runaway
☆ pairing: nicky x mc
☆ word count: 2.3k
☆ tags: @serafinedupont ; @ariendiel ; @venueska ; @bellarxse ; @lasswithumor ; @lucas-koh ; @violinet ; @messofakind
☆ author’s note: ok full disclosure i stopped playing like day 3 of season 3 so i’m purely going off of screenshots i’ve seen of nicky. he’s seriously my favorite and i want him so bad!!! ok anyways here’s a one-shot of nicky and my mc, danielle/dani realizing their feelings for each other ! here it is on ao3 ! comments, kudos, and feedback of any kind is much appreciated !! [this is not my favorite thing i’ve ever written but i could not get this idea out of my head]
•─────────✦☆✦────────•
She nudged her way through the crowd, the edge of her dress fisted in her trembling hand, heading towards any exit door she could find. Huge crowds were never her thing, and it never got easier, even after the season ended.
She pushed out onto the balcony, revelling in the crisp, fresh air, breathing so deeply until her chest loosened up a bit.
The edge of the balcony looked out onto the huge lawn, precisely cut and bright as synthetic, store bought grass. Fake looking and expensive, just like half of the patrons at the gala.
She was rubbing elbows with the elite and she hated it. A lot. Humble beginnings to being a sellout.
Valets in steam pressed uniforms maneuvered the expensive luxury vehicles throughout the long, winding driveway, not a single person who made below six figures in sight.
She gripped the cold marble until her hands stung, trying to focus on anything other than her panicked pulse to slow it down. She was never gonna get used to this life, no matter how many high profile events she was invited to.
“Hey, Dani,” a melodic voice called from behind her.
“Oh, Nicky, hey,” she threw him a soft smile, hoping he didn’t hear the way her breath hitched in her throat at her nickname.
“Needed a breather, too?” He slid the glass door behind him, closing it with a click, before coming to join her at the railing.
“Yeah, I just… couldn’t handle the crowd anymore,” she shrugged, taking a shaky breath.
He knew how badly crowds freaked her out. Being on a t.v. show that hinged on hidden cameras and an intimate cast, she never gave off the appearance that she would’ve reacted this way.
But the night of the finale, she found herself hiding in the corner of the Villa bathroom out of the ways of the cameras, trying desperately to catch her breath. Camilo hadn’t come to check on her, like she’d hoped. First person to knock on the door and ask how she was doing was Nicky.
He gently removed their mics, and spoke to her with such kindness and understanding that she couldn’t help but fall for him more than she already had.
God, Camilo was a great partner in the Villa. He was hot, incredibly suave, and practically worshipped the ground she walked on. But it turned out to be exactly what she was afraid of.
All passion, no substance.
It wasn’t a messy break up, but she wouldn’t count on him trying for more than the basic “How are you?” type of filler conversations with her if they ran into each other on the street.
Which they just so happened to do, since the charity gala insisted on trying to get any single islanders to offer up a date in exchange for a hefty donation.
“Sorry about that. I know this isn’t your kind of scene,” he said, leaning his arm against the railing, crossing his legs at the ankles. His body faced her, but he turned his head, surveying the lawn.
Danielle couldn’t help but stare at his defined features, the short, neat stubble parallel to his jawline, full lips pursed in a thoughtful pout.
He looked back at her, brows furrowed, concern knitted between them. “Are you okay with the auction?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. The amount of old men here is disconcerting. I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do if I get bid on by a really ugly guy –”
Nicky cut her off, laughing heartily, the bass of his voice reverberating off of the marble. “Damn, you really don’t wanna be here.”
“What, and you do?” She giggled, his laugh infectious. It was one of her favorite sounds.
He shrugged. “Not really. I was kind of hoping I could auction off a chance to play at somebody’s wedding or something.”
“Yeah, they see a handsome face–” she motioned up and down his body, “–before they see everything else.”
“You say that like you aren’t a catch, too, Dani,” he grinned. She rolled her eyes, trying to be nonchalant when she was freaking out inwardly.
“So does that mean Elladine is okay with you being here?” She asked hesitantly. She knew that they’d reunited after she walked out of the Villa, and from what the tabloids said, they were happy.
He winced, taking a deep breath. “Uh, yeah we broke up a little while ago. We just realized we were better off as friends.”
“She did, or you did?” He couldn’t lie to her – they knew each other too well for that. By the way he fidgeted, she knew she’d hit a nerve.
“You got me. I did. I still love her, don’t get me wrong. It just ended up feeling more like a partnership than a relationship you know?” He shrugged, trying to mask the unsurety in his voice.
“You realized maybe it was better when there were other people around?”
He glanced away, rolling his lips together. “...Yeah.”
She nodded, taking another deep breath, her pulse picking up speed.
Danielle had developed a huge crush on Nicky early on, but he and Elladine had gotten along so well that she just settled for being best friends. From the moment he compared her to his sister, she set her sights elsewhere.
But sometimes Nicky’s lingering looks gave her mixed signals. She never completely gave up hope, but the chances of them coupling up was next to none.
“So… I saw you and Camilo are done. You doing okay? Sorry I didn’t reach out to you sooner –”
“No, it’s okay. Life happens. I don’t blame you at all,” she said, with a sense of finality.
“Dani… how are you holding up? Really?”
He could see right through her, just like she could with him.
She blew out air, her lips flapping together. “It’s weird. I haven’t really seen him since our break up. I mean, not privately at least, you know? He texted me on my birthday, and it was cordial, but it’s still weird.”
“Did you talk to him tonight?”
“I waved, but nothing more than that. I don’t feel like having an obviously fake and super awkward conversation in front of the press,” she shrugged.
“Uh, well he asked for you a little while ago.”
“When?” Her eyebrows shot up, and she pushed away from the railing.
“Yeah, I have a suspicion that he’s here with somebody else,” he said softly, like he was trying to break the news to her without hurting her feelings..
Her eyes widened. “I’m – I don’t –”
“It’ll be okay. Camilo’s friendly enough. I don’t think he’d cause a scene,” Nicky shook his head sympathetically. “Stay next to me. I’ll keep you preoccupied.”
“It’s not that, I just. I don’t… know what to say. Especially in front of everybody like that. I know people will zero in on us and fixate on how we talk to each other and interact,” she shook her head, gripping the railing again.
“God, especially if he’s introducing me to his new girlfriend or whatever. If I raise my eyebrows at the wrong time, they’re gonna think I’m upset –”
“Or if you scrunch your nose up like you always do,” he added.
She stared at him, mouth parted. “Hey, I know you’re not talking, Mister Grimace.”
“Mister Grimace? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You grimace when you hate something, dummy,” she laughed. “Did you really not know you did that?”
He cocked his head to the side. “Most people make faces when they hate something, Dani.”
“Not like you, they don’t!” She shook her head, still grinning. “You couldn’t pretend to like something if your life depended on it.”
He grimaced. That set her off even more, her soft laugh growing into a full blown cackle.
“You just proved my point, dumbass,” she said between gasps of breath, pointing at his crinkled nose, full lips raised into the exact face she’d been poking at him for.
“Hey, who’re you calling a dumbass? The ‘D’ in dumbass stands for Dani, if we’re being real,” he joked, his distasteful expression melting into one of adoration as he watched her laugh at his expense.
“Shut up,” she said, thrusting her arm out to playfully push him. He captured her hand underneath his own, his warm palm rough against her soft skin.
Normally, it would’ve been a light hearted gesture, because they joked with each other all the time in the villa, but in that moment, with no islanders, no cameras, no audience – those feelings they tried so desperately to repress were bubbling to the surface.
Nicky’s eyes flitted to her lips, parted in surprise at his hand covering her own. Her eyes flitted down his chest, fixating on the white button up beneath his blazer that hugged his toned chest just right.
He found his own gaze wandering down her body, the floor length dress accentuating places he normally never found himself looking at.
God, he had a full view of her near naked body every day for weeks and never thought twice about it, but now, seeing her in an elegant gown that was snug around the places that used to be exposed, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her.
She knew she looked good, because the hair, makeup, and wardrobe people wouldn’t leave her alone until she was picture perfect. She wasn’t used to being under that kind of individual microscope, seeking the approval of rich people, like she was supposed to be one of them.
Danielle felt so out of place the entire night – until the moment Nicky stepped outside to comfort her.
“Nicky…” she breathed, the charged air between them sending an electric buzz through her limbs.
“Yeah?” he whispered, eyes half lidded, yet focused on her like she was the only person in the world.
She opened her mouth to say something, but shut it, instead glancing around the balcony and the large glass doors and windows that riddled their side of the mansion.
“Let’s get out of here,” she chewed the inside of her lip, watching his every move, hoping – praying – that he wasn’t going to reject her.
“How?”
God, she could feel the secondhand embarrassment coming on, and she glanced away from his lips, trying to come up with an excuse to explain what came over her. Her cheeks warmed, and she was thankful for the thick foundation that neutralized her blush.
“Forget it,” she said, tugging away from him.
“I didn’t say no,” he murmured, firmly holding her hand in place. “I asked ‘how?’ Do we have a plan?”
She blinked, trying to process his words.
After all those months of pretending like she’d been rid of her feelings, he’d just affirmed that he wanted her just like she wanted him.
“You’re serious?”
He nodded. “Very.”
Minutes later, after devising a quick plan to slip out the back, they were sprinting across the dewy lawn, breathless but free, sliding into the limo as soon as the driver opened the door for them.
They panted, smiles wide and skin glistening. As she watched a bead of sweat slip down his temple, the atmosphere changed, dripping with the sexual tension they never acknowledged.
Nicky was thankful the driver had already rolled the divider up, because as soon as his foot was on the gas, they were sliding closer to each other, folding under the pressure.
God, it was like the logical and emotional sides of his brain that’d been playing tug of war for so long finally snapped the rope, and everything he pretended not to notice flooded out.
There were so many things about her that he paid attention to that he figured was because they were close friends. He cursed himself for being such an idiot, because there’s no way he should’ve thought about her lips, the dimple on her left cheek, the curls that framed her face perfectly, the curve at the small of her back… a “friend” would’ve never thought about how gorgeous she was every single day.
He never betrayed Elladine, because he really did love her – but he mixed his feelings for both Elladine and Dani up. What he felt for Elladine was friendly love, like a family member or a best friend. The gravitational pull he had towards Dani should’ve never been mistaken for just friendship.
He had been falling for her day by day, but chalking it up to finding his life long best friend.
And as he searched her eyes, hand cupping her cheek, he knew he’d lucked out. He’d found both things in Dani: a partner and a best friend.
He spent weeks in a villa full of eligible women, but he demoted her before he could give her a true chance. He kicked himself in the ass for not realizing it sooner.
So when his lips met Dani’s for the first time, everything clicked into place.
They’d deal with the backlash of leaving the charity gala early. They’d deal with the press swarming them asking why he’d insisted on their friendship from the beginning. They’d deal with the onslaught of texts from the other islanders teasing them about finally getting together. They’d even deal with Elladine and Camilo later.
But in that moment, neither of them cared, focusing on the sweet bliss that was their first kiss.
And when he pulled back to see how she was feeling, he was met with the same serene expression he knew was on his own features – they were finally on the same page.
69 notes
·
View notes
Fav 2019 K-Dramas
2019 blessed us with many intriguing kdramas with unique stories, don’t you think? I’m bored during quarantine and decided to post this. Anyways, here are my favs:
1. Vagabond
There, this picture says it all: this drama is fast paced, SO intense, and on fire. I love every minute of it! Vagabond is different than another k-dramas. I’m not lying when I say this drama literally makes me cry and scream. Sometimes I even had to pause in the middle of episode just to catch my breath lol. The plot is so well written and full of unpredictable storylines (which is what I love the most about Vagabond–that every episode always has a way to surprises me). Although, many viewers disappointed with how they ended Vagabond with a cliffhanger. I, too, really hope they consider making the second season to satisfy our curiosities. But either way, I don’t regret watching this drama. Not at all. Because this drama is too amazing
2. When the Camellia Blooms
Unlike majority of romance k-dramas, this drama’s love story is centered around a young woman who raises her child on her own. I gotta say, this is one high quality k-drama. I could even judge it from its lovely opening video. Every episode always has meaningful messages behind it. The storylines are rich and presented in such a way that makes viewers immersed in the stories and emphatize with the characters. First, they make us understand Dongbaek’s dark past and her struggle as a single parent, then they make us emphatize with Dongbaek’s son who grow up without a dad figure. We also get to see the perspectives of her mom & Yong Sik (the lead guy)’s mom as mothers, the issues faced by side characters, and conflicts that arise from triangle love story. In addition, they also involved mistery of murderer in the stories! Can you believe how many of these can we swallow in one drama? One time this drama is heartbreaking, then it’s heartwarming, another time it gets super dark.
Also, what I find many viewers love from this drama is how Yong Sik cherishes Dongbaek and love her for what she is, which is why I concluded this drama is perfect for woman who feels insecure. Why? Because with the way Yong Sik endlessly convinces Dongbaek, he reminds us that every woman is good enough, deserves to feel loved and receive happiness. And I love him for that.
3. Her Private Life
There is a reason why people said this is the perfect kdrama for fangirl, since the story is told from the perspective of a die hard fan (Sung Deok Mi). Those who have experienced being fangirls know how well this drama represent fangirls’ life: what fangirls do, and how fangirling affects our lives. It’s all displayed in such fun atmosphere that it’d give you good feelings while watching it. Personally, I am attracted to its opening video. It’s really catchy and reflect the fun vibes of Her Private Life. I really recommend this drama if you want to lift your mood.
But on top of that, Sung Deok Mi’s relationship with Ryan Gold is the major part of why I highly appreciate this drama!! Their relationship is unlike any relationship I’ve ever seen before. They’re very mature, respect each others’ dreams and what each other loves, always resolve conflicts through discussion. They portray the definition of a healthy relationship and I really admire that.
4. Extraordinary You
The word extraordinary isn’t used in the title for no reasons. The storylines are, indeed, extraordinary. It is a mix of comedy, high school romance, star crossed soulmates, fantasy, mistery, comedy and a glimpse of stories in historical settings at the same time. Thus, it’s not exaggerating when fans said “you don’t have to look for specific dramas, you can get it all here”.
The actors & actresses’ acting skills are superb and we can find so many funny & relatable lines here. But one of the best things about Extraordinary You is they place the second leads in the center of spotlight! Finally nice second leads get the justice they deserve. They portrayed how lead guy who’s rude and feels entitled to have his crush doesn’t have the slightest chance of capturing the woman’s heart. Instead, the nice second leads who show respects and always put the woman’s desire before his own are what woman find attractive. I highly praise this drama for that.
5. Crash Landing on You
In 2019, we encounter many dramas with unique synopsis, including this one: a relationship between a North guy and a South woman. I have no doubt in Son Ye Jin and Hyun Bin’s chemistry since the beginning. Their incredible chemisty makes every romance scenes look even more sweet and pure and sometimes cute. Although I wasn’t really engaged with the first two episodes, the next episodes gets more appealing and satisfying. It’s nice to see the progress of both lead characters’ development and how they help each other overcome their issues. Aside from Se Ri (Son Ye Jin)’s relationship with Jeong Hyeok (Hyun Bin), her relationship with the North soldiers and neighboors at millitary village are pretty adorable. Their interaction always give me warm fuzzy feelings and they’re what I miss the most from this drama honestly.
6. One Spring Night
If you love Something in the Rain, I’m sure you’ll love this one too since both are the works from the same director. It has similiar atmospheres and similiar soundtracks vibes (both have really beautiful soundtracks by the way). Like Dongbaek from When the Camellia Blooms, the lead guy in this drama (Yoo Ji Ho) is also a single parent. I agree with fans saying this isn’t the kind of drama for everyone. This is more like slice of life and they aren’t in a rush to throw in conflicts as well as its resolution and I love it that way. Through this, they made it possible for us to process our emotions while the conflicts are presented.
The stories are also realistic: the issue experienced by the lead guy as a single parent, issue that’s arised from triangle love story, how pride and status mean for men, also a glimpse of abusive relationship, and the heartwarming sisterhood. And if we look closely, we could see how they tried to portray the influence of culture in the family and in the way they resolve a conflict.
7. Catch the Ghost
I thought the ghost from the title refers to an actual ghost but thank god it’s not. Here, ghost is a nickname for a criminal–the villain of the drama. Even when the story centered around the same villain from the firat until the last eps, but I wasn’t bored at all watching this. In fact, it is what made me engage with the stories and made me continue watching the next eps although I had assignments to do 😅. It’s just so, so exciting to watch. The stories are dark, sad, but funny at times. However, some viewers (including me) found the lead woman (Yoo Reung) annoying at first because of her selfishness. But I promise it’s still worth to watch because in the later eps, you’ll understand why she is the way she is which makes it easier to tolerate and even emphatize with her. She’s actually lovable, and her relationship with the lead guy (Ko Ji Seok) is really cute! In fact, Ko Ji Seok is one of my fav characters in kdrama land!
8. Class of Lies
You know, I always love kdramas with unpredictable storylines. Just like what this drama has. I know the settings are set in high school but it is waaay too dark for a high school story. You can even see it from the picture that it has gloomy vibes. I thought it’s the typical high school kdrama about bullies or corruption but it’s truly exceeds my expectation. From the first episode, I already saw the potential of this drama and already hooked with the misteries. I felt so tense throughout watching the entire drama. I kept clicking the next eps to find out if things are getting better and if there is any clue to the misteries here. But I swear everytime I thought I figure something out, this drama always has surprises to give. So brilliant. I stan.
9. At Eighteen
We could tell from the title that this drama must be related to the dynamic life of 18 years old teenagers. Considering this is the age where we explore ourselves, this drama portrayed how different teens could have different issues to face: trying to fit in at school, stand up against bullies, trying to be in top tier at school, trying to get good grades whether it’s to get into reputable colleges or to meet parents’ high expectation, trying to experience romance, AND exploring sexual orientation (actually this is the first kdrama i’ve watched that portrayed gay issues so I was like wow??). So, the stories aren’t only focused on the main characters, but the side characters too. Though I really adore the main guy in this drama: Choi Jun Woo. I even made an essay about why I think he’s an ideal guy lol. If you’re interested, here you go
Not only does this drama describe the issues faced by 18 yo students, but also the struggles faced by the teacher. It shows us how teachers can feel nervous too whenever he’s about to teach or deal with the students, how certain teachers care about the wellbeings of their students, not just care about their grades. I appreciate that from the drama, really, I do. This drama is calm, heartwarming, and meaningful.
10. Love Alarm
Tried to watch it because of Kim So Hyun, and I quickly got invested in the stories. I like the futuristic theme in this drama. The idea of a Love Alarm app itself is already interesting. Moreover, So Hyun has good chemistry with both guys. Though I don’t find both lead and second lead guys as my best type of guys, but I couldn’t stop watching it and I don’t regret watching it. Their lovestories are bittersweet which kept me looking forward for more. The last episode ended in cliffhanger though, typical Netflix series. If you don’t like uncertainty and want to watch this drama, I suggest you to wait until season 2 is released (yes, they announced there will be a season 2).
k-drama recommendation: 2/?
118 notes
·
View notes
The “Our Bromance Is Outta This World” KiriBaku AU Fic Rec List
So... I've lost count of how many fic rec lists I've put out now, but the reasons remain the same as when I first started. I just love finding THAT fic that makes me happy, makes me smile, makes life seem a little better, and I wanna share the shit outta them! I love sharing my admiration of the beautiful writers who have used their time and talent (for free), because after all, they are just as passionate as we are about the ships we choose to partake in. I would like to genuinely thank the 500+ individuals who have chosen to allow me to come across their feed with our mutual love and adoration of all things Kirishima Eijirou and Bakugou Katsuki related. To show my appreciation, here, please take this rec list and read to your hearts' content, just as I have <3 If AU’s aren’t quite your thing, please feel free to glance at past lists and look for the upcoming Random list!
In The Dark of The Night *E* ~ Arxaris (In Progress/8? Ch.)
Gladiator Kirishima, Emperor Bakugou, Aged-Up, Blood & Violence, Strangers to Lovers, Light Dom/Sub, Top Kiri, Bottom Baku
The one where Arx blows our minds with a gentle giant gladiator Kiri and a lusting Emperor Bakugou. Dudes, the fight scene is just whoa, and you can never go wrong with reading anything from this brilliant writer.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20067655/chapters/47526529
It Will Find You Here *E* ~ Arxaris (8 ch.)
Aged-Up, Strangers to Lovers, No Quirks, Backpacker Bakugou, AirBnB Host Kirishima, Hurt/Comfort, Top Kiri, Bottom Bakugou, Panic Attacks, Praise Kink, Possessive Kirishima
Yes, I've rec'd this before, I know. Buuut have you read it yet?? If not, I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys our boys in other settings with a steamy/angsty plot, great characterization, and a bonus chapter to end it all. Am I biased because it's Arx' work? No, I legitimately fell in love with this fic because it's so fresh and one of a kind.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18848662
(Love Is) An Open Door *T* ~EnchantedEmmeline (12 Ch. and fucking worth it)
Modern Setting, No quirks, Aged-Up, Café Owner Bakugou, Firefighter Kiri, Barely there angst, Humor (Oh my god, so much), Fluff, Bakusquad members
If you want to laugh your ass off and fall in love with these two idiots all over, then this is a MUST read! I personally could not put this down. Bakugou gets drunk and winds up unknowingly trespassing into Kiri's apartment… Kiri winds up fawning over a sock that was left by Bakugou… hilarity, fluff, amazing characterization, I just-please read this!!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15978500
At The Beginning (With You) *T* ~ EnchantedEmmeline (Part 2 of the above fic)
Modern Setting, No quirks, Aged-Up, Wedding, Humor, Fluff
This fic picks up shortly after (Love Is) An Open Door, to conclude the fluff and humor that is my cup of tea.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16153397
Everglow *M* ~ Maplefudge ( In Progress 5/20 Ch.)
Fantasy, Freeform, Worldbuilding, Dragon Kirishima, Soulmates, Beautiful artwork by Se7en!!!
Speaking of re-rec'ing... have you started this journey with Maple yet? If not, I highly suggest you do! Maple is another incredible writer that just has some of the fluffiest, sweetest, greatest fics out there. If Dragons aren't your thing, she has many many other fics that you should check out! Maple is AMAZING and she took my Krbk fanfic virginity!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422127/chapters/46221091
Achromatopsia *T* ~ PurplePersnickety
Soulmates, Fluff, Pining, Mutual Pining
In which the true colors of the world appear when you touch your soulmate for the first time
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17832155
Top Of The List *T* ~ PurplePersnickety
Pro-Heroes, Roomates (Oh My God), Mutual Pining, Fluff, Getting Together, First Kiss
The one where Bakugou lists his favorite things. Super fluffy and sweet <3
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469453
Manly Man Falls for Manliest Man *T* ~ Afuzzyowl (In Progress/9? Ch.)
Modern Setting, Aged-Up, Slice of Life, Developing Relationship, Pining, Actor Bakugou, Salaryman Kirishima, Kiri has a huge gay crush on Bakugou-what else is new?
Or the one where Kirishima meets his favorite actor Bakugou by chance encounter and real feels start to develop (for both of them)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18310007
Mine *E* ~ Alienqueen42 for candy_cadet
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Smut, Drinking, Jealousy, Est. Relationship, Use of the word slut, Rough sex
Where Bakugou gets hit on and Kirishima is jealous
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200363
Welcome Home *T* ~ empyreansunflower
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Long distance relationship, Est. Relationship, Marriage Proposal
Bakugou waits at the airport to welcome Kirishima back home
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18098600
Broken Bridges *E* ~ DeathBelle (14 Ch.)
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Pining, They haven't spoken in 2 yrs., Very Minor Character Death, Sexual Content, Happy Ending
Kirishima moves back to Japan after working abroad for two years and he finds out that old feelings die hard.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/14888358
Obvious *T* ~ AmethystUnarmed
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Secret Relationship?, Kidnapping, Minor quirk torture, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Angry Bakugou, Protective Bakugou
Everyone had suspicions that Kirishima and Bakugou were in a relationship but nothing concrete… until Red Riot is captured
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17606090
Done With Having Dreams (The Thing That I Believe) *T* ~Futurehearts
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Est. Relationship, New Years Eve, Marriage Proposal
Fluffy goodness with a proposal!!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17374442
Still Here *T* ~ IcyHotHeart
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Angst w/a Happy ending
Kirishima takes a position in America and Bakugou is left waiting for him back home… Bakugou does not want to give up hope that the only man he had ever loved will return to him. Super super sweet ending and I promise, it is a happy one.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20086867
Linger *E* ~ NightBronze
No quirks, Bar/Pub, Aged-Up, Strangers to Lovers, Bartender Kiri, Drummer Bakugou, Pining Kiri, Bathroom Sex, Getting to know each other, Implied Getting Together, Dirty talk, Top Kiri, Bottom Bakugou, Fluffy Ending
https://archiveofourown.org/works/15590841
Jealous (It's My Right To Be Hellish) *E* ~ Sheila_thetank
Aged-Up, Jealous Bakugou, Possessive Bakugou, Eventual Sex, Getting Together
Where Bakugou gets jealous of anyone talking to HIS Kirishima and things are sorted out
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18903370
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This *E* ~ Sheila_thetank
Aged-Up, Sharing A Bed, Friends to Lovers, First Time, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17187371
Here Comes The Bride *E* ~ Obsessed_As_A_Coping_Mechanism (6? Ch.)
Supernatural AU, Vampire Kirishima, Bartender Bakugou, Blood, Biting, Self Injury, Mentions of Suicide Attempt because becoming a vampire takes a catalyst, Fluff, Angst, Smut, Includes Art from TheHappySunflower88
Shows as a work in progress, but it feels completed. This is a wonderful piece of work guys, and if you're into vampires and the like, you should check it out
https://archiveofourown.org/works/16462376
Red Riot Otaku *M* ~ Bryan
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Obsession, Mutual Pining, Mutually Requited Love, Realization, Implied Sexual Content, Pillow Talk, Getting Together, Fluff & Humor, Includes Art from TheHappySunflower88
Basically Bakugou collects anything and everything Red Riot related and his secret obsession is discovered *gasps*
https://archiveofourown.org/works/17531618
King of The Kitchen *T* ~ Confuse_The_Queer
Restaurant AU, Strangers to Lovers, Getting Together, Chef Bakugou, First Kiss
https://archiveofourown.org/works/18091583
And My Heart Went Boom *T* ~ Slumber
College/University AU, Mechanic Kirishima, Motorcycle owner Kirishima, Bakugou crushes HARD, Pure Fluff
https://archiveofourown.org/works/12957423
Mission Accomplished *NR* ~ SoftWhispers_ColdGoodbyes
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Fluff w/o Plot, Idiots in Love, Warm & Fuzzy Feelings
Short and sweet~ The boys open their own agency together, but it doesn't feel quite complete yet, at least to Bakugou
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19428121
So Take My Hand… *G* ~ Pirateofhearts (Speightbrigade)
Est. Relationship, Perfectionist Bakugou, Marriage Proposal, Tooth Rotting Fluff
Bakugou proposes to Kirishima.. And it's so sweeet and soffft <3
https://archiveofourown.org/works/20100010
Role Model *G* ~ Claus_Lucas for Silver_Sterling
Aged-Up, Pro-Heroes, Est. Relationship
The boys return to Yuuei to discuss being Pro-Heroes with the new class 1-A Students. This is just tender and beautiful. A student asks Kirishima if it's manly for a man to love another man
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19782532
It Don't Bite- YES IT DO *T* ~ Wholesomeworm
No Quirks, Coffee Shops & Cafes, Dog Obedience school, Dog Trainer Kirishima, Bakugou crushes hard, Super fluffy and sweet, humor
Kiri trains dogs and Bakugou is stuck taking in his mom's dog for training
https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929556
As always, please be kind and share your love with the incredible authors who poured themselves into these works. Kudos are fantastic and shouting out your love & adoration literally feeds our beloved writers' souls… which in turn, helps inspire more of the tremendous fics we all crave!! Do yourselves a favor and read these, relish in the phenomenal creations , and *PLEASE REBLOG* (even if you've read these), as someone out there might not have and these writers deserve ALL the attention they can get!!
@arxaris @maplefudge @icyhotheartwritings
514 notes
·
View notes
I Won’t Hesitate (for you) Chapter 8
Chapter 8: You should give me a chance (this can’t be the end)
In this chapter: In the past, Alex and Michael grow closer, but danger lurks. In the present, Alex tries to talk to Michael after their devastating conversation. Things are slowly starting to come together.
A/n: So. This is gonna hurt. This chapter holds the absolute fucking worst scene ever written and it’s mostly not even mine. I’m sorry in advance.
As always, a special thanks to Aileen (@acomebackstory), Callie (@callieramics), @hm-arn, @royalshadowhunter, @ladymajavader and May (@merlinss) over on Tumblr for their continued support and cheerleading. I don’t know if I would’ve finished it without you guys!
So last week I kinda lied.I said I got my chapter titles from a playlist but I immediately changed up that pattern. I hope you guys still get it!
Last week was, of course “Can’t Love Me” by Novi and our very own Tyler Blackburn. @hmd23 guessed it again! They’re racking up quite a score!
Can anyone guess this week’s?
also on: ao3
other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
December, 1924
“Where are you taking me, Michael?”
“Just keep your eyes closed. Trust me, I won’t walk you off a cliff.”
“Thanks, now I’m less worried,” Alex said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“Alex.”
“Fine! I trust you.”
Michael pressed a quick kiss to Alex’ shoulder as he guided him forward. And indeed he guided well; every step they took was deliberate and Alex didn’t stumble once.
They’d been together for about six months now. The beginning had been a bit awkward. Neither of them quite understood what it was between them, but they’d soon stopped questioning it. For Alex’s part, he really, really liked Michael. He felt all the things men were supposed to feel for women, except he felt them for Michael. He hadn’t dared put any label on it, yet. They’d both been burned too many times, so they’d been taking it slow. They’d gone out a couple of times, under the guise of doing homework or coming from work at the foster’s ranch.
The sneaking around got exhausting sometimes, but this thing blooming between them was what dragged Alex through the long weeks of summer holidays. It was like Michael’s kisses gave Alex some resilience to his father’s nagging comments.
Speaking of kisses…Alex, still with his eyes closed, stopped moving, pulling Michael back towards him and clumsily pressing their lips together. Michael laughed as their lips fully missed each other at first but leaned into the kiss either way. “Alright, cowboy, calm down. Plenty of time for that later,” Michael said, his voice dropping down a notch and sending shivers down Alex’s spine.
“Oh,” he said stupidly. Michael started pulling him forwards again. Blindly, Alex groped for Michael’s head, stole the cowboy hat from his head and put
“Okay, love,” Michael said, the easy term of endearment slipping out as easily as his name would’ve, and Alex’s stomach took a short dive, “Open your eyes.”
Alex complied. His eyes adjusted for a second, and then he didn’t understand what he was seeing for another. “Is this…my mom’s shed?”
“It is.”
Alex’s jaw dropped. His mother’s art shed, usually locked up tight because his father hated the reminder that someone left him and got away with it, was flush with the light of about a dozen candles. The art supplies were all neatly stacked in a corner, and Michael had used the newly acquired floor space for a lot of blankets, pillows and a small picnic basket. “Michael, I…oh my God.”
“I know your dad is away for the weekend, and today is exactly six months to the day we first kissed so I wanted to…celebrate,” Michael said, his cheeks tinging red and his fingers fidgeting with Alex’s fingers nervously. Alex could only stare. “Is it…too much?”
Alex snapped out of it immediately, Michael’s insecurity pulling him back to reality. “God, no! Michael, it’s perfect!” He grabbed Michael by the neck and pulled him in for a kiss that turned passionate quite quickly. “Thank you,” Alex whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Michael began walking Alex backwards slowly, shedding his own coat first and then Alex’s, discarding them on the floor. They were forgotten immediately. Their lips met in a soft kiss. Alex wound his fingers in Michael’s hair, his favourite place to keep his hands while they were making out, and pushed his entire body against Michael’s, not content with even a tiny bit of space between them. With only slight pressure, Michael managed to bring Alex down on top of the blankets and pillows, straddling his hips as they continued to kiss frantically. Alex felt Michael’s growing erection against his thigh and broke the kiss to look at him.
“You wanna do this?” he asked softly.
Michael’s eyes darkened. “Only if you want to.”
Alex groaned as Michael’s hips twitched slightly, providing a friction that was so heavenly it should be illegal. “God, yes, Michael.”
“Really?”
Alex’s eyes opened in a flash, frowning at the genuine surprise on Michael’s face. “If you don’t come down here and kiss me, Guerin, I will start without you.” To prove his point, he drifted a hand down to his waistband, fingering the button of his slacks. Michael’s hands stopped him.
“Eager, are we?” Michael asked, leaning down and pressing light kisses to Alex’s face.
Alex bucked up his hips and they both groaned. “You have no idea.”
Michael caught Alex’s lips hungrily and they got lost in each other, shedding pieces of clothes as they went. Soon they were naked, and Alex became very aware of this. His breathing stuttered as Michael sat upright and Alex got a good look at the entirety of him for the first time.
And oh God, was he a specimen.
Alex’s breathing hitched as he ran his eyes from Michael’s face down to the hard planes of his chest and the slight rounding of his stomach. Michael had some scares, it was true, but it did nothing to take away from his beauty. Michael watched him drink him in with a slight smirk that Alex recognized as a mask to hide his fears. Alex reached out and ran his hands slowly, appreciatively over Michael’s chest, moving to his arms, and finally lacing their fingers together. Their eyes found each other again and they smiled, both slightly nervous. “Hi,” Alex breathed.
“Hi,” Michael returned, leaning down and pressing another kiss to his lips.
“You’re so beautiful,” Alex muttered.
Michael flushed. “Shut up.”
“‘And you’re beautiful, too, Alex’,” Alex said, poking Michael’s side, causing the latter to laugh, breaking some of the tension.
“Confident, are we?”
“Any reason I shouldn’t be?” Alex was teasing, they both knew it. They both had self-esteem issues to keep Freud busy for several years, but neither were in any mood to address them at this point. They were happy, for once, and too wrapped up into each other. It didn’t matter, for once. Nothing else mattered.
“Kiss me, Michael,” Alex said, after they’d stared at each other for a while, breaths falling in sync and their bodies humming from the proximity. Michael didn’t hesitate. He captured Alex’s lips in a kiss so ferocious it took Alex’s breath away completely. Michael rolled his hips, and Alex let out a moan quite unlike any sound he’d ever made before. He had no time to feel embarrassed, for it only spurred Michael on. Within a few minutes, both of them were panting and groaning, straining against the urge to completely lose it. Breaking the kiss, Michael raised his head just enough to be able to look into Alex’s eyes, and then his hand slowly ran from Alex’s chest down to where their bodies met. Without breaking eye contact, Michael wrapped his hand around Alex’s cock. Alex’s eyes widened and he gasped, one hand flying to grab hold of Michael’s neck. Michael kept his eyes on Alex’s face as he began to move his hand, slowly stroking, coaxing little noises from Alex’s throat, enjoying the way Alex responded to even his softest touch.
Alex, meanwhile, had lost all coherent thought. His entire focus had narrowed to Michael, the way his hand moved, the way those beautiful eyes stared at him, completely open and vulnerable, a positively hungry glint in them.
Somewhere in his abdomen, a pressure started to build. “M-Michael,” Alex whined, his hands looking frantically for purchase, which they eventually found in Michael’s hair. He pulled Michael down and captured his lips in a kiss. Michael’s movements never ceased, and within a minute, Alex was gasping, his head thrown back, his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth open in a silent scream.
“That’s it, Alex,” Michael whispered softly, looking at Alex with nothing but pure adoration on his face. “Let go. I got you.”
Alex came unlike he’d ever experience before. His entire body flooded with heat, from the crown of his head to the tips of toes, and his muscles seized up for a moment and then slackened entirely. He was gasping for breath the next moment, his heart thundering in his chest. “Oh…oh my God,” he finally managed to croak out. His eyes snapped to Michael, who was resting his chin on Alex’s chest, staring at Alex’s face as if he was trying to memorize every small detail. “Oh my God, Michael.”
“That good, huh?”
“That was amazing,” Alex panted, lifting a heavy arm to brush Michael’s curls from his forehead. Then he pulled him up, capturing Michael’s lips in a searing kiss. “God, Michael…”
Michael hummed against Alex’s lips.
It took another few minutes for Alex to regain a bit of his strength, but when he finally did, he immediately noticed Michael’s…predicament. Sitting up suddenly and startling Michael, he grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him on his back. “My turn,” Alex said with a smirk, and Michael’s eyes fluttered closed as Alex began to press heated, open-mouthed kisses to Michael’s chest, working his way down to where Michael needed him most.
“A-Alex,” Michael groaned, sounding like it cost him something to speak. “You d-don’t ha-have to!” he blurted out.
Alex looked up, locking eyes with Michael to make sure the latter understood him clearly. “What if I want to?”
Michael groaned, his head falling back against the pillows. “Then, for the love of God, keep going.”
Alex smirked and set to work.
It was awkward in the beginning. Alex almost gave up entirely, after he nearly bit Michael’s most sensitive area twice, but Michael was patient and caring and coached Alex between gasps and moans until Alex finally found a rhythm that worked for both of them. And suddenly it was Michael gasping and choking out Alex’s name, and a heady feeling washed over Alex; a feeling of power and control. He was doing this to Michael. He was making Michael feel good and stammer out attempts at his name and it felt amazing to have that kind of control over someone, to have that kind of trust that Michael only rarely gave out to other people.
“Oh God, Alex, don’t stop!” Michael cried out, as if Alex was planning to. “Alex, I – I’m gonna – ”
Alex released Michael with a pop and replaced his mouth with his hand, working him over like Michael had done to him, and within thirty seconds, Michael came with a yell and a groan. Alex worked through the orgasm, slowing his movements until Michael’s breathing slowed down a little. Alex crawled up, feeling spent and sated as if he himself had just experience another orgasm. He dropped next to Michael on the blankets, using Michael’s chest as a pillow.
“Wow,” Michael said breathlessly.
“My sentiments exactly,” Alex whispered, running a single finger over Michael’s chest. Slowly, his heartrate was returning to normal, the adrenaline leaving his system, and suddenly he was shivering. Michael immediately reached out and pulled one of the blankets over them. They cuddled together, the warmth of the candles and their shared body heat washing over them, making them drowsy and sleepy. “What about the picnic?” Alex suddenly remembered.
“Later,” Michael murmured. They both fell asleep, blissfully unaware that later would be too late.
They were just getting dressed, intend on having that picnic after their much-needed nap. They were giggly, still a bit in a daze, happy even.
They should’ve known it wouldn’t last. Nothing good ever did.
Suddenly, the door to the shed flew open. Alex’s heart stopped. His father was standing in the doorway, an absolutely murderous look on his face. On instinct, Alex took half a step back, then moved in front of Michael.
As if he could protect him.
He was trembling like a leaf, already feeling the anger building in his father.
Jesse Manes was looking at the two of them, then entered the shed and closed the door. Fear coursed through his veins, but he remained still. Michael was behind him, and the last thing Alex wanted was for Michael to get hurt. “Dad,” he began, his heart in his throat as he saw his father making his way to the toolbox. Next thing, Jesse Manes held a hammer in his hand. No, oh god no. Alex panicked. His breathing became shallow and he brought his fingers to his lips. Behind him, Michael was frozen.
“How dare you?” Jesse Manes said quietly, menacingly. “Under my roof.”
“Dad, this has nothing to do with you!” Alex half-yelled, tears prickling in his eyes. In a flash, his father had him pinned by the throat against the wall. Michael let out a surprised yell, but Alex barely registered it. His breathing was being cut off and he was still very aware of the hammer in his father’s other hand.
“Everything you do!” his father yelled, “Everything! And I will not be humiliated…!”
From the corner of his eyes, Alex saw a flash of movement. “Don’t touch him!” Michael screamed, lunging forward.
Everything went very fast and yet terribly slowly. With a single, military trained movement, Jesse Manes grabbed Michael’s untrained fist as it came at his face. Alex fell to the ground gasping. He looked up. His father threw Michael towards the drawing table, grabbed the hand that had tried to hit him and brought the hammer down.
“NO!!” Alex screamed, his stomach coiling as he heard Michael scream in utter agony.
And then it was over.
His father was gone, Michael was clutching his ruined hand, and the dream they’d been living in for six months had shattered.
They’d never recover from that single, fateful night.
Present day, 22nd of October, 1935
Memories were a bitch, Alex decided.
After his terrible fight with Michael, he’d retreated to his cabin and had allowed himself exactly 10 minutes to give in, break down, feel every terrible, painful feeling he’d been suppressing for three days, and then forced himself to get back to work.
It’d been closer to 30 minutes, because every time he would force himself to calm down, the memories would come flooding back. The sound of a hammer finding its target; agonized screaming; the cruel twists of his father’s lips. It took him 30 minutes to finally get a grip on it.
Alex felt like he’d been run over by a truck.
And he had to go and find even more pain. Because Michael still didn’t have a solid alibi.
He found Michael in the dining carriage, sitting on a table, studying his left hand with a look of pain and grief on his face. Alex watched him flex the stiff fingers, winced when Michael did, and felt his heart ache. Michael got his hand maimed because of him. To protect him. It wasn’t fair.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said.
Michael’s head snapped up. “Jesus Christ. What does a guy need to do to get you to take the fucking hint, Manes?”
Every syllable was dripping with anger and disgust and Alex felt each of them stab his heart. “I’m sorry for everything. All of it. Your hand. My father. This mess. Dragging you into my life. I’m so sorry. You deserved better.” His eyes were brimming with tears again and he closed them angrily to push them back.
When he looked back up, Michael’s face had softened a fraction. “What makes you think you dragged me into anything?”
Alex shook his head. “I knew what my father was. Knew he would never approve. Knew what he was capable of. And I put you in his orbit anyway. It’s my fault. All my fault.”
“Hey,” Michael said, jumping down form the table and moving towards Alex. His eyes were still cold and angry, but his voice was now carrying some warmth and softness in it. “You didn’t drag me into anything. I walked into it, eyes wide open. I knew what your father was from the day we met, remember? I didn’t care. You were worth it.”
Alex doesn’t fail to notice the obvious use of past tense, but it still makes him feel a little better. “Does it still hurt?”
Michael looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers again. “It seizes up sometimes.” He sighed. “I haven’t been able to play guitar since that night.”
Alex closed his eyes, a single tear escaping. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
Michael sighed, “Yeah, I know.” The two of them stood in silence for a while, before Michael took a deep breath and sat back down on the table. “What did you come here for, Alex?”
“You know what,” Alex said, his voice flat. It was no use pretending. They both knew. The evidence was stacked against Michael. This was the second time Alex was coming to Michael, practically begging for a good explanation. They both knew there would not be a third time.
Michael hung his head. “Yeah, I know. You want to hear me say it. But I don’t know how to say it that’ll make you believe me.”
“Try,” Alex said, his tone pleading.
“I didn’t do,” he waved his hand at the general vicinity of his chest, indicating the way Noah Bracken had been murdered, “that. Alex, you have to believe me.”
“I want to so bad,” Alex whispered, shutting his eyes. Somehow, hearing Michael say it, didn’t help at all. “I want to believe that you didn’t do this so bad. Because I know you – or knew you, and you are – were – not a murderer. Yet something in my brain is telling me that something’s off and I can’t…I don’t know what it is!”
“I was placing a call to Jack at 3am,” Michael blurted out.
“Who the fuck is Jack?” Alex asked, too tired for niceties, too raw from sheer pain, too ready to hear the words ‘partner’ fall from Michael’s lips.
Michael snorted, as if he knew what Alex was thinking. “Jack’s the conductor of the that’s set to relieve me in Paris. He’ll be the lucky bastard making this entire trip the other way around. We’re supposed to check in at every stop, to let the other conductors know we’re on schedule.” He glanced at the windows, where the rocky walls of the Simplon pass were still shooting past. “I guess they know we’ll be a bit late.”
Despite himself, Alex let out a laugh. But it was hollow, and it faded away just as quickly. “I’m sure you’re telling the truth, Guerin, but…”
“But it’s not good enough. Because we can’t prove it until you can speak to Jack.” Michael nodded, as if he understood, but his mouth was set in a bitter line. “I get it, Alex. I’ll just…stay in my cabin until we get to Paris. Or something.”
Without saying anything further, he left the dining carriage. Alex heard the door to Michael’s cabin slam closed. “God fucking damnit,” Alex cursed, slamming his fist against the wall, which accomplished very little, except that he now had aching knuckles to boot. He stood, frozen, for a while, trying to set his mind right. It did not have any effect.
Suddenly, Alex shivered. A cold gust of wind blew past him, rustling his clothes and sending shivers down his spine. He turned, saw a window open and went to close it, still shivering. As he was about to pull it shut, he froze.
His mind finally seemed to unlock, the thing that had been nagging at him for two days finally burst to the surface. The window was closed when they went to bed. The train stopped in Vinkovci around 3. Body temperature suggest that’s when the murder happened as well. However, the window was open when we entered the cabin in the morning.
The window had been open.
Cold temperatures affects body temperature, Alex knew this from his many collaborations with coroners over the years. If a body was found in the snow, the amount of time it spent there was crucial to estimating the time of death. One hour of exposure could drop the body temperature as much as one degree, which can really screw up the time frame of a murder.
The time of death is off.
Alex suddenly remembered the scream he heard in the night. The person he saw moving into Miss Beth’s cabin.
Half past 5.
This not only changed the timeframe itself, but also the possible murderers. They’d been moving at half past 5. Unless the murderer had waited around for two hours before murdering Mr Bracken and then jumped off a moving train – they didn’t stop until well after 8 that morning – that meant the murderer was definitely still on this train.
If the murder actually happened at half past five…if the murderer opened a window to trick Kyle into miscalculating the time of death…
But Alex stopped, his thoughts screeching to a halt.
No one else could’ve possibly known what cold weather does to a dead body. Only Kyle Vale had the training and the knowledge.
Kyle Vale killed Noah Bracken.
Just as Alex reached that new, terrible (but admittedly, also liberating) conclusion, he heard Miss Beth shout in the hall outside. Apparently, her wound has reopened. Alex nearly dismissed it, but then she said the two words that made everything click into place:
“…can you come help me, dr Valenti?”
13 notes
·
View notes
Untold Tales of Spider-Man 03: Celebrity – by Christopher Golden and Jose R. Nieto
Well this story sucked.
Peter Parker is hanging out at the Daily Bugle flirting with Betty Brant when J. Jonah Jameson orders him to head to Angelique's, a Fifth Avenue French restaurant where Johnny Storm is escorting starlet Heather Fox "to an early dinner...before her big premiere tonight." The Bugle is doing an article comparing "the heroic Torch to the criminal insect" Spider-Man. Jonah promises Pete two-thirds of his usual rate because "these paparazzi things are a breeze." (An amusing comment considering what's going on in ASM these days.)Peter positions himself on the sidewalk at the restaurant and is nearly trampled by the professional paparazzi when Johnny and Heather show up. He wonders how Johnny ended up so famous while Spider-Man ended up so infamous.Johnny and Heather aren't the only ones dining at Angelique's. William Baker is there with his date Candace. The menu prices are almost more than he can afford but it's worth it to him to impress Candace. He met her when he was casing the jewelry store at which she works but had to wait until he was out on parole to ask her out since he is the Sandman and had been captured by Spider-Man. But Candace doesn't know any of that and, spotting the Torch, she moons and sighs over him so much that William's jealousy gets the better of him. He attacks the Torch, trying to prove to his date who the real man is. Soon, Spider-Man joins the fight. The Sandman thinks this is great. It gives him more opportunity to prove himself to Candace. He doesn't know that she is mortified, that she is experiencing her worst date ever. She ends up side-by-side with Heather who is "looking bored and exasperated." The women talk. Candace fawns over the Torch only to learn that Heather thinks Johnny is a boring kid, that she'd rather go out with a different member of the Fantastic Four ("I mean, a girl has to be curious," she says) and that she thinks the Sandman is a "sandy hunk".In the fight, Spidey lets the comments of the crowd get to him ("Ya can't expect real heroes like the Torch to keep bailing you out!"), which translates into him letting the Sandman wallop Johnny from behind. Sandy realizes he has ruined his date. When he sees the rest of the Fantastic Four arrive, he skips out. Spidey hears the crowd cheer and thinks they are cheering for him until he sees the Fantasticar with Reed, Sue, and Ben in it. The recovering Torch angrily tells Spidey, "You need to relax, buddy." Spidey, unrepentant, tells Johnny to get back to his date. "I'm sure she's really impressed by your feats of derring-do," he says. "Not particularly," says Heather who has approached the two super-heroes. As the paparazzi snap photos of Johnny and Heather, she tells him that she is ditching him to go have café au lait with her new friend Candace. She only joined the heroes because she wanted to ask Spider-Man "if there was any way he could put me in touch with that Sandman guy." Hearing this, Johnny's face turns bright red ("For once, the change in color wasn't brought on by fire.") and, seeing that, Spidey swings away whistling a happy tune.
I really hope we didn’t peak with the second story in this anthology. This story is by far the weakest of the three I’ve looked at thus far and bears more similarities to the first story than the second.
This was another Marvel Team Up issue except one weirdly more focused upon the Sandman than the Human Torch. We get things from Peter’s, Sandman’s and Sandman girlfriend’s point of view in that order.
The majority of the story consists of a super powered brawl in a fancy restaurant. Were this a comic book it’d be good enough for maybe a backup story or at a push a filler issue. Here it’s downright unacceptable.
Prose is (aside from maybe radio) is the weakest possible medium to do action set pieces in. Whilst the likes of Horowitz or Fleming can pull it off it’s notoriously difficult and especially so when you have characters designed for a visual medium in the first place. Spider-Man action set pieces typically involve a lot of punching, kicking, dodging, etc. in prose that just isn’t that interesting to read about. You just find yourself lamenting that you can’t see what is happening. Although a part from a neat trick where Torch burns Sandman the action we get is bog standard.
Sandman attacks the Torch, the Torch retaliates backed up by Spidey, they go back and forth, Spidey uses the fact that he is made of sand against him, he escapes. That is the sum total of the action here and it constitutes half the goddam story if not more.
Like the first story, this one isn’t much as a Spider-Man tale because it doesn’t really get personal at all and it doesn’t involve the two halves of his life really impacting upon one another. The closest we get is that Peter’s day job positions him to be at the scene of Sandman’s attack. Frustratingly the story doesn’t start like that as we actually visit the Bugle and get what might be our third exposition dump about Peter’s status quo in the whole book. Here at least we see Betty Brant and the story seemed like it was going to touch on her and Peter’s relationship somehow but it’s pure filler.
Spidey is also weirdly out of character here. It’s like if they took the jerkass Spidey from ASM #8’s backup story and used him as the basis for this story. He’s not quite as bad but he kind of enjoys Human Torch’s rejection, is seriously jealous and frustrated by the public’s lack of appreciation. Him being upset that the public hate him is one thing, but here he’s almost back to being AF #15 Spidey.
The story also makes little sense in regards to the Sandman. First of all there is a mind boggling line about how when he isn’t in his sandform he’s literally flesh and blood. Nooooooooooo he really isn’t. As Spider-Man 3 wonderfully demonstrated, he’s always sand 100% of the time. He can make himself look and like a human’s senses, but even if he looks human you can’t knock him out as though he was a normal guy. And Spidey doesn’t even do that when he gets the chance because he alerts him like a moron.
The plot is also dumb because Sandman, a repeat felon who is also now super empowered was released on parole…for good behavior. Not only is it unbelievable for Sandman to act that way at all, but why the fuck would the prison allow him to leave given his record and more importantly his super powers?!
Just about the only good thing about this story was the brief insight into Sandman’s mind where we learn how he’s grown resentful of normal life’s rules given his power and the brief scenes of his and Torch’s dates chatting. But the latter is purely because it was something vaguely different that broke up the dullness of the fight scene.
The experience was made all the more unpleasant by DeSantos ear grating performance for this story. His Sandman isn’t too bad but everyone else sounded subpar at best and unbearable at worst (chiefly the female characters).
All in all this story was rather pathetic and skippable.
P.S. This story’s placement within Spidey canon is vague but it seems to broadly happen towards the end of Peter’s high school career. It is clearly influenced by ASM #21 even if it’s placement in relation to that issue is not clear at all.
7 notes
·
View notes
In Review: "Oklahoma!"
The first time I saw Oklahoma! live was at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada (in 2006?). I remember turning to my parents and saying:
“That was fantastic, and they really didn’t stray away from the dark part of the show. I don’t think I ever need to see this show again!”
All of this to say that, when the recent St. Ann’s Warehouse production of Oklahoma! first caused a stir at the Warehouse and then again in its move to Circle In The Square, I did not feel the need nor desire to run to see it. I had seen it onstage twice, plus the two filmed versions, and how different could it really be?
So I waited…until last weekend. The second-to-last performance. (How’s that for procrastination?!)
So, was it all that different?
Well, no. But yes? And also really no.
Don’t Throw Bouquets at Me
Most of what I’ve heard people say about this production were things like:
“It’s so dark!"“
“It’s really different!”
“They did some cool, but strange things with it.”
“They took it in a completely new direction.”
“I’ll never see Oklahoma! the same way again!”
“You have to see it. You would appreciate it.”
Some of this I agree with, but some of it I very much do not.
Let’s tackle the idea that this production of Oklahoma! was particularly (thematically) dark: Yes, but no darker than any production of this show really should be.
It seems to me that either - with the number of people whose minds were blown by the production’s darkness - many people had not ever seen Oklahoma! onstage, or just were not aware of the content of the show. But let us not forget - early musical theatre was all dark. It’s written into the DNA of the genre: There is disturbing content (usually intentional, sometimes not) between and underneath all the glitz, glamor, and show tunes.
Examples:
Show Boat - Racism, Prejudice, Abandonment
Carousel - Domestic Abuse, Murder
South Pacific - Racism, Tokenism, War
The King And I - Racism, Colonialism
The Sound Of Music - …I mean, it’s set against the backdrop of Nazism…
And these are just Rodgers/Hart and Rodgers/Hammerstein musicals! Once you start including Lerner & Lowe, Comden & Green, and Kander & Ebb you get more murder, classicism, racism, misogyny, mob mentality, white supremacy, white saviorism, colonialism, capitalism, and so much more.
Now, to be fair, many writers included these themes specifically to subvert them - it’s a large part of why the piece was written (whether or not they accomplished their goal). But it’s undeniable that dark themes have been part of the tradition of musical theatre since its very inception.
Which brings us back to Oklahoma!
This production did not specifically add in dark elements to the story - they already existed. These themes include:
Murder
Rape
Toxic Masculine Behavior
White Male Entitlement
White Privilege
Racism
Misogyny
Mob Mentality
Intentional Othering
Community Crime Cover-Up
Excessive/Irresponsible Gun Usage
White Expansionism/”Manifest Destiny”
Violence or Threatened Violence Used to end Disagreement
And more
What I think this production did brilliantly was something that was ultimately a simple idea, but probably very technically difficult to thread throughout the entire production: They stripped the show of it shiny, musical theatre veneer and let the subtext become the text.
It was very effective.
Don’t Laugh at My Jokes Too Much
What I loved the most about it’s blatant stripping of the musical-theatre-genre-crutch was how often in the show the characters were all just sitting down in chairs spread across the stage, speaking in matter-of-fact tones.
Musical theatre so often relies on stage business, larger-than-life personalities, big voices, over-the-top movements, music, and choreography to provide the “entertainment” side of the evening, all the while hoping that the underlying messages of the show don’t then become lost on the audience.
Oklahoma! took no chances here. When the darkness of the scenes’ text, subtext, or situations were paramount, they stripped all of those other elements away, leaving you to sit with exactly what was being presented to you.
This worked so well that, during intermission and as I was leaving the theatre, I heard people saying things like:
“Is that how it’s always done?”
“Wait, what did they change?”
“There’s no way that’s the actual text.”
But it is! This production just made sure you did not forget it.
Now, that’s not to say that the production didn’t lean into the lighter moments of the show and bring out the comedy, dance, and fun - it totally did. BUT, often the laughter was tentative.
Why?
Much of the humor in Oklahoma! is based upon racist and misogynistic assumptions and, amongst the rest of the stripped down show, you could not laugh your way around that. This was awesome to behold across the audience. (Disclaimer: Not all of the humor is in this vain, and these performers were truly funny.)
The stripping down idea was so pervasive in the show that - at 2 separate moments - there were scenes in complete darkness.
And a couple other times the only light was coming from the live, projected images of the onstage camera capturing the hauntingly intimate moments.
Your senses were heightened, and there was no escaping the show’s text. It was very well done.
Don’t Sigh and Gaze at Me
The sound design was brilliant.
I’m not sure I can stress enough how fantastic the sound design for this show was.
The sporadic and intentional use of handheld mics, live stand mic/monitor setups, wireless mics, no mics, sudden live gunfire, and traveling sound across a circle of rumbling speakers was effective, intelligent, and well-executed.
Additionally, the orchestration was great. I hadn’t been a fan any time I had heard the show performed on award shows or morning shows, but when played live - in the room as intended - the balance was excellent and it added a grounded modernity to the show.
The lighting often confused me.
Some of the choices were beautiful and made a lot of sense: The light for the Act 2 opening dance sequence, the use of the party string lights, having full house lights on for the top of the show, and the pure darkness scene choices.
But then other choices seemed very random and without meaning or intention. Though, perhaps these choices were simply lost on me.
For instance, I was never sure what the intent was behind the full-stage washes of lime green and burnt orange. They seemed to be randomly placed throughout the show. I was also not a fan of taking the entire theatre from pure darkness to full stage and house lights in ~30 fade-ins. This might be due to my light sensitivity though.
The set was purely appropriate and quite effective.
I loved the pervasive wooden look of the entire show. The use of the chairs and tables was excellent. And adorning the walls with rifles was a great touch - not letting you forget what this show is really about.
All in all, the production elements really helped deliver the vision of this production, and often enhanced it far beyond my expectations.
People Will Say We’re In Love
It’s entirely possible that you may gather from this review that I loved the show.
Well, I enjoyed it and I’m glad I saw it.
It was not the mind-blowing experience for me that it seemed to be for many - though this is probably because of that Stratford production I saw in high school that clued me in to the realities of musical theatre’s pervasive dark side.
But I did think it was excellently done and well worth seeing! I appreciate what this production did, and I’m sure I’ll never see an Oklahoma! quite like that ever again.
Only one more comment about the production itself:
Yes, Curly is not a good guy. In fact, no one in this show can be considered a “good guy” - they all have tremendous flaws that negate their more endearing, sympathetic, or empathetic qualities, and can leave you feeling both empty and disgusted.
The choice to change the wedding fight at the end was, in my opinion, not necessarily more effective than having Judd go after Curly openly. It accomplished the same ideas - Judd still threatens by coming to the wedding and bringing a gun, and Curly and Laurey both still want him dead, and everyone is still relieved to have had the excuse to be rid of him. Yay mob justice.
So the change still got the job done. But I remain unconvinced that it was oh-so-different or more effective.
Anywho!
If you missed this one, I would highly suggest (even if just for research) making a trip to TOFT at some point to give it a gander.
OK?
9 notes
·
View notes
can you write a steve x stark!reader when carol brings tony back to earth and y/n is with her father, steve is worried as fuck and then when tony and steve have that scene where tony argues with him y/n starts crying bc she's done with all of it
A week had passed since the snap. Since the extinction of half of all life. The extinction of everyone’s happiness. The fight was lost and there was nothing left to do. The avengers sulked around the compound, nothing left to lose anymore. Most had given up hope of your father, Tony Stark, returning. But not you.
You and your mother, Pepper Potts, would never - could never give up on the thought of Tony returning. The others wallowed in their self-pity and loathing whilst the two of you waited in hope and anxiousness that he would return.
One night, you sat by your window reading a book; lately, you had desperately searched for ways to take your mind off the horrors that had taken place a week before. Nothing could truly make you forget or even feel much better but you kept on looking for distractions. For an escape.
The words on the page before you were simply a blur. You merely glanced at them, not breathing them in with a full heart and soul as you did before. You doubted that feeling would ever return.
As your eyes slowly dragged over the blurry letters, you began to hear a low, distance sound. At first, you thought nothing of it and suggested to yourself that it was, what was left of, your imagination. However, to your surprise the sound became louder until a bright light formed in the corner of your eye.
Turning your head towards the light, a miraculous spectacle arose before your eyes. The light shone painfully through your dazed features as your eyes adjusted to the figure of a spaceship flying towards the compound.
Throwing the unforgotten book across the room, you scrambled from your position against the window and flung your bedroom door open; your feet carried your once exhausted and drained body through the halls, down to where the ship was landing. When entering the room next to the exit, you noticed Pepper was already there.
“Mom,” you called, a mix of hope and relief in your voice.
Pepper turned around, clutching her hand to her chest. “It’s him. I know it is,” she responded, tears visible in her eyes.
Moments later, Steve burst into the room; his entrance almost made you as anxious as the spaceship. The realisation dawned on you: Tony didn’t know about you and Steve. The two of you had grown much closer since the snap took place - you had always been close but his fight with your dad had created some distance in your relationship. You had never been together with Steve but you both certainly felt a strong connection.
“What the hell is that?” Steve asked, pushing past you to open the outside door. After him, all the avengers rushed out to witness the continents of the spaceship. You flung to Pepper as the two of you jogged over to the landing ship.
As it hit the ground, the doors slowly opened and a frail, small man stumbled out. Steve began to ran faster, catching the man on his feet. At the sight of him, you stopped in your tracks, tears pooling in your eyes. However, Pepper carried on ahead, running faster.
You couldn’t believe the sight of your dad, he looked so weak and exhausted. A crushing pain shot through your chest, pressing down on your ribs as you continued to walk towards him.
“D-dad,” you cried. Tony turned to you, a sad smile covering his lips as he grabbed your shoulders and brought you in for a tight embrace. He felt skinnier but heavier; he leaned his body weight on you as though he wasn’t able to support himself. Pepper noticed this and held him up as you all walked back to the compound.
Tony was provided with adequate medical care he so desperately needed and a wheelchair in case he grew weaker. Now, the avengers stood around a table. Discussing the dreaded events of the previous week. You hoped against all hope that Steve and Tony wouldn’t bring up the accords but, of course, everything went back to them.
“Tony I’m gonna need you to focus,” Steve wished for a possible chance of a second chance with defeating Thanos and Tony was his only hope.
“And I needed you, as in, past tense. That trumps what you need. It’s too late, buddy,” Tony guilt-tripped Steve, from his wheelchair. “Do you know what I need?” Tony swiped some objects off the table and stood up, swaying slightly. “I need a shave.”
“Tony-” Rhodey cautioned as Tony began to rip off his medical tubes.
“I remember telling you that what we needed was a suit of armour around the world, remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not - that’s what we needed!”
“Well that didn’t work out, did it?” Steve replied, calmly, hurt visible in his blue eyes.
“I said we’d lose and you said ‘we’ll do that together too’ but guess what, Cap? We lost. And you weren’t there.” You saw the hurt in Steve’s eyes, the everlasting guilt.
“Dad, it’s not Steve’s-”
“Ah! Don’t interrupt me, Y/N. The adults are talking,” Tony patronised you. He always saw you as a child. He continued with his speech whilst Rhodey tried to get him to sit down. However, Tony wouldn’t comply and the situation was getting out of hand.
He walked over to the tall blond. As Tony stood by Steve, barely able to support his own body weight, attempting to stand as tall as he could. Seeing your dad like this made your heart shatter. He was your idol, you hated seeing him broken like this.
“I got nothing for you, Cap! No clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust, liar,” he whispered the last part. His incessant behaviour hit you hard, you always hated seeing the two men fight but this was too much. They had closely avoided death and still were arguing. Silent tears ran down your cheeks as you attempted to brush them away; you didn’t want anyone to see you like this - you felt you had to be strong.
“Here take this,” Tony tore his arc reactor from his chest as placed it in Steve’s hand, “you find him, you put that on, you hide.”
Suddenly, Tony fell to the floor. Finally unable to support himself. You rushed over to up, unable to hold your tears back now. Rhodey helped you carry Tony to a bed and Pepper stayed by his side.
Walking out of the room, you were met by a sorrowful Steve. He was utterly guilt-ridden with the pain he caused Tony and felt responsible for the depressed expression that appeared on your face.
“Y/N,” he breathed, choosing his words carefully. “Y/N, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I hope you can forgive me and I hope I haven’t caused Tony too much pain. I didn’t realise that the accords would have torn us all apart and that without them we could have defeated Thanos. I’m extremely sorry, I truly am,” his glossing eyes stared into your own. Your heart beat ferociously inside your chest, heartbroken that he’d ever think that.
“Steve, you have nothing to apologise for. It wasn’t your fault, you know. My dad is just sleep deprived and emotional right now. He understands you’re not to blame but he, deep down, he blames himself. Don’t beat yourself up about this,” you smiled, reaching up on your tip-toes to give him a hug around his shoulders. He, slowly, placed his arms around your lower back, squeezing you lightly but securely.
“Thank you, Y/N. You’re the only thing I have left,” he mumbled into your ear.
Your stomach flooded with butterflies, appreciative of his words but also devastated for him that he had lost so much. You leaned back, your face inches from his.
“Oh, Steve, I’m so sorry,” you whispered. “But, you don’t have to worry. You’ll never lose me.” Next, you took the heart-leaping risk and leaned further into him. You captured your lips with his, lightly at first. It took a moment for Steve to response, the pure shock of your action had him frozen. Then, he kissed you back, harder than you had. You shared a long, tender kiss - the most beautiful kiss you’d ever experienced.
Leaning back from your lips, Steve brushed some hair from your face and placed his forehead on yours. “You’ll never lose me either, Y/N.”
Tag list: @xmarveled
A/N: hey guys :)) I’m back! And I’m gonna start posting my fics under the hashtag #niv’s mind so if you wanna find my fics that won’t be on my master list (since it’s getting kinda crowded) it’ll be on that!
98 notes
·
View notes
“The Road to Rock n’ Roll - Guitars”
Date: March 14, 2019
© Scott Fraser Photography
Dedicated to Rod Coulter. The first guitarist in my life.
In 1971 legendary guitar player and song writer Alvin Lee wrote the song “I’d Love to Change the World”. I was born in 1970, so it’s before my time. But I did grow up listening to it, thanks to three amazing uncles. In 1994, the Sunset Strip based band, L.A. Guns released a cover of it on their album Vicious Circles. With all respect to Alvin Lee, I prefer Tracii Guns’ version of the song. It’s got an edge to it. It touches my soul. Tracii’s chops, his notes, pure, clean, defined, at times ethereal, and delivered with a punch - I can’t help myself, but smile. I end up air guitaring to it every time. In my head I see his fingers on the fretboard, and his other hand as he strums and picks. I see the body of the guitar, the pick-ups, the dials. In my head while I am listening, Tracii is playing live on stage, and I am front-row right in front of him, soaking up with every sense, the moment.
But let’s back up a bit.
1975 was a seminal year for me. It was the year I decided I wanted to play drums, and it was the year I took an active interest in photography. I was five at the time. Thanks to the music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and a couple of photographers named Linda McCartney and L.A. based photographer Greg Papazian.
Uncle Art was cool enough to allow this little kid, hang out with him and his friends. CHOM FM would play in the background while Art and his friends would flip through rock magazines. Here I was this five year old kid hanging out with a bunch of fifteen to twenty year olds, while they chilled, played cards and listening to music. I loved it, it was my sanctuary. I would sit quietly out of the way, and just listen as they talked about the music playing, and the photographs in the magazines. They would discuss for hours on end the merit of this song, or that song. Who played it better? The meaning of the lyrics, how “deep” a note went, the crunch of the electric guitar. How cool so and so looked in that shot. And they would ask me what I thought, including me in the conversations. They were teens in the mid seventies in Montreal, had long hair, and cool clothes. Leather jackets and denim, like their heroes in the bands they listened to. That bedroom in that little house on the east end of Montreal is where my rock n’ roll journey began.
In the fall of 1975 I would buy my first albums at a local record store. I knew I wanted a Beach Boy album, and I had enough money saved up to buy a second album. I had hoped that Art would come along to advise me as to what to buy because I wanted something that wasn’t my mom and dad’s music. I wanted something like the music I heard on the FM station and like what Art and his friends listened to. I ended up purchasing a K-Tel album with a bunch of different bands playing songs on it. I figured it was the best way to own new music.The first song I fell i love with on that record was “Smoking’ In The Boys Room” by Brownsville Station. I had hoped when I bought the album that I would have new songs to play my drums along to. But it was the guitar playing that caught my attention. The twang, the rhythm and the way it sounded. Yeah, I loved the drums in it as well, but it really did catch my attention because of the guitar. It’s a balls out blues tune done rock n’ roll.
The music photography of the early seventies until the late1980’s would show case some of the best photography ever done. Before the internet and modern social media, bands and musicians used photographs in magazines to define their image and look. The record labels had long ago realized you could sell more records if your band was being showcased in a music magazine. It was also the era of the fanzine as independent writers, journalists and photographers documented the local scene. It was the era as a teen that you hung posters of the bands you loved on your bedroom walls. And many went a step further, like myself, cutting photos out of magazines to pin to on our walls. Punk and Metal came of age, and Generation X grew into teens and young adults. Raised on the photographs, posters and the FM waves we grew into young adults as we searched for our own identities. Static images had been our visual medium of consumption, that is until video came along and killed a radio star.
As a teenager I got five dollars a week allowance, so it would take me three weeks of saving to buy a new album which was anywhere from ten to fifteen dollars. Birthday, christmas or any gift money went towards music. In a month I could save and buy one album and one to two rock magazines. Babysitting and odd jobs were a means to an end. It was an era where a lot of the time that meant I bought an album without hearing more than one song on it. Other times you bought because you had liked the artwork, or photos on the album cover. Or maybe your friends had talked about it, or you had read about it in Circus or Hit Parader magazine.
My friends and I would make agreements as to who bought what album so that we could get together and share them. I’d buy Metallica, Rod would buy Ozzy Osbourne, Jay would buy Def Leppard. My friends and I would trade albums with one another so that each of us, could get a chance to hear new music. You went out and bought the albums for yourself so that you could look at the photos, the artwork, and the credits and if you were lucky, the lyrics while listening to the album play. You went to concerts and bought T-shirts, posters, back patches and tour books and when you got home from the concert, you’d share it all with your friends the following day.
Back to the guitar…
I’m a Randy Rhoads guy. Yes, I appreciate what Jimi Hendrix did. But I prefer the sound, the tones and the classical influence of Randy’s playing. Randy was a metal/hard-rock/classical guitarist. Those iconic photos of him with his Les Paul and Jackson V are forever burned into my memory. That first time I heard Crazy Train by Ozzy off of the Blizzard of Ozz album, I was blown away. In that moment I knew I would never ever play that good, and I was okay with that. I didn’t have to. I knew right then and there, I wanted to either play in bands and with people who could play like that, or somehow be part of the scene. Maybe I would be a roadie, maybe a guitar tech, maybe a lighting guy. I didn’t care what I did, as long as I was part of it. Over the years I played in bands, worked as a lighting tech, help promote shows and gigs, created gig posters, designed album covers and T-shirts, and have done roadie more than I care to admit.
To this day I can’t play guitar to save my life. That is on me. I have owned some beautiful guitars over the years including a 1986 USA made Kramer, but I never put the time and effort in to really learn. There was always something else I wanted to do, and I liked singing, so I would work on vocals. I did however fill my life with guitar players. Starting with Rod Coulter who had been a childhood friend and it has continued to players like Benny Kemp who plays in a rising speed metal band Roadrash. They are my friends, they are people I call Brother and Sister, they are my Rock n’ Roll Family. They have been my mentors and others have been my protege. We’re a family and I am so grateful for that.
At fourty-eight years of age, I still love my music loud. I love my punk more than ever, and am still listening to my metal. I still air guitar along to the songs I love. If I know the words odds are I am going to be singing along. I still think of putting a band together form time to time and recording album, maybe one day I will. These days though, I am happy to be the Photographer. I love photographing musicians and their instruments. I am an editorial music photographer. I’m there to document the moment and in the process make the musicians look good. I am shooting first and foremost for the musicians. I am also an artist, so i want to have something that means something to myself as well as the musician in question.
At this stage in my life my photographs have been published in music magazines, used as album covers, album art work, promo posters and T-shirts. I’d like to think I have my own style, and I thank my mentors for taking the time to teach me how to do what I now do so well. Thank you Mike, Scott, Greg and Frank - my shots wouldn’t be what they are without your tutelage.
Guitars the photographic series, is my tribute to the instruments first created by Leo Fender and Les Paul all those years ago. It’s about the players and the instruments that define rock music. The photographs within the series is for the musicians who play the notes. It may just be “a piece of wood, with six metal strings” but in the hands of a musician who knows how to play, it is tool of magic. It’s my attempt as an artist to create a visual representation of the moment, the energy, the sound being played. To capture in colour and monochrome, the feel of it all, at that moment the music is playing. The use of noise and grain to match the distortion and saturation of the Marshall amps. It is my humble attempt as an artist to say Thank You.
You can look at the photographs without music playing, but it’s better if you have the song turned up.
Playlist:
L.A. Guns - I’d Love to Change The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSog8WmD6uQ
Brownsville Station - Smoking’ In The Boys Room
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K59EMGgrUA
Kiss - Detroit Rock City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZq3i94mSsQ
Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy1V5LHXWbg
Ozzy Osbourne - Mr. Crowley (live 1981)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3LvhdFEOqs
April Wine - Don’t Push Me Around
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWiU8rkA_yU
Alvin Lee - Detroit Diesel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXedZ_EsI_4
Savage - Handful of Rain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7EeM2AK1gA
Toccata - Carpimus Noctem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOANxP5ZvuY
Megadeth - Tornado of Souls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcm9qqo_qB0
Joe Satriani - Always With Me, Always With You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI57QHL6ge0
Social Distortion - Prison Bound (live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIWHlIhvt3Y
1 note
·
View note
FIC RANT TIME BECAUSE GUESS WHO DEDCIED TO READ 20K+ WORDS INSTEAD OF SLEEPING OR WRITING OR STUDYING??? me ;)
Hey so I read a fanfic and I couldn’t fit everything I needed to say in an ask, so here’s the fic reaction post that tends to occur after I read the most amazing of fics.
As per usually, this is NOT A SPOILER FREE POST.
(In two ways ahahahahah Because Stephanie Brown is mentioned and I can’t be excited over and review a fic without including spoilers)
Now back to the actual point...
“EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING” by @grxysxns IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IN THE WORLD
IT IS FIVE CHAPTERS, 21376 WORDS, OF PURE GOLD AND ANGST AND DICK GRAYSON (who I love so so so much)
Okay but seriously? It was beautiful from beginning to end and slowly this will be a more coherent post as I calm down, but as of starting this I kind of just finished reading the entire thing at 2:30AM.
Can I just say Birdflash is my favorite and I absolutely love Dick Grayson? Especially stories that really portray the “oldest sibling” side of him in a way that isn’t perfect.
This story does that.
first off, the concept of the AU is a fantastic one and it’s... It’s really interesting? Because Bruce Wayne/Batman is an extreme person who is prepared for everything and anything. There’s a reason he has his contingency plans and knows the weaknesses of the people he’s meant to trust, the people he works and fights alongside. This AU really kicks it up a notch but in such a Bruce way? Like only Bruce Wayne would be like “I LOVE YOU KIDS so you’re not allowed to tell anyone who you are”
I mean, that’s a really simplistic view of it, but the idea of keeping your loved ones safe through not the best of plans, is such a Bruce Wayne move that this AU hardly feels absurd or something so... out of the box. It’s also really creative though and I think it’s a fantastic idea. I will cherish this AU for the rest of life i s2g.
REMINDER: SPOILER ALERT!!!! (go read the fic and come back)
Now onto the Batfam.
@grxysxns Your writing of the characters were amazing??????? I LOVE YOUR CHARACTERIZATION OF DICK GRAYSON AND I WILL SCREAM IT FROM THE ROOF TOPS!!!!!! The way you write Tim is superb. I also do like how you wrote the rest of the batfam (even though there wasn’t everyone necessarily, the idea of family was there). Sure, like other fanfic writers, there was some glossing over of the tensions between Jason and the rest of them and maybe some of the other members BUT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE STORY IT WORKS SO WELL AND I CANT REALLY COMPLAIN
Dick takes on so much and he does this thing where he acts strong for the people he loves and the people he wants to protect. The way you wrote that was stunning. I love the balance of you showcasing how much Dick was doing and how much Dick was screwing up. I like the contrast between the things superhero working out with things falling apart with Wally and then sort of a switch later on. I love when writers capture the good and the bad that comes with Dick Grayson trying to take the world on his shoulders for the sake of his family (specifically his younger siblings). I also love how vulnerable and just broken he seemed, which I know sounds bad, but I love me some Angst™️ yknow? This story has a perfect balance of that and happy endings that are too happy, but just right. A nice ending that feels like a happy batfam yknow?
To be honest, I could go on forever about your characterization of Dick Grayson. !!!!!!! Your showcasing of his infamous anger was not missed and I love it! You included his flaws but showed him being great too and that’s !!!!! The best
As for Tim, holy shit, I love the way your wrote Tim, especially his transition out of Robin. Like, it’s not from Tim’s point of view but I LOVE COMMUNICATION AND DICK SITTING DOWN TO HELP TIM WITH THE MESS OF TIM NO LONGER BEING ROBIN AND DICK REALLY MAKING SURE TIM KNOWS THAT DICK ISNT REPLACING HIM AND THAT TIM IS SO SO SPECIAL AND SO SO LOVED!!!! Also their brotherly interactions about Kon were just ... so beautiful *cries*
Damian was great too??? I like the balance of “from the league of assassins” and “still a kid” that was there. I appreciate that moment where Damian’s just so unsure and Dick’s like “over my dead body” because I just love dick!bats and dami!robin?????? I mean Dick!Bats alone isn’t a favorite of mine, but Dick and Damian have this dynamic that I really like and I think you captured their relationship quite amazingly. (I’m sorry I lack a large vocabulary so my adjectives might repeat)
Then with Cass and the signing... It’s not huge but I love it so much.
Also the hints of Babs and Steph, I love them, but the way you wrote their lack of presence was powerful, too, because I think the distance portrayed really fits how they’d handle everything and despite anything to the contrary, I feel like Dick really does understand his siblings enough to know which ones need the daily check ups and which ones need the prolonged space, until they’re ready. (Tim and Cass vs Steph and Jason) And both are good and fine and did I mention I LOVE YOU AND THE WAY YOU WROTE THE BATFAM????
Plus the whole Dick watching everyone move on while he’s busy living the life of his dead father, was a really intriguing contrast that I found unique and interesting. I like the depth of Dick’s distain for being Batman extending beyond the fact that it’s the opposite of everything he tried as Nightwing. It’s also tying to something he knows he needs to move on from and I just love how you wrote it.
And Jason? My god the ending part was great. I liked the interaction and I like the way Jason shooting those guys was handled, because to some degree, I do believe that between Dick and Bruce there are difference in their beliefs in the whole “don’t kill” code. I think it’s be in character, especially for a stressed and tired and hurt, Dick Grayson to overlook it a bit for the sake of family and just cos it’s not the most pressing issue. Idk Bruce might, but Dick Grayson screams family and I love his interaction with Jason
And now to the bIRDFLASH!!!!!!!! Let me tell you, this will FOREVER be my favorite Birdflash fanfic. Okay so like there’s always a chance you’ll write something more amazing, but this is, by far, one of the greatest fanfics I have ever read. It’s beautifully constructed, well planned, has great emotions, and a nice balance of “IMMA MAKE YOU CRY” and “HERE LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF”
Okay anyways, Birdflash.
WALLY WEST, MY BABY, BEING SO KIND AND SOFT AND UNDERSTANDING (generally speaking) WAS BEAUTIFUL!
CONSENT! IS! IMPORTANT! and even if Dick wasn’t necessarily deterred by those kinds of things and more for the sake of keeping up the lie, I really appreciate how much Wally listened and just had basic! human! decency! It was beautiful and soft and just ... so breathtaking
I love soft birdflash yknow?
AND THEN THE ANGST! The whole Dick “learning” Wally’s the Flash and the guilt from Dick and the later misunderstandings and the eventual truth telling... It was excellently crafted in my opinion. It’s a cliché to have the whole superhero and “oh no are they cheating?!” but you wrote it so amazingly and then Wally calling Dick the next day with understanding and apology was refreshing and really sweet.
WALLY REASSURING DICK HE LOVES HIM AND YET ASKING FOR SPACE IS ALSO THE BEST!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HOW YOU WROTE THIS SCENE SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH BECAUSE ITS SO SWEET BUT SO REAL AND GENUINE! It’s realistic to have Wally express love and care but also need space, while Dick gets why Wally needs space but kind of wishes Wally could stay. It’s a lovely balance and I’m so in love with your writing.
Finally, the ending. Which basically is great because I love Robins (and any batkid really) not taking Bruce’s shit. Like him telling Clark and Diana I understand, but then forcing Dick and the rest of them to stick to the gag-order... Not his best move. Yet, like the kids, you can understand part of where he came from... And I like that. I also love how you wrote the scene like...
Bruce: WTF?
Kon: 0.0
Wally: 0.0
Tim: uh...
Dick: *comes running in, but like more hobbling* hI YES I DID IT NOW FIGHT ME BROOSE
Damian: *running in after* You cannot be fighting, Grayson!
So a little off, but main idea: Big Brother Dick Grayson, Protective Damian, Cute TimKon, and Wally “What’s happening?” West.
Overall, what I am trying to say is that this story was a phenomenal read and by far one of my favorites across all fandoms and ships. It stands out as one of the best that I’ve read, in terms of characterization of Dick Grayson and his relationships with the other batfam members. The writing of Dick and Wally’s relationship was stunning and this is definitely one of those fanfics I’ll always find myself coming back to read.
You’re an amazing author and I hope to read more of your writing! This piece had me in awe from start to end and I just... Just Thank you? For writing something so amazing and interesting and balanced.
Seriously, “Every Fiber of My Being” is wonderful, so well written, and a really special type of AU that leaves you with a little sense of “What do you mean this isn’t canon?”
“Every Fiber of My Being” by @grxysxns is a fantastic Birdflash/Batfam AU, that really hits all your Dick Grayson feels with a loving handful of soft and caring Birdflash. GO AND READ IT!!! AND THEN EXPRESS YOUR LOVE TO THE AUTHOR!!!
Also this is intended both as a reaction, a love letter to the author, and a rec for people who haven’t read it, and I apologize for how confusing this might’ve been. But wow, there were hardly enough words to explain the way I feel about this particular fanfic.
9 notes
·
View notes
Firstly, I’d like to say thank you, @srgnts, for giving me a very thoughtful reply and for giving my post a chance, I appreciate it. I hear what you’re saying here, and I understand where you’re coming from. If it’s alright, I’d like to add a little more info and a little more context, especially since the post in question is around a year old now and is missing both those things. It might help, it might not, but I’d like to make sure you have all the information at your disposal. This got long, so I’ve sectioned it off- I hope that’s ok. It might make it easier, I'm not sure.
NOTE TO MY FOLLOWERS: Please do not add your own reply to this. Please. You can reach me via chat if you want to talk about it.
Some Admissions:
To begin, I admit that the tone of the post, standing alone like that, is far from the best it could have and perhaps should have been. It was also written late at night, which you might recall being mentioned right at the beginning, and I was a bit exhausted with little filter left after a frankly awful day at work. But it is one of a series of short posts that were made as I was combing through the “Before the Awakening” novel looking for information- there are many of them about Rey and Poe as well. I’ve got a pretty good collection of TFA-related books going for this very purpose- I like knowing as much as I can as I try to form theories and work on material.
Finn and Kylo are actually stellar mirror images of each other:
This post was also made during a stretch of time where the ‘good guy’ characters were being a bit coddled in the fandom, and as I’m personally someone who believes everybody’s got some sort of skeleton in their closet (frankly it’s more interesting when they do), especially when the villains were being so blindly thrashed, I really latched on to the thought that I had finally found Finn’s- Rey’s previously being that she’s killed many times before and that the area around her home was rigged with fatal booby traps (source: Rey’s Survival Guide). But when I found Finn’s, my mind went into over-drive- why was this his main sin? Did he always do it? (according to ‘Before the Awakening’, he did not- and I also made a post about that the next day) So why did he feel compelled now? As some time has passed, I’ve begun to realize that Kylo and Finn are actually mirror opposites of each other both in path AND in characterization. Parents vs. no parents. Didn’t choose the order vs. chose the order, brainwashed (Finn) vs. Stockholm Syndrome (Ben), chose to leave vs. chose to stay, chose not to kill vs. chose to kill, chose to lie vs. chose not to lie, wants to go WITH Rey vs. wants Rey to go with THEM. Literally in every respect, mirror opposites. Thus why the emphasis on how the only real positive thing Kylo has going for him is that he’s openly honest with Rey- it becomes another opposing piece of the Kylo-Finn puzzle. But at the time I’d made that post, I hadn’t quite figured that out yet. What you see there is me skirting along the edges of this realization before I had it. I hope that makes sense.
On the topic of Kylo’s interactions with Rey:
I’d also like to share some information from the TFA novel as it has deleted scenes that didn’t make it to the film. Pablo Hidalgo, canon keeper for the new trilogy, has said that the books count as canon unless disproven by future films, so I’m going with that assumption. To begin, I will have to insist that two people battling on opposite sides of a war who are in no discernible relationship whatsoever cannot possibly be abuse. I really do have to insist on that. It was made clear in the TFA novel that Kylo had no intention of hurting Rey during the interrogation- he explicitly says, “Despite what you may believe, it gives me no pleasure. I will go as easily as possible- but I will take what I need.” (source: TFA novel, p. 199). His line about “You know I can take whatever I want” is, according to the film script, the second half of an unspoken conversation, essentially, that the audience never hears. To quote:
“KYLO REN: ...You. A scavenger--
Rey reacts -- afraid -- how does he know?
KYLO REN (CON’T): You know I can take whatever I want. (TFA oscars submission script, p. 79)”
He’s referencing her thoughts, which he’s casually reading, but the Audience isn’t aware of this. It’s actually a really brilliant storytelling ploy that I’ve come to love a lot. I use it in lots of places now.
Second is that Kylo actually argued *against* the destruction of the Hosnian system. He argued against it so insistently that Snoke yelled at and threatened him and this is where Snoke accuses him of having compassion for Rey, and if Rey had essentially become his ‘weakness’, then he needed to bring the girl to him. (Source: TFA Novelization, p.207-208) Snoke attempted to blackmail Kylo for his compassion. This is why he refuses to be on Starkiller when the weapon is used- it’s his admittedly weak rebellion against what happens.
Thirdly, I have to protest the new over-use of the word ‘Nazi’ on the basis that my grandmother survived 5 years under Nazi, REAL Nazi, occupation and I take a firm stance against her experiences being belittled by seeing that word applied to fiction. The First Order is reprehensible, but they do not, as of this moment, have goals of genocide, and worlds under their control such as Jakku are clearly left to be free societies because the FO only seems concerned with how big their territory is, not with running it. We have no knowledge of whether or not they seize all possessions of everyone on every planet they capture, like the nazis did to my grandmother and her entire island. We have no knowledge whether or not they subject every single person under their rule to a strict and paltry rations regimen. If we go by Jakku, and that’s really all we have to go by, Extreme Capitalism runs free and laissez-faire governance is the order of the day- that is the exact opposite of nazism. So please, as someone who grew up constantly hearing stories about the Occupation, please refrain from tossing that word around so much. I was at the AAAS meeting last weekend which is a massive gathering of scientists, and one very old scientist from Vienna recounted the day the nazis took over his schoolyard and regimented them all, how the planes flew over (my grandmother’s experience as well- she was forced to learn german for a time), etc. and he has also said that the current state of affairs in the US is nothing like those times- a court in Washington state would never have been able to stop an order from Hitler in the 1930s. He says we are far from that reality at the moment and should also refrain from constantly making that comparison, and as much as I’m personally afraid of nuclear war breaking out, I have to agree- what’s going on today and back then are two separate situations.
Analyzing characters from TFA vs. trying to contextualize them against the real world:
I understand what you’re saying about the perception you’re picking up on. The world is in a shameful state, and as someone who has the rather terrible task of combing through US news for a living, I understand this so intimately that I have nightmares about what goes on. This is why sometimes my posts come out with a bit more edge than is meant from time to time, but how could anyone know that? It’s no one’s job to know that. And again, I do understand that my tone wasn’t the best in that post- I’ve been working over the past year since it was made to try and correct that. Tone has admittedly always been my biggest enemy online.
You feel that Kylo is excused because of his actor’s skin color, and that Finn gets nit-picked because of his actor’s skin color. I hear you, and I admit that I cannot weigh in on that. I’m simply not equipped with the experiences you have had in order to do so. All I can do is share with you why I’ve spent so much time analyzing Kylo/Ben and Rey in depth, and I will try to do so without getting too personal. Essentially, I grew up in a situation not dissimilar to Kylo’s current state in the story. Imagine a close family member in the place of Snoke and there you have it. I mostly managed to escape. Mostly. But the damage has been done and recently they have begun to actively stalk me again. I spent a lot of last fall calling the police and filling out reports. But I’m still damaged goods. Kids used to fight me in school but I always bent the rules so not only did I win but I only ever got sort-of in trouble once. I have on very, very rare occasions been in terrible rages that luckily either no one was around or I still had enough sense of self to leave. I’ve survived murder attempts. I had to twist my future around just to keep a roof over my head in high school and I’m only now, so, so late, starting to get things back on track. Nothing will ever be what it should have been- all because of that one person from the moment I was born. So I see a lot of myself in Kylo. I can understand his perspective better than the rest of the characters and this makes him not only enjoyable for me to write in fics but also analyze from a literary perspective. I’m interested in seeing Ben succeed because it means if he can do it- space maniac that he is- then maybe I can, too. This is why I find him fascinating. This is also why I’d like to see him get some self-fulfillment along with Rey, who is also a different kind of damaged goods with her own dark streak, but that’s admittedly a purely selfish hope on my part.
So somewhere in the middle of all of these things, all of these points above times about ten or so, my mind was nowhere near current events. It was nowhere near current events at all. In fact, everything I do here is my one tiny corner to try and get away from current events, at least for a moment or two, while my main blog is filled with more news headlines, unreported crimes, and rally information. I realize the tiny escape is a luxury that many don’t have.
I want you to know, though, that I understand your perspective, and I hope, somehow, in this now way, way too long post that I’ve been able to more clearly describe my own. There was never any intention for a racist perception to come across in my post, and I hope that’s something at least a little more clear now. I’d also like to take this opportunity to say that I, for the confusion, apologize. For my part, I’ll continue to be much more mindful of tone, but will also take your words to heart and consider wider perspectives outside of the immediate story as well when constructing posts. Honestly, I’d like to write more about Finn on a whole assortment of topics, but we get so crucified for even liking him that many of us in this corner of the fandom are too nervous to. I feel like there would be much more Finn content if not for things like that.
This post has gotten too long- I’m sorry. But thank you again for taking the time out to write, and I hope you maybe read at least a little of this. Please let me know if I’ve missed anything. I feel like this is such a big topic that I probably have in trying to connect all the dots. Please also feel free to start a chat with me if you like- you are very much welcome to.
18 notes
·
View notes
Top 20 Heavy Metal Albums of 2017
While it has been a tragic year in many respects (natural disasters, mass shootings, data breaches, a political hellscape, etc.), there has been more good music unleashed on the world than ever. I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to narrow down just the stuff I have had a chance to listen to to a top 20 list and finally gave up. So, this year, I am splitting my list in two: one of metal releases and one of everything else.
I’ll start with the metal releases. Several of these are new(er) bands I have discovered through Bandcamp and Youtube, but the majority are long-time favorites. Countries represented this year: USA (x7), Germany (x4), Sweden (x2), Japan (x2), Finland, Norway, Italy, Chile, and the U.K.
Without further ado, here are my top 20 fave metal records (and tapes) of 2017…
20. EVIL - Rites of Evil
Bands that can successfully mix old-school black metal with thrash and/or speed metal always get my attention and Evil from Japan do it pretty damn well. Elements of early (like, REALLY early) Sodom are combined with Hellhammer to great effect, with lots of cool change-ups and a very raw production style.
19. JACK STARR’S BURNING STARR - Stand Your Ground
From his early work with Virgin Steele and amazing solo album with Rhett Forrester (RIP) back in 1984, Jack Starr has had a long and varied career. I was expecting Stand Your Ground to be good, just based on the last record, but damn it is some really top-notch US power metal. Only a few bands are doing this kind of material justice and it’s great to see one of the scene’s legends still out there and at the top of their game.
18. JAG PANZER - The Deviant Chord
It’s been, what, six years since the last Jag Panzer record? Damn good to have them back though and worth the wait. The band’s brand of US power metal is still intact, with a good mix of the faster, heavier stuff and more expansive, melodic songs. It’s not the band’s best album, sure, but it is still a strong return after a long break.
17. RAM - Rod
Ram really knocked it out of the park with their previous album so Rod was bound to be a bit of a disappointment. Still, there are many great songs here and even the six-part conceptual piece that makes up half of the album works remarkably well. Classic heavy metal is alive and well.
16. SATYRICON - Deep Calleth Upon Deep
This one almost didn’t make my list because, frankly, I forgot it came out until I started looking back over the year. Which isn’t to say it isn’t memorable, only that I never got a copy of it to really give it a proper listen. Glad that I finally did, though, because it is a huge return to form after the rather disappointing eponymous release of 2013. The smoldering menace of Now, Diabolical is back in all its glory, with the drums possessing a particularly wonderful, organic thump.
15. MIDNIGHT - Sweet Death and Ecstasy
When it comes to filthy, punky black metal that worships at the altar of Venom, it is hard to beat Midnight. Having said that, No Mercy For Mayhem (2014) was a bit of a let-down after the still-brilliant Satanic Royalty (2011). Sweet Death and Ecstasy is right in between the two, with a couple of slower, more experimental cuts and fairly memorable songs in general.
14. WALPYRGUS - Walpyrgus Nights
Despite a logo and album art that looks more like black or doom metal, this band from Raleigh play a very potent brand of melodic metal with clean vocals and lots of guitar harmonies. Closest comparison I can think of is Immortal Soul-era Riot. Very catchy vocal lines, killer riffs, and strong songwriting all around make this one of the year’s most underrated albums.
13. ACCEPT - The Rise of Chaos
Accept pulled off a miracle by reforming without their iconic singer and then proceeding to release and tour 3 amazing albums in 5 years. While Stalingrad was the highpoint, Blind Rage was still a great album and The Rise of Chaos follows in similar fashion. It has a good mix of modern, heavier tracks like “No Regrets” and really classic-sounding cuts like “Analog Man.” One could argue that the band hasn’t progressed at all (and they would probably be the first to agree), but the release of another quality Accept record simply makes the world a better place.
12. KREATOR - Gods of Violence
Kreator are easy to take for granted, as they deliver an album every few years that is always solid, kick-ass thrash metal with killer production. There are a number of great thrash bands out there (new and old), but I think Kreator are probably the most proficient and dependable of the lot. Gods of Violence is definitely on par with Phantom Antichrist and delivers at least one instant concert classic with “Totalitarian Terror.”
11. MYRKUR - Mareridt
Multi-instrumentalist Amalie Bruun is really evolving her brand of melodic black metal with this record, her second full-length album. One thing I really appreciate about this one is that each song is very distinctive and incorporates many different instruments and vocal styles. The guest appearance by Chelsea Wolfe doesn’t hurt either. One of the few critical darlings that actually deserves the attention.
10. BOLIDO - Heavy Bombers
Chile is turning into a real hotbed for quality metal of all genres lately and Bolido is one of my favorite in the classic vein. They have a real talent for coming up with interesting riffs that are offbeat yet 100% metal. Just check out opening track “The Absolute Dominion of the Skies” and get hooked.
9. SATAN'S HALLOW - Satan's Hallow
The Midwest has been sourcing some great bands in recent years and Chicago’s Satan’s Hallow are right up there with the best of them. Their sound is very reminiscent of the NWOBHM, with plenty of catchy riffs, strong vocals and a healthy dose of speed now and then. More old-school metal for us aging headbangers!
8. ORDEN OGAN - Gunmen
While power metal as a whole has seen better days, certain bands are still out there delivering the goods and Germany’s Orden Ogan are one of my favorites. They manage to combine super-catchy melodies and huge choruses with fast and heavy riffage. Gunmen isn’t quite as good as 2015’s Ravenhead but it is damn close. Bonus: Liv Kristine guest vocal!
7. EMYN MUIL - Elenion Ancalima
Following in the footsteps of Summoning, Italy’s Emyn Muil create epic pieces with a Viking metal flair and lyrics and imagery straight from Middle Earth. Grim vocals are used as another instrument to add to the atmosphere and the songs remain engaging throughout, despite their long running times.
6. VENOM INC. - Ave
I’m not sure exactly what people were expecting from this release but I was actually quite pleased. It continues in the vein of the Prime Evil-era Venom (naturally) but with a bit more of the ferocity of the early years. It is great to see these guys out there playing the classics on stage but I was happy they were also able to deliver a high-quality release of new tunes, too.
5. OUTRAGE - Raging Out
Long one of my favorite thrash bands, Japan’s Outrage went through some interesting turns in the 90s (who didn’t), but they have really returned to form with the last couple releases and Raging Out is one of their best to date. Pure old-school thrash with modern production. Still has some of the Metallica influence from the early days but it’s much less obvious now.
4. MIDNIGHT RIDER - Manifestation
I remember getting this band’s first EP about a decade ago and loving their mix of early Priest and Sabbath but then never heard from them again. Until 2017, when this full album comes out of nowhere and not only lives up to the earlier work but exceeds it in every way. If you ever wish Priest had recorded more albums in the vein of Stained Class and Sad Wings of Destiny, this album is for you. The production and mix are perfect, too, coming across as 1978 with more clarity and impact.
3. VAMPIRE - With Primeval Force
When Vampire first hit the scene, I was skeptical due to the hype and anonymity of the members, plus the debut was kind of underwhelming. Fortunately, their sophomore effort is leaps and bounds better, taking their raw, old-school thrash sound to new levels. They mix speed and brutality with a surprising amount of melody and skilled musicianship and the results are a frenzy of headbanging goodness.
2. MAUSOLEUM GATE - Into a Dark Divinity
This Finnish outfit has been going for a few years now and never disappoints with their wonderfully eclectic mix of heavy metal, 70s hard rock, doom, and organ-heavy weirdness. Hints of Uriah Heep, BOC, Judas Priest, and Candlemass all shine through, but no description can really capture the band’s unique sound. Every track is epic in feel, even the shorter ones.
1. SANHEDRIN - A Funeral For The World
The cover and title scream ‘doom metal’ but Brooklyn trio Sanhedrin tend more toward the likes of classic Diamond Head or… I don’t even know what. They cover a lot of ground and, yes, even some doom territory with the title cut, but it’s never anything less than killer, memorable metal. Can’t wait to see what this band does in the future.
As I said earlier, narrowing this list down to just 20 was a major chore. Of the bands that were very serious contenders but just didn’t quite make it are the latest from: ALDIOUS, ALPHA TIGER, ARCH ENEMY, BATTLE RAIDER, CONDOR, CULT OF EIBON, DEMON EYE, THE FERRYMEN, GOD DETHRONED, ICE AGE, L.A. GUNS, LADY BEAST, LIMBONIC ART, LYZZARD, MALLEUS, NIGHT, NIGHT VIPER, OBITUARY, OVERKILL, PORTRAIT, SEVEN KINGDOMS, SHAKRA, SLAEGT, SORCERER, STALKER, STRIKER, TYFON'S DOOM, URN, VHÄLDEMAR, VINTERSORG, and VULTURE.
On top of that, there were many excellent demos, 7” singles, and EPs this year. My favorites came from BOMBER, COVEN, CRIME, CROWN OF COMMAND, CULT OF EIBON, DREADFUL FATE, FORGED IN BLACK, FREEWAYS, HAUNT, KROSSFYRE, LUCIFER'S HAMMER, MIDNIGHT PREY, ORNASSI PAZUZU, POUNDER, ROCK GODDESS, and SPEEDCLAW. Rock Goddess in particular was nice to see back in action and I hope they manage to release a full album next year because the EP was very promising (despite the less than sterling production).
As good as the year was, I think 2018 has the potential to be a stunner. New albums from the mighty JUDAS PRIEST and SAXON are on the way soon, not to mention MONSTER MAGNET, SUMMONING, WHITE WIZZARD, LOUDNESS, TRIBULATION, POSSESSED, RIOT V, and VOIVOD. Plus… IMMORTAL… maybe? Finally?? It was promised in 2017 so here’s hoping it will finally appear. And maybe a new HADES ALMIGHTY, too? Stranger things have happened…
0 notes