#I love both series and I highly recommend checking either out if you haven’t already | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sheikah · 3 years ago

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Do u have any book series recommendations? Or standalone books? Preferably fantasy w good romance

I do! I am not as well-read in fantasy or romance books as I'd like to be. I read a lot in my youth, completely abandoned "reading for pleasure" throughout college and grad school because I was working the whole time, and then for the first few years of teaching was too overwhelmed with grading to read on the side. I'm FINALLY getting back into it. But here are some book recs I've checked out recently that have fantasy, romance, or both :)

I feel like if you're on my blog at all that you're at least aware of Leigh Bardugo's work and the Grishaverse, so I won't recommend those. But I will be comparing some of the pairings to Darklina, so I hope you have that frame of reference. And of course, if you haven't read those, get on it!

First off is the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir. It's a fantasy that follows three main characters--Laia, Elias, and Helene--and the war they're involved in. It's got lots of high fantasy goodies and at least two really good ships. I loved it and cried many times reading it. It hasn't even been a year since I finished and I'm already considering a reread. Definitely my favorite thing I've read in the last couple years!

Right now I'm reading Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It's a standalone fantasy where a young girl is sent to live with an immortal sorcerer as payment for his protection of her village. A fun fantasy atmosphere and slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance. I'm absolutely loving it. The ship really reminds me of Darklina so I'm completely sold.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab. This is a standalone fantasy about a woman who is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. It has a dark romance in it and is a really fun and original concept. I liked this book but did find it really slowed down after the opening. Give it time, though! I think the author's style is really beautiful and when I was put on the spot to recommend a book to Ben Barnes, I picked this one lmao.

Normal People by Sally Rooney is not a fantasy but IS a really realistic and heartfelt romance that just enthralled me and broke my heart. I read it in a day and instantly binged the Hulu series. Highly recommend.

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout. Ok so my recommendation of this one has some caveats. I'm absolutely obsessed with the first book. Like it's just amazing and so addictive and sexy. The second book is also good. But by the third book I've found her writing to be unbearably repetitive. I haven't been able to finish the third book and it's planned as a six-book series. Idk how to feel about that. But her characters and world are really interesting and the smut is delicious. The first book at least is absolutely worth a read.

The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. Another fun fantasy romance with enemies-to-lovers goodness. It's set in a faerie world and combines the modern world with a fantasy world, which is a trope I really like. The characters are great--especially the POV heroine--and the romance is really cute and intriguing.

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray. This one is definitely more of a teen/YA (though a few others on this list are, too. This one just really FEELS like it) but I really liked it. It's not fantasy so much as sci-fi, with an enemies-to-lovers romance. The MC's parents develop the technology to jump between different dimensions. When her parents are murdered, she has to chase the suspect from dimension to dimension but along the way she starts to see him differently and fall in love with him. It's a trilogy. I'm also gonna tell you what I have on my TBR because these are things that have been highly recommended to me by people whose taste I trust haha. Every one of these is either a fantasy or sci-fi romance series or standalone:

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden (this is what I'm reading next. Came highly recommended when I asked for something like Darklina but with a better ending haha).

The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkowski

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (standalone)

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (currently two books are out)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (standalone)

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray (trilogy)

Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao (currently two books are out, will be a trilogy)

Deathless by Catherynne Valente (standalone)

Hope you like some of these!

#book recs #answered

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oydan · 3 years ago

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Title: Waste It On Me

Pairing: Slight!Daiki Aomine x OC; Ryota Kise x OC

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters let alone the entirety of Kuroko No Basuke. I only own the OC characters mentioned. I also do not own the work of BTS. I will only be using their songs for inspiration. A/N: Please support me by liking, commenting, and/or reblogging my work; please. I follow back everyone that follows me! Go check out the ‘Love Yourself’ series from BTS if you haven’t already. It’s an absolute master piece that heals my soul. Stream “Permission to Dance” and “Butter” while you’re at it lol Love Yourself Series Masterlist

I don't know your secrets

But I'll pick up the pieces

Pull you close to me now

After the match against Kuroko and Akashi, Maimi went on with her life like normal. There was no longer a need to worry about past mistakes or wonder if things could have ended up different had she actually done something back then. There was no longer a need for her to think about the past when the future in front of her was much better. She could have stayed at the academy but there was nothing here that caught her interest. The only reason why she had chosen the all girl’s school was because she wanted to run away from her problems as far as she could, but now that Akashi was back to normal and no longer forbade her from going to any other school beside his own. There were more opportunities for her.

So far she had gone to a handful of other surrounding high schools closer to home to see if any would stick out to her but there was nothing that made her gravitate in any direction. The one school that came close was Shutoku to be with Midorima but she had a feeling her presence would incite a new set of teasing from Takao that could potentially lead the green haired boy to finally dispose of him. For now she would have to call that plan B until further notice. Rakuzan was highly recommended by her parents considering they had the best education out of the rest of her options but the only reason she wanted to change schools was to stay closer to her family home. Plus, while things were good between her and Akashi she didn’t want the special treatment she received the day she decided to give in and take an official tour of the school. A special car was promised to come pick her up everyday along with an apartment that would be supplied by Akashi’s family business. She felt like a new specimen when she walked around the halls with all the eyes burning holes through her. They had never seen anyone beside the basketball team around Akashi so it was a shock when he showed up with the pretty blonde close by his side. Rakuzan was a huge no.

There were other schools that had potential but considering she hoped to be a manager for a basketball team it made it even more difficult for her to decide. Seiren and Kaijo high were both next on the list to check out. Which led her to her current situation of flipping through brochures of each high school weighing if either were academically good enough for her to attend.

She wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings and was too engrossed in her own thoughts to notice a familiar face in the crowd of pedestrians. Until that said person ran up to her yelling, “Mai-cchi! Mai-cchi!” Hearing that old nickname made her finally look up in time to see a beaming Kise run up to her. He was still wearing his school uniform but it looked disheveled like he had been in a rush before. “Hi Kise, are you running from some fangirls or something?”

“Huh? No, why?” He looked confused by the question probably thinking it was random until she pointed to his tie that was left hanging and wrinkled shirt. She had known him long enough to realize that it was out of character to see him look sloppy. There was hardly a day that she could remember seeing even a single hair out of place unless he had another run in with some crazy fans. “Oh, no. I just came from a photo shoot. I was rushing to put my clothes on.” A light blush covered his cheeks and a bit of his ears realizing his mistake while he attempted to fix his own tie. “Why were you rushing?”

“I…I saw you through the store window.” Maimi was thrown off by the answer but she didn’t show it on her face, or at least she tried not but she avoided the comment by reaching forward and fixing his tie that he was struggling with. “You should be more careful. You still have my number, you could have messaged me or called.”

“Yeah but you had that look on your face.” Kise’s response made her slightly self conscious not understanding what he meant by that. Noticing her discomfort he waved his hands in a panic denying it as an insult. “No! I mean you just get this look on your face whenever you’re so far gone in your own world. You never hear anyone because your thoughts are too loud. It’s not weird I promise. I actually think it’s cute. But not in a weird way!” Seeing the normally confident boy scramble for the right words made her heart flutter unexpectedly, but she had decided to hide it with a small giggle. “Thank you. I’m glad it wasn’t weird.”

“Sure. What’s that?” He points to the pamphlets in her hands that had her undivided attention just moments ago.

She lifts them up for him to see the contents and when he saw his high school’s name on one of them a small bit of excitement and hope filled his heart. “I’m looking into transferring now that Akashi is back to normal. I’ve been looking for a while now but I’ve been touring new schools for the last couple of weeks.”

“And you’re thinking about coming to Kaijo?”

“Yeah, it looks like it. I’ve been wanting to get back into managing a team officially but every school either doesn’t have a good academic record, a good team, or one of you guys there to complicate things. I was thinking about you since we didn’t have issues after middle school but now that I think about it your fans might harass me again once they realize we know each other.” She proceeds to explain but Kise interrupts her before she could continue. “They won’t.”

She laughs a bit, “I think you’re undermining how popular you are. I’ll definitely be in some misunderstanding with some girls.”

“Don’t worry. I made it work before and I’ll make sure they don’t. Just come to Kaijo with me.”

“I mean I don’t know I still have to look at the academic scores-”

“We have a great science program. I’m not a good example but we have a competitive school for academics.”

“Well I still need to speak to my parents, Kise. Why do you want me to go there so bad?” They had never been the closest out of the rest of the group before but she did know that he had a small crush on her back then with the way that he liked to flirt with her. She just never paid it any mind since she was with Aomine during that time. Maimi assumed he just grew out of it over time. “I just think I’ll be able to hit my full potential with you there. Which is good for you, right? I can be your newest challenge.”

That part was actually true. She had always known that Kise had the most potential to explore out of the rest. If she were able to get him back to his full health she would be able to test out how far he could go. There was even some potential he could be better than Kagami and Aomine. “I’ll think about it.” Before he could argue more they were interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

“Hello? Momo-cchi…oh that sounds like a great idea! I’m with Mai-cchi. I'll let her know about it right now…sure…we just ran into each other after I had a photo shoot here near the arcade…both of you are? Perfect, we'll head your way so we can start planning this all out! Bye!” When he hung up Kise seemed overly excited about whatever they had spoken about. “Momo-cchi and Ao-cchi are close by at the burger shop down a couple blocks. Let’s go.”

There was no room to argue since he just pulled Maimi by her hand in a rush to meet the pair wherever they were at. In the past she may have had a difficult time but after the last match there was no need any longer to worry about her heart aching at the sight of them. The problem was the taller blonde pulling her away to an unknown location. “Why are we both going? You didn’t even tell me what this is about.”

“Oh, Momo-cchi said she was planning a birthday surprise for Kuroko. We’re going to play streetball together. Now come on.”

Which was how the pair ended up sitting across from Aomine and Momo. “Tetsu said okay. Alright!”

“Didn’t Midorima say he’d come if he felt like it?”

“He’ll be fine.”

“Why are you so confident?”

“Don’t worry Shin will come. I’ll be sure of it.” Maimi says in between sipping her milkshake. “Yup. Now that just leaves Mukkun. He said it sounded like a pain in the butt and hung up on me.”

“What should we do about him?”

“What are you even doing here for Kise?” Aomine finally asks, seeing the opportunity to get the answers he wanted when he first saw the two walk into together hand in hand. He knew that he had no say in the matter but it didn’t stop the feeling in his gut that it wasn’t good for him. “He was at a studio in the area doing a model shoot.” Unfortunately that didn’t answer his real question but it would just make things awkward if he proceeded to ask about them being together. “And I met Kise along the way.” Maimi on the other hand was able to read his expression and while she didn’t owe it to him to explain herself, she did want to clear a misunderstanding before they would have their reunion with the rest of the guys.

“Getting Murasakibarachhi to come to Tokyo is our biggest obstacle right now.”

“You just need to set out some bait.”

“How?”

“Listen closely. First put a tasty snack out where he’ll see it. He’ll definitely go for it. Then lay out some more.”

“He’ll be in Tokyo before he knows it.”

“Great idea, right?” Maimi was lost of words seeing the pair agree that it was the greatest plan to have ever been hatched in their time. She was genuinely wondering if they were serious. “Can’t you take this seriously?! Forget it. I’ll do it myself.” Momo had given up on the two dummies in front of her and proceeded to dial the purple foodie’s number.

“Mukkun, I found a really tasty snack. Aren’t you interested? It has a new crisp but doughy texture. It’s sort of like Vietnamese cuisine. And the secret ingredients are sakura shrimp and powdered foie gras. I’ll get you some, so could you come to Tokyo on the 31st? It’s really good!” The whole group had leaned in to listen for his response but it seemed like he was ready to hop on a train now. “That’s not much different from my plan.”

“It’s the realistic version of your plan.”

“But Murasakibaracchi’s resolve is wavering.”

“I guess I’ll go.” His lazy voice calls out through the phone letting them all know that Momo’s plan had worked. “Then I’ll do my best to make some.”

“You idiot!”

“Wait, Momo.” Maimi was too late to grab the phone before he hung up on them all. “What? No way! Wait!” They were pretty close but unfortunately Momo’s terrible reputation for her culinary skills did them in. At first Maimi was tempted to call him back and promise him her own treats but she didn’t want to hurt Momo’s feelings. Instead, she settled for sending a message to Akashi for help. Their last chance at getting the group back together. “Don’t worry we’ll get Akashi to do it instead. Anyways, I have to start heading home now it’s getting late.” When she gets up Kise beats everyone to the punch by jumping from his seat to follow after her. “I’ll walk you home since I dragged you with me. Bye guys!” Before Aomine could disagree they were already out the door leaving him with Momo who felt bad for her childhood friend. While he was nowhere near perfect she hoped that one day they could get back together. He was much better now than he was back then but with Kise now in the picture there was a bit of doubt that would be possible.

Kise had always found Maimi attractive but that wasn’t what had piqued his interest. As a professional model he was constantly surrounded by beautiful women, either his age or older, so he should have been immune to the dainty blonde. It could have been when they were classmates in their second year at Teiko. Unlike the rest of the other girl’s in his class she was the only one that wouldn’t even shoot him a glance. At first he didn’t think much about it but as time went on he began to feel a bit disgruntled by it. Unknowingly, he found himself watching her out of the corner of his eye. It started with looking over at her whenever he would get a crowd of girls to giggle to see if he could get her to crack a smile. Somehow he would only catch the back of her head on her way out of the classroom. Then it turned into going out of his way to impress her with his athletic ability to pick up any skill just by watching once. It never worked which confused him even more since his social standing kept rising. He was left stumped on how to get her attention until the day he was hit in the back of his head with a basketball and met Aomine. He followed after him remembering that Teiko was well known for their basketball team and thought it was worth looking into. Kise never thought he would feel inspired after just watching the way that the darker skinned boy jumped over the rest of the defending players to dunk the ball he just retrieved. It was the first time he felt himself wanting to actually try out for a sport’s team. When Maimi came up to for the first time speaking to him outside of the classroom he sealed the deal from then onward. He would later find out that she was taken by that same player that got him interested in basketball in the first place. While he respected and looked up to Aomine it didn’t stop him from taking advantage of his new found friendship with the blonde he had been trying to woo. Rather it just inclined him to try harder. He continued to chase after her but when things got rocky with Aomine he stopped his insistent badering. The pair was on thin ice and for any other person that may have been in his position would have taken advantage; it just didn’t feel right. Instead he would try to step in when Aomine would snap at her out of nowhere and even tried to cheer her up but it wasn’t enough. The light from her eyes became dimmer and she no longer was the confident and sweet girl he had first met. There was a time that he wanted to replace Aomine in her heart but after the way they broke up it seemed impossible.

So, he waited for her. It took a long time but he didn’t mind. He knew there was unfinished business with the others that needed to be resolved and let her breathe while he could. At first he wanted to be the one that swooped in and saved her but his arrogant thoughts were diminished when he first lost against Kuroko. It took him a while to realize that he couldn’t reach his full potential without acknowledging the rest of his teammates' contribution as well. When he was thrust back into the reality that he wasn’t this perfect specimen he realized that there was no need to save her. He would see her from a far and realize that she was becoming more than a damsel that needed to be saved. She no longer would walk with her head down or have a hard time holding eye contact. Maimi was her own strength and all he wanted was to watch from afar as she strived to be better.

He was okay with that being as far as their relationship would go. At least at first he was but when he saw her sitting with Aomine and Momo at the last match he realized that wouldn’t be possible. Kise wanted nothing but her happiness. He wanted to see her smile again with pure eyes no longer filled with a hint of loneliness; he wanted her to laugh so loud and hard that she had to gasp for air; he wanted her to confidently hold her head high while she faced the world. He wanted all that but he wanted to be one that contributed to that happiness as well.

She was his old friend's ex-girlfriend, so there would probably be a bit of apprehension from her. He still ran outside the modeling agency the moment his eyes caught sight of the familiar figure in the busy street of Tokyo. Now here he was walking her to her family home, falling into a deeper infatuation with her as she talked about her transfer and what she wanted to do afterwards.

He always felt like it was too soon to think about graduation or think about what he would do after high school. Hearing her speak about college and how she wanted to be a doctor specializing in sports medicine, made him think about it as well. “What do you want to do after high school, Kise? We’re going to be in our second year soon. You should start thinking about it.”

“Hm…I’m not too sure. I could just keep being a model since it pays well enough.”

“Sure that could work. Would you want to go to college or play basketball?”

This was the part that made him think more in depth. He did love basketball but he had no real idea if he would want to continue playing in college. School work and him never really mixed. “Well if you keep modeling for a while you could try to get recruited by a professional team. You’ve gotten a lot better.”

“Well if I had you by my side maybe I could be better.” It was meant to be a hint that he wanted to continue training with her but he realized that it sounded more like a pick up line. His face felt warm when he realized she stayed quiet for a while not answering. Gathering enough courage he sneaked a peek at her and saw her fair skin engrossed with a tint of red as well. “I-I mean, I want you to come to Kaijo with me and the rest of my team. You could do great at Seiren as well but…I need you there.” He had no idea what he was saying anymore. It was like his mind was stuck on auto considering the words kept spilling out of him despite how embarrassed he had become admitting his feelings. He waited for a reply but when she stopped in front of the gate of a single story home he realized their time had run out.

On the other hand Maimi could see the slight disappointment on his face realizing that they would now have to part, and she couldn’t stop the smile that made its way onto her face. She never saw him in that light but then again she hadn’t thought of anyone in that light besides Aomine. Now that she had given up on him she realized she should start to explore the idea of moving on to someone else. “I’ll think about it but…Kaijo seems to be at the top of the list right now.” While she was more confident she still couldn’t flirt back to save her life but she hoped that was enough to show Kise she was interested. Too embarrassed to see his reaction she ran inside the gate to her front door. Before she closed the door though she called out to the stunned boy. “Thank you for walking me home. I’ll message you tomorrow when to meet up for the reunion.”

Once the door closed Kise couldn’t help but smile so big his cheeks hurt. Punching the air in excitement not realizing Maimi had seen the sweet reaction from her front window.

Kise knew that she was barely getting over Aomine but he would wait as long as it took to get the girl of his dreams. He just hoped that when the time came she would look his way.

I wanna be your summer, I wanna be your wave

Treat me like a comma, I'll take you to a new phrase

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marshalortegamoved · 3 years ago

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Hello hello I hope you are well!! Sorry if this is weird but I have been absent from tumblr and the if community in general for a while but I've just replayed fallen hero and I am in my Feelings and you always have the best fhr and chargestep ideas so I'm just wondering if you could possible bless us with some Thoughts?? Like so we all agree that sidestep is the most unreliable narrator and ortega clearly knows way more than sidestep gives them credit for but like how much do you think they know? And how do you think they will act to the big Reveal? Also I've always been an ortega stan but this replay has me feeling things for steel...what's your opinion on a steel romance? Okay sorry for rambling on anyway I hope you're okay, sending lots of love 💕

Ahhh, hello! this is such a lovely message, and not weird at all! thank you so much, it's so sweet that you thought of me <3

Hmm, well, first of all, if you're interested, there's a complete alpha demo on Malin's Patreon here if you haven't checked it out already and can get it! It's no longer being updated playtesting wise due to some issues, but there's a LOT more in it than the public demo and it has a ton of new information (the Q&As are also a gem, highly recommend, 10/10.) If you have read it/do read it, feel free to DM me and bless me with your Thoughts!

Buuuut.... speculations under the cut.

I think Ortega knows way more than they're letting on, and less than they think. Everyone in this series is hoarding information, has little pieces of the puzzle, and their own theories on whatever is actually going on (whatever that is...) like you said, Ortega's way smarter and more aware than Sidestep realizes, but they're also super cagey, which results in Sidestep and Ortega talking to the left of each other all the time.

I'm betting on most of the lies you can tell Ortega (I'm not a telepath anymore, oh yeah I totally don't have any enemies, etc.) in Rebirth not being ... quite as convincing as Sidestep thinks they are....

I'm also squinting pretty hard at that first reunion in Rebirth (Ortega shows up in a café where the puppet was normally seen, not Sidestep? please. Sidestep, that wasn't a deus ex machina, you little.... [fists clench]).

Don't love the fact that we're TOTALLY convinced our old apartment isn't compromised. Don't think it's impossible that Ortega has been following Sidestep around (... out of love!) or that Ortega's been digging into Sidestep's "new life," depending on the suspicion.

Ortega has their own conspiracy boards, and however Sidestep plays into those will probably depend on how much they think you're the villain. Their primary focus has been on Hollow Ground for so long too, so whatever the hell is going on there... Ortega and Sidestep probably both have no idea, but like, in different ways? and BOTH of them are obnoxiously into their theories, so. They need each other....'s information, and I can't wait to see what happens when New Truths come out. Sidestep themself hasn’t told us (the reader) everything they know yet either, so we’re in for some surprises from them too.

As for the BIG REVEALS... I honestly can't say 😔 I think it'll depend on what Ortega knows, when it happens, how Sidestep does it, and what Sidestep has done as a villain over the series so far. I hate Ortega (affectionate), they're way too complicated for me to try and pin down, their reactions are just.. NEVER what I think they'd be.

And since this is already an essay (I'm so sorry.... if you want to speculate in DMs, mine are totally open!! I'd love to chat <3) I'LL REALLY QUICKLY SAY: I LOVE Steel's romance, and if you haven't played it already, I 100% recommend. Steel has all the flavor of the I Knew You Before Heartbreak, with some SURPRISING twists, beautiful parallels between Steel as a soldier and Sidestep as a [REDACTED], hero/villain dynamics! Spoon! bonding over dogs and past trauma! Steel doesn't at ALL turn out how I think he would (complimentary), and Sidestep realizing Steel isn't at all like they thought he was is WONDERFUL to watch. also, it's just... really fucking funny to listen to Sidestep's "fuck, do I think he's hot??? no... shit... do I??? FUCK," internal monologue. if you do play it, let me know what you think!

#answered #fhr speculations #SORRY FOR .... the essay? ahem....#(please never give me an opening to talk about FHR... I apparently can't shut up)#(but really; if you'd like to discuss the series I'd LOVE to talk about it! it's my favorite thing ever so--don't be shy!)#this message was so lovely and I'm sending YOU all the love #and hope that... any of this... some of this? makes sense?#dragging Ortega and Sidestep's conspiracy boards like I haven't replayed this series 500 times with my own...

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procrastinatorimagines · 4 years ago

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Here For You

Fandom: Chicago PD / One Chicago

Series: Here For You

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 (Final)

Character/s: Reader x Jay, Reader’s brother Henry, Hailey, Adam, Maggie

Warning/s: pregnancy, death, pretty sloppy writing

Word Count: 2,716

Request: Would you do a Jay Halstead x Reader imagine were the reader either has a kid or is pregnant with one and they meet when her brother is involved in a case, Please?🥺

Summary: Y/N’s brother Henry becomes an accidental witness in a gang shooting that left four innocents dead along with two members of a rival gang. Jay persuades him to make a statement in an attempt to catch the people responsible, but when word gets out, his life, and that of his pregnant sister’s, are in danger so Jay does everything he can to make it right.

“I screwed up Y/N, I really screwed up...” Your brother, Henry, said frantically, pacing back and forth in your kitchen. He’d arrived a few minutes ago, bolting the door locked behind him, red faced and panting hard.

“Henry slow down,” you tried to reason, “you’re not making sense, what happened? What ever it is you need to tell me so I can help.” He shook his head and ran his hands over his face and through his hair, deep in thought and mumbling ‘no no no’. You sighed in frustration and put your hand on your belly, feeling your baby moving around. It’d been 3 months since you made the move to Chicago, 4 since your ex walked out on you after finding out you were pregnant. You were 5 months along now, it hadn’t been easy but you were making do, you didn’t know where you’d be without Henry, so to see him like this and not know how to help, after everything he’d done for you, was unbareable.

“Henry please,” you took a step towards him and put your hand on his shoulder. He stopped in his tracks and you looked into his eyes, filled with fear and shame, what had happened? “Talk to me,” your voice was quiet but firm, and he took a deep yet shaky breath to regain his composure. With a swallow and a nod he opened his mouth to tell you when there was a knock at the door, making him and you jump out of your respective skins. Henry’s eyes went wide as he glanced between you and the door, his whole body practically shaking.

There was a louder knock that had you scared now too as you put a protective hand on your belly, unsure of whether it was better to answer the door or not. “Chicago PD, open up!” A voice said inbetween knocks and you only slightly relaxed, you weren’t in any immediate danger but Henry was clearly in real trouble.

“Don’t open it,” he whispered, heading for the bedroom at the back.

You grabbed him by his sleeve to stop him and glared, “it’s the police, I’m not having them kicking our door in, let’s just open it and figure this out.”

“Y/N-” Henry tried but you were already on your way.

“Henry Y/L/N, this is the police, this is your last chance to open the door!” They yelled from outside.

You hurried your steps, panicking. “Coming!” You yelled, quickly unlocking all the bolts on the door and swinging it open to reveal two plain clothed officers.

“Evening ma’am, I’m Detective Halstead, this is Detective Upton, is Henry Y/L/N here?” The male detective asked, badge and gun clearly visible in the waistband of his jeans. You turned to see your brother stood a little away from the hall, face pale.

“Yeah, he’s here.” You said with a defeated sigh; whatever he’d done, lying to the police wasn’t going to help him.

“May we come inside? We need to ask him some questions, he isn’t in any trouble.” The female detective, Upton, asked with a friendly smile. You hesitated but nodded at last, moving aside so they could enter.

“What exactly is this about?” You inquired as all four of you ended up in the living room, Henry not meeting anyone’s eye.

“Sorry, you are?” Upton replied, looking you up and down.

“His sister,” you said, “now what do you want with my brother? Is everything okay?”

“Your brother didn’t tell you?” Halstead asked, looking between the two of you.

“No, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked,” you snapped and Halstead blinked. “Oh, er, sorry, it’s been a very long day, I haven’t had much sleep,” you apologised. The baby had kept you up most of the night, and this stress with your brother was so not what you needed right now.

“No worries,” he said to you before turning to your brother, who had taken a seat and looked was currently looking physically ill. “You want to tell her or should we?”

“They’re going to kill me aren’t they?” Henry mumbled and your head shot around to stare at him.

“Okay what the hell does that mean?” You all but yelled at him, “Henry I swear to God-”

“There was a gang shooting, your brother witnessed the entire thing, we were going to question him at the scene but he’d left by the time we got back to him. I guess he forgot that he gave us his details first,” Upton explained, much to your alarm.

“What does that mean? Does he have to give a statement? Make an ID or something?” You rattled off questions, your mind swimming. Halstead opened his mouth to answer but Henry cut him off.

“Oh hell no, this is Chicago, I know how this works, if I do that I’m as good as dead,” Henry argued, mindlessly picking at the cuffs of his sleeves.

“We know it’s risky, but no one has to know it was you alright, Henry four innocent bystanders were killed in that shooting, including two kids, so if you know something...” Upton trailed off as Henry’s face changed.

“Two kids?” He asked softly, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Neither could you, had your brother really seen all this?

“We’re sorry to put you in this position, and we’ll do everything we can to keep you safe, but man if you saw something, which I think you did, you might just be the only person who can put the guys who did this behind bars where they belong.” Halstead looked at you and then back at your brother, as if silently asking you for your help.

“Henry-” you didn’t even have to finish, the tears in his eyes told you that he was on board, he was just scared out of his mind.

“Say I did see who did the shooting, what would happen then?” He stood up a little unsteadily and wiped his face.

“Well we’d take you down to the district, see if you could make an ID, and then find you a safe place to stay until all this was resolved, you may be called on to testify if it gets that far but how about we take this one step at a time.” Upton gave Henry a reassuring smile and he nodded, resolve, if not a little hesitation, in his eyes.

“Okay, okay yeah,” he mumbled.

“You sure?” You took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’m sure Y/N. I got a nephew on the way now, I gotta make the city a little safer for him if I can right?” He laughed a little and squeezed your hand back.

“It’s a boy?” Halstead asked with a smiled.

“Henry certainly thinks so, but honestly I’m waiting til the birth, I want it to be a surprise,” you replied, feeling a little kick like it knew it was being talked about.

“You can come down too if you want, be there with him?” Upton suggested, seeing the concern for your brother all over your face. You nodded and all four of you headed to the door and down to the 21st.

Despite your concern for your brother, his commitment to this was admirable. You loved your brother, but when the going got touch he usually got going. Since you’d arrived in Chicago however, pregnant and alone, he’d really stepped up, got a job at a new restaurant downtown and had been doing some serious apartment hunting so that the baby could have a proper nursery when it came. He might have been your older brother but you had always been more of the big sister; you couldn’t be more proud of who he’d become.

You’d been at the district a few hours, your brother off talking with several different officers, detective and a scary looking sergeant called Voight. Sitting by your self in a waiting room looking area you flipped through some old magazines they had available and messed with your phone, bored and anxious to know what was happening with your brother.

Detective Halstead came in to check on you, offering you a water and some food.

“How’s Henry?” You asked, gratefully accepting the drink.

“He’s doing good, it’s looking like we’re going to catch these guys,” he told you, taking a seat on the other side of the table you were sat at. “How about you?”

“Oh I’m fine, just a little nervous for Henry-” A sharp kick in your stomach made you visibly wince as you stopped your sentence in your tracks.

“Kicker huh?” Halstead grinned.

“You have no idea, people always ask me if I’m having a boy or girl, but really the only thing I know if that I’m having a soccer player, or a kick boxer,” you both laughed. “You got kids detective?”

“Call me Jay,” he suggested, opening up one of the packets of crisps he’d brought in.

“Okay, you got kids Jay?” You asked as he popped some crisps into his mouth, turning the packet around to let you have some, you took a couple as he shook his head.

“No I don’t, maybe someday, but...” he shrugged. “Henry mentioned you only moved to Chicago recently, how are you liking the windy city?”

“It’s not bad, pizza’s okay,” you told him, “but honestly there’s so much I haven’t gotten the chance to see yet.”

“The pizza’s only okay?” He feigned being offended, “now that just tells me you haven’t had the best kinds, Bartoli’s, I highly recommend it.”

“Oh yeah,” you grinned, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

A knock at the door drew you from your conversation, Henry was there with another officer, Ruzek he’d told you.

“I think we’ve got everything we need,” Ruzek said, patting your brother on the shoulder, “you did I good thing today my friend.”

“No one’s going to know it was me, right?” He asked, turning to Jay as he did.

“We’ll do everything we can to keep you safe,” he promised, glancing at you as he did too. You stood up and grabbed your things, shaking Ruzek’s hand and thanking him quickly as he headed back out the room.

“Bye detective, promise I’ll give the pizza another go,” you said.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he laughed, shaking your hand and walking you both out the door. You were down the bottom of the steps and into the cool Chicago air when you glanced back at Jay, was it your imagination, or was he looking at you too?

“Look, I told you, it’s just a quick ID down at the district, they won’t even know who did the IDing,” Henry explained as you both got into the car. “I’ll drop you off at Med for your appointment on the way, you good getting the bus home while I do some apartment hunting? I have a viewing lined up pretty near the police station actually.”

You nodded, “Jay call you?”

“If by Jay you mean the not at all good looking detective Halstead, then yes,” Henry teased and you shoved him a little as he tried to buckle his seat belt.

“He told me to call him Jay,” you argued unconvincingly.

“I’m sure he did,” he said, pulling off down the street, “hey, I’m just surprised a woman in your... condition has time for any game that’s all.”

“Oi, I’m pregnant not blind, it’s not like I made a move on the guy... but I’m allowed to look you know,” you both laughed as you headed into the city, the conversation moving on to apartment hunting and the new nursery, detective Halstead still a little on your mind.

It wasn’t long before you were being dropped off, waving to Henry as he drove away.

The next few weeks continued in a pretty similar manner, the Intelligence Unit was building a pretty substantial case against this gang, it turned out, and your brother regularly went to talk to various cops and lawyers. He assured me everything was okay, and so did Jay when you saw him, which was actually fairly frequently when you went to pick up your brother after one of their meetings. Often you went early with Henry and chatted with Jay or another member of the unit, and life went on. You and Jay had actually started to text a bit, not that you’d ever tell Henry, in a friendly way obviously, he was helping you settle into Chicago life, recommending places to visit and eat... you had no delusions a guy like that would fall from some pregnant chick, but it was nice to have a friend to talk to.

You hadn’t really talked much since the trial, they’d managed to flip some guy Henry had said, so he’d been able to avoid testifying in open court. Your conversations with Jay seemed to come to an end soon after that and while you were a little disappointed, you were too busy moving into your new apartment to mind too much, glad that this case was in the rearview and you could focus on your baby.

You were pushing 7 months when you went for your next check up at Med, the thought of already coming up to your third trimester was a daunting one, but you couldn’t wait to finally meet your baby. As you finished up with your doctor you headed out into the hall, too busy rooting around for your phone in your bag to stop yourself before you collided into a figure appearing around the corner in front of you. With a crash your bag went flying, spilling out the contents onto the floor.

“Sorry,” you looked from your belongings on the floor to the owner of the familiar voice, detective Halstead. “Oh, hi Y/N,” he offered an apologetic smile as he bent to pick your stuff up.

“Jay, hi, sorry I didn’t see you there” you said, “I really would pick that up myself but then someone would have to pick me up,” he laughed and handed you back your bag as he rose.

“No worries, getting pretty far along now huh, how’ve you been, how’s Henry?” He asked.

“Henry’s good, we’re good, two months to go now,” you told him as you both began walking to the exit, “just glad to go back to some kind of normal with the trial being over, how about you? What brings you to Med on a Saturday?”

“Visiting my brother about a patient, he’s a doctor here,” Jay explained, waving by to a red haired doctor across the room you assumed was the brother in question. Although you kicked yourself for it you couldn’t help but notice that the Halstead’s seemed to have good genes. “Oh hey sorry for not talking to you for a while by the way, I figured with the trial over you’d be too busy with the baby and Henry and I didn’t want to bother you,” he said.

“Oh yeah, no I get it, I guess we both got pretty busy,” you replied.

“Hey, did you ever try the pizza at Bartoli’s?” He asked and you shook your head.

“Never got around to it actually,” you said and he grinned.

“You hungry? It’s not too far from here, I could buy you lunch, least I can do after all the help you and your brother were,” he offered. Was... was he asking you out? You, the heavily pregnant chick? Not that you were complaining, you’d liked Jay a little since you met him, you were just surprised he might have felt the same way.

“You know what? Sure, I am pretty hungry, just let me confirm my next visit at the desk and we can head out,” you answered and he looked relieved. You headed over to the desk with a smile on your face, Henry was never going to let you hear the end of this.

A nurse approached Jay as you headed away, you think she told you her name was Maggie earlier. As you stood at the desk you noticed her roll her eyes at Jay and shake her head. “First Will and Natalie now you and this girl? What is it about Halstead’s and pregnant women?”

#jay halstead #chicago pd #one chicago #jay halstead imagines #jay halstead imagine #chicago pd imagine #chicago pd imagines #one chicago imagine #one chicago imagines #jay halstead one shot #chicago pd one shot #one chicago one shot #one shot

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neobrogrippa · 4 years ago

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What Do I Do Until SM5?

Alright. Here you are. You have finished watching Friday’s livestream, you are all excited for Samurai Warriors 5, you have looked at the calendar ANNNDDD you have now realized we are still several weeks away from the game’s release. So, what do you do now? Well, Today I have come to offer some things to help pass the time until Samurai Warriors 5 is released. I will be offering various games and projects in various genres and platforms that may help either sustain you until SM5 or help build up your hype even more! I have even organized then by genre. I will not be including any other games in the Sengoku Musou series in this list. 1. Pre-Order The Game On Your Platform of Choice: No. Really. Remember to Pre-order the game if you haven’t already. It is great to be hyped but let Koei know that we love this franchise and hunger for it. 2. Mobile Games: If you are in Japan you have so many Sengoku based mobile games to choose from that it is mind blowing. In the west, however, it is a bit tougher. So I am going to suggest two. -Dating: Ikemen Sengoku: If you want historic accuracy this is seriously not the right game for you. It is several famous samurai as very pretty men all wanting to steal your heart and your attention. While some of the events may be a bit of a money grab on the part of the company who runs it the storylines and events are fantastic and the community is amazing. I recommend this highly! -Collection/Card/RPG: Touken Ranbu: For those who haven’t heard the famous Japanese mobile game “Touken Ranbu Online” launches in the west on Tuesday and I am hyped! It is a great game similar to Kantai Collection (Kancolle) or Sengoku Asuka Zero. Famous weapons as cool looking samurai guys! You can pre-register HERE. 3. Portable Games: Now, several of these games are also on Steam, the PS4, and possible even Xbox. However I am going to focus on games on the Vita and Switch. -PSVita: Toukiden, Toukiden Kiwami, Toukiden 2: Also on PS4 and Steam. I love this game so much. Toukiden and it’s upgrade Toukiden Kiwami are by Koei! Think of monster hunter but with a super heavy samurai feel to it! Fight horrible, giant yokai and craft amazing armor and weapons from their flesh! -PSVita: Muramasa The Demon Blade: Also on Wii this game is a fun side scrolling RPG with plenty of hack n’ slash all about leveling up the special weapons you get all with crazy powers and different magic abilities associated with them! -Switch: Fighting Game: Samurai Shodown: The new release/reboot of the classic fighting game series Samurai Shodown has met with great success. Set in the Edo Period you have fighters from all over the world but the game has a very heavy Japanese feel to it with Kabuki based characters, samurai based characters, ninja, priestesses, and all kinds of other unique fighters with their own themes and movesets! 4. Console Games: Games that you can sit down and play on Playstation, Xbox, or Steam. -RPG/Souls Like: Nioh and Nioh 2: I can’t say enough about these games. They are brutal, violent, and wonderful. Feudal Japan is full of Yokai for you to fight and slay your way through. While the story is full of demons, ghosts, and corruption Nioh (focusing on Sekigahara) and Nioh 2 (Focusing on the rise and fall of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) offer great incite in the era and strangely enough have some of the most historicly accurate portrayels I’ve ever seen when it comes to people of the time period. -RPG: Way of the Samurai 3: A unique RPG set in the Sengoku Era. Run around and collect weapons and play a fun, short story with a lot of different endings. -Strategy: Nobunaga’s Ambition Series: A wonderful series. These games take several days worth of play time to beat but they are a great experience for those that like strategy, town planning, and resource management. -Strategy/Military: Total War Shogun 2: If you enjoy samurai and the Sengoku Jidai and resource management but want more exciting combat and a larger focus on combat compared to Nobunaga’s Ambition check out this great came that, in spite of it’s age, is still played by many across the world even today. 5. Youtube and Podcasts: I know this isn’t quite as action packed as anything else I mentioned but for those that want to keep the hype up, brush up on history, and listen to something awesome I have three offerings for you. -Podcast: Samurai Archives: A great podcast hosted by great people who know their stuff. Every episode is focused on something from the Sengoku Era and I can’t recommend it enough. -Podcast: History of Japan: This podcast by Issac Meyer is great. He covers far more than just the Sengoku Era but he covers his topics thoroughly and passionately. He recently did a series of episodes on the Azai Sisters and as a large Azai fan myself I couldn’t help but be thrilled about it. -Youtube: The Shogunate: The Shogunate is a cool dude. He hosts Shogun 2 Total War tournaments and has very informative episodes organized into playlists about the history of the Sengoku Jidai. 6. Roleplay Forums: I’m going to shamelessly plug my own roleplay forum on this list. No one can stop me. For those not familiar with the concept you make your own original character(s) then you and others write a story based on those characters, taking turns to describe what your character is doing in various situation. So you might have a roleplay about your character and another having a dinner conversation, or being in a large fight against an enemy army! It is creative writing at it’s finest and is like D&D but with pen and paper. -Modern Era: Sengoku Horizon: It is a fantastic forum with a very niche theme. In modern times the Tokugawa government and it’s feudal system not got overthrown. Samurai, ninja, and lords still exist! You get to play as a college or high school student at a prestigious academy training the future leaders of Japan and can make a character that carries both a katana and cell phone in this exciting mix of modern life and Sengoku Era concepts.

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dswcp · 3 years ago

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Sequel Trilogy Companion Comics

It has been over a year since the sequel trilogy concluded, and though both other Star Wars trilogies inspired a variety of ambitious and complex spinoff comics during their heydays and wakes, the sequel trilogy has not. “The Rise of Skywalker” has not even gotten a comic adaptation -- the only SW movie to lack this honor. While Luke continued to fight his dad in newspapers and Marvel comics throughout the 80s, and Anakin kept lying to his teacher on the pages of Dark Horse and in early webcomics throughout the 00s, we haven’t heard much more, comic-wise, about Rey and Kylo’s will-they-won’t-they now in the 20s (besides the frustrating “The Rise of Kylo Ren,” which I will review soon).

The future of Star Wars -- both in terms of real-world media and fictional timeline -- is opaque to me. All upcoming projects seem to be prequels or in-between-quels, and there is an upsetting number of unresolved endings, especially for the protagonists. (Will they ever find Ezra? Are Mando and Grogu really separated forever? Will Finn become a Jedi?) So I won’t pretend to understand the lack of sequel-era comics, since I don’t understand even the higher-budget focuses of the franchise right now.

The lore-heavy Galaxy’s Edge theme park, the Star-Trek-like “Resistance” TV show, and a smattering of excellent books and short-form comics (especially the ones about Rose Tico) prove that the sequels’ setting can work just as well for spinoffs as any other era of Star Wars. But one obvious difficulty in creating more content set during the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance is the divisive, contradictory nature of the latter two films.

In fact, each of the sequel films have such distinct tones, themes, and messages, that I’ve found similar experiences reading comics set in completely different time periods. I wish there were multi-part comics with big casts and intricate themes inspired by the sequels’ settings and characters, but until then, here are three such comics that, in my opinion, could accompany each sequel film in spirit.

The Force Awakens: “TIE Fighter”

The most important thing that the sequel trilogy accomplished and that The Force Awakens established was shifting the focus to an all-new, more diverse set of characters. If the sequels had gone the route of the prequel trilogy and the EU books and comics, the story would have remained with the OT trio, their parents, their kids, and their girlfriends, almost all of whom are white.

Another intriguing premise from TFA is Finn’s stormtrooper backstory. Earlier SW movies had relied upon stormtroopers as cannon fodder, but Finn’s story humanizes them and shows that many are forced into service. This revelation complicates the violence of the OT’s Rebellion, since it is now possible that the Empire’s soldiers also had the capacity for heroism.

Like TFA, “TIE Fighter” features a cast of original characters of different races, and the story explores the humanity behind the Empire’s masks. “TIE Fighter” also shares some of TFA’s limitations: neither story can stand on its own, as they both lead so directly to a follow-up: TFA to TLJ, and “TIE Fighter” to the novel Alphabet Squadron.

“TIE Fighter,” issue 2. Marvel. May 15, 2019. Writer: Jody Houser. Pencillers: Rogê Antônio and Josh Cassara. Letterer: Joe Caramagna. Colorists: Arif Prianto and Neeraj Menon.

The Last Jedi: “Knight Errant”

I’ve talked before about my love for this series, but I don’t think I’ve mentioned how beautifully “Knight Errant” echoes my favorite movie of the sequel trilogy (and, honestly, one of my favorite movies of all time). “Knight Errant” and TLJ are both stories with big hearts and strong messages about hope, corruption, and searching for one’s purpose in life.

The two stories share similar characters -- a lonely leading lady, a disenchanted old Jedi, an ambiguous traitor, dwindling goodguys and unstoppable badguys -- and similar settings -- a rain-soaked planet symbolizing both depression and passion, exorbitant wealth on top of abject misery, fiery flashbacks of a demolished home. They even have plot points in common, such as the parallel with Luke’s triumphant return pictured above, and heartbreaking, unexpected revelations about our hero’s family. Victory is achieved through not only bravery, but trust (sometimes misplaced) and a clever magical trick that manipulates the villain’s wild emotions.

And unlike the abrupt endings of TFA and “TIE Fighter,” both TLJ and “Knight Errant” have endings that are open yet satisfying. Though the fight is not over, your imagination can fill in the bittersweet path forward.

If you’re going to check out “Knight Errant,” which I highly recommend you do, please keep your mental health safe. There are suicidal characters and themes, though I think they are addressed in an affirming and positive way. The story shows the value of life and hope in a way that has personally helped me through a dark time, just as TLJ’s belief in the power of failure and love has also meant so much to me.

“Knight Errant: Aflame,” issue 5. Dark Horse. February 16, 2011. Writer: John Jackson Miller. Penciller: Ivan Rodriguez. Inker: Belardino Brabo. Colorist: Michael Atiyeh.

The Rise of Skywalker: “Dark Empire”

TRoS was not the first Star Wars property to resurrect the Emperor -- “Dark Empire” had already done that back in the 90s, with a bit more explanation, flair, and nudity, though not necessarily any more purpose. I already reviewed “Dark Empire” back in August; in short, I find it disappointing. But while I can’t say I’m a fan of either the comic or TRoS, I admit that all three of us share a deep and abiding fondness for the institution of the Sith, in all its goth smugness.

Between TRoS, The Mandalorian, and The Bad Batch, Star Wars seems to be leaning into evil genetic manipulation right now, which is a bit too eugenics-y for me to get into. If you’d prefer your resurrections in a more Halloween-like flavor, with a side of lovable old hag and creepy rainbows, look no further than this historical relic of a Star Wars comic.

“Dark Empire I,” trade paperback. Dark Horse. May 1, 1993. Writer: Tom Veitch. Penciller, Inker, and Colorist: Cam Kennedy. Letterer: Todd Klein.

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 4 years ago

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Top 5 Dumbest Things in The Final Season

I’ve played TWDG a lot, and I can confidently say that The Final Season is my favorite installment, and I’d argue that it’s the best of the series in terms of visuals, controls, characters, and storyline... but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect game by any means. In fact, there are a lot of issues and inconsistencies you could pick out within the story and the arcs of our characters.

But today I don’t wanna tackle the big problems. The issues on today’s list aren’t a big deal and won’t ruin the experience of the game-- they’re minor and just really, really dumb. They’re things that you probably wouldn’t even notice during your first or second playthrough of the game. Honestly, most of these probably could be easily explained with “shhhh, don’t think about it.”

But I’m thinkin’ about them because they’re dumb. So, here's my Top 5 dumbest things in TFS. Do note that these Top 5′s are all in good fun, and they’re my opinion. Obviously.

[also, most of the screenshots used here are from @pi-creates-- if you haven’t checked out Pi’s blog, I highly recommend you do! :D]

5. Doors make no sense.

The doors in this game are dumb and make little sense. And you might be scoffing like, “Really? Doors?” and to that I say, “YES DOORS OKAY!”

If you’re like me, you like to look at everything in hopes of finding interesting details and maybe an easter egg. If you look at the all the doors after breaking out of the dorm in ep1, they all have different locks which... why?

Wait, shouldn’t Clem be able to open this one...? The lock is right there on the outside.

Why are they different? Also, why are the dorms lockable from the outside? Like, okay, I get it-- ya gotta lock up the troubled youth so that they don’t escape. Fine. Cool, I can accept that... except does this mean that someone had to go around and unlock all the dorms every morning before the apocalypse? What if you forgot a door and a handful got stuck in there for the day? What happens if you lock all these children in their rooms and a fire starts??

And don’t you look at me and try to be like “Pfft, there’s not gonna be a fire--” excuse me?? With Aasim hanging around, and Mitch for that matter, you’re gonna tell me that the odds of fire happening are 0%?

Well, y’know, fine. If there’s a fire, then the kids can just escape through the windows... oh wait--

Weeeeeell fuck the troubled youth, I guess.

But the dorm doors aren’t even the dumbest doors here-- no, no. That would be the god damn basement door that apparently locks from both sides because game’s gotta game and I guess Marlon has the key?? This dumb door makes no sense.

Again! I feel like this is a safety hazard?? Sure hope no one gets locked down there, otherwise, you’re fucked I guess?? because there’s no way to unlock or open it from the inside?? After Brody dies and Clem’s looking for a way out, you’d think that she should be able to just open the door at the top of the stairs now that she’s inside but nooooo-- game’s gotta game.

Ugh, dumb doors!

4. Abel’s magic shotgun

Did you guys know that Abel actually has a special shotgun? A magical shotgun, if you will?

It’s true, he does. He uses a shotgun that, when he fires it, the buckshot curves around to hit the target when the plot demands it.

It’s true! And it’s dumb!

I know this, because if you yell for Violet to shoot Lilly in ep2, Abel will throw AJ to the grab, pull the shotgun out of nowhere, and fire at both her and Louis.... but somehow--

--only Louis manages to get hit.

Soooo.... I guess the buckshot swerves around and above Violet to ONLY hit Louis? Like, I know she ducks a bit but I still feel like something should’ve nicked her as well?? At least?? Like, are lesbians immune to shotguns and that’s why nothing hit Violet?? Am I only learning this now??

Not only that, but it only got Louis in the arm?? H-how??

But that’s not all!

After Louis and Violet flee the scene, Clementine and AJ are on the run with Lilly and Abel shooting BEHIND them... sooo...

If Abel was behind them.... how is it that AJ’s shot in the FRONT of his stomach??

Like, I guess Abel could’ve been at an angle when he shot but they only ever show him behind them soo?? Do I just not know how shotguns work? Do they curve to hit people in their front rather than shooting straight forward?? Because what??

On top of that, how is AJ not dead?? I know, I know, protagonist powers and whatnot but?? the boy took a shotgun to the belly?? other characters have survived lesser things??

But y’know, the dumbest part about this is the fact that I can’t take Abel’s magic shotgun for myself after the Ericson crew capture him. I could’ve just finished off every delta member if the shots curve and travel to hit their targets.

Or maybe Abel’s the only one who can harness its power.

Either way, Abel’s dumb shotgun is dumb.

3.You can’t hug Louis and Violet during their romance routes.

Sigh.... Why?

Y’all know that I’m a clouis shipper, and now lemme tell you a fun story that isn’t actually that fun-- Do you remember when the trailer dropped for ep3? And we got some teaser screenshots, with one of them being a shot of Clementine and Louis hugging? Well, I was excited for a plethora of reasons, and that hug?

I could not wait for this hug.

Then I got through my first run of ep3 and... no hug? Wait, no hug? Why not? I thought--

Oh. Oh, it turns out... it turns out you can only hug Louis if you don’t romance him.

Ummmm. Huh. Wha- why?? Do you know how dumb that is?? What dingus who worked on this episode forgot to implement the hug option for the romance route?? Rather, what dingus thought it was a good idea to only give the Louis romance two options outside of doing nothing-- Slap Louis, or kiss him?? Where’s my hug?? Why is Clementine not allowed to comfort her boyfriend with a hug when he’s clearly anxious about everything that’s about to go down?

Look, the smooch is great and all BUT it’s not what Louis needs in this moment, ya dingus.

I’m sure if I asked Kent for answers about this, he’d do one of two things-- go into a long winded essay about how the lack of hug and slapping him totally makes sense within the context of Louis’ character arc and route because of this and that and this subtle detail here... or he’d give a shrug and say “I dunno, reasons??”

Ugh, okay, well maybe they let you have the choice in Violet’s romance route--

...Why??

Again, if I choose to romance Violet, why am I not allowed to comfort my girlfriend with a hug before we do this rescue mission?? Sure, I can reassure her that I’m not going anywhere, which is definitely a better option for a love interest than, oh I don’t know, slapping. But the HUG!

They could’ve implemented the hug option into the romance routes but they didn’t and that’s incredibly dumb.

2. Magic tree is magic.

Know what I don’t like? The dream theory. Y’know, the theory that the overly happy ending we got at the end of TFS was all just a dream in AJ’s head to cope with the devastation of the real ending-- the one where Clementine died.

Now, I can already hear you scoffing at me once more like, “Dream theories are dumb, CJ.” and this time, I do agree with you.

However, there’s actually some compelling evidence that could subtly point at this theory, such as the backward graffiti in the dorms that was present in Clementine’s nightmare, or the fact that Clementine is, y’know, alive despite being seconds away from death in the barn...

Oh, and then there’s this fucking magic tree.

Oh, you know... the tree that magically grows in in ep4! The one with the tire swing!

Episode 3 vs Episode 4

This tree is dumb and makes no sense. What, did they just... plant a tree there? Did they push the tree up that was on the ground and use some magical wood glue to fix it?? Clementine said that Willy helped her with the tire swing so like... is Willy some sort of tree whisperer??

Or is this just further evidence of the dream theory where AJ’s lamenting the fact that Clementine never got to push him on the tire swing back at the train station and now she never will because she’s fucking dead??

I don’t wanna think about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that’s what the devs would tell me-- “Shhhh... don’t think about it.”

This tree is dumb!

1. What even is the greenhouse??

So.... the green house. It’s dumb. And inconsistent, both in the story and actual location of it.

First of all, as you can see in the concept image above, it should be within the walls of Ericson, yeah? And if you’re like, “Well, it’s CONCEPT art so it might not be totally accurate CJ.” and I say, “Fair enough, let’s look that the actual in-game map the characters use then.”

Look at that-- still within the walls of Ericson, though in a different location than the concept art. Make sense? Sooo....

Where the hell is it?

Because it’s not within Ericson’s walls. No, no--

It is WAAAAY the hell out here! You can see the bell tower in the distance so like... huh? Where are we?? This is a long as walk to the greenhouse!

Oh, and if the weird inconsistent locations weren’t dumb enough, there are different conflicting stories surrounding it, as well!

First, Marlon says that they had it functional with lots of vegetables, but then it became over grown so they don’t go out there anymore. Then, if you go fishing with Violet and Brody, Vi will tell you she worked in the greenhouse the day the twins were killed last year, which... doesn’t add up? Especially when we actually go there in ep2 and see that Ms. Martin died and became a walker inside, but she died a while ago??

Also, how did Ms. Martin get tied up like that? Did she get bit, barricade the doors-- wait, that doesn’t work because how did she barricade the science lab from the inside when there’s a shelf in front of the door?? In fact, shouldn’t the walkers that are inside be students that died??

“Sshhhh... don’t think about it.”

Ugh, nothing adds up about this greenhouse and that makes it the dumbest thing in TFS.

---

Honorable Mentions

AJ magically teleporting behind Marlon with the gun. Because plot.

The dumb padlock on the gate Louis/Violet/Tenn climb over in ep4 that they could’ve easily broken

Louis’ jacket that somehow holds Chairles

The padding on Violet’s boot that’s rendered useless because they put it on the leg she doesn’t use to kick walkers away

---

Those are my Top 5 dumbest things in TFS, do you agree or disagree? Do you have anything from this game that’s dumber than what I have listed? Let me know!

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Characters in ANF Who Would’ve Made Better Love Interests Than Kate

#twdg t5f #twdg #twdg clementine #twdg aj #twdg louis #twdg violet #twdg lilly #twdg abel #twdg marlon #twdg aasim #twdg mitch #twdg tfs

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flightfoot · 4 years ago

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ML Fic Recs for Alya Stans

can you keep a secret by euphorickiri:

Summary:

once alya had her mind set on something, it was hard for her to let it go. she often got herself into trouble because of this, but, in her words, this was the "life of a journalist". but when she uncovers a secret that seems too impossible to believe, alya opens up a whole new world of danger.

"with a mask and a costume, don’t you think adrien looks a little bit like chat noir?”

she comes to realize some secrets should stay buried.

Oh man, this one is underappreciated! (Also don’t worry about the summary and title being completely lower case, the fic has proper punctuation.)

This is one of the rare occasions where Alya has a ton of issues of her own going on, with just having recovered from being akumatized as Lady Wifi and REMEMBERING the whole thing (that’s plot-relevant), being harassed at school because this is still early in the series and people haven’t gotten the concept that anyone can be akumatized and it isn’t the victim’s fault, on top of some pretty severe issues at home with her parents using her as a go-between when fighting, being put in charge of her younger siblings’ care a lot, and being insulted and harangued by her parents whenever Alya can’t live up to their insane expectations and generally not considering how she feels about anything at all. Plus she keeps having some very, VERY disturbing dreams about Lady Wifi that feel way too real...

It’s rare to see a fic focusing squarely on Alya’s problems and emotions - which, granted, is likely because canonically we haven’t seen evidence that there’s a ton of strife in her life. But it’s very refreshing and interesting to see here, especially with Adrien constantly checking up on her, commiserating with her, helping her as best he can, knowing a lot of the kind of thing she’s going through because he’s experienced it himself. Just everyone focusing on Alya, on understanding what’s going on with her and trying to help (though there’s not always a ton that can be done).

I highly recommend it for any Alya or Adrien stan.

Me, My Best Friend, And Her Cat by @ladyofthenoodle:

Summary:

Ladybugs aren't known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back.

(And giving Ladybug's love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya's defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)

It’s always great to see Alya and Marinette being friends and Alya getting to be awesome. She makes for a great Secret Secret Keeper!

you’re the volcano (i’m the raptor) by SnappleSnapSnake

Summary:

“But what if everyone thinks that she’s meant for this, but she’s really not? Because, you know, it’s like crazy magic jewelry- and maybe she’s wondering why such a clumsy idiot would even bother to try and save the world.”

And suddenly, everything clicked.

She grabbed her new friend by the shoulders, effectively cutting off her rambling. “Oh my god, you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette’s voice went high, and she squealed out, “What? No! Not that! I am! Not that! Definitely, totally not that!”

Alya just grinned, eyes sparkling and awed.

(yeah, they were definitely going to be best friends for life)

A oneshot featuring a series of short vignettes after various season 1 episodes, with how things change since Alya’s aware that Marinette is Ladybug the whole time. Features a lot of friendly teasing and banter!

Outfoxed by @captorations:

Summary:

Lila Rossi is not a Miraculous wielder. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have power. Alya was under her spell, along with so many others, until the day Lila unknowingly overstepped herself. Freed at last, the true Fox recognizes magic when she sees it, even if it doesn’t come from a source she understands. She is none too happy about this pretender abusing her natural gifts to make fools of Alya and those she loves.

Alya Césaire might need an enchanted necklace and the aid of a tiny deity to cast illusions, but she swore to use her borrowed abilities for the greater good long ago. There is none better suited to facilitate the liar’s downfall.

And maybe she’ll help her best friend sort out her increasingly complex love life along the way.

I wrote an analysis on this fic, so I’m guessing a lot of my followers are already aware of it. I’m REALLY not a big fan of Lila takedown fics at this point, but this is an exception - largely because of how much it focuses on Alya and what a bi disaster she is. Alya, Adrien, the class, they’re all treated well, and it’s just really satisfying to get to see Alya take down Lila considering how Alya’s often treated in those kinds of fics, as well as having Marinette so highly value Alya. Also has a really nice sequel where the rest of the class gets to have fun and kick butt!

Final Restoration by InkyCoffee

Summary:

Six months ago, Alya and Marinette had a terrible fight after Marinette flaked out on an important event. This afternoon, Alya filmed Hawkmoth's defeat. Friendship fic, Alya's POV.

I really like fics where Alya and Marinette can have a fight without either of them really being in the wrong, with it mostly coming down to having incomplete information - in Alya’s case, with not knowing that Marinette’s Ladybug. This is just a really nice resolution to such a fight, with both parties reconciling once the full truth comes out.

Damsel In (Need Of) Destress by @angelofthequeers

Summary:

Ladybug and Ryuuko have a little competition going on. The aim? To rescue Alya during akuma attacks. And naturally, Alya is Done with her girlfriends' shenanigans, while Chat Noir is just oblivious to the three-way tension.

This one’s just cute and funny! Also it’s always great to see Alya being so highly valued and loved.

#alya cesaire #alya sugar #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #ml fanfic recs #rena rouge

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shakespeareanwannabe · 4 years ago

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Strange Comforts

Santiago ‘Pope’ Garcia x OC

Summary: A sequel to ‘Protective Instincts’ and a prequel to ‘Best Laid Plans’ (I wish I could link them here but I’m still figuring that stuff out). With T-minus 10 weeks to go before the baby arrives, Pope discovers that it’s the little things in life that bring the most comfort. *This one’s not based off clarke’s wonderful headcanons, but it’s set in the same universe so that’s where the credit goes!*

Warnings: Pregnancy fic, swearing, references to smut, references PTSD, references to therapy

A/N: Hi everyone! This is part three of who-knows-how-many of my Dad!Pope series. I’m still looking for a series title, and I’m trying to figure out how to create a masterlist for this so I can put them in order for y’all. I hope you enjoy! I loved reading your comments for the last two! Please let me know if you want to be tagged in future installments!

***

“…and, unless someone else wants to share, I think we’ll wrap up for today,” the kind-eyed therapist addressed the group of veterans, shooting a small glance towards Pope out of the corner of his eye.

True to his word, Santiago had been attending group therapy sessions for the last six months, his first session taking place exactly a week after Bex had told him the good news. Will had highly recommended this therapist, having gone to see him himself when his fiancée had left him, and hoped he could shed some light on Pope’s issues so that he wouldn’t walk out on his pregnant girlfriend next time things got hard.

And Pope had been attending the sessions. Listening to what other veterans said, the issues they were going through, it helped. Sure, both Frankie and Will had been fairly vocal about the problems they ran into while trying to adjust to civilian life, and Pope knew that Tom had had massive difficulties when they forced him to retire, and Benny’s issues were plain to see even if he didn’t talk about them, but those were his friends, his brothers, his family. They had all seen the same shit, so, clearly, they would have similar issues. But hearing random strangers, Marines, and Rangers, Navy and Military and Air Force men and women speak about seeing IEDs everywhere, and drinking to forget, and panicking at the sight of blood was…strangely comforting. The only problem was that Pope could never bring himself to speak.

He wanted to. God knew he wanted to. He needed to be okay. For Bex and the baby, for Frankie and Charlie and Mateo, for Benny and Will, for Molly and the girls, and, most importantly, for himself. So he could stop feeling like a major fuck up in every aspect of his life, so he could feel deserving of the life he had inexplicably been blessed with. But whenever he would try to open his mouth, he froze. How could he possibly talk about the shit he had done in the name of freedom? Was there a way to talk about his instincts shutting his emotions down without coming across as a cold-hearted bastard? Why did his tongue stop working whenever he tried to talk about how deathly afraid he was of screwing up this baby’s life, Bex’s life, their life together as a family? How deathly afraid he was that he had already screwed up Frankie’s, Will’s, and Benny’s lives? How he had nightmares of when Tom had died?

Santiago used to think he was a brave man, but now he felt like a coward. He could face down armed sicarios and terrorists without batting an eye, but he couldn’t talk about his emotions to save his family. It was complete and utter bullshit in his mind.

“Alright everyone, I’ll see you next week,” the therapist dismissed the group and Pope shot to his feet, beelining towards the coffee station.

Everyone else stood around talking, chatting about their daily lives or the weather or whatever, but Pope focused on mixing his coffee. He used to take it black, but then Bex started teasing him that only psychopaths took their coffee black, so he started mixing milk and sugar in instead. He liked it, but he needed it to be perfect.

“You actually drink this swill?” the therapist came up behind him and chuckled.

Pope cracked a smile. “I’ve had worse.”

“Haven’t we all,” he murmured. “Question Mark.”

Santiago shook his hand. “Pope.”

“You’re Ironhead’s friend, right?” Pope nodded. “Damn…he’s told me some of the crap you guys have been through. Sounds like holy hell.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Shit, man. No wonder you don’t talk during these meetings.”

Pope felt himself flush. “I mean…you know…”

“Hey, it’s fine. This is a no pressure situation. You just had me curious is all. Either you get people who don’t stop talking, or people who never talk in these sessions. But you…you always look like you want to talk but think better of it.”

Pope shrugged. “It’s like you said. Holy hell. Got used to not talking about the bad stuff.”

“So, what changed?”

Pope smiled softly, his eyes taking on a far-off look. “My girl’s pregnant.”

“Congratulations, man,” Question Mark slapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks…” Pope shook his head slowly, sadly. “I almost screwed it up. Hell, I’m half convinced that I did, and this is all a dream. But when she told me…”

Question Mark was already nodding. “All of your training went haywire? Started imagining the worst?”

Pope cocked his eyebrow grimly. “Basically.”

The therapist nodded understandingly. “I get that. Same thing happened to me when my wife got pregnant with our third. Despite the other two being great kids, something about my last tour made me think that I’d screw the pooch with the new one. Checked myself into a hotel for a few days and drank myself silly until my brother-in-law showed up and told me that my kids were asking about me. That sobered me up pretty quick.”

Pope grinned grimly. “It was my buddy Catfish for me. Called me and reamed me out, and if Ironhead has told you anything about Fish, you know that he’s not the type at all. But it shook me enough to get my ass back to my house and beg for her forgiveness.”

“But you still sometimes think it’s all a dream?”

“I always thought guys like me don’t get the happy ending.” Pope sipped his coffee and shrugged. “But I’ll take it and run with it. She’s the best thing in my life. I’m not gonna let her down again.”

Question Mark smiled and dug into his pocket, pulling out first his wallet, then his card from his wallet. “Listen, Pope. I know how it can feel trying to talk to a room full of strangers. It sucks sometimes. If you ever want to chat, just one on one, give me a call. I’d be happy to help.”

Pope sucked in a deep breath and took the card. “Yeah, man. That would be great. Thank you.”

“No worries, man. Just, do me a favour?” Pope nodded. “Remember that you deserve this, okay?”

With a final clap on the shoulder, Question Mark moved away and began chatting with another member of the group.

Pope guzzled down the rest of his coffee and threw out the cup, heading home after a successful session.

***

Bex giggled to herself at the soft sounds of cursing and arguing emanating from the spare bedroom as she stirred the pitcher of lemonade.

Frankie, Benny and Will had come over to help Pope put together the furniture for the nursery and, based on the echoes she was hearing, it was not going particularly well. She had abandoned her rocking chair in favour of making the team refreshments after Benny had let loose a string of impressive swear words in two different languages. At approximately 30 weeks pregnant, laughing as hard as she did while listening to Ben swear himself blue in the face just made her have to pee, so she dismissed herself knowing that if she didn’t she would have to endure a lifetime of teasing.

“Just a sec!” she called out as the doorbell rang.

Slow and steady footsteps descended the stairs as a call of “I got it, babe!” echoed down the hall. Rebecca came around the corner with her tray of lemonade and potato chips as Pope handed over a few crisp twenty-dollar bills to the pizza delivery guy.

“Thanks man, you have a good day,” he smiled as he closed the door.

“Mmm, what’d you get?” she inhaled deeply. She’d gotten pretty lucky with the cravings so far, but she would not deny that pizza sounded pretty damn good.

“Got us a meat lovers, got you a pepperoni and pineapple since I know you’ve been on a sweet and salty kick lately.” Pope opened the smaller box to reveal the steaming, cheesy pizza and Bex felt her mouth begin to water.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?” she asked, placing her tray of snacks on top of the pizza boxes Pope was holding out to her.

He smirked at her, his eyes drifting up and down her body slowly. “You told me several times this morning, but I’ll never stop you from saying it again.”

Rebecca felt herself flush at the memory. Those second trimester hormones had hit her hard and seemed to be lasting a good long while, and Pope was certainly not complaining. His girl was stunning. She was always stunning to him, but that primal part of his brain told him that she was even more stunning when she had a belly full of his baby. Her bump was prominent, her tits were bigger and more sensitive, her skin was glowing, and that alpha male voice inside his brain crowed every time he woke up to her beautiful face and growing belly that it was all because of him. He had knocked her up and, thank God, she had decided that she loved him enough to want to raise a family with him. She was achy and uncomfortable, but she loved him and wanted his kid, and that meant more to him than he could ever say. Luckily, with the influx of hormones the past few months, he had been able to show her instead.

He watched as she slowly climbed the stairs, taking care to stay a few steps behind her just in case.

“How’s it going up here anyway?”

Pope groaned. “I don’t get it, baby. I can field strip any gun you put in my hands blindfolded. All of us can. How the fuck is this stuff beating us?”

Bex giggled softly as she entered the nursery and absorbed the scene in front of her. What she wouldn’t give for her phone right now so she could take a picture. Benny sat in the middle of the floor, looking like he was about to cry; crib pieces scattered around him. Will was leaning against the wall with a tired hand over his eyes, a half-assembled dresser beside him. Frankie was sitting in her abandoned rocking chair, cap pulled low over his eyes. He looked like he could be asleep, if only his leg wasn’t bouncing up and down anxiously.

“Soups on, fellas,” Pope announced, prompting the team to abandon their projects for paper plates piled high with pizza slices and tall glasses of lemonade.

Bex smiled fondly at her family as Pope, Benny and Will sat against the far wall underneath the bay window, the three men examining the assembly directions for the crib like they were preparing for a siege.

Frankie held out his hand to offer her the rocking chair but she shook her head. “If I sit in that thing any longer, I feel like I’m gonna turn into a grandmother instead of a mom.”

Frankie cracked a small smile. “Fair enough…” he scanned the room quickly before meeting her eyes again. “Do you want me to go grab a chair from the kitchen?”

Again, she shook her head. “The floor is good, Frankie.”

“You sure? I can—”

“As long as you promise to help me up when I inevitably need to pee, I’m positive,” she chuckled.

“You got it, kid,” Frankie held her hands to help her gently lower herself onto the hardwood floor before throwing himself down beside her. “How ya feeling?”

Bex shrugged as she bit into her deliciously sweet and salty slice of pizza. “You know, I’m actually alright. I know I’ve gotten pretty lucky, but I thought this whole pregnancy thing would be a lot tougher.”

Frankie nodded kindly as he chewed on his own slice. “I remember how Charlie was when she was pregnant with Mateo,” he reminisced. “Couldn’t sleep more than ten minutes at a time, constantly had to pee, had to wear these ugly compression socks. She handled it like a champ for the first 30 or so weeks, but by the time he was finally ready to make his entrance, we were both ready for her not to be pregnant anymore.”

“Yeah, she mentioned that,” she murmured. When Frankie had raced over to calm her down after Pope had left, one of the first things he said was that he and Charlie would be there for them, no matter what. And they had been. Charlie in particular had been Bex’s lifeline. She had been so kind and understanding, helping Bex get set up with an OB/GYN, lending her pregnancy and parenting books, and just letting her bitch and cry whenever she needed a female shoulder to cry on. “She said she got to a point where she would’ve given anything to just get Mateo out.”

Frankie nodded. “Oh yeah,” he sighed. “The week before he was born, she was not sleeping. Her emotions were all over the place, she wasn’t hungry, she couldn’t sit still, and she would get angry at me for the littlest things. It got to the point where I didn’t recognize her anymore, you know? Like, where did the woman I love go?”

Bex reached over and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “That must’ve been tough.”

Frankie shrugged. “Like I said, she handled it like a champ. And I sure as shit wasn’t about to complain when she was in labor for the better part of three days.”

Bex whistled lowly. “Three days…Jesus…”

“I’m sure it won’t be that way for you,” he backtracked quickly, playing with the back of his cap as he ducked his head. “I dunno the statistics or anything but…”

“Hey, hey, Frankie, chill. It’s okay.” She pulled his hand away from his hat and ran her hand up and down his arm. “You feeling okay, Frankie? You seem…on edge.”

Frankie looked across the room at his brothers, deeply entrenched in the assembly directions, before sighing. “She’s pregnant again,” he whispered.

A bright smile crossed her face. “What? Oh my god, congratulations!” She reached out and wrapped her arms as best she could around his shoulders.

“Thanks…” he sighed.

“Do you…did you not want another baby?” she asked, confused at his dismal attitude. Frankie had been the one to talk Pope off the cliff, telling him how great fatherhood could be. And it was clear through his interactions with Mateo that he was an amazing father. He was one of those dads who flourished under the responsibilities of parenthood, who saw taking care of their child as a joy and a privilege, not as a job or as babysitting. If there was one thing Rebecca knew for sure, it was that Francisco Morales was a family man through and through, so she was a little surprised at the dread in her friend’s eyes. She had expected Frankie to be more…enthusiastic about having a second baby.

“Of course, I do, Bex, I just…” Frankie groaned, doffing his cap for a moment to run a stressed hand through his hair before redonning it. “I’m making jack shit right now at work, and Mateo is almost three, and the pregnancy was so rough on Charlie last time…I just…I can’t let my family down.”

Charlie shuffled herself closer and wrapped her arm around Frankie, leaning her cheek on his shoulder. “You won’t…” she murmured softly. “Yeah, this kid was unexpected but you and I both know your wife. She wouldn’t be having a second kid if she didn’t want one. Plus, you both know what to expect now. Hopefully she’ll have an easier time this go around, but you also know the signs and what kinds of questions to ask. And yeah, Mateo is young, but that’s okay. You guys can start teaching him responsibility early and, if they both end up being too much, call Benny to take Mateo.” Frankie cocked his eyebrow and Bex laughed. “Well, I was gonna say call Santi, but we’re gonna be a little busy ourselves. Benny’s energy can match a three-year-old easily though.” Frankie chuckled and wrapped his arm around his best friend’s girl. “As for money,” Bex shrugged. “I know Santi could use some help managing the security firm. He wanted you to partner with him anyway, and he’s still holding out hope that you’ll join him, so why not?”

Frankie nodded slowly. “I could help him out a couple of days a week and still teach flying lessons. Yeah, that could work. I’ll talk with him and see what he says.”

Bex chuckled as she shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not gonna be much of a conversation, Frankie, trust me. He’s been hoping you’ll take him up on his offer. Don’t tell him I told you, but he’s missed working with you.”

Frankie smiled softly as he watched Pope grab Benny in a headlock while Will shook his head slowly. “Yeah, I missed him too.”

Bex shifted again and Frankie stood, gently helping her stand, recognizing the signs immediately. The two watched the MMA fighter and the security firm director wrestle on the floor for a minute before Will was able to separate them.

Bex turned to Frankie and smiled. “If you really missed him, can you do me a favour?”

“Anything for you, kid,” he smiled back at her.

“Stop fucking around and help them build the damn furniture please. I know you put together all of Mateo’s furniture on your own, so please, put them out of their misery.”

Frankie’s loud bark of laughter startled everyone. He wrapped his arm around Bex and gave her a quick squeeze. “Sure thing, kid. Hey, idiotas! Let’s get moving. We want this stuff ready before the baby’s first birthday, okay?”

***

Pope sighed contentedly as the golden rays of the setting sun illuminated the dust particles dancing in the air. These moments were quickly turning into his favourite nightly ritual.

The radio droned lowly as he sat in bed, dressed in a pair of shorts, with Bex sitting reclined against his chest. He had just finished applying coco butter to her skin, and now his hands were resting gently on her belly, waiting for their kid to make their presence known.

Bex took a deep breath, allowing the air to escape through her lips as she cuddled further down into bed, resting her head just above her boyfriend’s heart. She loved these moments too, when it was just the two of them. No museum breathing down her neck, no art classes to teach, no security emergencies calling him away from her. Just the two of them, bonding with the baby that was nestled safely within her.

Sometimes, Santiago would talk to the baby when they sat like this. He’d tell stories about his childhood, about their relationship, about the kid’s future aunts and uncles. Sometimes, he would play classical music on his phone and direct the speaker towards her belly. Sometimes, he would talk to her, sharing his thoughts and fears, tell her about the things that he wanted to do with their kid when they were old enough. Most of the time, he would just hold her in silence and wait for the kid to kick or roll inside of her so he could feel it.

“The nursery looks really nice, babe,” she mumbled drowsily, wincing slightly as her skin bulged out against Pope’s palm, the outline of a tiny foot appearing for a brief second.

“That’s all you, sweetheart,” he replied, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple as he soothed his hands up and down her swollen stomach. “The Hundred Acre Woods theme is stunning.”

Originally, Rebecca had wanted a jungle theme for the nursery, but Pope had borderline begged her to do something else, literally anything else, that wouldn’t remind him of crouching in the Colombian jungles next to Tom the day before everything went to shit. So, he hadn’t complained when she announced that she was going to Disney-fy the kid’s room with a mural of the Hundred Acre Woods and all of Christopher Robin’s friends.

“I made it pretty, you made it functional,” she yawned, shifting slightly to lie on her side, her left arm wrapping around his side as she nuzzled into his chest.

Pope snorted. “Yeah, once you convinced Frankie to stop being a prick.”

Under Frankie’s direction, all of the furniture was put together in less than an hour. The solid oak crib, dresser/changing table, shelving unit and rocking chair pulled the room together nicely, and the white bassinet sat in the corner of their bedroom, waiting to be put to use.

Rebecca smiled sleepily. “Not my fault you three didn’t notice that the one dad in the group was sitting around twiddling his thumbs.”

Pope grinned down at her. “We make a pretty good team, huh baby?”

She lifted her droopy eyes to him for a moment and smiled brightly at him. “Forever and always, my love.” She ran a gentle hand over her belly and sighed happily. “You’re stuck with me now.”

It suddenly struck Santiago how badly he wanted that to be true. What wouldn’t he give to wake up next to this beautiful woman every day? To be allowed to love her and spend as much time in her presence as possible? To raise their child together and be a family? To grow old with her by his side?

He ghosted his hand down her side and gently picked up her left hand, running his thumb over the knuckle of her ring finger as she drifted off to sleep.

“Not yet I’m not, mi amor,” he whispered. “But I want to be. If you’ll have me.”

He gently shifted them down the mattress, curling up behind her and resting his hands lovingly on her belly as he settled in to sleep, taking comfort in the knowledge that everyone he loved was safe in his arms that night.

Tags list (open): @darksideofclarke, @writefightandflightclub, @eternallyvenus, @rae-rae-patcha

#santiago pope garcia x oc #santiago pope garcia #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfic #fanfiction #oscar issac #frankie catfish morales #pedro pascal #dad!pope

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themerriweathermage · 4 years ago

Text

Author Interview

I was tagged by @sleepswithvillains . I’ve never been tagged much before so this is kind of new for me, but I love it! Tag me all the time! Also you did it again, where I got the Tumblr notification like right as I went to bed, but my sleep schedule is so wack right now.

Tagging: @guardianofrivendell @moriamithril @sunflower1000 and really whoever wants to do it. Drop me a tag if you decide to do it because I definitely want to see what you have to say!

I have a lot of unfinished fics and not a lot of published works in comparison.

1. Name: The Merriweather Mage (Tumblr)/ RinzlersGhost (AO3)

2. Fandoms: LOTR/The Hobbit, The Witcher (TV), SWTOR/Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Twilight, Underworld (though I’m not active in most of them unless I’m hyper-fixating)

3. Where you post: AO3, Tumblr, and I have an inactive FF.NET account

4. Most popular oneshot: People seem to have a real affinity for Meleth-nin/My Love. I actually hated writing it, because I was in such a bad place after receiving news that my childhood dog had died, but I don’t hate the fic itself.

5. Most popular multichapter: Every Kitten Has Claws which is a Geralt X Druid Fem!Reader. 25 Kudos, 3 bookmarks, 517 hits. Followed by Turuhalme in the Greenwood which is Thranduil X Fem!Reader. 9 Kudos, 1 bookmark, 270 hits. Both contain 18+ Content.

6. Actual worst part of writing: I legitimately hate writing fight scenes. I’m horrible at them and most of my fics contain some sort of fight scene obnoxiously enough. Although the best advice I ever saw on here was to keep your fight scenes short because not very many people are interested in a long drawn out detailed fight scene.

7. Favorite story you wrote: Bards & Beans Coffee Co. Elrond X Fem!Reader. Was the first time I’d ever written anything in the second person. I based it off of a dream I had about meeting Elrond in a coffee shop. I planned it, wrote it, and posted it in the span of four days. It’s basically as if Middle Earth exists on the other side of meridian locks, and it’s set during the War of the Ring but with some of the characters from the Hobbit so the timelines are pretty pushed together. Your side of the meridian locks has a Earth that is basically a continuous strip of land that varies from high-tech futuristic ports all the way down to medieval ports. Basically the farther North you go, the more high tech and futuristic the land becomes. Quite a shock for those who would have never been to the other side of the locks. 18+ Content.

8. Story you were nervous to post: Most likely all of them. Any of my Twilight work though, I always hesitate about publishing. Sometimes it’s because the stories are close to my heart, but I also know that the fandom can be rabid. Most of the interactions I’ve ever had with Twilight blogs are fine, but there’s a lot of discourse about Twilight right now, and while I appreciate that most people are in the right (the issue with the Quileute tribe, the Cullen’s as villains, Jasper and the Confederacy, the actual legitimacy of the Volturi as a ruling body, etc), this is actually one of the reasons I left the fandom from a writing/following POV. (There are many, many things that are wrong with Twilight and not from a literature point of view. For example, Meyers took a real life Native American tribe and treated them highly unfairly in the books, to the point of calling them dogs which isn’t very fair at all, and they have received no compensation for being used and they are risk in the place they live in now. If you have some time and money, I would recommend checking out the Quileute Move to Higher Ground project.)

9. How you choose your titles: For story titles, I like to choose the main theme or a main phrase that is used. For chapter titles, I either don’t title or I will chose something that is a main part of the chapter.

10. Complete works: Out of the 21 works I have on AO3, 18 of them are completed, although one is an open ended and may be reopened after I get some of the larger works out of my way. As for fics in general that I haven’t published or have published on other platforms, there is 2 of 5 complete works on FF.NET. Some of those stories I will be pulling and deleting. The two complete works will be migrating to AO3.

11. Incomplete works: Actively: Sadril-nin/My Loyal One, A Hunter’s Circlet, and Beauty in Brokenness (unpublished for now). I have a few other inactive LOTR/The Hobbit based fics that I might try to finish after the main two are finished. Inactive: Literally too many to count. I mean, when I wrote my goodbye to the Twilight fandom, I said that I had been writing for the fandom for nearly nine years. I have so many unfinished Twilight fics, well over 100.

12. Do you outline: Not usually. I’m at the point with Sadril-nin right now where I’m literally following a map of Middle Earth and cataloguing the journey across the map, so I guess that could be considered an outline. Mostly if I’m writing for LOTR/The Hobbit, I want to follow the timeline of progression for the story that’s already been written. I do have a little bit of leeway in that gap between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings though.

13. Coming soon ideas, maybe? I’ve been giving you a taste of Beauty in Brokenness. I do intend to publish it, but it’s a constant struggle to rework it. I have ideas that I want to cement in the story that don’t always come out the way I want them to, so I am consistently reworking parts of it all the time. I will also be rewriting (eventually) Crown of Thorns, which is Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic, Lord Beckett X Siren!OFC. I also appreciate the idea of Nestadion X Centaur Fem!Reader, but instead of being a centaur all the time, you’re actually a shifter who can turn into a centaur. Really confuses a warrior elf to see what amounts to a small human carrying this massive two handed sword around and calling him “princess” all the time.

14. Ask me anything: Is there anything you miss in fanfic? In comparison to the actual book/movie? Not really. I appreciate the original works, but I recognize that they can be flawed and so can their authors/writers. Which is why fanfic is so appealing-- everyone has a different spin on the original; everyone has a different take on the characters, everyone writes differently, and that’s the fascinating part to me. The only downside, of course with any fanfic, is the fandom and it can be hit or miss with people. It is what it is, and the liberty of fanfic is that not everyone is going to like or enjoy your works, and the same goes for your tastes. Are there right or wrong opinions? I don’t know; I’ve both read and written some morally ambiguous fics, and some I would like to forget that I very much haven’t.

15. Best writing traits: Same as the worst writing traits. I’m a sucker for detail. I love it. I want my readers to see it like I do. When I read books or play D&D or play video games, I see it like I’m in a movie. When I write, I want you to see it like you’re on set and the cameras are rolling and you are perfectly prepared. I want you to feel like you are in the story, which is why my oneshots turn into series, and my multi-chapter fics turn into novel length stories. I find it obnoxious at times, because I feel like I can’t ever turn it off, but by the feedback I get, some of y’all really enjoy it, so let’s get this show on the road.

16. Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: Uhhhh, let me go browse my WIP folder. I’ve put quite a bit of research into rewriting Crown of Thorns and making it slightly more historically accurate. I know that there will be a Part 2 to Sadril-nin, because I’m not going to time skip a seventy/eighty year gap between the timelines of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. And I really don’t want to submit y’all to this absolutely massive story all jam-packed into one fic. Other than that, I’m also sitting on Through Hellfire and High Waters, which is another Elrond X Reader fic that follows the premise of a modern/medieval world all smashed into one. The Queen of Eryn Galen also needs a proper ending and to be published, a Thranduil X OFC fic; this one will also have a Part 2.

17. Spicy Tangential Opinion: I don’t care if my writing makes the characters out of character. I try to tag that if I can, but let’s be real here. Either I’m writing a character that originally has a limited backstory and a very real chance at an open-ended future, or I didn’t like the canon character and I’m rejecting that reality and replacing it with my own. Does it mean that I don’t or am refusing to recognize character flaws? No, and that’s the beauty of fanfic. You can do whatever you want. You might get hate for it or you might not. For example, I am a fan of Severus Snape (RIP Alan Rickman). Does his character have flaws? Yes. Do I like the way he was canonically written? No. Are his actions justifiable? Hell no. Is that going to stop me from being a fan? Again, no. He is arguably one of the most disagreed upon character of that series. I don’t see a need to defend why I write him the way I do. I don’t see a need to defend him in discourse, and I’m certainly not going to be hateful about it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about it. Yes, there was probably some underlying intent when the character was written. I’m not here (unless you’re specifically asking my opinion on it) I’m not here to read in between the lines with characters like Snape. I do not care enough to lose friends over opinions like that.

#long post #i am so sorry #get to know the author

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kpopgerapitico · 3 years ago

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Top Five Comfort Characters

Tagged by @dramajib

So, in a surprise that is not surprising to anyone, I have over complicated this by writing way too much and making two lists, because two is better than one. The short of it is, I realized I have a few characters whose canonical presentation is a comfort to me, and a few characters whose fanon presentation is a comfort to me, but they don’t make sense being on the same list. So, two lists (also, gender is a thing with these . . . don’t know what that means . . .)

Canon Picks

Keladry of Mindelan (written by Tamora Pierce in the Protector of the Small quartet)

Kris Longknife (written by Mike Shepherd in Kris Longknife series)

Honor Harrington (written by David Weber in Honor Harrington Series)

Ha Moon Soo (played by Won Jin Ah in Just Between Lovers)

Ted Lasso (played by Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso)

Fanon Picks:

William “Dex” Poindexter (originally from Check, Please!)

James “ Jim” Kirk (originally from Star Trek (usually AOS))

Mako Mori (originally from Pacific Rim)

Merlin (originally from Merlin)

Keladry of Mindelan (wait, i’ll explain, if you want)

The Over Explanation:

Canon: These are characters that bring me enough joy that I have revisited them multiple times, to re-immerse myself in their lives and experiences. I enjoy their plots, but more than that, the characters themselves.

Kel: Kel is strong, brave and competent (see competency porn as it continues to rear its head for this entire canon list). She dominates in a traditionally male field, and challenges stereotypes about women in those roles. And I honestly could have made a list entirely formed of women from Tamora Pierce’s works, but I resisted and just chose her. If you haven’t read these books, I highly recommend them.

Kris: Kris is smart, creative and competent. She is a character that was introduced to me by my dad, who enjoys sci-fi epics, and I associate her stories with cold dark nights in the winter where my only entertainment was the radio, and any books I had around. Her stories have great adventures, and cunning solutions to world destroying problems. And you know she will always make it out in the end. Also, swoon worthy romance line that is always part of my re-reads.

Honor: Honor is regal, driven and competent. Like Kris, she is a sci-fi heroine who gets what she wants. Her stories have a lot more loss, but are also familiar beats to me from so many re-reads, that the pain feels worn down from time. She also has the benefit of avoiding the shitty family trope (same with Kel, though Kris’ family is a mess), and having the support of a dope empathic pet/sidekick/familiar. Also, she deals with issues of self confidence around feeling ugly, and feeling unworthy of romantic love, while also being confident in other aspects of her life, which resonates so heavily with me. It might be more heavy material, but it makes me feel hope for myself.

Moon Soo: Moon Soo is calm, emotional and competent. She blends a creative job with a stem field, which is something I wish I could do. She is also a great example of taking the emotional baggage trope in a new direction, both with how she handles her trauma and the emotional weight of her love interests trauma. Her series is again more heavy, but it works, and she is such a breath of fresh air, that every time I rewatch the show, I fall more in love with her.

Ted: Ted is kind, broken, and competent. Ted Lasso is in some ways the person I wish I was. He doesn’t see the world in rose tinted glasses, but rather chooses to always look on the bright side of things. And it isn’t a facade, it is a conscious choice to be positive and be kind. He may be new to my life, but I have already watched episodes over and over and over again, for his witty one-liners, and the fact that he feels like a warm hug.

Fanon: These are characters that are either minor in their original shows, or have a distinctive personality in fanon that draws me to their representations in other media. Or, in some cases, the extension of canon of a main character makes me all the happier.

Dex: Dex’s journey is often that about letting go of prejudice, and every time it happens, it makes me hopeful for what humanity can be. Because he grows to if not understand, than at least empathize with other people in nearly every work, and if that could happen to everyone in college, the world would be a better place. Seeing that reality is a lovely escape after any long day.

Kirk: Kirk’s journeys are almost always emotional, and often painful, which doesn’t necessarily feel comforting. But it is escapist, and feeds my urge for gossip and drama in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone. Sometimes his works are like reading a sitcom, sometimes a high level drama, and sometimes they are just a sci-fi epic with a big budget and lots of explosions. All are fun in their own ways, and keep me coming back, even on the worst of days.

Mako Mori: I don’t read a ton of Mako Mori fanon works, but any time she is mentioned anywhere, I get a smile on my face because she is such a great character. She is connected to her emotions without being defined by them, and she got a plot in a big budget action thriller that is about her rather than romance. I love when people love her, and it is nice to see so many people appreciate what she represents.

Merlin. He’s so fun and weird and strange and loving. He is supportive of all of his friends. And his stories are often about accepting ones truth, or revealing oneself in meaningful ways to the people around you, which is a cathartic trope for me.

Kel: She’s back because there is this one like 100,000 word fic that I’ve read a couple of times over the pandemic that made even huge problems seem like they can be solved, and made me feel hopeful. She is an escape in fanon as much as in canon, and I love her for it.

If you want to do this, do this! Everyone I would tag has already done it!

#thanks for the tag

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aaronmaurer · 4 years ago

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TV I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

Was there ever a year more unpredictably tailor-made for peak TV than 2020? Lockdowns/quarantines/stay-at-home orders meant a lot more time at home and the occasion to check out new and old favorites. (I recognize that if you’re lucky enough to have kids or roommates or a S.O., your amount of actual downtime may have been wildly different). While the pandemic resulted in production delays and truncated seasons for many shows, the continued streaming-era trends of limited series and 8-13 episode seasons mean that a lot of great and satisfying storytelling still made its way to the screen. As always, I in no way lay any claims to “best-ness” or completeness – this is just a list of the shows that brought me the most joy and escapism in a tough year and therefore might be worth putting on your radar.

10 Favorites

10. The Right Stuff: Season 1 (Disney+)

As a space program enthusiast, even I had to wonder, does the world really need another retelling of NASA’s early days? Especially since Tom Wolfe’s book has already been adapted as the riveting and iconoclastic Philip Kaufman film of the same name? While some may disagree, I find that this Disney+ series does justify its existence by focusing more on the relationships of the astronauts and their personal lives than the technical science (which may be partially attributable to budget limitations?). The series is kind of like Mad Men but with NASA instead of advertising (and real people, of course), so if that sounds intriguing, I encourage you to give it a whirl.

9. Fargo: Season 4 (FX)

As a big fan of Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers pastiche/crime anthology series, I was somewhat let down by this latest season. Drawing its influence primarily from the likes of gangster drama Miller’s Crossing – one of the Coens’ least comedic/idiosyncratic efforts – this season is more straightforward than its predecessors and includes a lot of characters and plot-threads that never quite cohere. That said, it is still amongst the year’s most ambitious television with another stacked cast, and the (more-or-less) standalone episode “East/West” is enough to make the season worthwhile.

8. The Last Dance (ESPN)

Ostensibly a 10-episode documentary about the 1990s Chicago Bulls’ sixth and final NBA Championship run, The Last Dance actually broadens that scope to survey the entire history of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson’s careers with the team. Cleverly structured with twin narratives that chart that final season as well as an earlier timeframe, each episode also shifts the spotlight to a different person, which provides focus and variety throughout the series. And frankly, it’s also just an incredible ride to relive the Jordan era and bask in his immeasurable talent and charisma – while also getting a snapshot of his outsized ego and vices (though he had sign-off on everything, so it’s not exactly a warts-and-all telling).

7. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

This miniseries adaptation of the Walter Tevis coming-of-age novel about a chess prodigy and her various addictions is compulsively watchable and avoids the bloat of many other streaming series (both in running time and number of episodes). The 1960s production design is stunning and the performances, including Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, are convincing and compelling.

6. The Great: Season 1 (hulu)

Much like his screenplay for The Favourite, Tony McNamara’s series about Catherine the Great rewrites history with a thoroughly modern and irreverent sensibility (see also: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Elle Fanning brings a winning charm and strength to the title role and Nicholas Hoult is riotously entertaining as her absurdly clueless and ribald husband, Emperor Peter III. Its 10-episodes occasionally tilt into repetitiveness, but when the ride is this fun, why complain? Huzzah!

5. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC)

A limited (but possibly anthology-to-be?) series from creator/writer/director/actor Jason Segal, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a beautiful and creative affirmation of life and celebration of humanity. The first 9 episodes form a fulfilling and complete arc, while the tenth branches into fourth wall-breaking meta territory, which may be a bridge too far for some (but is certainly ambitious if nothing else). Either way, it’s a movingly realized portrait of honesty, vulnerability and empathy, and I highly recommend visiting whenever it inevitably makes its way to Netflix, or elsewhere…

4. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 (FX)

The second season of WWDITS is more self-assured and expansive than the first, extending a premise I loved from its antecedent film – but was skeptical could be sustained – to new and reinvigorated (after)life. Each episode packs plenty of laughs, but for my money, there is no better encapsulation of the series’ potential and Matt Berry’s comic genius than “On The Run,” which guest-stars Mark Hamill and features Laszlo’s alter ego Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.

3. Ted Lasso: Season 1 (AppleTV+)

Much more than your average fish-out-of-water comedy, Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso is a brilliant tribute to humaneness, decency, emotional intelligence and good coaching – not just on the field. The fact that its backdrop is English Premier League Soccer is just gravy (even if that’s not necessarily represented 100% proficiently). A true surprise and gem of the year.

2. Mrs. America (hulu)

This FX miniseries explores the women’s liberation movement and fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and its opposition by conservative women including Phyllis Schlafly. One of the most ingenious aspects of the series is centering each episode on a different character, which rotates the point of view and helps things from getting same-y. With a slate of directors including Ryan Bowden and Anna Fleck (Half-Nelson, Sugar, Captain Marvel) and an A-List cast including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ulman and Elizabeth Banks, its quality is right up there with anything on the big screen. And its message remains (sadly) relevant as ever in our current era.

1. The Good Place: Season 4 (NBC)

It was tempting to omit The Good Place this year or shunt it to a side category since only the final 4 episodes aired in 2020, but that would have been disingenuous. This show is one of my all-time favorites and it ended perfectly. The series finale is a representative mix of absurdist humor and tear-jerking emotion, built on themes of morality, self-improvement, community and humanity. (And this last run of eps also includes a pretty fantastic Timothy Olyphant/Justified quasi-crossover.) Now that the entire series is available to stream on Netflix (or purchase in a nice Blu-ray set), it’s a perfect time to revisit the Good Place, or check it out for the first time if you’ve never had the pleasure.

5 of the Best Things I Caught Up With

Anne With An E (Netflix/CBC)

Another example of classic literature I had no prior knowledge of (see also Little Women and Emma), this Netflix/CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables was strongly recommended by several friends so I finally gave it a shot. While this is apparently slightly more grown-up than the source material, it’s not overly grimdark or self-serious but rather humane and heartfelt, expanding the story’s scope to include Black and First Nations peoples in early 1800s Canada, among other identities and themes. It has sadly been canceled, but the three seasons that exist are heart-warming and life-affirming storytelling. Fingers crossed that someday we’ll be gifted with a follow-up movie or two to tie up some of the dangling threads.

Better Call Saul (AMC)

I liked Breaking Bad, but I didn’t have much interest in an extended “Breaking Bad Universe,” as much as I appreciate star Bob Odenkirk’s multitalents. Multiple recommendations and lockdown finally provided me the opportunity to catch up on this prequel series and I’m glad I did. Just as expertly plotted and acted as its predecessor, the series follows Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on his own journey to disrepute but really makes it hard not to root for his redemption (even as you know that’s not where this story ends).

Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)

It’s hard to really describe the deadpan and oddly soothing humor of comedian Joe Pera whose persona, in the series at least, combines something like the earnestness of Mr. Rogers with the calm enthusiasm of Bob Ross. Sharing his knowledge on the likes of how to get the best bite out of your breakfast combo, growing a bean arch and this amazing song “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who – have you heard it?!? – Pera provides arch comfort that remains solidly on the side of sincerity. The surprise special he released during lockdown, “Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera,” was a true gift in the middle of a strange and isolated year.

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

One of the few recent Star Wars properties that lives up to its potential, the adventures of Mando and Grogu is a real thrill-ride of a series with outstanding production values (you definitely want to check out the behind-the-scenes documentary series if you haven’t). I personally prefer the first season, appreciating its Western-influenced vibes and somewhat-more-siloed story. The back half of the second season veers a little too much into fan service and video game-y plotting IMHO but still has several excellent episodes on offer, especially the Timothy Olyphant-infused energy of premiere “The Marshall” and stunning cinematography of “The Jedi.” And, you know, Grogu.

The Tick (Amazon Prime)

I’ve been a fan of the Tick since the character’s Fox cartoon and indie comic book days and also loved the short-lived Patrick Warburton series from 2001. I was skeptical about this Amazon Prime reboot, especially upon seeing the pilot episode’s off-putting costumes. Finally gaining access to Prime this year, I decided to catch up and it gets quite good!, especially in Season 2. First, the costumes are upgraded; second, Peter Serafinowicz’s initially shaky characterization improves; and third, it begins to come into its own identity. The only real issue is yet another premature cancellation for the property, meaning Season 2’s tease of interdimensional alien Thrakkorzog will never be fulfilled. 😢

Bonus! 5 More Honorable Mentions:

City So Real (National Geographic)

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

How To with John Wilson: Season 1 (HBO)

Kidding: Season 2 (Showtime)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

#tv #television

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daffodildazaiwrites · 4 years ago

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i'm very curious about your selfship :000 and i'm looking for something to watch, maybe,, a top 5 anime would be sweet ! hope it's not to much, i'll keep the birthday wishes to later 💗

Ohhhhh okay! Thank you for asking anon also tell me about your top 5 animes too!

Let me tell you my top 5 anime and then about my selfship then (≧◡≦) For the top 5 I’M going to pick normal length anime’s (like i love one piece but it’s like 900 episodes and I feel like suggesting that would be cruel but if you’re up for the challenge to it xD)

Self ship stuff under the cut!

Also keep in mind my top 5 always changes but if you want to watch something new these will be fun!

Birthday event: Alphabet and Interactions

Top 5 Anime

1. Black Clover (Episode count 157 - ongoing)

Okay if you want something action packed + fighting the system made up by asshole royals this is for you.

Basically to give you a summary in this world magic is everything, everyone can use it except for Asta. Asta and his brother Yuno want to become magic knights and travel to the capital and participate in the magick knight exame, Asta gets picked for the worst squad and Yuno the best one, their adventure starts from there.

Animation very good, story, in my humble opinion, good. So yeah go watch it before this too gets to like a 900 episodes xD

2. Toilet Bound Hanako-kun! (Episode Count 12 one season but there probably will be more)

I just watched this and fell in love with it enough to start the manga because I can’t wait for season 2 to come out :’D The animation is very pretty and you just want to learn more about the characters, highly recommend! so here’s what 9anime’s summary about it:

“The famous "Seven Wonders" that every school seems to have are a staple of Japanese urban legends. One of the most well-known of these tales is that of Hanako-san: the ghost of a young girl who haunts the school's bathrooms. Kamome Academy has its own version of Hanako-san's legend. Rumors claim that if one successfully manages to summon Hanako-san, she will grant her summoner any wish. Lured by the gossip, many people have tried to call upon her, yet every attempt has failed. However, when Nene Yashiro, a girl hoping for romantic fortune, dares to summon Hanako-san, she discovers that the rumored "girl" is actually a boy! After a series of unfortunate events involving Nene's romantic desires, she is unwillingly entangled in the world of the supernatural, becoming Hanako-kun's assistant. Soon, she finds out about Hanako-kun's lesser-known duty: maintaining the fragile balance between mortals and apparitions.“

3. Haikyuu! (There’s four seasons but I don’t know how many episodes and I’m too lazy to count sorry :’D)

I’m sure you’ve heard of Haikyuu, basically it’s a sports anime about volleyball. I was one of those skeptics saying that I wouldn’t enjoy sports anime but here we are.

The animation and learning about each individual characters story really gets you hooked so if you haven’t check this out yet you totally should!

4. Jujutsu Kaisen (Episode Count 12 - Ongoing)

Ah yes the ever famous Jujutsu Kaisen, there’s a reason why everyone’s talking about it, it’s because it’s very very good. If you like your hero stuff with angst and interesting worldview philosophies I highly recommend! Here’s what 9anime says:

“Idly indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club, high schooler Yuuji Itadori spends his days at either the clubroom or the hospital, where he visits his bedridden grandfather. However, this leisurely lifestyle soon takes a turn for the strange when he unknowingly encounters a cursed item. Triggering a chain of supernatural occurrences, Yuuji finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of Curses—dreadful beings formed from human malice and negativity—after swallowing the said item, revealed to be a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the "King of Curses." Yuuji experiences first-hand the threat these Curses pose to society as he discovers his own newfound powers. Introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to walk down a path from which he cannot return—the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer. “

I also, of course, have a jujutsu blog if anyone’s interested it’s @sassystarlightgojo !

5. Banana Fish (Episode count 24 - Complete)

I’m not gonna say much about this other then I still think about it, also this has mature themes and again I won’t say much but it’s angst but it also has its cute moments! highly recommend! Also if you do start watching do not look up ANYTHING about it!

“Ash Lynx, was a runaway picked off the streets of New York City and raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine. Now 17 years old and the boss of his own gang, Ash gets his hands on a mysterious drug called "Banana Fish"—the same two words his older brother, Griffin, has muttered since his return from the Iraq War. However, his investigation is hindered when Dino sends his men to retrieve the drug from Ash at an underground bar he uses as a hideout. At the bar, Skip, Ash's friend, introduces him to Shunichi Ibe and his assistant, Eiji Okumura, who are Japanese photographers reporting on American street gangs.”

Honorable mentions: Fire Force (beautiful animation great story watch it), Given, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Ouran Highschool host club

Now on to my Selfship!

Okay I won’t keep this super long (I do want to post some selfship stuff but honestly I’m not sure anyone would want to read those xD) I ship myself in a poly relationship with both Dazai and Chuuya.

In canon world I also joined the port mafia pretty much at the same time as Dazai, we already had somewhat of a relationship but Dazai, as we all know, was a bit too intense back then but when Chuuya joined I realized that I like them both and slowly out relationship starts to bloom. Chuuya is quicky to realize he might have a bit of feelings for Dazai too and even if he never told him, in order to understand himself better he rolls with it.

But when Dazai decides he’s going to leave I try to stop him but then end up going with him, leaving Chuuya a letter before we go.

So that’s pretty much the gist of it xD I didn’t write much of the relationship dynamics because I just thought it would be too long of a post buuuuut if anyone is interested feel free to ask!

#sil’s birthday bash #sil answers #anon #birthday event #sorry that this is a little long

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takadasaiko · 5 years ago

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In Defense of Howard Stark

The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t have a shortage of layered, fascinating characters. It’s always easy to hyper focused on the ones we love most, and that’s the excuse I roll with for why it’s taken me so long to find my fascination with Howard Stark. Up until the last few months I looked at him through the lense of who he was to other characters. He was Tony’s father, Steve’s friend, and co-founder of SHIELD with Peggy Carter. He filled roles, but I didn’t look closer for a long time. I didn’t have any reason to.

Then came the Great MCU Rewatch that happened post-Endgame. It wasn’t until I had Dominic Cooper’s Howard stacked back-to-back with John Slattery’s Howard that I started to dig into him. We meet a young man in Captain America: The First Avenger, the Peggy Carter short, and two seasons of the Agent Carter series on ABC. He’s brilliant and goofy, rarely serious unless he’s discussing his work. It’s a stark contrast with the older Howard we meet through John Slattery’s version. Either there was a catastrophic miscommunication between the writers, the directors, and the actors on who Howard Stark was supposed to be, or something caused that shift. The moment I settled on the latter, Howard went from a supporting character whose only use was to help round out others around him to a truly interesting, layered and even broken man. I became fascinated with piecing together that journey. I needed to know what took this man

to a man that his own son described as cold and distant.

I had been using Howard to help deepen my understanding of others, and in the same way, taking a look at those that he keeps close to him and how he treats them helps to shed light on who he is.

Who Howard Surrounds Himself With

Howard wasn’t raised with the same economic and social privilege that he was able to provide to his son in later years. In S1 of Agent Carter he tells Peggy that he was raised on the Lower East Side to a father that sold fruit and a mother that was a seamstress in a factory, going on to tell her how he’d learned to lie to break through the ceiling society had placed for someone like him.

Yet as of S2 of Agent Carter Howard was in high demand at a club that wouldn’t have let him within a hundred feet of if he hadn’t made the fortune that he did with Stark Industries. With that background matched with the contacts he would have made after Stark Industries took off, I think it’s safe to say that Howard knew people from every walk of life.

There were the less savory types:

Joe Manfredi and Howard grew up together and the mobster had no trouble reaching out to Howard years later for help when his kinda crazy girlfriend Whitney Frost went over the edge and into territory even he was uncomfortable with.

And while we may not know how he met Obadiah Stane, the other man wormed his way so deeply into Howard’s life and career that he was poised to manipulate his son after his death.

We don’t know a lot about those other than the fact that Howard wasn’t opposed to shady characters.

There’s something interesting in the more positive friendships that he keeps though.

Edwin Jarvis is a fascinating character. Howard’s butler is that and more. We see him stick with Howard through thick and thin. Through countless girlfriends that he was the bearer of bad news to

through disagreements, and he was with the Stark family long enough that Tony was influenced by him enough that he based his AI system off of him. Jarvis himself tells Peggy the story of how he met and came to work for Howard Stark in S1 of Agent Carter, shedding light on yet another layer of the complicated man:

Jarvis met his wife Ana during the war. She was Hungarian. Moreover, she was Hungarian-Jew in the middle of Europe overrun by nazis. Jarvis fell hard, but the general that he worked for wouldn’t help, even though he could have done so easily. So Jarvis forged his signature. He was found out and would have been tried for treason, but Howard - who had had business dealings with the general - stepped in and used his influence to save not only Edwin, but Ana as well.

There was no indication that Howard expected anything in return, but Jarvis remained loyal and steady.

And then there’s Peggy.

I could go on for days about Howard and Peggy’s friendship. I love it dearly, and feel that we need more friendships like it on television.

He flirts with her, he teases her, but in the end he respects no one quite like he does Margaret Carter.

Howard is a self-admitted liar. He felt that he had to become one in order to break free from the ceiling that society put over him in his youth. He doesn’t trust easily and, even when he does, he still hides behind a quirky, playboy mask meant to obscure anything of any real depth under frivolous layers. To get to the level of success he found himself in at such a young age he had to build up an imperviousness to others’ opinions of him. He flaunts in most cases, but, for better or worse, he does care about how Peggy views him.

She’s the one he turns to to clear his name at the beginning of the first season of Agent Carter and the only one that can talk him out of the mire of his own deepest regrets at the end of the same season.

The funny thing is that, for all his determination that he doesn’t really care how people see him, Howard seems to keep people closest to him that will keep him in check. Jarvis and Peggy, especially. They don’t pull punches and they call him on his shit.

If it’s a conscious choice or even a subconscious one, Howard surrounds himself with people that will hold him accountable. I’d put good money on the fact that Maria did too.

The Way He Treats Others

One of our earlier introductions to Howard is in Iron Man 2 where Tony tells Fury that his father had been cold and distant. He never told Tony that he liked him, much less that he loved him.

Fury indicated that he knew a very different man, and through Dominic’s Howard we (the audience) meet a very different man as well, which leads me to think that Howard struggles with expressing real, honest feelings rather than actually having them. It makes sense, given his explanation at two different points in the first season of Agent Carter that, to break through the barriers society had tried to force on him, he’d learned to hide behind lies and an indifference to what others thought about him. We see that that often leads him to come across as shallow and arrogant. He doesn’t, and seems not to even know how to express those truer feelings except in very rare circumstances, but we see glimpses in the way he treats people.

Edwin and Ana Jarvis are a fantastic example, as mentioned earlier. Here were people that he didn’t really know, people that he owed nothing to, yet he went out of his way to protect them. He used a favour that he could have hoarded away for more selfish purposes and gave it to them to save their lives. In return he was given loyalty, but there was no expectation on that.

Howard holds true to his playboy persona as well as, if not perhaps better than his son would in later years, but despite the flirtation (which he always manages to work into their conversations), Howard shows time and again the respect that he holds for Peggy Carter. While she’s fighting for her colleagues’ respect in the post-war SSR, she’s the one Howard reaches out to to clear his name. She’s the one that he trusts to protect him when his life is on the line. And when she needs help, it’s hers for the taking. A flight that the Army won’t take because it’s too dangerous? All Peggy had to do was ask. Twice when she needed a place to stay, he offered his own home(s) to her, and in S2 he dove straight in to help her on her case without any hesitation.

In S2 of the Agent Carter series we meet Jason Wilkes, a brilliant scientist who works for a company that becomes the center of the season’s investigation. The rarity of being a black man in his position is used against him when his company sets him up as a scapegoat. Not only is Howard eager to help him, work with him to clear his name, and reinstate his corporeal form (long story, but if you haven’t seen the Agent Carter series I highly recommend it!), but he sets him up in Stark Industries after all is said and done to help him run the Malibu labs on a new pet project.

For all of his faults and complications, Howard has a trend of helping to support and even protect those that the society of his time is set against. A Jewish woman and her fiancé facing the nazis, a brilliant female agent fighting enemies as well as men around her that have faith in her failure, and a talented black scientist whose company has used and thrown away when convenient. We see the kindness in his actions, in the respect that he gives others that society would prefer not to be bothered with.

So how did he miss the mark so badly with his own son? He gave him things, opened doors for Tony that he’d had to force open himself, but (at least according to Tony) he missed expressing any sort of affection for him. Personally, in light of the other relationships that we actually get to see as they’re taking place, I’m inclined to think that he didn’t know how to express his love in a way that an already struggling child could understand. He tinkered on cars with him and he built an organization that would keep the world (and his family) safe. Perhaps to Howard, more importantly, he kept his distance, thus allowing his son the chance to grow into his own man. Someone not quite like him.

The thing is, even if it went against everything he wanted, there was no getting around that. Just as I imagine that Howard inherited a few more traits from his own father than he would have ever admitted to, Tony inherited some from him. Both the good and the bad.

Howard’s Personality Traits

Marvel is a parallel haven. In many ways the universe that they’ve created feels like one long, fantastical TV show with 3+ hour episodes. One of the perks of that is the multiple nods they’ve made and parallels they’ve drawn. It’s through those parallels that I found between Howard and Tony that sunk me deeper and deeper into exploring Howard’s personality. Robert said it best:

(gif made by and borrowed from @erikisright)

Much in the same way that we meet Tony in Iron Man 1, the Howard of Captain America: The First Avenger and the Agent Carter short and series secures himself behind a mask of indifference to public opinion. He has a good time and doesn’t give a damn who knows it. When focused on work, he’s focused

but as soon as the war’s over he’s living the life of the playboy millionaire. He spends his time gallivanting around as much as inventing. He flaunts it. His money, his success. It’s the mask he hides behind to protect himself from the world, and the one that he feels like he has to hide behind. Afterall…

There’s no question that Howard has his fair share of less-than-desirable traits, but as we’ve discussed, he has some good ones as well. One that I found surprising, personally, is that he takes responsibility. Maybe not in his personal life (sorry, Jarvis, but it’s on you to handle Howard’s breakups apparently), but in his work. If he feels that he’s fallen short, he owns it, repeatedly to the point of putting his own life in danger.

In the first season finale for Agent Carter, after spending eight episodes on the run to clear his name, he waltzes himself into the SSR to give the full story and offer himself up as bait. It’s his fault, he tells them, despite not designing the invention stolen to cause harm, it’s still his, and he’ll own up to his responsibility there, both at the time and the damage it had caused during the war. In S2, after an invention fails, he offers himself up to go in and switch it on manually (putting himself at exceptional risk) because he ‘designed it poorly’. He doesn’t get the chance to do it, but he’s ready and willing to.

On the flip side (and also a trait that took me by surprise) he gives credit where it’s due.

Despite having to lie and possibly claw his way to the top, he’s consistently willing to both offer a hand to those that he can as well as make sure that he’s acknowledging their contribution, despite the fact that he believes that many successful scientists steal other people’s work for themselves.

Tony must have come by his tendencies to fixate by way of his father. Much like his son, Howard shows time and time again that he leans into his obsessive personality. It ranges from a hyper-focus on work to coffee to a good time by any means he can find it, and even to the guilt that we see him holding onto in those few private, honest moments we catch a glimpse of.

We see it in the way that he held onto the guilt over what happened to the Russian soldiers at Finow when his Midnight Oil was misused and ended up killing hundreds of Allied soldiers. He did everything he could to set the situation as right as it could be set - he faced down the general that had stolen the oil only to get his ass handed to him, forced the general to step down, ended a seven-figure contract with the Army, and created a vault to better protect designs and inventions that could hurt innocent people - yet we see how it still weighs on him years later.

I think it’s the guilt at never being able to find Steve that eventually shifts him from Dominic’s Howard to John’s. That lively, goofy man is broken year after year by the failure of not being able to find or save a man that he holds up on a pedestal. He fixates on it to the point that his own son feels that he cared more about Captain America than him. Really, there’s so much in this theory that I’ve had battering around my head for the last couple of months or so that it deserves its own post. I’ll put it on the writing docket.

All in all, Howard Stark is an easy character to overlook or to flatten out with partial information. The Agent Carter series does wonders to add depth to him by giving us time to get to know him. Time that we don’t get through newsreels and the off story that Tony tells.

Part of an interesting character is their layers, both the good and the bad. Much like Tony, I feel that the more I learn about Howard Stark, the more I come to realize that he was a man trying his best. Sure, maybe his best didn’t match up in a lot of ways, but I think there’s something to be said for each generation of Starks doing just a little bit better than the one that came before them in whatever way that they can.

#Howard Stark #MCU characters #character analysis #character breakdown #Tony Stark #Peggy Carter #Edwin Jarvis #Ana Jarvis #marvel's agent carter #captain America: the first avenger

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