#world plot wraps up in like 30 minutes the rest is just the characters talking to each other it's so good. houghhdgdgh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

all1e23 · 4 years

Text

Between the Stars [Pt.8]

Pairings: Past!Steve x Reader, Bucky x Reader

Series warnings: CHARACTER DEATH. Grief. Overall sadness. Depression. It’s pretty angsty if I’m being honest. Things mellow out as the series goes on. TW: Military/Spouse death.

A/N: **TW: A certain death is finally explained in this chapter. It is the second half of the chapter. It’s not in crazy detail but there is some important plot stuff mixed in. I decided to post despite someone stealing my work. 😤 Thanks to my beautiful beta @moonbeambucky for looking this chapter over for me. Enjoy the sad I guess. If you like it write me a book report, sing me a song or come scream at me.

***My fics are not to be saved or posted on any other sites without my written permission. Reblogs are my jam, though! Thanks!****

Stepping away from music for those ten months turned out to be the best thing you could have done for yourself and your career. Without the small reprieve, you doubted you would have found your way back to teaching, and you loved teaching. Not that it had been intended as a break at the time you walked away. You had every intention of never looking at another sheet of music again, but then Bucky came home and things became more complicated and somehow easier. You doubted that he knew what he was doing, and why should he? It wasn’t as if he had planned on coming home to pick up all your broken pieces so he could help put you back together. He did -- whether he realized it or not -- help you get some of your old life back. The bit that you could take with you into this new one. You even called a few of your former students and asked their parents if they were interested in picking up their lessons. Most said they would love to pick up where you left off, and a few said they found someone new in your absence. You couldn’t blame them. The world had continued while you chose to stand still.

Bucky must have noticed a difference because he told you he liked how pretty you looked when you were smiling.

Lessons started with the school year, and fall was here before you could blink. You were surprised to find you weren’t dreading the holidays as much as you thought. It would be the first holiday season since you got the call and you had expected it to feel like the rest -- hollow and grim. Along with Easter and Memorial Day, you had skipped celebrating Steve’s birthday. There was a small cake you shared with Bucky, three bites in, and you couldn’t force any more falsities down. You spent the rest of the night in your room. It was one of the rare nights you hadn’t slept next to Bucky since he had been home. You needed the night to yourself, and he understood that. By morning, your wedding ring had found its way from your ring finger to a chain that Steve had given you years ago. It felt strange at first. From the moment Steve slipped it on your finger, it rarely left your skin, and when you did, it always felt like there was a piece of you missing. That feeling didn’t show up this time, but you imagined there weren’t many more pieces of you that could go missing. You didn’t want to make it a big deal, so you kept it tucked inside your shirt. Of course, Bucky noticed the absence right away. He never questioned it.

It was a step forward (or maybe backward you weren’t sure some days). They were small, slow steps taken, but at least you were moving.

You’re not sure when it happened, but one morning you woke up and everything didn’t hurt as bad, you guessed it started right around the time Bucky came home. While moving forward was necessary (as everyone continued to remind you), there were days when it felt like a betrayal. You are moving on, and Steve can’t come with you. A little guilt blackens your heart every time you smile on those days; so you falter and take those arduous steps back. It lessens with every laugh and smile Bucky draws out of you, but it’s there under it all, and there’s the fear too. You’re afraid if you move on and keep up with the rest of the world you will forget. You will forget everything you and Steve had, and it will be as if you were never anything at all. Bucky shook his head when you confessed that to him late one night with your forehead pressed firmly against his shoulder, fighting your sleep and the nightmares you were sure would follow.

“You’re holding on to the past, Y/n. You gotta let it go. I’m not sayin’ you have to stop lovin’ him, but you gotta let go of the part of Steve that’s keeping you from moving on and being happy. Or it’s going to continue to tear at you until there’s nothing left.”

“And if I forget him?”

“You won’t, Trouble. You can’t forget a love like that. Trust me, I know.”

Bucky didn’t elaborate, and you didn’t dare ask. He’s never mentioned anything about falling in love in all the years you’ve known him. You’ve never seen him hold onto a woman for longer than a month and the idea of Bucky being in love, holding on to that love all these years without ever getting to know it turns your stomach inside out and shades your heart a bitter green. You’d rather not dwell on those feelings long enough to understand them.

Neither of you spoke about it again, and you were thankful. You didn’t think you could handle discussing Bucky’s long lost love when you could barely pick out an outfit. You’ve been staring at your clothes for an hour now, and everything either looked awful or felt wrong. Maybe you needed to buy new clothes and start from scratch. Every piece you owned had a memory stitched into the fabric, and you didn’t need to be reminded of things you would never have again. Bucky pulled a grey flannel out of his closet, and you reached across the bed, yanking it right out of his hand to slip over your head. That would have to work for today. Bucky rolled his eyes and turned back to the closet to grab a blue Henley for himself.

You always did like the way he looked blue.

“I can go see Sam so you can have some time alone with Tasha and Wanda.”

You didn’t say anything. Just gave a simple nod of the head, refusing to look up from the pile of clothes on the bed that now needed to be put away. You could leave it. The girls would be here any minute, and with Bucky gone, you could deal with it then. Bucky reached out to wrap his fingers around your wrist and gave a gentle tug, forcing your gaze to follow the motion up to meet his eyes. He ran his thumb over the soft thumping in your wrist and stared at you for a while as if he was working something out.

“Or,” Bucky suggested gently. “I can stay right here and work on my bike.”

Your lips curled up in a small smile despite your brain’s wish to keep them in a permanent frown.

“Okay,” You agreed with an easy smile. You slipped your wrist out of Bucky’s loose hold and made your way towards the door, stopping before you crossed the threshold and looked back at him with a deep frown replacing the pretty smile you were wearing only a second ago.

“You don’t have to babysit me, y’ know?”

Bucky’s laughter was followed by an exasperated groan. Of course, that was why you were upset.

“Yeah, I know. You’re just fine on your own.”

There was no fighting the grin Bucky’s words caused. “Yes, I am. But… you can hang around if you want to.”

“I’ve meant to clean up my girl anyway. I’ll hang around today, Trouble.”

Bucky assurance made your heart rest a little easier and maybe his too because he looked relieved when you nodded. The doorbell broke your silence and forced you to leave his side; you barely made it to the top of the stairs when you heard Bucky mutter, “Pain in my ass.” There was a fondness in his voice that made your heart leap.

Even though you were back to teaching you made sure not to overwhelm yourself; Tuesdays and Thursdays you worked late into the evening. It was nice to have something to look forward to, and Bucky always had something to eat ready when your last student left around 8:30. That was nice too.

Natasha had called earlier in the week wanting to come over Thursday night, and you had to explain that you went back to work. There was silence on the other end of the line, and silence was never good with Natasha. She was probably mad you didn’t tell her and that you were keeping things that important hidden, but it wasn’t something you wanted to advertise. Besides, Friday was as good a day as any to have the girls over. No one had to work the next day and took some of the pressure off. Everything felt normal when Natasha and Wanda arrived; you shared a hug or two. Okay, three. Wanda liked to hug, and she showed you the muffins she baked while Natasha held up a bottle of something that looked as if it could melt the glass it came in. You didn’t know what you expected. You hadn’t thought you would feel so excited to see them. Not because you didn’t love them, but having excitement around anyone but Bucky has been rare these last few months.

Sometimes the unexpected was good.

You chose to sit on the window bench that happened to overlook the side yard where Bucky had his black and chrome bike parked and was sitting on an old milk crate hard at work. That didn’t go unnoticed by Natasha. Not that anything ever does.

“So are you two living together now?”

You slowly draw your gaze up from the wine glass in your hand to look at Natasha and Wanda, who was skillfully avoiding your eyes as she blew on her tea for far longer than necessary.

“Yes. Is that a problem? It’s not like we talked about it or anything. It just sort of happened.”

Natasha shrugged in answer to your question and waited for you to go on. She wanted more of an explanation, so you rolled your eyes and explained why Bucky was staying with you.

“He didn’t have anywhere to go when he came home.”

Natasha smirked at the suggestion that Bucky would have been homeless if he hadn’t come to live with you, and you knew right away what you said had been a mistake. “Besides his mom’s, right? She lives twenty minutes from here. What about Sam’s? Or at my place with Clint and I? And I’m a hundred percent certain Sarah Rogers would have taken him in if everyone else in his life let him down for some unknown reason.”

You turned to look back out the window right as Bucky looked up, catching his eye, and you felt the panic in your chest lessen. Bucky gave you that pretty smile and scrunched his nose at you before going back to work. You fought to keep your smile small and lost the battle before it even got started. Wanda’s voice pulled you back into the living room; it was gentle as if she was trying to offset Natasha.

“I think what Nat was trying to ask is if you are planning on staying here together, or is he going to get his own place eventually?”

“We haven’t talked about it. I suppose he will at some point, though...”

You frowned at the thought. Why did that bother you so much?

“He doesn’t have to do anything, you know?” Wanda added at the sight of your upset. “He might want to stay here.”

“Maybe, but he has to move on eventually,” you added, dread filling your voice from the mere thought of Bucky leaving you. “He can’t stay here just to keep me from falling apart for the rest of this life.”

They were right. Bucky will eventually want to get back to his life. He can’t babysit you forever. There was going to come a time when he will want to date, fall in love, and get married. Maybe even have kids. Do all the things that you were supposed to do with Steve. The thought of Bucky leaving you to have that life with someone else made you sick, and you know it’s selfish. It’s unfair to expect him to stay there with you because you don’t want to lose him to someone else.

“How are you doing?” Natasha sounded a little softer this time, sensing your unease. “Are you sleeping?”

“Yeah, I started sleeping in Bucky’s room with him. It seemed to help.”

They stayed quiet but shared a look. You weren’t fond of whatever that was.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” Wanda rushed out far too quickly, but Natasha was quick to cut in, and by her tone, you could tell she’s been feeling this way for a while. “I’m just wondering how long you are going to keep punishing yourself?”

Natasha stared at you and Wanda swore under her breath. They talked about this before coming over. That was clear by the glare Wanda was settling Natasha with. You briefly wondered how often your friends discuss you like that. More often than you approved of, you were sure.

“I’m not punishing myself. I’m allowed to be sad. My husband died--”

“You’re right. You are allowed to be sad. Just like you’re allowed to find new things that make you happy and start putting your life back together.”

“I’m fine, Nat. I don’t need anything new. I have our house and my music--”

“And, Bucky?”

While she was right, you did have Bucky, in a sense. Bucky wasn’t new. You had a feeling what she was suggesting would be very new and not a notion you wanted to entertain.

“Natasha--”

“It’s okay to be happy again, Y/n. It’s okay to let your heart get put back together and heal. It doesn’t cheapen what you had with Steve. It doesn’t mean you didn’t love him, and it doesn’t mean you are betraying him. You aren’t doing anything wrong by letting yourself find happiness again. Even if that happiness is found with Bucky.”

You had a feeling what Natasha was hinting at, but hearing it outright like that made you a little queasy. Did people, your friends, talk about you and Bucky like this? Is that what everyone was worried about, who would get you next?

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t act stupid Y/n. You’re a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.”

“He’s been my best friend since I was thirteen. It’s not-- It’s never been--” You took a deep breath and told them both, firmly. “He’s my best friend.”

Wanda pinched Natasha’s thigh and grabbed your hands from where she sat on the floor between you and Natasha. “All Nat is trying to say is if you wanted to find happiness again... with Bucky or anyone for that matter, it’s okay. You’re not doing anything wrong by moving on.”

“It’s been nearly a year since you lost Steve. It’s time to start picking up the pieces, Y/n. With Bucky or without. You can’t stay stuck in this in-between, and you can’t go back.”

You turned your gaze back out the window to catch Bucky staring at you. He quickly looked back at his bike and fiddled with the wrench in his hand. It reminded you of all those days he would hide you in Shop class so you could skip Geometry with Mr. Coulson. The memory makes you grin. The girls might be half right. Maybe you couldn’t go back, but that didn’t mean you wanted to let it go completely.

----

Three hours after Natasha and Wanda left, you found yourself wandering around the house with what you thought was purposeless. It started in the kitchen, and you slowly made your way through your home, somehow ending up in the doorway to Bucky’s room. Your heart must have told your feet where to go and left your brain in the dark. His hair was still wet from a fairly recent shower. The ends were darker than the rest and shiny from being wet. It wasn’t long enough to tuck behind his ears, but it was long enough that he could slick it back. His beard had become relatively thick due to his laziness these last few months. To be fair, most of his attention has been on you. When he mentioned trimming it a few weeks ago, you wrinkled your nose at the thought, and at the time, he had laughed.

He never did trim it after that.

Bucky glanced up at you, hovering at the threshold to his room, and he smiled, crooking his finger for you to come in. You pushed off the doorframe and made your way over to where he was resting on the end of the bed, wet towel lying on the bed next to him. You wanted to tell him it was getting your side of the bed all wet, but you thought better of it.

It’s not your bed, after all. You have your own you should probably start to sleep in and let Bucky get back to living his own life.

“Have a good time?” Bucky asked. There was a softness in his voice he saved for you and you alone.

You shrugged.

“Tasha called me stupid on the way out. Got any idea what that is about? Should I be scared?”

You grinned and brushed a fallen strand of hair back to lay with the rest. “I don’t know, but being scared is always a safe bet when Nat is involved. How’s the bike? It looked like you got a lot done.”

“She’s good. Just cleaned her up a bit and changed the oil. You know, I like fiddling with her a bit, and she’s been sitting at my mom’s collecting dust.”

You cupped his cheek and gently rubbed his cheekbone with your thumb. He nuzzled your palm right away, eyes falling closed, and he seemed to relax a fraction. There was tension in his shoulders you hadn’t noticed before, a darkness that has never lingered in his eyes this long, and his smile never quite reached his eyes anymore. He’s spent all this time taking care of you, and you never once noticed how badly he was struggling.

He was lost just like you.

“Hey.”

Bucky looked up at the sound of your voice and quickly pulled away from your touch as if he remembered he shouldn’t be doing that. You slowly drew your hand back, letting them drop to your side and choosing to sit next to him instead.

“Wanna talk?”

“‘Bout what?”

He looked dejected, troubled. A little scared, too.

“What’s been weighing on your heart.” Bucky dropped his gaze, his tell for waiting to drop the subject, but you pushed a little more. “I didn’t see it before. I was too wrapped up in my shit, but I can see it now. The guilt and the hurt.”

If he honestly couldn’t talk, or didn’t want to, you would drop it.

“Y/n, you don’t want to hear about that.”

So it was about Steve’s death then. You had a feeling.

“If I couldn’t handle it, I wouldn’t have asked. I need to hear it, Bucky, and I think you need to talk about it as well.”

It took a long time before Bucky made any movements at all. He shifted further away from you, tossing the towel onto the desk chair and turned to face you. You mirrored his position tucking one leg under you on the bed and letting the other hang off the edge. He was still quiet, gathering his thoughts and a little courage, too. You nudged his barefoot with yours and he gave you a small smile.

“Steve was… He was walking in front of me. Like he always does-- like he did, and Sam was on our left.” Bucky licked his lips, tossing words around his head to find the right ones. This was harder than he thought it would be.

“I wasn’t paying attention. I should have been. That’s my damn job. I was too busy staring at the damn…” Bucky stopped short, and the look of guilt he gave you said he feared you already knew his crimes and found him deserving of judgment.

“At what, Bucky?”

Bucky dropped his eyes and shook his head.

“You’ll hate me.”

“Bucky… I could never hate you. Nothing you could do would make me hate you.”

Bucky closed his eyes, squeezed them shut really. He didn’t want to see your face when he said what he had to say next. “I was staring at your scarf. It was sticking out of his collar, poking up right out of the back of his BDU’s and all I could think about was you, and how I could never have-- I was distracted.”

He reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes with the palm of his hand. You had to stop yourself from reaching out and pulling him close. Bucky needed to get this off his chest and you needed to hear it.

“Next thing I knew, there was a shot fired and then about ten after that. Maybe more. I don’t know. Steve was down, and at first, I thought he dropped to take cover, but my damn ears were ringing, and shots were flying everywhere. I tried to yell out, but I couldn’t hear my voice over the noise. Sam was trying to drag me away, but I couldn’t leave him lying there…”

Bucky’s words became stuttered and choked. You could follow along, but you had to piece together the holes Bucky couldn’t fill. He explained how Steve had taken the bullet for him, how he had been distracted and didn’t see it in time. Bucky told you that he had pulled Steve undercover, and Steve had begged for Bucky to take care of you for him. Bucky left out the reason Behind Steve’s choices that day. You didn’t need to know that when Bucky asked why he did that, Steve told him with that stupid lopsided smile, “You’re my best friend, Buck and Y/n... S-she can go on without me. She can’t live without you though.”

You wiped your tears away with shaking fingers. Bucky blamed himself for Steve’s choices and you couldn’t let him go on thinking he was at fault for something he had no control over. Scarf or not.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yn...”

“No, Bucky. It wasn’t your fault. If it had been the other way around, you would have jumped in front of him. We both know you would have.”

“But if I was--”

“It’s not. Your fault, Bucky.”

You crawled into his lap and pulled his head to your chest. Bucky tightened his arms around your waist, clutching at the thick fabric of his shirt still clinging to your skin. “I don’t blame you, and I know Steve wouldn’t,” You cooed softly in his ear. ”He would do it a hundred times over, and I know you would do the same for h-him.”

Bucky tucked his nose into your neck and took a shaky inhale. The two of you sat like that as the glow of the room slowly faded from orange to dark blue. Bucky’s quiet sobs had settled into barely-there sniffs along with your own. There was a new heaviness resting on your chest, but despite the pain that came with knowing the truth, it gave you a tiny bit of closure. He never said if he believed you or accepted your forgiveness. You prayed he did. You hoped now he would be able to forgive himself, too.

“Bucky?”

There a beat of silence. Bucky rubbed his beard against your neck making you shiver. You could feel a faint smile on your skin when he finally spoke.

“Yeah?”

Bucky slowly lifted his head, so the two of you were sitting nose to nose now, you were so close that when you whispered he could feel your breath against his lips, “I’m glad you came home… to me.”

Maybe now, you could both heal and move on to something new.

“Me too, Trouble. Me too.”

Previous // Next

#bucky barnes x reader #Bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #past!Steve Rogers x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x yn #alternate universe #military au #tw: military death #tw: loss of spouse #tw: character death

564 notes · View notes

sxveme-2 · 3 years

Text

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Unedited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Twenty Six: The One With the Letters

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 3851

Never once in Lily's life did she ever believe she would find herself fretting the life of Bucky Barnes in a personal way. Not the type of way that would have her up for a week straight all night. Not the type of way that would have her going on jogs just to stop thinking about it. Not the type of way that would have her son clinging to her in fear that he wouldn't come home. He had become a staple in her life, and not having any contact with him for a week straight, and having no idea where in the world he is, was one of the hardest things she had to endure. At least, that's how she had felt in the moment.

Mere days ago, she had sat in her bed with his arms tightly wrapped around her. Keeping her safe and warm, hiding away her vulnerable state from the darkest of evils in the world. It scared her just how much he had come to mean to her, and just how much Hunter had become attached to him. The father figure the boy had lacked all of those years with Scott being a mere phantom in his life.

However, as much as Lily would prefer nothing more than to curl up deep underneath the goosedown covers and silk sheets of the Avengers Compound, life went on. Her life didn't cease to continue or stop. She had a son to take care of and a dog to feed, and a very pregnant sister to keep from losing her ever loving mind. But she also had work. The hospital had her filing reports as a 'work from home' assignment, and finishing up any medical journals and analysis she had to do. She was on call for an emergency, and was counting down the minutes before she would be brought back.

So, as Lily sat at the desk in the small office the Avengers had offered her, typing up examinations, her mind went numb. All she thought about was the clicking of her fingers and the gentle breathing of Joey coming from beside her. Hunter was doing his homework in his own room, giving Lily some peace and quiet to get her work done. But she had also come to realize over the past week, the Avengers Compound wasn't exactly the best place to be working.

"I told you that muffin was mine, Natasha!" Clint echoed as the two pairs of footsteps halted out front of Lily's closed door.

"Your name wasn't on it!" Nat retaliated, "And that is a known rule in this place. Unless your name is on it, it's free for the taking!"

And that was at 9 in the morning, and was only the first issue of the day.

"You have no regard for the finer things in life." Tony scoffed as he and Bruce also stopped in front of her door.

"No, I just have a sense of money." He retorted, only egging Tony on.

Glancing down at her clock, Lily let out an audible groan. It was only 9:30, a mere half an hour after Natasha and Clint had let their argument go public. But Lily continued on, making sure to pop in her earphones for the virtual conversation she had to do. Some of her patients had set up the online appointments while Lily was away from her physical workplace, and she was thankful. But it was also harder for her to give accurate diagnosis with it, which resulted in a bit more work on her own end. When 11 struck, Lily turned on her computer camera and readied herself for the consultation.

"Hi Olivia!" Lily beamed and waved as the young girl and her mother popped up on the screen, "How are you today hun?"

"Not good, Dr. Osborne." The seven year old sighed, scratching at her chest. A rash that had burdened the young girl for the past week while they waited for Lily to see them.

"Oh no! Well, that's alright, cause I'll make sure to get it all sorted out for you. Why don't you tell me what's been going on. When did the rash show up?" She asked, flipping over her file for the young curly haired girl.

Just as Olivia went to speak, the door to the office burst open and slammed against the wall. Joey's head shot up and Lily flinched at the noise, turning slightly in her chair to see what the large noise was about. Pursing her lips, Lily lowered her eyes at the two tall men that stood in the doorway. One being broad with that signature American charm, and the other holding a Godly presence that was hard to deny. Steve and Thor glanced warily at each other as Lily raised her eyebrows, giving that signature mom stare.

"Lady Osborne, forgive us," Thor began, "but do you mind if we ask you a small question?"

Lowering her eyes, Lily tilted her head, "Can it wait?" She said through gritted teeth, nodding towards the computer where two dumbstruck patients sat on the other in, taking in the fact that two Avengers were in the same room as their doctor. Both men looked down at her with a clearly guilty tinge to their bright blue eyes, but she also knew they wouldn't give up.

"Well it's just quick." Steve pushed, shifting on his feet.

Lowering her eyes, she sent a quick apologetic look to her patients before turning to the two superheroes, "Out with it then." She sighed, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her lap.

"Which one of us has bluer eyes?"

"Alright get out." Lily snapped, shooing the two and turning her attention back to the young girl she was helping.

-----

Letting her hair down from the clip clamped on the back of her head, Lily logged off of her computer. She leaned her head back and shook out the stiff tresses that had been pulled back the whole day. Her fingers were cramped and shoulders stiff, leaving her uncomfortable in the chair she sat. Standing to her feet, the blonde slid off her white lab coat and dusted off the lace white dress she wore and readjusting the yellow cardigan. Patting her leg, Joey hopped to his feet and followed the woman out into the halls of the continuously noise hallway of the Avengers compound.

"The kid can cook better than you, Clint." Wanda chirped, earning a snicker from the other Avengers as Lily walked into the kitchen where everyone sat around on couches.

"Who taught you how to cook like that, buddy?" Tony asked, glancing over at the kitchen where Rose and Hunter bustled around.

"Not my mom." The twelve year old commented cooly, not even bothering to send a second glance Lily's way as everyone acknowledged her presence in the room.

"That's true," Lily laughed, walking forward with her arms crossed over her chest, "I handle breakfast. But it was actually Bucky that taught Hunter how to handle the kitchen. With the help of Rose, of course." She shrugged, taking a seat in an armchair across from Wanda and Vision.

"Cyborg can cook?" Tony scoffed, as though he didn't believe it.

"He can. He used to cook for his sister back in the day when his parents weren't around," Steve responded, "But I never knew he continued doing it. Figured he'd just relied solely on take out most days."

Light conversation continued over dinner after the two other Osborne's served everyone. Jokes about the interruptions Lily endured earlier throughout the day by the various superheroes seated around her. Or about how Thor and Steve both had very beautiful blue eyes. But the latter's eyes seemed stuck to Lily throughout the dinner. Not in a flirtatious way, oh no, but in a way that was almost pity. He knew Lily didn't really want to be there, and would have rather been at home with her son and sister. But there was a certain remorse as well that clouded his vision, one that sent a shiver down Lily's back. It worried her what could be on the supersoldier's mind. A feeling of anxiety had settled itself into the blonde's stomach as dinner finished and Steve lingered by the door while Lily helped clear the table.

"Hey, Lily, mind if I talk to you for a minute?" Steve finally piped up, catching the blonde's attention as she handed Natasha the final plate.

Nodding her head, Lily excused herself and walked over to the Captain, wiping her hands off on a towel before joining him on the other side of the living room. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and Lily grew even more wary of his actions. Steve's eyes kept dancing down towards the floor and sending more anxiety rushing through her. She knew that if Bucky were to contact anyone, it would be Steve or her. And with a mission, she knew Steve outranked her. She didn't mind, not one bit. But if there was something that had gone wrong, she would have preferred if he was outright with it.

"Bucky said that if we don't hear from him or Sam for a week," The blonde had begun, causing a small sweat to form on Lily's brow, "He wanted me to take you to his apartment and grab something. He never really kept valuables here when he stayed at the compound so..."

Lily swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to blink away the tears that gathered in her waterline, "D-Do you think something happened to them?"

Steve finally met her gaze and pursed his lips, contradicting the words that left his mouth, "No. No they're just fine. Bucky and Sam have gone on much more complicated missions than this. They're okay Lily."

Deciding to test the man, Lily sniffled and spoke, "Promise?

Instead of answering, Steve handed the mother her coat and nodded towards the front door of the compound.

-----

The entire ride down to Brooklyn was that of silence and awkward glances from the supersoldier to the young single mother who looked as though a murder were going to take place. She knew Steve wouldn't give her any answers, maybe it was because he didn't have any, or it could be because he didn't want to. She wasn't entirely sure. All that Lily knew, was that she was pissed off at the entirety of the situation. Whether it be her parents' ignorant mistakes, Bucky being someone she didn't know, or the fact her entire family was in danger because of her parents. The entire situation was one Lily never would have dreamed up for herself in a million years, and sometimes she pinched herself in effort to wake up from the nightmare.

"We're here." Steve stated grimly as the two came to a stop in front of a slightly rundown building.

Without a word, Lily stepped from the car and pulled out her keys. The one she needed dangled apart from the others, as though it knew that it was about to be used. Bucky had given her a key to his apartment back in January, deciding that if he could get into her place, it was only right to give her the same luxury. They never spent much time in his apartment, seeing as he enjoyed being at her place more. But every so often, when Gen and Rose were watching Hunter and Bucky and Lily went for dinner, they'd stay the night in the small apartment and enjoy the company of one another.

Steve followed Lily as she buzzed in, speaking directly to the landlord who let her in without a second thought. The two mounted the creaking stairs up to the third level where Bucky's apartment sat. Right next door was a lovely elderly woman who would always bring Lily cookies whenever she heard that the blonde was over. And on the other side was one of Lily's patients actually. A single father raising twin girls, Nina and Hallie. And right between the two, was the small but modest apartment of Bucky Barnes.

Unlocking the door, Lily pushed her way in. The familiar scent of Bucky wafted into her nose and she placed a hand on her throat as though she were choking on it. Steve shuffled past her and bent down in front of the television, pulling out a stack of four envelopes wrapped in twine. Lily watched in curiosity as Steve made his way back over, giving her a dry and sympathetic smile before placing the envelopes in her hands.

"I'll go wait in the car, okay?" He whispered, resting a kind hand on her shoulder before walking from the apartment.

Lily slid the stack into her purse and took in the sight around her. On the side table beside the couch, her wine glass from lord knows how long ago sat empty. Shaking her head and muttering about how much of a mess the man was, Lily walked over and picked it up. As she cleaned up a bit, her senses dulled from the scent. She just wanted him close. That musky pine and firewood that intoxicated her whenever it was near. The blonde stepped into his bedroom and further into his closet, pulling out three of his shirts to take with her back to the compound. Would it make her feel better? She wasn't sure. But it didn't stop her from spraying a bit of his cologne onto the three before joining Steve back down in the car.

-----

When the two returned back to the compound, no one said a word to Lily as she rushed past to her bedroom. Rose had tucked Hunter in, and the look on her sister's face set the younger one off to know that now wasn't the time to talk.

Tears threatened to fall as Lily shut the door to the bedroom after Joey had wadded in. Dropping her jacket and purse, Lily changed into pyjama bottoms and one of Bucky's shirts, letting the feeling of the soft cotton warm her chilled skin. That ever addicting scent filled her nose as she took a seat on her bed, pulling the reading glasses she had been prescribed recently onto her nose, and preparing herself for the letters she was about to read.

"September 24th

I'm not sure what prompted me to write this. But I just had a feeling it would come in handy one day.

I kissed a girl yesterday that makes me feel as though everything around me has melted away. I had been telling my therapist about her, but never thought I'd have the strength to do something so bold. I hadn't even expected her to show up at Sam's birthday. She never seemed like the kind of girl to do parties but she came. And I suppose that's all thanks to Thor

The moment I laid eyes on her at that cafe, something lit up inside of my heart. Whether it was her smile, or the way her eyes avoided mine whenever they met. She wasn't scared though. No, she was just nervous. The way she stumbled over her words when Sam spoke to her, him having more courage than I ever could dream of.

And her son, god. God her son is as perfect as they come. A sweet boy, and clearly attached to his mother. Sam warned me that if I got involved in something like this, the kid would always be number one. But I don't care. If it meant bringing Lily something to smile about, and help her forget about that jackass of an ex-husband, I'd do it.

I wish I had taken a photo of her when she walked down the stairs last night. The grace that followed her even as she tried to shrug away the stress of that night. God, I never thought I deserved someone like this in my life. Someone with a touch so soft I feel as though I'm the one that would break. But she doesn't seem afraid of me.

And I'll do anything it takes to ensure she never is."

Lily let out the breath that clung to her throat as though it was scared to be released. Pressing the first note to her chest, Lily let a few tears slip past her bottom lashes, streaking down her flushed cheeks. Placing it to the side, she pushed on. Opening the second envelope, Lily knew that these would only get harder to read as she went on.

"November 8th

I never thought someone would see me as loveable. Or a father figure at that. Always thought I'd be reduced down to a pity date or someone people just wanted to learn about. But when she looked up at me with those bright eyes, I knew that she cared. She wanted to know every story, and learn every secret that I have.

Watching her with Hunter is always the highlight of my day. The way her eyes get brighter and her smile grows wider. Lily is truly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, but there's just something to her that furthers that beauty when she's with her son. He had been a part of something that caused her more pain than she should have had to endure, but yet, she has no resentment. Not a shred of doubt that she was doing a good job. It's something I want someday, a family. Away from the fighting and the constant running.

And the way Hunter looked at me, not only asking Lily for permission, but asking me as well...it's all I could have ever wanted. I knew at that moment that Hunter would be the son that wasn't mine. But one that I love and care for nonetheless.

She's truly a wish come true for me. The nights I spend without her are hard. Whenever I have nightmares, she's there. Running gentle fingers down my face and ensuring I know that it's okay. And I believe her. I believe her with every ounce of me."

Lily was now full on waterworks. Her tears fell like a stream down her face as she reread the words he had written no one. The ones that he had said to himself in the privacy of his own home. She ran her thumb over the slight stain of a tear that she had made, an exact parallel of the older one on the opposite side. His. Pressing the paper to her forehead, Lily took a deep breath before opening the third one.

"December 24th

I doubt I'll get out of this one. She's gonna kill me and I know it. I made her a promise. Told her that I would be home for Christmas Eve. But here I sit, on a jet with wounds littering my body from people who I never thought would be a problem that would cause this much effort.

Not sure if I'm more scared of them, or the wrath of Lily that I was about to face when the plane landed.

I've never seen her genuinely angry. I've seen her frustrated, anxious, annoyed, and everything in between. But never angry. I had to wonder if that had anything to do with Scott. Maybe his anger all those years forced her to keep her own in check. Maybe just like I'm sometimes scared of myself, she's scared of herself.

I miss her eyes the most. The way they stared up at me. Or crinkled when she laughed and smiled. Or how they rolled whenever I made a stupid remark. Everything about her eyes. The darker spots of brown that littered the green around them, creating a hazel that I fell head over heels for.

I'll be home soon, darling. I promise."

A choked sob ripped from Lily's throat as she gripped the letter with tight fingers. She wanted nothing more than to just hold him. Keep him in her arms forever. Keep him from the horrors of the world just as she did him. She just wanted him to be home. With her, with Hunter. Anything. She didn't care what it took. She would stand up to her parents herself if it meant having him and Sam home safe. However, she still had one letter to go through. One she dreaded reading just from looking at the date.

"February 23rd

I have to leave her today. I don't know if I'll ever see her again. Those bright eyes, that crooked smile. The blush that rose to her cheeks when I stared too long. The nose scrunch she made whenever I flicked it when she made dumb comments. This could be a final ride for me. The danger is something I promised to keep her away from. But I failed.

I failed miserably.

But they want something they can't have. They want my family. And I'll be damned before they lay their hands on them. The selfish part of me wished Steve would go instead, but this was my fight. I just wished I could hold her longer. Kiss her once more. Feel her hands on me once more.

She's asleep right now. Unaware of the true dangers that lay out in the world. The pain that they want to cause her. I hate myself for my job. Hate that I let her get this close. To create that attachment. I've become too close to her heart and her family. Hunter...I can't even think about him without tears filling my eyes. The pain I've caused him, I can't forgive myself for that. Not now, not in ten years, not ever.

I could slip away in the night. Leave early and handle the mission on my own. Even though it was essentially suicide without a partner. But I'm willing to give myself up if it meant she was safe. Tucked away in my little corner of the universe. But who am I kidding? She may be timid but that fire inside of her is lighting and I know that not much stands in her way.

I loathe myself for letting her fall for me as I did her. For falling for me in a way that can't be undone, only by death. And that may be the case. I may never see her again. And I know that it's selfish but I think that would be better. For her to move on with her life and pretend I never existed. That what was between us wasn't anything too important. Hunter would move on, she would cope. And that's all I want. Her happiness.

Lily if you're reading this, it means that thing's aren't looking good. And if these are the last words you hear from me, I'm sorry. I knew I was too dangerous for you and you don't deserve that. But just know that truly, deeply, I care for you and Hunter more than these three words can describe:

I love you."

A knock at the window caused her breathing to cease.

16 notes · View notes

slashingdisneypasta · 4 years

Text

Slashers + Jennifer Check x Reader || Oneshot

Title: Peeping Toms and Bets

Notes:

This is a remake and revamp of an old Oneshot request I did in my old blog. I hope you like this!

Jed is changed to Bubba, because in this shot the character does act most like Bubba then Thomas or Jedidiah ^^

The 2 would you rather’s were found online.

Plot: Jennifer has invited you over for a sleepover and you ask her a very interesting question. Oh and the boys are all listening together in and betting on your response to the question.

Warnings: Suggestive or course language.

Chucky, walks down the hall, headed for the kitchen while he knows the succubus and her friend are hidden away in the living room, feels a harrowing sense of disgust at what he sees. Well, the disgust being only on a strictly face value basis. Mostly he’s interested to hear the excuses his fellow Slashers have for their camping outside the closed living room door while two teenage girls have a sleepover inside. The first one to notice his presence, when he stops is Bubba who was taking a break from straining his ears to listen to whatever’s happening inside and look down the hall. Where he spots the bright hair and plastic features of child terror. He gasps, quickly and quietly, and alerts the others by tapping spatially on Michael and Stu.

They all turn to see Chucky, and Michael’s shoulders drop heavily in exasperation. Can’t he be left in peace? Why’d all these people have to join him? Stu gasps along with Bubba, before dissolving into a slightly guilty turned down grin, on one side, looking to the floor. Freddy has the good humour to look guilty, too. But isn’t really.

“… what the hell are you two doing??!” Chucky finally manages to spit out, past his pure amusement of the, concerning and slightly horrifying, scene. He raises an eyebrow and feels a tad out of place but stands his ground, when Stu and Bubba ‘Shh’ him, violently. Spit breaking from their mouths, he’s sure.

Freddy nearly panics entirely and immediately smacks Stu’s hand away from his face, looking between those two idiots and the door. “Shut up! Both of you, you were louder than him!” While he goes off on the two, Michael just sighs and opts to look back through the crack in the door that he was peaking though. “And you! Shut it! They might hear you, and then we will all be in trouble.”

“’All’??” Chucky exclaims furiously, eyes wide and wholly incredulous. “I’m not playing peaking Tom on teenage girls as an old man- “

Freddy’s voice is barely a whisper, in fact it’s much more like TV static then a human voice, due to his burnt vocal cords. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, they’re dressed. This is not a porn video. To my knowledge girls don’t, in fact, get undressed to sleepover with each other.” Stu mumbles a quiet ‘Yeah, unfortunately’ and pouts, as a couple of them share a moment of silence for the tragic misconception. Including Chucky and even Bubba. Michael rolls his eyes, still stretching his neck to look through the crack, back against the wall. “Haven’t caught a glimpse. We’re just listening.”

“And you don’t think they’d mind?” Recovered, Chucky smirks smugly, words dripping with sarcasm. Almost evilly, as if he’s 2 seconds from blowing their cover and telling Jennifer-or, worse. Jason, - what they’re up to.

Bubba looks nervous, at that, touching the tips of his meaty pointer fingers together and looking ashamedly thoughtful. But then Michael makes an audible ‘Pfft’ sound from under his mask like he really couldn’t care less if they minded, causing their plastic acquaintance to raise his eyebrows in surprise, he relaxes. If Michael doesn’t care, maybe he shouldn’t either. Michael is cool.

What would Jason say, though? Just as Bubba’s thoughts on that are immediately shut off, when the TV inside the living room turns off and silences engulfs the area. Then the girls inside start talking, which understandably makes every boy or man on the other side of the wall turn on their listening ears to level 99 and lean towards the sound.

Chucky makes a split-second decision and joins them on the floor. To tell the truth, he doesn’t give a flying fuck whether the girls mind, either. But he had to pick on these assholes, so if Stu doesn’t stop snickering at him, he’s going to cut out the teenager’s tongue, wrap it up and use it as a stress ball. Stu seems to get the message when Chucky connects gazes with him, slowly touches his own tongue, and then mimes violently tearing it out.

After the obligatory 3 movies (One romance, one horror which was a tough decision due to your friends living arrangements of course, and one comedy), you and Jennifer stop to recoup and recharge, and start talking. You’re wrapped in blankets and your favourite pyjama’s, and she’s dipping into her coloured popcorn. The only sugar, to your knowledge, that this girl intakes. Its no wonder she’s so gorgeous. She decides on a diet and exercise regimen and sticks to it. Truly amazing. You? Well… you prefer your snacks to a model perfect body.

Surrounding the two of you are many, many pillows and blankets. Some you’ve come to realise were stolen from some of her roommate’s rooms, due to their particular smell and some concerning stains. Also, the one that evidently belongs to Michael has a violent looking hole in it and has stuffing poking out.

Another is a full size Hatsune Miku body pillow, and you don’t dare to ask whos’ room she snatched that one from. Although, you have your suspects. Confirmation, though, is an entirely different experience. And one that you would rather not have.

As you start talking, you dig into your own chosen caffeine for the night. You’re playing would you rather, of course.

Because its fun, to give your friend two horrible or disgusting options and make them choose one.

“Would you rather have uncontrollable gas at work for the rest of your life or for every first date you have for the rest of your life?”

“Work!” Jennifer decides, immediately, apparently horrified by the other prospect. “If I was an uncontrollable fart machine for all of my first dates, I would starve! Who cares if my stuffy boss smells eggs for the rest of his miserable life.”

She sure has some… strong feelings, about her non-existent future boss. You snigger, sipping your drink through a chewed straw. “Okay, okay…”

“Would you rather have an animal best friend, any animal, meaning if it were a bear or a horse you could ride them around, or be married to someone who is peak attractive for you.”

That stumps you, and for a moment you just sit there with your mouth open, thinking furiously. Jennifer grins wide. “A wonderful pet buddy or best sex??” And at that, she starts to laugh a bit, patting your knee. You’re lost! “Impossible!”

“I know what I’d pick-“

“Yeah I know what you would pick. Evil one.”

She laughs some more.

Evilly.

After a couple of minutes of that, her teasing you and you thinking, you finally decide. Although, you only say it very, very quietly and into a pillow, so no higher power hears and grants it.

After that, you feel the need to be evil as well and think for a few moments deeply about wat to ask her… then come up with something perfect. You smirk at her over your pillow and sit it back down on your lap, still holding it. “If the world was ending, and it was up to you to save it, and you did want to save it, and you had to sleep with someone to do that… who would it be?” She immediately opens her mouth to say a name, but you quickly, mischievously hold up your hand halt her, and add the evilness. “Thing is!! It has to be one of the Slasher boys that you live with. Patrick and Carrie don’t count.”

Like you did before, she stops. Slowly closes her mouth, and looks off into the distance. Stuck. “Uh, so… one of… Bubba, Chucky, Freddy, Jason, Billy, Stu, or Michael?”

Oh, damn. You think, realising you forgot to cast out Billy and Stu. Well, that was a bust attempt at causing her strife-

“That’s impossible! What the fuck??”

Oh, okay. That’s kind of sad for Billy and Stu… But, uh, good for you!

The creepy group outside the door, which has grown a few more hands and legs belonging to Billy and Jason. The former only being there as he was trying to stop them from being weird but had given up and got tired, so he sat down. Now he was, apparently, apart of this. Somehow.

Billy is here because his DVD player got jammed.

After hearing Y/N’s question, multiple reactions come from these Slashers.

1. Chucky and Freddy are very creepy and partake in some wolfish grinning that frightens Bubba and puts off Jason.

2. Stu goes very, very red, and grins a little goofy. He shut down the moment the question was issued, so he didn’t hear the incriminatingly insulting thing that Jennifer hinted about him.

3. Bubba also goes bright red, and covers his face.

4. And Billy pauses momentarily, having caught the ego crushing material, then takes a deep breath and sits up straighter. “Oof, so, lets lay some bets?”

Billy holds up 10 fingers, sitting cross legged the furthest away from the door or wall, in general. “For Jen saying Michael.” The said shape of Haddonfield turns gruffly to the Ghostface original, who shrugs and grins his knowing grin. “I could explain it to you, but then you would think I checked you out.”

“Oh no, but in reality, you just watch his movie once a month- once a week in 91.” Stu narrowly escapes Billy’s wrath, ducking out of the way and practically into Bubba’s lap when his friends reaches for his hair. Michael just deeply sighs, along with Jason and continues to watch.

“Moving on from that borderline embarrassing bit of information that I’m sure we’re all going to ridicule you for later, I have a bet too. Since you think she’ll pick Michael, I’ll put 50 on myself.”

“30 on Billy. Despite, his gayness.” Freddy adds, preoccupied listening into the living room, but never too preoccupied to tease.

“I’m not gay!”

“Its okay, Billy, its 2020. You can be open with us.”

“Fuck you man, you suck, you’re going down on the favourite Slasher list.”

Freddy just giggles at that, turning his full concentration back on Jennifer.

Jason sighs deeply, his shoulders literally raising and falling in an obvious effort to make it noticeable. It is noticeable, its just that no one cares that he disapproves. He sighs again, this time quieter to himself, in hopelessness. He refuses to gamble on this.

Stu holds up a hand full of fingers and a thumb, five. “On Y/N picking Jason.” Michael nods to that, agreeing and holding up both his hands, 4 times. He’s got 40 on Y/N picking Jason. Jason himself looks specifically at his fellow voiceless murderer Michael, in horror. He thought better, of him. Michael only shrugs in response, like ‘You shouldn’t have though so highly of me. That was stupid.’. besides, its October, he’s naturally bound to take more risks. Plus, he’s had an odd inkling, that Y/N’s liked Jason for a while. She comes over a lot for Jennifer, but sometimes she hangs with Jason instead.

Chucky smirks at the interaction. “As I’m obligated to always contradict everyone else, I’m going to bet fifty-five, on her picking Freddy.”

“Oh. Hell no.” Billy butts in, unhappy with these high ass numbers. “I’ve been flirting with Y/N for weeks. It’ll pay off, she’ll pick me.”

Bubba doesn’t bet. He remembers how Drayton and Chop Top get when they used to bet on horses, and it wasn’t pretty. He doesn’t want to be like that, no.

Jennifer’s still thinking a couple minutes later, and you’re starting to worry when she finally moves. And flops back on her mattress that she’d had Bubba carry down here for her, in the hopelessness of it all. You will be sleeping on the couch, but you’re on her mattress too right now for until you go to sleep. If you go to sleep. This particular question may take some time.

“Uhh… lets see… “You crawl up to her head and plonk down where you can see her face. She chews on the inside of her cheek, and then starts to think out loud for your benefit. “Billy’s our age, and so pretty,” You nod, understanding. He is very pretty. “But… “

“But?”

“Well, but… Michael is so big!” She throws her arms onto the mattress on either side of her body for emphasis, causing you to open your mouth and raise your eyebrows and the boldness, then laugh and nod at the same time. Yeah… yeah… that true too…

And a very interesting point… You think to yourself, dusting a gentle pink across your cheeks.

“Y/N, no. This is not a laughing matter!” She’s grinning, though.

You raise your hands, playing surrender. “No, no, of course not! I’ll stop!”

“You better.”

“Stop fucking around!” Freddy exclaims, not loud enough for either of the girls to hear of course. He grits his teeth. “I’m betting on the outcome of your decision, bitch! Shut up and say ‘Billy’!”

“So… “Chucky starts to rethink his decision to bet. “What happens if they don’t decide? Is the game off, or… ?”

Billy halts for a moment, then looks at Bubba for a second. “Oh, yeah Bubba? You think the money should go to the new TV fund?? Well, if you say so!”

Bubba immediately looks panicked and confused, a serious squawk escaping him aimed towards the others. He didn’t say that! He didn’t even think that! Honestly, he thinks it’s should go towards a chicken coup…

Jason quickly pats Bubba’s shoulder, still in a perpetual state of exasperation and tired, but still wanting to assure Bubba that, they know. Billy’s full of crap, we know you didn’t say that.

Finally, Jennifer decides and makes an ‘Ah!’ sound, moving her finger from her lips thoughtfully, to the air excitedly. She sits up and faces you.

Oh, this is very serious. It must be. It demands eye contact. “You’ve decided?

“Yes.” Her finger lowers to her shoulder height. “Okay so, I simply boiled it down to a science.”

“You did?” You ask, just humouring her.

“Yes. So,” She starts counting off Slashers from her list of possibilities with her fingers. “First of all, Freddy killed his wife. So, he’s out.” Well that makes sense. “And Billy tried to kill his girlfriend, so even though he’s sexy, he isn’t trustworthy either, so he’s gone too.” So far so good. “Jason’s rotting away, and ‘Au Decaying’ doesn’t really stimulate me to do anything apart from spray him with anti-bacterial and Hello kitty deodorant, despite his wonderful shoulders.” Oh, yes. Jason does have nice shoulders. “Then Bubba’s flesh mask is a complete turn off, Chucky’s a Good Guy, not a bad boy. And Stu’s a weirdo.”

You nod, a smile reaching your lips and the pure simplicity of her end decision, coming to the only conclusion. “So… Michael.”

“Yeah!”

“I don’t think he showers regularly.”

“Eh, neither do a lot of the boys I eat.”

Stu is gaping, very wide and very deeply. “A weirdo??” He looks in disbelief to his best friend and the victor. Michael nods, being hurtfully honest with the kid and Billy comforts him with a shoulder pat. He is also reeling. He hadn’t previously identified his Sydney fiasco as a warning for other girls… maybe he should have. This could be an issue.

“Yeah… man, you are a weirdo.”

“Thanks so much, buddy.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

“Bad boy?” Chucky asks, pleasantly surprised. He turns to Bubba, who’s looking indignantly at the door because his fashion is ahead of their time! “Do I have bad boy energy?”

Freddy sulks. “Oh… I get it… “

Jason rolls his eyes at them all. They’re all ridiculous!

“What about you?” Jennifer asks, turning the tables on you.

“Me?” You squeak.

“Yeah, you.”

“Well… “You square your shoulders, ready in the face of a challenge. “Well, lemme see… Well, Jason is strong, and sweet- “

“Oh yes.” You wince, at Jennifer’s sudden cold tone, as she squinty glares at you. “I know you think Jason’s sweet. You’ve abandoned me multiple times, to ang with him the kitchen! Betrayal!”

“Aha… ah… well, moving on! Chucky’s got a very hot aura!” You quickly push on, afraid of your friend’s wrath about Jason. “A-and, um… He’s also very handsome as a human, so I guess it wouldn’t be bad if he were in that form… “ Jennifer breaks out into a grin, glad to have made you stutter a bit, and back to her good mood. You sigh, back muscles relaxing. Evil girl.

“Yes, and the rest…?” Oh, she still wants you to answer the question, okay.

“Well. Stu’s tall, and rich. Which, of course, isn’t a deal maker but it’s a good point to mention.” Jennifer nods solemnly at that. “Michael provides a very nice… well, err, he would make a nice nude model. And Freddy’s got a really attractive voice, which I don’t think he knows which is very good thing, don’t let him know. And, Bubba’s so sweet. And Billy… is Billy. I don’t know what to say, he’s been flirting with me for weeks now.”

Jennifer rolls her eyes. “Mood.”

“I’m… Billy.” Billy grins, feeling proud of his persona for a moment and puffing out his chest in pride. Chucky gazes at Jason, like ‘Yeah, I guess he is the whole package… ‘, and Jason himself scotches away from the ginger doll. “I knew she was picking it up! I learnt all I know from movi-“

“Me, you know all you know from me.” Freddy cuts through, deadpanned.

“Which explains why she wasn’t jumping for joy when she mentioned it.” Chucky yawns.

“Hey!!” Chucky gets a chuckle out of that reaction from the two.

“Who cares?! This girl is just after my money!!” Stu exclaims, looking hopeless. He chuckles, haughtily then and crosses his arms. “Well guess what? None of its mine! It belongs to my parents! So, ha!” Michael shakes his head and looks disappointedly at the teenager. That doesn’t help your case… It really does not…

“Well Charlie, maybe I don’t need to flirt. My voice does it for them,” A devious smirk slips across Freddy’s face and he evilly cackles after a moment. Jason looks severely exasperated at him, and Freddy just sticks out his tongue. “Jealous.”

Bubba is touched that they think he’s sweet. That’s nice.

___ NOW MAKE YOUR DECISION! ___

Billy Loomis:

“I’m gonna have to disagree with you, Jen.” You grin and can’t help it. Its sort of a nice thought, to have to fuck Billy. “Billy’s the only choice.”

She scoffs and throws some of her popcorn at you.

Billy stretches and yawns, like he’s so very exhausted of that thing called being fuckable, and turns to look weirdly smug at Michael. “That’s right, only competition. She chose me.”

“-Only competition!? Excuse you, former bud!” Stu smacks his friend, scowling.

“Well that is what you get for outing my obsession with the Halloween movies to Michael fucking Myers.”

“You bitter thing!”

Bubba Sawyer:

“Aww, Bubba.” You decide, finally truly thinking about the cinnamon roll. You smile. “It has to be Bubba. He’s the cutest, and the nicest one here.” Jennifer makes a ‘yuck’ face.

“The mask??”

“That can be removed.” You reply quickly.

Bubba blushes brightly in the dimness of the hallway, pulling away from the wall he was listening to, between Stu and Jason continues to look bashful and gooey at the floor for a little while, until Jason realises he’s going to have to guide him home to hid basement bedroom and looks deeply unamused about it. But, still kind of happy for his-pseudo brother.

“BUBBA?! Who bet on Bubba?!”

Chucky/Charles Lee Ray:

Lowly, with an embarrassed, dark blush on your face, you mutter. “Chucky… “ Jennifer looks two seconds from king shaming you, so you rush to add. “In human form!! Dear God.”

“Oh… “She doesn’t look convinced, making you roll your eyes. “Yeah, sure. You tell yourself that. You go be nasty on the couch.”

Chucky looks smugly at everyone, in turn, very, very happy with the outcome of that despite not winning the bet. “Yeah.” Freddy scowls at him.

“Don’t you look at me.”

“Yep, me.” Chucky ignores him. “Suck it.”

Freddy Krueger:

Realising who it would have to be, you widen your eyes and consider lying. But of course, decide to be honest. “Uh… well, um, Freddy… yup.”

She raises her eyebrows. “What if he goes batshit and tries to choke you to death?”

You laugh, at that. “Honestly, I do think choking would be a part of it, but in the case of danger I’ll just call you!” You grin cheerily at her. “Best friend!”

“Aye,”

“I don’t understand her.” Chucky feels the need to inform everyone. “But I just one the bet so good on her.”

“Four weeks, of my wonderful flirting, and I’m stabbed in the gut.” Billy groans, and throws is money on the floor. Shaking his head, he gets up and leaves, put out.

Stu sniggers, and gets up to follow him, turning back just to tell the others. “He’ll never recover.”

Freddy looks like he thinks he’s just won an Oscar. “I’d like to say a couple words!”

“Oh, christ.”

“I’d like to thank all my competitors for losing, and uh,” he finishes shining one of his knives on the edge of his jumper. “I promise to say hi to Y/N for you all later tonight when I visit her in her dreams.” Michael facepalms.

Jason Voorhees:

Finally, you decide and nod your head firmly. And exclaim, cheerily. “Jason! He’s perfect, I love, what a guy.”

When you look at Jennifer, immediately you let out a ‘YAH!’ scream and jump back, seeing her horrifying aura.

“I NEW THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON!”

“Stop itttttttttt!”

Stu facepalms. “Why did I only bet five???”

On the other hand, Michael smirks proudly under his mask, collecting his money. Yep, Jason. What a guy, indeed.

Everyone else, looks to the hockey mask wearing Slasher, who this whole time was against their listening and betting. How will he react?

He… has gone into silent shock. He may need some minutes alone. You… him?? You would pick him??? You… would pick him?? He raises his eyebrows under his mask like ‘Oh’. What is he supposed to do with this information?

“Yeah, I know hockey puck. This may be a shock for you, being ugly and all, but- Jason?”

Jason’s already up walking thoughtfully down the hall.

Michael Myers:

“Ahh, I have to agree with you. Totally Michael.”

“Told you!”

Michael but sits and experiences his punishment, which is many, many upset Slasher outcry’s.

“Both of them??!”

“Greedy bitch.”

“How??”

Michael sighs, and turns to an indifferent Jason for help. Jason looks at him and feels zero remorse for him, he brought this upon himself. He should not have been betting and spying.

Stu Macher:

“Well, these are all… interesting choices,” You start, cautious. “But, um… I think will go with Stu. Very cute, very funny. Very not connected to anything rotting, and... less stabby, then the others..”

“Well, that’s true. Probably a good choice.”

“Yeah,” You smile. “Okay, so, moving on. About that movie… “

Stu has this goofy ass, shocked, love struck look on his face that makes the rest of them a little nervous for about 2 seconds. Chucky takes the initiative pokes him. “Hey, Daffy Duck, what wrong with your fac- “

The 2 seconds ended, and so does Stu’s quiet, as he lunges up and grabs the doorknob, ready to throw it open and rush on in there and blow all their covers. Michael immediately shoots to action and grabs Stu’s leg to stop him, fighting not to let Stu shake him off. Everyone tries to vein to persuade him not to go, shut him up and clam him down, but their efforts are weak compared to the power of a horny teenager.

“Hey, hey!” Chucky exclaims, through everyone’s panicked whispered, grunts and frantic arm waiving, patting Michael on the shoulder. “… he’s gone.” With that out, Chucky shoots down the hallways as fast as his little legs can take him. Michael and Billy follow, because like hell they are going to get caught because Stu’s stupid, and Stu bursts into living room, revealing the other 3 still on the floor in the doorway… Freddy, incriminatingly on his knees just where the crack in the door would be, slowly, awkwardly waives and Jason bows his head in apology.

Bubba bolts.

#Slashers x Reader #Jennifer Check x Reader #Sleepover Oneshot #Slashers x Reader Oneshot #Stu Macher x Reader #Billy Loomis x Reader #Ghostface x Reader #Jason Voorhees x Reader #Chucky x Reader #Charles Lee Ray x Reader #Michael Myers x Reader #Freddy Krueger x Reader #Slashers

789 notes · View notes

scottymcgeesterwrites · 3 years

Text

Final Fantasy VII Review

Year: 1997

Original Platform: PlayStation One

Also available on: PC, PlayStation Store

Version I Played: PlayStation One

Synopsis:

The Shinra Electric Power Company rules over the city of Midgar, and the eco-terrorists AVALANCHE stop at nothing to try and prevent the life essence of the planet from being used as energy. Barrett, leader of AVALANCHE, hires a mercenary named Cloud Strife for their bombing mission on a Shinra Mako Reactor. Cloud doesn’t care much for the greater cause and only wants his pay. But then, after a mission goes awry, he meets Aerith, a flower girl who is the descendant of the Ancients. He quickly finds himself wrapped up in the greater conflict against Shinra.

Gameplay:

Final Fanatasy VII utilizes magic spells via Materia – little orbs that come in a variety of colors pertaining to the natural elements. You can mix and match them on your weapons and equipment, which gives you access to different spells and stats. All your equipment varies with the number of slots for how many Materia orbs you can put in. Leveling up not only upgrades the character but the equipped Materia as well.

Final Fantasy VII also uses an ATB system but is known for introducing Limit Breaks – finishing moves that build up after the character gets hit over time. Final Fantasy VI had a prototype called Desperation Attack – but it was very rare as it only appeared when your character had 1/8 of their total HP, and there was a 1 in 6 chance of performing the Desperation Attack after selecting Attack. I actually had no idea that was a thing until long after I finished the game, and never experienced it when I played Final Fantasy VI.

Graphics:

Out of all the Final Fantasy games, I have to say that this one has not aged well. It has the worst graphics of the entire series. The battle and cinematic graphics are passable.

(Most of the graphics power seemed to be put in Tifa’s, uh, bosom.)

But the characters in towns, the overworld, and in-game cutscenes are incredibly blocky. PC versions are supposedly sharper, but the PlayStation One version makes it nigh impossible to see any facial expressions.

The graphics are definitely a product of its time. I always say that the beginning of 3D gaming was essentially like puberty – awkward and full of zits. It wasn’t yet at that stage where it could be aesthetically pleasing. We marveled about it when it was first released, yes, but then we cringed in retrospect.

The environment backdrops however are probably the strongest points, where they capture the industrial nature of Midgar, the reactors and other such buildings.

Story:

Final Fantasy VII became legendary the minute Square released it. Every aspect was memorable. Part of it could be due to the fact that it was the first Final Fantasy game to enter the 3D realm. Another part was Tetsuya Nomura’s character designs, which hit the cool meter to the point of sub-zero.

The cinematics blew our minds. The opening action scene with Cloud, Barrett, and the rest of AVALANCHE attacking Shinra’s mako reactor is the most memorable opening to a Final Fantasy game. Period. Final Fantasy games really do know how to start at the right spot, no matter how good or bad the overall game is. The opening is always the best part.

Then there was the motorcycle chase. Cid’s airship. The gun fights. Battles with Sephiroth. The extra stuff to find, like summons and extra bosses. So much was jam-packed into the game.

But the story was the primary factor in making VII famous. It’s definitely one of the better ones. Man, the story became so famous that even gamers who haven’t touched a Final Fantasy game knew the major spoilers. It is the equivalent to knowing Darth Vader’s line, “I am your father” without having actually watched Star Wars.

Aerith (Aeris in the English releases) Gainsborough – the innocent flower girl who holds the secrets of the Ancients – develops a romance with Cloud and fucking dies at the end of Disc 1 by the main villain – Sephiroth. The scene shocked everyone and practically made headlines. Everybody has seen the horrible image in one way or another.

It seems to me that since Final Fantasy V, the stories have gotten more and more used to main character deaths, ultimately transforming into a heavy-hitting TV series rather than simply a video game series. In other words – it matured. Looking back, Final Fantasy IV appears to be child’s play and a prototype of later dramatic storylines with fully realized worlds.

Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to create a world much like ours – one with cars and trains and airplanes and machine guns and even cellphones. The main city of Midgar reflects industrialization at its worst, with miles of slums and claustrophobic cities. Shinra Electric Power Company is a reflection of capitalism at its worst - a single entity in charge of so much that it’s pretty much the government. For the first time in a Final Fantasy game, you play as characters who dance between the morally ambiguous line of terrorism and activism. Funny enough, the theme of neglecting the planet resonates with us now more than ever. This game ended up being rather prophetic about the uncontrollable growth of corporations.

While the story is memorable with many intriguing elements, the plot itself is a tangled web. In my opinion, they really hashed in so many things that it’s easy to forget crucial details. It’s not straightforward, but at the same time everything does connect by the end. While Shinra is the driving force as a whole as the villain, Sephiroth takes over, then you learn about his backstory and then with the evil scientist Hojo and the extra-terrestrial Jenova and then “Weapon” and then the planet’s history and this and that and the other thing.

If I were to put Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII together and contrast them, as many gamers do, I would find that Final Fantasy VII is the summer blockbuster and Final Fantasy VI is the Oscar winner. Final Fantasy VII started introducing the sappy romance subplot to the series. A love triangle forms among Aerith, Cloud, and Cloud’s childhood friend Tifa. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a love triangle, the writing is like watching middle schoolers trying to express their feelings. Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IV treated any romance with dignity and realism.

But maybe I’m being a bit harsh. After all, Cloud Strife did go through some suffering as an adolescent. His backstory clearly drives his antisocial behavior, so that becomes a good arc.

The goofiest but memorable part of the story deals with Don Corneo and Wall Market and running around store to store doing tasks in order to free Tifa from Don Corneo. It ends with Cloud needing to cross-dress as a woman to get inside Don’s mansion. Because, you know, it’s not like Cloud can just break in with his sword and Aerith’s magic or anything like that. But whatever. It’s anime.

The recent Final Fantasy VII Remake for the PS4 seems to streamline the story, and actually enhances the emotions they were trying to deliver in the original. I will be talking about the remake in a separate post altogether since I’m almost done with it at the time of this writing. But there’s a lot that I want to say about comparing and contrasting the remake and the original.

The latter half of the plot takes a couple weird turns. At one point, Cloud became catatonic and confined to a wheelchair.

That part of the game became the sluggish part for me. Sephiroth also tries to confuse Cloud, which confused me. Cloud apparently suffers from some alternate subconscious mumbo-jumbo and like. . .ungh. I get an aneurysm thinking about it sometimes.

Complicated plotlines like Final Fantasy VII start showing up from here on out in the Final Fantasy series. The trend of bishonen characters also begin here, bishonen being the Japanese term for “beautiful boy.” Cloud and Sephiroth have that look. The series starts hashing in sappier romances and much more of an anime feel.

Final Fantasy VII ultimately marked the start of a new era for the series – introducing both cool and overused tropes.

Music:

Hands down the best Final Fantasy soundtrack of all.

The entire soundtrack of this game is memorable. The opening tune, with its light twinkle when the stars show up, is enough to make any gamer know exactly what that’s from.

With a story set in a more modern world, we have music that is more modern. After Final Fantasy VI had a more serious and operatic score, Uematsu displayed his love of progressive rock here. The motorcycle chase incorporates a lot of synth, which was fitting for zipping through the streets of Midgar. However, Final Fantasy VII is the first Final Fantasy game without that familiar starting bassline for the battle them. The battle theme is instantly recognizable but also radically different from its predecessors. It’s dramatic and displays danger.

Meanwhile, the boss theme is one of the best boss themes in the series, or any video game really. It’s an electrifying progressive rock piece, and it’s my personal favorite boss theme.

youtube

The more instrumental pieces are somber, given the dreary atmosphere of the planet. The world map music is very different from its predecessors. It’s romantic one moment, soaring the next, and then dips into foreboding terror. I guess that sums up the story of Final Fantasy VII.

And we cannot leave out One-Winged Angel, which I will talk about below.

Notable Theme:

Without a doubt, One-Winged Angel – played during the terrifying final battle against Sephiroth – is the most memorable piece of music in Final Fantasy VII.

youtube

It may very well be the most popular song of the entire series. Nobuo Uematsu was inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It’s a whopping 30 something minute classical piece. If you look it up on YouTube and browse through it, you can definitely note the similarities. However, Uematsu didn’t want some boring classical introduction to the piece. He wanted to add the destructive impact of rock. The theme has a very distinct stamping-your-foot-down quality to it.

I had noticed a certain piece-by-piece feel of the song and that’s exactly how Uematsu composed it. This is the only song that Uematsu has composed where he created several tunes in his head and then rearranged them to make a single comprehensive song.

If you want to get technical, One-Winged Angel is the first Final Fantasy song with lyrics. The chorus sings in Latin about Sephiroth’s burning anger, with some lyrics actually taken from the medieval poem Carmina Burana. It sounds fantastic when fully orchestrated.

In Advent Children, the animated sequel to Final Fantasy VII, the music is accompanied by hardcore metal. This new rendition really illustrates the destructive power of Sephiroth. Uematsu changed the lyrics for Advent Children. They are more original now. I specifically noticed the lyrics “Veni, veni, mi fili”, which translates to “Come, come, my son.” Sephiroth is inviting you so he can kill you.

youtube

Uematsu has stated that the original orchestration didn’t sit well with him. As I suspected, Advent Children’s hardcore metal version is the one he preferred, the one he would have composed had he the technology at the time of Final Fantasy VII.

Verdict:

Another must-play for any RPG fan, even if you think it’s overrated. It’s a must-play because of its popularity, in the same way that people are wide-eyed when you say you haven’t seen Star Wars or such-and-such other popular movie. It’s a whole lot of fun, especially in the scenes that involve other forms of gameplay, such as the motorcycle chase and even a battlefield strategy game in protecting Fort Condor.

Direct Sequel?

Yes – first there was the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

I actually watched Advent Children before playing Final Fantasy VII. I had already known most of what happened in the game and Advent Children became a monumental craze when it first came out. Everybody was talking about it. Watching the sequel before playing the game skewers your interpretation of things. My first impression of Cloud was that he was always whiny and angsty, and meanwhile Tifa kept nagging him to move on. I felt really bad for Cloud losing Aerith.

Then when I actually played Final Fantasy VII, I saw that Cloud starts as this badass mercenary. Tifa is spunky and clearly is the better choice (IMO) but Cloud is enamored by Aerith after only meeting her briefly. WHAT? Cloud. Bro. Make a move on Tifa, you nitwit. Tifa is AMAZING.

Square Enix then continued the story with Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII. This video game sequel focuses on Vincent Valentine, a fan favorite of the original game.

Let me remind you about something – the original game revealed Shinra’s inner deep secret experiments, namely with Sephiroth and Jenova. Dirge of Cerberus introduces an even deeper research team within Shinra called Deepground. I don’t know about you, but it already sounds like the start of a terribly redundant string of sequels, like how the Jason Bourne movies keep revealing an even deeper level of conspiracy theories. Vincent’s mysterious background is now fully revealed. He is defined by – guess what? – another angsty lost lover story, this time with a woman named Lucrecia. Now, okay, look, maybe I’m just being a dick about these types of love stories. But when it keeps popping up within the same series in the same manner, I start asking if you have anything else to offer on your menu.

Lastly, there is the prequel for the PSP – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Of all the games in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core has received the most positive reception. If anything, play that after playing Final Fantasy VII before bothering with anything else.

Oh, and of course there is the Final Fantasy VII Remake, which we thought wasn’t going to happen for the longest time but they finally released it in April 2020. More on that later after I finish it, and after I post my entire series of Final Fantasy reviews!

25 notes · View notes

you-are-my-neverland · 3 years

Text

so. it’s finally time to talk about [my] nano.

i’ve kept my nano project pretty under wraps so far, mostly because it’s been out of my hands. i wasn’t actually planning on doing a for real for real nano; instead, i thought i would dedicate some time to my fanfic (spoiler alert, but i haven’t yet) or work on finishing up revising fairbone (spoiler alert: i did revise one chapter, but i still have like half of it left to go and a nov 30 deadline...rip). if that didn’t work, i thought i would pick a wip i started over the summer or one i had half developed (let’s just say the ideas note i have really boomed over the summer and like...yeah). in conclusion, there were many wips ready for me to work on them, including ash heart, which i really want to write but haven’t figured out how to.

instead i started a new wip.

well, it’s not necessarily new, persay. it’s an idea i’ve had stewing since like late september/early october and planned out a good portion of. however, deciding to start it was a last minute decision - and by last decision, i mean that on october 31st i finished developing the barebones of character development and basic plot lol and then gave it a go. it’s honestly been going crazy well. as of today (november 9th), i just hit 21.2k words. i’m hopeful about this year, while also not wanting to jinx stuff, but like...wow. but writing is has made me realize that, wow, this book is going to be crazy long probably...like i’m 21k words in and we’re still like in the exposition idk what’s going on. but hey, i finished planning out the rest of the basic plot for it today!!!

right. onto the wip details.

honestly, the only reason i haven’t introduced this wip is because a) i want actual stuff done on it and like a proven commitment, because i feel like too often i introduce wips i don’t actually go anywhere with and i hate it, b) i don’t have a set title and c) i actually have no idea how to summarize this.

the novel i’m working on right now is the first of a projected trilogy. i say projected because i have a vague idea that it belongs to a trilogy, but like not a lot of plot except some vaguely connected ideas that should happen in the future. in it, i used a lot of characters from these violent ends, which i tried to write for camp april 2020, but like just their basic barebones; i changed a lot to fit the story, of course.

not to sound nerdy, but it is like....harry potter inspired, but ONLY in the magical boarding school sense. of course, right now all i have is magical boarding school shenanigans, which i don’t really like because i feel like it unfairly sets the book up as like fun magical stuff when it’s really about murder & politics & student activism (+ a lot of other things ending in -ism). the whole activism part came from watching the trial of the chicago 7 and i was like, bingo, this is what this story needs.

kay but ANYWAYS. onto the story. like i said, i can’t really summarize it, but there are lots of themes of classism, feminism, the affect on youth and youth’s effect, manipulative adults, revolution, terrorism, sibling dynamics and found family vibes, like all that stuff...packaged into a magical boarding school off the coast of maine setting...recipe for disaster!

mainly i’ve been writing in ophelia’s pov, because she’s my main girl and she’s problematic, but also she’s trying her best and just having a little difficulty fitting in. some other main characters are her twin brother, sebastian, and two other boys, asriel and vincent, who have an initially animistic relationship with ophelia (& kind of each other?) but it’s like enemies to friends (to lovers?).

anyways. here are some carefully curated excerpts below the cut:

i. vincent and asriel meet on a train (ch. 1)

The boy pursed his lips together. “It’s unusual,” he said, finally. “That’s all.” But he was looking at Vincent as if he was noticing him, which meant he was lying, or at least withholding the truth about something. He added, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Do you mean geographically?” Vincent replied, raising an eyebrow. “Because I’m from New York.”

A small glimmer of a smile appeared on the boy’s lips, though it vanished as quickly as it had come. “From the Magical World,” he clarified.

“What gives it away?” Vincent asked sarcastically, waving a hand across his body. “My impeccable taste?”

“Among other things,” the boy said.

ii. sebastian and ophelia discuss grief on a ferry (ch.2 )

“You and mom talked?” Ophelia asked, surprised. She hadn’t exactly been keeping track of them, but she was sure she and Sebastian had spent much of the day together, as they were wont to do.

Sebastian looked at the floor. “Yeah,” he answered, hoarsely. “At least she wants to talk about Des. Dad doesn’t, and neither do you.”

Ophelia sighed, wondering why, today of all days, her sister was haunting them. Maybe it was because there should have been three people heading to Rijevduct, instead of two. Maybe Mother Magic was reminded of the loss of one of her own.

“I’ve let her go,” she said. “You should too. We have too much of our lives ahead of us to mourn Desdemona forever.”

“I don’t mourn,” Sebastian said, words uncharacteristically sharp. “But I do grieve.”

“Isn’t that basically the same thing,” Ophelia mumbled, closing her eyes and feeling the press of a headache behind them.

“Sorrow,” Sebastian said, the word a soft shudder. “And sad endings.”

“What?”

“That’s what makes a good tragedy,” Sebastian answered. “I read it in a book.”

iii. headmistress alexeyev gives a speech (ch. 2)

“Eight years ago, seventy two students were slaughtered here. Some died on the very spot where you now stand today.” Ophelia glanced down at the floor, seeing the motion repeated instinctively around her as well. She looked over at Sebastian, who had closed his eyes instead, a pale flush meeting the faint color in his cheeks. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, tennis shoes scraping against stone as he toed them against the floor, as if he was shaking something only visible to him off.

“It was a tragedy,” Headmistress Alexeyev continued. “I say this because it is the truth. It was a tragedy, and not one that should never have happened.” She inhaled; Ophelia saw her chest rise, shoulders with it, in a sharp motion before she exhaled, body rearranging itself into poise once more. “I speak of this to tell you to assure you that Rijevduct is safe. I know there have been continuous doubts over the security of this school since that day eight years ago. I cannot, of course, guarantee that you will not come to any harm here. I cannot tell you that Rijevduct is the safe haven you were taught it was growing up; events have already proved that it is, in fact, not as impenetrable as one might think.”

Ophelia frowned, confused as to the line of reasoning. She had thought the whole point of the year of transition was to make sure that Rijevduct was infinitely more safer than it had been—and they had all been under the assumption that Rijevduct was virtually impenetrable until the massacre, which had led to the heightened security measures they saw today.

“I can, however, promise you that I, and everyone here today, will do anything in their power to keep you safe,” the Headmistress said. Next to Ophelia, Briar bowed her head, lowering her eyes and swallowing, the action almost a convulsion of her throat and mouth. Ophelia brushed her hand, lightly, in question, and the other girl just shook her head, looking away purposefully, so that Ophelia lost sight of her face and her sad eyes.

“These next three years will be far from easy. Gone are the sheltered lives where your parents could kiss your injuries goodbye, or sing you to sleep at night. Rijevduct is far from the cold, real world, but it is close enough when it comes to not asking you what you want first. This is an adjustment period. This is learning how to survive—and I will tell you this; surviving means many different things to many different people. You will have to decide on your own what this will mean for you, and how you will apply what you are taught here to your futures. Be wise. Be proud. Be humble. Cry. Laugh. Live. As your Headmistress, I, along with your professors, will be here throughout your time.” She raised her glass, “To the worthy,” and then drank, turning and walking back to her seat, which she lowered herself into gracefully.

iv. sebastian pov! (ch. 3)

There was a dead girl in Sebastian’s first period Magical Theory class. She was sitting diagonal from him, on the Glass side of the classroom, in an empty chair, staring straight ahead at the chalkboard. Sebastian tried not to look at her too obviously, his eyes straying from the open book in front of him to her cautiously, beneath the sleeve of his sweater.

She was sitting blankly in the chair, scraping her shoes against the ground, though they could not leave any scuff marks. Though she was the same faded shades most girls were, Sebastian could make out her pleated pale blue plaid skirt, which brushed around her knees, and the stained white blouse that might have once been spotless, but had been marred forever by the circumstances surrounding her death—objectively, that was to say, with blood. Her dark brown hair fell into loose curls around her shoulders, little silver studs glinting dimly, unable to catch the light. Her knee high socks now pooled around her calves and ankles, revealing a rotting bandaid on one of her knees. One of her tennis shoes was peeling at the toes, looking as if it had been ripped apart.

Her fingernails had all been pulled off. Sebastian was good at analyzing ghosts by this point; he recognized the bloody flesh and bone of the nail bed. There was also blood matted across her head, trickling down her temple, with bruises covering her body; they peeked out from beneath the collar of her shirt, blackened across her cheekbones with a sunken quality in particular to one of her cheeks, as if the bone had begun to cave.

Subjectively, she was far from one of the worst that Sebastian had seen.

#writers on tumblr #writing #creative writing #nano 2020 #nanowrimo 2020 #nano update #11.9.2020 #enjoy these excerpts they are not so trash after all #this is all so messy #but i didn't want to ss because it will look ugly #this should be called i explain my nano2020 w/o explaining anything #i want to make a point with this but also]#magical boarding school shenanigans TT #like it's bothering me how it has like a different start than its end but maybe that will be good in the end?#who knows who knows #anyways if i tried to actually explain my wip we would be here all night

9 notes · View notes

shadow-assassin-blix · 3 years

Text

It’s a Grey Area

CHAPTER 7

A/N: Okay... so. I kinda sped through a lot of the plot in ep 9, and changed some things obviously. Um. Next chapter will finish up ep 9 but the adventure shall continue. There is a character death. Umm. The dream sequence will make more sense eventually. That’s all for now! Enjoy!

Taglist: @mikeisthricedeceased (if you want to be added to list please lemme know)

About an hour had passed, and Poe woke up slowly. He turned his head to look down at Blix who was passed out on his chest. He smiled softly at her, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, before gingerly trying to move out from under her. He didn’t want to wake her up, so his movements had to be gentle.

Once he was up, he tucked the blanket firmly around her, and let her sleep some more. He made his way into the cockpit where Rey and Finn sat, talking lowly.

He takes his seat in the copilot and checks their position. They were approximately 30 minutes away from Kijimi.

“Blix still asleep?” Rey asked with a small yawn.

“Yeah. She hasn’t been sleeping well, so I try to let her get as much sleep as she can,” Poe explained checking the systems.

Blix was currently dreaming and the dreams… rapidly became confusing and terrifying.

*Dream*

Blix looked around trying to figure out where she was. She was on spaceship but couldn’t figure out what kind. She heard voices speaking.

“We are picking up lifeforms?”

“Where?”

“Scarif”

“That’s impossible, no one could’ve survived the Death Star destroying it,”

“Scarif was only half destroyed. It is possible”

The scenery changed. She saw her mother, at a table, crying. She held a photo in her hand, but she couldn’t see of whom. Her grandfather’s lightsaber sat on the table.

She tried to call out to her but found she couldn’t speak.

The scene changed again, and she was surrounded in darkness.

A gravelly voice began to speak into her mind.

“Ahhh. A Kenobi. I’m quite surprised. He never seemed the type. Why do you fight for a side that has caused you so much pain? You said it yourself… Being a Jedi is dangerous when a Skywalker exists. Join me. Together, my granddaughter and you could create greatness. Such power the two of you would have, all you’d have to do is say yes. Yes, to the Dark side.”

She glared deep into the void and tried fighting the numerous voices that were now filtering into her mind. She heard her family, Poe, and everyone she cared about telling her to say yes.

She clamped her hands over ears, trying to drown them out. She eventually felt herself scream.

A scream that could be heard in the outside world.

Poe hearing her cry, jumped up and ran out to her. She was thrashing in her sleep, trying to fight off something invisible. He began to shout her name.

“Blix! BLIX! C’MON HONEY WAKE UP!” He called out, trying to shake her gently.

She could hear his voice. Hear him trying to wake her up. So, she ran to where it was loudest. More images kept flashing before her eyes, more confusion as to what she was being told, before finally---

She jerked away, her head smashing into Poe’s. She winced atthe throbbing pain in her head from both the hit and what she had seen. She shakily wrapped her arms around him, trying to find comfort.

Poe briefly said ‘ow’ before pulling her into his arms, shushing her lightly as sobs began to rack through her body.

She tried so hard to calm down, but she could feel herself panicking as she remembered more and more. He held onto her the entire time, pulling her in as close as he could. He would press kisses to her face and forehead trying to soothe her.

It took several minutes before her sobs became sniffles and her breathing slowed down. She pulled away, wiping her face hurriedly, looking away. He sat there waiting patiently.

“…he knows… he knows about me… about my lineage… wanted me to join the Dark side… kept… showing me stuff that made no sense I-… I don’t know,” She tried to explain as calmly as she could.

“Shh. Alright. He knows. We knew that that was a possibility. As for the other stuff, we can sort through that piece by piece whenever you’re ready, okay?” He assured wiping away an errant tear.

She nodded her head, her hands reaching for his. She took one of his hands and held it firmly, trying to stop shaking. She held onto him like he was a lifeline. Like he was the only thing keeping her grounded.

Rey called from up that they were about to land, and Poe looked at Blix.

“Are you up for this? It’s perfectly okay if you’re not,” Poe reassured trying make sure she didn’t feel pressured.

“I’m okay,” She whispered standing up slowly.

They got ready for their trek on the freezing planet that they were on and began following Poe to these spice runners.

They wound up having to cut through alleys multiple times for the streets were filled with storm troopers running every which way.

Eventually they run into a group of goons who tried to stop them. Rey knocked out 2 and Blix took out the rest. As the goons laid at their feet, a feminine robotic voice called out to them, telling them to halt.

Poe, Blix noticed, froze. He slowly turned, shoving his hood down to reveal his face.

“Zorii.” He greeted.

Blix looked at him and then at her, slowly realizing who she was. Blix stepped in front of Poe and said, “You harm a hair on his head, and I’ll kill you.”

Her hand hovered over lightsaber, daring this woman to try something.

“Where did you find a Jedi, Poe? Especially one so loyal to you?” She asked curiously, lifting her visor up to take her in.

“She saved my life. We need to see Babu Frik. It’s urgent. Please,” Poe requested trying to stay polite.

Zorii was quiet for several moments before turning and walking away.

Poe followed her without question and Blix stared at him as he willingly chased after her.

“What was that?”” Rey asked stepping up to Blix.

“Poe was a spice runner,” Blix began.

“A spice runner!?” Finn and Rey both exclaimed.

“It was an undercover mission for the Navy. That… was the woman who stabbed him… and he’s just... blindly trusting her,” Blix finished, annoyance in her voice.

Finn and Rey ran to catch up with him as 3PO toddled behind them. Blix remained there staring blankly. BB-8 stayed by her side, beeping at her concernedly. She blinked rapidly trying to refocus and quietly followed after them. When she caught up, they already had 3PO wired up and was preparing to override him.

It was then revealed that this process would lead to 3POs memory being wiped. As they continued to get him ready, Blix noticed that both Poe and Zorii had disappeared. She tried to let it not bother her, as whispers of doubts and distrust rang through her mind.

She stood in the back quietly, waiting for the information to be revealed. As the translations began, she winced as she continued to hear murmurs, the constant barrage of thoughts causing a headache to form. She crossed her arms and sighed heavily when it was revealed that they would have to go to the Death Star to find the Wayfinder.

When the translation was done, Blix stepped outside, the blast of cold air feeling good against the headache that she was currently battling. She closed her eyes, taking in slow deep breaths. She was trying to ease her thoughts as best as she could. She could feel a bitterness setting into her bones and she was trying her best to not let negativity choke her.

“He loves you, you know,” Came Zorii’s voice as she joined her outside.

Blix looked at her as Zorii stood next to her.

“How do you figure that?” Blix asked tiredly.

“You didn’t see the way he looked at you, when you stepped in front of him to defend him,” Zorii said truthfully. “He never looked at me like that.”

Blix smiled softly at that.

“Are you… are you okay? You seem a little… stressed?” Zorii hesitantly asked, observing Blix’s closed off behaviors.

“Had my brain picked apart and had 10k images and insecurities flash before my eyes, 20 minutes before we ran into you. So, no. Not okay,” Blix muttered, kicking at the snow angrily.

“Don’t… know how to help you with that… but. I can say this… don’t shut him out. Like I said, he loves you. Let him help you,” Zorii concluded, before heading back inside.

Blix sighed heavily, squatting down and taking a handful of snow and pushing it against her face. She felt hot, even in the freezing temperatures. The snow felt amazing against her burning skin, and as she ran a hand over her face to wipe it off, a ringing began in her ear.

She pressed a hand to it, wishing it away, as she applied pressure and wiggled her ear. As she opened her eyes, she saw not snow, but tiled floors. She stood up looking around, not recognizing where she was.

“My master says you’re a Kenobi. Must say… I’m surprised,” Came a feminine voice behind her.

She turned to it, and saw a young girl, with red skin and black tattoos in geometrical patterns on her head.

“My name is Maeve. A grandchild of the great Darth Maul,” She introduced staring at Blix curiously. “Funny. You don’t act like any Jedi I have heard of.”

“Hello Maeve and that’s because I’ve seen the dark side. Hell, I’ve even given it a taste but that’s not the life for me,” Blix explained dully.

Maeve reached forward and grabbed Blix’s arm and suddenly they were back on Kijimi.

“Where are you? C’mon… let’s talk… join us and we’ll release the furbag we capture earlier,” Maeve bribed in a sing-song voice.

“So, Chewie is still alive? Good to know. Now get out of my head before you hurt yourself,” Blix threatened as she threw out mental shield and blocks, pushing Maeve out of her mind.

A moment later she was alone again, no one buzzing about in her mind. She was breathless and numb.

Poe who stepped out to check on her, rushed over to her quickly.

“Baby? Honey? You’re bleeding!” Poe exclaimed gently wiping away the blood that dripped from her nose.

“Chewie’s still alive. Got a lil visit from mini Sith. We can save him,” Blix whispered fighting off the exhaustion she felt.

“Okay. Cool. Great. Can I focus on you?” he asked pulling her into his arms as her knees weakened.

“Guys! Let’s go, we got work to do!” Poe called out picking Blix up bridal style.

Rey, Finn and the droids (including a new one called D-O) came out and they rushed back to the Falcon. Poe laid her down on the bed she was in earlier and he rushed to tell them what she said, as they left the planet. The First Order was nearby, and the rescue had to be quick.

Poe and Finn ran off to rescue him, and Rey stayed behind to protect Blix who was barely awake.

“Hey sis… talk to me. What’s up?” Rey spoke softly to her, grasping her hands into her own.

Blix blinked up at her, opening her mouth to answer but wasn’t quite sure how to start, so she closed it.

Rey then gently pushed Blix to scootch back, laying down next to her.

“I keep seeing… images of Scarif… and several other images that make no sense. A lot of them involve my mother… and only in one of them… can I actually see the person’s face. I think… it was possibly my father? I don’t know. Nothing makes sense,” Blix slowly whispered to Rey.

“Scarif? But… wasn’t it destroyed?” Rey asked just as confused.

“It was partially destroyed. The Death Star wasn’t at full power when it attacked Scarif. It wasn’t until later, when they destroyed Alderaan that it was capable of fully destroying a planet,” Blix explained with a small sigh.

“Is it possible that someone survived? That there may be someone alive on Scarif?” Rey inquired, her brow furrowing in thought.

“Anything’s possible, I just… I don’t want to get my hopes for something that may just be lies,” Blix admitted biting her lip.

Rey laid there thinking, trying to figure out what she could say or do in this moment to comfort her.

“How about this? We finish the fight against the First Order, and the four us of will venture to Scarif together? We’re a team. Family. We’ll figure this out together,” Rey proposed with a smile, gently tapping her head against Blix’s.

Blix nodded, smiling back. It was a good thirty minutes before Poe and Finn returned with Chewie, all of them looking a little worse for wear.

Blix, who was finally feeling a bit better, asked, “What happened to you 3?”

“Uh. Found Chewie. Got caught. Almost killed. Phasma saved us? And is apparently the spy?” Poe explained quickly making his way to the cockpit.

Blix blinked at that info she was given, somewhat stunned, “Okay then.”

“Chewie? You okay bud?” Blix questioned, turning to the Wookie.

He quickly told her; he was fine, just tired before joining Poe in the cockpit.

They began to make their way Kef Bir, hoping that the Falcon would stay in one piece long enough to get them there. It had taken some damage as they escaped Kijimi.

When they landed, Chewie stayed behind to make repairs as they ventured out. They looked around, a slight chill in the air from the harsh breeze that blew across the vast ocean before them. There in the midst of the torrent waves was a section of the Death Star. They stood there, trying to figure out how they were going to get over to it when a voice called out to them.

“You’re the fighters of the Resistance?” Came a powerful female voice from behind them.

They all turned to see a woman leading a group of people, a bow in her hands. She was dressed in a pale-yellow shirt and a fluttery cape to match, with a pair of capris and sandals to top it off. Her armor was light, but that didn’t appear to matter too much for how she held herself. Her stance, and her presentation commanded attention, especially as they looked to her people whose body language showed relaxed confidence.

“My name’s Jannah. Babu Frik told us you were coming. How can we help?” She asked, stepping forward to greet them.

Poe and Finn stepped forward and began talking with her, leading her and her tribe over to the Falcon. Rey and Blix looked at the Death Star heap and were looking to see if there was a way to it.

Rey spotted a sea skiff and pointed it out to Blix. Blix nodded her head, and they made their way to it. They got on and held on tightly as Rey steered it toward the wreckage. The waves thrashed against the skiff hard, making it fly up at times. After what seemed to be hours but was really only mere minutes they were near the wreckage.

They pull themselves up onto a platform that they could reach and began to carefully maneuver their way inside.

It took some time but soon they were standing in a room with a throne.

“Alright Rey. If he really is your grandfather, this room will only respond to you,” Blix noted as they moved forward.

They looked around and as Rey touched a wall off to the side, a secret door opened. Rey jumped back slightly, not expecting it.

She started to move forward but stopped when she noticed Blix wasn’t following.

“Are you coming?” She asked expectantly.

“I can’t. This… this is your defining moment honey. Whatever you face in there, I can’t help you with. You are about to be presented with a choice. A choice I can’t help you decide. I’ll be here when you get out,” Blix said sagely, knowing that that this was Rey’s moment.

Rey looked scared for a moment but when she looked at Blix, she knew what she was trying to convey. She straightened up, took a deep breath and walked forward.

Blix could sense the dark presence that appeared near Rey and waited patiently. Moments later, the presence was gone, and Rey walked out with the Wayfinder, excited.

“That was terrifying, but I did it!” She exclaimed rushing up to Blix.

Blix laughed softly, “Good job. Now, let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

“Not so fast… We have unfinished business,” Came Maeve’s voice from above them.

She jumped down, lightsaber lit and swung hard at Rey. Rey trying to dodge and get her lightsaber out, dropped the Wayfinder. Maeve picked it up and using the Force, she destroyed it.

Rey yelled out in rage and began to fight Maeve harder. Her swings were harsh and powerful, but Maeve was the same. Blix chased after them as they made their way outside. Blix pulled out both of her lightsabers and jumped in between them.

“Enough! Both of you!” Blix yelled trying to stop them both, her lightsabers blocking both of theirs.

Rey stepped back but stood at the ready just in case. Maeve held her lightsaber against Blix’s, pushing as hard as she could to get her to yield.

“Maeve. How old are you?” Blix asked her over the roar of the waves crashing all around them.

“15. Why?” She asked with a snarl.

“15. Why are you fighting an old man’s war? That man does not give a damn about you. Just ask all of his other apprentices. He uses them like they are tissues, and tosses them when they are no longer useful,” She began staring her in the eyes. “If Sidious successfully turned his granddaughter to the Dark Side, what happens to you, hm? Siths only have one apprentice.”

“He wouldn’t. He promised that I would be his successor, that I would have all the power,” Maeve disputed shaking her head.

“Baby girl. All he thinks of is power, and how to get more of it. He would sooner see his bloodline take the throne, than a granddaughter of a Sith that he hated in the end. Listen to me, you know. You know deep down that I’m telling you the truth,” Blix pleaded softly, turning off her lightsaber.

Maeve lower lip trembles slightly, before asking, “What do I do?”

“You got a couple options. One, you leave here, you go be a normal teenager. Two, you go back to Sidious knowing that he will betray you in the end. Or three, you come with us and I’ll be your teacher,” Blix listed out with a sigh.

Maeve snorted, “Let me guess: teach me the ways of the Jedi, and how to be good and pure?”

“No. I’m not a regular Jedi. I’m a Grey. I know what it’s like to be fueled with rage and hate. I know what it’s like to want revenge. I even know what it’s like to take a life. Yet, I also realized that wasn’t the life for me. That being that angry all the time… is exhausting. It tears down your soul. You have a choice, and I hope you choose one that doesn’t involve being an expendable soldier to a man who should’ve died 30 years ago,” Blix spoke truthfully, hoping Maeve would see reason.

Maeve stared at her for a moment, slowly turning her lightsaber off. She bit her lip before asking, “Would I get a cooler lightsaber color?”

Blix chuckled softly at the childlike question and said, “Yeah. We can make you a cooler lightsaber.”

Blix reclipped her lightsabers to her belt and held out her hand to Maeve. Maeve contemplated for a moment, her eyes flicking back and forth between her hand and her face.

She slowly reached out but stopped. She turned around and made her way over to her modified TIE fighter.

Blix sighed in disappointment, thinking she didn’t convince her. Rey stepped forward, placing her hand on Blix’s shoulder, “You tried.”

Blix then noticed that Maeve was now making her way over to them again.

“You needed one of these, right?” Maeve confirmed holding a Wayfinder in her hands.

Blix smiled brightly and said, “Yes. Yes, we do. Let’s go, yeah?”

They used the TIE fighter to get back over to land, the 3 of them squished into one chair. When they landed, Poe and Finn were armed, ready to fight.

“Whoa boys. Chill. It’s just us,” Blix called out as the 3 of them crawled out.

The three of them stood there, soaking wet, and slightly shivering.

Poe gazed at Blix expectantly, looking between her and Maeve.

“This is Maeve. Maeve, this is Poe and Finn. Maeve decided she wanted to be on the winning side, and even gave us her Wayfinder. Be nice. Now, can we get out of here or at the very least, can we go get changed?” Blix introduced quickly, ushering Rey and Maeve to get inside.

“Hon?” Poe called trying to regain her attention.

“Yeah babe?” Blix responded innocently.

“Tell me… do you plan to adopt every Force Sensitive child out there?” He asked somewhat seriously but the smile that was creeping on his face said otherwise.

“Maybe? Is that a problem?” She questioned worriedly.

“Gonna need a bigger house than,” He mumbled, shaking his head.

“Well. My family home is quite large, enough for us to adopt and… have some of our own,” She whispered to him, moving closer to him.

“Oh? Is that so? Good to know,” He whispered back, pressing a small kiss to her lips. “We can discuss the logistics later along with that nightmare you had earlier.”

Blix nodded her head in agreement, and the two of them turned to get inside the Falcon. She quickly moved into one of the more private areas to change clothes when she felt something.

A wave of sadness washed over her. She reached out through the Force, trying to figure out what happened.

She contacted Ben, ‘Whats going on? What just happened?’

Ben’s reply… took a moment… but he slowly told her, ‘My uncle… he… healed my mother…’

It was then she knew why she felt the wave, the disturbance. Luke gave up his life for Leia.

‘We’re on our way.’ Blix stated making her way back out to the center room.

Rey looked at her confused, “What was that? What just happened?”

“Luke. Luke saved Leia,” She began to explain, her voice cracking.

“Okay… but wh-” Rey stopped, realization hitting her.

Poe and Finn looked at the two of them confused, Finn asking, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Jedi can heal. But if the damage is great, then it becomes a life for a life. Luke saved Leia, but it means he gave up his own lifeforce for her. However, that… that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s cured. I’d have to check on her when we get back,” Blix quietly explained as Rey came up to her and hugged her.

Poe nodded his head and made his way to the cockpit starting up the Falcon. Finn walked over and took Rey into his arms, holding her close as she cried.

Maeve stood there quietly before joining Poe up front. He glanced at her briefly but as he and Chewie took off, he turned to her.

He scrutinized her for a moment before informing her, “I hope you know; she’s putting a lot of trust in you. She’s vouching for you, and I hope you don’t let her down by betraying her.”

Maeve nodded her head, “I understand.”

“Do you have any family left, kid?” He asked curiously.

“No. I have no one. Been that way for a couple of years,” She answered truthfully.

“Well. I hope you’re ready for the family you just earned. We’re a little bit crazy but we mean well. May as well get settled, it’s a long way back to base,” He noted as Blix stepped inside.

Blix smiled at him softly and took a seat next to Maeve. This war was nearing its end, the final battle was upon them. They needed to gather their numbers, and hope that the rest of the Republic would join them in the final blow to the First Order.

#poe dameron x oc #poe dameron #star wars au #episode 9 sucked.#i watched it twice.#and i dont remember much from it #hence why i sped through it #and reworked it

2 notes · View notes

narcis-the-monk · 4 years

Text

FC5 GFH Tag

tagged by @chyrstis thank you soooooooo much!!!!!!!! This was a hell of a lot of fun, and I’m going to eventually do my other deputy as well. I went with Val the first time because I’ve been writing her for a minute now. ^^;; But this honestly helped me figure her out a little more, so thank you again <3

Deputy Valya Vitale

With Fangs for Hire:

• Boomer: “Hey boy, you’re being a real good dog. I’m sure your folks know that.” / *patting her legs* “Who’s the best boy? Who’s the best dog that rips out peggie throats? That’s right!” *sound of laughter* “It’s you!” / “I fuckin’ love this dog.” • Peaches: “Never been a cat person, but I’ll make an exception for you.” / “You think catnip works on cougars? I’m looking for some every place we check now.” / “Yes ma’am. You will absolutely get that treat I have for you when we stop next. I know you smell it.” • Cheeseburger: “This is the best fuckin’ day of my life. I’m fighting with a bear. I think we’ll win.” / “I never knew what I needed in life was to pet a big ol’ grizzly bear. I mean, I’ve been hugged by bears before. Just not this kind. And I love it just as much, if not more.” / “Next time we stop to fish, I’m catching you so much food. Just for being you.”

With other Guns for Hire: Sharky • “Hey Shark, remember when we got trashed down by the river? Pretty sure this is the spot. Cause I remember you puking there. And there. And me over there. And that’s where I lost my shoe. Hey! There’s my shoe! Small mysteries are solved each day.” • “Hey buddy, how about if the enemy is say…whatever you’d rank a 3 out of 5 or higher…we don’t set it on fire?” • “You won’t hear me say this one a lot, so appreciate it. But you were right. Fire was the answer.” • “You are an absolute mad man and I love the shit out of you, but I need to fight upwind of you from now on. Smoke in my eyes and throat when I’m trying to scream in the face of some asshole that punched me in the tit isn’t what I’d call fantastic. Your aim is so much better now though.”

Grace • “I’ll give you 20 bucks and my last good beer if you can shoot three peggies in the dick at the next outpost.” *when she’s met with silence* “Guessin’ that’s a no, then.” • “You have the patience of a saint. I can’t wait even 30 seconds to let my food cool, let alone wait for some asshole to walk out from behind a pole. Fuckin’ amazin’.”

Hurk • “Watch where you point that thing! And stop laughing, you know I’m not talking about your dick. That’s not an actual threat and we both know it.” *eventually starts laughing with him* • “I ever tell you how much I love your stories? I never know how they’ll end. I love a good plot twist.” • “Remember when you, me, and Shark got that moose drunk and we all spent the night in a tree? I’m pretty sure that moose remembers us. He is not a fan.”

Adelaide • “You keep wonderin’ how they fuck—and that is a point of interest we can revisit later—but I’m wonderin’ how they do every day shit. Like, Jacob’s—does he hunt or does he fish? If he prefers hunting, that tells me big facts about him. They’re both about sittin’ and waiting, right? Schemin’ the right moment to move. One just makes you feel like a big boy, cause you get to hold a gun. Hey, look at that. This time I left you speechless.” • “Been considerin’ this for a minute, and if anyone ever asks I’ll deny it up and down and throw you under the bus all in one but…fuck Faith, marry Jacob, and kill Joseph. Last one was hard as fuck.” • “I need you to just…stop talking for a while. Let’s say 30 minutes. 30 minutes of silence so my brain can finish bleaching itself. Thanks.”

Nick • “You’re lucky you’ve got guns on that thing, or I’d be giving you a lot more shit about never putting your feet on the ground. I got literally nothin’ else to pick on you with that’s fair.” • “So how different are planes from cars on a scale of one to ten? I’m just figurin’ out if some shit went wrong and you aren’t near…how fucked are we? Things to think about.” • “You know, never really liked flyin’. My head’s in the clouds too much for my feet to be too. But I gotta say…you are damn good at it. Almost makes me wanna try. Almost.”

Jess • “I mean, sure, its satisfying to line up the perfect shot from a mile away and nail it. I’ve been hunting, Jess. I’m just saying, for me personally, I’m a bigger fan of an oar or a baseball bat to the face when I can get it. Makes it personal, and all of this is very fuckin’ personal now.” • “Look, I don’t like talkin’ about my feelings either, so I’m just gonna hug you.” *stalls after getting the evil eye but hugs quickly* “You are two feet tall and maybe ninety pounds. Like I’m scared of you this close up.” • “If you were a part of breakfast, you’d be the coffee Jess. Dark and harsh, but great for a wakeup call.”

In Combat • Seeing an enemy: “I’m on ‘em like flies on shit.” / “You got that one?” • Sneaking: *mumbled string of ‘fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck’ whenever she moves a long distance* / “Man, fuck this sneaking shit right in the skull.” • Killing an enemy: “Boo-fuckin-YAH bitch!” / *if you make your shot* “Hellyeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” • Reviving: “Nope. Not today. Gotta keep you on your feet.” / “Get the fuck up, it’s not the time for a lie down!” • Hurt: “Well fuck me sideways. I’m alright, keep moving.” / “That’s definitely leavin’ a mark!” / “Oh go fuck yourself!” • Downed: “Just need a minute here.” / “I think I need a hand up here!” / “Keep goin’, don’t waste time if you don’t got it.” Driving • If asked to drive: “This may be the best decision you’ve made all day. Buckle up tight.” / “Alright, but seatbelts on or we don’t go anywhere at all.” • Driving recklessly: “See, this is why I insist on seatbelts!” / “Slow the fuck down or you’ll fuck this car up! I ain’t seen another available ride in a minute!” • Changing radio stations: “Will you settle on something? Oh, sorry, forgot where I was. Thought everything was normal and Shark was fiddlin’ with the radio again.” / “Cult’s fucked…but I’m okay with their music for the most part.”

Idle • “Used to have a snake. He was a huge boa constrictor. He liked to kinda just wrap around me like I was a tree. It felt like the best hug there ever was.” • “Did you know I grew up in Vegas? That place really is a constant party, even away from the strip if you know where to look. It’s not a great thing when you’ve got an addictive personality and prone to efforts of escapism. That’s why I moved out here. It’s pretty, its quiet, and the cost of gas to get anywhere is enough to deter the acquisition of drugs. So did working with Whitehorse. Man’s a saint. Reminds me of my Grandpa Conner—don’t tell him I said that. He’ll think I mean old.” • “I taught myself how to be a mechanic. Books and experience, and it all started when my old truck broke down when I was 16. Couldn’t afford a mechanic, so I got my grandpa and some tools and learned a lesson that day. Then I had to learn the rest. I still have that old truck. Musta rebuilt that motherfucker from the ground up three times. Only a few things left of the original. But I’m a sentimental fool, and it was a gift.” • “Callie says an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Well, she didn’t say it but she quotes it a lot. But I’m thinking…maybe this time, we all just need to be blind. We need a reason to step back and reassess and neither side is gonna be the first to do it. So I’m skeptically hopeful of our win, but still down with the blind thing.”

Location Specific • In the Henbane region: “Hey, if we could avoid bliss as often as possible…that would be great. Shit makes me feel like I dropped acid non-consensually.” / “Hmmm…there’s the tinglies in my spine again. Where is that little bitch of a plant? I’m gonna rip it apart.” • In the Whitetails: “If we get a chance, I'd like to swing by my place. Make sure things are fine. Grab some tools. Get Reggie's ashes, since these fucks don't have respect for dead people, they definitely won’t have respect for dead pets.” / “Man, I miss hiking. Well I mean, technically we’re hiking right now. I mean I miss hiking without the sounds of an actual war. Birds and wind and shit. I miss that. But this is good exercise too.” • Near any body of water: “Please say maybe this time we’re just out to fish. No? Worth a shot. One of these days.” / “This county has the best fishin’ spots in the world, but the best one’s require a hike and some camping gear to really enjoy.” / “If they hadn’t started dumping bliss in everything, I’d say let’s go for a quick swim. The water here is never as cold as you think it is.” • Fall’s End: “Mary May runs a tight ship, but she can throw a hell of a party.” / “Pastor Jerome set me up with AA when I first moved to the county. He’s a damn good man, and a great listener.” / “As stupid as it is, I look forward to the Testy Festy every year. Love a good tradition. Sometimes you just need something to look forward to, you know?”

I’m going to tag @deathvalleyqueen because I’d like to learn more about your characters, but you may have been tagged before. ^^;;;

Thank you so so much! I don’t think I have many people I can tag that haven’t already been, but consider it an open tag if you see it on your dash. <3

#the monk memes #deputy valya vitale #valya vitale #GFH meme #this one was fun and super helpful for me #i'm doing this for callie at some point too #it is soooooooo long

7 notes · View notes

mrs-dragneel-stark-solo · 4 years

Text

Unforseen Chasm (part30)

Part 30 of Unforseen Chasm

Prompt: Two sisters fall for men that are absolute enemies. The love they have could tear all of them apart, or it could bring them together. Word Count: 2380 Warnings: language, anger, betrayal, murder vibes only hehehe. Angst that goes balls to the walls XD Note: This is by far the longest thing I’ve ever written (including my other fic series). first major Collab with my best friend @thorne93 what was first a simple “what if” moment turned into a two year writing session and I’ve never been more prouder of myself than when i started my first series. goes through most of the MCU plots there are some changes to accommodate for what we wanted and there is a bit of a crossover between the MCU and other characters. I hope you guys enjoy reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it.

“She’s gonna be alright, right?” you asked, biting your nail as you sat beside her bed holding her hand, Charles and Jean on the opposite side of the bed.

“Oh yes,” he assured. “She’s merely sleeping. You two have quite a unique affect on each other,” he noted, giving you a fond look.

“So… tell me again. I’m triggered if someone talks about Loki negatively, and she’s triggered by emotional strain?”

“Exactly,” Jean areed. “While I was in your head… It’s almost as if someone rewired you. Someone got inside your head…”

“That would make sense because as much as I love Loki, I wouldn’t dream of hurting you all over him. He’s done bad things, and so have I but… we had no choice. You can have your opinions and judge him, so I don’t understand why speaking badly of him would make me go beserk,” you said, thinking aloud.

“Whoever threatened you two and brainwashed you into that attack, must’ve done it. He turned the love you two have for each other almost toxic. Not to each other, but to the world.”

“Why? What's the point?” you asked, so confused.

“To keep you fighting. Your mission was to take over Earth, and what happens to someone who comes in and attacks us? We fight back. If the threat of losing your loved ones wasn’t enough, the person controlling you had to make sure to keep your anger alive. With Loki turning into public enemy number one, it would turn you into his biggest defender,” Jean explained.

For a moment, you sat there, angry and stewing. “So you’re saying, the more someone wanted to fight Loki, the more I wanted to fight them? That’s so… awful.”

“Yes, my dear, it is,” Charles concurred. “And Shannon absorbed that brainwashing when she took on your powers, but her mutation twisted it so that any emotional strain makes her powers more powerful, and her body weaker.”

Logan and Scott had left the room, to let Shannon heal and they had to work on things around the school and keep an eye on kids. But that left Steve in a corner looking worried; Remy in the other corner, closest to you; the two telepaths; you; and Shannon.

Just as you were about to inquire further about Shannon’s state, the door swung open. You assumed it would be Storm or Jubilee, coming to check on things or retreive Charles. But instead, you heard a voice that sent chills down your spine.

“Hey, hun, how are the sessions go--” Tony’s voice sounded, but he stopped. You weren’t sure if it was the sight of you or the sight of Shannon in the bed, as if she were under a hospital’s care.

You slightly turned to face a man you’d come to fear. Hell hath no fury like Tony Stark scorned…

When you turned around, his face was that scary, livid, rigid expression he wore when he was past the point of being done.

“Why the fuck are you here?” he demanded in a booming voice, pointing at you as he started to march towards you. “How the hell did you escape?” he ordered.

In an instant, Gambit was in front of you, as you shrunk away in your chair.

“Now hold up there, old man,” he said, trying to ease the tension and trying to get Tony to back up, but he wasn’t having it.

“Out of my way, cajun,” Tony warned in a low voice. “Do you know you’re protecting a criminal? A terrorist?”

“Tony, please,” Charles slightly pleaded. “You’ll only make things worse.” Just as he had said it, the monitors had begun to beep rapidly. Everyone turned to see what was going on.

“Jean, go get Logan. He needs to get Mr. Stark out of this room now,” Charles ordered moving to Shannon’s side to get ready to enter her mind. Tony was worried about her but was still livid that you were somehow here and not back at the tower.

“Steve, I need to you take Y/N back to the tower and secure it so that she cannot leave the cell,” Tony ordered not looking away from you. If looks could kill… he would have killed you twice -- viciously.

“Tony, I’m not leaving Shannon here by herself,” Steve said, worried about her health, seeing how much Tony’s anger was making her weaker than she was a while ago. “You need to calm down. She’s absorbing your emotions and it’s deteriorating her health,” he said with a little more urgency.

Charles used the distraction to enter Shannon’s mind and began locating where in her memories she could be hiding. He could feel a strong pull towards a memory. Following the pull, he reached a memory of what looked like years ago. Shannon was young and was in what looked to be a training room. Curious, Charles entered the memory seeing Shannon was watching her younger self fight with an equally young redhead.

“Shannon, dear, I need you to come with me, You’re letting Tony’s emotions weaken you,” he said approaching her. “Any more time you spend asleep will lead you to entering a coma,” he warned her hoping to get her to look over.

“Hello, Charles. I could sense someone’s anger I just couldn’t figure out whose it was. What’s he doing here?” she asked looking briefly at him then back at herself. “This is the one memory I always seem to find myself returning to…” Her voice had a twinge of sadness as if she’d hoped for something different. “What am I going to tell him, Charles? He didn’t know I had been releasing Y/N to come here for help,” she said with disappointment at herself.

“My dear, there’s no way that he could hold that anger towards you. The worry he holds at this time is much greater,” he said reaching for her hand. “Come now, we must leave this for another day. You must awaken.” She reached for his open hand and allowed him to take her back to where the chaos was happening.

“Tony, I--” you started, hoping to maybe say something, anything to calm him down. But before you could get anything else out, Remy stood beside you, and wrapped a hand over your mouth to keep you from making the situation worse, the other hand wrapping around your shoulder. Remy knew you, and he knew Tony. Tony was usually never one for talking when he was pissed.

“If someone doesn’t get her out of here, I’m about to suit up and take her there myself,” Tony warned.

Charles had returned from Shannon’s mind and had heard what Tony said. Looking over to Shannon in the bed waking up, he knew she’d stop him from doing such a thing.

“No. You won’t…” she said, making everyone look over to the bed. “I might not be well but that won't stop me from holding you down, Tony,” she said as a warning.

You looked over to her and physically sighed with relief knowing she’d finally woken up.

“You would fight me… for her?” he asked, pointing to you, peering at his beloved. “Wow. And I actually thought I meant something to you.” It came out sarcastically, but the hurt was evident in his eyes.

“I'm not about to have the two most important people in my life rip each other to shreds,” she said, looking torn between defending her friend and standing up to the man she loved.

“Shan, I'm not going to fight him,” you said. Remy had eventually let go of your mouth. “Tony… Take me back to the tower if you like. I’m not going to fight you, or hurt anyone,” you promised solemnly.

“Y/N--” Shannon started, protesting.

You held up a hand, not looking at her. “No, Shannon, it’s okay. He has a right to be furious. I escaped. I’m a prisoner… a terrorist… a criminal..” Your eyes lifted to meet Tony’s. “He can escort me back and do with me as he sees fit. I won’t give him any trouble.”

“Well, can’t say it wouldn’t have been fun to fight you. But sometimes the easy way is nice too,” Tony said, walking forward to grab your upper arm.

“Y/N, are you sure?” she asked. ”You’re not a criminal, you’re a victim of a heinous plan.” She sounded upset. Looking towards Tony, he could see her unshed tears. “I was trying to help her lose the powers she didn’t want. To bring back some sort of peace.” A single tear slipped down her cheek. “I love you, Tony but not everything is what it looks like…” Turning her gaze to Steve she waved him over.

“What can I do for you, doll?” he asked, sounding concerned for her health.

“Take me to the tower, I’d like to rest in my old room,” she whispered to him.

“If that's what you want,” he affirmed, not sure if he should take her home just yet. Looking to Charles he asked if she was able to leave. “Is it safe for her to go home?”

“Her vitals are back to normal, she’s more than welcome to go.”

“Shannon… Let me take you home,” Tony offered. “I can have Steve take her,” he said, a touch of venom in his voice when he referred to you.

As she slowly stood and Jean got the monitoring systems off of her, and Steve helped her to stand, she shook her head. She weakly responded, “Tony, I’d… I’d like to be away from you for right now…”

With that, Tony’s gaze dropped, and he tugged you along with him. He didn’t break his grip until the two of you got to the car and he practically threw you at the shiny, burgundy vehicle.

“Get in,” he ordered as he rounded the front.

You obeyed immediately. You got in, strapped in, and tried to scoot to the far edge of the seat. But in a sports car, the room was minimal. Tony fired up the engine, and sped off the property.

For the first several minutes, he was silent, both hands gripping the wheel tightly.

“I’m sorry,” you started, hoping it would be a good place to begin.

“Yeah? For what? Breaking out? Tricking Shannon? Killing dozens of people? Should I go on, or is that enough to start with?” he mocked, glancing over once.

“I didn’t trick Shannon,” you quietly retorted.

“You may have fooled her, but I’m not so easily bought.”

“Tony, I’m not selling anything. I just told her I felt something was weird with these powers and she offered to take me to Xavier’s. I didn’t ask her to.”

“Do you have any idea how serious this is? How much trouble I could be in if anyone saw you? How much trouble you would be in if--” He spewed out different scenarios. He sounded more like an angry parent than someone in charge of the world’s worst felon who just escaped prison.

“Tony… I am sorry. We were very discreet. No one ever saw me leave the tower or my cell, I swear. I didn’t do this to get you or anyone else in trouble.”

“You know, I actually came down to your cell today to tell you that you were up for parole… and you break out. Nice timing. Real nice timing.”

“I’m up for parole?” you asked, expectation rising in your voice and chest.

“Not anymore,” he said, gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were white.

You wanted to protest, you wanted to fight it, bargain with him, plead with him… But what good would it do?

“I’m sorry,” you tried again, your voice the softest it had been.

“God. Would you stop saying that?” he asked, clearly irritated. “It’s not like it means anything.”

“Tony, I’m going to keep saying it to you until you believe it. Because I am. I’m sorry for the pain I caused you. I am sorry for throwing you out of a window. I’m sorry for bringing monsters to Earth. I’m sorry that I hurt Shannon, in more ways than one. I’m sorry you have to watch her suffer and choose between you and me.”

“Stop!” he ordered, getting fed up with you.

“I’m about to say something, and I don’t want you to say a word. Okay?”

All he did was roll his eyes and gestured for you to continue.

“I love you. I still do. I still think you’re my friend. I know you’re hurting. I know you’re in a shitty position, and I didn’t make it easy on you. I know you wish you could trust me. I know you’re more hurt than I could ever imagine when you look at me. I know you miss the good times we used to have and I know you wished all of this would’ve turned out differently, so do I.”

“Don’t act like you know me,” he stated, a slight tone of irritated pleading to his voice. “Don’t act like we’re friends.”

“But we used to be,” you reminded softly.

“Yeah, used to be. Key word there.”

You ignored the sting in your chest that brought on. “Well… this is what is is… And I just want you to know… If I could take this all back, I would. I would trade my soul to undo the damage I’ve caused everyone.”

“Wow that isolation in that cell really gives time for contemplation, doesn’t it?” he mocked with sarcasm.

You smiled gently. “Mock me if you want, Tony. I know deep down in there somewhere you know I didn’t do all of that of my own accord. I know that deep down, you want to be just like Shannon and trust me, and help me, and be my friend again.”

“Shannon doesn’t know what she wants. She’s acting out of guilt.”

You lightly shrugged. “She may be… but then again, maybe she sees the truth for what it is. But for what it’s worth… I do love and miss you as my friend…”

“Yeah, well none of that matters anymore, does it?” he rhetorically asked. It was almost inaudible.

The rest of the ride was silent, but at least Tony didn’t give off the murder vibe any more.

Unforseen Chasm Tag list- @reigningqueenofwords @oldfreakything @weclassygirl @adefectivedetective

@dontbetooobvious

Tag list- @cas-you-assbutt-dean-needs-you @winchester-writes @winchesterenthusiast @georgialouisea @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog @sammysbuttcheek @misz-adrii @sandlee44 @womanxofletters @natsuccs @childishhoebinoo @expecteddifferent @girl-next-door-writes @fanaticfanfiction @dakotapaigelove @sassy-spn-knight-of-hell

#unforeseen chasm #unforseen chasm loki #loki fic #loki x reader #tony stark #tony stark fic #tony stark x ofc #jean grey #Charles xavier #logan #scott summers #steve rogers #remy

3 notes · View notes

blkmxrvel · 5 years

Text

Haven’t Forgotten My Way Home [10] - (CONVERTED)

Pairing: Kara Zor-El x Female!Reader

Summary: In the D/s society of National City, men and women abandoned by their Dom/mes or otherwise deemed unfit for life “outside” end up at the Mount Overland House for Orphaned Submissives. It is here that Kara Zor-El finds Y/N Hastings, broken and fearful from mistreatment at the hands of her former Dom. Can Kara coax Y/N back into the world that once so terrified her, and show her the true meaning of care and submission?

Warnings: Domestic Violence (Flashbacks, Mentions and Descriptions), Misogyny, Domination/Submission.

A/N: This is really one of my favorite stories. I’ve it so many different times in so many different fandoms and wanted to put it in another one! In this, Kara and Alex are not sisters, Kara isn’t an alien which means she isn’t supergirl. Just wanna give another note that this story is NOT mine. I did not come with the plot, I just switched out the names of characters and places, that is all. Credit goes to itsfaberrytaboo on Ao3!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

“Five p.m., turn on the oven. Five-ten get everything out of the cupboard. Don’t burn anything. Five-fifteen prepare everything; five-thirty put the pan in the oven, set the timer. Watch the timer. Please don’t burn, please don’t burn… six p.m. take out the pan. Six-fifteen…”

She was talking to herself. Had she gone insane already?

Y/N sat on the unfamiliar bed and glanced at the darkened television in the guest room. Should she watch tv? She picked up the remote from the cluttered bedside table and turned it over in her hands, staring down at it. She didn’t know what she could watch. Real Bratty Subs of New Jersey didn’t come on until ten, and besides, she didn’t want to watch it without Miss Kara… She didn’t really like it, but she’d never tell Miss Kara that.

She glanced at the clock again. 5:12. Her hands trembled.

“How do I know what to do, if someone doesn’t… tell me what to do?”

Y/N’s days… before, had been regimented with almost-military precision. There were two lists, broad pieces of paper hung up in the living room. Her day and evening routines. They were instructed down to the minute, each second of every day filled with the things she needed to do in order to keep him happy. Sir- His favorite thing to do when Y/N missed a detail was to lean her against the wall, her nose pressed to the papers as he whipped her, until the black scrawl that was his handwriting faded into illegibility with her tears.

“You’ll learn if I have to beat it into you for the rest of your life.”

She lived every day of that life terrified that she would, once again, get something wrong.

And she usually did.

But even with that fear, there was comfort. She could breathe a little easy, when he wasn’t there. She knew what was expected of her, even when she was alone. Because she knew how he wanted things – the lists told her. She knew what she had to do, what foods to prepare, how to fold the clothes, how to make the bed, how to clean the bathroom. She knew that every day at 6:15, the front door would open and he would walk in. Sometimes with a grin, which would give her some relief even as she wondered what that grin meant. Other times with a scowl, and she’d begin the mental preparations for the punishment that she knew was coming.

There was no comfort in being by herself now. At Miss Kara’s house, she hadn’t been alone, because Miss Kara had taken that week off from work. She had vacation time, she’d said when Y/N protested. And then she’d praised Y/N for protesting, which was just… strange. But Miss Kara had been home, and Y/N knew what to expect. Coffee was always brewing by 9:30, and lunch was at 12:10. The television nearly always was flipped on by 8:45 and cuddles…

Well, cuddles had happened once, at exactly 8:57. Lazily, really, without Y/N even realizing she’d inched closer to Miss Kara, and Miss Kara’s arm had wrapped around her shoulders during a commercial break. It was only just before they went to bed (11:22) that they both noticed Y/N’s arms were around Kara’s waist and Kara was rocking her, ever so slightly. That was when Y/N decided that Miss Kara was really cute when she blushed.

Even if she knew what to expect at Miss Kara’s, Y/N also knew that the schedule was flexible. It didn’t matter if she overslept a few minutes, because Miss Kara didn’t get mad. It was okay if lunch was late and didn’t happen until 12:45 because she and Miss Kara had been talking. It was all right because Miss Kara had been there.

Here, though… Nia was back at the House. She’d helped Y/N get settled in a little, showing her where her room would be and the adjoining bathroom, where the kitchen was and how to find everything she would need. But then she’d had to go back to contend with an unruly patient, and now…

Now Y/N was alone. She toyed with the remote in her hand and set it back on the table. Nia’s house was small, nowhere near as big as Miss Kara’s, or even Y/N’s hou- his house. Y/N Hastings-Olsen had lived in a little white house at the end of Russell Street. She’d thought it rather ironic, that name, almost as if it was a sign, or maybe a warning. She should have known. But she’d been sixteen and hopeful, had never been out of her parents’ home, so the little house with the six steps leading up to the front door had seemed like an adventure, a new world full of excitement and maybe, if she was lucky, love.

Her new room at Nia’s was nice, if simple. She missed the light purple of her room at Miss Kara’s, but the blue here was quiet, comforting. There were a lot of things scattered about the room; no books, but little figures and sculptures here and there that looked as if they’d been collected from a lot of different places. It didn’t serve to make the room “homey,” but maybe that was just because there was nothing of hers in it yet. Not that she had much… Y/N looked at her suitcase, still resting at the foot of the bed. She hesitated, then stood up and grabbed it, putting it on the bed and opening it with a deep breath. She lifted the lid, and her hand flew to her mouth.

The teddy bear stared up at her with brown eyes, a green ribbon tied in a bow around his neck. Y/N picked him up and hugged him to her, burying her face in his fur. If she breathed deep enough, she thought she could smell Miss Kara. She smiled a little and placed him on the bed up against the pillows, with a pat to his head.

One by one she hung her dresses in the closet, pausing to step back and realize how bare it was. Maybe she needed to go shopping for more… but the thought of going out in public by herself had her shivering and she had to sit back down to relax herself. Plus, she was supposed to use the little money the government had provided her after leaving the House to establish herself, not to buy things she didn’t really need, and she wasn’t going to ask Miss Kara for more money. Could she get a job? Y/N tilted her head, considering. Sir- James had said that no submissive of his was going to get a job, which was interesting, because he was constantly complaining about not having enough money. But she knew his real reasons, since he’d said that no way was he going to let her out in public to cheat on him.

But how would she even find a job, Y/N wondered. What did a person who didn’t have any money… do? Did they fill out applications? Talk to people? She pulled the books Miss Kara had bought her – and the Broadway ones – out of her suitcase and set them on one of the shelves of the bedside table. She didn’t even know how to get a job, she thought, tears rushing to her eyes. She didn’t know how to go outside.

She didn’t know how to do anything. Except serve. And now that was gone.

Her fingers fell onto a plastic package at the bottom of her suitcase, and Y/N furrowed her brow. Pulling it out, she smiled again and blinked back the tears that were still threatening to spill over. Mango body wash and shampoo. Miss Kara must have snuck and bought it while they were out, then packed it for her. A warm feeling settled in Y/N’s chest as she slowly walked into the bathroom and placed the things on the shelf.

Her stomach growled as Y/N closed the now-empty suitcase and stowed it away in the closet. She hadn’t had anything since lunch, but would it be all right for her to eat something? She glanced toward the clock. 5:31. Maybe she should wait for Nia… But she felt lightheaded, dizzy, a feeling that was scary and oddly comforting at the same time. She was used to it, on days when she wasn’t allowed to eat before dinner. But now… Y/N tilted her head.

Now she could eat whenever she wanted.

She made her way to the kitchen, feeling the strain because she still wasn’t as good at walking as she’d like. But Y/N had physical therapy again tomorrow; maybe Miss Kara would be there? She hoped so. Miss Kara had been crying when she’d left; Y/N could tell even though she was good at hiding it, or so she thought. It made Y/N want to grab Miss Kara and hold her, tell her everything would be okay… but as she peeked into the refrigerator, Y/N wasn’t sure if it was going to be okay.

There was bacon. That made Y/N a little happier, as did the head of lettuce in the refrigerator, and the fresh tomatoes sitting on the counter next to a loaf of bread. She hadn’t had a BLT sandwich since… before her grandpa died. He always made the best ones: crisp bacon and fresh vegetables with a dash of salt and pepper, on fluffy white bread. No mayo, and never toasted. Y/N hated toasted bread for sandwiches, but that was the way he had liked them.

Her hand hovered on its way to the cabinet to get a pan, as Y/N suddenly realized… she’d never have to toast bread again if she didn’t want to.

She’d just finished plating up her food and was moving to the living room when she heard the sound of a key in the lock. That old apprehension rose in Y/N and she had to fight the urge to drop her plate and drop to her knees with her head down, waiting. But it wasn’t James coming in the door; it was Nia Nal, red-faced and breathless from dealing with the resident.

“Hey,” she greeted Y/N with a smile. “It smells good in here, what’re you eating?”

“A s-sandwich,” Y/N said, almost apologetically. “I can make you one?” Her look was hopeful, almost pleading.

Nia shook her head, her sympathetic expression making it clear that she knew what Y/N was doing. “Nah, I can do it. I only like bacon for breakfast anyway.”

“Oh.” Y/N fell silent then, a little disappointed, and picked at her sandwich. It would’ve been so easy just to go back to the kitchen and—

“Got something for you,” Nia said, interrupting her thoughts. Y/N looked up to see her holding out a cellphone. “Kara dropped it off a few minutes ago.”

Y/N’s eyes widened as she took the cell phone in her hand and looked at it. “Miss Kara?” she said. “But why didn’t she come see me…”

“I think you know why,” Nia moved towards the kitchen and soon Y/N heard the sound of dishes clattering. “But you know you’ll see her soon.”

“I’ll see her soon,” Y/N echoed. She took a bite of her sandwich and for a split second the image of her grandfather came rushing back to her. Tall and proud, with white hair and a beard, a smile just as bright as Santa Claus. She closed her eyes and thought about his hugs, how strong and comforting they were. She reopened them and looked down at the phone. Carefully, she pressed the power button.

In seconds she was greeted by the cell phone screen, with two familiar faces as the wallpaper. She giggled a little, thumb tracing over Kara and Theo, beaming at her from the glass. Kara had her arms around the dog, her chin pressed to the top of his head; Theo’s tongue lolled out of his mouth and it seemed as if he was, in fact, smiling for the camera. Alex must have taken it, Y/N surmised; a quick look to the side of the phone showed that she could take pictures too and she smiled. Maybe Miss Kara would let her… Pressing the icon for Contacts, she saw that Miss Kara had added herself, Alex, and Maggie as Y/N’s emergency contacts. Y/N quirked an eyebrow when she saw that beyond the numbers for the three of them, Nia, and Mount Overland House, there were also phone numbers for several theaters, playhouses in the National City area, she guessed. Miss Kara’s work number was there as well. Not only that but there were two other numbers, one for the bus system and the other for the taxi service. There was that warm feeling again, when Y/N realized that Miss Kara had given her pretty much any number she’d need to start finding her way now that she was (not really) alone.

“You look happy,” Nia said, coming into the living room and sitting in one of the armchairs with a plate of pasta in her hand. “Good phone?”

“I’ve never had one,” Y/N said, turning it over in her hands. “All I had was the phone at my ho- at the house, and James had a cell phone.”

“You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you call him by name.”

“Does it get easier?”

It felt wrong, not to call him Sir. To call your Sir by his name was the highest form of disrespect, or so she’d been taught. That was one thing in which she’d never slipped up, not that it ever gained her any sort of gratitude or special treatment. She didn’t expect it, either. It was just something you were supposed to do, and now, even though she didn’t have his collar around her neck, even though what he’d wanted to do was so… Y/N reached up and trailed her fingers over her neck, where the collar used to be. It still felt so strange not to have it there; it was almost as if she was naked. She was glad she’d been unconscious when it had been removed; she didn’t think she could have borne the pain of having the metal snapped from her, even if she had made her choice the night she’d run away.

“It gets easier.” Nia nodded. “The best part of it is when you realize how easy it is to not give them that respect, because they never deserved it to begin with.”

Y/N’s eyes widened. “I-I don’t think I’m there yet…” she trailed off. Didn’t every Dominant deserve respect?

“No, but you’re a long way from where you were.”

“I don’t remember being brought to the House…” Y/N finished up her sandwich, not looking at Nia.

“Probably best you don’t,” Nia said with a shrug. “There really isn’t any point in dwelling on things you can’t change.”

It seemed like all she did lately was dwell, Y/N thought. In her mind she still kept wondering if maybe things had been different, if she’d been better, maybe James wouldn’t have been so angry, maybe she wouldn’t have had to run away…. He’d been so frustrated, it was the first time she’d heard him say that he didn’t know what to do, and that had scared her more than anything.

Because he’d always known what to do, what he had been doing. To her. Every word, every stroke, every blow was calculated even as it was reckless and frenzied. He’d always known exactly what he was doing. Hadn’t he?

“You should send her a message.”

Nia’s words brought Y/N out of her thoughts, and she glanced at her, then down at the phone. “I should?”

“Well yeah, I mean I bet that’s part of the reason she gave it to you. You didn’t think she was going to completely cut you off, did you?”

I believe he said she could rot in hell.

They hadn’t meant for her to hear those words, but just because she didn’t talk at first didn’t mean she was deaf, and when Nia had said that to Miss Kara, despite everything it was like a knife through Y/N’s heart. She wasn’t sure if she believed that perhaps James would change, perhaps he would come to her and say that everything would be different now if only she would come back to him, come home.

Back to the little white house at the end of Russell Street. Back to a spotless clean kitchen that always had one crumb. To a bed that always had a wrinkle, with a blanket on the floor. A rule that was always broken, a look that was always wrong, a girl…

A girl never good enough.

And then Miss Kara had walked away, with tears in her eyes, but she’d walked away just the same.

But there was a teddy bear on her new bed, mango body wash in her new bathroom, and a new phone in her hand… Y/N fumbled around with it for a few moments, and then looked at Nia helplessly. Nia smiled at her and took the phone, handing it back after showing Y/N how to get to the text messages.

Slowly, her fingers sliding around over the touch keyboard, Y/N typed out a message to Kara and hit send.

I made a sandwich.

She waited for what seemed like an eternity, on the edge of her seat. She jumped at the alert sound, her face brightening when it meant that Kara had answered.

Hello to you too :) Did you enjoy it?

Y/N giggled a little in embarrassment; she probably should have said hi first.

It wasn’t as good as yours. But it was nice.

The best part of the text messages, she decided, was that Kara’s face appeared in a little icon next to her name. Y/N’s finger traced the outline and she smiled softly to herself. Miss Kara was so beautiful.

You should keep making sandwiches, and then perhaps you’ll be just as good as I am!

That made her laugh, and her fingers were dancing over the screen again as if she’d been text messaging forever. She felt like a child with a new toy, and it was all because of Miss Kara.

I miss you already, Miss Kara. When can I see you again?

It was true. Already she missed her smile, her laugh, and her hugs. She hadn’t wanted to leave, and Y/N would be lying if she didn’t say a little part of herself was angry at Miss Kara for forcing them apart. She couldn’t think of any reason why they needed to be; hadn’t Y/N said that she wanted her? Why wouldn’t Miss Kara want her, unless Y/N really wasn’t good enough? But Miss Kara had said that wasn’t true… Y/N just didn’t know if she could trust it quite yet.

Seconds later, the phone beeped again.

Soon, Y/N. For now, you need to enjoy yourself. But I promise, I’m not leaving you.

She didn’t know what she could say to that. They always left. Her grandpa had left her; her parents had left her on the third step of that little white house and then drove away without a word, without a goodbye or a hug, even a last look through a window. Even her own voice had left her, eventually. And in the end, Y/N had been the one to leave, the last, final realization that everything, that everyone, was gone, including herself.

She kept playing with the phone while Nia watched television, laughing at some comedy show and trying to get Y/N involved. But all Y/N could do was flip back and forth between the text messages with Miss Kara, and Miss Kara’s face on the wallpaper.

I’m not leaving you. Miss Kara’s face. I’m not leaving you. Miss Kara’s face.

I’m not leaving…

She chose to go to bed at 11:35. Nia had fallen asleep in her chair and was snoring, her chin resting against her chest. Every now and then she’d wake up with a start and Y/N would giggle. She hoped the other woman would make it to bed soon enough; going to sleep in an armchair meant a hurting body in the morning. Y/N knew that all too well.

The sheets were scratchy against her skin; not at all soft like the ones in her room at Miss Kara’s, but not half as bad as the ones in her room at Mount Overland House, either. Maybe she’d make use of Nia’s laundry room tomorrow and wash her sheets. Hopefully she’d have some fabric softener, but if not… no, Y/N decided, pulling the blankets up to her chin. She wasn’t going shopping. Not by herself. She couldn’t do that.

There was a quiet beep, and the room lit up in a muted color; Y/N turned over in bed and frantically scrabbled for the phone on the bedside table. Kara’s face smiled at her from its tiny icon.

I hope you sleep well. Good night, Y/N.

She thought a moment, and then sent her own.

Is Theo okay?

She knew what she really wanted to ask, but she wasn’t sure if that was allowed. After all, neither of them belonged to the other. But if Kara was sad or upset alone in her house with the exception of Theo, Y/N thought that might hurt her worse than anything James Olsen had ever done to her.

Theo’s fine. We miss you.

We. It was the first time she’d smiled a real smile that day. It didn’t matter if they were apart, it didn’t matter if neither of them knew how things were going to end up, or where they were going to go. All that mattered was that Miss Kara missed her.

Miss Kara? Why are there theater numbers in my phone?

… Good night, Y/N. Sweet dreams. :)

Good night, Miss Kara.

Sometime around 11:56, Y/N fell asleep in yet another unfamiliar bed, teddy bear in her arms, and her new cell phone with Miss Kara’s smiling face held snugly in her hand.

[previous] | [next]

#wlw #wlw imagine #kara danvers #kara danvers x reader #kara danvers imagine #supergirl x reader #alex danvers #maggie sawyer #nia nal #james olsen #he is a d*ck in this #rightfully so #sanvers #kara zor el x reader #melissa benoist

168 notes · View notes

televisor-reviews · 4 years

Text

Top 10 WORST Movies Of 2018!

As everyone is talking about their favorite and least favorite films of last year, I’d much rather take a look at what came out two years ago! This is what I do every New Year, get used to it. And keep in mind that I haven’t seen every film from 2018, so as bad as I’m sure Sherlock Gnomes and Pacific Rim: Uprising are, I haven’t gotten around to them. If you’d like a list of every film I have seen, I have them listed on my Letterboxd: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1HnDnQ4ibO82ryM9lOCGgw1FZhVLdC4SZ

#10. Fifty Shades Freed On my 2015 list, I didn’t even bother putting Fifty Shades Of Grey on it because I thought it was absolutely hilarious! On my 2017 list, I placed Fifty Shades Darker at the very top for its lack of even the basics of what makes a decent flick, notably there being no real plot. So I guess I’m meeting this franchise in the middle by putting Fifty Shades Freed at the tenth spot for just how batshit this movie is. Shit kinda just happens randomly with little to no reason while also not being funny in the slightest. In fact, large segments of the film is kinda boring, particularly the sex scenes in which there are so many that by the 20th time, you’d just get used to it like a jump scare in Winchester. Really, the biggest reason this is only at #10 is because Fifty Shades Freed has Freed us all from this series, assuming that a film adaptation of Grey isn’t made. And that’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever given to one of these movies. #9. A Wrinkle In Time I once heard someone justify Disney’s live action remakes by saying they help fund their more unique film escapades like Nutcracker And The Four Realms (which barely didn’t make the list). The problem with that is that I don’t want those ether! And considering how Solo and The Rise Of Skywalker turned out, maybe Disney’s live action department should just stick with Marvel movies. Honestly, I don’t completely remember why I left the theater after seeing A Wrinkle In Time so angry, like legitimately pissed off. I remember the girl who looks like one of the Mean Girls being treated like a member of the Losers Club, how terrible the child acting was, how even worse the adult acting was, how annoying everybody who wasn’t Chris Pine was, and how that little kid was named Charles Wallace because the characters said it at least a million times! Considering how angry I am just writing about it, I’m guessing it was a combination of all of those elements being wrapped up with a pretentious bow. Honestly, A Wrinkle In Time was a humongous waste of my time. #8. Show Dogs It’s a bad sign when the movie starring Bojack Horseman yelling at Ludacris dog is only at #8 on my list. The big reason for that is because this is so terrible that I had to break down laughing at times. Not because Show Dogs is genuinely or ironically funny, it’s just so batshit insane that I had to laugh. Almost like a defense reflex: like if I wasn’t laughing, I’d end up jumping off the roof. The plot is crazy, the acting is crazy, the whole fucking idea is crazy! I’d like you to stop and imagine Will Arnett with the straightest face possible yelling at a dog voiced by Ludacris that nobody can actually hear in the middle of a very serious police station about the dog fucking up an undercover job and somehow not laughing your ass off. That is what it was like watching Show Dogs. You’re welcome. #7. Slender Man I think people really downgrade how good horror has been lately. I know that in a world of Insidious: The Last Key and Truth Or Dare, it’s easy to be pessimistic. And I think people also dismiss the greatness the internet has had on modern pop culture. Considering how bad things like Daphne And Velma and Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle are, I kinda get it. In reality, these tend to be the outliers among a lot of greatness, but after seeing Slender Man, I’m starting to think similarly. I was one of the only people who was actually excited about this movie because I’m young enough to remember a time when Slender Man: The Eight Pages was the scariest thing in the world and after seeing how well Hollywood treated the character in Beware The Slender Man, I was really hopeful. Little did I know that Madhouse Entertainment had one of the least interesting and least scary horror movies I’ve ever seen with boring characters, a monster that’s barely in the movie, and a script that’s closer to Rings than it is to its source material. I really hope this’ll go the way of Ouija and Annabelle and end up having a really good followup or else Slender Man will be a huge blot on the legitimacy of the internet. #6. Snake Outta Compton I’m gonna be straight with y’all, I have been doing a pretty bad job at keeping up with horror B-movies lately. I mean, I did watch The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time and Leprechaun Returns but those were mostly just mediocre, even within the context of the rest of their franchises. So when I saw the title Snake Outta Compton, I knew I had to watch it expecting something really stupid and funny as all hell. Instead I got a boring and uninteresting barely even an attempt at cinema. I really hated this film, it’s just such a boringly dull film where little to nothing ever happens and I hated every dumb second of it. The terrible rapping, the awful effects, the horrendous acting, everything in snake Outta Compton sucks and I hate it. #5. Norm Of The North: Keys To The Kingdom Remember that god awful polar bear movie starring Rob Schneider from a few years ago… yeah, they made four of those. Normal people would say the first Norm Of The North was the absolute bottom of the barrel, I say “No!… It’s Norm Of The North: Keys To The Kingdom,” and even more suicidal people would probably say it’s Norm Of The North: King Sized Adventure. If you thought the animation in the original was bad, you’ve seen nothing! This is so bad that I’m not even sure it should be considered animation! This is so bad that it makes Duck Duck Goose look like The Grinch! This is so bad that they couldn’t even get Rob Schneider back! The plot, it’s like this is one of those straight to DVD Disney sequels that were made up of episodes of conceled TV shows except why would anyone try to make Norm Of the FUCKING North into a TV show! But apparently it made money considering how (and I’ll repeat this again) there are four of these! Maybe the immense failure of Arctic Dogs will stop Entertainment Studios from making any more. #4. The Thinning: New World Order Speaking of sequels that’ll make the originals look like masterpieces, we’ve got Logan Paul’s magnum opus, coming straight outta that Japanese suicide forest. A film that tells you that a country made up of the smartest 95% of citizens are stupid enough to not catch on to the pretty obvious government plan going on in this universe. Even more so, apparently presidents to be are allowed to just make major laws that’ll arrest about 50% of the population before being sworn in as president. But even more so, I’m to believe that Logan Paul of all people is smart enough to escape these poorly conceived concentration camps. This is a key example of suspension of disbelief gone too far. I don’t believe for a second that this world actually could exist. And I want everyone reading this to remember The Thinning: New World Order after seeing what I put at number one that even liberals can make terrible movies too! #3. The 15:17 To Paris No shit, this is easily the worst movie I’ve ever seen in theaters. No joke, no sarcasm, the Clint Eastwood trainwreck that is The 15:17 To Paris is by far one of the worst movies of the decade… and it’s only at #3 on my bottom 10 of the year. Let me explain. Where the absolute bottom of the barrels of the year are total slogs that I wouldn’t be able to stand watching again, this is actually really fun to watch. Immediately after seeing it in theaters, I wanted to see it again just to make sure it wasn’t a fever dream. In every conversation I have, I recommend this movie because it has to be seen to be believed. Of all the films on this list, this is the only one I’d actually recommend to people. No other film has the balls to portray three normies with ADD talking as boringly as possible taking selfies in Venice for 30 minutes for no goddamn reason. In no other movie will you see a bunch of comedians try and do serious roles that they had no right being casted in. When I went back to school and brought this up with my film nerd friends, every one of them had a different story of watching this. My god, please watch The 15:17 To Paris so that we can convince Clint Eastwood into making The 15:18 To Paris. #2. Gotti Let me tell ya, Gotti is one of the wurst felms ya’ll evar see! Who in da hell convinced John Travolta that he culd do serious roles! But in all seriousness, this movie sucks. I’m not super familiar with the story of John Gotti, and by that I mean I’ve never even heard the name before seeing this film. And I’m pretty sure that to even get what’s going on in this, you’d have to see a 3 hour documentary on the guy beforehand or else you’d be incredibly confused the entire time because I know I was! Don’t even ask me what happens in Gotti because I have no clue. It goes all over the place with different characters doing different things at different points in time and eventually, I stopped paying attention! I do remember that there were about 20 characters named “John,” John Gotti only kills one guy though I’m pretty sure that as a mob boss he’d kill more, and I have no idea how this mafia makes money. Oh, and this convicted feline is apparently also Jesus Christ. I’ll tells yas, ya can live 100 yeers an neva see a moovy as bad as Gotti. Before we get to #1, let’s do some runners up!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom I wanted so bad to put this on the list because as a pretty big Jurassic Park fan, I can fairly say that Fallen Kingdom is easily the worst film in the franchise. If only because of that dumb ass twist at the end with that kid I kinda forgot even existed. Or just for those annoying ass comedic reliefs that are consistently useless. Or just because on a base filmmaking level, this movie sucks. Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate Listen, I’m openly and proudly bisexual, so I get how important it is to get good representation out there in the film industry. And I also get why a lot of the Ru Paul: Drag Race fandom has latched onto this series. But Jesus Christ guys, drag queens can do better and they deserve better. From Russia With Hate is definitely a step in the right direction with it being way more interesting and fun than the first Hurricane Bianca… but come on guys! These aren’t good movies! Just watch more Drag Race, it’s much better. The Happytime Murders Disney, please let Muppets Now be good! The puppetry artform deserves better than this garbage! The Happytime Murders is a movie in which half the jokes is that a puppet is jizzing a lot. Honestly, my biggest beef with this film is that it doesn’t even get to the heart of what people love about the Jim Henson style of puppetry, notably the fun. Look at most of the cast, they are very humanoid compared to Kermit The Frog or Fozzy Bear. This movie is, first and foremost, not fun. Bob Lazar: Area 51 And Flying Saucers This is my nomination for worst documentary of the year. It’s just annoying to me that this guy can get away with lying to so many people without any repercussions. In fact, he gets this whole documentary that’s basically sucking his dick the entire time! I went in expecting something along the lines of Behind The Curve, a doc that takes an even stance at looking at its crazy subject matter but in a respectful way. In reality, Area 51 And Flying Saucers isn’t even in the slightest being totally on Bob Lazar’s side without questioning his all knowing wisdom for a second and is n’t respectful in the slightest for the intelligence of its viewers! Fuck this doc! A Simple Favor This is my nomination for best worst movie of the year. A Simple Favor is a crazy film with a cast and crew taking it weirdly seriously for a comedy, all with super monotone voices. None of the actual jokes are genuinely funny but lots of them are ironically hilarious. Granted I was very high while watching this, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s the best state of mind to be in while watching it! And did I mention how nobody acts during this but rather just say their lines monotonely! Loved it! God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness This was the year Christian propaganda got boring. I was so excited when I went to see I Can Only Imagine in theaters as my first theatrical Christian film experience only to be totally disappointed when it turned out to be pretty dull. Even more so when, later on in the year, the newest installment in the world famous God’s Not Dead franchise, the same one that first brought upon this new age of Christian based filmmaking that’s brought me so much joy before, turned out to be similarly dull. There was a split moment when a character states, “Jesus Christ was the original social justice warrior,” when I was brought back to life with its own stupidity, but it turned out to be fleeting. Not outrageous enough to be put on the list, but too outrageous to be any good. So this is how God’s Not Dead ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper. The Meg And speaking of boring, The Meg has to be the most boring shark movie ever made. A film that feels like it lasts for days and in which no real stakes feel like are in play. This has got to be the most boring and dull and uninteresting and BORING movie of the year! And considering how boring of a year it was for film, that’s saying a goddamn lot! Mary Poppins Returns I feel like I went through an arc of my own while watching this. I went from, “this isn’t bad,” to, “okay, this is a little too much like the original,” to, “why the fuck am I watching this?” Mary Poppins Returns feels like one of the Disney live action remakes because it’s basically just a shittier version of the original with absolutely no good reason to exist let alone to watch, especially compared to said original. And the climax makes absolutely no sense with the logic of the film universe; she can literally fly! And by god, does this feel like anything but Mary Poppins. Blockers Listen, I get that this film is sex positive and that’s a really great thing and all the actors are really trying their best. But it is all in vain for this film with a really unfunny script and that’s kinda important for a comedy. Sometimes Blockers can get a chuckle out of me because of how over the top it can get at times but those are just outliers in a mostly mediocre movie that got built up too much because of how much positivity is in this. Proud Mary Proud Mary is the perfect example of a film in which just because someone can do it well, doesn’t mean everyone can. Ever since Quentin Tarantino has been making movies like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, throw back action films have been really cool to see. Then, all of a sudden, the director of London Has Fallen had to come around and remind everyone that they can’t all be winners. Mostly dull dialogue between characters I don’t care about waiting for the action that isn’t even all that good. I was really hopeful that Proud Mary would be fun, but it’s anything but. #1. The Trump Prophecy Listen, I get that when I say that a movie literally titled The Trump Prophecy is the worst film of the year, it comes off as if I’m making a big political statement but believe me, I am not. Politically, admittedly, I am pretty liberal but I’m not really a political dude. But I do know terrible filmmaking when I see it, and believe it or not, a film about a crazy firefighter who gets a vision in his sleep from a god orb that Donald Trump must be president might not be very good. In fact, fuck this cynical, piece of shit, taking advantage of conservatives, monotonely acted, with no love or passion put into it, goddamn movie! As much as I didn’t like any of the movies I’ve mentioned on this list, it’s clear someone, anyone, was passionate about making them. But considering how clearly the director never asked any of his actors to do a second take, no love is clearly put into this. How cynical, how shameless. As someone who does genuinely love the art of filmmaking and would adore the opportunity to make a relatively big budget movie myself, the fact that something as lifeless as The Trump Prophecy gets to be put into any theaters really pisses me off. Say what you want about The 15:17 To Paris, at least it had its heart in the right place. Say what you want about Gotti, at least John Travolta was obviously passionate about the project. This has nothing and is easily the most hatable film I’ve seen in years!

2 notes · View notes

maximows · 5 years

Text

Against the Odds - Chapter VIII

Emilia Alexandra Dawson,

MASTERLIST (mobile)

(previous chapter)

Warnings: FLUFF, mentions of sex, swearing, the usual stuff

Chris walked up to me angrily, holding a cigarette and breathing loudly. “Are you happy with what just happened? Cause I’m not. You just cost us weeks of work, because of your inexperience and incompetence. Honestly, why would they sent us some incompetent rookie, I have no idea.” He brought the cigarette to his mouth. I looked over to the window and the shattered glass around it.

“Fuck off, I did what had to be done and it’s not my fault the suspect got away. Maybe you should work on your surveillance techniques, Mr. I-know-it-all.” I snapped, grabbing a laptop of the desk and walking away.

“Cut!” Sam shouted as I escaped the camera shot. “I loved that, guys. Let’s take 5 minutes off, alright?”

I took off the high heels my character supposed to wear for the scene. I leaned on the wall and closed my eyes. It was around 10 pm and we have been filming since 6 am. I was barely able to stand on my feet properly. As I sat down on the nearest chair, Chris was talking to Sam about the next scene we were supposed to film, which was a kissing scene.

We have been staying in London for a month now and we have nearly finished filming. We were actually staying at my family home, which seemed like a dream come true for Chris and my Mum, because it seemed like they had become the best friends in the world. Also, my Mum fell in love with Dodger, so even if we were home, we didn’t get to walk him much.

Chris brought me a cup of tea and sat beside me. “I can’t believe we’re nearly finished,” he sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. “Our third movie together.”

“Well, we still have the most fun scenes to do, though,” I said, referring to the kissing scenes and one sex scene we still had to do. "Why did the author had to add a romantic plot?”

“Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me and pretend to have sex with me?” Chris asked, pretending to be hurt.

I sighed, pretending I was making up my mind. “I meaaan,” I started. “I think, I’d prefer to actually have sex with you, without the audience.”

He furrowed his brows. “Aren’t you the reason there were photos of us almost fucking in the club two weeks ago?”

“Yeah, you looked so good in that shirt.” I remembered. “It’s actually your fault, if you really think about it.”

Words couldn’t describe how much I’ve missed spending time with Amy, Mary and Sophie and now we were getting to see each other a few times a week. Tonight, we all went out to one of my favourite clubs, which doesn’t play techno music, but a mix of 90’s, 00’s and modern hits. I was so, so excited to finally be back for a longer period of time than just a few days.

We went out as four couples. I was happy that Chris got along with the girls’ boyfriends. But I shouldn’t be surprised – he gets along with everyone who’s not an idiot.

I went to the dancefloor with the girls, while the guys got us drinks and sat at the table talking. I wanted Chris to come dancing with me, but the other guys didn’t want to dance yet so he stayed to talk to them and said he’d join me later.

I danced like a freak, singing along to every single fucking song, making sure my throat was sore tomorrow. We all went crazy, having not seen each other since April. At some point, Chris joined us, but he just wanted to say that we’ve been dancing for over an hour and our drinks have been at the table for some time.

We moved and sat there. I sat on Chris’ lap, because the way he looked tonight was just incredible. I sipped my mojito, talking about everything that has happened. “You should visit us as soon as we go back to LA, we’re throwing a housewarming party.”

“Yeah, 6 months after buying it.” Chris laughed.

“Shut up.” I said, covering his mouth. “We already had Chris’ friends from Boston over and the house needed a professional cleaning team after they left.”

“That’s because seven 30-years old Bostonians is too much even for such a big house.” he explained. Chris seemed to feel very comfortable around the guys, because they weren’t that much younger than him.

Chris and I went to the dancefloor. I grabbed his shirt and slipped my hands underneath it to rub his muscular stomach. “God, I wanna fuck so bad.” I whispered into his ear, before Chris spun me around.

“You’re gonna have to wait,” he grinned. “Because I wanna dance.”

He was so fucking lucky, because Earth, Wind & Fire came up and we just went into a state of trance. I was thankful for a boyfriend who’s a very, very talented dancer who actually likes to dance, so we can have fun together. There’s honestly nothing he does wrong.

“I find romance when I start to dance in...” he sang into my ear.

“Boogie wonderlaaaand!” I screamed into his face.

Chris laughed loudly, leaning back. “Voice of an angel.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. “Don’t be rude.”

The next song was I Want it That Way and it was all I could ask for. “You are my fire,” I sang. “the one desire.”

We moved to the song's rhythm, just looking into each other's eyes and smiling. It was my favourite song on the planet and I was dancing to it with my favourite person on earth. It was all I could as for.

We came back to our table and the others left. I kept looking at Chris and admiring how fine he was looking in his outfit. I put my legs over his and let him rub my bare thighs. I leaned in to reach his neck and attached my lips to his skin right below his beard. I sucked on the spot, surely to leave a mark. I creeped my fingers up and down his torso. Chris put his hand on my cheek and turned his head to connect our lips. He first bit my upper lip, running his tongue over it, then slipped it inside to massage over mine. “Come ‘ere.” He mumbled and pulled me up to sit on his lap. I felt his hands travel from the small of my back to my butt.

Even after a few drinks there was this thought in the back of my head that someone might be watching, so I twisted my head in the way that my hair covered up our faces. My hand reached down to gently rub my palm against his crotch. “Em, you’re playing a very dangerous game...” he mumbled against my lips.

“Babe, if I remember correctly, you were equally involved in that make out session,” I pointed out. “Let's bring the same spirit to the scene in a few minutes.”

The scene was actually taking place in a car. Our characters are following a suspect in a case. We park the car near a building he enters and wait for his next move.

My character is a newly recruited MI5 agent who’s working her first case, while Chris is a experienced FBI agent, who hates the fact that he got paired with a newbie. The characters are having a conversation in the cars as the suspect notices them.

“He’s looking at us,” Chris said. “He noticed the car.”

I closed the laptop and shoved it under my seat. “Do you think he can see the inside of the car?”

“I can barely see the outside,” he mumbled and added after a moment. “He’s coming our way.”

I acted like I was trying to come up with a solution and started undoing the few top buttons of my shirt. “What are you doing?” Chris asked, confused.

“We're just a couple, snogging in the car.” I stated, moving my legs to rest on both sides of his thighs.

“Ok, cut!” Sam yelled. “Are you guys ready to do the scene today? We could wrap this part today.”

“Obviously,” I said. “No problem.”

Chris nodded. “Yeah, yeah.”

A part of the crew disappeared somewhere. Only a few people were allowed to be present during kissing and sex scenes, the essential crew members.

Chris sucked in his breath as I placed my lips on his. I’ve done a few kiss scenes, but we always come up with ways to just make it look like a kiss. But now, we went crazy. We had been having fun on the set and kissing was the only thing even more exciting.

We were supposed to start off like we were pretending to kiss and then really get into it.

He pushed my body against his as I tangled my fingers into his hair. “Can you see him?” I asked, not opening my eyes.

“Don’t care.” Chris breathed into my lips.

Somebody knocked on the window and we pulled away.

Sam interrupted and ordered to move the camera. We were supposed to talk to the actor playing the suspect, pretending we were just making out on the parking lot. And then, keep kissing after he leaves.

After we wrapped for the day, Chris and I left the set. In a few days we had to finish the movie by filming some more indoor scenes. Including a sex scene.

“Hey, how about we fly somewhere for the weekend?” Chris suggested, checking something on the phone, while I was driving. “I’ve never been to Scotland, that sounds nice.”

“Oh, sure,” I agreed. “We could leave Dodger with my Mum, but only if we go hiking.”

We pulled up in front of my mum’s home and noticed my dad’s car. “Oh, God. My dad’s here with his side chick and their offspring.”

“Harriet is my age.” Chris stated.

I raised my eyebrow. “So young,” I looked up at him. “There’s people in this world who are over 100 years old and you think you’re old.”

He took my hand and we went inside. All three of them were sitting in the living room with Leo on Harriet's lap. I really didn’t understand how they could get on so well, when the evidence of infidelity was sitting there with them. Harriet didn’t fancy my mum, but no one really cared. At least I didn’t.

“Mum, we are going to Scotland for the weekend.” I said, picking up Leo. He was almost two years old and incredibly cute. He was constantly smiling sweetly, especially when he saw me.

“Oh, that’s nice,” she said. “Chris, have you ever been?”

“No, no, that’s why I suggested,” he smiled as I sat on his lap with Leo playing with my phone. “We’ve been stuck in London for some time now, so I thought we could take advantage of the weekend off we got.”

My dad nodded. “That’s a very good choice.” They seemed to have had spoken more since we arrived here. I guess my dad just realized how cool Chris is.

We took Leo for a walk to the park, bringing Dodger along with us. We put Leo into a swing for smaller children and Chris pushed him gently, making my little brother giggle. “I can't believe my father and I are dating people who are the same age.”

“Stop thinking about it,” Chris sighed. “The only reason you can’t let this go, is because it’s your father we're talking about. I have younger half-siblings too and my dad has a new wife. It was hard in the beginning, but you get used to it.”

I leaned on the post next to me and watched Chris play with Leo. “Why are you always right?” I asked.

Chris laughed and lifted Leo up. “I'm not. I mostly talk bullshit.”

I sat down on the ground next to Leo, who chose to play with one of his toys now. I scratched Dodger behind his ear as Chris played with my brother. “You look good with kids,” I stated.

“We're on the same intellectual level.” He joked.

I walked up to them and placed my hand on Chris’ head to run my fingers through his hair. “We should get going, it’s almost his bedtime.”

Chris leaned his head against my legs, his hand creeping up my calf. “Could it also be bedtime for us? I got kind of excited during our car make out session.”

“My parents and Harriet will still be downstairs, Evans,” I noted. “But sounds interesting, we'll see what I can do.”

“Yess.” He cheered under his breath.

I carried Leo home and Chris pushed his stroller and held Dodger’s leash. When we arrived, my dad and Harriet were about to call us.

“We should go,” Harriet said, taking Leo from me. “He’s probably tired.”

I helped my mum clean the room after our guests, while Chris booked our plane and hotel. Mum decided to go out with her friend, because she didn’t have to be early at work tomorrow. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.”

“No, Mum, that’s fine,” I assured her. “We're leaving tomorrow, we can spend the night together.”

“I need this, Emily,” she said. “I don’t like Harriet and I’m not as fine with all of this as I’m claiming I am.”

“Oh, Mum... You should have told me.” I hugged her. “Go get drunk.”

She smiled and soon went upstairs. I joined Chris on the sofa and sat next to him. He was closing up on the booking site. “So, where are we going?” I asked.

“Inverness,” Chris read. “It looked cool in the photos. Also, it’s close to the Loch Ness lake which is exciting.”

“Romantic.” I raised my eyebrow. “My mum will be leaving in a while, by the way.”

Chris turned to look at me, rapidly. “You’re kidding,” he whispered. “You didn’t throw her out, did you?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “What kind of a daughter do you think I am, Christopher? Keep it up and we'll actually go to bed with no sexy times.”

“Oh, come on,” he nudged my shoulder. “I want you to sit on my face tonight.” He whispered, putting away the laptop.

I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say. “You’ve been very vocal about the things you want to do with me lately,” I noted, setting my chin on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see where this brings us.”

“I hope it’s road head,” he said and I burst into laughter.

“You're a reckless driver without your dick in my mouth, so I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Oh, come on,” Chris whined. “I'm an excellent driver.”

“You got 3 speeding tickets over the course of a year.” I told him, before placing the palm of my hand dangerously close to his crotch.

Chris hissed in response, looking down at my hand. “You’re playing a dangerous game, princess. I can either eat you out and then fuck you or just fuck you against the wall as soon as your mom leaves.”

I shrugged, placing my lips on his neck and gently sucking on a spot right below his beard. “Win-win.” I murmured and reached for the laptop to put back on his lap. “In case my mum comes downstairs.” Chris smirked as I opened his fly and pushed my hand inside. I knew we would be alone in a few moments, so I wanted him to be a bit worked up. I moved my hand up and down his clothed shaft. Chris’ mouth opened slightly as I slipped my hand into his boxers. “You like it?” I asked quietly

“That’s a stupid question,” He murmured and reached to my chin to pull my head to face him. He captured my lips with his, biting on my upper lip. “I want you so bad.”

As if she heard us (I hope not), I heard my mum approach the stairs, so we readjusted ourselves on the sofa and watched her put her coat on. “You kids have fun and don’t stay up too late.” she said, opening the door and leaving.

“We'll leave the door open!” I shouted to her.

Chris wasted no time waiting and stood up immediately, lifting me up bridal style and running upstairs and shutting the door to my bedroom behind us.

Next day, we had just got to the hotel from the airport and we were driving from Iverness to Drumnadrochit, where it’s apparently the best view of the lake. Also, there’s a medieval castle. Chris was really excited, because he barely ever gets to do some sightseeing.

We stepped out of the car on the parking lot. Chris seemed surprised that there were so many people there. “It's the most popular Scottish landmark, what did you expect?” I said, grabbing his hand and walking to the castle.

“Well, I thought it would be less crowded since we're off season.” He shrugged, putting on his sunglasses.

“It’s not crowded, Chris,” I looked around, noticing only a few groups of people. “The only empty places now are the stops we passed on the way.”

“Yeah, we should've stopped there,” he muttered.

I furrowed my brows, not understanding why would he want to be completely alone with me around the lake. “Do you want to dive into the lake and look for the monster or something?” I asked. He laughed and pulled me in the direction of the castle. Chris got really into the whole sightseeing thing and took a million photos, mostly of me (walking up the stairs in front of him) and some selfies in which I also was included. We asked one old German lady to take a picture of us with a view of the lake behind us. He then sent the photo to the OG6 group chat and captioned: “Found the Loch Ness monster.” I only found out about it, because my dear friend Robert saw it and texted me immediately, saying: “I’d dump him into the lake if I were you.”.

“I’m not talking to you, Evans,” I said, after I closed the boot of our car and proceeded to walk on a marked path around the lake. Obviously, we weren’t going to circle around it, but I did want to find some nice spots for some photos.

Chris knew I was joking, but still tried to make up for what he wrote. “But you’re my monster, you know.” He wrapped his arm around my waist. “I love my pretty monster.”

I rolled my eyes at him and looked around the forest we had just entered. I knew Chris was already loving the country – he loved the woods, nature and the quietness it all provided, so I was glad he had suggested we come here. “You’re safe for now,” I murmured, looking up at him and giving him a wink. “But I’m gonna keep my eye on you, so watch yourself now mister, don’t try to surprise me.”

He grinned at me. “Alright.”

We were walking around, admiring the dense forest we couldn’t encounter in California or most of other US areas. Chris was wearing a plaid shirt under his jacket, so combined with his beard, he was an exact picture of a lumberjack and I loved it.

“I want a photo of you here,” He pointed at the spot I was supposed to stand on. I didn’t say anything and did what he asked me to, because I saw how much fun he was having, just walking around and taking photos.

He took a few nice shots of me in different locations, acting like a professional photographer and saying that it would be his new lock screen every time.

We found a small beach with a bench. I walked up to the spot where water touched the rocks. “Do you think there really is something here?” I asked Chris, who was walking around behind me.

“I have no idea,” he answered, his voice weirdly excited. “But if there is, I hope people never find it.”

“True.” I agreed, looking at the hills on the other side of the lake. “All animals are better off without us. I mean, if you think about Dodger – you gave him a good home, but the people who had him before you...”

“Em,” I heard Chris behind me, probably wanting another photo.

“Chris, I’m talking...” I sighed at him. “Anyway, my point is animals don’t need expensive food or accessories, they just need to be left alone...”

“Emilia.” He tried to get my attention again.

“Chris, why can’t you...” I said and turned around to see him a few feet away from me. On his knee. Holding an open black velvet box with a ring inside. Oh my God. “You...”

“Emilia Alexandra Dawson,” he started, trying to maintain a serious tone, but I could see he was struggling. “Words cannot describe how grateful I am to God, gods, fate or whatever brought us together, for bringing you into my life. You are the most important person in my life... You are smart, intelligent, like you really are so much smarter than me and I’d probably just get lost without you next to me. I can't believe that I got to be with someone as kind and generous as you.” He took a big breath. I kept looking into his eyes which were a bit glassy right now as were mine. “Emilia, I can’t promise that life with me will always be a fairy tale. After all, I’m a Gemini.” I smirked lightly. “But you know I’ll always respect you and love you. Last year, exactly last year, when we separated... My life fell apart and I never want to be away from you again.” he hesitated a bit and inhaled. “Which is why I’m asking you to be my wife. Will you do me this honour and spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?”

It took me no time to start nodding furiously fast. “Of course, yes,” Chris stood up and took my left hand and placed the ring on my ring finger. I didn’t even take a glance at it before jumping on Chris and wrapping myself around him. “I can’t believe it.”

“Me neither,” He agreed, putting his head in the crook of my neck. “I’m so happy you said yes.”

“What else were you expecting, you stupid dork?” I asked, pulling away so I could see him face. His eyes were a little bit teary and a big grin was spread across his face. “I love you, I can’t wait to marry you.” I stroked his cheek. “But you could have found a better time to propose.”

Chris raised his eyebrow. “What? Why?”

“My hands are dry and I haven’t done my manicure in months, so I can’t take a nice photo of the ring.” I said.

Chris rolled his eyes at me and whined “Come on,” and then kissed me. It was a playful kiss, we both couldn’t stop smiling. It was the happiest moment of my life. Chris bit my lower lip and then pulled away. “Let’s let everyone know, alright?”

I shook my head. “Let’s do this later, babe,” I asked. “I just wanna sit here and enjoy the moment.”

We sat down on the ground. Chris was behind me, I was sitting between his legs, leaning on his chest. The view was incredible. There were some dark clouds on one side, but they looked magical in contrast with the blue sky on the other side. I watched the small waves on the water, caused by light wind. “I love this place,” I whispered. “It’s so much better than California or New York, or even London.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we came here to do this.” Chris agreed and planted a short kiss on my temple.

“We came to Scotland specifically so you could propose?” I leaned back to put my head on his shoulder and watch him answer.

Chris sighed. “Well, I bought the ring like a week before we came to London, with the help of your friends,” he pulled out his phone and started to scroll through it. “When we came here, I was mad, because we couldn’t get enough time off to travel somewhere and I didn’t want to just take you out to a restaurant and then casually go back to your mom’s house.” He handed me his phone and showed a full group chat he had with Amy, Sophie and Mary. He would send them photos of the rings he was looking at and ask for their opinions.

“That’s incredible,” I said, scrolling through the messages. “You gave this so much thought.”

“Yeah, I mean... This is the most important day of my life now, until our wedding...” he sighed. “What do you want it to look like?”

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. “I’m thinking... Well, I’d love it to happen in our garden, but it just wouldn’t work, will it? I have a draft of our guest list in my mind already and it’s so many people... I’d just want it to be a secluded area, with trees and grass around it... I just want it to be quiet, as small as possible...” I whispered. “I’d marry you anywhere, to be honest.”

Chris sighed and brought my left hand to his lips. “You’re making me cry,” he said planting a kiss on my hand. “Do you like the ring?”

“Of course,” I looked down at the thin band made of yellow gold, lined with small diamonds and a bigger, oval one in the middle. “It's perfect, baby.”

“Your friends said you’d prefer yellow gold, so I listened. I really should pay them back in a way, because I was hopeless without them.” He chuckled. “Anyway, how about September or October next year?”

“Um, is it the best timing for an outdoor wedding? I mean, if you don’t want it outdoor then we can negotiate, but...”

“Baby, I just want you to be happy. I know that getting married is more of a goal for me than for you and...”

“Christopher,” I interrupted him. “Do you really think I only agreed to marry you because I know you want that? Babe, I want it. So bad. You have no idea how much I enjoy the idea of calling you my husband. This makes me want the interviewers to start asking about us more, so I can just say it out loud.” Chris chuckled. “You’re a bloody prince charming. I can’t wait for our wedding. I can’t wait to have that domestic bliss with you, you know?”

“You are such a sappy romantic, just as I am.” He wrapped his arms around my neck. “Let's find the nearest date we can, alright?”

Chris took the phone from me. He switched the camera to portrait mode. We took a photo of us kissing, but with my left hand covering our connected lips and showing off the ring, which by the way, was quite heavy, and I was afraid to ask how much it cost him. “We can send this one to our friends,” He stated. “I’m so happy, I don’t think I’ll get over it soon.” He sent the photo to the chat with girls the OG6 one and to Mackie and Sebastian. We didn’t have to wait long for a response, but instead of getting a million texts, our phones blew up with calls. Scarlett called first, even though it was early in the morning in NY.

“EMILY, IS THIS REAL?” she squealed into the phone. I put her on speaker, so Chris (who was on the phone with Hemsworth) could hear her. She was so excited for us, she already wanted us to set the date for the wedding.

“Man, I know your brother will probably be your best man, but I’m giving the best man's speech anyway. Scott and I will coordinate, alright?” Mackie literally screamed. “Chris, Em, alright!?”

“Of course, man!” Chris laughed.

“Can't wait for the bachelor party!”

I immediately shot Chris a glare and raised my eyebrow. “Yeah, we'll talk about it,” Chris smiled, looking at me and kissing the top of my nose. “No strippers, though.”

When we finished talking to our friends and decided it was time to call our parents. We spent so much time talking about the engagement that we practically had half of our wedding planned.

Chris dialled his mom’s number and put her on FaceTime. “Hi, Ma!” he waved as she picked up.

“Oh, hi! Are you at the lake already? Have you seen the monster?” She asked. “Where’s Emily?”

I moved to fit into the camera and said, “Hi, Lisa,” I smiled. “We have something to tell you.”

Chris grabbed my hand and moved it closer to the camera, so Lisa could see the ring. “We’re engaged!”

His mom was shocked, happy and excited. “Congratulations, guys! I’m so happy for you.” she cheered. “Have you told your siblings yet?”

“No, we texted our friends and spent an hour on the phone with them,” Chris explained. “We didn’t think it would blow up like that.”

“Well then, make sure you call Emily's parents and then the rest,” she said. “I’m so happy for you guys and can’t wait to see you!”

We then called Chris’ dad and my parents. My mum was surprised and, as it turned out, Chris had asked my dad for his permission, so he knew about everything, apart from when exactly Chris was going to propose. My brother gave Chris their blessings and said that they were also looking forward to their speeches. We’re gonna have to hold a 24-hour reception to fit in all these speeches.

“So, I guess we need to start planning a wedding.” Chris sighed. “That doesn’t sound as fun as just being your husband.”

“My husband,” I repeated. “I like the sound of it. We really have to get married as soon as possible.”

“They’d never forgive us if we eloped, right?” Chris smirked, stroking my hand.

“Yeah, we’d be banned from all family occasions and parties.”

“But also, if we have a big wedding, we can play our favourite music at the reception.”

My face lit up. “Our first dance could be to I Want It That Way!” I squealed. “Oh God, Chris! The possibilities..."

We decided to head back to the car, walking hand in hand. We kept receiving congratulations from our friends and explaining how and when it happened. I couldn’t describe how happy I was to call Chris my fiancé. I was do happy he did it. It as the end of our commitment issues discussion, once and for all. “I hope you realise that I’m going into a full bridezilla mode starting today.” I informed Chris, as we entered the car.

“I should hope so,” he answered. “I don’t want you to win the Longest Engagement award a few years in a row.”

My jaw dropped and I turned to him. “Was that a The Office reference?” I asked.

“Obviously.”

“I love you so much, Evans.”

@daybreak96 @coffeebooksandfandom @smilexcaptainx @betinalunardi @rollinsuh @lily2089@stella2445@hy-pocrite @l0rd-disick @beholdoritou @klaussstilinski@achishisha@givenchymercury @just-trying-to-survive-marvel @henry-cavill-gossip-girl @rock-titties @bombsandsparkles @marvel-fan23 @cap-just-said-language @blackaestheticislife @justsomemarvelspam @nerdchester17 @shyofaspark @cssrogersse@crispyearthquakezombie@ultragalaxy @bit-of-a-timelord @kingofallthingsz@morguleth@calicokitkat @areelphony@gemgemswift @donut-crazs@dontchawishyouknewhowtosalsa@kandomeresbitch @deafeningpsychicpandahands @severely-theoretic@chmedic @patzammit@winterssoliderss @metalarmlover @saturnki @coolkimchijoy16 @sammyjammy92@coolkimchijoy16 @peruvian-bae @avngersx

#chris evans #chris evans smut #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic #chris evans x reader #chris evans blurb #chris evans imagine #fanfic

6 notes · View notes

tester10001000 · 5 years

Text

How KH3 could have gone and still been Nomura’s:

I’ve never posted on tumblr before, might never again, but I needed to get this out; for the sake of the catharsis I didn’t receive after 16 years with the end of KH3. The game itself was fine, in fact, I’d even rate it as a ‘great’ up until the Keyblade Graveyard. That’s when things go off the rails. So let’s rethink KH3, keeping all of Nomura’s plot points and intentions, but communicating them in a way that feels, I hope, much more rightful. I hope you enjoy this! First, the good and mostly-good. -Keep Gameplay as is—very nice. Very satisfying. Keep nice world set-up and secrets. Maybe ratchet up difficulty. Make a Coliseum in Zeus’ court to round off the whole thing as a triad. Have Yoko Shimomura write the soundtrack for real life, plz. Keep the lovely humor. Keep Sora’s excellent arc. Keep most worlds as-is: I was pleasantly surprised by how relevant and well-done most of the world’s plots were. -Cut back on the ridiculous amount of minigames that like 5% of people will be invested in and use those resources to make other improvements (like these?).-Rewrite Arendelle and Corona (and maybe Pirates?) to be unique stories–or, at least, only loosely based on the movies, while actually including important plot points. Have Pixar do it, because they kicked butt with their worlds. Include more Disney-bosses and either get rid of 100-Hundred Acre Wood, or do something more with it. -Don’t give Larxene and Marluxia magic cutscene powers like sleep and time-stopping they won’t use elsewhere. Don’t let the others, like Ansem SoD in TT or Luxord in Caribean, became decayed and cheesy versions of their prior threat. Get rid of, or explain better, why there are six new Princesses+Kairi. Explain “the Power of Waking” just a bit better. -Give us scenes between every world with more meaningful stuff re:Kairi and Riku. We haven’t really known them in awhile, so we need to be reacquainted. Have Riku actually do stuff—rather than constantly fail until Sora literally falls from the sky—like, expand on Repliku return? Or involve him in the Maleficent angle, because of his obvious and interesting connection? Maybe follow her around out of suspicion, making the Maleficent stuff feel less-tacked-on? -Have Kairi do more stuff, with more scenes expanding on her (like that lovely scene where she talks about Namine!), rather than just how Axel sees her as Xion (but still keep that, too—hence, more scenes!) -Insert a mid-climax between Corona and Monstropolis, with a return to Radiant Garden. Seriously needed to unbloat the climax and evenly redistribute the story. You could do some of this: 1. Meet the FF peeps and conclude their plot with RG’s redemption (How cool would be to hear Leon finally say “you can call me Squall”?); see how everyone is doing and how they interact with the people like Ienzo and the apprentices who caused RG to fall. We could setup the replica/sea-salt trio better here (Roxas body/who and how Xion/further Axel redemption), even though it’s probably the best thread currently, behind SDG. The FF folks were foundational to the start, they should at least be acknowledged in the end. 2. Give. Us. Sephiroth version 3.0. and resolution to that thread. 3. Have some seriously needed interaction among the Destiny Trio—(A) as individuals (sorely needed for Riku and Kairi–have her interact with her forgotten home!), (B) as a united friendship (Kairi/Riku, plz!) and © to set up the SoKai stuff better. Like, for real, we need to be able to take selfies with them—seriously, how could we have the phone and NEVER have a change to selfie with our OG friends?!) 4. Save Aqua here (don’t make her passively suck suddenly with OOC decisions) and then Ven; cement their return and relationships to everyone else (so as to stop rushing the finale and let their moment have its own power—just say they need to “rest” till the climax). 5. Tell wtf happens with Demyx. Set up Vexen/Ansem stuff better. Nomura, you could even tease Subject X girl more. C’mon. Have a tease-fight with the Org, rather than saving it all for the end.

6. It would probably be too much to ask to have Kairi and/or Riku accompany Sora the rest of the way, though it would be dearly needed. So have them do something interesting and important with their time post-RG. Make RG/HB the hub world, returning to it for various stuff. Play up Repliku, Namine, and Roxas/Xion in their hearts so we feel more invested in their persons and, thus, more catharsis when they are retrieved. -Expand on the lovely “calm before the storm” moments for our heroes—especially the Destiny Trio. Have the paopu moment, but don’t rush it so much. Have Riku, Sora, and Kairi doing something together. Have Axel engaging with someone about Xion/Roxas—along with the good Isa stuff. Show us what Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are doing -together-. -At Keyblade Graveyard opening, don’t make everyone suddenly suck. Why is Aqua not reacting -at all- to Terranort killing Ventus? What was the point of Kairi’s “infinite time training” if she just stands there so Sora can, also, not draw his Keyblade? Why are Riku and Mickey just twiddling their thumbs? Have everyone be badass, but still get beaten—then do all the interesting Final World stuff, with Riku’s words keeping Sora encouraged in death while SHOWING Kairi, as a PoH, still in the Realm of Light, somewhere in the tornado, ACTIVELY WORKING to keep Sora’s hanging on in the FW, rather than including her passively after. Or show her doing something beforehand. Just show some damn agency and the profound bonds of the Destiny Trio.

-Make the Namine scene here mandatory—I can’t fathom why they’d let that crucial plot point pass as optional.

-Keep sick final-boss rush, but don’t make everyone take a heel-turn redemption (and give us some team-up limits with everyone! Riku/Sora limit! Sora/Kairi limit! Sora/Roxas limit! SoRiKai Limit!). Marluxia and Xemnas needed to be more ambiguous in death. Luxord, Larxene, Xion, Vanitas, YX, Terranort, Xigbar, and Repliku were all great—even perfect. Saix needed to prove himself more, and there’s NO WAY Ansem SoD can suddenly be sympathetic like that. Slow it down. -Give the Xion-return moment to Kairi—not Sora. It’s perfect for her; she’d remember her because she is made of her. Gives Kairi agency and unique engagement for the both of them. Keep giving other characters agency in these moments other than Sora—let Aqua and Ven play centerstage in returning Terra, rather than Sora’s magic. Don’t make Sora the savior of every story—it feels cheap and demeans the character journeys we’ve been invested in for so long when they don’t play an active and significant role in their resolution. -Don’t have Kairi just be kidnapped again after 30-seconds of scripted fighting, after promising to -finally- invest in her immensely untapped potential. Have Saix (+Xemnas?) versus Sora, Xion, Roxas, Kairi, and Axel (also, explain how Axel got his keyblade -back-). Axel, even though he couldn’t face Xemnas, still has -powerful- character moments—at least give Kairi the same respect. Make that the last scripted battle, so that Kairi accompanies Sora to meet Mickey and Riku. -Either have Kairi use her infinite-training to join the fight with Xemnas, Ansem, and YX (to resonate that the whole Destiny Trio is together at the end, evolved, but together) or have her doing something else important (maybe with, I dunno, PoH POWERS?!). Have her ACTIVELY sacrifice herself for Sora, mirroring what he did for her in KH1, rather than MX passively killing her for no good goddamn reason while snarking at the camera that Kairi exists literally only for Sora’s motivation—even though Sora was already charging MX. Also show Riku have some damn emotion about his other best-friend. Sorry, I’m reaallly salty here. -Don’t have MX give up so easily, and get his motivation to work better with what came before in all these years. Don’t swap it out to something else in literally the last 30 minutes of the game. Don’t let the story treat flippantly him being the cause of everyone’s pain and suffering , as he is given a divine “thumbs-up” by turning into a kid with his best bud, giggling, and floating away into the light of Kingdom Hearts. What was that? Xehanort deserves better than that. Have him struggle to the end, and have our heroes really counter him—thematically, emotionally, and physically. Have Eraqus usher him away—stubborn to the end. If you want to redeem him, Nomura, you gotta be setting that stuff up WAAAAAY earlier. -Have anyone, anyone, other than Sora also care that Kairi is now missing. Have Riku and Sora go together to find her—because, you know, they’re BFFs and have the power to. Preferably explain and make it playable how they do that. Then have the lovely ending with Namine returning and with everyone together (except redeem Isa better). Keep everyone’s great new clothes, and have the whole party on the beach—end happily, with everyone (seemingly) together again in satisfied bliss. Wrap up the saga on a cathartic high note, for goodness’ sake. Then, and only then, Nomura gets to keep his ending—but in its proper place, separate in our minds from the ending-ending, in which we can feel full satisfaction for 16 years of investment. -In the Epilogue, before going to the Foretellers, show Sora, Kairi, and Riku leaving the Island. Riku and Kairi are on ahead, everything seems happy and complete (joking about Sora finally getting his mom’s dinner, eh?), when suddenly Sora hears the echo of YX telling him that “there’s a cost for it all” and that “it’s too late for him”—suddenly, Sora fades away. Show Riku/Kairi reactions -together-. Fade his fading into the dust of the Keyblade Graveyard. Do all the Epilogue. Do the Secret Ending. Everything on whatever track Nomura wants—but for us, the audience, all of us, we FINALLY GET SOLID, CATHARTIC CLOSURE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS SAGA AFTER 16 YEARS—WITHOUT IT ALL BEING TEASER BAIT FOR SOME UNION CROSS/TWEWY CROSSOVER COMBINED WITH NOMURA’s OBSESSIVE BITTERNESS OVER FFv13! Sorry, also salty about that. -Secret Ending is Riku AND Kairi going together to find Sora in Shibuya. Boom. -Also, for all our sakes, get rid of the concept of worldlines and minimize the time travel here, plz. That’s the quickest way to undermine the stakes of your story. Tl;dr: Give us more of the characters and their agency, don’t have them act OOC for bad plotting, give us a mid-climax to slow down the rushed 3-hour ending, let us appreciate what’s happening with more characterization, explain some things better, don’t fridge Kairi (and everyone other than Sora, really), give us a real, cathartic ending for 16 years of investment—then tease us in the epilogue/secret. Thoughts? Too much to ask? Too little? I tried only to make only minimal changes to Nomura’s vision, adjusted to some universally shared criticisms among fans. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and what you liked/didn’t like! If you liked this at all, I’ve been writing Kingdom Hearts at Fanfiction under the name “Marsuvees” (with hopefully increasing quality) for over ten years. I love this series deeply, and hope Nomura can get it back on track next time. He really needs to get other people involved in writing and plotting.

#kingdom hearts #kh3 #kh3 spoilers #sora #kairi #riku #xehanort #spoilers #cmonNomuraucandobetter #roxas #namine #xion #axel #aqua

2 notes · View notes

ladyoftheshrimp · 6 years

Note

I'm intrigued (inwardly squeeing with joy) by your Dark!Newt and Pregnant!Graves, if you have the time, could you write a little more on whats going on/what led up to that scene?

How could I refuse such a lovely ask? Have a little more Dark!Newt and Pregnant!Graves. This is almost a prequel to this small scene.

Dark Light

The clock ticked too loud and too slow for Percival’s liking. He was grouchy and he’d only just woken up (again) after 10am. There were vague memories of Newt pressing a kiss to his temple and whispering sweet nothings into his hair before he left. It was the big day and Percival was both relieved and terrified. Finally Grindelwald was going to be taken out of the picture solely for his benefit. Newt had promised him that whatever made Percival happy and safe was going to happen.

The first time Percival hadn’t believed him. He hadn’t believed anyone, the aurors who filed past his bed with muttered apologies while not looking him in the eye. Seraphina had been by and told him his job was still his and he had the department’s confidence behind him. The healers who told him that all was well. While Grindelwald’s spell had taken his seed hadn’t. It didn’t explain why Percival still felt sick each morning, why his stomach cramped at times as though there was something foreign in there. There were hushed voices about phantom pregnancies but nobody dared tell him to his face that what he was going through was all psychological. Newt had tried, he’d been the first to sit down next to him, look him in the eyes and tell him that he’d seen similar things in his creatures. Percival had scoffed and turned away from the man. It didn’t seem to achieve much as rather than take it as the insult it was meant to be, Newt started to talk about Grindelwald. It almost spurred Percival into a full blown panic and Newt sat and watched him try to get his breathing under control.

“You can’t even bear to hear his name, can you?” he’d asked when Percival had steadied himself and moved to a less sweat soaked part of the bed. The glare Percival sent him didn’t seem to put him off though.

“I could help. Your happiness would be paramount and nothing would be refused.”

“And if I wanted him dead?” Percival shot back with a sneer.

“When you’re ready to admit that you really do, then I’ll make arrangements,” Newt replied without batting an eyelash. It made Percival gawp at the casual ease with which the other promised him murder.

“You do realise I could have you arrested for saying such a thing?” Percival asked.

“Who would they believe? A highly traumatised man with a sudden lust for revenge? Or the New York hero who helped capture the very man at the centre of this murderous plot?” Newt’s smile was anything but kind and Percival swallowed thickly. The man had a point, nobody would believe him. Without saying any more Newt got up and left after a few silent minutes.

It shouldn’t have been such a surprise when Newt returned to Percival’s bedside a few days later. The only person who had been back for a second visit until then had been Seraphina and even she had only been by to discuss MACUSA and job related issues. Newt made himself at home in the visitor’s chair and offered Percival a pastry from a bag.

“Fresh from this morning, I think you’ll enjoy it,” Newt suggested.

“The healers said I shouldn’t have anything other than their pre-planned meals just yet, my stomach isn’t up for it,” Percival replied and pushed the bag away ruefully. The bag was pushed back towards his stomach.

“The healers want you back in fighting shape and think the phantom pregnancy cravings you’ve had can be cured by deprivation, they know nothing. So have a pastry and enjoy it. I promise they’re not poisoned,” Newt proved this by taking one of the pastries and taking a giant bite out of it. After a moment’s hesitation Percival took the other pastry and took a small bite. It was bliss. The sugar, the softness of the pastry as it all but melted in his mouth. He couldn’t help the small moan.

“How do you know about the cravings anyway?” he asked half way through his pastry.

“I also know that Picquery isn’t over the moon with your condition and is looking at ways to, if not reverse the spell then at least force a sterilisation,” Newt countered. It made Percival’s face fall. As much as he’d loathed what Grindelwald had planned for him, the idea of having a family somehow warmed his heart. The fact that Seraphina wanted to take that away from him hurt. Somehow the rest of the pastry didn’t taste as sweet and he dropped the remainder back into the back as his hand rested on his flat stomach.

Newt’s visits were every few days. Usually he smuggled in some kind of food that Percival shouldn’t have been eating and their little secret warmed something in Percival. Their conversations often turned personal, Newt regaling him with stories that showed more of his character than Percival thought the man realised. The ruthless efficiency that Newt demonstrated in his pursuit of creatures was admirable. Even more so was his determination and dedication to the protection of those he held close to his heart.

It contrasted so deeply with Seraphina’s clinically detached visits. She spoke only of his duty, his return to his post and what was expected of him. When she brought up the idea of sterilisation was the day Percival made up his mind.

“Can you get me out of here?” he asked Newt as soon as the man sat down.

“Sure, where will you go?” the ease of Newt’s reply stunned him. He’d expected some resistance, had thought up of arguments and ways to cajole the man into helping him. So the question surprised him and belatedly he realised he didn’t have a reply. To leave MACUSA’s healers against advice was considered an internal crime. The healers were there to get people back to their jobs as quickly as possible. To defy them was mutiny. It shouldn’t have sent a thrill up Percival’s spine but the idea of doing something against the strict rules held a certain appeal. It was time he lived for himself.

“Be ready at 1:34 in the morning. We don’t have time to waste. Picquery wants the procedure done by the end of the week,” Newt told him and then began prattling on about some creature or other. It made Percival think he had imagined it all but the parting “see you soon” was so out of character for Newt that he knew he hadn’t dreamt it.

The lights at the nurses’ station dimmed at 1:30 after the final ward rounds were done until 3:00. Percival shifted in his bed, his worldly possessions wrapped in a spare pillowcase by his feet. Exactly four minutes later there was a tap on his window. Quietly he got out of bed and baulked when a swooping evil dove into the room. There was a note attached to its tail.

Hold higher up his tail, he’s immune to the wards so you won’t trip them either on your way out.

There was no signature but nobody else in their right mind would use a swooping evil to mount a highly unsanctioned rescue mission, it had to be Newt. As instructed Percival gripped the tail firmly and held back his surprised grunt when the creature dove out of the window. He felt the tingle of wards as he passed through them but none of them were set off.

With nowhere to go that MACUSA wouldn’t find him, Percival found himself at Newt’s mercy. It should have grated on his nerves but when the swooping evil curled into a cocoon that landed in Newt’s hand while Percival stumbled on his feet into Newt’s chest it didn’t seem to matter. Newt showed him into his case and returned to the world to apparate them to safety.

Life was cosy, Percival was given a suite in the mansion Newt seemed to have acquired - it wasn’t his childhood home in England, they were still on American soil but Percival found he didn’t much care. The newspapers were abuzz with his disappearance and the rise in activity from Grindelwald’s fanatics. The two events were being linked and when Percival asked Newt about it he was only given a small laugh.

“It’s amazing how people see what they want to, isn’t it?” was all he replied. Percival cast him an assessing look, reconsidering his opinion of Newt. The man was competent and sly, no doubt about that. But perhaps he wielded more power than Percival had been lead to believe.

Falling into a shared bed had been too easy. One too many nightmares for Percival that ended with him sitting in the large kitchen with a cup of tea while Newt stumbled in, covered in muck from his creatures. The nocturnal ones required feeding at strange hours and Newt didn’t trust anybody else with his beasts.

The late night chats from the opposite ends of the table became soft laughter and shoulders pressed together as they sat side by side. They still couldn’t agree who initiated the first kiss but they were both red faced at the fact that it ended with Newt falling off his stool when Percival leaned in too close.

Nightmare became less prominent in Percival’s life as he was introduced to Newt’s creatures and he began to help out with the feeds. There was a relaxing rhythm in the care for the creature. Until one morning he took one whiff of the nundu’s breakfast and retched. A second sniff had him doubling over and heaving his breakfast onto the shed’s floor. Newt didn’t say anything, simply took the offending meat away and quietly checking with a spell that it hadn’t gone off. Satisfied he cast a charm to keep its smell away from Percival.

Realisation was slow to dawn on Percival. He was ashamed to admit it took him a few days and more bouts of random sickness until everything clicked. His first instinct was to rush to Newt who stoked his hair and reassured him that everything was okay.

“What if he finds out?” Percival whispered to Newt in the darkness of their bedroom. Their hands were linked over his stomach.

“My offer from our first chat still stands,” Newt reminded him and Percival fell silent. They drifted off to sleep without anything else being said.

It took Percival a few months of fretting, of renewed nightmares until he approached Newt. His stomach was just starting to show a slight bump which Newt adored kissing and lavishing with attention. Altogether Newt had been a paragon of support. He rubbed Percival’s back through the morning sickness, went out of his way to bring home everything Percival craved and silently bore the mood swings. Most of the time it was just cuddling Percival through sudden bouts of tears but a few times he simply stood up and walked out of the room when Percival’s mood turned so sour that Percival felt like throwing things. He always apologised after and Newt pulled him close in absolution.

“I think I want him gone,” Percival said over breakfast one morning. Newt studied his face silently for a beat.

“Anything else?” he asked eventually.

“He took so much from me, I can’t get it all back. He took my life, my possessions, my job. I just want peace,” Percival replied. Newt nodded.

“I think I can do that,” he said with a flicker of a smile. The next morning Percival woke alone in bed with a promise that Newt would be back a little after dinner.

#gramander #newt scamander #percival graves #mpreg #pregnant percival #morning sickness #dark newt

24 notes · View notes

thesimpsonsbracket · 3 years

Text

Round 1, Match 15

Duffless (Season 4, Episode 16)

This ended up being an unexpectedly wholesome episode about overcoming alcoholism with a fun science fair B plot with Lisa and Bart. Beer being such a large part of Homer's core character, it makes sense that we'd see this episode sooner or later and I think on the whole a good job was done here.

We see Homer give up beer for 30 days at the behest of his wife and he's surprisingly agreeable to the idea. This comes on the tail of a DUI he received after a tour of the Duff beer factory with Barney that shared the intro sequence with Bart's fantastic dream about the science fair.

It's nice to see Homer being open to going dry and the 30 days gives us a few cute vignettes of Homer going about his daily life sans beer. I also really loved how this episode focused so heavily on advertisements as a major factor in Homer's struggle to stay dry. I'm not entirely sure if this was meant to be a comment on the advertisement industry as a whole but it was interesting nonetheless.

As a brief aside: I wasn't able to dig up too much info on the topic, but I have the feeling that something happened during the 90s that limited how much alcohol was able to be advertised. Maybe TV ads took over physical ones like the blimp spot we see in the show or maybe I'm just making this all up. Regardless, this episode feels thoroughly 90s because of how many different mediums we see Homer experiencing ads.

Meanwhile, in the B plot, Lisa has grown a prize-winning tomato that she hopes will be the cure to world hunger and make her a household name among tomato loving families in the third world. In an incident what, let's be honest, was 100% Lisa's fault, Bart uses the tomato to 'prank' Skinner, resulting in the tomato being destroyed.

Devastated, Lisa vows revenge and as there's a science fair coming up that she suddenly doesn't have an entry for, she gets to work. I really enjoyed the whole "Is My Brother Smarter Than A Hamster" arc and while this definitely felt like a B plot, the few short scenes were all fun. Especially when Bart catches onto Lisa's plot and attempts to foil her, only to be almost immediately rumbled himself.

The only thing I didn't love about this episode was the conclusion to the B plot where we see Bart turn up to the science fair with a hamster in an airplane and steal first prize. I couldn't tell if this was Lisa's hamster or not but I guess it doesn't matter? Anyway, this felt like a weak ending to this plot and didn't really have the payoff I was hoping for. Life continues to be hard for little Lisa Simpson.

And back in the A plot, we see Homer shakily crossing of day number 30 on the calendar. Lucky this happened during a month with exactly 30 days and also started on the 1st, huh? He wants to celebrate by rushing off to Moe's to make up for his month-long dry spell but is temporarily deterred by Marge who is hesitant to let him start drinking again. Homer mostly ignores this and runs off to Moe's, only to have his sober eyes opened by the sights he sees there.

We see the episode ending on a cute shot of Homer riding his tiny bike with Marge on the basket, singing and generally being cute as they ride of into the sunset.

--- versus ---

El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) (Season 8, Episode 9)

What an absolute roller coaster of an episode. We start out with Marge in an unusually suspicious mood that we quickly discover is due to the big annual chili cook-off being today.

Chili seems to be Homer's favorite thing in the universe (apart from beer) and this cook-off is something he looks forward too each year, even though he apparently can't remember when it's supposed to happen. Unrealistic plot setup aside, this is a fantastic episode.

Eventually Homer catches on and is upset at Marge for trying to hide this from him. Marge explains that she tried to keep Homer from the event due to his habit of getting completely wasted and making a fool of himself and so, as he's donning his chili boots, he promises Marge to not have any beer at the cook-off.

And with that, we're away to Chili Town. As the family enters the cook-off, we get to see how everyone opts to spend their time. Each of their responses is funny but I especially like Marge's bit with the spice rack. We move to focus on Homer, Sheriff of Chili Town, as he makes his way up and down the rows of chili vendors in a clearly western inspired style that’s evocative of Clint Eastwood films, among many, many others.

After humiliating Flanders' pathetic 2 alarm chili, he approaches his chili nemesis, Chief Wiggum, who has something special in store for Homer this year. The Guatemalan Insanity Pepper makes quick work of Homer's tongue, leading to an unfortunate incident where Marge catches him trying to sooth his volcano-like mouth with the closest liquid which just so happens to be beer.

Over the course of this episode we start to see the stability of Homer and Marge’s relationship begin to crumble away and while this is a completely reasonable coincidence, it nonetheless is a big blow. It’s clear from the onset of this episode that Marge has zero faith in Homer which I honestly have to say feels unearned and is one of my biggest issues with this episode.

Dejected at his humiliation, Homer is gulping down water and nearly tries to drink a candle before being stopped by Ralph. He then proceeds to drink the candle in an attempt to heat-proof his mouth because that’s how that works. As a quick side note: this specific scene is one of the very few that I remember seeing in my youth. Most of the rest of this episode is a vague blur but Homer chugging the candle sticks out so clearly in my mind that it was weird to have a bit of a nostalgic flashback when watching this.

Homer returns to Wiggum, mouth thoroughly coated in wax, and demands another pepper. He gulps down not one, but four insanity peppers before walking away, his heart swelling with pride and his stomach full of molten evil. About a minute later we see the peppers start to go to work and we transition into an absolutely incredible series of scenes.

First up, we see Homer's sanity slowly fraying away. His vision gets highly artistic and he starts to hallucinate as we see familiar characters like Flanders, Mrs. Krabappel, and Nelson horrifically distorted. This scare causes Homer to wander blindly away, out into the desert conveniently located just outside the cook-off venue.

Once in the desert, things really get weird and I can't overstate how much I love this scene. We see a ton of weird art styles and techniques clash together to visually recreate the feeling of every atom in your body being simultaneously transformed into pain.

Eventually the massive hallucinations wear off and Homer finds himself lost in the desert with only the regular, minor hallucinations to hang out with like his spirit guide, a hungry coyote voiced by Johnny Cash for some reason. When asked to find his soulmate, Homer responds that it's obviously Marge and with a simple "Is it?", Johnny disappears, leaving Homer to contemplate this bombshell.

We see Homer wake up on a golf course later and are treated to a few back to back jokes that really hit me hard. Homer's in the sand trap which he quickly works out was the desert he was dreaming of. Leaving the golf course, he remarks that the crazy pyramid that he climbed must have been the Pro Shop. We then cut out to a very wide shot of a pyramid some fifty stairs high with a Pro Shop nestled at the top. Homer then further remarks that the talking coyote must have just been the talking dog who reminds Homer to find his soulmate before being turned back into a normal non-talking dog upon remembering that talking dogs don't exist.

Marge explodes at Homer upon his eventual return home and again we see Marge simply ready to be mad at Homer and completely unwilling to hear him out and having zero faith in him to keep his word. After a brief argument, Homer decides to follow his heart and leave home, convinced that Marge truly isn't his soulmate. This takes us on yet another spirit quest that wraps up the last third or so of the episode.

There are some good goofs during this montage but ultimately Homer, desperate for any kind of human interaction, makes his way to a lighthouse, intent on befriending a lonely lighthouse keeper, only to find that there's a computer running the place.

Through a series of nonsensical plot devices, Homer and Marge are eventually reunited and Homer realizes that Marge truly is his soulmate and he's immediately ready to accept her back. This is where I get a little frustrated because I feel like Marge gets away pretty clean in this episode despite behaving in a frankly awful manner. Homer didn't have a single drop of beer at the cook-off and refused to hear Homer out when he showed up the next day. She also never apologized for how she acted.

She was selfish when she tried to hide the cook-off from Homer in the first place instead of just trying to talk to him like an adult and her childish behavior led to Homer running away. I'd like to see more episodes focusing on Marge's character flaws because I think she's probably the most interesting person in the whole family and yet so often it seems that she's only used as a foil and we never get anything more than surface deep.

Even in a recently covered Marge episode Fear of Flying we get teased with bits and pieces about Marge’s backstory and her seemingly tortuous upbringing by her mother but there’s never any meaningful payoff and it’s only played up for laughs.

Not to end on a downer, but for some reason this injustice stuck with me and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth after an otherwise stellar episode.

--- verdict ---

Watching the first episode, I was sure that the feel-good family story was going to win out but Homer's insanity pepper fueled vision quest ended up being such a strong episode that I won't be surprised in the slightest if it ends up in my top ten. Small gripes about Marge's overall character and behavior in this episode aside, it's incredibly funny and manages to still have some feel-good family stuff thrown in for good measure.

On a personal note, while these two episode write-ups both went much, much longer than I had anticipated, I though that the Duffless review in particular was a great template to follow as far as balancing a straight-up review with my personal thoughts as well as balancing and pacing the A and B plots. The second episode didn't really have a B plot to speak of so it ran on even longer but I'm hoping to take this as a starting point and refine the technique a little more so we start to see more concise reviews.

#the simpsons bracket

0 notes

crasherfly · 3 years

Text

Weekly Update

Not much to report on the personal front, and that feels like a good thing.

After a couple of long weeks, a quiet one feels like a blessing. I’ve been feeling OK. Still not drinking, still getting after my workouts, still meditating and going the therapy. La de da.

My household came out of testing covid free. With a clean test came some small returns to normalcy- coffee runs and carryout pizza- and of course, gym visits. As such, felt more chill and at peace with these small semblances of normal having returned.

I spent most of my time engaged in quietly productive projects.

My screenplay inches toward 200 pages, and I finally started the next chapter. Writing has understandably taken a backseat the past couple weeks, so getting back into it was a good feeling.

I’ve been prepping a new campaign for my DND group, using the Saltmarsh modules. It involves no shortage of reading, but I’m looking forward to bringing the modules to life for my players.

And of course, there’s no shortage of small miscellaneous projects- classic wrestling watch-throughs, unfinished lego projects, learning more about Spriteclub and so forth. Too much to devote space to here. Needless to say, I’m in an emotionally productive moment of my life and I’m gonna ride the wave as long as it’ll carry me.

Maybe we’ll resume the string of Serious Topics next week. But for this week, I’m good with just saying “hey, the week’s quiet, I’m feeling good, and life is very much OK”.

Video Games

Endless Space 2 (PC)

After 240 turns with this massive, turn-based 4X, I finally wrapped up my run with the Riftborn. By the end, I had forged a powerhouse empire thoroughly based on high production scores and a small but impossibly powerful military.

I ruled swaths of planets throughout 3 major constellations and finished the game with the highest score and an economic victory with the rest of my alliance.

I’m always surprised by how much each run of Endless Space 2 teaches me. I’ve been playing this game since launch and I’m still nearly overwhelmed every game by the sheer amount of gameplay and management that’s baked in. At several points every game, I will have to take a break to scour youtube and reddit for explanations and strategies of elements the game did not take time to explain.

I’ve grown to relish the challenge, but recognize it’s not for everyone. I can’t even begin to guess where I’d start with teaching a newcomer. It brings to mind my feelings as I try to learn Stellaris, another 4X I’m convinced I’ll never come around on.

Yakuza 0 (XBONE)

I woke up this morning and put in a couple of hours with Yakuza 0 over my morning coffee. I figured I’d knock out some more of the story.

Instead, I stumbled on a cabaret club and discovered a new mini-game centered on club management. Hours later, I’m still managing my cabaret club, making money and overtaking rival clubs. I shake my head in surprise and wonder- of the many things Yakuza 0 already is, I didn’t expect it also to be a compelling management sim.

And that’s really the charm of this game- a charm that you won’t pick up on if you just spend a half hour with it. If you give Yakuza 0 time to open up, it becomes more than a brawler RPG. From impromptu games of Space Harrier to rhythm mini-games to fishing to parlor and casino games, Yakuza 0 is stuffed to the brim with carefully crafted small experiences that will delight and surprise you.

It’s fair to say that on any given play, you’ll never know just what you might walk into- though at the end of the day, it’s still safe to say it’ll likely be resolved with a well-placed fist. There’s some charm to that, too.

Ninja Masters (NEOGEO ARCADE STICK PRO)

I’ve been working through the fighting games included on my NeoGeo Arcade Stick Pro. Most of them are good, but occasionally I’ll stumble into one that’s really my jam. Ninja Masters was one such surprise.

Basically, a 2D fighting game with an interesting, well-animated cast of warriors who swap between fist fighting and special weapons. Deciding when and how to deploy these styles is the difference between success and failure. The hits feel good, the speed a bit slower than your average King of Fighters game, and the characters feel unique and interesting. Think Samurai Shodown but...bloodier?

If you happen to see it floating around on consoles, definitely give it a look. I didn’t have too much trouble stringing some combos together and winning some fights (albeit on easy, but still). NeoGeo fans I’ve talked to seem to regard it positively, as well.

Excited to continue my journey with the Arcade Stick. I’ve already experienced some fun gems :)

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (XBONE)

EA dropped a huge number of games on Game Pass last week, and Fallen Order was at the top of the list. Curious, I went ahead and gave it a download. What did I have to lose?

Disclosure: I don’t really care about Star Wars.

Which isn’t to say I never liked Star Wars. Quite the opposite, actually!

I was a huge fan as a kid. As a teen and in my early 20s I was a repository for EU lore and I ran a fairly intense Star Wars Saga Edition tabletop game. I’ve watched all 6 the OT and prequels in a row in one sitting. Like it or not, Star Wars is written into my creative DNA just as surely as any religion I grew up in.

However, when the new trilogy came about, I took a look at it and the direction Disney was taking everything and said “eh, this isn’t really for me anymore”. I didn’t have any serious qualms or disagreements, it’s just that none of it sparked my enthusiasm in the way the old stuff did.

I could go on, but that’s a big enough subject for its own article. Suffice to say I consider Star Wars a creative ex of mine. I wish it well. I hope it moves on to do great things. But for the most part, it’s gonna do it without me. No respect lost for people who dig it- everyone should love what they love, and that’s that.

So. If a Star Wars game catches my eye, it’s cuz the gameplay itself looks interesting, not ‘cuz of the attached IP.

I’ve never played a Souls-like game before. The whole churn of spasm-inducing combat challenges, constant deaths and overwhelmingly dark worlds just never felt terribly inviting for a player like me who has always valued a slow and steady experience over one that relies on constant and certain reflexes. My experience with watching these types of games being played often triggers a horrible recall of my spending my youth playing games like Ninja Gaiden Black that seemed designed with the intent to frustrate and anger me, rather than ensure I have any fun.

Some people view that time of gaming as a problem to be solved and take pride in sharpening their reflexes against the carefully patterned game AI. Failure, to them, is an opportunity to learn. More power to them. Seriously, I respect that resolve. But I don’t have it. Never really have. So when I picked up Fallen Order, I expected to stall out on it pretty quick.

And honestly, I kinda have. But- BUT- I didn’t stall out as quickly as I thought I would.

I’m not going to bother recapping the story, ‘cuz frankly, I don’t think it’s very important. You’re a jedi, hiding out from the Empire. You run into some other resistance types who tell you that you gotta save the galaxy, and you go from planet to planet killing wildlife and the occasional stormtrooper as you restore your connection to the force. That’s...pretty much all you need to know. People more plugged in might get more out of it than that.

My interest is with the gameplay- which I really, really enjoyed. So much so that I actually ended up spending 2 hours with this game from the get-go. As someone who increasingly has trouble settling on games for more than a half-hour (there’s just so many to get to!) this is a pretty big success. And more importantly- I kept coming back to it!

I’m kinda stalled out as it stands right now. I’ve completed 3 planets and killed no small number of monsters and stormtroopers. I’m not the ideal audience for this kind of game- I don’t read the lore and I zone out during the cutscenes- so the plot isn’t really carrying me forward, and I’m at a point where I’m being asked to backtrack to places I’ve already been to find loot and uncover more secrets (maybe some would call this a Metroidvania? who even knows anymore).

Will I finish Fallen Order? Maybe! The combat is fun! It’s a very pretty game to look at and the environments are fun to hop and run through. The enemies to point haven’t been very compelling, but I’m sure that as your character gets stronger you’ll encounter bigger and more interesting foes.

There were other games too, but nothing I spent time with long enough to really write about...

I spent some time with VRChat on the Oculus Quest 2 the past couple of nights, trying the fan-made Among Us world as well as a few smaller worlds. It was exactly what it’s been every other night I’ve jumped in- unmitigated and mostly male-centric chaos. However, I was treated to the delightful experience of watching 14 strangers attempt to run a virtual McDonalds like a real McDonalds. It was a surreal experience that left me laughing out loud. People can be such wonderful dweebs sometimes.

I’ve still been putting in time with Pokemon Shield. I’ve been hanging out in the Wild Areas trolling for pokemon I haven’t caught yet. I’m up to 224 right now. It’s good for 15-30 minutes at the end of the night.

But aside from these experiences, my gaming time has been more limited than usual. I’m getting more time in reading now that my kotatsu is fully assembled!

For those not in the know- a kotatsu is a table with a heating device attached. You run a quilt or blanket underneath the tabletop and it traps the heat beneath the table. You then sit at the table- using either a floor cushion or padded mattress- called a futon- and it keeps your legs warm! It’s pretty great.

If people are interested, I can share more about the setup I went with for my kotatsu. Mine could reasonably accommodate 2 people with plenty of room for books and crafts on the tabletop. If you’re looking for a chill, screen-free centerpiece for a room- might be worth giving a kotatsu a shot!

And that’s pretty much it. I don’t have any holiday plans, so there’s nothing holding me back from getting the update out to you guys at the regular time next week. For those traveling, stay safe, and for those at home- hit me up! Lets play a game together this Thanksgiving :)

0 notes