#but in the end I went with the four I chose - I’m particularly tied to the dark type for him

[turtleblogatlast]

Okay back on my Pokémon thoughts- forget the teams for a second that stuff takes longer than expected to narrow down.

Been thinking what types the boys would be and I think I’ve narrowed them down to a select few for each of them.

For Mikey, I’m thinking Electric, Fire, and Fairy. Electric because he just has so much energy, and I feel like his razzmatazz is akin to how Electric types typically are + Electric types are very chaotic and Mikey is also Very Chaotic. For Fire, well I feel like that one is self explanatory with not only how his first weapon operated but also how his ninpo works in general + how he’s generally a very warm-hearted boy. For Fairy, I tend to associate Fairy types with magic, and considering how Mikey is the most tied with mystics, I think this goes well with him + he’s a smol guy. I’m leaning Fire/Fairy though.

For Donnie, I’m thinking Electric, Steel, and Psychic. Electric because TECHNOLOGY. Steel because TECHNOLOGY. Psychic because of how his ninpo works primarily revolving around TECHNOLOGY. Okay but to be more in depth- like I mentioned with Mikey, Electric is a chaotic type and I think Donnie aligns with chaos a lot. For Steel, yes because of technology, but also because of how Donnie tries to portray himself as “emotionally unavailable” so the defenses he puts up in that regard are very Steel like. For Psychic, let’s be real that’s the “smart” type for the most part (plus it’s purple). Donnie could be any combo of these to be honest but I’m leaning Steel/Electric.

For Leo, I’m thinking Steel, Dragon, Dark, and Water. Steel because of his swords (and like I said with Donnie, the defenses that Leo puts up to mask his feelings and true self.) Dragon because I find that to be a big “leader-ly” type, and him having that type works well with his eventual position as team leader. Dark because let’s be real, he is a schemer, and Dark types in general tend to be very scheme-y and misunderstood. Water because he’s a lackadaisical character who goes with the flow a lot of the time, even against his better judgment. This boy makes it a mission to be hard to figure out, so I genuinely have no idea what he’d be. EDIT: I have been successfully convinced to lean Water/Dark for Leo! EDIT 2: HMM maybe flying and ghost now as potentials???? Why is Leo so hard to figure out.😭 EDIT 3: I cannot believe I’m saying this but I’m actually leaning hardest to Dark/Ghost now. Dark is all but confirmed in my mind but Ghost is very quickly making itself make sense here ironically.

For Raph, I’m thinking Fighting, Fire, Ground, and Dragon. Fighting because he LOVES fighting, he’s good at it, and he’s the one who strives to get the actual moves down most + this goes with his protective personality. Fire because he DOES have a temper to him, however much he wants to keep it pushed down, but also he, like Mikey, is a very warm-hearted boy. Ground because he’s the tank!! And he’s solid in his strength and his duty. Dragon because he’s the eldest, the one the boys look to for strength, the one who was the initial leader and-! He looks the most like a dragon lol. Like Leo, it’s kinda hard to have a favorite combo for Raph, but I think I’m leaning Fighting/Dragon. EDIT: I have been convinced that Fighting is a definite for Raph but Ground may work better for his secondary!

This was a lot harder to think of than I thought haha. Please if you have any ideas let me know (especially since I’m not totally convinced or tied to anything in particular quite yet)! While it’s hard to pin down perfect typings, it’s also very fun.

#rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt headcanons #almost gave Leo ghost type bc well he aLMOST BECAME ONE LOL #plus it’d have been hilarious to have a ghost type Leo say ghosts aren’t real lmao #but in the end I went with the four I chose - I’m particularly tied to the dark type for him #it was an unexpected addition but oddly enough I think it works better than I thought #Donnie was probably the easiest to think about I mean let’s be real what else could he have been other than the three I chose #Mikey was fairly easy too but I did almost give him fighting as well since he’s so bouncy #Raph - like Leo - was pretty hard to narrow down since he could be good in multiple #I just knew he was at LEAST fighting

[bubblegumbeech]

Homemade

Day 2 Dannymay: Home

Clockwork made cookies, they were a special blend he’d invented through countless trial and error to get just right. For a ghost, they'd have enough concentrated ectoplasm to provide energy and enough positive emotion to make them enjoyable, and for a human child, he focused on getting the right flavors and physical ingredients to make them actually edible.

 He set the plate down in front of Danny. The young half-ghost had been working really hard at his homework lately and Clockwork wanted to do something small to reward him for it.

 “Are- did you make cookies?” Danny asked, looking up at him in confusion.

 Clockwork smiled and gently ruffled his hair. “Will you tell me how they taste?”

 Most ghosts lost the ability to taste early on, along with their sense of smell. Clockwork never had either though, only had glimpses into different futures with different recipes and Danny’s own reactions to them.

 “Please tell me this isn’t the first time you’ve made cookies…” Danny made a face, uncertain.

 Clockwork rolled his eyes and grabbed the plate again, “you don’t have to eat them-“

 “I’ll eat them!” Danny grabbed the plate from Clockwork’s hands, a splash of green decorating his cheeks and forming a stark contrast against his starlit freckles.

 Braced as if for impact, Danny quickly shoved one of the still warm cookies into his mouth and began to chew. Slowly his features softened into enjoyment and Clockwork got to watch as he grabbed another and then another until the entire plate was clean.

 He was glowing slightly, the oven-baked ectoplasm doing wonders for his energy levels. Existing so long on ambient ectoplasm alone wouldn’t have been nearly enough for a young ghost like Danny, so it was nice to see him properly fed for once.

 “Clockwork, these are amazing! How did you make them?” Danny asked, his eyes shining slightly.

 “That’s a secret,” Clockwork lied. He didn’t want to admit it took him over a thousand tries to actually make something edible to a human pallet, and he had enough of a mysterious air about him that he’d get away with it.

 Danny didn’t seem to mind though, he just grabbed the plate and flew over to the kitchen so he could wash it. “Okay, what do I have to bribe you with to get those again?”

 Clockwork’s core hummed in satisfaction, it was almost a primal instinct to care for one’s child and it was always nice to be appreciated. “Finished homework would be a nice start.”

 Danny scoffed, a small smile on his face. “I think you need to lower your standards. I mean, I’m passing history now right?” The single dish was cleaned, dried, and put away in less than a moment.

 “Thank you Daniel,” Clockwork said. Danny didn’t get nearly enough appreciation from those around him, it never hurt to give him a little when he could.

 A light green blush built on Danny’s cheeks and he looked away in an attempt to hide his reaction. “Yeah well, you make cookies like that again and I’ll clean your whole clock tower.”

 Clockwork smirked, lifting an eyebrow. “The infinite spirals of my clock tower and the unending trails of time that exist ever moving inside of it would certainly appreciate a touch up.”

 Danny balked, “uh… maybe I can do a room at a time?”

 “You don’t have to clean anything for cookies Daniel. I’d rather you eat than not.”

 Relieved, Danny rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. “Thanks Clockwork.” He sighed and dropped his hand, looking over at the window to the realms outside. “Ugh, I don’t wanna go to school tomorrow.”

 There wasn’t much to say, so Clockwork didn’t. He didn’t particularly care about Danny’s academics or whether or not he succeeded in school, but he knew intimately how much it mattered to Danny. It was tied to his two obsessions after all.

   He had to go to school so he could both make his family happy and be there to protect the other students, he had to succeed if he ever wanted to fulfill his dreams of working at NASA, the human space program. At the thought of absolute failure he would stress, shut down, and grow apart from those close to him. It would put strain on his obsessions and could lead to internal core damage. It was better for now, that Clockwork simply gave him time and the chance to try and keep up.

 “You’re always welcome to visit if you need more time,” he offered.

 “I know. I’ve uh, still got homework to finish…”

 “By all means.” Clockwork followed Danny out of the kitchen and watched as he sat back down to finish his homework, content with the healthy glow the cookies gave Danny.

 He turned back to his own work and watched for anything that didn’t fit or was causing trouble, but his mind was on the next recipe he wanted to try.

       The next recipe ended up being a casserole.

 Cliche to be sure, but decidedly more filling and sufficient than just a plate of cookies, and this time when Clockwork set it down in front of his young ward he was met with more enthusiasm than suspicion. Despite the bright pink color and the more… mobile parts of the dish. It was difficult to make something that met all the necessary requirements to properly nourish a halfa      and     have it look appealing so Clockwork had hardly tried.

 Danny dug in.

 “This is the most amazing casserole I’ve ever had in my life and that includes any and all ecto-contaminated food I’ve ever snuck out of the fridge without my parents noticing how did you do that?” Danny asked, shoveling another forkful into his mouth.

 Clockwork purred at the praise, and was glad to see Danny’s glow get even brighter. It was so pale before, barely even there in a way it never should have been with Danny’s obsession and power. “I suppose the difference would be that I was doing it intentionally.”

 Danny nodded. “Makes sense.” He took a moment to pause from devouring his food to look up over at Clockwork sitting across the table from him. “Are you going to eat anything?”

 How thoughtful. He should have probably prepared for that but, well. “I’m afraid trying to eat something with that much physical matter from the human world would go poorly for me. If you’re uncomfortable I can make some tea?”

 “Oh,” Danny looked at his half finished meal, realizing something and unable to react properly to it. “Yeah, tea sounds nice, can I have some too?”

 “Of course,” Clockwork agreed easily. He would be using a delicate mixture of herbs and spices from different parts of the infinite realms that Sojourn liked to gift him whenever he bothered to visit. None of them should have any adverse effects on the boy, and if he chose the right mixture, it might actually help him to calm down slightly.

 By the time the tea was finished and cooled enough to drink, Danny had finished his meal and cleaned up so that the two could sit and enjoy their tea together.

 Danny spent a moment too long staring into his cup, the swirling neon blue of the forgoent leaves—a small blue plant native to some of the darker forest realms, similar to the mortal realm’s forget-me-nots. Clockwork didn’t know what he was thinking, couldn’t see a timeline where he actually spoke his thoughts out loud. He sighed and took a drink of his own cup, the tea’s soothing blend serving to take off the slight edge of his anxiety. It was difficult caring for a child, even with his power.

 “Thanks for the tea Clockwork,” Danny said, “and uh, the casserole too.”

 His voice was quiet, but sincere and Clockwork accepted his thanks with a small nod of his head. The rest of the evening went on like that, mostly silent but not unpleasant in each other's company. When Danny left to go back to the mortal realm he paused at the clock tower’s door and quickly turned back to Clockwork, pulling him into a quick, tight hug that had him almost freezing time instinctually before Danny pulled away and quickly flew off.

 Clockwork stayed there, floating in the entryway to his lair and felt his core practically screaming at him in delight.

 He needed a way to distract himself, maybe he could start working on another recipe?

     Pie was unnecessarily difficult, Clockwork decided, despite its place as the most popular fairy-tale dish ever mentioned. He’d made no less than three thousand six hundred and four different variations of the damned recipe and not a single one had even stayed together, much less been even remotely edible.

 He sighed. At this rate, even freezing time wouldn’t help him accomplish this before Danny arrived. He was admittedly impatient for an immortal entity with all of time under his control, and he wanted to actually be able to spend time with his ward rather than an eternity trying, and failing, to bake something.

 Which is exactly how Danny had caught him taking a failed experiment out of the oven, having arrived while Clockwork was distracted.

 “Is that a pie?” he asked, excitedly reaching for it.

 Clockwork quickly held it out of the young halfa’s reach, unwilling to allow him near his utter failure.

 Danny blinked, his face drooping into an exaggerated pout, “I can’t have some?” Clockwork felt his core ache a little. Maybe he should have stopped time until he got it right?

 “It’s not fit for consumption at the moment,” he said, carefully floating it out of reach and towards the end of the counter. He didn’t have anything resembling a human trash can, it was uncomfortable to keep waste in one’s lair afterall, so he’d have to leave it on the counter for now. He could dispose of it properly later, maybe as fertilizer for his garden.

 “Oh don’t be like that,” Danny said, floating around Clockwork and completely ignoring his very valid warning. “I’m sure it’s fine, everything else you’ve made has been delicious.”

 Well yes, everything else he’d made had been very much intended to be delicious. This one was a failure. However, Clockwork wasn’t going to admit to the amount of effort that had gone into each and every piece of food he’d made for his young ward. It would be uncomfortable at best for Danny and horridly embarrassing for Clockwork.

 “I’ll make another one for next time, please-” Clockwork didn’t even finish his sentence before Danny was grabbing a piece of the crust and shoving it into his mouth. “Daniel!”

 Danny smiled. “Yeah okay not your best work, but it’s edible for sure.” He grabbed another piece and ate that as well and Clockwork didn’t really know what to do. On one hand, he was right: it was certainly edible, there would be no adverse effects caused by Danny eating the food, and it would be just as nourishing as the other meals Clockwork provided. But on the other hand, it could not have tasted pleasant. All of the futures where he tried serving this to Danny as normal were met with disappointment at best.

 So why was he content to eat it like this?

 “I knew you couldn’t be perfect,” Danny snickered. He grabbed a fork and a plate from their places in the kitchen and then floated over to the table, pie-adjacent pastry in hand. “Are you gonna make tea again?”

 “Yes,” Clockwork answered, glaring at the pie. The horrid pie that Danny was eating because not every single meal needed to be perfect and Clockwork, as always, had been over-complicating everything.

 The atmosphere at the table was soft and comfortable. It was certainly something Clockwork was unused to, enjoying company for company’s sake. And to think they wouldn’t be here as they were, had Clockwork succeeded fully with his task. It brings up a question, actually thousands of different, related, questions, about failure and success and the weight of either.

 Danny smiled at him from over the half eaten pie. Clockwork smiled back.

 An alarm went off and Danny shoved one last bite into his mouth before flying off towards the main room of the clocktower. “Shoot, I forgot I promised Jazz to let her help with my english homework.”

 There was a flurry of papers while Danny tried to gather all of his things. Pencils shoved precariously into his bag and folders of half finished homework assignments quickly followed. The half finished pie on the kitchen table was completely ignored, as it should have been to start with.

 “You seem to be in a rush,” Clockwork said, watching amusedly. Either Danny had forgotten Clockwork’s particular powerset in his haste, or he hadn’t thought to ask for a medallion. Either way Clockwork found it too amusing to offer his aide unless Danny thought to ask.

 “Yeah, yeah,” Danny tried to say over the strap of the backpack he held in his mouth in lieu of his busy hands. “I’ll be back home s-”

 Danny blushed and stuttered out something awkward and intended to drag attention away from the slip of his tongue. But Clockwork just smiled, watching the boy finally gather his things and quickly make his exit promising to come back tomorrow for dinner.

 Wasn’t there a human saying about home and food?

#dannymay2021 #Danny phantom #Clockwork #Lost time #danny fenton #Bee's writing

[make-me-imagine]

Daffodils: New Beginnings

Valentines Special: Day Eight

Day One: Morning Glories  //  Day Two: Blue Salvias Day Three: Sunflowers  //  Day Four: Pink Camellias Day Five: Yellow Tulips   //  Day Six: Violets Day Seven: Lisianthus - Day Nine: Red Roses (link to post with all endings listed)

Plot: The reader keeps receiving flowers and sweet messages every day from an anonymous source leading up to Valentines Day. But who is sending them?

Choose your own character ending (coming on Valentines Day).

Gender!Neutral Reader x ???

Triggers: Brief mention of fighting        Words: 1,569

Marvel Taglist: @aquariuslavenderhoney​​​, @thebookbakery​​​, @groovyfluxie​​ Requested Taglist: @spuffyfan394​​​, @gaitwae​​​, @fablesrose​​​, @kitkatd7​​​, @thefallenbibliophilequote​​​, @beksib​​​, @destynelseclipsa​​​, @criminaly-supernatural​​​, @tammythompson-singslikea-muppet, @belloangelus​​​, @snarky--starky​​​, @saintbootlegloras​​​, @wecallhimbrowneyess​​​, @empath-bunny​​​, @okkulta​​​, @katinthemoon,  @ravennight41​​​, @youcancallme-rae , @radhumandragonclam, @unfortunateidiotinadilemma, @past3l-w1ngs​​​  , @anonymous-pls-dont-click​​​ , @username23345​​​, @hulkswitch​​​, @theofficialzivadavid​​​, @lainphotography​​​, @fred-deeks-ben​​​, @normanijauregui​​​, @goinggoinggonzo​​, @mxxnmocha​​, @euphouriaszn2​​, @trikruismybitch​, 

February 13th

"You sure you’re alright?” Wanda asked as she watched your rub your shoulder. 

“I’m good, just a little sore.” you said reassuringly. 

You had been called out on a mission with Steve, Wanda, and Natasha to check out a possible hit on a SHIELD office. You managed to catch the assault team before they made it into the building, but a fight broke out. When you were fighting one of the men, he pulled you down a short flight of stairs, you banged your shoulder pretty bad, but it seemed to be alright now. 

You were riding back to the tower now, sitting in the back seat with Wanda.

“You should get your shoulder checked out when we get back, just in case.” Steve said, looking at your through the drivers mirror. 

“Is that an order Captain?” you asked with sarcasm as you leaned forward, talking to Steve over the seat. 

You could see him smirk at your question as he peaked back at you “If it has to be, then yes.” 

You smiled in amusement as you sat back in your seat “Yes sir” you said, saluting, making Wanda chuckle and Natasha and Steve smirk at your response. 

Doing just as he said, you had your shoulder scanned in the medical wing once you returned. But finding no real damage you went back to work. Entering into the large main room, you staggered back as a man carrying a large box passed by you when you came through the doors. Looking around you saw a bunch of people walking around. It took you a moment before you remembered that they were the people hired to set up the Valentines party.

This room was going to be the main room for the party, tables set up for the dinner and a stage in the front for the entertainment. Seeing through the large doors to your left, you figured that would be where the dancing would take place. 

Looking around, you could tell the color scheme was going to be gold and red, classy, but a bit gaudy in some areas. You saw Tony walk through nearby doors, explaining something to one of the decorators, turning, he spotted you. Leaving the decorator with a last instruction he walked over to you. 

“So, what do you think so far?” he asked as he stood next to you, motioning to the room. 

“No chocolate fountain?” you asked with sarcasm. 

You saw his eyes light up as he snapped his finger “A chocolate fountain!” Turning to one of the nearby people, he got their attention “Any chance of getting a chocolate fountain?” 

You rolled your eyes “Tony, that’s too much!”

“No no, it’s a good idea” he said to you before looking back to the other person who began writing something down “And get some skewers, fruit and marshmallows, it can be like a giant fondue station.” 

“That doesn’t sound very sanitary” you said with a frown.

He hesitated for a moment “No, it’ll be fine, we’ll put up a sign, no double dipping” You shook your head with a laugh as he turned fully towards you “So, how’d your little mission go?”

“Fine, we stopped the assault, arrested all of the members, Nat and Clint will be questioning them.” 

Tony opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as someone called him from across the room “Go ahead, I’ve got to get back to work anyway” you said as you parted ways. Leaving the room you felt anxious again thinking about the party and what would happen. Trying to shake away the anxiety, you got back to work. 

- - -

You managed to distract yourself by working the rest of the day, and now you were sitting at the kitchen bar in the public part of the tower. Public meaning it could be accessed by all of the Avengers. 

“Hey” Wanda greeted as she wandered in “What are you doing in here?” 

You smiled at her and lifted your hand in greeting “Just finished work, I’m waiting for the rest of the party planners and decorators to leave for the day, they are constantly using the elevators and stairs, filling them with people and stuff.” you chuckled. 

She sat down next to you “Yeah, I couldn’t even get to the elevator in the first place” she chuckled “How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s good, no pain anymore.” you responded “So, are you looking forward to Tony’s party?” you asked her. 

She shrugged “Not particularly. I’m not one for crowded parties.”

“Me neither, but Tony will never get over it if I don’t show up, you too probably.”

“Oh yes I know, he told me so himself” you both chuckled. 

"Tony and his parties.” you commented just as the doors opened. Clint, Steve and Natasha walking in. 

“Ah, there you two are. “ Clint said as they made there way over to you. Clint and Steve sat at the bar with you and Wanda as Nat moved behind the bar. 

You sat and talked with the others for a while, about today’s planned attack, about who they were hired by, and then about Tony’s party. You started to feel the now familiar anxiety rise in your chest. Making yourself yawn, you feigned drowsiness before rising “Alright, I need to get some sleep.” you said, knowing that, though you were tired, you might not be able to sleep anyways. 

“Goodnight” Wanda, Nat and Steve said as you began to leave.

“Hey” Clint said.

Turning back to him you rose your brow. “Did you get any flowers from your secret admirer today?” he asked with a smirk.

“Ooh, yeah I almost forgot about that” she smirked as she looked at you. Wanda and Steve turned to look at your as well. 

“Uhh, no, but I haven’t been back to my room since lunch, soo”

“Soo, maybe there will be something now?” Nat said with a smile. 

Saying nothing you just smiled, cocked your head and then spun around, leaving in silence. Hearing chuckling from the others behind you as you left. You had actually successfully been distracted to the point where you forgot about the flowers. 

Luckily all of the decorators and planners had been long gone, so you could make your way to your room easily. As you stopped at your floor, you braced yourself for what would be on the other side, feeling a sense of familiar excitement. 

As the doors slid open, your eyes were already trained on your door. And placed at the bottom, was a tall bouquet of pale yellow daffodils tied together with white silky ribbon, a note dangling from the side. 

Quickly making your way to your door, you unlocked it before picking up the bouquet and going inside. This was the last bouquet you would get before learning who was behind all of this tomorrow. Your heart seemed to be hammering in your chest as you stared at the note.

You were almost afraid to read it. You hesitated before setting it down and going to the bathroom. Getting ready for bed, you grabbed the flowers and put them into a vase, a new one you bought at the store. Sitting on your bed, you fiddled with the note in your hand. Slowly opening it, you psyched yourself up a bit before you began to read the note. 

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ Daffodils

Daffodils mean “New Beginnings”. I chose these because tomorrow will be the start of a new beginning for the two of us. No matter what happens. I, of course have my own wishes of how tomorrow will go, and I am sure you do as well. Perhaps you have your own desires of who I am, and I hope that I do not disappoint you when you find out who I am.

I have so much more I want to write, but cannot seem to put it properly into words. I’m sure we are both nervous about tomorrow, but I do truly feel as though we are meant to be. And though I cannot see the future, I know tomorrow will be the start of something new, and I can only hope that it will be great. ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Reading over the note a few times you lied back on your bed as you stared up at the ceiling. You had stopped trying to figure out who it could be. Knowing that they were careful enough not to let anything seem obvious. And if you had been talking to them one on one, or when everyone would be talking about the flowers, they were careful enough not to say anything that would make them seem suspicious. 

For a moment, you debated not going to the party at all. And chickening out instead. But you only entertained the thought for a moment before you felt guilt for even thinking it. They did not deserve that. No matter how afraid you might be about what might happen tomorrow, they didn’t deserve to be stood up, especially not after everything they have said and done. But then again, what if they stand you up? What if they change their mind, and you never find out who they are?

You closed your eyes, your thoughts running rapid through every possibility of what could happen tomorrow. Eventually, without really realizing it, you had drifted off to sleep.

xx xx xx xx xx

Sooo, tomorrow is the day!

I will be releasing every ending throughout Valentines Day (10 in total); starting around 5am MST. Let me know if you want to be tagged in any specific endings.

The endings will be: Bucky, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Loki, Clint, Natasha, Vision and Wanda. 

#valentines special #marvel #avengers #avengers x reader #avengers reader insert #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #tony stark x reader #bruce banner x reader #thor x reader #loki x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #clint barton x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #vision x reader #bucky barnes #steve rogers #tony stark #bruce banner #thor #loki #natasha romanoff #clint barton #wanda maximoff #vision #oneshot #one shot #valentines series #series

[pynkhues]

Why does Dean plead guilty? Is it bc of Phoebe? Is it because he wants to protect Beth? Is it because he wants to take the credit? Does it have to do with his male-ness? Have you already explored this topic? #questions

That’s such a good question, anon! It makes for a really interesting (and I actually think in-character) beat for Dean, and I think you’re right in the sense that it’s partially about protecting Beth and partially having to do with his male-ness, but I think there’s also something more fundamental at play.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how this show explores image, perception and projection, and how frequently those things are at the root of Beth and Dean’s arcs, both together and apart. These themes do of course feed into other character storylines (Annie at Ben’s school charity auction in 4.02 being one of the clearest examples of this – that was entirely about projecting an image to Ben’s peers and trying to change the way she would be perceived), but I don’t think it roots as deeply as it does in Beth and Dean, in no small part because Beth and Dean’s biggest audience is themselves.

So! Let’s break that down and talk about how that feeds into Dean pleading guilty.

Rose Coloured Boy (Rose Coloured Girl): nostalgia as the face of love

One of the things that’s always fascinating to me about Beth and Dean’s relationship is how often the show roots it in the past. One of the very first moments of Dean acting regretful over his cheating way back in 1.02 is through talking about the ‘fun stuff [he and Beth] did in the back seat in highschool’. That sense of the history of their romance is further emphasised in imagery of their past – Beth and Dean’s wedding photo is revisited frequently in season 1 while their anniversary is a key moment of the finale, Dean reminisces over screenshots of the kids as babies in season 2, and they even talk sweetly about anniversary dates, and their first apartment together after signing their divorce papers in 2.13.

This paints a picture of a tender history. One of young love and years of happiness and kindness, only it’s a history that the show has regularly, deliberately undermined.

All those beautiful pictures Dean’s looking at of his young family together and happy? Well, 2.05 confirmed that Beth was pregnant while he was having one of his affairs, so which of those photos are truly happy, and which were taken while Dean was betraying her? Similarly, they talk and joke about Valentine’s Day three years ago at the end of 3.08, but if he wasn’t having an affair with Amber then, he was likely having one with another woman.

The purpose of undermining history like this isn’t about the show forgetting or retconning these plot points – especially when the show ties these moments to other emotions, like Dean’s jealousy over Rio in 3.08 (and I’ll come back to that later), or Dean’s feelings of failure – but rather to establish the way that Beth and Dean both romanticise their past and paint it with a rose-coloured brush.

They tell themselves that they might not be happy today, but they were happy yesterday. And then they say that the next day and the next day and the next day, until every unhappy day, becomes a happy yesterday.

That romanticisation of their history is intrinsically tied to an image that they want to project to themselves. They have put so much time and energy into this thing between them, they have so many children, have so much of their lives entwined, that they need to believe that it’s all been worth it, because if it’s not, the image cracks and I don’t think either of them have the tools to handle that.

Which we kind of saw in 4.03.

It’s not an accident that the Beth and Dean flashbacks were in that episode – an episode that in a lot of ways fractured the image of Beth and Dean’s relationship, particularly for Dean. He’s been under the impression that they’re better, that they’re working again, that neither of them are cheating and Rio’s far away and Beth believes in him like she did before everything went wrong, and to discover that that image was false – was a projection of what Beth wanted him to believe, and perhaps simply what he himself wanted to believe too – is challenging to say the very least.

He was put in a position where he was faced not only with the extreme consequences of his wife’s actions, but a domino effect of lie after lie after lie, and the show choosing to take us back to the start of their relationship at that very moment, I think, shows us that the root of Beth and Dean’s relationship came back to Beth needing to be looked after, and Dean deciding, without knowing Beth very well, that he wanted to be the one to do it.

Macho Macho Man: Dean & Masculinity

Which brings us to Dean and masculinity. I’ve talked about the show’s exploration of masculinity quite a bit now (hell, it even has its own tag now, haha), and wrote a whole series of posts after 2.04 about male ego which I should probably update sometime to include s3 and s4,  but it really is one of the core themes of the show. It bubbles to the surface almost constantly and frequently becomes a driving factor of character motivations, particularly characters like Turner, who had his male ego challenged by Beth which resulted in a vendetta, to Boomer’s toxic masculinity driving him through much of the show.

For Dean though, his masculinity is frequently projected only to be destroyed, undermined or used against him in a way that ultimately completely emasculates him. The scene of Dean trying to reassert gender roles on himself and Beth only to have Rio bone his wife, destroy his prized car and insert himself into his business is perhaps the clearest example of that, but it manifests in plenty of other ways too. From hiring hitmen only to be robbed and have his wife’s panties stuck in his mouth, to buying the gun only to have it stolen, to think he’s establishing a new business for himself only to discover his wife’s pulling the strings with her ex-lover. Hell, even the fact of losing the business in the first place is inherently emasculating.

What I’m getting at is that every time Dean asserts himself in ways that are typically considered ‘Masculine’ – providing for his family, dominating his wife / treating her paternalistically, behaving with violent intents, establishing a business – it’s only to have that immediately undermined in the narrative. Dean likes this image for himself, and wants to project it, but the show keeps telling us that the image is a false one.

And then the show outright used that falsehood, and Dean’s insecurity over it, in 4.02 with Dave convincing Dean to give him the books, despite Beth telling him they weren’t ready.

Dean played right into his hand because Dave saw Dean’s masculinity for what it was – a projection covering an insecurity, which in turn, made Dean act thoughtlessly.

(Another pattern of behaviour for Dean! Like hiring the hitmen or cutting the money plate).

Dean’s commitment to the image of masculinity is in a lot of ways too tied to this idea of the rose-coloured image of his and Beth’s romantic history. Beth, from an image standpoint, is a case study in traditional femininity, and for much of their 20-year relationship, they’ve had their roles and they’ve stuck to them. The challenge of that throughout the course of the series is ultimately a challenge to the image that their relationship is based on, which in turn means that Dean’s feelings of failing masculinity end up being tied to his feelings and insecurities around Beth, frequently manifesting into jealousy over Rio.

To have that used against him by Dave (and funnily enough, Rio using those same feelings of Dean’s against Beth in 4.02) is a really interesting character note and I think very much fuels his motivation in the scene with Phoebe.

That Loving Feeling: a brief aside

I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention here that I actually do think Beth and Dean love each other. I think that it’s a broken love, like Christina said in her BUILD interview while promoting season 3, and I also think it’s a child’s love, which is something that we saw a bit through these flashbacks. Their relationship is so steeped in that history and that origin, that their love has failed to grow with them. It’s a sort of arrested development type of love, which I think makes them cling to the image all the harder, and it’s that old love and that image that’s stopped Dean from ever even contemplating turning Beth in.

Dean Pleads Guilty

Projection and perception are key in this show overall, but especially this season. We’ve seen that with the way Fitzpatrick has projected onto Beth, which I’ll talk about another time, but we also importantly saw Phoebe project onto Beth in this episode. She equates Beth to a girl she was friends with in highschool who used her, and tells Dean as such.

Phoebe’s projection of Beth – her image of her – isn’t one that Dean identifies with, and he tells her as much in return. While Dean is quiet in the scene overall outside of that interaction, the flashbacks deliberately seek to remind us of the nostalgia that has driven Beth and Dean’s relationship for the last twenty years and four seasons of the show. There’s a part of Dean that still sees Beth as the girl he chose to look after when they were just teenagers, and I think having his masculinity threatened the episode before by Dave intermingled with Dean’s nostalgia and his desire to ‘man up’ and take care of her in the way he tried to when her mum was in the hospital. All their murky, messy history and anger and hurt is painted over again, and Dean, at least in the moment, re-commits himself to the image of what he and Beth are.

He’s the man, she’s the woman, and it’s just another unhappy today for all those happy yesterdays.

#beth x dean #beth boland #dean boland #gg 4.03 #masculinity #character backgrounds #staying's worse than leaving #welcome to my ama #Anonymous

[illfoandillfie]

A15 w/ himbo roger? pls? 🥺 - ☁️

here it is, the final blurb! Ending things where they began with himbo rog.

A15 = Mutual Masturbation (wasn’t sure if you meant in like a touch each other or watch each other touch themselves way so i did both lmao)

The last time Roger had you under his trance he’d used one of your own tricks against you. He’d made you believe you were tied up, unable to move. You’d knelt before him and struggled to free yourself from bindings that didn’t really exist. He’d then teased you and made you watch, drooling and begging to be allowed to suck his dick, as he’d pulled himself off. He’d then edged you until he was hard enough to fuck you. It was beyond hot and so much fun. When you’d come back to earth you felt warm and happy and satisfied and completely smitten with Roger. He knew you so well. But there was a small hiccup to what was otherwise a very enjoyable afternoon. Not even a hiccup really. Just something that irked you a little and had stuck with you well after the scene had ended. At some point, with his fingers buried in you, he’d made a comment. It was said in the heat of the moment, just off the cuff dirty talk, you were sure. He probably didn’t even realise you’d remember it days later. It was just one of those things he said when he was acting particularly dominant, something to make you feel small and subservient because he knew that’s what you got off on, especially in your bimbo state. But there was still something about it that you didn’t enjoy after you’d stopped being that brainless, submissive doll.

“I know my little bimbo’s body. I can make her cum harder and better than anyone else, even herself. That’s why she like’s my cock so much, right slut?”

It had been incredibly hot at the time. Of course he knew your body, of course he could give you better orgasms than anyone in the whole history of everything. Because he was your Sir and you were just a silly, desperate airhead with no thoughts beyond how much you wished you were full of his cock at any given second. That was sexy in the moment, still was a little bit. Except that he was wrong. He was good, no doubt. More than capable of getting you to finished, and certainly better than any other guy you’d been with. But he was crazy if he thought he could do it better than you could yourself. All those years where you’d made the choice not to bother with guys because none of them were worth your time, all those years of putting work before your love life, who did he think had been getting you off then? Did he really believe that after years with just yourself, you wouldn’t know your own body? You’d told him as much and he’d agreed with you but something still felt off. Like he hadn’t really cared. Not in a cruel way, more of a why-are-we-talking-about-this-four-days-later kind of way. So you figured that now, with him all brainless in front of you, now was a good time to prove your point, teach him something.

He was as eager as always, ready to give you his mouth or his hands or whichever other part of him you really wanted. Even before you’d greeted your bimbo boyfriend he was reaching for your hips, tongue hanging out ready to lick along your slit. You’d had to stop him and make him promise to be good for you.

“If you do everything I say I’ll let you choose your reward,”

“Can I lick you? Orrrr ummmmm,” he thought for a bit, “I could lick you!”

“If that’s really what you want then yes you can,” you grabbed his hands with both of yours before he could tug your pants down, “But first you need to do what I say, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Good boy. Now stand up and undress. All your clothes off.”

He nodded and beamed at you, hurrying to disrobe. As soon as his underwear had been kicked from his ankle he sunk back onto the bed, once again reaching for you.

You caught his wrists again, “No Dummy, there’s still more you need to do for me first.”

“Oh. He pouted in disappointment, “like what?”

“Sit over there, against the headboard with your legs open, and watch me,”

Roger sighed but agreed and moved where you told him to go, looking over at you with a dopey smile that got bigger as he watched you strip off too.

“Now?”

“I will tell you when,” you laughed, kneeling in front of him and stroking your hand down the side of his face. Roger sat perfectly still, looking up at you with wide eyes as you traced your thumb over his bottom lip. Without instruction he dipped his head forward and sucked on your thumb.

“You’re so cute baby. And such a good boy. But I’ve got a bit of a game for us to play today.”

“I like games!” his voice was muffled by your thumb but he didn’t seem to notice his speech was hindered.

“I think you’ll like this one,” with your free hand you reached for his, pulling it between your legs. His fingers automatically slid between your lips, exploring, feeling how wet you were and trying to make you wetter. At the same time you moved your hand to his dick, spitting into your palm so you could slowly wank him. “Now there’s a point to this game, something I want you to remember afterwards. So you’re going to do everything you can to make me cum with just your fingers, understand?”

“Make you cum? But… no licking?”

“No licking. Just your fingers,”

“Okay! I like when you cum!”

“Good boy, now do it as fast as you can okay? I want a very fast orgasm,”

He nodded and dropped his eyes to your pussy, sticking his tongue between his teeth in concentration. As he slid his hand along your slit, rubbing your clit on every pass, you slowly stroked his cock, up and down, thumb brushing over his tip. You stroked him a little faster whenever he did something to make you feel especially good. Like when he pushed two fingers into you and brought his other hand to constantly rub your clit. You rocked yourself against his fingers, felt that familiar warmth in the pit of your stomach. It was slow to build, despite Roger’s best efforts. He thrust his fingers into you fast as he matched the pace on your clit, smiling somewhere between proud and blissfully happy when you mewled for him. And all the while you stroked his cock, slowing when he showed signs of being close, edging him, making him whimper and whine. He didn’t complain though. Your pleasure was more important than his and you were counting on him to give you an orgasm. So that was all that mattered. He curled his fingers, dragged his thumb over your clit, didn’t stop until you moaned and braced your hand on his shoulder to keep yourself up as you came. And when you thanked him, praised him for getting you there, he beamed at you.

“Now?”

“Not yet,” you laughed, “I’m not done with our game.” You glanced at the clock as you shuffled back on the bed. Half an hour, give or take. That’s how long he had taken. Roger looked confused as you backed away but he watched you carefully.

“You can suck your fingers clean if you want,”

Roger’s eyes went wide as if he hadn’t even thought of doing that and a second later he dragged his tongue from over his palm and up his fingers, nearly giggling with glee as he got to taste you on them. You watched, barely containing your own laughter, as he thoroughly cleaned his hand of your juices. It gave you a chance to come down from the high he’d given you and made you ready for another.

“Why are you over there?” Roger asked, finally content that he’d got everything he could from his fingers, “Ca-”

“No, not yet Dummy,” you opened your legs, trailed your fingers along your slit, “I want two things first. Number one, you’re going to watch me while I give myself an orgasm. And number two, I’m going to watch you edge yourself some more.”

“Okay,” he nodded, wrapping his hand around his cock immediately.

You trailed your fingers up to your clit and back down again, making sure you were wet enough, “Maybe one of these day’s while I’m putting you under I’ll install a blocker so you can’t cum unless I tell you to…that could be fun, right? I could have you as much as I like and never worry about you going over,”

Roger give you a confused look but decided that agreement was the right answer, nodding that yes it would be fun as he matched the pace of your hand with his own.

“Do you like watching me?” you asked as you felt your hips buck up into your hand as your circled your clit with just the right amount of pressure, your other hand toying with a nipple.

“Yes,”

“Why?”

“Ummm you look soooo pretty. And wet,” he paused, sucking his lip between his teeth as he pumped his fist over his cock, “Please can I help you?”

“You are helping me. By being a good Dummy and edging yourself,”

“I am?”

“Very much. It’s hot watching you be so good for me,”

Roger smiled again, worked himself faster until he had to stop again. You raked your eyes over him as you slid two fingers into yourself, rolling your hips to meet them. Your breathing was already coming harder as you changed their angle and dropped your other hand to your clit. Essentially the same thing Roger had done but you controlled the pressure and the speed, you chose how to shift your fingers, which spot to aim for, when to make your touch firmer or lighter depending on what you felt you needed. Roger whined softly as he hit another edge and pulled his hand away. You stopped watching as he wrapped his hand around his cock again, dropping your head back as you felt your orgasm closing in. All you had to do was nudge your fingers to the right and – there it was. You shuddered and moaned as it washed over you, holding onto it as long as you could. Roger had stopped again, fully focused on watching you instead.

When you opened your eyes you sought out the clock. It had only taken you about half the time it took Roger. You pointed it out to him but he gave you another confused look.

“You don’t see what the point of the game was?” you crawled back towards him, hovering over his lap.

“No?”

“No? Don’t worry, you’ll understand when you’re back to normal,” you squished his cheeks under your palms.

“Normal?”

“Nothing, baby,” you laughed, “Maybe I should just leave you this worked up,”

“Okay. Can I clean your fingers?”

You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck and pressed your lips to his, “Tell you what. I’ll let you lick my fingers and I’ll let you cum. Sound fair?”

“Yes?”

“I think so,” you wrapped your hand around his cock and sank down onto him as the same time tapping your wet fingers against his lips. He smiled as he sucked on them, hips bucking up into you as you intentionally clenched around him.

#my writing #my blurbs #smut blurb #roger taylor x reader #roger taylor smut #Anonymous

[itsclydebitches]

Welcome back, welcome back! We have a relatively short chapter this time, which theoretically means it shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to write this recap. Yet here we are. 

We open again on Sun's perspective as he joins a large group in the dorm common room. Recall that last chapter Velvet said she wanted to show SSSN something and I took issue with her "Speaking of family" line. We'll get to that in just a bit, as well as the surprise element of this chapter. Moving chronologically though, we learn that this group is the self-named Beacon Brigade and there has been a unanimous vote to allow SSSN to become a part of whatever the Brigade is doing. "Everyone here helped defend our home and school," Velvet says, "even though they didn’t have to. We’re grateful. As far as we’re concerned, you’re all honorary Beacon students." That's a rather nice sentiment and, once again, Velvet shows herself to be the best and most mature character presented so far. That's not a terribly high bar to clear and as established last chapter, she definitely contributes to the intense Sun-bashing, but this is one of the sweetest lines I've heard from RWBY in a while, so kudos. 

Sun, however, doesn't take kindly to the inclusion. "Whatever that means anymore, Sun thought. Then he chided himself. To the others here, it still meant a lot." That's how you do a character flaw without making them a complete asshole. You either have someone else call the character out (paying careful attention to whether that person's opinion has any weight in the story—something the webseries still needs to work on), or you have the character call themselves out. Which Sun does here. The story allows Sun to have this flaw while likewise recognizing that he's not being fair to the others. That's a conscientious human being right there. 

Or a faunus. You get what I'm saying. 

Sun continues to unpack his prejudices and acknowledges that he's not a big fan of how that mentality impacts the formation of teams: "That was the whole point of the team system—to become part of something, to define yourself, to lose yourself in it. A team made you someone new, someone better." But for Sun that's too much attachment. He claims he's not the type to get attached to either people or places, though his willingness to follow Blake to Menagerie on a "What if?" says differently. Here we get to see how Sun thinks of himself as someone outside of these community ties even as he tries so hard to maintain them. It's a part of his personality that—for reasons I assume have to do with his past—he is unwilling to acknowledge yet. 

The rest of this group is introduced, including Team ARBN and Nolan, originally a member of Team BRNZ. Where are the other three? Oh, they died at the Fall of Beacon. 

Cue me putting the book down for a solid minute because this is one hell of a deviation from the tone of the webseries. With (maybe) the exception of the Schnee charity ball, the Fall of Beacon has been presented as no worse than what we, the viewer, directly experienced. Meaning that the end of Volume 3 was the moment RWBY went from a lighthearted action show to a tragic epic trying to take itself seriously, and crucially the show has made it seem like we were privy to everything that was a part of that change: Penny dies. Pyrrha dies. Yang loses an arm. Everyone is forced to abandon their school. Those are the four events that made this the Fall of Beacon and already we had a problem with how little the show chose to grapple with those things. Ruby's nightmares conveniently disappear. Yang has no difficulty fighting despite working through PTSD. Ruby doesn't seem to care that the friend she saw killed is miraculously standing before her. These events are, by and large, not integrated into the cast's feelings, reactions, and motivations  and when they are it's to say that such a tragedy has no bearing on difficult things like trust (Ozpin) or that those who are still haunted by the Fall are unstable and unfit to lead (Ironwood). Post Volume 4 these events haven't been given the proper weight, which is bad enough on its own, yet now we find out that things were even worse than they first appeared? 

Penny and Pyrrha were not the only ones to die. The Fall was always a tragedy, but this is a tragedy that goes beyond our core group of characters. Was anyone going to mention that Jaune, Nora, and Ren weren't the only ones to lose a teammate? That an entire generation of huntsmen are working through this on a far more personal level than previously established? As said, it's bad enough that the webseries has glossed over Pyrrha's death for everyone but Jaune, yet now BTD comes in to say, "Yeah, some of these kids lost their entire team. Remember these guys?" 

"Everyone on the right is dead now." No need to make room for that in your primary story. 

(As an aside, an anon once asked whether it's weird that Pyrrha got a statue in Argus. At the time I argued strongly that it wasn't, partly due to her celebrity status and the fact that this was her home city, but also because she seemed to be the only "real" death in the Fall. Obviously we as the viewers count Penny as well, but the world may not view the dismantling of an android in the same way they'd view the murder of an organic teenager. As the single "real" death that Beacon suffered, Pyrrha's memory shoulders that attention... but now this little tidbit blows all that out of the water. Apparently lots of kids lost their lives that day and our webseries hasn't taken the time to acknowledge that.) 

So I'm reeling from this revelation and taking in what it's done to Nolan: "He was even thinner than he'd been last year at the Vytal Festival, and his rose-colored glasses didn't hide the dark shadows under his eyes." Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that at least some part of the RWBY-verse is acknowledging the severity of Volume 3's finale, it just rankles that this work is relegated to a supplementary novel already loaded with other problems, rather than put into our main storyline where it would do more good. 

Speaking of those problems, we get another conversation about how unnecessarily cruel the Shade students are. I like the little pun on "shade" that Nadir gives—"Let’s just say some of the Vacuan students here are giving a new meaning to ‘Shade’ Academy"—but I’m not sure why Myers feels the need to follow that up with Nadir giving an awkward explanation. I can't remember precisely where, but didn't we see this already? With Sun or Neptune? Plus we definitely just got Fox's 'joke' that went over Neptune's head. Not every character needs to be #awkward regarding humor and you can trust your reader to get the joke without explaining it each time. That’s a specific character trait that feels like it’s being applied to too many characters now.  Moving on, Arslan speaks my mind by pointing out that, regardless of what Shade might think about them "abandoning" the academies, it's not a productive attitude. Their new peers are more interested in beating them down for what's already happened than discussing how they can move forward as allies (sound like any main characters we know?) So the group strikes up a conversation about what they can actually accomplish. We learn that Yatsuhashi has been leading some of them through meditation and others take the time to share their survivor's guilt, admitting that the Shade students' attitude sometimes feels like a punishment they deserve. Iris brings up Castor, another peer who perished at Beacon, and Nolan continues to grapple with the death of his teammates. Yet despite the severity of these admissions, Sun still isn’t impressed. 

“Yeah. Because you ran away, Sun thought, unable to stop himself, even though this was the exact thing the other Shade students were thinking of the Beacon and Haven survivors. No wonder Nolan was here—he was probably getting criticized worse than anyone, because Shade students were supposed to be stronger than everyone else.”

Okay wait, does Sun actually know that Nolan ran away? Is "ran away" in the context of Nolan's specific battle (his team was fighting a mech or something and he split), or is it in the context of the entire Fall (he failed to take back Beacon and therefore 'ran')? That's a huge difference because if it's the latter (and I suspect it is)... Sun ran away too. Has Sun—and Myers—forgotten that he was there? At the Fall. Right there on the left. 

It feels more than a little disingenuous of Sun to be adopting any of the Shade Academy's criticism when he himself was a part of the 'failing' group. Why is he acting like he’s an outside observer, judging Nolan when they went through the same horror? When he too ‘ran’ from that fight? Obviously this ‘You ran away’ perspective is just garbage all on its own, but I'm really distracted by what appears to be only three explanations: 

Nolan really did ditch his team, Sun knows about it, and this is all info that I've missed from the previous book (always possible)

Nolan really did ditch his team, Sun knows about it, but Myers isn't interested in telling us how Sun got that info or why it’s important 

Nolan never ditched his team, 'ran away' is in the context of leaving Beacon to the grimm, and Sun is so deep in his denial he’s removed himself from the facts of the situation. You didn't save Beacon either, Sun! 

I'm just 

Sun isn't done yet though and before we cover that I just want to say: I get it. This book drags him to an unreasonable degree and any Sun fan must just be frothing at the mouth reading through this. However, I also can't claim that Myers has made Sun particularly endearing here. Like in the prologue when Sun is all about being a solo act, denying reality, and ignoring the harm he's done to his team, here he's presented as someone I'm just not interested in spending time with. I know I praised him above for correcting his knee-jerk thoughts, but like with Coco's flaw becoming overdone Sun-bashing, Sun’s attitude it so over the top I get frustrated with him even while I sympathize with the extreme criticism he’s shouldering. Because this Sun isn’t any kinder or wiser than the group targeting him: 

“But he’d believe it when he saw it. It was easy to talk about doing something, and another thing to follow through on it. Maybe that was what he didn’t like about this group. So far it was all just sitting around and talking. They should be focused on moving on— channeling their strength toward protecting their new home, their new friends.”  

Sun has little to no faith that this group can accomplish the things they set out to do (despite evidence to the contrary). He's critical of what they have chosen to do and is dismissive of their needs. He likewise criticizes others for not taking care of their home and their friends... even though he's the one who left his team to chase after Blake, someone who explicitly did not want or need his assistance. It's something Sun himself brings up later on: "Blake may not have needed or wanted him, but there was no doubt in his mind that he had helped" and it's his dismissive attitude here that’s my primary issue with him both in the webseries and in this novel. Sun prioritizes his own desires (I want to help) over everyone else's desires and needs (Blake didn't want my help and didn't need it). We see him doing the same thing here, rejecting what a very large group all needs because it's not something he as an individual wants. It feels contradictory to call Sun selfish because his desires do revolve around helping others—his wants are all coming from a loving place—it's just that how he prioritizes that drive to help often ends up hurting others and he continually refuses to acknowledge that. His “but I helped” is used as a catch-all justification for the bad choices he made in providing that (unwanted) assistance. Like creepily following a woman, or ditching his team, or getting in over his head by following three goons alone, or criticizing a conversation that others find beneficial. To reiterate, I do think that Sun has gotten way too much heat in this novel, but I also can't pretend that he's a character I'm particularly fond of. He made me uncomfortable the moment spying on four women in their bedroom was played as a joke and RWBY has done very little to endear me to him since. It's a bit of a surreal experience to read about someone I’m very critical of, but when the material itself criticizes him I’m suddenly like, "Hold up. That's going too far." 

Reading about Sun feels like watching someone who insists they help another bake a cake. The baker does not want help, does not need help, but our character is just desperate to do something. So he forcefully takes the ingredients for himself and ends up ruining the batter. I'm like, "Okay, that's not appropriate. You're coming from a good place and you never meant any harm, but your actions were still a problem. We should address this, including where that desperate need to help is coming from." 

Except then the baker 'addresses this' by screaming at him at the top of their lungs, throwing things, and banning him from the kitchen for all time. 

Me: "Not like that!!" 

Simply put: this novel is generating a lot of emotions and very few of them are pleasant. 

Things finally come to a head when Sun rolls his eyes because he doesn't like therapy—wait. 

Hold up. Just give me another second. 

You remember I spoke about the "surprise element" earlier? Think about the structure of the last chapter. We end on what's essentially a small cliffhanger. Velvet says she wants to show Team SSSN something but the reader doesn't know what that is. We’re waiting for the reveal. Yet we only learn that the group is having a therapy session four pages in—and this is a six page chapter. (Yes, I'm writing twice as much as the source material. You all know I'm not succinct :p ). Myers is now demonstrating a habit of not introducing the core aspects of a scene: who, what, where, when, and why. We've got half of that— who, when, and where—but not the 'what' or the 'why.' What is the group doing in the city in the middle of the day? Are they patrolling? Out to lunch? Following a lead? Looks like they're visiting a wall. Would have been nice to know that a couple pages earlier. Oh, there's a souvenir table there? Didn't feel like it, and it was never mentioned in the scene setup, so that’s an awkward surprise. Now Velvet wants to show them something. What is it? No seriously... what is it? Please tell me what's going on before we're more than halfway through the event in question. Granted yes, you might be able to deduce that they're in therapy, but we don't know that for sure until Sun uses the word. And we need to know in order to properly read the scene. I spent the first four pages thinking that this group was an expansion of CFVY's solo missions. While they were talking I was waiting for Velvet to reveal what she wanted to share—another secret mission they were conducting, or something—not realizing that the conversation itself was it. That’s the reveal. I mean, Beacon Brigade isn't exactly a name that makes you think "therapy." They're labeling themselves an army, ergo I assumed this had something to do with their war. That is, more to do with it than working through the aftermath. 

In retrospect it is somewhat obvious that these students are engaging in group therapy... but at the same time it's not because I would think, technically, that this isn't therapy. Who's the therapist? Velvet? She's the one leading, but she's also an unlicensed, traumatized teen just like everyone else in the room. It's a support group and that's fantastic, I'm honestly thrilled one of RWBY's stories decided to incorporate this, but at the same time it's odd to have Sun seriously referring to this as therapy like this is comparable to receiving professional help. I’m bringing this up because we saw the same perspective regarding RWBYJNR's status as huntresses. That's a job, something earned and presented to you by an expert, but up until Volume 7 Ruby seemed to be working under the impression that because she wanted to be a huntress and because she did vaguely huntress-like things, she was one. Simple as that. But crucially she wasn't and that lack of knowledge, maturity, and training caused serious problems in Volume 6. Now we have a group calling their activity therapy, doing vaguely therapy-like things, but Velvet isn't a therapist. I'm saying that not to knock the excellent work she's doing to help both herself and her friends (and I'm also quite aware that I'm missing an entire book's worth of information that may be pertinent here) but rather, I bring it up to acknowledge that the whole of the RWBY-verse seems to have a skewed idea of how professionalism works. We've got a lot of teens in this franchise who are put in positions of power when by all logic they shouldn't be. RWBY has failed to do the work of coming up with compelling reasons for why these half-trained teens keep getting put in charge of stuff, which is what any story staring kids and teens needs to do.  

Anyway, I've rambled on about that enough. As said, Sun isn't enjoying the touchy-feely-ness of it all, even when Velvet reiterates that they're "like family." Coco reminds him that he's free to leave, but of course she turns it into an insult: "Maybe you’re not ready for this.” Sun ignores the implication and does try to leave, admitting that what he has to say probably won't go over well. The others encourage him to share though, it's a safe space... until Scarlet makes a dig about keeping them waiting again. I'm simultaneously going, "He's right. Sun still refuses to acknowledge how badly he hurt his team" and also "#Yikes. So much for this being a safe place!" 

What I’m saying is these kids all need an actual therapist. Sun himself is described as feeling "strangely disconnected from his body. Unsettled” at the start of the chapter. The tragedy here is that one of the characters most in need of this help is the one digging his heels in the most. 

It gets worse though. Sun finally caves and his take is, as one would expect given his feelings thus far, not great: "This is why Vacuans won’t trust you. Because you’re holding on to who you were and where you came from instead of focusing on where you are.” He also claims that “Theo really wouldn’t like this," making it sound like the group is breaking rules and should be ashamed of trying to cope with their trauma in a healthy manner. He ends with the confident belief that Vacuans understand them completely because they punish themselves by staying in the same, harsh place. 

(So do these people move on or not?? Ugh I can't get into this again.) 

Scarlet, as Sun predicted, isn't pleased to hear any of this. Frankly I can't blame him. "Like you didn’t leave us the first chance you got to chase after someone you barely knew who didn’t want your help?" he says. "You didn’t even stay in Vacuo for school —you chose Haven.”

He's not wrong. Hard as it is to hear, Scarlet has a point. Sun did abandon his team. He did chase after someone he'd just met who didn't want his help. He did choose to go to Haven because, as he explained last chapter, he's not a big fan of Vacuo. Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, it just means he's not in a position to criticize others for not immediately adoring this kingdom, rejecting Beacon in the process. Like so many other RWBY protagonists, Sun holds others to a standard he doesn’t demand of himself. I can hate Vacuo and leave because there are things about it that make me uncomfortable, but you have to learn to appreciate it and forget what’s outside this kingdom, despite never having a choice about coming here. It’s food for thought and something he should be encouraged to consider. However then: 

“You wouldn’t know anything about loss, Sun. You never stay in one place long enough to learn.” 

That's not a point, that's just cruelty, and it's an attack that clearly hurts Sun a great deal. He flushes and snaps, "You all belong in Vacuo more than you think." Really, they all do. He reiterates to himself that there's nothing to work through, they all just need to move on, and then he really does leave, saying that he'll see them for patrol. Well, at least Sun isn’t planning on going off on his own again, even if he is on the outs with his friends. 

So that was an all around depressing chapter! I didn't like it. I was honestly shocked when I went back and realized that it was only six pages because it felt far longer. We're now three chapters into this novel... with only nineteen more to go 😬

Until next time! 

#rwby #rwde #mymeta #before the dawn #BTD Recaps

[anomander-dragnipurake]

Possessed Part 2 Chapter Six: King Boo’s Turn

In town, King Boo’s ‘stuff that he needed to take care of’ turned out to unsurprisingly be buying more of his fancy suits. He was into looking stylish so as long as he was stuck in a meatsuit he was going to dress as such. He even considered getting a fancy dress as a change of pace but chose not to because he hoped not to be stuck like this for much longer.

Luigi would be lying if he said King Boo didn’t have good taste. He would’ve chosen different colours personally but the white and purple matched well with the white hair and purple eyes that came with King Boo’s possession of his body. Now that he was more used to that appearance, he’d almost be willing to say that it wouldn’t have a bad look at all if he’d chosen it for himself, not that he probably ever would’ve especially for an everyday look.

‘So you admit it? I’m cooler than you in every way?’ King Boo said with a smirk as they looked at themselves in the dressing room mirror.

I guess. It wasn’t really hard to be cooler than Luigi, he’d always been pretty lame. In large part because being cool had never mattered to him. It still didn’t so honestly, King Boo’s taunt wasn’t that hurtful, especially after all the various other ways he’d hurt Luigi.

King Boo frowned as he turned away to leave. ‘Whatever, then.’ He didn’t really care all that much anyway.

 -

The sun was starting to set as they came about to the rear of Peach’s Castle. King Boo had gone rather far out of his way to sneak around behind it after the taxi had dropped them off near it. Now he frowned at the rear wall, cutting off the back garden from the rest of the land. Not being able to phase through things never ceased to be annoying.

Instead, after adjusting his shopping bags on his shoulder, he pulled on his magic and levitated them. It wasn’t the first time he’d done this but Luigi still hated it, flying was not something he’d ever wished to be able to do. But in honor of their agreement, he refrained from directing an actual complaint towards King Boo as he lifted them up and over the wall. By some miracle, he even had the courtesy to lower them gently to the ground once on the other side instead of letting Luigi’s body drop and probably sprain or break something as he’d done every other time he’d levitated them any significant height in the past.

Thanks to the wall surrounding it, the courtyard garden area was already shrouded in darkness. With the gentle sound of the fountain in the middle it was still a pleasant place though. Or at least it was until a boo came shooting out of the nearby bushes.

Even expecting it due to King Boo having thought about meeting with boos at the castle multiple times since his turn had begun, it still surprised Luigi. King Boo didn’t let him flinch though, honestly at this point, the fact that he would’ve was just shameful. … Luigi was inclined to agree for once, he couldn’t help it though.

“Boss!” the boo said as he to a halt in front of King Boo and Luigi. “You’re here!”

“Yep.” King Boo smiled at him, one of those genuine smiles that still creeped Luigi out far more than the evil ones ever did. ‘I like my boos, why is that so weird?’

Because you’re you! Luigi never would’ve thought someone so vile and hateful could care for anyone other than himself. He never would’ve believed it to be the case if he didn’t feel it for himself. After the initial jump scare, he even wasn’t nearly as frightened by the boo as he should be because of how King Boo felt about him.

Other than an internal scoff, King Boo didn’t bother with a reply, turning his attention back onto the boo, patiently waiting to be addressed in front of him. “Gather the rest of the castle boos out here, I’d like to talk to all of you.”

“On it!” the boo said before rushing off again.

‘The rest of the castle boos’?  Did that mean that there were boos that hung out around the castle all the time? That… couldn’t be right, could it? There was nothing for them here; Luigi had worked with E. Gadd long enough to know ghosts and boos didn’t like places full of life which Peach’s castle definitely was. So why would they be here? And… how long had they been here?

‘A while.’ King Boo was particularly proud of the castle boos, they dealt with being near the living and refrained from making mischief enough that they were never found out. ‘And you’re not going to tell anyone about them.’ He’d rather not out their existence to Luigi at all but he needed to tell his boos what was up with the current situation in case things went bad. These were the closest boos and one of them could be sent as a messenger back to the mansion and from there soon all his followers would know of his predicament. As their king, it would affect them if his soul were to be merged with Luigi’s and thus they had a right to know which overrode Luigi’s need not to know of the castle boos. ‘My agreement to play nice ends if you even try to hint at their existence, got it?’

I won’t tell. Luigi promised because King Boo wasn’t making an empty threat. They clearly weren’t causing trouble anyway so it was probably fine to let them be for now.

The boo returned a few minutes later with four more. They settled in a half circle around King Boo and Luigi.

King Boo took a deep breath and put his hands behind his back before addressing them in a formal tone. “As you may have heard by now, I’m currently stuck in this meatsuit. The reason for that is: my soul is in the process of merging with his. Meaning if it can’t be fixed, we’ll essentially become a single being instead of two. I’m working on getting it fixed though so it should be fine but in case it’s not, you guys need to know. When this meeting is done, one of you will head back to the mansion to inform everyone, just in case. Now, report to me about the goings on around the castle, it’s been a while.”

The five boos exchanged nervous looks before seemingly accepting that it would indeed be fine as the one on the far left started speaking. He spoke of rumors he’d overheard and events he’d witnessed. When he was done speaking the boo next him started without prompt, sharing similar things. It wasn’t until the third boo was reporting that Luigi finally pieced together that they were spies.

Honestly it made perfect sense. They could become invisible and phase through walls and objects, making it easy for them to stay undetected while being able to see and hear everything that went on in any given room.

A shiver ran down Luigi’s metaphorical spine as the full scope of that realization sunk in. Whenever he’d gone to the castle, typically with Mario but sometimes by himself too, he could’ve been being watched by boos the entire time and probably was while never suspecting a thing. Heck, anytime he’d been anywhere that didn’t have ghost detecting equipment available – which was the vast majority of places – there could’ve been boos around watching his every move even in his own house.

‘Yep,’ King Boo said with a chuckle, quickly pulling his attention off his boo to reply. ‘There were two in your house up until you got Polterpup, he made it much harder of them to spy on you effectively.’

Welp, that was awful. Polterpup was without a doubt the bestest boy though. Luigi would’ve preferred to have gone his whole life without ever learning that there were boos who’d been assigned to spy on him. Assuming he got out of this mess, he was going to be paranoid about this for forever. He’d have to take Polterpup with him everywhere to ensure that there were no boos or ghost in the area … As far as King Boo was concerned, that was awesome.

Fuck you too! That only made King Boo laugh though before he pushed Luigi’s thoughts aside to go back to paying full attention to his boos. … Despite how weird and creepy it was, his love for them might’ve made Luigi hate him a little less if it wasn’t for the whole possession thing and the things it had led to.

During the final boo’s report on the rumors going around the castle that involved Bowser, the backdoor leading into the castle opened. All five boos went silent instantly as they turned to look. It was… Peach.

She froze halfway through closing the door behind her. Her eyes locked onto King Boo and Luigi, seemingly looking straight through the boos between them. It was like she didn’t even see them. … Of course she didn’t, they were invisible, Luigi could only see them because his soul was tied to King Boo’s. … That actually made sense; that’s how Polterpup always knew when there were boos and other ghosts around, he could see them even when they didn’t want to be seen.

“Uh… hey Peach,” Luigi said with a forced awkward smile that didn’t match the confident but relaxed pose King Boo held his body in. “What are you uh… doing out here so late?” He struggled not to look at the boos as they moved off to side.

At his voice, Peach jerked back into motion. After closing the door, she strode closer until she stood right in front of him. “Luigi?” She squinted at him suspiciously, crossing her arms.

“Yep, it’s me and…” King Boo naturally stepped with barely even a pause, “me too.”

The look on her face made it clear she knew what was up. “Give him back this instant or else.”

“Or else what? You’ll hit me, go ahead.” King Boo grinned as he spread out his arms and hands, opening himself up to a slap or a punch.

Peach almost looked like she was tempted to but thankfully didn’t. “Well… give him back anyway. It’s been far too long, you’ve had you fun, now let him go. That has to be what you came here for anyway, right?”

“That’s uh… not quite why we’re here,” Luigi said as he put his hands back into his pockets and looked down at the ground between his shoes to keep from glancing at the boos still silently watching. He’d didn’t want to give them away by accident when King Boo’s agreement to get along was at stake.

King Boo immediately looked back up. “For what it’s worth, I would love to ‘give him back’ as you put it. But I fucking can’t. I’m stuck in here and our souls merging, it’s awful.”

The anger on her face softened, shifting a little to confusion. “You’re… you’re just making excuses, right? You can’t actually be stuck.”

“No, he’s uh… very much stuck,” Luigi said. “E. Gadd’s trying to fix it though.” Key word being ‘trying’ because it wasn’t guaranteed.

“Well we have to tell Mario then; he’s been worried sick about…”

“He already knows,” King Boo interrupted.

“Really huh? It seems he forgot to call and tell me.” Peach frowned, looking none too pleased about having been left out of the loop. Which was a fair point, Luigi hadn’t even considered telling her until just now. “Though, I suppose it’s probably because he’s got a lot on his mind. Whatever, I’ll talk to him about it later. For now, you said your… souls are merging? What does that mean?”

Annoyed with her presence and not wanting to explain it again, King Boo left it up to Luigi this time. “Well uh… it means our souls are… becoming one soul so we’ll be not separate people anymore but like combined one or something.” It was still such an odd concept to think about. What would that be like? They’d basically be a whole new person, right? With how much their personalities and feelings about things were opposites what kind of person would they end up being? “It’s uh… really scary.”

Peach grimaced for a second, biting her lip a little before putting a smile. “That sounds terrible but you said E. Gadd’s working on so it should be fine. You’ll be free of King Boo in no time, I’m sure of it.”

King Boo frowned at her, curling his lip up in disgust. “You’re like that too, huh?”

“Like what?”

“All… mushy and gross, trying to comfort Luigi. Mario does it all the time, it’s annoying. It doesn’t even work all that well so just stop already.”

Peached gasped as if deeply offended. She glared daggers at King Boo, taking a deep breath before responding. “Fuck you too King Boo, I’ll comfort Luigi if I want to.”

Wait? Did she just swear or had Luigi misheard her? He’d never heard her swear before. To be fair, King Boo deserved it but… still, what the heck?

“Now Luigi, sweetie,” Peach continued in a sweeter tone, “E. Gadd is going to get rid of that big bad meanie King Boo and then everything’s going to fine again. I’ll even bake you a cake to celebrate it, whatever kind you want. You’ll just have to hold on until then. You’re strong and brave so I know you can.” She was clearly laying it on a bit strong to annoy King Boo but honestly that made it better.

“Thanks,” Luigi said. Before he could try to say more or before Peach could respond, King Boo made a loud gagging noise to fully emphasize his disgust. This was supposed to be his time to spend doing whatever he wanted to do, not more ‘comfort pathetic scared Luigi’ time.

“Don’t listen to him Luigi, he’s…” Peach began before King Boo cut her off.

“We’re leaving, goodbye.” He snapped around to stride back closer to the wall.

“You most certainly are not,” Peach said as he activated his magic to levitate them again. “Get back here this instant.”

“Uh… I’ll be fine,” Luigi said because he didn’t want her chasing after them. “Call Mario, he’ll explain stuff.” And that was all he had time for before King Boo was lowering them onto the other side of the wall, faster than was necessary, making Luigi a tad queasy, but thankfully not a full drop.

Having been able to just phase through the wall, the boos were already waiting for them. King Boo landed in their midst.

“You,” he said pointing to the smallest one, “You’re the fastest, so you’re delivering the message to the mansion. The rest of you, I got until about sunrise before I have to leave, let’s make the most of it.”

The appointed messenger left without a word, zooming presumably in the direction of King Boo mansion. The other four fell in ‘step’ with King Boo as he strode away from the castle walls into the small forest behind it.

Not long ago, Luigi would’ve been worried they were going to cause trouble. But now, even when King Boo wasn’t actively thinking about it, he was at least partially aware of his intentions and they weren’t nefarious for once. He was going to play chess with them, using the chess set he’d brought at the mall alongside the clothes earlier. It wasn’t a game Luigi liked but it was far better than the other ways King Boo could’ve chosen to spend his turn so he’d take what he could get.

#My writing #super mario bros #Luigi's Mansion #booigi #Luigi #King Boo #Peach shows up

[thefourthvulpix]

I’m all caught up in Dangaronpa

Hey tumblr? You suck monkey ass. I’ve been trying to make a post on Tumblr Mobile, but there’s no post button! What the shit.

Anyways I’m gonna rank all the executions from the main three games and the anime, from least to most brutal. Spoilers under the cut

Number 18; Kaito Momota, luminary of the stars. I'm putting him at the bottom since his execution failed as he ended up dying from his illness before Monokuma could finish the job. I think he was the only person in this series who was able to die peacefully as Monokuma ended up giving him exactly what he wanted before he died; to go to space.

Number 17; Gundam Tanaka. Trampled by an oncoming hoard of animals. While Kaito was the only one who managed to basically give Monokuma the middle finger, Gundam was the only one arguably besides Kaito to be able to die at least somewhat peacefully. Well, unless you make the assumption that being ascended to heaven was exactly what the overlord of ice does not want...

Number 16; Celeste Ludenburg. Built up to make it look like she was gonna be burned at the stake, only to be hit by a truck at the last second. One of the less sympathetic murderers, if you ask me. She might not have gotten a particularly extraordinary death like how she would have preferred, but at least she likely didn't suffer at all.

Number 15; Tsumugi Shirogane. She literally died the same way Junko died, getting crushed to death by a sudden heavy object. I know she's that dedicated to her role as Junko's successor, but still...

Number 14; Junko Enoshima. Somehow got every execution from DR1 lined up. How the hell did she not die from any of the first four executions she subjected herself to before she got crushed by that giant weight? It was almost comical, how unkillable she seemed.

Number 13; Kyoko Kirigi. Crushed to death by a giant weight. While this only happens in the non-canon bad ending, it still hurts to know that she died because Makoto couldn't trust her. And with her dead, the survivors would not be able to solve the whole truth...

Number 12; Leon Kuwata. Pummeled to death by baseballs being shot at him at rapid speeds. As impactful as it was seeing that first execution in the whole series, it lost its edge as we saw more and more brutal executions as the series went on.

Number 11; Mondo Oowada. Tied to a motorcycle that spun so fast in a metal cage that his body got turned into butter. He accepted his death, but it was much sadder since his seemed a lot more painful than Kaito's or Gundam's. His entire body got liquified! I can only hope he died of oxygen deprivation before his body started turning into butter.

Number 10; Mikan Tsumiki. Shot off into space with no oxygen... on a rocket that looks like a giant fist. I'm not sure if the fact that she was still under the influence of the despair disease made it better or worse. But that makes it sadder, that she couldn't even be in her right mind to think about what she had done.

Number 9; Peko Pekoyama. Stabbed to death by multiple swords from Monkuma Samurai. She probably died under the false assumption that she killed Fuyuhiko!

Number 8; Teruteru Hanamura. Battered up and fried in a volcano of hot oil. He died not knowing what happened to the Hanamura diner! Though, knowing what did happen myself, I'm surprised Monokuma chose not to tell him...

Number 7; Korekiyo Shinguji. Spun around in ropes, then boiled alive like a lobster, and finally exorcised as a ghost by the very same sister he loved so dearly. If I had a way to describe his sister, I'd say she's like a parasite. Taking over every aspect of his life and not even giving him peace in death. What a bitch.

Number 6; Chiaki Nanami (SDR2). Chased by a Pacman Monokuma, only to be crushed by a giant tetris block. Goddamnit Komaeda! Also, Monokuma sucks at tetris...

Number 5; Kirumi Tojo. Cut up by buzzsaws while climbing a thorny vine, only to then fall to her death. Given how it seemed that she was hallucinating the sun's light when she reached the ceiling, I think there might have been poison in the vine she was climbing. And to think, it was all for something that wasn't even true. She wasn't the de facto prime minister of Japan, she was just a normal high school girl...

Number 4; Alter Ego. Crushed to death and then turned into a… I think it was a bowling ball? He didn't even kill anyone, and everyone knew it! Monokuma only killed him because there wasn't a "blackened" in Sakura's trial, and he didn't want any information about the secret of the school to be leaked too early.

Number 3; Gonta Gokuhara. Stung by wasps, then stabbed by the swordlike pincer of a giant mantis, and finally burned alive. He didn't remember what he did! I know Kokichi was the one who set him up, but I blame it all on Miu for trying to kill Kokichi in the first place…

Number 2; Kaede Akamatsu. Forced to poorly play a simple piano song meant for children while being hung to death on a giant piano, and then crushed like a bug after she already died. FUCK YOU, TSUMUGI! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ACTUALLY KILLED RANTARO, AND YET YOU GOT TO LIVE UNTIL THE END! AND FUCK YOU, MONOKUMA, FOR PLAYING KAEDE ON THE WHITE KEYS! YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP!

And finally, number 1 goes to…

Chiaki Nanami, in the anime. Stabbed through multiple spears after she had already dragged herself through a very brutal death maze, and then died from blood loss. Her death was so brutal and sad, it moved Izuru Kamakura to tears, and drove all her classmates into becoming Ultimate Despair. FUCK YOU, JUNKO ENOSHIMA!

#dangaronpa #Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc #Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair #Danganronpa 3: the End of Hope's peak academy #New Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony #dr1 spoilers #sdr2 spoilers #dr3 spoilers #ndrv3 spoilers

[highfivecalum]

Love and Communication {CH}

Lena sighed happily as the sun gleamed down on her. It had been a horrible winter and she couldn’t wait for warm weather and the sun to shine. It was a particularly nice day, the sun shining and it in the seventies making it the perfect weather for a run. With her long hair tied up, Lena pressed play on her phone and started her run through Central Park. Since she moved back to New York City in the winter she hadn’t been able to do much of what she used to do, like running in the park.

She was enjoying her run, smiling at passersby and little kids who were running around the grass. There were people having picnics, walking their dogs, or simply sitting on the benches reading. It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who was looking forward to warmer weather. She liked winter because of the holidays and hot chocolate, but she would trade in cold weather for warm no questions asked.

After thirty minutes of running and only breaking a light sweat, Lena slowed down, coming to a walk. She hadn’t gone on a run in months and she didn’t want to overwork her body, so she opted for walking the rest of the time. She was on a mission to get back home and chug some more water, but stopped when a small dog came running towards her. It wasn’t on a leash and she looked around in hopes for an owner, but nobody around her seemed to have lost their dog.

Bending down, Lena pet the dog, laughing as it jumped up to lick her face. “Hi buddy.” Lena checked it for a collar of any sort and was relieved when she saw a name and phone number. The phone number looked oddly familiar, but she didn’t think anything of it. “Hi Duke. Where are you parents?”

Duke barked and panted slightly and Lena frowned. She opened her water bottle that was almost empty and squirted it in the dog's mouth. He looked like he was thirsty and it was hot, so she didn’t want him to be dehydrated or anything. “Duke!” An almost familiar voice made Lena look up from the dog and her eyes widened at who was approaching her and Duke. He slowed down, his eyes widening as well, though they were hidden behind his sunglasses. “Lena? Lena Clements?”

“Oh my god, Calum!” Lena laughed and stood up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and he happily returned the hug. They swayed back and forth before Lena stepped away, not wanting to get the small amount of sweat that was on her body on Calum’s, and shook her head in disbelief at the man in front of her. “Holy shit! It’s so good to see you!”

Calum Hood was a good friend of Lena’s, well, a good friend of her ex-boyfriend’s. Lena and Luke were together for two years and in those years, Lena became close friends with Luke’s and he with hers. They were all a little group of friends turned family and when Luke broke up with Lena, the boys took his side and the girls took hers, naturally.

Calum was Lena’s favorite friend of Luke’s. She wasn’t sure why, they just had similar personalities and got along well. They were the closest out of the bunch, minus Luke and Lena, of course. So, when the couple broke up, Calum and Lena tried to stay in touch, but eventually grew apart due to Luke’s constant nagging about their friendship.

“What are you doing back here?” Calum had Duke in his arms now, scratching behind his ear absentmindedly while he talked to the girl he was once so close with. “I thought you moved to Chicago?”

“I did for a while, but my job transferred me back here.” Lena explained. She loved Chicago, but New York City was her home and she missed it, so when her boss told her that they were transferring, she wasted no time in packing and moving into a new apartment that was paid for by Corporate. “How is everything with you? Still writing?”

“Everything is good. And yeah, still writing.” Calum smiled widely. He loved to write; music, poetry, stories, anything. Writing was his passion and his calling. He was surprised that Lena remembered, but he shouldn’t have been. He knew she had an impeccable memory and they were once good friends. They once knew everything about each other. “You look great.”

Lena rolled her eyes, knowing full well that she looked like a sweaty mess, but thanked him nonetheless. “You do too.” And it was true. He had grown a few inches taller since she had seen him last. It had only been two years, buthis appearance had changed drastically. He built up more muscle, gotten more tattoos, and died his hair from brown to a blonde color. “How is everyone? Ash? Mikey? Um… Luke?”

Lena hated bringing up Luke. He broke her heart in two without reason and left her when she thought they would be together forever. She wanted to marry him and she swore that she would never get over him and the heartbreak he caused her, but moving to Chicago a few months ago the breakup helped her. She met new friends, new guys, and busied herself with work so much that she almost forgot Luke even existed.

“They’re all good. I haven’t talked to Luke in awhile, though.”

“Oh?” Lena tilted her head in confusion. Luke and Calum were attached by the hip at one point in time, inseparable, brothers. So to hear that they haven’t spoken confused Lena. She never would have guessed that. “Why’s that?”

“He moved to California for work and has been busy.” Calum shrugged as if it was no big deal, but he missed his best friend. Work and new friends in California took over Luke’s life and he kind of left Calum and the rest of the guys behind. “But I’m busy, too, so it’s alright.” Lena nodded her head and smiled sadly, knowing it upset Calum, but said nothing. “Hey, are you doing anything tonight?”

“Not a thing.”

“Wanna grab a drink? I would stay and catch up with you here, but you look like you’re busy running and I have to go meet my mom and sister for lunch.” Calum suggested. He didn’t realize how much he missed Lena until she was standing right in front of him.

“That sounds great,” Lena smiled and pulled out her phone. She had gotten a new phone and hadn’t backed it up, so she lost basically everything, including all of her friends phone numbers. “I lost all of my contacts. What’s your number?”

Calum gave her his number and she texted him just in case he didn’t have hers still. He still did and it made Lena happy that he hadn’t deleted her out of his life after she and Luke broke up. He continued to follow her on all social media and like her Instagram pictures and laugh at her tweets, but they never spoke.

“I’ll text you a place and time?” Calum asked, pocketing his phone and adjusting Duke who was now asleep with his head resting on Calum’s shoulder. Lena nodded her head with a smile and the two hugged before going their separate way.

✧✧✧

The nervousness that Calum felt was unwarranted. He had no reason to be nervous. He and Lena had hung out one on one plenty of times. Sure, he used to have a small crush on her when she was dating Luke, but he was positive it wasn’t serious and that it went away. But when he saw her step inside the bar/restaurant he chose to meet at in a black dress and wedges with her hair and makeup done, he could feel his feelings coming back to him in full force. He couldn’t make a move on her, he knew that much. It was guy code. Never date your best friend’s ex. But was Luke really even considered his best friend anymore? He didn’t know.

He watched as she looked around the semi-crowded restaurant for Calum, smiling at how she still bit her lip when she was focused or deep in thought. Finally, he raised his hand up and called out her name. “Lena!” Her head snapped to the side and her confused expression turned into a smile.

She said excuse me to the few people standing in the middle of the place and quickly made her way over to Calum who was sitting at the round bar. She gave him a half side hug before sitting down on the empty chair next to him. “Hey.” She exhaled, hanging her small purse on the arm of the chair, she rested her elbow on the bar and propped her head up on it. “I’ve never been here before.”

“It just opened a few months ago.”

“Hm,” Lena looked around. There were reds and blacks and the lights were dim. The tables on the restaurant side had candles and flowers on them and on the bar they sat at was a circle, with the bartenders and liquor inside of it. It was a unique place, very fancy, and Lena was glad she dressed right for the occasion. “It’s really nice.”

“What are you drinkin’?” Calum flagged down the bartender and ordered himself a whiskey neat and ordered Lena the Martini she wanted.

The air between them was different. They hung out when they were nineteen and twenty, but now they were reaching twenty-three and twenty-four and something felt different. More personal, mature, intimate. Maybe it was because they had downed a few drinks, never stopped talking, and had somehow ended up closer than before with their knees brushing against one another. Whatever it was - it was different.

Lena giggled into her glass at something Calum had said and lightly placed it back down on the marble bar. She swirled the uneaten olive around and glanced up when she felt Calum’s eyes burning into the side of her head. “What?” She exhaled a breathy laugh. Calum looked at her lips, they were covered red and so was her Martini glass from the lipstick she was wearing.

Calum had never seen her wear lipstick. Only lip gloss, but she had grown up a lot, matured, since the last time he saw her as a freshly turned twenty-one year old. When he knew her before, he never thought she could get any more gorgeous, but God, was he wrong.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Lena’s voice was quieter now.

“You’re just fucking beautiful,” Calum couldn’t help but tell her. He watched her blush and duck her head, her face hidden behind her hair to hide the blush on her cheeks, but Calum wanted to see it. Gingerly, he tucked her hair behind her ear, showing off the earrings she had on. Calum watched her throat work as he lightly grazed his thumb against her red cheeks. Red from the blush she put on earlier and from Calum’s words. “I’ve always thought you were too good for Luke.”

“Calum…” Lena shook her head.

“‘M serious, Lena. He treated you like shit. He didn’t deserve you.” Calum wasn’t sure if it was the few glasses of whiskey he had consumed or how overwhelming and good it felt to finally be around her again, but he was telling her everything he had wished he told her before. “And I told him that, too. Told him he that he didn’t deserve a girl like you. Told him that if he didn’t stop treatin’ you like shit he would lose you.” Calum scoffed at the memory of his cocky best friend. “Can’t believe you’re the one that lost him.”

Lena frowned at the memory of her and Luke’s break up. She invited him over to her house, it was almost their two and a half year anniversary. She had cooked his favorite meal and bought an expensive bottle of wine and new set of lingerie just for him, only for him show up dressed in sweats, empty handed, with an break up speech prepared.

Lena wasn’t expecting it. She didn’t see it coming, so it hit her even harder, broke her heart into even more pieces than it should have. She thought she would never recover. Calum was scared she wouldn’t. 

Lena downed the rest of her Martini. “He broke my heart.” She whispered. The bartender saw their empty glasses and refilled them without question which Lena was going to tip him well for. “And I didn’t even see it coming.”

“I know he did.” Calum took her hand in his and brought them up to his lips. He kissed them lightly, waiting for any sign of reaction or rejection, but when Lena did nothing, stayed there staring at him with admiration in her eyes, Calum leaned closer. “And he’s a fucking idiot for that.”

Their lips were close, closer than they ever were or ever should have been, and Lena was hyper aware of that. She wasn’t going to deny that she found Calum attractive, but it was nothing more than that. Or that’s what she told herself.

“Calum…” Lena breathed. “We-we can’t. You’re Luke’s best friend.”

“Am I?” Calum questioned. “Haven’t heard from him in three months, Lena. He left, made new friends, and left us all behind. Wouldn’t consider him my best friend anymore, would you?”

“No,” Lena shook her head. “I wouldn’t.”

That’s all it took for Calum to press his lips together and nearly moan into Lena’s mouth when she kissed back and deepened it. She slid off of the wooden chair, her satin dress making it easy for her to do so, and found home in between Calum’s legs. His hands found her waist and he squeezed them when he felt Lena’s fingers lace through his hair.

He kissed her like he always wanted to and then it hit him. Fuck, he once loved her. He never thought it was love, just a small crush, but maybe that’s just what he convinced himself to believe. He didn’t love her anymore, the time and distance mixed with the lack of speaking and seeing each other had it fading away as time went by, but being with her; touching, tasting, and feeling her lips, he was sure he was going to fall in love all over again.

✧✧✧

Taglist: @wrappedaroundcal @cosmocalum @roselukes @kinglyhood @cantbehandled-ever @hereforlukescruff @astroashtonio @monsteramongmikey @5secsofsomewhere @gosh-im-short @emma070900 @youmaycallmemrshemmings @grittyisathot @cakesunflower

(if you want to be added or taken off the taglist send me an ask!)

#5sos #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfic #5 seconds of summer imagines #5 seconds of summer imagine #calum hood #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #michael clifford #5sos calum hood #calum hood 5sos #calum imagine #calum imagines #calum blurb #calum blurbs #calum hood imagines #calum hood imagine #calum hood blurb #calum hood blurbs #calum fanfiction #calum hood fanfic #calum hood fanfiction #cal imagines #cal imagine #cal fanfic #cal fanfiction #cal blurb #cal blurbs #ex boyfriend #ex boyfriends best friend

[fenriael]

Too Much Information: Character Interview - Valien Gelus

Thank you for tagging me, @sheirukitriesfandom! I really enjoyed reading about your Rashkan. I was a bit delayed filling this out because of RL, but I had good fun doing this (I hope I filled it out right, it was my first time doing one of these things XD).

I chose Valien, one of my favourite ESO OCs. Valien is my Altmer ice battle mage, and his other half is Kathariel, a half Altmer, half Bosmer priestess of Auri-el with an affinity for fire magic. They are the pair currently featuring in my blog’s banner together in the snow :)

------------------------

A tall, relatively broad-shouldered Altmer gentleman of advancing years whose golden face carries scars from many battles. His long, sleek, silver-white hair is carefully tied back, but hangs loose at the shoulders. His robes are simple, but elegant, charcoal grey with pale blue accents. He wears a sword at his side and a faint icy chill permeates the air as he studies you piercingly with pale grey eyes.

 Name -> “Lord Valien, of the house of Gelus.”

“We are called the house of Gelus because it is said we are born with ice in our veins,” Lord Valien explains, lifting his hand in explanation as frost slowly creeps from the tips of slender golden fingers to the wrist. He smiles thinly. “There is, as with all good family stories, a modicum of truth to be found in those tales.”

Are you single? -> Valien leans back in his chair, raising an eyebrow.

“A curious question. I have in recent years found myself fortunate enough to spend my time with a most wonderful young woman by the name of Kathariel,” he explains with a slight smile, although it then fades a little.

“I am, of course, still married. It was an arranged affair, as is often the case for important marriages in Altmer society. While we found each other’s company agreeable at first, as the years passed, we became rather…well, different people, shall we say.” Valien smiles ruefully. “Despite how some of our people may speak, just because the star alignments or family pedigree predict an auspicious marriage, does not mean it will be so.”

“We are, however, still on cordial terms, although we find that maintaining a certain degree of distance has aided in producing a suitable working partnership for the purpose of maintaining strong family alliances.”

Are you happy? -> “In recent years, yes, very much so. It was not always the case, however.”

Are you angry? ->  “I am I an angry person? No, not as such. But in the past, some bitterness on my part resulted in the unfortunate habit of distancing myself from those I should have shown more affection for,” he explains quietly, appearing more than a little uncomfortable. “In addition, I am not known to suffer fools terribly well,” he then adds more convivially, and gives a rueful chuckle. “The soldiers formally under my command would likely attest to that! But I think most would have agreed not unfairly so, under the circumstances. I hope so, at any rate.”

Are your parents still married? -> “No, not anymore, but that is perhaps unsurprising given my age.”

 NINE FACTS

Birth Place? ->  “My family’s main estate, nestled in the foothills of Eton Nir.”

Hair Colour? ->  Silver-white.

Eye Colour? ->  Pale grey-blue, comparable to the pallor of the clouds before a snowstorm.

Birthday? -> “I was born early in the month of First Seed, under the sign of the Lord, and incidentally when the first of the snowdrops had begun to bloom that year. In terms of age, I can tell you to begin with that I am more than old enough to recall Master Vanus Galerion forming that troublesome mages guild of his,” Valien grumbles good-naturedly. “Will that suffice?”

Mood?-> “I think I most likely covered this above?”

Gender? ->  “Male.”

Summer or winter? -> Valien’s mouth twitches upwards in amusement. “I would have thought the answer to that question obvious. Winter, of course. Though,” he then adds, expression softening. “There is something also to be said for the summer also is there not? After all, my beloved would say there is room in our lives for all seasons equally, and I daresay she is correct.”

Morning or afternoon?-> “I prefer being up early. I do rather dislike any day that I am being unproductive in. Although, Kathariel is very fond of reminding me I should be more restful.”

 EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

Are you in love? -> “I believe I have mentioned Kathariel already?” Valien replies with slight smile. “She was a priestess in a monastery of Auri-el that I was brought to after sustaining some quite severe injuries. Later, she was instrumental in aiding my binding ritual to finally put to rest the evil that had left me with the injuries in the first place. I would not have survived either ordeal without her. She chose to leave the monastery to join my household afterwards, and has been part of my life ever since.”

Do you believe in love at first sight? ->“I think love at first sight is a concept best left to the young and foolishly impulsive,” Valien replies, frowning slightly.  “Although,” he then adds after a pause, “I must say, from the day I met Kathariel she stood out in my mind; it has not forgotten her since. So perhaps I should not be quite so quick to dismiss such notions.”

Who ended your last relationship?-> “With my wife? We grew apart, or perhaps I should say the differences that were always between us grew more and more apparent as the years went by.”

Have you ever broken someone’s heart? -> “I highly doubt it.” He replies bluntly. “What is your next question?”

Are you afraid of commitments? -> Valien’s eyes narrow slightly, and then he sighs heavily. “I am…hesitant to dedicate myself to partnerships unless the person in question is truly of a like mind to my own. I spent too many years in the unfortunate company of politically-motivated sycophants whose only interest was in my family bloodline. It was a most wearying state of affairs.”

Have you hugged someone within the last week? -> Valien reaches down and scratches the head of a young griffin draped across his feet, snoring gently. “Why yes, of course,” he replies with a chuckle, indicating the feathered creature with amusement.

Have you ever had a secret admirer? ->  “Not that I am aware of.”

Have you ever broken your own heart? -> Valien shifts slightly in his chair. “Perhaps we should move onto the next question, yes?”

 SIX CHOICES

Love or lust? -> “Why not both?”

Lemonade or iced tea? -> “I’m very fond of teas, either hot or cold.”

Cats or Dogs? -> “As a general rule I find animals of any type far more agreeable than most mer I encounter.”

A few best friends or many regular friends? -> “I cannot say I know many whom I would consider to be close friends, in truth. But there is Kathariel, of course; there is also my youngest brother who, despite his unnatural and frankly unsettling love of opera music and his utterly mistaken belief that he is capable of singing, has time and time again provided most trustworthy and sensible council in my travels.”

“At one time I would have also considered my middle brother a friend also, but I fear that time has since past. He was formally a revelator-naganwe, a death seer, but in his grief he found himself reaching for magics he should not have reached for, and performing experiments that crossed too many lines. He chose to distance himself from the rest of the family to avoid ill-will to befall our household; Altmer society is not forgiving of Graxifalas – disgraceful - behaviour.”

Wild night out or romantic night in? -> “I prefer quiet evenings. I am not one for excessive drink or large gatherings.”

Day or night? -> “Day or night? That would depend,” he replies with a smirk, “on the nature of the activities in mind.”

 FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

Been caught sneaking out? -> Valien scoffs at the question. “Not since I was a lot younger and a lot more foolish than I am now.”

Fallen down/up the stairs? -> “If there are no witnesses then it did not happen, correct?”

Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ->  “Most certainly.”    

Wanted to disappear? -> “Oh yes, quite frequently,” Valien mutters sullenly.  “From court banquets, the many social gatherings my wife enjoys hosting in our halls, from any event whatsoever that claims to be held in celebration of my name day.” He sighs despairingly.  “Did I mention I was not terribly fond of social gatherings?”

 FOUR PREFERENCES

Smile or eyes? -> “It seems a pity to choose, when both can be so enrapturing.”

Shorter or Taller? -> “Well, I cannot say I have a personal preference. Kathariel is however noticeably shorter than myself, being that I am taller than average and she is of part Bosmeri heritage.”

Intelligence or Attraction? -> “Intelligence, certainly. I would not wish to be involved with someone who I could not have a lively debate with.”

Hook-up or Relationship? ->  “I cannot say I enjoy casual dalliances by any means. “

 FAMILY

Do you and your family get along? -> “I believe I have already explained my relationship to my wife.” Valien pauses slightly. “As for my son and daughter, I have always loved them greatly, though I fear they regarded me as rather a distant figure in their youth. I have tried to make amends for this more recently. I also have a young granddaughter, and she is the apple of my eye, so to speak.”

Would you say you have a “messed up life”? -> “Not particularly. At times complicated, however, but then that is true of many people’s lives.”

Have you ever run away from home? -> “There were many years I chose to spend away from my household in my role as a battle-reeve, and so in a manner of speaking, yes. There were times when I should have returned home, but I did not. I believed that the work I was doing would benefit them undoubtedly more than my presence at home would. Now my children are fully grown, and I regret that choice greatly. We have at least, had the opportunity to grow closer of late, and for that I am most grateful. ”

Have you ever gotten kicked out? -> “I have not.”

 FRIENDS

Do you secretly hate one of your friends -> “Certainly not?”

Do you consider all of your friends good friends ->  “Yes, of course.”

Who is your best friend -> “My beloved Kathariel.”

Who knows everything about you -> “Kathariel, undoubtedly,” he replies with a slight smile. “I never expected to find someone who I would share my life with in such a way, but it has been a blessing indeed.”

 I think I’m now supposed to tag more people now If I understand correctly? @mutantenfisch, @forevervobla @taergalive, @sadmagecentral I hope it’s ok if I tag you all (not sure about the etiquette for this kinda thing)? 

#my oc #Valien Gelus #elder scrolls #teso #eso #Altmer #mage #ask meme #my writing

[olivay-official]

Red: The Untold Story of a Reluctant Hero

Synopsis: This is the story of Red, a normal college student with superpowers, though her friends call her Jay... and none of them know about the whole superpower thing. Sarcastic, chronically sleep-deprived, and always hungry she's the happy in-between of Deadpool and Spiderman that you never knew you needed!

Prologue: Oliver

I can say with confidence that one of the best and worst things to happen to me happened all in the same night. It's funny how something horrible can lead you to something… amazing.

It was the night I had met her. Our city’s own local superhero. Well, I guess superhero was kind of a stretch. No one really knew much about her and the media couldn’t figure out what to call her. She had a variety of names most of which seemed to pick out the color she always wore: Red. She was called a vigilante by some, a menace by others, it really depended on who you asked. The media often chose to report on her fashion choices rather than the actual criminals she helped put away. Her costume did, however, lack a certain flare you might find in a comic book or movie. She most often wore something you’d go to the gym in, though the colors were always consistent. There was only one resource of decent coverage on the superhero/vigilante, a blog called ‘The Red Underground’. It was the only real resource I had to go off of for what went on in the city. It exposed a lot of real stuff going on that the news hardly ever talked about including the Bone Crew, a nasty gang that the cops and media would rather pretend didn’t exist.

It was all of this that had led me to her.

I had been looking at colleges. It wasn’t so much that I even needed to go to college. My father already had a job lined up for me and I was more than capable of doing whatever I damn well pleased without taking the extra four years. But college to me had always been more about independence. A way to get out from my father’s overbearing thumb. I mean the guy meant well but there comes a time when a kid needs to get his own life and mine had been seriously lacking in the last 18 years. So I snuck out to visit a local college on the other side of town. I had even called and set up a damn tour for myself. 

The school itself wasn’t exceptionally impressive but the location was nice, close enough to home that my dad wouldn’t completely freak and far enough that I would need to get my own place. It was practically a dream come true.

The sun had gone down by the time I finally headed back home. In an effort to enjoy my newfound freedom I decided to walk home. I had hardly made it off campus when I noticed two men following me which wouldn’t have been alarming except for the fact that both men had skulls tattooed to their face. One man was completely bald the details of the skull printed across the shiny skin. The other had a notable crew cut with a strong fade- probably to show off the markings on the side of his skull. I could feel my heartbeat pick up and my palms begin to sweat. Not that I was particularly afraid of them but clearly their proximity wasn’t a good thing. I picked up my pace and noticed the immediate increase in their own. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that they were following me. In an attempt to lose them I began taking quick turns onto streets I didn’t know very well- not my best move… I ended up making a poorly chosen turn into a dark alleyway. Turning quickly on my heel I ran straight into the two thugs blocking the entrance. I backed up slowly body tensing as it recalculated my fight or flight instinct. The two men smiled wickedly at me sharing a knowing look before pouncing into action. Their moves felt choreographed, the two moving in perfect sync both grabbing a shoulder and shoving me into the concrete wall. I grunted as my back slammed hard against the surface of the building.

“Now pretty boy why don’t you tell us where you keep your wallet?” The bald one hissed as he gripped the front of my shirt tighter. I felt the situation was a no brainer- give them the cash, what did an empty bank account matter when a cut throat was on the line?

“Right back pocket,” I answered dutifully. The bald man smiled as he reached his hand back to slide the leather wallet from my pocket. The man flipped it open greedily with the one hand.

“You got your cash, mind if I have some fun with this one?” Crew cut asked his partner all the while keeping his eyes steadily trained on me a dark glint in them making me swallow hard.

“Do what you want with him, not my type anyways,” Bald boy snickered. My eyes widened at his words, suddenly I didn’t think my cash was all they wanted… Crew cut pressed close to me a sinister grin playing on his lips. He slid something from his pocket and with a flip of his hand a blade was pressed to my throat.

“Try to fight me and I’ll slit your throat,” He cooed moving close to my ear. I could feel his other hand moving down my body. I was in a word: petrified. It’s never talked about, either because it doesn’t happen as often or because the victims are too afraid to admit what happened to them, I idly wondered if I would fall into this same category. After all it was either suffer the traumatic event and its lasting effects or lose my life. There was only one way to find out and I was quickly barreling towards one of the two options. I squeezed my eyes shut as if that could block out the horrors of what was to come.

“I have to admit, he does have a nice face but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to excuse rape,” A girl’s voice sounded boisterously from above. I opened my eyes to find a small girl sitting on the lowest rung of the fire escape across from us. Her dainty feet dangled over the side as she surveyed the scene. Both men stood frozen staring angry daggers her way. My mouth hung open. This is the vigilante?! The girl was so much smaller than I had imagined. She looked to be about half my size maybe less. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and her clothes were tattered and stained with blood. Bruises speckled her skin even dotting her pretty round face. She grinned down at the men as she awaited their answer.

“Get out of here little girl before someone gets hurt, and believe me you don’t want that someone to be you,” Bald boy quipped.

“Let me just tell you how this is going to go, I’m going to kick your ass first because well that knife just has to go, and then I’m going to kick your ass while your rapey friend over here watches. And if you two are really lucky you’ll stay conscious through the whole ass kicking ordeal. Hell, I’ll even throw in a pretty black eye while I’m at it!” The girl taunted as she wistfully kicked her feet back and forth. She approached the entire situation more like it was a nice evening stroll with friends than a gang’s mugging and violation of humanity. The two men looked at each other with bewildered looks on their face before turning to the questionable hero with a snarl.

“I think what you need to do is shut-” Crew cut had turned his knife towards the girl but before he could finish his reply the girl had swung off the handle bars flying feet first through the small space. Her feet collided with the mans face knocking him into the concrete next to me with a sickening crack. The knife clattered to the ground. Her feet pushed off his skull and she flipped gracefully backward onto the ground in front of me. She gave me a wink before swiveling towards her next opponent already poised for his attack. He charged her, arms extended as if he were going to take her out by the legs. At the last second, she side stepped his move her hand bolting out to take Bald boy by his neck. Using his momentum against him she sent him headfirst into the concrete wall following his friend’s path on the collapse down. She dusted her hands off placing them on her hips and clicking her tongue.

“I so wish the two of you had stayed conscious long enough to see how pathetic you look,” She sighed before pulling a handful of zip ties from her pocket. I watched as she dragged the two bodies to a storm drain and promptly tied their hands, multiple times, to the railing. Finally turning back to me she smiled apologetically. She strolled over to me and picked my wallet up off the ground.

“I believe this is yours.” She offered me the worn leather wallet. I nodded and hesitantly took it from her. Her hands went back to rest on her hips as she regarded my state. Her eyes were striking, a bright gray I had never seen someone wear before, thickly rimmed with dark lashes.

“Any chance you know where the nearest phone booth is? I gotta call this in.” I blinked in surprise at her words- she was going to take care of everything for me- no statement from me whatsoever, and no chance my dad found out about this or anyone else for that matter (so maybe it really was that men were afraid to talk about being the victim). My previous assumption of her size had been correct, the girl stood nearly a foot shorter than me, and though fit verged on the thin side but that didn’t stop her from single-handedly kicking two guy’s asses as if it were nothing.

“I- I don’t,” I stammered out. The girl frowned a beautiful pair of full lips. Before I could stop myself I found my eyes surveying her. A colorful patch of purple marks about the size of a fist decorated her stomach, a few fading scrapes appeared along her chin and arms. She smirked as she observed where my gaze had gone.

“The rumors aren’t true,” She told me.

“Huh?” My face suddenly felt hot as I met her piercing gaze once more.

“I don’t starve myself, I just have a killer workout routine,” She chuckled and to my surprise I found myself releasing a nervous laugh alongside her. She nodded towards the alley’s opening.

“Try not to run into any more trouble on your way home,” She ordered me. I nodded following her instructions to the mouth of the alley. Before I could completely leave though I turned back around to face her.

“Hey-” I called voice uneven. Her head looked up from the crooks she had saved me from. “Thank you- for saving me,” I finished awkwardly. The girl grinned as she looked at me.

“It’s just what I do,” She said with a shrug but the smile didn’t leave her face. I found myself smiling as well.

It was then that I decided I would do anything I could to help her.

She was a hero.

Chapter 1: Red

Some might say I’m a superhero. Me? I prefer local badass but superhero is good too. And I guess I kind of was a superhero. I wore a mask and stopped crime. Hell, I could do things that shouldn’t be possible.

Yeah screw it I’m totally a superhero.

“Earth to Red, are you in there?” My tech whiz of a sidekick shouted in my ear.

“Yeah yeah I hear you,” I grumbled. He normally only communicated to me through an earpiece. He handled the details of crime-fighting so I wouldn’t have to. Don’t get me wrong the guy could kick some serious ass if he wanted to but it was a rare occasion for him to ever need to.

“Kind of a slow night,” Napster noted.

“Yeah it's boring-” I froze, body tensing as I heard a scream. Finally something good! I ran towards the sound. They were easy to find only two buildings over from the rooftop I had been perched on. A woman fought for her bag from a kid with a green mohawk. I smiled, it was almost too easy. Silently I slid down the drainpipe on the side of the building. On the ground lay your usual alleyway muck and trash. I opted for a sturdy glass bottle. Giving it a light toss it hit its target. Upon impact with his head, the boy let go of the bag and the woman took off running. The boy turned to me growling.

“Sorry man but that purse just totally clashed with that outfit,” I said leaning casually against the brick wall of the building.

The boy glowered at me and without a word his entire left arm morphed into a crystalized blade nearly the length of his body.

“Well, that’s… new,” I said trying to keep my mouth from hanging open.

“Holy shit!!”Napster shouted. Not helpful.

Blade boy came at me fast.

“You know just because you can give yourself a haircut,” I said ducking under his arm as he swung at me, “doesn’t mean that you should!”

The boy bared his teeth and took another literal stab at me. I jumped over his attack plowing my feet into his face and kicking off him. The force knocked him on his back as I did a backflip onto my feet.

“Uh, Red we might have a problem,” I heard Napster in my ear. I groaned in response.

Blade boy snarled as he scrambled to his feet. I scooped up a bent lead pipe off the ground. Taking my own swing this time I went for the arm and his galdamn arm cut through the pipe! He grinned at me. I did not care for that.

“The girl with the purse was working with him, they robbed a jewelry store two blocks over, the purse was full of the loot,” Napster told me.

“WHAT?!” I practically screeched. Distracted I didn’t move fast enough when Sparkles swung at me. A shallow slice split across my stomach.

“Ah!! Fuck- it must be a bitch to wipe with that thing!” I shouted. He sneered.

“Classy,” Napster commented.

“I’m busy can you just handle this?” I asked annoyed. In response, I heard Napster’s bike rev into the earpiece. Blade boy gave me a confused look.

“Voices in my head, they just demand to be heard,” I quipped with a shrug. The boy scowled.

“Don’t you ever hear voices?” I asked as I came at him swinging. He dodged easily and I nearly lost my hand when he came up to block my next punch.

“Fine don’t talk, I like the strong silent type anyways!” I took a couple of steps back and came at him running. He went for the attack but my target was lower. I let my body fall sliding clear under his crystalized blade and through his legs to the other side. I jumped to my feet running up the side of the brick wall to the top of the dumpster. One foot touching down I quickly pushed off crotch slamming into the side of his face as I used my forward momentum to twist and flip him onto his back. Disoriented, I took a moment to punch him in the face… hard.

The blade receded back into a human-looking arm as he fell unconscious.

“Strong silent type huh?” Napster chuckled as he appeared in the alley-way dragging the struggling woman behind him by her handcuffs.

“Better than street-naive tech geek. What the hell are you doing?” I asked eyeing the still very aware girl next to him.

“Well it seemed a little extreme to knock her out,” Napster snorted. Without hesitation, I punched the girl straight in the nose and she went limp, Napster caught her giving me an incredulous look.

“What, don’t tell me you’re afraid to hit a girl in this line of business. Besides if she started screaming someone could be dumb enough to let her go,” I told him.

“How are you going to tie him up. Zip ties aren’t going to work with that arm,” Napster asked as he half dragged the girl over to a drainpipe to secure her to.

“Yeah his arm looked like crystal, could probably cut through anything…. So I have to make sure he won’t want to use it.” I smiled to myself.

Five minutes and 48 zip ties later and I had successfully zip tied the boy's hands into his pants.

“See this is what happens when you try to shish-kabob someone- karma’s a bitch,” I said to the unconscious boy as I finished off the last zip tie. “Alright, Napster you can call it in to the cops. Let ‘em know about the whole arm thing if you can,” I said admiring my handiwork.

“Your problem-solving skills concern me,” Napster muttered.

“Well, he’s not cutting his way out now! This whole super-powered villain thing is getting out of hand. I don’t even know what the cops can do with this guy once they remove the zip ties,” I shook my head.

“Are you sure you can’t tell me more about how you got your powers? It could help me figure out where all these suped-up villains are coming from,” Napster said as I began pulling myself up onto the fire escape.

“You know everything you need to know about how I got my powers,” I said taking a look at him.

“That you have them?” Napster’s sarcastic tone was clear. His dark eyes sparkled with a hint of humor and curiosity as he looked at me. For a moment I wondered what he was like in the real world.

“Precisely!”

I climbed up the fire escape shaking my thoughts of Napster, it was about time for me to return to the real world as well and he had no place there for me.

#My writing #superheroes #Original Work #sidekick #spideypool cross #original writing #red the untold story of a reluctant hero #jay and oliver #red and napster #superpowers #sidekick au

[imaginekpoplikethis]

BTS Bad Boy Collection ~ Part 2 ~ KN

It’s been a while TT but I’m back and technically on summer holiday until October so stay tuned. I’m slowly thinking up weird plots my dudes

Part 1~ KT Part 2 ~ KN ~ Here

You’d heard many stories of encounters with strange people, even stalkers, who persistently harassed people on their ways back home from school or work. Despite this not once did you ever think you’d be one of these victims. That was probably your first mistake if you were being honest.

It was a warm Tuesday night and despite it being only the second day of the week, you were exhausted. Recently, you found that school work was taking up majority of your life due to final exams and what was left of your time was swiftly snatched away from you by your part time job.

Walking down the surprisingly well lit street at eleven in the evening didn’t warrant any warning bells ringing in your head because, well, it was so well lit that it was almost blinding. Nothing ever happens on a brightly lit street. At least not in the horror films you found yourself watching with your best friend Hana late on a Saturday evening.

This assumption of yours was your second mistake.

Instead of quickly making your way home you decided that you could spare a decently paced walk for leisure, your earphones playing one of the newest albums from your current favourite singer at a reasonable volume. Obviously this choice of volume level wasn’t as reasonable as you assumed it to be and this was proven when you failed to notice the figures that had been tailing you for at least three blocks. By some miracle you got the urge to look behind you and noticed what seemed to be two boys slowing their pace at your sudden awareness of their presence. One turned to the other, nudging him and began a conversation about something he had suddenly displayed on his phone and the other dropped his eyes to said device.

Though it now seemed they weren’t interested in you, a burning feeling in your gut had you picking up your pace and closing your music application. You chose to keep your earphones in to give the impression that you weren’t interested in what they were doing. This way if their footsteps began to draw closer or they said something alarming, you would be able to hear it without them noticing.

You still had another several blocks to walk before you made it back to your small apartment and this unnerved you to no end. Would you be able to outrun these two boys if need be? You had no doubt in your mind that you were about to find out since the bright lampposts decorating the streets were stretching two shadows underneath your feet, two shadows that were drawing closer by the second.

Reaching the end of the street you made a sharp turn out of their sight and started a sprint which lasted all but four seconds before you collided with what seemed to be a poorly placed wall. You were sure you hadn’t ducked into a dead end so, with your heart thumping painfully in your chest, you quickly snapped your gaze up from the ground you had unceremoniously stumbled onto and were met with the surprised gaze of a young man.

“I- I’m so sorry b-but you see- could you help me!?”

Just as you sputtered out these words, heavy footsteps made you jump to your feet and both boys rounded the corner before drawing to a sudden stop. It seemed the sight of the man who was now placing his arm around your shoulders had made them reevaluate their actions as their eyes suddenly widened.

Your eyes too widened at the sudden arm placed on you and the smooth voice that slipped out from between his lips.

“Hey, you took a while. Come on I’ll walk you the rest of the way home.” He squeezed your shoulder and shot a pointed look at the boys before directing his next words at them.

“Is there a problem? What do you want?” Chills ran down your spine at the cold words and one of the boys stumbled upon his words to give an answer.

“Namj-! N-No. No there isn’t. Sorry, thought we knew your girl...”

They proceeded to cross the street throwing a quick glance over their shoulders to watch you and the stranger before disappearing down another street.

Releasing a breath you didn’t realise you were holding, you crouched down and wrapped your arms around your legs, pressing your face into your knees to hide the hot tears that were slowly leaking from your eyes.

“H-hey! Are you alright? It’s okay they’re gone now.”

You simply nodded, face still hidden and released a small sniffle.

“I just... I genuinely didn’t think I’d make it home let alone have someone save me.”

He made no sound and instead placed his hands on your arms, gently pulling you up from your feeble position on the ground and pressing you against his chest.

You stood there for a minute or so crying into the chest of a stranger who potentially saved your life.

“Come on, I’ll walk you home...”

Normally such an offer from a stranger would have had you decline but you were so shaken up from this particular incident that you simply nodded meekly.

He asked for simple directions and then began guiding you down the street upon receiving your answer. You had mostly calmed down within five minutes of walking and so stole fleeting glances at the young man. His lips were pressed into a straight line and you took notice of his eyes that were trained ahead. If you were going to be a hundred percent honest there wasn’t anything particularly unique about them but you, strangely enough, were still drawn to them.

‘Beautiful...’

Your eyes widened once again though this time at your own thoughts and you felt yourself get flustered. He looked back down at you and let a sympathetic smile dance on his lips, revealing dimples.

“You okay now? You wanna talk to get your mind off it?”

You found yourself nodding silently for the umpteenth time that evening and he broke into a grin.

“So... are you a student? Why’re you out this late?”

You contemplated lying to him but then remembered that he was your saviour and the least you could do was tell the truth. Not much harm could come from your choice.

“Yeah, I’m a first year in university but I have a part time job which is why I’m out this late. Honestly, I finished early. I’m usually on my way home at one in the morning.”

If he was surprised he didn’t show it physically and instead opted to looking ahead of you both.

“Is that so? That doesn’t sound very safe. I know I’m a total stranger so you really don’t have to listen to me but you should consider changing jobs. Finishing that late and being a university student on top of that doesn’t sound very healthy let alone safe... how much sleep do you get on weekdays if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Uh, maybe around four hours?” You didn’t sound so sure of yourself due to the fact that you sometimes didn’t sleep at all. Insomnia was a frequent ever since you started your, admittedly, crap job. The pay was decent but your boss was unrelenting which had pushed you to write the resignation letter that sat on your desk at home. Maybe now was the right time to hand it in?

“Four hours? That sucks. Isn’t that around the same amount new mothers get? Then again I wouldn’t know...”

You couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped past your lips and the man cracked a small smile at the sound.

“Ah, you smiled... feeling a bit better?”

You let your own smile grow and looked up at him, a sincere look of gratitude displayed on your face.

“Yeah... thank you.”

Before you knew it you both rounded the corner of your street, your idle chatter making your journey seem much shorter than usual.

“Ah, I’m home...”

Your words almost went unheard with the lack of volume you projected them with but the man seemed to have been waiting for you to say something as his attention was now focused solely on you.

“Thank you again. For everything. I want to repay you but I’m not sure how...”

As you let your mind wander to the several possibilities you had of repaying the kind man, he tapped you on your shoulder to regain your attention.

“Listen, you don’t have to worry about it but if you really can’t let me go without some sort of repayment how about you get me a coffee some day?”

A cheeky grin made its way onto his face and his dimples resurfaced. Such a joyous expression drew a grin upon your own lips and you nodded eagerly.

“Here let me give you my number and you can call me whenever. And don’t hesitate to call me if you need someone to walk you home. I live pretty near and wouldn’t want you running into trouble again.”

You grimaced at the fresh memory of your almost disastrous encounter with the two boys and a flood of relief entered your body at his proposal.

“If it’s not much trouble...”

You handed him your phone and he quickly punched in his number before handing it back to you and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Thank you.”

He released a raspy yet smooth chuckle at your gratitude.

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. I couldn’t let someone as cute as you run into any trouble.”

You felt a blush rapidly spread across your face at his words and you looked down at your feet.

A sudden ringing sounded from his pocket and he dug around it, pulling out his own phone. A quick scan of the caller ID had him looking back at you with a sweet smile.

“I gotta take this... I’ll see you around though?”

He waved at you before answering his phone and making his way down the street once again albeit on his own this time.

“Ah.... I forgot to ask for his name.”

Unlocking your own phone you searched for the newly input contact, desperate to find the name tied to this handsome man. You smiled once again at the sight of the letters ‘KN’ along with the arm flexing emoji and the superhero emoji.

-

Needless to say, the next few weeks you found yourself being accompanied by none other than ‘KN’. Your conversations were always brief and you found yourself failing to ask him for his real name. Most of the time it was due to your own forgetfulness but other times you found yourself to nervous the get the words out. It was inexplainable why you felt the need to keep your curiosity to yourself but you believed that perhaps it had something to do with the somewhat intimidating and confident air he always radiated.

However, on this particular day you had set yourself a goal.

‘Work up your courage and ask him for his name already!’

You stared into the mirror hanging within the staff bathroom and gave yourself a curt nod. He was waiting outside for you just as he had been the past three weeks. You were surprised he was this dedicated to making sure you got home safe but at the same time you were incredibly grateful for his companionship.

Quickly bidding your boss a farewell, you hurried across the street where he was patiently waiting and offered him a gentle smile, one he returned dimpled.

“Good day at work?”

Your short journey began and you let out an almost inaudible huff.

“Same old. I’m looking into new jobs though. Ones that pay better and have a reasonable contract.”

You’d rather have a job waiting for you before you left the disaster you called your current one.

“Is that so? Well, if you want I can recommend you to a really popular café in central?”

“Really? Wait- don’t tell me you’re talking about the really pretty one next to the shopping centre? The one where they film dramas all the time?”

Grinning at your knowledge of said café, he pulled out his phone and began searching through his photos.

“Yep, that’s the one. The owner is actually my mothers college friend.”

He seemed to find what he was looking for and presented you with a photo of himself with a middle aged woman, seated inside the café of your discussion.

“No way, that’s amazing! Could you really do that for me?”

Placing his phone back into his jacket pocket, you both then turned the corner of street leading to your apartment and he let out a low hum.

“Of course. I’ll recommend you to her and let you know what she says.”

Stopping before your house, you grabbed one of his hands and clasped it between your own, your eyes shining in admiration for your saviour.

“Thank you so much! You’re like my guardian angel, always there when I need help.”

His free hand reached out to pat you on the head affectionately and you beamed up at him.

“Hey, it’s a bit a-awkward to ask this now but what’s your na-“

“Hey! I knew you’d forget about our hangout session! Come on Y/N it’s a Saturday what are y-!”

Hana emerged from your home and quickly cut herself off at the sight of you both.

“Oh- I’m sorry! You must’ve been waiting a while huh...”

She gave your companion a once over and her eyes widened slightly.

“Yeah... but I let myself in with the spare key you gave me... um, how long are you gonna take?”

It was then you realized you were still clutching his hand and you immediately dropped it whilst he removed his own from your head.

“I’m coming in now.”

Giving him one last grin, you waved and began walking backwards towards your home.

“Thanks again! I’ll see you soon?”

He met your grin with one of his own and shot you a thumbs up.

“Definitely. Good night.”

After entering your home, you made your way to your living room only to find Hana sitting cross legged with a bowl of popcorn sitting on her lap, staring at the paused screen of the movie you had agreed to watch tonight.

“Sorry about that Hana.”

She turned towards you with a raised eyebrow, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

“Hey why didn’t you tell me the guy was Kim Namjoon?”

The confusion must have been painfully clear on your face.

“Huh? Who’s Kim Namjoon?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been walking home with the notorious leader of a gang and you didn’t even know. Because honestly I’m gonna have to start questioning whether your body is running without a brain if you didn’t.”

“Hana, what are you talking about? How would you even know it’s him, what are you part of a gang now?”

Your joke flew over her head and she narrowed her eyes at you.

“I went to school with him back when I was a teen. We were in the same class and everything, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize him.”

You felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over you at the information Hana was spouting.

“That guy was trouble, always fighting people.  Somehow he was never suspended though. Then again it’s not like he went out of his way to be a bad person... I heard he’s really only known for how good he is at fighting though.”

Your feet began moving on their own accord and you sunk into the sofa, staring blankly ahead with your mouth agape.

“So I’ve been escorted home by a gang leader and I didn’t even realise?”

You soon came to the conclusion that your naivety had reached a whole new level.

-

You had been avoiding Namjoon for the two weeks that had followed your enlightenment. Fear had planted a seed in the pit of your stomach and it was slowly growing. He had sent you messages multiple times throughout the span of several days, asking where you were and why you were avoiding him.

You had, with shaking fingers, replied that you were granted sick leave and were not feeling one hundred percent though even that sounded unlikely within your own mind. Not many took two weeks off for a simple flu. He didn’t seem to believe your words but didn’t press any further.

It was somewhat irrational that you were treating a man, who was kind enough to walk you home at ridiculous times in the morning and offer to help you get a job, this poorly. Despite his kind deeds, it was hard to ignore who he was though you weren’t sure what him being a leader of a gang entailed.

For all you knew they could be a good gang.

Who were you kidding, did good gangs even exist?

Hana did mention that he didn’t really do anything bad though... did that mean he wasn’t dangerous?

“That can’t be true! He’s known for fighting...”

You folded your work uniform and placed it into your locker, grabbing your bag and making your way towards your boss.

“I’ll see you tomorrow sir.”

He nodded in acknowledgment and you set out for your walk home only to stop dead in your tracks when you noticed two figures standing across the street, watching you.

Since they were standing underneath a street lamp it wasn’t hard for you to realise they were the same boys from a month or so back. Your heart begun thumping painfully in your chest and your face drained of colour.

You didn’t know what to do. You didn’t want to call Namjoon and beg for his help since you had been pretty mean to him. Then again he had mentioned for you to do just that.

Swallowing the saliva that accumulated in your mouth you took a step forward, legs shaking. One of the boys nudged the other and they began crossing the road, eyes set on you. You felt light headed, the fear from that fateful day returning tenfold.

“Hey, we’ve been waiting ageees for you. You really work hard huh.” They snickered, reason remaining unknown to you.

Now taking several steps back, you kept your eyes trained on them, waiting for any sudden movements that would alert you to make a mad dash down the empty street.

“Where’re you going? We just wanna talk.”

A nasty grin made itself present on the first boys face whilst the second one narrowed his eyes at you, caution clear in them. You weren’t so sure what the safest way out of this situation was. You were sure even if you did take them by surprise and start running, they’d catch up to you in no time, that much was proven last time.

Still, you weren’t about to stand there and do nothing. So instead, you began taking more steps back, hoping to near the corner of the street in time to dash into a twenty four hour shop stationed nearby.

They seemed to grasp what you were planning and the first boys hand shot out to make a grab for you.

“Stop!”

The volume you used seemed to shock him and his arm paused in mid air, the other boys head frantically whipping around to see if anyone had heard your shout. You had a feeling that the only person who could have possibly heard would be your manager but knowing him he probably could care less.

“The fuck you shouting for? Just keep quiet, we ain’t gonna hurt you.”

You begged to differ.

“I-“

Suddenly a hand gripped your forearm and you were pulled behind a larger body.

“The fuck you want with her? I thought last time I made it clear to stay away?”

Lo and behold, Namjoon had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and saved your skin yet again. The immense relief that flooded you had made you feel light headed and in a poor attempt to keep yourself from collapsing, you clutched the back of his jumper and rested your forehead on his back. All previous fear for Namjoon had dispersed and all you could comprehend was the adoration you held for him.

“You brats are really starting to get on my nerves. Do you want to get on my bad side ‘cause I’m this close to losing it with you.”

You couldn’t see the expressions on either of their faces but the shift in the atmosphere was enough to tell you that the tables had turned, fear instilled into them.

“We had the wrong person, I swear! We didn’t mean to scare her!”

You released a shaky breath and Namjoon seemed to tense at the uneasiness that resided within it, his tone growing somewhat darker.

“You have five seconds to get outta my sight, after that I’m not responsible for what happens next.”

The sound of footsteps hastily making an exit reached your ears and Namjoon turned around, your hands reluctantly releasing him.

“You’re okay, don’t worry. I swear I won’t let anyone hurt you...”

You could only blink up at him, your eyes burning with unshed tears. He offered you a sad smile to which you returned.

“I’m sorry... I was ungrateful and avoided you even though you took time out of your days to make me feel safe. To be honest, when Hana told me who you were I was scared of you...”

A sigh escaped him and he brought you into his arms for a simple hug.

“Don’t be. I won’t hurt you ever.”

You could have crumbled at the sincerity of his words if you hadn’t been overwhelmed with awe.

“I know that now. Sorry for being a brat.”

You chuckled simultaneously and he dropped his arms, motioning in the direction of your home with his head, patiently waiting for your response.

“Ready?”

#bts imagines #bts fanfiction #bts scenrios #bts oneshots #bts au #bad boy bts #bad boy namjoon #namjoon fanfic #namjoon scenarios #namjoon imagines #namjoon oneshots #namjoon x you #Namjoon x reader #namjoon x y/n #bts x reader #bts x you #namjoon au #kim namjoon fanfic #bts Namjoon fanfic #rm fanfic #rm imagines #bts namjoon scenario #bts namjoon imagine #bts namjoon fic #namjoon fluff #rm x reader #rm x you #rm x y/n

[doeeyeddarlingxo]

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 54

The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training - Chapter 54

AO3 | Previous | Next

Word Count: 2125

Pairing: Loki/Reader

Rating: T

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 54

He keeps his word.

To be clear, you only go without speaking to each other for a week. But you are the first to initiate contact—a smile in the hallway. You are the one who sends him an invitation to go horseback riding. You are the one who begins knocking on his door to discuss politics and philosophy for hours on end.

He puts the reins in your hands, and you accept them with grace.

But you don’t kiss again.

He’s leaving the choice to you in this, too, you know. And Lord knows you want to do it, want to kiss him. 

But then you’ll see him interacting with the other women. Riding with Irina, reading with Rhea, playing piano with Rosa on the violin. And this is normal, you know. You can’t expect him to completely ignore the other women just because you’ve asked for space. 

But it still leaves you at a loss, somehow.

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

There’s a knock on your door first thing in the morning.

“Come in, Meg,” you call out, your eyes still heavy. It’s been over a month since the Walden Incident (as you’ve since termed it in your head). It’s not much time, but you have been grateful to find sleep and security already coming more and more easily with each passing day. 

“Not Meg.”

Your eyes fly open at the sound of his voice.

“May I come in? Are you decent?”

“Yes! I mean, wait. Give me two minutes.” You slip out from under the covers and onto the floor as silently as possible, tugging on the tie of your robe to make sure it's secure. You take quick jog to the bathroom to rinse your mouth and face, before returning to unlock the door.

And there he is, looking unfairly put-together for just after sunrise, with an enormous tray of food, which he hands to you. “I was hoping to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but this seemed more practical.” He turns to leave. 

You get over your shock soon enough to call out. “Wait!” He turns back, his eyes...hopeful, almost. “I mean, this is a lot of food for one person. If you want to join me…”

He hesitates. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”

You give him a look. “At this point, I think you can trust me to tell you if I think you’re imposing.” It’s the kind of gentle ribbing you used to fling at him all the time, the kind that has only tentatively returned to your vocabulary in the last few weeks. 

You can tell from his relieved smile that he’s noticed. 

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

An hour later, the food is long gone, but you’re still talking. And somehow, you’ve ended up on the one topic you had planned to avoid: the other women. It seems this habit comes along with the familiarity. 

“I mean, Rhea is just incredible at politics. Sorry, I mean Lady Rhea,” you joke. “Truly. She makes even Rosa and Irina look amateurish.”

“Just Rosa and Irina?”

You snort. “Well, yeah. I mean, it’s not as though making me look amateurish is a particularly high bar.”

He doesn’t laugh. Instead, a crease appears between his brows. “Why do you do that still? After all this time?”

“What?”

“Cut yourself down.”

“Is it really cutting myself down if I’m just stating the truth?”

"And there it is again." He's not looking at you again, agitated as he walks away from the bed. "I thought you'd finally accepted your place here."

"I don't understand."

"You didn't want to be here from the first. You’ve undermined yourself at nearly every possible turn."

"Then why am I still here?"

He shakes his head, still avoiding your gaze. "I know what people say about me outside these walls. What they think of me. Before the idea for the competition was announced, I spoke with some trusted individuals who suggested I show the world a different side of me. Raise up one of you Midgardians as my equal."

"But you didn't have to keep me.”

“You chose not to leave.”

“And maybe that was a mistake. What good am I doing here?”

“I told you - ”

“Don't give me that bull about getting a bigger audience. You'd still have just as many teen girls watching if I went home," you add accusingly. "I'm not a good fit."

"The response of our audience thus far would suggest otherwise."

You pad across the room to stand next to him in front of your dresser. He doesn't appear to notice; his gaze remains fixed on the smooth, shiny wooden surface. "What do you mean?"

"This is about public opinion as much as it is my own, if not more so. Part of the selection process was based on my own preferences, yes. But we've been paying attention to the civilian reaction."

"You mean, you know what people are saying about me? Right now?" You reach out and gently touch his arm. "Can I see?"

He sighs, but nods. Before you materializes a thin square of glass, like someone had taken an iPad and removed everything but the screen. The Good Evening, America website is displayed, a stars-and-stripes background with Ashley Marino's smiling face decorating the top right corner. 

THE CHOOSING

MEET THE CHOSEN

You click on your name. It's strange, seeing your information page, the picture from last week’s shoot displayed next to facts such as your name, age, etc. 

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL ASCEND TO THE THRONE?

On this page, there's a large pie chart, with four divisions. To your surprise, you’re in second place - you’d have thought for sure you’d be last. Rhea and Rosa are tied for first, with Irina following you. You scroll down, reading the various comments under your name. 

~ (Y/N) is a little rough around the edges, but that's what I like most about her. And she's so mature for her age! ~

~ My favorite is definitely Lady (Y/N). She's so real and relatable! I think she'd make a great queen. ~

~ I was a little skeptical about the whole thing at first, but now I can't stop watching! My favorite segment was the masquerade ball - the looks on the girls’ faces were priceless! I can't believe (Y/N) didn't realize she was dancing with the king! ~

~ (Y/N) and I went to school together! She's a total sweetheart. If you're reading this, (Y/N), everyone from sophomore year English is still rooting for you! ~

~ I love (Y/N)! She and Loki have such awesome chemistry, I can't believe they haven't kissed yet! Irina's probably my second favorite. ~

There are many, many more. Much more than you would ever have expected.

"Is this for real?"

"Indeed. They are quite taken with you."

"And the others?"

"They appreciate Rhea and Irina's maturity. Rosa appeals to their need for drama. And you..." He gestures to the tablet. "You see."

"I see." You look back up at him. "But I still don't understand."

“I find that hard to believe when I quite literally just handed you the answers.” He turns away. You follow him as he paces around the room.

“I’m behind two other girls, both more capable than I am, and prettier, and probably much more everything. If this whole thing is just about publicity, why can’t you just send me home?”

You nearly run into him as he comes to a halt. “You’ve had the option to go home for nearly a year now. Is that really what you want?”

“I…” You stop yourself. “I don’t know.” You look down at your feet, feeling like a child who has just been reprimanded.

“Then you’ll stay.” Without so much as a glance in your direction, he heads for the door. 

“But Lo - ”

He whirls around. “You forget yourself, Lady (Y/N). You are honor bound to stay and fulfill your duties as a Chosen without complaint until you are released or until the end of the competition, whichever comes first.” 

You stare at him, feeling hollow. “So I have no choice anymore.”

For a long moment, neither of you blink. You will yourself to remain steady, to not cry. Finally, he speaks. “None of us have a choice in this, (Y/N). Not you, nor I, nor any of us. You would do well to remember that.”

You unfreeze just as he reaches the door. “So...so what?” He pauses, his hand resting on the knob. “You expect me to stay here and, what, entertain you with my mistakes? My silly Earthling sentiment? Let you use me as a lure to get rid of unsavory figures, to appease the fangirls, to win over the human race? I am not a tool - ”

“No, you are not. You are a Chosen one.” He stops and swallows, in what looks like an attempt to rein in his temper. “A ruler must do many unpleasant things for the good of their kingdom, and the same goes for rulers in training. If you were to become queen - ”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“How am I to know what it is you truly want, (Y/N)?” He runs a hand through his hair, almost yanking at it. “I have offered you the chance to leave time and time again. You have forfeited that right time and time again, and now is the time you choose to start fussing about it?”

“Maybe if—”

“I have no time for ‘maybes,’” he snaps. “The cameramen are getting anxious, as are my advisors. They want you to have more screen time, to more evenly divide it among the remaining contestants. You will report to my private quarters at six for a televised dinner.”

“Report?” you ask incredulously. “What is this, an army bunker?”

“I admire your spirit, (Y/N). It is one of the reasons why you are still here to have this argument with me. But you have a responsibility. You have become a role model for the people of your planet, and until the moment you leave this palace, you will behave as such. If I have to order you around to ensure that happens, so be it. It's entirely up to you.” His eyes flash as he finishes speaking: a challenge. He's what, testing me? Fine.

"Fine." He appears to be surprised by how readily you've agreed, but you continue talking before he can open his mouth. "I'll come to dinner. But don't expect me to suddenly feel thrilled to be here just because you refuse to let me leave."

He pauses, as though thinking it over. "As long as you're there." 

And then he's gone.

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

You take time in constructing your appearance, enlisting Meg's help to put up your hair with delicate silver pins, each topped with a single, tiny black stone, one of the only pieces in your jewelry box that isn't some shade of green. You sit down to allow her to add the finishing touches: an ornate onyx necklace and earrings that match the hairpins.

"You're done, miss.”

You feel rebellious as you examine your reflection in the mirror. This dress is different from any you've worn before - low cut sweetheart neckline, with long sleeves that just barely miss your shoulders. Despite being a day dress, the skirt reaches the floor, fading into a slight train in the back, long enough to lend the piece a dramatic flair without tripping you up or slowing you down.

But none of that is the best part. No, the most wickedly wonderful thing about this dress is that, from bustline to train, the entire thing is varying shades of dark red. You don't know how Meg managed to pull it off, but she did, and in a big, big way: burgundy lace layered atop yards of smouldering maroon silk, the latter catching the light just so, each move you make sending a muted shimmer rippling through the fabric. You've made the executive decision to forgo the underskirt, which was thinner than normal to begin with, in favor of wearing it loose, and it drapes itself over your body in a way you didn't know was possible, clinging to your corset and hugging your hips before dropping so that it curves around the outline of your leg only when you take a step forward. The only thing that would make it more scandalous would be to put a slit in the skirt. To top it off, Meg used black kohl to give you a subtle cat's eye, brushing light amounts of eyeshadow just below your brow bone, and exaggerating the shape of your lips using a shade of rouge that matches the dress. 

You look older. 

You look fierce. 

You look ready to kick some Psycho-Alien-Whatshisface ass.

Let's do this.

#loki #loki/reader #loki x reader #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #loki laufeyson #doeeyeddarling #myriad misadventures #fish fork

[douxreviews]

American Gods - ‘Moon Shadow’ Review

"Fear is order. Fear is control. Fear is safety."

Season two of American Gods wraps up. It was... a little confusing. The episode, not the season. Well, actually also the season.

Much like 'Donar the Great' a few episodes back, 'Moon Shadow' had a lot in it that felt very Fuller-esque. So again, I ask myself how much of the planning for this was already underway before his exit from the show. Quite possibly none, and it's just the result of a DP or one of the designers having a similar artistic taste, but it seems to carry across all the elements of design, from sound to shot composition to the visuals.

Take, for example, a moment that I've seen now in a couple of places questioned as, 'What the hell was that about?' I refer of course to the gorgeously framed close up shot of the snails on the side of the burial vault. Fun side-fact, I had to look up what exactly those above ground stone things that Shadow was lying on were called and was informed that they were very common for Egyptian Pharaohs. Nice detail work there, set designer or whoever made the decision to have them in Jaquel and Ibis' cemetery.

Now, the contrasting image of Shadow sleeping on top of the Vault, then waking to find Laura sleeping on the adjacent one is a very nice, if not overly subtle, 'in life we are in death' visual. Particularly given the characters involved. But then they up their game and open the morning shots with that close up of the snails clinging to the side of the stone monument. This is a great shot for a few reasons, but it's there for a very Fuller reason. It's a stark visual of gross, complicated, uncomfortable life clinging on in the face of cold, unalterable death. It's the same message as Shadow lying on the thing put in a much more confrontational way.

But I appear to be waffling in the little details instead of looking at the big picture, so let's look at that big picture.

There are a few ways to wrap up a season finale, but two of the most popular are either by building to a spectacular reveal of something that changes our entire understanding of what we've seen before, or arriving at a climactic plot development. Both of these can either be something completely out of left field or the final realization of something that's been slow burning for a long time and is finally paying off.

Wednesday's reveal as Odin in season one's finale would be one of those slow burn examples of the former. Easter's decision to join Wednesday and unleash her power starting the war was the slow burn example of the latter.

This finale kind of attempts both, and while there's a lot I like in this one, neither of those threads feel like a complete success. Perhaps looking at the two of them individually will help me parse out how I feel about this episode, because, honestly, seven or so paragraphs in and I'm still not 100% certain that I know.

So, clearly the big reveal here is that Shadow is Wednesday's son and has some sort of powers. This is, to be fair, a huge reveal. But the problem is that they've sort of half revealed it at least three or four times this year, and so the net result is not unlike when your sassiest friends comes out of the closet to you and your first reaction is 'Oh, did we not already know that? I thought we were already clear on that.'

Side note: that's not a helpful thing to say to the friend in question, should the occasion arise.

Since almost the beginning of the series fandom has been more or less convinced that Shadow is Odin's son Baldr. Or Baldur, or Balder. Old Norse didn't have a strong written component outside of a limited set of runes, and the written forms we understand of it today were almost entirely imposed on it later. Thank you for indulging me with sharing that. Orthography is one of my favorite things. Orthography and assembling flatpack furniture.

Ahem. Fandom has long believed that Shadow is going to turn out to be Baldr. That's a nice, big reveal to end the season on, but by the time we get to Wednesday openly confirming it at the end of this episode we've already heard him talking to young Shadow in flashback while Shadow's mom is dying and been nearly beaten over the head with the implication of Shadow's paternity during the discussion of his presumably half-brother Donar.

On the other hand, we have the plot development of Mr. World officially commencing what we might call the counterattack in the war by using the newly resurrected New Technical Boy to facilitate New Media in calling the entire world down on Shadow, Wednesday, and for some reason, Salim. It was clever of them to publicly use not just the bank robbery in Chicago, but also the massacre of the cops back in 'Lemon Scented You' and the alleged 'chemical attack' in Kentucky which was of course really Easter's taking back the spring. That all gave it a nice sense of all the multiple plot threads coming together organically, and was tied together well by New Media finally speaking to Shadow in the same way old Media did. That's the first time she's really felt like a continuation of the same character for me, and I'm down with New Media now.

That's all great. But it's tied in, in fact it's the entire impetus for, Shadow's big character transformation in which he learns to use what powers he has. Specifically, he seems to alter reality by reaching into his own memories to clear the police and SWAT units from the funeral home's vicinity. From what we hear over the news, he didn't change things so much that the cops aren't still looking for them specifically, but did make them 'un-know' where specifically they were hiding.

The problem is that I think more than a couple people will have read that last sentence and thought to themselves, 'Huh. so that's what was happening,' and therein lies the episode's real problem. I think the blame really can be laid to Yggdrasil in this case. Having Shadow dragged into the tree, on top of all the flashbacks and intercuts between dream and reality so that he can metaphorically and literally hatchet his way into the god-space, is just an overly complicated and muddy way to visualize that. And that muddiness really hurt the reveal that they were trying to make the big exclamation mark at the end of the season. Instead of coming away thinking, 'Wow, I can't believe what just happened!' the viewer leaves thinking, 'What the hell just happened?' and that's not a great note on which to end a season.

No Yggdrasil!  Bad Tree!  Put the nice man down!

Quotes:

New Technical Boy: "Hello, old friend."

Laura: "I am not my mistakes, Shadow."

Burial Vault Inscription: "She hath done what she could." That is just an incredibly depressing final memorial.

Mr. Xie: "Science is the closest we come to wrestling god." New Technical Boy: "Why would you want to…?"

Laura: "Planning on kissing me again? Cause I’ve had kind of a day." Bilquis: "My kisses have been known to improve a day."

Laura: "You don’t like him either." Bilquis: "Is that what your intuition tells you?" Laura: "No, I just know an I’d-like-to-punch-that guy-in-the-mouth-look when I see one."

Salim: "Sorry, I’ve never purchased liquor before. It’s for a friend. He’s a leprechaun. He died." Cashier: "OK."

Bilquis: "I’m a great believer in frankly assessing one’s situation."

Salim: "I don’t know what we are going to be, but I want you to know that I don’t regret any of it. You have taught me how to love."

Jinn: "You know me. Eyes of fire, shit for brains."

Bits and Pieces:

-- I suspect that Nancy and Ibis' conversation over the chess game is going to reward re-watching after all is said and done and the whole story is told.

-- I still don't entirely understand whose side Bilquis is on or what her goals are. She's certainly all right with Laura killing Wednesday and actually seems to consider the offer to join her. No Ruby Goodchild this week.

-- The first ten minutes with Mr. World and the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast is hands down my favorite thing this show has ever done. A beautiful exploration of the interrelationship between fear, belief, and objective reality. Crispin Glover was born specifically to deliver that monologue.

-- I've come to realize that the most useful way to watch this series is to assume that whatever happens was the outcome wanted by someone, and then work backwards as to who would want that outcome and why. That also works for Agatha Christie books, by the way.

-- I liked the old Technical Boy better. He had much more personality. And while I get that they were going for fiber optics with the new costume, it ends up coming across as Green Lantern. Was that a Michael Green nod?

-- The echo of the opening War of the Worlds monologue sprinkled throughout New Media's on-air rant was very effective at bringing everything together. Nicely scripted.

-- I love the wall-size bas reliefs of Bruce Langley's head on the walls of Xietech. I need them in my home.

-- The NRA logo on the opening film card leading into a discussion of how creating fear allows you to control people was an inspired touch.

-- Here's hoping that Laura's running away with Mad Sweeney's body means that we haven't seen the last of him. Even though they're both dead, I'm still 'shipping them super hard.

-- The Jinn chose to protect Salim by taking him away, even though it means facing consequences for disobeying Wednesday. That's very touching. I assume we'll learn in season three why the Jinn is bound to Wednesday.  I very much hope it doesn't involve rubbing a lamp.

-- It's very in character that Wednesday's entire role this week was 'Go out for dinner and watch the pieces fall into place.'

-- It's strange that they went out of their way to remind us in the pre-credit sequence that Sweeney had sent the spear into the Hoard, and never got around to addressing that this week. Setup for next year I suppose.

A mostly enjoyable season finale with some very high highs and some very low lows, which sums up season two in a nutshell. Still, any series that gives me this episode and 'Donar the Great' in a single season deserves to go on for many, many years.

Two and a half out of three graveyard snails.

P.S. please bring Chris Obi back next season.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

#American Gods #Shadow Moon #Mr Wednesday #Laura Moon #Neil Gaiman #American Gods Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

[lovetheangelshadow]

N'Pressions: Lego Movie 2

I know this is rather late, but I have had my hands full for the past couple of months until I could finally get time around to sit down and write these. So I apologize in advance with my thoughts being rather late into the game when everyone else worth listening to has given their two cents.

I’m not going to lie. There was so much against this movie succeeding besides the weather. Not only did you have to contend with it being a sequel to a major hit films that had for good and bad made some influence in the animation genre; but it was also competing with Alita Battle Angel (a big James Cameron film) AND How to Train Your Dragon 3 (a much awaited ending to a long running DreamWorks franchise). Not to mention with the objective failure of the Ninjago movie obviously made both the studio execs and audiences wary. That being said, I don’t think it would have benefitted from holding off for much longer.

So the film takes place just after the first movie with the Duplo invaders. Emmet tries to make peaceful ties with them that end up blowing in his face and the invaders go after anything bright and colorful. Five years later we get a Mad Max inspired Apolcalypseburg and while everyone else has taken a darker outlook on life and appearance; Emmet remains the same albeit a little scratched up with fingerprints and some of the decals scraped (nice detail by the way). Emmet shows Lucy/Wildstyle a dream house he’s built for them that seemingly attracts the Systar System and they send General Sweet Mayhem. The citizens take shelter in Batman’s bunker but a mercy act from Emmet freeing a stuck star shaped missile lets Mayhem in and she kidnaps Lucy, Metalbeard, Benny, Batman and Unikitty to a matrimonial ceremony held by the queen of the Systar System. After being scolded by the citizens of Apolalypseburg for not being tough and too weak to be of any use (citizens are jerks no matter the story I swear), Emmet builds a rocket ship to save his friends.

In earnest, I give points for the Lego team choosing to go with what is essentially a space rescue story rather than another chosen one tale. If there is one real good quality I can give for all four of the lego movies is that each film has its own unique aesthetic that separates them. Like if you just gave a background shot or even a color palette, each movie has their own theme to them which is not really something you could say of a lot of other animated sequels like Kung Fu Panda, Toy Story, or Ice Age. And I really appreciate them for that. There is also a very noticeable animation upgrade from the pervious Lego Movie besides the obvious advances in animation technology. Like they are actually using other household materials to achieve effects as well such as UltraKatty’s tail turning into a bottle brush when she gets flustered and Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi’s throne room moat is silk curtains which you see later in Bianca’s bedroom. Not to mention the previously noted fingerprints and scratches.

So story wise, unfortunately the story is not as polished as the first movie. Like Good Cop/Bad Cop and President Business, two major characters of the first films, are practically shoved to the side for this one. I mean, Business is the allegory for Finn and Bianca’s father, so why is he practically so absent for five years after spending 8 and a half building this Lego World into his concept of absolute order and perfection? In essence his kids have pretty much destroyed what he’s built and he barely does anything about it? Granted I am not entirely sure what sort of purpose Business could serve especially with the tone and themes they were going for. Maybe like have his try to resolve things but continuously fail? Or…or maybe throw his hands up in defeat and hint that if they don’t do something to fix the issue Armomageddon will be coming down upon them. No one knows what he’s even talking about and just keep warring with the Duplo invasion. I dunno, maybe we’ll get more answers when the Blue Ray comes out with the commentary. As for GCBC, maybe be the ones telling off Emmet for his apparent weakness in kindness and tell him that he didn’t get to be Lord Business’ second by being soft hearted and overly optimistic.

That being said we also get a slew of new characters this time around: the totally not evil Watevra Wa’Nabi, General Mayhem, Ice Cream Cone, and Tumblr’s favorite Rex Dangervest. Seriously you can NOT tell me Lego didn’t know what they were doing when they made this guy. You KNOW how the internet gets over attractive cartoon characters! Admittedly Emmet doesn’t have the strongest personality and is kind of more of a vessel for Finn (and particularly the audience) but like the first movie he is surrounded by a large cast big personality characters that balances things out. Also like the first movie the antagonists (both Rex and Watevra) much like Business aren’t entirely in the wrong or right but instead are the extremes that sometimes in a way can become toxic if pushed too far. Business was the extreme of perfection and order, Watevera and the Systar system represented absolute optimism, and Rex was the symbol of toxic cynicism. Though I will give credit that both Watevra and Rex definitely feel like much more complex antagonists than Lord Business.

While Watevera genuinely wants peace between the Systar System and Apopalypseburg she isn’t above using force, coercion, or manipulation to get there. She basically offers gifts/bribes to bring the leaders to her side and toys with Batman’s insecurities to get him into marrying her. The entire film portrays her as a scheming, brainwashing, shape shifter whose end goal is the end. Though you cannot really blame her since it was suggested the Systar System has been trying for years but kept being pushed back because they were seen as an invasion. Also they’re terrible communicators. Also I have to give props for Animal Logic and them having to animate this gal and in Lego bricks no less. Like it’s not like a slime where you have plenty of freedom; each curve and twist is an actual Lego brick. That can NOT be easy to animate.

Rex on the other hand plays with Emmet’s anxieties of not being tough enough and essentially not being the person Lucy wants him to be. And you can’t completely blame this guy for lashing out at being stranded and forgotten. If there was one thing Emmet valued above anything even before the inciting incident of the first Lego Movie, was his friends. You saw his hurt when shown that the other construction workers didn’t even seem to care and just saw him as an average nobody. Heck, even with the party bus scene the others show a hint of concern that they hadn’t seen Lucy on the ship with them but when the llama driver cranks up the music they immediately forget about her. Not to mention with the time machine, he could have easily gone back to even before General Mayhem kidnapped his friends and prevented all this in the first place, but instead chose to save Emmet only and bring everyone else down to the same miserable state he’s in to feel the same hurt he went through for years. In a way he reminds me a lot of Lotso from Toy Story 3. Both were the favorite of a child and were lost by that same kid later to be replaced and forgotten. However I am a lot more sympathetic for Rex than Lotso though I haven’t put my finger on exactly why.

Another thing to note is that this film is also a musical and it has been quite a while since I’ve actually like really enjoyed an animated musical. Like the songs actually feel like they move the story forward instead of being there for just being there. There is one arguable exception, but it is still a fun song (Gotham City Guys if you must ask). Of course then there is the blatant Catchy Song that is such a laughable parody of itself and much like Everything is Awesome, its used as like a brainwashing song. Speaking of which, we get two versions of Everything is Awesome: the much more light hearted Tween Remix and somber/hopeful Everything is Not Awesome. My only gripe is that Rex did NOT get a song. Seriously guys, a reprisal of the last verse of Not Evil as he’s strapping Emmet to the eject chair would have been bloody perfect!

Though the movie is not as comedic as its processors Lego Movie and Lego Batman, I honestly still enjoyed myself. I think it is largely in part because I relate to the film a lot more than the first one since I have a sibling of my own and remember the cooperative and combative play session we had together as kids. Something I give credit for is that the film doesn’t really portray either the girl’s or boy’s way of playing the superior one. Honestly they don’t even really bring up gender roles or at least smack you in the face with it. And believe me I have seen the whole gender roles thing done so much worse. I could have done without that line from General Mayhem about Lucy doing all the hard work and Emmet getting the credit and I think having that in the trailer might have hurt things as well. I think it would have been better if Mayhem just said there is nothing special about Emmet and laughs that she’s supposed to take this guy seriously compared to others like Batman and Metalbeard once again driving in what would eventually lead to the creation of Rex. Still even with some of the plot issues, it still feels like a much more complete film then Ninjago and I hope that we can at least get the Billion Brick Race before they decide to just cut Lego off as a viable film universe. I’m Noctina Noir, and I’m one Nox of a Nobody.

#lego movie 2 #lego move 2 review #noctina noir

[banesbottombitch]

“Youre being too friendly with them” & “Youre mine i watch everything you do” for the tozier reader thing if thats cool! i love your writing so much

I got carried away af with this. I hope its up to standard, and since i used “you’re mine and I watch everything you do” already, I did the first prompt. Also, this is a one shot, I will not be doing another part, so enjoy it as a singular work, my duderinos.

Prompt Used: “You’re being too friendly with them”

Word Count: +2,500

Warnings: Possessiveness, drugging, that good kush, Patrick POV. Tozier!Reader.

Tagged: @dreamboathannah, @restoftheworldfallsaway @ghoulishtozier @itwasmathilda, @fangirlinganditswonders, @neoandersons, @basicwheeler, @leetime14, @passionfortrashin

(Anyone who wanted to be tagged for WYS automatically gets tagged for my other Patrick works as a bonus, my duderinos. Message me -through pm-  if you want to also be tagged! Love y’all.)

Patrick leaned against the front of his car, wiping the motor oil off his long fingers and watching the Tozier girl while she helped their classmates. Her hair was rolled up into a tight bun, the dark green button up she had worn over her t shirt all day tied at her waist while she peered under the hood of Dylan Pram and Cole Harris’ project car.

She was talking some auto mechanic nonsense and pointing out where their problems mostly laid, the two dipshits at her side feigning cluelessness. Patrick knew their game, others in the class had tried it once or twice too, but to no avail. He would know best, [First Name] was fucking oblivious when it came to flirting.

Dylan stepped closer to her as she rummaged under the hood, and Patrick’s fingers flexed under the rag he rubbed them with when the jock rested a firm hand on her lower back and spoke in her ear.

He must have said something utterly hilarious, because the trashmouth choked on a laugh and straightened. Cole shared their smile, but his eyes connected with Dylan, a silent conversation running between them as Patrick’s partner parted from them with a wave and a soft laugh.

“Nice one, Dylan. Remember to clean it up when you’re done, dude.” She waved them off, coming back to Patrick with flushed cheeks from her laughter. Behind her, eyes and sly grins sought her back, and Patrick ignored them, smirking at the Toizer girl when she arrived.

“You’re being too friendly with them, Tozier.” He said quietly, tossing the dirtied rag over the top of his tool box. “They’re going to think you got the hots for ‘em.”

“Who? Cole and Dylan?” Her lips tilted in a cute little lopsided grin. “I thought they were going to announce their engagement soon, I had no idea they swung for the other team.”

He allowed a laugh, but a certain fondness for the girl startled him. She was starting to really soften him up, and day by day he found himself leaning closer and speaking more frequently with her. Gone were the earlier days of the truly antagonistic ways since Henry had dropped his grudge towards her cousin and his friends, and Patrick had grown used to falling instep beside her while walking to class.

He guessed that this would be called friendship.

So that was clearly why a strange fire built in his stomach when he caught Dylan eyeing his partner with particularly hungry eyes, because she was his friend…Then again, his underlying pining for her also applied to that, but he would never admit that aloud.

No, he was a good actor. He could win a god damn academy award for his patience and tactful thinking. Patrick could keep [First Name] in the dark over his, well he hated to say feelings, but yes, feelings, for her.

So he frowned, and easily slipped into the role of a concerned friend, nudging her with his elbow as she went to sit on the hood of the Monte Carlo.

“What?” She mirrored his frown, resting her ankle across her knee and drumming painted nails on her jeans.

“Don’t think we’re the only bad guys around here, Princess. There’s plenty of sleazy fuckers hiding behind a football jersey in Derry.” He warned with earnest, but was met with a scoff.

“Dylan and Cole are fucking nimrods, and they couldn’t fix a lightbulb together if they tried.” She waved him off as the class bell rang. “I’ll see you at the bonfire tonight, yeah?”

Patrick had done his duty, he had given her the passing warning. It was up to her to listen, he supposed.

“Yeah. I’m bringing some good shit too, hope you’re not as fucking uppity as you were last time.” He bent his lean form down, collecting his leather jacket that was draped over the hood as Tozier slipped off the front and snatched up her backpack. “See you around eight.”

“Adios, Hockstetter. Don’t keep Bowers waiting.”

She left, patting Belch’s arm as she headed out past him and Henry. She said something in passing, making Belch smile after her. Henry watched her go as well, a certain gleam in his eyes as Patrick came to meet them by one of the open garage doors.

“Glad we don’t have to worry about being ambushed with a fucking tire iron now.” The bigger boy said, pulling his varsity jacket over his shoulders. The three watched her go, her back growing smaller as she jogged across the fields to get to the parking lot.

Henry huffed indignantly. “She was going to be a fucking problem, that’s the only reason I’m not tormenting her little shit of a cousin. Cigs?”

He threw a hand out to Patrick, demanding the taller boy share his pack. Patrick complied, digging around the pockets of his jacket before tossing him the pack, the trio of boys heading across the field as students began to file out of the school in mobs.

“She’s a good work partner too,” Belch said absently, the spring air nipping his cheeks pink. “I got an A on our last assignment, my coach and Ma were in tears, swear.”

“Yeah, whatever. Goody two shoe bitches like her are a dime a dozen, but I’m not gonna deal with another run in with her.” Henry muttered, lighting his cigarette after a few tries and stuffing Patrick’s pack in his own back pocket, something that the lankier boy would not forget before the day was through.

“Sounds like you got a crush, Henry.” Patrick dared to say, eyes lazily raking over the boy next to him. Henry tensed, shoulders under his bomber jacket rigid as he sent a glare to Patrick.

They both held a steely gaze before Belch interrupted, announcing the arrival of their smallest and blondest, Vic.

“Hey! Did you get the part?” Belch called out to the victorious looking boy, who nodded eagerly.

Henry took the opportunity to look away, but Patrick chose to keep a dark look on his friend. The rest of his pals dissolved into talk over Vic’s newest accomplishment, Henry berating him and Belch defending him, while Patrick ignored it all. He was itching to get to the canalside and have a good time, if only just to abolish the jealousy he felt twisting in his gut.

He didn’t have time for that shit.

Patrick sat the closest to the bonfire, the heat curling the ends of his hair, but significantly warming his fingers that had numbed from the cold of a spring night in Maine. There had been a girl at his side at some point, but she was long gone, having moved on to someone who was more interested in her than staring into the depths of flames.

Henry and Belch had raced off elsewhere the moment the four had found the party, Vic staying close to Patrick for a while until he was led away by a few drama friends of his. Patrick was happy to be alone in all honesty, it made dealing and keeping his high all the easier. The party raged around him, fellow classmates dancing and drinking away, high on the drugs he supplied or drunk off cheap liquor and nasty beer. The music that blasted through speakers was crackled and heavy, something with a strange beat and sliced with dark lyrics. Patrick enjoyed it, sitting by himself and waiting for his next costumer to find him.

He felt a lovely haze, his high improving his mood tenfold. There was a sloppy kiss mark on his neck, but he could barely recall who had given it to him. It was perfection.

And then someone plopped down beside him.

“You’re a hard guy to find, Hockstetter.” Drawled a voice to his side.

“Am I?” Patrick said loftily, slowly turning to look to his new companion, and then felt his nostrils flare upon recognizing him. “Harris.”

The brunette bristled, and Patrick realized he had turned to face him without a mask, instead showing him the slack and emotionless state he normally had when he was alone. He brought it back, and Cole was set to ease at the surprisingly friendly smile he was given.

“So how much?” He asked, and dug out his wallet, opening the folds and showing off a pretty stack of cash.

Patrick felt limply at his side, finding his backpack and unzipping it. “What do you want? I’ve got weed, coke, E, a few poppers and a few tabs of acid if you wanna have a real good time.”

Cole sat still for a second, eyes darting around the contents of the bag. He licked dry lips before lowering his voice, barely audible over the roar of the flames.

“Do you have any… Roofies?”

“Why.” The dealer snapped, more forceful than needed.

“Do you or don’t you?” Cole insisted, keeping his voice low even as Patrick’s raised. It wasn’t as if anyone would hear them, but it didn’t matter to either of them- they both knew Cole has crossed a line.

“I’ve got some Molly, and that’s the closest you’re getting, Harris.” Patrick dug out a small bag of violet pills, smacking them to Cole’s chest. “Don’t be a fucking idiot. Thats a gram, so give me sixty.”

Cole eyed him, hand raising to take the drugs offered. “You sure-”

“Sixty bucks, then fuck off.” Patrick sneered, and snatched the twenties that were held out to him, stuffing the money in his pocket.

“Jesus, fuck. Fine.” Cole stood, and shuffled away, pocketing his drugs before casting his dealer a nasty little glare.

Patrick watched him retreat with his tail between his legs, digging into his bag for a joint. He lit it and took heavy hits, the smoke tasting musky but sweet. The haze returned eventually, distracting him as he sat there. He took patient drags, letting the smoke curl and twist from his mouth, ignoring the worry that scratched at his thoughts, it wasn’t his business. Harris wasn’t his problem.

But Tozier was.

He stood then, hauling his bag over his shoulder and walking over the rocks and gravel that crunched under his feet, weaving between crowds of grinding teens. What time was it? Where was Tozier, he hadn’t seen her yet.

Fuck.

Somehow, through his high and the distraction of the dancing and drunkenness, he found Belch. The boy was working on a drink of his own, the brown bottle in his hand nearly empty and his face flushed.

“What time is it?” Patrick demanded, Belch blinking in surprise as the urgency. The boys he stood with part of his football team and seeming confused at Patrick’s arrival, but they welcomed him with a round of nods.

“Uh,” Belch shook his arm, the watch he normally wore glinting in the far off fire light. “It’s like eight forty-seven, why?”

Patrick’s gaze swept the heads of their classmates, but he couldn’t find hers. “Have you seen Tozier?”

“No?” Belch said, caught off guard as Patrick spun away with a curse. “Hey! Wait, dude!”

But Patrick was gone, slinking away and now targeting Harris or Pram. A blond and brunette pair, who wore blazers and had proper preppy haircuts.

[First Name] was never late. To anything. She arrived nearly twenty minutes early for class, she turned in her work a day in advance and had never left him or the others hanging if she agreed to meet them up for a meal at the malt shop.

So there was no way she was late to the spring bonfire, not if she had assured him she would be there at eight. No, she would have arrived at seven forty-five.

He caught a mullet in his peripheral vision, as well as the arm candy Henry was desperately sucking face with.

“Henry.” Patrick jerked his shoulder, tearing him from liplock. The girl, a senior the dark haired boy recognized as Carly Henderson, whined from loss of contact.

“The fuck, Hockstetter!” Henry hissed, grinding his teeth as he rolled his head to face his friend. “I’m fuckin’ busy.”

“I can’t find Tozier.”

Henry’s brows furrowed. “I saw her earlier with Harris and that fuckwit Pram, by the coolers.”

Patrick’s jaw set, and he dug his heels into the rocks, sprinting away. He shoved aside a few people, the coolers in his sight. It was then he saw Tozier, leaning heavily against Dylan Pram and in the middle of a fit of giggles, her eyes glazed and face burning. She held a solo cup, the contents sloshing out her cup as Cole Harris tilted it back to her mouth, encouraging her to drink.

“Chug! Chug! Chug!” The pair cheered, and she downed the contents, crushing the cup with a valiant cry.

He slowed, coming up on them slow and steady, a predatory tilt to his shoulders as his eyes burned hotter than the logs of the bonfire. Cole was the first to see him, and his expression flattered a mere second before he paled considerably.

Pram was oblivious, carelessly crafting heavy touches to the girls waist and hips, the hands trying to wander further before Cole shot a hand out and gripped the sleeve of his blazer, catching his attention.

“Well, what do we have here?” Patrick announced his arrival with a dangerous tone.

His friend gasped, and she tore herself from the blond, taking a few steps to stumble to the man who had inevitably caused this mess, wrapping her arms around his skinny torso. “Patrick! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Protectively, no, posessively, Patrick secured her in his arms. He threaded strands of her hair between his ringed fingers, rubbing a comforting thumb to her scalp. “You found me, Princess.”

She nuzzled her face to his chest and he held her there, grey-green eyes dancing with malevolence at the boys just feet from them.

It wouldn’t take a genius to see she was high, and higher than he had ever seen her. She had always been a lightweight, barely touching a beer and still stumbling around like she had drank a bar dry after a few sips. He’d given her a hit of a joint once and been entertained for hours as she babbled on about Star Trek with Belch and professional wrestling with Henry.

Those had been good times, he had smiled an actual smile once or twice during those times. But now? Seeing her fucked up on drugs he had sold some fuckwit jock with intent to do the worst? He saw red.

“You smell nice.” She murmured, and it was only her voice that stopped from him slugging the frozen pair in front of them. She drew him back from his rage, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, his hold tightening.

“Let’s get you some water, sweetheart.” Patrick said, and he turned with her, the hollow glare he shot over his shoulder sending a clear message.

‘I’ll remember this.’

He left the jocks there to stew in horror, their fates sealed. He’d be paying them a visit in the next coming days, but for now, he had a Trashmouth to attend to.

#Patrick Hocksetter / Reader #patrick hockstetter #Imagines #IT 2017 #the bowers gang #Henry Bowers #belch huggins #Patrick is a weed man #who knew? #Tozier!Reader #Possessive Prompt #This was long #Patrick POV