#obviously i haven’t watched most of these in full so sorry if there’s something notable like that or some other stuff that i didnt mention! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

castiel-left-his-mark-on-me · 3 years

Note

Hi, Ary, very inactive ex-mutual(i think???) here. Good to see you thriving! ♥ It's been a while since I've dipped my head into cockles stuff. Could I perchance maybe ask uuuuum tf is going on??? lol I see Mish apparently confirmed he used to stay over at Jensen's in Van, and heard newbs were apparently freaking out about it and getting a bit messy, which I get that, business as usual. But I'm also seeing shit about spin-offs? And Jared getting in a twitter fight with Jensen, causing/resulting in stans to going feral and sending hate?? I know you're not as big a fan of Jar, but that's part of why I figured I'd ask you, you usually have a really level head about this kinda stuff. If you don't wanna answer publically, or at all, that's totally chill!

Hey, Rhi! We're still mutuals! Of course we're still mutuals! When I saw the notification of your ask, I was like "Hey! I haven't seen you in a while!" and my husband was like "???" and I said "Tumblr" and he said "Oh."

It was a wild time haha.

In any case, welcome back to the dumpster fire! We are obviously still a mess. So to catch you up, I guess I will start by summarizing both before and after the finale (not sure where you left off so this might be redundant for you) ... basically, it became obvious as the end of the show neared that Jensen was not on board with the plan for the finale; although Jared never stopped singing its praises.

We got confirmation of this during a zoom interview where Jensen said that he actually went into the writers room as well as called Kripke to basically voice how he didn't agree with the direction the final season was going, but he was shot down on all fronts. In another interview, he was asked "What would you tell your younger self going into this career?" And Jensen responded with: "I would tell myself to just keep your head down and do the work" meaning, "Don't try to change things because you can't." I also think that this whole situation is what he wrote "Let Me Be" about for his first Radio Company album, but that is just my own speculation. All of his reluctance, even though he always followed it up with "But I eventually saw the value in the script" or "I came around in the end" (which never sounded sincere, and I don't think he was really trying to sound sincere) made us all very nervous about what was to come for 15x20; and of course, when the last two episodes aired, we saw just how badly they fucked it up.

After the awful finale, the entire fandom became aware of the CW's heavy handed role in the thing, basically squeezing all the life out of SPN to shape it into a ramp from which Walker could launch itself. They not only erased all the love and joy and representation that Cas's love confession gave us, they also tore apart the things that made sense about the bond between Sam and Dean, making it really just about Sam-- and therefore Jared, which of course, Jared seemed to be fine with ... even though no one else was. Misha barely said anything during the finale, and a few of the other actors talked about the show ending in various posts, but Jared tweeted up a storm ... and Jensen? Jensen just sat in sexy-silent resentment of the whole thing. He didn't tweet, he didn't post, he didn't say a word once he no longer had to, and I think that's because he was already going full-steam-ahead on his plans for redemption.

Which brings us to Chaos Machine-- Jensen and Danneel's new production company that is being run by a queer creative director and has a mantra of inclusivity and representation woven throughout it's fabric; and apparently, the first story that Jensen wanted to tell through this new platform is the origin story of Sam and Dean's parents; so last week (?) he announced the upcoming production of "The Winchesters" -- the untold love story of John and Mary. Obviously, John is not the most likable character from the show, so the idea was met with a lot of resentment when it was first announced, but Jensen has gone on to say that he is excited to take on the task of telling the "true" story behind these characters-- the one that makes sense with the pre-established canon and doesn't reject it. So, given that, the idea is being mulled over with a bit more optimism from the fandom.

Who isn't being optimistic though?

Jared Padalecki.

When Jensen made this announcement on Twitter, many of his friends and coworkers congratulated him, but not Jared. Jared responded with a passive aggressive: "I'm happy for you, man, but I wish I didn't hear about it through Twitter." This of course, sent all the die-hard Jared fans into a tizzy and they immediately began asking him if he was serious (hoping it was just a joke-- we all hoped it was because there would be fallout no matter what one's opinion on Jared is). Instead of leaving it there though or just deleting that tweet, Jared went on to tweet some more, saying that he was being serious that he didn't know about the plans for the prequel, and that he was "gutted" that Sam apparenlty wouldn't be included (mind you, this a prequel to SPN... meaning BEFORE Sam and Dean were even born, so how could Sam be included? But Dean is apparently narrating this story so maybe Jared thought Sam should be helping to narrate it? I don't know). But Jared being Jared couldn't just leave that there, he then went on to tweet at Robbie Thompson who was announced as a writer for "The Winchesters" so then Jared went off on him too, calling him "Brutus" and a "coward" acting like Robbie betrayed him (speculation is-- Robbie refused to write for Walker, so Jared is pissed that he essentially chose Jensen over him). He did fairly quickly, remove that tweet attacking Robbie, but of course the damage was done at that point. And it truly only took his first tweet calling out Jensen for some people to be like "Jared-- that sucks if you didn't know but why are you saying any of this publicly?"

As you might know, Jared has had issues in the past with posting hurtful things on social media, and has even used it as a tool for attack before-- calling out customer service agents and public workers that he felt have wronged him, which is bad enough ... but for him to then do the same thing to his best friend of well over a decade? Many people who had once liked him or at least gave him the benefit of the doubt (I used to ...) stopped after this latest twitter tantrum.

However, some people have suspected for some time that J2 had a falling out either shortly before the finale or just after. Their public/social media interactions have seemed awkward, stilted or even non-existent in moments that they normally wouldn't be. In the past year, when Walker premiered, Jensen didn't say much about his friend's new venture other than a "Congrats. buddy" here and there. Later, we learned that Jensen refused to work on the show ... Jared said he make him do it, drag Jensen to the set "kicking and screaming" which made many fans quirk up an eyebrow because, why would Jensen put up a fight unless the two weren't as close as they used to be? And then Jensen moved his family to Colorado (either permanently or for an extended period at least) which is notable considering how he moved to Texas seemingly to be closer to Jared, even buying a house that was near his. All this was just speculation though; but it wasn't until Jared's tweet complaining about not knowing about the prequel that the theories behind them falling out, became less theory and more fact.

The day after his twitter tantrum, Jared tweeted again-- not retracting his statements or apologizing, but instead saying that he and Jensen "talked" and were "all good". Jensen then tweeted too, parroting this statement to some degree, which only made the whole thing even more sour in the mouths of the fans. The fact that Jared didn't apologize for his outburst and throwing his friend under the bus, and also the fact that Jensen-- Mr. Sexy Silence, Mr. Never Tweets, Mr. Tech-Ignorant-and-Proud, actually had to POST SOMETHING saying that he and Jared made up, it just screamed OPTICS. It was obviously the work of agents and PR firms and lots of people going "Look, if you two keep beefing, that will mean the death of both of your projects. Even more people will stop watching Walker, and this SPN prequel will never get picked up due to the scandal." So, the two "made nice" publicly to quell the chaos, but in my opinion, it's all too little too late. Jared started a storm that he can't contain now with a little tweet, and it seems like he knows that too because before he talked about him and Jensen making up, he asked that people "not send threats". He could have just as easily said that he shouldn't have made this a public issue and that he's sorry, but instead, he continued to play the victim and stoke the flames by alerting us all to the damage he's done.

Now, like I said before-- I used to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't think he's an awful human or that he deserves to be attacked or anything, but he is an adult man with very poor judgment and an obvious selfish-streak a mile wide. He should know better, and he should have more respect for his so-called "friends" and "brothers" than to make them targets to public ridicule. I have a hard time believing that Jensen still sees Jared the way he used to, and I wouldn't blame him a bit for wanting to pull away-- especially when he's moving on to so many new and exciting things. Jared certainly deserves happiness just as much as anyone else, but he went on twitter and basically asked for a scandal, and he got one.

The question is now-- was there a motive behind it? Was just looking for a reason to bring his and Jensen's falling out to light-- while making himself looking like the victim in the process? Or did he genuinely not know about the prequel and just decided to go about "not knowing" in the most toxic and hurtful way he could manage?

In any case, that is the drama ... that is the J2 insanity in a rather lengthy nutshell ... that is the tea ... and I hope it all makes sense.

But the good news out of all of this is, Cockles is thriving-- they are happy and in love and Jensen calls Misha "Babe" and Misha misses waking up to see Jensen in the morning, and they are just as cute and wonderful as can be.

So, I will end that there. I am so glad to see you back, and I hope I answered all your questions in a way that made sense ... I tried anyway!

💖💖💖

#omg #I don't even know if this makes sense #this took way too long to write #j2 #cockles #long post #spn family #so glad you see you back again my dear #welcome to hell #it's hotter now

170 notes · View notes

squiddybeifong · 3 years

Note

Can I ask for the batsiblings reaction to Damian pacing so much he wore a hole in the floor? Doesn't have to be a fics, maybe headcanons?

Sorry for the rather long wait. Kinda wanted to make this a fic

Here's the floor pacing fic

On Ao3 here

Alfred hadn’t outwardly reacted to Damian’s obvious lie as to why he had paced the floorboards uneven, but the butler absolutely took action for amending the tripping hazard in the boy’s room. With the floor repairman on the line and a measuring tape in hand nothing was amiss, of course.

Dick had already kept him up-to-date with the gossip about the two Titan birds, so Alfred hadn’t been surprised whatsoever. His position in the family meant that he’d watched the awkward budding romances of most everyone who’d called the Manor home. Damian being frustrated at his feelings for a teammate was nothing compared to a (very grown) Bruce being moody after Selina rebuffed his kiss while ‘on the clock’ or Dick’s increasingly creative attempts at sneaking around with Kori before the ‘no dating metahumans or aliens’ rule had been lifted. Honestly, watching the pun-laden flirting that Steph ladled out to both Tim and Cass on a near daily basis was more awkward than his youngest ward taking his repressed emotions out on the floors.

Unfortunately for Damian, the butler arranged for the floor repairman to show up during the day. Most notably, the repairman arrived at exactly the specified 1:35 p.m., not wanting to be late when called upon to fix anything belonging to Bruce Wayne.

Why Robin had believed that (like everyone else in Gotham) this worker would be fashionably late, he didn’t know. What Damian did know was that he hadn’t heard Grayson open the door. Nor had he heard his brother head up with Alfred and the repairman into his room. And he especially didn’t hear as Alfred slyly mentioned that he believed Dick’s gossip was coming to a head, if the worn path in the floor meant anything.

No, Damian heard none of it. Not when he was busy brushing BatCow and making sure that every square inch of the barn was properly ventilated so she couldn’t possibly overheat in the approaching summer weather. So when the youngest Bat stalked into the Manor, he’d been all but ambushed.

It didn’t take a detective to realize why he’d been pacing so much. Even without Alfred’s confirmation, it was unlike Damian to avoid going back to the Titans early if he could help it. Batman hadn’t looked up when Robin had elected to stay another week when they were in the BatCave, but his siblings sure had. And while Bruce didn’t outwardly ponder about how intense things had to be for Damian to go out of his way to avoid a certain someone, this new information had Dick positively enchanted at the prospect of his baby brother being in love.

“I’m not in love with Raven,” Damian hissed out.

Jason snickered as he reclined in his seat, his face full of mirth at the flustered crack in Damian’s voice. Cass was sitting upside down with her legs resting on the couch’s back, her smile wide as she took in her youngest brother’s irritated, embarrassed body language (nevermind the barest hint of an actual blush on his face when vehemently denying any feelings he had towards his fellow Titan).

Babs’ smile was wide and cheerful as she pointed out, “Who said anything about Raven?” Duke perked up from his spot next to Cass, immediately adding on, “Yeah, Dami. We thought you were just falling for her?”

Steph snorted, “Falling over those footprints in the floor, more like it.”

Tim laughed behind his gulp of his coffee, sleepily (and loudly) drawling out to the blonde, “A Robin and his Raven. Guess you can say they’re a real pair of lovebirds, huh?”

Damian glared at them all, fighting the urge to pinch between his eyes. Why were all the Bats at the Manor? Shouldn’t they be on patrol instead of bothering him?

Jason clicked his tongue and rested his arms on the table. He met Dick’s gaze, saw the way his older brother’s eyes brightened up with mischief and scratched at the streak of white in his hair. Deciding that messing with Damian was by far the most fun he’d have in the Manor that morning, Jason asked, “So, Lil’ D… What’re you gonna get your girlfriend? Can’t come back empty handed.”

“She’s not my--”

Babs interrupted him, nudging Tim with her elbow, “Do not tell me he wasn’t planning on getting her anything.”

Steph lazily rested on the chair’s edge. The blonde leaned over to rest against Jason’s shoulder, her fist pressed to her face. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek; it wasn’t likely she’d be much use for knowing how Raven would want to be wooed. She had heard of her but she had yet to actually meet Damian’s mystery crush, after all. She let out a hum, “What does Raven like? It’s gotta be something personal!”

Damian clicked his tongue as his siblings were suddenly oh so chatty at Spoiler’s suggestion, their unwanted ideas filling the room.

“What if he paints her something?”

“Doesn’t she like old books? Maybe one of those first editions that Alfred was thinking about donating last year?”

“Wait a sec-- Dick, isn’t she goth? B did get that set of obsidian jewelry at the last gala.”

“Hell, if we’re going that route I’m sure Selina has some nice rings somewhere--”

“Maybe something that isn’t stolen, Tim.”

“Just be honest with her.”

The room went quiet at Cass’ simple instruction. Still in her Orphan suit from her early morning patrols and reclining in her inverted spot on the couch, the brunette somehow kept a serious face as she stared at Damian upside down.

Seeing that no one was going to add-on to her suggestion, Cass blew some of her bangs out of her face and shrugged, “You like her for a reason.”

Brown eyes slyly glanced around the room, gratefully falling on Babs as she piped up, “Cass is right. I really don’t think Damian of all people would fall for someone who’s all about dating mind-games.”

Ignoring Damian’s exasperated lie of “I haven’t fallen for her!” in the background, Steph slumped down on the couch next to Duke. Her face was contemplative, “Then maybe we should invite her here?”

Dick let out an excited laugh the same time Tim clapped his hands and grinned at their resident computer whiz, “Babs could absolutely get her up to speed on patrolling Gotham for a bit, right?”

The redhead looked excited at the idea. Pushing her glasses further up her nose before they fell, Babs teasingly asked, “What is it about Gotham and bird-based superheroes?”

Duke shrugged, a hand cradling his chin in thought. “Not sure, but Dami obviously won’t confess if we’re not around to kick him into doing it.”

Jason clicked his tongue at the possibility of the youngest Bat listening to them and raised a brow Dick’s way, “Any chance at all that she’ll make the first move?”

Irritated at the topic, Damian turned on his heel and retreated to the kitchen. Ignoring the chorus of “C’mon, Dami” behind him (and planning on fighting Todd later for the childish boos that the antihero was aiming at his back), Robin set about grabbing some snacks for his pets when he heard two sets of footsteps approach.

He bit back a groan as Dick practically skipped into the room, Cass on his heels. “What now?”

Nightwing let out a laugh at his brother’s sneer, “You do know that we’re only trying to help, right?” He took a few pears from the fridge and handed them to Damian, knowing that they were BatCow’s favorite. Hearing as Cass opened the cabinet doors to find where the rawhide bones and cat treats were stored, Dick pressed on, “I know she already knows me but it might be easier introducing everyone as a segue into talking to her about other things…”

Cass let out a quiet snort at his suggestion. She shook her head and offered a better idea, “Alfred first.”

Dick tilted his head, nodding in agreement a moment later. He ignored the violent way Damian was cutting up the pears and said, “That’ll probably be for the best. Living with the Titans is one thing; we gotta ease her into our particular brand of madness.”

Tossing aside the stems and peeled off stickers, Damian sulked, “None of this is necessary.”

Cass hid her smile with her hand. Dick hummed out, “You don’t want your girlfriend to meet your family?”

“She won’t be my--” Damian couldn’t say the potential title just yet. He clicked his tongue, “Just because you all think I have feelings for her doesn’t mean she’ll reciprocate.”

The older two visibly paused at his words.

Her head tilting in concern, brown eyes studied Robin for a moment. Damian glared at Cass but she ignored him. Dick leaned against the wall, the worried furrow in his brow betraying his nonchalant stance. He spoke out the obvious, “Do you really think she’s not interested?”

“She thinks I’ve been avoiding her--”

Cass shrugged, “You have.”

Damian continued as if he hadn’t heard her, “--so I doubt any feelings she may have towards me are positive right now.”

Dick let out a hum, “You didn’t answer the question.”

Ophan’s suit somehow didn’t shine in the kitchen’s fluorescent light as she crossed her arms, “Yes or no?”

Damian bit the inside of his cheek. It was quiet in the kitchen for a moment as he thought over all the moments he and Raven had shared, the comfortable quiet pauses between crimefighting, training, and avoiding their teammates’ noise. She never seemed to dislike his company, but she was stoic enough that he could never tell if her heart leaped into her throat whenever she noticed that they were alone.

He suppressed a jump as Cass entered his personal space.

Olive eyes were reluctant as she poked his cheek. “You’re not stupid,” She figured it was progress when he didn’t try to swat her hand away, but she couldn’t keep the beam off her face at the boy’s blush. A hint of smugness crept into her voice, “So she is?”

“I don’t know.”

Cass looked to the Manor’s main entrance, knowing that in half a week’s time the entire structure would be full of lights, flowers and who knew what else B’s planners would bring. A spring gala with flowers and enough hidden corners for a pair to get lost in the crowd.

In other terms: the perfect setting for a first date.

She met Dick’s gaze and grinned at the knowing look on his face. His hair nearly fell out of its bun as he let out a whoop, wrapping an arm around Damian. Thoughts of finding Raven a gala-ready dress (and maybe a matching suit) in mind, Dick couldn’t keep the excitement out of his movements.

Ignoring the aggravated yet cautiously hopeful way Damian shrugged off his brother’s arm, Cass clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Only one way to find out.”

#damirae #damian wayne #dick grayson #cassandra cain #batfam #my writing #asked and answered #mistkissedmoon #g o d it's been a While hasn't it? but I really hope u like it!!!#but yeah. batfam is gonna batfam if dami's got a crush. a whole lotta teasing at his expense *but* they are gonna try to help #but its bc they loooooooooooove him. he's the baby bat ofc they gotta get cheesy with it #I was thinking of headcanons but this gives me an excuse to write a first date/gala shenanigans so #I figured why not? I've been slacking in producing ridiculous damirae fluff

126 notes · View notes

revenant-dumpster-fire · 3 years

Text

Sore (Revenant x Reader)

Theme: Revenant comforts (in his weird way) and helps a reader who is tired and sore from a lot of strenuous work and activity, coming down from a manic high. Part of a series.

Warnings: Mentions of mania, threats of violence, bodily pain.

Reader Notes: Revenant (Apex Legends) x Reader, reader is non-gendered this chapter, this can be read in the context of romance or not.

Writing Notes: Reject leg damage, ascend to Octane. I guess this is a series because I have no chill.

Navigation:

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

"Ah, little skinsuit, you're back." Revenant seems genuinely surprised by your appearance in his doorway. You had wearily limped all the way back to his private room from the volunteer breakroom on other side of the Apex compound. He had, indeed, mentioned something about being willing to help you again previously, but just in case, you had an excuse for showing up.

"I brought you a water." You hold up a water bottle, your arm shaking from exhaustion. A lot of the Legends would have volunteers run water, drinks, and snacks to their rooms from the kitchen and cafeteria, so it was decent cover in case he didn't actually mean it before. After all, you were right at the start of a manic episode then and weren't thinking straight last time. I mean, you asked a killing machine for help, outright, with no thoughts of what that might lead to. But you lived! And he was oddly nice, despite your brazen request.

"When was the last time you slept?" there is something a bit off about his vocals. Genuine concern, perhaps? Or maybe you are imagining it. "You know I don't drink water, right? It's tasteless and I don't need it, so there's no point in me drinking it."

Your gut sinks. You never even considered that, but when you think about it, the only runs you ever made to his room were for various alcohols, usually hard liquors. You should have just brought something from his prior requests, but you were so confident in water as something everyone enjoyed...

"Sit down. You're not answering me quickly enough to be reassuring." He motions to a small bench in his room with cushions situated in front of the television, which was broadcasting some of the highlights from the last match. You want to walk over, but you're too busy rubbing your eyes at the moment trying to fight back the fatigue. The water bottle slips out of your hands as they rub into your eyes for a moment, and as you jolt to try to catch it, you feel the soreness in your legs lock them... causing you to fall on right your face.

"So... I take it that it's been a while." He seems bemused, but you are too tired to be bothered by it. You just lay there, face down for a moment, absolutely and utterly exhausted. The water bottle steadily and slowly rolls away from you and towards where Revenant is sitting: at a computer desk to the right of the room, pushed up against the far wall.

He audibly sighs, and you hear nothing for a moment. Then you feel a single, metallic arm scoop under your belly and hoist you up like cattle. You feel the weight of your torso balance against the weight of your legs, sufficiently winding you as your hang by your diaphragm on his forearm. You stare blankly at the floor, blurring from your weary vision. He carries you to the cushioned bench, and places you down on it surprisingly gently. The cushions help keep the bench from being wholly uncomfortable as you slowly find yourself splayed out on it. You stay limp, letting your limbs fall where they will. He's right. You haven't slept in a while.

"Sorry..." You utter as he sits next to your pretend corpse non-chalantly. He's hunched forward, forearms resting on his knees, looking over you with notable interest. Your last manic episode was only just beginning to wear off, and you managed to hurt both your legs running around at full speed during it. Even worse, the mania kept you from sleeping last night, only getting in an hour and a half at best, which is always somehow worse than not sleeping at all. You were already drifting to sleep as your thoughts wander.

"Hey." You wake back up with a jolt at the feeling of a cool hand coming to rest on your shoulder. "Seriously, what kind of ship are they running in this place? Why are you so desperate as to come to me for help--twice?"

You move to sit up, and his hand drifts away. You should apologize and leave with the water. That would be best, right?

"I'm sorry for the disturbance." You say as you hobble to your feet.

"Bit late for that. Also, those legs aren't going to hold you up for long, your muscles are already quivering like a violin string against a bow." You loosely see him point to your legs through your blurry vision. He is right. They hurt really badly. They had been given a moment of rest and they are screaming to be given a longer reprieve.

"Sit."

"I'm sorry, I'll just be--"

"SIT." His growling command is absolute. You collapse onto the bench with no further protests. Your legs are still sore, whimpering in pain, but much better now that they aren't supporting any weight. You sit upright, but you feel your posture faltering rapidly as you begin to drift towards sleep.

Revenant stands up off the bench while picking up the runaway water bottle in a single, sweeping motion.

"This is fairly cold, was it originally frozen?" He towers over you intimidatingly.

"Yes, most Legends like cold water, so we are constantly defrosting frozen bottles throughout the day." You answer blankly.

"Good. So where are the frozen bottles?"

"In the mess hall kitchen, walk-in freezer B, on the left." His questions give you just enough mental focus to break through the fuzz of exhaustion for a moment. "Would you like me to retrieve you a frozen one instead?"

"No, it's fine, I'll go." He starts to turn to leave, but you speak up.

"Actually, only volunteers and staff are supposed to enter the kitchen area--"

"I go wherever the hell I want." He turns back to shoot you a glare. "Now get up, and lie down in that bed." He points to the surprisingly large bed immediately behind the bench, perched at perfect viewing angle from the droning television. "I don't sleep. Haven't touched it. Won't touch it. You might as well use it."

"Wait, I can't just--"

"You don't have a choice anymore. Now go." He turns and slides out the door, letting the hatch close behind him, but not before giving you one last dirty look for questioning his request.

You consider that it is technically a part of your volunteer duties to do as the Legends ask. Sure, you are allowed to deny any obviously bad faith requests, but nobody said you had to deny them. Plus, Revenant is probably the most mysterious, concerningly foreboding, and terrifyingly powerful Legend in the Games. Nobody would blame you for doing as he asks the moment he asks it, especially when every word he speaks oozes with a threatening aura. Most volunteers wouldn't even come to his room. You were just happy to take all their requests and deliver them yourself to get to see him for a few moments. Sure, you had to trade away a couple Fuze requests and Wraith requests to prioritize him, but everyone seemed intimidated enough that they came to you to trade well before even considering just making the delivery. You were known as the only volunteer who actually liked delivering Revenant's many requests, even when some of them required going above and beyond the normal snack or drink runs.

You manage to hobble yourself onto both legs, which are once again screaming for relief from your weight. With a couple of well placed limps, you make it to the edge of the bed. He really hasn't touched it. Not a single wrinkle in the cloth. Nothing is out of place. Pillows are fully fluffed and without craters from a resting head. You hesitate to ruin it, but you know you must.

You crawl into it, collapsing only a few inches from the edge you started on. It's so soft. They really spared no expense for the Legends' beds, apparently. You remember them getting remodeled and finding the bench to be an odd choice over a nice couch, but you didn't know they were outfitted with beds made of clouds. You wonder, what does Revenant do all night if he doesn't sleep? How boring must that be? Does he charge his chassis? Does he shut down? You think about what it must be like to shut down. Shutting down must be nice. Peaceful. Just being able to rest. Similar to sleep. If only...

• • •

You suddenly regain awareness of your surroundings. How long were you out? Are you still in bed? Why is it so dark? You lift your head a little and tilt it towards a skylight window on the ceiling. Your back is newly sore, and your neck protests being bent. It's night now. You've been asleep for at least five hours for it to be this dark. You begin to scan the surroundings just to be startled by the hulking mass sitting on the bed next to you. His eyes glow dimly, locked on to yours.

"Feel any better?" His vocalizations are a bit more hushed than usual. He may not be sure if you're fully conscious yet. To be fair, you're not sure you're fully conscious either. You want to answer, but you're paralyzed like a deer, staring into his optic LEDs. After a moment of uncertain silence, he reaches out and touches your shoulder lightly, bringing your mind back in focus.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to--!"

"Shut it. You slept like a corpse. Probably one of least entertaining sleepers I've met." Wait, he watches people sleep? "Although, to be fair, you might be much more restless on a normal night. Maybe this is like one of those pilot episodes that is just not up to the quality of the rest of the series." You noticeably shudder and pull away as you sit up to face him. "See, more of that would be better." You hold the sheet in front of you defensively, not that it would stop anything larger than an insect. "Cute." He pulls the sheet from your hand and it falls back to the mattress.

You can't help but feel a bit bothered by his inquisitive stare, now knowing it's been collecting data for hours without your knowledge. You lean away as you think about it, continuing to shudder, deciding that perhaps this Legend is still planning to dissect you at some point after all.

He relishes in your fear for a moment, but then swiftly moves to get up and walk to the kitchenette. He opens the freezer, unleashing a powerful light into the room for a moment, before pulling out a bottle and closing the door, taking the light with it.

"What hurts?" He grabs a towel from atop the freezer, wrapping the frozen water bottle completely.

You stutter for a moment, and then get it out:

"I hurt my legs pretty badly yesterday, as well as my back, apparently." You had just woken up to it sore and aching, unfortunately meaning that all that box lifting had finally caught up with you. You reached behind yourself to try to massage it, but you felt a cool compress push up against it. When did he get behind you? He didn't even make a sound.

"A sore back is the worst." Why was he doing this? Has he really taken some kind of liking to you? "Even Rampart takes pity on me and readjusts my spinal plates when they get misaligned." He rolled the covered, frozen water bottle up and down your spine, helping with the pain a bit. "I haven't met a skinsuit or simulacrum who simply walks off a bad back."

You felt bad. He shouldn't be helping you. Why was he even bothering with you? What compelled him to do or say any of this?

"Hey, don't hunch forward like that, it'll get worse." You snap to attention.

"S-sorry!" You let slip out of your mouth as his spare claw wraps around your left shoulder and pull you back against the bottle and into the correct posture.

"Anyways, I was about to ask... Where do they get off working you to the bone like this?"

"It's actually my fault. I haven't stopped working since the third season, the more you work the more interaction with the Legends you get, I wanted to make sure I got the best positions and shifts." You pause. "I should have taken time off the moment I started to get fidgety. I should have known I would do something stupid and inappropriate..." You trail off, realizing you're speaking things out loud that are better kept in your internal monologue.

"Well, you're not dead so far, but you're really damn close to Death now." Your spine was starting to relax and decompress, finally. "So, if you're working that hard, that means you definitely are a huge fan of one of these skinsuits... so, who is it? Season 3 you said, right?" He paused as you started to turn flush without his notice. "Octane doesn't suit you, you're slow and clumsy. Although, perhaps that's something to aspire to. It couldn't be Crypto, he's unimaginably boring. Wattson, though, I have noticed she has a lot of fans..." He was simply mumbling on. It didn't really matter why you started anymore, you already had a new favorite. "So, which one? I'll add 'em to my list of high priority targets, just for you." He pauses, awaiting an answer.

"You..." You say, as softly as you can.

"Repeat that. Louder." Did he hear you?

"You." You say it just loud enough to know he heard it this time. "You were my favorite the moment you joined," you pause, deciding if you should confess this, "especially after that stunt you pulled on live TV." You hated Forge like all the other volunteers after word spread around about how he treated Bangalore. He may have put on a decent façade for the camera, but clearly was a predator behind the scenes. When an abuser is backed by big money like Hammond Robotics had, they could freely abuse anyone without consequences. Money tends to shut people up, despite the victims. Your gut told you all you needed to know about Forge the moment you first saw him. Thankfully, it was also the last time you saw him. Even though the just side of you knew that Forge deserved some kind of trial, the more primal part of you was happy to see him gone. The justice system would have been rigged in his favor anyway.

Revenant was silent as you pondered. Shock? Disgust? Or just nothing to say? He wasn't one to be speechless.

"Well, not sure what kind of a psychopath you are, but your wanton lack of self-preservation is my favorite thing about you." Was he offended at your answer? He sounded humored. You panic a little and start to pull away, but get pulled backwards--all the way into his enveloping grapple.

His entire frame practically swallows yours. You peer up just to catch a glimpse of his face staring down menacingly at you. You instinctively start to ball up defensively, but he snags one of your legs before you can tuck it away behind your arms. He's strong. Disturbingly strong. Even for a mechanical amalgamation, his grip is unfetterable. You couldn't free your leg, and you knew there was no way you could squirm out of it.

"This hurts too, you said?" The bottle was pressed to your calf, and he applied steady pressure to the muscle to relieve the nerves and cramping. Why was he doing this? Didn't he just make a thinly veiled threat to kill you? "You should consider giving me the other leg too. Unless you're afraid I'm not going to give this one back." He mocks you, but honestly you aren't sure he is truly joking about taking your leg or not. He could, if he wanted. He's huge, strong, and apparently he can make blades from his mechanical hands. You shudder a bit at the thought that those same lethal hands are currently prodding at your calf muscle... He is actually fairly adept at relieving pain, oddly enough. You feel the pressure ebb away the soreness as it reaches relief. You knew a little about simulacrums, enough to know they were once human. Did he hurt himself a lot back then? How else would he know how to do this?

"Hey, I'll trade you." He releases your one leg, it actually feels a lot better. Just a bit of pressure in the right areas really calmed it down. He motions for the other, but you cower for a moment too long. "Give me your damn leg." You immediately relinquish it, carefully pulling back the newly relieved leg into your defensive ball stance, per the trade agreement. He proceeds to perform the same relief on the other leg as well.

"You know, normally when I'm asked for help, I get to kill something." His gaze remains locked on your leg. "Instead, you just tempt me and expect me not to. Now why would you do that, little skinsuit?" You lock on to his eyes, but they never meet yours. "You've got a death wish, as far as I can tell. I'll confess, I like that about you." You keep perfectly still and silent, trying to stay as small as possible. "You're playing a risky game. Can't say I get to play these games often, so I'm going to make the most of it." He gently releases your leg, now feeling better and relaxed. You pull it into your ball, finally completing the pathetic stance. His giant, clawed hand comes down to pet you on the head a little roughly. He could crush your whole skull, if he wanted. That is the primary message, laced with the subtle message that he won't do that, yet. A chill runs up your spine.

"Alright, I've made my decision." He's out of bed, taking the thawing bottle and towel back to the kitchenette.

"W-What?" You are very uncertain.

"It's fine, I'll have it taken care of. Now sleep. You haven't slept enough." Your spine curls a bit at the prospect of sleeping in the presence of this guy again. You start to get up to leave, but it's slow moving since you're still a bit iffy on your legs.

"It's okay, I have a bunk in the volunteer space I should get back to..." You trail off, meeting his gaze and causing you to freeze right before standing up. His yellow eyes seem brighter and more visceral than before, locking you into a stare down. You blink immediately, that's not a fight worth attempting. "...why?" You can't tell if you're pleading or hoping for a genuine answer. He turns away to look back into the blinding light of the open freezer for a moment.

"Go, if you want, but I'm only giving you five seconds." He doesn't turn to look at you, he just starts counting. "Five..." Should you go? "Four..." Would he come after you? "Three..." You don't want to go, actually. "Two..." You want to see where this goes. "One..." What else do you have to do, anyway? "Zero."

Revenant turns to meet your gaze, his eyes noticeably widening and dimming in the dark when he sees you still there. He probably knew you didn't move, after all he would have heard it, but he still seemed happy to see you there anyway.

"Now, sleep. I'll take care of the rest." You felt a bit uneasy, but you laid back down, uncurling yourself and trying to make yourself comfortable. Revenant didn't linger over you on the bed this time, instead he must have gone from the kitchenette over to the computer desk, because you slowly dozed off to the sounds of the keyboard feedback chirps and pointer clicks as he worked with the heads-up displays. You were more tired than you thought, and dozed off quickly.

• • • •

"... Hah! I knew the pilot episode wasn't a good indicator of quality." You woke up to him looming over you in the bed again, but this time you were not taken by surprise. "You twitch a lot while you sleep; you even murmur absolute nonsense." You sigh. This is fun for him somehow. "I swear you were trying to run or swim at one point... Did you get away? Or did you drown?" You don't know how to answer his questions, you don't remember any dreams. In fact, he probably has more of an idea than you do at this point. You meet his gaze, and it seems to be understood that you have no answers. He sighs, clearly disappointed.

"Shame, well, in the meantime, congratulations on your promotion."

"Wait, what?"

"Here, welcome to the team." He drops a red laminated badge on top of you, and swiftly makes his way out of the bed, just to crawl up the wall, onto the ceiling, and starts to exit through the skylight window. "Sorry I can't spend more time with you, but I have a match today." His voice is nearly drowned out by the sound of aircraft starting up. "Watch for me, I'll make sure I knock out whichever one of those skinsuits used to be your favorite early on." You can hear the sneer in his voice through the overwhelming aircraft engines.

He disappears from view, the window closes, the aircraft noise dampens again, and the television drones on with the pre-match banter between announcers in front of you. You stare up at the morning sky for a moment, wondering what you got yourself into.

You look down at the badge. It is a top clearance badge, meant for direct employees of the Legends. It can get you access to almost anywhere and to almost anything. It has Revenant's personal seal on it, marking you as his. It has all the correct watermarks, and a scannable chip to prove authenticity. You've only seen a few of these, and you heard Mirage once got in huge trouble for selling his as a VIP experience. But it did nearly sell, and it was already bidding for enough money for any sane person to retire off of.

You aren't a volunteer anymore. You're Revenant's subordinate. Notably an important enough one that you can go almost anywhere he can go. The badge shimmers in your hands, sparkling in your eyes. This badge is worth more than anything you've ever held before in your life. You revel in it for a moment, until you notice it: You're now "Little Skinsuit" according to the "Name" field on the badge. He genuinely couldn't resist, could he? You'd be bothered if it wasn't genuinely hilarious. That means somewhere in the security checkpoints, "Little Skinsuit" was now registered at nearly maximum clearance. Amazing.

You sit there for a moment, pondering how you got yourself into this. You had a moment, just a single moment a few days ago, where you felt like you could ask him for help. You just wanted to calm down; you had tripped, bruised your feet, hurt your calves, and even busted a couple bottles of liquor and whisky meant for him because of your manic movements as you ran back and fourth from one side of the complex to the other. Finally, after getting him everything he requested, intact, you lost your inhibition for a mere moment. You asked if he'd help you settle your mania. And for some reason--maybe he had already started to get some kind of drunk at that point--he said yes. That's what started it all.

He said something about helping you again before you left last time. And then you came back yesterday, completely in the fog from no sleep and a continued manic episode, but holding on to that promise. And now you've somehow become his personal errand runner, holding an ID worth more than you could grasp. What the heck is happening anymore?

For now, you stare into the sky, and soak in the sun, and just relax in the moment. You get to watch today's match instead of scrubbing the floors. It'll be a nice day.

128 notes · View notes

chitto · 3 years

Text

I Analyzed All Of the Songs on Ranboo’s Lore Playlist and Here’s What I Learned.

We can pick a few themes out from the songs:

Time

Fighting something inside of you

Alluding to a villain arc

Transition of a person

My biggest theory from all this is that c!Ranboo is a time traveler from the future (probably before Mizu but after the Haunted Mansion). He traveled to the past, November 27th specifically, to stop c!Tommy’s exile. We can assume that in c!Ranboo’s future, c!Tommy burned down c!George’s house by himself but when c!Ranboo went back, he got caught up in it, thus creating a time paradox. (Evidence from the songs Merry-Go-Round of Life, all songs of Hawaii - Part Two by Miracle Musical, and The Ruler of Everything). Now knowing he is the cause of c!Tommy’s exile, c!Ranboo feels immense amounts of guilt for his actions, the regret keeping him up at night (Ain’t No Rest for The Wicked). This mental stress is something that has resulted in the beginnings of insanity for c!Ranboo (The Mind Electric).

A villain arc is very plausible for c!Ranboo in the near future, most likely brought up by harm coming to c!Tubbo or Michael (Killer Queen, Mr. Bad Guy, I Can’t Decide, Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, and Live and Let Die)

Full Analysis on Each Song Under the Cut:

(All Song Lyric Analysis Credits go to the wonderful people on genius, I merely fit them into the context of the DreamSmp and c!Ranboo)

Prologue (StarKid) - A simple ticking clock. ARG trailer tie in as well as even more references of time.

Introduction to the Snow (Miracle Musical) - Comes off an album that (storywise) has the listener loop over and over the songs in the album, as a time paradox.

Dream Sweet in Sea Major (Miracle Musical) - Final song in the album (loops). Occurs in three movements. Tells the story of a sailor that gives himself up to the mermaids. Lyrics don’t give much in terms of hints at anything.

Turn the Lights Off (Tally Hall) - About a journey through puberty and adolescence (??) perhaps could be changed to fit. However main name of the song is meant to convey accepting differences and confronting fears, something c!Ranboo doesn’t really do. First line also says ‘Don’t go in there, you’ll become one, Freaky creatures, monster party’ perhaps relating to the enderwalk/possession c!Ranboo goes through.

The Mind Electric (Miracle Musical) - The song starts off in reverse, the singer speaking backwards. Once the song straightens out, we’re shown that the protagonist of the song is a mentally unstable man trying to figure out what triggers a specific fear. The second verse then goes into a young child who’s been held trial for insanity. The child and the judge then have an open dialogue throughout the rest of the verse until the child is sent to an asylum. The song concludes with insane yet peaceful thoughts from the child. Obviously I’m not a psychiatrist but doing some light research into insanity (NOT psychosis, as insanity is more of an umbrella term for unstable mental state while psychosis is a specified disorder) you can see a few signs of insanity that could be applied to c!Ranboo. ‘Denial of obvious problems’ Many times c! Ranboo has dismissed or downplayed his issues and problems, most notably when he’s found in a panicked state by c!Sam who asks him if he’s okay, to which c!Ranboo replies that he’s fine. ‘Delusions or Hallucinations’ this is a big one as throughout the Doomsday arc, c!Ranboo spoke to c!Dream in his panic room, only to realize he was talking to no one. ‘Dramatic changes in sleeping habits’ This is more of a reach as we have no actually confirmation but it could be assumed that c!Ranboo’s enderwalking could be disrupting his sleep patterns.

Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney) - a song about a once young person who used to say ‘Live and Let Live’ but has now changed their maxim to ‘Live and Let Die’. Could be said that as people grow older they grow more cynical. Granted the phrases mean the same thing but one seems much more pessimistic.

The Ruler of Everything (Tally Hall) - Once again a song about time, the entire song meant to symbolize how time controls our lives (once again feeding into a time paradox theory). The song has a verse that is a man and Time itself singing. The song then starts to speed up, representing how short periods of our lives can be in the grand scheme of things. ‘Do you understand that mechanical hands are the ruler of everything’ This lyric of the song is meant to mean that time (the mechanical hands of the clock) are at the root of everything, once again drawing us back to a time motif with Ranboo’s character. This specific line could lead us to believe that c!Ranboo is being ‘controlled’ by time, aka perhaps caught in a time travelers loop.

Merry-Go-Round Of Life (Howl’s Moving Castle OST) - While the song itself is an instrumental without words, one could do some digging into the story of Howl’s Moving Castle, spoilers for the film in this analysis. In Howl’s Moving Castle, there is a sequence in which Sophie goes back in time to find Howl, seeing him as a young boy. She calls out to him, telling him to find her in the future, before getting taken back to her time. It seems pretty insignificant until you remember that in the beginning of the film, during Howl and Sophie’s first interaction he says to her, “There you are, sweetheart, sorry I’m late. I was looking everywhere.” thus representing that Howl has been looking for Sophie his entire life after she called out to him in the past. So what does this mean for c!Ranboo? Well its just more time motif and even more time paradox themes. But what even is a time paradox? A time paradox is when somebody who has traveled back in time, becomes a part of the past and causes the events they set out to stop in the first place. Perhaps this means c!Ranboo traveled back in time to stop c!Tommy’s exile, as it was a catalyst event that resulted in many problems on the server (L’manberg’s second destruction to name one) before getting sucked into the events that caused it himself.

Killer Queen (Queen) - Really can’t say too much for this song as the song is meant to convey how “that classy people can be whores as well” (Freddie Mercury). Freddie also said that anyone else could call their own interpretations of the song as well. I can’t really think of too much about the song that could be molded to c!Ranboo.

Mr. Bad Guy (Freddie Mercury) - This one is more interesting as the bridge of this song details how Freddie is ‘Mr. Bad Guy’ and that he can ruin people’s lives and many people are afraid of him. This could sound like something c!Ranboo would say in relation to someone trying to threaten the people he cares about. c!Ranboo going to any length for those he cares about (most notably his family) is something that recently cc!Ranboo has tried to drive home, making it a tweet under his character’s lore thread on twitter.

Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (Cage the Elephant) - The main line of this song is a bible verse that means that those who are sin-free can sleep well at night knowing they haven’t done anything wrong but those are commit sins need to keep one eye open at all times. Perhaps c!Ranboo believes that he has done something wrong that keeps him up at night. It could be tied back to the time paradox theory by saying that c!Ranboo is kept up at night by the fact that he couldn’t stop the bad events from happening, even becoming a part of them.

The Bidding (Tally Hall) - While the song itself is about an auction in which men are trying to “sell” themselves to a woman, I would like to call attention to one specific verse. ‘I’ve been training like a Pavlov dog, Let my independence out to take a hike, All you gotta do is activate my bell, and I’ll fetch you anything you like’. The first lyric calls reference to Ivan Pavlov, who ran a conditioning experiment on dogs, training them to associate the sound of a bell with food, whether they actually got food or not. The last two lyrics I find particularly interesting as we have seen somebody “activate” c!Ranboo. c!Sapnap. After c!Sapnap visited c!Dream in prison, c!Dream asked c!Sapnap to deliver a message to c!Ranboo. The message being ‘:)’. When c!Sapnap repeated the message to c!Ranboo, c!Ranboo immediately switched and began to speak in enderman language before wandering off. He then spoke to c!Sapnap in chat saying, in ender, “Doomed are those who try to run, for it always catches up eventually :)’. This is one of many incidents of c!Ranboo being switched into his enderwalk state, in which he does stuff for c!Dream such as burning down the community house.

I Can’t Decide (Scissor Sisters) - This song is a upbeat song about a psychotic killer trying to decide on whether or not he should kill his victim. This song could relate back to c!Ranboo’s relationship with c!Dream. c!Ranboo has been very cagey on whether or not he would like c!Dream, most recently being very eager to break into prison and murder him. This song could also hint towards a possible villain arc for c!Ranboo.

Stardust Crusaders (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures OST) - Unfortunately, this song is another instrumental. And even more unfortunately, I don’t watch JJBA so I can’t comment on what the song could be alluding to. Stardust Crusaders is the name of an arc of the show but reading through the plot summary on Wikipedia doesn’t turn back anything that could be tied to c!Ranboo.

A Mask of My Own Face (Lemon Demon) - While the song itself is relatively simple, a man singing about how he wants to wear a mask of his own face to confuse people, a few lines have sparked certain people to examine the song deeper coming to the conclusion that the singer wants to cause chaos and controversy. The mask of his own face would allow him to mask his identity, as no one would wear a mask of their own face, while still allowing him to be associated with the chaos. For c!Ranboo I can’t really see this pointing to anything but the Syndicate. c!Ranboo really does believe in their core value of dismantling the things on the server that are bad but also he knows many people he’s close to who are at odds with members of the Syndicate, most notable c!Tubbo. However this could be rather lose as cc!Ranboo is a big fan of Lemon Demon and who hasn’t put a song from their favorite artist on a playlist even though the vibe doesn’t necessarily fit.

Stranded Lullaby (Miracle Musical) - Another song of the Miracle Musical album Hawaii - Part Two, which loops itself over within the story. This particular song is about a sailor sailing through a cerebral ocean, which may or may not represent time itself; the sailor being a time traveler who had a mistake in his time traveling. This once again brings us back to the theory of c!Ranboo as a time traveler. There is also a line I would like to call upon, ‘Aimless thoughts and papers blown around, A million moments meant remembered rest in deep dark sound’. These lyrics are meant to relate to memories and how truly fleeting some may be, just papers floating in our brains eventually lost to time. This obviously can relate back to c!Ranboo’s memory problems, which are a known side effect of time travel, as told to us through the story of c!Karl, the only other time traveler on the server (excluding c!Connor who is only theorized as a time traveler for right now).

Hidden In The Sand (Tally Hall) - This is slightly complicated as the song has two meanings. On the surface, the song is about a man who falls in love with a woman who leaves him, however the man is still in love with her. But in the music video, a new meaning can be found. The music video shows a cruise full of people, all very nice and kind until the ship begins to sink and the real, selfish, sides of the people is revealed. ‘Hidden in the Sand’ is meant to symbolize that a persons true nature is covered up by their outward acts and personality. This could apply to c!Ranboo, as he is outwardly very polite and gentle, growing attached to every animal he finds and refusing to kill any Enderman but he could have a whole other personality to him that we don’t know about. If songs such as ‘I Can’t Decide’ and ‘Mr. Bad Guy’ are any hints, we could theorize that c!Ranboo has a secret dark side to him that could be exposed in the events of his family being threatened.

Now I’m Here (Queen) - No statements or theories about what the song means or any of the lyrics.

& (Tally Hall) - This song, as with others off this particular album, deal with opposites. The whole chorus of this song is about certain opposites such as dark and light or cold and hot. Relating back to c!Ranboo, perhaps this song is meant to tell us that c!Ranboo is a foil of a certain character. Possibilities could be c!Dream and c!Ranboo, as c!Dream is very against attachments towards things and is a very outwardly violent person while c!Ranboo is attached to almost every animal and enderman (not to mention c!Tubbo and Michael) and is a very peaceful person, or perhaps c!Ranboo and c!Karl, the two time (theorized) travelers on the server. c!Karl has a stronger control over his abilities and seems to retain most of his memory fairly well so far while c!Ranboo perhaps can’t control his power and has short term memory loss and can’t remember where he came from.

I’m Gonna Win (Rob Cantor) - This song is a description of a fight between the singer and his inner demons, the fight resulting in very physical injuries for the singer. This can relate back to c!Ranboo, as he could be fighting the demons of his enderwalking state. This song has a very cheerful outlook on the fight however, as the singer is very confident in his abilities and knows he will win. c!Ranboo isn’t always the most positive, sometimes believing more in the pessimistic outcome but this could be a new leaf for c!Ranboo or a goal of his to be more positive.

#please rb #this took a very long time #dsmp #dream smp #dreamsmp #ranboo #ranboo dsmp #dsmp ranboo #ranboo lore #c!ranboo #dsmp theory #dsmp analysis #dsmp meta

74 notes · View notes

agentnico · 3 years

Text

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Review

Why specifically 1984? Why not 83 or 85? What is so significant about 1984? 83 had Ronald Reagan propose development of tech that would intercept enemy missiles, and the project was called “Star Wars”. In 85 there was an earthquake in Mexico that killed 9,000 and Coca Cola made a new Coke! Impressive stuff! What happened in 1984? *another quick Google check* Aids break out. Oh. Oh no.

Plot: Diana Prince lives quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s - an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she's come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile by curating ancient artefacts, and only performing heroic acts incognito. But soon, Diana will have to muster all of her strength, wisdom and courage as she finds herself squaring off against Maxwell Lord and the Cheetah, a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility.

After many delays due to COVID once again doing a COVID and messing things up, Warner Bros. finally released Wonder Woman 1984, due to concerns of audiences losing interest in the project. I remember enjoying the first Wonder Woman years ago, and though it didn’t reinvent the superhero genre, as an origin story is was watchable and there were a couple cool action set pieces, such as the notable trench sequence where Diana fights through No Man’s Land and literally all that’s missing is her screeching “GIRL POWER!” everytime she deflected a gun bullet! Anyway, nothing ground-breaking but a decent piece of entertainment. Now we have sequel set in the 80s that plans to go bigger, bolder, grander.....well, you know, the usual sequel stuff. And they have the Mandalorian himself along for the ride, because even Warner Bros. knows that this is the way.

Having watched the film I must say, it is disappointing. Though in reality is it really disappointing? Personally I had hardly any expectations anyway, so it’s not as if my hopes and dreams have been crunched and shattered and thrown into a pit of despair! Wow, that came off as if I am super in denial, which I am not, I promise, okay?? In all seriousness though, the movie is a mess. With a runtime of two and a half hours, the film is filled with pacing issues so much so that I can say I was bored 50% of the time. A lot of it doesn’t make sense, the editing is atrocious and also this baby is filled to the brim with plot holes! So. Many. Plot Holes. For example, right from the start, one of the opening scenes involves Wonder Woman stopping a robbery at a mall. The robbery in itself is botched up. "I'm not going back!" screams one of the criminals, so hey, I'm going to hold this kid over the railing and almost drop her so that I can go to jail for murder. Genius writing there. Anyway, so Diana swoops in, saves the kid obviously, then proceeds to destroy the cameras in the mall as if that will also magically erase the footage that has already been recorded as well as all the witnesses that have seen her show off her bongo-bongo power mojo. So she’s trying to hide her identity and existence a secret, and apparently has been doing so for years, yet all her heroic moments happen in the middle of the public’s eye, so there is no way that she could have stayed confidential all this time. Then again, Superman can put on a pair of cheap glasses and all of a sudden he’s this random fella named Clark Kent, so what do I know? My guess is that the human population in the DC world are stupid and aren’t capable of adding 2 plus 2! Right, onto the next plot hole. So throughout most of the film, it feels like the movie is set in autumn or something along those lines. One of the characters gives food to a homeless person and tells them to stay warm, and also many people passing by are wearing coats and furs. Suddenly at one point there is a firework display and Diana winks to the camera and says “oh look, it’s the Fourth of July!” I’m sorry, last time I checked that date is set in the summer. Why would I know this? Well maybe cause it happens to also be my birthday! Next! So Diana can fly in this movie. How? Or why? I don’t know! Because “GIRL POWER!” I guess? I don’t know, this new superpower comes out of nowhere, yet its not referred to at all in Justice League, which is set many years later. So yeah, sounds like director Patty Jenkins couldn’t give a single flying dollop of poop about continuity. Speaking of random decisions, Wonder Woman’s new golden armor serves absolutely no purpose at the end of the film. She decides to randomly use it one point for no particular reason, and in fact it slowed her down more than anything, after which it was all forgotten about. Look, I can go on forever, this movie is filled with disorganised and erratic plot decisions and it makes zero to no sense!

Visually this film is disappointing too. Taking into account that this is a big budget film from one of the biggest film studios, the special effects in this film are atrocious. The green screen is so obvious and the CGI sets are clearly fake. Diana spends a lot of the film doing jumps and then floating in a very peculiar way in the sky, and it looks laughably bad. Even the 80′s setting doesn’t feel quite right. Yes, the costumes are somewhat okay, but the atmosphere is off and it seems the director’s opinion of the 80s is that everyone needs to act like a caricature.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is okay. Look, Gadot seems like a very lovely and earnest person in real life, and her face is indeed very likeable, but I still haven’t seen her give a good performance. It’s the typical pretty Hollywood face, and you can tell she’s trying her hardest, but I can never properly buy her as this female superhero pop culture icon. Chris Pine returns even though he died in the first one. Look, the way he’s brought back is a bit strange, however I did actually like seeing Pine in the movie, as he was one of the best parts of the first film, and he brings that same charm and charisma in this one, now with the added factor of being the fish out of water. And to be honest, his presence actually does provide the movie with some needed emotional heft, as it explores the ideas of having to get over someone you’ve lost and learning to accept it and move on. In terms of villains, there are two in this movie. Kristin Wiig as Cheetah feels very shoehorned in and is mainly there to have Diana fight someone at the end of the film. Kristen Wiig does her part, however the character is written really badly, and her development into becoming a villain comes off as rushed and cheap. On the other hand Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord is actually not bad. He’s not the typical superpowered baddie, he’s actually a normal human being, and even though, again, there are some inconsistencies with his character, Pascal brings enough swagger and panache to the role. And I’m sure he actually enjoyed playing a role where you can actually see his face.

As a whole, Wonder Woman 1984 is a mess. There are some good moments, but generally this is a very disjointed movie that doesn’t make sense and is extremely chaotic. Also, the entire thing is really boring. I’d say if you want more of an organised and wholesome movie, check out Disney Pixar’s new animation Soul! Or The Mandalorian with Pedro Pascal, as indeed... this is the way.

Overall score: 3/10

24 notes · View notes

justasparkwritings · 3 years

Text

Codename Cupid: Chapter 23

Previous: Cricket & OT7, Return to Sender

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x OFC

Genre: Secret AgentAU, Government AgentAU, Angst, Some Fluff

Rating: PG15

Word Count: 4.7K

Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Consensual Sex

Summary: Black Panther & Codename Cupid meet, Golden Maknae & Black Panther attempt to find a solution

What happens when you're confronted with an undeniable lie you've been telling for nearly a year?

(like ... it’s hella long and I only love like... part of it)

Codename Black Panther Meets Codename Cupid

Present Day

It’s awkward, sitting in your office knowing a team of high level, highly intelligent men sit no more than a block away, surveying your every move. Taehyung and Jimin are in their truck, the bugs they’d planted months ago still in use, their sight line into my office unobstructed. So what do you do when you’re under surveillance? No more rapping Childish Gambino at the top of my lungs, no more dancing to ABBA when I’m tired of sitting… No more pretending to work and billing hours when I’m reading conspiracy theory blogs. No more making out with Jungkook when he stops by or whispering filth into his ear when our temperatures are escalating and the need for each other surpasses the need for air.

I have to remind myself what the most important aspect of being under surveillance is: Act like you aren’t.

Cupid enters my office in what I can only describe as a knockout outfit, head to toe Chanel, complete with a Birkin and what I can only assume are Hermes sunglasses. She looks stunning, more so than usual.

“Euna, so good to see you,” I say, gesturing for her to sit. She glances at the chair and shakes her head.

“For how much I pay you, you should be able to afford nicer furniture,” She hums.

“Can I get you a water?” I ask, the anger attempting to pull my smile from my lips.

“Please, Pellegrino?”

“Yes, lemon and regular,” I inform her.

“Lemon please,” She says. Cupid takes her sunglasses off and waits patiently for me to return.

“We have a few updates to discuss,” I tell her. “I have done a little more research on the –

“I came here to tell you that I will no longer be needing your service,” Cupid interrupts.

“I’m sorry, have I done something?” I ask, surprise willingly seeping through my features. “I know we had a tense conversation the last time you stopped by, but I didn’t think you wanted me to stop my work.”

“I have done some digging on my own and have come to the conclusion that it’s incredibly unprofessional of you to engage with Jeon Jungkook in a manner that is far more than casual lovers. He is not who he says he is, and I will not have you investigating your own boyfriend.”

“Euna, how do you know?”

“I have my sources,”

“I thought I was your source,” I counter.

“You are,”

“Then, who else are you working with?” I ask again.

“That is not for you to know,”

“Okay, but you are clearly mad at me, or frustrated with me, specifically regarding my love life, which is not up for discussion. I want to fix whatever is causing this, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me.” My voice reaches the gravel pit my Speech Therapist told me is unhealthy, ravaging my vocal cords. I can’t tell what her end game is, but I know mine.

“I do not feel comfortable with him being near my family and being with you means he is. I won’t associate with someone so…,” Cupid scolds me, unable to finish her thought. “Further, I believe you have gone above and beyond what I initially requested, and I am satisfied with the work you have done.”

“Why is my relationship with Jungkook so-

“You have love in your eyes,” She says. I gnaw at the dead skin of my bottom lip. “You are no longer leading this investigation with a clear head, and I need someone whose mind isn’t filled with hope to get to the bottom of this. However he knows them, Jeon Jungkook is dangerous.”

“If you tell me, I can ensure he isn’t. We’ve been together for a while, Euna, he isn’t, he isn’t whatever you think he is,” I could easily be lying, in this moment, I have no idea who Jungkook is.

“Be careful, Y/N, you do not know what they’re capable of.”

“Euna,” I start again. How does she know he knows them? What intel does she have that I so clearly do not? “What are they capable of?”

“You don’t want to find out. Here is your last check, bonus included for your exceptional work. I do have one request.” Cupid stands, slipping her shades back over chocolate eyes.

“Okay?” I ask, standing to mirror her.

“Burn it all,”

“Burn it?”

“Whatever documentation you have from my time working with you, it would be in your best interest to burn it,” Euna chooses her words carefully, a trait of being a CEO. I swallow thickly, nodding my head.

“Okay, and Euna?” I ask.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry this wasn’t everything you wanted it to be, and that I couldn’t find Yoongi,” I concede.

“Oh, don’t apologize. I would be a terrible businesswoman if this was the end of my plans.” Replacing her frown with a gentle smile, she walks towards the door. “When you see Min Yoongi, tell him I’ll be waiting.”

“What makes you think I’ll be seeing Min Yoongi?”

“Oh Y/N, I have a little faith.”

I watch her leave and decide that banging my head against a wall regarding what Cupid knows and I don’t is worthless. I guarantee Namjoon has another file waiting for me with all the answers to the questions he’s assuming I’m going to ask. He isn’t wrong, I do have a million questions, ones for Jungkook, ones for Namjoon, about nine million for Yoongi, and a few for Jimin. Yoongi was so smug, arrogant, rude, a complete ass hole. I hate him. But I also deeply respect his game. I also completely understand why Jun-Seo fell for Jimin, he is by far the most gorgeous man I have ever seen up close, next to Taehyung. And Jungkook. In person? Holy fuck, Park Jimin can fucking get it.

Speaking of the man in question, who is now a suspect to Euna, is waiting patiently for me when I come home. Jungkook’s not stalking in the darkness, slinking through the night to find me, catching me off guard once I close the front door. He’s silent in his approach, waiting patiently for me. But tonight, either in an effort to smooth things over or out of the pure goodness of his heart, he’s home. He’s got takeout waiting on the table, glasses of water and booze sitting in the appropriate places, necessary silverware set in place. This isn’t fucking Thanksgiving, it’s a goddamned Thursday night. He himself is waiting patiently on the couch, lying down, eyes closed and soft snores coming out of his mouth. He looks cozy in ripped jeans and a sweatshirt, his hair growing long again, bleached, a look I was thoroughly against until I laid eyes on him.

Walking. Sex.

That’s the only way I can describe him.

“Go home,” I purposefully slam the door, jolting him from his slumber.

“I am home,” He responds.

“I can’t do this with you,”

“We need to talk,” he sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes.

“I don’t want to talk right now, JK, I want to go to sleep,”

“JK?” His eyebrows raise to say hello to his hairline.

“Yes, I don’t want to talk, go home.”

“Cricket, you haven’t eaten dinner yet,” He reminds me.

I can feel the tears prickling again, the ones I’d shed in front of OT7, the ones I’d born in the car, the ones I’d been bottling up for the last thirty-six hours, trying to not be so obviously heartbroken as I stared Lee Euna down. I’m too sad to fight him, so I don’t, letting him stand and guide me to the table where the Thai awaits. Dropping my bag down, I walk through to my bedroom, into the bathroom and shut the door.

“I’m showering first,” I call, ignoring the protest in his eyes as I walked away.

It’s a little too spot on to blast Adele, but I don’t fucking care. I turn it as loudly as my neighbors will tolerate and sing my sorrows. Tears mixing with cleanser, the poetry of their juxtaposition not lost as Adele fades into Ben Platt, and I’m sobbing as I release the words, noticing the magnitude of the change of phrase:

Now my heart is in your hands, please don't give it up / This is not a temporary love / This is not a temporary love / No, this is not a temporary love / Now your heart is in my hands, please don't give it up

I know Jungkook will be waiting for me to finish showering, and I know he’ll be ready to listen. He’ll beat himself up over whatever I say, he’ll listen when my voice raises, when it cracks, when it shakes. He always does. I guess that’s the thing about Jungkook, no matter how inexperienced he feels about loving someone, taking care of them, supporting them, he always does it and does it well. He shows up, even when he feels like he can’t. It’s been over a year, never once have I doubted his dedication, his steadfast love, not when he walked into the meeting with OT7, or when he tried to follow me after, or in the voicemails and texts he’s left since. I’ve never doubted Jungkook.

I shuffle from the warmth of my bathroom towards the kitchen table, where Jungkook is sitting.

“I reheated your plate,” Jungkook says. He’s sitting quietly, eyes full and downcast.

“Thanks,”

“Do you want to eat then talk, or talk first?” He offers the two options, knowing which I’ll pick.

“Eat,” I sit across from him, noting how he placed my food as far from him as possible, a notable decision that not only highlights how deeply he knows me, but that he still fucking cares. “You ate already?”

“I, yeah, I couldn’t wait,” He’s shy, a blush on his cheeks.

“Why? You always wait,”

“I’ve been on a small mission for the last twenty-four hours, no food, and I’ve been so anxious about us that I just… Seeing you just made all that stress disappear, so I ate,” Jungkook tells me. He sniffles, his tears starting to fall.

“A small mission?”

“Mm, to find out what happened to Bow and Arrow in 2012 and 2014 respectively,” He answers.

“Did you find out?”

“Yeah, but, well, you haven’t been onboarded. But one of our rules is that you don’t discuss work outside of headquarters,”

“Right, sure, makes sense,” I nod. I glance at him again, nose red, tears still falling. “I can’t eat if you’re crying.”

“I’ll sit on the couch,” He stands and shuffles towards the grey clothed piece I scrimped and saved for. It’s beyond worn out, pills of fabric piled on the edges of cushions, stains from mishaps and craft projects I should’ve done at the table. It’s housed many naps and a few guests. Jungkook looks nestled amongst the pillows.

I eat my food quietly, trying to figure out what it is exactly that I want to tell him. I’m not entirely sure I know what will come out of my mouth when I have to stare into his Bambi eyes. But I think I know what will come out of his, and I don’t want to hear it.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook starts. The dishes are cleared, and he’s waiting patiently for me on the couch. I don’t sit down, just stare at the spot above his head.

“How long have you known?” It’s better to just rip the bandage off, right?

“Four months,” Jungkook answers.

“How long have you known Jimin?”

“Eight years. How long have you known about my connection to Jimin and Taehyung?”

“A year,” I whisper. My sin seems far worse than his.

“A year?” Jungkook’s astonished. “You’re mad at me for a few months that were direct orders when you’ve been what, suspicious for a year?”

“You lied to me, fundamentally lied about who you are, I asked you for one fucking thing in this relationship, and you broke it.” I yell.

“Technically, you asked me two things, and I have followed through on both of those.” Why is his voice measured? Why doesn’t he yell when I yell?

“You lied!” My voice rises another octave, “What was your goal, to perpetuate the lie for as long as possible?”

“I had a job-

“I had a job!” I counter.

“My job requires me to do certain things without asking,” Jungkook’s tears continue to fall. “I asked if I could tell you, and I told you what I could.”

“You spied on me, gave all my evidence and –

“I didn’t spy on you,” His teeth are gritted, bunny smile lost to the nasty snare he’s tightened across his lips.

“Your friends spied on me,” I correct myself.

“You spied on my friends!” Jungkook countered.

“Your friends? The men that until two days ago I didn’t know were part of a giant governmental body that’s going to take down the largest conglomerate in the world? Who even are they? Who the fuck do they work for? What the fuck do they even do? I didn’t know you could be a secret organization without like, the federal government or Interpol knowing who you are but to my surprise, you can!”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, it’s aggressive and sharp, seeing his entire brain as they roll. “I had to lie. You, you knew and didn’t say anything. Why not say something?”

I sigh, I can tell him why I didn’t say anything, but I can’t tell him why I didn’t say anything. You know?

“I had no real proof that you really knew them,” I begin, “all I had was a hunch, a reaction they had that made it seem like they knew you. I put a few pieces together, but I didn’t have any real evidence that would hold up in court or against your withering stare. And, what if you were dangerous? OT7 is dangerous, you all could’ve hurt me. Why couldn’t me hiding it be about my safety?”

“You’re grasping at straws. If you had thought I wasn’t safe to be with, you wouldn’t be here a year later.”

“Tell me this, Jungkook, why, in front of all of your best friends, did you fucking let Namjoon tear me to pieces? Why, Jungkook, did you not say anything when you were left off my list of romantic partners? Do they not know about us? Do they not know you, we, love each other? Is this not what I thought it was?” Ah, and there the tears are.

“I wanted to be off the list,” He whispers.

“Why Jungkook? From where I’m standing, it fucking feels like you’re trying your hardest to erase me, like, like this almost year and a half that we’ve been together means nothing because I’m just a god damn mark. Is that what I am? Have I been reduced to that?”

“No!” He stands and shakes his head repeatedly.

“Then who am I to you? Am I your girlfriend? Am I your best friend? Or am I a piece in a larger puzzle that you are trying to solve?” I demand, pausing minutely to gasp for air. “I know what you are to me, I know how I feel about you. All my feelings have done in the last year is grow. I love you more than I did last week, I care about you more deeply than I did when you told me about how you were raised, a slight lie, but still honest. I see us, our life together more clearly than I ever have, but two days ago I.” I let the tears fall, pulling my mascara, never waterproof, and eyeshadow down with them. “I looked like the fool. I was the little girl attempting to play dress up with the fucking Tony Award winning cast of Catch Me if You Can. So, if I’m not the butt of the joke to you, who the fuck am I Jungkook?”

He wipes his eyes on his sleeves, which have covered his hands and are balled beneath his fingers. I’ve never seen him this upset. I know I’m not prepared for what is going to come out of his mouth.

“Namjoon tells people that we’re the one who knocks, but we aren’t. We’re the ones who send in the team to knock, we call all the shots, gather all the data, work the case until it is made out of marble. There are no cracks unless we have intentionally left them. We work as a unit, I don’t breathe without Hoseok knowing. I don’t brush my hair without Jimin catching it. We exist because of each other.” He sighs, “I took myself off the list on purpose. Your existence in my life is a threat. People know who I am, and if they know you…”

He shakes his head, a flash of what I experienced a few weeks ago, the idea of not coming home to this, to us… It’s in his eyes and it’s breaking my heart.

“I know we can keep you safe. I have full faith that our team will always protect you, but if I’m on that list, if there’s a trail of me to you, or vice versa. We’re at risk. I cannot, and I will not, lose you. I will not let my work put your life at risk, I will not sacrifice myself if it means I won’t come home to you. At the end of the day, isn’t that our promise to each other? I love you, and I am so sorry I lied to you, but my hands were tied. I can’t step out of line without risking everything OT7 is and does. I won’t do it.”

“I’m not asking you to be a coward,” I whisper.

“What?” Jungkook asks, for the first time in a few days, his eyes are softening, confusion replacing hurt.

"In Charmed, Phoebe asks Cole to back down, and he responds by saying he would do anything for her, except be a coward. He begs, please don’t ask me to be. I’m not asking you to be a coward, Jungkook.”

“I know you’re not. I asked Namjoon if I could tell you, about my job,”

“I remember,”

“I didn’t give specifics about who you are. I didn’t tell OT7 because I didn’t want you to be used in this case, I didn’t want this to be happening. But I walked into the offices and there you were, your photo, your stats, your codename,” A shiver runs over my spine at the mention of a codename, something so intentional, deliberate, precise. They’d taken the time to include me. “I didn’t know that Jimin and Taehyung had been following you for months or had interacted with you. They asked me point blank and I couldn’t lie. I wouldn’t lie about you, you’re too important. Namjoon gave me orders, and I’m obligated to follow them.”

“You lied to me,” I repeat.

“You lied to me, too.”

I stare at him, I don’t know how to fix this.

“We don’t have to forgive each other, or understand one another or work through it, now or ever. But I think that would be a disservice, a betrayal, of our relationship. You did ask me who you are to me, and the best way to explain it is this,” He grabs a paper off the coffee table and hands it to me, “Namjoon had me write it down.”

Cautiously I take the paper from him, typed and unedited, it’s longer than I expected. “Is this a twisted love letter?”

“You could say that,” Jungkook’s soft smile returns.

“Read it to me,” I hand it back.

Sniffling, “I’ll keep crying,”

“Please?” I ask again, sitting on the couch. He nods gently and sits next to me.

“Can I hold your hand?” He asks. The flames have been handled, dulled to hot embers as we sit, thigh touching thigh, his tattooed covered hand engulfing mine.

“Y/N and I began dating after meeting in a bar. I was struck by how stunning she was, how much I wanted to understand the flush of her cheeks, the curve of her jaw, the cadence of her laugh. We flirted, and I bought her drink. That first night in her apartment, where I now spend almost all of my time, I was overwhelmed by how much it felt like home… which is insane and I’ve never told her, but that night, I could just see us there, our future, all enfolding in front of me... Her apartment doesn’t turn you away or disinvite you once you’ve arrived, it’s far too warm and cozy, just like her. It’s my favorite place in the world, she’s my favorite place.

We spent the night laughing, kissing, getting to know each other. It was something in her eyes, in the way she absentmindedly traced my tattoos, how she fell asleep so easily in my arms. The next morning, we got breakfast, and I asked her out for a date on Monday. Dinner and a movie, classic. She let me hold her hand, and skillfully argued why she should pay for dinner. I compromised, she bought the movie tickets and treats. I barely paid attention to the movie, I just wanted to watch her laugh. Since that night, she’s all I ever think about.

She said she wanted to know what she was going to drown in before she dove in, and I knew in that moment that I loved her. I’ve never heard such poetry spoken, let alone about me, to me, before… She just, she was vulnerable without hesitation. I didn’t understand how she could be so delicate with me, so exposed, so willing to let me in. Her vulnerability welcomed mine, embraced it, and I’ve been loving her ever since.

I’ve never loved someone quite like her. She is brash, she makes decisions and sticks with them regardless of how difficult they make her life. She works side projects for neighbors, unpaid, to ease their lives. The man she rents her office from has a few kids, and in the summers, she takes a day a week to watch them. She hates cooking and brushes her teeth for over the recommended time because she’s terrified they’ll rot. She buys packs of the same popsicles and never leaves without a full water bottle. She hates sports, would rather sit in silence and stare at a wall than watch a football game, but she’ll check up on the highlights if it matters to me. She listens to the same music on a loop and adds in songs I love to her playlists because she wants to feel close to me, to understand me, to see me.

I could continue listing all the things about her, that I love, or all the things I love about our relationship… how we compromise, how we talk through our squabbles, how we respect each other, how we can communicate without speaking but know each other’s voice is our favorite sound. I love that she’s perceptive and asks for alone time when she needs to recharge and can sense from the tone in my voice when I need the same. I love how she sees me, listens to me, brings out the parts of me only OT7 knows. Like I said, I could keep writing… but it’s easier to put it this way:

Y/N is the love of my life, and I will do anything to protect her, to love her, to come home to her every day and every night that she’ll have me.

I will not break my promise to her. Lock and key.”

Jungkook sets the paper down and doesn’t look at me. I’m openly balling next to him, sobs ripping through me in quick succession.

No one has ever loved me like this.

I’ve only dreamed of love like this, I mean, no one has this, right? He’s offering it to me, no strings attached, no secrets, love for the sake of love. Love without penance or an additional cost to it. Here he is, all ink and doe eyes, holding me, the woman who lied to him, deceived him, was suspicious of him for months, hoping he still holds that love for me.

“You’re just, you’re the love of my life,” I wail, hands still covering my face as snot gloms onto my palms.

“Cricket,” Jungkook wraps his arms around me as his tears fall onto my body. “I love you.”

“I’m sorry I lied, I’m sorry I kept it from you. I just, I didn’t know and I,”

“Shh, Cricket, it’s okay,”

“Bunny,” I say, “I’m sorry. I forgive you. You don’t have to forgive me.”

“I forgive you,” He tells me.

“You do?”

“Yes. I’ve watched every member of OT7 lose their relationships, be beaten up over a fake relationship with a mark, giving themselves to someone to have it crumble under direct orders. Jimin is still trying to unravel the Arrow if it all. I didn’t, I didn’t want work to ruin us.”

“You wouldn’t let it,” I assure him.

“I wouldn’t, but there’s always the threat,”

“Are you secretly more cunning than I give you credit for?”

“Absolutely,” He smirks.

“I missed you,” I whisper. Can he hear my heartache? We’ve never gone 36 hours apart… not since our first month or two dating. It’s horrible, I hate it.

“It hasn’t been two days,” His chuckle is light, a sniffle accompanying the sound.

“I know, I missed you though,” I nuzzle deeper into his side, my nose brushing his neck.

“I missed you too,”

“I don’t want to ever fight like that again,” I tell him.

“I can’t guarantee that we won’t,” He reaches his free arm around his torso, knitting his hands together, solidifying my body to him.

“Can you promise me something?” I ask.

“Yes,”

“I promise not to quote Runaway Bride in its entirety,” I start. “But I will still quote it,” I sit up, eyes swollen and red, finding focus on his marble cut features. “Promise me that when things get tough, when one or the both of us wants out, we’ll remember that we made it through this, and we can make it through anything.”

“Do you know in your heart that I’m the one for you?” He asks.

I hate that he leans into my vulnerability, that I’m unable to hide myself from him. I’ve never been able to, not the first night, and not now.

“I will regret it, every day of my life, if I don’t make you mine,” I recite.

“Promise me something,” Jungkook starts.

“The moon and the stars,” I tell him.

“That you won’t lie to me,” He says.

“I promise,” I stick my pinky out.

“You’ll come home to me, always,” He loops his with mine.

“I promise,” I kiss my right hand, he mimics the gesture. “Do you think, maybe we should –

“Move in?” He finishes. His gaze holds mine, all hope, no expectations.

“Yeah,” I nod.

“Yes, here?” It’s hard to imagine he was just crying, the excitement sweeping over his entire body as he stands up and shakes his fists.

“Is your lease up?” I laugh, he’s beyond cute.

“Fuck the lease,” He laughs coming back to the couch. His hands cup my cheeks, fingers gently pressing on my neck, thumb softly caressing my cheeks.

“Bunny?” I whisper, eyes flicking to his lips.

“Cricket,” He answers.

“Lock and key,”

“You and me,”

“You and me,” He leans forward, lips finally meeting. The anticipation of having him in my arms, the ache of his absence over the last day and a half, the unsteady calm of opening your heart to someone… it’s all there in how his lips move against mine, how his tongue gently passes my lips, how his hands move down my body. The opposite of hope is fear, the opposite of pain is joy, as we move together, bodies joining, sweat mixing and names said in pure ecstasy, Jungkook and I solidify what we’ve always known about each other and our relationship.

Lock and key, him and me.

Next: OT8

9 notes · View notes

today-we-will-survive · 5 years

Text

Kookie’s Cookies and Cakes

Pairing: baker!Jungkook x Reader

Genre: fluff, fluff and more fluff

Warning: none

Word count: 1.7K

A/N: dedicated to the anon that told me to write a fic for myself 💜

In the darkness of the early morning, Jungkook fumbles with his keys as he tries to blindly fit them into the lock. But then the key finds its home, and with a soft click, he pushes the door open and steps inside the bakery.

It’s the smell of the place, he thinks whenever he crosses the threshold, that always hits home the fact that he is doing what he loves. The comforting smells of bread and sugary glaze is ever present in this place.

He switches off the alarm and flips on the lights, flooding the storefront with warm, white light. The bakery is quaint with just a few cafe tables scattered across the black and white checkered tiles. The marble front counters are trimmed with gold painted molding and the glass display shelves are empty now but by the time he opens, they’ll be displaying beautiful pastries for the patrons of the city to ooh and aah over as they do most mornings.

Jungkook has a gift. Everyone knows that.

The things he can do with butter and flour are on par with the works of the notable french bakeries in Paris and the fact that his business is limited to this small town isn’t lost on him. It’s been a dream from the time he opened Kookie’s Cookies and Cakes to expand his business, whether that be online or in a bigger city. As of right now though, this little bakery is enough.

With a contented sigh, Jungkook makes his way into the back room and turns on the light. There isn’t a lot in this small workroom. An industrial sized mixer stands like a metal pillar in the corner beside a stainless steel fridge and double ovens nestle in the wall to the right of the door. A large wooden island takes up most of the room and is the heart of the whole bakery.

Jungkook likes to work in silence usually for the first couple of hours in the morning. There’s something about hearing the sounds of the mixer and the soft tick of the ovens as they preheat that tends to keep his mind at ease, even as he thinks about you.

You’ve been a regular at Kookie’s for a while now, stopping by the quaint little place every morning on your way to work to grab an orange chocolate chip muffin and a cup of coffee. Every morning you enter the bakery, the tinkling bell over the door announcing your arrival. Every morning Jungkook looks up to meet your eyes through the glass of the display case as he finishes putting the last few items on the shelves. Every morning, his heart quickens the moment he sees you.

You always look so fresh and nice, your makeup done meticulously, hair perfectly styled. He doesn’t actually know where you work but it’s obviously somewhere much too professional for you to take interest in the shy baker that can’t help but turn into a bumbling mess whenever you speak to him.

A shrill ding breaks the silence as the ovens rise to temperature causing Jungkook to nearly jump out of his skin. With clumsy movements, he makes his way over to the refrigerator and pulls out a tray of cinnamon rolls that were proofing overnight. After popping them in the oven, he wipes his forehead with the back of his flour covered hand and goes back to the big ball of dough resting on the counter. In just a few hours, it will become a batch of his favorite mint chip scones.

As the golden light of the morning begins to seep in through the big window and paint the storefront, Jungkook drizzles sugar glaze over the last row of cake donuts. A bit dribbles onto the counter but he ignores it, grabbing the tray and rushing out to the front to start a pot of coffee. You always come at the same time every morning and he would feel terrible if he made you late because you were waiting on your drink that he completely forgot to brew earlier.

He squints at the buttons, having a hard time reading them since he ran out of contact solution last night and therefore couldn’t put his contacts in this morning. Luckily, he didn’t have to look too hard for his spare glasses—a pair of gold, round rimmed ones that he’s always liked—before hurrying out the door and now he pulls them out of his pocket and slips them on.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Jungkook utters under his breath, his fingers tapping rapidly against the countertop on either side of the coffee maker as he urges it to go faster. He glances up at the clock above him on the wall. You’ll be there any minute.

With a frustrated huff, Jungkook pushes his glasses up his nose—now he remembers why he never wears them—and leans on his elbow, eyes glued again to the spout where the coffee should start streaming out any time now.

The dark liquid has just started to drip into the pot when Jungkook hears the familiar sound of the bell above the door. He whirls around, his wide eyes landing on you as your red painted lips curl up into a warm smile.

“Morning Jungkook,” you say brightly, your voice as smooth as the glaze on the donuts still sitting on the tray on the counter.

“Hey, Y/N,” he chokes out, quickly pushing his glasses up his nose again. “Uh…coffee’s almost ready.”

You smile wider and saunter up to the counter, your eyes scanning over the pastries in the display case. “No worries,” you say. “I have time this morning.”

Jungkook swallows hard watching as you peruse the case, which, what’s the point since you always get the orange, chocolate chip—

“Crap,” Jungkook utters under his breath. Not quiet enough apparently because as soon as the word leaves his lips, you look up at him curiously. “Uh…I forgot to make the muffins this morning,” he says scratching the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I promise I’ll have them tomorrow. I’ll make a double batch and you can have two, or three actually. You can have a whole dozen if you want—” His voice falters when you start laughing, your eyes sparkling amusedly.

“It’s okay, Jungkook, honest,” you giggle. “I’ve been meaning to try something else for a while, I just haven’t because those muffins are so amazing!” Pink warmth blooms in his cheeks at the compliment. “But this gives me the perfect opportunity to try something new.” Then you rest your arms carefully on top of the glass case, looking right into his eyes and cock a manicured eyebrow. “So, what would you recommend?”

Jungkook can’t speak. It’s like his vocabulary has reduced itself down to nothing but his name—which is even hard to remember with you looking at him like that—and his mouth opens and closes a few times silently before he shakes his head and pushes his glasses up his nose again. “Well, my favorite are the mint chocolate scones over here,” he says pointing toward the pastries sitting on a silver plate in the case. “I made them fresh this morning.” Obviously, you dork. Jungkook’s cheeks heat up further.

Just then the coffee pot buzzes causing him to jump and spin around fast, his fingers jabbing at the machine to turn it off. It takes an embarrassingly long time to get his hand to cooperate, but at last, he gets the thing to stop buzzing. When he turns back around, you have your lips pursed tightly in a terrible attempt at hiding your amusement.

“Coffee?” he asks with a nervous chuckle.

You can only nod and he turns away from you again, mentally cursing himself for always being such a spaz around you. You love it though. It makes him that much cuter. Not to mention, those glasses take his cuteness to a whole other level.

When he turns around again to hand you the full to-go cup, you can’t help but swoon a bit at the way the gold rimmed glasses make him look more thoughtful, more innocent somehow.

“I really like your glasses,” you say, your hand shaking a bit as you bring the cup to your lips. Why are you so nervous all of a sudden?

“Oh, thanks,” Jungkook says dipping his head. “I couldn’t wear my contacts this morning so I had to wear these.”

“They look nice on you,” you say.

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “Thanks,” he repeats softly, the blush having spread to his ears tinging them red to match the berries adorning the raspberry cupcakes in the case.

“So, I think I’ll try the mint chocolate scone this morning,” you say nodding toward the pastries on the silver plate.

“Oh right,” Jungkook says before opening the case on his side to grab one for you.

You watch in comfortable silence as he uses a pair of silver tongs to pinch the scone carefully and slip it into a small paper bag emblazoned with the name of his bakery. Kookie’s Cookies and Cakes.

“Thanks, Jungkook,” you say and open your bag to retrieve your wallet.

“No please,” he says quickly. “This one’s on the house.”

You freeze. “Are you sure?” you ask him.

Jungkook nods. “Yeah, I feel bad about not having your muffins and for making you wait for the coffee.”

“I didn’t mind waiting at all,” you say. “And like I said before, I’ve been meaning to try something new, so it’s seriously no trouble at all.”

“Still,” Jungkook says. “I just want you to have them.”

Your heart softens in your chest and you smile shyly. “Thanks, Jungkook,” you utter as you take the pastry from him carefully. Then you meet his eyes again. “I really do like those glasses on you,” you say. “You should wear them more often.”

Every day for the rest of my life, Jungkook thinks even as he pushes them up after they’ve slid down the bridge of his nose again.

“See you tomorrow?” you ask.

“I’ll be here,” Jungkook says with a nod.

You give him a returning nod before turning and heading back out the door again.

You clutch the coffee and scone tightly in your hands, the smells wafting up to wrap your head in warmth and comfort, the image of a flustered Jungkook in those glasses causing your heart to flutter and the corners of your mouth to curl upward.

269 notes · View notes

wolfpawn · 5 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 42

Chapter Summary - With Tom in Sudan and Danielle in Wales, they are tested for the first time on the ability to be apart from one another for a notable amount of time, can they hack it, and what are they planning for their little reunion?

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @lys-syl @youcantcatchafallingstar

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

“You got it!” Tom was forced to hold the phone away from his ear as Danielle shrieked excitedly down it at him.

“I have not gotten anything yet, technically speaking.” Tom pointed out.

“But you were brilliant, and half of the nominations, I haven’t heard of the shows, much less the actors.”

“Elle, that’s mean.” Tom scolded.

“But I haven’t.”

“Well, you’re not renowned for your love of watching telly.” He pointed out.

“Guilty,” she admitted nonchalantly, causing Tom to chuckle. “Who else has congratulated you?”

“So far, I have had texts from Luke, Ben, the cast, obviously, Kenneth Brannagh, a few of my previous work colleagues, couple of the guys from school and college, cousins, my aunt, Sarah, and of course, mum called, but I only got a message because I was charging my phone, I will ring her back in a while.”

“And Emma?” Danielle asked, noting that he had not mentioned the youngest of the Hiddleston siblings.

“She hasn’t sent anything yet, but mum said that her schedule is hectic at the moment and that Jack was saying she does not get home from the show until three or four most mornings, so I think she is still asleep now, it’s lunch time here, but I think you are still midmorning.”

“Yeah, it is. That’s fair enough.”

Tom had been about to ask Elle something when he noticed the disheartened tone to her voice. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“She’s not talking to me.” Danielle almost sounded like a child, her voice was so small.

“Emma?”

“She’s barely responding to anything I text her, she only responds with one-word answers.”

“She will get over it with time, as you said already; it’s just a little weird for her. Though it’s not fair for her to guilt you like this.”

“It’s also not fair to go after a friend’s brother.” Danielle countered.

“What, are you saying you broke some ‘girl code’?”

“I don’t think there is something officially written out, but yes, I have done something worthy of being told to go fuck myself in many people’s books.”

Tom felt crestfallen. “Do you regret us?”

“I know it sounds bad, but no, I don’t. Emma is one of my closest friends, I have never really been as close with anyone like I have her, I love her, I would do anything, legal or otherwise for her, but I love you, and I like being with you.”

“These are different sorts of love you have for us both, I assume?”

Danielle laughed, “Obviously.”

“It will be resolved soon enough, darling. She cannot stay too mad at people for too long, it is not her way. Do you want me to say something?”

“No, if she needs to be mad for a bit, then let her be, I rather not talk to her until she is ready to. She could say something in anger that could make a big difference to everything and I don’t want to do that.”

“I don’t think I have ever heard of you not confronting something head on before,” Tom noted.

“Because normally, I don’t feel like I could lose my best friend from it.”

“You won’t lose her.” Tom felt hurt on Danielle’s behalf. “She’ll realise soon enough that she’s not actually mad at us and that this isn’t some sort of trashy little fling and that we are happy together, then she will realise you are all the more special.” His smile was blatant through the phone.

“Especially when we decide to…Shit, I am being called back onto set here. Tom, I will talk to you later and I am so happy for you, bye.”

Tom did not even get to say goodbye before Danielle hung up the phone, not that he would have been able to utter the word anyway. He stood, phone still to his ear as he processed what Danielle had been saying before she was called off. She was clearly about to mention something that indicated that she was thinking of something regarding the long-term future for them. His curiosity was piqued at what she could have been about to say. Looking at the screen, he realised he had received several more texts of congratulations, one of which was from Emma.

Emma – Just heard, well done. X

Tom stared at the message before deciding what to text back.

Tom – thanks, sis, sort of shocked, obviously, in an honoured sort of way. By the way, is everything okay? Elle thinks you are angry at her.

Tom looked at the phone for a moment wondering should he have mentioned Elle, before pressing send and turning it off, heading through the departures lounge to start the journey back to London. His trip back to Sudan was over, and in truth, felt worn from it, but, armed with new experiences of the situation there due to his revisiting, he would be able to speak more of it and the terrible situation there, so hr knew it was worth it.

“Hey Irish,” Danielle looked at the sound guy who was standing nearby with a few other behind the scenes set staff. “We’re stuck working this weekend, but off earlyish Saturday and late on Sunday, so we are having an unofficial Christmas Party, you in?”

Danielle had taken out her phone as soon as he had informed her that they were working to tell Tom. “I’m probably not going to be able to.”

“Cancelling plans?” he asked, referring to her phone.

“Himself and I were supposed to be going to friends, so yeah.”

One of the make-up artists looked at her curiously. “You never mentioned a boyfriend.”

Danielle froze for a moment, thinking as fast as she could. “Does anyone around here, if you don’t have a wedding band or a diamond ring, I don’t know anyone’s relationship status.”

“True actually. So what will be your plans now?” The artist conceded.

“I will have to tell him the situation and see what he does about it, he may come here instead now.”

“Surely he can join us all then.”

She looked at the other woman apologetically. “He’ll be just back from a tedious flight, so I will mention it, but I can’t give a definite answer yet.”

“Ooh, he sounds fancy, what does he do?”

“Promotion,” Danielle thought quickly, technically, it was not a lie.

“Meh, scratch that,” The other woman dismissed, “at least in makeup, I get to work up close with celebrities. So Danny has an introvert boyfriend, let me guess, you two sit in, watch Game of Thrones and read most days off.” She smiled playfully.

“Not really a big fan of the show, but yeah, read, relax, walk the dog and going for a run usually.”

“Ooh, a dog and everything, very cosy. I hope we get to meet him.”

Danielle smiled politely, but in her mind, she feared such a thing, not yet mentally ready to declare to the wider world about her celebrity boyfriend. “Maybe if he is feeling up to it, we can join you all.” She commented as she thought of what to say to Tom of what was now her weekend, knowing full well he would plead for her to allow him to join her for it.

“Cool, so Danny is a ‘maybe’, what about you Jack?” the makeup artist decided to focus on who else could be roped into a drinking session.

Danielle just smiled, part of her relieved that she already had set up the excuse for her not being there at the weekend. A piss-up, in the guise of a Christmas party, was the last thing she wanted, especially that she knew Tom would be back. Unlocking her phone, she decided to finish and send the text to Tom.

Danielle – Your coming home has saved me from a weekend of hangovers and regrets. Are you coming Friday or Saturday?

“It hilarious,” Danielle erupted in fresh giggles.

“I respectfully disagree,” Tom grumbled, though he was somewhat surprised by her reaction, relieved that she had not been upset.

“It’s hilarious, trust me.” Danielle reaffirmed, looking at her laptop. “Though what has me concerned is; the artist putting it there because they knew you lived nearby, which is somewhat odd and unsettling, and how did the paparazzi know you would be passing there. Was it all done as a stunt?”

“You think I set this up?” there was both hurt and anger in his voice.

Danielle sighed, she knew he was jetlagged and that he was always somewhat sensitive when people suggested that he was media hungry. “No, I am saying that they would, of course, know you are home, since you were on the TV this morning, talking about your trip, which, by the way, was a very well done piece, but let’s face it, I knew it would be, I think they did the stunt to keep making money off you and her, even if all you were doing was going to Sainsbury’s for some milk.”

“Sorry,” Tom groaned, his tiredness blatant in his voice, “I shouldn’t…”

“Love, you’re exhausted, please, go get some rest.” Danielle encouraged.

“I’m not…”

“Tom, you seem to forget you were on telly this morning, I saw you with my own two eyes, you’re bollixed tired, don’t deny it. Get some rest, after all, you promised to come see me this weekend.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go out with the others, I can entertain myself for a couple hours?” Tom asked, turning on the kettle to make a cup of tea while he read over a few things that had accumulated while he was away.

“Well, let us look at everything for a moment, I could go drinking, something you and I both know of my lack of interest in, with a bunch of people I only know three weeks and will only be working with for another two, or I could hide away in a hotel room with my incredibly sexy boyfriend and show him how much I have missed him over the past few weeks, especially when I may have bought something just for the occasion. Such a difficult decision to make.” She feigned a tone of deep thought for a moment before giggling. “I ought to spank that delectable derrière of yours for even suggesting such a thing.”

“I am not going to lie, I am looking forward to seeing…wait, you want to spank me and you bought something, please tell me it’s something I can ogle you in?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” She could not hide the grin on her face or the excitement in her tone.

“Darling, you have no idea how much I want to get in my car and drive there to you, right this instant.” He groaned in frustration.

“Aw, is my poor man frustrated?” she half-joked.

“Well, thanks to your imagery, I am now sporting something that could…”

“Herd cattle?” Danielle laughed, loving how he was getting more and more wound up.

“Country mouse.” Tom grinned, using Danielle’s own analogy of herself.

“City mouse,” she retorted jestfully.

“Darling, I cannot wait to be around you.”

“Are you heading to your mum’s between now and then?”

Tom’s brow furrowed slightly, unsure as to why she was asking about his mother. “I don’t plan to, why?”

“I was just going to ask you to send me a picture of Mac, I miss him.” she stated sadly.

“If I do, I will.” He promised.

“They have a collie dog staying here at the moment that reminds me of him, I think one of his parents was a collie and the other a German Sheppard, it is so like him.”

“They let dogs stay there?”

“Yeah, not everyone wants to put their dogs in kennels when they go away, so they allow them here for another ten pound a night.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“I know, right? So if you see him, tell him I miss him and I will see him soon, and get me a photo.”

“I promise if I see him, I will.” He smiled, loving how much Danielle cared for the scraggy pup he had rang her about one cold morning while he was on set. “I will talk to you soon, and trust me when I say, I cannot wait to join you.”

“Goodbye Tom, I…I love you.” She admitted in a meek voice.

Tom’s eyes widened at her words, she had said them once or twice before, but never over the phone like that. “I love you too, Elle.” He smiled, “Goodbye, darling.” As soon as Danielle hung up, Tom thought to himself for a moment and then grinned slyly, so with a quick Google, he retrieved the number he required and pressed the call button. When a woman answered the phone, he put his most charming voice on. “Hello, I know this is an odd request, but I need to ask a favour and keep something secret for me.”

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic #I Hate You I Love You #chapter 42

11 notes · View notes

idreamofwolves · 5 years

Text

Not My Type - Part 2

Summary: Two polar opposites meet on unusual terms. When they decide to take a chance on each other both of their worlds turn upside down.

Pairing: Nikki Sixx (The Dirt) x OC

Author’s note: Thanks for reading! If you want to be on my tag list let me know! I was going to make the date a full part but I think it’ll be way too long lol so look out for part 3!

“I don’t know about this Drew.” Scarlet said while she absentmindedly fiddled with her hair. They’d only been sitting in the club parking lot for a few minutes, but her nerves were starting to get the best of her. “What if he doesn’t show up?”

“He’s going to show up.” Drew answered, maybe more nervous than his sister was. “Nikki freaking Sixx doesn’t just ask anyone out on a date. If he wants to actually talk to you, and not just have sex with you, that’s a big deal. He’ll be here.”

“I look stupid.” She looked down at her black skirt, probably the only black item of clothing she owned, and her off the shoulder pink top. Drew has helped her get dressed, but she wasn’t so confident.

“You look fine.” He laughed, as if her worrying about her clothes was the last thing she needed to worry about.

Knots formed in Scarlet’s stomach as she waited. 5:00 exactly. “He’s late.”

“He’s a rock star. You’ll be lucky if he shows up before 6.” Drew laughed as he nervously tapped his fingers on the wheel.

“I don’t care if he’s a rock star, he can be on time.” She said defensively. Her frustration didn’t actually come from Nikki’s tardiness, it came from her nerves and twisted stomach. She hoped this would t last all night.

After 5 minutes of nervous silence, Drew finally spoke up. “That’s him.” He pointed to a black car that pulled up beside them.

As the three of them exited their cars, they greeted each other as if they had known each other forever. “Hey man! How’s it going?” Drew called as he went in for a high five.

Nikki chuckled and high fived the exited fan. “Not to bad, how about yourself?” He raised his eyebrow at Scarlet discreetly, making her giggle. Obviously Nikki had no planned to entertain Drew.

“I’m great, dude. So where you two headed?” He asked, almost like he wanted to come along.

“Oh- I figured we would-“

“You have work tomorrow morning, I don’t want to keep you up too late.” Scarlet interrupted. She knew if Drew knew where they were going, he’d “conveniently” run into them. “Nikki, would you mind driving me home tonight?”

Nikki smiled, as he knew exactly what was going on. She was obviously just trying to save herself a little embarrassment. “Yeah sweetheart, whatever you want.”

“Okay, well I’ll see you later Drew.” She hugged her brother who was disappointed and silent.

“Be safe.” Drew said, slugging back into his car.

The moment Scarlet sat down in Nikki’s car, the overwhelming smell of leather and booze hit her nose. Something about it excited her, and her nerves went a little off the rails once her date got in and started the car. “Sorry about him, like I said, he’s a big fan of yours.”

“No problem, I deal with a lot worse than that. He seems like an alright guy.” As he drove, Scarlet began to realize she had no idea where they were going.

“So where are you taking us?” She tried not to sound nervous, but she was sure it had come through in her voice.

“Figured we’d go somewhere quiet, since I don’t think you’re too used to the bar scene.” She nodded in approval, somewhat relieved she wouldn’t be sitting on some pub.

They ended up in some family owned, Italian restaurant. The vibe was more comfort and homey than it was classy, which she thought was great, seeing as someone like Nikki probably wouldn’t fit in at a high end restaurant.

They were seated in the back of the dining room at a small table next to the window. It was dimly lit and for once, no one was staring at Nikki, not in the way he was used to anyway. A few odd looks came his way, his leather pants most likely being the cause, but no one waiting to get his autograph. It was a relief to him. The waitress promptly took their orders and left, finally giving them time to talk. “So Scar, tell me about yourself.”

The question felt too broad, she really didn’t know what to say, so she started wherever she thought was relavent. “Well, I go to university right now, I’m studying business, I-“

“Why business?” He asked as he stirred the water the waitress had just set in front of him. “Does it make you happy?”

“Oh, uh not really. It’s a good basis for about any career. My parents thought it would be helpful.” She shrugged, and for the first time she started to question her choice.

“But if it doesn’t make you happy, why do it?” She hates that he had a point and began to realize how smart he actually was. Rock stars didn’t really have the most notability for being intelligent.

“Financial stability I suppose.” She received a nod and another question right off the bat.

“So do you live with your brother?” Another rock star cliche was that they were arrogant and only wanted to talk about themselves. He was proving her wrong there too. Even the other men she’d gone on dates with, who were nothing like Nikki, had no interest in getting to know her.

“For now, yeah. He lives closer to school and I can’t really afford an apartment of my own yet. It’s really nice of him to take care of me.” She felt like a loser, not having a car or a place to call her own, but Nikki didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he didn’t mind at all, he could relate to being that poor. Except he never got the help from family like she did.

“Yeah it is. You seem to have a great family.” The waitress brought over Nikki’s jack and coke and set down a martini for Scarlet.

“What’s your like?” She asked, though had she known his answer she wouldn’t have.

“I don’t know, I don’t talk to them. I’m on my own. But that’s a story for another day.” He flashes her a smile and took a drink, but she could see that was a touchy subject.

“Sorry. Well what about you? Tell me something about yourself rock star. I’m sure your story is far more interesting than mine.” She laughed, trying to get off of the weird note that had left them on.

“I see the world from the back of a bus, fuck up hotel rooms, get drunk, get high, play shows, meet fans, whatever. It’s not that interesting.” He shrugged as if it were a normal thing, but Scarlet had a laundry list of questions, but only one stuck out.

“Drugs? Like what?” She didn’t know almost anything about drugs, and she’d never met anyone who had done them.

“Cocaine for a long time, we all did that. But uh, I guess when I found heroin I fell in love.” He looked disappointed in himself, and she honestly wasn’t sure why. “Since I’m sure you’ll find out anyway, you might as well hear it from me.” He started, “I did heroin for a long time, let everyone down, about tore my band apart. It got to a bad point and I over dosed and died. Even after my ass got saved and went and shot up again.”

“How are you doing now?” She asked, afraid for him. She didn’t know why but she was worried about him.

“Better. Cleaned up in rehab and stayed clean. I went back to drinking, obviously, but so far so good on the drug use.” He chuckled, trying to keep this light. He hadn’t expected to spill his guts about the darkest time of his life. It was only their first date.

Conversation was interrupted by the waitress setting down their food. Scarlet was excited about her dish, but she kept her martini in mind. She wasn’t one to drink and didn’t know what to do with it yet.

As they began eating, Scarlet sat back and looked her fate in the eyes. He awkwardly looked up at her and for the first time he felt a little nervous. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Is that still on your mind?” He asked, surprised she was so concerned.

“Yeah, I guess it is. You’re just a really talented and sweet person. I’d hate to see you destroy yourself like that.” She wasn’t really thinking as she spoke, she just said what she felt.

Nikki sat silent, but the look on his face told Scarlet that what she said meant something to him. He may have been used to adoring fans, but he wasn’t used to actual kind intentions and someone worrying about him. He didn’t know what to say, so of course, he changed the subject. “Are you going to try your drink?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t really-“

“Try it.” He laughed, knowing she’d be apprehensive. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to drink the rest.”

“I don’t want to get drunk.” She giggles and looked around to make sure no one was watching.

“You won’t I promise. I wouldn’t ask you to do that. Come on, have your first drink with me. If nothing else it’s a cool story to tell your brother.” He was too charming for his own good. His smile would have convinced her to do about anything.

He gave him a playful glare and took a small sip. She wanted to hate it and give him a big “I told you so” but she wasn’t quite that lucky. “Okay it’s good, but the after taste is awful!” She set her drink down and eyes Nikki. He seemed satisfied as he began to eat again. “I don’t know how you drink liquor straight.”

“Lots of practice.” They laughed, and conversation seemed like it could have gone on forever.

After dinner, neither of them were ready to call it a night. “Hey, do you want to go for a walk?” Scarlet asked, hoping it wasn’t too forward.

“Hell yeah, let’s go.” They weren’t sure where the night would take them, but they both knew something good was going to come out of it, and it was only half over.

Tag list!

@fandomshit6000 @mainly-me @batirumi

#nikki x oc #nikki sixx fic #the dirt nikki sixx #the dirt fic #the dirt #douglas booth #tommy lee #mick mars #vince neil #nikki sixx #motley crue #oc #original character

78 notes · View notes

lovelytonys · 5 years

Text

The Official Lovelytonys Guide to Iron Man Comics

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m about to save some lives. Buckle up.

Six months ago, I was asked for comic recs. I’m posting those recs today. Why so long? Because I couldn’t just make a rec list, no, I’m too extra for that. I had to go and make, to the best of my ability and knowledge, my own entire personal guide to Iron Man comics. I also have a tendency to start projects and not do them. But I did this one! And now I share it with you.

For your assistance, I’m going to link this Comic Book Herald article which is a full Iron Man reading order (LIFESAVER) and has links to amazon to buy the collections & arcs being talked about if you are so inclined.

You can find comics on amazon, ebay, the marvel website or Marvel Digital Comics Store (you can buy digital versions of comics), or just find a local comic shop and see what they have. You can easily find any comic you want free to read online, but the websites are a little shady. I’ll leave it to your discretion.

Disclaimer: Remember that these are all my personal opinions. Often, they will not line up with popular opinions. You might really like stuff that I didn’t care for. You might dislike my favorites. You might agree with my opinions. If any comic fans read this and are offended by any of my opinions, please don’t be!! Opinions on comics are SO subjective, just find out what you like and stick to it. I just figured I’d lend my own personal helping hand for you get started, because doing so can be intimidating.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, let’s begin under the cut! (If you are on mobile...I am so, so sorry about this)

Short version (the recommendation-y part)

Recs because I like them:

Iron Man Volume 3 (1998)- #1-25 (my actual absolute FAVORITE RUN of all time and my number one recommendation. It’s by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, and Sean Chen), #26-30, #62-63, #73-78. Iron Man Volume 4 (2005) #1-35. Invincible Iron Man (2008) spanned many years so you should read at least some, and it has many fans, but I am not one of them, so I’m not gonna rec too much. Issues #1-6 and its epilogue, #7, are worth a read and the arc spanning #8-19 is probably the best from the era, I would say that I enjoyed that arc. Next is Brian Michael Bendis’ stuff, which has a pretty bad rep and while I don’t hate it as much as others do, I wouldn’t say I love it. It is, however, the most recent completed run & important stuff happens, and there’s some good stuff here and there, so yeah. I don’t really have any specific recs from here...just read the whole thing and see what you get out of it or scroll down to the guide section and see the highlights I picked out. Invincible Iron Man (2015) #1-25, and Invincible Iron Man (2016) #1-600 (they changed the numbering halfway through, it’s not 600 issues it’s only I think 19).

Recs because important stuff happens even if I don’t necessarily like them:

Civil War I (occurs during the Iron Man run starting in 2005), Civil War II (occurs during Brian Michael Bendis era), Iron Man (2012) #9-17 “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark.”

Long version (the guide-y part)

First off, I’m going to tell you that my suggested starting points are Invincible Iron Man (1998) which was my starting point, and Invincible Iron Man (2005). Much more on those below.

I haven’t read Mr. Stark’s classic adventures yet because there’s a daunting number of them and I still need to find a starting point, so we’re gonna start with...

Volume 3 (1998):

Okay I have SO MUCH to say here because I’d die for this volume!! It’s considered by many to be nothing special but there’s a lot to appreciate if you’re a fan of Tony in the way that many are here on tumblr- caring about character development & character moments first and foremost. I’ll break down my favorites for ya

#1- does a good job of setting the tone for Tony and this era of Invincible Iron Man. Some nice Tony character details are in there. Volume 3 is started with Kurt Busiek writing (later joined by Roger Stern) and Sean Chen on pencils. I LOVED this team, this is my FAVORITE run of Iron Man that I’ve read, PLEASE read all 25 issues. I thought Busiek understood Tony really well and I just loved the way Chen drew Tony (and everything else), and their first issue is surprisingly enjoyable for mostly existing to set the groundwork for a fresh start.

#4-5- I think this is where the run starts to kick into gear. Tony’s on-and-off girlfriend for the era, Rumiko, is introduced and she’s fun (but as the years went on, deserved much better writing). Tony kicks some butt & is a hero.

#6- an awesome Iron Man/Black Widow team up. It shows a really nice friendship between Tony & Nat. Also, Nat kicks butt & it’s great

I’m recommending every issue that builds Tony’s relationship with Carol Danvers (at this time, she was Warbird, not Captain Marvel). #7, #11-12, #18, #19, #21, and #23-25. Their storyline details Tony’s endeavors to help Carol overcome alcoholism. At least read the Carol parts of the issues she’s only in a few panels of. Major highlight of the Iron Man comics I’ve read. Also- knowing this background will definitely make Civil War II have more weight

#8-12- Tony gets the actual daylights beaten out of him and then some, leading into a compelling 2-issue Mandarin arc, this then leads into an interesting 2-issue team up with Warbird that gives us an answer as to why his injuries were so bad. It hurts but it’s good

#13- an actually really compelling single-issue story that involves some trippy, creepy mind control stuff and takes a look into Tony’s head- specifically questioning whether or not being Iron Man has become an addiction. You can’t tell yet but I’m trying my hardest to not recommend every single issue

#26-30- The Mask in the Iron Man arc. This is the first issue without Busiek writing- Joe Quesada steps in and it’s good stuff. It’s also Sean Chen’s last arc. It starts with Tony punching a guy in the face to protect Rumiko but getting punched back and having to wear a nose splint- it’s really cute. Then Tony and Ru run into relationship problems. Then the Iron Man armor becomes sentient, basically falls in love with Tony, and kidnaps him on a remote island. Wait-what? Yeah, it’s really weird in hindsight, but while you’re reading it, it sure does pull you in. One of the biggest standouts of the whole era and something of an instant classic. Also, the first few pages of #31 give you a little aftermath.

#37-40- this wasn’t my favorite arc but I’m recommending it just because of how wild it ends up being. These were the days when IIM wasn’t afraid to have a big imagination. And I mean big, like, who thought of this? Well, Frank Tieri is writing at this point (he’s okay, not my favorite of the volume), and Alitha Martinez & Paul Ryan are on pencils (it’s fine, but you’ll miss Sean Chen) (you’ll always miss Sean Chen). Also, a major player in this arc is Tiberius Stone so maybe read it to know who he is.

#50- “Tinman”. Issue 50 was meant to be a place for new readers to jump in. Mike Grell & Michael Ryan are at the reigns as writer and artist. Grell’s characterization was fairly solid, my favorite next to Busiek in this era. His version of Tony is more in touch with his emotions, I guess, than some like to characterize him. Sometimes he gets aggressive when he’s angry but there’s also a lot of really sweet moments and they portray him as doing a lot of good, like funding a rehab/safehouse for kids on the street. Grell’s stories are generally grittier and more violent but Tony himself doesn’t really take a dark turn. Issue #50 has both action and a VERY SOFT Tony, definitely recommend it

#53-55- “Book of the Ten Rings”. Again, it’s grittier than the stuff that came before it, but it’s good. Once the main story wraps up, something really important happens at the end. Also, it’s important to note here for people that weren’t previously into comics that at this point, Pepper and Happy are a thing, not Pepper and Tony as seen in the MCU

#59-61- “In Shining Armor”. Tony travels back to Medieval times and it’s not exactly a good time for him but it’s a wild time for us. Gotta love a good old fashioned time travel arc

#62-63- “You Can’t Always Get”. Oh god PLEASE read this one, if you only listen to one of my post-Busiek & Chen recs this is the one, the Tony content is so precious

#73-78- “The Best Defense”. The arc detailing Tony’s journey to becoming Secretary of Defense because yes, that happened. A very interesting concept to watch Tony go through and one of the most notable stories in this era.

Volume 4 (2005):

This is the last of what I consider the Really Good Stuff (except for Civil War, but we’ll get there). These comics defined Tony Stark as we know him today, and you’ll notice that MCU Tony was definitely influenced by them. If you’re starting here, it’ll be Iron Man as you basically already know it. If you’re coming here off of Volume 3, then you’ll notice the tone of not just the stories but of Tony himself get darker. For whatever reason, writers looked at Tony and said “let’s find ways to bring his morals into question bc that’s Interesting!” It’s not bad (the Iron Man title, that is- Civil War is bad) but it doesn’t really reflect what came before it, I guess. I’m recommending all 35 issues bc why not but I’ll break it down for ya & make sure to point out my favorites

#1-6- “Extremis”. A must read. One of the most iconic Iron Man stories in 21st century comic history. It’s on everyone’s list. You are, as an Iron Man fan looking to get into IM comics, legally obligated to read this. This would also be the arc where I believe the MCU looked for inspiration for Tony characterization. Also Extremis obviously ended up in the MCU but it’s like way different in the MCU than in the source material

#7-12- “Execute Program”- Basically, Tony is screwed up post-Extremis. Poor guy. Please read this. Directly leads to Civil War…

Civil War (2006) #1-7- Ugh. So. Civil War. In my personal opinion- not a fan. I actually like the movie MUCH better and imo the movie is the way this should have been written. Unfortunately, you’ve gotta read it because it’s an important event. You’ll see people calling it “Tony Stark characterization murder” and THAT’S VALID. Like. Tony suddenly became...a villain?? literally the worst?? under the poorly written guise of “just doing what I have to do” but the stuff that happens….it just can’t be explained with “doing what I have to do”. Honestly it reads like the writers just wanted to pit Tony against Steve and didn’t care about keeping him in character. Tony basically had to be turned into a villain to make the story work because In-Character Tony would not have fit their needs. It sucks and I don’t want to recommend it but you have to read it because it affects so much that comes after it.

THE ONLY CIVIL WAR ANYTHING YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER are tie ins and oneshots and I will tell you a couple

Invincible Iron Man #13-14- IIM’s CW tie ins. Issue 13 comes after CW #2, issue 14 after CW #5. Read these

Captain America/Iron Man: Casualties of War- oneshot to be read after Civil War #4. Tony offers Steve the chance to try and talk it out. Both explain their positions and a lot of comic history between them is brought up.

Civil War: The Confession: SO after CW, SPOILER SPOILER poor Steve is assassinated in Captain America #25 (it’s actually more wild than that bc superheroes don’t just die but whatever) and this is a oneshot with two halves, the first takes place after Steve is dead and is Tony-centric and I LITERALLY CRIED and the second takes place when Steve is imprisoned before he is killed. PLEASE read this

There’s more tie ins involving Tony that you should read but I’m sick of talking abt CW

BACK TO THE IRON MAN SOLO TITLE

Sooooo the title now changes from Invincible Iron Man to Iron Man: Director of SHIELD but it’s the same book

#15-18- It’s Tony’s first story arc as Director and it ends up being kind of wild actually

#21-28- ‘Haunted’. Starts out as a sort of murder mystery thing, spirals into something much bigger. Also, poor Tony is so screwed up in the head but what’s new. Definitely read this one

#29-32- ‘With Iron Hands’. Basically, an entire arc of Tony feeling guilty about his past?? Pretty much. There’s also a terrorist and a giant weapon and more fun stuff. The last you’ll see of Tony for the volume bc stuff goes down in the Secret Invasion event and War Machine takes over for the last 3 issues of the title. Wish I could be of help in regards to Secret Invasion, but I haven’t actually read it because I haven’t been able to find it. Just, idk, google search the plot of Secret Invasion like I did and you should be able to get by

Invincible Iron Man (2008) AKA Other Volume 4:

Okay lots of comics fans think this is one of the best Iron Man runs in history and I respect their opinions and perhaps you will share them but I’m gonna cut to the chase here: I am not one of those people. Look, I read all 62 issues so I have a fair opinion, and I’m just not a huge fan. Matt Fraction is writing and Salvador Larroca is drawing. In my experience, the stories drag on and it gets to the point where you’re just bored. I think I read the 89 issues of volume 3 faster than I read the 62 issues of this because I was just so bored with it. Also, I’m really not a fan of Larroca’s work on the book. I really disliked the way he drew Tony and the more I looked at it, it almost made me...uncomfortable? Some of his art is kind of gross imo. Plus, I didn’t love Fraction’s Tony characterization. I can’t quite articulate why, it just didn’t sit nicely w me. There were some moments where I thought “oh yeah that’s Correct” but many other moments where I thought “No Why Did You Write That”. He was good at writing some wild and intricate stories but sometimes I felt that character got lost in the midst of the action. That’s just me though, you might really like Fraction’s run, and there is some stuff worth pointing out.

#1-6- ‘The Five Nightmares’. A fairly iconic modern Iron Man story. Tony’s worst nightmare comes true when the son of Obadiah Stane uses Stark tech to cause absolutely horrific acts of terrorism. It gets pretty serious, but it sets the groundwork for this entire era of Iron Man. As far as Fraction stories go for me, it’s one of the better ones.

#7- Five Nightmares Epilogue. A team-up of sorts with Spider-Man that I actually genuinely think you should read, especially for the ending (and because Peter & Tony clearly wish they could be buddies again in this post-Civil War world).

#8-19- Okay it’s really long but I remember it stood out to me, all I remember is that it’s basically Tony Stark Brain Annihilation over the course of 12 issues and it hurts like heecckkk. Actually I’m gonna say definitely read this one. Also Rescue happens and that’s A Thing you should know about. Stuff gets fixed in the next arc, #20-24, but it’s not worth recommending imo so don’t read this if you’re gonna read it but if you’re not just know that SPOILER SPOILER Tony is fine except he accidentally erased Civil War from his memory (god I wish I could do that). SPOILER OVER

I think I’m gonna end it there for Fraction issues of interest. There’s probably more in there I should be recommending but I just. Can’t be bothered to comb through Fraction’s volume sorryyyyy I’m just not a fan

Iron Man (2012):

So this run is by Kieron Gillen and I don’t really want to recommend anything from it. I didn’t love it as a whole. Gillen laid way too heavily into the idea of “Tony Stark is a walking ego”. The stories were kind of interesting in theory but I thought the execution was mediocre for some reason. Although, not necessarily the art but specifically the coloring was nice- very vibrant. The actual art was by Greg Land who comic fans really seem to hate. I didn’t think his work on this was too bad idk. Again I don’t really want to recommend anything so there’s only one thing I’m putting on here and it’s:

#9-17- “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark”. So here’s the thing. Kieron Gillen said to himself “I need to do something that turns Tony Stark’s identity on its head. I need to redefine him”. And he actually kind of succeeded in that. And it’s actually annoying and it actually feels like something that should be retconned…. but hasn’t been?? And since it hasn’t been, it’s going to be important going forward so you should probably know about it. You could also just google it.

Invincible Iron (2015) by Man-Brian Michael Bendis

Yes, the infamous BMB. So, what’s the truth about his run on Iron Man? Is the amount of hate warranted? Well…that’ll be for you to decide. Personally, I think it was generally...meh. Not necessarily terrible just. Meh. Many fanboys act like this run is the bane of their existence and I don’t think I dislike it to that extent at all. I mean, it gets boring after a while, but the good moments are really enjoyable and I think it’s worth reading. Bendis’ characterization was sometimes weird because it felt notably inconsistent. However, the moments when he nailed it, he really did nail it. His Tony is a bit of a dork, a bit of a hot mess, a little vulnerable, and the moments when that’s at the forefront are great. There’s also some notable stuff going on here- Civil War 2 falls under this era (I hate it less than the first one but Marvel could do 50 Civil War events and I will probably not like any of them), and so does Riri Williams (who I love, just to get that opinion over with). Finding recs for this era is kind of weird for me because the things that stood out were almost never actual issues or stories, but rather specific character moments, so like, the volume is only 14 issues so tbh you can just trudge through them all and savor the good moments, but I’ll try to pull some recs out for ya

#2, #3- just for some character moments. These two are a part of a larger arc so it might be a little confusing to read them on their own but who cares

#4, #5- Tony fights ninjas and visits kids at a hospital and MJ Watson & Doctor Strange make appearances so it’s kinda cool idk

#9-11- only because you meet Miss Riri Williams, the other parts won’t make sense since it’s in the middle of an arc but eh. Honestly the actual story didn’t strike me as being very special so like unless you’re into it you can just skim for the parts that Riri is in since she’ll be important later

Aaaand CIVIL WAR 2

Civil War II #0-8- okay I don’t dislike it as strongly as I dislike the first CW but I still?? Don’t like it?? Like at all? But something really important to Tony’s stories happens at the end and Tony is one of the main characters in the event so like. You should read it. The main problem I remember is that the pace felt so slow. This event is Iron Man vs Captain Marvel which kinda hurt me bc of how much I loved them from 1998’s volume but it’s fine!! They never address their past in the actual event but there’s a tie-in that does so that’s good I guess. Just get through it idk what to tell you

Back to Invincible Iron Man

#12, #13, #14- tie-ins to Civil War II. #12 and #13 I think come after CW2 #2?? Maybe?? And I think #14 comes after CW2 #6?? Anyway #14 actually acknowledges Tony & Carol’s past so you should give that a read while going through the event.

Invincible Iron Man (2016)

Sooo some Serious Stuff happened in Civil War II that’s going to have an effect that lasts a while. I don’t wanna spoil it, though. When you do get to the end of CW2, you can rest assured that Tony will still have a major presence as a character in this title, but Riri Williams takes the spotlight. Opinions on her are mixed, I personally love her. This, like its 2015 sister, can honestly just be read all the way through, it’s only 19 issues, but I’ll try to find stuff. Also, Tony & Riri’s banter is ALWAYS golden so just read to enjoy it tbh. On we go!

#1, #2- gives you the background on Riri now that she’s taking center stage. She’s just so darn endearing.

#11- It’s basically an issue about everyone reflecting on how Tony is a good person and different from how the public perceives him. He holds orphaned babies from around the world. It’s good stuff.

#593-600- the numbering changed, there’s obviously not actually 600 issues lol. So yes this is kind of long for an arc, but it’s important because it resolves what happened to Tony in Civil War 2. I remember getting bored with it after a few issues, like it wasn’t bad I just remember it feeling slow. Idk. It’s important. Just read it.

Stuff that I don’t think is worth your time:

Invincible Iron Man volume 2 (1996)- I think Marvel was doing some kind of reboot or something because Iron Man’s origin was redone as well as The Hulk’s. It’s amazing how a run that was only 13 issues felt like such a large waste of my time. I didn’t think there was anything of note. I basically don’t even remember what happened in it. Also the sexualization of women was so casual and constant on top of the run not being particularly remarkable so yeah don’t waste your time

Superior Iron Man (2015)- I dislike the idea of this so much that I don’t even want to explain it ugh it’s a spin off of an event called Axis that involved some psychic type stuff that altered the personalities of those involved, boosting Tony’s worst qualities and making him evil. Marvel then decided to make a series about it and it’s only 9 issues but wow it’s amazing how hard it can be for me to get through 9 issues. I could barely read it I just so strongly dislike this idea ok so basically Evil Tony creates Extremis 3.0 which is an app that lets a person make themselves physically into the person they wish they were (In the pages of Axis, Tony personally made himself not an alcoholic because that’s not disrespecting an incredibly important character detail and there was one particularly awful panel of him drinking alcohol in front of a crowd of cheering people and saying “I missed you, sweetheart”). He is testing this app on San Francisco and effectively creates two classes of people- the “perfect” people who could access the app and the “imperfect” people who can’t and that goes about as well as you’d think. Then he makes it obscenely expensive to use which also goes about as well as you’d think. And more stuff happens. Here’s the thing. I’m sure many people thought the concept of a villainous Tony Stark was cool, but I just don’t like the implications of it. The way it’s written kind of gives the idea that, with his personality, Tony could easily become a villain. Given that some people already think of Tony Stark as a villain, reading it just made me cringe. And the WORST thing about it is that, while this is a result of Axis, it’s still Tony himself. According to the writers, he has “surrendered to his id and his legendary ego” (god I’m about to gag) after the mind-altering events of Axis brought those things out in him. Despite my qualms, was the book well-written? I will never be able to read it that objectively, so I can’t say. But clearly, as you can see by the size of this here rant (sorry), I dislike the very idea of it enough to put it on my “do not touch” list.

Okay. Wow. I finally did it. Wow. Six months and it’s done.

I am simply the mentor figure in your hero’s journey. As you get used to navigating comics and reading orders, you’ll find it easier to venture out, and there’s so many ways to go. A character crossed over into something you read and you liked them a lot? Look up their reading order. A writer or artist really impressed you? Do a google search and find what else they’ve worked on. There’s a whole world of comics out there. Go have some fun.

I leave you with 3 rules of being a comic fan:

1. No one hates comics more than comic book readers. We’re bitter because we care. You’ll be like a jaded war veteran who writes a thousand word rant about why a certain author’s mischaracterization of your fave offended you personally way faster than you’d think.

2. Follow the trail of what interests you and, while acknowledging what may be widely believed, proudly own your personal opinions.

3. It’s addictive. Embrace it. You start with one issue, and before you know it, you’ve read 200 issues and know 20 years of history on one character in less than a year. That might be how it goes for you. Just go with it.

Happy reading!

#lovelytonys guide to comics #tony stark #iron man #marvel #marvel comics

247 notes · View notes

malekshardy · 5 years

Text

groupie love – hardy!roger taylor x reader (part three)

summary: everything comes full circle when betty surprises you with tickets to queen’s last show at madison square garden.

a/n: this is it!!! the last part!!! and it’s three times as long as either of the first two, oops. obviously i think it must be at least kind of good, otherwise i wouldn’t have written over 6k words of it. definitely listen to the playlist while you read – i wrote most of this listening to empty space and close to me, but for the end i listened to my love, my life by abba EXCLUSIVELY and then somebody to love for a little bit at the very end. this has been so much fun to write, and i hope you like it!!

word count: 6,677 (!!!!)

part one | part two

Betty is waiting for you when you finally get home, just as you knew she would be. The whole subway ride home, you had thought about how to confront her about the phone number – although, logically, you know that you hadn’t seen her since you both got home from the party the night before.

On principle, though, you’re still mad.

Betty is laying on the couch, half asleep, when you slam the door open and enter the apartment. She snaps awake and sits straight up.

“Where have you been?! I thought you were dead in a back alley somewhere!” She exclaims.

You sigh. “Work.”

“Oh,” she seems disappointed for just a second, then her expression changes back to a more relaxed one. “Did Arthur keep you this whole time? Three extra hours?”

“Yeah.” You sit down next to her. “He paid double for the overtime though, so at least there’s that.”

“That’s good. But, like… why?”

“Queen came in around midnight.” You say shortly. You know you have no right to be annoyed, but it’s almost three in the morning and you knew your best friend and drunk Betty getting a rockstar’s number should definitely have been a topic of conversation on the taxi ride home last night. “John says hello.”

“Oh,” Betty blushes.

“I guess you don’t have to pray you run into him sometime in the next three days so you can say hi back, considering he has your phone number.”

“Y/N –“

“I’m not really mad,” you say, mostly to yourself. “Because we haven’t seen each other all day, but how did you not tell me last night on the way home? That’s exciting!”

“You didn’t tell me about you and Roger,” she says.

Oh. Right.

“And who told you about that? John?”

“We saw you, Y/N. You were literally in the middle of the party making out with the world’s most notorious playboy.” She laughs. “But yes, John mentioned it when he called me earlier. Do you want something to eat?”

“What did he say?!” You nearly shout. “Because Roger was being weird at the restaurant when I ran into him, but I just assumed that’s because he’s a rockstar who’s used to having to deal with groupies and all that.”

“I had mac and cheese for dinner,” Betty says, standing up and walking towards your kitchen. “I’ll reheat it for you.”

“Betty!” More than anything, you want to hear what John had to say. Even though you know it was probably mentioned in passing – oh, just Roger being Roger, attracting yet another groupie to his side for the night – you can’t keep yourself from hoping it’s something more.

The oven beeps. “C’mon Y/N, eat something and I’ll tell you.” You scramble to your feet and head into the kitchen. Betty takes the leftover mac and cheese and sets in on the table as if she’s your mother.

“Okay, go.”

“Well, our conversation started off a little bit awkward, since I think both of us got a lot of our confidence from being intoxicated, so I brought up you and Roger just because it was something about people that we both knew, and –“

“– Wait, what time was this?” You interrupt.

“Around three, maybe? I’m not sure, I had just gotten back from work. But don’t interrupt, I thought you wanted to hear what he had to say about you.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

“Basically, we talked a little about you guys and the party last night, and then he said something about us leaving really early and Roger being apparently pretty torn up about it – John said that he was pretty grumpy and irritable right after we left and this morning when they all got together for lunch, which is how he knew he was disappointed – and he said that Roger thinks that you left because you didn’t like him or something, which I didn’t think was true, but I also know about your wild side and you didn’t seem too upset to be leaving, so I just told him I wasn’t sure –“

“Betty, it was your fault that we left!” You exclaim.

“I know, I told him that.” Betty glares at you. “Keep eating. I know you haven’t eaten anything since five.”

“Fine. But I didn’t want to leave, just making sure you know that.”

“I know. But I’m not done with the story, so shh. Basically, John was saying that Roger didn’t want to talk about the party or you, which was weird to everybody because Roger always wants to brag about his groupies the next day, so John said they decided that Roger likes you and wishes you would have stuck around the other night.”

You can’t help it; your face heats up and your heart begins to pound furiously in your chest. Betty is watching you with a smile on her face. “That’s… good.”

“And one more thing. John and I were scheming a little bit over the phone, I’ll just tell you now since I know you’re thinking it, and he just happened to find four extra tickets and backstage passes for tomorrow – well, I guess tonight – at Madison Square Garden.”

You hadn’t really been thinking about Betty and John scheming, although you probably should have, considering Betty had been trying to set you up with a guy forever, even after you started going backstage at rock concerts and hooking up with rockstars. What you had been thinking about was being in another small enclosed space with Roger, his hands gripping your hips, your arms wrapped around his neck, his mouth on yours, just like the afterparty.

“Hello? Earth to Y/N?” You snap back to the present. Betty is staring back at you. “I’m going to bed. I, unlike some people, have work tomorrow.”

“Okay. What time do you get off? I mean, since we have a concert to get to.”

Betty smiles knowingly. “I have the ten o’clock tomorrow, so I’ll be out by four. I think I want to bring Sandra with us to the concert, do you have anyone you could bring?”

“Liz,” you say immediately. “We bonded yesterday over our mutual love of the band, right before they came in.” Betty suddenly giggles. “What?”

“I forgot to tell you, I may have mentioned to John that you were working tonight and… I maybe told him which restaurant it was.”

“So you got me stuck at work until three,” you laugh. “You should have known where I was if you told him where I work!”

“I didn’t think they would actually end up there! And especially not for that long! Wait, so that means you saw Roger, right?” Betty asks. You nod. “How did that go? Wait, don’t tell me. I need to go to bed. You can tell me later.”

“Okay,” you say as she heads down the hallway to her bedroom. “Good night!”

As she disappears into her room, you stand and rinse out your bowl of mac and cheese and set it in the dishwasher. As you do, you can’t help but think about what it’ll be like to stand in front of Roger Taylor again, having him all to yourself again, and being able to explain to him why you had left and why you hadn’t wanted to.

And hopefully he would forgive you. And maybe he would kiss you again.

***

The next morning when you wake up, Betty is gone again. Between the two of you working and going to classes, you were rarely home at the same time – even less so if a particularly good band was in town. It was nice, though, to have time apart from each other to relax or do homework. You had lived with Betty for the last three years of your undergraduate careers, and when the time came for graduate school, you and Betty had never even considered living with anyone else. The two of you could understand each other’s crazy schedules and hectic lives, and you supported each other in everything you did – with one notable exception.

You started going to rock concerts your freshman year of college, before you had even met Betty. Rock music had been part of your life since you were born, with your parents constantly playing Elvis, Ray Charles, and Bill Haley. Your first solo venture into the musical scene, like so many other girls your age, had been the Beatles. Then came Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin. Then, of course, there was Queen.

So it was safe to say you were a big rock music fan.

The first time you had slept with a musician, he hadn’t been a bona fide rockstar. However, the pure adrenaline you got from catching the eye of one of the men on stage was addicting, and you went to more and more shows, and the eyes that you caught became bigger and bigger stars. Betty, who, while also a rock music fan, tended to stay on the sidelines, was not a huge fan of your little hobby. It all led up to one massive fight at the end of your junior year, where she had called you a few choice names and moved back in with her parents for the summer. You reconciled, obviously, after finding out she was only worried for your health and safety, but she stayed far removed from your whole scene until she just couldn’t bear it anymore, and then you started bringing her to shows in the front row and going backstage. However, you usually kept her away from the afterparties – they were overwhelming and sometimes not entirely safe.

Until Queen came to New York and Betty begged you to bring her along with you to their afterparty. Which is how John Deacon ended up with her phone number.

You spend your morning doing mostly homework for your classes that week, and before you know it, it’s nearly three and you realize you still haven’t called Liz. You know she’s not working tonight, you just hope she doesn’t have other plans.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end is unfamiliar.

“Hi, this is Y/N Y/L/N, one of Liz’s coworkers? Is she there?”

“Yeah, let me go get her for you.” There’s a brief pause, and then Liz gets on the line. “Hello?”

“Hey Liz.”

“Y/N? What’s up?”

“I know this is pretty last minute, but I managed to get tickets for the Queen concert tonight and last night you mentioned wanting to see them while they’re here, so I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

“Oh my God, of course! Thank you so much! How did you even get these tickets so late? I thought the whole show was sold out!”

Yeah, how did you get these tickets? “Would you believe me if I told you my roommate knows the bassist?” Technically, that was true.

Liz laughs. “No, but I appreciate you inviting me so much that I don’t even care. What time should I be ready?”

“The show starts at 7, so we want to be there by probably 6. You can meet us at my apartment at 5 and we’ll head over right after, it’ll probably take a little while to get there with rush hour traffic. You have my address?”

“Yeah! Sounds good. See you soon!” As soon as you hang up, Betty walks through the door, clearly exhausted and frazzled from her day at work.

“How was your day?” You ask.

“Not great! People are assholes.”

“Tell me about it.”

She groans loudly and flops onto the couch. “I just hate my job. I can’t wait until I graduate and can finally get a job in like, the field my degrees are in.”

“Oh, I so agree. But at least we get to go to the concert tonight?”

Betty smiles, her eyes fluttering closed. “Yeah. And we have backstage passes. So you can make up with Roger. Or at least have a conversation you can remember.”

“Haha,” you say sarcastically. “I wasn’t that drunk.”

“Y/N, if you had been making out with just a random guy at a random party instead of Roger Taylor, you wouldn’t even remember his name.”

You laugh. “I mean… you’re probably right. What time is Sandra coming over? Liz is coming at 5.”

“I told her 5 as well. We should probably start getting ready then, right?”

“Definitely.”

***

You’re in the middle of doing your eye makeup when you hear a knock at the door. You quickly finish up with your eyeliner and head to the door to find both Sandra and Liz right on your doorstep, looking perfectly dressed for the show.

“Hey guys!” You say brightly. “Excited for the show?”

“So excited,” Liz exclaims. Sandra nods.

“Yay! Me too.” More than you know.

“I was just telling Sandra while we were outside that the band came into the restaurant yesterday, so we got to see them up close and personal,” Liz says.

Yep. You smile. “Yeah, it was such a cool experience.”

“It sounds like it! What are they like in person?” Sandra asks excitedly.

“I got cut before I could talk to them, I just got to see them come in. Y/N, you stayed till closing, did you get to talk to them?”

“What?” You barely catch the end of Liz’s sentence. “Oh, yeah. Just for a second.” You don’t tell them what Freddie said about you being Roger’s Cinderella, or anything Betty had told you about her phone conversation with John. Obviously. Because that would require a lot of backstory you didn’t want to tell your coworker. Betty is the only person in your life who knows about your little hobby (and your interaction with Roger), and you intend to keep it that way.

“And?” Liz says. She and Sandra are staring at you expectantly.

“Um – they all seem nice. Nicer than most rockstars. Probably.” Too bad all you can remember from your actual conversation with Roger is his wide eyes looking at you softly, you’re something, that’s for sure playing on a loop in your head. “I ran straight into Freddie Mercury when I went to put the silverware in the front and he was perfectly polite about it. He even made a joke or two.”

“Did you talk to Roger at all yesterday?” It’s Betty’s voice, and a shock runs down your spine at the sound of his name.

“Unfortunately, no.” You say, your teeth gritted. She only smiles at you.

“Maybe you will tonight,” she says, then turns to the others. “Ladies, we have backstage passes, so you can finally have those conversations you’ve been dying to have.”

“Oh wow,” Sandra says, shocked.

“You know, maybe now I do believe that you know the band,” Liz says to Betty, a grin spreading over her face.

“Oh honey,” Betty responds. “You don’t even know the half of it.”

You roll your eyes. “Can we go now? It’s a quarter past five in New York and one of the biggest bands in the world is playing at the Garden. It’s going to be a nightmare.”

“Okay, okay,” Betty teases. “I understand.”

The four of you shuffle out the door, you in the front, hurrying towards the street. Thankfully, miraculously, a taxi stops for you almost as soon as you step onto the curb and hold your hand up.

“Evening, ladies,” the driver says. “Where to?”

“Madison Square Garden,” you respond.

“You girls going to the Queen concert?” He asks, his eyes raking over your body, and for a moment you feel utterly exposed. Then you give a sigh of annoyance.

“Yes, and we’re trying to get there before it starts.” You snap.

He holds his hands up in surrender. “C’mon in then, it might take a while.”

“I’m aware,” you mutter, climbing into the backseat of the cab. The four of you squish together in the backseat – no one wants to sit in the front, right next to the slightly creepy cab driver – and Sandra slams the door behind her.

God must be looking out for you, because you only hit traffic once, when you reach 27th Street, and at that point it’s only 5:30 and you’re six blocks from the Garden, so you can relax a little. The car is nearly silent as you sit in standstill traffic, which is odd because you’ve never known your friends to be so quiet. The only thing puncturing the silence is the occasional honk from one of the cars around you – and by occasional you mean every fifteen seconds or so – and yet you’re still grateful to live in what you consider the best city in the world.

You sit in traffic on 27th for about twenty minutes, and then things finally start moving again and you can see Madison Square Garden’s magnificent shape start to appear on your right. Excitement pools in your stomach and a wide smile spreads across your face. You love Madison Square Garden and you love rock and roll and you love your friends and you love Queen.

And you have backstage passes, which means no having to persuade the crew to let you backstage to talk to the band. For once, the band knows you and they want you backstage. At least you think they do.

***

Roger has a girl under his arm, because of course he does. It’s half past five, and his friends are relaxing in the dressing room backstage, talking loudly amongst themselves and laughing, but Roger is stuck in his own head. The girl – he can’t remember her name – has her hand on his thigh, and every so often she inches it slightly further up, but he doesn’t care the same way he usually would. He doesn’t know this girl’s name and he doesn’t care that she’s hoping he’ll live up to his reputation in the half hour or so before they go onstage. What he does care about is his run-in with another girl last night – a girl he can’t seem to forget.

“Roger,” the girl whimpers. “Can’t we have a little fun? We’ve just been sitting here doing nothing all evening!”

She doesn’t speak too loudly, but the rest of the band can hear her. “Yeah Rog, why’re you so upset?” Brian laughs.

“You’re all bloody annoying,” Roger snaps. It’s not meant to be funny, but of course the others burst into laughter.

“Really? How absolutely unusual,” Freddie chuckles. “But wait, Roger, would you still be annoyed if Deaky told you he invited his little girlfriend and some of her friends to the show tonight?”

Roger jolts forward, letting the other girl fall out from under his arm, and the moment he does it he wishes he hadn’t; he wishes he could look as disinterested as possible. But of course he can’t – he’s been wishing for another chance to talk with Y/N since the moment she left him alone at his party two nights ago.

“Oh, look at him,” Freddie whispers. “There must be a fairy godmother in here somewhere.” The others laugh.

Roger clears his throat. “I don’t care. She doesn’t want to talk to me, and I know that, so I’m done.”

“Do you, though?” Deaky smirks. “I had a very interesting conversation with her lovely roommate, who happened to tell me that when they had to leave that night, it was all because she had to work early the next morning.”

“So it wasn’t Cinderella’s fault, then,” Freddie says. “Hmm. Interesting.” Roger’s heart free-falls into his stomach. She hadn’t left him on purpose.

“Also,” Deaky continues. “I got them backstage passes for after the concert. Although I’m sure Cinderella doesn’t need them, considering how you met her in the first place.”

“Who’s Cinderella?” It’s the other girl. Roger had all but forgotten about her, he was too invested in Deaky’s words.

“A princess,” Roger says. “From a fairytale.”

“Now that was cheesy,” Brian laughs. “You’re better than that, Rog.”

“C’mon, boys.” Freddie stands up from his seat on the couch. “We’ve only got twenty minutes before showtime, we’d better get going.”

***

The seats John had given Betty were better than you could have ever dreamed. You had been third row or closer at many concerts, but none this big. None at Madison Square Garden. You could see everything.

And every time Roger looked up from his perch behind the drum set, you knew what he was thinking about. You knew because you were thinking the same thing.

The concert goes by in the blink of an eye. You certainly didn’t pay as much attention as the first time around, but a lot of things were different the first time around. Soon enough, though, it’s over, and Liz is tugging you excitedly towards the backstage entrance, where plenty of girls were already crowded. You recognize a few of them from other concerts, other parties, and for a moment a bolt of jealousy runs through you. Then one of the crew members starts speaking.

“Okay ladies, do any of you actually have backstage passes?”

“We do!” You exclaim, pushing through the sea of girls until the four of you are at the front, standing right before the crew member.

“You were just here two nights ago,” he starts. “And you didn’t have backstage passes then.”

“And yet somehow I still made it inside,” you smirk, forgetting for a moment that one of your coworkers is right behind you, watching you work your magic. “It doesn’t matter, though, because this time I actually do have backstage passes. All four of us do, actually.”

“Uh huh,” the man replies. “I’ll go ask the band then. What’s your name? Your real name. I know you groupies don’t always use your real names.”

“Y/N Y/L/N.” You say with a smile. He grumbles, but heads backstage anyway.

Liz looks at you as if she’s never seen you before. “You went backstage at the last concert?”

“Um… yeah,” you answer.

“So last night at work wasn’t the first time you’d met them?”

“Not exactly,” you say hesitantly.

“And that guy – that crew guy – he called you a groupie?!”

You smile uncomfortably, making eye contact with Betty over the top of Liz’s head. Betty opens her mouth to speak, but before she can say anything the man comes back.

“Congratulations, Ms. Y/L/N, Mr. Mercury himself says you and your friends are on the list, so I guess I’ve gotta let you in this time.”

“Thank you!” You say cheerfully, stepping past him and heading backstage. Betty slides up next to you, letting Sandra and Liz talk between themselves.

“Are you good with Liz knowing about all this?” She asks, her voice quiet.

“I didn’t confirm I was a groupie,” you answer.

“Yeah, but it seemed pretty obvious with the way you were talking to that guy. About making it backstage last time.”

“It’s okay,” you sigh. “I’ll figure something out.”

The two of you are quiet for another minute before Betty speaks again. “So are you excited? About seeing Roger again?”

You can’t keep the smile from spreading across your face. “Yeah. Especially with what you said about what the band said about me.”

The four of you turn the corner into the open dressing room and there they are, in all their glory. Freddie, Brian, John, Roger – and a girl, nestled into Roger’s chest, next to him on the couch.

Your stomach drops as you watch Roger look at the girl. You were right, then, and John had been wrong. Roger had replaced you, and you know you don’t have the right to be so hurt, but you’re hurt all the same.

Betty is looking at you with a shocked expression on her face, you can see it out of the corner of your eye, but you can’t focus on her. You can’t focus on the band, who are all looking at you with the same dispirited look as Betty. All you can focus on is Roger. His shirt is open again, chest still glistening with sweat, his long hair messy.

“Roger,” John mutters.

Roger sighs. “What?”

John gestures so slightly that you wouldn’t have caught it if you hadn’t been watching every second of this interaction. Roger follows his friend’s gaze – and lands on you. And then he scrambles to his feet, leaving the girl alone on the couch. You can hear Liz and Betty and Sandra talking with wonder about the situation, but all of that fades out as you make eye contact with Roger. You had always heard people say that the eyes are windows to the soul, but you had never believed them until now. You had never been so happy to be wrong.

“What am I supposed to do now?” The girl screeches from behind you.

“We’re going to leave now, I think,” Brian says. “If you ladies would like to join us. I get the feeling that Roger and his Cinderella probably want some alone time.”

Everyone shuffles out of the room, with John and Betty bringing up the rear, closing the door behind them. Everything is so still and so silent, and all of the sudden you get nervous again. Part of you wishes that you had a little alcohol in you, so that everything would be easier to say, but a much bigger part of you wants to remember every detail of this conversation.

“Hi,” Roger says, breaking the silence.

“Hi,” you respond. “I’m sorry about the other night. I would never have left if I didn’t have to. And I didn’t even have to, Betty had to, and if I was a worse friend, and I was really feeling like it at that moment, I would have let her go home by herself, but we live on the other side of town and it was really late and I would rather die than have something terrible happen to her, and – are you listening to me?”

He’s not. His eyes are fixated on your lips. “Hmm? Yeah. I know, Deaky told me. I don’t blame you. I’m sorry – can I kiss you?”

You hadn’t expected things to be moving this fast, but the afterparty seems like it was so long ago and you’ve been dying for this moment for what feels like years, so you nod, lifting your eyes to meet his, and one of his hands reaches up to gently cradle your cheek while the other settles on your waist. He leans down, torturously slowly – he’s so much taller than you – and finally his lips find yours.

Again, like the first time, it’s soft and sweet. He moves so that both of his hands are on your waist and pulls you closer to him, which hardly seems possible at this point, and you wrap your arms around his neck.

He pulls away for a second. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs. “I know I came off like a dick last night at the restaurant, but I just thought you didn’t want to see me.”

You laugh softly. “It’s okay, it’s not like I said anything either.”

This time, he kisses you more roughly, leading you to the couch. This all feels so startlingly similar to the first time it happened, you can hardly breathe. This time, though, you’re fully aware that you’re on his lap, and when his hands find their way under your shirt, you let him take it off. You’re fully alone in this dressing room, the door is closed, and you’re with one of the band members. Nothing bad can happen.

He takes your shirt off and tosses it to the side, wasting no time in attaching his lips to your neck, trailing sloppy kisses down your neck and onto your collarbone. You let your head fall back, giving him more access. He leaves a trail of hickeys behind – your eyes are closed, but you can tell – and you let out a breathy moan as a knot begins to form in your lower stomach. His hands find the clasp of your bra, and just as he starts to unclasp it –

“Oh, fuck. Sorry mate.” It’s Brian. You sigh, sliding off Roger’s lap and covering yourself as best you can. “Didn’t think it’d be dangerous to come back in so quickly, but I should have known better.”

You know you must look like a mess, because Roger certainly does. His hair is all over the place, his pupils are blown wide, his lips are swollen and tinted darker red than normal from your lipstick. And obviously Brian walked in on you almost completely topless, dark hickeys spotting your neck and upper chest.

“Okay thanks,” Roger says politely. “Now piss off.”

Brian holds his hands up in surrender, stepping out of the room and slamming the door closed behind him. Roger turns to you then, his hands reaching for your hips, and you giggle.

“What?”

“Sorry, you just –“ You reach up to fix one piece of hair that had fallen (been pulled) out of place. He takes your wrist and pulls you close to him. You kiss him again, gently, and then pull back. “I’m sorry. I just can’t remember our first conversation and I really want to. Can you remind me?”

“What makes you think I can?” He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your jaw.

“I don’t know, I just thought maybe you could handle your liquor better than me.”

“Mhm, probably,” he hums. You can feel the vibrations from his voice reverberating in your chest.

“I’m serious,” you laugh. He looks up at you, his eyes sparkling.

“Well,” he says, leaning back against the couch. “You said that you were halfway through your second year of graduate school for… I don’t remember exactly?”

“Public health,” you say.

“Public health,” he repeats. “I remember thinking that was pretty cool, that you wanted to help people like that.”

You beam. “Yeah, I’ve always been interested in it.”

“That was pretty much the most coherent thing you said all night, which was cute. You obviously really care about it. You talked about your family, and how much you love Betty and New York and rock music.”

“Oh, God, of course.” You groan, blushing.

“Don’t worry!” He exclaims. “It was cute. You’re cute.”

Everything is soft and silent for a moment, besides the pounding of two hearts. You had been in this situation before, in the dressing room of a rockstar, just the two of you. But you as you sit with your head on his shoulder, you feel an unmistakeable wave of peace crash over you.

And that had never happened before.

“‘m tired,” Roger says suddenly. “D’ya wanna take a nap?”

You’re on cloud nine and there’s still so much adrenaline running through you that you can’t imagine falling asleep, but he looks so cute and soft that you can’t say no. He smiles and shifts so he’s laying down with you on top of him, his arms wrapped around your waist and your cheek resting against his heart. You don’t think you’ll fall asleep, but Roger’s breathing slows and his heart beats rhythmically in your ear, and before you know it you’re fast asleep.

***

Roger wakes up first. He wakes up to find you resting peacefully on his chest, your face completely free of any stress that may have lingered there earlier in the day. There’s a pang in his heart, and it takes a second to recognize it, and when he does he’s terrified. He’s only felt it one or two other times in his life – it’s the feeling you get when you’re on the precipice of something big, your stomach dropping in a good way when a rollercoaster hits its first big drop. His heart beats furiously, threatening to break out of his ribcage.

It’s the feeling he gets when he knows he could fall in love.

You wake up, your eyes fluttering open, and he’s suddenly embarrassed by the intensity of his heartbeat. You are so beautiful and interesting and smart, and he’s never met anyone like you before.

You’re something. That’s for sure.

“Hi,” you say softly. He smiles, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.

“Hi.”

“Do you know what time it is?” You ask, not really wanting to know the answer. You want to stay here, laying with Roger, forever.

He sighs. “No, but I don’t want to know.”

“Me neither,” you smile. For a few brief, beautiful moments, it’s just you and him, laying intertwined on the couch in the dressing room of Madison Square Garden.

And then someone knocks on the door. And you remember that other people exist and the world isn’t just this dressing room.

And you’re still not wearing a shirt.

Roger groans. “Just a minute.”

You scramble off of him, looking for your shirt and throwing it on once you find it crumpled in a ball in the corner of the room. You turn back to look at him, but he’s already looking, a dazed expression on his face, his cheeks pink. You can hardly contain the smile on your face, and for the first time, you hear it. That little voice in your head. You could fall in love with him.

You bite your lip, opening the door, and Betty stands behind it. Roger sighs from behind you. “Are you gonna take my girl from me again?”

Betty’s eyes widen. “Uh – it’s just getting late. We haven’t seen you in a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“She’s better than okay!” Roger yells.

“Roger,” it’s John this time. “We’ve gotta go to the hotel soon. We’re leaving tomorrow morning, y’know.”

Right. They were still on tour. They had thousands more fans to see, hundreds more tour dates in all different cities all across the world.

Roger doesn’t belong to you.

“Yeah, I know,” Roger says tersely. “Just give us a minute.” They look at the two of you, then each other, and leave again, closing the door behind them.

You sigh, running a hand through your hair, and sit down next to Roger. He wraps an arm around your shoulders and you rest your head against his shoulder. It all feels so incredibly natural, you can’t imagine what it’ll feel like to go back to your apartment, knowing you’ll never see him again. Knowing it’ll never be this way again.

“Come on tour with me,” he says suddenly, breaking the silence. You sit up in shock, turning to look at him. It’s clear on his face that he means it, that he wants you there, and for a moment you feel warm all over. You’ve never been on tour with a band before, and his offer is so incredibly tempting. But –

“I can’t.” Your voice is so quiet, he has to strain to hear it. “I have a job, and I have classes – I’m halfway through getting my degree, Roger. And then I can finally have the job that I want, one where I can make a difference and help people. I would love nothing more than to go with you and watch you perform every night and see the whole world, but… I can’t.”

“You can,” he urges. “You can take a few weeks off of work and school and come with us. And we can get to know each other better.”

You know what he’s saying. You would get to know each other better and you would fall in love with him, and then he would break your heart. You would be silly not to think of who was asking you this, and how he had met you, and how he’d been with another girl when you had first arrived.

“I can’t.” Your voice cracks, and the look on his face is so heartbroken that you can’t help it. Tears begin to fill your eyes. “I’m sorry. I want to, I really do. I just… my whole life is here. I can’t just leave like this. I wish I could.”

He laughs, but there’s no humor behind it. Some vague, disconnected part of your mind that isn’t experiencing excruciating pain wonders if this is the first time he’s ever been in a position like this one. “I understand.” He says. His voice is small – the complete opposite of the proud, cocky drummer you met at the afterparty of one of his shows just two short days ago. It feels like it’s been a lifetime.

“Call me if you’re ever in New York again,” you say. You know he will be. “You have my number now, you know.”

He chuckles softly. “I will.”

You know he won’t. By the time Queen comes back to New York, your face will have faded from his memory and blended with hundreds of other girls, and he will have forgotten everything about you that made him feel light as air. He’ll forget you, you know. And you have to make your peace with it. It’ll be hard – because these last few days are engraved in your memory forever. He’s Roger Taylor.

And you’re you.

You leave him sitting on the couch, as close to a broken heart as you could both possibly be, and go to find Betty. And when you do, you can’t help the tears from spilling over, and Betty and Liz and Sandra scoop you up into a big hug and you leave Madison Square Garden, a little piece of your heart still in that dressing room.

•••

It took time. It hurt for months afterwards to see magazines with his face on them and to hear his songs. During those months you threw yourself into your groupie lifestyle more than ever before, causing more than a few blowout fights with Betty. You argued that nothing was wrong – you were passing all your classes with flying colors and doing extraordinarily well at your job. But obviously something was wrong, and it wasn’t something anything but time could fix.

But as the months went by, it began to hurt less and less until all you were left with were the beautiful memories of two perfect nights with Roger Taylor. You thought about him often, especially when you were at a rock concert and you happened to make eye contact with one of the men on stage. After a while, the thrill of sneaking backstage and hooking up with rockstars wasn’t good enough to fill that hole in your heart. You threw yourself back into your studies and prepared to graduate in May of 1979 with your master’s degree in public health. Things went well for a long time. You felt almost fully healed all the way through the summer of 1978, when Queen announced their Jazz tour. And that ripped the wound open all over again.

New York City, November 16, 1978

It’s a chilly, cloudy day in New York – a typical November day for New York City – and you’re in the process of finishing up some homework when it happens.You’re actually so deeply invested in your work that you barely hear it at first. It takes Betty yelling from the next room over for you to notice.

“Y/N, the phone is ringing!”

“I got it!” You shout back, standing up.

“I sure hope so, considering I’m leaving for work in thirty seconds!”

Sighing, you hurry into the kitchen to pick up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi.” Your heart drops to your knees and you get so lightheaded you nearly faint and have to sit down at the kitchen table. It’s him. It’s Roger, and you haven’t heard from him since that fateful night at Madison Square Garden. “I’m back in New York for a few days and managed to find you a few extra tickets to the show tonight. I wanted to let you know that my offer still stands. I never forgot.”

It only takes you a second to consider what he’s asking. “Yes,” you say breathlessly. “I’m graduating in May and then I’ll follow you anywhere.”

#roger taylor x reader #ben hardy x reader #bohemian rhapsody imagine #bohemian rhapsody fanfic #ben hardy as roger taylor #roger taylor imagine #queen imagine #hardy!roger taylor

13 notes · View notes

of-hell-and-hyacinths · 5 years

Text

bella and drew headcanons

there are dedicated to @skate-fast-eat-grass and i literally can’t think of anyone else following me who would read them so

also i do not own bella swarchovski she belongs to madelyn!!

- at first, it takes them a while to get together because drew tanaka is oblivious when it comes to her own love life.

- and bella swarchovski is just an overall dumbass (but i say that with love).

- drew doesn’t realise that bella actually returns her feelings and has been trying to flirt with her for the past month so she thinks it’s all unrequited.

- she kind of thinks “bella wouldn’t like me because all of the things i’ve done in the past, how i treated my siblings, how i acted after the war, etc. bella’s never done any of that, she deserves somebody who hasn’t fucked so many things up.”

- and obviously, bella knows what drew has done in the past but she likes drew for who she’s become and admires the progress in her as a person.

- after they get together, those insecurities never fully vanish, but they just come up later on when drew is in an emotional shitstorm.

- for dates they love going to new places to try out food (ice cream especially) and then taking five billion photos.

- they also love going to theme parks! both of them are adrenaline junkies and go on the scariest/wildest rides and it gives everybody a headache.

- also going to musicals and movies?? they’re dramatic people who can sing what do you expect.

- (they’ve watched love, simon three times don’t @ me)

- both bella and drew look amazing in red.

- so they always always always wear red on dates. it’s just a tradition and they refuse to break it.

- drew adores her girlfriend but sometimes bella says the stupidest shit at really inconvenient times.

- bella, in the middle of a conversation about conputer programming: all kins of the same character are clones

drew: i love you but shut the fuck up

- they have a codeword for whenever one of them is feelings uncomfortable/anxious/stressed and needs to get away.

- the codeword is jacob sartorious (i know that’s a name and technically two words let me live)

- okay look the backstory behind it was they were trying to find the perfect word while simultaneously having an argument about heathers and bella said something like “edward if you keep this up i’m leaving you for jacob” (all in good humour, drew knows she’s joking) and drew said “wait our codeword should be jacob”

- however they didn’t know jacob from twilight’s last name so jacob sartorious as if in the musical.ly star would have to do.

- drew has discovered that playing with bella’s hair calms bella down.

- she found this out after the infirmary was really crowded and there was a lot on bella’s schedule and she was missing her mortal family so bella kind of disappeared for an hour and went m.i.a.

- her friends and family panicked for a little while because they had no idea where she was, but drew found her sitting in the strawberry fields, still slightly shaking.

- she just let bella vent for as long as she needed to. instead of talking, she started a braid in bella’s hair and realised with a start that it was calming her down.

- drew is bella’s stability in times of stress.

- since drew breaks down more often than she’d like to admit, bella is always there. she’ll stay up with drew all night, just talking and reassuring her. she reassured drew that she’s not selfish, she’s not a stuck-up bitch, she’s not emotionless, she’s not cold-hearted. she loves drew for who she’s become. she loves the best bits and the messy bits about her.

- bella is drew’s comfort in times of insecurity.

- they bring out the softer side of each other.

- even though drew has matured drastically since the whole silena thing, there are still some people who peg her as heartless.

- but they haven’t seen the fond look on her face when bella falls asleep on her shoulder mid-movie.

- they haven’t seen the way she blushes profusely every time bella winks over at her from across the dining pavilion.

- they haven’t seen the bags under her eyes when drew stays up all night to finish weaving bracelets for herself and bella. nor have they seen the way she smiles brightly when bella launches herself into drew’s arms with bright eyes and a burning throat and says she absolutely loves it.

- anyway, bella is ready to physically fight anybody who says one bad word about her girlfriend (despite the fact that she’s like five feet tall — bella is strong)

- drew can hold her own though it’s all good and she’s heard those same insults millions of times before to the point where it doesn’t even faze her.

- their height difference is massive, bella being a five foot gremlin and drew being six feet tall.

- it pisses bella off so fucking much.

- she’ll also never admit it, but the height difference feels nice when they hug. she likes burying her face in drew’s shoulder.

- bella, ogling the kid’s toys section in ikea: i’m marrying lola the plush piranha sorry drew you’ve been replaced

drew, not looking away from the stuffed sharks: how tragic

- once bella stole drew’s leather jacket and if anybody else did that? instant death.

- drew just stared at her for a second and felt her heart melt and her face heat up.

- in case you were wondering, bella kept the jacket. it’s underneath her bunk.

- bella always buys cherry-flavoured everything whenever she’s at home during the school year, because it reminds her of drew.

- sometimes it’s hard having a long-distance relationship during the school year, and sometimes they call each other during the night wanting nothing more than to be face-to-face, but they make it work.

- drew doesn’t give two shits about bass guitars and how they work or the different brands, but she’ll listen to bella ramble on about them for hours just because she loves watching her face light up and the sound of bella’s voice and the passion in her eyes.

- bella literally couldn’t care less about different makeup palettes and how to apply them and the different techniques, but she’ll sit down in the aphrodite cabins for hours straight to let drew practice on her and try out new looks just because she loves watching drew concentrate so heavily on something and the grin on her girlfriend’s face at the end is always worth it.

- wholesome memes are always sent between them, and they usually have wholesome meme-offs.

- however sometimes bella sends surreal memes just because and drew always says “guess i’m not edward cullen kin after all”

- for halloween they once went as bella swan and edward cullen. you know it’s true.

- they also went as marceline and princess bubblegum from adventure time because they have class.

- drew has an album on her phone called “bella” and bella has album on her phone called “drew” and you can probably guess that it’s just photos of each other.

- occasionally will or adrien will crash their dates.

- sometimes it’s annoying, but neither of them are really mad.

- oh adrien never misses anything he’s always there with binoculars watching them

- drew: the stars are beautiful tonight

bella: yeah

drew: you know what else is beautiful?

bella: what?

drew: me

bella, whispering: damn straight

adrien, yelling from across the roof of the aphrodite cabin: nothing about that was fucking straight

- bella: so how’s the most beautiful person in the world doing?

drew: i don’t know, how are yo—

adrien, across the room: he’s doing great, thanks

- also on to more important matters:

- stephan the demon baby.

- his full name is stephan swartanaka (last name courtesy of will)

- his middle name changes a lot solely to piss everybody off.

- some of the most notable middle names are:

- k’atté (pronounced cat)

- uwu

- beatrixareforkids

- shit

- crispy

- they hired adrien as a babysitter once while they played monopoly and it just ended with adrien yeeting stephan into the lake.

- stephan made it out alive but they didn’t give adrien a tip.

- adrien swears stephan is possessed.

- well he’s technically haunted but they can’t be bothered doing anything about it

anyway i hope those were okay i love bella and drew <3

1 note · View note

tamamatango · 7 years

Text

Keroro fandom get ready to put on your speculation goggles (and maybe pee yourselves)

Sorry I just kinda disappeared for a few days, I am constantly tired and forget to update here. Anyway to make up for it how about some exciting news I'm surprised nobody's reported on yet?

@keroro_PR on Twitter is the official Keroro Gunso social media account based in Kadokawa's HQ in Tokyo. It tweets mostly about Keroro of course, but also about Kemono Friends, Gundam, and other assorted things Kadokawa is affiliated with. Last month, it tweeted this:

"It's Kirby's 25th anniversary, huh....Keroro's 20th anniversary is next year. (This is very important so we're mentioning it many times)"

Technically, KG has TWO anniversaries depending on how you look at it. Yoshizaki's original one-shot pilot manga was released in 1998, while the first volume of the KG manga as we know it today was released in 1999. It looks like they've officially decided to commemorate the release of the pilot manga as the true anniversary.

But that's not all I have for you, oh no. Here's an exchange between the PR account and another user in response to the above tweet:

"Do you have anything planned for the anniversary?"

"It's a secret~"

Now obviously they're gonna do SOMETHING; the last major anniversary was the 15th in 2013 and that's when they announced the Flash reboot. The question is what. Quite a few Japanese fans are speculating something to do with the anime—many think it's gonna be some kind of reboot/revival (8th season?) while I've seen a couple other suggestions such as the original anime getting ported to Blu-Ray.

I think if they're gonna do anything regarding anime, it's gonna be either related to the 2004 anime or a new series entirely. Though I think it'd be weird to have season 8 after a 7 year gap (the length of the entire show's running time!), so I think something like a new anime that takes place in the same universe as the original anime or picks up where it left off would make sense. I highly doubt they're going to return to the Flash anime or even do something similar; it seems to me like that didn't go quite as well as they wanted it to the first time, considering it ran for a big 6 months and dropped off on a cliffhanger. That doesn't mean we're never gonna see Shin Keroro and pals animated again—I have a gut feeling they'd just work the 2011 and on manga stuff into the original animeverse somehow. I can't see much notable non-anime stuff happening; the manga's still gonna run like normal anyway. I betcha there'll be something regarding Kemono Friends, though.

As for my personal wishes? Although I don't think an original anime revival is 100% realistic, but considering how long it's been since 2011 and the amount of fan clamor there's been, it's probably possible. If they don't go that route, I'd really like to see them release that 6th movie publicly so it gets to be seen by more than like 1,000 people. It's old now, but I'm sad that it's been lost to the vault for quite some time. I think the expectation that's actually most likely to happen is a crossover with Yo-kai Watch Puni Puni; Keroro mobile crossovers have been frequent, that game RAKES in money, and Keroro and Jibanyan have already been in a game together (the tennis one). Plus, Puni Puni has done manga/anime collabs before ("Shonen Sunday round 2" is happening as I type this!), so it's nothing mind-blowing. Although some things are definitely more realistic than others, nothing is impossible—even though Keroro's pretty much dead here in North America (apparently the manga is still going in Europe), the series has been quite active and popular in Japan long after episode 358. It's sort of ingrained into Japan's pop culture at this point, like Doraemon or Anpanman except those two haven't been airing 7 straight years of reruns. You know what I mean though.

Sorry for shitting out a massive text wall once again, just thought this was really worth talking about. What are your hopes/expectations? Are you full-on hyped, cautiously optimistic, or not expecting much? Please talk to me I'm lonel

#keroro gunso #sgt frog #long post #i went for the semi-formal approach for this post but lemme tell you #i did actually shit my pants #ok figuratively #look i have a reason to live through the end of this year now

51 notes · View notes

joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 5 years

Text

2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 1

Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt and man wasn't 2016 such a dumpster fire? I mean it was obviously the worst year ever in the history of the human race, I mean come on 2016! Why can't you be more like you're younger brother, 2017. I mean he was a great year!

Wait, are you implying that blaming an abstract combination of numbers for all of last years problems...wasn't the most productive way to fix things? I'm shocked. But who cares about the harsh and often depressing reality of our own society? We have more important things to talk about today. Cartoons! Because while the real world has been imploding in on itself the world of animation has been through many up's and downs this year, and that's what I'll be talking about today. In case you didn't see my 2016 Year in REVIEW: (Which you can check out right here #humbleplug 2016 Year in REVIEW: Part 1) let me explain how this is going to work. I have compiled a list of several different notable events that happened in the world of animation over the course of 2017. I will go over these events is roughly chronological order all while giving my thoughts and opinion of each one. I won't be discussing anime or theatrical films for the most part however, as these are topics that I don't keep track of as much. So this list is mostly about television and internet animation. Also keep in mind that there is no conceivable way of me going over every series or piece of animation news that came out this year, so I had to slim it down to the most notable events. So sorry in advance if I glance over anything. At the end of the review, I will rank all the new series that I talked about this year in order from worst to best, give this year an overall grade, and in a new twist I'll be deciding which animation network "won" the year. The winner doesn't have to have the best shows per say. They just need to have a large impact, or show some kind of improvement compared to previous years. Also I feel like I should just point out that this entire concept is completely stolen from online anime reviewer Gigguk's yearly anime retrospect series. He's a big influence on me and my reviews and you can check him out here. www.youtube.com/user/gigguk&nb… Whether you like anime or not, he's worth checking out and he's a LOT funnier than I am. So with all that said it's time to get into this. It's time for my 2017 year in review! We start the year off in a bit of an unexpected place, Youtube, with the first notable series of the year. Hasbro's "Hanazuki: Full of Treasures."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjaCeuL2YaA

You have diabetes yet? Just wait. This is a show that really seems like it went under the radar for a lot of people, probably because of the fact that it was released on Youtube. Hanazuki, (voiced by Jessica DiCicco of Loud House and Adventure Time fame) is a young "Moon Flower" who lives on a small moon out in space. The series follows Hanazuki as she tried to protect her moon from a shadowy blob monster known only as the "Big Bad." She does this by growing "Treasure Trees," magical trees that can only be grown when a Moon Flower feels intense emotion. These trees are the only thing that can ward of the "Big Bad." Hanazuki must learns all about the complexity of emotions if she wants to protect her new home. And the series just get's stranger from there. Now obviously this show is targeted at kids. Really little kids, like five years old at most. More specifically five year old girls...and I frickin' LOVE IT! C'mon, you should all know this about me by now! I...am not the most masculine person on the planet. And I love myself a good "girl power show" And this just right up my ally. This show is basically what you get if you take Star Vs, Wander Over Yonder, My Little Pony, andInside Out, shove it into a blender, and cover it in rainbow sprinkles. It's just to adorable for me to not recommend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGBSdYGA9II

But not only is the show cute, it's also actually pretty good. Like it's nothing super complex or anything, but it is a show that can appeal to both kids and adults. (I swear!) Hanazuki is a really likable character. If you've read my web comic, Elinor High, you know I love myself any hyperactive cute girl. But what makes Hanazuki stand out from other hyperactive cute girls, you may ask? She got sass! Sure, show's nice most of the time, but she's not always the typical sunshine and rainbows protagonist you usually see in these kind of shows. She get's upset, and frustrated, and she can even be kinda snarky when people tick her off. Not only does this help give her some more depth, but it also helps support the shows theme of emotions. The show has a real Inside Out vibe in terms of how it tackles emotions. The series really plays up the point that ALL emotions are important. Emotions like sadness, anger, and fear are treated as just as vital as happiness, bravery, or love. It's a message that you don't see talked about very much, but I think it's an important one. Another thing I feel like I need to praise is the shows animation. It's flash, but it's TV quality flash. And they really make up with any faults the animation may have by having simply fantastic coloring. Purples, Blues, and Pinks are the colors of the show and it really pops, giving the show this colorful, sci-fi look. Especially when they go to the dark side of the moon, and the animation goes full black light poster. However the show is far from perfect. Like I said, it's skewed young, so don't expect any super complex character writing or anything. Also the Hemka's, these little alien rabbit things that Hanazuki befriends, tend to come off as more annoying then lovable. There not Minion or Rabbid bad, but there in the same category. Also this show tries to be a "lore show" and it's kinda hit and miss. Some things, like the origins of the "Big Bad" and the exploration of the Moon Flowers and there powers are genuinely interesting. But other times it seems like the show is trying to take it'self to seriously. Like when we learn about the character Sleepy Unicorn's tragic, war torn backstory. No that's not a joke, that's a thing in this show. And it's not badly or anything, it's just kinda hard to take seriously when it's about a character who's name is Sleepy Unicorn! Also, I quickly just want to talk about how the episodes we're released. Eventually they switched to just weekly uploads, but at first the episodes were released in nine episode bombs. And these bombs would always fall under the full moon. That's some black magic shit right there! I could go on, but I have a lot more stuff to talk about. This show is not for everyone. It's not going to have a super complex plot or characters, or tackle any heavy themes like some other shows that are out now of days. But if you just like some fun, cutesy fluff like I do, it's definitely worth a watch. Especially since it's free to watch legally on Youtube. But hey, Do you remember those guys from that show, Regular Show? Well they turned there park into a bio-dome. And there still Regular Show.... But there in SPACE!

That's right, Regular Show, one of the defining shows of modern cartoon era, finally came to an end. Just like with the Gravity Falls finale that I talked about last year, I will be going into spoilers, so if you haven't seen the finale yet and want t go in completely blind (which I do recommend) I suggest scrolling past this part and continue reading once you see the words in bold. So (SPOILER WARNING!) Much like the Gravity Falls ending, the hour long Regular Show finale does have it's fair amount of problems. There is a good amount of padding, there are some plot hole regarding how the whole "universe restarting itself" thing is suppose to work. (Like how Benson, Muscle Man, Skips, and co all get destroyed and yet are brought back even though they stopped the universe from resetting. Also, Anti-Pops, despite the shows best efforts, failed to really come off as that interesting or threatening of a villain, for me at least. ...But for the most part none of that matters. Because when you come down to it, plot holes and inconsistency don't matter as long as the emotions resonate, and that's what this special did. It was everything a Regular Show fan could want in a finale. Filled with meta call backs from Mordecai and Rigby being transported back to the first episode (and the final part of the finale having the same title as the first episode) to Pops being sent back to the original student film that inspired Regular Show, it really felt like a celebration of how far the show had come. I don't want to go into HUGE spoilers even though this is the spoiler section, because I want people to watch this for themselves, but a sacrifice is made in this finale and it really sticks. That's something that even the Gravity Falls finale, which is amazing in it's own right mind you, didn't have the guts to do. So I applaud the show for having the balls to go through with the decision. The episode ends with a montage of the characters as they age, ending with a final scene set twenty five years after the finale. I love endings that do this, and it's one of the most emotion scenes I've seen in a finale ever. The ending is made even more powerful by the music chose used for the scene, David Bowie's "Heroes." The fact that David Bowie had just passed away not that long before the finale aired made the ending seem even more bittersweet. I'd say that the Regular Show finale lies pretty close to Gravity Falls in terms of endings. I think the Gravity Falls ending has a better first forty five minutes due to having a better villain and just having a grander feel to it, but I honestly do think that Regular Show has it beat in terms the last fifteen minutes, due to just having a (slightly) more emotional pay off, done mostly without words. I think Regular Show chose the perfect time to end, and I'm glad it ended on a high note. And to celebrate this occasion, Cartoon Network decide to have a Teen Titans Go! Marathon to celebrate Martin Luther King Day...That was nice of them. (SPOILERS NOW OVER!) And speaking of a show going off on a high note let's talk about...the complete opposite of that. Hi, Fairly OddParents!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XgwUp-SO7k

So yeah, let's talk about Fairly Oddparents again. Just when you think it can't sink lower, it does. As halfway through season ten the show had switched from tradition animation to flash. Now remember when I said that Hanazuki was animated in flash, but it's TV quality flash despite being a web series? Well Fairly Oddparents decided to do the opposite of that and have a TV series with late nineties internet quality flash. Seriously, I haven't seen a show with flash animation this bad since like, the mid two thousands at least. I've legit seen web series, like Homestar Runner, that have better flash! It's actually kinda incredible! And just when you think things can't get worse, it does, as the show get's moved to Nicktoons. The retirement home of Nickelodeon shows. The final episode of season ten of Fairly Oddparents ended up airing later in the summer and, from what I can tell, it had no real big final episode. The show has yet to be renewed for an eleventh season, and since it's on Nicktoon now, I really have doubts that it'll happen. It is very possible that that season finale was Fairly Oddparents final episode. I know a lot of you reading this are probably ecstatic at the news that the show is finally over. I mean to many, it was a shell of it's former self. But I'm honestly just kinda sad that it went out like this. Fairly Oddparents was Nickelodeons second longest running show, only behind Spongebob. And it was just got shafted. No fan fair, no special last episode. Nothing. I mean if a show as long lasting as Fairly Oddparents can get treated like this, then who's to say that the same won't end up happening to say Spongebob, or the Loud House, once there popularity starts to dwindle. Like I said in the 2016 year in review, I'm never happy when a show ends because I know every show has it's fans and a lot of people are out of a job, but from a strictly artistic standpoint, it was time for the show to end. And from a business standpoint Nickelodeon didn't have a need for it anymore. Though it is still a bit bittersweet, seeing a show that was a big part of my childhood go. But it's not all bad though, because as one door closes another one opens, as Butch Hartman created a new show for Nickelodeon, Bunsen is a Beast. Is it any better than modern FOP?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yccs2D7WvkA

....Eh, It's about the same really. The flash is a little better...I think. Yeah, if you can't tell, I'm not that crazy about this show. The series follows Bunsen, a beast who transfers to an all human school, and Mikey his human best friend and the adventures that they go on. Honestly this show just doesn't seem to offer anything that new or interesting. Bunsen and Mikey are you're stereotypical happy go lucky idiot protagonist that a lot of Nickelodeon shows seem to have and most of the humor seems to be made up of the same "monster/alien has weird biology/culture/abilities" jokes that we've seen a million times before. There don't seem to be any concrete rules on how "Beast" work, it just seems to be whatever the show thinks is funniest in that exact moment. And rarely does the comedy land. There are a few things about the show that are funny, however. Like the show's villain, Amanda. She's the cliche "character who hates the good guys and the world hates her" character and the cliche "racist villain" character all wrapped up in one package. However, what redeems her at least a little bit is just how over the top and hammy she is. She kinda feels like what would happen if you combined Vicky and Mr. Crocker into one Character. There's also this one really depressed ice cream man voiced by Jerry Trainor. Those two characters can get a laugh out of me. But as for everything else, not so much. The show has also been moved to Nicktoons. So I don't see it getting a season two. So what now, is Butch Hartman's career over? Well not so fast, because as your second door closes another one opens, and in this case that door is Youtube. That's right, Butch Hartman started his own Youtube channel! And I'm not just talking like just a small Youtube channel as a side project or anything. I mean like a regularly updating drawing Youtube channel that has done collaboration projects with the likes of Thomas Sanders, MatPat of Game Theroy, and Ande the Black Nerd. And it's...kinda great. Though full disclosure, Butch Hartman is a fifty year old dad, and it REALLY shows. He's is trying so hard to be hip with the "Youtube generation", and I commend his effort, but it never works. Ever. His channel might be the cringest channel on Youtube, but God damn it he's just so earnest that it's hard not to love. Some videos of his aren't that bad, like his "Danny Phantom: Ten Years Later" series. It's fun and interesting, and kinda makes me want to see a Danny Phantom continuation. But then he has videos like his "Drawing Anime Characters In the Fairly Oddparents Style" series that are just...hard to watch. Like, I own all ten volumes of the Watamote manga and I think I've cringed less reading all of that then watching one those videos. You should check out his channel though. It's...interesting...to say the very least. Meanwhile however, the animation community needed a new show to become the hot new thing. And then, after thirteen years of wait, the samurai returned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uxbp18y49E

I already did a full review of Samurai Jack season five, so I'm going to make this brief (Link if you want my in-depth thoughts: Samurai Jack Season Five REVIEW:) Samurai Jack season five has a lot of really good things going for it. The animation is superb, featuring all of the things that made the animation of the first four seasons so amazing, but improved upon with modern animation technicians and the High definition. The series is also dark, while not losing touch with it's roots. The series tackles heavy issues like PTSD, depression, suicide, parental abuse, and does so without coming off as edgy. It feels like a natural progression from what came before, and never goes too dark to the point where it becomes unrecognizable from the Cartoon Network series. There is still that hopeful and optimistic element buried beneath the surface. It shows that you can have a smart and dark adult cartoon without the need for an alcoholic, womanizing, nihilist who hates himself. You can make a dark cartoon about...other things! Amazing, I know. However, the show does have it's fair share of problems, that become more and more apparent as the season goes on. The pacing feels very rushed at points. The romance, while I think could work if given more time, is tacked on. And while everything else is much darker in tone, Aku seems to have become even less threatening than he was in the Cartoon Network days. The show first half is definitely better than the second half. However, despite it's flaws, I still really enjoyed the final season, and am glad that adult swim brought it back. It was definitely one of the more enjoyable cartoon events to happen in 2017. Nickelodeon announced a theatrical Loud House movie for February 2020, and unlike the Adventure Time movie I actually think that this movie may come out. It has a date, the Loud House is still popular as of the time of the announcement, (Though only time will tell if it'll still be popular by 2020.) and it's Nickelodeon, who have more experience with making theatrical films. We don't know the plot yet, by my guess is that it'll involve some kinda government conspiracy. The Simpsons, Recess, whenever a slice of life cartoons get's a theatrical movie it tends to involve some kind of government conspiracy. I may not be a big Loud House fan, but I'll still see this in the theater. In general, if a traditionally animated film comes out in theaters I'll see it just to support the medium. Meanwhile adult swim pulled the biggest animation trolling of the year by airing the season premiere of Rick and Morty on April Fools day unadvertised. Causing the whole animation community to drop everything they were doing to catch it. The ran the episode eight times on loop, preempting the much anticipated Samurai Jack causing a war in the fandoms. Which side where you on? Rick vs Jack. Comedic depression vs serious depression. Wubba lubba dub dub vs EXTRA THICC! Blood would be spilled!

Oh, and Dragon Ball Super was prepted too. And nobody cared. Understandably, many people were asking why they didn't just run Rick and Morty six times, and lets Samurai Jack air as well. And while no official answer has been given many people including myself theorize that adult swims deal with Toei and Dragon Ball Super may have been the reason. However nothings been confirmed. Now I bet a lot of you are expecting me to be annoyed at this given how much you know I love Samurai Jack and how much I...don't love Rick and Morty but honestly I didn't mind it too much. Not only did this make it so the last Samurai Jack aired on my birthday, (I couldn't watch it on my birthday, but still.) But also the sheer number of memes and salt this created gave me much more enjoyment than I lost by being disappointed. Well played adult swim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiLk619tHgE

An Invader Zim TV movie was announced and, wait really?! For real...like for real real? Okay, just checking. Invader Zim is getting a TV movie, slated to come out some time next year. Geez, between Zim, Hey Arnold, Samurai Jack and Young Justice it seems like every show that got cancelled without a proper finale is coming back! I am hesitant of a lot of these Nickelodeon TV movies, as personally a lot of them feel like there just there for nostalgia sake, and no other reason. But this is one I can get behind. Invader Zim ended without a proper conclusion and the fan base is so loyal so yeah, it deserves a finale. Though personally I would of preferred another season like Samurai Jack, cause honestly I don't know how there going to fit all the dangling plot lines into just ninety minutes, but hey beggar's can't be choosers. And speaking of continuations Cartoon Network made one for there hit show, Ben 10. Everybody love's Cartoon Network's continuations right? Right?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Y7pk2qt-I

Well the show got Ben's original voice actor and the shows original creator back, so it must be great right guys? Right? I mean that's all it takes to make a good reboot, right? That's what you all said last year! REMEMBER! Yes, I'm still bitter. Now I know that technically this show came out last year in other countries, but as a privileged while male American I refuse to acknowledge that other countries exist. Now I've never watched anything in the Ben 10 franchise, outside of the occasional episode that I would catch here or there. It was not a show I followed all that much. So I can't really review it in comparison of the old show like I can for say the Powerpuff Girls reboot. However, I can try to review it as just a casual watcher, and as a casual watcher the show is...fine. Not great, not awful, but fine. It's clear from the get go what this show is trying to do. It's the Teen Titans Go-ification of Ben 10. Eleven minute run time, a focus on comedy, a much cartoon-ier art style. Let's not kid ourselves here. However, the show does have something that TTG and PPG2016 lack. It's still a superhero show. And that shocked me when I first saw it. I was sure this was going to be another sitcom with capes, but it's actually a more traditional monster of the week super hero comedy. Kinda like the original Powerpuff Girls show, except nowhere near as funny. One of the biggest changes that even I can notice is the difference between how Gwen is written. Even never watching the old show, I know they toned down her responsible know it all-iness to make her act much more like a kid. I don't know how Ben 10 fans feel about this but I don't mind it to much, as it does make her feel like a more realistic ten year old, at least for me. However I can't praise the show to much. The show, as a whole can be just summed up as fine. The comedy is fine. The action is fine. The characters are fine. And as someone who has to experience with Ben 10, fine wasn't enough to really grab me. However if the show is on and nothing else is on, it works as good background noise, I guess. It's perfectly serviceable. Put that quote on the back of the DVD box CN. Uncle Grandpa ended this year with an unadvertised final episode. Uncle Grandpa was a show that I never super loved, but I did feel like there was a lot of passion that went into it. However, like I said last year, Cartoon Network has a lot of new shows coming out and you got to clear space, and at five seasons it had a good run. And to celebrate this occasion, Cartoon Network decide to have a Teen Titans Go! Marathon to celebrate the Fourth of July. I'm starting to sense a pattern... Meanwhile in the world of the internet, Netflix decided to try to prove that not all video game cartoons are terrible with Netflix's Castlevania.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy_FWdbnvM0

Now like Ben 10, Castlevania is not a franchise I know very well. All I know is that it's about a family legacy of people who are consistently forced to fight vampires. Also people keep telling me it's not Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, but I'm not incline to believe them! Cause I'm pretty sure that it IS Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and that this is all just a very elaborate Jojo's reference. But moving on, how is this show? I'll start with the pros. The animation is incredible. Like, really incredible! There are some establishing shots that look almost live action there so detailed. Also despite how much the show looks and feels like an anime it is one hundred percent American produced. It's actually made by Frederator Studios in fact. Wait...THAT'S why Fairly Oddparent's flash looks as bad as it does. Frederator took literally ALL of their budget in order to fund Castlevania. It all makes sense now! The show also has this kinda interesting post apocalyptic middle ages aesthetic to it that really remind me of Attack on Titan. I also want to praise Netflix for making an American action show for adults. Outside of Samurai Jack, which had already ended by the time this aired, we don't have many of those. I also admire Netflix for being one of the only networks to be keeping action oriented American animation alive... ...But that's really all the positives I have to say about this show. I'm sorry everybody, I know at this point I might come off as a hipster for not liking so many popular shows, but I just don't like this show. At all. I was ready to LOVE this show, but I just don't. Now I feel like in order to be a fair critic I need to be upfront with my background a bit. I grew up in a quasi-religious family. What I mean is that we were raised to be religious while never actually going to church. But I'm not someone who get's offended when my faith is made fun of if it's done in a clever or humorous way. I am one who is always open for a discussion, and like hearing other points of views. I just wanted to make that clear from the get go. I bring this up because this show has a HUGE hate boner towards organized religion! And it's very distracting! The church in this show is depicted as the most vile, evil, despicable group ever. Now I'm not going to pretend that the church has always been the best throughout history, but it's total overkill. If you're in the church, there's a ninety nine percent chance you're evil. They are the main villains of the first season. But I'm not mad because I'm offended or anything, I'm mad because the corrupt church is such an overused cliche, and they do nothing new or interesting with it. I'm upset because it feel less like I'm watching a show and more like I'm being lectured. It's frustrating because I thought I was going to get a show about fighting vampires and that's not what I got. I don't know Castlevania, maybe this is part of the games. But whether it is or not it doesn't stop from being a major flaw. And it wouldn't be a big deal if the show didn't make it such a big deal out of it. Most of the show is this. They're is a shocking lack of monster or vampire fighting in Netflix's Castlevania. There's some, and when there is some it's really cool. But you have to get past a lot of lecturing to get there. Also the characters are really unlikable. Trevor Belmont starts the series completely willing to let an entire town of people get destroyed by a hoard of demons. And I know part of the point is that he learns his lesson at the end, but that's a really vile place to start you're main character at. And the development to want to save the town comes kinda out of nowhere, and that's probably due to the shows terrible pacing. The character development feels rushed, while the actual pacing of plot events feel dreadfully slow, making the four episode season feel more like the TV movie designed to set the show up more than a proper season. I've never seen a show that was both too rushed and too slow at the same time before this show. But with all of that said, I do have some hope for season two. Like I said, the whole first season felt like a pilot movie to a series. And the ending implies that season two is when the shows going to start getting into the real meat of things. And with the church defeated I'm hoping that we can actually focus on fighting Dracula. Y'know, what this show should of been about from the start! But we'll have to wait till next year to know how it plays out. Also I can kinda look past this but the show is very historically inaccurate when it comes to religion. If they're in Transylvania, then the church should be Eastern Orthodox. And they didn't do much witch burning. Heck, most churches didn't do much witch burning. The grand majority of witches were hanged. Just FYI. But let's move on...

Luna Loud is a bisexual. ...

And Star Vs the Forces of Evil had a TV movie, which is cool! Back in the early to mid 2000's every cartoon had at least one TV movie, but now you barely ever see any. Probably because cartoons now of days have more continuity, and thus don't need movies in order to tell larger plots. But still, it's cool to see them return. As for the movie itself...it was definitely...um... Okay, I'm going to level with you guys, I'm actually really behind on Star Vs. The last episode I saw was the penultimate episode of season one. I didn't stop because I don't like the show or anything. I like it well enough, and from what I hear the show gets a lot better right around the time I stopped watching. It's just that my family lost cable for a while, and then I fell so far behind that I couldn't catch up with reruns, and then I got preoccupied with other stuff...I'll catch up to it someday! It's on my "To watch" list. (Similar situation happened with the 2012 TMNT show. Missed a week once by mistake, tried catching up but got up to the first two seasons.) So i didn't watch this movie, and I have no idea what most people thought of it. But I still think it's cool that the TV movie was brought back. Seriously, outside this and Regular Show what was the last non pilot cartoon TV movie to came out? And multiple episode aired in a row don't count, it has to be marketed as a movie! And on that awkwardly segwayed note, we wrap up the first half of 2017 in animation. But threat not, the fun is only just beginning. So come back next week for 2017 Year in REVIEW: Part 2. What are you're thought on any of the shows/events I talked about today? Are there any that I missed? Leave all those thoughts and more in the comments down bellow. I would love to hear them and start a conversation, Even if we don't necessarily agree with each other. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review, and have a nice day. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review. All credit goes to there original owners.)

https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2017-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-1-721422027 DA Link

#Review #Samurai Jack Season 5 #Rick and Morty #Castlevania #Butch Hartman

0 notes

onlyfools-fall-foryou · 7 years

Text

So I wrote for the school magazine but this was never published because we ran out of time. Long story. Just gonna post this here.

Lina’s Completely Self-Indulgent To-do List for You and Me

Most of these listed items are pretty mature. By that, I mean high school and older.

Upcoming Movies: Dunkirk Why don’t we just watch all of Christopher Nolan’s movies while we’re at it? Dunkirk is, yes, another WWII movie on the side of the Allies, but it’s a Nolan film, so I’m not complaining. Nobody’s complaining. Like Nolan films, it’s incredibly star-studded, with his usual Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy etc. Nolan really hasn’t given away anything by his short and simple trailers, other than what people already know about the Battle of Dunkirk. (Spoilers, they get rescued.) Release Date: July 21, USA

Spider-man: Homecoming Can I just say, I am loving new spidey. That guy is ador(k)able. Marvel is finally giving us the sassy teenage Peter that we didn’t know we needed. Release Date: July 5, Finland

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Luc Besson, director of /Leon, Nikita, and The Fifth Element/ decided to turn the futuristic sci-fi time-traveling comic series, /Valerian and Laureline,/ into a movie starring Dane DeHaan and the beautiful, beautiful Cara Delevingne. (I was slightly obsessed with Cara Delevingne in 2016.) Let’s just hope that Cara is better at acting here than she was in /Paper Towns/. Release Date: July 21, USA

Detroit From the only female director who has won the Academy Award for Best Director, Kathryn Bigelow, director of /The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty,/ comes another possibly scarring, possibly life-changing movie based on modern historical events. (By modern, I mean 50 years ago.) This time, it’s about the Algiers Motel Incident, taken place during the 1967 12th Street Riot that left three black males dead and two white females and seven black males brutally beaten by the police. Remember when I said this would be scarring? It stars John Boyega and many other beauties. Release Date: August 4, USA

The Dark Tower This is the beginning of a possible movie franchise adapted from Stephen King’s novel series of the same name. Starring Idris Elba as our formidable hero and Matthew McConaughey as our mysterious villain. If you’ve read any Stephen King or seen any adaptations, notably I’ve seen /The Mist,/ you know they’re chilling and terrifying and scarring. Watch with caution. Release Date: August 4, USA

Movies If you’re a nerd who likes to spend most of their life in a screen like me, just invest in a Netflix account (unfortunately, I get nothing out of this promo). And, all the Netflix original shows are top notch because Netflix goes all out on their shows. (Edit: DON’T TRUST NETFLIX. THEY MIGHT CANCEL YOUR FAVOURITE SHOW.)

Patriots Day (2016) It’s about the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. Apparently watching it the first time around is the best, according to my brother who watched it twice. For the first 20 minutes or so, you’re so tense because it’s just people getting ready for the marathon and you know what’s about to happen. That was interesting, because the movie did try to tense us up, but it didn’t try that hard. It was mostly our knowledge of the bombings that did most of the work. Most of the characters are real people, except for the main character played by Mark Wahlberg, who is fictional. It leaves you sweating from your pores (and tear ducts) at the end of the movie so drink some water before starting.

Moulin Rouge! (2001) If you’re into music, beautiful people dancing and singing, renditions of pop songs like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Like a Virgin,” you should watch this sort of rom-com/rom-tragedy starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Go read my other article on page * for some extra info.

Inglourious Basterds (2009) Glorious cinematography. Glorious deaths. Glorious acting. The opening scene is pure gold. It’s one of those scenes you get completely lost in. It also gets you sweating from your pores. Everything from the cinematography and the acting and the set and music and everything is just so well done. Everyone who has seen this scene knows what I’m talking about. And of course, Mélanie Laurent is (one of) the main character(s) so that’s a lot of, em, eye cleansing.

Twilight (2008) Just kidding.

TV The Get Down Go read my other article on page *. Tl;dr: About the origin of hip hop in 1977 Bronx told around beautiful brown young adults with voices of angels.

Lost You have probably head of /Lost/, whether it’s something good or bad. Lost is infamous for its bad ending, which, I don’t think is that bad, but who cares about an ending when everything else is good? The premise is, a bunch of people were on a plane going from Sydney to LA but it crashes on an island. For the first couple episodes, you might think it’s just another survival show, but boy you are wrong. The episodes vary from present to flashback, the centric-character changing every episode. Try not to cringe too hard as Daniel Dae Kim completely ruins the Korean language. Lost is one of the shows I only watch when I have a lot of time because it and its soundtrack completely emotionally ruins me.

Books Sorry, this list may be shorter than the others because I shamefully admit, I don’t read as much as I watch. (Stop judging me, I know my brain cells are dying.)

Harry Potter Need I say more? If you haven’t read Harry Potter, where have you been and where is your integrity?

13 Reasons Why I read this book in the summer of 2015 and it was one of those books I couldn’t put down, not because it was so fun to read, but because my stomach was shaking with uncomfortable angst and I had to get it over with in order for my life to move on. It’s about a teenage boy who gets a mysterious tape one day. On the tape is a recording that a sort-of-friend/ex-crush, Hannah, made before she killed herself. The thirteen reasons are, yes, why she killed herself and are directed at 12 people in total (it goes to a person twice). It deals with some pretty mature content like sex, sexual assault, and obviously suicide. I think I was a little young to understand the book to its full potential, because the book is heavily about the relationship of Hannah and everyone around her and I didn’t realize relationships were so hard at the time.

Percy Jackson Yes, I can hear you snickering about how big of a nerd I am. I admit, I was obsessed with Percy Jackson, still low-key am, but to be fair, so was my mom! Whenever we would get a new book, my mom, brother, and I would pass it around none too patiently. Percy Jackson is definitely more for younger kids, i.e. middle school, because the level of darkness and death sort of stays the same throughout, unlike Harry Potter that matures along with us, becoming darker and darker. If you don’t know who Percy Jackson is, he’s the son of a mortal and Poseidon. He then struggles to save the world every book. The series really educates you in a fun way on Greek (and later, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and who knows what next) mythology and it’s fun to see how the writer portrayed his Godly characters. It’s just a really, really fun read. Another perk is Rick Riordan seems to keep writing books, so the series doesn’t seem to ever end.

Music

Hamilton If you’re into American history, people of color, hip-hop, bromance, and death, listen to this amazing cast album of Hamilton: An American Musical (or watch the bootleg). Basically the story of Alexander Hamilton’s life, through childhood in the Caribbeans, coming to New York where dreams are made of, the American Revolution, trying to set up a government and finally his death. Will you become a non-functioning human for a couple days while you finish it? Yes. Will you start violently sobbing when you hear the name John Laurens? Yes. Will you start breaking into song and rap when you know you can’t sing or rap? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

Harry Styles Following the classic tradition of naming your debut album after yourself, Harry Styles comes back to the music industry with this album that is completely different from One Direction (before they started writing their own songs, so this album more like MITAM). After a year (and a half) of being in the new Nolan movie (life goals right there mm mm.) and chilling in the Caribbeans, he randomly dropped news of his single “Sign of the Times” and the rest of his album in April. The album is like a time capsule from the 2007s with a mix of the 1970-80s, giving off rock god and sappy indie breakup band vibes at the same time. I’m actually listening to it as I’m writing this right now, and gosh it is good. It’s Harry doing everything he couldn’t do in a band, every song has him straining his vocal cords and (*wipes away proud tear*) you can just imagine him jumping around stage and having the time of his life.

Other

Duolingo.com (Like I said, I get 0 money out of this.) Duolingo is a website for, you may have guessed it from “duo” and “lingo,” learning languages. It’s completely free, these people don’t even require you to “upgrade your account” to do all the languages. There are most of the European languages, some Asian languages like Vietnamese (Japanese and Korean etc are in progress), Swahili, and Klingon (in progress). You can choose how seriously you want to learn and set your daily XP goal. It sends you an email and application notification so you don’t forget (but of course you can turn it off) and there’s an app too. If you do it intensively (really intensively, like a couple hundred XPs a day), I think finishing a language course during the summer is possible. It’s such a good and wholeful website/app. I’m currently learning Norwegian so if anyone wants to join, halla at me!

Learn How to Box Finally, a non-nerd item on this list! More broadly, get in the habit of working out. Whatever we’re going to do in the future, we need the stamina for it, even if you’re just going to sit at a desk all day. I’m only putting boxing up there as an example because it’s fun and it makes you feel powerful. Not that I’m an expert or anything, I did like four months and quit (lol) but I still work out in various ways. Grab a friend and convince them to go with you. Working up a sweat, even for a short time, generally makes you happy. I don’t know how much this applies to other people, but personally, I spend my workout minutes giggling most of the time. When I’m doing something really challenging, I start manically laughing. This is also an excuse for you to get your mom to let you out of the horrible cycle of hagwons and tutors!

#dunkirk #valerian and the city of a thousand planets #spider man: homecoming #the dark tower #Detroit #patriot's day #the get down #moulin rouge #inglorious basterds #lost #harry potter #harry styles #hamilton #thirteen reasons why #skam #percy jackson #Duolingo

1 note · View note