BASKETBALL FIC: Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi [Irish Angels, Devil's Dogs AU]
Title: Faithfully True
Cast: Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi, Geno Auriemma
Summary: Set in the same universe as Forecast Patterns, this takes place during Diana's time in college. It's about her transformation into a Husky and in particular gaining her wings.
Notes: Lots of info on my personal take on the Husky pack, which possibly deviates a little from the ground work thegeneral and I did on the original canon, since the Irish were more my area and she handled UConn.
Geno says "Diana's gift," but doesn't mean what she can do on the court. Everyone knew about those talents long before she came to Storrs, but her speaking ability was like a revelation. The way she can move people, using her mind and mouth as the force behind every little push toward a new direction.
Diana comes to the cold climate of Connecticut and let's her new family wash over her. She finds a home in the spaces on the court and in the lives of the people. The crowd takes her into themselves like communion and feels better for it, made whole. She makes herself known. She is radiant in their sight and present in their thoughts.
She makes places for herself and swells to fit every gap and seam. She finds her way into Sue Bird's bed and begs to be allowed to stay. Diana is so earnest, always eager, that every syllable is like supplication, a prayer whispered with a grin, but always too self-assured to fear rejection. She already knows that she's won you over, too charming and certain to resist.
Diana parts Sue's thighs with the heel of her hand, moving careful and slow like turning pages in a book. She draws wisdom outward with her tongue, the tool by which she will later spread their Word. This is who and what they are. This is a cause worth giving name to.
Though never especially devout as a child, Diana possesses a perfect temperment to be a true believer. She is the fruit of their power and their sacrifice. She gives shape and form to every utterance, and does it all with a simple and accepting smile. Some people speak in tongues, but Diana's gospel is her movement. She prowls the court as a predator in search of fresh meat. She toys with her kill before striking, showing her teeth.
She acts as if propelled by something greater, deeper, graceful though she sometimes stumbles. There is a lightness to her heavy frame, moving as thought lifted up on wings so steady and sure they can almost be seen by even those who have not been touched.
Because of course, she does have wings. All of them do.
To become a Husky, truly become one of the pack, is to be born again with new eyes. It is baptism and it is bleeding. It is beautiful. Their feet pound the court in steady rhythm and their wings beat the dense air, stirring wind through their hair and shivers down their back.
The first time Diana opens blood flecked eyes to see her sisters as they really are, her mouth hangs open, speechless.
"No smartass remark? Nothing?" Even with no wings of his own, Geno's attitude takes up enough space that he seems right at home standing amongst his pack, flanked on either side by feathers struck at attention like spearheads. "If I'd known this is all it took to shut you up, Dee, I'd have done you early."
Everything is different. They are different, all of them, but so is the world.
When Diana stands, her weight has changed, thrown off balance. There is a change to her shape and the way she has to move. Her feet drag and she shuffles, still blinking without a word.
They are so beautiful, all of them so beautiful and terrible like something from a nightmare. She holds her hand out, wanting to touch with the same simple impulse that makes children reach for a flame. They are so much like children now, newly awkward limbs and added sensation. Diana's touch is much too harsh, her grip too firm, and Sue pulls away sharply with an intake of air.
Sue's eyes are open and starkly white in contrast with the flowing trail of inky black arching away from her shoulders. The wings move and emote as clearly as any other part of their frame, lifting curiously like arching eyebrows. This is a sign to indicate concern, caution, and where the old Diana, the past and simple mortal self, might often choose to ignore such clear indicators on the face of another, now she knows to pay attention. She is still.
*
Later she will learn. These wings are more than feathers and bone. They are a part of what resides inside of the individual, transfigured and transformed. They are nerves exposed and on display. To touch another's wings is to place a hand on something deep inside of them, feeling it pulse at the tips of her fingers.
Alone together, Diana touches Sue's wings along the ridge where muscle fuses with bone and the whole room seems to stir with the way Sue's feathers fan the air.
They both stretch. They inhale. Diana presses her mouth to the curve there, feeling the almost oily texture of down and that heady smell that pushes out a groan. It starts in Diana's mouth, warm air straight to the core of Sue, and leaves across Sue's lips.
With her face half-obscured against Sue's feathers, this is the only place where Diana knows the meaning of this thing called shame; but it still isn't enough to stop her from opening her mouth to slowly lick and shudder.
*
Diana is easily distracted but capable of an especially singular concentration when guided properly. Pain is sharp. Like a lens, it pulls many things into focus.
Some people need it to be brought out of their own head, but for Diana it's something else. The ache brings her back to herself. She hears Geno's words. She really hears him, kneeling and reciting with the cool tile of his office floor tingling in each vibrating step he takes as he paces.
She doesn't speak of this to anyone. They wouldn't understand. Diana knows because she has seen the look that passes over Sue's face sometimes -- even Sue, who has been tasked with her care. Every Husky pup upon transformation is given over to an elder, someone to guide and nurture them. It's Sue's bed Diana comes to and at Sue's feet Diana kneels.
She turns to Sue for understanding, to find comfort.
Sue works her fingers through Diana's hair, all the way down to where it prickles the base of her neck. "You don't have to be a hero," she whispers, mouth so warm it makes Diana's shoulders ache. "You're not the only one out there."
Even Sue, who doesn't understand and sometimes looks afraid when Diana says words like "purpose" or "blame." Even Sue cannot know the full truth and scope of things to come.
Diana has come to accept there are ways in which she will never be like her sisters. Sue has said -- when she thought Diana was off and out of hearing -- that she has seen Diana slowly turning into a zealot. She whispers it and tries to laugh, as if afraid of being overhead. Maybe even afraid of being heard by her.
She needn't worry. Of course Diana has to look the word up first using google, but the label doesn't shame her once she does. If anything, she feels pleased. Sue sees her, really sees her -- not only for what she is now, but what she is becoming.
Most of them are satisfied taking life one game at a time, but Geno teaches her to see the big picture, full scale living color and panoramic view.
It is Diana's mission, her calling, to be as big and vibrant as a sunset. She is their ambassador to the world. The feelings that swell inside them whenever they see or touch each other's wings, she is meant to translate into movement. The others must be made to see, to follow and understand. If not understand, then at least they must accept.
He tells Diana that this is war and that she will be a general. He says that it is her duty to lead these girls, and that souls are on the line. Geno says words like "eternal damnation" and bounces the ball in time with his voice and footsteps. She listens closely to every word.
In as much as any of it matters, she knows that they're the good guys. Keep your friends alive and the world intact. What more could you want from a hero? It's a heavy burden, much heavier than just the wings alone, but Diana never falters, never doubts.
She is and always has been on the winning team, and this will be no different.
Cast: Sue Bird/Diana Taurasi, Geno Auriemma
Summary: Set in the same universe as Forecast Patterns, this takes place during Diana's time in college. It's about her transformation into a Husky and in particular gaining her wings.
Notes: Lots of info on my personal take on the Husky pack, which possibly deviates a little from the ground work thegeneral and I did on the original canon, since the Irish were more my area and she handled UConn.
Geno says "Diana's gift," but doesn't mean what she can do on the court. Everyone knew about those talents long before she came to Storrs, but her speaking ability was like a revelation. The way she can move people, using her mind and mouth as the force behind every little push toward a new direction.
Diana comes to the cold climate of Connecticut and let's her new family wash over her. She finds a home in the spaces on the court and in the lives of the people. The crowd takes her into themselves like communion and feels better for it, made whole. She makes herself known. She is radiant in their sight and present in their thoughts.
She makes places for herself and swells to fit every gap and seam. She finds her way into Sue Bird's bed and begs to be allowed to stay. Diana is so earnest, always eager, that every syllable is like supplication, a prayer whispered with a grin, but always too self-assured to fear rejection. She already knows that she's won you over, too charming and certain to resist.
Diana parts Sue's thighs with the heel of her hand, moving careful and slow like turning pages in a book. She draws wisdom outward with her tongue, the tool by which she will later spread their Word. This is who and what they are. This is a cause worth giving name to.
Though never especially devout as a child, Diana possesses a perfect temperment to be a true believer. She is the fruit of their power and their sacrifice. She gives shape and form to every utterance, and does it all with a simple and accepting smile. Some people speak in tongues, but Diana's gospel is her movement. She prowls the court as a predator in search of fresh meat. She toys with her kill before striking, showing her teeth.
She acts as if propelled by something greater, deeper, graceful though she sometimes stumbles. There is a lightness to her heavy frame, moving as thought lifted up on wings so steady and sure they can almost be seen by even those who have not been touched.
Because of course, she does have wings. All of them do.
To become a Husky, truly become one of the pack, is to be born again with new eyes. It is baptism and it is bleeding. It is beautiful. Their feet pound the court in steady rhythm and their wings beat the dense air, stirring wind through their hair and shivers down their back.
The first time Diana opens blood flecked eyes to see her sisters as they really are, her mouth hangs open, speechless.
"No smartass remark? Nothing?" Even with no wings of his own, Geno's attitude takes up enough space that he seems right at home standing amongst his pack, flanked on either side by feathers struck at attention like spearheads. "If I'd known this is all it took to shut you up, Dee, I'd have done you early."
Everything is different. They are different, all of them, but so is the world.
When Diana stands, her weight has changed, thrown off balance. There is a change to her shape and the way she has to move. Her feet drag and she shuffles, still blinking without a word.
They are so beautiful, all of them so beautiful and terrible like something from a nightmare. She holds her hand out, wanting to touch with the same simple impulse that makes children reach for a flame. They are so much like children now, newly awkward limbs and added sensation. Diana's touch is much too harsh, her grip too firm, and Sue pulls away sharply with an intake of air.
Sue's eyes are open and starkly white in contrast with the flowing trail of inky black arching away from her shoulders. The wings move and emote as clearly as any other part of their frame, lifting curiously like arching eyebrows. This is a sign to indicate concern, caution, and where the old Diana, the past and simple mortal self, might often choose to ignore such clear indicators on the face of another, now she knows to pay attention. She is still.
*
Later she will learn. These wings are more than feathers and bone. They are a part of what resides inside of the individual, transfigured and transformed. They are nerves exposed and on display. To touch another's wings is to place a hand on something deep inside of them, feeling it pulse at the tips of her fingers.
Alone together, Diana touches Sue's wings along the ridge where muscle fuses with bone and the whole room seems to stir with the way Sue's feathers fan the air.
They both stretch. They inhale. Diana presses her mouth to the curve there, feeling the almost oily texture of down and that heady smell that pushes out a groan. It starts in Diana's mouth, warm air straight to the core of Sue, and leaves across Sue's lips.
With her face half-obscured against Sue's feathers, this is the only place where Diana knows the meaning of this thing called shame; but it still isn't enough to stop her from opening her mouth to slowly lick and shudder.
*
Diana is easily distracted but capable of an especially singular concentration when guided properly. Pain is sharp. Like a lens, it pulls many things into focus.
Some people need it to be brought out of their own head, but for Diana it's something else. The ache brings her back to herself. She hears Geno's words. She really hears him, kneeling and reciting with the cool tile of his office floor tingling in each vibrating step he takes as he paces.
She doesn't speak of this to anyone. They wouldn't understand. Diana knows because she has seen the look that passes over Sue's face sometimes -- even Sue, who has been tasked with her care. Every Husky pup upon transformation is given over to an elder, someone to guide and nurture them. It's Sue's bed Diana comes to and at Sue's feet Diana kneels.
She turns to Sue for understanding, to find comfort.
Sue works her fingers through Diana's hair, all the way down to where it prickles the base of her neck. "You don't have to be a hero," she whispers, mouth so warm it makes Diana's shoulders ache. "You're not the only one out there."
Even Sue, who doesn't understand and sometimes looks afraid when Diana says words like "purpose" or "blame." Even Sue cannot know the full truth and scope of things to come.
Diana has come to accept there are ways in which she will never be like her sisters. Sue has said -- when she thought Diana was off and out of hearing -- that she has seen Diana slowly turning into a zealot. She whispers it and tries to laugh, as if afraid of being overhead. Maybe even afraid of being heard by her.
She needn't worry. Of course Diana has to look the word up first using google, but the label doesn't shame her once she does. If anything, she feels pleased. Sue sees her, really sees her -- not only for what she is now, but what she is becoming.
Most of them are satisfied taking life one game at a time, but Geno teaches her to see the big picture, full scale living color and panoramic view.
It is Diana's mission, her calling, to be as big and vibrant as a sunset. She is their ambassador to the world. The feelings that swell inside them whenever they see or touch each other's wings, she is meant to translate into movement. The others must be made to see, to follow and understand. If not understand, then at least they must accept.
He tells Diana that this is war and that she will be a general. He says that it is her duty to lead these girls, and that souls are on the line. Geno says words like "eternal damnation" and bounces the ball in time with his voice and footsteps. She listens closely to every word.
In as much as any of it matters, she knows that they're the good guys. Keep your friends alive and the world intact. What more could you want from a hero? It's a heavy burden, much heavier than just the wings alone, but Diana never falters, never doubts.
She is and always has been on the winning team, and this will be no different.