#but oh my god finally getting to write 365/365 was SO satisfying

[1morteveryday]

365/365 👣

[candygirl101x]

Romance MD: Always on Call Munechika Takado Review (if you can really call it that)

Honestly I wasn’t expecting to write a review on this, because; 1. I wasn’t the slightest bit interested in the newest release. 2. And secondly…well I don’t write reviews.

But I haven’t seen that much noise about this title yet; whether that’s due to the lack of interest, the lengthy time it takes to read this whole story, the frustrating amount of hearts (A.K.A your hard earned dollar) you have to spend to achieve a SHE, or perhaps all of the above.

When I saw advertisements for Love 365’s latest release, I honestly didn’t give a damn. Oh joy, another Love Choice title (which by the way everyone asked for…not), the same old character types (I felt like Voltage should’ve changed their name to ‘Oresama’s R Us’) and I didn’t take a liking to any of the character’s physical looks either (except Kasumi, what a babe.)

So when Romance MD was finally released I wasn’t rushing to read it. Lately I’ve been more preoccupied reading another otome (Mr Love Queen’s Choice, if anyone is interested) rather than any releases on Love 365 as it just isn’t giving me that enticing story that I’d throw away life’s commitments in an instant to read. After reading Takado’s story, I only wish that I’d stop judging a book by it’s cover (although I know I definitely won’t).

I found myself reading through the story mostly because it was free (we already know the debate on that one, in the end I think I spent £14) and because I was bored. However, it wasn’t long before I found myself being sucked into the story and just thoroughly enjoying the interactions between the characters.

The MC

I could describe the MC as a breath of fresh air, I could describe her as a complete car crash but I feel as though a more accurate description is Marmite. For those of you who don’t know (probably anyone outside of the UK), Marmite is a food spread that people have on toast/sandwiches etc. The debate is that there are thousands of people who love Marmite more than their firstborn child but on the other hand there’s equally as many people who think Marmite is the work of Satan himself, and would find their dog’s faeces more appetising. So I can’t help but feel like you’ll love her for being new, exciting and different…or you’ll hate her because she’s extremely arrogant, a know-it-all and just plain annoying.

Reasons to love the MC:

She’s clever, like really clever. I have no idea what half those words mean that come out of her mouth but this girl knows her shit.                              

She’s determined and persistent. I mean, I guess all MC’s are when I think about it but it’s generally a good trait to have. The MC doesn’t let Takado out of her sight for a second, even using her skills of being on the track team in highschool to sprint after him when he tries to run away which is highly hilarious. Although can you imagine an MC who isn’t persistent? We’d have no story. Kind of funny thinking about that actually, an MC who just says “Right! I’ve had enough of you abusing me, I’m off home to eat ice cream and watch Netflix. You continue cutting people’s legs off willy nilly like they can grow back.”

She’s relatable. I can’t stress this one enough. Yeah maybe not the medical textbook mumbo jumbo but the social awkwardness and the constant daydreams of Sekai (her otome boyfriend) is something many of us can understand.

She’s not a sheep. This girl has a mind of her own. I take my hat off to her for going up against her superior’s when she thinks something is wrong, I don’t have that kind of backbone.

Reasons to hate the MC:

She can be plain rude. Like I can praise the girl for sticking up for herself but sometimes she’s a little too tart-tongued for my liking. I did cringe a bit, wishing she’d dial things back from time to time.

Missing some classic MC traits, comes across as arrogant. I mean, I guess this one is personal preference. I do like the more outgoing MC who isn’t afraid to speak her mind, but surely it’s natural to not be so arrogant in front of doctors who have years of experience on you? Like the MC is 26, I’m pretty sure all of the guys are 30+ (pretty sure Takado is 35) and have been doctors for a longer time than the MC has even been training to be a doctor. I did find myself missing the humble, kind hearted MC a bit. You really don’t have to be arrogant to be a strong willed woman, my favourite MC is the MC from Our Private Homeroom, I felt like she had a good mix of all the traits.

Can be annoying. Like there’s a time and place to be talking about the topic you’re currently spouting on about MC, and now definitely isn’t the correct time/place.

I was honestly saying the same thing to myself Tak

Takado

Takado himself is not necessarily anything we haven’t seen before. He’s not hiding anything you probably haven’t already guessed. Him and the MC have frequent domestics (which 9 times out of 10 end in her being hit over the head with a file) in places they should definitely not be having domestics, which in itself provides a series of highly entertaining scenes, for not only us but also the rest of the ICU doctors. He doesn’t baby the MC, he tells her when she’s done messed up but does also show signs of kindness behind his stoney façade, especially more towards the end of the story. I also appreciated that his backstory was more than meets the eye, there’s nothing I find more boring than a predictable plot line. Generally, I found him likeable. In fact, more often than not I felt sorry for him for having to put up with the absolute garbage that drops out of the MC’s mouth. I dunno how the hell he ended up falling in love with her too, I’d run a mile if that was me. But then again I did pay £14 for him, so if he didn’t I’d be god damn pissed.

He is equally (actually even more so) as intelligent as the MC, without bragging about how much he knows which was rather refreshing. I mean he does call the MC a thousand different variants of the word stupid, but every single time was justified in my eyes.

Although one thing I must say...

God damn son.

Stuff to Note

One thing I need to comment is holy smokes, how long is this story? When I saw the looming 30 chapters I figured that they were probably going to be over faster than my money leaves my account on payday, but boy how wrong I was. Now this almost certainly is a money grab in order to get you to spend more hearts to get the “good choices” but despite that, I was really impressed with just how long the story took me to read. Maybe I’m just getting old, but usually on any main story I can bash it out in under 2 hours. With this, I actually had to stop myself from reading and go the hell to sleep because it was 4 in the morning. When I checked the next day to what chapter I was on, I thought I was tripping when I realised I’d only just made it halfway through the story. Voltage kudos to you. The story was the perfect length to have good plot pacing, decent character development and satisfying romance at the end.

Now granted if you’re looking for a lovey-dovey romance throughout the whole story this isn’t the route for you. The romance doesn’t really kick start until at least 3/4 of the way through this route, and even then it’s nothing that exciting. The MC struggles to understand what love even is herself, having her only boyfriends being fictional otome men (the relatability is real), she finds herself unable to register what those feelings are. It’s not until a playful bullying from the other ICU doctors and a dictionary search that she realises she’s in love.

But in general, I found Takado’s route an enjoyable read with well placed comedic timing and good focus on the the more serious side of things when it was important. So if you find yourself bored like me, maybe just give it a read. Just don’t come at me with torches and pitchforks when you’re $15 poorer.

Moments I Particularly Enjoyed

The reminder that you are in fact reading the correct story

The scientific breakdown of kabedon

The obvious sarcastic remarks, that the socially inept MC doesn’t understand

The casual discussion of banging in the workplace

Pros and Cons

Pros

Character Development. I feel like both the MC and Takado showed character development. The MC when she finally figured out she has to stop being so damn arrogant and realise the consequences of when she opens her mouth. And Takado, that he can’t just tell people they’re having their leg cut off and just walk off.

Length. Need I say more.

Good pacing. Story progresses, MC progresses, Romance progresses. Good job guys.

Well written. Actually laughed out loud a fair few times whilst reading this story, which I definitely wasn’t expecting. Also whoever came up with the idea of the character sprites holding up a board for comic effect is a god damn genius.

Good group dynamics. I mean it’s not KBTBB, but I enjoyed reading the interactions between all the ICU doctors. Hopefully with more releases we’ll be able to see more of their relationship with each other.

Cons

Love Choice. I mean you can read this story completely free…just you won’t know any of the back story, you won’t get any of the romantic moments and you’ll get the shit ending. But if you’re happy spending $15 for a main story then this is a pro I suppose.

Lacking in romance. Now I’m not saying there isn’t any, I personally don’t have an issue with how things progressed (I much prefer the romance to come in following stories like epilogues and sequels) but I have a feeling if you’re after something with a lot of romance running throughout it, this story won’t be for you.

Too many legs were harmed in the making of this route. People be getting their legs cut off more times than I’ve had hot dinners. Everyone thinks Takado goes around cutting people’s legs off for fun…and honestly you can’t blame them for thinking that.

Not many CGs. Remember the days when we had 6 CGs for a main story? I know I’m being picky but having 1 CG in episode 1 and the last CG in the SHE, that only leaves 2 other CGs for 28 episodes. If you’re gonna have a main story that long, surely you can spare another CG or two Voltage?

I’ve put the character sprites and the CGs below a read more button so people can avoid spoilers. So if you’re interested in what I’ve officially renamed the characters keep reading :) VVVVVVVV

Starring

Dr.Amputation (I’m telling you now, you wouldn’t want this one for your general health checkup) (Takado)

Angry Coach (Takao)

Angry Coach’s Wife (Who I’ve actually forgotten the name of)

Darling Boy (Haruto)

Darling Boy’s mother (Yoko)

Flirty McGee (Hosho)

Kasumi’s Die-hard Fan (but can you blame him?) (Kyogoku)

Dean the Absolute Meme (Matsunaga)

Ghost Hospital Director (Seriously, I think we see him like once in the whole route(why is he even on this list? Because I already had a screenshot and I’d figured I might as well use it) (Usagida)

ICU’s On-Call Doctor Dealer (Ekuni)

Total Babe (Kasumi) (Just you wait till your ass is out bitch)

Also can you blame me?

Ultimate Waifu (Missy)

Partner in Otaku Crime (Asuka)

Cute Penguin (Watch out Sydney, she’s coming for your top spot on the favourite Voltage mascot list and probably your large swimming pool) (Kalmia)

A reformed KBTBB Villain (Mario)

The Main Character (Sekai)

The Actual Main Character (Why we see her sprite for one split second I’m not overly sure, but yeah hard pass Voltage)

CGs

Episode 1

Episode 18

Episode 27

SHE

Now if I were you, I’d go and actually find a good review to read. Like @aqvarius

[weelittleweasley]

A Love Letter | Sweet Pea x Reader

Prompt submitted by anon: It’s Valentine’s Day and Sweet Pea is absolutely clueless as to what to get you. He asks your friends as to what to buy, but he then decides to give you what money can’t buy...

Request status: Closed

Warnings: Lots of fluff :) (with a sexy surprise at the end ooh baby)

Sweet Pea never really understood Valentine’s Day, mainly because he never celebrated it. It was absurd to him, really. People running all over the place, nearly running each other over, just to buy stupid flowers and cheap chocolate. But it all became very clear to him when he met you. People were running all over for their loved ones to find that special thing that would show the other how much they cared.

However, Sweets didn’t think that dollar quality chocolate and a bunch of roses would show how much love he had for you. He wanted to do something different. Something special. Something memorable. But he couldn’t think of exactly what to get you. And that’s when he started to badger your friends.

During school, he’d chase your friends down, asking them what you wanted for Valentine’s Day. Maybe you had told them what your wanted and he could finally put together your gift. “Betty, she didn’t tell you anything? Like anything?” he questioned her as they walked down Riverdale High.

Betty shook her head, laughing. “Why are you so worried, Sweet Pea?” she asked him as he widened his eyes and opened his mouth slightly, in shock. “Okay, I get it. You love Y/N and I’m happy for the both of you. But you shouldn’t be so stressed over a little holiday. Valentine’s Day is one of the most overrated holidays. Just get her some flowers and set up a little movie night for the two of you,” she suggests.

Her suggestion made him groan. “That’s generic. Y/N isn’t generic,” he tells Betty. Betty ‘aww’ed at him as he rolled his eyes. “Did she mention anything she’s getting me?” he asked. Betty just smirked in response and his eyes widened further. “What is it?”

“I can’t tell you! It’s a surprise!” she exclaims. But before Pea can further interrogate her, the bell rings and Betty dashes off to class.

There was no way he was going to get anything out of your friends; They all said the exact same thing. ‘Get her something from the heart!’ which was probably the most vague statement to exist. At this point, Sweets has hit a wall and he didn’t know what to do. Valentine’s Day was three days away and he was running out of time. So, he did what any other person would do.

The two of you sat on his couch, cuddled together watching a movie. Your head rested on his chest, legs folded over his lap. Pea placed a small kiss to your temple, pulling you into his body more. You softly smiled and cuddled your face into his neck. Sweets laughed lightly, rubbing his hand up his back. “Comfy, baby?” he asked as you nodded. He quickly paused the movie and exhaled. “I got a question for you.”

You looked at him confused, “What’s up?”

He bit his bottom lip, not knowing how to phrase this. The look of confused on his face was funny to you as you let a little giggle out. “What, uh, what do you want for Valentine’s Day?” he asks.

Smiling softly, you cupped his cheek, rubbing it with your thumb. He leaned into your hand as you spoke, “Oh, you don’t have to get me anything, Pea.” Of course, he negated you, yet you insisted. “I’m serious. I’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day, so it’s not that big of a deal!”

But Pea sighed, holding your hand in his, “That’s why I wanna get something for you! I wanna make your first Valentine’s Day special and memorable.” You smiled before kissing his lips quickly. “Now, tell me what you want.”

Sighing, you spoke, “I want to be with you on Valentine’s Day. I don’t care what we do. I just wanna spend the day with you.”

Although what you said was true, it still wasn’t enough to satisfy Sweet Pea. Valentine’s Day was now in one day and time was running out. He had no idea what to get you as he sat at his kitchen table, thinking to himself. It was too late to go buy something at the mall and he was running out of ideas. Sweets huffed and leaned back in his chair. You were too important to him for him to not get anything to you. When you guys starting dating, his life changed and for the better. He needed to get you something that showed you that. Then all of the sudden, an idea popped into his head and he ran to get a pen and a sheet of paper.

Valentine’s Day arrived and you pulled up to Sweet Pea’s trailer with take out from Pop’s in hand. Nothing too fancy was going on today compared to what your friends had in mind. Veronica and Archie were going out to a fancy dinner while Jughead and Betty were taking a road trip. But you didn’t mind lobbing on the couch with Pea all day. In fact, this was an ideal date for you. You knocked twice on the door and Pea opened it up almost immediately with a huge smile on his face. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” you smiled as he brought you into a bear hug.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, princess,” he kissed your lips.

You and Sweets sat on his couch, eating Pop’s and cracking jokes here and there. It was so nice to spend time with the guy you loved, just enjoying each others company. As you munched on a fry, Sweets smiled, “Can I give you my gift?”

Looking at him, you softly sighed, “I told you I didn’t want anything!”

He shook his head. “I know, but I wanted to do something for you,” he kissed your cheek. “But Betty also told me you got something for me and it wouldn’t be very gentleman-ly of me if I didn’t get you one.”

As he got up to get his gift, you spoke, “Hold on, first, since when have you cared about being a gentleman and second, what the heck did Betty say!”

Sweet Pea only laughed from the other room as he grabbed the gift. He came back into the room with a single red rose in hand and a red envelope in the other. “For my love,” he smiled, handing you both items.

Giggling, you accepted both, sniffing the rose before opening up the envelope. Inside was a letter, written in Pea’s hand writing that read:

Dear Y/N,

You told me that you didn’t want a gift for Valentine’s Day. But when have I ever listened to you? I knew that no monetary gift I could give you could truly represent how much I love and appreciate you. So, I thought it’d be better if I told you. I know that I’m not good at speaking my feelings, but you are worth telling. Since being with you for the past seven months, my life has changed exponentially. You have made me a better student, boyfriend, and person and I can’t thank you enough for that. You have showed me what true love is. Before you, I didn’t think it existed. Many designate this day as the one day that couples show each other their love. But I will use all 365 days to show you how much I love you. Every day, I love you more and more. I cannot picture my life without you and it baffles me how I lived this long without you. Thank you for being the light of my life. I love you more than words can describe. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love forever and always,

Sweets xo

Small tears formed in your eyes as you looked up at him. “Oh my God...Pea,” you croaked as he smiled. His letter made you fall back in love with him all over again. “You couldn’t have given me a better gift. Thank you.” You leaned over to kiss him sweetly as he grabbed your waist, pulling you into his lap. You loved this boy more than you have ever loved anything else which was slightly terrifying. “I love you so much.”

“I love you so much more, baby,” he whispered against your lips before kissing you hard. His lips were demanding against yours as you gave into his touch. His grip on your waist tightened as you ran your fingers into his hair. You opened up your mouth, allowing his tongue to enter your mouth, massaging his tongue with yours. Pea’s lips then started to trail down your neck, placing small kisses to your chest. “I love you so much,” he huffed between kisses. With one swift motion, he took off your shirt to reveal a red lace bra underneath the plain gray t-shirt. You saw Sweets eyes widen as you laughed. “Is this my gift?”

Lightly laughing, you spoke, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

He sighed, “Oh, baby,” before pressing his lips back onto yours.

[prettyyoungtragedy]

You and I, Just the two of us - Chapter 1

You and I, just the two of us - (AU!)

James (Bucky) x reader,  – Steve x reader (Later in fic)

Summary: The reader is reeling from a life changing event, a year later can she finally move on? Or will the past come tumbling down like an avalanche…

 A/N: Sooo I decided to do an AU! Its my first time writing one, I am rather excited so I sinceeeerely hope you all drop me some feedback, because I god damn love writing!!

 Word Count: 3361

 Warnings: Nothing I can think of…

1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10

 “Y/N!” a voice called from behind you, you slowed down your pace and hopped slightly from foot to foot trying to keep up your body temperature in icy New York cold, it was your best friend Natasha. She never jogged with you in the mornings, so you were quite surprised to see her in workout attire jogging towards you.

“Hey Nat,” you respond giving her a quick hug,

“Thought I’d join you today,” she smiled, taking a spot to you right as you both began to jog down the pathway,

“You hate jogging,” you pointed out, you knew Nat was only here because of what day it was, and she wanted to make sure you were okay.

“I mean I don’t hate it, I just prefer less strenuous forms of exercise” Natasha replied, stretching her arms as she jogged in her bright pink parka and black tights.

You just shrugged and then fell into a comfortable jogging rhythm. Jogging had always cleared your mind, it was sort of comforting, especially in the crisp cool morning air.

Natasha made small conversation as you continued your run, you could see she was hankering to ask you if you were okay, but she was avoiding the topic entirely and after the run, she suggested you go for breakfast.

Once seated at a table in the warm bistro, you listen quietly to Natasha babble on about her fiancé Bruce and his upcoming event which both of you should attend, but your mind was only paying half attention to what she was saying.

“Y/N? are you listening?” She says snapping her manicured fingers in front of your face,

“Oh, shit sorry, what were you saying,” you say apologetically, snapping out of your thoughts

Natasha sighed, “I’m sorry, I have to ask but are you okay Y/N?”

“I’m fine Nat,” you respond, taking a sip of your latte in front of you nonchalantly,

“Are you sure, because I know today was supposed to be your,” she started but you cut her off

“Nat, I really don’t want to think about it okay, I said I’m fine”, you said, almost annoyed with her, but you stopped yourself. There was no point in getting irritated with her, she was only trying to make sure you were okay.

You both were quiet for a moment, then Nat broke the silence, “You should come over for dinner tonight,” she suggested “Bruce is making his famous lasagna,” she grinned, knowing how much you loved spending time with Bruce as you were both in similar fields at work but also because he was one of the easiest people to get along with, and his lasagna was truly great.

“I was actually thinking of staying in tonight, it’s been such a long week at work, Tony has me working overtime on this new eco project,” you said, knowing trying to get out of this invite was futile because Natasha was one of the most insistent people you knew.  

“Oh, shut up, you’re coming, you don’t even have to bring anything.”  She retorted, and you knew that was that, you were going.

You were appreciative of Natasha being so demanding sometimes, the two of you had been friends since high school. She was the frivolous carefree charismatic student body president type at Rutgers and graduated to become a magazine editor for the New Yorker and you in your quiet reserved way, had graduated from Rutgers university as one of the foremost scientists in nuclear physics and landed a job at Stark industries, one of the leaders in clean energy. You were an odd pair, but you had always been there for each other through thick and thin.

“So should we do some shopping on this fine Saturday morning?”  Nat asked you, as you both finished up breakfast,

“Ugh, Nat, please don’t make me go shopping with you,” You groaned, you loved her but she had a genuine shopaholic problem.

“Oh, come on! We haven’t spent any time together lately!” She whined, “You’re always stuck in that lab of yours,”

“I have some work to take care of,” You chuckled as you see her pull an annoyed face,

“I call bullshit!” She snorted, “But fine, I’ll just go shopping with Wanda.”

You roll your eyes at her, Wanda was a mutual friend, but she was an upper east side princess. Which sort of annoyed you, she loved the glamourous life and Natasha and she got along famously, you though, not so much.

“Have fun with that,” You replied, gathering up your things, “I am going home to have a hot shower and enjoy the rest of my Saturday with my work,”

“But I’ll see you tonight, right?” Nat said pointedly,

“Yes, Natasha Romanoff, I will be at your place for dinner at 7 o’clock.” You said dryly.

With a satisfied nod from her, you and Natasha exchange goodbyes and you step out of the toasty bistro and into the icy morning air. As you walk down the block towards your apartment, you were suddenly almost bowled by a tall muscular guy, wearing a navy-blue parka. His face almost covered by the ski mask he wore, but beneath his cap all you saw were his dazzling blue eyes.

“Hey!” you exclaimed as he brushed passed you not even stopping to see if you were okay, “Thanks asshole!” you call after him picking up your belongings you had dropped on the floor and, flipping him off as he marched away in front of you.  

You contemplated going after the guy and giving him a piece of your mind, but you didn’t have the energy today to deal with any drama. So instead you hurriedly walked back to your apartment, ready to get out of the now sleeting weather, as soon as you reach your apartment door you feel your heart sinking again. It was all well and good that you spent almost 20 hours of your day at the lab but coming home always flooded you with memories of him, you hated yourself for not moving out of this apartment and moving on, but your heart was still aching for him. Luke Charles had broken you heart and pretty much ripped your soul out of you when he left you for another woman 365 days ago, you were engaged, and today would have been the day of your wedding.

As you walk into the dark apartment, you gaze around at the remnants of your old relationship. You didn’t have the heart to get rid of all the stuff in it, all the stuff you had gotten together. You had turned all the pictures around but not taken them off the wall, you couldn’t bring yourself to close that chapter of your life. Because he had not given you closure, he left you in the middle of the night with just a text saying he needed to get out, it was too much for him and he had met someone else he loved and wanted to build a life with. You hadn’t seen him since then, no contact, nothing.

Your friends were there for you and had tried to get you to move out, and move on but your heart was still firmly attached to this place, and to Luke. Even after what he had done, you couldn’t believe he, the soft natured, loving generous person that he was could abandon you after four years of being together.

You sighed and flipped the lights on, casting a warm glow across the cream and brown living room. you walk into the kitchen and immediately pour yourself a glass of wine, you needed it, because just this morning before your run you had found the invite to your wedding in a box you thought you had hidden away at the back of your cupboard, and that was now sending you into a grief spiral again.

Suddenly your phone rang on the counter, the chiming of the ringtone echoing through the kitchen. Grabbing it off the counter, you see the screen light up in bold letters, James Buchanan Barnes.

You groaned, knowing that this was a phone call you were avidly avoiding today of all days. James had been your friend since university, he and Natasha dated for a while before they spilt, less amicably that you would have liked but you adored James, so it was only natural that you remained friends with him even though him and Natasha split. They had tried to reconcile a few times but failed miserably so just opted to be tolerant acquaintances for your sake.

James had been the angriest then Luke left you, he vowed if he had to ever see him again he would kill him, and you genuinely believed him, because he was a built like a brick shithouse.

“Hello James,” you answer, anticipating his worried voice over the receiver,

“Y/N, hey!” his husky cheery voice sounded through the phone, hearing his voice cheered you up a little. He had been a source of comfort through this period in your life, trying his utmost to keep you happy and healthy.

“What’s up?” you ask,

“Are you home?” he replied,

“Yeah, I just got home, I am assuming you are on your way here?” You said, taking a sip of the cold wine,

“Yes, I am walking up the stairs as we speak,” he chuckled, “See you in two seconds,” then he hung up,

Sure enough, a minute later you hear the front door open and James walked in, “Y/N?” he called out,

“In the kitchen,” you responded, taking out a beer from the fridge already knowing he was going to ask for one,

James walked into the kitchen, pulling of his black parka, gloves and scarf.  “God damn, its cold out there” he said tossing his items of clothing on the counter, and coming over to give you a hug.

“Hey buddy,” he says softly giving you a peck on the cheek, “You doin’ okay?”

You gave him a small smile, “As well as I will ever be I guess,” was your timid response,

James nodded sympathetically, and took the beer you offered him, he wasn’t going to dwell on the subject, so he distracted you, “Oh hey, did I tell you I bumped into that Wanda girl a bar the other day,”

You both took a seat at the kitchen table, “No, no you did not tell me that,”

He whistles, “That girl is a piece of work, she is all kinds of bat shit crazy.” He says, grinning devilishly,

“Ugh, James please don’t tell me you are sleeping with her, because my delicate constitution cannot handle that level of gross right now.” You respond, making a disgusted face at him.

James laughed gleefully, “Well, yes and no, I fucked her… once” he paused “Okay maybe twice,”

“James Buchanan Barnes,” you groaned facepalming yourself, “Of all the women in the upper east side, throwing themselves at you, you just HAD to sleep with her!”

James laughed again, “Wait that’s not even the kicker, she now genuinely believes I want to be in a relationship with her,”

You sighed loudly, knowing that this whole situation was going to end up royally screwing you all over because he wasn’t wrong, Wanda was bat shit fucking crazy.

“So, I have been avoiding her calls and texts like the plague, but man that girl is relentless. Any ideas on how I can escape her, you know her pretty well?” He continued,

“ugh, my god you are disgusting.” Was your only response, “You’re on your own there pal, she doesn’t like me.”

“Ah come on, don’t leave me out in the cold like that, help a guy out.” He bargained, chuckling

You chuckled with him, shaking your head.

James had a way of making every situation so lighthearted and fun, you loved having him around for that reason. It was so easy being yourself around him, he never pressed you with questions about your feelings or how you were or pestered you to move out and on, he just simply wanted you to be happy. And that was the only kind of friend you needed right now.

“So, what are our plans for the day?” he asks you, sipping his beer.

You loved how he just invited himself into your plans for the day without asking, “Well, I have some work to do, and then Nat invited me for dinner. Bruce is making lasagna,” you replied,

“Oooh, I want to come for Bruce’s lasagna,” James said, faking excitement  

“No, what are you up to James?” you say narrowing  your eyes at him,

“Oh, come on, I want to see Nat and  you know I love Bruce, and all his nerdy glory,” James laughed at his own comment,

“You’re the worst, but fine come if you want to but don’t get mad when you don’t get what you want,” you replied, polishing off the wine in your glass,

“it’s a Saturday, why are you working?” he asked genuinely perplexed by this, changing the topic,

“Because,” you say standing up, “Unlike some of us who have rich daddy’s who pay for our lifestyle, I have to work to earn a living” and walking to the living room,

James snorted, “Hey, I can’t help it if I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth,” he followed you to the living room, “I’ll pay your rent this month if you skip work today and just hang out with me,”

You scoffed at him, and sat down at your desk opening your laptop. You already had 42 emails to answer. “Come on, Y/N!” James whined, “Leave your sciencey stuff for a day, lets go to Rockefeller Center and see all the Christmas lights!”

“It’s the middle of the morning,” you retort, scrolling through your emails as he continued to shoot ideas at you,

“Lets go to 5th avenue then, I’ll take you to Bergdorfs and buy you …leggings?” he said, still trying to get you to budge.

“Really? Leggings?” you laughed mockingly looking up at him, as he leaned against your work desk.

“Okay, whatever you want,” James said pleadingly, giving you puppy dog eyes,

“Alright, well then I want to go to the Museum of Natural History,” you said gleefully knowing he would never agree to it.

You saw his face fall for a second then to your amazement he agreed, “Okay, lets go to the Museum of Natural History”,

You and James spent the rest of the day at the Museum of Natural History, he was bored senseless but he entertained your talk on space and time and history for hours on end. By late afternoon you had ended up in the planetarium, laying on the viewing deck looking up at the model of the constellations before you,

“Beautiful isn’t it,” you said softly

“Yeah,” was his equally soft reply, but he wasn’t looking at the constellations before you.

After almost an hour of comfortable silence between the two of you, you turned to him, “We should probably get going, if we are going to make it to Natasha’s by 7,” you say getting up,

James agreed, and the two of you made your way out of the museum. James’ town car was waiting outside for the two of you as soon as you stepped out of the museum.

“So should we go straight there?” He asked, opening the car door for you

“I suppose, but ugh I didn’t bring anything,” you groaned, remembering that Natasha was the kind of person to invite you for dinner and then complain If you dint at least bring her some bourgeoisie bottle of champagne or something,

“I already took care of that,” James said, motioning for you to get into the car, “Artur stopped by the house and picked up a bottle of Dom for her,”  

You smiled at him, even after all this time, James still knew Natasha so well, “Alright then I guess let’s head straight there.”

When you arrived at the Manhattan townhouse that Bruce and Natasha shared, you were feeling somewhat glum. The house next door, was the one Luke and you were going to move into soon after your wedding, this neighborhood haunted you sometimes, all the future plans that were made, now clung to it like a dark cloud.

James seemed to notice the change in your demeanor, “Hey, you okay?” he asked, putting his arm around your shoulder,

“Yeah,” you sighed, “Just all this, brings back memories I guess,”

“Ah, you’ll be alright,” He assured you with a grin, “Let’s go drink all of Natasha’s good alcohol,” he said ringing the bell excitedly.

Natasha opened the door enthusiastically, “Yay! You’re here,” she exclaims, then pauses when she sees James,

“Hey, Bucky…” She says, her facial expression changing slightly, as if her excitement diminished a little.

“Hello Tash,” he said softly giving her a warm smile, and a peck on the cheek.

Natasha was the only person either than his mom to call James by his second name, Buchanan or rather Bucky for short, she was the only other person he would let call him Bucky.

Nat led the way inside, thanking James for the bottle of champagne profusely as it was her favorite. She bagan animatedly talking about her day to you as she led you to the kitchen where Bruce was preparing dinner.

“Darling,” she called out to him, “Y/N and Bucky are here,”

Bruce emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dishcloth, “Hey Y/N, James,” he said coming over to exchange greetings with a warm smile,

Bruce was always the softest kindest person you had ever met, him and Natasha were opposites but worked so well together.

“I am so ready for that lasagna” you say, accepting the glass of champagne Nat handed to you, the food smelled heavenly.

“It tastes amazing,” Nat chimed in, handing James a glass of champagne as well, it was kind of her dinner party tradition to only serve champagne, it was weird, but you weren’t complaining as you sipped on the crisp beverage.

“Shall we sit?” James asks, motioning to the dining room,

“How’s work?” Bruce asks you, as you all take a seat at the dining room table,

“Ah it’s good, Starks got me working on nanomolecular energy development, its quite a big project for our department,” you replied. Bruce worked for Stark industries as well, just a different division.

“That’s great to hear, seems the idea is to run on clean energy by the end of the year,” Bruce began but Nat interrupted him,

“Come on guys, no shop talk!” she chided,

You couldn’t help but laugh, Natasha had no idea what half of the stuff you and Bruce spoke about, meant.

It felt good to be with your friends that evening, as it went on, Nat and James shared stories of recent events in their lives and Bruce adding a few comments here and there. You just enjoyed listening to it all, taking your mind of the stained memory of what today meant.

“Thanks for a great evening, Nat” you said, hiccupping drunkenly, as Bruce let you and James out well past midnight, “Ugh I love the two of you,” you exclaimed throwing your arms around both simultaneously.

Nat was a little too incoherently drunk at this point to even respond properly, so she just hugged you tighter.

“And we love you too,” Bruce replied, smiling and returning your affection, “you’ll get her home safe, right?” he says to James behind you,

He nodded, “Yes sir,”

You stumbled next to James as he led you to his town car, and sat you in the backseat beside him.

You lean tiredly against his chest, “James,” you mumbled,

“Yes Y/N?”

“Thank you for today,” you slur,

“Of course, anything for you,” he replied gently, kissing the top of your head,

“It still makes me sad,” you sighed sadly, pulling him closer to you in an embrace,

“I know it does, sweetheart” James replied in a kind voice,

“James?”

“Yes, Y/N?”

“Do you love me?” you asked drunkenly, James knew you probably wouldn’t remember this in the morning when he answered,

“I do, very much so,” he replied tenderly,

You sighed, seemingly content in his embrace, “I love you too James, you make my days better”

He smiled at your confession, knowing it meant more to him than it did to you.

xxx

Hope you guys enjoy it!

[re-vised]

#31: Spectral (2016)

Reviewed as part of the 100 Movies 365 Days Challenge

Let's just say I'm glad there are no rules prohibiting explicit language. Suffice to say I use some

Usually this is where I'd summarise the plot in a few sentences, but I can do it in a few words: Soldiers V Ghosts. Seriously that's the plot.

When I headed into Spectral, I was in a flighty mood. Tomorrow I go on my first solo holiday, and I just wanted one more movie in before I left. I looked on Netflix and thought, "I could stand to watch another horror, plus I do like ghost stuff". What I didn't want was a war movie, this is what it is.

Just. Oh. My. God. This movie is wow. I generally like to leave my verdict till the end. Let people read through the review, get a feel for the movie and its pros and cons. I feel like I already dipped my hand expressing my enthusiasm to curse in a movie review, so let's just say it. This movie is white-hot fucking garbage streaking across the sky like a meteor of shit. Even as I write this review I haven't reached the ending, there's still 40 minutes of this trash to wade through. Sure, it could miraculous backflip into a satisfying ending but suffice to say I think its more likely to break into a spontaneous musical routine than that.

Where to begin? The very concept of the movie is stupid. War is something I don't enjoy watching, but even if it is, its just bad. I mean the whole concept is the ghosts exist because of all the tragedy of war. Yeah that's beautiful war is tragic. It's just oh I don't know you can portray that straight, you know with the actual people dying and such rather than some childish surrogate like a bloody ghost. It's seriously concerning that the director thought wise to parody the tragedy of war by personifying it as a supernatural villain and then having army guys attack it. That figuratively speaking means the metaphor of this film is its the army versus a personification of the horrors wrought by the war, that may or not have been instigated by the army. Its a kaleidoscope of figurative and literal garbage we're working with here.

[Update: It's not actually ghosts, but they're man-made which is better SLIGHTLY. The above criticisms are still valid because the ghost theory lasts for 74/107 mins of the film. Even then the science explanation is nothing but technobabble]

OK OK I know what you might be thinking. "Oh but Sam, it's not about metaphors and the army its about ghosts and pretty weapons and the fun and the spectacle of it". Two rebuttals. One, play 2016's Doom, if you want fun and schlock and spectacle. It's bloody and gory, and full of references and fun and just play it. Two, this movie is on the other side of the fucking world to Doom. The ghosts are not fun enemies, they're not even horrific enemies. They're invisible, they kill if they touch you and that's their premise. That's right these ghosts are as complicated, and horrifying as a game of dodgeball. Yeah its scary seeing people due left and right but its no Friday the 13th. Yes the drama is drab and clings on for way too long (Case in point: despite at this point still being about half an hour shy of the ending, I thought film had reached its climax several scenes ago), but this is what destroys it for me. The movie flaunts these spectrals or whatever they are as, terrifying. Yeah they kill but I feel no sense of fear or dread from these villains.

[Update: They also add some stuff in where the spectrals can regenerate. Yeah. If this entire thing didn't feel like a pointless fucking farce, they also make it so all the killing they did is pointless because them getting any upper hand might make the story fun and not depressing and worst all good in some way.]

It's just sad, I mean even one and half hours into a one and three-quarter hour long film we don't even have a clear origin as to the villains. Directly after I typed this, yeah they hastly added some. Without going into details oh my god it was terrible. It explained so little, and left so much room for more back story. The villains could and should be much more complicated and interesting but holy shit if  not one on this bloody team thought hey we could do something interesting and worthwhile. Make a statement about the nature of war do something

[Update: The did try and make a statement. They did the big dramatic, "everyones going to die take the shot holy crap its about to murder you dramatic swell". and then. THEN. They pull out the philosophising and everything. REALLY. And it was stupid and self-indulgent and crap ok IT WAS CRAP]

VERDICT: 0/5 Ghosts or spectrals or whatever

If a movie receives less than 2 from me, it's pretty bad. I am all to willing to forgive bad movies for what it does well. Spectral is not good. It is utter cliched trash. There is little to no actual horror. Failing that the action movie angle fails to produce either a good plot, characters and no spectacle in the known multiverse can fill in for it. The only good news? Safe is going to finally get some company in my least favourite movies ever bin.