#I drew this in like 40 minutes forgive me if it’s not the best

[mrcheezzz]

ii and modern baseball… my two favourite things

[batmayne]

𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 “𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘” 𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐒 - fluff alphabet by @snk-warriors

featured song: Hide by Juice Wrld and Seezyn

warnings: small mentions of angst

authors note: this was written before tfatws (aka before I knew bucky’s personality) so I apologize for any inconsistencies and or if he’s ooc.

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 - what do they like to do with their significant other? how do they spend their free time with them?

Since Bucky’s only available time to spend with you would most likely just be time he had off in between missions (unless you were an avenger yourself), most of your time spent together would be spent relaxing. If you do happen to not be an Avenger or maybe live out of New York (kind of like Laura Barton) he would more inclined to spend time at your house instead of his own. You are his solace away from all of the peril and endangerment that comes with his everyday occupation from saving the world from various threats - anytime spent with you is enough to make him happy. Activities wise I believe that he would enjoy simple things like taking your dog for a walk in the park, visiting a local museum or even just going to a family owned diner to grab milkshakes. Time not spent out would most likely be spent indoors reading or watching movies.

𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓�� - what do they admire about their significant other? what do they think is beautiful about them?

I can’t imagine that things like appearance, weight and height mean a whole lot to him, your personality is what really drew him in. He was initially attracted to your kindness and patience, because just befriending someone with the amount of baggage that his past holds is no easy feat. Unlike others, you didn’t treat him like a monster because of what HYDRA had forced him to do for the past 70 years of brainwashing. He admires you for taking the time to understand him when no one else did, especially after Steve went back in time to be with Peggy. He and Sam had become close of course but it couldn’t compare to what he had with you.

𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓 - how would they help their significant other when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

He knows all to well what it means it be “feeling down” or having troubles mentally so he would be very understanding about it. If you a working or have some sort of occupation he would encourage you to probably take some time off to recover and if he was able he would take a break as well so you wouldn’t be alone. If it was more serious he would want you to go get help, because that is what you have done for him in the past.

𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 - how do they picture their future with their significant other?

As mentioned earlier, I think that seeing what happened to Steve after he decided to spend his life with Peggy and have children of his own really would have struck a chord with him. Once he came out of HYDRA’s possession I think he may have thought that a chance at having a different life with a significant other and even children would be near impossible - but after he met you he was willing to give that fantasy a second try. I think he would be over the moon with eventually marrying you when things calm down some (he wouldn’t want to put you in danger if some enemy was targeting him) and having a child or two (if you wanted). Overall I think he just just craves for a simple and peaceful life with you, without having to worry about the dangers of his job or the outside world.

𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋 - are they the dominant one in the relationship or rather passive?

The both of you are definitely equals in this relationship, in every aspect. I have to mention though, some of that 40’s gentleman may come out at times where he likes to hold the door open for you or help you out of the car. But he would only do this if you were comfortable with it of course, if it bothered you or got on your nerves in any way he would definitely stop - no questions asked.

𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 - would they be easy to forgive their significant other? how are they fighting?

There may be more arguments in the beginning of the relationship because he hasn’t been in one in so long, and the majority of them center around either him not wanting to hurt you on accident (I imagine that he is still uncomfortable with his arm) or pushing you away. Eventually after he gets more comfortable around you the fights will lessen, but when they do occur you just give eachother plenty of space before reconciling and trying to work things out. One thing he will not do is leave for a mission without making up with you - if something happened and your relationship was left on a bad note he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐄 - how grateful are they in general? are they aware of what their significant other is doing for them?

Bucky is beyond grateful that you are with him and he would reassure you about it constantly. Befriending him alone is a huge task in itself, not everyone has the patience to even do something as simple as that. Taking the time to get to know and understand why he is the way he is without judging him for it is something that he will be forever greatfull for.

𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐘 - do they hide secrets from their significant other? or do they share everything?

As much as he would want to shelter his ominous and dark past from you he knew that wouldn’t be possible with him being a wanted criminal several years ago - he wasn’t exactly famous be he was definitely well known (unfortunately not for the better parts of his life). It would take him some time for him to open up about everything he has gone through, but after some time he will open up about it. It’s nothing against you personally, he just fears that once you know everything you’ll run away from him (which wou wouldn’t of course). He just needs some time.

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 - did their significant other change them somehow or the other way around? like trying out new things or helped them overcome problems?

Your relationship has had quite the positive effect on him since the start, and it’s something that his friends would immediately take notice of. Of course you couldn’t solve and help with everything that HYDRA has put him through, but just having you around has done tremendous things for his mood. When Sam notices that he hasn’t said “I hate you” to him in the past week, he knew that something was up.

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐘 - do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?

I think Bucky would be more protective than jealous, but not in a creepy or possessive sense if you get what I am saying? He wouldn’t mind if you spent a lot of time hanging out with friends or anything like that, but if he feels like someone is making you uncomfortable he wouldn’t hesitate to place a reassuring hand around your waist so they’ll back off.

𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒 - are they a good kisser? how was their first kiss? and 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 - how did they confess to their significant other?

He isn’t particular with his kisses in my opinion, as long as they aren’t too sloppy and there aren’t many people around (I’ll discuss this more in the PDA section). I head canon that he really likes giving and receiving cheek and forehead kisses - but he will repeatedly deny it if you mention it to anyone else. (Your first kiss and love confession happened at the same time so I wrote a little Drabble about it below eugh)

Your first kiss took place when you were bordering the fine line between friends and something more. Bucky was taking some time off after a particularly rough mission and you gave him a place to stay away from all of the action. Finding him outside relaxing on a bench not too far from your house/apartment, you joined him and sat in a peaceful silence for a few minutes.

“Hey [Your Name]?” He spoke tentatively, distracting you from picking at the fraying end of your shorts.

“What’s up?” You questioned in turn, raising an eyebrow. Your breath hitched when you felt the coolness of his metal hand gently grab one of yours, and his human one placed itself on top.

“I just want to say thank you.”

“Bucky, you know you’re welcome to stay here anytime you need to-“

“That’s not what I meant.” He cut you off immediately, his voice wavering slightly. “I mean thank you, for accepting me, and not judging me for my past.”

“Of course.” You chirped back, maybe a little too fast.

It sounds cheesy but it did feel as if something was drawing your faces closer, and you eventually placed your free hand on his cheek as if saying a silent “yes”. When his lips finally pressed upon your own you felt an eruption of butterflies fly around your stomach, especially after you felt his arm glide around to your back. Once he pulled away it was hard to keep the smiles plastered off of both of your faces.

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐆𝐄 - do they want to get married? how would they propose to their significant other?

Marriage wasn’t one of the things he thought that he would be able to enjoy when he was rescued from HYDRA, but I believe after he began his relationship with you he would most likely change his mind. Within the first few months of dating he already knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you so why not go ahead and tie the knot? He’d probably wait around a year to ensure that you felt the same before popping the question. I don’t get the “proposing in front of a large crowd of people vibe” from him so I’d probably say he would propose at an at home dinner where it was just the two of you. Most likely on a holiday such as Valentine’s Day or someday that was meaningful for the both of you (like the day you met or when you officially started dating).

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 - what do they call their significant other?

Other than your name, Dollface or Doll.

𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 - what are they like in love? is it obvious to others? How do they express their feelings?

Now, I wouldn’t necessarily call him a simp - because that would be disrespectful, but. Other than being reunited with his childhood best friend Steve, you are the best thing that has happened to him. Of course you couldn’t possibly solve all of his problems and erase everything horrible that has happened to him but you sure do help a lot. Sam notices that he is in noticeably brighter spirits and he is also experiencing less nightmares. When a particular mission gets rough or difficult the only thing keeping him going is knowing that you are at home waiting for him.

𝐏𝐃𝐀 - are they upfront about their relationship? do they brag with their significant other in front of others? or are they shy to kiss etc. with other people around?

Similar to Steve, I reckon that he wouldn’t be comfortable with public displays of affection because of the era he was raised in, where it was more frowned upon. Another thing to remember is that even though his name has been cleared he was a wanted criminal for quite some time, so I imagine he is already somewhat self conscious about being in public already. Additionally, the nature of his job caused him to already be a wanted target for many dangerous people, and he wants to keep you away from that by keeping you a secret from the public. This isn’t to say that he would be opposed to hand holding or subtle things such as that, just nothing that what be too attention grabbing from other people.

𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐑𝐊 - what random ability do they have that’s beneficial in the relationship?

As kind as he is once you get to know him personally - there is no denying that he can be quite intimidating, even without the vibranium arm. Though not intentional. Being with him is like having your own personal bodyguard around you at all times. Normally, you wouldn’t even have to worry about the potential unwanted admirer because his presence would scare them off before they even attempted to say anything.

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 - how romantic are they? What would they do to make their significant other happy?

I cannot emphasize this enough, he is the perfect gentleman. Since he is unfortunately gone so often (saving the world and all), I theorize that his love language might be Recieving Gifts. They may not be extravagant or expensive but they’re things he thought you would like from the various locations that he’s visitied for missions. As far as making you happy he’ll do just about anything (within reason of course). Take watching movies for example, there may be a particular genre or type of film he isn’t interested in, but if you want to watch it he’ll oblige because he knows you would do the same for him. Another thing is when he is at home and not busy with missions, he ensures that all of his free time is spent with you.

𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 - are they helping their significant other achieve their goals? do they believe in them?

He may not right off understand everything you want to achieve and why, but he would certainly do everything he can to help you achieve in them. Like I said, he might not actually understand entirely all of your goals, but he will be supportive regardless.

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐋 - do they need to try out new things to spice out their relationship? or do they prefer a specific routine?

Having been basically shut out from the world for the past 70 years, there is a plethora of things that Bucky has not seen yet or tried. Each date you have could mean trying something new, so things rarely ever get boring for with of you. While he doesn’t mind keeping a routine like getting dinner every Friday, its nearly impossible with what he does for a living.

𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 - how much do they know their partner? are they empathetic?

As you do with him, he knows you like the back of his hand. Even though he may not have known you throughout your entire life, I would say knows you on a closer level than most of your friends and relatives (which the exception of your parents and closest friends depending on your on your relationship with them). As stated earlier, he might not understand everything that you might go through but he will surely be empathetic to all of your struggles - as you are with his own.

𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐔𝐄 - how important is the relationship to them? what is it’s in it’s comparison to their things in their life?

Your relationship is by far the best thing that has ever happened to him so if something were to happen to it he would certainly be broken up over it, as would you. A lot of your relationship was founded on helping eachother through difficult times going on in both of your lives so the relationship ending would be quite problematic for the both of you. In comparison to other things that are in his life you are most definitely at the very top of that list.

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃 - a random fluff head canon.

He refuses to let you tie your own shoes when they come loose. It was a subtle thing you noticed even at the beginning of your friendship. One of your laces would come untied and he’d keep insisting that you tie them so you wouldn’t fall and get hurt - until he eventually would just do it himself. It was a subtle gesture but still enough to make you swoon a bit at the kindness of it.

𝐗𝐎𝐗𝐎 - are they affectionate? do they love to kiss and cuddle?

He is indeed affectionate, as long as you are alone and no other people are around. Having said this I feel like having a significant other who is constantly cuddling him might make him uncomfortable, so someone more low key and less touchy would be his vibe. Bucky has spent a lot of his life alone and in isolation, so it would definitely be something that he would get used to at the beginning of your relationship. This doesn’t mean he wont cuddle at all though, he just may not be into it as much as others.

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 - how will they cope when they are missing their partner?

An unfortunate side effect of dating a superhero is that they’ll be away on missions quite often - you and Bucky’s relationship was no stranger to that. I’d imagine that he would attempt to call and text as much as he could, but of course the majority of the time he would be unavailable. To cope with missing you, he would probably end up talking about it to Sam after a lot of coaxing. While it would indeed help some, what actually kept him going was as I said earlier: knowing that you were at home safe and waiting for him to get back.

𝐙𝐄𝐀𝐋 - what lengths are they will to go for the relationship? if so what kind of lengths?

As I have stated numerous times your relationship is what keeps him going everyday, it’s what wakes him up in the morning. You are the single most important person in his life and always will be. He would do anything within his power to ensure your safety (within the parameters of reason of course). But in general he would do about anything for your relationship.

[pheonixfire4015]

Only the Moon and the Stars Know

NOTE: Hello all, I thought I would take a crack at another fic in order to help us all get through the 3 weeks till a new SVU. This one can correlate to the previous fic I wrote last week “Peace in the Midst of the Storm.” I was listening to Sia’s “My Love” and the images just came flooding in. So I again neglected my homework in order to dream up a beautiful E/O moment. I also drew inspiration from the beautiful super moon we had recently. I hope you enjoy your moon dance :). I have never posted on fic sites before but if someone wants to review my work for mistakes I am fine with it being posted elsewhere as long as my name is attached. Forgive any mistakes missed. 

As always I own nothing, Elliot and Olivia belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. This is E/O centered based on what I hope we see at Fins wedding. A girl can hope for a kiss right? Or is a kiss and a dance too much to ask for ;). Heres the link to Sia’s masterpiece: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWyOPaTWXOw

Rated: PG

The night was cool but warmth hung gently in the air, inviting. In the darkness the moon dazzled in all its glory, flashes of brilliant whites and peeking through a conspicuous gentle hint of pink. Not a cloud in site, the vastness going on into eternity. Like a pearl, a precious rare stone being found in the darkness… In its brilliance… being seen for the first time. The stars each twinkled in their individual radiance but almost appearing to step back in awe… allowing the moon its moment. In the backdrop the waves ungulated, mesmerizing, as each wave sparkled in the magnificent miraculous light of the heavenly bodies above.

Liv looked up, eyes wide taking in the breathtaking beauty of it, the gothic magical stillness. Their light shimmering in the pools of her twin deep golden iris’. She held her beath feeling like any slight noise would interrupt the peace settling all around her. Holding every inch of her near. She took a deep breath closing her eyes to preserve the moment in the recesses of her mind. As if it was a painting lovingly created just for her eyes to see. How long had it been, could she even remember a time she felt… relief, peace, lightness… Hope. The last few months had been filled with turmoil and yet laced with healing honesty and promise. With all the sorrow and evil heaviness she had endured and seen, every millisecond of peace was like the first breath taken in too long. It filled her lungs and trickled warm life through her whole being.

When she was a child the only hope in the darkness was the dream of finding a place to belong… a home… a family. The hope that she was not just created for one thing, brokenness. Over time as age crept in she had learned that many precious lights in this world wandered this journey alone. That was just reality. If you were incredibly lucky you found one, one soul wondering… who was willing to see you for the reality… stripping away the exterior to see the awesome jewel you are within… they will fight… they will claw… they will love deeply if it meant they could remain near. Suffocating sorrow, pain, and loss are of the wisest of teachers. They remove the scales covering our sight, allowing us to see the smallest of moments like a precious work of art. Breathe… in and out…. In and out….

The music behind brought Liv back to reality. Their ascending notes only highlighting the sight before her. To most eyes Fin’s wedding would not be seen as a fairy tale spectacle but to those who knew and loved him, it fit them perfectly. A smile graced her face, she was happy for them. They had found one another, grasping on, among the thrashing waves of life. One of the lucky ones.

In a moment she felt a shift in the atmosphere around her. Time slowed... There was a gravitational pull coming near. Without turning around she knew the only soul who possessed that sway over her being. She felt his presence fall into her orbit, had he always fit there so perfectly? His warm heavy breath fanned the back of her neck.

“Liv….” That voice had both haunted her dreams and healed wounds. Had he always been her destiny? Had her waging war not been in vain? Had all those moments led up to this… prepared that scared broken little girl for this very moment in time? Had the moon and stars stopped for the honor of viewing one life collide with another? Exploding within the nebula of space, creating life.

She felt his hand lightly brush against hers igniting electricity causing ever hair to stand on end.  Liv turned around. Those eyes had her, held her. In them she saw 22 years-worth of fight, struggle, desperate love and loyalty. His eyes searched her face, read her eyes. A slight glittering smile reached his eyes before they passed the massage to his mouth.  For a few moments there was silence, he took her in… imprinting this woman, he has longed for, for longer than he could recall anymore. Being away from her for 12 years had just made them all the more difficult to ignore.  

“You look”…. Words seem to utterly escape him… “Beautiful.” He knew this woman before him- he knew her demons, her fears, her hopes, her strength, her wounds, her beauty- but in that moment, he felt he was seeing her clearly for the first time. Why had he allowed so much time to be lost?

Liv broke the pull of his eyes and her head fell. Hair cascading down around her like a protective shell. Had she ever felt more vulnerable? “Thank you.”

There was so much he wanted… needed to say. So many feelings and too few words. So in the moment he did the only thing that made sense. Elliot ran his hand down her arm- leaving a trail of fire in the wake of his touch- till it slid perfectly into the mold of her hand. She looked up at him, pulling her in deeper. He had her, there was no escape.

“Dance with me Liv.” Elliot guided her outside of the tent and away from prying eyes.

He looked down seeing where the concrete stopped and the sand began. A smile crept across Elliot’s face, his feet moved and he kicked off the shoes he took out of his closet once a year, pulled off his socks with them. Liv looked over at his discarded shoes, amused… she stepped out of her own. With her hand still in his they walked onto the shifting surface. Liv stopped for a moment wiggling her toes deeper into the warm grains. There was something about the beach that brough out the child in everyone. Amazed that each grain of sand at one time was a part of something living.  Liv looked up at Elliot with a smile.

“It’s nice to see that you know…” She looked at him confused… “A smile.” Without giving her a chance to think he guided her closer to the waves. Liv’s feet sunk into the sand and for an instant she lost her footing. Instinctively Elliot caught her. A laugh erupted from Liv.

“Well, we know one thing that hasn’t changed.” She smacked the side of his arm.

“If you get me wet Elliot Stabler I swear to God I am not above using defensive maneuvers and you will be going home with a wet suit.” Liv had a glint in her eyes, one he had seen so many times before. He smiled, pretending not to be amusing, “We will just have to see about that now won’t we.” They slid back into old patterns with such ease as if no time had transpired between them. In that moment he finally realized just how much he needed all of this back. He had missed his best friend.

They both stopped for a moment, taking in the dazzling display before them. Waves crashing in and then retreating in a delicate dance.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?” She squeezed his hand. “Actually, this is all Noah has been talking about for the last month. He is at a friend’s house tonight. They have a telescope and planned a party around the “Super Pink Moon Event of the Century.” She laughed. “Last time I checked my phone I have already gotten about 40 pictures of the moon via text message from every angle possible, they are even convinced they may have seen a UFO.”

At that Elliot laughed, “You’re kidding me?” Liv smiled and shook her head, “Nope.”

With that a long silence hung between them again neither one of them acknowledging that their hands were still intertwined, like they were afraid if they lost contact the other would simply drift out into the vastness of space. Elliot signed, looking down at their connection. He pulled a little to get her attention. She looked at him with a smile, “You can barely hear the music from here.” Elliot looked over at the tent in the distance. “I think we will do just fine, besides the waves are giving off their own beat and I’d take that over music any day of the week.”

With that said she stepping into his embrace. One hand in his the other coming up to cup the back of his neck. His free hand sliding gently onto the curve of her side. Their eye contact never wavering. For a minute they both just stood there, reveling in just how good it felt to be near one another. Slowly Elliot began to move in rhythmic circles, pulling her with him. Soon it became clear that more contact was needed, wanted. He pulled her closer as her other hand came up around his neck. Both of Elliot’s hand snaked around her waist pulling her more firmly to him. He longed to be as close as he could get. Liv’s head dropped to his shoulder. Breathing him in deeply. Had she forgotten how safe it felt here? For what felt like an eternity they swayed… moved against each other, reveling in the sensation of loving and being loved. The soft cadence of the waves their only music.

Elliot nuzzled into the side of her head and whispered gently into her ear, “I meant what I said the other night you know, at the intervention.” With that Liv stopped moving, she pulled her head away just enough to look into his eyes. So close that their breath had become intermingled. “It may not have come out the way I had hoped, or when, but I meant every word Liv.” With that said Liv’s emotions caused her chin to move of its own accord and tears began to well up in her eyes. She closed her them, freeing the tears that had been pooling there. Liv rested her forehead against his, letting out a trembling breath. For a long moment they just stood there… listening to the rhythmic pattern of the waves and their own breathing.

When Liv felt her emotions wrangle themselves in, she said… “I know you did.”

Elliot pulled her into an embrace, squeezing her tightly to himself. “Let’s get you home, huh?” With a sigh she broke free of his secure embrace instantly missing the protective cocoon he had created around her. He looked down at her for a moment, and reached up to stroke a piece of errant hair behind her ear.

“Did you drive here?” She asked with an unsteady voice.

“No, I took an uber. I figured you wouldn’t mind me hitching a ride back with you.” Elliot smiled.

“Well, I can’t promise I won’t charge you for the gas and the milage, or make you listen to some ridiculously cheesy music.” Liv grinned easing the tension that lingered.  

“I guess Ill take my chances, if all else fails I can always jump ship and walk home.”

With that they both laughed. They walked hand in hand to her car parked to the far end of the event tent. Unwilling to lose the last remaining connection between them.

The ride home was uneventful. Liv did her best to keep her thoughts in line. There was a part of her that wanted to reciprocate his feelings and the other part that was simply unsure. Feeling she had tried for years to bury. There was still so much to work through. In the corners of her mind was a small pang of guilt, it had only been 6 months since Kathy’s death. Could she trust his emotions? There was also a part of Liv that wanted to protect herself as she knew deep down she could not endure losing him again and come out the other end… sane.

The car pulled to a stop outside of Elliot’s apartment. A silent tension hung in the air between them. “Would you walk with me a bit before you go?”

She was tired, but the other part of her simply longed for his presence. “Sure, I guess I can do that.”

They silently walked along the sidewalks of New York, the city that never slept no matter how late. “Your quiet, I wish you would tell me what your thinking Liv.”

With a sigh she contemplated her next words carefully. Did she have the strength to be honest or was it best to do what they did best, hide and avoid.

“Look Elliot, there has been so much at once I can’t keep my head on straight. A lot… happened when you were gone.”

He looked at her with tormented hooded eyes. “Fin… shared with me some of it but he wanted to let you share your own experiences.” Elliot shook his head, tears briming.  “I am sorry Liv. I can’t promise you, if I had been here, I would not have killed that son of a bitch for what he did to you.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t regret the fact I wasn’t here.”

Liv sighed and shook her head… “Elliot, I need you to hear me. My life is not your responsibility, of all the things I learned from this that is one of them. And I think I understand better why you felt you needed to leave, but that doesn’t change my experience of it. Of who you were in my life. Somehow… my whole life and existence had become wrapped up in you. You were my partner, my family, my best friend. I couldn’t remember a time in my life without you in it. I had to learn to live a different way without that… without you. Then you come back and your emotions are all over the place. I don’t know if I can trust them or you. Or even trust myself…” There was a silent pause.

“You just lost your wife Elliot. I just don’t know what to do with all of this. It’s not that I don’t… have feelings… I just don’t know if I can even trust them right now.”

Elliot was silent for along moment, wanting to get his words right. He could see his apartment coming back into view, somehow they had already made their way back.

“You’re right Liv.”

They both stopped at the front door of his apartment building. Elliot reached out and pulled Olivia into his embrace.

“Listen to me Liv, I am all over the place and you have every right to question me but that doesn’t mean the things I have felt have not been there between us for a long time. They didn’t just spring up out of nowhere. With all of this, it has just made it more glaringly obvious I… we have not been honest with each other. Look…”

Elliot pulled slightly away and his finger came up to slowly lift her chin. Her eyes locked with his.

“I don’t expect anything from you Liv. If you want space I’ll give you space. I just want a chance to make this right.”

With that said Liv’s chin again quivered. “I don’t want space Elliot.”

“Then what do you want?”

She looked up at him, reading his face, unsure how to articulate the balled-up mass of emotions and thoughts.

“I just want to know this is real, that you will get some help, that you won’t disappear again. I can’t continue on this roller-coaster.”

Elliot shook his head, “I hear you Liv.”

He pulled her into his arms again and she clung on desperately. Within a part of herself was this sense of shame, like some of the work she had done over the last 12 years was being quickly undone. While the rest of her felt she was finally home again.

Liv pulled away… allowing her forehead to find its way to his, if only to remain close for a bit longer.

In a voice above a whisper, she said… “I love you to.”

Elliot pulled his head from hers. Looking deeply into those dark brown eyes. Olivia’s hand gently stroked his cheek of their own accord.

He looked down to her lips and then back to those eyes again. She did not move; she did not pull away. Elliot leaned in slowly, allowing his nose to stroke the side of her own. Her breath fanned hot against his face. Liv’s mouth opened slightly but she did not move, she simply waited. Elliot’s mouth delicately caressed the softness of her top lip. Liv’s eyes shut involuntarily at the sensations of his mouth on her own. He stepped closer into her allowing his mouth to conform more fully to hers, the slightest of pressure. Liv angled here head to allow for more contact, grasping at the back of his neck. Before she knew it, he was pulling away when all she wanted was… more of him.

His sight rested on hers. The look in his eyes all too familiar took on a new and profound meaning. With hooded eyes she blinked slowly up at him, stroking his stubbled cheek. Nothing more needed to be said. It had not been a passionate frenzied kiss, but what it was… was honest. It was a promise of things to come. With a smile he rested his forehead to hers one more time. If only to hold on for a few more minutes.

“Wanna grab coffee tomorrow?”

She pulled away and smiled, “If you’re buying.”

Liv walked slowly to her car, every sound and sight muffled, as if she was walking through the haze of a dream. Each step coming as if in slow motion.

Their eyes met one last time above the car.

“You call me when you get home, alright, because if you don’t you will have the entire precinct at your doorstep in about 20 minutes.”

Without saying a word, she smiled and slid back into the driver’s side of the car. Elliot watched her slowly pull away until he could no longer see her car.

Far off in the distant, the moon and the stars followed, watching with bated breath. Rejoicing in one lost light finding its way to another, on this journey called life.

[thepeacetea]

The Past that Made the Future

Hey guys! So, um, here’s a new story. This will probably stay a one-shot, but here you go. Hope ya’ll enjoy! Peace!!

He was suppose to protect her. He promised he would. He promised her, and now she was gone, all because he couldn’t keep his promise. He swore he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, to the only person that was able to bring light back into his life and now she was gone. All because he couldn’t protect her. Because he wasn’t strong enough, or fast enough. He should have taken the bullet. If he hadn’t frozen on seeing the gun that madman had, his firecracker would still be here. She would be safe. She would still be here. But he froze, and now she was gone.

It was almost a year now. Almost a year since she was killed. Since his life spiraled out of control. Since everything came crashing down around him. As the minutes ticked on, drawing closer to the time of her death, he remembered.

11:40

The first time they met was unforgettable. He quite literally fell for her. He was running late for one of his classes at Gotham University of Art, Science and Technology. Sprinting down the stairs, his nose buried in one of his textbooks, there was no way he could have seen the small girl running up the stairs. One second, he was running down the stairs and the next, he was free falling.

Bracing himself for the collision with the unforgiving floor, he was instead met with a softer landing, promptly followed by the sound of something snapping. Sealing himself, he waited the pain to come, but five seconds past and no pain came. And then the ground shifted, groaning in pain. His eyes few open, locking on the soft ‘floor’ beneath him. To his horror, a tiny girl lay under him, face twisted in pain. The shutter of a camera snapped him out of  his horrified trance. Scrabbling off the girl, his apology came out in a incoherent, jumbled mess.

“I - I am so - are you - please tell me your - I didn’t mean - I wasn’t looking and – do you need - I mean,” He tried to say, to many things pushing to the forefront of his mind and his mouth couldn’t decide what to say first. The students surrounding them could only snicker at they young Wayne’s mishap. Many of them relishing in the accident if only to have some dirt on the young heir.

“I – I think my arm’s broken.” Groaned the girl, who was gingerly trying to sit up, cradling her right arm.

Those words sent him in a bigger panic. He not only knocked a girl over, landing on her, but he also broke her arm.

“I- I’ll take you to a hospital. Do you think you can stand?” he asked, frantically searching for his keys.

“I- I think so. Do, do you have anything I could use as a sling, to support it? She asked, shift the weight of her arm slightly.

Tearing off his over shirt, he did his best to make a semi-comfortable sling for the girl. As he finished with the last knot, he glanced up, meeting her eyes for the first time, his breath catching. One of the most stunning pair of serine blue eyes stared back at him, studying him.

“Let- let’s get you to a hospital.” He managed to say, forcing the words out from the constriction in his throat.

They somehow managed to get to his Jaguar without aggravating the girls arm any farther. The ride to the hospital was tense. His mouth couldn’t seem to shut up, he couldn’t keep track of what he was saying as he tried to focus on the road and the condition of the girl beside him.

“Hey, listen. It’s ok. I don’t blame you, ok. It was an accident. It could’ve happened to anyone. But I need you to breath ok. Can’t have you passing out on me in the car.” She said, snapping him out of his panic state of mind.

“I- I fell on you, in front of the whole school! I broke your arm! How are you not mad at me?”

“One, it could have happened to anyone and if those people say otherwise, they’re jerks! Second, it’s not the first time I broke something, and knowing my track record, it will not be the last. Third, you already apologized, so you can stop, because like I said, it was an accident and I forgive you. And fourth, I think I may be able to get out of some assignments with a broken arm!” She said, laughing at the last reason.

The sound of her laughter caught him off guard. Not only was she not mad, but she was laughing it off. Just who was this girl?

“I’m Marinette by the way,” she said, almost as if she read his mind, extending her uninjured arm to shake his hand. Glancing at her for a second, he saw a friendly, welcoming smile adoring her round face as her eyes twinkled with a light that he couldn’t pinpoint.

“Bruce,” he said, reaching over to grasp her hand, slightly surprized at the strength of her grip.

“Well Bruce, I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

 She had been right about that. In the six weeks she was wearing the cast, Bruce insisted that he help her. He even went so far as to sit in on some of her classes just he could help her take notes. He had never been one to warm up to anyone quickly, even when his parents were alive. But this girl, Marinette, there was something about her that drew him in.

She had always known what to say to him, even if he didn’t want to hear it. She was always there for him, and in time, he learned to stand up for himself and for others.

11:45 p.m.

“ . . . and I wasn’t getting any inspiration, like nothing. So I decided to climb on my roof, you know, to get a look at the stars and skyline and get some fresh air. While I was up there, looking over the city, I saw something fly through the night. I couldn’t tell what they were, and then one of them flew through the light. They were bats! And I watched them glide through the night, I suddenly go hit with this . . . wave of inspiration.” Marinette told him as they walked through the halls. They planned on getting lunch between their classes, and she was using their time to fill Bruce in on what had inspired her latest work. While he wasn’t . . . fond of the night terrors, he was impressed by his friend’s designs.

As they passed on of the chemistry labs, raised voice floated through the air, causing the duo to pause.

“ . . . simple freak, just do our assignments and we’ll leave you alone. Deal?”

Bruce knew that voice, Graham Alexander Towers the III. A spoiled rich brat whose family came from old money.

“Look, I’m not g-going to do your assignments anymore. I- I don’t have enough time to do my assignments.” a nervous voice countered, but it was so soft and low that Bruce almost didn’t hear it. Harsh laughter cut off whatever the other person was saying as the others cawed.

“You hear that boys, the coward thinks he has a back bone. Listen freak, unless you want to scared of turning corners, then you do it. After all, being scared is all your good at.” Towers sneered.

“And I suggest you develop a health dose of fear, cause once Pr. Adam’s finds out that you’ve not only been bullying someone else to complete your assignments but also threatening his top student, well, let’s just say that it’s not gonna be pretty.” Bruce’s voice cut through the chemistry lab, startling the occupants.

Spinning around, Graham locked eyes with Bruce, and for a few long moments, no one moved. The two heirs held each other’s gaze, Graham with ill hidden anger and Bruce with smug satisfaction.

“Wayne.” Graham spat.

“Towers,” Bruce countered politely, like they were discussing the weather. “I highly suggest that if you don’t want Pr. Adam’s to find out, then you leave him alone. If you try anything like this again, lets just say that the Towers’ name will be a little more mared then before. After all, the press will jump at the chance to do a story about how the Graham Alexander Towers the III was bullying a top student at G. A. to do his homework. It’ll be pretty and I don’t think your father will be very happy about that. I mean, he barely kept your last scandal under wraps.”

Graham considerable paled at those word. Wisely, for once, he kept his mouth shut and just stormed out, muttering curses under his breath. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Bruce turned to the other man in the room, who was looking at him with ill concealed awe.

“You’re Crane, right?” Bruce asked.

“Yeah, yes, I’m Jonathan Crane. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Wayne. Thank you for that.” Jonathan said, shaking Bruce’s hand with enthusiasm.

“Bruce is fine, and don’t mention it. I’ve seen your work. You’re a top chem. student and I would hate for you to not reach as far because of Towers. Keep up what you’re doing, cause I have a feeling you’re going to do something big someday and blow Gotham out of the water.” He said, sending the young man a smile before leaving only to run into Marinette, who he had left outside the classroom. The last thing he wanted was for her to become a target of Towers. Heaven knows that family has it out for the Wayne’s. The look she gave him made him slightly self-conscious.

“What?”

“You’re a good guy, Bruce. A really good guy. I’m proud of you.” She said before turning on her heels leading them back down the hallway, leaving a stunned and flustered Wayne behind.

 When he defended Jonathan Crane, it had been an impulse decision, but that marked the beginning of a change in Bruce. He was no longer the quite boy who didn’t pay attention to others. He started standing up for others more after that. He became a force you didn’t want to cross, especially if you crossed someone he cared about. That became very evident at the first gala he took Marinette to.

11:55 p.m.

The night started out amazingly, though Marinette had been a nervous wreck on the way to the gala, but once she stepped through the doors, everything changed. She practically light up when she saw the interior of the building. High archways, pillars of black marble, gothic architecture, the place screamed beauty. Everyone was curious of the girl the Wayne heir had brought as his plus one. They all knew how closed of the boy could be, so the fact that he even had a date was a shock to the upper class. But when they saw they Asian beauty he had on his arm, they were blown away. Compared to Bruce’s 6’2” frame, the girl’s 5’6” with heels, looked so small and fragile.

The women, once they saw the girl’s dress, instantly started flocking to her, asking who designed it. The black, off the shoulder dress, had a fitted bodice with a high-low skirt, something that wasn’t common. The front ended a little above the knees, while the back spread out behind her. the inside of her skirt was a beautiful blood red, creating a stunning contrast. But what really caught everyone’s attention was the fact that if you looked at the dress, especially the skirt, it looked like a bat. Like one hanging upside down, ready to fly. The pure creativity and beauty of it was mind blowing. When they discovered that she was the designer, she had nearly half the gala coming with requests to commission her for the next gala.

It was around halfway through the party that Towers got drunk and forgot exactly who he was dealing with. He had been getting a little handsy with most of the single ladies there, and all of them rather enjoyed the attention they were receiving from the heir of one of the richest and oldest families in Gotham. But he made the mistake of putting his hands where they shouldn’t have been. On the Asian beauty Bruce brought. One second he was trying to sweet talk her into one of the side rooms to ‘get acquainted better’ and the next he was on the ground with a bloody nose.

“What the hell, Bruce!” Towers yelled, shooting the man in question a glare as he  desperately tried to stop the blood dripping from his nose

“Keep. Your. Hands. To. Yourself.” Bruce growled out, not so subtle putting himself between Marinette and Towers.

“Why should I? None of the other girls seemed to mind. Besides, she should be grateful someone of importance and influence showed any interest in her.” Towers shot back, not noticing the growing rage that radiated off the young Wayne. Nor did he take stock in the glare he received as he stood, meeting it with a mocking smile as he sent the girl behind Bruce a wink.

Suddenly, Bruce grabbed Towers coat laps in a crushing grip, hauling him uncomfortable close. It was only then that he felt a twinge of fear. He had never seen Bruce angry. Ever. And by the looks of the crowd, neither had anyone else.

“Let me make this clear to you, and I’ll use simple words so you can understand. Mari doesn’t need any ‘help’ from you. She never has and never will. And if I catch you trying anything like this with my girlfriend, well, we’ll find out who the real prince of Gotham is. So let me say this one more time. Keep. Your. Hands. Off. My. Girlfriend! Do I make myself clear?” Bruce growled out, his blue eyes, which had always been soft, guarded, and compliance, were blazing with such an intensity that startled everyone. He looked like an actual Wayne, and it made the other families nervous. They knew, all too well, how much power the Wayne name carried in Gotham alone, not mentions the rest of the America or the world. If they had to describe a Wayne in one word, it would be dangerous.

All Towers could muster was a shaky nod of understanding. Even drunk, he knew better than to disagree. Stumbling when he was suddenly released, Towers watched as Bruce shot him one last look that promised retaliation if he broke his word before gently grabbing the girl’s hand muttering ‘Let’s go’. The crowd parted as he lead the two of them out, everyone watched as Bruce tucked the girl against his side, leaving a certain level of chaos and shock in his wake.

“So . . . girlfriend?” Marinette asked as Bruce drove them back to the manor.

Bruce could only flinch at her word. He had hoped that she hadn’t caught that part, not that she couldn’t have considering that everyone in the vicinity had heard him, but he could always hope. Glancing over at the person who he could truly call his best friend, only to find her facing the window, chin propped on her hand as she watched the city past them by. He couldn’t read her, and that scared him. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, let alone feeling. But as the city lights flickered over her features, he couldn’t deny what he was feeling. He loved her. He was so in love with her that it hurt. She was his friend, the first real friend he could remember. She made him feel safe and cared for. He didn’t have to attempt to portray an image for her. Heck, she didn’t even care about his name. To her, he was just Bruce, the awkward boy she had met on the first day of university who happened to break her arm. She had changed him, and he couldn’t thank her enough. But that friendship, that platonic love had turned into something more for him. He wanted more. He wanted to be more with her, but he didn’t want to risk what they had. He couldn’t lose his best friend. He couldn’t . . .

“Because if you mean it, and I mean, really mean it, well, I wouldn’t object to it. I. . . I like you, Bruce. More then a friend should, and I don’t know where to go from here.” She said, cutting through Bruce’s spiraling thought.

For a moment, his brain shut down. She liked him? Marinette? The girl with the most creativity Bruce had ever seen? The girl whose culinary skills were the only one’s that made Alfred’s pale in comparison? Who always smelled of sugar and spices? Who, no matter how much she had on her plate or what she was doing, would drop everything if her friends needed help? The girl who was the only real person Bruce had ever met?

“ W-well, in that case, would . . . would you like to go on a date with me?” Bruce asked, stuttering over his. The seconds that followed where the longest of his life, there was no going back now.

“I would love to.”

 The months that followed where the best of his life, and there was nothing he would have done differently. If he thought that he had been happy before, he had never been so wrong in his life.

11:56

It was six months after they started dating. Six month of pure bliss. Sure, they argued like any couple, but Bruce would change anything they had. Though their arguments were few and far between, every time he saw her angry, even when it was directed at him, he could help but notice how beautifully terrifying she was. She honestly reminded him of a firecracker. Beautiful when exploding but none the less deadly if not handled correctly.

They were walking around the manor grounds, simple enjoying one of the last summer day’s before classes started again. One of the things Bruce noticed since dating his firecracker was that she had an almost unusual love for nature. Every chance she could get, she would be out in the gardens or parks, simple enjoying the feeling of being outside. So they walked through the garden, with the late summer flowers in full bloom lending an enticing fragrance, Bruce couldn’t think of any other place he would rather be.

Glancing over at Marinette, Bruce couldn’t help but stare. Seeing her in the garden, surrounded by the flowers she helped plant, she never looked more beautiful. In the late afternoon sun, her hair, which had always been so dark, light up to a gorgeous midnight blue framed by the small flower crown of daisies. Her cut-off jean shorts paired with slightly oversized tee-shirt and bare feet gave her such an innocent look that Bruce couldn’t imagine living without her.

“Marry me.”

Bruce wasn’t even aware he had actually said that until Marinette turned around, her eyes blown wide in shock.

“What?”

“Marry me. Mari, I cant live without you. You brought light back into my life. I wasn’t living until I met you, I was merely surviving. You showed me life was meant to be so much more. With you, I feel like I can be somebody worthwhile. And I know that everyone will say we’re too young and that we don’t know what love is, but I know, Mari, I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have a family with you. So, will you allow me the honor of becoming your partner, your protector? Will you marry me?” He asked, gently taking her hands, laying his heart out for her to either take or turn away.

Tears sprung into the eyes, causing the serene blue to sparkle as diamonds. For a split second, he thought she was going to say no, but it was only a second before she launched herself into his arms, crying with the most beautiful smile etched on her face.

“YES!! YES!! A thousand times yes!”

She had moved into the manor a week later. Bruce loved waking up next to her. To smell of her hair and the warmth of her body. He loved the feeling of curled against him, how her head fit perfectly into his shoulder.

11:57

It had a week since he had been home and Bruce couldn’t wait to get back to his own bed and he fiancé. But instead of an excited fiancé greeting him, he was greeted with the unusual sight of empty boxes. And when he said boxes, he meant that the entire entrance was full of empty boxes. The sound of music could be heard coming from one of the upper floors. Following the sound of Summer of 69, Bruce found Marinette dancing while painting one of the many unused room. Leaning against the doorframe, Bruce just watched his firecracker for the duration of the song as she continued to dance and belt out the lyrics to her favorite song. Watching her being so carefree brought a sweet smile to his face.

“Painting?” he asked once the song finished. Whipping around, her hair smacking her in the eyes as red paint flew from her brush. She looked at him startled for a second before her face light up.

“Bruce, your home!” was his only warning before a paint covered Marinette plowed into him. Laughing, he caught her with ease while planting a sweet kiss on her disheveled hair.

“I missed you too, Mar. Though mind telling me what you’re doing and why the entrance is packed with empty boxes?” he asked, gently setting her down as he brushed hair out of her face.

“Right. I’m sorry I should have cleaned those up early, but I got distracted. I have something important to tell you. So, the night you left, I had a dream. And usually I don’t pay too much attention to my dreams but Bruce, this one was different. It, it was so real. We, well we had a family. Bruce the house was so full and it was, I mean, I -I cant really explain it. It was amazing. There was a lot of people but I could only make four out clearly. Bruce, they were our boys, and . . . I cant even find the words to effectively describe it. Bruce, they were amazing. One of them, I think he was the youngest, was incredibly artistic. Bruce, his drawing, his painting were breathtaking! And he was such an animal person. Another one, he was insanely smart, like almost mindboggling. His ability to see thing, little things that no one else was able to see was incredible! Oh, and the other one, I think he was the oldest, was an absolutely amazing gymnast. His acrobatics, Bruce, it was like watching a top circus performer! And the last one, he – his grasp of literature was heartwarming and beautiful. I mean, his knowledge of classical literature rivaled the professors at the university. He was also a little mechanical, a little enginery I suppose.” Marinette explained, her eyes lighting up as she described the boys.

“So that’s why there are a bunch of empty boxes and your painting rooms?” he asked, trying to understand why she was acting like she was prepping for these boys. Like they were real.

“Bruce,” she said, looking at him with one of the most serious faces he had ever seen. “I know it sounds crazy, but whenever I have dreams like this, with this much clarity and detail, they always come true. Bruce, we’re going to have a family. And I know it won’t happen for a while, but I – well I wanted to get a head start, you know. In preparing the rooms. I want them to have a place where they can indulge in their passions. A place where they can learn and grow and create. I want them to have a place of their own. A place where, when everything is too much and they feel like giving up, that they can come to, to just, be themselves. For when the pressure just gets too much and they feel like giving up. A place where they can just be who they are without anyone telling them otherwise.”

Looking down at her while she spoke, Bruce saw that she truly believe every word she was saying. And as she explained herself, he started to believe her too. While everything she was saying sounded so surreal, the certainty with which she spoke and the spark in her eyes quickly won him over.

“Mar, tell me more about them.”

That wasn’t the first or the last time Bruce was surprised with his firecracker. It seemed like every day, she would do something or say something that he had never thought of or considered. And some of them would make a larger impact then others.

11:58

“Bruce?”

“Hm?”

“What do you think of heroes?”

Looking up from his book, Bruce cast Marinette, who was sitting on the other end of the couch, a look.

“Don’t you mean vigilantes?” he asked, earning him a playful kick from his seatmate.

“Well, if you want to be technical about it,” she scoffed, sending him a mock glare. “But seriously, Bruce, what do you think of them?” she asked again as she continued to sketch.

“I never really gave it much thought. Why the sudden question?” Bruce said, watching his fiancé’s pencil stop momentarily before it resumed it’s task. It was a few seconds before she spoke again.

“France, Paris specifically, had a set of heroes when I was twelve. Coccinelle and Chat Noir, or Ladybug and Black Cat. They were tasked with fighting a madman who called himself Faucon Papillon, or Hawk Moth. He would prey on the emotionally compromised, granting them power to feed their need for revenge. And in return, he wanted them to retrieve what gave Coccinelle and Chat Noir their powers. He called it their miraculous, two pieces of jewelry: earring that belonged to Coccinelle and a ring from Chat Noir. If he had those two items, it would grant him the powers of a god. It would grant him a wish.”

“How could two pieces of jewelry do that?” He asked after a pause, searching her face.

“Well, they were magical. I know this sound crazy, but I assure you that I am not lying. The ladybug represents creation and the black cat, destruction. Two halves of a whole. A ying and yang if you will. With these two combined, one rewrite reality. These heroes were not only given the responsibly for not only defending Paris from that emotional terrorist, but also prevent him from obtain ultimate power. With every akuma, that’s what we ended up calling the controlled person, they had to fight and purify, every cure that was cast, they became symbols to us. When people saw them, they knew that we still had hope. It took nearly five years for them to track Faucon Papillon down. Before the final battle. When they defeated him, Paris breathed a sigh of relief, but we never got to thank our heroes. They just, disappeared after. So, for me, heroes are a symbol of hope. When things look the bleakest, and everything is crashing down, they are always there. Fighting for people who they will never really know. They are fighting a war they may not see the end of, but they fight on. Because they know that if they fall, hope is destroyed. So heroes, or vigilantes, have my highest respect.” She explained, occasionally glancing up from her drawing, but never stopping.

“You really think highly of them don’t you?” he asked, moving over to her side of the couch.

“I do.” She said, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, glancing down on her sketch pad. There, laying in startling detail, was a hero design. The design, unsurprising, was incredible. The suit was designed for maximum protection and agility, as well as identity concealment. She even went so far as to start weapons designs. But what caught his attention was the symbol she chose.

“Why a bat? Don’t they symbolize death?” Bruce asked as he studied the sketch.

“Yes, but they also symbolize rebirth and protection, and in Chinese culture, they represent luck or good fortune. They are often referred to as guardians of the night, and I think that’s what Gotham needs. In a city so full of misfortune and death, they need a symbol that shows thing can be better. That the city can be rebirthed into something greater. And while that hope is there, they also will have a protector. Someone to watch over them when darkness falls. I . . . I think it’s the perfect symbol for Gotham.”

11:59

It was New Years Eve and the gala was in full swing. Bruce and Marinette, though they had been engaged since August, had both agreed to wait until New Years to announce the engagement. Everyone agreed that the news was an amazing way to end the decade. The news of their engagement would be made public tomorrow, but for now, they would enjoy themselves and bring in the new year together. And then, it happened.

It was five minutes until midnight when a gun fire went off. Everyone started to run, screams of fear filling the air. Then the laughter started, that crazed laugh that shot terror though everyone’s hearts. They all knew that laugh. All eyes turned towards the sound, towards the stage, landing on a familiar figure. There, standing in all his terrifying glory was the Joker.

“Is this thing on?” he asked, roughly tapping on the mic, sending a high pitch squeal though the speakers. “Well, sorry I couldn’t be here early folks, but at least I’m here before the ball drops.” He said, waving his gun hand over the crowd. “You know what I always wanted to do? What I always dreamed of doing. I always wanted to bring a new year in with a bang! And I always wanted to be the one to ring in a new century. I mean, just think about it. A new year, a new century, a new era, brought in by the Joker himself. And your little party here, is baring witness to that. I mean, you guys are going to go down in history. I mean, how crazy is that!”

“The only crazy I see in here is you.” Someone muttered, but unfortunately, they didn’t do it quiet enough.

“Oh, oh I’m not crazy. You see I only do crazy thing. People think I have this elaborate plan, this vindictive that I follow, but you see, I just like to rattle a cage, and then I sit back and watch what naturally progresses from there. I may start out with a basis of what I wanna do, I start it and then I take things as they come. That way, I’m never surprized and it’s a guarantee for me to have a laugh.”

Then, someone whispered a little too loudly, ‘Monster’, and that seemed to flip a switch, Joker went from the happy lunatic to an angry one.

“Monster? Oh, I’ll show you monster!” he shouted, swinging his gun towards the crowd, firing without glancing at the target. During his distraction, one of the security guards, one of the few who hadn’t been gassed by Joker, fired his gun, his bullet finding it mark in the madman’s shoulder. While the crowd began to breath a sigh of relief, a desperate cry tore through the building.

“Mar! No! Nonononononononono!! Please Mar, look at me. Firecracker, please.” Bruce begged, cradling his beloved’s face with one hand as he tried to apply pressure to the chest wound. Her dress, a beautiful baby blue floor length gown, was splattered with blood, the stain growing rapidly around her chest.

“B-B-Bruce?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. I’m here.” He whispered, tears falling freely down his face as the warmth of her blood seeped past his hand.

“I-its gonna be ok, Bruce. It’s not your fault, ok. It’s not your fault.” Marinette said, gasping for air.

“No! No, you cant say that! You can’t- I don- I can’t lose you too. Please.” Bruce said, tears blurring his vision, a lump forming in his throat.

She let go of the hand that was attempting to stop the bleed, gently cupping his face, forcing him to look at her. The feeling of her cold hand, sticky with warm, fresh blood sent a whole new wave of panic through him.

“I love you, Bruce.” His firecracker said, giving him the sweetest smile. Just as the clock struck midnight, her hand slipped from his face, leaving behind a bloody print.

It was exactly a year since that night. A year since she was gone, and nothing was the same. The manor was colder, the days bleaker. There was no light anymore. They should have been married. She should have been here with him. But she wasn’t. And here he was, alone, looking through one of her old sketch books. Trying to picture how she always stuck her tongue out when she was concentrating on a drawing. Remembering how she would light up was the image in her head began to take form on paper. Turning the page, Bruce stopped at one of the drawings, the one with the bat suit. The one of his firecracker’s ideal hero of Gotham.

~

“This is quiet something your asking Mr. Wayne. The details in this suit, well, they’re very specific.” Lucas Fox stated, looking up from the suit design the young Wayne brought in, requesting to be made, and he wasn’t joking. The instructions for the suit itself were incredibly specific. Just by looking at the diagrams and designs, they would need to be followed to the letter just to make it plausible.

“I know, and you’ll have full funding for it, but I want it exactly the same. I don’t want a thing changed. Especially the symbol.”

 @naclychilli

[crowdvscritic]

round up // AUGUST 21

Happy 2nd birthday to these Round Ups! For two years I’ve been making monthly pop culture picks, and they’ve included:

More than 200 movies

32 TV shows and specials, plus 8 different Saturday Night Live Round Ups

27 albums, singles, playlists, and more music picks

13 podcasts

12 books

2 concerts

There have also been articles, events, museums, social media bits, trailers, and a service that helps you find movies across streaming platforms. (Find all of them here.) This month I’m adding a few more, like: 

2 podcasts

2 albums

5 vampire movies

A conversation between two GOATs

A very funny dead guy

A terrifying Robert Mitchum performance

Another Dumb Rom-Com I Nevertheless Enjoyed

Here’s to another year!

August Crowd-Pleasers

1. Jungle Cruise (2021)

Indiana Jones meets Pirates of the Caribbean with a dash of The African Queen. I like all those movies, so sue me, I had a nice time! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Genetically-enhanced sharks try to break free of their cages in an ocean research facility, chaos ensues for the characters, and it’s a delight for us. For no intelligent reason, I love movies that make me guess who’s going to get killed off next, so a big dumb shark movie starring L.L. Cool J and Samuel L. Jackson? It’s a particular brand of joy. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 5.5/10

3. Double Feature — Adam Sandler Comedies: 50 First Dates (2004) + Murder Mystery (2019)

Adam Sandler movies are little like IcyHot for the brain—that is, they’re the relaxing kind of mind-numbing. Thanks to a stressful month at work, I watched six Sandler flicks in August—which I don’t necessarily recommend but also don’t regret—and the Netflix original Murder Mystery (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) was one of the the best of the bunch. It’s a silly spoof of Agatha Christie’s work, and it’s a scenic two-hour European vacay. I also gave 50 First Dates (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) another try and was pleasantly surprised. Once you get past some of the gross-out humor at the beginning, you’ll find a sweet story all about how we need to keep showing up for the people we love.

4. Double Feature — SNL Comedies: Wayne’s World (1992) + Hot Rod (2007)

My love for Saturday Night Live is more than well-documented, so exactly zero mes were surprised that I loved these flicks from its alums. Wayne’s World (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10) follows up with Wayne and Garth in the basement we first saw on late night. Now they have the opportunity to make it big on TV thanks to a sleazy exec (Rob Lowe). Brian Doyle-Murray and Chris Farley show up, and so do Laverne and Shirley? Hot Rod (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10) follows Rod (Andy Samberg) as he tries to make it big as a stuntman and impress his stepdad (Ian McShane). Will Arnett, Bill Hader, and Chris Parnell show up, and now I can mostly forgive all those boys in high school who quoted this movie non-stop.

5. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

If those SNL comedies weren’t enough silliness for you, how about you add some Bernie to your lineup? Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman are wannabe-yuppies who think they’ve got their  career breaks when an exec named Bernie invites them to his vacation home for the weekend. What they don’t know is that Bernie (Terry Kiser) has been laundering money, is connected to the mob, and, is now, um, dead. The right thing would be to call the police, but then we wouldn’t have a 97-minute high-concept comedy, now would we? Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

6. Twilight series (2008-12)

I mostly skipped the Twilight phenomenon at its peak, but I’m so glad I hopped on the train years later—this series of vampire vs. werewolf showdowns are ridiculous.  But major kudos to the filmmakers who somehow turned a dump truck of nonsensical gobbledygook and unhealthy teenage relationships into something insanely watchable. Also, major kudos to Billy Burke and his understated, curmudgeonly, sarcastic performance. Bella’s dad is the MVP with the only appropriate responses to all of the nonsense he's forced to participate in and the only tether this franchise has to reality. Be sure to watch with a friend so you have someone else to process this weirdness with. Series Crowd: 8/10 // Series Critic: 5/10

7. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at The Muny

You know what’s great? Live theater! This month I made my first trip back to the stage at America’s oldest and largest outdoor amphitheater, the Muny in St. Louis. Their productions never disappoint, and these performers reminded me of Howard Keel, Jane Powell, and Russ Tamblyn in the best ways. 

8. Wimbledon (2004)

Paul Bettany and Kirsten fall in love at Wimbledon! Frankly, that premise alone should be enough to sell you on this very winning rom-com. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

9. Career Opportunities (1991)

This month’s Dumb Rom-Com I Nevertheless Enjoyed! Frank Whaley and Jennifer Connelly fall in love while stuck overnight at a Target—which honestly sounds like a dream scenario—and since it’s a John Hughes script, it’s got some heart beneath its thin premise. John Hughes directing would’ve made it better, but there’s enough Hughes in there to catch my heart. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 4.5/10

10. First Blood (1982)

Aka Rambo: Part I. Sylvester Stallone is a tough-as-nails Vietnam vet, and Brian Dennehy is the self-righteous sheriff who ticks him off. It digs a bit into PTSD and how we don’t take care of our veterans, but mostly, it’s just Stallone going ape with a knife and explosives. Oddly, also from the same director as Weekend at Bernie’s! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

August Critic Picks

1. TCM’s The Plot Thickens Season 2 (2021)

You know those movies that make you ask, “How on Earth did this get made?” This season of The Plot Thickens, subtitled The Devil’s Candy, is an attempt to answer that question. Pretty much no one thinks 1990’s The Bonfire of the Vanities works as a film—including yours truly—and reporter Julie Salomon documented many of its production troubles leading to the final product. A must-listen for anyone who loves hearing behind-the-scenes stories or just gets a kick out of schadenfreude. 

2. Gene and Roger (2021)

Gene and Roger, the summer series on The Big Picture podcast, is an overview and reflection on the work of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, starting with the launch of their individual careers in the ‘60s through their partnership that lasted into the ‘90s. Another must-listen for movie lovers, especially those who love digging into the history and criticism.

3. Gold-Diggers Sound by Leon Bridges (2021)

Chill vibes and cool groves to transition you from Summer to Autumn.

4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Come for the Clint Eastwood, stay for the Ennio Morricone. Actually you can stay for Eastwood, too, because his humor is at his driest, and for Eli Wallach, whose Tuco is an insanely charming cockroach. It’s almost three hours, but this treasure hunt breezes by like a tumbleweed in the wind. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. AFI’s Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams (2011)

Two GOATS talking about making some of the GOATs. They share clips and explain their collaborative process (including on projects like Jaws and Schindler’s List), and they take questions from film students at AFI. I’m only wishing it were 10 hours instead of 1!

6. The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Robert Mitchum’s terrifying preacher elevates this classic into more than just a standard crime thriller. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

7. Respect (2021)

While a few scenes indulge in melodrama, Jennifer Hudson’s killer performance—both in vocals and character work—more than makes up for it. This Aretha Franklin biopic hits the familiar beats, but it makes you feel like you’re in the room listening to Franklin sing , which is really all you want from a movie like this. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8/10

8. Solar Power by Lorde (2021)

At first listen, this minimalist pop record sounds worlds away from the angst of Pure Heroine and the melodrama of Melodrama. At second listen, you realize it’s the Lorde you know and love, just with a Laurel Canyon influence. Carole King even gets a shout!

Also in August…

This month Kyla and I checked out Loveline, a call-in radio show popular during the run of Gilmore Girls.  Should our favorite Yale students give up dating OR call into the syndicated radio show Loveline? Should Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla give strangers advice OR make fun of them? Oh, and Germany OR Florida? Listen to ep. 107 of SO IT’S A SHOW?

The '40s are coming! Reviews of 1940s Best Picture winners are on their way, and I kicked it off with an overview of the Academy that decade focusing on how they responded to World War II and their new prestigious reputation.

Photo credits: The Muny, The Plot Thickens, Gene and Roger, Leon Bridges, AFI, Lorde. All others IMDb.com.

[let-me-love-you-loki]

Waking Up in Vegas--Ch. 21

Chapter 21: So I Let My Walls Come Down

Mera, Evening, 6:30 PM

           The backstage area was filled with superstars getting ready for the night’s pay-per-view. They raced from one end of the hallway to another, doing last minute fixes on their gear and grabbing forgotten items. Some were grabbing snacks from catering while others settled in for their pre-match rituals. I sat on a travel case just outside the trainer’s room, munching on a plate of food from catering and watching Dean put on his tape.

           “You look happy,” he said, watching me from beneath the fringe of hair that fell over his brow. There was a faint smile on his lips.

           I shrugged, taking another bite of the rosemary chicken. “This food is good.”

           His smile got wider. “You’ve been eating more lately. I wonder why you need so much energy?”

           Blushing, I looked away, thinking of the nights we spent together—wrapped up in each other. Every moment with Dean was amazing, even if we did nothing other than sit on opposite ends of the sofa watching television. Of course, the moments when he had his hands in my hair and his lips against my skin were more than memorable.

           “Shut up,” I replied with an answering grin. “It’s all your fault anyway.”

           “If you didn’t look so delectable all the time, I’d leave you alone.”

           “Hmph. I guess I’ll have to walk around in sweats with my hair in tangles all the time.”

           Dean rolled his eyes and put down the tape. He braced his hands on the case, one on each side to block me in. His face was close, gunmetal blue eyes locked onto mine. “Darlin’, that’s not going to change anything. You’re delectable no matter how you look.”

           I opened my mouth to answer, but he closed the distance and pressed his lips against mine. It was gentle and sweet, but held a host of promises behind it. A moment later, he kissed his way toward my ear, nuzzling his stubbled cheek against mine.

           “The wrappings don’t matter, Mera,” he whispered slowly. “Underneath, you’re always my sweet, sweet wife.”

Seth, Evening, 6:35 PM

           The tag titles were up for grabs in a ladder match at the very beginning of the show. It was always an important thing for Dean and me to get in our headspace together. This was a big one, and we couldn’t afford to fuck anything up.

           He wasn’t in the locker room. He wasn’t in catering. Of course, I should have known that he would be in the trainer’s area. Ever since he’d gotten with Mera it was stupid to look for him anywhere else.

           I rounded the corner from wardrobe and saw them. Mera was settled atop a travel case, her legs dangling over the side, a plate from catering sitting next to her. She wore her black WWE polo and a pair of fitted pants that made me think of the shape of her legs. Her hair was caught up in a purposefully messy knot at the back of her head.

           And she was looking at Dean Ambrose like he hung the stars just for her. There was a blush on her cheeks. A light in her amber eyes.

           Something churned in my stomach. It was like bile, making me feel nauseated and filled with rage all at once. It was a venom that coursed through my veins, setting off a flurry of thoughts that cascaded through my mind.

           Thoughts I hadn’t had for years now.

           I tried to force all of it away as I walked toward them. My heart thumped agonizingly against my ribs with every step.

           A few steps away, I cleared my throat to give them some notice that I was there. Mera’s head jerked around guiltily. When she saw me, the shine faded from her eyes, turning them from molten gold to tarnished brass. Her smile slipped away, replaced by an uncertain frown. Dean turned slowly, inching his body until he stood between the two of us.

           “Hey, Dean. I’m ready to warm up when you are.” I struggled to keep my voice even, normal. The second I even glanced at Mera, I knew that he would turn on me. “I’ll be in the locker room with Roman. Remember that we’re on first against The Bar.”

           He nodded. It seemed that was all the response I was going to get.

           I took a breath, took a leap. “My lower back has been giving me issues today. Can I see the A.T. after the match?”

           It felt strange to talk to Mera as if we’d never met. As if we didn’t know one another. It was like talking to someone through a wall—if the wall could hit you when it got tired of listening.

Dean, Evening, 6:40 PM

           I didn’t like having Rollins there. As much as I understood that he and Mera had a history that I could never truly understand, I couldn’t forgive the pain he’d put her through. The primal thing in my chest perked up, prepared to protect the woman behind me with viciousness if needed.

           But I knew that Mera also had a job to do. And that job was entirely about keeping the superstars healthy and safe.

           Glancing over my shoulder, I met her gaze. She smiled, a little twitch of the corner of her mouth, and pressed her fingers against the base of my spine.

           “Of course,” she said, a tone of formality in her words. “I’ll make sure to have the TENS and some muscle relaxant ready.”

           By the time I turned back, I caught the end of Seth’s curt nod just before he turned on his heel and walked back down the hallway. I waited until he turned the corner before I let myself relax.

           “Want me to hang out here when we get done?”

           Her smile came fully this time. One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Not unless you feel like you need to. I’m getting better at dealing with him now.”

           I reached for her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you have any regrets, Mera?”

           Shadows flitted across her features. Her eyes darkened, smile turning into a serious line. Her fingers slid along my neck, cupped my jaw until I had no choice but to meet her eyes. Silence filled the bubble of air between us, so heavy and tangible that I thought it would cave in my ribcage if it got any bigger. At last, she gave a soft sigh.

           “I have a lot of regrets, Dean—”

           I swallowed hard. My heart cracked like a frozen lake in the spring thaw. “I… we… Mera…” Words escaped me. All I knew was that my soul’s deepest desire was slowly slipping from my grasp. Brokenhearted roars vibrated through my blood from that beast in my chest, forlorn at the loss of the mate of my heart.

           She shushed me with a thumb pressed to my lips. “I have a lot of regrets, but you aren’t one of them. That night was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

           All the air had been sucked out of the room. I’d prepared myself to hear her ask for her freedom. Hearing the opposite made my brain scramble. It took a few minutes for reality to right itself again.

           “I’m sorry I get so insane about him,” I whispered, leaning into her touch. I’d never tire of how she smelled of black cherry and lilac. “All I can think about is how much he hurt you.”

           “I know,” she soothed, her fingers running through my beard. “Your heart is in the right place. But I want you to do something for me.”

           My eyes met hers, desperate to see the brightness return to her gaze. “Anything.”

           She held me firmly, ensuring that she had my entire attention. “Don’t let what he did to me get in the way of the friendship you guys have had all these years. I know that you’re there to help me, to protect me, to stand by me if I need you to. And I’m grateful beyond words for that. You and Colby have been friends for years. You’ve been brothers since you came to WWE. Don’t lose that.”

           “You want me to forget what he did? How much he hurt you?” I couldn’t process what she was saying. Forgetting—forgiveness—didn’t seem possible, not when he had broken the love of my life so thoroughly and ruthlessly.

           Mera closed her eyes briefly, as if she was taking her time choosing her words, sifting through her mind to make sense of what went on in her mind. When she opened them again, there was a shadow of sadness in her features.

Mera, Evening, 6:50 PM

           I loved the man in front of me more than I could ever know. Words didn’t exist to explain how much he meant to me, how completely he had made my life a wonderful experience each and every day. I knew in every corner of my soul that he loved me, cherished me. Of that, I never had a doubt.

           “No,” I replied. “I’m not asking you to forget it. I’m asking…”

           The thought was fully formed. I knew what I needed to ask of him, but I couldn’t form the words to request it.

           Dean smiled. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to my palm. “You’re asking me to let you handle whatever’s going on with you and him.”

           I nodded, glad that he understood me so completely.

           “You are a grown woman,” he continued. “And you’ll tell me when you need me.”

           An ache began in my chest, rolling out from my heart into my limbs. It was a wonderful ache that made me want to settle into his arms and never leave. He was a dream made flesh. A gift that I would never deserve.

           “Thank you,” I said at last, hooking my arms around his neck. He drew me up into his arms, hugged me as if his life depended on it.

           “Anything for you, darlin’.”

Tag List

@bethany99stuff-blog @houndsofjxstice @lunatictoosweet @xbutterflius-effectusx @mother-forker

[she-is-tim]

Neighbours AU part 3  Apologies

Lucas is a young, exhausted musician who just tries to relax, while Eliott is the overexcited, dubstep loving artist who lives next door.

Aka Lucas confronts his annoying neighbour who turns out to be gorgeous

Part 1, Part 2

Tuesday 16:34

Two days passed since Sunday and Lucas was still not over Eliott. He had high hopes and for that he got hit hard by the ground. He was glad, that his neighbour didn’t try to contact him since or that he haven’t seen him. It would be hard to sand face to face, knowing that he has a girlfriend, knowing that Lucas had false expectations from him. Everything was just a mess right now, he couldn’t touch the piano ever since.

His phone started buzzing like crazy on the coffee table, he was laying on the couch, his right leg touching the floor. He reached for his phone and picked up the call. 

“Hello.” he mumbled. His voice was a bit cracked, not from crying, that would be a stupid thing to do, but because he just got home from work and was talking all day.

“Dude! Hey!” Basile screamed from the other side, Lucas had to keep the phone away from his ear in order to not go deaf. 

“Basile... What do you want?” he asked with a tired voice, he was really not in the mood to listen to his friend’s bullshit. 

“Listen here, there’s gonna be a big party tomorrow night. Yann said you’re not working on Thursday, so you should come too.” he said with a lot of excitement in his voice. “It’s gonna be fun.”

“Bas, you know that I hate going to parties.” 

“You can’t just sit at home and snuggle on the couch, crying after some guy.” he said now seriously, this was unusual from Basile. “That guy doesn’t deserve you.” Lucas smiled a little hearing his silly friend being so nice to him. 

“Okay, I’ll go.” he said.

“YES! Okay, we’ll be meeting at Yann’s tomorrow around 19:00, okay? We’re gonna get so wasted!” he said excitedly, speaking so fast, Lucas barely catched the time. Then Basile just hung up.

Lucas put his phone back to the coffee table and looked at the ceiling. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to go to a party. He haven’t been in any since high school,but hanging out with the gang was always a lot of fun. Besides, he has to forget Eliott, since he’s a lost case anyways.

He got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, but he noticed something on the floor, in front of the door. He walked there and picked up a carefully folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and his heart skipped a beat. It was a drawing, the paper was split in the middle by a line that was supposed to represent the wall, on the right side there was a raccoon, a sad one actually, looking at the wall nervously, while on the left side was a cute hedgehog sitting at a piano, playing some nice melodies. There were two words on the bottom of the paper. Forgive me

Lucas was staring at it for long minutes before he could move to the kitchen. He put the paper on the counter and turned on the kettle. He kept glancing over where the drawing was. He knew Eliott draws himself as a raccoon, they talked about it on saturday, but he couldn’t get over the fact that he drew him as a hedgehog. When the water got hot, he poured some in a mug, making himself a nice mint and strawberry tea. He left the kitchen, not looking at the drawing this time and flopped down on the couch, turning on his tv, watching some stupid comedy on Netflix.

Tuesday 19:17

He slipped the drawing under the door for Lucas hours ago and he still had no idea what the boy was thinking of it. He was too scared to talk to him, so he tried his best, approaching him by the ony thing he was good at: art. He was thinking about Lucas’ spirit animal since he stepped into his apartment, but this morning he just woke up to the thought that Lucas must be a grumpy hedgehog. His back is spikey, getting scared easily, but actually the most adorable animal that exists. 

Lucille left on Monday, early in the morning, so he was alone ever since. He got better, but he still couldn’t touch his phone or go near his laptop. He was afraid of social interactions for a long time after his anxiety attacks. It wasn’t easy, especially since he should be working on his project. The deadline was coming closer each day. He couldn’t let this chance to slip away because of his stupid mind.

He walked around in the living room, thinking about Lucas. His smell was already gone, which made Eliott feel much more lonely than he used to be. Knowing that the person he desires is right next to you, but you can’t reach him is a really painful thing to think about. His phone dragged him out of these angsty thoughts when it pinged. He reached for it with shaking hands, just to check the message, he didn’t wanted to reply.

From Lucille:  We’re going out tomorrow, 20:00, wear something nice

Fuck.

Wednesday 19:56

The party was loud, it was hosted by one of their high school friend, Alexandre. Lucas noticed a lot of familiar faces, like Emma, Daphné, Imane. The music was bursting so loud, Lucas’ chest was shaking from it, or maybe it was the booze starting to kick in. They had a couple drinks at Yann’s place before they came, just to set the mood for the party.

The living room was emptied to be a perfect dance floor, Lucas was chilling on the couch that was pushed to the wall in the corner, drinking some beer. People seem to have fun, they were yelling, dancing, kissing...

Arthur, Yann and Basile was talking to Alex, who was really happy that they boys came. This party was like a high school reunion, which kinda made Lucas feel better. He liked his high school years, even if it was hard at first. When he accepted his own sexuality, coming out to all of his friends, he got so much support that he was never expecting. It was overwhelming, making him extremely happy. 

Now he was back, but felt like he didn’t belong here. He was a quiet musician, an exhausted adult who never went out to have fun, make out with someone he will never gonna meet again or have one night stands. He wanted love, a significant other by his side and his thoughts went back to saturday, when he was with Eliott. Fuck!

He shook his head and chugged his beer, going for another one in the kitchen. He’s going to get wasted and have fun, not thinking about his neighbour tonight.

Two hours later Lucas was very, very drunk, dancing in the middle of the living room like there’s no tomorrow. He took off his hoodie, leaving it on the couch like 40 minutes ago, now he was only wearing a navy blue shirt and dark grey jeans. Somewhere along the lines he started pressing his body to a really nice looking guy, he wasn’t even close to Eliott’s beauty, but he seemed to like the closeness of Lucas and that was more than enough for him. He wrapped his arms around him, rocking his hips, while rubbing their chest together. 

The guy slid his arms on Lucas’ waist, pulling him closer and kissing his neck a few times. The alcohol hit his head so much, he barely could feel the lips touching his skin. His body was hot, his mind went blank and he just wanted to forget. 

They didn’t needed more than ten minutes to end up making out on the couch, ignoring all the people around them. No one really gave a fuck, since basically everyone was doing the same somewhere in the house. Lucas was too drunk to think straight, so he just went with the flow, letting the guy to kiss him wildly, rubbing their crotch together. 

Things escalated quickly, he didn’t remember when the guy took off his shirt, but his eyes popped open when he started to unzipp his jeans. Lucas grabbed the guy’s hand, trying to stop him, but he was too drunk and too weak.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you’re gonna enjoy it.” he whispered into his ears. Lucas shivered and tried to resist, but his mind was too dizzy.

He closed his eyes, when he heard a noise, a body landing on the floor. He looked into the direction and he saw Eliott, holding Lucas’ shirt he probably picked up from the floor and looking at the guy, who was sitting on the floor. Some of the guests looked at them, being interested in the drama.

“Don’t touch him!” Eliott hissed, clenching his fist so much, his veins popped out.

Lucas sat up, holding his head, cause he was still pretty drunk. He grabbed Eliott’s arm, softly squeezing it. 

“What are you doing here?” he mumbled, even though he didn’t actually care. It made him happy that Eliott was here and he saved him from this random guy.

Eliott now looked at him, his eyes softened and knelt down, stroking Lucas’ face. His touch was like electricity, waking up his mind from the dizziness all those beer caused. 

“Let’s get you home.” he said softly, giving Lucas his shirt back. 

A couple hard moments later Eliott finally reached his goal to get Lucas stand up from the couch. He wrapped his arm around his waist, gently helping him to walk out of the house. Thankfully they didn’t meet any of Lucas’ friends, so he could go out without anyone bothering them. He walked to the road, calling for a taxi, while Lucas was squatting on the sidewalk, looking like he’s gonna throw up. After he gave the address, he walked back to Lucas just in time, he was stroking his back as he threw up everything on the grass. 

Long moments later Lucas seemed to be in a better condition, Eliott gave him a bottle of water. He washed his mouth first and then chugged up the rest of the bottle. They taxi arrived, so they hopped in on the backseat. Eliott told the driver their address and pulled Lucas to his side, making sure that he’s okay. 

Thrusday 10:35

Lucas woke up with a terrible headache, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in his bed, wearing only boxers, smelling like mens bathroom. He barely remembered anything that happened last night, his memories were fuzzy. He got up, putting on a hoodie he stole from Yann ages ago, that was long and cozy. He walked to the bathroom, looking into the mirror, his face looked terrible, his hair was all over the place. He sighed and washed his face, brushed his teeth. Then he heard the noise from the kitchen. He stepped out of the bathroom and walked there, shocked at the sight of a very fresh, good looking Eliott.

The tall boy was wearing white jeans, a black shirt and a black hoodie, he was making breakfast apparently, humming something. Lucas tried to slowly approach him, but Eliott heard the steps of his naked feet, looking at him with a big, bright smile. Lucas could swear that it was brighter than the sun itself.

“Good morning. I’m making breakfast.” he said happily.

“That’s really nice of you.” that is all he could say, his head was hurting too much to have a full conversation about last night. Also his heart apparently decided to beat as fast as it just could when he smelled Eliott’s cologne. It was basically torture having such a beautiful person here, in his kitchen. 

He grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured some fresh coffee in it. Looks like Eliott thought about everything. He put in some sugar and started drinking, while watching Eliott stading by the stove. His chest felt warm by the thought of having breakfast with Eliott. 

A few minutes later the omlette was served on two plates, Eliott put it down on the table, smiling at Lucas softly. He couldn’t help, but smile back. Whatever happened last night, he was happy that it happened, otherwise Eliott wouldn’t be here, being kind, gentle, making breakfast for him. 

“Take this as my apologize. I really wanted to come on Sunday, but... I had a problem.” he explained shorty, looking at Lucas, hoping for any signs of forgiveness. 

This reminded Lucas of the moment when he saw that girl kissing Eliott in the doorway and then walking inside his apartment. He shook his head and put down the mug. 

“I’ll take your apology.” he said softly, sitting down at the table. Trying to be friends with Eliott was still better than not having any contact with him at all. He was happy around this person, his presence just made Lucas feel like life isn’t that bad at all. 

[galoismyhimbo]

TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU

HHHNNGG BABE

0. Height:

5′10 I believe

1. Age:

19

2. Shoe size:

10

3. Do you smoke?

God no, that’s honestly a huge turn off for me in general lmao

4. Do you drink? 

I hate alcohol

5. Do you take drugs?

Nope

6. Age you get mistaken for

Like, early 20′s

7. Have tattoos? 

Nope

8. Want any tattoos?

I’m not opposed to getting a small one

9. Got any piercings?

Nope

10. Want any piercings? 

Not really

11. Best friend?

My irl bestfriend doesn’t have a tumblr… I dont think LOL but she my bitch

12. Relationship status 

Single and loving it

13. Biggest turn ons

A loving, healthy, communicative relationship. Oh and choking. I mean what?

14. Biggest turn offs

Not being able to have deep, meaningful conversations. No ambition, no curiosity about things. ye

15. Favorite movie?

THOR: RAGNAROK  AHHHH

16. I’ll love you if…

You buy matching swords and we battle for dominance

17. Someone you miss

One of my old best friends from my childhood. We were inseparable from like kindergarten to the first year of high school when she moved and we lost touch. I actually saw her i think 2 years ago randomly, we lived right across the street as kids so she came by my house to say hi. it was really sweet. 

18. Most traumatic experience?

Um, my older bro controlling a small robot and making it come after me when I was like 6. I still remember that day. I’ll never forget and I’ll never forgive.

19. A fact about your personality

I can be REALLY petty 

20. What I hate most about myself

I can be extremely hot headed over things

21. What I love most about myself

If I like you, I would never do anything to make you pissed on purpose

22. What I want to be when I’m older

Astronomer or anything space science wise

23.My relationship with my sibling(s)

We are pretty close I think. My bro and I are probably closest cause we both chill

24.My relationship with my parent(s)

eh. We have our moments but my dad and I are both really stubborn and that can lead to a lot of arguing. My mom and I are closer but we still fight a lot cause of our different viewpoints

25.My idea of a perfect date

Going to an observatory or planetarium. Or a zoo, I love zoos

26.My biggest pet peeves

Volumes on odd numbers or cheWING/TALKING WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN

27. A description of the girl/boy I like

None. I ain’t got no time for relationships

28.A description of the person I dislike the most

He’s orange. and can’t speak normally

29.A reason I’ve lied to a friend

Don’t think I’ve lied to a friend. At least I can’t remember the last time

30.What I hate the most about work/school

Getting up early, the stress, ya know the normal stuff

31.What my last text message says

“I need to stop laying in bed for 30 minutes before getting ready” I’m always late to my morning classes shhh

32.What words upset me the most

We need to talk 

33.What words make me feel the best about myself

YOU DREW THAT?!

34.What I find attractive in women

Honesty, intelligence, great butts, great thighs. The norm

35.What I find attractive in men

Same with the men mmm

36. Where I would like to live

Siberia. Jk, idk somewhere like Denmark or something. Northern Europe cause I love the weather and landscape.  

37.One of my insecurities

My smile if I’m honest

38.My childhood career choice

Paleontologist. But tbh I still wanna be one

39.My favorite ice cream flavor

Cheesecake

40.Who I wish I could be

God. But I have the sims for that wish so ya’ll safe

41.Where I want to be right now

Sleeping

42.The last thing I ate

popcorn

43.Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately

Tom Hiddleston. I will always love that man; have since Thor and will till I die. mmmmm

44.A random fact about anything

uumm… I don’t want my own kids. I’d rather adopt cause there are so many children out there with no families

Ty for coming to my TED talk

[whisker-biscuit]

Harley Quinn is Not A Good Role Model: Chapter 2

Rated T-M for language and graphic descriptions of violence

Pairing: Dr. Flug/Black Hat

Summary: Dr. Flug Slys is a successful psychiatrist working at one of the world's most respected mental institutes for the criminally insane. But this new patient is unlike anything he's ever encountered. Flug is determined to help him, nonetheless.

Black Hat has other ideas.

Chapter 2: The Doctor Didn’t Order This

Ironically, the next day happened to be one of Flug’s idler in terms of schedule. He had one morning check-in with a patient on floor 3 whose primary psychiatrist was out sick, several reports due by noon (which he had already finished a long while ago), and so by 13:40 he was already waiting by the director’s office on the first floor.

The doctor checked his watch for the umpteenth time and counted the seconds going round. He dropped his arm and began bouncing on the balls of his feet. There was a quick run-through of his bag for crinkles. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the folds of his coat. He looked at his watch again – 13:41.

There was a shout from outside.

Flug startled and flitted to the nearest window facing the front of the building. He peered out and his heart jumped. There were ten of the institute’s security team, along with easily fifteen or so armed guards from Interpol. They surrounded an armored truck parked several feet from the entrance. The truck was rocking back and forth.

The truck was rocking back and forth.

With tripping feet Flug ran back to the director’s office and knocked on her door as respectfully urgent as he could. “Dr. Rorschach, this is Dr. Slys. The patient is here, he’s – he’s in an armored truck!”

The knob turned and he was face to face with a frame of bobbed orange hair and glasses. Dr. Lauren Rorschach blinked at him, clipboard and case file in hand. Flug gestured helplessly to the window and she made her way over.

“Come now, Doctor. I know he’s high-profile, but surely that’s a bit of an exaggeration.” She adjusted her glasses and looked out at the scene. Her face paled. “That’s…unnerving.”

Flug joined her at the window. The truck was still shaking violently and several guards were crowding around the back doors, all carrying riot shields while one unlocked it with a finger scan. The two psychiatrists shared a stunned stare.

“Ma’am, f-forgive me for my hesitance, b-but you mentioned he’s a high profile criminal?”

“I did. I’m ah, I’m sure you read his file.” Dr. Rorschach brought a hand to her mouth.

“Well y-yes but, this is…Doctor, do you know why they, I-I mean…what is he?” He was really starting to regret accepting the invitation.

Outside, the guards had successfully opened the truck and were moving in two at a time. An unholy shriek reverberated from inside like a shock wave across the estate. Flug convulsed. His superior jolted and their hair stood on end. She parted her lips, drew in a breath, and began reciting policy.

“We, we at the Global Psychiatric Medical Center for the Criminally Insane are – are proud in our welcoming of patients from all walks of life, regardless of notoriety or –” the truck bounced, and Dr. Rorschach grimaced, “species. I knew this patient would be…a little different than the usual, they told me he’s not human, but this…”

“This is insane.” Flug finished with a shudder. He had read the case. No current photos on file, no prior background knowledge beyond convicted crimes, and only an alias – Black Hat – with a very vague “Not Human” under the species category.

There was another shriek as six guards carried out what seemed be a stretcher at first glance. But both doctors did a double take because it wasn’t a stretcher, it was a container. As in, sci-fi Area 51 alien containment container. Rectangular with smoothed corners, made of white-painted metal bolted in every conceivable crack, and with one tiny circle of a window near one end that was no doubt bulletproof.

Six guards ended up not being enough, because two started to shake, but Flug couldn’t say whether it was because of whatever was inside of it or if it was just the sheer weight of the thing. The result was nine Interpol officers and two security members taking the monstrosity up the steps toward the entrance. Dr. Rorschach seemed to snap out of her trance.

“Oh, we need to be there to greet them! Hurry Doctor!” She took long strides down the hall and turned the corner to the front lobby, and Flug struggled to catch up.

“With all d-due respect, Ma’am, I don’t think this is a g-good idea.”

“It’s not,” the director confirmed, lips pressing into a line. She was still shaking. “But Interpol offered us a great deal of revenue if we accepted the case. Don’t get me wrong, Doctor, your success is outstanding, but we get paid just as much for admitting patients as we do sending them out.”

They passed the security gate and waited in the middle of the lobby, halfway between the grand doorway and the check-in. Flug touched the bottom of his bag. His superior continued.

“We’ve been informed that this patient, Black Hat, is not really expected to be rehabilitated. They want him contained here. We have some of the best security and safety here, especially on Floor 5. It’s against policy but…I’m sorry, Dr. Slys. I couldn’t refuse.”

“Ah, n-no, I get it. Money and p-power make the world go round.” He watched two of their staff members open the doors. “I just really wish it d-didn’t, sometimes.”

Dr. Rorschach gave a puff of a laugh before setting up the happy, sunny smile she was so famous for. There were still goosebumps up her arms. The guards carrying the vessel came in first, followed by every remaining Interpol officer. It got crowded very fast.

“Welcome to our institute! We can’t thank you enough for giving us the privilege of such a high-priority assignment.” The words came out steady and natural, as if the director wasn’t just scared out of her wits a minute ago. Flug envied her acting ability. She waited as the lead officer came forward and gave a respectful bow of her head. He returned the gesture and cleared his throat.

“Dr. Rorschach, the pleasure is all mine. I’m Inspector Daniels.” He was much taller than either psychiatrist, and there was a wary, hard tint to his eyes. He made eye contact with Flug, who straightened up a tad. “And I assume you are the psychiatrist assigned to this case?”

“Oh, p-pleased to meet you but I –” His superior subtly shifted next to him. “I mean! I’m Dr. Slys, yes. I’m the attending psychiatrist. Yes.”

The inspector frowned and looked him up and down. “Are you sure you’re…equipped enough to look after this criminal? It’s a very dangerous task.”

Gee, I had no idea. Flug almost rolled his eyes. His fingers twitched. “I assure you, I-Inspector, I’m more than prepared to handle any patient who walks through these doors. We refuse to believe anyone admitted here is beyond help, and the facilities here at the Global Psychiatric –”

“Yes, yes, that’s all well and good,” Daniels shook his head and turned to his officers, who were no longer struggling with the containment unit. It had gone ominously still and silent. “You people can spit up slogans all you like, but this thing here,” he walked over and tapped the glass. Something hissed in response. “He doesn’t play by any rules. Doesn’t respond to threats or intimidation. Certainly doesn’t play nice.”

The director opened her mouth, but the inspector wasn’t done. “Look, Doctors, I have a lot of respect for the work you do. It’s not a global institute for nothing. But we absolutely cannot let this criminal escape. It’s taken decades to catch him, and I need your absolute guarantee that you’ll be able to contain him. Can’t have any…weak links in the chain.” His eyes flickered over to Flug and the doctor just about saw red.

“As I-I already said, Inspector, I can assure you that there will be no issue on my end. I have dealt with the worst society – the world – has produced, and I have no intention of letting one patient change that.” He puffed his chest just a little when Dr. Rorschach nodded in agreement. She vouched for him, at least.

A sound came out of the container, rough and low and repetitive. If Flug gave it more thought than a simple glance, he would have believed it sounded like chortling. Inspector Daniels considered him for a minute, ignoring the disturbance.

“Very well, Dr. Slys, Dr. Rorschach,” he said softly, “I’ll take your word for it. I do, however, expect a statement each week about any trouble you may be having. We’ll take him up to Floor 5. You’ve prepared the cell with the highest security, I assume?”

Flug’s superior nodded again, but a frown marred her face. “You don’t want us to perform orientation down here? We have standard rooms available, it follows procedure –”

“With all due respect, Ma’am, I rather don’t trust anything that’s not a secure cell. We’ve taken every precaution necessary to ensure he isn’t a danger to himself or us, and I’d rather keep those precautions in place. Please let us through the security gate.”

“Of, of course.” Dr. Rorschach turned with a click of her heels and swiped her ID at the entrance, adding her fingerprint scan as well. Daniels and his entourage followed with Flug packed somewhere in between. He thanked the stars the gate was big enough for the container.

The elevator was designed for a maximum of 300 kilograms and big enough for a good thirty people if packed. With twelve people sandwiched around the unit sitting in the center, it was pretty crowded. As they worked their way up, Flug couldn’t help the quick look into the little window in hopes of seeing who was apparently his patient now. It was dark on the other side of the glass, but there was no sign of movement or anything he recognized as a face or body.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief stepping out of the elevator, and they began the long journey down to the end of the Floor 5 hallway. Several curious, sometimes manic patients peered out at the parade passing their rooms, but no one made a sound when they caught eye of the sheer number of Interpol officers. A few chanced a wave to Flug, who timidly raised his hand in response.

Halfway there, they passed Dementia’s cell.

“Whoa, what’s with all the pizazz?” She smooshed her face against the padded bars, mouth hanging open. “Oh hey Dr. Inksplotch, what’s – Flug! ¿Qué pasa? Who’re these stiffs? You bringin’ in a newbie?”

The doctor tried to ignore her, he really did, but she whined louder as they moved on without a word. Profanities started leaking out as well, and Dr. Rorschach smiled a little too cheerfully when Inspector Daniels looked her way.

“Oh, don’t mind our dear patient, she’s always been very inquisitive – very smart for her age. We’ve been working together to help her with,” an irritated ‘¡putos!’ was spit at them from behind, “ah, how to better express herself.” Dementia snarled and disappeared from sight.

At the end of the hallway were four cells made for the most volatile of inmates – padded floor to ceiling like the rest but with a camera and sound system in each room, and double-reinforced walls. The doors were made with titanium and each had three locks; a keypad, a fingerprint scan, and a keyhole. According to records, these rooms had only been used twice, both long before Flug’s employment.

Well, he thought as officers pulled the unit into a cell, there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

Six Interpol agents stayed in the room along with Dr. Flug and the Inspector. Daniels waited until the director relocked the door from the other side before giving his officers the go-ahead. They braced themselves around the container as he fished a special remote from his pocket and pressed a button.

“You may want to stay behind me, Doctor,” he informed Flug, who complied just as the unit let out a hydraulic hiss and the door unlatched. It was the only warning they had before a black and white thing collided with the nearest officer and knocked her straight into the wall. It kept her pinned and turned its head completely around with a crack, growling at the remaining group who had their weapons out and ready. Neither party moved, and Flug got a good first look at his newest patient.

Black Hat was…underwhelming to look at but terrifying to watch. He wore a top hat and a monocle, and his one visible eye blazed with something otherworldly. He was tied in a fortified straitjacket that was raised dapperly around his neck like the beginning of a cape. A blinking, metal collar sat tight around his throat. His lips curled and showed a mouth full of the sharpest teeth the doctor had ever seen.

“Well, Inspector, it appears we’re at an impasse,” he drawled, civil with a hint of brutality. “You can’t shoot me without hitting your dear officer, and I can’t move in a way that’s beneficial to me.”

“It seems so,” Daniels was motionless. “What will make you release her?”

“You know very well what I want, Marcus,” Black Hat dragged the name out effortlessly, eyes narrowed as the Inspector stiffened. “But I suppose you have no intention of letting me go.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Very well. Then answer my questions. Where am I? My natural compass seems to be shot today. Must be all the drugs.” He ran a forked tongue over his teeth. “I was under the impression I was being moved to another penitentiary.”

Flug made the very big mistake of stepping just past his Inspector protector. Daniels inhaled sharply and reached for him, but it was too late. Black Hat locked eyes with the trembling doctor.

“This doesn’t look like any officer I’ve ever seen.” His hostage tried to move and he pressed against her into immobility, eyes never breaking contact.

“Ah, uh I’m, I-I am Doctor Slys, licensed c-criminal psychiatrist, and you, you’re at the Global Psychiatric Medical Center for the Criminally Insane. You, um, you’re here for t-treatment.”

“Treatment.”

“Ah, y-yes. For rehabilitation and…reentry into society?”

“I see.” Black Hat’s gaze flicked over to the Inspector. “Attempting humor now, Marcus? I’m flattered, but it’s really not your style. I asked for a location, and I’m getting one. Now.” He leaned into the pinned officer until she choked for breath. The others raised their weapons, but their superior didn’t give the order. He couldn’t risk hurting one of his own.

Flug stumbled forward another step, causing everyone to tense as the inmate growled warning at him. He touched the edges of his bag. “It – it’s not a lie, I swear! My n-name is Doctor Flug Slys, and you have been f-formally admitted to our hospital. I’ve been assigned as your primary psychiatrist.”

“Is that so?” The doctor nodded shakily and the creature glanced around the room lazily. “Quite the first meeting, Doctor.”

“Ah, w-well this was supposed to be your orientation period.” Black Hat lifted a quizzical eyebrow. “Orientation is a w-welcoming period where we d-determine your treatment plan and how b-best to offer our services.”

“Mm…” The inmate scrutinized Flug, but he spread his hand sincerely. The best policy was often frankness, in his experience. Humming, Black Hat turned to the frozen inspector with a further crack of his neck. Everyone winced.

“He’s telling the truth. Your officer is very lucky, Marcus. I’m going to release her now and move a meter to my right. None of you will shoot at me. How does that sound, Marcus?”

Daniels hesitated for a second, but then he looked at the pleading hostage across the room and the pleading doctor in front of him. He nodded almost imperceptibly. The inmate showed teeth again and did exactly as he’d promised, rolling off his captive who darted to the inspector’s side, out of breath. Nobody shot, but nobody moved.

It was Dr. Rorschach, standing outside the cell, who broke the silence. Flug had forgotten she was there. “If you are content, Mr. Black Hat, I’d appreciate if we could formally begin our orientation period. We can ask the officers to leave for patient confidentiality, if you wish.”

Three officers looked ready to protest but were cut off by Daniels. “That works just fine, Doctor. I believe we’re done here anyway.” He gestured for his team to join him at the door, and they crowded around, refusing to turn away from the creature, who offered a winning business smile. Flug didn’t move.

“Aren’t you coming, Dr. Slys?” Daniels’ quiet voice came from beyond the cracked cell door.

“Oh, n-no thank you, I, I still need to consult with the patient.” There was a shuffle outside, and although Flug didn’t dare take his eyes off the inmate on the other side of the room, he could guess what the Interpol officers were thinking. “I’m n-not helpless, Inspector.”

“He’s right,” Dr. Rorschach spoke, a little muffled. “He’s the primary psychiatrist of our lovely patient just down the hall who gave us her thoughts a few minutes ago. They’ve built up a lot of trust. We have cameras inside and our own security right outside, just in case of an emergency. Please, sir,” the lilt in her voice became charismatic, “trust us. Trust our institute. We won’t let you down.”

Flug risked a look in his peripheral vision at the window, where his superior nodded at him and left. He could hear the click, click of her heels and the echoing stomps of every Interpol officer. They continued talking, and eventually their words and voices left the floor.

There was a scoff, and the doctor turned to watch Black Hat slide down against the wall, crossing his legs and leaning his head back. He looked tired. The light on his collar blinked steadily.

“They must not think very highly of you, leaving you alone with me.” His chest expanded slowly, pushing against the straitjacket.

“Ah, well, there are g-guards right outside, Mr. Black Hat. They’re just as c-capable as any trained officer.” Flug recited the policy to keep himself grounded. He tugged at his paper bag. His patient looked miffed.

“Just as incompetent, you mean.” He looked at the paper bag and goggles, unimpressed. “I must say, for such a famous group, they certainly hire the most pathetic humans. You are rather underwhelming to look at, ‘Doctor’.”

It was a new patient. A dangerous patient. He needed to be careful with his words. “I c-can assure you, I am one of the most qualified individuals here.” His fingers tapped his lab coat. “Speaking of that, I think it’s a good time to continue your orientation, if you’d prefer.”

“You mentioned your services. What services?” The inmate uncrossed his legs and stretched them out in front of him.

“Well, uh,” he began counting off his gloves, “counseling, physical and mental healthcare, prescriptions, group therapy…eventually. Depending on behavior.”

A low, raspy chuckle. “Do you think I’m incapable of good behavior, Doctor…?” Black Hat paused, and his mouth twitched low for just a flash. The collar blinked. “Ah, do forgive my impoliteness, but I seem to have forgotten what you mentioned you were called.”

“Oh, oh it’s, uh, Dr. Slys.” Flug usually gave his first name in introductions, but something was telling him it wasn’t a very smart move here. He trusted his gut.

“Slys…” the patient tasted the word, forked tongue curling just under his teeth. “Rather devious name, Doctor. Fitting for someone who works with criminals.”

“I, th-thank you?”

“Mm,” Black Hat bumped his head against the wall and closed his eyes. His top hat didn’t seem to be affected by the physics of it. “Well Dr. Slys, it’s been fun, but I’m afraid I’ve grown uninterested in you now. Do follow the example of your colleague and leave me be.”

Watch your words. You don’t know what your patient is capable of yet. “I’m not a-authorized to do that until we work out a treatment plan. Or at least a schedule for the next few days. I think it would be beneficial to both of us if we –”

“That was not a request, Doctor.” Black Hat opened his eyes and gave Flug a dangerous look. Shivers ran down the doctor’s back. “I said I do not care for your presence anymore, and you’d do well to listen to me. I may be restrained but do not think for a second that you are the one in control.”

The wording was different, but he had heard that tone and implication before. Multiple times. Inmates who thought they were all that, or had been all that, but were ultimately powerless here regardless of threats. It reminded him greatly of Dementia’s first meeting with him, actually.

“Stay the fuck away from me, gringo, and there won’t be a problem.”

He didn’t think. Or he was thinking of Dementia, and how their banter had gone from hostile to something more like pestering within the course of three months, because instead of staying professional, instead of trusting every alarm bell ringing in his head, Flug opened his mouth and said:

“I told you we weren’t done. You want me to leave? Make me.”

Black Hat made no move or sound. There was no change in expression. He was deathly still, eyes trained on expressive goggles, but nausea welled up in the doctor’s stomach and he booked it for the door.

He got three steps.

A heavy body crashed into his back, and Flug fell onto cushioned floor with a thud. Weight pressed onto him from above. It wasn’t like when he had restrained Dementia just the day before. No, this inmate was on top of him from feet to shoulders.

“You have some balls, Dr. Slys,” a voice hissed against his bag, right next to his ear. “It’s almost commendable. But I’ve been in a bad mood for quite some time now, and you,” he pushed against Flug’s back, squeezing his breath out, “are not,” feet pressed hard into his ankles, “helping.”

Flug couldn’t breathe. Buckles and straps dug into him from behind, and if it weren’t for the straitjacket there’d probably be hands at his neck. Hot air against his neck made the doctor shudder. He whimpered once and closed his eyes, waiting for those pointed teeth to bite into him.

But they didn’t.

Instead, Black Hat held him there for only a few seconds before his collar beeped once and he stiffened, making a noise deep in his throat. The locked door chimed and two burly security guards came rushing in, pulling the inmate off and allowing Flug to scramble to his feet and flee. He paused at the door and looked back, watching his patient retreat into the far corner of the room, hissing at the guards in languages Flug wasn’t aware existed. They made brief eye contact and Black Hat’s lip curled again, a promise so definite that the poor doctor almost ran down the hallway. But he waited outside as the guards came through and locked the door. Both turned to look him over.

“Are you okay, Doctor?” The larger one asked, his face creased in worry.

Flug pulled on his bag and checked for tears. Nothing. He patted down his pants and lab coat. Everything was still in place. “I-I’m fine, I’m okay, he d-didn’t hurt me. Thank you gentlemen.”

“It’s no problem, sir.” The other smiled down at him, and Flug took a moment to read their name tags. Lucas and Ben. He’d seen them before on this hall, but they’d never interacted. “We’re here to help. It’s our job, after all.”

“Yes, y-yes, but still, I…” Teeth at his jugular. “I really can’t thank you enough.” He shuddered once. He needed to get back to his office. Back to something safe. “I think I’ll head back down, if you don’t mind.”

Without another word Flug wobbled down the hall, holding his arms and trying to stop shaking so violently. This was not his first encounter with a violent patient. He had been injured before. Really, he needed to calm down. It ended better than it could have.

Dementia popped up as he passed her cell. “So, who’s the new – holy shit, what happened to you?”

The doctor shook his head mutely, giving his patient a weak smile. “Nothing, nothing happened to me. Just a more intense orientation than I’m used to. Don’t worry.”

She cocked her head, eyeing his rumpled bag, but he turned away and began walking again. “I’m fine, Dementia. I’ll see you tomorrow for your session.”

Dementia pouted but didn’t pry. They had an agreement, after all. Some things you didn’t spill until you were ready. Instead she let him go, yelling out after him, “If they start shit again, let me know! I’ll pound them for you!”

It was a nice if impossible offer, and Flug let the support wash over him like his favorite hand sanitizer. He reached the elevator and wordlessly went down. After he was gone, Dementia huffed and sat her chin on the bottom of the window, cheeks bunched up between the bars.

“Ten cuidado, Flug.”

Second chapter up! In this particular story, Dementia is Hispanic and fluent in both Spanish and English, and Flug is German and fluent in German, English, Spanish, and knows some Russian. If I get any translations wrong I’m very sorry, please correct me.

Also, I’m really new at tumblr format, can anyone tell me how to embed links in the text posts so I can link to every chapter for easier access? Thanks.

[onethousandpaperstars]

All 56 questions!!!

Lawl thanks for the distraction

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life?

          Yes, my best friend 2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them?

          Nope. Never ever.3: What do you think of when you hear the word “meow?”

          Мяу~4: What’s something you really want right now?

          Hmm… A toasty cookie with some warm milk and a big hug. And then to immediately pass out and sleep peacefully.5: Are you afraid of falling in love?

          Maybe a little bit? The falling part isn’t so much the scary part, it’s what comes after.6: Do you like the beach?

          Yes~~~7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else?

          Surprisingly, yes!8: What’s the background on your cell?

          A picture an old crush drew of us together.9: Name the last four beds you were sat on?

          My bed, my bed, my bed, my crib?????10: Honestly, are things going the way you planned?

          Honestly, I did not make a plan.11: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts?

          Probably a guy I met on tinder?12: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain?

          Emotional pain.13: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?

          Art museum!~14: Are you tired?

         I’m always tired.15: How long have you known your 1st phone contact?

         My whole entire life because it is my mom.16: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes?

         Considering that I have never been in a relationship, that would be impossible *finger guns*17: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today?

        If it is who I think it is, then yes? If I just met them today, then no.18: How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?

         I’m naked, so zero~19: Is there a certain quote you live by?

          Real poetry is to live a beautiful life. To live poetry is better than to write it. - Basho  20: What’s on your mind?

          Cerebrospinal fluid.21: Do you have any tattoos?

          My skin is inkless.22: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips?

          I can’t predict the future???23: Who are you texting?

          My best friend–I must feed the friendo24: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right?

          Yup-yup.25: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?

          I’ve got all sorts of friends in all sorts of area codes ;)26: Do you think anyone has feelings for you?

          Sexually–yes; romantically–probably not :c27: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?

          If I had a dime for every time someone told me that, I’d be rich ~^-^~28: Were you single on Valentines Day?

          I’ve been single my whole life :c29: Has anyone upset you in the last week?

          Just my brain :o30: Have you ever cried over a text?

          Yes, I have31: Where’s your last bruise located?

          Probably somewhere on my leg?32: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad?

          Today (from my room)33: Who was the last person you were on the phone with?

          My mom34: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day?

          No, I just put my hair up or deal with it.35: Would you ever go bald if it was the style?

          Nope.36: Do you make supper for your family?

          Sometimes… for my roomies.37: Does your bedroom have a door?

          Yes, and I love it.38: Does anything on your body hurt?

          All of it.39: Are goodbyes hard for you?

          Always. Even if it’s just for a minute.40: How is your hair?

          A little moist, but probably content.41: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now?

          I most certainly do.42: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile?

          Yes! My best friend lawl43: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

          That I was afraid to fall asleep because of a bad nightmare I had the previous night.44: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

          It’s more likely than you think.45: How old will you be in 5 months?

          20 years old and 4.5-ish months... Yikes46: Where is your Mum right now?

          At home, almost 300 miles away47: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?

          Yep! My bestie~48: How many people have you liked in the past three months?

          Two…? I’ll say 1 and a half c:49: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days?

          I’m sure at least one of my roomies does on a daily basis.50: Will you talk to the person you like tonight?

          I already did?51: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care?

          Of course I’d care, but I wouldn’t actively pursue them to stop because it’s ultimately their own decision.52: Who was your last received call from?

          My mom :353: Have you ever trusted someone too much?

          Yes.54: Do you get along with girls?

          Yus!55: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth?

          Yeah… I hope I can build up my courage and tell them soon. Wish me luck!!56: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you?

          My bestie

[aleatoryalarmalligator]

Life Story Part 11

I don't think I've ever been happy for more than six months in my entire life since I was four or so. Is that normal? I don't know how to gauge that sort of thing because I really have nothing to compare it to. It seems normal to me, but that might just be because I am kind of fucked up in a way.

So back to the story. Everything that I had mentioned with my dad occasionally knocking me down to nothing was still happening. I was still getting picked on in Kendrick. I was still unpopular. I couldn't seem to manage to have a crush on any of the boys. I still drew on my papers, got sent to the offices. I remember the school lighting very well, and the creak of the boards under the school rugging.

My mother forgot my 11th birthday party three weekends in a row. Roxanne had chilled out about being mean to me at this time. She had decorated with a cake and streamers. After the third time we stopped expecting her to arrive. And when she did, she had just bought some stuff from the good will, some socks and a music box. We had moved out of the new place that we had rented, and we had taken up residence in this old house with a basement. It was a bit bigger in this place. I made the mistake one day of shaving my arms there. For some reason this memory sticks out to me. I was always told not to, that if I started I could never stop, but I wanted to see what would happen so I took that jump. The soft baby hairs were replaced by a forest of dark upright hairs. And now to this day I shave my arms.

It was disappointing and hurtful for my mother to forget my birthday so many times in a row, but it's also in a strange way relieving to know where you stand. I think my mom's absence made me more resilient when I got older and gave me a wider appreciation for nature to a degree which would be hard to explain at this juncture. Some kids with inactive parents pine and wonder if their parents care. I pretty much knew where my mother stood. Everyone was always hungover during the day, so we all had to tiptoe until four pm or so. David could wake her up sometimes. James eyes were always bloodshot and he was so high he couldn't tell what people were even saying to him half the time. He had smelled up this disgusting downstairs room up, and he him and my mom would watch a lot of 70's kung foo. I cannot imagine how gross it must have been to be them. To be drunk all the time, wasting what was left of their semi-middle age youth in that gross smelly room going nowhere being nothing and watching those dollar store movies. Spending the last of the divorce money.

Outside, there were two female cats that kept having baby kittens. I spent all my waking hours outside with those cats, until I felt like I was a cat myself. I remember growing to really understand that mother cats have a lot of depth, and they do each other solids a lot. Eventually, this one mother cat, when she was hungry or needed a break, trusted me so much with her kittens that she would do this communicative thing where she would give me this prolonged eye contact and I could read on her face that she was having me watch her kittens till she got back. I have met people who told me that cats cannot really communicate like this, but I know for a fact they do.

I also learned that male cats rape. It's one of those unfortunate elements in nature I guess. I really don't like it, and I think it might be in situations like this that give me a strong sense that there really is no god. Forget war. Why would any sensible god give male cats a barbwired dick? It seems like many animals do a somewhat voluntary exchange. But cats, an otherwise wonderful complex and naturally beautiful creature of elegance and grace, also have this fowl rape culture thing going on that is ingrained in their nature. What sense does this make? I mean, I might see it with insects or something, but why cats? I never liked it one bit. It bothered me so much that eventually I tried my best to stand guard and prevent the male cat from getting the female cats, who were already sickly from having had so many batches. And then one day, I went outside and he had one of the baby kittens bitten to the ground and he was raping this little baby. I know he probably could not help what was making him do this, but I was so infuriated. I ran up to him and I kicked him as hard as I could. I kind of considered the female cats like a family.

I eventually took one of the little female kittens home to father's with me, and I named her Pixie. I had her for a few  years after that. Eventually, while my dad was on vacation when I was in 8th grade, she scratched one of my nephews. This made Roxanne's boyfriend at the time creepy angry, and he took her and dragged her to death in the back of his truck. I didn't know it had happened for a long time after that, but eventually Roxanne admitted this to me. She wasn't apart of it, and had only heard it after the fact. She had been afraid to tell me for some time. It makes me deeply sick in the stomach just thinking of that.

For a short time we had a dog as well. She was on the side of the road. Someone had dumped her because she was obviously a handful. She loved to get loose and roll in dead animal. We named her Angel. Eventually she ran away and never returned. I can only hope she found a good home.

I started going to Sunday school, since the church was a two minute walk from my house. I was never religious, but the mythology of Christianity was very interesting to me. I liked talking about the symbolic significance of every detail in the bible, and going over it in class. I also liked the fact that it was brutal, unfair, and rigid. I suppose I was supposed to like the main characters, including God, but I didn't, which made the entire thing all the more fascinating. I always felt frustrated after reading the bible texts. I don't know why people think that stuff is comforting. At best, it's profound enough to where you really have to think about what it means for modern society, and at worst, it really makes you question why anyone in their right mind is buying this stuff. I was also fascinated with the genealogical order of genesis. I used to be able to name off all the prophets from Adam down to King Solomon. I often times knew their wives, and even their handmaids.

Honestly, I was a little jealous of the bible. Here I was drawing these squeaky clean Alien girls in their late teens, dressed in pure fashion and having names like Paprika and Daffodil, and there were these gritty ugly characters who were always struggling with and and under the psychosis of a sky god lunatic who were much better. And yet it addressed human greed, order, jealousy, betrayal, forgiveness, and all those things that my alien girls completely failed to.

My mom decided to start sewing for awhile. She sewed me a decent Halloween hippie costume, perhaps to make up for missing my birthday so many times in a row. It was one of the few times in that many years time that I really spent any time with her. She taught me how to sew – kind of. I remember her telling me that she was tired of telling her I hated myself. I said I hated myself a loud every day just about. But she really could not say anything really. Everyone in the house confirmed I was annoying, weird, funny looking, and obviously forgettable enough to forget my birthday. My mom also decided that she and James were going to get married. The dresses she had in mind would be green she told me. That might have been why she got her sewing stuff out. My Halloween costume was good though, and it made a splash at school. She made things into patches, and she added flare to all my sleevings of my pants and shirt.

Overall though, I was increasingly frustrated with rage and self hatred. She made me mad one day. I don't remember the reason, but I think it was because David was spoiled, or I had been overlooked or mistreated in some way. I wish I knew why, but I don't really remember. I lost complete and total control. We had about 40 board games in the closet. I found myself screaming and crying in a way I didn't ordinarily. It felt like no matter what I did I failed and I wanted to destroy myself, but I didn't have the means or the bravery to go through with it, and I wanted to tear something apart. I took every single board game, and all their parts and I poured them all over the floor. The entire room was covered in board game pieces. It was complete madness. Naturally, this didn't make anyone happy with me in the least. Everyone was told to ignore everything I said and did to make me feel like a fool. They told me to clean it up, but I wouldn't. I didn't feel good about what I had done either.  The monopoly man and the Plum dude from Candy land looked up at me accusingly. Eventually James came in and had his one little speech of things that he ever said to me for the four years I knew him. He said in this stoned hippie voice 'God man. How could you do this to your mother man?... after all your dad did to her, and now you wanna be just like him... it makes me sick... it just makes me so sick you would be so uncool. Your mother does so much for you and this is how you treat her? What's wrong with you?' and a tangent of other rhetorical nonsense.

David had grown so spoiled that I also was having troubles keeping calm in his presence. He started being very defiant and aggressive towards me and Allison and my mother. He was mean. I would find myself getting so angry, I would turn around and smack him in the face. Now, to be clear, I would not do this now. I was eleven, and this was kind of how I understood things were to be done. I was trying very hard to discipline David since he wasn't getting disciplined from my mother or father. I was so angry back then, and I didn't even have a clue on how to handle my own feelings. My mother would scream and cry and I remember she had a fight in front of the house, telling my dad over and over 'SHE'S GOING TO KILL SOMEONE DAVE!! SHE'S EVENTUALLY GOING TO KILL OUR SON!' My father didn't see me as the murdering type, and he seemed pleased that she was displeased in a postdivorce sort of way.

The most pivotal moment in this cat-house – as I have grown up calling it, though it isn't what someone might think it is by that name, was one night when I stayed up very late to watch Kiki's Delivery Service with Allison, who was four at the time. Allison had never stayed up past midnight before, and I wanted to keep her up to see what she was like. She seemed very loopy. She was babbling and talking about something or other about kitties or the movie, something a small child might talk about, and I was listening to her for fun. Suddenly, I started hearing this weird crashing noise in the other room. There was no door to that room. The windows did not open. Nobody was in that room. It was David's room theoretically, though he actually slept with my mom most of the time. I tried to ignore it, but I heard it again. It sounded like someone had picked up one of David's toys and threw it. It might have been my fear and paranoia at that point, but I felt like something in the house had gotten really wrong somehow. I didn't want to scare Allison though. If she was scared, that would make me even more frightened. She heard the noises too, but I was trying to pretend that they were not worthy of consideration so she didn't start to scream

As I sat there, what I suddenly saw blew me away and I could barely believe I was seeing it. This man figure walked through the hallway. Everything looked mostly normal, and then he just kind of moved through that part of the house, past the doorway where I could see him wandering past. He seemed to be made out of light, and I could not see his features. And then he was gone. I was beyond panicked. I was ready to start screaming and crying, but I was too afraid to even do that. I was too afraid to move. Allison seemed to have missed it. I was paralyzed for a few minutes, afraid to do anything. Nothing else strange happened, and the house seemed to return to a normal feeling, though I was still at this point so scared I was crying. Eventually I got my mother up, sure that she would see the significance. But she didn't seem to care. She was mostly annoyed that I woke her. I forced her to sleep upstairs on the couch anyway.

As an adult, and a skeptic, I can not be 100% certain what I saw was accurate. Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me? Allison confirmed for a fact that she heard the noises that I had heard, but she didn't see anything. It's possible, and not at all out of the realm of possibility that I might have been so scared by the initial noises that my brain made up something that wasn't there. I can never really know anything anyway now though, because the memory is a flexible unstructured thing. I generally don't go over this memory much anymore because every time you go over a memory, you change that memory. I haven't thought about a lot of these situations in years actually. I trust my memory a little better than some though. Part of the reason for this is that I have generally always written everything down, even when I was a kid. So I would memorize the words, or the story itself apart from my direct memory of it, but associated as well. Which definitely creates memory discrepancies of it's own, but at the same time it solidifies the story somewhat. All I can really do is try to be honest. And honestly, I felt with the entire fiber of my being that I had seen a ghost.

Anyway, until another sleepless night occurs.

If you want to read my life story so far, here are the previous parts.

PART 10 -  http://tinyurl.com/yb734w24

PART 9 - http://tinyurl.com/yc2t6vfw  

PART 8 - http://tinyurl.com/ybl37utq

PART 7 - http://tinyurl.com/ybvo283g

PART 6 - http://tinyurl.com/kbc9dwu

PART 5 - http://tinyurl.com/msnz4am

PART 4 - http://tinyurl.com/k9x8esg

PART 3 - http://tinyurl.com/mwp9atx

PART 2 - http://tinyurl.com/lbt6xq2

PART 1 - http://tinyurl.com/l8xbvg8

[ahouseoflies]

The Best Films of 2018, Part IV

Scroll down for Parts I, II, and III. VERY GOOD MOVIES THAT STILL AREN’T TECHNICALLY GREAT--SEE, I LIED, NEW CATEGORY, WHICH REALLY SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS TIER IN 2018 AND MAYBE HINTS THAT THERE WEREN’T MANY MOVIES THAT I GENUINELY LOVED

44. Hotel Artemis (Drew Pearce)- It should be illegal to watch this movie before midnight because it is an exploitation flick to its core. Is it a problem that it's shaped like a triangle, that it starts wrapping up its answers the minute we understand what the questions were? Yes. Is that a problem that Jeff Goldblum, playing the Wolf King, wearing a double-breasted camel's hair coat like a shawl, can't fix? No.

43. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (Stefano Sollima)- Considering how much I liked Sicario, I'm impressed by how close its sequel came to its chilly hardness. Strangely enough, the craft suffers more from the absence of Jóhann Jóhannsson than it does from the absence of Denis Villeneuve. Aside from a lull at the two-thirds mark and the pulling of exactly one punch, this entry feels as vital and astute as the last one.

Which means the real auteur must be Taylor Sheridan. His script mimics the structure of the original while twisting its characters just askew enough to breathe new life into the material. His screenplays just sort of unfold in a way that I find organic--it's hard to even say what the conflict is until halfway through most of the time. And if he wants to write five more of these, I'll gladly take them.

42. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles)- Like almost anyone else, I'm grateful that The Other Side of the Wind exists at all. The fact that it's so more personal and experimental than I expected is a bonus. It's kind of a mess until it congeals at the drive-in, but every choice still seems labored over. (The claustrophobic nature of the party versus the wide open spaces of the film-within-the-film, for example.) Nonetheless, it's hard to go to bat for a movie whose backstory is more captivating than the final product.

41. The Mule (Clint Eastwood)- Besides the breezy glide of the pacing, the performances stand out. Eastwood's is the type that we haven't seen from him in a while. He smiles a lot. He sings and dances and flirts. He's generally carefree and loopy. And he's contrasted with* a nervy Bradley Cooper in one of those humongous-star-taking-the-back-seat performances, sprinkling charisma the way Sean Connery did in The Untouchables.

But there is no elegance at all. Besides Chekhov's cough and the cheesy elbowing of "If only somebody had $25,000 to save the VFW Hall," we get the messy racial politics of Eastwood once again. Whereas Gran Torino worked for me because it's aware of its own racism, this one thinks that it's doing some good. The subtext is that an old White man would never catch trouble from police, but the text is a Hispanic man getting pulled over and nearly pissing himself for laughs. Hard to argue this isn't a fun time at the movies though, despite the fact that it's almost entirely about regret.

40. If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)- Too theatrical and outre for my taste, but it's easy to get lost in its cosmetic pleasures: the lush colors, the lavish costumes, the immaculate close-ups, the best score of the year. I liked it, especially the Brian Tyree Henry tangent, but as the movie is swooning over itself, it's easy to catch yourself thinking, "What is this even about?"

39. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller)- Can You Ever Forgive Me? hits every beat you would expect from an "in over her head" crime movie, but the time that the film dedicates to the central relationship creates a rare intimacy. If you stopwatched it, I imagine the majority of the film would be McCarthy and Grant talking to each other. That focus, along with a resistance to smoothing over the characters' rougher edges, elevates a kind of boilerplate story.

38. Blockers (Kay Cannon)- Even if the ending is kind of exhausting, desperate to give each character his or her moment, this is hilarious. Not so much in the setpieces showcased in the commercials but frequently in an expression or line reading. The Blu-Ray has a line-o-rama gag reel that is funnier than some entire movies. It's pretty progressive and fair in its portrayal of young female sexuality too.

37. Game Night (John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein)- It gets a little tidy and full circle for my taste, but this movie has some great laughs while being a good example of a film that nails both the characters' "want" and the characters' "need." Rachel McAdams is winning, and Jesse Plemons steals all of his scenes.

Game Night also has way more of a filmic identity than one might expect, since it doubles as a sort of Fincher parody. Besides Cliff Martinez's insistent electronic score and some CGI-for-no-reason establishing shots, Daley and Goldstein borrow the auteur's desaturated palette, locked-down camera, and narrow light range. There's even an elaborate one-r. The visuals elevated a premise that had the potential to be really dopey.

36. First Man (Damien Chazzelle)- I think this is exactly the movie Chazelle wanted to make, but, to match my expectations or his filmography, it's not quite good enough. Cool to the touch, though anything else would be antithetical to who Armstrong was. In the shape of suspense, but with an outcome that is obviously never in doubt. Flipping to the IMAX ratio the second the crew docks onto the moon is a cool trick, but it's as innovative as things get.

The cast is game. Gosling's fastidious brooding resists any of his Movie Star charm but still holds every scene, and the framing of Armstrong's motivation works very well. Foy's reading of "a bunch of boys" is about to become a t-shirt. Kyle Chandler and Jason Clarke and the suddenly mature Patrick Fugit all get their moments. The final scene places the film into the Chazelle tradition of people whose calling is greater than even their most transcendent relationships, and a protest sequence is a welcome break from the eraser-streaked perfectionism.

I'm sorry that I wanted Apollo 13 instead of a hipper Apollo 13.

35. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman)- Within the course of one year, we got two possible solutions for the "problem" of inspiring but self-serious origin stories. At the beginning of the year, Black Panther mastered the form and presented it so solidly that it couldn't be argued against. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse goes the other way, so impressionistic that the final sequence is people flying through abstract shapes and colors, so irreverent that a character cuts someone off mid-sentence as he says, "With great power comes..." Though I would have trouble explaining the film, all of the dimensional comings-and-goings make sense in the moment, and it's easily the funniest Marvel movie ever made.

Maybe purposefully, it is overstuffed though. Six different iterations of Spider-Man is enough to juggle; I definitely didn't need a cadre of villains that was even less defined. I have to admit, even though I couldn't tell you what to cut, I was exhausted by the end, even if I was huffing and puffing fresh air.

34. Boy Erased (Joel Edgerton)- Many characters do bad things in this movie, but they're people trying to help and doing their best, justifying the pain that they're causing. This is a film that easily could have been drawn in caricature, and it never is. It does, however, draw the characters as fairly as they deserve, so the Joel Edgerton gay conversion therapist does wear bad ties and pronounce some words incorrectly. The Russell Crowe character, especially in the powerhouse final scene, is more complex and real, at least if I'm to judge by my own father, who has disturbingly similar moral authority and power moves k thx bai.

33. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Morgan Neville)- This one is more cohesive than 30 Feet From Stardom, but these Morgan Neville docs are sometimes too slick for their own good. If you've never made the "jerking-off motion" with your hand, then you'll be tested when he asks his subjects to close their eyes and imagine someone special to them.

That's not to say that the nearly pornographic reverence of Fred Rogers is not deserved or effective. And one of the most daring notes of the film is the suggestion that, in our hostile times, Rogers's message might not have stuck. The jabs at Trump aren't overplayed, but the president is sort of a pall over the entire film. When Rogers says, "The most essential things in life are invisible," it's hard not to imagine the person on our TV daily who is the antithesis of that idea.

32. Hearts Beat Loud (Brett Haley)- This is a heartwarming movie that ends on a high note with solid music. (Important because, if the music that the father and daughter made had been bad, the whole thing would have fallen apart.) Occasionally, it falls into that ensemble problem of "Good news: We got Ted Danson. Bad news: We have to find something for him to do." And it's a weird sideways ad for Spotify. But if I gave Begin Again three stars, then I have to kick this Once-core entry up to three-and-a-half.

If I may, though, I would like to analyze a recommendation that Offerman's record store owner makes to Collette's character. Since she's buying Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney, he puts her on to Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, an album she has not heard of. Which is absurd. Forget that Animal Collective should not be recommended to any woman ever. Any person who knows Sleater-Kinney also knows Animal Collective. She would have heard of them if only because they would be a bad match for someone who likes Sleater-Kinney. But here he is all like, "Check out 'My Girls'--killer song." You're going to recommend the lead single, fam? You're not even going to go out on a limb and push "Bluish"? No wonder your store is shutting down if you're pushing free folk/art-punk onto riot grrls.

31. Western (Valesta Grisebach)- While I was watching Western, I can't say I was having too much fun. It seemed like an adequate story told in a patient, austere way. But in the days since then, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. The way that Grisebach gets so much out of non-professional actors, the way that each character seems to exist not so much as a person but as a totem for something like aggression or labor or exploitation or occupation. Like few other movies--though Beau Travail comes to mind--it's a portrait of masculinity that seems really resigned about its conclusions. 30. American Animals (Bart Layton)- I worry about the potential Boondock Saints effect of this movie: Do I want to be in the same number as the college dorm crew attracted to it only for its style? Is it only style? I don't think it adds up to much ultimately.

But it does have style, and it's way too fun of a caper flick to resist. It presents an interesting bridge in Bart Layton's career, from non-fiction that is a bit too fictional to fiction that is a bit too factual. The segments with the real people involved in the heist serve as decisive punctuation to the florid sentences of the narrative. I also appreciated that the film didn't dwell too much on the trial, since we know exactly where the boys faltered and what evidence did them in.

29. The Land of Steady Habits (Nicole Holofcener)- I loved the rich characterization of the first half, which resists hand-holding as it plops the viewer into a post-divorce setting that is familiar but specific. The film bounces off into tangents from there, some of which are great, but Edie Falco seems to draw the short straw. There are three actors on the poster--weird-voiced Ben Mendelsohn, Thomas Mann, and Falco--but her character is left undeveloped, a bit unfairly, as the proceedings favor the men. The film is still another ground-rule double for Holofcener, a filmmaker who gives the impression that she has no idea what a ground-rule double is.

28. Private Life (Tamara Jenkins)- I don't know anything about Tamara Jenkins's personal life, but there's no way that the details and emotion of the central couple's infertility don't come from her own pain. That frustration and obsession take center stage, and we get filled in with the rest of the details patiently as the film goes on. I don't think we even know what Giamatti's character does for a living until forty-five minutes in, and that's okay. The movie cares more about the supporting characters than I did, but I appreciated the lived-in realism of an apartment with books filling up the fireplace.

27. Flower (Max Winkler)- Although I didn't believe Zoey Deutch as a seventeen-year-old, I was impressed by this script, which moves slowly until it doesn't. I guess "Flower" is good branding since there doesn't appear to be a movie called that already, but I kind of wish this had just been called "Erica." It builds that character carefully, plants her in an impossible situation, then unleashes hell upon her.

An advantage of a movie with teenage characters is that they don't necessarily have to make the most logical decision in a given moment, so even when these characters are being dumb, they're being true to themselves. As the most prominent Zoey Deutch stockholder in North America, I actually thought about bumping this up an extra half-star.

26. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik)- Leave No Trace is partly about how existing outside of society can be as much of a contrivance as buying in, but the way the movie delivers that message is less ham-fisted than my description due to the intense performances at the center. Ben Foster, uncharacteristically restrained here, reportedly worked with Debra Granik to excise 40% of his dialogue, and that choice speaks volumes about the trust the film has for the audience in limiting the exposition.

The only thing holding me back was how exclusively internal the father-daughter story is. Unlike Granik's Winter's Bone, which functions as both a (similarly compassionate) coming-of-age story and a race-against-the-clock thriller, Leave No Trace is tracking only emotional growth. Will and Tom aren't headed anywhere in particular, which is part of the survival-versus-living point. But, you know, get you a Debra Granik movie that can do both.

25. Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham)- Socially terrifying when it isn't being effortlessly funny. Sometimes the protagonist is downright frustrating, which the film doesn't shy away from, but the vulnerability of Elsie Fisher's performance grounds everything around it. Besides nailing adult condescension, Burnham's script works because the big social disaster is always averted until it suddenly isn't, and that's when the moment hits the hardest. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I kept thinking that perceptive realism is easy to do if that's your only goal. To quote the kids: "Some shade."

I spent most of the movie thanking God that YouTube channels didn't exist when I was thirteen.

24. Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle)- I'll be the millionth person to write "truth is stranger than fiction" with regard to this movie. And sometimes having no idea where a movie will go is enough. 23. Green Book (Peter Farrelly)- When a dramatic director makes a comedy, it often feels self-conscious and overt. I'm thinking about Von Trier's The Boss of It All, in which the technique is more important than any audience joy or release. Or Michael Haneke explaining tirelessly why he thinks Happy End is "actually a comedy." Unsurprisingly, the results work a lot better when a comedy director of twenty years decides to go more serious. He knows what audiences want, he already understands how to wring tension out of each scene, and all he needs is the right subject.

The last item is where Green Book suffers. In the end, this is still a movie in which a White guy learns not to be racist. The first third, there seemingly to insist that Tony is the main character, is shaggy. I would wager the men don't get into the car inside of forty minutes. But once we're on the tour? Man, is this a crowd pleaser. The men's respect for each other grows gracefully, and the film's proud sentimentality powers its best moments as they fly by at a clipped pace. I had given up on Farrelly after Hall Pass, which felt amateurish, so a work of such professionally manicured (manufactured?) emotion was a shock.

On a different note, are any of you interested in a thousand words on Linda Cardellini's posture?

22. Den of Thieves (Christian Gudegast)- Despite the February release date, a director with no track record, and the most #basic studio lead there is, Den of Thieves is a caper film as sprawling as it is humane. Even Potato-face Butler is perfect for his role.

I watched the unrated version, which should be called the "depressing version," since I know exactly what was cut. (Hint: The wordless scene of Butler's jilted family ignoring him when he sees them in the grocery store, not anything from the shoot-out.) There's a spot where I would end the movie, and it's way before the Keyser Soze epilogue, but this was a welcome surprise for me. The movie seems to find its star in O'Shea Jackson, Jr. as it goes, and I completely agree. Many more like this please.

21. The Front Runner (Jason Reitman)- Reitman starts with a complicated oner that cranes up and down, zooms in and out of new characters, and times itself perfectly to catch snatches of conversations about "how can you even lay this much cable?" And in all of its Altman-esque indulgence, it's kind of the movie in a nutshell. Something simple--a scene shot with one take--commenting on how damned hard it is. What seems like a straightforward thesis moves at a breakneck pace with a game ensemble until you realize that it was all more complicated than it seemed.

Hugh Jackman has the challenge of playing someone essentially unknowable, but he has an amazing moment in the first third. On the chartered boat called Monkey Business--such a bad look, dude--Gary Hart is composed and dignified until a woman we don't see* sits down across from him, and his whole affect changes. His guard drops, and he seems absorbed by her, giggly. We can't hear what he's saying, but he's asking her about herself and joking about himself. Both or one or neither of those personalities is the real guy. The Front Runner is a movie about a tragic Great Man, and they're always described as if they can't help themselves, as if they're fighting their demons until the magic moment when they aren't. Jackman made that magic real for me when Hart's personality fell out.

20. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)- Patently uneven and bizarrely sequenced, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs doesn't stack up to the Coens' major works--though it demands another viewing. I did think, in all of its bleak absurdism, that it belongs in their neighborhood. To me, there's a dichotomy that most of the brothers' films trace. We're all doomed, but the force that does us in is sometimes fate (A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Hudsucker Proxy, No Country for Old Men) and sometimes the stupidity of other people (The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, Burn After Reading, Miller's Crossing). This new movie seems to start with the latter, waver sometimes in the more interesting middle stories when Zoe Kazan and Tom Waits break my heart, then end up at the former. Tracking such a thing in miniature can be really instructive.

19. The Tale (Jennifer Fox)- If you can look past Common's goofy voice and the more afterschool special aspects of this movie, then you can realize that it should actually, as disturbing as it is, be an afterschool special. It spins its wheels sometimes, but the questions that this movie asks about memory and abuse are invaluable. Presenting a downright shocking portrayal of grooming and secrecy, it avoids easy answers and over-sympathizing with the protagonist all the way through. (Especially notable because the character is "Jennifer Fox," and the director is Jennifer Fox.)

Laura Dern remains Laura Dern, but I loved Jason Ritter in this. Exactly because he has been in a hundred failed sitcoms, he is terrifying here as a devilish knock-off of the type of guy approachable enough to be on TV.

18. Paddington 2 (Paul King)- At first, during the extended introduction, I was worried that Paddington 2 was falling prey to the curse of the sequel: more, not better. But as each family member pays off what we learned about him or her in the introduction during a sprightly train setpiece that owes more than a little to Keaton, I realized that I shouldn't have doubted the Paddington empathy machine. This one carries over the humor and sweetness but goes even harder on the pathos in its attempt to convince us to have good manners and care about the people around us. I'm not sure any other movie this year hit me harder than when the Browns don't show up for their weekly meeting at the jail.

Hugh Grant, an actor who always seems to be having fun, has never seemed as if he is having more fun.

17. Set It Up (Claire Scanlon)- I guess I believe in true love now.

16. Blindspotting (Carlos Lopez Estrada)- The stylized climax is going to be polarizing, but I thought it was a heightened, artful moment whose seeds had been sown throughout. The film meanders, but its angles on subjects like gentrification and probation and identity show tenderness and openness, and Estrada's visual energy recalls early Spike Lee or Jarmusch or Aronofsky. It's worth seeing if only for its fresh sense of place.

The two leads play off each other especially well. If Daveed Diggs is the fourth lead or whatever of Hamilton, then I guess I finally have to see it.

15. Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird)- Incredibles 2 is a good example of a sequel rhyming with the original in a way that doesn’t feel like a retread. Accidentally topical in its subtext about just rule of law, the film hits upon some of Brad Bird’s ideas of exceptionalism and hope for the future while being slightly more cogent in that messaging than the original. (Slightly. The villain problem is still there. If superheroes are already illegal, then why employ and promote them at all if your goal is to make them even more illegal?)

This entry is a bit more overstuffed, less timeless, and less funny than the original. There’s nothing on the level of “Honey, where is my super suit?” which I still say to my wife fourteen years later. But the fight choreography and the textural animation take advantage of the gap in between films. The Paar family dynamic is altered only slightly, but it’s enough to re-invent the proceedings. Violet has more confidence in herself, Dash is more in control of his powers, and it’s the, yes, thicc Elastigirl who is working solo this time. Especially in the opening sequence, we see how each character’s skills complement the others’. If Finding Dory is the bar for “sequels to Pixar movies that didn’t need sequels,” then Incredibles 2 leaps over that bar.

14. Chappaquiddick (John Curran)- "We need to tell the truth. Or at least our version of it."

After the Kennedy Curse claimed JFK Jr., it seemed as if the culture reached a saturation point with Kennedy coverage. Aside from the occasional "Look who's dating Taylor Swift," we gave them their space. Who would have thought that twenty years later would be the perfect time to dust off the coldest case in the dossier?

See, now that we're having a national conversation about who gets the breaks, there's a little bit of extra weight lent to a scene of Ted Kennedy waiting for a sheriff he summoned as he drafts a statement at that absent sheriff's desk. A sheriff who then helps Kennedy to escape through a backdoor lest he answer any untoward question about his manslaughter. The film is delivered with an even pitch--especially the Jason Clarke performance that could have been overdone--but it makes no mistake about its real subject: privilege.

The attempts to keep Kennedy safe become more brazen as the film goes on, and each dodged consequence--getting Teddy's driver's license renewed on the low, for example--is balanced by Ed Helms's desperate performance as a voice of integrity. In all of the best tragedies, we know what's going to happen in the end. All along, the Kennedy Curse was that they are not like the rest of us.

13. Love, Simon (Greg Berlanti)- Can we all agree that an anonymous gossip web site for a high school is a bad idea? And that, though the film doesn't pursue this angle, the vice principal is the one maintaining it?

This propulsive, observant, and witty movie is an outright pleasure from beginning to end. Hocking spitballs at its PG-13 rating, its greatest strengths are having the courage to get dark and having the wisdom to give every supporting character his or her own moment.

[s3venpounds]

1-64. 65 What is the worst thing you have ever done to a friend?

65 questionsssssssssss yeeeeeeeeee boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii letsss fucking goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thanks for the ask btw! also sorry for late reply

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

honestly sometimes, the whole “ life is a simulation” got me kinda scared ya never know

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

1. because im not afraid of the dark im afraid of what can be in it that im not aware of

3. The person you would never want to meet?

idk. cuz if i say someone i hate then i can’t physically meet them to punch them

4. What is your favorite word?

love

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

idk whichever lives for millions of years i wanna be like those giant ass trees that you see in animes that are like whole cities wide

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

should i finally cut my hair? or do i perservere

7. What shirt are you wearing?

my ed sheeran concert shirt

8. What do you label yourself as?

someone with the capacity of good but chooses to be an asshole

9. Bright room or dark room?

bright room

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

seeing if my new friends were playing games so i can join

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

21

12. Who told you they loved you last?

off the top of my head? my mom pretty sure. 

13. Your worst enemy?

myself, my fears, hesitation and past mistakes?

14. What is your current desktop picture?

its a picture of hinata shoyo from Haikyuu!! doing a spike with wings on his back!

15. Do you like someone?

yes.

16. The last song you listened to?

Jacob Lee Slip

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

trump

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

trump. and i want like brass knuckles when i punch. 

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

probably a volleyball coach/ trainer or a professional volleyball player to just drill basics into me and make me a better player. (that or just gal gadot to like help me clean up my life and give me life advice)

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

i guess my energy? its a fucking mess though cuz sometimes i get tired after like 4 minutes of activity but then sometimes i get like a second wind and i just go for hours 

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

i mean there was that snapchat trend of every guy making a female version of themselves so i guess theres that. i would definitely try anything i could. periods, cramps, catcalls, masturbating anything i could so i truly understand what women have to go through every day of their lives

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

im a very open person so most of my obscure talents are known but i am kinda proud of how i can name pokemon by just hearing their cries limited to like the first 3 generations tho lmao

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

what happens after we die

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

i wanna make the most bougie sandwich in the world. I want abelone, puffin, black truffle, caviar, just all that super high end shit

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

save it. im going on a trip somewhere out of the city and i could use the extra pocket money

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

venice italy. no question.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?

oh shit booze! i love me some booze! i guess it would have to be like smirnoff kissed caramel vodka, or this one whiskey i saw a video of irish people drinking american whiskeys

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? 

dont be a fucking dickhead idk. i can’t make concrete rules cuz theres loopholes

29. What is your favorite expletive?

definitely fuck just because i say it more than actual normal words

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

haha “loved ones” lmao. oh uhhh my letters from D.O when we were kids. that or my journal

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

my dads abuse. oh wait no then thats free forgiveness for him lmao no uhhh one of my past relationships. it was a mess and i still struggle a little with it

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

Venice italy. that or greece or rome idk. i really like their aesthetic with small white houses, small walkways and all that

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

Steve irwin or Robin williams. or just to make a couple people near me happy, Kyle Fundytus

34. What was your last dream about?

uhhh I kissed the person I’m currently interested in. not just a normal dream too I felt everything. it was crazy. Felt, their hands, warmth, lips, body against mine and even their skin it was just magical.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

boyfriend? honestly? idk. i’d like to think that i am but from what I know apparently im not

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

yes and no? i guess? i had one of those shots you give to enfants when their family is moving to a new country and i still have the scar so possibly? i mean technically any baby born in a hospital has been admitted to one lmao

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

YES AND SOME OLDER KIDS BROKE IT DOWN AND USED IT AS A BENCH . I fought them and got sent tot he principals office

38. What is the color of your socks?

im not wearing any.... but i do have a favourite pair of green ones that have a print of pringles sour cream n onion on it!

39. What type of music do you like?

Jazz, big band, kpop, RNB, rap, rock, swing music, electro...? sort of?

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

i can’t choose, I love both and have fond memories of both

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

Vanilaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa maybe some caramel in it

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)

uhh i dont know much about football but i can say i would support my local team edmonton eskimos

43. Do you have any scars?

a ton! i love em! its like the sentimental stuff i keep in my closet but on my body and i always trace my finger over them whenever im just in the mood to reminisce

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

im not currently taking the courses i need to get my dream job but i’d love to be a power ranger either the stunt double or the cheesy actor. that or a school councilor

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

how dependant i am on others. i hate it. if i was alone i dont think i’d survive. i need other people

46. Are you reliable?

I like to think that i am though again, you’d have to ask my friends

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

Did you find her?

48. Do you hold grudges?

hell.yes. if you couldnt tell i reallllllllllly hate my dad. like really.

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

whatever animals it takes to make dragons a thing again

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

I would have to say when this random stranger came up to me to complain about the transit system because the one in vancouver was so much better apparently. dude went on a 20 minute rant and i just drowned him out with music and pretended to “pause” my music while nodding like i understood

51. Are you a good liar?

not sure. I think i am considering my parents dont know half the shit i did AHEHEHEHE

52. How long could you go without talking?

couple days. long as i got my music.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

god there was this one christmas where my parents gave me like a stereotypical suburban kid hair cut where the whole head is like flattened with hair gel the at the forehead its just a tall wall of spiked hair. BUT HERES THE KICKER. they dyed half the wall red and half green for christmas. god it was awful

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

does cheesecake cupcakes count?

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

ive been told i can do a good russian one, chinese too

56. What do you like on your toast?

nutella omg. fresh toast with gooey nutella? god its so good

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

uhmmm some secret stuff for a friends personal project

58. What would be you dream car?

Dodge Viper

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

I love singing in the shower when no ones home. I can only sing when no ones home cuz the walls in this house are thin AS FUCK. 

60. Do you believe in aliens?

i believe we’re not the only ones out here but due to how we’re literally killing our own kind and planet for no good reason they choose to ignore us

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

yep! all the time! whenever i get my hands on the local paper i read my horoscope while i wait on the train or if theres a horoscope thing on tumblr!

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

X idk x is just cool

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

dragons are you kidding me? dragons are dinosaurs that can fly. AND BREATHE FIRE

64. What do you think about babies?

I dont think im a good father figure but spending time with kids is a pretty okay time for me long as its not long term lmao 

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of.

What is the worst thing you have ever done to a friend?

I punched them full force in the stomach for calling me emo. it was a bad day but lo and behold that person became my best friend loooooooooooool

[survivorcostarica]

Ep. 1 - “Imagine suffering, imagine euthanizing yourself, imagine losing your will to continue on...” - Randy

i cant see pls send imitrex

i have a crush on cole, i'm in this game and virgin islands with him and i really like talking to him.  he is really genuine and easy to talk to, i feel ridiculous for admitting this but this was the first thing i thought to confess about lol

I want to shoot myself in the fucking face what is my tribe?! 

Cole is such a messy thot, Kevin is that but without being remotely good at the game, Arika and Julia are best friends IRL and 1000% will be working together. Louise is a fucking saint but that also terrifies me because I can't do shit against her without being a terrible person. At least Madison is really down to earth and chill even thought I've known her for two days and met her on Club Penguin. I don't know Bryce, Noah or the other one so they're 1000% my go to people right now.

Ohkay hi hi. My name is Bryan and I’m here to try and NOT flop at this game. Ok sooo. I’m looking at my tribe and i notice. My best friend Madison is here. Just kidding i HATE her. Or at least that’s what i will want people to think so we aren’t targeted for our friendship or whatever cuz we had BEEF in our last game. Um. Josh is also here. I was in another game with him but i didn’t really get to talk to him that much. Other than that cole and Kevin seem nice enough and are talkative so that’s good. I guess I’ll just be able to talk more with other people later.

Imagine suffering, imagine euthanizing yourself, imagine losing your will to continue on in an ORG you were last minute filled into. I literally hate this whole tribe so much, and I'm going into this game with the mindset that we are losing every single immunity and reward. When I saw the first three cast reveal posts i prayed i wasnt on the orange tribe. i actually believed and god, and asked him for forgiveness for all the sins ive committed and pleaded my case to on why i shouldnt be on this tribe. but, alas here i am. so its time to play i guess I'm not good with social game, and thats why i usually fail at survivor. I always have a good first few days, but then its just me being inactive and skirmming my way until my inevitable premerge eviction. But in this game im literally going to pull all the stops i can. I will start to set up my reputation as a good survivor player. And it starts here. Even if nobody pms me I will take this game by storm. Meaning right now its getting good with the influential such as Jay and Drew. They have a few buds on the other tribe, and working with them can only help me when we hit merge. i'm also going to keep Chrissa tight because she is just such a good ally, but its also going to be hard to protect her as she is such a shit competitor. But thats all plans let me talk about to cast Cameron: Love cameron our last org played together we made final 3, and he asked me to cut him. I will keep him under my sphere of influence especially since he said he isnt familiar with this group of players Chrissa: I also love chrissa. She can be a little annoying sometimes, but she always has good intentions. She is fiercely loyal, and thats something great to have in an ally because numbers are more important in survivor than big brother Constance: I don't like him. I want nothing to do with him. The closest association I ever had with constance was us two being on the same cast reveal post. And I'm far more than content with that interaction. He's from facebook, and that means he is going to stir the pot when there isn't any stirring necessary. He is going to make a move just to make a move, and if I cut him earlier the better. But if I can work with him, and test and experience how he plays this game. I do think it would be more entertaining Drew: I have good relations with him but really havent played an org with him. I have no intentions on backstabbing him especially in this cast. I do think he will either slide into the shadows, or emerge as the person calling the shots for this tribe. Jay: Same as Drew tbh. They're together as a duo, so anything one does the other will follow. I'm not going to beef with him Jill: I haven't met Jill before this. but she is the driest person i have pm'd in a while. Me and her are having forced small talk, but i dont want to lose connections with her yet. I'm hoping she isnt well liked or well received so she can leave. Reagan: Me and her have butted heads so many times in vls. If you wanted a fight. Its going to be between me and her i bet your hat. Sam: I dont know if he's a newbie or from a community. But me and him kicked things off really well, and I'm feeling natural chemistry with him. I'll keep him near my sphere of influence for sure. Roxy: Going against Roxy is such a stupid move. Because she's just going to waste her whole entire game trying to vote you off. She gets really bitter easily, and i dont know what the hell she's saying half of the time. I dont understand her game or her mouth so im just gonna let her be...

[12:25:40 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: dam stop tryna out do my intro  do I have to add my likes too?  tch [12:25:48 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: I like big BUTTS and I cannot lie [12:25:53 PM] Chrissa Bullard: lol [12:26:54 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: okay Ill admit idc about the size of your butt [12:27:01 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: even if you have a small butt id still potentially like u [12:27:12 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: but yall are gay so like  what can a straight gal like me do [12:27:29 PM] Chrissa Bullard: hello sam and roxy with her butt equality [12:29:22 PM] Jill: if u wanna be my friend add me and SAY hey bc i forget to add people [12:29:53 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: and I say HEY what a wonderful kinda day [12:29:54 PM] Jill: also msg me ur pronouns thanks [12:29:57 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: you can learn and work and play [12:30:26 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: my pronouns are "my lord" and "your highness" [12:30:51 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: I said I was a she cause dan didn't take me seriously even tho imma hella serious [12:30:52 PM] Cameron Bee-Culpepper (Atomic Admin): my pronouns are he/they and they are actually serious :) [12:31:02 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: oi how dare you say I aint serious [12:31:36 PM] Chrissa Bullard: your highness is serious do not get my lords pronouns wrong :P [12:31:41 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: :/ I'm the lord and the queen roxy herself [12:31:42 PM] Chrissa Bullard: seriously though [12:31:47 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: of course my pronoun is your highness [12:31:57 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: thank you ! see? chrissa gets it! [12:32:02 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: look I even have a crown as proof [12:32:07 PM] Chrissa Bullard: true [12:32:13 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: i trans-itioned from being a commoner to being a queen [12:32:51 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: also if i don't pm you its cause i avoid social interactions at all times [12:33:00 PM] Chrissa Bullard: a mood [12:33:05 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: and i haven't left  my house in 9 days [12:33:13 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: apart from an hour once to go to the gym [12:33:17 PM] 👑 Queen Roxy 👑: i haven't recovered since i take medicine. its called coffee. it helps releave the symptoms of being dead inside

My tribe is probably going to be useless. Which means that we have to turn it OUT for immunity. Randy, Roxy and I are all attempting to make flags. I have faith in Randy's abilities... roxy, not so much. But she does have a good artistic ability, so I hope she turns it out for this. We can hope. We can hope.

Blah blah blah. Confessional confessional. The immunity comp is a flag making competition. Which means i can’t really participate. The one we have so far tho is super cute!! There’s a Julia on our tribe. I have to start learning people’s names. Ugh. Too much work. 

I think like our tribe will win immunity, looking at cadejo’s scores, they seem like flops I mean that tribe is super ugly so ya know… cute is gonna devour gorgeous. Anyways Anthony is doing great at the flag I gave him the ideas, he executed them for me so everyone is great. Also i got this red KEY

I really don't like my tribe but I think I like the other tribe even less just from the few people I've encountered before or at the very least heard about. If anything though that's great for me because I have all of two or three people I remotely care about so I have no issues with taking people out.

RANDY'S FLAG LOOKS TERRIBLE! but we're going with that one anyway!!! even though its literally furry meme nonsense!!! so i hope to god i dont get targetted when we lose bc i made an effort not to be a grumpy ass beyotch!

ummm roxy said she and sam wanna align with me!! it's so early!!! I may work with Reagan bc we worked together previously I think!! Everyone else seems fine. I'm gunna msg drew and everyone else tomorrow or later and say hey I've been napping!!! Go team

I honestly think im going because peop le don't tell me anything I'm scared 

[3/28/18, 1:55:57 AM] Drew (heuse1ac): "I love y-...ughch..." [3/28/18, 1:56:05 AM] Drew (heuse1ac): Cameron 2k18 im just gonna put this here ;)

Anyway. Here's some tea. Roxy thinks I talk too much about being in the hospital. Sorry sweaty, I'm disabled, I'm gonna be in the hospital. And I have the right to talk about whatever I want. ANYWAY, Constance, the literal loml, gave me this tea so that's great. I LOVE HIM. So we made an alliance of me and drew, because drew has a "bad reputation" (sweetie, you were the one making tasteless comments night one, let's not get it twisted here!!) We talk a bunch, we have good laughs, and we head to bed. I went into this round wanting to target Roxy anyway, but she just went painted a bullseye on her back for me!

This first round felt so nostalgic to me, in the sense that being gone from these games for a while allowed me to step back and revitalize the way that I play games. In the beginning of the game, I felt an immediate connection with Cameron. He is someone who has a really nice, personable outlook as a person and I could see myself becoming really good allies and friends outside of this game. I also really enjoy Drew, Sam and Jill. Drew: I was excited to see him in this game because we just met a few days before the game started because he flirted with me a little and I thought he was a nice guy in general. I haven't had the chance of getting to know him all that well yet, though he stated to me that he will not write my name down throughout the game when we were first added to the tribe, so I hope that stays as promised. Sam: We both come from the same community but we both individually transferred to Tumblr at different points in time. I don't know him well enough to say he could be someone I stay with for the long run, but I have had a few calls with him and he seems pretty straightforward about what he wants in this game and where he wants to go. I'll leave it at that for now. Jill: She is literally everything that is me. "I'm going to see my sugar daddy," "I am eating a whole barbecque chicken pizza to myself," "I need money" I LOVE THIS CHICK! We need to align and become friends for sure because I can't see myself without her! One smaller relationship I have is with Chrissa and that will require some work on my part, both game wise and friend wise included. We had a rough past on a personal note but we are working our ways around it to become friends again on a personal level, not even on a game level. I feel like if Chrissa is able to handle herself in this game with me the way she did in Arrakis ages ago, she should be good to go with me! The people I really don't talk with or connect with right now are Jay, Roxy, Randy and Regan. - Jay just hasn't spoken a lot, but that may be subject to change? - Regan has this huge negative perception that everyone has given about her and I'm honestly not about holding past games or whatnot against anyone. If she is as crazy or as ballistic as people say she is then that will happen on it's own accord. - Randy is..Randy. I'm not really putting a whole lot here. He comes off extremely weird to me and I'm not feeling it. - Roxy and Randy both share the same trait they don't mind expressing: their messy players. I'm not one to want to play with people who are going to knowingly make things difficult for me in this game moving forward. I feel like getting out people who tend to be wildcards for my individual game will boost my ability to better know the personalities I surround myself with. Intended Target: Roxy Reason: I had a call with Sam and discussed some feelings about the challenge for the flag that had taken place. In my individual opinion, expressing the idea of putting in effort for a challenge and then doing the opposite of what you said you would do, shows a false sense of sportsmanship and that bothers me. Roxy said she would make a temporary flag as a concept, but never did and constantly said "I'm lazy, so I don't want to do it." Adding on to the reason above, I was asked if I wanted to be added to a call with Sam by Roxy as they were both speaking with each other and I said I wouldn't mind joining. We both tried asking Roxy about potential ideas for the vote off and Roxy made it clear that Regan would be too easy to get rid of. Then came the critical point of the conversation where Roxy would bring up Cameron and Drew's names, stating that Drew apparently has a bad or weird reputation in the Tumblr community of games, but this is COSTA RICA not any other game. She also stated in regards to Cameron word for word that, "I just think Cameron talks about themselves too much in the main chat, and that brings people to feel for them more, and that makes them look bad" and this was in relation to when Cameron stated he was in the hospital. I found that to be extremely bothersome because otherwise, Cameron has never talked about himself constantly or anything like that. My intentions are to pull myself, Drew, Cameron, Jill, Sam and Jay to vote out Roxy. I started the idea when I asked Sam on call blatantly and he agreed and I calmly took it by step. That's all I have folks! I hope this works out and if for some odd reason I go home first, well then it was fun while it lasted! 

Okay so I need to catch yall up on how shit can turn into bliss SO reward I literally ate shit in. i scored to lowest out of everybody in the whole cast. Making myself inferior to competition flops like Chrissa. So that wasnt really well. However my soccial game has been stepping up. Even though im lacking a little bit in the pm part of my game. I have been having good chemistry with literally everybody in the tribe chat. I have also led us in the flag immunity. So me and Cameron made a flag. And the tribe had to pick which one, and it was pretty set even. I do think the end result wouldve been the same but it was nice to see people on my side and supporting me. So then we lose the tribal flag, and im literally yeeted away from the tribe. Which is really good since with this tribal vote i wouldve been thrown under the bus. allegedely roxy has been throwing names around, and had i stayed in the tribe it might of been my name that was thrown around since it was my flag that lost. so im happy to avoid the drama of the first vote. but now that people have bonded since roxy's polarization im starting to become more outcasted. I just need go stronger for immunities and amp up my social game even more. Since ive been to the other tribe I have a feeling on whats happening. Cole is aligned with all them bitches. Literally Madison Louise are people he's played with before, and when we talked in pms he said this tribe is full of his friends. He is very safe in his tribe which is really nice. Since the League of Gays need to work together at the merge : ~)

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Sevilla return to Copa del Rey final, a tonic amid a difficult season

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Sevilla return to Copa del Rey final, a tonic amid a difficult season

Sevilla’s win over Leganes puts them in another cup final, one in which they feel they belong. Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images

“I want to apologise,” Sevilla coach Vicenzo Montella said. “It hurt,”

It hurt the fans most of all, but it didn’t take long for he and his players to be forgiven. Disaster became delirium in four days. On Sunday morning, Sevilla Futbol Club were a goal down after 40 seconds and were hammered 5-1 at Ipurua, the second time they had conceded five in five games. By the following Wednesday night, they were celebrating reaching the Copa del Rey final on Apr. 21 at the Wanda Metropolitano, or Mestalla, or the Cartuja or, well, somewhere.

Wherever they eventually play, and when they face Barcelona, it will be Sevilla’s fourth Copa del Rey final in 11 years and their 17th final in all competitions since 2006. This has been their decade, the best days of their lives. They’ve enjoyed 17 finals in 12 years when there had only been five in their entire history before that. The day that they reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Middlesborough, they’d gone 44 years without reaching a final and 58 without winning a title.

Something shifted that night against ‘Boro when they won the first of nine titles: two UEFA cups, three Europa Leagues, a Spanish Super Cup and and a European Super Cu. Now they have a chance to win a third Copa del Rey since 2006. This will be their ninth final: against Sabadell in 1935, Racing Ferrol in 1939, Celta in 1948, Athletic in 1955, Real Madrid in 1962, Getafe in 2007, Atletico in 2010, Barcelona in 2016. Now they meet Barcelona again, two years on.

“I’m very, very happy; I’m also pretty tired,” said Montella after the semifinal, second leg victory against Leganes. “The emotion is huge,” said Joaquin Correa. “This is a reward after how difficult it has been.”

“Difficult” is one word. Bluntly put, bad is another because here’s the thing, the inescapable truth: for much of this season, Sevilla really haven’t been very good at all. For most of this month, they haven’t been either. In fact, they’ve been pretty awful.

Sevilla sacked manager Eduardo Berizzo just days after he underwent surgery for cancer and a few days before Christmas. The team was through to the last-16 of the Champions League and fifth in the table, but it was not enough. Position is one thing, performance another. They approached three managers, eventually settling on Montella, but things didn’t improve. His first game at home was the Seville derby and by the end of the night, he admitted: “this makes me very sad.”

Not half as sad as the rest of them.

Sevilla were beaten that night for the first time in eight derbies: “Betis burn Nervion,” ran the headline in El Pais. It finished 5-3 to the visitors and prompted 500 Betis fans to celebrate high in the corner long after the stadium had emptied and fallen silent. “It’s hard to take,” admitted striker Wissam Ben Yedder, but that was just the start. In January, they won only once in the league: 3-0 at Espanyol. Alaves beat them 1-0, they drew at home with Getafe and then were hammered 5-1 at Eibar.

At the end of the defeat at Alaves, Nolito approached the fans in one corner and made an embracing gesture as if to ask for forgiveness and support. “Now that we’re going through a dip, we need to support each other,” he told them. “It’s the attitude; you can’t just walk around the pitch,” replied one supporter, standing in the front row. “I know, I know,” said Nolito. “We suffer too when we lose, our families [suffer], you [suffer], all of us do.”

The following day, a group of 30 fans turned up at the club’s training ground and spoke to the sporting director, Oscar Arias, and the club captains, making clear how unhappy they were. Pressure and protest, it was denounced by most, but some thought it necessary.

This was Arias’ first crisis in his first season. In that context, it was tempting to see Sevilla’s ills as something a little deeper, possibly even permanent. After 17 years, the sporting director Monchi had departed. Often seen as the architect of their success — the man who, more than anyone else, built this team and this era — his departure was always likely to be a traumatic one. It was, at very least, a step into the unknown. What they were finding didn’t look good and there was none of that confidence they would come through it like they always had been before. He brought players, sure, but he brought tranquility too.

The loss of sporting director Monchi stung but Montella is trying to revive Sevilla as they embark on a new era. Fran Santiago/Action Plus via Getty Images

Under him, every year Sevilla sold players, their best footballers departing — from Sergio Ramos to Julio Baptista, Jesus Navas to Dani Alves, Ivan Rakitic to Carlos Bacca — but somehow they kept winning. They normalised such sales to the point where it didn’t even seem to matter, where there was no panic. But this was different; this was Monchi, the system itself.

It wasn’t just the signing and the selling. As they prepared for the Europa League final in 2016 he was handling everything, right down to the players’ luggage and tickets for the families. Monchi was Sevilla. Before Christmas, Steven N’Zonzi had found himself removed from the Sevilla team having fallen out with Berrizzo; it seemed his days at the Pizjuan were over. Lost amid the things that were said was a line that appeared to explain a lot. “With Monchi, this would have been sorted in five minutes,” said N’Zonzi.

With Montella’s arrival, N’Zonzi’s own situation was resolved but their collective malaise was another matter. January was a difficult month and there was no immediate recovery, no simple remedy. Instead, some feared that the crisis would continue.

Yet if that Sevilla seemed to have gone, something of that Sevilla remained, something of what they have become over the last decade; not just on the pitch but in the stands too, where the demands are high but the communion is complete. There is something about the Sanchez Pizjuan, that’s for sure, and reaching finals became something they do. It’s their thing. It feels right.

It does not feel like coincidence that Sevilla’s anthem is arguably the most impressive and most moving in Spain, belted out before kick-off. Nor that even in bad times, there are good moments. Moments of rebellion, pride. Like Liverpool: 3-0 down at half-time, they came back to draw 3-3. And above all, like the Copa del Rey, some glory to grab hold of.

“Sevilla have won important things in recent years and can fight with anyone,” said Arias. “We did it with teams like Atletico Madrid, who took two of our best players off of us.” Vitolo and Kevin Gameiro were at the Wanda playing for Atletico when Sevilla went there and won before beating them at home to reach the semifinal against Leganes.

“Sevilla is a cart that rolls on and everyone who climbs on board rolls on too, thanks to the momentum – with Monchi or without Monchi, with Andres Palop or Sergio Rico, with Coke or Navas,” said Antonio Alvarez, the last manager to win the Copa del Rey with the club. “The structures are strong and the club is maintained.”

More importantly, perhaps, so is the spirit. Sevilla have been beaten just once at the Pizjuan in over a year (even if that was by Betis) and they have not lost a Copa del Rey game there since December of 2013. On Wednesday night against Leganes, they won 2-0.

“We played with Sevillista spirit,” said Montella.

Before the midweek match, a huge banner was unfurled. “What I most want is to be a champion again,” it said. “All together, take me back to the final.” So Sevilla did. Club president Jose Castro had faced abuse when they lost the derby; now he was beaming. “Once we know where it’ll be played, the board wants to make an economic effort for the fans so that they can go to the final because there have been a lot of them lately,” he said.

[yatterzuk]

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap

Hey there Clammers!

TinyCo announced recently that they wanted to try out a Live Q&A on their Facebook Page, and a bit like their previous Reddit AMA  there were mixed feelings about them doing this, but I think it was long overdue that they reach out to the community again and as much as this didn’t go quite as I’d hoped, (more on that later), hopefully it’s a start.

For those of you who missed the Q&A, it was live on Monday 20th March, and you can still watch it in full via TinyCo’s official Family Guy Quest For Stuff Facebook page, but incase you don’t want to go there, I’m going share my thoughts on what was a rather unusual Live Q&A for me.

THE TINYCO TEAM

Left to Right we have: Jason (Lead Artist); Jay (Lead Producer); Kimberley (Narrative Designer); Damon (Animator) and Kate (Lead Community Support).

THE LIVE Q&A – MY THOUGHTS

Now this was a 30 minute forum, and I’m not going to sit and do a word by word transcript as I’m not sure who would lose the will to live first, me writing it or you reading it. Instead I’m going pull out and highlight any interesting info and just give my general thoughts on what worked in this format, and of course what didn’t.

I’m going to be straight up honest before we go much further and say I was disappointed by the way the Live Q&A went, and I don’t mean due to the comments and questions being hijacked by trolls. No, it was the fact that from the outset this whole Live Q&A came over as very scripted, like when politicians give a Live Q&A briefing but the questions have actually been wrote by their own team and the answers rehearsed earlier, this just lacked the spontaneity i associate with a Live Q&A. I’m sorry TinyCo but this was the way it came across, the questions were too much about the Team and not the game. And that’s not the type of questions we see day in day out from players.

There was possibly too much talk about who the guyswere, where they came from and the Family Guy show rather than the game itself, after half an hour of listening I feel I learned very little about the game I didn’t already know but I sure as hell felt like I’d known the TinyCo guys all my life. I felt by the time things ended I wanted get them all friendship bracelets as a token of my affection, lol. And hey, maybe that was the point of it, so we’d get to know them as people and not just TinyCo employees, and hey they all seemed awfully nice but by doing this the Live Q&A lacked spontaneity, fun, the unexpected and the down right bizarre that anything linked to Family Guy usually demands.

It also seemed to lack a lot of player questions, the whole point of going live is to answer questions that aren’t only asked before but actually asked live on the timeline, encouraging quick fire and fun responses. Check out this Addicts LIVE stream to see what I mean. Instead I sensed some nerves from the guys, although not the gals, and pre-rehearsed responses to pre-set questions. I’m sorry if that wasn’t the case but it’s certainly how it came across listening to it live.

So that’s my main criticism, and as this was a first outing I can forgive that, I guess some performance nerves combined with not knowing what to expect from what can at times be a very hostile Facebook audience, probably made this a who drew the short straw jaunt for the guys we got to meet. But on my 2nd, and 3rd listen of the Live Q&A  I started to look past this and pull out little bits of info I thought players might want to hear about, and yes I’m going share them with you soon.

I’m also hoping if you watched the Live Stream you’d give us your thoughts in the comments. But please no hating, this isn’t what this post is about, it’s about saying a little Thanks to the TinyCo guys for making the effort but also telling them what worked and what didn’t in order when the next Live Q&A happens we might see more of our questions and less strategically planned answers. Also we might see a bit more interaction with what’s going on on Facebook as they chat, I’d have loved for one the guys to have joked about sending them some love and likes as that sea of little angry faces ran across the bottom of my Facebook screen. You know an instant reaction but in a joking way, jesting with us, playing with us, truly interacting with us. Even a “hey you guys, stop mocking us” in their best Stewie voice. Sometimes it’s ok to show us you’re only human after all…..

THE LIVE Q&A – WHAT THE TINYCO TEAM TOLD US

Well they told us a lot about themselves, which I’m guessing most of you don’t want to know so I’ll try to be brief. But suffice to say, although they weren’t jumping up and down Tiny Tom style they all appeared to love working on FGQFS as much as some of us love playing it. Even Kate, who surely has the toughest job of any at times.

Here’s a few of the things they said about working on FGQFS: It’s a dream; It’s wonderful; It’s great; Every day is different; Can’t wait to go to work everyday; Paid to do what we love; Get to spend the day making stuff up and playing; Team is like a family; Gives you an adrenalin rush and that’s despite the long hours, stress, the brutal nature of the mobile gaming industry and even at times being so busy you end up sleeping in the office.

They are also all big Family Guy fans, they said this about the show: Love the humour; The random nature of the show; How it always comes back to family & friendship; It’s got heart at the centre of it.

And Brian & Stewie seem to be their favourite characters from the show, so it must frustrate them as much as us they can’t use Stewie more. But it’s great to know they all have a passion for the game, and want to be there devising content and events for us for a long time.

Now the second overall thing I took from this is the way they all talked about the game going forward, as let’s face it there’s been a lot of speculation that with the Futurama game looming the end was nigh for FGQFS. But the TinyCo’s teams general chat and body language did not seem to signal the end is imminent in any shape or form so it could be the game everyone loves to hate it going to endure for a while yet.

What made me think this, well talk of bringing in more land once we see more of the older devices disappear from our lives, so they talk in terms of the game outliving these devices. They also talked about the issue with The Blimp, in fact they referred to the ongoing problems as a horror story as every fix causes a new issue, so they are planning to remove it and redo that part of the game, now that’s not something they’d consider if the game were on its way out surely? There’s also still a team of 40 or so working on the game, so it’s not down to one guy and his computer just yet.  And the artists continue to create 3 new characters a week. So this all says to me FGQFS isn’t going anywhere just yet, so don’t unbuckle your safety belts guys as this crazy ride continues.

Ok now onto more specific bits and pieces, as I mentioned above there’s a team of about 40 that work on FGQFS, so next time we moan about having to buy a premium item I guess we should think that those folk need paid, they ain’t doing voluntary work. And Kimberley revealed for every 4 week event they need to come up with at least 200-250 new jokes. I take my hat off to that as like Kate, I struggle to come up with one joke, never mind being able to roll off a production line of them. I’d be laughing all the way to the Bunny Asylum if that were my job.

They told us how they plan an event, sometimes they pick an episode and build the event around it, and I must say this is the events I like to see, ones where I recognise characters and costumes from the show. But they also confirmed sometimes they do the opposite and they get the rights to an Intellectual Property, say for example, Power Rangers, then they look to see if it has links to the show and if it doesn’t they devise a way to merge the two together in a funny Quahog kind of way.  They also revealed they still working very closely with the writers at the Family Guy TV show who continue to share ideas with them.

They also talked about something we see in our comments a lot, a desire for new gameplay and features during events, many of you have recently felt that too many events are the same format onl with different content to unlock. And they talked about this revealing that even when they reuse a format they do endeavour to make it better, for example they said the Quahog Heat gameplay features were based on those of The Hauntening, only with some tweaks to improve it.

But they also added not only did they understand our cries for new features in future events, they were actually going to be delivering some in the next event, Mighty Morphin Power Griffins.  So as much as many of us say they don’t listen, they obviously do!

Likewise they touched on the ongoing demand for old event characters to return, the most popular requests being for American Dad characters; Superheros characters and of course Star Trek characters. This is a question that they’ve now answered many times, but did so again. Basically they only get a limited time contract to give them the rights to use these characters during an event. If they want to bring them back they need to agree a new contract, so they can’t just drop these characters into the game at any time to please new players. But Damon stressed he’d love see some return himself as he hasn’t got them in his game either.

They chatted about their favourite Family Guy characters that they get to work on in the game and for everyone who’s fed up with Peter having so many skins, please be kind to Jason as they’re one his favourite things to work on. And Jay, well Joe’s his go to guy, and as for Damon, he’s got a soft spot for Bruce. And Kimberley well it’s all about Brian & Stewie. And Kate well she kept that her little secret, lol.

They also found time to chat about all us multi-millionaires and tried to explain why some of us have more coins than we’ll ever be able to spend. They said they will try introduce items to buy but in order to try keep events balanced and fair they will always use an event currency or else us multi- millionaires would just burn through events too quickly. And they are right, we would and then we would probably complain we’re bored, cause hey we’re entitled multi-millionaires aren’t we. Lol.

There you have it, hopefully the start of a new relationship with the Staff at TinyCo currently working on Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff.

Did you see some things you were curious about answered? Have some helpful suggestions/replies to some of the questions you saw or the LiveQ&A setup adopted? Thoughts on the Current Staff? Let us know.

~ Russian Tigger

TinyCo Facebook Live Q&A – Recap was originally published on Yatterz