#how much he really knows about like ??? actually pitching and approving a series / movie ?? even i hardly know that much about it

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

I Could Be Your Sometimes Part Three

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Rating: Explicit - 18+ Only Notes: Set before the series Thank you to everyone that’s liked and read this!! Warnings: Eventual infidelity and sexual content. If you dislike this, please don’t read. Thank you. Chapter-specific warnings: Cursing, alcohol consumption Pairing: Andy Barber x Reader Summary:  I glanced at the number, frowning when I didn’t recognize it. I got cold-called by reporters and clients often enough, I’d gotten into the habit of just answering numbers I didn’t know.

The next few weeks found me unwittingly looking for Andy in the lobby bay every morning. It was stupid; I scolded myself every single time. Andy wasn’t going to show up at my job out of nowhere. A few people had sent ‘thank you’ emails and follow-up questions for the seminar, but I hadn’t gotten one from him. I hadn’t expected him to send one (I’d just wanted it). That was for the best, though. I hadn’t let him occupy my mind the way he had immediately after I’d seen him; he’d pop into my mind at most once a day, in the elevator lobby but, then I’d push it down. I didn’t have time to be so consumed simply with the idea of a guy - we were busy at Tactician, I couldn’t be so distracted. Friday afternoon found me sending my final edit of the Bright Start piece to the Boston Globe. I was giving it one last read-over when I heard my phone ring. I glanced at the number, frowning when I didn’t recognize it. I got cold-called by reporters and clients often enough, I’d gotten into the habit of just answering numbers I didn’t know. I huffed, highlighting the sentence I left off on before I picked up the phone, tucking it between my shoulder and my ear. “Hello?” I answered. “Hello?” Came the voice on the other end. My eyes were skimming over the document distracted me from the rest of the answer from the other end. “Sorry?” I asked. “It’s Laurie? Laurie Barber.”

My phone slipped in my grip and I scrambled to recover it and press it back to my ear. “Laurie, hi! I’m sorry, I’m just a little distracted over here. How are you?” I asked. “It’s alright! I realize I’m asking pretty late, but Andy told me you were in town and I was wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner tonight? You know, to catch up.” I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. I was an adult, I had friends. It was plausible that I had plans, couldn’t make it tonight. I could just keep putting off the invite until Laurie got the message and stopped asking. It was the more logical option, it kept me out of Andy’s way. "Yeah, I could make it tonight,” I heard myself say. “Really? Great! How’s six?” -- “Seriously? What the hell are you doing?” I asked myself as I caught my eye in my rear view mirror. Well, the technical answer to that was fairly simple. I was driving to the Barber’s house for a ‘catch-up’, because I had made the split-second decision that it would be a good idea. The only good thing that would come out of this was free food - and both Andy and Laurie were good cooks, I remembered that much. But why had I said yes? It was true that I had liked Laurie when I was working for her; she was always nice to talk to when it came what I was up to, my plans for school, what I wanted to do with my life. It was what I had imagined having an older sister would’ve been like. Frankly, the relationship I’d had with Laurie similar to what I had with Nora, but Nora and I knew one another as adults. Laurie and I had had a far more limited interaction. I had debated stopping off and grabbing the beer I remembered seeing in their fridge, but I’d decided that would be a smidge too weird, so I’d settled for grabbing a bottle of wine (from what I remembered, they both liked red; I preferred white, which was for the best. I needed to drive myself home later). I shook my head as I pulled onto their street. I hadn’t gotten dressed that morning with the expectation of going over to their house. Tactician was a younger workplace - it was fairly casual most days, and we only tended to dress up when we had people coming in for pitch meetings, or things like the seminar. On Fridays especially, I could get away with a pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers, and a cropped sweater like the plum-colored one I’d picked out that morning. I parked on the street, shutting the car off and looking in the rear view mirror again. I wasn’t going to bother to touch-up my makeup - in fact, I’d taken my lipstick off before I’d left the office. I shook my head a little bit, straightening the collar of my black denim jacket. "When we get home, we are having a long talk about boundaries and knowing when to say ‘no’ to people,” I warned myself in the rear view before I reached into the passenger’s side footwell, grabbing the bag with the bottle of wine I’d bought. I got out of the car, taking a deep breath as I headed up the walk. “Hi!” Laurie drew me into a hug the moment she opened the door. I smiled, hugging her back before she ushered me inside. The house looked like I remembered - for the most part, anyway; they’d painted the living room and the kitchen. I hated that I noticed that, but I had babysat Jacob every day after school for nearly two years, had spent every other Saturday night in the Barber’s living room helping him with his ABC’s or watching Tom and Jerry or re-watching The Iron Giant (it had been his favorite movie; he used to pitch a fit if I tried to put anything else on). “Oh, you didn’t have to,” She said, taking the bag from me. I shrugged out of my jacket, gently waving her off. “It’s alright, I think I know where the coat closet is,” I teased. She smiled, heading into the kitchen ahead of me. I hung my jacket up, glancing at my phone and answering a quick text from Nora (asking me if I’d like to grab a drink - if only she’d asked me earlier) before following her. “Jacob’s at a sleepover at his friend Derek’s house-- Andy’s still at work, he got held up,” Laurie shot me an apologetic look, as if this was an inconvenience. This was actually preferable; if I was lucky, Andy wound wind up staying late at the office and I could catch up with Laurie uninterrupted. “How’ve you been, how’s Jacob?” I asked, leaning against the kitchen island. “We’ve been good!” That was the thing about Laurie - even when I was asking about how she was doing as an individual, she’d tell me how they were doing as a unit, “Jacob is great, he’s in fifth grade now.” “Fifth,” I repeated, muttering, “Shit.” Laurie laughed, pulling the bottle of wine out of the bag before getting a couple of glasses down from the cabinet. “What about you? Andy said you’re a senior account executive at a PR firm?” She asked. I nodded. “Just got promoted, like, a month ago--” “Congratulations!” “Thank you! I worked with my boss when I was in New York, it was like my third PR internship at that point? She offered me a job at Tactician as soon as she knew I’d been approved to graduate.” “You like it?” Laurie asked, setting a glass of red wine in front of me. I smiled a mumbled, “Thanks,” making a mental note to add that to the talk I’d be having with myself later. “Yeah, I really like it. I mean, we get to work with a pretty varied range of clients and I get the chance to do pitches and talks, like the one Mr. Barber was at.” Laurie cut me an amused look as she poured herself a glass of wine. “You do know you can use our first names now, right?” She asked. I tipped my head forward, scrubbing my hand over my forehead as embarrassment thrummed through me. “Sorry, force of habit,” I said lamely as I lifted my head, resting my chin on my hand. Laurie smiled warmly, shaking her head. “It’s alright,” She soothed. Before either of us could ask another question (and before I could embarrass myself in front of just one Barber at a time), my luck ran out, and Andy walked through the front door, calling out, “Lor?” “We’re in here!” Laurie called back before turning to me, “I’m gonna check the food really quick.” “Course,” I nodded, reaching into my back pocket and pulling my phone out as Laurie turned away. Two new emails, and four texts from Nora: (6:10 PM) Nora: plans?? since when do you have plans? (6:12 PM) Nora: are they like...sexy plans (6:15 PM) Nora: tell me he’s at least hot 😏 (6:15 PM) Nora: and picking up the tab 😏😏 I shoved my phone into my back pocket as I absently swirled the wine around in the glass. “Are you old enough to drink that?” I turned my head toward the sound of Andy’s voice as he came in from the hall. He’d preemptively ditched the suit jacket, leaving him in a white button down and a grey tie. “You’re not funny,” I shook my head, but we were both smiling. Andy shot me a quick wink before he rounded the kitchen island. I heard the “Hi, honey,” And assumed the kiss he dropped to her lips, or forehead, or cheek, or maybe her shoulder, but I turned my attention to bringing my wine up to my lips and taking a sip. I schooled my expression as I swallowed. Still didn’t like red. -- “You actually helped me at work today,” Andy informed me. I glanced up at him curiously as he passed me a plate to dry. Laurie had gone up a little early - apologized profusely, but she had a budget meeting at Children’s Cottage in the morning and she wanted to get a run in before she went in for it. Andy had told me that he didn’t need any help cleaning up, that he could handle it, and it would take a bit anyway (the dishwasher was out of commission). I had pointed out that I really didn’t mind helping, that the work would go faster with two, and it was only fair: I was the reason he had extra dishes to do (and then I’d promptly added all of that to the list of things I needed to talk to myself about later). “How’s that?” I asked. “The Plain Language slide in that PowerPoint you sent out, the one about the Plain Writing Act of 2010, it had those links?” “Uh huh,” I set the dish atop the others before I picked up my glass of wine (the same glass Laurie had been poured me when I’d arrived. It really wasn’t hard to nurse the same drink for hours when you weren’t fond of the taste).

“We might be taking on a case--” Andy stopped himself, shooting me a look, “Is this off the record?” “Shut up,” I rolled my eyes, hiding my smile behind a sip from my glass. Andy chuckled as he turned his attention back to the dishes. I shook my head, letting my eyes drift over his biceps, down over  his forearms where his sleeves had been rolled up to ti the dishes. “So, the links?” I pressed. “Right-- We might be taking on this case between a former law student, never graduated, and a ‘friend’ of his. The former student lent some money to his friend, drew up a contract chock-full of legalese. The friend signed it in good faith. The terms were insane.” “How’d the DA’s office get involved in this?” I asked. “Pro bono,” Andy said, passing me the last dish. I set my glass down in favor of the dishtowel. “Sounds like you guys really need an angle,” I said. Andy hummed, shutting off the faucet. I set the plate down before I passed him the dishtowel to dry his hands. “We have other cases we could take on,” He admitted, turning and leaning back against the counter, “But...Something about this one, I don’t know. The fact that this asshole used his one bit of training to fuck over someone he supposedly cared about...Rubs me the wrong way.” Andy’s voice had descended into an irritated grumble, and I had to make an effort not to smile. I was not finding it cute. I was making a decided effort not to find it cute. “Well, regardless of whether or not you take the case, I’m glad you found the materials helpful,” I said. Andy smiled at me, this soft, easy look, and I knew that I needed to get out of there. “It’s getting late,” I said, glancing toward the time where it was displayed on the stove, “I should get going.” “Course,” Andy nodded. He followed me into the hall, patient as I got my jacket. “Kinda surprised you didn’t have any plans tonight,” He commented. “Oh, well, I leave my partying to Saturday nights. I use Fridays to prime my liver,” I said. Andy chuckled. “Very sensible.” “Yeah, strategy’s important,” I agreed, straightening my collar. “...This was nice,” I added. I wasn’t sure if I meant dinner or just talking to Andy - most likely both, dinner had been lovely, but being alone with him felt almost deliciously dangerous, heady. “Yeah, it was,” Andy said softly. I didn’t think he was bullshitting me. At least, I hoped not. Andy beat me to opening the door. His hand skimmed over my lower back as I passed him, fingers drifting over the exposed line of skin between my sweater and the waistband of my jeans. I turned to give him one more quick wave before heading for my car. I got in and drove off, not checking to see if Andy was waiting to watch me go. At a red light, I rested my head on my hand, peering up at it and willing it to change faster. When it didn’t immediately heed me, I glanced at myself in the rear view mirror. “You’re so fucked,” I muttered.

#I Could Be Your Sometimes #andy barber #andy barber x reader #andy barber x you #andy barber imagine

[honeyandhondewberries]

Can we get Raihan and Leon's reactions to their crush kissing them on the forehead and murmuring, soft and sweet, for them to sleep well before slipping out of the room quietly. Their crush thinks they were asleep.

😭😭😭🤗🤗🤗 alright ill do it you better get ready for some friggin COMFORT anon this is going to be so soft you dont even KNOW

(dont mind the awkward shift in tenses between Leon and Raihan’s stories either 👀 sometimes that just Happens)

~~

Chicken Noodle Soup & Movie Night (LeonxReader, RaihanxReader)

Leon:

“I’m not sick,” Leon mumbles, and his glassy eyes follow you as you move about the room. You don’t humor him with a response. “You don’t have to do all this.”

You only hum as you continue to bustle about. More tissues, more blankets, and you should probably check his temperature again soon, too. He’s taken his medicine (though you hid it in a snack like you have to do with your Pokemon), and you finally got him into bed after some coaxing. He’s propped up on three pillows, he lets out a hearty cough, full and phlegmy, and you return to his side once his fit is over. You gently sit on the covers, set your hand on his forehead, and purse your lips.

“Yep, still burning up,” you say, and Leon groans.

“I’m fine,” he croaks. “You’re making too big a deal about this.”

“Leon,” you say sternly as you go to find the thermometer. “You’re shaking with chills, burning up, and hacking up a lung every few minutes. You’d probably still be on the pitch if I wasn’t making a big deal about this.”

“Exactly,” Leon says in exasperation as he throws his arms up. The motion sets off another series of deep coughs. “I could be finishing my training! It’s just the sniffles, nothing more.”

“Alright,” you say, and you sit beside him again. “If you don’t have a fever, then you’re right and I’ll leave you alone. If you do have a fever, then you need to promise to cooperate. Deal?”

Leon’s glassy eyes squint, though the effect of his frustrated glare isn’t much when he sniffles through it. You raise an eyebrow.

“Fine,” he says, but he doesn’t look at you.

You offer him the thermometer, he childishly snatches it from your hand, then sticks it in his mouth. You adjust the quilt around his shoulders, fluff his pillows for him, and mindlessly brush his bangs from his face. His eyes widen at the motion, then his gaze flicks to the side again.

Hm, his cheeks are looking quite pink… he definitely has a fever.

The thermometer beeps, you pluck it from his mouth, and showcase that your prediction came true. You set the thermometer on his nightstand without a smug word spoken, but Leon can certainly read it on your face.

“Now that you’ll cooperate, do you want some orange juice?” you ask.

“No.”

“Some candy?”

“No.”

“How about some chicken noodle soup?”

Leon doesn’t immediately grumble anything, but instead fiddles with the stitching on the quilt.

“...with the spiral noodles?” Leon asks quietly.

“Mmhmm.”

Leon purses his lips (not for long since he can’t breathe through his nose), and he finally mumbles an:

“Okay.”

“I’ll go heat some up for you,” you say, and you give his hand a pat. He curls one of his fingers around yours, just to quickly retract his hand again. His cheeks are looking even pinker than before, now. Is he getting warm?

“Thank you,” he mumbles.

“Try to get some rest,” you hum, and after adjusting his blankets again, you head out of his room and into the kitchen.

You had a can of chicken noodle soup (with the spiral noodles) in your pantry, and you stuffed that and some cough drops in your bag before you came over. You rustle around Leon’s kitchen for a pot to start cooking his meal. As you stir and taste-test the soup every few minutes, you wonder how Leon’s feeling. He isn’t hacking so much, so as the soup simmers, you step to his room to peek.

He’s still propped up on his pillows, though his scowl is gone and his eyes are closed. He’s wrinkling his nose in his sleep, as if to push his bangs from his face without using his hands. You let a smile slip, and a plume of affection blooms in your chest. You step over as quietly as you can, brush his bangs from his face, and before you can stop yourself, you gently press your lips to his forehead.

“Sleep well, love,” you say softly. “I know you want to work, but you need to rest and heal too. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

You’re not sure why you’re telling this to his sleeping figure - perhaps telling it to him awake would be much too embarrassing. Leon’s eyebrow twitches, so you stand as quickly and quietly as you can, suddenly embarrassed by your tender moment, and you step out of the room.

If you had stayed for a second longer, you would have seen how Leon’s cheeks tinged pink yet again, how he smiled to himself, curled against his pillows, and so sweetly repeated one word:

“Love.”

Raihan

It was movie night, Raihan’s favorite night of the week, because that’s the night he got to spend with you. More importantly, that’s the night he got to sit on his couch snuggled in blankets and sweaters and drinking tea and bantering back and forth with you as you barely watched whatever was on the screen. It was always such a good excuse to sit close, and it was so natural just to casually wrap an arm around the back of his couch, and he decided that tonight was the night he’d finally make it around your shoulders.

Movie night started out as a joke when you mentioned that you had never seen Love in the Time of Pokerus (a cult classic), and Raihan was absolutely appalled and he demanded that you come over that same night to watch it. You agreed, and even brought snacks. The next week, you were shocked that Raihan had never seen Pulp Fanfiction (another cult classic), and you demanded movie night round two. The week after, Raihan suggested you both should probably make movie night a trilogy in order to honor the true cinematic genius that was trilogies, and you agreed by saying it would be an insult to art if you didn’t.

Raihan had lost count of what number you were at, but you were definitely beyond a trilogy, beyond a quadrilogy, and beyond whatever you called what was after five movies. Movie night had even evolved into dinner and movie night when you came a few weeks ago to his apartment and he could hardly focus with how much your stomach was grumbling. You tried to tell him you were fine, and when he noticed how genuinely embarrassed you were, he lied and said he hadn’t eaten dinner yet anyway, so it really wasn’t a hassle to make you something.

It was, however, an excellent opportunity to show off his cooking expertise. Although he was hoping for affirmation to begin with, your enthusiastic praise actually made him blush. Then, your comment on his blush made him blush harder. Not his best moment, but at least it made you laugh.

Raihan practically skipped to his apartment, noticing how beautiful the autumn trees were and how crisp the air felt in his lungs. Leaves crunched beneath his feet like a jaunty melody to add to the giddiness welling in him. It was your turn to pick the movie, so that meant it was his turn to cook, and he already had your favorite meal planned. It was going to be perfect. You had told him to wear his comfiest sweater, and you would wear yours, because whatever you were going to watch tonight deemed it necessary. He was fine with that, because big sweaters on you made you even cuter. If you were wearing his big sweater, well, that’d be just icing on the cake. One step at a time, though.

As he unlocked his apartment Raihan decided that, yep, tonight was the night. He’d finally break the touch barrier. You’ve hugged before (Raihan made sure of that), but never for longer than a normal friend-hug would last. You’d be full of delicious food, tired from your long shift at work, and you’d be snuggled and comfy and cozy in all the blankets he’d set up. He’d have the window open a crack so you’d want the fresh air and the blankets at the same time, but because you’d be a little chilly, you’d need to sit closer.

It was the perfect recipe for cuddling.

After cooking and prepping and swallowing his excitement time and time again, you finally texted to say you were on your way. Raihan used to be embarrassed by how hard he was crushing (Leon would even say whipped), but now he couldn’t care less. He wasn’t sure how you felt, though, so he tried not to lay the flirting on too thick like he would otherwise, just in case that scared you off. He’d rather have you as a friend than not at all.

There was a knock on the door, and Raihan nearly jumped out of his skin. Okay, be cool, be cool. He checked his appearance in the reflective microwave door, tousled his hair just enough, and stuffed his hands into his pockets nice and casually. He sucked in a breath, then opened the door.

And, he let it out, unable to hide his smile when he saw you standing there in your oversized sweater and cheeks pink from the cold.

“Alright,” you said. “I’ve brought options.”

“Options?” Raihan repeated as he leaned against his doorjam, perfectly cool. “That’s not how movie night works.”

“I’ve already taken it to the movie night board of advisors,” you said as you invited yourself into his apartment. “And they approved.”

You bantered back and forth, just as you did every week, sidestepping around each other as you prepared to eat. You were stepping closer to him than you usually did, though, but maybe that was just in Raihan’s head? It did solidify his plan of finally making a move tonight, though. He even took the chance of brushing your waist as he stepped behind you, but he didn’t get much feeling beyond your thick sweater.

Once his initial excitement to see you ebbed, Raihan covered his yawn with his sleeve. He actually had a pretty busy day himself; early workout, then extra training with the new apprentices at his gym, and a training match with Kabu. And actually, the day before that was pretty busy too… he bit back another yawn at the thought.

“You okay?” you asked.

“Yeah, just tired,” Raihan said as he stretched.

“You better not fall asleep,” you teased, and Raihan rolled his eyes as he followed you to his couch.

You both decided on one of the corny holiday movies you brought, turned it on, Raihan adjusted the blankets, you took your regular places on his couch, and his heart was pounding in his ears. He couldn’t initiate anything too early though, he had to set the mood.

Were candles too corny? Too obvious? You liked candles though, right?

“You like candles?” Raihan asked. “A fan gave me one earlier, and it smells like vanilla. Since I didn’t make a dessert, I figured that would be fitting.”

You laughed, and Raihan smiled at the sound.

“Yeah, candles are good,” you said. “Are you getting sentimental on me, Raihan?”

“No,” Raihan huffed, though his smile was prominent on his face. “Maybe.”

He stood, lit the candle, set in on the coffee table, and while he was up, he got your tea and flicked off the lights. Everything was going according to plan, so he took the initiative of sitting a few inches closer the next time he sat down.

The movie started, and the opening scene was immediately corny. Raihan groaned, but when he looked at your reaction, you had your lower lip jutting out, you were leaning towards the screen, and absolutely eating it up.

“Are you getting sentimental?” Raihan asked incredulously. “These movies are so cliche!”

“That’s what makes them nice!” you huffed. You hugged a blanket to your chest in embarrassment. “Yeah some are dumb, but they’re all like, wholesome and warm.”

“Are you cold?” Raihan asked. He knew that’s not what you meant, but he’d snatch any opportunity he had tonight. “Here, let me help.”

He scooched closer, enough that your thighs were touching, and he flung his blanket over both of your laps. He set his arm around the back of his couch, then in a moment of pure, calculated risk, curled it around your shoulders instead.

You blinked a few times, and Raihan tried not to make his tension obvious, though he did let out a deep breath when you eased into his side. Neither of you spoke a word about it with your mouths, but as the movie played, your bodies spoke loudly enough when you curled your arm around his waist, and nestled into his chest.

Tonight was going perfectly.

It was all a little cliche: the movie, the blankets, the snuggling in autumn evening, but Raihan didn’t mind. This was the most comfortable he had been in a while, and his eyes slowly drooped as the night went on. He jolted into focus when you poked his stomach though, because apparently the credits were already rolling.

“That was a good one,” Raihan mumbled, and your laugh shook your shoulders, so it shook his.

“You didn’t even watch it,” you tease when you poke him again.

“Yes I did. The woman came from that big city to the small town, then she met a guy who was humble and she didn’t think she’d like the little town but she did, he taught her the true meaning of family or friendship or something, then they kiss and live happily ever after on their quaint farm.”

Whatever you mumbled next was incoherent, and Raihan chuckled again. He gently fiddled with the fabric of your sweater sleeve and his eyes started to droop again. How could he get you to stay for just a little bit longer?

He didn’t need to think long when you bashfully mumbled next.

“There’s a sequel…”

“Amazing,” Raihan yawned, and he inwardly pouted when you got up to start the next movie. He held his arm out when you came back, an obvious invitation that any other position would be absurd. You quickly nuzzled against him again as the opening scene started.

Raihan let out a yawn and let his eyes close. He actually was dozing at first, but when you started talking to him about the movie, he jolted into focus again. After your brief conversation, he felt how you melted against him, he pretended to let out another snore, then he curled closer to you. And suddenly, the credits were rolling again, and you were both laying on his couch, tangled in thick sweaters and blankets and each other.

“Raihan,” you whispered. “Raihan wake up, the movie’s over.”

He wondered what you’d do, so he kept his eyes closed. He did curl his arms around you tighter - sleeping people did that, right? He didn’t want the night to end.

“Raihan I’ve gotta go home,” you whispered. “I can text you later, okay?”

He didn’t respond, though he was certainly frowning in his head when you untangled yourself from him. He listened to you bustling about, probably collecting your things, but he wondered why you suddenly paused. He heard the soft pat of footsteps, he almost opened his eyes, then his nerves tingled when you pressed your lips to his forehead.

“Um, tonight was fun,” you muttered. “Sleep well.”

He heard you scuffle away, heard his door open, then close again.

Raihan bolted up.

Did you just… did you just kiss him?

His legs and arms and the rest of his body were haphazardly tangled in blankets, so Raihan stumbled to the floor when he tried to stand.

“Hey!” Raihan called. “Hold on!”

He could do that for you too, except aim a few inches lower and really make it the perfect ending to the perfect night. Luckily you were only halfway down the hall.

Yeah, movie night was easily Raihan’s favorite night of the week.

#i cant decide which one i like more #apparently i cant stop writing about an overworked raihan #and sick!leon was honestly super fun to write #i feel like he'd deny it until the end of time #hes gotta be MANLY and PRODUCTIVE #but nope big man u gotta rest #pokemon imagines #pokemon drabbles #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield #pokemon sword and shield imagines #pokemon swsh imagines #pokemon swsh drabble #leon #leonxreader #sick!leon #leonxyou #raihanxreader #raihanxyou #fanfic #fic #fanfiction #comfort #comfort reading #kisses #cute prompt #so so cute #dande #kibana #dandexreader

[redhawtriot]

kiri n the reader have a platonic relationship, but every once in a while they'll get together in secret n watch movies together? its their little thing, bcuz when they watch romcoms (which is smn i definitely see kiri secretly liking) they both get a bit sappy during it n only trust each other to be that emotionally vulnerable around? kiri doesn't want to look weak n the reader is usually reserved they both feel comfortable ugly sobbing n huggin it out together b4 swearing not to tell a soul

Tip Jar ☕- Not expected but always appreciated💞

This was so much fun to write😂 I added a lil twist and made the reader BAKUGOU’s TWIN SISTER!!

I feel like you probably wanted this to be really cute, but I don’t think I translated into that well…. 😅 but I really I laughed a lot though, so I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did! ❤️

Thanks for the great request!

HnM💕

Tectonic Plates and Platonic Dates.  (Kirishima x Reader (friendship))

You could honestly never get over how absolutely pathetic you probably looked as you sat a sobbing, wet mess in Kirishima’s bed. 

The two of you had seen your fair share of these kinds of things since your friendship began not too long ago; however, no matter how many times you witnessed it, it would still bring tears to your eyes when the girl towards the end of a rom/com would almost loose hope in her significant other, just to be swept off her feet in the end. 

Like, how many goddamn fight scenes and heartbreak soundtracks would it take before you had a heart of steel? The world may just find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop first. 

“Sally totally deserves better than this man, but I want them to find happiness so bad, bro,” Kiri whispered as he scooted closer to you in his bed to hand you a tissue, “Why did he give me such a tough ultimatum? Not manly at all, dude,” he finished as he shook his head and solemnly retreated deeper into his covers for comfort.

“Yeah, fuck Harry for making my eyes hurt,” you quietly replied with a choked sob before blowing your nose into the towel. 

God, if only Bakugou could see you now. How would your brother think of you, his tough-as-nails, older twin– reduced to a ball of tears next to his best friend by corny cinematography. 

Damn good corny cinematography. 

But that’s beside the point. Damn good or not, it was absolutely dire that the two of you kept your scandalous rom/com meetings a secret. Kirishima being the human embodiment of manliness would never dare bruise his masculinity by watching the “About Time”, and the mature, big sister of the all-mighty Bakugou twins would never forsake feminist movements of the last 70 years and watch crap like “Hitch” or “Love Actually.”

So why did you two have to catch each other at the premier of Mama Mia 2 a few months ago?

Little did you know that that day would only be the beginning to many secret meetings between you two closeted cornballs. What had started out as an accidental (and awkward) interaction at the movie theaters turned out to birth a series of the most classified operational meetings of the century. 

A secret tradition that was about to bust wide the fuck open.

Both you and Kirishima nearly jumped out of your skin as three loud knocks were heard at the door, 

“Kirishima, bro, I know you’re up!” Kaminari’s voice sounded on the other side of the door,  “Nobody, goes to sleep this early on a Friday night unless you’re Bakugou. You gotta look at this tiktok Sero and I just made!”

You immediately threw the laptop off of your lap and jumped out of the bed. You threw a frantic glance at the door and your heart dropped even further when you noticed that it was unlocked.

You two had been so damn discreet— you had staggered your departures from the common area, you alternated rooms frequently, you made sure that you both had palpable alibis for your absences.

All that work, and you were about to be foiled because you forgot to lock the damn door. 

“Bro, Iida walked in the middle of it!” Kaminari continued with a laugh before you heard the door knob shift.

Your heart violently thudded against your chest as the metal knob began to turn. You painfully whipped your head back to Kirishima, before spastically grabbing him and desperately throwing him off of the bed toward the door, “Do something!” you harshly whispered as you threw him a pleading glance.

“I- uh… NO!” Kirishima yelled toward the door, halting the movement on the other side. His eyes darted between you and the knob, “DON’T COME IN I’M…” the boy’s eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead as he tried to find his next words, “… Naked?” his voice trailed off in a high pitch and his shoulders came up for a shrug as he searched your expression for approval. 

He found nothing of the sort.

“Oh my fucking God,” you quietly exclaimed as you threw your hand to your forehead with a loud smack. 

“Wait, was that… Y/N’s voice?” Kaminari quietly questioned to himself on the other side of the door. Your soul just about escaped from your being as those words reached you. 

Oh, my god. There is no god. 

You snapped yourself from the utter horror of the situation and snatched your soul from its attempted escape before storming up to the door– lightly swatting Kirishima on the back of his hard head as you passed him, “No one is naked, Kaminari!” you whispered as you swung the door wide open to reveal to room’s contents. Kirishima nervously waved to the flabbergasted Kaminari with a slight chuckle from the ground where you had thrown him, “Take a look for yourself,” you gestured behind you with your lips awkwardly pressed against each other.

Kaminari reluctantly waved back to Kiri before his eyes settled onto your face. He stared at you for a moment with his head tilted, as if he were intrigued be something. Right when you were about to open your mouth and ask, “What?” he spoke up again,

“Are you okay, Y/N? Your face is really flushed and your eyes are red,” your mouth fumbled over itself as you tried to find an explanation, but suddenly, Kaminari got a look in his eye. The blond practically giggled to himself as his mouth tilted up into a mischievous smirk, “Just what were you two kids doing in there? huh, Y/N?” he said a bit too loudly, igniting your jaw to fly wide open,

“No, no, no! Denki!”You composed yourself almost instantaneously as you heard rustling from the room next to Kirishima’s. You waved your hands frantically in front of the blond in front of you. You tried to hush him as he continued, “Shhhhh! No!” you pleaded in a whisper as your face shriveled in terror.

He continued regardless of your impending doom, “Was I interrupting something, Kirishima?” He wiggled his eyebrows as he called out passed your distressed form and toward the redhead who was just then beginning to stand to his feet, “Does Bakubro know about you and his sister?” You could have killed his wanna-be Pikachu headass right then and there,

“Be quiet you idiot! He’s gonna hear y–”

Your words were interrupted as the door next to Kirishima’s violently swung open and banged harshly against the wall, “THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY SISTER?!”

Your hands moved to rub your temples in preparation for the oncoming headache that was heading your way as your twin brother furiously marched out of his room. 

As soon as you made contact with your brother’s familiar fiery eyes, your entire body tensed up as if to prepare for fight or flight. You never stood down from an altercation with your little brother, but in this moment as you watched disgust and horror flash across his expression at the idea of you and his best friend sneaking around, you wanted nothing more than to shrivel into nothingness in the corner of the room like a dead spider. 

So yeah, it seemed as if flight might just be the best option. 

Your twin seemed to be at a loss for words as he tried to absorb the scene in front of him, but he quickly snapped out of his trance and re-immersed himself in his usual rage, “What the hell is going on here, shitty hair?!” he growled as he stormed up to Kirishima and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. 

“You fucking neanderthal, get the hell off of him!” you squeaked as you tried to peel Bakugou off of poor Kirishima. 

“Bakugou, man, it’s not what it looks like,” Kiri nervously laughed as you continued to futility attempt to free him from your brothers clutches. 

Kaminari could be heard laughing in the background off all of this madness, “Oh yeah,” he mused, “because by the looks of that messed up bed, it looked like you were getting all cuddly and snugly with Y/N.”

“WHAT?!” Bakugou screeched, causing Kirishima’s ears to slightly rattle.A guttural growl tore it’s way from his throat as his grips on Kirishima’s collar became tighter and he began violently shaking the boy– a steady stream of curses and death threats flooding out of him as he did so. 

Bakugou was straight up about to shake the last three brain cells that he had right out of his skull, “BAKUGOU CUT IT OUT RIGHT NOW!” You screeched as your face began tingling, “I AM ABOUT 3 SECONDS AWAY FROM KICKING YOUR ASS!”

Kaminari pracctically fell to the ground in laugher, only pausing when you threw him a very heated glare, “Don’t you laugh! You’re gonna catch these fists too, assdick!” Kaminari’s fits of laughter only intensified with your words.

Ass dick. What the fuck did you just say….?

Things literally couldn’t get any worse.

“What going on?” Sero’s approaching voice sounded from down the hall, “What’s with all of the commotion?”

Fucking great.

“None of your damned business!” both you and Bakugou sounded simultaneously- his being much more aggressive than your own. 

“Kirishima and Y/N were having a moment,” Kaminari gave a half-assed whisper to Sero.

“Kiri, you sly dog,” the second half to the same idiot replied causing Bakugou to shake the Kiri even harder. 

“I swear it’s not like that at all, you guys! Honestly!” Kirshima blurted out, gaining a glare from Bakugou as he quit shaking him– a sign to continue speaking and explain himself, 

“Y/N and I were just chilling out. I guess it’s kinda ridiculous that we have hid this for so long but…” he anxiously scratched the back of his neck.

Oh god, you were about to be outted. Revealed. Exposed. Fuck, you weren’t ready for this. There were still so many good movies out there to watch, but you would never get the chance to do so with your twerp of a brother breathing down your neck— ridiculing you for being such a sissy.

Kirishima what the hell are you doing?! They can’t handle the truth!

You stared at Kiri with wide eyes as he continued with a goofy smile plastered onto his face, “We have this… thing where we meet up and watch–”

“PORN.” you blurted out without thinking. As soon as the words flew of your mouth you could feel your face become red-hot with embarrassment.

Kirishima’s face heated up as well as he struggled to find words, “…what…?”

“what?!” Kaminari and Sero simultaneously cried out.

“hWHAT?!!” an unholy screech erupted from Bakugou’s throat as he disgustedly snatched himself away from Kirishima. 

You were so embarrased that you didnt even notice your face was literally burning up as smoke began to steam from your cheeks. It seemed as of the five of you gawked at each other for years before a sudden shift within your skin clicked in place and a loud explosion enveloped the room as you literally blew your top. 

Your quirk was similar to your brothers, except you couldn’t control your oxidation as spontaneously as Bakugou could, and you could also oxidize sweat from anywhere on your body. This meant that you were basically the human equivalent of a match wherever you rubbed your skin. 

It also meant that when you got extremely flustered or overwhelmed, sometimes your quirk would activate, much like Bakugou’s, and oxidize the massive amount of facial sweat you tended to grossly compile in anxious moments and effectively explode your own fucking head.

The four men stared in shock as the smoke cleared from your skull, revealing your seriously pissed off face “GET. THE FUCK. OUUUT!!” you growled wildly. 

The three stooges looked at your enraged being in terror as your brother just scoffed and sent you a irritated glance. You just wanted to wipe the stupid look off his bratty little face, “ALL OF YOU!” you commanded as you violently shoved Bakugou out of the room onto his butt.

“WHAT THE FUCK,” he screeched.

“Yes, ma’am.” dumb, dumber and dumbest all three replied as they tried to hurriedly flee away from the crime scene. 

You quickly grabbed dumber by the arm, “Not you, Kirishima,” you groaned in annoyance before swiftly yanking the boy back into the room and closing the door to lock it. Bakugou barely missed catching the door.

“Y/N!!! FUCKING LET ME IN!” Bakugou snarled as he banged against the door, “NOW! you idiot! I’ll blast this door straight to hell! Shitty hair, if you wanna keep this door I suggest you let me in right the FUCK now! Don’t you touch my shitty sister!”

You ignored all of his psychotic rantings as you tried to find the comfortable position that you had been in in bed before shit had hit the fan. You calmly opened the laptop up and pressed play on the movie.

Kirishima whippped his head back and forth from you calmly on the bed to the raging shadow of a wild creature just under his door, “Are you… sure this is okay? I don’t think that door will hold much longer,” he couldn’t help but smile a little at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Good thing the movie only has 10 minutes left,” you tried to shrug off the embarrassment and return to the bliss of rom/com, “Now. I am gonna finish the damn thing. If you wanna leave be my guest.”

Kirishima gave one last glance toward the booming door before walking over to settle down into the bed next to you, “I think I’ll stay here,” he laughed.

“Good choice,” you replied as you looked up to him with a smile.

And you finished the movie even with your feral twin brother making furious, animal-like noises just on the other side of the door. 

#my hero academia #mha imagines #boku no hero academia #mha imagine #bnha imagine #bnha imagines #kirishima imagine #kirishima x reader #eijirou kirishima #kirishima eijirou #bakugou #kastuki bakugou #bakugou’s sister #sero hanta #denki kaminari #kaminari x reader #sero x reader #kirishima x bakugou #platonic

[cialbi]

Boy With Hope: Lavender - Chapter One

Summary: As you closed your eyes for the last time, the smell of lavender wafted through your nose and a boy with purple wings appeared from above you. Genre: Angst, Romance, Fantasy

Pairings: Angel Hoseok x Reader

Warnings: Language, Suicide Attempt, Depression, Alcoholism

A/N: This is going to be part of a series called “Boy’s With Series.” Hoseok’s story is going to be the first part out of seven. I don’t know what order I’ll do the other boys in, but I already have their themes and such chosen out. So enjoy the prologue! 

⤎Previous

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'Fuck that hurts.'

You buried your face into your pillow, the roaring headache that crashed through your skull roused your sleepy conscious. A faint gust of air blew through your room, tickling your skin and making you shift to find warmth deeper under the covers. From outside you could hear the rush and beeps of cars as they raced by on the city streets and the voices of pedestrians signaled that the world was coming back to life. 

You groaned, rolling over on your side. The throbbing in your head was like a symphony of anguish that blared in your brain as you cracked a sleep-caked lid open.

Neon green numbers flashed through bleary eyes: 7:00am.  

'What happened?'

A little disoriented, it took you a moment to come to. 

You were drinking last night. Something had definitely triggered you... you came home... dropped your keys... tripped over some shit... drank some more... and then....

Oh no. 

What did you do? 

Then, all at once, like a movie reel in your head, you recalled the events in which lead up to now. 

You'd lost your job. 

Again. 

You could practically see the angry face of your boss as he fired you, and you couldn’t help the churning ache of embarrassment that welled in your gut. 

“Unacceptable, Y/N!” He had vociferated. “You’re tardy everyday, you look like a mess and you reek of booze! Collect your things immediately, I don’t want to see you in here ever again!”

Ugh. The shame. 

It was something you should be used to by now, getting fired and all--but alas you didn’t do well with shame. You didn’t do well with any sort of negative emotion, so you had fixed it with the only solution you knew how.

Booze, booze and more booze.

You could smell the murk of the musty bar you had holed into, the horrified expressions of other bar-goers watching you as you downed your fifth drink of the night. You could remember how you stumbled home like a hot mess of sweat and the way your room reeked of garbage and alcohol. 

You sniffed.

Funny.

It doesn't smell so bad now.

Kind of... floral?

Adjusting your position, you gave a grunt of discomfort. There was something poking at your side, so you reached under the covers and searched until your hands clasped around something smooth and cylindrical. You retracted your arm and pulled out the plastic orange pill container, staring at it blankly. 

What was that doing there? 

You rotated it in your hands, the morning sun casting an apricot shadow across your face. Klonopin. When did you....? Weird. You didn't remember picking up your prescription from the drug store. The drug store...

Oh wait.

And then you did.

It was all coming back now. The pills, the wine, the way your heart slowed and your body went limp. The glowing purple lights. What the fuck were those? And a boy, there was a boy floating through the ceiling. You pinched the bridge of your nose.

Damn, what a high. 

So you finally tried to do it, and it looks like you failed. An unfamiliar sensation crawled beneath your skin, causing you to shudder. So much guilt... and so much shame. You didn’t know whether you wanted to cry or scream as you gazed nonchalantly at the little pill bottle, swiping your fingers over the plastic. 

Fuck. 

You really fail at everything.

Even killing yourself.

It was a little sobering, in fact. And you used the word sobering, because you hadn’t expected to wake up the next day. Hadn’t expected to deal with the aftermath or the complicated emotions attached to it. You hadn’t been prepared for it.

Sighing deeply, you ran your fingers through your hair, feeling a bit of chunks and stickiness towards the ends. You eyed the area near your pillow, but it was clean. Again, weird. There was no vomit on your sheets. You sat up, eyes grazed over the white cotton fabric but finding no sign of regurgitated food.

Then you noticed your room. It was completely clean. 

All the garbage, clothes and bottles were gone, and there was a certain sparkliness to your apartment that you hadn't seen in a long time. If it weren't for the little cat statue on your nightstand that your mom had given you for your birthday, you would have sworn you woke up in someone else's house.

Maybe someone broke in? 

You gave a snort. Yeah, right, a burglar that breaks into apartments and cleans them. 

Then, maybe you had cleaned up during your high. You'd done weirder things under the influence--many that didn’t involve clothes--so you couldn't completely write that off as a possibility, right?

A jolt to your muscles had you groan again. A kind of nauseating pain coursed through your body and the raging headache echoed in your ears. Nope. No way. There was no way your body could have even moved in the state that it was in.

So cross that off the list.

Ok so, a burglar broke into your apartment, stole all your garbage and stinking clothes, then cleaned up the place and left? That sounded even more ridiculous. You didn't have many valuables, and you couldn't imagine that anyone would touch your clothing by how bad they smelled. An ordinary robber would have taken one look at your place and slammed the door.

You rubbed your temples, your mind too foggy to think anymore coherent thoughts. Ugh. Whatever. I feel like shit, I can’t think like this. 

The sudden need to be clean overtook you, so you swung your legs over the side of your bed and stood, deciding on a shower and maybe some food to help wash out the toxins that were swirling around in your stomach. If you even had any edible food left in your kitchen. Your stomach gurgled in anticipation.

Yeah, some food and a shower. After that, you could figure this shit out.

Shoulders slumped, you padded over to your bathroom and flicked on the lights, wincing at the immediate image of yourself reflected in the mirror above your sink. 

You were unnaturally pale, almost green, and your long, tangled hair was sticking up in all directions. There were splotches of red stained into your baggy white t-shirt, which made it look like you had murdered someone with a knife. But what was most prominent were the swollen black bags sunken deeply beneath your eyelids. 

Wow, suicide does wonders for the complexion. You joked darkly to yourself, pinching your cheeks a little too hard before opening your bathroom cabinet to find a towel. 

When you couldn’t find one, you cursed quietly and slammed the lean, rectangular door shut. Your stomach growled again and the sickness followed.  Fuck the shower, let’s go eat something. You were almost out of shampoo anyway. 

Exiting the bathroom, you mused to yourself about the options of what you could eat. What you were really craving was something spicy, maybe some instant noodles with sriracha--though, you knew for today that would be nothing more than a culinary fantasy. 

Spending most of your money on booze and take-out, you didn’t go to the grocery store often. Hell, you barely scraped enough dough to pay the bills, and now you didn’t have a job to support either expenses. You’d be lucky if there was even a piece of rotting fruit left in your fridge. 

By now, your stomach was screaming at you for some type of sustenance, so with low expectations, you dragged your feet towards your kitchen. Rotten fruit it is. 

You’ve had worse meals. 

As you approached, you noticed the light was on in the kitchen. A yellow glow illuminated from beneath the doorframe, mixing with the sunshine that poured in from outside. Huh. That’s strange. You definitely remembered the pitch black of your room when you stumbled in last night.

Then you smelled it. 

The faint scent of bacon wafted through your nose and your tummy gave an approving growl. The nausea, on the other hand, poked at your gut and graciously reminded you of the severe pain you were in. The contrasted feelings almost made you forget that there shouldn't be any smells coming from your kitchen seeing as you had been in bed, not in your kitchen, and most certainly not cooking. 

The smell was followed by a clattering of pans, and a hushed “dammit!” could be heard from inside. 

You froze.

Someone was still here. 

And they were cooking in your kitchen.

Slowly, as to not make a sound, you inched towards your bedside table and picked up your desk lamp. How that could possibly defend you from an intruder, who knows, but it was all you had ready and available. Honestly, you had no idea in hell what you were doing--no one’s ever broken into your apartment before--but you were hoping for the best. So you raised the lamp like a baseball bat and tip-toed towards the door of your kitchen. It was open a smidge, and the sound of cheerful humming seeped out through the crack.

A burglar that cleans rooms, makes breakfast and has a love for Mariah Carey. Huh.

You peaked around the door, gripping your desk lamp until your knuckles whitened and took a deep breath, preparing yourself to confront a burly, black-clad thug. Maybe with some tattoos and a ski-mask. Or, worst case scenario, a gun. The thought heightened your pulse. 

Hesitantly, you took a small step inside. 

There was only so much that could have prepared you for what you actually saw in your kitchen.

A strikingly gorgeous, tall looking man with bright orange hair was dancing around the room, flipping some fried eggs in one of your blue, non-stick frying pans. Around his waist, your frilly pink apron was tied in a neat little bow, which contrasted humorously with his toned muscles and manly build. He looked lost in his own little world, lashes cast downward as his lips made music and, for a moment, you were completely enchanted. 

He's a friggen intruder! Bash his head in while you have the chance! You internally screamed, though you couldn't find it in yourself to move.

Without looking at you, the orange-haired, completely white-clad burglar cracked a smile. "Good, you're awake!"

Startled, you stepped back and raised the lamp in defense, your pulse rising to an infinite level.

He put down the pan and turned off the stove gas, rummaging through your cupboard for a plate. He was acting as if he lived here, knowing where all your things were, and for a second you wondered if he was a family friend, maybe someone your parents sent to make sure you weren't dead. Though, no-one in your family had a key to your apartment and you would most certainly remember knowing someone with such a beautiful and distinct face.

The mysterious, humming man plated the eggs and forked some bacon on top, already cooked and perfectly greasy. He turned towards you, grinning a smile that made you blink. He’s got the sunniest smile you had ever seen. The combination of his smile, his sparkling eyes and the elegant lines of his face disoriented you. 

He’s really gorgeous.

And really tall.

And moving right towards you.

Backing up, you swiped your eyes over his entirety. You wouldn't stand a chance in hell against this guy. He may not be burly or tattooed, but he was about two times your weight, and had at least a foot on you in height. Oh yeah and he wasn’t hung-over as fuck. All he would have to do was shove you with one hand and you would finally meet your maker. 

Alarmed, you raised the lamp as high as you could and pointed it at him threateningly. You did your best to look big and scary, but you knew you probably looked like nothing more than a scared little animal cowering from its prey.

“Hey, it’s ok.” He cooed at you. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

"Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in my apartment?" You hissed. Your arms were shaking and your voice squeaked a few octaves too high. This was going great.

He looked at you, then at the lamp clasped in your hands, then back at you. Then he smiled again, eyes squinting sweetly.

"My name's Hoseok. You must be hungry!” He wiggled the plate of food. “Here, I made breakfast." His voice was so cheerful that it took you aback. Obviously, he was not at all threatened by you or your weapon of choice. You lowered the lamp slightly and sniffed. It smelled fucking great.

You eyed the plate of food, your stomach betraying you by letting out a monsterous growl. Then the nausea followed and you groaned.

His face fell. "Hmm, I thought I took away most of the pain, but I guess it wasn't enough."

The mysterious intruder turned to place the plate of food on your kitchen table, then whirled back around and began a slow walk towards you, hands outstretched.

"Stay back!" You warned, raising the lamp again and shaking it in his face.

The orange-haired man lowered his hands in defense. "Just let me fix it." He said, continuing his approach.

You looked at the lamp and then back at him, giving him a once over and weighing your options. You could try and land a hit, hoping to create enough time to make a break for it, but also risking angering him, or you could cut your losses now and run. 

The latter sounded good. 

Squealing in fear, you dashed back into your bedroom, ready to burst out the front door of your apartment and run like a mad-woman until you found some help. But another shot of nausea mixed with fatigue had you hurdling belly first onto the floor. Your knee slammed hard against the wooden surface and sent the lamp skidding out of your hands. 

“Fuck!” You cried, curling in on yourself. Your kneecap burned with a searing, fiery pain. 

“Are you ok?” His voice came from above you, and when you looked up, you were met by his chocolate brown eyes staring down at you with worry. His beautifully sculpted legs were like skyscrapers, ascending from the ground right in front of your face, and you wondered how fast he could run if you tried to escape now.

"Fuck no! Fuck you! Fuck!” You yelped, forcing yourself up and scrambling gracelessly into the safety of your bed covers. Your knee screamed at you, throbbing angrily at the unwelcomed movement, and suddenly you found yourself undoubtedly screwed. Even if you tried now, you definitely couldn’t outrun this attractive, long-limbed man.

"Don't come any closer!" You cried, the rush of adrenaline making you dizzy. Call the police! Gotta call the police! Or someone, someone that might care that I’m in trouble. 

You found it a little funny. Just hours ago, all you had wanted to do was die, swallowed a whole flipping pill bottle to do it. But now that the perfect execution of death had appeared right before you, all you had been trying to do since was find some way to live through it. Irony is a bitch.

He inched towards you carefully with his hands raised. "Look, I know this must seem..." He paused, fishing for the right word, "...peculiar. But I promise I mean you no harm."

"Tell that to the police!" You screeched, combing your bed for your phone but came up empty. 

Oh. 

Yeah.

Your eyes widened. Shit. It was in your pants pocket, which you had flung somewhere across your room last night. Looking around frantically, you remembered your clothes had mysteriously disappeared. "Where are my clothes? What did you do with them?"

He lowered his hands, biceps flexing deliciously. "Ah! No, don't worry, they're right over there!" He pointed to the corner of your room where your pink, plastic laundry basket was filled to the brim with neatly folded clothes. "I'm sorry I didn't ask first, but seeing as you were sleeping for the past two days, I took the liberty of washing them. They were quite smelly. You really should--”

“Shut up!” You exclaimed, cutting him off completely. I’m sorry, what did he say?? The clothing aside, your eyes almost popped out of your head. "Two days!? Wait. You've been in my room for two days?” You felt sick. Your head began to spin and your stomach clenched as ripples of pain ripped through your muscles. You fell into yourself, clutching your scalp so hard it could have bled, and let out a long, guttural “fuuuuucckkkkkk.”

"Hey, let me help you! I can take the pain away!" He stepped forward, his hands stretched out again towards you, his fingers almost close enough to brush against the skin of your wrist.

You recoiled away from him. "And how could you possibly do that?"

He sighed, looking exhausted. "Just trust me."

Biting back a laugh, you snapped at him. "Trust you? A strange man who broke into my apartment, touched my stuff without permission and claims he can just magically take away my pain? No way, you’re a total psycho!"

A totally hot psycho.

Another wave of nausea swept through you and you grabbed your stomach, trying to keep your insides from exploding out onto the mattress. Then, faster than your mind could comprehend, he was suddenly right beside you, knelt with one knee at your bedside, his eyes pleading.

"I can tell it really hurts. Please, let me help you." From this distance you can see how deep chocolate his eyes are, like perfectly round cocoa beans swimming with genuine concern. Time seemed to slow, and you found yourself enchanted by him again.

It should be a crime for anyone to look this good.

Are you kidding me!? It’s a crime for him to be here in the first place!

All the signs were pointing to 'crazy guy,' but on top of your immense trepidation, your body was rejecting you and your will to fight back began to flutter away. You curled yourself up so tight that not even a crowbar could ply you apart. 

Fine, he could kill you. You were ready for it. 

You shut your eyes tight as he reached for your fetal form. This was it, this was how you were going to die; by the hands of a majestic intruder who makes eggs and bacon and says he has magic powers. What a way to go, eh? You tried to imagine your family's faces. Would they even miss that you were gone? Would they cry for you? Would anyone care that you were dead? You waited. And waited.

But nothing happened.

You peaked an eye open, but he was just sitting there, a single hand in front of your face, so close that you could see the lines that ran across the skin of his palm. He looked at you with that oddly cheerful expression, the ends of his orange bangs kissing the tips of his long, voluminous lashes. "I'm going to touch you now." 

He didn’t give you a chance to respond as he abruptly placed his hand around your forehead. An extraordinary tingling sensation raced through you, a kind of warm feeling like those first few minutes of soaking in a scalding hot bath. You felt the pain lift from your aching bones, like his hand was soaking up the anguish and leaving you with nothing but bliss and relaxation.

Then he removed his soft grip, a satisfied smile gracing his pretty pink lips.

"How's that?" He asked, sitting back.

You blinked, trying to register what just happened. The pain was gone, and all you could feel was a sense of clarity and a warmth that pooled comfortably in your once flippant stomach. 

As it all began to sink in, you freaked. Like totally, completely, flipping freaked out. "What the fuck? Oh my god, what was that? WHAT WAS THAT?" You screeched, slapping his hand away and scooching back into the corner of your bed.

He looked a little hurt. "It's a gift I have." He explained matter-of-factly. "I'm an angel."

You blinked at him.

Excuse me, what?

Hello crazytown. Toot toot, the psycho train just arrived at the station, number of passengers: one incredibly hot, orange-haired mad-man. 

You laughed besides yourself. "An angel? You gotta be shitting me! You expect me to believe that? Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Hoseok, I told you." He answered.

You brought your knees closer, looking him square in the eyes. "Ok, Hoseok the angel. What psychward did you escape from?" Oh let me guess. "Heaven?"

Hoseok chuckled at that. "Not exactly."

The deep-cut white V-neck he was wearing dipped dangerously low around his neck, exposing a well defined collar-bone and a hint at a sculpted chest. His body was littered with silver jewelry that jingled with every slight movement he made; a detailed silver cross that dangled from around his neck, and another, simpler, one from his left ear.  Man this guy is full of it.

"What are you doing here?" You repeat.

Hoseok gave a faint sigh. "Isn't it obvious already?" He touched the cross around his neck and thumbed it with belletic fingers. "I'm here to help you."

"Yeah, you said that already. Help me with what?" You snapped.

All you had wanted to do was die peacefully.

And now you're stuck with this shit.

Where the fuck is this guys social worker?

You were suddenly feeling pretty grumpy, but somehow no longer threatened.

Leaning forward, Hoseok touched your hand softly, the little chained bracelets around his wrist glinting against the light. "You've lost all hope in your life, and I'm here to help you find that hope again." Well that the hell do you say to that?

What felt like hours passed as you kept your eyes locked to his, searching for any sign of insanity or deception, but found none. The smoothness of his ivory skin and his complacent expression revealed no ill intentions and for the first time you felt yourself give in to him a little. He was so earnest, you actually trusted he wasn’t here to hurt you, and the warmth of his skin on yours elated a sort of calm you hadn’t felt in a... well god knows when.

Even so, you retracted your hand from his hold.

"I don't need help." You mutter, almost to yourself. "I'm doing just fine, thank you."

Hoseok frowned. His elegant features looked wrong with such an expression. "It certainly didn't look like it Y/N."

You gasped, your stranger-danger reflexes kicking into high gear. It was like you had completely forgot you were talking to a total nut-case. "How do you know my name?" 

"Are we going to do this all day?" He mumbled, a slight pout replacing his previous grimace. "I told you, I'm an angel. Your angel to be exact."

"And what? Does being an angel give you super psychic powers?" You spat back.

He considered this for a moment, but shook his head, unfazed by your tone of voice. "No. I was instructed to find and aid a Y/N L/N. That's you."

What the hell does that even mean? 'Instructed to find you?' And what? Break into your home, spew some crazy nonsense and scare the living daylights out of you? You sneered, pivoting in your seat to create some distance. "And who instructed you to do that? God?"

Hoseok looked thoughtful, wrinkling his nose and gazing up at the ceiling. "No... not exactly." 

Seriously, who the fuck is this guy? 

You took a moment, clenching your eyes shut and rubbing your head which had begun to ache again. "Ok, so, let's say---for a second--that I believe you, which I don't, but for your sake let's say I do. Why in the hell would anyone send an angel to help me?"

Hoseok launched forward, his face inches from your own and his good looks nearly blinding you. The silver cross around his neck beat against his chest as he exhaled, examining your face closely. His features were scrunched in a look of curiosity and rejection. "So you don't believe me?"

You pulled away from him, using your tiny hands to shove his face a safe distance from your own. "No! Of course not! Do you understand how crazy you sound?"

With a thrust of his wrist, he shot himself into a standing position, towering over you like a giant. "Ok. Hold on."

“Hold on for what?” You asked, eyebrow raised.  

“I’ll prove it to you.” 

You didn't know what to expect, maybe some arm flapping, or some more weird dancing--you might not have complained if he took off his shirt. What you didn't expect were for two huge, lavender wings to sprout from his back, unfolding to occupy nearly half of your tiny apartment bedroom. They glimmered iridescently, almost see-through. Little orbs of shining light poured from his chest as he turned in a circle so you could get a good look at him.

"Holy shit." Were the only words you could manage as you stared, transfixed.

The strange dream you had suddenly crashed into your brain as you remembered the glowing purple lights that poured into your room, and the floating boy that had descended from your ceiling. 

‘Don’t give up yet!’ He had called out to you. 

There’s a cool sensation against your skin as you recall the vast, open body of water that you had stood in. The one where lavender grew from beneath and the smell had overwhelmed your senses.  

That was a dream, wasn’t it? 

‘There’s so much to live for.’ 

That voice did sound like Hoseok. 

‘I’m here now.’

Then, the wings vanished, folding back into his body with an enormous flap. Little pearls of glitter dispersed throughout the air and a couple translucent, purple feathers came to rest on the floor below. Hoseok beamed at you as if he just won a game of monopoly.

"Do you believe me now?"

"Oh my god." You blinked.

"Again. Not exactly."

"I get it now." Your voice was quiet, but Hoseok heard you.

His eyes sparkled in excitement, grinning ear to ear. "You do?"

You nod slowly. "I do."

Throwing his hands up in elation, Hoseok's eyes grew so squinty with happiness that they were merely little slivers of black eyelashes. "That's great! So now you'll let me help you?"

You ignored his question. "I did it. I really did it."

He frowned, lips dipping in confusion. "Wait. Did what?"

You sighed, raking a hand through your vomity, unwashed hair. "I'm dead. I'm actually dead."

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

Next⤏

A/N

Completely unedited. I'm sorry! I'll go back through the chapters as I go and edit them. I know it needs... more. But I hope you enjoyed it!

Cial

#bts fic #bts jhope #bts hoseok #bts fanfction #bts reader insert #jhope x reader #jhope x y/n #angel j hope #bts angel #bts fanfic #bts hoseok x reader #fanfic #fan fiction #bangtan #bangtan fanfic #reader insert #reader x hoseok #hoseok x you #hoseok x y/n #hoseok x reader #BTS jungkook #bts #BTS v #bts j hope #bts x reader #y/n #y/n x bts #bts angst #bts fantasy au #bts fan

[calliecat93]

Callie’s Disney Princess Retrospective: The Little Mermaid

(Snow White) (Cinderella) (Sleeping Beauty)

By the time of 1989, The Walt Disney Company was in it’s Dark Age. Walt had passed, the Nine Old Men were retiring, and their films were viewed as jokes. The Dark Age tends to get what I feel is an overly harsh reputation, but that’s not what we’re here for. The cold hard truth is Disney was a shadow of its former self. Their films just weren’t getting the same praise as they once did, and now with Don Bluth gaining success, with films like An American Tale and The Land Before Time, they weren’t even the top studio anymore. Their lowest point was the colossal failure of The Black Cauldron and while films like The Great Mouse Detective earned some praise, it was just never enough. They’d start getting some steam with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but considering that they commissioned Richard William’s studio in England over Disney’s own animation studio, it seemed that even the company itself was losing faith in their own talents.

That all changed, however, with the release of their 28th animated feature. This would be the film that changed everything. It brought Disney back into prominence after years of being laughing stocks. It would enter the animation medium into its Renaissance, a time still fondly remembered by many. And for the purposes of this series, it is the film that both resurrected and revitalized the Disney Princess franchise. All of this would be due to 1989’s The Little Mermaid.

Overview

Ariel is a mermaid, but she dreams of one day being able to be part of the human world. Always collecting whatever surface world treasures she can find, to her father’s disapproval, Ariel one day stumbles upon a ship celebrating the birthday of the handsome Prince Eric. It’s love at first sight, but as he is a human, her father King Triton reacts negatively. Hurt, Ariel goes to the sea witch Ursula, who grants her human legs at the cost of her voice. To remain human, Ariel has three days to get Eric to fall in love with her and kiss her. But Ursula has her own wicked plans for Ariel, plans that will endanger both land and sea. Will Ariel be able to get Eric to fall in love with her and become part of his world? Or will Ursula triumph?

Review

I have been waiting for this day for SO LONG. Do you want to know why I decided to do this series, to begin with? Aside from 2020 driving me to insanity? It’s because while the complaints against the Disney Princesses in general have frustrated me for as long as I can remember, there were two in particular that always made my blood boil because they made no sense. Cinderella was the first one, which I already covered. The other? Ariel. I think you all know what I’m referring to here, but let’s put a pin in it for now. We have a LOT to discuss before we get to analyzing Ariel herself. First, let's go over the film.

The film is based on the story of the same name by Hans Christian Anderson. Walt himself had actually planned it long before, but sadly was never able to make it a reality. When the directors pitched it, at first it was denied due to Disney having already releasing a mermaid film called Splash not too long ago. But it was allowed to continue to be worked on as a future project and after a great deal of tweaking, expansion, and reworking, it was approved as a feature film to come out after Oliver and Company. There were a LOT of changes from the original story. The sea witch went from neutral to the villain, characters were expanded and added, and of course the story of unrequited love that ended with the little mermaid committing suicide was thrown out all together. A lot of the story basis was still there, but Disney was taking it and making it their own arguably even moreso than with the Classic Three.

The animation is fantastic. Many of the films prior like The Rescuers and Oliver and Company, while they looked nice, had this… roughness to it. I mean they were outright recycling animation for a good while, with Robin Hood being the biggest example. But the animation here is some of the nicest, most fluid that they’ve had in quite a long time. It’s colorful, expressive, and grand in feel. This is especially true with the musical numbers. I mean Under the Sea has SO much going on, and it is a true spectacle! It’s especially prominent when Ariel is mute. Since she can’t express herself with words, the animation had to be on point so that we could still understand her thoughts and feelings. They did an amazing job. From things like her visual glee at being human when going to bed the first night, to her annoyingly blowing her bangs during the canoe ride, turning into excited glee when Eric guesses her name. It helps Ariel feel more like a three-dimensional character and illustrates everything to us that words couldn’t at that point.

The biggest animation challenge for this film would be to convincingly portray the illusion of being under water. They had to convince us that Ariel was living under the sea, and I’d say they did a pretty good job. It is no easy task and trying to describe it is… hard. But I never had any doubt that they were underwater, especially compared to the scenes that were on the surface/ just look at how Ariel's hair is constantly flowing compared to how it sits when on the surface. It’s that attention to detail that I always appreciate. The opening especially, seeing the underwater landscape thriving as we see the silhouetted merpeople until the grand reveal of King Triton’s castle. Not to mention the seashore setting of Eric’s own castle and kingdom, a perfect match for this sort of movie. As someone who loves water/seaside settings, it’s always a joy to see!

While several of these people worked on the Dark Age films, this is really the first film that allows the then-new talent of Disney to shine. The directors were John Musker and Ron Clements, who are VERY important names to the Princess line. They not only gave us Ariel but also Jasmine, Tiana, and Moana. They’ve been attached to many of Disney’s most beloved films and event cult classics like The Great Mouse Detective and Treasure Planet (both of which you should watch). You also have animators such as Glen Keane, who would go on to animate Pocahontas and Rapunzel and work on some of the future princes (The Beast and Aladdin), and Mark Henn who would animate Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas (alongside Keane), Mulan, and Tiana. They both would be the supervising animators for Ariel, and go on to have very successful careers in future productions. 

But this film also gave us what may have been the best decision that the new management ever made. For the music, they hired lyricist Howard Ashman, who chose composer Alan Menken to collaborate with him. I cannot stress enough how important these two’s contributions were for this (and the next film we’ll be discussing) production, especially the former. Ashman became very passionate about this project and was very influential on it’s direction to the point of being credited as a producer. Menken of course would go on to have a LONG, successful career as a composer on many of the Renaissance films. Many of which we’ll be touching on in this retrospective. These guys won two Oscars for The Little Mermaid for a reason.

I haven’t talked a whole lot about the music in these films outside a little bit about the main song. That’s because while not unimportant, the music didn’t really move the story along. Like Someday My Prince Will Come/ is cute, but does it really drive anything forward? Or tell us anything about Snow White that we didn’t already know from I’m Wishing? Not really. Ashman, using his stage musical experience, wanted to use that kind of styling with The Little Mermaid. To use music to add depth to both the characters and to the story. We’re all used to most Disney films being this Broadway-esque spectacle nowadays, but this film was the first to truly do so. Considering how this formula is still being used to this day, I think it’s safe to say that it was VERY successful. Again, the music won two Oscars for a reason. Heck for a LONG time, the music was all that Disney was able to win from The Academy, so that says a LOT as to how good this was.

So now that we’ve made it here, I’m going to discuss the vocal tracks individually and give my thoughts on each of the major ones:

Fathoms Below: Might be the most underrated song of the bunch. It’s in the style of a sea-shanty discussing the legends of what is below the sea. It’s a great intro to the film, letting us know right off the bat what kind of movie we are in for. I know that it sure had me invested~

Part of Your World/Reprise: I’m gonna go more into depth on the song’s meanings when we analyze Ariel, but this song is perfect. It’s the song that tells us Ariel’s wants and dreams and Jodi Benson does such a great job putting so many different emotions into it. The animators also did a fantastic job with the expressions, fully showcasing Ariel’s longing, sadness, and desperation to be part of a world that she cannot. The reprise equally does a great job showcasing her evolving revolve, going from ‘longing’ to ‘determined’. The song is fondly remembered for a reason… and it almost didn’t make it into the film. During screen testings, Jeffrey Katzenberg (the studio head at the time) wanted the sequence cut as the kid audience was ‘bored’ and ‘restless’. The directors and Ashman HEAVILY disagreed and argued back, with Glen Keane ultimately being the one to convince Katzenberg to keep the scene. Thank God for it because this adds such a strong, emotional core to both the story and to Ariel’s character and it would have taken so much away if removed. I love it~

Under the Sea: This was the number that won the Oscar. I… find it the most overrated track tbh. Not that it’s bad, FAR from it. It’s probably the best animation-wise with how much is going on. Sebastian somehow managed to conduct… all the sea life into a mass spectacle that certainly had me convinced to living under the sea. The calypso style is very fitting and fun, and Samuel E Wright sings it with so much passion. I guess that I find it overrated because I just like other songs more, but this is still a true showstopper that’s worth revisiting.

Poor Unfortunate Souls: Aside from I think Cruella DeVille (and even then Roger’s the one singing it), I think that this is the first true villain song in a Disney film. If so, then they started on a GLORIOUS note. I love this song! It was THE perfect song for Ursula. The first half with her fake reformed villain act but with this condescending air to it (Pat Carroll’s delivery with the  ‘Pathetic’ line is perfection) was already grand, but the second half? Pat Carroll just lets loose and goes utterly insane. It is AMAZING and has so much charisma to it that you can’t help but be invested. It’s also very creepy, especially in the end with Ursula's cauldron bubbling and especially how she takes Ariel’s voice. This would inspire many great villain songs in the future and to this day remains one of the all-time greats.

Les Poissons: I never thought that seeing a chef cook would be so horrifying… the song is fine. It’s a silly sequence, albeit morbid from poor Sebastian’s perspective, and Rene Auberjonois did a fantastic job despite the song being pretty short. It’s my least favorite track, mainly because it doesn’t really add or enhance anything. But it was fun… poor Senastian though XD

Kiss the Girl: The love song of the film. I love the animation for this one. I mean what’s more romantic than taking a canoe out on the lake? That’s where I’d want my first date to end! The mood is set so well with the use of shadows and once more, Sebastian is able to conduct a spectacle effortlessly. Once more Samuel E Wright does a fabulous job singing, this time with a serenade style. Even if poor Scuttle didn’t get the appreciation that he deserved. Let the seagull sing, dang it! The only thing that ruins it is the eels capsizing the canoe, jerks! But yeah a beautiful serenade that is bound to convince anyone to… well, kiss the girl XD

And that’s not even getting into Alan Menken’s score! Alan Menken is my favorite composer of all time, so I love everything that he has ever done. I still remember the opening, hearing the instrumental of Part of Your World and immediately became invested in this film. The man is an EGOT for a reason, and this is only one of the many fantastic soundtracks that we’ll be discussing in this review. He also did some additional music for the Broadway version of the film, and there’s a whole body of demo work that he and Ashman did that you can probably find on Youtube, Spotify, or whatever music streaming service you use. Listen to Ashman’s rendition of Part of Your World, you WILL be driven to tears.

So now we get to characters… and HO BOY do we have a lot. For the sake of this review we will be going over King Triton, Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, Ursula, Prince Eric, and as per usual Ariel will have her own section at the end.

King Triton, while not evil, serves as an antagonist early on in the film. By all appearances, Triton is a capable ruler who wields a great deal of power due to his triton. He appears just, and for the most part he is as well as a caring father. The only problem is… well, his anger issues. Triton HATES humans and the surface world. We’re never told why aside from him calling them ‘fish-eaters’ (the DTV prequel suggests it’s due to the death of his wife, but the canonicity is debatable), but considering that his youngest daughter’s greatest passion is learning about the surface world… yeah. Needless to say, they have issues between them. But he is otherwise loving and was even excited that Ariel may have found love until he found out about their species. With how overprotective he is, that was a nice subversion despite how brief it was.

Triton often gets the ‘abusive’ label thrown against him and while I do think that that’s a little too strong, there is no denying that his hatred and anger affects Ariel emotionally. He may have seen destroying Ariel’s grotto as for her own good and is likely the culmination of however long Ariel’s been going to the surface finally boiling over. But to do this right in front of her when she is begging him to stop and outright ridiculing her for saving Eric’s life… yeah. It’s… it’s a horrifying scene that does NOT make Triton look good and is what pushes Ariel into seeing Ursula. It doesn’t matter the reason, destroying your children’s things is something that WILL scar them emotionally. To be far, the moment Ariel breaks down Triton clearly realizes that he crossed the line, but he just leaves because… yeah there was NO WAY that they were reaching a reconciliation at that moment.

Triton has a lot of issues, but the reason I don’t call him abusive and like him as a character is because after the grotto scene, he was clearly remorseful. After Ariel goes missing, he outright says ‘What have I done?” and his demeanor expresses a lot of remorse. If that wasn’t enough, I think that him both selling his soul to free Ariel AND turning her human after realizing how much she loved Eric more than showed that he has learned his lesson. Triton had to learn to allow Ariel to grow up and choose her own direction in life, even if he didn’t like said direction. It’s very relatable to how some parents struggle to let go of their children as they grow up. My only real complaint is, as I said, we don’t know why Triton hates humans so much. If we did and saw him work through it, it may have helped us understand why he was so against Ariel’s passions and not come off as needlessly cruel as he did. Nevertheless, he realized his wrongs and made it right. His hug with Ariel at the end is one that gets me every time.

The sidekicks of the film are Flounder, Scuttle, and Sebastian. IDK why they named Flounder Flounder because he isn’t… well, a flounder. He looks like some kind of tropical fish. Flounder is kind of the kid appeal character, even being voiced by a child in all incarnations except Return to the Sea since he had grown up. He is Ariel’s best friend who goes with her on her adventures, despite almost always being easily frightened. He’s well-meaning, but can cause more trouble like when he accidentally exposed Ariel’s excursion during the concert. But he’s also a sweet little guy and very loyal to Ariel. The kid outright went out of his way to somehow recover the Eric statue, which is ten times his size, and deliver it to her grotto to make her happy. That is friendship. He doesn’t really develop, but he’s a nice supporting character.

Scuttle is… well, dumb. But a fun dumb. He’s a surface creature and thus has more knowledge about surface world items than Ariel does… except he doesn’t. He’s not smart, but they manage to keep him entertaining because he’s so sure that he knows what he’s talking about. Imo, dinglehoppers are a MUCH better name for forks than forks, dang it! He tries to help, like it was his idea to try the serenade during the canoe ride… too bad that he can’t hold a note. Poor bird tried. They also DO allow him to be useful at the end, discovering that Ursula had tricked Eric and he amassed one heck of an army to humiliate her long enough for Ariel to reach the ship. It is one of the funniest AND most awesome moments in the whole film. Scuttle is just fun comedic relief who doesn’t overstay his welcome and his VA Buddy Hackett did such a great job~

But if there’s any character aside from Ariel that we remember from this film, it’s Sebastian. This Jamaican crab is the royal musical conductor and Triton’s advisor. He’s often the one who has to watch over Ariel, which clearly frustrates him on multiple occasions. Tbh, Sebastian probably has the most character development in the film. In the beginning, while understandably upset that Ariel being a no-show ruined his conducting debut (though tbf… NO ONE bothered to make sure she was in place? Really?), he’s mainly upset that /he/ looked bad. After the storm, he’s more concerned about getting into trouble with Triton than about Ariel herself. He knows how much the human world means to her, and while one can argue that Ariel /should/ be more aware of how her actions affect others, Sebastian isn’t much better. He only discourages her to save his own shell, not for her own good. Which eventually leads to him breaking and exposing what happened during the storm when he should know damn well that Triton will explode. Yeah it was because he misunderstood, but still.

However, Sebastian isn’t a bad crab. After the grotto's destruction, he immediately feels guilty and tries to apologize to Ariel, but she angrily dismisses him. He tries to convince Ariel to not go to Ursula, but as she’s still upset she bitterly brushes him off and tells him to get her father since he’s good at that. He therefore follows with only Flounder and at first, panics after Ariel is human. It’s understandable because… yeah, that’s bad. His first reaction is to get Triton to fix this, with Ariel trying to stop him. Once he sees the heartbroken look on her face, Sebastian realizes just how miserable Ariel would be back home. At this point, it's reasonable to assume that Triton will only be stricter about letting her have her ventures, and thus she’d be stuck in an unhappy life. This, along with the situation at least being partially his fault, convinces Sebastian to hold off and help Ariel win Eric over. Which he certainly tries his best. 

One of my favorite scenes is Ariel going to bed and being so excited to experience these new things as Sebastian tries to advise her on getting Eric to kiss her. But he stops when he sees that Ariel has fallen asleep with the biggest smile on her face, and he just affectionately calls her a ‘hopeless child’. The affection in his expressions and Samuel E Wright’s delivery is just so sincere and it really shows that for all his bluster, Sebastian does care for Ariel. The crab is also a seriously talented conductor. Like I said, he put together both Under the Sea AND Kiss the Girl in zero time and they’re both amazing numbers because of it. He really tries hard to help Ariel and once Ursula strikes again, he decides it’s finally been long enough and gets King Triton. Sure that doesn’t go well, but at that point it was absolutely the right call. He also helps fight off Flotsam and Jetsam, willing to put himself in harm’s way to help both Ariel and Eric. 

Sebastian became a much more understanding, more selfless crab over the course of the film, realizing that he needs to care less about saving his own skin and to understand why Ariel does what she does. It’s especially notable at the end. In the beginning, he advised Triton to keep a firm grip on Ariel when he asks if he was too harsh. At the end? He advises him that children have to be free to lead their own lives, which is what convinces Triton to grant Ariel legs. It’s a really nice character arc and this along with Sebastian’s two spectacular musical numbers leaves no question as to why he’s so beloved.

But what’s a great film without a great villain? For that we get one of the best, Ursula the Sea Witch. She is a fantastic villainess. She’s a large octopus woman who used to work in the palace, but for reasons unknown got banished. In early versions, she was going to be Triton’s sister which would have added a VERY twisted dynamic to the whole thing. Maybe that’s where they got the idea for Scar in The Lion King… anyways! Her design was based on Drag Queen Divine who was also going to be the VA for Ursula, but she sadly passed away of an enlarged heart before any recording to be done. After going through various performers, the production staff settled on actress Pat Carroll, who did a spectacular job. You can just tell that she is loving every single second of this role, and she has always happily returned whenever they need new Ursula material like in House of Mouse or in the parks. Just listen as she goes off the chain in Poor Unfortunate Souls that is some amazing acting.

Ursula is confident, manipulative, and a true actress. Her entire gimmick is manipulating vulnerable, insecure people into making deals with her. Deals that are pretty much impossible to keep and thus, she claims them as hers and adds them to her ‘garden’. She targets Ariel specifically because of her passion for the surface world and since she likely knows of Triton’s hatred for it AND of his anger problems, she’s just waiting for the day he screws up and Ariel is vulnerable. I’m gonna go MUCH more in depth with this when we get to Ariel, but this is SO important to note. Ursula struck when Ariel was hurt, emotional, and not thinking straight. It shows just how manipulative she can be. This is who she preys on. She knows how to sway them to act how she wants them to. She’s a saleswoman, and BOY does she sell it. It doesn't help that she gives Ariel very little personal space and manipulates her feelings for Eric to be further swayed. Yet Ariel is the stupid one because she was manipulated by a master manipulator… patience Callie, you’re gonna be able to let it out soon enough…

Ursula works so well as a villain because of how smart and manipulative she is. Like I said, she knows how to prey on the vulnerable and insecure. But she also knows when to get herself involved. After Ariel almost kisses Eric on the second day, Ursula disguises herself and uses Ariel’s voice to hypnotize Eric. And even though Scuttle and his undersea army humiliate her and Ariel gets her voice back, she bought just enough time for the sun to set and the spell breaks. Ursula won. She captured Ariel, forced Triton to sell himself to save his daughter, and claimed ultimate power. It was a truly methodical plan that ultimately succeeded. You gotta give her props for that.

Don’t make any mistakes though. While Ursula is intelligent and confident, she /is/ still evil. I’ve seen people say that she should have won just because they don’t like the ‘abusive tyrant’ Triton. Aside from what I already said about Triton above, Ursula is shown to be far, FAR worse. I mean… I hate to use the term, but she essentially s***-shames Ariel throughout Poor Unfortunate Souls. I mean she outright calls her a ‘little tramp’ after the canoe scene, which in this context is a G-Rated way of calling her a s***. To a sixteen year old. Yeah… plus we saw how power-mad she went once she got the triton, and it didn’t bode well for either land or sea. Triton’s temperamental, but he isn’t a tyrant. Ursula’s only redeeming trait is that she DOES care for her henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam, and their death at Ariel’s hand is what provoked her to go mad with power. This was ultimately her undoing as she was so focused on tormenting Ariel that it allowed Eric to take his ship and kill her. It’s a pretty gruesome Disney Villain Death (we outright see her SKELETON FLASHING at one point), but she brought it upon herself.

If you asked me what villain helped shape many of the ones we got during the Renaissance… I’d say Professor Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective. But Ursula was the first Renaissance villain, and she started it off right. She’s enjoyable enough that we love it when she’s on screen, but still detestable enough that we want her to lose. Many complain about doing ‘purely evil’ villains. That villains HAVE to be sympathetic or nuanced, otherwise they are poorly written. While there’s nothing wrong with sympathetic, or even redeemable villains, having a purely evil one is also perfectly fine. Disney is the master of this. Ursula’s motivation is strictly to gain power, but it works because they give her character so much personality and charisma. Petty motivation, but excellent character writing that makes us not mind. I’d say if you want to learn how to do a Pure Evil character right, study Ursula in particular along with Jafar and Hades. They’re all great examples of how to do it right.

Finally we come to our leading man, Prince Eric. So far the Disney Princes have acted more as a necessity than anything. It’s as I said in the Sleeping Beauty Review, Florian and Charming fill out a plot point and while he was more proactive in comparison, Phillip fell into the same trap. Did Eric finally break the curse? Well… yes and no. He's a firm middle ground between ‘necessity’ and ‘actual character’. He’s allowed FAR more than any of the other princes thus far. Eric is a seasman, he loves going out on the ocean in his ships. He’s adventurous, good-looking, and an overall nice guy. We see that he isn’t really into fancy stuff, outright cringing when Grimsby unveils the statue. He also isn’t interested in Grimsby trying to set him up with various noble women. Like Jasmine and to a degree Prince Charming, he wants to find love for love, but on his own time. These are the traits that attract Ariel to him. Plus he’s also heroic, going back to a BURNING SHIP in order to save his dog Max… yeah I’d fall in love with him too.

After Ariel saves him, Eric becomes determined to find her. But he only briefly saw her face and heard her voice. Funny how NO ONE gets on Eric for this while hating on Ariel, but again we’ll get to that soon enough. When he meets Ariel he recognizes her face… but since she can’t talk, assumes that she can’t be the mystery girl. Still, being a good person, he takes her back to the palace to give her shelter. It’s not long before he becomes endeared by her though. She’s pretty, sweet, and even though she can’t talk he has a good time showing her around the kingdom. It's so clear by /Kiss the Girl/ that he has fallen for her, to the point that even Grimsby points it out to him. It gets him to give up on the mystery girl which is VERY important. It shows us that Eric didn’t fall for Ariel because she happened to be the girl he was looking for, but because of who she is as a person. It shows the audience that his feelings are genuine which makes us further root for him and Ariel… too bad that Ursula goes and ruins it.

As far as personality goes, Eric is more fun than his predecessors, but he’s still stuck with the standard prince-like personality. He’s given more lines than all of them combined and has a real charm to him. You can see why Ariel would like a guy like him. He’s kind, fun, adventurous, and even a little rebellious. He is her ideal vision of what humans are like. The end of the film lets him prove himself as well, going out to help Ariel despite the danger and of course using his own ship to kill Ursula. It does cause Ariel to be a bit of a Damsel in Distress, but she DID save him much earlier and she stops Ursula from blasting him to smithereens, so it balances out. It was enough to prove himself to Triton, at least. So Eric is a nice step up as far as princes go, but we’re not quite out of the well with them yet. But it won’t be much longer, heehee XD

There’s other supporting characters that I really don't have much to say about. Ariel’s sisters are nicely designed, but ultimately bland. I think the series and Ariel’s Beginning did more with them, but otherwise there’s not anything to discuss. Grimsby is fine enough, being the closest thing that Eric has to a parental figure (where ARE Eric’s parents in all of this anyways?) and is stuffy, but otherwise a decent guy. Chef Louie is… crazy. That’s all that I can say. This film has a lot of characters, let’s put it that way. But of course, we have one more to go over. The titular little mermaid herself. I’ve been hinting at this throughout the review, so I think you all know exactly how this will go…

Ariel Analysis

I cannot stress enough how massive a step Ariel was for the Disney Princess line. As much as I have defended the Classic Three and standby all of that, there is certainly some repetition going one with them. All three are beautiful, passive, and can’t directly do much to accomplish their dreams. And at least two of them are dreaming mainly about a man, which is NOT a bad thing, but it was certainly getting old. Feminism has also been evolving since 1959, the last time a Disney Princess film came out. A lot had changed in those thirty years. Women in media could now be more proactive, take matters into their own hands, and have their own hopes and dreams that weren’t just about love while still being allowed to find love. Simply put, as much as I love Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, the times had changed and it was time for Disney to get with those times. Thus we got Ariel, and she was exactly the right princess to take the line into a whole new direction.

The beginning of the film is a pretty clever way to set her up. The Classic Three are known for being angelic singers, and for good reason. It’s pretty much the first thing they do when we meet them (well, as an adult in Aurora’s case) so the concert sets this up. It’s Ariel’s ‘debut” and her sisters all have the looks and angelic voices that fit the archetypal Disney Princess. But then the shell opens up… and is empty. Then we cut to Ariel, who is about to go inside a sunken ship to look for surface world artifacts. It is an excellent subversion, setting up a Classic Princess move and flipping it on it’s head. It’s shown very quickly that Ariel is adventurous and actively seeking out her dreams despite her situation instead of trying to just make do with the way things were and hoping for the best. We also get a fun sequence of her and Flounder escaping a shark, so first time a Princess got an action scene as well.

The film very quickly establishes Ariel’s love and fascination with the surface world. Exploring sunken ships, going to Scuttle to get more information, later we see her grotto that is filled with so many items that we would consider standard, but that she considers treasures. These mean so much to her. She finds the surface world ‘wonderful’. But there are setbacks and consequences for her actions, in this case her forgetting about the concert. She didn't mean to and feels bad about it, and Flounder mentioning the reason why didn’t help. It’s clear that Ariel and Triton have been arguing about this for a long time, the latter failing to understand how much this means to Ariel and is at his wit’s end. His demands for her to stop upset her, causing her to storm out of the throne room and head for her grotto.

This leads to Part of Your World. This song/sequence is vital to understand Ariel’s character. This is the song where she expresses all her hopes and dreams. How she wants to be human. How she wants to learn more about the surface world. How she wants to experience things like walking down a street or finding out how a fire can burn. Throughout the film, we never learn how Ariel got so interested in human culture and just why she’s so passionate about it. But we really don’t need an in-depth explanation because this song conveys so much sincerity and emotion that it makes us believe in her passion. We understand how much this matters to her, and in turn it makes it matter to us. It’s why if it had gotten removed, it would have robbed Ariel of this depth and in turn, rob the film of something essential to its story. Thank God it remained intact.

This is a good time to talk about Ariel’s voice actress, Jodi Benson. Having originally been in Howard Ashman’s failed musical Smile, she was brought in originally as Ariel’s singing voice before being promoted to also doing the speaking the lines. This was not only her voice acting debut, but as far as I can tell her film debut as well. She did such a lovely job in the role. She perfectly conveys Ariel’s passion, drive, and sincerity while still coming off as a sixteen year old girl. Her singing voice has been rightfully praised, and to this day Ariel is often considered the best singer among the princesses. Benson has gone on to do other voice roles such as Barbie in the Toy Story films, Patsy and Ms. Doe in Camp Lazlo, and Aquagirl in Batman Beyond. She has continued to reprise Ariel to this day when needed and has always expressed so much love and gratitude for the film and her part in it, She’s also supported others who have done the role like Auli’i Cravallho (aka Moana) for the ABC Musical and Halle Bailey for the upcoming live-action remake. She’s a lovely woman and may she continue to do well~

Going back to the film, Ariel finds herself at a ship and this is where she sees Eric for the first time. It’s love at first sight. Of the Renaissance Era Princesses, Ariel is the one who gets the ‘love at first sight’ critique levied at her the most. Belle and Mulan of course didn’t have that issue and I usually see Jasmine and Pocahontas be given a free pass in this regard. Now of the five, The Little Mermaid IS the most blatant with the trope, but let’s look at it through Ariel’s POV. This is the first time that she’s seen so many humans up close. Eric is around her age (to my knowledge, at least. His VA was 16 at the time IIRC). It is very quickly established that Eric is jovial, uninterested in things like statues in his image, rebellious as he has rejected all the women Grimsby has arranged him with, and wants to find love for himself. He has many of the traits that Ariel herself has, being a rebellious, free-spirit teen herself. But most of all he is heroic, as demonstrated when he goes back to his burning ship to save his dog.

In other words, Eric is Ariel’s ideal vision of what people are like. She saves him from drowning, the first time that a Princess has saved her Prince, and is able to look at him more closely. She is clearly infatuated and seeing this man, this good-hearted, handsome young man who is everything that she ever dreamed of. This is what pushes her from just dreaming about being human to swearing that somehow she /will/ be human. Yes, she gets motivated by love, but the goal was there before this moment. It just became a solidified goal. One that she is going to make a reality someway, somehow. She even notes in the Part of Your World Reprise that she doesn’t know when or how, but it doesn’t matter. Compared to how fleeting her hopes were in the main song, the reprise is so much more triumphant and determined and continues to show just how important this truly is to Ariel.

Sadly however she still has one obstacle in between her and her dream; her father. The next day she is so happy and lovesick and it’s really cute, but Sebastian knows that this is going to cause major issues with her father. His big Under the Sea plea goes ignored, and Ariel is led to her grotto by Flounder, who has brought her the Eric statue. She’s so happy and acting like… well, a teenager in love. But unfortunately due to Sebastian jumping the gun, Triton finds out and he is enraged. Not only is he angry that Ariel again went to the surface, but she both saved and fell in love with a human. Thus we get the dark scene of Triton, in his rage, destroying the grotto. Every item, treasure, and relic that Ariel has gathered for who knows how long has become nothing but a pile of dust. Including the statue of the man she loves. 

Say what you want about ‘love at first sight’ or Ariel being a lovesick dummy, but this is outright traumatizing. This sixteen year old girl, a girl who aside from forgetting a few engagements has done nothing wrong, had all of her hopes and dreams shattered by her own father all because of his own blind hatred. Imagine being a teenager and your parents destroying everything you love all because they hated something that you loved. Even if Triton regretted it, it doesn’t change the pain that he inflicted upon his own daughter as she breaks down. She’s so upset that she rejects Sebastian trying to apologize and just tells him and Flounder to go away. They comply, leaving Ariel to cry in her now bare grotto… that is, until Flotsam and Jetsam appear.

So.. let’s now talk about Ariel going to Ursula and accepting the deal. First, her going in the first place. When Flotsam and Jetsam bring Ursula up, Ariel… /refuses/ to go. She is aware that Ursula is bad news. She had no intention of going to her at first and outright tells the eels to leave. What makes her agree? The two knocking the remains of the Eric statue in front of her. At this point, Ariel’s pretty much been rejected by her father and all of her treasures that kept her seabound are gone, so… what’s she got left to lose? She follows and naturally Sebastian tries to stop her, but she just angrily tells him to get her father since he’s good at that.

Ariel enters Ursula’s domain, and we come to the scene. Ursula declares to have changed, demonstrates her power, and offers Ariel the deal to become human for three days and it’ll be permanent if Eric kisses her. If Ariel fails, she not only becomes a mermaid again, but she belongs to Ursula. She also has to give up her voice as payment. Now we all know the big criticism against this, that being Ariel selling her voice and leaving behind her family and all that she ever knew and loved… for some prince that she hasn’t even really met yet, let alone spoken to. Now do I see why people dislike this? Yes. It’s a very rash, very stupid decision not just for those factors, but the fact that Ariel is essentially selling herself to the devil for this one thing. None of this is a good thing… but here is the big question, does the film do enough that this makes sense for Ariel’s character? Is this something that I can see her doing?

Yes, yes I can.

Let’s look at this piece by piece. First, Ariel is clearly uncomfortable the entire time that she is in Ursula’s lair. Ursula continuously gets into her personal space, laying on the manipulation at every step. When she lays out the deal, Ariel is at first hesitant. She herself brings up that if she takes it, she’ll likely never see her family again. She’s also hesitant when Ursula lays out the terms of payment, not just because she has no idea how she’d woo Eric without it, but just the concept of losing her voice clearly unnerves her. Look at her face when she grabs at her own throat, she is NOT okay with this. Even when Ursula begins to create the brew and poof sup the contract, Ariel isn’t excited or just jumps to it without thinking. She is VERY CLEARLY hesitant and unnerved about everything. 

So… why does she do it then? Well remember, she’s still emotional after her confrontation with her father. Her father has rejected her in her eyes and destroyed everything that she had worked for. At this point, her dreams and feelings for Eric are all that she has. She is hurt, emotional, and desperate and when we are hurt, emotional, and desperate we tend to make rash, even outright stupid decisions. Especially when we’re teenagers. Ursula waited to strike at this very moment for this exact reason; so that Ariel wouldn’t be thinking rationally.  These are the exact kind of people that Ursula preys on, and as I said above, she knows how to manipulate them to act how she wants. She gives Ariel the offer of her dreams, assures her that she can woo Eric without talking, poofs Eric’s image up at one point, and makes it clear that she’s giving her very little time to think it over. 

With absolutely nothing left to lose and it being clear that her father will never support her dreams, Ariel reluctantly signs the contract. She outright turns her head away when she signs. She KNOWS that she’s making a big choice and she isn’t 100% okay with it. She didn’t just give up her life callously for a man like some like to make out. It was a rash choice, but she had reluctance and fears about it. But it’s the only chance she’ll get to get her dream of being human and being happy, which is what ultimately drives her to make her choice. Given how she risked her life already against a shark, this is in-character for her and shows how far she’ll go for her dreams. And as we’ll see, this is going to have consequences as we near the end of the film.

So the deal is made. Ariel loses her voice and is transformed into a human. Once she makes it to shore, she gets to see her new legs, and for the first time since the confrontation, is happy. She has legs. She is human. The one thing that she had wanted for so, so long has finally come true. Naturally Sebastian wants to get Triton, but she stops him and gives him the saddest, most pleading look that I think I’ve ever seen. This is Ariel’s one and only chance to get what she dreamed of. Triton would not only stop her, but considering what happened before, who knows what else he’d do if he saw her as a human. It is 10% understandable why Ariel doesn't want him involved, especially once it would just lead her back to a life of misery. Sebastian realizes this and agrees to help her, which pretty much gets her to forgive him for what happened before.

Thus, we get to the first true meeting between Ariel and Eric. Of course, Ariel can’t explain who she is because of her voice being gone, so Eric assumes that she can’t be the same girl he saw despite her looking like her. But he sees her in the makeshift dress that Scuttle got her into and assumes that she’s shipwrecked, especially since she can’t walk well. So he takes her to the palace, and Ariel is able to get refreshed and get used to walking on legs. She is clearly delighted by everything. She is now part of the world that she longed for,, and she is loving every second of it. Sure she quickly finds out that forks aren’t combs, but hey she’s learning exactly what she wanted to learn. She is in utter bliss throughout the two days that she’s on the surface, doing thinks like learn to dance and ride a horse-drawn carriage. It’s all she ever hopes it would be.

But of course, Ariel still needs to get Eric to kiss her, or all of her dreams will end. She almost makes it with Kiss the Girl, which despite not being able to talk she made it pretty clear that she was willing and ready for Eric to kiss her. Ursula ruins that, but Ariel HAS endeared herself to Eric and he even prepares to go to her after giving up on the mystery mermaid. But of course, Ursula disguises herself as Vanessa via Ariel’s voice and hypnotizes Eric into marrying her. It’s sad because when Scuttle informs her of the proposal, Ariel is elated. She runs down the stairs, excited and gleeful… then she sees Eric and Vanessa, and you can see her heart break in two. It especially hits hard as she watches the ship take off, broken-hearted. She’s lost the man she loves, in moments she will be a mermaid again, and she will belong to Ursula fair and square. She pursued her dream, and it all seemed for naught.

But once Scuttle finds out about Ursula, Ariel quickly springs into action. With her friend's help, she reaches the ship just as Ursula’s necklace gets broken. This is a nitpick but I don’t like how Ariel ultimately wasn’t very active in helping rescuer Eric. Tbf IDK what she could have done, but I’d have liked to see her stand against Ursula before things go downhill. Otherwise it feels like this and the other events after… kind if feel handed to her by convenience and luck. But regardless she gets her voice back… but she fails to kiss Eric before the sun sets. That’s right folks, the so-called selfish, stupid deal that Ariel made? She failed to uphold it. She reverts to a Mermaid and now belongs to Ursula, and Triton can’t break it as it’s legally binding. So even if you DO think that Ariel made a bad choice, the film shows that yes, it WAS bad and she is now paying the consequences. Sure Triton sacrifices himself to take her place, but that still means that Ursula not only gets power, but her father is now a husk.

Ariel is enraged at this. Despite everything, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Ariel still loves her daddy. She was reluctant about never seeing him again before, and now seeing how her deal has lead to his fate upsets her. One big issue with Ariel is how… well, the film doesn’t make it clear that Ariel grew or learned anything. Sure there are consequences to her actions, but we don’t see her ponder over them. This is the closest we get to her showing regret as she tries to apologize to Triton and outright attacks Ursula for what she did to him. But she doesn’t express true regret for her actions. She doesn’t have a true reconciliation with her father so that the two can reach a resolution. I guess we can blame timing since we’re in the final ten or so minutes here, but it makes the end feel… convenient.

Eric saves Ariel from getting blasted by Ursula, and she manages to save him from Flotst and Jetsam. How? Bu yanking Ursula back and causing her to kill her own minions. Sure it’s not the Big Bad, but again Ariel marks a First in Disney Princess History by indirectly killing a villain. This provokes Ursula to go kaiju and essentially torment Ariel, who is unable to do anything at this point as she’s caught in a raging whirlpool. While one CAN say she’s a Damsel-in-Distress here (hence why I suggested Ariel should have gotten to do more in the wedding crash), she HAS saved Eric twice now. Plus by allowing Eric to kill Ursula, he essentially proves his worth by saving both the ocean AND the surface, and it contributes to Triton’s ultimate decision.

So yeah, Ursula dies, Triton corrects his wrongs by making Ariel human, and Ariel and Eric can live happily ever after. As I said, it /does/ kind of hurt Ariel’s character as she doesn’t really learn a lesson and it feels like she got incredibly lucky at the end. But at the same time Ariel is still a good character, and she marks a LOT of progression for the Disney Princess line. Sure she is a little selfish (though she usually means no harm), but she’s also someone who actively goes after her dreams. She doesn’t have to wait for it, nor does it center on love. Sure Eric is the catalyst, but that’s it. A catalyst. She’s allowed to rescue her prince. She’s allowed to fight against the villain. Sure she’s still emotional, falls in love, and needs her friends help. But she is also a very proactive, curious, and ambitious girl. Her dream was by far the most impossible of the Princesses thus far, but she still managed to achieve it.

Ariel is divisive, and I get why. The film DOES have some narrative problems (minor, but still) and I get why Ariel may rub some the wrong way. Me personally? I love her. She was a refreshing breath of air in the Princess line. She’s different from the Classic Three. She’s a bit more bratty and far less classy, but she also feels the most like a teenager and she follows her dreams in a very different manner. She’s still a good-hearted person, but she’s a flawed person. That’s what I love about her, she’s imperfect. Could more have been done to develop her? Maybe. But her flaws aren’t so bad that she’s a bad character or unlikeable. Her actions make sense and stay true to her character. I understand why she does what she does. I care for her because I see the sincerity in her. I relate to her longing for something that seems out of reach. And while it was nowhere near as conflicted, I know what it’s like to be in conflict with my father who loved me, but never truly understood who I was. But I loved him, he loved me, he ultimately would have let me lead the life I wanted, and in the end that’s what matters. It’s why Ariel and Triton at the wedding always makes me cry. Yeah, watching this two years after my dad passed… really hit hard.

The point is, I cared about Ariel. I related to Ariel. I did when I was a child, and I still do as an adult. Anyone who loves something or someone despite everyone around you not understanding or being against it I think can relate to Ariel and her position. Plus again, she set forward a new direction for the Disney Princesses. It’s a precedent that stands strong to this day. I’ve done my best to shed light onto Ariel, but it won’t convince everyone. If you hate her, fine. I can’t change your mind and tour free to make all the arguments you want. But I’m allowed to stand by my argument, and I am. Ariel is one of my favorites. She inspires kids to follow their curiosity and their ambitions. It teachers parents to accept their children and who/what they love, and to let them go forward in their lives. One can even argue that her film teaches kids to be careful when emotional to avoid the mistakes that she made, but still achieve a happy ending as well. Either way, I think that the hate against this little mermaid is far too harsh and it ALWAYS centers on the deal without taking anything else into account. It’s time we change that.

Final Thoughts

I love this film. The animation is lovely, the music fantastic, and despite a few issues here and there the story is sound. I don’t remember when I first saw it (it came out four years before I was born so not then), but I’ve loved it since that first time. I’m pretty sure I love the ocean and mermaids in general because of this film. Sure it diverts a good deal from the original Hans Christian Anderson story, but honestly? As someone who found that story unnecessarily cruel? I will take this version any day (no offense to those who like the original story, this is just me talking). It is a masterpiece that changed the game for Disney, for animation, and for the Disney Princesses. Ariel was very much a huge inspiration for many of her successors, and I am grateful for all that this little mermaid did.

Upon its release, Disney was FINALLY able to step into the light after spending over 20 years stuck in the dark. The film was a monumental success. The biggest success that Feature Animation had had since Walt’s days. They also finally beat Don Bluth, winning in the box office over All Dogs Go to Heaven, and returned to the top of the animation world. The Disney Renaissance had officially begun, and it wasn’t even close to slowing down. Just two years later, another Disney Princess film would be released. One that would achieve greatness, but also face great tragedy. So come and be our guest as when we return, we discuss a tale as old as time with 1991’s Beauty and the Beast.

Image Sources: Disney Wiki, Animation Screencaps Other Sources: The Making of The Little Mermaid: Treasures Untold

#disney princess #disney princess reviews #callie reviews #the little mermaid

[evabellasworld]

The Daily Life of Mayday

For @flyawaybluebirdie. This is my gift to you.

A round alarm clock rang next to him, making him cover his face with his pillow and groan in frustration. “I don’t want to go to work,” Mayday complained, tugging his blanket even closer to him. Being part of the Coruscant Guard who was assigned to the call centre on the Republic’s capital planet, the idea of dealing with madness from his callers makes him gag.

Trained as a sniper back on Kamino, he was the cream of the crop, literally. Like the rest of his brothers, Mayday has tanned skin and brown eyes, with his hair dyed blond and tied into a high ponytail. Despite that, he was given one of the worst jobs that a clone could not dream of. Dealing with idiots on comlinks.

Every single day of his life, Mayday had to deal with a huge tumour inside his head whenever someone called him. He felt like cutting the end of the line, but at the same time, he didn’t have any other choice. If he complains to his superiors, such as Admiral Tarkin, he might get assigned to the worst job in the Grand Army of the Republic, cleaning duty. That’s the last thing he wanted in his life.

But for now, he had to put on a straight face and head to work. Mayday grabbed his red-painted armour that was hanging on the side of his bunk and put it on, before wearing his helmet. He got out of his quarters and headed to the mess hall, pouring himself a cup of black caf. 

Another day, another caf, he said to himself, as he sat down on his desk and opened his comlink while holding his mug when he felt a sudden pat on his pat. 

“Hey Mayday,” Harley spoke, grinning at him. “I see you look sleepy, as usual.”

“Shit, Harley,” he shouted, almost spilling his caf on his armour. “Don’t scare me like that next time.”

“Oh cheer up, Mayday. You’re so uptight sometimes.”

He rolled his eyes at his sister as he focused on the computer screen in front of him. Harley and Mayday were quite close together, their friendship going back to Kamino where they were both in the same batch.

Unlike Mayday, Harley was a clone of Krystal Mereel, who had darker skin, a flat nose, and frizzy hair, which was dyed in pink and blue to match her favourite comic book character, who was a popular villain. She was cheerful and feisty, who tries her best to give positive vibes to her brother, despite not asking for one.

That doesn’t mean he hates her, though. They do love each other, but at the same, he gets annoyed by her never-ending speech about things that he doesn’t even want to hear about every second.

“Mayday,” she snapped her fingers constantly in front of his face, catching his attention. “Are you there?”

“Yes, Harley, I’m here,” he answered, deadpanned. “Also, don’t you have a job to do right now?”

“I’ll do it later,” complained Harley, sitting beside him. “Besides, life is too short to worry too much on small things, you know.”

He just sighed at her remarks. As much as she makes a good point, their superior, Commander Fox, would have a big headache dealing with a slacker like her. As Mayday scrolled through the HoloNet, he received his first call from someone. Oh my God, I wonder who’s calling right now?

“Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?” he replied to the call, with a fake smile plastered on his face. He prays for the call to end as soon as possible, but alas, that is only a dream that is unachievable for a clone like him.

“Hey, is this Coruscant Call Centre?” a deep, male voice asked, which made one of Mayday’s eyes twitch. No, this is the Children’s Department, thank you very much.

“Yes, sir,” he refrained himself from making a sarcastic comment in the morning. “This is the Coruscant Call Centre. How can I help you, sir?”

“Uh yeah, I think I have a situation here.”

It better be an urgent one, or I’ll kick your ass. “What kind of situation, sir?”

“Well, you see, I just returned home when I found a tooka destroying my couch.”

Harley and Mayday exchanged looks of amusement and held in their laughter. “Well, sir, that’s tookas for you. They love scratching things, especially couches.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not my tooka.”

“Well, in that case, sir, may I suggest you call animal control? I’m sure they know how to address this problem.”

“Oh, well, alright then. Thank you for your time then.”

As the line was cut off, both of them burst into laughter as Mayday filled up another cup of caf. “I must admit, that was hilarious.”

“Yeah,” Harley laughed along. “I mean, a tooka somehow ending up in your house and ruining your couch? That makes a good comedy on the NecFlic.”

“I agree with you, Har, know nowadays, it’s difficult to find good series down there, if you know what I mean.”

“That is true,” she shrugged, chewing on her toffee sweets that she stole from Thorn’s candy bowl, without anyone noticing. “Nowadays, it’s just lousy sequels for lousy movies and cancellation of actually good series.”

“Yeah, like what happened to Days Ahead? That was the best sitcom, but NecFlic decided to make the second ‘Kissing Scene’ movie instead. I mean, that movie was shitty and problematic.”

“Let’s not talk about that movie,” she scoffed. “Romantic comedy, my ass. It wasn’t even that good anyway.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, when he received another call, which made him breathe. “Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?”

“Hey, is this Coruscant Call Centre?” a high-pitched, male voice spoke. Mayday blinked a couple of times before he could answer his question that was asked millions of times. He was a few seconds away from tossing his comm right across his room, but that would spell decommission for him and his job.

“Yes, this is Coruscant Call Centre. How can I help you, sir?”

“Just wondering, but what do you do for a living?”

“Say that we shove people’s ass for a living,” Harley mouthed, inserting her fist inside her mug. 

“Well, sir,” Mayday decided to ignore his sister’s remarks. “We’re here to answer your calls and do our best to help you out with your problems, big or small.”

She slapped her forehead and let out a groan. This is going to be the most exciting conversation I’ll ever watch outside NecFlec.

“Oh, well, I have a couple of problems that I need help addressing.”

“Okay then, sir,” Mayday took a deep breath. “What kind of problems do you have for us to solve?”

“Well, it’s about this girl I saw in school,” the recipient began his story. “Her name is Veronica, and she’s really popular in school and I think I have a humongous crush on her. How do I let her know that I love her?”

For a moment, Mayday was speechless. This man, no, not a man. He’s too young to be a man. Well, this boy dares to call up the Coruscant Call Centre, which was meant to reach out for urgent help, to ask for dating advice to woo a girl that he hardly knows? His fish clenched on his desk and the smile on his face disappeared. 

He only had two hours of sleep. He just finished another round of coffee, and he needs another right now so that he can give a smack on the boy’s head. Some people just want to create chaos in the world, and this boy is the perfect epitome of the word.

“Look, kid, if you want dating advice, then go ask someone else,” Mayday scolded the boy. “This call is only meant for emergencies, okay? Good day.”

He cut the line and took off his helmet, rubbing his temple with his fingers. Harley, who was watching the entire skit, chuckled at his misfortunes. “Well, Mayday, I hate to say I told you so, but yeah, I told you so.”

“Do you ever shut up, Harley?” he replied, in a snarky manner. “Do you?”

“Admit it, Mayday,” she nudged his ribs. “You could have put down that call when you had a chance but no, you decided to go on and ended up with some stupid kid who has hormonal problems, Mayday, so yeah. You should have ignored them.”

“Whatever, Harley. It’s not like you helped me or something.”

She chuckled at his remarks. “Oh, please. I asked you to tell him that we shove people’s asses for a living but you didn’t do that.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. As I said before, you don’t help that much anyway.”

Harley tightened her lips. He knows what he’s referring to, and she had no other choice but to bring it up in their conversation between them. “Look, Mayday, if it’s about that stupid mug that you drank coffee with every day then-”

“Actually, yes, it is about that mug that you broke it.”

“Oh my gosh, vod, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to break your favourite mug.”

“Well, you did,” he turned to his computer. “And you owe me a new mug because of your carelessness.”

“Mayday, I got you a new mug two weeks ago,” Harley pointed out. “I mean, it even has your name written on it twice.”

He glanced at his mug, which says ‘Mayday, Mayday’ twice and twitched his lips. “Well, it’s a terrible mug that you got me.”

She jabbed her fingers on his forehead, prompting him to yelp dramatically. “Ouch!”

“I didn’t even hit you that hard,” Harley stuck her tongue out. “You’re such a drama king.”

“And you're the most annoying piece of shit I’ve ever encountered.”

“Why thank you, smartass.”

“You’re welcome, asshat.”

Before Harley could open her mouth, she and Mayday heard another phone call. With another sigh, he took a seat and answered the call. “Coruscant Call Centre, how can I help you?”

“My tooka is stuck on the tree,” an old lady told him. “Could you help me, please?”

He gave a glance to Harley, who bobbed her head in approval and gave a thumbs up. “In this case, I will redirect you to the fire department of Coruscant so please be-”

“Actually, sir, my grandson tried to climb the tree to grab my cat and now he’s also stuck as well.”

Both Mayday and Harley gleamed at each other before he composed himself from dying of chortling. Well, I am confident that the fire department will be entertained for the whole day.

#star wars #star wars ocs #clone troopers #clone trooper ocs #female clone troopers #mayday #harley #coruscant guards #corrie guards #sniper #call centre #humor #sitcom #work comedy #sibling bonding #sibling love #gift exchange #clone ocs

[paradigmsofbrittaperry]

okay so I finally watched Magic Camp, and as with everything, I have Thoughts:

- going into it, I knew that Gillian’s character wasn’t the protagonist, but still. not quite enough Hot Magician Gillian Jacobs™.

- overall it was very cute and had a lot of good messages for kids, but it spread itself entirely too thin in terms of plot and characters. there just wasn’t enough time to develop Andy’s dissatisfaction with his life AND Theo dealing with losing his father/his complicated relationship with his mother AND that one kid who made costumes (I’m bad w/ names) overcoming the expectations of his father AND Janelle purposefully avoiding camp activities because of *her* strained relationship with her parents AND Ruth’s inexplicable fear of bunnies or whatever that was AND Andy and Christina hashing out their feud AND that bully kid being a generic bully kid AND Theo and Janelle developing crushes on each other AND

like they really do their best to cover all of that ground, but it would have been a much better movie if they had just cut out the filler side plots and say, focused on a) Theo coming back to magic after his father’s death, b) Andy helping him and discovering his love for teaching, and c) Christina helping Janelle find enjoyment in camp and find fufilment outside of her parents’ approval. you can still have all the fun peripheral characters and moments w/o trying to give everyone the depth of the Deep Sea and packing your 90 minute movie with so much material that the whole time, it feels like you’re running a million miles an hour.

and a quibble related to this point: why bother with the Theo/Janelle storyline?? they talk once in the woods, almost kiss by a lake, and then kiss at the goodbye party. the story is entirely unaffected by the removal of that “so under-baked that I heard Paul from the Great British Baking Show complaining about it” side plot.

the tl;dr of this section is that having a writer with any sense of how movies are supposed to work would have fixed this one huge glaring issue that leaks into every part of the film. 

- ALL THAT BEING SAID, I really like how each of the kids’ struggles are something that any kid viewer can relate to. a lot of kids feel intense pressure to grow up to be whatever their parents want them to be. some kids have to deal with the loss of a parent. some kids haven’t had the chance to find themselves yet and feel like they need to catch up to their peers. all of those issues were actually addressed really well and in a way that I feel could help kids struggling with them. it shows that they don’t have to be great at everything, that they have time to find their passion, and that they can break away from their parents’ plans for them if that’s what would make them happy.

- and that being said, the one issue that was addressed extremely poorly was dealing with absent parents. yeah, it’s a Disney movie, of course Janelle’s parents had to show up at the end. but that’s not the case for a lot of kids. some parents just can’t give two shits about their kid, and I feel like any kid in that awful situation would see this movie and just feel worse since even the girl who talks about being abandoned her whole life gets her parents back for a happy ending.

- there’s a whole gaggle of kids in the hearts cabin that are never even named, why bother having extras there if you’re only going to have Andy interact with the main six or so? another quibble but just...it would have been fine to have only 8 campers per cabin and just establish that there’s more than four cabin’s worth of kids if you want a tidal wave of extras for the group shots.

- I thought Adam Devine was really good in this!! I’ve only seen him in the Pitch Perfect series and that one episode of Community, so I was genuinely impressed with how natural his interactions with the kids were. he had a good amount of “goofy uncle” energy. 

- I also kind of loved his character’s arc. I found his journey of realizing that he didn’t want what he thought he wanted for so long really relatable, especially coupled with him finding a love for teaching. 

- I didn’t know Jeffery Tambor was in this until he showed up and walked on water and it was a little jarring. I just didn’t expect to see Bumper and Britta and George Bluth in a movie together. 

- the movie was insinuating that Ruth and Vera like each other right?? if not, what was the reason for the dramatic contextless hug at the end?? I mean, it’s adorable, but c’mon Disney. the hetero children got to kiss. let the sapphics get a little cheek smooch. 

- hot magician Gillian Jacobs. that’s it that’s the tweet.

alright I think that’s all for now!! overall it was a fun time, I really enjoyed a lot of the characters, but the pacing and amount of side plots and characters were quite frankly overwhelming. if the writers had pruned out unnecessary side plots and dedicated the run time to fully developing only the most important ones, I think it would have been just a little bit less of a mess. don’t get me wrong, my overall opinion is not negative in the slightest. it just seems like all of the issues would have been really easy to fix if someone had been forced to make a few decisions. this is how you end up with a half-hearted and mildly uninspired Gremlins 2 type thing.

((also hot magician Gillian Jacobs. she can live in my mind rent free from now on.))

#me: i'll write up a little summary!! #me: writes the equivalent of the world's most disorganized and informal essay #bri speaks #magic camp

[staycatcher]

Anguish 001- Anguish

“Out  of  genuine  free  will,  I,  Lee  Minho,  exercise  the  divine  right  to  reject  my  sacredly  designed  soulmate.”

Member: Lee  Minho / Lee  Know  x  Femme  Reader  (she / her)

Au: Frat Boi! Minho  +  Rejected  Soulmate  AU

Genre: Angst  (some  comedy?,,  this  series  is  gonna  be  angsty  because  of  the  whole  ‘rejected  soulmate’  thing)

Rated  T  for  a  whole  lotta  swearing,  a  frat  party,  crowds,  usage  of  alcohol  and  mentions  of  drugs,  intensity,  reader  is  a  bit  socially  anxious (please  lmk  if  any  other  warnings  are  needed!💞🥺)

Word Count:  4k  &  manually  double  spaced  between  words  &  paragraphs  for  ease  of  reading!!!!🥵🤠🥰

Note: this is dedicated to @trixareforlix, they’re the first-ever friend I made on here and they’re the one who sparked this frat au idea!! Ilysm always angel!!<33

Edited: 201015 (Original: 190813 )

Anguish series 1/?-  ~001~, 002

The  anticipated  day  where  you’d  become  magnetized,  the  world  around  you  becoming  a  blur,  your  heart  falling  into  perfect  sync  with  the  one  destined  for  you  truly… was  not  like  that  at  all,  actually!  No,  the  stars  were  cruel  to you,  perhaps  you  did  something  awful  in  your  past  life  to   deserve  this,  but  maybe  what  is  more  likely  is  that  your  soulmate’s  just  an  asshole.  After  all,  one’s  soulmate  was  the  complete  opposite  of  one’s  self.  Soulmates  were  the  yin  to  one’s  yang  and  vice  versa  and  all  that.  To  keep  one  balanced,  or  whatever. 

Now,  you  aren’t  the  angel  everyone  may  claim  you  to  be.  You  weren’t  angelic,  not  at  all.  Eating  ice  cream  for  breakfast  was  not  above  you.  Your  nail  polish  was  perpetually  chipped.  You  couldn’t  stand  to  keep  your  hair  in  the  same  style  for  too  long;  chopping  it  all  off  or  seeing  how  long  it  could  grow,  dying  it  as  bright  as  you  could,  and  everything  in  between.  You  adorned  yourself  with  two  or  three  more  piercings  than  your  parents  could  get  behind,  bless  them,  you’re  beginning  to  have  trouble  hiding  your  new  tattoo.  Habitually,  you  were  sensitive,  soft,  a  bit  emotional,  and  tended  to  be  a  bit  of  a  smartass.  You  weren’t  blessed  with  physical  grace,  ceaselessly  tripping  over  yourself,  spilling  and  knocking  over  anything  in  your  path,  and  dancing  out  of  beat  to  blasted  songs. 

More  often  than  not,  you  would  go  to  bed  later  than  planned.  Tonight  was  one  of  those  nights,  but  it  was  not  because  of  your  natural  preference.  You  were  not  too  figuratively  dragged  into  this  by  someone  who  held  the  title  of  your  best  friend,  someone  whom  you  were  currently  thinking  of  ways  of  revoking  that  title  from. 

  “C’mon,  dummy!  We’re  almost  there!”  Jamie  elbowed  you,  her  eyes  crinkled  in  laughter,  whacking  you  on  the  back  a  bit  too  hard. 

 “Jamie,  I  must’ve  forgotten,  but  why’re  you  even  dragging me  to  this  frat  party  again?  Why  not  just  go  to  your  sorority  instead?”  You  groaned,  your  two  left  feet  were  dragging  behind  you  on  the  aged  sidewalk,  your  fake  Doc  Martens  feeling  like  cinder  blocks. 

“‘Cause  Chris  invited  me  and  he’s  being  a  little  bitch  about  it  because  I  keep  canceling  on  ‘im!  He  keeps  saying  that  my  soulmate  might  be  there!”  She  reminded  you  for  the  umpteenth  time,  rolling  her  head  and  eyes  back  in  frustration,  sighing  before  continuing.  “And  now  it’s  like-  I  might  as  well  try  and  see!  I  mean,  come  on!~  I’m  starting  to  think  he’s  right!”  And  for  the  umpteenth  time  today,  you  question  why  she’s  falling  for  this.  She’s  sharper  than  this.  But  for  some  reason,  just  this  once,  she  found  a way  to  shoehorn  Chris’s  dumbassery  to  logic. 

 In  reality,  you  could  meet  your  soulmate  at  any  time  or  place,  so  to  say  that  one's  soulmate  might  be  there  is  like  saying  it  might  rain.  Sure,  it  might.  But  it  also  can  rain  in  any  season  so  you  can’t  be  wrong  with  saying  that  it  might.  It  doesn’t  always  rain  every  day,  all  the  time,  so  it  also  isn’t  that  likely.  Rain  depends  on  a  lot  more  factors.  But  right  now,  you’re  a  little  buzzed,  so  it  sounded  pretty  sound. 

 “So  he  knows  your  soulmate?” 

 “I’d  hope  so!  If  not,  I’d  rip  his  bleached  hay-hair  right  out  of  his  thick  skull!”  Now,  this  is  the  Jamie  you  knew  and  loved,  you  couldn't  help  the  endeared  smile  on  your  face.  “When  we  could’ve  been  eating  takeout  and  watching  a  musical-“

 “So  which  frat  are  we  going  to  again?”  You  had  to  interrupt  her  for  her  sake.  Takeout  and  a  movie  would  always  remain  superior  to  parties  in  your  mind  and  you  already  didn’t  want  to  be  accompanying  her  to  a  frat  house. 

 “Hmm…  It’s  like-  uh...  Signal  kite  zing-  wait  no-  hold  on-“

You  guys  must  be  tipsier  from  the  pregaming  than  you  thought.  “Sigma?  ‘Signal’  isn’t  greek,  I  think  you  mean  sigma!  And  ‘kite’  isn-”

 “Right,  whatever!  Anyways,  the  abbreviation  is  SKZ-“

 “Ohhh!  We’re  friends  with  some  of  them-  We’re  like  best  friends  with  Chris!!  Why  didn’t  you  say  it  was  Chris’s  frat  in  the  first  place?”  Your  laugh  projecting  out  of  you  unattractively  with  claps  and  swings  of  limbs  which  led  to  slapping  a  little  too  hard  at  Jamie's  shoulder.  This  clarification  did  make  you  feel  a  bit  better.  This  wasn’t  a  shitty  fraternity  you  didn’t  know,  this  was  a  shitty  fraternity  you  inevitably  tolerated  since  you  knew  and  even  approved  of  some  of  its  members! 

 SKZ  was  home  to  a  hodgepodge  of  eight  brothers  who  were  pretty  individual  as  far  as  frat  dudes  go.  Some  of  which  you  were  genuinely  fond  of,  like  Chris,  or  simply  acquainted  with,  like  Jisung,  whom  you  shared  a major  and  program  with.  Others,  you  couldn’t  even  remember  the  names  of  or  who  they  are  in  general.  It’s  also  the  smallest  frat  on  campus,  so  they  try  to  get  as  many  people  to  come  to  events  as  possible,  which  is  honestly  exhausting  as  a  concept  to  your  introverted  self.  Thus,  you’ve  never  actually  attended  one  of  theirs  until  now,  now  that  Jamie  is  dragging  you  along  with  her.

 “Ow!  I  don’t  know!~  I  thought  you  were  smart  enough  to  figure  it  out  when  I  mentioned  Chris!”  She  teased,  making  the  two  of  you  laugh  harder,  you  couldn’t  defend  yourself  on  that  one.  The  two  of  you  just  continued  your  idiotic  banter  the  rest  of  the  way  to  the  Sigma  Kappa  Zeta  house  aka  the  SKZ  frat.  

 The  walk  to  SKZ’s  lair  was  a  bit  much,  more  than  you  and  Jamie  bargained  for.  You  were  so  kindly  carrying  her  platforms  for  her  until  she’ll  put  them  back  on  again,  only  for  you  to  probably  end  up  kindly  carrying  them  again  later  tonight.  The  cool  breeze  of  the  September  night  helped  with  the  humidity  and  sweat,  and  the  sun  beautifully  set,  leaving  a  delicate  lilac  color  in  its  wake  which  was  becoming  darker  and  darker  the  further  you  walked.  The  hazy  streetlights  added  to  the  whimsy  atmosphere,  yet  to  be  ruined  with  the  sound  of  an  intolerable  amount  of  bass  and  the  overbearing  smell  of  beer  and  weed  when  the two  of  you  arrived  on  site.  

 “Okay,  I’m  pretty  sure  it’s  this  house!”  Jamie  halted  her  steps,  turning  towards  you,  her  hair  swaying  along  with  the  belled  sleeves  of  her  mesh  turtleneck  she  had  under  her  dress.  The  two  of  you  really  dolled  yourselves  up  for  the  night,  her  hair  was  perfect,  your  hair  was  perfect,  outside  was  perfect,  and  it  brought  you  sobering  back  to  the  not-so-perfect  earth.  The  idea  of  going  inside  a  suffocating,  putrid  house  majorly  crowded  with  drunk  and  hormonal  peers...  was  not  appealing  to  you  in  the  least.   

 “Yup,  and  now  it’s  time  to  turn  back  around!”  You  quipped,  ensnaring  her  arm  with  your  empty  one,  about  to  steer  the  two  of  you  in  a  three-point-turn.  This  was  your  final  chance  at  getting  out  of  your  predicament,  and  now  that  you’re  here  you  regret  playing  along.  Sadly,  Jamie  was  just  as  stubborn  as  you,  and  your  turn  around  was  met  with  a  roadblock. 

 “Oh  my  god,  Y/n,  you’re  joking!  We  walked  the  whole  ass  way  here!”  She  got  out  in  between  puffs  of  airy  frustration,  her  socked  heels  digging  into  the  ground  as  you  attempted,  gracelessly,  to  steer  the  two  of  you  around.    

 “Okay,  okay,  fine.  We  did  come  all  this  way  and  now  our  drinks’ve  worn  off.”  You  acknowledged  with  an  irritated  huff.  “Okay-  how  about  we  go  in  and  get  some  drinks,  and  then  we’ll  leave?!”  Your  pitch  going  up  with  each  word  of  your  attempt  to  negotiate  before  forcing  out  a  chuckle,  your  laugh  did  its  best  to  hide  the  fact  that  your  body  was  beginning  to  stick  with  sweat  and  anxiety. 

“No,  ‘and  then’  we’ll  find  Chris  to  hook  me  up!”  She  playfully  fought  back  but  it  was  hard  to  take  her  seriously,  or  yourself,  with  how  the  two  of  you  were  laughing,  hers  genuine,  yours  not  so  much.  

 “Jesus  Christ,  you  really  are  set  on  this  ‘finding  your  soulmate’  thing.”  You  breathed.  As  much  as  you  hated  social  gatherings,  you  loved  your  best  friend  much,  much  more,  therefore  you  were  willing  to  be  won  over  in  the  name  of  friendship.  Though,  she  would  owe  you  for  this!  Fortunately  for  her,  food  and  drink  is  fair  trade  in  you  and  your  wallet’s  eyes. 

 “I’m  lonely,  okay!  I’d  prefer  winning  the  lottery  but  this  is  the  next  best  thing!”  Jamie,  as  per  usual,  brought  the  two  you  back  right  to  laughter  instantly.  She  had  her  mind  made  up.  Plus,  with  you  giggling  it  made  it  all  the  easier  for  her  to  haul  the  both  of  you  right  up  the  steps  of  the  SKZ  Frat  House  stairs.   

Once  in,  Jamie  stuck  close  to  your  side,  literally,  but  not  that  she  had  the  natural  choice  or  much  of  an  alternative;  this  place  was  packed  to   the  gills!  Jumping  up  on  her  now  platform  clad  feet,  looking  for  anyone  she  recognized  or  any  signs  of  Chris,  while  you  led  the  two  of  you,  hopefully,  to  a  kitchen.  You  were  practically  kicking  yourself  each  step  of  the  way  as  you  shoved  your  way  through  the  crowd.  The  air  was  stuffy  and  possibly  even  toxic,  to  say  the  least.  The  scent  is  much  more  foul  than  last  you  remember,  pungent  with  alcohol,  sweat,  cigarettes,  weed,  hints  of  puke,  and  dashes  of  all  sorts  of  pheromones.  Despite  the  few  times  you’ve  smelled  this  scent,  it  never  failed  to  make  you  wish  you  didn’t  leave  your  safe,  sanitary  bed.   

 There’s  jabbing  elbows  and  flailing  parts  of  strangers  everywhere  that  had  to  be  watched  out  and  dodged  for,  sloshing  cups,  sometimes  drunken  flirtatious  hands  grabbing  at  you,  not  at  all  fazed  by  the  pretty  companion  you  had  your  elbow  linked  with.  The  sway  of  the  hoards  of  people  was  beginning  to  get  you  motion  sick,  but  you  were  determined  to  keep  wading  through,  trying  to  hike  through  this  high  tide,  but  you  couldn’t  help  but  feel  vulnerable.  You  were  cursed  with  a  soft,  approachable  face  that  just  begged  to  be  messed  with.  Even  in  times  like  these,  where  your  thoughts  are  nothing  short  of  bitchy,  the  message  would  never  get  across  with  a  resting  bitch  face.  Your  love  for  dark  attire  didn’t  matter.  Your  baby  face  and  aura  won  every  match.  Not  even  the  eyeliner  and  dark  lipstick  you  preferred  could  save  you.  All  you  could  do  is  hope  that  your  best  friend’s  intimidation  and  delightfully  loud  presence  was  enough  for  the  two  of  you  as  you  keep  planting  one  foot  after  the  other.  

“Fucking  hell!”  You  barely  gasped  out,  finally  freed  out  of  the  main  room,  and  now  into  the  hallway.  The  seasick  claustrophobia  no  longer  had  its  poisonous  grips  on  your  soft,  easy  to  bruise  skin,  though,  you  did  need  to  catch  your  breath.  

 “Finally!”  Jamie  sighed  loudly  and  melodically,  patting  you  on  the  back  and  easily  recovering.  Before  she  headed  straight  into  the kitchen  to  scope  out  the  place,  possibly  for  anyone  she  knew  and,  perhaps,  her   Special  Someone.  

 “So  did  ya  see  anyone  you  knew,  Jame?”  You  called  after  her  upon  entering  what  appeared  to  be  a  stereotypical  scene  of  the  kitchen  during  a  college  party.  Cliche  red  solo  cups  scattered  everywhere,  filled  at  varying  degrees.  A  beer  keg  or  two,  some  cheap  bottles  of  vodka  splayed  about,  remnants  of  ash  from  blunts,  a  couple  or  two  aggressively  making  out  against  the  wall,  and  four  or  five  random  stragglers  fidgeting  with  their  phone or  talking  overly  loudly  to  each  other.  You  know,  the  usual.  

“Ughh,  no”  She  answered  reluctantly.  “They  have  to  be  somewhere  else,  maybe,  like  upstairs  or  downstairs,  right?!”  

Before  you  could  reply,  behind  you,  you  heard  an  enthusiastic  “Jamie!!”  then  a  muffled,  “you  finally  made  it!!”  The  familiar  voice  had  you  jerking  your  head  to  see  if  your  ears  were  failing  you,  evidently,  they  weren’t.  Right  away  you  see  Chris  tackling  Jamie  in  a  hug  before  he  met  your  eyes  with  his  comically  wide  ones.  

“Aaaahhh!!  Y/n’s  here  too?!”

 “Yeah!  Don’t  we  look  cute?”  Jamie  fluffed  up  her  cropped,  newly  dyed  hair  you  helped  her  do,  yours  also  in  a  similar  state.   

“Yeah,  but  Y/n  looks  better.”  He  teased,  giggling  and  slapping  her  in  the  arm;  unsurprising,  as  it’s  their  usual  fashion.   

“Oh  my  god!  Why  did  I  come  here?!  Okay,  we’ll  leave  then,  Chris.”  Jamie  joked  right  back  at  him,  snatching  at  your  hand  like  it  was  a  prize  to  be  won  and  taking  you  away  with  her.  Unfortunately  for  you,  this  was  just  a  well-meaning  joke,  you  weren’t  going  to  be  set  free  from  a  party  anytime  soon.   

 “Nooo!  Don’t  go!!”  He  dramatized,  grabbing  onto  at  Jamie,  halting  her  from  leaving  with  you  in  tow.  Giggling  so  hard,  he  had  to  throw  his  head  back  to  project  it  all.  You  snorted  a  “thank  you”  a  bit  late,  too  busy  laughing.  He  just  gave  you  a  brotherly  slap  on  the  arm,  on  his  way  to  leave  before  Jamie  stopped  him.  

“Wait!  What  about  my  soulmate?  You  said  they'd  be  here,  remember!”  

“Oh?”  Chris’s  eyebrows  scrunched  in  confusion,  Jamie  nodded  with  stern  wide  eyes  which  seemed  to  spark  back  his  doubtful  memory,  “Ahhh…  downstairs…  maybe…  I  think-  hangin’  out!  There’s  a  game  about  to  start-  Oh,  yeah!  That’s  why  I’m  here-”  he  giggled  to  himself,  “to  get  this!”  He  then  snatched  a  full  bottle  of  vodka  from  a  sneaky  cabinet  you  didn’t  know  about  before  ushering  you  guys  along  to  follow  him.  Honestly,  Chris  didn’t  make  it  sound  too  promising  that  Jamie’s  soulmate  could  be  down  there,  but  it’s  the  best  lead  you  got.   

Shyly,  you  followed  behind  the  two  as  he  led  the  way  to  the  basement.  With  Chris  as  your  guide,  it  was  relatively  smooth  sailing,  the  crowd  parting  minimally  to  make  way  for  the  president  of  the  frat.  Before  you  know  it,  you’re  walking  down  some  nasty  ass  carpeted  stairs,  forcing  your  eyes  from  questionable  stains  to  look  for  a  rail  instead  to  hold  onto.  Strangely  enough,  walking  down  the  steps  was  comforting  somehow,  the  feeling  as  if  it  were  inviting  you  in.  Like  it  assigned  you  a  duty  instead  of  the  alienating  fish  out  of  water  experience  you  had  earlier  on  the  main  floor.   

 “I  picked  up  some  stragglers!”  Chris  cheered  as  he  turned  into  the  room.   

 “Yeah,  but  did  you  bring  the  alcohol?”  A  brazen  voice  you’ve  never  heard  before  shot  straight  through  you.  You  could  feel  it  run  through  you  with  tingles  down  your  spine  and  goosebumps  up  your  arms.   

“Hell  yeah  I  did,  ya  jackass!”  

 When  the  two  of  you  turned  the  corner,  the  world  slowed  down  and  your  muscles  instantly  seized  up,  halting  you  into  place  without  consent.  Your  insides  clench  tight,  wrapping  itself  into  a  knot.  Suddenly  you  were  sweating,  but  in  contrast,  your  vision  looked  as  though  you  were  looking  through  a  nice  refreshing  glass  of  pink  lemonade.  Normally  steady  hands  were  now  shaky,  your  ears  and  cheeks  beginning  to  glow  beet  red.  You  could  feel  yourself  beginning  to  sweat  at  the  nape  of  your  neck  and  underarms;  all  this  from  the  sudden  voice  of  the  stranger!  -What?  What’s  going  on?!-    

 Immediately,  your  gaze  pans  around  the  room  before  they  landed  on  the  source,  long-lashed  eyes  holding  a  dark  chocolate  glaze  and  shivering  you  to  the  bone.  Like  a  hooked  fish,  you  couldn’t  look  away.  The  initial  astonishment  of  just  the  sensations  couldn‘t  compare  to  exploring  the  face  in  front  of  you.  

 Chiseled  cheeks,  and  angular  brows.  Pouty  naturally  downturned  lips  were  discovered  underneath  an  impossibly  perfect,  pointy  nose.  Everything  about  him  was  like  the  artwork,  his  slightly  covered  forehead  was  somehow  artistic  as  if  even  the  space  between  the  brow  and  the  hairline  was  something  new  that  your  narrow  mind  could  never  possibly  understand.  His  hairline  soon  revealed  a  head  of  luscious  black  hair,  unrealistically  voluminous,  shiny  and  soft.  Honestly,  his  hair  was  screaming  at  you  to  test  out  if  it  could  be  possible,  that  someone  who  looked  like  this  was  real.  His  entire  face  and  head  on  his  shoulders  didn’t  make  conceivable  sense.  Maybe  it’s  just  you,  but  a  person  this  perfect  couldn’t  exist  and  you  have  yet  to  venture  south  to  see  how  perfect  the  rest  of  him  could  possibly  be.    

 “Y/n?  Are- are  you  okay?”  

 You  vaguely  felt  or  heard  your  best  friend  at  your  side,  but  it  wasn’t  decipherable.  Everything  but  this  guy  in  front  of  you  was  fuzzy,  blurry  to  you.  All  the  energy  in  your  being  focused  on  this  human  in  front  of  you.  His  silky,  messily  parted  locks,  begging  for  you  to  test  if  it  was  as  soft  as  it  looked.  His  sharp  features.  His  lips  a  natural  coral-y  color  that  began  to  shine  and  glimmer  with  saliva  as  his  glossy  tongue  began  to  trail  along  those  chapped  lips.  You  shot  your  eyes  back  to  his,  reeling  you  back  in  like  the  prey  you  began  to  feel.  Oh,  sweet,  sweet  baby  Jesus,  is  this  really  happening?!

 “I-“  both  of  you  started  at  the  same  time.  Embarrassingly  enough,  it  seems  as  though  the  blurry  figures  of  everyone  else  in  the  corner  of  your  eyes  caught  on  to  something  the  two  of  you  were  oblivious  to.  Everyone  started  jumping  and  screaming,  whooping  chaotically,  and  taking  over  your  vision.  The  slow  world  disappeared  in  a  blink,  launching  you  right  back  to  its  now  rapid,  woozy  speed.  With  everyone  pushing  and  shoving  around  you  in  excitement  it  was  not  at  all  helping  with  your  wibbly-wobbly  state.  

Suddenly,  you  felt  many  different  arms  coming  at  you,  wrapping  around  you,  constricting  you,  and  jumping  around  with  you  in  their  arms  in  excitement.  There was  a  deafening  amount  of  rambunctious  hooting  and  hollering  it  was  almost  as  if  the  team  they  were  rooting  for  won  the  SuperBowl.  

 “And  here  I  thought  Y/n  was  Jamie’s  soulmate!”  Chris  guffawed  and  they  all  joined  in,  all  besides  you  and  this  guy- WAIT-  did  Chris  say-  say  ‘soulmate’??  No,  he  couldn’t  have!  

 “Soulmate?”  Equally,  as  soon  as  you  internally  questioned  the  word  choice,  you  heard  his  earth-shattering  voice  speak  again,  despite  the  fact  he  merely  whispered,  softly  wondering  aloud.  He  spoke  aloud  what  you  were  thinking,  right  when  you  thought  it!   

 You  couldn’t  get  enough  of  his  voice,  especially  now  when  you  can’t  see  him  in  the  crowd.  His  voice  was  light,  honey-colored,  dreamy,  just  the  perfect  amount  of  deep,  it  made  you  want  to  taste  his  lips  to  see  if  he’s  as  sweet  as  he  sounded.  You,  yourself,  were  still  in  the  locked-in-place  state,  still  too  shell  shocked  to  even  make  a  step  forward,  your  poor  brain  overworking  itself  to  make  sense  of  any  of  this.   

 “Really?”  In  elated  shock  you  chirped,  slowly  giving  in  to  the  hugs  and  excited  jumping  with  wide  and  confused  eyes.  Is  this  for  real?  This  is  really  happening?!  

“Holy  fuck,  Y/n!”  Jamie  managed  to  get  you,  pulling  you  a  bit  too  crushingly  in  a  hug.  “I  can’t  believe  it!  You  found  your  soulmate  in  this  shitty  basement  and  not  me!”  She  playfully  teased,  there  was  no  ill  will  behind  it.   

 By  now  the  situation  was  beginning  to  sink  in  a  teeny  bit  and  you  were  shocked,  to  say  the  least.  Frankly,  you  were  starting  to  think  that  this  day  would  never  come.  You  had  a  soulmate  and  your  soulmate  looked  like  that!  You  were  over  the  moon,  even  if  you  felt  a  bit  guilty  that  you  found  your  soulmate  at  this  party  instead  of  Jamie.  It  was  the  plan  of this  whole  night,  after  all.  Now  that  it  was  you,  you  didn’t  know  how  to  react.  You  were  completely  and  utterly  unprepared.  

  “I’m  so  sorry,  Jamie.”  You  pulled  her  back  in  closer,  crushing  her  back  into  you,  eyes  watering,  lip  trembling.  “Oh  my  god,  I  think  I  might-  I  think  I  might  cry.”  You  hiccupped  into  her  chic  mesh  turtleneck  and  dress  combo.  This  is  too  much.  Too  too  much.   

 “Heyy!~  Don’t  feel  bad  for  me!  It’s  okay!”  Jamie  simply  chortled,  patting  your  head  deeper  into  her  chest,  her  usual  protocol  if  you  were  about  to  seriously  cry.  

Humiliatingly  enough,  you  heard  a  few  guys  begin  to  chant  “don’t  cry!”  in  the  background.  Your  small  moment  of  sincerity  and  calm  was  soon  interrupted  by  Chris.   

 “Well  isn’t  this  fun!  You  know  what  this  means!”~   

“Minho’s  soulmate’s  a  lil’  bitch?”  You  heard  Jisung,  the  kid  whom  you  shared  your  major  and  many  classes  with,  taunt.  His  words  forcing  you  forward,  ready  to  fight  the  kid.  He’s  a  child,  literally   a  child!  Why  do  I  associate  myself  with  him?!  I  swear  to  god-

 “Hey,  hey,  hey!  It  was  a  joke!”  He  squeaked  away  from  you.  He  was  too  speedy,  no  chance  for  you  and  your  heavy  ass  boots  stomping  after  him.  Safely,  he  skidded  behind  the  couch,  behind  whom  you’re  assuming  is  “Minho”,  which  had  your  boots  screeching  to  a  halt.  

Though  you  were  scrambling  after  Jisung,  your  eyes  naturally  met  Minho’s  as  you  halted.  Once  again,  your  body  is  preparing  to  either  fight  or  flight.  His  face  was  glowing  like  he  was  some  sort  of  ethereal  being,  wracked  up  in  deep,  attractive  concentration.  In  contrast,  your  face  was  beginning  to  burn  up  an  embarrassing  amount,  your  body  already  turning  into  inoperable  mush.  You  couldn’t  say  anything  if  you  tried.  Any  sentence  structure  your  brain  tried  to  form  didn’t  make  any  grammatical  or  logical  sense,  your  mind  racing  like  a  hamster  on  a  wheel.  Your  neural  pathways  were  glowing,  steaming  with  this  sudden  overstimulation,  leading  you  to  the  same  frazzling  answer  each  and  every  time: 

This  person  right  in  front  of  you?  Yeah,  that’s  your  soulmate. 

 A  hush  was  spread  throughout  the  previously  hype  basement,  all  eyes  immersed  in  the  two  of  you  speechlessly  enraptured  in  each  other.  The  longer  you  stood  there, the  more  you  could  take  him  in  and  get  used  to  him  and  the  idea  of  him.  You  were  warming  up  to  him,  he  became  more  and  more  real  with  each  millisecond.  You've  studied  his  eyes  so  passionately  now  that  could  see  his  dark  chocolatey  pupils  when  you  closed  your  eyes.  You  were  no  longer  overwhelmed  but  now  enchanted  by  his  features  and  general  presence.  His  cheekbones  are  no  longer  an  unfamiliar  art  piece.  His  aura  was  still  intimidating  as  before,  but  now  it  appeared   to  the  cheeky  kind  of  way  like  you  wanted  to  see  what  amount  of  scary  he  was  capable  of.  It  was  a  long,  jittery,  drawn-out  pause  before  anything  happened,  not  that  you  noticed.  

 “Out  of  genuine  free  will,”  You  just  smiled,  staring  at  his  naturally  downturned  lips.  Only  by  reading  his  lips  did  you  pay  attention  to  what  he  was  saying-  Wait,  what?

“I,  Lee-”  Hold on a second.  

“Minho-”  No.  

“Exercise  the  divine  right  to”  This  isn’t  happening  to  me.  This  isn’t- 

“Reject  my  sacredly  designed-” happening.  No.  No.  It  can’t  be.  It’s  not  p-   

“Soulmate.”  -ossible.  

The  electric,  exciting,  high  energy  pause  between  us  fell  and  wilted.  Died  just  like  that.  The  connected  red  strings  that  tied  Minho  and  yourself  were  chopped  off  on  his  own  accord,  bringing  icy  cold  into  the  room  in  its  wake.  A  harsh  blizzard  overwhelming  the  space.  Gasps  of  shocked  air  were  being  taken  in  from  everyone  in  this  basement,  everyone,  including  Lee  Minho.  

 You  got  a  gasp  of  bitter  cold  in  through  your  lungs  before  you  were  struck  like  lightning.  Lightning  of  feverish  torture  took  over  your  body,  struck  you  directly  in  the  heart  and  brain  before  it  flashed  through  your  veins  carrying  the  harsh  poison  of  rejection.  

   You  heard  a  pathetic  squawk  tear  its  way  out  of  your  chapped  lips,  the  anguish  forcing  you  down  to  your  knees  as  if  you  were  directly  stabbed  in  the  heart.  The  electric,  immediate  painful  reaction  faded,  bringing  boiling  throbs  through  all  your  cells,  not  leaving  one  out.  It  was  unlike  anything  you  could  describe,  no,  imagine.  It  was  as  if  the  blood  in  your  veins  was  replaced  with  boiling  water  and  your  heart  was  simultaneously  squeezed  and  electrocuted  in  the  grasps  of  electric  hands.  Maybe  it  was  the  hands  of  Satan  dragging  you  down  with  him.

Blurrily,  through  fresh,  hot  tears,  you  swear  you  could  see  Minho  physically  flinch  in  response,  immediately,  sprinting  out  of  the  room  as  if  he  was  escaping  from  a  house  on  fire. 

 That  was  the  last  you  saw  before  it  all  faded  to  black. 

#stray kids fanfic #skzcreators-net #Lee Minho #Lee Know #minho fanfic #lee know fanfic #Brewgie's writing!!! #stray kids angst #minho angst #lee know angst #lee know au #Fratboi!Minho #minho x reader #sfw #soulmate au #rejected soulmate au #kpop fanfiction #ITS FINALLY POSTED!!! I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FIC ON AND OFF FOR F I V E M O N T H S #my requests are open #stray kids only though bc that's who I feel like i could write adequately #dancing jem min😈💎

[theonyxpath]

Hello everybody!

We’re all back from last week’s company-wide vacation, and I’m happy to report that our crew are rested and rejuvenated! Sometimes, you just need to block out all the work stuff, no matter how much you enjoy it, and let your creative batteries recharge.

So, now that we’re back – what’s going on?

We are in the They Came From Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter’s final days! We’re closing in on both the pledge totals and number of backers from the They Came From Beneath the Seas!‘s KS, so we could really use your help in spreading the word!

If you know a fan of 70s horror movies, of TV’s Dark Shadows and Kolchak: The Night Stalker, of Victorian vampires: let them know that we’ve got a game that can be played as straight-up horror or can be played for laughs!

And all you need to play is in the one book, but by backing you get the added Stretch Goal projects like Monsters From the Crypt, the book of antagonists that we are $1000 away from adding a third section to, and the Tales of Depravity scenarios book!

So spread the word, and if they need extra incentive, go ahead and have them click on the link to the actual play we did at our online con: https://youtu.be/qLEFXntIa3g

The children of the night salute you (when they’re not making what music they make)!

Titanomachy art by Andrea Payne

What Did We Discuss At The Meeting Today?

Well, first, we went over what we all did during our week off, and how we were doing after that. Where are our respective head spaces, as it were. But you don’t want to hear about that so much, I’m sure, so here’s the other things we talked about.

Mysteries of the World is #1 on DTRPG! still, which is even more gratifying considering how many PDFs went out to backers as part of the Stretch Goals already!

Related, we discussed our next Kickstarter possibilities and it looks like Scion: Demigod is going to be ready for its KS the first week in September! More words on that these next couple of weeks!

Scion: Demigod art by Aaron Riley

We talked about the sales that are going on with our various sales partners, as below, with the Deluxe Wraith 20 and Screen on sale for the first time at Indie Press Revolution – and a darkly gorgeous book it is! A true labor of love, too, by Messers Dansky and Dawkins heading up some phenomenal writers!

Also below, but in the Onyx Path Media section, Eddy’s Workshops wrapped up. What the heck, here are the links to last two episodes so you don’t have to scroll down:

Eddy’s Workshop – The Editing Phase of RPG Development – https://youtu.be/zPXWl0c7mmM

Eddy’s Workshop – The Approvals Phase of RPG Development – https://youtu.be/Qf-FQMBLaAs

In this series of YouTube vids, Eddy goes step by step through the process of how to create RPG books, so if you are interested in how it all happens, both here at Onyx Path and elsewhere across the TTRPG industry, these are invaluable.

Also, while doing these, Eddy has also been running a series of development and project management workshops for our writers and developers. These came directly out of our Developer Town Halls we held all through the first months of Covid-19, and the many requests he had from our developers. So far, Eddy has done some group sessions, and some individual mentoring, and the responses have been fantastic!

I think Covid-19 has hit a lot of creative people hard and even the most driven creators have been hammered in their productivity, so this is us helping folks get back on to getting things done.

(I used two forms of get in a single sentence there. My old HS English teacher T.J. McCauley, who warned us never to use “get” because there is always a better word, must be spinning in his grave.)

Heroic Land-Dwellers! art by Brian LeBlanc

Time continues to show that Covid-19 has also affected some of our partners. On sale to the public this week on DTRPG is the PDF and PoD versions of Heroic Land-Dwellers! for They Came From Beneath the Sea!, but the PDF went out to backers in May. Getting the PoD version ready and printed and proofed has just dragged on.

Similarly, our Screen printer has been hard hit, but is persevering slowly. So even though we have KS books almost ready to send as rewards, we still need to have the Screens to ship them all together and that’s been a slower cycle than it has in the past.

But, refreshed now from our week of Not Work, we’re back and rarin’ to go! Ready to tackle these challenges and get our projects through the stages to get to you. Ready to once again pull together all the many threads that go into weaving our tapestry of gaming goodness featuring our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

The They Came From Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter is in its last days – take a look at what horrors have been revealed so far: the Screen and two sections of Monsters from the Crypt: a book containing More Monsters, an exclusive KS t-shirt coupon, electronic Grave!-themed wallpaper, and two scenarios in the Tales of Depravity PDF! Next up in Stretch Goals are even More Monsters and electronic Wallpaper!

We’re only about $1000 away from adding in a third section to Monsters from the Crypt – so please spread the word and let’s get that Stretch goal un-buried!

Thanks to all of you who have pledged to enable this fantastic project and its Stretch Goals!

Here’s a specially-made special trailer by the brilliant Larry Blamire:

And keep your eyes open for:

Next Up on Kickstarter:

Scion: Demigod 2nd Edition the first week in September!

Onyx Path Media!

This week: The Terrific Trio of Terribleness take random game ideas and build them up to game pitches!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

For anyone new to our media section, you can find us running and playing games over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath pretty much every day of the week!

Plus, if you’d like your games hosted there, just get in touch with Matthew Dawkins using the contact link on matthewdawkins.com. 

Please give our Twitch channel a follow, as you can find a huge number of videos of all kinds of games, along with our What’s Up with Onyx Path? livestream conducted for Gen Con weekend!

This week on Twitch, expect to see these games and streams running:

Scarred Lands – A Family Affair

Mage: The Ascension – Technocracy Reloaded

Scion: Hero – Behind the Screen

They Came from Beyond the Grave!

Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale

Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous

Vampire: The Masquerade – Boston by Night

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

It’s the last week of the They Came from Beyond the Grave! Kickstarter, so if you missed it, please check out our ENnie award winning friends at Red Moon Roleplaying, who have concluded their They Came from Beyond the Grave! story, with their usual excellent editing, quality, and in this case, a lovely cast of players led by Director, Matthew Dawkins! Come join in and listen to the Cult of Abaddon at play: https://youtu.be/RDYzNbk7VkQ

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion FINALE – https://youtu.be/Evc0DDvLOPE

Blood City: Chicago by Night FINALE – https://youtu.be/dVdt0S6oWm0

(Matthew’s favourite) Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds Episode 10 – https://youtu.be/XtZouhVac9k

Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale – Episode Two – https://youtu.be/GETIo92dUdY

Eddy’s Workshop – The Editing Phase of RPG Development – https://youtu.be/zPXWl0c7mmM

Eddy’s Workshop – The Approvals Phase of RPG Development – https://youtu.be/Qf-FQMBLaAs

Realms of Pugmire: Paws & Claws – S2E10 – https://youtu.be/SA3fot155wA

Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds Episode 11 – https://youtu.be/XtZouhVac9k – https://youtu.be/KNWMVZ9KtQI

Deviant: The Renegades – A Cautionary Tale – Episode Three – https://youtu.be/F9mKS-w6lso

Realms of Pugmire: Paws & Claws – S2E11 – https://youtu.be/aZ4Mxy_k9JU

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner that is breaking down Creation in 45 minute chunks in preparation for Exalted Essence.

Their most recent episodes are available over on https://www.exaltcast.com/, where they’ve covered everything from Lunars and Dragon-Blooded to Solars and asking the question: What is Creation?

The Story Told Podcast have just started a new chapter in their Fall of Jiara Exalted chronicle, and we’d love it if you gave them some support. Here’s their character intros: https://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-character-intros

Dork Tales are partway through their Werewolf: The Forsaken actual play, The Bitches of Brewery Park! Check it out on their channel: https://www.twitch.tv/dorktales

And our very own Chris Allen runs his chronicle of Werewolf: The Forsaken over on Paleo Gaming‘s Twitch channel. Do check out Very Angry Dogs!  https://www.twitch.tv/paleo_gaming

Two new Occultists Anonymous episodes for you fans of Mage: The Awakening! Find them right here:

Episode 118: Chimed In  The cabal follows Songbird into an Aetheric Emanation Realm, prepared with only a few hints from Hadramiel. First though, there is a watcher in place at the entrance…   https://youtu.be/Gh6_3KHOOgI

Episode 119: Explore, Expand, Exploit…  The cabal investigates the odd ‘hotel’ they’ve found themselves in and further explores out into the Emanation Realm itself, which seems to have some kind of specific purpose. https://youtu.be/qjmbCSILpI8

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

We’re told that the App Dev is currently creating an updated version for the latest devices, so keep an eye open for those!

Virtual TableTop!

Introducing a Virtual Tabletop encounter pack for the Trinity Continuum Core: Hunt for the Red Widow on DTRPG!

Hunt for the Red Widow is a short encounter designed starting Talents in the Trinity Continuum Core setting. When a renowned but mysterious thief known as The Red Widow steals an ancient artifact from the Æon Society’s vaults, it is up to the party to track her down and recover the device. She is heading to an old ruin said to unlock the artifact’s true power. Can the heroes reach her in time?

Inside you’ll find:

A short encounter for use with the Trinity Continuum Corebook

Two new antagonists: The Red Widow, and her minions, known simply as “Ghosts.” Virtual tabletop tokens are included to represent the antagonists

Two maps, ready to be uploaded into your virtual tabletop platform of choice

New Anomaly Powers.

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to provide our traditionally printed books out into your local game stores. Game stores can order via their usual distributors, and can also contact Studio2 directly. And individuals can check out our projects via the links below!

You can pick up the traditionally printed Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau main books, screens, and the official dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Now, we’ve added Chronicles of Darkness books such as Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Our Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books are also available from Studio2 in the US: https://studio2publishing.com/products/vampire-the-masquerade-chicago-by-night-sourcebook

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order

It’s the return of the DOG DAYS OF SUMMER SALE!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

The Cthulhu Mythos sale at DriveThruRPG starts this week, and we’ll have some God-Machine PDFs included in the sale!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, the PDF and PoD versions of Heroic Land-Dwellers! for They Came From Beneath the Sea! gird their loins and prepare for watery menaces… and go on sale on DTRPG!

Heroic Land-Dwellers! is a collection of playable characters for They Came from Beneath the Sea!, a roleplaying game of drama, science fiction, and farce in which you play the only humans capable of driving back the watery threats seeking to invade, destroy, or enslave humanity.

This book is for use with the They Came from Beneath the Sea! tabletop roleplaying game. They Came from Beneath the Sea! uses the Storypath System, provided in full in the core rulebook available separately. 

Heroic Land-Dwellers! includes:

• Sixteen playable characters, each with biographies, stats, Quips, and artwork to help you immediately involve them in a story as protagonists, supporting characters, or villains!

• Fiction by Larry Blamire, to set the action-packed and sometimes nonsensical tone of science fiction B-movies and games such as this one!

Also, this Weds sees the release on DTRPG of the They Came From Beneath the Sea! Director’s Screen PDF! Handy charts to make it even easier to run TCFBtS!.

Finally on Wednesday, we present you with the compiled Dark Eras for Changeling: The Lost, all together in one handy book in PDF and PoD versions on DTRPG!

Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with:

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Prometheus Unbound (was Psi Orders) (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

No Gods, No Masters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion Fiction Anthology (Scion 2nd Edition)

TC: Aeon Novella: Dawn (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

TC: Aeon Novella: Meridian (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Legacies of Earth (Legendlore)

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)

Trinity Continuum: Anima

Second Draft

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Manuscript Approval

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Dystopia Rising: Evolution Fiction Anthology (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

Post-Approval Development

Editing

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Post-Editing Development

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

Indexing

Lunars: Fangs At The Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Tales of Aquatic Terror

WoD Ghost Hunters (KS) – KS page prepped and ready to go to Paradox for approval.

Aberrant

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant

Legendlore

Technocracy Reloaded

Cults of the Blood God

Scion: Dragon (KS)

Masks of the Mythos (KS) – Cover is in and it looks sweet.

Scion: Demigod (KS) – KS art and graphics all finished.

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – KS running.

TC: Adventure! (KS)

Geist: One Foot In the Grave

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – Going into proofing this week.

Pugmire Adventure

Trinity Core Jumpstart

Proofing

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Indexing.

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)

Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

TC Aeon Terra Firma

Scion Titanomachy

At Press

TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – PDF and PoD on sale this Weds!

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Pirates of Pugmire – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Files at press.

Dark Eras 2 – Files printing.

Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet – Files at press.

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition Dark Eras Compilation – PDF and PoD on sale this Weds!

Contagion Chronicle – Press prep.

Contagion Chronicle Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

Lunars Wall Scroll Map – Shipping to KS fulfiller from printer.

Lunars Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

Scarred Lands Creature Collection – Shipping from printer to KS fulfiller.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Eight (8) years ago today we held our first “What Is the Onyx Path?” panel at Gen Con, announcing our company and our slate of releases for that coming year. Most of which have been released by now!

#Onyx Path Publishing

[spaceorphan18]

Marvel Movie Night: Daredevil

...

...

Okay.  

This is a terrible film.  I mean, I did know that going in - but I now give the two Blade films some credit for at least being entertaining.  This film isn’t really entertaining.  It’s what happens when you smush Batman 89 with Batman returns and take out all Tim Burton quirkiness.  No, really, the plot is seriously like a blend of those two films.  Matt Murdoch (Daredevil) watches his father die to the hands of villains, grows up, becomes a lawyer to deal out justice the /right/ way.  Meets a girl (who would be a vigilante as well if the film had any time to develop that) who dies (though, who knows, she might be back...) and stares off into the night on the top of a NYC Skyscraper.  Oh geez... 

I watched the Director’s Cut of the film, hoping that I was getting the better version of the film, because a lot of sources said it’s the better version.  I can’t imagine what the theatrical cut was like, because this version takes itself way, way too seriously.  I get that they were trying to go for the Frank Miller feel (Frank Miller being a comic book creator known for his darker superhero runs, and Miller’s Daredevil run was one of the most famous).  So, I get that.  But film is almost trying too hard.  

The director, Mark Steven Johnson, only had one film under his belt before doing this one -- Simon Birch.  I guess Johnson has gone on to make better films, but since he’s a comedy writer, it seems weird to let him handle this film.  He also wrote the screenplay -- which Kevin Feigi apparently approved.  There had to be something going on with development, because not only is the script full of bad dialogue, but nearly every aspect of this film is just poorly constructed.  

The film wants to be edgy, but comes off as stiff and ridiculous at times.  It’s still a product of the early superhero films, taking a nod from the recent X-Men film’s decision to go darker, and made everything so dramatic it came off as melodrama.  The acting is so stiff that I can’t take most of the characters seriously.  The plot is so tired, it literally feels like its ripping off a Batman film.  The music is irritating.  The few attempts at special effects weak.  

So.  Daredevil is one of the few (main) Marvel characters whom I don’t really know much about.  I’ve never picked up one of the comics.  I vaguely know is backstory.  I can’t judge this film by how well it does with the comics material.  But, in this case, I can’t even get to that level of discussion because this film kinda fails before we even can get to those kind of comparisons.  

At the same time, I think the at points they relied too heavily on knowledge of the comics.  Why is Matt Murdoch hanging around a church all the time -- oh cause he has issues with being Catholic.  Never brought up once in the film, which makes the church thing super weird.  Why is Elektra killed in such an abrupt and unsatisfying death? Oh because it happened that way in the comics.  I feel like I’ve probably missed a lot of reasons why things were happening because they were in the comics.  I really don’t think you should have to read the comics for these things to make sense.  

Alright so... Ben Affleck as Daredevil.  Meh.  Daredevil, a blind superhero who also is a great lawyer, is an interesting character - and I’m now super interested in Netflix’s Daredevil series.  I won’t blame Affleck entirely for Daredevil himself being such a bad main character.  The tonal shifts in the script don’t help.  But Murdoch has two modes - intensely moody and brooding, and being a dick.  There’s nothing likable about the guy.  Nothing intriguing about the guy.  He’s not even that mysterious.  He’s just there.  And it seems like Affleck isn’t sure what to do with any of it.  One point he’s throwing bad guys over the railing of a subway where they get chopped in half.  The other minute he’s claiming he’s not the bad guy as a child cries as he’s beating up a bad guy.  This film doesn’t know what it wants to do with its main character. 

Jennifer Garner is fine as Elektra, despite the romance part of the film being terribly developed.  While it was before Affleck and Garner got together - they seem to genuinely like each other, and it’s the one relationship of this film that seems to have plausibility, again, despite being such a poorly developed plot. 

Michael Clarke Duncan is the film’s main villain Fisk.  Apparently, his performance was called over-the-top.  I think he’s fine for a villain in a superhero film, and one of the few people in the film who seems like they’re enjoying being in it.  The other villain is Colin Farrel’s Bullseye.  He’s supposed to be Irish.  Seems like Farrel kinda remembers that some times, lol.  Anyway, he’s this film’s Darth Maul, only there to kill people in fancy ways, and be someone for Daredevil (and Elektra) to fight against.  

Other Thoughts: 

The soundtrack and the sound editing is irritating.  It’s trying to be cool and edgy with its hard rock, heavy metal, and rap soundtrack, but it just seems like overkill.  The few slower songs seem so on the nose its distracting.  And the score isn’t great or memorable.  Plus, there’s an annoying high-pitched wail whenever some of the special effects are being used.  (Huh - apparently this soundtrack won some awards.  Weird, okay) 

Jon Favreau is in the film!! He’s kind of playing a Happy Hogan-like sidekick.  And he’s easily the best part of the film.  He’s the only one in the film who feels like he’s natural in his part, and he’s a sheer joy to watch while everything else is a bit tedious.  His back and forth with Ben Affleck isn’t that great though, tbh.  Hope he finds a scene partner he can have better chemistry with...  

Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo is in this for two scenes.  She doesn’t do much of anything, it was just weird to see her in there. 

Coolio has a cameo! Playing an framed guy Matt Murdoch has to defend.  He’s actually pretty entertaining in the small amount we get him. 

Like all superhero movies, there are a lot of nods to the comics.  This one over does the schitck of naming half their characters after comics creators.  Enough so that it felt like it stuck out like a sore thumb every time they mentioned another name.  They even named Kevin Smith’s character Jack Kirby.  **headdesk** 

Oh yeah, Kevin Smith is randomly here as well for a scene.  

Final Thoughts: Please do yourself a favor and don’t bother with this film.  Not gonna lie, I’d rather watch The Incredible Hulk again before ever watching this tedious mess again. 

Next Up: X2, thank god for something watchable. 

#marvel movie nights #this is such a harsh review #but this movie really drove me nuts

[arrowdaily]

Stephen Amell is dreading the eighth and final season of Arrow, though you wouldn’t know it on this hot, sunny July day in Los Angeles. Wearing Green Arrow’s new suit, the CW star seems perfectly at ease as he strikes heroic pose after heroic pose on a dimly lit stage. But once he’s traded heavy verdant leather for a T-shirt, jeans, and baseball cap, his guard drops and the vulnerability starts to creep in as he contemplates Arrow’s last ten episodes, which was set to begin production in Vancouver a week after the EW photoshoot took place and premieres October 15.

“I’m very emotional and melancholy, but it’s time,” Amell—who is featured on the new cover of Entertainment Weekly—says as he takes a sip from a pint of Guinness. “I’m thirty-eight years old, and I got this job when I was thirty. I’d never had a job for more than a year. The fact that I’ve done this for the better part of a decade, and I’m not going to do it anymore, is a little frightening.”

Developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg, Arrow debuted in the fall of 2012. The DC Comics series follows billionaire playboy Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), who, after years away, returned to now–Star City with one goal: to save his hometown as the hooded bow-and-arrow vigilante who would become known as Green Arrow (it would take him four seasons to assume the moniker). What began as a solo crusade eventually grew to include former soldier John Diggle (David Ramsey), quirky computer genius Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), lawyer-turned-hero Laurel Lance/Black Canary (Katie Cassidy-Rodgers), and the rest of Team Arrow. Together they’ve defended their city from a host of threats—dark archers, megalomaniacal magicians, and the occasional metahuman—while Lost-like flashbacks revealed what Oliver endured in the five years he was away, first shipwrecked and then honing his skills around the world to become someone else, something else.

The premiere gave the CW its most-watched series debut since 2009’s The Vampire Diaries. But before they launched Arrow, Berlanti and Guggenheim had to suffer through a failure: 2011’s Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds. The duo co-wrote the script but lost creative control of the film, which flopped. So when Warner Bros. TV president Peter Roth approached them in late 2011 about developing a Green Arrow show, they were wary. After much deliberation, Berlanti and Guggenheim agreed, on the condition that they maintain control. Says Guggenheim, “As long as we succeed or fail on our own work, and not someone else’s work then maybe this is worth a shot.”

Their take on the Emerald Archer—who made his DC Comics debut in 1941—was noteworthy from the beginning. Taking cues from films like The Dark Knight and The Bourne Identity and series like Homeland, the writers imagined a dark, gritty, and grounded show centered on a traumatized protagonist. “As we were breaking the story, we made very specific commitments to certain tonal things, such as ‘At the end of act one, he has his hands around his mother’s throat.’ And, ‘At the end of act two, he kills a man in cold blood to protect his secret,’” says Guggenheim.

A hero committing murder? That was practically unheard of then. Having Oliver suit up in a veritable superhero costume by the pilot’s climax was radical too. Sure, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was deep into Phase One when the producers were developing Arrow, but TV was traditionally more apprehensive about comic books. Smallville famously had a “no tights, no flights” rule and only introduced superhero costumes in the last years of its ten-season run, and there weren’t any masked avengers running around NBC’s Heroes or ABC’s No Ordinary Family, the latter produced by Berlanti (let’s not even mention NBC’s The Cape, which was essentially dead on arrival and never did get its six seasons and a movie). But Arrow not only fully committed to the idea of someone dressing up like Robin Hood to fight crime with a bow and arrow, it introduced a second costumed rogue, the Huntress (Jessica De Gouw), in episode 7.

“It’s just comic book to the extreme and the fans seem to really love it,” says Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, a former writer on Smallville. “They still maintain it very grounded, but it’s very different with everyone in costumes. The appetite for superheroes has changed in my mind in terms of like they just want the literal superhero [now].”

Not that the team wasn’t meticulous about creating Green Arrow’s cowl. “We had to have so many conversations to get it approved, but that’s why we got [Oscar winner] Colleen Atwood [Memoirs of a Geisha] at the time to [design] the suit,” says Berlanti. “We were determined to show we could do on TV what they were doing in the movies every six months.”

“It’s really easy to make a guy with a bow and arrow look silly. We sweated every detail,” says Guggenheim, who also recalls how much effort it took to perfect Oliver’s signature growl. “I actually flew up to Vancouver. On a rooftop during reshoots on [episode 4], Stephen and I went through a variety of different versions of, basically, ‘You have failed this city,’ with different amounts of how much growl he’s putting into his performance. [We] recorded all that, [I went] back to Los Angeles, and then sat with the post guys playing around with all the different amounts of modulation.”

That process took eons compared to the unbelievably easy time the team had casting Arrow’s title role. In fact, Amell was the first person to audition for the role. “It was Stephen’s intensity. He just made you believe he was that character,” says Guggenheim, recalling Amell’s audition. “We had crafted Oliver to be this mystery box character, and Stephen somehow managed to find this balance between being totally accessible in a way you would need a TV star to be, but he’s still an enigma.” After his first reading, Amell remembers being sent outside for a short time before being brought back into the room to read for a larger group: “I called [my manager], and I go, ‘I know this is not how it’s supposed to work, but I just got that job.’”

In the first season, the show’s chief concerns were maintaining both the “grounded and real” tone and the high quality of the stunts, and investing the audience in Oliver’s crusade. Beyond that, though, there wasn’t much of an over-arching plan, which allowed the show to naturally evolve—from introducing more DC characters, such as Deathstroke (Manu Bennett) and Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), sooner than they initially intended (the shot of Deathstroke’s mask in the pilot was meant as a harmless Easter egg), to promoting Emily Bett Rickards’ Felicity from a one-off character in the show’s third episode to a series regular in season 2 and eventually Oliver’s wife. Even the whole idea of a Team Arrow—which, over time, added Oliver’s sister Thea (Willa Holland), Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez) and Dinah Drake/Black Canary (Juliana Harkavy)—was the result of the writers allowing the best ideas to guide the story. “Greg used to say all the time, ‘You have a hit TV show until you don’t, so don’t save s—,’” says Amell.

Also not planned: Arrow spawning an entire shared universe. “We went on record a lot of times during the premiere of the pilot saying, ‘No superpowers, no time travel.’ But midway through season 1, Greg started to harbor a notion of doing the Flash,” says Guggenheim. “I’m a very big believer that it’s great to have a plan, but I think when it comes to creating a universe, the pitfall is that people try to run before they can walk. The key is, you build it show by show.” And so they did. First, they introduced The Flash star Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen in the two-part midseason finale of Arrow’s second season. From there, Supergirl took flight in 2015, then DC’s Legends of Tomorrow in 2016, and Batwoman is due this fall. “It’s like the hacking of the machete in the woods and then you look back and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s a path,” says executive producer and Berlanti Productions president Sarah Schechter. But even though Arrow is the universe’s namesake, Amell doesn’t concern himself with the sibling series outside of the now-annual crossovers. “I never think about any of the other shows,” he says. “I want all of them to do great, but they’re not my responsibility. My responsibility is Arrow, and to make sure everyone from the cast to the crew are good.” His sentiments are seconded by The Flash’s Gustin: “I don’t understand how he does it—his schedule that he maintains with working out, the conventions he goes to, the passion he has for it, and the love he shows towards fans. He’s always prepared. He cares more about that show being high quality than anybody else on the set.”

That said, the universe’s expansion precipitated what is widely considered to be Arrow’s best season, the fifth one. After focusing on magic in season 4, the show returned to its street-crime roots as part of “a concerted effort to play not just to our strengths but what made the shows unique,” Guggenheim says of balancing their four super-series in 2016. “Because Arrow was the longest-running Arrowverse show, we were able to do something that none of the other shows could do, which is have a villain who was basically born out of the events of season 1,” he explains of introducing Adrian Chase/Prometheus (Josh Segarra), whose criminal father was killed by Oliver. “That gave the season a resonance.”

It was midway through season 6 when Amell realized he was ready to hang up Oliver Queen’s hood. “It was just time to move on,” the actor says of pitching that Oliver leave the series at the end of season 7. “My daughter is turning six in October, and she goes to school in LA, and my wife and I want to raise her [there].” Berlanti persuaded him to return for one final season, which the producers collectively decided would be the end. “We all felt in our gut it was the right time,” says Berlanti. Adds Schechter, “It’s such a privilege to be able to say when something’s ending as opposed to having something just ripped away.”

But there’s one integral cast member who won’t be around to see Arrow through its final season. This spring, fans were devastated to learn Rickards had filmed her final episode—bringing an end to Olicity. “They’re such opposites. I think that’s what draws everyone in a little bit,” showrunner Beth Schwartz says of Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. “You don’t see the [love story of] super intelligent woman and the sort of hunky, athletic man very often. She’s obviously a gorgeous woman but what he really loves is her brain.” For his part, Amell believes the success of both Felicity and Olicity lies completely with Rickards’ performance. “She’s supremely talented and awesome and carved out a space that no one anticipated. I don’t know that show works if we don’t randomly find her,” says Amell, adding that continuing the series without Team Arrow’s heart is “not great. Arrow, as you know it, has effectively ended. It’s a different show in season 8.” And he’s not exaggerating.

The final season finds Oliver working for the all-seeing extra-terrestrial the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) and trying to save the entire multiverse from a cataclysmic event. “[We’re] taking the show on the road, really getting away from Star City. Oliver is going to be traveling the world, and we’re going to go to a lot of different places,” says Guggenheim. “Every time I see Oliver and the Monitor, it’s like, ‘Okay, we are very far from where we started.’ But again, that means the show has grown and evolved.” Adds Schwartz, “This is sort of his final test because it’s greater than Star City.” Along the way, he will head down memory lane, with actor Colin Donnell, who played Oliver’s best friend Tommy Merlyn in season 1, and Segarra’s Adrian Chase making appearances. “Episode 1 is an ode to season 1, and episode 2 is an ode to season 3,” teases Amell. “We’re playing our greatest hits.”

But season 8 is not just about building toward a satisfying series finale. “Everything relates to what’s going to happen in our crossover episode, which we’ve never done before,” says Schwartz. Spanning five hours and airing this winter, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” will be the biggest crossover yet and may see Oliver perish trying to save the multiverse from destruction, if the Monitor’s prophecy is to be believed. “Oliver [is told] he’s going to die, so each episode in the run-up to ‘Crisis’ has Oliver dealing with the various stages of grief that come with that discovery,” says Guggenheim. “So the theme really is coming to terms, acceptance.”

If there’s one person who has made his peace with Oliver’s fate, it’s Amell. “Because he’s a superhero with no superpowers, I always felt he should die—but he may also not die,” says Amell, who actually found out what the show’s final scene would be at EW’s cover shoot. “I cried as [Marc Guggenheim] was telling me. There are a lot of hurdles to get over to make that final scene.” Get this man some more Guinness!

#stephen amell #beth schwartz #marc guggenheim #greg berlanti #cast #s8 #interviews #news

[soopranatural]

Who I was looking for -Part 18

Summary: Even after you started wearing cuffs, the words are engraved in your mind as well as your wrist. You know you're not destined for love as soon as you learn how to read. How could you? When the words "Sorry, you're not who I was looking for" are written in black ink on your skin.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: angst, pining, insecurity, etc

Words: 1779

A/N: I seriously meant to post this yesterday but I slept all day oops

Marsterlist

Mobile Masterlist

Part 17  Series Masterlist

Your name: submit What is this?

"Alright Tin-Man, what is it?"

They're in the hallway now, mainly so they can escape the renewed noise of the common room. As soon as Bucky had spoken, a hush fell over the room. It was weird for him to speak to Stark, and Bucky was known for being aggressively independent, never asking for anything even if he needed it. He was glad they had moved to the hallway, he was a little embarrassed, but he still wanted to ask.

He turned to look behind him, the door to the common room was ajar, and he could see Steve and Natasha lurking on the other side, he huffed and turned back to Stark.

"I need a jet" he spoke with no preamble, better to get it over with.

Tony raised an eyebrow, surveying him slowly as if searching for bad intentions. There was a glint in his eyes that looked teasing, but that might have been his imagination. Or maybe that was just a Tony Stark thing, a permanent teasing look.

"What for?" That was almost definitely fake innocence Bucky heard in his voice. Bucky grit his teeth, he hated when Stark acted like he knew something that he didn't, but he really needed this.

"I want to..." he sighed, ran a hand through his hair,

started over "Y/N has to leave for her hometown in a hurry. I'd like to take her, it's kind of an emergency." Bucky doesn't remember ever speaking this many words in a row to Tony Stark.

Tony's smirk widens and Bucky suppresses a growl.

"You have to forgive me if I don't trust you with a jet, old man. But-"

"I'll pilot the jet" The two men turn to look at Natasha, who is standing behind the open door and next to an open-mouthed Steve. She shrugs before speaking again, her voice nonchalant. "I was looking for an excuse to go outside anyway. Besides, everyone keeps telling me about the girl James is crushing on, I'd like to meet her."

"I'm not crushing on her" Bucky murmurs, but he's secretly doing somersaults on the inside. His chest is tight with excitement, and he can't help the small smile that blooms on his face.

"Well look at that" Tony exclaims. He looks at Natasha, then at Bucky. "Fine then, but bring it back in one piece" he aims this last part at Natasha, who only smirks and motions for Bucky to go with her.

Steve shakes his head with a smile and goes back into the common room.

-

"So" Natasha's tone is deceivingly nonchalant "Y/N"

Bucky hums noncommittally, helping her adjust the controls on the jet before takeoff. She flops onto the pilot's seat like it's a living room couch.

"Yeah, spill. I've been trying to set someone up for ages, but Rogers won't cooperate" she grins. "Tell me everything"

"There's nothing to tell Nat, she works in the tower" she perks up at that, ooh-ing at him, he ignores her "She's nice." He finishes, wanting her to stop looking at him like that.

"Oh, c’mon James, she has to be something more than nice if I'm flying this jet"

He gives in, knowing there wasn't a point in trying to keep something from her "She's kind, and hilarious, and frankly adorable. She sees me as Bucky, y'know? Not a monster, or a teammate, or a soldier, or even an avenger. I guess I kinda miss people looking at me like a person" he huffs, looking away when he sees Natasha glancing at him with those dewy eyes she looks at him with sometimes, when he's being particularly depressing.

She hums, then turns on the engine.

-

Nat makes fun of him when he realizes they took off without knowing where you lived. Luckily, they were already close by and arrive in a matter of minutes.

He looks for you as they land, and he finally sees you, bursting from the side of the building, your face frozen in a shocked expression. He knew you hadn't believed him.

"She is pretty" Natasha comments, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she opens the door for him.

You give a loud, incredulous laugh when you see him, your wide eyes glimmering with childish astonishment. Bucky's heart expands, pumping wildly in his chest at the sound of your laughter, it's the first time he's smiled this big in a long, long while.

He basks in your gleeful expression, and feels weirdly proud of putting that look on your face. When he takes your bag you seem to not notice, and remain standing outside, gawking at the sleek aircraft.

"What a cutie" Natasha smiles, and Bucky's glad to get the approval of one of his best friends, he beams at her and she gives a surprised laugh. "Oh boy, you really are a goner aren't you?"

He ignores her, and places your duffel inside a compartment near the floor.

"You coming?!" He shouts, cupping his hand next to his face so he's heard over the sound of the roaring engine.

"Oh! yeah! Hah! Oh my god" Natasha snorts behind him. You give an excited wiggle and there's a nearly painful tug to his chest. You step onto the aircraft, looking around with your mouth half open, Bucky can see you taking everything in, looking at the inside of the jet like you're in an art gallery. When you take off you squeak softly in excitement, then in fear when Natasha speaks from the pilot seat and startles you.

"Hi" she grins "nice to meet you, I'm Natasha. I'd shake your hand but we'd probably crash if I do that." Your eyes widen, looking at Natasha curiously and maybe a little nervously. "I've heard a lot of good things about you." She says pointedly. Bucky gives her a warning glare that he knows she caught, even if she doesn't turn his way.

"You have?" Your voice comes at an unusual high pitch "I mean, nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for doing this"

Bucky can't tell what's wrong. Maybe it's nothing, or maybe it's the stress of the day that's getting to you, but your voice is a little strained when you talk to Natasha. And your eyes look almost... sad?

He moves closer to you.

-

You arrive at your hometown almost two and a half hours later, and Bucky's a tad disappointed that it went by so quickly. He isn't about to say anything to you though.

The ride was quiet at first, but Nat had made an effort to spark a conversation (thank the heavens for her, he'd have to buy her one of those gooey brownies that she liked when they got back). It had worked, because soon all three of you were talking and laughing. He enjoyed the way your expression changed when you listened to them tell stories of their past missions, looking almost like you were watching a super interesting movie unfold right before your eyes. You'd relaxed around Nat too, and he breathed out in relief when he caught you giggling uncontrollably at the Budapest story.

"I'll have to meet Clint someday" you gasped, holding on to your stomach.

Natasha made a considering noise "Oh, he'd love you. Maybe I'll invite you guys for coffee someday"

You choked on your next breath, your mouth dropping open with a faint pop. You were about to speak but were cut off when Natasha spoke again.

"We're here"

You stood up in a flash, and Bucky handed you your bag while Natasha landed the aircraft at the hospital's parking lot.

Nat reached upwards and flipped a switch, which caused the door to open with a sharp hiss.

"You guys saved my life today" you said sincerely, shouldering the duffel. You grinned up at Bucky, stepping closer and then immediately stepping back. "Um, can I hug you?"

Bucky's breath punched out of his lungs. He couldn't believe you. You wanted to hug him, and that was a surprise on its own. But the fact that you asked? Search his face kindly to check if he was comfortable? It made his heart ache with a sudden burst of... something.

He couldn't speak, so he only nodded at you. You stepped forward again, confidently this time, and wrapped your hands around his waist in a tight embrace.

You were warm, and soft, and your shampoo smelled like coconut. Your bag hit him in the ribs, but he couldn't care less. It felt like comfort, something he hadn't had for many years, not for real at least. He shut his eyes tightly and tried as best as he could to absorb the feeling through his skin.

You pulled apart after a long moment, one that felt too short anyway, and smiled at him before shouting your goodbyes to Natasha and then sprinting off the jet.

"Wow" breathed Natasha.

"Yeah" Bucky said back.

-

They watched you be greeted halfway through the parking lot by a tall, dark skinned man who swept you into a tight hug before ushering you inside.

"She has a soulmate" Bucky blurts without thinking, keeping his eyes on the glass door even after you disappear from sight.

"What?!" Natasha snaps her gaze to him "that him?" She points towards the hospital entrance, then flips the switch that closes the door.

"I don't thinks so. I don't think she's met them actually, she wears a leather cuff because she doesn't like her words." He sits down on the floor and leans on a wall.

"Well that sucks"

He hums in agreement but doesn't say anything. He's thinking about that man he saw you hugging, he really had no idea who he was, or who you were, for that matter. He didn't actually know anything about you, and who knows, maybe he was your soulmate. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for you to not live in the same place, but it was still a possibility. Maybe it wasn't him, but you could have already met them and just hadn't told him anything. Jealousy churned uncomfortably in his gut and her frowned at himself.

"Why haven't you said anything then? Is it because you're embarrassed?" Natasha says, interrupting his train of thought.

"I'm not embarrassed" He really wasn't. He was against telling the team at first because he knew they wouldn't leave him alone about it, but he had never been embarrassed of liking anyone, and wasn't about to start now. He wanted to tell you, the problem was that he couldn't. It was just better for everyone involved if he kept his feelings to himself.

Part 19

TAGS FOR THIS FIC ARE CLOSED!!!

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#a thing that i wrote #who I was looking for #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #Bucky angst #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader angst #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader soulmate au #bucky x reader soulmate #angst #pining #fan fiction #fanfic #reader insert #reader inserts #marvel fanfic #marvel #marvel fic #marvel reader insert #marvel soulmate au #soulmate #soulmate au #series #part 18

[peachhobis]

demon boys

pairing: yoonseok length: series, 1.2k genre: fluff rating: pg-13 tags: buzfeed unsolved au, fluff, established relationship, + domestic antics

summary: 

Hoseok believes in ghosts.

Yoongi doesn't.

However, Hoseok wants Yoongi's help with his new series, one involving unsolved murders and mysteries.

ao3 link

“It passed!”

Hoseok rushes over to Yoongi’s desk, nearly tripping in excitement. He’s waving his phone in the air like a mad man, their coworkers cheering plethoras of “Congrats, dude!” and “Knew it would work!”.

Yoongi looks over his shoulder, pausing the article he is in the middle of to make sure his boyfriend doesn’t end up killing himself on the short distance to his desk. He swivels his chair and turns towards Hoseok, peering out from his glasses.

“The documentary series?”  

Hoseok nods, head bouncing like an over enthusiastic bobble head.

“Approved and ready to go,” Hoseok says, “Namjoon just wants to know who’s going to join me.”

Yoongi smiles, happy to see Hoseok so excited. He knows how hard he’s pitched this idea; through every meeting, post-it note, and pile of manuscripts. Yoongi was the one who had to stay up for every marathon of Ghost Adventure Hoseok threw his way. It was his way of “amping him up”, as Hoseok liked to say. Leave it to the guy who is afraid of everything from heights to insects to pitch a documentary on paranormal adventures. Despite it, Yoongi does find it endearing.

“I’m super proud of you,” Yoongi grabs Hoseok’s hand and interlocks their fingers for a brief moment, “Why not ask Taehyung? He’s always down for things like that. Last week he submitted that article on ‘Top 10 Places to Host a Seance’”.

Hoseok shudders, shaking his head, “Trust me, I remember that. He wanted me to go to every cemetery with him in town.”

“Well, I mean--you have to get used to it now,” Yoongi says, spinning back in his chair to finish writing his article. He has a deadline approaching.

“Yoongi,” Hoseok pouts, moving to stand behind Yoongi’s monitor, “I don’t want Taehyung as a partner. I want you.”

Yoongi hears Taehyung yell, “Hey!” from a few desks down. Hoseok blurts out an apology and then turns back to his boyfriend, persistence evident on his face.

“Not happening.”

Hoseok draws out his name again, trying everything to convince Yoongi.

“It will be fun! When do we ever get to travel?”

“Hoseok, if you wanted to travel just tell me. We don’t have to go to murderer’s homes in order to enjoy ourselves.”

“Actually,” Hoseok says, pointing his index finger at Yoongi, “It’s not just murder’s homes. We’d go to, like, abandoned theme parks and stuff, too.”

Yoongi continues to type his article, the blinding white of the screen getting to him as he wipes his eyes from under his glasses, “Doesn’t help your case, Hobi.”

“Please,” Hoseok says, nearly resorting to begging on his knees, “I’d feel a lot safer if I knew I was with you.”

“There’s nothing for me to protect you from because ghosts aren’t real.”

Yoongi skims over his article. He’s nearly finished, only a few more sentences.

“If they’re not real why did you want me to turn off that episode of Ghost Adventures so bad last night? I can prove it to you that they’re real.” Hoseok looks like he’s ready to begin a proclamation on how and why the supernatural posses us.

“You know why I wanted to turn it off last night, Hoseok. Not really work appropriate,” Yoongi whispers so only Hoseok can hear, a slight smirk on his lips. Hoseok’s face turns pink, even up to the curve of his ears.

“Well, nevermind that one,” He brushes off, hoping Yoongi doesn’t expand on it in front of their coworkers. Yoongi knows better. He just likes to mess with Hoseok.

Yoongi skims over his article again, proofreading it and making sure it's up to tact before emailing it off to Namjoon for further editing.

“Just think about it,” Hoseok says, planting a kiss on Yoongi’s cheek before making his way over to his desk, “It’d mean a lot to me--to do this project with you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yoongi nods, “I’ll see you at home, yeah?”

Hoseok nods, still ecstatic over the fact his project is coming true.

After Hoseok has returned back to his own area, Yoongi checks his emails and begins to make a checklist of ideas for his next article. He pushes around a few ideas, but his mind can only think about the proposal his boyfriend threw at him.

Sure, he doesn’t believe in ghosts, spirits, or any of the paranormal, but he can appreciate the thought, at least. He does love a good horror movie. That’s because that’s all they are; it’s works of fiction, one Yoongi can watch and forget about at the end of the day.

Yoongi knows for a fact how scared Hoseok can get merely watching paranormal acts happen, so he can’t imagine his reaction if he were to see them happen right in front of him. Not even Taehyung could probably handle that and that guy has seen a lot of things.

Yoongi groans. Hurting Hoseok’s feelings or dealing with a few stupid ghosts? His logic could save him from the former.

“Fine,” Yoongi mutters under his breath, grabbing his phone off his desk.

[yoongi | 4:04pm]

meet me at the rossero after work..my treat

[yoongi | 4:05pm]

p.s

proud of u always

He thinks he sees Hoseok glance at his phone--a smile illuminating--but he can’t be too sure.

-

By the time Yoongi gets out of work and walks into The Rossero, Hoseok is already waiting at their preferred table. “Sorry for the wait,” Yoongi apologizes, figuring Hoseok had been waiting a while from the text he’d sent him half an hour before, saying i’m almost there! “That’s okay, I just got here,” he says, smiling at Yoongi like he has just seen an angel.   Yoongi knows he didn’t just get here, and Hoseok knows Yoongi knows—but this is them, waiting patiently for each other until the end. Or until Hoseok’s stomach grumbles. A waiter approaches their table and sets down a plate of steaming seafood scampi. Yoongi smirks at Hoseok and his boyfriend looks a little guilty (Yoongi is the one treating them, after all) but, Yoongi, of course, tells him to go ahead and eat well. How could Hoseok complain? When the waiter comes back a few minutes later with Yoongi’s food, Hoseok is so smiley, going on about his project and how badly he’d wanted it.Our company is financing my series, isn’t that amazing? They’re giving me so much control over the production. I’ll be able to do so many things.And it is amazing, Yoongi knows how hard Hoseok worked on his proposal, how arduously he works every day to get closer to his goals. So, obviously, this ends up with Yoongi ordering a bottle of champagne for a well-deserved celebration.

Scanning the menu, he takes a white champagne--one sweet, just like Hoseok. He thinks they can afford to splurge just this once; it is a celebration, after all.

Hoseok sighs contentedly, “This is great. It’d be perfect if you were there with me, Yoon.” “I’ll do it,” Yoongi blurts. He’s considerably less buzzed than Hoseok, sober almost, even when they’ve drank at the same pace. “You--what?” “I’ll be your partner. Like you said, when do we ever get to travel?” “Oh, my God, Yoongi. Are you serious?” Hoseok is smiling from ear to ear, his face flushed and arms coming up to sneak around Yoongi’s neck. “We’re going to have so much fun.”

Yoongi has barely any time to breathe when Hoseok begins to explain the trip he’s planned for the first episode.

#yoonseok #yoonseok fic #sope #sope fic #bts #min yoongi #jung hoseok #suga #jhope #jhope x suga #suga x jhope #bts fic #buzzfeed unsolved au #buzzfeed unsolved #bangtan #yoongi #hoseok

[cal-king]

Accomplices - Part 3 (final)

 Pairing: Calum x Y/N

Warnings: none :) 

so chuffed at the reaction of this series!! enjoy bbys x

Part 1 Part 2 Masterlist 

Finally parked outside of the restaurant we clamber out. Calum opens the door for me as we walk through and are greeted by the hostess.

“Would you like to sit inside or outside today?”

“Outside?” Calum says to us, looking for approval and we nod in agreement. We’re lead outside to a table with a gorgeous view of a rocky beach, blue waves crashing against the boulders. The restaurant isn’t busy, most likely because it’s almost 4 in the afternoon.

Calum flops down into the chair beside me, Sam in the one opposite me. She glances over at Calum, then back at me and winks.

I ignore her and bury my face behind the menu to hide my smile.

The conversation flows between the four of us easily, chatting as if we had been friends for years. Making jokes, sassy comebacks, telling stories of where we’d been and so on. As I munch on my pasta Calum brings up our future plans.

“Where are you guys heading to next?” He asks.

“Well we were thinking of going to San Diego and Yosemite. Sam wants to visit Carmel on the way.”

“The Zoo in San Diego is really good,” Luke adds.

Then Cal asks where we were planning on staying tonight. Sam and I simply look at each other.

“We didn’t really think that far ahead, honestly. We’ll probably end up driving to Carmel and finding somewhere to stay there.” Sam finishes.

“Or you could stay at my place...” Calum offers. I look at him wildly before glancing back at Sam.

We have an entire conversation just by looking at each other. Technically we can’t really be worried about stranger danger, all the information we could ever need to know is on Wikipedia anyway.

“Only if we wouldn’t be a bother.” I finally say.

“Not in the slightest.” Calum grins as me.

“Okay. That’d be great, thanks!” I smile back. We’re lost in our own little world for a few moments, staring at each other before we are brought back to reality with the waiter arriving with the bill.

I slap my card down before Calum and Luke have the chance to get their wallets out of their back pockets.

“No!” Calum protests to me, “the lady cant pay on the first date.” As soon as he says it he immediately stiffens.

“So this is a date now?” I ask quietly to him, humour lacing my voice.

He can’t form words for a moment, eyes wide “What I meant was-“

“Cal, don’t worry. I know what you meant.” I look at him and his cheeks are pink. “How about this, I’ll pay for dinner and you pay for the ice cream. Deal?”

“Deal.”

We get our ice creams and wander down to the water’s edge. Sam and Luke splitting off from us. I hop from rock to rock liking my ice cream but the boulders are slick with seaweed and I abandon my activity. Probably for the best. I’d rather not fall on my arse in front of Calum.

We slow to a stop and face each other, smiling softly. The rock I’m standing on makes me almost the same height as him.

Calum reaches up and brushes my hair out of my face. It’s a sweet gesture, one that gets my heart racing.

Then he shoves his ice cream in my face, covering my mouth and cheek with chocolate. I squeal and slap it out of his hands. He’s too busy laughing to care about the cone as it splatters to the ground. He laughs loudly, carelessly clapping his hands together, throwing his head back. I’d stop and admire him for a moment if I didn’t have a face full of ice cream.

“You’re insufferable!” I yell, frantically wiping the sugary mess off my face. ���And you wasted a perfectly good ice cream.”

“The look on your face...” he says between laughs, “Totally worth it. “

I ignore him, wiping at my face with the napkin. “Did I get it all?”

“No, you missed a bit...let me” He takes the napkin from my hands, stepping closer and holding my jaw. He licks the napkin, wetting it slightly and gently rubs at my cheek. His eyebrows draw together in concentration. Theres still a faint smile on his face from the hilarity of the situation.

Once finished he gives a satisfied hum and lowers the napkin.

It’s only then he realises how close we are standing, how he is still holding my jaw, how our breath mingles in the small gap between us.

He freezes. Staring at me, dark eyes shifting down to my lips, wetting his own with his tongue. Gradually we move closer and closer together.

I want to kiss him. Badly.

I can almost imagine how sweet his lips are.

But... revenge is so much sweeter.

I swiftly move my ice cream from my side, smashing it into his face. His jolts back in surprise.

“Y/N!” He whines. “You got it up my nose!”

“What can I say... the look in your face,” I echo his words from earlier, “Totally worth it.” My eyes water from laughing so hard.

“Was it really though? I was just about to kiss you.” He grumbles. I’m taken aback by the bluntness of his statement but he’s to busy wiping his face to notice. I quickly regain my composure.

“Well, another opportunity may present itself.”

“Yeah?” He’s grinning again.

“Yeah.”

“Then i can’t wait.”

Me too, I think, Me too.

It’s getting dark by the time we return to Calum’s house and crash onto the large sofas occupying his TV room. Luke’s staying the night as well but I feel it has more to do with Sam than anything else.

They’re stretched out on one sofa leaving me and Calum to take the other.

Calum sticks on a movie and sits down next to me, leaving enough space for me to be comfy but not enough that its like I’m contagious.

The ‘almost-kiss’ is hanging above both of us, the air thick with tension. Beside us, Luke and Sam seem very comfortable, legs tangled together as she leans atop his shoulder. They were acting the same on the journey home. It’s as if they skipped the awkward ‘i like you, you like me’ phase and went straight to Couple Mode.

I’m almost envious of them.

The action movie plays on screen and i mindlessly watch. Calum, however, can’t stop moving. Fiddling with his rings, rubbing his palms along his thighs, glancing at me. He’s making me on edge, so i nudge him with my elbow, shooting him a ‘are you okay’ look. He nods firmly and turns back to the screen. The rest of the movie passes uneventfully.

My eyes feel very heavy as the credits roll and I have to fight to suppress yawning. I am not an attractive yawner.

The screen is switched off and I allow my eyes shut, pulling my legs up onto the sofa. Just as I am about to doze off a soft blanket is draped over me and a gentle hand brushes the short hairs that have escaped from my ponytail out of my face. I know it’s Calum. Sam and Luke passed out an hour ago.

I allow a small smile slip onto my face as the sound of his footsteps drift away.

It’s pitch black when I awake, neck stiff and mouth dry. Sam and Luke are still asleep, spooning now, with a blanket similar to my own ontop of them. I have no idea where Calum is, probably in his own bed.

My joints crack slightly as I slink through the room towards the kitchen. The clock on the wall reads 4:37. Searching each cupboard I find a glass and fill it with water, sipping slowly.

Then I hear it.

Gentle piano coming from down the hallway. The door is closed to muffle the sound but it’s there. Quite and insistent. The strip of light that seeps through the crack at the bottom draws me in and I tip toe towards it. Leaning against the door way I listen. The music is lilting and soft, like a lullaby but then there’s a wrong note followed by a frustrated sigh.

Slowly opening the door I spot Calum’s broad shoulders hunched over the piano, pen and notebook in hand. He’s scribbling furiously but my presence goes unnoticed. I’m almost glad. I’ve never seen him like this, so lost in his own mind, his own creativity.

The door squeaks as I push it open further and Calum whips round to face me.

“Y/N...” my name rolls off his tongue smoothly, like a whisper. The notebook in his hands is snapped shut and placed on top of the piano.

“Hi,” I enter into the room slowly, shutting the door. “What are you up to?”

“Just writing I guess,” he turns back to the piano, fingers gliding over the black and white keys.

“Your creative juices are flowing at...” I check my phone, “almost 5 in the morning?”

He lets out a small chuckle. “Yeah. something like that.” I can barely hear him so I sit next to him on the piano stool.

“Can you play that song you were playing before i came in?” I ask softly, afraid he might clam up and say no. He doesn’t.

“For you? Of course.” My heart swells.

He begins slowly, fingers moving over the keys with caution, like he’s scared of messing up.

I hum softly in content and close my eyes, relaxing as the gentle tune washes over me.

He continues with ease the tune ends with some slow soft chords.

I smile then slowly open my eyes. Calum is already looking at me and i turn to meet his gaze. I could get lost in his eyes, deep and yearning and right now very vulnerable.

“I loved it” I whisper.

“Good.” He says, “you were the one who inspired me.”

I’m speechless. “I... what?”

He’s fiddling with his rings again. “I’m going to be completely honest with you Y/N. You’re like a breath of fresh air for me. Whenever I’m with you I feel so... calm. It’s very rare for me to feel so at ease with someone I’ve just met and I just...” He trails off, finally looking up at me. “I haven’t even known you for a day and I’m already falling for you.”

I’m shocked, not at his feelings because frankly, I think I feel the same but by the fact that he actually said it to me. That he phrased it so beautifully.

“I really want to kiss you right now.” He whispers.

“What’s stopping you?” I reach up and touch his cheek. He’s grinning now.

“Nothing, I suppose.” He says before swiftly closing the gap between our lips. His hand moves to my neck, tugging me closer. Lips moving over each other softly. The tenderness of the moment is surreal.

When we pull apart we’re both breathless and grinning. I rest my forehead against his.

“Come with us,” I sigh, “Tomorrow. Where ever we go just... come with us. I don’t think I can say goodbye to you just yet.”

He pulls away and looks at me, calculating. Immediately, I fear I’ve overstepped but then he’s pulling me in for another quick peck.

“Okay.” He says.

“You’ll come? Really?”

“Yeah. I mean we’re accomplices aren’t we?”

I laugh at that, hiding my face in his shoulders. “I guess we are.” I smile.

Calum pulls me to my feet and links our fingers together. “We better get some rest. We’ve got an adventure ahead of us tomorrow.”

He’s right. There is an adventure waiting on us. And I can’t wait to discover it.

#accomplices #part 3 #calum hood #calum imagines #5sos imagines #calum blurbs #calum oneshot #calum 5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos

[lavanderstarcatcher]

At the Beginning || SeungChuChu Childhood AU || Part VI

A guide how to be lazy, the author? Me. Sorry, this part refelcts a few of my opinions on books and movies (and I hopefully don’t offend anyone (to be sure, check warnings).

Warnings: there is cursing, there is mention of 16-year-olds watching porn (only mention, there is no context, at all, surrounding porn), there are very vague spoilers for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,  Mark of Athena and House of Hades but won’t spoil the book for ya if you want to read it.

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

- Anastasia - At the beginning

 They had an important test upcoming Monday. Seung-gil had studied, and biology was one of his best subjects. Phichit, however, hadn’t studied yet and his biology grade was cry-worthy. So, Seung-gil was supposed to tutor Phichit and save his sorry ass for flopping the upcoming test. However, Phichit had different priorities.

 The library was pretty much empty. The few people who were there were studying, the rest had opted to go home. After all, it was well past four on a Friday. Everyone had something better to do — Seung-gil included. His newly released copy of ‘Fearless’, which was the second book in the series, was lying on his nightstand, ready to be read. That thing was actually the reason Seung-gil had bothered to study in advance, now he had the entire weekend to read the book. But he couldn’t let Phichit fluke his test, it wouldn’t sit right with him. Prioritising his best friend over a book used to feel wrong — he wouldn’t have done it years ago, but nowadays. No, he couldn’t, taking into account how much Phichit meant to him.

 “I don’t like him,” Phichit said as he peered over his study book.

 Not bothering to hide his gaze like Phichit, Seung-gil watched the only other duo in the library. They were sitting pretty close to each other. A bit too close his mind supplied, but Seung-gil ignored it. He wasn’t Phichit — he could let go.

 “Leo is a good guy,” Seung-gil said, pushing Phichit’s head down so he was eyeing his notes instead of the other students. “And he’s Guang Hong’s tutor. If you were better in Spanish, you could have done it. But your Spanish is cry-worthy.”

 Phichit let out a scandalised gasp. “You think my Spanish is bad — have you ever heard your own?”

 “I have, and it’s terrible, but I no longer have Spanish classes. However, we have a biology test coming up, and someone hasn’t studied yet.”

 Thankfully, Phichit looked guilty.

 “Fine — still, if he dares to break Guang Hong’s heart—”

 Seung-gil swatted the back of Phichit’s head. “He’s fourteen, leave him be.”

 “Really? You aren’t rooting for him to get a boyfriend?”

 “No, not really,” Seung-gil lied.

 It was a bit of a lie. Seung-gil wasn’t rooting for Guang Hong to get a boyfriend per se, but he had approved of Leo. The extensive Facebook stalking had helped, a lot. Not that Phichit knew that, and Seung-gil had strategically erased all evidence (aside from his notes on Leo — also known as Leo de la Iglesia — who he had stored in a folder called ‘porn’. There was no porn in that folder, but nobody would look at a sixteen-year-old weirdly if they had a porn folder. He knew Phichit had one). So, yeah, he cared about his friend’s happiness, but he wasn’t going to meddle with it like Phichit was planning on doing.

 “So, you’re telling me that you don’t know anything about Leo, at all? I mean,” Phichit grinned innocently. “I know that he is a second-year student — but he looks a bit old. Our age at least. So do you think he’s held back a few years?”

Seung-gil had little redeeming qualities and a tonne of issues — and one of those issues was that he was a know it all. He was willing to fight anyone to get thing his way, especially if his way is correct. Another issue is that his brain-to-mouth filter, at least around Phichit, was shit.

 “He’s fifteen — second year. Not held back a single year. He is an average student, he mainly has female friends and is openly bisexual, and he isn’t too old for Guang Hong for gods’ sake — please focus on your homework. We have a test next Monday, and I want to finish my book.”

 And he had just run his mouth, and Phichit was going to have a field day. Because he basically admitted that he had Facebook stalked Leo — which showed he cared.

 “Knew you cared,” Phichit said gleefully. “Actually knew it beforehand, but I like to rile you up. You know, I was curious what kind of porn you watched — turns out you hide all your dirty secrets in your porn folder aside from actual porn.”

 Shit. “How did you know my password?” Seung-gil asked, feeling fear coursing through his veins. It was Phichit’s birthday — which friend has their best friend’s birthday as their password? None. But the count of people who had their crush’ birthday or name as their password — oh dear. He was screwed.

 Phichit’s grin was a bit forced. “I didn’t, you forgot to sign off.”

 Thank gods.

 “Yes, fine, I care. Now, study.”

 It didn’t work — but hey, Phichit was willing to do anything to avoid having to study, so Seung-gil shouldn’t have been surprised.

 “I’m studying,” Phichit said, staring at him with a big grin on his face. “I’m studying you, or more like how you are still single. The older girls — the one who actually are looking for a stable relationship — like sensitive guys. The ones that won’t make fun of girls their feelings, or who don’t judge them for dying over the Hunger Games movies and the hotshot actors.”

 Liam Hemsworth was pretty handsome, his mind kindly supplied. On the other hand, Thor.

 “I don’t care that much about the movies — the books are better,” Seung-gil said, ignoring the urge to mention that yes, there were some hotshot actors. He hated puberty, and Phichit’s voice narrating his thoughts. Gay thoughts. He really should consider coming out because this was getting annoying. On the other hand, he didn’t want to lose Phichit. The closet was a pretty safe place.

 Phichit rolled his eyes dramatically. “Not all book-based movies are bad. The Harry Potter movies are pretty great.”

 “The Harry Potter movies are okay — but you were there, you’ve seen the animosity that was the Percy Jackson movie — I can’t believe they’re making another one.”

 Softness and comfort smoothed out Phichit’s teasing expression. “I know — but you’re biased. I only have seen you throw a book twice — which both were a Percy Jackson and Harry Potter book might I remind you — and I lost count of how many books you’ve read.”

 “Well,” Seung-gil crossed his arms and glaring at Phichit. “Some books are meant to be thrown with. The Half-Blood Prince still has scarred me for life and—”

 Phichit nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that one was bad, but it was nothing compared The Mark of Athena. Your bloodcurdling scream when you threw the books across the room is still etched in mind. I thought the main character died, at best.”

 “They might as well have died,” Seung-gil said, feeling himself tear up a little. He hated that book — it taunted him, and he seriously wondered how he had resisted the urge to set it on fire. “I hated that ending.”

 “Hey, at least be happy that nothing happened to him. I know you’re attached to him.”

 Wiping away the dampness before they could start to form tears, Seung-gil smiled thinly. “Don’t jinx it — there are still two books to go.”

 A loud cough burst their happy little bubble, causing Phichit to yelp, nearly toppling off his chair, and Seung-gil instinctively checks the clock. It was well past five — his parents would kill him if he missed dinner.

 “Guang Hong,” Phichit wheezed, voice high-pitched and filled with guilt. “You gave me a near heart attack.”

 A fourteen-year-old shouldn’t look this done with his life. But Guang Hong did look like that, tired, a little frustrated and annoyed — if frustration and annoyance were even two different things.

 “Phichit,” Guang Hong mimicked. “I’m the mean one? You are distracting Seung-gil, who is willingly tutoring you. You know how he gets when you talk about his books."

 Phichit shrugged innocently under Guang Hong’s accusing gaze. It shouldn’t make sense — as Guang Hong clearly wasn’t blaming him — but Seung-gil felt himself grow flustered, a healthy dose of shame washed over him. He was so predictable, one word about his precious books and he was gone.

 “Yeah, well, you were more distracting,” Phichit argued. “So, you and Leo?”

 “Oh seriously,” Guang Hong sounded annoyed, looked annoyed, and he was also flustered from head to toe. Poor guy. “Leave me and my love life alone till you get your head out of your behind and fix your own.”

 Seung-gil hated the meaningful look he got from Guang Hong — because he somehow knew. Like, Seung-gil had never mentioned he is romantically interested in Phichit. On the other hand, after knowing each other for almost ten years, being joined at the hip and Seung-gil being very, very gay, this conclusion wasn’t too farfetched. (It wasn’t hard to figure out, considering the fact he never really liked women, at all. He just hadn’t come out of the closet yet).

 “My love life is perfectly fine,” Phichit grumbled. “I have a hot date with biology and maybe this guy,” he gestured to Seung-gil. “If he’s still willing to tutor me.”

 Rubbing his eyes, Seung-gil let out a deep sigh. “More like torture you, but fine. Just don’t whine when I call you out of bed at 2:00 in the middle of the night after finishing a book.”

 Phichit beamed. “Deal.”

 ~*~

 “We have a test tomorrow,” Phichit used as his greeting.

 He loved Seung-gil, he really did, but it was well past midnight, he had been sleeping just fine, and tomorrow they had a test early. This wasn’t the time for a phone call.

 “Technically today,” Seung-gil answered, voice filled with emotions that had nothing to do with the upcoming test. He sounded like he just—

 “Are you okay?” Phichit asked, flicking a light and sitting upright in bed. “It sounds like you have been crying.”

 Seung-gil sniffed, followed by a muted noise that most likely was him blowing his nose. “Regretfully started the book today,” Seung-gil explained.

 Oh. Okay yes, that might explain a lot.

 “Did they die?” Phichit asked.

 “No,” it was odd to hear Seung-gil talk with a tight, emotion-filled voice. “It’s something else — but that doesn’t matter. I have to tell you something.”

 Phichit hummed as a go-ahead. It wouldn’t be the first time Seung-gil had stopped mid-book and ranted to Phichit about whatever was bothering.

 “I’m gay.”

 Phichit seriously wondered where he learnt that many curse words, but that didn’t matter because right now he was mentally cursing up a storm. Because he didn’t see that coming — which made him a horrible friend. An awful friend. Because Seung-gil was his best friend and he never had realised it, though it all made sense.

 “I’m sorry,” Seung-gil said, voice shattered into many delicate pieces. “This must be awkward for you, but I decided that you deserved to know, you’re my best friend and—”

 “I should be sorry,” Phichit blurted out, effectively cutting Seung-gil off. “You’re my best friend, I should have noticed, but I didn’t. And the sad part is that everything makes sense — the fact you never liked girls to begin with,” taking a deep breath, he forced a few tears back. “I shouldn’t even be allowed to call myself your best friend.”

 Seung-gil sniffed, which was followed by a chuckle. That Phichit was surprised was an understatement — because he heard Seung-gil laugh and cry within ten minutes and it was like an early Christmas miracle though they didn’t really celebrate Christmas.

 “You don’t mind?” Seung-gil asked. “Me, you know, liking men?”

 Phichit snorted. It was such a stupid question. Ten years of friendship weren’t going to be ruined by the fact that Seung-gil came out as gay. Heck, Phichit was actually happy Seung-gil confessed. Because suddenly the puzzle that was Seung-gil made a lot more sense. The interest in men, the support he offered Guang Hong after coming out, his crush on several fictional characters, always male characters. Phichit honestly wondered how he could have been so blind.

 “Mind? Seriously, I’m actually happy that you trust me enough to tell me — what prompted you, to know, confess?”

 “I’m glad,” a brief pause. “It’s well past two — do you really want me to keep you awake for much longer? It will be a long explanation.”

 Sleep sounded tempting, though, on the other hand, it was Seung-gil they were talking about. Seung-gil had sacrificed so many things for Phichit’s sake, so he supposed that he could return that. “Sure, tell me.”

#seungchuchu #Seung-gil Lee #phichit chulanont #guang hong ji #leoji #Yuri on ice #yoi #fanfiction #fanfic #childhood #childhood friends au #atthebeginning

[grim-on-the-darkside]

Star Wars Quotes regarding the Expanded Universe and it’s place in things under Lucas. -------------------------------------

I’ve shared quotes on this subject in the past, I don’t believe I have shared these ones, some I have only found recently, and other’s I had but I’m not the most organized person, so I found them again. I apologize if some of these are repeats, I tried to avoid that as much as possible. All of these quotes are verified, but you should never take anyone’s word for that on the internet. Feel free to verify them yourselves.

Anyone who would like to use these quotes and include in some of their works, by all means. It isn’t always easy to get to the truth of things, there is a great deal of misinformation on the Internet. It is only my wish to see George Lucas’ legacy remembered for what it was in truth. He gave us such a wonderful gift, that has touched the lives of so many, in so many ways. Wherever our interests may lie, I feel we own him something in return. - This is a decisive subject, and its been so for many years. This is in no way intended to speak to the artistic value found in the EU, that is a totally subjective consideration. There are no right or wrong opinions. Just opinions and everyone is entitled to their own.

I just want his Star Wars to be remembered as it truly was and his words and vision as they truly were. In the end, we all share our love for his creation with each other.

Star Wars is Forever.

"The importance of The Clone Wars that cannot be understated is that it was the last huge expansion of the Star Wars universe that came directly from George Lucas." ~ Pablo Hidalgo

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"I always think of the research you speak of as what I knew about the EU before I took this job. As I stated above, working directly with George changes the way you see the EU and everything in it."

~ Dave Filoni 2008

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DAVE FILONI: The First Time George Lucas Talked About Ahsoka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAjnLseHQwA

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"I get all my information on the Clone Wars from him. [George Lucas]"

"I can pitch him ideas and say 'lets do certain things', but at the end of the say he will say 'yes' or he will say 'no', and than that is the way it's gonna go." ~ Dave Filoni, 2019

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"From Issue 77 Of Star Wars Insider, Using Dark Empire & The Thrawn Trilogy As Examples. "So so episodes beyond Return of the Jedi exist? Nothing beyond possinle story points and ideas, certainly not fleshed out story treatments or scripts. Fans often wonder if Dark Empire or the Thrawn Trilogy were based off those notes or are meant to be Episodes VII, VIII, IX. - That's not the case. Those works are the creation of their respective authors with the guidance of editors at Lucas Licensing. They are not, nor ever were, meant to be George Lucas' definitive vision of what happens next" ~ Pablo Hidalgo, 2004 https://ibb.co/K9PMgH3

[This is a screenshot of the Original Text that I found]

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“Everything that I’ve worked on at Lucasfilm has been considered canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

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“Working on ‘Clone Wars,’ it was always canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

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One of the main characters in the feature film, a 90 minute introduction to the series that hits theaters August 15, is Anakin's teenage Padawan, Ahsoka. Lucas said:

   "[With Ahsoka] I wanted to develop a character who would help Anakin settle down. He's a wild child after [Attack of the Clones]. He and Obi Wan don't get along. So we wanted to look at how Anakin and Ahsoka become friends, partners, a team. When you become a parent or you become a teacher you have to become more responsible. I wanted to force Anakin into that role of responsibility, into that juxtaposition. I have a couple of daughters so I have experience with that situation. I said instead of a guy let's make her a girl. Teenage girls are just as hard to deal with as teenage boys are."

~ George Lucas 2008

https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-spills-all-about-clone-wars-at-skywalker-r-5033398

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"Understand, that the Holocron's primary purpose is to keep track of Star Wars continuity for Lucas Licensing and to some degree Lucas Online. To my knowledge, it is only rarely used for production purposes."

~ Leland Chee 2005/6

[Lucas was in Production]

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"Star Wars continuity, even EU continuity, does not rest on my shoulders. Our licensees submit product directly to either our editors or our product development managers. The Holocron serves as a tool for them to check any issues regarding continuity, and after that, if the editors or developers have any questions, they pass it along to me to check for continuity. At the same time, I am constantly on the lookout to make sure that any new continuity being created gets entered in the Holocron. With regard to the the films and The Clone Wars, I am not involved in continuity approvals though I have often been asked to provide reference material."

~ Leland Chee

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"The question selected from The Furry Conflict poll was: How much does the Expanded Universe influence the movies?

As I asked him, Lucas leaned back a moment and said to me “Very little.” When he first had agreed to let people write Expanded Universe books, he had said “I’m not gonna read ‘em” and it was a “different universe” and that he wanted to keep away from the time period of his saga. He jokingly complained, however, that now when he writes a script he has to look through an encyclopedia to make sure that a name he comes up with doesn’t come too close to something in the EU.

He later commented that the future of Star Wars may lie in other venues outside of feature film."

- "Marc Xavier", November 2003, "The Furry Conflict and the Great ‘Beard‘ of the Galaxy"  (report based on a Q&A session with George Lucas which occurred at USC on 11-19-03)

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"Q: in that vein, is it possible we'll see more Star Wars TV product?

A: Because I"m retiring from this part of my creative life, I'm open to more TV Product. but not more feature films, the story is complete. [and any other story wouldn't be my philosophy and views,] the books are not the same philosophy as the movies."

George Lucas 2003

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Q: Can you quote any good story other than the movies?

A: No, I don't think so. (laughs)." ~ George Lucas

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"George's view of the universe is his view," Chee says with a slightly grudging tone. "He's not beholden to what's gone before."

~ Leland Chee 2008

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"And then there's the very top level of canon, the inviolable, infallible level of Truth, marked GWL—George Walton Lucas. It's the divine word of the Creator who stands outside his universe and is not subject to the rules that govern it."

~ Leland Chee 2008

Meet Leland Chee, the Star Wars Franschise Continuity cop.

[Actually, it was more like that Chee was standing outside of his.]

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"Understand, that the Holocron's primary purpose is to keep track of Star Wars continuity for Lucas Licensing, and to some degree Lucas Online. To my knowledge, it is only rarely used for production purposes."

~ Leland Chee [I'm not sure about the exact date on this, but I think its from around 2004 or 2005]

[Lucas worked in production]]

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"I've been against a multiverse even before Disney"

~ Leland Chee 2018

[No, really? =p ]

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"Is the "C" class part of the overall continuity alongside "G" class?"

As far as LucasBooks and Lucas Licensing are concerned, of course it is. LucasBooks and Lucas Licensing hold sway over the content and storylines of the Expanded Universe, and thus have every right to declare a canon of those materials. Whether this internal declaration is subscribed to by parent company LFL or Lucas himself is another matter, one which, though interesting, is outside the scope of this Holocron-oriented thread.

Leeland Chee 2004

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"So with the Story Group overseeing all of the content in film and television and elsewhere, we don’t have to retroactively make those changes. We can anticipate those changes. We can seed things in one medium [and see them grow] in another. So we might be seeding things in books or TV that you might not realize is substantial until years down the road. And if people knew what the road map looked like, they would just be floored.”

Leland Chee, 2017 - SYFY WIRE

[Chee is much happier working for Disney. He finally got what he wanted. A one Universe Star Wars.- Which would be great besides for that whole Disney part! =p]

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“In these early drafts, the planet was called Had Abbadon. The name Coruscant came from author Timothy Zahn for his 1991 novel, Heir to the Empire. It's actually a real word that means ”glittering” or ”giving forth flashes of light.” When it came time to name the city-planet for Episode I, after considering several other names, Lucas decided to go with the already established Coruscant."

- Steve Sansweet, LFL/Fan Relations, June 2003

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“As far as I know he hasn’t read any of my novels. From what I’ve heard Lucas is a visual man, he likes the comic books for the visual aspect. Frankly I don’t think that he has time to read so I am not offended.”

-Timothy Zahn, Author for the EU, The book report interview November, 1997

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That means Zahn’s books won’t be directly adapted, but the author says that was always the case: “The books were always just the books.”

“It could be an entirely new storyline, but if he picks and chooses bits and pieces from the expanded universe, we’d all be thrilled to death.”

~ Timothy Zahn

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"Q: Did George Lucas intend for Boba Fett to die in the sarlacc, despite what others may say or print?

A: Yes, in George's view -- as far as the films go -- the baddest bounty hunter in the Galaxy met his match in the Great Pit of Carkoon where --unfortunately for Mr. Fett -- the ghastly sarlacc made its home.

However, Lucas also approved Fett's comeback in the expanded universe. And of course, by going back in time with the prequels, the Star Wars creator has brought Boba Fett back to life himself, albeit at a much younger age."

- Steve Sansweet, LFL/Fan Relations, December 2002

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As far as I know, George Lucas himself is not involved. He has a liaison group that deals with the book people, the game people, etc. They do the day-to-day work. Occasionally, he will be asked a question and will give an answer."

"I did meet Lucas once for a few minutes."

~ Timothy Zahn

[They spoke about 1930′s cinema and Samurai movies. They never even talked about Star Wars! How nuts is that!]

Timothy Zahn’s Trilogy was outstanding. Gotta give him his due.

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In 2014, Disney declared the Expanded Universe was no longer canon. It became ‘Legends’. What do you think of this, seeing all of your work suddenly become non-canon?

"Those of us writing the EU were always told, all along, from the very beginning (have I stressed that strongly enough?), “Only the Movies are Canon.” Sure, it was disappointing."

~ Kathy Tyers, EU author [Truce at Bakura] Interview: April 2018

https://starwarsinterviews.com/various/authors/kathy-tyers-author/

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EU Disclaimers [Stating these were not George Lucas' Sequels and not what he would use.] - [I did not take all of these personally, but they do match those that I did.]

https://ibb.co/GfwK0CB https://ibb.co/Tr3dj06 https://ibb.co/19B66B1 https://ibb.co/p1mCFcm https://ibb.co/rtSVh7d https://ibb.co/Tcm7dFy https://ibb.co/ygQXjCN https://ibb.co/GRvmV7V - Jonathan W. Rinzler is/was an author and editor for Lucas Licensing's book division. In 2005, he was hired to write three Star Wars guide books,respectively Star Wars: Visionaries (although he only wrote the introduction of this one), The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. He later went to write The Art of Revenge of the Sith that same year. In 2007, he wrote and published The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film amongst many other such works for Star Wars.

This is more than a disclaimer, it's a quote, this is a question directly to him as he worked in Lucas Licensing asking him if the Expanded Universe wasn't considered canon ever why did Lucas allow it to exist. Answer - Money. He was also a personal acquaintance of Lucas' for many years. He also is quoted as telling the story as to why Lucas hated Mara Jade so much. -

Rinzler, George Lucas “Couldn’t Stand” The Character Of Mara Jade - http://starwarshub.net/2019/02/01/according-to-author-j-w-rinzler-george-lucas-couldnt-stand-the-character-of-mara-jade/

[Lucas said [paraphrasing], ‘Jedi don’t marry. They take vows.’

[This site also contains a good amount of information on the only legitimate sequel trilogy to Return of the Jedi, the one Lucas came up with himself and completed Treatments for Episodes, 7, 8, and 9 in 2011.]

For a more in-depth look at Lucas’ Sequel trilogy treatment in so far as we know it, these are excellent sites and we know a lot more about his Sequel trilogy and his vision for how the Saga was truly meant to end. There’s some beautiful concept art to be found as well.

George Lucas’ Episode VII - https://medium.com/@Oozer3993/george-lucas-episode-vii-c272563cc3ba

George Lucas' Ideas for His Own Star Wars Sequel Trilogy-https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-ideas-for-his-own-star-wars-sequel-trilogy-1826798496

STAR WARS: The Original Plans for the Sequel Trilogy - YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1dM9qFe4p0

https://ibb.co/jvph85c