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ramp-it-up · 4 years ago

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Fresh Squeeze, Ch. 5

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: Cursing, Angsty Angst, drug and alcohol use, surprise flights, Anthony Ramos. Lots of Plot.

Word Count: 3.5 K

Plot: Linden Marshall just finished law school at Columbia University in NYC. Daveed Diggs is still creating magic with his platonic life partner Rafael Casal in the form of their Blindspotting musical, Bay Boys. Linden’s boyfriend WAS Mark Monaco, star of the superhero movie series Invincible. They were together for years, and her trauma and his addictions were toxic. She knows now that wasn’t love.

A/N: Keep in mind that this the same AU as Arrivals, with Holly Woods, but is BEFORE Rafa and Holly get together. And don’t come for me about Anthony.

Read the Previous Chapter.

===================

NYC, May 2023

Jasmine was blowing up your phone as you were trying to get dressed. You had to search for it under the pile of clothes on your bed.

You had procrastinated getting ready, trying to finish one of your applications for a summer internship at this law firm in Harlem that you were excited about.

You wanted to finally relax after finishing Columbia law in the top 10% of your class. You just wanted to relax and enjoy this weekend.

Craig, your mom and your uncle were the only ones to attend your graduation. They knew you didn’t want any fanfare, so your famous friends didn’t attend, and they had a show to do, but they’d sent you tons of well wishes.

We're coming up, get decent!

You chuckled and shook your head. Anthony usually raided the refrigerator when he came over. This time, you told him to bring his own snacks..

You slipped on what you were wearing for the night. Craig was in his room getting ready and you had volunteered his place, so you were playing hostess. You were surprised that he was so chill about it, actually.

“Pika Pika,” you said to yourself in the mirror then ran to answer the doorbell. It was almost 6 pm.

You opened the door for Cookie Monster and Big Bird. You burst out laughing. But you stopped when you saw Anthony's face. He had like five bags from Whole Foods that he was juggling in his blue arms.

"Jazzy!!!! There's my girl. Hey Ant! leave the food and your girl. We may run off together."

Anthony came in the door loaded down with bags and kissed you on the cheek.

“I love you Lindy, but fuck you man.” You punched him on the shoulder.

“Ow! Time to get this party started!”

Linden heard Jazzy’s Brooklyn accent turn into a London lilt as she started play fighting with Ant. They felt like family at this point.

=================

Ever since the launch party in January, Jasmine had pursued you as a friend persistently. You normally didn’t let anyone in because of the circumstances of your life, but Jas was oblivious to your awkwardness with normal human beings.

“Girl, you are fucking DOPE, and you are NOT gonna deny my love. I know your life has been a trip, and you don’t have to tell me all of it, but I’m not gonna let you shrivel up and be a little retiring wallflower. Life is to be lived.”

Jasmine telling you that during a Saturday brunch date in February was the key to your heart. She drew you out, and you didn’t see what value you added to her life.

But she loved you anyway. And you loved her, and of course, Anthony was part of the package.

He was beautiful, loud, talented, and reckless, but he reminded you too fucking much of Dell to be annoyed with him very long.

Your circle had certainly widened from just Craig. That was one thing for which you could thank Mark. You were working on him being a distant memory. He hadn’t lasted too long in Bay Boys, quitting soon after the musical opened in March.

Daveed’s hands and feet had ‘slipped’ one too many times during the scene when he was stomping his ass on stage. Mark cited health reasons, and publicly spiraled a bit. He was currently in rehab.

Again.

You had not heard from him and that was absolutely fine with you.

Because Jasmine was in Bay Boys and that was her life, the cast and crew became yours as well. Rafael was the type of chaotic creative genius that fascinated you; you could listen to him talk for hours.

Things with Daveed were more tricky. Ever since that awkwardness with him after the launch party, you’d kept your distance, but you hung out a lot, so you were trying to be friends.

When you and Jas and Ant and Rafa hung out and talked, Daveed was there, smiling shyly and sneaking glances at you, throwing in pearls of wisdom every so often.

He was so dope and so talented and intelligent and so freaking hot, but you were trying to get yourself together. You were convinced that night in January had been a mistake.

You needed some space. And time. Law school was no joke, and you were in therapy so entanglements was not what was up.

Daveed sensed your hesitancy and decided to stop pursuing you. But he couldn’t stop how he felt.

You were both a little wasted and keyed up the night of the launch party, and despite the way you were beautiful and intelligent and sexy as fucking hell, he was not going to press you.

Daveed was sure that you two could be something special if you would give it a chance, but he didn’t want to chase you, but he was so gone for you, that if you just nodded your head at him, he would be at your feet.

The attraction was undeniable. There was a crazy little dance you two did that everyone recognized and respected. This group seemed to know you were fragile, and that you didn’t need to be pushed too far.

But the more they persisted, the more you came out of your shell. The more you trusted, the more the old Lindy came back.

Craig noticed first soon after you started hanging with the crew when you were trying to find a place to live. He went to one showing with you and sat you down for a talk.

“Girl, I love the light in your eyes. I haven’t seen this Lindy since…well in a long time. Stay with me for as long as you want. I know you need to get through this last semester of school, you don’t need one more thing to think about. I’m proud of the work that you’re doing on yourself, Linden.”

You were grateful to Craig. His place on the Upper West Side was super convenient to Columbia, and not having to think about finding a place was so clutch. Third year was kicking your ass.

“Besides, I wouldn’t have this place if it wasn’t for…”

“Hush, I don’t want to hear that. Dell would have wanted this. I love you cuzzo.”

=================

Craig came out in a Sully onesie and immediately dragged Jasmine into a conversation about the Met Gala that had happened a few days ago.

You approached the kitchen where Ant stood, food all around him on the counter. You were whispering. He smiled a secret smile at you.

“I’m so proud of you doing this for Jasmine. It’s good for you all to get away. I’m glad that she got a little break. She deserves it all.”

Anthony had arranged for this little get together to be a surprise for Jasmine. This was going to be a kickback weekend.

The show was on a four day hiatus while the set was moved to a bigger theatre. It was a hit and was destined for a long run.

Ant’s green eyes lit up as you kept talking about Jasmine.

“Yeah, she does. And the woman of the hour deserves all the happiness in the world.” He lifted his beer to you.

They way he said that was weird and you were about to ask him what was up with that when the doorbell started ringing, you went to answer it and were stuck there for a few minutes as people started coming in.

The food and the drinks were flowing while all kinds of characters came in.

Now they also had Jack Skellingtom, and a Care Bear in the house to add to Big bird, Cookie Monster, Pikachu and Sully. It was an odd cast of characters who were jamming to 90's rap, eating chicken wings and basically tripping like only friends could do.

Then there was Toni, some tag-along chick who showed up with Rafa. She had on a plain gray onesie. What a downer.

You’d pegged her for a star fucker who only hung with Rafa because of who he and his friends were. The girl was too much in everyone's business.

"Sooooo. You and Mark ARE broken up for real for real. The tabloids say y’all are back together! I told my friend Susie you weren’t, but she wouldn't believe me."

You just smiled and didn't confirm or deny, treating Toni like the paparazzi. The girl was oblivious to your hate and just kept talking.

Daveed rescued you.

"Hey, Toni, show these folks how you can blow. They're setting up the karaoke machine over there. Show us what you're working with. Someone might hook you up with a gig."

Toni perked up and hurried over to Anthony and Craig, who were setting up the lyrics on the big screen to match the karaoke music. Some Bad Boy joints were up.

Rafa was behind them screaming, "Dylan, Dylan, Dylan!"

They were a scene. You breathed and relaxed a little.

"Don't stress. She's not coming with us to the island."

You looked up at the tall, fine Grumpy Care Bear who was nursing some of your special 18-year-old Chivas Regal that you had gotten for graduation. His beautiful smile shined out of his brown face and beneath the curls tumbling out of his hood.

“I’m not pressed. I’m chilling. You can do what you want. With who you want.”

“She’s not with me. Rafa brought her for the ride to the airport. And it’s not entirely true that I can do what I want. With who I want. Because what if who I want to do doesn’t want to do me?”

You knew what he meant. But you eyed his drink instead of looking at him. It wasn’t that you didn’t want him. That was far from the truth. You didn’t want to get lost in him. And you could see that happening.

Daveed saw your wheels turning. You were over analyzing again. He’d spent three months observing you every chance he got. He felt like he knew your anxieties. So fucking smart, but here you were thinking too much.

"Hey Genuis Ass. Want some?" Daveed’s voice was softer as he grinned and offered you some of his drink. “Or, I could go make you something?” For some reason he wanted you to get loose.

"Nah, I'm good Diggs.” For some reason you needed to stay in control. You played it off by changing the subject.

“I still can’t believe y’all call me that.”

Daveed just smiled and nodded, chuckling a little. He craned his neck and looked at it, having to dodge a smack upside the head.

“That ass is genius, you know. That’s the one thing He Who Shall Not Be Named was right about. And you’re one of the smartest humans I know.”

You had to look at him then. The flecks of gold in his eyes tho. But you could tell from the slight redness that he was a little zooted. He didn’t get that way around you a lot, but you knew for the stories that he partied occasionally.

He and Rafa and that Toni chick must have pre-gamed. You remembered the last time you two were tipsy together.You cleared your throat and looked away.

“Why did you lie to that girl? She can’t sing.” You were shaking your head, scowling at Toni’s screeching from the karaoke machine.

He winked at you. D was well on his way to getting LIT.

"What? She can blow.” Daveed sipped his drink and watched her.

“She’ll suck your soul out and spit it back in your mouth." Daveed was loose. And so was his mouth. But he didn’t care.

Your mouth was hanging open at Daveed as you wondered what Daveed had done with Toni, what Daveed AND Rafa had done with Toni...

Shit, you were just going to ask.

"How do you know that she..."

"AWWWW SHEEEIIIITTT! THAT'S MY JAM! REMEMBER THIS LINDY??"

“No, I was like, negative 5..”

You raised your voice as he traveled away from you, smiling. He was not slick.

“Well you missed out being tardy to the party…”

He was backing toward the mic, knocking it out of Anthony’s hand and starting the rap. Rafa joined him, trading verses.

Now as the record spins around, you recognize this sound,

Well, it's the underground,

You know that we're down with wutchyalike

Yeah, with wutchyalike, yeah

And though we're usually on the serious tip, check it out:

Tonight we're gonna flip and trip and let it all hang out tonight,

We're gonna say what we like.

'Cause, yo, yo, we want to know how many people in the flow,

Would like to just let yourselves go

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, well tonight's your night.

Just eat food, try not to be crude or rude,

Kill the attitude, chill the serious mood,

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, and doowutchyalike,

Everybody doowutchyalike

Everyone was dancing and Daveed had effectively deflected your question. But you would never forget.

By 8 o’clock, Craig grabbed the mic and motioned for Jasmine to come with him. You had enjoyed some cocktails finally, and just figured they were going to duet Wind Beneath My Wings just like they always did.

You were actually moving to the music and feeling good.

"Ok guys, whew. I'm hot. Is it hot in herrrre?" Craig was fanning himself.

“Whoooo! Nelly!”

You yelled and everyone laughed.

Craig took his hood off and started to unzip his onesie. Jasmine did the same.

You kept dancing nervously, not realizing it, looking around at the others who were also disrobing. You did a double take as D’s abs came into view. What was going on?

Craig continued.

"Lindy, I just need a minute to talk, can you stop whatever it is you're doing?" He grinned at you from across the room. "You're still moving Lindy."

You blushed and stopped fidgeting.

"Ummm, Craig, what the..."

One by one people dropped their onesies, all except Toni, who had no clue what was going on. Soon, everyone was standing in Craig’s condo in their swimsuits, looking fine as hell.

You just looked around, then in your cup wondering if you were too drunk and hallucinating.

“Lindy, you’ve worked real hard, and this past few months have been crazy, so we wanted to do something special for you this weekend, for your graduation, and for your birthday, WHICH IS SUNDAY!!”

Everyone cheered as Jasmine took the mic. “You think this party is for me. Well the joke’s on you bitch, because you have been hosting your own party!”

You opened your mouth, squeaked a little, then spoke,

"But why?.. Everybody? But what..."

Daveed moved close.

"Damn, you fine," you whispered.

Your hand flew to your mouth when he smirked in response. Everyone was rolling because turns out, you didn’t whisper.

Daveed cleared his throat. "Thank you. You’re fine yaseif. Anyway, Anthony and Jasmine have a house there, and we’re flying out of JFK tonight. In about two and a half hours in fact. So we gotta get going.”

You still had only a part of a clue of what was going on. But you couldn't resist all of this.

"Okay? But... I don't have any clothes. And I don’t have a ticket..."

Craig came from the storage room off the kitchen with one of your suitcases. Others started getting their bags as well

"Everybody's shit has been in my house for a week. And girl, you know I got your information. It ain’t nothing but a thang. Your ticket is ready and waiting. Just sent it to your email.”

Your mouth dropped open and you stared at Craig as everyone pulled their onesies back up and got their bags together.

Your eyes filled with tears that you hurriedly brushed away. Craig came over and hugged you. Then every else joined in for a group hug.

"You deserve, Lindy. Let us celebrate you."

You looked like you didn't quite believe it, but you went along. You laughed, visibly deciding to go with the flow.

"I'm down!"

Toni was nearby. When the hug broke up, she started asking questions. Your patience was wearing thin.

"I don’t believe that all these people really roll like this. Y’all wild. Susie won that bet."

You just continued to look at this fool.

"But isn’t this dope? All these famous, successful men being so fearless with their love and appreciation for Black women, of all people. Who woulda thunk they didn't want white women?"

Toni just kept saying the wrong thing. It was the "of all people" for you.

You stared daggers at your houseguest. Toni caught the look.

"Wait, are you mixed?"

You narrowed your eyes and said, "Black mixed with Black."

Toni clutched her pearls.

"Oh wow. Didn't mean to offend. I just mean everyone knows Jasmine is mixed, with her dad and all, as black as can be. But her white British mom saved her from his skin tone. I mean, she has braids in now, so you can see it, but all she has to do is blow her hair straight and she can pass..."

Toni jumped when Rafa spoke. She didn't know he was there.

"Toni. Not Jas. She's the homie."

The look in his ice blue eyes could burn.

"And you are a Black woman, so you know how dope they are. Why would anyone NOT worship at your feet?"

Lindy just sipped her drink as Craig entered the chat. "Amen!"

"Maybe it is time for you to get going, honey. I might call you when I get back."

Rafa led Toni to the door as she protested.

"But I was going to take you to the air..."

"And I APPRECIATE you Black woman, but we'll get there. See you later."

Then Rafa shut the door in her face. Linden discovered she loved him eternally at that moment. She was rolling.

No one mourned Toni’s departure as arrangements were made for cars to take everyone to the airport.

"You and Daveed can ride with us, Rafa." Ant to the rescue.

"Yeah, Jasmine loves to look at my profile." Jas pinched him so hard he jumped.

“Fuck!”

Ant was screaming as he, Jasmine and Rafa went out the door.

"Peace! See you at airport security. If you get nabbed by TSA, you on your own!”

Daveed lingered. “I don’t know if all of us and our bags will fit in one car. Can I ride with you and Lindy, Craig?”

Craig smirked at Daveed, but didn’t say anything. “Of course...you good with that Lindy?”

You tried to keep it light.

“Sure.. no biggie,” you cleared your throat and headed to the bathroom to make sure you had everything you needed.

=================

By the time you got to your Uber, the traffic was horrible. It took over an hour to get to the airport. You felt both anxious about missing the flight and keyed up about sitting next to Daveed in the car.

His thigh and side pressing into yours in the dark in the back of an Uber Black brought back memories of that reckless night.

When he put his arm up on the seat behind you, “For more room,” he said, in that voice and flashing that megawatt smile, you were enveloped more into his scent and warmth. You had to control yourself not to melt into him.

Craig was sitting on his phone, sneaking glances at you and smirking the entire ride. He’d insisted that you be in the middle because you were so tiny.

The whole world was against you, you thought, as you and Daveed both stared straight ahead, both flashing back to that January night.

You were the last three people to run through the airline gate just at they were about to close it. All your friends in first class cheered when you took their seats, and Rafa popped a bottle of champagne.

"Talk about cutting it close," Ant commented as Rafa gave Daveed a high five.

Daveed looked at you. You shook your head at him. Somehow, you were sitting next to him. You just decided to let it be and have some time.

“Just make sure you don’t molest me under this blanket, Ms. Marshall,” Daveed intoned when you were settled and given amenities for the night.

The flight attendant had to tell y’all to keep quiet as the cat calls went up.

Welp, you thought. This will be the vibe the entire weekend.

You weren’t mad at it. You loved these people. And you were safe. You just smiled, settled down, and looked out of the window to watch the lights of New York fade away.

=================

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lovely-necromancy · 3 years ago

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A Cure for Insomnia CH 11

“Did I meet your friends last night?” Kirby asked as he unwrapped his crunchwrap in the driver's seat.

“uuh...kinda? Like Toby was with me when I gave you the Surge but you sorta just ran off with it.” you pause as you sip a bit of your Baja Blast. “Like a fucking gremlin.”

Kirby lets out a snort and lettuce drops from his mouth. He tries to hide his messy eating behind his hand. Failing miserably, you can't help but laugh at your friend.

“Wha' bout the other two? Kieth said you ditched 'em.” For a man who was trying to cover up his mouth he sure had the audacity to try and talk with his mouth full.

“They're Toby's roommates, I haven't talked to them too much.” he nods as you speak.

“Well I promise I'll be more...together,” he makes a sort of questioning sound as he debates if that was the word he was looking for. He can't really think of anything else so he settles for 'together'. “next weekend. They are coming right?”

After a brief pause he gets his mind back in place, “This weekend, picnic's this weekend.” You chuckle.

“Toby said they'd stop by. Don't think any are really people people.”

“People people?”

“Yup” not going to let Kirby rile you up as he often tries. Not that he could with his current brain power. Sleep haze still has him in it's hold despite being “up” for about an hour now.

Out of everyone in your friend group Kirby is probably the one you're closest to. Along with being a fellow Ace he's an ambivert and you two just instantly clicked over dumb D grade monster movies. He jokes you guys must be long lost siblings. Well he only started the sibling thing because multiple Hornets or other members of the committee kept thinking you guys were dating. Since then Kirby takes to purposefully calling you some variation of sibling when he shows any type of affection. It seems even just being referenced to being in a relationship squicks him out. You don't mind though you'd always wanted an older brother and Kirby is the exact type you would've wished for. The funny dork who was super easy to get along with.

Even when he steals your nachos...like he is now.

“I'm starting to understand the Cain Instinct.” you say looking him dead in the eyes. He lets out a roar of laughter and reminds you he bought “breakfast”.

“Dad tax and all that.”

“You're not my dad! Ugly ass doodoo head.”

“Is that what that kid said? I don't think that's right.” another thing you share is constantly referencing vines or tiktok sounds.

This of course led to an argument of what the kid actually said in the vine. Both of you were determined to get home and look it up to prove the other wrong.

After your breakfast Kirby started the truck as you put all the trash into the Taco Bell bag. You switch on his stereo much to his chagrin. Kirby got a CD stuck in the radio and now the only thing he can listen to is a meme mix tape he made back in high school. It was funny the first two months for him and now he prays that the novelty will ware off on you soon.

Though it has been a few weeks since he last drove you anywhere, and what can he say Discord is always a bop.

Kirby drops you off without much fanfare, you both agree to seeing each other next week at the picnic. Is it ironic that you want to call out for him to get some more sleep? Like you are the one who's been up since five AM and it's now eleven. But you have a medical condition, Kirby is just over worked and stressed beyond Hell and back.

Getting inside you have nothing really planned for today and while you could start heading out to thrifts to find something formal for Jo's recital you really don't feel like it. Productivity wise you've already had a pretty busy weekend so no one can really judge you for taking it easy and just merging with the couch for the rest of it. Even you, you can be so tough on yourself sometimes.

British Bake Off is just the thing you need to enjoy the rest of your weekend. A calming low stress but funny baking show. Just turn your brain off and lose yourself in the soothing monotone of the judges. It's nearly six in the evening when you finally shake off your lazy day haze.

Getting up, bakers still baking, you start making a simple dinner. Fried egg on toast sounds good. Also a good balance to your supreme nacho breakfast from this morning. Dressing one slice of toast in butter and the other with butter, a little mayo, and a dash of Tabasco before placing the egg on it. You head back to eat and continue watching the competition. Your meal fills you and gives the energy you need to continue “leisureing”.

After an hour you get up and wash the dishes from earlier. And while you have no energy to actually play any of your video games right now you do want to log in for your dailies.

A quick trip to your bedroom has you grabbing your laptop before returning back to the comfort of your living room. Couch calling you to it's cozy embrace. You half pay attention to what you're doing as you set up your laptop, muscles running on muscle memory more than any conscious effort on your part. You hadn't even noticed your hands flickering across the board and logging into your email.

By the time you do realize you aren't on your game's site you see you have a new email. It's from Barclay.

'Coming to ask for my help?' you think a little too smug that you'd been right about the cooking being too much for the man.

However, that wasn't what he was messaging you about. It seems he and Leo had been talking and the old man mentioned what your plans for cooking were.

Shortie,

Leo says you're making forager's pie for the picnic. Seasons ripe for ramps and mushrooms. You in for a little adventure through new unexplored territory?

...I'm hunting some lobster mushrooms, could use a hand or two Will share the bounty. ~Barclay sent 12:04 PM

An olive branch in hopes you weren't too sore about his rejection from earlier this week. The message and sentiment is lost on you since you got over that Thursday.

The idea of new terrain makes you a bit uneasy, however lobster mushrooms were pretty good and forage finds were really rare. Barclay grew up in these woods he probably knew what he was doing, not to mention he could easily know where to find ramps. Their flavor would really up your pie game. It's settled you're in for a forage date with big foot as your guide.

Am in Big Feet. When are we going? Sent 7:20 PM

Like with most things a waiting game began, down sides to living in a radio quiet community people weren't as attached to electronics because of the limited capabilities. But now that you know Barclay is emailing you, you can check your phone more often. Shutting down your laptop you close it before sliding it under your coffee table as you slide down the couch getting comfy.

It was two hours before Barclay got back to you.

Fantastic! Does Tuesday work? ~Barclay sent 9:42 PM

Barclay must be in a rush to get those mushrooms. You'd been thinking Thursday or Friday at the latest for the freshest mushrooms. Maybe he didn't need them for the picnic but a personal project. From what Jake has told you Barclay often falls into spells of testing out new ideas with the strangest of ingredients. With varying results but mainly positive ones.

Yea sure. Meet at the lodge after my shift? Sent 9:50 PM

Perfect see you then. ~Barclay sent 9:52 PM

Oki Sent 9:52 PM

Now that that has been settled you are free to continue your chill Sunday. Losing yourself to the lulling voices of the judges you hardly notice as you drift off. Warm in your throw blanket cocoon and cozy on the plush of your couch.

You jolt up right panting after being woken up by a loud bang. Or at least you thought you'd heard a bang, Sometimes auditory hallucinations came to you in your sleep no matter how well rested you were. The room around you is dark as the light from your TV is dimmed with Netflix's 'Are you still watching?' pop up mocking you for your marathon.

Without thinking you hit 'yes' and the bake off resumes. With the brightness restored you can see your living room and hallway are completely undisturbed. An auditory hallucination must have pulled you out of sleep. Nothing more, after all your stalker wouldn't get sloppy now, it's only been three weeks.

'That you know of.' seems to whisper and embed itself in your mind.

Shaking off the worrying thought you look at your phone to see it's now quarter till one. You are hungry and don't feel like cooking. Thankfully you have emergency white castles and fries in your freezer for this exact need. Getting up you go to the kitchen to microwave your food. Popping the fries in first you decide to head to the bathroom before that becomes a problem for you.

Before you go down the hallway you do end up grabbing the bat next to the bookshelf. The whisper from earlier clearly hasn't done much to settle your nerves after your rude awakening. Protection in hand you have a little less anxiety about walking down the dark hallway. You'd have to look into installing one of those cheap wall lamps from Home Depot to help you out in situations like this. Either that or a night light in your bathroom, you can probably get the night light done quicker. Maybe Leo sells them, you'll have to check next week.

You made it back to the kitchen after your bathroom break without any surprises, real or imaginary, jumping out at you. Replacing the fries inside your microwave with sliders, you snack on a few while you wait for the rest of your meal.

It's probably paranoia but you can't blame yourself for it as you continue to keep an ear out for any sound of abnormal movement within your home, as you eat and have the bake show low enough to catch the sounds of another person. None come, and you finish your food without incident. You're willing to chalk the noise up to a hallucination and your paranoia as valid but not necessary in this moment. Without much more thought you place your empty plate on the coffee table and curl back up in your throw blanket. Just like before you don't catch yourself as you fall asleep. This time you don't wake up until your phone alarm goes off for you to start your week and head to work.

The week has been much less dramatic than last week had been. But then again it is only Tuesday and you literally have gay brunch this Sunday. There will definitely be some sort of theatrics this week. Whether they come from homosexuals or your stalker is up to God.

Then later today you'll be going foraging with Barclay. And while that isn't anything dramatic it will be an adventure and, you hope, really fun! Your excitement has been tangible all day and you couldn't hold yourself back from focusing only on the clock in the shop all day. Even giddier than normal for the strike of five. With the energy rushing through you it amped up your tics but thankfully you hadn't hurt yourself in your excitement.

Even Nate is beginning to playfully tease you about your “date” with Barclay.

Great he must've been talking to Little Jo. What is it with this family and wanting you to date the lodge owner? Do you just look like the lead in a Hallmark Christmas movie that moved to a small town in order to feel the joy of the holidays? You could definitely get into the role but you don't think Barclay would be the main love interest for you.

Honestly he'd probably be the one all the viewers cheered for but you'd personally go for the puppy dog partner that has a scarred past. You have a type and your type is emotionally wounded and needing of love. That thought had made you chuckle as you and Nate closed up the store for the day.

Nate kept looking over at you throughout the day, and when he heard you giggle to yourself at closing he couldn't help the fond smile that came over his features. He could feel how his brows lifted themselves from their normally furrowed or downward tilt. He'd have let you leave early had it not been for the new procedures Big Jo had set. It's not often that your excitement shows so visibly. It's not often that the Cowell family has seen you happy like this.

But Nate understands it's not the crush that Little Jo seems to think it is, it's something more bittersweet. It's the excitement that comes from finally waning off of being isolated for so long. And boy does Nate understand that feeling. If he had to guess Nate would say you've been alone for most of your life even if you don't act like it. You need these little hangouts with your friends. So he does his fastest close yet. You both are out the door by five after and he bids you goodnight as you head to your respective cars.

With the close tonight being so quick you made it to the lodge and parked in the half full lot just before five thirty. Getting out of your car you noticed a familiar duo sitting on the stoop of the lodge.

'Something's wrong.' is the only thought you have as you walk towards the lodge.

“Hey stranger.” the brunette looks up to you at your greeting.

In this light you can just catch the slight movement of his pupils in his dark eyes as they widen in surprise.

“oh...hey?” he seems confused to see you here. Must not be used to living in a small town yet. He'll learn soon enough that you run into everyone all the time here. Sometimes multiple times a week as it would seem.

“You good?” motioning towards the hand on the back of his neck.

“Yea, fucking Bri-an Mrrow thought I needed this.” Toby moves his hand to show an ice pack that you assume he's been holding to the back of his neck.

“Heat sickness?”

“Nah, the RV's AC busted. I can probably fix it by the end of the week.” you nod.

That makes sense, after all CIPA affects thermal regulation, at least from a basic skim. You really need to get on that deep dive to make sure you're prepared for irregular injury prevention with Toby. Speaking of, the boy in front of you is just sitting here with Connor, why? Even if he's here to get a room at the lodge why didn't he just go in? Connor is a service dog after all not like anyone could turn him away. So why was Toby just sitting out here, especially if Brian thought he needed an ice pack to the neck to keep cool?

As if the universe heard your question and decided to give you an answer, Aubrey opened the door and poked her head out.

“Thanks for letting me put up Dr. Harris Bonkers. I'll keep him in my room during your stay.” Oh that makes sense Aubrey's rabbit normally has the run of the lodge. Even if Connor's a service dog and well trained Dr. Bonkers is still a prey animal with a weak heart. Seeing Connor may have stressed the poor rabbit out, if not nearly given him a heart attack.

Her russet eyes land on you when she opens the door wider to, you assume, let Toby and Connor in. They widen and Aubrey rushes in to hug you before stopping short as if remembering you don't appreciate physical contact.

“Hey YN! I didn't know you were coming over.” She says a little awkwardly mid pose for a hug.

You won't be saving her from the situation. With a smile, that she can't see, you nod.

“Barclay's taking me foraging today.”

Aubrey nods while lowering her arms and takes a few steps back so you and Toby can enter the lodge. The large foyer of the wooden chalet always looks bigger thanks to the deep red tones in it's color palette. From the dark cherry stained wood to the red rugs and table liners. Always feels a lot warmer too, but in a homey sense not the overbearing swelter of heat sense. You can't wait to see what it's like in the winter. Probably so cozy and welcoming with a fire roaring and the murmur of residents and tourist mingling over the winter festivities. There's a swell in your chest at the thought...it seems nice, you hope you're right.

'Hope you see it.' is the dark whisper that taints your thoughts.

You notice Brian and Tim are over at the counter talking to Barclay who is nodding along sympathetically to the trio's plight. He catches your eye and motions for you to wait. You'd been planning to, after all he's currently working.

Turning to Toby you see he looks a bit paler than normal, which should be a difficult feat. Aubrey had left you both, though you aren't sure if she'll be coming back with her girlfriend Dani in a moment or not. You decide to lead Toby over to the obnoxiously plush couch in the den.

It's not like the lodge is off limits to those who aren't guests, and seeing as most of it's workers live here their friends frequently come around thus using the amenities. After sitting on the couch Toby grabs at Connor's ears and starts shaking them. He isn't being rough with them despite the jerky movements and Connor seems to lean into the pet.

Just from what you can gather it seems like Toby has some pretty bad social anxiety. You really aren't sure of what you could do to help. He calmed down at the movie night with a distraction...oh that reminds you, you fell asleep on him. Figuratively and literally.

“I'm sorry for falling asleep on you.” probably not the most tactful or elegant way of bringing this up.

Toby takes a minute to register you words. Not taking his eyes off Connor or ceasing his movements he says, “Eh.” as he gives a muted shrug and continues, “Your friend...Kirby...gave you a ride right?” He said Kirby's name like a question. You'd have to formally introduce the two at some point. Probably this weekend.

“Yea, he's sorry about being a weirdo Saturday, said he'd be more “present” this weekend.”

Toby doesn't say anything more and you let a silence fall over you two. It isn't awkward, at least to you, and you're content to just sit and wait for a while. However, it doesn't take long before Tim, Brian, and Barclay are all entering the den.

“Knew they'd be here,” Barclay says to the other two, “Sorry 'bout the wait YN, Jake's comin' down to give these guys a tour an' set them up. We'll leave when he gets down.” you nod and give the other two a muted wave 'hello'.

It isn't long before Jake is sliding down the banister and leading the group out of the room before Barclay can get on to him about his juvenile behavior. Sighing at the twenty-three year old's antics Barclay turns to you and looks at what you're wearing. Hiking boots and jeans, perfect but one thing is missing.

“C'mon let's go get duct taped.”

“Duct taped?”

“Yup, keeps ticks from climbing up you.”

So you make your way to his office where he sticks duct tape, sticky side up, around each ankle and just above and below your knees. All while explaining how if a tick started to try and climb up you the tape would make them stick and stay there. You'd end up with less ticks on your torso and hopefully none at all.

In no time the two of your were in the forest two baskets in hand and hunting for your immobile prey. The ramps were super easy to find and the first you knocked off the hunt list. Barlcay said they grow in the same area every year, knowing this you may have to come and grab some the next time they're in season. You can already taste how good your forager's pie tastes with the new earthy tones. Actual mushrooms were much harder to find, aside from the lobster mushrooms you were really only looking for some hedgehog mushrooms. They aren't rare or extremely difficult to find but you two aren't having any luck.

Barclay suggested a spot just past a little pond, and while you didn't find mushrooms you did find some Black Raspberry bushes. Not one to let ingredients go to waste Barclay starts picking some, and you grab some too. Maybe baking an easy Black Raspberry cobbler will be your consolation prize. Though Barclay isn't as placated as you are with the unexpected find. The man is still on the hunt for his lobster mushrooms. So you continue scouring the path and a little bit off it in search.

“We should head back, it's dark.” you state plainly after a few hours of searching and remaining mushroom less.

Barclay agrees, but makes the comment that he'll probably come out again in a day or two.

“If I find any I'll still give you some or helping out today.”

“It's fine I've got my treasures right here.” You shrug it off, because while you are a bit disappointed, you still have ramps and the opportunity to make cobbler. It's not all bad. Barclay on the other hand, you know, will not be letting this go so you expect he'll hand you a container of mushrooms sometime in the coming month if not this weekend.

Getting back to the lodge Barclay helps you cut off the duct tape and disposes of it and the hitch hikers you picked up. He sends you off to shower and check for stragglers before he would allow you to go home. Thankfully you had the foresight to bring a change of clothes and after retrieving them from your trunk you do as you're told.

Barclay was right you hadn't had a single tick on you and you feel much better after a shower. Getting out you already smell the alluring aroma of Barclay's kitchen. You must have taken a bit longer than you intended if he was already done with his own shower and already cooking for the lodge. Heading downstairs with your duffle bag in tow, you are stopped by Dani at the door.

You haven't seen her in a bit so the two of you catch up and have a chat. After a bit Aubrey comes in with a Tupperware container of grilled salmon and veggies over rice.

“Oh I see, you were a diversion.” you said looking at Dani as you take the container. Dani gives a sheepish smile before running off to the dinning room, and after sending you a coy smile of her own Aubrey follows after.

You know you're more than welcome to join them, but you really don't have the battery for that and just want to decompress at home.

“Thank you!” you call out into the lodge, only leaving after hearing the distant chuckles drifting through the hall.

Opening the door you run right into someone. Looking up you see Toby, but he isn't wearing a mask. Instead he's wearing a large bandage on his face to cover the hole. In his hands is a box of similar bandages. Guess if they're staying for a bit he'll need them around the others.

Should you mention the others wouldn't say anything? That this whole place was like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, but for the misfits or the weird and disowned? You aren't really sure it's your place. And you aren't really sure you're comfortable with how comfortable you've gotten with Toby. You're probably crossing some boundary by over analyzing him so much. And he doesn't even know you're doing it.

Toby knocks you out of your head when he backs away and gives you space to exit the lodge.

“Get home safe.” it falls out of his mouth so easily.

You've noticed he has a habit of saying that...why? There you go over analyzing him, you need to stop. Shaking yourself from your thoughts this time you look at Toby with a smile.

“I will...I think you'll like it here.” when you're in your car you want to slam your head on the steering wheel but Toby is still watching. Why did you say that, you're so weird.

#ticci tobyx reader #ticci toby #ticcitoby #creepypasta fanfic #timothy wright x reader #timothy wright #timothy wright x brian thomas #brian thomas x reader #brian thomas #masky x you #masky

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reithel1 · 3 years ago

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Lucifer: Revelations (Outline for a Movie)

Lucifer: Season 6.66

(How I Would Have Written Season 6):

I Love the actors, the characters and have deep appreciation for everyone in front of and behind the cameras… the story had quite a few good things… but parts were missing, some were confusing and some parts that were just plain mean… you naughty writers!

Lucifer Season Six was a disappointment to a lot of people. I swear, if I hear one more person say “bittersweet” I’m going to kick someone right in their dark chocolate.

It wasn’t “bittersweet” … much of the Chloe-and-Lucifer story was just bitter, period. (Also, a lot of folks are appalled at the way Trixie was snubbed…)

First, it’s obvious that none of your writers are old enough to understand the pain they are trying to write about…

They say, “it’s ok because they know Lucifer and Chloe will have eternity together”… This is something that a younger person would write… someone who has never had to live for several decades without that one person… the love of her life, raise his child alone… missing those milestones… first steps, first giggles, birthdays and holidays… it’s even worse, much worse, if he is somewhere else missing them too and she has to feel his pain too. And that is just HUMAN suffering.

Compound that with knowing your loved one is in a place where a month of your pain is a thousand years of torture for him, and it becomes unfathomable.

I have done the human part and wouldn’t even wish that pain on a fictional character.

That Time Travel nonsense just doesn’t work if it means that Lucifer has to sacrifice everything he has worked through, trying to so hard to come to grips with his own daddy issues. There is NO WAY that he would agree to walk away from his own child after all of that. NO WAY that he becomes a deadbeat Daddy.

So, I learned a new word… RETCON… it means “Retroactive Continuity”… something can be changed so that things that come after it can also be changed…

This can be corrected if it is shown that parts of the sixth season were just old, sick Chloe’s dementia, bad dreams, an injury or an illness-driven hallucination...

For one thing, once Rory returned to Chloe’s deathbed, couldn’t she have EASILY just sent up a prayer to Uncle Amenadiel aka GOD, and said, “I know the truth now, please tell Dad it’s time to come home, Mom needs him... it’s time!” and Lucifer could have been there within seconds! So the final scenes of Chloe dying without him don’t make any sense. Amenadiel not taking Chloe to see her Dad and Mom in heaven before heading to Hell also doesn’t make any sense… if she lived to be old, Penelope would have joined John by then.

So, I present: LUCIFER: REVELATIONS OR SEASON 6.66:

NEW GOD: I would change the plot so that Lucifer initially ascends the throne, attempts being God, (people AND angels died for him to become God, you know), he discovers what a hard job it really is, (remember when he said he hated the cacophony of voices in his head? How hard would it be for him to have to deal with 7.79 billion people praying to him in different languages, almost all at once, and see how he handled THAT!), then discovers Chloe is pregnant and THEN figures out that he doesn’t want the God job... How hard would it be for him when he’s God to constantly hear what she is thinking and have to turn a “deaf ear” to it? Not comment on it out of respect for her... adjust to letting her have some kind of privacy? After awhile, Lucifer begins to take more and more time away from his God duties, as if pretending he’s deaf and turning off his “hearing aid.”

NO GOD: On a celestial level, the other angels get frustrated because Dad has vacated the throne, Michael was gone (being punished in Hell) and Lucifer is gone frequently because he wants to step down — spend more time with Chloe as she nears her due date, then with the baby and Trixie, settling in to being an “earthly” Dad, and sort of neglecting his “Father of the Universe” duties… and Amenadiel doesn’t want it either... New rumbling began regarding who should rule... Since earth is once again basically without a God, things begin to descend into chaos, both on the earthly plane and in Heaven...

MICHAEL: Lucifer’s counsel helps Michael understand that the same parental issues that caused him to be rebellious and mischievous has caused Michael to be resentful and devious… This revelation helps them both, Lucifer forgives Michael and after awhile, Michael finally forgives himself for being a dickhead, and finally self-actualizes his wings back. Michael returns to the Silver City, and is happily reunited with all his siblings who are pleased that he has found his way... but soon, he feels the tension of the empty throne, he considers trying to claim it, but he is a different angel now, feels that it is no longer his destiny or his desire to rule... he feels unfulfilled in Heaven and returns to Hell to help Lucifer with his giant new task of helping lost souls find their own way out.

Lucifer is surprised and very pleased to be working wing-to-wing with his brother and it helps lighten his work load, but is dismayed to hear of the unrest in Heaven and the disintegration of things on earth. Since Michael has made such a transformation, while Lucifer was still God, he fixes Michael’s wing and shoulder, removes his scar and makes him beautiful again, with shimmering gold wings. Now he’s just as lovely as Lucifer and has no further reason for jealousy.

AMENADIEL: I wanted to see Amenadiel in a situation where he saved that racist boss by stepping in front of him and deflecting a bullet… the same black guy he has been so horrid to has now saved him… Amenadiel could have a few choice words for him, maybe pulls his shirt open and show him there is no bulletproof vest… right before leaving to go back to the Silver City.

NEW REBELLION: Near the end of the Movie: Wouldn't it be great if Lucifer and Michael could return to Heaven for a battle scene and fight together with Amenadiel against a new rebellion led by someone other than Lucifer or Michael? Now Lucifer is finding out how his father felt when Lucifer rebelled against Him all those many years ago! Surprised? Betrayed? Angry? Hurt? (Maybe it could even be Rory or some as-yet unborn angel child that starts this rebellion against him... but this time, it’s not because he wasn’t a good Dad, but because he is not being a good God in their eyes.)

They would find a way to make their brothers and sisters stand down by stopping the rebellion by a show of wit and power but not fighting... maybe just as the battle is about to begin, Lucifer (who is still God at this point) slices a veil of clouds with the flaming sword, showing a brilliant white and diamond view of a Heavenly Host of souls, millions of them... (CGI) all the good souls who have agreed, plus all the souls that he has saved from Hell and ascended to Heaven who have vowed never to serve any angel who takes the throne by force... (this scene would be great close to the end of the movie for a chance to see everyone one last time as they all stand together in the clouds in support of Lucifer), and can include any/all main characters that have recently deceased — if any — Ella, Maze, Eve, Linda, Trixie... previous characters: John and Penelope Decker, Dan and Charlotte, Father Kinley/Dromos and Squee, Delilah, Jimmy Barnes, Father Frank, Candy Morningstar, Reese, Cain, Abel and LeMec and Mr Said Out Bitch and any angels like RayRay, Zadkiel, Sara, Gabriel, and any other fan favorites from the past that we’d recognize, anyone who is available and willing to do it for the right price), and it is an amazing, breathtaking sight to behold... and with Chloe, Michael, and Amenadiel by his side, Lucifer says, “What would be the point of sitting on a throne in an empty kingdom where the only ones to bend a knee will be a few of your own brothers and sisters?”

This has paved the way for the New God...

(Note: For a couple of seconds each, show a view of the couch back home in Hell’s Therapy Office: Julian and his dad Mr. Tiernan are waiting for their session, squabbling. In another room, Malcom is sitting in a lumpy chair in front of a big screen TV that doesn’t work, with a table of food looks beautiful but has no taste or smell, and a glance into another room with Pete surrounded by lilies, listening to angry women — Ella’s voice and his mother’s — screaming at him 24/7. He and Malcom are both staring at a sign above a Red Light that isn’t lit... “Come to Therapy Office when Lit”)

NEW GOD/OG GOD: The three brothers calmed the rebellion, but they still have an empty throne that none of them really want to ascend to... Lucifer is still technically God, and Michael and Amenadiel try to convince Lucifer that he should resume his duties but Lucifer and Michael are now humble enough to know that it is not their calling... their work in Hell needs them.

Big fanfare! Dad comes back, and Lucifer gladly returns the family business back to its rightful owner... ALL of Lucifer’s lessons are NOW FINALLY completed, FINALLY he has a whole new understanding of how tough God’s job was, he has a whole new appreciation and respect for his Dad and the two of them can finally have the relationship they have always needed and Lucifer has always craved and Lucifer will finally have the chance to have a real family with his Dad and Mum, since they worked out their shit in her dimension, (He’s GOD for Heaven’s sake, you damn well know He can travel between dimensions if He wants to, and I’m sure Goddess is equally powerful and can come and go as She pleases too... gimme a break!

PS: Uriel and Remi can make an appearance too, because I am quite sure Dad is very capable of snatching his children’s souls out of their bodies, or creating replicas or holograms or whatever… removing them from harm’s way just in the nick of time, or giving them new bodies up in the Silver City. He IS God!)

God tells Lucifer he saw him at the Colosseum and was practicing blinking his eyes at the end (we saw three quick black outs at the end of season five while Lucifer held up the flaming sword and said, “Oh my Me”... figured it must’ve been God blinking, but it wasn’t mentioned again).

The three brothers now understand the pecking order, Amenadiel is second in command and has his ability to slow time plus almost as many powers as God (but not quite all the “omni’s”), and Lucifer and Michael are 2nd and 3rd in line, having slightly less powers than Amenadiel but more than the other angels, are happy to facilitate the transformation of Hell while helping out in Heaven whenever called upon to do so — those rare times when God, Goddess and Amenadiel are absent, need extra help or errands run somewhere in the world. Lucifer is still the Lightbringer but that is about all that stands him apart from Michael at that point, as they stand together as matching archangels.

And maybe in the end, the seven of them, (Dad, Mum, Amenadiel, Linda, Lucifer and Chloe and Michael) all working together to make earth and hell better places, and raise Charlie, Trixie and Rory and any future angel babies to be the next generation so that Grandpa and Grandma, Moms, Dads and Uncles can actually take a Vacay once in awhile and visit Mum’s dimension... or... Boca maybe? French Riviera? And Michael helps cover the workload in Hell’s Therapy Office, while Lucifer is away.

LINDA: Speaking of Linda, Linda and Amenadiel should realize eventually that they miss each other and really do love each other. In my story, Dad returns and takes his throne back so that would give Amenadiel and Linda plenty of time to fall back in love, especially now that Maze has married and no longer has a reason to be jealous of them. God and Goddess may retire eventually, or at least lighten their load in this dimension so they can work part time in Goddess’s dimension, so it would be nice if Amenadiel wasn’t going to be alone for eternity since he will obviously be second in command, and in charge, when God and Goddess are busy elsewhere. Plus, there’s Charlie and maybe future angel babies???

DAN: I would have shown Lucifer spending more time with Dan but getting frustrated with him like he always did, (and like he did with Mr. SOB), until he finally takes Dan through a rewind of every important scene of the last days of his life, in reverse, to see why he was feeling guilty... he would have landed on Trixie and their game of unicorn armies soon enough. (And by the way... how is it that Lucifer instantly knew the source of Lee’s guilt, and the Professor’s, and apparently everyone else’s in hell, but couldn’t figure out what Dan was feeling guilty about???) The way Dan ended up in Heaven with Charlotte, waffles and chocolate pudding cups was pretty perfect. I wouldn’t change that.

They didn’t need the whole time travel bullshit to pull it off... and it would have made a much better story without it.

MAZE and EVE: Maze and Eve was pretty good... in a movie, we could see more of their daily life, find out if they have a dungeon in their basement... you know, for Saturday night orgies... (or for some quick, fun torture before turning in their bounty catches)... find out if they ever decided to raise a kid together... maybe Trixie went to stay with them when she turned 18?

Plot twist! Maybe something happens to Trixie and Maze sacrifices herself to save her and dies... ends up in Heaven after all. (See below.)

ADAM: I thought the guy they cast for Adam was an odd choice... Eve looked like she came from that region, but he didn’t look like someone who supplied a rib to make her... all things being equal and taking DNA into consideration.... He should have looked more like her.... But oh well, not my place.... Anyway... maybe God can park Adam in Mum’s new universe and see if She can “pull” something better out of him, LoL. Hopefully his first two sons in Her dimension won’t set us all up to be potential homicidal maniacs.

ELLA: Ella and Carol seemed to be getting along ok, we could find out if she finally found a good guy... or does she like tequila too much to stick with him? Does he backslide into drinking and become violent with her? Does she have to defend herself with the taser she keeps on her key ring these days?

LOL. Anyway, there should be a scene where RayRay comes for a visit... maybe two scenes... one where she stops by to say hello right when Ella finds out that celestials are real and then again at the moment of her death. And Ella should feel welcomed and comforted by her friend RayRay in that moment... which could be something violent and dramatic (and very poignant) if it happens when she’s young... like a shooter in the police station or something.

Then she could see Amenadiel and Lucifer when they welcome her into Heaven. After Michael redeems himself, he and Ella might be a great pair in Heaven... she’s always been attracted to bad boys, and Michael, being an ex-bad boy, might be just what she needs... and her heavenly brightness, might be just what he needs! Michael needs somebody to love him and give him the balance that Chloe gives Lucifer. Yes... perfect... and then Michael would also have his eternal mate. Michael could even fly her down to Hell at some point to peek in on Pete… just for shits and giggles.

One final note about Ella... once God returns, now that Ella knows the truth... she will demand a wedding. We all know Ella wouldn’t let Chloe’s baby be born without Chloe being married to the baby daddy... even if he is an angel... and even if the officiant is God... she would want the pomp and circumstance and the flourish for Chloe and for all their friends. (Because their police friends don’t know that Lucifer is an Angel and God-frey is GOD and Lucifer’s brother/aka Officer Amenadiel is an Angel...) she would want to put on the whole shindig as much for them as the for the happy couple! (The fans want it too!) And woweee what a wedding night!

TRIXIE: I would have shown a few short clips and bits or a montage of Trixie as she reached adulthood… not only milestones like getting driver’s license and a not-catholic-Chloe giving her the keys then crossing herself… first kiss, cap and gown pic of high school graduation, but also brief scenes of her holding pic of Dan crying… maybe even looking at her mom’s gun… sitting on Linda’s couch…

Maybe Trixie follows in the family tradition and joins the LAPD when she’s old enough... Pete has been in a mental institution but has conned everyone that he’s sane and is out now… Trixie is in the precinct when Pete shows up bearing a grudge and a semi-automatic pistol… Maze and Eve are there with their latest bounty, Ella is there with some evidence on a case, and is scared when she sees him… Pete shoots at Ella, but Maze jumps him, takes the bullet, starts fighting… Pete isn’t great with a gun (and he’s still crazy) so he misses Ella, but he keeps shooting… then RayRay shows up, tells Ella not to worry, to close her eyes, everything will be fine,(nobody else can see her of course)… Maze ends up saving Trixie and Eve and several other people in the office with her ninja skills, but during the scuffle, one of the bullets hits Ella and several others are deflected, but Maze takes two more hits that would have killed Trixie and Eve and a couple of other officers receive non-life-threatening GSWs. Maze is a tough cookie, but even she can’t survive being shot three times at close range… and RayRay makes sure Ella feels no fear or pain as she transcends then goes back for Maze who survives a little longer. Long enough for a tearful, heartfelt goodbye to Eve... maybe she sings a few bars of Wonderwall? Eve, who, being 13 billion years old herself, may follow her to Heaven with a broken heart (or an aneurism or a ruptured appendix) soon after. Who knows. She’s never been sick before... will she know what to do if she feels a pain in her right side?

Ooooo! I just added this:

As she is dying, Maze thinks Eve’s wound is superficial, (but is it?), and tells Eve she thinks she is “Done, ‘over-and-out” and probably headed for Squee’s chamber of torture in Hell since she’s not sure Lucifer ever finished making the changes regarding who could rule…

After RayRay drops off Ella in Heaven she returns to the precinct massacre… Maze thinks she’s there to take Eve and begs RayRay to let Eve live… To keep us guessing, the scene changes…. SO, did RayRay take only Eve back to Heaven? Or put one under each arm and fly away? Did she take one to Heaven and one to Hell? Stay tuned…

Trixie was saved by Maze’s sacrifice and ultimately becomes a Detective like her mom and dies heroically, in the line, years later, after marrying and giving Chloe and Lucifer a couple of grandchildren to dote over. Happy reunion scene in Heaven with Dad-Dan and Grandma Penelope Decker, meets Grandpa John Decker. Maybe it could do a quick view of the person Trixie gave her life to save who goes on to become a doctor and find a cure for a disease. Framed on the doctor’s desk is a newspaper clipping of a headline, “Ninja Cop Saves Kid” subheading “Officer Subdued Three Suspects Using Karambit, Freed Hostage Before Being Shot”

LINDA: It doesn’t have to be Rory that helps Lucifer figure out that he’s supposed to be a therapist is Hell... LINDA could be the one to point out to Lucifer that he offered Lee, (Mr. Said Out Bitch), some excellent advice, the same way she’s been offering Lucifer advice for the past five years, only Lee actually took that advice (unlike Lucifer who usually skews or screws up her advice)... And that’s why Lee was there in heaven to help him when he crash-landed... “And hey... wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone could give that kind of advice to other souls down in Hell? Because until the moment that YOU TOOK THE TIME to explain it to Lee, NOBODY DOWN THERE KNEW what was causing their hell loops or that they had ANY CHANCE or ANY METHOD of escaping them! Maybe they just needed somebody to give them that clue. What do you think Lucifer? Do you know anybody who might be UNIQUELY QUALIFIED for that job?” — you see??? No need for a friggin' time travel plot device... no need to torture Lucifer, who has already spent billions of years in hell, by taking him away from the love of life and his child for billions more years!

I could also see Lucifer having a standing weekly appointment with Linda both while still living and in Heaven after she passes, to discuss his most difficult cases and get her take on them and opinions on what he should say, which he will get right sometimes and spectacularly fuck up other times!

Linda loves her role as therapist to the celestial world, and her man is God and Goddess’s 2nd in Command now, her son is an angel... she is set for eternity! The doctor is IN!

CHARLIE, RORY, OTHER ANGEL BABIES: After Amenadiel and Linda come to their senses and finally commit to being together, they should have a set of twins, possibly more babies later. Lucifer and Chloe should have at least one more. Angel babies are smart… half humans start normal… get their wings around the time they are potty trained. Linda and Chloe provide discipline, human education… empathy, sympathy, joy, and as much human history as possible. The children would be extremely smart, could skate through school jumping grades… so being home-schooled seems more logical. Controlling excitable, hyperactive children who can fly will prove quite challenging for the human parents, but the angel Daddies are thrilled with their role… teaching them to fly, schooling them about celestial business… Also, they could grow in stature faster than normal human children. They would look grown up by the age of five, but would still be as immature as children and need their mothers to guide their emotional maturity to catch up to their rapid growth.

DECKERSTAR: In my story, we get to see Lucifer and Chloe happy together, raising Trixie and Rory... Chloe always trying to keep her devilish side in check while Daddy's always having fun. Rory has him wrapped around her pinky and he is a doting daddy. She’s a handful, brilliant in school.... Sometimes a little “spirited” and that gets her in trouble.

She gets bullied at school, she says, “back off Billy, you got no idea who my daddy is! Remember the girl that bullied Trixie?

I can picture her first date... Lucifer says, “have her home by 9:30 OR ELSE” and flashes his red eyes...

The first time a date gets fresh with her and she says, “No means NO!” and tosses them out of the car!

Oh hell, watching Lucifer and Chloe raise Rory and Trixie and any other little angels that come along would be hilariously funny... could be it’s own spin off “Devil Daddy Knows Best” or Daddy Devil Knows Best... I can’t decide.

NUDITY: In a movie, we can see more of Lucifer in the nude, and have hotter sex scenes.... Not x-rated or anything, but we could get closer to R-rated... definitely expand on that orgy scene in “Orgy Pants to Work”!!! (Tom’s wife looks enough like Lauren that with the right lighting and camera angles, they could do a lot together using her as Lauren’s body double and with editing, we would never know which was which!!!). And maybe he’d actually KISS HER.

Sure, the whole “Chloe growing older while Lucifer stays young” plot thing is a pain in the ass... for some of the years, he could dye his hair greyer to match hers until it was white, even though his face wouldn’t have aged.... People see what they want to see... but it would have been a lot more heart-wrenching to have a scene where an older-looking Chloe calls a family meeting and asks the children to please understand that society just won’t handle the truth, and they must fake Lucifer’s death so that they can start a new life someplace else where nobody knows them... that means they won’t get to see him very much because he will have to live elsewhere and they can only go visit and have to pretend he’s dead. At least that way, Chloe can see him on weekends and vacations, and he can fly in for quick visits in the middle of the night when either of them get too lonely. They can set things up ahead of time for rendezvous.

At some point, she can retire from the LAPD and announce that she is moving to Florida or Vegas (some place where folks are used to seeing older women with younger men), or whatever, and she can be a cougar and he’s her pool boy? Massage therapist? Chef? (Could be a running joke.)

When she reaches a certain age, it could be a tear jerking scene if she asks him to leave her because she is embarrassed about her failing body, but would he? Why wouldn’t he just agree to allow her to lie to people and say he was living with her because he was her nephew or male nurse or something? Or simply say he was her caretaker… which wouldn’t be a lie… At that point, nobody would know them, and it’s nobody’s business anyway...

And he would definitely be by her bedside when she died, and so would Trixie and Maze and anyone else that was still alive, (if any... or did she outlive them all because she was stuck with the Tree of Life??? Nobody told us if that, and being able to conceive angel babies were the side effects of being stabbed with the Tree of Life...) and upon her death there would be a tender, tearful, “see you soon,” then RayRay would show up, she would transform into her younger self, and Lucifer would fly her to Heaven to see Amenadiel and her Dad, probably her mom by then, and any of their friends if any of them died first.

OR... DECKERSTAR 2nd OPTION:

We could dispense with the whole “she’s growing old and whatever shall we do???” problem, and just have Chloe die doing what she loves best.. protecting somebody in the line of duty. She could be approaching retirement... she and Lucifer could already be having the “I’m starting to look too old to be with you even though you’re dyeing your hair grey... what should we do?” conversation when one day, they are coming out of a fast food joint with the grandkids and bank robbers step out of the bank next door, she yells “LAPD!” they both step in front of the grandkids as she pulls her gun... RayRay shows up one second later… you see where I’m going with this right? Tearful goodbye scene… no rescue this time… Lilith’s ring is empty… this time, it is her human destiny.

After her death, Lucifer would carry her to Heaven to visit her dad and anyone who predeceased her, and then they would travel back and forth together where she would help him redeem souls part of the time in hell. Same outcome as Season 6.

Maybe, since she was a handmade gift from God (via Amenadiel) to start with, God will turn her into an angel and give her matching white luminescent wings so that she can stand beside Lucifer as an equal, and that way, they can also fly to earth now and then for vacations all over the world after all their friends and family members have crossed over (so nobody on earth freaks out from accidentally seeing them again, LoL, but if she outlived everybody anyway... problem solved.) Hey, He’s God, He can do anything, right? ;o)

Along those same lines, in special consideration for all the help and happiness they have brought to Amenadiel and later to Michael, I could also see God and Goddess granting wings and angel status to Linda and Ella so that they can be suitable mates for His sons for their eternity in Heaven, and able to enjoy all of the perks that go along with that… Maybe, if Chloe outlives them all and she is the last to arrive in Heaven, they could even have a little ceremony, where God and Goddess bestow wings and angel status on them all, including Maze and Eve, which might come as a HUGE surprise to Maze, who never dreamed she’s make it to Heaven to begin with.

They could keep the parts where Chloe and Amenadiel work toward cleaning up the LAPD… and we definitely need to hear Tom sing more… a lullaby to his baby… childhood songs when they’re older and of course, show him teaching them the piano and guitar… of course we must have full blown staged musical numbers… maybe have him sing softly to Chloe as she’s sleeping… and/or as she’s dying… it could be amazing. And I loved Bob the Drag Queen… Lux should bring the RuPaul Review and enjoy several of them… they put on a great show!

One more thing... we NEED a making-love scene with Lucifer holding Chloe in his arms while flying! Wings covering everything important, of course, but it is obvious what they’re doing! Joining the mile-high club! How about on the wedding night?!? Whooohooo!!!!! (If Chloe isn’t already pregnant when this wedding night flight happens, maybe this is when Rory is conceived???)

There’s enough there for a movie or about a dozen more episodes of the show... This is only an outline, but but I could write stories myself for some of these ideas… hell, they practically write themselves. Anyway, THAT’S how I would outline a Movie: Lucifer: Revelations… or Lucifer Season 6.66!!!

Now... let’s get busy and do it different this time (with no time travel nonsense and no sadistic torturing DECKERSTAR)! LOL

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twilightofthe · 4 years ago

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(Reposting the entire ask cuz it won’t show up in the fuckin’ tags and I need attention tf)

(Sorry anon, @duchess-of-mandalore ur prompt is here now lol)

So I see great minds think alike! And dawww thank you, this is such a sweet ship to write for, I have so much fun whenever I get the opportunity!

Since two people asked for the same thing, I sat on these prompts for a hot minute so I could come up with the best one! It is Very Blatantly Anastasia-inspired but I love that movie so much so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (holy shit this is the longest one yet whOOPS I am not joking this is like a full fic size lol I might put it on ao3)

Obitine 10 - Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

This is a universe in which Obi Wan’s family didn’t give him to the Jedi as a baby. They’re still not very well off at all, but maybe this time they try instead to seek better fortunes for the whole family, so off they go into the galaxy for a new life, and after a few years end up on Mandalore as refugees in Sundari.

At this point and time, let’s say the Duchess on the throne is Satine’s grandmother, and through a series of good fortune, Obi Wan’s family gets a gig where they can deliver things from the docks to the royal palace. Obi Wan’s about eight by this time, so as the eldest, he’s to go with his father to help with the deliveries when necessary. He’s got Special Gifts, though-- sometimes things break when he’s upset, he knows how to make some heavy things float if he thinks about it hard enough, and when other people are really excited or sad or something, Obi Wan can feel that too --and his parents have both stressed to keep that part of himself quiet on a place like Mandalore, here they only know Jedi can do those tricks, and the Jedi and Mandalore are enemies, so Obi Wan must be very careful, especially around the palace.

They’re running busy with extra deliveries for a celebration for the Duchess’s granddaughter who is coming to stay with her, when Obi Wan slips up for the first time in his life. He’s struggling to push a heavier crate out of the speeder while his father goes around to talk to one of the palace staff, when the repulsors levitating it fail. The crate is clearly marked fragile and Obi Wan knows they’ll get less money if they break something, and he doesn’t even mean to do it, he just thinks, and his hand is jerking out to raise the crate high over his head and has it settling gently down with the rest.

A gasp behind him has him whirling around and realizing he’s been caught. It’s another kid around his age, long blonde hair done up in twin buns and flowing down in pigtails (Sailor Moon, I am breaking story to stress that baby Satine had Sailor Moon hair because it’s adorable and I must say it). Wide blue eyes are staring back at him, and he feels a chill run down his spine as he’s asked how he just did it.

He starts talking, quickly, please don’t tell anyone, he promises he’s not dangerous, not a Jedi, he’s just helping his father--

Satine cuts the strange boy off. When she had decided to run to hide from her tutors today, a child her age who could do magic tricks was not what she was expecting to find. This seems much more fun than Mandalorian history. She had never really minded the Mean Scary Jedi from the stories, much to her parents’ chagrin, and their powers had seemed interesting, so she says that she won’t tell anyone about his tricks-- as long as he teaches her how to do that.

She has to comfort him again when his face crumples and he protests that he doesn’t know how, and she changes to promise him she won’t tell as long as he agrees to play with her. This is the first boy she’s met who isn’t one of her parents’ snobby friends’ kids she has to be nice to, or one of her annoying cousins who like to hurt when they playfight like Pre; she’s always wanted a friend before and this one doesn’t even seem to know who she is since he hasn’t started with all the bowing and the “milady-ing” that everyone else around her does.

He seems much happier at this arrangement, or at least really doesn’t want her to tattle on him, so he promises he’ll be right back, he just needs to ask his father if he can play. Something makes him pause, turning and asking her who she is, exactly. Satine falters, realizing that if the boy knows she’s Lady Kryze of Kalevala, he might be too afraid to play.

Obi Wan is amused when the girl replies her name is Sabine, and her grandmother works in the palace, because of course that’s her name. The folk heroine S’Tiin or S’Biin, depending on who you ask, is such a famous story around here, it seems like everyone on Mandalore wants to name their eldest daughters Satine or Sabine-- even the Duchess’s granddaughter is named Satine. Her dress is very fine, a deep, pretty green, and Obi Wan asks if her grandmother works making dresses. Sabine hesitates and says that no, but her grandmother is in charge of bossing the tailors around, so she can get nice things. Obi Wan nods, figuring her grandmother is some staff overseer like the bossy men at the docks that tell his parents where to bring things.

Sabine asks him his name, and Obi Wan tells her, only for her to wrinkle her nose and ask if she can call him something else; he doesn’t look like an Obi Wan. Bemused, he asks her what he looks like. She says he looks like a Ben. Obi Wan has never had a friend before, so he shrugs and says sure, she can call him Ben. Sabine beams. He likes making her smile.

She asks him if he can do cartwheels. He can, and demonstrates them for her. She smiles wider, and he really likes making her smile. She asks if he can teach her how.

They practice cartwheels and handstands and chasing each other throughout the crates, until Sabine sees palace guards coming out and hisses for him to hide under one of the crates with her. He asks why, and she pauses for a moment before saying that they don’t like the palace kids going outside unsupervised. After this, Obi Wan is getting ready to meet his father again, and she grabs his hand, asks him if he’ll come back to play with her again.

Obi Wan really likes having a friend. He tells her the truth, that his family makes the deliveries about once a week. He promises to meet her again then.

Satine hasn’t felt so free, hasn’t had a true friend in forever. She is unrepentant when she is caught and scolded for running off by the adults, and makes sure to be extra good in her lessons so she can wait for the next week to sneak off and meet Ben to play again. She feels guilty for lying to him about her and her grandmother, but she doesn’t want things to be weird between them, and people often are weird around the Duchess’s granddaughter.

They meet to play once a week for about a year; Obi Wan telling Sabine about his family’s adventures around the galaxy and how he wishes they weren’t so poor, and Satine tells Ben in the vaguest terms of why she was sent away from her family because her home was not safe, how her little sister is somewhere else entirely, how she misses them. Both become one of the most important people in the other’s life in a very, very short time.

Everything changes the night of the Grand Ball. Obi Wan tells Sabine excitedly over sandwiches she smuggled out of the kitchens that his family were offered extra money by the palace to help on the inside and serve the many guests that will be arriving from all over the galaxy. She replies that she will be at the ball too, and her parents will be visiting and she’s excited to see him, though he feels she’s acting a bit funny over the whole thing. Sabine assures him she’s not, and offers to teach him a waltz step. She’s elegant and graceful and very pretty; sometimes it feels like he’s friends with a fancy princess, not another servant girl.

Satine is a little worried now that Ben will be upset she lied to him, as he will definitely figure out she’s third in line for the throne at the party. Her parents are coming in from Kalevala, even if Bo Katan will not be there-- a shame, Satine misses her, and they will all be standing by her grandmother as royal family members. Still, she feels that maybe it will be okay; Ben is her friend! She’ll show her grandmother that he knows how to dance, and maybe her grandmother will let her marry him when she’s older-- Satine has not told Ben that she plans to marry him one day, but that’s alright, she has time to win him over.

The night of the ball, Obi Wan messes with his carefully brushed hair and fidgets in the slightly too big serving clothes handed to him and his parents by palace staff as they arrive and change and prepare to set things up. He looks around for Sabine, but he doesn’t see her amongst the servants. This disappoints him, he was hoping to introduce her to his parents. He thinks they’ll like her a lot. He hopes maybe her family will like him too. Satine dresses in her prettiest sky blue dress with a matching opal tiara and braids her hair into a crown over her head; maybe tonight Ben will see her and call her pretty.

The party is in full swing and Obi Wan is a little worried; he still hasn’t found Sabine yet, so he’s been sticking to his mother’s side and serving food to sentients and species he’s never seen before. The royal family has yet to appear, but Ben’s more worried that Sabine is sick; did something happen to her?

Satine stands in formation outside the hall with her parents and her grandmother and her other aunts and uncles and cousins. They raise their heads high, the doors open, they begin their procession through the room as the musical fanfare swells--

And shots are firing and transparisteel is exploding in showers as the all-windows ballroom is broken into from all sides by masked figures with jetpacks and a rain of blasters. Satine has exactly one second to see her father turn, reaching for his concealed sidearm, before he is shot and topples. Her mother’s scream sounds in her ears, but the woman is already drawing her own blaster to cover her grandmother and her grandmother is shoving Satine down under the newly made corpse and telling her to play dead until the whole thing is over. It still smells like her father. She doesn’t move a muscle as more blasterfire and screams echo around the room, and then the body above her is shaking with what seems to be more shots, and is being lifted off of her, and Satine doesn’t have time to raise a hand and cry out before her wrist is being seized and a masked figure holding-- holding a sword made of glowing black light? Is that the Dark--? is grabbing her and towing her out of the room. She sees far too many dead bodies amongst the smoke. She recognizes all of her family members amongst them.

Obi Wan and his mother had avoided the first round of attackers by hiding under a table, but as soon as they made a break for it to frantically search for his father, his mother goes down. Horrified, he tries to kneel next to her, but she looks him in the eye, and breathes out to find his father, run, take the service tunnels they took to get in here. Obi Wan knows how to deal with heartbreak even in this life, so, dying along with her, he lets go of her hand, forces himself to turn away and make a run for the tunnels. Along the way, he trips over his father. He’s not moving either.

Obi Wan Does Not Think About It besides a cruel sense of relief, that knowing his wife had died likely would have killed his father anyway. He keeps running, is small and fast and can avoid the masked soldiers in the darkness as the power fails, and is almost to the end of the tunnel, when he hears a familiar voice crying out.

Sabine.

Picking up speed, he bursts out of the tunnel to see his friend in a fine but bloody dress struggling in the grip of a masked figure with the strangest sword Obi Wan has ever seen. The figure resists even as she kicks him in the shin, and while Obi Wan is running, he will not get there fast enough as the figure picks her up and begins to lift off in a jetpack.

Sabine’s eyes meet his, he can hear her screaming his nickname.

He doesn’t think.

He feels the power surging in his gut and reaches out in fright towards the figure flying away, not focused on anything more than for fate or someone to please not take Sabine away too.

The figure’s jetpack sparks, sputters, stops working, spiraling down to one of the platforms in a crash. Obi Wan watches in horror as Sabine is flung out of their arms and skids across the platform to a stop, their fancy black sword vanishing back into its hilt and sliding in the same direction as her. The armored figure themself is not as lucky, tumbling over the side of the platform in the other direction and plummeting down at least ten stories for their jetpack to explode upon impact at the bottom.

Obi Wan tears over to Sabine, who is laying very, very still, a large, bloody lump on her forehead. Obi Wan is about to break down because no, not her too, but he can see the fluttering of her chest moving, and he can smell the palace beginning to burn behind him, and he does not hesitate in scooping her up and throwing her over his shoulder-- like they would do when they roughhoused, except now she is not shrieking in laughter and beating on his back for him to put her down --and last minute pocketing the hilt of the strange sword. He sees a nearby speederbike and gently settles her in front of it and tears off, saltwater streaming down his own face.

He’s never driven before, but he knows the way after a year of deliveries, and he takes them straight home to his family’s tiny apartment by the docks, locks the door, and drags Sabine under his parents’ bed to hide with him like the children they both are. No matter what he does, she will not wake up. While sirens wail outside, and the radio he leaves on reports everyone at the palace dead including the entire royal family, and the new leadership run by what is being called the Death Watch Junta, he lets himself cry, for her, for his family, for her own, for everything.

Sabine wakes up a full day later.

She doesn’t remember a thing.

Obi Wan is horrified.

She just remembers fuzziness and faint flashes of memory, of cold older figures, of a warm sunny room, painted wings on a canvas, the name Ben and bright silvery eyes that stare back at her now. The boy tells her her name is Sabine, she lives in Sundari, Mandalore, and-- here he stutters --she is an orphan, like him. Their families had all attended a party at the palace, where Sabine lived, but then bad people attacked, and they were the only ones to escape.

Sabine nods, this all lining up in her empty brain. She has no true connection to these people who raised her, and yet, she cries for their loss anyway. The boy says his name is--

Ben, she cuts him off, connecting the one name in her memories to the boy in front of her.

Obi Wan hesitates, about to tell her his real name, the one his parents gave him-- his parents who are dead and gone. He nods, yes, he says, you called me that. Ben Kenobi.

Sabine asks if she has a last name. Ben hesitates, says no, she never gave him one. She cocks her head pensively, analyzing him. Could I use yours?

He flushes, knowing only married men give women staying with them, their wives, their names, or they take the woman’s. But still, it’s not like he has any other family now.

He agrees.

Two days later, using some credits stashed in Ben’s parents’ safe for emergencies, Ben and Sabine Kenobi make their way off Mandalore as workers on a cargo freighter. Sundari holds too many bad memories for Ben, and the taunting of memories out of reach for Sabine.

Ben remembers Sabine’s distraught face, feels the hilt of the strange blacklight sword stuffed down the side of his pantleg, remembers how he couldn’t protect her, how she has no memory because of him. How she still trusts him anyway.

He will not let anything happen to her again.

And thus they live for the next decade, literally living hand to mouth and not having a single clue what the next day will bring.

Sabine remembers a grandmother, remembers her having fiery red hair and a stern voice, her mother’s eyes were blue like hers, remembers odd strands of music and lilies in a garden. She remembers the story told to her of the Darksaber, which she doesn’t have a clue why someone holding it would be after her like Ben tells her. She agrees he should hold onto it though, because from the little she remembers, it was never good news for Mandalore, and since Ben has Jedi powers, it’s best he keeps it for their defence.

Defence and safety is a slight issue for them. Sabine is brilliant and great at coming up with plans for how two young kids can find money and food in a galaxy that only seems to benefit the uberwealthy, and Ben has his magic that lets him lie easily, float things out of pockets, sense danger. But she always feels guilty after, and throws a fit every time one of their schemes results in someone getting hurt. Ben rarely uses the Darksaber except to scare people, and it’s not like they’ve killed anyone, but she wouldn’t speak to him for three days after he knocked out a man by collapsing an old roof on him. A man who was about to stab you with a fucking vibroblade, Sab, come on.

Someone taught Sabine how to shoot though, so they compromise by having her carry around a blaster set on stun, and a blaster Ben promises he’ll keep on stun, and then breaks it whenever there’s danger, and Sabine is upset again. But he can’t help it. She’s his family, and family looks out for each other. Plus, she comes up with the plans and she knows how to cook, which he’s never figured out without her insulting it. He should bring something to the table.

She doesn’t know why she’s like this, but she just feels this anger every time people have to resort to violence, because that’s what the galaxy has reverted to, that the Republic’s laws are so poor, that people need to hurt each other to survive. Things have to be better than that.

She feels like there’s more in life for her.

But she doesn’t know what, and running free by Ben’s side as they steal from rich bastards and give back to people needy even when they go hungry themselves more often than not, when they find ships and hop from world to world, experiencing culture after culture, it gives her a sense of purpose, and she knows he agrees with her, that people need help, and if no one’s going to stick up for them, Ben and Sabine will.

He trains with the Darksaber, picks up books on swordfighting, watches old holos about the Jedi when he can. Sabine watches him, watches the way his calculating eyes follow the motions, how his body moves when he practices. He’s handsome, and she cannot tell him that, because he’s all she has, but that’s okay, she’ll grow out of it. It’s just a crush.

Puberty is awkward and horrifying and hellish for the both of them, but they’ve lived side by side for too long for it to be a serious issue. But it is embarrassing, very embarrassing. Sabine does enjoy her three years of being the taller one though, and even when Ben finally passes her again, it’s only an inch and less than that when she’s wearing heeled boots.

Ben starts having to use both his powers and the Darksaber when their schemes get more complicated and them deeper into trouble with local authorities. He’s rough, untrained, but he has his own style, even if they have to flee near immediately afterwards because rumors of Jedi start flying around. They can’t have the Jedi know about them. They’ll take away Ben because he’s like them and leave Sabine alone.

They nearly die multiple times.

They fight so bad they split up twice, though each time, no more than a day or two goes by before the one who packed their bags and stormed off “forever” is trudging back, apology on their tongue, only to find the other on their way to apologize as well and beg them to stay.

They visit Mandalore once, when they are fifteen. It is a completely different place than how Ben remembers it, and to Sabine it doesn’t glow like memories that return do. It’s wrong. The ruling junta controls everything, everyone. Everything is bleak and grey, and they try to do the job there as quickly as possible. Sabine notices a lot of girls with her name, and the rarer ones named Satine; though, a local tells her when she expresses confusion at their question of what clan she’s from, the name Satine is dying out much quicker than its counterpart.

She is told a story of the warrior of old, S’Tiin/S’Biin that she remembers being told long, long ago, and how girls are named in her honor.

But then she and Ben are told of the Duchess Satine, the newer folk hero.

Sabine’s seen the name graffitied on various walls around the galaxy, there’s a Mandalorian bounty hunter phrase that talks of Duchess Satine’s luck being with them, but she’s never known what it meant until now.

Years ago, there was an old Duchess who ruled Mandalore fairly. Her reign came to an end when the Death Watch stormed the palace and burned it and killed the Duchess and the entire royal family. Sabine feels the dread in her gut, knows how her own lost family died that night, how she doesn’t even remember if she was with them when it happened, how Ben still wakes up screaming sometimes from the deaths of his own parents playing in his head, smoke and bodies sometimes haunting her own dreams.

But, the local whispers, rumors say that one body from the royal family was not accounted for: Lady Satine Kryze, the Duchess’s second youngest grandchild. The body of the young girl was never found, though the government insists that she too is dead. Dissidents and those who are unsatisfied with the Death Watch Junta’s rule pray otherwise, stake their faith that the young Satine escaped somehow, and is alive and thriving somewhere safe.

That now, as the only member of the royal family left, Satine Kryze will return to Sundari one day, overthrow the Death Watch and restore the throne, take her rightful place as the Duchess Satine of Mandalore and free them all.

Naming a child Satine now will earn you government attention you do not want, but people still have faith. It’s all they have left.

Ben thinks the story is admirable, though he’s always been open and curious, willing to give things the benefit of the doubt. Sabine personally finds it a tad ridiculous, and makes her even more furious at this “government” that mistreats its people so much they cling to dead children’s ghosts as prophesied saviors. Ben never pulls out the Darksaber on Mandalore. They leave soon after.

Ben and Satine as they grow up discover emotions like love, lust, want. Neither can remember who first started making eyes at someone they saw on the street, who paid attention to someone who wasn’t the other, but that too causes fights. The blowout when Ben almost lets Sabine get caught by an angry guard because he was talking to a pretty shopgirl, and then has the audacity to follow Sabine and brood from a distance when a pretty girl asks her to lunch because he doesn’t trust the other girl’s judgement.

They know the other has just grown more beautiful with age, and the painful temptation of how they can be so close, but so, completely, utterly forbidden, and besides, they don’t like me like that.

There are first kisses that aren’t with each other and brief flings with sentients on planets they aren’t on for more than a week. They talk about love and families, but decide they’re both too young for that, and both feel a relief they won’t admit when the other agrees.

Everything changes once more ten years after Ben dragged Sabine away from the smoking Sundari palace and she woke up with nothing but faint ghosts in her mind.

They’re on a fairly backwater mudhole, trying to scope out a new ride off the planet after helping feed a colony of sick minorities oppressed by the local government, when Ben tenses up next to her and his hand slips around her hip in that way she knows is only protective, but wishes was more. Sabine turns to see the blue eyes of a man watching her under a heavy brown robe and hood.

She murmurs in Ben’s ear, should they take an opportunity on this one? Sabine may hate violence, but her and Ben have both found out by now that there are people all over the galaxy who may look a little too close at pretty young children, and the ones who act on those urges, they’ve discovered that neither feels much remorse when they lure them into the other’s stun gun and rob them.

Ben tenses, he’s always despised it when Sabine does this, is worried she’ll get hurt-- fuck it, he doesn’t like seeing her smile coyly at these bastards, beseechingly like she wants them, has to watch them undress her with their eyes, he wants to vomit or stab something or both, but he can’t make decisions for her, though hells know she gives him enough shit when he’s the one doing the luring, though he can’t imagine why. It’s not like she feels anything for him. She probably just doesn’t like that he’s being violent.

But his Special Sense goes off with a ringing when he looks at the tall man with the beard staring closely at Sabine, and his gut has rarely steered him wrong before, even if he’s furious with its betrayal by agreeing with Sabine that she should lure this man.

Said luring kind of backfires when it turns out that the vibes Ben was getting off of the robed man was him being a fucking Jedi who quite easily avoids Sabine’s stunning attempts and is now holding his bright green laser sword up to protect himself from Ben who has the Darksaber lit and is fully prepared to get his ass kicked but come on, this is not fair. It’s especially not fair that the other man is smiling triumphantly.

Sabine feels sick. The Jedi have found Ben and he’s going to leave her alone.

Ben snarls that he’s not going anywhere with the man, pressing himself to Sabine’s side. This was his own fault for getting them caught

The man blinks, says he does not want anything with Ben. He would much like to speak with the Duchess, gesturing to Sabine.

Ben and Sabine stare at him like he’s lost his mind.

The man clarifies, gesturing to Sabine again, asking if she is not in fact Satine Kryze?

The Lost Duchess?

Sabine feels a high pitched laugh leave her throat, Ben snapping back that no she is not, but the Jedi just sighs, extinguishes his blade, and sits on the floor. He’s still in front of their only exit because they were foolish enough to lure him into a room with one door.

He introduces himself as Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn, and says that he has spent the last two weeks following sightings of a black lightsaber very similar to the legendary blade that was wielded by the Mand’alors of old in the past in the possession of a young woman who appears to be the same age as Mandalore’s lost ducal heir.

Ben murmurs to Sabine that this man cannot be stable right now, feeling all the guilt at his own obsession with using his powers like a Jedi when a Jedi he is not and getting them in deep trouble. Sabine is developing a massive headache, like some of the cotton fog that’s been stuffed tight in her mind for ten years is finally starting to dissipate, but at a rate that it’s just slow and painful.

She asks Jinn scathingly, do the Jedi chase after all silly fairytales now?

Jinn shakes his head with a patronizing smile. No, he says. But the Death Watch Junta do.

He watches as both of them tense at the names of those who wiped out their families. He explains gently, that the Jedi and the Republic have had an eye on Mandalore as a recognized state sponsor of terrorism, and how new reports of them making threats against worlds with the description of the young woman and the lightsaber are making the worlds nervous enough to call the Jedi for help. The Jedi have figured it would be best to locate the targets the Death Watch are after, if only to keep the worlds the Death Watch would raze to the ground to find them safe.

Sabine and Ben look at each other in horror. Death Watch is after them? Ben instantly hands over the sword to Jinn, says he can have that, he and Sabine will be fine on their own, they’ll leave the world and go somewhere they won’t be found.

Jinn shakes his head, says that they need to come with him, Death Watch intends to take Sabine back to Mandalore and publicly kill her. It doesn’t matter if she’s truly the Duchess or not, they want to break the branches of resistance who view the Duchess as a symbol of hope.

With that, Sabine passes out, voices flooding her head, memories, castles, palaces, eyes, a throne, swarming through her brain.

She can’t be the Lost Duchess. She can’t. She would have--

What, remembered it?

Ben suspects foul play on Jinn’s part the second Sabine drops, and if he wasn’t so eager to take the opening and stun the Jedi, grab Sabine over his shoulder, and bolt, he would have known this wasn’t Jinn’s fault as he was surprised enough by her faint to let his guard down.

In his hurry, Ben leaves the Darksaber on the ground where he had tried to give it to Jinn.

He did not realize just how far ahead Jinn was of these Death Watch hunters, however, as not two hours later he’s ambushed, wakes up in a sewage ditch to very bruised everything and Jinn prodding him awake, and-- and Sabine is gone, he lost her. He failed.

Jinn is shaking him out of his panic, making him a deal that if they come with him afterwards, Jinn will help him rescue Sabine-- and, help Ben learn how to properly use a lightsaber, he adds, holding the Darksaber back out to him.

Sabine wakes up alone and in chains in a dark room on a ship she’s not familiar with. A helmeted man sits in front of her, asks her who she is, where she came from. Sabine-- at the encouragement of his blaster to her foot, tells him the whole truth, which is that she has no fucking clue what they want with her. She’s not the Duchess, literally every other girl on Mandalore is named Sabine or Satine, she’s an orphan, but so are half of the other kids in the galaxy, and she left ten years ago because the occupation was not proving safe or financially beneficial to a street kid like her.

For the first time in her life, her mind feels like she is lying when she tells the story.

As he and Qui Gon track down the ship that took her, Ben is kicking himself. As a kid, when he met the richly dressed girl by the storage entrance to do cartwheels, he always felt there was something she wasn’t telling him. Always felt like he was visiting to see nobility, not another servant girl. A girl whose grandmother commanded servants, like the Duchess of all people was supposed to do. A girl who was being taken away by someone wielding the weapon that symbolized the ruler of the people, that had to have been taken off of the dead body of the Duchess.

And Sabine had woken up with no clue who she was, and Ben could have quite possibly fed her an entire life’s worth of lies.

Sabine’s answers do not impress her captors. She braces for torture, and that seems to be what’s on the menu for the next time she gets visitors, as the man growls over his shoulder as he leaves threats of what might happen if she proves so uncooperative again.

Her mind spins again. Could she be? Is she really?

But why would Ben lie to her?

He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Sabine has known Ben long enough to know how he lies. He was an emotional wreck who had lost his whole family after she had first woken up. He couldn’t have lied to her then to save his life, certainly not to that extent.

No, Ben genuinely believed his tale of Sabine Nobody the servant girl, Sabine knows this with all her heart.

That means Sabine cannot be Satine Kryze then.

But she could?

Ugh. Her fucking head hurts and she is utterly fucking confused.

Hmm. One would think she certainly swears far too much to be a fancy duchess.

Ben and Qui Gon Jinn find and board the ship Sabine is on. As they board, Ben’s anger and fury and worry is washed over by a placid cloud. He scowls at Jinn, who comments on how powerful he is. Says he would have made an excellent Jedi.

Something doesn’t feel right hearing that from a Jedi himself. Ben grips the Darksaber tightly, says that no, he is a Mandalorian. That’s who took him in. That’s what Sabine is. Ben stays with Sabine. End of story.

Says Jinn with a sad smile, You’re quite right.

They storm the ship as it enters hyperspace, they avoid guards by the skin of their teeth, Ben wants so, so badly to give into that dark voice inside him that’s snarling to tear, to destroy, to kill. But Sabine doesn’t like violence. Insists that the sword must be for defence. That’s what they do, the two of them, they defend people. Ben slashes and disables, but he does not kill.

They find Sabine in a cell and as soon as they open the door, they realize their sabers will not work against the metal of the chains, but Jinn waves a hand and they unlock on their own.

Ben sees the lost look in her eyes vanish at the sight of him, feels such warmthwarmthwarmth, oh gods above, he could have lost her--

Ben kisses her.

She stiffens for a second.

Holy shit. Ben is kissing her.

She kisses him back before he can back off and change his mind.

I’m so sorry, he murmurs to her. For so many things... he’s thinking.

Don’t be... she swears, knowing absolutely none of this was his fault, that he’s stood by her when no one else did. Don’t be.

Things go haywire and Jinn is shot in the shoulder and they have to make the breathtakingly imbecilic decision of all piling into an escape pod and launching it while in hyperspace. They nearly burn up tearing out of it and all of them black out from the g-force (this is Not any of their days for staying conscious for too long, it seems).

They wake up and Sabine and Ben are still holding hands and Jinn calls her Duchess again, and Sabine tenses, but Ben strokes her hand, admits miserably that he thinks she might be, that she might have been keeping something from him as children and he had never known what, but--

Sabine hushes him with another kiss. If so, she says, that was her own fault, not his. He couldn’t have known.

But not there’s no way to-- Ben starts, but Jinn interrupts by saying that actually there might be. He may be no mind healer, but the Jedi have a talent for going into someone’s mind and convincing it to do their will.

Both Sabine and Ben tense, recalling clearly all the times Ben has talked his way out of impossible situations, said things people never should have believed, but they did.

It is quite possible, Jinn says, that he can coax those memories in her mind back out. He feels them pulsing beneath in her brain, it’s not even that severe a case of memory loss at all, there was just no incentive to trigger their release.

Ben is about to protest, Sabine can tell, so she interrupts him to accept Jinn’s offer. She’ll be alright, she promises Ben. She will. She needs to do this, and he knows she does.

His grey eyes are stormy with worry, but she knows he knows he’s right.

Jinn waves his fingers over Sabine’s face, she feels herself falling asleep once more.

She remembers.

Her life comes back to her: Mother, Father, Bo, Grandmother, Kalevala, the Sundari palace, being raised by tutors before escaping for the freedom of a mysterious delivery boy who taught her to do cartwheels, lying to him to pretend she was normal.

The night of the ball, her blue dress, the tiara that fell off as she was shoved under her father’s body, Ben’s pale face as the armored figure with the black sword started to carry her away, falling, falling--

I’m Satine Kryze.

I am the Duchess of Mandalore.

Gods, help me.

She awakens. Her cheeks feel wet with tears. She meets Ben’s gaze, and she just nods.

He knows from the second she opened her eyes. He squeezes her hand, tells her, she was screaming. He almost fought Jinn, who assured him painful memories are often agitating.

She nods and he knows.

He doesn’t think he can call her by her true name just yet, but--

He’s crying too, begging her forgiveness, he would have told her if he had known, this is his fault--

She cuts him off, promises him it wasn’t. I was scared, she gasps, scared you wouldn’t want to befriend a royal. I was going to tell you at the ball, I swear it, but--

It wouldn’t have mattered, he declares, kissing the tears off her cheeks. I would have followed you everywhere, even then. I still will. I don’t care who you are to other people. To me, you’re everything. It doesn’t matter, Sab.

Gods, she loves him.

She tells him so.

He says it back.

And now that she has that assurance...

Okay now don’t be upset, she tells in that way he knows means one of her more outlandish and dangerous plans. But what if, what if she tried to be the duchess the Mandalorian people are looking for?

Qui Gon Jinn makes a muffled choking noise off to their right.

His eyebrows raise. But he doesn’t laugh. She is infinitely relieved he does not laugh at her.

Inside him, something clicks. He always did feel like he was visiting royalty. And he meant it when he said he’d follow her anywhere.

But he can’t help but ask: does she have any idea how to run a planet, honestly?

Sabine Kenobi has lived with the lowest of society for ten years, seen things Satine Kryze would never have come close to being exposed to outside her crystal towers. Sabine Kenobi knows the cracks in the system. They’ve kept her up at night, with that feeling that she was always supposed to be doing more with her life.

That purpose she was always searching for.

She looks Ben-- Obi Wan, he said once that his name was Obi Wan. Maybe we should get used to using the names we left behind... --directly in the eye, and asks him: would he be willing to stay by her side as she figured it out? She warns the process would likely be trial and error.

He meets her gaze and smiles that cocky smile of his she’s always wanted to kiss off his face. She can do that now, she realizes giddily. He tells her, absolutely.

She does kiss that smile off her face.

A cough sounds behind them and they separate, turning to look at Qui Gon Jinn, whose face seems torn between amused, intrigue, and likely wishing the Jedi had chosen someone else to find a missing girl and a black lightsaber.

Right.

Sabine Kenobi, Satine Kryze claps her hands, addresses Jinn. It seems that the three of them are to be fugitives for a while, she points out. How, exactly, does one go about starting a peaceful revolution?

#YEP THIS IS DEF GOIN ON AO3 I SPIT OUT OVER 7K WORDS AHAHA #morai's fic #peace out #our only ho #when we were young #obitine #ask #asks #anon #duchess-of-mandalore

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blueroseblaze · 5 years ago

Text

Social Distancing

Wordcount: 1697

WARNINGS: none

A little something to tide you guys over during this global crisis

You sat on one side of the couch; cheek pressed into your palm as you sighed annoyedly. The fingers on your other hand drummed against your folded legs. You looked over to the devil hunted on the opposite side of the couch, a full at least 4 feet between you. Nero’s blue eyes met yours and he smiled at you, taking his attention away from the movie you were watching.

It had been a boring week so far. No jobs waiting, no one needed help. Even the demons seemed to be taking a break from terrorizing the locals. Nico stayed home with the van, so you were stranded in your apartment, and even Dante finally decided to actually think for once and stayed home, so you couldn’t even rely on his particular brand on annoying comedy. Leaving you and Nero to entertain yourselves.

You turned your attention back to the movie; you weren’t even paying attention to. Boredom continued to chip away at your soul, until you felt a strange sensation in your scalp. Your hairs was being pulled up gently from your head and then let back down. The sensation repeated and you reached up to inspect the phantom playing with your hair. Your hands gripped the rough yet light material of massive claws.

You looked over to your partner. Nero still sat on his end of the couch, pretending to innocently watch the movie, paying you not even a glance. It was impossible to miss the giant blue luminescent wings that emerged from his back, basking him and you in a faint blue glow. One ethereal clawed hand still gripped his shoulder while the other outstretched towards you, still running the long talons across your scalp.

“What are you doing?” you asked, unable to contain the giggle in your chest.

“Social distancing,” he said simply.

He turned to you, a sweet smile painted across his face as the clawed wing moved to your shoulder, gingerly wrapping the fingers around you and holding you securely. Maybe the next while won’t be so bad after all.

You and Nero stood a decent meter apart as you walked down the empty streets. In your arms was a large basket filled with freshly baked treats. You were both simply too cooped up in your own home and where desperate from just a little bit of human interaction, however you still respected the rules of isolation. You and Nero both washed your hands and you each carried a mask in your pockets just in case.

Footsteps kept echoing on the cobblestone streets as you continued down the block, occasionally stealing a wave towards a lone dog walker. It was peaceful, and the fresh air was a much-welcomed change.

Your journey started at Kyrie’s place. She had been stuck taking care of the kids all alone with little help. You knew she was capable of handling it, but it was still no doubt troublesome. She was thrilled with your gift of sweets and was not afraid to hug you both before ushering the little ones back inside. She offered you something in return, or to come inside but you politely declined. One because you just wanted to be safe and two because you still had a few more deliveries to make.

Next was Nico, who was more than willing to take your other platter of goodies off your hands, but you kept them out of her grasps long enough for you to wish her good health and be on your way.

“Okay,” you said inspecting your inventory, “One more to go.”

The last stretch of your walk brought you to the stone steps of a building. You climbed the stairs, stopping about two steps away from the top. You briefly pondered how you would ring the doorbell, but a long blue spectral claw answered your inquiry. Nero looked to you and smiled as his winged talons returned to his shoulder.

You tapped your foot eagerly as the door slowly opened inward. You nearly dropped everything in your arms as a dark loud force came at you, nearly knocking you on your ass.

“HEY! No visitors you hear?! We got someone immune comp-. Oh, it’s you.”

Griffon perched himself on the stone railing near the door, ruffling his feathers as the falls of a cane reached your ears.

Long slender fingers curled around the door and a head of raven hair could be seen poking out.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” V asked from behind the door.

“Nothing’s wrong V,” Nero said, “We just wanted to pay you a visit.”

“We know we can’t really hang out with you, so we brought you something to lighten things up. You know, since you’re hear all by yourself.”

“HEY!” the bird cried.

The poet opened the door a little further taking a slight step out, balancing on his sliver cane.

“Don’t come any closer,” Nero demanded.

Suddenly the platter was out of your hands and in Nero’s large ethereal claws. He stretched them out and placed the gently in V’s hands. V pulled the foil away from the top and smiled, inhaling the sweet scent of your baking.

“This is,” he began, “Just what I needed.”

It was an essential visit to the store. You had run out of toiletries and a few essential foods, and Nero was itching for more of his energy drinks.

“I told you to ration them,” you scolded as you pulled your cart from the que.

He just scoffed and continued to walk in front of you. The store shelves were mostly empty. The poor staff probably had no time to restock. You had planned to be in and out in no time, just grabbing what you needed and keeping out of people’s way. Eventually you lost Nero but didn’t think much of it.

You parked your cart next to a shelf of shampoo, eyeing the stock for your preferred brand. Behind you, you heard a faint impact in your cart, and you turned to see a box of cereal sitting there that you hadn’t picked up. Looking around, you were completely alone in the aisle.

You cocked an eyebrow incredulously and slowly turned back to what you were doing, but only for a few seconds before you heard another item be placed in your cart. You turned and scowled at the family sized bag of chips slumped over in your cart.

“Hmph,” you said, now diverting your gaze to above you. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a familiar faint blue glow peaking out from behind the shelves. You played coy, and slowly turned your back to your cart again, listening carefully for the sound of rustled feathers and stress of the metal cart.

You quickly spun around and reached out, catching the massive clawed hand in both of yours. You yanked on the limb causing it to drop the tub of chocolate brownie ice cream into your cart.

“Nero,” you warned your voice loud enough to carry into the other aisles, “None of this is on the list.”

“Come on,” he whined from behind the shelves,

“We should only grab what we need.”

“I grabbed your favorite.”

You glanced at the tub in the cart and couldn’t deny your instant sugar craving. You relented and released his wing and giving him a defeated sigh.

“Fine,” you said.

The clawed hand of the wing lingered in front of you, gently caressing your cheek before disappearing.

“Thanks, baby,” Nero said as he stepped out from behind the shelf.

“Oh, shut up and help me pay for and carry this stuff.

You had been slaving in the kitchen for about an hour now. You wanted to make a nice meal for you and Nero since you were able to snag some good food at the supermarket before everyone else got to it. Funny how all the canned soup was gone, but all the ingredients to make soup were still on the shelves. Nero had offered to help but you wanted to do it yourself. Even though you loved him to death, being cooped up in your home made you yearn for a little personal time. Currently he left you alone to work on his own projects out in the garage.

As you set the table you heard the faint sound of the garage door opening, followed by familiarly heavy footfalls. Your snowy headed lover turned the corner and smiled at you. He approached you, arms outstretched for a hug and you could see the dirt and grime on his hands, you quickly dodged it, ducking under his arm and spinning around to his backside.

“Oh no you don’t,” you said, “Not until you wash your hands, mister.”

He pouted and attempted to argue but was quickly shot down by the look you were giving him. He dramatically slumped his shoulders and sulked to the kitchen. You stood by patiently waiting for the squeak of the faucet.

Dinner was simple and enjoyable. Quiet above all else. You learned quickly that talking wasn’t necessary between you two. You didn’t need words you just needed each other’s presence. You would giggle as you caught Nero’s eyes while he scarfed down his food. And he would only give that dopey smile in return with sauce still on his chin.

The night went on without much fanfare. Clean up after dinner, a couple movies, showers, and bed. Nero was in bed before you, waiting under the covers. You washed your hands for the final time that night and shut off your bathroom light.

You climbed onto your side of the bed, noting the pillow in between you two. You sneered at it before picking it up and flinging it over your shoulder and regaining your rightful place under Nero’s arm, head on his chest, reveling in his heartbeat.

“You’re not worried about getting sick?” he chuckled.

“Only thing I need to be worried about is being lovesick.” You joked tiredly.

“Dork.” He rolled his eyes, squeezing you closer to his chest and pressing a kiss into your hair.

“Hmm, I love you,” he hummed as he turned off the light, “Virus be damned.”

#dmc #devil may cry #dmc 5 devil may cry 5 #dmc fanfiction #devil may cry fanfiction #nero #dmc nero #nero x reader #dmc nero x reader #reader insert #dmc imagine #devil may cry imagine #my writing #my post

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malumsmermaid · 5 years ago

Note

I wish you could write a fic about Cal and the reader’s first father’s day/mother’s day? on father’s day youre 7 months pregnant and you spoil him as much as you can and he’s like “the baby’s not even born yet” and you’re like “just preparing for future fathers days” on mother’s day you recently had your baby so Cal got the guys or his sis to babysit while you spoils you for a day and he posts cheesy instagram pics of you pregnant and late nights with the baby and he’s so happy to be a dad :’)))

As I said in response to this ask I’m not super comfortable with pregnancy, but I did have another idea for this one that doesn’t involve it, so I hope you enjoy this with the tweaks I made!

Send me an “I wish you would write...”

Ever since you and Calum got married there’d been constant, not so subtle prodding from friends, family, and fans about the potential for a baby Hood. You did your best to hide the discomfort caused by the questions when you were out, but within the safety of your home, many nights were spent having deep discussions with Calum about children.

After several months of discussion, you began the process of adoption. It was a long, arduous process and you were both anxious, constantly checking your email and snail mail for any updates. Finally, the Friday before Father’s Day, you opened your mail box to find a letter for one of the organizations you’d applied with. Calum was out with Michael, and you opened the letter with shaking hands. You gasped at the congratulatory news, staring at the photo of the seven year old boy you’d both fallen in love with a couple months back.

You covered your mouth as tears began rolling down your cheeks, an idea hitting you. You knew Calum would be out for a while, gently folding the letter back into the envelope and placing it in your planner in your purse, running to the bathroom to wash your face off before going out to the store.

You’d been bubbling, hopping around the house since you got the news, but you managed to keep it a surprise for Calum. Sunday morning you snuck out of bed early, hanging up a “Happy Father’s Day” banner over the mantle and wrapping a box just the right size to hold the folded letter and the photo. You hid it in one of the kitchen drawers, along with one card from you and another from Duke, Duke’s Father’s Day card being a tradition since year one of your relationship and Calum had come to enjoy it, and began making breakfast.

Soon enough the smell roused Calum, summoning him to the kitchen. You grinned when you saw him entering the kitchen, scooping Duke up from where he lay at your feet, dangling him in front of your face as you did a goofy voice for the elderly dog, “Happy Father’s Day, pops!”

Calum laughed, ruffling the dog’s ears before leaning down to give you a kiss. You smiled, handing over Duke before resuming cooking. After breakfast you brought Calum onto the couch, handing him Duke’s card and gift, hiding the surprise behind you. Once he’d opened both things from Duke he thanked the small dog, giving him some scratches and kisses before looking up at you, gesturing towards the banner, “Baby, I know you’re excited, but why all the extra fanfare today? We both know this is a long process and it’s entirely possible that by the time next Father’s Day gets here we may still only have our fur child.”

You smiled, excitement and a few tears glimmering in your eyes. You leaned forward, giving him a gentle kiss before pulling the second card and gift from behind your back. He stared at both items in his hand before slowly looking up at you, brown eyes wide. You smiled at him, giving him another kiss before urging, “Open it!”

Slowly he fumbled with the paper that covered the box, staring at the photo looking up at him, “No way,” he whispered, throat constricting as he stared at the image of the child’s snaggle-toothed grin.

He gingerly placed the photo on his knee as he unfolded the letter, hand covering his mouth the same way yours had two days prior. You had your phone out, taking a video to send to your family and the boys as Calum stared at the page, a tear dripping off his nose. He read the letter over and over again before looking up at you, teary eyes and a grin as he whispered, “I can’t believe it.”

You smiled, setting your phone down on the couch as you leaned forward, wrapping your arms around him, both of you crying in earnest with the excitement, exchanging soft kisses and “I love you’s” as you continued the embrace.

~~~~~

11 months later and you’d both settled into your roles as parents. Tommy had taken a little bit of time to adjust after moving in with you both, but now he was fully comfortable. There were still a few struggles every now and again, but you always worked them out together.

It was Mother’s Day and you started the day being pounced upon by your now 8-year-old son. Tommy was followed by Calum, carrying a tray of pancakes and coffee. You smiled as both your boys snuggled up to you in bed, all three of you enjoying the breakfast they’d prepared.

After breakfast Tommy gave you what he’d made in class Friday, Calum having helped him hide it from you. It was a little flower pot, painted with a smiley face, heart, and what was his best attempt at Duke’s face. Already planted in the pot by the teacher was a small succulent and you smiled, putting it in pride of place on the coffee table, where everyone who came over could see his art.

Being in the living room, you obviously had to put on a movie, pulling up Jungle Book for the umpteenth time that month, Tommy laying on the floor humming along to “The Bear Necessities” as he colored a new picture. You felt your phone buzz against your hip, and hummed, picking it up. You saw the tag notification from Calum, glancing his way as he stared innocently up at the screen.

You shook your head as you opened your phone, looking at the instagram post.

The past ten months we’ve had the absolute honor of being this sweet boy’s parents. They way you’ve persevered through the hardships and helped our son flourish ever since he came home is incredibly inspiring. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. I love you so much, Happy Mother’s Day.

You smiled as you read his caption, wiping away a few tears. You scrolled through the three photos, the first you hugging Tommy while holding the succulent and the other the three of you snuggled up in bed from few months ago, both images obscuring Tommy’s face, the first in your earlier embrace, and the second snuggled into Calum’s chest, since you’d both agreed before you even met him that you weren’t going to put your child in the spotlight.

The third photo was a screenshot from the video you’d sent out to the boys and family back on Father’s Day, the moment Calum’s teary eyed gaze fell on you. You smiled, swallowing thickly before curling into Calum’s side, gently wiping your eyes before leaning up to kiss him, “I love you,” you whispered sweetly, giving him a gentle kiss.

He smiled, giving you another kiss and holding you closer, gazes falling on the young boy who’s own focus was on the movie in front of him, crayon hanging in his limp grasp, half-forgotten.

#anon #calum hood #dad!calum #calum hood blurb #calum hood fluff #Anonymous #wyw #requests

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fancifulwritings · 5 years ago

Text

The Song Remains The Same

after quite a long time (i am so sorry this took so long to anyone that’s been following for a while) here’s chapter 17! i’ll probably start working on the next chapter almost right away, but i’m more than happy to have any recommendations/wants to write next, my ask box is always open!

A small panic fell upon the room. No one said anything, but they all knew the cause. The word, the simple word of problem, didn't sit well with anyone. Things had seemed to be going so well. What could this so called problem be? What had they done?

One by one, they all looked at Jimmy. Those who had been together at that dinner, the one that seemed so long ago after the concert, knew he liked to push buttons. Bonzo might not have been there, but his head still turned. The dynamic between Robert and Jimmy wasn't lost to him. They fought like cats and dogs, like true brothers. It got on everyone's nerves back in the day. Even Jimmy, for a few moments, wondered if he was the one to blame. He didn't think he had overstepped, not yet at least.

Calypso, of course, felt the most nervous. She was the less sure of this whole thing. Her footing into their world was weak. She might have been the once to cause this, but that didn't guarantee her a place. One word from Robert and she would be sent packing. An eternity, alone, stuck forever at twenty-one, with her so-called soulmate refusing anything to do with her? It sounded like hell. Her thoughts, after focusing on Jimmy causing this, naturally turned to herself.

John Paul, like everyone else, thought it was Jimmy. It was where his thought stayed for the longest. But then they turned away from them. Perhaps this was no one's fault. Perhaps it was something to do with Robert. Had he not shared that their stay had a limit? Did he need a few moments to himself? John Paul understood why his house was so far out into the woods. Sometimes a man just needed his time to himself. Was that it? Or did Robert had prior arrangements he needed to uphold?

The anxiety stayed over the room for a few seconds. Robert noticed this, watched everyone's eyes and heads shift to Jimmy. It was amusing to him. But he didn't let it sit longer for a moment. That felt a bit too cruel to do to them. He burst out laughing before he could talk, though. All of them were too easy to wind up, even all these years later.

"They're not real problems, not problems like we used to have," he said with a roll of his eyes. A few more chuckles left his body before he could talk again. "Just a few things that need to be taken care of. Physical problems, not social ones, lads. You lot need to calm down just a little bit," he said.

Once he finished speaking, silence again fell over them. They were waiting for him to announce what these problems were. They were all wracking their brains. No one could think of what was wrong. The few moments of silence, as Robert collected himself from his laughing fit, seemed to be a bit too much for some people.

"Well, will you spit it out lad!" Bonzo roared with a smile. "I know we technically got forever and all, but I don't wanna sit here that long, waiting for you to find your words," he said. There was a clearly playful tone in his voice. It brought a smile to Calypso's face.

There interactions seemed so lighthearted. Robert's own face had a smile growing, one that was different from his laughing. It was a fond smile, Calypso realized. He had waited years for this. Robert had gone years and years, likely praying for one more day with his best friend. How many times had Robert dreamed that Bonzo was alive again? It was touching. Calypso counted herself lucky that she got to see this wishes and dreams come true.

"Well, first, you lot are disgusting. You're absolute pigs!" He said with a smirk. "And while this is partially about the dishes, don't think me and Calypso will be doing them all ourselves, it's actually about how much you eat. Though, Bonz, I do expect a thorough cleaning of your room before you leave, I remember what your hotel rooms looked like," he said. There was a twinkle in his eyes. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Robert had missed teasing his best friend.

"And you haven't been eating a grossly inappropriate amount, especially for a bunch of twenty something year olds," he said. Calypso thought for a moment he was getting more comfortable with the whole situation. That was immensely good. It made her feel a bit more at east. "But I hadn't planned for," he paused to count them all off, "five guests plus me. I had just enough or about a week or so," he said.

His thinking, then, was that it would be enough time to hide out. The people he interacted with on a normal weekly basis of course knew who he was. But they also didn't make a huge fanfare of who he was. The town, no doubt, would be swarmed with Zeppelin fans after the concert. People seeking out him or any of the other two. They would make a huge deal out of who he was. Robert was passed the age, at that point, of wanting people to make a deal out of who he was. So he had wanted to hide away for a week. But now that was all gone out of the window. He hadn't exactly planned for this.

What was the problem with the food? None of them exactly got it. Surely they all had the funds to go out and get the food. Robert couldn't be that low on cash that he couldn't afford to eat. "Now, mate, you're not telling me you're broke, are ye? Because I think anyone of them," Bonzo pointed to everyone else, "can afford a bit of groceries."

To that, Robert only tutted and shook his head. Surely everyone else would get it. But even Calypso wasn't piecing together what the food problem was. "Do I need to show everyone a mirror?" He asked with a sigh. "We can't exactly go out like this. Unless someone has enough cash to buy stock in a grocery market, I'm not exactly sure how we can go about getting food," he explained.

Calypso realized he was right. The one thing that had her in constant awe, she had forgotten. Without any real interaction with the outside world, she had momentarily forgotten it wasn't 1970-something. It was easy to do, being surrounded by all their faces for only twenty-four hours.

Robert very much was right. They would need a large amount of food, an insane amount so they could stay hidden for a little bit. Six months to feed on just strictly three meals a day was going to be a lot for anyone. Someone who hadn't prepared? Someone who couldn't exactly go out in public like they were? If anyone used their card, they could be found out immediately.

A card gave a name, and with the increasingly familiar face, the cashier was bond to recognize them. That was assuming that no one stopped them in the shop because how much they looked like whatever member of Led Zeppelin. The voice, the looks, the everything about them would give them away. There was only so much they could lie their way out of. They still held a bit of popularity. If they didn't, the reunion concert wouldn't have been a big deal, or a deal at all. If they didn't, Calypso never would have fallen in love with the band.

"I can do it," Maureen piped up after a moment. They all turned to her, a bit confused. How could she do it? To that, she just laughed a bit. "No one knows what I look like, who I am. No one's gonna think twice about me. I might be young again, but I wasn't the famous one, remember?" She said with a grin. "And I think I've got more than enough money in my bank account to cover it. Well, John does, but you all know it's the same difference," she said with yet another laugh.

In that moment, it was pretty easy to see that Robert felt a fool. All of them did, Calypso included. After a few seconds, Robert busted out laughing. How could that be forgotten? He'd managed to project his problems onto everyone, and not everyone shared them.

It wasn't like he had forgotten about Mo. If asked about it, he would defend himself. He knew she was here. It was more that he had simply forgotten she wasn't famous. Sure, she had been in that one scene in their movie, ages ago, and a few pictures here and there, but how many people really knew what she looked like? She was the only one in their little group with easy access to a bank account who wouldn't get caught.

That didn't solve their next problem. As much as Robert would love for the answer to be Mo doing everything, it just wouldn't work. It also wouldn't be fair to her and Jonesy's bank account.

"The other little problem is a little less life or death, but it'll certainly need to be solved," he said. "None of us have proper clothing. I feel like I'm drowning in my old man's suit whenever I get dressed. And poor Bonz doesn't anything besides what's literally on his back," he paused to chuckle, "it might look like 1973, but we can't wear the same outfit for days on end anymore. He'll reek."

This was not a problem that had occurred to Calypso. It wasn't even really a problem, more a dilemma they needed to fix. The food issue had been somewhere in the back of her mind. After all, Robert had mentioned last night he didn't have enough food for all of them. The fridge and cupboards were becoming more and more bare as she watched him cook.

Eventually, she would have voiced her concern about the food to Robert. But he had beat her too it, before it was a truly pressing matter, so she didn't have to think about that. Having four full grown men in a house without food and those same four fully grown men couldn't leave sounded like something out of a nightmare.

Clothing wasn't something that would have ever crossed her mind. It simply wasn't a problem. She'd packed as much clothing as she could fit into her luggage. Whenever she ran out, she could have just laundry. The rest of them didn't have that sort of luxury. Their clothes didn't fit them anyone. Bonzo had it the worst with the one singular suit he wore that was obviously just a bit too big for him. It had been fitted for a much larger Bonzo.

Calypso glanced around the table and the clothing issue become more apparent the more she focused on it. Robert sat adjusting himself, no longer comfortable in the casual outfit he had on. With the long curls that cascaded to almost halfway down his back, the button up and slacks combo he had on looked out of place. Once again, he embodied a 1970s rock star but his clothes suggested retired dad.

Jimmy looked just as equally out of place and simply wrong as Robert did. He'd always been the skinniest out of the band, even now. But the clothes he was currently in ate his small frame. It was almost like his clothes were swallowing him up until nothing was left. The silver locks were gone, placed by his dark mop of hair, and it a startling difference for Calypso.

Jonesy didn't appear too out of place. His clothes were too big for him, just like the rest of them. But, as far as Calypso was concerned, he'd always dressed rather normally. His build and hairstyle could easily just be a normal, everyday. It was part of the reason he had been able to blend in with a crowd and escape back in the day.

"I don't need any clothing," Jimmy said after a moment of silence.

Bonzo scoffed at that idea. "What? You just gonna deal with what ya got until we all see your ass?"

That was met with an eye roll from Jimmy, barely noticeable underneath his wild fringe. "No, I still have most my stuff from back in the day. It should all fit just fine now. No need to give you the privilege of my bum." Jimmy chuckled as he spoke. "That is, whatever didn't end up in museums or archives."

That struck Calypso as a bit odd. Why would he bother keeping all of that? It wasn't like he thought he should keep it around so that if he lost the weight he could wear it again. No old man could want to wear his clothing from the 70s, could he? Especially one that probably hadn't taken the best care of himself. What condition would the clothes even be in?

As Calypso mulled over her thoughts, something clicked inside of Robert. None of the rest of them had kept their clothes. That was what normal people did. Got rid of their clothes as the fashion changed drastically and they out grew things. There was only one answer.

"You little slimy bastard, you were always ready for this to-" He began, anger apparent in his voice, before he was cut off.

"Boys, let's not fight right now. We've done enough of that, I think," Maureen said quickly. "It doesn't matter why Jimmy doesn't need anything. Just count it a blessing none of us will witness his bum." She gave a cutting glance to Robert, almost daring him to challenger her.

"Alright, well, that settles one out of four of us," Robert said. His voice gave away his clear annoyance. "One or two of us might be able to sneak out, but not all of us. That's asking to be recognized, no matter how good we disguise ourselves." At that, Calypso couldn't help but chuckle. How exactly could any of them disguise themselves?

After a moment, Jonesy spoke up. "I can go for myself and Bonzo," he said. Robert cocked his head a bit quizzically at the statement, as did Calypso. There was something so sure in his statement, in his voice.

"It's not the first time I've done it," he said with a laugh. The statement might have been meant as clarification, but it didn't seem to clarify anything, at least for Calypso. Robert's head remained cocked as well.

"Someone, back in the day, liked to under-pack for tours. It was a chronic condition," Jonesy said as he shot a look toward Bonzo. "Whatcha pack for that one American tour? Two briefs, a singular sweater, and maybe three pairs of shorts?"

"And what was on me back!" Bonzo pointed out.

"Yes, yes, of course. How could I forget that important detail?" Jonesy asked with a playful smile painted on his face.

"Not everyone loved life on the road, you know. I had a family!" He replied, seemingly in defense of himself. This apparently was an age old fight, though maybe not started by the issue of clothing.

Robert rolled his eyes at the comment. "We all had families, my boy, that is besides Jimmy." Bonzo turned a bit red, but didn't bother to respond with anything. It was obvious that this fight was one they had time and time again, and had been settled long before Calypso had come along.

"But, either way, John Paul will go clothes shopping like the old days," Robert said with a smile. The feeling in the room lightened a little bit at that.

"Well, I think you should obviously go, Robert," Calypso piped up after another moment. In her mind, who else could go for him? He was too tall for Jonesy to be able to accurately judge what size he might need.

Jonesy and Bonzo had an almost similar sense of style, or Bonzo just put up with Jonesy's clothing choices. That alone told her that Jonesy didn't have practice buying for Robert as well. Robert seemed a bit pickier than that. And Jimmy seemed to have checked out about the clothing problem, not wanting a thing to do with it. He'd probably shame them all for not simply keeping their clothes.

Once it was out of her mouth, though, she regretted it. Everyone turned to look at her. It was as if they had forgotten she was there. Which, she couldn't fully blame them for. That wasn't the reason for her regret, though. With everyone leaving the house, she'd be left with Bonzo and Jimmy.

It wasn't like she didn't like either man. It would just, it was an uncomfortable thought. She didn't know them too well. Bonzo had literally just come back from the dead. If she stayed… She'd feel like she was getting in the way of a long overdue reunion rather than bonding with people she'd be trapped with.

"Well, I suppose you're right on that," Robert said as he looked at her with a smile. "But," he began as he put a hand on her thigh, "I'll only go if you agree to go with me. A pretty girl like you will distract the paparazzi from an old man like me." He had a toothy grin on his face that she couldn't say no to, one that showed off his missing tooth.

Her gut told her to say no. Calypso could already tell exactly what Robert was thinking about. It was a ploy for him to buy her more clothing. That was something that made her a bit uncomfortable. Having things paid for by other people just wasn't something she was used to. Could she really manage to get the word no out of her mouth, though?

"Well, of course I'll go," she said with a bright smile. Her face didn't show a single sign of her internal fight. She'd regret it later, give the look he gave her, but now wasn't the time to worry.

#the song remains the same #robert plant fanfiction #robert plant fanfic #led zeppelin fanfic #led zeppelin fanfiction

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rabidfirefoxfan · 4 years ago

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When you responded, I started thinking back to when I first got into Loki. I am ashamed to say, that yes it was from gagnarok. but because I love the truth, I went out seeking it (so my love for gagnarok only lasted a few months) anyways, I do remember loving how great it was after watching it and spreading the word about it; ready to take down any YouTuber with a negative response towards the movie, even though I REALLY didn't want to see it twice. It just stayed in my brain for some reason. I still don't fully understand why, but I think you def hit the nail on the coffin 💜

You enjoyed something, you wanted to Keep enjoying that thing. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. You Subjective reaction to the Movie can be “I though it was a good film” and the Objective reality “This films has MAJOR Problems with it” are two different things.

For example, Michael Bay’s Transformers is objectively a Bad Film: Bad characterization, bad plot, dumb action, over-sexualization, really terrible main character. However, many people Subjective reaction to the Movie is “It was a pretty good movie.” The action scenes were entertaining enough to keep you interested and the character work well enough for ONE watch through. Ragnorak is Similar, your first subjective reaction to the movie was to say it was good.

Your reaction to the movie is also, in some ways, artificial. After all, with big releases like Marvel Movies are is a lot of Fanfare trying to hype you up to go to the Movie. Trailers like to “Your going to have a great time watching this film. It has all the stuff you want.” And then there is the Disney Press Tour trying to encourage media outlets to say the same thing. Finally, when you are all excited to watch the movie, you watch the movie and before you can really process what you watch, you talk with your friends. Now, you had a fairly happy experience, so when you asked your friends they will say “Yeah that was a good Movie,” re-enforcing the Idea that it actualy was a good movie.

Without realizing it, there are 3 forces trying to convince you that watch you actually watched was Good, and not Crap in any meaningful way. Reason 1: You don’t want to have wasted you time and money, so what you spent you time and money on MUST be Good. Reason 2: Your Friends want to feed off you energy and have the same Reason1 working on them. These direct friends will again tell you that the movie is Good. Reason 3: Disney has a strong incentive to want you to think the movie is good, so they promote articles and Social Media pieces that say that the Movie is Good so they continue to Make MONEY off of it for as long as it’s in the Box Office. (Let’s not forget, Ragnorak made just as much as The Justice league did)

Because of all of these Factors, when you are going to talk about the movie a week after you watch, you are STRONGLY encouraged to say how awesome it was. And the People who said it sucked, well, they must just be no-good haters who want to ruin your happiness, RIGHT? There is no way the thing that you watched ONCE can be bad, it must be something else. There is no way I was wrong, that what I liked is bad, that my reasoning can be flawed. It must be those Haters.

And this Line of thinking Works .... for a little bit. The thing is, movie last forever (at least with the internet) and the internet LOVES to over-analysis everything. Piece by Piece, more and more voices start to voice some little things they didn’t like, and than those little things start to pile up, and more and more little things pile up, and OMG This Movie is horrible how did I ever like it in the first place.

You want to see this in Action. Watch Mauler’s A Critique of Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Introduction. Mauler has a whole playlist talking about the Sequel Star Wars movies, and it’s like 24 hours long when you include all 3 movies and like 5 parts of it (Each on like 2 hours long). You don’t have to watch the whole thing, just Watch the first 5 minutes of this specific video. You’ll see this EXACT thing happening to Everyone when it came to The Force Awakens.

One other Problem with the Thor IP that should be address though. IMO, the biggest problem with Thor, is honestly Thor. I don’t think Chris Hemsworth every capture that spirit of Thor, as Least in comparison to the other 3 major character for Avengers (2012). So, arguably the 4 most important characters of the Avengers was Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Loki. Iron Man was the character to get the MCU kicked off, but Thor and Captain America Movies were there to build up momentum and build up to the Avengers. Chris Evans did a great job capturing Cap down-to-earth persona and how he really does want to be a good leader, a good man. RDJ did a FANTASTIC Job capture both the Light and Dark elements of Tony Stark. I don’t think I need explain with Hiddleston did a good Job capturing the spirit of Loki. So, that Leaves Thor.

In the Comics, the basic Idea of Thor is that Thor is an Arrogant Superman. Like Superman, Thor is really strong, nearly invincible, and just Loves Humans and the Earth while not actually begin Human (his mom is the Earth Though). Unlike Superman Though, Thor often thinks too Highly of Himself and can act like a Total Dick at times. In most versions of the Humbling of Thor, Thor often does a really Dick move that causes his banishment. However, even with his arrogant Nature, Thor still loves cute things and still wants to protect stuff.

Hemsworth, although doing a Great Job bringing the Body of Thor (look at those muscles), IMO never did an excellent job bring the warmth of Thor. Or, at least wasn’t as Good at doing Thor as Hiddleston was at doing Loki. Hiddleston, through just trying to do a Good job on his character, ultimately brought all the focus away from Thor and onto Loki. This ended up with the reaction, Thor was bad, but Loki was Good. Because the Main focus, Thor, wasn’t done well, both Thor and TDW suffered. Add to that that Marvel really never knew what to do with the Thor IP and you have a general atmosphere of “The Thor Movies sucked, but I like the Loki scenes,” a sentiment that I honestly agree with.

Hiddleston NAILS every scenes he’s in with Both Movies, but everyone else ... eh? Both Odin and Jane’s actors are phone it in, it’s not their worst performances, but it’s hardly their best. Humbling of Thor is Interesting, but Loki’s side of the story is Far more interesting. I mean, Thor gets banished and immediately gets a girlfriend and a nice life. If Loki didn’t go Mad and attack the Town, it’s likely Thor would have gotten married to Jane, been an amazing Trophy Husband and had 3 kids while Loki would have been miserable on the Throne. That’s not an interesting story for Thor.

TDW suffered from production problems. A director for the movie pulled out last minute and the movie was crap, then they noticed that Loki was popular and they did some Last minute re-shoots with Joss Whedon and Tom Hiddleston. Now it’s a crap movie with sprinkles of Great scenes. Honestly, cut out a lot of the Earth stuff, bring the Focus onto to Loki and I swear there is a great movie in the TDW, I just know it.

So, with the First two Thor movies having ?Eh? Thor content, fans wished for a new better thing and they wanted Ragnorak to be that new better movie. These Fans also ignored anything that said otherwise.

However, because of Taika’s habit of attacking Fans, it’s likely that it’s going to be hard for him to keep his fanbase. Bad movies can work for a time, but eventually People will move on to better thing. Transformers was able to make 3-4 somewhat successful movies but the 5 bombed. The same thing will happen to Taika if he’s not careful. If his next movie doesn’t scratch the same itch that the First movie does, people will re-examine Ragnorak with a critical lens and then it will be popular to bash on his movie.

There is a reason why Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Fans have endured for so Long. It’s because Loki in Thor and TDW really resonated with us, far more than most other Marvel Properties. Because of it, Loki’s personality, his strength and his stories are far more relatable and resonate and any other Marvel Characters. It on Marvel to make us products we are willing to support, not attack us when we don’t want to buy their crap.

For me, I have don’t like how Marvel (and Disney in general) is treating their characters and their fans. Until their general atmosphere improves (or they die in hell) I am going to read Through Loki Comic until I find those few Great one (I have fund like 5-10 out of 60 that are worth anything), continue to read fanfics from authors who give a crap and continue to promote and make Fan-based stuff that encourages Loki stuff I do like.

Um.... Thanks for reading my long answer. Thanks for sending asks.

PS: Do you have any good Loki work to recommend?

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eloquenceassassinated · 5 years ago

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I’m Leaving Tumblr: A Farewell to my Followers

I haven't been very active on this blog lately. If you're observant, you've probably noticed it. If I really wanted to, I could probably just leave it that way; everyone would eventually take me off their followed list as an inactive blog and absently wonder where I went. But I don't really want to do that.

In his poem “The Hollow Men,” T. S. Elliot wrote, “This is how the world ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper.” In my case, though I'm not a popular blog by any stretch, and though this arguably isn't a website that deserves the fanfare, I don't want to leave with a bang, but at least with a whisper: “Thanks for the memories. I'll be on my way now.”

To do that properly, I have to take you on a little ride.

In my time on this website, I:

Joined tumblr in June of 2017 for the purposes of posting art.

Proceeded to not post a lot of art.

Found the Captain America, Voltron, and Ninjago fandoms on here and got swept up in those instead.

Got my first 100 notes on a post about Dr. Julien. Dabbed in celebration.

Made a post about Shiro and Bucky maybe being friends.

Bought a mug from mintmintdoodles—and liked it!

Went on a missions trip. Came back.

Reblogged a LOT of fandom stuff.

Saw Wonder Woman, which was good.

Celebrated my first Steve's Birthday—I mean Fourth of July on the site.

Made lots of Clone!Shiro theory posts.

Made a dumb “who in Voltron likes anime?” post.

Fell in love with Matt Holt.

Started posting “Grass Whistle”, my first multi-chapter fanfic.

Got a job, which kinda put the kabosh on the fanfic for a bit.

Bought a print from mechinaries.

Found a bunch of my other fandoms on this site including Lord of the Rings, How to Train Your Dragon, and Hamilton.

Celebrated my first Christmas on the site.

Participated in the Ninjago Secret Santa, where I actually got my friend Candaru's prompt and it was hilarious.

Kinda ghosted through the first winter months of 2018 as my job occupied more and more of my time.

Resumed posting Grass Whistle in the spring of 2018 and finally finished it, to a wonderful reception.

Saw Black Panther and loved it!

Started posting “The Run and Go”, to a better reception on FF.net than this site.

Saw Thor: Ragnarok and wished we got to see that hug.

Witnessed the best season of Voltron (S6) before everything went downhill.

Went on vacation. Came back.

Wrote and posted “Brother”.

Posted art celebrating Candaru's story “Several Dead LEGOs Play Cards”.

Went on the missions trip again. Came back.

Saw Infinity War and was in DENIAL.

Reconnected with a friend with whom I'd been through a really rough patch over the past couple of years, and began to mend our friendship.

Posted a really long queue of LotR stuff for no particular reason.

Watched Voltron end; it was terrible.

Started a new year and continued to keep the blog busy with lots of queues.

Watched Alita: Battle Angel and it was AMAZING.

Posted a really long How to Train Your Dragon queue for no particular reason.

Continued to dread Endgame.

Watched Endgame. Stayed in denial.

Fell behind on Ninjago seasons.

Watched the Voltron and Ninjago blogs I follow fade into inactivity until I was left with nothing but gifs of Endgame and my own sadness.

Kept the charade going until the summer of 2019 hit and I realized that I'm doing out of obligation what should be for fun.

I don't really know how to state this in a kind way, but neither the circumstances that brought me here nor the conditions that kept me here exist any longer. This is a fandom blog, and it's a tough break when you've fallen either out of step or out of love with your fandoms. Keeping up the queue is the only way that my blog stays active on my work days, but it isn't fun. This blog stays inactive because upkeeping it is a chore—a chore that I keep putting off, and a chore that no one asked me to do.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

I never really understood that. What does Paul have against common things? Does he have beef with clay? But I think I get it now—it's a simple matter of removing clutter. Cleaning out what's unnecessary so that the only things that remain are the best ones.

I'm not leaving tumblr because I have any anger against the site or any one person or fandom or whatever. I'm not leaving because something cataclysmic happened, or because I was abducted by aliens and their planet has bad wifi. I'm leaving because I've had some time to think, and I've decided that it's for my best mental health that I leave this chapter behind. Plain and simple.

Those who know me personally probably know that my prayer for 2019 has been centered around a single word: Restoration. The past few years have been hard ones for me, and it's time to rebuild and restore what's been broken. Sometimes repairing a house means tearing out the moldy walls first. Sometimes being your best self means eliminating distractions.

Because that's what these are—distractions, layered on distractions. Marvel distracted me from the real world, and Voltron distracted me between Marvel movies, and Ninjago distracted me when Voltron turned sour. When those fell through, I turned to old fandoms to distract myself. And when I finally extricated myself from that mess, made amends with some people, looked up, and faced my situation for what it is, I realized that it's not something I can maintain.

I'll still keep the blog up. I won't deactivate it, because deactivated blogs make me sad and wonder if there's some tragedy here that I don't know about. Especially since the platonic prompts post continues to make rounds, I want people to be able to come back to this blog if they wish and see what the original poster was like—someone who loves friendship in fandoms, celebrates it, and spent two years creating a safe haven of nothing but positive, pro-bromance content. If this blog was ever a safe haven for anybody, I want them to still have it available in its entirety. Even if it should never have been work, I did work hard on this. I don't want that to go to waste.

As for those I follow, there will still be some blogs that I check on from time to time—particularly the ones that my personal friends run—but I likely won't be interacting with the posts. If you know me in real life, you can still contact me through email or my fanfiction account. I'll be there.

But starting today, I'm taking the tumblr app off of my phone. I might come back sometime, but I don't see it happening. No offense or hard feelings to anybody—I'm just done for now.

If I ever made anyone smile, I think this would all be worth it. If I made someone laugh, or think, or cry, or if I inspired them to write something or draw something or create something that had never existed before, I think it would all be worth it. If I can truly say that I was a positive Christian influence in my short time here—that I touched somebody—I think it would be worth it.

After all, life isn't about followers. It's about friends. It isn't about notes. It's about whose lives you touched, whose day you made just a little bit better. And I know that all of you (except for the pornbots) are real people, and I want you to know that, to the best of my ability, I care about every single one of you. I want all of you to live happy lives, and I hope that God makes Himself very, very real to you and fills you with a love that words can't explain and a joy that our hearts can't contain and a hope that our minds can't imagine in our wildest dreams.

I wish all 119 of you well. I wish everyone who has ever crossed my path through this blog well. I hope I could make you smile. It's been fun, and I've met some great people and made some wonderful friends, and I'm glad to have been here.

Thank you to my friends. Thank you to anyone who ever liked or reblogged my art. Thank you to everyone who reblogs the platonic prompts post—it's just over 3,000 notes as I write this, which is about the size of my church, and while that isn't terribly a lot I guess it's still wild to think about.

I especially want to thank the Ninjago community for always being so enthusiastic, warm, and wholesome my whole time on this website, from giving me my first 100 notes on the Dr. Julien headcanon post just a few days into my time here to your staggering and sincere support of Grass Whistle a year later. Never stop being your wonderful selves—it was wonderful to interact with all of you.

Thanks for the memories. I mean that.

Here's a picture of one of my hermit crabs, Clover, on a tiny boat I got in Michigan. Peace out!

—Sincerely, EA

#ea speaks #mine #my writing #blog maintainence #real life #and so another chapter comes to a close #and i get way too emotional about it

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jtsodergren · 5 years ago

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The Best of 2019

2019, what an exceptional year for movies! A great way to close out the shittiest decade! Here are the 50 best films I saw this year... click on the title to go to the IMDB page, and I’ll try to post a link to where you can see many of them. Also for the first time this year, I’m including MOM WARNINGS! My mom reads this list and sometimes actually watches these movies... so to save her some grief, sadness, or general concern for my psyche, there will be a NOT FOR MOMS!! warning where applicable... here we go!

50. STAR WARS - EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (Amazon)

People really hated this movie... I actually really liked it! Aside from the horses running around on the outside of spaceships (which makes no fucking sense... didn’t Leia get all space frozen exactly one movie ago??), it was a satisfying conclusion to a franchise I guess I don’t really care about as much as other people, so I was into it!

49. JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM (Amazon)

Quickly becoming one of the more well produced action franchises of all time. Probably two too many machine gun shootouts in this one for me (I get a little exhausted with gun violence), but the hand-to-hand stuff is brilliant and bloody and badass! Not to mention the deepening of the mythology and Halle Berry and her dogs. It’s a fun time, a welcome addition to the series, and I can’t wait for number 4.

48. QUEEN & SLIM (Amazon)

Billed as the black BONNIE AND CLYDE and from first time feature director Melina Matsoukas, this atmospheric tragedy is gorgeous to look at, delivers a pair of standout lead performances, and proves to have one of the more stressful final 30min of any of the films I saw this year, even if you know the inevitable conclusion is just around the corner.

47. UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (Amazon PRIME)

A wild Los Angeles noir story from the director of IT FOLLOWS. Plays like if David Lynch directed THE BIG LEBOWSKI, a weird, screwball whodunit. It’s a little long, and there are so many loose ends that seem to be thrown in just to fuck with the protagonist (and the audience), but it’s a really fun time and you’ll want to stay to the end to see it all play out. LA looks gorgeous too.

46. KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE (Netflix)

Truly inspiring. Really shows how if you put your mind to something, believe in yourself and that you can make a difference, you can accomplish anything. Regardless of your political leanings, or how you feel about AOC personally, this is well worth your time and it has a great message for young people, especially those young women of color who might not think they can achieve great levels of success. It made me cry the happy tears.

45. LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT (Amazon)

Best known for it’s remarkable 59min-3D final take, this hallucinatory journey through memory and dreams is mind-blowing and breathtaking. Hard not to leave this one feeling like you’ve been put though some kind of experiment that you don’t fully understand, but you’ll want to experience again. Highly recommended if you have access to 3D, or simply have some killer edibles and want to be thrown for a loop.

44. CLIMAX (Amazon PRIME)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

Speaking of being under the influence, holy shit is this film nuts! From Gaspar Noe, who if you’re aware of his work, you kind of already know what you��re in store for here. It’s been described as “FAME directed by the Marquis de Sade”... incredible dance sequences and audacious camerawork that slowly but surely devolves into hell. It’s a blast!

43. HAIL SATAN? (Hulu)

A fresh and funny documentary about a group of smartass Satanists exposing the hypocrisy amongst bible-thumping Christians who’d rather stomp their feet and be the loudest in the room than listen to anyone else’s perspective. Frustrating and entertaining in equal parts, this compulsively watchable film makes you want to scream at these Jesus freaks as much as you want to laugh along with the antics of these harmless, intelligent and organized troublemakers. An excellent time well spent.

42. FIRST LOVE (Amazon)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

Director Takashi Miike’s yakuza action-comedy is the most accessible of his films I’ve seen (he’s now made more than 100 movies, which is insane), but that doesn’t mean it’s not a gonzo wild time at the movies. The violence is here in full force, but unlike AUDITION or ICHI THE KILLER, you don’t need a barf bag close by to enjoy it. It’s often hilarious and moves at a breakneck speed. Super fun!

41. THE DEAD DON’T DIE (Amazon PRIME)

Jim Jarmusch’s star-studded, droll zombie-comedy came and went from theaters without much fanfare, but provided me with plenty of laughs. It’s also the second of 3 Adam Driver vehicles to be on this year’s list. Bill Murray and Driver lead the way along with plenty familiar faces in cameos throughout (including the RZA in one of my favorite scene’s of the year). Classic Jarmusch... a meditation on death and mortality in his vintage style.

40. EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE (Netflix)

Dude, Aaron Paul is a legit GREAT actor. Picks up right where the show left off, and I was on the edge of my seat and filled with anxiety just like I was during the best moments of the now classic series. It was good to hang out with my old friends again.

39. DOCTOR SLEEP (Amazon)

A box office flop due to poor promotion and a title people weren’t familiar with, this sequel to THE SHINING is based on the Stephen King book of the same name, which I read, and I can’t recommend it more. Great suspense, and fantastic performances from both Ewan McGregor and (especially) Rebecca Ferguson. It’s a dark and scary film that is a fun trip back to the Overlook Hotel... provided you wish to return there...

38. THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO (Amazon PRIME)

About 90min into this beautifully shot film I was ready to lock it in as a possible Top 5 contender. Then the bottom fell out for me the last quarter of the movie and lost my confidence. No bother, it’s still wonderful enough to find a spot on the list and carry my recommendation. Young men and women watching their city change before their eyes, and wondering what the concept of “home” really means is a real challenge facing many people here in the Bay Area. This film does a fantastic job conveying that, for most of the film anyway.

37. THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (Amazon)

A bonafide crown-pleaser of a movie, and another example of the true talent Shia LeBeouf has and is capable of (more on him later). A young man with Down Syndrome escapes his assisted-living facility to track down his wrestling idol the Saltwater Redneck with the help of an outlaw and a social worker. Sweet, funny, and heartfelt... a feel good surprise.

36. A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD (Amazon)

I didn’t cry nearly as much as I did during the excellent documentary WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR from last year, but if you’re a Mr. Rogers fan, you’ll still shed a few during this heartwarming film. Tom Hanks does his thing, and even though this movie is guilty of borrowing a little too much from the previous doc, it’s still a great showcase for the truly selfless and beautiful force of nature that Fred Rogers was. Bring tissues anyway.

35. CARMINE STREET GUITARS (In Theaters Now)

A love letter to both New York City and the art, joy, and love that goes into honing and maintaining one’s craft. Meanwhile the looming doom of gentrification hovers over the proceedings, never letting you get fully enrapt in the sweetness that these artists (and their many famous customers) exude when talking about and playing their one-of-a-kind works of art. A stunning and lovely piece for musicians and talentless fans of music alike.

34. HOLIDAY (Amazon)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

A tough, cold film with nary a character to actively root for... until after about an hour of icy behavior comes (no pun intended) a scene so shocking in its graphic and disturbing nature, people left the theater without staying for the final resolution. First time director Isabella Eklof pulls off the bold and audacious maneuver, all while making it seem like she doesn’t care whether you like her characters (or her film) at all. It’s a very fine balancing act, executed to perfection. But be warned... it’s rough.

33. AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Disney+)

What can I say? You saw it. It’s good. A bunch of Supermans fly around and blow shit up. A satisfying end (until the next 20 films).

32. MIDSOMMAR (Amazon Prime)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

A disturbing slow burn of a gothic horror film. Characters do hallucinogens while ritualistic religious murders and tribal mating practices threaten to ruin everyones existence. Florence Pugh is phenomenal (more from her in a minute) in a very trying roll. Doesn’t pack quite the punch of the director’s last film, HEREDITARY, but it’s still well worth the watch. But yeah, it’s disturbing.

31. APOLLO 11 (Hulu)

A fascinating look at the first moon landing from rarely seen archival footage and audio. Seeing it on the IMAX screen was intense and exhilarating, unlike narrative pictures like the severely overrated FIRST MAN. This isn’t my favorite documentary of the year, but it is an absolute lock to win the Academy Award for Best Doc of 2019. It’s a must see, a must experience.

30. HIGH LIFE (Amazon PRIME)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

French auteur Claire Denis’ bizarre, erotic sci-fi mindfuck about isolation and humanity is not for everyone, but is a brilliant take on the genre, and is yet another showcase for Robert Pattinson, who is quietly becoming one of my favorite working actors. Juliette Binoche also is on fire here and has what one critic calls “the single greatest one-person sex scene in the history of cinema.” So it has that going for it.

29. TRIPLE FRONTIER (Netflix)

A fully loaded heist film with no real bad guy, but instead a group of recognizable badasses in a Netflix-released action thrill ride. There’s absolutely no reason this should’ve worked, or even been half as good as it is, but boy is it good! Compulsively watchable, and rewatchable. If this were on Showtime as much as DEN OF THIEVES is I’d have seen it 30 times by now. It’s one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

28. 1917 (Amazon)

An unbelievable visual achievement from cinematographer Roger Deakins and director Sam Mendes. The story isn’t the greatest war story ever told (are there great war stories?), but it’s shot to look like one continuous long take, sustained for 2hrs. It’s really an unbelievable feat, but doesn’t come off as gimmicky or distracting. It’s intense, beautifully staged, and sad. A big screen spectacle.

27. TOY STORY 4 (Amazon)

Woody and the gang are back, and the films continue to keep the dust from collecting. It’s still so much fun to hang out with this group of misfit toys. There was talk that after the incredible TOY STORY 3 this was just a money grab and was labeled unnecessary, but I found it to be a sweet, charming, and nostalgic trip I was glad I took.

26. HONEYLAND (Hulu)

My pick for documentary of the year comes from the mountains of Macedonia, where a woman named Hatidze lives with her dying mother making a living cultivating honey. When a family of shitheads moves into a shanty next door, what seems like a fix for her lonely existence becomes catastrophic as they disregard her teachings and threaten her livelihood. I was an emotional wreck throughout the experience and it goes without saying it’s a must-see. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.

25. LITTLE WOMEN (Amazon)

I have never read the book, nor seen any of the film adaptations, so I went in blind to this lovely film. Director Greta Gerwig follows up the phenomenal LADYBIRD with this Altman-esque rendition of the widely beloved literary classic. I found it exceptional in its execution and performances, including the previously mentioned Florence Pugh, who is a knockout. A wonderful addition to the ever-growing stable of Christmas films I look to enjoy during future Decembers.

24. GREENER GRASS (Hulu)

It’s as if Tim & Eric made BLUE VELVET. Bizarre, outrageous, gross, and a guaranteed future midnight movie favorite. My sides hurt. A satire skewering upper-middle class suburban soccer moms and dads alike. Babies are given away. A boy turns into a dog. Everyone has braces. There’s a creep on the loose. It’s wild and flat-out hilarious literally from start to finish. Almost too many jokes to keep up with. Watch it! Bring weed.

23. RELAXER (Amazon)

NOT FOR MOMS!!

Speaking of gross, this film is disgusting, but in a good way. A satire about lazy consumerism and self-destruction. It’s a short hang, thankfully, but if you can stomach it to the end (remember, it’s nasty) you’ll be rewarded with not only a hilarious dark comedy, but also an unexpected haymaker of sadness you didn’t see coming. It’s a pretty impressive feat, and an overall success. But, yeah, it’s fucking gross.

22. AD ASTRA (Amazon)

APOCALYPSE NOW in space starring Brad Pitt. If you need more information than that, I don’t really know what else to do for you.

21. SLUT IN A GOOD WAY (Amazon PRIME)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

A black-and-white raunchy French arthouse teen comedy that gives a middle finger to the double standard set by the equally raunchy teen-boys-will-be-boys genre. It’s so much fun, and honest, and the actors are such natural talents you forget the subject matter is at times shocking (only because of said double standard) and just go with it. I think it’s just wonderful. Seek it out!

20. US (HBO)

Jordan Peele’s excellent follow-up to GET OUT. Doppelganger home invasion terror with a killer twist. To describe more would be to risk giving something away. I’ll just say that Lupita Nyong’o is my pick to win her second Oscar, this time as Best Actress, here in a dual role. She’s incredible. If you haven’t seen it, try to go in blind, you’ll be rewarded.

19. THE FAREWELL (Amazon PRIME)

A heartfelt homecoming film about family, culture, and how the things we don’t say can be just as strong of a show of love as the things we do say. It’s sweet, tender, and bursting with personal flare and emotions from director Lulu Wang. Awkwafina also curbs her more manic and loud tendencies as a performer for more quiet, thoughtful, and somber choices. She’s phenomenal.

18. KNIVES OUT (Amazon)

A clever ensemble whodunit that’s just as funny and smart as it is mysterious. Everyone across the board delivers as the assorted motley crew. The film rewards repeat viewings and Daniel Craig knocks it out of the park, stealing every scene he’s in, reminding us all what a fantastic actor he can be when he’s not sipping the Vespers.

17. BOOKSMART (Hulu)

The female SUPERBAD is the elevator pitch, but this coming-of-age gem is really unlike any other example in the genre. They’re privileged, uber-smart, and have never partied. Yet they have the same neuroses as any other teen scared to death of what to do next or how to be normal. It’s also fucking hilarious. You wanna hang out with these girls and at the same time bury your head under the covers because you feel their pure terror/embarrassment. It’s a blast.

16. THE MUSTANG (Amazon)

Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, one of the finest actor’s working today, this understated and emotional drama about rehabilitation and redemption floored me upon first viewing. It is a gorgeous film. You’ve probably seen stories similar to this before, but rarely is one told with such compelling conviction. A borderline masterpiece.

15. HONEY BOY (Amazon PRIME)

Remember a few years back we had the McConaissance, where everything Matthew McConaughey did was solid gold after years of middling bullshit? I’m calling it right now: Shia LaBeouf is about to have the same thing. He wrote the script and plays a version of his own father in a brutal version of his own fucked up childhood as an up-and-coming child actor. It’s heartbreaking and absolutely riveting. I’m hoping he gets an Oscar nod, but regardless I implore you to seek this film out, he’s incredible.

14. MONOS (Hulu)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

A bizarre, bewildering, chaotic, and unsettling film. Some of the most beautiful photography I saw on the big screen this year, yet some of the most surreal and disturbing imagery as well. It’s a militarized, Latin American LORD OF THE FLIES with commentary on tribal behavior and violence. It can be a tough sit, but boy is it beautiful.

13. DOLEMITE IS MY NAME (Netflix)

What a wonderful, welcome surprise! Eddie Murphy in an awards caliber performance as Rudy Ray Moore, the multi-hyphenate performer who created the alter ego Dolemite, spawning a film franchise and many legendary comedy albums. It’s obviously hilarious, and a great behind-the-scenes biopic, but also shockingly sweet and heartfelt, even between all the cuss words. I even teared up a couple times. The 3rd best thing Netflix released this year (more on that in a minute).

12. JOKER (Amazon)

You already saw this.

11. THE IRISHMAN (Netflix)

It’s far too long. It could’ve done with being cut as a three part miniseries or special. There’s about 45min worth of scenes that are quintessential DVD bonus features (I’m looking at you Action Bronson), but goddamn if it’s not Scorsese doing his Scorsese thing. It’s a gangster film, but it’s also a meditation on aging and death. Pesci is incredible and Pacino steals the show. Sure, the de-aging thing is distracting, the curb stomping scene is embarrassing. But still, I mean... IT’S MARTIN SCORSESE!

10. PAIN AND GLORY (Amazon)

Pedro Almodovar’s most personal work to date, a tale about making art and the loneliness of love. If you are unfamiliar with his work, this is a great jumping off point. His movies can be challenging and dark, but this film has such joy and hope amongst the heartache. The final reveal, while not earth shattering on paper, is nonetheless so moving it left the screening I attended without a dry eye in the place. It is his best film yet.

9. THE LIGHTHOUSE (Amazon)

From the director of THE WITCH comes another type of gothic horror, this time with the legendary Willem Dafoe and the (already mentioned) brilliant Robert Pattinson marooned on a lighthouse rock alone to drive each other completely insane. It’s hallucinatory, violent, disorienting, and flat-out brilliant. If it weren’t for another guy we’ll get to in a minute, Dafoe would be a lock for Best Supporting Actor here. It’s a slightly challenging film, with the period style mariner dialogue, but it’s just as funny as it is terrifying.

8. JOJO RABBIT (Amazon)

A beautiful, touching, funny, crowd-pleasing comedy about a little Nazi whose imaginary friend is Hitler. Yep, your read that correctly. There are about a million reasons this should absolutely not work. Yet, it’s one of the best theater going experiences I had this year. A must see... ESPECIALLY with Mom!

7. MARRIAGE STORY (Netflix)

The best written and acted film of the year, and the third Adam Driver vehicle to appear here. Sad but honest. Touching but brutal. It’s awkward and a bit of a bummer, but there’s such great work being done here, in front of and behind the camera. Noah Baumbach is a force of nature, and has yet to make a film I was even iffy about. He’s the real deal and this might be his masterpiece.

6. WAVES (Amazon)

Speaking of auteurs, Trey Edward Shults is now 3/3 on features after the brilliant KRISHA and IT COMES AT NIGHT. Here he follows a middle-class black family, led by a domineering father, through a tragic moment in all of their lives. The first half deals with the son’s story, then abruptly switches to the daughter’s life post said event. It shouldn’t work, yet somehow manages to be one of the most emotionally affecting pieces of art I saw this year. The camera never stops moving, constantly swirling and whirling and you can’t help to be sucked up into it. It’s a beautiful tragedy.

5. LONG SHOT (HBO)

The biggest and most pleasant surprise of the year. An opposites-attract rom-com with more brains, bite, social commentary, and laughs than it has any right to have. Easily the most fun you’ll have with (almost) the whole family... there’s a lot of cum jokes. But don’t let the vulgarity dissuade you! It’s a total riot with just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the saltiness. I love love love this movie.

4. THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE (Hulu)

What starts as a strange, dark comedy morphs into a FIGHT CLUB-esque thriller with allusions to disturbingly toxic masculinity and an offbeat take on what it takes to “be a man.” It is laugh-out-loud hilarious, and expertly made, while really having something to say, and it says it in a way I’ve never really seen before. It’s not surprising this didn’t get more attention, the characters are truly difficult to relate to, let alone root for, but as far as originality goes, you’d be hard pressed to find anything this year much better than this.

3. UNCUT GEMS (Amazon)

(Probably) NOT FOR MOMS!!

The cinematic equivalent of being locked in the brain of a lunatic having a cocaine-fueled anxiety attack. If that sounds like fun (AND IT IS!!!) then this is the film for you! Oh, and Adam Sandler is going to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. For real. It’s a chaotic, stress-filled masterpiece.

2. ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD (Amazon)

My favorite filmmaker’s 2nd best film. A personal story about the love of film during the late 60s, a time of dirty hippies and Charles Manson, as well as the passing of the torch from old Hollywood to the “golden age” of cinema. It’s a fairytale of sorts, with Tarantino’s trademark flare for spontaneous violence and mining multiple genres to make his most mature work since PULP FICTION. I’ve been rewarded with new takeaways upon each subsequent viewing, and my love and appreciation for it only grows and grows. Brad Pitt is a lock for Best Supporting Actor, he’s magnificent. It was always going to be my #1 with a bullet no matter what, because it’s just that great...

1. PARASITE (Amazon)

...but then Bong Joon-ho, the master of new Korean cinema unleashed PARASITE. Not only is it the best film of 2019, it’s one of the best films I have ever seen. Like EVER ever. He is in such astonishing control of his craft it’s hard not to sit back and marvel and the sheer skill on display. You can be laughing one moment and then recoiling in horror during the same breath. He’s using multiple genre tropes, incredible set design, pitch perfect acting/writing, and such exquisite planning you can’t possibly know what’s in store for you from one scene to the next. It is an absolute masterpiece and if it doesn’t sweep every category it’s nominated for at this year’s Oscars, it’ll be a travesty. If you have even a passing interest in film as an art form, the power it can wield, and the messages it can convey, you owe it to yourself to see this film. It’s perfect.

Well, there it is. Thanks for reading any part of this. Now go see PARASITE. I love you.

#movies #top50 #2019 #movies of 2019

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barrylyndonrising · 5 years ago

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So I’m listening to the Doctor Who Big Finish livestream, and it’s great to see newcomers have a taste of Big Finish’s absolute highs.

I have to say, I’m absolutely chuffed to see the list of stories scheduled! Though, if I could suggest Big Finish stories to livestream in the next big occasion (the 30th Big Finish anniversary in 2029, perhaps?), here’s what I’d love them to livestream:

The Holy Terror (No Robert Shearman, no Big Finish - that’s logic. The Holy Terror is brilliant, with moments of satire and comedy mixed together nicely, and laced with layer upon layer of narrative messages. If you’ve never tried the mind-f*cking side of Big Finish, then this is the one for you. Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor? Perfect. Robert Jezek’s Frobisher? Perfect.)

Doctor Who and the Pirates (One of the deepest Doctor Who scripts, which just so happens to be one of the most delightful! Jacqueline Rayner is one of the best Sixth Doctor writers out there, and Colin Baker and Maggie Stables are in their prime. A really underrated Doctor Who story, I especially can’t forget the final moments. Everyone must listen to this story.)

The Maltese Penguin (Yes, both Frobisher stories deserve to be livestreamed. A 1940s detective movie spoof with golden comedical moments and fantastic performances by Jezek and Colin Baker ... nothing can be better.)

Shada (Did I include this on my list because the Big Finish version of Shada is my favorite? Yes. Is it also because Big Finish making an Eighth Doctor story with Paul McGann and Lalla Ward’s Romana based on a Douglas Adams script is a recipe for an instant classic? Also yes. Just listen to it, it’s just pure gold. Also, Oliver Wood in the DWU!)

The Wormery (The Sixth Doctor’s characterization in this story is simply breathtaking. The space cabaret setting offers a unique experience, and Katy Manning is Iris Wildthyme. I bet a lot of newcomers will immediately fall in love with her as she makes her entrance, full with the jazzy piano tune in the background.)

LIVE 34 (One of the most creative uses of the audio medium. The regulars have never been stronger, and it’s one of my favorite Doctor Who stories period. It’’s a peerless look into a corrupt society through the news media, and I know that newcomers will be fascinated by a taster of this radically different story.)

Time Works (In terms of atmosphere, it’s one of Big Finish’s finest works. I’m sad because it’s mostly overlooked at when people discuss Eighth Doctor audios. The blend of Lovecraftian imagination and cyberpunk imagery is just so special to my ears. Oh, and the score for this story is Big Finish’s best, period.)

Circular Time (All four stories are great, but Autumn and Winter are especially breathtaking. Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton both get time to shine

The Silver Turk (The Eighth Doctor and Mary Shelley? Every Who fan needs to hear this, am I right? And also, Mondas-era Cybermen in Venice.)

1963: Fanfare for the Common Men (A love letter to Beatlemania while also being a surprisingly scathing look at celebrity culture, with a Doctor Who timey-wimey twist is practically perfect, in terms of idea. It helps that the Common Men are acted really well, and the Beatles spoofing original music is simply wonderful.)

Max Warp (Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith’s chemistry is quite something to behold. This Top Gear spoof story in space is bound to impress newcomers and Big Finish fans alike.)

All-Consuming Fire (A Doctor Who x Sherlock Holmes crossover that is simply perfect. Sylvester McCoy clearly had so much fun recording this story and you can almost hear everyone’s enthusiasm.)

Home Truths (Sarah Kingdom’s moment to shine. Her Companion Chronicles trilogy is brilliant as a whole, and this first story is just as amazing.)

Find and Replace (Paul Magrs’s stories are all bittersweet and brilliant, but Find and Replace is probably his emotional high. Any sensible Third Doctor / Jo fan will not get out of this experience intact.)

The Paradox Planet / Legacy of Death (Not least because most of the FDA range is lowkey underwhelming, I utterly love this two-parter by Jonathan Morris. A really Season 17 feeling imbued with a fantastic time-bending story is exactly what’ll unite all Who fans. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are fantastic as always.)

Bernice Summerfield - Oh No It Isn’t! (Benny’s first Big Finish story and Big Finish’s first ever output! Such an imaginative, accessible story that introduces Bernice Summerfield perfectly and still is perhaps one of BF’s most hilarious audio adventures.)

Doctor Who Unbound - Auld Mortality (I know, I know; Deadline is my favorite Unbound adventure, but I doubt that the BBC would livestream something so bleak. On the flip side, Auld Mortality is still amazing and it’s a fascinating what if? adventure that oozes goggle-eyed magic and innocence. Geoffrey Bayldon’s Doctor is so fantastic - I wish we got to hear more of him.)

Gallifrey - Weapon of Choice (After all, how can you discuss Big Finish without mentioning Gallifrey? The legacy is a whole continuity within itself, so it’s only fitting that listeners get to hear the beginning of this magnificent spinoff in the future.)

The Torchwood Archive (Do I need to explain further? Torchwood TV fans will go bonkers with this story, and as far as New Who licensed Big Finish stories go, this is probably one of the best. This could easily have been a cheap fan celebration, but the team really pulled off something special with this.)

#big finish #livestream #suggestions #doctor who

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tsukkishina · 7 years ago

Note

36, or 1? From the prompt thing :)

Thank you so much for the prompt! I’ve had this idea in my head for a bit, but never really felt confident it writing it!

Send me a sentence prompt from here and I’ll write you a little tsukihina thing!

1 - “We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.”

You can also read it on Archive of Our Own: here.

Hinata has never wanted to be friends with Tsukishima. And, if you knew Hinata, that didn’t quite sound right. Perhaps it was a bit of an exaggeration, Hinata had wanted to be friends with Tsukishima when he didn’t know anything about him other than they had both signed up for Karasuno’s volleyball team. It was in the same way that he wanted to be friends with anyone who shared his hobby.

The desire had fizzled the moment Tsukishima had held a volleyball a foot over his head in the beginning of the year.

Then, they were friends.

It didn’t happen with much fanfare. There wasn’t one day that they suddenly hated each other less or had to work together to overcome a real obstacle. One day Tsukishima’s jokes became a little more playful than they were malicious. At one time or another Hinata found that he had the ability to make Tsukishima smile. Tsukishima stopped grumbling whenever Yachi and Yamaguchi invited him to sit with them for lunch. Suddenly, Tsukishima was a contact in Hinata’s phone and they’d exchange texts. Sometimes they’d linger a few steps behind Kageyama, Yachi, and Yamaguchi when they were walking somewhere just so they could have a chance to chat.

Without noticing it, Hinata had befriended him.

Only, he doesn’t want to be friends. Hinata mulls over his complicated feelings as he chews on the mouthpiece of his water bottle. Now, it’s less of a “you’re annoying and I don’t want to spend any more time with you than I need to” not wanting to be friends than a “wow, your face is great and I wanna kiss it” not wanting to be friends.

His eyes lift from the plastic bottle to watch Tsukishima block one of Tanaka’s spikes. Tsukishima is smirking at whatever Tanaka is grumbling at him. All of a sudden, like his staring has tapped Tsukishima on his shoulder and demanded his attention, Tsukishima looks back at him.

Hinata’s cheeks burn with embarrassment, but he doesn’t look away. Tsukishima just looks back at him with a dull gaze and his eyebrow arches, silently asking: “what’s with you?” Hinata should probably shake his head or try to convey something back to him, but instead, he looks back at his water bottle and when he looks back up Tsukishima is running through another drill.

“Oh, Hinata,” Yachi is smiling pleasantly at him as she extends a clean towel towards him. “I was talking to Yamaguchi about the new café on our way home. Do you want to come? Kageyama and Tsukishima are going to come with us.”

A strange feeling stirs in his stomach. It’s weird, it’s obvious that he has a crush on Tsukishima, but the butterflies in his stomach makes it feel interchangeable with anxiety… but it’s food and some time that they can spend together. Then, he’s grinning and excitedly telling Yachi about the nice things that he heard about the place from others.

They head there immediately after practice, but it feels as though everyone seems to notice how off he feels.

“Are you okay?” Yachi asks politely with a worried look on her face.

When everyone’s attention turns to him, Hinata flounders for the first explanation he can think of.

“Yeah! It’s just cold! It’s spring now, but it feel like it’s still winter, don’t you think? I wish a brought a sweater.”

“I know!” Yachi chimes in to his relief. “The weather has been all over the place. Last week it was so warm and now it’s so chilly!”

Hinata doesn’t even notice that Tsukishima is handing him something until Kageyama gestures over to him with a small movement of his chin. Hinata stops walking to stare down at the sweater Tsukishima is offering him.

“W-what?” he asks.

“Wear it, I usually bring a sweater in case it gets cold.”

“Wow,” Yamaguchi cuts through the tension and with hot cheeks Hinata takes the sweater, “you know, when we started here, I would never have been able to predict you two would be acting like this.”

“Yeah…” Hinata says, hoping that he doesn’t come off as bittersweet as he feels, “I’m glad that Tsukishima and I are friends.”

“Oh!” Yachi gasps softly, making Hinata realize that his teammates stopped and lingered behind him a few steps. They’re staring back at him with confused looks.

“What?” he asks, walking back to them.

“What did you just say?” Tsukishima asks, Hinata can’t tell whether he thinks that Tsukishima looks annoyed or like he has a headache.

“I said I’m glad we’re friends.”

Kageyama groans and Hinata still feels like he’s being left out of the loop.

“What? You don’t think we’re friends by now?” he demands. Hinata had spent so much time thinking about how unfortunate it was that he had become friends with his crush, he hadn’t stopped to think that Tsukishima wouldn’t consider him a friend. That thought stung.

“We’re not just friends and you fucking know it.”

The caustic tone and the sudden use of obscenities takes the other four first years by surprise.

“W-what do you mean by that?” Hinata’s heart is pounding so hard in his chest that he can feel it in the tips of his sweaty hands.

Only, Tsukishima seems too upset to answer.

“Um… we thought you and Tsukishima were dating,” Yachi supplies tentatively.

“You thought we were dating?” Hinata asks Tsukishima a bit too loudly. Tsukishima shushes him, but Hinata keeps talking at the same volume. “Why would you think we’re dating? We’ve never even talked about it!”

“What did you expect me to think? I just lent you my sweater.”

“I thought you were being nice!”

“When have you known me to be nice?”

Yamaguchi snorts a little, earning him a glare.

“I thought that we’re friends! In anime you have to confess before you start going out!”

“Is this an anime? Is that the only experience you have?”

“What kind of experience do you have?”

Now, they’re both glaring at each other.

“I thought you looked like you were dating,” Kageyama contributes flatly.

“Maybe, we should go ahead of you guys and get a table at the café?” Yachi looks to Yamaguchi, who is nodding.

“Yeah, you two should work this out by yourselves.”

Tsukishima sighs and nods to his teammates, raising a dismissive hand to send them off. Hinata is left in the imposing shadow of Tsukishima’s tall frame as he watches the potential mediators of the situation disappear.

The silence feels thicker and thicker the longer the two of them stay silent and Hinata feels obligated to say something.

“How long have you thought we were dating?” Hinata brings the hems of his sleeves into the the palms of his hands and plays with the fabric until he remembers that it isn’t his sweater.

“A month, probably.”

“Oh… Do you want your sweater back now?”

Tsukishima groans and shakes his head. “Wear it. You’re cold.”

“…”

“A month is a long time to not have kissed someone you’re dating,” Hinata points out.

“That doesn’t mean I haven’t tried.”

“O-oh.”

“You have a thick skull.”

“It’s not like you told me!” Hinata says in his defense. Maybe he did “have a thick skull,” but he couldn’t be responsible for something the never discussed.

“You don’t think it’s weird that we’d stay up texting each other until three in the morning?”

“Well-”

“Or, that we’d eat lunch together even when Yamaguchi, Yachi, and Kageyama weren’t there? Or, that we always walk next to each other? That you’d stop coming over for tutoring and just to watch movies?”

“Friends do those things too!” Hinata insists, although the way Tsukishima frames it all makes the assumption that they were dating way more obvious.

He feels like he should say something else, just to break the silence, but Hinata gets so caught up in staring at Tsukishima. The frustrated, pained look on his face makes Hinata realize something.

Oh. Tsukishima thought they were dating. That had to mean…

“Fine,” Tsukishima says tightly, “… let’s catch up with the others.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Hinata stumbles after him, catching the fabric of the back of his uniform between his fingers.

“What?”

“Uh…” Hinata’s cheeks feel so hot. “How can we break up if we’ve never officially gone out? So, maybe, we should do that first.”

Hinata cringed, that sounded so much cooler in his head than it did out loud. Tsukishima looks utterly unimpressed.

“Did you think that was smooth?”

“I thought it kind of was,” Hinata grumbles, but he feels more elated than embarrassed when Tsukishima ruffles his hair. “But if we’re going to date, you’ll have to talk to me more.”

Tsukishima seems pleased as they head to the café and all of Hinata’s anxiety is gone. He bumps his small hand up against Tsukishima’s until Tsukishima mumbles “stop it” and engulfs his hand in his.

“If we were dating for a month, how did we go without holding hands?” Hinata asks. “Are you just bad at this?”

“Oh, shut up,” but they’re both smiling.

#i'll still take a couple more prompts if anyone wants to send them in #tsukihina #tsukishima kei #hinata shouyou #haikyuu

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davidmann95 · 7 years ago

Note

What are your thoughts on Infinity War and do you think the portrayal of Thanos is gonna make it harder for DC to do Darkseid in a future move due to comparisons?

Extended disconnected musings below the cut because world-shaking spoilers fucking obviously, but for the section of my audience that hasn’t seen it yet but is fine with simply seeing my immediate reaction and placement of it: it’s so very good, y’all. Hype as modern blockbuster filmmaking gets. Not a top-5 MCU flick (which is a credit to the MCU, not in any way a ding against this), but if you only count the Avengers movies that actually have “Avengers” in the title, this is definitely the best of that lot.

* I had been, while not concerned per say, very curious how the Captain America team would handle this - the writers might have been there from the beginning and done some pretty bombastic pulpy action in the first Cap movie, but the Russo Brothers had been entirely on the grounded side of the franchise, even doing the relatively grounded Avengers movie in Civil War - given this would be the most cosmic and superheroey of the bunch, and they acquitted themselves magnificently in every way imaginable. It’s big, it’s funny, it’s ballsy, it’s engaging, it’s fun, it’s weighty as hell, it’s emotional, it’s the gold standard of this sort of thing. I have no idea what they’ll do if they ever stop doing Avengers movies, because at this point the sky is the absolute limit for them.

* I know people have already inevitably been complaining about this being dependent on previous movies for continuity and character, to which I say

1. Fuck you, this is the sequel to a once-in-a-generation filmmaking blockbuster that completely changed the game, of course you’re going to know who the goddamn Avengers are, most especially if you’re going to see this movie. Don’t act like you’re that cool. You’re not that fuckin’ cool.

2. This may not have been a movie of character development, but it’s by no means a movie short on character. It’s very much in the vein of Grant Morrison’s JLA, in that it banks on familiarity and iconography not to change our understanding of these characters, but to do the most conspicuously *them* moments possible. Captain America might be a minor presence, but he’s Captain America as heck in this, and so forth.

3. This only banks on you having seen the first Avengers. Banner is our entrypoint character because he himself doesn’t know what’s going on so the Avengers breakup can be recapped in broad terms, the initial conflict you don’t really have to know about Ragnarok to understand (they could’ve been fleeing Thanos destroying Asgard for all a casual viewer would know), Spider-Man’s role is obvious even aside from him being a cultural icon, Panther is Cap’s secret ally the rest of the team barely knows about so and Wakanda are broadly understood, and the Guardians and Strange are reintroduced. Strange you immediately know all you need: Wong defers to him so he’s clearly a big deal, but he’s also still telling him things about magic - even if jokingly - so clearly Strange is not the most seasoned veteran and hasn’t been in this hidden mystic world forever. The Guardians are space bozos, and based on Star-Lord’s manchild nature and 80s nostalgia and lack of familiarity with the Avengers you can guess he hasn’t been to Earth in a long time even if he clearly hails from there.

* Thanos was…good? Though I would have yelled “BULLSHIT!” at my monitor when I saw Starlin declared Thanos in an interview to be exactly as he had always envisioned him had I seen this at the time, because this is very much from the Slade-in-Teen-Titans “scrap everything, and it’ll wind up better because there’s nowhere to go but up” school of villainous improvement. But seriously, while surely people will write eye-rolling thinkpieces on his nature and goals, he’s a proper vile bastard of the sort we haven’t quite gotten in these movies before that more than justifies his place after 6 years of buildup, with humanity to spare keeping him from being a caricature; it should avoid Darkseid comparisons quite deftly (and vice-versa), even if none of what made this work can translate back into the comics. And as much as the sidekick baddies might have been traditional uncanny-valley CG, this guy might be the most amazing effect I’ve ever seen in a blockbuster: I totally bought this was a real flesh-and-blood living being existing in recognizable 3-dimensional space whenever they zoomed in on his expressions. And more importantly, they acknowledged he has a nutsack for a chin.

* Speaking of effects, that’s how you do a fuckin’ magic fight!

* And speaking of villains: SKULL. What a payoff, and I sure hope he stays and fills the role Mephisto did in the original Infinity Gauntlet as Thanos’s right hand man, because I want to see him face down with Steve as Captain America one more time. In a very different movie/s, I could have seen him seizing the Gauntlet and promising Thanos he too will wipe out half the universe, but much less indiscriminately, with the great tyrant dying with the ultimate monstrosity his endeavor has brought about evident to him at last. And then you’d have the ultimate Nazi as the final boss, since not only are he and Cap enemies, but he battled Iron Man’s dad, was well-versed in Asgardian mythology and stole one of Odin’s treasures, and is like Hulk a failed Super Soldier. What we got should be pretty good too though. Fingers crossed he at least sticks around to menace Bucky and Sam once one of them takes over as Cap.

* Outside the villain, boy, who would have expected Thor would basically be the closest thing to a main character of this movie? I guess Marvel rightly expected Ragnarok would be fire, and knowing that he’ll now be the major remaining original Avenger, are trying to build him up in double-quick time. And with only half of Asgard gone, they can keep the setup Waititi provided after this (even if I wish they hadn’t brought back his eye. I’m not worried for him personally though; his godly constitution should be more than capable of resisting mere alien raccoon ass germs). And given Ultron was the Iron Man-centric flick and Civil War was literally a Captain America movie, it feels fair they gave this to the third member of the core trio. By contrast, I’m not sure whether Black Panther was too late for them to account properly for him, or they did know, and that’s why the final action was set in Wakanda even though it’s relatively irrelevant.

* The characters getting to bounce off each other was much of the heart of this, and while Downey vs. Cumberbatch was totally reasonable - I wish Strange and Spidey had more time together as promised as fellow Ditko creations, but doing Sherlock vs. Holmes makes sense, with “Do you concur, Doctor?” almost feeling deliberately evocative - I never would have expected Thor and Star-Lord to be the standout comedic pairing. And yet, as Drax put it, it entirely makes sense: “He is not a dude. You are a dude. He is a man.”

* What most leapt out at me as signalling this is the post-Trump movie relative to Civil War’s summer 2016 blockbuster? There, the question of whether or not the government can be trusted is the inciting incident that drives everything. Here, that the government is actively working against the right thing is so plain that Rhodes - who had previously said his critical injuries were more than worth standing up for the Accords, so passionately did he believe in all they stood for - immediately, casually acknowledges that the entire thing is fucked and bails with no fanfare, and that’s the end of it.

* I’d expected this to be an all-out invasion flick and so had been disappointed no Defenders or whatnot would at least cameo, but as it really turned out I’m not surprised there wasn’t a place for Daredevil to stick his horns in. And despite assurances, no Hawkeye! I’m sure as many as 5 or 6 people were quite disappointed.

* Betting pool on who’s actually dead? Obviously everyone vanished will be okay, but the others? Gamorra looks pretty stiffed, but she seems a safe bet to return. Vision’s end felt gruesomely final, but they put so much effort into implying he might be able to survive without the stone, and now they have a seminal story to draw on for a potential solo movie of his. Loki, I think, is most likely to remain in the ground. A last-minute return and final prank against Thanos wouldn’t be out of place for him by any means, but his character has come full circle, and I think it’s more likely that if he returns it’ll be as Kid Loki.

* Speaking of the vanishing, I really appreciate the thought that clearly went into who was taken off the board. The castoffs either really had nothing to do with the Thanos conflict, even and indeed especially if they were big for maximum shock value (Black Panther, Spider-Man, White Wolf, Falcon, Mantis), or DID have something to do with Thanos but whose arcs in terms of physical confrontations with him reached their logical climaxes (Star-Lord vented regarding their shared relationship to Gamorra, Drax tried and failed as he was always going to because that one-sided hate he wanted fulfilled isn’t as much at the core of his character as Gamorra’s relationship with Thanos is). Or in Strange’s specific case, the enigmatic type with an ace up his sleeve who could logically leave a final mystery and hope for others to have to rely on. And as a whole, it means the final OG Avengers movie ISN’T going to be an even bigger crossover movie than this the way we thought. This, for the MCU’s 10th anniversary, was the big crossover movie. The last Avengers movie as we’ve known it up to that point is mostly just going to be the founders (plus Captain Marvel, a mandatory Wakandan representative or two, and Rhody since he’s the other hero who was introduced in Phase One) getting one last hurrah. And it makes sense to go with that smaller cast, because they’ll want space to really zero in on Steve and Tony before they go, and since going at Thanos head-on is no longer an option, there’s not really going to be an opportunity for the same kind of massive super-war we got in here anyway, because then he’d simply de-create them.

* Steve and Tony are going to die, and going into pure fanfic, I think I know how it’ll happen. Steve will get the Gauntlet, and it’ll kill him to use it, but in an homage to the climax of Kree-Skrull War, he’ll use his last breath to not only revive everyone, but bring together an army of superheroes to defeat a depowered Thanos once and for all (Gamora or maybe Nebula almost certainly striking the final blow), raising his returned shield high, exchanging a last look with Bucky, and finally crying out “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!” And Tony? Tony is going to knowingly walk to death in a doomed fight against Thanos as a distraction to give Steve that chance, becoming the guy who lays down on the wire and lets someone else crawl over him. It not only reaffirms his partnership with Steve and the idea behind the original Avengers just as both die, but brings his character arc totally full circle: he faces down the embodiment of his nightmares, and after having lived as the ultimate egotist, he dies as the man who sacrifices himself so someone else can secure the win. And Thanos was I believe introduced in an Iron Man comic, so that aspect’s pretty appropriate too.

* Jackson finally almost got to say motherfucker in one of these! And that’s the second Marvel movie with a character nearly saying fuck. Take the leap Disney, I believe in you. And much as that last shot in the stinger was neat, and much as this alternative would have been literally impossible, how much cooler would it have been if that screen had shown a “4″?

* My #4 title prediction? Avengers: The End. There was a big Thanos story by Starlin titled Marvel: The End where he destroys everything but ultimately turns it back, and that’d be both ominous enough to fit the warning that we should be scared of this title, and spiritually truthful. And since the Spider-Man movie right afterwards will according to Feige mark the start of the new MCU, they can title that Spider-Man: Brand New Day in accordance with said new beginning.

* Post-all this? It’ll be awhile yet before the Fantastic Four and X-Men come on stage, so ‘Phase 4′ will basically have to stall until they can bring in Doom to be the true final boss before the inevitable reboot a decade or so down the line. Spider-Man’s the new lead (hence the Iron Spider armor, which in Homecoming seemed deliberately to be overly gaudy as Tony’s vision of a Spidey remade in his image but now seems an indicating as his leading man status, the red/yellow/blue color scheme marking him as Peak Superhero) along with Panther, Captain Marvel, and likely Thor as the old standby. The Avengers likely disband for a bit due to losing the core and break up into different teams - your Ultimates, Champions, Young Avengers, etc. - before coming back together in New Avengers, managing to make the Avengers movie after the next one an event by making it about the reformation. Osborn leading the Cabal’s the big bad; he’s the leading man’s leading villain, he has the pedigree thanks to Dark Reign while still being able to put on a Goblin suit at the end, he lets them do the inevitable “all the bad guys get together to fight the Avengers” story, and while it might not work as well as it would have post-BvS pre-Justice League, using Sentry/the Void - a compromised, frightening, unsure, ‘realistic’ Superman figure - as his muscle and the true threat would be hella charged at the moment in a way I could see the MCU being cocky enough to go for, even if they never outright do Avengers V Squadron Supreme.

That’s what I got. As the god of thunder would say, farewell and good luck, morons.

#Avengers: Infinity War #Avengers #MCU #fanfic #Opinion

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