#AND THIS IS EXTREMELY SOON AFTER ROTH AS WELL !!!!! GOD !!!!!

[thebleedingeffect]

Thinking about Arno again and just how rarely he smiles or laughs once the plot of the game begins and it just makes me want to lay down and cry. He's still very much his sassy, attitude filled self, but there's a definite somberness that he carries with him at all times that seems to stop him from letting himself feel any sort of happiness or joy. In the game, besides the intro part, the only times he ever smiles is when he's with Elise, but afterward? After she dies? There's an even heavier veil of sorrow around him that's just so incredibly heartbreaking because he's so guilt and grief ridden :(((

It just makes me look at Arno like... I wanna help my guy... I wanna make him feel better .... can you please smile and laugh again please please please please-

[kissorkill16]

No need.

I Lost All My Friends: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: After Nicky goes missing, Maritza is currently losing her sanity.

P.S., credits to @elijahwoodnt.

After the news had spread about Nicky's disappearance, Jay and Luanne Roth wasted no time driving home and filing a missing persons report, and in no time, a cop car was outside the door, and pretty soon, half the neighborhood.

"Mr. and Mrs. Roth, the search is underway. What we need from you is any information you have on Nicky's last known whereabouts.", said Officer Keith.

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to answer that! Last time we checked, he was out home when we left.", Luanne said in a panic.

"What about the kids? They're friends with Nicky. Why don't we ask them if they've seen him?", asked Jay.

"They wouldn't know either, Jay!", screamed Luanne.

The married couple erupted into a huge argument, and Officer Keith was standing there, massaging his temple.

Meanwhile, upstairs, in Nicky's room, it was extremely silent. Enzo, Maritza and Trinity were sitting on his bed, quietly waiting for Officer Keith to come upstairs and ask them some questions.

"Why are they even making us wait in here? Shouldn't they have this place roped off or something?", asked Enzo.

"They want to know if we know where Nicky could've gone, Enzo.", said Trinity. She sadly sighed. "I feel like Mr. and Mrs. Roth might blame us for his disappearance."

"Why?"

"Because all of those times Nicky tried to call us, we didn't answer. We all thought he was crazy for this obsession he had with Mr. Peterson, and we just decided to deal with that problem by ignoring it."

Enzo sighed and looked at the ground. "Well hopefully we'll find him soon and we can go back to being friends."

"Can you guys please stop talking for a moment?"

Enzo and Trinity turned to face Maritza, who was staring at her thighs and clutching her baseball bat.

"Maritza, are you alright?", asked Trinity.

"Stop talking.", replied Maritza, barely any emotion in her voice.

"Hermana, please. It's going to be alright -", Enzo tried to say before Maritza jumped up and screamed at her brother.

"GOD, I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP! Why is that so hard for you two to understand?!", she was still clutching her baseball bat, but thankfully, she didn't strike.

Trinity tried putting a hand on her shoulder, doing her best to comfort her friend. "Maritza -"

Maritza slapped her hand away, hard, so hard that it stung. It almost could've left a mark. "Don't touch me and don't talk to me, Trinity! I don't want to hear shit from you! I don't want to hear shit from anyone!", she said. Then she smiled, and it was the most humorless smile of all.

"But you were right about one thing.", she said, "It's our fault he's missing. We ignored him when all he needed us to do was listen! We abandoned him when he needed us the most, and all he's been doing was trying to find his missing friends.", she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"You know, I lost both of my friends too.", she continued. "Lucy. Sweet, innocent, playful Lucy. She was so energetic and positive, even in the worst of times. Then she died on that rollercoaster, and I felt like my will to live had been stripped away from me.", she paused to catch her breath. "Then Mya. Adorable, imaginative, fantastic Mya. She was so sweet, and she loved to pretend, even if she was too old for it. But then she went missing, and I once again felt dead inside. Now Nicky. Smart, playful, and stupid Nicky. He went missing after we ignored him. We left him alone, and now he's gone."

The tears pooled in Maritza's eyes started dripping out and landing on the front of her shirt.

"What if he ran away? What if he was taken by a stranger? What if he was murdered?", Maritza gasped at that thought. "Murdered? Murdered? Nicky could be dead, and we would never know, BECAUSE WE IGNORED HIM!"

Enzo and Trinity wrapped their arms around Maritza's shoulders, trying to comfort her, but that only made it worse. The girl started kicking, flailing, and screaming.

"Maritza, it's okay!"

"NO IT'S FUCKING NOT!!"

"Maritza, por favor calmate!", said Enzo, "Nicky's not dead!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!", Maritza screamed, "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT FOR SURE!"

"Maritza, please! It'll be okay -"

"SHUT UP!"

"Maritza, calm down! For Pete's sake, we'll find Nicky -"

"SHUT! THE FUCK! UP!"

Maritza finally managed to get out of their grasp, and after, she swung her baseball bat at Enzo in anger. Enzo fell to the ground in pain, clutching his nose. It was only after he groaned when Maritza finally snapped out of it.

"Son una perra! What the hell, Maritza! That hurt so bad!"

"Enzo!", Maritza bent over and put her hands on Enzo's shoulders. "Mierda! I'm so sorry, Enzo. Lo siento muchísimo!"

"It's alright, Maritza. I'm fine. I forgive you. You weren't in your right mind, and you're allowed to be angry, but just try to keep your baseball bat to yourself in the future, okay?", joked Enzo.

Maritza looked at the blood on her bat, and at her brother's broken nose. Then she laughed, "Okay."

Trinity was just witnessing the scene before her. While she didn't support the whole "hitting your brother with a bat" thing, she did love the sibling love that occurred afterwards.

Trinity snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the faint sound of carnival music coming from across the street. Across the street was Mr. Peterson's house, the fences covered in barbed wires and chained links.

"You guys ever think what if Nicky was right?", she asked her friends.

Enzo and Maritza turned to look at her. "What do you mean?", asked Enzo, still clutching his nose.

"I mean, what if Nicky was right about Mr. Peterson being involved with the whole missing kids thing?", she said. "He could've been telling the truth all along, and we hadn't believed him."

"And how would we know that?", Maritza asked.

Trinity didn't know how to answer that. Sure, she could just be thinking aloud, but she also could be stating a fact. "I don't know, Maritza. But -", Trinity stopped talking when she caught a glance at the bulletin board on the left wall of Nicky's room. She walked over to get a closer look, and then she saw a picture of Mr. Peterson in his backyard, digging something up, or burying something.

"We all know Mr. Peterson is a little creepy when he's at home, but do you think Nicky was right?", asked Trinity.

"I don't know. Plus, Mr. Peterson isn't one to be messed with.", said Enzo.

"Yeah, but what if, am I right?", she asked. "He came to us with all sorts of proof, and good proof too.", she took some pictures off the board. "Pictures, recordings, letters, etc. It's all right under our noses. ", she said.

Enzo and Maritza shared a look. "Oh my goodness, Trinity, you're right. But how do we know for sure if he was telling the truth? Even with all of this, I don't think it'd be enough to convince the police.", said Enzo.

Trinity shook her head. "We don't need the police, what we need is a team. It's going to take a whole team of us to get the proof we need.", she said. She climbed onto Nicky's bed, and stood tall. "We're not only going to get proof...," she turned to Maritza. "We're going to get Nicky back."

Trinity watched as Maritza's eyes widened in happiness. "One thing's for certain, we have to get into that house.", she said. Just then, the door swung open. It was Luanne.

"Is everything alright? I heard screaming?", she asked in a panic.

"Everything's great, Mrs. Roth.", said Enzo.

Luanne jumped back at the sight of Enzo. "Holy-! Enzo, what happened to your nose?!", she asked.

"Oh...uh...", Enzo didn't want to get her sister in trouble. "We were trying to entertain ourselves until we could come down."

"Well, honey. I have a first aid kit downstairs, come down and let me patch your nose for you, honey.", she said. She put a hand on Enzo's shoulder and guided him to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Trinity turned to Maritza. "We'll get Nicky back, I promise."

Maritza smiled at her.

In the distance, the faint sound of carnival music returned.

Ok so I was thinking about this drawing, so I thought of something

Right after Nicky goes missing, of course Trinity and Enzo freak out, but Maritza goes absolutely crazy for a while and just kinda hates herself for not listening to him and almost just goes straight into Mr. Peterson's house on her own just to beat Mr. Peterson up and rescue Nicky because she feels terrible and angry and doesn't want to lose another friend/crush but Enzo and Trinity convince her not to

May write drabble for this later

[unkindnessrae]

Love of a Beast and a Demon (13+)

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Chapter 1: Meeting You

"You captured my heart the very first time we met."

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Garfield Logan. Beast Boy.

Few people think that he is immature and inexperienced. But they've no idea how much maturity and experience the young green boy carried. Only at the age of five, he was contaminated by a rare illness called Sakutia and was cured by serum from a green monkey. Nobody, nobody except him, his parents and God knew how much it hurt. This serum had the unintended effect of turning his skin and hair green and gave him the ability to change into any animal form.

Many people called him a freak. Monster. Beast. But his parents would always brag about how beautiful and handsome he was. Even though Garfield was green, his parents would take pictures of him. They would safely keep them in a photo album.

Garfield bent his head down to look at his photo album. On the left side was his father, who stood tall in blonde hair and blue eyes with a proud smile on his face. 'Proud of his son.' Garfield thought. On the right side was his mother. She had brown hair and brown eyes and she also donned a smile on her face. In the middle was Garfield, who dominated his father's blue eyes and mother's brown hair. It was before this happened to him.

"Hey, Beast Boy." Called a voice behind the twelve year old. Garfield who was sitting on a bench in the park looked behind to find Robin. Batman's protégé Robin.

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Raven. Civilian name Rachel Roth.

Many people think that she's an introvert and would rather be liked to be left alone.

But they were wrong. She could show her emotions, she could have fun. But she wasn't allowed to. Born to a demon father and human mother, Raven grew up in Azarath, a dimension where she was taught to keep her emotions in check. To not cry. Or laugh. Or show anger. Or do anything a person of her age would have done.

After all, it was her fault that she was born.

Raven held a red rose in her hand. Raven's eyes glowed blue as she crushed the flower using her powers.

"You have powers?" Asked a voice in front of her. She looked up to find the blue eyes of Robin. Dick Grayson.

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

It's been one month since the Teen Titans have reformed with Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven.

One of the things Beas Boy knew was that Raven was one girl in a zillion. It's not like she was the most beautiful girl in the world, but she had another kind of beauty in her. Something ethereal and foreign. She had black hair and brown eyes and a fair but not white skin tone. She had a v jawline and small eyes with medium sized pouty lips. Raven had dark circles under her eyes, which Garfield knew was due to sleep deprivation

He would ask her many questions and while her answers were often disappointing, they would sometimes leave him to astound.

"How do I look?"

"You look like Andrew Garfield."

While the changeling thought that she didn't like the Spider-Man actor, he would later find out from Starfire that she was a great fan of Andrew Garfield and considered him 'The most handsome and beautiful person alive.'

So she thought he was handsome and beautiful?

Beast Boy was cut off from his trails thought by Robin, who announced that new members will be joining the team. "Former Titan Kid Flash and Speedy will be joining the team." Their team leader announced. Robin was fifteen years old, two years older than Beast Boy. The only person in the team who was of his age was Raven, who was a month older than him. Robin introduced the team with Kid Flash aka Wally West and Speedy aka Roy Harper.

Both Wally and Roy were read head. Wally, Dick's best friend was a speedster, and he wore a yellow costume with a red flash symbol in the middle. Roy donned a red suit and he was an archer.

Well, Garfield soon found that both of them were extreme lovers of video games. 'That's good.' Beast Boy thought. 'I'm getting new competitors.'

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Raven was watching Garfield curiously. Green hair, green skin and emerald eyes. His features were defined yet roundish. The changeling had pointy ears and fangs. Cute. 'What are you thinking?' a part of Raven's mind said. Azar's word rang in her mind, 'You're dangerous. You can't express your emotions. You cannot be happy seeing others, you cannot cry because you were hurt, you express show anger if you're enraged and you can't love because you cannot give somebody what they need in love.'

Raven bowed her head down.

"Hey," Roy greeted her. "Thinking about your crush?"

"How do..."

"Voice of experience speaking. You're Raven...right?"

"Yeah."

"At present, I'm the Titan with the most experience in dating and love. But I think Gar will soon beat me in that."

So Garfield wasn't single?

But what he was thinking about her...

"Oh, you're sad thinking your crush isn't single?" Roy teased her. "Don't worry, people don't find the love of their life at the raw age of thirteen."

"No, it's not that," Raven said. "I can't love him."

"Why? You're not handsome enough for him or he isn't handsome enough for you?"

"No, it's not that, he is handsome and all..."

"Oh my goodness, you just called Gar handsome and I've recorded it."

"ROY!"

"Don't worry, sunshine. You'll be blackmailed in due time." Roy said fleeing from the scene immediately.

"Already pissed you off?" Dick asked appearing out of nowhere.

"Maybe you should wear a bell or something," Raven remarked sarcastically.

"Maybe," Dick said. "Anyway, he's right, Roy is good at giving people dating advice."

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

"What was the girl's name again?" Victor asked taking a bite of his bagel.

"Perdita. Perdita Vladek." Garfield answered.

"Dude, is she blonde? Does she have blue eyes?" Wally asked, taking notes.

"She's blonde, but she has blue eyes," Garfield replied, taking a look at the notes Wally was making. "Why are you taking notes?"

"For Titans Blackmailing Committee."

"Titans Blackmailing Committee?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Wally asked surprised. "This committee was formed by me and Roy, and we gather information and picture for blackmailing the Titans."

"Seriously, dude? I wanna be part of this committee or whatever you said." Garfield said jumping from the couch.

"Okay, I'm adding you to the group," Wally said clicking on his phone.

"Found her," Victor said. "Perdita Vladeck is the Queen of Vlatava, and niece of Count Vertigo."

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

Read full story on Wattpad https://www.wattpad.com/story/301446617-love-of-a-beast-and-a-demon or fanfiction.net https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14037561/1/Love-of-a-Beast-and-a-Demon

[shewhowillnotbenamed1]

Ours

Extremely late and I’m EXTREMELY sorry!😭 @bluboothalassophile happy belated EVERYTHING! And just thank you so much for being the incredible friend that you are!!!! 🥰You know what this is 😏and I hope you enjoy because this is the first of three parts. Three just seemed to fit... I had a ton of fun writing it and hopefully it’s not rubbish.

-----------

It took time and patience with an unpracticed key guided by an unsteady grip. A petite, pale girl caught her lip between her teeth, a tiny grunt escaping as she finagled with the door.

"Raven, is that you?"

But she was starting to get used to this.

There was a concluding click as the key's metal ridge caught the groove in the last lock of the six panel apartment door. When it opened, in wandered a wearied Raven Roth.

And Raven would have liked to think she wandered in gracefully, but she knew she was dragging. It was impossible not to while wearing shoes so abhorrently impractical they should have been illegal. So violent was the aching in her heels, that by the final stretch of half-block, they were nearly numbed. Gods and her back—it was practically killing her.

If she was being honest, Raven felt like something one of those city sweeping trucks scraped off the sidewalk at four-thirty in the morning. One could only hope she didn't look like it.

"Roy," Raven winced, eyelids squeezing shut as she spoke. "I'm alive—but barely."

"Jay?" Roy called out from somewhere in the foreground. "Where are you?"

As expected a low, disembodied grunt ushered out in lieu of a response.

"Didn't you hear—Raven's back!"

The door slid closed and a gust of air entered the foyer behind her, carrying with it the heady notes of brown sugar, nutmeg, and melted butter. And like a Pavlovian response, she forgot the discomfort and led herself up by the nose. Spine straightening, legs lifting, then posture rising. It was like her whole being had been revitalized in an instant. Who knew the promise of a home-cooked meal could do that? A wistful smile steered into her face as Raven thought about how evenings after work used to transpire.

Weeks ago, one foot in the door usually meant bra optional. And flattening into a decompression on the couch was a non-negotiable.

Needless to say, a welcome like this one would never not catch her off guard.

"Something smells like you've outdone yourself again," Raven spoke loudly over the faint sounds of sizzling, curiously craning her neck and sniffing the air distractedly.

And then Roy appeared. He was peering out into the foyer, red hair bleeding out against the backdrop of a white walled interior. "Dinner will be ready soon," he supplied and beamed at her. The brightness faded in increments as his deep pine eyes floated downward and he took what she was holding.

"Again?"

"Yep." Raven gave a single solemn nod and Roy let out a dramatic sigh.

"But it's Friday. Those bastards..." he muttered in disbelief and Raven smirked. Suddenly, he inclined his head toward the other room and inhaled suspiciously. "Do you...smell that?" Roy went rigid in realization. "It smells like I forgot the flip."

"It smells like...that one's Jason's," Raven corrected.

Red eyebrows raised, clearly impressed. "Right." He marched back briskly toward the kitchen, only pausing to point at the heavy bag full of file folders teetering on her shoulder. "You'll have to tell me and Jaybird all about...that."

"Yes, please." Raven let out a huff, lower lip quivering. "You're an angel..." Roy winked at the pout topped by pleading purple and disappeared.

"The irony," a low drawl called from just around the corner. "Are you always such a sight for sore eyes?"

It was Jason walking over with arms out as wide as his grin. Even without the sarcasm, his aura and footsteps were distinct—a dead giveaway. They were oddly as heavy as they were silent.

"Whoa…" he looked as concerned as Roy had moments ago. "Or are you just sore?" Strong, steady hands removed her bag from her shoulder. "That's better." Raven rolled her stiff arm muscles.

It was a relief, to hand off her burden for a moment, to no longer be dragged down by the weight of her work—and the world.

"How was our day?" he pressed like a man who knew the answer.

"Rough—and long..."

Quickly Jason knelt down, hand reaching out for her calf. "I've got you, Princess." And Raven placed a balancing hand on his shoulder while he undid her shoes, a grateful half-smile stitching across her face.

"Come, come."

He took her hand, twirling her around past the living room to deposit her right onto a stool next to the island. "Sit. Harper's making crepes." Jason pulled her stool close and spun it around, so he was faced with the back of her.

"Take it from me, they'll help with the tension. Of course... I also believe in a hands-on approach." Jason then cracked his knuckles—mostly for effect, because boy did he know what he was doing. His hands slid up her arms, to her shoulders and worked them over, then dug into the surrounding muscles with his fingers and kneaded hard with his thumbs.

"Mmm..." Raven's tension began to ebb and wane. "Well, that helps a little..." Jason turned up the pressure a few more degrees while his breath grew heated on her neck.

Aroma clouds were wafting around their heads, while Roy flipped another crepe in slow motion. And in an instant, Raven was transported to some sort variant of a Jason and Roy spa she didn't know she needed.

"Okay, that helps a lot." And she moaned in spite of herself. All her stress was melting away, turning into liquid and evaporating off of her, faster than the French butter Roy was melting on the stove. He tilted the bright red crepe pan in all directions, getting an even gloss of sweet, golden goodness in every crevice. And Jason's hands continued to manipulate each one of hers, until all the tightness in her upper body unknotted itself.

"Hmm, where else—where else? Ah." Jason's rough hands took hold of the chevron patterned lace covering her ankles and he began to massage away. "Did I tell you, how much I like these stockings?"

Raven seemed not to hear him. "Harder," she whispered. His knuckle pounded gently down her arches, then ground fixedly into her heel and, painstakingly along the sides. By the time he took her other foot into his lap, she was practically cooing. "Did I tell you how good you are at that?" The tip of Jason's tongue edged over the corner of his smile.

Gods.

"That really is a shame..." he said and Raven lifted her head towards him in question. "About your day? How rough and hard it was..." His hand was lowering, slowing, but lingering. "Normally when you put those two adjectives together... It could be a good thing."

"Okay...!" Roy had come over suddenly with his spatula proffering a piece of crepe, still steaming hot from the pan. "I'm testing something out tonight, so I've added a special ingredient to this batch."

"Oh good. Raven did have one of those days. She could use some..." Jason pantomimed a flippant gesture. It could have been taking a long drag or it could have been—

"Not that kind... A different kind of special..." Roy shot Jason and Raven a long once over. Something in the way he said special made the air around them begin to bristle with titillation, anticipation. "A few drops of...lavender extract..." His voice dropped another octave. And he began to blow on the bite while Raven and Jason watched his full lips. It seemed cooling the steam from the crepe had an opposite and equal reaction. As if each breath was fanning the flames rising between them, like a bellow into charred embers in the hearth of a fireplace.

"Let me know what you think of it." Gently, he fed her piece from his fingers and Jason leaned his face close to hers, like he was attempting to steal it straight from her lips. Just before the point of contact, Roy clicked his tongue playfully.

Almost like he was calling him off.

"If you want some you'll have to wait." Dazedly, Raven blinked at Roy. He shook his head of chin length crimson hair, half of it was up in a bun with the rest hanging in his face. "I'll be back with the rest." Teasingly, Roy waved the spatula like a stake to ward off his dark-haired, undead roommate.

"Jason..." The brunette inched nearer to her at the sound of his name. She kicked his stool with her foot so it swiveled further away. Ultimately, it only caused him to move even closer. "Aren't we in rare form tonight?" she sighed.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Jason insisted bemusedly, doing his best to appear impassive. "I'm always like this." He examined her wrist with his forefinger and thumb. "As for you... That office of yours must be working you damn near to the bone. Did you somehow manage to get tinier, Raven?" The left corner of his lips curled up.

She tore it away and glared at him, aghast. "Insufferable, patronizing," Raven muttered under her breath, nursing her wounded forearm. "Ass."

"But this ass speaks the truth," he raised an eyebrow loftily. "If you would just join our firm..."

"Your firm?" Purple orbs narrowed to slits. "Just because you guys are mercenaries for hire—"

"Mmm... We really prefer the term 'vigilantes,'" Jason punctuated with air quotes. "Actually, from a branding perspective, it's Heroes for Hire™—Roy's got a whole...thing..."

"Whatever you're calling your 'backwoods operation'." Raven's air quotes didn't disguise the disdain in her voice. "The point is, I like my non-profit just fine... And I am not tiny."

"Alriiight." Roy arrived with a huge ceramic serving dish full of crepes with powdered sugar dusted on top. "Eat them while they're hot. Raven..." He slid a plate over to her. "Eat up."

"I thought I would always get the first bite," Jason teased. Then quickly lunged forward, stopping short of Roy's smirk, hip cocked toward his. "What've you got for me, Harps?"

On a delay, the redhead drew back, as if he just remembered Raven was in the room. "Don't be greedy, Jay," he said at last.

The ebony haired man, raised an eyebrow, but began to unload fresh food onto his plate. Once every inch of real estate was covered in crepe, Jason started to attack with his fork.

"So, when have I ever been greedy?"

Was that besides the fact that his plate was loaded up with most of the food the archer had just cooked? And besides the fact that he hadn't really helped?

But then... neither had Raven. Unless licking the batter and 'testing out' a crepe or two counted.

"Well, Raven's barely eaten a crepe and you're drifting into seconds. Where's your hospitality? Shouldn't you share with our guest?"

"I can be hospitable..." He chuckled. "I'd rather just...share our guest."

Roy shot him a warning glare on his way back to the stove. Jason shrugged before closing in another crepe and filling his mouth with another forkful.

"You're amazing," Raven deadpanned.

"Aren't I? But I've got nothing on the food. I have to say, this is the best batch by far," he announced. "Roy, do you have any more of those blueberries you got from the farmer's market over the weekend?" Jason started to smirk at Raven. "Or strawberries? I know how much you enjoy them."

"Try the table," Roy yelled over his shoulder, mild irritation edged in his tone.

"Well..." Raven shrugged, her expression coy as she reached over for the blue container. "They are in season..." There were few things that could enhance Roy's crepes, except fresh berries. Raven puffed out her cheeks as she rifled through an almost empty berry basket. "And... there are only three left... You sure helped yourself," she accused heavily under her breath.

"I didn't see your name on them," Jason returned. "So it was fair game, like anything else in this apartment."

Raven folded her arms. "I thought Roy got them for me, didn't you Roy?" He glanced up at her as he moved around the open kitchen.

"Sorry, we're low, Rae," Roy said regrettably. "I should have picked up more. You'd think after a couple weeks, I wouldn't still be acclimating to having an additional mouth to feed. What can I say?"

"Yes, we're very sorry." Jason pinched her stocking-clad leg, eliciting a gasp.

Raven cut knife-sharp purple eyes at him before the redhead came around to her stool. Roy wiped a hand across the words Banging Redheads & Banging Brunches printed in a large black font on the apron.

Probably a Christmas gift.

And one for which Jason must have been responsible.

He ruffled the purple strands at Raven's crown with his spatula free hand. "I hope that's okay."

"Don't be ridiculous." She brushed the strings fastening the charcoal colored apron and tugged. "Now go take that off and come eat with us." Roy planted a kiss on the top of her head, and shuffled out of the kitchen.

"Hmm...I guess I could have blueberries..." Raven mused. "Now that I think about it, they'd really compliment the lavender. I don't know that strawberries would in the same way."

"Do you know that for a fact?" Jason took a small sip from his cup, eyes trained on her through the glass. "Or have you ever considered...both?"

With a startling scowl, Raven looked up from the melted whipped cream atop the remaining crepes on the granite counter. "Have you ever considered why I like Roy more?" She retorted. "It's this."

"Really?" And Raven pushed his stupidly handsome, smirking face away from her own. "Little bird, don't tease," Jason moaned, dragging out the last syllable. "I promise to be good, I'll share—I certainly don't mind sharing with Roy." She rolled her eyes, popping a blueberry in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

Jason was mostly euphemism on a good day, but this was different. He'd been dropping these odd hints all week. But Raven told herself it was another unexpected caveat about living here. She didn't think she should breach the subject or even read too much into them.

After all, she was only crashing with Jason and Roy for a little while longer.

This was purely temporary, until the super in her building got around to fixing the circulation unit in her water closet of a studio. Or that was what she told herself at first. She was quickly growing accustomed to the perks of living with them.

Being spoiled was... Well, it was nothing short of wonderful.

Gone were the days of scrounging up sad boxes of cereal for breakfast, schlepping together leftover takeout for lunch, or unearthing bags of nearly expired popcorn for dinner. Roy and Jason worked out a ton and ensured their fridge was always stocked. Even on the off-chance that it rained and the farmer's market wasn't open in the park so they could do locally-sourced organic.

That, and they could actually cook.

At a moment's notice, Roy could whip up an amazing French toast, or a hearty stew. If they were feeling wild he'd make them breakfast for dinner or vice versa. Even Jason's most experimental chili recipe could be redeemed by a few generous grates of cheese or a dollop of sour cream.

And clearly business was great, because their apartment was fantastic. It was spacious, but had all these homey touches, like a handcrafted breakfast nook Roy and Jason built together.

But tangible things aside, Raven found she actually didn't mind the company. So gone were the days of being alone.

The moments where he wasn't an insufferable tease, Jason loved attending their two person book-club. They talked books, trashy to classic and everything in between, often punctuated by an impromptu neck or foot rub.

When Roy wasn't working out, planning a job, or doling out heaps of domesticity onto her and Jason, he was a hopeless romantic. He reinvigorated Raven's secret love of rom-coms. But he also liked to learn from her. So he played chess, scrabble, even backgammon, and once in a while they were able to rope in Jason for monopoly. Roy was a very graceful loser at board games, but he was amazing when he got his hands around a deck of cards. And Raven was finding, she had a lot to learn from him.

But Raven's favorite nights were the ones where they could all just be. Listening to something old or indie in the background and talking until the three of them simply passed out.

The apartment just felt full—of fun, of food, of friends. Of laughter and love.

It was a wonderful life, but it was a shame it wasn't her life. Raven was a realist, she knew she'd have to go back.

But for now, she was going to enjoy every single second of it.

[missmalice202]

Designing Your Melody: Chapter 16 - Drums

Chapter 01 - Chapter 15

The night after her date with Luka, Marinette turned on her game console to meet up with her friends online. She hadn’t been able to get ahold of Alya yet to tell her about her date because the reporter had been working on a story, so she had been forced to wait until their standing Friday night gaming night to give her best friend the details.

When she finally loaded in, she was pleased to see that Rena Rouge was already logged on.

“It’s about time, girl,” Rena reprimanded. “Now, spill! Leave nothing out!”

She started her tale with how she had made her graceful entrance: by falling down the stairs. Rena howled with laughter at how true to form that was for her and asked how Luka had responded to her clumsiness. Her friend cooed at how sweet he’d been to check to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

As she continued to give a play by play of the events of the previous night, she trailed off when a notification popped up onscreen: CHAT NOIR is online.

It felt weird to talk about her date with Adrien listening. It wasn’t like she still had romantic feelings for her friend, but it still just didn’t feel right.

“C’mon, girl, don’t clam up on me now! What happened next? Where did he take you?”

“What are you talking about?” Chat Noir asked, curious about what the girls had been talking about that had made Ladybug stop talking as soon as he’d come online.

“Ladybug was telling me about her date!” Rena gushed.

“Her what?” he yelled.

Marinette winced. “Easy there, kitty. Keep the volume down please. I’d like to keep my hearing if you don’t mind.”

As he sullenly mumbled an apology, another notification popped up onscreen. Her heart skipped a beat before she read what it read. CARAPACE is online. Oh, it’s just Nino.

“Hey guys, what’s goin’ on?”

Rena chuckled at her boyfriend’s cheerful greeting. “Oh, nothing much. Ladybug was just telling us all about her hot date.”

He chortled at that information. “Ooooh,” he teased. “Do tell.”

‘God, this is embarrassing,’ she thought. “Okay, fine. Just be quiet and let me talk.”

As she told the others the events of her date, Ryuuko and Pegasus popped up online as well, eagerly joining the conversation, much to Marinette’s chagrin.

Chat Noir’s silence ended when she began describing her confrontation with Lila. He began spitting indignantly at the nonsense the liar had spewed. She giggled when he vowed to track her down and make her regret saying such offensive things to her. She spent the next few minutes talking her feline friend down from his rage until she could continue with her story.

When she finally finished, she had to move her headset away from her ear as Rena’s piercing squeal made her ears ring.

“So, have you talked to him today?” Rena asked, excited.

“No, he must have been busy because he didn’t stop by the bakery at all today.”

The fact that he hadn’t shown up for the first time in a week made Marinette’s stomach knot uncomfortably. Had he decided that he didn’t want to go out with her again and was avoiding her? Did something happen to him and now he was in the hospital, hurt? Her overactive imagination was not her friend in situations like these.

“Statistics say that if he doesn’t call you after the first 24 hours of your first date, there is only a miniscule 12% chance that he will ask you out again.” Her eyes narrowed as Pegasus’s extremely unhelpful addition did little to make her feel better about the whole situation.

“Not helpful, Pegasus,” Rena said.

“Ladybug, you should be the one to make the first move and contact him instead. Show him that you are a strong, confident woman that will not be trifled with.” Ryuuko could definitely take the girl-power idea a bit far, but she had a point. There was no reason why she should

“I have to text him tomorrow about something anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“Yo, Chat, you’re being suspiciously quiet about this whole thing. Don’t you have any advice for Ladybug?” Carapace’s voice just dripped with sarcasm. “You know, as a friend?”

“I just think that it’s kind of a jerk move to not call her after taking her out,” he growled. “If he was really into her, he would have at least texted her to say that he had a great time or something.”

Marinette’s insecurities reared their ugly heads once more; his reasoning echoed her own doubts. “You think so, Chat?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You’re worth putting in the effort, don’t you think?”

“Nah, bro.” Carapace chimed in. “Maybe he’s just got something going on today and hasn’t had the time. I’m sure he’ll call or text you as soon as he’s got a minute.”

Nino’s reassurance silenced the insidious voices in Marinette’s mind. “Thanks, Carapace. That makes me feel better.”

They continued to play when Marinette noticed that it was almost 9:00pm.

“Hey, has anyone heard from Viperion? It’s not like him to be so late on a raid night.”

Carapace chuckled. “Yeah, he texted me earlier. He got called in for a gig and he’ll be on later.”

Marinette was surprised. She’d figured out that Viperion was a musician, but she didn’t know that he was talented enough to be performing professionally. She wondered if she’d heard his music before and didn’t know it.

“Oh, is that how you met Viperion?” Chat asked. “You never actually told us how you met him.”

While Carapace explained to the others how he’d met Viperion while he was DJ-ing at a party for a Roth Records party, the topic of their discussion signed on.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Carapace cheerfully greeted. “How was the show, bro?”

Marinette smiled as she listened to Viperion talk about his performance. She was curious about what he played, but she did her best to keep her curiosity at bay.

“Oh,” Carapace interrupted, “how was your date last night?”

Marinette nearly dropped her controller. Wait, what? Viperion went on a date last night? Who goes out on a date on a Thursday night? Well, she’s just gone on one yesterday, but that’s beside the point.

“It was great.” His voice was soft with emotion. “I took her to this place I’d been wanting to check out for a while. And she’s so easy to talk to, once she got past her nerves.”

As he continued to describe his evening out with his “mystery girl”, Marinette couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Here she was, pining over some guy who couldn’t be bothered to even text her after their own date, and Viperion was gushing about how “amazing” and “wonderful” his date had been. It just wasn’t fair.

Not noticing how quiet that Ladybug had become, the others continued to grill Viperion for details.

Carapace, on the other hand, was snickering hysterically under his breath, eventually getting his girlfriend’s attention. “Babe, what the hell? Care to share what you seem to find so funny?”

Swallowing his laughter, he tried to avoid the subject, but he found himself caught in his girlfriend’s wrath. “We’re gonna have a conversation about this later,” she promised him.

Not wanting to hear any more about Viperion’s date, Ladybug changed the subject and they continued to play together for the next few hours, finally distracting Marinette from her own wallowing.

After she’d logged off and shut down her console, she looked at her phone for the first time in hours. She was surprised to see her notification light blinking.

It was from Luka!

Luka: Hey, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before now. I had a great time last night and wanted to know if you’d be interested in hanging out again sometime soon.

Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. How could she have not heard her phone chime? Upon further investigation, she noticed the symbol in her notification bar that indicated that she’d put her phone on “Do not disturb” mode while she had been playing.

Oh man, hopefully her lack of response didn’t make Luka think she wasn’t interested in hanging out with him again. She really liked spending time with the musician. Once she got out of her own head, he was easy to talk to and there was something about him that made her creative juices start flowing.

As a matter of fact, her work on “his” outfit had gone surprisingly well. Usually, she’d run into a few snags when working on a project, but thus far, it’d been smooth sailing, which gave her a perfect excuse to spend time with him.

Glancing at the time, she wondered if it was too late to text him back. But she didn’t want him to think that she was ignoring him or something. Gathering her courage, she decided to go for it. If nothing else, he’d get it in the morning when he woke up.

Marinette: Sorry, just got your text. I’d like that. BTW, if you can make time, your outfit is almost done. Just needs fitting. Let me know when works for you.

She put her phone down and started getting ready for bed. When she heard her phone vibrate, she lunged across the room to grab it, nearly tripping over her discarded clothes in her haste.

Luka: np. I’ve got time tomorrow if that works for you.

With a giddy little dance, she texted back that she’d see him tomorrow then and went to bed, completely forgetting her hurt feelings from earlier.

-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-xXx-

Chapter 17

*First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for your patience and encouragement. It means a lot to me. Unfortunately, just when my private life got situated to where I could get some work done, I get sick (and no, it’s not corona virus lol, it’s a chest cold, but it’s still super inconvenient.) but luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), with all the hysteria surrounding the Corona virus outbreak, my daughter’s school has been cancelled for the next two weeks, so I will not be working as well since my job is such that allows me to take time off when my daughter doesn’t have school. So, I’m hoping to get some serious writing done in the next few days.

Also, I’d like to apologize for the short length of this chapter. It’s been bugging me for the last few days and just didn’t want to flow right. maybe it’s the cold medicine hazing my brain, but i’ve decided to just post it and move on. so i’m sorry if it sucks lol

as always, thanks for everyone who likes and reblogs my stories. Your support means the world to me.

Until next time, XOXO*

@write-for-your-life2

[lllluka]

A LUXY Conversation with a Debatable Amount of Eye Contact

Been doing assignments and exams all week, so I’m doing all my LUXY week content late. Here’s my day one (on day 5 lol). ‘Eye Contact’. @luxyweek .

This is the same Universe as: 

1. ‘THIS IS WHY XY ISN’T ALLOWED TO WEAR SHIRTS WITH TEXT ON THEM’ - A comedy oneshot about a shirt selection gone awry. 

2. ‘ ONESHOT ’ - In which Bob Roth and Anarka Couffaine are now ‘drinking buddies’ and XY stays over on the houseboat. Luka hates him. Luka hates him SO much. 

3. ‘THIS IS WHY LUKA SHOULDN’T LOSE HIS MIND AND COOK DINNER’

 - A chaotic comedy/unique horror crack-scenario from the POV of a 26 y/o Marinette.

From start to finish this experience had been living Hell for Luka, and as more and more time passed by, Luka began to mirror his feelings about this whole ordeal with his body language; leaning on doorways, brooding, with his arms folded- sitting near Bob and his mother as they attempted to play poker on the deck, with his guitar, but ONLY electing to ‘tune’. At some points it seemed as though Bob was about ready to say something in reaction to his purposeful intermissions, but Anarka somehow managed to grasp the old man’s attention back whenever his moustache-endowed lips begged to open.

The worst part about Bob and Anarka hanging out so much recently, wasn’t even the presence of the producer in his home space. For the most part, Bob just minded his business and didn’t really acknowledge Anarka’s adult live-in son. It was Bob’s OWN live-in son that was actually the problem, and this was specifically because the SOB (Son of a Bob) had not only brazenly stolen his band’s music, pissed off his former love, AND gotten him Akumatized on multiple occasions, but was now rubbing his decorated fingers all over Luka’s equipment. He figured, save from physical violence, the best he could do was try to drive the company away at the source, hence the live tuning entertainment, but… there was apparently no budging.

One particular night, after playing the same four-note riff about a quarter of a thousand times, Luka begrudgingly picked up his guitar and headed downstairs to call it a night. Now, as much has he’d been worried about XY snooping about and digging through his equipment, it hadn’t occurred to him until now just what an inattentive, easily distractible person could do to his bedroom. The air was suddenly deathly quiet, as his footsteps creaked the pastel floorboards, body allowing for an involuntary shudder as he approached the poorly-designed door handle to his bedroom. After hefting the majority of his bodyweight into it, he opened the door.

Luka just about had a heart attack when he realised XY was not there. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He worked out how to turn the doorhandles? He’d just figured Xavier was too stupid to consider turning it with both hands. So much for that, it’s not like that guy could not be trusted on such a delicate vehicle-slash-home. God forbid the asshole got into the controls or sunk the boat.

It was definite. He had to be found, and that was not an action Luka had voluntarily elected for in the past. Though there was an extreme sense of urgency, Luka, of course, did not forget to stop and gently tuck his guitar under the sheets of his bed—leaning over once the instrument looked cosy, to kiss it good night. The strings rung out in tangy appreciation, and that’s how he knew he did a good job. God, he’d make a great father- but that was a thought for later. NOW, at least, he should probably redirect his attention to finding the hidden celebrity.

Just as he rammed back through the door, he saw the guy. Xavier was just standing there, staring blankly, with a half-eaten cup of noodles in one hand, and chopsticks in the other.

“What are you looking for?” He inquired, twisting more noodles onto his chopsticks. Luka stared egregiously at the man, first thinking ‘he’s eating my food’, and then ‘he can use chopsticks??’. He would have figured, with the guy being XY and all, he would have just mistaken them for, like, rectal thermometres or something. …You know, after consideration, he should probably start hiding everything that a second-grader wouldn’t recognise. Especially eating utensils.

“You.” Luka replied cautiously, a hand lingering on the doorframe. To be honest, he was still completely spun from the situation, and watched at half-attention as XY continued slurping up the ‘dles.

“That’s sweet. Want an autograph?” After blowing out the steam of his last bite, XY pecked an air kiss in Luka’s general direction, although his eyes were still fully focal on the food. It irritated Luka a lot, that the guy didn’t even have the decency to look him in the eye when he mock-kissed at him. Like, really. Where is the etiquette? Didn’t XY learn this in bully school? Luka bit the inside of his cheek for a moment.

“No thanks, I’m fine.” The words were civil, the tone was tense. It at least earned a double-brow raise from the disk jockey, but still no eye-contact.

“You know,” Xavier began, “you’re really mean to me.” Luka was more than taken aback. He had never been called mean in his LIFE. Not by anybody, and not at any point. He felt his flesh freeze under his skin, stomach wobbling with tense anxiety. The worst part about it was that he couldn’t even say that it was untrue. He’d been nothing but a jerk to XY since he’d gotten there, and even before. …Maybe they had some old beef, and he didn’t care for Xavier’s taste, but… he had to admit, out of the two of them, the guy had been pretty civil this whole time.

‘Oh God’, Luka realised. ‘The asshole might have been me all along’. It was physically nauseating to him, and he struggled to find anything to say. All he could do was stare intensely at the guy.

At the silence, Xavier finally lifted his gaze, double-taking-in Luka’s stunned face with pleasure.

“See! You totally know it too! I knew I wasn’t wrong!” He seemed delighted to have struck a chord (haha). Luka swallowed, shaking his head through throbbing confusion.

“I’m not mean.” It was the only thing he could think to say, though it was tense, almost like a question. XY nodded, getting through another mouthful of noodles.

“No, I know. I didn’t say you were mean, I said you were mean to me.” He elaborated, moving to rest his shoulder on the doorframe, next to Luka’s hand. “And because I know that you’re, like, this SUPER goody-goody guy to everybody else, it’s kinda, like… twice as mean that you’re only being like this to me.”

The shock didn’t fade in Luka, but the already-seated distaste for XY caused him to swallow the guilt for a singular moment. “I’m just being myself. It’s pretty hard to get me to dislike somebody, but, yeah, someone being amoral is one of the things I can’t stand.” …He couldn’t forget. XY was worse, and in action. He was a thief, and a liar, and a senseless egotist who didn’t care about music, or other people. “You’re the one who’s… mean.”

Xavier didn’t flinch. His voice fluttered away, casual as can be.

“Yeah, I’m mean, but I’m not mean to you.”

The polar opposite of Luka, apparently. …And yeah, maybe there was a point there. He’d been suspiciously tame around Luka, despite being incredibly judgemental of everybody else. No where near what Luka had anticipated when he’d found out he’d be in the presence of XY again.

He wondered why that was.

“…Yeah, but why?” Well, that was an easy way to coax an answer. Maybe he was just too lazy to fight with him, or… maybe XY was, like, in love with him or something, like that lady that kept ordering pizzas at his last job.

He scrunched his face at the thought.

XY shrugged, draining the cup of its broth and then moving to place it on a barrel within arms-reach.

“That’s not an answer.” Well, not really. At least not one that satiated Luka’s curiosity. With a pained sigh, Xavier waved his hands back and forth like he was using his hands for invisible pinball. He seemed to be considering his reasoning.

“…I don’t know, dude. I just don’t feel like that toward you. …I mean, it’s not you, it’s me. I just need a little time to focus on myself-“

“You don’t feel... mean toward me? Wh---Are you using breakup lines?” Luka stared incredulously. A light in XY’s mind popped, and bright realisation appeared on his face.

“Oh, shaa! I guess I was just copying my old convos.”

It took all of Luka’s willpower to not slug XY right in the face. His fists balled, but he let out a long breath. One of these days, he really should to get back into meditation, lest he be in jail for hot-blooded murder due to some rage fit.

“…XY-“

“It’s because I respect you.”

Luka paused, opening his eyes to meet a strong blue gaze from the other artist.

“What?” Wire-pitched numbness took over the fuzz in the guitarist’s head.

“Your music, and stuff. …Like, it was good enough for someone like me to draw inspiration from.” XY shrugged once again. ‘Inspiration’, yeah, right. He tried that line years ago as well, if he recalled correctly. …Still, there was something weirdly flattering about it.

“Oh.” Thanks. Say thanks, Luka. “………What the fuck.”

That wasn’t it. …But still, the unexpected reaction made XY laugh out loud, chuckling hysterically in waves that he evidently couldn’t contain. Luka watched blankly at his reaction, his neck feeling itchy all of a sudden, and his face very red- a reaction surprisingly hard to evoke within him.

When he watched XY straighten his posture and finally wipe the tears from his eyes, a smile of his own peeked out, but soon faded to neutral in stubbornness; a natural response, whenever Xavier made eye-contact.

[ryanmeft]

Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Part 1

The culmination of the superhero ride that started with Iron Man back in 2008 is almost here. Avengers: Endgame tickets are selling out fast even though the movie is nearly three weeks away, and speculation as to how this stage of Marvel’s box office juggernaut will all end is at a fever pitch. What better time to rank the movies that have brought us here? Now, no one with even a tiny bit of objectivity sincerely believes Marvel had a ten year plan and executed it precisely according to a grand vision. Looking back through these movies makes it clearer than ever that, more often than not, they made it up as they went along. In fact, considering all the retcons, changed minds, dropped plot threads and unexpected surprises, it’s amazing the continuity holds together at all. It mostly does...but the bottom part of this list contains the few movies even Marvel’s PR team probably wishes they could have a mulligan on, as well as some good-but-not-quite-lighting-the-world-on-fire fare. Let’s get to it. Warning: this article contains spoilers for nearly every movie in the MCU.

21. Iron Man 2

The red-headed stepchild of the MCU. After the surprise success of the original Iron Man, Marvel Studios apparently forgot that the strength of that film was allowing Jon Favreau and the writing team to put heart before brand synergy, and decided to make a movie that was half marketing for their planned Avengers crossover. Dropping Black Widow in here felt completely jarring, and it didn’t help that her role just added to the jumble of plot threads that didn’t seem to add up to anything; at the time, many saw it as proof that Marvel was putting a little too much faith in their ability to pull off this whole crossover thing. That’s only part of the sordid story, though, because the movie is also a mess in nearly every other way. Rather than the tight plotting of the original, this one sees Tony, Rhodey, Pepper and the rest speeding from random situation to random situation---a car race, an unhinged party, a spy caper---with only the barest of plot threads holding it all together. The movie’s only saving graces are the villains played by Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Each of them deliciously devours every scene they are in, providing the film’s lone moments of enjoyment, but they’re also squandered on what feels like an extremely low stakes plan. Iron Man so well proved that superhero movies can have a soul that it even managed to make some critical best-of lists for 2008. The sequel made us wonder if that might have been a tad premature.

20. The Incredible Hulk

There are some genuinely creative moments in this action-oriented “apology” for the in-reality-pretty-good Ang Lee Hulk movie. The opening sequence showing how Hulk’s blood travels, a chase through a Brazilian favela, tossing Bruce out of a helicopter to incite his other half, and the almost-love scene aborted by the alter ego were signs of how clever the movie could have been if it were not focused on cramming in as much smashing as possible. Nick Nolte’s complex antagonist is replaced with William Hurt chewing a little too much scenery, the new super-villain played by Tim Roth is a dull waste of the actor’s talent, the finale is listless, and the entire movie is just one long excuse to show Hulk ‘roiding out as much as possible. The camera work of skilled action veteran Peter Menzies Jr. and some excellent CG on the title character make it more fun to look at than many of the tights flicks of the time, which is something. As a general rule, things that are made to chase fleeting audience sentiments don’t stand the test of time, and there’s been a quiet reversal since 2008 in which Lee’s more original and creative vision for the character has come to be re-evaluated, while this one has been almost forgotten and relegated to endless TNT re-runs. Maybe with Mark Ruffalo having one more movie on his contract, he’ll get a crack at doing it right post-Endgame.

19. Thor: The Dark World At the time, this movie served as iron-clad proof that the only reason the Thor character worked at all was Loki. The god of mischief is at his delicious then-best here, conniving from a prison cell, partnering with his brother out of genuine concern, and eventually managing to actually take the throne. Sure, that latter development was quickly undone in the next film, but what a parting shot. He’s the only aspect of the movie that fully works, and if you pop it in today you sit patiently waiting for his scenes and snoring through the second, Loki-free half of the movie. Thor himself is lifeless when Loki’s not on screen. The Warriors Three are still nowhere near the right balance of humor and bravery. Natalie Portman remains wasted on a supposedly genius scientist who can nevertheless be stunned into immediate silence by Thor’s golden locks, while Sif is still 100% unnecessary in every way. Perhaps worst of all, the underrated Christopher Eccleston is miscast as a villain who always seems to be doing bad Shakespeare. We all tried hard to forgive it at the time (and director Alan Taylor claims it was made “a different movie” in the editing room, not at all implausible) but thankfully we’ve since admitted this is mostly a misfire.

18. Ant-Man

If you were to judge Ant-Man entirely by the size-changing shenanigans, it would be one of the best Marvel movies. Peyton Reed, building off a script by departing director Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish (and tidied up by Rudd and Adam McKay) gets a ton of mileage out of the novelty of being the size of an insect, from outrunning a flood in a bathtub to that rather brilliant final confrontation in a child’s playroom, using toys as ammo. Further, Paul “I Am Immortal” Rudd is pitch-perfect in the title role, while Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly bring a lot to the picture. It’s in the details where Ant-Man falls a bit short (pun intended). To start, we have a single major Hispanic character in the MCU, played by the frankly more-legendary-than-you-think Michael Pena, and he’s reduced to a fast-talking stereotype. Judy Greer and Bobby Cannavale are also worlds better than their roles, which are, respectively, a cliche shrewish ex-wife and a cliche over-suspicious cop. What really drags things down, though, is the lackluster villain, who may be the most inert black hole in the MCU’s rogues gallery. He is neither good enough to engage us, nor bad enough to hate. He could have been played by a grip, for all the personality he’s allowed. The core of the film is delightful. The hill around it is crumbly.

17. Captain Marvel

Marvel’s first female-led flick is understandably a phenomenon, pulling down the sixth-largest opening weekend of all time and serving as inspiration to young girls and target to the kind of people who don’t want women in their clubhouse. So what about the movie that’s causing all this hullabaloo? It’s pretty decent. The movie can be summed up very succinctly as “safe”. It takes few chances and is more like one small step than one giant leap for womankind. Had it been released during the early superhero boom, it would still be fondly remembered as a major link in the genre’s evolution. As it is, it borrows from the buddy-cop subgenre to create what is essentially an adventure/sci-fi movie between Carol Danvers and Nick Fury. It stands out more as a callback to the kind of action pics made in the 90’s (when it is set) than the heavily marketed shared universe of the MCU, and includes standout performances from Annette Bening, Jude Law and Ben Mendelsohn. It meets expectations; it does not exceed them, and if you are a fan of the distinctive style practiced by directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, you won’t find it here. It’s only a month old, and it may be too soon to definitely say how it will be seen as time goes on. Right now, it feels more like a solid first step for the character than a fully realized final destination.

16. Thor

The original Thor has some completely solid, indisputable charms. Chris Hemsworth does physical comedy much more skillfully than he is ever given credit for, it is the debut of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the third act is a rare-at-the-time case of inventiveness in an MCU finale, and it’s always great to see Stellan Skarsgard in literally anything. I would watch two hours of Stellan Skarsgard eating lunch, with a clone of Stellan Skarsgard. His drinking scene with Thor is a seriously underrated bit of awesome. It helps make up for the fact that the movie has no idea what to do with most of the supporting cast, including in part Loki, who at this stage seems to flail around between personalities, having crazy forced on him in time for the final duel despite it not even being hinted at earlier. It’s as if director Kenneth Branagh just let him do his own thing, and Hiddleston’s not 100% sure what that should be yet. The mirror scene is objectively amazing, but he won’t really come into his own until Avengers. The Warriors Three are utterly wasted; Branaugh and the writers just never nail the right combo of comedy and camaraderie needed to pull them off. Sif is superfluous. Natalie Portman is one of the finest actors of our generation, here reduced to goggling over Thor’s pecs. It’s not bad, especially compared to some of the dreck that gets pumped out of the blockbuster machine. It’s just rather inert.

That’s it for part 1. I’m  going to be doing some Marvel/Superhero/General Nerd content leading up to Endgame’s release. Check back next Friday for part 2 of this list, and pop by Monday for part 1 of my predictions on the fate of each character in Endgame. Part 2: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/184208179827/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-2 Part 3: https://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/184372777282/ranking-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-part-3

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From Cavs in Six to Yankees in Four, Here Are VICE's NBA Finals Picks

Everybody loves making predictions. It's the best way to prove to your friends, neighbors, and loved ones, how much you know about something. Instead of just limiting the fun to the VICE Sports staff, we asked people from across the VICE network—including some really important people—who they thought would win the NBA Finals and why. What you will read will either impress you, or make you worry about the future of this media company.

Michael Pina, staff writer, VICE Sports: Cavaliers in 7. There are roughly one trillion compelling factors that can influence anyone's prediction in these Finals, but so long as LeBron James is averaging 32.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists with an ungodly True Shooting percentage, betting against him doesn't feel like a smart thing to do. (Also, Draymond Green will turn into an icicle.)

Caitlin Kelly, managing editor, VICE Sports: Warriors in 6. I'm going to say Warriors in six, because "Defense Wins Championships," and the Cavs defense sucks. If the correct truism turns out to be "LeBron James Wins Championships, Actually," I will be neither surprised nor very upset. I am very proud to send in the most boring answer out of the entire staff, please include that in the roundup.

Jorge Arangure, editor-in-chief, VICE Sports : Warriors in 6. As much as I'd like to pick Cleveland in this series, I can't see the Cavs' defense being able to stop the Warriors. Plus Klay is probably due for a big series, and Cleveland's slow help defense should give him a lot of open shots.

Mike Piellucci, staff writer, VICE Sports: Warriors in 6. I'm not on the bandwagon that thinks this can be done in a relatively simple five games, but Golden State has too much firepower and too much JaVale to lose the rubber match.

Sean Newell, staff writer, VICE Sports: Yankees in 4. Honestly, I don't see how anyone stops Aaron Judge, who is my MVP for the series. Judge is also my dark horse pick for MVP.

David Roth, staff writer, VICE Sports: I think the Warriors will win in six games, unless they win it in five or seven, or unless the Cavaliers win it in some other number of games. One of the secondary bummers of the playoffs having been so lame to this point is that, while I believe that both these teams are significantly better than they were last year, I don't really have a sense of how much or how that will play out in the series. I honestly don't know how any team ever beats the Warriors, let alone four times out of seven, and watching them has done nothing to help me figure that out. But I felt that way last year, too. My point is that I do not know, and my other point is that, after all these weeks of inevitability, I am really enjoying that feeling a lot.

Liam Pierce, weekend editor, VICE Sports: Warriors in 6. Sure, I may be from Oakland and therefore am crazy-biased toward the greatest city on the planet, but I've got enough hatred for this upcoming move to San Francisco to take a step back. The Warriors are out to draw blood and prove they're no fad. But what's more important is that KD gives them a fail-safe plan. Klay drops off? No problem. Steph falls off? Still not a problem. Draymond falls off? Fine—what-have-you. Even if KD falls off? Nothing to worry about. All of them fall off? Ian Clark will carry us on his golden wings (and then sign with the Mavericks afterward).

Aaron Gordon, staff writer, VICE Sports: Warriors in 6. I can count the number of NBA games I've ever watched on two hands and none of them were this season. But 2016/17 seems to be the time the bad guys win.

Karisa Maxwell, social editor, VICE Sports: Cavaliers in 6. I don't care who wins or how well they play, I just want to see JR Smith wearing a half-on Romphim at the parade. We the people deserve it.

Jon Weidman, associate creative director, VICE: Cavaliers in 7. Because KD has to go through a post "Decision" letdown like LeBron for there to be balance in the universe. Speaking of the universe, Earth is flat.

Will Kiersky, publisher, VICE Entertainment: Cavaliers in 6. THE MORE EX-KNICKS YOU HAVE THE BETTER CHANCE YOU HAVE OF WINNING THE NBA TITLE. It's how the world works. This year's Cavs retain the title not solely because LBJ is still the world's best basketball players, but for the more subtle move of replacing the Timofey 'Timothy' Mozgov with Derrick Williams. They simply needed to replace one underwhelming ex-Knick with another and all would be status quo in Believeland. For obvious reasons a lot of people like to talk about the addition of Kevin Durant. But a little deeper digging reveals that neither the '16 nor '17 Warriors had or have a single ex-Knick on the roster. The key to the '15 Warriors title run? D. Lee coming off the bench to the tune of 3.1 PTS, 2.6 REBS and having once had the misfortune of playing for the New York Knickerbockers.

Josh Tyrangiel, senior vice president of news, VICE: Cavaliers in 7. I believe in LeBron James more than I believe in evolution. And I really believe in evolution. Derek Mead, executive editor, VICE Global: Cavaliers in 7. I feel like believing in something for once, even though I know I'm wrong. It feels shocking how quickly the Warriors have become annoying, especially because I *love* KD, but nothing will ever compare to watching Treal TV to get hyped for some more Baron Davis/AK47 magic on the court. Eric Sundermann, editor-in-chief, Noisey: Cavaliers in 7. Look, there's no way LeBron loses. Just no way. The Warriors have the talent and, on paper, should win for countless reasons (the main one being the Cavs don't really know what the word "defense" is). But dude just beat the Celtics by 50 and looked like he was on auto-pilot while doing so. Moreover, his legacy is on the line, and he's going to come out and look to prove that, MJ be damned, he should be considered the best basketball player of all time. Just like last year, Cavs in 7.

A lot of people at VICE are praying the Cavs win the finals. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan McCarthy, editor-in-chief, VICE News: Warriors in 5. Can't wait for the NBA season to finally start tonight! I think each of the Finals games will be close, but the series not so much. In really busy NBA year that brought us Westbrook v. Harden, Boogie getting traded, and a few glorious months of Embiid, if anything I think the Warriors have been insufficiently hyped. Even Stephen A. Smith seems bored by the Warriors. And yes, I just made the case for more hype around a superteam of all-NBAers in an era of league inequality. Also: the Cavs defense is very bad and it's not totally Kevin Love's fault. Kyle Kramer, features editor, Noisey: Cavaliers in 6. Basketball, a game invented by James Naismith in 1891, has seen many iterations in the 126 years since ol' James first tossed a ball through a peach basket: NBA Jam, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, NBA Jam Extreme, NBA Jam 99, something called Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball for Super NES, etc. But at the end of the day, we can all agree that the current version is the best version because it involves Lebron James, who plays with the dominance of an NBA Jam character except in real life. And the only thing cooler than video games is LeBron James making other six-foot-seven men look like kindergarteners as he dribbles around them. Matt Taylor, news editor, VICE: Cavaliers in 6, because KD is going to bump knees with Tristan Thompson in game 1 and miss the rest of the series. Annalise Domenighini, social editor and cold one enthusiast, Noisey: Whichever team has the most abs. Harry Cheadle, politics editor, VICE: Warriors in 6—I don't know much about basketball but it seems like they have most of the good players. Jason Koebler, senior staff writer, Motherboard: Cavaliers in 4. These playoffs have been horrible and the law of long-suffering cities that finally get over the hump suggests that Cleveland is about to be blessed with unending sports success and the insufferability to match. Trey Smith, social editor, VICE: Cavaliers in 6. Cause LeBron is sick of y'all and is waiting to get a lot of fed up-ness out his system. Alex Robert Ross, contributing writer, Noisey: Cavaliers in 7. I've spent the last year trying to convince myself that the Warriors—a Silicon Valley startup with an innovative and gritty approach to disrupting my happiness—won't be champions. Here's all I have left: —Draymond Green hasn't kicked anyone in the dick and balls lately. He's overdue. —Zaza Pachulia is at the whims of some ancient evil spirits who will soon sour on his success. —Iman Shumpert has only played like a drunk 13-year-old this year because he's been too busy delivering babies and putting the finishing touches to his game-changing new mixtape. He will put both of those things on hold for these Finals. —LeBron James. —JR Smith will do anything for an excuse to be shirtless. That includes dropping 38 points upon Zaza Pachulia's haunted dome. —Steph Curry doesn't actually exist. Prove to me that he exists. Have you ever seen him? I mean, not on TV. Have you ever actually seen him? With your own eyes? Exactly. —Something about Kyle Korver hitting threes or something. —Maybe God exists.

From Cavs in Six to Yankees in Four, Here Are VICE's NBA Finals Picks published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv