#sexy tom baker | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

variousqueerthings · 5 months

Text

Just the old favourites...

AND IT'S THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR! there's four "of the doctor" titles in a row at the end of this, which I will forgive, because the specials back in what 2008? 2009? were also basically about the Doctor, and this is the end of Eleven's era (one episode left after this and we meet Twelve!!!) so yeah, go on, make it a bit Doctor-centric I gueeeess (but maybe a little less?)

anyway, how do we do with the whole... Doctor thing?

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 6/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 5/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 10/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 4/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 2/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 5/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 4/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 5/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 3/10

FULL RATING: 48/100 (if I can count….)

it's got... some points. I am a big fan of Gallifrey being back on the map! I am really into the final bit from Tom Baker appearing until the last little speech. but I don't think most of this hangs together as a coherent narrative, as such. let us peruse

OBJECTIFICATION: considering how many female characters are in this episode, Osgood, Clara, Kate Stewart, Bad Wolf Interface, and Queen Elizabeth, it does remarkably well for a M*ffat penned episode. however. you can guess who suffers a bit -- surprisingly not as much as I'd remember: It's Queen Liz of course (although actually her issues come up more related to this eras ongoing Stuff around authority, and how she interacts with the Doctor)

Elizabeth, you see, is in Looooove with the Doctor, which is the thing that's going to be the single most annoying pervasive plotpoint in RTD's era. she's kind of ditzy about it, even though she's actually capable elsewhere in the episode, and she's introduced in this sort of romantic outing with the Doctor (who's doing it to out her as an alien, which she isn't)

it's not the worst, considering how this character has been described throughout nu!who, but it's also very eye-rollery

BUT WAIT! there's also the Bad Wolf Interface, played by Billie Piper, whom I'd technically be happy to see, and who does pretty well with what she's given, but...

The War Doctor, burning his hand: The interface, it’s hot Bad Wolf Interface: Well I do my best

this isn't massive, I know I know. and technically this is neither Rose nor The Bad Wolf, however... never were these characters portrayed doing this kind of dialogue. the Bad Wolf is kind of a manic pixie dream girl at times, and it irks a bit. it's not massive. but it irks.

PLOT-POINT: Clara is doing plot shit, and not much else. Queen Liz is a joke B-plot point really. Kate Stewart, noooow ok she's got some opinions on things, some things I want to circle back to, but not on this point (but the main gist is, to what extent is Kate Stewart actually an antagonist). Osgood, I'd say, comes out of this the best, she's got a neat little arc with her Zygon self, which I believe carries on into later episodes

and then there's the Bad Wolf/Moment. I quite like the Moment, actually. I think the Moment as a being + a weapon is interesting. Dunno if that much is done with it on the whole (but that's the next point down). I acknowledge that because the Interface has the face of Rose Tyler/The Bad Wolf, I'm treating it like a female character, which may be flawed thinking, but fuckit, onwards, the Moment is a plot device/Macguffin type, because the Moment has no motivations, it just is, and was introduced in this episode in order to give an object around which the Doctor could make choices. and happens to look like the Bad Wolf, but strangely even that doesn't really matter (we'll get to that)

COMPLEXITY: sOOOooo this plot is kind of a series of best-ofs smooshed together. remember the Queen Liz jokes? well, here's the story behind that. remember the fez? Allons-y, Geronimo, making fun of appearances and quirks, check check, Tom Baker (being fabulous), Billie Piper, and... it's a 50th anniversary, it's fine, I get it, but I wish it wasn't so "this happens and then this happens because this is what we need to happen and then this happens..."

and I do like the ending, even though getting to it is very messy

I kind of wish a few elements had been stripped back or entirely away, so one could zero in on some emotional depth, because while there are some great moments (Ten being the Doctor who's always counting deaths, and Eleven being the Doctor who refuses to look at them is a highlight), it moves too fast for you to breathe and take a lot of it in

take, the Moment as Bad Wolf, love it, and they do timey-wimey handwavey you'll forget all of this, so it doesn't totally fuck around with Rose just being an ordinary girl that the Doctor met, but there's this bit where The War Doctor says "oh bad wolf girl I could kiss you!" and she says something to the effect of "you're going to" and Ten goes something like "I'm sorry did you say Bad Wolf!????"... and then we move on

not that this is Ten's episode, but you brought back Billie Piper and not a single little emotional beat of Ten realising that the Bad Wolf in some way is still looking out for them (or hell, Eleven having that beat too, it's not like they're not the same character)

the Time War is the big sufferer of this though. I know it's described in books in a truly terrifying time-fucked-up Eldritch Gods type way, and what we get is a handful of scenes of explosions and screaming citizens (are they Time Lords or just locals? I don't know enough lore to know the details on how many were Time Lords), and this recurring shot of laughing kids around a maypole. what's with the maypole, idk, it's like a symbol for childhood innocence or something in this

if it had made a choice to not actually show details of the Time War, for example, a lot of that could have been left to the imagination and there could have been a different - more affecting - way of portraying the Doctor's Choice. I'm a big fan of the counting the dead as concept, for example, it says something about both Ten and Eleven

also not sold on every single Doctor suddenly beaming away Gallifrey, it's doing a lot of heavy lifting without much explanation about why it should work. a lot of rushedness to get to one single point

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: ohhh well this is the gamechanger for the plot, the shift in gears. no longer a story about someone who carries the guilt of an entire dead civilisation, it's now the story of someone trying to find their way home

it's very much a Doctor story, the Doctor interacting with the Doctor

however there is also UNIT. we've reintroduced UNIT this season with Kate Stewart (daughter of Lethbridge-Stewart), and a "science first" approach. IIIII am not so sure about it all, considering she was ready to Blow Up London, and yeah, that was halted for a second, but for now there's been no follow-up on that first intention

since I'm watching Classic!Who next to it, I notice that the Third Doctor isn't working with UNIT so much as he needs to be there, because there's nowhere else to go, and is frequently trying to curb their worst instinct, and the Brigadier is frequently the face of conservative reactions to the unknown. the Doctor at this point likes him (and also insults him), and I'm sure they'll be going through some relationship stuff in the future

but crucially UNIT's a delicate balance, and maybe kiiiind of in this iteration to, considering Kate Stewart's "blowing shit up" plan. I'm kind of wary of UNIT as uncomplicated good guys, which they weren't at that point, and could be delved into much more. also UNIT feels very... British, in a colonialist sense. there's discomfort there

COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara helps them out a couple of times, but she takes a backseat in this one, untiiiil she basically drives the moment to change Time War History. I feel so bad for her as actress playing a character, because we're given so little, but she's presented as 1. knowing all of Doctor history due to being in their timestream and being "born to save him" and 2. saving Gallifrey from destruction by talking the Doctor out of it???? it's so left-field and not really connected to who she is in the narrative (that is, the narrative struggles to place her in it unless it suddenly needs her). I really like Clara, I don't like what the narrative does with her

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: this has soooooo much handwavey "the Doctor does stuff because the Doctor can," and in a way it's something I'm like "fine because I also want that narrative of returning to Gallifrey and everything that comes with it" but... I do think there's a version of this story that could have done more to complicate the Doctor, but of course that's a lot to ask of a M*ffat type of Doctor Who

the depictions of Time Lord society are also... look I just don't think M*ffat knows how to do epic particularly well. he tries and it's mostly a bit silly. lot of talking and "trust me this is so cool"

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: oof, this one is... hard to parse. some of this is great. some of this annoys the hell out of me, it really depends on where you land on super special girl of all time the Doctor <- when portrayed as such -- I personally wish that something would complicate this story a little bit, and not just pull classic!who back in order to recontextualise it for new canon that I'm not sure is good enough for it

I really liked the Tom Baker cameo, but I just am not a fan of making previous Doctor Who actually about this Doctor Who. it's a thin thin line to cross over, and not one that can be done by smashing it with a hammer, and M*ffat is a hammer-smasher

that being said that last speech, with all the Doctors, big fan!

ALSO they played both Rose's theme and Martha's for some reason. why would you do me like this???!

“SEXINESS”: well, you know what everyone really missed with Ten? it was a woman grabbing his face and kissing him without his consent, because it's very funny and he's clearly uncomfortable. this happens Three times with the same character (queen Elizabeth)

also a bunch of hints from Eleven at Ten that this is all so very sexy and the like bla bla

there's also a screwdriver-comparing dick joke between Ten and Eleven.... Ten I'm sorry you would never!

INTERNAL WORLD: eehhh bit all over the place, but not as much as has been in M*ffat stuff before, which may just be that most of it has been set up before. there's UNIT, there's the Time War/Gallifrey (if very simplistically portrayed), and Elizabethan Timez. could be worse, could be better

POLITICS: Someone! Take! Authority! Figures! Away! From! Doctor! Who! by this I mean the continued glorification of Monarchy and Churchill and military we've had throughout this era, fuckn stop!

make these stories about people that matter! I note in this episode how little of it focuses on people doing shit, and is just about so-called Important People Doing Shit. the most we get to an ordinary person with real stakes in this is Osgood, who is also UNIT (and has Kate Stewart's phone no-less). yes Clara is... there, but she's there to witness the important shit

it takes the Doctor away from the sphere where we actually relate to them, and into the "actually I only worry about the hobnobs and the important things, the little picture the little person is not the Point"

I think that's what this episode suffers from the most. it's floating away in a balloon with nary a character, setting, or Theme to properly ground it, with the exception of that final bit: "At last I know where I’m going, where I’ve always been going. Home, the long way around."

FULL RATING: 48/100 (if I can count….)

and here we are, one episode from the end of Eleven's era, and it's an average M*ffat rating. bit of a mess, but with an actual good teaser at the end there for once!

I like Osgood, think UNIT has the promise to be compelling if handled correctly, and of course I'm into the Classic!Doctors fanservice. I think Ten is written somewhat to the left of actual Ten, there's some bullshit political stuff as a continuation from M*ffat's bullshit political stuff, and the Time War is presented as a bit... simple on the whole

gosh I didn't even mention John Hurt??? JOHN HURT!!!!! he's really good actually, he sells the weariness excellently and brings the Doctor down a peg from All Awe-Inspiring Heroic Being to just some guy in a bad position. John Hurt also had two of my favourite lines, first mistaking Ten and Eleven for companions (they get younger all the time lol) and then when realising they're the Doctor: "You’re my future selves? Am I having a midlife crisis?"

the interaction between the three Doctors is often very good. Eleven about Ten's Tardis: "It’s his grunge phase. He grows out of it"

ANYWAY

we're nearly there folks!

#im watching nu!who #im watching eleven who #the day of the doctor #the measurement

15 notes · View notes

pentechnics · 2 years

Text

Waiting Game

Chapter 7 of Latch

Summary: Things with the Mark do not go as planned. You need to grapple with new realizations and semi-new realities, but not all of that has to be bad or hard. Especially not at Cal's, and especially not with Din.

Pairing: Firefighter!Din Djarin x f!reader

Series Content: modern AU, firefighter!Din, coffee shop AU, fluff, slowish burn, sexual tension, mentions of fire/burning buildings, mentions of burn injuries/scars, mentions of trauma/PTSD, eventual sexual content (will tag for specific chapters), falling in love, Din is a sexy firefighter, and he’s BI, you’re a cute barista/baker, sweet and spicy, eventual mentions of abandoned children (will tag for specific chapters), some bits will be from Din’s POV but most is from reader’s, ALSO Fennec and Omera are a thing now I’m love them

Notes: HELLO MY LOVES SHE'S FINALLY HERE Thank you all so much for your patience -- this one was hard to write lol. I know how much so many of you look forward to this story and I can't tell you how happy that makes me! Whenever I felt badly or negatively about writing, thinking about that helped me refocus. So I hope you all enjoy, please tell me all about it and please reblog so more folks can enjoy it too! Let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist! Much love to you all! ❤️

Chapter Content: dissociative flashback

~~~~

It was all a bit overwhelming.

You were gathered with Karga and the rest of your former coworkers in front of the new Mark building. The foundation had been set, electricity and plumbing ready to go, and the walls had been fully insulated and plastered, leaving an empty shell for you and the volunteer teams to finish up.

You couldn’t stop staring at it; your mind still saw the charred pile of rubble that they plastered onto the news. The image had your heart breaking all over again.

But now the Mark was almost home once more…

…So why were you so on-edge?

“It looks great,” Rita said on your left. Karga hummed in agreement.

“We’ll be starting the rest of the work in just a little while,” he said, turning to address you all. “The volunteer teams will be showing up soon, and I think a local news outlet will be here as well. Remember, if you don’t want to talk to them, you don’t have to.”

You wrapped your arms around yourself as a sudden chill flew down your spine. This was the first mention of any kind of news media; the idea of them asking you anything had your head spinning. Aside from giving Dr. Jinn a few details, you hadn’t spoken in depth about what happened to anyone since you were in the hospital.

Before your head could dwell on the possibility, Tom’s voice called your name and broke you out of your thoughts.

“Quick question for you,” he said, “Would you mind if I recorded a video of you talking about your rescue for the socials? And what things have been like since? I bet people would love to hear it!”

Aside from the drop of your jaw, every inch of you froze.

Did… did he really just ask you that?

He seemed oblivious to the severity of his question, flashing you a grin and cradling his phone in his hand as if it were the most valuable object on Earth.

You narrowed your eyes as your vision flooded in red, biting back the urge to slap it to the ground.

“Are you serious?” you asked, voice low. “You want me to relive my near-death experience so you can get views?”

Tom’s smile disappeared, his eyes dropping from your face. “W-well, that’s… that’s not exactly-”

“You do realize you��re essentially asking me if you can exploit my trauma, right?”

“I…” his voice trailed off and he sighed.

You shook your head and walked away, worried you’d say or do something regretful if you stayed near him any longer.

“The fucking nerve,” you muttered to yourself.

It was hard enough coming back here. Aside from a couple walks past the site – from the other side of the block, where you could only make out a few recognizable landmarks from a distance – you hadn’t been near this area since the day of the fire. Even without Tom’s insensitivity, an eeriness in the wind refused to relinquish its hold on you.

And now the memories of what happened slowly started running through your senses.

It seemed as though the fire had ignited itself once more; your skin grew clammy, your muscles turned to stone, your breaths became shallow. You hugged yourself tighter and squeezed your eyes shut, figuratively clawing into the dirt of your mind for some purchase to keep you from floating away.

A chill blew past you despite the sudden burning pinch in your arms. No matter how much air you tried to force down your windpipe, it never felt like enough. It felt as though you were being choked. The sounds of distant chatter morphed into muffled screaming, and the background buzz of passing cars turned into that of splintering wood and raging flames.

“No,” you whispered, “No, no no…”

Your throat went dry, as if you’d been screaming and your voice was finally giving out. Scratchy and parched. You placed a hand on it as if that would quell the sensation.

Too hot.

Everything was too hot.

Yet goosebumps littered every exposed surface and your sweat ran cold.

You desperately wanted to claw at your skin until there was nothing left. You pinched your arms to quell the urge, each individual nail surely leaving indents.

You bit your lip as you succumbed to the fog. Now an all-too-familiar malaise seeped through your every nerve, turning your blood to ice and setting your heart aflame.

This isn’t real, you internally screamed to yourself. A searing echo through the muggy air, dissipating before your brain could grab hold.

You wanted to cry. You wanted to yell. You wanted to move. But your muscles stood stagnant, unwilling to receive the message. Were you even breathing at this point or had your lungs stopped listening as well?

A sudden hand on your shoulder made you jolt.

You crash-landed back to the remade Mark, to Karga standing beside you with a look of concern, removing his hand from you but keeping it closeby. Honking horns and far off laughter assaulted your ears. You gulped as your eyes darted around, seeing the sun pour through the clouds onto the calm, faintly busy day before you. Your coworkers still stood in a little huddle, perfectly fine and not in a state of panic. You slowly looked back at Karga.

“You okay, kid?”

You scrunched your brow and willed an answer from your throat, but nothing came up. How could you even answer that, and would your body let you? Your mind ran on with its gloom, making you feel as though you were floating above, not quite tethered to your physical form.

You shook your head.

“Head on home. Don’t worry about this.”

“It’s okay-”

“It’s not,” he insisted. “If it’s too soon for you to be here, that’s fine. You need to take care of yourself first.”

You looked around. More cars had surrounded the scene, with multiple volunteer teams gathered near the building’s entrance. A large fire truck was parked across the street. Your stomach churned at the sight, making you hug your arms closer.

“... Okay,” you hated how small you sounded. “I’m sorry, boss.”

“Don’t be. Let me know if you need anything.”

You nodded and forced your feet to move. Once you were near the curb you pulled out your phone to call a ride. Every move of your muscles felt strained and foreign, like you were using them for the first time in years.

Five minutes away, the app read. Might as well be an eternity. But there was no way you’d be able to walk home like this.

You overheard Karga’s faint yet projected voice greet the crowd, thanking them for their participation and guiding them through the plan for the day. When you glanced over, a couple news cameras were pointed at him. Rita and Tom stood behind him, alongside a few other coworkers that showed up for the effort.

An awful, stifling sense of dejection flooded your heart. Along with the rest of the group, you’d put so much work into making this day happen. Multiple meetings, hours of conversation and stressful planning, the weight of an unsure outcome being dragged about on your backs through everything, all for this moment.

And you couldn’t stand to be there.

It felt as though you were right at the finish line but didn’t have the ability to cross it. Even though the rest of the race hadn’t been an issue for you.

All you could do was stand there and watch the rest of your team win it without you.

Your eyes fluttered over the crowd of volunteers; several of them were identifiable by some kind of uniform or matching shirt, like the firefighters and the group from the local library.

Part of you wondered if Din was in there somewhere.

You sighed and looked back to the road. Even if he was, you weren’t sure you could hold an actual conversation in your current state. Sand still coated your throat despite how many times you swallowed, and your mind was still heavy with a dense fog. You curled your hands into fists to keep from scratching your arms.

The car finally pulled up. You climbed inside and took a deep breath as the driver sped away, not daring to look back.

~~~~

“All right, is the harness secure?”

Cobb yanked at the lapels before giving Din a thumbs-up. Din turned and looked over the edge of the makeshift structure to give Mayfeld a signal.

“Go ahead and lower him,” he called.

The team was running a more advanced exercise: propelling into a building from above to conduct a rescue. Mayfeld sat in the rig while Cobb climbed atop the ladder, now slowly letting go and bracing himself as he was suspended downward. Din nodded and guided Mayfeld’s actions from above, keeping a close eye on Cobb.

“Not so fast, Mayfeld.”

Cobb’s descent slowed almost immediately. Din watched his figure dip down into the tower and waited. Once Cobb had given the cable a tug, signaling a successful landing, they concluded the exercise.

“Back inside, get suited up for the next drill,” Din called out. One by one the company filed into the station.

“Freakier than it looks,” Cobb said as he pulled on his fire suit. “Captain always makes it look so easy.”

“She makes everythin’ look easy,” Mayfeld said, “If anything it should be a sign that our asses would be toast if we tried it for real.”

Cobb laughed. Din fastened his suit in silence, not caring to look up as the conversation went on.

“Where is Cap, by the way?”

“She’s at the bookstore today,” Cobb said.

Din’s hand clenched into a brief fist. Today was the third day of the build. He wondered how you were doing, if you were enjoying the process of recreating the place you showed so much affection for.

Were you wearing that soft, glowing smile that came onto your face whenever you talked about your memories there? Or maybe you’d have a more determined look while doing the work, like you did whenever you were making a drink.

He looked forward to seeing for sure once he could get down there. Should he text you about it in the meantime? Or would that be too much? He chewed on his lip as the thought marinated in his head.

Once the team had finished preparing, they piled into the big rig. Din sat in the passenger seat and watched the shallow, gray morning sunlight filter into the garage as the door lifted, making way for the rig to roll into the street ahead. Cars parted for it as the sirens rang out.

The next drill involved a live controlled fire, and was designed to test the company’s abilities to work together and successfully put it out. Din was also being tested; with Fennec out, everyone would be following his command.

He gulped. While it wasn’t his first time leading the team in something like this, the prospect of reenacting a real scene and having to be just as alert as he would be in such a case still shook his core.

When the rig arrived at the small field on the outskirts of the city, Din spotted a few local authorities and officials surrounding the blaze, alongside a fire crew from the station across town.

The fire was small in comparison to what Din was used to, but no flame was to be underestimated. He immediately began to examine the situation alongside the company before divvying up responsibilities and ensuring every member of the group played their part to set up the support station, direct any civilians away, and begin the process of putting out the fire.

“Remember,” he shouted, “keep the whole flame in your sights at all times! Do not get too close, and don’t get cocky!”

His visor fogged up with the projection of his voice, temporarily painting the blaze in a blurry hue. Its smoke sat atop the already cloudy sky, outlining itself with darker shades of gray and the aroma of burning grass. Silhouettes outfitted in large, baggy black suits flanked either side of it just before the telling hum of the hoses rang through the air, the yellow reflective stripes shining with each of their movements.

He ran over and connected with the leader of the other fire crew, and together they spread out their resources to cover the whole of the situation.

Streams of white foam soared into the air towards the fire from multiple directions. Din took a quick mental assessment before jumping into the fray and providing assistance and further direction where it was needed.

Minutes passed like days as the mini inferno slowly grew smaller, allowing both companies to close in and fully douse it.

Where the fire once stood was now a pile of dark ash. Small clumps of the extinguisher foam were scattered about, puffs of steam escaping from them. A few members of the team walked around and ensured there were no surviving embers while a few others spoke with each other and with city officials.

Din made sure to speak with law enforcement the way he would in an actual situation, though it was his least favorite part of being in charge. Throughout the exchange his hand was clenched in a fist; he willed his mouth to speak quicker as the officer before him took note of his report.

“You made quick work of it, well done,” she said.

Din nodded.

“If that’ll be all, Officer Dune?”

She jotted down one last thing before looking back up to Din’s visor.

“I think we’re set.”

With an internal sigh of relief, Din walked back to the rig.

Once everything was packed back up, the crew made their way back to the station. Din headed straight towards Boba’s office and gently knocked on the ajar door.

“Just finished up today’s drills,” he said as Boba waved him in.

“Good, how’d we do?”

“Pretty well. Everyone was cooperative and on top of it.”

Din went on to describe each drill in detail, highlighting the positives and negatives of each one. Boba nodded along as he spoke.

“And what did you think of-”

The shrill ring of the office phone cut off Boba’s question. He held a hand up as he answered it.

Din watched his face with interest. Boba’s brow furrowed as whoever was on the line spoke before his eyes met Din’s.

“It’s for you, Djarin.”

~~~~

“Sounds like that one was particularly vivid,” Dr. Jinn shifted in his chair.

“Yeah,” you said with a nod. “I’ve only had dreams that felt that real. It was scary.”

“I bet.”

“And Tom asking me to talk about it out of the blue like that really didn’t help,” you went on. “Part of me kinda felt like I was too harsh, but at the same time I don’t think it was a fair thing for him to ask me. What do you think?”

“I’d say it was definitely ill-timed,” Dr. Jinn said. “And getting yourself out of there was probably better than trying to continue a dialogue.”

“I don’t think I could’ve even if I wanted to,” you breathed.

From your periphery, you could see him nodding.

“It might be a good idea to talk to him once this has settled down a bit,” he said, voice quiet. “It’s very possible he didn’t realize what he was asking of you. And while it’s not your job to explain anything to him, it’d be good to clear the air if you’re going to eventually be working together again.”

You sighed before nodding.

You weaved your fingers together in your lap, squeezing them in an attempt to relieve the pressure of the memory. It had been two days, yet the palpable sensations from the moments following that conversation still haunted you.

“You might also need to consider that you’ll need more time before you can return to the Mark,” Dr. Jinn said slowly, “even after the rebuild is done.”

These were words you expected him to say, yet they still stung through the comforting tenor of his voice.

”Probably,” you breathed. “... But I really hate the idea of missing out on it.”

You sat up as a pulse of frustration echoed through your nerves.

“I put in a lot of work with everyone else to pull this off. And this was supposed to be the best part of it all.”

It just wasn’t fair, being stranded while everyone else got to see the whole thing out. What had you done to deserve it?

Memories of your childhood flashed through your mind, of so-called friends hanging out without you. Of missing a day of school and then hearing how great it was for everyone else. Of family members telling you all about the things they’d done together.

Of missing out.

And while you understood this was different, that no faults were to be had nor choices to be made, the bitter hurt in your chest was indistinguishable.

“That’s a very understandable thing,” Dr. Jinn said, “It’s disheartening to think you won’t be in the fray while everyone else is.”

“Exactly. I don’t want to be left behind. And despite what any of them will say, that’s what it’ll feel like.”

Your words hung in the air, not heavy or foreboding, but present enough to make you think. Dr. Jinn nodded and released a breath through his nose.

“Luckily, these things are never set in stone.”

You glanced at him. He was peering at you with a grin, raising a brow when your eyes met.

“Who knows where you’ll be in two weeks?”

You couldn’t help the seeds of annoyance sprouting in your gut. He’s the one who just said you needed time, what sort of change could happen in just two weeks if that were true?

“And if I’m still here?” you asked, putting little effort into hiding your feelings. “If I still can’t go back?”

“Then you’ll still be two weeks further along in your timeline than you are now. And that’s got to count for something, right?”

All at once you felt guilty for your sudden anger. You eased back in the chair and digested his words. Of course that wasn’t his whole idea, you scolded yourself. Maybe you needed to keep an eye on your patience levels.

“And hey,” he continued, “if you do find yourself in a place where you can go back, that’s great. Just don’t feel pressured to rush it — places can be very powerful.”

You sighed. Places hold power, huh?

Your thoughts drifted to Cal’s. The lingering aroma of freshly ground coffee beans mingling with that of sugar and cinnamon was the first sensation to come to mind. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, and you swore you could smell it all right there in Dr. Jinn’s office.

Images of Kuiil and Omera filled your mind’s eye. Both such calming, joyful people. Baking in the kitchen, preparing drinks, and shuffling about cleaning tables – despite how hectic it could get, you found yourself fully laying back against the plush chair, your shoulders drooping downward.

“May I ask what you’re thinking about?”

Dr. Jinn’s voice was like a gentle hand urging you to wake – not shaking or shouting, but a small caress that cradled you back to the present moment.

“Cal’s,” you breathed. “I’m thinking about Cal’s.”

He nodded.

“That’s the great thing about this kind of power – it goes both ways. Some places have horrible memories attached to them. But for every one of those, there’s another that has wonderful ones.”

You smiled. The people and atmosphere of Cal’s really were some of the best. And you hadn’t even started thinking about Din yet.

“How about that regular of yours, has he shown up recently?”

Your head snapped back to him. Could Dr. Jinn read your mind?

You told him you hadn’t seen Din since the day he dropped you off in the rain, that he’d texted you multiple times in the interim.

“It’s nice, we just sort of talk about anything,” you said, getting lost in the memories of peeking at your phone where it would sit beside you on the sofa, waiting for the screen to light up with his name. Then being unable to stop your smile from spreading each time it did.

“And you two are planning a date?”

“Yeah,” You sat up at the reminder. Dr. Jinn smiled.

“We’re still kind of figuring out schedules,” you said, “but I guess mine’s a little more flexible now since I don’t think I’ll be going to any building sessions soon.”

“What sort of date would you want to have?”

“I’m not sure,” you said with a shrug, settling back into your seat. “I mean, I don’t even know if I should consider this our first or second one. Going on that walk and the arcade…”

Your voice trailed off as you recalled it. The delicate taste of white mocha on your tongue, the weighted cold of the rain, the glow in Din’s eyes as they stared into yours. Heat traveled up to your cheeks.

“... It felt very date-ish. But without any pressure, if that makes sense.”

“Completely. That’s great!”

“I’ve never felt pressured with him, actually, now that I’m thinking about it. He’s very easy to be around”

Your mind wandered to his many visits to Cal’s. His soothing presence, the pleasant conversations, the way he so freely pulled out sides of you that you hadn’t seen in so long – or even knew existed. You looked out the window to the overcast day beyond, small pockets of sunlight bleeding through the clouds.

You wondered what Din was up to today – was he working? Or was he home with Grogu?

“That’s a pretty good sign,” Dr. Jinn said. “It’s good to surround yourself with people who make you comfortable.”

You hummed, a smile pulling at your lips.

“Did I tell you about when his baby called me?”

You regaled the story while Dr. Jinn listened, those smoky eyes absorbing every word you said. His laughter was small but powerful – deep chuckles that made the very air rumble.

“Sounds like he was mortified.”

“I liked that though,” you said through your grin, “It was the first time I’ve seen – or heard him, I guess – like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like… not fully composed. Caught off guard. I don’t know, I get the sense that he’s not one to get surprised by things. So it was nice.”

Dr. Jinn gave you a nod before jotting down a note.

“Maybe there will be more opportunities to see that side of him.”

“I hope so,” you breathed, not thinking about the words before saying them.

Your shoulders tensed when it clicked in your mind.

More opportunities with Din… you were hoping for all kinds.

But now those hopes were actually tangible. Once you actually started pursuing him, none of your feelings would just live in your head anymore.

You’d have to lay them out on the table. You’d have to let him see them.

So much for not being nervous about this date.

~~~~

The next afternoon found you behind the counter at Cal’s, serving the few customers that were lined up before you. The air around you was filled with light chatter, scattered sunlight, and an assortment of warm scents. Omera shared the shift with you, her presence always a welcomed addition to your environment.

“How is Winta doing?” you asked her as you prepared a matcha latte.

“She’s great,” Omera said with a bright smile. “She’s currently working her way through your book recommendations – she can’t seem to put any of them down.”

“Aw, that makes me so happy to hear!”

You placed a hand to your heart before resuming your task and handing the drink off to the customer.

The chime of the door caught your attention. You turned to see a familiar face walk through and saunter over to you. You smiled at him.

“Mr. Vanth,” you greeted, “it’s good to see you again. What can I get for you?”

“Please, sugar, you can just call me Cobb. Here’s the list for ya.”

He leaned on the counter as he handed you a slip of paper, which you immediately began to ring up.

“How are things going for you?” you asked as you worked.

“Same old, same old,” he said with a shrug. “Been runnin’ a few drills to brush up our skills.”

“That sounds interesting!”

“Yeah, Mando was actually leadin’ ours yesterday until he left.”

“Oh?” your head popped up at the mention of Din. “Did he not stay the whole day?”

“Nah, got some kind of call he had to take care of.”

“Is he okay?”

“Don’t worry, hon, I’m sure he’s fine.”

He seemed so assured and nonchalant, you couldn’t help believing him. Yet a sense of worry still nagged at the back of your mind, poking you like the scratchy tag on a new shirt. You tried to mask your concern as you gave Cobb a nod and resumed your typing.

That would explain why Din hadn’t responded to the text you sent him yesterday; your mind began to wander, wondering what was so urgent.

Once the order was paid for you and Omera began making each drink. You continued to make small talk with Cobb as you went, though your actions were shakier than before.

You couldn’t stop glancing at the wall clock, willing your break to come sooner so you could try texting Din again.

~~~~

“You’re sure he’s okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine.”

Din was holding Grogu upright on the patient table as Dr. Tano examined him. One of Grogu’s little hands grasped Din’s finger while the other was shoved into his mouth.

“I’m glad we were able to get you in today. His fever is a bit high, but I’ll give you this,” she held up a medicine box. “Give him a dose in the morning and a dose at night for the next three days. If the fever hasn’t broken by then, give me a call.”

Din nodded and took the box.

“And you, little guy,” she bent down and smiled at Grogu. “You get lots of sleep, okay? You’ll feel better soon.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Din said with a sigh.

As Din walked out of the clinic with Grogu strapped into his bjorn, the weight on his shoulders ironically grew lighter.

“You really scared me, kid,” Din gave Grogu a pout, which just made the latter giggle.

The partly cloudy afternoon glistened above while Din resituated Grogu in his car seat and plopped into the driver’s seat. He took out his phone and scrolled to Luke’s name, pressing the ‘call’ button beside it. He picked up after two rings.

“Hey, Luke, it’s me. We just left the doctor.”

“Oh good, what did she say?”

“Grogu’s okay, he’ll just need some medicine for the next few days.”

“Ah, what a relief!”

Din let out a laughy sigh. The sheer panic that had taken over when the phone call came through the day before was unlike anything Din had ever felt – even within work. He’d been completely inconsolable until he had Grogu in his arms again.

His heart swelled with gratitude; what would he have done if Luke wasn’t there?

“Thank you again for calling yesterday, Luke. I’ll stay with Grogu tomorrow just in case.”

“Of course, Mr. Djarin. I’ll be here if you need me.”

Din wrapped up the conversation and glanced at the little bundle through his rearview mirror. Grogu was staring right back with a pacifier in his mouth, a smile forming around it as his little feet wiggled in the air from under a blanket. Din couldn’t help grinning.

A sudden buzz in his hand called his attention back to the phone. His brow shot up when your name lit up the screen.

‘Wanted to check in! Hope everything’s okay with you. 😊’

A cluster of varying emotions swirled together in Din’s heart: a sweet concoction of happiness and nervous energy that encapsulated his being. He was used to being the thoughtful one. Yet here you were, giving him a run for his money.

‘Thank you,’ he began to type. ‘Things are good. Could I call you later?’

His thumb hovered over the ‘send’ arrow. Despite your positive interactions up to now, he still couldn’t help wondering if he was overstepping or causing you discomfort with questions like that. The nerves of possibility slowly crawled up his spine.

When was the last time he’d spoken with you? He hadn’t been to Cal’s in a couple weeks. Felt more like months. Just imagining your voice was enough to make him let out a contented sigh.

He sent the message.

Grogu cooed as Din started the car and began the drive home, Hakuna Matata beginning to play through the speakers. Din tuned it out and began formulating a to-do list in his mind while the world passed by his sight: call the Chief, start dinner, gather the laundry-

A buzz in his pocket.

He grinned. Hopefully he could add a phone call with you to the end of the list.

~~~~

You were practically vibrating with excitement for the rest of the day.

You and Din had only done a couple phone calls, but they were memories you thought about more than you realized.

Your body remembered every jitter and bead of sweat, yes, but your heart also recalled the way his voice felt in your ear: gentle, sweet, the aural equivalent of biting into a freshly baked cookie. And the conversations were just like the ones you had with him at work: easy, diverse, and endlessly enthralling regardless of the subject.

You couldn’t wait to do it again.

You glanced at the clock: 6:30pm. One more hour before you clocked out for the day. You took a glance around before making your way to the kitchen.

Kuiil was placing a tray into the oven, calling you over to pass him the ones waiting on the counter.

“What kind are these?” you asked, peering at the colorful little circles that would soon become macarons.

Once each tray was in the oven, he pointed at each color as he named them.

“Blue is vanilla, pink is strawberry, orange is pumpkin, and green is matcha.”

“Mmm,” you hummed, “those sound amazing.”

“Come, I’ll show you how I make the filling.”

Like a spring had been let loose, you hopped on the balls of your feet before following him to the large island.

For the next half hour, Kuiil walked you through every step for making the macaron filling, even putting you in charge of a couple of the flavors. While part of you was anxious about messing it up, his confidence and carefree attitude pushed you forward.

“So, is this the right kind of consistency?”

You tipped your bowl in his direction, giving it a couple stirs. It was stiff; your spatula fought to work through it.

“Perfect,” he said, giving you a pat on the shoulder.

You spent the rest of your shift helping with the macarons, piping filling onto them and sandwiching them together once they came out of the oven.

Eventually they were all piled together in the serving tray, little labels front and center. Kuill picked up a vanilla one and held it out to you.

“Try it.”

You glanced over your piping handiwork before biting into it. The shell was perfectly crisp, giving way to the softness underneath and the creamy center. As expected from Kuiil, it was the perfect macaron.

“Oh my gosh, it’s incredible,” you said mid-chew.

He nodded with a grin.

“Last week you learned the shells, now you know the filling. Next time, you’ll make your own batch.”

Your eyes widened so fast you worried they’d bug out of your skull.

“Wait– really?”

“Start thinking of flavors, dear. I have spoken.”

With that he picked up the tray and left for the front, leaving you to gawk at his retreating figure. You looked around at the grand kitchen, a sight that never failed to send a wave of excitement through you, and tried to contain the joy that was bouncing about inside you like a rabbit on the run.

Your own macarons? Where would you even start? There were endless flavor possibilities; a list of them immediately began to run through your brain.

Your grin split your face in two. You had work to do.

~~~~

After showering and applying your cream for the night, you plopped onto your bed with a sigh.

You looked down at your arms and legs. The scars lined each limb like thick bolts of lightning, sticking out against your skin. Your compression sleeve poked out from under your sleeve; you ran a gentle hand over it. The scar underneath was a little less poofy when you checked it in the shower, but still pained you to look at.

You hated that you’d taken to wearing long sleeves for reasons unrelated to the colder weather. The doctor assured you that you’d get used to the marks, Dr. Jinn told you to give it time, yet they still seemed so foreign. Not to mention the multiple encounters that just confirmed how much they made you negatively stand out.

How long had it been? Almost five months? You sighed. Not enough time to adjust, Dr. Jinn would say. Waiting games were the worst.

Your mind drifted to a memory of Din tracing over your scar with his finger. It was the most gentle touch, as if you were something precious, and he wanted to savor the texture. Even before the accident, no one had ever made you feel so desired with a single gesture.

You wanted to feel that again. Like a broken record, it played through your head over and over, eventually sending a small shiver up your spine.

As if on cue, your phone began to buzz.

You flung your arm over to grab it and smiled upon seeing his name light up the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” you could hear the smile in his voice, despite the phone’s grainy filter on it. “This still a good time?”

“Yes, for sure,” you readjusted your seating position and gripped the hem of your blanket. “How are you?”

“Good, good, had a bit of a time until this afternoon. Grogu has a fever.”

You gulped as your heart jumped, worry beginning to seep through you like you were absorbing it from the air. You could only imagine the sort of panic that would cause. No wonder he left work early.

“Oh gosh, is he okay?”

“He’ll be fine, just needs medicine.” Din’s voice was as calm as ever. “Slept through most of the day, which the doctor said might happen.”

“Well that’s good,” you let out a sigh of relief. “You must’ve been worried.”

“I’m fine,” he chuckled.

“How long will he need the medicine for?”

“Doc said three days. But hopefully the fever will be gone before then.”

You pictured little Grogu’s face in your mind. That bright smile, those poofy cheeks and shining eyes. His laughter echoed through your ears, bringing a smile to your lips.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay,” you said softly. “Will you give him a kiss for me?”

Something clattered on his end. A staccato of static greeted your ears, making you recoil from the phone. You bit down a laugh.

“You okay over there?” you asked.

“Y-yeah,” his voice rejoined. “Sorry, I… dropped my phone.”

You couldn’t help giggling.

“But yes, I’ll…” he trailed off, the muffled sound of him clearing his throat making your smile grow. “... I’ll give him a kiss for you.”

You hummed, the visual of him cradling Grogu in his arms and bringing him up to plant a gentle peck on his forehead making warmth spill from your chest.

“How are you? How’s the build going?”

That warmth turned heavy. Dense. It was as if someone had shoved a boulder down your throat.

You clutched the blanket in a tighter fist, willing any words to come out of your mouth.

“Oh… I, um-”

You took a deep breath. It went down rough, scratching down your throat like a cat on a post. His silence was palpable, but in a way that brought you further into the moment rather than pushing you away. You focused in on it and tried to redirect your tension to any other part of your body that didn’t need to be used right then.

“... I actually haven’t been going,” you managed. “I don’t think I can.”

“Is everything okay?”

The soft concern in his voice caressed you like a hug. You smiled and leaned into the sensation.

“Yeah, I just… can’t really stand to be there just yet.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, it was definitely unexpected,” you gave a light chuckle to lighten the tone. “But it is what it is. They’ll be fine.”

“... And you?”

“Aw, I will be, too,” a more genuine smile found its way onto your face at his consideration of you. “Just need time.”

He hummed in response. A smooth, natural silence fell over you both, one without pressure or discomfort. You imagined it’d be a moment where you’d just be staring at him if he were in front of you, like you caught yourself doing whenever he was at Cal’s.

What it was about those brown eyes that had you stuck on them whenever he was near, you weren’t sure you’d ever know. They were magnetic. Hypnotic. Glowing gems that would reach out and grab hold of your soul the way the lovers in your books did: firmly, yet gently, with purpose and conviction, unwilling to let go.

“Hey,” he started, breaking your trance. “I, um, wanted to ask you…”

He let out a sigh. You mirrored his earlier actions and stayed silent in hopes of giving him the space to find his words.

Once he did, your heart leapt into your throat.

“Would you want to do our date next weekend?”

****

✨please reblog if you enjoyed this! Support your content creators!✨

#the mandalorian #din djarin #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin x reader #mando x reader #grogu #fluff #mando #mando fanfiction

109 notes · View notes

popentertainment-moviereviews · 4 months

Text

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (2023)

Starring Callum Turner, Joel Edgerton, Jack Mulhern, Sam Strike, Alec Newman, Peter Guinness, Luke Slattery, Thomas Elms, Tom Varey, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Wil Coban, Hadley Robinson, Courtney Henggeler, James Wolk, Chris Diamantopoulos, Glenn Wrage, Edward Baker-Duly, Adrian Lukis, Dominic Tighe, Alec Newman and Andrew Bridgmont.

Screenplay by Mark L. Smith.

Directed by George Clooney.

Distributed by Amazon MGM Studios. 124 minutes. Rated PG-13.

As a director, George Clooney certainly likes living in the past. Of the nine films that he has helmed, seven of those were period pieces, many of them based on true stories. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind took a look at TV personality Chuck Barris in the 1960s and 1970s. Good Night and Good Luck took place during the McCarthy era of the 1950s. Leatherheads looked at the early days of football in the 1920s. The Monuments Men took place during World War II. Suburbicon was during the 1950s. The Tender Bar was about growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. In fact his two films which did not take place way in the rear-view mirror were The Ides of March (a current-day political thriller) and The Midnight Sky (a post-apocalyptic tale.)

The Boys in the Boat returns the filmmaker to the World War II era – specifically revolving around the leadup to the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. It also is intriguing by looking at the United States in the latter years of the Great Depression. So, in theory, it should be an interesting time capsule.

Perhaps the biggest problem with The Boys in the Boat is simply this – the 1936 US crew team, which did win a Gold Medal and helped to embarrass Adolf Hitler at his own Olympics, isn’t even the most interesting or best-known American athlete during that Olympics. That would be Jesse Owens, who as a character has a few short appearances here, and who has been subject of several biopics of his own which explore this particular crossroads in history.

More to the point, to be perfectly honest, crew may be a fascinating, hard sport to compete in, but it is a pretty dull one to watch. After all, it’s like the old standup comedian said, I don’t want any part of a sport that they used to force slaves to do. And this view of rowing is coming from someone who grew up in a city in which crew is a tradition. In fact, of the four college squads which are shown to have had a chance to go to the Olympics back then, one of them was from my hometown.

In fact, George Clooney acknowledged that part of his motivation in making the film was that he felt there were no films that faithfully and excitingly captured crew as a sport and a pursuit.

Does he remedy that problem? Probably not. But The Boys in the Boat has its moments.

Probably Clooney and his long-time collaborator Grant Heslov and screenwriter Mark L. Smith tossed their net a bit too wide. There were nine members of the crew team being watched in The Boys in the Boat. Then you have to add the coaching staff, friends, families, wives, girlfriends, fellow students, neighbors in their town, opposing teams, opposing coaches, the Olympic committee and more. There are probably like 100 speaking roles, and that’s before they even go to Germany for the Olympics and the cast of characters is multiplied.

That’s a whole lot of characters to fit into a two-hour movie, to the point that many of the characters here are basically given one-dimensional oversimplifications of their roles: The uptight rower, the supportive girlfriend, the unfeeling father, the sexy and sweet coach’s wife. (That character, while often enjoyable, also feels like an anachronism in this film. While I could probably see her acting like this in… say… the 1960s, her open sexuality and confident feminism feels out of place in the 1930s.)

These characters undoubtedly had a lot more room to breathe in Daniel James Brown’s novel of the same title, but too many people here come off as shallow. Of course, the film basically spends much of its time exploring two characters – although they even disappear from the film for chunks of time. These characters are the extremely poor oarsman Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), who has taken on the role on the team as a way of financial survival, and the gruff-but-good-hearted crew coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), who is doing all in his power to get these talented-but-unmotivated boys into the Olympics.

From the look and the pace and the subject of The Boys in the Boat (and the fact that it is being released on Christmas day), it seems likely that Clooney, et al, were hoping for some award recognition for their film. And perhaps they will, at least in the technical nominations. The film looks spectacular and realistic, from the desperate Washington state streets of the Depression to the tony halls of early academia to the self-consciously grandiose splendor of the Berlin Olympics.

The Boys in the Boat is not as good or important of a film as the filmmakers had hoped it would be, but it’s worth taking a look at.

Jay S. Jacobs

youtube

#The Boys in the Boat #2023 #Movie Review #George Clooney #Joel Edgerton #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

7 notes · View notes

disturbedbydesign · 2 years

Text

Take Me Home - Part 9

PAIRING: Dennis Baker x Reader

SUMMARY: It’s been nearly a year since your ex-boyfriend dumped you and left you with a laundry list of insecurities, and you haven’t been able to really put yourself out there since. But when Dennis shows up at the adoption fair you’re running for your job at the animal shelter, there’s just something about him that makes you feel like you’re ready to try again.

WORD COUNT: 4.9K

WARNINGS (more to come): Body Issues (Dennis and Reader), References to Past Animal Abuse, Emotionally Abusive Exes (Dennis and Reader), Mention of Past Domestic Violence (Dennis’s Evil Ex), Dry Humping/Thigh Riding, Two Idiots In Love Making Out In A Car, Oral (M Receiving), Titjob, Cum Play, Fingering. 18+ only, no minors.

TAGLIST: @littlelioncub43, @filthy-gorgeous, @whatinthestyles, @justile, @mazarinqueen, @valhalla-kristin, @elrw24, @janaev4ns, @ysmmsy, @ronearoundblindly, @thornsnvultures, @terry2227

*Taglist is open to 18+ readers (no blank blogs) who comment, reblog, and/or chat with me via asks. If you just want to read lowkey, that’s cool and you do you, but the taglist is reserved for the lovely people who want to interact with me and my story :)

Series Masterlist

Part Nine

The restaurant is bustling for a Sunday night, and as the hostess takes you to your table you look around in awe of the place. It’s sleek and modern without being minimalist, bathed in low warm light with chillout music playing at the perfect volume. The place is lively and sexy and not any place you’d ever have pictured Dennis choosing, but you’re pleasantly surprised to find that, in his Sunday best, with his arm around your waist, he looks totally comfortable. The hostess seats you at a table near the open kitchen, and when she hands Dennis the wine list, he passes it to Mal almost instinctively.

“You drinking tonight?” she asks you.

“Not really,” you reply. “I’ve got work in the morning, and you know more than two and I’m useless the next day.”

She sighs. “Lightweight,” she says, snapping the wine list closed. “Cocktails it is then. I’m not gonna drink a whole bottle by myself.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” you snark, and she laughs.

“Hey! Don’t make me look like a wino in front of my new friend here.” She turns to Dennis. “So, what’s your poison, Dennis?”

“I’m not much of a drinker either,” he replies, “but feel free to get whatever you want.”

“You might regret saying that,” Mal replies, “but I’ll just stick to my dirty martinis.”

You turn to Dennis, who is holding the signature cocktail menu, and point at one of the drinks. “I was checking out the menu earlier and I thought you might like this one—it’s like an old fashioned but with fresh peaches and blackberries.”

“That sounds perfect,” he says. “I love peaches.”

“Well you’ve already got the juiciest peach in this place,” Mal quips, and you kick her under the table. “Ow! Fuck.”

“Don’t mind her,” you say, noting the flush rising on Dennis’s cheeks and the tiny smile playing at the corner of his lips. “She’s an idiot.”

Dennis leans over and whispers in your ear, “She’s not wrong,” and the deep timbre of his voice shoots straight to your core.

“Stop it,” you say. “Both of you.”

Mal giggles and gives Dennis a cheeky little wink. It’s gonna be a long night if she keeps this up, but you’re not actually mad. It feels good—easy, comfortable even—being with the two of them, and you can tell Mal already likes him. She wouldn’t bother hiding it if she didn’t.

You already know what you’re going to order. When you weren’t out of your mind on wedding websites earlier in the day, you were studying the menu and making your decision. All of you are ready by the time the waiter arrives to take your drink order but when you see the man’s face you freeze for a moment before looking away. You know him—Tom; he used to work at Brad’s restaurant and he would hang out late night with the chef crew from time to time. You bury your face in the menu, hoping he doesn’t recognize you. If he does, he doesn’t mention it, just takes your table’s order and says he’ll be back swiftly with your drinks.

One slight arch of a perfectly shaped eyebrow tells you Mal knows something’s up, but she’s not about to ask you in front of Dennis. You shake your head at her, almost imperceptibly, telling her to drop it in that secret non-verbal friend language.

“So, Dennis,” she says, and you brace yourself for what’s coming.

“Here we go… Please be nice, Mal.”

“I’m always nice. I just want to know what your intentions are with my bestie here.”

“Oh my Godddd.” You hide your face in your hands and you hear Dennis chuckle next to you. “You don’t have to answer that.”

“It’s a valid question,” he says. “She’s just looking out for you.”

“Damn right,” Mal says. “So…”

“Well,” Dennis begins, “I don’t know how much she’s told you about me and my divorce-”

“I didn’t say anything,” you interrupt, turning to him. You look into his eyes, needing him to know that you didn’t break his trust. “I didn’t tell her about all that, and you don’t have to either.”

“It’s ok.” He places his hand on your thigh under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze before turning back to Mal. “I was in a bad situation for a really long time. My ex-wife is… not a nice person. When we finally got divorced, I thought it was enough to just be away from her, that I could just be happy on my own without having to deal with… all that.” He turns to you and the adoration in his eyes makes your stomach flip. “But then I met you, and I knew I could never be happy alone knowing you were out there.” He turns back to Mal. “I never thought she’d go out with me. Couldn’t even get up the courage to ask her. She had to ask me. But I’m so happy she did. So, uh, I guess my intentions are to make her happy for as long as she lets me.”

You can see from the way Mal’s face softens as he talks that he’s already won her over, and she confirms it when she says, “OK, that’s the cutest shit I’ve ever heard. I might puke actually.”

You turn to Dennis. “Do you mean that?”

“Every word,” he replies, and you lean over and cup his face with one hand and plant a gentle kiss on his lips as Mal fakes gagging sounds in the background.

A voice rings out, and it’s one you never wanted to hear again. “Get a room.”

Your hand drops to Dennis’s shoulder and you grip it tight, staying stock-still as your body runs cold and your heart pounds in your chest. Dennis looks up and over your shoulder, glaring at the source of the interruption with his eyebrows scrunched together, but you don’t turn around—you can’t, because you know exactly who is behind you and he’s the last person on earth you want to see.

You hear Mal’s voice but it’s like you’re underwater. “What the fuck are you doing here?” she snaps.

“I work here, Mallory,” Brad says. “Tommy said you all were here and I figured I’d bring you your drinks… on the house, of course.”

“We don’t want shit from you. Just fuck off, will you?”

“Aww, not even gonna turn around, babe?” he says, and you can hear the smirk in his voice. “Come on. That’s no way to treat an old friend.”

“She’s not your fucking friend and you need to leave,” Mal says, practically growling. “Now.”

“Well considering I’m the sous chef here, I’m pretty sure I can be wherever I’d like.”

You hate that you’re frozen in place, unable to turn around and face Brad and unable to look Dennis in the eye. You can feel Dennis’s eyes on you as you try to keep your breathing steady and swallow what feels like a golf ball lodged in your throat. You’ve got your head down, staring at the patch of chest hair poking out the top of Dennis’s dress shirt, when you feel him grab your hand under the table and squeeze.

He leans in and asks low in your ear, “That him?” and you nod.

Dennis clears his throat and you can tell he’s about to say something but you don’t want him involved. You can’t hide from this; you need to be the one to put an end to it. Taking a deep breath to steady yourself, you turn around and see Brad sneering at you in his chef’s whites.

“There she is,” he says. “Been a while.”

“Not long enough,” you reply.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend here?” Brad asks.

“Wasn’t planning on it, no.”

Before you even know what’s happening, Dennis is up out of his seat and walking over to Brad, stopping a reasonable distance from him but still towering over him. “Dennis,” he says, holding out his hand. “I’m her boyfriend. And I’m assuming you’re Brad?”

Dennis absolutely dwarfs him and you know that Brad notices. He was always self-conscious about his height and has the Napoleon complex to prove it. You see the way he puffs his chest up and tries to stand a little taller as he shakes Dennis’s hand.

“She told you about me, huh?” he asks, wincing almost imperceptibly as Dennis gives him what must be a very strong handshake.

“She did,” Dennis replies, “and from what I’ve heard, I think it’d be best if you went back to work now.”

Mal is wearing the biggest shit-eating grin on her face as she looks back and forth between Dennis and Brad, but you can’t take your eyes off of Dennis—the strong posture, the tilt of his head, and the steely-eyed stare that doesn’t match the smile on his face. The tension in the air is thick because you know Brad is angry. He doesn’t like being challenged. He doesn’t like it when he’s not the one in charge. His nostrils flare and you think for a second he might keep going—say something to try to embarrass you or make you feel small—but he doesn’t. He can’t, because Dennis is a customer and he’d never make a scene at his own restaurant. He’s a dick, sure, but he’s always been professional.

“Well,” he says, backing away with his hands clasped in front of him. “I hope you all enjoy the food.” He looks you dead in the eye and you can see the hostility when he says, “You have a nice night, hon.”

Dennis is back in his seat with his arm around your shoulders, and the gentle way his fingertips are brushing your bare arm is steadying your heart rate a bit. Still, you need a moment alone to get your shit together because you feel like you could scream. You can hear that “hon” echoing in your head, dripping with malice. You hate that he still thinks he can call you that, and you hate that he had the audacity to do it in front of Dennis.

“You good?” Mal asks, and you nod.

“We don’t have to stay,” Dennis says, but you place your hand on top of his where it rests on your upper arm and smile at him, though you can tell it doesn’t quite reach your eyes.

“I’m ok,” you say. “Just gonna go to the ladies’ room real quick.”

Mal offers to accompany you but you tell her to stay. You need a few minutes alone.

***

Dennis watches you walk determinedly towards the bathroom with a pit in his stomach. Things were going so well, but of fucking course he had to pick the restaurant where your asshole ex works.

“She’ll be fine,” Mal says, taking a sip of her martini. “Just give her a few minutes.”

Dennis takes a sip of his drink, which is annoyingly good because he wants to hate everything about this place now that he knows that Brad is involved in it. “Well,” he says, “I sure fucked this up.”

“No you didn’t,” Mal replies. “None of us knew he worked here. You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, I think you handled it perfectly. I mean, did you see the look on that asshole’s face?”

Dennis did, in fact, see the look on Brad’s face when he approached him—like he was ready for a fight only to find his opponent was in a higher weight class.

“Yeah,” he says, running his hand through his hair. “What the hell was he trying to accomplish with that anyway? I mean, I know they ended on bad terms.”

Mal snort laughs and leans in toward Dennis. “You can say that again. Brad is maybe the biggest asshole I have ever met, and I know a lot of assholes. And he wanted the same thing he always wanted, which is to embarrass her and make her feel like shit. He’s lucky you got up because I was about two seconds from slugging him.”

“Maybe we should go,” Dennis says, because he wants to get you as far away from Brad as possible and he can’t imagine you’d really want to stay now—you’re probably just saying that to make him feel better about making the worst possible restaurant choice.

“Fuck that. We’re not going anywhere. He doesn’t get to win.” Mal checks over Dennis’s shoulder to make sure you’re not on your way back before continuing. “How much did she tell you about him?”

“Enough,” Dennis replies, his jaw clenching as he thinks about all the things you’d shared with him. “I know he made her feel bad about herself, like she wasn’t good enough for him and like being with her was some sort of… like… charity, which—now that I’m seeing this guy—is even more insane than I already thought it was.”

Mal pauses, and Dennis can tell that she’s unsure how much to share. “It’s more than that,” she says. “It’s not really my place to say and she wouldn’t want me to, but… well… he made her feel ugly in a lot of different ways.”

“She mentioned that, yeah. She wouldn’t go into detail. She didn’t want to talk about it and I didn’t press. I mean, it’s absolutely ridiculous to begin with because she’s fucking gorgeous, so I don’t need to know what that idiot said. It’s all bullshit anyway.”

Mal smiles before popping the stick of olives in her mouth. She doesn’t finish chewing before she starts talking again. “Look,” she says, “she doesn’t need a lot. She doesn’t care about money or fancy shit or any of that. All you have to do is make her feel loved and make her feel beautiful. That’s literally it, and if you can do that, she will be yours forever. I’ve never met someone sweeter or more loyal than her, and it pisses me the fuck off that she thinks she’s anything but a total catch in every possible way.”

“Me too,” Dennis says. “You have no idea how fucking infuriating it is to hear that. I just want to make her happy. What… I mean… is there anything you think I should do, like, specifically, or…”

“You already make her happy,” Mal replies. “It’s kind of breaking girl code to say this but whatever… I can tell you’re a good guy and you’re totally obsessed with her so I’ll say it. She really really likes you. All you have to do is make sure she knows that you really really like her, too.”

“I love her,” Dennis says. The words fly out before he even knows he’s saying them and he starts to panic once he realizes what he’s done. “Shit… I mean… Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I haven’t even told her that. Please don’t say anything.”

Mal smiles as she polishes off her first martini. “Your secret’s safe with me, but you should tell her that,” she says. “Seriously.”

“It’s too soon,” Dennis says, shaking his head. He’s sweating now and he wipes his brow with the cloth napkin from his lap. “It’d just freak her out.”

“I can guarantee you that is not what would happen, but I’m not going to force you. I won’t say a word, just know that she’s not the type to be scared off by that. She deserves to be loved out loud, Dennis.”

“I know she does,” he says, and he takes a swig of his drink.

When he looks up at Mal, she’s looking past him, over his shoulder, and he knows you’re on your way back to the table. He would have liked another few minutes to try and squeeze some more advice out of your best friend but he’s happy to have you back.

“All good?” she asks you.

“Yeah,” you say, sliding into the seat next to him. Dennis searches your face for signs that you’ve been crying, but you look completely pulled together—somehow even more beautiful and radiant than you were before. “So, what were you guys talking about so intently?”

Dennis looks at Mal, panic in his eyes, but she just curves her lip and cocks her head. “Oh, nothing,” she replies. “Just making sure Dennis here knows how lovable you are.”

Mal winks at him and he can feel his ears burning red. You just roll your eyes and wave off her comment. Dennis notices, as he always does, how you can’t take a compliment—the way you get flustered and look away and try to change the subject. It’s so fucking cute he can barely stand it and all he wants to do is tell you every single thing he loves about you, force you to look him in the eye when he says it, and make you believe every word of it is true. He gets it, though. He feels the same way every time you tell him he’s handsome or sexy, and especially those times when you tell him how good he makes you feel when he kisses you or touches you. Looking at you now, sexy as hell in that tight red dress that shows off everything he’s dying to get his hands and his mouth on, all he wants to do is take you home and strip you down to nothing and make you feel good, inside and out.

He knows he can’t—you’ve got work in the morning and he has to get home to Jax pretty soon after dinner—but it’s all he can think about as the three of you make your way through your meal. Dennis does his best to keep his hands to himself, occupying them with silverware as he eats, but occasionally he’ll let his hand wander over to your bare thigh or drape his arm over the back of your chair. He can feel you lean into his touch—your thighs clenching together when he touches your knee, your head lolling back slightly against his bicep—and every so often, when your eyes meet his, you bite that oh-so-kissable bottom lip of yours and smile.

It feels so fucking good to be wanted—to have his touch be welcomed and desired—that Dennis almost forgets how their dinner started out. He hopes that you’ve forgotten about it, too, though he doubts you have. At least he can see that all that tension is gone from your face and your body. You’re laughing as Mal tells a story about some nightmare Tinder date and your giggles sound like the most beautiful music to him. He pretends to listen to Mal, to be engaged in conversation, but he’s only got eyes and his ears for you. It’s ok, though, because even if Mal notices, he’s pretty sure she wouldn’t mind.

Fuck, he can’t believe he told her he loves you, but is it really the worst thing? He’s absolutely terrified to say it and might have gone too long without telling you, but now there a ticking clock on it. He only half believes that Mal won’t tell you what he said—she is your best friend, after all, and he wouldn’t blame her for spilling the beans after a few martinis—so now he has to do it and soon if he wants you to hear it from him first. He wants to believe Mal when she says that you would want him to say it, but that doesn’t make it any easier. He feels like he felt years ago, when he went cliff jumping in Oahu on his honeymoon—just hovering at the precipice, trying to decide if the reward was worth the risk. Of course, Karen had pushed him over and called him a pussy for taking too long. He knows you would never do that, though—you’d never rush him into anything—and as he looks at your smiling face, he realizes he’s ready to jump.

***

You’d told yourself during your little self-pep talk in the bathroom that you weren’t going to let Brad ruin your night. You were just going to go back to the table, put him out of your mind, and focus on having a good time with your best friend and your handsome new man. And fuck does Dennis look good tonight. He always looks good to you, but something about him in a suit with his shirt is unbuttoned just enough for that thick neck and chest hair to be on display, the sleeves rolled up to show off those forearms with the veins you just want to lick. Dennis is lightyears more attractive than Brad and he wants you, so why are you letting Brad get to you? Part of you does want to leave, but you’d decided that would be letting him win, giving him what he wants, which is to ruin your date, to make you look pathetic in front of your man, to make you feel worthless and weak.

Fuck him. You’re not going anywhere.

As you, Mal, and Dennis make your way through your courses, you find you’re able to relax a little. You wish you weren’t sitting quite so close to the open kitchen—that you didn’t feel Brad’s eyes burning holes in the side of your face the entire time, whether he was actually looking or not—but you tell yourself, let him look. Let him watch your big, sexy man wrap his arm around you and toy with the strap of your dress. Let him watch your face light up as you laugh with your whole chest at something your best friend said. Let him see the way your boyfriend looks at you like you’re the most precious thing on earth one second and like he wants to throw you on the table and eat you alive the next.

Fuck him. Let him look.

“So,” Mal says, “we getting dessert?”

“I can’t eat a whole dessert,” you reply, “but I’ll have a bite if you’re getting something.”

“Oh, I’m getting something,” she says, and there’s a mischievous glint in her eye that should probably worry you except that Dennis has his hand on your knee and all you can think about is how you want to grab it and push it up under your dress.

“Let’s get the peach tarte tatin,” she says. “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom real quick.” She stands up and tosses her napkin on her chair, grabbing her purse off the seat next to her. “Try not to feel each other up too much while I’m gone, yeah?”

Dennis lowers his head and chuckles into his chest and you shoot her a playful scowl. “That obvious?” you ask.

“Oh yeah,” she replies. “But it’s cute. Very PG-13, but let’s keep it that way. At least until he gets you home…”

You giggle and let your head fall onto Dennis’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” he says, “I just can’t keep my hands off you in that dress. You’re so fucking gorgeous.” You feel his hand slide up the side of your thigh and you shiver as he speaks low in your ear. “My sweet, juicy peach.”

You let out a whispered “fuck” and grab his hand before it can make it’s way any higher. “You’re being a very bad boy right now,” you say.

“Can’t help it,” he replies. “You look too good. Don’t be mad.”

You cock your head at him and he’s got the sweetest little smile on his face and his eyebrows raised enough to crinkle his forehead. God, you just want to crawl into his lap and kiss him all over his face and his neck but you have to keep your shit together.

“Hands to yourself for the rest of dinner and I’ll let you put them wherever you want later. Deal?”

“Yeah,” he says, “I’ll take that deal.”

“Good boy,” you say, and over the music you think you hear him let out a little moan as he adjusts the napkin on his lap.

Interesting… noted.

By the time Mal returns, the two of you have managed to return to your own spheres of personal space and ordered the dessert.

“So some good news,” she says. “I’m going to meet up with Carl after dinner so the two of you can have some quality time.”

You already knew Mal was going to come up with some excuse to give the two of you the apartment for a while, and you’re happy to hear that things are still going well with Mr. Hipster.

“You gonna have a sleepover this time?” you ask.

“We’ll see,” she replies. “I don’t have to work tomorrow so I’m just going to see where the evening takes me.”

You turn to Dennis. “Mal has a new boyfriend who she refuses to admit is her boyfriend.”

“And why is that?” Dennis asks.

“So you’re grilling me now?”

“Maybe,” he says. “So what’s the story?”

Mal sighs. “I don’t like labels,” she says. “I just… you know… ‘boyfriend’ sounds so serious.”

“And you’re not serious about him?”

You are absolutely loving the way that Dennis’s perfectly logical and normal questions are making Mal squirm. It’s the same conversation you’ve had with her already, but it’s truly delightful to watch her try to rationalize her bullshit in front of another person.

“It’s not that,” she says. “I like him. A lot. I just don’t do boyfriends.”

“And does he do girlfriends?” Dennis asks, but Mal is saved by the arrival of dessert.

Tom places the tarte tatin in the middle of the table and Dennis thanks him and asks for the check. You’re just about to grab your fork for a bite when Mal stills your hand with hers.

“Wait,” she says.

She looks around the table, surveying the scene quickly, and she gets up and walks around to Dennis. When she leans over like she’s about to whisper something in his ear, you say, “What the fuck, Mal?” and then you see her snatch a piece of Dennis’s hair out.

“Ow! Jesus. What the hell?”

“Shh,” she says. “Just wait,” and she returns to her seat and places the hair on top of the glazed peaches with an impish smile on her face.

“Mal, don’t,” you say, but it’s too late because she’s already exclaiming quite loudly, “Is that a HAIR?!? Oh my God, GROSS!”

God, she’s so evil sometimes, and you love her so fucking much. You drop your head and put one hand across your brow, trying to stave off the giggles as you grip Dennis’s thigh with the other.

“Is she doing what I think she’s doing?” he asks.

“She sure is.”

The surrounding tables have taken notice of Mal’s little charade and Tom hurries over to the table as she details the problem.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Tom says. “I’ll get you another one.”

“I think just the check,” Dennis chimes in.

“Well, uh, let us at least comp.. uh… your drinks?” Tom stutters.

Out of the corner of your eye you can see Brad in the kitchen absolutely fuming. You feel a little bad because you know he’ll take it out Tom or on the poor pastry chef, but your satisfaction at the flaming red hue of his face outweighs any guilt you might feel.

“That’s alright. I’m happy to pay for everything,” Dennis says, and he hands Tom his credit card without even looking at the bill.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I’ll be back right away. And sorry again.”

“Don’t you fucking laugh,” Mal hisses at you as Tom scurries away from the table. “Keep your shit together.”

“I’m trying,” you say, and it’s really taking everything you’ve got not to explode into a giggle fit. You’ve got a death grip on Dennis’s thigh and you can feel his muscles flexing under your fingers, and when you look up at him, he’s got a half smile on his face that’s making the dimple on his cheek pop.

“Keep squeezing me like that and you’re gonna leave a bruise, sweetheart.”

“You should be so lucky,” Mal says. “Anyway, speaking of leaving bruises, Carl just texted me. You two mind if I take off? I think I may be on the verge of overstaying my welcome.”

“Go ahead,” you say. “Go get your man.”

“He’s not my man.”

“Sure he’s not,” Dennis says.

“Don’t you fucking start, too. Jesus. Now there’s two of you? I can’t.” Mal stands up and grabs her purse. “But seriously, it was so nice to meet you Dennis, and thank you for dinner. You’ve officially passed the bestie test.”

Dennis smiles. “Glad to hear it. Have a wonderful rest of your evening, and hey, maybe you and your not-boyfriend could come over to my place for a barbecue next weekend.” He turns to you. “I was thinking of maybe doing something for the 4th… I mean, if you want to.”

“I’d love to.”

“Me too,” Mal says. “I need to see this big fancy house of yours. And if Carl is still around by next weekend, maybe I’ll invite him.”

You roll your eyes. “Just go.”

You stand up to give her a hug goodbye. Dennis stands as well, and you think he’s going to be awkward about it but he isn’t; he gives Mal a quick hug goodbye like they’ve known each other forever and it warms your heart to see it. She whispers something to him as she pulls away that you don’t quite hear but you do hear his response.

“I will,” he says. “I promise.”

PART TEN >>>

#dennis baker fanfiction #dennis baker x reader #dennis baker x you #dennis baker #chris evans #chris evans characters #take me home series

177 notes · View notes

cleopatronising · 2 years

Text

venus in cancer invented smoky sexy…

Tom Ford, Angelina Jolie, Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stevie Nicks, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Sky Ferreira, Halle Berry, Gerri Halliwell, Kim Cattrall, Iman, Devon Aoki, Raquel Welch, Idris Elba, Debi Mazar, Gina Gershon, Simon Rex, Adriana Lima, Keanu Reeves, Yul Brynner, Dante Alighieri, Vincent Price, Fidel Castro, Brandon Flowers, Andre 3000, Josephine Baker, Jennifer Coolidge, Holly Valance

#me

29 notes · View notes

believerindaydreams · 2 years

Text

Thursday again: separation edition

I mean, it has sort of been on my mind this week.

Visiting

I was intending to go to the First Friday festival, a monthly Vegas thing supposedly aimed at the locals, but the COVID vaccine hit me pretty hard that day so this is fallow.

November should be good tho!

Listening

Watching unregenerate and unrepentant British cop show the Sweeney with my ex was one of the last things I did before I hit the road; the appeal from my point of view was infuriatingly sexy John Thaw, and this theme tune.

youtube

Still hits me like a brickbat.

Reading

mostly other people's fanfic. I really need to get on the GBU @trifoliate-undergrowth stories cos they looked great but instead I've been plowing through incredibly ghastly LJ babyfic stories from 2007 because I will die without my Four/Sarah fix right now

Watching

thank you Internet Archive for allowing me to watch "Robot" on my phone with no muss or fuss

It's not actually very good as a Tom Baker story but it does have the "bloop bloop" scene and a great deal of what the kids these days call autistic sitting and also jelly babies, so it's like. It's fine.

I'm guessing I'll get through either a story a week or the whole season in 1 week it depends

Cooking

I finally did the slow cooker soup.

Next time I will try to do something more interesting than "bag of sixteen bean with many spices" but considering I was off my head with fever when I made it that was fine actually.

Writing

So one of the other things about my ex was that he absolutely hated fan fic, and in particular Doctor Who fan fic. Like, on an ideological level.

I'm not exactly writing Fourth Doctor H/C specifically to spite him, but I'm...not not doing that?

Anyway I wrote this Four/Harry/Sarah story set during Genesis of the Daleks, in which our heroes get a nap and we get an answer to why the Doctor doesn't finish the job. There's a surprisingly good reason, actually.

Then I did some Four/Sarah fluff. Then I did a cakefic. Now I'm daydreaming about a novel length FNV crossover.

It's possible I'm overcompensating.

#Youtube #thursday again #doctor who

10 notes · View notes

ellethespaceunicorn · 1 year

Note

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then send this to 10 people (anon or not, your choice) 🎥🎬📺

These are going to be in no particular order because if there is anything I hate, it's rating my faves or comparing them to each other.

*~*~*~*~*

Geralt of Rivia - Multiple pieces of media

I first saw him in The Witcher series, then played The Witcher 3, then started reading the books. I am definitely obsessed with this man. And if I write too much on Geralt, I'm libel to make headcanons or maybe even an entire fic on just Geralt's hair or the way his eyes seem to glow under moonlight. See? Obsession. He is also my comfort character. I go to sleep and imagine running in the woods to this man. What the actual fuck?

Walter Marshall - Night Hunter (2018)

Seeing as how I am currently writing fic about this man, I think it goes to show this is a well-crafted yet moldable character and he can do no wrong in my opinion. Unless he dates Rachel, that's wrong in my opinion. She doesn't even have a last name.

Joel Miller - The Last of Us Games, The Last of Us series

Now I would be remiss to not mention Pedro's portrayal of Joel Miller (and that it solidified his status a my cool slutty daddy). But I must talk about how Troy Baker's voice in the game gave me strong Daddy vibes and gave me my second crush on a video game character after Lara Croft when I was a kid.

Ethan Hunt - Mission Impossible films (1996-Present)

If you know me, you know I have seen every Mission Impossible film since the first came out when I was 9. I was, and will most likely always be, obsessed with these movies. I love the heart-stopping action moments, the raw emotions, and I really like when Tom Cruise almost dies in every movie.

Peter Parker - Multiple pieces of media but I will focus on the films

In 2002, I was 15 and liked the older man that was Tobey Maguire (I was a superfan of his and of Peter). I had a Spider-man trapper keeper for goodness sake! In 2012, I was 25 and I was crushing on Andrew Garfield as a contemporary, someone in my age group. In 2017, I was turning 30 and had a crush on what, to me, seemed like a little boy in Tom Holland (he was over 18 but still). Either way, when asked what my favorite superhero is, I always say Spider-Man.

Bernadine Harris - Waiting to Exhale (1995)

I was 8 when this movie came out and my Momma let me watch it with her. Little did I know, my mother was ready to divorce my cheating father. This character spoke to me and continues to speak to me. I still see my Momma when I watch this movie. She was so badass. And so sexy.

Olaf - Frozen films

Fun fact: I used to collect snowman figurines and snow globes. Knowing this, my young niece made me watch the first film. Josh Gad as an inept snowman who loves the idea of summer is so fucking dramatic that I watched this movie on my own plenty of times. I love him so much and I just wanted to cuddle him.

Castiel - Supernatural (2005-2020)

I started watching Supernatural by watching the live airing of Simon Said, the worst episode of the series some would say. But I stuck around. I wanted to see what the kids on LiveJournal were so excited about. Cue season 4 and this son of a bitch just waltzes in with his wings and his coat and his chapped lips that, to this day, have never seen any moisture. And I fell in love. Fun fact: my dad named his dog Castiel.

Frank Reynolds (but specifically as Ongo Goblogian) - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I have artwork in my bedroom over my nightstand of Ongo. This entire episode was gold to me. It was early season 8, I believe. Charlie was doing a Richard Grieco thing, Dennis was trying to get his erotic memoirs made into a Fifty Shades of Grey type thing. Mac was in the duster. Dee was in a smut film. Just golden. But then Frank was this Andy Warhol-esque art collector just doing the most. It was beautiful.

Louise Belcher - Bob's Burgers series and film

Louise, what can I say about this wonderful human that hasn't already been said? Louise is what I wish trauma didn't take from me. Louise likes to slap beautiful people, as do I. She is confused when she likes a boy, and so am I some of the time. And Louise has her comfort clothing item, her hat. I have my froggy robe and my penguin socks. In the latest season that just ended, it was pretty much confirmed that Louise is non-binary, as am I. My fiancee compares me to Louise on a daily basis and I just smile and tell her she's 100% correct because she is. Louise embodies me when I was 9 years old, right before childhood trauma took all of that away and replaced it with an old curmudgeon. I love my sweet Louise and no one can ever tell me that my love is unwarranted.

I would love to tag people to do this, but I know a lot of us are in the same circles LOL. This was too fun!

#ask reply

6 notes · View notes

rawwkfingers · 4 months

Text

The Face of Evil

I have so so so many conflicting thoughts about this serial I don't even know where to begin

Is Leela a feminist icon showing the ways women can be strong too, introduced as being a warrior princess who can kick ass and take care of herself and killing two people in her very first episode? Or is she a misogynistic trope, dressed like the cover of a 20s pulp novel and still needing the Doctor to rescue her despite her being depicted as a badass fighter?

I mean, the thing about 70s feminism and the sexual revolution is that she's clearly both but where do we draw the line? Personally, I've always felt that so long as she's written well, I don't mind if a character is also meant to be sexy. We've got lots of examples of this in Nu Who: Rose, Amy, River, and Clara. Zoe's costuming in Classic Who was also fairly provocative for its time, and while less common we do have sexy men as well; Jack and Doctors 9-11 (and likely 15.) All have scenes where the point is to show off how attractive the actor is but all those characters are so well written, I truly feel that's okay. Sex is not a bad thing, so long as it's not all the character is valued for

This is only Leela's first serial and I have absolutely no idea how she'll grow or change from here, whether the writing will bring her down or lift her up. My concern is that Doctor Who has such a rollercoaster track record with its companions, simultaneously feminist ideas and also always a damsel and a yes girl, that she's going to end up being treated as an object rather than a person and that makes her costuming bad

Keeping in theme with Leela's character, the serial itself was both amazing and also had some concerning writing. I love these types of stories, where we see how human cultures evolve over time based on their surroundings and I'm a sucker for the whole "over time your language changed one word to another" trope. Survey team to Sevateem is such a fun little idea

And the idea of the Doctor having visited a planet in the past and accidentally causing them harm, with tons of set up before that reveal with things like the fuckin Tom Baker mountain face! What a great idea I love science fiction so much

BUT why did they have to use the term eugenics in this story? I like the idea of the warrior culture and the science culture joining up at the end, but even if the actual act of eugenics by the evil computer was criticized the way the story ends still sets up the belief that this is going to be good for them overall. Just take that stuff out and it would have been great

Also, why was Leela literally the entire woman in the cast? I think I know the behind-the-scenes answer (introducing the new companion meant they didn't want another actress to potentially overshadow her, although thats impossible with how charismatic and dynamic of an actress Jameson is) but it makes the civilizations feel like something written for a story rather than any realism

I honestly don't know how I feel about this story, I want to say I loved it but there's enough to it holding me back!

#rawwk on #classic who watch #the face of evil

0 notes

britesparc · 2 years

Text

Weekend Top Ten #532

Top Ten Doctor Whos (Doctors Who?)

Sometimes the subject of these lists is just completely random. Sometimes it’s something to do with my personal life. Sometimes it’s obscure and complicated! And sometimes it’s dead obvious.

This week, Ncuti Gatwa was confirmed as the newest actor to assay the role of The Doctor in the long-running TV series Doctor Who. He is, let’s not beat around the bush, The Next Doctor. And he’s great! He’s bloody tremendous. Honestly, go watch Sex Education and tell me this guy cannot do everything required of the Doctor. I’m so excited to see what he makes of the role, and what adventures returning showrunner Russell T. Davies takes us all on.

So it’s gonna be a simple one this week. One that’s been percolating a long time and this feels as good as moment as any to, er, brew it? Pour it? I’ve lost the metaphor there, sorry. Anyhoo, here’s the deal for real: the best Doctors.

Now, I’ve seen Classic Who. I feel like I really came on board with Sylvester McCoy – he’ll always be “my” Doctor – but I know I’d seen some of Peter Davison at the time, so presumably I saw a bit of Colin Baker too. But before then? Nope, sorry, too young! I’ve watched a few in repeats, but I’ve never even attempted to sit down and properly watch them. So this is going to really colour my list, as I have to be honest and say that all my favourites are, really, from New Who; from the 2005 reboot onwards. But, y’know what? I’m just gonna own that; I’m certainly not a “young fan”, but this franchise is nearly sixty years old, so of course most people will have gaps, will have eras they’re more familiar with. Just bear that in mind.

Thinking about it now, it’s such a huge shame when Doctor Who was off the air. I remember loving the McCoy years as a nipper, and it being appointment TV. I remember being hugely excited by the TV movie in 1996. But those years – the nineties, basically – is when I’d have devoured this show. Whether it was the cheaper, slightly cheesier aesthetic of the previous decade, or the flashy effects of the next, I’d have been religiously affiliated to a Doctor Who series in the mid-nineties. It’s kind of annoying, in retrospect, to think that I only got to appreciate it either as a little kid with a million more pressing fandoms, or as an adult; I missed that era when cults are born. Red Dwarf, The X-Files, Star Wars (which really got its hooks into me with the games), arguably Star Trek to some degree – these were all things that bled into me in my young teens. In fact, I do wonder how much of my love of Doctor Who came from re-reading his appearances in Marvel UK comics, or his crossovers with Death’s Head?

Anyway, forget all that. This is supposed to be a simple one. So with no further ado, here are my favourite iterations of Doctor Who.

David Tennant (2005-2010): an energetic, boyish charm that hides a deep well of sadness and anger. Plus a great suit, nice hair, and sexy glasses.

Matt Smith (2010-2013): simultaneously a perpetually excited man-child, and also a weary elder carrying the weight of years. Lots of nice mannerisms and turns of phrase. The best companions, too.

Peter Capaldi (2013-2017): the best accent, arguably the best hair. Good-natured grumpiness masking a bleeding heart that frequently bubbles over.

Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989, or maybe 1996, depending on how you want to count it): this is where I came on board, which helps a lot. Also a delightfully fast-paced, no-nonsense, good-natured turn of phrase, but again with that darkness just beneath the surface.

Tom Baker (1974-1981): arguably the platonic ideal of the Doctor, mostly conveyed in that luxurious baritone voice. Otherworldy, vastly intelligent, but kookily down-to-Earth.

John Pertwee (1970-1974): an elder statesman with elements of foppish dandyism, with a clipped delivery and fantastic eyes.

Paul McGann (1996): feeling younger, sexier, more exciting; extremely good-natured and overcome with a desire to help at all costs, we sadly didn’t see enough to get to the depths of his character.

Christopher Ecclestone (2005): charmingly Northern and down-to-Earth, in contrast to the wilder eccentricities of other incarnations, he nonetheless carries a ferocious sense of pain, guilt, and rage that threatens to engulf him.

Jodie Whittaker (2017-2022): channelling a lot of the friendly, good-natured vibes of previous incarnations, she’s a goofy kid who wants to be loved, but also has a darker, less sympathetic edge, and a stubborn refusal to share her grief.

William Hartnell (1963-1966): creating a lot of what we consider to be cornerstones of the character, he’s far more “elder statesman”, a professorial air giving him an immediate authority, but with enough sympathy in his voice to make him seem like a friendly old man.

Now I deliberately haven’t included either John Hurt’s War Doctor or Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor, because whilst they’re both incarnations of the same person, they’re sort of one-off guest stars rather than “real” interpretations. I do really like them both, though, but I think we can all agree that it’s the numbered ones that count, yeah?

For what it’s worth, though, Martin would come just below Whittaker and Hurt would come just after Baker.

#top ten #doctor who #the doctor #ncuti gatwa

1 note · View note

doc-four-fan · 4 years

Text

From the 1978 BBC Christmas Tape: A White Powder Christmas

#doctor who #tom baker #4th doctor #fourth doctor #retro doctor who #doctor 4 #classic doctor who #dr who #mary tamm #romana 1 #sexy tom baker #four/romana #romana #john leeson #drunk k9 #k 9 #the armegeddon factor #bbc christmas tape

84 notes · View notes

delwrites · 3 years

Text

Dating Tom Holland Headcannons

if you’d like me to expand on any concepts, drop me a request! I have loads of ideas oof

also, these are just my opinions and thoughts! so there will definitely be some ooc and we may disagree, but do feel free to tell me which points you disagree with! would love some feedback :)

right i’m sorry I’ve no clue why but I just see him as quite an emotional person? like him being so mature that he’s just fully intact with his feelings and doesn’t ever feel the need to hide them around you because he knows you wouldn’t judge him. like him having a lot of rough days but as soon as he sees you just instantly perking up a little bit

or literally just collapsing in your lap when you’re trying to watch something on the sofa and him just letting it all out for you to listen to as you hug his head to your chest and run your fingers through his hair

him being so scared he’s gonna lose you as you’re literally a goddess in his eyes so he always makes sure you’re happy

him always letting you choose whatever you guys watch (as most of the time he will concentrate more on you than the tv)

he would build you both a blanket fort with fairy lights and pillows and it would be the most comfy thing ever

if you choose to put on a scary film, expect him to be stuck to your side like glue, hiding his face in your neck/ chest in the scary scenes because he doesn’t care about being a mAnLy MaN

he would DEMAND that you carry him up to bed because he insists that if he leaves the cocoon of warmth that your providing, the monsters may get him

him being the bigGEST MAN-CHILD WITH YOU OH GOD

like you two literally just playing games and stuff

playing just dance and him being surprisingly good?

but then beating his behind at Mario kart

also side note but you and paddy would get along SO WELL and you’d spoil the life out of him and play games with him, and whenever you play Mario kart with him and Tom, you’d let paddy win, you’d be in 2nd place and Tom would be all the way back in 11th absjdjd

“well, at least I didn’t lose?”

and both playing animal crossing together and visiting each others islands and his is a mess whilst yours is all vibes and lovely

you and him having FIGHTS over monopoly BSIDHSHS that game RUINS friendships I swear

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON LEGO HSCGIYSEGCI

him buying you a promise ring AWWWEEE and then claiming it’s because he wants a part of him on your person at all times (so naturally, you never take it off)

him going shopping with you because he’s the biggest hype man and always going in the dressing rooms with you so you end up buying loads of outfits because he assures you that you look incredible in all of them

him carrying majority of your bags and holding open all of the doors for you (which would admittedly be a bit of a struggle with the amount of bags he ends up carrying for you VUGJYBEK)

the pap pictures this would provide!!!

also you going on dog walks with him and Tessa and him always insisting you take his coat if you ever forget yours

always visiting him on set whenever you can

whenever he has free days spending them not doing anything just cuddling into your side

him trying to teach you basketball but you always being clumsy and dropping the ball

if you ever trip best believe he wouLD NOT LAUGH ITS LIKE YOU’VE DIED

RDJ literally adopts you because we all have daddy issues and we all need that in our lives

then tom and his dynamic becoming so much more like Tony and Peters dynamic HDSBDYAB

tom asking rdj for permission before doing practically anything with you

“um, sir, could I borrow your daughter? for like, the rest of our lives?” FUHIFUEHIUFH

rdj being so protective of you oh lord

and you always going to him for advice because he’s a wise soul who can always help you, especially with relationship advice

tom getting low-key jealous pretty often, like although he has full trust in you, he (as previously mentioned) views you as a goddess who is just the definition of beauty and love and believes that you could have any man in the room (which you can queen go off) and constantly being nervous that something will happen

him being really good at not showing it though

death stares from across the room and then giving you the sweetest smile if you look (like seriously, too sweet, suspiciously sweet)

I feel like when you both get alone his demeanour just instantly changes and he goes really cold and distant all of a sudden, it’s almost as if he deflates, the drive home being so tense and him going directly to his room when you get home, but later on he gets sick of ignoring you and goes to you to talk about it properly and makes it up to you

your confidence sky-rocketing when getting with him because he gives the most obscure and yet heartfelt compliments at any chance he gets, so you know they've come from heart with how random they are

“yes darling work that top!”

“love, I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but you ears are really pretty?”

right I know this is literally everywhere but lets be real here, he ADORES you in his hoodies. sharing clothes is so intimate to him, and each time he sees you walking about so casually in his clothes, he falls that little bit more in love with you (no matter how much he thinks that that isn’t possible)

you accidentally walking in on his lives and either saying the most chaotic or the most lovely things, and the chat absolutely living for it

“Love, are you busy? I was just thinking about taking Tessa on a walk, to that park she loves?”

or,,, “THOMAS STANLEY HOLLAND! IF I HAVE TO TELL YOU ONE MORE TIME TO TAKE YOUR DIRTY PLATES TO THE KITCHEN, I WILL SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST! I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER, NOR YOUR CARER, SO DON’T TREAT ME AS SUCH!”

the chat blowing up being little shit stirrers like ‘oooohhhh she called him by his full name he’s in troubleeee’

Tom just pointing at his phone timidly being like “darling.. I’m live right now..”

“I DONT CARE! SORT YOURSELF OUT, YOU CAVEMAN”

him getting so embarrassed BDKDNDJD

also I’m sorry right but bathing together after a long and difficult week, or after not seeing each other due to contradicting schedules and what not, not in a sexy times way or anything but just being so intimate and comfortable around each other

and obviously this little pamper night would call for doing face masks together and painting each other’s nails

him finding it so fun to paint your nails (even though they end up really messy BDJDNDJD)

he is a magnificent chef and no one may tell me otherwise

having the arrangement of him always cooking dinner and you always washing up the dishes

but after he sees you dancing around the sink, ending up joining you (after watching you for a minute of two with heart eyes, of course)

even though he is an incredible cook, being such a bad baker. like, for one of your anniversaries, he tries to bake you a cake, but it ends up literally bubbling in the oven and spilling over the sides and never cooking all the way through and it just being a mess

you trying it out of pity and ending up getting ill, so he stays in with you to take care of you because even though both of you fail to admit it aloud, it was him who made you poorly

you decide to do all the baking at that point

every time you do decide to bake anything, always saving him the biggest and best piece

and don't even get me started on how well you’d get along with his family

like the first time he introduced you to them they were all so so so welcoming and loving and literally just took you in as their own (not as much as rob did though rdj is number one)

again, always playing with paddy

teaching paddy how to bake AWWW and always getting him the best presents

you, harry and sam literally just embarrassing tom with stories

you and harry deciding to prank tom together because tom pranked you once ages ago but after your reaction, decided never again, so of course you have to get him back

Tessa loving you so much, and tom always being able to tell when she misses you (mainly because he can relate)

having an argument that he didn't think was a big deal and where he thought you were overreacting but then hearing you call him Thomas and it setting in that it is a big deal to you and fixing it

again, please do send me an ask or pm me if you'd like me to expand on any of these! im just overflowing with ideas for this incredible man, so do ask :)

#tom holland x reader #tom #tom holland #marvel #marvel x y/n #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #tom holland imagine #marvel x reader #marvel imagine

117 notes · View notes