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yuzukult · 4 years ago

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i’m bad too 06 (m) || kdy & reader

title: i’m bad too - drabble series pairing: kim doyoung x reader genre: angst, fluff, smut, goodboy!doyoung, nerdy!dy (basically he’s a dork) & badgirl!reader, hitman!au, oc-isn’t-a-hitman-but-she-could-be!au, there’s just a lot of unspoken things happening here lol word count: 1.7k warnings: blowjob/handjob (lucky doyoung), sexual usage of ‘oppa’ lol don’t judge a/n: still tryna learn the correct jargon for warnings but this is a drabble so.... very minimal stuff here lmfao

please let me know if anyone wants to be tagged! taglist: @wownajaemin @crescent-iak @ncttboo @byunbaekby ← previous chapter || next chapter →

Doyoung makes you watch an obscene amount of superhero movies. For clarification: Marvel-Cinematic-Universe-kind-of-movies. However, you barely complain. If it means more time with him, you’d even watch Sesame Street just to be in his arms.

He doesn’t like to watch those movies where there’s a way deeper message hidden behind the plot. He lives for the action, sprinkle of comedy, and occasional love interest. But not a ton. Too much romance might set unrealistic expectations, according to him.

Albeit you sort of think he still has a vastly different depiction of love in comparison to you.

For one, in this alternate universe where there’s villains and superheroes, you, without a doubt, are a villain. You’ve tried explaining to him that you fit the stereotype—the whole leather attire plus motorcycle really takes the cake, but he doesn’t even know what you’re up to half the time. In fact, almost every single event you’ve performed a task, you’d show up at his front doorstep, hands remaining dirty from a mission for the Boss, and he’d welcome you with open arms with no idea.

Doyoung doesn’t even have an ounce of a clue what you do.

He’s such a nice guy. Girls practically eat that shit up when they meet him, often overlooking the fact that he holds so many great boyfriend qualities. When you’re sore from “work,” (he questions what you do all the time but you just shrug nonchalantly) he’d always slip off your socks, massage the soles of your feet and finish off the rest of your body with no resistance. He doesn’t expect anything in return—not even sex. Doyoung just gives and gives, nearly never taking.

On one side, you’re glad that most women don’t recognize how perfect of a significant other he is. It gives you time to figure yourself out; how do you become good enough for Kim Doyoung? You’ve already dropped smoking. You’ve been putting more effort in your studies, granted he is your tutor. And you’ve spent the majority of your free time with him. If you ever needed to review material, you’d do it with him, just to show how much you’re trying.

Even if there isn’t a label for the two of you.

You’re friends—but you’re definitely more than just friends. You fuck, but you’re not just fuck buddies either. You’re exclusive but you’re not straightforwardly dating. Doyoung doesn’t hide the fact that he wants you to officially be his girlfriend, although he never forces the idea upon you. He’s content with the circumstances he’s under even though he hopes to have you be his and his only. Nonetheless, it’s under your terms and he never forgets to remind you that.

Honestly, you thought that you might be okay with this. That is, until a pretty gal with shiny black hair, toned body, and gentle voice named Joy came into the picture.

Joy is a given nickname. Her actual birth name is Park Sooyoung, a name as beautiful as the beholder, but people had gotten into the habit of calling her Joy, since… well, she’s such a joy to be around. She’s part of the school’s cheerleading squad, called the ‘Red Velvet Queens,’ plus extremely involved with other extracurriculars, including the competitive tennis team that Doyoung is on. There’s a lot of bitches on the squad, especially with the encounters you’ve had with them, but Joy isn’t one of them. She’s an angel. She’s the woman version of Doyoung.

Doyoung likes to wait outside in the parking lot, right in the unspoken designated spot where you leave your bike. You’ve offered him a ride to school since he often stands idly, except he politely declines, and you speculate that it’s from fear. He remains cute in your eyes despite being a bit of a wuss.

Today, however, he’s not alone. It’s a daily routine that the view of Doyoung leaves you breathless, heart pumping like you’ve gone running, but today is different. Your blood is boiling, smoke whistling out your ears like a kettle on a stove from the heat that lingers around your neck region. Joy stands beside him, the widest grin smacked across her cheeks, lips stained as red as her cheerleading uniform. You wobble on your bike into the parking spot, shutting off the engine before kicking out the stand, pulling the helmet off your head while obnoxiously chewing on a piece of gum in your mouth.

Joy’s gaze meets yours.

She’s sweet, and none of this is her fault. But you kind of hate her presence right now, just because she’s got all of Doyoung’s attention.

Spitting out the gum on the asphalt, you shuffle through your pockets for a toothpick. This stupid toothpick that you’re stuck with because you quit smoking cigarettes for that charming boy. Popping the wooden stick in your mouth, you rake your fingers through your greasy hair, slinging the backpack over your shoulders before walking past Doyoung.

“Sorry, Joy, I’ll catch up with you later,” You hear faintly before his heavy footsteps are rushed, catching up with yours. “Hey-Hey! Where are you going? We’re supposed to meet here. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

You shrug. He’s not happy with that response.

Hand grasping on your shoulder, he halts you in your steps to turn you to face him. As much as you hate to admit it, but you feel this green-eyed monster gnawing on your insides and you’re not a fan of it. “What’s wrong? What did I do? Talk to me.”

“Nothing. I’m busy. You still wanna tutor me later or are you busy making plans with Joy?” You snarl, munching on the pick. Doyoung’s eyes lighten up; he knows the problem now. “Are you jealous?”

“That word isn’t in my dictionary.” It’s a blunt reply, and your unfazed stare is there to support it. “Why would I be jealous of a nice girl like Joy who wants to get with a good boy like you?”

Doyoung likes you, no matter how hard you try to push him away. Your dilemma before was that you always thought a guy like him, so generous, so kind, could never love someone with a charred heart like yours. And yet, here you are, evidently jealous of a girl practically his equal when he’s done nothing but proven to you that you’re the only one he sees.

You want more, and the longer you continue to deny and swallow these feelings, you’re even more desperate to be held by him. In the midst of a tutoring session, you’ve managed to unbutton his cute sky blue dress shirt, unzip his trousers and suddenly his dick is in your mouth.

“We’re supposed to review l-limits,” He stutters over a moan, fingers reaching to comb back your hair. “S-So I told her I couldn’t hang out with her today.”

“Mm,” You hum against the tip, tongue gliding down his shaft. “I heard you the first time.” His thighs tighten when your mouth envelopes down his dick to the base with his head thrown back in the chair of your bedroom. He’s glad that he noticed you take initiative to lock the door today since you often don’t, and the possibility of one of the staff members entering in while sucking on him is kinky but he’s still scared of your brother.

Doyoung lets out a soft gasp when your tongue swipes over his slit where a pearly bead of precum sits. “S-Shouldn’t we— oh fuck—be reviewing materi—ohh?” He sighs; your hands are everywhere; it’s hard for him to focus on anything when you’re gazing up at him through your pretty long lashes with tinged pink cheeks from his cock hitting the back of your throat. He melts under your touch when you graze over his thighs, claiming the territory that he’s succumbed to you willingly. You kiss the head of his cock and he bucks into it. “We’re reviewing a different kind of material. Have you ever been sucked off by a girl before?”

He shakes his head ‘no’, looking down at you with hooded eyes. With his arousal still in your grip, it twitches, yearning for your attention. You hate to admit it, but you’ve obviously tainted his ‘good boy’ persona with him in your bedroom like this, but Doyoung doesn’t think that. Disheveled hair, mouth gaped open, and sweaty forehead is a view of him you engrain in your memory.

Doyoung is a good boy, but he has a body of a bad boy. There’s no way that tennis is the reason behind those washboard abs, toned thighs, and built arms. He’s not as muscular in comparison to Johnny, nor his friend Lucas, but Doyoung is gorgeous like this, perfect in your eyes.

That’s why when you moan around his girth and he sputters, you think he’s got a halo over his head. He’s so pretty, so gorgeous, and you want to see him in all types of forms. Your hand wraps at the base of his dick, mouth wrapping around the red and angry tip, it’s glistening with your saliva as you start pumping him at a pace that leaves his jaw slack, groans bouncing off your bedroom walls.

“Baby,” He calls out the term of endearment raspily, heart racing and abs tightening. A familiar feeling stirs in his stomach, and he knows he’s about to combust. “I’m about to cum, I need a tissue, I—”

“Cum in my mouth, oppa,” You whisper, quickening your movements but calling him “oppa” is what snaps within him, ropes of cum shooting down your throat along with a string of curses and a breathy moan escapes from his lovely lips.

“So,” Doyoung begins, fiddling with his fingers anxiously across the lunch table from you. “You called me ‘oppa’ the other day. That was uh… new. You’ve never called me that before.”

Tying your hair up in a bun with a bobby pin between your teeth, his cheeks flush pink at the thought of you giving him a blowjob in your bedroom the other day, his fingers streaking through those luscious locks, and him cuming in your mouth. Popping out the pin, you slide in to push back a short piece of hair. “Yeah, well, there was a reason for it. You know why.”

Doyoung blinks blankly, utterly confused. “I… don’t. W-Why’d you call me oppa?”

“So you wouldn’t get nervous and just let me swallow.”

#neosmutcollective #doyoung smut #doyoung x reader #nct smut #doyoung #nct 127 #nct u #gyukultfics

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lizacstuff · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on the last episode of SCK? I thought it was a vast improvement over the last episodes but still seems like an Edser reunion is super far away.

Hello! I liked this episode, I really loved a lot of the Edser scenes and pretty much enjoyed everything that did not include Selin. (I hate her guts, ya’ll, lmao)

Let’s see, I have a bunch of asks and I have some time today, so I’ll try and answer those in a big post later, but overall I thought it was a solid episode. As far as a reunion being super far away, I don’t know. They are definitely doing what I’ve been saying all along, and that is proving that he would fall in love with her all over again. So that has to be complete before he gets back his memories. And I think they are going to give us a little more of that even after Selin and Deniz are gone. Hopefully we jettison them soon, and then we’ll get to enjoy a few episode of Edser shenanigans as they dance around one another.

(more under the cut)

As for this episode, wow, the spoilers that said there was no Ayfer/Alex in this episode were WRONG, weren’t they? Starting with Ayfer, for the first time she didn’t annoy me with her trying to control Eda’s life. I actually applauded when she gave Eda the time limit for breaking the fake engagement. Good! Girlfriend is allowing Deniz to spin the situation out of control and I’m glad someone is helping her reign it in. Ayfer actually acting in Eda’s best interest for once, let’s hope Ayfer/Aydan plan that dinner with their wayward children soon and without any faux fiancés.

As for the Aydan/Ayfer/Alex of it all, it wasn’t the worst B-plot we’ve ever seen on this show. At least there were some entertaining moments. I liked Aydan/Ayfer getting together to discuss Eda and Serkan, and Alex as a two/three-timer is the least shocking development ever. Aydan is already ruined as a character so she might as well be okay with trying to move in on Alex while Ayfer is still in the picture. As for Alex... is he dead? Surely not... Who knows, but it looks like we may get some more comedy out of the situation in the coming episodes. I did laugh at them moving the body and Ayfer trying to go incognito wearing the sunglasses at night. Neslihan is very good at certain comedic moments.

Even with Alex, Ayfer, Aydan, Selin, Deniz and Ceren running around my nominee for worst character of the week is... Piril. Seriously, fuck her. She’s 100% enabling Selin’s delusions and has totally normalized her buttcrack crazy behavior and apparently cares not at all about Serkan or Eda. Is she high trying to convince Selin that Serkan went off to organize a surprise, can she not read the room at all? She should be staging an intervention with Serkan, not trying to further Selin’s deceitful agenda.

I will say this for the writers, though they have done their best to destroy Aydan and Ceren recently, Piril is staying pretty true to character. She’s the actual emotionless robot of the show and has always been a pretty shrewish, not-great, not-likeable person. It makes me sad that a teddy bear like Engin is shackled to her and honestly I don’t think she has any business having children, she’s not gonna make a great mother.

Melo and Ferit are honestly the only side characters (and Seyfi) that have rights at this point. Thank goodness Eda has Melo! Though I do think that the show purposely has weakened both Eda and Serkan’s support system in order to enable them both in this crazy storyline. If Serkan had real friends, he would have wizened up about Selin by now, and if Ceren hadn’t gone off the deepened, wanting to hurt Eda, she would have provided proof of Selin’s duplicity.

As for Eda and Serkan, so glad their screen time is back on track! I will always, always take more of them, but this felt like a big improvement from the last two weeks. I really loved their scenes together and their dynamic even (especially?) when they’re at odds and arguing, that was always a huge part of their relationship.

Loved their office scenes, the sparing over the client and Eda coming out on top. It was priceless watching her bet with Melo and then counting down until Serkan came to find her in the coffee room. The red hot sexual tension with the “Nobody touches you but me” moments and the “accidental” kiss. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve worked in offices for many years and shockingly have never had my mouth accidentally come into contact with Gerard from Accounting’s mouth. “Accident” SURE. I guess that’s what happens when you’re drawn to each other like magnets.

I know there’s a lot of vitriol being spit at Serkan for how “cruel” he’s being, and he does need a slap upside the head at times, but mostly I saw this episode how soft he was. Did ya’ll see him sleeping in the office clutching Eda’s wedding invitation? That is SOFT. Or inviting her to sit with him at the coffee shop and saying he felt at peace there? SOFT. Or apologizing after he said harsh words in the office? He said “sorry” he never says that. Or leaving the hotel and heading back to the office because she was having trouble? Picking up coffee at “their” place on the way? Offering to help and calling her boss? Smiling proudly when she closed the deal? Letting her hug him? Soft, soft, soft, soft, soft.

Insisting she go to the hotel? Letting her sleep on him? Smiling about it? Snowball fights? and then finally at the end, taking off to look for her, finding her necklace, finding her, carrying her to shelter, caring for her, being concerned about her injuries, putting her necklace back on her, asking about their past, covering her with a blanket, and falling asleep with her?

IT’S ALL SO SOFT.

This man is already back in love with her, he just doesn’t know how to identify those feelings, process them or what to do with them. They still scare the crap out of him on top of the fact that he thinks she has been able to easily move on from him and their great love, and is sincerely happy and in love with another man. That shit-stain Deniz basically told him he was glad his plane crashed so that Eda could finally be happy! What an awful, heartbreaking thing to hear.

Yes, he said/did some things to hurt Eda, mostly by laying it on thick with Selin at times, but EVERY SINGLE time, it was done in reaction to him having Eda/Deniz thrown in his face and he was absolutely reacting to that. Our Miss Eda is really having to thread the needle when using her fake engagement to push him, and sometimes she went a little too hard and missed the mark. There were times when Serkan needed some hope and she didn’t give it to him. And then we have Deniz the shit-stain interfering. I’ve pretty much given up hope on him playing Selin, he did too much damage this episode, I will never be over his conversation with Serkan. And that conversation is what Serkan was reacting to when he laid it on thick with Selin at the party. It’s not because he actually gave a damn about her, there was nothing sincere about it, it was an act because he had been crushed. Plus the guilt of forgetting her birthday and of knowing the feelings that he was having for Eda.

Selin needs to go. I think the entire audience is feeling the fatigue of her presence in this storyline and she crossed quite a whole new professional line with putting Serkan’s entire company at risk in order to prevent Eda from going to the hotel. This storyline would be so much easier to take without her. I could actually enjoy the slow burn, falling back into love, stops and starts, hurt and angst if she wasn’t always looming, but she casts a pall over everything. I really think the writers miscalculated with this. The amnesia story could have worked fine without her and actually been really enjoyable to watch. At this point I will take her exit however I can get it, even if it means she doesn’t get her comeuppance.

However, how much do we love it on this show when the villains’ machinations backfire!? Sorry Selin, you weren’t banking on Serkan leaving you without a word and running to help Eda, were you? The scene in the office when Serkan arrives to help has catapulted on to my list of favorite scenes of the entire series. I loved every moment of it (and plan to gif pretty much every moment of it). I loved how they finally got to just work together, collaborate, join their talent and get a win for the company. Serkan needed to experience that, needed to see what kind of partners they could be and I’m so glad we got a chance to see it again too. Then the hug. What a relief! The first time since he’s been back where she’s actually gotten to hold him and have a few minutes to just feel his heartbeat and his warmth and take a beat to celebrate the fact that he’s alive. And how cute was he afterwards? All awkward smiles and fidgeting. It felt just as good for him as it did for her.

Another scene that deserves to be called out is the coffee shop. What a delightful surprise, I had no idea that was coming. And to find out Serkan permanently reserved that table for them? Because it was their table on their first real date? MY HEART.

Of course the final scenes in the cabin were beautiful and fraught and made my heart twist. I think this was a moment where Eda should have given up the game and come clean about the fake engagement with Deniz, but then the show couldn’t continue to milk this story. And they’re clearly not done with it yet.

However, I'm hopeful that we’re on the tail end of the engagements and Selin and Deniz will exit soon. So we’ll end with a <prayer circle> for that to happen!

#Sen Çal Kapımı #sen cal kapimi #edser #sck episode discussion #edser discusssion #sck 1x32 #sckask #asklizac #Anonymous

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thattimdrakeguy · 4 years ago

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New 52 TEEN TITANS #3 Read Along - The fact this got made is still shocking.

It’s been a while since I done one of these. It’s probably been since last year or so. This isn’t so much of a formal review where I try my best to explain why something doesn’t work, with tons of back references, or interviews, and contexts, and such. I might do some of that, but I’m mostly just writing this along the same time I continue to read it.

I’ve already done the first two issues, and if I can I’ll link them in the post somewhere.

Basically, this series gets about everything wrong about the returning Core Four for this reboot. They made Cassie the tomboy a “girly” thief, Conner the punky flirt a creepy emotionally numb stalker, Tim the insecure dork a super genius that blew up part of a freaking skyscraper, and Bart the teen with an attention span problem into an arrogant jerkwad loudmouth.

With the origins later given in the series, the boys are revealed to not reaally be the characters we knew at all in a more literal sense. This Conner is a clone of an alternate version of Jon, not Clark and Lex. This Tim Drake, is literally only Tim Drake in name only, as that’s the name this teen got in witness protection. And this Bart Allen, isn’t even related to Barry.

So these are versions of the characters that are them in literally name only, bar Cassie (sadly). Although, they’d later retconned Tim’s origin back (which doesn’t make sense). But what else can I compare them to but the originals?

A really common criticism of this series, and one that’s pretty dang valid in my opinion. Is just how unlikable everyone is-- or at least the Core Four, because I feel like we can all be honest and say that most people just read this for the Core Four, and sometimes Bunker. (Like Bart’s condescending here. Like “I’m Kid Flash, girl.” Maybe I’m just reading it too 1940s, but it comes off as really dickish.)

I mean seriously, how many people do you know talk abut Skitter? The original characters that Lobdell came up with are really hit and miss for me, mostly miss. Because I find Skitter so forgettable, that even though I’ve read the first few issues of this series just for entertainment value, I still forget she exists. She could’ve been so much more interesting, but he just doesn’t give her much.

To me, a good character has a personality that you can notice, grab onto, and have lots of unique stories with, that simply work, not even because it causes a great drama, but just because the perspective the character will have in any situation depending on the circumstance will be interesting.

Which is one of the reasons why I find Tim an interesting character, because his perspective is one that’s very interactive with any given circumstances but will still work for me. An insecure, super hero fanboy, that’s doing his best to be brave, but is secretly scared, with the cleverness to do things, but the anxiety that he can’t. Which the circumstances they give him, like having to make sure he proves he should be Robin, having parents at home, not feeling like he’s good enough, constantly seeing others better them him. It’ll just make him an interesting perspective to read from that won’t get too repetitive in any way that interferes with the enjoyment, because there’s a lot of levels you can take his harsh feelings, or things to interact with, that it won’t always be predictable what’s going to happen with him, and you want to read to see more.

With this series and quite a bunch of other original characters made, they have soap opera writing. Which works with fleshed out characters like the iconic 80s incarnation of the Teen Titans, but when the new characters don’t have a well-formed personality that you can really grab onto and gain constant interest and intrigue from, you just have a lame duck.

When your main character’s traits are “I’m angsty and sad”. No one is going to be able to invest themselves with that. They need to be more third dimensional and genuine to make them a character you want to pick up each issue for.

This series even with the old characters fails at that, by making them into absolute butchered heaps of rotted rump rather than their full personalities.

At least the art is pretty creative early on in it’s second page, I will give it that.

Then there’s Bunker--

--who I really want to like, but just can’t find myself enjoying.

A lot of these characters I’m unfamiliar with I want to like. They’re minority characters with very interesting concepts, but writing so flat that it ruins any chance of paying attention to them. A common curse when it comes to POC and a bad writer like Lobdell.

But Bunker actually has a personality, but the reason why I can’t find myself attaching myself to him is because he feels like an uncomfortable stereotype character. An outdated one that you’d see in the 80s or 90s to either seem inclusive or use as a joke rather than a true deal character.

Bunker is a flamboyant, religious, fashion involved, gay, Latino. Something that feels like you’d really bet he wouldn’t be if he wasn’t gay or Latino, because it’s just all based in stereotypes. Like if the pages weren’t colored, and you didn’t have the context he was gay, you’d probably still guess what he’s supposed to be just because of how much they involve stereotypes with him.

However, despite the stereotypes, he is the one most people can remember from this series beyond the core four, because he at least has a personality, and they actually try to build up a unique mystery to him, that would make you want to continue to know them.

And there is something about his confidence and religious beliefs, and determination that does feel very genuine, and makes you actually like him despite the stereotypes.

You want to know what makes you able to tell he’s a better made character than the other relatively new, to straight up new characters? You can actually talk about him, and have a lot more to say about them then his backstory, two personality traits, and angst. Even if his personality seems limited at first, they still write it in a way that’s genuine enough that you can get more out of it, a lot like what I was describing with Tim earlier.

He still feels like a character that you could write a solo about, and with a good enough writer and personal life, would actually make for a very rereadable series, because you just enjoy seeing him on his journey, because it won’t always be the same exact things. He has loyal personality traits about him, but depending on his circumstances, it won’t be the same side of him you’re seeing, and it won’t feel contrived. He has potential to become a true third dimensional character, and not one that just feels like he looks like one, but isn’t really.

But that depends on where the writing goes with him-- and I can’t remember where it goes. But take away the dated stereotypes and there’s actual good potential with Bunker. Making your character feel like another decade’s minority caricature is kind of a turn off when it comes to feeling comfortable reading them.

Which is why some don’t tend to like him.

There’s not a lot to say about this quick page of Cassie, besides the fact they make her come across as apathetic and nuts. She’s also mildly sexualized given it looks like she’s posing for a fashion shoot and not just closing a door, which feels pretty typical of the team that made this book.

And because of Lobdell’s bizarre writing and tone changes, I don’t know if this is supposed to be taken as serious or comedy, because of how abrupt it is, and how a fight broke out right after and we find out the old guy is Tim somehow convincing someone he isn’t like-- 15? I think he’d be either 14 or 15, not because that’s how Lobdell intended him to be, because I believe in a now lost interview he said Tim was “probably” 16 or 17. However, they didn’t settle on Tim’s age till Damian was near thirteen, meaning Tim would’ve been either fourteen or fifteen here, depending if Damian was eleven as I remember, or ten at the start of the New 52.

And here’s some more out of character Tim, because New 52 is what you get when you skim through Red Robin without any context, and being edgy is still really popular with the teenage demographic at the time.

This is a Tim that blew up a building, is an incel towards Cassie, and is overall an arrogant prick.

How Lobdell thought anyone thought any of a good idea is beyond me, but I figure he’s just not self-aware enough to realize that he just made one of the most unlikable protagonists I’ve ever seen, and absolutely bastardized who was once a mega-fan-favorite.

Although, this is pretty cute and in-character. It’s something that definitely fits in with a classic Tim comic, but down let this make you think Lobdell knows how to write Tim, because he makes it really obvious all the time that he doesn’t really.

And that’s basically everything relevant that happens in this issue-- not a lot when you actually read it, and not just me spouting off the proverbial mouth as I try my best to mentally process this freaking comic.

Conner doesn’t even show up, most likely because he was the only one with a solo, that Lobdell was also writing (you can probably guess accurately what the quality of that was too).

A lot of it is just more of the same, and it’s tedious, although it’s tedious nature is not so much on Lobdell, as he’s said in interviews before that it was editorial or a publisher (I can’t remember to be honest) that made him not have them previously know each other. So he had to work from that.

Which goes to show just how much DC knows how their characters and teams work, given the reason why Young Justice worked so well was because Tim, Conner, and Bart, already had stories where they duo’d up, and teamed up before they were even official. Which allowed them to have a preconceived friendship, they could build dynamics that were naturally built off of their unique personalities, which made everything feel natural and good to go when they did have an official team comic.

Here you have a Tim, that’s supposed to be very much a rookie of only one year, acting like he’s the greatest protégé talent ever, searching out for metahumans and coincidentally running into them, just to make some kind of story that would explain them being together for a team.

I’m not saying they have to redo the duo stuff again, because I’m pretty sure most readers already know their dynamics, and as for new readers, it doesn’t take a lot of time to say “We’re just good friends that like hanging out” does it? They have issue zeroes for each comic for a reason, they could’ve easily had a nice summary there if they wanted.

New 52′s obsession with trying to fit everything they can in, but have everyone still be relatively new, made everything a mess.

Like isn’t it weird that Superman only started being a super hero FOUR YEARS before Tim was? Doesn’t that sound entirely too squeezed in?

Then because they messed with the characters so much it works less for old readers as well. Like they have Tim, only a year in, acting like all the out of character elements of Red Robin, with an origin that’s a Bizarro styled mirror of his original one, with nothing that made him the popular character he used to be.

Same for the others.

New 52 is partially scary, because it shows just how little they know about what made them work.

I’m not against reboots in comics as a concept, they do need some modernization, and clean-ups every now and again, but you have to keep what works in there, or else the reboot will be a total failure. And paint-jobs and fan service like Rebirth aren’t gonna work either, when the heart of it all is still just so bad.

All this is a lot easier to say in hindsight, but DC Comics really has to work towards remembering their mistakes if they actually want to get better again. They’re doing a bit better at it, as forced and contrived as it can be sometimes. So they are getting somewhere.

But this is only the start of a Didio-less era. Looking like good things are coming, and little presents that truly make it seem true, is something that’s only going to last for a little bit. They have to still do the work, and learn what worked for their characters in the first place, and reremember who they all are.

Otherwise sales will just get worse again.

But I’m genuinely hoping they’ll at least begin to learn from mistakes. No one gets a win otherwise.

Oh, and he’s the entirety of the fight advertised on the cover. “Red Robin vs. Bunker”.

They stop fighting right after this.

It’s the comic book equivalent of clickbait if I’ve ever seen it in my entire life.

#Tim Drake #Robin #Red Robin #Bart Allen #Kid Flash #Cassie Sandsmark #Wonder Girl #New 52 #Teen Titans #DC Comics #Only tagging them because odds are those are the only tags people will check

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taki118 · 5 years ago

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List of Reincarnated into the Villainess of an Otome/Romance Novel Series I Like

Soooooo I’ve gotten sucked into the very specific isekai subgenre?trope? Of girl gets reincarnated into an otome game or romance novel she loves but is the villainess. It’s kind funny how similar these all are but at the same time so different. Now these arent all the titles just the ones I’ve read for at least a volume and like. (if asked i might make a list of the ones that failed for me). I’m gonna separate by types. and if you know of any other titles please do tell me.

Received Past Memories during Childhood

(The story starts with the MC remembering her past life as a child and growing up with the knowledge)

I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags...

So this one has a good deal of traction since it has an anime adaption currently running, but I’ll be honest it’s not one of favs. This series is primarily a harem comedy and most of the jokes deal with the MC’s expectations from the game not matching her new reality and not realizing why, which can be very fun, if one note. The characters are likeable which is why I keep reading but I think some other titles on this list use the concept far better. There is also a spin off version where the MC doesnt get her old memories until later in life and has to deal with the actions of the game character, but it’s fairly the same you arent missing much if you dont read it.

The Villainess Want to Marry a Commoner

So in this one the MC isn’t trying to avoid a bad end rather she’s very excited to be able to romance her favorite NPC whom she wished was romance-able. (which honestly mood) I’m not very far in but it really takes the whole this is a game the furthest as there are stat checks and the MC basically carried over all the items and skills acquired in her past playthroughs.

Survive as the Hero’s Wife

A web series, this one takes place in a book and the main pair are married as children and the MC plays double agent for the series antagonist to keep her and the LI safe. It’s fairly involved with a larger cast of characters but I’ll be honest this is one of the titles I feel would be stronger if it was just a straight fantasy series, the whole Isekai aspect feels like it’s there just to make the plot move quicker. But all around a good read.

Fiancée’s Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Now this one has a fun twist on the formula in that it’s told from the perspective of the love interest. Some of the faults other titles are plague with are avoided here as the main character himself has no knowledge of the world being a game, his fiance does but while she’s happy to tell him she’ll be a great villainess and get him a happy ending with the heroine she never tells him why thats so important so he’s left in the dark and thereby so are we. I will give a warning there is bit of fat shaming in this as the original games villainous was chubby but this version is skinny, like its not awful but its not the best implication that bad is chubby and good is skinny.

The Evil Lady's Hero

Another webseries set in a novel while we dont see the MC in childhood (save for some flashbacks) it’s stated she’s had her old memories since then. What I really like about this series is the MC’s personality and set up. So she died well into her 20s and as such she is a bit more mature and levelheaded than most MC’s, her plan was to avoid the main cast of the books as much as possible but ends up drunkenly sleeping with the male lead leading to them dating. Her thought being I’ll just enjoy this for now and let him break up with me when he meets the heroine, all good. The pair play well off each other and I’m curious to see where the story goes.

The Result of Being Reincarnated is Having a Master-Servant Relationship with the Yandere Love Interest

Now this one has a lot of fun with this concept as there are two other characters who were reincarnated like the MC. Because this game had only yandere love interests even the “good” endings arent that good, the MC also has limited knowledge as she didnt get to play all the way through so she feels less omnipotent than other protagonists, and along with not being the only person displaced it gives the series a nice refreshing feel.

Received Past Memories as Young Adult (The story starts with the MC remembering her past life after/during the events of the game/book)

I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

So I actually really love this series and wanna read the light novel version. The MC regains her memories during the beginning of the bad end for the villainess and thinking quickly saves face to run off and find the main antagonist of the game the demon king who happens to be a secret route on the second play through. Its a very fun read but gets a little dark in later chapters I wont spoil cause its good but there is an attempted rape scene.

Simply Good Sense for a Duke’s Daughter

This one kills me cause the world building and characters are so strong and dense it’s actually weakened by the fact that the MC was reincarnated is really just kinda brushed off most the time. As you get more and more invested the only real purpose her being reincarnated into an otome has is like some ideas for products to sell and how to make things that dont exist in this world yet. Like I wont say I don’t enjoy it but I think I’d enjoy it more if it was just a fantasy story.

Beware the Villainess

God I love this webseries. The MC is just a delight as she decides she wont be evil but she wont be good either. What I like about this series is it kinda plays with the fact that the setting is a trashy romance novel cause as the MC learns more about the main characters of the novel she finds that the descriptions in the book dont match up because it’s very surface level. Example a merchant whos said to be very smart and savvy in the books is actually rather easy to outsmart, MC realizes it’s cause the writer only ever wrote he was smart never HOW he was smart. I would def give this one a read its a lot of fun.

For Certain Reasons, The Villainess Noble Lady Will Live Her Post-Engagement Annulment Life Freely

This is again another series I think would be stronger if it was straight fantasy. The MC of this story actually has no idea the world is an otome game, she was nurse in her past life and uses that knowledge for the betterment of the land, (though actually its hard to tell if she was really reincarnated or just has the memories of this person) The story could have moved just as well if the MC was given like a medical textbook from a mysterious other world. But the characters are fun so its not awful just not one of my favorites.

Reincarnated but not as Villainess

I Am Troubled That My Fiance Is a Villain

The MC is reincarnated into an otome game with her memories as a child but as a side character, she ends up endearing herself and becoming engaged to the games villain character. Its very cute because she doesnt have to worry about a bad end she doesnt try to interfere much just keep those around her safe.

Seduce The Villain's Father

Web series MC gets reincarnated into a novel as a minor character, as the story takes place prior to the events of the book she changes things to keep her new sister safe and uses the opportunity to try and avoid more tragic events. Its not bad I’d say the idea itself is interesting though its a little uncomfortable she calls the male lead “father”

A Villain Is A Good Match For A Tyrant

Ok so this web series is kinda hilarious and I do have to spoil a little cause the person reincarnated is NOT our lead, its our villain. So this person was actually the author of the story, she had written a novel about a girl being reincarnated into the bastard daughter of a lord who gets engaged to a tyrant and has to pretend to be evil to stay safe from his enemies, and the author is so PISSED she reincarnated into a random priestess. Its so weirdly meta. The MC is the lord’s bastards and the events play out just like story only she doesnt get her body taken over. This series is very fun, cant wait to see how it goes.

Anyway this is my list if you have suggestions for me I’ll check them out. Will probably make another list later.

#manga #web series #isekai #I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags #The Villainess Want to Marry a Commoner #Fiancée’s Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess #Survive as the Hero’s Wife #The Evil Lady's Hero #The Result of Being Reincarnated is Having a Master-Servant Relationship with the Yandere Love Interest #I’m a Villainous Daughter so I’m going to keep the Last Boss #Simply Good Sense for a Duke’s Daughter #Beware the Villainess #For Certain Reasons The Villainess Noble Lady Will Live Her Post-Engagement Annulment Life Freely #I Am Troubled That My Fiance Is a Villain #A Villain Is A Good Match For A Tyrant

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xlehukax · 5 years ago

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Start of Something: The Pieces Fall Into Place (Pt. 3)

-Writing a little series on here as a warm up! In accordance to @orangelegs‘s Hogwarts AU! Updates won’t be on a set time, but they’ll come eventually-

When they finally arrive at the event, Patton and Virgil wink at each other from across the room. Virgil is having his ear talked off by Logan- Patton counts his blessings that no one else has approached them.

“Hey, Roman, I see Virgil. I’m going to go send him over to say hi, okay?”

“Alright, my dear friend. Remus appears to be hiding a bar of Frog Spawn Soap behind his back over by the punch, so I will go intercept that-”

“Alright, bye bye!” Patton eagerly departs his friend in favor of dashing over to Logan and Virgil. They’re chatting about this or that, and Virgil catches Patton’s eyes with a smirk.

“Hey, Logan, here’s that guy I was talking about. He’d be the perfect co-commentator!”

And there he is. Logan, the most brilliant Ravenclaw there ever was. Patton waves nervously, an awkward smile adorning his face. A co-commentator? That could work. I could do that. And I would be sitting next to Logan for entire games! Not to mention we’d have to talk outside of class about it. This is bloody fantastic.

“H-hi there… I’m Patton,” Patton extends a hand to shake. Logan hums, and takes it.

“Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Yeah! We sit next to each other in Transfigurations. You’re the smartest person I know,” Patton compliments him shyly, adoring the light blush that adorns Logan’s cheeks.

“I- uh, why thank you, Patton. It’s nice to be appreciated. I had no idea you think of me that way… to be honest, I was sure you were trying to copy me. Everyone else seems to,” Logan seems sad for a moment, then realizes the mission at hand, “I do need a co-commentator with traits such as but not limited to a wide knowledge of Quidditch, charisma, a proficiency in comedy, as well as the ability to conduct… what’s the word… ah yes, banter,” Logan lists off, producing a small notepad from his pocket to make sure he had everything.

“I can do that! I’ve seen every single game, for the most part… I follow a few of the school players so I like to show my support for them if I can. I think I’m pretty good with jokes too! Do you want to hear a Quidditch pun?”

Logan nods seriously. Patton feels like he’s sweating under the intense scrutiny, but recalls an easy one he told Roman last week off the top of his head.

“Hey, did you hear about that new Firebolt broom? They’re practically flying off the shelves!” Patton laughs at his own joke a little, and looks up at Virgil and Logan. Virgil snorts a short little chuckle and Logan breaks into an unsure smile.

“You’ll be satisfactory. How about you come on… say, Friday’s Gryffindor Friendly? If you show up a little bit earlier I can show you the ropes.”

“Just me and you?”

“In all likelihood, yes,” Logan shrugs. Patton nearly dies of excitement. This is more than he could have asked for: now not only does Logan know his name, but he’s getting one-on-one time with him and will be with him for hours on end. And, Logan will actually talk to him instead of ignoring him like usual. Blessings upon blessings.

Time to fulfill his end of the bargain. Patton glances to Virgil, raising his eyebrows in a way he hopes looks secretive and super-spy like. It’s go time, shadowling.

Is Patton trying to look cool? Or was he struck with some kind of eyebrow jelly-legs jinx from behind? What is happening?

Virgil gawks at Patton confusedly, genuinely confused at what he’s trying to convey. Eventually, he sighs and adjusts his glasses.

“Super great to talk to you, Logan! I need to borrow Virgil for a moment, send me an owl, would you?” Patton smiles brightly. Logan meanwhile, makes a noise of agreement while scratching down notes into his pocket notebook. Patton drags Virgil away, and once they’re out of sight, jumps up and down shrieking in delight.

“THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Oh my goodness, this is the best! Thank you, Virgil! I owe you one!”

“Actually, you owe me an introduction,” Virgil deadpans, though unable to hide the small half-smile at Patton’s overexcitement. His eyes widen in realization.

“Oh yeah! Alright, alright, so I asked him and Roman may have let it slip that he needs some kind of tutor! You know, Quidditch players have to have decent grades or else they can’t go to games. So, are you any good at Potions or Charms?”

“Heh, those are my best classes,” Virgil thanks whatever led him to being a loner: when you’re alone most of the time you have a lot of time to study and be really good at class.

“Okay! We can go over there and I’ll introduce you and you can help Roman pass his classes! You don’t have any other commitments do you? He doesn’t like it when people try to rope him into stuff…” Patton bites his lip nervously. Virgil, once again, praises his empty life.

“Nope. No one really likes me in their groups,” Virgil blows air out of his pursed lips.

“Oh that’s so sad!! Why won’t everyone include you? Rude!”

“Nah, I don’t really want to join any stupid clubs. I don’t fit in with any groups of people, anyway. I’m not any sort of prankster like Remus, or super intelligent like Logan, or a social butterfly like you, or a Quidditch aficionado like Roman, or anything like that. I’m a loner,” Virgil has accepted this fact. He doesn’t care about any of that stuff: he’s been alone with the exception of Logan for a while now.

“You’re an artist!” Patton pipes up. Virgil rolls his eyes.

“I’m not that good. And any self respecting wizard artist uses enchantments to make them move,”

“You know, Roman will probably let you paint him and do that enchantment stuff if you said you were an artist…” Patton hints slyly. Virgil narrows his eyes.

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Fine, fine! Ready to go?” Patton asks, clapping his hands together. Virgil runs a hand through his hair, adjusting it so the purple streaks are more apparent, calming his furiously spinning mind. Here we go. Meeting my crush. A hallmark of school. I can do this.

“Let’s do this,”

They’re walking over… they’re a few feet away…

“Hey there Ro-Ro! I want you to meet my friend Virgil and your new best tutor for Charms!”

Roman turns, grins… and it’s like all the lights have turned on. This boy, this evanescent star, is looking, really looking at Virgil and it’s like the whole world has been illuminated.

“Patton! Thank you, you’re an absolute doll. I needed a tutor for Charms! Virgil, let me introduce myself -though I likely need no introduction-, I’m Roman King. It would be the greatest honor for your assistance in Charms,” Roman cocks his head and bloody winks suavely at Virgil. On anyone else, Virgil would deem it annoyingly fake: on Roman, it seems like the most natural thing ever.

“I- uh, yeah. I watch your games. You’re real good- um… truly an upcoming star-“ Virgil stammers through what is likely the most horrifically embarrassing sentence ever uttered.

“Aha! So you’re a fan, then? Delightful! Don’t go falling for me now- we have work to do!” Roman laughs boisterously. Patton looks at Virgil nervously, to which Virgil shakes it off. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. If I can just talk to him, for now, maybe things will change later. I certainly have the time.

“In your dreams, Princey,” Virgil snorts. Patton glances at Virgil, shocked, but Virgil waves him off. Virgil can hide his heart: he’s quite good at hiding. This will be no issue. He’s getting to spend time with Roman anyways… he can swallow his pride. He’ll outlast the other petty girls and boys who gave up after Roman didn’t notice them. Virgil’s more than them. He’s stronger, made of firmer wood than the others.

“What days work for you for tutoring? If you want, we can do it in the Stands before your practices,” Virgil suggests. Roman’s eyes light up.

“Yes! That’s absolutely perfect,” he takes Virgil’s hands in his excitedly, and Virgil idly thinks that this might just be the best decision of his life, “Thank you, Virgil. I’m in your debt… how do I repay you?”

Now, if this was one of those dirty mangas Virgil read once to ‘research the art style’, he’d wink and use some innuendos to tell Roman exactly how he could repay him. But it’s not. And Virgil’s much too nervous to try any kind of move like that. After a speechless moment, he settles on:

“Ah… sure I’ll think of something,” he says lamely. Roman nods sagely.

“Let me know! Either way, I think I have to go rein in Remus again- he’s attempting to pour belch powder over the entirety of the snack bar. I’ll see you Friday, okay?”

“Sounds good. You bring all the textbooks that you want to review,” Virgil sighs. Roman shoots him a thumbs up and a smile.

The second he disappears, Virgil deflates in on himself. Patton pats him on the shoulder.

“That was… not great,”

“It’s cool. I’ll sort my own shit out,” Virgil runs a hand through his hair. The consensus he reaches is that any alone time with Roman is positive, and if he never gets to date him it would be sucky but not the worst thing ever. Virgil’s gotten so far: it’s progress.

“And I’m commentating for Logan on Friday too! I’m so excited I could burst!!” Patton squeals happily, a move that would have once made him cringe and shirk away, but instead prompts a small tug of the lips.

“Virgil!” Logan calls out to him from the other side of the field. Virgil looks over and waves with a rare smile and looks away.

What he doesn’t notice, despite being the perceptive person he is, how Logan flushes in the face and carries a mirror smile for the rest of the evening.

And even more, what no one at the party, not a single soul notices: the new Slytherin seeker watching all with mild amusement… taking in all of the new bonds that form and the relationships that blossom. He can see it all, just as clear as if it were in writing. No one pays him any mind as he chuckles from his spot on the Courtyard pillars. This will be fun to watch…

“Hey, Dee-Dee, whatcha doing all by your lonesome over here? You want some com-pan-y?” Remus comes out of nowhere, dancing his fingers up his arms.

“I’m going to have to take a raincheck on that one, love,” Janus sighs, “And frankly, we’ve established that ‘Deceit’ is a cruel and outdated nickname, yes? That’s a remnant of a malicious childhood and even more vicious children,”

“Yeeeeaaaaah, I knoooooow, but it’s so fun!! Who else can I call Double-D? You know, I gave you that nickname because-”

“Because snakes have two dicks. Yes, I know. You tell me that delicious little tidbit each and every day, Remus,”

“Well, yeah, maybe, but either way! What are you doing, all here by yourself?”

“It seems that there are some new developments happening in our favorite little community of friends,” Janus smiles.

“Like what?” Remus asks, his morbid curiosity piqued, bumping his head against Janus’s. Janus, to his credit, does not balk whatsoever and rather brushes Remus’s hair back comfortably. His fingers go from the front of his scalp to the back: oddly enough, though it appears unkempt, Remus’s hair is actually maintained to a somewhat hygienic standard. Well, as long as Remus’s pet vermin isn’t nesting in it. To pet his hair is a familiar gesture for the both of them- calming Remus’s hyperactivity while helping to hone Janus’s focus. It’s been a hallmark of their relationship since Year One.

“You’ll see, dearest Remus. You’ll see. Things, I feel, are about to get quite messy,” Janus smiles excitedly, “And we might just have to be the one cleaning up the messes instead of starting them.”

“Aww, but that’s no fun! What am I going to do with all those Dungbombs? Peeves will be so disappointed,” Remus pouts up at Janus. Remus has always been quite the prankster: constant trips to Zonko’s, teaming up with Peeves for maximum mischief, going even as far as reading Year 5 textbooks to learn new fun spells. Janus has instead been the voice of reason, matching cunning to his pure madness. They balance each other beautifully, keeping each other afloat because no one else will.

“Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll still get to do all your fun little pranks and more,” Janus chuckles.

Taglist (Ask to be added if you’d like!):

@justabsbutler @shaded14space @patton-cake

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Also, just a note, I make a lot of references to spells, potions, pranks... I’m not as much a Potterhead as I am infatuated with the world building. It’s all learnable via interwebs, so you might learn something from my extremely specific references. :3

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 12, “Diary Queen,” may be the sweetest offering of the series. It’s not only sentimental and self-esteem-positive, it’s downright edumacational. At least for Bart, who certainly learns a lesson. Thankfully, as the episode explains by example, he probably won’t retain it.

“What’s the matter, Bart? I figure you’d be used to failing by now,” Edna Krabappel once consoled the spiky haired kid who seemed so determined to get through school without schooling. Marcia Wallace, who played the Springfield Elementary teacher, died unexpectedly in October 2013. Edna’s death was first acknowledged in “Four Regrettings and a Funeral,” from season 25, when Bart wrote “We’ll really miss you Mrs. K” on the chalkboard. He only wrote it once. Her death was punishment enough. Both the character and the voice actor were instrumental in the chemistry of The Simpsons, and chemistry happens to be one of the few things Bart’s ever excelled at in school, even pranking a talent show in the “Haw-Haw Land” episode. But he gets his beakers crossed in the latest installment.

“Diary Queen” opens with an inspired West Side Story song parody, “Too Nice” replacing “Tonight.” It’s time for Ned Flanders’s annual yard sale, and he’s on a holy mission to undersell eBay. Comic Book Guy is looking for a broom to play Quidditch on, Waylen Smithers is going to score some kitsch, and Ned will finally toss those fuzzy dice Maude bought him to the bottom of an impulse item box of jokes he did not get. The Flanders family are parting with their humble possession in a public bid for humility, in case no one notices. Ned gives up Rod’s teeth. Todd consigns his toys to the auction block on the grass. “Playing is a sin that we regret,” one of the Flanders kids explains.

Ned’s bizarre outdoor bazaar is the only segment which has any meanness in it. The Springfieldians want to take advantage of Ned, and openly mock him. Carl and Lenny turn the yard sale into a yarn brawl, and Jimbo’s gang buys commemorative plates just to smash them. It’s enough to send Ned looking for the fans he always carries around in case of stress-induced hot flashes. As Patty and Selma are flicking ashes into Rod and Tod’s baby shoes, it seems Nelson, Bart, and Millhouse are the only ones worthy to buy Ned’s treasured mementos. And, of those, only Nelson’s purchase is authentic. He buys all the bad words, like “adultery” and “fornication,” which Ned cut out of his old religious texts. Nelson has a genuine use for them, you can just tell.

Bart and Millhouse buy the books. Even without the offending admonishments, they swear they’ll still find useful ways to better themselves. Their haul winds up being the fiery centerpiece for a supercool skateboarding feat which no one will ever see. It’s an old joke, but we do get to notice how big Millhouse’s nose looks when he’s picking it. One book, which gives the title to the episode, is spared the conflagration of Bart’s daredevil jump: Edna Krabappel’s diary. Bart recognizes the Ds and Fs, and Millhouse recognizes the smell of Parliament Lights 100s. It’s very telling how these are the most recognizable clues. They are each ready-made character punchlines.

The diary is a font of information. Bart and Millhouse learn all the teachers work night jobs during school hours, and the many lonely secrets of Groundskeeper Willie. But their first use of it is inspired gaggery. Bart learns Superintendent Chalmers keeps his car keys behind the visor. The two kids not only steal the car but take advantage of a free yogurt offer at a car wash. The idea that taking the yogurt and ditching the car is a “perfect crime” is great kids’ logic. It is a little odd, however, that Springfield’s Chief Wiggum sees fourth grade car thieves as inspiration for a little personal time with Officer Lou, but it works within Simpsons logic.

The central point of the episode is Bart’s relationship with his dead teacher, and his relationship with himself. He actually believes someone he thought only saw him as troublesome also considered him “smart as a whip.” It leads him to believe he actually has potential, which he translates to: all the time he was showing his butt he was showing promise. This spurs him into thinking about getting seriously educated. Not only does he try but he succeeds on his first dry run, resisting the urge to draw a skeleton head on a multiple-choice test grid, and getting an A. Not only does he finally understand how his sister Lisa doesn’t suck, but he puts himself on the same level.

Lisa goes through all the stages of jealousy, and even realizes she’s on the verge of obsession when even her imaginary comfort pony begins to look like Bart. This makes it worse, because realizing he is the only thing she can think about only makes her dwell on it. Lisa is usually the family genius, and how she reacts to Bart doing well really depends on the circumstance and need for story conflict. For instance, when Bart had to apply geometry to miniature golf in an early episode, Lisa brought a Zenlike understanding of all things which putt. Lisa does Bart a disservice tonight in the guise of doing the right thing. It’s her MO.

Of course, Marge and Lisa don’t trust Bart’s recent good grades, but while he comes up clean to Marge, Lisa digs up the dirt. Bart correlates “cruel” with “lying” because “they’re both great.” He thinks he’s going to win a Spelling Bee just because he has the potential to do it. Would it have been less cruel for Lisa to let him see how far his belief would get him? She’s set him up for worse humiliations just for an edge at science fairs.

Millhouse gets a few good gags tonight. When Lisa starts developing a rash because of the stress of not crushing her brother’s potential, he pulls cream out of his fanny pack labeled “rash stash.” Groundskeeper Willie is a highlight of the episode. His character has one of the most interesting takes on passive aggressive behavior in comedy. It’s not that he gets it backwards, so much as he pays it forward: Terrorizing Bart with the idea of simmering a new pet into rabbit stew when all he’s thinking of is how much bunnies love stewed carrots.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 11 Review: The Dad Feelings-Limited

By Tony Sokol

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 10 Review: A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas

By Tony Sokol

Subtle social commentary makes its way into the episode. As this is the first episode since the Trump presidency, it opens with a Bald Eagle flying a sign asking “Is it safe yet?” We learn Ned doesn’t find Bill Maher funny. A priest tells Bart and Millhouse reading someone else’s diary in church is not the worst thing you can do within the hallowed walls. Moments later we see the priest handcuffed and escorted past the pews by the police. We can only wonder what offenses are happening at Reverend Lovejoy’s competition.

Fat Tony (Tony Montagna) tells his henchmen his crime family doesn’t kill children, “We wait till they’re 18.” Lisa is kept up at night by the cold dead eyes of Mike Pence. Subtle subversive commentary can be found when Principal Skinner declares the drug-free portion of the school assembly a success because Lisa, the only one in the auditorium, tells him she doesn’t do drugs. But the scene comes shortly after we learn Dr. Hibbert is pushing kiddie-Xanax “sleepies” and “dopies” on her. The best bad side effects are “Portuguese insolence” and the “tendency to see yourself as others see you.”

The episode has quite a few sight gags which work well. The sign outside the Spelling Bee contest reads H-E-A-R, and we see one of the losing contestants ripping up a dictionary on the way to the exit. When Ned starts to preachify in the treehouse, he only stops because Bart is drawing back a trigger finger on his slingshot. Mrs. Krabappel’s beloved cat not only was not harmed during the making of the episode, but was a willing participant, according to the closing disclaimer. One of the stills in the photo montage is of Krabappel watching The Bob Newhart Show, which Marcia Wallace was a regular on.

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For the majority of The Simpsons’ run, Mrs. Krabappel was a sexually independent woman who was often “looking for a substitute to teach me a lesson I sorely need.” She began dating widower Ned in “The Ned-Liest Catch” from season 22. They married in secret and stayed together until her death in “The Man Who Grew Too Much.” The cause of Edna’s death has never been revealed, except in a non-canon, future-set episode. For this installment, Wallace’s two lines are taken from earlier episodes. “Diary Queen” will be her last appearance.

This is a different kind of arc for The Simpsons. “Diary Queen” is on an uplifting trajectory until Lisa knocks it off course, and ends in a sudden life-affirming crash. Bart’s final warning to Marge, “I’ll go over the edge if you try to make me feel better,” is wonderfully skewered, but the final twist is a dose of treacle. The episode was originally slated to premiere on Valentine’s Day, and is a sweet sendoff.

The post The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen appeared first on Den of Geek.

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hotforharrison · 6 years ago

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To Sleep, Perchance to Dream ch 9

Chapter 8 <-- Series Masterlist --> Chapter 10

Pairing: Tom Holland/Reader

Summary: He’d been in your dreams almost your whole life, but was it real?

Word Count: 1,320

Warnings: Unusually, no smut this chapter (that’s coming next chapter), but there is some language.

A/N: I posted a oneshot for a challenge earlier today, but I’m trying to update my series between oneshots. Have some transitional less smutty than usual writing!

Your morning with Tom was productive.

Unsurprisingly, his company was something you definitely enjoyed outside of the White Room. He was very tactile, and you couldn’t get enough of all the little touches he frequently gave you. It was a much appreciated reminder that he was actually here with you, that he was real, that you weren’t going to wake up alone and miserable at any moment.

The wait at the passport office was long, but the first step of running away with Tom was done.

You could pick up your passport in a week, since you currently had no mailing address. The word ‘homeless’ had been tossed around while you were there. It wasn’t something you could think about at length without freaking out. You technically did have two physical ‘homes’ with mailing addresses, but they weren’t ‘home’ to you any longer in any capacity. You decided that you had no intention of returning to either.

The White Room had gradually become the closest thing you had to a home months ago, without you even realizing it at the time. You spent weeks on end existing for the next time you could go to sleep. That wasn’t a life you wanted to keep living.

In the waking world, Tom was the only thing that felt at all like home. You were still scared and overwhelmed, but he made you feel like everything was going to be just fine, given some transition time.

His promise that you wouldn’t be alone through any of this was comforting and reassuring beyond what you could put into words. It didn’t completely stop you from freaking out at the massive changes, but it did make it manageable.

When you headed to the clinic afterward, you knew you wanted a long-term solution for birth control that wouldn’t need to be refilled every month, regardless of your current situation.

The ‘homelessness’ kept going through your head. The thought of being homeless and pregnant was so much worse. You knew without a doubt that Tom wasn’t the sort of person who would abandon you if you did end up pregnant, but what if something happened to him?

After discussing it at length with the nurse, you settled on the birth control implant.

The insertion itself made you very nervous. You’d never liked needles, and this involved a needle and an insertion tool. Ick.

Tom stayed by your side during the process. He held your free hand and talked to you the entire time, thumb stroking soothingly over the back of your hand as he told you about a comedy film he’d seen recently that you hadn’t yet. His words were hard to focus on when you were hyper aware of the sharp sting when the local anesthetic was injected, but you watched his face as he talked to you instead of glancing over at what the doctor was doing to your arm.

You loved the crinkles around Tom’s eyes and the way his eyes lit up with mirth when he laughed. It made your heart flutter. That happened a lot around him in the waking world. Everything was so much more vibrant outside the confines of the White Room. The difference was shocking.

For as long as you’d had romantic feelings, you’d been undeniably in love with Tom inside the White Room. In the waking world, it was brand new all over again. This time it was so much better, though, because you weren’t just silently pining. He wanted you, too, maybe as much as you wanted him. That thought still felt a bit foreign in your mind after you’d spent those same years going through him having crushes and girlfriends, repeatedly telling yourself that you were nothing more than a close friend to him.

You’d already entrusted him with your heart, handing it over without question or doubt. But in a matter of several short hours, you were going to share your body with him, too. Not just that, but in the waking world this time, in full blown vivid technicolor instead of the muted tones of the White Room. Holy shit.

“Okay, I’m done,” the doctor said, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Just be sure to use a backup method like condoms for the next 7 days, and then you’re good to go for 5 years. Do you have any questions?”

“I don’t think so. Thank you,” you told him.

Tom helped you to your feet and held your hand again as you walked toward the clinic’s entrance. “Do you feel up to our date right now, or would you rather take some painkillers and wait and see how your arm feels after the numbness wears off?”

“What did you plan on doing for our date?” you asked.

“I originally wanted to take you to play miniature golf, but that might be out of the question if your arm is sore. I’m open to ideas if you have any. We could always just go get something to eat.” He shrugged.

You reached the car and got in, appreciating the privacy it provided.

“I’m not sure if I could eat right now. I’m really nervous about later,” you admitted.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. If you want to wait, I’m totally cool with that,” he responded, sincerely.

“It’s not that. Do things in the White Room feel less...real and intense to you?” you asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t realize how much until we met here,” he replied.

“What happened last night in the White Room was really intense for me. I can’t even imagine how it would have been if we were awake.”

“I might not have much experience, but I do know it’s not usually like that,” he reassured you. “This time, I’m going to take care of you. I’d planned on something very slow and sweet and gentle for tonight. I want to make you feel so good.”

You’d envisioned something similar when you fantasized about it, something probably completely unrealistic, like a first time love scene out of a chick flick. “Is that how you like it?”

“I haven’t done it that way before, but it’s you, so I know I’ll like it. I’ve always thought about making love to you that way the first time,” he told you, reaching over to squeeze your hand.

His phrasing took you aback. He thought of sex with you as ‘making love?’

“Is everything alright?” he asked, looking over at you with obvious concern.

“You love me?” you eventually responded.

“No, I thought I’d move someone to London with me who I think I might like, maybe just a bit. Of course I love you, darling.” He squeezed your hand again.

His proclamation made your heart thud in your chest. You hadn’t expected to hear those words for a much longer time, if ever. The fact that the depth your feelings wasn’t at all one-sided was very hard to wrap your head around. It probably still would be for a while.

“I love you, too,” you told him, interlacing your fingers with his for a moment. It was a relief to finally say what had been bubbling up inside you for so long.

He smiled at you, looking every bit as enamored with you as you were with him. It put butterflies in your stomach.

“Would it be okay if we took a rain check on the date and headed back to the hotel instead?” you asked.

“Yeah, we can do that. Did you want to rest for a bit first?” He pulled out of the parking space and started driving in that direction.

“Well, the bed has something to do with what I want,” you said, trailing a finger up his thigh to make your intentions clear.

If you saw him grip the steering wheel a bit tighter and start to push the speed limit, well, you wouldn’t say anything.

Tag list: @moorehollandplz @thollandss @sarcasticsagittarius1998 @jackiehollanderr @relise-thefury @imagine-lovebug @dasexydevitt13 @adayasgeorgia

#tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fic #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland imagine #tom holland scenarios #tom holland reader insert #tom holland reader #tom holland you #tom holland writing #tom holland story #tom holland fluff

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screenandcinema · 5 years ago

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Coming Attractions November 2019

As usual, we present monthly previews of new movies being released. These are the movies what will be hitting your local cinemas this month:

November 1st

Terminator: Dark Fate - In 1984, it was promised “I’ll be back” and then in 1991 that promise was delivered on. Then again in 2003, 2009, 2015 and now 2019. The Terminator franchise has been struggling to survive termination for some time now. James Cameron who co-wrote and directed the first two installments and missed out on the last three is back as a producer to hopefully return Terminator to its former glory. Terminator: Dark Fate posits itself as a direct sequel to 1991′s Terminator 2: Judgement Day and attempts to ignore the non-Cameron installments. Word is that Dark Fate is set to launch a new trilogy of films, which is exactly what was said about 2009′s Terminator Salvation and 2015′s Terminator Genisys, neither did, of course. Maybe Dark Fate will mark a path forward for Terminator or just another disappointment at the box office which will lead to another inevitable attempt to relaunch the franchise sometime in the next few years.

Motherless Brooklyn - Edward Norton writes, directs, and stars in this adaptation of a novel of the same name. Motherless Brooklyn marks Norton’s first time behind the camera since directing one of my personal favorites 2000′s Keeping the Faith. Bruce Willis, Gug Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe, and Bobby Cannavale co-star alongside Norton in this noir-esque film about a private investigator in 1950s New York with Tourette syndrome.

Harriet - Cynthia Erivo of Widows and Bad Times at the El Royale stars as Harriet Tubman in this upcoming biopic. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to generally favorable reviews with a heavy-share of praise falling on Erivo’s performance of the heroic abolitionist. Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Monáe costar.

The Irishman - Opening in limited release today and coming to Netflix on November 27th is Martin Scorsese crime epic The Irishman starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. Clocking in at almost three-and-a-half hours long this is one movie you will probably be happy to watch at home with the remote and pause button nearby.

November 8th

Midway - Disaster-artist Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) directs this upcoming war film just in time for Veterans Day weekend. While Michael Bay’s 2001 film Pearl Harbor told the story of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle Raid that followed, Midway not only revisits Pearl Harbor and the Doolittle Raid but extends the story to - you guessed it - the Battle of Midway. And it is 45 minutes shorter than Bay’s epic. So you get an extra battle in less time. Not too shabby.

Doctor Sleep - Ewan McGregor stars as the adult Dan Torrance (he no longer goes by Danny) in this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Stephen King which itself was a sequel to his novel The Shining. According to director Mike Flanagan, the film acts as both an adaptation of the novel as well as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of King’s The Shining. Okay, so to recap. Doctor Sleep is a movie based on a book that is a sequel to a book that was adapted into a famous movie and this movie is sort of a sequel to that too.

Last Christmas - Paul Feig directs this romantic holiday comedy starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. Everything tells me that is a giant twist in this movie that will either make or break the film for people. Now all I can do is wait and see. (I THINK SOMEONE IS A GHOST)

Honey Boy - If the Dark Fate and Doctor Sleep explanations weren’t confusing enough, try this one. Honey Boy, written by Shia LaBeouf, is the story of a child actor’s difficult relationship with his father and is based on LeBeouf’s own life with LeBeouf starring in the film, not as the child actor, but instead as his own father. Honey Boy premiered at Sundance earlier this year to rave reviews. Get excited Even Stevens fans.

November 15th

Ford v Ferrari - My highlight of November has to be James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Ford v Ferrari tells the true story of how the Ford Motor Company worked tirelessly to compete with perennial winner Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world - in 1966. So excited to see this one in theaters.

Charlie’s Angels - Hello Angels. As the theme has been this month, bear with me. Apparently, this newest installment of the Charlie’s Angels franchise is a continuation of both the 1976 television series that aired on ABC for seasons and the two feature films of the early-aughts starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. But unconnected to the 2011′s ABC series that was canceled after four episodes aired. Elizabeth Banks writes, directs, and stars in this adaptation as one of the film’s three Bosleys with Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the titular Angels who are trying to save the world, I assume.

The Good Liar - Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen star in this thriller revolving around a seasoned conman and his latest prey. Bill Condon, who previously worked with McKellen in both 2015′s Mr. Holmes and 2017′s Beauty and the Beast directs this adaptation of a novel of the same name.

The Report - Adam Driver stars in this real-life drama about the investigation into the CIA’s use of torture following the September 11th attacks. The film will begin streaming Amazon Prime on November 29th.

November 22nd

Frozen II - Finally, the sequel to the breakout hit of 2013 is here. The first film, Frozen, went on to the highest-grossing film of 2013 (beating Iron Man 3) and held the title of the highest-grossing animated film of all-time until it was dethroned this summer by The Lion King, not too mention the winner of two Academy Awards. And now six years later, Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and of course Sven, are back for a new adventure that will likely involve snow, ice, and saving Arendelle again. Count me in.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - Tom Hanks stars at Fred Rogers in the biopic co-starring Matthew Rhys as a reporter sent to interview the famed children’s show host. I honestly don’t remember watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a kid even though new episodes of the show were produced until I was well into high school, but I’d watch Tom Hanks in almost anything. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September to near-universal acclaim

21 Bridges - Mark my words, Chadwick Boseman’s “We got twenty-one bridges in and out of Manhattan. Shut them down. Three rivers. Close them. Four tunnels. Block them. Stop every train and loop the subways. Then we flood the island with blue” speech in this upcoming action thriller will soon be as iconic as Tommy Lee Jones’s similar speech from The Fugitive.

November 27th

Knives Out - Rian Johnson writes and directs this whodunit starring the ensemble cast of Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, and Christopher Plummer. If that isn’t enough to get you to buy a ticket, I don’t know what it is.

Queen & Slim - Melina Matsoukas makes her feature film debut in this romantic thriller with a script from Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Master of None). In Queen & Slim, an unfortunate run-in with the police on their first date puts the titular couple, played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, on a Bonnie and Clyde-esque journey.

Now for a quick look ahead to December, my top picks for next month are Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 1917, and Jumanji: The Next Level.

-MB-

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anagentinwriting · 6 years ago

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To Catch a Thief - Final Part

Summary: Being an FBI field agent was your dream job but having been stuck behind a desk for most of your career you’ve almost given up. Fortunately, a series of robberies with minimal evidence forces you to assist a team in the field to help solve the case. But when the only thing left behind is a series of song lyrics, will you be able to find the perp? Or will the number of obstacles and lack of evidence keep you from solving the case?

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Word Count: 3584

Warnings: Fluff, language

To Catch a Thief Masterlist / Main Masterlist

After handing in the evidence box, you headed to Trash Panda. The team and a few other agents were already waiting for you to have celebratory drinks for a case closed. As the night wore on, you did what you do best, put on a face for everyone and try to sort out your feelings. Peter was working the bar tonight, and you caught him gawking at you a few times. You sent a wink his way forcing a blush to his face.

Tonight, you saw Peter differently. You knew how he felt about you, yet you didn’t know how you were feeling about him. Peter’s the guy with a reputation of bringing home random girls and never getting serious. Why would he want to settle and get serious with you?

The guys at your table left to go play pool leaving you with Gamora and Mantis. “What’s going on with you tonight?” Gamora asked, reaching over and squeezing your forearm. “You’re so quiet tonight.”

“Hmmm…..it’s nothing.” Your eyes flash to hers before taking a sip of your beer.

“You are lying,” Mantis said as you shot her a hard glare. “It’s my job. What’s bothering you?”

“It’s stupid,” you answered picking at the label on the beer bottle.

“I’m good at being stupid,” Mantis replied, Gamora agreed then stopped when she realized what came out of her mouth. You shake your head glancing in Peters direction seeing him talking to a group of women.

“It’s about Peter, isn’t it?”

Your head snapped to Gamora. “I saw the disk of you and Kraglin debriefing him, but it felt more like you were interrogating him.”

“Shit, Kraglin didn’t throw it away. Damn it,” Gamora cursed under her breath. “I’m sorry we should’ve told you. We were just looking out for you.” She paused tilting her head as she realized something. “That’s it, isn’t it.” You narrowed your eyes at her. “You’re freaking out because Peter’s falling in love with you and you don’t know what to think.”

“That’s ridiculous. We haven’t even talked about our feelings towards each other and here you are making accusations about how I feel about him.”

“I sense you care very deeply about him and he does for you too. Right now, Peter's uncomfortable with those women around him, especially since they’re blocking his view of you. And you're jealous of all those women around your boyfriend,” Mantis explained.

“Um...okay... but to clarify he’s not my boyfriend. Sure, we’ve hooked up, but he can do whomever he wants whenever. Ah….I should get going. I forgot I have to do something tomorrow morning.” You put on your jacket and walked past Gamora as she grabbed your arm.

“Hey, if you’re afraid of getting hurt. Talk to the one guy that knows Peter best. Yondu.”

You walked into the field office first thing Monday morning with a good feeling. It was the start of a new week, which meant a new case for the team. All weekend you avoided Peter hoping to get your feelings sorted out, but instead, it turned into binging every romantic comedy and thinking about anything other than your feelings. Your only focus was on the two people falling in love on the television screen. If only love was that easy to figure out?

You waved at a smiling Luis and went straight to Yondus office. You decided to take Gamora's advice and talk to Yondu. If anyone was going to tell you the truth about Peter, it was him.

You knocked, hearing him yell to come in, and stepped inside. “Hey, Yondu. Sorry to disturb you but I’m here for some advice,” you said, taking a seat across from him.

“What does this pertain to?” Yondu raised his eyebrows crossing his arms across his chest.

“Personal matters.”

“You know, I don’t like hearing about my agent's personal lives. I especially don’t like hearing about their problems,” he huffed. “But considering things and how I view my agents as friends and some as family, including you, I’ll hear what you have to say.”

“Damn Yondu, I didn’t know you were so sensitive. What one do you consider me as?” Luis asked through the phone sitting on Yondus desk.

“How many times have I told you, boy, to stop putting yourself through my phone and listening to my conversations. Some of them are very personal.”

“Sorry sorry sorry, but for real though am I part of Yondu family or Yondu friends.”

Yondu stared at the phone shaking his head. “Family, but it might change if you don’t get off the line.”

“Yes! You know I had this a feeling I was, but now that you said it I feel like we reached a new level.” Yondu shook his head, letting out a loud sigh. “Sorry, I’m sorry, continue on with your personal conversation that I will not be listening to. Hanging up now.” Luis goes offline. "Yes," Luis shouted loud enough from the main lobby for you to hear him Yondu's office.

Yondu grunted, “I’m going to regret telling him that.” You cracked a small smile. “Now about Peter?”

“How do you know it’s about him?”

“Call it a hunch.” You covered your hands over your face shaking your head. “It’s okay. Peter’s like a son to me, but I want you to know I can’t tell you everything. It’s not my place, but I can try to help in any way I can.”

“I guess…. I guess I’m here because I want some insight on what Peter is like in someone else's eyes. I want your honest opinion about him.”

“It shouldn’t matter how I feel about him. It’s about your feelings towards him.”

“Feelings? Get real, Yondu,” you scoffed, making Yondu tilt his head not believing you. “Fine, yes I may or may not have feelings for Peter Quill. They are just conflicting with each other at the moment, and I don’t know what to believe. One side is saying go for it while the other side is saying runaway so you don’t get hurt.” Yondu smirked, shaking his head as if he knew something you didn’t.

“Well, I met him at a tragic point in his life when he was 10 years old, but you already know that.” You nodded. “From that day forward, I kept a close eye on him, but back then, he never got into much trouble. His mama raised a polite boy, but a few years later he came back on my radar again. This time he got caught stealing food from a gas station, and the owner pressed charges against him even though Peter returned the food.

After this, Peter went through a troubled phase. He’d get into fights at school when the other kids teased him for being scrawny or how he didn’t have a father. I mean, these kids were terrible. They went as far as saying no one wanted him, not even his dad, or how Meredith gave herself cancer to get away from him. It was a tough time for him, especially with his mom still recovering.”

“Wow! I had no idea. He never shared any of that with me,” you said, staring hard at the nameplate on Yondu’s desk.

“It’s tough to talk about the past when you’d rather forget it,” Yondu said as you gave him a knowing nod. “Peter has a big heart and cares about the people in his life including you. He might come off as a womanizer, dick, a-hole, or whatever, but I can promise you he’ll never hurt you. He’s a sensitive guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve. This gets him in trouble a lot because he acts before thinking through with the consequences. In some situations, his emotions take over, and he can’t hold them down, so he lashes out and does something stupid. Like, I read in your report about him pushing you out of the way to save you from the bullet, but he ended up getting shot in the process.” He shook his head, making you crack a half smile.

“He’s a good boy, but he gets lost sometimes when he doesn’t want to give up on those he cares about. Right now, he doesn’t want to give up on you or you to give up on him. Many people have let him down in the past, like his jackass of a father, and you know what that feels like.

“But, you should know Peter isn’t the only one that cares about you. Me, Gamora, Kraglin, Luis, and many more care about you, too. We will always help you if you’re having a problem or if you want to talk. We aren’t going anywhere, and we don’t take you for granted. I know you have trust issues, but you can rely on us to be there when you need us. Give it time with Quill. I know you might run away to escape your feelings. Hell, you might feel like you're not good enough for him or this job because your mother was the same way.”

“You.....you knew my mother?” Your eyes snapped up to his.

“I never told you this, but we were in the same Quantico graduating class. She was a strong headed woman that didn’t like to take other people’s crap,” he chuckled. “Anyways, there was a time at Quantico when she wanted to quit and run away because she didn’t think she was good enough. Then, she started dating your father and finally believed in herself. That’s what people do who care about you, they bring you up, and make you believe you’re capable of anything.

When I found out you were her daughter, I knew you’d be a hard worker and push your limits. You’re exactly like her but running away isn’t the answer. No matter how messy life gets, I want you to know there are people who do care about you.”

There was more to Yondu than you realized. He wore this cocky, arrogant attitude to cover up how much he cared. He was looking out for you in all this; everyone was. You were too focused on the case to notice you were building relationships.

“Thanks. Um...I think I got what I needed,” You nodded, standing up.

“Your welcome. If you need anything my door is always open,” He grinned, showing off all his ugly teeth. “And for god sacks, Luis get off the fucking line.”

“You know what I don’t even regret hearing all that. It was beautiful, you know like those donuts with red white and blue sprinkles in the break room.”

“See you Yondu.”

“Bye kid.” He waved as you left his office.

Yondu was right you needed to stop running. You ran from your horrible foster parents once you were old enough. You ran when you found out your high school boyfriend was cheating on you with your best friend. You ran when your foster sister was stealing money from your secret stash. And you broke up with your boyfriend at Quantico because you weren’t ready for a big time commitment.

You run when things get hard, you always have, but maybe it was time to stop running. You finally made friends who will be there through thick and thin. It was a strange feeling, but it was a good feeling. You finally had what you always wanted, a family, and right now, you were pushing away the one person you truly cared about.

You walked past Peter’s door wondering if he was at home. You haven’t returned any of his texts or calls all weekend, but you needed to talk to him after speaking with Yondu. You unlocked your door and switched on the light as you flipped through your mail. A figure moved in the corner of your eye making you drop your mail and pull your gun from your holster. You pointed your gun at the figure only to realize it was Peter.

“Peter, what the fuck?” You shouted, lowering the gun and setting it on the table. “You scared the crap out of me. I could’ve shot you. How did you even get in here?” You stared at him in disbelief. He sat on the other side of the island wearing a gray t-shirt stretching across his pecs. His shirt sleeve sat high enough to show the small scar on his bicep where he took the bullet. He was sporting a few day's scruff making him look dirtier; This type of look on the man always distracted you.

“Sorry, but this isn’t the first time I picked your lock,” he winked. “Among other things I’ve entered.” You sighed, shaking your head at his childish ways.

“What are you doing here?”

“I have some good news.” You stayed silent waiting for him to continue. “My mom’s cancer is gone, and when I say it’s gone, it’s obliterated.” He insinuated an explosion with his hands. “It’s crazy! Before we left Wakanda and after we got back she was feeling and looking better. Then, she went to the doctor, and he did some scans, but he couldn’t find anything. The tumor in her head was gone. He said it was a miracle.”

“That’s great, Peter. I’m happy for you and your mom,” you smiled, moving around the island to take the seat next to him. You were generally happy for him. He still had time with her, and he wouldn’t have to say goodbye to the only family he had left.

“This is going to sound insane, but I have a feeling it was the Infinity Stones. When they were glowing it felt like something was happening, or does that sound ridiculous?”

“It’s not crazy at all. I felt something that day, too,” you replied, placing your hand on his thigh. He glanced down at your hand, and you quickly pulled it back to your lap. “Many legends say the Infinity Stones have magical attributes. Valkyrie believed they only caused destruction, but T’Challa mentioned they can perform miracles, too.”

“I guess, I should be happy I had to hunt down those stones then,” he huffed, eyeing you up and down. You remained quiet not knowing how to say what you wanted to say to him. “Can we talk about the elephant in the room?”

“What elephant in the room?”

“The one where you have been dodging me all weekend. You didn’t even say goodbye when you left Trash Panda the other night, and you haven’t returned any of my messages. Did I say or do something to offend you?”

“No, it’s nothing like that at all. It’s...it’s hard to explain?”

“I got nowhere to be tonight but here.”

You gulped down the frog in your throat wringing your hands together. It was now or never; face your fears or run away from them. “Whenever things get hard in my life, I run thinking it will solve all my problems. It doesn’t, but it makes me feel better or at least I make myself believe it does.”

You bit your lip trying to decide where to go with this. “I don’t like to get close to people. You know this, I’ve told you this. It’s kind of my way to protect myself. A defense mechanism if you will.” Peter nodded. “Whatever this is--” you pointed at Peter then to you “--scares the shit out of me. I don’t know whether to run from it or dive in head first to see where this thing goes.”

“I’m scared, too.” Your head snapped up at his words. “I must admit, my feelings for you started the day you banged on my door wearing your robe and bunny slippers,” he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know where this new friendship would lead, but I found myself caring about you. The more I learned about you, the more I fell for you.

You know in the movies, where one character takes the big step in showing how much the other character means to them. Whether it’s a big romantic gesture, saving their life, or realizing they have always had this unspoken thing between them. I have always wanted that, but I never knew when it was going to happen. If it was ever going to happen. Sure in movies it can happen anywhere, but in reality, you don’t know. The characters on the screen can show us what it looks like to fall in love, but to experience it firsthand is a whole different story. Truth is, I never experienced what love felt like until I met you,” Peter confessed with his eyes never leaving yours.

The nerves in your body fired in every direction making your stomach tingle and twist into never-ending knots. Your palms started to sweat as your face flushed pink. You knew how he felt about you, but him telling you directly brought a whole different feeling to you. What were you scared of? A broken heart, the unknown, or how your life would unravel if this ended badly. This was you, always thinking about the awful things that could happen, but never taking the chance to see what could happen. You needed to stop worrying and take the plunge head first into the deep end.

Peter makes you happy. When your life got stressful he kept you sane and helped you get things off your mind. He could make you crack a smile, even if he told you the lamest joke you ever heard. He was there for you when you needed him, and it was starting to feel like he always would be. He saved your life and risked his own to protect you. You cared about him and wanted to be there for him like he has been there for you. For the first time in a long time, you started to remember what it felt like to be loved.

“Earth to YN?”

You snapped out of your trance. “Sorry, lost in my head.” You cleared your throat continuing. “You’re insufferable. An adult child that listens to the same songs over and over again, and sings them obnoxiously loud. A guy who still believes the greatest movie in history is Footloose even though it never was. And for some reason, you think all problems can be solved with a dance-off.” Peter frowned at his hands in his lap. “It’s insane how these little things make you so god damn irresistible.” Peter tilted his head up as you continued.

“The only love I’ve ever seen was from my parents. My dad always looked at my mom like it was the first time they met. He was always so cutesy towards her and constantly doing things to make her feel loved. I never thought someone would give me those same feelings my dad gave my mom every day until I met you. I’m in love with you Peter.” You peeked up at him, but before you could continue, his lips collided with yours.

At first, you’re taken by surprise, but you closed your eyes sliding your hands up his chest to his neck deepening the kiss. His hands rest on your waist pulling you closer to him forcing you off your stool to stand between his legs. His lips were soft against making a moan escape the back of your throat as his tongue slid into your mouth. You pulled away resting your forehead against his and stared at him unable to keep the smile off your face. When he opened his eyes, and all you saw was love.

“What’s the plan now? Are you going to run from this or are you going to dive in headfirst with me?” Peter asked, standing up and resting his hands on your hips pulling you towards him. “Whatever you choose just know that I am holding onto you tight so it will be harder for you to escape.”

“If I do run--” he pulled you tighter to his body, making you shake your head “--I think I would be running from one of the best things that has ever happened to me." You leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. “And it would be a mistake to not give this unspoken thing between us a shot.”

He smirked, clenching the back of his jaw. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted, sweetheart.” He leaned down and faintly brushed his lips across yours. “What do you feel like doing now?” He asked, licking his lips waiting for an answer.

“You think I am going to put out on our first date?” You asked with pursed lips. “I know who you are, Peter Quill! And I am not some starry-eyed girl here to succumb to your pelvic sorcery!”

“Wow, pelvic sorcery, huh? Didn’t know I was that good with my wand? Or did I?” He wiggled his eyebrows at you making you roll your eyes. “So, what’s next? Something bad, something good, a bit of both?” He nudged his hips against yours making you bit your cheek to keep from smiling.

“Bit of both,” you replied, pulling your bottom lip into your mouth.

“I think that’s doable.” He flashed you a playful smile unable to break his gaze from your taunting lips. In one swift movement, he lifted you onto his shoulder forcing a squeal out of you, and you slapped him on the ass. You both laughed as he carried you to the bedroom.

AN: And we have reached the end! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed my first series as much as I liked writing it!

#peter quill x reader #peter quill #peter quill reader insert #peter quill au #peter quill image #star-lord x reader #star-lord au #star-lord #gotg #gotgvol2 #guardians of the galaxy #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel au #chris pratt #to catch a thief

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illthdar · 6 years ago

Text

11/11/11 Tag

Tagged by @silver-wields-a-pen

1. Who is your favourite oc?

To be honest, I flip-flop a lot on that one. Generally, it is the OC that is being tormented or experiencing the most growth in whatever character arc in the Illthdar series.

2. What themes do you struggle writing?

I struggle with fight scenes and romance. Fight scenes because it calls for a snappier text style that my over-wordy self has a hard time balancing. Romance because I crave a specific brand of romance that isn’t often depicted in fiction - the slow kind that builds very carefully over months/years. The sexual tension, the overdone tropes, associated with romance just kind of make my toes curl or make me want to throw books across the room and scream “you aren’t in love yet!” Writing my own version while still adding those snippets that readers crave - the glances, the fumbling, the derp - is hard for me.

3. What’s been the best thing about writing your wip?

The world exploration and the slow unfolding of events and discovery of life on in the world as a whole. I took to writing Illthdar from the perspective of an immigrant - someone who sees the new place they are living with eyes wide open and with none of the rose-tint that natives would have, as well as that naivete and innocent trust that the people around them mean well. This perspective lends itself greatly to the steady exposure to the evil that can be found under the surface of any world, but is especially compounded in the world of Illthdar.

4. What themes has your favourite story included?

The Illthdar series covers several themes: prejudice, platonic/romantic love, good vs. evil, power and corruption, survival, courage/heroism, and war

5. What time of day do you prefer writing?

I typically write in the evenings, after the kiddo has gone to sleep - which is typically around 8PM - and I normally call a quits at 10PM.

6. What’s your favourite relationship trope to write?

The comrade or friends relationship is my favourite to explore. I feel like I don’t see enough of those outside of the friends-to-lovers trope in fiction and I like to explore as many versions of it as I can.

7. What detail about your ocs has surprised you?

(Warning, these are relating largely to later books in the series) The detail about Date Toshiiro’s fingers was not something I originally thought was so important but later turned into something much bigger. Tundra’s past and his life’s mission also took me by surprise somewhat. Seth’s arc is something I don’t think anyone could have anticipated. Magnilla also takes some interesting turns. Vyxen, for me, is especially heartbreaking. Scyanatha’s progress wasn’t something I really saw coming. The same could be said for Nyima. Abaddon’s arc is hints upon hints upon hints of so much stuff that I think will be really awesome to see when it’s all laid out in the end. Zercey/Lerki/Inari have so far been largely predictable in the writing process, though there have been legitimate times where I’ve wondered about where they’re headed.

That’s just the main cast! There’s a ton of things I found interesting about the secondary characters in the series, but it would take forever to write it.

8. Thoughts on including romance in other genres?

I’m going to be real: the suspension bridge trope that’s seen in horror bothers me. Romance in horror - where X character feels forms a very quick and strong bond with Y character is creepy on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start.

9. Favourite writing snack?

There isn’t any one specific snack I’ll reach for when I write. Normally, I’ll have something before I’ve sat down so I’m not usually nibbling as I go. When I do have something, it’s usually something like a fried egg sandwich with some token bits of salad greens.

10. Favourite villain trope?

The villain in waiting. This person has been there this whole time, they’ve been bugging you forever to the point that you’ve convinced yourself they’re just there for the comedy relief but, surprise! They’re gonna cut you up and they are absolutely not sorry. This is the person who, in hindsight, you should have seen it coming, but was so long in waiting to make their move, the only emotion you have left to give is the desire to have gotten to them first.

11. Best scene you’ve written?

Without getting into spoilers for future books, the best scene is a toss up in Guardians of Las between the scene with Vyxen and Scy emerging from the forest during the battle or Tundra and Nyima’s conversation on the balcony.

Tagged by @bigmoodword

1. using one sentence summaries, can you tell me about your wips?

Illthdar: When everything defies logic and reason, nothing and no one is safe.

2. what inspired them?

A lot of things inspired the Illthdar series: common fantasy book/game tropes, classic literary works (J. R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, L. Frank Baum, H.P. Lovecraft, J. M. Barrie...), my life as an immigrant, society today on a whole.

3. which of your ocs do you most identify with?

While not specifically my OC (she was originally designed by @guardians-of-las-vyxen), I can relate very strongly to the emotions she experiences in the series. When I write, I try to put a little of my own humanity into all of my characters, in terms of qualities, people who know me personally and have read the first book see that that reflected strongest in Zercey.

4. if you’ve ever cried while reading, which book cued the waterworks?

Honestly, nothing will crush a heart more than Pamela Denise Smart’s “Who's Afraid of the Teddy Bear's Picnic?: A Story of Sexual Abuse and Recovery Through Psychotherapy” Massive trigger warnings for anyone who has experienced childhood sexual abuse, however. An added plus to it was that it’s also a coming-out book as the author happens to be a Lesbian.

5. how do you conduct research for your wips and what’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered in said research?

I have a terrible habit of doing things to characters first, then researching the potential outcomes after the fact. Were some of the OCs real, they would not like me at all. I won’t give spoilers, however. That said, I think this is a better way to write a bit of reality into a story: the outcomes are not pre-scripted, just as anyone’s life journey is never linear. Forcing the OCs to “deal with” whatever consequence without the benefit of having an desired outcome in mind, puts character and reader on the edge of their seats, I feel, because the threat is real.

6. thus far, which scene has been the most difficult to write?

Again, without spoilers for the future books, for Guardians of Las the hardest scene would have been the mock-fight between High Elder Culvers and High Elder Trenfal.

7. which of your ocs do you like the least?

Currently, as it does depend on who is feeding my sadism, where I am at in writing the series it I can’t decide if I hate Maraxis or Lord Rhett, the most. Maraxis is every bit the villain that you have to live with in life - which makes him frustrating to an extreme degree. Lord Rhett, on the other hand, is the self-righteous, might-equals-right, stereotypical kind of evil - the cliche villain that we don’t have to look at very hard to recognise.

8. which pov and tense do you prefer to write in?

I like third person limited. It allows me to explore the minds of different characters on a deeply, keep the cards to the plot close to my chest out of open sight to the readers, and help the readers connect to the world without a million I-statements.

9. do you write poetry?

In my late teens, I tried, but ultimately saw the paper fit to use only as kindling.

10. who is your writing role model?

Gosh, I don’t even know. I don’t think I have one. I think the narrative voice of each author has its pros and cons, so it’s hard to point to just one and say “I want to be like that.”

11. if you could give your younger writer self some advice, what would it be?

Revision isn’t a dirty word, nor is the suggestion of it a blemish upon your name. It’s a compliment; the one giving the critique sees in you potential to grow and improve. And that is worth everything.

Tagging: @aslanwrites, @bigmoodword, @english-undergrad, @elizabethsyson, @garrettauthor, @haileyavril, @igotablankpage, @imaghostwriter, @jessawriter, @kobalt-ink, @mvcreates

My questions for you:

What was the very first story you ever wrote?

What does your ideal writing space look like?

How long do you give yourself to research for your WIP?

What do you think is your greatest weakness as a writer?

What do you think is your greatest strength?

Name one of your bad habits as a writer.

Where do you find inspiration for your OCs?

What OC would like you the most?

What OC would like you the least?

Name something you do that you think no other writer does.

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo?

#11/11/11 #11/11/11 tag #11/11/11 meme #writing community #Illthdar #guardians of las #tagged #confessions of a writer #illthdar confessions

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d-criss-news · 6 years ago

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In a brilliant moment of serendipity, Darren Criss discovered he had been Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for The Assassination of Gianni Versace at an airport branch of Planet Hollywood. “We were sitting there looking at the most Hollywood thing we could. That just tickled me to no end,” regales the former Glee star, who played Kurt Hummel’s love interest, Blaine Anderson, in the musical comedy television show.

At the time, Darren was on his way to a gig in Aspen, Colorado. “The Emmy nominations were coming out at 8.30am and the flight was leaving at 9.45am and we – me, my fiancée, my manager, publicist, basically the work family – all wanted to go and watch it together, somewhere I would be close enough so that when it was announced I could run over to the gate.”

The punchline came while sitting there waiting for the nominations to be revealed: his Glee version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” also started to play on the speakers. Looking around to see if perhaps one of the servers had clocked him and was being “cute”, because it was quite a bizarre coincidence, he realised that nope, “this is 8.30am in the international terminal and nobody gives a shit about my version of ‘Teenage Dream’,” he laughs. “But we just couldn’t fucking believe it, like what a crazy auspicious moment! But it was a nice little story.”

By now, it’s one that will have its ending fully wrapped up: the Emmys took place on September 17 in LA, which is where Darren is now on the other end of the phone. For context, it’s one of those intensely hot end-of-July days that everyone in London is complaining about. For Darren it’s a day of playing “Mr Octopus” as he puts it. “Today is insane. When you have ‘free time’, it’s actually more hectic because in the absence of stuff that you’re obligated to do you immediately see everything you’ve neglected a lot more clearly.”

In his perky twang, he gives me “the shorthand” of this: Elsie Fest to organise for autumn, the New York show-tune themed festival he founded; music to work on for Computer Games, the band he started with his brother; marketing for the new piano bar he and his fiancée, Mia Swier, have opened; projects he can’t talk about but is excited about; a wedding to plan “at some point” next year; work on the house; and that general life admin that creeps up on all of us. “Hey, we all got stuff,” he chimes.

And among all of this, he casually slips in: “I’m also reading scripts and trying to get another acting job if I can get one.” Which can’t help but make me laugh. If he can get one? Because, let’s be honest, regardless of the Emmys outcome (a big congratulations if you bagged it and if not, you were robbed!), his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan, as well as a stellar career to date (he replaced Daniel Radcliffe in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying on Broadway to great success, is the mind behind A Very Potter Musicaland has starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch), shouldn’t make that too hard. But it’s “cute” – as he would say – to know he doesn’t rest on his laurels.

Darren was terrifying and intriguing in his role as Cunanan, the serial killer who murdered four men before ending his violent spree with fashion designer Gianni Versace in FX’s American Crime Story retelling of the real-life event in Miami in 1997. When it aired earlier this year, I didn’t know anyone who wasn’t watching it. If you weren’t binge-streaming it, you were glued to BBC2 desperate for next week’s instalment to watch the unfolding plot of a story that in many ways is little known, certainly on the Cunanan front.

“A lot of it is pretty shrouded in mystery. There are two groups of people who have been particularly aware of the Cunanan story. Filipinos in my life all know someone who knew him,” says Darren, who, hailing from San Francisco, is also half Filipino, as was Cunanan. “And true crime addicts.” “The story itself, which is endlessly fascinating, is not only interesting but has significant social weight and things to be discussed and topics that I think are important. It goes on and on and on,” he enthuses. “The role is incredibly nuanced and varied and complex, which is something that actors wake up in the morning for.”

Where the first series spotlights The People v. OJ Simpson, a trial that arguably most people in the world – certainly in the US – are familiar with, the Versace murder, while shocking and awful (the designer himself being a significant cultural icon and his death a huge loss to the fashion industry) lent itself to more questions than answers. Which from Darren’s point of view gave him a certain amount of free rein. “You’re not stacked against people’s expectations of an impersonation of somebody. I think that helped audiences; it really gave me and our story a blank slate.”

It’s true. As a viewer, I couldn’t help but find my feelings and point of view change as the narrative revealed Cunanan’s own backstory. “That, to me, is the most heartening thing; that’s the most encouraging thing you could say – that’s the goal.”

His performance has been described as career-defining but it’s not the first time he’s had such an accolade aimed in his direction. Yet you can’t help but think that this one, Emmy nomination aside, might just be the one to carry a little more weight, such was the grit and darkness that came with it and played out by someone we’re more used to associating with the tween spark of Glee.

It seems, therefore, an apt time to ask what his fantasy role would be. “Oh man. I have a pretty wild imagination but I’d like to think that my brain isn’t good enough to imagine the part I’d want,” he says. “And, also, fantasies evolve throughout your life based on whatever situation you find yourself in.” American Crime Story, certainly, he says is the kind of role he’d been working and waiting his whole life to play – which is not to say he dreamt of being a serial killer! “Let’s keep turning left, turning hard rights and hard lefts as much as possible, as long as the story is good. The name of the game for me is variety and versatility. If every time I do a role we have people say that’s a real departure from the last thing that would be awesome.”

Darren got the acting bug – or “storytelling” bug as he prefers to call it – at a young age. He was a child at the heart of the Disney Renaissance era and Robin Williams lived locally in his native San Francisco. One day, when seeing Aladdin at the cinema (“I can’t even tell you how many times I went to go see it,”) and realising that the Genie was voiced by Williams, his eureka moment came.

“You know when you’re a kid and you have dreams of being something and they seem kind of far off from you unless there’s somebody you can see do it?” he offers. “I remember very distinctly watching this Genie bring so much joy to the people around me… and I wanted in on that, I wanted to be the Genie. But once you realise you can’t necessarily do that and I found out the voice of the genie was Robin Williams, I was like that’s the guy, that’s the famous guy that lives in our city! I can do that and so he was really a massive inspiration for me.”

So, too, was Peter Coyote, another San Francisco-based actor, whom Darren in fact cold-called to find out what he should do to be an actor. He subsequently enrolled at the American Conservatory Theater’s Young Conservatory Programme before studying drama at college. A keen violinist, music and acting had always worked in constant tandem. “So that’s why it’s so hilarious to me that by the time I got Glee I’d already been doing this my whole life,” he says.

At the time of the Gianni Versace murder, Darren was 10 years old. “I did [remember it] in a sort of vague sense of pop cultural event. Obviously, Versace is a massive international figure so I was aware that he was murdered.” It wasn’t until much later in 2011, when his Hollywood lifestyle led him to the world of high fashion, that the dots joined.

“We were on tour for Glee and I popped down to Milan to go to this Versace fashion show, which was an amazing event and you’re there with Donatella and there in the house, the estate of the Versace family.” On a tour of it, Darren recalls seeing beautiful home pieces and fashion works. “There were a lot of things from his personal collection and [the steward] of course was saying ‘Well this was made after Gianni’s murder in 1997.’ It codified in my brain. He was taken away a little too early.”

For ACS producer Ryan Murphy, it was Darren who codified in the brain. The Glee co-creator had long had him in mind for the part. “People like Ryan have had their eye on the Cunanan story for a long time and we had worked closely in a few capacities.” Darren just had to play the waiting game. “I honestly said just let me know when you want to do this because obviously it would be a huge opportunity for me and I think it would be an incredible story but I don’t really have the keys for that car, man. You’re the driver, let me know when you want to pick me up!” Three years later and that proverbial beep came.

In real life, Darren has to be one of the most modest and upbeat people, armed with an always-look-on-the-bright-side-of-life attitude. You imagine he’s not all that good at sitting still, hence his potentially self-inflicted to-do list, which you also get the feeling is built from passion not pain. “I just feel so grateful at every turn of my career; if you’re able to do anything and that there’s any definition at all is a huge win so I’ll take it where I can get it,” he says referring to the praise he’s received in playing Cunanan, one he’s also quick to bring back down to earth with a very grounding analogy. “Every moment of your life is defining. The fact that I decided to have granola this morning defines the rest of the way my digestive system works…” he laughs. He has quite the way with words.

This too is helpful in a Hollywood landscape right now that, post-Weinstein and post-Trump, has found itself in troubling times. “What a big, big topic,” he begins. “It’s the Wild West right now, truly, there are so many things that I think it’s not necessarily Hollywood figuring itself out, it’s our whole society figuring it out as represented by Hollywood. It kind of gets the brunt of it because of its exposure and its influence,” he explains. “There are a lot of good things happening in it for people who have been marginalised and we’re setting new standards for ourselves that we should have set a long time ago, and in that sense it’s really good. But there are unfortunately other things that are happening where it’s hard to draw the line of what’s right and wrong and a lot of questions are being asked that we’ve never asked ourselves before about what’s appropriate.”

Social media, too, he thinks plays a significant role, moving faster than we are able to keep up with. “There’s a lot of things that are falling by the wayside as a result of that. I’m making very vague comments but yeah it’s very tricky,” he concludes before diplomatically topic-shifting to his own lack of social media usage. Firstly, because he’s a private person. And secondly, unlike so many people, he does realise the responsibility that comes with publishing a post. “Even when Twitter started and people would post joke-stuff and I would say ‘Woah, woah, that’s out there forever, are you sure? I think you think only I’m seeing this,’.” He says he’s always been uneasy with the idea of this kind of ‘stuff’ existing in perpetuity.

Which means that the answer to the next question requires some serious thought. Who would make for his fantasy dinner party guests? British comedian Eddie Izzard (because Darren is a big Anglophile); if we could roll back time, Sammy Davis Jr, “who the world knows as a great entertainer but he was also an insane dancer and musician��; Nat King Cole for the same reasons; and, his number one choice, Howard Ashman, the lyricist and dramaturge behind the previously mentioned Disney renaissance (aka Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast). “I’ve always admired his craftsmanship and he’s someone I’ve always thought, if I had a dinner, I’d really like to have a chat with. All of my heroes are the people who were hyphenates,” says Darren, which makes sense because he’s just the same. One small suggestion: hold the fantasy dinner party at Planet Hollywood. That would make a nice story.

#darren criss #hunger magazine #acs versace #press #nov 2018

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tainbocuailnge · 6 years ago

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The fandom you're in looks really awesome, and the reason I followed you is it the cooler that comes with it, but I have no idea what it's about or what the actual game is? Is there a place I can go to kind of find out and maybe play myself? (You're so passionate about it that I'm starting to get really curious but google is my enemy)

I’m GUESSING you mean fate series cause that’s my number one thing I do not shut up about. it’s uhh kind of a spiraling mess of a series but most installments are standalone enough for it to not be a complete hell to get into, but also I’m glad you asked because getting in without help is definitely hell

fate started with the visual novel fate/stay night, written by kinoko nasu and released in 2004. as such that’s the best starting point in my opinion, because it features all the detailed worldbuilding groundwork that later installments kind of gloss over so it can be hard to go back to if you already know all that from other installments. the plot is that seven magi summon legendary heroes to fight for them in a ritual war, with the prize being the holy grail which can grant any wish. leading themes are what it means to be a hero and save someone, the way history repeats itself, and forming your own identity in the wake of trauma. it has three routes, the last of which especially has really heavy themes of physical emotional and sexual abuse so if you need detailed content warnings pm me and I’ll do my best

fsn has several releases, the original vn features infamously bad erotica but there’s a rerelease called fate/stay night [realta nua] which replaced those scenes with pg-15 content and also tightened the visuals up a bit. I’ve got downloads for both versions here. it’s like 80 hours of vn so that’s quite the investment but there’s also the anime fate/stay night [unlimited blade works] featuring the second route, and the third route is getting a series of movies the first of which is out too, called heaven’s feel - presage flower. fate route (the first route) sort of got an anime in 2006 and unlimited blade works a movie in 2010 but those are really really bad so look for the 2014 anime and 2017 movie. imo the ubw anime did a decent job and heaven’s feel is doing pretty good too so far so they’re good for seeing if you like what the series has to offer before you dive into a long ass vn.

the prequel to fate/stay night is fate/zero, a light novel series written by gen urobuchi in collaboration with nasu. as such it’s notably darker than the rest of the series but by nature of being a prequel it makes for an equally decent starting point as stay night, since both will spoil things for the other. fate/zero has an anime too.

imo stay night and zero are the ‘standard’ fate installments, if someone says they like fate you can safely assume they’ve consumed at least one of those - is what I used to say but apparently it’s been so long that even this isn’t a reasonable assumption anymore. oh how times have changed. anyway please do start with zero or stay night cause like I said those are earlier installments so they’re at high risk of falling flat if you already know the deep lore from later stuff.

the biggest most booming fate installment is fate/grand order, a mobile game featuring characters from all other fates as well as a lot of newcomers. it’s pretty newbie friendly in terms of lore I think but you’ll get more out of it if you do know the background for all these characters since character development tends to carry over between installments. it’s infamously story heavy for a mobile game, especially in the later chapters when nasu got the hang of writing for mobage. the tone is also notably different from fsn and fz in that it’s more…. grandiose and theatrical, and obviously it waifs everyone up a bit so they can get you to spend money. still good tho. still love it. it’s got two anime specials, first order and moonlight lostroom, but first order makes no damn sense if you don’t know anything of stay night and lostroom takes place after the events of the first fgo arc. there’s anime projects of two of the chapters in progress too.

you thought that was all? you’re a fool this isn’t even half of it but I’ll briefly go over the rest under a cut cause those 3 are the big players.

carnival phantasm is a comedy OVA series featuring skits about several works from the same author. about half of it is about fate and the other about tsukihime, an earlier visual novel. watching order is after stay night. today’s menu for the emiya family is the canon domestic fsn au manga and anime where everyone’s just chilling eating dinner together instead of killing each other.

fate/hollow ataraxia is another visual novel. it’s a direct sequel to fate/stay night and a personal favourite. it takes place half a year after stay night and features much of the same themes, but from a pair of characters who lost the war in fsn before it even started.

fate/apocrypha is another series of light novels. in terms of reading order i’d put it after stay night and zero. it features a cast twice as big as those two and basically approaches the same themes from a different angle. it’s got a finished anime and an ongoing manga but the anime kinda butchered pretty much everything about it. unfortunately one of the light novels is still not translated so the anime is still the most accessible way to get approximately the whole story. the manga IS very good though so once that’s finished I’d probably tell people to read that one if they want to apocrypha

fate/EXTRA is a psp game it’s like 10 bucks in the ps store iirc. for reading order I’d put it after stay night but not necessarily after zero. in this one the ritual for the holy grail is held in a simulation on the moon, which is a supercomputer, and it’s an organised tournament with 128 participants instead of a 7 man free for all. it’s about forging meaningful bonds in a system designed to drive people apart and finding the drive to keep going even if nothing is certain. the gameplay isn’t great but the story is $$$ it’s my other personal favourite. it’s sequel is called fate/EXTRA CCC, it’s on psp too but never got a western release, but there’s a translation of one route out there and some madmen are working on a translation patch that’ll be done in time for my grandchildren I hope. CCC is the wildest ride of my life i love it a lot but it’s very horny so not really for everyone. fate/extra CCC fox tail is a manga which follows an alternate CCC route and i hear it’s cool. the sequel to CCC is fate/EXTELLA which did come to the west and is on several platforms, and somewhere next year fate/EXTELLA link should get localised. extella is very rushed and mostly expands the extraverse world but if you can grab it on sale after you decided you like extra it’s not a bad buy just don’t pay full price. fate/EXTRA last encore is an anime which. sort of comes after extra? it’s very trippy arthouse bullshit and I ate that shit up but it’s definitely not for everyone. the last 3 episodes are missing on netflix so make sure you don’t miss those if you decide to watch.

fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ☆ ILLYA is a magical girl spinoff manga & anime which sounds great in theory until you see it’s mostly pedobait, but extremely unfortunately for us sometimes it does something legitimately cool so we all suffer. don’t get into prillya it’s bad for your health.

fate/strange fake WAS an aprils fools story but this series has no limits so now it’s a full on light novel spinoff and also manga I think? I don’t keep up with it but it throws some wild ass lore our way sometimes. you’ll probably want to be up to date with apocrypha and everything before it before you try this one.

fate/prototype was just the original concept for fsn extrapolated a bit upon but again this series has no limits. prototype has an animated feature and some material books, and then the light novels fate/prototype fragments of blue and silver are the prequel to prototype, but it’s weird cause we never got a proper prototype so I don’t know what’s up with that. fate/labyrinth is a side story to fragments which I know even less about. I actually never see anyone talk about prototype so there’s probably no translations lol

lord el melloi II case files is even more light novels. I’m pretty sure you need to have gone over stay night, zero, hollow ataraxia, apocrypha, and strange fake before this one starts to make sense. there might be translations? i don’t know a fucking thing my guy

#squarelight #king of asks #rip mobile users

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mashitandsmashit · 6 years ago

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America’s Got Talent: The Champions - Final Results

I’VE BEEN LIED TO!!!

Like I said, I heard the final results from some random Youtuber(s) commenting on various videos, and they said that the winner was Darci Lynne...They also said that Angelica Hale came in Fifth and Susan Boyle came in Fourth, which would have made sense since the former has become stupid popular for some reason and the latter is practically Got Talent royalty...While I would have been fine with those results (even if I disagreed with Angelica’s ranking), the actual Top 5 was more like it!

Preacher has always been more personality than laugh-out-loud jokes, but he’s easily one of the most (if not THE most) memorable comedians we’ve seen on this show, and I’m very happy that he made the Top 5 this time...As for Cristina, well, I think she speaks...or belts out at the top of her lungs...for herself...

Of course, the Top 3 was still Shin, Darci and Kseniya as I was told, and Kseniya still came in Third...But by the time Shin and Darci were the last two standing, I did start to put those other comments saying that Shin actually wins into consideration...And in the end, is it really any surprise that the pretty-boy magician fresh off of his victory from the previous season of the main series was crowned champion? (And I love how they built up whether he or Deadly Games would get the last spot in the Top 5, as if ANYONE thought it could go any differently!) Maybe Darci would have had a better chance if she wasn’t only the third act of the night last week, but still...

As I was gonna point out, when I “knew” Darci was gonna win, first of all it would have made her the first wildcard to win on this show...But I guess second place is still a record! Also, the main reason why she was at the top of my “rooting for” list prior to last week’s show was because “knowing” she was gonna win, I was REALLY hoping she’d do something special to earn that win...And I’d say she didn’t disappoint...

Nonetheless, Shin was my favorite last week for taking the mind-blowingness to a new level, and I’d say he very well earned his victory! Had he done that for his final performance last season, I’d have been less conflicted over him winning over Zurcaroh and Brian King Joseph...Hell, I might have been about ready to name him my favorite of that season, but against those two acts, it’s hard to say...

And Kseniya is the newest entry in a series of Third-Placers who were arguably the most unique and creative of the season...The only difference this time is that the two who beat her were indeed superior in my opinion...Nonetheless, like last season, the Top 3 were also MY Top 3...except this time they actually ranked how I would rank them! Hell, even #4 was pretty much my #4! And I like #5 enough to have no complaints...

Quite ironic that such a poorly-handled “season” had the most satisfying final results to date! Sure, I would have loved a winner who didn’t already win in the past, especially a recent AGT season (as I’ve been detecting bias towards acts from the last three seasons...when Simon was a judge...as well as BGT, where Simon is also a judge...) But again, said winners were the ones who rose above and beyond for the final round!

And despite all the singers in the finals who I would have traded for someone like Tape Face, Prince Poppycock or even Kenichi Ebina despite his recent limitations...Well...None of them made the Top 5! The only singers who made the Top 5 were the young ventriloquist and the rock opera diva, singers who have unique quirks that make them MEMORABLE!

This might be a sign that despite Simon’s constant pushing for homogenization with singers meant to inspire you...to take Prozac, voters are starting to push back and make it about who THEY came to see! Perhaps Cowellization (Copyright, frankensteindr, 2016) is finally starting to lose its power over America! But I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how things go next season before I jump to conclusions...

As for the performances, they were pretty much all great! Some people have picked apart The Clairvoyants’ trick, and when you get down to it, I guess it’s not THAT impressive...But they definitely had me going for a moment...That said, they’re no Shin Lim...

Speaking of whom, of course he performs his trick with a random celebrity, and since they couldn’t afford Andy Samberg, they got the next name down on Terry’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” connections...Like last week, it started off simple, but got pretty nuts by the end...Not his best trick, but overall pretty solid! Also, it looks like Shin’s finally gaining some confidence in speaking during performances...He’s no Jon Dorenbos in THAT department yet, but he’s getting somewhere...

Preacher’s video package of him trying to team up with the other acts was just great! Even putting him aside (and believe me, he DESERVES to have a TV show or something), it’s just great watching all the other acts (and Terry) take part in his little comedy video...They should do something like this more often!

Also, Brian Justin Crum needs to team up with Cristina Ramos more often, because that performance was beyond electrifying! Easily Brian’s best singing so far, and his harmonies with Cristina only boosted it! I guess it makes sense seeing that both of them sang Queen in the past...Oh yeah, and they tacked Deadly Games in there...Well, I’ll give them credit for speeding through all those stunts while two people were belting it out behind them; It must have been a LITTLE distracting...But it was all tricks we’ve seen them do before...For once, I was paying more attention to the singers than the danger act...

Speaking of awesome acts boosting less awesome acts...Or perhaps the other way around...I guess while Voices of Hope was not the act from last season I was hoping to see perform with Tokio Myers (I already named who two weeks ago, so I won’t bother), this really is what they were always meant for: Performing back-up! Overall, it was still all about Tokio, but I guess the choir is a nice touch...Much better than just them performing...

Glad to see they’re at least showing SOME appreciation for the impact Jackie Evancho has had on the show by bringing her back as a guest to promote her new album...And once again, a beautiful performance! I’m not gonna lie, when I first heard the line-up, I was actually kinda rooting for her to win Champions (because as a non-winner, she had a better chance than Susan Boyle, let’s be honest here...) At the very least, again, I would have loved to have her in the finals, instead of all these last-three-seasons acts who WISH they could have a FRACTION of the impact that Jackie has made...(The best of the best, my tailbone!)

Cirque du Soleil was awesome...In other news, the sky is blue...A MYSTIC BLUE!

And finally, since they used up both Terry Fator AND Jeff Dunham on the same night for Darci, that just left the Muppets...I guess Kermit, Piggy, Fozzie and the Electric Mayhem weren’t available, but I like Rowlf...Rowlf is cool...And he worked really well with Edna! Not much else to say: Darci Lynne plus even just ONE of the Muppets equals magic! Not Shin Lim magic, just...Never mind...

As for the OTHER half of the acts...(Cue crickets chirping.) I guess there’s only so many guests you can bring in during the winter to perform duets with most of these singers...But they didn’t even let Dorenbos perform with Shin!? The only thing we got with those two together was that segment of the Preacher video...They didn’t even do the obvious thing and match them up when one made the Top 5 and the other didn’t...Whatever, this show’s made far more questionable decisions in the past (many of them in this “season” alone), and if it means not slowing the night down with less interesting singing performances, I’m not complaining...

Anyway, good show, good results...But if they’re ever gonna do Champions again, they should make some adjustments to the format...But knowing AGT, they’ll instead introduce even more head-scratching decisions...Still much better than Season 4, even though at some points I was debating whether or not it’s even worse...But I guess seeing the actual performances made enough sense of everything...

So with this...complicated spin-off season behind us, it’s time to talk briefly about what to expect in Season 14 of the main show...First of all, Terry Crews will be staying as host since Tyra’s out...So far, he seems like a likable presence as host, but we haven’t seen a whole lot of his persona yet, so I’ll wait until the following season to decide what I think...But as both Nick and Tyra have shown, if he’s gonna be the host, he NEEDS to brush up on his wacky neon outfits!

I know next to nothing about the two ladies replacing Mel and Heidi, but I DO know that Julianne Hough is a professional dancer who has some experience in reality TV from “Dancing with the Stars”, and she sings as well, so that might give her some credibility to consider...And I’m sure Gabrielle Union is capable of being funny and likable...HOPEFULLY they do more than just look pretty and make useless comments, because if not, I’m gonna be more suspicious about this show than I already am...

And I can’t help but wonder if this is going to be like “The Voice”, where they keep switching out the black/female judges while the two white guys remain...I hope not, since I think Howie could use a replacement sooner or later, and don’t even get me started on Simon!

Right now, I’m still considering my previous ideas of doing Youtube streams as the omnipresent fifth judge, as well as going back to the beginning of the show and reviewing earlier episodes...But they’re still just ideas, and since I’m still working retail, it’s gonna be hard if not impossible to prepare them...

I’ll see what I can do...For now, I guess all that’s guaranteed is looking forward to Season 14...So with that said, I’ll see you all (or at least FrankDoc) in three months! Until then!

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doberart · 7 years ago

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Walt Disney is undoubtably one of the most famous figures in modern history, which is most likely why about 90% of people on Tumblr and other websites (that I know of so far) think that he is an expy of Joey Drew. I understand that- both are entreprenurs who started their careers in the 1930s and went on to be famous lead animators. However, there’s something about this connection that doesn’t add up. Anyone who has read Walt’s reputation section on wikipedia would find that Walt’s percieved personality was nothing like Joey. He is instead described as shy, bashful, self-deprecating and embarrased in public. Now, I want you to be all honest here, does this look like an accurate description of Joey to you? Okay, admit it. If any of you said yes, you’re either being sarcastic or have never played the game before. Joey is the complete opposite of this description! Every audio log which ever mentioned him in any form whatsoever was pointing out every one of his personality flaws, from his obsession with the ink machine to his fixation on ‘appeasing the gods’ and immortality. But aside from their polar opposite personalities, there is one more point seperating Walt and Joey. I understand that there are a large proportion of people today who complain that all the film industeries care about today is making money. By this, they say things about cutting costs and making as many sequels to something as possible, without really going for a creative path for fear of losing money. I’ve seen critics accuse Disney studios of this before, but here’s where it gets interesting. When Walt was still around, he had a thing about style. I read a few articles about what it was like for his animators in the studio, it’s true that he had high expectations but he also really cared about style. Cool fact- when the first colour film they ever produced, Snow White, was still in production, Walt was so determined to make sure that the movement of the animals was realistic that he brought in a bunch of deer and things into the studio so that his animators could learn realistic movement. Years later, the guys who made Jurassic Park took a trip to the zoo to study giraffes and elephants to make the most realistic CGI dinosaurs. Walt was certainly ahead of his time. Now, think about what Thomas talked about from his tape from chapter 3. He was complaining about the elevator, right? What else? He mentioned that Joey *kept cutting corners*. Walt does not cut corners. Walt made sure the company never cut corners. Joey isn’t really doing this for the sake of creativity, he’s trying to leach out as much money from it as he can. What other evidence? Any of you who have been following the lore closely and keeping up to date with merchandise announcements may be familiar with the Hot Topic takeover, when clothing was arriving in the shops. One event made this special- for about an hour before the merchandise went online, Hot Topic twitter went and roleplayed as Sammy Lawrence, answering the questions of fans and raising quite a few more in the process. At one point, a fan asked Sammy where he speculated Joey had gone. Sammy’s reply was that Joey was most likely ‘raising his salary’. This can be taken as an indication that Joey was a greedy individual who had a constant want for profit. As I have stated before, this is not like Walt at all.

Most of you are probably wondering- “If he’s not Walt, then who is he? Walt’s the only guy we know!” Now, what if I told you that there’s someone else who fits the description of Joey Drew perfectly? Minus the ink machine, sacrifices and satanic stuff, and you’ll find yourself with an almost perfect match with another, lesser known person. His name is… …Charles Mintz! I’ll give credit to yunisverse here, had I never read her(?) post I would have never even heard of him. Yuni was so ticked off at Charles that she actually dug out her old lecture notes just so that she could go off on a rant on what a terrible person he was, Jim Sterling style. Disclaimer: The following recount is what I’ve gathered from several sources, but I think what Yuni wrote is probably more accurate. Walt’s first ever animated series was a thing called the Alice Comedies, but Charles wasn’t happy with how much money it made so he told them to scrap the show’s budget and do a bunch of really expensive stuff to it so that they could get more money from it. Problem- Walt and his brother Roy were working on the lowest of budgets and couldn’t afford to make those changes. The result was that they had to work a lot harder for less pay- the series was increasing in popularity which was the only real reason Walt was still working for him. Eventually they moved into an actual building, but Charles’ demands for better quality pictures and more money meant that eventually they started to lose money for every film they produced. As a result, Walt and his studio had to start from scratch. This was the time when Walt developed a character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Charles was annoyed that Walt was still going at it, but once the films got started it became a big success. Walt’s company decided to keep on going at it, and they got some pretty good ratings. Don’t ask me what Charles was thinking, but this was the time when his evil buisnessman side took over. Charles saw how popular Oswald had become, so he pretty much went like 'That’s a nice character, MINE!’ and then he literally fired Walt and stole the rights to make cartoons from him.

So, yeah, that’s the story of Charles the evil buisnessman. After I read through this, I suddenly felt that Walt actually had a part to play in Bendy’s universe after all. Expect that his side of the story didn’t turn out as great. Remember that description of his personality I wrote above? I’m pretty sure you can all think of a very certain Player Character who fits that description and has had similar events happen to his pre-game. Henry. He doesn’t talk much during the game at all, especially when faced with monsters and things. Matches up with how shy Walt was in public places. We even get a hint at the degree of involvement back when he worked in the studio, in chapter 3 when he talks about a 'new character’ that he believes that people are going to love. Also, Walt was known for basing his cartoons off himself. Now people are going to tell me: “Walt was the really successful buisnessman! Henry doesn’t seem to be well known at all! What happened?” Bit of history for you- after Walt was fired there was literally only one person who was supporting him. That was his best friend, Ub Iwerks, seeing as Charles forced all the other animators from Walt’s company to work for him instead. Ub is literally the only thing that stopped Disney Studios from dying. Walt called him 'the greatest animator in the world’ once, and for good reason. Ub drew the entire ’Plane Crazy’ episode in the matter of two weeks- ALL BY HIMSELF. I did a double take when I read that. I mean, he had to draw 700 frames each day to do that! EVERYTHING!! I’ve only animated once in my life, it took two months to finish my assignment and it was half the time of that episode, with two cats and no background. How he managed it I had no idea. If only Ub were alive today- imagine what would happen if he got his hands on a drawing pad and an animating program… It’s thanks to Ub that the entire company existed, but from what I can tell from our limited experience with Bendy’s universe, Henry didn’t go off to fame and fortune after Joey’s studio shut down. Chances are, while Ub existed in ours, there wasn’t any expy of him in Bendy’s. We don’t know what happened to Henry during the time he left the studio, but it didn’t seem like anything special happened to him.

So, that’s it for now. I’d suggest that you take this theory with a grain of salt, seeing as I’m not the one behind BATIM, but if anything happens in chapter 4 that supports this, maybe we can look into it further! Later on I might reblog this to add on stuff, but this is my theory for now. Also, Dober, I’m so sorry that this was pushed back 9 hours. This will never happen again, I hope it’s good enough. T.T Homework now…

#a very interesting comparison indeed #bendy and the ink machine #it must have been something serious enough to make henry leave #or he just got really tired of working with joey #lol #submissions #theoscout #submission #long post

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