#parzival x art3mis

[toweroftickles]

❤️ Valentine's Day Morsels ❤️

(A Whole Month Late 😅)

These were all supposed to be done for the holiday itself, but obviously that didn't happen. The problem is that I care way too much about my writing and try too hard to make it actually good. That's not why anybody reads this crap. Anywho, I've been in an anomalously sappy, romantic mood lately and whipped up some sugary, snack-sized tickle drabbles involving a few of my all-time-favorite (canon) fictional couples. :) Hope these are sweet enough! Disclaimer: this is all obviously just meant to be cute, silly fun.

Link/Zelda (utilizing "Wilds" era)

Whenever Purah developed a revolutionary new piece of tech for the Hylian Royal Family, she of course needed a volunteer to test it out. At those times, Princess Zelda was always on-hand to make sure she had one. And it was usually Link.

The Sheikah techie was putting the finishing touches on a new observation platform propulsion system...she called it a "Skyview Tower." The Hero of Hyrule stood in the center of the device, bracing for the upcoming vertical rush. It was somewhat against his will that he was being held in place by six clinking, clanking Guardian arms. He felt like a prisoner in the teeth of a hungry beast as they hooked him to the machine, but Purah just clicked away happily on her control Pad.

“How ya doin, Link? You comfy?” she asked him. He nodded reluctantly. "Ok, I'm gonna launch you in 10...9..."

Suddenly, at the sight of Link ensnared in the repurposed robot arms, Zelda bounced up and down and excitedly tapped her compatriot on the shoulder. “Oh! Oh! Purah, wait!”

Everything paused. The princess knelt and whispered excitedly into the inventor’s ear.

What they were talking about, Link couldn’t decipher, but he saw that in the midst of Zelda’s sentence, Purah’s smile stretched bigger and bigger. After a breathy exchange, both ladies were giggling to themselves. Uh-oh. He recognized that energetic sparkle in Purah’s eye…that only happened when she knew her tests were going to have “funny” results.

Beep. Four of the Guardian arms remained holding Link's wrists and ankles still, but the other two raised up and took on new purpose. The octopoid metal tendrils zipped around his torso, snapping their claws like hungry snakes. Their laser sights booped to life and swam their little red eyes all over him...targeting certain areas...and once Purah pressed that button again, they dove right in for the attack.

The little pincer claws skittered and tap-danced under his arms, across his stomach, between his ribs. At first he panicked. Then he grinned. Squirming and struggling, Link began to laugh.

“HHHHeh…Heheh…Heh-Heh Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! Z-Zeld…Heh! Haha!”

"See, I told you he was ticklish," the princess chuckled.

"Oooo, and you were right! This is fun! Look at him dance!"

"Heh-Heh, Heh-Heh Ha...Haha-Heh! Nn-Heh!" Bolts of Gerudo lightning didn't make Link jump around this much. It wasn’t until Zelda sauntered over and tickled him herself that the machine finally wound down.

And just like that, being shot out of an untested military-grade cannon didn't seem so bad.

******

Parzival/Art3mis (Ready Player One)

Spring Center Fortress was always a fun place in the OASIS for testosterone-soaked one-v-one games. Each arena in the cubist coliseum was a giant trampoline, regardless of size or layout, and combat was fast and frantic when no one could stand still. Only true acrobats thrived in the chaos there. Entering one of the battle boxes, Parzival and Art3mis removed their shoes and jackets and stepped barefoot onto the bouncy black floor.

"Choose your weapon, sir." Arty's declaration of war was cheekier than usual. She smirked, already sure of her victory, and make a flashy show of unveiling a fully-2D Airbender staff. Rare gear.

Parzival eagerly cycled through the digital blue pockets of his inventory...lots of options to choose from. Neither he nor Arty were pulling admin privileges and just dropping rare junk into their accounts; this loot had to be earned like everyone else’s. Oh, there was a good one...

"Toymaker Energy Bo," he finally announced. The glowing green stick popped from hammerspace and into his hands, extending four frog-like fingers from its tip that snapped and pinched at their target.

Art3mis nodded. She looked impressed. "Spy Kids 3D. Nice."

At the sound of the buzzer, a blade of cartoony wind sliced through the room and nearly split Parzival's staff in two. Their weapons clacked together as the couple danced and dodged on the springy terrain...the fight was a wild flurry of flips, leg sweeps, slides and parries. Dodging a strike at her knees, Art3mis bounced into a full backwards aerial somersault, a mere hair's breadth away from the Game Over bo's snapping claws. Just as she landed and stumbled back, the very tips of metal fingers pulled at her body, grazing against four particular spots along her torso that they couldn't quite snare.

One, on the right side of her neck. One deep in the hollow of her left armpit. One just above her hipbone. And one smack in the center of her right side, under the ribcage.

“BAH!!” Art3mis nearly slipped on the undulating floor, swiveling on her heel and pointing her finger at Wade, and had to catch her balance against the back wall. Her staff zipped off on an air current and glided away across the stadium. Disarmed. In her most stern, commanding voice, the Goddess of the Hunt blurted “Hey! No. ...Z. No tickling."

"Hey, come on, it was an accident," Parzival laughed.

For a moment everything was still, both anticipating the other's next move. But he'd seen the flash of panic on her face...blood was in the water now. Her eyes darted to her glider. Slowly, Parzival raised his staff again. Its four-pronged hand spun around and wiggled in Arty's direction, closer and closer, and the sight made her jaw clench.

“...God, sometimes I love these Boot Suits.”

“Wade, no. N...HHHA-Ha Ha-Ha! …Ng-Heh! Nuh...nonono, God n-HNN!!"

Art3mis' arms contracted, trying to block the ravenous mechanical fingers, but that only pinned them even more snugly to where they could feast on her ticklish ribs. Her trembling knees buckled. Soon she was wrestled flat onto her back and rolling around atop the rubbery floor, her leg weakly kicking at the air. The Spy Kids staff no longer attacked her...it was Parzival's own fingers that she felt clawing beneath her loose crop-top, squeezing her belly until the cackles burst out of her. The two were bouncing and wrestling and laughing until the floor squeaked. Streaks of charcoal soot blackened her soles…the trampoline's worn surface had almost-literally painted a target on her bare feet, a target which Parzival didn't ignore for long. Arty was surprised by how hard she was cracking up...and, despite the soreness in her cheeks, by how much fun she was having.

“What, what’s the matter? Ya n00b. Stop laughing.”

"Ha-Ha Ha-Ha! Uncle! Uncl-hle!"

The dull fingernails that had been scribbling beneath her toes retreated. Arty was free again. Up and down, the trampoline reverberated to the rhythm of her diaphragm's spasmodic wobbles. Even after all this time, it was still an out-of-body experience, to catch one's raspy breath as a digital avatar...when she was worn out inside the OASIS, her real-world meat puppet followed suit. Slowly she and the trampoline both calmed. She sat up, folding her arms across bent knees, and her middle finger dabbed at her eyelash.

"Ha......Ahhhhhhh Ha Ha....Huheh...Okay, okay, you got me," she chuckled. Her toes clenched up against the rubbery ground. She tried to affect a serious expression, but that wide-eyed grin of hers just wouldn't dissolve. “But don’t do that again!”

"Eh, can't make any promises," Z taunted, helping her stand. For that, he received a playful punch in the shoulder.

Like most of the OASIS, there were no real rules in Spring Center Fortress. The important thing was how you won.

******

Aang/Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Waterbender training was going...as Sokka would put it...swimmingly. Aang and Katara stood ankle-deep in the waters of Chameleon Bay, practicing their stances. Liquid swirled around them, rising and falling like tides at their command.

"How's your octopus form?" Aang's teacher asked him.

Quickly, Aang struck the proper pose and focused. A stream of ocean foam snaked upward into the air and corkscrewed multiple arcs around his body. With a twist of his arm, the water coalesced into a near-solid tentacle, its rippling surface smoothed out, and he made it sway back and forth in a friendly wave. Katara giggled. She, meanwhile, was focused on maintaining six hovering spheres of water that orbited around a rock in front of her. Gesturing with her palm, she relaxed into a simple Single Whip posture, her right knee bent and arms outstretched, and the water balls merged into a lash. She was focused and precise...and totally oblivious to what her pupil was doing.

Guided by Aang's slow dance, a water tendril slithered across the bay and breached the surface. As soon as Katara wasn't looking, its tip rose up and wiggled against her tummy - right next to her belly button.

"Ah! Haha…Aang, stop it!" Laughing, she jumped in place and covered her ticklish spot with her hand. Instantly the Avatar’s octopus construct fizzled into droplets and splashed the flowing sea below. He stood there all sheepish and rubbed the back of his tattooed head, grinning like a buffoon.

"Heh...sorry. You were wide open." Aang couldn't escape his own mischievous nature. He was 12, after all.

There was a brief and fearful pang in his stomach...is Katara mad at me? But her smile was the brightest he'd seen on the waterbender's face all week. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he could've sworn she was starting to blush. Both benders just laughed shyly and turned to face the sandbank once more.

"Alright, let's keep going."

******

Gwen/Miles (Spider-Verse)

The multiversal headquarters of the Spiders didn't just have a lockup, a science lab, and a cafeteria (no bagels allowed). There was also quite a museum of trophies and mementos gathered from past battles, defeated villains, and fallen heroes from all across the cosmic web. It was like Batman's basement on the scale of the MoMA. And Gwen couldn't wait to show Miles all she'd learned there.

Clasping one another's hands they dashed through the halls, often pulling eagerly in opposite directions. Miles was a kid in a candy store, and every time his eyes lit up, it reminded Gwen of a thousand reasons why she liked him. After passing the wrecked granite namesake of one "Big Wheel 5000 BC," the two skidded to a stop, lured by an exhibit that stood out from the rest: a single hand, perched atop a pedestal.

An Infinity Gauntlet, this was not. It was a cheap canary opera glove, with long, fluffy white feathers glued to its digits in lieu of fingernails. The plastic plaque beneath declared in full voice to the pair:

“‘The Tickler?!’" Frog-mouthed in shock, Gwen doubled over, laughing wildly. “No. Freaking. Way."***

"Are you serious right now? Ha…Wow, they just get lamer…”

"Heheh-Heh! Ok, ok; you’ve gotta hear this: 'Crude homemade weapon retrieved from Whedon Winslow, Earth-57780.' Some name... 'Failed stand-up comedian who turned to larceny. Distracted victims and pursuant Spider Society with...'"

But Miles wasn’t paying attention to Gwen's narration. He was busy cracking his knuckles and reaching toward his distracted girlfriend from behind, trying to project confidence from a playful smile that was actually quite shy. He was gonna get her so good, he encouraged himself.

In the midst of Gwen's sentence, kneading fingertips hooked right into her sensitive, squishy waistline.

Her gasp was loud and shrill. The girl almost popped like a chocolatey toaster pastry, but a right forearm encircled her collarbone and held her firmly in place. Before she knew it, Gwen was immobilized in a tickle hug and fell straight into Miles' lap as the two collapsed to the floor.

"AH!! *gasp* Huhuh-Huhuh Heheh! *gasp* Ah Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha! St-HOP ihit! We're supposed to be quiet!!"

She screamed and elbowed Miles in the stomach, but he maintained his hold. Then she tried pulling on his wrists. No good. Gwen was the most squirmy, wiggly human being Miles had ever seen; champion swimmers didn't kick their legs as hard as she did. He might as well have been trying to hold onto a hagfish in an oil spill…even with sticky fingers, it was a challenge! But watching her smile and laugh like this was so worth it.

“Wait, hold up a minute!” Miles laughed as if Gwen would actually obey him (not that she had much choice). One THWIP! of spider-silk from his wrist, and The Tickler’s glove was yanked right off its perch and into his hand. Miles didn't put it on...all he needed to do was hold one of the fingers and wield the feather like a wand.

The quills prickled like thousands of tiny needles against the nape of Gwen's goosebumpy neck...right at the signal source from whence her Spider-Sense was screeching. Any measure of defiance left in her crumbled to dust. Both of her palms slapped over her face...anything to hide it from Miles. She could have fried an egg on her cheeks for how they sizzled.

“VVVVVVVFF-EEEE!!! *Yeek!* OmigodNO - N-no feath-hers, oh my GAWWD, no feahehther-her-hers…*SNORT* AHHHMilesstoppit!” she whined and cried. The feather stroked down across her collarbone, her shoulder blade, under her armpit...

It wasn't long before one of the nigh-innumerable Spider Society horde noticed the sound of embarrassed squeals echoing throughout the gallery and swooped in to investigate. But when this particular Peter Parker entered the hall, it was found vacant. Nothing but various museum exhibits, all undisturbed in their places. And so he left.

Miles, as it turns out, had been practicing a new technique. He wasn't the only person that he could turn invisible.

"Shhh!" he whispered. Gwen was absolutely trembling in his lap, even though the tickling had stopped - it took two hands to stifle her uncontrollable belly laughs. There, with his arms around her and feeling her heartbeat against his, a warmth washed over Miles. There were a million worries flapping around inside his brain...his future with the Spiders, his parents, and he & Gwen...was it right, how they felt about each other, what they were doing? But for a few quiet moments, where nobody could see them, none of that mattered.

He almost kissed the top of her head, but got too antsy.

Maybe next time.

******

*Note: Actual Spider-Man villain. Seriously. I did not make this up.

Victoria/Misto (Cats 2019)

The Egyptian Theater was warm and sleepy that evening. The old sun-shaped stage prop created the perfect napping spot for a young Jellicle, and the white cat lolled blissfully in its hollowed-out cradle. Her left leg dangled down off the side, pendulous and swaying like a metronome, right next to her boyfriend’s nearby head. Mr. Mistoffelees was kneeling there on the floorboards directly beneath, fumbling with a deck of cards.

Victoria peered over the side of her perch and smiled, unnoticed. Just laying beside her magician (well, a bit higher and to the right of him, anyway) carried her off in a cozy bubble of comfort. She just felt content around him. Her hands couldn’t reach to pet him…not from this angle…so instead, she held her slender leg out and, with her big toe, traced gentle crescents behind his ear.

His ear twitched. At first Misto instinctively ducked away from the impromptu scalp scratch, inquisitive chuckle aside ("Heh...what are you doing?"), but he soon came around to her affection and began to purr. His head rolled around across his shoulders, his back arched, and his ears flopped and wagged. Tori could tell the scritches were making him happy. Tufts of black fur shot up like grass between her marble toes, bristling the ball of her foot back and forth, until out of nowhere it made her shiver and pull away.

"Hmhm! Hmf..." she giggled sweetly through her nose. "Your fur tickles."

The tuxedo cat grinned and looked up at her. There was his opening. "Oh, it does?" he taunted. "It does?" With one quick yank, Victoria’s foot was down near his chest, and she was laughing and gripping the sunbeams with all her might. In her meek struggle for balance, that varnished wooden nest fought back with bumpy scrapes against her stomach and her thighs. Taking hold of his tail in his left hand, Misto started painting broad brushstrokes across Victoria’s foot with its fuzzy black tip, and she immediately began to fidget. “What about this?” Misto asked her.

"Heehee-Hih! *gasp* Hn-Hih! Th-hat's not fair, I'm stuck...Hee! It tihickles," the snow-white kitten’s jubilant squeaks bubbled up from inside her. Her ears flattened shyly. Why did this kind of thing happen to her so much? She didn’t hate being tickled, but lately it felt like she’d become something of a Jellicle magnet. If this kept up, she’d have to start wearing her ballet flats 24/7.

Almost as soon as it started, Misto let her go, and Victoria scurried her legs back up inside that little hovel, before turning around and facing him once more. She loved the chalky pink way his nose blushed, and that awkward, crooked smile of his, the one that popped up whenever he finally let himself be playful. He loved how her persimmon lips stood out against her face, and the way her head dropped timidly down to her shoulders when she giggled.

Soon the two were snuggling in each other's arms inside the heart of the sun, just waiting for the Jellicle Moon to rise again.

******

Vi/Caitlyn (Arcane)

The papery bandages around her forearms chafed against Vi's chin. Her elaborate clockwork tattoos peeked out through the rips on her sleeveless blue-hooded top. Pink-and-orange sunset streaked through the glass. She still wasn’t used to laying on a bed as big and comfy as Caitlyn’s.

"I haven't had a back rub in...probably forever," she mused, still a little apprehensive about this kind of intimate contact.

"It's really relaxing, I promise.”

Warm palms kneaded into the Trencher girl's scapula. Spindly fingers performed slow, smooth taffy-machine pulls on the muscles between her shoulders and neck. At first she resisted, but slowly surrendered to the touching and let herself sink deep into the soft mattress.

“Wow, your…you’re rock solid,” Caitlyn murmured, impressed. Under that jacket, Vi’s physique felt even buffer than it looked. And that intricate body art…Caitlyn was so busy admiring that she neglected to notice how her hands were moving faster, stroking in tandem with a nervous pulse.

Vi froze. Her fingers skittishly drummed against the bedsheet. Everything about Caitlyn's technique was wrong in precisely the right ways: the thumbs were rubbing a little too gently down her lats, the fingernails squeezing a smidge too firm between her ribs. It was clumsy, inelegant...ticklish. All it took was one especially-wrong nerve hit, and when she could no longer keep her mouth shut, Vi’s whole body shuddered.

“DAH, Huhuh-Heheh! Hey…watch it,” she laughed. "Careful back there."

“Sorry,” Cait replied, smirking. Her hands plunged back down.

Oh come on…not again. Vi felt like a grape in a wine press when twisting thumbs pushed down hard on her obliques. Her lumbars. Her hipbones. Every knot in her lower back. Her eyes widened, and all the air in her chest squeezed out from between her lips like a squished football deflating.

“Mmff…PFFFFTHnhn!” More wriggles. The bed whined from the kicking lower legs that thumped against it. Caitlyn was at a junction of befuddlement halfway between offense and joy, between pouting and grinning. Vi always had to make things difficult for her.

“I am trying to do something nice for you; could you just hold still?”

“GRRRR, stop tickling me!” Vi snapped.

No apology this time. Only a playful tsk, and then the massage resumed.

The fluttery rubbing sensation drilled down through Vi’s back until it scorched the inner wall of her stomach. Her frustrated, reddening facial features scrunched themselves tightly together, and she repeatedly slapped the nearby pillow with the ferocity of a grunge drummer. If her bared teeth had ground any harder together, her gums would’ve bled.

“NGK! Nooo-hoho; Hng-Hn! Gkkkk…Sss-sss-st-hop i-hih-hit…! Kkkkk!!” The redhead choked on desperate glass-shard sniggers that scraped against the roof of her mouth. She couldn’t stop her angry tough-girl giggling, and it drove her nuts.

"C-hut it ouuut, I'm gonna punch you!!!"

That one wasn't a threat; it was a genuine, heartfelt warning. Caitlyn couldn’t help but flash a buck-toothed grin...that was probably enough, for both their sakes. She drew back her hands and watched Vi's quivering shoulders slow down, listened to her breath steady itself.

"Ugh...What the hell, Cait?"

“Sorry, it wasn't on purpose. You’re just…I think it’s very…*ahem* …" Now it was the cop's turn to be flustered and rosy-cheeked. "...adorable. How frustrated you get when you’re feeling ticklish.”

She was expecting a tease, a playful slap, a snarky reprimand...some kind of retaliation...especially when she saw that smirk on Vi's mouth. But instead of payback, she got a pleasant surprise: Vi sat up, turned around, and shoved her lips into Caitlyn’s so hard and fast that the blue-haired Enforcer almost fell backward.

...Perhaps she'd have to try this again soon.

******

Kiki/Tombo (Kiki's Delivery Service)

“Hey, Kiki, I was wondering…can witches call their broomsticks to them like a magnet?” Tombo asked studiously, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He and Kiki were relaxing on Ursula’s front porch with glasses of fizzy lemonade, the sticky kind that makes your spit hurt when you drink it. It was a foggy spring morning and the crows were flapping in the damp emerald lawn.

“Hm…I don’t know; I’ve never tried,” she observed. Spying her broom across the clearing, rested against a tree stump, the young courier witch reached out her right hand, poked her tongue out, and concentrated. Unfortunately, Star Wars hadn't been invented yet, so it didn't occur to her to make an Empire Strikes Back reference.

At first her flying stick merely turned. It rocked in the crook of the tree’s roots, but nothing more. Maybe she wasn’t concentrating hard enough? But no sooner had the idea entered her mind than the crude vehicle hoisted itself horizontally, hovered a few feet off the grass, and charged. An invisible hand threw the broom at Kiki like a chucked javelin, and it was soaring straight for her face.

"Whoa! Look out!" Tombo immediately sprung into action, and his quick dive shoved Kiki out of the way just in time for him to take the blow. The broom's handle shot into one sleeve and out the other, dragging the junior aviator off the porch and tossing him headlong to the ground before it finally twitched its last.

“Oh my gosh, Tombo! Are you ok?!” Panicking, Kiki rushed to pull her friend up out of the grass. The broom handle was caught against his neck, parallel to the red-and-white stripes on his chest. He wobbled a bit when he stood...a few green stains on his knees...but was otherwise unscraped.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little crooked here," he reassured her, swinging his arms around like a weathervane.

“Oh, thank goodness...Heh...you know, you kind of look like a scarecrow that way."

She was right...he did...but the boy’s gangly T-pose did nothing to deter Ursula’s avian buddies. In fact, right on cue, several of them flocked to his outstretched forearms. One even pecked at his ear.

“Heh-Heh! Guess I’m not a very good one!” The two shared a chuckle, before Kiki helpfully flapped her arm and shooed the birds away. "Hey, thanks. Can you help me get this out? My arms are kinda stuck."

But Kiki wasn't interested in helping right away...his pose had given her other ideas. Before Tombo knew it, Kiki's fingers were strumming up and down his sides with gleeful abandon. She kept pinching his belly and in between his ribs and affectionately watched him wiggle.

"Heh! Heheh-Haha! Hey, cut it ou-howt! Heh! You know I'm ticklish!" Tombo's smile was wide and sunny and dorky as he jumped around in place. Kiki, meanwhile, was positively giddy. She only tickled for a few more seconds...any longer and she would've gotten much too embarrassed...before carefully extricating the misbehaving broom from Tombo's sleeves and throwing it out into the field. Crisis averted.

"Heehee-Hee! I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!"

The boy brushed his sandy hair back and grinned broadly as the two sat again. "Well, you know I can't just let you do that!"

Kiki glanced down. Slowly...making sure to stretch out each moment of tension to its unbearable limits...Tombo was reaching his hands towards her, performing a spidery midair dance with his fingers.

The teen witch was already in a fit of helpless giggles and starting to blush. “Hmhm! Oho no, please don’t do it…” But instead of fleeing or curling up like an armadillo, as Tombo expected, Kiki bent over and quickly slipped her shoes off…first left, then right…and then lifted her arms skyward. “Heehee! Oh my gohosh, no, please…please don't...”

Suddenly, an old door hinge groaned. Bare feet creaked on the cold grey porch step. When Kiki & Tombo turned to look at the source of the noise, there stood Ursula, grinning and tapping her fingers on a steaming blue coffee mug.

"Hey, what are you two doing out here?"

*******A Few Seconds Later*******

"AHHH, Ha-HAAAAA Haha! *gasp* Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha!" Kiki screamed.

"Heheh...Heh! Hng…Heheh-Haha Haha...Hng! Heh! Stop!" Tombo's turn.

Ursula was pinning both of her young friends down to the floorboards, aggressively wiggling her nimble fingers across their bellies and watching them squirm & kick in sync together. “Uh-ohhh; look out! I'm the world's most evil tummy tickler!” She laughed, they laughed; Ursula was clearly relishing her position.

That is, until Kiki and Tombo managed to grab the artist’s ankles amid their struggle, tripped her up, and tickled her feet with her own paintbrushes until she was completely out of breath from laughing.

Kiki often wound up in tickle fights with her friends back home. But she couldn't remember one that was this much fun.

******

Robin/Maid Marian (Robin Hood)

Cops and robbers, such as they were, didn't exist in 12th-century Britannia. So "Robin Hood vs. Prince John" was the game of choice for the rabbit brood. Skippy was playing Robin Hood, of course, which meant Sis & Tagalong were his cohorts. Maid Marian volunteered to be Prince John, so Lady Kluck had to be the Sheriff. That left Robin himself to portray the benevolent King Richard, and Toby Turtle as Sir Hiss.

“A pox on the phony king of England!” Robin cheered. At his command, his noble servants were chasing the “Prince” all over the castle courtyard. They all ran in wild circles over and over, laughing merrily, until Skippy and Tagalong managed to hop up and grab Marian by the wrists. The bunny siblings dangled off of her like bracelets swaying in the breeze, and she bent at the waist as she tried to keep walking.

"We've gotchu now, Prince John!" crowed Skippy. "Give up?"

"Oh no, what-EVER shall I do?" Marian giggled in her most over-dramatic performance yet. "Sir Hiss, seize these scoundrels!"

Toby's head - SHLUNK - sucked back into his shell. He certainly wasn't going to help. Eager to catch their dastardly villain, Sis took matters into her own hands. Jumping in front of the pack, the bunny girl reached up and pawed at the struggling Maid Marian's belly, and Skippy joined the fun by grabbing her side. Immediately, the vixen broke into breathy peals of soft, melodious laughter.

"Ohoho no...Oh no-ho-ho-ho! *gasp* Noooo; anything but tickling, Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha!"

She knew full well that a plea like that would only goad the rambunctious tykes on, but if she were being honest, she was having far too much fun to care. This was as close as she'd get to playing with kids of her own, at least for a little while. Letting loose an enthusiastic yip, Marian fell into the dandelions, and the wrath of the rabbit swarm rained down upon her.

A sextet of bunny hands and paws were grabbing and squeezing and scratching at her tummy. Their little fingers pulled through creases in the silky dress she wore; their feet slid and stomped along her sides and made her wiggle. The kids' squeaky machine-gun giggles were very contagious, and the already-helpless fox couldn't stop laughing herself silly. She jostled and squirmed and had to push Tagalong off of her stomach.

“Ah-Ha Ha-Ha! *gasp* Help! K-Klucky-Hee…Ro...Robin, Heh-Heh-Help!”

"Bawk! Milady! Yer noicest drrrrress!" Klucky honked.

Robin himself was busy chuckling at Marian’s misfortune. Quite clever of them, he thought. They'd make Merry Men yet. His yellow bycocket cap shifted atop his vulpine ears - and suddenly, his thoughts turned to the feather that adorned it. He removed the hat, pulled the long scarlet plume from its sheathe, and twisted it between his fingers, amused. "Ah, there we are..." the outlaw remarked to no one in particular, as if he'd made some unexpected discovery.

Kneeling down, Robin grasped Marian's right ankle and gingerly lifted her leg up out of the weeds. With that roguish, wry smile and an absentminded hum, he stared right into her eyes and swooshed the feather back and forth across the bottom of her foot.

"Oh!! *gasp* Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha!! *gasp*hic* Haha-Ha! Oh dohon't, please, I...I d-hon't think I can stand any more, Ha-Ha Ha!” she cried. Pools of pink stained her cheeks. Her long eyelashes were dripping wet.

"Hmm, I think the prisoner has learned their lesson, don't you, kids?" Robin declared. Despite a few protests and "awwww"s, everyone backed off, leaving the exhausted Marian alone in the grass to catch her breath. "The Prince has been vanquished!!"

"Long live Robin Hood!" Skippy cried, holding his wooden sword triumphantly aloft, cheered on by his adulating sisters. While the kids danced in a circle singing "Prince John the Worst" off-key, Robin traipsed through the flowerbed over to his lady fair and tenderly offered her his palm.

"Oh, my hero; you've come to rescue me," Marian sighed, still all atwitter and breathless and fanning herself.

But instead of taking his hand, Marian pulled Robin down into the sunny spring field with her. Robin sent her his most disarmingly handsome smolder, and when she shied away, he slowly kissed her cheek. Their embrace was perfectly accompanied by the sounds of Sis and Tagalong giggling at them in the background...and of Skippy pretending to vomit.

"Blech!" he mumbled. "...Sissy stuff."

******

Neytiri/Jake (Avatar)

Neytiri sat up and slowly pulled her feet from beneath the powdery white sand. Infinitesimal shards of salt and earth and coral and glass sifted through the gaps between her toes with a quiet hiss. Pandoran beaches were very soft.

Jake emerged from the water and strode over to her resting spot. The sand was so smooth that he didn't even leave footprints; the pale flecks of dust simply clung to his body. "You think we should get back?" he asked her. "Mo'at's probably gonna be pissed."

"Mmmm..." Neytiri sighed contentedly and closed her eyes. "Not yet. I am too relaxed to move."

“Well here…lemme help you.” Not waiting for a rebuttal, Jake immediately stepped over her reclining legs, turned his back, and plopped down right on her ankles, straddling them. Neytiri looked bemused by his antics.

"What? What are you...AHH!!!! HN...Huheh-HEEE Heehee-Hee! NO! No PLEASE; HA-HA HA-HA!!"

The Omatikaya princess’ loud shriek scattered the nearby flock of tetrapteron into the salty air. Her grin threatened to split her cheeks open. Jake's fingertips were mercilessly prodding and caressing underneath her toes, and every single touch made her want to scream.

"Not that! G-get AWAY from MEE-HEE!!!" But her mate said nothing. Grinning, Jake bent all ten of his fingers...those damn Sky People with their extra digits...and scratched them up and down on her massive sky-blue soles.

“J-Jake!! My JAHAY-HA-HA-HA!!!” Neytiri tried to beg, but couldn't get the words out. Her voice leapfrogged through the entire octave scale, from bird chirps all the way down to breathy hyucks erupting from deep in her belly. She thrashed around frantically, her butt bouncing against the sand, and left a flurry of stinging open-palm slaps across her husband's back; even he could barely wrestle her down. Braids and beads tangled themselves like seaweed across her screaming face...how undignified it was, to constantly spit out strands of dreadlocked hair in between her bouts of tearful hysteria.

Jake didn't quit torturing her until she managed to lurch herself forward...the crunch burned her elongated stomach...and threw both of her hands at his armpits. He laughed and jumped aside at the unexpected tickle, before spinning around and scooping Neytiri into his arms. In a moment she was flat on her back once again, with Jake hovering over her and blotting out the sun, a toruk in his own right. The tremors in her chest slowed down, but her anger only boiled hotter. The smug, dopey jarhead smile of his...why didn't she hate it?

"I...*huff*...will...make you suffer for this...*wheeze*...Jake Sully," she hissed at her mate, flashing jagged fangs.

Rather than fear her, or even apologize, Jake simply tweaked her nose and pecked her on the forehead. What an asshole.

Maybe she could let him off the hook. Just this once.

******

#tickling #tickle blog #tickling community #tickle fic #tickles #zelda totk #link totk #kataang #katara #aang #neytiri #jake sully #avatar #kikis delivery service #kiki #tombo #cats 2019 #victoria cats #mr mistoffelees #arcane caitlyn #caitvi #vi arcane #robin hood disney #maid marian #gwen spiderverse #gwiles #miles morales #parzival x art3mis #art3mis #ready player one

[trrickytickle]

Two Can Play At That Game (gift for @toweroftickles)

Fandom: Ready Player One, lee!Art3mis, ler!Parzival

A/N:  (Reimagining of the scene where Art3mis scares Parzival with a Xenomorph arm)

2ND GIFT hope u enjoyyy. have we talked about ready player one BECAUSE WE NEED TO TALK ABT READY PLAYER ONE MY LOVE FOR THIS MOVIE WOULD HAVE EXPLODED OUR DMS I LOVE EVERYTHING ABT IT it may be a bad movie by others’ standards but i think with the themes of dystopia the product placement was done right. anyways enough of that, MEERRRRRRYYYYYYYY CRISIS i lov parzival x artemis. idk y but i think that both them and halliday r autistic lol i might elaborate but it isnt anything serious just something i notied in them behaviorially ANYWAYS hope u like im so grateful for u

The life of a Gunter was as hard as it looked. To find the keys, for one, would require the infinite knowledge of Halliday's inner workings- which were comparatively easy to find in the age of the OASIS.

Halliday Journals- OASIS' Library of Alexandria, the sole source of such information wasn't like any of the other mind-bending zones of this virtual metaverse, such as a replica of Pandora from that movie way back then, to stranger things such as an exact replica of the Tower of Babel chock full of people seemingly ...tickling each other. No matter how quaint, these locations were the brainchild of the very person Wade Watts-or as he was known here- Parzival- was most grateful for.

But he didn't expect.. all this. Even after his rise to fame when he found that first key.

"Hey, it's Parzival!" A Beetlejuice suit-clad man, as rotund as his inspiration pointed, causing a stampede of avatars, all inspired by his endeavors to crowd around him for some words of wisdom or a quick photo-op. The shutters blinded him while some avatars on the shorter side leaped up for a closer shot. That wasn't all. Using their set of four arms, a Goro lookalike rammed through the crowd and rudely pushed the others away with a mighty roar, jostling Parzival aggressively.

"You're famous now! You can't- just go- wherever- you want!" "Goro" yelled, pulling Parzival away with all the strength he could muster (which was a lot).

"No-no-no-no-no- I-" he tried to bargain to no avail as he was dragged into a secret opening planted in the wall. Green Tron lines provided atmosphere as the two stood face-to-face.

"Huh?"

"Goro" sneered and snarled, then look down to see something  moving in his chest, like a baby kicking its leg out. His stomach rumbled, and out came- an honest-to-goodness Xenomorph, screaming at Parzival's blue tinted face.

"GAH!" He jumped as it lunged straight at him with a snarl straight out of the movie. It retracted, noshing at "Goro's" skin by snipping it like a pair of scissors till there was no piece of Shokan in sight...

Well, maybe that Xenomorph wasn't so honest. Art3mis taunted him, playing with the once horrific alien parasite like a sock puppet., chomping its jaws together. With an uncharacteristic sternness, Parzival yanked the bloody puppet off her hand while she was already buckling down in sweet and melodious laughter.

"Haha- ha-haha-ha!"

"That is.. That is not funny!" Parzival attempted a rebuttal. Art3mis was predictably still in stitches, holding her stomach as she chuckled deeply. While the spunky streamer cooled down from her giggle-fit, he had an uncharacteristicly shit-eating grin smack-dab on his face like an anime character with a band-aid on their nose trying to look cool.

"But this is!" He swiped through his inventory, eager to find a fitting rebuttal and landing on a set of eight mechanical tentacles identical to the ones Doc Ock had worn in the 2004 movies, using one of four mechanical tendrils to grasp Art3mis by her jacket.

"Hello, Art3mis.." Parzival teased, poking at her already exposed sides to rub it in. To his suprise, she squeaked gingerly.

Like adding salt to a wound, he joked-

 "Oh, so you're a ticklish one, huh?"

"No- I'm- Fine. Have it your way."

Art3mis could only look away in embarrasment as he drummed his fingers against her sides continuously, then spidering them onto her tummy as he shook her around with the prehensile arms. That trip to Avatar Outfitters was pricey- but her reactions were worth just as much as the Zemekis cube.

"Ah-hehehehe-heeee! I-hi-hi'm ticklish, you got me!" She scissor-kicked the air to no avail, while she was a grasp from the mechanical arm away from falling.

"Oh, but I didn't get you good enough yet!" Parzival's grin was contagious- well, he was tickling her. Moving one of the tentacles down like Art3mis was a stuffed bear in a claw machine, he tazed his fingers into her armpits, causing her to squeal.

"EEEE-ahaha, yohohou should be glahad this is s-AAAAH!-soundproof!" she yelped, as Parzival played around in her worst spot.

"Soundproof, you say? So you don’t mind if I go heeere-” he smirked, poking around at Art3mis’ stomach, massaging it with prods of his fingers, even going up to poke each individual rib. 

“Yohohou’re mean! Ihihi- lihihisten! I have something to tell you!” With the notion of information, Parzival relinquished his grasp, and the item back into his inventory, and Artemis had a moment to catch her breath. 

“*huff* *huff* I-hehe- I deserved that.” She smiled,a glint in her heart that enjoyed Parzival’s playful flirting. “Well- You’re the Parzival now. You’re famous, you need to have a disguise.”

In that moment, Parzival realized two things- she was absolutely right, and that Art3mis was truly the most beautiful living thing within the walls of OASIS’ HD display. 

#tickle fic #tickle fanfic #sfw tickling #tickling #tickle community #tk community #lee #ler #tickle

[pianotuna]

Characters: Wade Owen Watts / Parzival and Samantha Evelyn Cook / Art3mis

Media: Ready Player One (2018)

Played by: Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke

Setting: 2045, dystopian Columbus / OASIS

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wade Watts is a teenager who can’t bear to live in the dystopian world of 2045, preferring the mega-realistic interactive video game world of the OASIS, where he (as his avatar Parzival) can search for the legendary Halliday’s Easter egg in relative peace.

Samantha Cook goes by Art3mis in the OASIS, establishing herself as one of the most prolific gunters (or hunters of the Easter egg) and eventually being the first gunter to find the first clue - until Parzival beats her to the victory.

Parzival and Art3mis begin a tentative friendship as the quest for the Easter egg picks up, and they quickly realize that their lives both inside and outside the OASIS are in danger due to the billions of dollars at stake. Despite their intense competitiveness and knowledge that they are ultimately enemies, Parzival and Art3mis fall in love and must make decisions about how far they will let their rivalry drive them apart, especially when they realize that they will have to be Wade and Samantha if they are ever to escape the OASIS.

#wade x samantha #samantha x wade #parzival x art3mis #art3mis x parzival #ready player one #tye sheridan #olivia cooke #futuristic #dystopia #fantasy world #adventure #action #fantasy #sci-fi #heist #animated #enemies to lovers #star-crossed lovers #fugitives #partners in crime #penpals #high school #college #hunter #cryptography #folklore #secret identity #video games #wartime #happy ending

[jokerasylum91]

“Old school”

#ready player one #art3mis #parzival #wade watts #samantha x wade #samantha cooke #olivia cooke #tye sheridan

[grxsszennie]

jisung x reader, ready player one au

by: solar ☀️

word count: 1.7k

for context: you’re new to the oasis, and jisung is one of the best players of all time (besides the high five obviously). also (y/a/n) means your avatar name

for more context: if you haven’t seen ready player one, the high five are the main characters (parzival, art3mis, aech, daito, and sho). the oasis is a virtual world where anyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want.

you had just finished designing your avatar. you looked around at the great, looming quartz-colored towers of the main lobby, and observed all the experienced players walking and talking around you. since you were a noob, you were expecting everyone to ignore you.

you couldn’t hide the fact that you didn’t know where to start. you didn’t know how to earn coins, or get new clothes and items. you were stuck with a basic pistol and a t-shirt and jeans. you decided the best option would be to ask the players around you.

you noticed a man who carried himself with confidence, as if he knew that he was a skilled player, almost. you ran to catch up with him, and tapped him on the shoulder. “excuse me...?” he turned and faced you, studying you with an almost amused expression. “what can i do for you?” he asked mockingly. “i... um... i’m obviously new here and i just wanted to know, where do i start?” he laughed and grabbed you by the wrist.

people whispered among themselves. “is that the vastificus with a noob?” you kind of felt awkward with everyone’s eyes on you. he led you to a dark alleyway, and you gulped. “alright, that’s better. i didn’t want the general public to see me with a newbie, that wouldn’t have been good for my repuation...” he explained, kind of trailing off at the end. “why not? isn’t it good to help a new player out?” you asked innocently.

“this community is kind of against noobs for some reason. i wish i could help people like you more often, but i’m kind of well known, so it doesn’t really work out.” he sighed. you nodded slowly. “but if you join my clan...” a screen appeared in front of him. he pressed a few buttons and a box appeared in front of you. it read “vastificus has invited you to a clan! join?” you tapped yes and he smiled. “i can bring you along with me on an artifact hunt to earn you some coin.” he offered. you smiled and bounced on your heels in excitement.

“you’re definitely a teenage girl,” he said lightheartedly. “but before we do that, we need to bring you to the shop. come with me.” he gave you a cloak of invisibility from his inventory. “give this back to me afterwards.” you put it on and followed him out of the alleyway and into the street. he brought you to a giant marketplace.

soft 80s music played from overhead as the two of you walked around looking at everything in awe. “spend your coin on anything you’d like. i’d recommend one new outfit and one gun.” he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear him over the music and the other players talking. you quickly found an outfit that fit your avatar’s appearance and started looking around at the weapons. “which weapons are good?” you asked.

“oh, here!” he pointed to a gun. “this one’s on me.” he purchased the gun and handed it to you. you took it in your hand awkwardly and lifted it up and down, getting used to the weight of it. you took off the invisibility cloak and gave it to him. he looked at your new outfit and nodded slowly.

“now come with me.” he opened a portal and stood in front of it. “where are we going?” you asked, becoming a bit nervous. “don’t ask too many questions.” he dragged you into the portal and you were instantly met with the sounds of gunfire and metal hitting the ground. “this is where most of the clan hangs out. it’s called planet doom. there’s jax-“ he pointed to a player fighting three monsters at once. “-and there’s taeyeong.”

you looked at the players he pointed out, and noticed they had green markers over their head. it must mean they’re clan members. “now, if you see a monster, shoot. if you kill it, it will drop coins and they’ll automatically go into your account,” he explained. you nodded and began shooting at monsters.

if they came close to you, you decided it would be a good idea to just kick the shit out of them like a fucking legend. and surprisingly, it worked. vastificus looked at you in surprise. he believed in you, but he didn’t think you’d be this good in your first time on planet doom. you eventually ran out of ammo, so you ran back to him. “oh my god, (y/a/n), that was fucking awesome!” he praised. you smiled. “you really think so?” he smiled back. “yeah! i’ve never seen a newbie fight that well!” a clan member, who was introduced as taeyoung, appeared behind vastificus. “hey, who’s the newbie?” he asked, looking at every detail of your avatar.

“oh, i’m (y/a/n), it’s nice to meet you,” you introduced yourself. “i’ve never heard that name before, you new around here?” he asked. “yeah, this is my first day in the oasis-“ taeyoung gasped. “wow, really?! you looked like sho out there!” you tilted your head in confusion. “you don’t know who that is... okay. he’s a member of the high five, the group that runs the oasis,” he explained. you nodded. “well, i suppose he’s really good then. so thank you!”

vastificus took you by the wrist. “let’s go, i have some more things to show you.”

-

you woke up every morning eager to do artifact hunts with vastificus and the clan. they became like your second family. they were more supportive of you than you first thought they would be. when vastificus told everyone that you were new, they sent coins, weapons, and other spare items to you. you were getting the hang of everyday life in the oasis, and you were really happy that you had the chance to meet these amazing people.

you were at vastificus’s virtual room, and he had designed it to make it look like the inside of a castle. you listened to him tell a random story about how he almost got mugged by a random furry, when you had a sudden thought. “what’s your name?” you asked.

he shot you a look. “you can never share your real name on here. never.” he snapped. “oh... i-i’m sorry, i didn’t know...” you responded. “it’s alright.” he shook his head. “actually, maybe just this once... but if you mention it around anyone at all i’ll kill you. and you have to tell me yours after.” you quickly nodded. “deal!”

“alright, my name... my name is jisung.” you nodded slowly. you repeated his name in your head. “and mine is (y/n).” he smiled a bit. “t-that’s a p-pretty name,” he stuttered. you were kind of surprised, he didn’t really seem like the awkward type. “thanks,” you replied. “and... a pretty name goes well with a pretty face,” he said, in a voice so small it was almost a whisper.

“huh-? this isn’t how i really look,” you said, shocked. “i-i know, but i bet you’re r-really pretty in the real world.” he looked at the ground. “i’m really sorry about all the personal questions but how old are you? please be honest.” he laughed at your question. “i knew this was coming, i’m seventeen,” he replied. “what, really? me too!”

“if we ever met up, please don’t expect... this.” he gestured at his avatar. “i’m not this. but i’m also not a fat kid who lives in his mom’s basement, so at least i’ve got that going for me,” he joked. “no matter how you look, i bet you’re handsome,” you said. he made a strange noise then immediately took his headset off. his avatar disappeared, leaving you alone in his house.

you teleported to the city, figuring you’d leave him a message for when he saw the screen on his headset. you tapped on his name in your friends list and typed out a quick message. “i really hope you’re in seoul, if so, would you like to meet up?”

he immediately came online after that, and sent you a message back. “of course, where?” you thought for a moment. you sent a location of a coffee shop that’s about a ten-minute walk from your house, just in case he was a creep. you took off your headset, gloves and ankle straps and shoved them into a backpack, then ran out the front door and to the coffee shop.

-

you opened the door, and a little bell rang. you looked around the shop to see a few people, but you had no idea which one was jisung. a male looked at you awkwardly from across the room, and he had two cups in front of him. you nervously approached him, and you both stared each other down as you took each step closer. “um... are you...?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. you recognized his voice immediately, so you wrapped your arms around his neck in a tight hug.

you could hear his heart beating so fast, you were wondering how he hasn’t died of a heart attack yet. you let go and pulled the chair across from him out, then sat down. “i didn’t know how you liked your coffee so i just got you the same one i got,” he said.

“i knew you’d be handsome!” he hid his face in his hands and made another strange noise. you pulled one of his hands away to reveal his face, now tinted red. “a-and i knew y-you’d be p-pretty,” he stuttered, his face turning even redder. “oh my god, you’re so cute,” you gushed, pinching his cheek.

“you’re not what i was expecting but in a good way, because online you’re intimidating but in the real world you’re the cutest and softest little-“ he cut you off. “my heart can’t handle this!” he whined. “this is my first time being complimented by a cute girl!” you giggled and twined your fingers with his. “i’m really glad you asked what my name was because i would’ve never had my first kiss,” he said. “wh-“ he cut you off by placing his lips gently against yours.

“we need to keep this a secret, but will you be mine?”

#nct jisung #nct imagines #nct dream imagines #nct dream reactions #boyfriend jisung #jisung #park jisung #jisung park #jisung fluff #jisung imagines #jisung fanfic #jisung x reader #nct x reader #nct dream x reader #nct fanfic #nct dream fanfic #nct au

[deviationdivine]

DBH Connor x Reader Aesthetic Mix

Electric Love  | Børns

Why Does My Heart  | eXcess

Possibility  | Lykke Li

Wish You Were Here  | Rasputina

NFWMB  | Hozier

Together  | The xx

Lost Boy  | The Midnight

Down On Your Knees  | Flora Cash

Run  | Hozier

My Blood  | Twenty One Pilots

Art3mis & Parzival   | Gunship

Cosmic Love  | Florence + the machine

Young and Beautiful  | Lana Del Rey

#dbh aesthetic #dbh aesthetic mix #connor aesthetic mix #connor x reader #inspo mix #dbh connor x reader aesthetic mix #my deviant boi #x reader mix 1

[imagineaworlds]

(3) brandewyn

summary: Thais Bolton lives in the OASIS. Well, sort of. Her dream is to one day live in the OASIS as Brandewyn with her best friend Wade. But he’s more concerned with the three keys James Halliday left behind after his death. The two of them embark on a familiar journey through the OASIS to save it from corporate assholes who want to take it away.

pairing: wade watts x female!oc

word count: 2,077

warnings: cursing. strong detail of illness.

(1) - (2) - (3) - (4)

It didn’t bother me that I had slept in. For once, I was in no rush to get somewhere or to do something. For a moment, I thought I heard birds outside my window, and that was what woke me up in the first place. As I looked for birds, I found that I was still holding hands with Wade, and he had turned himself so he was facing me. There were no birds outside, there never were, I should have known.

I was careful to not make a sound as I gently laid back down. A brown curl had fallen in front of Wade’s face, but it didn’t bother his peaceful slumber. Everything that had happened the night before weigh heavily on my shoulders, and I knew things would be different from then on.

However, my moving around unfortunately woke Wade. He lazily opened his eyes and looked up at me with a half-smile. Nothing was said between us, even when he realized we were holding hands. I just let him retreat his hand, and watched as he got out of bed. In that moment, I felt as though I could read minds, and Wade was thinking about how close his parents’ anniversary was and how my mom was so sick at about the same time.

Perhaps the race would cheer him up. The OASIS had a 100% success rate of always improving Wade’s mood. No matter how he felt, whether is be angry or sad, the OASIS was Wade’s happy place. “You’re going to get that Copper Key today, Wade. I just know it.” Wade nodded politely as he faced the wall. My gaze shifted down as he took his shirt from the day before off. But I was tempted to look up. When he was dressed, Wade asked if he could talk to my mom. I obliged. We walked down the hallway to my parents’ bedroom. I knocked on the door, “Mom? Wade wants to talk. Can he come in?”

My dad turned his head into the hallway to inspect. Wade gave him a small smile, “Hey there, Don.” My dad laughed. At least they both still had a sense of humor that morning. When we were both little, Wade would tease my dad by calling him Don, like the ‘A’ had turned to an ‘O’ overnight. Wade as we grew up only called him Don when they were messing around. “Thanks for letting me spend the night.”

“You’ve been sleeping over your entire life, you don’t have to thank us.”

“Right,” Wade responded, the toe of shoe digging into the floorboards. I kicked his ankle before my mom said it was alright to go in.

I opened the door and I noticed my mom had tried to hide what medicines she could, and threw a blanket over his oxygen tank. It was surprisingly clean to how it normally was. Mom smiled brightly at us, trying to fool Wade into thinking she was healthier than she really was. Most of her yellow hair gone at that point, and she had permanent dark circles under her eyes that aged her. Her once strong muscles and bones were now too weak to hold her frail body up. Yet, I had grown accustomed to her deteriorating appearance, but Wade was beyond himself with shock.

Carefully, Wade sat on the edge of the bed next to her and took her small hands. “How are you feeling, Susan?”

She responded with a lie that broke my heart, and then she looked to me, “Thais, will you give us a few minutes?” I understood, so I walked out and closed the door.

My dad had been standing just outside of the door, “Is he alright?”

“He will be. Hopefully the race today will cheer him up. I think he just doesn’t want to go through what happened to his parents again. He’s just hurt.”

“You did the right thing, Thais. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

In the OASIS, I followed Z to through the portal to the racetrack. I figured that even if I wasn’t racing, I should still go to cheer on my best friend. While Z was focused on thinking about the race, I was looking around for Aech or Art3mis. I couldn’t find either of them in the sea of IOI cars. The stands on the side of the track used to be filled with people trying to see if anyone could get the key. And like Halliday’s Journals, crowds slowly dwindled, and now no one sat in them.

I was alone in the first row, on the side closest to where Z put his car. And then I saw her. Art3mis pulled up next to Z on her Akira bike, and they started talking. Well, rather, it looked like Art3mis was talking, but Z was too concentrated on what he was about to do that he didn’t respond.

Art3mis shook her head and continued to move further up as the light turned from red to yellow. In the OASIS it was impossible to bite your nails, but I felt like I was about to break that rule anyways. As the light turned green and green fireworks shot in the air, all of the racing cars sped off except for one. The Delorean stayed still until most of the cars were out of sight, and then it started going backwards as fast as it could. I could barely watch, thinking that he was about to zero out due to hitting the wall behind him. Maybe this was a really bad idea.

And then, I could breathe— I even cheered as loud as I could, jumping up and down and dancing around. Just before the Delorean was going to hit the wall, a trap door opened beneath its tires, sending it under the track. There was nothing else to see from there after that, but I was over the moon. It worked. Wade was right.

James Halliday hated rules, he hated that everything had a system, and a certain way it ran. So it only made sense that he would have broken the one rule to racing: go forward. Genius. Absolutely fucking genius.

There were also stands at the end of the race, but they were untouched since no one had ever been to the end before. But even ahead of Z making it to the end, I was already in those stands, waiting for him. In the distance, King Kong jumped onto the track and pounded on the road, zero-ing out a string of IOI cars. Then, another trap door opened before the finish line, and the Delorean came zooming out. Kong roared in anger as loud as he could while Z passed the finish line and did a victory lap around the winner’s circle. A band started playing lively music and streamers and fireworks went off.

From that moment, things in the area started changing. The fall leaves were falling from their trees and floating to the fountain in the middle of the circle. In the middle of the fountain was a statue of an angel, and as the leaves covered it, it slowly revealed another figure.

Out of the hybrid between statue and leaves was Halliday’s avatar, there to greet the winner. From my distance, I couldn’t hear what it was Haliday was saying, but I knew that it was all good things telling by Z’s face. Z dropped to his knees out of respect and was saying something to Anorak, but having known Wade for a long time, I knew that he was most likely stuttering over every other word.

Then, from Anorak’s magic, appeared the Copper Key Wade had worked so hard to find. Anorak placed a hand on Z’s shoulder and pointed with his other hand to a floating scroll nearby. That must be the clue for the next challenge. I thought to myself. Z walked to the scroll and put it in his inventory, but he still held the key in his hands, staring at it for the longest time until the leaves which brought Anorak alive went back to their trees, the band left, and the statue was put back.

At that point, Z put the Copper Key in his inventory and turned to me. He lifted one fist high in the air in victory as he approached me. And he teased me for my Breakfast Club skin. There was some kind of boundary spell around the winner’s circle, so I waited for him to come to me. And when he jumped over the stone wall to get to the stands, I ran into his arms and hugged him.

He laughed into our hug, “That was fucking insane. Holy shit. Did you see Anorak? B, he literally talked to me— he touched my shoulder!”

“I told you that you’d get the key today. I always had faith you’d be first to the key.”

“First to the egg.”

I ruffled his hair playfully, “Come on, let’s go find Aech and tell him. Though, I’m sure all of OASIS knows who you are now.”

Parzival parted from our hug, “Do you think this means I could become friends with Art3mis now? I mean, she’ll want to know how I did it, so she’ll have to talk to me.”

My bright smile dimmed. But I told him what he wanted to hear, “Obviously. Everyone will want to be friends with you now.” I looked around at the empty park around us, “Let’s get out of here.”

We located Aech at his garage, so that’s where we went. When we got there, Aech wasn’t alone. Diato and Sho were there, but so was Art3mis, who was reclining on the couch. Aech was the first to see us come in, and he started running to Z and embraced him in a tight hug. The three boys kept raving about Parzival and the race, and the key and the clue. Wade wouldn’t tell them much about how he did it, only a simple hint. “Just go back.” As if that wasn’t obvious enough. “Back where?” they questioned. “How far back?” “How fast?”

Art3mis was still on the couch, reading a newspaper. I decided that if Wade wanted to be friends with her— and maybe even more… I should at the very least introduce myself. “Is this seat taken?” I asked, pointing to the spot on the couch next to her. She shook her head. I sat down on the old couch, the cushion sinking notably. “I’m Brandewyn, by the way.”

“Art3mis.”

“I know,” I chuckled, “Parzival won’t shut up about you.” There was an awkward silence. “Are you going to get the key at the next race?” She shrugged. I looked around at the room, not stopping on anything specific while my knee bounced. “Favorite pre-OASIS game?”

Art3mis sighed, “Overwatch. You?”

“Mario Kart.” She looked up from her news paper with a raised brow. “It’s actually a great classic.”

“But of all things, Mario Kart?” she laughed. It sounded stupid, I knew that, but it was my favorite game. But I realized its absurdity, and joined in her laughter. “Gameboy or Atari?”

“Gameboy. 110%. I have two customs, actually,” I showed her from my inventory. One had an Indiana Jones skin, and the other had a Frogger skin. “The Frogger one was a gift from Parzival for my birthday last year.”

Art3mis looked impress, “Those are hard to find. And expensive. You two must know each other in the real world.” I was hesitant to tell her the truth. Everyone knows that in the OASIS you don’t reveal too much about yourself to anyone. Yet, I didn’t think there would be any harm in telling her that we had been friends all our lives. “So then he must like you… or you like him.”

I tried not to blush, “Not necessarily. No. He likes someone else.” Art3mis’ gaze turned to Z. “Parzival’s never really liked anyone before. It’s weird.”

“Well, you like him, don’t you, so it must be weird.” I turned quickly to make sure Z hadn’t heard that, and I didn’t respond to Art3mis. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.” She went back to reading her newspaper as the four boys came over.

Parzival looked between us and said, “Aech and I are headed to the OASIS store for a shopping spree. Wanna come with?” Art3mis denied the offer, but I accepted.

#ready player one #ready player one imagine #ready player one imagines #ready player one smut #ready player one series #wade watts #wade watts imagine #wade watts imagines #wade watts smut #wade watts series

[readygamerone]

Chapter 21: Serenity Now, Insanity Later

Since Ready Player One is very subtle about setting up future plot points, the first pages of this chapter, set moments after it's discovered that art3mis found the Jade Key, describe some ultra-rare artifacts that exist within the OASIS world. We'll cover the second one because it doesn't have any immediate plot significance and is definitely just a bit of world-building, not a weapon to be brought out at the climax of the story. Known as "The Catalyst", it's a bomb that kills every player and non-player character in the sector. This includes the owner of the bomb, which is why it has never been used. But everyone believes the ultra-rich corporate Sixers have it in their possession, holding on to it for a special occasion. The first artifact described is a "Tablet of Finding" which allows a user to, once a day, find any other user's location in the game world. But if the two users in question aren't in the same sector (again with the sectors, a geographical description we don't have any context for), the Tablet will only identify which sector the user is in.

Naturally, the Sixers have this Tablet as well and use it to attempt to locate where art3mis found the Jade Key. But since they are only able to determine the sector, a massive Sixer fleet begins combing the area to the attention of everyone. Why anyone would bother with all this when they could just keep 24/7 surveillance on the top gunters and follow them wherever they went is a question Cline seems to have not considered. Oh, except for when several gunters do exactly this when Wade leaves his base at the end of this chapter. But while the Sixers and every other gunter worth their salt are using their every resource to find the next gunting challenge, Wade is having a meltdown over being knocked from the number one spot on the scoreboard.

I spent the rest of the day in shock, reeling at the news that I’d been dethroned. That was exactly how the newsfeed headlines put it: parzival dethroned! art3mis new #1 gunter! sixers closing in!

Once I finally got a grip, I pulled up the Scoreboard and made myself stare at it for thirty solid minutes while I mentally berated myself.

Wade eventually snaps out of this pity party he's throwing for himself, only to resolve to figure out the riddle of the Jade Key...but just for the purpose of winning his crush back:

I wanted to prove myself to Art3mis. And I wanted the Hunt to be over, so that she would talk to me again. So that I could finally meet her in person, see her true face, and try to make sense of how I felt about her.

Luckily for Wade, knowing the general location of the Key makes figuring out the riddle a lot easier so he's able to determine the planet he needs to travel to. Gearing up with a long list of weapons and items that will probably not be touched or referred to for the rest of this outing, Wade boards one of his many space ships. This one is identical to the "Serenity" spacecraft used in the TV show Firefly because of course it is. Wade describes how one day he was flying around in his Star Wars-sourced X-wing when some nerds in this ship attacked him. Not knowing what a badass they were messing with, every avatar aboard was killed by Wade and he took the ship for himself.

It's here where Cline again demonstrates that he doesn't know anything about the pop culture he so claims to be obsessed with. Wade says that he stowed his X-wing inside the Serenity's cargo bay, even though anyone who had ever watched Star Wars and Firefly could tell that anyone who tried this would find that about half of the bigass Star Wars fighter would be sticking out the bottom like an overstuffed turkey. The cargo bay is simply too shallow and the door too narrow to even begin doing this. But Cline probably neither knows this or would care if he did, he's just happy to do some nerd signalling as always. 

By the way, he named his new ship The Vonnegut, I'm sure Kurt would be really touched by this heartfelt tribute in a book he definitely wouldn't despise.

Regardless, Wade fires up his dumb ship and sets a course for the planet Archaide (read it out loud) in order to continue his gunter quest but mostly just to say hi to that girl he likes.

Pop Culture References: 20 (2.5 per page)

Movies Star Wars IIIII Stargate I

Television Max Headroom II Star Trek I Firefly IIIII

Music Falco I

Books Kurt Vonnegut IIIII

#ready player one

[blacknerdproblems]

The year was 2012. The place was Newark, New Jersey in the post-Hurricane Sandy. There was no electricity, no power, no phones, no internet my g, it was all deaded. For entertainment muh fuckas had to talk to each other, resort to board games, or read. I decided to read a book I was given as a gift months earlier. That book was Ready Player OneBY Ernie Cline. Dude, that book is the historical homage for gamers. Period. It’s Hackersmeets Streets of Rage meets Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe meets Bourne Identity meets everything you ever loved about the 80s.

Long story short in the future of 2040, the real world is shit. There’s a virtual reality world that has everything, it’s called Oasis. The creator James Halliday left an easter egg in the game which causes a world wide treasure hunt. These hunters after the treasure are called Gunters. Wade Watts (Parzival if you with the shits), a kid from the Stacks (trailer parks stacked on top of one another) uncovers the first key and meets a famous Gunter Art3mis in the process

Flash forward to 2017, I’m hungover (I don’t have to explain myself to you), in the bathroom (you’re getting the whole picture) bout to shower, and I see on twitter that they done fucked around and dropped the trailer for Ready Player One? I’m like nah, already? They got my guy, Wade Watts out here?!

Listen, I’m a huge comic book guy and this is my first time having loved a novel and seeing it come to the big screen and my god. It’s got me looking at the sky as it rains like Vegeta. I had to go up to the roof of my job and look up at Mufasa before I wrote this shit because I know this shit right here goin’ be the cult classic. This shit right here goin’ be my Star Wars. No light Sabers, just controllers. This is going to be the movie that I’ll buy the hard copy of (fuck you, physical media is still alive) and my grandchildren will uncover after rummaging through my attic on their jetpacks and ask “granddad what’s this?” and with a tear digitally falling down my cheek because I am nothing more than code and numbers after merging with the internet, I’ll say, “Sit down and let me tell you the hardest nerd shit to ever grace us fucking peasants.”

Read on here [x]

#ready player one #movies #video games #80s #trailer #blacknerdproblems #black nerd problems

[sharksfood]

so this thought just came into my head and i want to explore it.

in my life i’ve only seen 3 films so far that i read as books before they became movies. im not counting comic books/graphic novels that became movies bcs thats a little different, books that became tv shows, or plays that became movies. but its interesting to think about that.

i didnt read harry potter until well after the films (all of them lmao) were released, i’ve never read how to train your dragon, i’ve never read the hobbit/lotr, the animated alice in wonderland came out in the 50s, i have only recently read the last unicorn, i read World War Z after the movie came out (and ive never seen all of the movie), and i read the neverending story when i was cast in the play.

the books that i read before they came out in film are; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Warm Bodies, and Goosebumps.

Goosebumps kind of fits but it was made into a tv series first, and im not sure if i read the books or saw the shows first. i did both, i know that much.

I read Warm Bodies only bcs I wanted to see the movie but thought the book would be cool to read (its amazing and has a completely different feel from the movie), and Lion Witch Wardrobe was bcs my dad read it to me when I was younger. That and The Magician’s Nephew are the only Narnia books ive ever read.

I was going to try and read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children before the movie came out, but that work out for me.

if you want to count comics and graphic novels, then the list gets bigger. but comics already have the characters drawn out, so unlike books, you dont have an idea in your head on what the character looks like. that is so often changed in film, plus you loose so much detail and nuance when you go book to screenplay to film (this is also true with comics, but its still different)

However, and the biggest reason as to why I’m thinking about this, two movies will be coming out in the next few years, and both of them are based on my favorite books of all time (aside from the alice books of course). 

The first is Captain Underpants! I know that this is a book series with words and pictures, so technically its a graphic novel series, but they’re kids books! and those tend to have an awful lot of pictures. This series was my FAVORITE (other than the alice books) as a kid!! they were fun, hilarious, relatable, and just all around super great. So when i saw the trailer for the animated film that’s coming out this year based on the series i was ECSTATIC!! Were it live-action i would be bummed out since kids picture books usually fair better when animated (im not a fan of the diary of a wimpy kid movies....) but this animation is handled a lot like The Peanuts movie. The animation look like a color and 3D version of the exact art style!! its wonderful and im SO EXCITED

The other one, and this i am VERY VERY nervous about, is Ready Player One. that is my favorite sci-fi novel ever. i often say its my favorite book ever bc it deserves more love! and i do so much love it. ive reread it i dont even know how many times. and what do you know, they’re making it into a movie!! when i heard about this i had so many mixed feelings, and most of it has to do with the style of the book and the characters.

-Ready Player One Spoilers-

In Ready Player One the protagonist starts out as a dirt poor, fat, unattractive teen boy, and later he gets more physically fit/healthy and rich. he claims to still be unattractive at this point (mostly bcs he jues doesnt like how he looks and he looses all his body hair). this is very important to the character! i’m afraid that in this movie hollywood will do as they always do and make him a skinny conventionally attractive teen from the get-go. people will probably pull the Holes excuse of “the filmmakers didnt want to make the actor gain a bunch of weight and then loose it all” BULLSHIT they can cast a fat actor! and through his training and as they film the movie he can loose some weight or they can use movie magic (like when they made chris evans a scrawny little thing). its not that hard, people.

Another character, and this was super important to me and was a big subplot, is that Wade best friend, Aech, whom he only knows through the game (OASIS) plays as a white, straight, guy avatar, but they’re actually a black lesbian named Helen. And she plays this avatar to protect herself and to get a job and be taken seriously within OASIS. is super sad she has to do this, but its a big part of her character. she’s also fat as well, and im REALLY worried that in the movie she’s going to be a skinny straight white girl.

Two other characters who have important characteristics are Art3mis (Samantha) and the creator of OASIS James Halliday. Art3mis is Wade later love interest and GF. She is notable bcs her avatar is just like her, a chubby girl with black hair, but sans her port-wine birthmark. I know they’ll keep her birthmark, since its an intimate reveal, but they’ll probably make her skinny and i hate it. Now it’s only half canon in the books, but i’ve chosen to go with it, but at one point Wade talks about James Halliday’s childhood and his personality and all that, and mentions that he might have been autistic. Now, since it’s only he “might have been” in the books, the filmmakers will probably not make him autistic. That’s fucking sad to me, I mean, it would be amazing!! This character is one of the smartest, most famous, most prolific video game programmers/designers in history!! And he’s autistic! That is some wonderful representation and the filmmakers should jump on that opportunity. It’ll inspire so many autistic people who have a passion for video games to pursue their dreams. But, i have a hunch they wont go with it.

Two other characters, Daito and Shoto, are Japanese young guys who claim to be brothers (and their characters are) but are just friends in the real world. My initial hunch was that the filmmakers would keep them Japanese, but given the recent whitewashing of important Japanese characters, I have my doubts.

My few other concerns are that this movie won’t have 80s pop culture as the main style and focus of the era they book is set in, not to mention OASIS and most of people’s interests. It’s incredibly important to the novel, but so many dystopian movies choose to go with gritty, futuristic, edgy stuff. The other concern is how they will handle the real life vs OASIS look, since over half of the book takes place inside a VR video game. I’ve seen news that they are utilizing VR technology, but i havent read too much. I’m wondering if they’ll animate all of OASIS and the avatars and action and anything in the video game! That would be awesome.

So these are all my thoughts. I havent looks at who they’ve cast yet, so I’m going to do that right now. I do know that Steven Spielberg is directing it, which could be fantastic or terrible. Okay, cast time.

------

So the IMDB doesnt say who is cast as Daito and Shoto, but Wikipedia says that Win Morisaki of PrizmaX will play him, which is great! I hope that’s what happens.

Art3mis/Samantha will be played by Olivia Cooke, who in my opinion is way too old. She’s older than me! The character’s age (i think) isnt mentioned in the book, but she’s got to be 17-20, and Olivia Cooke looks older than that. She’s also not chubby, but hey, maybe they’ll fit that. She also doesnt have the birthmark, but that’s gonna be makeup. (wouldve been cool if they found an actress with a port-wine stain on her face...)

Parzival/Wade will be played by Ty Sheridan. He was Cyclops in X-Men Apocalypse. He’s the right age, but way too fit and attractive. DAMN IT Well, I guess there’s always makeup and special effects, but i’m 80% sure now they wont make Wade fat.....

Aech/Helen will be played by Lena Waithe who is almost PERFECT. She’s much older than Aech, who is around 18, but like Samantha i imagine they’ll have make up and acting to cover it. My biggest concern is that she’s not fat like Aech, which means they’ll use a body suit or effects or Lena will gain weight, or they wont do anything.....

T.J. Miller will be playing I-r0k, who is another OASIS player and a bigtime douchebag jerk. This is perfect. We don’t know his age, or really anything other than his personality and avatar, and T.J. Miller is hilarious so this/ll be great.

Mark Rylance will be playing James Halliday, witch is fine by me. He’s not quite what I imagined, but thats what makeup and wigs are for. He’s worked a lot with Steven Spielberg, so that makes sense as to why he’s cast here. I just hope he can portray an autistic character well and with respect.... (would be better if he IS autistic but ya know.....)

Simon Pegg will be playing Ogden Morrow, the co-creator of OASIS, and thats perfect. No complaints.

Nolan Sorrento (the antagonist of the book and head of operations at Innovative Online Industries) will be played by Ben Mendelsohn, who was Director Krennic in Rouge One. He is much older and not quite and slimy as I imagined him, but this can totally work. I pictured Nolan Sorrento as Andrew Scott in my head, since he seems like the perfect evil, charismatic, slimy, attractive but ugly inside business man.

----

So, after looking at the current casting choices im a little let down, but still excited! I’ll have to wait patienly for the trailer, since this thing is coming out in 2018. Dang, this turned into a Ready Player One post, but its been on my mind recently.

If you read through all of this, good job! let me know what you think! i probably dont talk about Ready Player One very often but thats bcs i dont know anyone in real life (other than my dad) who has read this book, and the online fandom seems nonexistent. Who knows?

But yeah, I guess I made this post bcs I wasn’t able to share the collective nervousness, complaints, and excitement of Harry Potter or LotR or Percy Jackson fans when their fav books became movies.

#babble #i talk a lot about books and movies #mostly ready player one lmao

[tecinfo]

Prepared Player One's film adjustment isn't even sufficient as a children motion picture Everything here—character advancement, CGI, nerd cred references—frustrates.

The film adjustment of Ready Player One exposes its broken, frustrating geek heart superior to anything any negative survey could.

The telling minute happens almost part of the way through the teenager experience frolic, when improbable, unbalanced saint Wade Watts starts winning a noteworthy challenge inside the modern film's virtual-reality universe (reflecting an indistinguishable plot from its namesake book). A wickedness corporate overlord named Nolan Sorrento swoops in with plans on selecting Wade, and to do this, he spreads out enticing nerd iverse offers (like a Millennium Falcon to use in the film's "Desert spring" VR world) and exchanges blows in a geek random data trade around '80s movies. At the same time, a flunky bolsters geeky tidbits into Sorrento's ear with the goal that he sounds genuine.

Swim calls BS on this rattling of geek qualifications and reminds Sorrento that a genuine enthusiast of the Oasis wouldn't attempt to win its control-influencing challenge with random data alone. Sorrento's reaction, after being gotten out, is to lash out with silly viciousness.

Taking care of business, Ready Player One's uneven, unsurprising, and empty characteristics can be composed off in the administration of "a flawlessly fine children's motion picture." But the film's makers hinder the entire thing by pulling a Sorrento at all times—coming up short—to compensate for an absence of heart with grandiloquence and quirky appearances.

Unholy vessel

RP1 takes after its book motivations in free, unmistakable form. Characters and the general plot circular segment continue as before, while the correct execution and occasions fluctuate fiercely. Which means: despite everything we're following Wade (played by Tye Sheridan of X-Men: Apocalypse and The Tree of Life), whose virtual-world handle is Parzival, he's as yet joined by a similar pack of both virtual-and certifiable companions in endeavoring to recoup a "brilliant Easter egg" inside the fiercely well known Oasis VR benefit.

The chase for this egg starts for a similar reason, also: in light of the fact that Oasis co-maker James Halliday (played here by Mark Rylance) passed away, in actuality, along these lines commencing a sentimentality filled VR Wonka frolic. The Oasis has turned into the world's greatest wellspring of stimulation in the year 2045, and Halliday's passing sets a millions-in number challenge into movement. Finish '80s-themed challenges in VR, while remembering secretive signs, and you can guarantee the egg, which will transform you into the Oasis' next proprietor and administrator. (The previously mentioned miscreant, played by Ben Mendelsohn of Rogue One, embarks to animal power his way into winning the challenge and transforming the Oasis into a Facebook-like barf of advertisements and nosy substance.)

A portion of the contrasts between the exposition and the photos rely on sheer permitting issues. Try not to hope to see a portion of the book's greatest scenes, similar to a VR playthrough of Pac-Man or the "flicksync" minutes where Wade and companions bounce into VR adaptations of movies like Wargames and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Rather, the Oasis' madness commences with a boisterous and-quick auto race, and the film's solitary bonafide flicksync is a jump into Stephen King's The Shining.

Before jumping into why these substance switches are hazardous, there's another, additionally harming contrast to represent: the film team's lack of engagement in making sympathetic characters. Not at all like in the book, Wade doesn't collaborate with genuine companions, have protracted discussions with his VR buddies, blunder impartially through school, have noteworthy family associations, or show us anything in the method for advantages or identity. The film's Wade is a definitive white-sheet of a hero, and he spends the greater part of the film lashed into a VR headset.

The film's hyper pixie virtualgirl Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) has greater identity as a matter of course, which isn't stating much. She's an individual from an obstruction compel, completely mindful of the shades of malice that Nolan Sorrento's organization submits, and she needs exact retribution, however we take in this in a wide-looked at, two-sentence yell. Something else, Art3mis for the most part exists to stand out enough to be noticed—she in the long run begins to look all starry eyed at him, unconvincingly—and to delight in disposable '80s-being a fan references. (They both like Buckaroo Banzai. That kind of thing.)

Executive Steven Spielberg and friends obviously adore '80s adolescent movies, and it appears with the style and speed of its clever replies. In light of that, in any case, RP1 acts like Ferris Bueller's best scenes were the joyrides in Cameron's father's Ferrari and Ferris' frantic dash home toward the end. Holding and character improvement have been rejected on the whole to prepare for activity arrangements.

A profound fissure in the uncanny valley

More awful, in all honesty, the activity scenes suck.

About each scene in RP1 happens inside the Oasis, and these scenes, nearly without come up short, are rendered in distractingly floaty CGI. At the film's start, this nearly appears to be deliberate, as though to clarify to watchers that the Oasis is a phony, virtual place. However, that is little reassurance for the visual effect. The opening succession I said, about a hyper auto race, at last feels empty on account of its silly material science demonstrate. Swim auto-mysteriously controls his approach to close achievement, and at no time does it ever resemble the scene has stakes.

We likewise watch Parzival and Art3mis begin to look all starry eyed at inside VR, and their symbols, finish with off-set eyes and floaty livelinesss, live in an entirely profound cleft of the uncanny valley. (The main thing more regrettable than this is Spielberg's choice to reshape a colossal point in the book: that Art3mis' genuine partner is unbecoming, and that Wade defeats that shallow issue because of their VR-world holding. Cooke is no place close to the "Rubenesque" individual that Cline composed into RP1, and Wade's eagerness to "neglect" Art3mis' slight facial checking is sufficiently offensive to influence me to prevent participation for any young ladies.)

There's additionally that minute in which characters reproduce The Shining inside the Oasis, which painfully emerges for two reasons. In the first place, it is the film's uncommon snapshot of joining handy, genuine impacts with VR symbols in fulfilling style. As Wade and his VR companions run and dash and monstrosity out inside the genuine Stanley Hotel, the film becomes animated—particularly as the film's best character, Aech (Lena Waithe), uncovers a great deal of comical identity qualities. It's hard not to contrast this with whatever is left of the CGI-filled Oasis scenes—or more terrible, the appallingly shabby looking soundstage sets that RP1's performing artists every so often stand, run, or drive through—and think about the amount more grounded this film may have felt if a greater amount of the monetary allowance were spent on areas.

The other issue with this scene is that it tonally looks bad inside character James Halliday's sentimentality plunge of a VR world. No place in either the book or film does he set up himself as a blood and gore movie expert, and regardless of whether he were, he's plainly more inspired by characteristically "nerdy" passage. (I'd have expected, say, the cheesy jokes and bleeding Technicolor of Nightmare on Elm Street.)

I call attention to out not to state that I required Freddy Krueger to appreciate the film however to grumble about RP1's perpetual dump of popular culture references... which have little association with the particular wistfulness window that Cline opened up in the book. It doesn't take long to come to an obvious conclusion of which characters do (and don't) show up and arrive at the conclusion that Spielberg and co. simply don't get it. A huge amount of current establishments (Borderlands, Halo, Overwatch) blend with the '90s preferences of Mortal Kombat, Hello Kitty, and Spawn, alongside a genuine weight on establishments that the film studio Warner Bros. has the licenses to (especially DC Comics superheroes).

The most blatant guilty party in such manner is RP1's noisy utilization of The Iron Giant, a WB-created film from 1999 whose focal automated character fortified truly with its child legend. Spielberg's film lets one of its legends bounce into that Iron Giant mech suit, however the subsequent scene is a blast filled activity frolic in which he pummels quick into other marked, super-sized animals. The Iron Giant is diminished to a good for nothing activity figure—which runs in opposition to the arrangement's focal subject of taking advantage of the genuine goal of nerd culture's greatest makers.

One? More like None

RP1's last stretch is an especially tiring trudge where all rationale and importance leave arrange left. For what reason do Wade and his VR companions need to meet in a similar city for this succession, where they're inevitably focused by Sorrento's associates? Why some puzzling rationale drives the great folks or terrible folks into the lead position in this last fight at regular intervals? For what reason does Spielberg indicate a great many Wade's fans moronically kicking around, in actuality, with headsets on, in this manner influencing this Google To glass like future look especially senseless and therefore not worth putting resources into? Furthermore, who really purchases the climactic minute in which the callous Sorrento abruptly grows a Grinch-like heart?

It's every one of the a disgrace, on the grounds that there's absolutely a fair, watchable film covered in this heap of nerd appearances and geek cred shoutouts. Each on-screen character on offer is strong at executing on Spielberg's heading (which, in a couple of characters' cases, is excruciatingly hammy, however I get his '80s purposes behind going that course), and despite the fact that I was never a gigantic fanatic of the book, I've generally trusted it's both a fine read for kids and an ethically solid format for a nerd family film. I could see this activity substantial film being sufficiently fine after a blend of altering and identity building reshoots. Clean up the enlarged activity scenes; let Wade and companions bond in Goonies-or Bueller-like form; offer maybe a couple more scenes in which these adolescents really play with more seasoned establishments for the sake of entertainment ways and hence interface the retro substance to somewhat more mankind.

[flickdirect]

Ready Player One – If you grew up in the 1980's you know that phrase well, especially if you loved video games. The words popped up every time a new game started enticing the player to prepare It is also the title of a New York Times bestselling book by Ernest Cline (Fanboys) that found its protagonist living in both a virtual world and a stark and dismal reality surrounded by 80's pop culture references everywhere. With the visual stimulation described in the novel, there is a natural inclination to interpret the written words and make them into pictures. Award-winning director Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park) has done just that and brought this incredible world to life.

Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan; X-Men: Apocalypse) is a poor teenager living in the "stacks" (a.k.a. slums) of Columbus, Ohio with his Aunt and her abusive boyfriend. In the Virtual World, Oasis, he is known as Parzival who is friends with "H" (Lena Waithe; Master of None). They are both "gunters" – Egg Hunters looking for Halliday's (Mark Rylance; Bridge of Spies) mysterious keys, which open the ultimate prize…control of Halliday's fortune and the Oasis. These keys can only be found by studying Halliday's "bank" of memories.

Also searching for these keys are the "employees" (a.k.a slaves) of Innovative Online Industries (IOI) in order to take over the Oasis and become the biggest gaming company in the world. IOI's CEO, Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) used to work for Halliday as an intern but left to compete with The Oasis. As Parzival Art3mis/Samantha (Olivia Cooke; Bates Motel), H and a few other friends find the keys and move closer to the prize the stakes become higher not only in the virtual world but in real life as well.

In Ready Player One Spielberg showcases everything he does so well. The visuals and special effects are amazing and his sweeping camera shots make the audience feel as if they are actually in the game as well. There were moments I felt as if I was on a roller coaster ride. The script is terrific as well, capturing the audience's attention early on and keeping it throughout the entire movie. Of course, the numerous ‘80's references transports the viewer to a different time and offer some humorous moments. It is a truly different movie-going experience when the audience audibly reacts to what is happening on screen, which happened several times.

Though the stars are young, Sheridan and Cooke are both seasoned actors who bring believability to their characters. Joining them, Mendelsohn is excellent as the antagonist. He exudes a blend of sweet friendliness with the maniacal sneer of an evil person. Ryland is generally terrific and offers a bit of quirkiness often found in computer programmers. The rest of the cast is strong as well giving Ready Player One a solid group of actors to enjoy.

If I have any criticisms of the film it is that 1) there are so many references and they move across the screen so quickly that it is hard to catch them all (Although I ‘m sure as soon as the movie comes out on Blu-ray someone will pause back and forth and catalogue them all) and 2) the ending left a little to be desired.

With so much to offer this movie is a fun, feel good, action film with some great references and an awesome soundtrack. Even though it runs over two hours long, You become so engrossed in the story and the visuals that you don't notice the length – which says a lot about the film. This is one movie that is definitely worth seeing.

Grade B+ * Not sure if you found all the easter eggs in Ready Player One? Check out our ever-updating list here. **Found an easter egg we missed? Email us your Ready Player One easter egg at [email protected]

About Allison Hazlett-Rose Allison Hazlett-Rose has always had a passion for the arts and uses her organization skills to help keep FlickDirect prosperous. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose oversees and supervises the correspondents and critics that are part of the FlickDirect team. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose attended Hofstra University where she earned her bachelors degree in communications and is a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle.

Read more reviews and content by Allison Hazlett-Rose.

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[imthepoetryprincess-blog]

Ready Player One

(WARNING: spoiler alert! You’ve been warned) Can we just talk about how amazing is Ready Player One?! Like for real. It is a piece of art with a lot of 80’s pop culture. Personally, I’m a big fan of the 70’s and the 80’s due to all the amazing comics like X-Men, Excalibur, She-Hulk, The Avengers, Batman, All-Star Squadron and of course the music. 80’s music is characterized to be less rock and roll, more electronic and well… “modern”. My favourite artists from the eighties are Depeche Mode, A-ha, Billy Idol, Toto (they started at the 70’s, but their song Africa was a great hit in 1982), Eurythmics and of course Michael Jackson, the king of pop. Another thing I really enjoyed about this amazing story was that many games I really love were mentioned in the book. For example, Pack-man that was first released in 1980, Galaga (1981), Tempest; also released in 1981, Burgertime (1982) and well, the list can go on. What else? Oh yeah, THE FACT THAT I TOTALLY SHIP PARZIVAL AND ART3MIS. OH MAH LORD. Sorry, but I’m a fangirl, that’s what I do. But seriously, you cannot tell me they are not a cute couple, I was dying when I read the ending. IT WAS SO FRICKING CUTE. Anyways, I’ve read a few negative comments on Tumblr about the movie and guys… no movie is going to be like the book. Never. Ever. So, yeah I’ll admit that it bothered me a little that nor Wade, nor Art3mis looked the way they were described in the book, but hey, Spielberg tired his best. It is not easy to represent a whole world and characters everyone imagines in a different way.

#reader #bookworm #RPO #ready player one #ready player one movie #ready player one film #wade #wade watts #samantha cook #art3mis #booklove

[oasisedits]

art3mis and parzival headers from gunship video.

like if you save

enjoy!

#ready player one #ready player one headers #headers #parzival x art3mis #wade x samantha #wade x sam #art3mis #samantha evelyn cook #parzival #wade watts #ernest cline