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criticalbennifer · 8 months

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A Duo Once More, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Come Up for ‘Air’

By: Jake Coyle

April 4, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — While Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were writing “The Last Duel,” their first screenplay together since their 1997 breakthrough, “Good Will Hunting,” they noticed that something in their winding and usually separate careers had been missing.

“I remember my wife said to me one day: ‘I haven’t heard you laugh like that in 15 years,’” says Damon. “We came out of that experience going: Why aren’t we doing this more often? And getting into your 50s you just go: If we don’t make it a priority, it’s just not going to happen.”

Now, more than 25 years after they set out to make it in Hollywood — so entwined that they once shared a bank account — Affleck and Damon are once again a team. Affleck directs and Damon stars in “Air,” the new film about Nike’s courting of Michael Jordan that opens in theaters Wednesday.

That film, Amazon Studios’ first theatrical release in nearly four years, is only part of their new collaboration. It’s the first release from their new production company, Artists Equity. Affleck is the chief executive, Damon is head of content. Part of its mission is to give prominent crew and cast members a piece of profits.

To Affleck, “Air” — in which the then-upstart Nike pursues a sneaker deal with Jordan while his mother (played by Viola Davis) advocates for his worth — represents what they hope to do with their new company.

“We believe there are a lot of really meaningful artists on the crew who are underappreciated and undervalued and make a huge difference in the quality of the experience in a film,” Affleck said in an interview alongside Damon. “We want to sort of take the approach taken towards Michael Jordan, which is to recognize the artists and say: You’re the ones who deserve to be compensated for this. You’re generating the art, the beauty, the majesty.”

And with “Air,” they may have already generated a hit. The film, which co-stars Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Chris Messina and Julius Tennon, has drawn rave reviews since its premiere at SXSW. Amazon was so pleased with it that the streamer decided to give it a nationwide release in theaters.

All of which accounts for some of the reasons why Affleck — despite the “Sad Ben Affleck” memes and viral videos of him looking morose at the Grammys — is genuinely happy. There have certainly been ups and downs; Affleck has previously been candid about past battles with alcoholism. But Affleck now finds himself, as he says, “famously unhappy” despite feeling the opposite.

Those memes? Affleck blames them on out-of-context moments and the result of always having a dozen cameras pointed at him.

“The photograph in isolation looks like: Look at this unhappy fellow,” Affleck says. “But actually, I’m pretty happy. I have a good life. I’m very lucky. Despite the memes. Maybe my resting face leaves something to be desired.”

“You have resting b---- face,” chimes Damon, laughing.

But after a tumultuous run as Batman and another turbulent run in the tabloids, Affleck is back to making the kinds of movies that won him best picture a decade ago, with “Argo.”

The Los Angeles-based Artists Equity is a kind of bookend to the duo’s fabled beginning. They launched it to help set the course for their next chapter (Damon is 52, Affleck 50) and make spending time together more of a requisite. It also allows Affleck to be regularly with his kids from his previous marriage to Jennifer Garner. Last year, he wed Jennifer Lopez.

One person they’ve convinced in their new endeavor is Viola Davis. Though Jordan’s mother was originally a very small role, the NBA legend stressed her importance to the story when meeting with Affleck. Jordan said Davis was the only actor for the part.

Davis recognized what Affleck and Damon were trying to foster. She has her own progressive production company, Juvee Productions, that she runs with her husband, Tennon. (It was behind last year’s “The Woman King.”) Davis calls working on “Air” one of the best experiences of her career.

“What they’re doing is bringing filmmaking back to the artists, which is where it should be,” says Davis. “There are so many obstacles in your path as an artist and the biggest obstacle in your path is the business itself. It sometimes looms in front of you.”

“What they’re doing is what our fantasy is as actors, especially once we’ve reached a certain level,” adds Davis. “We want autonomy and agency.”

Upcoming films for Artists Equity include “The Instigators,” a heist film starring Damon and Casey Affleck, and “Unstoppable,” with Lopez and Jharrel Jerome. Though Lopez’s range has been on display in recent films like “Hustlers,” Hollywood has often seemed unsure of how to utilize her talent.

“I agree with that observation,” says Affleck. “By having a set of expectations thrust upon her, it was inherently limiting. You saw with ‘Hustlers’ she was really able to show what she can do.”

In “Unstoppable,” Affleck says, she plays a part not unlike Davis’ in “Air,” as the mother of a college wrestling champion born with one leg.

“I think she’s in her prime,” says Affleck. “She’s doing extraordinary work in large measure because she’s taking that step to take responsibility for what she’s doing rather than say, ‘This is what I’m being offered.’”

The notion of personal branding is at the center of “Air.” Nike at the time was a distant third to Converse and Adidas, but its executives hit on a concept that would presage much of what’s since followed in marketing: The shoe wouldn’t just worn by Jordan but epitomize him. Now, Affleck notes, people take for granted that they’re brands.

“I’ve always found that idea confusing and kind of anathema. People are very complicated and contrary and nuanced, and brands are simple,” says Affleck. “So the idea that a person can be a brand is a hard thing for me to reconcile. I’ve never been good at it or had interest in it. Obviously, Michael’s brand — excellence, greatness, majesty — if you’re going to have a brand, that’s one to have.”

But the Damon-Affleck brand — if that is a thing — is doing alright. There have been plenty of hiccups along the way for both stars. But the notion of them as a creative duo and two of Hollywood’s fastest friends has endured. Who hasn’t dreamed of making it in the movies with their best pal? There’s affection for them because they have affection for one another.

“Air” did present one new twist in their persisting partnership, though: For the first time, Affleck was directing Damon. It recently dawned on Affleck that the whole tenor of the project was due partly to Damon’s support of him as the director.

“It was a very gracious and kind gesture that’s characteristic of how Matt’s treated me, and this friendship, his whole life,” says Affleck. “It’s like why you have good friends. When things like this happen, you almost don’t even notice that they’ve made the right choice and been gracious. It’s a testament to why we are still friends. I know it’s not me.”

Damon, not missing a beat, smiles. “I only undermined you behind your back.”

#ben affleck #press/article #2023 #air movie #ap news

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garbagevanfleet · 3 years

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Brightest Blue (series)

PART ONE

Pairing: Josh & female!Reader Warnings: None yet. Summary: Things are changing. New state. New school. New roommate. You just pray things are going to click into place. Notes: Here we are everyone. This fic has been a long time in the making, but I’m pretty dang happy with it so far! I made Josh extra lovable and squishy for you all. I hope you enjoy! This fic is edited by the amazing and gorgeous, @lantern-inthenight. And big thanks as always to @myownparadise96. I literally could not have found the motivation to do this fic without you.

MASTERPOST

taglist: @myownparadise96 @n1-party-anthem @valleyd0ll @bigblack-catattack @guitarfingers @thebohemianpenguin @oblvions @hansonobsessed @satingrass-maidensfair

The scenery in Michigan was vastly different than back home. You were used to and comfortable with the nearly unforgiving heat of the American South West, but the farther away you got from home, the more foreign everything seemed. The scrubland slowly started being replaced by emerald green grass and dense forests of towering pines. Once you hit Illinois, little farmsteads were scattered along every road you took, boasting fields thick with corn and beans.

It was a bit over a full day’s worth of driving. You had originally thought you could just drive right through - after all, you were young and you had plenty of caffeine at the ready. In reality, you wound up digesting the trip over two days.

You were a fortunate enough person that you had a reliable car, which made up for the fact that it wasn’t very pretty to look at. It didn’t exactly sip gas, but that had never even been a concern before this - it wasn’t very often that you left home, let alone make a trip across the country. But you were able to breathe a sigh of relief when you started seeing the exit signs for Ann Arbor.

Your parents had been a bit judgemental about you picking a school so far away - they were even worse homebodies than you, and they knew that you being across the country meant they wouldn’t be seeing you until the school year was over - but there was no way you could turn down an opportunity like this one. You had worked your ass off to qualify for a scholarship, knowing full well that there was no way you could afford higher education otherwise. MU hadn’t been your very first choice but with one of the better programs in the country for your desired field, you just couldn’t turn it down.

You had to pull over into a McDonald’s parking lot to pull up the address you were looking for and program it into your phone’s GPS before continuing further into the city. Your mother had been particularly wary about your living situation. See, she was a woman that adamantly liked to have a plan and then stick to it - she didn’t see any value in just letting things happen. “Go with the flow” wasn’t in her vocabulary, but you’d always romanticised the idea. Which was why, when you pulled up to the apartment that you were going to be living in for the next year, it was the first time you’d ever seen it.

You had found the listing on the Facebook marketplace for the area, looked at a couple of pictures, and signed the lease agreement online - all without knowing what you were really in for. You’d been informed that you’d have a roommate when you’d contacted the landlord, but she hadn’t mentioned a thing about the person other than that. All she really said was “no pets, no smoking, and one month’s rent for the security deposit. You had told yourself that it didn’t really matter what the situation was as long as the other person wasn’t outwardly malicious and the place wasn’t infested with pests or anything, even though you knew it mattered a little.

An audible sigh of relief left your lips when you pulled into the apartment parking lot and found that your new home looked well kept. The building had old, slide-up windows, but the brick siding was clean, and the shrubs that lined the property were trimmed and neat. You and your back seat stuffed to max capacity with house plants had made it - and with only a bit of sleep deprivation and caffeine jitters for damages.

After you got out of the car, you grabbed your very favorite potted cactus and found your way into the building, meandering down the dim hall until you came upon the door marked 6. You hadn’t been given a key yet, so you knocked with your free hand and waited until you heard someone shuffling around inside.

You would be lying if you said you weren’t nervous - obviously, you were - but more than anything you were excited. Anxious, maybe? That seemed like the right word.

The door opened to reveal a boy, around your age, hair a mess of curls on the top and shorn tighter to the sides of his head. You were immediately taken aback by the depth in his eyes, chocolatey and warm.

“What’s up?” he asked casually, leaning against the door frame, a pair of old-school headphones dangling from his hand.

You frowned at him slightly, suddenly terrified you’d gotten the wrong apartment number. You weren’t sure how you’d live with that embarrassment, especially if you had to live next door to him - you’d just be that stupid girl that didn’t even know where she lived. “Oh, I think I’m your new roommate? This is number six, right?” You peered around the other side of the open door, just to confirm.

A beaming grin spread over his soft face, showing you his blindingly white teeth and the deepest pair of dimples you’d ever seen. “Oh, cool, yeah. Come on in.”

He stepped aside, giving a dramatically flourished bow as a gesture for you to enter. You obliged, and even though this was your new house too, you paused and waited as he shut the door behind you.

“Sorry, I was expecting you yesterday, so.” He trailed off with a sheepish smile and then extended his free hand to you. “Anyway, I’m Josh.”

You shifted your cactus to one arm so you could shake his hand. “Y/N. Yeah, sorry, it took me longer than I expected to get here. Which is why my stuff apparently showed up before I did.”

You eyed around the apartment, spotting boxes of your things in piles. The original plan your parents had come up with was to have you rent a U-Haul, but since you’d never driven anything bigger than your Camry, you had quickly shot that idea down. After some expert negotiating, they had agreed to hire a moving company. You hadn’t had the balls to ask what a service like that had set them back - decided instead that it was better if you didn’t know.

“Oh yeah,” he replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “It all showed up yesterday at like noon. One of the boxes was open a little, and I saw records so I looked through them to make sure you weren’t some kind of freak.”

It was more of a statement than a warning, and the smile he gave you showed not even a shred of an apology so you just smiled back. “Find anything you like?”

He turned on his heel and headed into the kitchen - connected to the living room by a huge square archway. “Your music taste is,” He paused, opening a cupboard and pulling down two mismatched glasses. “Eclectic.”

You laughed at him, bending to gently set your plant down on a side table. “That’s true.”

“But I found plenty I could listen to, so I guess you’re okay. You want some juice?” he asked as he held up a paper carton of store brand orange juice

“That would be lovely,” you agreed, standing stick straight the way you did when in the presence of new company. “My dad used to take me to a lot of thrift stores and we’d go home with a minimum of two records per trip.”

“I love thrifting,” he said simply, giving you an alarmingly serious look. “There are three here, I think. Every once in a while you can find something really worth keeping. I have kind of a ‘catch and release’ policy where if I don’t instantly know what I’m going to do with an item, I leave it there, but I think - like - a third of my wardrobe is from thrift stores.”

You listened, feeling oddly entranced by the way he was handing you thoughts as they came to him. There was something truly honest about it - a quality people back home didn’t seem to have. It was charming.

He brought your glass of juice to you and then motioned to the rest of the apartment. “You want the grand tour of Casa De Joshua-” He gave you a pointed look and a cheesy grin. “And Y/N?”

You breathed a laugh at him, nodding as you sipped. “Please.”

“Okay, try not to get lost - this is obviously the living room. I do most of my living here as the name would suggest. I found this couch on the side of the road - actually almost all of my furniture is adopted.” As he explained, he was gesturing to items like Vanna White.

The couch looked. Well-loved. You could tell just at a glance that it was probably past it’s prime when Josh had stumbled upon it, but it did look comfortable, and it wasn’t like you had a couch to offer, so you were happy with it.

“I have this TV but it’s really only for movies and stuff because I’m twenty-two and I’d rather die than pay for cable. But there are literally hundreds of DVDs in the TV stand that you are welcome to peruse at your leisure,” he informed, his hands gesturing almost arbitrarily as he talked.

You followed as he moved on through the archway. “This is the kitchen. All of the food lives here. There’s lots of stuff, but I try to just make two bigger meals per day. I don’t have a real ice tray so I’ve been using a chocolate mold- Well anyway, our ice will be in the shape of wiener dogs.”

You were shocked at the laugh that escaped you, genuine and uncontrolled. He grinned over at you, clearly also surprised - but pleased with himself for getting the reaction he was aiming for.

“I think I can live with that.”

“Good,” he agreed simply, giving you a new kind of smile - something sweeter. After a beat, he motioned down the hall with his eyes, letting you lead. “The bathroom is this way. The water takes like three or four minutes to get hot. I realized that I have a lot of products for some reason, but I condensed them all into this one area in the corner just in case my new roommate was a girl, and you are so that’s great. I’ll probably get a shelf.”

There was a proud quality to his voice like he felt gentlemanly for letting you have all the space you needed. For some reason, that made you feel warm and fuzzy.

“And what if your new roommate had been a boy?” you inquired with a smirk.

He put a finger on his chin, taking on a contemplative look for you. “Hmm. Then I guess I slowly would have moved my stuff back to the cabinet - probably just one thing per day so he wouldn’t notice. Unless he had a lot of makeup or something, then I’d just let him have it.”

He grinned as you teasingly shook your head.

“This way is the sleeping quarters. My room is there on the right and yours to the left.”

You stepped into your new room and let a sigh of relief. Two huge windows took up a lot of the far wall, framed underneath by large sills. The space was bright and roomier than you’d pictured. Your bed was set up in the very middle of the room, but you already knew exactly where you wanted it to go. For some reason, you had been concerned that you wouldn’t like the space, but it was kind of perfect.

“This is great,” you breathed, turning to him and giving him a sly grin. “Wanna give me a hand moving my furniture around?”

He pretended to consider for a moment until you spoke again.

“My mom sent money for pizza while I get stuff unpacked,” you said coyly. “If you needed any convincing.”

He laughed, showing you his teeth. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay, I’ll help as long as I get to look through your stuff while we move it.”

You gave him a questioning look, earning a one-shouldered shrug in return. He looked benign enough standing there, propped against the door frame with a goofy upturn to his lips, so you relented.

“Deal,” you agreed.

You were positive you would not have been able to move stuff without his help. For being a slender boy, he seemed to easily be able to get things where they needed to be. He dutifully helped you shove your furniture into place - your bed against the window wall, your desk and vanity on the wall with your closet door. Then, bless his little heart, he helped you move it all again when you decided you didn’t like the arrangement (but not without some light griping).

One by one, you brought in your boxes from the living room and you allowed him to poke through them, perched on your bed. He flipped through your books, thumbing pages of ones that piqued his interest - you could only imagine that he was already planning on borrowing some of them. He reacted similarly to your framed photos, as he unwrapped them from their packing paper.

When you got your record player set up, he put on a vinyl and started to hang your art prints on the wall where you instructed him to. The look of concentration on his face was rather endearing as he held a few nails between his teeth and hammered them into the wall, one by one. There was a time or two you were convinced that he was going to mutilate his thumb, but he didn’t, and when the last picture was hung, you breathed a sigh of relief.

You called in a pizza, adorned with his requested toppings as you hung your clothes into your closet, your phone tucked against your ear and shoulder for maximum efficiency.

Plants collected on your bed until there was no more room for them - after that, he started setting them on the floor as he brought them in from your car. He didn’t seem to be judging the sheer amount of them, even though he had every right to.

“It’s going to look like a jungle in here,” he stated finally as he took a bite out of a slice of pizza that he was holding like a taco, his eyes raking over all of the foliage scattered around your room. Rather than sounding like he was teasing, his tone seemed excited.

You grinned at him, starting to arrange them on the window sill and your bookshelf that had only ever served you as a plant shelf since you’d bought it. ��Plants are my passion. Botany major,” you explained as you fluffed up your Monstera’s huge leaves.

“Ooh.” He raised his eyebrows at you, pulling one of his legs up underneath him on your bed - now fitted with sheets. “I think that’s going to be nice. Give it some life in here.”

You grabbed another slice from the pizza box on your nightstand and tried to think of the right tone of voice to use to ask the next question. “How long have you lived here by yourself?”

He hummed, eyes flicking around distantly as he thought. “Well, I’ve lived here just over a year, and my first roommate dropped out and moved back home about...six months ago?”

“Have you been lonely? You seem like a social guy.” You gave him an empathetic look but he just shrugged at you. You hadn’t known him long enough to know for sure, but you suspected he was more affected than he was letting on.

“I mean, a little lonely. But I got used to it for the most part.” He paused for a good couple of seconds before a smile spread across his lips. “And Penny’s kept me company.”

“Oh, does your girlfriend stay here too?” you prompted, trying to remember if you’d seen any feminine looking items lying around that weren’t yours.

“What? No,” he said under a chuckle and stood, gesturing for you to follow him across the hall.

The second you walked through the doorway, you were met with the smell of incense sticks and linen. His room was dimmer than yours and kind of cramped with all of his mismatching furniture, but he had a huge bed - you thought it could easily fit three people in it. There were some clothes strewn about around a laundry hamper by the door and you tried to not be jealous that his closet seemed to be about twice the size of yours.

He crossed the room to crouch in front of a coffee table that he seemed to be using as a catch-all. The varnish was worn off the top of it in rings because sitting on the coffee table was a globe of water and a calico colored goldfish swimming around aimlessly inside of it.

“Ah, so this is Penny,” you giggled as you bent over next to him. When the fish spotted him, it rose to the surface of the water, opening its mouth in demand for food.

He grinned down at it. “Light of my life. We’re not allowed to have pets but I figured that a fish didn’t count.”

You hummed, admittedly a bit charmed by the whole situation. “But don’t goldfish require a lot of space?”

The smile fell from his face, adopting a level of concern you hadn’t yet seen from him as he peered over at you. “Do they?”

Immediately, you felt guilty for putting that look on his features. Your brain kick-started - trying to think of a way to make it right again. “I think so? Maybe we can find her a small tank? Put a few little plants in there for her?”

Josh nodded at you, stroking his fingers over the glass with a frown. “I’m a bad dad.”

“No, no!” you assured, putting your hand on his head but then removing it instantly when you realized that you didn’t really know him, he’d just already made you feel like you did. Either way, you figured it would be inappropriate to touch him. “You’re great. She looks really happy.”

“She’s great at begging for food, so don’t get tricked,” Josh instructed after a moment, seemingly able to put his concerns aside to jest you.

You nodded in agreement. “I’ll be ever vigilant,” you promised, making him smile again.

He stood back up, so you did as well.

“Well, I’ll give you some time to get comfortable in your room,” Josh said, sitting back on his bed. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

“I promise I will,” you assured, tapping your hand on the doorframe on your way out.

By the time the sun was set, your room was shockingly well put together. The emotional rollercoaster that was the album Rumors helped you keep on task, losing yourself in the music so it didn’t feel like work at all. You hadn’t been expecting it to come along so quickly, but you guessed that was because you hadn’t anticipated such a friendly roommate. The nesting had always been your favorite part, so you took your time to enjoy placing out all your knick-knacks and photos.

You took a break to shower when you decided you were done for the day, reveling in the feeling of the water after such a long time in your car - He was absolutely right about how long it took to warm up from ice cold. When you got out and changed into your pajamas, Josh was sitting in the living room with a laptop across his legs.

“You wanna chill?” he asked when he heard you padding down the hall, shutting the lid of it and setting it on a side table. “Or if you’re too tired, that’s okay too.”

“No, no. I’d love to talk.” You sat next to him, leaving a comfortable amount of room between you as you pulled your knees up to your chin. “Tell me more about yourself,” you requested, tugging a blanket from a beat-up wicker basket on the floor and wrapping it around your body.

“Hmm, okay,” he started. You wondered how long it had been since he had to introduce himself to someone new. “I’m from a tiny little town here in Michigan. I’m the oldest of four - two brothers and a sister. My brother, Jake, also attends MU and lives just off campus.”

You frowned at him. “Wait, why wouldn’t he live with you?” you asked through a disbelieving laugh.

“He lived with me long enough,” Josh explained in a humored tone. “There are only so many people where I’m from and well - we wanted to meet new people, you know?”

“I guess I should be grateful for that.”

“Yeah, probably,” he teased and then paused to think. “I’m in performing arts - I’m actually putting on a production around Christmas with some elementary school kids.”

You suppressed the aww that was threatening to pass your lips. “You like kids?”

He beamed you a smile, shaking his head. “Love them. I want to have like ten of them someday.”

The thought of him surrounded by kids made you soften. You were genuinely shocked about how easy he was to talk to - how easy he was to like. You had never thought in a million years you’d get along with your roommate so well, let alone the first day meeting them.

“I hope you get to,” you said as genuinely as you could muster, prompting him to give you a grateful smile.

A yawn escaped you before you could hide it, and you quickly breathed an apology, but he just waved you off.

“You must be exhausted from that drive,” he said, his voice soft. “You should get some sleep.”

You nodded in agreement and gave him a thankful smile. “Is it okay if I sleep out here?”

The look on his face was quizzical, forcing a laugh from you. “Why would you do that?”

“I have this tradition where whenever I’m in a new place, I always sleep in the living room on the first night. It’s good luck.”

“Whatever you say.” His lips pulled back into an unconvinced smirk. “Well, yeah, you live here now too, so you can sleep wherever you’d like.”

He disappeared into his room for only a moment before popping his head back out, fingers wrapped around the door frame.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

You tried not to look too taken aback by the question, but you could feel your cheeks flushing warm. You raked your eyes along the couch, entirely positive that there wasn’t enough space for the two of you to lay out on it together fully - at least, not without being pressed flush against one another. However, his face looked innocent and soft - not a single tint of mischief colored across his features.

“Yeah, that-. I guess that’s okay,” you agreed sheepishly with a shrug. “But I’m not sure we’ll both fit if I’m being honest.”

He frowned questioningly at you, his brows lacing together until he realized what you thought he meant. His face instantly turned a light shade of pink to match yours. “No, no,” he quickly assured in between a breathy laugh. “I’m not going to sleep with you - I’ll take the recliner.”

“Oh, right.” You gave a nervous laugh of your own, cursing yourself out in your head for being so dull.

You were still well embarrassed as you made a nest of blankets on the couch and he brought out a pillow for you when you realized yours were still tucked deep in your bag of bedding. When each of you was situated on your respective pieces of furniture, he flicked the light off with a comfortable sigh.

It was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice taking on a tone that was far too smug for your liking. “You were awfully quick to agree to sleep next to me. You don’t have a crush on me, do you?”

You knew he was teasing, but your heart rate still managed to pick up under the pressure. You had never been particularly good with awkward social situations; you rolled your eyes in the dark, thankful he couldn’t see how red you were. “No, Josh. I do not have a crush on you.”

“Okay,” he said through a melodic laugh, and you got the feeling that he’d gotten the reaction he was aiming for from you. “Should we be best friends though?”

You snorted a laugh of your own, wanting to be annoyed at how likable he was, but falling short. “You are the most peculiar person I’ve ever met, I think.” You curled up, clutching your blanket tight to your body. “But yes. We can be friends.”

“Okay, cool - I’ll order matching t-shirts for us.” You could hear the pleased grin he was wearing, making you feel warm and cozy. You pulled the worn blanket up to your chin.

“See to it that you do.”

Author’s Note: okay, I hope you guys like it! please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list or removed from it. I’m using the same taglist from my Jake!fic, so no hard feelings if you don’t want to be tagged!

#josh fic #josh kiszka fic #josh x reader #joshxreader #greta van fleet fic #gvf fic #brightest blue fic

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buckyownsmylife · 3 years

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daddy issues - chapter x

The one where Ransom doesn’t feel ready to become a father, but he should have thought about it before sleeping with a complete stranger.

When Ransom’s latest one night stand lets him know that he’s going to become a father, he finds himself looking for the qualities he never believed to have so he can become the parent he never got to witness as a child.

for general warnings and author’s notes, please go to the fic’s masterlist.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

I looked over at the man driving beside me, a feeling of comfort and gratitude suddenly washing over me. Over the last five weeks, Ransom had truly been the partner I had always hoped to have a baby with, even if we weren’t together in the way I originally would have wanted to be with my child’s father.

It almost didn’t matter though, because he was always around. Whenever I needed something, even if it was the middle of the night, he didn’t seem to mind that we lived on opposite ends of the city. He would drop by with my favorite junk food and leave without complaining.

I’d even started to let him sleep on the couch when I figured it was too late for him to drive back by himself. He never tried to make a move again, which was so relieving to me, especially since my pregnancy hormones were begging me to climb him like a tree. But also now that we got to spend actual time together, I’d come to learn he was a very interesting man. Sure, very immature in a lot of ways, but it almost added to his charm, somehow.

It didn’t help my goal of containing my attraction.

We’d gone to two doctor’s appointments and he truly was doing his very best to show me he was here for me - or maybe he just really was excited about having a child. If there was something I’d come to realize in our talks, it was that Ransom didn’t have a particularly loving childhood, so it warmed my heart to see how invested he was in making sure our kid wouldn’t go through the same things that he did.

“Hey,” I called out for his attention, reaching over his lap to squeeze his thigh. “Thanks for doing this with me.” His eyes were a bit wide when they met mine, but his smile mirrored my own.

“Thank you for inviting me. Can’t believe you trust me enough to want to introduce me to your parents.” That made me chuckle. His honesty was overwhelming most times, but it was also one of the traits I liked the most about him, now that I’d become used to it. If there was one thing I could be completely sure of, it was that Ransom Drysdale would not hide how he was really feeling to please anyone. And somehow, that calmed me down.

“Honestly,” I responded, excited with this opportunity to tease him. “Me too.” The insulted gasp that he released had me giggling right away, risking a glance to the side to check that he had actually understood that I was only teasing him. The way the corners of his mouth turned up let me know that he did.

“Okay,” he conceded, nodding but keeping his eyes on the road ahead. We were almost in my childhood neighborhood, I could recognize it even with my eyes closed. There was no logical reason for it, just an instinctive, deep calling, that made me feel at ease around the streets I hadn’t walked for so long. “I guess I deserved that.”

It was silent then, as he slowly drove us to the cul-de-sac my parents had lived in for the last thirty years. Nothing had really changed, and that showed a lot of the people who inhabited it. If Ransom was nervous at the prospect of meeting the grandparents of his future child, he didn’t show. Or well, I didn’t realize it.

“Hey!” I tried to match my parent’s excitement as they almost ran out of the house to meet us by the car, the second we’d stopped in front of the place I had grown up in. I barely had the time to prepare - I’d hoped I would have gotten a few more words in with Ransom, decide what we would say - but it warmed my heart to imagine them by the window, excitedly waiting for us to arrive.

“Oh my, you’re so big already!” My mom exaggerated, prompting me to roll my eyes as I noticed Ransom and my father shaking hands, our luggage already in my companion’s hands. “You really should have told us sooner,” she chastised, but I was prepared for that.

“Mom, c’mon. You know I had a lot to figure out, I didn’t want to let you guys know about a baby that I still had a high risk of losing, and on top of that, I had tons of classes to prepare.” My mom nodded, her eyes never straying from where her hand rested on my belly. I knew she understood it, she was just having a hard time grasping the concept of her baby having a baby.

“Shall we go inside?” Ransom followed closely, dropping the bags at the entrance when my father approached to give me his own inspection. I chuckled lightly at his furrowed brows until finally, he seemed satisfied with what he found and embraced me against his comfortable chest.

“Good to see you, kiddo. And I’m glad you’ve brought Ransom here for us to meet! We’ve prepared the room for you guys, would you like to go upstairs and rest? We can always catch up tomorrow.” Surprise had me blinking a couple of times, taking a second too long to understand what my father meant.

“The room?” I asked, right when Ransom confirmed it, “For us?” He didn’t sound as confused as me, but maybe a bit hopeful even, and it only made the situation even harder to comprehend.

“Yeah,” my mother confirmed, a patient smile on her lips. “We figured, you’re bringing a guy home for the first time and pregnant… It’s obviously pretty serious.” I was at a loss of words, mouth hanging open as I realized my parents were completely okay with the idea of me sleeping with a man I wasn’t married to under their roof, but what happened next really threw me on a loop entirely.

I felt Ransom’s arms around my shoulder, it was what prompted me to turn to the side and look up at him, but instead of finding him at his usual height, I was shocked with a kiss being deposited on my unexpecting lips, instinctively prompting me to close my eyes.

“Thank you so much.” That was all he had to offer after releasing my lips, and it wasn’t even directed at me. “For the reception, for understanding. I’m excited to talk to you more tomorrow, but for now, I think it’s better for the baby if I take this one to bed.”

Ransom’s P.O.V.

“Why on Earth would you do that?” I barely believed she managed to wait until we were both inside the bedroom, with the door locked, until she spit it out. I was almost certain she would confess the truth right there, laughing in my face at the prospect of actually being in a relationship with me.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” I feigned nonchalance, shrugging and making a point not to look directly at her as I began to get settled, opening my suitcase and pretending to look for something.

“There was so much we could do about it! Practically anything other than pretend to be together when we aren’t!” Her exasperation irritated me. What was so bad about dating me? Why didn’t she want to be associated to me, the father of her child?

But I chose to take a deep breath, just like the therapist I’d been secretly seeing had taught me. I didn’t want to screw this up, I reminded myself, and I tried to see things from her perspective, instead of immediately focusing on my own feelings of insecurity.

“I’m sorry,” I immediately recognized it, and by the way she looked immediately disarmed, it was probably the right way to start. “I just figured it would be the easier way to go about this, considering what you’ve told me about your parents. I know they weren’t going to be excited about you being a single mother, even though I’m clearly more than excited to be a co-parent regardless of our relationship, and of course, I didn’t intend to lie, but when the opportunity appeared… I just figured we’d take the easier route.”

She didn’t seem to know what to say, and I could see by her expression that it made sense to her too, now that I’d explained. She didn’t want her parents’ interference, and she wanted this trip to go as smoothly as possible. It truly was the simpler way to deal with it.

“I can go downstairs and explain the real situation, if you want me to!” I offered, knowing now she’d be completely reassured of my intentions. “Really, it’s no bother. I’m sure they can fix the guest room for me.”

I turned around to leave, but her hand seized my wrist quickly. “Let’s not bother them, right?” It was impossible to stop the smile from appearing on my face when I turned around to look at her again, finding us much closer than we’d been before. Instinctively, without even thinking, I laced our fingers together, chuckling lowly at her cuteness.

“Right.” The moment felt heavy with something unspoken. I could still feel her lips on mine from when I kissed her earlier to sell the ruse to her parents. I hadn’t planned it, but it felt right for the moment.

It felt right at that moment, but I didn’t want to screw this up. So I put on my most charming smile, the same one that always prompted her to roll her eyes but giggle at me, and question, “Can I keep kissing you, then?” I put a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, my fingers running over her jaw when I found myself unable to pull away. “It’ll make it more believable.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, looking cute as ever with all of her suspicion, but ended up giggling and nodding. It allowed me to finally relax, and so I took the opportunity to look around the room we were in, taking notice of the posters on the wall, the little mementos, and picture frames on the shelves.

“So this is your childhood bedroom? This is hot.” I knew she had rolled her eyes at me, and I was glad we were now at a stage in our relationship where I could say stuff like that without her immediately kicking me out.

“Are you always hard?” For the first time that night, I hesitated. The truth was, and what I wanted to say was that it only happened when she was around, but I didn’t. I knew my silence could make her think I was some sort of creep, but it was better than admitting the truth.

I always wanted her, in one way or another.

“Are you sleepy?” I asked, an effort to change the subject, yet again resorting to messing with my luggage in search of something I didn’t need. “Did the trip tire you out?” Silence followed my question, and I understood she was thinking about it, even if I didn’t know what exactly she needed to think.

I grew tired of pretending to be busy, so I just turned around and faced her as I wanted for an answer, taking advantage of this time to admire just how beautiful she looked, particularly now that her belly had started showing. I don’t think anyone should look that good, not after a five-hour drive, and a burning sensation settled deep in my stomach - I couldn’t tell if it was desire or resentment, fear of ever having to stand back and watch her fall in love with someone who wasn’t me.

“Not really…” Her answer snapped me out of my thoughts, reminding me of what I’d asked. “It’s still so early…” Her eyes were on the night sky behind me, visible through the window of her childhood bedroom, and I shifted from one foot to the other as I waited for her to say something more, but nothing came.

“Well, what do you want to do?” I thought she’d take her time figuring something out - she’d taken so long to decide if she was tired or not - but instead, she surprised me with an immediate response, and an immediate response that almost gave me a heart attack.

“I want to suck your cock.”

It was my turn to not know what to say.

“W-what?” But she seemed decided. Instead of explaining, or offering any sort of insistence, she just shortened the distance between us, hand immediately curling on the edge of my pants as soon as it was within reach.

“Take this off.” I only lost five seconds in hesitation, perusing her eyes, trying to see if this was some sort of joke or test. When it became clear the only way I’d ever find out would be by jumping in head first, I decided to say fuck it.

My hands made quick work of my belt before unzipping my pants, letting it fall down my ankle, and she didn’t even give me the time to step out of it and kick it to the side before she sank down to her knees, taking my boxers with her.

She wasted no time wrapping her lips around the head of my member, already hard from my ever-present infatuation with her, not giving me the opportunity to protest the uncomfortable position she had put herself in. All thoughts of complaints or negotiations flew out of the window and into the night sky the second she started sucking, slowly but surely making her way to take more and more of my cock until her lips were grazing my navel.

My knees buckled and I had to hold the back of her head just to keep myself up, have something to hold onto to stay grounded. My eyes rolled back at the choking, slurping sounds coming out of her, and I silently asked God to allow me to cum this time. I didn’t think I’d survive if she decided to change her mind.

Her mouth felt good - so good. I couldn’t help but praise her. “Oh, fuck,” the curse fell out of my mouth easily when I looked down to find her staring up at me, mischief clear in her eyes. “Y-you’re very good at this.”

She kept on bobbing her head up and down my dick, giving me the sloppiest, most perfect blowjob I’d ever gotten, before pulling away with a pop and teasing, “Oh, yeah? You like it that much?”

Then the situation became overwhelming. My cock twitched inside her mouth, but I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want to cum and have to face her regret, I didn’t want to feel guilty for relenting and allowing myself to have this. So I tried to hold back, knuckles brushing her cheeks as I focused on controlling my breathing.

But of course, she’d never let me win.

“You know…” her sultry tone warned me that she wanted me to break, even before her hand curled around my member and began to pump it. “... I thought it was really hot when you were acting all jealous and possessive that night at the bar.”

I inhaled sharply, not only because of the implications of her admission but also because she’d enveloped my balls with her warm mouth as she waited for my reactions. “R-really?” As much as I hated hearing myself trip over words because of another person, I couldn’t hate her for the effect that she had on me.

“Yeah…” she moaned against my skin, sending the reverberations across my body. “I couldn’t let you know though, otherwise you wouldn’t learn… But you learned now, didn’t you?”

Her response was a moan, perhaps louder than I should have released, as I pulled on her hair in an effort to keep her away from my dick. “C’mon, Ransom!” She teased, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Let go for me!”

When I shook my head, a pout appeared on her beautiful lips, and I just had to lean down to kiss it away. “Didn’t you like it?” She questioned when we parted, and I almost laughed, squeezing the back of her neck in a playful gesture.

“Oh, baby… Of course I did.” Biting my lip, I felt like I had to add, had to make her acknowledge it, “You’ve made me very, very happy.” When she leaned her head to the side, I already knew what she was going to ask.

“Then why don’t you want to cum?” That was a question I was dreading to answer, mainly because of course I wanted to cum, I just didn’t want to do it in her mouth. But if I had any chance whatsoever of getting what I truly desired, I’d have to voice it to her.

“Hell yeah!” I reassured her, making her laugh at my enthusiasm. “But not like this. Can… Will you let me touch you?” Time seemed to stand still as I waited for her answer, her eyes searching mine for something I couldn’t tell until she pushed me away and rose to her feet, walking towards her own luggage.

“No.” The word almost physically hurt me, and I deflated, falling down on the bed as I ran a hand over my hair, thinking about what the hell this would mean to us now. But then she was back, standing in front of me, a condom wrapper being waved right before my eyes. “I wanna ride you.”

I never wanted to fuck anyone this badly before. She got rid of her clothes just as eagerly as I took off my shirt, sending it flying somewhere across the room, and when she climbed on my lap, I had already put on the contraceptive. By the way she immediately sank down on my dick, it was clear that she was grateful for my speed.

“Oh, fuck,” I groaned against her shoulder, still able to hug her to me despite the small belly separating our chests. The build-up from the last time I almost had her, not to mention from minutes ago when her mouth was still around me had the fire in my stomach burning brightly in no time, as I sat back and watched her fuck herself on me.

“Y-you take me so well.” It came out louder than I intended, and she let go of her breasts to pull me to a kiss in an effort to silence me.

“Shhh…” She whispered, fingers running over my strands as she reminded me, “you have to be quiet, honey.” The nickname took me by surprise, my hands flying up to grip her hips as I took back the control she had so easily usurped from me. “Ransom!”

The way she moaned my name… I could get off just to her voice alone, and that’s what brought me to my release. Somehow, despite barely being aware of anything other than the way my cock throbbed inside of her cunt, I was able to make her cum, and watching her throw her head back and silently scream almost paralyzed me.

“Wait,” she commanded when I tried to lay her down. “Don’t pull out.” I melted against her, falling back on the bed and adjusting us so I could cuddle her to me while abiding to her wishes.

I think she was barely awake when I spoke again, not thinking at all as the words fell from my lips. “Does this mean we’re dating now?” And suddenly, her body wasn’t comfortably relaxed against mine. No, she jolted awake, sitting up and letting my limp cock slip from her while she clutched the sheets over her.

“What? Why?” I wanted to be angry. I wanted to be defensive, and disappointed, and overall hurt from her skepticism, but I knew I couldn’t. Not right now, not when I had a goal in mind and I was so close to it.

“Why not? We’re practically a couple anyway, you even brought me to your parent’s place! Now that we’ve brought sex to the table, what’s the difference between this and an actual relationship?” A long silence followed my words, a silence that felt heavy, suffocating even. Her eyes never left mine as she pondered over what I’d said, and in the quiet of the night, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

“Ransom, I don’t want to be your girlfriend.” I felt my heart breaking in a million pieces at her words, too stupefied to argue anything else. I suddenly was extremely aware of just how naked I was, and how uncomfortably the used condom was now sticking to me.

“I’m sorry, I just… I don’t really know you,” she continued, and despite how kind her eyes looked, I still felt like she didn’t understand just how badly she was hurting me. “We’ve never even been on an actual date.”

Surprisingly, that was the sentence that brought hope back to me. Even as she continued, “This was just… a one-time thing,” I didn’t feel deflated anymore, only excited. I knew she wanted me. It was just a matter of showing her that, getting her to admit it. And she had just told me how to do that.

“A one-time thing, huh?” I smirked, pulling her back into my arms, appreciating the surprise that took over her features at the response she certainly didn’t expect to get. “Like the night we made her?”

She chuckled against my chest as my hand fell over her belly. I was certain it was a girl, just as she was certain it was a boy. We had decided not to know, at least not now, and although most of the time the curiosity was eating me alive, I knew I was right.

“Yeah,” the mother of my child whispered against my skin. “Just like that night.” And with her hand covering mine, I slept soundly in a way I couldn’t remember ever doing before. I knew I would do whatever it took to keep her right here, in bed with me. Forever.

#my series #ransom drysdale x reader #ransom drysdale fanfiction #ransom drysdale series #ransom drysdale x you #ransom drysdale writing #ransom drysdale reader #ransom drysdale reader insert #ransom drysdale reader inserts

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ggukkiedae · 3 years

Text

[vlive 210522] Seri’s Seritonin 🥝🐱

9pm kst

italics = english; seri answering questions!

the vlive starts with seri logging on and waving

she’s playing new rules in the background and staying quiet for the first two minutes

“moa! how are you all?”

she smiles and reads through the comments

she reads a few out loud and sees a few comments asking her to say i love you in different languages, to which she complies to

she turns off her music first and fixes herself in her chair

“bet you guys are wondering why i’m live today, huh? we’ll get to that in a bit. for now, let’s answer questions”

she looks through the comments carefully until she reads one out loud

Seriiiiiii! 5 Beomgyus or 5-year-old Beomgyu?

she laughs at this

“maybe a five year old bammie. he always makes a big deal of being older than me by a few months, so it would be good pay back”

she then pulls out her phone and scrolls through it before turning it towards the screen. it was a picture of beomgyu as a kid

“see this? he sent this to our groupchat the other day. tiny gyu is cute”

how are youuuuuu?

she claps her hands together and smiles at the live

“i’m doing great, thank you! i’ve been practicing harder, and i feel pretty good”

she scrolls through the comments again and takes a sip of her drink. she lightly mixes her drink around and places it back down

“you guys should try peach tea. it’s a godsend. oh, what’s this?”

shall we go on a date?

“you didn’t turn up at our last date”

she pouted a little and laughed

“i waited at the rooftop for a while, but you didn’t show up! but i guess we can go again because you’re moa”

she shifts a little and shakes her head amusedly at her own words

“do i sound like gyu?”

Hi Seri! I have a couple questions 😊 What has been your favorite era music wise and style wise? What hair style/color do you want to try? What's your current favorite song? What are you looking forward to most?

her eyes widened a little before she looks up trying to come up with answers to the series of questions

“oh, wow, i guess you could say i really liked our songs from the minisode album, but my favorite title track is run away for sure. actually, i take that back. i like the songs on dream chapter magic the most! in terms of style... dream chapter magic as well! i really like new rules’ styling especially”

a small smile makes its way to her face as she’s about to answer the last question from that comment

“right now, i’m really looking forward to our new album, and i hope you’ll like it as well! so far, the tracks are amazing!”

any plans for a comeback with the royals?

“i don’t know” she laughs and looks off camera “what do you think?”

yoonmi’s giggle can be heard while seri just laughed

“you exposed me! anyway, we’ll see when the three of us get an opportunity again” “you guys heard yoonmi”

seri takes the live and points it to the side, revealing the magenta-haired girl peacefully sitting in the dance studio near her while working on something on her laptop

“yoonmi is working on school stuff even if she just released a song yesterday” “responsibilities”

Seri baby are you aware that Seri sounds like berry? Therefore you are now berry Seri or Seri Berry 🤔

“oh, that’s cute! seri berry... i love it! i’m a berry now! i can replace strawberries, i don’t like strawberries”

she wrinkled her nose at the thought of the red berries as the sound of a chair moving came up. seri looked off camera and waved to, supposedly, yoonmi

“yoonmi has a meeting right now, so she’s off. anyway, back to our live”

Hiya Seri how are you liking the new building? What do you think has changed the most about you since you became an idol? And out of the members who do you think has changed most since you debuted?

“the new building is actually the best thing ever, i swear! there’s a lot of space, and the facilities are all high quality! honestly, i’m the only txt member who doesn’t get lost, so it’s pretty funny when the others have to ask for my help to walk around”

she then pressed her lips into a tight line while thinking about her next answer

“since becoming an idol... i think i became more confident. the others tell me this a lot. they say every comeback my stage presence gets better, and i look more comfortable? i also became a better dancer for sure. not the best yet, but i’m working on it. also maybe kai? first of all, he’s gotten way taller now. second, he’s been more mature. yes, he’s still our baby, but he handles things a lot more maturely now. sometimes he acts like he’s older than me as well”

hi bestieeeeeee! what do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t an idol?

“hey, bestie! musical theatre for sure!”

seri immediately perked up at this. she jumped back in her seat a little with the biggest grin while remembering her experiences

“i loved it back in school! honestly, my parents were pretty supportive about my involvement in theatre and my little brother kinda brags to his friends that his sister goes on stages to perform. it’s kinda cute”

would you consider acting? or maybe starring in a musical?

“oh for sure if i were given the chance!”

you dance amazingly! your artist of the month video with studio choom was absolutely perfect!!!!

“oh my god”

she covered her face and groaned before pulling out her phone and looking for the video on youtube. before pressing play, she looked back to the camera

“thank you, but i’m a little embarrassed about this. i wore red lipstick on stage for the first time after debut, and i showed a side of me that’s pretty different…”

she pressed play and watched the video, cringing at herself. it took a whole 20 seconds before she gave up and hid her phone behind her

“nope. nevermind, i can’t watch that. thank you, i’m glad you enjoyed it”

thoughts on the people you’re being shipped with? 👀

she burst into laughter upon reading this

“ah, yes. shipping. i see you guys on stan twitter with your little edits and headcanons and aus! honestly, it’s amusing. apparently most of you ship me with gyu and seungmin? and a few other people, too?”

she was quiet for a while like thinking about who moas shipped her with. she shook her head with and began talking again

“gyu... well, bammie’s my best friend, and i love him a lot. it’s been us from the very beginning, so i like to think we’ll be as close as ever until the end”

“seungmin is the bane of my existence”

she laughed at this before waving her hand

“kidding! he’s actually really nice, and i love hanging out with him, it just so happens our friendship is based on bickering. we do support each other though. seungmin, if you see this, you did well on love poem”

she then lit up as if just remembering something

“some of you guys ship me with chaeryoung! interesting considering you all see me as ryujin’s sibling, but please, i’m not worthy of the queen herself. i love chae with all my heart honestly she’s such a sweet child”

her phone buzzed and she glanced at it a little bit before turning back to the live

“perfect timing because hyunsuk just messaged me and some special ship mentions are hyunsuk and jeno oppa. i think it’s because i hang out with hyunsuk’s little siblings a lot. but jeno oppa? we just met earlier this year, it’s a little funny how apparently a lot of people ship us when we haven’t really shown our friendship much”

she typed something one her phone before chuckling and shutting it off once again. she looked through the comments until she found the topic she was looking for

What’s up with you and Dino? 👀👀👀

“ah, this. this brings me to the reason i went live. recently, you guys have seen me and dino oppa hanging out, right? well, we’re not dating. i wanted it to be a surprise, but he’s helping me with something for my birthday, and i agreed to do something with him for their youtube as well”

her phone rang, and she laughed before picking it up and putting it on speaker

“hello? you’re on speaker” “seri-yah! how dare you deny our relationship?” “oh? you’re watching?” “look up, stupid. i’m standing by the door”

she looked off camera and laughed

“yah! oppa, what are you doing here?” “miya told me you were gonna talk about the scandal, so i thought why not come early?”

dino appears next to seri in a mask and a hat. he nudged seri over to the side so they could both be centered on screen, making her raise her eyebrow at him

“meet my new dance partner” dino points towards seri whose eyes widen as soon as he said that

“they don’t know yet!” “you said we were working on two things together!” “but they didn’t know one of them is dance!” “might as well tell them so we can clear up this rumor before i get attacked by moas”

she sighed at him

“i’d get attacked by carats. anyway, fine. dino oppa’s helping me with a song, and he’s making me dance with him for a video. you can look forward to this in july”

dino adjusted his hat and leaned forward a little

“no need to panic, we’re not in a romantic relationship. she’s too tall for me”

“... you’re literally taller than me though?” “not by that much. if you wear heels, we’d be the same height, and i don’t think i’m up for that”

she playfully rolled her eyes

“looks like i’ve discussed what needed to be cleared up now. i’m single. single.” “yes, they get the point” “oh, would you just go already?”

she was pretending to push him away while he laughed at her failed attempts. he moved off camera but stays in the room

“no way, we’ve got to work the choreography out today”

“this is gonna be a while,” she muttered before smiling at the live once again “well, time for me to go. i’ve got a lot of work to do to be on par with a member of seventeen’s performance team”

dino’s groaning could be heard from the side

“this again?”

she laughed

“bye moa! hopefully that cleared things up, and hopefully you enjoyed this little tmi session”

-end-

#seri.live #seri.freeze #txt 6th member #txt female member #txt female addition #seri #yoon seri

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isoldmysoultojonahclemence · 3 years

Text

80 Favorite Jonalot Moments

I don’t talk about it much, but Jonalot is actually my favorite ship!!! It was my first ship in this fandom, and it will always have a special place in my heart. So I decided to gather all my fav Jonalot moments!!!!!!!!!!

WARNING: LONG POST

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

1. When Jonah and Alice made meals together for Lancelot. Lancelot’s route, part 10.

2. When Jonah was super harsh with Lancelot’s potential dance partners. Lancelot’s route, parts 11 and 12.

3. When Lancelot and Alice talk about how mad Jonah will be if he sees Lancelot sitting in the Queen’s seat. Lancelot’s route, part 13.

4. When Jonah wasn’t even jealous of Lancelot and Alice because he just wants them to be happy. Lancelot’s route, part 14.

5. When Lancelot entrusts Jonah with the duty of taking Alice back to the Land of Reason in his route. Lancelot’s route, part 21).

6. When Jonah lets Alice go to Lancelot even though he wanted to, because he knew that Alice could help Lancelot. Lancelot’s route, part 24.

7. When Lancelot pulls Jonah into his arms and tells him not to let go when he teleports them back to headquarters. Lancelot’s route, part 25.

8. When Jonah supports Lancelot when he is weak from magic use and Lancelot grabs Jonah’s hand. Lancelot’s route, part 25.

9. When Jonah talks about how he wants to become the best right-hand man for Lancelot. Lancelot’s route, part 25.

10. When Jonah said that even Lancelot would never hit him. Jonah’s route, part 10, premium story.

11. When Jonah was so pained about the letter Lancelot sent to the Magic Tower, but still checked with Lancelot first. Jonah’s route, part 17.

12. When Lancelot blamed Alice for faking the aforementioned letter to spare Jonah. Jonah’s route, part 17.

13. When Lancelot decided to entrust his fate to Jonah. Jonah’s route, part 18.

14. When Lancelot saved Jonah from his bullies and gave him the strength to fight for those he cared about. Jonah’s route, part 20.

15. When Lancelot inspired Jonah to become stronger instead of just protecting him. Jonah’s route, part 20.

16. When Jonah decided that the Lancelot he knew wouldn’t dirty his hands for his ambition. Jonah’s route, part 21.

17. When Jonah got into a swordfight with Lancelot that he knew he’d lose, but still wanted to see Lancelot’s heart. Jonah’s route, part 22.

18. When Jonah told Lancelot that he’s Lancelot’s right-hand through and through. Jonah’s route, part 22.

19. When Lancelot smiled softly and told Jonah that he’s gotten stronger. Jonah’s route, part 22.

20. When Jonah caught Lancelot before his head could hit the ground. Jonah’s route, part 22.

21. When Lancelot said that he wasn’t worried that Alice would get caught because she’s with Jonah. Jonah’s route, part 22.

22. When Jonah almost cried after hearing that. Jonah’s route, part 22.

23. When Jonah got angry at Lancelot for being so reckless with his life. Jonah’s route, part 22.

24. When Lancelot “punished” Jonah by giving him a week off. Jonah’s route, Dramatic End.

25. When Jonah suspected that Edgar was bringing Lancelot jelly beans because those are artificial and unhealthy. Edgar’s route, part 11.

26. When Lancelot asked Jonah not to be mad and Jonah immediately deflated. Edgar’s route, part 11.

27. When Jonah made a special breakfast menu for Lancelot because he noticed Lancelot hasn’t been eating. Kyle’s route, part 6.

28. When Jonah was upset after Lancelot still didn’t eat that he didn’t even touch the strawberry mille-feuille in front of him. Kyle’s route, part 7.

29. When Jonah was so glad that he picked out just the right picture to show Lancelot’s dignity. Sirius’s route, part 5.

30. When Jonah got super mad at Sirius for trying to talk to Lancelot. Sirius’s route, part 11.

31. When Jonah wanted to help Lancelot against Harr, but Lancelot shouted at him to stay back because it’s dangerous. Sirius’s route, part 12.

32. When Jonah pushed Sirius away told him not to touch Lancelot because Lancelot is “[his] King.” Sirius’s route, part 12.

33. When Lancelot said that he hoped Jonah and Luka could reconcile, because he saw that Jonah was happy. Sirius’s route, Romantic End.

34. When Jonah got mad at Alice for disrespecting Lancelot. Luka’s route, part 19.

35. When Jonah was so happy that Lancelot asked him and Edgar for suggestions on his speech. Lancelot’s route, Eternal Affection.

36. When Jonah challenged Sirius to a duel for Lancelot. Queen’s route, Clash in Cradle.

37. When Jonah was worried that Lancelot got lost because Lancelot went to the Central Quarter alone. Lancelot’s story, Cradle’s 10 Big News.

38. When Jonah lost his memory and was suspicious that Alice was his lover, but immediately believed it after Lancelot talked to him. Jonah’s route, Hold Me Tight.

39. When Jonah brought Lancelot pastries that were really popular from the Central Quarter. Lancelot’s route, 50 First Kisses.

40. When Jonah told Lancelot that he’d support him no matter what Lancelot decides. Lancelot’s route, Kiss the Bride.

41. When Lancelot asked for Jonah’s help with Alice’s wedding. Lancelot’s route, Kiss the Bride.

42. When Jonah said that there were no chocolates worthy of Lancelot. Lancelot’s route, Chocolate-Covered Secrets.

43. When Jonah made chocolates for Lancelot and asked Alice to taste test it, blushing in the meantime. Lancelot’s route, Chocolate-Covered Secrets.

44. When Lancelot accepted Jonah’s chocolates. Lancelot’s route, Chocolate-Covered Secrets.

45. When Alice realized that the people who gave Lancelot chocolates truly love him. Lancelot’s route, Chocolate-Covered Secrets.

46. When Jonah mistook Alice for an assassin and immediately moved in front of Lancelot. Lancelot and Jonah’s route, Alice in Time Magic.

47. When Jonah’s loyalty for Lancelot didn’t change at all, even in the past. Jonah’s route, Alice in Time Magic.

48. When Jonah talked on and on about Lancelot’s best qualities. Lancelot’s 1st Mini Talk, Ever After release campaign.

49. When Jonah was so upset that Lancelot’s birthday party had to be cancelled. Lancelot’s 3rd birthday event.

50. When Jonah couldn’t wait to give Lancelot his birthday present. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

51. When Jonah found out that Lancelot was still working during his birthday and ordered Alice to stop him. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

52. When Alice realized that Jonah felt the same way about Lancelot that she did. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

53. When Jonah didn’t want Lancelot to know his presence because he wanted Lancelot to have a relaxing date. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

54. When Lancelot realized that Jonah didn’t want him to know that he was there and Lancelot’s gaze wavered. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

55. When Jonah’s eyes filled with tears after Lancelot thanked them for helping celebrate his birthday. Lancelot’s 1st birthday event.

56. When Jonah grudgingly looked after children after Lancelot asked him to. Jonah’s route, Eternal Affection.

57. When Jonah said that he admired Lancelot, which was why he wanted to become someone like Lancelot. Jonah’s route, Alice in Time Magic.

58. When Lancelot said that he will have to compliment Jonah after Jonah did a commentary on horse races. Ray’s route, Eternal Affection.

59. When Lancelot told Jonah that he felt lonely while Jonah and Alice were on honeymoon. Jonah’s route, Dear My Wife.

60. When Jonah said that he belongs by Lancelot’s side. Lancelot and Jonah’s paired gacha line.

61. When Jonah was revealed to have a key to Lancelot’s room. Cybird’s Lancelot birthday post.

62. When Lancelot asked Alice to take good care of Jonah. Jonah’s route, Say I Do.

63. When Jonah looked so happy when Lancelot told him he’s gotten stronger. Jonah’s route, Never Let You Go.

64. When Lancelot insisted on giving Jonah two days off after Jonah got injured, and asked Alice to babysit. Jonah’s story, Angels and Devils.

65. When Alice wore a lion headband at Jonah’s suggestion and Lancelot said that Jonah knows him too well. Lancelot’s Cradle Awards story.

66. When Jonah offered to wash Lancelot’s back and Lancelot told him to relax in the tub. Only the Best Bubbles for the King card lines.

67. When Jonah got bubbles in his eye and Lancelot helped him. Only the Best Bubbles for the King card lines.

68. When Lancelot and Jonah went together to fight Harr. Lancelot x Jonah Paired Suit Gacha VI card lines.

69. When Jonah blushed and said that Lancelot would be the only person suited to becoming a prince. Jonah’s route, Once Upon a Time.

70. When Lancelot told Jonah not to overexert himself. Jonah’s epilogue, Eternal Affection.

71. When Lancelot told Jonah that someday, he will find someone that will accept all of him. Jonah’s epilogue, Eternal Affection.

72. When Jonah told Alice that she will never be taken by Levie, because he knows that Lancelot would never let that happen. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 2.

73. When Jonah and Alice continued to cook for Lancelot. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 5.

74. When Jonah realized that Lancelot has been in a bad mood ever since leaving the Land of Glass because that’s how well he knows Lancelot. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 5.

75. When Jonah joined in on the group of soldiers discussing how great Lancelot is. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 8.

76. When Jonah found it unbelievable that Alice carried a fish all the way to headquarters, but when Alice said that Lancelot was the one who caught it, Jonah immediately told her that she should be more careful with it. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 12.

77. When Lancelot got trapped in the Land of Glass, and Jonah took one look at Alice and immediately knew that Lancelot sacrificed himself. Lancelot’s ever after route, part

78. When Lancelot stood before and mirror and Jonah showed up instead of Alice, and Jonah ended up talking for a long time about how much he had missed Lancelot. Lancelot’s ever after route, part 25.

79. When Jonah told Levie that he should speak to Lancelot respectfully or else he’d teach Levie some manners. Lancelot’s ever after route, Dramatic End.

80. When Levie told Jonah that he would like to see Jonah try, but Lancelot called out Levie’s name and Levie immediately silenced. Lancelot’s ever after route, Dramatic End.

There’s definitely A LOT more moments that I’m leaving out, so you guys are totally free to add to this list!!!

#jonalot #jonahlot #ikemen revolution #ikerev #lancelot kingsley #jonah clemence #ikerev lancelot #ikerev jonah #i will go down with this ship #special appearances:#alice #ikerev alice #sirius oswald #ikerev sirius #harr silver #ikerev harr #edgar bright #ikerev edgar

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popculturebuffet · 2 years

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Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Ember Island Players Review (Birthday Review for Jess-The-Vampire)

Happy Birthday Jess! Yes this review is a gift for one of my best friends, @jess-the-vampire. Followers of the blog have likely seen her mentioned as she’s watched several review subjects with me and given me her thoughts when I cover a Star VS or Owl House episode. But more than that she’s one of the people closest to me, a good friend who tolerates my anxious BS with grace, watches way too much scooby doo with me and draws me neat pictures, with my Icons being enitrely thanks to her. She makes my life better just by being in it and providing someone to talk to and for that I can’t thank her enough. I love you man.

So for her birthday review , after some thought I was suprised she went not with more scooby doo, including the one where scooby looks like he’s been through Vietnam:

But instead another show we both loved Avatar: The Last Airbender. I haven’t talked about this one yet and that’s because I was going to cover it season by season at some point along with it’s sequel and still might, but i’m not opposed to covering individual episodes, good and bad either. So if you have an episode of the show you want me to cover, feel free to comissoin it for just five bucks an episode and i’ll find a way to add it to the schedule as soon as possible. Just hit up my ask or messages to talk over which one you want and get my paypal for payment.

Anyways I am happy to finally talk about the show. Avatar was easily my faviorite show in my late middle school and early high school years, a masterpiece of animation that has such a large fanbase it’s only GROWN in the decades since the show wrapped, with help from a healthy number of dvd releases, a decent sequel show with a groundbreaking ending, sequel comics for both shows, prequel novels and Nick cranking out merch including a fairly recent line of high quality action figures. And the show’s only going to keep growing with a proper live action remake coming soon from Netflix, and plans to make more spinoffs for Paramount+. It also had a movie, I guess, which I guess I have to both watch and cover at some point.

I love this show and desperately need to rewatch it. It has deep character arcs, plenty of humor and probably the most elaborate and well thought out worldbuilding i’ve seen, grabbing from Chinese, Japanese and Innuit history to craft the four nations and going to actual martial artists to craft the series gorgeously animated bending styles. The series shows a level of detail, scope and effort that was little seen at the time and even as most cartoons since have followed in it’s footsteps, it still stands as one of the most beautifully crafted. It’s not perfect of course, it has it’s dud episodes, one of which gets beautifully roasted here, but their just not enough to take down the whole epic.

So naturally i’m starting not only one episode from the end but with the episode that lovingly spoofs the entire damn series. This episode is a faviorite of mine and many fans for good reason as it takes the journey so far and abridged series’ it for 24 glorious minutes. There are shots at what fans likely miswrote characters as, the creators own mistakes, and just some general fun with the premise. It’s a nice pallette cleanser before the intsense and utterly awesome finale so let’s talk about it shall we under the cut.

Our plot gets started at the Fire Lord Family Beach House, the current base for Team Avatar. Aang is doing some firebending training with Zuko while the others watch. Katara understandably asks “Won’t the Fire Lord you know, find out we’re crashing in his swanky beach house”, but Zuko’s retort is brutal as it is helpful “He hasn’t been to this place since the last time my family was happy”

I really hope the Avatarverse has therapists because Zuko needs ALL of them. Their interrupted from Zuko’s sad childhood and present day when Sokka and Suki arrive, holding up a poster. As it turns out a local theater troupe, the ember island players, is doing a play recounting our heroes exploits. If your wondering how the hell they got this info, the playwright apparently interviewed, in order: The annoying hippies from the cave of two lovers, the pirates from the water scroll episode, various prisoners of war (i.e. all their friends and allies captured during the day of black sun debacle) and the Cabbage Man. Finally his suffering got him somewhere.

Zuko is less than thrilled since these players apparently butchered love and dragons every year but the rest of the Gaang is excited to go since it could be a fun palette cleanser before the upcoming battle. Plus come on man troupes change their members frequently. Only four of the current roster of team starkid have been there since day one. They might of gotten some fresh new talent.

So our heroes go to a show with Aang wearing a pope hat to cover up his tattoos and Toph stuck only listening to the play since they got the cheap seats.

With that our play begins with where our story did: the boy in the iceberg. We meet the play versoins of the main trio. The Ember Island versions of our heroes are voiced by an all-star cast which i’ll break down as we go. Sokka is voiced by my blingdy blongidy boy Scott Melenville, aka Kevin French, Robin in both the good and bad teen titans shows, and a lot of side rolls in scooby doo movies for some reason. Seriously me and Jess have watched them all, he’s in their a suprising amount.

Katara is played by Grey DeLeise, aka Azula as well as Daphne Blake for the last few decades among many, MANY other roles. if you’ve watched a cartoon in the last two decades she’s probably been in it. Finally we have Rachel Dratch of SNL fame as Aang, who in this play is played by an adult woman as a nod to the stage versions of peter pan.

The Gaang aren’t happy with their play counterparts: Sokka’s is reduced to talking about his stomach which is now his entire character instead of half of it, Katara talks about hope and cries and worries a lot, so spot on there, and Aang is a loveable trickster ala peter pan. Basically their the characters boiled down to which trait would be the most funny and it’s just fantastic, as is the gaang’s facial reactoins to this, with Suki and Toph needling them about how their portyals are spot on. We also get a fantastic puppet of appa and Momo is reduced to a monkeything and a hand puppet. Look they had to put the budget into the Appa puppet he’s in more of the show. Momo is just sorta there. Finding Aang makes the siblings tearbend and makes me do it too from laughter.

Speaking of which we get to Zuko who famously goes on about HONOR every five minutes. There are honestly WAY too many memetic lines to pack in here and just about every bit of the play is hilarious. It’s 24 minutes of top notch self parody. Anyways in a fun gag Zuko is played by Derek Basco, Dante’s brother. Less fun is their iroh who just talks about food and having fun because , as we learn with the climax this play is partly propaganda, so naturally a public traitor like Iroh wouldn’t be treated all that well. His uncle not only being a mockery of himself, but seeing how he used to treat the old man really gets to Zuko and that’ll only grow as the play goes on. Iroh is played by John DiMaggio, who likely needs no introduction but just in case he’s bender, Jake the dog and most recently Col. Dolphman.

So we get a condensed version of season one with some truly top notch gags, from Play!Sokka getting chased around by a man in a fur suit during the bumi part of things, to the play version of katara egging Jet (played by Dee Bradley Barker who did the animal noises for this show and every show before or since) into drowning the city, to my two favorite bits.

The first is one i’d forgotten as in the play the blue spirit is not zuko but a separate entity that frees Aang and then they dance, both for the goofyness of the blue spirit head.. but mostly for Aang and Zuko’s baffled reactions that just scream

The best though is the one that stuck with me all these years:

“Oh look the Great Divide The Biggest Canyon in the Earth Kingdom!”

“Eh Let’s keep flying”

We get some more fun antics and end Book 1 with an intermission, with the crew commeserating over how bad their counteparts are while Suki laughs at their misfortunes and failings.. only for Sokka to point out you know, her stint in prison. Toph is laughing all the way though.

Naturally you’d assume as Act 2 begins that Toph’s enjoyment at the other’s misfortune would lead to her commpuance but unlike Aang, who unnecessarily whines about his actress being a girl, Toph is utterly happy to realize her actor is a muscle man played by John DiMaggio, as that’s clearly who she WANTS to be, and is entertained by the guy screaming to see. Though really given Tophs is probably the least insulting of the main cast it’s easy to see why.

We go through book 2, meeting Azula as played by Tara Strong, and the crew poke fun at a less liked episode again as the reenactment of the drill goes on for the same amount of eternities as it did in the actual episode. My faviorite bit of this section though is when they get to the reenactment of Jet’s brainwashing and death with this equally famous exchange

Zuko: Did Jet just die? Sokka: You know it’s really unclear

A goof on the fact many fans, myself included, geninely weren’t sure if he survived or not. He did not if you were curious. Less amusing to Aang at least though is the play shipping Zutra, with play Katara saying Aang’s too young for her and like a brother to her, as many fans likely did to brush off the ship despite obvious evidence of his crush on her. This causes Aang to leave in a huff. I do like the writers giving a nod to how much the audeince shipped Zutra, I thankfully was blissfully unaware of the shipping wars. They also have both Katara and Zuko more embarrassed by it than anything to show where there real otp opinions lie.

So after the reenactment of the season finale that hilariously just has Iroh shoved down when Zuko chooses team evil, we get intermission and the Gaang splits up: Katara, worried about Aang goes to look for him, Sokka, annoyed at his portrayal, goes to pitch some jokes to his actor with Suki sneaking him in, and Zuko is sulking.

He explains his reasons to Toph when pressed: For her the play is fun as she gets to be an uber badass who takes out a hundered bad guys with swords and spout one liners, just like real life. Zuko on the other hand had to relieve every shitty thing he did to his uncle and the rest of the gaang and is sad he never got to properly reconcile with Iroh or make his true father proud. Toph helps cheer him up though, bringing up the time she and Iroh hung out back in season 2, and how , even when they were estranged at the time, Iroh couldn’t stop talking about his nephew and how proud he was of the boy and that all he wanted was for Zuko to find the right path. And Toph figures he has, having found true friends, a better purpose and become his own man. Zuko actually smiles at this which is rarer than an eclipse so good for Toph

Sokka’s bit is just some fun as his actor counterpart isn’t happy to hear more suggestions until one of Sokka’s jokes makes him laugh, and thus gladly takes in his notes. I also like Sukki int his, both eyerolling at her boyfriends jokes while also clearly being happy when the actor likes them. She dosen’t tolerate Sokka’s shit, it’s the bedrock of her relationship, but she does love him for who he is and support him. It’s a good relationship and better than I honestly remembered.

Worse than I remembered though... is Aang and Katara. Back at the time of the show I shipped the hell out of them because the show told me to. I was naive like that back then. Now I get that just because the show has a main ship dosen’t mean you have to root for it. I still do sometimes, Luz and Amity, Stolas and Blitzo, btu that’s because the show’s given me proper investment in it instead of just saying “here accept this”. When a show does that it rarely works and even shows i geninely love like final space are really bad with that.

This show is obviously no exception: the ship tease was handled frustratingly, just kinda sprinkled throughout with no resolution, not helped by the promos fully exploiting the shipping for ratings. I mean it worked but it dosen’t make it any less frustrating. Over 61 episodes of show no real progress is made in their relationship romantically. it just sorta happens in the finale because that’s what they’ve been waiting for. It was a really nasty habit of 2000′s era shows to have tons of build up for a couple but no actual getting them together until the finale IF THAT. Thankfully that seems to be buried in this day and age outside of one or two shows, but god is it not great to come back to. That said Legend of Korra would get SO MUCH WORSE in seasons 1 and 2 before course correcting in season 3, downplaying the romance stuff to more cute and tolerable sideplots and having it’s main romance be far gayer and more interesting than any of the series main romances thus far, and only not showing it on screen because Nick felt strangulation was okay but gays weren’t till the last minute of the series. The comics thankfully course correct this.

My point is the romance wasn’t handled well and this scene is ESPECIALLY bad, possibly the worst of it outside of Cave of Two Lovers: Aang asks if Katara REALLY sees him like a brother like her play version then asks how she does feel when she says no. She RESONABLY points out they have a war to fight, that she just can’t think about this now and maybe when it’s over. Aang then asks when then. While she is SLIGHTLY stalling I can’t blame her: these feelings are confusing and again she has a war to fight, a war neither of them might come back from. Maybe wait till it’s over and you both live. Instead Aang kisses her.

Just.. nothing is right here, and Katara rightfully storms off. Just... ewww.. I get consent wasn’t as well defined then but read the room riders. The two get back in time for Zuko to join up and to see the plays ending.. which to Sokka’s confusion goes beyond what they’ve experinced. The ending is one of the best parts of the episode... and as you’d expect from a play that’s mildly propaganda it ends BADLY for our heroes: Zuko is killed holdling off Azula and Aang dies despite having mastered the four elements as the Fire Lord has the comet. The audience cheers as Aang gasps in horror at what COUDL be his future and his friends gape at what will happen to the world if they don’t win. There’s a comedy scene after this where they all talk about how much they didn’t like the play.. but it doesn't undercut the ending. It’s surprisingly terrifying, letting our heroes and audience know their not safe, anyone can die in the finale coming up and reminding them the stakes. It also nicely foreshadows the finale in places: on Zuko’s end, it foreshadows his final battle with azula and having seen this gives reason besides his love of the guy for finding Iroh: Zuko is genuinely certain he cannot win a fight with her. it also amps up Aang’s fears, as well as highlights the fact that he HASN’T mastered all four elements. He’s learned all four and can use them well, but he’s not a master yet... while his opponent is about to get a massive boost. It’s a gloomy but necessary button to an awesome episode

Final Thoughts: This episode is a masterpiece: the jokes are all pitch perfect, there’s tons of comedy, but there’s also small subtle setups for the finale that I mentioned. Other than that godawful Kataang scene, it’s a truly excellent love letter to the series from it’s own creators as they readied to say goodbye to it. It’s worth checking out again if you haven’t seen it in a while> Truly great. And I hope to return to this series one day. For now though, follow for more reviews of various cartoons and thanks for reading.

#avatar the last airbender #aang #katara #sokka #toph #zuko #suki #the ember island players #nickelodeon #paramount plus #paramount+

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yumeka36 · 3 years

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The ending of Frozen 2...a year later

I try to stay away from touchy subjects like this, at least here on Tumblr. But since @greatqueenanna @the-blue-fairie and @vuelie-frost have recently written inspiring posts on this topic (which you can read here, here, and here), I wanted to give my two cents (well, more like a thousand cents because what I thought would just be a few paragraphs ended up becoming a mini-book!)

Just to be clear, my intention here is not to argue with anyone or invalidate their feelings about the end of Frozen 2. It's quite the opposite, actually. In my view, when we're presented with a beloved hobby that has disappointed us, we have a couple of options: one is to simply stop partaking in that hobby and move onto one that brings us more pleasure (no doubt some ex-Frozen fans have done that), or keep sticking around the fandom despite constant negative feelings about it which, I can't imagine, is that enjoyable. But there's another option too: when presented with something we don't like but won't divorce ourselves from and yet have no power to change – in this case, how Frozen 2 ended – what we can change is how we view it. The fact that people who disliked Frozen 2 are still part of the fandom even a year later shows just how strong the Frozen characters and their world are…that despite dissatisfaction, fans are still not willing to give up on the franchise and leave it in favor of another fandom. And if they're not willing to give up, but still can't help feeling let down about it, I'm hoping the reasoning I present in this post can possibly offer a fresh and, hopefully, more appealing perspective. My intention here is to help alleviate hard feelings, not entice arguments.

I also want to mention that I'm only discussing the ending of the movie, specifically the fact that Anna is queen of Arendelle and Elsa is living in the forest. I've addressed most other topics of theorizing and criticism in my Frozen 2 analysis book “Seek the Truth,” which you can read here. While I did discuss the ending in detail in the last chapter, I didn't expand on it nearly as much as I will in this post.

To make things easier, I'm going to address the most common griefs about the ending one at a time and offer my input:

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Anna and Elsa were separated for 13 years so they shouldn't be separated again.

I definitely agree that it would be tragic if they were forced apart again, unable to have a relationship like they did for most of their childhood. But the more times I watch Frozen 2, the more I just don't see that in the ending. To me, a separation is when both sides are split up against their will, unable to get together again. That's not the case for Anna and Elsa. I admit the epilogue of the movie was rushed, but out of the many loose ends it could have touched on, the filmmakers made sure to include Anna's letter to Elsa about charades night, which to me shows that they want us to know that the sisters still get together regularly (that's the feeling I get from the movie; I'm not including the questionable canon of the storybooks/comics in this, which I’ll discuss a little later). We could still infer they get together even if they didn't show the letter, because we know the forest is free again and Elsa can ride Nokk to Arendelle whenever she wants. But the filmmakers chose to show the letter to make it clear that there's nothing keeping them apart.

So then the point becomes "spending only 3 years together isn't enough." What number is enough, then? 5 years? 10 years? Any number is arbitrary for a case like this. But the length of time doesn’t matter because, to me, Frozen 1 showed how strong of a bond Anna and Elsa have despite hardly ever being in physical contact…a bond of love strong enough to thaw a frozen heart. So to think that now they could never be happy unless they're physically together 24/7 does an injustice to that bond that transcends physical boundaries. They suffered because of their separation in Frozen 1 – that was a true separation, because they wanted to have a relationship but were forced apart against their wills – and at the end of the movie, they could finally have the relationship they were yearning for. And at the end of Frozen 2, not only was their love cemented further from the epic adventure they shared, but they can continue to see each other as a family as well as live out the new roles bestowed upon them. Unlike a movie with an actual separation ending, like Toy Story 4 for example, where Woody and Buzz would never be able to see each other again except by some crazy coincidence, there is literally nothing stopping Anna and Elsa from continuing to have adventures together in future stories, while also satisfying their new duties and enjoying their lives both individually and as a family. That sounds like a very fulfilling life to me.

But the "Anna sans Elsa" book proves that they barely see each other and Anna misses Elsa a lot.

This sentiment comes down to whether you want to consider the relatively few post-movie storybooks as true canon or not. I consider them loose canon at best because no one involved with the creation of the canon Frozen movies/shorts had any involvement in their development and probably even knows they exist. There's also the fact that they're having such a minimal release – just one or two European countries have been getting them, and they're not even being released in English, which is arguably Disney's largest market. There're also conflicting implications between the stories, for example, the "Anna sans Elsa" book implies that Elsa hasn't visited for a long time, but the German comic where Elsa visits for charades implies that she does visit regularly (from @bigfrozenfan‘s translation here, she says "I wouldn't have missed an evening of charades with you for anything in the world!"). Then there's the "Explore the North Book" which shows Queen Anna visiting Elsa in the forest. Just because this book isn't a story is no reason to disregard it, especially when you consider the fact that it was the first book released to show the sisters interacting post-movie, plus it was actually released in larger markets, like the US and Japan. Even Anna's letter within the movie canon itself, telling Elsa not to be late for charades, is not written in a way that implies she hasn't seen Elsa for a long time. If anything, it implies the opposite to me…that these visits occur regularly. So what we can conclude from this is that Disney's publishing branch is releasing a few post-movie stories to limited markets to make some extra earnings, but obviously the book/comic authors are restricted with the kinds of stories they can depict; as in, they can't have stories that would affect the lore and canon, like showing Elsa's role in the forest or how Northuldra/Arendelle relationships are progressing. So they're going with safe side-stories like Anna doing familiar things in Arendelle and Elsa visiting for charades – things that can be inferred from the movie's ending but don't continue the narrative past that. This could also be why these books are having such a small release. Perhaps because the English-speaking market is so large, anything brought to that market could be seen as having relevance and clout, and Disney doesn't want that for these stories (because there's really no reason to not bring the books to other markets when children's book sales are soaring thanks to the pandemic). The "Anna sans Elsa" book is even getting a re-release with new pictures, again, only in French, which to me further illustrates the limitations on post-movie stories currently going on. So ultimately, I would not take details from these books/comics that are available to only 0000.1% of Disney's worldwide market as the "word of god," especially when they're inconsistent with each other and canon implies otherwise.

Anna isn't fit to be queen.

I'm not really sure what (canon) examples there are of Anna showing traits that would hinder her ability to be a good queen, or at least not as good a queen as Elsa. Is the reason for this because of her naivete about Hans? There's no evidence that shows she hasn't learned her lesson from that…it's not like she rushed into marrying Kristoff right away. If it's something about her personality being too reckless or something, Elsa has exhibited recklessness too, doing things without forethought like running away to live alone in an ice palace and risking her life to dive into Ahtohallan. But despite having these very human flaws, Elsa still turned out to be a good queen, so why would Anna be the opposite? Anna has proven herself to be brave, noble, and outgoing with people…all of which are great qualities for a ruler. Plus she's lived among royalty her whole life, and no doubt helped Elsa during her reign as queen, so she's not going into the position as a total novice. We barely see Elsa doing queenly activities in the Frozen canon, so how can we assume she's so much more fit to be queen than Anna? Again, I think this is another sentiment that stems from an aversion to something unfamiliar: fans want Elsa to remain queen because we've been familiar with that for years, but that doesn't mean Anna can't be a good queen, too. Canon-wise we haven't yet seen Anna do anything in the way of ruling, so why not give her the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove herself?

The first Frozen established that Elsa shouldn't live in isolation and yet she's doing it again in Frozen 2.

In the first Frozen, Elsa isolated herself out of fear and refused to even get near anyone. What evidence is there that this is happening at the end of Frozen 2? I've heard assumptions that she's living in Ahtohallan now, but we don't know that for sure. The last scene of the movie shows her heading in that direction, but she could be visiting too. But regardless of where her actual place of dwelling is now, there's no reason to believe she's shutting herself off like she did in the first movie. The epilogue shows that she's happily interacting with the spirits, the Northuldra, and makes visits to Arendelle. Home is more than just a physical place where one dwells and sleeps; even if the forest is where Elsa does this now, Arendelle is still her home in all other regards.

An offshoot notion of Elsa living on her own in the forest is that it's somehow akin to the idea that "people who are different should live outside normal society." I don't understand this because to me it implies the person in question is being shunned; that they want to live in normal society but normal society doesn't want them. That is definitely not what's going on at the end of Frozen 2. As I'll explain in the following paragraphs, Elsa stays in the forest because she feels a newfound sense of freedom and is thrilled to explore this new world she found, but she can freely go back to Arendelle whenever she wants, and there's no indication that anyone there loves her any less (they should love her more actually because they all witnessed her save the kingdom from the tidal wave!) At the end if the movie, no one's being ostracized for being "different." Everyone's doing what makes them happy and can freely come and go as they please.

Why does Elsa need to stay in the forest? Why can't she stay in Arendelle and visit the forest?

A large majority of the hard feelings about Frozen 2's ending comes from the fact that it didn't clearly show what Elsa's role in the forest is. I definitely admit that the ending would have benefited from expanding on this, even just another line or two. But to me, it still leaves enough information for us to make reasonable inferences about what she's doing. We don't see the Northuldra or Arendellians interacting in the epilogue, which makes sense since they hated each other for decades and it'll take time to mend the relationship between them. When Elsa says to Anna "we'll continue to do this together" conveys to me that she knows they still have work to do as far as making amends between the kingdoms…she and Anna can serve as dual queen ambassadors between the two sides, a bridge, so to speak. Then there's also the fact that the spirits were angry for decades and it'll take time for them to return to the peaceful coexistent they had with the Northuldra, something Elsa can certainly help with (again, we don't see the spirits interacting with the Northuldra in the epilogue, only with Elsa).

On top of that, there's the fact that Elsa spent her whole life believing she was the only magical being in the world, and now she's discovered this whole new land of magic just waiting to be explored. As I explained in my analysis book, if we consider Elsa believing for years that her powers were a curse and no one but her possessed magic, and suddenly she's brought to a place where other magical beings exist, as well as a group of people who live in harmony with them, plus the fact that she's somehow a bridge between both magic and humans, it makes sense she'd be ecstatic and want to spend time indulging in this new land. The reason she doesn't just visit the forest while living in Arendelle is because being queen is a full time job that requires her to be present as much as possible. Trying to stay on top of all her queenly responsibilities while going back and forth to the forest all the time wouldn't amount to the kind of quality she wants for Arendelle royalty. But having someone like Anna who's already familiar with royal activities and loves Arendelle with all her heart, would be perfect for the role. Elsa never indicated it was her dream to be queen of Arendelle. She was born into the role and accepted it, and if the events of Frozen 2 never occurred, would have probably lived out her life happily in that position. But happiness isn't necessarily a final destination and sometimes things come along that alter the status quo, but also enhance what we thought was already a good life. What we can infer from Frozen 1 is that she doesn't want to live in fear and have to constantly suppress her powers and that she wants to have a relationship with her sister again. None of this is taken away from her at the end of Frozen 2: she's not living in fear but in freedom, she can use her powers without restraint and in brand new ways with the spirits and Ahtohallan, and she can not only continue to see her sister often and foster their relationship, but she can grow her relationship with herself and this new realization about the origin of her powers. And still another reason, perhaps the true purpose of the fifth spirit is more than a single task and Elsa is trying to discover what it is: what more can she do with her amazing powers now that the forest is free, both for the benefit of the Northuldra, the spirits, Arendelle…maybe even the world? There's a wealth of possibilities for future stories, and I believe this ties back to the fact that the post-movie books/comics can't touch on what her role in the forest is because it's too closely tied to continuing the canon story, and until the heads at Disney decide what direction to take it, all spin-off content will be limited.

And yes, it's true that these are just my theories, but they're theories based on many hours of rewatching, analyzing, and thinking critically about the movie, which I think is better than just dismissing the idea that Elsa has a role to play in the forest simply because it wasn't explicitly shown. Just because Elsa's new lot in life isn't spoon-fed to us doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and I think it's much more logical, and imaginative, to assume she's doing the kinds of things I just mentioned as opposed to doing nothing of significance in her life now. I prefer to be logical and imaginative, so I’m going with these reasons unless canon shows otherwise.

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After reading all this, you might think I'm in love with the ending of Frozen 2 and think it's perfect, but that's not the case. While I love Frozen 2 overall, I admit that the ending was rushed and it wasn't my first choice of an ending for the sequel I was anticipating for years. But at the same time, I'm open-minded, especially in regards to the fact that the story and characters I'm invested in are not my personal creations. They’re the products of someone else’s experiences, values, and beliefs, and I have to recognize that this is what makes them interesting even though I may not agree with everything. But who am I to say that my vision and headcanons for Frozen are somehow better than those of the filmmakers? I don't think so highly of myself as being more of an authority on Frozen than the creators themselves or even my fellow hardcore fans. But I have spent many hours of my life these past 7 years examining and analyzing the franchise and its characters, so I'd like to believe my words have at least some weight to them. That's the wonder of fiction…that someone's ideas can be interpreted and appreciated in a variety of ways by a variety of people. But that's also the tragedy of fictional stories that continue on with long gaps in between, like the gap between the two Frozen movies. During that long time, we can't help but build and prop up our headcanons and develop the feeling that we know these characters inside and out, what is and isn't good for them, how they would and wouldn't react in all situations, etc,. But two and a half hours (which is about the length of time of Frozen 1 plus the two shorts) is not enough time to show so much of a characters’ personality that we could really know them as much as we’d like (especially Elsa, who got relatively little screentime in the first movie). So when we're presented with the continuation of the story and find that the creators had a different view, a view that didn't return to the status quo we were familiar with, it can be very jarring. But that's the risk of falling in love with someone else's creations. And thankfully, the beauty of headcanons is that they're all our own and can be adjusted. Even though the outcome of Frozen 2 was not what I was expecting, it was a minimal effort to adjust my headcanons because I don't feel the ending was so outrageous and far removed from everything I loved previously about the franchise, for reasons I hope I explained clearly in this post.

If you still can't feel any better about the end of Frozen 2 despite all I've discussed here, I'm sorry…I really tried my best. All I can say now is that I hope future content will rekindle your appreciation for the franchise. I know it's been over a year since Frozen 2, which seems like a long time to go without any announcements of new material, but we have to remember that that's not a long time at all by Disney standards. The recent Disney investor's meeting proves how long it takes to churn out new content, especially on the animation side of things, as it took years for Princess and the Frog, Zootopia, and Moana to finally get new content. Disney immortalizes all their popular franchises and could go back to them months, years, or even decades later (The Lion Guard series came out over 20 years after The Lion King for example). Unlike other Disney franchises like Marvel and Star Wars that have their own production teams and studios, Frozen has to share resources with all of WDAS's other projects. So a year is still too early for the studio to go back to Frozen again, especially if you consider that it's technically only been a few months since we got new Frozen content in the form of Once Upon a Snowman. Patience is the key now and we don't know what the future holds. But I'm someone whose opinions will change with new information, so maybe tomorrow we could get an announcement about a new Frozen YA novel or Disney+ series that shows Anna and Elsa rarely see each other and Anna misses Elsa and Elsa's doing nothing noteworthy in the forest and everything I've said here can be tossed out the window. I don't think that will be the case though, so as long as we don't know anything for sure, I want to go with a positive outlook because, at the end of the day, your fandoms should lift you up instead of bring you down. Frozen is a juggernaut for Disney so I'd rather they take their time with the next installment for the franchise. It's not so much a question of "if" as much as "when" and "in what form"? So until we have those answers, I wish you all well…don't let the hope die out.

#frozen #frozen 2 #frozen2 #disney frozen

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geekgirles · 4 years

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Chloé’s redemption arc

I know I’m probably late to the party, but I’ve been meaning to do this analysis for a while, as I think there’s still much to be discussed.

When I first watched Miracle Queen, I must admit it was not in the best viewing quality possible. I watched it when it first premiered, in Ukranian (I think? Sorry, since I know nothing about the language I don’t really remember), in clips, and with lots of major events lacking. So that didn’t help improve my opinion on the episode compared to what we were promised (i.e. we were bound to cry), and what we got in Love Eater.

But I got the jest: Chloé is no longer Ladybug’s ally.

Meaning all the time we spent hoping for her redemption was for naught.

And even so, I must admit that we should have seen it coming. Congratulations, members of the fandom who never believed in Chloé, you were proven right (this isn’t meant as a sarcastic remark, don’t worry).

What I mean to say is, the whole Queen Bee fiasco was foreshadowed during the season! Just like Chloé becoming Queen Bee was foreshadowed during season 2.

In season 2, whenever Chloé was given some focus, we got glimpses of her redeeming qualities, or aspects of her life/personality that were supposed to make us feel more sympathetic about her.

First of all, compared to season 1, Chloé didn’t cause nearly as many akumatisations in season 2, and when she caused them (directly, Malediktator, undirectly, Zombizou), she played an important role in the episode instead of being just their target.

In Despair Bear, thanks to Adrien’s coaxing, she tried to be a better person, and it probably would’ve done much more than just throwing a party, or trying to not be rude to others had Adrien hold her accountable for her actions longer (no Adrien salt, though. Just facts).

In fact, the first hint on Chloé’s heroic side was shown then, when she actively did her best to help/save Ladybug from Despair Bear.

Then, we have Zombizou.

True, her actions at the begining of the episode where far, far, far from heroic. Sabotaging Marinette’s present because she’d forgotten to bring one of her own was petty, mean, and childish. But she sacrifised herself for Ladybug and genuinely apologised to Miss Bustier.

In Style Queen she was clever enough to pretend to be on her mother’s side in order to prevent “being fired” by her, but she remained loyal to Ladybug and even tried to help her.

When it comes to Queen Wasp, even if Chloé’s actions were guided by the wrong reasons, in the end she acknowledged her mistakes, and even apologised. Hinting that there might actually be hope for her. Not to mention, she only used the miraculous when she was fed up with her mother belittling her in favor of Marinette, which, let’s face it, would be harsh for anyone.

And finally, we had Malediktator; the episode where Queen Bee became more than just a fantasy. That episode was the most hopeful of them all when it came to Chloé becoming a better person.

We saw Chloé displaying powerful emotions and intentions: sadness, courage, remorse...

She proved she was actually a competent wielder, and a loyal ally to Ladybug.

Heck, she was even nince to Sabrina.

See? Season 2 was meant to make us believe that Chloé’s change was possible. But season 3 threw many hints on the opposite.

In retrospective, the biggest hint would be Stormy Weather 2.

Chloé’s actions there were inexcusable: she bullied Aurore like she messed with Ivan when he got akumatised, she kept on mistreating Sabrina, and for the first time we saw her desire to be Queen Bee again, no matter the cost. (Which would have been taken more seriously had the episode premiered after Miraculer like it was supposed to...)

And the biggest hint of all: “Once a villain, always a villain.”

Honestly, considering we already knew the synopsis for Miracle Queen then, I don’t know how we didn’t see it coming sooner...

And her interaction with Chat in Bakerix could be taken as one as well. Just like in Startrain, Chloé seemed to be starting to believe that just because she’d been previously entrusted with a miraculous, that she would always be needed. No matter the circumstances. When in truth, 90% of the time Ladybug hands out a miraculous is because she needs some very specific skills that are granted by one specific miraculous. So it’s a given Chloé wouldn’t always get the bee.

And, of course, there’s Animaestro. Besides Stormy Weather, that’s the other episode where she was like her season 1 self the most. Just because she didn’t like Kagami, and because she was jealous of her bond with Adrien, she cooked up a plan to embarrass her and even talked Marinette into helping her. Just like she would do to Marinette during most of the first season.

But because they can’t just hand us a straight up answer about Chloé being redeemable or not, they threw Miraculer and its “Chloé resisted akumatisation” scene at us. But, to be honest, considering the level of entitlement she displayed during the episode, we should have kept our guard up for the finale.

This is something that was most likely foreshadowed in the ending card:

Chloé’s back was turned on us, symbolising her future betrayal. That she would turn her back on Ladybug. The only one smiling was Hawk Moth, meaning he was up to no good. And after Sabrina had been defeated, Chloé got rid of both her picture with Ladybug, and her costume of her, signifying that she no longer looks up to her like she used to.

And, of course, there’s the finale.

Many will say it was Marinette’s fault for entrusting the miraculous to Kagami instead of Chloé, but seriously? I actually believe she made the right choice.

No matter how you look at it, Kagami wasn’t in nearly as much danger as Chloé was. Sure, Hawk Moth knows of their secret identities, but Kagami only revealed hers to her mother (who’d forgotten all about it once she was deakumatised) and Hawk Moth, whose least concern at the moment was the actual akuma battle.

Chloé, on the other hand, had revealed her identity to all of Paris, including her parents. The ones who were akumatised at the moment.

One could argue that was all the more reason to give Chloé the miraculous, but considering Love Eater had no qualms in endangering their daughter when she had no powers, I wouldn’t put it past them to do the same if they were to battle. And don’t forget it was them who were at fault for Queen Bee’s akumatisation during Heroes’ Day. That was Hawk Moth using Chloé’s identity against her.

When it comes to Marinette, her only mistake was not detransforming when visiting Master Fu. Had she done it, and the most Chat and her would have had to face would be an akumatised Chloé. But not Miracle Queen.

Was Marinette troubled by her own emotions when she picked the miraculous? Of course. But, ultimately, when it comes to her chosen, she made the right choice.

Now Chloé, despite being emotionally vulnerable, could’ve done better. After all, she managed to do so in Miraculer. She also had plenty of reasons to trust Ladybug before Hawk Moth when he was trying to manipulate her.

I can’t take the fact that she tried resisting him at first from her, but you can’t take away from me the fact that she gave in, either.

When Hawk Moth was trying to convince her to side with him, he gave her reasons to betray Ladybug that were as easy to debunk as Lila’s lies. But just like that particular example, Chloé didn’t do something crucial; she didn’t think clearly.

“What has she ever done for you?”

“Nothing.”

That is the biggest lie I have ever heard! Not even Lila’s are that bad!

Because Ladybug had done so much for Chloé. And so many times! Arguably, Ladybug had done more for Chloé than her parents ever did.

She’s saved her countless times of akumas, many of which she’d caused.

She apologised for her mistakes (Antibug) or any action that might’ve hurt Chloé (Miraculer).

She entrusted her with a miraculous even when she had previously proved she wasn’t the smartest choice.

She listened to her problems and offered valuable advice and support.

Seriously, Ladybug has been more of a role model to Chloé than literally any other character in the show.

But did that mean anything to Chloé?

No.

In the end, her desire to be exceptional and celebrated outweighed her admiration for Ladybug.

In the end, the brat beat the hero.

And her immature rant and desperate attempts at the end of Miracle Queen didn’t really help either. She kept blaming Ladybug for not giving her the bee miraculous, which she constantly referred to as ‘hers’; she actually tried to grab the akuma Hawk Moth released after being defeated, she even tried to keep the Miraculous Box to herself!

Hate to say it, but it was kinda pathetic.

And, honestly? Now that she no longer has Ladybug as someone to look up to in her life, and her parents will probably be busier trying to rekindle their relationship than paying attention to her, I can only imagine she will walk down an even darker path. Especially given the debut of a new Bee Miraculous Holder.

A miraculous holder that looks, suspiciously, a lot like Chloé. But who we know it’s not her, mainly because it’s been confirmed, and she’s been described as “very sweet.”

Now, this is mere speculation, but I believe this might actually be the true introduction of Amber Bourgeois.

Remember her? She was thought to be Chloé’s sister and the original holder of the bee, a belief very widely spread until the SDCC2016/17 (?), where Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were first featured.

It would actually explain Lindalee Rose’s statement; “secret siblings.” And this is perfectly plausible if we keep in mind that Félix was supposed to have been deleted when they created Adrien. But, hey! He has an entire episode dedicated to him! Crazy, right?

But back to the point. If Amber were to appear and prove herself to be way more likeable than Chloé, that would surely put her in a foul mood. Especially if she were to receive the Bee Miraculous. And I’m not even saying that Chloé has to know her sister’s her replacement to be mad!

As I see it, it wouldn’t be impossible to believe that, one way or another, Chloé had always been in Amber’s shadow, especially when it comes to Audrey and her affection. Probably, Amber wouldn’t only be nicer and generally more likeable than Chloé, she would probably be more exceptional than her, earning her the attention and approval from Audrey that Chloé so desperately seeks.

Maybe, we’ll see Chloé was so attached to the idea of being a hero because she genuinely thought that was her only chance to be something her sister wasn’t. She might have thought she could only be exceptional if she was Queen Bee.

Which will only be all the more painful when she realises that she truly has no chance to ever wield the miraculous again, not only because she betrayed Ladybug, but because she’s been replaced.

Both scenarios, losing the miraculous to another or having her sister outshine her again, would actually explain her fifth and new akumatisation in season 4.

So is Chloé really capable of redemption?

If you ask me, she is. But she’ll have to earn it as Chloé Bourgeois, not as Queen Bee or through any external help other than the hard truth.

What do I mean with this? Simple; redemptions happen when the character actually faces the consequences of their actions, consequences that are as grave as the mistakes or crimes they committed. So if we want Chloé to be redeemed, she must realise that she messed up, big time, after her actions catch up to her.

It’s for this reason why I personally don’t see a ship such as Luckloé happening.

People argue Luka could be a good influence on her and they would really complement the other and bla, bla, bla...

Seriously, though. What could Luka possibly do that shouldn’t have been already achieved by Ladybug or Adrien?

It’s true Luka could call her out on her flaws, and maybe she would try to be better in order to appease him. But just like with Adrien, it’d only be that, an attempt to get in their good graces again, not a genuine attempt to be a better person. Meaning, the moment Luka, or Adrien, or whoever she might want to impress forgive her, she’ll be back to being her usual self.

And don’t try telling me Luka would actually hold her accountable for her actions for more than an episode, because if there’s something that should be learned when watching Miraculous Ladybug that is that feelings can blind us.

For starters, that is literally the reason Hawk Moth even has akumas!

Hawk Moth literally depends on his victims’ hurt feelings to make it easier for him to get under their skin and get them to agree to being turned into his minions. All for the sake of revenge.

Second, although I am going to go on a bit of a tangent here, that is also what happens to those involved in this show’s complicated love story.

Surprisingly enough, Kagami is the best example.

Despite being the most stoic one of the four teenagers that are romantically involved with each other, she allows her feelings for Adrien to blind her from things she doesn’t take kindly from other people.

For example, there’s the thing with moving on. Out of all the four of them, Kagami is the only one who’s shown no intention of actually letting go of Adrien. Because, even if Marinette and Adrien are certainly very attached to their own crushes, it’s been shown more than once that they have at least considered moving on from Adrien and Ladybug; respectively. And as for Luka, he’s made it very clear ever since Frozen that he would gladly let go of Marinette if it means she’ll be happy. Kagami, on the other hand, has made it very clear that she wholeheartedly believes Adrien and she belong together and that she refuses to let go of him entirely, preferring to wait for him to realise she’s the best choice.

There’s also the fact that Kagami’s stated many times she isn’t one to hesitate, nor does she have a lot of patience for those who do. Even going as far as saying Adrien’s hesitation was hurting her. However, that doesn’t stop her from still going after him, even when it has led her to doubt and don’t think highly of others.

See what I mean?

With this I’m trying to say that even Luka could be too blinded by his feelings for Chloé to actually make her rectify her behaviour if Lukloé were to happen.

And there’s also the fact that if there’s any relationship she should work to mend and improve first, it should be her friendship with Sabrina.

Summing up, while I believe not all hope is lost, I also think Chloé shouldn't be entrusted with a miraculous again. She should work to be exceptional as Chloé, not as a hero. She should learn to be a better Chloé Bourgeois, not a better Queen Bee.

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songtoyou · 3 years

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Chapter 6: Earned It

Tolerate It

Paring: Modern!Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character

Story Rating: R (No minors should read this fic).

Word Count: 2,187

Warnings: This chapter is very smutty. Male receiving. Female receiving. Bondage. Flogging.

Description: Tommy Shelby is the owner and CEO of Shelby Company Limited. Starting out as a Bookmaker, Tommy had big ideas to expand his riches. In the past ten years, the company has grown rapidly to expand its business ventures from bars to producing alcohol, manufacturing motor vehicle parts, and exporting. One of the richest men in Great Britain, Tommy Shelby, has it all. Unfortunately, the death of his wife, Grace, left the multi-millionaire mogul alone and depressed. He needed someone to fulfill his needs and deepest darkest desires.

Chapter Summary: Tommy takes Rose back to his place after the gala for some fun and much-needed stress relief. He continues to pry more into Rose's personal life.

A/N: I am still getting used to writing smut. I hope I did this chapter justice.

I do not permit my work to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Tag list: @owenniasstars

The drive to Tommy's home was quiet. Rose looked out the window as they entered the upscale London neighborhood. The homes were beautiful. Before Tommy pulled the car into his underground garage, Rose could make out the spacious townhouse. With the car in park, Rose stepped out and saw a full view of the other vehicles in the garage.

"Wow," she said, noting the different set of cars, which ranged from Audis to BMWs, to a Lexus. "You actually drive all of these cars?"

"The Audi is new. Haven't tested it out properly yet," Tommy shrugged and grabbed Rose's hand to lead her to the elevator that would take them up to the townhouse.

The main part of the home was exquisite. Tommy's tastes were immaculate. Everything was so elegant and fancy, from the furniture to the art on the wall. However, Rose could tell that this wasn't a home that was "lived in" but rather that it was more for a show of Tommy's status and wealth. Everything was white and too clean. Nothing was out of place. It was all too designed. Nothing homey about Tommy's home, which didn't quite surprise Rose.

"Fancy something to drink before we start?" Tommy asked, lighting a cigarette. Rose turned to him and asked for a whisky, no ice. "Take a seat. I will be right back," he instructed Rose.

She sat on the couch and continued to look around the home. No family pictures insight, which was weird to Rose. With all its elegance and pageantry, this home was empty of any happiness or warmth.

When Tommy returned with their drinks, he sat down next to Rose on the couch. While Tommy practically downed his drink, Rose took small sips.

"Let's talk," spoke Tommy. It definitely was not a question but more of an order. He leaned back on the couch, and Rose repeated his actions.

"What do you want to talk about?" Rose asked, continuing to take small sips of her whiskey, which was really good. Unquestionably high-quality whiskey in Tommy's collection.

"You. If that is okay?"

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "What do you want to know about that you haven't looked into yourself?"

"Why did you leave Blackpool?"

"There was nothing there for me," Rose responded rather quickly, Tommy noted.

"Your parents still live in Blackpool," he noted. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No. Only child. I'm sure my parents wish they had more since I turned out to be such a disappointment. Not only did the Turners' only child have to get pregnant at sixteen, but she's a whore to boot. Yeah, they won that jackpot."

"Don't get down on yourself. You made a nice life for yourself and your son. Not many people can say that," Tommy reassured Rose.

"I guess so. This isn't exactly the career I had in mind, you know. I got…I needed a way to make a living without relying on my parents or Louis's father. The job I have at New City College never paid enough."

Tommy took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke. "What does your son think you do to bring in money? There is no way a part-time job as a program assistant at New City College provides enough."

"It doesn't. He thinks I work as a full-time Program Manager at the College. He will never find out what I actually do. Never. It would destroy him."

"What about your son's father? Is he still around?" Tommy inquired.

"He's around. Not much, but he stops by unannounced every so often. Louis's dad, Nick, keeps asking me to marry him. He's been asking since I got pregnant all those years ago," she revealed.

"Sounds noble of him. Why do you keep turning him down?"

"Because I don't love Nick, and he isn't exactly a good person. He has gotten into trouble. Petty crime. Some jail time. He says he has cleaned up his act, but I can't risk it, you know. Louis is still so attached to him. My son is the one I worry about getting his heart broken in all of this if his dad and I didn't work out. Which I already know we won't," Rose shared with Tommy. "You knew about Nick, didn't you? I mean, you looked into my life and my son's life. There is no reason why you wouldn't do the same to the man who got me pregnant at sixteen years old. You have too many assets to protect. You have this inquisitive need to know about everything and everyone to protect yourself. The last thing Tommy Shelby would ever want is to be blindsided. Am I right?"

Tommy downed the rest of his whiskey and loudly placed it on the coffee table with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Get undress," he ordered Rose cheekily and sat deep on the couch.

"Did I hit a nerve, Mr. Shelby?" Rose teased while starting with her shoes. "The questioning stops when I turn the tables on you, huh."

When Rose got her shoes off, she asked Tommy to help unzip the back of the dress. He did so but made sure to graze his hand against her back.

With the dress off, Rose was standing in her fancy bra and underwear that Tommy purchased. He reached for Rose and guided her on his lap. Cupping Rose's breasts, Tommy gave them a hard squeeze and ran his hands down to her ass. Rose leaned in to capture Tommy's lips while running her own hands up his chest. She pulled off his suspenders and untucked his shirt.

"Just rip it off," Tommy ordered, "I can get a new one."

Ripping his shirt open, Rose tossed it off to the side. Tommy lifted his arms for Rose to take off his undershirt. Now completely shirtless, Rose began placing kisses all over Tommy's chest and grinding against his hard cock.

She got off his lap and got down on her knees. Rose unzipped his pants and reached inside for his cock. She began stroking it up and down and licked the precum off the tip. Tommy let out a moan that echoed throughout the room.

Soon, Rose engulfed his length into her mouth and began to bob her head up and down his shaft. It wasn't long before Tommy blew his load in her mouth, which she happily swallowed.

Before Rose could bring her mouth around him again, Tommy held her off.

"Wait," blurted Tommy while tucking himself back in his pants. For a moment, Rose was confused until Tommy mentioned taking it upstairs. She got off of the floor to him quickly and followed him. He led Rose into one of the several guest bedrooms. She saw her overnight bag in the corner. Tommy proceeded to lock the door, then close the blinds.

Reaching for Rose, Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his forehead against her own. "Tell me the words before we start?"

"Green for go. Yellow to slow down. Red for stop," Rose recited to Tommy.

"Don't ever hesitate to say Red or Yellow if anything becomes too much for you, yeah," Tommy uttered and unclipped Rose's bra and pulled down her underwear. "It has been a long day, love. I need to release all my pent-up stress and frustrations. Let me take it out on your beautiful body. Would you grant that wish, love?" Tommy asked. He wanted Rose's consent. He wanted to make sure she was okay with what he hand in store for her.

"Yes, Tommy. I consent," she replied and began to unbuckle his belt. However, Tommy stopped Rose and ordered her to the bed. She did just that and saw Tommy retreat to the closet.

When Tommy returned, he had a black duffle bag placed on the floor next to the bed. She saw he pulled out leather cuffs, a ball gag, and a Hitachi vibrator. He took cuffs and attached them to her wrists and ankles. He then got out some rope and tied each wrist to the headboard and the ankles to the end of the bed.

"You feel okay," Tommy asked, checking the ropes to make sure they were secure. "Use your words," he added when Rose only nodded her reply.

"I feel good," she answered while flexing her wrist and ankles in the cuffs to test them out.

Before Tommy got to the ball gag or Hitachi, he placed himself between Rose's legs and began rubbing his thumb along her clit. "It doesn't take much to get you wet, does it," he teased as Rose continued to grind against his thumb. He then leaned forward to trace his tongue along her folds.

The feeling of Tommy's tongue made Rose buck her hips off the bed. Tommy chuckled and used his free hand to place on her stomach to keep her in place.

When Rose was about to reach her peak, Tommy pulled away and wiped her residue from his face. She saw Tommy grab the Hitachi and bring it closer to her pussy. He spread her folds once again, placed the vibrator against her clit, and turned it on.

Starting in a low setting, Rose began moving along the vibrator to offset the sensation she felt. Whenever she was about the reach that sweet feeling of release, Tommy would pull the vibrator away. Rose would only groan in frustration. She knew Tommy was going to prolong her suffering for a while.

This continued until Rose started feeling tears sting her eyes. Tommy clicked off the vibrator once again and grabbed the extra rope that was nearby. He kept the vibrator on Rose's pussy but proceeded to tie it in place with the rope. He gave the sex toy a nice tug to make sure it stayed in place, then got off the bed. Tommy took the ball gag in his hands.

"Open," he directed Rose and placed the gag in her mouth. He secured it tightly around her head and ran his hand alongside her cheek, neck, and down to her breasts. He continued to roam her body until he reached the Hitachi and clicked it on. This time to a high setting.

"I need you to suffer for me, Rose. I need it. I crave it," Tommy began to say, "I'm going to allow you to have all the orgasms you want. I want to watch the tears stream down your face when it begins to hurt. I want to hear your muffled screams begging for me to turn the vibrator off. I want it all. So, I'm going to sit back and watch you suffer for me."

There was nothing Rose could do but endure all the pain and pleasure Tommy gave her. So, she lay there on the bed, restrained, gagged, and made to cum over and over while Tommy merely sat back and watched.

When the vibrator was switched back to its low setting, Rose opened her eyes to see Tommy standing by the bed. She could barely make out what was in his hand. It wasn't until Rose felt a stinging sensation on her stomach that she realized it was a flogger. A leather flogger from the looks of it. Tommy kept bringing it down across her breasts, stomach, thighs, and legs. He did this repeatedly, and all Rose could do was endure it.

Tommy loved the way Rose's body squirmed under the vibrator and now the flogger.

"So pretty," he said while tracing the deep red marks along her body. "Like beautiful ribbons all along your body."

After a few more hits with the flogger, Tommy put it away and upped the speed on the vibrator once again.

Rose couldn't tell how much time had passed, but by her fifth or was it sixth orgasm, everything hurt.

"That's it, love. You're almost done. I need one more out of you," Tommy encouraged as he caressed Rose's cheek while wiping away the tears. "You're doing so good," he added.

By the final orgasm, Rose let out a loud, muffled scream. Tommy turned off the vibrator, and she passed out on the bed. He took out the ball gag from Rose's mouth and wiped the excess drool from her chin. Tommy untied the vibrator from Rose's leg and unhooked the cuffs from her ankles and wrists. He began to rub back the circulation in her joints slowly. He then gently rubbed an herbal balm cream on the areas he flogged to help the irritated skin. The feeling of the cream being rubbed into her skin was soothing for Rose as she continued to lie on the bed and get her breathing under control. The session was intense but pleasurable for her. She hadn't felt that good in a long time. Yeah, it hurt, but it was a good hurt.

"How are you feeling?" Tommy asked, lying down next to Rose and wrapped his arms around her. She slowly turned more towards him to tuck herself closer to his chest.

"Good. Tired," Rose managed to say.

"Rest now, love. You've earned it."

#tommy shelby #tommy shelby x oc #peaky blinders #peaky blinders fic

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harderbetterfasterstarker · 4 years

Note

2. For the first time in a decade, Tony has a sex tape leak. This one was filmed without his knowledge. As awful as it is having a non-consensual sex tape of oneself go viral, Tony never really cared whether the internet saw the full monty before—until now. This time he definitely cares. Because this time, the guy in the video with Tony—well, he looks undeniably like Tony’s 18-yo mentee. How do people react? What does the media do with the story? And most importantly, how does Peter react?

ahhh this was such a good prompt and it instantly caught my attention and inspired me!! sorry it’s a little longer than I initially planned for just random prompt fills but I had a lot of feelings~

tags: starker, mature, angst with a happy ending

The image quality is a little blurry, not quite in focus, but the bodies are clear enough, Tony’s fucking face clear enough as he stares at the man above him, runs his hands over toned skin and down to grip at the man’s ass, pull him to sink down onto him. The audio quality is great, though, picks up the man’s breathy sigh and the groan that gets punched out of Tony as he bottoms out, the slap of skin on skin as the man starts riding him, thin, lithe body twisting and grinding, the sound of Tony murmuring “that’s it, kid, yeah, just like that”, the little sigh the man makes when Tony reaches up to run a hand through chestnut curls and tug, and—

The video pauses, Tony pulling the man’s head back, exposing his undeniably younger face, toned body arching over Tony’s more solid one, the moment frozen in time as Pepper’s picture appears over the holoscreen image.

Tony picks up even though he doesn’t want to, wincing in anticipation.

“At least tell me he’s legal, Tony.”

She sounds more angry than he’d expected, though if she thinks she has to ask whether the man was legal Tony supposes it’s a reasonable anger.

“Christ, Pep, no—I mean—fuck, of course he’s legal.”

He hears her exhale of relief.

“You couldn’t have given PR even the slightest heads up? I know it’s been awhile, but you used to have a protocol for this, Tony.”

Tony winces—at the reprimand, at the reminder of a past when he’d had so many escapades that he’d tell some poor sap in the marketing department when he’d let someone film or take pictures of him in bed so they could be prepared for damage control, at the reminder that that protocol had fallen by the wayside long ago, when he’d first gotten together with Pepper (he hoped the poor marketing sap still had a job, just a better one), and, even worse, at the reminder that despite that, here he was back again, in his fifties with a sex tape leak.

“I didn’t know.” His voice is barely a croak, but he knows that Pepper hears him, even if she follows it up by repeating him incredulously.

“You didn’t know? You—Tony Stark—didn’t realize you were being filmed? What the hell happened, Tony? You used to be careful about this.”

“I know, Pepper, I—” he trails off, instinctively turning for where the bar used to be and then clenching his fist when he’s reminded of the fact he hasn’t had a drink in years. He takes a deep breath, hopes it’ll steady him, tries not to be disappointed when it doesn’t. “How bad did I fuck up, Pep?”

He hears her sigh, hears the shift in her from Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, to Pepper Potts, his ex-wife, one of his best friends, in spite of it all.

“With the company? It won’t be too bad. We’re past the days when the stock rose and fell on your latest news story, and you’ve got a long track record of being able to perform no matter how much of a shitshow your personal life is. With the media? Not great—you know how they love a breakdown story, and you didn’t do yourself any favors with how young he looks. But it’ll pass as soon as the next scandal comes along, probably sometime in the next forty-eight hours.”

Tony waits for the tightness in his chest to release somewhat, but it doesn’t.

Pepper hesitates and he thinks she’s going to hang up, but then she says, “With… him?” And Tony freezes, because he knows who she means, and it’s not the man in the video, and he hadn’t thought she’d know, hadn’t thought anyone knew, that was kind of the whole point of the man in the video, but he supposes that it’s not subtle to anyone who really knows him, not after this leak at least. “I… I don’t know, Tony. I really don’t know.”

The tightness in his chest is now a death grip, and he chokes out a “Thanks, Pep,” before he hangs up the call with a swipe of his hand and collapses back against his worktable. He finds his way over to a back corner, where his old car collection still sits, desperate to get his hands in the guts of his ’32 Ford Flathead Roadster, something old and finicky that he can get lost in for days, until all of this blows over and he can work on getting his life set back to rights. He’s only barely gotten his hands on the engine when he hears the sound of the doors to the lab opening and closing behind someone. He drops the wrench, which lands on a piece of the engine with an accusing clang, because the list of people with automatic access to his lab is short and—at this particular moment—terrifying.

He turns around with his heart already halfway in his throat, because those footsteps are familiar, and he’s greeted by the sight of the one person he’d been most hoping not to see right now. Peter Parker is standing in his lab, at 2 in the morning, peeling off the Spider-Man suit because of course the kid webbed over here, and—fuck, with dark circles and eyes red at the corners as if he’s been crying, and he looks nearly as bad as Tony must look. Tony tries to speak—he does, he really does—tries to say something comforting, or mentor-like, or even just honest, but it catches in his throat and twists and boils and all that comes out is a fucking joke.

“Come to deliver my mentor of the year award?”

Peter makes a strangled noise, and Tony flinches at just how abysmally he’s managed to handle this.

“Fuck, kid, I’m sorry—” he starts, but Peter makes a high-pitched noise that’s somewhere between a laugh and a sob and Tony suddenly wishes he had the wrench back in his hand, because hitting himself with it as hard as he could would have been less painful than hearing Peter make that sound.

“You—y’ called him kid.”

Guilt rips through Tony so fiercely that he actually staggers back to lean against the car, quietly cursing. “Fuck, Peter, I’m sorry, he—I promise, he wasn’t a kid, he was young but he was an adult, he was a consenting adult who was free to do what he wanted, I—”

“And I’m not?” Peter’s cut him off, voice suddenly raised, and in it Tony can hear anger and pain and he it looks like Peter’s fighting back tears, and Tony wants desperately to know what to do, but all he says is “what?”, dumbly confused.

“He—so he’s young but he can be an adult and make his own choices but I’m just a kid, —‘m always just some kid,” Peter says, but Tony finally notices that Peter’s slurring his words slightly, and when he’s done talking he tries to take an angry step towards Tony but ends up swaying, needs to reach out and grab onto a workstation.

“Peter, are you… drunk?” Tony doesn’t bother to conceal the horror in his voice, not because Peter’s drinking—because sure he’s not 21, but no one waits until they’re 21 to start drinking, and Peter deserves as much normalcy as he can possibly get—but because this is Tony’s fault, he’s not drinking for fun with his friends, but Tony’s somehow driven Peter to get drunk, to drown himself in alcohol, and fuck he’s making all of the mistakes he’d never wanted to.

“So what if I am?” Peter says, “ ’s not like you care.”

“Christ, Pete, of course I—I always care, but—shit, how much did you even drink to get drunk, with your metabolism?”

Peter shrugs. “Dunno. Stopped counting. Doesn’t last long, anyway, but I just needed to—just needed to be drunk to come here and say—and say—” Peter slumps forward, as if all of the anger has been drained out of him.

Tony takes a tentative step forward, afraid that Peter’s drinking is actually catching up, suddenly terrified of what could be happening.

“Say what, Peter?” Tony asks gently, taking another step forward, but then Peter looks up and there are tears on his face.

“I don’t—I don’t know, I just—I don’t know if I can do this anymore, Mr. Stark.”

Tony’s stomach drops, to the floor, through the floor, through the center of the goddamn earth, because he has apparently messed this one up badly, terribly badly, and Tony would trade every dollar he has to make this up to Peter, but that’s not how this works, and he wishes he could say the right thing, but he’s Tony Stark, and so even though as he takes a step towards Peter he realizes his own hands are shaking, all that he can say is, “Peter? Pete?”

Peter doesn’t seem to notice or care about his slow approach, just wipes at his eyes with the back of his hands and keeps talking.

“It’s stupid, but I just… I saw it and I told myself not to watch it, but then of course I did, because I’m stupid, and then I got jealous, and that felt even stupider so I started trying to get drunk, and it didn’t really work and all it did was make me realize that I—I mean, the way things were was fine, I could tell myself at first that you had Pepper, and then after that that you didn’t like men like that, or that you would never look at someone as young as me like that, but then there was that guy and—I just—I guess it’s just that’s that it’s me, that’s what I realized, that it’s not my age or my gender, it’s just me that you’ll never see that way, and it’s one thing to be half in love with someone and spend all your time with them when you know you can’t ever have them, and it’s another thing to—to—it just feels like rejection? Even though it’s not?”

Peter pauses to draw in a shaky breath, suppressing a sob, and Tony is aware that he’s trembling now. “Peter, Pete—what are you saying, Pete?” he whispers, mind stuck somewhere between overdrive and frozen, like a part that’s gotten jammed, trying desperately to whir through his thoughts but somehow just—stuck.

“I don’t—you’re right, Mr. Stark, I’m drunk, I’m not—I probably won’t quit in the morning or anything, I couldn’t—but I just—this was dumb, I should just—”

And Peter’s turning away, and heading for the lab doors, and Tony’s desperately trying to send the signals from his brain to his limbs to go after him, to take just one fucking step forward, but it’s not working, and all he can do is yell after him.

“Pete, wait, please!”

But Peter’s not stopping, just says, “It’s okay Mr. Stark, it was a mistake to come here, I’m really sorry, maybe we can just—pretend this didn’t happen, okay?”

And he’s almost at the door and Tony’s finally started to move, but not nearly fast enough, so he says, “FRIDAY, lock the doors!” And he knows his voice sounds a little throaty, a little desperate, but it works, because he hears the smooth click of the lab door sealing shut, sees Peter reach it and push uselessly before turning back around.

“C’mon Mr. Stark, seriously, I don’t wanna—just, please?”

“Pete—you were… jealous?”

And maybe it’s not the best place to start, but it’s the thing that Tony’s brain is stuck on, because it feels so laughable—that Peter could ever be jealous of someone who was only ever meant to be a cheap imitation of Peter. Peter just turns away, trying to hide his face again.

“Mr. Stark, I don’t wanna—I already said I was, I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Tony’s close enough to touch him now, rocks forward as if he might and then thinks better of it, his brain trying to catch up. “Pete, I—I just—god, we were both supposed to be smarter than this. I mean—you honestly think it was a coincidence he looked like that?”

At this, Peter starts to turn around, eyes wide with a mix of confusion and hope, but Tony just keeps going.

“You don’t think every time I called him kid it was because I was picturing you? Shit, I’m sorry, but—you don’t know how hard it was not to give in and call him Peter.”

“Mr. Stark, what are you—are you saying—”

“Stop me if I’m—if you don’t want—” Tony murmurs, closing the distance between them to lean close and press his lips against Peter’s, so gently, tentative, a question. There’s a long moment, and just when Tony’s starting to pull away, resigned to his error, Peter answers, leans forward and wraps a hand around the back of Tony’s neck, pulls him close and opens his mouth in a shuddering gasp, kisses Tony back like he wants to drown in it, and Tony meets him with everything he’s got, finally wraps a hand in those perfect curls, drinks in the soft gasps from Peter until he’s weak in the knees and has to pull away to draw in great gulps of air.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter whispers against his neck, where he’s pressed himself tight to Tony, wrapped in a hug like he’s as afraid of this moment dissipating as Tony is.

“Come to bed, Pete,” Tony says into the top of Peter’s head, feels him nod. And as FRIDAY unlocks the lab and they walk, intertwined, constantly touching, towards Tony’s bedroom, Tony’s mind is for once quiet, content in the knowledge that in a few minutes he can tuck Peter into bed beside him, for now just hold him while they sleep, and in the morning—everything will be better.

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