#that version of the suit has a split in the middle it was a part of concepts I did for fun
Text
two
Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader
Rating: E, 18+
Word Count: 5.1k
Warnings: sort of dubcon due to intoxication; alcohol and drug use (by both reader and Joel); mention of reader’s hair being long enough to tangle his fingers in (no details otherwise); smut (fingering, oral, spitting on her pussy, p-in-v); grief and angst
Note: There's no part one out yet; this is the second of a potential series of loosely tied oneshots that are coming to me out of order.
The living room is blue. All the surfaces, the shelves and the antique piano, are coated in a thick layer of dust. It feels wrong to disturb anything in this house—in this perfectly preserved resting place—so you tuck yourself into the corner of Bill and Frank’s old couch, out of the way, toe off your boots, and pull your knees up to your chest.
Ellie thunders up the stairs and shuts herself in one of the rooms, gone at the first opportunity for privacy.
Joel doesn’t disappear. You expect him to take the other bedroom and close the door. Instead, he watches you settle onto the couch and drops heavily into the seat beside you. He leans over the armrest and opens a cabinet, retrieving a bottle of dark liquid.
His casual knowledge of the space speaks to how much time he’s spent here, to the depth of his friendship with Bill and Frank. It makes you sad; it makes the room dark. It makes jealousy sour your stomach. Joel has people: a place to fit in this fractured world.
Had. He had people.
There are paintings on the walls: landscapes, still lifes, portraits. Mostly of Bill, you think. With that glower? Definitely Bill. Joel did say Frank was the nice one.
The likenesses vary in style. There’s a gradient from careful, detailed studies to less refined renderings with loose, painterly brushwork. All of them, in their own unique way, capture the same steely gaze—the spiteful tenacity that must have fueled their survival for decades.
You ignore the many versions of stern eyes watching you.
The worn fabric under your fingers is scratchy, the upholstery splashed with roses, the hard back of the couch draped in crocheted blankets. It’s dated, the whole place frozen in time while the world fell—falls—apart around it, chaos kept out by a chain link fence and Bill’s gritted teeth. A bell jar in a hurricane.
You wonder if Joel and Tess ever considered leaving the QZ permanently for this place. If that was ever offered. You imagine it would have been almost…idyllic.
You look up at Joel. He’s holding the unopened bottle in his lap. His sharp profile is limned by the soft moonlight filtering through the window behind him. It catches on the silver flecked in his hair and beard.
He knows you’re watching him. He says nothing. He’s thinking about the letter.
About Tess.
You’re trying to think about anything else.
You study his face. Even like this, anguished and lined, filthy from the road, with a half-healed slash across his cheek, he’s handsome. He has rugged good looks, with those brown eyes and that granite-cut jaw. The natural pout of his bottom lip. In a different time, a different universe, he could have been an actor, a model—the face of an ad campaign for a devastatingly masculine cologne. Those big, veined hands modeling watches on the pages of a fashion magazine.
He wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t suit. But he could have.
It’s strange to think about what he could have been.
Instead, he’s here. The peaks of his knuckles are split and scabbed, the valleys a mottled black and blue, their edges fading to a sickly yellow. His skin is rough and dry—it snags when he runs his hands absentmindedly over the denim of his jeans. His palms are calloused. You know because when shit gets serious, he grabs your wrist or your forearm or your bicep—never your hand—and shoves you behind the wall of his body or pulls you along as he takes off at a run. His middle is thick and soft, his shoulders broad and strong. He’s going gray, and fuck, it looks good on him.
You study him because it feels inconsequential. Your presence feels inconsequential. To him, you think, you’re just another ghost in this house.
Or maybe he is.
A small part of you is braced for him to break, to buckle under the weight of Bill’s last words—the words that are hanging over this house like a storm cloud. Anyone else would.
Joel won’t, though. You watched him stalk away from the burning capitol building with white-knuckled stoicism, and you felt sure that he was already too utterly broken to break again.
Like molten metal, bent and hammered and folded over on itself, again and again and again. Until it’s shatterproof.
He’s leaning forward, his elbows braced on his spread knees. Even on a soft couch, he doesn’t fully relax. He drops his head into his hands and scrubs one over his face. Then he reaches into the pack by his feet and rummages for something. A little plastic baggie. He just holds it for a minute. You watch him decide.
It’s safe here. As safe as anywhere can be. And Joel hasn’t slept in days.
He shakes two white pills out of the bag and chases them with a swig of whiskey, knocking the liquor back with a quick tip of his head, squinting against the slight after-burn. You extend your open palm. He shakes out a couple pills for you without question, without even looking up.
He passes you the bottle, and you down them. One harsh gulp.
It’s real whiskey, with a label and everything, not something homemade. Not top-shelf quality by any means, but it’s better than anything you’ve had in a long time. It should be sipped and savored. Back in the QZ, you could have gotten a hefty stack of ration cards for this one bottle—even half empty. It doesn’t matter now.
You take another drink and hand it back.
You watch as a glazed calm gradually slips over Joel’s troubled expression and he finally sinks into the give of the couch cushions, letting his head drop back. You watch as the pills soften his edges. Just barely. They erode a little of the hard, calcified layer he must have started building the day of the outbreak. It grants you a fuzzy peek into the Joel before. His shoulders lose their tension; his fists unclench. If you squint, you might be able to see the Joel who drank with his buddies and winked at women at the bar. The one who drove a pickup truck with the windows rolled down in the summertime.
You sit in silence as the haze takes you too, creeping up the back of your neck like a warm tide until you feel just numb enough. Any and all troubling thoughts are caught and trapped, restrained like moths in amber, so all that’s left in this blue room is pleasant quiet.
You’re just starting to feel drowsy and loose when he turns to you, wanting. Joel shifts in his seat and fixes you with a look—the first time he’s looked directly at you in an hour or more. The usual bite of his penetrating gaze is muted, the crease between his brows deep with feeling; his brown eyes are big with a question. A need.
It’s the tiniest chink in his armor, a momentary blip of him without a mask. A second of vulnerability, so foreign on his stoic face that the urge to soothe him is visceral. It jumps up the back of your throat.
This is Joel breaking.
He’s asking you for something—for distraction, for comfort. To be put back together.
You unfold your limbs and climb directly into his lap.
He makes a low, approving sound when you straddle his spread thighs and drops his head to your chest to inhale deeply against your shirt. If you weren’t buzzed, you might flinch away. You’re filthy, sweaty and dirty from days on the road. Neither of you have taken advantage of the shower yet. You can’t smell nice.
Joel does it again, though, chasing the comfort by burying his face between your tits, his hands tightening on your hips, his long fingers slipping inside the back pockets of your jeans to grip your ass. He pulls you down against his lap. Hard.
He’s hungry for it this time, watching the place where your body meets his, denim against rough denim. Like he’s imagining the way your naked body will fit against his.
He remembers himself for a moment, looking up at your face. “This okay?”
“Yeah, Joel,” you say. “I want it.”
“Good.”
His forehead drops lightly against your sternum as he moves you against him. He guides your hips into a slow grind. Your knees sink into the plush of the old sofa cushions, your hands braced on his shoulders.
If he were anyone else, you’d have kissed him already. You settle for pressing your face against the side of his neck, dragging your nose up the column of his bared throat. He smells like sun and sweat and pine, like the dry, dusty road and something else...something distinctly him. It's subtle. It makes your mouth water.
He holds you tight, a strong arm wrapped around your back. You run your hands over his biceps, over the hard lines of his muscles, his shoulders—feeling what often distracts you when he crosses his arms over his chest and the fabric of his shirt pulls taut.
Joel is content, for now, to lift his hips, just barely, into the steady roll of your hips. You think about last time—his clinical, efficient approach. It was all deliberate movements and quick work. He'd made a growled promise that it would only ever happen once.
And yet.
This time, he seems to be letting himself enjoy something, reveling in the pleasure. That alone feels like an unaffordable indulgence, like if you drew attention to it, you’d scare it away.
His big hand slides heavily up the curve of your spine, a needy drag, and back down again, settling on your lower back, urging you harder. Faster.
More.
It feels good. You rock your hips, grinding yourself into his lap, where he’s full and hard now, thick and straining against his fly, and you groan together when he adjusts his legs wider and pushes his hips up to meet you, letting you get at his clothed erection a little easier. The metal button on your jeans clicks against his belt buckle as you move.
He turns his head to set his teeth against your shoulder, biting with no pressure, and breathes hot against the fabric as you ride him, his chest expanding on a sharp inhale as you drag your core over the stiff arch of his cock and chase the embers of pleasure sparking low in your belly.
All at once, it’s not enough.
Joel grunts and grips your ass, fingers digging into your soft flesh, and he half-shoves, half-lifts you backwards as he straightens, setting you on your feet in front of him. You make a squeaked sound of surprise at the sudden movement, clutching his biceps for balance as you find your footing, and the corner of his mouth twitches up into the barest beginning of a smile. You smile back at him, radiant.
Smiles.
The pills are hitting. It’s all a little delirious.
The moment feels surreal, like this dated living room has been snatched from the current of time and set down on solid ground. Just for a moment. Just to let you both breathe.
It evaporates quickly. His stern expression returns.
“Bedroom,” Joel says with a bossy little jerk of his chin.
You snatch the half-empty whiskey bottle from the coffee table and head down the hall.
There are two spare bedrooms in this big, white house—the one upstairs that Ellie disappeared into and a second down here on the first floor. It’s situated down the hall from the locked door. You try not to think about that room. Try not to wonder if Joel and Tess shared this same spare room when they used to visit.
There are too many ghosts here tonight.
You pop open the bottle and drink deep, and Joel shuts the door behind him with a quiet click. He stoops to switch on the lamp on the bedside table.
You drop the corked whiskey onto an armchair and reach for the top button of your shirt, eager to avoid an awkward interlude, eager to please him.
There’s something about Joel that makes you desperate to be wanted by him—something more than just his gruff appeal or the situation you’re in together or the fact that his care promises some measure of safety in this world of scarcity. It has everything to do with how he acts around the people that are his. More than just protective. Possessive.
This want is practical. And it’s not.
It’s animal too.
He rounds the bed and stands close, stopping your hand with his. You look up, and he inclines his head toward the bed.
“Lie down.”
You move to listen, but he stops you.
“Wait.”
He bends to grip the bottom edge of the bed frame, and Joel grunts as he slides the whole thing a few inches away from the wall. The feet squeak along the hardwood floor.
He straightens and nods. “Alright, go on.”
The image of him arched over your body, fucking you so hard and deep that the headboard knocks against the wall—thump, thump, thump—sets your heart racing. You scramble up the bed, and he takes his time unlacing his boots then follows with a slow crawl, watching you with dark eyes. With intent so potent it makes you want to look away.
You don’t.
He’s here this time.
As present as either of you can be when you’re a little high. Just the barest edge of sedated. You imagine your own eyes are glassy, lacquered in the low light of the shaded lamp. Joel’s don’t seem to be, though. He’s alert.
He crowds you further up the bed, and you scoot back until your head hits the pillow. He makes space for himself between your legs and reaches for your collar. You watch his deft fingers work quickly down the line of buttons on your shirt.
His eyes flick from his hands to your face and back. There’s naked want there—desire etched into his hard features. You’ve never seen him like this. You’ve only seen him two ways: serious or furious.
This is something else. This is intoxicating.
Your head is starting to spin.
He gets your shirt open, helps you shuck it off, and pulls your bra off with a practiced ease. His large, warm hands palm your breasts as soon as they’re free. He’s immediately fixated, and the attention sends a flush of heat over your bare skin. He tests the weight of each, kneading lightly, his mouth parted in muted awe as his fingertips sink into the give. He tweaks your nipple between two fingers, one and then the other, and watches, satisfied, as they pebble for him. He studies your reactions to his touch, eyes lingering on your face as he plays with you, as if your response is as important to him as the feel of you.
He takes his time. Unhurried. Like you have all the time in the world.
Joel leans down suddenly and licks a warm stripe up the line of your sternum, through the valley of your breasts, and your body reacts to him: you arch your back into the heat, your hand automatically burying itself in his thick hair, your lips parting around a moan.
His tongue.
You must taste like salt and sweat, and yet, he looks a little smug when he pulls back, his lips quirked in a half smile.
“You like that?”
He looks young when he smiles. You can see thirty-year-old Joel in that look. Unburdened Joel. Fifty-year-old Joel without the trauma.
The margins of your vision start to smudge as you look at him; colors bleed freely in the dim light, his features running like wet ink. His smile melts away. You feel off-kilter, like you’ll slip off the solid plane of this mattress and drop into nothingness if you don’t hold on. You fist your hands in the comforter.
A hand frames your cheek. You can’t focus your eyes. Your lashes flutter.
Joel says your name, concern woven between each syllable.
Once. Again.
He drops his weight onto you. The spinning stops, and your hands release. You meet his eyes.
“Joel—”
You remember last time—the first time you fucked, the smothering weight of his hand on your mouth when you said his name—and you bite your lip before you can say anything else. But he doesn’t react to it this time. He’s too lost in it.
It feels good to be lost together.
“You alright?” he asks, his brow pinched not in anger or distress, for once, but in naked concern. “Too much?”
You're not sure if he's asking about the pills and the booze or the pace or just...him.
“No, no.” You shake your head. “I’m good now.”
There’s so much care in his eyes that it feels like he’d give you anything you want in this moment. Like he’d lie down and hold you if you asked him to. You’re seeing him without his hardened front, and it makes you shiver. You slip your fingers around the back of his neck and pull his face down to yours, taking the thing you want most. He bends for you willingly.
His lips are a little chapped, his facial hair scratchy. You’re expecting a light kiss and a retreat, a concession. You’re not expecting his whole body to respond—the press of his chest against yours and an arm slipping under your shoulders to force you closer. You’re not expecting to be enveloped by his wide frame, for your back to be lifted a couple inches off the mattress in his urgency to hold you tight. You’re not expecting his tongue to slip between your lips first—to lick across the roof of your mouth in an utterly invasive, possessive way that makes you gasp.
He coaxes your shocked body into a response with careful waves of his tongue, consuming you with hungry lips and searching, grasping hands. Gentle teeth worry your bottom lip, soothed by the pass of his tongue. His nose nudges tenderly against yours as he kiss kiss kisses his way across your cheek.
He pulls back, fixing you with a serious look.
“You sure you’re okay?”
You can see him so perfectly in the before for a second. How he might have asked you the same question in some mundane situation, helping you to your feet after a stumble with a steadying hand on your shoulder. The dip of his accent and the color of his eyes would have spelled the end for you. You would have been a goner.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m good.”
“You wanna stop?”
You tighten your fingers in his shirt and shake your head. “No.”
He nods, sweeping light fingers across your cheek, and leans back in.
You fumble blindly with the buttons of his shirt as he kisses you, working as quickly as you can in the tight, shifting space between your bodies. When you have it almost all the way open, he sits back on his heels and yanks it off the rest of the way, tossing it off the bed. You tug impatiently at the hem of the white t-shirt he has on underneath, but he goes right for the button on your jeans, popping it open and ignoring the zipper completely. It comes down on its own when he hooks his fingers in your belt loops and jerks the denim off your body. Your underwear goes with it.
You reach for his belt buckle, but he stops you.
“No,” he says, stern, not unkind, “I’m gonna make you come first.”
He waits for your nod, then slides down the mattress and situates himself between your legs, spreading them open with a decisive push.
You’re naked under his gaze.
You watch, tense with anticipation, as he leans down to part you with the v of his fingers, one forearm hooked over the top of your thigh. He takes his time admiring the natural gloss of your arousal, his face situated so close that you can feel the warmth of each individual exhale on your skin, and then he looks up at you from his position between your thighs.
Without breaking eye contact, he adds to your slick by pouting his lips and letting a line of his spit drip slowly onto your pussy.
When he did that the first time you fucked, you chalked it up to efficiency, necessity—a way to bypass intimacy by cutting down on foreplay. Now, watching him track the slow seep of his saliva over your glistening cunt with hungry eyes, you realize he just likes it. He’s just nasty.
Joel dips his head and licks through the mess.
Your knees start to close reflexively around his ears at the first direct stimulation against your clit, but he forces your legs open with one hand and the width of his shoulders.
He looks up at your face.
“You gonna keep these open for me or do I need to do it for you?”
He says it in his usual deadpan, but there’s a challenge there, a hint of provocation behind his expression, the buried hope that you might want to fight him in the way he’d like. You tuck that away for later.
For now, he takes your look of surprise as an affirmative and dips his head again, satisfied.
He works his tongue over the aching pearl of your clit with a gentle, targeted flick—up and back, the bridge of his nose pressed hard against your mound—and your mind goes blank. You arch into him, fucking yourself against his face in a languid rhythm, as the tension begins to build in your body.
He likes it. His throat vibrates with an approving hum.
You grip the comforter as your muscles pull taut, as your thighs tense in his tight hold. You can hear the flick of his tongue and the suck of his lips. The low, wet sounds.
He exhales sharply through his nose and readjusts, his hands forcing your thighs open and up, so he can taste you how he wants—where he wants. Where you’re dripping for him.
The rough pad of one finger rocks steadily over your clit while he fucks you with his tongue, moaning into the heat of your body as he pushes in as deep as he can. His other hand is gripped around the back of your thigh. Bruises will blossom there by morning, a shadow of his hold on you.
You crook an elbow and drop your arm over your face, turning into it to muffle the noises he’s dragging out of you. A whine. A choked moan.
His mouth moves back up, and a finger takes its place, eased inside you with little resistance. He slides it out, and a second joins the first when he presses them back in. They’re thick, and he pushes them deep.
Joel builds your pleasure to a peak—with his hand, with his tongue, with the low sounds grunted in his throat—and it climbs steadily until it breaks. He climbs with you, the cadence of his breath picking up as yours does, his body rocking gently into yours in time with his fingers' movements inside you, his shoulders pressed against the backs of your thighs. The bed is shifting, the mattress springs whining quietly as you writhe.
You clench tight around his thrusting fingers, their tips curled repeatedly against the spot that makes your heels slip down the bed, and he closes his eyes as he works you through it with the hot lick of his tongue on your clit.
Through the shock, the tremors, and the slow fade. Until you’re limp.
His voice is a husky drawl, his breath humid on your hip. “Fuck, baby, you feel good.”
It’s barely anything. From him, it feels like a revelation, like a fucking love poem. You reach for him.
“Please, Joel—”
He sits up, kneeling between your legs, and rips his shirt over his head. His heaving chest is flushed. He opens his belt buckle with one hand, the clink of metal and slip of leather loud in the quiet room as it slithers out of his belt loops, and he drops it to the floor. He moves from the bed to kick off his jeans, and when he settles his body over yours again, the only thing left between you is the thin fabric of his boxer briefs.
You can feel the heft of him through them. The strain and the heat. The body-warm fabric pressed against your wet cunt.
He’s heavy on top of you, his hips caught between your thighs, his chest warm against yours, knuckles ghosting over your cheek. You shove the elastic waistband over his ass, impatiently searching for skin.
“Need you to fuck me,” you breathe.
He helps you push the fabric down, gets them off, and holds himself over you with a hand braced by your ear, gripping the base of his cock to tease the head through your folds. He meets your eyes as he catches the tip on the notch of your entrance and starts to sink inside you, dropping his hips forward in a slow, purposeful movement as he drinks in your reaction. You’re wet and aching to be filled, but he’s still a stretch, so he thrusts shallowly against the resistance until the crease in your brow smoothes and your body welcomes him deep.
He drops to his forearms and lets you feel each other. He’s thick inside you, sharp and vital in a way that feels incredible, hugged tight in your heat. Joel dips his head, your foreheads brushing, and he presses his mouth to yours in a light kiss. Sweet and quick. Almost chaste.
He tastes like you.
Then he circles his hips, a slow grind that ends in a controlled thrust—powerful and targeted.
You get to collect little pieces of him while he moves inside you, as his cock kisses the deepest parts of you, as you cling to him. Gray hairs are threaded among the dark brown ones on his chest. His neck is dusted with faint freckles, only visible this close. There’s a shiny pink scar on his left shoulder—a deep cut, old and healed. A much newer one puckers the skin of his bicep. A bullet graze.
He likes to kiss your neck and suck on the supple skin of your breasts while he fucks you.
He gives you a second orgasm before searching for his own, reaching between your bodies to take you over the edge with the practiced ease of his fingers.
He was right to move the bed away from the wall.
He works his way up from a slow, deep rhythm to a pace that has each punch of his hips threatening to drive you up the silky fabric of the comforter. He slips a hand under your back and curls his fingers over the top of your shoulder, keeping you in place as he impales you on his cock, pulling you back down to meet him each time. The pleasure has you pressing your head back into the pillow, your eyes closed tight.
He doesn’t like that tonight.
“Look at me.”
Joel shoves a hand under your skull, tangles his fingers in your hair, and holds you fast. He’s panting as his eyes flick between yours. Searching. Almost…frantic as he starts to fuck you harder, with less control. The mattress complains under your shifting bodies.
You watch him unravel.
One hand still caught in your hair, he pulls out and jerks himself over you, chasing his orgasm as he watches your face. He bares his teeth when he comes across your stomach in warm pulses, pearly lines dripped over your skin. The pleasure punches a grunt and a hiss from him, his hand squeezing tight around the base of his cock as his whole body tenses and releases, the tug of his fist slowing to a stop as he milks the last drop.
He’s breathing hard as his gaze traces over the spots where you’re painted with him, and something flickers behind his veiled eyes. Before you can really catch it, he scrubs a hand down his tired face and reaches for his discarded shirt. He uses it to wipe the sticky mess off your skin and tosses the crumpled thing back onto the floor.
He settles on the edge of the bed, sitting with his back to you, and you slip underneath the blankets. Now that you’re sated, sleep is starting to weigh at the edges of your consciousness. Insistent.
Joel pulls on his jeans and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. You hear water running.
You lie there—torn between feeling sure he’s coming back, especially seeing as the rest of his clothes are here, and the creeping thought that he’d probably rather sleep on the too-short couch then blur an already murky line by sharing this bed for something other than sex.
It would be so nice, for once, not to sleep alone.
But you’re used to sleeping alone.
His steps creak on the hardwood outside the door. Too much relief blooms in your gut.
Joel shuts the door behind him and stands at the end of the bed, scratching a hand through his tousled hair. Something about his rumpled appearance, his uncertainty, his half-dressed state is endearing. It’s so rare to see him…undone. He’s studying you, like he doesn’t quite know how to bridge the gap between your bodies now that the lust has dulled. Now that it’s just you and him and a bed.
“You want me to find another room?” you ask, knowing full well that the Texas gentleman buried somewhere inside him would never allow that. He’d leave if he wanted to be alone.
“No,” he says, making a decision and reaching for the light. He shuts it off with a click. There’s a shuffling of clothes, off and on, and he slips under the blankets.
In the dark, it’s easier for him. He gets close. He doesn’t reach for you, but in the quiet black, you can hear him angle his body toward you, settling on his side. He doesn’t resist when you slide closer; his hand rests on your waist when you press your nose into the soft, worn cotton of his t-shirt.
In the morning, he’ll be gone again.
#joel miller x you#joel miller x female reader#joel miller x f!reader#tlou fanfiction#joel miller fanfiction#the last of us fanfiction#the last of us#tlou#tlou spoilers#the last of us spoilers
513 notes
·
View notes
Text
25 asks :00000
@ocinstituterep (Posts in question)
The cooling suits they wear at the beach are the same ones they wear under their uniforms :00 And it doesn't necessarily reflect the sun,, its just a battery powered suit that keeps them cool :}
I wasn't pressured into drawing the art exactly,, but all the questions about it did push me a little into looking into the series more.. That's not really a bad thing though, I did enjoy drawing those pictures soooo-
I get this question a lot <XD When I was first designing my sona I wanted to add something to their hands. At the time my hands were covered in Band-Aids from dry skin and cat scratches. So I thought "Hey! Bandaged/bloody hands would be cool and edgy :DD" So I added them <XDD
Oh yeah, that episode was a bit odd huh? XD I think in my version of Octonauts they didn't go all the way down to its stomach- maybe just into the mouth and got the Puffer fish out.
Now the REAL episode that I basically 100% cut is the cone snail episode. You know why? Cone snails are estimated to have poison strong enough to kill 700 people! And there's NO antidote!! NO ONE would have survived being stung. Not even the Captain. They all would have died and left Peso abandoned on a ship full of the bodies of his friends in the middle of the ocean... :x pretty dark huh-
@britneyt
Thank you! :DD
@gregorythechild
XD I was getting tired of Gregory being a little snot. In game and in the fandom. So once again I made a character good out of spite! XDD
SKJAOSKJOSX I DO ACTUALLY XDDD
The basis for my Kirby Anime AU is I just found a way to add all the Metaknights to the story. You know, Axe knight, Mace night, Javelin Knight,,, etc.
This is obviously a SUPER angsty AU. For example, Axe Knight was Metaknight's first follower and best friend. But then he sacrificed himself to save Metaknight. Thinking he failed his soul was restless and he now wanders the galaxy fighting Monsters and honoring Metaknights name.. Not knowing that Metaknight survived. Its a REALLY long story that I should ramble about sometime XDD
I would advise against it,, there are plenty of good reaction images out there to find! I should know, I have 996 of them saved! I'm almost at 1000! XDD
@pinkbomb08
Thank you! And not at the moment no- but I might draw him again someday :}}
@cudlycorncornsworthcoberson
Noooooothingggg... :}}}
@annathefenecfox
I think its because the poor guy probably doesn't have enough free time to practice consistently. Being the Captain he likely has so much to do all the time.. and when he can finally sit down and indulge in hobbies,, he likely would just rather relax and read a book instead. :( Poor fella
Ah, sorry. I don't know of any. <:/
I have actually! :DD I did not sleep good that night :}}}
@invaderdrey
Thank you so much!!!! :DD
Thank you so much! And as for the memes.. ehh, I'd say just to be safe, don't make em. Comments are more than enough. The first thing I do when I wake up is check Tumblr and see if anyone left a comment on my posts. Literally! Comments are the best thing you can give me!
Thank you so much!! :DD
Heck yeah, that's the best part! <XDDD
It definitely depends on my mood, I'm split 50/50 on which one I enjoy more :000
@chickenmilk120
@its-paperd
:DDD Thank you so much!! That means a lot!
@milk-powrit (Post in question)
<XD Thankfully no, Jangles is not an iPad kid. He was just playing on my phone because Bibi and I were conked out and he was bored XDD
@simon-says-lots-of-things
:DD Thank you so much!! And yeah, I don't care what's canon or not. I wont be drawing any lovey-dovey/shippy content unless its with my own original characters. Its just not my thing man, 🤷♂️
@twohourstoolong
Thank you! And yeah if I were you I'd ditch pinterest. Any time I have been browsing artwork on google and clicked the link, It always took me to some stolen artwork on pinterest. I'd just rather people never found me then have found me through stolen art on pinterest..
I have not :0 sounds thrilling though! :D
100 notes
·
View notes
Text
Free Palestine, don't support Neil
Title: Sugar Free (5)
Part Four
You and Ellie wake the next morning to furious pounding on her door. You groan as the strap slips out with a loud pop. "Sorry, sorry" Ellie whispers, tossing the strap on the bed as she's hurriedly dressing. You follow suit, taking a few spare glances at her ass or tits as you're right behind her at the door.
Jesse and Joel are stood impatient. "Grab your rations and let's go, we're late. You're lucky Maria is still organizing teams." Joel chastises. Jesse nods along before jogging towards the mess hall. You and Abby dropped off a rush load the night before, prior to her walking you to her house.
You split off from them so you can start on the breakfast load. Abby is inside when you get there. "Sorry, I got the key from Maria-" you cut off her rushed, clearly nervous sentence.
"Abs it's ok, why are you here instead of at the mess hall?" You cup her face in your hands.
"I wanted to see you first." Her lips crash on yours. "Some of the guys talked about dying, and I couldn't risk not getting to kiss you first."
"Babygirl, you're strong. And so is everyone you're going with. Focus out there. Keep your head with the group." You kiss her again. And again. And after a long while of sucking on her tongue you let her go. "Good luck out there. I'll be here with food, and hot chocolate, and tea as soon as you ride through those gates." As soon as she turns you grab her bicep and kiss her again. "For good measure," you watch her leave.
-
"Ellie, Jesse, Joel, Tommy, and Dina. You're the group leaders. Please line up." Maria is standing at the gates with all of the scouts in camp. A few riders went out early to get a rough scale of the horde. "Pick your riders and I'll give you trails."
Each leader has six riders behind them. Abby is with Ellie, she was chosen first among the crowd. A lot of the younger or newer scouts are spread through Joel and Jesse, Tommy and Dina taking intermediates with Ellie.
"Ellie, you're going far west then to the north. You're going to take care of the middle. Joel, you're going to follow Ellie and try and drag some of the horde away. Your group will deal with that bunch. I want Jesse to also follow, but you're taking the south west clutch. Dina, mirror Joel on the east. Tommy, mirror Jesse. I'm going straight to the front and cleaning up with my crew once they're back from scouting." The leaders are all circled around the table, marking their routes on smaller versions of Maria's guide map. "Communicate clearly. Ellie, Joel, and Dina. You leave first as soon as we get the run down. The rest of us will wait until my command."
-
The scouts come through with urgency. They hop off their horses and go to Maria, each one holding their own crude but mostly effective maps. "There's a hundred, maybe two?" One of the scouts says, his map is on the table first. "I did a full circle around. They're most dense here near the lake, but they're more split and scattered around the city. Look outs were all instructed to stay put and clean up after we take care of the large mass."
"Excellent." Maria makes rough sketches on the map, circling bits and labeling with names. "Does this look achievable?"
"As hopeful as we can get," the rider confirms.
-
Abby follows close behind Ellie, going to the ski lodge where Joel and Tommy found her. "Holy shit. did I bring this here?"
"No, not you. Migration. We do this often enough to know the difference. If you brought them, it would have been maybe ten? I don't see it being more than twenty. If anything you got lucky and caught inside before they had the chance to properly group." Once they spot stragglers, Ellie halts. "We take the horses to the look out then watch for Dina and Jesse. After they start pulling we start clearing. Everyone ready?"
-
"Camp must be empty," the pair of girls turn to address Ellie. "I'm Cat," the one who spoke introduces herself to Abby.
"I'm June," the other girl speaks up.
"Abby," Abby nods to them.
June turns around but Cat keeps her attention on the small crew huddled around her. "Shouldn't someone built like Abby," Cat addresses Ellie, "be set with Dina? Size balance and all that?"
"She has Quentin and Salem with her, she's good." Ellie answers.
"Weren't they supposed to go to Joel's look out?" June asks, turning around. Ellie tilts her head.
"What do you mean? Who's there now?" Ellie points out the window.
"No one as far as I know," June goes for the radio. "Maria this is Creek Trail, over."
"Creek Trail what's your status? Over." Maria's voice comes through.
"Who is stationed at Joel's look out? Over." There's a long period of silence.
"No one, there's no one. Over." Maria's voice is grim.
"Dina!" Ellie gasps, rushing to the door. "Someone needs to go! Someone needs to-"
"Come with me Abby, you're learning a new job." Cat signals Abby to follow her. "June, I'll meet back with you after patrol. You know what to do."
-
"You won't ever go this way to the look out. Someone else will take you the proper route next time." Cat guides Abby.
"Why did you leave June?"
"You saw her. She may have seemed small, but her heart, skill, and bravery all look like you. If she didn't have patrol today she would have been with Dina or Tommy."
"Why did the other patrol skip out?" Abby dismounts after Cat, tying the horse to the piping.
"No clue. If the infected don't kill them, Maria will. Follow me." Cat takes Abby to the outpost. "This is where you sign in. Initial, and date." Cat scribbles down a quick C/A before dating. "Binoculars are at the window, controls to the flood lights are under the table. Kick once. You'll see them turn on. They'll turn off if you kick again. Wait until there's movement before they turn off, though. We want them to see the signals."
"When do I know when to turn it on?" A single gunshot echoes from below them. "Sniper?"
"June. That's when you know. Go ahead." Cat readies her rifle. "That big gun you carry, is it a semi?"
"Yeah. Rifle."
"Good. Not as useful as a hunting rifle up here, but it'll be better than the pistols we're all instructed to carry." There's a beat of silence in the station after Abby turns the lights off, watching Dina and her crew move forward to clear out the infected. "Once you don't see our people anymore, go for the infected."
"Got it," Abby confirms.
"Because I stole you, I'll take picks for Ellie. Hopefully for her, Maria set out by now. Call in Dina's position, and ask for confirmation."
Abby goes to the radio. Next to it is a call sheet, and a script. "Convenient," she mutters to herself. "This is Sky Trail. Over."
"Sky Trail what's your status? Over." A man answers.
"Confirmation of... release. Over." Abby reads.
"All clean up crews are out. Over."
"Come start on stragglers." Cat calls to Abby.
-
Ellie rushes in once the flood lights turn on. Each shot is precise, swift. Her rifle lever clicks with each load of a bullet, keeping her calm, giving her something to focus on. She zeros in on the rhythm as she marks shot after shot, watching the dead bodies fall. It's like a movie to her. The main character in a final battle of life or death for a loved one. White noise as muffled shooting comes from the TV speakers. It feels like this, for a long time as she sees less and less infected and more bodies she's attempting to not trip over.
She barely registers a hand on her before whipping around and shooting, a bullet grazing the side of Abby's head. "Maria said to pull out! Your crew is done! Jesse and Dina are also going back to camp!" It's shouted over the now clear infected screams, and gunshots. Ellie's ears ring for a new reason now.
"The wounded are leaving with Joel, and Tommy's gathering the horses! Do you have yours?"
"Yeah, she's just up-" Abby's cut off by her own scream as a Clicker grabs her, chomping at her throat. Her arm can barely hold it back as Ellie shoots it off her. Scratches are present on her collar, and another bullet graze is bleeding down her jaw.
"Let's go before we die here!" Ellie follows Abby to her horse. Tree limbs, and underbrush cling to their skin and clothes as they clamber through the snow. Abby unties the horse so they can escape.
-
"Cat radioed in, go to medical." The stable boy directs.
"Yessir," Ellie mockingly solutes.
-
You run to medical after leaving the special rations with the young kids to help pass out to crew members as they swarm in few at a time. You had watched Ellie and Abby come on the same horse, both bloody and worse for ware.
"Hey you," Ellie greets first. "Long time no see."
"It's been most of today, Els." You agree with her, walking into her open legs and outstretched arms. "Maria ordered the big cart not long after you rode in. How many of ours?"
"Not sure. Few dead, lotta injured. I'm clear to go, but I'm waiting for Anderson."
"What happened to Abby?"
"Whole lotta something' but I don't know everything. I kinda sorta shot her a couple times."
"Jesus Christ Ellie!" Your eyes go wide with shock. "I know you don't have a great past, but really?"
"Hey hey, woah, slow your horses mama. Wasn't like that. She grabbed me, and I acted on instinct thinkin' she was infected. The other shot she was grabbed by the infected and I acted before thinking." You sign with relief.
"I'm glad you're both ok enough to have come home in one piece." You lean down and brush your lips against the corner of Ellie's. Her own move accordingly, turning her head to give you a proper kiss. "I'm gunna go check on her now. You know where to find hot drinks. The kids have the rations."
-
"Aren't you all pretty covered in bandages," you tease. "How was your impromptu patrol?"
"Torture. I think I made some friends though, so that was nice."
"Oh yeah?" You sit on the chair next to Abby's cot, mindlessly fidgeting with a stray piece of bandaging left on the bed. "Who did you meet?"
"June and Cat, although I spent much more time with Cat. I would like to get to know June more though."
"That's good. You could use some friends. June doesn't talk much, but if you get a few glasses of whiskey in her and take her some place quiet, she will talk your ear off." You turn your attention to the bandages on Abby's face. "This was Ellie?" You lightly run your fingers down and over the wounds.
"My fault," she owns. "She's a good shot."
"Well enough she didn't kill you," you bring her hand to your lips. Abby blushes at the contact. "So, what do you plan on doing pretty girl? I can pick you up some rations and walk you home?"
"That would be nice," she smiles softly.
-
You walk Abby home. Ellie is nowhere to be seen as you're leaving so you assume she's also home. You bring her hot chocolate and the promised rations, a few of the kids teasing you after you tell them who you're bringing them to.
"Here you are," you tell her, putting the items on the bedside table. "Start with this so the food has something to settle on." You hand her the hot chocolate.
"Thanks mom," she teases.
"If you're playing that game, I much prefer 'mama'," you wink. "But honestly, you're more than welcome."
-
As Abby eats you watch her bandages turn a darker and darker red. "Let me change these for you," you offer when she's finished.
"I appreciate it," Abby says honestly.
With careful hands, you redress the wounds. You kiss them after making sure the wrapping is secure. Her face is beet red.
"You're so beautiful," you tell her, brushing the hair from her face.
"Nah. You're the true beauty here." She's shy.
"I don't think you know what you're talking about."
"No, no you don't know what you're talking about." Her tone is petulant.
"Since you can't take a compliment," you kiss her. "Better?" Her lips crash against yours again.
You move in sync until your lips are numb and Abby's teeth create some bruises. "Much better." Abby concludes.
#no men allowed#no minors allowed#abby anderson#abby the last of us#abby tlou#abby tlou2#abby the last of us 2#abby smut#abby x reader#ellie the last of us#ellie williams#ellie tlou#ellie tlou2#ellie the last of us 2#ellie smut#ellabs#ellabs x reader#from the river to the sea palestine will be free
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hiroaki Hirata, Masakazu Morita, Masayuki Ozaki UStream Special Digest Interview Part 2 (Tiger & Bunny The Beginning)
Part 1 can be found here
The below is transcribed from the DVD release.
Hirata: What's the story about?
Ozaki: That's so sudden.
Morita: It's a secret?
Hirata: Who's the criminal?
Morita: Ignoring the special report all together.
Ozaki: "The Beginning."
Hirata: It's not about a criminal, is it?
Ozaki: It's about the beginning.
Hirata: What does he mean by it?
Morita: The beginning is the start?
Hirata: The start?
Ozaki: It has many different meanings. It's the start of Tiger & Bunny story. And it's the beginning of the relationship between Kotetsu and Barnaby. It's a beginning in many different ways.
Hirata: So it's their relationship at the beginning of the TV series…
Morita: Yeah. So back to the four different Barnabys…
Ozaki: Please use them.
Morita: I just managed to combine them into one…
Hirata: you finally combined them?
Morita: Yeah, I finally combined them. I need to split him back into four parts.
Hirata: It's a movie, so four might not be enough. You might need eight.
Morita: Eight? In that case, that would apply to Kotetsu too.
Hirata: Well then how about my old suit version? Does that appear?
Ozaki: I need a Kotetsu that you have never played before - a new version of Kotetsu.
Hirata: Then I'll go from two versions to three versions.
Morita: No, no no, it should be at least six.
Hirta: No way.
Ozaki: The face he shows Kaede, the face he shows to others, and the face he shows his wife…
Morita: That's deep.
Ozaki: This is something we've probably never shown… Something the fans have never seen…
Hirata: I was actually hoping for something like that. His wife, huh?
Morita: That was a pretty big piece of information.
Ozaki: We can talk about this, right?
Morita: Get your act together, Ozaki-san!
Ozaki: I got together with Nishida-san, the writer of the script, and we discussed what kind of story we watned to make for this movie.
Hirata: Sorry to sound impatient, but are these new events setting up a part two or something?
Ozaki: Part two… Umm…
Hirata: You really can't reveal it?
Ozaki: Umm…
Hirata: So you can't say whether or not it'll lead into anything?
Ozaki: Something like that. Umm…
Hirata: What was that?
Ozaki: It's probably going to be about something that you two, as well as the fans, would want to see.
Hirata: What do you want to see the most?
Morita: I kind of want to know what Ouroboros is.
Hirata: Ah…
Ozaki: Well, what about you?
Hirata: Me? The thing I want to see the most is… I want to know who gave Kaede the power to attract metal objects.
Ozaki: Shall I septn two hours showing how that happened?
Hirata: You don't need to spend two hours. I'd just like you to touch on that if you have the time.
Morita: Even while we were recording, we were wondering who she touched.
Hirata: What old man or woman in the middle of the countryside has that magnetic power? I've been…
Morita: We want to know!
Hirata: Yeah, we want to.
Ozaki: What do you think of this? (holds up palms)
Morita: He's sweating!
Hirata: The fans who are watching this are probably remembering that part.
Ozaki: Part 1 and Part 2 aren't connected. They're individual stories. Part 1 doesn't end with a cliffhanger and go on to Part 2.
Morita: I see.
Ozaki: People sure were excited in Hong Kong.
Morita: He did it!
Hirata: You dodge the topic.
Morita: He sure did.
Hirata: So how was it?
Morita: I went to a big event called C3 in Hong Kong… Tiger & Bunny is ridiculously popular.
Hirata: Hold on a second. The event was two days long or something, right?
Morita: It was three days long. I attended two days.
Hirata: How many people were there?
Morita: It was pretty big.
Ozaki: There were several hundred chairs, but there were standing sections as well. There were about 123,000 attendees over the three days. It was a pretty huge event.
Hirata: 120,000 people?
Ozaki: Over three days.
Hirata: 120,000 people by word of mouth?
Morita: Yeah.
Hirata: That's amazing.
Ozaki: The Tiger & Bunny talk show with Morita-san and myself attracted several hundred people. You couldn't fit a thousand people in that area.
Morita: It was too small for a thousand people.
Ozaki: But it was totally packed.
Morita: Yeah, it was.
Ozaki: I was a bit worried about doing this in Hong
Kong. I didn't know if they knew about the show.
Hirata: Right…
Ozaki: So until the day of the event, I was worried about whether people would come. How about you?
Morita: There were a lot of cosplayers.
Ozaki: Yeah, there were.
Morita: There was a Kotetsu, Sky High, and Bunny in their hero suits.
Hirata: Who makes those?
Morita: They were so well made!
Ozaki: They're handmade.
Morita: It's amazing. And we even got to talk about important things.
Ozaki: Yeah.
Hirata: What did you talk about?
Morita: This movie is going to be released in Hong Kong at the same time as Japan.
Ozaki: Yes.
Hirata: All at once?
Morita: They're going to get to see it on the same day as people in Japan. There's only an hour time difference.
Ozaki: That's right. It's about the same.
Morita: The same day.
Hirata: That's amazing.
Morita: They can see it.
Hirata: So you need to air the show before the release, then.
Morita: Ozaki-san is really amazing for setting this all up. It's set to air too.
Ozaki: Yeah.
Morita: Are they going to air it over there with the original audio?
Ozaki: No, they're going to dub it. They're probably going to make it Cantonese. Yeah, they're going to dub it.
Hirata: How are they going to translate my scream? I don't think it'll translate into Cantonese.
Morita: I wonder what it'll be…
Ozaki: I wonder. We were taught some Cantonese phrases. I already forgot what they were.
Morita: You forgot them?
Ozaki: Anyway, there's a Hong Kong dub in the works, and casting for the English version as well.
Hirata: Yeah?
Ozaki: Yes.
Hirata: What would my scream be in English?
Morita: What would it be? Wouldn't it just be the same?
Ozaki: It might be.
Morita: It's like a special attack.
Hirata: Yeah. "Wild" would just be "Wild" because it's English.
Ozaki: "Wild Roar"… Something like that.
Hirata: Wild Roar! It sounds like I'm really roaring.
Morita: It sure does.
Hirata: I look forward to it.
Morita: The previews might stay the same. They're in English, after all.
Hirata: The previews?
Morita: Barnaby goes, "Hi! Tiger and Bunny…" Is that all going to be in English?
Ozaki: Yes.
Morita: All in English?
Ozaki: Yes.
Morita: Why don't we just do it in Japanese? Make it reversed.
Ozaki: Well, Kotetsu doesn't speak good English. We're going to figure out how we can express that in English dub.
Morita: Ozaki-san will spill the beans one day.
Hirata: Please look out for his tweets.
Morita: The show is becoming global.
Ozaki: Yes. We're not just releasing it simultaneously in Hong Kong, but Taiwan and Singapore as well.
Hirata & Morita: Wow…
Ozaki: We're trying to do that with other countries as well.
Hirata: how many countries do you plan to do this with?
Ozaki: In the end, probably more than ten countries.
Hirata: Wow…
Morita: Amazing…
Ozaki: The movie is coming out in September. The staff working on it doesn't have any time to sleep.
Morita: They're already working on it?
Ozaki: Yes, they are. We've already gotten the storyboard. Now that we have that, we're working on animating it. We're just getting started. We're working really hard.
Hirata: I think I should beging practicing saying, "I'm going to let out a wild roar."
Morita: Yeah.
Hirata: I need to practice.
Morita: Yaeh.
Hirata: Maybe they don't use that line in the movie.
Morita: I'm going to practice saying "See you!"
Hirata: That's for the previews.
Ozaki: Please look forward to it.
Morita: Yeah. It would be nice if we could do another event.
Ozaki: Sounds good.
Morita: He's getting nervous.
Ozaki: It really sounds good. We'll see how that goes.
Morita: I think I understand now. When you're in the hot seat, you start fidgeting. Your eyes start drifting.
#tiger & bunny#2012#masayuki ozaki#hiroaki hirata#masakazu morita#interview#translated#dvd#the beginning
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Strolling in the Forest, a playlist for @lady-ofmischief
I got so carried away with this one... It was easier for me to bulk this one up bc these are all songs I frequently use on my walks! I will say though, my route is a circle and has a big!!! hill in the middle so there are a few more-upbeat ones just bc I gotta keep going up a big hill! I'll put a little star beside some of the really powerful ones just in case you want to take them out :)
Otherwise, the vibes are intended to be peaceful, airy, reflective, tender, and chill. I hope you can enjoy some time with the ol' mother nature listening to this playlist 💛
I am sorry there's so much Cat Stevens/Yusuf but his 1970s albums are nature distilled <3
I split it into two parts (part I: vocals and part II: instrumental)
--
Part I
The Wind [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Miles from Nowhere [Cat Stevens/ Yusuf]
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp [Led Zeppelin]
Rubylove [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Tuesday’s Dead [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Moonshadow [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Peace Train [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Morning has Broken [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Funny How Love Is [Queen]
I Want Some Sun [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Somebody to Love [Queen}
Silent Sunlight [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
I Can’t Keep It In [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Doing Alright [Queen]
The Night Comes Down [Queen]
‘39 [Queen]
Bitterblue [Cat Stevens/Yusuf]
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Live from Live Aid) - [Elton John, George Michael]
Nevermore [Queen]
White Queen (As It Began) [Queen]
Skyline Pigeon - Piano Version [Elton John]
La Japonaise [Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballe]
Guide Me Home [Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballe]
Seven Seas of Rhye [Queen]*
Heal the Pain [George Michael]
Dreams [Fleetwood Mac]
Peaceful Easy Feeling [The Eagles]
Mr. Blue Sky [ELO]*
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) [Edison Lighthouse]
Rotten Peaches [Elton John]
Some Days Are Diamonds, Some Days Are Stone [John Denver]
VENT’ANNI [Maneskin]
Amoreena [Elton John]*
The Game of Cards [Maddy Prior, June Tabor]
Country Life [The Watersons]
Part II
Don’t Stop Me Now (Instrumental) [Queen, Simon Mulligan]
The Merry Go Round of Life [Joe Hisaishi/London Symphony Orchestra]
Emma Suite [Isobel Waller-Bridge]
The Adventure Begins [Howard Shore]
Dawn [Jean-Yves Thibaudet]
My Neighbour Totoro [Joe Hisaishi/London Symphony Orchestra]
Kiki’s Delivery Service [ Joe Hisaishi/London Symphony Orchestra]
The Shire [Howard Shore]
Very Old Friends [Howard Shore]
A Very Respectable Hobbit [Howard Shore]
Many Meetings [Howard Shore]
Silver Leaves [James Newton Howard]
Galadriel [Bear McCreary]
Elendil and Ilsildur [Bear McCreary]
Elrond Half-Elven [Bear McCreary]
Lighting the Beacons [Howard Shore]****
Merida’s Home [Patrick Doyle]
In Her Heart [Patrick Doyle]
Samwise the Brave [Howard Shore]
The Fellowship [Howard Shore/The London Symphony Orchestra]
Concerning Hobbits [Howard Shore]
May Nights [Tchaikovsky]
Halloran’s Jig [Scythian]
Piano Concerto no. 2 - andante [Shostakovich]
Spotify Link to the entire playlist here 💛
~~
return of the king ecle-c-tic celebration 🎉
hehe you’re being tagged bc of this post:
@lady-ofmischief @whatmarisays @thislookinyoureyes @killerqueen-ofwillowgreen @trinikins
MARI!!! Your playlist is on it's way but I think you'd enjoy this one as well :)
#J <3#whitequeen ofwillowgreen#lady ofmischief#my mutuals <3#playlists#rao's playlists#rote celebration#rao's celebration#I hope you enjoy it <3
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Interview with Golden Brown (December 2023)
Golden Brown is the work of Stefan Beck. This year, on Inner Islands, he released Weird Choices back in February and Wide Ranging Rider in September. Here we get to hear more about his creative practice and other musical endeavors from this year.
1. What are some recent inspirations?
I was lucky enough recently to see Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Zakir Hussain, and Rakesh Chaurasia play live. It was an absolutely mind blowing performance that I'll carry with me for a long time. Their album As We Speak has been a favorite of mine this year and it was such a treat to see this music live. Four brilliant musicians playing acoustic instruments, they create this amazing sound that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts, even though they are all absolute masters of their instruments. Zakir Hussain is a mad genius of rhythm and the most melody forward percussionist I have ever seen live.
2. You have been playing live a fair bit this year. How has it been translating your pieces into the live realm? Do you take a different approach from the studio versions?
It's been fun trying different approaches with live versions of songs. They do usually take on a different character than the recorded versions. With some of the Wide Ranging Rider songs, this has involved changing from acoustic to electric guitar and incorporating some effects. A few times I've experimented with weaving a few songs into a flowing suite if they are all in the same key/tuning. I try to do things a little differently each time, improvising and changing arrangements. One of my favorite gigs this year was opening for the River Arkansas at the Fox Theater in Boulder. I was lucky enough to have my friends Macon and Robin from the River Arkansas play bass and drums with me on a few songs. They are super talented, intuitive musicians and brought such a fun and different vibe to the music.
3. How composed vs. improvised are the pieces on Wide Ranging Rider? There are obviously strong melodic motifs in every piece, but are there also sections that are more freeform?
Wide Ranging Rider is the first Golden Brown album to be fully written throughout prior to recording. I usually rely on some of the serendipity of layering improvisations when making music, so this felt really different. Improvisation played into some of the arrangements with the additional textural elements of electric guitar and keyboards on songs like Ambergris and Dusty, but the fingerpicked acoustic guitar for each piece was fully realized prior to recording.
4. How do you write a piece like Wide Ranging Ride I or II? Is it following a feeling or trying to capture an image? How does it go for you?
I didn't have a specific image or feeling in mind when writing, but there is a certain energy that flows throughout. It's kind of tough for me to put into words, but there definitely is shared DNA between those two pieces as well as Little Rider and Withywindle. Similarly, Cobwebs and Sage and Scurvy have some melodic elements and vibe in common.
Wide Ranging Rider I has been something I have been playing for about 20 years, but didn't feel complete until WRR II came about. I was writing a lot in open G tuning (DGDGBD), and at some point realized that several of the themes I was working on were connected. Originally, WRR I & II were arranged into a single long suite, with WRR II sandwiched in the middle of WRR I. Eventually, I decided I preferred them split into separate pieces to open each side of the LP. But I may try and play the full suite live at some point.
Wide Ranging Rider I and II as well as Kirghiz Light are linear compositions. The form is something closer to ABCDEFGA rather than a more typical progression of like ABABCB or ABA.
5. Do you feel like your work with the guys in Prairiewolf has influenced your solo work at all?
I do! It's been really wonderful making music collaboratively in addition to my solo pursuits. And I am lucky to have Tyler and Jeremy as bandmates who I can bounce ideas off of. The most apparent influence is on some music I'm working on for release in 2024 hopefully - it's kind of my version of a Bill Laswell style ambient dub album. I used a drum machine for a few of the songs, a first for me as Golden Brown. I had a lot of fun running the drum machine through my effects and kind of live dubbing the rhythm track as I recorded it. And Jeremy was kind of enough to play some synth and keyboards on one of the songs. It's pretty different in sound from most of what I've done before, though High Tide at Gold Beach (2012) is probably closest. The end result I think will be the most Prairiewolfish I've made music under the name Golden Brown.
6. How did the Prairiewolf group come together? The three of you fit together in such a nice and seamless way.
It was serendipitous for sure. We had all sort of met online and gathered to try it out in early 2022. It wasn't perfect from the get go but there was definitely some synergy there. It's been really fun to watch it develop. Jeremy and Tyler both are really good listeners as well as excellent musicians, and we share a lot of common musical ground. I try not to take it for granted that it works as well as it does. We are working on our second album together and it's pretty exciting. We have a good batch of songs, more than we can fit on one album, and it seems like we are continually coming up with more. We've also leaned into playing live this year and have gotten into some good zones as a result.
7. Who might a dream collaborator be with someone from an older generation?
Bill Frisell for sure. I can't think of anyone who's had a bigger impact on my music. My dream would be to have a musical voice as emotive, singular, and recognizable as Bill Frisell. My dad first played Good Dog, Happy Man for me over twenty years ago and that music has become integral to me as a musician. I love almost everything Frisell has done but that album, Ghost Town, Nashville, and the Intercontinentals are very special.
8. Do you have any rituals to get you in the zone to work on music?
Not really, often it's just a matter of playing and trying different things until the conscious part of the mind turns off and I am relying more on my instincts. Sometimes that can happen quickly, sometimes it can take a long time. And sometimes in the moment, I have no idea whether what I'm working on is good or not and just need to set it aside for a listen with fresh ears later on. But the one thing that does really help is having my little music room downstairs - to be able to play whenever I feel like it without having to set up/take down makes a big difference in terms of getting in the flow.
9. You had mentioned that The Actual Star was an influence on your Weird Choices album. Were there any literary inspirations on Wide Ranging Rider?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was definitely an influence. Withywindle is named for the river valley in the old forest where the hobbits encounter Tom Bombadil. I felt like the melody/picking pattern kind of reminded me of Tom Bombadil bopping along through the forest. Jeff Vandermeer was also an influence, more on Ambergris than anything else (maybe with the juxtaposition of the natural/organic element of the acoustic guitar with the modified, delayed sounds of electric guitar and keyboard.) But I was also reading his Southern Reach Trilogy when a lot of the music on Wide Ranging Rider was being written and arranged, so there is probably more influence there under the surface as well.
10. Words of wisdom you like to recall in times of need?
Robert Hunter's and John Perry Barlow's lyrics from the Grateful Dead songbook have deeply soaked into the core of my being. I have a list of affirmations from Dead lyrics that is an endless wellspring of solace and inspiration. Apologies in advance, this is extra nerdy.
Every time that wheel turn round, bound to cover just a little more ground
Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile
I love you more than words can tell
Love is real, not fade away
We can discover the wonders of nature
Inspiration, move me brightly
Light the song with sense and color, hold away despair
Without love in a dream it’ll never come true
If you get confused just listen to the music play
Shall we go, you and I while we can?
The future’s here, we are it, we are on our own
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world
Wake up to find out that you are the song that the morning brings
Sometimes we live no particular way but our own
Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own
I will find my own way home
I’m a stone jack baller and my heart is true
More than just ashes when your dreams come true
Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right
One way or another, this darkness got to give
Let there be songs to fill the air
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through
I’ll get up and fly away
Don’t give it up; you’ve got an empty cup only love can fill
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Day 121 of missing AkkAyan.
Today’s scene is the direct continuation of yesterday’s. I wanted to split it into two parts because I had plenty to say about it.
This part of the scene in particular is a very obvious moment of Ayan diverting from his ‘bad boy you can’t do anything to me’ personality that we see him adopt at the start of the show. When he is hurt and angry and all he cares about is revenge. The Ayan who is ready to burn Suppalo to the ground and use Akk against himself to get what he wants. For that Ayan the only thing on his mind should be finding out who the curse is now, who is making horrible things happen in the school that killed his uncle.
But it’s clear that version of Ayan is a sort of mechanism he developed to deal with his grief. A persona that he might of thought suited the ‘new’ him, hardened by his uncle’s loss but in reality was only a temporary attempt at a solution that barely lasted two episodes. From him admitting this in the “I used to be an introvert” scene to his actions in this scene the fakeness of that personality is apparent. Ayan is barely interested in taking more actions to find out who the perpetrator is, even if that should still be on his mind seeing as it now affects the new people he cares about (mostly Akk). He is returning to that ‘introvert’ side of himself although it is about much more than being an introvert. That soft Ayan we see at the cafe with Dika who has wide eyes and an innocent face. The side of him that just wants to sit with the boy he is falling for and eat dinner. Just wants to help Akk feel better and spend time with him.
Returning to this form of Ayan is more than helpful to his mission that I talked about yesterday. Essentially overwhelming Akk into accepting his feelings by allowing him to play a passive role. Only giving him opportunities to disagree rather than try make Akk prompt something himself. The parts of this scene that are Ayan repeatedly insisting they should eat together are a combination of not giving Akk the option to say no as well as just him being his cute pouty self that he feels more comfortable being. A pouty self I expect to see again in Our Skyy. There’s also the less obvious benefit of using his true self to get Akk’s attention and that is that Akk actually gets to see that side of Ayan. Although their initial relationship had mutual interest and attraction, moments like this are when affection and love play a part. The Ayan that Akk first met was one he was attracted to sure, also overly focused on but this Ayan is the Ayan that Akk learns to love. When the problems with the school stop getting in the way of their relationship and they can truly get to know each other past what they were forced to be because of grief and manipulation. I miss them, more and more very day.
I thought this would be a short one today but that’s what happens when you write it in the middle of the day instead of near midnight.
#Akkayan#the eclipse#the eclipse the series#first kanaphan#khaotung thanawat#I’ve tried posting this like 4 times the video is messing it up please work now please#I miss them but tumblr is getting on my nerves I might have to stop adding the videos
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Super Robot Rollcall: Members of the Londo Bell
Bright Noah
"I'm sorry, but i'll be putting your lives on the line."
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Age: 32
Height: 180 cm
Hobby: Model Kits
Voice Actor: Hirotaka Suzuoki
War vet among war vets, Bright is just plain old tired. Thrust into a commanding role right out of military academy due to the death of the entire chain of command above him, then mistreated by an authoritarian government, only to then have to fight a reborn version of his very first opposing faction while babysitting an entire ship of teenagers, Bright’s career has been seemingly nothing but a recipe for a nervous breakdown. Despite it all, he’s always managed to keep things together just enough to command authority and inspire confidence in all of those who serve under him, even if he’s had his fair share of low points.
When it comes to raw stats, Bright is the best captain in the game. On top of that, he has a top-grade lineup of support-oriented Spirit Commands.
However, he has two big weaknesses. He doesn’t learn Focus (集中) nor Strike (必中, guarantees this unit’s next attack will not miss), which for a battleship captain means it’s gonna be very difficult for him to hit anything, and he spends long swathes of the game unavailable. Depending on your choices during route splits, you can have as little time with him as 12 total chapters of use (out of 37 chapters in the game!!).
Despite this, he DOES stay with us all the way to the end, and as a battleship captain, is going to be deployed whenever he’s around, whether we like it or not. And with that performance, we very much do like it.
Fun Fact: According to the December 1979 issue of Animage, Bright’s name is derived from “the Brightness of Noah’s ark”.
Ra Cailum
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Length: 487 meters
The culmination of Earth Federation battleship design, this is the Londo Bell’s own flagship. Nearly as much of a SRW veteran as Bright and Amuro themselves.
An absolute beast of a battleship. Tied for best allied battleship armor (though the battleship it’s tied with does have an edge over the Ra Cailum thanks to its barrier) in the game, Incredible firepower, 4 part slots, and a very powerful MAP attack thanks to its signature nuclear warheads. Sadly, Bright's Spirit Command learnset just isn’t quite equipped for this ship’s offensive output, so you could say it isn’t used to its fullest potential. If you really want Bright getting some kills, consider dedicating some of its parts slots to accuracy-boosting items.
Fun Fact: This style of ship (as a group, referred to as Ra Cailum-class battleships) would go on to see frontline usage as far as six decades after its first initial deployments. The culmination of Federation battleship design indeed!
youtube
Amuro Ray
"I'm not impatient like you! I can wait for humanity to learn and grow!"
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Birthday: November 4th
Age: 29
Height: 172 cm
Education Level: Middle school graduate
Favorite Food: Hamburgers
Voice Actor: Tooru Furuya
The Federation’s infamous White Devil. If Bright is tired and stressed, Amuro is tired and depressed.
Alongside Bright and the entire makeshift crew of the White Base, he was thrust into active warfare in the middle of one of humanity’s bloodiest wars, but unlike Bright, he was one of the crew members who was originally nothing but a civilian. Feared due to the abilities he displayed during the war, after it he was essentially kept under house arrest and strict vigilance by the authoritarian regime of the Titans. Once they were finally toppled, Amuro's next foe would be one of his oldest and most personal enemies, Char Aznable.
Alongside Bright, Amuro is something of a SRW hall of famer. There’s very few SRW games he’s not present in. Alongside Ryoma from Getter Robo and Koji from Mazinger Z, he forms the core trio of SRW protagonists, who in recent games tend to be characterized as old war buddies.
He’s just as much of a beast as his reputation would have you believe. He is top notch in every stat besides Melee and Defense, neither of which he particularly needs anyway. His already exorbitant Accuracy and Evasion are further compounded by his high Newtype level; by default he arrives with the skill at level 6, meaning that he has a permanent 25% hit/dodge modifier. This is nearly equivalent to him always having Focus (集中) active. If that somehow wasn’t enough, he comes with a stacked spirit command list right out of the gate, and will very soon learn an incredibly powerful skill in Zeal (覚醒, grants this unit an extra move).
If i had to find fault any with him, it’d be that Mercy (てかげん, if this unit’s next attack would shoot down an enemy, it will survive with 10 HP instead. Only procs if the user’s Skill stat is higher than the enemy’s) is basically a wasted Spirit slot, as this game doesn’t really have any particularly difficult missions requiring you to keep an enemy target alive, but if you ever need to feed someone kills for one reason or another, you can rest assured that Amuro’s enormous Skill stat will always make Mercy proc.
Fun Fact: During early phases of planning for 0079, Amuro was called Higashi Hongo.
Re-GZ
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Model Number: RGZ-91
Height: 20.5 meters
Power Source: Nuclear Fusion Reactor
Real World Designers: Mamoru Nagano, Yoshinori Sayama
The Re-GZ (pronounced “Re-Gazee”), short for “Refined Gundam Zeta”, is a proof-of-concept Mobile Suit intended to simplify the famous Zeta Gundam from the Gryps Conflict for mass-production. Its complex transforming frame has been replaced with the much simpler solution of the Back Weapon System, a fancy marketing term for “what if instead of a transforming MS, we made a partsforming MS”. Though this succeeded in creating a Mobile Suit cheaper to produce than the Zeta, it’s just as unintuitive to pilot, was prone to running into issues due to the slapdash nature of the BWS, and was still fairly expensive in its own right. As a result, it never saw proper mass-production and instead became a machine for aces who could handle its eccentricities.
True to its lore, the Re-GZ is underwhelming. Average at best in most regards, and dips further into below average after armor purging.
The BWS-less Re-GZ IS equipped with the full UC loadout of gun, sword, and shield, so it has better survivability than you’d think, and getting shot down in BWS form will simply armor purge into this form, so you could argue that above all else, this machine prioritizes survivability. Still, even within that niche, there’s other robots later down the line that will completely invalidate it.
Fun Fact: Though only in a cutscene, in Super Robot Wars MX, this unit joins the rank of the distinguished few machines to be piloted by a character from an entirely different show, in this case a supporting character from Nadesico.
youtube
Kayra Su
"Don't worry about me!"
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Voice Actress: Shinobu Adachi
Second in skill only to Amuro himself, Kayra is one of the Londo Bell’s top aces. She’s also in a relationship with Astonaige, the resident mechanic. Despite how it might look, it’s implied she’s the older one in the relationship!
I have a soft spot for her, even though she doesn’t do much. I just think she’s neat!
Kayra is the single Oldtype pilot we get from the Universal Century in this game, and boy she does not do much of anything to make up for that unfortunate distinction.
Her stats are all fairly low save for a higher than usual Defense stat for a MS pilot (emphasis on the "for a MS pilot"), and her Spirit learnset is more fit for a Super pilot. Her only two upsides on that front are learning Valor (熱血) and Enable (再動) early, both of which are pretty good to have.
She does have one distinction, however; she is capable of acquiring the single highest level of the Blocking skill to be acquired by any allied unit in this entire game, at a whopping level 6. The Blocking skill is something I'll have to cover in a more indepth way once it comes up, but rest assured that this is actually rather impressive. There’s only three other characters in the game that even come close to this feat, and of those three, only two will be with you to the end of the game, and one of those two is a secret pilot! Sadly, there's little practical use for this other than making her slightly better at survival than you'd think at first glance. No Potential (底力) dashes her hopes of being some strange UC equivalent of a Super Robot pilot, and even "designated Support Defense punching bag" is too lofty of an ambition for her, thanks to her Support Defense skill capping out at level 2.
It's no great loss, but she won't be with us to the end of the game.
Fun Fact: In a possible reference to SDF Macross, Astonaige once promised to cook her his signature salad before a battle in Char’s Counterattack.
Jegan
Source Material: Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Model Number: RGM-89
Height: 20.4 meters
Power Source: Nuclear Fusion Reactor
Real World Designer: Yutaka Izubuchi
The standard mass-produced Federation mobile suit circa the mid-UC 90s and beyond, and the successor to the iconic GM series of mass-produced mobile suits. Of the Federation's mass-produced MSs, this is probably the one with the most appearances in SRW.
SRW R’s Jegan is unfortunate. There are so many issues with it i struggle to even see where to begin. There's Supers with better Mobility and Reals with better Armor.
Its only good points to speak of are having the UC standard loadout of sword, shield and gun, having 4 parts slots, and having a 5-range post-movement attack… but its base damage is so low, and its upgrades cost so high for so little return, that you couldn’t possibly see that last one as a selling point unless you’ve already made up your mind that you want to use this robot. To rub salt in the wound, it’s got a glacial default movement range of 5 tiles, meaning that in practice, its post-movement 5-range missiles are hardly an advantage.
Depending on the way you look at it, keeping this thing until the end of the game kind of constitutes a secret? I know the Jegan has some diehard fans out there, so if you are one, you'd better make your presence known soon so i can know not to lock myself out of it. And be aware that keeping the Jegan until the end also means picking it over the Thaqnz Zx-VVV (rot13).
Fun Fact: A rarity for mobile suits, the Jegan does not have a “front skirt”, e.g. the little mechanical flaps that usually cover the mobile suit’s “thighs”. This was apparently done to reduce the workload of drawing a bunch of Jegans onscreen during the movie.
youtube
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Spider-Man Homecoming Liveblog
I remember being so Hype for Spider-Man in Civil War, and getting his own MCU movie. I was there weekend one. I adored this movie. People argue what MCU movies hold up and what don’t, so I really hope this one does. I don’t rewatch movies much anymore, but this one has been an exception multiple times
Spider-Man’s Leitmotief in the MCU is really underrated
I love this take on the Vulture. The idea of him being a scavenger is fantastic.
The idea of cleaning up after colleteral damage is a fun one. I like how how Tooms is established as an adapter really early on
The Department of Damage Control. The most overlooked MCU villians.
In a couple Spider-Man cartoons, the billionare who screwed over the Vulture was Norman Osborn to simplify and connect the series lore. This time, it’s Tony Stark. Honestly, I think both approchs are valid.
Ah, Tony. The cause of, and solution to, many, many of the MCU’s probelms
“The World’s Changing. It’s Time We Change Too.” Love when that Superhero troupe is shown instead of told.
I apparicate how wepony is the illegal buisness instead of, say, durgs. It allows the Vulture to be the right mix of symathic, but also someone you want to see stopped
Love the orchestra version of the Spider-Man theme song
I apperciate the Civil War recap. It’s a Captain America movie, so I didn’t feel the need to include it in my rewatch. I will admit that Spider-Man’s role in that movie made no sence. I still love his parts though
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is a wide eyed young man, excited to join the world of heros he’s looked up to for so long. He’s really endearing.
Tony giving Peter the Hollywood level suit is a good explaimation of the upgrade
I’m a big fan of Tony and Peter’s relationship. It’s really common for Peter to go from one father figure to the next. And this version of Iron Man is someone who’s made some horrible mistakes, and is always trying to atone for them. He has a guilt complex, and feels like he has to be the one to fix everything. He’s actually a lot like Spider-Man, so I think the connection makes even more sense
After the caziness of the Civil War, Peter’s back to his classic Spider-Man life.
I love how high school is protrayed in this movie. It’s so down to earth and relatable, somthing the other movies didn’t really capture. I love that the kids look like kids, and how realisitcly diversethe side cast is.
Ned’s a fun best friend character. Turns out, Peter and Ned were friends in the comics, but then some higher ups made him the Hobgoblin for no reason.
I’m not sure if Cartoony jerk jock bullies exist anymore, so I apperaciate Flash being updated to be just some jerk. That’s the sort of bullies I had in middle and high school.
Like seeing him mix web fluid in chemistry class.
First scene with MJ, and it’s great.
First sign of Peter’s responsibilities beening split
First sign MJ might like Peter
Love the sandwitch shop scene
I love how the lost backpack gag would be used in the PS4 game
The more technological side of the Spider-Man costume. it makes sense in universe. Does it betray the small time nature of Spider-Man? maybe. But I love how it’s used in some MCU moments, and espcailly in the PS4 game.
I love this montage. It’s a great showcase of Peter’s life as a friendly neighbood Spider-man, and it’s a funny look at how not a lot of crime and disasters. But there’s still people that need help, and Spidy is here to help them
“Do a flip” That line lives rent free in my head
Stan Lee cameo. It’s a funny one
Peter wants to deal with some Avengers level threats. It’s classic teenage ambition.
Alwyas love seeing Peter have his mask open a bit to eat. It think this is the first movie to do that.
It’s a shame “You Guys aren’t the real really Avengers? Hulk gives it away.” isn’t in the final cut
The stakes are rised, and we see just how dangarous having such powerful wepons in the street is. If only America would learn that lesson
I do like the young Aunt May, and how her and Peters treat eachother more like equals. It’s not traditional, but it’s a fun change of pace.
I love how Ned finds out Peter is Spider-Man. I like how the later two movie series give Peter a confidant.
I like how Ned gives the audience the brief recap of the origin for the two people who don’t already know
Uncle Ben’s death is alluded to, but never outright stated. I don’t mind it. We were going though Uncle Ben fatigue at the time, after all.
I appericate the origin being skipped in general. We know the story, why tell it again? A new Spider-Man means a chance to tell new stories
Even if they’re more like equals, May’s still a great mother figure when Peter needs it
People being in love with Aunt May is an odd running gag
I like how the characters talk about just how close the Sandwich shop that got destroyed was. It helps keep the movie grounded.
Love the Captain America PSA. And the Gym teacher plugging the plot hole that he’s technically a war crimal
It’s fun to see how the average people see the Avengers
I love the guy in the chair running gag
I like the awkard teenage moments in this movie
Peter’s tempted to use Spider-Man for selfish reasons.
Flash is such a realisitc jerk. I knew people like that at his age
In classic Spider-Man fashion, he has to ditch his friends to fight crime
Love the joke with him having nowhere to swing in the suburbs
The most neveous Spider-Man quip I’ve ever head. It’s fitting
This is the first good Spider-Man villain with 3 villains: Vulture, Tinkerer and Shocker
I apperciate the Ferris Buller homage. I love the teen comedy tone of this movie
Peter’s been Spider-Man for a while, but this is his first supervillain. In a world full of them, oddly enough
Tony has a need to make sure people are safe, and that exends to the Spider-Man suit. It’s the classic teenage struggle for independence vs the parental struggle to maintain safety
Tony feels guilty for getting Peter hurt in the Civil War, and Tony processes his guilt with technology
Peter’s sick of school and wants to become an Avenger. I’ve noticed a lot of “smart kids,” myself included, tend to get burnt out on school
Many Spider-Man stories feature a struggle between selfishness and selflessness. Peter wants to stop the Vulture for both of these reasons, which leads to a lot of the trouble he find himself in
I like how the Vulture keeps things under the Avenger’s Radar. It’s a great way to have a street level villain in a world of heroes
“The Shocker! What is this, pro wresting” and then “Now Your the Shocker.” I love those lines
“I thought that was the anti gravity gun.” some groan at that line, but I think it’s funny. He’s not a stone cold killer, but he’s not opposed to being one either.
Some people feel like Peter’s friends forgive him to easily. Maybe...but teenage academic decathalon teams need all the help they can get
Love this “This in Fine Dog” on Ned’s computer
Right now Peter is pursuing the Vulture for selfish reasons. And because of that, the DC trip gets out of control
Ned can give Peter bad advice, but I like how he can be the voice of reason too
Peter has a bad habit of causing probelms in this movie. Just like his mentor. But I like how he puts in the work to take resonability
Peter gives up a chance to get closer to the Liz and have fun with friends in order to do his duty as Spider-Man. It’s a classic Spidy moment
I miss Karen. It’s a shame she was only in this movie and Infinity War/Endgame.
I love the street level nature of this movie. I admit the MCU needs more street level stories
All this technology doesn’t fit Spider-Man, and I love the humor that comes from it. He needs to become his own hero, and that will take time
The instant kill gag. A controversal one, but it was fun to see it back in Endgame. Chitauri don’t count, they’re a weird hive mind
Peter loses every Vulture fight, which raises the stakes. But at the same time, he does damage to the Vulture’s buisness, which keeps the plot moving forward
Peter stuck on the boat is a fun sequence. And it’s another example of Peter damaging his relationships
He let down his friends, but he still has to save them from the bomb he brought
The Washington Mounument was built by slaves. Love that gag. It’s also realistic. Kids this days are all about the uncomferable truths of history
I love how Karen ships Peter and Liz. I don’t care if she’s not “Spider-Man,” I miss her.
The Washingtom Monument is a great action scene
The Spider Drone is another controveral thing. I don’t mind it leaving though.
This Spider-Man can save his love instrest from falling
I love the eagerness in Karen’s voice. I forgot how funny she was
I remember seeing on Reddit back in 2018/2019 that this movie had the highest joke per minute ratio in the MCU at the time. I can see that
I love the teachers in these movies. They’re so funny
I know what it’s like to think you’re better then school. Those were dark times in my life
I love the Cap PSA
I love how MJ just shows up out of nowhere.
I’m glad Aaron Davis is in the MCU. I hope he get to be the Prowler someday
The interregation scene is great. It’s funny, It’s so funny and humanizing for both Peter and Aaron
I love the Miles Morales Easter Egg. I hope it leads to somthing. If not in this universe, maybe another
“You dersve that, yours a criminal” Oh dear. That might not have aged well. I still find it funny though
Tony is self aware enough to know people need fatherly support, and he should be the one to try and fill that gap
I like how Tony pays attention to Peter’s stories. He knows Peter quit band, and he helped an old lady and got a curro for it
I haven’t meantioned this earlier, but I love the Vulture deisgn and how cobbled together it is. I don’t care for the mask though
“You’re messing with things you don’t understand” That is true. Peter doesn’t understand, but he knows right from wrong
The boat scene feels like somthing out of the original movies. But this Spider-Man isn’t strong enough to do this all by himself. But he does come close.
I love the “Yeah Spider-Man” “Yeah Iron Man” guy. Him and the do a flip guy remind me of extras from the original movies
Toomes is backed into a corner, and is now going to steal from Iron Man himself. Avengers level tech in the streets. It raises the stakes
“If you even cared, you’d actually be here” and the reveal that he is. Love that moment
“I wanted to be like you.” “And I wanted you to be better.” Classic father/son moment, and a great way to show the parallels between Peter and Tony.
“If your nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it.” I love that line, and how it plays into the climax
This is the only movie with worried Aunt May, and she protayes that emotion amazingly
And we get Homecoming.
Life starts to turn around for Peter now that he’s taking a break from being Spider-Man. But duty calls.
“Your terrible at keeping secrets.” Love that kind of superhero humor
I’ve heard the suit was originally going to exclitly be Uncle Ben’s. Which I think would’ve been nice and unentrusive. I’m not bothered by its exclusion though.
I remember the audence in the theater gasping at the Vulture reveal. The daughter Toomes was working so hard for was Liz! We all assumed her name was Liz Allen, but turns out it’s Liz Toomes
And the reveal competly changes the stakes between Spider-Man and the Vulture’s dynamic. To stop him would hurt Liz, but to not stop him would hurt Queens.
Toomes is such a good “girlfiend’s dad” character too
And the legendary scene where the Vulture figures out who Spider-Man is. The acting, the camreawork, the colors, it’s perfect. And the Red turining Green representing Spider-Man and the Vulture. It’s amazing.
I love how the Vulture has a code of honor. Spider-Man saved his daughter, so as long as he lives him along, he’ll leave Spider-Man alone
And he goes back to normal “girlfriend dad” mode so easily too
Love how Peter’s moral delima is shown. Dance with the girl of his dreams, or stop the Vulture?
This is my favorite protype Spider-Man suit. I love how it looks like homemade Spider-Man
I love that Tom Holland can really flip
Ned gets to live his dreams as the guy in the chair
Peter tires to get professional help, but there’s still things only he can do
Tony was planning a new shield for Cap. I guess he still cares deep down
The werehouse scene is great. I love Vulture’s speech. He’s not wrong, but that doesn’t excuse putting such dangarous wepons on the street
There’s more quips in the movie then I remember
The Come on Spider-Man scene. It’s fantastic. It’s so rough to see someone so young be in this situation. But then he remembers that when no help is avalible, he has to find the strength to pull himself out of danger. And then he find the strength to lift the rubble.
“Come on Peter, Come on Peter, Come on Spider-Man.” Love that line
He’s more then just the suit. He is Spider-Man. This is the moment he becomes his own Spider-Man. And his own letmotif plays.
This is when he becoems Spider-Man. No Way Home is when he becomes indepdentent. I argue those are two different things, but I’ll get to that
The fight on the Stark plane is an awesome climax
The plane crashes and no one is hurt
I apparicate seeing the Vulture without his mask
After 5 movies that killed off the villians, here we have a Spider-Man fighting to save his enemy’s life.The start of a message that would be taking to an amazing conclusion later on. But we’ll get to that
In classic Spider-Man fashion, there are negative consequences to Spider-Man’s good deeds. Liz loses her dad (but thankfully he’s still alive), and Peter loses all hope with Liz
And MJ gets friends for the first time
The new Avengers Mansion. I think it was in Endgame.
It’s nice to see Tony and Peter reconsile
I’m glad to see Peter realizing he not ready to be an Avenger yet. It’s good growth. And it’s funny and Tony and Pepper get married on a whim
And Peter earns the suit back
May finding out Spider-Man identity is hilarious cliffhanger, and I love where it leads
Love seeing that Toomes in an honorable villian. I hope we see Scorpion someday
Love the Cap PSA post credits
I forgot just how much I love this movie. It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s got great worldbuilding, Tom Holland is amazing as a modern Peter Parker and a rookie Spider-Man, I just love it. I’m so torn between it and Spider-Man 2. I guess I’ll let the more traditional approach win, but I still love this version of Spider-Man
Next time I’ll take a break from the MCU to watch a fantastic work of art.
Current Ranking:
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
5. Spider-Man 3
4. The Amazing Spider-Man
3. Spider-Man
2. Spider-Man Homecoming
1. Spider-Man 2
Quip Rankings
6. Spider-Man 2 (1)
5. Spider-Man 3 (4)
4. Spider-Man (5)
3. Spider-Man Homecoming (12)
2. The Amazing Spider-Man (14)
Amazing Spider-Man 2 (16)
0 notes
Photo
Some more of my nonsense
#tim drake#red robin#batfam#au#demon au#that version of the suit has a split in the middle it was a part of concepts I did for fun#mostly based off the gleason suit cuz i like the lines#doodles#bunnarts
126 notes
·
View notes
Text
Archetypes: Sorting Hat Chats
I’ve been asked about my rationale for naming different primary/ secondary combinations. I did this originally as a tool to help me sort characters - I wanted to see how these types tend to be used, so I could more easily see what subversions looked like. I'll run through my thoughts, but know there’s a lot of variation within each category. But even WITH that variation, I do think that each one has its own specific energy that makes it interesting to talk about. An explanation of the terms I'm using.
DOUBLE LION “THE REVOLUTIONARY”
Pretty straightforward. The Lion primary knows something is wrong, they know it in their bones even if they can’t articulate it, and they’ve got to go out and do something about it. Probably charging at whatever power structure is directly in front of them. It’s unlikely you find a character leading a revolution who isn’t a Double Lion. These guys are intense, inspirational, single minded.
The villain version of the Lion primary tends to be the person who “went too far" or "became the monster they were trying to fight.'' But I think that the much more interesting Lion primary villain trope is the Traitor. Since Lions work from their feelings, and their philosophies can’t necessarily be articulated or linked to individuals outside of them - they can definitely have their head turned while still feeling moral about it.
One of my favorite examples of this Revolutionary archtype is actually Christian Bale‘s character from Newsies. He’s the spark that starts the unionizing revolution, but 100% needs his Badger and Bird lieutenants to keep him focused and keep him from defecting
LION SNAKE “THE ROBIN HOOD”
These guys are similar to the Double Lion - they will recognize a cause or injustice revolutionary style - but Robin Hood doesn’t go up and bang on wicked Prince John’s door. His move is the snake secondary one: confront the problem indirectly. Undermine the regime by stealing tax money and re-distributing it to the poor. Be simultaneously Robin Hood the outlaw and Robin of Locksley the noble, infiltrating and getting information. The Lion Snake is more likely to work within society (or deliberately separate from society) versus just breaking everything down.
LION BIRD “THE LAWMAN / THE VIGILANTE”
The fact that the Lion Bird can either be the Lawman or the Vigilante shows off the very clear hero/villain split you get with Bird secondaries. We also see this with the Snake Bird (simultaneously the Mastermind and the traditional Villain) and the Double Bird (either the Scientist or the Mad Scientist.) This is why I think I had such trouble naming the Badger Bird. I wasn’t leaning into the duality of the Bird secondary enough. The Badger Bird can be the King Arthur, or he can be the Mob Boss, and he’ll look kind of similar either way.
The Lion Bird also has that Lion primary conviction and drive, but they want to follow up on it with investigation, evidence, and plans. I actually think there need to be more stories about Lawmen turning into Vigilantes and vice versa. Because Lion Birds are their Cause no matter what external alignment gets attached to it.
LION BADGER “THE LINCHPIN”
This is my own sorting - although when I came up with this name I still thought I was a Double Bird. The linchpin is the pin-axle thing at the center of a wheel that prevents the whole thing from falling apart, and I think it's a good way of talking about the energy of this combination. The Badger secondary means they’re a lot less single minded than the other Lion primaries: their power comes from being part of a group. They become the emotional “heart” a lot, and have a way of quietly keeping things together just by existing. They can be leaders, but a Double Lion will lead from up front while a Lion Badger will lead from in the middle (if that makes sense.)
I do think it’s really funny that this is a common sleeper villain trope. Peter Pettigrew, Prince Hans, and Randall Boggs of Monsters Inc. all became integral to a group, and then exploit their position within it. They’re kind of the evil bureaucrat. Maybe that's a good trope for children’s media
DOUBLE SNAKE “THE TRICKSTER”
This is another straightforward one. Double Snakes are in it for themselves (and maybe like three other people.) They're going to be clever and tricksy about how they get what they want, and will not mind doing things backward and unofficially. And they won't mind if you know that's what they're doing. There’s something very unapologetic about the Double Snake which makes for very attractive characters. They are consistently voted the sexiest... and when they’re villains they’re fun villains. You know what they want, and what they want is not that complicated. I think that’s a big reason for the appeal of Snake primaries in general. They’re the easiest primary to understand and explain.
SNAKE LION “THE LANCELOT”
I used to call these guys “The Rebel,” which... is too generic, doesn’t really mean anything. So I started thinking about the Lion secondary as the Knight secondary, and I liked that. Double Lions are the Crusader Knight, riding for their Cause. Bird Lions are Grail Knights, riding for their own personal truth. Badger Lions are Champion Knights, here to help the helpless and defend the innocent.
And if that's that case… Snake Lions have to be the Knight Errant, the knight who rides for his lady. It is that simple. Lancelot might be a Knight of the Round Table, but he’s riding for Arthur the person, not Arthur the King. And for his lady, Queen Guinevere. I feel like his dilemma is one that’s common to a lot of Snake Lions: what happens when they’re forced to split their loyalty? It’s tragic, but Lancelot can’t have Arthur and Guinevere simultaneously.
(At least not until my awesome Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot OT3 which I will totally write at some point :)
SNAKE BIRD “THE MASTERMIND / THE VILLAIN”
The classic. We see a little more of the Bird Secondary split, and well… this is your stereotypical villain. They want power. They’re going to use an elaborate plan to get it. There’s a lot you can do with this sorting, but I actually do think it’s fun that whatever you do, this slight undercurrent of villain and/or mastermind… never quite goes away.
SNAKE BADGER “THE LOVER”
The Love Interest sorting. Chances are very good that if there is a love interest (who does not serve some other role in the story...) they're going to be a Snake Badger. Devoted to one person, solving problems by caretaking. This is the Badger secondary who is likely to have the smallest group, which is just going to make them look excessively devoted to their friends. This type is pretty gender neutral, which is fun. A lot of female love interests, but also your Mr. Darcys and Peeta Mellarks.
One of my favorite things about this trope (mostly just because I think it’s funny...) is that if you write a character who is not supposed to be a love interest, but who is a Snake Badger... subconsciously I think people are going to read them as a love interest anyway. Looking at you Jaskier, Horatio, and even Captain Barbossa.
DOUBLE BIRD “THE [MAD] SCIENTIST”
I think that (especially if you aren’t a Bird Primary yourself) your response to hearing a fictional Bird Primary’s motivation is kind of …huh. That seems random. Or oddly specific. You get your Hannibal Lecters, whose entire motivation is... wanting to eat people while drinking nice wine.
Double birds seem especially unusual, just in terms of society. They are Bird secondaries and they interact with the world through gathering data, but their Bird primaries mean that data can literally lead them to any conclusion, no matter how potentially wacky. These guys consciously build themselves from the ground up, and that can make them kind of detached - either in a logical way, or an unmoored way. They're written as either really stable, the rational mentor figure. Or really... not. And that’s how you spot a Bird villain. They’re not after money/power/safety, they’re after something weird.
BIRD LION “THE GRAIL KNIGHT”
This is the trope of Perceval or Galahad, questing after the Holy Grail chalice... which is really just meaning, and truth. It’s a personal quest. Grail Knights tend to ride alone, and a lot of the things that concern them are metaphysical, to do with identity, purpose, things like that. You can have extremely different Bird Lions, but I do think there is a sort of spiritual core there. Doctor Harleen Quinzel sees freedom and truth in whatever the Joker is doing, and then once she recognizes his hypocrisy, has to go build her own meaning.
I actually think these guys are pretty easy to spot because of that Lion secondary. When they change direction, they change direction, and there’s probably a period of despair between the direction changes. I’ve talked about how Bird Lions having a habit of falling apart pretty dramatically, and that’s where this idea comes from.
BIRD BADGER “THE SURVIVOR”
A rare sorting, but an interesting one. I call this one “the Survivor” or “the Last Man Standing” because, well, they seem to be. They seem remarkably stable. This is the Bird primary least likely to be a villain, and maybe the sorting least likely to be a villain. I think what’s going on is that they are grounded and integrated in whatever community they happen to be in (because of that Badger secondary), but they can define themselves and rebuild themselves in the Bird primary way. This makes them uniquely suited to building a new version of themselves for whatever situation they happen to find themselves in.
Maybe a better name for these guys would be “The Adapter.”
BIRD SNAKE “THE ARTIST”
Like all Bird primaries, these guys are inspired by their own projects and their own worldview, but because of that Snake secondary, Bird Snakes have a more easy-going ‘take the world as it comes' kind of energy. They are “the Artist” because everything they do is art: they want to use themselves and the world around them, put all of that towards whatever their Bird primary happens to be interested in.
You can have villains like the Nolan Joker, or the Talented Mr. Ripley, who kind of turn the world into their own personal philosophical social experiment. Or Scotty from Star Trek whose meaning is solely the well-being of the Enterprise. Maybe they just like traveling, and that's all they need. (It's a way for the Bird primary and the Snake secondary exist very happily together, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was pretty common.)
DOUBLE BADGER “THE PEACEMAKER”
Badgers are interesting, because while I think they’re generally regarded as “correct,” they’re also seen as kind of boring. That’s the case with both Badger primaries and Badger secondaries, which means it is doubly reflected in the Double Badger. They often get written as simplistic, the sweet Jane Bennet type who loves everybody and caretakes everybody and just wants everybody to get along.
They are often the targets of what TV Tropes used to call “Break the Cutie.” What could be more interesting than making this character, who wants to be happily part of a community, be forced to build protective models, be all tortured and angsty? I actually think we’re seeing a return of the Double Badger as an interesting character in their own right, with people like Aziaphale, and I'm here for it.
BADGER LION “THE PROTAGONIST”
What can I say? There are a lot of protagonists that are Badger Lions. They want to help the group - so we know they're the good guys - and then they charge and make stuff happen. Lion secondaries are very useful in fiction - you drop them into a situation and stuff just happens. I also think of this as the Starfleet officer sorting - because if you’re a Starfleet officer, either you are the sorting, or can model it really well.
I will say that this is kind of the stock Protagonist sorting, the way that the Snake Badger is the stock love interest and the Snake Bird is the stock villain. There’s just something sort of generic good guy about this one, which is why I want to see it used as a villain sorting more. Badger villains - mostly people who define ‘human’ very narrowly - are insanely terrifying.
BADGER SNAKE “THE ADVISOR”
Possibly “the Power Behind the Throne.” This is another one I had difficulty pinning down. I called it “the Politician” for a while, which unfortunately came off as a little bit more negative than I meant it to, since I think this sorting has a lot in common with Lion Badger, the linchpin of a heroic team. The difference is that Lion Badger takes on that role kind of unconsciously, while the Badger Snake does it very consciously.
Their loyalty is to the group, but their skill set is all about subversion and different ways of going around the group, which is why there’s an interesting contradiction at the heart of Badger Snake. A lot of real life Badger Snakes struggle with feeling like “bad people" and it's too bad. These guys are ridiculously powerful and competent when they are sure of themselves, and I love seeing them in action
BADGER BIRD “THE KING / THE MOB BOSS”
Another difficult one, despite (or because) I really like them. I was calling them “the Architect” because “The City Planner” sounded too boring… but that’s what they do. They’re all about the community but they problem-solve the way all Bird secondaries do, by prepping, and gathering knowledge. I talked more about this in the Lion Bird entry, but Bird secondary seems to have this villain split going on, and that’s what I see here too. This is a controversial love-them-or-hate-them sorting, and I think that’s why. There’s a lot of room in whether or not you see this sorting as villainous.
280 notes
·
View notes
Text
Misbehavior (Part 1)
Jason Todd x batkid!reader
warnings:
a/n: tysm anon!!
prompt: anonymous: “Hello Lacey! Hope your doing great! Could I please request a bat family x batsis!reader where the reader is Kind of the middle child (I was thinking older than Damian but younger than Tim) and she’s always forgotten and in the back. Maybe some scenarios can be that no one listens when she talks or they forget to invite her to do stuff. So then one day she acts up in school like maybe punching someone for no good reason because she’s craving attention but instead of Bruce showing up to get her Jason shows up and he sees that she’s actually really sad and starts to question her until she tells him everything and maybe spills some tears and it ends with just Jason comforting her and cheering her up. Just some soft Jason for my soul! Also have a great day and I hope that you feel better and more motivated now after your break! 😘”
part 2
No matter what you did, none of your deeds went unnoticed. Good or bad.
You always heard how Dick was so independent, the one everyone should use as an example.
You always heard how Barbara could do it all, she never failed to impress.
You always heard how Jason was reckless, someone who needed to get his act together.
You always heard how Tim was such a prodigy, he was one of a kind.
You always heard how Steph was so determined, she had such amazing goals.
You always heard that Cass was perfect, they’d never change a thing about her.
You always heard that Duke was so strong, he’d never give up no matter what stood in his way.
You always heard that Damian was dangerous, a kid that needed to be guided.
But what about you? What did they hear about you? Nothing. No one ever spoke of you, they didn’t have the time. It seemed as if you were just unimpressive, there wasn’t one thing that needed to be mentioned. Stuck in the middle of a bunch of bats and birds, no way to stand out in the crowd.
Maybe not in a mask or a cowl, a dress or a suit, behind a computer or among the darkness, but there was one place you couldn’t be ignored...
You sat at your desk, picking at old tape with the tip of your fingernail. The teacher had nothing interesting to say, so what was the point of being here? What made Gotham Academy so special that you just had to attend this place?
The uniform was overkill, the classes went nowhere, the students were too preppy, and you didn’t have a single thing in common with anyone here.
Anger was starting to bubble inside you as you continued your internal self-loathing. Your mind was only focused on the negative, but it was shifting from school back to home.
No one was ever there for you, not even on patrol. You’d called for backup several times on missions and nearly lost it all when you had to go in alone. If it were anyone else, a teammate would have met them in a heartbeat.
Your plans were always overshadowed whenever you tried to set up a mission or even just a day off. You wanted cookies? Too bad, Tim wants brownies. You wanted to watch a movie? Too bad, everyone chose a TV show. It was the little things that irked you the most. Half the time, you never even got the memo.
And what about when you all come back from patrol with all sorts of injuries and Alfred comes to patch you up? Well, not you. He’ll run to check on cuts and scrapes. Meanwhile, you had a broken wrist and a black eye.
You’d finally run out of things to pick at around your desk which resorted in you tapping instead. There was a brief bit of zoning out as you remembered the time that Damian’s plan for evading Killer Croc’s attack was to push you in the way. Or the time that Jason hid his guns in your bed for reasons he didn’t care to explain. Or when Dick drank the last of the milk and didn’t tell you until after you poured your cereal. Or when Tim told you that you weren’t fit for the mission he had been planning. Or when Bruce blatantly ignored the story you told out of pure excitement, giving you nothing but a “sounds like you had fun.”
While you were in a horrible daze, you felt a hand on your shoulder that snapped you out of it faster than the Barry Allen. Without even evaluating the situation, your reflexes caused you to turn and twist your classmates arm backwards as he screamed.
“Hey! Stop, ow, that hurts! Stop! Stop it!” You processed his words too late and knew exactly what was coming next.
“Y/N L/N!” You teacher shouted as you drew your hand back. “Dean’s office. Right now.” Her sharp voice sent a chill down your spine, not even the Joker could do that. You’d be able to explain the situation pretty easily, you just didn’t want to make it worse. But there was one ankle that sent you off the edge. Another student tripped you on your way through the aisles, and that student caught a fist to the face. The audience gasped and shouting from your teacher ensued, but you didn’t listen, you’d take the punishment at this point. So you walked right out and headed for the dean’s office without so much as a hall pass.
“Mx. l/n? What’s this about?” Dean Williams was surprised to say the least, you’d never been sent in for discipline before. Was there a certain way to do this?
“Well, I zoned out and some kid behind me grabbed my shoulder, I accidentally twisted his arm.” You retold your story, the abridged version. “But on my way out I punched a kid in the face because he tripped me. That one’s on me.”
“...Well,” the dean frowned at his obligations, but had to go through with some kind of punishment, “I’m going to have to suspend you for physical contact with a student. I’ll call your father to come pick you up.” You shrugged and slouched back in your chair, giving up on any hope of talking your way out of this. It might as well just happen. You listened to the clicking of the buttons on the dean’s phone as he typed in the Wayne Manor phone number, obviously reaching Alfred almost immediately.
“Wayne Manor.” You eard his faint voice through the speaker.
“Hello, this is Dean Williams from Gotham Academy, may I speak to Mr. Wayne? I have his child in my office.” Your dean explained over the phone, peeking back at your for a split second. You were completely unbothered, it was baffling.
“Is it Damian?” You heard him ask, causing an involuntary eye roll.
“Y/N, actually.” There was a long pause before someone else picked up the phone. “Mr. Wayne, this is Dean Williams at Gotham Academy. I have y/n sitting across from me right now, they seemed to have gotten themself into a physical altercation with two separate students, I have no choice but to suspend them.” You heard a deep sigh over the phone, then the handheld piece was handed to you.
“Bruce?” You asked.
“Really? Fighting at school?” He sounded unimpressed. Nothing new, even when you do something new.
“Something like that. Whoops.” He hung up on you right after that, so you handed the phone back and told your dean, “Guess they’ll get me soon.”
“You call your father by his first name?” Dean Williams had nosily questioned.
“I’m adopted.” He obviously didn’t know you as well as your more troublesome sibling, it was time he just minded his business.
After a good thirty minutes of silent waiting while listening to keyboard clacking and papers flipping by the front desk, the office door opened, and to your surprise, it was one of your brothers.
“I’m here for y/n.” He mumbled, signing the piece of paper and showing his ID.
“Alright, Mr. Harper, I just have to check some paperwork really quick...” The receptionist went into your file and checked for your emergency contacts. “You’re all set. Now, y/n has been suspended for two weeks. I suggest you get to the bottom of their little ‘outburst’ before they’re able to come back to school.” It actually pissed Jason off to hear her say that.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” His sarcasm wasn’t subtle. “Come on, kid.” Your brother gripped your arm and led you out of the office, noticing your bitter expression that he couldn’t even rationalize. Was that normal? “So what happened. Bruce just told me to come get you.”
“Of course he did.” You rolled your eyes on the brink of tears, he didn’t even come to get you himself. Jason opened the car door for you and nudged you inside, slamming it once you were clear.
“You better have a good reason,” he warned as he started the engine, “I was in the middle of a poker game.”
“Oh, yeah, ‘cause I’m such an inconvenience.” You were starting to remind him of himself. That was never a good thing.
“Okay, my bad. I didn’t mean it like that.” Jason began speeding down the block, you’d never once seen him obey a speed limit. You’d think someone with a fake ID and a death certificate would want to avoid any run-ins with the cops, but Gotham was just one of those cities.
“Yeah, right.” You reached for the radio knobs and felt Jason’s hand wrap around your wrist.
“No music until you explain yourself.” You fell back into your seat to pout, muttering some curses under your breath. “I won’t tell Bruce or anyone. I swear.”
“I just zoned out. Reflexes.” You bluntly replied.
“What?” He still didn’t have any context to go off of.
“I twisted someone’s arm backwards. Honest mistake.” Jason knew there was more to this story. “But on my way out of the classroom, I punched this kid who tried to trip me. That was on him.”
“As much as I condone payback, you can’t do that at school.” He sighed. “You’ve never been sent home before. That I know of. So why now?”
“Yeah, you know, maybe that’s the issue? You couldn’t tell me if I’ve ever gotten in trouble before. None of you could. You couldn’t tell me a definitive thing about me. When’s my birthday, Jason?” He was at a loss for words. “That’s what I thought.”
“So this was all for attention?” Jason asked. “There’s a hell of a lot of better ways to go about that.”
“Tried them all, this one barely even worked.” You replied with a crack in your voice. “How come none of you care about me? Why am I always looked over? I’m just like the rest of you. I put on that stupid suit every night and kick ass, I get my job done, I get good grades, I’m resourceful, I’m special—” You’d let that last one slip in your rant to your older brother, it shocked him so bad he stopped the car.
“I know what you mean.” Jason stared straight ahead at the empty road. “I felt the same way when I came back. After everyone was used to me being back, it was like nothing ever happened. Bruce just went back to calling me careless, irresponsible.”
“At least you get noticed, Jason. Your identifiable.” You turned to him with a pained look and he risked his confidence to look you in the eye. Once he did, he couldn’t look away. It hurt him to see someone so familiar to himself have tears running down their face because they felt forgotten. No kid should ever have to feel like that. That was why Bruce took him in. That was how Jason became Robin.
“Fuck this.” Jason hit the gas and turned the car around. “We’re getting ice cream. Do you like ice cream? That’s a serious question.”
“I...I guess.” You were somewhat confused by his sudden literal change in direction.
“Good. You’re my kid for today, all my attention goes to you. I’m sure Bruce won’t notice if you’re gone for a few hours.” Jason’s jaw dropped at his last comment. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, you’re right and you should say it.”
taglist: @thatwaspossession // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove // @kinoko-kai //
#jason todd x reader#jason todd x batkid!reader#jason todd x sibling!reader#jason todd imagine#jason todd#red hood x reader#red hood imagine#red hood#batfamily#batfamily x reader#batfamily imagine#batfamily x batkid!reader#jason todd x batsis!reader#jason todd x batbro!reader#batfamily x batsis!reader#batfamily x batbro!reader#dc comics#dc comics x reader#dc comics imagine#batkid!reader#batsis!reader#batbro!reader
1K notes
·
View notes
Note
I love your writing. May I have Loki x Reader? The reader is a sweet, delicate dreamer. Loki has come to conquer the world. He saw her and wants her to become his Queen of Midgard. He kidnapped her. She pleads with him to let her go while she is tied to the bed. He caresses her hair and says she will love him (he doesn't want to use the scepter on her).
***Can I have White Reader x Loki, please? Loki just escaped from the Helicarrier. He saw the reader who is a sweet and innocent creature. Loki doesn't want her dead when he will start battle. Loki kidnaps her and locks her up to keep her safe. When he wins, Loki tells her that she will become his queen.***
Hi! I decided to combine the prompts and make the reader plus-sized. I hope you enjoy!
His Match
Pairing: Dark!Loki x Plus-Sized Female Reader
Summary: You’ve tried to live by your grandmother’s rule of being kind to others, even when the world gives you the middle finger. What if a Norse God decided reward you by becoming his Queen?
Word Count: 1,745
Rating: 18+/Mature
Warning: Kidnapping, Implied Dub/Non-Con, Angst, and some Violence
A/N: Thanks goes to the amazing @angrythingstarlight for beta reading this!
Loki was walking around New York City, scouting Stark Tower making sure the final preparations of his plan was perfect when something, or rather someone, caught his eye.
She walked out of what looked like a women’s clothing store with a forlorn smile. She was plumper than the average female Midgardian last time he frequented the realm. His eyes did not miss the enticing curves that lied beneath her clothes despite her efforts to ensconce herself into the background.
She was a vision.
Her eyes met his for the briefest of moments and it felt like time stopped. His heart quickened in his chest and a rush of blood surged to his groin.
He had to follow her. His Elskan.
“Barton, tell the others I’ll be out for a few more hours. Proceed as planned.”
–––––
He found you entering a rather destitute apartment complex. Its lights and foundation were a bit unsound and gave off a seedy ambience.
Loki grimaced at her living conditions. When he ruled Midgard, she would have only the best.
Casting a simple concealment spell, Loki entered her fairly small apartment. She began mixing ingredients together for what looked to be ‘chocolate chip cookies’. He smiled as he inhaled the sweet aroma knowingly; Asgard had only recently started consuming the sweet. She soon laid out a batch of thick, scrumptious cookies with a satisfied expression.
They reminded him of better times when he and Thor would sneak into the kitchens and swipe confections from under the baker’s nose. Loki chuckled at the memory; those were the days.
Not ten minutes after she placed the last cookie onto the cooling rack did her phone ring. It was her mother. Loki felt dread coming off his Elskan in waves.
Loki could only make out bits and pieces of the conversation, if you could call it that. Her mother constantly nagged her about her weight, life choices, and her ‘pathetic’ attempts to get over her ex-boyfriend. His heart broke as he saw tears begin to fall and the croaking of her voice as she bid the odious creature goodnight.
Several minutes after she cried herself to sleep, Loki entered his Elskan’s bedroom. He spied her diary on the nightstand and decided to read a few pages.
He was fuming within two minutes.
How dare that caustic pig sow treat his Elskan, her own daughter, in a such ghastly manner! Her ‘perfect’ sister always slighting and reminding her on how ‘she’ll never be good enough for anything’ and her father’s callous indifference to her cries for help and solace only added to his rage. Combined with the way her ex-boyfriend, the repugnant gnat, treated her (he cheated on her with someone who ‘wasn’t built like a blimp’ and ‘the only thing you thing you had going for you were your tits’) and he wanted to speed up the invasion just to watch the horror become engrained onto their faces.
And yet, she endeavored to treat everyone with kindness harkening back to your grandmother. She strived to be the one light in one’s otherwise miserable existence.
Well, she can be his light as his Elskan and Queen.
Loki took a deep, cleansing breath. He needed to stick to the plan. When he conquers Midgard, she will be their queen. She will grace the undeserving masses with her elegance and beauty and he will worship her every chance he got.
He just had to make her see it that way.
Gently, the light forest green glow of Loki's magic flowed from his hand to the crown of her head like a halo. He leaned in and kissed her cheek with a smile as he left.
He hated to leave her, but he had a realm to conquer. Though he hoped she’d enjoy the introductory gift.
––––––
You were in your grandmother’s living room; spacious yet comfy with all of her quirkiness and splendor included. It was odd since you haven’t been in her house since your parents sold after her death seven years ago. You tearfully smiled remembering all the good times you had with her, the only member of your family you gave you any true warmth or love.
Her piano was in the corner, barely aged a day with all the music sheets, pens, a light scratches you came to know and love. You took your seat and started to play the piano version of one of your favorite movie themes.
You were so engrossed in playing, you failed to notice someone materializing into your dreamscape.
“What a lovely tune! What is it called?” A smooth, honey-tinged voice broke your concentration.
You turned your head and saw what had to be the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. He was tall (6’ 10” / 2.08m) easily towering over any man you’ve ever met. He had smooth alabaster skin, light rose undertones with a little blue-red just under his eyes. His cheekbones were immaculate, somehow looked sharp and soft at the same time. He had thin lips with a fair plumpness to the bottom one. His slicked-back, shoulder-length Ponzu/Shadow Purple hair kissed his lean, battle-hardened physique (if the way he’s filling out his outfit was anyway to go by). All of this deliciousness was clothed in a casual Palm Green suit with a Glossy Black tie and shoes.
It took you a full minute to stop ogling him, “Wha-What did you say?”
“I apologize for disturbing you, my lady. I asked what you were playing.” His voice had hints of mirth which was odd considering his appearance. Most people in his league would give you a thinly veiled sneer of disgust, but he seemed genuinely interested.
“Um, well, it’s called Merry-Go-Round of Life from the movie Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s a favorite of mine. I used to play it all the time until…” You trailed off, not wanting to revisit how your grandmother died.
“You do not have to tell me if it brings you such displeasure.”
“Thank you, um…”
“Loki. Please, call me Loki.”
“Loki,” he inwardly moaned at the way you said his name, “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. Please, continue playing.”
And you did for what felt like hours, all while your sexy dream companion asked about your hopes, dreams, anything he could think of really. You in turn asked him about his life and interests; you even laughed at a story of his brother having to dress like a bride to get his hammer back.
You soon became enamored with Loki. It was refreshing to be noticed with actual interest, not ridicule or pity. He seemed to taken with you as well, if his gentle caresses and not-so-subtle lustful glances he gave you were any indication.
You were glad this was just a dream. You didn’t want your heart to break like last time.
Loki was about to lean in for a kiss when everything faded to black.
–––––
You jolted up from the mattress and screamed once you realized you weren’t in your room.
No, this room was…spectacular for lack of better word. It had high ceilings, large windows, ornate chandeliers, and magnificent balcony. Luxurious dark greens, gold, and black covered the room in splendor. Extravagant pieces of furniture dripped with precious stones metal worthy of queens or royal mistresses of old.
“What is this place?”
You tried to leave but was forced back onto the bed by a force field. You tried to take calm breaths just like your therapist taught you in order to make an escape plan.
No sooner did you calm down than the door open to reveal-
“Loki!”
Only Loki was wearing radically different clothing; looked like he walked right out of a fantasy epic. And yet, his smile was enchanting.
“What am I doing here? I need to go back home.”
He tutted in response, “That would not be wise, Elskan Mín. This world is mine now and this is safest place to be.” He was right. His brother’s team of desperate souls were no match for his cunning and Chitauri Forces. Midgard’s pathetic leaders gave up in less than an hour once their beloved ‘heroes’ were defeated, broken, and laid bare before them.
“You can’t be serious, Loki. I need to leave.”
“And go where? Like I said, this realm is mine now. That rat poison of a dwelling is no more and I have dealt with your ‘family’ as needed.” Loki smirked at the memories. It gave him extreme joy squeezing the life out of that worthless pig of mother, breaking every bone in your father’s body one by one, and leaving your ‘perfect’ sister alive with partially rotten skin. Not even the scavengers or maggots would find or want the remains of the scurvy insect of an ex-boyfriend, though he was still alive..just barely.
Well, at least until he decided on how to destroy the blight of creature.
Though he did make sure to leave two of your real friend were treated well. You needed to have someone to talk to while he was away.
You gazed into his Spearmint colored eyes in one last attempt, “Please Loki! If you love me, you’ll let me go!”
For a split second, you could’ve sworn you saw hurt in his eyes and he glided across the room. You back hit the headboard in you sad efforts to get away from him.
“Elskan Mín, I promise to always love, cherish, and worship every part of your glorious body. You will become Midgard’s queen and my goddess. No. One. Will. Ever. Demean. Or. Slight. You. Again.” he punctuated each word of the last sentence with soft, open-mouthed kisses to your face, neck, shoulders, and collarbone.
You tried to fight him, but it felt so good. His touches sent shots of lightning to your core; plus his lips and fingers were cook to the touch provided excellent contrast to the spike in heat.
You started crying realizing how pathetic this was, to have the first person to profess such feelings be a kidnapper. You were actually contemplating whether or not he was telling the truth.
Loki sensed your sorrow and kissed your tears away. “I know this might be ‘difficult’ at first, but you will love me in time.” He hoped he did not have to use the scepter.
You thought about your dream and all of the effort he was putting into this. It was frightening, but it came from a place of love.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay.
–––––––
@lookiamtrying @jtargaryen18 @sapphirescrolls @jobean12-blog @sweeterthanthis @gotnofucks @mcudarklibrary@saiyanprincessswanie @golden-ariess @navegandoaciegas @stargazingfangirl18 @opheliadawnwalker3 @tilltheendwilliwritee @imanuglywombat @bucky-the-thigh-slayer @navybrat817 @anyatheladyclown @buckysbunny @nacho-bucky @donutloverxo @stephanieromanoff @threeminutesoflife @angrybirdcr @angrythingstarlight @chixkencxrry @hurricanerin @marvelfansworld @the-soulofdevil @captain–barnes @drabblewithfrannybarnes @thebanprincess @winteralpine @leslie2898 @buttercandy16 @propertyofpoeandbucky @hevans-angel @thorfanficwriter @afriendlyblackhottie @avintagekiss24 @syntheticavenger @phant0m-queen @tuiccim @blueberrythor @river-soul @justthehiddleswrites @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog
#loki (marvel)#loki x reader#marvel loki x reader#dark loki#loki x female reader#loki x plus-sized reader#mcu imagine#dark!loki#dark!loki x reader#marvel fanfiction#mcu au#loki imagines#loki imagines angst#mcu fanfiction#his match#oge answers#tom hiddleston
599 notes
·
View notes
Note
2 from the kissing prompt list and 5 from the smutty prompt list with Crosby or Tito please!
This is 2 from the kissing prompt list with Crosby. I’ll add 5 with Tito to my list!
Prompt: Kiss in the middle of a fight
A/N: never used someone else’s gif before but huge thank you to the person who made that one, I know how much effort goes into making gifs
Warnings: argument (obviously), language, and an age gap.
Four years.
Four years since your first date.
When he took you for dinner at a restaurant that was way out of your budget and your comfort zone. Because you were barely 20, a college student living in a rundown apartment with bars on the window and three locks on the front door. And he was almost 30, making more money than you could even wrap your head around, living in an apartment on the side of town you only fantasized about living in.
But as soon as you were with him that night all your worries subsided. And when you saw the drink menu, hesitating at the prices, Sidney made a casual comment to order whatever you wanted. And when you excused yourself to the bathroom towards the end of the night Sidney paid for the bill while you were gone, not even giving you the chance to have to worry about splitting it. He drove you home that night and parked his car, walking you to your door and waiting till you were securely in your apartment before leaving.
You never would have admitted it then but you fell in love with him that night.
But it wasn’t always easy. Because he was almost a full ten years older than you. You were at different points in your life. For the most part it wasn’t an issue, you were mature for your age and he was accepting of the fact that occasionally you did just want to go out and party with your friends. But there were comments, from your family, from his family, from your friends, hell, even the media seemed to have an opinion on your relationship. You saw the tweets, the Instagram comments. You tried your best to pretend you didn’t, but even though he tried to avoid it as much as he could he was in the spotlight and it was inevitable.
You moved in together three years after you got together, you settled in with him easily. And in the beginning you thought maybe the flood of happiness you felt waking up every morning in a bed that the two of you shared would fade, but it didn’t. You figured at some point cooking dinner together in your kitchen would become routine, but every time he wrapped his arms around your waist while you were preparing dinner or he would step between your legs while you sat on the counter placing his large hands on your thighs, you were just as overcome with joy as the very first time.
Your whole life you never believed in soulmates. People just found someone they clicked with and made it work. But when you met Sid all those thoughts changed. Because you never met anyone who made you feel the way he did, not a single friend or ex could compete with the overwhelming happiness and comfort that Sid brought you.
When your family was having a reunion there wasn’t any hesitation in your mind over Sidney coming. Sure, you weren’t married, he wasn’t technically a part of the family. But it really only felt like a formality at this point, that piece of paper.
So you and Sid packed a suitcase for the three nights you were going to be away, giddy with excitement at getting to introduce Sid to your entire family. He had met your close family on so many occasions, but it was the distant relatives, cousins you yourself had only met a few times, that could get to meet him now.
Of course Sid splurged, getting a suite in one of the nicest hotels in the area. You told him it wasn’t necessary, that the two of you would be busy, wouldn’t be there that often anyway. But he insisted.
The second night you two got ready for an afternoon barbecue with your entire family. Your aunt and uncle had rented space at a local country club, a large outdoor gazebo, lawn space for the younger kids to play on. It was all gearing up to be a great afternoon.
“What if I can’t remember someone’s name? Should we have a codeword or something?” Sid asks, voice hushed and panicked as you walk along beside him, hand in hand towards where your parents had told you to meet everyone.
Coming to a stop you tug him to face you. “Stop worrying. This is supposed to be fun. Everyone is going to love you.”
And perhaps you shouldn’t have been so confident, an egregious error in assuming you knew your distant family well enough to make that statement. Because by the time dinner is over and a few drinks have been poured the conversations seemed to be taking a turn you weren’t expecting.
“So, Sid,” your uncle Max says, drawing the attention of you and Sid along with the rest of the group that was sitting around one of the large outdoor tables. “How old are you again?”
Sid clears his throat and you reach over, grasping for his hand beneath the table. “Thirty-three,” he tells him with a nervous formality of being interrogated by the police.
“And Y/N, darling, correct me if I’m wrong but you’re twenty-two?” You Aunt chimes in.
“Twenty-three,” you correct, with a force smile. “Almost twenty-four,” you add quickly, immediately regretting it, cringing internally at the childish way it had come across, trying to prove yourself to be older.
“Sid, you’ve never had any kids? No ex-wives?” Max asks, prodding questions he had no right to be asking when he had barely even asked about the mundane facts of Sid’s life.
“No,” Sid replies, a defensive edge to his tone.
“Hm,” Max hums, picking up his drink and taking a rather large swig. “Didn’t want any…or?”
“I…uh,” Sid stammers, rarely at a loss for words but now unable to form a simple sentence.
“We’re thinking about it,” you suddenly chime in. You feel Sid’s eyes on you, wide and confused. It wasn’t like you two hadn’t talked about it before. In fact, you had talked about it on a number of occasions. Early on in the relationship it came up as a general question ‘do you want kids?’. As things got more serious is became more clear that when you two were picturing having kids it was together. Discussing how you wanted to raise your kids, how many you wanted. And you had been thinking about it, just hadn’t brought it up to Sid that you were starting to think maybe you were getting close to being ready.
“Oh, hunny, you’re so young and he-,” you aunt begins, trailing off as she glances over at Sid.
You can feel your emotions building, rage coursing through your veins. “Like I said, we’re thinking about it. I know it’s a big decision.” With that you shut down the conversation, pushing your chair back and watching Sid follow suit, walking with you away from the table. Neither of you say anything till you get back to the car you were renting for the weekend, needing to get away from it all for a few minutes. Hot, angry tears filling your eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
You stare up at Sid, blinking away your tears as you try to put together what he was talking about. “You’re sorry? Sorry for what? That’s my asshole family, I’m the one who needs to be apologizing to you.”
“But this wouldn’t be happening with another guy,” Sid says, holding both your hands in his. “You shouldn’t need to be standing up for me like that. They’re also your family and I can’t put you in the position of needing to be at odds with them for a relationship.”
“What are you saying?” You ask, shaking your head as you pull your hands back from his, using one to wipe away a few tears before crossing them over your chest.
“I don’t know,” Sid admits, looking around as he takes a deep breath. “Maybe we…you and I-.”
“No,” you interject, shaking your head. “If you think my family’s opinions are going to change how I feel about you, about us, then you’re a fucking idiot, Sidney. I love you…so much. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you because you make me happier than anyone has ever made me, I’m the best version of myself when I’m with you and I’m never going to let that go because someone thinks you’re a few years too old for me or whatever other bullshit people will criticize us about. And I really thought you felt as sure about this as I do, so-.”
Suddenly Sid is stepping closer, leaning down and pressing his lips to yours. It’s soft and tender and filled with a thousand words he hadn’t spoken out loud. Your arms fall from across your chest to around his shoulders, letting him pull you closer. “Marry me,” he whispers against your lips.
You’re silent for a second, pulling back just enough to look into his eyes. “What?”
“Marry me,” he repeats. “I have the ring already, I’ve been thinking about asking you for months but it never felt like the perfect moment and this sure as hell isn’t the perfect moment either but I can’t wait any longer. Because I do feel as sure about this as you do and you need to know that now.”
You have tears in your eyes again as you stare up at Sid, only able to nod in response for a minute. “Of course I want to marry you,” you finally whisper, your arms wrapped tight around him.
#sidney crosby#nhl imagines#sidney crosby imagine#sidney crosby blurb#sidney crosby one shot#nhl blurb#nhl one shot
341 notes
·
View notes
Text
As The World Caves In
Pairing: Steve Rogers x Stark!Fem!Reader
Summary: Steve deals with the loss of his wife after the Snap.
Rating: R?
Word Count: 3.3k
Warnings: Grief, depression, feelings of loneliness, death, graphic depiction of a death
A/N: hi yes I wanted to get this out before TFATWS got out. I have never liked the ending Steve got in Endgame, so I wanted to write a new one for him!
Steve would like to say that he lost his wife like everyone else did that day.
He would love to say that she turned into ash like the rest of his teammates. He would love to say that they had some tear-filled goodbye before she turned into nothing. He would love to have that hope that might be able to come back.
But he can't.
Because she actually died that day in Wakanda. Right before his eyes.
It had happened after Thanos had tossed Steve aside. Y/N had charged at the Titan, angry at the purple being for hurting her husband. He caught her in mid-air, his golden gauntlet shimmering in the sunlight as it wrapped tightly around her throat. Steve had scrambled to stand up, his eyes on her.
Y/N coughed and sputtered, her face turning colors as she kicked, her fingers trying to pry the large gold covered fingers off of her throat. And while it felt like hours for Steve, it had only been seconds. Seconds. Seconds he had held her in their air, seconds she had suffered as the Titan cut off her oxygen. Thanos had smirked before tightening his grip, a sickening crack filling the air. Steve couldn't breathe as her body was tossed towards him. It seemed to move in slow motion, bouncing when it hit the ground.
When her body finally came to a stop in front of him, her head lolling to the side as the cloud of dust settled. Steve still had hope somehow. He prayed to the Lord above as he looked at her, hoping that she was somehow still alive. Blood vessels had burst in her eyes and blood trickled out of her mouth. There was a darkening bruise on her throat, her neck was bent at an unnatural angle. Steve had been unable to move, unable to breathe. Within an instant, she was gone. His wife, the love of his life, ripped away from him in mere seconds.
And then his friends and teammates turned into ash all around him.
The worst moment of his life was when he watched his wife die right in front of him. The second worst is having to tell her brother that she was dead.
After Tony had come down the ramp of the ship, Steve had ran over to help him down that last view steps and over to Pepper. Stark told Steve that Peter was gone and in that moment of silence that followed, Tony's eyes scanned the small group of survivors for his adopted sister. Tears sprung up in the man's eyes as he looked back at Steve. The Captain's throat constricts with emotion, tears brimming in his eyes as he just nods, unable to get the words out. Pepper ran up in that moment, wrapping her arms around Tony just as tears rolled down his face.
Y/N is the only one they actually bury. Her funeral is a quiet affair, with only the remaining members of their team and Pepper in attendance. The couple had never talked about what might happen or what they would want if either of them died. Tony tells him that she would want to be buried next to their parents, so she is. He makes sure his baby sister has the best coffin money can buy, the best headstone-everything. Her funeral is the last time Steve and Tony talk to each other.
Steve gets an apartment she would have loved. It's right around the corner from the restaurant where they had their first date and a few streets away from the cemetery. There was those big windows that Y/N had always expressed fondness over. The apartment also had built in shelves that lined one wall of the living room area, which had been another selling point for him. One day Steve hoped that he would be able to fill them with her many books and tchotchkes, but now they stood empty, the shelves gathering dust. Her collection of novelty mugs weren't in the cabinets, no they were still wrapped up in newspapers within one of the many boxes. He had planned on unpacking all of the things that had once filled their shared room at the compound, but the boxes stay in the second bedroom, all piled up in the middle of the room. He couldn't find it in himself to go through all of her old things, didn't want to be bombarded with emotions and memories.
That first year is the hardest. Learning to live without her tears him to shreds. Steve hardly sleeps, hardly eats. He spends a lot of his time alone, dwelling over what he could've done differently. Natasha tries to reach out to him, but Steve distances himself. He tells himself that he needs to do this alone, needs to try to get through it by himself. Y/N always feels like she's just out of his grasp and he prays and begs to have her back with him. His prayers go unanswered.
Natasha appears outside his door on the one year anniversary of Thanos's snap and Y/N's death, holding a bottle of vodka in one hand and Asgardian mead in the other. They sit together in the kitchen and drink as vigils and memorials take place around the world. For the first time, Steve talks about how much he misses his wife. The two heroes talk all night about each person they missed, both of them wondering aloud how were they supposed to live without them.
By the end of the second year, Steve is getting used to living without her. He hates it. He hates how much that ache in his chest has lessened. He hates that he can see a picture of her without a lump forming in his throat. Steve is able to talk about her more and starts a grief support group. Sure he sometimes wakes up and hopes she's there, but that's getting less and less frequent. Steve's afraid that his memories of her are going to slip away from him, terrified of forgetting her.
So he starts to draw her. He's desperate to hold onto every memory of her, so he fills up page after page, sketchbook after sketchbook of nothing but Y/N. The drawings aren't perfect, but he is able to cement those memories in his mind. Steve wants to make sure that he can remember her face without having to study a picture. So when he remembers something about her, he puts it onto a piece of paper. Y/N on their wedding day. Y/N when they were on the run and she fell asleep in the Quinn Jet. Y/N brushing her teeth early in the morning, her silhouette lit up by the almost golden bathroom light. Y/N the first day they met.
Natasha sees them once when she stops by to see him. One of the sketchbooks is left open on the table and she sneaks a peek when Steve goes to the other room to get a sweater. There on the page in incredible detail is a sketch of her best friend with tears in her eyes, her mouth open in shock. She doesn't know that this is the face she made when she learned that Bucky had killed her parents and Steve knew. Natasha looks away, her cheeks burning. She feels like she saw something too personal, too raw, and she shuts the journal before Steve returns.
When the third, fourth, and then fifth year rolls around- well Y/N has been gone longer than they were together as a couple. Steve has gotten used to her being gone. He's able to walk past the room holding all of the boxes without stalling. It gets easier to talk about her, easier to share stories about her to his group. He still misses her, it's just easier for him to live now. His wedding band never leaves his ring finger, needing to have a part of her with him always. Steve still loves her and he doesn't think he can ever love someone as much as he loves his wife.
And then Scott Lang reappears.
Steve wants to reverse what Thanos did, wants to bring back his friends even if that means he cannot bring back his wife. That ache in is chest returns as they put together their heist plan. Steve feels like there's a ghost following him around while he's back at the compound. His shoulders feel heavy again and he tries to put on a brave face as the people around him get hopeful. He tries to be happy, knowing that he will be getting his friends back and fixing what had happened, but he can't help but be upset.
-
Steve gets to see her when they go back.
It's after he knocks out the younger version of himself. Steve is standing over himself, breathing hard, and holding Loki's scepter tightly in his hands.
"That is America's Ass." He comments, looking behind him before back down to the unconscious man. He needs to meet back up with the others so that they can-
"It definitely is." A familiar voice calls out from in front of him. Steve stills, his breath catching in his throat before he slowly lifts his head. There she is, standing before him with a smirk on her face. Y/N is dressed in her navy blue suit, her hair messy from the battle she just went through. Her face is dirty, her lip split and there is a long cut across her cheekbone. His mouth goes dry and he's suddenly tongue tied, like he was when they first met.
Steve remembers how nervous and awkward he was when they were first introduced to each other. Y/N gave him a million dollar smile and just like that, he knew he was a goner. Steve had stumbled over saying his name, which had then made her laugh-God, that laugh. That laugh had made him warm all over, made butterflies swarm around in his stomach. And in the past five years, those butterflies had been dormant and now, now they're wide awake.
"You're not my Steve." Y/N announces as she walks towards him, studying him. Steve's heart is beating fast and he wants to reach out and hold her close, wanting to tell her how much he loves her. My Steve. God, he misses her. He misses everything about her.
"How can you tell?" He asks, a tiny smile appearing on his face. Y/N chuckles, taking seeing two Steve's surprisingly well. But then again, she had just got done fighting aliens and a literal god so he supposes that things have been weirder.
"My Steve won't even look me in the eye. He blushes when I look at him. When I look at you...you just look so sad. That's how I know you're not Loki." She answers, stopping in front of him. Steve studies her face, taking in every little detail because he knows that this is the last time he'll see her.
"I-I'm that easy to read, huh?" Steve retorts and she laughs again, nodding. God, he misses that sound. He misses her so fucking much that it makes his chest ache. Y/N's smile falters as she looks at him, watching as his smile drops.
"I'm not going to pretend what is exactly going on here, okay? Obviously you are going through something and it's pretty clear you are on a some type of mission." She tells him, motioning to the scepter in his hands. Steve looks down to his hand before looking at her. He knows that she should be calling for back up because by the way people keep speaking through her comm Y/N must know that things are going south.
"I'll bring it back, I promise." Steve replies and the smile returns to her face. Y/N glances down to the unconscious man on the floor before looking at him.
"I know you will. I never saw you, new Steve. And don't worry, I'll make sure you don't choke on your tongue." She teases, gesturing to the passed out version of himself. Steve's smile returns to his face as she continues, "But I do expect some sort of explanation when you come back."
"Of course. I'll be back before you even know I was gone." Steve says, wanting to say so many other things that he knows that he just can't tell her. He opens his mouth again when her comm once again crackles to life. Y/N's eyes widen and she gestures for him to leave. Steve's mouth snaps shut and he nods, quickly walking away.
Tony would later tell Steve when they're in 1970 that he started crying when he saw his little sister.
-
When his teammates return on the battlefield, she isn't among them. He knows she won't be coming through a portal, but some part of him still holds out hope for some reason. Yet, there is no sadness inside of him on that battlefield. No, rage has pushed all of that sadness aside, filling him up completely.
When he fought against Thanos and his army, he did so with every ounce of strength in his body. Steve wanted to avenge the death of Y/N, wanted to kill Thanos for what he did to her. Steve has never felt so angry in his entire life. He wanted to be the one who ended the Titan's life. He ignored the large gash in his arm and tore through aliens.
And in the end, it's Tony who takes out Thanos. He is the one who avenges his baby sister's death, but the price he pays his high. And Steve has to watch another Stark die.
He feels so guilty that he is alive and both of the Stark siblings are gone, both of them buried side by side, right next to their parents.
There is just so much death in his life, so much damn loss. And he's tired. Steve is exhausted. He hoped that bringing back his friends and the half of the universe that had disappeared because of the Snap would make him feel better, but it hadn't. No, instead that hurt has returned with full force. His chest feels like its about to cave in on itself, like his ribs piercing his lungs and heart-God, everything seems unbearable. All he wants is for the earth to open up and swallow him whole.
And then, he is reminded that he has to return the stones.
And while every single part of the journey is noteworthy, he saves returning the scepter for last.
Y/N is sitting beside the unconscious version of himself when he returns. She turns his head to look at him, a smile on her face. For a moment, he considers staying here with her, reliving every single moment of their life and their relationship as it happens.
But he knows that he can't.
It wouldn't be right for him to stay here with her, knowing everything that he knows. Steve has had his time with her, time that he will treasure for the rest of is life. He knows that if he returns back to his timeline, there will be a lot of hurting that he will have to go through. Steve knows that it would be so much easier to stay here with Y/N, but he won't let himself do it.
So Steve explains to Y/N why he needed the scepter, leaving out her death and the death of her brother. After he finishes, she stays quiet for a moment, processing all of this new information. He just waits and sits there.
"Don't tell me what happens, please. I want the cards to fall where they may. I-I want to be surprised." Y/N tells him suddenly, glancing at the unconscious man before looking at Steve. The Captain understands exactly what she means. She must know somehow that she ends up with him, something on his face his showing his hand. Y/N had always told him that he had a shitty poker face. A smile stretches across his face, nodding. His wedding ring-hidden under his gloves-feels so much heavier, like its weighing his arm down.
A pit of dread opens up in Steve's stomach as his time draws to an end. He thanks and apologizes to Y/N as he hands over the scepter. She just smiles, telling him not to worry about it as she puts it back into its case. He must look as upset as he feels because before he leaves, Y/N wraps her arms around him. It surprises Steve, but he quickly wraps his arms back around her. Steve holds her tightly, letting his eyes shut. He knows that this will be the last time he'll ever hold her and he just savors it, wishing that it could last forever. Wishing that he could stay here forever.
But everything has to come to an end.
When he says goodbye, he knows that Y/N doesn't understand that this is him saying goodbye to her for the last time. Steve finally gets to tell her goodbye and even though he isn't able to tell Y/N how much he loves her, it's okay. It's okay because he will be able to tell her how much he loves her one day, even if that day isn't today. They'll be reunited again. He just needs to wait.
She tells him goodbye and he takes one final look at her before he returns back to his timeline, back into a world where she's gone.
That night, he returns to his empty apartment, the silence almost deafening. That hole in his chest has reopened and he is in so much pain that everything just feels numb.
He goes through the motions of getting ready for bed, washing the day's events off of him hoping that this would also wash away the numbness, trying to pretend like nothing of importance had happened hours earlier. When he crawls into the same bed he has been sleeping in for the past five years-a bed she has never touched-he realizes how empty it is without her. He can't feel her here like he can at the Compund-No, here she doesn't follow behind him. No, this is a place she has never been so she can't be here. The apartment is suddenly too big for him-everything is too big for him. It's too big and too empty and too fucking quiet-
It's like the string that was holding him together the past five years has finally snapped and he just starts crying. The Captain's body shakes with sobs as he lays in that empty room. Steve had thought he had processed her death and grieved already, but he hadn't. Until this very moment, it had never fully set in that Y/N was dead. It was never fully real that she was gone. He knew that she was, but some part of him was still holding out hope that somehow she was going to come back. If Bucky could come back, surely she could have as well. But Y/N isn't Bucky and so she never came back.
It took until today for him to fully realize that she was gone. Y/N was gone and there was nothing he can do about it. There was no stones to gather, no traveling through dimensions for him to do. Steve had to live the rest of his life without the love of his life, in a time where he'll never belong in. That small flicker of hope that had been silently living inside of him had been snuffed out, leaving an empty dark space inside of him, leaving him cold and empty.
The only hope that remained is that they would be reunited one day in death, but until then Steve would be forced to carry around his pain where ever he went.
228 notes
·
View notes
Text
Crows Headcanon: Celebrating Pride Month
If you'd rather read this and more Crows headcanons on ao3 here's the link.
I have headcanoned Kaz as heteroromantic asexual (ace), Inej as biromantic demisexual (bi demi-ace), Wylan as homosexual (gay), Jesper as bisexual (bi), Nina as pansexual (pan) and Matthias as straight. (This is just what I see them as, not the only possiblity). Also I know that Pride month is long over, I wrote this in June, this is just the polished version.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 (the chapters aren't related and do not continue the story, each can be read separately)
Today's the day. Jesper and Nina wake up first. They both get up in nearly identical ways, springing up out of bed, bursting with excitement. Jesper gently shakes Wylan awake, who doesn't need much encouragement to wake up because he's excited too (not as much as Jesper of course, no one could be that excited). Nina bustles about the room, getting ready, unintentionally waking Matthias up, who is a light sleeper (Soldiers have to be. While he knows he's not a soldier anymore, his body has yet to forget it). Inej is on the roof doing her morning yoga while Kaz is making breakfast (he's surprisingly domestic when it comes to it. He's not fantastic at cooking but he can make basic dishes perfectly).
Matthias, Kaz, Inej and Wylan have settled in at the table to eat breakfast when Nina and Jesper saunter in. Jesper looks dashing in his multicoloured suit. The blazer is blue, the trousers are purple, the shirt inside is pink, and his tie is covered in pink, purple and blue sequins. Nina looks gorgeous in her sparkly gown. It has pink glitter for the bodice, which morphs into yellow glitter at the middle and concludes with blue glitter at the end, making a perfect ombre. They pose at the doorway, to loud applause from Wylan, cheering from Inej, a gasp from Matthias and a deadpan from Kaz.
"We're going to the Pride Parade today, obviously," Nina says, gesturing to their outfits. "Who's coming?"
"I'm in," Wylan says. He's never been allowed to go to a Pride Parade before so he's so excited to see what it'll be like. Part of him is afraid, too. That he somehow won't fit in even there.
"I'll go," Matthias adds, smiling softly at Nina, possibly not even sure what he's agreeing to except that Nina will be there, looking like this.
"I'll come too," Inej replies, smiling at the two Grisha, beyond proud of how comfortable they are in their own skin and identity.
Kaz nods at them which is a fairly enthusiastic yes for him (Someone has added rainbow sprinkles to all the food and it could only be one person, the person who made it but Kaz will never admit to that).
Later, in the afternoon, Wylan is making Pride-themed smoke bombs (his own idea, he's so proud of it), Nina is helping Inej decide what she wants to wear, Matthias is researching Pride related words because he wants to understand what this community is about, and Jesper and Kaz are talking (talking is a bit of a stretch, but basically Jesper is talking at Kaz, ranting actually, and Kaz is nodding here and there).
In the evening, they all go to the Pride Parade. Wylan has a rainbow shirt on, Inej has a demisexual flag badge and a biromantic flag one attached to her top, and Matthias and Kaz are dressed as they normally would. They decide to split up (although the decision is mostly made by the fact that Wylan drags Jesper with him as he sets off in one direction, Nina walks off in another dircetion and Matthias follows, and Inej and Kaz decide to go slowly at their own pace).
Wylan is absolutely fascinated by all the colourful things they're selling. He's racing from one stall to another, and Jesper is keeping pace with him happily. Nina is enthralled by the food. They have pride coloured (and flavoured) waffles! After Nina and Matthias eat till they're full though, Nina quickly switches to buying all sorts of knick-knacks (Matthias is automatically given the task of bag carrier when Nina turned to him with suspiciously wide eyes and said, "Who else should I ask for help but my big strong Fierdan boyfriend?" Matthias knew he was being baited but agreed anyway because he loves her). Inej and Kaz are walking slowly, taking everything in, while Inej sneaks glances at Kaz to make sure the crowd isn't bothering him and Kaz does the same.
Kaz seems blank-faced the whole time until a little girl smiles at him and tries to wrap rainbow coloured ribbons around his cane. He shakes his head and points at the black, grey, white and purple set. She smiles and acquiesces. Inej watches this interaction with a small smile hidden behind her hand.
When they finally return home, Matthias is somehow (we know how, or rather who) covered in stickers and badges and scarves and face paint and so so much more. Nina is full and happy with all the purchases she made. Wylan and Jesper are admiring the few things Wylan bought when suddenly Wylan pulls out a gun from behind his back and points it at Jesper. "Boom!" he says, and Jesper realises that the gun is actually a holster painted blue, purple and pink. Wylan grins and hands it to him, and Jesper mock seriously promises to protect it with his life. Inej is laughing softly as Kaz tries to remove the ribbons from his cane and only succeeds in trapping himself in it too.
Wylan realises that he does fit in there, Jesper feels euphoric that he can be this open with his identity, Nina's heart feels full from all the love, Matthias's head feels full from all the Queer related terms he learned today, Inej feels a serene kind of happiness at seeing others like her, and Kaz, well Kaz doesn't have feelings, what are you talking about? (Kaz is happy, nothing else, just happy).
Next Chapter (Chapter 3)
Let me know if anyone wants to be added to the tag list.
#six of crows#soc#grishaverse#soc hc#crows headcanon#crows hc#kaz brekker#inej ghafa#kanej#kanej headcanon#jesper fahey#wylan van eck#wesper#wesper headcanon#nina zenik#matthias helvar#helnik headcanon#helnik#shadow and bone
42 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
melanienuema-blog
Untitled
nerislovestaylor
neris
wiitzz
and play hard that Gnossienne
visionarymaho
Sweet Like Candy
letthemwearcake-blog
Let Them Wear Cake