Fic -- Rogue drabbles
I've had writer's block for a while, and forced myself to write some drabbles and ficlets in an attempt to break it. There's nothing higher than a PG rating, but some of them are a bit sad.
Rating: G to PG
Characters: Lisa Snart, Roy Bivolo, Sam Scudder, Lisa Snart/Roscoe Dillon, Len Snart, Roscoe Dillon, James Jesse.
As a child, Lisa had idolized Superman. She saw him on television, and he was everything she’d ever dreamed of: handsome, kind, and able to fly. And above all, incredibly strong. He could stand up to her father and keep her from ever being hurt again. She had fantasies of Superman breaking down her front door and rescuing her from the grim realities of her surroundings, of flying her away to his secret headquarters in the sky where nobody ever got drunk or raised fists in anger. He would always be a perfect gentleman and treat her with love and respect.
But as the years passed, Superman never came for her. And she lost her faith in heroes, who maybe weren’t so wonderful after all.
*****
Roy told himself that the jeers and laughter about his odd colour choices didn’t hurt. That years of enduring them had made him immune to any such petty mockery, and he could take pride in knowing he had more talent than any of his critics. But he was lying to himself, and somehow it hurt more when fellow misfits like the Rogues taunted him.
*****
Sam had once hated looking at himself in the mirror; he knew what everyone thought of his criminal behaviour, and didn’t like thinking about what he’d become. But then through chance he became the Mirror Master, and suddenly he liked seeing himself again. No longer was he a common thief, known just for petty thuggery, he was somebody great. Somebody worthy of respect and awe, and maybe his inventive skills and brains were even something to admire. He now looked at his reflection with pride and contentment, making up for all those years in which he’d avoided mirrors. And perhaps that was his greatest accomplishment.
*****
“Oh my gawd, that is the cutest bear!” Lisa squealed as she grabbed Roscoe’s arm. She pointed at an oversized stuffed bear hanging up at a carnival game and he sighed inwardly; he hated the noise and bustle of the whole event, and just wanted to go home. But her obvious delight was too much for him to resist, and soon it completely won him over.
“I assume you want me to win that for you?” he grinned at her, shaking his head with good-natured humour, and she nodded excitedly.
The game wasn’t difficult for him. It was obviously rigged against the player, but he had abnormally good concentration, aim, and reflexes. The carny’s jaw dropped at the man’s skill and perfect calm, and reluctantly handed over the giant bear Lisa was joyfully pointing at. She hugged it tightly and then hugged her boyfriend, utterly thrilled by her prize. She’d always wanted a huge stuffed animal.
“You’re the best!” she enthused as they walked away with the bear.
“Yes,” he agreed serenely, never having seen the point of false modesty. He enjoyed making her happy and loved her beaming smile.
“Somebody’s getting snuggles tonight,” she said with a sly little wink, which made him even gladder.
“Just promise the bear won’t be watching,” he smirked, and she gently punched his throwing arm.
*****
His first successful bank robbery was an unbelievable coup for Len: having grown up poor, he’d never seen so much money in his life. And it was all his to spend as he liked, so he went wild with it. It didn’t take long for expensive booze, hookers, and gambling to run him dry. But he’d had fun, maybe for the first time ever, so he didn’t mind that it was gone. It just meant he needed to commit more crimes to continue funding this kind of lifestyle, which was also something he didn’t mind.
What he never told the Rogues was that he’d given a portion of his haul to his sister. She was stuck at home with their abusive father and Len didn’t want her to be involved with his new life, but he also didn’t want to leave her bereft of cash. Their dad just drank away any family funds, so giving Lisa a few bucks ensured she’d be able to eat. Which she did, but what she never told Len was that she secretly spent some of it on better skates and rink time. She was looking out for her future in her own way.
*****
There was nothing Roscoe loved more than the Wiggins toy factory. It was a refuge where he felt safe and free from judgment, able to indulge his interest in tops and manufacturing. The employees never let on if they were bothered by the eager boy who visited every day after school, and they were charmed by his curiosity about their products. Nobody ever asked him about his grades or pushed him into activities he didn’t want to do, as nearly every adult in his life did. He was free to be himself and just be a child, a breath of fresh air in a life that was otherwise stifling.
As a young adult he had a bit of secret admiration for Captain Boomerang, who had gotten his start as the Wiggins mascot and spokesman. But later Roscoe held some resentment towards Digger for harming the company and leaving its image in tatters; his loyalty to those kind workers still burned fiercely.
*****
James had always liked to play dumb when his parents spoke to him in Italian, pretending he couldn’t understand it so they’d have to speak to him in English. He got a few secret chuckles from their obvious annoyance, and the trick served him well when they used Italian to discuss things they didn’t want him to understand. His language skills assisted him as an adult too, able to stealthily understand people who thought he was some stupid white-bread American, and able to pick up bits of other Romance languages more easily.
There was a part of him, however, which felt sad that he had to seemingly turn his back on his roots. And he could have held more meaningful conversations with his parents if they’d been able to talk to him in their native language. But the con was all-important, and he told himself that losing his background was part of the price of the American Dream. So why did it hurt?
Rating: G to PG
Characters: Lisa Snart, Roy Bivolo, Sam Scudder, Lisa Snart/Roscoe Dillon, Len Snart, Roscoe Dillon, James Jesse.
As a child, Lisa had idolized Superman. She saw him on television, and he was everything she’d ever dreamed of: handsome, kind, and able to fly. And above all, incredibly strong. He could stand up to her father and keep her from ever being hurt again. She had fantasies of Superman breaking down her front door and rescuing her from the grim realities of her surroundings, of flying her away to his secret headquarters in the sky where nobody ever got drunk or raised fists in anger. He would always be a perfect gentleman and treat her with love and respect.
But as the years passed, Superman never came for her. And she lost her faith in heroes, who maybe weren’t so wonderful after all.
*****
Roy told himself that the jeers and laughter about his odd colour choices didn’t hurt. That years of enduring them had made him immune to any such petty mockery, and he could take pride in knowing he had more talent than any of his critics. But he was lying to himself, and somehow it hurt more when fellow misfits like the Rogues taunted him.
*****
Sam had once hated looking at himself in the mirror; he knew what everyone thought of his criminal behaviour, and didn’t like thinking about what he’d become. But then through chance he became the Mirror Master, and suddenly he liked seeing himself again. No longer was he a common thief, known just for petty thuggery, he was somebody great. Somebody worthy of respect and awe, and maybe his inventive skills and brains were even something to admire. He now looked at his reflection with pride and contentment, making up for all those years in which he’d avoided mirrors. And perhaps that was his greatest accomplishment.
*****
“Oh my gawd, that is the cutest bear!” Lisa squealed as she grabbed Roscoe’s arm. She pointed at an oversized stuffed bear hanging up at a carnival game and he sighed inwardly; he hated the noise and bustle of the whole event, and just wanted to go home. But her obvious delight was too much for him to resist, and soon it completely won him over.
“I assume you want me to win that for you?” he grinned at her, shaking his head with good-natured humour, and she nodded excitedly.
The game wasn’t difficult for him. It was obviously rigged against the player, but he had abnormally good concentration, aim, and reflexes. The carny’s jaw dropped at the man’s skill and perfect calm, and reluctantly handed over the giant bear Lisa was joyfully pointing at. She hugged it tightly and then hugged her boyfriend, utterly thrilled by her prize. She’d always wanted a huge stuffed animal.
“You’re the best!” she enthused as they walked away with the bear.
“Yes,” he agreed serenely, never having seen the point of false modesty. He enjoyed making her happy and loved her beaming smile.
“Somebody’s getting snuggles tonight,” she said with a sly little wink, which made him even gladder.
“Just promise the bear won’t be watching,” he smirked, and she gently punched his throwing arm.
*****
His first successful bank robbery was an unbelievable coup for Len: having grown up poor, he’d never seen so much money in his life. And it was all his to spend as he liked, so he went wild with it. It didn’t take long for expensive booze, hookers, and gambling to run him dry. But he’d had fun, maybe for the first time ever, so he didn’t mind that it was gone. It just meant he needed to commit more crimes to continue funding this kind of lifestyle, which was also something he didn’t mind.
What he never told the Rogues was that he’d given a portion of his haul to his sister. She was stuck at home with their abusive father and Len didn’t want her to be involved with his new life, but he also didn’t want to leave her bereft of cash. Their dad just drank away any family funds, so giving Lisa a few bucks ensured she’d be able to eat. Which she did, but what she never told Len was that she secretly spent some of it on better skates and rink time. She was looking out for her future in her own way.
*****
There was nothing Roscoe loved more than the Wiggins toy factory. It was a refuge where he felt safe and free from judgment, able to indulge his interest in tops and manufacturing. The employees never let on if they were bothered by the eager boy who visited every day after school, and they were charmed by his curiosity about their products. Nobody ever asked him about his grades or pushed him into activities he didn’t want to do, as nearly every adult in his life did. He was free to be himself and just be a child, a breath of fresh air in a life that was otherwise stifling.
As a young adult he had a bit of secret admiration for Captain Boomerang, who had gotten his start as the Wiggins mascot and spokesman. But later Roscoe held some resentment towards Digger for harming the company and leaving its image in tatters; his loyalty to those kind workers still burned fiercely.
*****
James had always liked to play dumb when his parents spoke to him in Italian, pretending he couldn’t understand it so they’d have to speak to him in English. He got a few secret chuckles from their obvious annoyance, and the trick served him well when they used Italian to discuss things they didn’t want him to understand. His language skills assisted him as an adult too, able to stealthily understand people who thought he was some stupid white-bread American, and able to pick up bits of other Romance languages more easily.
There was a part of him, however, which felt sad that he had to seemingly turn his back on his roots. And he could have held more meaningful conversations with his parents if they’d been able to talk to him in their native language. But the con was all-important, and he told himself that losing his background was part of the price of the American Dream. So why did it hurt?