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victoriadallonfan · 4 months ago

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Let's Talk About the Alien vs Predator Films

Talk about wasted potential, am I right?

I'm struggling to format this in an interesting way, since so much has been covered over the past 20 years since the first film was released. You can read my thoughts on Aliens Franchise and the Predator Franchise as well.

Note that it doesn't include Alien: Romulus, but suffice to say it was a good movie!

I think the best place to start is with covering the themes of Alien and Predator, and the history before these films were created (and the failure of Fox).

My fellow AvP enjoyer @agendergorgon has already posted some thoughts on the topic, giving me a lot to think about, so check out their blog too!

For the purposes of this review, I am not going to include Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection, Prometheus, nor Alien: Covenant.... mostly. The AvP films really don't take much of anything beyond the first two films, though I will touch on Prometheus when it comes to religion.

Ditto for the Predator films, but that's because Predator wouldn't get a third film until 2010, 3 years after the AvP duo.

The themes of Alien Franchise:

I'm sure the first thing to come to mind is that the Alien series is about sexual assault, and you'd be correct. The xenomorph is designed to be extremely phallic, the facehuggers quite literally rape their victims, Burke locks his victims (including a child) in a room to be raped, Ash tries to murder Ripley by thrusting a rolled up porn magazine down her throat etc etc.

Some of you might also remember how Aliens was noted by James Cameron to be a criticism of the Vietnam War, Corporate Greed, and the callous arrogance of the US Military. The xenomorphs represented the innumerable "faceless" soldiers that could overwhelm more advanced enemies with ambush tactics and numbers, Burke thinks only in "goddamn percentages" and how this could benefit himself and the company, and the Colonial Marines are not only woefully mismanaged a newly brought on commander but also completely delusional with their own sense of invulnerability, only to break and panic under pressure once they meet a foe who is determined to fight to the death.

(I will NOT be tackling the fucked-upness of comparing people fighting for their independence vs a fucking Xenomorph, because holy fucking shit, it is literally the opposite AND worse counterpart to having the Predators be colonizers)

But, in the broader scope of the series, Alien - and the xenomorph - represent the uncontrollable, unfathomable, unknown. What are they? Why were they there? What are their motives? How did they end up in that ship? Were they built? How do they 'see'? Why did the xenomorph spare Jonesy the Cat? Are they intelligent life? How on earth do they function with their bizarre biology?

We don't get any real answers to these questions in the original films. The whole point of these movies is that there are things that mankind does not understand, and the horrors of space are vast. And equally terrifying is the arrogance of man (and synth kind) to think they can harness this horror for profit at the expense of human lives.

The themes of the Predator Franchise:

There's been tons of articles on how Predator is either a reconstruction or deconstruction (depending on who you ask) of the 80's action hero flick. A team of muscle laden, big gun toting, sweaty men spouting off one-liners as they mow down their enemies in a secret CIA led operation during the Cold War, interrupted by the presence of an intergalactic hunter than treats these badasses like mere toys. The massive Arnold Schwarzenegger is smacked out like a mouse facing off against a particularly cruel cat, needing to rely on tricks - not his brawns or guns - to stay alive and eventually defeat the Predator.

Others might point to its related take down of machismo. The opening scene is rife with characters testing each other's physical strength against each other such as with Dillon and Dutch, Ventura and Dutch have a small face-off in the helicopter as they try to make a pecking order, Ventura makes a whole speech about being a "sexual tyrannosaurus" and then mocked about sticking a gun up his "sore-ass", Hawkins repeatedly tries to make pussy and sex jokes, and they end up with a single woman in the group who is treated more like an object and baggage than a person for much of the movie. All of these men are emasculated by the Predator, some of them not even lasting a single second to its predations (both in tech and physicality), all of them losing any sense of quips and confidence, and the sole woman of the group survives because she didn't fit the movie's (and Predator's) mold of "tough as nails". When Arnold/Dutch is rescued by helicopter, it's not a cheerful one; he's haunted by what he endured and remains silent as the film pans into his thousand-yard stare.

All of this applies to Predator 2 as well, amping up the violence, dick measuring, and rules of the Predator targeting anyone who thinks they are tough shit for carrying a gun or knife. Even Danny Glover's victory is bittersweet, because he is now left in the middle of dozens of officer deaths, and entire subway car filled with corpses, and an antique flintlock pistol that promises the return of the Predators to Earth.

In a much broader sense, the Predator films are about the oversaturation of violence and lack of care for human life. Predator 1's main plot before he arrives is the CIA using Green Berets and then Dutch's special ops team to clean up their dirty work, giving them false information and not even reporting the Berets being MIA in furtherance of their Cold War goals (slaughtering guerrillas who were working with Soviet Russia). In Predator 2, the police are seen as being ineffective because they trample on each other's jurisdiction, with the Federal task force being willing to kill their own cops to keep the Predator existence a secret and letting it hunt people down for a better chance at capture and experimentation.

The Predator creatures are the epitome of such greed and arrogance. They are the General Zaroffs of The Most Dangerous Game, taken to a new height by showing that human lives literally mean nothing to them beyond a trophy hunt. They care nothing about our social lives, our politics, our loved ones, because for them this is nothing more than the equivalent of posh British Elite going on a Fox Hunt: cruel and sadistic, just to placate their egos. They will violate the corpses of the dead and taunt those in mourning, for the thrill of the game. And in that sense, the Predators are very human antagonists: they are not unfathomable nor are their goals beyond our understanding. The horror of the Predators is that they are creatures we can understand, communicate with, and even see similarities in their culture to ours... and that culture is putting us on a trophy rack alongside other skulls of creatures they felt a thrill to hunt.

So, did the Alien vs Predator films cover even half of these topics?

Well... kinda? Just... not well.

Not well at all.

The Build Up

Alien and Predator have a connected history dating back to the creation of the Predator itself. Stan Winston was on a flight with James Cameron some time after the famous director had finished with Aliens, and the director made a comment about wanting to see a monster with mandibles, which eventually led to the creature we know and love today.

Predator's debut on screen was also often compared to Aliens due to the superficially similar premise of a team of commandos going on a mission and fighting an unknown alien threat.

Despite what some people think, the AvP series wasn't started by the films.

Yes, there was a particularly memorable scene in Predator 2, where the City Hunter is admiring his trophy room and a xenomorph skull can be seen mounted on the wall (though, fun fact, it's actually an inaccurate depiction as xenomorph skulls look more humanoid facing), but that wasn't the first time the duo met in media.

And I'm not referring to the 1993 Arcade Game either (since that only came out a year after Predator 2).

The Alien vs Predator comic first appeared in 1989. And there were publications continuing ever since.

Think about that going forward. There was 25 years of content to choose from, storylines they could adapt, interesting forays into the cosmology and interactions between Yaujta, Xenomorphs, and Humanity.

The movies used exactly none of it (barring 1 thing: the Predalien).

Alien vs Predator (2004)

The plot of this movie is that Weyland-Yutani corporation detects a heat bloom under the ice in Antartica that reveals an underground pyramid, and in a race against his competitors, Weyland rounds up a team of elite experts led by Lex Woods to investigate the ruins (and find that the Predators have left them a convenient tunnel to enter the deep ice). Only to find out that this was a trap, as the pyramid comes to life activates a Xenomorph Queen, unleashing a brood of facehuggers on the helpless crew, all the while the Predators hunt them down. After a spectacular shitshow and release of the Xenomorph Queen, Lex and the last Predator (Scar) have to reluctantly team up to escape the pyramid and blow up the xenomorphs, ending in a final battle with the Xenomorph Queen. Scar perishes in the fight, but Lex manages to send the Queen into the depth of the artic ocean, and is rewarded by the watching Eldar Predator with a spear for her troubles. A post-credit scene reveals that Scar had a chest-burster inside of him, birthing the Predalien!

Rewatching this movie, I'm surprised at how good it looks. The opening scene of the satellite in space, several shots of the ship (and spaceship), the frozen tundra, the set pieces like the Xenomorph Queen Prison, and the CGI!

The CGI! Of 2004! I was shocked that they looked so good for something that is 20 years old now, but they did really well for themselves.

But it was the practical effects that blew me away the most. The shifting Pyramid is absolutely iconic and the abandoned whaling station is suitably creepy. The face-huggers look amazing and the xenomorphs are just *chefs kiss*. It's so funny seeing these Xenomorph effects compared to that of Alien:Covenant, and seeing how much work bodysuit and puppetry can do to make a monster look so much more terrifying than a CGI creature.

I know a lot of people didn't like the Predator's bulky appearance in this movie, but honestly... I dig it? It makes sense that not all Predators are literally built the same, and that the ones who would choose to go hunting in the artic would be the bigger ones who could hold more body heat. And the movie does a really great fucking job of making these Predators look badass and distinct from each other, with Celtic having the coolest mask of the whole group.

And the way the movie is shot is really fantastic! There are a lot of wide and tracking shots where the movie lets the atmosphere do the work instead of badgering us with words, taking its time to build up tension and soak up the visuals. One of my favorites shots they did was slow roam through the Predator ship as the systems come to life and we get to see holograms come on-line, feeding information directly into their masks. Equally good was when the Xenomorph Queen is awakened to cackling electricity and ominous lighting, showing us how vast this chamber is and how huge this Queen is in comparison to the one Ripley faces.

The same goes for most of the actions scenes, with a decent amount of cool slow-mo shots for things like Face-huggles launching themselves, Predators leaping across chasms, and showing Scar's impressive athleticism when he leaps 10 meters into the air and stabs a spear through the Queens skull.

And I can always rewatch the first time Alien Meets Predator Fight. God, that score! The music is just so damn good!!! You really feel like you are watching two massive horrors from space finally finding themselves sharing a space together.

Honestly, the Predators using the Xenomorphs as some kind of fucked up exotic pet for hunting trials and training fits the lore PERFECTLY. It’s actually a literal fox hunt not just metaphorical (and of course, in typical Alien fashion, it all went to shit).

Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

"Wait, Ridtom/VictoriaDallonFan, are you about to say something nice about AvP:R?!"

Well, after turning up the brightness and hanging blankets over my windows and then watching the movie underneath more blankets... yes!

For one thing, the Alien and Predator effects are spectacular! Some of the best work I've seen in the franchises! The fight scenes are creative and use really cool set-pieces like the sewer and power plant, where we get to see Wolf (the name of the Predator of this movie) absolutely kick ass and slaughter his way through hordes of Xenomorphs. Not that the xenos are left in the dust, as they get plenty of murders on screen and even outsmart Wolf on occasion.

I actually like the Predalien design and the idea that it’s more intelligent than the average Xeno, including holding personal grudges and understanding Predator behavior.

And the Predator tech is really cool too! We got laser grids, land mines, power fists, converting the plasma caster into a plasma pistol And I love the moment where Wolf kidnaps one of the human protags to use as live bait. Such a dick thing to do but so in-character.

Even the bits we get of Wolf mourning his fellow dead hunters was a neat addition.

And to be honest, I didn’t mind the idea of seeing an actual xenomorph infestation in real time, in a small town. I think that sort of setting would be really fun for a one-shot story.

And… that’s it. That’s all the good stuff.

What Went Wrong?

I compiled a list of sources where I got a lot of information on the AvP production: Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4

Note that a lot of these are 20 years old so I apologize for the outdated and honestly abhorrent word use that some articles and videos may use. And another apology for using the Xenopedia wiki, it was just a good shorthand for other information.

In short: Fox fucking sucks. They will absolutely self-sabotage themselves in order to make a (perceived) profit. Tom Rothman is the most well known (and he’s gone to Sony as of now), but Fox has had a looong history of being stingy and terrified of any risks for their films.

The sheer amount of drama involving Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection is an insane rollercoaster.

AvP removed pretty much any sense of horror and purposely had the design of the Predators to be more “human” and “heroic” (hence the weird human eyes and bulky physique), with a PG-13 rating for more audience numbers. While the human characters aren’t bad, they are not unique or even memorable (barring the fandom romantic tension between Lexi and the final Predator). Also, it was very weird that the Predators couldn’t kill a single Xenomorph, meanwhile the Colonial Marines couldn’t trip without blasting apart swarms of them. It felt like they really wanted to save money on the film in that regard.

AvP:R was even worse, with it being filmed with such a lack of lighting that people could not actually see any of the movie, and even modern advancements in color grading make it a strain. The human characters are awful, just absolutely boring and unremarkable beyond being veiled callbacks to characters from Alien, and we get a bunch of stupid Dawson’s Creek drama involving teenagers who look like they are 30 years old fighting over a girl who has no personality because she was written to just be “hot girl”.

If the story had focused entirely on the wife coming home from the war and dealing with the fact that her own daughter doesn’t feel close or comfortable with her after years of being gone, there could have been focus and themes and yadda yadda yadda.

Also, while this movie at least has horror aspects, did we REALLY need to see the Xenomorphs eating the fetuses and belly bursting out of still screaming mothers? Like, there is horror and then there is just being gross.

Final Thoughts

I often wonder if AvP took the wind out of the sails of Prometheus. Both play with the idea of humans worshiping aliens as gods, because Ancient Aliens is fucking everywhere, but it’s really hard to take Prometheus seriously when you remember AvP did basically the same setup (with arguably smarter characters).

And these movies have really soiled the idea of the AvP franchise barring the video games and comics. There’s apparently an AvP anime locked up in Disney Vaults and so far, both franchises have kept their respectful distances from each other.

However, with the recent successes of Alien: Romulus and Prey, there’s been a bit of a stir with some comments hinting at a potential AvP future.

Who knows. It’s been 17 years, perhaps 3rd time is the charm.

#avp #avp:r #avp: requiem #alien vs predator #alien vs predator: requiem #alien vs predator requiem #alien franchise #xenomorph #predator franchise #the predator #yautja #yaujta #film analysis #prey 2022 #alien: romulus

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sophieinwonderland · 2 months ago

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Science, and The Lie of Certainty

When you were a child, you probably learned in school what a dinosaur was. You probably learned about their habitats. You probably have seen their pictures in your textbooks.

Not to mention seeing them in movies like Jurassic Park, The Land Before Time, The Good Dinosaur, etc.

Except thinking about what dinosaurs look like, you probably realize that they have changed. Our understanding of what they most likely look like has changed. And in the media that we consume, the dinosaurs look differently today than they did 30 years ago.

Even in media, the dinosaurs depicted in The Good Dinosaur look different from what we saw in Jurassic Park.

As children, you were probably certain about what dinosaurs look like. They're in books, after all!

Maybe you still feel a certainty today. Maybe you think that the new more hairy and feathery dinosaurs that we would see in modern images are what they actually look like and this is going to stay the same and never change.

So allow me to inform you that, unfortunately, your certainty is misplaced.

The truth is, even as much as we know about dinosaurs today, we will probably never know exactly what they looked like. There are some things that just don't fossilize and won't be preserved.

We can guess at their habitats, at their behavior, and scientists can get a whole lot right.

But we will probably never have textbooks that will 100% portray what a dinosaur looked like.

And this is pretty sad to me. Because I like to know the answers to questions. I want to understand the natural world as much as possible. I would love to be able to see what a dinosaur actually looked like, be able to observe one up close... Preferably without getting eaten.

But some things just aren't possible.

There is no fault in admitting that.

But there is fault in clinging to a present idea of what a dinosaur looks like.

To pretend like science has all of the answers. That the popular theories about what dinosaur behavior might have been like is 100% confirmed. When in reality, there's a good chance that our understanding of them might change dramatically in the next 20 years, 50 years, and 100 years. And even a century later, we still won't be able to know everything.

There's a fantastic paleoart book you may have heard of called All Yesterdays that presents alternatives for how dinosaurs may have looked based on recent findings and some creative liberties in some cases.

One example of this is the Leaellynasaura. This is what this dinosaur would have looked like according to Wikipedia:

All Yesterdays presents an alternative possibility though based on the same skeleton.

This is dramatically different from what we see in the first image. But they give pretty solid reasoning for these liberties.

As seen before with Hypsilophodon, many small plant-eating dinosaurs will have their popular images greatly revised thanks to new discoveries of social behaviour and integument. Instead of looking like two-legged iguanas, these animals will have to be re-imagined with the extra possibilities offered by furry bodies and communal living habits. Here is one more small ornithischian re-interpretation, this time featuring Leaellynasaura. This dinosaur was discovered in Australia, where it lived during Early Cretaceous times, about one hundred and ten million years ago. At that time, Australia was located close to the Earth's geographic south pole. Although its climate was possibly not as cold as today's Antarctic, the axial tilt of our planet meant that Cretaceous Australia did not receive direct sunlight for long periods of time, and almost certainly experienced sub-zero temperatures. Aside from being a polar dinosaur, Leaellynasaura was also extraordinary for its immensely long tail, which was almost three times as long as its body. Nobody knows why Leaellynasaura had such a long tail, or what it used it for. Theories range from the tail being used as a climbing aid, a sexual and social display feature, or a long, shaggy “scarf” that the dinosaur wrapped around itself as protection from the cold. It has even been suggested that the tail aided the animal in swimming! Drawing on these facts, we reconstructed Leaellynasaura as a rotund furball that scurried peacefully about in the polar forests of Australia's past. We imagined its long tail as a thin, signalling "flagpole" that helped it identify and keep close to members of its herd. No doubt some people will find this reconstruction preposterous, and perhaps they will be right. However, we felt that not enough dinosaurs were reconstructed as "cute" beasts, whereas in nature, polar animals can look quite pulchritudinous under layers of fat, muscle, fur and other insulation.

Later on in the book is a section entitled All Todays which, to really drive the points home about how little we understand about how dinosaurs may have looked, tries to imagine how future paleo-artists might interpret creatures who exist today based on the same errors we've made.

For example, going with the theme of how fat doesn't fossilize, someone from the future might make this sort of reconstruction of a common modern animal:

Alternatively, perhaps swans could be reconstructed as preadory wingless monsters.

And for the faults of assuming all dinosaurs were scaly in the past, it could be equally dangerous to assume that now that we've discovered some with fur or feathers that we should extrapolate to all dinosaurs.

Such extrapolations could lead to fallacious assumptions, like how a future paleontologist might assume that because rats had fur, the same must be true for iguanas.

There are so many more examples in this book that I would love to share and discuss because it's just fantastic.

But I have to end this post at some point.

So let me just bring this back to the main point. Which is that we know very little. The more you learn, the more you realize how little we actually know for certain.

Certainty of science is often a lie.

As true as this is about paleontology, it's true of a lot of other fields too. It's true of psychology, of history, of neuroscience, of biology, of astronomy. While there is a lot that we do know, there's a lot more that just ends up being our best guesses.

And that's okay.

It's okay to accept that we still have so much more to learn about the world around us.

This is something that should be embraced.

There is safety in the comfort of the lie of certainty. But it is a lie. It's a cozy blanket that was weaved around us when we were children and learning about the world, convincing us that we had all the answers when we don't by covering our heads to the larger world outside the blanket.

And while pulling off that blanket and realizing that we don't know everything is scary, we NEED to pull it off to be able to acknowledge that we have room to learn and grow.

We need to be able to proudly say, "I don't know, and that's okay because it means I have more to learn!"

So please keep learning and keep questioning everything!

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cardierreh15 · 4 months ago

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Variants

Please read part one to understand part two! ⚡️🐺 if you choose to be lost that’s your business but I warned ya!

***I do not consent to anyone translating, copy and/or repost my work!!!

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!! MDNI

Warnings 18+: Cursing , Angst , Mentions of Death , Blood , Smut - Logan being an absolute MONSTER (this is very graphic) & Ororo being folded like a pretzel, lil bit of Voyuerism , Oral(Female Receiving) Face Sitting 😁, Scratching , Fingering/Masturbation , Minor Begging , Basically, Pray for her pussy. 😭

Pairings: Logan Howlett (Cavillrine) x Ororo Munroe also known as Storm

Description: Logan & Storm have a heart to heart. ⚡️

Word Count: 6.8K

Song: Earned it by The Weeknd

Side Note: Ororo's thoughts are in Italics Bold and OG Logan's voice is in orange italics.

Side Side Note: There are some elements taken from the X-Men movies but this is my own twist on it. I do not own the rights to those films or the characters. (Halle Berry is also not the Storm here)

Part two

Since Ororo’s arrival on Earth 199999, the weather has been less than satisfactory. The humans either blamed the wrath of Mother Earth or “Those Damned Mutants.” There was no in between but they were right about one thing.

The Storm goddess did have parts to play in why the weather was the way it was. Ever since she’d been here, her powers have been obstreperous; unpredictable and uncontrollable. It took her almost 20 years to get it right back home. And now here she was again starting from scratch.

But the weather wasn’t the only thing that she had a hard time with. Nightmares haunted her at night; leaving her companion as exhausted as she was. She screamed, wept, and even had full conversations.

On occasion, he’d get up from the large sectional that he slept on and drag himself to the bedroom. He wouldn’t dare wake her though, he’d just watch as she would cry and struggle to breathe. A part of him was afraid to wake her up while she was in such a state. He’d prefer to have his insides raw instead of scrambled like an egg.

As much as it pained him so, he’d watch her suffer until she quieted down. And by then, twilight had come and sleep was no longer an option.

Today was a regular day for both of them. Logan was tucked away in the garage working on something that’d aid his boredom. While Ororo was focusing on peeling the clouds out of her view. Her eyes white as snow and focus dead set within.

With her straining came the grunts and the gritting of her teeth. Blood began to drip from her nose and her headache returned. ‘Almost—‘ She huffed as her held up palms began to shake as if they were holding something heavy. And finally, the clouds disappeared from view.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, her eyes returned to normal and her arms dropped to her sides. They felt so heavy. And the headache remained. But on the bright side, she’d finally made progress and plucked a big rain cloud out of view of the blue sky.

‘Y’know, we could’ve used someone like you back in the day.’

Ororo whipped her head around but stumbled slightly when the dizziness came just as quick. ‘Mmm.’

‘Whoa, easy.’ Logan said as he reached out and grabbed her waist, helping her catch her balance once again. He took a good look at her, ‘You’re bleeding…’

She wiped her nose with her wrist and looked down at the bright crimson blood, ‘Oh… yeah. Looks like I am.’ She uttered softly.

‘You don’t seem surprised. Lemme go get you something to clean that up with.’

Letting out a gentle sigh, she leaned against the wooden railing for support when he let her go. Her mind felt like mush and she felt like she had a cinder block placed atop her head. And those moments of him leaving her side had felt like an eternity.

His heavy footsteps brought her out of her thoughts and she was able to pull herself upright to face him. In one hand he had two cream colored, large pills and in the other was a glass of water with a white wet cloth thrown over his wrist.

‘Jeez! What the hell are those?!’ Her eyes grew at the sight of the drugs.

Logan smirked, finding humor at her reaction, ‘its acetylsalicylic acid.’

Ororo’s brows tugged into one as she took the glass of water into her palm, ‘Aspirin.’

Giving her a nod, he outstretched his hand for her to take them.

‘Fuck, they feed these to horses?’ She pinched them up into her fingers before dropping them into her mouth and taking a big gulp of her water. She swallowed in hopes of swallowing both of them, but only swallowed one. ‘Ugh! They’re so hard to swallow!’

Logan laughed, ‘Only cause you’re thinking too hard! Drink some more water.’

She knocked back another gulp of water and swallowed hard. With her hand on her chest, Ororo whimpered and glanced up at him, ‘That went down hard. That’s super gross too.’ She took the cloth and wiped her nose free of the smeared blood.

‘Well it’s medicine, Ororo it’s not supposed to be tasty.’ He chuckled deeply once more as he rested his weight on his arms, leaning against the wooden rail.

‘It—‘ she paused for a second and did the same. She glared at him in a knowing glare. He’d been calling her Storm for weeks on end. But he said it right as if it came naturally.

‘You said my name right.’

Logan looked over at her, ‘I’ve been practicing. Besides, you call me James and I think it’s only fair that I address you by your name.’

Aw, she couldn’t help but feel a twist in her chest when he said it. It sounded just how James would say it. Effortless and again, natural. Easy. A smile curled on her lips, ‘Well, that’s thoughtful. Thank you.’

‘Mmm.’ He hummed softly before peeling his eyes away from hers to look up at the sky. ‘Seems like you’ve made some progress huh? It feels good to see some sunshine.’

She brought the glass up to her lips once again to take a sip then placed it down next to her. ‘I guess the world has me to blame for that.’ She grumbled with a gentle pout.

‘I don’t. I think the gift that you have is extraordinary.’ He smiled at her softly, ‘If you don’t feel like carrying the burden of how the world thinks of you, we can always switch?’

Ororo laughed and shook her head, ‘I don’t think I’d manage well with being one of the heaviest mutants on Earth. I’m already clumsy as is. Me falling will send me to hell I’m sure.’ The both of them laughed once more before they grew quiet again. ‘Thanks.’

Since she’s been conscious, Logan has been making it his responsibility to make her feel as comfortable as possible. It was the right thing to do. She came from an entirely different world and landed dead center in another one. He couldn’t imagine going through something like that alone, so he’d figured that she didn’t have to.

‘I want you to meet some friends of mine.’

Raising a brow, Ororo laced her fingers together. ‘Friends? You mean—‘

‘Yes, them. I don’t know what happened to the Xavier on your world but, there’s one here… and he can help you with controlling your abilities.’

A soft smile curled on her lips. It was a thoughtful gesture. She couldn’t really say that she was surprised. Beneath that hard exterior, her James was just as kind. ‘My X—…’ she sighed softly as the memories played back in her head.

It was a death she could never really heal from. He was like a father to all of them. And she would’ve never thought she would’ve been the one to do it.

‘Professor Xavier died long before…’ she bit into her bottom lip and glanced away.

‘Before?’ Logan pressed as he placed his large hand at the center of her back.

His touch had seemed to bring her back to reality. She blinked away the tears and cleared her throat when she felt herself choking. She knew that she was gonna have to talk about it eventually. She couldn’t be reticent about her past forever.

Soft thunder grumbled in the distance causing Logan to look up at the sky. Once again, the sun vanished and light gray clouds took its place.

‘Here, let’s go inside. I heard ladies like tea. I think I have chamomile.’ He held his hand out for her to grab.

A feeble smile curled up on Ororo’s features. This look had come quite familiar to him. He witnessed it everyday. But perhaps today, he would try playing a part where he can bring joy behind her smile, instead of sadness and dismay.

Instead of taking his hand, she gave him a nod and walked towards the patio doors and pulled it open.

Logan watched her walk into the house before scooping up the glass that she left behind and followed suit. He closed the slide door behind him before placing the cup into the sink. Then, he filled up the tea kettle and placed it on the burner.

Ororo plopped down on his recliner and pulled her feet beneath her as her grief became her ailment once again. Her brown eyes were sad and she sported this foreboding frown.

She sat there, her mind thinking about the day that Charles died. Things weren’t supposed to go down that way. Jean was supposed to willingly come home with them. She was supposed to get help. But Magneto was there. And he brought back up with him.

‘Here.’ Logan deep voice uttered as he held the mug out towards her.

Ororo looked up at him before taking the warm mug into her hands. She gave him a hesitant smile before turning her attention away once again.

He walked to the sectional that sat across from her. ‘I see you’re comfortable?’

She was dumping her tea bag into the water so the herbs could soak better. ‘Hmm?’

‘The recliner. You like it?’

Ororo gave him another fake smile, ‘Yes, it sits well.’ Her bleakness was quite telling. He knew that when she became cold and short, that she was more than likely fighting her inner demons. Those demons being the torturous memories of her past life. The good and the bad.

Logan sat there quietly, his elbows resting on his knees, slouching over with his silver dog tags hanging as he tried to figure out what to say to her. One would think after losing so many people, he would know what to say to her. But it was different when one of the people that she’d lost was actually him in another timeline.

‘You don’t have to say anything…’ she said softly as she toyed with her tea bag, swirling it around in the now flavorful hot water.

‘Huh?’

Ororo’s eyes flickered up from the substance in the mug to his face, ‘You don’t have to say… anything.’ She paused, ‘I’ve been here for almost two months and you deserve to know more of the truth.’

He sat up straight, looking up at the ceiling when the storm caused the lights to flicker on and off. He then glanced down at her, ‘Uh— you sure you wanna talk about this? The um—‘

‘It’s fine.’ Rain began to beat down on the roof of the cabin and its windows. It would’ve made the perfect lullaby, but they wouldn’t be doing much sleeping tonight.

‘Jean Grey… killed Charles Xavier where I’m from. And she’s also dead… because James killed her.’

Logan’s face hardened at the news. He was taken aback from it. The people that were alive and well on this Earth, were dead and gone on hers. ‘Wh-How did she do it? Was he not-‘

‘No. Previously before Jean’s death, she died before that… or so we thought. Drowned at the bottom of a lake to save us. She killed Scott—‘

‘Cyclops?!’ He sounded a little less surprised this time.

‘Yes… her lover.’

‘Pfft, well. That would make sense he’s a dick.’ He uttered before taking a sip of his tea and placing it on a coaster.

Just as she thought he’d say. That alone caused a tiny smile to quirk up on her lips for a short moment before she nodded, ‘Anyway, she was brought back to the school so she could be nursed back to health. But when she came back she… she didn’t come back whole. Someone— something else resided within her. She was cold, evil, impulsive— just out of control.’

Logan was listening intently.

‘Magneto—‘

‘Tuh—‘ Logan clicked his tongue as he sat back against the sofa, ‘He a problem in every damn universe?! Jesus Christ!’

As much as she wanted to laugh, Ororo kept herself under control. This was a serious conversation and it was a very important moment for her. ‘Unfortunately so. Magneto got ahold of Jean. Thinking that he could manipulate her into standing side by side with aiding the civil war against the humans for the cure.’

‘The cure? You mean like…?’

‘Yes, exactly what you’re thinking.’

Logan never understood the thought process behind “curing” mutants. But he felt that mutants had the right to protect themselves from those who wished to do them harm.

But the code of honor of the X-Men went against that principle because then, they appear to be what the humans paint them out to be. The fine line between them had often crossed when he was involved.

‘But even she was too powerful for him. We went to Jean’s childhood home in hopes of bringing her back to New York. But we were already too late. Magneto was there and things got out of hand.’ Her heart ached as she remembered just seeing his suit laying there before her and James. ‘Magneto’s men kept us busy and by the time James got to them… Charles was… dead.’ Tears filled her eyes but she quickly wiped them away with her thumb.

‘Wh-‘ he began, ‘Ororo, I’m sorry to hear that. That must’ve been… that must’ve been very hard for the team. I couldn’t imagine losing him like that. And Jean… man. That was deep.’ He let out a shuddered breath.

‘Yeah…’ she trailed off before looking down at her tea again. ‘Then uh— a few years later, the sentinels took over and well— that’s how I got here.’

‘Sentinels? I’ve heard you mumble their name in your sleep.’ Logan paused and narrowed his eyes, ‘What were they?’

Looking back up at Logan, she instantly was reminded of their appearance when she heard their name. They were what fueled her nightmares. They held nothing behind their eyes. No compassion, no feelings not once or ever. They were created out of hate and were programmed to do a job that the humans had been trying to do for centuries.

Swallowing her spit she started, ‘In 1973, Mystique murdered Senator Robert Kelly.’

‘Good!’ Logan said cheerily, ‘He’s also a Grade A dick.’

‘No, not good. He was proposing a bill… a bill that the government would create an army of robots to eliminate the race of mutants. The United States was kind of hesitant at first and considered it such an inhumane situation. But all he had to do was die. So, after his death they hunted her down but not because she was a fugitive but because she possessed something that could aid the cause.’ She sighed softly before continuing, ‘Her ability to take the appearance of anyone and even possessing their abilities.’

‘When they caught her… they killed her. They took her DNA and remodeled it around the idea of “Mutants are dangerous and shall be put down, no ifs ands or butts about it.”. And so, the Sentinels reigned. They began with the lookers… anyone that didn’t fit the human appearance. But that didn’t matter anyway, because they even put humans on their hunting list.’

‘Jesus Christ.’ He murmured as he ran his hands over his face.

‘He wasn’t there… all hope for that was gone. We had an idea to go back in time to right the wrongs. But they found us out and killed everyone except me and James. We got away but then they found us again by detecting our abilities. Strange created this portal but no one knew where it led to. But they were already waiting for us there. Those damn things… always one step ahead.’ She scoffed and shook her head.

Go!!! I’ll hold them off!

No, no, no, no! I’m not leaving you, James!

You have to, Storm. If you don’t then who will continue our legacy?! You have to go!

His words stung just as they did then. She didn’t want to leave him behind. The intention was for both of them to go. But James made for a hell of a distraction. Tears fell down her face and she sniffed.

Logan automatically put two and two together. Because if James wasn’t here but she was… the unthinkable happened.

‘He sacrificed himself to save you.’

She wiped her tears and nodded. ‘Yeah.’

‘Fuck. Jesus — Storm, Ororo. I’m sorry. That’s… that’s rough.’ He sighed as he tore his eyes away from her. After absorbing all of that information, anyone would think she was losing her mind or perhaps it may have been a figment of her imagination. But her behavior. The nightmares, her grief.

Even he felt the pain from all of her loss. No one could fake something like that.

‘I don’t — I don’t even know what to say other than… you are probably the strongest person I’ve ever met.’

Ororo scoffed and wiped her nose, ‘Thank you, Logan. I just thought I’d never be without him… y’know?’

Logan cleared his throat and nodded, ‘Well uh…You’re not exactly without him. He’s with you in spirit.’

A smile curled up on her face softly and as she nodded in agreement, ‘Yes, yes I suppose he is.’

***

Their conversations about their contributions to society had been drawn into the night. They laughed and talked about what the craziest things they’ve done to save people and the craziest things they’ve seen in general.

‘Well, I’m gonna shower. I’ll be out for dinner in a little while.’ Ororo gave him a smile; now cheered up after the much needed talk. She placed her empty mug down on the coaster and pulled herself up from the comfortable chair and started down the hall. Then she stopped in her tracks and turned back around to face him. ‘Oh, Logan—‘

He’d picked up their mugs by their handles and stood up before turning around to face her. ‘Yeah?’

‘Thank you… for everything.’ The rain had come to a light drizzle and the thunder ceased to exist. A big pretty grin curled up on her lips before she spun around and walked towards the bathroom.

As he watched her walk away, he let out a gentle sigh as he felt his heart palpitate in his chest. The uneasy feeling caused him to clear his throat.

She stood in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She felt like there was a time for a change. Time for her to start the process of moving on and healing the way she wanted.

Memories of James running his fingers through her locks and how he’d learned how to braid her hair so it would stay out of her way when they’d fight. How he used to tug it when…

Opening the medical cabinet, she rummaged in there until she found a pair of surgical scissors. Bringing the legs into her fist, she contemplated what she was about to do. Doing this, would be the start of cutting the old James out of her life… and letting the new one in.

Taking the scissors to the spots where the dreads began, Ororo began to snip them off until she was left with nothing but a small pixie Afro. She felt lighter physically and metaphorically. She'd miss all of her hair. It was down her back and it became a part of her identity. But it was time that she made a new one for herself.

Scooping up all of the hair, she placed them in the bathroom’s waste bucket.

Ororo couldn’t believe what she’d done. Taking scissors to her hair like that; hair that was way past her rump and took her 15 years to grow.

But she wanted to start anew. There was no escaping her new life and it was time she stopped running from it and heal the right away. And to do that, she had to let him in.

Her brushed out hair. It was cute and brought out the roundness in her face. It also made her appear youthful.

She turned on the hot and cold knob before stepping into the spacious walk in shower. She reached over and grabbed her body wash, lathered it up in an African bathing net and began to scrub herself as if she were cleansing herself of her past instead.

Mmm, you smell so good.

Tell me how you want it baby.

That’s it, my little storm cloud.

Ororo shut her eyes, ‘Mmph!’ She hummed as she felt a familiar tingling sensation in her lower belly. She let out a gentle whimper as titillating memories clouded her mind.

Her heartbeat began to pick up when his voice flooded her ears. This was James' favorite place. It’s where he would wash off the labors and hardships of the day or in some cases, weeks. And it was also James’ favorite place to fuck. She could practically feel the ghost of his hands all over her body. Gentle sighs and suppressed moans rumbled in her chest as her hands followed while the water rinsed away her suds.

Meanwhile down the hall in the living room…

Logan was sitting on his leather recliner where she’d left him after their emotional conversation. His reading glasses rested at the tip of his nose as he read some of his mail. ‘Yadda, yadda—‘ Then he paused. A particular scent filled the air. Taking over his senses that instantly caused goosebumps to trickle over his skin.

Then, the whimpering and whining followed.

With his own heart ramming out of control, he took off his glasses and let out a deep, shaky breath. He could feel his animalistic urges creeping up on him. And the more he tried to conceal them, the more carnal they became. His body began to heat up and his cheeks became flush.

‘OK��‘ Logan grumbled as he ran his fingers through his curly locks. ‘Just be… cool. You’ve been around plenty of women.’ Well, she happened to be the first woman he’s been attracted to in a while.

‘I want you so bad right now!’ She whispered.

He snapped his head towards the door down the hall. An unwarranted growl vibrated in his chest as he slowly began to give into his lascivious urges.

‘God, please don’t make me do this.’ He uttered to himself as he brought his hair into both of his fists and tugged at it; walking into the opposite direction to walk out the front door.

But as soon as she called his name…

‘Mmm, James!’

That was the green light for him. ‘Goddammit.’ He hissed as he quickly tore off the wife beater, then his belt and jeans. Socks and his briefs were gone by the time he’d even made it to the bathroom door.

Not even bothering to knock, he gently pushed the door open to see her brown silhouette through the patterned shower glass door. Glancing to the right was her long white dreadlocks sitting in the trash can. He’d be sure to ask why she got rid of them later. But right now, he had more pressing matters that he must attend to.

Ororo was in a deep trance as her own hands made love to her body as if they were James’ instead. A mewl left her lips as she unknowingly turned to face him in the shower; putting on a show for him.

Inhaling deeply at the sight of her gorgeous body he could feel the familiar numbness creeping up his spine. He watched as the water trickled down the peaks and valleys of her body. Oh how he’d wished he were in its place instead. To be able to touch her like that.

He also took note of the battle scars she possessed and the others that came naturally; her stretch marks on her hips and waist, thighs, her belly and breasts. God she was perfect. Logan swallowed before he slammed the shower door hard enough to grasp her attention.

Her eyes slowly opened as a harsh gasp escaped her chest. She quickly covered her pretty brown tits with her arm and hid her crotch with her free hand and thigh. ‘Logan! What are you doing?!’

‘You called, I came.’ He said as he took a step forward.

She took a step back, ‘I—I did not! I—I said…’ Ororo looked up into his dilated, hooded eyes. The same eyes James used to give her when it was time for him to breed her.

‘Hmm?’ He hummed as he took another step forward.

‘I said… I said James! I wasn’t—‘

‘You weren’t talking about me? Yet, I’m the only James here… and we—‘ he walked forward through the water as her back was finally pressed firmly against the cool tile. ‘We are practically the same… right?’

Practically would be an understatement. From the way they wore their hair and clothes to how he spoke. The only thing that set them apart were their eyes. And she could admit, his eyes were quite unique. Blue like the sky with just a touch of brown as if God spilled a little bit of honey into them.

‘I—I—‘ Ororo was stuck in his gaze. She felt as if she were to take her eyes off of him, she’d die. His eyes were her lifeline in this moment.

Logan brought his hand up and rested it against the wall to trap her there. ‘You’re gonna allow me to do what he can’t?’

Ororo let out a gentle shudder as she slowly dropped her hands to reveal her body to him once again, inviting him in.

He scooped her up in his arms, earning a surprised gasp from her lips and a gentle giggle followed. ‘Fuck, you smell so good.’

She wrapped her legs around his waist, ‘So that’s how you found me out… you smelled me.’ Ororo teased.

‘I did.’ Logan smirked, ‘That’s what animals do right?’

The woman had no idea what had come over her in those next few moments, but the longer he held her in his arms like this, the more aroused she became. Leaning in, she parted her lips before slipping her tongue into his mouth. He welcomed her lips into his as their tongues instantly massaged at one another.

Had it not been for Logan holding her up in her arms, Ororo was sure that she would’ve crumbled to her knees. But it was delicate and languid as if they were exploring and learning about one another. The kiss felt familiar but so different at the same time. She ran her fingers through his wet curls as a moan rumbled in her chest.

Logan broke the kiss and looked up at her with lust induced eyes as he sank his teeth into his bottom lip. ‘I love your hair like this.’

‘Yeah?’ Ororo purred.

‘Oh yeah.’ He chuckled before meeting one another’s lips in a much more greedier, confident manner. As they devoured one another, Logan reached beneath her and began to rub at her cunt.

She gasped sharply as she ripped her lips away from his.

‘Tell me how you want it baby.’ He uttered as he gently worked his fingers against her pussy.

Just like James.

Licking her smile, she demanded, ‘Why don't you do a taste test hmm? See if I taste as good as I smell?’

Logan grinned and placed her down on her feet, ‘I like the sound of that.’ He snatched her lips up into hers one more time before he took her hand and spun her around gently. Lightning bolts for stretch marks danced around the curvature of her juicy ass. And just like that, the growling returned.

Huffing like a hound, Logan got on his knees and assumed the position for her to mount his face.

Being that he was still tall even on his knees, he had to help her onto his face. His mouth opened, tongue out and flat for the proper seat while his nose nestled right against her asshole.

Ororo’s head fell back as her eyes fluttered closed as a naughty little moan slipped from the home of her lips. Steadying herself, she placed her hand on his stronger shoulder as one arm held her upright.

With her free hand, she reached behind him and ran her fingers through his semi-wet dark hair. Her toes curled as Logan began to lap and drag his thick tongue from her clit all the way to her ass.

‘Ooh fuck.’ She shuddered out as she reached up to cup her breast in her hand.

He had a tight lock on her thighs as he let her take the reins with her hips so she could control how much pleasure she wanted to feel. But that all changed when he decided to take the control back and lick, suck and kiss on her pussy as if it were her pretty mouth instead. ‘Mmm!’ He groaned, damn she did taste even better than she smelled.

It was like a big grizzly bear finally finding the jackpot of rich honey. And he couldn’t get enough!

‘Logan, oh—‘ she hissed as she felt the tingling sensation in her clit as he began to suck and flick his tongue over the sensitive numb. ‘Aaaw!’ Ororo tried to move but he had her locked in so tight, she couldn’t even move if she wanted. So he kept devouring her until she finally erupted in his mouth.

They haven’t even gotten to the penetration part of the session and she was already aspirated; out of breath and shaking from the very first orgasm that she had in what felt like forever.

Placing kisses on her inner thigh as they shook, Logan unleashed her from his deathly hold and helped her unmount from his face as if it were a saddle.

Ororo held onto his shoulder as he rose to his feet. Her knees were wobbly and she was smacking her lips together. ‘I’ve — I’ve got cottonmouth.’ She pouted up at him.

Logan towered over her as he wiped her juices off of his lips with his thumb and sucked it off. ‘You won’t have it for long.’

The shower was turned off and he had her legs wrapped around his waist again. Their tongues and mouths molted together as they indulged each other sloppily. Not being able to make it to the room, Logan carried her off to the sofa. Cool shower water dripped from their bodies and he laid her down on the couch.

When he ripped his lips away, Ororo was finally able to take in some air. She brought her trembling swollen lips between her teeth as she finally took in his body. Her desperate hands slid from his shoulders to his wet hairy chest where his dog tags rested against him. She drug her fingernails down his pecs to his abdomen. Spreading her thighs nice and wide, Logan placed one of her legs atop the cushions of the sofa.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Watching as her huge tits rose and fell with each anxious breath. If she hadn’t been touching him, she’d think this was all a figment of her imagination. She just couldn’t get enough of his godliness. How the droplets of water only defined his body.

Suddenly, Logan sank his middle finger and ring finger inside of her; palm side up.

Her eyes fluttered close, whining as her head fell back against the arm of the sofa. ‘Mmm fu—oh!’ Massaging and kneading her walls from the inside out, Logan pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed it in circles to add to the pressure. Low animalistic growls echoed in his chest and his black pupils were the size of marbles.

This was no longer the Logan that she felt comfortable with but an animal with one purpose. To mate and breed.

‘S-shit—‘ Ororo stuttered as she looked between her thighs to watch him finger fuck her g-spot. ‘Ooooh Logan! I’m gonna cum!’ She wailed; her legs twitched and spasmed as he stroked her sweet spot. Her eyes fluttered up to look at him as her body began to tense against her will. ‘Oh—GOD!’ Heaving fast as her eyes dropped down to the massive member that stood high in attention; leaking with his own pre-cum. The way it throbbed and jumped as Logan edged her on further.

A filthy, guttural cry escaped from her lips; her hips rose as he continued to rub it out of her. ‘Fuuuuck!’ She crooned. Dropping her hips back down onto the sofa; breathless as all get out. Ororo watched as he gently tugged his thick fingers out of her. Covered in her sweet stickiness, he wielded no hesitation as he sucked his fingers clean.

Was she in disbelief? Yes. But surprised? Not really.

Were they this disgusting in every universe?

Snarling at her tart taste, he snatched her waist and pulled her closer. Taking a hold of his long, girthy cock, he slapped the erected muscle against her clit. A gentle groan left his lips as he rubbed himself against her clit. God, he was losing it.

‘Logan.’ Ororo whined out.

His head snapped up as his ears perked up at the sound of his name. Like an excited puppy. So exhilarated, that if he had a tail it would wag violently. But he didn’t let his excitement get in the way of the true task at hand.

‘Beg.’ He demanded.

Ororo let out a shuddered sigh as she watched him grab one of her ankles in his large hand. ‘Pl-please?’ Her lips pouted just a little and she never took her gaze off of his.

Logan growled lowly in approval, ‘Good.’ Adjusting his hips, he placed his hand behind her thigh, right above the back of her knee. He kept her legs spread as he pressed his fat mushroom tip against her slit. Her needy pussy pulled him in a warm embrace, earning a loud grunt from him.

She hiccuped as she inhaled too much air as she felt the pressure and pleasure merge into one. ‘Mmmmph!’ Her thighs began to tremble the deeper and deeper he descended. ‘Ugh!’

He gritted his teeth together as his eyes fluttered shut. He wiggled his hips a little as he made room for himself inside of her. ‘Grrr—od—‘ he let groaned eagerly as he finally bottomed out within her. ‘—Dammit!’

Goosebumps covered their bodies as if they were connected to one another. He leaned down and pressed another sloppy kiss on her lips. As their lips collided, he stalled his hips as her comfortable walls held him tightly.

Breaking the kiss, Logan looked down into her eyes as he pulled his hips back and rolled them into her. A strangled moan left her lips as she looked up into his animalistic crazed eyes. His dog tags dangled and rocked above her as he began to slowly pick up the pace of his hips.

‘Ooh, Logan. Shit yes!’ The heaviness of his hips ramming into her was so familiar. It left her in a reminiscence of how James used to train her to take him the way she was supposed to.

You have to get used to me lightning bolt. Fuck.

And so she did! Who knew that he was prepping her for this moment?

Logan pumped his hips in and out of her like an animal in heat. Husky grunts and groans fell from his lips as his large hands held the back of her thighs. He was so deep inside of her this way.

‘Mmm, so fucking wet for me. Shit!’ He sputtered as he dropped his dick into her deeper again while his hairy balls smacked against her puckered asshole.

A high pitched shriek left her lips in surprise when he began to beat at her cervix. Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, she rested her hands atop his for leverage and squeezed tightly. Sweet aspirated grunts and mewls graced her lips as she bit into her bottom lip. She was holding back screams and sobs.

And when Logan noticed that, he brought his hips to a sudden stop. He leaned in close to her, his nose touching hers; eyeing her carnally. ‘You can scream… it’s not like anyone will hear you.’ Now he was determined to snatch her voice by the end of the night.

Ororo didn’t know if she was turned on or scared. Perhaps she was both but he placed a sweet kiss on her lips, she was reassured that he would take good care of her.

Logan began to pick up the pace again, earning a string of filthy curse words from his Goddess lover. His body pounded into hers as he panted harshly; mirroring the sound of the thunder claps outside. Lightning struck very close to the cabin as he fucked her so stupid, she couldn’t even form words.

‘Fu—huck, ye— eah! Mmm, uh!’ She looked down between them, watching as his dick delved balls deep into her over and over again. Her chest heaved as her hooded eyes peered back up at him. ‘My Gods, Yes! James!’ Ororo tightened her hold on his hands as he began to fuck harder, faster.

A loud and rough groan left Logan’s lips before he nestled his furry face into her neck where he placed gentle kisses. ‘Fuuuuck—‘ he grumbled as he retreated his hips and pulled his cock all the way out.

Huffing heavily, he found himself dripping with precum again. ‘Jesus fucking— look at what you’re doing to me.’ He laughed mirthlessly. He sounded so esurient though; hungry and desperate for her. Logan was losing his mind.

A tiny giggle left her lips before he slipped his sticky dick right back inside of her. Her back arched as he made home within her again. Her whining came shortly afterwards. ‘Fuck. Me. Logan! Yes! James! Yes!’ Part of her felt like she was fucking the old James. But something about how inhuman this one fucked her was brand new. He was relentless! Diligent and persistent in how he pleased her.

James used to give her a moment to catch her breath but this one wasn’t so kind.

He was desperate to please her and that's all he gave a damn about.

Mine, mine, mine.

‘Mine, mine, mine!’ He growled hungrily.

Just like him.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as their bodies began to heat up with their salacious work out. She brought her face into her hands, digging her nails into his cheeks as he began to steal her breath away. Her mouth fell as her womb began to twist. Her walls began to tremble and her spine grew numb. A silent moan escaped her lips as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Logan hissed as she began to draw blood when she clawed at his cheeks; healing just as fast as the wounds opened. But he never turned his attention from her. It only fueled that beastly desire more! ‘Yeah, that’s it baby! Cum on that dick!’ He gritted through his teeth; his warm flesh covered in a thin sheet of sweat and the veins in his neck popped into view. ‘C’mon!’

A tear fell down the side of her face as he stole another orgasm from her. ‘OH FUCK!’ She’d finally released a loud sob from her chest as he rutted into her as if it were his last time.

The pair fucked as if they were trying to build a family. Nasty, naughty sex filled their evening which landed them on the floor, and the bedroom. Ororo left Logan empty with nothing else to give. Logan beat down Ororo’s walls til her orgasms had become painful. They’ve done everything from Doggy style (Logan’s favorite) to Cowgirl. They were spent.

Laying in the king size bed, tucked beneath the warmth of the comforters, Logan had his heavy arm draped around her holding her close. Ororo smiled softly as her head rested against his hairy chest. She gently picked up his silver dog tags and ran her thumb over the numbers. All of the numbers but the last two were completely different from James.

‘You’re still thinking about him?’

‘Who?’

Turning his head to look at her, he raised a brow with a small smirk curled on his lips.

Letting out a gentle sigh, ‘I’m only thinking about you.’ Part of that was true. She was thinking about him and how mind blowing their sex was. But she was also thinking about him. Not in the way one would think.

Ororo was coming to terms that this was going to be her new life now. Everyone she’s ever known in her previous life or… timeline was gone. There was nothing left for her on that Earth anymore but here, she could make something of herself. She could get her power back under control. She could heal and live a happy life. By his side.

Looking up at him, her small smile had turned into a grin. And when he’d return that grin, she giggled happily. Logan ran his thick fingers through her short white coils. ‘I really do like your hair like this, thundercloud.’

Her dimples deepened in her cheeks at the nickname. ‘Good, then I shall keep it that way.’

Stay there.

Honorable Tags: @milknhonies @capswife @augustsprincess @peternoonewantsthat @raccoon-eyed-rebel @multi-culti-girl @multiversxwhore

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bobbinalong · 6 months ago

Text

So, they age down Jon Kent. And then ... what?

Jon Kent's age-up is such a controversial decision, it needs no introduction. A lot of people still desperately want it to be reversed and usually, I'm quick to judge that idea, because even when I was still all for an age-down myself, I wasn't thinking even a minute past that.

Eleven-year-old Jon Kent was adorable and bright-eyed and I missed that adorable kid but let's be very honest, there wasn't too much depth to him. He was just ... a kid. And that was his appeal to me but that's not something you can draw a million stories from, it's quite a finite well of ideas.

But ... that's my opinion. My view point is limited to myself. So, with this post, I'm genuinely asking: And then what? What could they possibly do with an aged-down Jon they couldn't do with a 17/18-year-old Jon.

Under the cut I'll be looking at some of the ideas I've seen thrown around for this age-down but you can easily ignore that, it's just me ... rambling.

Just tell me why you think Jon should be aged-down (and I promise not to be a dick in response for once), because that's what this post is for, that's what I want to know. I'm curious.

Now:

"They stole Jon's childhood. I wanted to see him grow up."

This one, I sorta understand, because this is where I was coming from. These days, I'm more ... "eh" on it. Jon still grew up. He didn't skip a couple years, he lived all that. He says it himself:

(Superman (2018) #8)

So the solution to this seems easy. Give us Superboy: The Lost Years or something along those lines. Let us see him grow up. Retcon it a little so he didn't spend the whole time in the volcano, maybe, make him have to survive on Earth-3 after escaping.

That's not the childhood the people making this point mean and I get that but it's the childhood he's got. We don't know what would've happened if Bendis hadn't come along, you might've hated that just as much.

We absolutely missed out on childhood adventures. There's nothing in the way of us still getting those; they're just gonna be a little heavier and more traumatic than Super Sons. Which brings me to my next point, actually.

"They ruined the Super Sons! Jon and Damian's age-gap is way too big now."

Jon and Damian's age-gap has always been roughly three years. It's still roughly three three years; it's just reversed now. They would've always hit an awkward point. This argument has always been very confusing to me.

"They ruined the Super Sons!" (Without mentioning the age gap.)

I don't see how, honestly. We've pretty consistently gotten Super Sons content during and after the age-up, both with ten-year-old Jon and 17-year-old Jon. They got two Maxis after Jon's age-up, they got a movie, they appear in Specials, and they're still great friends when they get to hang out at their current ages.

And then there's the current Wonder Woman backups, which frankly nail the tone of the original Super Sons run, meaning they're not for me, but like. They do exist.

So if you miss the Super Sons ... well, I think you're not looking hard enough. Because yes, they don't have an on-going anymore, but that was gonna happen, anyway, DC isn't letting anything get past 20 issues these days for some reason. Save for Poison Ivy and Batman, I guess. If DC wanted them to, they could very much still have an on-going.

"I don't want them to de-age Jon because the Jon we've been following isn't the real Jon, anyway. I want them to bring back the real Jon."

Well, this is a conspiracy theory. And I'll be honest, I don't get this one. I don't even know where to start talking about it.

Let's assume the "real Jon" is still trapped in that volcano and he's still a child. Time has still ... passed in the DC Universe. Not as much as in ours, but he's been trapped there for, what, at least a year? So you're not even undoing anything.

This is on me for never looking for never following through on reading anyone's post who wants whatever this is to happen.

This one just seems incredibly stupid to me, I'm sorry. It's nonsense. I promised not to be a dick but it just. It just is.

You want two Jons? One of whom is ... fake? I don't get it.

So back to the beginning. They age-down Jon and then ... what? They can do all of this with current Jon just as well and probably in a more interesting way.

#dc #dc comics #jon kent #jonathan samuel kent #superboy #superman #i kinda lost the plot there in the end (under the cut)#idk. there's more arguments but i kinda lost interest in my own post lmao #main point is my curiousity about what you'd DO with a de-aged jon kent anyway

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curioscurio · 4 months ago

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[Short Story]

80 Percent

One day, we developed the technology to completely map out and visualize every single living creature and object in the ocean. The machine had been running for a few years and received an extraordinary amount of funding from scientific organizations around the world.

When it finishes its job, the results are to be instantly shared around the world.

On the final day of the countdown, everyone started getting giddy with excitement and curiosity while waiting for the results.

"This is really magnificent. Who knows what incredible forms of life we're going to find?" An intern in New Zealand bounced with nervous energy and smiled.

"I hope it's hiding epic and delicious sea monsters, like in hollywood movies!" A lighthearted seafood chef in Spain jokes.

"There could be a sponge out there with the cure to cancer!" A sick child in America coughs out to their nurse.

Oil and fishing industries everywhere were hosting company parties; celebrating the new abundance of supply to support the crushing weight of demand.

A salaryman in Hong Kong playfully groans. "Anything but the same old boring fish we see all the time. I'd love to see something like a never-before seen creature with octopus-like intelligence!"

"It's nice to know that, despite all of mankind's careless neglect of the ocean, there's still an abundance of nature still untouched by humanities pollution." An environmental activist in India comments.

Deep in the middle of the Atlantic, a scientific research boat sits filled with passionate marine biologists.

Someone hastily bought a cake to celebrate the hard work everyone had put into the project over the years. The team didn't know what kind of discoveries they'd run into, so it was decided that a baby shower themed cake would have to do. On the top, in blue frosting, was written: "Congratulations! It's a____!"

Presumably, the blank was to be filled in once the data from the machine was compiled.

The machine beeps once, echoing throughout the research vessel, and everyone races to the screen as fast as their legs will take them.

They read the results.

No one says anything.

"That can't be right. Someone go and reset the device and run it again." The head scientist sighs, confident that they had run into an error.

Another twenty minutes go by.

The machine beeps once.

The updated model is largely the same as the previous one.

"...maybe it's not done loading." Someone shatters the silence, and the crowd of scientists flinch, but no one dares take their sights off the screen. Nobody breathes. It's the same outcome on the third try, as well.

The visual simulation on the computer screen shows a complex 3D model of all the life in the entire ocean.

There are whales gliding between continents, sharks feasting on squids, and squids feasting on sharks. Gorgeous and intelligent octopus that can change the color of their skin at will. A pod of humpback whales could be seen off the coast of Antarctica. All of the diverse and colorful life living in the ocean swim before their eyes in a transparent globe of digital seawater.

It looks just like a modern map of the ocean as we know it.

"I don't understand. It looks exactly the same." Someone whispers.

"Exactly. Humankind has only been able to explore around 20 percent of the entire ocean on planet Earth." The head scientist gulps, eyes still hooked to the glassy screen.

"So," someone's voice begins to waver. "You're saying that the other 80 percent..."

No one answers. No one blinks.

"It's... empty. It's not detecting any life signs that we haven't already discovered. It's empty." Someone says.

Someone thinks about pollution.

Someone thinks about shark fin soup.

Someone thinks about the stock market.

Someone thinks about a pet store; shelves lined with dozens of fish that float upside-down and belly up at the top of their tanks.

"... we're all that's left." Someone says.

#writingofcass #id love some feedback on this quick little short story!#might turn it into a comic #writing #marine biology #ask to tag #one shot #drama

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mostlysignssomeportents · 6 months ago

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Austin Grossman’s ‘Fight Me’

On July 14, I'm giving the closing keynote for the fifteenth HACKERS ON PLANET EARTH, in QUEENS, NY. Happy Bastille Day! On July 20, I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

In Fight Me, the novelist and game developer Austin Grossman uses aging ex-teen superheroes to weigh the legacy of Generation X, in a work that enrobes its savage critique with sweet melancholia, all under a coating of delicious snark:

http://www.austingrossman.com/fight-me

It is, in other words, a very Gen X kinda novel. Prodigy (AKA Alex Beekman) is a washed-up superhero. As a nerdy high-schooler, he was given super powers by a mysterious wizard (posing as a mediocre teacher), who gave him an amulet and a duty. Whenever Alex touches the amulet and speaks the word of power, reaclun (which he insists is not "nuclear" backwards) he transforms into Prodigy, a nigh-invulnerable, outrageously handsome living god who is impervious to bullets, runs a one-minute mile, and fights like a champ. Prodigy, he is told, has a destiny: to fight the ultimate evil when it emerges and save the world.

Now, Alex is 40, and it's been a decade since he retired both Prodigy and his Alex identity, moving into a kind of witness protection program the federal government set up for him. He poses as a mediocre university professor, living a lonely and unexceptional life.

But then, Alex is summoned back to the superhero lair he shared with his old squad, "The Newcomers," a long-vacant building that is one quarter Eero Saarinen, three quarters Mussolini. There, he is reunited with his estranged fellow ex-Newcomers, and sent on a new quest: to solve the riddle of the murder of the mysterious wizard who gave him his powers, so long ago.

The Newcomers – an amped-up ninja warrior, a supergenius whose future self keeps sending him encouragement and technical schematics backwards through time, and an exiled magical princess turned preppie supermodel – have spent more than a decade scattered to the winds. While some have fared better than Alex/Prodigy, none of them have lived up to their potential or realized the dreams that seemed so inevitable when they were world famous supers with an entourage of fellow powered teens who worshipped them as the planet's greatest heroes.

As they set out to solve the mystery, they are reunited and must take stock of who they are and how they got there (cue Talking Heads' "Once In a Lifetime"). With flashbacks, flashforwards, and often hilarious asides, Prodigy brings us up to speed on how supers fail, and what it's like to live as a failed super.

The publisher's strapline for this book is "The Avengers Meets the Breakfast Club," which is clever, but extremely wrong. The real comp for this book isn't "The Breakfast Club," it's "The Big Chill."

When I realized this, I got briefly mad, because I've only had two good movie high concept pitches in my life and one of them was "Gen X Big Chill." Rather than veterans of the Summer of 68 confronting the Reagan years, you could have veterans of the Battle of Seattle living through the Trump years. One would be on PeEP, one would be an insufferable Andrew Tate-quoting bitcoiner, one would be a redpilled reactionary with a genderqueer teen, one would be a squishy lib, one a firebreathing leftist, etc. The soundtrack would just be top 40 tracks from artists who have songs on "Schoolhouse Rock Rocks":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhouse_Rock!_Rocks

Every generation has some way in which they seek to overthrow the status quo and build a new, allegedly better one, after all. "Big Chill"'s impact comes from its postmortem on a generation where it was easy to feel like you were riding destiny's rails to greatness thanks to the sheer size of the Boomer cohort and the postwar prosperity they lived through. A Gen X Big Chill would be a stocktaking of a generation that defined itself as a lost generation reared in the Boomers' shadows, armored against the looming corpo-climate apocalypse with the sword of irony and the shield of sincerity.

Which is basically what Grossman is doing here. What's more, doing this as a superhero story is a genius move – what could be a better metaphor for a teen's unrealistic certainty of destined greatness than a superhero? Superhero fantasies are irreducibly grandiose and unrealistic, but all the more beautiful and brave and compelling for it.

You know, like teens.

At 52, I'm a middle-aged Gen Xer. I've got two artificial hips and I just scheduled a double cataract surgery. My hairline is receding. I'm an alta kaker. But I wasn't always: I was a bright and promising kid, usually the youngest person in the room where we were planning big protests, ambitious digital art projects, or the future of science fiction. I had amazing friends: creative and funny and sweet, loyal and talented and just fun.

We're mostly doing okay (the ones that lived; fuck cancer and fuck heroin and fuck fentanyl). Some of us are doing pretty good. On a good day, I think I'm doing pretty good. I had a night in 2018 where I got to hang out, as a peer, with my favorite musician and my favorite novelist, both in the same evening. These were artists I'd all but worshipped as a teen. I remember looking at the two selfies I took than night and thinking, Man, if 15 year old me could see these, he'd say that it all worked out.

But you don't get to be 52 without having a long list of regrets and failures that your stupid brain is only too eager to show you a highlight reel from. No one gets to middle age without a haunting loss that is always trying to push its way to the fore in order to incinerate every triumph great and small and leave ashes behind.

That's why there's a "Big Chill" for every generation. Each one has its own specific character and meaning situated in history, but each one has to grapple with the double-edged sword of nostalgia. Not for nothing, John Hodgman (a bona fide Gen X icon) calls nostalgia "a toxic impulse."

Grossman really makes Fight Me work as a Gen X Big Chill. He's a great Gen X writer; his first novel, Soon I Will Be Invincible, was a knockout debut about superheroes and supervillains that had a very "The Boys" vibe, you know, that neat little move where you contend with the banal parts of a super's life and show how super powers don't make you a good person, or even a competent one.

His followup to Invincible came six years later. YOU is a coming-of-age story about the games industry with a second-person narrator (think "Zork"). Grossman is an accomplished game dev (Tomb Raider Legend, Deus X, Dishonored, etc), and he uses YOU to really plumb the depths of what games mean, what fun is, and how working on games isn't just work, it's often really shitty work, the opposite of fun:

https://memex.craphound.com/2013/04/16/austin-grossmans-you-brilliant-novel-plumbs-the-heroic-and-mystical-depths-of-gaming-and-simulation/

Grossman's last novel was Crooked, a very daffy alternate history in which Richard Nixon is a Cthulhoid sorcerer locked in a Lovecraftian battle of good and evil. This is a purely hilarious romp, wildly imaginative and deliciously certain to offend reactionary jerks:

https://memex.craphound.com/2015/08/26/austin-grossmans-crooked-the-awful-cthulhoid-truth-about-richard-nixon/

All those chops are on display in Fight Me: a book that covers its brooding with wisecracks, that spits out ten great gags per page even as it drives a knife into your heart. It's a great novel.

Fight Me doesn't come out in the US and Canada until tomorrow (it's been out in the UK, Australia, NZ, etc for more than a month). Normally, I would hold off on reviewing this until the on-sale date, but this is my last day on the blog for two weeks – I'm leaving on a family vacation early tomorrow morning. I'll see you on July 14!

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/07/01/the-big-genx-chill/#im-super-thanks-for-asking

#pluralistic #books #reviews #gift guide #science fiction #generational war #middle age #coming of age #superheroes #austin grossman

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spotlightlowlife · 8 months ago

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Unpopular opinion, at this point, Blitzø is an issue.

Not because he's in the wrong, his situations suck more than him, so do some of those around him (*cough*Stolas *cough*Loona), he sucks because he's becoming more and more of an outlet for writers to play out power and sex fantasies with whilst being edgy and always quick enough to have a remark ready for others, always managing to be the centre of attention but will always be the victim too.

In every conceivable way, he's being wronged or he's punching up.

The arrangementship with Stolas is a case of him being a victim but for those who don't see it this way, Stolas x Blitzø is a chance at happiness, pauper being picked, even though their union was and will always be an inappropriate power imbalance which has now been the case since childhood, back where Blitzø was a victim of his dad, yet a few years later he somehow developed feelings for his friend who seemed like a sibling to him, but he seemed to envy him too? Either way we are too root for his unrequited 'love lost' that we can blame on a fire accidentally caused by none other than Blitzø, but we can also push blame others for this accident too.

Fizz and Barbie may be victims of his recklessness, but he means/meant no harm and he had it just as bad as them, hence the 'sorry but..' he offered Fizz.

Substance abuse got to be something Blitzø endulged in before we met Barbie who we had already been informed is an addict, Blitzø got to be both a boss and a victim during his binge which had even the sin of gluttony beat and concerned, yet when we meet Barbie, she is composed, working and has some success in being able to freely travel, having a human disguise and being able to easily manipulate others, which could have all been good, a change of tone from yet another downtrodden character and a change from a sloppy addict that may have expected, only, we had to be told Barbie was in rehab and recently so, we had to be informed that Blitzø looks out for her and is worried even though we never had never saw him track her progress previously. We meet her, there's nothing to indicate that they have spoken since Blitzø's fall out with Fizz, Barbie is pretty much work a similar job to her brother of causing destruction on Earth, yet morals come into play for just one of them? Neurotic, antisocial and traumatised, comes to earth as an assassin, excellent, no content yet and seems well put together but we have been told is an addict, comes to earth the deal, scum.

Barbie made Blitzø sad by not listening to him and washing her hands of him (again, when did they last speak? Has there been nearly 20 years of the same conversation?), which yet again has us pouring sympathy into him.

Then there's the clearly hurt and robbed Verosika, who's upset is totally glossed over because 'she's so iconic'.

The power dynamics are entirely power play, because there are too many characters supposedly of much higher standing who Blitzø easily rubs shoulders with, stands out to and crosses to no consequence, all for no particular reason, the dismissal of what he says and does is reminiscent of a movie where a ghost doesn't know they're dead or a character doesn't realise their friend is imaginary. All excluding Stolas of course but this but this is where the power play sex fantasy is.

Why are they together? Answer, Blitzø's desperation to have his business work, the whole plot to the show.

Like Hazbin, the pilot started out rather strong, it ticked every box mentioned in one episode, they were a wicked bunch but morally grey, the trip to hospital being a prime example, we met humans, we saw Earth, Stolas was a intimidating and regal, Blitzø was reckless with money and decision making, the advert on a low rating station being the prime example, along with blind nepotism.

How is it that this series hasn't had the time to return to its roots since half way through season one?

When does Blitzø get a break from all this trauma dumping and actually get to have other things going on in his life?

Realistically, someone who works has work to talk about, it is a major part of their life. Someone who runs a business tends to put in more hours than your average worker. Work gives you something to talk about, creates new experiences and problems to solve, has you mixing with other and takes up a lot of your time. Where is any of this?

Until it returns to the plot where he is a business owner actually running his business, having interactions with customers and victims, travelling to Earth more regularly, facing actual threats from those who don't care about how sad he is and are actually bothered by his obnoxious ways, I have a questions.

Where are the common teething issues business tend to have, like budget, landlords, tax, inflation, lack of exposure?

How do they pay their day to day expenses, especially since they have so much time on their hands?

Why aren't they out advertising?

How do I.M.P catch the eye of those who just died and how do these sinners pay?

When was the last time we saw a sinner?

Blitzø's direction gives the impression that he's being written for the chronically online people who wish this was them, that they were more feisty, outgoing and desirable whilst others just got them and felt their misery, something that can easily be done as a viewer, throw in the tried and tested powerful and dangerous royalty that worked so well for Twilight and 50 Shades and we have a character who can be vicariously lived through, basically the classic fairytale default damsel who people also want to criticize. It's like he's being reduced to an clownish caricature, looks the vibrant and animated character we were introduced to but that's all just in paper now, he barely stands out in any recent episodes because his presence wasn't nessessary and when he was relevant, it's for his ship or drama from his past.

While waiting to see him with his coworkers who he voyers on because he's sad and lonely, his rude and violent adult adopted daughter, or learn about the trauma surrounding his mother, or whatever is going on with his user dad, or when we will next see his troubled sister who is mad at him, his bitter ex, his best friend/ex friend/rival/friend who lives the life he should be living who he sexually harasses since reconciliation, or his transactionship, or whatever else is pushed on him and there no doubt will be more. What about his present? What about his daily life outside the misery forever sent his way for us?

He should be encountering strangers and a massive variety of situations he can't entirely control on the regular, having to draw upon his smarts, experiences and group dynamic to get out of binds or be efficient, his trauma, sadness and his sass could be a force of good.

How much of his likability is nostalgia, maybe from outside of show? Outside of the pity and sex jokes, what is being done with him?

This may all be harsh and funny enough I actually like this character, but never have I known a series where the solution to making a main character more deep was is a simple case of

'Let them get on with it!

Let them do their job!

Stick to the story!'

Well I do know one other case...

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss blitzo #unpopular opinion

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yesimwriting · 10 months ago

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how old are they? (best friend!felix x reader)

short answer: felix is late 19/20, reader feels late 17/18 (i like the thought of reader having skipped a grade bc one of her main insecurities is constantly wanting to seem older bc being mature is the one thing her dad prasied her for)

elaboration below the cut!!

i saw a picture of Saltburn's script that says felix is supposed to be 20,, ig that could be wrong bc of editing/verification,,

i don't remember his age ever being explicitly stated in the movie though, but i feel like it's implied (through his status/familiarity in an on campus routine) that he's not a first year/a little bit older than oliver, but i do picture felix as 20 (maybe late 19 if i ever want to write a blurb where reader and felix are celebrating his birthday)

also it just feels like a good age for him! just starting to get his foothold in the adult world, enough youthful idealism still in his system to want to make someone as "tragic" as oliver his project when a safer choice would have been someone a little shinier,, and just as he's leaving his teenage years behind, he dies (ironically and arguably bc of the youthfully naive concepts his family life would have encouraged him to keep into adulthood) :(

so now instead of being forever 20 bc of his comfortable life style, he's forever 20 bc he has to be,, in a way oliver got to know the only version of felix he would ever know but i digress

bestfriendreader feels like a 17/18 year old freshman to me (hear me out),, i like reader as a freshman bc it's one more thing that should make reader feel closer to oliver,, but she just doesn't, which adds to their dynamic that i haven't shared much of but i will!!

also,, i see bestfriend!reader as someone that's spent their entire life hanging out with people a little older, constantly striving to seem more mature/be a grown up bc her mom's a free spirit and her dad only praises her when she handles his disappointments "like an adult"

also something about bestfriend!reader being on campus for like two weeks, hearing every story on earth about felix and his friends that he's more of an enigma than person (campus celebrity vibes) that she doubts is that impressive until he sits down next to her in class and starts talking is cute idk,, like reader not even realizing how big a deal felix's interest in her is until one of her friend's is like dude.

it's the kind of luckiness that oliver originally hates her for,, reader walked onto campus,, new to oxford,, new to the country, and still manages to snag felix's attention without even trying

idk if the age gap is weird tho😭 (i'm 20 rn and would never date a 17/18 year old but my best friend is 18, started college at 17 bc she was ahead a year and when she was that age she dated 19/20 year olds that went to school with her and that didn't feel weird bc they have enough in common bc of their setting) sooo i'm open to reader having an early enough birthday that she's 18 by the time her and felix get close,, i like the idea of writing a birthday fic anyway lol

#ask #bestfriend!felix #bestfriend!felix x reader #felix catton x reader #saltburn x reader #jacob elordi x reader

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illumose · 19 days ago

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No way out — chapter one

⋆⭒˚.⋆ PAIRINGS : female reader x dean winchester • female reader x platonic! sam winchester

⋆⭒˚.⋆ SUMMARY OF THE SERIES

She’s been stuck in this town for a year. A whole year of creatures roaming at night in search of a human stupid enough to go out. There was no way out. All the inhabitants tried to flee at some point but the road always drew them back to the dinner. Yet, she’s still holding onto the hope of getting out and the two men who arrived in a 1967 Impala might be her only chance.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER / chapter two

Newcomers arrive in town, and she’s not exactly thrilled. The grumpy one, called Dean, is nothing but a jerk.

⋆⭒˚.⋆ WARNINGS .ᐟ.ᐟ : mentions of blood, death and detailed description of a monster attack.

wordcount: 1.2K

CHAPTER ONE: A car, a jogger and one mysterious symbol

She is jogging down the road, her eyes closed and her fists tight. Well, at this pace, it’s more as if she were running away from immediate danger. Her feet hit the pavement in quick strides. Running, it’s all that keeps her sane in this town. Life has been hard for the past year. It’s draining to always be on alert. She loathes those vile creatures. They roam at night, hunting down humans who are stupid enough to step foot outside. The only thing keeping them away from people were locked doors and windows. And a talisman. This was Boyd’s greatest finding. Sheriff, a job he never sought. Yet, it is his true calling. He represents order in this nightmarish town. She’s so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t notice the Impala speeding in her direction.

An echo of a honk brings her back to earth.

"What’s wrong with you?" yells a man from the window of a splendid car.

"You alright?" asks another man, with a much sweeter tone and a raised eyebrow.

She frowns. New people arrive, completely unaware of how much their lives will change. For the worst. Nothing will ever be the same. They’ll never know true peace. Or the absence of fear.

"You should find the sheriff," she advised. What else could she say? You’ll never get out, no matter how long you keep driving on this road. Somehow, you’ll always come back here. Stuck. Forever and ever. Once you see the fallen tree, it’s the start of a new reality. One full of monsters with sharp teeth and claws.

"We can’t seem to find our way out," explains the brown-haired guy.

"Find a guy named Boyd, he’ll tell you everything you need to know. I don’t have time for this." She quickly turns around and resumes her morning routine.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Find Boyd, our sheriff. Or Donna, she’s up in the house we call sanctuary."

They’ll probably think Boyd and Donna are insane and deserve to be locked in an asylum. Newbies always reject the truth. Stubborn, they insist on finding a way out, on going out. Most will quickly back away once the creatures come out of the forest. They may look like humans but they are not. Ruthless and sadistic, they relish in killing. It is how they feed and how they entertain themselves.

She leaves them in the middle of the street, without another word. When push comes to shove, they'll get it. And they'll be thankful.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

She wouldn't call her house a safe place, but it's as close as it will get to this. The decor is all retro. In a way, the town never left the fifties. From the tapestries to the furniture, everything reminded her of an old movie her Ma would watch whilst assembling a puzzle.

On her first day in this hell, Donna explained that all newcomers faced a choice: the Colony house, considered more festive and high-risk as over 20 people share it, or a house on the main street. It all depends on the balance between deaths and arrivals, though. When it was time for her to choose, two houses were free of residents — a tragedy turned into an opportunity. One on the edge of the town, near the forest, and one in front of the Diner. She immediately chose the one closest to civilization. A charming two-bedroom and one-bath with a small yard that allows for a vegetable garden to grow and feed some of the residents.

She jumps into the shower. Some days the water is too hot to even breathe in the room, others she can’t even dip her toe without freezing to death. The water system remains a mystery. No one knows how it works, or where the water comes from. Kenny, a friend of hers and the sheriff’s deputy, has a theory: supernatural things happen in this town and an entity is trying to help them.

She puts on a dress and a pair of sandals, the lone reminders of her past life. She brushes aside the memories of her Ma baking cornbread and humming to the tunes of Aretha Franklin’s hits.

The front door opens. She recognizes the familiar creak of its wood on the linoleum. "Y/n? Are you here? " Kenny’s voice echoed through the house.

She answers with a smile on her lips. "Comin’, I’m getting ready to help out your mother to serve lunch."

"Well forget about lunch, I’ve got guests to introduce."

She rolls her eyes. She already knows the guests in question. Two men, one that appears to be the Grinch and one sweetheart with long brown hair. She’s got a bad feeling. If they got around to the idea of being trapped and faced the dilemma of where to live….

Kenny’s smile is fake. "Meet your new roommates," he announced with a grimace. That’s no good news, and he knows it.

"You?" The grumpy one said with an eyebrow furrowed.

"Nice to see you, Mr Fast Driver. Next time, be careful. I don’t wanna die on the side of the road."

He shrugged, scanning the house. "You were jogging in the middle of the road, technically you were looking for it. Not my fault."

"Dean, c’mon. Now’s not the time for useless arguments. Sorry, he hasn’t eaten in a long while and he’s getting a bit cranky. I’m Sam, and this is my brother, Dean."

She nods. "You'll like our food, 100% veggie and organic, Mr Cranky. "We eat at the diner, most " She turns to face Kenny, whose face is contorsonied by his laughter. "Do they know everything?"

"Yes, they took it... well. No tears, no shouts. I could get used to this much cooperation from the start," he exhales.

"That's not the weirdest thing we've heard, believe me," replied Sam, his fingers tracing the small drawings on the tapestry.

Those drawings belonged to former residents, a family that became obsessed with a symbol they claimed to have seen in their dreams. Every time she glances at the symbols, a shiver runs down her back. Over time, the father sank into madness, convinced his family was possessed by the creatures. One starry night, he opened the door. A grave mistake. Instantly, dozens of creatures amassed under the porch. One of them, a redhead according to a witness of the event, slashed his throat. The creatures then went up the stairs and massacred the entire family. Cries and bellows echoed through the town but no one dared to look out their windows. The next morning, their bodies were found on the side of the street — disfigured and dismembered.

Kenny clears his throat. He knows all too well how much this tapestry creeps you out. You've had nightmares so many times that he's used to sleeping on the floor next to you. "My mother's bringing new sheets and quilts for their beds."

"Alright, let me show you the bedroom. You'll have to share, sorry for that."

Dean and Sam exchange a quick look and begin to walk up the stairs, following their new roommate. "There are two beds, a window, and one closet. If you need more space, you'll find a small room next to mine. It's just empty shelves. Feel free to use them."

Mr Jerk grunts whilst Sam smiles apologetically. "Thank you, we appreciate y'all's kindness."

"I'll leave you to it. Lunch's served in 30 minutes inside the diner."

As soon as she leaves, whispers flow in the room. All that she hears is a name, Castiel, and the mention of a notebook. A notebook filled with monsters, if her ears don't deceive her. The floor creaks and she rushes downstairs. These two seem awfully too serene. There's something wrong. And she wants to know what.

taglist: @callsign-ember

#supernatural imagine #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader #spn fanfic #dean winchester series #sam winchester x reader

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