to that goal right away. It’s a process: You need to make a few albums, for example, to come closer to your main goal, and finally, it comes together. I felt like Norwegian Gothic was like that, for the past 10 years, or even for my whole career. We kind of reached that one goal we’ve had for a really long time. It has to do with songwriting, how it actually sounds, the lyrics, a number of factors. It’s also important to reach the next goal, too--it’s a never-ending process, in many ways. It doesn’t stop here.

SILY: What else makes Norwegian Gothic unique as compared to your other records?

KN: The fact that we brought in a producer for the first time made a big difference. We had Gomez. He made a big difference, for sure. Karin’s been a part of the band on and off for 10 years, but she was much more involved here, which made a big difference from the previous ones. When you’ve done as many albums as I’ve done and been involved in as many projects as I have, you get a little feeling for when things turn out slightly different from all the other times. I had that feeling with this one. I also had that feeling with The Gospel that was released some years ago.

SILY: The Gospel is my favorite record of yours, so it’s interesting to hear you compare it to this one...What about the song “Carnival of Love” made you want to open the album with it?

KN: That is an interesting question because me, Karin, and Gomez were debating back and forth about that for a long time. There were a number of different options. Maybe you agree with me: I feel that there a quite a few songs that could have opened the album. We could have chosen a faster and shorter song, and it would have been a little bit of a different vibe to the album. We had a friend who was involved at the time, and he really got a kick out of “Carnival of Love”, and that made us decide to open with it.

SILY: How do you generally approach sequencing, and was there a different way you approached it here?

KN: Usually, you get a feeling. Sometimes, the label or the management comes with a suggestion. They usually decide the singles--which songs to promote. When you pick out the singles, usually you put them very early on, especially these days, even though I personally prefer to put them somewhere else. Back in the day, if you look at David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, all of the hits end the album. Many of the bands in the 60′s did the same thing: The main single was very far out in the album. Nowadays, the attention span is maybe a bit different so they’re usually earlier on. From there, you just listen to the songs and get a feeling, but on this one, it was particularly hard. Doing The Gospel was incredibly easy. This one took days of back and forth, and we had a lot of different ways of approaching it.

SILY: There are a lot of cinematic aspects on this record, from the strings to the spoken word interludes. Do you think about your records in a cinematic sense?

KN: Maybe. I do see a lot of films and am inspired by films and thinking of an album as a way of traveling through something. That may be what you’re referring to, too. I enjoy albums, and I particularly love albums that make you feel like you’re on a journey. That’s very often my starting point for making albums.

SILY: As much genre territory as this album traverses, “Hailstones For Rain” is an aesthetic standout. Can you tell me about the arrangement and instrumentation of that song?

KN: It does stand out. The label saw it as a very psychedelic song. I didn’t think of it that way. It started with me writing this specific rhythm inspired by some of the stuff The Residents were doing in the late 70′s. They had these weird sort of synthesizer rhythms with basslines on top. It just developed when we played it a lot. Karin added the jazzy theme on top of it. Further on, Lars Horntveth from Jaga Jazzist is playing saxophone, and there are two synthesizers going, and later, Anders Møller is playing percussion on it. It just develops. It’s a rhythmical thing. It turned out pretty interesting, that track.

SILY: How did the interludes come about? Who’s speaking, and what’s the inspiration behind the words they’re saying?

KN: Me and Karin had finished a tour with Boris. We did a week of traveling around the UK and visiting friends two years ago. I was interviewing my friend, and it started out with me saying to him, “Why the hell do we do this?” I got some really good conversations out of it. The first one on the record is Karin before “Hallucinational”, talking about her experience before writing it. The second one is with the writer John Doran, the cofounder of The Quietus. The final one is Andrew Liles, who is part of Current 93 and Nurse With Wound. “You’re Not That Special”: That’s his words.

SILY: I really like the panning in the vocals on that last one. It’s a disorienting way to end the album...You mentioned the label thought “Hailstones For Rain” was psychedelic. For me, the true psychedelic song is “Deadlock”.

KN: Yes. Exactly. I would say the same. I agree--the label is German. [laughs] Germans usually have a different way of approaching things.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the album title?

KN: I have a good friend who used to be in Chicago; he used to work for Chicago Mastering [Service], Jason Ward. He sent me an email a few years ago where he described our music as Norwegian Gothic, so I wrote it down. Over the years, there have been a lot of questions like, “What is Årabrot? What is it all about?” I came to the conclusion when I started writing the songs for this album that [“Norwegian Gothic”] felt right describing these genres and as a title. He was also being tongue-in-cheek about [Grant Wood’s painting] American Gothic because we live in a church and kind of look like the people in the painting. I forgot to Google the title after we started the whole process of recording, and I discovered my friends in Ulver have a song called “Norwegian Gothic” and had released it as a single or an EP and have released t-shirts for it. I was like, “Oh no!” [laughs] I did talk to them, and they were totally fine with it. Maybe it’s a good reference point, too, Årabrot and Ulver.

SILY: What’s the story behind the album art?

KN: We did a live session in the church on the summer solstice--Midsommar. I’m not sure if you’ve seen the movie Midsommar.

SILY: I have.

KN: So you know it’s quite big in Sweden. It’s a special day in Scandinavia. The sun is out all day. In Norway, not so much, but in Sweden, it’s a big day, and they dance around the maypole, and there are all these parties going around. This year, we did a live stream, and because there were travel restrictions, we did this live acoustic set. By the end of the session, we did some photos, and literally, exactly on the time of the summer solstice at whatever time--2:00 in the morning or something--that photo was taken by this photographer on his iPhone. He was really tired and getting really grumpy and sour, and Karin asked, “Take one more photo!” We just stood there in that circle with the skulls and stuff. There was some magic to that moment, so he took the photo. Karin was also 6 months pregnant at the time, and you can see her holding her belly. 

SILY: Is there anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

KN: The last two Clipping. albums, the film Corpus Christi, and the book Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley by Richard Kaczynski. 

[flowerpot101]

Get Together: Part 2

Jason Todd x Reader

Request: Will you please do a part two to "get together" with Jason Todd where he's been dating the reader for about a year or more and she finds out about the whole killing/guns and smoking thing and she's upset?

Word Count: 1763

Part 1

Y/n was at the mansion, it was about to turn midnight, she was waiting for Jason to return from whatever he was doing. Dick told her he wasn’t going to be out for long that it was just a quick errand and he’ll be returning in just an hour, but that never happened. They’ve been dating for little over a year now and soon came to term that if he hadn’t returned back before midnight; she just needed to go home. Sometimes when she got to their shared apartment he was already there or he wasn’t and would be home until the later hours of the morning. She wasn’t okay with it at first, questioning him all the time about it, he always told her the same answer; don’t worry about it. After the tenth time, she gave up and knew when the time was right; Jason would finally tell her the truth.

You would think with being a long time friend of Dick that she would know about their late night missions and alter egos but he had made sure she never would find out, he wanted to keep her out of it. Even when she did research for them, he never told her the truth why they needed it or what it was for. Y/n just assumed that they wanted to know more about the recent villains to know where to stay away from but that was far from it. All of them soon realized that it wouldn’t be longer for her to figure out the truth about them since she started dating Jason; at some point it would get revealed in one way or another.

Pulling up to the sidewalk as she parked her car, she slowly got out, looking up to the sky, seeing all the stars that she could make out. Y/n loved them but she hated the city for the light pollution it caused made them disappear, causing her to look harder for them. One day she wishes that her and Jason would move out of Gotham and out into the countryside but not too far away from his family. This was unlikely though and she knew it, he was so attached to the city like his heart was in it and if he left he would no longer be alive.

Walking up the concrete stairs to enter their complex, she could see all the main lights in the apartments off, some white flashes flickered out of the windows indicating some were still up or had fallen asleep with the TV on. She was met with a cold blast of air as she walked in and headed for the elevator, it was old and rickety, Y/n hated elevators always had thought they would break down and trap her but nights like these where she was returning home late, she didn’t care for she just wanted to go up to bed as quickly as she could.

Finally reaching the eighth floor, she headed for her door, the lights of the hallway were dimmed low, not giving much light to her path, and the walls were dirty with not being cleaned in over a decade. Fumbling for keys while standing in front of the door, looking up as she was about to insert the rusty bronze metal into the key whole, Y/n froze once she realized that the door was already slightly ajar and panic quickly seeped into her bones. Silently putting the bundle of keys into her old purse, one hand on the knob and the other flat against the chipped paint, she pushed.

There were no lights on, it was cold and felt musty, hands starting to shake as her hands clutched the brown leather strap that hung on her shoulder. Her feet were silent as they took baby steps, too scared that she would make too much noise if the intruder was still in her home. Quickly and silently checking the living room for anything, there was nothing. As she walked down the small dark narrow hallway that led to the kitchen, she could see a faint light and hear a small clicking noise. The closer she got to the room; the more she could smell faint smoke from a cigarette, her face furrowing down as to who would be in her home smoking.

Her hand came up to push gently against the white door causing it to swoosh slightly, then peaking her head in first to see if there was anyone. She could faintly see a head full of dark locks, pushing her feet forward, turning around to make sure the door did not make any noise as she exited her barrier of safety. Feet still shuffling, not making much noise of pitter-patter of feet against the tile, coming around the counter, she stopped. At the little round table under the hanging round light, Y/n could see a litter of guns, a pack of opened cigarettes and the Red Hood mask laid right in the center on full display.

Jason’s head shot around when he heard a loud thump behind him, there you stood, mouth wide opened, eyes full of shock and confusion, arms out in front of you with your palms flat and facing the floor. Shooting up and out of his seat, he stepped towards you as you took a step back; he could see you breathing hard as you soaked everything behind your e/c eyes.

Stepping forward again with his arm reaching out towards you, your hand came up, “Don’t,” she heartbrokenly whispered out.

Swallowing hard as he looked at your face, “I can explain,” he wrenched out.

Finally she looked at him, eyebrows furrowing down with her mouth slightly agape, “How? It’s pretty clear as day with what all of this is!” Arms shooting out, pointing at all the things that laid out on the table.

Head falling down while his eyes shut tightly, and letting out a deep sigh, “I know it looks bad but please… please hear me out,” he whispered.

Walking forward, taking hesitant footsteps to come and stand in front of the wooden piece of furniture. Jason watched her with pleading eyes as she passed him, turning his body around as her head looked across the clutter filled table. You let out a deep sigh as your delicate hands reached out for the helmet, both hands holding it as you memorized it. Y/n had seen much footage of the Red Hood on the News, daily and nightly, never would she had of thought she would ever meet him especially not this way.

Her hand came up to stroke the side of the red mask, feeling all the groves and lines indented into it, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Turning around to face him as he stood next to her, tears were slowly streaming down her face, “D-don’t you trust me?” Her eyes pleaded for the truth to as why the man she loves would lie to her.

Jason’s hands came up and rested atop of her shoulders, squeezing them tightly, “Of course I do! I didn’t want to put your life at risk with knowing that I could put you at a great danger. For fucks sake, we’re enemies with the Joker! If he had found out about you and how close you were to everyone, I can’t imagine what he would d-do to you.” Tears were brimming close to the edge of his crystal blue eyes.

Slumping down to the floor, clutching your loose why t-shirt as he breathed you in, turning your body to set the mask back down, you slumped in front of him as your hands came up, cupping the side of his face as your thumbs stroke back and forth. Your e/c ones met his pool of blues; tears were both streaming down your face. Jason’s arms came around you to pull you in, only wanting to hold you.

“I know this wasn’t part of the plan, all of us were afraid to tell you, we feared you would leave us behind when you would find out the truth,” he gently whispering out. “None of us wanted to lose you; we all love and cherish you too much. Bruce always told Dick not to get too close with anyone because one day they would find out everything and they could be kidnapped and injured… He always told us and we never listened.” He let out a deep sigh, pulling away to cup your soft face looking down at you while your hands rested on the side of his arms, “There’s a part of me who wished that had listened to his warning but there’s a bigger part of me that’s glad they didn’t because it would have met that I would never had met you… and love you the way I do.”

Tears were pooling down your eyes, launching forward to wrap your arms around his neck, whispering out, “I love you too.”

For now, that would be all, the bigger conversation being held later that day with the whole team. Yelling and profanity were falling from everyone’s lips, even an ‘I told you so’ was said from the big man himself. Y/n didn’t like the fact that they all hid the truth from her but understood why but was still angry since she knew Dick for about a decade. She wasn’t okay with how Jason killed the people he faced but quickly came to terms with it once she had realized who they were. Guns weren’t her thing but a small part of her was grateful for them, knowing that she was safe at all times. However, the smoking was what she hated the most and Jason listened to her as she ranted towards him but he just smiled at her as the fiery woman came forward.

It had taken her close to a month before she had fully accepted everything and when she did they decided to make her their official computer hacker. Bruce’s computer did well for hacking but you did it so much faster compared to it, you were happy that they asked for your help and actually knew why you were doing it now. Jason and your relationship was a little rocky but that happens in every one out there, neither of you couldn’t be any happier.

Jason even surprised you with a move to the countryside, a little ranch with a full wraparound porch, he knew it was your dream and like you made his dream come true, he wanted to do the same for you.

@dekahg

[filmfanatic82]

Anything

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10889763/chapters/24202305

Chapter 1

So this is how Trini’s life is going to end.

At 16 years old. In some remote, unmarked cavern. Lying amongst mounds of debris and rubble with a million plus year old, green glowing, freakazoid’s hands wrapped around her neck.

Trini could think of more than a few better ways to go, but at least she isn’t going to die a virgin.

A silver lining, right?

“TRINI!!!” Kimberly screams reverberate throughout the cavern.

Trini immediately snaps out of her thoughts. She glances over at Kimberly, battered and bruised beyond recognition, and instantly feels the cracks start to spread across her heart.

Trini knew as soon as Billy had began to walk her and Zack through the game plan, that this wasn’t going to be easy. Physically… Emotionally… Even mentally.  It was going to be nothing short of a gauntlet.

But, then again, nothing about being a teenaged superhero is ever easy. So why should this moment be any different?

Now, though, having to fully accept the look of pain and confusion on Kimberly’s face, Trini finally understood why.

This moment is different because of Kimberly.

Trini eyes dart across the cavern and hone in on Zack. They exchange a brief, unspoken look of uncertainty. There’s a big likelihood that this could be the end but neither of them can dwell on that now.

“Get her outta here!”

“But--” Zack hesitates, clearly torn on what to do. It’s taking every ounce of willpower not to ignore Trini’s instructions and jump into action.

The hands wrap tighter. Trini squirms, bucking her body in a last ditch attempt to get some sort of leverage to gain an upper hand. But it’s of little use. She’s pinned.

“NOW ZACK!”

Zack blinks back his tears and swallows his ever growing emotions. He gives Trini a firm, reassuring nod and then without another moment’s hesitation wraps his arms around Kimberly.

“Aye aye, Crazy Girl.”

“What? No! No! We can’t just leave her!!!” Kimberly screams out in a full blown panic as the realization of what’s about to occur sets in. She thrashes against Zack’s body, using every ounce of strength she has left to try and break free.

Kimberly isn’t going anywhere without a fight.

“It’s gonna be okay, Princess. Promise.” Trini flashes Kimberly a half-smirk, half-smile and then forces herself to look away. She knows that if she doesn’t, then she won’t be able to go through with what needs to happen next.

“Do it Billy,” Zack yells into his wrist communicator.

“Trini! No! I… I love--” Kimberly’s words cut out as the sound of teleporter echoes throughout the cavern.

Trini glances back just in time to see both Zack and Kimberly de-materialize into thin air. A momentary sense of relief washes over her.

Kimberly is safe.

And for now… nothing else seems to matter.

“Any last words?”

////////////////

TWO MONTHS EARLIER

///////////////

“Stop squirming,” Kimberly reminds Trini for the umpteeth time while repositioning her head back down.

POP.

The all too familiar sound of the clippers coming to life fills the bedroom.

Trini should be used to this. Kimberly has been “volunteering” to clean up her undercut on a weekly basis now for well over a month. Every Thursday afternoon during their after school study sessions.

And why does the word “volunteering” deserve air quotes? Because it really isn’t volunteering at all… No, it’s more like a well rehearsed play.

One where Kimberly starts off by making an indirect comment on why Trini never wears her hair up… which then naturally leads to Trini putting up her hair… which triggers Kimberly to offer to clean up her undercut… which somehow always results in Trini sitting in the middle of her bedroom, towel draped around her shoulders while Kimberly works her magic.

Every Thursday. Just like clockwork.

And why? Simple. Because Trini can’t say no to Kimberly.

“Am not,” Trini grumbles back under her breath. She lets out a nervous sigh and then tucks her chin down into her chest. “What’s taking so long, anyways?”

“Thought I’d try something new.”

“New?” Trini voice slightly cracks as she chokes down a breath of air.

“Yeah,” Kimberly hums in response. She gently guides Trini’s head to the side and re-adjusts her grip on the clippers. “I saw this awesome undercut design on my instagram feed yesterday. Kinda looked like a mandala. But not as intricate.”

“A man-what?”

“A mandala. It’s a Hindu symbol. You know that painting that’s across from the bathroom in my house? That’s a mandala.”

“You’re carving a hand into the back of my head?!” Trini’s voice jumps up an octave as panic sets in.

“Yes. Along with my initials,” Kim quipped. “Now hold still or I’m gonna fuck it up.”

Trini tries to remind herself to breathe. In through her nose and then out through her mouth. And again… And again…

All she needs to do is keep breathing.

“What? No snarky comeback?” Kimberly turns off the clippers and then brushes her fingers over Trini’s newly shorn nape, admiring her handiwork. A small, but noticeable smile crawls across her lips.

Trini catches sight of Kimberly’s smile in the mirror on the wall directly across from her and can’t help but match it.

God, that smile… It’s fastly becoming Trini’s favorite sight in the whole entire world.

“I like to leave you guessing, Princess.”

Kimberly lets a chuckle slip. “Ah, that’s better. Knew you couldn't hold back for long.”

Kimberly unties the towel around Trini’s shoulders and starts to go about cleaning up.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Riiiight.”

Trini gets up from the chair and makes her way across the room towards the mirror. She takes a moment, letting her fingers trace over the design.

The lines weave their way up Trini’s neck, crisscrossing over each other to create a simplistic yet beautiful pattern.

It’s nothing short of badass and she knows it.

“So?” Kimberly comes up from behind Trini, playfully twirling one of her fingers around a loose strand of Trini's ponytail. “What do you think?”

“Not bad.” Trini shrugs with her signature cocky smirk.

“Really? That’s it? Not bad?”

“I’ve seen better.”

Kimberly shakes her head and rolls her eyes at Trini in half annoyment and half amusement. “I think the words you’re looking for is thank you.”

Trini takes one more look in the mirror, then reaches up and pulls out her ponytail, completely hiding any traces of her undercut whatsoever.

“C’mon. Can’t you leave it up? Just for a little bit?” Kimberly finishes tucking away her tools within Trini’s desk drawer.

“No can do. My mom would so lose her shit if she knew about this.” Trini settles down on the bed and pretends to dive back into where they left off in their bio textbook.

Kimberly plops herself down next to Trini and begins to run her fingers through Trini’s wavy locks.

“You should let me cut it shorter.”

“No.” Trini immediately grows tense as her internal walls skyrocket upwards. She doesn’t want to have this conversation. Not now and definitely not with Kimberly. “What part of my mom will lose her shit did you not understand?”

An uncomfortable silence seeps in between them as Trini waits for Kimberly’s response… but it doesn’t come. Not yet.

Instead, Kimberly’s eyes hone in on Trini, ever so carefully boring tiny holes within walls.

Those eyes… Trini can’t help but wonder how someone could have eyes like that. Eyes that seem to be able to penetrate one’s soul with just a single, solidarity glance.

Eyes that no matter how hard she tries, Trini can’t seem to hide from.

“But what do you want?” Kimberly finally responds with nothing more than a whisper.

Such a simple question and yet, Trini finds herself utterly tongue tied. She doesn’t even know where to start. There’s just too many ways to answer it.

Trini wants to be able to get dressed in the morning and not feel like she’s letting her mother down simply by choosing to wear a pair of baggy jeans over a skirt. She wants to be able to hold someone’s hand without feeling like she’s being judged by everyone around her. To be able to call someone her girlfriend without living in fear of the ramifications that that one word might bring…

No. Scratch that. Trini doesn’t want to call just anyone her girlfriend. She wants to call one specific person her girlfriend… but that’s just some pipe dream better left for late night “what if” thoughts.

Kimberly Hart is straight. Straighter than straight. She’s the cheerleading, popular, date the most alpha male athlete, sorta straight.  

Kimberly Hart would never be more than just a friend no matter how much Trini wishes for it.

Trini abruptly sits up and moves off of the bed, putting space between herself and Kimberly. It’s the only thing she can do in the moment in order to maintain some sort of front.  

“It doesn’t matter.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Trini zig-zags her way down the semi-crowded hallway, trying her best to blend into the background. She’s come to learn that it’s easier this way. To just keep her head down and be invisible.

If they can’t see her, then they can’t single her out.

“Hey Trini! Wait up.” Jason shouts as he emerges from amongst the crowd. He jogs over in an attempt to catch up with Trini.

Trini lets out a sigh and slows down.

So much for being invisible.

It’s not like Trini doesn’t like Jason. Well, at first, maybe just a little bit… but now, after everything they’ve been through, she can’t help but see him as the big brother she never had.

What Trini can’t stand is the way that Jason manages to call attention to things. Of course, in a brotherly, “I’m just looking out for you” sorta way, but none the less, it’s still annoying.

Even months later and Trini’s still not used to people even acknowledging her, let alone having impromptu conversations in the hallways.

“Sup,” Trini mumbles while fiddling with the straps of her backpack.

“You’re still on for this afternoon? I know you said you were, but wanted to double check.”

Trini nods in response. She shifts from foot to foot, trying her best not to look too awkward.

“Good. Zordon mentioned something the other day about sensing some sort of shift in the energy levels. Could be nothing, but figure some extra training couldn’t hurt, right?”

“Right.”

“Cool. I’m gonna--” Jason gets cut off as a freakishly large, ponytail clad boy, knocks into his shoulder. His hand immediately shoots up, rubbing the spot of contact. “Geez.”

“Yo! Watch where you’re going, asshole.” Trini shouts after the boy and then turns her attention back to Jason. “You okay?”

“Yeah. All good.”

“Who was that?”

Jason cranes his neck around, trying to get a better look, but it’s of little use. The boy has already disappeared back into the sea of students.

“Not sure. Maybe Teddy? Or Tommy? Think he’s new here.”

The bell rings, cutting through the steady chatter of the hallway. Students start to scatter, all heading to their respective classes.

“Catch ya later?” Jason flashes Trini a smile and then takes off down the hallway at a slightly exaggerated jog.

“Yeah. Later.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Gym class.

The two words that Trini has come to dread with a fiery passion in her short time at Angel Grove High. It isn’t the actual class itself she hates. Ironically-- or not so ironically depending on how it’s looked at-- she loves sports.

What Trini hates about gym class, though, is the before and after portions… specifically, the locker room portions.

“Alright, Ladies. Hurry it up. Everyone needs to be out on the bleaches in the next five.”

Trini sits on the bench, in the middle of the locker room, still fully dressed. Unlike the girls around her, she makes no attempt to change whatsoever.

“Ugh. Stop staring at me!” Amanda voice carries a bit too much over the semi-crowded room.

Trini doesn’t have to look up to know that the comment is directed at her. It’s always directed at her…

“Wasn’t starin’,” Trini mumbles while keeping her eyes fixated on the lockers in front of her. “And even if I was, it’s not like you’ve got much worth starin’ at anyways.”

A chorus of snickers erupt from those within earshot. It’s a somewhat low blow, and Trini knows it.

“Fucking dyke.”

Trini automatically straightens herself up at these words. She slowly rises from the bench, locking eyes with Amanda.

Deep, down inside, Trini knows she should just let it go. That any move she makes next, with the exception of walking away, will only lead to trouble.  

But Trini can’t just let it go…

“Say it again,” Trini growls in response. Her hands clench into fists, channeling the rage coursing through her veins.

Amanda takes a step closer, never once taking her eyes off of Trini. She isn’t planning on backing down either.

“I said, you’re a fucking dyke.”

Trini start to lunge at Amanda--

“Gomez! My office NOW,” echoes throughout the locker room, bringing everyone to a crashing halt. Busted.

A victorious smirk crawls across Amanda’s face. “Yeah Gomez. Her office.”

With that, Amanda and her lackeys make their way out of the locker room.

Trini collapses back onto the bench, runs her hands through her hair and lets out a frustrated sigh. “Fuck.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Again Alpha 5.” Trini calls out, while stretching her neck from side to side.

It has been three hours… Three hours since Trini has gotten another month of Saturday detention thanks to her little run in with Amanda.

Three hours of running the training simulation over and over again. Regardless of how many frantic “But Master Trini…” warnings Alpha 5 chirps at her.

Three hours of pummeling virtual putties again… and again… and again…

“But Master Trini, your hand--”

“AGAIN!” Trini cuts Alpha 5 off with a burst of pent up anger.  

Alpha 5 scurries out of the pit, not wanting to stick around for Trini’s full wrath.

Trini gets herself into her ready stance, itching for another round.

Trini knows that she should probably stop.

Her left hand throbs with a white hot pain that she’s come to learn over the past few months signifies that something is broken. Most likely it’s her knuckles but possibly her wrist as well. Too hard to tell at the moment…   

“What are you doing?” Jason emerges from the top of the pit.

“Bakin’ cookies.”

Jason makes his way down into the pit and approaches Trini. He instantly spots the state of her left hand and grows concerned.

“We aren’t supposed to train alone. You know that.”

“Yeah well I needed the practice,” Trini mumbles with a shrug.

“You okay?”

An awkward silence falls between the two of them as Jason patiently waits for Trini to respond.

But Trini can’t seem to find the words. Instead, she shifts from side to side, growing more and more uncomfortable in her own skin with each and every passing second.

“Holy shit, your hand!” Kimberly’s voice cuts through the silence.

Trini closes her eyes and lets out a light sigh. “Shit.”

Kimberly scrambles down into the pit and immediately makes a beeline towards Trini. She takes hold of Trini’s left hand, bringing it upwards into the light for a better view.

There’s no denying it… it’s bad.

“Trini…”

“I’m fine.” Trini attempts to free her hand from Kimberly’s grasp, but it’s of little use. Kimberly’s not letting go.

“No, you’re not. Jase, go get the medkit. Billy stashed it away in the bunk room. Next to the desk.”

“On it.”

Jason takes off, out of the pit, leaving Kimberly alone with Trini.

Kimberly leads Trini over towards a nearby pile of boulders and directs her to sit down. She squats down, taking a closer look at Trini’s mangled hand. “What happened?”

“Nuthin’” Trini manages to respond, unable to bring herself to look Kimberly in the eyes. She knows that once she does… it’s all over. Trini won’t be able to keep up her facade.

Kimberly, though, isn’t buying it. She reaches out and ever so carefully lifts Trini’s chin with her fingertips.

“Hey. Look at me.”

Trini swallows thickly and with what little courage her has left, opens her eyes.

And that’s all it takes. Trini feels the cracks start to spread across her walls. She can’t resist those rich chocolate orbs staring back at her.

“That’s better.” Kimberly smiles. “Where were you after school? I swung by at your locker after English but you never showed.”

“I bounced early.”

“Rough day?” Kimberly tucks a loose strand of hair behind Trini’s ear.

“You could say that.” Trini exhales.

“Well let’s change that, shall we?”

Kimberly reaches in and plants a tender kiss on Trini’s cheek.  

And at that very moment, Trini realizes just how utterly fucked she really is. There’s no denying it nor trying to hide from the truth any longer…

Trini is head over heels in love with Kimberly Hart.