#and in a coincidental vein. i feel like all movies since the first one have also really hit the anime's quality levels

[pocketramblr]

Next movie villain seems to just be another man who is insane about All Might.

thing about all might is that men in love with him cannot act wisely. its getting genuinely tragic tbh.

[pha55ed]

Is It Casual Now? || F2

type :: angst tw/cw :: suggestive/smut (paul) contains :: ollie, kimi, paul, arthur summary :: things that the boys do that make you question your entire relationship with them and yet they act like it was nothing - inspo: "casual" by chappell roan, literally the entire song - i know this song is for the girls but,,, shhh

f1 masterlist || f2 masterlist || more here!

Ollie Bearman | 03 Inviting you to all of his family events

Yet again, for the 4th time this month, you were leaving Ollie's house after having dinner with his family. That's not even counting the times you've gone out with his family to their beach house, their family events, and other places. You even dropped off his little brother to school at times when the family was busy. It was almost as if you were part of them.

At first, you thought it was in a best-friend way, but as the months progressed you couldn't help but feel an increase in tension between you and Ollie. How he looked at you first when he heard a funny joke, how he brushed the hair behind your ears when you ate pasta, or how he'd rest his head on top of yours when you were both waiting for his family.

You hated to admit it, but you fell for him hard, and you were confident he had fallen for you too. Besides the small gestures, the way he treated you has been sweeter than he's ever treated anyone else, even his ex girlfriend.

He started to buy you clothes that coincidentally matched his, perfect to wear when you hangout with his entire extended family. The matching rings you both wore on your right hand's ring finger, almost as if it was a promise ring. The way he called you beautiful under his breath whenever he would pick you up.

The signs were all pointing to one idea: he likes you.

So you finally took the first step, since you knew Ollie has always been quite shy with his crushes. As he opened your car door for you to exit, you stared into his eyes. Despite being pitch black outside, his eyes were still shiny somehow. It's as if God purposely gave him the sweetest and softest eyes ever.

Without thinking, you gave him a swift peck on the lips, hoping that it was good enough: you've never really kissed anyone before. You left the kiss with a small smile while Ollie was left in shock. Hoping he would kiss you back, just like the movies you've seen, but instead he did the opposite.

"Uhm..." He says, raising his hand to whip his lips from your touch. The way his fingers pushed harshly against his lips, like he was disgusted from the small peck. Instantly your heart broke, feeling the panic rush through your veins of possibly ruining your friendship.

But, still, as if Ollie had the heart of a saint he noticed the panic in your eyes and how you flinched back from his movements. "I-I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way." He says softly.

You heard him clearly, his words repeating in your head on loop. But you couldn't process it clearly. How could he not feel the same way when he just dropped you off from dinner with his family? How could he not feel the same way when you two slept in his childhood bed together since he refused to let you sleep on the cold couch in the living room?? How the fuck could he not feel the same when he literally said, "I love you", while brushing your hair as you two got ready for his great-grandfather's FUNERAL together???

It didn't matter, you guess none of those weeks mattered to him either. You ran inside, hiding from him for weeks on end, unable to face the embarrassment and humiliation you felt.

bad ending! | good ending!

Kimi Antonelli | 04 Spending hours alone teaching your Italian

Something Kimi loved to do for you, without you even needing to ask, was care for you in so many ways. So when you expressed how you felt so left out since you didn't understand Italian, he had no hesitation to volunteer to become your personal tutor. This was a dream come true, since he's always been a secret crush of yours.

You saw this as an opportunity to get closer to him whilst gaining a new skill. But looking back on it, you most likely would have never said yes if you knew it would end with you crying your eyes out.

The private sessions started out innocent, just visiting his house and learning basic phrases. But as the weeks and months passed, it became deeper, more intimate. The way he would gently touch your knees together as you studied. The way he would playfully steal your pencil and draw small hearts with your initials together. The way he'd stare at your lips while you spoke Italian, only to say that he could never get tired of you speaking.

It didn't help that as the more intimate the sessions became, the more he insisted that you study in different places. Like him taking you to a fancy Italian restaurant so you could practice ordering in Italian, only for him to introduce you as his girlfriend to the waiter. Even pushing it further to gently hold your hand for a minute as you laughed at a joke he told.

Or when he insisted you should come to his best friend's birthday, so you could practice conversing in Italian with a bunch of different people. And while you chatted with others, he would "grade" your Italian, meaning he rested his hands on your waist the entire party as you spoke to others: clearly establishing you belonged to Kimi.

Or when he begged you to meet his family so you could practice even more, despite being completely fluent at this point. But you went along anyways, with his hand resting on your thigh throughout the entire dinner. His eyes and smile widening every time you spoke, as if he was so proud to be able to show you off to his parents.

Or worst of all, how you refused to call you anything but "amore". Your name was never spoken again by him, only "amore". And looking back at it, you felt so stupid. So stupid to smile so brightly when he called you it, as if you no longer claimed your real name since him.

But you knew that "amore" wasn't commonly used with romantic partners, but instead "tesoro" was. You never wanted to push him on the subject, just assuming he got used to calling you so early. It's not that you minded "amore", but you wanted to test the waters and possibly playfully tease him like how he does to you: oh how wrong you were.

"Kimi," you called for him softly as you rested in his bed whilst he was busy packing for his next trip. His head peaked up, but his eyes stayed focus on his packing. "Why do you always call me "amore" and not "tesoro?"

Instantly, he let out a light scoff, as if you've said something that was basic common sense. He shook his head, still smiling from your statement as he kept packing, not even bothering to answer your question.

"What's so funny?" You say, copying his smile, completely innocent to his actual reason for his smirk. You thought it would be a sweet reason, maybe that he got used to it so fast or that "tesoro" didn't suit you.

"(Y/N)," he says finally looking at you while wearing a smirk, "Tesoro" is for girlfriends only." His smile spoke so many words to you.

Confused, your eyebrows furrowed, "But, are we not girlfriend and boyfriend...?" You said which made Kimi's eyes copy yours, except he was even more confused than you.

"Pfft, what?!" He says, you thought his smile couldn't get wider, but it did as he let out a chuckle, "I'd never date you,"

Instantly, a bang was heard in your heart. It was a critical hit, fatal damage onto your mind. The whiplash you were feeling from just one sentence alone was so overwhelming. As if he couldn't read how hurt you were he pushed even further,.

"Why...?" He asked, looking at you with a slightly concerned face but his smirk stayed on his face, "You didn't think we were actually together, did you?"

bad ending! | good ending!

Paul Aron | 17 Multiple one night stands

Being Paul's teammate for this year was filled with so many fun memories. You were scared at first, worried that you wouldn't be able to get along with him since he seemed cold. But the more you two talked the more you found in common.

Slowly, those forced bonding sessions became natural: even pushing you both to hangout outside of F2. One of your favorite things to do was to follow him to the club and watch him DJ. It was a side passion he had, even jokingly saying it's his backup plan if driving ever goes wrong.

But after one night of partying and getting wasted, you woke up in his bed. Not too odd since you've crashed at his house before, except you were both naked and cuddling in your sleep. When you both woke up, for some reason, neither of you screamed or freaked out. Almost as if you've both been wanting this but never had to guts to admit it. Despite knowing it was against the rules for you to date, you both didn't care.

That one night stand turned into teammates-with-benefits extremely fast. It was awkward at first, having sex while sober was completely different from being shit-face wasted. But despite that, you still felt comfortable with Paul: something that men barely made you feel.

Those nights became so common that even Hi-Tech began to get suspicious of how close you both were, but you constantly shrugged it off as "team bonding". But it so much more than that, much much more.

Unlike other one night stands you've had, it was as if Paul was actually your boyfriend. Telling you how beautiful you looked instead of "sexy" or "hot". Giving you small kisses across your face as you both calmed down from an intense round. Leaving markings on your chest and stomach to create a smiley face as a joke because "who will see?". He even allowed you to do the same, because once again, "who will see?". Establishing how he wasn't doing this with anyone else, and you knew it was wrong, but you were so happy when he admitted that.

Yet again, you two were laying down together in his bed, breathes unsteady from what just happened. His hand was caressing your face gently, as if he cherished you like a gem. His eyes stared into yours, but it didn't feel awkward at all, as if he was reading your soul and you allowed him. The way his lips were stuck in a soft smile as he looked at you spoke thousands of words to you.

So you did something stupid, something that goes against friends-with-benefits 101: asking what you are.

Paul's face quickly dropped his gentle smile and he had a puzzled look on his face, as if you just asked him an impossible math problem. His hand retracted from your face, like you were a hot stove that he touched on accident. The entire mood of the room shifted from loving to tense.

He got out of his bed, putting on his navy blue boxers as he didn't even bother to look up at you as he spoke. "(Y/N), you know we can't date." He says nonchalantly as he put his shirt back on, hiding the scratches you left on his chest. "It's against our contract."

Ironic, since you're there in his bed, naked. Ironic since this is the 10th time in a week that he's texted you to come over. Super ironic, since he was just mumbling how he wouldn't mind letting you have his kids one day. Ironic.

And yet you still felt so stupid. Stupid for asking, stupid for assuming that the man who just kissed you and worshipped you would actually love you.

bad ending! | good ending!

Arthur Leclerc | 65 Refers to you as his girlfriend to scare away fangirls

Being part of the infamous Leclerc family meant a lot of things, such as having girls throw themselves at him every chance they got. Arthur couldn't go to a single event without leaving with at least 20 girls numbers, not even counting the amount of men he also pulled. So one day, as a joke, he asked you to pretend to be his girlfriend.

And you, as a joke, couldn't help but agree, loving the thought of being a fake WAG. The thought of the free gifts, being able to pull off the craziest prank ever, that'd be so fun and funny. So you agreed, agreeing to his stupid joke that ended up ruining your friendship.

It started out easy, giggling as you both bought overly corny and cheesy matching outfits. Getting a gold plated necklace with each other's initials on it, as if you were claiming each other. Even going as far to get ugly pillows with photos of each other on it, something you saw only the corniest couples do.

It was so much fun, so fun to pretend to be a cheesy couple. So much so, that you even took it further than just buying little items and started to act as a couple. Arthur said, the fans would never believe you two were dating if there wasn't at least a pinch of PDA. So, as you both interlocked fingers for the first time, you both chuckled nervously, despite both of you having partners before, it felt different together. As if a secret underlying want has been fulfilled, but you both never spoke about it.

But hand holding wouldn't satisfy the fans, is what Arthur said, you needed to go even further. So Arthur took you on a few dates, which didn't feel too odd since you were close friends beforehand. But the scenery, the hand holding, and the forced acting made the "fake" date feel slightly more real. The way he called you stunning as he stared into your eyes whilst wearing the all black outfit you picked out for him, and you wearing the black dress he choose for you.

But dates wouldn't convince the fans fully, is what Arthur said, as he gently grabbed your face in the moonlight whilst taking a night ride on his boat. He stared into your eyes, as if he's been wanting this for ages, as if he's cherished you for decades. You didn't fight back, going along with this "acting" you both were committing to. So when his lips pressed onto yours, you couldn't help but smile into the kiss, which he quickly copied.

As you withdrew from the kiss, the moonlight reflecting into his hair and face, as if you two were in your own galaxy far from everyone else. The calm crashes of the cold water against the boat was the only sound for miles, if you didn't count how fast your heart was beating as you stared at him. As if he felt the same, he gently reached for your hand, his skin soft and warm, as he placed your palm on his chest: his heart rate was even quicker than yours.

As months passed, this silly "joke" became more and more real. As you casually kisses his cheek after he won a race. As he brushed your hair with his fingers as you fell asleep on his chest. As he gushed about you to interviewers that ever asked about his love life, instantly describing how beautiful you were, inside and out.

So, when you two sat alone on his boat again, staring out into the moonlight, your head resting on his shoulder, you sighed. A sigh of contentment, but also uncertainty. But Arthur knew you well, like the back of his hand, so he reached for your hand on instinct.

"Everything okay?" He asked, his touch still as warm and soft as the first time you first interlocked fingers.

"Arthur," You say with a slightly stern tone yet still filled with care. "What is,,, this." you ask him as you moved your head from his shoulder to sit upright to look at him.

He looked confused, as if he couldn't process what you asked. "What do you mean...?"

"This joke," You said, "This fake dating."

You were hoping he would instantly defend himself, possibly saying "fake?!" with an exaggerated tone of disbelief that you could view it that way. You wanted it to be like the romantic movies that you and Arthur always watched late at night. But instead, you two were the opposite.

"What about it?" He said, still confused, not understanding what you were implying at all. "Do you want to stop?"

"Yes," You say but then shook your head, "Well no, but not really??? I can't lie to you Arthur, you know that," You say, hesitating to continue, "But I, I really do like you."

As he heard that, his eyes widened as his body inched further away from you. It was like instinct, the opposite of what you wanted him to do in every possibly way. He shook his head and looked like he was in disbelief, even chuckling lightly to cope.

"(Y/N)," his sweet tone was gone, the way he said you name sounded condescending despite his smile. The same tone men use when a woman doesn't know how to play football or doesn't understand car mechanics, the stupid misogynistic tone you hated. "This is just for PR, you know that right?"

And instantly, you felt disappointment strike you like lightning, as you realized those months of "fake" dating were truly just that: fake dating. Those soft kisses on your lips as he held your hand down the streets of Monaco, all fake. Those matching outfits and necklaces you both wore 24/7, even in the shower and when you slept, fake. Those times he called you the love of his life to those interviewers which made your stomach do flips, fake.

You couldn't help the way that you eyes teared up, dropping down you face without your permission. As if Arthur suddenly did a complete 180, he backed up even further, as if he never had a empathic loving bone in his body. He was shocked, awkward, and frozen. Instead of even offering some comfort, he stood up and looked down at you with pity. He left you alone on the front of his ship, crying into the sleeves of his hoodie that he let you borrow.

bad ending! | good ending!

f1 masterlist || f2 masterlist || more here!

[ephemerlskies]

constant craving 03 | jjk

⇢ pairing: jungkook x reader

[other members - seokjin]

⇢ genre: drabble series, ANGST, bestfriend!au, unrequited love, the same idiocy just in a different font 

⇢ word count: 4k

⇢ warnings: explicit language, alcohol consumption (drunk jungkook makes his first and final appearance enjoy it while you can), vehicular misdemeanor (drive the speed limit kids), an all out emotional and verbal brawling, a lack of communication on one end and a communicational vomit on the other, seokjin appearance for about .02 seconds, the entirety of this is just.... angst

⇢ summary: your dates with Seokjin had become a somewhat consistent fixture in your schedule, however, jungkook's itinerary seemed to clash with yours when he called you after a night of drinking for reasons you assumed to be him helplessly pleading for a safe return home.

♪ playlist: constant craving - k.d. lang, bad religion - frank ocean, misunderstood - lucky daye, neu roses - daniel caesar ♪

╰ series index: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 (final)

a/n: whew, okay.... this was probably the most argumentative fic i have ever written so prepare yourself. i hope you all enjoy this god awfully angsty installment of the series! also, yes, jungkook is a sentimental drunk and you all know it

part three: i love you

It's true. It's always the biggest pills that are the most difficult to swallow. And if you could compare someone as elusive as Jungkook to anything, it would be the largest pill imaginable. The kind that hurts the first try, then when you drink half your body weight in water, the Jungkook-emblazoned pill forces down your esophagus no easier than the first gulp. You were still holding it in your mouth, pretending that pill wasn't about to dissolve and stain your mouth forever.

And that was the whole process, just to get over Jungkook. Because getting over him wasn't a one-step program. It was waking up everyday, training and retraining your mind not to think of him first thing in the morning. It was resisting the urge to press the send button on multiple texts and funny videos you knew would make him laugh. It was refusing his calls and every memory that would saunter in your mind and compel you to ask him to watch a movie or order takeout.

It was saying yes to Seokjin when he asked you on a date. And, it was doing your best to sever that instinct of yours to ask Jungkook for advice.

But old habits die hard, and this one still clung onto the bit of breath it wielded. That explained why your idiot of a best friend was sitting on your couch, offering half-hearted nods whenever you would walk out draped in a new outfit.

"Okay, this one?" You twirled around, as if doing so would make you any less skeptical of how you looked. And you were never one to scrutinize your appearance so closely, but this was the date. The one that might light the torch to a brighter romantic future and lead you to someone other than the man who could never be yours to begin with.

"Yeah. Cool." At this point, five outfits in, he wasn't paying any attention at all. He couldn't even bring himself to pretend, his eyes lazily fixed onto your dvd player.

"Jungkook, you didn't even look! Let me guess. You wanna play video games. Is that why you're giving fuck-me-eyes to my T.V. set?" You knew a laugh was far along, but you hoped that would get some sort of reaction out of him. Unfortunately, your words were barely registered for a good ten seconds, though, it felt much longer.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Just tired, I guess." Jungkook said through barely parted lips. You knew when he couldn't even pronounce his words properly, something he took more seriously than others due to the hauntings of a certain speech impediment, there was definitely something wrong.

Things felt off from the moment he walked into your house. Judging from the way he avoided your hug, that alone suggested a sort of imbalance. It was a casual greeting exchanged between the two of you so often that when you lifted your arms to embrace him, it was born of reflexive association. Like Pavlov's dog, trained to hug him the moment you saw him. But the oddity of him almost discretely walking past you before any contact could be made wasn't where the tension bordered.

Following his arrival, he would have littered a few snarky remarks about how messy your kitchen was, while already scavenging through your fridge, just to get a rouse out of you. And Jungkook wouldn't call himself a connoisseur of all things fabric and fashion, but he surely would have a few thoughts consisting more than two-worded responses. But he just sat on your couch, armed with a face any poker player would commend, and gave you insincere cool's or nice's when need be.

"Okay, what's up? Is it Irene?" You sat down since taking a break to figure out what Jungkook was thinking felt better than continuing your self-absorbed fashion show.

"Kinda... We broke up. Well, she broke up with me or... I don't know. It was weird." It bothered you a bit too much that he didn't even look at you. But if he had, then you would have seen a film of red dousing his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Kook. Is there anything I can do? Anything at all? Want me to egg her house?" This time, he did laugh. You felt relieved he could at least ease slightly back into his expressive self, even if it was just a fraction of what he usually was. A fraction of Jungkook was more than enough for you.

"Nah, no need to go to jail for me. It's not like I didn't see it coming, and apparently she felt the same. Whatever." He let out a sigh that sounded trapped in for a while, then sat up. "We have more important things to worry about."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. Jungkook, literally a week ago you told me she was the love of your life! And now you're just like 'yeah, whatever, I saw it coming.'" You used your notorious 'man voice', which was just yours lowered a few octaves, knowing it would crack another smile along Jungkook's lips. "Come on, I know you love her. This must hurt a lot. I wish... I wish there was something I could do."

You knew exactly what you were doing. Self-sabotage under the guise of consoling your friend. Clearly, it was selfish and regressive to use Jungkook's heartbreak as a means to avoid doing what you could never do before, what you knew deep down you probably would never be able to do: swallow that pill. And what felt even more pathetic than that was the stale, yet persisting hope that he would ask you to stay.

And that's when reality gave you the most gutting and obvious sign. Jungkook was your best friend, the man you had to lug home when he was too drunk to drive, let alone speak coherently or stand. He was the person that buys you ice cream when you're sad, but just as quick to cancel plans with you when Irene needed him. He was just a friend. You'd never be the person he chose, and it nearly made you angry at him for not seeing it all this time.

So, what he said next made everything he was most likely unaware of all too clear to you.

"No, you go have fun. I'll just... chill here?" It was his avoidant way of asking to stay the night, because you knew him to never sleep alone when he had an ache in his heart. "Maybe raid your pantry and use your Netflix account to binge some shows?"

"Fine. Only 'cause I can't say no to you when you're like this." His smile was reimbursement enough for all the food you'd have to restock and the electricity bill that would be higher than usual.

But what he did next, you could almost never forgive him for. It was so subtle, as though it could have passed as an accident or an act he was trying to perform secretly, without any intention of you even noticing. And how could you not notice? The far too temporary and entirely disarming linger of his hand on yours.

Now, you were always one to decipher his most subtle mannerisms, but this one felt beyond the reins of your perceptiveness. It could have been a small gesture of a thank you, but the gentle, and what one could even describe as sentimental, way his skin pressed against yours bore no semblance of a mere expression of gratitude. And it wasn't possible this was a caress of love, because he was already low on currency in that field, spending it completely on Irene.

So, what was it?

How would you describe the way he rested his hand on yours, as if asking you to stay without words, yet punctuating it quick enough to justify it a coincidental form of contact, that your hand just happened to be where his hand was?

"Well, I'm gonna go eat through my problems." Jungkook stood up before you could bat away the wetness in your eyes from your momentary refusal to blink, as if that would somehow help you visualize the meaning of what just happened.

"Oh- Okay. I, um... I should get going." So you did. You walked out your door, and made a decision beyond the demands of your devotion to Jungkook.

Because it probably meant nothing, and he was your best friend, after all.

---

It was easy with Seokjin. And surprisingly enough, that wasn't a bad thing.

You had come to realize everyone craves that passionate kind of love because, in the movies, that's the blueprint for what love should feel like. But that's all it is, something pretty and shiny enough to work into a film. Make believe. And it could never extend beyond the realm of silver screens, where best friends don't magically fall in love and passion awarded more broken hearts than you could count.

Besides, your heart was worn.

See, your heart is a muscle. It works itself to the bone keeping you alive, willing your lungs to breathe, administering blood to each vein and so on. To strain it for someone who was already in love was functionally inefficient. The heart, like any other muscle, grows tired. It can exhaust itself the same way your hand aches after writing for too long.

You needed a break from the gripping emotional aerobics that is and was loving Jeon Jungkook. So, it sufficed that Seokjin was easy. No more overexertion, no more aches and pains and residual soreness occupying your chest, no more of any of that. Because you knew Seokjin liked you, which was safe and easy knowing there was no point mapping out the possible meanings of every inflected word or shrug or smile. They were simply words and shrugs and smiles with him.

And yet, the thing about giving your heart a 'break' is the period succeeding it. When you were finished resting, you knew who would be waiting for you. Who you would always wait for.

"___! Hello?! I can't hear you! It's too loud!" It wasn't really that loud, your idiot of a best friend was just that drunk. You couldn't tell what concerned you more, the fact that his hearing degenerated when he was, from the sound of it, seven shots deep or that this was the third of alcohol-induced call for this week.

"Where are you?" You asked through a sigh, eyes trained on your Twitter feed and ears occupied with the urgent voice blaring through the speaker phone.

And since it was the third time this week, you were not even half-amused by the repetitive stunt he was pulling.

"I don't know... I walked out and now I'm out and I don't know." The hiccup following his messy sentence was comically textbook 'too drunk'. “Hey, we should take a trip! We should, like, go somewhere!”

“The only place you should be going is home.”

“See, I would totally do that, but I have no idea where I am. Why are these street signs so hard to read?” The end and beginning of each word blended together, rendering that sentence one long, slurred word.

By now, the step by step plan synthesized by you had been memorized. And even though you labored your brain to rewire any feelings leaving you at his beck and call, it clearly hadn't been proficient since your keys had already been gathered and his whereabouts programmed in your GPS via his location services.

"You're so annoying." It might have been rude of you to want him to feel guilty, but it was just as rude of him to interrupt your one night off, which was supposed to be spent with Seokjin, with his intoxicated antics. "I'm coming to pick you up."

"Yo- u are? I love you sooo much. You're the best friend ever, ya know that?" Overly emotional professions was your que to drive fifteen miles over the speed limit so he didn't do something stupid enough to land himself in an ICU.

"Okay, I'm almost there. I think I see you. Wave for me?"

The slumped silhouette you were squinting at began to frantically throw its arms side to side, making you both laugh and pull over so he could drag himself into your passenger seat. And, if you were being honest, he looked better as the blackened shadow of himself.

Jungkook, in all his glory, had his shirt almost fully turned backwards, hair ruffled into a mess, and face as red as the time you and him laid on the beach until your skin punished you with a second degree burn. And all those factors didn't amount to how he smelled like he bathed for hours inside a hand sanitizer bottle.

"God, you're a mess, Jungkook." You said that as jokingly as possible, but meant the sternness embedded in each word. Jungkook was a mess, physically and mentally.

"Hey! You're judging me! Stop being th-o mean, ___." Whenever he was this drunk, his lisp made more appearances in his speech than when he wasn't.

You hated how easily it reminded you of when you were in middle school and he was still navigating and rehearsing through his speech patterns. In middle school, when he was the sweet boy with his only fault being his lisp, who gave you his hoodie and a compassionate smile upon meeting you because your current bully plotted the embarrassment of a lifetime with that piece of chocolate on your seat. In middle school, when Jungkook was the only person in your grade who was kind enough to be kind and true to his word when he pledged his loyalty as your best friend. Forever.

With just one word, you were that timid little middle schooler again, helplessly and unconditionally in love with Jungkook.

Hauling Jungkook, who was more muscle than bone and flesh, over to his door was an art form you had trained, practiced, and mastered about thirty or so times before this one. He weighed about twice as much as you could normally carry, and nonetheless, he was out of your car and in his house in no time.

After you locked the door, you turned around to meet Jungkook, rendering the door frame into a crutch and effectively detaining you between his body and the solid wood behind you.

If you weren't so reminiscent in the car seconds before this, then the vodka-scented souvenir on his breath would have gagged you. However, being this close to him, feeling the warmth of his body consuming and overpowering yours, just made you want to sink into him even more and give him everything you had to offer.

His head was hung so when you looked up, you were greeted with Jungkook's lazy smile that gave his lips a boyish asymmetry and draped his eyelids halfway down his irises. And he had you spooled around him so tightly, this look just made him all the more appetizing.

"Kook, we gotta get you to bed, buddy." You tried to ward him off by weaponizing the most strictly platonic nickname you could think of, partnered with a neighborly pat on the back.

It was mostly to remind yourself that this man, who was an inch too close to your face, was your friend, and that in less than ten minutes you were expected to see Seokjin, but from the way he was looking at you, as if he reached into the depths of your heart to devour all your feelings for him and make them his own, you had to remind him of the universally accepted best friend boundaries.

No deep, romantic gazing into each other's eyes. No intimate activity that could be a precursor to anything more affectionate than a hug. No doing exactly what you two were doing as of now.

"Don't call me that." You hoped his aggression against what you said was merely his inebriated irrationally talking, and as always, his emotions were far beyond his control.

And, shamefully, you also hoped it was because he actually did feel the way you felt. What if he wanted the date that Seokjin was going to get tonight and he wanted all the hand holding and none of the back patting, a 'baby' instead of a 'buddy'?

"What? You're drunk-"

"Don't." Before you could drag him by the arm to his bed, a firm palm settled on your torso and closed the gap between you and the door while widening the gap an inch further between Jungkook and his bed, where he would fall asleep without the warmth of the only person he wanted. "___, please."

His voice was strangled with desperation and Jungkook was depleted of all resistance. He just needed to drink you up. To fill himself with the nourishments of your lips, your body, you.

"What-" He could have silenced you easily with a 'shh' or a finger to your lips. Or anything to your lips except his lips.

His lips. They were greedy and giving all at once. Making soft and intimate ministrations against yours as he kissed you before you had the chance to register what was going on. And even when you did, you let his tongue slide into your mouth. This moment was brimming with all the spontaneity you could ever be prepared for, and though it was new, there was no denying that kissing him felt like finally coming home just from the amount of times you had played this moment out in your daydreams. Plus, Jungkook seemed to ease his tongue along yours a bit too confidently for this to be the first time the idea of kissing you has ran through his mind. 

You're being stupid, you told yourself and Jungkook, but that didn't matter when you were finally allowed a taste of what it felt like to be kissed and touched and possibly even loved by Jungkook.

Your shirt was bunched halfway up your torso, his body pressed to your front a reprisal for the chill of the door against your back. Jungkook was, admittedly, a phenomenal kisser even when the lens of sobriety wasn't available to him. The way he ran his hands along the bare of your back like some desperate pilgrimage to discover the undiscovered parts of your body and took your bottom lip between his teeth like it was his to begin with was nearly enough to undress you from all your defenses, from all your clothing, from every single barrier that kept you from Jungkook for the past twelve years and let him have you. And finally have him. It was nearly enough.

Your hands divorced his body from yours before your lips and heart were ready to let go. It was painful, but the heartbroken look wringing his face into a tearful frown was even more so.

"No." You pushed him away further only to walk past him and seek refuge in the open space of his living room. "You don't get to do this."

"What? What does-"

"You don't get to drunkenly kiss me, Jungkook. You don't get to hold me and kiss me like you love me. It's not fair."

"Hey-"

"Because you don't. You don't love me..." If you weren't too busy finally permissing the hot words to boil over from pure anger, then you would have felt the even hotter tears wetting the expanse of your cheek.

"Well, how the hell would you know that?" His voice drowned out the loud pumps of blood beating in your ears like a drum.

"Because it would have happened ten years ago, Jungkook! Jesus, it would have been obvious from the beginning. So if you love me, if you really love me, then it wouldn't be happening now, like this. When you were drunk out of your mind and still vulnerable from Irene."

"You don't know anything." If that were the case, then Jungkook somehow knew even less than you.

"Yeah, clearly. I didn't know you'd stoop this low. I thought I was a lot of things to you. But I never thought I'd be some rebound."

"A rebound? You think that's what this is?" Jungkook seemed upset, but to your knowledge he had absolutely no reason to be angry with you.

He was, as always, displacing the burdens he didn't feel like dealing with on you, moderating you into an emotional punching bag. But what hurt more than those scrapes and bruises, was the aftermath of letting him fuck his worries away which would have consisted of him telling you the next morning that it meant nothing, expecting you to nod demurely, maybe even console him, and act like your chest hadn't been emptied and filled with his baggage in the most murderous way.

"Fuck you."

"Wow. You're really being like this? You really wanna talk about this now?

"You know what? Yeah I wanna talk about it. I wanna talk about the years. The years, Jungkook, that I've spent loving you! I- I wanna talk about the amount of times I've spent thinking about you when you were with her, and I probably didn't even cross your mind. Or how about the fucking thousands of times I've spent crying over you because I knew I was never going to be the one you'd want to wake up next to! And I had to watch! I had to fucking watch you fall in love over and over and probably wonder why I didn't fall in love either. It was you. It was always you, Jungkook."

"___, I-"

"No." His attempt to intervene was quickly denied. You were too angry to let him speak, too tired to carry these grievances any longer. "You don't get to talk. It's all out there. I loved you. I still love you! Fuck, I'm trying to get over you. And it's like you know. It's like you can read my mind or something and strike right when I'm about to recover from the last wound."

Your breathing was as heavy as Jungkook's was shallow. He could only stand, breathlessly, only curse himself for ever being so blind and regret taking advantage of your love even if it were entirely unknowingly, just to let his heart sink deeper until it fell completely out of his chest while his tears fell just as heavily.

"I'm done, Jungkook. I'm tired of trying to outrun you in this race that you're not even competing in. I'm tired of loving you. So, I'm done."

All the words Jungkook wanted to say, the words pleading for sound, carving deep gashes in his throat and leaving him vocally impaired, could never amount to the apology you deserved. Maybe this once, he wouldn't leave you wounded. He would gather the nobility to shut up and let you move on from him. Because you wouldn't know from his lapse of silence that he was empathizing with every bit of pain he caused you, and he hated himself more than you did right now for allowing such a pain to ever fall in your hands. But, where you knew you could someday forgive him for it, he knew he would never forgive himself.

He could scrounge for a few things to respond with, pour the weight of his emotions into the scarcity of his words, but he needed to let you leave and be selfless for once in his life.

"I should go. Drink some water before bed, okay?" You mumbled to choke back your tears, though it wouldn't matter letting a few more tears escape since you were previously sob-ranting and he'd seen you cry like this a hundred times before. He was the shoulder you never thought you'd have to miss leaning on, but walking out of his door punctured a hole in you. An empty space in your heart designed for the one person who had crushed the rest of it.

If this were a movie, with star-crossed lovers and a fiery infatuation blooming into what everyone secretly wants: true love, then Jungkook would have ran out of his door and held you close, professing his undying love for you. He would have won you back, reassembled your broken heart into fullness, kissed you beneath the brilliance of the moon, and lived happily ever after.

But this wasn't a movie, and he did none of those things.

Instead, he stumbled his way into his kitchen. He poured himself that cup of water you advised. He thought about how even when you swore to him you were done, you spared a bit of compassion to remind him to take care of himself. He wondered how deserving he was of everything you are. He touched his lips, searching for the echo of yours. He fell into his queen-sized bed meant for two, alone, and whispered the words that were ever eclipsing to the space beside him where he longed for you to lay so you could hear them for yourself.

"I love you."

a/n: sorry to put you through that, but the idea was born and i am but a humble vessel to bring it to life <3 hehe thank you all so much for reading and like i said, don't worry there will be a happy ending!!! (and possibly a longer-than-drabble final chapter to this series)

[snarktheater]

Hey, d'you have any French book recs? I'm trying to work on my French, and rn I have downloaded one of my favourite book series' French translations, but I figured maybe books already written in French might work better? Also have you read the Ranger's Apprentice series? 1/2

RA's def flawed - the books' narration does like to point bright arrows at the protagonists' intelligence, and the last few books def have the tone of 'old white man trying to write feminism', although at least he's trying? - and it's aimed more to the younger side of YA, but it is still a very fun series, and I can ignore the flaws fairly easily, at least partly due to nostalgia? This rather long lol but I'm wordy.

I'll start with the second question: no, although every time the series is brought up I have to check the French title and go "oh, right, I've seen these books in stores". But I've never purchased or read them. It sounds like something I probably would have enjoyed as a teen but I just missed the mark, and these days I'm trying to drown myself in queer books, so that probably isn't happening.

As for your first question, geez, I haven’t read a French book in years, so this is gonna skew middle grade/YA, though that may not be so bad if the point is to learn the language. I will also say that as a result, these may read a little outdated.

I'll put it under a cut, even if Tumblr has become really bad with correctly displaying read mores. Sorry, mobile crowd.

It's also likely that old readers of the blog will have seen me talk about most of these. I don't feel like going through old posts.

One last thing: while I was curating this list I took the time to make a Goodreads shelf to keep track of those.

The Ewilan books by Pierre Bottero

(It's a testament to how long ago I read these books that these are not the covers of the edition I own, and I can't even find those on Google. I'm settling for a more recent cover anyway since it'll make it easier to find them, presumably)

There are at least three trilogies (that I know of) set in the same world.

The first trilogy is essentially an isekai (so, French girl lands in parallel fantasy world by accident) with elements of chosen one trope, though I find the execution makes it worth the while anyway.

The second trilogy is a direct sequel, so same protagonist but new threat, and the world gets expanded.

The third one is centered around a supporting characters from the previous books, and the first couple of books in it are more her backstory than a continuation, though the third one concludes both that trilogy and advances the story of the other books as well.

Notably these books have a really fun magic system where the characters "draw" things into existence. It's just stuck with me for some reason.

A bunch of stuff by Erik L'Homme

I have read a lot of this man's books, starting with Le Livre des Etoiles.

They also skew towards the young end of YA, arguably middle grade, I never bothered to figure out where to draw the line. They're coincidentally also using the premise of a parallel world to our own (and yes, connected to France again, the French are just as susceptible of writing about their homeland), but interestingly are set from the point of view of characters native to the parallel world.

It also has a very unique magic system, this one based on a mix of a runic alphabet and sort-of poetry. I'll also say specifically for these books that the characters stuck with me way more than others on this list, which is worth mentioning.

This trilogy is my favorite by Erik L'Homme, but I'll also mention Les Maîtres des brisants, which is a fantasy space opera with a pirate steampunk(?) vibe. I think it's steampunk. I could be mistaken. But it's in that vein. It's also middle grade, in my opinion not as good, but it could just be that it came out when I was older.

Another one is Phaenomen, which was a deliberate attempt at skewing older (though still YA). This one is set in our (then-)modern world and centers a group of teens who happen to have supernatural powers. I guess the best way to describe it is a superhero thriller? If you take "superhero" in the sense of "people with individualized powers", since they don't really do a lot of heroing.

...I really need to brush up on genre terminology, don't I.

The Ji series by Pierre Grimbert

This one is actually adult fantasy, though it definitely falls under "probably outdated". It is very straight, for starters, and I'd have to give it another read to give a more critical reading of how it handles race (it attempts to do it, and is well meaning, but I'm not sure it survives the test of time & scrutiny, basically).

If I haven't lost you already, the premise is this: a few generations ago, a weird man named Nol gathered emissaries from each nation of the world and took them to a trip to the titular Ji island. Nobody knows what went down here, but now in the present day, someone is trying to kill off all descendants from those emissaries, who are as a result forced to team up and figure out what's going on.

I'm not going to spoil past that, though I will say it has (surprise) a really unique magic system! I guess you can start to piece together what my younger self was interested in. Which, admittedly, I still am.

Once again, this one also has a strong cast of characters, helped by rich world building and the premise forcing the characters to come from many different cultures (though, again, I can't vouch for the handling of race because it's been too long).

The first series is complete by itself, though it has two sequel series as well, each focusing on the next generation in these families. Because yes, of course they all pair up and have kids. Like I said: very straight.

A whole lot of books by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

OFetjaine is a historian, and I guess he's really interested in Arthurian mythos especially, because he loves it so much he's written two separate high fantasy retellings of them! I'm not criticizing, mind you, we all need a hobby.

The former, the Elves trilogy (pictures above) is very traditional high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, orcs, a world which is definitely fictionalized with a pan-Celtic vibe to it. The holy grail and excalibur are around, but they're relics possessed by the elves and dwarves with very different powers than usual. Et cetera.

Fetjaine also really loves his elves (as the titles might imply), and while they're not exactly Tolkien elves, there's a similar vibe to them. If you like Tolkien and his elf boner, you'll probably like this too. And conversely, if that turns you off, these books probably also won't work for you.

This series also has a prequel trilogy, centered around the backstory of one of the main characters. I...honestly don't remember too much about it, but I liked it, so, there you go, I guess.

I said Fetjaine did it twice. The other series is the Merlin duology, which, as the title implies, is a retelling of Merlin's story. Note that Merlin is also in the other trilogy, but it's a different Merlin; like I said, completely different continuities and stories.

This one is historical fantasy, so it's set in actual Great Britain, and Fetjaine attempts to connect Arthur to a "real" historical figure...but, you know, Merlin is also half-elf and elves totally exist in Brocéliande, so, you know. History.

Okay, that's probably enough fantasy, let me give some classics too.

L'Arbre des possibles et autres histoires - Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber is a pretty seminal author of French sci-fi and I should probably be embarrassed that the only book of his that I read was for school, but, it is a really good one, so I'll include it anyway.

It's a novella collection, and when I say "sci-fi" I want to make it clear that it's very old school science fiction. It's more Frankenstein or Black Mirror than Star Trek, what we in French call the anticipation genre of science fiction: you take one piece of technology or cultural norm and project it into the future.

It has a pretty wide range of topics and tones, so it's bound to have some better than others. My personal faves were Du pain et des jeux, where football (non-American) has evolved into basically a wargame, and Tel maître, tel lion, where any animal is considered acceptable as a pet, no matter how absurd it is to keep as a pet. They're both on a comedic end, but there's more heartfelt stuff too.

L'Ecume des Jours - Boris Vian

(no cover because I can't find the one I have, and the ones I find are ugly)

This book is surrealist. Like, literally a part of the surrealist movement. It features things such as a lilypad growing inside a woman's lungs (and, as you well know, lilypads double in size every day, wink wink), the protagonist's apartment becoming larger and smaller to go with his mood and current financial situation, and more that I can't even recall at the moment because remembering this book is like trying to remember having an aneurysm.

It is also really, really fun and touching. Oh, and it has a pretty solid movie adaptation, starring Audrey Tautou, who I think an international audience would probably recognize from Amelie or the Da Vinci Code movie.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a really cool read!

Le Roi se meurt - Eugène Ionesco

Ionesco is somewhat famous worldwide so I wasn't even sure to include him here. He's a playwright who wrote in the "Theater of the Absurd" movement, and this play is part of that.

The premise of this play is that the King (of an unnamed land) is dying, and the land is dying with him. I don't really know what else to say. It's theater of the absurd. It kind of has to be experienced (the published version works fine, btw, no need to track down an actual performance, in my humble opinion).

The Plague - Albert Camus

You've probably heard of this one, and if you haven't, let me tell you about a guy called Carlos Maza

I'm honestly more including this book out of a sense of duty. The other three are books I genuinely liked and happen to be classics. This book was an awful read. But, um. It's kind of relevant now in a way it wasn't (or didn't feel, anyway) back in 2008 or 2009, when I read it. And I don't just mean because of our own plague, since Camus's plague is pretty famously an allegory for fascism, which my teenage self sneered at, and my adult self really regrets every feeling that way.

Okay, finally, some more lighthearted stuff, we gotta talk about the Belgian and French art of bande dessinée. How is it different from comic books or manga? Functionally, it isn't. It really comes down more to what gets published in the Belgian-French industry compared to the American comics industry, which is dominated by superheroes, or the Japanese manga industry, which, while I'm less familiar with it, I know has some big genre trends as well that are completely separate.

The Lanfeust series - Arleston and Tarquin

This is a YA mega-series, and I can't recommend all of it because I've lost track of the franchise's growth. Also note that I say "YA", but in this case it means something very different from an American understanding of YA. These books are pretty full of sex.

No, when I say YA I mean it has that level of maturity, for better or worse. The original series (Lanfeust de Troy) is high fantasy in a world where everyone has an individual magical ability but two characters find out they're gifted with an absolute power to make anything happen, and while it gets dark at times, it's still very lighthearted throughout, and the humor is...well, I think it's best described as teen boy humor. And it has a tendency to objectify its female characters, as you'll quickly parse out from the one cover I used here or if you browse more covers.

But still, it holds a special place in my heart, I guess. And on my shelves.

The sequel series, Lanfeust des Etoiles, turns it into a space opera, and goes a little overboard with the pop culture reference at times, though overall still maintains that balance of serious/at times dark story and lighthearted comedy.

After that the franchise is utter chaos to me, and I've lost track. I know there was another sequel series, which I dropped partway through, and a spinoff that retold part of the original series from the PoV of the main love interest (in the period of time she spent away from the main group). There was a comedy spin-off about the troll species unique to this world, a prequel series, probably more I don't even know exist.

Les Démons d'Alexia

Something I can probably be a little less ashamed of including here.

Some backstory here. The Editions Dupuis are a giant of the Belgian bande dessinée industry, and for many, many years I was subscribed to their weekly magazine. That magazine was (mostly) made up of excerpts from the various books that the éditions were publishing at the time; those that were made of comic strips would usually get a couple pages of individual scripts, while the ongoing narratives got cut into episodes that were a few pages long (out of a typical 48 page count for a single BD album). Among those were this series.

For the first few volumes, I wasn't super into this series, probably because I was a little too young and smack dab in the middle of my "trying to be one of the boys" phase. But around book 3 I got really invested, to the point where I own the second half of the series because I had canceled by subscription by then but still wanted to know more.

Alexia is an exorcist with unusual talents, but little control, who's introduced to a group that specializes in researching paranormal phenomena, solving cases that involve the paranormal, that kinda stuff.

As a result of the premise, the series has a pretty slow start since it has to build up mystery around the source of Alexia's powers, but once it gets going and we get to what is essentially the series' main conflict, it gets really interesting.

Plus, witches. I'm a simple gay who likes strong protagonists and witches.

Murena

There was a point where my mtyhology nerdery led me to look for more stuff about the historical cultures that created them, and so I'd be super into stuff set in ancient Rome (I'd say "or Greece or Egypt" but let's face it, it was almost always Rome).

Murena is a series set just before the start of Emperor Nero's rule. You know, the one who was emperor when Rome burned, and according to urban legend either caused the fire or played the fiddle while it did (note: "fiddle" is a very English saying, it's usually the lyre in other languages). He probably didn't, it probably was propaganda, but he was a) a Roman Emperor, none of whom were particularly stellar guys and b) mean to Christians, who eventually got to rewrite history. So he's got a bad rep.

The series goes for a very historical take on events, albeit fictionalized (the protagonist and main PoV, the titular Lucius Murena, is himself fictional) and attempts to humanize the people involved in those events. Each book also includes some of the sources used to justify how events and characters are depicted, which is a nice touch.

It's also divided in subseries called "cycles" (books 1-4, 5-8 and the ongoing one starts at 9). I stopped after 9, though I think it's mostly a case of not going to bookstores often anymore. Plus it took four years between 9 and 10, and again between 10 and 11. But the first eight books made for a pretty solid story that honestly felt somewhat concluded as is, so it's a good place to start.

[violent-optimism]

Rey as a Palpatine and Why it’s Grown on Me

Hello my lovelies!

I think it’s been quite a while since I posted any kind of essay on here. Between work and other things I honestly haven’t had much time for it. However in recent days I’ve felt very motivated to work on a very particular kind of essay; a subject that I’ve been stewing over since December of last year.

Obviously from the title you already know what I’m going to be talking about. I’m not going to deny that this is a rather heated subject for some Star Wars fans, particularly those who disliked this plot choice and The Rise of Skywalker in general. As per usual in my essays, my goal is not to change anyone’s mind or argue over who’s opinion is “more right”. Plain and simple, this is just going to be me talking about MY thoughts and MY observations about Rey’s journey and lineage in The Rise of Skywalker. I hope this doesn’t need to be said but if you read something in this essay that you disagree with, I politely ask that you keep it to yourself and move on. At the end of the day, we are just talking about a movie, and this is all just for fun.

Now, with that being said, let’s get started! This essay is definitely going to be a bit more structured than my usual efforts and I hope this will result in a much more straightforward and clear-cut essay. Enjoy!

 1.      My Initial Reaction

 While I don’t want this to be a major part of the essay, I do think it makes sense to start this off with a little story about the time I first saw TROS in the theatre. I can remember it pretty well. My whole body was tense, my eyes glued to the screen for what I knew was about to be some kind of major reveal in the story (even if it felt very late in the film for such a scene). Then came those shocking and irreversible words from Kylo Ren: “You’re his Granddaughter. You are a Palpatine.”

Wait…what?

My mind recoiled at this statement. My heart sank into my stomach with complete rejection. This can’t be right. He must be lying. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit. A man behind me just snorted with laughter and I can totally see why. Rey being related to Palpatine sounds more like a crazy Youtube fan theory than something that could actually be canon in the Star Wars universe. We had always thought she might be related to Luke or even Obi-Wan, but…Emperor Palpatine? Darth Sidious? No, just no.

So yeah, suffice to say that my first reaction towards this plot twist was not very positive. I admit that even once the movie was over, I still didn’t like this reveal. I don’t even think I began to warm up to it until my 3rd or 4th viewing of TROS. I had become so used to the idea that Rey had no special lineage and she was just a very force-sensitive girl from nowhere that it was extremely hard to let go of that. And honestly, if JJ and everyone else involved had chosen to keep it that way, I would have been perfectly content. So why…you might ask, has Rey’s true lineage grown on me in the last several months?

Now, don’t get me wrong…there’s still a part of me that thinks it was a very odd choice to introduce a reveal like this considering what happened in the previous installment. However…this fact has already been discussed to death and this essay is intended to be more of a story exploration rather than a critical film review. So let’s talk more about Rey being Palpatine’s Granddaughter and how I have actually grown to love the idea.

 2.      Rey’s Journey

 Throughout the trilogy, Rey has had to overcome quite a few challenges in her path to becoming a Jedi. Her journey has been one of mostly self-discovery and personal growth. In The Force Awakens, Rey discovers that she is strong in the force and can do things she never imagined. In The Last Jedi, Rey’s strength in the force grows stronger and she learns to accept that her parents were nobodies and that some things do not turn out the way we expect.

And so, thematically, it would almost seem like Rey has reached the end of her character arc. This is Rey at her most powerful. There’s nothing left to learn, and there are no more secrets to be revealed…right? Well, we know that this is not the case. Even from the first scene with Rey we know that something is wrong. She knows that something is wrong. There is a darkness inside of her; she fears for her destiny and who she is meant to become. It’s not until later that we understand why these feelings have come to the surface.

Up until TROS, we didn’t truly know who Rey was or where she came from. However, by this point in the story anyone should be able to describe her as a character. Kind. Brave. Resourceful. Curious. Compassionate. Strong. Rey has proven time and time again that she is an incredibly kind and capable individual who wants to do the right thing. Although both TLJ and TROS strongly hint towards Rey possibly turning to the dark side, we know that our protagonist never actually would because we know who Rey is.

And this a huge reason as to why the Rey Palpatine reveal works so well for me. There is an incredible juxtaposition with Rey being the most heroic, kind-hearted person imaginable, and yet she is related to the most evil man in the galaxy. There is something deeply profound about the last living Jedi having Sith blood in her veins. Part of the reason why this reveal is so shocking is because the two characters are complete polar opposites in terms of good and evil. Rey is absolutely nothing like Palpatine and so the familial connection seems impossible. It doesn’t just seem like an unlikely truth, it feels entirely incorrect. And yet, that is also what makes it (again, in my opinion) so interesting and bold.

 3.      Meaning and Impact

 Apart from giving Rey one last emotional challenge in the final installment, I think this choice was made for other reasons as well (3 to be precise).

1.      It made Rey even more similar to Kylo as he too is grappling with the dark influence from his Grandfather

2.      This decision subverts a long-existing trope in fantasy stories

3.      Used to further tie the 9 films together as a story about the Skywalker and Palpatine bloodlines

Since The Force Awakens, it was made very clear early on that Rey and Kylo were connected in some way; their destinies were intertwined. Although this was further explored in TLJ, we would not truly understand just how similar their journeys would become until the final installment. The dynamic between Rey and Kylo is infinitely interesting because at first glance they seem like completely opposite people, when in reality they share a very similar struggle, especially in The Rise of Skywalker.

Both Rey and Kylo experience the overwhelming darkness of their respective families. Kylo even says it quite bluntly before the lightsaber duel on the ruined Death Star: “The dark side is in our nature, surrender to it.” He is quite obviously trying to use Rey’s lineage against her in an attempt to turn her over to his side. What makes this so interesting is that we know Kylo himself is not yet completely taken over by the dark side. Despite his evil deeds, he has always been conflicted during this story.

When Rey finds out that she is related to Emperor Palpatine, she becomes withdrawn, angry, afraid and unstable. This is the closest to the dark side that we have ever seen Rey at. Indeed there are some moments where she almost seems to be channeling behaviour that would be more suited for Kylo (snapping at her friends, using anger as power). Although Rey eventually comes to her senses and realizes what is happening to her, she was clearly affected by her Grandfather’s dark influence, just as Kylo was.

 Despite the fact that both Rey and Kylo come from families with a history of the dark side, the film makes it very clear that one character’s lineage is far “worse” than the other. This is where the subversion of a common fantasy trope takes place. Now, to be clear, this is only my interpretation and I don’t claim this to be exactly what the filmmakers were going for; however this subversion is yet another reason why I enjoy the Rey Palpatine reveal.

How many times have you watched a movie or a TV show where a character’s lineage was a significant part of the story? It’s probably more times than you can count on one hand, right? My point is that the idea of a character’s lineage/family history becoming a main plot element in a story is nothing new, we’ve seen this before a million times. For example, in Disney’s “Tangled” (2010) Rapunzel learns that she is the long lost princess who was taken away from her family when she was an infant. Disney influence aside, does this sound somewhat similar to Rey’s story? Yes, it absolutely does…but not in the traditional or conventional sense.

This is where Rey Palpatine (for me at least), becomes extremely appealing. This reveal is like the evil, twisted version of a heroine discovering that she is the secret heir to a royal family. And instead of the protagonist being overjoyed and enlightened by this information, the reveal comes with great personal shock and emotional turmoil. In this case, Rey is the Granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, which essentially makes her Sith royalty if we’re being really comparable. Am I the only one who (for lack of better words) thinks this is insanely cool? Not only is it a direct subversion of a very common story trope, it directly ties into Kylo’s arc and it also parallels Luke’s family revelation in “The Empire Strikes Back.” Coincidentally, this also makes Rey’s journey similar to Luke’s in that regard, but I’ll get back to that later.

Now as you’ve probably heard before, as we look back on all 9 films in the Star Wars saga we can see that this is clearly a story about the Skywalker and Palpatine families. Granted, the Palpatine bloodline is largely unexplored in comparison to the former. We know that Rey’s Father was the son of the Emperor, but we still don’t know his name or who he really was. Ultimately this information is not relevant to the story as a whole, but it’s clear that Emperor Palpatine has been pulling the strings throughout basically the entire saga.

More specifically, Palpatine himself has always been tied to the Skywalkers. He seduced Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and later tried to do the same to Luke. Via Snoke he was also able to turn Ben Solo, who shares a dyad with Rey, Palpatine’s Granddaughter. It kind of comes full circle and it’s really quite clever in my opinion. The Villain of the ST is related to the Heroes of the OT, and the Hero of the ST is related to the Villain of the OT (Did I just blow your mind?).

Put simply, Rey being a Palpatine makes a lot more sense thematically when you examine the story that came before her. Families are complicated and messy, especially in Star Wars. Rey’s experience echoes this, but in a much darker and harsher way. Her journey is meant to resemble Luke Skywalker’s in many ways, but their stories do have differences. In Luke’s case, he actually got to see and interact with Anakin, the real face of who his Father was. Anakin Skywalker was certainly not a perfect person, but in his last moments he turned to the light and saved his son’s life.

Rey, of course, did not get to experience a moment even close to this. Palpatine is about as evil as evil gets. There is no hope or chance of redemption. She was forced to look upon her own flesh and blood and see nothing but a monster. It would be unfair to turn this into a competition of “who had the most devastating family reveal”, but the point I’m trying to make is that Rey and Luke’s journeys are undeniably similar, which serves to further strengthen the connection of Skywalker and Palpatine in these 9 films.

 4.      Conclusion: The Power of Choice

 I feel I must end on the note of choice, because this is how The Rise of Skywalker chooses to end. Despite everything I have mentioned and how much I have grown to love the idea of Rey Palpatine, there is something that I love much more than this: Rey Skywalker. Even just reading it or saying it out loud fills with me an indescribable amount of joy.

To put it bluntly, Rey did not have an easy life. In fact, she probably had one of the most challenging upbringings of any Star Wars protagonist. Yes, Anakin was a slave at a very young age, but he also had friends and a mother who supported him. Luke was even better off with a relatively normal childhood, friends and parental figures who loved him as if he was their own son.

Rey had nothing and no one.

She was forced into a life of struggle and hardship, not by choice, and certainly not by her parents’ choice. Although they loved and cared for her, she would never feel this or know it to be true until much later in life. Rey did not choose where she came from, nor could she choose who she was related to. This is perhaps the most powerful and meaningful message that one could take away from the Sequel Trilogy: You cannot choose the circumstances of your childhood, nor can you choose who you are related to by blood. However, you can choose your destiny, you can choose who you want to be, and you can choose who you consider to be your family.

Rey had all the makings of a villain, but she chose to be a hero. A Sith that chose to be a Jedi. A Palpatine that chose to be a Skywalker. It doesn’t matter where you come from, only where you’re going. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide who you want to be. That is a beautiful thing.

Well folks, it took me a long time to get here but we’re finally at the end. I hope this essay was able to make some kind of a comprehensible point. Even if you didn’t agree with anything I said, I hope it was still something that made you think. It was quite a lot of fun to really delve into this topic and explore every microscopic detail. I sure hope it made sense, and if not, I’ll try to do better next time.

Thank you so much for reading! Bye for now.

[vaultofqueenorion]

Take Me To Olympus #16

Hello everyone!

I apologize for missing out on an update or two, but I have been swamped with exams and cramming and life has just pretty generally been fucking me up.

So here is another chapter, I hope you enjoy!

The First Chapter

Previous chapter

Next chapter

//

An old friend comes knocking and suddenly there are Greek Gods crashing at your place

Julia had told herself that she would leave Kenneth alone. He deserved it. He deserved to be able to choose for himself and she should respect his wishes.

It had become somewhat of a mantra for her, repeating over and over again inside her mind until she became almost numb to the feeling of it. She still wanted to cry a lot, but Olivia and Yrene were there for her and-

-And it wasn’t like she didn’t miss the long chatterbox evenings with her and Kenneth in college, both of them gushing over their interests. Or the evenings under the night sky because she had finally - finally - found someone who loved the stars just as dearly as she did. Or the ski trips or culinary masterpieces or movie binges or …

Yeah, who was she kidding, she missed him like hell.

But that still didn’t make it intentional when she found out that she’d winded up standing just outside his door, and oh god her hand was going for the bell and it rung and what was she supposed to do now.

Kenneth opened the door as Julia was trying to decide between bolting down the hall and hiding behind the large succulent which was placed in the hallway. Neither of which went very well, if she should say so.

Which coincidentally ended as she stood halfway crouched behind the plant, eyeing the elevators through the other end of the hall, one foot already on its way over there.

Kenneth raised an eyebrow, a muscle in his jaw tensing as he saw her. But there was also that tick around his mouth that he did when he was trying to hold back a grin, and she must have been doing something right.

It was a small victory. And perhaps it showed her that she’d been right in coming here.

Even if it was totally not respecting his privacy and she was feeling guilty just thinking about it.

“What do you want?” He said, eyes narrowing at her as if he was trying to figure out a particularly annoying puzzle that kept coming around and bugging him, even after he had put it back on the shelf.

Julia cleared her throat, stepping out from behind the plant. One of the sharp edges cut her down the side of her hand, but she ignored it, focusing instead on actually formulating a coherent answer, because she wanted to get running most of all right now.

Running away from her problems had been a habit for long enough. She’d have to start facing them herself at some point. At least that was what she told herself.

“Just …” She trailed off. So much for a coherent answer. Then she tried again, her voice coming out so fast that even she didn’t understand what she was saying.

Incidentally, she also gesticulated violently with her hands, and a splatter of blood was flung onto the floor in front of Kenneth. He sighed and turned around, leaving the door open behind him.

“Come in and get cleaned up,” he said as he rummaged around the house. Julia stepped inside tentatively, clutching her bleeding hand with the other, trying to lessen the amount that dripped onto the carpets inside. “Say what you wanted to say and then leave.”

He followed it up with a grumble that sounded suspiciously much like maybe then I can finally get some peace from all of this shit.

Julia sat down on the very uttermost edge of one of the kitchen stools, glancing around the place. Since just a few months ago, it had turned into a mess. Broken pots spilling dirt all over the place, plants withering where they were standing. Glasses and plates and trash piling up both in corners, on tables and chairs.

Taking a closer look at Kenneth himself, she saw the red rimmed eyes, bloody veins clear in the whites of them. Five o’ clock shadow, bags underneath his eyes, and didn’t he look much thinner than last she’d seen him?

His shirt was crumbled with stains piling down it, and he only wore slacks. It wasn’t even his favorite pair - instead it was the one pair that he had always told her itched too much, and that he should just throw it out.

When he handed her the wipes for her hand, she made eye contact with him. He looked away without even holding her gaze for a moment, the anger in his eyes replaced with something she couldn’t decipher. Something empty.

“How’s it going?” Julia asked, then immediately bashed herself in her head for saying it. She knew that it was stupid but it was honestly the only thing other than you look like shit that popped into her mind.

Kenneth snorted, but it was without feeling. His arms fell limp at his sides when he pulled his hands back. “Just peachy,” he said, his voice just as flat as the rest of him.

“You know you can talk to me,” Julia said, wincing at the flash that went through his eyes at the words.

“No. No, as a matter of fact, I can’t. I don’t know if I ever could, now that we’re on the subject.” He put a finger to his chin and tapped twice in mock thoughtfulness, his words tearing vicious holes at Julia. “Because what was actually for me and what was for your own personal gratification? Were you ever really there or were you always so selfish?”

“Of course I was there.” It was really a struggle to keep the incredulousness out of her voice, as it threatened to tinge her entire being. She knew he was hurting and that caused him to lash out.

Knew it, but that didn’t mean that she was just going to take the beating. Her voice as soft as she could muster, she said. “I was always there. Even when you felt like I only did it for myself, I would have always picked up the phone when you called. I would have always come over when you needed me.”

“Then why didn’t you.” It wasn’t even a question. His tone with its grief staining it had wrenched it out of proportion becoming something much more like that of a wail than anything else. “Why weren’t you there when he was taken from me? Why didn’t you lend a hand when we were preparing for the last rites. Why did you abandon me, too?”

Well damn. There was nothing she could say that would ever make it good enough. Not when she had been away for the duration of the funeral. Not when she had failed him for so long as a friend.

Instead she whispered. “I should have been.”

It was a whole sentence. There was no room for apologies, because none would ever be good enough. None would ever reach that place in his heart where he had built up hate for so long.

“I should have been, and nothing will ever make me regret that more.” She whispered, her hands coming up to hug herself. She kept looking at him, however, even when her body tried to force her to lower her gaze. “I will always be sorry for that, but I cannot make up for it if you won’t let me. If this is it, then I will go home and never attempt to speak to you again. I can move you to the team we have beneath us and we won’t even have to work together anymore. Say the words, and I will go.”

The silence dragged on, with him avoiding her gaze and her doing her damned best to get through to him. To let him know how much of a mistake she had made and how much she would forever regret it.

“I- I need time to think,” he said, finally. There was a flicker of hope in his eyes. Something that spurred a careful smile in Julia, her face lighting up fully when he gave a careful one back.

Then it turned stern. “We will have to start over. I need to build trust from the ground up again, and I won’t be able to be with you much, but-” This time a little less tentative came his small smile, the signature smile that he used among friends. “-but I might have missed you hounding me just a tiny bit.”

Julia placed a careful hand over his. “Whatever you need. I missed you, too. And so did Olivia and Yrene. They’ve been at my throat throughout this entire month to get my ass over here and make up with you.”

At the coughing laugh Kenneth let out, Julia felt something loosen in her chest, a weight lifting from it with each breath. They might make it through this yet.

Silence fell between them, heavier than Julia would like. So she cleared her throat - which resulted in her scolding herself for clearing her throat so much - and made ready to stand up.

“Then I guess I’d better get going,” she said, rocking back on her heels, one hand used to keep the band around her hand in place as to not bleed through it. “If you ever want to talk, don’t hesitate to call me.”

She made it all of four steps before Kenneth grabbed her arm, forcing her to come to a stop. With a look of surprised, she turned to him and he let his hand drop as if he’d been burned on her skin.

“Would you-” He started, cutting himself short a moment after. Then he took in a deep breath. His hands idle, fidgeting with a speck of paint that was peeling off from the counter. “Is it too much to ask for you to stay with me? We can have a sleepover, just like old times.” A tentative smile to accompany it. “Then I might be able to get it enough together to clean up this mess.”

Julia swore that she would have been able to see the light bulb flare over her head in that moment. “Are you sure that you just want it to be the two of us? I mean, I’d love to have some time together, and I’d be perfectly fine with just the two of us camping down on your couch for some Netflix.”

Then a grin that she knew sparked devil horns atop her head. Kenneth even smiled a little wider, his eyes flickering between her eyes and the floor.

“What would you be suggesting otherwise?” He said, something careful lining the words. As if she would turn on her heel and run away from him right then and there. His hands twitched by his sides, as if they could barely restrain themselves from reaching out for her.

“Let’s get the Ghostbusters all together again,” Julia said, gesticulating to the room around her. Her smile became impossibly wider and it occurred to her that it might have contained just a bit of forced cheerfulness. Even if that didn’t matter at all, because the look of tentative hopefulness on Kenneth’s face was all worth it.

“Let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

So. Julia had very much planned for this.

The clean apartment, yes. The freaking four hours spent cleaning, each of the four of them running around and making commentary about the nasty stuff that Kenneth had had lying around, his face reddening each time.

She’d also anticipated the softness that came over them - even Yrene - after Olivia and Yrene had raged at him for about five seconds. This wasn’t entirely their Kenneth. There was something going on with him and they were determined to be there even if it meant that they would cast aside some of their own things for him.

Julia had gotten that through her thick head. It was something friends did for each other, when they needed each other.

What she hadn’t anticipated was Athena hacking her phone somehow and then thereafter coming barging into Kenneth’s apartment with no regards to anything anywhere near the area of ‘personal space’.

Which of course left her in the ‘who is this’ stage with her friends. Who would in a split second be able to tell whether or not she was lying.

So far, her options were 1) let Athena explain and watch her friends slip away in disbelief or 2) still lie to them but have a very good reason™ that she would be able to explain later on.

Or, if the impossible happened that her friends were just as much of a lunatic as she was, then 3) them coming to understand that she was housing the Greek Gods in her apartment and hadn’t told them about it.

Suffice to say, Julia was wincing before Athena even opened her mouth, preparing for the worst.

“I am truly sorry for interrupting your ... undoubtedly very important activities, but there are much larger matters at stake right now.” Athena, in fact, did not sound very sorry at all. Yrene narrowed her eyes at the Goddess in return, clearly not buying the act either, even if Athena was applying the correct facial expressions for her statement to sell. “Julia, I must have your aid immediately. There is not another moment to waste.”

An easy way out. But also something she was reluctant to take.

Because what if an ‘emergency’ constituted as something much different from Julia’s perception of it - from a human perception of it. How would she know what the Gods and Goddesses considered emergencies?

And she wasn’t about to wade waist high into cold waters with her friends just to help the figurative cat down from a tree.

“I need to know what it’s about, first,” Julia said, voice as firm as she could make it. Especially because there was a slumbering beast behind the eyes of Athena, and she didn’t really care for waking the War God within her. “Just to know, for sure, that I have to leave.”

“Who is this?” Olivia asked, staring at Julia. Kenneth gave a laughter that was drenched in bitterness - something Julia had spent the last five hours trying to coax out of him.

“Don’t you see?” He said, cutting off Julia who was preparing a sufficient answer. “This must have been the ones she’s been spending all of her time with, before she made her way back over to us to ‘make up’.”

“You’re paranoid, Ken,” Yrene said, voice hard as stone. She glared from him to Athena to Julia, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Perhaps truth wasn’t always the way to go, Julia thought.

“I am Athena, God of Tactical War and Wisdom. I protect cities but can just as easily bring them to their knees. I sprung from the head of my father, fully formed and ready for battle-”

“Yeah, yeah.” Yrene said, cutting off Athena. Julia had never seen anger flare more dangerously as it did in the eyes of the Gods, and Athena was no exception. “Who are you really, lady?”

She stalked closer to Yrene, one hand lifting all the same. It seemed just a few moments before this would turn into an all out brawl with the way that Yrene stared her down, never backing down from the fury that shone in the other’s eyes.

Her spear materialized in her hand, the helmet coming to on her head. And suddenly, Julia stood with an owl on her shoulder.

That made everyone but Yrene take a step back, the others glancing from one to another. Yrene merely gave a snort, her hand closing around the hilt of the spear, dangerously close to Athena’s.

“Any more magic tricks up your sleeve?” She asked, but there was the same level of belief while in disbelief in her voice, her hand clenching around the hilt until the grip turned white.

“Just one,” Athena whispered, stepping back with inhuman speed, leaving Yrene to stumble forward. With her feet, she trailed a set of complicated shapes on the carpet. Then she flipped her spear and dug the tip of it into the middle of it.

The shapes began to glow. Rising from the carpet, they floated in the air, faintly shimmering with the power they contained. Then they rearranged, glimmering in the air as they did. Julia was blinded for a second, but when she blinked the black spots away, there it was.

A map of New York fluttered in the air, hovering slightly up and down, only broken up by the fact that Yrene’s torso was placed smack dab in the middle of it, the woman staring at herself with wide eyes.

Then it seemed to register, and she scrambled back, the most Julia had ever seen her come to retreat.

Olivia, on the other hand, stepped forward, her eyes never leaving the marvel in front of her that most of all looked like something right out of a science fiction movie set in the far future.

“You seem to have gotten some inspiration from popular culture,” Julia remarked, running her hand through the light show that was unfolding in front of their very eyes. And were those tiny dots actual people? They certainly seemed to move as they looked upon it.

Then she turned to Kenneth. “Look, I get that you’re hurt and that you don’t trust me. But I have been caught up in this mess that is the actual Greek Gods coming from ancient Greece and dumping right into the middle of my apartment.”

She gestured to Athena, a flicker of annoyance settling on her face before she managed to hide it. “And when they pull shit like this, then it’s very hard get out of the responsibilities suddenly heaped upon me.”

“I’d say,” Yrene said, brushing herself off. Then she eyed the Goddess among them. “You really Athena?” A nod in answer that sent a shit eating grin spreading all over Yrene’s face. “We’ve got some things to discuss.”

“Nope. No. Nu-uh,” Julia uttered as she pulled Yrene behind her, pushing her out of sight for Athena. Minerva uttered a sound that couldn’t be interpreted as anything but indignant and flew off her shoulder as she was jostled around. “Remind me not to put you two unsupervised in the same room together.”

Yrene pouted, but Athena merely laughed. “As if you could stop us.”

Which of course turned Julia to whirl towards her once more, a hand behind her back feeling for Yrene’s position at all times.

“Didn’t you have something important that I needed to come take a look at ASAP?” she asked, realizing that she would have lost the other battle very quickly at the rate that this was going.

“Yes. Hades is summoning more Gods.” There was an indifference to the words, as if she had not just come barging into Kenneth’s apartment, demanding Julia’s immediate attention. It was also, consequently, the thing that made her frown hard.

“And that is a problem because ..?” Julia said, trailing off. More Gods in this world would be a nuisance for her, sure, but they weren’t exactly going about wrecking havoc in this world, so she couldn’t see the problem.

“Because we are getting out powers back. Slowly but surely. Because it might mean that Zeus will accidentally be let through,” Athena answered, her face crumpling in a grimace at the mention of the God of Thunder. Julia must have looked confused, because she continued.

“Because he might not want to return when he figures out how great it is here. Even when he has regained his full powers.”

Several things went unsaid. Several things that made Julia go oh shit in her head, even if Olivia sent a confused look their way.

“I don’t understand why that would be a bad thing,” she said, Yrene chiming in with a grunt of support.

“Zeus is the King of the Gods, but also considered the most powerful of them.” The low voice came from Kenneth, to Julia’s surprise. There was a look of dawning horror that spread across his face, his back slumping as it did. “He is more powerful than all of the Gods, he is a rapist and an abuser - much like several of the Gods and Goddesses-” A pointed look at Athena, which was received with a grim nod. “-and he is considered the largest dick of the entire Greek Pantheon, by modern standards.”

A pause, but when no one seemed to react, he looked to each of them, a deep crinkle going through his forehead. “Like an all-the-way-through asshole kind of person.”

Yrene sent them one of her signature fighting smiles, grimness coursing through it. “Then we better make sure he doesn’t ever get here.”

[kwrittink]

Third Time’s a Charm

Pairing: Jeon JungKook x Reader (Roomate!au)

Genre: PWP (i swear there’s a little plot if you squint)

Warnings: language, explicit intercourse, use of sex toys, overstimulation. 

Words: 4k+

BTSin

The first time it had been your own damn fault, you should have learned how to knock by then.

"Hey JungKook, are you awake yet? I need a-" Your speech was halted abruptly as your mouth hanged open at the sight presented in front of you - your own damn fault for not knocking beforehand -, like it was ripped out of your mental cage of wildest dreams. 

With a gaped mouth you watched the boy - actually very much a man, even if you refused to admit it - you had as a roommate buck naked on top of his bed, skin glistening with the sheer coat of sweat covering his whole body, eyes closed and face scrunched in pure bliss, completely unaware of his surroundings for the big headphones on his ears playing something loud enough to stop him from noticing your appearance. The air got knocked out of your lungs as your eyes observed his muscles taut and tense, following the lines of his arms to the toy that you blushed when recognizing as the fleshlight you bought him as a joke the previous year tight in his hold, thigh muscles straining as he trusted his thick cock up into the device, little gasps leaving his mouth as he got himself closer to cumming. 

It took you a second before you could get over your stunned state and move, using the fact that he couldn't hear you still to twirl on your feet and practically dash out of his room. 

Good God. Reaching the kitchen, you looked at the coffee maker sitting on the counter, in very much need of two specially strong hands to take out the stuck piece to function. It had been a good purchase at first, the expresso maker was up to your expectations and you could drink good coffee as if you had just bought it from your favorite coffee shop, only then it was a pain since the only one who knew how to operate it was JungKook. But he's a little preoccupied at the moment... Biting your lower lip you leaned your elbows on the counter, the recent sight plaging your mind again. 

No! You shook your head vigorously to chase off the sinful image of what you only thought as your cute flatmate fucking that toy so diligently before you started rubbing your thighs together. Holy fuck this is going to haunt me. Trying to wave off the distressing memory that was ought to be etched to your mind, you decided to start working right away. 

"Morning Y/N, what's up?" His voice made you jolt in your seat and you peeked over your notebook to look at his neat form, the sober and simple attire for his half shift at the near cyber library a deep contrast to what your eyes had been tainted with. You were so engrossed with your oggling at his plain black sweater and dark wash jeans - the pair that hugged his strong legs just the right way - that even missed what he asked, only understanding it had to do with the coffee machine.

"What? Oh yeah that thing's stuck. I was about to call you but..." You trailed off, awkwardly pointing to your laptop, receiving a small wince as response, an understanding nod as JungKook straightened up from the kitchen frame, arms crossed in front of your chest. 

"The more you need your cup of coffee then," he stated with a smile and you chuckled in agreement. "And since I'm so sweet I'll make it for you before heading out, even leaving a thermos so you can focus better." He said from the kitchen, and as you muttered something along the lines of how he should receive an award, resumed your typing. If only you weren't such a treat for my sanity... 

"Really, I don't know what you'd do without me!" His cheerful tone took you once more out of your focus, and you turned to look from where his voice was coming from so loudly, only to find his face millimeters away from yours, cute smile gracing his lips as the placed the steaming mug on the table beside the notebook, away from your clumsy hands. His chin came to rest on your shoulder as he peeked into your work, the rough draft of the report laid out as you edited it into something readable. 

His smell was amazing, the fresh scent of his body wash paired up perfectly with the light smell of the mildly sweet cologne he had decided to wear that day. He wasn't one to wear any strong scents after all, usually opting for no cologne actually, so that was a new. After enjoying the pleasant waft emanating from JungKook you looked back to your screen with a sigh. He smelled so innocent that it felt like the biggest lie ever what you had witnessed earlier that morning. "You're always on top of your game huh?"  His minty breath blew over your ear as he retreated, and you couldn't help the shudder that ran down your spine.  

"Well I'd really like to be," you answered vaguely, fingers hovering the keyboard as you tried to focus back. JungKook scoffed, leaning away from you only to place a hand on the top of your head. 

"Yeah, I'm sure you do," his just as vague answer was barely registered before he got up, grabbing his bag and quickly making his way to the door, surely just in time for leaving the house. 

The second time you caught JungKook, maybe a couple months later - enough to fade a little the first traumatic episode - it wasn't even your fault. The flat you lived in had a single bathroom, which you shared, any complaints from either side since the both of you were really clean when it came to those things, as much as you cherished privacy. Still, it was careless of him to just leave the door half open like that, but you had seen how rushed he had arrived home, so maybe it just slipped his mind in his hasty state. 

Coincidentally, you had to get up minutes later to pick a book from your room, for reference, and casually strolled down the hallway, noticing the creaked bathroom door, mist from the shower seeping out slightly. Shaking your head you sighed, that guy really liked his showers scalding, even in summer time. You didn't mind, since you were a fan of cold showers - it was better to concentrate -, so you had given him all the hot water he wanted. 

Your hand touched the knob, about to push the door closed, when from the corner of your eye you saw a movement on the reflection of the mirror. That was something that creeped you out, mirrors. On horror movies those where the things that scared you the most, and that was the only reason your eyes were glued to it, just waiting for something eery to happen. The last thing I need is this apartment to be haunted. 

Squinting, you tried to make out whatever was moving, fog clearing out a little as you started to distinguish a silhouette...

Trusting.

"Oh fuck yeah," as on cue, your flatmate grunted, the sound bouncing off the walls straight to your unprepared ears, hairs of your body standing as you shuddered.  

Dumbfounded, you could make out his naked back in the mirror, hot water sliding off to - and you were amazed to have such a clear view - his ass, the strong muscles flexing as his hips thrusted forward into - surprise - the fleshlight, hands wrapped around the device as he pushed it flush to the wall, his head leaned to the tiles, hair barely wet, damp bangs glued to his closed eyelids.  

You knew you had been staring for far too long as you began to notice the sound the toy made as he fucked into it slowly, the way JungKook bit his lower lip to keep louder sounds at bay and how his breathing was laboured, mouth gaping as he muttered silent curses, pace stuttering as he got himself closer to his release. Yet you didn't move an inch, fingers gripping the doorknob with enough strength that made your fingers hurt, so enchanted by the sight that it took JungKook's voice getting louder - even if just enough to make out what he was saying -, to bring you back from the illusion that you were the one in fact pressed up to the wall by his strong hands, him ramming deep inside of you. Blinking, you took a second to focus back to his head facing the wall, lips pressed to the cold tile as he heaved, completely spent. You, on the other hand were boiling with lust, free hand going immediately to press at your mouth as the attempt to move caused the realization that any friction at that point was welcome with the state of your underwear, even if not nearly as satisfactory as what you truly needed.

The third time - always a charm - thought, you were practically hit on the face with the realization that JungKook was indeed trying to be caught. 

When you finally got some days off to yourself - work had been a great way to distract your mind from the images provided by your dear flatmate, even if exhausting you to the core -, another friend of yours wouldn't stop bothering you about going out for drinks and for once go out and have some fun, claiming you looked like someone in dire need of blowing some steam. You had someone to blame for that entirely. 

The dawn of the deadline of your report had been chaotic, you had barely had any sleep as it was, a nervous wreck because of the unfinished document and because of the demonic being that once you called a friend gasping his way into the night, door completely ajar, daring you to just walk by - or inside, you weren't sure - as he got himself off. 

You were fooled for a second, as you walked past his room in search for hydration - always important to replenish the tears of frustration you had been crying -, noticing that he was for once fully dressed, muttering sweet nothings while sitting on his chair in front of the computer, earbuds in with music playing so loud you could even guess, had you spared the time to focused on that, and not the raging boner JungKook was playing with, one hand firmly gripping at his base, veins popping with the strain of being denied release, the other hand holding the toy, slowly lowering it back and enveloping his girth, breathing out each time the silicone wrapped his whole member. Halting your steps you found yourself feeling the familiar burning on the pit of your stomach, breathing hitched as your eyes couldn't help but stare, since it seemed like that was what JungKook truly wanted that whole time was his blatant disregard for hiding himself something to take note for. 

Still, even with JungKook sitting there and practically waving his cock at your face, you still decided to once more ignore the sight in behalf of your sanity and walked away, leaving the boy to his own devices. You needed to pay your shere of the rent. 

Maybe the work had indeed driven you crazy. 

Maybe it was JungKook, that you had no idea of his intentions, which was confusing as hell and due to being a coward you didn't intend to clear out in the near future. 

Maybe it was M*ybelline.

Either way, you turned around and got back inside your room, deeming yourself hydrated enough and definitely needing a break, but using the background noise as fuel to push you further into finishing the damn report. What sexual frustrating didn't do.

And so you did finished your piece, some hours to spare before you really had to send it, having gone through JungKook's barely audible release with an ounce of restrain left in your body before finally collapsing to your bed, closing your eyes with light promises of undisturbed sleep.

"I just wish he'd use me like that fucking toy," you grunted into your pillow, ear glued to your phone while talking to a friend about your worries. You haven't told her a very detailed version of everything you had seen, as to preserve the rest of sanity you still had refraining from reenacting the events up to that morning, but the resume of the whole thing had been quite enough.

"No pun intended huh?" Your friend chuckled and you followed suit, hand covering your eyes in mild embarrassment. "You should just tell him that, thought. By the looks of it, the man dropped a lot of obvious hints till this moment." 

You snorted. The fact that the hints were obvious was what had you confused in the first place, because what if you just had been in the wrong - right - place at the wrong - again, right in a way - time? Perhaps JungKook didn't realize you could see him using that thing at those moments and it was just something you were projecting in your mind, the always hidden want you had for your flatmate surfacing with the discovery.

"Yeah, like it's so easy. 'Hey JungKook, can I talk to you for a sec? Yeah so about that toy you seem to use a lot, the one I regret immensely giving you... You think you could just use me as a cum dump instead please?" You mocked, having your friend cackling with the way you were saying things and you had started chuckling too, body rolling face up. 

JungKook was standing right beside the bed, eyebrows quirked and a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. 

"That can probably be arranged, since you asked so nicely," his voice was deep and soft, but loud enough that your friend had heard it too, bidding you a quick goodbye between giggles, that you barely registered. You just laid there, pinned to your bed like a prey ready to be devoured. 

"JungKook what... What are you doing here?" Was what you managed to muster, finally sitting up in your bed, glancing at his face with widened eyes. He huffed, pulling you up to a stand, hands sliding down to grip your waist securely flush to his own, jeans doing barely anything to conceal his bulge against your pijama pants. You shuddered, fingers resting on his shoulders for support.

"Making all the moves, apparently." JungKook quipped, leaning down immediately to press his lips to yours without any more to add, drawing a surprised sound from your throat.

One second was all it took for you to melt on his touch, on his arms, on his lips. Eyes fluttering close, you finally understood - not that it would have been this hard for someone with half a sane mind - that he had been really pinning after you, and perhaps you weren't just a silent perv, a peeping tom. 

JungKook pulled back just as you were getting really lost in his hold, knees weak and body heating up whole. "Please," he started, voice hoarse as your eyes focused back into his. "Please tell me you meant what you just said. I'm so tired of just imagining this Y/N," 

His breath fanned on your face, the slight scent of alcohol telling you he had been really out for drinks with his friends, but eyes clear and precise, completely sober. 

"JungKook I swear to god if you don't fuck me right now-" You on the other hand, was completely drunk on him already, craving his touch after that single taste, needing to be owned by the guy that had been playing with your mind all this time. 

Barking a laugh, one of his hands came to cup your face, mouth capturing your lower lip and lightly suckling on it. 

"I guess I was too hard on you huh?" Said, pulling back once again, the hand at your hip sliding up your shirt with delicacy, fingers tickling your skin. "I'm sorry but you wouldn't take a fucking hint woman, I had to-"

"Jungkook." You exhaled shakily, the feeling of his fingers tracing underneath your breast making you light-headed. "Enough with the teasing,"

"But that's the fun part," teased, getting a grip of your hair, enough strength to force your head to the side, exposing your neck to his loving pecks. "Or didn't you enjoy watching me getting off, thinking it could be you instead?" At his words you whimpered, eyes closing and relishing on the feeling of the tip of his tongue licking at the sweet spot on your neck. 

"You knew I was watching," you gasped, having his fingers drumming over your hardening nipple, his confirmation hum against your skin causing goosebumps all over your body. "You should have said something, JungK-" 

Swiftly, JungKook turned around and threw himself to the bed, pulling your body on top of his, thighs parting automatically to straddle his tiny waist. 

"I want you," he breathed out, hips buckling up and you gasped, his hands returning to your waist only to slide down further, gripping your rear and forcing your hips into moving on top of his covered, hard cock. "I need you, Y/N. I wanted you to want me to, you know. I couldn't say anything-" 

"I always wanted you, silly. I was probably the one that shoved their feelings down first because I thought you didn't like me like this..." You scoffed, bracing yourself on his stomach and grinding down harder, earning a delighted groan. 

"I bet that you weren't. You wanna know why I know this?" He questioned, gasping as a particular roll of your hips gave him a little more of good friction. You tilted your head, staring at his lust filled eyes as your underwear kept getting wet, the more you tried to find release on his hard bulge. Manhandling you once more, you saw your world spin as you were put underneath his body, pressed flush to the mattress, JungKook's face inches from yours. 

"You wouldn't have given me that stupid toy to begin with, would just have asked me to pound into you like you were just saying," he muttered, hands pushing your shirt up to take hold of your breasts, watching your expression change as he played with them. 

"Oh, s-sounds like you liked the idea huh?" You tried to tease back, clawing at his shirt to get rid of that too, but with no success. Your flatmate only looked up at you, eyebrow quirked defiantly. 

Like a switch was flipped, his pace became immediately rushed, pulling back to push your body around, hastily ordering you into your stomach, hands gripping your hips tightly and pulling it up, so you were on your knees, ass in the air. You were disorientated as your shorts were pushed down together with the underwear, gasping surprised as you heard the buckle of his belt. 

"You're the one that said you wanted to be used as a cum dump right? I'm going to give it to you then," you looked over your shoulder at the guy that could look all sorts of soft and decent, but had this wild glint in his eyes that had you whimpering. "You don't even need foreplay to be fucking dripping, look at that!" And to prove his point, two fingers slid over your labia, drenched and slippery with your juices, tip nudging at your already throbbing clit and drawing a soft moan from you. Not satisfied, he decided for jamming those fingers in your needy pussy, the sudden invasion making you shout, slight pain from the stretch mixed with increased arousal. 

"With the toy I could slide right up tho, but you're so tight for me, what should we do?" His voice was thick, feeling you clench around his fingers as he moved them, moans filling the silence. 

"Just ram into me Kook, use me like that toy, fu-fuck me!" You practically begged, hearing him curse at your words, and next hung you knew, he was already lined to your entrance, ready to enter.  

"Who would have thought you're so dirty? Giving me this - shit so tight - pussy to use how I want to huh?" As he spoke, started pressing his cock in steadily, knocking the air out of your lungs as he bottomed, tip flush to your cervix. "You're so big inside of me, holy sh-" you stated, buckling your hips back to push him into moving, the mix of the pain and pleasure so gratifying that you couldn't stop making noise. 

The praise went straight to his cock, and in no time JungKook started a deep and hard pace, pounding into you, iron grip to your waist. The feeling was amazing, knowing he was getting off with you much more pleasant than whatever show he had put on for you to get off to later on. 

"That toy has nothing on you fuck," said, as his hips stuttered, apparently too close too soon for his release. He didn't seem to mind though, keeping the same harsh pace, your walls clenching around him, just starting to feel the orgasm building up. "So tight, I'm- Shit I'm cumming," 

The warning came late, as you could feel his warm seed filling you up - not even minding to ask if he could, but you had a feeling he either didn't care or knew you were on the pill - winding down a little on your own arousal, thinking he was finished. It was hot to have your wish fulfilled, but the need to cum would stay there anyways. A pity, but maybe that could be done next time? 

You were waiting for him to catch his breath and pull out, but JungKook just gasped as he kept himself inside, rutting into you until - you guessed - he wasn't so sensitive anymore. "Gonna fuck my cum in this pussy, make you my cum dump just as you said you wanted." And with that he began thrusting into you again, immediately rekindling the flame in the pit of your stomach as you moaned with his words, walls squeezing his barely softened cock. 

Soon he felt rock hard again, dick throbbing inside of you, JungKook's breathing ragged as he forced himself into yet another orgasm in a quicker speed, moves slightly shallow. The slick and squelching sounds of every thrust was only adding tightness to the knot in your stomach, but still not having enough to snap it. 

Your writhing must have gave you away, cause next thing JungKook was pulling out and positioning you once more to your back, hands gripping your thighs and pushing them apart, eyes going from your center to your face. You whimpered, urging him back inside, but he just leaned to kiss you once more, mouth still dry from cumming. 

"I'm sorry, I know you're close but I want to see you cumming, see how you look as I give you an orgasm." And that was enough to make you shove down any complaints you could have for being edged twice already, only biting at his lower lip in retaliation. 

"Go in t-then, you got me so close already JungKook," you admitted, heaving as he slid back in.

"Shit I love how you say my name, I-" 

He couldn't finish, the intensity of the feelings cutting him short, lower lip caged between his teeth. Rolling back to his knees, his eyes were trained to your point of connection as he fucked into you, entranced. 

The position was exactly what you needed, his tip repeatedly digging into your spot, your moans loud at first, only to turn into silent screams. "JungKook, oh I'm so close please,"

"I’m close too baby, look at me, I'm about to spill," and as you peeled your eyes open and stared at him, face flush and sweaty, hair sticking to his forehead and eyes on fire, gasping your name, that was enough to shoot you straight to your end, eyes rolling to the back of your head. 

You couldn't think, only feel as he once more painted your walls with his seed, helping you through the orgasm with slow thrusts. 

But he didn't stop, even when you were just shaking, bordering oversensitivity. "Ah sh- it's too much oh-" your hands went to grip his arm as you whimpered, getting down of your high with heavy breathing.

"I got you Y/N, will fell - fuck - will feel amazing in a minute, promise - just one more m'kay?" He pressed his chest down to yours, capturing your lips and muffling your whines, before burying his head on the crook of your neck, sucking bruises on your skin as he got over his own high sensibility. 

And true to his words, your walls got used to the feeling of JungKook rutting slowly, clit finally being stimulated by his pelvic bone, and you just knew that orgasm he was building inside of you would be the last, by how quick it was coming. JungKook seemed to notice, by the fluttering of your pelvic floor, humming dirty words in your ear to egg you on. 

"That's it, good right? You're going to cum for me again hm? I'll fill you up good one last time too, this pussy leaking with my cum, since it's mine, right?"  

You had to swallow and try to wet your dry lips before responding with a nod. "Yes, it's yours to fill Kook, all yours ah-" with your words he pushed in as deep as he could, bringing you enough stimulation to make you cum again, slow but intense waves that tipped him to the edge as well, and by the surprised gasp he let out, he wasn't expecting it too. 

When he finally pulled out and laid by your side, you were utterly and completely spent. "Jesus Jeon, I think you broke me," you grinned, letting your body be pulled to his chest, not even minding the whole mess leaking between your legs. It only made it feel more real. 

"I think I broke myself too, to be honest." He snickered, face leaning to kiss the top of your head. You chuckled too, burying your head to his sweaty chest, relishing on his warm hold. 

Silence installed itself on the room, and you were almost falling asleep, when you heard his voice again.

"So... This means I can throw away that stupid toy?" 

You snorted, looking up with a smile at his unsure expression. "If you don't I'll make sure to burn it tomorrow."

[the-omni-princess]

Blood Bound [Chapter One]

Author: @the-omni-princess

Pairing: Vampire!Bucky x Witch!Reader

Summary: Vampires and witches have been known enemies since the dark ages. Backstabbing, secrets, and magic turned supernatural brethren again each other. As a natural-born witch, you grew up on these stories, your own monsters under your bed. What happens when one of those sworn enemies claims that you are his blood mate, the vampire equivalent of a true mate? Will you give in to this man out of time? Or destroy him for the sake of your Coven?

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: descriptions of pain and death and violence, witchy and vamp stuff

A/N:

First chapter! :D hope you guys like it. I rewrote it like 8 times lol.

-

[Series Masterlist]  [My Masterlist]

----

Excruciating pain. That’s the first thing a newborn felt when they were being turned. Bucky could just blame the vampire venom coursing through his arteries and veins, but it probably was a mixture of two things instead of the one. One, the way he died. Human death sucked. Being shot in the head, in a foreign colony, surrounded by people you didn’t know? That sucked even more. Two, how vampire venom affects the living. It knitted his wounds back together, burning pain as every organ in his body went through organ failure. Even though the bullet that killed him took his memory of his human life, it didn’t take the memory of his transition. When he woke up in the middle of the Spanish colony Florida, he wasn’t sure whether to thank Steve for turning him or kill him for cursing him with that pain.

Pain. That’s all he had known since he woke up in a field in 1703. Pain and hunger. Ravenous hunger that tore into his throat like barbed wire. Only sated by blood. Only another’s pain could ease his own. But it never disappeared completely. There was always a gaping hole in his chest after he fed, his hunger sated and yet something was always missing. He just couldn’t figure out what.

Decades of running, hunting, building a pack of vampires. It was more dangerous that way, but Steve wouldn’t abandon him; then when they found Sam during the American Civil War, bleeding out and crying out for help, they couldn’t abandon him either. Small packs were useful. They were family.

It didn’t help that he couldn’t remember his human life. Steve wasn’t much help either. He apparently knew him as a human, but only a few years before he turned him. Bucky had been running from something or someone but wouldn’t tell Steve. So, when he turned, with only flashes of his past to determine who he once was, the blonde could not even tell his friend about his life.

He was running again, abnormal speed, enhanced agility, jumping over rocks and fallen trees as he chased his prey through the woods. He couldn’t quite see what he was even chasing but he knew it was there. Its heart was racing, adrenaline pumping as it tried to outrun him. Foolish. Nothing could outrun him. Not even his own pack that was hiding a few miles away, deeper into the woods.

A sick craacckk made his pace falter. Pulling. Tugging. He stalled, allowing the creature to run away and into the shadows. Something more important was calling to him. The very hole in his chest that has haunted him for years was yelling at him with an impatient longing to move towards the sound. A flash of a memory passed across his eyes. Burning sage incense, a laughing girl, then a piercing scream. That caught his attention, memory flashes were rare for him, and he would take what he could get, already feeling the memory slip away from him.

Against his better judgment, Bucky listened. He stood at the edge of the tree line, just within the shadows to stay hidden. The Coven was rushing into a cottage, but his attention was diverted. You. That’s what the urge in him wanted. Her. His inner mind spoke, making it intentions known. As the winds shifted, your scent wafted straight into him. He involuntarily let out a whimper. The smell of your blood, a rich mix of honey and lavender, invaded his senses, and the inner voice preened again. Yours. He knew what this urge meant. He heard it from a few of the other nocturnal creatures. Bonded. The mortals called it soulmates, but it was deeper than that. Extremely rare, and most definitely the only explanation he had for wanting to fall to his knees in front of you. Bindings made nocturnals weak, the one thing you could use against any of them. Yet two powerful nocturnals bound together were a force to be reckoned with. A power only described by the ancients scrolls that were burned down in Alexandria. The world hadn’t seen true bounded mates in centuries.

He looked out towards you, using the self-control it took him centuries to perfect to not rush towards you. He might be attracted to your scent, but he wasn’t a complete idiot. He could smell exactly what you were in your very blood. Earthy tones, sparks of flame, and salt from the sea mixed faintly into your scent, just hiding behind the honey and lavender. Oh god. He wasn’t just blood bound to a mortal. No, he was blood bound to a witch.

---

The Coven was freaking out. Okay, well, Wanda was freaking out. The next day after what you referred to as ‘the event,’ all of you were in the cabin, in various states of calm and panicked, and sprawled out on the couches. All of the nearby contacted Covens felt the extreme power last night, yet none of them caused it. The Coven to the North hadn’t responded yet to Wanda’s calls, prompting her current freak out. The storm had blown in from the North, and now they were MIA.

Wanda paced up and down the carpeted floor of the living room, mumbling possibilities as to what had happened to the other Coven. “I’m sure they’re fine, Wan, can you please calm down? Your negative energy and attitude will only make you feel worse,” Natasha spoke up.

Carol sighed softly, crossing her feet as she sat on the rug at the base of the couch. “Y/n, how was the location spell?”

You shrugged, leaning back on the loveseat you were sprawled out on beside Maria, your calico cat Sasha on your lap. “It failed. More exploding crystals, more mess for me to sweep. Yey,” you sighed unenthusiastically. “Protection oil is brewing in the kitchen for another protection spell, was going to make a second batch later.”

“That’ll really help,” Maria muttered bitterly.

Glaring at her, you practically growled, the tension in the air thickening as your powers came to the surface, begging to lash out. Sasha felt the difference immediately, jumping off your lap and dashing into your bedroom. Natasha was quick to place a calming hand on your arm, her emotional powers calming your elements. The storm surrounding you calmed before dissipating entirely. “Well,” you took a deep breath, feeling your powers’ yearning to be used quiet down completely. “If you have any better ideas, I’m all ears.”

Carol stood, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. “Finish making any protection spells you can, all of us need to. The Council isn’t helping until something major happens so for now, it’s just us. Wanda, keep trying the nearby Coven. Everyone else, get to protections and identifications, we need to find this threat before it finds us.”

Natasha gave you a look at that, she was the only one you told about the red eyes at the edge of the woods. You even told her about the impulse in your chest to move towards it. She gave you another pointed look before following Wanda out the door, Carol and Maria following close behind.

It was late afternoon, and the sun was low in the sky, just peaking behind the trees. Streaks of pinks and oranges filled the sky just as you walked outside your protected home. You knew what you saw, and now you had to see what it was. The itch in your chest was back, and you followed it, letting it tug you towards the woods. I feel like a horror movie cliché. Yet unlike the first girl to die, you could protect yourself. Well, you hoped you could.

A shadow crossed your eyesight just as you explored further into the trees. Swallowing back your fear, you placed your hand on your chest, letting yourself grip your charm necklace through your shirt. “I’m not scared of you,” you called out, trying not to flinch as another shadow passed into your vision. This one was much closer.

“Liar,” a voice declared beside your ear, making you jump away from the deep and gruff sound. There was no one there, but you had most certainly felt the voice’s breath fan across your neck. Only one creature was that fast, and the very thought made you shutter.

“Vampire or not, I’ll kick your ass,” you snarled, challenging it. “I am not scared of you,” you insisted, despite it being a complete and total lie. Vampires were, coincidentally, one of the few things you were scared of. But, that probably was because of all the horror stories your mother told you when you were younger, the whole ‘they are backstabbers never trust them’ thing.

“I have no doubt you’ll try, little one,” the voice sneered, now sounding like it was coming from your left. You spun on your heels to face it, but the voice echoed behind you the next time it spoke, he was toying with you. Despite your fear, you hated feeling helpless and not in control more; you loathed being played around with. “Yet you are afraid. Your heartbeat alone tells me that. If you’re so scared why come out here without your Coven?”

You gulped, practically feeling him behind you. He was painfully close, and the feeling in your chest grew; your heart beat against your chest, begging to be closer to the voice. “Last night,” you didn’t dare turn, knowing the vampire was a foot away from you, his fangs could rip you open within seconds. “You were there, well here I guess. Was that sound you?”

He chuckled, “And here I thought it was you, little witch,” his voice was inches from your ear, making you shudder.

“Something’s coming. You can sense it too, can’t you?” you wrapped your arms around your chest, letting your eyes close. Despite the stories you grew up with, your very soul felt at ease in this killer’s presence, and that lack of control worried you.

“Regrettably so, little one,” your eyes shot open and you spun, effectively catching him off guard.

“Stop calling me that!” You froze, now face to face with the vampire. Oh god, he’s hot. Hazel hair, deep blue eyes, a sharp jawline with a cleft in his chin. He was just as stunned that you had turned towards him. It was a stupid move, really, but Natasha tended to call you hotheaded. God, even his eyelashes are pretty. Are all vampires this pretty?

He quickly caught himself, giving you a smirk, his fangs just poking from his pink lips. “Why? I thought you said you weren’t scared?”

You gave him a pointed look, digging your feet into the dirt as you tried to make yourself look bigger by squaring your shoulders. “I’m not. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m not little!” You hissed, letting your powers nudge towards the surface. The air around you electrified, little sparks running up and down your body.

The vampire couldn’t help the small smile on his face. His witch was more powerful than he thought. “It’s a term of endearment, I thought you might like it more than simply ‘witch,’ or some witch name like Sabrina,” he tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms as he regarded you.

You visibly relaxed, but you tried not to show that, “Why would you care what I think? Aren’t vampires supposed to hate witches?”

He chuckled, his laughter sounded like rich velvet, warming your insides as you tried not to squirm. “I guess they are, but you’re no ordinary witch, are you? Besides, aren’t witches supposed to hate vampires?” He shot back, letting his fangs take over his smile.

“We do, bloodsucker,” you sneered back at him, wanting to punch his smug face despite the tug in your chest. “And you are probably sensing my natural born abilities.” You weren’t quite sure what made you divulge that information, hell, not even the Council knew you were a natural born witch. Natural born witches were more powerful, rarer. They were dangerous. Only your Coven knew what you were.

He gave you a small look, letting his arms fall, suddenly seeming small. You thought he might seem nervous. “Do you not feel this tug then? The Binding longing to be near each other?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, blood sucker,” you tightened your arms around you, but with your suspicions that this pulling was a two-way thing being proved correct, you were a little less wary of the creature.

“James,” he quickly supplied, “My name is James. Are you sure you don’t feel it? That absolute needto be near the other?” He didn’t quite know why he was so fast to give you his name, but he did anyway, giving in to that feeling in his already dead heart.

“No,” you hastily snapped.

He merely chuckled, and you could feel your heart race at the sound. “You’re a terrible liar, baby doll,” he took a step closer, slowly placing his right hand above your heart, you didn’t move. “I can hear your heartbeat, I can hear the stutter in your voice, I can see your slight movements to get closer to me. Not to mention,” he was now inches away from you, and the pulling in your chest seemed to heighten, yet when he placed his hand to cradle your cheek it waned, calming. “Your powers have stopped trying to kill me.”

You blinked a few times up at him in confusion before sparing a glance around you. Shit, he was right. Your powers had lessened, now only a faint crackle in the air. Chancing it, you looked back at him, holding your breath at his blue eyes. Were they that blue earlier? They seemed familiar. You brushed that feeling away, deflecting. “Well… you’re not what I expected from a bloodsucker,” you countered.

His resulting smile sent your heart in a loop, and you inwardly groaned, knowing he probably heard it stutter. “We aren’t all evil, little witch. These good and evil vamps, just as there are good and evil witches, and those that walk the line in between.”

You bit your lip, definitely noticing the quick look he gave towards your lips. “This need, this ache. You called it a Binding? How do I know you’re not just using your vampire enticements on me?”

He smiled a toothy grin; the sight of his fangs sent a chill down your spine. “You felt it when I was still in the woods, and you were at your home, did you not? Enticements do not work that far. Has no one taught you what a Binding is, Sweetling?”

You shook your head, fighting against the impulse to lean into his hand, and also ignoring the petname. He was a stranger, a dangerous killer, and yet, you could feel the pull to just let him have you.

“Bindings, they are what the humans would call soul mates. A perfect other half. A person to complete your flaws,” he leaned in closer, “A perfect mate.” He was close enough you could smell him. A rich mix of vanilla and mint, with the scent of death and coppery blood hiding just below that. Humans couldn’t smell that though, only other supernatural creatures.

You gulped, quick to pull away. “You’re a vampire. You can’t be my other half. We call it something different, but I amnot bound to a bloodsucker. Any situation of witch soulmates was just that, between two mortals, not a vamp.”

“You know, I was human once, this feeling is just as strange to me as it is you, yet I do not want to stop it.” He admitted, taking the hint and stepping backwards. “It’s getting late, little one. Whatever is out there, I will not let it hurt you.” He let his eyes turn red, the blue swirling away to give way to crimson and burgundy.

“I don’t need your protection,” you tried to growl but it sounded more like a strangled whimper.

Your throat constricted faintly, and he just took a deep breath. He was using his vampire enticement to calm you, something you did not want to admit was working without too much effort from him. “I know, little witch, but I will protect you, Council and Coven and Packs be damned. You are mine, and I protect what is mine.”

And just like that he was gone, leaving you just as confused as when you stepped foot into the woods. Despite the more rational part of your brain telling you he was a killer, a creature you were supposed to hate, you couldn’t help but trust his word. Whatever this Binding was, it was compelling him to protect you, and though you didn’t really want to, you couldn’t help but feel intrigued and curious about what that would mean in the future.

---

Tags:

Permanent Tags:

@minetticatinwonderland  / @lumar014 / @maniacproffesor / @gollyderek

Bucky Tags:

@cassandras-musings  / @darkness-doughter / @novaddictx / @thedancingnerdmermaid / @mood-pancakes / @gracethegeek9902 / @annavega333 / @ravennightingaleandavatempus / @thelibraryoffanfiction

Blood Bound Tags:

@itz-kira / @rinthehufflepuff

For a tag, just reply/comment, if I don’t see it, just message me. Tell me what you think! Literally, any comment makes me happy! Like, comment, reblog, interact <3

[kanene-yaaay-o-retorno]

You’re a WHAT

Kanene’s Notes:

I’m weak for carzy scenarios  and glitter, so BOOOM!! Why don’t get these two things together??? :D)/ This fic marks the end of my break, I will be (trying to) going back to my old projects and probably won’t be writing for some weeks kjnhgfvghjkjhg. Wish me luck! <33

This wasn’t suppose to take so much to be written but I lost my PC and life got in the way :v   Buuuut! I manage to finish it and I already count this as a victory! xP

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* That fanfic has Remy and Roman. They’re friendos yay :3. Oh, and this is pretty crazy. Context: The morning after Black Friday when you’re grumpy and wanting to kick the society in the face. A LOT of swearing, Patton does not approve.  

* This characters do not belongs to me. They all belongs to the amazing Thomas Sanders in his series of Sanders Sides.

* Something around 2.900 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* Tô com preguiça de postar a versão em português brasileiro aaaa! Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Try and have fun with new hobbies, be safe, talk with the one that you love, drink water and sleep well! Byeioo!~

                             [~*~]

Roman thought himself as a really lucky human being. Unbelievable lucky.

 It wasn't due to the apartment where he currently lived - Too much dull for his personal taste and space, getting even smaller from the day he admitted a messy, sassy and with sleep problems roommate, since Roman just started his musical career and couldn't afford an own house yet. - or the fact that was finally able to pursue his dream after years and years of just picturing, painting this moment on his future, only to find out his fantastic breathtaking and incredible goals weren’t nearly close of the cold reality, at least for now (Who would know that, after umpteenth days of hard studying and training he would need years and years of experience in order to even START wondering in get out of his partial-time job on that Electronic Store) or any other reason someone would be able to consider himself a receptacle of pure, brute luck, enlightened by the spotlights of the good, pleasant destiny...

 ... Or at least the most pleasant it could be in the horrible and exhaustive middle of the night after a whole day filled with his attempts to survive and treat respectfully the unmerciful, dirty jungle that humanity was at Black Friday. Something around fifteen  hours working with massive hordes of unscrupulous zombies starved for a sale and able to even kill and die (more likely the first option) to get what they want and with souls (if they still got one) free of any slight sight of education, patience and morals to be inserted in a society which, as it seemed, was equally rotten as them. View point only proved as Roman was obligated to be working after his shift to "clean all the mess" - more like hide the bodies of exhausted warriors after such bloody battle. – the store because those sons of a...

 "... Bitch, YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!!" The poor, frustrated employed shouted to nowhere specific, his face turning towards the sky, seeking in some way to show his all his hate to the cinematography - because this was too much coincidence to NOT be part of a movie or some random fanfic on the black hole that was internet - rain falling at full force leading the weather to became even more freezing as soaked them both with its cool, thick drops.

Anyway, what he was daydreaming about?

"Roman." Oh, yeah, the reason why he viewed himself as a truly lucky person. "My gurl, if you try to impersonate a fucking, dramatic, bitch crow in my ear even again, I swear in the name of my life juice bean that I'm going to KILL you with my bare hands and these sunglasses."

 At least his best friend since, honestly, diapers, who coincidentally was his roommate and even more coincidentally, his coworker was just screwed as Roman himself. Which automatically made the duo less screwed, however equally pissed off, something that neither of them discovered if that was a good or bad thing, yet.

 "Fuck you, Remy" Roman whispered between an tired yawn, too much tired to even think about some nickname or to put real heat in his words as he got instinctively closer to the other, the one called taking off his jacket and lazily throwing it over their heads, doing his best to cover they both with the small available black leathered fabric, the act intertwined with grumpy grumbling and motions which would probably slap Roman's face if he wasn't careful. "I'm the one who buys your coffee."

 "Having my incredible, unique personality in your life should be motivation enough for you to buy me the entire Starbucks Company, be glad I'm weak to your cute face and am going easy on ya."

 " 'Cute'? Excuse me, I'm the most handsome, hottest and fabulous man you will ever met in your lowly life, mortal."

 Remy snorted at this "Whatever helps you sleep at night, babe, but if it's going to be like that your ego soon will have to pay his part at the rent."

 "Well, this 'ego' here was the only thing between your highness and jail after stopping you from committing all those murders today."

 "Bold of you to assume I wouldn't use my contacts to hide the evidences." Their tune were already completely sleepy, bodies instinctively leaning onto each other as the words stumbled, mixed and almost lost themselves in the soundly wind as slipped from their lips. Roman just laughed.

 "Well, if by ‘contacts’ mean 'Virgil' good luck getting him out of his bed on his free day. You would became the fucking new King Arthur." Roman rubbed his eyes, trying to physically force his eyelashes to not close, a new yawn finding its way to his mouth. He didn't even know about what they were talking anymore.

 "I roll the dice to cast Badass Nerd Bitch."

 “Logan??”

 ��He likes to study nature stuff, especially at night, I’m sure he already knows some good spots to hide bodies. Glasses.”

 “Glasses?”

 “Glasses.”

 “OMG, the anime character with glasses.” Roman stopped, his mouth wide open as if all the secrets of the universe had been revealed to him.

 “Exactly.” Remy extended each syllable, grinning smugly.

 “I’ve never-“

“THIS IS A ROBERY!!”

 The sentence, which appeared to came out from nowhere, cut the air in a harsh, sharp tune, breaking the barriers and tying them up in the same place in a frozen position and wide eyes staring astonished the hooded form and their unreadable features under the bad illumination of the light poles helped by the increased storm. The wind trespassed them, stirring their clothes and making the muscles shake both of the alone employees in the middle of a dark, empty street at the dawn, even if the dangerously shiny knife directed towards their direction still in a hatred silence. 

 “My.” Roman knew he probably should be afraid, the freezing feeling running across his veins and frightening his brain and actions as infected his words in an unspeakable terror impossible to ignore nor escape. “fucking.” However, the only thing that slipped through his next was the purest, deepest, truest... “ASS.” Indignation.

 Roman thought about a lot of things. He thought about running away, grabbing Remy’s arm and sprinting across the street, about scream in the top of his lungs the waterfall of swearing already racing half way to his throat and even about kicking the knife out of the other’s hands and then kicking him - with a couple of cool moves he saw in some actions films - together with their frecking audacity to try to rob him of all the people in the world. Roman, who asked himself if he would have enough money to eat in the next week with a concerning frequency, who wondered if this is the life he will have until the end of his existence, if he will ever be able to accomplish his dreams.

 His gaze changed to Remy, who was paralyzed, trembling between the poor light of the street and the massive rain. Roman swallowed. Everything was in his hands.

 For a piece of Roman felt the strange urge to spill to the figure before him the story of his life, all his tries, all his battles, his everyday fights to make his dreams real. Blow by blow. Day by day. A life destined to go after everything he wished to himself, everything he wanted to life, to experience, to savor, to do everything in his hands to ignore and one day maybe, hopefully forget all the ghosts - these ones always accompanied by those emotionless, sharp whispers - asking, doubting nonstop if he ever would be able to do all of this, if he was doing the rights thing, if it was really worth all of it.

 However, before the first word even slipped of Roman’s tongue or his mind came fully back to Earth, Remy was already positioning himself strategically between the robber and his friend, the currently only one with the leather jacket falling on his shoulders. However, Remy didn’t seem nearly soaked as he should be, and for a heartbeat, the same one which Remy moved his hands to his jeans’ pocket, his fingers touching and firmly holding something there, Roman could swear that the unexpectedly shiver running across his spine wasn’t due the cold wind.

 Nor the sentence hurled in the clouds.

 “You know what?? Fuck it.”

 And then he unsheathed his magic wand.

 Roman loved with the entirety of his heart all kind of magic, he could easily spend an entire afternoon (which he already had, by the way) listing his favorites movies, musicals and stories with that theme. That also could be easily said by the thousands and thousands of worlds, universes and lifes he invented – in and out of his head - about the subject trough his childhood and handful of teenage years, random ideas and inspirations appearing and dancing in his mind until nowadays. If that only wasn’t enough to convince someone then the umpteenth memories of mornings and afternoons bathed in the smell of books, rocked by the calm silene of the public library as he turned one more page, his back lightly aching by the bad position assumed behind the shelters, in a place he strategically found and claimed as his own Bridge to Terabithia, enjoying every moment as if nothing else mattered. Perhaps you wouldn’t even need to swim in such deep, ancient waters to find out his love, since at least fifty percent of his day was dedicated to shout, hummer or murmur Disney songs.

 However, as rays of pure energy  - shiny and kind of glittery one - involved and swirled from Remy’s, who now was floating a few centimeters above the ground, wand in stripes that got lighter and lighter, begging to spin faster around the aforementioned, creating a spere of a power stunning and big enough to stop the rain in the corner.

 The silence resulting from the lack of the storm didn’t had the opportunity to fill the moment, being obligated to give its space to a soft, intense melody whispered in their ears. The notes standing some more moments in the air, the beating following the changes in the shadowed figure inside the spere. Hesitations taking over the loud, quick heartbeats when the song finally stopped.

 The power’s spere finally exploded, the impact leading to an unbelief and intensive force push both human meters away.

 “Get. Out.”  Remy’s tune still the same, his form – Now adorned by a gleaming crop top, his fluttering skirt over shorts floating in synchrony with the veils which surrounded his clothes and wrapping his arms, the ending spreading in the air as a bunch of angry powered and fancy snakes. - even with the new vestments full of glitter (this probably would be a hell to get off, later) still the same, his gaze, powerful – a new meaning pouring from this word – strong, still the same. But yet…

 Yet his wide eyed, heart hammering in his chest friend since he could remember found himself struggling to connect the same Remy who he had known – if he could still say that? -  all his life with the same being who gleamed dangerously before him.

 The magic wand danced in a quick flick and a trash can came of what seemed nowhere to hit the wobbled and absolutely terrified robber, who fell with a soft thumph in the ground, unconscious.

 “-man, Roman!!! Don’t just stay standing there like a tree, help me here, gurl!” Suddenly the called snapped from his own sea of thoughts, submerging and astonished blinking in Remy’s direction. The rain started to fell on them again, and when their eyes met, when Roman saw the same guy who spent afternoons climbing trees and pretending they were knights and dragons attacking or saving the world, when he recalled the silent sleepovers where they just sat near of each other enjoying the mutual company, the grumpy mornings in their apartment, the comfort hugs, the looks full of words, the smiles filled with meaning, the friendship stuffed with so many, many memories... 

 Nostalgia. The feeling that everything was changed albeit something… something important always stayed. Roman felt, truly felt it and fixed his glare into that brilliant – quite literally - glare adorned with a ‘I’m about to punch your cocky face if you keep fucking narrating every freaking second of your life, ya bitch’ he realized... 

 It was Remy.

 He took a deep breath, moving closer and gradually relaxing as the aforementioned focused in trying to lift the guy, swearing more frequently than raindrops fell from the sky.

 “Remy?”

 “Yeah?”

 “First crush.”

 The other stopped, frowning confused. Roman didn’t quiver, feeling he deserved some sort of answer. At least about this. “What?”

 “My first crush. Who?”

 “Kovu.” Remy maybe was a bit cold hearted, maybe he wasn’t the best with human interactions or knew exactly what Roman wanted with that… but he knew Roman enough to realize this was important. Essentially when the said seemed to relax, his form untensing itself and being allowed to get closer of the magic being.

 “Okay. Okay, okay…” Roman took a deep breath, grounding himself. Their gaze met, his next words coming a little calmer. “Okay.”

 “Please don’t make me sing that serenate you made for him. I’m gonna fucking quit.”

 “Oh, shut up!! Our first love is something special, mister I-Can’t-Choose-Between-The-Beast-And-The-Beauty.”

 Remy decided to ignore the words, slightly lowing his sunglasses with his special Judgmental ‘Bold of you to assume I have enough shame to be mocked’ Look. Roman just flipped in his direction, taking advantage that the other’s hands were occupied.

 It was still Remy, with a whole more of style and glitter – Why are there so much glitter here?? - but it was just Remy. Like just any other day.

 Before he even realized, Roman was already at his friend’s - and as it seems a magical being - side, helping him to carry the robber’s body to somewhere dry so he wouldn’t die of hypothermia.

 “Why don’t you- Ouch!! My feet, dammit!” His breaths came out as puffs, the effort leading to his already exhausted muscles only protest even more and very much probably curse him later with sore movements for the audacity to transport anything heavier than a pen. “Why don’t you use your... Wizard magic or something to carry him??”

 “Oh. My. Gosh. Roman, you are sooo intelligent, why aren’t you in Harvard? Ow! Ow! Ow!!” Remy’s sarcasm was cut when the other kicked, or did his best to with their actual position, him in protest.  “Homophobic.” He exhaled a mix of irritation and a snort, receiving a playful punch in his arm by their inside joke.  “I’m your Fairy Godmother, brainless. Unless it was you laid in this stupid, cold ground I can’t use my magic anymore... Except if this is someone of your family but I doubt-”

 “Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!!! YOU ARE MY FAIRY GODM-”

 “No, no way, nope, we are NOT having this conversation right now.” Remy, the Fairy Godmother let go of the unconscious body in a way that probably will make the guy wake up sore, perhaps with a concussion even, directing his index finger in Roman’s direction in a deep, determined stare full of darkness and things that Roman could swear would make Remy be expelled from the group of Friendly Fairy GodmotherS  or whatever... thing he was inserted. “Let me tell you what we are doing right now: We are going to home, change our clothes then I’m getting coffee and you will get sleep so I don’t have to face nor care about the freak consequences of my damn actions.”

 ...

 “That...” Roman stop, as if was considering his next words. Remy’s face just scrunched in a bigger, firmer frown. “That would be hella scary if you didn’t look like someone who just stole a store of glitter and got attacked by the gay, glitterly, shiny fairies who protected the place.”

 “Go fuck yourself. I’m locking you outside when we get there.”

 “Noo, please don’t! My evil stepmother didn’t let me go to the prince castle and now I need help! Crying emoji, crying emoji.” Roman mocked, imitating sad sobs and sniffles as quick his pace to follow the other, who flipped him.

 “I’m this far from knock you out with my magical wand and then you will see who is the evil stepmother.” His wand gleamed in warning, the red color getting mixed and trembled by the fast movements of his veils, one of them getting dangerously next to Roman’s face, who cleverly got silent for some heartbeats, the sound of the rain slowly calming their heartbeats and rocking them, the tiredness gaining the space which, piece by piece, was being unhanded by their adrenaline.

 They arrived home, both still quiet, feeling free as a relieved sign left their lips. Remy threw his soaked jacket in some dark corner, the bed being the only thing which was allowed to take over all his thoughts and will. 

 An awed gasp echoed behind him and he immediately regretted his move.

 “YOU HAVE WINGS????”

 Before his eyelashes closed, the shiny of the wand disappearing gradually as an ungodly amount of sleepiness gained complete control over his body, relaxing each one of his fibers and as a warm, magic good feeling fills every single cell in his being, Roman wondered if ‘Fuck it’ was the name of Remy’s spell.

[sneek-m]

Retro Future: A Year in Perfume

Rather than write a blurb about Future Pop, I decided to write about Perfume’s entire 2018 because I can never stick to something short when it comes to my favorite pop group. This post is also available on Medium.

Perfume observed quite a few anniversaries between its fourth and fifth albums, LEVEL 3 and Cosmic Explorer, respectively, so I assumed the group would do the same this year and commemorate a decade since the release of its debut full-length, GAME. But not a peep came from Kashiyuka, Nocchi or A-chan about the album when the release date came around in 2018. The three seemed to be interested instead more in what lies ahead, revealing the title of the new album as Future Pop.

The promotions for music leading up to what would become Cosmic Explorer really worked the anniversary angle. The year before the album, the trio premiered its world-tour documentary We Are Perfume in conjunction with Perfume’s 15th year together as a group. Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan talked up the retrospective qualities behind the movie’s tie-up single “Star Train” during TV interviews, and they made sure to point out how the lyrics speaks as though Yasutaka Nakata is congratulating them after working as their producer for more than a decade.

The Future Pop period, however, had Perfume explore its next potential directions. Last summer’s single “If You Wanna” attempted to introduce future bass not only to the group’s own music but also the Japanese mainstream. This spring’s “Mugen Mirai” refined those experiments, and the members continued to act as a spokesperson to explain the subgenre to the masses. But while Perfume tried its best to stay ahead of the curve, the group also spent much of 2018 revisiting its past successes as inspiration for its current work.

Perfume’s 2018 started with a live tour for its fan club, P.T.A., which coincidentally turned 10 this year. The group has been more than generous when it comes to fan service: for its 15-year anniversary tour, the three incorporated a dice-rolling system to decide its set list with possible choices full of deep cuts. For this year’s fan-club show, the trio built its set based on fan votes. And which track won the number-one spot on that 10-song set? “The Best Thing,” a non-single from its second album, Triangle.

From GAME album track “Take Me Take Me” to “Perfect Star, Perfect Style” included in the 2005 best-of collection, the P.T.A. show featured even deeper cuts released before “The Best Thing.” But more than acknowledgment of long-forgotten favorites, seeing Perfume bring back choreography that hasn’t been performed in almost 10 years seemed like one rare experience. I have yet to see clips other than “The Best Thing” from the show, but reading about the group revisiting old dances has been exciting material in itself.

Watching Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan interact with old material was also the highlight of this spring’s Reframe concert in collaboration with NHK. As the title suggests, Perfume brought back past tracks from various parts of its catalogs in new, reconsidered contexts. Initially a throwaway B-side tied in with a Panasonic ad, “Display” was rebooted as the opening track introducing the show’s mission statement. “With a new, fresh experience,” began the EDM track, fitting this new environment far better than the original.

Reframe also included “Secret Secret,” one of the singles from GAME. After witnessing grand, sweeping choreography in Perfume’s dances for its recent singles such as “Flash” or “Mugen Mirai,” it was intriguing to watch the three revisit more meticulous movements favored during its earlier years. As Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan packed in so many micro gestures throughout the chorus of “Secret Secret,” it showed how far they’ve come as performers. They no longer need to establish themselves so much on stage nor do they have to constantly entertain to make the music more palatable to new ears.

As much as Reframe gave a spotlight on how much has changed, it also dedicated space to show what remains the same. While Perfume’s electro-pop production has been a huge draw of the group since the very beginning, the concert spent a part of its set connecting recurring lyrics and themes in the music. The extended outro section of “Secret Secret” (remixed by producer Seiho) stitched together fragments of Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan’s voices reciting words like “anata,” (you) “boku,” (me) “omoi,” (feelings) and “hikari” (light) culled from a few dozen songs from its catalog.

Out of all of the highlighted lyrics, “Koi” (love) is perhaps the most central topic that carries on in the music to this day. For all that Perfume talked up about its future-bass-inspired production, “Mugen Mirai” lyrically concerns a classic theme of newfound emotions which also inspires the group’s breakout single “Polyrhythm.” The title track to Future Pop further works in a similar vein, capturing the spark of discovery and a first-time encounter. The three marvel at the magic of technology, and their fascination speaks to the song’s inspired EDM production as well.

The wide-eyed wonder of Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan towards their environment in “Future Pop” recalls the tone of GAME, where they, too, were being introduced to a new sound, setting, and series of experiences. Echoes of their past glories can be heard elsewhere in Future Pop. “Fusion” stands tall as the updated version of past mostly-instrumental anthems such as “Edge” or “Story.” The infinitely ascending “Tenkuu” works a chorus with an elongated cadence that resembles the chorus of “GAME.” The titular hook of “Chorairin” revives Nakata’s knack for writing in made-up phrases — think creations for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu but also tsundere-ation in “Puppy Love” — favoring purely its sound over meaning.

However, Perfume doesn’t pretend as though it can recapture its youth so easily in Future Pop. The members’ voices sings more in a worn-out sigh in “Let Me Know,” tapping into a prevailing uncertainty in settling down in a new environment — a recurring worry for Perfume since at least “Computer City” in 2005. In a self-referential album such as Future Pop, Kashiyuka, Nocchi and A-chan’s words sound as though they’re asking their former selves for advice. As they hand down a key to what looks like kid versions of the members in the music video, they provide enough materials in this single alone to signal their transition into an older guard.

Made up of a thump, a snap and a loop of a guitar pluck as its base, “Let Me Know” is one the most contemporary-sounding songs in Future Pop. The other singles, too, depart from the idea of classic Perfume as heard in a song like “Chorairin.” “Tokyo Girl” bridges American EDM to the works of Perfume, and “Everyday” responds to a post-Chainsmokers pop landscape. But if Perfume sounding like other producers is the future Nakata hopes to present in Future Pop, it’s a rather bizarre conclusion to reach after holding on to the pop wonders of GAME 10 years ago.

That said, it’s a realistic snapshot of the present, where electronic pop music has finally caught up with Nakata to the point he is now essentially referencing versions of himself. Future Pop, then, is an echo of what he has always done, and same could be said about the rest of Perfume’s ventures this year as the group reworked, fine-tuned and re-introduced a once-forward-thinking vision of its now-storied past. Rather than predict the future, that album title announces the arrival of it. Everyone involved can say with confidence, after 10 years from the debut album, that a time where this type of pop is accepted as the present might be finally here.

[thedeadflag]

@dreamsheartstory​ said:  if you find any good sci fi, let me know… it’s so rare…

It really is. For a genre that has so much potential, it rarely makes the small screen without being corralled into a few very specific tropes (sci-fi cop procedural is so, so overdone, but I’m desperate haha)

Still, this is what I’ve watched over the past...3 years? 3 years, yeah. At least, the notable ones, not including the obvious big name Netflix marvel shows, Sense 8, orphan black, etc..

SOME MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

The Expanse:

Harder sci-fi. Essentially, it’s the future, where humanity expanded across the system, and Mars split off to do their own thing after a civil war. The people working on “the belt”... as in the asteroid belt and other such unsavory places and stations...are the clear have-nots and are generally abused at will by both Earth and Mars, and the show starts where tensions are at an all-time high, with the belt a hair’s trigger away from revolt, and the Earth/Mars tensions coming to a head

Great casting, the crew of the Roci is fantastic. Though Thomas Jane is...a Thomas Jane character. He’s such a perfect fit for Miller, because Miller checks all the boxes for his strengths, and hides his weaknesses well enough in the flaws of the character. So i can’t blame the show for that, but I hate looking at his face. Still, the casting is just top notch. And they have Shohreh Aghdashloo, who is always fantastic, and Frankie Adams pops onto the scene in S2 and does quite well. Essentially, casting = A+

Only real complaint is that i read the book, and there’s a pansexual lady character that is exceptional and amazing and I love her and her mouth of a sailor. The show cut that and made her more passive and scared in S2, which is bullshit, and led me to stop watching because I was furious at that decision, but in the end, it’s still absolutely 100% worth watching. If just for the Roci crew alone and the endless shenanigans they get into (and sometimes out of)

Binge-worthy. Pacing of the first two episodes is a bit inconsistent, but they’re covering an absurd amount of ground, so that’s expected.

Killjoys:

Lighthearted space-faring sci-fi, set in a totally built from the ground up universe. It slowly leaks out the lore as to not jeopardize the general tone of the show. However, it does turn serious for stretches.

Easily binge-worthy. Takes 3 episodes to get momentum, but after that, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

My only real quibble is with the origins of Dutch. We get a hint of her growing up essentially as property, abused into being a living weapon/assassin, before we get a good read of the world, and that...really comes off as a bit exploitative, given she’s a woc. 

The ship is an A+ lovable sassy ladybug

Dark Matter:

A bit “harder” sci-fi than Killjoys, but it has its lighthearted moments

Super super slow burn. I finished the first season and only then did I really start to dig my claws into the show. It’s slow. 

That said, interesting lore, and the overarching series of narratives are solid and worthwhile, they just take an egregiously long time to lift-off.

There’s apparently wlw content in season 3. I haven’t finished S2 yet, but I’m hoping it’s solid.

Westworld:

Western meets Wizard of Oz featuring Anthony Hopkins with an old west fetish. Set far off in the future. There are, like, androids and stuff

I didn’t get through it since western shows give me the creeps, but most of my friends who watched it says it was pretty great. I only watched the first episode, but the acting and cinematography and music were all very well done.

Ascension:

A sci fi mystery, set in a space-ship, if that space-ship was sort of like one of the Bunkers in the fallout games, full of people from the 50s.

The show is not without its warts, but it’s a miniseries (so it’s not long), and it’s surprisingly well done.  Doesn’t cover all the themes it brings up with the greatest nuance or skill, but I’d wager it’s probably worth a watch? 

The OA:

Another mystery! Sci-fi in the vein of alien abduction and strange abilities.

It’s kind of surrealistic? It makes you pay attention, and if you slip up, you’ll probably miss out on something. There’s a decent chunk of content mashed into those surprisingly few episodes.

Didn’t like that it robbed a character of a disability. I think it would have worked just as well with the character still being blind. They could have made it work. 

Trans guy rep in this show, which was a plus

American Gods:

I’m not sure if this counts? It kinda counts. I’m saying it counts. It mixes sci-fi and fantasy. 

I haven’t finished this yet, mostly just because it’s hard to find torrents that aren’t tracked by the network. My ISP is okay with me getting one or two notices a month, but past that, it’s tricky, and I can’t afford a good VPN, so I’m playing the waiting game for a bit.

Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane were fantastic in the episodes I did see. The show is, if nothing else, visceral and beautifully shot.

3%:

Sci-fi in the vein of Hunger Games, but a better premise, and better executed

I only managed to get it with the dubbed audio, so that was flat out atrocious and made me weep over the injustice

Still, despite the absolutely grating audio, I pushed through that and enjoyed much of the rest of the show. it’s solid. Not, like, the best show out there, but it does what it does well, it covers its themes well, and the visual elements of the acting seemed strong.

Find the sub-titled version with the original language (portugese iirc?) audio. I think that’s available on Netflix now, or at least Netflix USA, from what I understand.

12 Monkeys:

It’s a police procedural time jumping sci-fi with a dystopian, post-apoc future.

It’s okay. Nothing special. The two leads really do try to put the show on their back, btu the writing’s not real strong. Watchable, but lots of plot holes, plot armor, and writers shoehorning in sudden/coincidental events out of nowhere to increase tension. if you want something to watch for background noise, or maybe if you want a procedural show and have checked out the others already, maybe this will be for you.

Agents of Shield:

Superhero-based sci-fi

First season is slow and full of filler because they were waiting for that Captain America Winter Soldier movie to come out before tying their show in with the events. There are guides to watching the first season. I thought it was all decently fine, and good writing alla round, there’s just too many episodes that season to justify the few meaningful narrative events.

Season 2 has Dichen Lachman. The final half of that season character-assassinates her (and the other inhumans) to provide the show a late-hour villain to root against. I hated that. It’s the weakest season, thankfully, and I’m sure there are watch-guides to skipping through that because...

Shit gets real in season 3, and it’s worth watching even outside of S1-2, I’d even rec skipping those if there wans’t so much character-building in those 2 seasons. The writing is better, the acting is better from S3 onward. There’s still some fumbling of themes, but not to the degree of the previous seasons. Same with Season 4, where it arguably has it’s greatest few episodes. Ends with a brief Hydra-AU arc that IMO is skippable, but some adored it. I didn’t, but eh.

Colony:

Harder sci-fi. Aliens invaded and swiftly won. Now they’re ruling us from a distance, using human figureheads to do so. Really neat lore, and worldbuilding.

Unfortunately, it’s the most frustrating sci-fi show i’ve seen in years, because the male cop lead always has a gut feeling that always aligns with what the revolutionaries are planning, so he always intercepts them. And they get unbelievable plot armor to escape the writers’ ham-handed tension-building, ensuring the writers don’t pay any consequences for the shitty bullshit they keep pulling over and over.

If you can take that sort of crap, and care enough about worldbuilding/lore/etc., then go for it. There’s definite value, and things improve greatly in season 2. But my lord, season 1 is so frustrating.

Person of Interest:

You’ve probably watched this one

Hard sci-fi in the vein of "Hey, maybe writing a secret intelligent AI is just a really bad idea” *five minutes later* “Oh no what have we done”

It’s a really bad idea.

But we get fun police procedural moments out of it, because John is solid, and Carter & Root & Shaw & Bear are excellent. 

Bear is best.

The show has watch guides for getting through the first season, and parts of S2. 

Avoid the final 3 episodes of the series. Maybe the final season altogether. Otherwise fantastic and heartwrenching stuff.

The Last Ship:

Naval Adventure to Rebuild the World After a Rampant MegaVirus sci-fi

Surprisingly decent for a show that’s basically funded entirely by the American Navy.

Just keep in mind that there will be shitty patriotism bits of bullshit tossed in here and there, and there won’t be so much shock when those bits show up.

First two seasons play out like a mix of The Hunt for Red October and Jesus Camp. It’s bizarre, but sometimes it works? Rhona Mitra and Christina Elmore are probably the reasons for that. And Dichen Lachman is in S3 and she doesn’t die, so that’s a plus.

It definitely has its dips into shit-tier quality, and self-righteous bullshittery, especially in S3.

But it also handles a national political arc halfway decently for a sci-fi show in S3. 

Anywho, this is good for, like, background watching? Or low-intensity, low-effort watching. In that context, it’s a good enough show.

The Leftovers:

Three seasons of super depressing and heart-wrenching drama with sci-fi at its core (huge amounts of people vanish one day...the show is about the world finding out how to move on, what ti all means)

Excellent acting. Top notch. Like, some of the best on TV. Some stunning stuff.

The show only gets better. I didn’t like the first half of S1, it’s very slow and arduous, but it’s worth it. 

Not very sci-fi, at least not until S3, but still. It works with sci-fi elements and it’s a very thoughtful, smart show.

Wayward Pines:

It’s sci-fi in the vein of Under the Dome, but it manages to be even worse somehow don’t ask me how

Oh my god don’t watch this, the cast does not make up for it, they flounder in atrocious writing. i’m only mentioning this here because it’s just so bad, don’t waste your time like I did.

That’s...well, the stuff that’s not far below mediocre.

[leahtate1228]

My First Admission

The date was January, 2007, I was in the seventh grade. I was on my way to my regular doctor appointment at Children’s Hospital Boston to check up on my Cystic Fibrosis, make sure all my medications were working and everything was under control. I take one standard breathing test every time I’m there which pretty much tests everything they need to know, plus a blood test. Although this time was different from all my rest.

My doctor had been out that day so I had to see someone else. After taking the test, the doctor came back in with the results; bad news coming. My test results had dropped a huge percent, and I needed to be admitted to the hospital as soon as possible for treatments.

That appointment was on a Monday and on that Thursday I was driving through the Thomas J O’Neill tunnel that opens up into Boston. With too many thoughts, feelings and emotions running through my head. I was contemplating the future, near and far, the possibilities versus the probabilities, the questions and answers I did not know I would be facing for the next four weeks. The scariest thought about this whole experience is that little did I know, when I turned around to walk through that rotating door leading into the Hospital, it would be the last time I would see a clear blue sky with no small window in between us in a long time.

With my parents on both sides of me I entered the door. Once inside, seeing all the jumbling colors all over the walls and the pictures, so many colors. I suppose the colors were supposed to distract us, or give us a happy feeling. But for me, the jumble of way too many colors were just like my thoughts, running crazy through my mind, not making any sense. As soon as that split second of walking through the door was over there was a rush of people and we knew right where to go. The ninth floor. {Once taking what felt like almost ten minutes to ride the elevator up there, it was a whole different world!}

All the walls were white; there was no color, no pictures, no smiles, no fun. Then, we proceeded to walk over to the nurse’s desk to check in.

My parents said “Leah please."

"Yes right this way we have a room for you." the nurse replied.

We followed the nurse to a room down the hallway. So we were walking into the room and he said the doctor would be with us soon. This room was all white walls with a door. no pictures, no color, no smiles once again, no fun. So after waiting about 15 minutes 3 red sox players came in to sign autographs for me! They do this for the sick children, it was a lot of fun! I suppose it was a distraction of what no one knew what pain was going to come to me next.

I knew I had to expect the doctor to come in of course, but what I did not expect was the team of nurses that pooled in behind him [at least 4]. So now there were eight people tucked into this tiny room with no windows and very thin air with me lying on the bed almost crying, scared of the future.

The doctor began explaining some things about the procedure he had to do and how I must be awake for this to go right. So, as I lay there still as a pond in the summer time, he began taking a pen to my arm, drawing little lines and circles around my veins then he taped hot packs to both of my inner elbows and left the room for 20 minutes. I had to leave the packs on so he would be able to tell which vein was going to be the easiest to put the picc line in. They also gave me a pill that was meant to relax my body which ended up doing the exact opposite, and I ended up having a horrible reaction to it. A picc line is a long skinny tube than goes into your vein with one end reaching all the way up towards your heart. Mine was 44 centimeters long.

Once the doctor came back into the room the craziness began. The next thing I knew he had a tray and nurses holding my arms with gloves and masks on and I was doing all I could to look away! I was squeezing my dads’ hand as tightly as I possibly could because I was in the most pain I had ever been in, in my entire life! [and I was scared] I was getting a tube shoved up my arm in the opposite flow of my blood, with needles and rubber gloves pinching my skin. This whole procedure took about twenty five minutes. The only thing I truly remember is my mom telling me to just take a deep breath and it would all be over soon. [Also most all of the nurses had told me was coming out is so much easier than going in, which was a relief.] I had never gone through so much torture in my life, even though I knew it was going to help me get better.

Once that whole scene was over with, they had a room ready for me, so I went in and looked around at the small closet, window bench where my parents would switch off nights sleeping there and the hospital bed they wheeled me in that I would be in for the next month. The room had a bathroom with a shower, tv and small desk top for my school work. While most would think being in the hospital provides you with a lot of down time, which coincidentally is the exact opposite, barely leaving enough time to get a meal in. The next month went by very slowly, with doctors coming in every day doing what I call "the octopus" in the mornings where there were at least eight of them at once who come in and use their stethoscopes to listen to you, breathe in and out and deep breathe. Once they are done my nurse for the daytime would come in and take some tests and start me on my morning medicines and routines of my hospitalization. Once that was done I would eat, watch movies, sleep, do physical therapy, and get occasional visits from my nurse or some friends! Seeing friends is the best surprise of all! And then I do my night time medicine, possibly make a small dent in some of my school work I’ve been missing for almost three weeks, and once I fell asleep my whole day starts over again!

I try to resist the temptation of looking out the window either up at the sky or down below at the people walking to work and this feeling over whelms me thinking how I wish I could be at school [even on a Sunday]. I’m not even sure my mother knows this, but I felt trapped like a monkey in a cage at the zoo, or a criminal behind bars in jail. I was not allowed to leave my room, ever! Because one step outside into that infested hallway could make me stay in there longer. Once my stay was over the day they told me I was going to be released, a huge feeling of accomplishment rushed through my body! I was being set free! To see the sky, smell the air, taste that dirty Boston water. "A nurse will be in to take out your line soon." "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I couldn’t believe it! I was done! Finally!

Little did I know there was more to come.

Once the nurse came in to take out my line she was right! It was a lot easier to take out than to put in, that is, 42 centimeters of it. Then it got stuck. The last 2 centimeters! And what do you know?....I was back in pain! As the nurse was tugging and pulling at my arm, it felt like she was going to pull my vein right out of my arm! I was once again, squeezing my father’s hand; actually I began to bite it! I left teeth marks. After they tried as hard as they possibly could, with me laying on the bed for two hours, they finally decided to give up, telling me my veins were constricted and closing up right over the picc line. They sent in Loraine, a relaxation specialist. Within fifteen minutes of her being in my room, she was telling me to close my eyes playing soft music, and having me imagine and try to picture a door swinging open gently, or the wind blowing the veins open to let the line come out. I began to picture a flower blooming, opening its petals to show the beautiful flower in full bloom. The nurses re entered the room and I was breathing very calmly with that image in my mind and within the next five minutes my arm was free! No more picc line! I had an overwhelming feeling of happiness! I will never forget what had happened to me in these past few weeks.

As I walked out of my room going outside my mom told me to put on my sweatshirt because it was cold and rainy; I did as she said. But once we got outside to get the car from valet I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt the wind! I saw the sky! I smelled the air, felt the rain, saw the sun! I could not believe how long It had been since I had been outdoors! I immediately took off my sweatshirt and began to spin around and catch raindrops on my tongue and run wild through the parking lot! I felt amazing! My lungs felt stronger than ever I had done it!

I had faced me fear and beat it! I survived something someone my age should never have had to go through but I entered the battle and I had not been defeated, but was the winner! Of the biggest battle I have had to face in a long time. I face small battles every day, but this was no battle it was a war! Between fear and myself. And I could not believe...I won! I had conquered my fear and was ready to take on the world with whatever challenge it wanted to hand me next! I had a "bring it on" attitude. Now, I have been hospitalized again since then, but I was ready and if it ever comes again, I’ll tell my heart, and my brain, I’m prepared.

Peace. Love. Cure CF. 

[olderjustneverwiser]

Our Sweet Disaster (Sonny Carisi)

Masterlist

🎉🎉🎉HAPPY BIRTHDAY BHAVNA!🎉🎉🎉

I wrote this as a birthday gift for @am-i-right-counselor and I sincerely hope she loves it! 

*NSFW*

Also, I’d like to thank @moresvuheadcanons for her help with the ending to this one.

As much as you loved going out for your birthday, hitting up different bars around the city when it was snowing this hard just did not sound enjoyable. Coincidentally, your friends didn’t think so, either.

You were thankful for Sonny, though. When you asked your friends if they wanted to come to your apartment to hang out for the evening, they all told you that they were too nervous to leave during the storm or just wanted to ‘have a quiet night in.’ Sonny, however, braved the storm, arriving at your doorstep with grocery bags full of ingredients to make your favorite, fettuccine alfredo, some Bordeaux for him, a nice bottle of scotch for you, and even two cupcakes from one of your favorite bakeries.

He may not be your closest friend, but Sonny was definitely your sweetest.

After he set the bags on your counter, he removed his scarf and coat and set them carefully on the back of one of your dining chairs. He must have just gotten off of work; he still had on his vest, tie, and badge. You watched him as he rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his elbows before digging into the bags. If you were being honest with yourself, it made him look sexy as hell.

You made yourself snap out of your trance, “Sonny, you didn’t have to buy all of this. We could have just ordered burgers.”

He shook his head, laying out all of his ingredients on your kitchen counter, “You think I was gonna let you eat a take-out burger on your birthday, doll?”

“At least let me help with the cooking,” you tried to grab a bag to help him unload, but Sonny quickly snatched it from your hands.

“No way, it’s your birthday,” he grinned, “but I’ll tell you what you can do. Wanna pour us some drinks?”

You considered protesting; you felt bad that he was doing all of this work for you, but instead you grabbed two glasses from your cabinet and opened the bottles, hopping on to a counter to sit while the wine breathed. You enjoyed watching him cook; he seemed so focused on how he chopped the garlic, how he grated the Parmesan just right. Not to mention seeing the veins in his forearms, and the fact that you had a perfect view of him in his grey pants from your spot on the counter.

While you had always thought of Sonny as attractive, you had never really thought about the two of you becoming anything more than friends. Sure, he was sweet, and funny, and, okay, you’ll admit it: incredibly hot, but he hadn’t shown any inclination that he thought of you as more than a friend, so why should you think of him that way? You were happy just being his friend, watching him cook in those damn grey pants.

Dinner was amazing, you learned that Sonny was an excellent cook (no surprise there,) and he even helped with the dishes afterwords. You and Sonny had a great time talking and just enjoying each other’s company; so much so that both of you forgot about your phones and focused on one another for most of the night. 

Though you had never thought of Sonny as anything more than your kind, dorky friend, being with him like this felt…nice. The domesticity of it all, the way his forehead crinkled when he laughed, the way he insisted on singing ‘Happy Birthday’ before you pretended to blow out the imaginary candle on your cupcake. It was a side of Sonny that you previously hadn’t gotten a chance to explore, and you found yourself feeling disappointed when he said he had to leave.

“It’s late, I should probably get goin’,” Sonny stood up from his spot at your dining table to reach for his phone. You nodded, before noticing the look of confusion on his face as stared at his phone screen.

“Sonny, what is it?” He didn’t answer you, though, instead he marched to your window, pulling the curtain back to show flurries of white filling the air.

“I got a notification on my phone about an hour ago that a bad blizzard was comin’ through.” You made your way to the window and peered outside; it had snowed quite a bit since you had gotten home. The ground was blanketed with snow, at least a few inches, and it showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. You didn’t want Sonny to have to walk home in this weather, especially since he only had his dress shoes with him.

“Well, Sonny, you can stay the night, if you want. I don’t have any clothes for you to change into or whatever, but, yeah you can stay if you don’t want to get out in that. I’ve got lots of blankets and I make a mean breakfast.”

“I don’t wanna put you out,“ he rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re not putting me out, okay? I’m the one offering. You can even have my bed, the couch is actually pretty comfy.“ 

He seemed appalled at your offer, “I’m not taking the bed. I’m the guest!“ 

“And I’m the host!” Sonny looked like he was thinking hard about your proposal, but he ultimately nodded, loosening his tie, “Fine. But you’re not sleepin’ on the couch.”

“Sonny, you can take off your work clothes if you want. You won’t make me uncomfortable,” after deciding to find a movie on TV, you changed into your pajamas and gotten a blanket from your bed to share between you and Sonny, who was currently on the opposite end of the couch, still in his work clothes. 

“I can wait till we go to bed.“ 

“Sonny, I know what the male form looks like. You look uncomfortable,” he huffed, but he knew you were right, and unbuttoned his vest, shirt, and took off his belt, leaving him in his white undershirt and pants. He focused his attention back to the TV, the bright light from it shining into his face in the dark living room. You couldn’t help but stare at him, how the light highlighted his features perfectly. You found yourself unable to look away.

Sensing your eyes on him, he faced you, “Somethin’ wrong?”

“No! Um, I’m cold. Going grab another blanket,” you lied.

“We can cuddle. You know, body heat,” he took one of his arms from underneath the blanket and stretched it out, and the space between his arm and his chest looked too inviting not to take him up on that offer.

“Yeah, okay,” you scooted closer to him. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders while you fixed the blanket to better cover you both, and leaned into his body. You instantly felt warm, though you weren’t sure if it was because of Sonny’s body heat or because it was Sonny. Something about being close to him like this, his arm around you, or the way you could feel his heart beat made you feel the tension between you.

“This okay?” you felt him shift beside you, turning slightly to face you.

“Yeah, doll,” his eyes met yours, then your lips, and back to your eyes. You felt his heart begin to beat faster as he looked at you. You found yourself looking at his lips; how inviting they looked. Wanting to find out how they felt on yours, you decided to take a chance.

“Do you want to kiss me, Sonny?” He stiffened beside you, before using his free hand to cup your face, pulling you into him and placed his lips to yours. His lips were full, soft, and perfectly kissable. He seemed desperate, frantic as he slid the tip of his tongue over your lip and you opened for him, like this was something he had been wanting to do, but never had the nerve to.

You moved to straddle his lap, needing to be closer to him, kicking the blanket off of you in the process. The sudden rush of cold made you shiver, but Sonny’s hands were hot on your thighs. Sonny moved his hands from your legs to under your shirt, running his hands up and down your bare sides. You ground your hips down against his, and he pulled away.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” His face was serious as he broke away to ask, and to answer him you peeled your shirt off and tossed it, your bra soon following suit. He sucked in a breath when he saw your bare chest, and he licked his lips. Feeling him get hard underneath you, you smirked, but it quickly turned to a low groan when he pulled you closer to him to bring one of your nipples to his mouth. You laced your fingers through his hair as Sonny switched nipples, his hands never breaking contact with your skin.

You moved off of Sonny to pull your shorts off, him hastily lifting his hips to push his pants down, and you straddled him again. He pushed two fingers into your slick opening, making you moan out loudly. You rocked against his fingers as he curled them inside of you, and you twisted your fingers in his silver temples, lost in the pleasure that only his hand was giving you. 

You felt yourself getting close, and you stilled your hips, silently signaling Sonny to stop. He withdrew his fingers, making you sigh at the sudden lost of contact. Unable to help yourself, you stroked his cock a few times before sliding yourself down on him, taking him as deep as you could. Sonny let his head fall to the back of the couch as you started to move up and down. 

“You look gorgeous like this, doll. Fuck, you feel amazing,” he pulled you down for a kiss, his tongue tangling with yours, and he moaned into the kiss. You sped up, desperate for more and you broke from him, nuzzling your face in his neck. He grabbed your hips, helping you bounce while he whispered his praises. You felt that familiar burning in the pit of your stomach, your hips stuttering with your impending orgasm. He planted his feet on the ground, thrusting his hips up and reaching down to rub your clit to help you come. You found your release, shouting his name and that triggered Sonny’s own undoing.

Once you and Sonny came down from your highs, you didn’t move. You stayed silent while processing what had just occurred between the two of you, wondering what would now happen to your friendship. Could you and Sonny be just friends? Would he want more? Hell, you weren’t sure if you wanted more.

Sonny was the first to break the silence, “That was…amazin’.” 

“It was,” you nodded into his neck.

“Hey,” Sonny made you sit up, “This doesn’t have to mean anythin’ if you don’t want it to.” 

You look at his face as he chewed on his bottom lip, his brows knitted as he returned your gaze. He appeared nervous as he awaited your response. Suddenly it all made sense; his willingness to help you whenever you needed it, the coming over during the storm just to be with you on your birthday, the way he looked at you. Sonny had feelings for you. 

And you thought that you just might have feelings for him, too.

“What if I wanted it to mean something?” You asked with a smile. 

You could see the sparkle in Sonny’s blues at your words. His mouth spread into a wide smile as he began to trace his fingers on your back, “Then I’d really like that, doll.”

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/07/07/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-7717/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 7/7/17

I took last week off, but I hope y’all had a great 4th of July weekend. Life’s still kinda kicking my ass, so this’ll be an abridged edition this week.

I finally got around to watching a movie! It’s been on my list since I first heard it was in pre-production, and I’m amazed it took me this long to watch it, considering my love for the source material. The Founder stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the “founder” of McDonald’s who really just stole the concept from the McDonald Brothers. A down-on-his-luck shake machine salesman, Kroc happens upon the fledgling McDonald’s restaurant in Southern California. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, he pretty much insisted on becoming a part of the operation, mainly focused on franchising the business. And that’s when things get interesting. I LOVE McDonald’s. You can hate me all you want, but like Jim Gaffigan says, “Everyone has their own McDonald’s”. Mine just happens to be the actual company. I don’t know enough about the history of the company to know how factual an account the movie was, but it was sure damn entertaining. Keaton is amazing in it, and I feel like anyone would enjoy the movie even if they think they don’t give a rat’s ass about McDonald’s as a company. I highly recommend this film.

We finally got our first trailer for Marvel’s Inhumans, and now I realize why they were so hesitant to release it. MY GOD THIS LOOKS TERRIBLE! It looks like Into The Badlands – a show that I hate because people fawn over it when it looks like something that would’ve aired after Xena on Saturday afternoons 20 year ago. Yeah, I even told one of the Badlands creators that when he confronted me over my “appraisal” on Twitter. Badlands is a bad show, but it gets “diversity points”, so folks give it a pass. This show doesn’t even get diversity right, so it’s really just a shitshow in the making. I hate hate HATE that this is considered an official part of the MCU, even if it’s just a part of the never-referenced TV wing. Anyway, this trainwreck debuts in IMAX on September 1st, but will officially air on ABC beginning September 22nd.

Speaking of diversity points, CBS lost all of theirs when they let the Asians go from Hawaii Five-O last weekend. Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park both left the show after salary negotiations broke down as they requested pay equal to their costars. I’ve never seen more than 15 minutes of that show, but I know the dude from Lost seemed pretty important to things. He was basically the White guys’ interpreter to all things native. CBS has claimed that they offered them sizable increases, which weren’t deemed acceptable to Park and Kim. Now the Five-O showrunner, Peter Lenkov, is now joining the side of the network, saying that CBS made “generous offers” to the stars, yet they decided not to renew their contracts.

This has turned into a discussion of race in Hollywood and how things still aren’t equal across the board. I’m a big fan of billing. Billing is important, and should go to the most well-known star. It’s the reason all the ’89 Batman posters say “Jack Nicholson” first. Dude was a bigger star. Now, I didn’t watch Lost and I didn’t watch Battlestar Galactica, but I still recognize Kim and Park from those shows. Maybe it’s just because I’m a geek and folks were always talking about those shows. The show’s star, Alex O’Loughlin? I can’t name a thing he’s been in. Don’t know that dude from Adam. And the other lead? James Caan’s kid? Whatever. Y’all mean you couldn’t pony up the cash to keep Lost Dude and Battlestar Girl? We’re not talking about big names here so, unless there was a favored nations clause where O’Loughlin would have to get a raise if they got raises, thereby thwarting the whole “equality” thing, I don’t see what the problem was. As has been pointed out, all O’Loughlin and Caan had to do was stand in solidarity with their costars and this would’ve been a non-issue. Word on the street it O’Loughlin is quitting at the end of the season anyway, so it’s not like we’re talking another 5 years here. He couldn’t keep his ego in check for a season? Nah, for too many folks, as long as they’ve got theirs, they don’t care if you’ve got yours.

We also got a trailer for Pitch Perfect 3, forcing me to reiterate that NOT EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE A TRILOGY. I know everyone involved likes money, but sometimes there are natural, built-in ends to things. That thing was a 2-movie franchise and that’s it. Don’t forget – I lived that life. I was in the same competition the Bellas won in the first film (we came in 2nd), and I experienced the aca-graduation blues that the girls experienced in the second film. That’s pretty much it. There’s nowhere else to go. I mean, sure there are some random outlier outcomes. One of my groupmates is a hit producer in Asia now. Another is a pretty big pop star in Hong Kong. The rest of us? Dead-end jobs and bills. I used to occasionally do karaoke, but even that got to be too depressing. That shit is fun while it lasts, and then you’ve got to move on. So, in that vein, I can understand the plot of the 3rd movie, with the girls wanting to have one last hurrah, but I don’t really understand the concept of putting them on a USO tour. Is that something the troops wanna see? Has Pentatonix been dropped into the theater of war? It just seems kinda farfetched to me, and I was fine with how things were left in the last movie. Sure, I’ll see it, but it won’t be in a theater.

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Hide grandma’s wallet – QVC is buying out Home Shopping Network.

After 3 seasons, The Carmichael Show has been canceled by NBC. I really wish someone else would snatch it up, as it’s a smart show

Netflix has renewed Dear, White People for a 2nd season. Meanwhile, they canceled Girlboss after one season. Reed Hastings giveth and he taketh away.

Speaking of Netflix, hearing the cries of fans, Sense8 will officially conclude with a 2-hour finale special

Netflix also renewed one of my favorite original shows, F is For Family, for a 3rd season.

Apparently a series based on the popular Step Up film series, called Step Up: High Water, will premiere on YouTube Red, where absolutely NOBODY is gonna watch it.

Fuller House season 3 will coincidentally premiere on the 30th anniversary of Full House, September 22nd.

Make your vacations weird again, as Cirque du Soleil has purchased Blue Man Group.

Patton Oswalt is engaged to 80s actress Meredith Salenger. Ya know, the same Patton whose wife died last year. I guess we all grieve in our own ways…

Lack of interest brought down The House, which bombed at the box office last weekend. It was reportedly Will Ferrell’s lowest live-action opening for a major studio.

Nick Fury will reportedly be making his MCU return in 2019’s Captain Marvel

HBO is reportedly getting the True Detective band back together, with a 3rd season to star Mahershala Ali

Nixing speculation that she was still up for the White House Press Secretary job, Kimberly Guilfoyle has reupped her contract with Fox News

Rob Lowe and his sons will chase the supernatural in The Lowe Files, and I literally cannot wait.

New game show, Snap Decision, premieres August 7th. Hosted by David Allen Grier, the show breaks precedent because it will debut on GSN and in syndication on the same date.

The world’s leading (and only) bar scientist favorited my tweet this week

We’re gonna do something different here this week. Usually, if you’ve been paying attention to the week’s news, you can at least try to figure out who or what had the best week. Some weeks it’s harder to choose something than others. Then I remembered, “Will, this is YOUR site.” After all, this is all pop culture through my lens, so it’s my rules. So, sometimes I might choose something that meant a lot to me that week, while you were none the wiser. But I bring it up on the site so that we’re all on the same page. And that’s the kind of pick I have this week.

After watching The Founder, I was left thinking, “Michael Keaton is a goddamn national treasure”. After watching Spider-Man: Homecoming last night (yeah, we’ll talk about it next week, when more of y’all have had a chance to see it), I was thinking “Why have we been sleeping on Keaton the past 20 years?” I mean, with the exception of The Other Guys, I honestly hadn’t seen a Michael Keaton movie since probably Batman Returns, and yet Birdman is the one considered his “comeback vehicle”. In The Founder, he really made you feel for a traveling salesman who was at the end of his rope. After a string of laughable failures, he finally found something to which he could hitch his wagon: McDonald’s. And while he also had to prove this to everyone in his sphere of orbit, most importantly he had to prove this to himself. He really needed a win, and Keaton did such a great job conveying that.

In Homecoming, Keaton plays Adrian Toomes, better known as the Vulture (though he’s never called that by name in the film). Not unlike Alfred Molina’s Dr. Octopus, he’s something of a sympathetic villain. Were it not for the fact that comic book franchises deal in the good/bad binary, you could almost relate to him and understand where he’s coming from. He’s a modern-day working class guy who feels ignored by the fat cats up on high. He doesn’t have evil goals. He simply wants to provide for his family, and he has a code of honor that dictates he must do whatever it takes to make good on that promise. I felt that Keaton did a great job expressing the plight of the working man. Sure, he got to utter some cheesy villain dialogue, but that simply comes with the territory. If you stopped for a minute, and ignored the fact that Spider-Man HAS to win, you realize that Toomes is actually kind of on to something. Again, though, I’ll get into more Homecoming thoughts next week.

My pal Chad pretty much swears by Michael Keaton as his favorite actor – a lot of that having to do with his immense love of 1989’s Batman. I’ve gotta say, I was never a huge fan of Keaton’s Batman, and when Chad would laud Keaton’s praises, I wasn’t really seeing it. I see it now, though. I have seen the light and I am healed! Dear Hollywood, more Michael Keaton, please! He pretty much impressed me on two different cinematic fronts this week, and that’s why Michael Keaton had the West Week Ever.

[pkmnwater]

Thing 39 - Headspace

[A.K.A.: Obligatory La La Land post, Pt. 2] (Seriously, again with the Part 2 without a first part? Yes. I have my raisins.) ~You’re the fear, I don’t care, Cause I’ve never been so high. Follow me, in the dark, Let me take you past our satellites; You can see the world you brought to life, To life.~ [Written February 3, 2017, Rewritten and typed: February 14, 2017]

So about a month ago, I went to see La La Land. And before going on, minor spoiler alert that I’ll be going over the main theme of the movie [duh], but also touch upon the ending, and although I don’t believe it’ll take anything away from the experience of the movie, your mileage may vary. Ergo, preemptive spoiler alert on this one, I’ll mark when I get specific. On a similar vein, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it. It’s not necessarily the best story or movie, cause that’s preferential, but it’s definitely a worthwhile experience, and I say that without a hint of doubt. Highly recommended with greatest praise. It was my first time sitting in a Cineplex VIP theater; one of those larger auditoriums with huge oversized chairs, where they serve you food/drink and there’s a side table instead of just a drink holder. Since they first announced and started building them in my area, about four-five years ago I believe, I had the desire to go to one. I’ve always had a passion for cinema and for interesting/better experiences, so of course you put that together and I’ll be drawn into it like a fly. Except I wasn’t. For a while, it was too difficult to find the time to go to one, as they’re also pretty out of the way for me, and I didn’t drive back when, and to justify the price was kinda hard for me to do without it being some special occasion, but then I had other plans anyway. Then, eventually, my passion for going to the cinema dwindled, then died, for raisins. Either way, the long short is that for one reason or another, I’ve never been to a VIP up until this point. I had heard about a movie doing its rounds at film festivals, garnering quite a lot of attention. but I didn’t personally take much note of it, being distracted by other things at the time. It wasn’t until around November or December of last year when my sister tackled me and forced me to watch a trailer for this interesting little movie (I hate watching trailers). And I was floored, it was so beautiful, and...happy. That was the moment I decided I was going to a VIP, and it was going to be for this movie. I hadn’t been to the movies in quite some time until fairly recently at that point. It was a joy that was taken from me by a number of things, and despite me honestly trying to still enjoy the cinema, I just didn’t/couldn’t. It just wasn’t something I found enjoyable anymore. And it felt terrible; things that used to excite me and things that I knew would’ve excited me simply didn’t. It was a terrible feeling. [Someone remind me to write of “Devoid” at some point, please.] But, obviously it didn’t stay that way. The timing was strange for me. It was around then that I also came to the realization that I loved movies again. I have a friend whom I’ve known for a very long time, but words weren’t exchanged between us for most of that time. She invited me to go a few times, then I started making plans to go. She managed to reignite the movie-goer inside me, reminding me of something I genuinely enjoyed; the whole experience of it, enjoying both narration and symbolism, and the process of film. I had planned to make a model experience. Having a fun night out and getting a brand new experience, something to remember. It was supposed to be that way. I planned it as a way to say thanks to her for all that she did for me. It was supposed to be a easy trip out, dinner and a movie, and the full VIP experience. Y’know, get there early and take in the atmosphere of the lounge, look at the art around the center and in the VIP halls, that whole shebang. That’s how I planned it in my headspace. But things don’t always go according to plan. It turned out the timing for the movie didn’t quite work out, so I suggested something that got lost in translation, and I ended up having to be a busy up until the time to go for the movie, so I was a bit frazzled on time and timing, and being there early was out of the question. In short, it wasn’t perfect, and didn’t go in accordance to what I planned. This put me in an interesting mindset. I had a flood of thoughts [when do I not?!?!] in the back of my mind that I was still in the process of sorting through, dealing with certain thoughts and whatnot. Coincidentally, the loudest of some of those thoughts at the time were about “what could be” or “how it should be”. This compounded with what I was thinking at the time; how the night should’ve went. I kept fixating and feeling bad about it, but put it aside as the movie began so I didn’t taint the experience any further. I knew little of this movie going in. I just knew it was going to be fun and pretty and bright and musical. But I had no idea of the genre or themes or messages. But boy howdy did it end up resonating with my thoughts. The title really does give it away though, “La La Land”. When is that term used?? It’s quite rather simple to figure in hindsight, the movie’s core theme was right there. Headspace. It got me to realize something. In our minds we build up stories and plans for how things should go. Even the most stout realists still have thoughts of how things should or could be. For me, I think endlessly on how things are, and how they could be different, and how they should be, and how things would be if every step was done “right”. This is La La Land. Once I caught on to what the movie was doing, my mind kept drifting off, thinking about how my personal La La Land would be like right now, in correspondence to my current wants. I often speak of how I save certain memories and experiences in my head for quick access. There’s a reason these are the moments I chose, not only do they remind me most of a particular thought or feeling, but many of them are also of moments in my mind when I could’ve done something different. Reality doesn’t always match how you want things to go, a glaring example being that night, still fresh in my mind, but in my personal headspace, I experienced what I had planned; what could’ve been if things went “right”. I closed my eyes [figuratively] and the flashback starts. I recalled the memory that currently makes me smile the most. I feel the wind in the air, the colours all around, the smells, and what I saw, an image I often think of in my mind. It was beautiful, and of beauty incarnate. I recalled what I wanted to do that day, if things were in accordance to my grand design. I relented that I’m satisfied with reality and how things played out, but I keep note of the (new) memory as well, the “what could’ve been”, it’s -my- La La Land after all. I go though and between a few of my strongest memories, turning them in my mind into the��“best” outcome, as per the closing moments of the movie. Piecing together the “perfect” timeline. But it was all in my head. *Spoiler Alert* And then the movie ended, and I was sad. But it’s not a sad ending. If anything, it was quite the opposite. Just because it’s not a fairy tale ending, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad outcome, you can be happy and appreciate things just the way they are, there’s nothing wrong with that. The ending wasn’t even bittersweet, it was happy, just in a non-conventional way. *End Spoiler Alert* That movie messed me up for a good while, because it got me thinking so much about my own La La Land, a concept I sometimes think about, but usually try not to delve too deep lest I get lost. But suffice to say, I feel in the deep end after getting back that night. It too closely resonated with some of the things I was going through already. I am satisfied with how things are and with reality, honest. But despite that, I also can’t shake off the images in my headspace and the thoughts of my La La Land. I was conflicted. I wanted things, things that I know can’t be and I can’t have. I have a particular fondness of and desire for fairy tale endings and for things to just work out. Again, I blame Disney. But reality is harsh, and we rarely get to live in La La Land. That’s what the movie was about. Things have a way of working out the way they’re meant to, and sometimes, despite however hard people try, what someone sees in their headspace just isn’t quite possible. But that doesn’t mean we can’t/shouldn’t have a La La Land, and certainly not that we should give up on it. I conclude that one can be happy with both reality and what could be at the same time. You see, from where I stand, I believe that it’s actually an interesting duality, and both sides must exist to empower the other. We have reality, sometimes cruel and harsh, and separate from what we want and desire. This creates in our headspaces our personal La La Lands, where we see what we want, and envision our lives if things had gone “right”. We can take that image, that dream, and then work towards it in reality. Reality will probably never match the life we have in La La Land, but with enough work and luck, it can come pretty close, right??

~Bouken desho, desho?~ “It’s an adventure, right??” Of course it is. The present of today will be the past of tomorrow, proof that time is magical and each moment a miracle. Just because something stands in the way of where we’re going or where we want to be, it’s up to you to decide to stop.  With renewed passion and those thoughts behind me, I’ll move forward with what I have, working for what I want, with hopes that it’ll come together eventually. And even if things fall apart along the way, if I’m happy with where things end up, I’ll have my La La Land -and- my reality. It’s somewhat related to a mindset I’ve adopted recently (something I’ll write about soon), and the timing of seeing this movie just cements it in my mind. I’m a better person for it.

[previous] [next] [If you're new, or want to start over, press here] [I’ll get to fixing my links soon, I swear. Plus posting my backlogs. But, consider this a formal return to form.] [Guh, thinking about La La Land so much again really makes me want to just go off and gush about it some more. It’s honestly such a pretty and happy and fun movie. I can’t wait for the blu-ray to come out.]

[placetobenation]

Melody Time

Release Date: May 27th, 1948

Inspiration: N/A

Budget: $1.5 million

Domestic Gross: $1.81 million

Worldwide Gross: $2.56 million

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

IMDB Score: 6.4/10

Storyline (per IMDB): Segments: “Once Upon a Wintertime,” two lovers rescued from an icy river by friendly animals; “Bumble Boogie,” bee beset by musical instruments and symbols come to life; “Johnny Appleseed,” story of the legendary pioneer tree-planter; “Trees,” mood piece set to musical treatment of Joyce Kilmer’s poem; “Little Toot,” story of a heroic little tugboat who saves an ocean liner; “Blame it on the Samba,” Donald Duck and Jose Carioca have the blues blown away at a Latin cafe; “Pecos Bill,” story of the legendary cowpoke, his trusty mount Widowmaker and his sweetheart Slue Foot Sue.

Pre-Watching Thoughts: We continue to trek our way towards the end of the 1940s with the fifth straight package film released during this time. It’s been no secret in doing these reviews that the package films have not held up that well which isn’t to say they’ve been bad which they aren’t, but compared to what I have watched prior to them I have seen a downturn in quality. Fortunately, we only have two more to go and hopefully this film ends up slightly better than what Make Mine Music was, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Voice Cast: Much like Make Mine Music, we have some big names for the time brought in to serve as either the narrators or singers for the segments though some of them also provide voices for the characters in a few of the segments. We first have Buddy Clark who sings the title song and provides the buffers between segments which he does a fine job at, and then for the Winter Wonderland segment we have Francis Langford performing in what would be one of her final performances on the big screen. Next we have composer and musician Freddy Martin who leads the orchestra in playing “Flight of the Bumblebee” and then for the story of Johnny Appleseed, we have radio personality Dennis Day who narrates while also voicing Johnny and his guardian angel. We then have a returning group as the Andrews Sisters tell the story of Little Toot and following that, we have bandleader Fred Waring along with his group the Pennsylvanians as they perform the music for the poem about trees. For “Blame it on the Samba”, the Dinning Sisters perform the song while organist Ethel Smith performs the organ and makes a live action cameo playing the organ while Donald and Jose dance for her. Finally for the segment on Pecos Bill, we have a few more live action cameos as legendary actor Roy Rogers narrates the story of child actors Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll while Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers sing the story of Pecos Bill. Those involved did well in their jobs and they were pretty big names for the time, and for some of them this would be the peak of their careers while for others it was just another step in their careers.

Hero/Prince: N/A

Princess: N/A

Villain: N/A

Other Characters: So again much like Fantasia and Make Mine Music, we don’t have any main characters as we just have characters that are specific to their own segments and we don’t see them intertwine. For the first segment, we have the couple that is known as Joe and Jenny though they do not speak at all, and we also have the animals that accompany them as well as help Joe save Jenny in the end. We then have the bumblebee who goes through a wild ride in “Bumble Boogie”, and then in our first major segment we have Johnny Appleseed and his guardian angel along with the pioneers and animals featured as well. Next we have Little Toot along with the other tugboats who shun him when he causes chaos before accepting him when he saves a ship during a storm, and then we have the return of Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and the Aracuan bird who join Ethel Smith in dancing the samba. Finally, we have Roy Rogers, Luana Patten, Bobby Driscoll, and the cowboys who sing the story of Pecos Bill, and in the actual segment we have Pecos Bill, his love Slue Foot Sue, and the cowboys of the town they live in. This was fine as again these characters worked well for the segments that they were featured in and really besides Donald and Jose, they wouldn’t work well within the other segments especially since nothing connects them together.

Songs: Once again much like Fantasia and Make Mine Music, we have a film where each segment is basically either a song animated or a segment that is mainly sung by someone so those will not be included here even though they were considered. However, we do have one song that is included in here and that is the title track for the film entitled “Melody Time”, and it is pretty similar to Make Mine Music in that it was written so that the film could have a title track. It was a fine song to start things off for the film and works well for the film, but much like the other title tracks of the package films it doesn’t stand up to the other major Disney songs.

Plot: Not to sound like a broken record, but we once again have a film that is pretty much in the same vein as Fantasia and Make Mine Music in that there is no overarching story in the film, instead it is a series of segments set to music that may feature some dialogue or narration. Each segment was completely different from the other ones so there was no real flow between segments, and the only buffer to each segment was a magic paintbrush that would showcase who was up next while we heard the narrator hype the segment. It was fine for what it was since it was pretty much just a bunch of animations around the music aside from telling the stories of Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill, and it worked well for a film like this as again it was the same style of Fantasia and Make Mine Music.

Random Watching Thoughts: I didn’t think Radio RKO Pictures was still around even at this point; Trigger: The Smartest Horse in the Movies; Once again, we have a title song made specifically to intro the film of the same name; It is kind of interesting how they make it seem like you are watching a variety show given how many segments there are; Kind of funny that we have a segment about a winter wonderland given that the film was released in May; I don’t know why, but this animation just feels very un-Disney like; They had to find numerous ways to make a variety of hearts to put over the romance in this segment; How did they go from being on a pond to being in a river so quickly, and where did that waterfall come from?; It is interesting knowing that since this was before TV, their guest stars were mostly stars on the radio; Fun fact: the segment about the flight of the bumblebee was originally considered for Fantasia; That poor bee went through so much with the instruments blowing him around and stalking him; I feel like Johnny Appleseed is not talked about much in the modern day for how legendary a pioneer he was; I wonder if Johnny ever at any point in his life grew tired of apples and wanted to grow something else; It’s always funny that the pioneers were so excited to travel out west completely unaware of the dangers they were going to face; They really made apples seem like nature’s greatest gift; You have to be so dedicated to your craft if you pay no heed to any animals that are ready to attack you; When has a skunk ever been referred to as a black and white cat?; You want to know how to tame animals when they are prepared to attack them, just pet them softly and they will fall in love with you. Typical Disney logic; There is no jubilee quite like an apple jubilee; That chipmunk on Johnny’s shoulder again looks suspiciously like Dale, but where’s Chip?; You must be very happy with your life if you spend 40 years just planting apple seeds before falling asleep under a tree and dying peacefully; Even in death, Johnny feels like he can continue planting the frontier until the angel tells him he can plant in heaven; Little Toot was basically acting like a disobedient toddler even though he wanted to be a help; How strong was Little Toot that he could push that big ship around with such ease to cause it to crash into the city?; I get that Little Toot had to be punished for what he did, but forcing him out into the ocean by himself seems a bit harsh; Even the buoys and lighthouse had no sympathy for Little Toot; Is it a coincidence that there just happened to be a ship in need of help so that Little Toot could redeem himself?; I feel like by this point they were scraping the bottom of the barrel by doing an animated segment about a poem to a tree; This “Trees” segment seems like it could’ve fit better in Bambi; Good to see Donald, Jose Carioca, and the Aracuan bird one more time, almost like they were the poster children for these package films since they have been in a bunch of them; I like how Donald and Jose were figuratively and literally blue until the samba brought the color back to them; Also, is it coincidental that there is always a live action female whenever Donald and Jose are around?; I wonder if you ask someone what they know about Roy Rogers, they might mention the chain of fast food restaurants that are named for him; I know Texas is the biggest state in the continental US, but talk about your exaggerations when they showed the size of Texas compared to the other states, plus we apparently have the Gulf of Texas which replaced the Gulf of Mexico; So Pecos Bill was raised by coyotes similar to how Mowgli was raised by wolves in “The Jungle Book”; Fitting that the welcoming committee for the desert is a flock of vultures; Fun fact: the scene with the tornado was edited out of the video release originally due to Bill smoking a cigarette yet somehow the scene with Bill chasing the Native Americans was kept in; Nothing comes between a cowboy and his horse expect for a beautiful woman; Western weddings were very complex, especially back in the old days; That bustle must be strong as hell to keep Sue bouncing repeatedly until she was able to bounce to the moon, and how did she survive in space?

Overall Thoughts: Overall, this film was just slightly better than Make Mine Music but it is still not that great of a film which is unfortunate. Again, I want to make it clear that these films are not bad per se and they are fine for what they were, but when you are comparing them to the other films in the Disney canon they do not hold up that well. These package films were already kind of maligned to begin with and I was hoping that perhaps they were more underrated and underappreciated, but sadly that has not been the case. We only have one more film left in the package era before we begin the new decade and jump right back into the major films, and hopefully the last package film can end this era on a good note. As for Melody Time, it is a perfectly acceptable film for what it was though it definitely ranks near the bottom of the ranks of the Disney film canon.

Final Grade: 3.5/10